Month: November 2018

Try: Namo because I like your eldrich hcs.

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Namo, like the other Fëanturi in my headcanons, has a less organic-looking shape than the Arratar. He and his siblings have very whimsical, almost allegorical forms. His face is mask-like, and he doesn’t have a body so much as robes that fall in the shape of a body. His expression can change but he doesn’t move his mouth when he speaks, and his voice has an echo as though he takes the acoustics of his halls with him wherever he goes. 

There’s a common misconception that “Mandos” is both his name and the name of his hall– this is only half true. His name is Námo, and he IS is hall, which is called Mandos. He contains, and exists in, the realm he governs. 

He’s really quite pleasant to talk to, if you don’t mind venturing deep into the uncanny valley. He has a strong and uncompromising sense of justice, has pity for those who have suffered but is unwilling to compromise on the laws of his land, unless a greater thread of fate intervenes. He likes formality and logic, and is fond of puzzles and long games of strategy.

His vision of the Theme gave him greater insight into the future of Arda than any of his brethren; but this is of limited use to those in the present. Like the Norse gods knowing the sequence of events of Ragnarök but being unable to avoid it by nature of being gods, the Valar know what will become of themselves and the world during the Dagor-Dagorath. Námo proclaims those Dooms that are necessary to be spoken according to his knowledge of what Must Be, what he saw occurring in the First Music. As with his realm, he exists simultaneously within, and as the embodiment, of Fate; both a participant and its mouthpiece. Yes, he knows it’s confusing. He’s sorry. Would you like a cup of tea? Vaire made it fresh. 

Try Saruman the White

OH WE’RE GOING TO HAVE SO MUCH FUN TOGETHER CURUMO, YOU SCAMP. 

I love Saruman dearly, because he is a Miscreant™. 

My headcanons are as follows: 

Curumo starts life as one of Aulë’s six highsmiths, who work in the Great Forge under Admirable-One, the forgemaster (aka Mairon). He’s never been totally comfortable with being Daddy’s Second-or-Third-or-Maybe-Fourth Favorite Maia, and when tension starts to break out between Mairon and Aulë, he sees this as an Opportunity to start sucking up to authority by being…. just…. SO obedient and dutiful; not like that bad, naughty, rebellious Mairon with his IDEAS and BAD COMPANY. By the time Mairon does finally leave Aulë, Curumo has positioned himself to take over his duties as Forgemaster.  Except, the work on Arda is basically finished by then, and he doesn’t have any especially epic duties to perform, and it’s obvious to everyone that he’s just not the same caliber of Maia, or smith, that Mairon was. 

He hates this. so. much. But it’s desperately important to him to seem completely at peace with being left in charge of more menial duties and unglamorous tasks while everyone waits for the Children to appear. 

When the Valar move to Aman, they have to build a new Great Forge, and Curumo is ecstatic because finally now maybe he’ll get to oversee something Important. The new Great Forge is mostly an institute of teaching and creating things to aid the elves, so Curumo becomes a mentor of elven smiths rather than a foreman to his fellow Maiar. –This OF COURSE doesn’t annoy him EVEN A LITTLE BIT, that he’s been demoted to teaching Noldor carpenters how to make hinges that don’t squeak. Because he’s SO HAPPY TO HELP and OBEY and SERVE with NO THOUGHT to his own esteem or reputation as an Aulendur. …Also, is it just him, or are some of these Noldor smiths really, really good? like, better than him, maybe. Even though, how could they be HAHA! They’re just. Making new unthought of totally impossible things that even the Valar want. Huh. 

But I’m being a little harsh. He does fine! Great, actually! He knows a lot about stuff, maybe not as MUCH as Mairon knew about smithing, but he’s a pretty good teacher! Maybe a little condescending, maybe a little impatient at times, but the elves do learn a lot from him! 

It’s a shame that nothing he does really seems to be important or interesting enough for Aulë or the other Valar to notice. Which is weird, because as we’ve noted, he has been THE MOST OBEDIENT, LOYAL, DUTIFUL, HELPFUL, USEFUL, KNOWLEDGABLE MAIA EVER. And he’s VERY well dressed. And SO tidy. And he has THE MOST tools, in mint condition! And he absolutely hasn’t been hoarding everything of Mairon’s that he can get his hands on, or eavesdropping on anyone who mentions him, or constantly comparing himself to him. 

After the Silmarils are stolen and the thing with Fëanor blows over, Curumo has whole AGES to be the best and most influential smith in Aman! Almost! Definitely in the top ten! Well, he’s definitely the most important smith, because he’s in charge of so many things. He runs a VERY prestigious Academy of Learned Maiar and elves, where they discuss Theory and Praxis and Engineering. Many of the devices they dream up stay on the drawing board because in Aman there’s not a great deal of need for technological advancement. It’s almost a shame there’s not more use for heavy construction equipment in paradise…. 

Eventually the Third Age rolls around and with it, the initiative to go into Middle Earth to deal with the problem of Sauron, and oh. my. god. Finally. Finally, they realize– it’s him. It’s always been him. Curumo– the Wise, the White, the Cunning, the MAGNIFICENT; obviously the most suited and well equipped for Leadership! Now he can turn his unparalleled knowledge of other people’s work into social currency! 

Finally, it’s his opportunity to show everyone how much better he is than Mairon– who hasn’t been here for more than ten thousand years, but Aulë still sighs and cries about; who gave into Base Temptations and Moral Weakness and left his appointed duties before they’d even begun– Duties SOMEONE had to take over, Duties that SHOULD have brought fame and recognition to those who selflessly championed them, if only everyone wasn’t infatuated with the mere MEMORY of his potential… I’ll show you. I’ll show everyone how much more clever and learned and Admirable I am than you ever were. Then you’ll be so jealous. THEN you’ll have to notice me and tell me how important and smart I am. I’ll learn everything you ever knew and MORE and then you’ll be USELESS and outdated and everyone will thank me for defeating you and bringing about a new golden age of knowledge and industry. Yes… YES!

It’s the recognition he knows he’s always deserved, and he’s just so happy to help. 

lendmyboyfriendahand:

You know what I just realized?

It never says that
Ingwë,
Finwë and Elwë

were leaders before Oromë

took them to Valinor.

“Therefore Oromë was sent again to
them, and he chose from among them ambassadors who should go to Valinor
and speak for their people; and these were Ingwë,
Finwë and Elwë, who afterwards were kings.”
Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor, the Silmarillion

That’s our introduction to them.  The Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri are described as the “kindred” of 
Ingwë,
Finwë and Elwë

respectively, not their subjects.  They certainly led those who undertook the Great Journey, but there’s no reason to believe they were the chieftains beforehand.

Why then were they the ones chosen as ambassadors? Because everyone else was terrified, and they were the only ones willing to follow the incredibly dangerous strange being, each for their own reason.

Ingwë

went because he saw the light of Aman reflected in
Oromë’s face, and wished to see the light in truth. He recognized the light as Good and Holy, and knew that the Valar would not harm him.

Finwë went in search of knowledge. Here was a being unlike any other known to elves, from a place likewise completely unknown.
Oromë claimed that the Valar would share knowledge with them, but even if that turned out to be false, there would still be much to discover.

Elwe went because he has a huge xeno kink. The presence of actual non-elf sapient beings, that unlike orcs wouldn’t try to kill him, meant that he had to check out Aman.

Try Manwë

This is terrifying because I do actually have to try and write/draw Manwë convincingly for my comic and he’s very intimidating to approach. >m> I’ve been lucky enough to be spoiled by a very good Manwë roleplayer whose interpretations will probably always color my own, so there’s a lot to live up to. 

…BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, I will leak this super-secret found-footage blurry-cryptid photo of my Manwë design. 

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Now, is this just Tilda Swinton in a Bigbird costume? Who’s to say. 

____

The thing about Manwë is, he’s doing his best. I really feel for the guy! He’s never been in charge of sentient life before! No one has! It’s hard and he does his best and when his best isn’t enough, things go terribly, terribly wrong and it’s his responsibility to sort it out. And he just wants everyone to be happy. He tries so hard. And people look to him for answers because he is the only one who still sometimes hears the voice of Eru, who is otherwise quiet– but they don’t understand the answers he brings back. “What do you mean, you asked God, and the answer is ‘it’s complicated’??”  Yes, sorry. That’s just how it is. 

But the other thing about Manwë is that it’s not difficult for him to understand the ineffable. He already grasps the simultaneity of free will and predestination, he has unshakable faith in the Theme because he saw it so much more clearly than anyone else, he trusts in the grace of the One, he loves the individual and the whole, and has no difficulty being in the world but not of it. What he has trouble with is explaining to others what is instinctual for him. If a child asks him “why is there sadness?” and he responds “because of a greater harmony that you will never witness”, it sounds patronizing, cold. But for Manwë it is a self evident truth, and knowing it does not make him less sympathetic to the plight of the living, but what else is there to say? He cannot lie. He doesn’t know how. 

Manwë is not easy to relate to. He keeps himself above the world and does not partake of many earthly pleasures except the appreciation of music and natural beauty and the joy of flying. To observe the world is a great pleasure in itself; he watches and listens and loves and understands from this great distance, and he is not lonely, for Varda is as contemplative and far-seeing as he is, and they understand each other perfectly, rejoicing in each other and what they see; but he is often troubled. Manwë has faith in the design of the One, but perhaps less faith in his own completion of that design. So much goes wrong, so many suffer, as a direct result of him trying to do good. He knows he cannot see everything, that he is fallible. Every decision he makes has the potential to harm, including inaction– What can he do but try his best? and act according to what he understands of the Theme, the source of all order and life and love. 

He loves his brother very much. They were born in the same thought, but they run parallel and opposite to one another; they will never meet again in understanding until one bends towards the other. Neither can bring themselves to compromise. They reach a stalemate every time they try. They come to define themselves by their opposition to the other’s temperament– but you can still see what makes them twins in the mind of Eru, if you know what to look for. They live in each other’s anger, their love, the scope of their comprehension, their deep contemplation. 

Sometimes, if he does not catch himself, Manwë does question his maker, does doubt his understanding of the Theme. And sometimes, in a moment of quiet, Melkor forgets to argue with universe and finds peace in the design of things. The moments do not last, because doubt brings Manwë closer to Melkor and his rebellion, and Melkor cannot trust or forgive, because it would mean admitting to one of Manwë’s truths. They are each the missing piece to the other’s puzzle, and the picture on the box is the full scope of Eru’s design. If they could put it together, everything would make sense. But they can’t– and in a weird, ineffable way, that’s part of an even bigger puzzle that only makes sense in four dimensions. 

thepioden
replied to your post “who is the twink-est tolkien character?”

Counterpoint: Maeglin is a smith and a Nolofinwion and therefore a twunk at worst. I nominate Elu Thingol as twinkiest, as he was named after his fashion sense and lives for The Drama and has the dumbest and most anti-climactic jewelry-related death in the whole legendarium.

1) buff Maeglin is just Kylo Ren 

2) The things you have described do not a twink make 

3) did Thingol take your lunch money or something? what is this

who is the twink-est tolkien character?

God… probably Maeglin, which is only tolerable because he’s goth. Young Fingon is also a strong contender but he hunks up later so that’s fine. ….Legolas? It might be Legolas. 

Dear Lord Melkor, who does your hair? And uh, for that matter how does it work? Have you ever tied it back? Do you like when people brush it or fluff their hands through it or is that the sort of thing that would get them lit on fire? Here is a jar of honey for your time please do not murder me on the way out.

Fewer questions, more petting. 

…but since you asked nicely with sweets: I enjoy the brushing VERY much, and, I do it myself. Though “do” is probably too strong a verb. My hair is… therefore I am?

A bit more on the top if you would. Mind the crown. 

Are elves and men of same species in your verse?

Not physically, no. I would argue that since they share the same divine primogenitor they’re distantly related in spirit, but I think it’s neat that they have a different purpose on Arda than humans do. The fact that humans and elves have completely different motivations and fears on both a physical and spiritual level, yet still manage to find common ground and mutual interest in each other is fascinating! 

Though to be sure, I’ve also seen the opposite view (that humans and elves are the same/similar species) represented in fanworks and it can be equally compelling.

…I just like to think of it as Eru throwing a lot of spaghetti at the wall to see what would stick in terms of viable formats for sentient species. 

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