what if meme – MisbehavingMaiar: Tumblr Archive

If I had not met Melkor… If he had taken no notice of me, and we had never spoken….

I suppose I would have continued on as I was in the beginning: Admirable-One of Aulë, first of smiths. I would be with him still, perhaps in Valinor, questioning not my duties, working in the Great Forge to complete my father’s designs.

Perhaps I’d invent things of my own. Perhaps not. Certainly, I would have to do so on my own time, never taking precedence over the work of the group.

Would I have seen Melkor in chains paraded through the city of bells, and thought it right and just? Would I have met Fëanor? Mahtan, Nerdanel, the great smiths of the Calaquendi? Would I have seen the Two Trees, bathed in their light, mourned for their destruction?

I’d be no different from a thousand other Maiar, whose stories are not told, whose love has moved no mountains nor made ripples through history.

Perhaps I’d have been happier, though poorer for it.

What if your werewolves had been more like… were-Pomeranians?

….Listen. This animal?

This animal doesn’t know it’s not a wolf.

I know. And you know. But it has never once in its tiny life questioned that it was king of beasts, the scourge of man, the terror in the primordial darkness outside the cave waiting to prey on the unwary.

…I imagine the tale of Beren and Luthien would have looked much different from our point of view. But from the Pomeranians’ perspective, nothing would change. They wouldn’t alter a single line. Why would they? They obviously consider themselves born for the role.

“What if I took you up on the offer to work together?”

Wouldn’t THAT be a pretty sight!

After all these eons, are you finally considering it? With your help, I’d stand a chance at crossing into the West myself, and from there, we could storm the Gates of Night and free my Master at last! He’d make you king of all waters in Ulmo’s stead; he’d build up mountains whose only purpose would be to amuse you in their drowning! His gratitude would be fathomless!

And as for you and I…. Just imagine what would become of the armies that tried to stop us, crushed between the hammer of Mordor and the anvil of the Sea.

Then when all wars are won, won’t it be fun to go exploring together? If there were no ban on my entering the ocean, why, I could finally visit your kingdom! I wonder what is left of the wreck of Beleriand… I’ve heard there are volcanoes erupting on the ocean floor– underwater! More than half the world’s wonders are hidden from me, Ossë! My heart is bursting with curiosity!

And you– where would you go? I could show you the crystal caverns, filled with superheated water, where giant quartz pillars have been growing untouched since the making of Arda. Or the volcanic springs! Or the rainbowed geysers on the Plains of Gorgoroth! Or the ice fields of Forochel!

….Great Hells, I’m getting ahead of myself. Please, Cousin! Tell me that you’re just as thrilled by the possibilities as I am, or I’ll feel quite the fool.

You mentioned once fearing that you thought you would forget your purpose with Celebrimbor. What if you had though? Would you have lived happily in eregion? Or do you think eventually you would have continued with your plan?

I have made it a habit not to ask futile questions of the past.

How long could I have maintained my disguise? Not indefinitely– and so whatever else I may have intended in this hypothetical future, Celebrimbor would have learned my true nature eventually.

Perhaps I would have revealed it myself. The trust between us might have grown and flourished, until my foolish heart believed it possible he might accept me as I am, all past crimes forgotten.

…Can you imagine that story having a happy ending? I cannot. Except in dreams.

What if you had given Five Rings to the Orcs? Optionally, which Five?

The beauty of orcs, my dear, is that they already do whatever I tell them to.

But assuming I only wished to enhance their strength and lengthen their lives, I might well have chosen thee, lieutenant. Azog and his brood were noble specimens, and I suppose that mighty brute bred in the pits of Isengard would have been a fine addition as well.

As for the fifth? Hmmm… an age ago there was a captain who served me well in on the Isle. I would have liked her company in recent campaigns, were she still living.

Alas, such notions are confined to the realm of imagination. Orcs serve me well exactly as they are: obedient, resilient, and dispensable.

“What if you had given all nine rings to seafarers?”

…Melkor preserve me from such a fate.

I presume they would have all perished in Ulmo’s wrath as soon as they set sail on open waters, where my powers are least welcome and most vulnerable.

Believe me, if I’d been blessed with more than one servant protected by Ossë, I’d be significantly less tolerant of your willfulness, Ji.

Send my muse “What if-” questions!

memeasaurus-promptus:

Examples:
“What if you never met __?”
“What if you had done__?”
“What if you listened to __ instead of __?”
“What if you were __ instead of __?”