– Kaz Brekker

Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why.

Glorfindel and the Balrog by Eric Velhagen

Further LOTR book facts: the council of elrond??

- as well as ‘destroy it’ and ‘use it against sauron’ in the book they also consider the following options wrt the ring:

1) give it to tom bombadil (dismissed on the grounds of he’d lose it or smth)

2) send it to valinor (dismissed on the grounds that the valar would be like ‘no ty’ and send it straight back)

3) just like… toss it in the fucking ocean (dismissed on the grounds that it’d find its way back sooner or later)

- no-one was actually summoned to Rivendell for the council of Elrond, everyone present just happened to arrive around the same time for unrelated reasons

- reasons why member of the fellowship were in rivendell:

1) Legolas: came to inform Elrond that Gollum, who the wood elves had been holding captive, has escaped. (Gollum escaped by climbing up a tree and refusing to come down)

2) Gimli: sauron had been sending messengers to Erebor offering magic rings in exchange for any information about Bilbo’s whereabouts/hobbits in general as the dwarves of the lonely mountain are the only people sauron knows who like… know shit about hobbits. (they had no intention of giving sauron shit but were freaking out & also wanted to warn Bilbo)

3) Boromir: OH BOY so Boromir and Faramir had both started having recurring dreams where a mysterious voice sang to them about how ‘isildur’s bane’ (ie the ring) has awoken and urging them to go to rivendell for answers

Boromir set out not knowing where Rivendell was beyond ‘north??’ and not even being sure if it was a real place or just a legend. it took him months (iirc) to get there and then when he arrived the elves were like ‘oh good Boromir’s here, the council’s about to start come this way sir’. 

- the mysterious dream song also contained a prophecy about an unspecified halfling being very important. the words of the song became common knowledge in Minas Tirith so when Pippin turned up ppl were like ‘???the halfling?? is it he?’ and Gandalf is like ‘there’s more than one halfling in the world geez’

- as in the film Sam sneaks into the council however in the book he doesn’t hide or anything he just quietly comes in w Frodo and sits down in the corner without anyone noticing

- aragorn gets pissed off w Boromir and goes on a VERY lengthy rant about how hard working and underappreciated the Rangers are

- Bilbo is present at the council & recounts the story of how he came by the ring in excessive and painstaking detail

- he also leaps in and offers to be ringbearer before Frodo but Gandalf is like ‘Bilbo sit the FUCK down’

Inktober 2018. Day 30, Jolt / The Fellowship in Moria mines.

Have you ever seen it, Aragorn? The White Tower of Ecthelion, glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver, its banners caught high in the morning breeze. Have you ever been called home by the clear ringing of silver trumpets?

Way to not freak everyone out Aragorn

it’s common knowledge that the names of the three elven rings match the fates of the three Silmarils, but think about the ring-bearers, too —

and i wonder if the wise and knowledgeable ring-bearers could’ve noticed this, and if gandalf’s death would’ve, in a way, completed the last of the parallels

and i wonder, then, if a part of him knew, or perhaps thought he knew, that at some point he would have to die.

Day 7 to 13: The Seven Sons of Feanor

“The seven sons of Feanor were Maedhros the Tall; Maglor the Mighty Singer, whose voice was heard far over land and sea; Celegorm the Fair, and Caranthir the Dark; Curufin the Crafty, who inherited most his father’s skill of hand; and the youngest, Amrod and Amras, who were twin brothers, alike in mood and face.”

I think we really don’t give Tolkien enough credit for writing passionate male characters. And by passionate, I mean caring, kind, perhaps even emotional.

Like Finrod Felagund, who gave his own life to protect the son of the man that saved his life, and sang to the humans and loved them and wanted to teach them all he knew.

Like Elrond half-Elven, who despite having lost so much and having lived through so much bloodshed, still cares enough to read moon runes to a bunch of stubborn dwarves, and to give Bilbo a place to stay in his old age even if just for a little while.

Like Frodo Baggins and his Samwise Gamgee, who against all odds fought for a noble cause despite personal expense and who truly loved each other, because like Sam said, ‘I love him whether or no.’ And like Bilbo, who had a kind soul and wept when Thorin Oakenshield died.

Like Maedhros and Maglor, who despite their misdeeds, raised Elrond and Elros in an attempt to make up for all the harm they did, and wanted to find Elured and Elurin. And because in the end, their repentance was what decided their fate in the sea and under the earth.

Faramir’s love and mourning for Boromir, Turgon’s love for Hurin and Huor… you could even talk about Melkor’s desire to create. I could keep going on and on but I think the point is clear. Tolkien just didn’t write male characters, he wrote sensible, caring male characters.

The media often makes it so that female characters are seen as more emotional, more passionate about certain things… like Hermione Granger, who was so passionate about domestic elves, or Deanna Troi, the ship’s counselor in Star Trek TNG that tries to help everyone. But how often do we ever see male characters like the ones Tolkien gave us? Male characters that actually cry, mourn and feel openly?

I would just like to thank Professor Tolkien for actually writing real, feeling men. As a guy that feel that he has to repress his emotions to feel manly, these characters mean the world to me.

“Dark is the Shadow, and yet my heart rejoices; for you, Estel, shall be among the great whose valour will destroy it.” But Aragorn answered: “Alas! I cannot foresee it, and how it may come to pass is hidden from me. Yet with your hope I will hope. And the Shadow I utterly reject. But neither, lady, is the Twilight for me; for I am mortal, and if you will cleave to me, Evenstar, then the Twilight you must also renounce.”

And she stood then as still as a white tree, looking into the West, and at last she said: “I will cleave to you, Dúnadan, and turn from the Twilight. Yet there lies the land of my people and the long home of all my kin.”