Alex | Sagittarius | Official Vodka Aunt.
/// Tarot reader, writer, and professional drama queen.
///
I'm really chatty so if you don't want to listen to me, just blacklist the tags spksies (chatting with people) and alexstuff (personal updates and rants)
This was done some while ago. I wanted to make a series out of it, but never really got to and now that I’m not sure if it would be possible uh I’m just posting it.
a lot of tolkien’s characters are absurdly similar looking to each other but after a while you develop this weird sixth sense for which distressed black haired blue eyed dude is being depicted in any given art
Stressed, long and loose hair = Finwe
Serious, holding sword = Fingolfin
Gold ribbons, fancy braids = Fingon
Tall, fancy outfit = Turgon
Big biceps and kinda crazy look in his eyes = Feanor
Mournful, with musical instrument = Maglor
Flushed, pissed off = Caranthir
Looks like Feanor but slightly smaller amd more evil = Curufin
Looks like Curufin, not evil, is flirting with dwarf/elf smith = Celebrimbor
Also holding a musical instrument but its a flute, fountains nearby = Ecthelion
Golden hair, way too pretty, really shiny necklace = Finrod Slightly less golden hair, still way too pretty, petting a dog = Celegorm More golden hair, way too pretty, sword in hand = Glorfindel Golden hair, way too pretty, is female = Galadriel Golden hair, way too pretty, “fuck this shit, I’m out” written all over his face = Finarfin
Golden hair, way too pretty, is female, dark haired guy creepin in the background = Idril
Silver hair, looking pissed af, sitting next to a serene dark-haired lady (who most likely has a halo) = Thingol Silver hair, standing next to “golden hair, way too pretty, is female“ = Celeborn Silver hair, female, looks really sad = Miriel Silver hair, way too pretty, petting a dog = also could be Celegorm Silver (or grey) hair, hanging out with a dark-haired human, looks done af = Beleg
black hair, grey eyes, looks very, very tired or sad or both = Elrond
black hair, grey eyes, there’s 2 of them, usually holding a sword or something = Elladan and/or Elrohir but good luck figuring out which is which
black hair, grey eyes, female, probably dancing or stealing a jewel = luthien
black hair, grey eyes, female, looking just like luthien, probably has a dark haired, grey eyed man nearby = arwen
I like this bc it implies that Maedhros is the only red head in middle earth, which is honestly probably why everyone called him copper top.
red hair, way too pretty, having an extremely bad time = Maedhros
red hair, near another, identical person with slightly darker red hair = Ambarussa, good luck figuring out which is which because Tolkien didn’t know either
red hair, near Morgoth, okay with that = Sauron, ginger edition
like look at Smaug, look at his ears, DON’T YOU JUST WANT TO SCRATCH BEHIND HIS EARS AND TELL HIM HE’S A GOOD BOY
and look at this guy, I guess he’s supposed to be ferocious but it looks more like “whoa man chill out, I’m just saying that those shoes with that helmet was maybe not the greatest fashion decision, just a little friendly advice, no need to get defensive.”
THIS LITTLE BB ALL CURLED UP AND TAKIN’ A NAP
I want this one to live in my pocket and be my sassy talking dragon sidekick
SO SMILEY!! “gonna go terrorize some helpless villagers aw yiss”
but my favorite is this little doodle here
just look at him
LOOK AT HOW HAPPY HE IS
Tolkien’s dragons are fascinating (and very cute indeed) although not so surprising considering his knowledge in European Middle-Age. Before the discovery by European people of Chinese dragons through the imports of goods from China, dragons in Anglo-Saxon bestiaries (inspired by Germanic traditions) were more like huge worms, with or without wings, and their most dangerous features were their velocity and rapidity rather than fire, and their tail was usually more dangerous than their teeth.
That’s the kind of dragons we have in Beowulf or in the Nibelungen for instance, or in representations of Saint Margaret (The dragons with Margaret sometimes look rather ridiculous and I lovethem)(There is a nice collection here). (I mean, look at this ferocious beast:)
Book of Hours, St. Margaret, Walters Manuscript W.168, fol. 222r by Walters Art Museum Illuminated Manuscripts - 15th century (x)
Dunois Book of Hours, France (Paris), 15th century, Yates Thompson MS 3, f. 282v (x)
British Library, Harley MS 3244, Folio 59r -
13th century (x)
So yes, Tolkien’s tiny dragons are not only lovely, but also quite relevant of his primary sources of inspiration, which makes them even more interesting :D
a lot of tolkien’s characters are absurdly similar looking to each other but after a while you develop this weird sixth sense for which distressed black haired blue eyed dude is being depicted in any given art
“And it is told of Maglor that he could not endure the pain with which the Silmaril tormented him; and he cast it at last into the Sea, and thereafter he wandered ever upon the shores, singing in pain and regret beside the waves. For Maglor was mighty among the singers of old, named only after Daeron of Doriath; but he came never back among the people of the Elves”.
But the jewel burned the hand of Maedhros in pain unbearable. […] And being in anguish and despair, he cast himself into a gaping chasm filled with fire, and was so ended; and the Silmaril that he bore was taken into the bosom of the Earth.
Maedhros the Tall: oathbearer, feud-forger, doomed to watch his family die in an age-long war. So many trials, all for nothing.
the thing about lotr that the movies don’t convey so fully is how the story is set in an age heavily overshadowed by all the ages before. they’re constantly traveling through ruins, discussing the glory of days gone by, the empires of men are much diminished, the elves (especially galadriel) are described as seeming incongruent, frozen in time….some of the imagery is even near-apocalyptic, like the ruins of moria and of course the landscape surrounding mordor
this is a strange thought to me, somehow: that the archetypal “high fantasy” story is set at the point where the…fantasy…used to be much higher? this is not the golden age; this is a remnant
Reblog this forever this is what I loved about LOTR; in every scene there is an underlying sense of age and history is not something that is forgotten in the dregs but very much lingering and clinging to the present. The past is so very important because it provides the base for the present and makes it so much more voluminous.
one of my favorite things about middle earth is that there are a bunch of elves who are just unaccounted for. where are they? we don’t know. maglor? no clue. daeron? dunno. nimrodel? no idea. they’re still out there. they could be anywhere. they could be me. they could be you. we just don’t know.
![rebeccadgeorge:
“ But the jewel burned the hand of Maedhros in pain unbearable. […] And being in anguish and despair, he cast himself into a gaping chasm filled with fire, and was so ended; and the Silmaril that he bore was taken into the bosom of...](https://64.media.tumblr.com/866e5ded20de28e36ffed91602926d18/tumblr_oq4rppoALw1u408eno1_500.jpg)
Dawn is Coming
