JRRT would have chased me with an axe, but

Yes, I like those.

I still couldn't resist interpreting "bark" in some cases as "damage done by voice" but not many cases. Also some can't do damage, some don't want to... But I think

I wonder if we tend to get a mental picture of Miriel as the poor, frail mother who was so exhausted after making a son that she had to flit off to the Halls of Mandos, or just sit around passively forever. But in all honesty, that's kind of inaccurate.

Somewhere in the legendarium, it's said that Fëanor resembled Finwë in appearance, but in temperament he was more like Miriel. And what do we know about Miriel's temperament? She was stubborn. The more they bugged her about coming back to life, the more obstinately she refused, just because they kept bothering her about it.

Fëanor possibly idolizes his dead mother, but he also possibly romanticizes the concept of her because she's dead. But in a world where she had come back, they would've been an explosion duo. Either Miriel would've made Fëanor worse, or they would've butted heads so hard the whole world would've spontaneously combusted.

Or maybe some of both. Maybe Miriel would have nurtured and encouraged some of Fëanor's traits early on, feeding his stubbornness while it was still largely a good thing. The whole time, she was helping create this immovable force. But then, when Fëanor started making certain decisions, and if Miriel didn't agree with the direction he was taking, then they'd find themselves on opposite sides of the Oath, and hoo boy! There'd be more than just ships burning!

Or! Or! Alternatively, consider a world where Miriel took sides with Morgoth. A world where Morgoth has Miriel as an ally. A world where Fëanor yells, "Get thee gone from my gates!" And Miriel says, "Haha, just try to get me gone from your gates! The more you yell, the longer I'll stay!" But of course, Fëanor can never bring himself to kill or harm her, because she's his mother.

But I mean, what would a Miriel vampire be like? Or a Miriel werewolf? A Miriel orc? Terrifying.

This is a crack territory but consider:

she was incredible with textile arts, almost magic-levels of it

she died but did she go to the Halls? Nobody knows unless we include "Morgoth's Ring"

A trick you say?!

Elros didn't become exclusively human. He chose to retain the gift of Men and to be counted among Men as far as that ultimate fate went, but he remained a half-Elf. He didn't gain a beard (even descendants as remote as Aragorn, Boromir, and Faramir can't because of Elros) or most Mannish qualities he didn't already possess and he lived half a millennium.

Elrond chose to be counted among Elves in terms of immortality, but he isn't exclusively an Elf. He's described as both Elf and Man, and as the eldest of Aragorn's people. Elrond's marriage to a full Elf produces peredhel children. Two of them are given names signifying Elf+(human)Man, names which Tolkien translated as "Elf-knight" (in Númenórean Sindarin) and "Elf-Númenórean." Elrond's sons are always distinguished from Elves in LOTR.

full transcription of the Concerning… “The Hoard” Tolkien letter from 1964 circa, as presented in manuscript at heritage auctions and never published before. the link to the manuscript’s pictures is inside the doc, transcription is by yours truly with some help to interpret particularly scribbled words.

1. Nauglamir dragonsickness CONFIRMED HELL YEAH

2. Feanor calling himself “Lord of Lights” 👀👀👀

WHAT Tolkien did actually use "the One" to refer to God, sir. Why. Why do you, a linguist, not realize when you use the same wording for drastically different meanings and do not realize that it is a thing. Which the readers would notice. Well, I notice,. Normal people somehow do not. *throws a fit*

i would not be surprised if certain companies were founded on dragon-hoards

yes, Nauglamir dragonsickness!

"partly unhinged"? that's a very gentle description of poor Hurin

Oh, that's the version where Nauglamir is made for Thingol, not for Finrod.

eeeh, I don't like this explanation of why the Girdle failed. Even if we're not going with Thingol being slain by his hired jewelsmiths, let's say the Dwarves could enter because the king was in their debt, and also Dwarves are in general resistant to spells, and this includes the Girdle

I wish we had an explanation of whether the Silmaril burned the Dwarves or not and why

oh the wording (TW SA mention in the linked doc if you are very sensitive) yea ik it's an archaic for kind of theft but. Still. Deserves a warning I suppose.

"The Silmarils were made [...] originally with no motive but the making of beauty" hmmm the Silm says something about foresight and preserving the Light of the Trees and tbh I like that better.

oh, Tolkien switches to calling Morgoth by name instead of epithets. I wonder why. Maybe he wrote part on a different day and felt more chill

no. I refuse to accept the Valar commanding Feanor to give them the gems. It's not in the Silm.

"Feanor then with his Seven Sons, swore the abominable Oath, to hold anyone Elf or Vala, even the One, his enemy if they held or retained a Silmaril and did not surrender it."

HE FUCKING WHAT

seriously Sir, he said what?!?

where's your "no elf ever crossed that line because elves are super cool"? because excuse me sir this does cross all the lines

come on

that's worse than any other oath version

"Fëanor attacked them, slew great numbers of them, and carried off the ships. Thus violence, [...] and murder, had entered the Blessed Realm." Ummmm excuse me but they had entered before when Morgoth attacked Formenos. I'm nitpicking maybe but ok

"he had forfeited his right to the Silmarils (which only the power of the Valar could now recover)," Meanwhile, B&L

but yea, the Men can mess with fate, so I think this sentence above isn't entirely incorrect.

It’s interesting how killing elves is kinslaying while maiar or maiar like people killing each other is just murder. It implies that the maiar have less of a sense of kinship or maybe value each other’s lives less—maybe because they have been fighting for much longer than elves—despite the fact that they are much more connected due to being directly created by Eru at the same time.

It also implies that elves also have lessen sense of kinship to maiar, which makes sense.

Also, so far the only maia on maia murders we’ve seen in text have been úmaia against maia & general úmaia being killed by elves. Perhaps that’s another reason why it’s just murder and not kinslaying; They have forsaken their purpose and mission under Eru to work for Morgoth and have harmed so many of the children that many maiar don’t even accept that they’re similar beings.

Oh, I'm sorry, I had a brain malfunction and somehow totally forgot that Lúthien was a part-Maia. ...I don't know how I managed to forget this.

Still, I could argue that she was more of an Elf, because that's how metaphysics works... in terms of 'species' she was an Elf. Probably.

With how things are described, Elves killing Men is not kinslaying, so I don't see why Elves killing Maiar would count.

Yes, I would assume that Tolkien would not see a Maia killing an Úmaia as kinslaying, I think he would even not see Turgon killing Eöl as a kinslaying. Which it, in my opinion, certainly was. Even if he didn't do it with his own hands.

As for Huan, I don't remember where I saw that, maybe in the Lay... I'll check.

Yes, it's in the Lay of Leithian.

Tbh for Huan it's also a kinslaying. Probably. Maybe let's not get into the whole "was Huan a Maia?".

Tbh2 it didn't necessarily have to be a killing. With how the skin is described, I can imagine Thuringwethil as a humanoid woman who sometimes shapeshifts into a bat by wearing a skin (a little like a selkie but with a bat) and now is very upset about losing it. (Still probably less than in she lost her humanoid skin)

Whatever works for you.