Aragorn By Ashenhard On DeViantArt

Carved this for Halloween this year but I thought I’d post it for @nolofinweanweek!

Fingolfin v. Morgoth, very much inspired by this piece by @gvalesthedumb!

And a daytime shot, for more pumpkin and less fires of angband:

The Kings of the Noldor do not cut their hair so long as they reign. But before taking the throne, each king-to-be cuts his hair in mourning for his predecessor.

Elven hair grows very, very slowly.

Finwë dies surrounded by an ocean of raven-dark hair, spilling around him as blood. Gil-galad's ankle-length hair smolders as fine silver ribbons tossed into fire.

Fingolfin, riding to Morgoth's gate with fire in his eyes, tucks his dark waist-length braid into helm.

Turgon's dark braids fail just over his shoulders as he takes up his great-sword for the last time. Fingon's curls, too short to braid, spill out of his helm fall in his eyes, sticking his bloodied cheeks.

Fëanor had cut his hair unusually short in mourning of his beloved father; had hewed messily at the braids until his scalp was visible through the uneven tufts of hair. It looks much the same when he dies, the bald spots barely covered.

Morgoth cannot cut Maedhros's hair when he captures him, for Maedhros has already done the job himself.

Goldberry's washing-day

Goldberry, suggested by my lovely Patron Míriel for this month! Lest anyone forget I'm that Tolkien artist on occasion, too. =)

I'm neurodivergent as well as disabled and "10 minute blocking" has changed my life.

I find completing tasks really challenging because I either get super overwhelmed, distracted, or my pain/fatigue levels rise too much and I get defeated.

So I recently introduced the 10 Minute Block rule. It's super simple. I simply pick one thing I need to do, set a timer usually for 10 mins (+/- 5 mins depending on fatigue/pain levels) and then go go go! And I try and do as much of that one thing as I can within the time limit. The rule is that I have to stop after 10 minutes.

If I feel spurred on after the 10 mins is up, then I'm free to start another 10 minute block (either to carry on with the same task or start a new one) and do this repeatedly for as long as I wish, but I absolutely must stop after each block and assess how my body is doing and finish blocking when my body tells me to.

If I am feeling defeated or tired or whatever after 10 mins, even if the task isn't finished, I stop. I rest, congratulate myself on doing those 10 minutes, and then find something fun/restorative to do instead without feeling guilty.

It's really improved my perceived perception of productivity as well as taught me how to pace my body better.

I don't know if this will be helpful to any of you, but it's something that I wish I'd known about sooner and has helped me so I thought I'd share it.

peaceful valinor days feat. the cousins

Left to right: (curufin, celegorm, aredhel) (fingon, caranthir, maedhros) (turgon, finrod, maglor)

one of the things that makes autism a disability (and why some of us choose to label it as such rather than an “alternate neurotype”) is the stress. 

part of autism is just being incredibly stressed. overstimulation? stress. holding a conversation? stress. something happening to our schedule? stress. people talk about how often autism is recognized and diagnosed via our stress responses (like meltdowns) because it is just so common to see autistic people stressed because of lack of accommodations to how our brains work.

and this matters because stress kills. stress causes a lot of health issues, or it can trigger pre-existing ones by making certain chronic conditions flare up. i once had a psychiatrist very unhelpfully tell me i “just need to manage my stress” when the stress i was describing was things i could not avoid in neurotypical society and can’t “just get over”. i can do “self care” all i like but i cannot at the very base level change the way my brain inputs information and reacts accordingly.

one of my hotter takes as a silm fan is an instinctive dislike of the common fandom trope of every noldo having one Chosen Craft they devote themselves entirely to and are known by. like not only does it not seem in line with what we know of feanor's crafts (he is clearly somewhat of a renaissance man, with a keen interest in linguistics, metalwork, gemwork, etc) but it also doesn't add up for a species with literally infinite time and apparently no economic necessity to establish a niche.

clearly they all have their preferences and inclinations, and some people (say, maglor or miriel) are especially and notably good at certain things, but a common trope i see is this elves pressure to Pick A Thing and construct identity around it and that feels horribly current-human-society to me, like a YA novel or a college major. it feels much more in line with the world to me that young elves might be expected to be reasonably well-educated in many different pursuits/crafts, and that most wouldn't come to be known for one thing specifically

Maglor. sketch. This work brought me a lot of positive emotions. I know that many of you love him too. I suffered for a very long time because of my drawing skills, but maybe I should just enjoy the process?