“The Old Forest”

d7: ancient

galadriel sketch

It never ceases to amaze me the number of the times Tolkien mentioned Finwe's love for Fëanor. I think there are no other fathers in the legendarium whose love for their son or daughter is as talked about as is Finwë's love for Fëanor.

In that time was born in Eldamar, in the house of the King in Tirion upon the crown of Tuna, the eldest of the sons of Finwe, and the most beloved. Curufinwe was his name, but by his mother he was called Feanor, Spirit of Fire; - The Silmarillion, Chapter 6, Of Fëanor and The Unchaining of Melkor

All his love he gave to his son; for Fëanaró was like his mother in voice and countenance, and Finwë was to him both father and mother, and there was a double bond of love upon their hearts. - Morgoth's Ring, The Later Quenta Silmarillion (II), Laws A

...Yet the shadow of Miriel did not depart from his heart, and Fëanaró always had the chief share of his thoughts. - Morgoth's Ring, The Later Quenta Silmarillion (II), Laws A

... And in spite of all that later happened his eldest son remained nearest to Finwë's heart. - The Peoples of Middle-earth, The Shibboleth of Fëanor

Thither also came Finwë the King, because of the love that he bore to Fëanor. - The Silmarillion, Chapter 7, Of The Silmarils and The Unrest Of The Noldor

There is a different version of the last quote in Morgoth's Ring which I personally prefer to the one we got in the published Silmarillion. The way it is worded gives a clear answer to the question why Finwë followed Fëanor in exile to Formenos.

With him went his sons, and Finwë his father, who would not be parted from him, in fault or guiltless. - - Morgoth's Ring, The Later Quenta Silmarillion (II), Later Chapter 6, Of The Silmarils and The Unrest Of The Noldor

Finwe did not follow Fëanor in exile because he felt like his authority as King of the Noldor was diminished by the Valar and they got involve in a situation that should have been Finwë's to handle.

He also did not follow Fëanor in exile because of some sort of guilt related to the fact that he is Fëanor's only parent and his son has nobody else left.

No.

Finwë willingly followed Fëanor in exile because he would not be parted from him, in fault or guiltless. It was never about Fëanor being right or wrong in this particular situation or any another. That is irrelevant to Finwë and it does not effect his decision. Finwë would follow Fëanor always regardless of whether his son was guilty of any transgression or not.

It's worth pointing out that Finwë did not hesitate to part from his kingship, from his people, from Indis, from his and Indis' children. But there is only one person Finwë never wants to be parted from and that is Fëanor.

... and I love that!

Aragorn by Ashenhard on DeViantArt

seeing a lot of videos that are like “I didn’t know babies couldn’t have water” so here’s an incomplete list of things you need to know before having a baby

- the obvious, they can’t have water bc milk is incredibly high in water already so excess water leads to over hydration

- babies cannot have honey until 1

- if ur breastfeeding your kid and saving excess milk, make sure you label what you pumped in the morning vs at night bc your body produces different melatonin levels throughout the day and giving your baby daytime milk at night can make them more alert and fuck up their sleep schedule

- idk why ppl keep saying this but swaddling your babies or getting them those baby straight jacket things is not abuse. It chills them out cuz it reminds them of the womb

- babies have a dandruff like buildup on their head called cradle cap, and it’s very easy to deal with and remove with just some baby shampoo, a gentle scrub brush (MADE FOR BABIES!!) and a comb. It does need to be removed tho cuz it can be very painful after a while. This can also continue to happen late into toddlerhood it’s normal

- you have to clean out the creases of your baby’s skin and hands and feet they WILL collect dust😭😭

- you cannot bathe your baby until their umbilical cord naturally falls off. Use a warm damp rag until then

- tummy time is actually very important

- your baby might have a misshapen head at first (not all the time but sometimes) this will either sort itself out or they’ll need a corrective helmet ask your doctor

- I wouldn’t recommend having your baby leave the house very much until they’re at least 6 months old, especially if they’re born near cold and flu season cuz the common cold can kill a newborn

- you’re not an awful horrible person for having postpartum depression and it’s always a million times better to let your baby cry a few minutes longer than normal while you regain your composure than to freak out and give ur kid shaken baby syndrome

- you’re not an awful horrible person for giving your baby formula milk either

- don’t put shoes on your baby it’ll compromise their toe box and balance

- babies put every single thing in their mouths

- the easiest way to burp a baby is to hold them straight up (spine straight) and hold their head a bit higher

- always support their head they barely have necks

- if your baby fights away food, fights tummy time, vomits every single time you burp them, is gaining or losing an unreasonable amount of weight at a time, wheezes after eating, or goes red after eating, chances are they’re probably allergic to the type of milk they’re eating (again ask a doctor but these are just some signs it’s not just colic)

- they will wobble a lot when learning to do things but you gotta fight the urge to help them every single time cuz they gotta learn

- they’re not always spitting out baby food cuz they don’t like it they just don’t know how to eat. Like they don’t know how to push food down they only know how to stick their tongue out so be patient

- babies craniums are broken up into three parts at first that later fuse together, this is to help make birthing easier but it results in a small EXTREMELY sensitive spot in the top of their head that has no protection. This puts their brain at a high risk. Always protect their soft spot

- read to your baby!! Get cute bright colorful sensory books with sight words and read them to your baby it makes such a huge difference in their educational growth and will help them acquire a love for reading early on. And talk to them never shut up just say whatever comes to mind all the time this will strengthen their vocabulary growth also.

- babies poop like a lot. A lot. an unreasonable amount. Bring back up clothes and more diapers than you think

- no pillows or stuffies in the crib and only use a muslin blanket unless it’s especially cold to prevent suffocation

- babies kick reflexively until they’re out of their newborn scrunch (they stay womb shaped for a while) and if your baby is crying and pushing at the swaddle try letting them flail around for a minute

Yeag that’s all I can think of rn but yk

The calmest orange car ever 🐱🐱

I used to think I can't have ADHD because I wasn't hyperactive.

Not everyone can allow themselves to act on their hyperactivity, so we find ways to redirect or hide the understimulation.

(Sneak introduction to the new inattentive Alien! A hommage to a collab I did with René ♥️)

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“And I don’t mean to.”