I am, as you can probably tell, extremely multi-fandom. I ship just about every fandom, though I have few true OTPs.

That which is purely fannish, and substantial enough that it might be of interest, is public. Everything else is flocked. You're more than welcome to comment and friend me, however, particularly since if left to my own devices, I tend to sit at the edge of fandom, aloof.

So I have, as we all know, been on a Harry Potter kick ever since I watched the Half Blood Prince, once again fascinated by all things Dumbledore/Grindelwald as I try to decide whether or not it was reciprocated. I’ve come to one conclusion that I wanted to share, because I haven’t seen it before (not that I’m particularly attentive!) and I think it sheds some light the Nurmengard scene:

I’ve come to believe that there is very little in the scene, as written, that indicates that Grindelwald was truly trying to protect Dumbledore (or the Elder Wand) by lying, per se, and if you read the scene somewhat differently, I do think that there’s another possibility that makes a great deal more sense.

( do I need to say DH spoilers? )

My brother and I have been spending the past few days re-watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Which is an interesting experience in and of itself, surprisingly lacking in recriminations against Peter Jackson (excepting the elves at HD scene, which was totally unacceptable, especially when the sons of Elrond and the Dunedain could have easily been used for the same role and been far less thematically damaging), constant digressions about how frakking awesome Galadriel was (House of Finwë FTFW), giddy fangirlism of Glorfindel, an impromptu romp through the HoMe series, and finally, sad nostalgia during every battle scene considering how much more epic everything in the First Age must’ve been. And yes, every ridiculous stunt Legolas pulls in the movie just goes to show how much more awe-inspiring Maedhros et al had to have been.

Anyway. This re-watching made me remember just how influential a fandom everything Tolkien related had been to me, and left me rethinking some of the conclusions I had come to concerning it. So what follows is, in short, a look at the gender issues involved in parts of the story (especially where the Eldar are decidedly not consistent), what exactly is going on with the Númenorean Kings (yes, this is me discussing – and perhaps appreciating even above the Noldor – the Edain; shocking, but true), and recasting my opinion of Lúthien Tinúviel in light of some of what is written in the tale of Aldarion and Erendis.


( ITT: Arwen, Galadriel, Erendis, Ancalime, Luthien )