A/N: Hello, friends, I am apparently starting to post my fandom meta on this blog! Cross-posted on the Silmarillion Writers’ Guild and AO3.
Celebrimbor is quite a beloved character in fandom these days. The Lord of Eregion (according to the Appendix of the Lord of the Rings), who worked with Sauron in the Second Age to forge the Rings of Power and was later most unfortunately used as a banner by his erstwhile companion of the smithy. Unsurprisingly, as with almost any character in Tolkien who does not figure in the main text of The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, he has spawned numerous characterizations, some of which I personally enjoy more than others. Such is the life of a fan.
It is not my purpose in this essay to make any arguments about Celebrimbor’s characterization—all fanworks are equally valid and equally beautiful, and I cherish anyone writing about characters that I like. Keep up the excellent work, friends! But I am going to present an argument about Celebrimbor’s role to combat what I see as a very omnipresent assumption in the fandom that I do not think deserves to be omnipresent.
I will freely confess that it is entirely possible I am arguing against a strawman, or a perception of a particular fandom direction that only exists in my own head, but arguing against this line of reasoning has been quite helpful in solidifying some of my own understanding and takes on Celebrimbor, so please bear with me.
Continue reading “In Defense of Celebrimbor”
Mertiya Writes (and Draws) 