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actual-bill-potts · 1 year

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I don’t understand why the most common interpretation of the battle of Finrod and Sauron I see is that Finrod lost because Sauron had the moral high ground, or even because Finrod felt particularly guilty about Alqualondë.

It's certainly possible that Finrod felt some measure of guilt over the First Kinslaying, whether that be for not stopping it, for not turning back with his father, or for being willing to take the ships of his mother's people. You can certainly argue that he had some sort of moral culpability for not taking a stand with Arafinwë, though I personally think that's taking personal responsibility to a rather absurd length given that Finrod neither killed anybody nor actually ever set foot in a stolen ship.

Rather, I think what defeated Finrod was the invocation of despair. Looking at the relevant passage from the Lay of Leithian:

He chanted a song of wizardry, Of piercing, opening, of treachery, Revealing, uncovering, betraying.

Sauron is trying to figure out who they are.

Then sudden Felagund there swaying Sang in answer a song of staying, Resisting, battling against power, Of secrets kept, strength like a tower, And trust unbroken, freedom, escape; Of changing and of shifting shape, Of snares eluded, broken traps, The prison opening, the chain that snaps.

Finrod is saying, "No, I will not tell you who we are," but look at specifically how he does it. He's saying, "everyone with me trusts me, and I trust them. You can't overcome that."

Backwards and forwards swayed their song. Reeling and foundering, as ever more strong The chanting swelled, Felagund fought, And all the magic and might he brought Of Elvenesse into his words. Softly in the gloom they heard the birds Singing afar in Nargothrond, The sighing of the Sea beyond, Beyond the western world, on sand, On sand of pearls in Elvenland.

ok this part always makes me cry cuz it's so beautiful, but more to the point: Finrod is backing up his statement that Sauron cannot recognize them with power. What power? The power of Elvenesse, of Elvenhome: of Elven strongholds. He specifically invokes Nargothrond - a beautiful kingdom, the symbol of friendship between Elves and Dwarves, and more to the point a place of safety for Elves, whose location Morgoth does not know. And then he invokes Alqualondë. Unwise, perhaps; but he is right that Alqualonde was never touched by Morgoth. It was under the protection of Ulmo and also too far for the light of the Trees to be reached, so Morgoth didn't directly harm the Teleri on the day of the Darkening. Finrod is saying, here: even in the hour of his greatest triumph, Morgoth couldn't harm all Elves. Ulmo is on our side. We will always be able to escape.

Then the gloom gathered; darkness growing In Valinor, the red blood flowing Beside the Sea, where the Noldor slew The Foamriders, and stealing drew Their white ships with their white sails From lamplit havens. The wind wails, The wolf howls. The ravens flee. The ice mutters in the mouths of the Sea. The captives sad in Angband mourn. Thunder rumbles, the fires burn— And Finrod fell before the throne.

To Finrod's argument, Sauron responds: guess what? Morgoth didn't even have to attack the Teleri. The Noldor did that for him. There are no safe places, because the Noldor have set themselves against gods: even if you escape Morgoth, you will fall under the Doom of Mandos. The battle is hopeless, and always will be hopeless. The Noldor are doomed.

Interestingly, he does address Finrod's two points directly. He first points out that even if the Teleri escaped Morgoth, they couldn't escape the malice he had sown among the Noldor. But then he invokes "captives sad in Angband" and "the fires burn," which seems to be a pretty clear reference to the curse laid upon Húrin and the eventual fall of Nargothrond to Glaurung. Sauron is saying: Nargothrond will fall too.

The thing is: he is right. The Teleri were slaughtered. Nargothrond fell. Gondolin fell. Doriath fell. Sirion fell. The Noldor are in a tragedy, and they know it. Finrod knows it, and he cannot argue back.

Of course, the thing that makes The Silmarillion so powerful is that even in Finrod's hour of darkest despair, neither he nor Beren nor his Ten give up their names and their errand. Finrod gives up his life to buy Beren a few more hours; and by his valour the line of Beren and Lúthien was saved, and the Doom of the Noldor lifted.

Endurance beyond hope is a central theme of Tolkien's work, no matter the Age: in Frodo's desperate errand, in Celebrimbor's refusal to give up the Three, and in Finrod's refusal to accept Beren's death no matter the cost. Finrod lost; how could he do otherwise? But even without hope, he kept going. And in the end, he was returned beyond hope to joy: "...Felagund laughs beneath the trees / in Valinor, and comes no more / to this grey world of tears and war."

#finrod #battle of finrod and sauron #sauron #silm meta #my writing #the silmarillion

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silver-grasp · 5 months

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Narrative Power in Arda

An embarrassing number of months ago, I alluded to narrative as an in-universe force within the Silmarillion in my tags on a post I have since lost, which I feel merits further elaboration. The short version is that crafting a story carries meaningful weight and power in Arda, which is not much of a reach considering that 1) telling a story in a certain way has power even in the real world, and 2) music is already well-established as an important medium and means of magic in Middle Earth. I think it is relevant to consider this aspect when discussing the nature and weight of words in the Silmarillion, whether it be curses, dooms, oaths, or anything else.

To begin with, it is difficult to tease apart what I will call in-universe narrative from narrative in the sense that a guy called Tolkien wrote this whole story down, on purpose, with various story arcs that come to various narratively satisfying conclusions. The best illustrative example of in-universe narrative, thus, is Finrod’s duel in song against Sauron, because Tolkien could have had the song battle work however he wanted, but he chose to make it about storytelling. We joke about Finrod and Sauron’s rap battle, but their contest really is a battle of narratives – particularly cultural narratives. To quote:

Then sudden Felagund there swaying Sang in answer a song of staying, Resisting, battling against power, Of secrets kept, strength like a tower, And trust unbroken, freedom, escape; […] And all the magic and might be brought Of Elvenesse into his words. […] The sighing of the sea beyond, Beyond the western world on sand, On sand of pearls in Elvenland.

This is arguably the story of the Noldor, as told by Finrod – all the beauty and power of Aman, but brought by the Noldor to Middle Earth in their flight to escape the control of the Valar and avenge their king against Morgoth’s evil. This is his choice of story to wield against Sauron, and it makes sense. It invokes the Noldor’s heroism against Morgoth in maintaining the long siege, as well as their rejection of all the higher powers and his own faithfulness to his oath to Barahir that led him to this point. It’s a good story, but Sauron shatters it with a single invocation, because this narrative Finrod spins of the Flight of the Noldor cannot accommodate the atrocity that was the Kinslaying at Alqualonde.

The outcome of the song battle is not decided based on raw power, or skill in crafting magic or spells, or even singing ability. It is won on the merits of narrative: Finrod’s story doesn’t work; he cannot narratively reconcile the reality of the Kinslaying with “trust unbroken, freedom, escape,” and thus Sauron has the victory (1). Thus, we can conclude that “does the story work” is a legitimate part of how magic functions in Middle Earth.

This should not come as a surprise; Middle Earth (and the world itself) were created/predicted by the Music of the Ainur, which is itself a narrative work of music. It, arguably, puts the story in history (2). The narrative of the Ainulindale, moreover, is disrupted by Morgoth in much the same way Sauron disrupts Finrod’s narrative in their contest. But whereas Finrod’s story collapses under the contradictions introduced by Sauron, Eru incorporates Morgoth’s discord into the Music to create a new, greater theme than the one before. This is not an accident, and it shows that Eru, as God and Creator (read: Author), understands narrative better than Morgoth does: any good story has conflict of one sort or another. That’s what makes them stories, rather than a pleasant but boring account of a series of pleasant but boring events.

This is to say, Tolkien makes the necessity of having a plot arc into part of his theological worldbuilding. There is, frankly, a lot you could say about that, but I am not going to, because it is somewhat off-topic from the point I’m trying to make and also I really don’t know where to begin.

Additionally, while Finrod’s own narrative fails, the overall narrative of Middle Earth picks up where he left off and turns his defeat into a fourth-act crisis point, the abyss which makes way for Luthien’s subsequent victory over both Sauron and Morgoth and triumphant retrieval of the Silmaril. Finrod may not have known how to turn Sauron’s narrative disruption to his own ends, but Eru does.

Returning to the Doom of the Noldor, while Manwe is said to be the closest of the Valar to Eru in thought, I would argue that Namo, as the Vala of fate, is the closest of the God-as-Author aspect of Eru. His domain, fate, is closely linked with the Music. I said earlier that Middle Earth was created/predicted by the Music, and that blurriness between creation and prophecy is important for understanding the nature of Fate in Tolkien’s work - there is a careful tightrope walked between free will and determinism (3). I argue that the Music additionally suggests that fate in Arda is really Narrative at work.

So where does that leave, for instance, the Doom of the Noldor? Is it curse or prophecy? Punishment meted out by the gods or natural consequences of an unprecedented violent attack? Framing it in these binaries is reductive no matter which side you come down on. The Doom is neither a curse nor a prophecy: it is a narrative.

The soon-to-be Exiles, led by Feanor, kick off their narrative in maybe the worst way possible (murder). This is, objectively, a very bad inciting incident – stories that start with murder don’t tend to turn out well for the people doing the murdering. Within the Music, and the fabric of Arda’s fate, the Noldor have narrowed their narrative options significantly. “Slain ye may be, and slain ye shall be,” for have they not already slain their own kin? But it is very difficult to argue for the Doom as purely prophetic. The text itself indicates in multiple places the judgment or wrath of the Valar as something laid upon the house of Feanor and all who follow them, not simply natural consequences. There is a tangible weight to the Doom, and a sense after the War of Wrath that it is something that can be lifted.

Mandos says, you have chosen your story to be a tragedy by opening with a tragedy. But when this is spoken by Narrative himself, it takes on a weight greater than that of a mere prediction. The Doom defines the genre of the story that is to follow: Tears unnumbered ye shall shed. And they did.

The story, of course, is never truly over. But I’ll leave eucatastrophe for another day.

Footnotes: (1) As a side note, I am forever thinking about arrogantemu’s fic “Beyond the Western World,” in which Finrod says “I’d staked everything on an innocence I didn’t have.” Credit where credit is due for influencing my thinking on this subject.

(2) Tolkien as a linguist would undoubtedly be aware that the words come from the same root, and that other modern languages have not in fact separated the meanings of “work of fiction” and “account of real events” into separate words.

(3) To write a proper meta on this subject I would have to dig much deeper into other sources, but from my understanding fate in Tolkien’s works works very similarly to the Anglo-Saxon concept of wyrd – there’s a very interesting line in Beowulf, I believe, about how “for undaunted courage, fate spares the man it has not already marked” (paraphrased). I highly recommend reading more about it for a better understanding of fate in Middle Earth.

#the silmarilion #the doom of the noldor #meta #dear god this has been. a long time in the writing #in my defense I had to move across the country shortly after starting this #and my copy of the silm was in a box. which made research difficult. and then I forgot about it

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thelordofgifs · 1 year

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A Completely Objective Rating of Gil-galad Origin Theories

So! My Research(tm) has informed me that Tolkien conceived of at least four potential parentages for Gil-galad, last High King of the Noldor, at various points. This plothole/controversy/mystery is deeply, deeply funny to me, so I decided to make a post arbitrarily rating various Gil-galad theories and providing examples of fics where they appear.

Some disclaimers:

I am very very new to the silm fandom and also tumblr and don't actually know anything! so there is a very high chance something will go wrong here

in compiling this I was very much indebted to this post by @sweetteaanddragons and this one by @tanoraqui

your headcanons, of course, are extremely valid! no shade at all to anyone who likes one of the theories I’ve rated a bit lower, and thank you for doing your bit to deepen the controversy. the more Gil-galad theories the better

Unsurprisingly, this turned out LONG. I split the parentages into four sections: Part 1 covers supposedly canon/canon-adjacent Gil-galad theories; Part 2, popular fanon theories that I've seen in a variety of places; Part 3 will cover rare fanon theories that I've only seen basically once, and ideas I literally just made up myself.

Baseline assumptions I'm using:

The "historical record", in-universe, is primarily the Quenta Silmarillion which states that Ereinion Gil-galad was the son of Fingon; and other documents variously suggesting that he was the son of Orodreth or Finrod, or a descendant of Fëanor. Sources give him the additional names Finellach and Artanáro/Rodnor.

It's fairly widely agreed-upon that Gil-galad was an adult and the High King by the time of the Third Kinslaying, when he was based on Balar and came too late to Elwing's aid.

(This means I won't further consider some rather fun, cracky theories that are based on the argument that Gil-galad only became the High King after the War of Wrath. That seems like a slightly excessive amount of historical revisionism for my taste, when he's named as the High King well before the WoW.)

So, with those established, what makes for a good Gil-galad parentage theory?

It has to make the confusion in the historical record, in-universe, make some sort of sense. Would someone with this parentage have a claim to the crown? If not, do they have a solid motivation to lie about it? Providing a neat explanation for other aspects of Gil-galad's characterisation and the way he rules would also be a bonus.

A storytelling concept I call weird questions must have weird answers. Neat origin theories that "make sense" tend to score low on this metric. The Gil-galad controversy is funny and needs to be kept that way.

How narratively satisfying is the theory? Does it ruin anyone else's arc, or fanon I personally like? Then it's scoring low.

This is already so long-

Time for looking at the four canon-ish Gil-galad parentages!

Gil-galad son of Fingon and, presumably, some unnamed wife. This is rubbish. Makes no sense. Not a fan. No. Primarily, it is boring, the death knell to any Gil-galad theory. Also, Fingon is never actually mentioned to have a wife because he's married to Maedhros and, while textual ghosts are obviously common in the Silm, I find it slightly harder to believe that a High Queen of the Noldor managed to escape being named anywhere. You could, I suppose, argue that she died before Fingon became King, but I don't want to. The confusion in the historical record also seems unnecessary here, because Fingon's son would presumably have a pretty ironclad claim to the crown after his death and certainly after Turgon's. No fic recs here, I don't like this theory. 2/10.

Gil-galad son of Orodreth and brother of Finduilas. Even more boring, and also makes less sense. Was Gil-galad in Nargothrond during Leithian and up to its fall? In that case, why wasn't he mentioned at any point, and if he survived the fall of Nargothrond and escaped, why didn't he go after Finduilas? If he wasn't in Nargothrond by the time of Turin, we can at least forgive his failure to rescue his sister, but why was he sent away from Nargothrond when, prior to the building of the bridge, everyone believed it was safe - and why wasn't Finduilas sent away with him? Again, there's no particular reason for obfuscating this parentage, so it fails on that metric too. At least Artanáro/Rodnor is a good Finarfinion name. Fics which use this theory: What is Wrought Between Us by @nikosheba, which voids all these objections of mine quite nicely - Gil-galad son of Orodreth, adopted by Fingon and Maedhros! Also it's one of the most heart-breaking, beautiful, canon-compliant Russingon series around, go and read it. That excellent example aside, 3/10.

Gil-galad son of Finrod and (iirc) a wife called Meril. An earlier version of the legendarium discarded when Finrod was made childless. This is potentially my least favourite of the four canon-esque theories, because Finrod's childlessness is imo a fairly important part of his arc, and Meril was replaced by Amarië, to whom Finrod was very much not married at the time of his death. Pretty much the only positive is that, again, Artanáro/Rodnor suits well as a name for Finrod's son. I don't think many people like this theory - we need not consider it further here. No fic recs. 2/10.

Gil-galad descendant of Fëanor. By far the most intriguing and also most implausible canon-esque theory, and as I understand only from one early draft of the legendarium. But there is so much to play with here. If Gil-galad's father is one of the sons of Fëanor, he has a rock-solid reason to lie about his parentage. His claim to the throne is also dubious, because Maedhros abdicated on behalf of the entire house. This gives excellent con-artist Gil-galad flavours to play with. On the narrative/emotional arc metric, this one falls a little short, though. We don't need another descendant of Fëanor in the Second Age struggling with the dark and messy legacy of their family - we have Celebrimbor! And Celebrimbor's status as the last scion of his house, and how his eventual tragedy owes so much to his heritage, is very important to me. Besides, the house of Fëanor going from 7 sons in the first generation to literally just one grandchild is so haunting. On a more practical level, I also don't think Gil-galad reads as particularly close to Celebrimbor? They seem more "distant relations" than first cousins. On the other hand, if Gil-galad simply doesn't know who his parents are, a lot of these problems disappear. We can also double up a few textual ghosts by making his mother one of the unnamed wives - preferably Maglor's or Caranthir's, because Gil-galad son of Curufin feels. doubtful. Fics which use this theory: A Gift from Father to Son by @amethysttribble explores every single potential Fëanorian parentage which is very fun, for a value of "fun" involving "sobbing on the floor about how terrible all these people are". Check it out! Theory as a whole gets 5/10.

#silmarillion #meta #fic rec #gil galad

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aureentuluva70 · 1 year

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I'm not sure if this has been talked about before, but I'm gonna talk about it regardless because it has completely blown my mind. I first discovered it on a reddit post, which you can read here.

In the book The History of the Hobbit, John Rateliff suggests that the Wilderlands of The Hobbit is actually the Beleriand of Tolkien's early mythology as it was written during the 1930's, only taking place ages after the War of the Jewels, since the later ages and maps of middleearth hadn't been created by Tolkien yet. Keep in mind that at this point in Tolkien's writings, the breaking of Thangorodrim was nowhere near as bad as it would later turn out to be. Beleriand never sank into the sea, but it was still drastically changed.

Here are two maps drawn by Tolkien during the 1930's, one of Beleriand and the other of the Wilderlands found in the Hobbit:

In terms of similarities, one of the first things I noticed(and one of the most obvious) was the river Sirion and the Great River of the Wilderlands. The name Sirion literally translates to 'Great River'.

In the middle of the path of said river is the Carrock, which is where the Eagles set Bilbo and Company down after saving them, and the way it is described in the Hobbit reminds me a lot of this illustration Tolkien made of Tol-Sirion:

"But cropping out of the ground, right in the path of the stream which looped itself about it, was a great rock, almost a hill of stone, like a last outpost of the distant mountains, or a huge piece cast miles into the plain by some giant among giants."

-The Hobbit, Queer Lodgings.

AND it is also uses very similar wording to how the Lay of Leithian describes Tol-Sirion(Tolkien was working on the Leithian around the same time he was writing The Hobbit):

'An isled hill there stood alone/ amid the valley, like a stone/rolled from the distant mountains vast/when giants in tumult hurtled past'

-Lay of Leithian.

There's also the mention of "a little cave, (a wholesome one with a pebbly floor) at the foot of the steps" which the person in the reddit post suggests could be the remains of the very same dungeon where Finrod, Beren, and their companions were imprisoned by Sauron after their disguises were stripped away. The same place where all but one of them were slowly devoured one by one. The same place where Finrod died.

Above it at the top of the Carrock would be where Finrod was buried, and the "Ford of huge flat stones [that] led to the grass-land beyond the stream" could be the remains of the broken bridge that was destroyed by Luthien: "the hill trembled; the citadel/crumbled and all its towers fell/the rocks yawned and the bridge broke/and Sirion spurned in sudden smoke."

The "two Mirkwoods" is also a big one. I always found it odd that there were two completely different forests sharing the same name, but at the time Tolkien wrote it, they weren't seperate at all, but the exact same forest, just changed and grown over thousands of years in between the events of the Silmarillion and The Hobbit. The same forest that Sauron fled to after the fall of Tol-in-Guarhoth. The same one Beleg found Gwindor in after his escape from Angband.

If they really were intended to be the same forest at the time Tolkien wrote it, it also answers the question I had earlier regarding this part in the Leithian when Sauron flees Tol-in-Guarhoth:

A new stronghold? We never hear anything about this in the Silmarillion, of Sauron building a new stronghold in Taur-nu-fuin, and it puzzled me when I first read it. But that's when I realized that this "new throne and darker stronghold" was talking about none other than the fortress of Dol Guldur itself, Sauron's stronghold within Mirkwood.

(Not lying, I was pretty proud of myself for figuring that one out)

Oh, and the Lonely Mountain? While it doesnt appear on the 1930's Beleriand map, it would likely be Maedhros's fortress of Himring itself, or at least the mountain it was built on top of, as Himring is located east of Taur-nu-fuin just about in the same place where Erebor is located. Just the thought of the Dwarves' home being within the very mountain that once had Maedhros's citadel atop it has my brain going wild. (Oh, and the fact that the arkenstone was found within the ancient hills of what was once Himring, fortress of the elf lord who threw himself into a fiery chasm with a silmaril? Coincidence? I think NOT)

There are plenty of other similar locations between the two maps, and judging by them both Eriador would be Hithlum/Aryador, with the Misty Mountains being the Mountains of Shadow. The Withered Heath would be the Anfauglith, the Eagle Eyrie would be the Crissaegrim, and the Iron Hills are what's left of Nogrod and Belegost. I've even heard that Mavwin/Morwen's house could be the roots of Rivendell.

Overall, it's so, so cool and it has my mind running wild. It really makes me see The Hobbit in a whole new light. We all talk about the amazing stories that came out of the Hobbit aka Lord of the Rings, but seeing where the stories of the Hobbit came from just adds a whole other level of depth to it all. This is why I love Tolkien's works so much. It's all so incredibly deep and rich and it just gets better and richer the deeper you go, and there's so much of it. It's one of those things that you just rarely get tired of, and even if you do, you're bound to come back to it later and I love it.

#Tolkien #Silmarillion #Hobbit #Lay of Leithian #Beleriand #Wilderlands #Lotr #Erebor #Taur-nu-fuin #Mirkwood #Lonely Mountain #Sirion #Finrod #Beren #Luthien #Maedhros #Sauron #Tol-Sirion #Tol-in-Guarhoth

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imfromthemiddlekingdom · 5 months

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There’s been a persistent headcanon I cannot get rid of in my head. There’s been many contradictory statements on when Finwë and Indis got married and how old Feanor was when they did. We know Feanor married young and I don’t imagine Nerdanel and him wasted anytime to get going making babies unless Feanors fear of childbirth got to him due to his mothers death. But if we consider that elf’s are said to have other kids when the first child is grown or as close to it as possible and Nolofinwë was the second child of Finwë and Indis, there’s a chance that Maedhros is older or at least the same age as Nolofinwë. This means that at least four of Feanors kids are older than their aunt and uncles and the rest may be older than all their cousins added together. I’m just thinking of the dynamics between cousins if the Feanorians are that much older than them. We know Maedhros was close to Fingon in Valinor, Curufin and Celegorm was said to be close to both Aredhel and their Arafinwean cousins, it makes for an interesting dynamic if all of them were older than them.

If Maedhros was born around the same time as Fingons father their dynamic is all the more interesting. And since Celegorm is the third eldest he might be around Arafinwes age if this headcanon holds true, and that makes his friendship with both Nolofinwes daughter and the sons of Arafinwe all the more interesting. Although the most interesting may just be Caranthirs beef with elves younger than his younger brothers. Imagine a grown Caranthir glowering at 50 year old Aegnor or Angrod.

If Meadhros was born before Nolofinwë then his father name Nelyafinwë would be less of a pointed jab towards his uncle and more of Feanor reaffirming his own line of succession, but that could mean that Indis named Nolofinwë “high chieftain” in retaliation but I don’t want to think of her as that much of a petty person no matter how interesting that line of character development may be. Or if Nōlo was a bit older than Maedhros I can definitely see Feanor being that stupendously petty and aiming to hurt his new born infant brother who’s the same size as his son.

I think an AU where all seven of Feanors sons are closer in age to their aunts and uncles than their cousins would be really interesting, especially since we know how much each sons friendship with their cousins meant to them and vice versa inspite of the betrayal as Losgar and the First kinslaying. Even after the first kinslaying Celegorm and Curufin fled to Finrod and was welcomed and was the vanguard needed for Orodreth to escape, we know that even after the sons of Feanor condemned the entire host of Nolofinwë to cross the grinding ice Aredhel still went to visit them first after escaping her guards when she fled gondolin. I think it would be much more interesting if they instead were their fathers age then there’s cuz it really does show how fucked elven aging is compared to our understanding of how we age and age differences.

Also I think it would be hilarious for caranthir to have beef with babies ngl. I think it’s hilarious he’d want to throw hands with golden haired toddlers when he’s the same age as their dad.

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dalliansss · 5 days

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A grin spreads on Finrod’s lips. “I am thinking about it, then I remember your haru Mahtan, and his great red beard.”

“Oh?” Maedhros’s eyebrows shoot up curiously.

Finrod’s grin grows. “He sprouted his beard young, didn’t he? And you are nearing your third millennium of life, in the reckoning of the Sun and Moon.”

Maedhros begins to understand the joke. The beginnings of a frown scrunches his brow.

A peal of delighted laughter escapes Finrod. “You too will sprout a great red beard like Mahtan, I expect. Ai, how ugly! I will have to shave you myself!”

An outraged little mumble from Maedhros. He gently elbows Finrod. “Ai, stop! How dare you. Or have you forgotten that Ingwë’s father who got left behind in Cuiviénen also had a great golden beard? Haru Finwë told us stories. A great golden bush, he said. So, you aren’t safe! Silence, you!”

Finrod keeps laughing. It is the laughter he reserves for family and other intimate friends: ugly and snorting, like a pig. So unlike him at all. Or at least the facade he shows to the world.

[lord greatbeard / Part 22 of Glissando / AO3]

#silmarillion #my drabs #glissando #finrod #maedhros #finrod felagund #nelyafinwe #maitimo #maedhros x finrod #murder elf and golden poster boy

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annoyinglandmagazine · 1 year

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Russingon Headcanon

Maedhros and Fingon’s relationship reads like a romance right? Regardless of whether you ship it their entire relationship is compromised of several romance plot lines rolled into one and is a textbook example of a romance. You have the families who hate each other keeping them apart, the opposite sides of the war thing, the hopeless quest to save their beloved from the enemy at all costs, succeeding against all odds because of the power of love and just so much more. You see where I’m going with all this right? It reads like the script to a Disney film.

So if someone with no prior knowledge of who these two people are were to hear this story they’d probably think it was a similar kind of story to Beren and Luthien. They wouldn’t really question that this was a romance. So what I’m saying is that there were probably men and dwarves who were told this story and heard it was an old elven story and interpreted it exactly like that. So I’d say it’s a reasonable assumption that at some point songs and stories started to crop up and became pretty popular ballads. I’d also say a lot of the time Maedhros was depicted as the damsel in distress. Make of that what you will.

So when the elves hear these songs they’d probably see these similarities right away. I feel like Turgon would get to the point where he’d have to screen all the songs played in his court beforehand to make sure there was no trace of his older brother in a romantic context even implied because it makes him so uncomfortable. He gets really flustered when anyone brings it up because YES he knows it’s common knowledge but he was trying very hard to recover from the image of walking in on them during his childhood and does not appreciate the reminder . Maglor would absolutely love it. He makes a point of playing the instrumentals of the more well known ones at formal events just to watch Maedhros turn gradually more red. He also sometimes changes the lyrics to contain as many innuendoes as possible and stresses their names in the ones where they’re mentioned. He’s the only person who’s ever dared to play one in the presence of both Maedhros and Fingon. He changes the music to one of the ballads every time they get too close to each other during the evening and everyone always turns to look for them when it comes on so they have to scramble to a respectable distance.

Celegorm and Curufin are absolutely in on this and Tyelko helps come up with some of the dirtier verses. Everyone collectively agrees to preserve the innocence of Amrod and Amras. Finrod is secretly teaching the men more and more romantic ones but escapes all the blame. He’s actually the person who introduced most of the ones with their names in them.

Maglor teaches Elrond and Elros all of them without telling them who they’re about. Maedhros is absolutely murderous when he hears the twins singing about him and Fingon but he doesn’t want to let the twins know the truth so he keeps his mouth shut. Many elves are absolutely horrified when they hear that these are an important part of Numenorean culture. He made Quenya one of their languages don’t tell me Elros wouldn’t find this hilarious. Imladris is one of the few elvish settlements where these songs are allowed because Elrond secretly enjoys stirring things up. He figured out what they were about when he was still a kid but he finds everyone’s expressions way too funny to call a stop to it and just plays innocent.

#russingon #maedhros x fingon #maedhros #fingon #maglor #elrond peredhel #elros tar minyatur #headcanons #silmarillion

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animatorweirdo · 7 months

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Imagine being a fracture minded knight from Lordran and being healed by Finrod

(I played Dark Souls. That's why I made this. Hope you enjoy it)

Warnings: mentions of war, wounds, ambush, near death, broken-minded reader, children, dogs, mentions of darkness, headaches, and Finrod trying to heal reader.

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- Your encounter with Finrod was sudden and unexpected. Finrod was fleeing with his men from Dagor Bragollach, chased by legions of orcs and monsters Morgoth had bred over the years in his fortress and now had released upon the world.

- It was a tiring chase, and it would take time before Finrod would reach Nargothrond and bring his men to safety.

- He managed to take cover in old ruins and take a breather. However, it didn’t last long when Morgoth’s spies found him and alerted the rest of the orc legions of his and his men’s location.

- Finrod cursed his bad luck, and he and his men were forced to take a stand against the army despite being injured and badly outnumbered.

- He and his men had an advantage of surprise and managed to push their assailants back for a short moment. Finrod tried to work out a path for them to escape because if he didn’t – he and his men were going to be either killed or captured, and he did not prefer the second option for himself or his men. And he doubted anyone would make it to them in time to help them.

- Finrod prepared with his men for assault till something happened. They heard loud screaming and panicked yelling behind the barricaded doors, and the pushing of the orcs ceased. Silence followed, minus the sounds of something heavy being moved behind the doors and walls.

- Finrod did not dare to send anyone to investigate, so he moved in front while his men followed, ready to take action as they proceeded through the emptied hallways.

- Dead bodies of orcs lingered upon the floors as Finrod moved further. He carefully observed the bodies. It looked like something big and powerful had sliced them into pieces.

- Finrod then noticed orcs and goblins running away from something. They screeched in terror as something suddenly appeared from the shadows, plunging its large sword upon one of the goblins. The goblin shrieked in agony as the large armored creature sank its blade into it, twisting it till the goblin withered and lay dead beneath it.

- Finrod and his men stepped back as they stared at the creature. The large creature looked like a person, a warrior of sorts, wearing silver armor with blue clothing and wielding a large sword that was taller than any weapon he had ever seen. Its master also stood taller than any man or elf Finrod had ever met. It nearly stood tall as a troll, and something menacing surrounded the warrior, darkness of sorts.

- Heavy breaths escaped the tall warrior. It then turned to look at Finrod and his men.

- Finrod stood back cautiously. He could not see the warrior’s face but knew it was looking at him. Something was deeply wrong – the warrior behaved like a lost-minded creature, and Finrod could sense the deep darkness surrounding it. Darkness he had never felt before. He did not feel like the warrior was a friend even though he was killing his enemies.

- “Artorias… where… are… you?”

- Finrod was momentarily stunned to hear the warrior speak, but when he sensed a tone of distraught and pain – he was filled with pity.

- The warrior suddenly picked up its sword and let out a piercing roar. Finrod and his men were startled and ready to fight, but then they heard the roar of a balrog behind them.

- The warrior leaped with incredible speed. Finrod dodged as the warrior began attacking the balrog, furiously striking with its great sword and defending with its large shield.

- He was nearly frozen as he witnessed the battle. The warrior was fierce and didn’t give the balrog a chance to strike back. It took Edrahil to snap him out and take the chance to escape the ruins. He then ran with his men even though he felt a sense of guilt and hesitation to leave the warrior alone with the beast.

- They escaped the ruins, but when they reached outside, they were ambushed by an even larger force of orcs. They fought back, but due to being outnumbered, they lost quickly. Finrod was ready to meet his end, but then Barahir showed up with his people and saved him and his men in a nick of time.

- Finrod gifted the man his ring and swore an oath to aid him and his descendants in their time of need before safely traveling back to his hidden kingdom with his men.

- No one even uttered a word after what happened in the ruins, but Finrod desired to know if the strange warrior had survived, so he sent some scouts to the ruins to look for the armored warrior, but they found nothing except the dead body of the balrog.

- The warrior had defeated the balrog, but where had the warrior gone? It was a question that deeply bothered him. He told his people and travelers to be on the lookout for the warrior during their travels.

- He was relieved to hear some news his scouts managed to bring him about the warrior. It had been seen wandering through orc-infested lands, seeking orcs and monsters to kill. Moving like a mindless beast, dragging its large sword like there was nothing else to live for. It was like the warrior had no mind of its own and its only purpose was to fight till it collapsed.

- His scouts had also seen Morgoth sending more orcs and creatures after the warrior, but the warrior had remained undefeated, and the scouts had even seen the warrior use strange magic.

- Eventually, the news stopped coming, and the warrior seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth.

- Its disappearance deeply bothered Finrod, but as time passed, and nothing new was heard about the warrior. He allowed it to remain a mystery and focused on his people’s protection. However, one day, fate allowed him to meet you, the mysterious warrior who had saved his and his men’s lives at the ruins.

- Finrod was visiting a human town with his people, intending to negotiate peaceful terms and beneficial tradings. He was riding through the forests with his people and was graced by the sight of laughing children running near a stream, playing with paper boats. It made him feel joy then he noticed you sitting beneath a tree.

- You caught his attention as you were quite tall for a human. You were sitting down, but he could clearly tell you were taller than any man in your town. There was also something familiar about you. You had a dazed look in your eyes and didn’t react when the children greeted him.

- He carefully observed as one of the children ran up to you, and you stood up, letting the child grab one of your large hands and guide you away. He was surprised as your height and size matched with the warrior that had vanished. Could it be you? And if so, what happened to your armor and sword?

- He asked the town’s chief about you when he got the chance, and what he learned filled his suspicions and hopes.

- The town’s chief told him you had appeared out of nowhere when their children got attacked by a vicious group of orcs. You brutally killed the orcs while shielding the children from harm. When the danger was over, and the townspeople came to see what was happening, you collapsed from exhaustion.

- You were thin and covered in wounds. The townspeople dared to nurture you since you saved their children and then decided to take you in when you woke up and discovered the state of your mind.

- Finrod inquired more about the state of your mind, and the town’s chief described how your mind was absent most of the time and how you were unable to speak coherent words. It was like some strange dark magic had been cast upon you, making you behave like a living doll instead of a person.

- The only words you usually muttered were two names, Artorias and Sif, and sometimes you muttered about a place called the abyss. However, neither of the two was your name, so the townspeople decided to give you one.

- Finrod felt sympathetic toward you since he could sense the darkness lingering in your mind – it was most likely the cause of your current state. When the townspeople asked him if he could heal you from this dark enchantment, he felt obliged and agreed since without your help that day– he would have not lived to see another day in those ruins.

- Finrod only felt slightly intimidated when he stood before you the first time. You were two times taller than him and wielded a sword that could likely slice him in half. He felt like a dwarf compared to you. When he saw a hit of recognition in your eyes when you looked at him, he felt comforted. However, he did not expect you to lay your hand on top of his head and say–

- “Shiny…” you said and nothing else.

- It was unexpected but amusing at the same time. However, it did give him a better insight into your condition. Your mind might have been more broken than he thought since you behaved like a tall confused child.

- You mostly stayed in place, but when you were curious, you would silently observe and follow him or one of his people when they discussed ways of treating you. It felt strange to have someone tall as you follow them around, but soon got used to it even if you sometimes stared at them for hours.

- Finrod was slightly amused and sometimes talked to you in a comforting way, trying to see if he could teach you new words to help you speak or perhaps ignite memories.

- You were really good with children, and one peculiar thing he noticed was how you behaved around local dogs, feeding and petting them. You obviously had some experience. When he tried to ask if you liked them, you uttered the name Sif.

- He thought the dog’s name was Sif till you shook your head and called the dog something else. When he tried asking about Sif, you began to utter the name over and over again with tears in your eyes.

- He quickly realized Sif was most likely someone important, and something terrible had happened taken by your devastated reaction. He couldn’t do much except try to console you as you cried.

- He felt guilty for causing you to cry and had to avoid an angry woman who cared for you and threw a shoe at him for making you cry.

- Finrod and his people didn’t know how to handle the darkness that followed you. Sometimes, you would groan in pain like you were having a headache, but sometimes, you would just stare into nothing with lifeless eyes. Finrod had an odd feeling that Morgoth or any of his creatures had nothing to do with your current state. It was something else, something darker and more sinister.

- The only thing they could do was to give some medicine to alleviate the pain, but to deal with the darkness — they needed something else.

- Finrod was taken by surprise when he began to see dreams of ever-lasting darkness. It was cold. He couldn't see anything, even with the light his presence created.

-However, he could sense something in there, watching him. He was filled with fear as the creature continued watching him. But then he saw a flicker of light through the dark. You appeared with a blade in hand with another warrior who looked similar to you. You two were accompanied by a large wolf with a sword in its mouth, and you three then attacked the dreadful monster that lingered in the dark.

- Finrod watched the battle unfold, but despite your and your companions’ efforts to subdue the creature, the abyss, it was too powerful. The wolf, Sif, became too injured to continue the fight, so you and your other companion used some kind of magic to send him away. You two continued the fight without your wolf companion, but soon the darkness overwhelmed you with its toxic touch, and you were struck down. In your last moment, you cried out for your companion, Artorias.

- Finrod felt immense grief for you when he woke up and realized the dream might have been a vision of the darkness that broke your mind and a memory of your past, your efforts to defeat the monster in the abyss.

- In his efforts to help you relieve from the pain and the heavy weight of the dark cloud that followed you, he used the power of a song and sang for you, singing of healing and light.

- You listened in delight as the song brought you happiness. He could sense the dark cloud that was following you dissipating for a moment, and at the end of the song, you suddenly groaned painfully. Startled, he asked for your well-being. However, he did not expect an answer.

- “No… I think I’m fine, my good lord. It’s strange though… It feels like something heavy had been banished from my mind,” you answered as your eyes looked around in confusion like you were seeing everything for the first time.

- Finrod was thrilled to hear you speak and see you look more like your former self. You two talked but when he asked about your home and the abyss. You suddenly struggled to answer, and the darkness returned, reducing you back into your absentminded state.

- Finrod wanted to try again to free you from the darkness, but after hearing Edrahil’s advice, he didn’t since the darkness that held you in its claws might have been too powerful for a song of power to banish. It could only weaken its hold on you.

- Sorrowed by the thought, he began singing to you and the townspeople, helping you rest and have peaceful dreams.

- The darkness over your head was powerful, but to Finrod’s surprise, life and light slowly returned to you. You began understanding more words, and you had fewer headaches than usual. It was not much, but it was something.

- When the time for him to return to his hidden kingdom came near, he spent his time helping you have good memories since it eased his heart from the thought that he couldn’t heal you. He told you and the children stories, and sometimes you raced through the forest with him on his horse while you ran with a child on your back. Despite his kin having fast horses, you were incredibly fast and swift on your feet, so it wasn’t much of a race for you. But seeing you have fun and smile with the children, the loss was worth it.

- When the time came for him to return to his kingdom, he sang his last song to you and watched you peacefully sleep. It sorrowed him to leave, but he knew he had responsibilities elsewhere, so he uttered his goodbye and prepared to depart with his people.

- However, the night took an unexpected turn because the next thing he knew, you suddenly woke up screaming and covered in some sort of dark air.

- It was so sudden that even the townspeople felt the darkness seeping out of you. It frightened them, and you quickly fled from your home into the woods. Worried, Finrod decided to follow with a few of his men.

- He found you near a lake, groaning and slouching in pain. He wanted to help, but then you screamed, and some kind of force released from you, nearly pushing him and the trees off their roots.

- When everything calmed down, you were on your knees, weeping loudly and staring into the moon. Finrod cautiously came to you and saw you bearing the look you bore when he managed to banish the darkness from your mind that day. Your mind had returned to senses.

- He dared to speak to you, and you spoke of your brother’s fate.

----

“Artorias is dead,” you said while tears fell down from your eyes. “He has finally been freed from the abyss, the prison that had kept him ever since we failed to defeat Manus from devouring our kingdom,” you looked at the moon. “He has finally found peace with Sif, who had guarded his grave,”

“How do you know?” Finrod asked.

“Artorias was my twin brother,” you answered. “We shared a link that still kept me bound to the abyss and its toxic touch, making your attempt to sever it futile,” you explained. “Your songs and magic did weaken it, and now that Artorias is dead. I am no longer bound to the abyss. I am now free,” you said.

“I am sorry for your loss,” Finrod said sympathetically. You shook your head. “He was in agony. I felt his pain and how the abyss was eating away his soul. I’m glad he’s finally free of it. I’m glad he can finally rest peacefully,” you stated.

You then turned toward the golden-haired elf. “I am grateful for all you have done for me and if you allow me, lord Finrod. I wish to repay you. My honor as a knight will not let me live peacefully if I cannot do something in return for your help and efforts,” you bowed. “You do not have to give your servitude to me. You had once saved mine and my men’s lives from a balrog, so you can consider this a repayment on my part,” Finrod shook his hands.

“Perhaps, but I wish to do so since your part in my release from the abyss is much more meaningful to me,” You said. “So, please— accept this bell,” you suddenly created something in your hands with bright magic. Finrod looked in wonder as a small bell appeared in your hands, and you handed it to him. “When you need my sword and shield. Ring this bell, and I will come to you. I fear no monster or the dark as there is nothing that could compare to the abyss I have finally escaped,” you said, and he took the small silver bell in wonder. He then gave you a soft smile since he sensed you were not changing your mind.

“Very well then, (Name). If you so insist,” he said as the moon above the sky continued to shine brilliantly in the sky with silver light. With a distant song of a wolf howling.

#finrod #finrod x reader #finrod imagines #knight reader #silm fic #silmarillion x reader #silmarillion imagines #middle earth x reader #middle earth

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the-elusive-soleil · 3 months

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Some things that might have happened if the Valar had gone to war with Morgoth immediately after the Silmaril theft, and evacuated the Sindar, Avari, and very first Men to Aman to escape the continental destruction:

Nobody swears any Oaths. Feanor doesn't get the chance to, because the Valar go after Morgoth before he can.

He would have liked to go help with the war, but the Valar have made it clear that the Eruhini need to keep out from underfoot, and Ulmo is actually enforcing this one.

Feanor does contribute weapon designs in exchange for the promise of the Silmarils being returned to him ASAP.

(We have the sun and moon, I feel like I should say. The Valar made them when they needed light sources for the war and it was clear they weren't getting the Silmarils back all that soon.)

There's a lot of excitement when the new arrivals show up. Olwe is ecstatic to see his brother again - with a Maiarin wife and a daughter, too!

Thingol is upset about losing his realm and also grieving his friend FInwe, but cautiously intrigued to meet Finwe's family.

Feanor has become High King of the Noldor at least in name, but in practice what's developed is that Fingolfin and Maedhros and Caranthir and Turgon handle a lot of the day-to-day and Feanor is so busy crafting that he never noticed the shift. No one is super interested in telling him.

Thingol very nearly breaks it all open by accident, but they avoid a crisis just in time.

The Avari disappear into the outlands and forests and assimilate as little as possible.

Thingol and Melian start up a new city, but it's...not quite the same.

Luthien is restless. Her parents' new city might not have a girdle, but she feels fenced in anyway - partially with her parents not wanting her to stray too far in this strange new place, and partially because she's the one and only half-Maia and stunningly beautiful and everyone wants a piece of her, so to speak.

Funnily enough, certain of the Feanorians know exactly how those itchy feet feel, and her father doesn't hate them in this timeline.

She's not into hunting to kill things, really, but Celegorm teaches her this neat trick that sometimes you can just say you're 'going hunting' and head off to the woods to do whatever you want, like running just for the sake of it or dancing without anyone watching you, and no one will ask any questions.

She ends up spending a lot of time with him and the twins and Aredhel.

(Celegorm and Luthien eventually get married, because why not.)

(Melian gives her blessing on the condition that their firstborn son marries Nimloth, who goes along with it because she trusts Melian's foresight. Or, alternatively, they might have a daughter who marries Beren when he comes along; that'd be a fun twist.)

(The point is that Elrond and Elros eventually exist. They aren't in need of adoption, but they develop a surprising bond with their uncle Maglor.)

Almost forgot, the dwarves got brought over, too.

Caranthir does a lot of the negotiation with them, since his bluntness meshes best with their ways.

They and the Men keep having new generations be born and die, and it's...an adjustment for the elves.

Finrod, nonetheless, becomes great friends with a Man called Balan and his folk.

Caranthir encounters a Haladin woman named Haleth when she comes to court to arrange for greater independence for her people. He's in love at first sight. It takes her a little longer.

None of Caranthir's family understands why he'd choose to go through the eventual heartbreak of losing a spouse, but he ignores them all, and gets married anyway.

They have an astounding number of children. This is partially because they have better proximity and aren't in survival mode, partially because it takes them a sec to figure out how human conception works, and partially because Caranthir wants there to be as much Haleth in the world as possible before she's inevitably gone.

Hurin Thalion and Morwen have three lovely children. Nienor probably has a different name. Lalaith lives to an astoundingly old age, healthy as a horse.

Tuor and Idril, of course, get together. Turgon is a bit less enthusiastic about it this time, what with Tuor just being A Guy and not Ulmo's champion, but when would that ever stop Idril. Tuor does die eventually, but they have a good life till then.

Feanor ends up liking the Men and dwarves a lot more than anyone thought he would. He learns All The Languages, and loves to swap techniques with the dwarves and bounce off Men's ingenuity.

Also, the Sindar introduce a radical notion called marriage counseling, which is apparently something you invent if you're coping with Arda Marred instead of trying to maintain an assumption of perfection. They've also invented family therapy. Feanor and Nerdanel, and really the whole House of Finwe, benefit hugely from this.

Oh, and elf/dwarf relationships become hugely popular among the Noldor, because when your dwarf spouse dies you can literally go see them at Aule's house still as long as you're discreet about it, so no one bats an eye when Celebrimbor announces his engagement to the craftswoman Narvi some time down the line.

#silmarillion #alternate universe #feanor #house of feanor #house of finwe #halenthir #celebrimbor x narvi #also i'm not sure how this happened but #celegorm x luthien #mutual and everything #huh #fix-it

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southfarthing · 1 year

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Fingon headcanons/thoughts that I need to wring out of my brain:

He has a youthful appearance and mannerisms, and he is often reckless. (Even before Turgon starts his own family, people always think he is the eldest.) Fingon is sometimes self-conscious about this – though Argon, the youngest, admires and adores him, Turgon and Aredhel stop looking up to him and asking him for advice as soon as they mature, and Fingon wonders what they think of him now – and he feels he has a lot to learn from Maedhros on how to be a good heir and older brother.

In Aman, he is perceived as gentle and warm. (Though this is perhaps because there hasn't yet been cause for Fingon to become passionate or fierce.) Not a threat, and this is why Fëanor doesn't mind his friendship with Maedhros – if anything, it is beneficial to Fëanor because it feels more as though Maedhros has Fingon under his influence than the other way round; and it is strangely satisfying thinking that he is inadvertently taking something of Fingolfin's away from him.

Fingon dotes on Argon, and later also on Idril. Argon is the first to thread gold into his hair, and he does this because little Idril asks one day why she has golden hair but some of her family has black hair instead. Argon likes the way it looks, and he decides to keep it. After he dies, Fingon begins to thread his own hair with gold to keep Argon's legacy alive. (Idril quietly helps him, the first few times, and Fingon wonders if she is thinking of her uncle or of her mother, or perhaps both.)

Things are tense during Morgoth's whispers, but Fingon has his first real fallout with Maedhros after Fëanor threatens Fingolfin with his sword; and when Fëanor is exiled to Formenos, and his sons and Finwë follow, Fingon doesn't see Maedhros for years – or his grandfather, who willingly chooses exile with Fëanor, the one at fault, over Fingolfin, the one who deserves loyalty and comfort. It stings, but Fingon looks at his father, who has always handled family grievances with grace and composure, no matter how hard his hands shake beneath the table, and Fingon knows that this is how he must also be. He must be the son his father needs.

The Darkening is the first time he feels fear. The Trees, Finwë's death, Fëanor's oath – they all happen so quickly, and Fingon, though he has little love for Fëanor, is shaken, and is susceptible to Fëanor's words about Middle Earth. When he sees the violence at Alqualondë, he rushes to the Noldor's aid.

The guilt of the kinslaying never leaves him. Worse is that Argon blindly follows him into the bloodshed; Argon bloodies his hands because of Fingon's recklessness and poor judgement, and dies early – a hero's death, despite the sins. Fingon bitterly laments that Argon is the one to die, when he was so young and full of life, while he remains. But then he grows to understand that death was an escape, and he himself must live through the guilt of his own actions and the horrors of Morgoth choking the land. He craves forgiveness and forgetfulness for himself, and this is why he so readily forgives the Fëanorians.

His relationship with Turgon is never the same. Turgon never wanted to leave Aman, and now Elenwë is dead, and he is trapped in this forsaken land, while Fingon slew kin at Alqualondë and risked his own life for those who abandoned him. Turgon is the heir Fingolfin deserves – Fingon knows this, though he never lets himself grow bitter over it. Still, he feels the hurt deeply when Turgon leaves and takes Idril and Aredhel with him; and later, when he waits anxiously for news of Fingolfin, and learns many months later that he was killed and his body taken to Turgon, wherever he is, and not brought to Hithlum – to Fingon.

He is lonely, and he has never done well with being alone. He misses Angrod and Aegnor deeply, and Finrod and Maedhros and Galadriel are so far away, and Turgon and Aredhel have left him. The rule of the Noldor was never meant to be his. He spends more time with Lalwen and Húrin and Huor, and he surrounds himself with other people, not wanting to allow silence and darkness to get a hold of his mind.

He doesn't know if they have any chance of succeeding against Morgoth, but Maedhros seems so sure, so refreshingly hopeful for the first time in years, despite everything, and Fingon hasn't the heart to say no. The plan is sound, and their forces strong, and Maedhros is right – the longer they wait, the weaker they will be. Fingon doesn't want a slow demise, dwindling in strength and valour until he dies pitifully and alone, with nobody left to care. He envies Argon, and Fingolfin, and Finrod: they died fiercely, in defense of their people. Fingon wants the same, if he cannot have victory.

He is wary with his own hopes: he does not want more disappointment. He smiles and puts on airs of confidence, and his people believe him. He lets Maedhros take charge, and once more, he admires Maedhros's ability to lead and to bring people together. It does not make him doubt his own abilities anymore: he is past such internal thoughts. He focused purely on survival, working tirelessly to make this work, and Maedhros's words, while they haven't instilled him with the same sort of reckless hope, they have given him purpose.

The day of the battle arrives, and he finally lets himself think, in the anxious stillness of dawn. He thinks of Aman, and of his mother; he thinks of his father and his siblings; of Fëanor and everything that has happened since they arrived in Middle Earth. He thinks of the soldiers below who will die in the coming days. No. He shakes his head. There is valour to be gained yet, and great deeds, and deep hurts to the enemy in revenge for everything they have suffered at his hand. Fingon feels a strange sort of peace – a light wind blows past him, and he lets out the breath he has been holding. In the distance, he hears trumpets, and he turns to look at his men in question. But then the trumpet blows again, and Fingon recognises the sound.

#🚨🚑🚨🚑🚨🚑🚨🚑🚨 girl hellp im losing it at 1am #well i started this at 1am anyway #fingon #silmarillion #mp #turgon #maedhros #sunny writes #this is basically a fic at this point lmao 😩🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴🥴

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that-angry-noldo · 1 year

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Beren never heals.

He never admits it to anyone. (He hardly admits it to himself, really.) He finds a place and builds a house, a respectable, cozy house for him and Luthien to live in. He grows strawberries. He has a few horses he tends to. He's in the middle of nowhere. He's safe.

... he doesn't feel like he is.

It's the smallest things. It's the way he would stand at the door, hand on the handle of the sword, body tense and eyes prying the road to their house with anxiety. It's the way he's hyperaware of his surroundings. It's the way he knows all the escape routes by the palm of his hand. It's the way he has a bag fully packed yet never touched, sitting in the corner of the closet in the hallway.

But, well, Beren isn't dumb. He knows words "trauma" and "coping". So he doesn't dwell on it.

He tends to his strawberries. He's pretty sure he grows the best strawberries in Doriath. He also cooks, because Luthien loves his food, and he loves making Luthien happy.

Sometimes, they have guests, either from the forest or from Menegroth itself. Beren always packs them a basket of strawberries and a bag of fresh cow cheese.

(He may grow the best berries, but he's anxious about the cheese. It's too sour, sometimes.)

Sometimes those guests are his in-laws. They are... fine. Thingol is fine. He geniunly feels bad, and Beren... Beren feels bad, too. Kind of. So he invites Thingol in and makes pancakes. With strawberries. And cheese. And sour cream. It's awkward.

Sometimes, Melian shows up. Beren feels the hair on his spine rising, looking at those unhuman, unearthly eyes. She watches him tend to the animals, and Beren thinks it'll be rude, not to invite her.

Thankfully, Luthien is there. She grabs her mother and says something about tea. Beren watches them disappear.

(He remembers the look of rage and disgust on Thingol's face. He remembers the way Melian's gaze would feel as a trap, scanning every thought and every memory. He remembers wandering alone, remembers that eery feeling of being watched. Remembers the dark of Angband, remembers the halls of Mandos.

Luthien covers him with her wing. Beren feels the panic stopping.)

Beren misses his mother, and his father, and his every companion. Beren misses Finrod, and Hilie, and Nyardo with his weird stories.

He carves every face he can remember in the wood. Luthien helps him polish the figurines.

(Sometimes, Beren feels he's doing too little - when he looks at Luthien and sees her hair, her wings, her hands. She's done so much for him, how can he ever repay her? How can he ever look her in the eyes?

Those nights, Luthien holds him closer and hugs him tightly. It makes him feel better. A bit.)

He still lies awake at night, and he flinches every time a wolf howls far away. He turns his head to Luthien and hears her steady breath. It calms him down a bit.

He still can't fall asleep.

He closes his eyes and tries again.

#beren #luthien #lay of leithian #silmarillion #silm fic #tolkien #beren my beloved. i want to hug him and say it'll be alright #also yes he has a farm and animals and beehives #he gives eggs to people visiting #and grows the best strawberries possible (luthien probably magically messed with soil and seeds beforehand but shh we won't tell him right)

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actual-bill-potts · 1 year

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Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth: A Reading

The last 5 pages of Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth are spectacularly beautiful, and have inspired so much amazing fanwork and thought. However, the rest of the Athrabeth is, I think, a bit...harder to understand? At least, I have trouble wrapping my mind around it, and I've seen many interpretations of the conversation and what's going on between Finrod and Andreth here. So, for your reading pleasure, here is a "translated" version of how I read the Athrabeth (minus the last 5 pages which I simply dissolve into tears over every time). It's essentially the script of the Athrabeth, in modern prose. To those nerds who are as invested in it as I am - I am extremely curious to hear your thoughts on this! Differences? Similarities? I know the below is not the only way to read the Athrabeth, by a long shot.

FINROD: Andreth, I am so grieved at Boron's death, and so sorry for your loss. It seems like just yesterday that he was a little child. I feel like no time has passed at all since I first met Bëor, and now his grandson is dead. I loved them all, and miss them all.

ANDRETH: Thank you, and I'm sorry for your loss as well. My family have lived long and happy lives in Dorthonion, though - it may have seemed a short time to you, but they would have lived far fewer years before we crossed the Mountains, and counted themselves lucky for it.

FINROD: I'm glad at least that you and your family have been content.

ANDRETH: I wouldn't say that. Just that things suck a little less than they would have otherwise.

FINROD: Wait, what does that mean?

ANDRETH: Well, Morgoth fucked us all over while the Valar and the Elves were happy in Valinor. And he's still fucking us over.

FINROD: I'm confused. What does dying of old age have to do with Morgoth? He's evil, yes, but everyone since Bëor has died peacefully, of natural causes, the way Eru intended.

ANDRETH: So all you Elves say! You all think that we were designed to die in the blink of an eye. In fact to you we are indistinguishable from children, in how short our lives are; and you look down on us for it.

FINROD: I can't deny that some Elves do, though certainly I don't look down on you or any of the Atani! But the Elves who call you childish are not logically consistent, because our own lore says that both the Atani and the Quendi are children of Eru - and thus we are equal in every way that matters. And since you are children of Eru, equal to us, it follows that if you live briefly Eru must have designed it so. Do you disagree?

ANDRETH: Yes, I do! And furthermore I think the idea that the Atani were always designed to live briefly is a lie of Morgoth. The Wise among us say that the Atani were designed to live forever, but Morgoth shortened our lives unnaturally.

ANDRETH: Ironically, even though Men call us "the Wise," they won't listen to us about this. Neither do Elves. You're all dumbasses to be honest.

FINROD: I mean. That's fair. And Morgoth for sure fucked over Men's bodies to some extent. Since leaving Aman, even we Elves have noticed that our bodies decay and weaken faster than they would have otherwise.

ANDRETH: You still don't get it, and you're still being a high-handed dumbass. "Even we Elves" - do you hear yourself? You're starting from the assumption that Elves were meant to be more durable than Men. We of the Wise don't think so. We think Death was a terrible thing that was imposed upon us by Morgoth. We also thought that maybe by reaching Aman we could escape it: but apparently Morgoth beat us there, and I'm starting to suspect there's no hope for it anyway - in this world.

FINROD.EXE IS REBOOTING

FINROD: ...ok rude. I didn't wish death upon you.

FINROD: But anyway, you keep equating death with Morgoth! Are you really saying that he designed death? He's powerful, sure, but - death is everywhere. It's a part of life. If Morgoth wasn't around, death would still be here, it just wouldn't be considered an evil.

ANDRETH: "Death is a part of life," says the Elf. You don't know shit about death.

FINROD: Just because we Elves are immortal doesn't mean we don't die! We have died in droves, here in Beleriand - helping to keep your land safe, in case you hadn't noticed.

ANDRETH: Funny you should say that. I heard you came to Beleriand to recover some jewelry or whatever. But maybe that was just Caranthir. Anyway, death still isn't the same for you as it is for us. You can return; we can't. Once we die, we're gone forever. And Morgoth did this to us.

FINROD: I get what you're saying: Elf death is different from mortal death because one can be cured and the other can't.

ANDRETH: That's part of it. But here's the kicker: not only is death worse for Men, it's also inescapable. Death isn't guaranteed for you. It is for us. It doesn't matter what we do, we all meet the same wildly sucky end.

FINROD: So the Atani have no hope?

ANDRETH: I wouldn't say that exactly. We have no certainty, and no knowledge of what comes after death. But I think there is hope, and maybe we can speak of that later. I know you miss us, when we die.

FINROD: May we can, later. But for now, I want to return to what you said about death. I think you're wrong about the difference between the Quendi and the Atani. We Elves also die - we're tied to the world, and we'll die with the world, because the world will eventually end. Our deaths come later than yours, but they're just as inevitable. And beyond that - nothing but oblivion.

ANDRETH: That's a fair point, but...

FINROD: ...But at least we have a longer span, before death? That's also fair. But - just because the end is further off doesn't mean it's not a bad end.

FINROD: I could say much more on the subject, actually. But first: you say that Morgoth caused death, right?

ANDRETH: Yes.

FINROD: Gonna be honest with you: that's terrifying. I've met Morgoth, and he's a scary motherfucker, but the Quendi have never believed that he could truly prevail against the children of Eru. Eru is so much more powerful! That he could change the fate of a whole race - that's insane. If it's true, then not only the Noldor but all the Valar and the whole world are absolutely fucked.

ANDRETH: Aha! Now he realizes! You spoke so coolly of death a second ago, but now that I've suggested an idea that Men have to grapple with their whole short lives, you're in despair! Morgoth does have that power, and we are fucked.

FINROD: Watch it! To say that Morgoth has that power is to say that he is equal to Eru - and he is not equal to Eru.

FINROD: Let's say I accept your premise that the Atani were not originally made for death, but that their fate was changed. It must then have been Eru who changed it. What did Men do, to anger Eru so?

ANDRETH: We have ideas about that, actually. But we don't speak about them to outsiders, and anyway we're not 100% sure, because whatever happened is something that we have been running away from every since, and it must have happened very long ago.

FINROD: So you do have some idea?

ANDRETH: Maybe.

FINROD.EXE IS REBOOTING

FINROD: Do you think anyone besides the Atani knows anything about this? The Valar maybe?

ANDRETH: The Valar? How the fuck should I know? The Valar never bothered with us. They were apparently too busy with their precious Elves. Fuck the Valar.

FINROD: Don't say that! I've met the Valar, and they're actually cool as fuck. Has it occurred to you that maybe the Atani are out of the Valar's jurisdiction? You're children of Eru alone. You're the masters of your own fate in the way the Quendi are not.

FINROD: Also you seem really upset. I get it if you don't want to talk about it, but please don't put it on me.

ANDRETH: (glares)

FINROD: Anyway here's another thing I don't get. Let's say that at one point the Atani were made to live forever. But even the Quendi don't truly live forever. We die when the world does. What would it even mean, to be deathless like that?

ANDRETH: Our opinions on this have nothing to do with Elves. We had these theories way before we even knew Elves existed.

FINROD: Ok I'm gonna be real honest here, I kinda thought that you came up with these ideas because you were jealous of Elves. But you say this has nothing to do with Elves, and it never even occurred to you to make the comparison to our state. How can that be? The Atani have known about Elves for a long time.

ANDRETH: I'm gonna be honest with you: that is some typical Elf bullshit. The world does not revolve around you. We've always known that we were made to live forever. And I do mean forever. As in, no dying whatsoever. What about that doesn't make sense to you? Were you too busy thinking up your next subtle insult to listen to the words I was saying?

FINROD: Has it occurred to you that what you're saying may be batshit insane?

ANDRETH: It hasn't, actually. Many wise people among us would say the same thing I'm saying.

FINROD: Well, many wise Elves would say the same thing I'm saying. So there. I have two issues with the idea of complete deathlessness. First: you claim to have lives that will last longer than the world, and yet you are sustained by the world. How can that be? Second: if the Atani will live longer than the world will last, then your spirit and body must be separate from each other, or else the spirit would die when the body does. We Elves believe that the spirit and body belong together, and that the separation of the two is an evil.

ANDRETH: I get your first objection, and I do have an answer for it. The second one I don't understand.

FINROD: I'm surprised - it seems very obvious. But maybe the Atani are too close to the issue. We Elves have observed you all for many years, and we do love you (irritating beyond belief though you might be), so we do know something about you.

FINROD: To break it down: the spirits of the Atani and the Quendi are not the same. It's obvious in the way we look at the world. You Atani view the world with a surprise and delight that we Elves can't muster. It's like...we love the world, but in the way that we love a familiar home; you love the world like you're a guest in our home, visiting for the first time

ANDRETH: Guests? In your home?

FINROD: That's what we call you!

ANDRETH: (sarcastic) How incredibly gracious of you! We live here too, asshole. It's not like we have another home to go to.

FINROD: No, but seriously - it does actually seem like you're just guests here, and you belong somewhere else. Where do you belong? Where did these ideas about deathlessness come from, that are so strange and so foreign to our very nature?

ANDRETH: That's really interesting, actually. I think you're right, about Men - we do get bored after seeing the same world day after day, while the Elves don't. Previously we thought that was because Elves don't tire or decay the way we do. But now - if nothing in this world can make us feel at home - is that another aspect of Morgoth's curse on us? Or is it something fundamental to our nature as Atani?

FINROD: I think it's fundamental to your nature! And now you get my second objection. Death is the severing of body and spirit; immortality means that body and spirit remain together forever. If Men don't fully belong in Arda - and we have agreed that they don't - then wouldn't immortality in your current body be a curse? We've always assumed that when you die, your spirit goes to some other realm that is your true home. How can you be truly deathless and yet belong to a world that will inevitably die?

ANDRETH: You know what they say about assumptions. I don't believe that when Men die we go get a body in some other world, and leave our Arda-bodies behind. Because it is a grief to us, to die and lose our bodies. If what you suggested is true, then our bodies would be distasteful to our spirits: prisons rather than houses. But that's not true! We love our bodies; we are our bodies, as much as we are our spirits. Death doesn't "set our spirits free": it only hurts us.

FINROD: Okay, so let me get this straight. Your spirits are guests here, but your bodies belong fully to this world - but they are indivisible from each other.

FINROD: The only way that works is...if your spirits take your bodies with them, when you depart for whatever world is your true home. That would be amazing, if true. What is the land that is the true home of Men like, I wonder?

ANDRETH: Only Eru knows, I guess. Even the wisest of us haven't thought much about that. We've mostly thought about the nature of Men, not what the next world might be like.

FINROD: So it's not just Elves who think too much about themselves!

FINROD: ...but anyway. This idea of yours is actually really cool! If it's true, it means that Men, rather than being the lesser followers of Elves, were intended to be healers of the world, and bring all of us children of Eru into a new Arda, without any evil in it. I never heard of this from the Valar, but now I wonder if they just...couldn't comprehend it! Or maybe Eru never told them. Maybe all of this is meant to be a build-up to some big reveal from him!

ANDRETH: What would the "big reveal" be?

FINROD: Deliverance from death, of course! I think I was wrong earlier, when I defined death as the separation of spirit and body. Death is the annihilation of both spirit and body. And if what you say is true, Men could deliver us from that fate! By your power you could allow all the Children of Eru, Men and Elves alike, to bring our bodies and spirits both to a new, truly deathless world.

FINROD: And what a world it would be! Men and Elves could walk together, with no fear of death ever dividing them. Such songs we would sing to you, for that!

ANDRETH: Uh-huh. And what would you do when you weren't singing our praises on the hilltops? Because you all are annoying as fuck to talk to in this world.

FINROD: Who knows? Maybe we would tell you tales from when the Eldar first awoke, before all the terrible things that happened later. In your world we Quendi would be the "guests," and you the hosts; you the lords, us the followers! We Elves have the gift of an unfading memory, which you have not: and in this new world we could tell such stories!

ANDRETH: But this is terrible to think about, because that future is not assured. Men have been cursed. We are not deathless now.

FINROD: Is there no hope then?

ANDRETH: What do you mean by "hope"? If you mean, "some ground to stand on when we say things won't be terrible forever," then uh...no. No hope whatsoever.

FINROD: Well that's one kind of hope. But when I said hope, maybe I really meant faith: faith that Eru won't let this state of affairs continue forever. Faith that Eru loves his children, and wouldn't leave us all to die with no recourse or comfort. Do you have none of that hope in Eru?

ANDRETH: Maybe - but we Men have suffered so much already! Why would Eru allow us to suffer so much? Morgoth has won, and he rules our fate now.

FINROD: Don't say such things!

ANDRETH: If you truly want to understand us - you must hear this. Most if not all of us already believe that. In fact the only Men who don't believe that Morgoth is their lord are those of us who came West. And hope is fading even among us, because we hoped for light and healing in the West, and didn't find it. Maybe there is no hope.

FINROD: That sounds awfully pessimistic.

ANDRETH: I think the pessimism is warranted. We've been cursed by Morgoth: who can un-curse us? How could such a thing happen? And even if we were un-cursed, what would happen to all the Men who've died already? There's only one belief - the Old Hope - that provides any kind of answer at all, and their answer is kind of crazy.

FINROD: Well, what is the Old Hope?

ANDRETH: That Eru himself will come into Arda, and lift Morgoth's curse upon us.

FINROD: Do you believe this?

ANDRETH: How can I? It's completely insane. You say that Eru isn't just a greater Vala, or some other kind of "god" who's still bound to Arda, but rather something entirely different and much mightier. Yes?

FINROD: That's correct - the Valar even say so, and they're not likely to lie.

ANDRETH: Exactly. So how could Eru, who created this whole world and everything in it, and has absolute power over it, come into it? It doesn't make sense.

FINROD: I mean, in some sense he's already here, right? Like, his hand is in everything, because he created everything. But I see what you mean: there's two ways of being "within" Arda.

ANDRETH: Yeah, you see what I'm saying. Sure, his hand is on Arda. But how could he, himself and entire, come into the world and live as we do? Wouldn't it just...break everything?

FINROD: Don't ask me. That's not a question for Elves. I don't think it's even a question for the Valar. But I'm sure Eru could find a way, if he wanted to.

FINROD: Now that I think about it, the Old Hope actually makes a certain amount of sense! I don't believe that Eru will let his Children suffer forever. I refuse to believe it. But in some ways Morgoth has irretrievably cursed this world. He added evil to everything, so that nothing within Arda is purely good. That means the final answer to Morgoth's evil must come from beyond the world!

ANDRETH: Wait, so you believe the Old Hope?

FINROD: I'm not sure yet. I've never heard anything like this before.

FINROD: But maybe we two races were meant to meet like this, so that you could pass on this great hope to the Quendi! In fact, Andreth, dear one, maybe we two, ourselves, were meant to meet, so that you could bring comfort to my people, in this time of great fear, and that the Quendi and the Atani might be brought closer together!

#athrabeth #finrod #andreth #my writing #queuenta silmarillion

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qrovidcore · 1 year

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what was the one thing @potatoobsessed999 and i were not supposed to do?

come up with another silm au.

and what did we do?

came up with another silm au.

anyway, because neither of us will ever write this but both of us WILL make pleading faces at the rest of the fandom until someone writes it for us we both independently started typing it up in bullet points Immediately after talking to each other about it and then had a spiderman meme moment about that, we present to you:

Would You Rather Fight 1 Morgoth-Sized Morgoth Or 1000 Noldor-Sized Noldor, And Why Is It 1 Morgoth-Sized Morgoth

in which

morgoth is, presumably, about 5% smarter, and keeps his mouth shut about the silmarils when he shows up to formenos to convince feanor to leave with him

or, at least keeps his mouth shut about the silmarils long enough that feanor does not say his girlboss line and slam the door in his face, and actually considers his offer

fine, says feanor, i do want to leave aman actually, but i’m bringing my seven angry sons and also my dad and also maybe a few hundred of my most loyal followers with me

(not that finwe would trust morgoth as far as he could throw him, but also is finwe letting his kid run off after him by himself? oh hell no, he’s going too)

i did say presumably smarter

because morgoth is probably not counting on all of this, he probably just wanted to kill feanor and get the silmarils and get out before the rest of the valar, who have at this point caught onto his shit, are able to toss him in the void about it

fine. morgoth does not have time to argue about this, so now he’s helping a few hundred feanorians cross the helcaraxe. This Is Fine^tm.

they probably all survive the ice okay, but of course morgoth turns on them and starts trying to kill them all the second he’s in shouting distance of angband.

because finwe’s job is to go down fighting morgoth when he should probably not be fighting morgoth, finwe goes down fighting morgoth.

because finwe’s job is also to die and emotionally devastate feanor in the process, feanor Sees.

and goes after morgoth himself.

and because feanor’s job is to die avenging his dad and then proceed to haunt the narrative, feanor, much like in canon, gets got.

at which point morgoth steals the silmarils and also the sons of feanor, and then runs back to angband before the valar can get across the ice to come throw him in the void.

because morgoth is busy trying not to let the valar catch him and throw him in the void, a decent number of feanorian followers escape. they have a very tiny baby celebrimbor with them!! no worries!! all babies remain okay!!!

unfortunately, the valar get there too late to do anything. fortunately, news does get back to the rest of finwe’s kids that suddenly a feanorian host, including feanor himself and also the high king of the noldor, have disappeared with morgoth across the ice? yeah that’s probably not good right.

yeah that’s probably not good right, say fingolfin and finarfin, resigning themselves to going marching over to middle-earth to rescue their stubborn older brother and also maybe to convince him that they do actually love him

not that that last part will ever happen. not when they just get there to find him dead.

because feanor is not there to go petition the teleri for boats, this job now falls to fingolfin and finarfin. without feanor there, the first kinslaying never happens. with finarfin there, the teleri can perhaps be talked into giving the noldor an uber ride.

the fact that the darkening also never happened, and therefore everyone is not panicking quite as much, does help also.

anyway, fingolfin and finarfin’s hosts show up just in time to find everything gone fairly to shit.

the sons of feanor are in angband, you say? maedhros is in angband, you say? well I’m going to angband then, says fingon.

this is definitely not as controversial, since there was never a boat burning either! but also it’s angband and clearly this is stupid and dangerous and Fingon Is Going Alone.

or so fingon insists

you see, aredhel and finrod probably never hung out themselves much, but they were both close with celegorm and curufin. they absolutely all used to go mud wrestling together on the weekends. and shared grief sure does have a way of bringing people together, and so they bond over missing their favorite cousins.

and, much like merry and pippin, end up Planning A Conspiracy^tm

and so this is how fingon, finrod, and aredhel go marching into angband on a mission to Get The Sons Of Feanor Back

unfortunately, none of them know how to find a good entrance to angband.

fortunately, they do find maedhros, who does know how to find a good entrance to angband.

maedhros’ rescue happens just like in canon, because maedhros’ job is to be a Symbol^tm, so of course he’s strung up on a mountain so that the rest of the feanorians will despair about it (separating him from his brothers so that maglor can do his job of despairing about being in charge in any capacity is also important). maedhros’ rescue happens just like in canon also because maedhros is frodo and fingon is sam, and if we are doing fellowship parallels then We Are Doing Fellowship Parallels, and who could ever take their singing rescue away from them <3

maedhros, dying of blood loss: i know where my brothers are and i’m going in with you.

fingon: maedhros you are dying of blood loss. no.

maedhros: yes.

fingon: no.

maedhros: yes.

fingon: fine.

and so fingon proceeds to lug a dying but stubborn maedhros down into angband. who, to his credit, is helpful in finding his brothers.

they’re probably all still alive because they’re useful (curufin, for smith reasons) or because it’s fun to make them despair. in any case, the team gets them out, and the rescue is going well.

well enough that amrod delays in an attempt to try to steal back the silmarils

instead of dying in the hopes of not having to reclaim the silmarils, amrod dies for the hope that such a thing is possible.

the others get out alive.

amrod’s death is what prompts the remaining sons to finish the job and get the silmarils back.

but! there is no oath! and there is no family feud! the finweans all reunite and successfully begin to plan an attack.

and well, there was no first kinslaying, or any kinslaying at all actually. thingol’s on decent terms with the feanorian survivors who wound up around/in doriath, and has no reason to distrust any of the noldorin leaders.

sure, there’s no humans involved yet, but also that means no traitors yet.

so the union of maedhros is much smaller, but also. it’s stronger. by a lot.

AND it happens like right away.

morgoth doesn’t have time to invent dragons. morgoth doesn’t have time to know what HIT him. a thousand angry noldor are In His House and they have a thousand angry sindar with them and morgoth folds in about five minutes tops.

and this is how a united front of angry finweans could’ve overthrown morgoth in a fun family weekend road trip. thank you for coming to our tedtalk.

#this is what we did tonight instead of homework we’re valid and our ideas fuck severely give us attention <3 #lotr #i don’t have an official silm tag and im not making one now #all my tolkein stuff is staying in one place thanks #FINE.#on second thought. because actually i AM begging someone to write this so that anna (a writer) & i (not a writer) dont have to #it can have a fandom-searchable tag <3 #the silmarillion #the paranoid android speaks!

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