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stacytea · 4 months

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okay, lemme just say: Gil-galad, who hated being the king Gil-galad, who had never wanted to be the king in the first place Gil-galad, who was crowned anyway, because there were hardly any finweans left around and the noldor in Beleriand needed a king, just so they can hold onto something, have some semblances of normality in the apocalyptic post-nirnaeth time Gil-galad, who became the high king when he was only 13/14 if we convert to human years, who was barely able to hold back tears in front of crowds as the crown was being placed upon his head Gil-galad, who had been raised by Círdan on Balar, among Teleri, and now he was the number 1 person in a culture that he didn't even feel like was truly his. A culture that so far he had only been taught about, had never participated in. Gil-galad, who politically hardly ever got to make his own decisions, whose role as the king was mostly limited to signing up whatever the parliament needed to validate and who was ascribed the blame whenever an idea backfired Gil-galad, who always wished he could've just lived a simple life on Balar, alongside Teleri, worked on a fishing boat and stuff like that, but instead he was manoeuvred into politics and bureaucracy, and an office that everyone at this point already knew was cursed, overall an enormous amount of responsibility, when he was basically still a child Gil-galad who was handling it all quite well until the third kinslaying happened Gil-galad, who was something like 15/16 in human years when the third kinslaying happened, who then had to face the reality of his reign, which was: he held little to no power. He was just a teenager, put on a throne, so the noldorin power in beleriand didn't seem to be crumbling as badly as it actually was. And he definitely wasn't able to protect his people Gil-galad, who was still doing his best after the third kinslaying, but also he started turning completely self-destructive in his free time. Like, there wasn't a single weekend he wouldn't spend at some party, drinking until he blacked out, taking whatever drugs he could get, getting involved in all kinds of reckless/precarious sexual behaviours Gil-galad, who just wanted someone to show up and take over the kingship , but was aware that all hopes for it had been wiped out when the feanorians attacked Sirion. That any hopes were gone along with Eärendil and his little sons. Gil-galad, whose role was mostly representative, so he had to be present at all kinds of events, no excuses. ,,What do you mean you need a day off? You're the king, ffs!!! Get your hangovered ass over there, it's not like you're going to work'' It pretty much resulted in young Gil-galad quite often showing up in public hangovered/ still lightly drunk/drugged/ overall messy af. And aside from the toll it took on his reputation, like- the king who has some serious troubles with substance abuse is probably easy to be influenced on many matters; it's also the fact that he was crowned to raise the morale among noldor, to message: ,,Look, we still have a king, it's not that bad!" How does it impact the Noldor when they repeatedly see their king barely able to stand upright or retching in some darkened corner? Not well, to say the least. Gil-galad, who felt trapped by the kingship. Gil-galad, who knew there was no way out of it for him, other than by suffering a painful death like basically every one of his predecessors Gil-galad who was being self-destructive and he didn't care about getting hurt because ,,hey, I have no control over my own life anyways :)))'' but also Gil-galad, who grew out of his teenage years and in his early adulthood had some ,,I can't keep living like this" moments , especially after waking up somewhere on the cold ground, feeling like shit and covered in vomit and all other kinds of fluids either his own or someone else's or both

Gil-galad who was in his early twenties (again, converted to human years) and decided to get his life together, because if he's trapped anyway, he can as well try to make it a little less horrible for himself

Gil-galad, who had maybe never got quite the amount of support he needed from Círdan, but Círdan had definitely taught him a lot and enough for him to be able to get by in life and politics

Gil-galad, who started getting his life together in his early twenties, and even if he stayed dangerously close to alcohol/drugs addiction and kept his inclination for partying for the rest of his life, he was actually doing fine

Also sometime after the War of Wrath began, it turned out that Eärendil's sons had made it out alive after all, and maybe it wasn't fixing all Ereinion's problems, but it sure was SOMETHING

#silmarillion #the silmarillion #gil galad #ereinion gil galad #his teenage years were shit #it got only slightly better later in his life #y'all know how doges of venice had extremely limited power because everyone feared they would become dictators?#I imagine that gil galad had a bit more liberty than them but still he was controlled severely on many matters almost all the time #the only exception were emergencies #and these also were scrutinized afterwards #he needed the parliament's agreement for basically everything #like he couldn't even leave Balar island/ (later in his life) Lindon city without their permission #and all of this because the Noldor at the time were afraid that another king would pull a Fëanor on them #a.k.a. make some really important decisions (like a relocation of almost whole nation to another continent) on a whim #without anyone controlling that #I swear I love this character #he my favourite babygirl #he ain't even a girl but: cool girl/ party girl/ cinnamon roll baby #silmarillion headcanon #cw: substance abuse

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arafinweanappreciation · 4 months

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I hope this doesn't annoy you but I saw your post about Finarfin interacting with his babies like they're small adults and became obsessed with it (change my life so much bro). I hope you don't mind but I want to ask for more fluff/headcanons about the House of Finarfin, especially with the fact that you went with the Orodreth-son-of-Angrod (I love that shit) so now I am desperate for more.

ajsldkjh thanks???? also don't worry. i don't get anywhere near enough asks for them to be annoying lol

Olwe lovingly handcrafted a beautiful cradle for his great-grandchild but it basically never gets used because Orodreth is constantly either being held by someone or in a sling on someone's chest

Finrod has a particular tendency to steal him for hours at a time. it's his first nibling and he's a little excited. Angrod and Edalote have trouble getting him back sometimes

"i need him back, it's time for him to have a bath" "i can do it" "give me my son back ingoldo" "would you deprive him of quality time with his favorite uncle?????? 🥺" "favorite? he can't even walk yet-"

i would say that Earwen forced her sons to take their little sister with them everywhere when they were younger but in reality they willingly toted her around all the time. sometimes to activities (e.g. hunting) that their parents would prefer she didn't participate in just yet *cough cough* AEGNOR *cough*

Finrod is in fact Galadriel's favorite brother most of the time but if anyone tells him this she will Stab them

Finrod might be more nerd than jock but if anyone makes fun of him over this they will face his siblings' wrath because they're the only ones allowed to do that, of course. go after Turgon all you want tho (lying. you will still get beat up)

tbh the Arafinwean household just wasn't that loud growing up, but there's a still a distinct difference between quiet time silence and mischief silence (TM). finarfin can detect it in approximately 0.3 seconds. still not fast enough sometimes

that first part doesn't hold up in beleriand. Finduilas has LUNGS and she considers it her Eru-given obligation to use them. Fingon thinks it's cute. he isn't the one raising her

one of the reasons Angrod and Aegnor like hanging out with Fingon when they're younger is bc he's older than Finrod and can therefore override his "safety concerns," whatever that means lol. it's the cousin equivalent of knowing mom will say no and going to ask dad instead

Galadriel is the cool aunt who enjoys spoiling Orodreth and later Finduilas whenever possible. like okay yeah maybe her parents don't want her going down to ivrin by herself yet or whatever but how much could it hurt really???

after she has Celebrian she realizes she might have a few apologies to make. still not very many. they asked her to babysit they trusted her to make decisions at their own risk.

prank wars with the nolofinweans

just. consider eldarin prank wars. they could last for centuries

#finrod felagund #finrod #silm #silmarillion #finduilas #angrod #orodreth #aegnor #finarfin #earwen #thanks for the ask!

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nyarnamaitar · 6 months

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I AGREE WITH YOU SO MUCH ON THE VALAR'S INACTIVENESS, like even their well-intentioned decisions had consequences but unlike the elves and to an extent, the other beings in arda, the valars can't just go and do stupid shit (that'll potentially end in a disaster) and then cry about it by making a shit song when like it'll have such dire consequences on arda itself. I always thought that's why the valars were so inactive or took too long to move.

Indeed, I think the Valar's inactivity is largely due to their being just too powerful for contained, precise action. There's a reason why the Valar did not participate in the War of Wrath themselves (I'd bet a lot of money that Tulkas in particular sulked a lot about this); even without them present, Beleriand ended up destroyed. I shudder to think what would have happened, had the Valar fought in the war too.

This is also one of the most interesting aspects of the Valar's collective character growth throughout the Ages imo. They go from extreme action (fighting Morgoth directly pre-the awakening of the Elves) to extreme inaction (withdrawing behind the Pelóri until they send their armies to Middle Earth to defeat Morgoth once and for all) to a kind of middle ground (sending the Istari to organise the fight against Sauron).

#valar #tolkien

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valacirya · 6 months

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Other people still speaking Quenya doesn't mean that the banning of a language is not a form of cultural genocide (you can't recognize the term when applied in the clearest sense in fiction but accuse ofc it's “everybody else” that doesnt know what it means and minimizing it). If you wanna invoke “real life” shit, languages that have been banned are still public knowledge, doesn't mean barring them wasn't an act in the name of eliminating that culture. The lang. survived *despite* his actions, not bc he was so accepting of them. And attempting to monopolize the common tongue or make your own tongue the lingua Franca of a place is still... xenophobic? It's xenophobia.

He wasn't "making" his language the lingua franca of Beleriand. It already was. Thingol was protecting his culture and people from being assimilated into the Noldor, who came with the express intent of establishing their own kingdoms and showed disdain towards the Sindar ("dark elf in his dark caves"). And like I said in the post, the ban was a way to enact some sort of consequence for the Noldor who murdered his brother's people, stole and burned their ships, lied to him about it and also disrespected him and his people. I really don't think he was trying to "eliminate" Noldorin culture. He told Finrod where to build Nargothrond because Finrod valued his input and showed respect and admiration for the Sindar. He honored Hurin and Morwen even though they were vassals of Fingolfin/Fingon. He doesn't prevent Cirdan or the Laiquendi from establishing positive relations with the Noldor, and he takes in Noldorin refugees after Nargothrond's fall, as well as Sindar who worked for the Noldor after Bragollach. The ban was his way of protecting Beleriandic/Sindarin culture, showing his authority, and yes, as a consequence for the Kinslaying.

I expressly did not "invoke real life shit" in my post because I don't feel comfortable using terms like racism to describe fantasy events (unless we're talking about authorial intent like how Tolkien wrote the Haradrim and Easterlings, which was undoubtedly racist). But if you want to go down that path, don't forget that Thingol and the Sindar were native to Beleriand, and the Noldor came to take and rule territory (among other reasons). Again, do not like applying this here and it's not an exact comparison but if we go with a simplified idea of colonizer/colonized, then the Sindar are in the position of the colonized. In a (limited) comparative hypothetical scenario, the ban is like if Mughal emperor Jahangir banned English in the subcontinent and told his subjects to speak only Persian/Hindi-Urdu with the East India Company. I see nothing wrong with that.

Also, not only did Quenya survive and remain accessible, in LotR it was still considered the "High Elven" tongue compared to Sindarin, so the ban didn't even make it taboo or associated with kinslaying.

To each their own though. I'm just defending my opinion, I don't expect you to agree with me.

#thingol

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laly · 8 months

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HC when maedhros and maglor accepted the summons to mandos

Maglor wandered the shores for a few hundred years, tossing the silmaril into the sea only for it to be washed ashore before his feet every time. I imagine that holding the silmaril so much actually speeds up the "fading" process that elves that stay in middle earth for too long go through, his body getting weaker and weaker and his fea slowly "consuming" it. No matter how faded his hroa becomes though it's still enough to pick up the stone and toss it back into the ocean. Elrond comes by every now and then, his maia heritage allowing him to see maglor no matter how faded. He talks to him, though Maglor never reacts and just keeps walking while Elrond tells him about his life, his accomplishments, his brother.

The first and only time that Maglor stops and reacts is when Elrond tells him of Elros' death. The next time the silmaril washes up at Maglors feet, he picks it up and goes with it into the waves, abandoning his faded body and accepting the summons to mandos.

Maedhros takes a little longer. Before casting himself into the fire he thought he would never go to mandos at all and the second age drags on and he lingers. He haunts the few islands that remain of beleriand, mainly himling of course (and scares the shit out of sailors near where the nirnaeth was I imagine) but sometimes appears in middle earth proper. He sees himself as a part of evil times that have finally passed, therefore not really belonging into middle earth. But he's curious and he wishes to wait and see how middle earth shall now thrive with him and almost the whole of the first age and its lands and all its perils and most of all morgoth gone. He watches conflicts arise with confusion, why does evil persist? Was everything they've done during the first age for nothing? He finally can't take it anymore as soon as he sees his nephew's body hung up like a banner by sauron's armies. He accepts the summons to mandos.

#silmarillion #maglor #maedhros #silm #elrond

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tanoraqui · 10 months

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☔for the fic ask game!

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

There is in my heart a canon divergence fic, maybe proper narrative maybe just bullet points, which I have functionally written out as much as I ever will below this cut, in which:

Shortly before the Fall of Númenor and more importantly the Changing of the World, Finrod has a Prophecy of what's coming

He tells Celechwes, who says, "Oh, I...am not okay with it. I didn't plan to go back, but if I can't? If the road truly, utterly only goes one way? That's- that's not okay. I can't, I won't live like that."

So Celechwes goes and talks to some people (quietly, unofficially), who talk to some other people (quietly, unofficially)...

She ends up leading a small fleet that sets out from a southern port just a few days before the Númenoreans are expected to land in the north (fully aiming to avoid the Men). it's about half veterans of Beleriand who have never felt like they fit in on Aman (45% Fëanorians but many close followers of Fingon and more non-Noldor), a quarter elves from other places who don't want to be cut off forever from what was once home, and a quarter Aman-born elves who've grown up on stories of mortal lands and who feel a little restless in the Land of Bliss.

(Finrod joins at the last moment. Amarië found him sitting on a balcony overlooking Valmar and sadly playing the song he once played as the Beorlings woke to see their first shining elf-lord, and she said, "Findaráto Ingoldo, Finrod Felagund Adanil, I will not willingly part from you again - but nor do I want to arrive in the lands across the sea only for war a second time, too late to see all their storied beauty. Also, you know Mingoneth* convinced Veryawendë* to join the fleet, right? Can you imagine how much trouble they'll get into with only Celechwes for supervision?" And he looked up, and saw that she'd packed both their long-distance travel bags.) *OCs, see: "Of the Golden Horde"

(By then, Rawen Ectheliel, once Lieutenant Right Hand of Himring, had already apologized to her wife - who thought they were done with this sort of thing - and followed her lady aboard. She IS done with this sort of thing (ie, rebellion; the House of Fëanor...as it became). But she lost Himring; she couldn't abide herself if she let ill fate befall Celechwes as well.)

The thing about being on at sea when the world abruptly turns from flat into a globe, sailing from a continent that is no longer on said globe, is that you get EXTREMELY turned around and lost. And, frankly, split up as a fleet.

[Cue: several-decades-long montage of several hundred elves - about half hardened (relaxed, but still hardened) war veterans, a quarter friendly nature people just trying to get home, and a quarter kids (in the eyes of all the rest) who have never met a real mortal before - scattered throughout the new southern hemisphere in ones and twos and a few coherent shiploads, trying to find each other and - for most - make their way north toward the lands and people that they know best.]

(If they happen to arrive in time to help beat the ever-loving shit out of Sauron, that's not, like, a drawback for anyone.)

Adventures are had! Hardened war veterans process trauma and old grudges (and sometimes get new ones). People re-find old homes and settle down once more, or realize that either home or they have changed and continue onward with their new companions. Kids grow up.

After a number of sidequests and other delays - flooding rivers, saving an innocent forest from an encroaching swarm of giant spiders, saving a small country from a neighboring evil king influenced by fell whispers from the depths below his castle... It occurs to some of them that all these delays might not be coincidence. They haven't received any official penalties from the Valar for their, er, polite but overt defiance of if not the letter than certainly the spirit of several laws, but...

"I think we are being made Agents of Good," Amarië said thoughtfully. "I think the price of being here is that we must lend a hand where it is needed, where the Great Ones fear to tread for their touch is not...'delicate'...at the best of times."

Celechwes did not like being used without her permission. But, fallen Beleriand never forgotten, she couldn't fault Amarië's analysis.

"I think we should try leaning into it," Finrod suggested. "They'll see that we're here in good faith, and no doubt speed our journey to where our hearts most yearn to go."

(The nearby stream blooped encouragingly, because Ulmo had been explicitly forbidden from giving explicit messages again.)

A few nights later, a local Mannish hunter approached their camp. Emphasis, perhaps, on Man-ish. Her eyes were the blue of a northern wolf-dog. She asked for help scouring the nearby mountains of a dark cult.

[cue: several more decades of montaged adventures. the local folk legends will be rich for generations]

They do arrive in the north just in time to help kick Sauron's fucking ass. Though not early enough to avert the tragedy of the Battle of Dagorlad, they learn later. But before the final, would-be pyrrhic victory; when the soldiers of the Last Alliance are marching into Mordor proper.

Galadriel is the first to know - she's aiding in a healing tent on the foul northern border, ready to ride in a second wave or to hold firm any retreat, when a mind touches her which she hadn't expected to feel again ere either the remaking of the world or her own death and rebirth (for she still had no intention of Sailing.)

Alatariel! her eldest brother calls. How goes the day? I've missed you, of course! Also, do you have a recommendation for where best to land 500 assorted elves, men and cavalry mounts coming up from the south, that we may swiftly come to whatever aid you all need?

A day later, a small host stood at the crest of the path past retaken Minas Ithil, looking out over the shadowed plains of Mordor. All before them was bloodied and embattled: Men fought Men, Elves fought Orcs, eagles and other goodly birds clashed in midair with giant bats and scrawny but deadly petty firedrakes. The very earth groaned in pain beneath the enemy's chains. And far in the distance, near the foot of a fire-spitting mountain, two star-studded banners - one white on black above a white tree, one silver stars on a blue field - approached a red eye on black.

At the head of the bannerless Host of the Returned, Rawen - generally elected battle-leader - raised her blade. Celechwes put a hand on her arm. "Do not call 'Súlaearil.' It's embarrassing. Don't do it." "My lady," Rawen protested, with her particular intonation that made it clear she was saying 'your majesty.' "No," Celechwes said firmly. "'Finwë and the North'?" suggested the elf on Rawen's other side, once third in command of Fingon's Dragon-frighters. "Can't go wrong with that," agreed Finrod, a little further down the line. Rawen sighed. Her blade, which had sagged a little, she raised straight again, then pointed forward with that battle-cry that had long united the great Siege-line of the Noldor: "Finwë and the North!"

"FINWË AND THE NORTH!" roared the Host of the Returned - all hardened veterans by now, though less brittle in it than some had begun. The fiery-faithful of Himring and the valorous of Barad Eithel, the quick of Ossiriand and the cunning of Nargothrond and the devoted of Doriath, the bold and restless of Aman and those who loved Middle Earth so dearly that they could do naught but defend it; slayers of orcs and spiders and feller beasts, saviors of lands besieged and heroes of legend, swept down from the heights to descend upon Sauron's unsuspecting eastern flank.

Ahead of them all streaked a single swift rider, blond hair streaming in the wind of her passage. Her mount was a prong-horned antelope from the plains far to the south, faster than any cavalry horse (and not usually suited to riding, but blue-eyed Alatar had whispered it some encouragement before they'd parted).

They leapt the first line of the enemy, hastily reassembling itself to meet this unexpected new foe. They jerked and dodged and ducked through the others, as behind them the battle lines slammed together. Jagged orcish blades came at her, and the sharp iron of men enraptured or enslaved to the dark, but mostly in passing - they didn't have time for a single rider driving through with no weapons of her own, her only goal the bright silver-on-blue star in the distance.

Eventually a pair of clever firedrakes managed to herd them up one of the low, ragged cliffs that spurted up here and there on the barren land. Celechwes rolled off her antelope to avoid a stream of fire and ran the other way without hesitation - the quick, clever creature would get to safety far more ably with no heavy elf on its back. Without, slowing, she sprinted off the edge of the cliff.

She'd planned to tuck and roll to the bottom, then pick herself up and keep running. The land ahead was clear for a few miles, save for the pits. Instead, great, sharp talons grasped her gently, and (non-specifically) familiar wings beat around her, with a screech that echoed in her bones.

She laughed as one Great Eagle dropped her carefully toward another. With a sailor's grace she landed with both feet on its broad, shifting back, and returned a joyous screech of challenge into the racing wind.

Below and ahead (though less far with every wingbeat), Ereinion Gil-galad looked up. Eagles had been screaming for battle all day, all month, but for a moment he could've sworn -

Celechwes's eagle dove to avoid a vampire. She dropped her knees and gripped its feathers tightly, and thanked the stars that she wasn't trying to do this while keeping someone from bleeding out from the wrist.

As they dove toward the volcano and the forces advancing against one another there, she eagle-shrieked again, in greeting this time, and shouted, "Erein, hold your position! Re-enforcements are coming!"

Even - nay, especially the High King of the Noldor in Middle Earth knew better than to question the finest royal courier in Beleriand, much less his mother the queen. "Hold!" Gil-galad bellowed over the clash of blades.

Celechwes circled back up, looking back across the field. But Sauron, too, had heard her message, and knew a victory when it was about to slip from his grasp. Mighty and fell, he strode forward toward the banners of Gil-galad and Elendil, and the kings of Elves and Men.

In swift, vicious, terrible combat they were soon joined, Sauron with his dark, burning blade and Gil-galad with bright Aeglos and Elendil with shining Narsil. Likely, at best, all would have been slain -

But Celechwes hadn't been the only one of her host riding hard across the dark plains, dallying with no enemy save the greatest foe. She was only (as ever) the fastest.

"HEY, GORTHAUR!" yelled Finrod Felagund, with a particular intonation that made it clear he was saying, Hey, motherfucker! "I CALL REMATCH!"

And this time, as he raised his voice in a Song of trust unbroken and faith fulfilled, of Sea and sand and second chances, Amarië of the Vanyar Sang with him, their souls entwined, she who had learned to Sing from Maiar on the slope of Ezollohar where stood the Trees; and with them also Sang their daughter Veryawendë Tinúviel, named by prophecy from both parents, fated to be a bright melody in darkness and a great change in the world, and this was not her time but still the Great Music swirled thick around her; and you bet your ass Galadriel had also ridden down from the north to join as fast as she was able -

The last time Galadriel and Amarië joined their voices in powerful harmony had been the final duel between Morgoth and Finarfin, Anairë, and the last of the Host of the Noldor. With Sauron's power reflected and redoubled unto himself through his terrible Ring, this duel was no less hard-won, but it was very definitively won. They even prevented him from erupting the volcano as a final spiteful blow.

"We should destroy the Ring," Gil-galad said at the end, exhausted, bloody, and leaning on Elrond for support. Isildur eyed it - shining golden on Sauron's cut-off black hand - with battle-fire lingering in his grey eyes. "I would rather claim it as weregild, for Anarion - " "For the love of - " said Celechwes, dismounted now that the worst of the battle was over (though there was a great deal of mopping-up to do, of orcs, corrupted men and etc.) "Is this still the Noldorin influence?" she demanded, of nobody in particular. "Or is it a new Edainic thing? No, I suppose Thingol fell to it in the end, too - is it being inland? Do you not spend enough time near the sea, and that's why you're constantly obsessed with cursed jewelry? Here, I'll do it - don't go anywhere, Erein; I'll be right back."

She shucked off her leather hauberk to use as a glove, picked up Sauron's still coal-hot black hand, and sprinted up the volcano slope before anyone else could say a word.

"...I'm really sorry," Elendil said into the relative quiet that followed, "I think I know who you are, my lord - " he bowed toward Finrod, as best he could while leaning bloody and exhausted on Isildur - "and Lady Galadriel, I'm so glad you caught up with us. But I'm not sure about any of these other ladies who have come to our rescue? Including that one?" He jerked his head toward the bright-haired figure already halfway up Oroduin's rocky slope, with the air of a man wondering if he should call for soldiers to chase after her.

"That's my mother," said Gil-galad.

"Ah," said Elendil and Isildur, with perfect understanding. They, too, had mothers.

The Forge of Sauron rumbled ominously, shuddered and spat out first sparks, then sprays of lava. Celechwes, briefly out of sight in the cavern near the top, sprinted back down ahead of the molten rock, empty handed.

"Everyone move!" she shouted. "Should've evacuated first! Go, go, go!"

And then everyone lived happily after - though a lot of them probably did Sail not long thereafter, including most of the Host of the Returned - including the Finrod, Amarië, and Veryawendë, though not bold-hearted Mingoneth, and Celechwes, and Gil-galad. Because they'd accomplished a Great Task and Aman is, actually, objectively more pleasant for Elves than most mortal lands (and Beleriand was still gone). The spiritual weather is just so much better. Everyone stuck around to see Elrond and Celebrian get married, though, and to meet their kids and see Gondor and the Greenwood both regain their feet.

With no Gil-galad to come and sort out several conflicting emotions about his parents, Fingon does stay in Mandos, keeping Maedhros company for longer...but not too much longer. There weren't many casualties among the Host of the Returned, but Rawen Ectheliel was among them (her last thought is that her wife is going to be really, truly, perhaps irrevocably disappointed). She manages to find them before she leaves, the memory of Thangorodrim which Maedhros has made to hang from in his self-pity, self-loathing and twisted self-aggrandizement, where Fingon sits by his feet out of loyalty, devotion, stubbornness, pride and fear; and she gives their behavior such a scathing review that Fingon actually pulls his shit together a few years later and tentatively leaves, and Maedhros pulls one of his hands out of the chains.

#my fic #celechwes au #ask meme #the silmarillion #runawaymun

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pearlescentpearl · 1 year

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For the ask game: 5 headcanons for an AU where Fëanor survives the Dagor-nuin-Giliath?

Okay! This ended up being more, uh, general worldbuilding like, but I did my best

Headcanon 1: Supposing Fëanor isn't so badly injured he dies, but still badly injured enough to need being carried away from the balrogs posthaste, Maedhros still takes over as leader while his dad's down and out. I think Morgoth still offers to parley, and that Maedhros still goes. He only needs to convince Fëanor of the merits of the plan to spring the trap, rather than his brothers, and while Fëanor is two parts ha! suck it Eönwë! you said we couldn't contend with him! about it he is one third Hmm Bad Feeling. The Bad Feeling doesn't win.

Headcanon 2: So like, in canon Maglor is the only Fëanorian King Thingol would have ever had diplomatic overtures with (I say this because he explicitly says he's only ever heard of Fëanor, implying he and the Fëanorians didn't try talking to each other until after the Dagor-nuin-Giliath, and since Maedhros got captured directly after his dad's death...) Anyway, the degree to which Thingol does not like Maglor as a king is far outstripped by how much he does not like Fëanor as a king.

Thingol: you can't just come here and set up domains and call yourselves the lords of light!! that's my gig!!

Fëanor: that's nice. unlike you, I don't require help from an Ainu to do all that

Thingol: ...you have none of the parts of Finwë I actually liked

Headcanon 3: Here's an interesting bit I learned from Tolkien Gateway; Hithlum, Ard-Galen/Anfauglith, and Lothlann are not actually considered part of Beleriand proper, they are north of Beleriand, which makes sense because mountain borders. Places like Nevrast, Dorthonion, and Thargelion are ambiguous as to whether they are or not part of Beleriand too. The name Beleriand apparently comes from the southern Balar areas (where the Journey elves congregated before leaving) that was eventually expanded to cover more territory. This both explains why Thingol neglects the Mithrim Sindar (not his people/subjects), and why Maedhros laughs about Thingol granting them lands he doesn't actually govern. This is all to say, so long as the Mithrim Sindar are cool with them moving in -- and the Noldor did save their butts here -- Fëanor finds it laughable that Thingol would ever think Fëanor needs his permission to settle on lands Thingol doesn't actually reign over. This causes yet more diplomatic incidents when later trying to set up the Leaguer.

Headcanon 4: I think with Fëanor still alive there's a chance Fingolfin and co. don't run into orcs when they enter Lammoth. I mean, think about it, after the Dagor-nuin-Giliath shoved the orcs and other Angband forces out of Beleriand, why would there be orcs in Lammoth behind Hithlum? I think they were trying to sneak up the Firth of Drengist to attack the Mithrim camp. It's not like they expected Fingolfin and co. to be there. With Fëanor alive there's a lot less scrambling to shore up the power vacuum, and also I just think Fëanor is a good deal more proactively paranoid than Maglor. If Fëanor can leads his forces through Drengist into Hithlum than why can't his enemy? This means Argon gets to live.

Headcanon 5: Okay, so like... because I read HoME and shit, there's a number of non-published silm details near and dear to my heart through which I form headcanons and worldbuilding. One of these details is the fact Fingolfin and co. were in Mithrim for five years before Fingon threw his hands up and went to rescue Maedhros. That's five years of political shitshow between Fëanor and Fingolfin. Now, under Maglor a number of the Fëanorians repented the shipburning and wanted to apologize, which makes sense to me because it's not like every one of them was involved in the ship burning. Ship stealing? Yes. Ship burning? No. Maedhros is the only of the royal family who refuses to participate but I don't think he's the only of the Fëanorian Faction to disagree. But Fëanor? He is not sorry. He does not want his historically slightly treasonous power-jockeying brother around to stab him in the back, and he won't accept blame for the Helcaraxë when that was Fingolfin's idea to put his people through. The reason the five years bit is important to me is because it shifts Fingon rescuing Maedhros out of the lens of being solely driven by compassion (although it is indeed driven by a great deal of compassion) into an incredibly bonkers yet undeniably savvy political move. With Maglor, it was about getting the only guy left alive with the authority to tell Maglor what to do. (Talk about tattling on Maglor to his older brother, such a cousin move amiright?) With Fëanor, it's about pulling him over a barrel by rescuing not only his son, but returning the Crown Prince who stands up to him for Fingolfin and co.'s sake now supercharged with enough personal gratitude to guarantee he does so. And if Fëanor doesn't agree with this gratitude, well. Sends rather the wrong message doesn't it?

Anyway, these aren't exactly groundbreaking headcanons to have, but then, I've never formulated my own Fëanor Lives AU either, so. It was fun to think about!

#silmarillion

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that-angry-noldo · 1 year

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No, actually, I want to talk about how most of my tolkien "unpopular opinions" and dislike for "everything's not so simple" comes from russian fandom.

When I only started getting into the fandom, russian really was my only way to do so. Ukrainian fanfiction was fairly underdeveloped (or I didn't have the skills to find better sources), and my knowledge of english was... poor, to say the least. So, yeah, russian fandom that is.

And boy, oh boy, what an experience that was. Russian most popular trope, unsurprisingly, was "everything's not so simple".

Kinslayings? Not so simple, Feanor was justified. Lay of Leithtian? Beren is a monster and should be burnt; Luthien is a naive girl who travels naked, actually; Celegorm and Curufin are her noble resquers; Finrod deserves to die for his idiotism. Miriel & Indis? Why is it even a question, of course Indis is an evil stepmother, of course Miriel is pure and without a flaw, of course 2nd & 3rd houses shouldn't have existed!

The Valar? Hey, did you know russians have "The Black Book of Arda" - a book that is basically about poor little Melkor being right and cruel and scary Valar being mean to him?

I read many fics, but there were three that stuck to me the most (i don't remember their names, though): the one that wanted to retell the silmarillion in the "right" way, the one that basically said C&C were right for capturing and threatening Luthien, and the one where everyone was evil, except elves who lived in Beleriand.

The first one... the first one was basically a huge Feanor apologism, even though the author claimed that they were "just adding nuance" and that "you should always look past the text implications" and that "you can't be in the right if you don't spill a bit of blood, actually". I mean, even if at one point author implies that yeah, 2nd and 3rd houses shouldn't have really existed, it's a huge red flag for me.

The second one, well - the plot goes like this: C&C capture Luthien; C&C talk with Luthien; the talk goes basically like this: "Look little miss, you are your father's daughter. Your father has an army. What we're saying is, you marry Celegorm, he won't love you, you won't love him, yeah you'll be unhappy, your Beren is dead anyways, all we need you for is basically your dad's army." And it is painted as a right decision for Luthien to forsake Beren and marry Celegorm. When someone in the comments said "hey, don't you think what the feanorians told luthien was pretty off the rails?", the author exploded, saying, again, that we should see nuance, and that luthien made the right choice not retrieving the silmarill that would cause 2nd kinslaying and that C&C are much more well-thought that Finrod, and that yeah Finrod is an idiot and the fact that he and Beren will now inevitably die and his death will be pointless - well, sucks to suck, I guess.

Brr. I still get flashbacks from that comment section.

The last one basically shitted on humans. Humans? Oh you mean magicless filthy creatures who only lie, insult and are parasites that need to be destroyed? And everyone who's not an elf should die? And the elves under Valar influence should die, too? And Valar are actually parasites? And Eru is a myth? Yeah. Yeah you know what.

Russian fandom yells about "nuance" but their nuance are just sides switched. Black becomes white, white becomes black. And if you disagree, well, you clearly can't see past the 2nd-3rd Houses biased Noldor propaganda and should therefore be destroyed. (Ha. Seeing some paralels with real life now, honestly.)

That's why I left, kinda. I just felt so tired, all the time. This is why I prefered LoL as a fairytale, and this is why I mostly prefer following canon. Because for me Tolkien was an escapism, first and foremost, but I felt like I needed to have entire essays at hand just to defend my love for it.

In conclusion, I was an unprepared Ukrainian thrown in the mist of Misterious Russian Soul™ and was gradually taking 1d4 confusion damage, until I was so tired I left entirely. And I'm glad I did so, because English fandom is so much more chill, and when people say/criticise something, they do specify that it is just their opinion on a fictional world and people don't have to wage wars and write multiple essays to enjoy their fave.

P.S. My biggest beef to this day is Finarfin being portrayed as a tiny whiny man unable to raise his voice. Whenever I remember that fic I immediately want to bite. But it's just me, probably.

#finarfin being portrayed as a tiny whiny man is probably the only thing that can make me take my gun and say «wanna try again »#the only good thing that did come from my experience is my love for finrod & edrahil #noone does it like finrod & edrahil actually #tolkien #silmarillion #/my circus my monkeys but tolkien

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hirazuki · 9 months

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For the Ainur ask game: 1, 2, 16 and 17 ^^

1. Which Ainu is your favourite?

Mairon! That should come as no surprise, I feel like my entire blog is a treatise on why I love him, at this point 🤣

2. Which one is your least favourite?

Aule. He's actually my least favorite Tolkien character period 😅 I did a write up some time ago about him which, while technically it was regarding Mairon's relationship with him, does inevitably entail quite a bit of projection so you can find a lot of my reasons there, if you wish. Without going too into detail, let's just say that my interpretation of him is very personal and in the way that he reads to me, he falls under the one character archetype that's always guaranteed to make me see red because it hits so close to home XD

16. Would you rather dwell in Almaren/Valinor or Middle-earth?

Oh, Middle Earth 100%. Almaren/Valinor, at least the way it's described, sounds like an absolute nightmare for someone like me. I'd be clawing at everything, including myself, to escape it. I can't do stillness, I can't do mild, and I can't do no-conflict/no-stakes. I complain about stuff and wanting an easier time of it, but I'm self-aware enough to know that, in reality, without any type of hardship, occasional extremes, having to work for shit myself, etc., I would go absolutely insane. Paradise is not a place for me.

17. Is there an event in canon you'd (attempt to) influence (using your powers/foresight/etc.)?

Hmm, that's a tough one because, from a narrative perspective, I really enjoy how events play out in canon. If I was actually in the story, though? Probably the sinking of Beleriand. I much prefer Beleriand to Second and Third Age Middle Earth, just in terms of the lay of the land; it's much more aesthetically/geographically pleasing to me, so I'd rather it not sink. How would I go about influencing/preventing it? No fucking clue 🤣

#thanks for asking!! ♡

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an-eldritch-peredhel · 1 year

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Afterlife therapy can't fix everything, golden cages, and unreturned all sound neat!

@thalion71, for the WIP ask game!

Afterlife therapy can't fix everything: The very rough title for an OC centric fic, focusing on Urusalirë with their family after she's reembodied from going off to fight and dying in the War of Wrath. Fun highlights include: backstory trauma because their family who's deaths she feels responsible for weren't in Mandos, Nerdanel with a little Trauma By Proxy because almost everyone she cares for has died horribly in Beleriand, Mahtan trying to keep his family together while ignoring the bitter and hurt parts of himself to help his partner, and of course my headcanons on Mandos and reembodiment.

He deliberately holds himself back from touching her- something she is pathetically grateful for but simultaneously infuriates her. They want to hold and be held by their friend and partner and husband and they couldn’t in death and now they can’t in life because they tried and they had, for hours they had held their partner and their daughter as closely and tightly as any of them could bear, but even the thought of someone touching their skin now pins their ears back and makes them want to cry.

Golden Cages: Magic puberty with parents who are fundamentally, cosmically incapable of understanding you and a sibling who is both a lifeline and a threat is a great time! It's basically me working through Luthien's relationships with her parents and with her childhood while forced into a place and form that she can't fit out of love. Also an excuse for lots of purple-prose magic description, which I'm always a fan of. I'm not terribly happy with the bones of it anymore, and it's hard to reconcile normal mental reactions with Eldritchly-Inhuman Maia instincts without leaning too hard one way or another and feeling wrong, but I still love some parts and the premise so it will probably end up reworked in the future.

When she finally stopped Singing (she didn’t run out of air) she had wings large enough to half-span the throne room, and skin that glinted like metal and iridized like the inside of a shell, and eyes brighter than the forest-frozen stars, and hair that spiraled like clouds (like her mother’s) and, and, and. She didn’t speak for a month, until it all (mostly) went away, leaving her stretched and straining at her body’s seams with the knowledge of her new potential. The forest's bird-song didn’t come back for another week.

Unreturned: An AU where Luthien is able to return to life as a mortal(ish) because of her nature, but Beren can't because of his. She agrees to go back and live her life for as long as she can bear (very reluctantly, in no small part because in this AU she's already pregnant), and resolves that since she doesn't have Beren to settle down with, she is going to fuck shit up and leave as terrifyingly awesome a legacy as she can. Beren is her impulse control. Would love to do more with this but it's 90% undefined break-it-less vibes in my head which with the Silm means so much planning to get pieces to fall into place without making things worse. I do know that the major canon divergence would only start after the Nirnaeth was lost. Also featuring Maedhros and Luthien becoming really weird, terrifying, and vaguely codependent besties (a relationship I care so much about with less than 0 basis), and Daeron trying to coparent Dior while keeping his sister even halfway sane (paralleling Maglor with Maedhros- and possibly Gil-Galad?)

Luthien begs. She pours her heart and soul out into her Song, all her rage and grief at the unjustice of the world. Namo, the great judge, grim and unrelenting and always, always just, he cries. He sits, silently listening to her, as tears drip down his stony face. He is not unmoved. But there are laws greater than he to be upheld, and mortals do not return from death. Elves do. And Maiar do not die.

#ask #jaz-the-bard #thalion71 #wip ask game #ask game #urusalire #fae and fell and full of shadows agenda #<- my maedhros & luthien tag #which has basically nothing in it because i am alone in silently rotating them lol

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ceescedasticity · 2 years

Text

Unforsaken, 2b

(All sections on tumblr)

(AO3, lagging behind but more polished)

Maglor doesn't understand the question. He hasn't done anything to his hands.

…Well, he unwrapped his bad hand before he took a bath, and he hasn't gotten around to re-bandaging it, so the injury is visible, but why would Celegorm bring it up, especially in front of Glorfindel and Celeborn and orc-Turgon?

Orc-Turgon, who says, "That looks awful, we can wait for you to get it treated."

…Turgon doesn't know. So maybe Celegorm doesn't know, either.

Wait, does Celegorm know what happened to Maedhros, then?

Does he know about Sirion?

Oh shit Maglor does not want to explain to Celegorm they did another Kinslaying without him and tbh it was even more of a disaster.

"I burned it on a rock," he says.

"I'll just go bandage it."

He flees the council room.

(Celeborn does not ask why Maglor already knows the layout of Imladris well enough to find the healing rooms without guidance.)

Unfortunately for Maglor's already flimsy coverup plan—

"How much do you know about what happened in Beleriand after your death?" Glorfindel asks Turgon, dreading the answer.

"The Dark Lord occupied everything, and eventually a host came over the Sea and defeated him," Turgon says.

"How did you find out Ada existed?" Elrohir asks curiously.

Turgon looks a bit embarrassed. "…Descriptions of enemy commanders, in the Second Age."

"What does that have to do with Maglor's hand?" Celegorm asks.

"Um," says Elrohir.

"I hoped not hearing about Eärendil or Idril meant they'd gone West at the end of the Age. Once I got over the shock, having seen you in Angmar was a relief," Turgon adds. "Since it meant the evacuation must have gone well."

"Uh," says Elladan.

(Khitwê and Risyind have picked up a little of this history over their time in Imladris, but still can't quite follow the discussion. Screech-Sharlinnu has no idea what all this is about.)

"I think there are some things I should discuss with Lord Turgon before we get started," Glorfindel says.

"You do that," Celeborn says. "Elladan, maybe you should go make sure Lord Maglor hasn't climbed out a window and run away."

(He's not going to suggest Maglor explain the final ruin of the the Sons of Fëanor to Celegorm, but he's certainly not going to explain it.)

Risyind, innocently: "So Whiterot, are you going to ask Lord Celeborn for information on what happened to the Sindar at the end of the First Age?"

Whiterot, who would rather go sunbathing than potentially draw attention to her identity: "I was thinking I might explain what happened with Reckless's brother Sly and the Lord of Eregion, since I'm not as close to that."

#orc bank unforsaken #orc bank #a tolkien tag

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squirrelwrangler · 10 months

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🌀 & ☔️?

🌀Post the fic summary for a fic you haven't written/published yet. It can be hypothetical or something you really plan on releasing...

The Great Fever of 432 The sickness comes in the spring. By the end of the summer funeral pyres rise above the pines of Ladros. Baragund and Belegund are twelve and ten, and the summer that plague sweeps through Dorthonion they are sent to live with their Great-aunt Andreth.

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

Best AU Ever - that AU where Míriel rejects Finwë's proposal because she realizes she doesn't love Finwë that much and doesn't want nor have the temperament to be queen of the Noldor before she dies and chooses to be reembodied. Fëanor never exists. HUZZAH. Nerdanel and Míriel have a deeply bitter and entrenched rivalry for the title of most acclaimed and creative Noldor artisan and inventor. Finwë is just as pettily butthurt about Míriel's rejection as he was when he chose to use the new Noldor S instead of TH, so not only does he do that same as in canon, he is a patron for Míriel's rival, Nerdanel. Canon is about the same except the newly released Melkor is finding the modern art critic rivalries a little less fertile for armed rebellion shit-stirring without Fëanor's resentments. He brainstorms for a bit, looking at Finwë and Indis's children, and notices that there is a large untapped resentment-driven political divide to exploit: Olwë and the Falmari. Use his whispers to remind the Falmari of their kin-obligations and lingering hurt to the Eglath, and once the Two Trees get munched on, it's Olwë and the Falmari having lost faith in the Valar and decamping to sail back to Middle-earth. Finarfin goes with his family and some of FIngolfin's kids. Olwë and Co arrive in Beleriand thinking they're about to be hailed as saviors and get that nice grovelling apology from Elmo. Turns out, hey, Elu is alive and was found, ruling as king with his Maia wife, Elmo got murdered years ago, welcome home cheaters yeah we need your help with the army of evil darkness no we aren't hopping back on your boats Middle-earth is our home plus there's not enough boats for us all -say hi to Dan's people they're back with us too- and our mortal dwarven allies probably can't go and look there's more weirdly bearded mortals but these are taller that just fled over the mountains now help us fight or go back to Valinor and bring back Oromë and Tulkas.

#meme replies #best AU evar

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fuckingfinwions · 1 year

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Ooh that point about grudge for eternity is a really cool thought -findunderground

Thank you!

I like the trope of elves not really having invented a lot of crimes in pre-Darkening Valinor, just to make the kinslaying at Alqualonde and then culture shock of Beleriand and meeting the other species all the more stark. (Okay, I write a lot about elves doing terrible shit in Valinor too.) But I don't think they're inherently kinder than humans, they just have longer-term thinking. If a human blackmails someone into obeying them for thirty years and keeping silent for another twenty, the human can expect to be dead before consequences reach them. With an elf, the most they can hope for is to have gotten out of town - and then to literally never come back.

Maedhros is thinking several things. a) he can blackmail Fingolfin pretty much indefinitely, as Maedhros will remain leader of the next largest military faction unless one of them dies, or they win. b) If they win and get the Silmarils, Fingolfin might stop considering cooperation worth it. But the Feanorian army and the Nolofinwean army can just split into different kingdoms at that point if Fingolfin tries to make Maedhros face consequences. c) Maedhros's family and his followers will believe him over Fingolfin d) If they die, they weren't going to walk out happily as friends in Valinor in a week anyway. All the Noldor are doomed to a long time in Mandos, and Maedhros specifically is sworn to the Void. The Tirion government can't arrest him for rape if he doesn't exist anymore!

#findunderground #fucking compliments

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danafinwefeaelenionfeanorian · 2 years

Text

Tolkien Gen Week Day Four: Solo & Language

503 FA

"I am...shit, what's the khazad word for ex-queen?" I scramble to look for a word. A word that's somewhat translatable to what I need it to be. Anything. It can be anything remotely close to former-queen. It gets old saying my whole history in westron.

Valar speaking and learning to read dwarven runes are entirely different types of stone, as Duirn likes to put it. Learning to read their runes was a piece of honey cake. Their language on the other hand is just as complex as Quenya. As a native Quenya speaker, this should be a breeze but here I am failing. Miserably.

Not the first fail either. The first was mistaking one darrows advice to go left instead of right for them inviting me to dine with them. I promptly went right and bashed my head on a low-hanging doorframe. Safe to say I was not ready to go out on my own. Nor speak their language to them.

"Ah, close enough...oh even better, okay let's try this," I clear my throat and start again. "I am Danafinwe Feaelenion Feanorian, former queen of the Noldor."

Not bad. It feels a tad too formal. But we can work with it.

_____

"Nice to meet you, I am Danafinwe Feaelenion Feanorian, the former queen of the Noldor in Beleriand," I flip the page and the thought-up sequences of possible conversation continues.

"Yada, yada, yada,"

"Yes I do enjoy dwarven architecture, it's....it's...how do I say--"

"Are you holding a conversation with yourself?" Holy shit. How did I not hear him walk in? Dwarves are heavy on their feet, I should have heard him ages ago. Valar I'm a mess.

"Durin,"

"Well?" Durin takes a seat at the large table he had built. Longer legs and wider leaves. Spacifficly so I don't have to sit on the floor. As I was.

Durin looks over my papers. Unconsciously tucks a golden braid behind his ear. The colour reminds me of Findo. The exact same shade of blonde. It almost pains me to remember what my brothers did to him. Our cousin.

"Yes, I was," I hold up the book on Khazad and the paper of dialogue I'm using for practice. "I'm teaching myself,

"You need the practice,"

Can always count on a dwarf for an honest opinion. That or your siblings. "I am aware,"

"Then let's practice." _____

1697 TA

"You're doing great," I encourage Tauriel, she expressed her fondness for learning languages years ago. I told her I would teach her Khazad when she turned 100. Yesterday was her one hundredth. Now we learn.

She already knows Quenya, Sindarin and Westron. Khazad is next on her list.

"No, I'm not. I'm never gonna get it,"

"Yes, you are. Trust me Tauriel you will and you will be so proud," I remember what Durin called me when I too got discouraged. A lout. A lazy lout. "It could be worse, you could have a dwarf call you a lazy lout,"

"Did Durin call you that?"

"Yes he did and he meant it as a kindness," I'm sure Durin meant it as it is. A lazy troublemaker who kept fucking up his precious language. After learning what it meant in Khazad I purposefully fucked up.

That got Durins attention and then he affectionately said it. Some married couple we made. A matter of convenience for both parties involved. Thank the valar we never made it official. Just a small document drawn up to outline the agreement.

"Come let's try again,"

"Alright,"

"I am Tauriel Feanorian, daughter of Danafinwe Feanorian and Nanwe Feanorian," I can't help but smile. Nanwe decided he and Tauriel would use my last name instead of his. A fact that makes me prouder to call them my beloved and child.

I'll never be over-calling Tauriel, my daughter. Never. It will always bring a smile to my face.

"I am Tauriel Feanorian, daughter of Danafinwe Feanorian and Nanwe Feanorian,"

"Perfect." Just how a dwarf would say it.

#khazad #smithy #danafinwe feaelenion feanorian #tolkiengenweek

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