nelyos-right-hand

[nelyos-right-hand]

I like your melkor and mairon! Is there a headcanon?

HELLOOOO thank you so much for the lovely words!! 💓 and the question too! to be honest, I sat down and thought long and hard for this one, bc I tend to always always fluctuate between how I see the Melkor-Mairon dynamic tbh…… 🤔🤔

On one hand, the one I tend to draw and lean towards is a more lighthearted version of them, in which Melkor is basically a nutjob boss who runs his kingdom like a manchild and Mairon is the exasperated manager cleaning after his messes lmao!!! So here, I see them as having a relationship of mutual benefit and (mostly) mutual respect:

Melkor gives Mairon the power to do as he pleases (experiment, harass elves, kill Finrods, etc etc) so Mairon in turn serves him loyally and take care of things relating to Mind that Melkor, who specialises in Might, may miss or overlook. While I don't hc Melkor as someone capable of ""loving"" in the sense we may be familiar with, I think they do care for each other in the weird, detached way you might become fond of a stray dog you see everyday on ur commute to work 🤭

On another hand, I have considered a darker version of their dynamic before that I’ll put under the cut 🤔 content warning for gaslighting(?), implied workplace abuse so if those possible things make you uncomfy please feel free to click off!

if you’ve read my writing, you’d know i believe Melkor is a nasty bugger who treats everyone horribly (even his own ppl!!! what a surprise 🤷🏻‍♀️) so in this version, I see Mairon from a POV in which his servitude to Melkor is less out of genuine loyalty and more out of…. survival? Fear? Not that I’m excusing his actions lmao but we'll get to that in a sec

Here I tend to see Mairon as someone who’s trapped in an inescapable situation: allured to Melkor’s side for the promise of power and order that Aulë may not necessary have given him, but who quickly learnt that Melkor may not have been as benevolent a master as he may have made them all believe. Melkor here is someone who takes out his temper on even those who serve him, with Mairon (+ Gothmog Thuri n co) being the forefront; he rules through fear, and his servants know that most of all.

(But it's not to say Mairon can find comfort in his fellow Maiar during this, bc Angband is a toxic hazbin that banks on the survival of the fittest/dog-eat-dog mentality, so any perceived weakness will get you shunned-- and besides, Lord Melkor only loses his temper if you fail his expectations... right?)

Here, I don’t think Melkor is behind manipulating Mairon to stay by his side; and Mairon himself is torn between wanting to believe that his lord's increasing frequency of violent tempers are just the Silmaril-paranoia taking hold of his mind. But Mairon is proud as well, and instead of allowing this treatment to force him into a shell of subservience and fear, he maintains his image of perfection and takes out his resentment onto the other closest outlets (the children of iluvatar rip), which I think is a good segway into his oppresive role as Sauron in the 2nd and 3rd ages even after Melkor is gone...

eh!!!! this got a little long-winded, and it ended up less 'headcanony' than it did 'rambly'... my apologies!!! 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️ if this isn't the answer you wanted, feel freeeee to let me know and i can probably whip up some more lighthearted content hehehe... but til then, if youve made it this far into my ramblings then thank you for reading!!! 💓💓

[nelyos-right-hand]

the idea of the peredhel twins having heightened senses due to their maia blood is one of the concepts ive seen floating around that i really like, so here's my take on it combined with the feanorians (+ fingon) lingering about as houseless spirits that i explored some time ago in an old inktober post 😌

houseless spirits see all, but they can't interact with the world around them so i suppose that makes for quite a static existence...but compared to an oathbound eternity in Mandos (sans Fingon??), i like to imagine they'll stay a little longer to watch over those left behind, just to make sure they're doing alright 👍🏻

some more lighthearted bonuses cuz why not:

[nelyos-right-hand]

@elvinye

[nelyos-right-hand]

One of my fav things about Gandalf is, he can & canonically does Full Name hobbits when he’s angry like he’s their mum or something

[nelyos-right-hand]

I mean. I mean if you are ASKING for more suggestions. I'm. You know. I'm gonna ask for either Sauron and Finrod (because your tol-in-gaurhoth Sauron design is Delicious) or Annatar and Celebrimbor. Because I am obsessed

♪ The captives sad in Angband mourn Thunder rumbles, the fires burn- And Finrod fell before the throne ♪

I choose Finrod and Sauron because I'm currently listening to Clamavi de profundis - The battle of Sauron and Finrod Felagund on repeat.

[nelyos-right-hand]

[nelyos-right-hand]

"Curufinwë Atarincë, you were named after two of the greatest men I ever knew. Me. And me again."

[nelyos-right-hand]

I had this incomplete for so long haha but I DID IT!

So more content of them, maiar on Valinor when times were calm and Mairon was uncorrupted🤲❤️Olórin would def find more fun to see the talking squirrels than whatever Curumo had planned for the millionth time haha Curumo pls don't be a party pooper! Olórin has already seen your craft!

Hope I can do more of this, I enjoy imagining how those times were!

[nelyos-right-hand]

don't talk to me or my son ever again

[nelyos-right-hand]

The fall of Fingon and a final reunion. 

If only they were not betrayed. If only he made it on time. 

[nelyos-right-hand]

mindless and bloodthirsty Celegorm yes, but what about pre-darkening Tyelkormo, effortlessly charming, with an easy joke always on the tip of his tongue; quick to anger and hold a grudge, but just as quick to burst into warm laughter. So deeply in tune with nature he radiates a certain kind of ancient wisdom. Heavy gaze and a smug, charming smile. He speaks bluntly and harshly and yet with purpose, so his words land heavy, for better or worse

[nelyos-right-hand]

My favorite Celebrimbor headcanon is that he was, in fact, suspicious of Annatar. He noticed the things that didn’t make sense, he was very conscious that he was being directed in a particular direction, he often picked up on parts of Annatar’s story that felt off…

But he knows that Fëanor was famous for being too suspicious to collaborate with anyone, for distrusting everyone who tried to correct him, for working alone and never taking advice or direction, and so Celebrimbor distrusts all his own instincts, he’s internalized very very deeply that his intuitions are Fëanorian and suspect and evil and that the right thing to do is overriding them.

And he’s wrong.

[nelyos-right-hand]

hi it’s me drawing maedhros again 🤣🤣

[nelyos-right-hand]

“What could go wrong, you said.”

“I hate you.”

[nelyos-right-hand]

Which Tolkien character will you be handcuffed to for the day?

Will you enjoy your day or will you barely survive it? *cackles evilly*

[nelyos-right-hand]

so is glorfindel's first body still sitting at the bottom of the ocean or-