#Which is actually an excuse to stay with Gil-galad because he has no idea what to do with himself and Gil is one of his last family members

[thefandomstorage]

A part of me wants to write a fic with Gil-Galad somehow meeting up with an injured and still heavily traumatized Maeglin who now has white hair after the fall of Gondolin and just “Well I obviously can’t just leave you alone and injured in the wild, so I’ll take you with me.”

Gil-Galad then proceeds to lie his ass off to everyone about the strange elf he brought back and is obviously hiding. What elf? Oh that one! He’s just a friend. What’s his name? Uhm...What a coincidence, it seems to have slipped my mind! Gottagobye!

Gil-Galad keeps telling himself that he’ll exile Maeglin or hand him over to the Gondolin survivors, but he keeps putting it off, even when Maeglin is majority healed. Next thing they know, the armies of Valinor have arrived and the War of Wrath ramps up. With nothing left to do, Gil gives Maeglin a disguised name, armor and a sword, and together, they fight. They are quite surprised to discover that they work very well together. That’s probably when they start becoming friends. 

And then Elrond comes in. And Gil is trying so hard to keep his two friends separated. Which is hard when you’re friends with a very curious and nosey peredhel who is very suspicious about the mysterious white haired elf who is always with the king.

It’s even funnier if Elrond is hiding Maglor 

Elrond: Is that Maeglin?! Gil-Galad with an obvious Maeglin behind him: No no no, you’re seeing things. 

*Maglor passes by behind Elrond*

Gil-Galad: Is that Maglor Feanorian?!

Elrond: No, you’re seeing things.

[lordgrimwing]

Okay, you must tell us about αβΩ au

I'm going to call it an atypical alpha/beta/omega take on what Middle-earth could be like if the Valar didn't bring the elves to Valinor/the elves refused to go. This all came about when someone did some art of Glorfindel, Erestor, and Elrond and mentioned that it was for an a/b/o au with minimal explanation. Of course, I and @nighttimepatrons went a little crazy over it.

What I've actually written so far is mostly focused on Celebrian, Gil-galad, and Elrond, who are all married and very happy. Celebrian is a princess of the Noldor and Sindar realms and travels gracefully from diplomatic meeting to minor crisis. Gil-galad is a merchant and low-level politician in Lindon working very hard to make sure he's never connected to the High Family (Finwe's family) because thoughts of somehow becoming king haunt his nightmares. Elrond's a healer raised by the nomadic Feanorians who has the unfortunate habit of complicating Gil-galad's life because the path to political upheaval is paved with good intentions (re: bringing Avari Glorfindel to Lindon and picture).

[breaking here because this is getting Long]

The core idea for the au is that Elrond went on an expedition with Pengolodh and others to document one of the few Avari tribes that's been untouched by the outside world since leaving Cuivienen, but the tribe lives within another realm that is very set on keeping them free of outside influences so the research group has to promise to not interact or let themselves be seen by anyone in the tribe. Well, as one might expect, this doesn't go as planned. A great beast of the wilds attacks the group but an Avari they'd been watching (Glorfindel) steps and saves them but is grievously wounded and will die unless they help him. Elrond, being Elrond, insists on doing what he can in the field and on smuggling him back to Lindon on one of Gil-galad's ships when it becomes clear the Avari will die without in-depth medical care.

Really, it's an excuse for me to yank Glorfindel out of his home and shove him into a new culture because I love him being an outsider among the Noldor. (I'm basic, what can I say?)

Nightie and I also think A Lot about Miriel/Indis/Finwe and Feanor :) (spoiler: Feanor gets mirked by some Men which inspires the first Manslaying)

Anyway, you might be wondering what any of this has to do with a/b/o. Well, in the 'modern realms' like the Noldor and Sindar, very little importance is put on if someone's an alpha (Celebrian), beta (Gil-galad), or omega (Elrond). Sure, sometimes someone could have hormonal things that make them act a bit different (re: Elrond's nesting habits), but it's no big deal. HOWEVER, the Avari tribe has Very Different feelings on the matter.

The tribe believes that an evil spirit or force causes elves to become alphas or omegas (they don't use those terms but whatever). There isn't much they can do if someone becomes an omega, but generally omegas can live a normal life but just lose control of their bodies sometimes. So, omegas can stay in the tribe but don't have much respect unless they dedicate themselves to healing and or soothsaying etc. Alphas, on the other hand, are considered violent and dangerous and are not allowed to stay with the tribe after reaching adulthood unless they go through a ritual to cast the evil spirit from them. This involves a moderate degree of mutilation and pain and is very unpleasant and sometimes people die during it.

Glorfindel's an alpha. He went through that ritual and is a very good warrior/hunter/protector for the tribe. He is very proud of his scars.

This makes things a bit awkward in Lindon, where everyone is horrified by this thing that he takes deep pride in.

Anyway, that's a lot and there's even more but I should probably stop (warm hug if you read all that).