#fingolfin is a king over other kings of finwë’s house

[mahtariel-of-himring]

Silm Headcanon:

Battle braids were common amongst the Noldor when they first arrived in Beleriand. The tradition of braids had transitioned from Valinorian family, friendship or marriage braids into ones for battle. New styles were invented and quickly spread across the Noldorian community.

The length, placement, thickness and beads that were added or not added told stories of survival and hardship throughout time.

The most common ones were the following:

First battle braids, a simple three strand braid with a black bead marking that an elf had spilled their first black blood.

Partaker braids, for different big battles that simply marked a soldier as having been apart of said fight.

Fealty braids, openly showing who one’s loyalty lies with.

And at last survivors braids, these were worn by those who survived any type of imprisonment by dark creatures, there was also a more complicated version of this braid for former thralls of Angband.

There were also very rare braids which brought the wearer great respect and honor if an elven warrior wore said braid in their hair.

One of the rarest and most admired was the braid marking the survival of an encounter with Sauron, which on its own was feat enough.

It was a complicated four too five thread braid with multiple smaller or larger beads depending on the length or severity of the meeting.

Another was the one worn by Balrog slayers. This braid however only really surfaced after the first age when Glorfindel returned from Valinor since there were no surviving Balrog slayers to wear it.

One of the few braids that stayed the same from Valinor to Beleriand was the braid of the High King. Having only ever been worn by Finwë, Fëanor, Maedhros, Fingolfin, Fingon and Turgon.

Gil-Galad did not continue this tradition due to his decent from the house of Finarfin who‘s braiding traditions, just as many other elven houses, had faded over the years.

But since braids were mainly worn by the first to arrive in Beleriand after the flight of the Noldor, therefore fëanorians and their loyalists over time battle braids became a symbol of their house which quickly resulted and a fast decline of elven battle braids being seen on daily basis.

After the second and third kinslaying they had nearly completely disappeared in all but those still loyal to the remaining two son‘s of Fëanor and the son‘s themselves.

There were also unique braid, only ever worn by one person.

One of those was Maedhros‘ side braid.

A simple but elegant side braid on his left with no beads or pearls or any decorations whatsoever.

He wore it always after his rescue from the cliffs of Thangorodrim.

This braid was neatly kept, closly against his skull and tightly braided.

The braid of Maedhros became a symbol for the Lord of Himring and only ever associated with him and his qualities.

His formidable talent as a warlord, his unchallenged title as the greatest and fiercest swordsman of Beleriand, his fëanorian heritage and his standing as leader of the followers of house Fëanor.

The orcs, goblins, werewolves and evil men began to fear the braid of the red haired elf and his name became even more devastating to them than it already was.

After Maedhros died none dared ever wear his braid, for it stood for a fury no one dared claim as their own.

The centuries went by and braids got fewer and fewer. The second age was nearly at its end and the war against Sauron in full go.

But then came the day on which Sauron’s forces marched with Celebrimbor‘s dead body used as a flag.

And the infamous fury of the Lord of Himring was set ablaze in another, one who deemed himself close to the deceased elf to this day.

Elrond.

When he saw his beloved cousin’s body, defaced and dishonored that fire his foster father had carried was lit within him, and something snapped.

The next day the entire army was in shock and disbelief as their King‘s herald walked onto the battlefield wearing said infamous side braid, paired with a set of armor made by Celebrimbor, and an ear cuff also known for having once belonged to Maedhros.

That day the orcs of Sauron learned to fear the fury of the half elf, for they had already forgotten what true Noldorian spirit was. Elrond cut them down one by one, killing hundreds of orcs by himself and struck terror into the hearts of his enemies as they watched their companions fall to his blade.

Elrond didn’t stop until nearly all orcs were either dead or had fled from his wrath.

Then he went to find his cousins body. He freed him from the wooden pole he had been bound to and carried him away. Far off into nature, away from Lindon and Eregion, far away from all they once knew and laid him to rest in a peaceful spot where many flowers grew and old trees surrounded them.

To this day Lord Elrond visits his cousin often, for his final resting place is no far from Imladris, and to this day he wears the braid once associated with Maedhros, and he would do so until his arrival in Valinor.

[waitingforsecretsouls]

Maedhros resenting or at the least not particularly respecting Fingolfin is actually kind of important to me, for both of their characters. I feel people tend to gloss over the fact that Fingolfin basically threatened the Fëanorians (Maedhros brothers and people, much as fanon sometimes likes to ignore this-) with civil war ("No love was there in the hearts of those that followed Fingolfin for the House of Fëanor, for the agony of those that endured the crossing of the Ice had been great, and Fingolfin held the sons the accomplices of their father. Then there was peril of strife between the hosts[...]"), one the Fëanorians were ill situated to win, having given up their established encampments to the Nolofinwëan host and being lesser in number, and it was only when Maedhros abdicated his crown to Fingolfin specifically that "the feud was healed" ("FOR Maedhros begged forgiveness for the desertion at Araman (undertaken with his complete knowledge and support; he only balks at actually burning the ships) and waived his claim to kingship") NOT with Fingons rescue itself.

The first thing the Sons of Fëanor are noted for basically whenever is their pride, and before Valar intervention they were the Elder House of the Noldor, undisputed heirs to Finwë (and never disputed by Finwë himself, might I add). Maedhros is a son of Fëanor, what's more he is their LEADER. He was named and raised for his rightful place in the succession and fully sided with his father in the feud, yet it's so impossible a notion that he might take pride in his inheritance? That he might have wanted it, and seen it as rightfully his? That potential decades of torment and the risk of civil strife he was poised to lose MIGHT have played a part in his decision to surrender the crown? The first thing he does afterwards is be the final voice in the establishment of relations with Doriath (without any kind of contribution from the Nolofinwëans..."A king is he that can hold his own, or else his title is vain" as a double-edged insult not only towards Thingol but also Fingolfin? No, it couldn't be.. .) relocate to the other side of the continent to create his autonomous region and balk at Fingolfin thinking he can give him commands ("[...] ill disposed to hearken to [Fingolfin's] command, and the sons of Fëanor least of all." Since, you know, Maedhros is part of said group and not singled out in this).

I don't think it's a coincidence either that Maedhros and Maglor specifically pull up with "warriors of the eastern marches" at the Mereth Aderthad (organized by Fingolfin) later. The one specifically for having a good time together, establish friendly relations, a gathering of ambassadors, not to show off your military power, you'd think. I find it hard to not see any kind of message in that.

Which is not even mentioning his actual abdication where he posthumously clinches Fëanor the win over the conflict that was at the heart of the developing feud back in Aman, the intertwinement of Finwë's regard and heirship. Maedhros firmly established Fëanor as rightful heir to Finwë, not Fingolfin ("If there lay no grievance between us, lord, still the kingship would rightly come to you, the eldest here of the house of Finwë, and not the least wise." Fëanor canonically being older than Fingolfin (and renown for his learned spirit, adding a bit of additional bite, imo. "Fëanor was the mightiest in skill of word and of hand, more learned than his brothers[...]").).

As for Fingolfin, specifically in relation to Maedhros he often gets cast as the endlessly understanding uncle, which is already a direct contradiction to canon where he explicitly "held the sons the accomplices of their father". Which is fair enough if one agrees with his overall indignation, since the Sons of Fëanor acted in full agreement with Fëanor in the matter he's angry over, yes, even Maedhros. Maedhros was fine with Araman and even wrt Losgar, remember that the one he wanted ferried over was Fingon, the one leading the Nolofinwëan host at this point who had fought on their behalf at Alqualondë, who therefore broadly met the baseline criteria for vetting initially set by the Fëanorians as a whole: "Therefore it came into the hearts of Fëanor and his sons to seize all the ships and depart suddenly; for they had retained the mastery of the fleet since the battle of the Haven, and it was manned only by those who had fought there and were bound to Fëanor."

(Am I suggesting he would have taken it as an opportunity to separate Fingon from Fingolfin's influence, if not Fingolfin outright, by indebting him to the Fëanorians? Well, I'm not not saying it)

I'm not trying to claim Fingolfin couldn't possibly have felt any compassion for Maedhros and his condition upon rescue, but fact of the matter is that whatever amount of compassion he might have felt, he still didn't stop pressuring for the crown, since the feud (in this specific instance the Nolofinwëan indigantion at the Fëanorian "desertion") , as mentioned, was only specifically (and debatably at that, with the fresh resentment created by it in the Sons of Fëanor) "healed" with Maedhros abdication and Fingolfin getting what he'd been gunning for a long time now: "[...]and the hatred between the houses of Fingolfin and Fëanor was assuaged. For Maedhros begged forgiveness for the desertion in Araman; and he waived his claim to kingship over all the Noldor[...]."

While I already mentioned it as a small comment on the negotiations with Thingol, Fingolfin's actual accomplishment as High King also leave a lot to be desired. He tends to get somewhat lionized in fandom in this regard, probably due to an impressionable exit from the story not only in actual deed but also presentation thereof. My reason for bringing this up being that, even leaving everything mentioned prior related to the family tensions aside, I find it therefore highly doubtful Maedhros would have been overly impressed by what Fingolfin does with his much coveted reward. If one takes Maedhros' comment to Thingol as expression of a genuine sentiment (and I don't see why one shouldn't-if there's one thing the Fëanorians are not lacking it's the ability to assert themselves and competency-) then Fingolfin fails by these very same criteria. I'm not trying to claim he was a disaster, just from moderatly to vastly overrated, particularly compared to what Maedhros puts up with and puts together (the Union of Maedhros may have failed but that doesn't change that it was a feat of unity for the ages, quite literally and without exaggeration).

His only noteworthy actions that can be ascribed to him specifically were the aforementioned Mereth Aderthad and sending out a message of welcoming to the newly arriving Edain. Which are both admirable but imo not actually necessary with the rate at which guys like the Fëanorians (admittedly in the prime position to make first cotact with newcomers in the east) and Finrod were making alliances and friendships with many of these groups even beforehand/on their own, leaving more of an impression of Fingolfin asserting his position of leadership than crucial intervention. He's a complete non-entity in the initial Doriath negotiations-the closing word on the matter goes to Maedhros, while the Arafinwëans are the intermediaries. His initial following of at the least Noldor shrinks rapidly, with the Arafinwëans leaving for their own realms, with a third of his Nolofinwëan followers from Valinor leaving him for Turgon and his Hidden Realm, his suggested offensive is rejected (not singularily but chiefly by the Sons of Fëanor, likely to be related to that pressured abdication), he is beaten back in the Bragollach and then goes off to die in a glorious but nonetheless suicide that doesn't achieve much of significance (Morgoth was already trapped in physical form and constant torment by the Silmarils). Leaving Fingon to hold the line and Maedhros to mopp up the mess with his Union (and retaking of the Eastern territory, includig for a time Dorthonion). His one unambiguous triumph is the Dagor Aglareb, a victory shared in equal measure with Maedhros (also I can't help observing that Fingolfin sure doesn't hesitate with the boasting. "[...]Fingolfin boasted that save by treason among themselves Morgoth could never again burst from the leaguer of the Eldar, nor come upon them at unawares." Imagine if a Son of Fëanor said something like that, fandom would never let them live it down. But Fingolfin is ever-humble and cautious, of course). His only noteworthy alliance is with the House of Hador, but even in that regard he's overshadowed by his sons and their friendship with it.

Part of this stems (in-universe) no doubt from Fingon being the one managing his frontyard, so to speak, driving back Glaurung and the attempted invasion in F.A. 155, leaving little for Fingolfin to do in this regard. But part of it also stems from the fact that Fingolfin, at the end of the day...Just does not do that much in the story and quits early. All of which together makes the reputation he enjoys as chief-enemy of Morgoth very questionable, as well as reinforces my doubt that Maedhros would have or even had reason to hold him in high regard, much less higher regard than his own accomplishments or his father.

[tanoraqui]

5, 9, 19, 23 for the russingon asks!

[ask meme]

5. "Lies came between them": what are your thoughts on the relationship between Fingon and Maedhros during the fraught period of the Unrest of the Noldor?

As a rule, day to day, if the animosity between Fëanor and Fingolfin is at a 10, the animosity between Maedhros and Fingon is at a 4 or 5. This means that often it's no more than a background tension, an awareness that this friendship is a pointed choice and public act as much as it is a genuine expression of entirely organic affection... But they're both loyal sons, and even more than filial piety and family loyalty they're both convinced that their own side is right, so...

After Fëanor draws the sword on Fingolfin in the king's hall, but before any judgement has been passed down, Maedhros grits his teeth and goes to Fingon to try to smooth over the events of the day, because that is what they do, the two of them. But both their tempers run high - it's not like Fingolfin didn't insult Fëanor back, with impeccable passive-aggression - and they have the worst fight they've ever had. They do not speak again before Maedhros leaves for Formenos. They do not speak while Maedhros is at Formenos, though they both start and stop several letters.

In the lingering shadows of Darkness, Fingon finds Maedhros soaking wet in a stream near Formenos, after the entire family has ridden there pell-mell and while Fëanor is still vanished somewhere with the untempered madness of grief. Maedhros had finally slipped away from his brothers to have a moment to himself, to bathe, and is scrubbing his feet raw where he'd stepped in Finwë's blood unknowing. They end up holding each other and weeping, and promising to see this through (though neither has any idea what "this" is yet, and neither wishes to specify, lest any argument restart).

They don't actually talk anything out until a hospital tent beside Lake Mithrim, though - not the old grievances, not the numerous new ones that have burst up in the interim.

9. Share some headcanons on what the day-to-day of their relationship was like: what were their favourite things to do together?

They really enjoy sparring together, with fisticuffs or wrestling or, preferable to both, swords. There was a while where swords were just an exciting if dangerous new sport, and they regularly competed and did exhibition matches. Then it became increasingly politically fraught for the two of them to be doing so... Not that this always stopped them, because they weren't always wise about trying to maintain the bonds of friendship amid the House of Finwë...

They're both happy to be able to spar once more when united in Beleriand, for all that it's no longer a game at all. After re-incarnation, they'll eventually resume the habit, though it'll be some time before Maedhros can hold a sword without being overwhelmed by soul-searing guilt.

They also both enjoy walking into a fancy event knowing that they are the prettiest motherfucker in the room and have the second prettiest motherfucker in the room on their arm. Maedhros is the one who really makes an art form of personal beauty - he was given natural talent in this direction; he might as well hone it! - and will happily spend 2 hours primping before so much as a family dinner (when not in a constant state of war, that is). Fingon is more casual day to day, but does enjoy dressing up for an event.

19. Share three of your favourite Russingon fanfictions (bonus: tag the authors if they're on tumblr!).

NSFW: Enthroned by @arofili (warning: explicit) is my favorite fic for russingon fealty kink. By which I mean, they have sex on Fingon’s throne and forget halfway through who is melodramatically playing King and who is Liegeman. It’s ideal. Their ability to comfortably switch that is one of my favorite things about this ship, and more fic should portray Fingon as just as horny for the idea of High King Maedhros as Maedhros is for High King Fingon.

justonelastdance is my favorite author in the “Post-Rescue from Thangorodrim” tag, which btw is a GREAT tag for hurt/comfort. They write Maedhros is various shades of extremely fucked up and traumatized frames of mind, but in a way that feels…plausibly impermanent? Some fics portray Maedhros as back on his feet too fast for me (I want whump!) and some as too broken (he was being poetically sarcastic about Thingol’s attempted geopolitics within a year!). With justonelastdance, I get to be the sicko in the window cackling as I watch his worst days, while acknowledging that he has many better days than this over the stumbling course of recovery.

This IS a fandom in which the flexibility of canon begets a glorious sandbox of infinitely varied headcanons, so… Once we move beyond pwp and self-indulgent angst, the only person who gets the characters 100% right To Me is, in fact, Me. Everyone read Celechwes Fixes the Noldor! The title is ironic; they cannot truly be fixed except maybe by millennia of time and slow forgiveness!

23. Tell us about any Russingon WIPS or ideas you have.

I’m not going to do it, because it would require more genuine care than I’m interested in putting into this silly au, but it would be fun to continue this idea from the superhero au. Because what would be fun to write and interesting to read is exactly what would be tricky to write: maintaining a balance at all times between 3 simultaneous stories:

The melodramatic cliche plot of “Hero is captured and recruited by Villain, using amnesia and mind control, and must escape both literally and mentally/emotionally while rediscovering who they are, aided by friends (ft. at least one “I know you’re in there!” fight) and confused by incredible sexual tension with the Villain and getting to see them as more emotionally vulnerable and casually, sympathetically human than usual”, which the general public are witnessing in pieces and generally assuming, as well they should.

The behind-the-scenes where the above is kinda happening, sure, except also it’s an elaborate public act because Maedhros and Fingon have been secretly married for like a decade, they have a house in a decent part of town for their civilian identities and a lab-grown 4yo son and everything; only about 4 people outside the House of Finwë know this and they’re all very trusted friends. It’s obviously the heroes’ job to Save This Day (and Fingon Valiant), but you bet Maedhros also has people working on fixing it asap. His villainous subornment of Valiant includes calculations of how much evil to make him do in order to be both publicly dramatic and genuinely useful for his own schemes in ways he couldn’t ordinarily achieve, but also that Fingon won’t be too angry at him or feel too guilty about later.

The adventure that amnesiac!Fingon is having, which mostly resembles Story 1 because nobody is telling him Story 2, because he’s too amnesiac to know how much to keep secret. He’s going weirdly hard (by trope standards) (which he’s vaguely aware of, though not as they apply to his own life history) on the “sexual and emotional attraction to Villain” part, because he can’t remember any facts about his life but he still intuitively recognizes Maedhros as “most favorite, trusted-ish person in the world”, and Maedhros is at some point going to swear Fingon to absolute secrecy then little Ereinion to see him, because when you’re 4, there’s a big emotional difference between “Dad’s not coming home for a few days because he’s on a work trip fighting/saving aliens in outer space” and “Dad’s not coming home for a few days even though he is in the city and you might see him on the news; he just doesn’t remember you right now.” Better to let Erein see him, with the amnesia explained, and get some good reflexive Dad Hugs in.

I think I’d mostly write it in Fingon’s POV, so Stories 1 and 2 are implied in the background. The “I know you’re in there!” fight would probably be with Fingolfin, because it has to be someone so badass that Fingon cannot fight only to disarm and disable, even when his opponent is doing that; it’s kill or surrender—and Fingon is very, very, good in a fight. But he won’t kill. Maedhros Phoenix sent him out with orders to “Do whatever you have to do in order to [crime]”, which technically does include killing, especially of someone trying to stop him from [crime]—but Fingon hasn’t killed anyone but willing minions of Morgoth since the Battle of Alqualondë, and a little amnesia and light mind control isn’t going to make him start now.

[silm-lore]

Fingolfin challenging Morgoth

Son of Finwë and Indis. He was the wisest, strongest and most valiant of Finwës sons. Despite Fëanors disdain for Fingolfin, he still loved and respected Fëanor, and wanted a relationship with him.

Fingolfin was wise and tried to keep the peace with Fëanor even through Melkors manipulation. Fingolfin followed Fëanor to Aman with his own host of Ñoldor, and they did take part in the First Kinslaying because they thought the Teleri had attacked them, and so he and his followers were banished. Later Fëanor betrayed him burning the ships forcing Fingolfin and his people to cross the Helcaraxë. When they arrive in Middle Earth Fëanor had died. Fingolfin’s son rescued Maedhros and then he abdicated the throne to Fingolfin to unite the Ñoldor. They established great kingdoms and he ruled from Hithlum. Fingolfin started the Siege of Angband, protecting the elves of Beleriand from orcs for 400 years. Fingolfin hosted the feast of Mereth Aderthad, attended by his House, the sons of Fëanor, emissaries from Doriath, Havens of Sirion and across Beleriand, to unite their forces against Morgoth. During the 400 years Siege Morgoth was building his armies and breeding dragons and other fell beasts, and in 455 FA he attacked with his full force so suddenly he cut the elven kingdoms off from each other, starting Dagor-Bragollach. Many elves died before they could fight back. In dismay and outrage King Fingolfin rode to Angband and challenged Morgoth to a duel. Fingolfin wounded him seven times before he stumbled and Morgoth crushed him underfoot. Thorondir, King of the eagles retrieved his body and his son Turgon buried him on the mountaintop over Gondolin.

•Father name, Ñolofinwë, meaning Wise Finwë.

Mother name, Arakáno, meaning High Chieftain.

•birth: 1190 YT

death: 456 FA

age 3,521

killed by Morgoth after he challenged him to a duel

•First High King of the Ñoldor in Beleriand, ruling from Hithlum.

•Led and maintained the Siege of Angband for 400 years.

Wife: Anairë

epessë fathername

Sindar Quenya

Fingon - Findekáno

Turgon - Turukáno

Aredhel - Iríssë

Argon - Arakàno

[maedhrus]

Please write an essay on the merits of Maglor/Fingolfin. I'm listening.

excellent. you may regret doing so.

maglor and fingolfin share similar positions of being the second son to an important father and have carved out niches for themselves (maglor’s music vs fingolfin’s politics) as a result of this. where this pairing really gets me going, however, is immediately after fingolfin’s host arrives in beleriand. here, fingolfin has just suffered the loss of his (favourite? i choose to believe so) son, has spent 30 years fighting for survival on the helecaraxeë, shouldered the grief of his people and loved ones (because we all know that turgon got mega fucked up by elenwë’s death), is likely still reeling from finwë’s death and the noldor’s subsequent rebellion/exile, and was betrayed and abandoned by the brother he gave up everything to follow. that same brother who is now dead! before he has the chance to air any of this out! and, instead of his eldest nephew ruling in fëanor’s place, he instead meets maglor. maglor who never expected or prepared to be king, has little to no political experience, (is possibly dealing with the death of his youngest brother if we go with the crispy!amrod draft), and has given maedhros up for dead, because what else can he do! imo, this creates a delicious scenario for angsty conflict where fingolfin is both desperate to lash out and duty-bound to protect his people, and maglor is haunted by grief and guilt but will stubbornly hold onto his and his house’s power as long as he can. and then when fingon fucks off to rescue maedhros leaving maglor and fingolfin the heads of a very divided people held together on a string. and i feel like fingolfin would see ruling as more of a calling than maglor does, but maglor’s pride and his love for fëanor prevent him ever ceasing power to fingolfin, despite them both knowing he’s far more equipped for it. they’re both seeking to almost torment the other because they have their own guilt they can’t confront and the more they turn to each other, they build a relationship, and intimacy. and that guilt builds.

i think that a maglor/fingolfin relationship would be a perfect blend of repression, poor coping mechanisms, the confusion of familial and romantic love, seeking comfort in the other, and long debates over the nature of loyalty and duty. i think what began as a form of self-flagellation and punishment to inflict on each other turns to finding comfort in incredibly trying conditions turns to an affair they both hate themselves for but can’t bring themselves to stop. it’s also the perfect relationship to use if you want to pick apart the “saint fingolfin” narrative and get real gritty with them both.

in summary, vote magolfin in this year’s election

(also the potential for maglor/fingolfin to do the rhaenyra/daemon “take me to dragonstone and make me your wife” is incredibly sexy but I understand that it’s a completely personal taste)

[calistefinwe]

(By nailsinmywall)

Name: Faeron Quenya Name: Calistëfinwë Nerdanel Name: Telpërinisquar Míriel Name: Rátaro Khazdul Name *Gifted by Durin*: Khebab-mayandân (Forge Born) Alias(s): Drifter (Everyone), Winter Prince (Men), Crownless King (Wood elves), Kebab (Thorin Oakensheild), Mayan (Dwarves)

Gender: Male

Birth: During the Noontide of Valinor, 14 minutes after Caranthir

Titles: Prince of the Ñoldor, Servant of Mandos, Knight of Manwë

Birth Place: Tirion upon Túna, Valinor

House: House of Fëanor, [Later] House of Fingolfin, [Distantly] House of Finwë

Heritage: Elven father, Elven Mother

Parentage: Fëanor and Nerdanel

Brothers: Maedhros, Maglor, Celegorm, Caranthir, Curufin, Amrod, Amras

(Valinor - S.A) Visual Age: 25 (Immortal)

(T.A - Present) Visual Age: 40 (Immortal)

Eye color: Blue, Grey/Silver (Central heterochromia, shifts with light)

Hair color: Whiteish Grey

Race: Elvish

Hair style: Left down in Valinor, Half up half down either bun or ponytail in middle earth

Skin color: Ghostly white in Valinor, Very Pale in the T.A

Extra: Faeron has a scar which runs down from just above his right eyebrow past his eye and to the left side of his mouth where it passes over his lip and down his neck and onto his shoulder where it is the worst

Relationship: Taken

Partner: Valkor, Maiar of Irmo & Arno horseman of Mandos

Sexuality: Gay

Likes: Most of his Brothers, Valkor, Irmo, Mandos, Fights which end without bloodshed, His books

Dislikes: Fights which end with bloodshed, His father, Manwë, Morgoth, Mairon/Annatar/Suaron (all variations), Celegorm and Curufin, picking between one evil and another, Magic, Himself

Fears: finding out everything that anyone has told him is fake, Himself hurting someone he cares about, losing his family family part 2 (in the TA)

Most valued possession: A sword with Valarin runes on it given to him by Mandos before he traveled across the ice

Weapon: dual wields swords

Fëanor (Father):

Faeron doesn't have the best relationship with his father especially after the silmarils were made, he found no need for them, they were just glowing rocks nothing was special about them there was no reason to start the kinslayings or going after morgoth for them, which is a shame as an Elfling Faeron was incredibly close with his father but as they grew that once magnificent relationship crumbled into peaces until the point his father scared his face and turned Faeron almost blind in once eye

Nerdanel (Mother):

Faeron has a mutual respect relationship with his mother the two love eachother dearly but Fëanor severed that relationship like the rest of Faeron's relationships with his brothers due to the disownment at the kinslayings given Irmo took him in until Fingolfin adopted him and they both kept him away from most people Nerdanel included.

Maedhros (Eldest Brother):

Faeron took maedhros more as a parental figure even when he was close with his father, maedhros was loving and kind and gental the opposite as Fëanor at time Maedhros cursed himself for not doing more for Faeron years after the kinslaying especially since Fingon dragged him along to help save him from the dark lord, Faeron also regretted the severing of there relationship the only reason why he didn't fight an eagle being rode by fingon kidnapping him off his horse in the middle of a path, he also regretted not taking Maedhros offer to stay in Himring with him and Maglor.

Maglor: (Elder Brother):

Maglor would say he was close to Faeron for as close as someone could get which wasn't Valkor or Caranthir or Maedhros, the two had respect for one another and never crossed each other boundaries and many a time helped or found comfort in each other but never opened up fully to each other which they both regret later

Celegorm: (Elder Brother):

The two hate eachother, Celegorm's pranks/jokes and everything always goes to far and every time Faeron trys to tell him he gets the end of celegorm's humor the next day, Celegorm on the other hand has respect for his brother the pranking is just his way to say your awesome keep going but no one ever sees it as that way because he has a dick personality

Caranthir (Twin):

These two love and care for each other a great deal ever find the two little baby elflings which couldn't walk yet and both of them or Faeron was asleep Caranthir would always have a protective hold on him, their bond maybe silent but it is stronger than all of the other brothers bonds with each other even with the discernment they kept it admittedly it was more fragile then before but both of them wanted to pick up the pieces and start again

Curufin (Younger Brother):

same Relationship as Celegorm apart from Faeron is annoyed that Curufin only decides to follow Celegorm and their father and he thinks he has much more protentional only if he becomes independent

Amrod | Amras (Youngest Brothers):

Faeron often got annoyed with these two but they were much better than Curufin and Celegorm he cared for them a great deal and would do anything for them just like he would his twin he has the sibling protective feeling over them

Fingolfin (Uncle | Adoptive Father):

Fingolfin and Faeron had a good relationship until Faeron ran off on his own saying the silmaril oath was his fault and wished to fix it without any more bloodshed fingolfin did try and follow but soon lost him making both of them lose contact until faeron heard through news in the elven kingdom he was in fingolfin fell to morgoth.

Fingon (Cousin | Adoptive Brother):

Fingon was Faeron's new Maedhros in a sense after the first kinslayings even if turgon held resentment to the Feanorin because of what happened to his wife these two got along well, many a time faeron helped fingon because of that relationship

Turgon (Cousin | Adoptive brother):

Before the Kinslaying the two were on good terms Turgon would often come to Faeron for council, after the kinslaying and crossing the grinding ice turgon was much more distant even if Faeron did try and save his wife as a feanorin turgon blamed him for having to cross the ice but when Faeron came to live in gondolin for a time the two came to mutual respect.

Finrod (Cousin):

The two were on mutual ground even after what happened with faeron's brothers well until faeron tried to kill beren when he was working (brainwashed) by morgoth finrod died thinking faeron was a traitor and working for Morgoth to get the silmarils for himself.

Galadriel (Cousin):

In the T.A the two found comfort in eachother given that 95% of there family was gone, brothers, cousins, sisters, uncles, aunts, father and mothers all gone because of what they had been through galadriel had never held a grudge against faeron not even when he witnessed finrod's death she understood he had no control over himself.

Elrond (nephew):

Elrond had heard tales of Faeron almost every step of his child hood from his father, from the kidnap fam he never expected he would meet the elf when he was so grown up and running a kingdom and the elf would be helping dwarves reclaim there mountain due to an oath he swore long ago, not even when Elrond was working for Gil-Galad did he see Faeron and he knew the elf came and the king told him about it, Elrond was quite frankly impressed at how faeron was able to survive all these years espcally the years when he was alone wandering the wild.

Elladan:

Elladan loves to climb Faeron like a tree or cling to his arm while the tall elf holds him up from his arm even if he is a grown ellon he just finds faeron to be so impressive and wishes to have his skills and be like him which faeron denys him.

Elrohir:

Elrohir actually listen to the stories their father recalled from his childhood about faeron so he was skeptical when he ran into Faeron at first especially since he was their because he was helping dwarves but he would warm up to him especially seeing the way Elladan is treated by him

Arwen:

Arwen much like Elrohir was skeptical about him at first but seeing how her father acts as if Faeron is an old friend she warms up to him quicker than her brother, and holds a lot of respect for him even if his family did kidnap her father and did the kinslayings.

Valkor:

BEST BOYFRIEND A MAN LIKE FAERON COULD ASK FOR, Valkor comforts Faeron when he's low, he is faeron's whole world he is more imported to faeron than any order the bird king of the valar could give him, he is so soft and wholesome to Faeron he just treats him right.

Thalion:

Faeron is only friends with him for his wine /j, Aerdis who Valkor introduced to Faeron introduced these two and the amount of double dates Aerdis plans is more times than the affair with the silmarils that Feanor had affacted Faeron's life so the two are close it was quite a suprise when the two learnt they had a mutual friend who neither of them introduced to each other and it just happened to be a accident, faeron and Aerdis have both used Thalion's hair to roast marshmellows or other food on to the point it's second nature of Thalion to allow it and he doesn't care.

Durin:

Faeron normally hates oaths especial with the silmaril one but some how this little rat dwarf weaseled his way into Faeron swearing an oath to protect his entire family line until Faeron leaves middle earth while calling him a kebab, faeron hates him when he realizes what has happened to him but Durin pays high for the oath, mithril is a good armour so it's a win win really espcally when Durin showed up at the Homeless totally no homless elfs door step with armor made from dragon scale and hide with mithril chain mail so who is really winning in this.

Manwë:

This man this man made Faeron loose faith in most valar, manwe sends faeron after the silmaril's making everything seem fine and boom as the punishment for all feanorian's (Including Faeron for some reason) get exiled from Valinor and Faeron isn't going to let his 'father figure' Valar seem him die and go to his halls and then help with his brothers oh no no no Faeron had enough of that in his life, before that happened they had a very boss - worker professional relationship commission Faeron for jewelry for his queen because for best quality and style manwe had to admit faeron was the best craftsmen of the feanorians.

Mandos:

FATHER FIGURE, as much as I want to admit Irmo is Faeron's Father figure it's just not true it is mandos, faeron confines the man in everything, farther in law figure goes to Irmo but Mandos is best Faeron father and compared to Feanor and the other one which totally will come up eventually, mandos is an amazing father compared to them.

Irmo:

he introduces Valkor to Faeron, he has helped faeron through so much who councils the councilor the answer is Irmo, if anyone needs a good councilor who isn't a sad traumatized elven gay come to this man here.

Morgoth:

Do i really need to say anything about him Faeron gags at the sight of this man the man disgusts him and he hates him more the Feanor which is a lot because he hates Feanor a lot after the elf disowns him.

[More coming after i reveal a plot twist]

Due to magic Valar powers and the time Morgoth Kidnapped him and turned him into a brainwashed warrior of his, half of his fëa is corrupted by Morgoth, which means morgoth is half alive and in Faeron after his physical body dies which make Faeron hate him more and if the corruption takes over Faeron's 'soul' 'spirit' Morgoth 2.0 is born if it corrupts 3/4th of his soul Faeron gets Morgoth's magic.

Valkor's magic keeps Morgoth's corruption of Faeron at bay which is why Valkor was sent to Middle earth in the first place both to observer it and hold it if it trys anything.

Faeron

Faeron and Caranthir's Relasionship

Valinor Faeron

Caranthir and Faeron's Skin

Faeron's Playlist

Weapon Choices

Height

[erynalasse]

Imagine if Fingon followed the example of his father and his uncle and tacked an extra fin(wë) onto his name when he became king

If Finwë-Nolofinwë becomes Fin/golfin? Well, Finwë-Findekáno doesn’t sound horrible, but oh boy… Finfingon sounds ridiculous. No wonder he didn’t go for it.

[symphonyofsilence]

The sons of Fëanor: Headcanons & hot takes (Part 1 : Maedhros)

So since this dude lives in my mind rent-free 24/7 this got so, so, very long. Like essay long. Like you won't even believe how long it's not even funny! I'm probably gonna post the rest of the brothers in one post but this one is 10 posts in itself. So without further ado, let's get this over with.

I think he was very close to his grandpa Mahtan. I've explained here why I think his copper circlet was a gift from him. But also notice how Mahtan also wears a copper circlet. & I couldn't find it in the 'Shibboleth of Fëanor' which was used as the reference, but it was said on his Wikipedia page that Maedhros resembled his grandfather in 'face and disposition'. A part of it was probably inheritance (I personally headcanon that Mahtan had an easy grace & natural nobility to him that had nothing to do with being royalty. Finwë didn't have it. But Mahtan did & Nerdanel & then, Maedhros & Maglor inherited it.) But I think Maedhros might have spent a lot of time with Mahtan & loved him a lot & was happy that he looked like him & looked up to him & actively wanted to act like him.

Whoever his face took after, I firmly headcanon that he had Fëanor's eyes.

Being literally named 'supermodel', praised for his special hair color, most likely being the King's first grandson, most likely he was doted on from the moment he was born & he was very confident in himself. But Nerdanel would make sure that it wouldn't get to his head. He was very well aware of what a catch he is. But he would act down-to-earth about it.

Personality-wise I think he is charming, polite, at least on a surface level chill, laid-back, cool (the coolest cousin in the eyes of most of his cousins), confident enough to be humble, friendly & family-loving. But charismatic & with a commanding aura, he draws eyes to him even when he's sitting silently & when he speaks, he will be heard. he could get very serious. but I think he had an excellent sense of humor & he would use that to handle difficult diplomatic situations & gracefully lessen the tension in arguments or retort offensive comments. Like how he laughed off Thingol's cold message. (Or "you should excuse my brother. He's in a really hard place." "Oh really?" "Yes. His own head.") That sense of humor got really dark after Angband. Only Fingon, Aredhel Caranthir, Celegorm, in the version when he's alive Amrod, & weirdly Fingolfin & Lalwen got it. So he'd tone it down in company of others & use lighter jokes. After Nirnaeth & especially after Doriath, all that sense of humor turned to sarcasm, and salt & there was no other sense of humor but the dark one. I said he looked chill on a surface level, cuz I think he was one of those persons that as a friend or colleague or someone that you spend certain hours a day with them, he was excellent & you would enjoy your time with them, but as a family member, someone you'd have to spend 24 hrs with, he would get really, really overbearing. (a trait he shared with Fëanor. Except that it took much less time for Fëanor to become overbearing & he was like that with his friends & colleagues too one didn't have to be family.) & Maedhros, the excellent diplomat that he was, could get manipulative.& not just with other lords & ladies but in his daily life with people close to him. & he had a temper that rarely showed itself but when it did, it was scary. He wouldn't yell like the rest of his brother but his voice would become really quiet, his tone cold, & his gaze would burn. Maedhros was probably very polite & respectful. It's the default of how people at court are expected to behave, but I can't imagine Fëanor & his 3 middle sons to be exactly polite & respectful. But Maedhros was. Otherwise, how could he keep the Noldor together even in the worst of times? Also one can surmise this from the line 'If there lay no grievance between us, lord, still the kingship would rightly come to you, the eldest here of the house of Finwë, and not the least wise.' 'Cause if the law of succession is not Agnatic seniority then he's just saying this to say that he's not doing any favors to Fingolfin. Fingolfin is the rightful king. He's being humble & polite. Many could say many things about the first son of Fëanor (that however he acts he's eventually his father's son he's never done anything against Fëanor's wishes and such and such) but they can't deny he's ever been anything but nice & polite. I think there must have been something about the Fëanorians that all their relatives still wanted to spend time with them even after the ship burning. I think everywhere they went they were the life of the party. Even people who didn't like them couldn't deny that. And one of the things about Maedhros was that he was a very active listener. Whatever you were saying he would look at you like you were saying the most interesting thing. He showed the exact right reaction. Said the exact right things. Sometimes repeated your words or mirrored your expressions. Everyone loved talking to him. Though for a while after Angband he kept zoning out in the middle of conversations. His eyes looked empty & distant like he wasn't there at all. And he wouldn't react when they called him. Sometimes he wouldn't disassociate but his eyes had trouble focusing. He got better in time. He even went back to being an active listener. But after Nirnaeth & especially after Doriath, a lot of times he wouldn't even look at the person who was talking to him. He usually just had a frown & a stoic expression as he listened. His answers were short, sharp & to the point.

He was the perfect heir; Dutiful, obedient, loyal & loving to his family, diligent, determined, a skilled commander, graceful, proud, a charming & courteous company in court and councils. One would expect great things from him. (& dutiful, obedient, loyal & loving to his family, diligent & determined, he followed his father's path to the bitter end to his own demise.)

I headcanon that he learned writing from Fëanor, the inventor of Tengwar, himself. & As perfectionist as Maedhros was, he insisted to write just like Fëanor himself. So they had very similar handwriting & so Maedhros would write a lot of Fëanor's letters for him. Those who were close to them could still tell the handwritings apart & one should have very seldom met Fëanor to not be able to tell the writing apart. Fingolfin's children could always say when it was Maedhros who had written the letter & would laugh their asses off at the "dear brother" things & such kind words that they couldn't imagine with Fëanor's voice. He lost that handwriting with his right hand.

I headcanon that he kinda invented modeling & had a knack for being a fashion designer. Sure he would stand as a model for Nerdanel. But also he always had very specific designs in mind for his clothes & ordered new ones a lot. He would sketch them out & explain them in detail to the tailors. It never crossed his mind to design clothes as a job. But everyone would praise every new clothes he wore in every new public appearance & the business of his tailors bloomed. & he highly influenced the fashion of the youth of the Noldor.

Sure, genetics & height are important factors but you don't get to be named a supermodel without working your ass out. So I assume his hobby was all kinds of sports. Riding, archery, swimming, you name it. & since Fingon totally looks like a joke (& an adrenaline junky who walks into the depth of hell without even telling anyone & with absolutely no plan & starts singing) I think they were always together in their practicings. I headcanon that his & Fingon's big plan before all went downhill was establishing the very first sports club in Valinor. & they were starting to pursue their dreams but then all went downhill & they broke apart & neither of them dared to go on with that idea cuz the idea was both of theirs & the other could probably sue. (they both knew the other wouldn't tho. And even if they did-which they wouldn't- it would just be an uncomfortable talk with grandpa. Really it was just bc they both lost motivation. It was only fun if they were going to do it together). & Maedhros, due to being a son of Fëanor-his heir at that- & apparently very loyal to him, was too out of favor with every authority in Tirion to start such a thing.

It's canon that he was a great diplomat. So probably he knew so many things about every lord & lady & he would use them to win them over when the need arised. Was quite tactful & silver-tongued. He would do Finwë's & Fëanor's paperwork, boring works & Finwë's accountings for them. Fëanor more & more believed that sitting in councils with other lords & ladies was a waste of time on a bunch of pompous idiots. So Maedhros went to councils in his stead. (many would use "Fëanor would never send him in his stead if he didn't believe that he would get him what he wants. They're the same." ) he was also the one prince who people would go to when they had business in court and didn't want to go through the whole bureaucratic hell. He would make shortcuts for them. & thus he was one of the very popular princes.

I think it's obvious that his favorite brother is Maglor. I headcanon that he was okay with Maglor & enjoyed playing with his baby brother until Maglor reached the age that is the elven equivalent of 5 & then they were constantly at each other's throats mostly because they shared a room and Maglor was constantly playing something & singing (& for the first years of the 'civil war era' he was still learning so the quality was not as good as it would eventually come to be.) & there was no peace & quiet for Maedhros. Sometimes Maglor would 'get inspired' and start playing something at 3 A.M cuz he'd say he will forget it otherwise. and so Maedhros would wake up yelling that the next time Maglor gets inspired he might get some inspirations of his own too. & on the other hand, Maglor was an introvert who enjoyed his own solitude & would like to have the room for himself while Maedhros would bring Fingon & sometimes other guests. Nobody would back down the war was raging & they would get annoyed at each others' mere sight. But Nerdanel wouldn't give them separate rooms 'cause she insisted that they needed to learn to coexist in peace & compromising. (U know...their dad is Fëanor...& he's not exactly famous for being the best brother... so...they needed that.) And after a while when Maglor reached the elven equivalent of 13 suddenly they became the best of friends. It happened so swiftly they didn't even notice how & when it happened. But even before that, they've become more civil 'cause their troublesome little brothers were born & they were kinda bonding over being responsible older brothers of common 'disturbers of the peace'. They maintained the close relationship from then on. When Maglor married & left their common room & Maedhros had the room all to himself, at that point, he didn't want to. It felt too empty without the original disturber of the peace. After Angband, the shadow of how Maglor didn't go to Maedhros' rescue for 30-something years never quite left them. They'd reason that there was no way for Maglor to be able to save him. What could have he done?! But Fingon did. Didn't he? They'd forget it. Bury it deep in their mind. But deep in their mind, it was buried. They were very close. In Beleriand, more than ever. They were Each other's, constant companions. They went through everything together. They fought in battles. But there was a pang of underlying guilt in some moments of extreme loyalty or not leaving Maedhros' side in Maglor. & it didn't really show itself until after Sirion. When their relationship was outright toxic & harmful.

Maedhros had the most real heartfelt disagreements with Celegorm & Curufin was also kinda pitted against him from the get-go, & they clashed a lot. All the members of the family had strong personalities & would clash a lot but even if they fought among themselves, they would kill any outsider who would dare to fight their brother.

I think family was a very important concept for the Fëanorians. Since Fëanor didn't feel like a member of his primary family, he would try to make the most unbreakable family possible when he married & had kids & teach them to put family before everything. (& they didn't even notice when Fëanor himself forgot that. Not until later.)

Everything in his possession was considered public property by his brothers & they wouldn't even tell him when they "borrowed" his things which resulted in him constantly searching around the house for his things. His impressive height was a mercy from Eru so he would have clothes left in his wardrobes to wear. & his brothers would ruin the order of his room when they put his things back. He was especially orderly.

I don't think any of the Fëanorians are the cuddling type. They show their love in various other ways.

When Maedhros returned from Angband, Caranthir was the one who would bring him food & medicine (he once caught someone else taking an unchopped steak to Maedhros & he got angry saying did you expect him to chop it himself? Or were you going to chop his food for him in front of him & wound his pride like that? & he took the dish & chopped the steak himself & took the mission upon himself from then on), he would make Maedhros laugh with his sharp sarcasm & bitter humor, would chew out anyone who tried to help Maedhros without asking his permission when he was trying to do something, Celegorm would practice with Maedhros day & night tirelessly as long as Maedhros needed. Whether it was getting back on his feet again or sword fighting. He would also leave Huan with him in his room. Curufin made him a wheelchair, a walking stick, new swords & helm & armor & throwing knives & special shields & with the help of Celebrimbor(his first big project cuz he wanted to do something for his uncle) a mithril prosthetic hand, he & Ambarussar helped him to get back on horse's back, Maglor would help him catch up with everything that has gone with Noldor & help him organize the mess & do the majority of his work for him & keep the things between the 2 hosts civil, he would give him all the mental support he needed & he would play soothing songs for him. Ambarussar would take him out whenever he needed fresh air. Fingon would do all of these minus the smithy work whenever the brothers would let him. Or...u know....sometimes even if they didn't. (even though they were grateful to Fingon the guilt of not saving Maedhros themselves was ever-present in their hearts. So they'd always politely tell Fingon that "you've done so much already. we thank you. We can't bother you more. Leave the rest to us." To which Fingom would reply that it was no bother & he wanted to do these.)

He's always tried to be mama's & papa's perfect boy but after a while, these 2 were impossible to be simultaneously. As an oldest brother, I think of him as sth like Steve Crane in the Haunting of Hill House. He was always trying to be a good, responsible elder brother. & he was, for the most part. But after everything life has thrown at him, after Nirnaeth to be precise, he's too preoccupied with his own misery & conflicted emotions to properly function as a stable, comforting big brother. & even then he still tries to do his best towards his siblings. If he sometimes sounds harsh or bitter he almost immediately regrets it & tries to do better. But it's just that he has nothing left in him to give anymore.

He loved & respected & admired Fëanor a lot. I think they were very close. (they canonically traveled around Aman. The sons followed Fëanor everywhere. He's noted to seek their council during the flight of the Noldor. & maybe these 2 were closest cuz Fëanor married young & Maedhros was his firstborn so Fëanor was still very young when Maedhros was born.) His dad was the smartest person he knew & what he said was the truth. It wasn't that he did whatever Fëanor said it was just that what Fëanor said made sense. He was logical & persuasive. Even if Maedhros didn't always agree with his methods. It wasn't until after Losgar that Fëanor came to perspective for Maedhros. That ship burning was not only betrayal but madness. they needed numbers to defeat a god. & Fingolfin had the largest host. & Fëanor knew that too when he invoked them to rebel & when he made haste to get on the way before they change their mind. & after Fëanor died & left Maedhros alone in a wide, unfamiliar land to defeat a god with the little number they had, & after Maedhros' got outnumbered by Melkor & captured, & was eventually saved by Fingon, he couldn't help but go back to what Fëanor did, get angry, resent him, then remember that Fëanor was grieving & furious & paranoid & his judgment was clouded & he loved his sons with all his heart & he would never do anything that would hurt Maedhros. & the more the oath thing kept going, the more this cycle was repeated. He had to actively remind himself that he himself took the oath & followed Fëanor voluntarily, that Fëanor couldn't possibly know it would get to this, none of them did. remind himself of all the loving, caring, sweet, beautiful moments with his father, all the acts of love & care & affection & sacrifice his father had ever done for him & his brothers, remember that it was all Melkor's influence that drove him to his demise, it was all carefully planned & executed by Melkor, that Finwë meant the world to Fëanor & the thought of getting replaced by his little brothers in Finwë's eyes & then Finwë's death crushed his world, & then as he grew up & thought back on Fëanor, learn that in the end, he was a broken, lonely, scared man who was afraid of being replaced & forgotten. All this to subside his raging anger & hatred towards Fëanor. Whom against his own judgment subconsciously he blamed for everything. (though he told himself that it's all Morgoth's fault. & in reality, he blamed himself most of all) 'Cause, in the end, Maedhros loved his father. He loved him very much even when he hated him.& he would defend him against outsiders. Cuz family was family.

About his cousins, do I even need to say anything about Fingon & Maedhros? Turgon I think didn't like the sons of Fëanor at all. Turgon liked his peace & quiet & the sons of Fëanor when they stormed their house would ruin it. & he thought they were jerks & his brother & sister turned into jerks when they were with them. (they'd just lightly tease him. Nothing offensive.) & his reasons to dislike them grew more & more as time passed. He was a firm believer that Maedhros is no different than the rest of them despite appearance. Aredhel was clearly their friend. So I think was Argon. & Finrod too. (less than Aredhel & even Argon. He was mostly friends with Turgon.) Angrod & Aegnor at first didn't really like Maedhros 'cause they loved Fingon & wanted to be his friends & they thought that when Fingon was with Maedhros he wouldn't pay them enough attention. & they had "grown-up" inside jokes & "grown-up" subjects to talk about. Later when they grew up they all became friends. Galadriel canonically never liked the sons of Fëanor. But headcanon that even if she didn't generally like him, in a semi-banquet among the newly reunited Noldor, when the time for dancing came, & Maedhros who had not completely healed at that time & relied on a walking stick, stayed sitting & did not participate, it suddenly came to Galadriel's attention that during years of the trees, Maedhros was his favorite dance partner (After Finrod) during balls. cuz he was one of the few men taller than him so she could finally have the elegant effect she was looking for when she was dancing. & they talked about sports events & he was witty & funny & would make her laugh. & she didn't quite realize that until then.

For the life of me, I cannot imagine this elf in a romantic relationship with a lady. Like, I certainly can't imagine him as straight but I can't even imagine him as bi. he's either gay or aspec or somewhere in between.

When I read his dialouges I can clearly hear his voice in my mind & it's raspy. His cheekbones & jawline could cut diamonds & he kept his hair long & with braids that differed from era to era. After Sirion, subconsciously, his braids resembled Celegorm's, he wore eyeliners like Caranthir, there were elements of Ambarussar's clothings in the way he dressed & his armor & prosthetic hand & weapons were already Curufin's work. Both to show his loss of identity & more than that, loss of himself in family obligations, & to show that he's haunted by ghosts.

It was interesting to me that out of his 3 Quenya names, he combined two of them & left his father's name out. I think it confirms that Nelyafinwe was a jab at Fingolfin. (I think Fëanor intended to secure his line as the line of succession. Even if Finwë to their knowledge wasn't going to die, maybe he would someday want to retire.) & I think Maedhros knew that, & didn't like that. (I think Nerdanel & Finwë & others would bring all kinds of ridiculous alibies to say that no, it's not a jab at Fingolfin & they would all jump on his mother's name when Nerdanel gave it to him & until then just call him Nelyo or sweet baby or sth. But everyone knew the truth. & Fingolfin would always especially call him "Nelyafinwë" to show Fëanor how unphased he was by this petty move. He continued to call him that even after Fëanor's death. & Maedhros was less than impressed by being used as a political ploy like that.)

Probably elves that don't age & don't grow sick, take their looks for granted. When Maedhros came back from Angband, he looked like a skeleton, he was scarred & they had to shave his head to check for injuries (& also that very, very long tangled greasy mess could not be washed.). When he first looked at himself in the mirror, he who even among the fair folk has always been known for his good looks, & now was probably the most unpleasant-looking elf amongst such dashing people, had another breakdown. He was no Maitimo (well-formed) or Russandol(copper-head). For his Sindarin name, He combined the two names & named himself Maedhros. It was a reclaiming. It was a promise. The dead king was back.

He seems like a very inspirational leader. The very fact that he was alive was a miracle let alone getting back on his feet & defending the borders & healing rifts. & with his level of determination & charisma & strength & big plans, of course people would follow him to Himring even if he wasn't Fëanor's heir. Some would follow him to hell. (So it's all the more tragic when some of his followers turn against him in Sirion.)

I stand by what I said here.

From "the eldest, whose ardor burnt yet more eager than his father's flame. Than Fëanor's wrath." I surmise that he had many hopes & dreams.

He went to battles with a very small vial of poison hidden in his clothes after Angband.

I said a lot of what I had to say about his relationship with the Peredhel twins in this fanfic. I won't repeat them now cuz this post is already so long. (I've said before how much I love the grumpy murderous morally gray dad involuntarily adopting the traumatized gremlin trope & goes from "Nah thank u, no kids for me." To "I've had X for a day & a half & if anything happens to them I'll kill everyone in this room & then myself". (Like Joel/Ellie, Logan/Laura, Silco/Jinx and such...)& since Maglor seems like a mild-mannered person even & even at his worst he doesn't seem grumpy & he willingly adopted the kids, Maedhros if is then.) He comes to love those kids. He would kill & die for them. But because he fears that by considering them family, they'll come under "the house of Fëanor & those who follow them" & thus under the curse of Mandos & the trauma of "those who followed the house of Fëanor" in Nirnaeth never leaves him, he will not let them consider themselves family. He even orders to have shields with the star of Earendil made for them as soon as they learn to fight so they would not use Fëanorian bearing on their shield. Elrond & Elros at first feel upset that the lord of the house doesn't want them as family but they understand when Maglor explains the reason to them. When a subconscious part of Maedhros' mind keeps seeing Elrond & Elros as family his conscious mind insistently shuts it down. (They do feel like family in his heart though, against his will.) They're just his brother's wards, he keeps thinking, & his responsibility towards them is no more than an adult's towards kids. The lord of the house towards the wards. & someone responsible for them being orphans in the first place. As he keeps reminding himself. He feels very guilty towards them. He feels like keeping them is selfish & twisted & just to ease their own guilt. He feels like the association with them will ruin the twins' reputation & life. So he tries to keep his distance (an effort entirely ignored by the twins & especially Elros, As I said in the fic.) He will say he's sorry but he won't ask for their forgiveness 'cause he fears that they will grant it & that would be because they're children raised by them & don't know better & he'll be exploiting their innocence & naivety. But despite all his feelings, even if he doesn't ask, he's forgiven. & even if not in name, in their own strange way, they're family. & love grew between them.

I'm not really sure if Maedhros would accept Mandos' call. I will preface this by saying that I don't think any of them got cast into the void & thus "doomed to eternal darkness" bc Fëanor himself got to the halls of Mandos & I think it misses the point. The point was that there was no point. The oath was in vain. They wouldn't truly get condemned to eternal darkness if they forsook the oath to prevent kinslayings. The eternal darkness was eventually what they brought on themselves. It was a self-fulfilled prophecy. (& I think the oath was eventually fulfilled. One of the Silmarils was with Fëanor's great-nephew & thus, his kin. The 2 others also were eventually in the hands of Fëanor's kin. Maedhros died with Silmaril in hand. & it doesn't say that "Fëanor's kin" can't cast the Silmaril away.) IMO there are several ways that it could go after his death : (CW mention of suicide ahead.)

You see, one really beautiful & tragic thing is that, after Angband, yes "the shadow of his pain was at his heart" but also "the fire of life was hot within him" & considering everything, from what we know, he seems to be doing well. Shortly after his rescue, He functions better than most people do in all their lives. He reunites the Noldor, we see him laugh (how many characters do we see laugh in the Silmarillion if you don't count the "fay" & evil laughs?) arranges his brothers' lands in a way that they have the least interaction with their uncle & cousins. Chooses his own land right on the borders & makes a stronghold & keeps it for years, he attends feasts & goes hunting with his brother & cousin. (& these are why I don't believe grim & gloomy Maedhros quite emerged until after Nirnaeth. Sure he would get very serious & focused & determined & brooding & there was a shadow of pain and depression on him but the Valinor era Maedhros was still there. Until Nirnaeth.) He was still hopeful & fierce & fighting. After Dagor Dagorath, even though the Noldor seemed defeated & they had lost their king, Maedhros, who was the only one whose kingdom was not hidden but RIGHT ON THE BORDERS & managed to keep it, got inspired by Beren & Lúthien & formed the Union of Maehros & sought to destroy Melkor, & even after Nirnaeth, he is still persistent & unstoppable it's just that now his persistence has turned to a dark cause. & it keeps going on like that until the third kinslaying. Time & time again, he keeps falling down & then he keeps getting back to his feet (& this is one of the things really admire about him). So when in the end, he ends his own life, I think he was pushed to his limits & that was finally a fall that he couldn't get back up from. So he just made the final, ultimate fall. (& I don't think it was his first suicidal thought I think he had these thoughts for a long time. They came & went & he kept pushing them back but they were there.)

You see I think when he got rescued from Angband he made one promise to himself & that was to eventually see it burn. & when in the War of Wrath Angband was destroyed & Maedhros watched it fall, his story drew to an end. After that, it was Fëanor's story going on through his two eldest. So when that ONE thing that kept driving them, that ONE thing that made them do such terrible things burnt his hands & he figured that it was all in vain, it was the final straw. He wouldn't want to go to Mandos or anything. He just wanted not to be. To end it all. He didn't want to face Mandos or his family or the Teleri. Or someday get reimbodied. He wanted to fade. To get lost & forgotten. & he wouldn't think himself worthy of healing. & the Silmarils apparently agreed.

This is not a version I like though. Not at all. & it doesn't even have any bittersweet beauty to it it's just bitter.

But another possible reason for it is that we see how he doubts that the Valar would show them lenience & MAYBE he blamed Mandos for the curse & how he doomed them from the start & didn't give him any chance & left no room for improvement. So he didn't like him, didn't trust his judgment & didn't want to get judged by him.

Also, it seems like Maedhros' case was like the second one talked about in LaCe.

But let's get to why he might have answered Mandos' call :

As you see above, the way "not answering Mandos' call" is talked about in the LaCE makes it sound like in the eyes of the Valar & the Eldar, it's the ultimate wretched thing an elf can do. Like if somebody does that, there's no way back for them. They're lost. The lowest of lows. I doubt any of the Eldar would dare reject Mandos' call. Even Fëanor who so fiercely & famously disliked the Valar didn't do that. So I don't know if Maedhros would. Also by the way he & Maglor talked about the Valar & Illuvatar looks like they still hold them in reverence & fear them. Maglor even hopes that they would show them mercy. & Eonwe DID show them mercy. So-...

If he gets to Mandos' halls I think he will spend either a long, long while or forever just sitting somewhere & sulking. Nienna can't help him cuz he doesn't want to be helped. Fingon can't cuz Maedhros is ashamed of him & can't look him in the eyes. (though I think Fingon would persist & eventually win & get to help him. Not that he wasn't upset with him but he directed a lot of his rage & blame on Fëanor cuz it was easier. & also seeing how Maedhros suffered all those years & eventually killed himself he pitied him & knew he regretted everything & his heart was still in the right place. Also, what can he do, good or bad he loved him.), his brothers were in need of healing themselves so there was not much they could do for him. & his father, well he was in need of healing but his son was more important. I think Maedhros was numb from pain but still, if any feelings could be felt within him, he did feel hatred & anger towards Fëanor, but hatred & rage take so much energy so he couldn't hold on to them, he wanted to get rid of them, he couldn't even feel them fully. & he still loved & needed his dad. & Fëanor would give him distance if he needed it, give him hugs when he needed it, if he needed someone to yell at & blame, Fëanor would take the blame, if he needed someone to give him comfort, Fëanor would do that too. He would do anything to give Maedhros what he needed to heal. & show love & remorse in his deeds.

& one of my headcanons is that when Elros dies, he tells Mandos that there is someone who owes him a proper goodbye. & if he's stepping into the unknown, he wants him to accompany him. & since Mandos is apparently soft for this family he allows it. So Maedhros & Elros meet. & their words to each other shall remain private between them like how Arwen & Elrond's last meeting was. & Maedhros accompanies him until he can go no more & they say farewell. But that conversation with Elros changes everything. & he does mourn him even if Elros seemed happy & content & in peace. But after a while, after more than 4 centuries of sulking, he steps into the path of healing. & the path of healing is not known for its easiness. There are many fallbacks & stumblings but he let Nienna & Fëanor & Fingon help him & he will help his brothers too & they will help him in return & he tries hard & will eventually get there. Maybe he will never leave the halls, but he eventually heals. & helps others heal.

& this might seem far fetched & unlikely but even if he doesn't answer Mandos' call right away I like to headcanon that when Elros goes to the halls he still asks after Maedhros & when Mandos says that he's not here, he didn't answer my call, Elros will answer "but he will answer mine." & he does. & it goes just like what I said above after that. (There is poetry in that the last good thing he did in his life was helping raise the twins & eventually it pays off.)

I strongly associate him with the amazing devil's "farewell wanderlust" like "I'll promise you I'll be better I promise you I'll try but like robbing wine stains into rugs it's my curse to try & make it right but by trying make it worse"?! Come on that's him!

& finally

[dialux]

Menielwa Lambamaica - Pale heavens, sharp-tongued

Women of the Elves, 4/?

[Written for @finweanladiesweek, Day 5 (Ladies who married in)]

...

Menielwa Lambamaica was the daughter of a renowned dancer. Though incredibly young and inexperienced, she apprenticed to Nessa herself; she was the same age as Fëanor had been when he apprenticed to Mahtan, and so drew the attention and acclaim of many elves and Ainu, among them the Noldo royal family. Menielwa’s first public dance was done in front of the Alqualondë court—the most accomplished of the cities in Aman in the arts—to a theater packed with all three royal families and countless Ainu.

In the aftermath of her successful debut, she was approached by Curufin, Fëanor’s fifth son, and gifted a rose made of living metal. It bloomed every day at twilight, with petals that gleamed like Treelight. Menielwa called it the finest gift she could have been given. Thus was the courting of Curufin and Menielwa begun.

While Curufin’s siblings had little care or taste for propriety, Curufin bowed to Menielwa’s wishes for a traditional courtship. They chose to not only follow the traditions of the Noldor, but in cleaving to them so closely set many new ones. Menielwa’s clothes, braids, and make-up was closely scrutinized and commented over by many citizens of Tirion; her wedding attire shifted the norm to include white, when ever before white had been reserved for mourning.

She wedded Curufin in the Tirion palace, and lived for some time in marital harmony alongside the rest of Curufin’s family. But when they had a son—named Curufinwë Tyelperinquar, the first and only grandson of Fëanor—Menielwa found herself searching for what she had gained in the years she had spent with Curufin: her preparations for her wedding had made her put aside her dancing, and the pregnancy soon after had not helped matters. She felt ungainly, hurt, and lost, and her son resembled his father; Menielwa could not see anything of herself in him, or in her house, or even in her marriage.

It was Ciryapandië, Maglor’s wife, that drew Menielwa out of her grief and horror, enough to understand what ailed her. Ciryapandie, Maglor, and Maedhros all worked together to buy a house in the middle of Tirion, a little distance from Fëanor’s own, that allowed Menielwa some privacy and distance from the overwhelming nature of the Fëanorions. This calmed Menielwa and restored some level of peace to her marriage with Curufin, though they never truly recovered from her inability to explain her suffering to him. Menielwa threw herself into writing once her son was old enough to be cared for by other members of her family, and found a passion for it that she had not had for even her dance, though she never showed another her writings.

When Fëanor’s distrust of the Valar went to new heights and he drew a sword on his half-brother, Fingolfin, Menielwa knew her husband would follow his father. But she had little desire to live in Formenos herself, and though she followed the rest of the women of the House of Finwë in avoiding them, she eventually reconciled with Curufin enough to convince him to send their son to her for half the year. They maintained this system until the Darkening of Valinor, when Curufin suddenly showed up to their home in Tirion and begged for her to join him and their son as they crossed the sea. Menielwa refused him then, heart hurting, and asked him if he would not let their son remain with her; he told her that Tyelperinquar was no longer a child, and had to make his own decisions. Tyelperinquar chose to leave with his father. Menielwa bid them leave and charged Curufin with her love, and they separated relatively peaceably.

Even after the First and Second Kinslaying, Menielwa did not relinquish her love for Curufin; she did not speak of him publicly or privately, but in her room she wrote reams and reams of pages describing her disbelief, agony, and rage—and her impossible quest to reconcile those emotions with her love. When Finarfin, the High King of the Noldor in Aman, approached her to ask her to become his High Scholar, Menielwa accepted, and published the manuscript she had spent two thousand years writing. It formed the cornerstone of a body of research that she would eventually use in the Second Age to argue for many of her family’s return to life before the courts of Finarfin, Ingwë, Olwë, and Manwë himself, a feat that earned her the title Lambamaica, or sharp-tongued.

As the High Scholar to King Finarfin, Menielwa used her position to work together with Anairë, Finarfin’s sister-in-law and her half-aunt by marriage, to integrate the Noldor that left Aman into Tirion, and to institute processes for people to return to life. Her research into the matter of elven death and returning revolutionized the elven ideas of reconciliation, rehabilitation, and recovery—it was responsible for the return of her son to life, and, eventually, her husband, and the rest of her kin.

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Just ran across something in “The Shibboleth of Fëanor” that substantively alters my understand of the post-Bragollach First Age:

[After the death of Fingolfin] the Noldor became divided into separate kingships under Fingon son of Fingolfin, Turgon his younger brother, Maedros son of Fëanor, and Finrod son of Arfin; and the following of Finrod had become the greatest.

I’d seen some references in fandom to Finrod claiming kingship after the Bragollach, and altering his father’s name from Arafinwë (Sindarin: Arfin) to Finarfin as part of that, but I didn’t recognize where it was from; I hadn’t heard anything at all about Maedhros doing so. This provides me with a very different and much more factional picture of latter-stage Beleriand politics, and of interactions between the cousins.

It makes me think, which I had not before, that Maedhros wording his abdication in favour of Fingolfin in terms of Fingolfin being “the eldest here of the House of Finwë” (rather than due to the Fëanorians abandonment of the Fingolfinians, or any other cause) was deliberately intended to provide for the crown returning to Maedhros in the event of Fingolfin’s death, rather than his abdication being a renunciation of Fëanorian claims to the kingship for all time.

It also explains why the army that went to the Nirnaeth was the “Union of Maedhros” and not a (somewhat less inherently-alienating to several parties) “Union of Fingon” - it suggests that Maedhros wanted any victory to come clearly under his leadership and his claim, and also ensure his claim to the remaining two Silmarils in the event of victory was indisputable. It also makes Fingon’s participation more striking in that he’s joining in a war effort that is being launched by a rival claimant to the throne.

And nonetheless, Fingon does claim the High Kingship - Whether it’s out of the sense that his claim is the most legitimate, or recognition that the rest of the Noldor wouldn’t regard the the Fëanorians as the kings no matter what he said, or recognition that the Oath means that handing the high kingship to the Fëanorians would be a very bad idea. This is different from the common fanon conception of Maedhros and Fingon both feeling that the other should be king. There’s some degree of genuine rivalry there.

It also fills in a couple gaps in the Leithian story. If Maedhros has already declared himself king, and Finrod has done the same, and neither consider themselves bound by the authority of different Hogh King, Celegorm and Curufin trying to gain control of the most powerful other Noldor kingdom (however incompetently and immorally they go about it) is an end they could expect Maedhros would be reasonably satisfied with if they presented success to him as a fait accompli, even if he was less than happy with the means. Also, it helps explain why Finrod tries to make his way towards Angband past Tol-in-Gaurhoth rather than bypassing it by going over the mountains to Hithlum and even seeking assistance there. Whatever reasons Finrod has for declaring himself king after Fingolfin’s death - not wanting the answer to anyone who participated in the Kinslaying; concern that answering to Fingon is de facto too close to answering to Maedhros; viewing Nargothronds’ strategic interests as too different from those of the less secret northern kingdoms - it would mean that relations between Nargothrond and Hithlum are rather fraught.

And, finally, I feel like it adds some context to the famous eulogy of Fingon:

Of all the children of Finwë he is justly the most renowned…truth and justice he loved and bore good will to all, hating Morgoth only; he sought not his own, neither power nor glory, and or death was his reward.

As eulogies tend to, it oversimplifies. Fingon was not, in truth, without personal ambition: the Silm states that during the Return of the Noldor he had the same desires as Galadriel: to see the wide unguarded lands and rule there a realm at [his] own will. (I’ve seen a couple posts attributing this desire to Finrod; I don’t know if that’s a misreading or based on something from HoME, but the Silm attributes the sentiment to Fingon.) He did dislike Fëanor. And he is almost certainly not the most renowned of the descendents of Finwë, when we compare Fëanor, Fingolfin who duelled Morgoth, and Finrod who remains remembered as the ‘Friend-of-Men’ in Middle-earth down to the Third and Fourth Ages, not to mention Eärendil himself who is a beatified figure to the point of being addressed with prayer and invocation.

Rather, in the context of his High Kingship having been refused by all the Noldor except for his own people in Hithlum, the eulogy comes across as a kind of posthumous apology for rejecting him. Recognition and praise that he didn’t nurture resentment or anger over this, but tried to act in the best interests of the Noldor as a whole: bore goodwill to all and sought not his own. A statement that could go on a tombstone, if he had one: High King Fingon: he deserved better.

[middle-earth-mythopoeia]

Okay so I’ve mostly heard everyone saying that after the death of Gil-galad, the kingship of the Noldor would hypothetically pass to Elrond, if he’d ever chosen to claim it. He was still part of the bloodline, right, even distantly, and he was a ward/adoptive child of Maedhros, Maglor, and Gil-galad, or some combination thereof over time, and they all served as king at some point. He would likely have a claim on the throne through that as well, knowing how convoluted Noldorin politics are.

However, wouldn’t Galadriel have a much better (and more justified) claim to the crown than Elrond would? She’s a direct granddaughter to Finwë and the last surviving member of his house (because honestly Maglor doesn’t count anymore, and he wouldn’t count even if he wasn’t a sad beach hobo since the Feanorians have renounced their claim on the throne). Since inheritance in situations like this usually travel vertically rather than horizontally (someone’s son would receive it before their brother, etc) and we follow that same line- we skip over all the Feanorians, obviously, because Maedhros hands it to Fingolfin, but from there it proceeds to Fingon then Turgon. If Turgon didn’t have children, or didn’t have any who were able to take the crown, then instead of continuing vertically down his line it would move over to either Aredhel (or possibly not, because she’s female) OR to Finarfin, (since Argon is dead), which would’ve solved a whole lot of problems. From there it would proceed down HIS bloodline, which means in the end, Galadriel, since Finrod and co were already off doing their own things.

It brings up an interesting point though- would Aredhel just have gotten completely skipped over because she’s female? And on that matter, would the same go for Galadriel? Does the simple fact that Elrond is a MALE descendant of the proper bloodline give him more of a claim to the crown than Galadriel, who’s female?

Or in the end, is Galadriel just completely left in the dust because the crown has processed several generations beyond her, regardless of her original blood ties and place in the line of succession?

I dunno, but I think Noldor Queen Galadriel would’ve fixed a lot of stuff and won the war against Morgoth in about five minutes flat

This is why I love tumblr, because where else am I going to get an anonymous message that says THIS? Anon, I love you. I love that you sent me a short essay about why Galadriel deserves to be queen of the Noldor. And I agree with you! She has a much stronger claim to the crown than many other people. (Also I laughed out loud at 'sad beach hobo'.)

I'm going to try to break this down into different parts to respond to all of what you wrote! But this quickly got away from me and went in all sorts of directions.

So there's the question of how did Tolkien think royal inheritance worked among the Noldor, and how should it have worked?

It's really unclear to me how succession is supposed to work among the Noldor, because Tolkien never spelled out the rules, and because when an Elf inherits the crown we're just told that he inherited it, not why he was next in line of succession.

In order to understand who the kingship would pass to after the death of Gil-galad, we have to understand how succession works, and it's just... so complicated.

Does it pass from father to son? Does it go to the eldest of the house of Finwë? (That is, if they haven't already abdicated?)

Starting with Fingolfin, it seems like it passes from father to son, because Fingon inherits the kingship next. But if it's supposed to pass from father to son, and Gil-galad is Fingon's son, then why did the kingship pass from Fingon to Turgon? But then, of course, Gil-galad is not Fingon's son, not if you go by what Christopher Tolkien said...

So did the kingship pass from Fingon to Turgon because Fingon had no children? If Gil-galad was Fingon's son, should he have become High King after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad? Unless he was too young.

I prefer to believe that Gil-galad is Orodreth's son, like Christopher Tolkien said, and the fact that he didn't inherit the kingship after Fingon's death supports that, to me. Even if Gil-galad was Fingon's son, and if he were too young to inherit the throne, then I would assume that Turgon would have become a kind of regent, but of course it didn't say that; it just says Turgon became king. Anyway. Long tangent.

Also, I find it really interesting that there's an entire plot point about the Noldor being divided over who they want to follow as king (Fëanor or Fingolfin) and the Silmarillion just doesn't tell you how the rules of succession are supposed to work. Fëanor has a legitimate claim as the eldest son, obviously, but Fingolfin was made king in Tirion in during his brother's exile... so it's not so clear cut. Anyway, I just love that Tolkien never explains.

And there's another thought I'd had, which is, what if the Noldor don't know how succession works either? Because they never expected Finwë to die; if he wanted to eventually pass on the kingship to an heir that would have been a decision he made, not that others had to make after his death. So what if they were just making it up as they went along? I mean, technically, that's what happened when Maedhros abdicated to Fingolfin... anyway...

Did they skip over Aredhel? I think the answer is no, but only because after Turgon died, she was already dead, so she couldn't inherit the crown anyway. But signs do seem to point to the Noldor using male-only primogeniture, which sucks, and I don't like it.

If Fingon inherited the crown from Fingolfin, then Idril should have inherited it from Turgon, is what I actually think.

But then Idril sails off with Tuor, so I guess hypothetically Eärendil should have become High King at that point. But then he leaves. So then hypothetically Elrond would become the High King.

Here's what I don't understand. If the kingship passed from Turgon to Gil-galad, and then Gil-galad died, why would Elrond have the best claim? It seems to me that Elrond would only have a claim if the rulership passed from Turgon, to Idril, to Eärendil, and thus to Elrond.

So finally making this go back to Galadriel and what you actually asked, the other question to me is, why did Gil-galad get the crown and Galadriel did not? Because if we're going on the version where Gil-galad is Orodreth's son, then the crown is now passing to the house of Finarfin. And Galadriel is clearly the eldest of the house of Finarfin in Middle-earth.

So I think after Turgon's death things should have gone one of two ways. If the crown is supposed to be inherited by the children of the ruler, then it should have passed from Turgon to Idril and down the line to Elrond. But if it's supposed to go to the eldest heir of Finwë, then after Turgon's death it should have gone to Galadriel and not Gil-galad. No offense Gil-galad, but you never should have become king.

[galadhremmin]

silm asks - 1, 9, 13, 22

1. Favorite Section (Ainulindalë, etc.)? The end, because it breaks my heart! The sense of loss is so palpable. You really experience a feeling of mourning for the destruction of a world that never existed in a way I have never experienced with other fantasy. I do love the Ainulindale because the idea of a world made of music and responsive to it is incredible appealing to me. ‘Is that not a silmaril,’ or! that sentence about the death of Miriel...  ‘ and the sky reeled, and the hills slid, and Númenor went down into the sea, with all its children and its wives and its maidens and its ladies proud; and all its gardens and its halls and its towers, its tombs and its riches, and its jewels and its webs and its things painted and carven, and its lore: they vanished for ever. And last of all the mounting wave, green and cold and plumed with foam, climbing over the land, took to its bosom Tar-Míriel the Queen, fairer than silver or ivory or pearls. Too late she strove to ascend the steep ways of the Meneltarma to the holy place; for the waters overtook her, and her cry was lost in the roaring of the wind.’ Painful; beautiful. But yeah, I can’t really choose. Though I’d still say the end.   9. What Age of Arda would you like to live in? I love reading about heroic and tragic events and enjoy dramatic irony, but I want none of those things in my own life! Years of the Trees in Valinor. Every time I try to think about what Valinor would be like in a slightly more concrete way it grows stranger and more intense in my imagination. Even if it would speed up my death-- fine. See Valinor And Die. ‘ And tales and rumours arose along the shores of the sea concerning mariners and men forlorn upon the water who, by some fate or grace or favour of the Valar, had entered in upon the Straight Way and seen the face of the world sink below them, and so had come to the lamplit quays of Avallónë, or verily to the last beaches on the margin of Aman, and there had looked upon the White Mountain, dreadful and beautiful, before they died.” -- That’s the spirit. If it actually existed I’d swim upstream towards the blessed realm like a salmon in season, right here right now.   13. Would you want The Silmarillion to be made into a film or tv series? Only if it was animated, and only if it was done by people like the ones who made Song of the Sea, The Red Turtle or similar. I don’t think the entire thing would really work in the same style; an anthology of separate stories by different creators might work best. The only live action version of a Silm story I’d like to see would be Del Torro in the spirit of Pan’s Labyrinth. But overall I think the Silm material and the way people interact with it would suffer from a big studio laying claim over it. Copyright and capitalism don’t go well with this sort of story.  22. What is your opinion of Fëanor? He’s interesting. This is getting a bit long, so cut.

I think it doesn’t do the character or the story justice to make his conflict with Fingolfin entirely about his father’s affection; there’s a interesting sentence in one of the versions of the stories that indicates Fingolfin was at least perceived as threatening not just Feanor’s but also Finwe’s authority, in favour of the Valar;  Whispers came to Feanor that Fingolfin and his sons Turgon and Fingon were plotting to usurp the leadership of Finwe and of the eldest house of Feanor, and to supplant them by the leave of the Valar-- for the Valar were ill-pleased that the Silmarils lay in Tuna, and were not given in their keeping. [..] on the high day of the Valar Feanor spake words of rebellion against the Valar, crying aloud that he would depart back to the world without, and deliver, as he said, the Gnomes from thraldom, if they would follow him. And when Fingolfin sought to restrain him Feanor drew his sword. ' Combined with from yet another version; 'said Finwë: ‘While the ban lasts upon Fëanor my son, that he may not go to Tirion, I hold myself unkinged, and I will not meet my people.’ ... I think there’s room for more than just a narrative about a child insecure about his father’s love. That is also there; and it is fascinating all on its own, because he is the first person in Valinor to lose a parent, the first for so many things. But this is there, too; a potential politico-religious conflict about authority supported by Noldorin tradition vs. the Valar. Given that Ulmo called Feanor’s birth a result of Marring and Indis line the good to come of it I think this makes sense on both levels.  Anyway, aside from that I think his devolving into a state of horrible, selfish paranoia and grief leads him to do entirely awful things in an interesting way. I don’t read the character as a parallel for real world fascists/nationalists because that just doesn’t make sense in context of, well everything. Being a King in a feudal society is only the start of it... But given Tolkien’s life experiences I’d say when he uses a sentence like ‘no other race shall oust us’ the wording is deliberate, and you’re supposed to feel those associations; the way his spirit starts to twist, the wrongness of the words he uses to motivate those not convinced by the need for vengeance etc. Feanor is a character who often plays the oracle without knowing it. He predicts his own son’s final fate (Maglor) without realising it. When he sees the future he doesn’t know it, and when he is justified in his emotions or even opinions he reacts in the worst possible way. It makes him fascinating. He is too much of everything, and you get the distinct sense that he doesn’t truly understand himself.  Aside from that; well, the slender dexterity of Feanor’s fingers... haha. He was Tolkien’s favourite, clearly, and it shows. I really love what seems like his intense curiosity and need to engage with the world he lives in. I love that his heraldry seems related to the spectrum of visible light, when so much about him is about light. I think Nerdanel might be the only woman in Tolkien’s work who is not loved for her beauty but her spirit, and that in turn tells me something about Feanor’s spirit. I could go on, probably verging into headcanons. I enjoy the character; I think of his actions and eventual implied ideology are indefensible. I also think that the circumstances being what they were (no one born in the blessed realm truly understood loss, or having to let go of a possession, for one) and with the qualities ascribed to him his choices make sense. 

[thegreatstrongbow]

Agnatic seniority succession makes so much sense for elves, esp. the Noldor. I could definitely see other elven groups (in particular those who haven’t been to Valinor) having different rules.

In Agnatic seniority, brothers of the monarch are favoured over sons. So Finwe dies, he has no siblings, so it goes to Fëanor. Fëanor dies and it passes to Maedhros, because Fingolfin is a) not present and b) depending on your stance on Finwe-Indis-Miriel situation, of questionable legitimacy for the crown.

After Mae it goes temporarily to Maglor, then Mae hands it over to Fingolfin. This sets a brother-to-brother precedent and also seems to disqualify the line of Fëanor from the Crown entirely.

After Fingolfin, it should be Finarfin, who again is not present, so it goes to the next gen. (Presumably the Noldorin Crown is Agnatic, otherwise Lalwen would come next, unless she is also dead?)

The you have the Fingon to Turgon shift. Next comes Argon, who is dead, so it should be Finrod, but he’s also dead. Aegnor and Angrod are also dead and (Galadriel doesn’t seem to either want the crown or to count for succession.) Orodreth is next regardless of whether he is Finarfin’s son or grandson. But he’s also dead.

Then you have the Gil-Galad, who regardless of parentage, is of the next generation after Orodreth. After Gil-Galad dies, the house of Finwë is extinct in the male line (at least in Middle Earth), so no more Kings.

However, technically, Elladan or Elrohir would have a pretty solid claim through their parents. Elrond’s claim is more dubious since he’s more removed from Finwë than Celebrian (Great-Great-Great grandson + human blood vs Great-Grand-daughter)

Seniority succession makes a lot of sense for elves for me. If you are a long-lived mostly-immortal species, inheritance is probably intended to be based on retirement. Perhaps Finwë would have eventually handed power over to one of his sons once he had had Enough. Forever is an extremely long time to rule. This way, the power is more evenly distributed over the House. Fëanor aside, most elves seem to have four or five kids at most, with two or three being more common. So it wouldn’t take very long (....in elf terms) for it to go through a whole generation, assuming some elves rule for longer than others, some will be uninterested, others might be disqualified for other reasons). In a culture that praises wisdom, having the oldest member of the house always lead makes sense. Although this can be a bit confused when the king’s grandson ends up older than his son.

[mists-of-hithlum]

Finally! I did finish this, right before midnight my time. A piece for the second day of Finwëan Ladies Week that is quite a bit longer than I meant it to be.

I apologize for any mistakes, it is late and this is not beta’d. Please point out the mistakes to me if you find them because English is not my native language.

Quenya

Atar – Father

Nésa - Sister

Nolofinwë (Nolvo) – Fingolfin

Arafinwë – Finarfin

Curufinwë Fëanaro (Curvo) – Feanor

Moringotto – Morgoth

Endor - Middle-Earth

“Irimë?”

“Irimë, where are you?”

“Irimë, you were supposed to stay with me! Come back here, right now!”

Findis sighs and smooths out her blue dress. Running around up here was supposed to be Nolofinwë’s task! She really does not know why she agreed to cover for her younger brother. Her dress was made for a council meeting, not for chasing after her little sister! She nearly stumbled over its edge no less than three times while running up the stairs and she still could not find Irimë anywhere. Oh, she is not looking forward to the lecture she and Nolofinwë are going to receive from Atar.

How do you just lose a sibling? Especially in a single building? The palace of the House of Ingwe is big, yes, but not nearly big enough for Irimë to disappear like this. Or at least it shouldn’t be! Findis has spent far more time than Irimë in here. She should be able to find her sister if she sets her mind to it!

Findis is nearly ready to just give up and let her sister get up to whatever mischief she has set her stubborn head to next when her ears pick up a nearly inaudible sound. A quiet giggle, coming the door to her right. She sighs again. If her sister has sneaked into the guest rooms rooms again, she is not going to protect her from the scolding Atar is going to subject her to.

“Irimë? Are you in there?”

Only silence answers her, but the door is slightly ajar. That is all the proof she needs to walk straight into the room.

“Irimë!”

Her little sister kneels on the bed. She is wrapped in blankets and pillows, all of them not meant to be used by the bored youngest daughter of Finwë Noldoran, who is in that exact moment handling out trade agreements with the owner of this palace, Ingwë, king of the Vanyar. Findis would like to curse loudly and creative but unfortunately, the source of her problems is too young to hear words like this. And a proper lady should not curse, regardless of circumstances. At least that is what Rilmanissë keeps telling her.

“Findis! Did you come to play with me?” Irimë’s big, blue eyes gleam with innocence, but Findis knows her sister too well (and has spent too much of her afternoon climbing through dusty unused passages and abandoned storage rooms). Findis can feel the comfort and warmth Irimë feels right now without even coming near her sister or the blankets.

“No, I was searching for you. You ran away from the meeting and your brother and me spent the whole time combing the castle for you. Why did you hide here?”

“Because it’s quiet,” Irimë tells her. “No one comes here. It was a bit boring at first, but then I found the blankets.” She beams with pride. Findis is tempted to hide her head in her hands. She does not need much imagination to know how the other rooms must look but she is too tired to make an attempt at fixing it right now.

“You need to come with me, Irimë. The others are worried.”

“Oh, Nolvo?” Irimë looks even more innocent. That does nothing to soothe Findis’ nerves. “I told him already. He’s on his way with food from the kitchen.”

“And you two are planning to do what, exactly? I can not just leave you without anyone of age, you know that.”

“But we won’t be alone.” Irimë’s eyes remind her of those of a little dog, the way she looks at her older sister. “You will stay here, right?”

“Please?” adds Nolofinwë. He carries a basket full of various specialtys of the Vanyar but Findis believes to see some Noldorin cuisine too. His breathing is heavy from climbing so many stairs.

“I need to attend the council meeting,” Findis protests.

“You’re already too late for that,” Nolofinwë counters with a wide grin. “Or do you want to run down all those stairs and then arrive too late at the door, causing a scene?”

Findis sends him an angry glare. They know her too well.

“Please, Findis. A whole afternoon, just us.”

Findis is seriously tempted before the annoying bit of her head reminds her of who she has forgotten while running through Ingwë’s castle.

“What about Fëanaro? He will be angry we excluded him.” Not that her elder brother is pleasant company when he is in one of his moods – especially with Nolofinwë nearby – but he would at least deserve an invitation., if only that he wouldn’t complain afterward or plot some elaborate revenge.

“Curvo?” Findis still has no idea how Fëanaro has not murdered Nolofinwë for the epessë he so clearly despises. “Oh, he left. I think about half an hour ago? Muttered something about spending his time somewhere actually useful. I am quite sure he went in search of a forge.”

“Of course he did.” Findis can’t stop the words before they leave her tongue.

“So you’ll stay?”

“All right.” Findis lets herself fall onto the bed too and grabs a pastry.

Her father has centuries of experience with diplomacy. He will know how to handle this.

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"Irimë, did you go insane too?”

“Why? Do you not trust me?”

“I trust you, completely, and you know that,” protests Findis. “But nothing awaits you in Endor aside from fire and death!”

“How can you be so certain? Have you seen everything the future entails, nésa?”

“I do not need foresight to tell you such.” Findis feels an icy calm in her body. “Anyone with eyes could tell you that you will not stand a chance against one of the Valar.”

“Just because no one has tried before does not mean it is impossible.”

Findis recognizes the defiant look in her sister’s eyes all too well. But it is not any longer about running of in search of an adventure or the next mischief she could get up to. If she lets her sister go now, it will be her death. Findis has never posessed the gift of foresight, unlike many of her family, but mere elves will not be enough to stand against a Vala. Even if it is her brilliant, doomed, insane, genius brother Fëanaro.

“We will go, Findis. And you cannot stop us.”

The fury in Irimë’s eyes also flows in the bond Findis and her sister share since their birth. They have both tried to close it off before the confrontation but anger and worry make Findis unable to concentrate enough. She suspects it is the same with her sister.

“So Nolofinwë and Arafinwë will not abandon this foolish quest either?”

“Moringotto killed our father!” Now the final dam is broken and Irimë’s feelings unleash. Findis can feel them in her stomach, mingling with her own fury and creating a dangerous mixture. She needs more willpower than she can ever remember to stay calm.

“He was my father too.” Ice covers her voice.

“And you want to let his murderer get away with it!” For the first time Irimë rises her voice.

“Father would not have wanted for you to run to your deaths!”

“Father would not have wanted to die!”

Both sisters are breathing hard.

“Atar loved us, nésa. The least we can do for him is to avenge his murder.” Irimë is pleading. It takes Findis a lot of strength to refuse to allow those words into her heart.  She cannot afford any cracks in her decision.

“Someone has to stay here and lead our people when you all are convinced to throw yourselves as fast as possible inside Mandos!” she retorts. It is cruel and she knows it, but she is desperate. Why would nobody listen to reason?

Irimë flinches as if Findis had struck her. “So that is what you think of us, your siblings?”

The bitterness in her voice is unmistakable.

“If that is what you choose to believe, it is up to you. But I hope you will think better of me when we return with Morgoth’s head in our hands.”

She leaves before Findis can muster up any form of retort. Only her retreating back with shoulders set is visible.

Findis does not have the gift of foresight but she knows in her heart that this was the last time she will see her sister alive.

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It takes her a long time to work up the courage for what she is going to do. The bond between her and Irimë has darkened in the time they have not seen each other. The once brilliant green of her sister’s fëa has darkened to a matter green, like you would find it of plants growing in the shadow. Her own thread of the bond looks the same shade of gold as always but it is thinner than she remembers.

Findis hesitates for a moment. Does she truly want to do this?

And then, like always, Irimë manages to ruin all the plans she made in a few seconds.

“Findis?”

She startles. The bond between their Fëas has not been active since that last argument between them. After the horrors of Alqualonde Findis was not exactly feeling encouraged to seek her sister out and Irimë had always been able to out-stubborn everyone around her, even among the Noldor.

And if she is honest, then she was not sure anymore if a connection between them would even be possible. Endor is far away from Valinorë and she knows of many who’s bond is so fragile they cannot talk anymore.

“Irimë?”

She is cautious. No one could blame her. The destruction of Alqualonde is years past but she will never forget the sight of blood on those stairs.

“I… I wasn’t sure you would actually answer.”

Irimë must truly be nervous when she relapses into a way of speech she has not used since they were both children.

“Why should I have not? Despite everything, Irimë, you are still my sister. Just as Fëanaro was always our brother, no matter how he loathed to call us such.”

There is a feeling of amusement in their bond but tainted by wariness and grief. Oh Eru, so much grief.

“I have not heard that name in a long time. They call me Lalwen, here.”

“Lalwen?” The name feels strange on her tongue even if a bond between fear does not require her actually speaking the words. “A form of Lalwendë?” She had always thought her sister preferred her Father-name. A strange thought, that so many people only knew her by another name entirely.

“The Sindar here are not used to speaking Quenya. We made it easier for them and for us.”

“Why did you reach out to me, Irimë? It is not to discuss names. You are not the one of our family who was obsessed with linguistics.”

A sudden jolt of pain from the bond makes Findis flinch.

“Findis, Feanor - Fëanaro… Our brother is dead.”

“What?” It takes her longer than it should to recognize that she has whispered the word out loud.

“He fell shortly after his arrival in Middle-earth – I mean Endor.”

“No.” It is all Findis feels capable bringing into words right now. The glowing feeling of attempted comfort from the bond tells her that Irimë – or is it Lalwen, now? - felt the uproar of feelings in her fëa. “How?”

“Morgoth.” Even if she cannot see her the face of her sister, Findis can picture the disgust on it still perfectly. “That is how we are calling Moringotto in these days.”

Findis is filled with too much grief to lord a “I told you so” over her sister. She knew the moment her siblings departed that they would most likely never return, but hearing it from Irimë…

Fëanaro had never been the most pleasant of brothers and she could have not existed at all for some days in his eyes, but he is still her brother. Was. Was still her brother. Her irritating, insane older brother that had succeded at everything and infuriated the whole Court of the Noldor. Her brother who had loved his wife even after wedding much younger than it was proper. Their children and the smile on Fëanaro’s face when his sons were around him.

The way he smiled less and less after Melkor was freed. Gleaming eyes in the firelight, speaking of words promising doom to more than the one who spoke them.

“I cannot…” She takes a shaking breath. “I need to be alone right now.” She can feel one last wave of warmth from the bond, then it is silent once again. Irimë’s presence has all but disappeared. Findis closes her eyes and the sobs begin.

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“Lalwen? Are you here?”

Irimë Lalwendë, princess of the Noldor, now called Lalwen and famous for leading High King Fingon’s personal guard turns her head when someone opens her tent.

“You knew I was in here. Why did you even ask?”

Her nephew smiles. It still stings, seeing how her reminds her even more of two lost brothers when he makes that expression, but time has dulled the grief in her heart. It was likely talking to Findis that brought them once again to the forefront of her mind.

She does not know why exactly she decided to call out to her sister. She knows even less why Findis answered in truth. It cannot simply be memories from a time long past.

“There is a last meeting to be had,” Fingon explains. “I thought you would like to be present.”

“Again?” She raises her eyebrows. “I thought we discussed everything necessary already?”

“You know Maedhros. He always wants to make sure everything goes according to plans.” His smile has been washed from his face and replaced by a thoughtful frown.

Lalwen rises from the pitiful thing that has been her bed for months now. “Do you have second thoughts?”

That shakes him up. “And you say I ask stupid questions!” A hint of the old charm and easy laughter lies in his voice that all but disappeared after his father’s death.

She smiles too. Sometimes Fingon is just too earnest for his own good. The responsibility of a whole people will do that to you.

“Let’s go. There is still enough time to rest after we sent Morgoth running to the hills!”

The fact she cannot tell how much of her nephew’s cheer is faked and how much is genuine should probably frighten her, but this is a battle lost a long time ago. They will meet Morgoth on the battlefield tomorrow, for better or for worse.

“Lead the way.”

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Lalwen exchanges a glance with Fingon. They will not get out of here alive. Her nephews’ eyes tell her that he knows. They share a nod.

She strengthens her grip around her battle axe. At least they will die together. But there is one last thing she needs to do before Namo will claim her soul.

“Findis?”

“Nésa? I am in a council meeting right now. Is there another time?”

“I love you.”

“Irimë, what…?”

“Don’t forget. Please.”

Pain.

Searing, neverending pain. Oh, she hates those Balrogs.

“Irimë, answer me.”

She falls.

“Irimë, we’re not children anymore. Stop ignoring me.”

“Irimë, that’s not funny.”

There is no breath in her lungs left.

“Irimë?”

“Nésa!”

They say Princess Findis just collapsed in a meeting one day. Though many tried to find out the reason behind this, the princess steadfastly refused to share. But sometimes, you would find her standing on the highest balcony in King Ingwë’s palace and looking into the east for hours, never moving, never saying a word.

[elesianne]

A Silmarillion fanfic for @legendariumladiesapril

Story summary: Findis talks with Lalwen before her departure from Tirion; and an age later, Findis talks to Lalwen's broken memorial.

Wordcount: ~2,100 words; Rating: Teenage audiences

Some keywords: sister-sister relationship, some angst, flight of the Noldor, war of wrath

A/N: What is 'canonical': Findis, Finwë and Indis' oldest child, stayed in Valinor after the Darkening, going to live with the Vanyar with Indis. Her younger sister Lalwen (Quenya names Írimë Lalwendë) was close to Fingolfin and went to Beleriand with him. The rest is made up by me. Laurefindil is Glorfindel’s Quenya name.

Warning for major character death (’offscreen’), mentions of blood and discussion of death

AO3 LINK

*

Sister of mine

Tirion, after Fëanáro's oath but before the Noldor's departure

Findis sits on Írimë's bed and watches as her sister packs. Findis herself packed for her departure to Valinor days ago, but Írimë did always tend to leave things almost too late.

Írimë pulls an astounding number of blades of different lengths from a chest. She stows some of them in her pack and one long sword and two daggers in the sword-belt which lies on a table, waiting.

'That one for my ankle', Írimë mutters as she adds another short blade on the table and surveys the weapons.

Findis has sat in silence for a long time, staring at her sister and memorising the way she moves, swift and decisive, and the tone of her voice as she speaks to herself, low but melodious. Írimë inherited their mother's gift for song as much as Indis did, though unlike Findis she never cared much to use it.

Findis hopes she will never forget the exact colour of her sister's voice, no matter how long they are apart.

That voice shakes her from her thoughts. 'You can still change your mind, you know', Írimë says. 'And come with us.'

She must have misinterpreted Findis' bereft expression.

'My decision is as steadfast as yours', Findis replies. 'I am staying. Antaro and I will take mother to Valinor, and with luck and time and the help of the Valar we shall all heal from our losses.'

Írimë's expression tightens, and Findis knows that she is restraining herself. 'That is one way to react to father's death and the slaying of the Trees', she says.

'We believe it the wisest', says Findis with equal restraint.

Írimë sighs and sits on the bed beside Findis, her riding breeches dark against Findis' cream-coloured dress. 'I am going, Nolofinwë is going, and so is Arafinwë, and all of their children, not to mention our half-brother.'

Findis looks away from Írimë. 'Best indeed not mention him', she says.

Along with all the other things Findis mourns for, she still mourns the loss of the playful big brother that she once had, long ago for a short while when it was only the two of them born of Finwë's children. It is silly to mourn for something that existed only for a scant few years, and might not have had she been a boy, she knows; but it had sent chills down Findis's spine to watch and listen from afar Fëanáro agitating the Noldor, lighting a fire in their hearts that would lead them to folly. Or so Findis believes.

There had been no trace left then in Fëanáro of the long-limbed boy that he once was, holding his sister's sticky hand and dragging her behind him all around the palace, speaking to her of everything that he was interested in which was almost everything.

Írimë never knew that boy, but she is following Fëanáro anyway, though she goes out of love and loyalty for another brother.

They are all following Fëanáro, everyone in the family but Indis and Findis and her Vanyarin husband and two of their children.

'Your son is going', reminds Írimë, and oh, that may be the greatest grief of all for Findis, almost greater than her father's death at the hands of the fallen Vala.

'Laurefindil is a man grown', Findis says with a heavy heart. 'He makes his own decisions, as did all my children. He has sworn himself to Turukáno's service, and it did not surprise me. He always admired Turukáno most of all of his older cousins.'

Írimë lays a hand on Findis' knee. She is fire-hearted, not heartless, Findis knows, though her speech can be harsh.

'I spoke to your daughter', Írimë confesses. 'Tried to convince her to come, but she laughed at me and said that she is her mother's daughter at heart though I may not be mine.'

'That was not very kindly said of her, nor kindly done of you', Findis says. She is relieved that Malwafindë had not changed her mind. It is enough – too much – that one of her three children is leaving.

Írimë laughs, though her laughter holds little joy these days. 'I have always appreciated her sharp tongue, Findis, sister of mine. She says things as they are. I tried talking to her because she made, after all, a sword for herself as well as me and many others. I thought that she might have been wanting to go but too loyal to you by first instinct.'

'She is a smith. I think forging swords was as much professional curiosity as wanting to arm herself and her family and friends.' Findis tries not to care about Írimë's half-hurtful words, and her trying to make Findis's daughter leave. There has been enough discord in their family already. Findis does not want her possibly last private conversation with her sister to turn to an argument.

'Did you try talking to Tárion too?' Findis must ask. Her younger son, her late-born joy.

Írimë shakes her head. 'He is not quite of age yet: your child still, more than the others. I would not rip him from you even if he wanted to come –'

'He does not', says Findis.

They talk for long hours until the candles in the room burn low and Írimë has to light new ones. She does it hastily, before they are left without light. Though the darkness that these days fills all rooms and streets without candles, lamps or torches is not as suffocating as the darkness that filled their land after the Trees died, Findis and Írimë are both uneasy with lack of light now.

They speak, and they embrace, and they reminisce about some things that are not too hurtful, that do not rip open any fresh wounds. There are not many such things. They cry a little.

But after many hours comes a time when Findis has to leave lest her husband and son begin worrying about her.

In the doorway of Írimë's room, the light of the single candle in Findis' hands between them, she says, 'There will be no public goodbye between us, Írimë. I will leave Tirion before you do.'

'You, leaving me behind?' Írimë's eyes are bright. 'I would not have thought it.'

'Mother has decided she prefers to leave first.' Findis swallows. 'Wherever your road takes you, sister, may the stars light your way and the winds blow behind you.'

Írimë gives a little laugh, but it is a wavering laugh, halfway to weeping. 'Thank you', she says, and embraces Findis, not very careful with the candle. 'For you, I know that they will', she says.

*

During the War of Wrath      

At the end of the next Age, Findis finds her sister's grave after a battle in Hithlum.

The grave was once handsomely marked, she can see. But the great statue that once stood there on a plinth must have been broken years ago, for moss grows on the pieces of it that lie scattered on the ground and a layer of ash covers them. And though Findis tries, she cannot find her sister's visage in the weather-worn stone face with the nose broken off.

She kneels before the plinth and wipes dirt off the worn words that are carved into the stone. But her dirty glove only adds another layer of soot and half-dried black blood, and she cannot make out the words apart from a few that she recognises as Sindarin. That much she can tell – that Írimë Lalwendë, daughter of Finwë king of the Noldor when they were still one united people, was honoured in death in the language of the grey-elves of the land where she fought her last battle.

'They told me that you fought bravely until your end', Findis says. Speaking is difficult, and not only because of the ash swirling in the air. 'In many battles by our brother's side. As valiant as any of the house of Fingolfin, as they called him here. I heard that he and his children were the most feared by Morgoth. I have so much reason to be proud of them, and you.'

Findis bows her head. 'Námo is going to give my son back to us soon', she tells her sister's grave. 'I hope and pray that the rest of you will be forgiven, too. You too gave your lives in the battle against the enemy, and you defended these lands, and you and your swords – your too many swords and daggers, I once thought, Írimë, but you must have needed them all over the centuries.'

She breathes deep the foul-smelling air. There were two Balrogs in the battle today. The air is always especially foul after Balrogs have been vanquished.

'I was saying – you and your blades protected many here. Firstborn and Secondborn both, and even Naugrim; and they fought alongside you, people who our half-brother railed against.'

Findis will not cry, she will not. Her gloves and hands are too dirty to wipe away tears.

'This is the first time that you have ever been quiet when I talked to you', Findis says. 'No interruptions, no comments. How I miss your voice.'

She takes a dagger from her belt. 'You left this at home so I brought it to you. I thought for a long time that you must have left it by accident because it was your favourite, your favourite to throw and to unnerve our father by playing with at the dinner table. Flipping it in your hands.' Findis smiles at the memory. The smile pulls at the wound on her cheek, and turns to a pained grimace.

'It didn't take many battles of my own for me to realise that you left it because it was too small and light. A plaything rather than a weapon. But I brought it to you anyway because I thought it a better thing to leave at your grave than flowers.' Another painful smile. 'You never cared much for flowers, you weren't that kind of princess. And I never thought that I was this kind of princess, one that wears armour and bloodstains and the taste of her own blood in her mouth. But I found my courage and followed in your footsteps in the end, little sister.'

Findis stabs the dagger into the muddy ground before Írimë's broken memorial. She wishes her gloves weren't so dirty because the pearl-handled little dagger made in the days of treelight and bliss would be prettier without dark smudges. Even with them, it is beautiful, a whole thing in a broken landscape.

'In any case.' Findis takes another deep breath. 'This land will be destroyed by the time we are victorious. Or on the way to destruction, at the very least. The sea will come and cover all of this, all the graves of all the Noldor who fought till they lost the impossible battle. Did you know it was hopeless, Írimë?'

Findis looks around. There are other memorials, gravestones and statues here. All are broken and dirtied, all have lost the glory they no doubt possessed when they were erected. They speak only of defeat and desecration now.

'It is better, I think, for all of this to be washed clean', Findis says with her heart in her throat. 'Your grave, and Findekáno's, and everyone else's whose bones lie here and elsewhere in Beleriand. The land is lost, though the war will be won by the might of the Valar.'

There is only one thing left to say.

'I do not regret my choice, Írimë, though I came here to help end the war you started.' With a last gentle touch to the plinth that once bore her sister's statue, Findis says, 'I hope that you did not regret your choice either. It pains me to think that you might have, and died for it anyway.'

She rises, her knees stiff from kneeling in armour and from the long day of battle. She whistles for her horse and the grey mare comes, as lovely and valiant as she was when Findis brought her over from Valinor three decades ago though her coat is made greyer by the ever-present ash that makes the battles against Morgoth's forces even grimmer.

Ignoring her stiff knees Findis mounts her steed and spurs her to a steady canter, returning to where she left her troops. They will have to find a safe place to camp for the night, and tomorrow they will ride back to Sirion and rejoin the battle there. The last of the orcs and Balrogs that had sneaked into Hithlum have been defeated.

Findis looks forward to reuniting with Arafinwë at Sirion. When the ever-raging battle allows, she will tell him of their sister's grave.

[faustandfurious]

Fingolfin!

Realistic: Conflicted about his role as a king in the years following Maedhros’ abdication, because on one hand he has spent so much time thinking himself better suited to ruling than Fëanor and his sons, but on the other hand he’s not quite sure he feels comfortable with so much responsibility - it’s a lot easier to think “If I were king ...” when watching someone else rule, than to be in a position where you know people around you are thinking exactly that.

Unrealistic, but funny: Credit to the previous anon for “Fingolfin is younger than all the sons of Fëanor, and it bothers him”. This is canon now, I don’t make the rules.

Modern AU: I’m working on a vague idea of Finwë being the CEO of a company, and Fingolfin studying something in Economics/Business Administration and believing himself to be the best person to take over his father’s company. He and Anairë decorated their house in sleek greyscale patterns and eat breakfast from plates that are almost too stylish to be practical. He loves vintage Hollywood movies. I’m also lowkey getting some Don Draper vibes from this, but of course Fingolfin is a lot less of a bastard, personality-wise.