#finwe headcanons

[thesummerestsolstice]

Only the elves really see Elrond as "half-elven." They focus, of course, on who he is in relation to them. He's sort-of an elf– enough that they can accept him into their society, but not enough to erase his differences. They understand the different parts of him– his propensity to get sick, his elvish-sharp hearing, his need for sleep, his immortality– as "elvish" or "not-elvish." And while they can be rather condescending about anything they see as "not-elvish," they aren't usually very curious.

Most men regard Elrond vaguely as a fae being. This isn't unique to him– much of Middle-Earth's changling and fairy stories were built on the strange human-and-not-human nature of half-elves. Of course, different humans regard them very differently– sometimes with respect, even reverence, believing that "fairies" are beings of great wisdom and knowledge. Others see them with suspicion and fear, viewing them as sources of danger and deception.

To the Numenorians, Elrond is just one of them– a kind of "immortal man." He is like them in several key ways– he gets ill, he needs sleep, he regards the passage of time in a very "human" way. More importantly, he is their kin, a living remnant and reminder of both their mythical founder and non-human blood they share. He acts as a healer and counselor when they need him. This is all well and good until some of them start thinking that if Elrond could make the choice to be immortal, surely they should be able to as well.

The dwarves see Elrond as an elf. They absolutely do not care enough to tell the difference between him and the others. He's immortal, he's always with a bunch of elves. He's an elf.

The Maiar do not really understand what Elrond is, and have kind of defaulting to seeing him as one of them but like, small. Look, they're all uncounted thousands of years old, he's a child to them. They dote on him and think he's adorable, but sometimes forget that he's also part-elf and part-human, and can't just drop his physical form whenever he likes to go be a disembodied spirit in the clouds. Gandalf encourages all their antics. Elrond is working on it.

(Contrary to popular belief, the average hobbit does not have any kind of opinion on Elrond Peredhel. Bilbo Baggins, who lives in his house and has written several long, extremely personal ballads about his family history, is a statistical outlier and should not have been counted.)

[thestaroffeanor]

Curufinwë the Crafty and Telperinquar the Ring Smith

Or actually just a proud, protective father and his cute, open-hearted son :) Not much here to say except that I got to try a new technique for shading and am quite happy about the results.

Oh, and I'm trying out a hc with the "light of Valinor" that so prominently is said to dwell in all Valinor-born elves (first had Tyelpe without it so I could better showcase the difference, but then I looked it up and he was not born later in Beleriand so eh). Elves born in the West get light pupils from me, a reflection of the trees and an inflection, actually. In daytime, the light in their eyes would be silver and golden at night, reminiscent of Telperion and Laurelin. Maybe they had somehow absorbed the tree light as they grew up. After the Noldor's flight, perhaps that even granted them some semblance of familiarity to what was lost and some comfort at gazing into their loved ones' eyes.

Of course, without the trees and the Valar's blessings, that kind of light lingered in the ones that had come from Valinor, but their children, born in Middle-Earth, would not inherit it and so even that small reminder of the Era of Trees was slowly forgotten. Few Eldar possess these tree-lit eyes anymore, but imagine the shock of the first new parents in Beleriand to see their children's dark pupils and maybe believe the Valar had not only forsaken them (which most had made their peace with) but their innocent descendants as well.

[welcomingdisaster]

The Kings of the Noldor do not cut their hair so long as they reign. But before taking the throne, each king-to-be cuts his hair in mourning for his predecessor.

Elven hair grows very, very slowly.

Finwë dies surrounded by an ocean of raven-dark hair, spilling around him as blood. Gil-galad's ankle-length hair smolders as fine silver ribbons tossed into fire.

Fingolfin, riding to Morgoth's gate with fire in his eyes, tucks his dark waist-length braid into helm.

Turgon's dark braids fall just over his shoulders as he takes up his great-sword for the last time. Fingon's curls, too short to braid, spill out of his helm and fall in his eyes, sticking his bloodied cheeks.

Fëanor had cut his hair unusually short in mourning of his beloved father; had hewed messily at the braids until his scalp was visible through the uneven tufts of hair. It looks much the same when he dies, the bald spots barely covered.

Morgoth cannot cut Maedhros's hair when he captures him, for Maedhros has already done the job himself.

[mamwieleimion]

Elves with long hair!

Like we all know that all elves (at least in movies, idk about the books) have long hair, regardless of gender.

But what if, hair symbolises how long you have lived. Shows your wisdom. Finwës hair was dragging behind him when he died despite having cut it to his shoulders after Miriel died.

Fëanors was constantly kept at middle of his back, symbolising his constant grief for his mother.

Fingolfins hair was close to dragging on the floor when he faced Morgoth. All of it was carefully braided by the hands of Fingon a few days prior.

Maedhros' hair was a little lower than his waist before Sauron cut it off entirely.

Fingons was mostly kept short on the ice because it would freeze and weight him down but if he continued to grow it he would had it to his knees when he reached Beleriand.

Turgon had his hair kept past his waist as a symbol of his grief but one not without joy. When he died his hair had been burnt to his shoulders.

Celebrimbor never answered the questions of how long was his hair because then he would have to admit to having cut it (not entirety short, just enough he would feel it but others would not see it) when his father and uncles died at Doriah.

Elronds hair was just reaching his knees when he cut it for his brothers death. When Celebrian sailed he once again cut it, this time to his middle-back because there could be a reunion in the future. When he finally sailed his hair was touching his ankles.

Gil-Galad kept his hair to his knees, and always dogged the questions of it's length. He truly did not want to explain why he kept his hair so short.

[havenotwillnotreadthebooks]

Ok but imagine the Noldor trying to have a nice banquet after the entire Finwean Fam has been therapized and released from Mandos. Except Eonwë is the one announcing the names and titles as people arrive (it’s supposed to be a sign of goodwill from the Valor).

All goes well (except when he announces to the entire room that “Fingon Findékano Astaldo Nolofiniwion, Prince of The Noldor and Husband of Maedhros Neylafinwë Maitimo Feanorian” has arrived. In his defense, Eonwë didn’t know secret marriages could last almost four ages). But the Real Drama starts when Elrond arrives.

When Elrond arrives; Eonwë looks at the Peredhel in the entranceway, looks at his magic Scroll of Heritage-Information, and there is a long moment of silence where Eonwë contemplates if he really wants to spend 5 whole minutes announcing Elrond’s heritages.

Eonwë, in the end, decides to take a shortcut. Cuz how wrong could it go? As such, he announced to the Finwean Fam, several courtiers, several politicians, and to the face of Finwe’s actual children that “Elrond, Lord of Imladris Remade, Descendant of Finwë Noldoran and Elwë Singollo, and [Insert Celebrian’s Introduction] has arrived.”

Speculations rise, and whispers are everywhere about what the hell “Descendant of Finwë and Elwë” could mean. (A lovechild, somebody says once jokingly).

Elrond was expecting Earendilion, Neylafinwion, or Kanafinwion, even Peredhel. He was not expecting the first kings of the Noldor and Sindar themselves to be named.

Anyway, the worst part is that because of Mixed Ancestry, Elrond actually does look like a combination of Finwë and Elwë. The lovechild rumors grow.

[adrianright]

A bit of drama this time around!

Celegorm is the only physical anomaly in his family. Everyone has black, dark brown, or red hair, but he was born with a shock of near white blond hair. This shocked everyone except for Feanor, Nerdanel, and Finwè. Celegorm looked so unlike his parents and siblings that some even suggested, for the first time in their history, that Nerdanel had Celegorm with another Ellon and had betrayed her marriage to Feanor.

The rumors flew around Valinor for a long time and Feanor, Maedhros, and Maglor would receive looks of pity or they would be whispered about. They stopped wandering the streets when a particular comment made Maglor cry and ask loudly why they were so mean to his mother.

Feanor finally broke at all the accusations. One, at the impossible idea of Nerdanel cheating and conceiving a child with another, two, the fact that nearly all the Elves of Valinor had forgotten that Feanor's late mother also had white blond hair. Feanor was livid that they spoke of Nerdanel in such a manner, but his anger was fueled by the fact that the Elves of Valinor seemed quite quick to even forget their late queen, his mother.

[anna-dreamer]

Finwean generational trauma is so real. I imagine, after Maglor and Maedhros kidnapped the twins, there was a clear and brutal understanding that that was not them giving those children a good life; but also, also, with Maglor and Maedhros being prone to the Oath, with their lives and souls tainted and fractured by bloodshed and murder and violence and loss and despair, they'd think there was no chance in the void for them to make something good out of it. Not with the Oath, not with the Doom, not with the way their father was. Their grandfather, due to whatever eldritch horror haunted his childhood in Endorë, felt that he had to have as many children as possible, so that his family would not fail and he wouldn't be left alone and scared in the dark. As a result, their father, abandoned and traumatised and angry, felt that he had to have as many children as possible, so that he would never be abandoned again, alone and scared in the dark. And he made sure of that. He had seven children, and he tied them up with an unbreakable Oath that would sooner destroy all of them than let them give up on him. So many hurts in this family were attempted to be healed with the use of children. And now here are Maglor and Maedhros. Alone and scared in the dark. True, there are two little boys on their hands, yet they have already wronged these boys so deeply. If there is a small chance of salvation or even redemption through them, Maglor and Maedhros would not take it. Besides, it would not work anyway. Refusing to repeat the old pattern is a first step in the right direction, and on itself it wouldn't be enough, but...

But then Eärendil appears in the sky. This is Elrond and Elros' father up there - and at the same time there is Fëanor too, because it's the silmaril that shines, the unobtainable, unreachable, illusory silmaril, like a father Maglor and Maedhros still desperately long for. Oh, but he will not come back. He is as far away as any star in the sky. The twins can't have their father back, and neither can the last two Fëanorians.

And then it hits Maglor. True, his brother and him are Doomed. True, there is probably no happy ending for them two. But it doesn't have to be this way for Elrond and Elros. With whatever strength and will to live and hope that he has left, he will try to do better by them. Maedhros would try to argue, but Maglor would tell him, They did not have Fëanor for a father! And they will not.

He can only hope that his genuine love and care he will give to the twins is just enough for them to turn out better than Maglor and Maedhros did. Maglor and Maedhros took them in. Now they are responsible. They will try. If redemption comes, it's not through acquiring someone to love you, but through loving them as sincerely and selflessly as your broken heart can. And if redemption doesn't come at all, so be it. It was not about redemption anyway. The second step, to consciously break the chain, is made.

Alas, it does not work as well on Maedhros. He doesn't feel this bittersweet bliss. He has fallen too deep into despair. And as soon as Elrond and Elros are gone, it becomes not enough for Maglor to heal either. He has just enough hope left to argue with his brother whether or not to go for silmarils. But all those last years spent alone with Maedhros sucked a lot out of Maglor, and nothing is left, apart from the feverish devotion, Nelyo knows better, Nelyo always knew better, like a dark shadow of Father always knows better, we will follow him and we will die for him if needed... No matter that Maedhros is not in his right mind. Neither was Fëanor. Their father's Oath is intertwined with their love for each other, and it binds them together ever stronger. Maglor would not leave Maedhros. But Maedhros loves his brother too. He might have not been healed by a star, but he is still Nelyo. The big brother. And while he could not break any vicious circles with his life, but with his death, for his last surviving brother, he would try.

It was not enough for Maedhros or Maglor. But it was enough for Elrond and Elros. With them, Finwean generational trauma was healed. The chain was broken. And i firmly believe that, despite their own trauma, both ultimately had healthy and happy families.

And if Maglor is still out there, Elrond will find him. He will finish what Maglor - his father - has started.

[echo-bleu]

"My heart warns me that Míriel will not return while Arda lasts."

Finwë and Fëanor leaving the Gardens of Lórien.

Finwë is still wearing the last braid that Míriel made for him. From now on, he will wear his hair loose until his son is old enough to braid it for him. For what stronger sign of mourning could there be, than the King of the Noldor wearing in his hair no braid or ornament, no token of the love felt for him?

Noldor hair headcanons

[wanderer-clarisse]

"Mano po."

Pagmamano (Tagalog) - "honouring-gesture;" a sign of respect towards elders

A continuation of sorts, of this other drawing I made of the Feänorians, which was roughly inspired by Filipino culture. I originally planned on completing this for @nolofinweanweek, specifically the first prompt about how Fingolfin and Feänor's families got along, but life got in the way and I didn't finish it in time. More background/my long rambles under the cut:

Pagmamano - touching the back of an elder's hand on one's forehead - is not restricted to family, but it's usually done in the context of elder family members. I have many memories of attending family reunions and being told to follow the other kids to "mano po" a grandfather, aunt, or uncle. While Elves don't have elderly relatives, per se, I thought this image was too fun not to draw. Also, I love envisioning Feänor as that cool uncle who gives the most amazing gifts but like, the kids are intimidated by him, so they have to be told (and supervised) by their parents to line up and greet him properly. Fingolfin's just standing there making sure his kids all greet their uncle. (Maedhros, presumably having already finished his greetings, is sidetracking Fingon.)

All this to say, I think that these guys didn't have the perfect relationship. But. You can't convince me Finwë didn't get the whole family together from time to time on some sort of family reunion camping trip. And Feänor just has to begrudgingly tolerate it because he can't say no to his dad. While the kids, obviously, have a great time.

[silvergifting]

modern au fëanor and fingolfin having absolutely WILD arguments with one another through the medium of facebook is something that is so important to me, personally. bonus points if their arguments are posted publicly, so that everyone can see them arguing about who scratched their dad's car as if they're defending themselves in an actual courtroom!

[meluiloth]

"Everything went wrong because the Valar are stupid"

"Everything went wrong because Morgoth is evil"

"Everything went wrong because Finwë remarried"

No no no, the REAL reason everything went wrong is because Fëanor didn't listen to his wife.

[thesummerestsolstice]

Silmarillion AU Where all the Elves are Hobbits and the Stakes are Significantly Lower:

Finwe is mayor of his part of the Shire, happily married to both Miriel and Indis because they all have two hands

Miriel doesn't die after childbirth she just goes off on a trip to find new artistic inspiration and doesn't come back

Don't worry she eventually shows back up again– turns out she got lost and a kind elvish warrior named Vaire helped her find her way back

Feanor has a good relationship with his siblings, although he and Nolofinwe have engaged in several bouts of passive-aggressive one-upsmanship

The most famous of these ended with Nolofinwe swimming several miles across a lake in winter to prove that he was the more dedicated brother. Feanor agreed after telling him off for being reckless.

The Silmarils aren't pseudo-holy gemstones here, they're a set of three really intricately carved pipe-weed pipes that the Finweans pull out on ceremonial occasions

Morgoth isn't a fallen god he's just an asshole elf who regularly breaks into the Shire to steal things

One day he steals the Silmarils; he doesn't kill Finwe though he just knocks him out

The rest of the First Age is mostly just increasingly convoluted plots by various Finweans to break into his fortress and steal back the pipes (and all the other stuff Morgoth has stolen)

The first of these attempts involves Feanor stealing one (1) boat from Mayor Olwe. No one dies though and he puts it back afterwards. It still results in a lot of petty gossip.

After one of the attempts Morgoth catches Maedhros and hangs him up in a really tall tree

He's stuck there for three weeks before Findekano finds him and gets him down with the help of a homemade hang-glider called "Thorondor"

One of the other hobbit mayors is Thingol, a dear friend (and possible ex boyfriend?) of Finwe

Most of the Ainur are elves here but the concept of hobbit Thingol marrying an eldritch goddess is too funny to pass up so Melian is still a Maia here

She and her descendants look pretty hobbit-ish but they have fairy wings and little antennae

It causes a huge scandal when their daughter, Luthien, runs off with a dwarf prince named Beren

Thingol even writes a very strongly worded letter telling her not to marry him, which is a very extreme measure by hobbit standards, but she doesn't listen

Eventually Beren decides to steal some hobbit stuff back from Morgoth to prove his worthiness

He ends up stealing back one of the pipes and giving it to Thingol

Thingol grudgingly accepts him and Bluthien settle into a nice, quiet life in the Shire

There's no Doriath kinslaying either there's just a long, very passive-aggressive series of letters between Thingol and Feanor until Finwe eventually steps in and Thingol returns the pipe

[nin-varisse]

I think since Tolkien named the first high king of the Noldor "hair-guy", instead of the next heir inheriting the title, there should be a "Who has the best hair?" contest everytime a high king dies to decide the succession.

[welcomingdisaster]

House of Finwë + Gender Presentation In Valinor HCs

Disclaimer: I have not been able to find any actual canon on what is considered masculine or feminine dress for the Noldor. It might exist, and I might be blatantly contradicting it. I think I have some grounding in seeing associations between gold/yellow/Laurelin colors and femininity and silver/grey/Telperion colors and masculinity, but it seems elves of any gender will wear/be associated with/named after/etc either color, so I assume this association is somewhat loose, a little as red and blue to us.

Finwë and Míriel, during their reign: They had set the fashion for all of the Noldor courts, and, unlike the Vanyar, there had been to be a contrast between the sorts of fashions they wear; Finwë in well-fitted, sometimes almost figure-hugging dress in bold, bright colors, decorated with gems and embroidery along the collar, sleeves, and hem, while Míriel leaned towards loose, many-layered outfits with quite a lot of visual noise, often covered in embroidery head-to-toe but eschewing quite as many jewels (in part because she found the weight exhausting). She would also wear one or two rings only, to keep her hands freer, while Finwë's hands were heavily ornamented. Finwë's hair was usually done in a half-up half-down style and ornamented, while Míriel's was bound in many twisting plaits, often with colorful strings (or sometimes light dye!) worked into it. These differences were so influential that the associations between masculinity and tight-fitting clothes + freer hair, and feminine styles and looser-cut dress + ornamented braids remained long after Míriel's death, following the Noldor into middle earth.

Finwë and Indis, during their reign: Gender differences in court dress notably decreased during Indis' reign, though some remained present. Indis, fond of sport and horseback riding, preferred tighter-fitting, simpler clothes than her predecessor, and notably wanted to avoid associations with embroidery. Indis was also similar in height to her husband; when, once or twice, she was seen wearing his robes (pinned and styled to better suit her figure) it caused quite a stir in the courts -- whether it was seen as improper conduct or a touching display of devotion varied heavily on who you asked. Indis was, however, very precise with her hair, which was never seen loose; she braided it closely to her head, bound with jewels and pearls. She introduced hair-wrapping to Noldor courts, binding her hair with thick bright silks. This was always considered a highly feminine style, with men at most using a ribbon or two in their braids.

Findis and Lalwen: Findis styled herself often after her mother, but subconsciously favored styles which would garner the least attention; she tended towards looser, more flowering dress, with sleeves so long she could comfortably fidget without drawing too much attention to herself, and tended to keep her hair bound. Lalwen, on the other hand, was at times scandalously masculine in her forms of dress. She was one of the first noble women to wear parts of her hair unbound, and wore bright, simple styles, tailored close to her with a few statement-piece ornaments, a little as early-reign Finwë. She preferred heavily silver jewelry and sought out an association with Telperion. Upon meeting her for the first time, especially in riding-garb that hid her figure and before hearing her speak, strangers sometimes mistook her for her brother Fingolfin, which secretly pleased her.

Feanor, Fingolfin, Finarfin: Feanor often found himself caught between his desire to harken back to his mother in his modes of dress and the fact that his mother had, more or less, set the standards for what was considered feminine in his society (and his desire to appear masculine as the crown prince). He embraced the same visual noise that Míriel did, wearing tightly-tailored vests and corsets covered in embroidery, but in cuts of cloth tended to imitate Finwë's style. He too kept his hands relatively unadorned, for practicality's sake. Fingolfin was one of the first elves to embrace simplicity in dress, wearing darker or subtler robes broken up by a single splash of color; usually in the form of brooches. His long dark hair was sometimes left entirely loose except for one thin braid holding his hair from his eyes, bound with a few silver beads or sapphires, very distinct and masculine styles. Finarfin leaned rather neutral in his dress in his youth, mostly imitating Finwë by default, though he favored bright sunset oranges and pinks, yellows. However, after spending much of his time with the Teleri, he found he enjoyed their modes of dress, often wearing simpler, looser garments, often off-one-shoulder, rarely worn in Noldor courts. This preference was seen by some as feminine, and by some as simply somewhat foreign.

House of Feanor: From his youth Maedhros tended to heavily imitate his father in dress, often wearing ornate and heavily-embroidered robes. He was also often the first model for some of his father's jewelry pieces, and gained something of a reputation for being garish and loud in his dress. The cuts of his robes, however, tended to be firmly masculine, as appropriate to the first-born son of a crown prince. His hair he often wore down, in the single-braid-in-the-back style popularized by Fingolfin (though he would not admit to that inspiration).

Maglor tended to wear tight-fitting riding-clothes, often in greys, blacks, and dark-blues, ornamented only by silver jewelry. His dark hair he cut unusually short (just below his shoulders) and wore in a top-knot, half-up half-down, a working man's style popular among Telerin sailors. All in all his style read as very masculine to the Noldor, with just a touch of androgyny provided by the the loose-fitting silver-and-black cloak he wore often to formal events.

Celegorm dressed most often in imitation of courtly trends for young men, favoring hunting-styles. His most infamous moment was coming to court with his hair entirely unbraided, scandalous for elves of any gender-- a little as coming to court shirtless. Caranthir dressed in looser robes, though largely out of comfort rather than style. His jewelry tended towards large and chunky, without much visual noise. Curufin heavily imitated Feanor in his manner of dress, albeit often wearing even more jewels; he popularized five ear-piercings rather than the previously fashionable three.

Amrod and Amras, not particularly invested in the fashions of the court, tended to dress similarly to Celegorm, usually falling a few seasons behind the trends currently in court.

House of Fingolfin: Anaire was fond of a matching her husband, sharp and purposeful in her dress. She had particularly beautiful dark hair, which she wore in many braids as a crown upon her head, and of long, simply-decorated cloaks. Very distinctly feminine, but in a sharp, unapproachable sort of way.

Fingon's tendency towards feminine modes of dress was noticeable enough to get him pulled aside and talked to several times during his youth; he preferred layered and loose, dress-like robes, wore bright gold-lip stain usually associated with young women (men favored red and orange lip stain) and did entirely too much with his hair, always wearing it in great plaits. After a specific incident in court during his adolescence he was forbidden from binding his hair with headscarves for court-wear, but wove gold into it. His one touch of masculine saving grace were his many rings. The androgyny suited him well; his appeal to women was offset only by his utter lack of interest in them.

Turgon tended to imitate Fingolfin's manner of dress, albeit with brighter base-colors, favoring deep browns, golds, and reds. Gondolin would eventually grow to have very different gender-norms for its residents, and then Turgon would begin to favor almost toga-like dress during his reign. That, however, is a matter for another post. He was known for many ornate rings, and collar-like necklaces.

Aredhel leaned sporty/practical feminine, often imitating Indis, whom she was particularly close to. She wore her dark hair plaits bound with white, often decorated with diamonds, and favored white riding-clothes and golden jewelry, matching sometimes with Turgon.

House of Finarfin: [the ones I have headcanons for] Earwen embraced hyper-feminine modes of dress, both to the Teleri and the Noldor. She wore intricate gowns and cloaks with many layers as feathers, most often in silver, white, or blue. Her hair was incredibly long, and always woven into several long braids.

Finrod favored greens and blues, usually in adventuring, hunting, riding sorts of styles -- distinctly sporty. His long hair matched his mother's, and he wore parts of is down, threaded with lily flowers and jewels. His hands were covered in many rings, and generally he made the appearance of being a well-ornamented young man. In Middle Earth he would experiment with androgyny, but that is a story for another post.

Orodreth: Dressed in soft, simple colors, notably pale greens and grays. Not wanting to draw attention, he would usually imitate whatever masculine style was popular in court, but he did not seem particularly confident in them.

Angrod: Embraced his Telerin side often, and dressed similarly to his father. His hair he kept strangely short, just around his shoulders, and wore a top-knot as often as a braid.

Aegnor: Simple in his dress, usually modeling himself after Fingolfin but with rather less splash. He did not much like the weight of jewelry, and wore the minimum he could get away with. Most people considered him quite unfashionable.

Galadriel: Mingled feminine styles of dress freely with masculine ones. Wore her long hair completely unbound on several occasions despite many talking-tos. Decorated her hands with many rings, pairing this with riding styles, but was just as likely to wear a long flowing cloak or gown; often styled her hair with rubies and sapphires. Quite controversial in her style of dress.

[a-hundred-musings]

You know, here's a small rant from me: I hate it when Celebrimbor is shown to be a "softie-boy" or a "naïve child" or just... someone condescending and stupid. Like, yeah I'm guilty of it too (who isn't?) but it just makes me wonder why he's presented as that in fics anywhere.

I read this fic on AO3? Celebrimbor is a stupid duck. Or he's just very naïve and easy to prank. I read another fic? Celebrimbor is a whiny baby who can't stand up for himself. I read another one? He's a man-child.

Look, I get why he's presented in that way, but can we not do that? Especially considering the things this boy has gone through which really wouldn't make him a "child-like" person, but more of a mature adult who has experienced things no one should ever experience.

Before and during the First Age, he's experienced so much:

Nerdanel and Feanor falling out -- that basically messed up entire Aman back then, but mainly their kids, so imagine how Curufin would have reacted to that.

The feud between Feanor and Fingolfin and Finarfin

The time when Feanor threatened Fingolfin

The time when the Two Trees were destroyed

The time when Melkor killed his great-grandfather Finwe.

Feanor going Mad™

The uprising of the Noldor

The First Kinslaying

His grandfather going feral and his father and uncles swearing an oath on a literal suicide-mission

One of his youngest uncles getting burned and basically died (or lived, depends on which version you follow)

A time of literal darkness. Like, no light at all. It really messed up the psyche of so many people.

Feanor abandoning his brother on the shores of Valinor -- that would mess up anyone really.

A literal battle. Like, more blood is being shed -- not only of elves, but of other creatures Tyelpe has probably never seen or heard of before.

His grandfather being so consumed by his fire and spontaneously combusting. That too, he either saw or heard of Feanor literally bursting into flames -- that is pretty traumatising.

The crossing of the Helcaraxe -- no seriously, that would mess anyone up knowing that people they love are literally walking on glaciers and over deathly waters with a 50% chance of survival.

Maedhros being crowned King of the Noldor, and an unspoken fact that there is more than one king of the Noldor -- the political implications here...

The abduction of Maedhros. Need this be explained further?

His uncles and father being concerningly close to starting a whole world-war

The rising of the Sun and the moon (like, what are those big spheres in the sky? Are they something from Melkor? Are they a sign of the End™? What is it?)

The arrival of Fingolfin's group, with more dead and furious people.

The mental health of everyone deteriorating. No, I won't explain because this era was filled with bad times.

No one knowing what to do now, since Maglor was naturally crowned the Regent King of the Noldor, and he has his own problems.

After 34 years of wondering what on earth has happened to Maedhros, he returns scarred with no right hand, and presumed torture marks.

Everyone literally holding their breaths for what will happen next.

Maedhros surrendering his crown to Fingolfin. That would hurt bad like a blow.

Literally only a few years of peace filled with tension.

Fingolfin decides to kick Melkor's arse and dies.

The Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

The Second Kinslaying.

The Fall of Gondolin

Making the decision of abandoning his father and uncles, going on his own separate path.

The death of so many of his family members and father and uncles. That is messed up. The amount of psychological trauma he's already been through...

Like, imagine his guilt of not being there with his father, imagine how much he second-guessed his actions...

The Third Kinslaying. The deaths of more elves, his uncle (or uncles), and really, just more death.

The crown of the Noldor being passed on so many times until it reached Gil-Galad. Imagine the humiliation and just the shock of the realisation of the number of people who have been crowned within a span of a few centuries.

The kidnapping of Elrond and Elros. While it probably wouldn't harm Tyelpe's psychological health, it must have been pretty messed up to find out that your two remaining uncles have committed a few more war crimes.

The War of the Wrath. Now, while it was mainly against Men, there is no doubt that some elves have been killed due to the war (given Gil-Galad's camps etc), so imagine him getting into some stray fights with the orcs or those Men who follow Melkor.

The Fourth Kinslaying. No need to further elaborate.

The death of Maedhros, and Maglor becoming a cryptid. Who wouldn't that mess up?

Surviving the First Age. Like, give this Tyelpe the recognition he truly deserves. Give him a few rings and trophies for enduring so long and he still hasn't gone down to insanity. That too, all this happened within the span of like, 600 years.

The Second Age:

Beleriand is under the sea

His "cousins" (Elrond and Elros) going their separate ways

The death of Elros (I think this is pretty self-explanatory, given the numerous HCs on the twins and Celebrimbor)

No one has any idea what has happened to Maglor. Is he alive? Is he dead? Who knows.

Rumours of a sinister evil lurking in the shadows and really, some tensions are visibly arising.

He finds this very powerful and alluring stranger who knows quite a bit about the art of smithing. They collaborate despite warnings from Galadriel, Gil-Galad, Elrond and a few others.

After giving thought to make powerful rings, Annatar watches over as Celebrimbor makes the rings for Men and Dwarves.

Newsflash: Annatar wants the rings, and he tainted them.

Celebrimbor makes the 3 Elven Rings in secret so Annatar can't get to them, but he gets kidnapped and tortured.

Like, really badly tortured. Annatar wants those 3 rings.

Celebrimbor eventually is killed, and is impaled on a spear, then given to Gil-Galad's camp after years of torture.

He went straight to his family. Can't tell if this will add to his trauma, but still.

While he didn't survive the Second Age, this boy went through so much pain, and... really, I feel like he doesn't get much of the appreciation he deserves.

Thank you for coming to my little rant as to why we need more fics that paint Celebrimbor as someone who isn't a stupid and naïve child, but more of a wiser version of Feanor and Curufin. He is not a tantrummy baby, for Ilúvatar's sake!

[tilions]

I had a nice, heartbreaking conversation with @armenelols where we talked about Finarfin right after Finwë died and his brothers, Lalwen and literally 95% of the family decided to go across the ocean for various reasons, including but not limited to starting a fist fight with Morgoth for Revenge™.

Like?? He returns to Tirion and is on good terms with nobody. Those who haven’t left are probably not very happy about him being there, Valinor is currently going into a lockdown so the Valar are not going to help him fix this mess, his mother has left to be with her brother and so has his only remaining sister, his sisters-in-law won't speak with him either, he is lucky when the Vanyar reply to a message once in a blue moon (sike! that one doesn’t even exist yet, everything is just pitch black because the trees are dead) and he doesn’t even expect his wife to return to him given what his family did to her people, who probably never want to see a Noldor ever again.

So it’s all on him essentially.

And what does he have to start with? Properly burying his father, of course, because I don’t think either Fëanor nor Fingolfin had the mind to even do that. Finwë is probably still laid out in the throne room with a white cloth covering his body and nobody really knows what to do with him because they do not know if he is ever going to return. Now, I do not believe Finarfin or anyone really knows the concept of a funeral. That’s something the elves over in Beleriand and the Teleri, who do not talk to him, are currently figuring out.

What does he do? Lay down his father in Lórien next to Miriel, the mother Fëanor yearned for and Finarfin never knew, because that’s the only reasonable thing to do, right? Right? Reunite them in death at the only place he knows is the right one, where Este’s handmaiden are going to take care of, heal and preserve his father’s broken body just like they did with Miriel’s. The one place his brother ever admitted feeling completely at peace at. Over time, it becomes such a place for him too. And as his visits become more frequent, he starts telling his father, who in death looks like he is simply sleeping, about how he slowly starts to mend the broken ties of his people, how there are two new lights in the sky that illuminate the whole world and how Earwen has come to talk to him, how Indis has finally responded to a letter of his and things are going to slowly get better and how he feels like he is getting a hang of being king after so many years of stumbling on a path he was not cut out for.

He comes to his father’s dead body the night before they depart for Beleriand and apologises that he is leaving now too. He speaks one last wish, that his father may be there, awake, alive, when he returns from war because Finarfin does not intend to die too.