#the once and future feanor

[chaos-of-the-abyss]

Who knows now the counsels of Morgoth? Who can measure the reach of his thought, who had been Melkor, mighty among the Ainur of the Great Song, and sat now, a dark lord upon a dark throne in the North, weighing in his malice all the tidings that came to him, and perceiving more of the deeds and purposes of his enemies than even the wisest of them feared, save only Melian the Queen? To her often the thought of Morgoth reached out, and there was foiled.

hm i think i tend to see lots of characterization of melkor as a destroyer first and foremost who's good for nothing other than raw power and breaking things left and right, but that's really a severe disservice to him imo. in the silm here it is stated point-blank that he can be good at reading his enemies. he's good at predicting the ways that they think, and he's good at using that to his advantage. and it's not just a case of show-don't-tell either, because he has pulled off manipulation and deception spectacularly before. before the darkening, he's able to fool most of the valar into trusting the sincerity of his repentance, enough so that he's clearly given, if not free roam, something pretty close to it, in valinor. he successfully makes feanor distrust the valar and does it so well that even after feanor realizes how malicious he really is, he's still believing and repeating the lies melkor told him in the past. and it's not just feanor either -- melkor spreads his propaganda against the valar to other elves, and he does it with enough tact and finesse that nobody traces it back to him until it's much too late. i do think that his subtlety and people skills degenerated quite a bit over time throughout the first age, but he still knows very well how to read people. on top of the excerpt from above, wherein he is stated to be thoroughly aware of his enemies' actions and motivations, this passage comes to mind:

But Morgoth thought that his triumph was fulfilled, recking little of the sons of Fëanor, and of their oath, which had harmed him never and turned always to his mightiest aid; and in his black thought he laughed, regretting not the one Silmaril that he had lost, for by it as he deemed the last shred of the people of the Eldar should vanish from Middle-earth and trouble it no more. If he knew of the dwelling by the waters of Sirion, he gave no sign, biding his time, and waiting upon the working of oath and lie.

he knows the sons of feanor will attack sirion. he knows they will once again cave to their oath and commit more violence against other elves, despite having come to beleriand as his enemies. this is right after the fall of gondolin -- almost thirty years before the third kinslaying occurs -- and he's already aware of what the sons of feanor will choose to do when even they themselves likely aren't sure. it's an impressive display of astuteness and insight and i don't think it gets discussed in the specific context of what it means for melkor's character. yes, he is deeply arrogant, self-centered, and spiteful, and that blindsides him a lot of the time. (look no further than the lay of leithian, where he massively underestimates luthien.) but he can also be extremely shrewd when he wants to be.

also! i like the fact that he is explicitly noted to have laughed at the notion of the feanorians attacking other elves. they've already caused the fall of doriath, and now he's correctly predicted that they'll sack sirion in the future. melkor has a sense of humor, people! a very dark sense of humor that probably always comes at others' expense, but it is a sense of humor. and it's a good one at that, because the feanorians' actions are deeply ironic. i can't blame him for giggling tbh, i would too.

another thing i find significant is that melkor does not regret losing the silmaril to luthien because he knows it will ultimately lead to another kinslaying. he of course miscalculates in thinking that that will spell the irreversible end for the eldar in beleriand, and he couldn't have known that earendil would actually try to sail to aman to plead for the valar's help, nor could he have known that elwing would bring the silmaril to vingilot and enable the success of earendil's voyage. but in my experience at least, melkor is perceived and portrayed as somewhat silmaril-obsessed, and he's really... not? he's capable of being outright fine about losing one since its loss contributes to his overall aims. imo, he's actually quite rational about the whole thing. he cares more about the usefulness of the situation -- and the black humor in it -- than he cares about the silmaril. and compared to what i've seen him get credit for, he has several instances across the silm where he's pretty smart.

p.s. the last sentence on that first passage is funny as hell to me. "often the thought of morgoth reached out" to melian, "and there was foiled." melkor stretching telepathically out across beleriand like "psst hey melian--" only to be stonewalled every time with

[cravinganotherworld]

Ilmarë - Annatar/Sauron x Fem! Elf! reader

Celebrimbors daughter (y/n) meets Annatar for the first time.

WARNINGS: Fluff, slightly anxiety but not too much. Just Fluff and soft Sauron!

NOTE: I am thinking of making this into a series, let me know if you think it'd be a good idea!

Watching the sun rise over Eregion has become (Y/N’s) favourite part of the day, watching the kingfishers fly to the river and the bees collect their pollen brought her a peace she had not known in an age. Her father Celebrimbor is the finest of all elven smiths, some would even say better than Feanor himself, but of course her father believes this to be nonsense. As his daughter, (Y/N) of course has expectations and a reputation to upkeep as the future Lady of Eregion. She is known across the elven realms as Ilmarë, an Elf of Starlight. The most beautiful to behold and most graceful in her actions. Upon hearing her name, the heart of any Elf warms, her kindness matches none and her love for all creatures surpasses her love of anything else.

It was late at night when she heard her father talking to a man in the forge, the voice is one she has never heard before so curiously she presses her ear to the door, she can only hear a few words like ‘friend’, ‘men’ and rings’ so she decides to give up and head to bed, perhaps she could speak to him tomorrow. As she walks away a luminous flash escapes from under the doors lighting up the hall which previously was only lit by candles. (Y/N) rushes over to the door and tries to pull it open thinking her father may be in danger but to no avail. The more she pulls the door, the brighter the light became. As she is about to call out to Celebrimbor, she hears a voice once more, different to the one before but almost certainly not belonging to her father, it is almost…angelic. The light begins to dim and a sense of relief washes over her. She tries the door once more to find it unlocked again. Confused, she gently pushes the door open and looks around to see her father standing before another. Both of their heads turn towards the door and a small gasp escapes (y/n’s) lips as her eyes connect with the strangers. Her heart begins to beat a little faster as she gets lost in the pools of green searching her soul. Their eyes only separate once Celebrimbor clears his throat.

“(Y/N) sweetheart what are you doing awake at this time of night?” Celebrimbor questions as he walks over to her.

“ I simply couldn’t sleep father, the sound of the river has fallen flat tonight” She replies, her gaze darting across to the stranger and back to her father as he takes her hands in his.

“Well, seeing as though you are here…let me introduce you to our guest” Celebrimbor takes her hand and pulls her across to the stranger. As they get closer, her legs begin to feel weak, and her heart once again quickens. Celebrimbor stops and turns you to face the stranger.

“I would like to introduce my daughter (y/n), known across the elven lands as – “

“Ilmarë” the stranger speaks as he looks at her, his voice smooth and gentle causing (y/n’s) cheeks to darken and her gaze falls to the floor. A hand rests under her chin pulling her head up, their eyes meeting once again.

“You need not be shy, I have heard of your talents…of your kindness and heart” he speaks softly, his hand still on her chin. A cough behind them causes their eyes to part once again.

“(y/n), this is Annatar…The Lord of Gifts, he is of the Valar themselves” (y/n’s) eyes widen, and she drops to her knees in front of him.

“Forgive me my lord…I did not know” a soft chuckle warms her heart.

“Rise  Ilmarë, I am your equal…no more…no less” As she stands, she loses her balance and wobbles on her feet slightly, feeling Annatars hands on her arms steadying her. “Careful now Ilmarë…it is not often stars fall” Her arms are left cold once his return to his side, Annatar turns to Celebrimbor.

“Our work begins now” Celebrimbor nods in delight and turns towards his daughter.

“(y/n) sweetheart, why don’t I walk you to your chambers, the night is late, perhaps a short walk will help you sleep easier?” (Y/N) nods her head and smiles gently.

“Of course, father…thank you” Celebrimbor smiles towards Annatar and takes (y/n’s) arm in his walking towards the door. Before they could walk any further, Annatar gently grabs (y/n’s) hand, and she turns to look at him.

“Goodnight Ilmarë” Annatar speaks softly, a gentle smile adorning his lips.

“Goodnight my lord” she bows her head respectfully and walks out of the door with her father, glancing back at Annatar once more.

[catofadifferentcolor]

Since tumbling head first back into the Tolkien fandom, I’ve found myself once more obsessed with the question of Gil-Galad’s parentage. Now, The Simarillion states at least twice that GG is the son of Fingon - but even if we accept that there are still many entertaining possibilities left. Including:

Fingon’s son with his Noldor wife, who came over with him from Valinor and spent so much time at her craft that most elves honestly forgot she was their queen

Fingon’s son with his scandalously Avari wife, who he met in Beleriand and who died with him at the Battle of Unnumbered Tears

Fingon’s adopted son with Maedhros, whom he secretly married before they left Valinor/after his rescue from Morgoth

Fingon’s biological child with Maedhros, accidentally brought into being when Maglor and Finrod decided to have a rap battle in the room below their brother/cousin’s bedroom (no one ever asked Maglor or Finrod to come up with songs for a fertility festival again)

Fingon’s future son, born in the Fourth Age and sent back through time to ensure the Noldor have a king to stand against Sauron

Fingon’s stepson, fathered on Maedhros by Sauron during his captivity; and

Feanor, who (after some years spent roaming Middle Earth as a disembodied spirit) took over the body of a deceased elven child and was passed off as his nephew’s son to be back in line for high kingship.

Obviously at least half of these are crack, but the wheels are spinning. I’d love to see a Second Age where herald!Elrond does nothing but report the latest rumors about GG’s parentage to the high king and stir the pot when things get too dull. (Yes, there are a few, but there can always be more.)

[eri-pl]

I'm having more thoughts about the whole fall of Men thing. So: why was Atanamir's argument ("…but the Elves did kinslaying and are still immortal. Not fair!!!") invalid? I will try to answer that.

I mean, in addition to "Atanamir, dear, stop bein an envious jerk."

What Men were supposed to do originally, before the event? (I call it "the event" because "whatever they did with Morgoth" is too long and the tale of Adanel isn't quite canon). What they, maybe, did before the event? How would it work with unmarred Men and marred Arda?

OK, I will be making some — *takes a deep breath, stops giggling* — I will be making some guesses. But I think they are very solid guesses.

So, the Men would just nope out in whole when they got bored / tired / whatever of Eä. I think it would be permanent, they wouldn't be able to return, because they'd be full of spoilers knowledge of the future, and also, looking at how the Valar have it, I don't think just going back and forth would be allowed en masse.

And after the event they don't leave whole, they get torn apart.

Why exactly? Can there be an explanation that's more interesting than "punishment" and makes more sense than "morgoth broke them"?

I say: yes, there is.

First I give the explanation, and then I'll elaborate on what happened to the Elves when they did their problematic deeds, and how they are not left without consequences as Atanamir claimed.

Warning: this is purely Tolkien stuff, based on his cosmology, I forfeit the responsibility of any applications of this agreement to real-world theology, and if you get accused of heresy don't call me. [General "don't try this at home" disclaimer] [You may, however, use this line of thought in your fanfics and AUs if it fits there (ironically, doesn't fit to some of my own), feel encouraged to do so!]

OK, so do you remember how I said that the Oath of Feanor was, metaphysically, sort of "they married their revenge"? Now guess what. The Men as a whole species kind of married morgoth. Kind of, but I feel like this fits as well as with the oath.

Anyway even if you don't like this metaphor, they are tied to him in some very deep way.

OK so how do you untie things like that? Mhm. OK easier question: how do you pause a tie like that? How do you pause a marriage?

The answer is simple: You kill one of the parties. When the soul and the body are split the bond is not active anymore.

So. This is it. This is the explanation.

The Men die, because that's how they got the relationship on pause, until something happens to it. Which per the silm is "morgoth gets permakilled by Túrin Turambar Eonwë so there's no relationship anymore".

OK so now that we know why the Men need to die: what with the elves?

They died even before they fell, they die because Arda is marred. So this is not it. Also, they do reincarnate anyway, so not a huge deal.

The Feanorians married themselves to their revenge and their Silmarils, and now the Silmarils are permanently (source: Namo said so) inaccessible. Coincidence? I don't think so.

As I already once argued half-jokingly, the Námo-validated inaccessibility of Silmarils effectively drives the Oath invalid, at least to the same degree as a marriage is invalid when one of the parties is sworn/doomed to permanently stay in the Halls.

So: I think that the result (and probably: necessary fix) of the fall of the Noldor (the fall was: oath and leaving Aman in such circumstances) is the binding of the Silmarils to a fate where they cannot be reached; and therefore the impossibility of having the Trees again, and generally a slow almost fading even of Valinor itself.

Not an individual death, but the slow death of the world itself, even the part of it that was supposed to be sublime and eternal.

(Also, a smaller copy of this is Elu Thingol claiming a Silmaril that was not his and this resulting in the fall of Doriath. Again: not his death (this was a free extra XD) but the death of his land)

If this feels too random, ask yourself: what would happen if Feanor didn't swear the oath, if he agreed to give up the Silmarils and if the Noldor didn't run away?

I think that the Valar would all go to war with Morgoth immediately (OK, maybe in 50-ish years, because they'd need time for the Noldor to teach other Elves how to fight + general logistics... which btw means that he would have time to deal with the Men anyway which I think makes sense), defeat him (imagine: the whole WoW host whatever it was, and allied to them all the Noldor. They would win easier than in the WoW.)

They would either reboot the Trees or find, with Feanor's help, another similarly good solution. Beleriand would be free, and Valinor would be well-lit, and generally everyone would be much happier. I have no idea where the Elves would live in this scenario, but they would probably fade much slower in ME, because there would be less marring of the land.

(Oh, and I think that seeing his mother reembodied would very likely help Feanor deal with the breaking of the Silmarils. He'd be fine. If you ship his parents a lot, we can even say that Indis would die in the war, as one of the few causalities, and she'd stay in the Halls to let Finwë go back to Miriel. She doesn't love him much anyway.)

[eleneressea]

In your time travel maedhros au, how are things going between Feanor and Fingolfin since Maitimo got sent to Lorien and it’s becoming increasingly obvious that he and Findekano have feelings for one another. How’s Finwe dealing with all this?

Finwë is doing extremely bad about all this! But mostly for Míriel-related reasons.

Maitimo goes back to just about when Morgoth gets released, and the Ungoliant Incident happens not that long after Fëanor makes the Silmarils, so the Fëanor-Fingolfin relationship is actually not that bad because Morgoth hasn't had a chance to really get the lies going yet. They don't get along, they're still rivals and the family situation is still complicated, but they aren't enemies. This means that there's a chance that they can patch things up. Fëanor is dealing with his "Am I a bad parent?" crisis and knows that Maitimo would like him and Fingolfin to get along, so he's putting in an effort to not snap at Fingolfin. too much. Fingolfin, meanwhile, is very aware that Maitimo saved Findekáno, so he's working on being nicer to Fëanor, and the result is…several very awkward conversations. but they're polite very awkward conversations.

Once Maitimo wakes up and starts manipulating uh I mean influencing his family from his sickbed,* the awkward conversations increase in length and frequency. At one point Fëanor even ventures a comment about Indis that isn't a veiled insult! The bar may be low but they're clearing it!

It is, unfortunately, not obvious that Findekáno and Maitimo have feelings for each other. Emotions are high! Maitimo saved Findekáno's life! Findekáno staying by Maitimo's sickbed and clutching his hand…is not necessarily romantic when he nearly died for you, y'know? So Maitimo knows that Findekáno has feelings for him (because future) but Findekáno thinks that nobody knows how he feels, and to be fair very few people do,** same for Maitimo. They're pining.

*guy arranged large land deals with Thingol in the single year between the Eagle rescue and his abdication; as soon as he's coherent he's going to be judiciously telling his cousins and siblings things to get them to do what he wants. Sometimes that's fomenting rebellion among the Teleri, sometimes that's more pillows and extra treats.

**to wit: Maitimo, Anairë, Ambarussa, Galadriel. Anairë knows her eldest, Ambarussa and Galadriel were (separately) sneaking around eavesdropping and heard Findekáno telling an unconscious Maitimo about his feelings. Galadriel is about four and doesn't understand romantic love yet; Ambarussa think it's very funny. They've nicknamed him "Findekáno Astaldo" sarcastically for his great bravery in confessing his feelings to someone who is unconscious and can't hear him.

[polutrope]

@ettelene requested Feanor + boycotting a holiday for the modern AU holiday prompts! Here you are, ~775 words of condo developer Feanor, his family, and his many rivals. No warnings besides a little cursing (one f-bomb), as usual.

Amid zoning feud with City Hall, Ambar Metta withdraws funding for Yule Parade

Future of beloved celebration threatened by powerful Beleria development group. Has Finvesen’s grudge gone too far?

Fëanor slammed his laptop shut. “Ridiculous accusations,” he muttered into his coffee before taking a sip and grimacing. Too hot.

His phone pinged.

Nelyafinwë 🧡 Did you read it? 8:05am

Fëanáro Slander. Let them lob their accusations at us, you know it’s nothing to do with grudges. If that Singh-Goel had given us the permit for Himring Towers we would not be in this situation. 8:05am

We don’t have the budget! 8:06am

Elu has no one to blame but himself!! 8:07am

Three dots ticked along the bottom of his messaging app. Fëanor slammed the table and slurped his coffee. His eldest could be so infuriating sometimes! What was taking him so long to reply?

Nelyafinwë 🧡 Right. I know. But if Sindar Herald is painting it that way don’t you think we should consider the possible consequences for the business? 8:09am

Thumbs flying in outrage, Fëanor typed a reply. Then deleted it. Then retyped it.

Fëanáro Did your boyfriend put you up to this? 8:11am

Nelyafinwë 🧡 Omg no dad! Fingon hasn’t even seen the article. Curufinwë sent it to me. 8:11am

Fëanáro Curvo sent you this? Why didn’t he tell me himself? 8:11am

Nelyafinwë 🧡 I don’t know. Can I call you? 8:12am

Fëanor closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Fëanáro Not right now. 8:12am

Have a good day Nelyo 🙂 8:13am

Fëanor swiped his phone app open and clicked the first name in his call history.

“Hello? Dad?” answered Curufin. His voice was hoarse.

“Curufinwë, why didn’t you tell me about that article?”

“What article?”

Fëanor huffed. “The libel about the Yule Parade sponsorship!”

“Oh, yeah — fucking bullshit.”

“Do you know what your brother said to me? That we should ‘consider the business consequences.’”

“Ugh, really? Sorry dad, I was going to call you, I swear. But I didn’t want to just dump it on you — ugh, Nelyo! — but Tyelpë has a cold and he’s staying home from school, I didn’t have a chance to—”

“What! Tyelperinquar isn’t well?” Fëanor’s indignation over the article was immediately swept aside by a surge of panic for his favourite (only) grandchild. “Why didn’t you ask us to take him! Bring him over at once. I have told you a thousand times, your mother and I can take him anytime you need—”

“No, we can’t.” Nerdanel strolled into the dining room, dressed smartly in a long pencil skirt and blazer with her hair pulled back in a tight bun.

Distracted once more, Fëanor lowered the phone from his mouth and gawked at his wife. “What’s the occasion, Raspberry? You look fabulous!”

“I have that meeting about the wire sculptures at the Aelin-Uial Park light display.” She sighed and slipped into a pair of glossy red flats. “They’re saying we can’t afford the blue and green LEDs — well, they were the ones who wanted the tunnel to have an oceanic vibe.”

“I guarantee Singh-Goel’s behind that!” Fëanor shouted, forgetting he had his son on the phone.

Nerdanel rolled her eyes. Scooping up the paper from the foyer table, she dropped it in front of Fëanor. “Here. I think you should read this. Goodbye, dear.”

She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and was out the door.

Fëanor looked at the front page headline.

The holiday spirit is saved! Hithlum Properties picks up the tab for Yule Parade

By Melkor Cifarelli

Underneath this was the grinning face of Fëanor’s greatest rival (damn his brilliant blue eyes and perfect jawline!), he who had won the bid for the redevelopment at Mithrim Lake: Fingolfin Noldoran Finvesen. The biological son of his late beloved father and that gold-digging witch from Valma.

“That bastard!”

“… Dad?” Curufin said on the other end of the line.

“Sorry Curvo dear, I have to go. Oh, Fingolfin, you—! You’ll regret this.”

“Wait, what did he—”

Fëanor ended the call before his son had a chance to finish and furiously scrolled through his contacts for the personal number of Mayor Elu Singh-Goel.

“Yes, hello, Elu! Happy Diwali! Oh - right, of course. What? Of course I knew it happened already. Anyway, I have reconsidered the sponsorship of the Parade. In fact, I’d like to increase Ambar Metta’s funding this year.”

[silmkinkmeme]

Prompts 2022 Fest - Week 11

Continuing reposting dreamwidth prompts

Finwë/Fëanor - seduction

Prompt Rating: E

Prompt: Some versions say Fëanor was an adult when Míriel died. What I want is for Fëanor in such a version to notice Finwë is interested in Indis - and then seduce his father to make him lose interest in getting married to her. What I truly want is Fëanor trying to prove he's a better fuck than Indis, but if you want to make it less explicit than that, or otherwise different, that's fine with me.

Extra kudos (but I understand if it's a squick) if Fëanor plays up being Míriel's son.

dreamwidth link

Fëanor/Indis - sexual humiliation (dub or noncon, victim blaming tw)

Prompt Rating: E

Warnings: Rape/Non-Con

Prompt: As Indis sees Fëanor is becoming increasingly dangerous, she makes a deal with him: he will leave her children alone, and in exchange he can punish her sexually as much as he wants in any way he wants, as long as no one (especially Finwë) finds out about it. (So no permanent marks, nothing in public, etc.) She knows Fëanor will jump at the opportunity to treat her as a whore, slut shaming her all the while. She's right and Fëanor gets off on humiliating her. It can be an one time thing or a longterm arrangement.

Random suggestions: forcing her to masturbate for his entertainment, taunting her to imagine Finwë seeing her humiliation, genital spanking on her greedy cunt, eating her out and then mocking her for enjoying it, making her thank him for keeping her satisfied so she won't steal any more husbands, she has to bend over and ask to be punished whenever they are alone, etc

dreamwidth link

Leithian quest: The porn version

Prompt Rating: E

Warnings: Chose Not To Warn

Prompt: Instead of sending Beren on a quest to get a Silmaril, Thingol tells him to earn Lúthien’s hand in marriage in a quite different way: he's to spend a year and a day serving in the court. That is an euphemism, of course, and he spends his days as a common servant who everyone is allowed to take advantage of. Because it's not proper for Lúthien to see her future husband in such compromising positions before marriage, she's confined to the treehouse. (Unless author anon really wants her to be present!)

This can be a dead dove darkfic or it can be just porn logic where Beren thoroughly enjoys himself. What I'm looking for is a perversion of the fairy tale trope of a guy who serves the princess's father for her hand in marriage, but what you do with that is up to your kinks and/or writing interests.

dreamwidth link

Any/Any, Partner mistakes arranged scene for rape, Warning: Rape, gaslighting

Prompt Rating: E

Warnings: Chose Not To Warn

Prompt: A and B are an established couple. One night, A wakes up to find himself tied up unable to move, and an intruder in the room. The intruder proceeds to fuck B hard, with B pleading the whole time for the intruder to stop, and who in turn taunts A about how he's unable to save his love from being raped.

Except that what A doesn't know is that B set this all up. B has a rape fetish, and possibly an exhibitionism fetish, and thinks the "intruder" is hot. This was a great way to fulfill several of their fantasies at once, without requiring an awkward discussion about opening up their relationship. Possibly, how desperately A tried to "save" them is also a turn on.

My favorite idea would be Maedhros/Fingon as the established pairing, or anything involving Celegorm, or Feanor as the "intruder." But I think the prompt would work with a wide variety of pairings, and I would leave to read it for anything!

I am completely fine with fills involving incest or bestiality.

Bonus: + A never finds out that B was in on it, even afterwards.

+ The intruder "forces" B to comply by threatening to harm A, since A is tied up already.

dreamwidth link

To see all 479 prompts, please visit the kinkmeme's Ao3 collection. Don't forget to give some love to the authors of our 205 works. Check out also our Prompt Post 1 on dreamwidth for prompts and fills not posted on Ao3, to ask any clarifying questions to the prompters or just to squeal under the prompts you loved.

[annoyinglandmagazine]

@tolkienfamilyweek Day 2: Siblings

You know what gets me about Celegorm and Curufin specifically? They are quite possibly two of the least redeemable characters in the Legendarium (saying a lot) and are equally fucked up but in fundamentally different ways. Curufin believing in his father absolutely even after everything and still being convinced in his righteousness and resenting others for standing in the way of what the sees them as morally entitled to whereas Celegorm just doesn’t think in terms of right or wrong anymore, he’s not trying to be ‘good’ he has a goal and he’ll take any path available to achieve it.

Purely selfish in both cases but Curufin has a god complex (or more like he puts Feanor on a pedestal and agrees with his god complex) and hates the Valar with a vitriol and has successfully bent himself over backwards to consider all his actions entirely justified. Whereas Celegorm genuinely doesn’t bother justifying himself at this point and has the ‘well we’re all doomed anyway so who the fuck cares anymore?’ attitude to future actions. He doesn’t hate the Valar for the same reasons some of the others do, he doesn’t distrust them or believe they’re evil, he feels his people were abandoned and resents it because he knows he was in the wrong but Morgoth is very clearly worse and haven’t they suffered enough yet?

Very different and terrible kinds of evil, but equally evil. Do they really understand each other’s moral compass (or lack of it)? Probably not, but they accept it anyway. They know that nothing they do will ever disgust or horrify the other because they’re both as bad as each other and there’s something freeing (if decidedly unhealthy) about that lack of judgement.

I am so obsessed with the dynamic of two mass murderers with no morals whatsoever never once contemplating stabbing each other in the back because they love each other just as much as any of the heroes love their family. Think about it, Curufin has his father’s name, his face, his skill set, and we know these are the things that Curufin would consider of utmost importance. There’s no way Curufin doesn’t think he should be on a throne, he was most probably out for Fingolfin’s and canonically out for Finrod’s. But he wasn’t out for Finrod’s throne to take himself, he wanted to place Celegorm on it.

He thinks insanely high of himself and thinks he’s worthy to be a king but he clearly believes Celegorm just as worthy and has trust that his brother would value his input and treat him as an equal, which doesn’t seem that far fetched because, even with all the clashes you’d think would come between two strong personalities like them, they ruled Himlad jointly for years with no power struggles. What’s more it seems like this was by choice, that instead of ruling their own realms, which you’d imagine proud people like them would want to do, they preferred to share Himlad in an equal partnership.

Curufin is so terrible even his own son, and presumably wife, can’t bear to be around him anymore but Celegorm? He’s never going to leave him, never, they are always going to back each other up and everyone else will suffer for it.

One of my favourite moments with them is when everything goes to hell, they’ve been banished, Finrod’s dead, Luthien escaped and then, to top it all of, they try to get revenge on one maiden and a mortal and not only get utterly trashed but Celegorm’s dog who he’s had since childhood and kept as a companion through everything up until this point finally changes sides with no warning whatsoever and chooses Luthien over him (on another note, what the hell Huan? You seriously haven’t had moral qualms before now? Even if this was the last straw for you could you not have picked a better moment than when Celegorm looked like the only person who was going to stop his brother being throttled to death?)

So Curufin’s almost died and Celegorm, after they got absolutely humiliated and have lost everything due mostly to the two people in front of him and he’s not known for his ability to control his anger, is ready to leave. After Curufin is released Celegorm takes him unto his horse and starts to ride off with him before Curufin initiates again and fires after them. Celegorm is the hunter among them, presumably he’s far better with his own bow and he definitely wants revenge, but he doesn’t shoot after them. He’s willing to give up his revenge for his brother’s safety and that’s more of a show of love for them than anything else could be.

All I’m saying is that if they didn’t get to die in each other’s arms and be together at the end they’d been rushing to side by side their whole story….

[fuckingfinwions]

As far as Celebrimbor could see, the problem with the Silmarils hadn't been that everyone wanted to steal them. That was inherent in making any object of power worth the name.

The problem was that the Silmarils could be stolen. Feanor wore them or set them down in a vault as he pleased, and then it was a simple matter for someone to pick them up. Celebrimbor would not make that mistake.

Celebrimbor made three rings and told no one. He had made lesser rings before but these would be his great work, the type of thing which could only be made once. They said that the Silmarils held part of Feanor's spirit and reflected the bliss of Valinor; Celebrimbor would do one better.

The Three rings would channel Celebrimbor's spirit and magnify it, allowing him power he could never reach unaided. He had designed rings for men and dwarves before, and the Three looked superficially similar. They were ring designed for elves, made by an elf, worn by an elf, but more than that the Three were the rings of elves. They channeled beauty and resilience, arrogance and grandeur, lasting for all the ages of the world. The echoes reached out to every elf in Ost-in-Edhil, reminding them that Arda was their inheritance, to shape and cherish and rule. As long as Celebrimbor believed in the strength of his people, they would have it.

As for theft, that had been a simple matter to solve, though far from painless. The Three were made of Celebrimbor's soul, but they became part of of his flesh as well.

Celebrimbor had done much of the forging normally, setting the gems and singing songs of power until the metal seemed to glow with purpose. Each future ring was only a curved bar though, the end unjoined and sharp. They were not complete, and would unravel in a matter of weeks if not finished.

When the enchantment for Narya was missing only the last step, Celebrimbor went down to the forge and heated it once more, letting the metal grow soft enough to bend without letting it loose any symmetry. Then he stabbed it into his body, binding its power to him forever. He nearly screamed in pain as his flesh sizzled, but that was why he hard started with the ring of flame. Celebrimbor did not die, and carefully bent the ring closed and melted the ends together. Then he ducked his whole body into the water barrel to quench the ring, letting himself drift in pain for a few moments before coming up for air.

Narya, the ring of fire, he placed near his heart. Vilya was next, mirroring it and close to his lungs, the ring of air moving with his every breath. Nenya was last, and most difficult. He had been able to see hi own chest when completing VIlya and Narya, but Nenya would go in his tongue, so each sip of water would be blessed by his own creation. Celebrimbor drew on Narya's power to withstand the flame, and Vilya's to keep from drowning as he quenched the final point.

Celebrimbor locked himself in the forge for three days to finish the Three, and at the end there was no other elven work as great.

[havenotwillnotreadthebooks]

Finwe with PTSD from endorë tho? Finwe headcanon here we go-

Finwe and all the others from Endorë (no I’m not spelling culivian and u cant make me) having trauma from being in a Life or Death situation for Years.

But once they get to Valinor, it's all okay now that they’re safe, right?

Wrong.

The valar tells them You Gained These Scars, Now Live With Them.

And they do.

How would any of the elves know better? After scurrying around in the dark like rats under Melkor’s boots, were they really in a place to even question the valar to that extent? Would they even feel safe to ask the valar if maybe things could be better? When your in Survival Mode, you don’t think about these things, and especially don’t ask them of your saviors, however incompetent their methods may seem. You don’t ask. They didn’t ask. They, realistically, couldn’t ask.

So now there are traumatized elves, now what?

Life, and continuing as if Endorë never happened, or make it into a bedtime story with blunted edges and blurred character disappearances. Make the trauma a story, a history, a painting, something that’s over and meaningless now as anything beyond a story.

Then things happen, Feanor is born, and Finwe is Falling Apart until he shoves Stuff underneath a mental carpet, to the detriment of his future family members yet to be born.

More things happen; The Noldor leave. The Noldor die.

Then they live.

They’re coming out of Mandos, healed and regretful and still scarred in their new bodies but they’re alive.

Except; When Finwe comes out, having “healed” enough to pass the door and having broken both his marriage bonds, he is seen in a new light.

Suddenly, their dad, their grandfather, their great-granddad who always seemed so happy during the years of the trees-

He is terribly, horrifically familiar.

The Taken; who met Sauron face to face while bound, can see a familiar hesitance to break the peace, to make any move that would anger the waters and make things so very loud (Finwe smiles at them, and says he has never liked his family fighting, that’s all.) (Maedhros will wonder why he never noticed that grandfather never went swimming with them, or to the beach itself. He thinks he knows why. He doesn’t want to know. He knows anyway).

The Fighters and Hunters; who thinned out Morgoth’s beasts and fought Sauron face to face, can see a familiar paranoia. Finwe is always checking for exits, his eyes calm and his body tense, ready to fight or flee. Finwe identifies the sharp objects in the room immediately, hidden as just “checking out the decor”. (Celegorm, for maybe the first time, wonders what the beasts in Endorë were really like during Finwë’s time, worse or better than orcs. He’ll wonder how smoothed out his grandfather’s stories were when he told them to his young, safe grandchildren.) (Fingon thinks of fighting in the dark, with no light besides the stars and no fire as to not attract more beasts. He thinks of waking up to a new, dangerous world with Nothing. He thinks he would’ve become something terrible to survive it.) (Neither ask their grandfather anything. Celegorm isn’t ready to Know. Fingon isn’t ready to See).

The Survivors; They look at the grandfather who always seemed so old and wise and think Oh, because that’s not wisdom gained in peace, that's wisdom gained after war. (Galadriel wants to help, but how could she even speak of it to him? No, she will linger, and wait). (Maglor wouldn’t know what to say, he’s barely healed himself, he can’t imagine living like this for thousands of years with family none the wiser. He doesn’t think he could help his grandfather) (They both could; Neither will speak).

It’s a fun concept to think maybe Finwë isn’t okay, has never been okay, and can’t be okay until his family faces themselves first.

[the-elusive-soleil]

My standard headcanon, which I do very much like, is that Elrond and Elros are essentially curse/doom kryptonite because of Luthien mojo, Tuor-blessed-by-Ulmo mojo, etc. But it occurred to me that there could be another possibility, and I don't have time to fully write it, so y'all can run wild with it:

What if, around the time Elrond and Elros have to make the Choice of the Peredhil, they're also told that they have to choose whether to be counted as (half) Noldor or Sindar? (For right now, we'll assume Elros also has to make this choice, even though he's going to be living as a human, because it will affect how he sets up his kingdom and who he can ally with.)

The thing is, ever since they joined up with the Host of the West, they've been confusing the snot out of everybody. They look like Luthien's line. They've been raised by Feanorians for, let's say, the past forty-odd years, and it's in their mannerisms, their clothes, the way they fight. They switch, sometimes apparently at random, between using Earendilion, Nelyafinwion, or Kanafinwion as patronymics. In a camp that is ostensibly all one army, but under the surface is positively rife with different factions, they insist on making friends with people from everywhere.

The Valar are getting confused, too: what exactly are they supposed to do with these two, with their absolute trail mix of heritages?

So Eonwe or whoever finally tells them that they have to choose. Either they can be Sindar and have the friendship of Oropher's people, go by Earendilion (or maybe Elwingion, to be safe) and never speak Quenya or wear the Star of Feanor again, but have the blessing of Luthien...or they can be Noldor, and stay in touch with the people and customs they've lived most of their lives with at the expense of associating with their mother's people. Also, in that case, they'll definitely fall under some kind of doom, but it won't be so bad if they declare themselves as Nolofinwean through Idril, rather than Feanorian by adoption.

Obviously, their first response would be to be stubborn and difficult and rules-lawyering, and not choose at all. And that would be really fun to see. But say they couldn't. Say they had to choose. What then?

Let's say they split the difference. Does Elros choose to be counted as (metaphysically and by origin) Sindar so that his kingdom can thrive, and then quietly keep Elrond and Maglor and (assuming he's survived) Maedhros under his aegis so their doom can't catch up with them? Does Elrond take this on instead, since he's the designated immortal one, and try to find some way to keep in close enough touch with his brother and fathers to pass along some of his luck? How well does this work? What happens to Numenor if its first king is carrying a family curse? What happens to Elrond if he's the cursed one, trying to dodge his way through the successive ages of the world once his brother is gone?

Or let's say they both embrace the Noldor side, just to pull the rug out from under everyone who thinks they'll take this chance to ditch the people who raised them. Presumably it doesn't get as bad as it does for, say, Turin, but how bad does it get? How do they deal with the guilt crises that Maglor and Maedhros absolutely will have over this? How long does Numenor last (or does it fall in exactly the same time and manner as in canon, just with people blaming something different)? Does Rivendell exist at all? What do the Second, Third, Fourth Ages look like now?

Or let's say, for whatever reason you like, that they choose their Sindar side. Maybe because it's a side of themselves that they never got to fully explore, and they don't want to give it up out of hand. Maybe in an attempt to keep the people around them safe. Maybe because they have just a bit of foresight and see that they'll be needed in certain roles in the future and this is the best way. Maybe because Maglor and Maedhros have taken the Silmarils and vanished, and the twins think their adoptive family doesn't want them anyway. What does that look like? How do they reconcile their new lives with their old ones? How many habits do they have to break that they didn't even realize would be looked on with suspicion? How bad is the culture shock, and how long until it wears off?

Assuming they choose, how much do you think they try to fudge it, aiming for a sneaky blend of both? How well does it work? Are the attempts an open, amused secret? Or do they try and fail, over and over again, until they realize that whatever they chose is set into the fabric of reality just as their choices between Man and Elf altered something deep in them?

How will the parent(s) they didn't choose to follow react when, inevitably, they all meet again?

[and-the-times-we-had]

And ironically, they actually do not make the same choices. Feanor's immediate first choice once the battle under stars has commenced is to attack and kill morgoth directly and take the silmarils that way. The sons spend all their time attempting to hold back a future conflict with morgoth until it's no longer possible.

I can't really get over the fact that any of this book happened. Like this dude was really like "Damn... about to die a horrible death because of my choices............... Sons.......... make..... the same choices." And peaced.

What an icon.

[eri-pl]

Another B&L rework

This time is has everything we need:

Celegorm is not villanized and actually cool (still a kinslayer, but only once)

Curufin is not too villanized either (he is pragmatic with bad results, really bad at estel, and still a kinslayer. But he isn't a cartoon villain, just complicated. Also G-g's dad.)

Finrod is there and is still awesome (and still not very smart)

There's more angst than in the canon

It fits seamlessly with the rest of the story

Long post below cut

It starts during the battle (was that Sudden Flame?). Barahir saves both Finrod and Celegorm. Curufin is somewhere else at the time, idk, battles are chaotic, ok? Finrod makes his oath to Barahir. Celegorm has trauma on oaths, but gives Barahir a ring (yes, it's not Finrod in this), and a not-a-promise-but-I-feel-in-debt talk.

The 3 Elves (FCC) go together to Nargothrond (which was built either by Finrod or better Finrod and Curufin: Finrod did the diplomacy and decor, Curufin did the engineering. Anyway now they're all there). There is no Orodredh, we don't need him anyway.

BTW Gil-Galad as Celebrimbor's brother? He's just more introverted and a slow bloomer? So at this point he doesn't do much, I imagine him hunting w uncle Celegorm and talking philosophy with Finrod. This kind of interests. He'll grow to be more of a warrior later, probably during War of Wrath.

Finrod happily shares the rulership with Curufin, because then he can spend more time on art and fanboying over Mannish philosophy and trying to figure it out. Curufin likes to manage stuff. Celegorm is in and out of the city, hunting and often bored.

They are friends, even with the stains of the whole Kinslaying thing. But their dynamics is... well, they do argue. Finrod is the idealist and sometimes lacks contact with reality. Curufin is the clever one, but very pragmatic, even cynical. Celegorm is not into discussions and easily bored. But they do like each other etc. they did fight together, it connects.

Also, Finrod is totally a Man fanboy at this point and assumes (why? idk. He is just like that) the Secondborn are a fix to everything and will solve the Oath of Feanor somehow and everything. He is not, like, insane, but he is definitely overenthusiastic at times, and much of an idealist. He does some really weird and often false extrapolation from what Andredh told him and everyone kinda ignores his more esoteric ideas. But he is also wise in many areas. Just don't let him start talking about philosophy ;) Also he is very optimistic in general, that's just his personality (I think Celegorm is also rather optimistic, even with all the circumstances).

Then Beren comes. Finrod of course follows him to the quest, C&C discuss it and Celegorm goes too. Part of it is gratitude, part of it is the Silmaril. He's got no idea what would he do if Beren succeeds. But this is Celegorm. He doesn't think much into the future.

Curufin stays as technically a regent, but it's pretty clear to everyone that Finrod is not going to come back, so he is de facto king from the start. He does the "imprison Luthien to protect her" thing, but it's well-intentioned. Also, he likes her more than he likes Beren, and he doesn't want to risk her getting a Silmaril because then he'd have to kill her (She is aware of it, and of the fact that he would probably be willing to kill Beren if it came to that. She doesn't like Curufin, to say it mildly, but they are also allies. It's complicated. She runs away anyway.).

He also later does the stupid bridge thing. He's nor actively malicious here, just makes bad decisions. Also, Finrod would want him to listen to the advice of Men and he has some anger on Finrod at this point (for dying and, even more, for getting Celegorm into a quest he will likely not survive) and there's some subconscious passive-agressive "I'll do the stupid thing Finrod would do, he deserves it!". Also, building things is just cool and the bridge does sound like it could make sense.

Huan stays in the city with Luthien, Celegorm orders him or manipulates him to stay, "for his own good" (Celegorm does not expect to return from the quest), Huan is very upset about it, so of course both he and Luthien run away.

Beren with two Elves disguise as Orcs. Finrod does the singing, Celegorm does the more material part of disguise (mud and clay and stuff) and invents the names. ("Felagund" is not a well-known name for Finrod and Beren is just a random dude, so it's not *that* stupid. Celegorm picks something better than reverse-name for himself. "Nauh" maybe :D or a less obvious pun.) Celegorm thinks it is funny, and makes the names like that to make Sauron look stupid. Finrod does the song duel - he is a better singer than Celegorm. Celegorm is a much better liar though, so he also has his part. They get captured anyway. They do probably have some people with them, but not much (C&C were stubborn about not wasting lives), the canon 10 is fine. Everything goes as normal, except Celegorm is there. The wolf is huge. Celegorm starts the "break the chains and bite it to death" first, Finrod frees himself too (maybe with a little help) but they can't free Beren, the fight is too intense. Celegorm bites the wolf to death, Finrod helps a little, both are severly wounded. Finrod manages to heal Celegorm enough to save his life, but Celegorm is bad at healing (because he's a kinslayer and also because it's just something he was never good at, Finrod was better, because he is good at singing in general). Celegorm faints, Finrod dies. :(

Luthien and Huan come and get the two of them out. More healing. Celegorm is surprised to be alive, becasue Doom of the Noldor and all.

They do the questing as in canon. They go to Angband. I have a small problem with Huan here, I need a reason for him to stay outside, maybe further away. Wounded?

They enter Angband. Do things as in canon. Beren yoinks the Silmaril. Celegorm makes a weird face and something that leads to noise (maybe he is trying to yoink the other one in the meantime?). Anyway Celegorm looks as if he was considering murdering B&L and generally insane, Morgoth's forces wake up, B&L run...

Celegorm stays behind. (That's why we can't have Huan here - he would stay with Celegorm and we need him later.)

He stays to cover their backs, but from B&L's point of view he may as well be staying because the Silmarils compelled him and he is out of his mind now. If I wrote this as a fic, it would be clear in his PoV that he does the heroic thing here, and dies like a hero (yes, he legit dies and goes to Mandos, give him at least this), but from B&L's pov it's ambiguous.

The rest goes as normal, except there is no Orodreth. Curufin survives the fall of Nargothrond (we'll need him at the kinslaying). Oh, and Celebrimbor doesn't cut ties with his father and uncle, but that doesn't change anything really. Huan dies as per the story.

B&L are smart enough to not try to meet Curufin again.

Dior is raised partially by B&L on stories of Celegorm who died a hero (They do give him the benefit of doubt. It is sometimes emotionally difficult for them to do so, but they do.), and on stories of the tragedy of the House of Feanor. Luthien teaches him compassion for them (this isn't very easy to do either, but she does), but not support for all their deeds.

And partially he is raised by others, on stories of Feanorians as bloodthirsty monsters (I imagine Thingol would propagate those).

Also, he is raised by Melian, who has foresight and straightup tells Dior that getting the Silmarils will not save the sons of Feanor, but it will destroy them. Maybe even some details about fire and despair. And she tells him that the Silmaril he holds is the best hope for Beleriand, though she doesn't yet know how. For all of them, both Feanorians and everyone else.

So, when they demand the Silmaril later, he still refuses. Not out of hate for them. He refuses in order to protect them. For the memory of Celegorm, and for pity. And for sake of the whole world. That too.

Curufin gets his letter (with all this explained), rolls his eyes and tears the letter to pieces. He is the pragmatic one and wants to protect Maedhros and others from the difficult choice and despair of knowing that they cannot win. From his point of view following the Oath is necessary, otherwise they're all doomed. He destroys Dior's letter to save his brothers.

And his sons. In this version Celebrimbor is still with him (and Gil-galad!), so Curufin sends his poor, innocent, not-Oath-bound sons somewhere far. And prepares for battle.

Two of Celegorm's servants remember how their lord died because of those Silmaril thieves. They suspect that Beren and Luthien backstabbed Celegorm so that they could take the gem for themselves. The two warriors have sworn revenge long ago.

The rest goes on as normal, except without Celegorm because he's dead. So we later do get Earendil and all that.

(Oh, probably Huan's 3 speeches would be different. Celegorm in this version deserves at least one.)

Also:

Celegorm: I'm... not in the Everlasting Darkness? Namo: By protecting those two you did more to bring woe onto Morgoth that you would do any other way. It will lead to his downfall. Celegorm: Are you allowed to tell me all that? Namo: *shrug* You shall not be reborn until he is defeated. Celegorm: *assumes it's like, thousands of years* :( Celegorm: ...what is the Everlasting Darkness, anyway? Namo: *exhausted tone* I do not answer questions on metaphysics. Celegorm: *knowingly* ...Finrod? Namo: *nod* Celegorm: My apologies, I tried to spare you his visit. ;D :( Namo: ...and tell me, why it is that you could not heal him? Celegorm:...because I'm a kinslayer?* Namo: Because you're a kinslayer. Now ponder on this for some time, I shall visit you later.

*(there's a canon thing that killing people makes you a worse healer even if it was justified)

There are probably still some holes in this narrative, because I'm bad at the lore. I would be grateful for corrections.

[sakasakiii]

Hi!

I love your work!! Your art is very pretty. Do you have a specific idea of how old everyone is ? Do you lean more towards canon or do you have your own dates in mind ? If don’t wanna a answer it’s ok!

Hope u have a nice day

(Remember to drink water!)

hiiii nonnie!!! thank you for checking in, and im happy u like the stuff i put out!! when it comes to ages, it's difficult to answer sometimes bc of the way professor tolkien's timeline is-- it makes gauging one singular place where most of the cast can be compared something that makes my tired brain go 😵🤧🤕 but i love the prompt youve given! and thus heres my attempt at it

with most of my tolkien stuff, i always try to stick to canon wherever possible emphasis is on try lmao and the topic of ages is one such place. i do make exceptions to the Professor's canon sometimes for a few reasons: 1) i like some of the scrapped ideas in his drafts, or 2) i just prefer other options. with ages, i think the only charas with canon-established ages i deviated from are fingolfin, finrod, turgon, and aredhel. i try to keep cases like these minimal tho, so i hope it doesn't bother anyone too much... 👉👈

anyways i figured just dropping a list of numbers would be kinda boring to look at so heres an illustrated guide to what the ~rough~ ages of the finweans are in my head whenever i write or draw. Y.T. 1495 (the year Finwe dies) is the controlled medium ive used to enable a fair comparison of the Finweans

note: "born Y.T. xxx" means this is the canon date of birth listed on Tolkien Gateway. "est. born [xxx]" means this is a noncanon estimate:

the First Age gets a lot more muddled from there due to the hullaballoo of everything going on, so ill only be including the doriathrim and a few other denizens of nargothrond:

it's mostly the older elves that are more undefined/vague with their ages (i.o.w. others like elwing, earendil, the peredhil twins, and most Men all have set dates of birth), so they're all i'll be doing for now. but it's that vagueness which makes hcing all the more enjoyable, isn't it! plus since we’re on this subject, under the cut are just a few headcanons and musings ive had that i wanted to put somewhere 😙

Finarfin and Earwen were born within months of each other! Finwe and Olwe made a Really Big Deal out of when they found out their wives were pregnant at the same time. As a result, the two were often sent on many playdates with each other to “bolster healthy relations” between the Noldor and the Teleri. It wasn’t an arranged marriage situation, but I like to think they were goofy for each other from the start… Resulting in the two eventually getting married as soon as they came of age, the fastest out of all of Finwe’s kids to do so. 

The reason the Ambarussa are significantly younger than the other Finweans (especially the Feanorians-- there’s a 100 Valian year gap between them and Curufin alone!) is because I imagine they were accidental babies that even Feanor didn’t expect to conceive. too bad morgoth said "its morgin time!" and started Messing Things Up shortly afterwards.....

Anaire was Lalwen's good friend long before she married Fingolfin; they met through Lalwen who wingmanned Fingolfin the whole time. i like think Anaire'd be the best out of all the wives at keeping good, healthy bonds with all the women of her family :DD

luthien's potential 姐姐/big sis dynamic with all the younger doriathrim elves is something i daydream about a lot 😌 but sometimes the fact that she's older than finarfin keeps me up at night

this has been really fun, so thanks again for asking-- annnd yessir, i am chugging water as i write this so you better be doing the same ❤️ have a great start to your week!

[theelvenhaven]

Amilesse

Feanor x Nerdanel ft. Vanifinwe

3k Words

Surprise! | Amilesse

* * *

Nerdanel smiled softly as she sat on a stool just at the threshold of her workshop, watching as her youngest and final child run around with her eldest son who pretended to chase after her. Vanifinwë’s cries and squeals of delight were adorable and it warmed her heart to see how Maitimo got on so well once more with another one of his little siblings.

Nerdanel smiled, with a soft laughter leaving her lips, as the elfling ran away with her little red dress flouncing with her bouncing steps and her curly hair bouncing and flowing in the gentle breeze of Manwe. Maitimo making gentle threats of how he was going to capture her, which only further delighted the toddler to squeal out peels of laughter.

Yet despite it all a stress was looming over Nerdanel’s head. Even as she watched her carefree youngest and only daughter play with her big brother. The sight should’ve eased all of her worries and concerns but it didn’t.

Foresight had paid it’s visit to Nerdanel finally regarding Vanifinwë.

Showing that it was time to pick an amilesse- a mothers name- for her daughter. Yet despite all the joy that was here currently, Nerdanel was met with strife and conflict, a long and daunting future for her little girl. One that came in flashes in her minds eye when she had been resting. It scared her for her daughter.

The sight of swords and fire, unfamiliar forests, with energetic stress that had consumed her before peace finally made itself present with rich waterfalls and elven architecture. One that was so far in the distant future… It felt as though it took ages in her sleep to get to that point.

Vanifinwë had a long future ahead of her, a fate tha was unavoidable despite how many times Nerdanel tried to take the reins in the dream and control what came next. To try and tamper with fate, to see what she could do differently to change what could happen to her sweet little girl. It was a heavy burden, and felt equally as heavy when she had tried to name Amrod, Umbarto. Much to Fëanaro’s heavy distress until he convinced her to change his name.

At least with that the next dream that had visited her regarding Amrod it was eased with the name change. Yet try as she mull over less prophetic names for her daughter, the dreams were always the same.

Fire and smoke, swords of steel under a starry sky, untamed wild lands, before intermittent peace here or there before finally the waterfalls and elven architecture ended her dreams. It never changed, no matter how hard or how many names Nerdanel went through to give Vanifinwë something meaningful something that Fëanaro would approve of.

Yet all that came to mind was Anamartindë.

Long Fated Woman.

Fëanaro was going to hate it, it was going to be an argument no doubt. Their darling daughter didn’t deserve such a heavy and prophetic name such as Anamartindë, but the more Nerdanel thought on it. The more it stuck in her mind. This time there was no winning and Fëanaro wasn’t going to get his way, as much as Nerdanel would love to give into the whim of giving her a name that wasn’t that.

She sighed heavily letting worry crinkle on her brows, before she gave a soft smile as Vanifinwë began to laugh hysterically as Maitimo lifted her up. Pressing his lips to her belly and blowing a raspberry that tickled her littlest one. For now she would focus on the good seeing this image of her two children hundreds of years apart, play and be blissfully unaware of the future to come.

* * *

Dinner came and went, the night had been full of talk and fun. Her sons indulging her with grand stories about their hunts, or her tempering arguments with her most sensitive children, hearing the talks of music and politics. Equally as important how her husband fawned and doted on their youngest as he fixated on helping her eat her meal offering her a break to spend time with their eldest children.

Especially before Vanifinwë would steal her attention for bath and bedtime.

Which had gone surprisingly smooth, as the little elfling was positively exhausted from her afternoon play with Maitimo and having missed her nap. Nerdanel hardly sat in the rocking chair, when Vanifinwë closed her heavy eyes, laying against her mother in exhaustion. Nonetheless she still rocked her baby knowing that time was a thief from these moments.

Before finally she relinquished her to her bed, tucking her in and pressing a kiss to her head. Knowing now she must tell Fëanaro of the amilesse she had chosen for her daughter. Despite knowing he would be upset, it didn’t deter her even as she quietly walked down the hallways to their shared chambers. His wrath and distress was no match for her never ending patience.

She sighed out as she shut the bedroom door behind her, watching as Fëanaro came out of the washroom, dripping wet and his hips wrapped in a towel. Another was drying his long black hair before his intense silver eyes landed on her figure. There was a look of concern there that found his face when he saw that she seemed stressed.

“Is everything alright my dear?” He asked moving towards his dresser to fetch a comfortable and lounging pair of trousers. Nerdanel offered him up a weak smile as she came to the bench that sat at the foot of their bed.

“Vani didn’t give you too much trouble did she? I could have helped.” Fëanaro said, making Nerdanel’s smile grow for a moment knowing that he had such a soft spot for their daughter. Probably a bigger one for her than he did their sons, though she knew he wouldn’t admit to that. Not wanting to cause any strife about favoritism issues- though it was clear to everyone that his favorite was Atarinke. Vanifinwë was surely coming quickly into second place, bringing Atarinke to try and father her too. Much to Vanifinwë’s annoyance already despite her young age.

“Oh no, if anything she was calm and easy going tonight for bath and bed.” Nerdanel answered as she began to untie her boots and slip them from her feet. For a moment there was silence between the pair of them and it was tenser than Fëanaro hoped or imagined it should be for such an easy going bedtime routine with their youngest.

He said nothing for the moment as he dressed into those loose lounging trousers, ones that hung from his hips loosely even despite being tied. Usually this would be tantalizing to Nerdanel to see her husband in such a manner she found almost provocative but the amilesse just returned to her mind over and over again.

Fëanaro turned to see his wife sitting here with her head hanging low and her shoulders slackened. Looking far from the confident nis he was used to seeing, quietly he padded across the floor and kneeled down in front of her, between her legs. His hands gently coming to cup her face, his thumbs tenderly stroking her ruddy and freckled face. Watching the small smile that pulled at her lips as she closed her eyes to savor his affections.

“Nerdanel.. What in Eru’s name is on your mind to have you so distressed, my love?” He watched as her pale blue eyes flickered up to meet his and he could see hesitation. Knowing her well enough by now, after so many hundreds of years together, eight children together, seven pregnancies, and traveling and tons of life experience… The look in her eyes was undeniable. There was something ailing her and she was afraid to tell him.

“You can tell me anything, Nerdanel.” He assured her with conviction, and she sighed out again. Fëanaro watched the way she seemed to close her eyes again and sit up straighter. Trying to bolster her confidence, he didn’t rush her despite his growing impatience to know what was on her mind. Nerdanel took his hands from her face and brought it to hold in hers in her lap. Before she looked him in the eyes,

“I have an amilesse for Vani.” Nerdanel confessed with her own conviction and firmness, and she watched the way that a smile seemed to find his lips. Thrilled to hear that it finally happened! It seemed as though it would never come and she’d be well into her majority before Nerdanel would be able to choose one for her.

“That is wonderful news! What is it?” Fëanaro asked with eagerness to know what perfectly beautiful name his wife would’ve chosen for their perfect daughter. But Nerdanel nonetheless braced herself, for her next words she predicted would upset him.

“Anamartndë.”

The meaning took no time to fill the linguist in Fëanaro in on the implications of such a name. Long Fate Woman… Meaning their daughter would be subjected to trials and tribulations. This was just as bad as when she tried to name Amrod Umbarto.

“No.” Fëanaro said firmly as a frown found his lips, and he went to stand. No, he wasn’t naming his innocent daughter Long Fate Woman. Never in a million years, as long as he lived and breathed there was no way in creation that he’d accept that would be her name and let this prophecy come into fruition.

“Absolutely not, Nerdanel we are not doing this again.” Fëanaro said firmly and loudly, angrily. He hated it, but Nerdanel didn’t seem unchanging in the sense that she was going to back down. If anything it seemed to bolster her confidence to fight against his words.

“Yes Fëanaro, that is her name.”

“It is not! I will not let you do this again!” Fëanaro stated as he stood to his feet beginning to pace back and forth in their room. But Nerdanel huffed out through her nose,

“I understand you are upset-“

“Upset? I am furious! To think you are prophesizing such terrible things onto our child! Our only daughter no less! Was Pitayfinwe not enough? Now Vani?” Fëanaro argued back, his anger seeping through the cracks of his firm and stoic façade, growing quickly emotional at whatever it was she dreamt of this time.

“I understand Fëanaro, I am not pleased by it either.” Nerdanel told him with confidence, confiding to him about her own displeasure for the name.

“Then you will name her something else!” Fëanaro said staunchly, meaning every single word and giving Nerdanel no room to budge on the matter. He feared it would be just as Pityafinwe’s fate. Ended cruelly in fire and smoke, at least that was what the last dream implicated for the pair of them. Which he had hoped that by having Nerdanel change his name, it changed his course and fate for something a little more hopeful.

“I have tried, I have mulled over anything else than Anamartndë.”

“Then you have not tried hard enough!” Fëanaro snapped bitterly,

“I have, Naro. No amount of mulling over, or name change has changed the dreams I have. The foresight is all the same, Anamartndë is her mother name.” Nerdanel professed, setting it into stone now at this, and Fëanaro’s face turned beat red. Rivaling her ruddy complexion, he was livid at the idea someone so innocent would have so many trials to face. Even if he didn’t know what the dreams were about he wanted his daughter to have a good and happy life. One that was just as carefree as her brothers.

“It is not! What else have you come up with? We will pick from those.” Fëanaro argued back, but he knew the power of having spoken her name twice now would supersede whatever Nerdanel threw out there. If she even did so. To his distress, Nerdanel shook her head no.

“No, Fëanaro her name is Anamartndë and that is final.” Nerdanel argued back snappishly, not budging like she had before. Not when the foresight was all the same, unlike Pityafinwe’s. There was no changing Vanifinwë’s course. Eru meant it was definitive, and that it was going to happen no matter what they named her.

Anamartndë fit her best for what was to come.

“It can’t be!” There was a lament in his loud and angry voice, and Nerdanel felt for her husband at the sound of his voice.

“I don’t want it to be either, but Eru and even Irmo has a course set for our daughter that is long and arduous before she is met with peace.” Fëanaro tsked at his wife’s words, folding his arms over his chest with a tick in his jaw, not looking at her.

There was a heavy silence that fell over the two of them. No one moved, no one said a thing for a long moment. Nerdanel simply letting Fëanaro mull over the fact he couldn’t rectify or change anything. Not this time. Until finally Nerdanel opened her mouth to speak,

“The vision always starts the same, in flashes. There is fire and smoke. The sky is dark but glittering with stars, with silver swords and icy winds. She meets peace once or twice, but the feeling of doom during those times until the fire and smoke start again with overwhelming sense of stress.” Fëanaro didn’t say anything as Nerdanel spoke, simply turning his head to hide his face as he ground his teeth, biting back the wetness that met his long lashes.

He didn’t want that for her.

Would she ever know true peace? How did he protect her from those things? Would the bliss of childhood be tainted with those things? He had so many questions, not enough answers, and Irmo was ever a cryptic bastard so he couldn’t be sure if it would start soon or later. Not unless his wife had an idea.

“When?” He asked, did it feel soon? Later? In the present?

“Sometime in her future. It is distant.”

“Then there is ample opportunity to shelter her, and protect her from those things. From whatever it is fate is trying to d-“

“I have thought the same thing, but it doesn’t change. There is no recourse no matter the plan I set, no matter the name change, no matter whom I withhold her from or let her see. It never changes. This is her future.” Yet Fëanaro didn’t look appeased or quelled by Nerdanel’s words.

“Her future should not be filled with such doom and stress, it is a trick of Irmo. Melkor has perhaps spent too much time in Irmo’s Gardens and tainted the Lord of Dreams and Rest.” Fëanaro snarked bitterly, refusing to bend to the will of the Irmo and the twisted foresight that was granted to Nerdanel. Refusing to even acknowledge them as visions, but now even as dreams.

“Naro-“

“No! You are not naming her Anamartndë I will not allow it!” He yelled loudly and over Nerdanel trying to reason with him. Not his darling baby girl. No little one should have to worry about such a future or their parents worry about it. It was sickening.

“I have already started calling her Anamartndë.” Nerdanel said firmly in retort, standing from her spot at the bench.

“You will call her something else!” He yelled again,

“I will not! She is Anamartndë! That is her name-“

“Never will that be her name! You’ve gone mad-“

“Do not disregard your daughters-“

There was a creak that froze the pair who were in a bitter battle of wills against one another, and the sound of sniffling that met their ears. Both turning quickly to look to find that the toddler had escaped her bed now standing in the threshold of the doorway in her nightgown. Wiping her eyes, Fëanaro was the first to sigh out in frustration and defeat. Though it would not be for long, they’d speak more on it later.

“Vani, why are you up vanimelda?” Fëanaro said trying to usher a softer and more loving voice as he began to approach her. His heart melting and burning as she held out her arms for him to pick her up, but the toddler didn’t say anything as her father scooped her up off the ground.

“Ana..” Nerdanel cooed coming over to the pair, and to Fëanaro’s dismay he watched how responsive she was to the affectionate nickname for Anamartndë. But he bit his tongue he didn’t want to distress her further.

“Did you have a bad dream?” Nerdanel asked, and slowly Vanifinwë nodded her head against Fëanaro’s shoulder.

“Come now Nerdanel… We probably woke her.” He relinquished with some guilt knowing her room was only a few paces from their bedroom door. To which Vanifinwë only nodded again. There was a collective sigh,

“Here do you want to get into bed with me?” Nerdanel asked holding out her hands, but she watched the way Vanifinwë frowned and curled closer into Fëanaro. Despite the sting of rejection she only smiled that she wanted Fëanaro,

“No.” She grumpily stated, and Fëanaro chuckled softly. Rubbing her little back and kissing her head.

“Does my favorite girl want her Atya?” There was a softness in his voice as he spoke moving away to walk around the bed and move to sit on it, with Vanifinwë still snuggled into his chest. Feeling her nod her little head, tangling her curly hair further that stuck up wildly on the back of her head. Both knew that they wouldn’t get further into this conversation.

For now they’d rest and come back to the topic of conversation at a later date, when little Vani was distracted. No one was winning, it was a losing battle of wills and now it all boiled down to Vanifinwë and whether she’d take on the moniker.

“Well then, while you two cuddle I am going to bathe I am covered in dust and clay.” Nerdanel said with a sigh, but she smiled looking over the sight of her husband cuddled up with their last toddler. This would be the last time they’d do stuff like this with littles and it was a little bittersweet. The sight was so soft and gentle, it was easy to set aside the argument. Fëanaro smiled softly and nodded,

“We will be here meldanya.” Fëanaro reassured her as he continued to rub Vanifinwë’s back who was starting to snore. With that Nerdanel made her way to the washroom leaving behind father, daughter and the argument. 

* * *

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[notreallystars]

I've been thinking about Gil-Galad's parentage off the back of this excellent compilation of theories and I've reached a conclusion that surprises me. Gil-Galad son of Fingon could make sense. Not to everyone, but certainly to me.

There are things royalty tends to be pragmatic about. Marriage and succession are often high on that list. Kings want heirs. They really want heirs. Some of this is selfish, but some of it is not because it is really about stability.

Fingon becomes king, and he really shouldn't have. There had been one mad uncle, seven half-cousins, and his father before him in the line of succession. Feanor burned, Maedhros had abdicated and passed over all of his brothers, and Fingon's father has just thrown his life away in single combat with Morgoth. The crown should never have reached him.

Fingon is, presumably, grieving for his father. He hasn't seen his remaining siblings for nearly four centuries, and may not know that one of them isn't remaining any more or that she had a son. He considers at the people who could be crowned in the event of his death and sees... what?

Turgon is gone, no one knows where. Even if we assume that a queen would have been considered equivalent to a king in the canon (and I don't) Aredhel has gone with him and Fingon probably doesn't know about either her death or her son.

Finrod is still alive. This helps. Angrod is dead. Aegnor is dead. Galadriel is alive but she has married a Sinda who would presumably be king were she queen, and there are probably some among the Noldor who would not be content to be ruled by Thingol's kin. Orodreth is alive, and his daughter - but again, should we assume that a queen would have been considered?

So Fingon considers the people who could be made king in the event of his death

A brother no one can find

A cousin who spends more time with the Secondborn with every year that passes and who, when Fingon becomes king, has just made an oath of his very own (I don't think Fingon would think very highly of oaths, all things considered)

A Sinda prince who married another of his cousins

A second cousin

Presuming people continue not finding Turgon, and there is no good reason then for him to presume otherwise, there is no one of his house to inherit. This kind of thing often matters to royalty. Finrod is a good leader but would not want to focus on leading only the Noldor, and he has just made his own oath to Barahir which I think would cause Fingon concern. There would likely be political difficulty about Galadriel and Celeborn ruling. Orodreth would probably be fine.

Given the wider context, however, (Fingon had once had two uncles, his father, seven half-cousins, a second half-cousin {half-second cousin?}, two brothers, a sister, four cousins, and a second cousin of Finwe's house who could have ruled Finwe's people. Now, of all that family, he can come up with one second cousin about whom he has no reservations) I don't think he would have found that reassuring.

And so Fingon does what kings do when they see that the future stretching out beyond them is not stable, not assured. He thinks I must have an heir. Frankly I think this could be managed by secretly adopting a child whose parents had a sufficiently Finwe-esque appearance, but that isn't the version of events I'm going through.

He finds someone willing to bear his child. I even think this could be compatible with Russingon ('I don't like it any more than you do, but it has to be done, Finno') because, again, there are things royalty tends to be pragmatic about.

The child is born, the child is sent away because Fingon has learnt that High Kings of the Noldor are not safe people to know. He sends letters with him. He writes to Finrod, to Cirdan, to everyone he can think to trust that he has sent his son away for his own safety, letting them know where he could be found. A letter goes with Ereinion, not to be read until he is deemed ready, explaining that he is the son of the High King, that he is being kept safe.

Ereinion is too well-hidden. Fingon falls, and no one can find this supposed son. Among those who were told of him are some who consider that he was simply a ruse and had never, in fact, existed.

Nearly forty years after Fingon's death an elf appears. He prefers Nandorin to Sindarin, and speaks little Quenya. He has an old letter with him from a father he has never met, and a striking resemblance to Fingon.

...I had thought I was going to be writing about Gil-Galad, but a lot of this turned out to be about Fingon. There's a surprise.