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Fingon is the archetypical hero. He does great deeds of valor and daring, notably Maedhros’ rescue and rushing out to defeat Glaurung. He is not terribly afraid of consequences, which is wonderful when he is the only one he’s responsible for. His talent is forging ahead and inspiring everyone to follow him.

Fingolfin is the archetypical king. He is the one that holds his people together across the Helcaraxë and brokers peace with Maedhros after he’s rescued. He’s incredibly aware of every possible consequence, which is wonderful when he’s responsible for a whole kingdom. His talent is uniting everyone and inspiring them to move forward together.

When Fingolfin dies, he acts as the hero, not the king. He tries to borrow his son’s talent for incredibly inadvisable stunts, but it isn’t in his nature. He believes the Noldor are doomed, and thus dies in despair fighting Morgoth because he does not see another path forward, only defeat.

When Fingon dies, he acts as the king, not the hero. He tries to borrow his father’s talent for forging political unity, but it isn’t in his nature. The Nirnaeth’s forces are disunited from their conception to their defeat, and Fingon dies full of hope fighting Morgoth because he does not see any other path forward, only victory.

Fingolfin’s legacy was despair, though he left a lasting blow against Morgoth. Fingon’s legacy was hope, though he did not so much as touch Morgoth.

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I feel like haughty feanorians is a pretty common characterization, but if fingon was that close of a friend of maedhros I think he would have to be equally haughty. Pretentious pretty boy eldest sons that talk shit behind people's back

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Silmarillion concept that has me gnawing on the bars of my enclosure today: all of Elrond's parents are terrifying eldritch beings actually.

Maedhros, with white fire pouring from his eyes, taken from the jaws of death anything but unchanged. Some whisper that he's not elvish anymore, not since his captivity. They can never quite agree on what that makes him, exactly.

Maglor, with a voice no elf ever should've had, beautiful and terrible and powerful enough to shake the mountains. Sailors along Middle-Earth's west coast whisper of a sea wraith, some horrible siren that roams the beaches on the darkest nights.

Earendil, a man made an elf, a star, a maia if some are to be believed. Slayer of dragons, guardian of the void. Someone who's spent so along around the Silmaril and the Ainur that some of that power lives within him now.

Elwing, a skin-changer with a voice and a laugh that sound like they were taken from a bird's throat. A witch who lives in a lighthouse, where the animals flock and the plants grow strangely. None of the Amanyar would admit to being scared of her, but few will venture in sight of her odd little realm.

And then there's Elrond, ring-bearer, Lord of Rivendell, kind as a summer.

Well, let's just say it probably helps that no one is expecting him to be normal. Or elvish. Or entirely comprehensible.

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Curufin, Caranthir and Cleeg🕺

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I ascribe to the belief that almost everyone (Gil-Galad, Elwing, most of the remaining Noldor and Sindar) assumed that Elrond and Elros were dead after Sirion. Why wouldn't they? After several kinslayings and what happened to Elurin and Elured, they had no reason to think that the Feanorians would show any mercy to Thingol's descendants. The Feanorians probably sent Gil-Galad a letter offering to bargain for the Silmaril, and Gil-Galad– who didn't have the Silmaril and didn't believe E&E could possibly be alive– just burned it. Elwing and Earendil didn't consider going back, because neither of them really thought their children were still alive.

So imagine what it must've been like when E&E showed up in Gil-Galad's camp decades later. There was probably some doubt at first, but the twins look so much like Luthien that it hurts and the strange, ainuric power they radiate would be nigh impossible to fake.

I mean, there must've been uproar. Wild celebration from the remaining Gondolindrim and Iathrim. Anger from the small group who'd always believed the twins were alive and thought that they should've attacked the Feanorians to get E&E back sooner. Fear from those worrying that E&E had been sent back after being brainwashed and posed a threat to Gil-Galad. Hope, because two thought lost for so long had been returned. Grief, from the many who were horrified what they might have endured. Curiosity, because all anyone saw that first night was a moment of the twins, tall and proud, walking across camp before disappearing into Gil-Galad's tent. I assume Eonwe or one of the other maiar there flew up to Vingelot to tell Earendil– I can only imagine the absolute storm of feelings he would have about it.

All those emotions and expectations must've been a heavy burden to bear, after everything they'd already been through.

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I feel like we significantly underestimate the amount of weird fucking people who must live in Rivendell. It's a sanctuary, it's run by a really nice cosmic horror, it's a place of healing, it's definitely haunted by now. And it's absolutely the place where all the elves who aren't allowed in civil society end up. There's an old Feanorian diehard living next to one of Thingol's bodyguards and they hate each other and constantly argue about who gets to guard Elrond. (Glorfindel never participates in the argument, but he usually wins it). There is at least one person who's absolutely supposed to be dead hiding there under a fake name. There's a whole flock of half-elves just kind of vibing there. I assume there's at least one reformed orc who like, works in the library.

Just, I'd love to hear about all the strange people who've washed up in Rivendell over the years because I bet there are some stories there. I want to write about my own OC blorbos but I have far too many WIPs as it is.

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You've heard of "what if the arkenstone was a silmaril?" and "what if the dwarves of the lonely mountain dug up maedhros along with the stone?", now get ready for "what if the volcano maedhros jumped into turned into another dwarven stronghold and instead of waking up a balrog in moria, the whole ruckus raised an unreasonably tall, grumpy redhead from the longest involuntary nap ever?"

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in reference to this post:

admittedly i'm not the right person to make this meme since i'm not really well-versed in the lore lol

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Curufin, Caranthir and Cleeg🕺

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“Tyelkormo 'hasty-riser'. Quenya tyelka 'hasty'. Possibly in reference to his quick temper, and his habit of leaping up when suddenly angered.”

This is such a batshit unhinged thing to name your child. My beautiful five year old son Anger Issues. Ms Nerdanel Istarnie I need to understand your mind

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taking into account the t4t lesbian feanor/nerdanel dynamic in which feanor is absolutely very totally normal about being the parent to bear all seven sons, i think curufin is also very normal and adjusted about being the only son delivered by cesarean

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today I am amused by the fact all the On Page violations of the Quenya Ban I can remember are coming from the children of Fingolfin

Turgon: the entirety of Gondolin. 'nuff said.

Aredhel: teaches Maeglin under the roof of one of Elu Thingol's own kinsmen, the sheer fucking brass ones

Fingon: making announcements at the Nirn in Quenya with the full expectation all the elves and men there will understand him, implying that the bad bitches of Hithlum have been flouting the Ban thoroughly enough the Hadorians know Quenya as a second or third language

(this implicates Fingolfin too)

I dunno if the Quenya Ban was being upheld anymore in the Havens of Sirion so Eärendil is up in the air, as usual for him

if the Fëanorians were flouting the Ban they were apparently keeping that shit under a tight lid xD

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thinking about how osanwë manners are probably a thing. elves out there committing faux pas we can’t even dream of

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the tide™ problem

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You know what, while I’m being irrationally angry about how people interpret fiction differently than me, I would also like to rail against the interpretation that the Long Siege was passive, and not an active attempt to regain the silmarils.

CAN YOU FUCKING IMAGINE THINKING THAT HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF SLOW GRINDING WARFARE IS PASSIVE. CAN YOU? It’s like saying that Gondor was passive and ambivalent about Mordor because they didn’t succeed in taking it out. BAFFLING.

Like, please stop and spend like, two minutes imagining how things would have gone for Beleriand if the sons of Feanor had pulled a Luthien. If they just snuck in to Angband, snatched the silmarils, and the fucked off out of the war effort forever because they got theirs.

How long d’you think it would take for Morgoth to flood forces through the entire eastern frontier? How long d’you think it would take until Doriath was actively under direct siege, without convenient Noldor buffer states on their flanks?

For that matter, how long do we think it would take for Morgoth to reclaim the silmarils, with the sons of Feanor get them without defeating Morgoth first?

How long do you think DORIATH would keep their silmaril, without the majority of the exiled Noldor standing between Doriath and Morgoth???

Luthien (and Beren) can do what they do because Luthien does not, as far as I can tell, actually take any interest in the well-being of the vast majority of people living in Beleriand. She is not a queen. She doesn’t seem to take any interest in politics. She doesn’t seem to take any interest in the well-being of the people of Doriath or Nargothrond, either! Luthien can get in and get out because she needs one (1) sparkling rock to convince her boyfriend that he can marry her honorably. She doesn’t need to worry about direct pursuit because she has the exiled noldor and her mom standing between her (and everyone she cares about) and the war.

THE SONS OF FEANOR DO NOT HAVE THAT LUXURY. If they want to claim the silmarils in a way that doesn’t fuck over everyone in their faction by drawing  direct, targeted attacks from Morgoth, they need to defeat Morgoth first. That is the only way for them to claim the silmarils sustainably. They are actually pursing their goal in the slow, safe, smart way.

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“Tolkien wasn’t good at writing women” well explain this