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amerrierworld · 3 years

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Oh, brother

for the request: Galadriel and her brothers

Summary: Galadriel’s surprise birthday bash! Modern AU

Characters: Galadriel x Celeborn, a whole lot of Silmarillion and LOTR elves :D

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: none really, family fluff, annoying older brothers. a whole lot of blondes.

If there was one thing Galadriel couldn’t stand, it’s surprises. She likes to know when things happen and have everything planned out. If she had the choice to foresee the future, she totally would.

But Celeborn wasn’t like his wife. And he really couldn’t refuse three ruthless blondes from barging into his home to throw a surprise birthday party for Galadriel, their baby sister. They would’ve broken the door down anyways.

It was a weekday, so of course Galadriel was working. Celeborn had taken the day off to pick up the cake that Galadriel had chosen for herself, and pick Celebrian up earlier than usual from school to help get a few decorations. The decor included a handful of balloons, and some party hats, which were mostly for their daughter than for Galadriel herself.

The door practically shook in its hinges at the sudden knock later that afternoon, making Celeborn jump. If it had been Galadriel, he would have been worried, but she had said she was working late. So who on earth...

“Celebooooooorn!”

“Oh... great.” Celeborn sighed and cursed internally. He set his laptop aside next to where Celebrian was colouring and hurried to the door, bracing himself.

“Is that Uncle Angrod?”

“Sadly.. yes,” Celeborn grumbled. He opened up and nearly fell back at the sight of three grinning faces. They were carrying large plastic bags and a few gift bags, and he immediately regretted opening the door.

They pushed inside, with Celebrian jumping into one of her uncles’ arms without any preamble, and Celeborn had a looming sense of dread about why they had shown up randomly at their home.

Finrod was the eldest, and the more approachable of the three. He explained their plans to set up a surprise party.

“You know she hates surprise parties! The actual birthday dinner is this weekend, you know that!”

“Yes, yes, we know, but we figured we’d do something different this time.”

“Why?!”

“Galadriel works wayyy too much, Celeborn,” Aegnor huffed, flopping down on their couch. His blonde mullet was sleek and straight, and Celeborn caught a section of pure white that shot through one side of his hairdo. Another last-minute dye job, no doubt. “You both work way too much. If you’re not going to do anything about it, then we will.”

“She’ll kill us all.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Come on, help me with the disco ball.”

“The disco ball?!”

Galadriel knew what was going to happen the minute she pulled up to her home. If the half a dozen extra cars in the street didn’t say anything, the flashing lights from the living room window gave enough away. She sat inside her car, genuinely debating if she should speed away and just come back in the morning, leaving Celeborn to deal with the aftermath of what looked like an attempt at some sort of party.

But then she remembered her chosen cake and pursed her lips in defiance. She had been very excited to eat it, and curl up with her own family to just watch a silly movie the rest of the night. She’d find a way to enjoy her birthday, even with her nagging extended family.

But the first person who greeted her at the door wasn’t her husband or any of her relatives. It was Gandalf, with a butterfly painted on his cheek and a top hat on his head. He had a juice box in hand and pulled her into a hug when he saw her in the hallway.

“Happy birthday, dear friend!”

“Oh, Gandalf. What have you done?”

“For once, this idea wasn’t mine. I was simply invited.”

“I’m sure you arrived on time.”

“I always do!”

He promised there’d be no fireworks this time; when he had set off his pyromaniacal schemes last, poor Radagast’s hedges and flowerbeds had burned to a crisp.

In the kitchen, Celeborn was nursing a wine glass filled with apple juice. Galadriel didn’t see any alcohol opened anywhere, which did help relieve her stress. He saw her come in and his face scrunched up in an apologetic expression, and it made her laugh.

“My love.. I’m so sorry-”

“Don’t start, Celeborn. What’s done is done. I suppose I’ll be forced to enjoy my birthday now?”

He grimaced and sipped his drink a little more. “If it helps, Celebrian is enjoying herself immensely.”

“Oh, is that right?”

“Orodreth is here. I promise everything is family-friendly, even if it is a little... wild.”

“Was the disco ball Aegnor’s idea?”

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

Galadriel’s siblings were all successful, hard-working people. At least, when they were on their own. Once you put the three brothers together, all hell would break loose. Despite their sheer differences, they were able to put things together and become a team. Often to the dismay of their younger sister who had to endure the torture.

Finrod was the eldest, and therefore the most responsible. He was a successful CEO who took his time to travel and explore every corner of the world. He was stern-faced, and defiantly defensive of his family and his life choices.

Angrod was the middle brother, and the most outlandish. His passion could lead to anger very quickly, but it made him the most emotionally expressive. His son was practically the sheer opposite of him. Orodreth was a little older than Celebrian, and very soft-spoken and quiet. He was incredibly gifted and intellectual, but you would never be able to read his face and discern that yourself.

And Aegnor was the unhinged youngest brother. As an artist and creative thinker, he explored one medium of art to the next. Galadriel believed he had a lot of potential, and being the two youngest they bonded and got along very well. But she had no idea where his life would lead him. One week it would be pottery, the other it would become architecture. But he was kind and encouraging, which made him the most favourable to babysit Celebrian out of the three uncles.

But once put together, all precedented rules of their characters went out the window.

Eldalote was in the bathroom giving people painted faces, and Galadriel assumed that was where Gandalf got his colourful butterfly. She knocked on the door and came in on Orodreth getting a big fish painted on his forehead. Her daughter was watching diligently next to her aunt as she painted. She had a large flower and heart on one cheek, and a party hat tied snugly on her head.

The minute she saw her mother she squealed and ran into her arms. Galadriel picked her up swiftly, and suddenly felt she couldn’t be mad at her brothers anymore. Nor could she be mad about them getting ahead of themselves and starting the party before she got home. It made it easier to blend in rather than have all the focus on her as soon as she had opened the door.

“Hello, sweetheart,” she nuzzled her daughter’s unpainted cheek who began babbling about the party thus far. Orodreth said a shy hello and wished her a happy birthday. Galadriel wondered how her idiot, reckless brother had ended up with such a diligent and sweet son. Nonetheless, she gave him a hug before Celebrian tugged her back to the living room, where the main socializing seemed to be happening.

The three elder brothers were plotting in a huddled group near the disco ball, and as soon as they saw Galadriel, they swarmed her. Aegnor set Celebrian on his hip, and Celeborn rushed to Galadriel’s side, still looking a little forlorn and guilty for letting the party get so rowdy.

“Sister! Happy fucking-”

“Hey! There’s kids.”

“Sorry. Happy freaking birthday, sis. Do you like our party?”

“I hate it.” Galadriel crossed her arms, but her eyes were twinkling. “You know how I hate surprises.”

“Hey, that’s why we’re not giving you a speech, alright? You should thank me.” Aegnor bumped Finrod with his fist. “Fin was planning on drawling on for forever if we hadn’t stopped him.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Finrod rolled his eyes, but he gave Galadriel a quick side hug. “We know you never celebrate yourself, Galadriel. So this is for you. We practically had to tie down your husband to let us decorate.”

“I mean, clearly.” Galadriel looked at the overwhelming amount of paper decorations and bright balloons. “He’d never allow it to look so hideous if he could help it.”

“You wound me, sister,” Angrod clutched his chest.

“Your cake remains untouched though,” Celeborn pointed out. “That’s the one thing I was able to protect. The rest of the house.. not so much.”

“Oh, well I suppose that’s alright,” Galadriel sighed. She watched the small group of friends and other people in her life gather in the living room and other spots in the house. The music was cheery but not blaring. And from the looks of it.. people brought their own dinner items, like an impromptu potluck.

Elwing and Earendil came over to greet Galadriel with happy smiles and a congratulations. The couple were constantly glued to each others’ side, and Galadriel was glad to have another set of seemingly sane parents in their social circle.

Their twins, Elros and Elrond, were sprawled out on the carpet with Lego and toy cars. Elrond’s face had been smeared with cupcake icing that he had scarfed down, and Galadriel watched, amused, as her daughter went over to him, tutting like she often would. She had a napkin in hand and proceeded to wipe his face, effectively smearing the icing even further onto his cheeks.

The sight made her chuckle, and the initial stress she had seemed to finally leave. She supposed she could enjoy as much of it as possible.

“To be fair, this party is looking to be the best I’ve ever had.” She looked around, slipping her hand into Celeborn’s. “Food I don’t have to pay for. No idiot college friends or condescending relatives. Kids who are actually enjoying themselves? I’d rank this in the top five, boys.”

“Then our work here is done!” Aegnor declared, bouncing Celebrian who giggled happily in his arms. “Now let’s get that cake.”

“Nuh-uh,” Galadriel wagged a finger at him. “That’s for me and my family alone. There’s enough food for you behind you. Go on, you swine.”

Aegnor stuck out his tongue, and she swatted him. He went off to explore the dishes that were laid out on the dining table. So did the rest of the group; going to get their faces painted or wolf down whatever fatty snacks were in reach. Galadriel turned to her husband and gave him a firm kiss.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t defend our fortress, my lady,” he sighed. She rolled her eyes.

“It’s quite alright. I’m not angry. Maybe because I was met with a very gleeful Gandalf at the door rather than my overbearing siblings. Besides, we didn’t even have to cook.”

He laughed. “I knew that would be the thing to win you over.”

A/N: I love these guys ;-; This is my character interpretation of Galadriel’s brothers/family in a modern AU. I posted this out of order for CB’s birthday- I finished it over a week ago but then I realized how close it was to the 14th so I just waited! I hope you enjoy my loves

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winepresswrath · 4 years

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what if... i just posted a bunch of highly specific and possibly controversial Silmarillion opinions backed up by varying degrees of canon (or not)

i think the cousins were in fact A Family and even caranthir got in on it which is why he decides it would be a good idea to make fun of angrod instead of being cool about the noldor’s envoy to doriath

it is extremely telling that curufin and celegorm were so close with one of fingolfin’s kids. curufin (CURUFIN) loves aredhel and explicitly acknowledges her as his kinswoman even after shit has gotten quite ugly

this is not to say people didn’t get mad but i think it is an anger that has its roots in love and broken trust

like it’s substantially worse if they love each other

finarfin totally reserved every good holiday for olwe and mostly chilled in alqualonde trying not to think too hard about what his brothers were doing

sadly for him tirion was sometimes inescapable

and then totally inescapable

even for findis who definitely climbed way the fuck up taniquetil and only came down once shit was well and truly underway and her mom needed the moral support

finrod actually being super mad about his cousins murdering his other cousins and just faking all the camping and hosting never really sits right with me. i think there’s a political dimension to his forgiveness, in that he’s keenly aware his forgiveness will help create a (more) united front and gives them a better shot at survival, but i also think he means it when he says they have shown friendship to him in every need. like sometime you don’t want to be mad and i think finrod is a person who is good at deciding to Let it Go

until the crown throwing incident then he’s real mad

every time i picture finrod i come up with a hot blond charles the second by way of horrible histories. the king who brought back partying.

galadriel was likewise attached to celebrimbor both as his own person and as a remnant of some people who she used to love and eventually did not recognize

i’ve always been charmed by that one line that mentions she saw the stain of morgoth on feanor but failed to see it on everyone else, and have shamelessly run with it to conclude that even if she thought her cousins were obnoxious she had identified feanor specifically as The Problem

honestly while finarfins are clearly team fingolfin in their way i also think of them as very into ethereally floating above the fray with their advanced meditation practices and organic smoothies, telling everyone else about how they too could float if they consumed more antioxidents. except for angrod, who has a list, and galadriel, who smugly floats while also spitefully yearning to expel feanor from the family group chat. she can do both. she contains multitudes.

she was PISSED when feanor was expelled from the family group chat and so her grandpa and cousins also left in protest.

i’m into the idea of her bumping into maglor and telling him what happened to celebrimbor

feanor tried to be a good dad but was not actually a very good dad

i also think he did actually accidentally bbq his baby. these issues are separate but related.

oops

orodreth is angrod’s son and argon is not only real but essential

also noble

that felt good

#satisFACTION #sometimes i want to read about a dysfunctional family that is still a family if that makesense #like there's this needle that i personally want threaded that exists in between 'everyone was chill'#and 'the finarfins barely spoke to the feanorians'#there's a take where angrod and #aegnor are so close with their cousins they get smuggled onto the boat after the murder #murders #the many many boat adjacent murders

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arofili · 3 years

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Line of Elros Edit Series: Appendix E

Continued from Appendix D. This section will contain information on the the Stewards of Gondor.

~~~

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Appendix A: Royalty of Númenor Appendix B: House of Andúnië, Royalty of Arnor Appendix C: Royalty of Gondor Appendix D: Princes of Dol Amroth, Chieftains of the Dúnedain Appendix E: Stewards of Gondor (you are here!)

~~~

STEWARDS OF GONDOR

Are you ready for a bajillion names reused from the First Age?! The Stewards loooved to name their kids after First Age heroes - and I decided that the ladies shouldn’t get left out of that tradition either, so I scoured the family trees of the Three Houses of the Edain for some names to give their wives and daughters :)

Astorion ft. Astorion (OC), Húrin of Emyn Arnen, Idril of Emyn Arnen (OC) Though Astorion himself is an OC, everything about the appointment of the first Steward is canon or strongly implied by canon. The rules surrounding who could be Steward are also canon, though the exact circumstances of how they came about are my headcanon. Húrin of Emyn Arnen was indeed Minardil’s steward, and the stewards were chosen from his House after this, but the details about his role in these two succession crises are all headcanon. The House of Húrin was related to Anárion, though this relation being through one of his daughters is speculation on my part. See the linked Kings for details about the canonicity of their stories.

Pelendur ft. Pelendur, Meleth of Gondor (OC), Vorondil, Anwariel (OC), Mardil Voronwë The details of Pelendur’s friendship with Eärnil, and Eärnil’s ambitions toward royalty, are my headcanon; check out Eärnil’s edit for more on that. The conflict between Eärnil and Arvedui is canon, as is Pelendur’s influence in choosing which would become King. Vorondil’s hunting of the Kine of Araw and making of the Horn of Gondor is canon, though I made up the bit about it being part of a matched pair.

Mardil Voronwë ft. Mardil Voronwë, Anoriel (OC), Eradan, Gilwen of Gondor (OC), Herion, Cadwareth (OC), Belegorn, Lossendil (OC) Mardil’s ascension to power is canon, but the details of Eärnur’s demise, while canon, have been embellished (see his edit for more info on that). Mardil’s work on the calendar is canon, but his wife’s influence on its creation is headcanon. Everything about Eradan, Herion, and Belegorn is headcanon.

Húrin I ft. Húrin I, Beril of Gondor (OC), Niënor of Gondor (OC), Urwen of Gondor (OC), Túrin I All of this is headcanon; we have practically no information about Húrin I save that he had two daughters before Túrin I.

Túrin I ft. Túrin I, Andreth of Gondor (OC), Lalaith of Gondor (OC), Nellas of Gondor (OC), Níniel of Gondor (OC), Meldis of Gondor (OC), Hador of Gondor All we know about Túrin I is that he had “several daughters” with his first wife, and was the first (and only) leader of Gondor to take a second wife, with whom he had a son. Since Hador was born a year after Túrin became Steward, I think it’s reasonable to assume he had to wait ’til he was in charge to change the law to allow him to remarry, but that’s not canon. All other details are headcanon. Sorry for making him a massive dick. Túrin Turambar deserves better than being remembered like this; I’ll try to make up for it when I get to Túrin II.

Hador ft. Hador of Gondor, Maerion (OC), Barahir of Gondor, Taweneth (OC), Dior of Gondor, Rían of Gondor, Bellmund (OC), Denethor I Hador did canonically add a leap day to the calendar, and he was also the last Steward to have the “lifespan of a full Dúnadan.” Dior canonically had no children and was succeeded by his nephew. I made up literally everything else here. I’m baffled by the decision of Rían to name her son after an Avarin king when all the other names in her family that were taken from the First Age are from the Edain and the occasional Noldor or Sindar royal; there’s no reason why she would have picked that name, so I tried to give her one here.

Denethor I ft. Denethor I, Felucaliel (OC), Lalwen of Gondor (OC), Emeldir of Gondor (OC), Steward Boromir Denethor canonically had two daughters before Boromir; I changed one to be nonbinary. It was also during his rule that the Watchful Peace ended. Everything else is headcanon.

Steward Boromir ft. Steward Boromir, Amathael (OC), Círion, Hirwen of Gondor (OC), Hallas, Thalieth (OC), Húrin II, Beldis of Gondor (OC) Boromir did canonically do all that fighting, though we know nothing about his wife and sibling fighting with him; his decline after receiving a Morgul wound is also canon. Almost all of Círion’s story is canon. Hallas did indeed come up with the names “Rohan” and “Rohirrim.” Everything else is headcanon.

Belecthor I ft. Belecthor I, Glóredhel of Gondor (OC), Orodreth of Gondor, Morwen of Gondor It’s canon that the Corsairs reared their heads again in this time, but we don’t know of any major battles so I decided a stalemate made sense here. Everything else is headcanon.

Orodreth ft. Orodreth of Gondor, Beleth of Gondor (OC), Ecthelion I The only canon thing here is that Ecthelion did rebuild the White Tower. Also, you know I’m gonna make all the childless Stewards gay and/or aspec :p

Morwen ft. Morwen of Gondor, Dammoron (OC), Adanel of Gondor (OC), Faeleth (OC), Egalmoth of Gondor All of this is headcanon, except that Morwen was canonically the grandmother of Egalmoth.

Egalmoth ft. Eglamoth of Gondor, Hareth of Gondor (OC), Beren of Gondor, Gildis of Gondor (OC), Steward Beregond, Bregil of Gondor (OC), Belecthor II, Thúliel (OC), Thorondir, Helheth (OC), Túrin II, Eregil (OC), Turgon of Gondor, Mírdholen (OC) As usual, everything with the women in this edit is headcanon. The wars with the Dunlendings, Corsairs, orcs, etc. are all canon, as is Saruman’s appearance in the narrative. The recovery period after the war has been greatly embellished; everything about Belecthor II and Thorondir is headcanon except for their lifespans and the death of the White Tree (and Belecthor being an only child, weirdly enough that’s specifically noted in canon lol), though I made up the reasoning behind Thorondir’s declaration. Túrin I’s deeds are all canon, though with the exception of the Rohirrim the supporting cast’s involvement is mostly my headcanon. Nothing significant happened during Turgon’s rule except for Sauron’s declaration; his reaction to that event is headcanon.

Ecthelion II ft. Ecthelion II, Narwiel (OC), Denethor II, Taeneth (OC), Beniloth (OC) Everything about Ecthelion and Thorongil/Aragorn is canon (and leaves me wondering if they fucked...) Ecthelion canonically had two unnamed daughters. Taeneth and Beniloth are Sindarin names I adapted from the Quenya “Terenis” and “Vanyalos” given to them in LOTRO; I also poached their backstories from LOTRO. (Disclaimer that I haven’t played the game, I’m getting this all from Tolkien Gateway.)

Denethor II ft. Denethor II, Finduilas of Dol Amroth, Boromir, Faramir This is pretty much all canon, though details have been embellished here and there.

Faramir ft. Faramir, Éowyn, Elboron, Rohiril (OC), Silevegil (OC), Barahir of Ithlien All of this is canon, though it’s been slightly condensed, up until the details about Faramir and Éowyn’s descendants. It is canon that Barahir wrote the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen, but we don’t know if he was the son of Elboron or of some unknown sibling of Elboron. I ship Elboron and Eldarion, so I chose to go with the latter possibility :)

~~~

My Peoples of Arda Edit Series continues with the Three Houses of the Edain Edit Series!

#line of elros #headcanons #gondor #my meta #tefain nin #loe appendices #stewards of gondor #peoples of arda

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kendrixtermina · 4 years

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Orodreth’s timeline

Orodreth actually gets a whole lot of pagetime, but he’s always very adjacent to the action; He’s got moments but seldom are all the bits we learn about him presented with a throughline, so here’s a compilation of everything we learn of him from start to finish

The one 4th generation person to have an active part in the debate, suggesting that he was possibly the oldest of the 4th generation; (I guess Turgon just took forever to ask Elenwe out) - one might speculate that he went cause he couldn’t bring himself to leave his parents or Finrod.

Close to Finrod (but Finrod was pretty much everyone’s favorite family member in the house of Finarfin)

never wanted to leave, and boy did he have a bad, bad time in middle Earth

may or may not have made the crossing with C & C. Personally, I like to think that he just happened to be playing with Celebrimbor and that C& C just let him, A& A on the ship so they could keep talking, having no idea of what Feanor was gonna pull; If we want to reconcile this with the later scenes where Angrod is rather salty towards the Feanorians we may assume that he grew disillusioned sometimes between the burning of the ship and finding out that everyone else crossed the ice... they’re not noted as prominent leaders during the march, though Finrod and Galadriel are.

In any case, A & A were also said to be very close buds with Fingon, with no ambiguity here. But Fingon gets along with everyone anyways. I want more fic of him being besties with A & A (and Hurin, for that matter!) and how this related to Orodreth NOT supporting Fingon’s later plans

Got Finrod’s old fortress when he left to build Nargothrond

Would have been allowed in Doriath

was relatively learned (one can imagine that Finrod taught him)

loved nature & the mountains in particular (which is reflected in how he picked his sindarin name)

Curufin did not consider him particularly sharp or competent (at least after things turned sour) but of course he’s not exactly an unbiased source

Married a Sindarin chick; From this & the nature loving & being somewhat aligned with Thingol policy wise one might suspect that he took after or felt an affinity to the Telerin side of the family; Had anywhere between one and three kids sometime during the long peace, one of which may or may not have been Gil-Galad; Finduillas was old enough to be betrothed by the time of the Nirnaeth

Obviously then the Dagor bragollach happened; A & A are killed(and probably Edhellos, too) According to one version, C & C make it to his stronghold, help defend about two years, until they’re all forced to make for Nargothrond, where the arrival of their forces might have conveniently coincided with an orc raid the helped to repel

used to be somewhat soft/ nice (see the scene where he picks up Finrod’s crown, or when he tells the angry mop to let C & C escape alive) though by the time Turin shows up he’s significantly more jaded at least in the verse version

(thats the one where he has an older son who gets terribly murdered by orcs); The prose coH heavily implies that Finduillas has got zero brothers, though the Shibolleth version makes him Gil-Galad’s father; There’s even some genological table where he was supposed to have two sons. But brothers or no brothers, nothing comes of Finduillas bethrotal since poor, poor Gwindor gets captured and whatnot

wanting to protect his people/ putting caution first is noted as a motivation and he’s characterized as not entirely unskilled at this

At the same time, character flaw numero uno is that he is not a very dominant or leader-like person at all; Probably gets shouted over a lot; Kind of always following someone wether it’s Finrod, Thingol or Turin; C& C have no trouble sizing control under his watch; That’s how he ended up listening to Turin and meeting his eventual death by glaurung

poor, poor Finduillas kicks it not much later

If Gil-Galad was his kid we can assume he escaped from the destruction somehow at this point, if he was not evacuated after the Bragollach based on some prophetic vision from Finrod

#Orodreth #silmarillion

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adwendoodles · 4 years

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The Finarfinians (Arafinwions?) for my self indulgent ridiculous pet project. Also known as “blended golden-silver hair when only doing flat colors howst??” i’m sorry galadriel

thoughty thoughts~

- Earwen!! Such an interesting character. Ngl reading the finarfinian family interactions makes up some of my favorite fics that I’ve read since joining the silm fandom. They’re just very interesting! Like Arafinwe’s reluctance to leave, how Earwen must have reacted to the kinslaying and the fact that her kids (and husband at first) went on despite all of it...

Anyway. Her hair is like some bizarre and ultimately failed attempt to draw chinese-inspired hair jewelry before I realized that, wait, the vibe I get from the Teleri is that they don’t use hair jewelry, that fits Nargothrond or Gondolin (or Tirion itself) much better because noldor like the bling-bling, so I nerfed her outfit and jewelry several times. Still sad about the dress ah...

- I actually drew Galadriel first and then did Finrod, and I tried to draw them looking similar because... that’s kinda the vibe I get? The most objectively beautiful grandchildren of Finwe, and while that could just mean that they are both beautiful in different ways... I think they actually closely resemble each other

His outfit has a bunch of tiny squiggly details that are probably either embroidery (lame) or the elf equivalent of swarovski crystals (much more Finrod). He also has ear cover jewelry you can barely see lmao

- Aegnor! I still can’t remember who is who with him and Angrod but I remember that Aegnor, specifically, is described as sharing Galadriel and Finrod’s gold hair so I gave him that. Ordinarily I imagine that he and Angrod resemble each other as much as Finrod and Galadriel do... but this is for fun and the best part about the Finarfinians is that there’s now three groups worth of basic skin/hair colors to mess around with

- Angrod. I feel like he probably has golden hair (the golden children of Arafinwe and all that) but my mind was like ‘give him Earwen’s hair’ so I did. No, I don’t know what’s going on with his outfit either. The pentand has a swan engraving though.

- Galadriel! I’ve known from the moment I started this project that I wanted to give her a braid crown, cuz this girl is a queen. Also a slight and possibly too subtle reference to her athleticism, because I hc that she does a braid-crown for all sports events and such. Her outfit is probably the most noldor of them all, which is amusing, but it does have the little swan-wings motif (probably too subtle again, alas)

Her hair was so annoying because I didn’t want to break the style I started for this project any more than photoshop glitching so badly I installed another art program did. In the end I just took a nearly-white color and used it as highlights, because Earwen’s haircolor is a bit more gray than silver and it just made her look like she was going gray.

- I was introduced to Orodreth as Angrod’s son so *cough* sorry published silmarillion *cough* I’m keeping it that way

#silmarillion #the silmarillion #silm #galadriel #finrod #aegnor #angrod #arafinwe #finarfin #earwen #uhhh do i tag the quenya #....nah #silm abridged art

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sweetteaanddragons · 4 years

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Kid Swap: Angst Edition

In which Finrod and co. are Feanor’s kids, Maedhros and co. are Fingolfin’s kids, and Fingon and co. are Finarfin’s kids.

Orodreth gets the worst end of this deal.

. . .

“It’s not a competition,” his mother tells him, and she means it, Orodreth knows, but that doesn’t change the fact that Nerdanel is still wrong.

The city is on a knife’s edge, waiting for the push that will send them all plummeting into the abyss, and everything between the houses of Feanor and Fingolfin is a competition now. Fingolfin has more sons, so Feanor must have better ones. Feanor must have better ones anyway because everyone says his father is brilliant, the mightiest of the Noldor, and even when his detractors whisper against him, they do so by saying that he shines too brightly, that he scorches all those around him, that he burned out his mother. Surely his sons must have some of that fire.

But Orodreth is not Finrod, liked and respected by all and a fitting heir for their father in the unthinkable event there is ever need of one. He is not Angrod, known for the speed and wit of his biting tongue. He is not Aegnor, who even as an infant held such fell fire in his eyes that their mother predicted he would find his way to some great Doom even in these peaceful lands. He is certainly not Galadriel, who soaks up their father’s teachings in lore and metal, weaving spells of her own into gold and steel, whose explosive clashes with their father only seem to stoke his pride in her all the more.

Orodreth is quiet and does respectably in his studies. Always respectably, but never more than that, and while that might be acceptable, barely, in Feanor’s youngest son in happier days, it is certainly not acceptable now, when everyone is comparing him to the likes of Maedhros, who some whisper rivals Finrod in statecraft and never mind the princes’ friendship, Maglor, who all agree is the greatest bard the Noldor have yet produced, and Curufin, who openly strives to surpass his uncle in smith craft. Greatness runs fierce and hot in his family, but it seems to have skipped over him.

He has no gilded tongue, no great gift. He is not the greatest of the Noldor in any subject, and that is not likely to change. He is merely - acceptable.

And acceptable is not enough.

His father finds him looking glumly at yet another merely acceptable attempt at a craft, and he settles in beside him on the bench.

“You’ll find your niche someday,” Feanor promises him. “It doesn’t matter how long it takes.”

His father means as well as his mother, he knows, but his words still imply that there will be a great and shining gift someday, and Orodreth wonders how long his father will wait before accepting that it just isn’t there.

He doesn’t like to imagine what the look on his father’s face will be when he finally accepts that there is no latent greatness lurking in his youngest son’s heart.

It’s easier to just slip away to the shore when no one is paying attention and to tell them in a note that he is pursuing his studies among the Teleri. He supposes he is; he certainly buries himself in the university’s library often enough.

But he is not chasing greatness here, just silence in the quiet nooks carved into the walls where he can read in peace and not worry about whether or not this is the book that will unlock a reason for his parents to be proud of him.

(I have always been proud of you, his father had told him once when Orodreth, left in the dust once again by his family’s accomplishments, had finally confessed his fears. My sweet boy, his mother had said, kissing him, of course we’re proud of you.)

(He had been younger then. He had still had - potential, and he had been the good child, the one who never fought with his cousins and never turned up at the house, shame faced, having broken something once again. But they are all adults now and not breaking things must surely no longer be a sufficient source of pride.)

He is not chasing greatness here, but he might be chasing Elariel.

Elariel is one of the librarian’s assistants, and she quickly becomes his favorite; she slips extra books into his stack for him to try, even when it pushes him over the official lending limit, and she’ll talk for hours about anything written between the pages of the books without touching on the latest gossip from Tirion at all.

“If you could be known for anything,” he asks her once, “what would you want to be known for?”

She scrunches up her nose. “I don’t think I’d want to be known for anything, really,” she says. “It seems like such a lot of trouble. I’d like my work to be known, once I get this classification system for the books sorted out, but I’d rather they left me out of it.”

He gapes at her for a moment before he words sink in.

He thinks he might love her.

(Three years later, he is holding a tiny baby girl in his arms, and he thinks, I want to be the greatest father I can possibly be, and for once, it seems almost within his reach.

When he looks up, both of his parents are absolutely radiant with pride.)

#orodreth #alternate universe #silmarillion #fic #years of the trees

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lendmyboyfriendahand · 5 years

Text

Amrodnor

Amrod was on the ships, but when he saw Feanor approaching with a torch, he jumped.

He swam to shore. He figured is his family was going to kill him, he might as well leave - the plan had been to go back to his mother, but that was no longer possible.

He ran into a group of Nandor, and joined their community.

His old names didn't fit – he’s no longer the smallest Finwe, having rejected his house. He keeps half his name, and instead of Doomed or Upwards-Exalted, he becomes Exalted-by-Fire; the burning of the ships was what gave him the strength to turn from an evil path.

It takes him a bit to decide on this, dramatic Finwean he is, and in the meantime the Nandor called him Bright Eyes, for the Treelight reflected in his gaze. He says this is a more appropriate name for a horse than a person, and they compromise on calling him Star Bright

So Amrod hangs out is southwest Beleriand, avoiding Sindar and Orcs and Noldor and Men alike for over four hundred years.

The Bragollach, the Nirnaeth; Beleriand isn't safe.

The Nandor decide to go east across the mountains. Amrod decides to see how the Noldor are doing - despite himself, he hopes his brothers are okay. He finds Nargothrond.

He says he is Rodnor Gil-Galad, called in his youth after his hair.

Orodreth doesn't recognize him - Orodreth is young, born after the division between their families was already stark. Orodreth rarely saw Amrod in Tirion, and everyone saying he looks just like Amras means the brown hair throws him.

Celebrimbor does recognize him.

"What are you doing here?" "I'm trying to avoid our family!" "I thought you were dead!" "Don't you dare tell anyone you met me!" - excerpts from the whispered confrontation in Celebrimbor's workroom

Eventually they agree that yes, Feanorians are terrible and blindly loyal, and they're both glad to be out of it.

They spend time together, a bit, more as escapees from the same cult than out of a desire to reminisce about Tirion.

Celebrimbor accidentally mentions Fingon as if they both know him in public. People ask how Gil-Galad knew him. He fumbles and says they're related. Later he slips and says Celegorm “turned out to be the family disappointment after all.” That makes him pretty obviously Finwean, though he still doesn’t admit who.

Someone tries to draw him out, and spends a whole conversation deliberately referring to Maglor Feanorian, Fingon Fingolfinion, and Finrod Finarfinion.

Rodnor eventually says, “By that manner I suppose I’m Gil-Galad Erenion.” This shuts up the first guy for a moment, but people start speculating how he can be the descendant of multiple kings – did Thingol have any other kids?

Turin arrives; Rodnor has no opinion of him or of men in general, and no official seat on Orodreth’s council. When the dragon kills Orodreth and kidnaps Findulias, Rodnor leads the survivors away to the south. He feels bad about abandoning them, but the number of soldiers they ‘d lose rescuing her is too high, and just because a life is royal (or family) doesn’t mean it’s more valuable. (Feanor burned a prince, his son, as easily as he killed fishermen.)

His opinion on royalty isn’t widely held though. The people of Nargothrond have decided he is Orodreth’s heir and started calling him Lord Erenion. He declares that Cirdan is lord of the Falas, which gets people to at least decide bring some of their issues elsewhere, and tries not to stress about the details.

So Rodnor is in charge of the Noldor in Sirion. Galadriel is in Doriath. They do meet when it falls, but only for a few hours as the Iathrim refugees settle in, and she speaks more with Cirdan than with him. He tells her of the Nandor tribe he was with and their plans for the journey, and off she goes to the East.

After the council is over and every newcomer has a bed, Rodnor goes to Celebrimbor. They mourn privately those who neither of them dare speak of publically. Rodnor is back in his own rooms long before morning. He spends the next few weeks solemn, but everyone is gloomy after news of another kinslaying.

Gondolin falls. There are suddenly a lot more Noldor in Sirion. Pretty soon they're calling him King. He considers telling them it's not true, that the succession hasn't come to him yet.

On the other hand, having a leader be whoever happens to be the son of the previous leader is kind of silly. The Sindar tribe he was with acknowledged Elwe, but not Dior. Your leader was whoever you trusted to do right by the community. When Denethor died, his son took interim authority, and then they all met and discussed it and decided that actually Enellas knew how to manage people better, and so Denethor’s son stepped down.

If Rodnor squints, this is the same. At the very least, if the Nargothrondrim hated him one of them would have proposed crowning the ten-year-old Eärendil instead. So King Gil-Galad takes up the throne.

He was on Balar when the attack came. He told himself later he couldn't have stopped it, couldn't have helped. He could guess by how much more enchantingly beautiful the Silmaril around Elwing's neck seemed, that his brothers would attack soon, but not the month or day. And she was a queen, he could not order her to hand over the jewel. So all he did was warn her, not tell her his birth name, or leap across the council table and pull it off her throat. He could not have known there was no time to wait for Eärendil’s return. He had not set a watch on the island towards the city, but he had no reason to.

He did not want to kill his brothers, but he was a king and he could not let that make his decisions.

He can't stop himself from crying when he sees Amras's body. The Feanorians had tried to make a pyre, but must have left with it still burning and the wet sea wind had extinguished it, and the wood had barely caught.

"Relight the pyres."

"Your Majesty?"

"For the dead Feanorians, relight them."

"But they're murderers! They showed no such respect to us." Indeed, the city is still littered with the corpses of Noldor, Men, and Sindar alike.

"And we are better than they are. We will bury our dead, with a week of singing and lamenting, and tales of their deeds told by friends and kin. We will mark our people’s graves, and the Men will leave grave goods on theirs. And we will not leave the enemy dead to rot where they lie or be eaten by beasts, though they showed us not that respect." He sighed. "We have not fallen as they have, and we must hold onto that."

"Yes, your majesty"

"Have someone take a census of those who are left. And lists of the dead – ours and theirs." He needs to know how strong the rogue army was. If it is now leaderless, he would... he isn't sure. He wouldn’t have to declare a feast for victory over the Kinslayers, they'd lost enough of their own. But some kind of amnesty, with reparations, if any Feanorian soldiers wanted to rejoin... He thinks of the abstract plans now, while he is unsure, because he knows he'll barely be able to keep together if Maedhros and Maglor are dead and he is alone. (Three died last time.)

His eldest brothers are not among the dead invaders.

Lady Elwing and her sons are not found, either dead or living. Gil-Galad knows that his brothers would have no interest in taking her prisoner, for if she was under their power they could rip their glorious, wonderful jewel from her neck and cast her aside like so much wrapping. So he assumes that instead Elwing got away somehow, taking her sons with her. Whether the Feanorians have the jewel or she does is unimportant, he reminds himself, at least unless she returns. He decides then that Balar will never house the Silmaril – he'll bury it beneath the mountains with his own two hands if that's what it takes. His people deserve one place, just one, that isn't destroyed around them. Please Valar, grant them this, for Cirdan's sake if for none of the Noldor.

Ships come one day out of the West. King Finarfin leads them, and Eärendil is with them. Eärendil says that his wife Elwing escaped, but not the boys. (Eärendil is politely told he must either take off the necklace, stay on his ship, or go to the mainland.)

Gil-Galad realizes where they must be. It's hardly fair, but he knows at least they're being treated as well as can be. Maedhros and Maglor did alright by the five of them, and have never been cruel to children.

No one else seems so optimistic, though they are willing to believe that the boys are alive, even after seven years, simply to avoid believing the alternative. Gil-Galad and Finarfin cooperate to get a letter and a messenger (a newly arrived Noldo) that will be demanding but – hopefully – not provoke violence.

It takes two years more, with messengers from both parties expressing grave concern for the boys’ safety on a journey and reluctant to meet the other too close, but Elros and Elrond are returned. They meet Eärendil again, but he is on the front lines and so they spend most of their time in the camp. Gil-Galad has them sit in on strategy meetings to keep them occupied.

The war is over, Morgoth is defeated, and the Noldor are allowed to return.

Gil-Galad finds he doesn’t want to.

Returning had been as much about getting out of Feanor’s shadow as finding safety, and he realizes he has done the first and the second is near at hand. If he goes back to Tirion, he will be again Pityafinwe, one of Feanor’s youngest sons, half of the twins with a missing twin. The child so redundant his own mother had known so, and asked Feanor to leave her one of the youngest without care for which. Pityafinwe had led no armies, fought no battles, earned no praise. Pityafinwe killed Teleri and was murdered by his father, and did nothing else.

Sure, he could try to be both, admit he was Pityafinwe to start with, but no one will understand. The will see him as the usurper of the crown that should have gone to – Eärendil perhaps? and then Elros? or Galadriel? Maybe they’ll weigh his victories in battle against his theft of the crown, and say they make up for it, but maybe they’ll say anyone could have done them, or he should have done them as a general in the real King’s army. So he’d be Pityafinwe, who pretended to be a king for a bit but understands now that it’s not his place, and that his place is to be the sixth-born son of the (dead, disgraced) Crown Prince.

Besides, they’re making the ‘leaders’ apologize for leaving, and Gil-Galad spent enough years wandering Beleriand safe behind Noldorin fortresses he can’t really be sorry they came.

Gil-Galad does write a letter though, to the Lady Nerdanel, his mother. He tells people that it’s commendations for her grandson’s valor, and assurance that Celebrimbor will be regarded on his own merits in the Age to come. The letter does contain those, but it also contains “You were half right about my mother-name; I was fated to die but leapt out of Fate’s way.” It’s rather blasphemous, but Gil-Galad isn’t going to be setting foot near the Valar again.

ao3

#silmarillion #amrod #Gil Galad #The Silmarillion #silm #My fic #gil galad son of plot hole #amrodnor

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dawnfelagund · 6 years

Text

Silmarillion M-Thing!

I was tagged by @jane-ways! Thank you! :D

How do you think the Oath worked practically?

I don’t think the Oath was an actual force, physically compelling the Fëanorians to act in its service. I think it operated psychologically. First of all, I think there was a cultural norm against oath-breaking that was so strong that the thought of flagrantly violating it was mortifying. (Think of the most taboo thing you can think of doing while knowing that everyone will know you’ve done it.) I also think there is an element of the sunk cost fallacy. (I really like @simaethae‘s thoughts on the Oath here, in particular what it would have meant had Maedhros and Maglor tried to break it at the end of the First Age ... and succeeded.) Essentially, they reach a point where the Oath has compelled their lives and their choices (especially their bad ones) to the point where they feel it can’t be abandoned.

Were the Valar in the right to bring the Elves to Valinor?

This is a thorny one for me. I’ve written before (here and here) about how I think it was a mistake verging on a crime against humanity to isolate the Light of the Trees in Valinor. I think that bringing (some of) the Elves to Valinor helped mitigate the seriousness of that decision, like, “Well we asked. Those who didn’t come to the Light had every opportunity but they chose to stay in darkness and danger.” (This even reflects in how the so-called “Moriquendi” are discussed in Laws and Customs and Quendi and Eldar as people who chose darkness rather than choosing their homeland or independence or any other number of ways that the decision of the Avari could be framed.) And that allowed the Valar to mostly forsake those who remained in Middle-earth, including Mortals later on in time.

I think the decision to bring the Elves to Valinor reveals also the lack of understanding of the Valar toward the Elves, especially the Noldor, namely that they needed to feel that their work had meaning in the world. Where were the Noldor to find meaning in an already beautiful land, where their work just made things nicer for the already privileged? I see Fëanor’s dissatisfaction with his place in Valinor less about pride and more about purpose.

Which Silm character do you find the most relatable personally and why?

Honestly, I connect to the Avari the most. I’m heathen and love a simple life of independence. I value connection to the earth. I connect as well to the Noldorin drive to create but not the violent, colonialist shape it often takes.

If you could ask one character one question (to get clarification on their motives, to ask their opinion etc), who would you ask and what?

Oh my. Fëanor, do you regret it?

Would you have gone with Fëanor, Fingolfin or Finarfin?

Fëanor! I have a rebel streak and distrust authority. I also feel very compelled, as I think Fëanor did as well, that my work have a meaningful purpose. I think I would have understood his need to go to Middle-earth and would have felt inspired too to think of what might be done to make life better there.

I like to think I would not have participated in the kinslaying.

What do you think was the determining factor/reasoning behind the Doom of the Noldor? Does it hold for scrutiny in your opinion?

I think it was the misguided notion that it is possible to punish a person into good behavior. Like, “You did this horrible thing! If I punish you harshly enough, you won’t do it again!” When, in reality, I think that true prosocial change in a person has to come from within the person, and that is ultimately a negotiation between the wrongdoer and the wronged party. The Valar could have facilitated that; they did not.

I wonder what the Valar hoped to get out of exiling the Noldor? Did they think that was going to make better the situation in Middle-earth--a situation that was partly of their creation--by continuing to isolate themselves from what they find difficult or troubling?

I do think part of that choice was because of the kinslaying. But I think that the Noldorin rejection of Valinor was part of it too. We’ve all been there: We give something profoundly of ourselves and react with anger when we perceive it is not fully appreciated or, as in this case, outright rejected. I think the kinslaying gave them a good reason but, even in its absence, don’t think the Valar would have been a positive force for good in Middle-earth or in the fight of the Noldor against Melkor.

Who is the scariest of Tolkien’s characters?

Probably Sauron: both fair-seeming and cruel. There are shades of psychopathy in that ...

Even his name sounds scary.

Any other versions of a story you prefer over the version published in the Silm?

I love some of the details from the earlier drafts that add layers of complexity to the characters that I think Tolkien removed as he got older. (My pet theory is that he began to question, as a Christian author, after the insane popularity of LotR and assuming a large audience as well for the Silm, the wisdom of depicting characters sympathetically who embodied Northern pagan values [and frequently acted as well with Northern pagan abandon]. I have no proof for this.) But I love, for instance, details like Celegorm and Curufin originally sneaking Angrod, Aegnor, and Orodreth over the Middle-earth on the ships and, of course, the details about Nerdanel and Fëanor’s marriage; it complicates the characters and conflict in a way I really like.

And of course I love the attributions to the “loremasters,” which I think keeps that there is a point of view from which the Silmarillion was written more firmly in mind than the sort of pseudo-omniscient thing going on in the published book.

Favourite story of the legendarium and why?

I will always, always love the story of Nerdanel and Fëanor, partly because the love of my own life also chose someone beneath him in the social pecking order--to the astonishment of me at the very least! (We were also very young.) This was maybe the first act that helped me climb out of the cesspit poor self-esteem. So I love that element in their story and also how personal their story feels at times (in the HoMe materials) when compared to many of the other Silmarillion stories.

The latest thing you learned that made you reconsider or change your view on something in Tolkien’s world?

@ingwiel made the best case I’ve seen for a Numenorean narrator here. Yes, I still think the narrator was Elven, but this post made me think more about the arguments against my position than I ever had.

Thoughts on Fëanor not wanting to share the Silmarils after the Darkening?

I take Fëanor at his word that destroying the Silmarils would kill him, and that’s a big ask of someone. This has been on my mind a lot lately, with all the talk of school shootings and being a teacher. My teacher friends were unanimously sympathetic to the armed guard who didn’t choose to go into MSDHS to face the shooter. Doesn’t it cross all of our minds when we have our bimonthly lockdown drills, when we stand there with our bodies between our students and the door, of whether we’d have the courage to give our lives to save our kids? I think I would, but I say that from the safety of this moment. I think it’s a very different thing to choose your own sacrifice, especially to remedy someone else’s mistake. After all, it was the Valar who trusted Melkor, despite knowing the Music and his role in it, despite knowing Melkor the source of the strife among the Noldor ... and they exile Fëanor but only Tulkas pursues Melkor? It is little wonder to me that Fëanor didn’t want to give his life and return the Light to those who were so careless to begin with.

Tagging @nimium-amatrix-ingenii-sui, @vefanyar, @hhimring, @independence1776, @joyfullynervouscreator, @maedhrosrussandol ... sorry if you’ve been tagged already (I’m back to work this week and so out of the loop!), and please consider yourself tagged if you want to play.

#silmarillion #feanor #valar #tolkien #meme

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thelioninmybed · 6 years

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Oh, what an opportunity! For the writing meme, could you please commentate the first section of "We build castles," in which Fingolfin is a DICK and Idril is but wee? Basically I want to hear all your Findis thoughts.

We build castles with our fears and sleep in them like kings and queens

[I never know when to cut a quote short :/ ]

Idril loved her great grandfather’s palace; its vast green lawns, perfect for running upon barefoot; its libraries full of sweet-smelling books with soft leather covers, bright illustrations and words that she could almost read; its hidden nooks and forgotten passages where a child could so easily disappear herself.

[Before Em and Sath yell at me, ‘books’ means like. Ten. Ten books.]

It was a good thing too, since she was scarcely allowed to leave it anymore. Her father would not say why but Idril was very good at eavesdropping and even if she hadn’t been, often enough everyone was shouting loud enough she did not need to.

[I haven’t written much else about it because I’m bad at politics, but those early days of tension must have been fascinating. Think how BAD they must have been at civil war when they were just starting out]

They were shouting now, her grandfather and her great aunt, and Idril pressed herself flat against the column she was hiding behind, her hands over her mouth so she would not cry and give herself away.

Her grandfather’s voice, so loud moments before, was gone low and placatory. “Sister, be calm-”

[I like Fingolfin! I like him lots! But in a story that’s about the women who fall through the cracks in Tolkien’s narrative, I thought it would be interesting to address that it’s he rather than Findis (who is, after all, Indis’ oldest child) who’s the main actor in the feud with Feanor.]

“Be calm?” snarled kind, placid Auntie Findis. “Your followers are brawling in the streets and you tell me to be calm? How long before there’s a death?”

[Kind, placid Auntie Findis is the original Renesmee but aside from that, we don’t have much to go on. There are several great ways to explain her apparent lack of involvement in the unrest, but here’s a Findis who was ambitious and resentful over being forced to the side in a story she should have been central to. A player but one it was convenient to overlook both at the time and later, when writing the histories. I’ve always imagined she took after Indis more in appearance, as opposed to the more Noldorin-looking Lalwen, which lead to something of a self-fulfilling prophecy when it comes to alliances made and interests nurtured]

“I wish this no more than you,” said Grandfather gently. “It is Fëanor’s doing-”

“Of course it’s Fëanor’s doing, but it takes two to stage a duel. You call him too volatile to rule - and I agree! - but you’re acting little better.”

“I’m not going to roll over and let him have his way. I do not expect you to understand-”

“Why would I not? I am as much a child of Finwë as you or he, no matter that I have not felt the need to take our father’s name twice over!”

[Technically I don’t think we got Finwe Nolofinwe until after Finwe’s death but. Shh. Historical records are wobbly and it’s too sick a burn to pass over]

“That’s what this comes back to, isn’t it? This isn’t about our people at all, it is about you being denied something.”

“How dare you try to turn this back on me!” Findis said, her voice rising to a shriek. “I have borne humiliation upon humiliation while you and Fëanor foment civil war and you accuse me of selfishness?”

[Pains me to do it, but of course Idril has already internalised a lot of toxic stuff and uses negative words like ‘shriek’ to describe women showing unattractive, indecorous emotion]

Idril sobbed, loud enough that they both heard her and went silent. She hadn’t meant to but the palace was supposed to be safe, her father had promised, and adults were supposed to be wise, not as angry and petulant as she and Orodreth squabbling over toys.

[The weirdness that is the possibility that none of the Finweans were children at the same time, are Feanor’s kids older than his brothers, who the heck knows anything about Orodreth. Idril isn’t wrong to note the childishness of fighting over a crown whose bearer is, to the best of anyone’s knowledge immortal but of course it’s not about the crown]

“Findis, if we can’t talk without you becoming hysterical then I have nothing more to say,” said her grandfather with icy courtesy. “Please see to your niece.” He turned upon his heel.

[I Am Not A Subtle Writer, part the 65th. Usually I take LACE at aggressively face value when it says elves have little in the way of sexual dimorphism or enforced gender roles, despite basically everything in the text that contradicts that, but here’s me Making A Point.]

Findis bit at her lower lip, fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. And then she crossed the floor, hard shoes clacking upon the marble, and scooped Idril up into her arms.

[And Findis does her duty and the noose tightens further]

“I’m sorry,” Idril told her, sniffing. “I was afraid.”

[It ain’t gonna get better, kiddo]

Findis wiped away her tears with a sleeve scratchy with embroidery. “There’s no shame in being afraid, Celebrindal,” she said. “But you must never let it show. See how they turn it back against you?”

[Advice that’s horrible for all it’s horribly necessary. Don’t be weak (and don’t be too strong either, as Lalwen and Aredhel will tell)]

#chestnut-podfic #memery #cw discussion of sexism

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gurguliare · 7 years

Note

finarfin for the meme, if you haven't done him?

1-3 things I enjoy about them

he’s quiet but not in the sense of not talking a lot, instead in the sense of talking A LOT but at a very low volume, which doesn’t help anyone’s temper

tried to get himself adopted into someone else’s family, the only reasonable response to being a child of the house of finwe

he is all five of his beautiful children’s first and most formative experience of ‘meeting a person we can’t push around.’ it probably disturbed them most when he listened to them temporarily post-darkening tbh

Something interesting about them based on tenuous circumstantial evidence

“And now they murmured that Finarfin’s son was not as a Vala to command them”… I know this isn’t necessarily meant as anything other than “one of Finrod’s many possible epithets” but I’m curious about whether (or rather, to what degree) Finarfin turning back was actively resented among the Exiles, or alternately venerated/resented depending on reigning mood—the coup at Nargothrond as a mini reenactment of the flight of the Noldor is cute on both sides

A question I have about them

“…andin the city of Tirion upon the green hill Finarfin yet ruled the remnant of theNoldor in the deep cleft of the mountains. For all those of elven-race, even theVanyar and Ingwë their lord, must breathe at times the outer air and thewind that comes over the sea from the lands of their birth; and the Valarwould not sunder the Teleri wholly from their kin. But in the Calacirya they setstrong towers and many sentinels, and at its issue upon the plains of Valmar ahost was encamped, so that neither bird nor beast nor elf nor man, nor anycreature beside that dwelt in Middle-earth, could pass that leaguer.” V CURIOUS ABOUT whether Finarfin was involved in desperate negotiations with the Valar re: not sealing off the fucking mountains lmao. I like how the paranoid insularity of the watchtowers miiiiight also be an opportunity for him to keep a very direct personal connection to the outer lands, insofar as that’s still available to him. it’s cute. I think I swapped my tenuous suspicion and question.

A random relevant line I like

But in that hour Finarfin forsook the march, and turned back, being filledwith grief, and with bitterness against the House of Fëanor, because of hiskinship with Olwë of Alqualondë; and many of his people went with him,retracing their steps in sorrow, until they beheld once more the far beam of theMindon upon Túna still shining in the night, and so came at last toValinor.

My preferred version, if there is more than one version of their story (or part of their story)

~canon~ plus shibboleth things about him marrying young? if that’s where that’s mentioned, I forget

Favorite relationship(s)

Earwen, Olwe, all his kids/grandkids but esp Finrod and Galadriel and Orodreth, Fingolfin, Indis, probs Feanor but let’s not dig too deep

Reaction to Tom Bombadil

Watchful tea party

Something I think people forget

He probably dated all Olwe’s children in succession, Earwen was just waiting. No.

#erotetica #no one expects the fannish inquisition #finarfin #finrod

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kendrixtermina · 4 years

Text

Assorted House of Feanor Thoughts

I wrote this as a reply to someone, but then realized that this should be a post of its own.

Line between extrapolation, interpretation & headcanon is going to be fluid here

Long post under cut

The seven sons in general:

all moody, fierce, intense and brilliant, each in various different ways

none of them can really stand to be cooped up in one place for long

F R E C K L E S you will not convince me otherwise

Apart from the ones explicitly described as pretty (ie, Maedhros and Celegorm) they’re actually relatively plain by elf standards, or at least sort of rugged-looking, especially compared to their part-Vanyar cousins - I mean, figures that some would turn out more like Miriel or Nerdanel both of which were supposedly more average.

all are very resourceful having spent most of their lives helping out with their parent’s projects, exploring the wilderness, or (save for Celegorm) hanging out in Aule’s halls. Most can probably whip up a steampunk or magitech solution to basic war-related problems

Because of this they’re a very tight-knit group

growing up, they did not know many children their age; Ironically the most contact they had was with their cousins because Feanor paid semi-regular visits to Finwe. Apart from Turgon (and Orodreth if you place him in the second rather than the third post-journey generation) the cousins really dug the adventure stories. (Galadriel pretended not to be interested and offered plenty of critiques, but listened anyways)

more survival skills and just a lot more casual than your average princes

They’d all been adults for a good while by the time of the rebellion; the twins are a tad older than Aredhel, Galadriel and Argon; Caranthir and Angrod are about the same age. Curufin is younger than Aegnor.

They all look back at that trip to the lightless shore of the outer sea as a cherished family memory

Also I don’t think Feanor disciplined his sons very much after all his own father let him get away with everything. In his eyes the brats can do no wrong especially not Curufin and to a lesser extent Amrod Nerdanel tried her best to counterbalance this and it kind of worked on some of them, but the three middle ones were a lost cause

I think a lot of the weight behind the oath comes from how Feanor made them promise him to see it through on his deathbed. It was his literal last wish.

Maedhros:

The Leader™, the most strong-willed and the deadliest fighter by a huge margin. What the orc under your bed has nightmares about.

Obviously a very competent diplomat, strategist, and the sort to put constructive results over personal glory; resilient, formidable, unpretentious and tough as leather

but not at all overconfident, and the type who is not blind to the flaws of the people he loves. He knows very well that Feanor wasn’t perfect and does many things that his father would not have agreed with - at the same time he has a strong sense of obligation, honor and loyalty which turns out to be his fatal flaw in the end when being loyal and keeping his word increasingly requires him to do dishonorable things

if there was a definite breaking point it was the fiasco with Dior’s sons

Stoic but courteous and eloquent; From Finwe’s death onwards increasingly grim, grizzled and not very hopeful, though he’s the sort to give his all and try to be noble even when there’s no reward or even thanks or respect.

Despite this, he has as a dry sense of humor and at times uses it to defuse tense situations or disarm people he’s negotiating with (see the scene with Thingol’s message) - does have a streak of gallows humor to him especially after the Thangorodrim incident

As the heir Feanor actually let him in on trade secrets and scientific speculation; Their relationship is probably the most equal; I do think Feanor was capable of actually appreciating that Maedhros got a mind of his own and isn’t afraid to stand up for himself. Feanor values independent thought, even if he’s not always good at really living that value with his tendency to take things personally and see others as taking sides for or against him.

Can’t really craft stuff to the same degree without his right hand. He then focussed on more abstract/mental pursuits which were perhaps his forte, to begin with but it still bothers him more than he lets on, especially since he still retains, or swiftly regained, his skill at making things dead.

He may or may not qualify as a cinnamon roll but he definitely looks like could kill you

Maglor:

Maedhros might have been the token responsible sibling, but Maglor was the understanding, comforting one and always had a nurturing streak - hence why he was the one to take in the kids.

Sensitive Artistic Type™ - goes from quirky and passionate back in Valinor to melancholy & tormented as the war drags on

one of those people who despair over & get self-critical over their work even when it’s regarded as masterpieces

Like Feanor and Miriel before him, he tends to get super absorbed in his work/art and just plain disappears for days

Now some ppl hold that he didn’t start having second thoughts until near the end, but judging from how he comes along to Fingolfin’s party or to hang out with Finrod, I’d hold that he was always ‘the nice/gentle one’, but not solely in a positive way; Unlike Maedhros he did not stand up to Feanor about the thing with the ships and indeed lets Maedhros talk him out of turning himself in at the very end, so he’s probably somewhat lacking in assertiveness

Even so, he’s probably one of the better fighters, given the difficult territory he gets, that he’s the one to kill Ulfang, and how long he survives. He probably feels ambivalent about this.

I imagine him having an agility-based fighting style

Probably codified the heroic epos as a specifically Noldorin art form

Celegorm:

A lot of ppl focus on the barbarian aspect, but I’d say he actually has some degree of ‘subverted prince charming’ going on, with how he sweet-talks Luthien at first before throwing her in the dungeon, and how he seems to have been one of the more accomplished ones, joining a respected order and all

He’s actually pretty elegant and perhaps playfully gallant, but it’s a facade; He’s an animal underneath; though his instincts are probably somewhat nobler than what ends up happening when he gets roped into Curufin’s schemes

usually, the first to react and leap into action when something happens.

Herculean strength, daunting presence

also a fairly efficient general, if a bit of a glory hound and pretty fearless in the pursuit of victory

very much has an ego and doesn’t like being humbled at all

Strikes me as the sort of person who would take badly to the realization that they can no longer return to the glory of the past or being judged unworthy, not that he’d respond with anything but defiance

Wrestles giant monsters barehanded

Always low-key wished to fight creatures of darkness before the rebellion to test his might against them; Orome and the Maiar members of the hunt would have told stories of them

though he gets his pretty face from Daddy, his strong build comes from Nerdanel, possibly somewhat accentuated by his being a dude

Caranthir:

grumpy, moody, no filter, likes his alone time, shows his feelings mostly through actions, also somewhat pragmatic

the quartermaster; Actually one of the smarter ones, if not outright the second smartest after Curufin, though he has more a logistic/administrative sort of intelligence

generally one of the more prosaic, practical family members, or maybe he’s just more subtle about his dramatic side or has a harder time expressing it. Definitely has Hidden Dephts™

I mean, putting your hideout on the slope of a mountain near a deep, dark lake circled by mountains? Goth AF. A+ aesthetic there.

Hosts the family get-togethers at his fortress. Has most certainly shoved Celegorm and Curufin in the lake at some point

has a certain respect for strength, valor and skill even in ppl he doesn’t necessarily like; Not at all diplomatic or polite, but also not finicky or fastidious, so actually forged a whole lot of alliances on a “everyone’s money/swords are equally good and we don’t have to set conditions” basis and seems to have been pretty successful at this

started out haughty but definitely learned to be more open-minded/ broaden his horizon over his time in Beleriand - but as no good deed goes unpunished, Ulfang happens

Whereas Curufin and Celegorm can put up a noble veneer but will totally stab you in the back if provoked, Caranthir’s sort of the opposite, in that he’s rude and quarrelsome on first contact but has a good heart deep down (see the Haladin incident) and doesn’t keep grudges long term once he’s done grumbling where Celegorm is sore loser and Curufin a spiteful twerp.

though personally, I don’t see Caranthir as trying to reign himself in. He wouldn’t really be known as “the harshest” in that case. Who was gonna teach him to behave himself, Feanor maybe? kek.

Curufin:

We have a lot of actual dialogue & description for him - he has this characteristic little defiant smile, is often coldly contemptuous in tone, some level of ruthless pragmatism

has mild/vague foresight - nothing as impressive as what Finrod and Galadriel have, but he has it more or less to the degree that Feanor did.

actually pretty insightful, thought-through and political-minded in some ways, too bad he shares Feanor’s tendency for unwarranted suspicion and factionalism, as well as a tendency to just act on his own without checking with anyone

always either filthy from work or fully blinged-out and impeccably groomed, no in-between

more calculated and subtle than Feanor - not that Feanor ever needed calculation or subtlety since he could get by on sheer awe or intimidation. Celegorm and Maedhros have that same quality in spades and Curufin’s a little bit jealous

Not actually that much older than the twins, but always acted older than his age, especially once he heard that Feanor was the same

collects weapons, loves fancy horses, the most traditionally aristocratic of the seven

Got married relatively young; saw it as a matter of honor to further his family’s line

continued his scholarly pursuits in Beleriand; this is part of why he elected to share a territory with Celegorm

The last Celebrimbor ever heard of him was a magically sealed box filled with research notes he sent out in case he didn’t make it out alive

Did not take his parents’ estrangement well and is stubbornly salty toward Nerdanel (though deep down he misses her as much as his brothers if not more)

Frequently the Bad Influence/ Shoulder Devil to his brothers.

But when he gets excited about his research/craft he’s got this “exited cocky little boy” side to him that’s surprisingly pure.

Only Nerdanel and possibly Celebrimbor’s mom are allowed to call him ‘Atarinke.’ His brothers might still use it when they’re teasing or scolding him.

The Twins:

Every time a fic does something else with them than “generic prankster redheads” I cry with joy

We don’t have that many data points on them, but most of them suggest they’re every bit as fierce as their brothers

they’re somewhat aloof & mostly do their own thing;

As kids they’d mostly sit in a corner and play with each other. Possibly deliberately played up their identicalness as a kind of emo fashion statement / to fuck with people (”Should we do this Ambarussa?” - ”I don’t know, what do you think, Ambarussa?”)

never really gave up their semi-nomadic ways

Compared to Celegorm they probably more on stealth and precision than strength and bravado. They suddenly appear in front of you, and bam! You’ve got an arrow poking out of your face. Probably the ones scouting the perimeter of the camp.

Amras is a bit sassier, but it’s actually Amrod who’s a little bit braver.

Hardly ever argued until their parents’ estrangement; That led to quite a few quarrels between them.

For all his faults, Feanor made a point of doing things with each of them individually.

quietly nursing some level of pent-up despair and frustration until they push for the assault on Sirion

In the version where one of them dies, and then no one ever talks about it, - I imagine that the remaining one ended up cynical in a “let’s just get it ever with we’re already doomed after all’ kind of way

Bonus:

Celebrimbor

“Curiosity killed the cat but the second mouse gets the cheese” incarnate. He’s a sweet, excitable, deeply good guy, but Curiosity is the strongest force within him, besides maybe “think of the potential”

very bold in his thinking, not held back by any conventional boundaries. This is partially why he ended up more independent than his father and uncles but ironically that might in a sense make him more similar to grandpa than any of them

Really looks like Feanor. Like, Arwen and Luthien level of resemblance. It takes ppl a bit to notice because of how different his general demeanor and surface-level personality is.

Very scattered and absent-minded, prone to sudden flashes of inspiration, often shows up in some form of disarray

spent his adolescence at Formenos. Retained a certain affinity for wintery places ever since

He sensed something fishy about Sauron before long, but between wanting to avoid the family propensity for unwarranted suspicion and being tempted by all the possibilities of what he could do with that power/knowledge even if it did come from a fishy source, he didn’t act before it was too late - he can't have been fully clueless since he hid the three; There was definitely just a bit of actual seduction/forbidden fruit appeal in place there, whether to use the word “hubris” probably depends on your philosophy.

He drops the ‘th’ once he renounces Curufin, but slips right back into the old habit when excited or exasperating. At some point during his rule of Eregion, he stops bothering to hide it - A similar thing happens when he’s talking Sindarin with his northeast Beleriand accent.

I know this is a very popular old hat headcanon, but... His other name is also “Curufinwe”. Everyone called him Telperinquar from the start, lest all three come running and grumble about being distracted from work, but after the Nargothrond debacle, he had other reasons for not using it. But really, Telperinquar/Celebrimbor is just another more metaphorical way to say “this baby shall be good at working with his hands” so yeah

My HC for where he was between the Finrod incident and the second age is as follows: He departed for war with Gwindor’s troupe (this is someone who tried to engineer a way around entropy - not a “do nothing” sort of guy) and fled the battlefield with Turgon. (hence some of the passages that place him in Gondolin can still be made to work. He totally made Earendil’s baby-sized mail coat) He fled with Idril’s party. Had she not tipped him off somehow he would probably have died with the rest of the smith’s guild. Or perhaps he grabbed all the valuable records he could find and ran for it because someone needed to preserve them. As living surrounded by the survivors of Doriath would have been awkward to say the least, he went to the isle of Balar to offer his skills and service to Gil-Galad. This is where he befriended/ reconnected with Galadriel and Celeborn.

Finrod once told him the “faithful stone” legend from Brethil. It would be an inspiration to him much later. Generally credits Finrod with being a good influence on him.

Judging by the stars on the doors of Durin his stance on his family probably softened over the years. He essentially attained their original new dream of exploring distant lands and building unparalleled new realms, at least for a while - also definitely has a similar “screw destiny!”/ “I defy you stars!” attitude. Perhaps he wanted to see their vision done right.

But on some level, I think he also wanted to associate himself with their fame eventually especially once his own accomplishments grew. His feelings were probably always very ambiguous because he must have admired and envied their great works but also lived getting weird looks whenever he did what he’s best at and loves doing most in the world because it associates him with these very ambiguous people whom many hated... at one point in the past he must have really admired his father and grandfather, I mean, he came with them across the sea.

Nerdanel

She got Feanor the apprenticeship / gave him the idea after they met on their travels.

Were seen as something of an eccentric hippie/ hipster couple in the early days

She’s tough, confident and definitely quipped/ yelled back at times. Definitely described as ‘strong-willed’ and individual. Like this was a ‘kindred spirits’ thing before everything went to hell

it counts for something that even during the ugly bitter parting scene the worst Feanor could say was “someone must’ve turned you against me because you definitely cared once” rather than “you’re a traitor” for all that everything else in that scene made him very punchable

Their relationship dynamic, as I see it, is that she’s the one person who just sees and treats him like a normal dude. No apprehension, no fawning. He’s not “the greatest” or a tainted aberration to her, he’s simply a like-minded friend. So she’s pretty chill about his idiosyncrasies and doesn’t see them as a big deal, but on the other hand, she’s not overawed and will not take bullshit

Since she is good at understanding people she probably usually gets where he’s coming from even when he’s not being reasonable

possibly invented abstract art; was most certainly influential.

the elves who serve Aule probably have their own little traditions. She might’ve imparted some of those on her descendants

Also ppl tend to forget that she also does metalwork. Again, it’s quite possible that she got him into it and that if they’d never met, he might have landed in a completely different discipline

I think it says a lot about Feanor that he chose her for being smart, creative and independent-minded. It shows that he actually values these things and that it’s not just a rhetorical device; he’s not a hypocrite, he failed at what he was genuinely trying to aim for.

She had Finwe won over the moment she mentioned that she likes children. To Feanor’s chagrin, she proclaimed that his then-tiny half-siblings were the cutest thing ever but since he was trying to impress Nerdanel, he actually kept his composure there.

She was totally buds with Earwen and Anaire.

I really like those fics where she played some part in the reconstruction efforts. She’s already renowned for her wisdom and has some familiarity with the court, so why wouldn’t Finarfin make her an advisor?

Miriel

She was described as having “silver” hair like what the teleri sometimes have, but that was for lack of a better world. It’s actually pretty close to pure white. It was an unprecedented anomaly. Celegorm got it. Though overall Maglor might be the one who most looks like her. Or maybe Caranthir.

Well, her tendency to refuse to eat her words no matter what has certainly proven highly heritable

Canonically one of those ppl who talks very fast

Feanor doesn’t look very much like her at all, but he talks like her and is similar in his body language etc. The shape of her hands, however, has made it all the way to Celebrimbor in an unbroken line. Maglor’s got em too.

She was the only one of her family to make the great journey. That’s why “the names of her kin are not recorded”. You see, they tried to convince her not to go, and that only made her more determined.

Miriel and Indis used to have this thing where Miriel would sing while Indis plays the instrument. First time Indis caught Maedhros and Fingon doing something similar she got very emotional about it. She told them how she and Miriel also used to have a sort of odd friendship despite their opposite looks and personalities. Maedhros had at this point never even heard that they used to be friends. She proceeded to tell him some fun stories from Miriel’s youth and encouraged the two to spend time together.

We’re told that Miriel and Finwe only got together in Valinor; Since Indis had a thing for him since before the Vanyar moved out of Tirion it’s fully possible that Indis actually liked him first. Maybe she actually introduced them to each other, like she wasn't confident enough to ask him on a date so she brought her friend, only for the two to be immediately smitten with each other. Poor Indis decided that she had no chance and moved out of town when Ingwe did.

Miriel definitely expresses her love/admiration in the way of “You! You’re perf! I must make art of you!”

Since his arrival in the halls of Mandos, Feanor has made several of Vaire’s Maiar cry with his critique of their tapestries, but he holds that his mom’s are best.

Feanor himself

In general, I hold that while he said many things that were not right, there’s a lot of what he prophecied that was not quite wrong and does come true in a kind of way, even if not necessarily for himself and his family. They sort of pave the way as Promethean figures. The second mouse gets the cheese (it’s usually some Nolofinwean)

Though he’s also the ultimate example of “you are not immune to propaganda”. Literally the smartest man in the world; Still touchy enough to be an easy mark for emotional manipulation.

I think a lot of ff undersells what a polymath he must’ve been and that part where he worked on many different topics and was “the most learned”.

You know the type of author who has a bazillion unfinished wips going and jumps wildly from topic to topic? Feanor’s research notes are exactly like that, especially the tendency to disintegrate into cryptic jottings and notes right before the most interesting part. Just like the unfinished texts from HoMe Just like Gauss or Euler, having invented everything a hundred years ahead and 40% more discoveries buried that he never felt ready to publish. (I can also definitely see the sons – especially Maedhros and Curufin – spending the better part of the siege of Angband compiling some of it into a presentable format. Celebrimbor would then be the one to stumble upon implications /corollaries that had somehow been missed for thousands of years.

For all that I enjoy fics where they’re all smoll and adorable as much as the next person, canonically we’re given every indication that he was an adolescent or young adult by the time the remarriage occurred. The published silm has him “well-nigh full-grown” by the time Indis started having kids; In the HoME passage detailing the romantic meeting on the mountain it’s said that he was “wandering in the mountains” (ie, old enough to do so on his own) at the time. He moved out as soon as he could, so he and his half-siblings never actually spent any significant time in the same household

I mean, he reacted like a teenager would, and IMHO neither his character nor Finwe’s make any sense if this wasn’t a single parent situation early on.

Personally, I really don’t like that headcanon that he was nicer to the sisters for no reason. I don’t think his relationship with Fingolfin was ever much better than the sort of “awkwardly tolerating” we saw at the reconciliation scene; At the same time, I don’t think things would ever have escalated to that degree if Melkor hadn’t gone mucking things up.

In the same vein, I don’t think he always had beef with the Valar. He used to hang out in Aule’s halls and let Celegorm study with Orome after all and studied their language. - he certainly seems to have had some romanticism for the Hither Lands evident in his speeches, he traveled far past the well-lit areas, made crystals that shine in starlight etc. so he was probably always somewhat independent-minded and he certainly knew, better than anyone, that the Valar are imperfect and can’t fix everything (they couldn’t heal Miriel after all) - but it’s a long way from healthy skepticism and understandable disappointment to asserting bad intentions where there are none.

There’s a long way between not wanting a relationship with someone, and pointing stabby objects at them. Feanor was always difficult and never the type of person to be easily satisfied but at the same time, he clearly had his “delight” in his work and life as it was pre-Melkor. He could’ve gone on as an inventor and author of strongly worded opinion pieces; perhaps the elves were even “meant” to go back & come into contact with the Edain for a brief while, just without all the murder.

The thing about Melkor’s lies is that they made a complicated situation conveniently easy in a way that he (and Fingolfin!) would want to believe. It’s not really either of their fault that they both exist, but if your rival is actually out to get you then suddenly all your negative feelings are justified

Personally, I don’t think it the remarriage made that much of a difference - Miriel would still be dead. What Feanor’s really mad at is the inherent unfairness of the world. But he can’t fix or fight that, so in a misfire of his engineer’s mindset that thinks in terms of simple cause and effect and wants the world to be logical and controllable, he blamed something tangible (Indis.)

I think Melkor hates him so much because he’s kinda what Melkor wishes he was or likes to think he is. They’re both the mightiest of their respective kinds and don’t really fit in, but Feanor’s actually extremely creative. He goes and does his own thing, and maybe errs in overlooking that no man is an island and that all works are built on those of others, but, look at Melkor who wants all the scale of a group project but none of the “cooperation” part and basically can’t make anything of his own. “You’re like me, yet you’re successful? I cannot allow it!”

In a sense you have classic Satan and Miltonian satan in the same setting, and they can’t stand each other

#silmarillion #house of feanor #sons of feanor #feanor #nerdanel #maedhros #maglor #celegorm #caranthir #curufin #amrod #amras #celebrimbor

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kendrixtermina · 4 years

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Thoughts regarding the Nolofinweans

One interesting thing to note, to me, has always been the slight contrast between Fingolfin and his kids.

They’re like him in the sense that they’re described as brave, valiant badasses - Fingon & Argon being huge war heroes for example, but unlike him, they are also explicitly adventurous, which their father is not; he was explicitly in the “stay” faction but went along out of obligation (both to the people, but also because he gave his word, and because revenge) - meanwhile Fingon & Aredhel couldn’t wait to be gone, the former is noted to have marched at the very front during the departure. From how he’s described as very impetuous & heroic, we can assume that Argon was probably the same as his sister and oldest brother.

The possible outlier here is Turgon, who is probably the most like his father out of the bunch. Pretty responsible & noble, tough not completely without some pride of their own. The way in which they go down is certainly very similar: “I have miscalculated & failed to protect those I was responsible for! Clearly all is lost and I must atone for my folly with my life, so let there be fireworks”

So, do the other three just happen to take after Anaire? They probably do in the sense of being very loyal friends like she was to Earwen (especially if you hc that Aredhel put her own adventure plans on hold to help her then-newly widowed brother with his kid)

However, I wish to float another idea:

Consider Fingolfin. What do we know about him? Though he’s the middle child, he seems to have been the most popular of the princes, at least in Tirion proper. That might well be because he was the one who was most often in Tirion, doing actual prince things, so the people of the city would have known him well - whereas Feanor was always traveling or working as an inventor; We’re told he had some influence with the scholars, but he probably wasn’t at the palace that often, and Finarfin noped out of everything & chilled out in Alqualonde - and why wouldn’t he, he was the youngest. It’s not specified what Findis did but it doesn’t seem to have been politics, it seems like the resonated more withthe Vanyar anyways, and Lalwen, like Finarfin, was one of the younger ones.

It’s easy to imagine that Fingolfin was very dedicated & dutiful; Maybe there was an element of trying to win his father’s approval to it. There’s a very formal vibe to him, both from the title he ends up using, & some of the dialogue he gets, like, when he talks to Finwe in front of the assembly he adresses him as “my father and king” - certainly this is also meant to show that Fingolfin is considering the politics here, and of course they’re nobility. Maybe they just talk like that. But in the same scene, Feanor refers to Finwe simply as “my father”. Could it be then that this is a reflection of Finwe being somewhat closer with Feanor? Not impossible, but, in that snippet of dialogue where Finwe is discussing the events with Miriel in Mandos (and guessing very wrong about what’s probably going on in his absence) he refers to Fingolfin simply as “Arakano” (or whatever his mother-name was supposed to be at the time)

So here’s my theory:

In his younger days, Fingolfin used to be about as adventurous, impetuous and not-the-best-judge-of-character-y as Fingon, Aredhel and Argon, complete with some charley-brown esque conviction that maybe this time, Feanor would not pull the football away; It’s easy to see how he’d get cured of that last illusion with time, but there’s more to that.

He used to love nothing more than to go riding his horse around the landscape with Lalwen and do cool tricks; After Finwe would tell them stories of the great journey, he would go drape a courtain around himself and pretend to be a great chieftain. He’d do all sorts of daring tricks that won him the friendship of many other noble brats and some enduring Big Brother Worship from Lalwen.

But then, as he grew older, it was inevitable that he’d hear people talking, that there’d be whispers behind their backs, or that he’d come across some documents where it’s referenced that his family was once the subject of legal dispute.

Much excellent writing has been made about what it must’ve been like for Feanor to have his very existence and the characters of his beloved parents be the subject of public debate, but the same would go for Indis’ kids, just in a different way - perhaps this is also part of the reason why Findis kept out of politics & the public eye. There were, after all, canonically people mumbling that they should never have been. At least Feanor would’ve been being a jerk to Indis on a regular basis.

So at one point, after some humiliating experience or another, a still fairly young Fingolfin - maybe the equivalent of a 14/15 year old human or so - decided that he would have to be the most ideal, impeccable prince to prove everybody wrong, to prove that he was worth the dodgy exception, so to speak. If he were a clear benefit to Tirion’s society, he thought, with a bit of juvenile pride, maybe then people would stop talking bad about his parents, and his siblings would not be subjected to the same scrutiny.

So from that point on he threw himself into his studies & his responsibilities (”Sorry Lalwen, duty calls. I’ll play with you tomorrow”) and did what he could to be a shining example, so no one would say that his parents were selfish for having him or whatever - and he was good at it, which ironially probably created something of a pridigial-son sort of situation. He was always there, suceeding & not giving anyone cause for worry (until things between him & Feanor started to get heated), so he wasn’t perceived to need attention; He probably felt a bit taken for granted now & then, like his efforts weren’t appreciated, or not good enough, though it was brobably just an occasional bit of subliminal resentment before Melkor came in.

There’s one snipped that didn’t make it into the final cut, where Finarfin is described as the gentlest of the brothers, but also very learned and also a good speaker... which I’d sort of assumed anyways, because, look at Finrod. But imagine being in Fingolfin’s shoes with two super handsome, super smart brothers. He’s super exceptional himself, but when he was young & had only his family to compare to...

Likewise, you might look at Finarfin’s super talented kids & conclude that he severely downplayed his own talents because he didn’t want to kick up more of a fuss & felt his father had enough “talented sons” to worry about.

We have to appreciate that the Melkor incident didn’t just result in a rift between Feanor & everyone else, but in strife & discord everywhere; Everyone’s marriages were wrecked, parents took different sides than their children (Finarfin: “We stay!” Angrod: “No we leave!” Orodreth:”No we stay!” ...But Orodreth did not turn back and had a thoroughly bad time in middle Earth more than anyone save Aredhel maybe.) - tough we’re told that at least his sons stayed civil enough to not outright criticse him in public. I think the partings between the children of Indis were probably messy too. Findis probably told the others to go to hell when they left, then Finarfin turned back, with some degree of bitterness over how all turned out - even the pair that was left in Aman might have taken some time to reconcile.

(As for Turgon, he either simply won the impulse control lottery (ie - he just takes after Indis), or got all responsible when he had Idril. )

#silmarillion #fingolfin #finarfin #lalwen #findis #i wish there was some handy collective term for the children of indis #nolofinweans

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lendmyboyfriendahand · 6 years

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Gil-Galad “Fingon’s son” and how everyone had reason to lie

I’m working under the assumption that Gil-Galad is a descendant of Finwe, and that he was born at some point after the Dagor Bragollach, possibly even after the Nirnaeth Anoediad. I’m also assuming the Noldor don’t believe in ruling queens, which is all but stated in the text.

I don’t know whose kid he is, but I know why he went down in history as Fingon’s. Let’s look at potential parents (all living members of the house of Finwe). [under a cut for length]

The Feanorians are disinherited, and any children of theirs would also be so. Maedhros never meant to completely give up his claim, just step back one place (yielding the kingship to “the eldest here of the house of Finwe”), and his brothers didn’t even agree with that. It’s a plausible tale that Fingon entrusted his son into the care of his best friend Maedhros before the battle. Turgon arrived so late, and had been in Gondolin for years, he can’t honestly say he knows more about his brother’s life than Maedhros does these days. There’s a child here who is obviously of Finwe’s line. Silver hair is rarely seen on Noldor outside the line of Miriel, but perhaps his mother was a Sinda.

Celebrimbor has no one to turn to. Everyone in Nargothrond hates him for the actions of his father and uncle. He doesn’t exactly expect a warm welcome if he goes back to his father and says “I still hate you for killing Finrod, but your grandson needs shelter.” Doriath and Gondolin are closed to outsiders. That leaves the Falas, but even there a Feanorian will be viewed with suspicion. He does what he sees as the kindest thing possible for Gil-Galad. Celebrimbor will have to work the rest of his life to overcome his family; Fingon’s son, entrusted to his cousin’s care for the hazardous journey south, will be loved and trusted by all.

The death of Turgon’s wife Elenwe was well known. There has only been one remarriage in elven history, which was with the consent of the deceased and still led to trouble. Turgon’s bastard son leaves Gondolin at the same time the army marches off, but in the opposite direction. Many civilians of Hithlum are fleeing south as well, one more child with his mother will hardly be noticed. When the news of the battle reaches Balar, she takes the opportunity to claim her child’s rightful inheritance. If Turgon won’t acknowledge his child, his brother will have to stand in.

All of Gondolin knows the princess Idril is wed and has a child, you can’t keep a royal pregnancy secret in a closed kingdom. But if her husband (who finds the whole thing a bit amusing and a bit hot), and her father the king, approve of her courtship of Tuor, no one else has grounds to speak against it. Tuor is mortal and will die in a few years anyway, and the scandal will be but a brief incident in the life of their princess. Then Earendil is born, and the city falls, and Idril’s husband falls with it. The people of Gondolin have little left other than pride in their heritage and in their princess. Nothing is allowed to taint her reputation in front of the Sindar, so Gil-Galad becomes Fingon’s son. With Turgon sadly dead, it doesn’t even disrupt the succession.

Maeglin betrayed Gondolin to Sauron. The Gondolindrim won’t execute a child for his father’s crimes, regardless of any grumblings about tainted blood. With Turgon dead, the throne would normally pass to Earendil - if he were actually an elf. Erenion - called this because Maeglin, like Eol, refused to name him until he was twelve years old - is next in line. He would make a good king, or at least could be taught to be one by the time he grows up, if it weren’t for his origins. So Erenion is Fingon’s son. (If Erenion became just a random child instead, the crown would go to Orodreth, and the Gondolindrim aren’t going to be ruled by an outsider.)

Lalwen got left out the history books herself, as a woman who never ruled a realm. Gil-Galad inherited the crown, so he must be the son of the High King. A lack of information about his early life reflects the chaos that followed the Bragaollach and the Nirnaeth, not any oversight on the part of the historian.

Orodreth wants his son to be king. After the fall of Tol Sirion and then Orodreth doing absolutely nothing as Celegorm and Curufin turned Nargothrond against Finrod, the rest of the Noldor don’t really respect him. In addition, Gil-Galad would rightly be behind any children Idril or Maeglin have, if they ever emerge from Gondolin. Fingon might have sent his son to Finrod in his safe hidden city, and it’s a good thing the information was not widely shared - imagine what Celegorm and Curufin would have done had they known! Orodreth sends Gil-Galad to Balar not because he truly worries the city might fall, but to be prominently known as the Heir to the Throne somewhere people can’t compare their appearances.

The parents of a child being separated during a pregnancy is harmful for both the parents and the child. Findulias had tried to convince Gwindor to stay, and not go along with this foolish plan to challenge Morgoth. When he insisted on fighting, she comforted herself with the belief that he would return soon, after all, he was going to defend the capital city, that can’t be too dangerous right? He didn’t return though, and Findulias was left to raise their child alone. She got enough pitying looks over Gwindor’s death/capture (no one knew which) as it was, she couldn’t have borne the way people would look at her if they knew she was a widow. So she wasn’t, and therefore Gil-Galad could not be her son. The child of one of her cousins though, she would be his closest kin in Nargothrond, and it would be quite logical for her to raise him. Fingon was unmarried, and lived long enough he could have an infant son.

Galadriel crossed the sea to rule a kingdom of her own. She learned how to defend a kingdom from Melian, and scouted land east of Taur-im-Duinath to found one. She would be Queen, with Celeborn king beside her - not her beside him - and their son the crown prince. Erenion, scion of kings, has a claim to the thrones of Tirion, Aqualonde, Doriath, and perhaps even Valmar. Galadriel planned to keep her kingdom quiet until her reign was firmly established, but had notified her brothers and received assurances of their support, both politically and sending prospective citizens. Then the Dagor Bragollach happens, and Aegnor and Angrod dies, and she won’t found a new kingdom when the current ones are barely standing. Finrod dies, and then the Nirnaeth, and Galadriel realizes that her kingdom will not be founded this Age. But she is proud, and Erenion was born to rule. If her cousins’ foolishness means he will not rule Galadriel’s kingdom, he will rule the Noldor, for as long as they have left. Galadriel, Celeborn, and Erenion travel to Balar, where she introduces Erenion as Fingon’s son, heir to the throne of the Noldor, in her mind the least of what he deserves.

EDIT: I forgot Finrod. Finrod left on a quest that was nearly certain to lead to his death. Celegorm and Curufin have basically taken over Nargothrond. If Orodreth, a grown elf, can’t stand against them, what chance does a young child have? Orodreth feels a duty to stay and do what he can for the city, but he sends Gil-Galad away, as who knows the sons of Feanor are wiling to do to consolidate power. A ‘young kinsman of the High King’ arrives at the Falas, truth that distances the boy from any attempts at revenge.

crossposted to pillowfort

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