#melkor have adhd

[solmarillion]

i know there's some people out there who think that silvergifting, specifically sauron falling in love with celebrimbor, is out of character for him. i'm gonna rant about that a little and talk about why it's not true.

we are told sauron didn't start out as evil. tolkien doesn't believe in inherent evil. and there is something human about sauron, in how much of a perfectionist he is, the way that he grew frustrated with all of the disorder in the world. these were things that he couldn't control, supposedly- but what if he could? he never would've been satisfied just working for aulë, not when all of the imperfections he saw became an obsession for him. and here comes melkor, giving him all of the power he wants to make that dream a reality for him. sauron is said to have "adored" melkor.

these are actual human feelings that real people experience. i have autism, ADHD, OCD, bipolar disorder and multiple anxiety disorders and a lot of the feelings sauron experiences about perfectionism, wanting to have control over things you just can't- these are feelings i deal with every single day!! it's just that sauron, being 1.) one of the ainur and 2.) a villain, takes these feelings to such an extreme that it warps him, and it shows how damaging you can be to yourself if you don't have a good support system, if you don't have people in place who genuinely want to help you and understand you. it's pretty clear to me that sauron is capable of experiencing human emotions, so by extension he is absolutely capable of love.

with these things in mind, it is PERFECTLY in-character for sauron to not only fall in love with celebrimbor but also to feel guilty about torturing and killing him. because celebrimbor is just another one of those things that he can't control, but he loves him. even if he wanted to just be annatar, he couldn't- celebrimbor would find out the truth eventually, and most likely reject him. and he couldn't just abandon all of those plans he sacrificed everything for. he left aulë and betrayed him, left melkor behind after so many years serving him, everything was building up to this moment. sauron was too transformed by all of his experiences and to just give up on everything would be giving up on who he had become. melkor became a part of him. but celebrimbor did too, and that's why it hurts so much. sauron is literally killing off a part of himself when he kills celebrimbor- the part of him that could've become annatar. it's fascinating to think about, what could drive someone to kill the person they love, and even more interesting when it's someone with as much potential for character exploration as sauron.

the rings of power would not have been made without celebrimbor. annatar and celebrimbor worked together in close partnership for 300 years, and the act of subcreation is said to be intimate. celebrimbor is part of the story of the one ring, and there's something special about celebrimbor and sauron's relationship, so much potential to be explored, even if you don't ship them romantically. i'm so tired of people shutting down the possibility of sauron experiencing love and being emotionally vulnerable just because "he's evil". tolkien didn't write a whole essay on sauron's motivations and complexities only for them to be dismissed like that. let's embrace the nuances in tolkien's villains instead of ignoring them.

#silvergifting #sauron #celebrimbor #annatar #mairon #silmarillion #silmarillion headcanon #i guess there's some meta in here but i'm not tagging it as such. i don't post meta #and this is also slightly disorganized rambling #this is also very personal to me as an autistic person with OCD #so i'm biased here #but i'd like to think i'm right about some of these things lmao #soleil.txt

[thelien-art]

Gale x Astarion

Melkor x Mairon

I´m going to throw my answer on Gale x Astarion over on my BG3 blog here XD

I AM INSANE ABOUT THEM!!!! They are the embodiment of chaos and order who decide they knew better than everyone and fuck with it!!! The only one that matters in the whole world for both of them is the other

They hate each other they love each other, what´s there not to like - Mairon straight up pulled the Vala of ADHD by being Autistic!

I have so many thoughts about them! They adore each other and would do anything to see the other happy.

#tolkien #silmarillion #jrr tolkien #melkor #morgoth #mairon #sauron #angbang #digital art #my art #silm art #tolkien art #ask

[niennawept]

tag game - tag 9 people you want to get to know better

tagged by @metatomatoes <3

Favorite color: deep emerald green, followed by a kind of blueish lavender.

Last song: The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie by Colter Wall; horror folk kick is going strong.

Currently reading: The Fellowship of the Ring by JRRT; Unfinished Tales by JRRT, ed. by Christopher Tolkien; The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden; Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë; Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson. ...I think that's it?

Last movie: Last movie I intentionally sat down to watch or last movie that was on in my general vicinity? I guess I'll answer both since I'm not sure. I think the last movie I watched on purpose was Crimson Peak (2015) for research because I'm trying to plot out a gothic romance AU fic. And the last movie that was on in my general vicinity was Chopping Mall (1986) because my partner loves off-beat old horror movies. I've seen House on Haunted Hill (1958) more than I've seen any other movie because of this.

Sweet/spicy/savoury: I have a strong sweet tooth (ADHD craves easy dopamine sources) but I do really like savory things too.

Currently working on: the chapter past the current one of Scars of Silver and Gold; a series of non-continuous but interconnected drabbles about Melkor's time imprisoned by the Valar; a Nienna cosplay for a con next month (concern).

No pressure tags: @glorf1ndel, @elithilanor, and any one to whom this looks like fun.

#tag game #thank you for tagging me!!

[naruthandir]

I think the reason I like Melkor so much is because out of all the characters in Tolkien's world it's of the ones I connect to the most, that I have the most sympathy for.

(long post under the cut. nothing triggering I don't think, just a lot of words and pseudo-phylosophic rambling about order and chaos and nature and such)

From the beginning, I saw something of myself on the way he rebelled against Eru, who is pretty much a parental to him. He was not malicious in his attempts to create a melody of his own, and yet Ilúvatar ruthlessly shut him down, which in turn made Melkor bitter and contrarian. This was something I struggled with a lot growing up as an autistic child with ADHD: impulsiveness, clumsyness and lack of social awareness were severely punished, for reasons that were never explained to me. There was much talk about the importance of "respect", but I when I asked for a definition of that word no one was able to give it to me. I ended up believing that "respect" was synonymous with "compliance", and I grew to resent pretty much all authority figures around me as a result.

To me, Melkor represents the resentment one develops after trying the very best to be good and yet failing, time and time again, until you just lean into your role as a villain. "If evil the only thing I'm good at then why even try to be good? If everything I do is wrong why try to make things right?" And then you become a ball of pure hatred, towards the world and towards yourself, towards those who hurt you and those who love you.

Like. I just feel like Melkor is terribly unhappy. There is not one bit on joy in his life, the closest he gets is that rush of superiority you get from winning a fight, from bullying and tearing things apart and just the general gratification of being an asshole. But that isn't happiness. That's an unhealthy coping mechanism that leaves you feeling miserable every time.

Melkor is evil. I am not implying that he is not. But he is evil in that way Tolkien villains are so often evil: in a pathetic, genuinely pitiful way. And for me, also in an oddly relatable way. The actions of Melkor are by no way justified, they wouldn't be justified if he had the saddest backstory ever. That's not how it works. But I do think they were necessary, in a very strange way. Allow me to explain myself:

Nothing is perfect. We know this, that is just the way of things. Trying to change that, while understandable and oftentimes done with noble intent, is another sort of evil entirely (see: Mairon). And I think Melkor is just as much a part of the natural world as the rest of the Valar are. Eru created Melkor, after all, out of his own though, and it is said none of the Ainur can truly escape or contradict his will. That's entropy, baby: the universal constant that will kill the stars and that allows life all at the same time.

(note: entropy is often defined as a "tendency towards chaos", however this is a gross simplification of what it actually is. You could just as easily call it a "tendency towards equilibrium" and it'd be just as accurate, if not more. Truth is, this is a very complex concept physicist are still working to understand. And I am not a physicist. So don't ask any more questions.)

What I mean to say is that decay is a part of nature, and that seems to be a very relevant theme in Tolkien. And if a perfect God contains all possible attributes (we talked about this in phylosophy class) they must contain in their perfection evil and well. Flaws. And if the Ainur are just manifestations of different, often contradicting attributes of Eru, that means Melkor must be too.

I don't know exactly where I am going with this. Perhaps is just that I am a little annoyed, that people would call Morgoth (Or Sauron, for that matter) "plain villains", because thematically speaking they are very interesting, at least to me. I acknowledge there's a good bit of projection going on here, but really that's the only way I know of engaging with fiction and if Tolkien's words are worth anything, I do find this interpretation "applicable".

#sauron #melkor #tolkien #lotr #the silmarillion #silmarillion #uhhhh tags #???? #Am I making sense #I'm tired #morgoth #the lord of of the rings #lord of the rings #as an atheist I felt personally attacked during the ainulindale #this is me talking about that brbrbrbrbrbrbrb #(and also other stuff)

[melkors-big-tits]

Mairon: *trying to talk to my ADHD husband but he keeps bursting into song* "Your meds have worn off, haven't they?"

Melkor: *dance shuffling around the corner of the hallway* "Yeeesss..."

#modern au #Melkor with adhd #mairon #loving and supporting murder husbands💖 #angbang #melkor #morgoth #sauron

[elithilanor]

The “I’ve got too many WIPs Game”

I decided to just do one main one since I was tagged several times (as either @creativity-of-death or @elithilanor) by the lovely @runawaymun @founder-of-imladris and @starlady66

Rules: Reveal the titles of the documents in your wip folder and tag as many people as there are documents. Let others ask questions about the ones that interest them and post snippets or explain the contents as you see fit!

Now for the main event! (This is a reminder that I have unmedicated adhd which ends up meaning many thoughts, little writing)

WIPS

Rúmil meets a kitten

18 and M. Holidays - Ice Fall

Arwen’s Blind Dating Extravaganza

Hobbit thoughts

this is a wip of thoughts I had while watching the hobbit movie and not an actual fic but it’s been on the back-burner for like a million years

Sapphic Tauriel NSFW Alphabet

A healers touch, a wardens love p3

The one fucking Glorfindel request

Named thus because I’ve been trying to write it for over a year not because I dislike it

Edhellond Beach Rescue

Galadriel x Fem! Reader NSFW

Aspec Arda Week 2023

Arwen x Seamstress

Angry Arwen fuck yeah fat elves - short

The Rúmil collection

Haldir x Mërën

Trans Haldir Elrond

No-pressure tags: @wareagleofthemountain @glassgulls @fenharel-enaste @melestasflight @outofangband @laneynoir @thesolarangel @niennawept @glorf1ndel @melkor-the-first-dark-lord @elrond-kind-as-summer @littleladyofgondolin @sotwk

I actually have waaaaay more ideas and small snippets and WIPs than this but like, I only have so many people to tag y’all

Ask Away! (Please specify if you’re looking for snippets, concepts, etc.)

[tar-thelien]

Melkor befor his armys about to attack: Thu are nothing but sla-

Melkor pointing at the ground out of nowhere: That's a bug!

Everybody: -_-

#tolkien #silmarillion #melkor #morgoth #incorrect quotes #melkor have adhd #uwu

[nereb-and-dungalef]

Cursed by Morgoth (self-diagnosed)

#túrin turambar #children of húrin #he also has adhd #i can't speak on whether or not túrin is autistic being allistic myself but i have seen posts about it and.... it's a possibility #silmarillion #tolkien #the silmarillion #melkor #yeah idk I'm gonna stop tagging now

[saurons-pr-department]

Head Canon Time! Mairon’s Autistic and Melkor has ADHD

So, I mentioned recently that that these two are ASD/ADHD solidarity and I’ve decided to elaborate on that a little. (Is this just me wanting them to be neurodivergent because I am? Yes, yes it is. We’re all about the self-indulgence here)

Mairon:

As we know, Mairon likes order. There are certain ways he likes things to be done or to be arranged. Changes without warning to any of the systems of how Utumno/Angband/Tol-in-Gaurhoth are run distress him.

He manages much better with change if there’s a warning. It’s not unusual for him to change protocols himself with the aim of making things as efficient as possible. Even then though, things just feel wrong for a while and so even though he may be happy with the results of his changes the change itself still makes him uncomfortable.

Early on, he realised that he related to the world and people somewhat differently to his fellow Ainur. Out of curiosity he studied other’s behaviour in order to understand them better. Later on, he used this in depth knowledge of other people’s behaviour in his schemes and manipulations.

Due to often assuming various alias or impersonating other people, he is very good at masking.

He doesn’t mask though, unless his plans require it.

Cold things are a big sensory nope. Just nope.

Fluffy things are a big sensory yes, especially on his face. He finds few things more soothing than burying his face and hands into the fur of one of his wolves.

His clothing often incorporates fur 1) to keep him toasty in the northern fortresses and 2) so that he can touch it throughout the day, sometimes for soothing purposes, sometimes it’s just a nice stim.

He also likes shiny things for visual stimming. It’s a trait he shares with Melkor.

His special interests include illusion magic, necromancy and all things forge related (as in ores, metals, techniques, the history of metal work etc.). He’s written volumes and volumes on his research into these topics over the course of his millennia-spanning life.

Infodumping: In Almaren it was mostly Eonwe he’d start infodumping to. Eonwe had absolutely no understanding of the resources of the Earth and what could be wrought with them, he just liked seeing his friend excited.  In the early days Melkor liked to listen to him, but this decreased as Melkor’s condition began to deteriorate. Thuringwethil was happy to listen too, but just like Eonwe and Melkor, she didn’t actually share his interest in these topics. Now, Tyelpe! Tyelpe became equally animated once they got on to their shared love of all things metal craft. Once they got started they often forgot to go to sleep.

I present to you the image of Mairon happy hand-flapping after speaking with Pippin via Palantír and thinking that the Ring was finally within his grasp. Please enjoy this flappy, giggly Maia.

 I feel like he’s not big on eye contact. Mainly because I love the power move of adopting the symbol of the red eye for his heraldry. (They want eye contact so much, I’ll give them eye contact! All the time. They won’t be able to escape it! *proceeds to paint his eye on everything* Mwahahahahahahahaha!)

Melkor:

I mean...surely this is canon?  [Mairon] thus was often able to achieve things, first conceived by Melkor, which his master did not or could not complete in the furious haste of his malice. Constantly coming up with great ideas and then not seeing them out because you move on too fast is such an ADHD mood. (Quote from Myths Transformed, Morgoth’s Ring)

When did Melkor ever do anything in the Silm that told you he had good impulse control?? (Yes I am talking about the fact that he couldn’t just leave Valinor and go back to Middle Earth and instead had to kill their trees, steel the Silmarils and then nearly get himself killed by a giant spider). Impulse control is Mairon’s job.

Like Mairon, he loooves looking at shiny, sparkly things (including Mairon XD)

Staying still is just not his forte. But he’s not up and about much. He’s just very fidgety with his hands and feet.

He’s full of thoughts. They don’t stop. Sometimes they just swirl round and round and can’t be kept up with. They are always there.

Some hyperfixations he’s had include: 1) The Imperishable Flame 2) the shaping of Arda and all the things it could become 3) Mairon 4) the creation of new forms of life 5) The Silmarils

RSD* baby! He does not take well to rejection or criticism. He often responds explosively.

All his emotions are BIG and yet so hard to pin down...

He has absolutely no sense of time. Immortals have wonky senses of time under the best conditions, but an immortal with ADHD? He didn’t stand a chance. What’s a time?

He’s not good at controlling the volume of his voice, usually on the side of being loud.

He has lots of little hand stims like fidgeting with things in his hands.

He often forgets words and blanks mid-sentence. 

He loves to tell Mairon all about whatever new plan he’s hyperfixated on. It’s usually accompanied by lots of hand gestures. He gets quite animated. He really looks forward to the ‘tell Mairon all about it’ stage of plan forming. 

 I think I’ll stop there because otherwise I would just keep going and going XD

*RSD= rejection sensitivity dysphoria: an increased sensitivity to real or perceived criticism or rejection experienced by many people with ADHD.

#mairon #melkor #silmarillion #sorcha's HCs #neurodivergent dark lords #lads i projected so hard writing this #i have adhd myself but not autism #so if i've gone wrong with mairon let me know!

[seasbird]

glaurung: firstborn son, fantastic chair

#im gonna expand on his design later when i dont have the good old art add #adhd #where i cant focus on shit #melkor #glaurung #tolkien #scribbles

[theelvenhaven]

Hello, i hope you are doing great!

So, we already know that elves are immune to all physical sickness and ailments, but how about mental illness, like depression or anxiety or psychotic, etc... are they immune to those too, or its possible for them to suffer from it?

I just had this idea and i would like to know your opinion and thoughts..

01.28.2021

Hey 💖 I hope you’re doing great too! 💖

Yes that they are! Thank goodness they are immune to physical sickness. As it comes to mental illnesses, I believe that elves certainly are not immune to that in the slightest. As when it comes to the mind I think they are just as susceptible to mental illness as we are.

Elves are described as hardy beings, but usually that seems to mostly be about their physical being. I am sure mentally they are fairly fortified as well. That was until I’m sure the Noldor came to Beleriand and chaos broke out. The Noldor and Sinda I’m sure were especially susceptible to the trauma of it not having experienced it on such a scale.

Their offspring would become relatively desensitized to it, though it wouldn’t make them immune to it. As that is a constant stress put upon them throughout the ages.

Fëanor is a very good example to start off with, exhibiting behaviors of extreme paranoia, aggression and mania just on the verge of the flight and during the flight. This came with constant abuse from Melkor as he manipulated Fëanor heavily- I’m sure with gaslighting and other mentally abusive tactics.

Maeglin is another good one too, clear signs of constant distress, upset and anger. And surely not just from him being an “evil” elf. Look at his circumstances. Who wouldn’t be? His father disliked him so strongly he didn’t name him for literal years. His father was awful, they escaped domestic abuse, his father killed his mother in front of him and then he watched his father be thrown from the wall. AFTER his father cursed him. It’s no wonder he wasn’t exactly just a budding ball of sunshine.

Maedhros with what little is given has a rightful hate filled grudge against orcs. And was tortured for Eru knows how long and hung by his wrist for 30 years. Not even the hardiest elf could withstand that. Ever.

Gwindor was said to be on the verge of fading with “grief” before he found Beleg. (Or before Beleg found him. Can’t remember which.) He fought the hardest against Turin’s tactics and well being for Nargothrond. Surely not just from experience but out of fear too. He was a Thrall for 15yrs?

Maglor is said to wander the shores of Middle Earth in grief and sorrow for everything he had done. A mentally healthy elf, probably would’ve just gone to Valinor and faced their punishment.

The elves, when most of the elven kingdoms have fallen, are described as skittish and fearful and paranoid as they search for the hidden kingdoms to take refuge. (Described in the Fall of Gondolin)

Elves are also said to, when the grief becomes too much, to fade from it.

So I’d imagine there is a bunch of mental health issues and illnesses and neurodivergency that elves are susceptible or capable of being born with too. Depression, anxiety, PTSD, CPTSD, depression induced psychosis, mania, ADHD, and I’m sure even autism too! I’m just sure for a lot of it they don’t have a name for it like we do. And if they do it wouldn’t be the same names we know them as.

Tolkien doesn’t really discuss it in depth and in great detail but does leave it open enough to leave you to draw your own conclusions. But it’s very safe to say depression, anxiety, PTSD and CPSTD is definitely a common issue in Beleriand and onward.

#asks #theelvenhaven #Fëanor #Maeglin #Gwindor #Maedhros #Maglor #jrr tolkien #tolkien #the silm #the silmarillion #silm #silmarillion #elves #fanfic #fanfiction #writing #headcanon #headcanons #imagine #imagines #one shot #one shots #mental health #mental illness

[maironsmaid]

For the asl game what about Melkor?

Ohhh yes! Thank you for the ask!

Sexuality: i can't really see Melkor using any labels but he also doesn't care about gender

Otp: Anbang

Brotp: Gothmog & Melkor

Notp: Varda / Melkor

Random Headcanon: Melkor has Adhd

How I relate to the character: I also have Adhd and simp for Mairon

Thing that gives me second hand embarrassment about them: "Get thee gone thou foul jailcrow of Mandos!"

Cinnamon roll or Problematic Fave?: Problematic fave 1000%

#it's a rubber #elves #silmarillion #melkor/sauron #melkor

[outofangband]

Hi! So I was rereading your short writings as I do when I can't sleep (Adhd and sleep-onset insomnia /-\, thinking about your writing helps me focus away from anxiety and lets me sleep oddly enough) and I was reading through one of the more recent ones about Maedhros being in a half state of sleep. I was just curious about what Melkor wanted Mae's 'help' with and how that turned out. Thank you for helping me sleep with your awesome writing!

Hi anon! Thank you so much and I have insomnia too (probably also from ADHD) so much much sympathy. 

I’m so glad I could be able to help. 

As for your question there are a few ideas I’m playing around with but I’d also love to hear what others think/what their interpretations were!

#the silmarillion #maedhros #Anonymous

[cerulean-shark]

uhh hey I was wondering if you had any tolkien ADHD type headcanons?

I don't have ADHD myself so I don't go too into detail, but I do HC Melkor, Curufin, and Arien as ADHD.

#shark answers #headcanons

[greenwoodthegreat]

hey i've seen that you reblogged the "adhd melkor" ask and you're said about projecting yourself onto the character. can you elaborate it a bit (if you want of course, i'd love to read something abt it)? :)

Hello, and I’d love to!

I have ADHD, primarily inattentiveness type, and I love when I can see characters who are like me in that way. The constant struggle to pay attention to things that aren’t very interesting (not a matter of being picky or not trying), people telling me to stop fidgeting (“stop tapping your pencil”, “stop rocking back and forth”, “stop moving you’re making the car rock”), procrastination (sometimes severe). When I was little I was told to apply myself, and that I was bright, and that I just needed to try, so representation is nice.

It occurred to me that you may be talking about my ADHD Melkor hcs. Whoops.

his ADHD is one source of his troubled relationship with his brother. He just couldn’t understand how his brother’s thought process can be going so slow, not racing at a million miles an hour, jumping from subject to subject, and this has caused some strife and misunderstandings (”You’re not paying attention!” “ I am, I’m just doing something else while listening!”)

his ADHD is also why he’s able to do many things, but not as well as the others can (picking something up and abandoning it after a bit, then revisiting it much later, rinse and repeat)

I hc that Mairon is either ADHD, autistic, or both, making their connection come that much faster, united by a sense of being different, not quite fitting in, finding solace in the fact that “there is someone like me someone who understands, he gets it”

He probably stimmed by crushing things (not cronch, but crunch, from rock and crystal shattering)

(Sidenote, I like baking, and crushing the eggshells from the eggs I use? Is fantastic)

He either hyperfixates on his current project, or it Disappears Forever

Spins Grond around in his hand to stim (not end over end, just twisting)

Very Impulsive

(Also, Feanor hyperfixated while he was making the Silmarils)

#asks #thank you i love to ramble #tolkien #melkor #adhd melkor

[first-son-of-finwe]

What are the chances that Feanor suffers from Borderline Personality Disorder?

Oooh anon this is a really interesting question- and as a psychology graduate myself, I’ve actually thought quite a bit about what kind of mental health diagnosis one might give Feanor, if any (I’ve been asked about ADHD before, and that was definitely an interesting one to explore). But personally, I’ve come to the conclusion that there simply isn’t one.

He just doesn’t slide neatly into any one box for me to be satisfied in giving him one label- but that being said, BPD on the surface would easily look quite likely. It’s certainly something to think about, but personally I don’t think his ‘symptoms’ manifest quite the way they would in someone with BPD.

If you look at the main criteria, it does at first glance seem fairly accurate:

Emotional instability

Distorted patterns of thinking

Impulsive behaviour

Intense and unstable relationships with others

But honestly, if you dig into each one a little deeper, they don’t mean quite what we would think they mean in this context, and they manifest in Feanor in an entirely different manner.

Emotional instability: Manifests in BPD sufferers a range of intense negative emotions (sorrow, rage, panic, etc), accompanied by severe mood swings. Now Feanor is certainly an emotive individual, and he experiences his emotions with great intensity - but these aren’t all pathologically negative, and there is a rhyme and reason to them. He doesn’t go from blinding rage or sorrow to being happy and settled within the space of an hour for no apparent reason. Emotionally intense doesn’t necessarily mean emotionally unstable, and I personally think Feanor is very much the former.

Distorted patterns of thinking: Manifests as upsetting thoughts regarding your own self, distressing beliefs, sometimes accompanied by hallucinations or voices. More of a case could be made for this in the later chapters of his life, but I do think the in-universe context needs to be looked at here. Mainly, at the fact that Melkor/the Valar caused most of this. We don’t have much reason to believe that he was paranoid or threatening towards his brothers before Melky came into the picture, most of Feanor’s ‘distressing beliefs’ can be traced solely back to him. His discontent with himself is more a matter of my personal headcanon, and I do believe he struggled with being the supposed product of ‘the marring’ for most of his life- but again, context. Given the gods themselves have told him all of the above, so I’m not sure if it’s fair to count these beliefs as ‘distorted’. You could argue they’re actually based on fairly solid evidence, though of course this doesn’t at all diminish the negative impact they have on his life and mind. So overall you could make a case for this, but it’s certainly debatable.

Impulsive behaviour: Whilst we would assume that Feanor is the high king of impulsiveness, if we look at it specifically in the BPD context, this actually refers to very poor self control which leads to things like self harm, binge drinking, overeating, drug abuse, etc. His impulsive behaviour is more along the lines of ‘meh, bored of this project, NEXT’ or ‘let me loudly insult everyone in this room’, or ‘hey, let’s go on a spontaneous hike up that cliff’. Buuut that being said, he certianly is impulsive when it comes to confrontation and fighting, and he doesn’t tend to think things through. So I’ll give him 5 out of 10 for this one.

Intense and unstable relationships with others: Essentially manifests as intense neediness, born out of fear of your loved ones leaving you. And on a personal note, one of my best friends has been diagnosed with BPD, so I know first-hand what this looks like. And honestly, I dont see Feanor acting like this. It is true that he has an intense fear of abandonment, but if you look at what he actually canonically does - he moves away from his father and the new family rather than clinging to him and fighting for his place (again, I’m talking pre-Melky here), and the rest of his relationships with Nerdanel and sons seem to be perfectly normal and healthy. With Nerdanel, it’s not unreasonable to assume they led very independent lives with their respective jobs and him occasionally vanishing into the wild, and after they separated it’s assumed that they had very limited contact. And at the end of the day, he’s very proud and stubborn. He’s not the type to chase someone relentlessly and cling to their attention to that kind of degree.

…So that became way longer than intended (don’t get me talking about psychology), but overall, the short answer is - no. I don’t think Feanor has BPD, though I can see why someone might look at the symptoms and think it all looks very familiar. I generally think his behaviours and ‘symptoms’ are vastly different and complex, and wouldn’t lend themselves to one neat diagnosis.

If anyone has comments, I’d be really happy to talk more about these things!

#long post #meta #tolkien meta #feanor #out of silmarils #anon