#you know with elros being the first king there and all

[lendmyboyfriendahand]

More in the AU where Elrond and Elros are 16 years old rather than 6 when Sirion is sacked. Tag is "older kidnap fam fic" for previous installments

Elrond wakes up draped over the rump of a horse.

Not, to be clear, his own warhorse. His faithful stallion is being ridden by one of the few remaining warriors of the Gap, the great cavalry of the Noldor, who will be able to keep her seat regardless of what the horse tries.

Elrond isn't initially sure who is riding the horse that he's been set over like a sack of baggage. His arms are stretched out past his head, tied wrists dangling toward the ground, and his ankles are tied as well, tighter than the hobble that he had while walking. He can't see anything but horse flank.

Elrond wriggles around to try and get a better view, and someone notices.

"Lord Maedhros, it seems your guest is awake."

Maedhros pushes down the middle of Elrond's lower back to pin him more surely to the horse. "Lie still. If you fall off while riding in formation you're liable to get stepped on by the next horse, even if the rider wished to avoid you."

"I know how to ride properly."

"Yes, I saw that you were quite skilled when you killed my soldiers, which is why you're staying right there."

"Could I at least sit upright, even if I have to ride behind someone else like an infant?"

"Maybe tomorrow, if you give your word not to escape."

"I'm not stupid enough to try and bargain with you again, after you broke your word about setting us free from the cellar."

"I never said I'd set you free, I said I'd leave the city and wouldn't kill you. Sirion crumbled in the first assault, but I did no more damage after taking you and your brother into custody. If they're smart enough to repair the castle first, everyone should be able to keep warm this winter."

"And if they focus instead on burying their dead, or rebuilding their houses, or rescuing their kidnapped princes?"

"Who knows? But I'm not king of even the Noldor anymore, and the people of Sirion are not my responsibility."

"You would just let them die?" Elrond wanted to glare at the Feanorian, and nearly slipped backwards off the horse as he tried to sit up.

Maedhros caught Elrond deftly by the bound wrists and pulled him back into place. "Next time you do that, I'll let you fall"

"So you don't actually intend to even spare my life."

"I agreed to spare you, not to save you . None here will harm you, but I won't rescue you from consequences of childish stupidity, no more than I will rescue Sirion from winter. If you would rather bash your head open rather than remain my captive, I am not so cruel as to deny you that escape."

Elrond had nothing to say to that topic, as his first retort about more palatable escapes seemed likely just to enrage his captor, as did any question about cutting off hands. "Where's Elros? Was he at least left back in Sirion?" Elrond wanted his brother to be safe, and his people to have a leader with his mother drowned. But he, selfishly, also did to want to be alone with the kinslayers.

"He's here as well, don't worry. Nornmalo has him, and I trust him not to torture a prisoner, despite what it may sound like."

"The moans of pain might be a headache, he drank rather a lot of beer while we were trapped."

Maedhros laughed. "Well, a hungover child soldier. He will at least bother Nornmalo less with questions."

"Could I give him something to soothe the headache? I know a bit of healing."

"No. A headache won't kill him, and he'll get water when we stop same as you."

They stopped only once that day, to water the horses at a stream. Elros was pulled down from the saddle - feet first, luckily, though he still landed in a heap - and his hands untied. Maedhros tossed him a canteen, and said "if you need to piss, now's the best time. You won't get piss all over the horse or your clothes, and we're downstream of the rest of the company."

"My legs are still tied."

"The ropes low enough you should be able to unfasten your belt."

"Are you going to watch me the whole time?"

"Until I find another guard, yes."

Elrond drinks little enough water to avoid the issue, for the moment.

When it's time to ride again, Elrond puts up a fight about having his arms tied again. That just gets Maedhros pinning his face in the dirt while a soldier ties the rope.

Elrond is slung back on the horse like a parcel.

They stop again just before sunset to make camp.

Elrond's hands are untied again for dinner.

The food is simple, waybread and water, and Elrond wonders if he should mention that Men need to eat more than once a day.

Far more exciting than the food though is the figure dropped on the grass next to him, clutching his own canteen and waybread.

"Elros!"

"Elrond! By Ulmo, you're alright!"

"I am, just a bit bruised from the horse. You?"

"Here's something for your healer's notes: do not put people with hangovers upside down for hours. I must have thrown up a dozen times."

"That's terrible! Maybe we can ask-"

At that point the guard tells them to hurry up, they'll be taken to where they're sleeping in ten minutes regardless of how much dinner they've had. Elrond and Elros focus on eating.

They are not, apparently, going to be sleeping near each other. "Too much chance to plot."

The Feanorian soldiers have tents. Some of them share, some of them have their own. A few soldiers have tents obviously designed for two or three that they go into alone.

The horses stolen from Sirion are tied to a picket line. It's loped through the reins, but one person untying the end would let all the horses scatter.

The horses the Feanorians rode into town on are not tied at all. They are loyal old warhorses, and will not flee from orcs in the distance. If wolves do sneak past the guards into the camp, better for the horses to run, and come back at their masters' call when the danger is passed.

Elrond, by contrast, is tied to a tree trunk. His hands are tied in front of him rather than behind, and his legs are unbound. Maedhros's brother - and Elrond learned from a careless remark that their is only the one left - even tossed a blanket over Elrond's legs, to guard against the chill of the night air.

It is the most freedom of movement Elrond has had all day, but that's saying little.

He is stuck sitting up, feeling every root and rock underneath him, unable to reach his hands back to where the rope is tied behind the tree.

Elrond sleeps poorly, stirring at every noise, whether it's a guard on their rounds or an owl hooting its warning.

In the morning, Elrond is given a breakfast of water and waybread again.

Maedhros says "You know it would be suicidal to flee, alone in the wilderness, yes?" and lets Elrond ride behind him sitting up.

Elrond's hands are still bound, and a rope leads passed Maedhros to the saddle horn. If he fell off, he better hope he can keep pace with a cantering horse, or else be dragged on the ground.

Elrond stays on the horse. He figures out his balance well enough to turn, and sees Elros riding similarly.

Thing continue like this for over a week, until they reach Amon Ereb.

#older kidnap fam fic #my fic #silm #silmarillion #Nornmalo means oak friend #he was originally one of Curufin's followers I think; he is more used to defending a fortress than riding long distances #but all the best riders in the Feanorian host were either a) in the Gap during the Bragollach and so a lot of them died in fire #or b) on the riverlands of Ossirand under Amras and so extremely pissed off at Elrond and Elros now #Maedhros trusts /most/ of his soldiers not to torture or kill prisoners against his orders; but he does recall Doriath and Elured and Eluri #better to put the annoying enemy teenagers with someone who is grieving a bit less and so is less likely to strike them in anger #Maedhros is confident in his own self control in the field; he has scheduled to break down in tears three hours after they reach Amon Ereb #in the meantime he ignores all his emotions and doesn't attempt introspection

[glorfindel-of-imladris]

The Case of Erestor Half-elven

It’s been a hot minute since my last fandom meta, but this one I accidentally stumbled upon gathering notes for—would you believe it—a Glorfindel meta I intended to write. Man, I’m not even going to question the process, so let’s just get right on to it!

I like to joke around that there are only six instances when Erestor was mentioned in the entire legendarium, and by this I mean in The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion (in which he does not even appear in the latter two). 

But let’s talk about the early draft of him that is often referenced in fandom. If one extends the search, in The Return of Shadow, which details the writing process of what ultimately would be The Fellowship of the Ring, Erestor does get a mention, and is described as follows:

“There were three counsellors of Elrond’s own household: Erestor his kinsman (a man of the same half-elvish folk known as the children of Lúthien), and beside him two elflords of Rivendell.” -- In the House of Elrond, The Return of Shadow 

By the final version of The Lord of the Rings, however, there is no more reference to Erestor as Half-elven. The final published version goes:

"Beside Glorfindel there were several other counsellors of Elrond's household, of whom Erestor was the chief..." -- The Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

By this final version of the story, the Half-elven trait no longer made sense for Erestor, and was replaced instead by him being Elrond's chief counsellor. 

The nature of Half-elves

Tolkien acknowledges three unions of Elves and Men:

“There were three unions of the Eldar and the Edain: Lúthien and Beren; Idril and Tuor; Arwen and Aragorn. By the last the long-sundered branches of the Half-elven were reunited and their line was restored.” –Appendix A, Return of the King

One of the later themes Tolkien came up with surrounding the Half-elven line (which likely did not yet exist at the early stages of the story when he was first forming the fellowship) was how they united and reunited all the houses of the Eldar and the Edain. Beren was a descendant of the three houses of the Edain—the Houses of Bëor, Haleth, and Hador—while Lúthien was the daughter of a Sinda (Teleri) and a Maia. Idril was the daughter of a Ñoldo and a Vanya. Lúthien and Beren had Dior, who then had a daughter, Elwing, who wed Eärendil, the son of Idril and Tuor. Elwing and Eärendil then had Elros and Elrond, and the line was separated for many generations when Elros chose to be counted among Men, and Elrond among Elves. The two lines were reunited with the marriage of Aragorn and Arwen.

One important detail here is that before the “Choice of the Half-elves” that was later gifted to Eärendil, Elwing, and their children, the children born out of an Elf-Man union led lives akin to Men. Dior was able to rule Doriath at age 33, and Eärendil and Elwing married at 22. These, as we know, would have been too young for Elves, given:

“Children of Men might reach their full height while Eldar of the same age were still in the body like to mortals of no more than seven years. Not until their fiftieth year did the Eldar attain the stature and shape in which their lives would afterwards endure, and for some a hundred years would pass before they were full-grown.” -- Laws and Customs of the Eldar, Morgoth’s Ring

and

“The Eldar wedded for the most part in their youth and soon after their fiftieth year […] Those who would afterwards become wedded might choose one another early in youth, even as children (and indeed this happened often in days of peace); but unless they desired soon to be married and were of fitting age, the betrothal awaited the judgment of the parents of either party.” -- Laws and Customs of the Eldar, Morgoth’s Ring

After the events of the War of the Wrath, Eärendil, Elwing, and their sons Elrond and Elros, for their deeds in the war, were gifted with the choice to be counted either among the Eldar or the Edain. Eärendil, Elwing, and Elrond chose to be counted among Elves, and the choice continued on to Elrond’s children: Arwen, Elladan, and Elrohir. Elros chose to be counted among Men, but in his case, the choice no longer extended to his descendants; every descendant of Elros was mortal. 

The only thing I can conclude for why Elros’ line did not get to choose is because the Gift of Ilúvatar—that is, a death that transcends the world of Arda—trumps all other gifts. It is a blessing that followed the line of Elros—never mind that the latter Númenóreans did not all agree that this was a blessing at all.

A similar sentiment can be found in earlier versions of the Quenta Silmarillion, where Manwë said to Eärendil:

"Now all those who have the blood of mortal Men, in whatever part, great or small, are mortal, unless other doom be granted to them; but in this matter the power of doom is given to me." -- Quenta Silmarillion, The Lost Road and Other Writings

Although this was no longer included in the published Silmarillion, Christopher Tolkien still considered this in judging that Dior, son of Beren and Lúthien, would have been mortal, regardless of whether Lúthien was Elf or mortal when she begetted him.

Bonus extra: The fourth case of Elf-Man union

Despite the excerpt from Appendix A, there is another case of Elf-Man union that we know: Mithrellas and Imrazôr. This was alluded to in Return of the King when describing Prince Imrahil: 

“...and with him went the Prince of Dol Amroth in his shining mail. For he and his knights still held themselves like lords in whom the race of Númenor ran true. Men that saw them whispered saying: ‘Belike the old tales speak well; there is Elvish blood in the veins of that folk, for the people of Nimrodel dwelt in that land once long ago.’” The Siege of Gondor, Return of the King

Although it seems as though this was only a rumor among Men, in the wider History of Middle-earth, Mithrellas is indeed mentioned to have been the spouse of Imrazôr who bore him children, of whom Galador was the ancestor of the princes of Dol Amroth. Of their line, it was said:

“But though Mithrellas was of the lesser silvan race (and not of the High Elves or the Grey) it was ever held that the house and kin of the Lords of Dol Amroth were noble by blood, as they were fair of face and mind.” The Heirs of Elendil, The Peoples of Middle-earth

The princes of Dol Amroth, of course, are mortal, and this does not contradict anything that has already been established. It is easy to imagine how, in a world where Elves and Men co-exist, there could be many other undocumented cases throughout the years. But what we do know is that no other Half-elf outside of Eärendil’s line would have led a long life by choosing the path of Elves. Therefore, if there were any other Half-elves in the Council of Elrond, aside from Elrond himself, they would have been not much older than Aragorn or Boromir. 

Erestor’s age and role in Rivendell

We now return to Erestor. One of the clearest things in “The Council of Elrond” is the Elves’ reluctance to take the One Ring. Erestor is one of the most vocal about this, and this is one of my favorite themes to explore about his character in the Third Age.

Thematically, Erestor represents the fading of the Elves. He is most known for his quick suggestion to give the Ring to Tom Bombadil. This tells us:

The Elves do not want anything to do with the Ring anymore, a sentiment that would be especially potent for one who was there during the Last Alliance, in the Second Age when Sauron was at the peak of his power; and 

The time of the Elves is ending, and there is little more they can give to Middle-earth.

Granted, Legolas remained a member of the Fellowship and thus represented the Elves, but by Elven standards, Legolas was young, and did not have the weariness that someone older would have. Erestor reads to me as someone older, even older in spirit in comparison to Glorfindel. 

‘We know not for certain,’ answered Elrond sadly. ‘Some hope that the Three Rings, which Sauron has never touched, would then become free, and their rulers might heal the hurts of the world that he has wrought. But maybe when the One has gone, the Three will fail, and many fair things will fade and be forgotten. That is my belief.’ ‘Yet all the Elves are willing to endure this chance,’ said Glorfindel, ‘if by it the power of Sauron may be broken, and the fear of his dominion be taken away for ever.’ ‘Thus we return once more to the destroying of the Ring,’ said Erestor, ‘and yet we come no nearer. What strength have we for the finding of the fire in which it was made? That is the path of despair. Of folly, I would say, if the long wisdom of Elrond did not forbid me.’ -- The Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

Erestor has a weariness to him that is even notable especially beside Glorfindel's vitality, whom we know was reborn in Aman as though young again, with "the primitive innocence and grace of the Eldar" (Peoples of Middle-earth). Glorfindel, however, is a special case even among all Elves in the Third Age, while Erestor arguably would have been more representative of them, at least of the ones that remained in Middle-earth.

Another case to be made about Erestor being one of the oldest in Rivendell is by virtue of his status as chief among Elrond’s counsellors. Considering the population of Elves in Rivendell, this is no small feat. As Gandalf told Frodo:

‘Here in Rivendell there live still some of [Sauron’s] chief foes: the Elven-wise, lords of the Eldar from beyond the furthest seas. They do not fear the Ringwraiths, for those who have dwelt in the Blessed Realm live at once in both worlds, and against both the Seen and the Unseen they have great power. [...] Indeed there is power in Rivendell to withstand the might of Mordor, for a while: and elsewhere other powers still dwell.’ -- Many Meetings, The Fellowship of the Ring

So what is he?

The last quote about the Elf-lords of Rivendell is one of the main reasons why I say Erestor is likely of the Ñoldorin Calaquendi. This makes the most sense given his position in Elrond’s household and given the sorts of Elves that dwell there. Fortunately, this still gives us many options: he could be an Elf from Gondolin, from Nargothrond, even among one of the many houses of the Fëanoryn. 

Could he have been any other kind of Elf? Sure! I even particularly have a soft spot for Erestor being Sindarin, but again, given his position, I would guess one of the older lines. Doriath, in particular, would make sense. Given how Elves seem to be “ranked” by wisdom defined by their exposure to the Valar and the rest of the Ainur, Doriath, with Melian’s influence, would have been a special kind of place. 

Could Erestor still be Half-elven? My easiest answer would be that it’s unlikely. But! Do not despair! With fiction, really anything is possible. Erestor could be an exceptional Half-elf and that is why he is chief counsellor. He could still be a kindred of Elrond’s by some obscure line, such as an unrecorded child in the line of Beren and Lúthien, or as a popular fanon, either Eluréd or Elurín survived. Or he could just be the son of some other Elf and Man. But whatever version it is, Erestor Half-elven would not have had the choice of the Half-elves, and so likely would not have been alive beyond the lifetime of a Númenórean.

#erestor #meta #the way i accidentally churn out meta sometimes is just #i don't know #wow this took up a sunday #but! #i'm glad to have been able to lay down my notes for it #i do love erestor a lot #and i love the challenge that comes with piecing together canon for all fandom character studies #erestor's obscurity and the challenge he gives me is probably why i like this guy a lot #that and because #he stood beside glorfindel at a wedding #LMAO #let's not pretend it started as anything more than that #90's things #tolkien #the lord of the rings #the silmarillion and other histories

[camille-lachenille]

End of the Year Fic Rec

I was tagged by @echo-bleu and @dreamingthroughthenoise and it was very difficult to select only five fics for each category but here's my Must Read fanfics list, mostly Silmarillion but with a few LotR and one Hobbit. Also, I cheated at some point so you have one more fic rec as a treat

Recommend up to 5 series or multi-chapter fics from 2023 that everyone should read (multi-year WIPs count, if the last update was in 2023).

We will make this place our home by @leucisticpuffin

Summary: Elrond and Elros are sent to live with their distant cousins in a house that is crumbling slowly to pieces. They aren't especially happy about this. For Maedhros and Maglor, the twins are a rare chance to start living again.

Why you should read it: This is a whimsical, heartwarming yet bittersweet at times story about finding one’s place in a new world and what makes a family, grappling with the ghosts of the past and the pain of being a child left behind. Also the most exquisitely written modern AU (the style is just chef's kiss!) I’ve read so far, 100% recommend it!

Maglor is an Eldritch Horror by @thescrapwitch

Summary: After thousands of years singing to the sea, Maglor has become something strange and terrifying. But he still loves his family, and his family still loves him.

Why you should read it: Sometimes, family is a Half-Elf, his wife, their children, a shy and whimsical bard and the Eldritch kidnap grandfather who haunts the house; or how to write slightly creepy fluff. This series is pure heartwarming material and giving Elrond the happiness he desserves.

The Day the Horse-Lord wed the Lady of the Seas by @colinnoahmayhare (rated M)

Summary: After the War of the Ring, Lothíriel, Princess of Dol Amroth, finds herself at the receiving end of the search for peace and prosperity by being used as a pawn in an alliance made between kings and princes. Married to the King of the Riddermark, Éomer, she has to navigate being a foreigner in a foreign country, being a Queen to a King, and to learn to live and love with a man she hardly knows.

Why you should read it: This story is an intricate, gut wrenching exploration of what happens in Rohan after the War of the Ring, featuring delightful worldbuilding, lots of politics, revenge and honour. Now with Familial TraumaTM and Couple AngstTM for extra flavour!

And the Stars Shine the Same by @runawaymun (rated M)

Summary: After the Éothéod revolt against the Wainriders, the northern tribes seek to form strong alliances with their neighbors. Lord Frumgar tasks his son Fram to lead the delegation to Imladris. With him, he brings gold, fine horses, and two young thralls chosen by his father to be given to Lord Elrond himself. Elrond is conflicted to say the least.

Why you should read it: Do you like pre-canon Third Age history? Do you like worldbuilding about a few names from the Appendixes of LotR? Do you like found family and Good Dad Elrond? Do you like complex characters learning how to live with their traumas? This story is for you! (Just mind the warnings in the tags)

The ghost you dress up as (knows how to haunt) by @deadqueernoldor (rated M)

Summary: Maedhros was not the first Finwëan to be captured and taken to Angband, nor did he remain there the longest. Ranyatinwë, twin of Caranthir, was the first.

Why you should read it: Tinwë is such a complex character, 50% spite and 50% trauma, and this whole story is so, so promising already! (Really, you should read all the Strength of our Bonds series for extra unhinged, spiteful and unrepentant kinslayer Tinwë. I support women’s rights but in Tinwë’s case I firmly support women’s wrongs). This is pure post-Angband angstfest and dysfunctional siblings caring for each other in their weird way. If angst can be a comfort story, I found it.

Recommend up to 5 single chapter fics/one-shots (long or short) from 2023 that everyone should read.

Life in Miniature by @thescrapwitch

Summary: Turgon uses his hobby of building cities to recreate Gondolin, this time on a much smaller scale.

Why you should read it: For re-embodied Finwëan rebuilding their relationships as they work together on a miniature city; a heartwarming and really nice metaphor.

Hearth Fire by @dreamingthroughthenoise

Summary: Findis and Feanor speak before the Flight of the Noldor and share in their grief the best they can.

Why you should read it: Because there are so few stories centered around Findis and her feelings about her family and this one is so interesting and well written. Also, Findis is my Blorbo and everyone should read about her until they're consumed by the Blorbo.

your veins are empty of dust by @echo-bleu

Summary: Anairë finds her late one day in her workshop, surrounded by slabs of stone larger than her. Nerdanel is hammering forcefully at one of them, the barest hints of an elven shape already taking form in the marble. Bitter, stinging tears run down her cheeks and into her collar, and her arms ache with exhaustion.

The body is only barely sketched, but the face is already chiselled, smooth curves and angular cheekbones.

Fëanáro emerges out of the marble, looking like he’s about to take life.

Why you should read it: For a heartbreaking dive into Nerdanel's grief, her friendship with Anairë and how Nerdanel's art becomes her way to cope with loneliness and grief.

see it fall, child of war by @swanmaids

Summary: Elwing's time runs out.

Why you should read it: Because these may be the 740 most impactful words I've read about Elwing since I discovered the Silm fandom.

soldier keep on marching on (waiting on that morning sun) by songofswiftsunrise

Summary: Boromir lives. The world is the smallest bit brighter for it.

Why you should read it: Do I need a more convincing argument than what the summary says? Boromir lives and everyone is happier. I love a good fix-it and this one is very well written indeed.

Recommend up to 5 fics NOT from 2023 that everyone should read (oldies but goodies.)

The Carpenter’s Son by Zimra (rated M, warning for rape/non-con)

Summary: An untold story of conquered Dor-lómin, in which an Easterling carpenter has a child by his Hadorian slave.

Why you should read it: This story explores in a very interesting way a par of canon that is almost never mentionned (except in the Narn). The main character is attaching and I really cared for her and her son. The hindsights in the slavers' minds are chilling with their realism and this whole story is just so well written. Also, it ends on a note of hope.

And what I am needs no excuses by aurembiaux

Summary: Sam has always been in love with Frodo. It's only that it takes him forty years to realize that he is.

Why you should read it: Probably the most heartwarming and relatable self-discovery story I’ve ever read; set in England from the WWII to the 80’s, with all the social changes that happened in this time period. Featuring Supportive Dad (and Friend) Sam as the main character and a whole bunch of introspection. One of my all time comfort read!

Mark of a Warrior by starryeyedknight

Summary: After the funeral for Theoden, Merry wakes up to a problem experienced by many a young man after a night of heavy drinking. The ink on his arm doesn't appear to be washing off… 

Why you should read it: This one shot explores the relationships Merry formed with the RIders of Rohan, the grief he has in common with them and how he found his place amongst the riders, all of this with delightful humour and lightness despite the initial situation.

Dancing with my punchlines by LiveOakWithMoss (rated M)

Summary: In which the sons of Fëanor throw house parties, the beer is terrible, 20-something hipster elves act like their drama is as bad as it is in canon, and macking on cousins is fair game.

Why you should read it: If you like a good old modern AU with tons of drama of various sorts, amazing ace representation and general Finwëans shenanigans, this is the story for you.

Old Maggie Took by @deadqueernoldor

Summary: The headcanon about Maglor, second son of Fëanor, lives hidden in the Shire? Yes.

Why you should read it: My ultimate comfort read series; featuring mouth-watering descriptions of food, kidnadopted fam and Maglor being an overgrown hobbit and trolling everyone in ME and Valinor. This is fluffy, this is silly, this is prefect.

Recommend up to 5 of your own fics (completed or WIP) from 2023 that everyone should read.

Dreams of Doom (rated M, warning for Major Character Death)

Summary: “She runs in the dark, alone. Where her feet carry her, she knows not, and her heart is heavy with dread. Someone - something - is watching her.”

Niënor from the moment she arrives in Brethil to her death.

Why you should read it: Because this fic is my firsborn child and I am insanely proud of it, especially since I went so out of my comfort zone to write it. It features two of my obscure blorbos and I poured my soul into it.

Ice Age(s)

Summary: Ice skating through the ages, from Idril learning with her grandfather to Elrond perpetuating the familial tradition.

Why you should read it: This is a fluffy fic, mostly, and it's also a gift for the amazing @echo-bleu. I also wrote it in a sort of trance in the middle of the night, passed out the moment I posted it and had no memory whatsoever of what I had written upon waking up in the morning, yet I still love this fic dearly.

I never wanted to walk in your steps

Summary: Tilda was ten, the same age Sigrid was at her birth, and her world was collapsing more than when Smaug had destroyed Laketown.

Why you should read it: Because I privately call this fic Hobbit angstfest. I took a sad, doomed ship and asked myself "how can I make it sadder?"

ar ámen apsenë úcaremmar

Summary: Few know of Findis the Faithful, eldest daughter of Finwë, who never lost hope for her family.

Why you should read it: I took my obscure blorbo and set her in a medieval-ish AU. It's sad and a little hopeful too and there's a lot of Quenya interspaced through the story.

Quiet morning in Gondolin

Summary: Idril and Eärendil spend some time together before the city wakes up.

Why you should read it: I'll put the link to the beautiful art that inspired this ficlet and let it speak for me.

And I tag everyone I tagged in this post who hasn’t already done this fics rec tag

#fic recs #tolkien #the silmarillion #the lord of the rings #the hobbit #long post

[elerondo]

rambling probably unpopular opinions or idk

the Noldor are great craftsmen and smiths & Elrond's favourite gifts are gems ( pardon the irony of it all ) but his are special in a way that he writes runes into them & they protect heal or guard the wearer in some way

i think he could have gotten a lot of side eyes in Lindon like ' o another devil spawn who likes shiny things is finwe's line just doomed forever and ever or what '

can u imagine if he gave sb a jewel but their parents just slap it out of their hands ahjdsfgajsh or he overheard someone call his things "cursed" maybe not to his face coz

Elrond being the most important elf after Gil-galad, but also being the most disliked based on his upbringing through no fault of his own ( okay maybe some fault, because i headcanon him as an awful rebel the first few years in Lindon under a new ordered society and king, but still: No Fault how can anyone blame him ?? uwu ?? )

Oropher suppresses some kind of traumatic reflex when Thranduil comes home w some new shiny thing lol

and i generally think also that Elrond fights like Maedhros because that was his upbringing and he didn't really know anything else, until he comes into his own style he definitely terrified every pair of eyes who knows. Sure anyone could be ambidextrous but not as ambidextrous as Elrond who lived under the looming shadow of Maedhros thrice reminding him that he needs to be fluent in the sword and bow in either hands, just in case. " if you are going to be valiant then you are going to suffer tremendously. but you will live no matter what, no matter what happens to you! "

maybe Maedhros failed his own words in the end, but Elrond would never !

surely, right, that the feanorian brothers would train and empower the twins as much as they can, purely out of guilt. yes the oath of feanor happened to Elros and Elrond, but the doom is not true. it just isn't! The twins didn't turn to evil.

#elrond #maedhros #the silmarillion #tolkien's legendarium #✵ ʙᴏᴛʜ ɢʟᴀᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴏʀʀᴏᴡꜰᴜʟ — headcanon

[the-elusive-soleil]

Some things that might have happened if the Valar had gone to war with Morgoth immediately after the Silmaril theft, and evacuated the Sindar, Avari, and very first Men to Aman to escape the continental destruction:

Nobody swears any Oaths. Feanor doesn't get the chance to, because the Valar go after Morgoth before he can.

He would have liked to go help with the war, but the Valar have made it clear that the Eruhini need to keep out from underfoot, and Ulmo is actually enforcing this one.

Feanor does contribute weapon designs in exchange for the promise of the Silmarils being returned to him ASAP.

(We have the sun and moon, I feel like I should say. The Valar made them when they needed light sources for the war and it was clear they weren't getting the Silmarils back all that soon.)

There's a lot of excitement when the new arrivals show up. Olwe is ecstatic to see his brother again - with a Maiarin wife and a daughter, too!

Thingol is upset about losing his realm and also grieving his friend FInwe, but cautiously intrigued to meet Finwe's family.

Feanor has become High King of the Noldor at least in name, but in practice what's developed is that Fingolfin and Maedhros and Caranthir and Turgon handle a lot of the day-to-day and Feanor is so busy crafting that he never noticed the shift. No one is super interested in telling him.

Thingol very nearly breaks it all open by accident, but they avoid a crisis just in time.

The Avari disappear into the outlands and forests and assimilate as little as possible.

Thingol and Melian start up a new city, but it's...not quite the same.

Luthien is restless. Her parents' new city might not have a girdle, but she feels fenced in anyway - partially with her parents not wanting her to stray too far in this strange new place, and partially because she's the one and only half-Maia and stunningly beautiful and everyone wants a piece of her, so to speak.

Funnily enough, certain of the Feanorians know exactly how those itchy feet feel, and her father doesn't hate them in this timeline.

She's not into hunting to kill things, really, but Celegorm teaches her this neat trick that sometimes you can just say you're 'going hunting' and head off to the woods to do whatever you want, like running just for the sake of it or dancing without anyone watching you, and no one will ask any questions.

She ends up spending a lot of time with him and the twins and Aredhel.

(Celegorm and Luthien eventually get married, because why not.)

(Melian gives her blessing on the condition that their firstborn son marries Nimloth, who goes along with it because she trusts Melian's foresight. Or, alternatively, they might have a daughter who marries Beren when he comes along; that'd be a fun twist.)

(The point is that Elrond and Elros eventually exist. They aren't in need of adoption, but they develop a surprising bond with their uncle Maglor.)

Almost forgot, the dwarves got brought over, too.

Caranthir does a lot of the negotiation with them, since his bluntness meshes best with their ways.

They and the Men keep having new generations be born and die, and it's...an adjustment for the elves.

Finrod, nonetheless, becomes great friends with a Man called Balan and his folk.

Caranthir encounters a Haladin woman named Haleth when she comes to court to arrange for greater independence for her people. He's in love at first sight. It takes her a little longer.

None of Caranthir's family understands why he'd choose to go through the eventual heartbreak of losing a spouse, but he ignores them all, and gets married anyway.

They have an astounding number of children. This is partially because they have better proximity and aren't in survival mode, partially because it takes them a sec to figure out how human conception works, and partially because Caranthir wants there to be as much Haleth in the world as possible before she's inevitably gone.

Hurin Thalion and Morwen have three lovely children. Nienor probably has a different name. Lalaith lives to an astoundingly old age, healthy as a horse.

Tuor and Idril, of course, get together. Turgon is a bit less enthusiastic about it this time, what with Tuor just being A Guy and not Ulmo's champion, but when would that ever stop Idril. Tuor does die eventually, but they have a good life till then.

Feanor ends up liking the Men and dwarves a lot more than anyone thought he would. He learns All The Languages, and loves to swap techniques with the dwarves and bounce off Men's ingenuity.

Also, the Sindar introduce a radical notion called marriage counseling, which is apparently something you invent if you're coping with Arda Marred instead of trying to maintain an assumption of perfection. They've also invented family therapy. Feanor and Nerdanel, and really the whole House of Finwe, benefit hugely from this.

Oh, and elf/dwarf relationships become hugely popular among the Noldor, because when your dwarf spouse dies you can literally go see them at Aule's house still as long as you're discreet about it, so no one bats an eye when Celebrimbor announces his engagement to the craftswoman Narvi some time down the line.

#silmarillion #alternate universe #feanor #house of feanor #house of finwe #halenthir #celebrimbor x narvi #also i'm not sure how this happened but #celegorm x luthien #mutual and everything #huh #fix-it

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

Thranduil is Miriel’s brother and it changes nothing but it’s funny af (not-canon)

Idk man, i personally think that the idea of Thranduil being Miriel’s brother would be hilarious bc everyone sees these noldor kinslaying monsters and screams bloodymurder, but Thranduil looks at what is his nephew and grandnephew and goes “goddamn it Miriel, they had to get your personality”

When Oropher gets re-embodied in Valinor alongside Finwe he will spend entire meetings glaring bloody murder at Finwe for Miriel’s predicament, much to everyone’s confusion.

Finwe: making my way down town, walking fast-

Messenger: Your Majesty, King Oropher’s here to see you!

Finwe: walking faster

Oropher: Finwe!!

Finwe: -fucking sprinting!!

The Noldor of Valinor get to spectate as their high king is running full speed away from this feral silvan king while screaming bloody murder.

What, you thought Feanor got his attitude from Finwe? No way, that was all Miriel.

(PS, this is all in an AU where Oropher is a silvan, and thus was not in Doriath or in Beriland at all when the first age shit went down, (though he feels the need to point out that, just bc they weren’t involved with the noldor drama, that doesn’t mean they didn’t fight against Morgoth, they were just not geographically close enough to be apart of the armies in Beriland)

Oropher, Thranduil, Legolas and other family and friends would all know, but they’re all collectively ignoring the Feanorian mess bc that bunch has been labeled “the insane half of the family” (completely ignoring their own feralness, as you do)

But, can you imagine:

Elrond: -look, they might have kidnapped me and Elros, but they were the best parents anyone could ask for-

Thranduil, drowning in his wine to hide his expresion: hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

#oropher #thranduil #legolas #lotr #lord of the rings #silmarillion #headcanon #not-canon #noldor #miriel #why did it take so long to tag that? #feanor #sons of feanor #finwe #he’ v scared of oropher and thranduil #and is very happy thranduil has decided to stay in middle-earth #give miriel a personality 2023 #she’ feral your honor #where do you think feanor gets it from? #family #they piss you off sometimes but they exist #is that all? #that’s all #oh yes #elrond

[tanoraqui]

Elros&Elrond superhero anon here, I absolutely love those powers for them, they’re so cool. I mean, healing powers are fairly standard but you’ve got me entirely on board with healer!Elros (although I’m betting that Elros does NOT heal Maglor’s hand after the twins regain consciousness) and I just really love what you’ve done with Elrond’s powers!

(re: this post)

HEALER!ELROS SUPREMACY. And while I’m at it, Elros being the first to (conditionally) trust and even come to love their monstrous kidnapper-cousins, because quicker commitment and greater daring for the unknown makes sense in one who will one day choose to die as a Man; why is Elros always the stabby one and Elrond always the sweet one in kidnap-era fics! supremacy. Elrond is going to end up sweet, okay; he doesn’t need to start there. In the superhero au, when he masters his power of this aura of peace, he’s going to be able to do the “I am one with the force and the force is with me” walk from Rogue One through battlefields, but he has to learn how to maintain that true sense of calm and non-violence.

(Partial credit for the idea goes to @isi7140 btw, for suggesting the Elrond-appropriate twinly mirror to healing be making some sort of protected area a la Rivendell.)

Also ha, yeah, Elros definitely is NOT going to heal Maglor’s hand right there. Maybe, maybe, in several weeks when they’ve bonded a little he’ll heal whatever’s left of the wound as a show of the bond formed between them by then? …or in several months?

What happens in this weeks and/or months, of course, is Elrond and Elros making multiple attempts to escape supervillain captivity and find their mother while Maglor and Maedhros try to figure out who they are, where they came from, and can we ransom them to Doriath for Silmarils? Meanwhile Elwing doesn’t even know her sons followed her through the rip in spacetime; she and Eärendil are…idk if they both got to Earth at roughly this time, or if only one did and the other is off finding Valar in space somewhere, or if they’re BOTH off finding Valar and/or distant mermaid relatives (respectively) in space? NO WAIT, THE TELERI ARE ATLANTIS! PERFECT! That makes Eärwen and her kids’ genetics make so much more sense! So, Elwing ended up in the ocean somewhere, drowning, and is rescued to Atlantis, but she’s trying to find Eärendil who is in space somewhere, meeting gods…

Thingol is the former King of Atlantis who moved permanently to land to marry a minor forest goddess, who shaped herself a permanent material form in order to marry him…the romance… (Sometimes he makes noise about bossing around Atlanteans again and Olwë is like, “um, you LEFT, actually.”)

Yes of course this means that all of Eärwen’s kids, grandkids, etc. can shed their human legs & grow gills in water and turn into mermaids!! Though it gets harder the more they interbreed with humans. Finrod, Angrod, Aegnor & Galadriel can all do it easily. Orodreth, Celebrian and Finrod&Amarië’s Golden Horde have to make an effort and it hurts a little. Finduilas and Rodnor require Musical assistance, though much less than an ordinary human would. (Aegnor marries an alien of some sort so idk what’s up with their kids—probably standard quarter-Atlantean, really, because it’s about magic Music more than genetics. Amarië is also an alien but the Vanyar are only as alien as, like, Vulcans; Andreth is something much stranger.)

#silm super au #spitballing AUs is fun!! keep talking to me pls

[tar-maitime]

talking to the air

Rating: T Characters: Maedhros | Maitimo Relationships: Maedhros/Fingon, fem!Maedhros/Fingon, Maedhros & Sons of Feanor, Maedhros & Maglor & Elrond & Elros (mentioned) Additional: post-Nirnaeth, 2nd & 3rd kinslayings, War of Wrath, grief and mourning, background kidnap fam and gil-galad russingonion for flavor WC: 1.5k

Four times Maedhros talked to Fingon when he wasn't there...

“Why did you do it, you mad, mad fool?”

Maedhros half-shouts it through gritted teeth, pacing back and forth in her room in Amon Ereb. Her brothers can probably hear her ranting, but they know to leave it alone. They’re not who she’s talking to, anyway.

If she keeps the bed out of her line of sight, she can almost trick herself into believing that he’s sitting there actually listening. He’s not, he’s gone, gone, gone, and the gaping dark place in the back of her mind proves it, but she can pretend.

“Why were you on the front line to begin with? Have we not lost enough kings that way? Why couldn’t you have commanded from somewhere safer? Why couldn’t you have run, at least tried to run, when we knew we couldn’t win? Why did you have to be the hero?”

She knows why, of course, even without him here to tell her. Fingon was good and noble and would never ask his people to spend their lives without his being right alongside them. It is horrible and selfish of Maedhros to wish otherwise, to wish he had let just a few people lay down their lives for his instead of...

“You left me,” she spits out bitterly. “You left me, Finno. How could you do that? How could you expect me to forgive that?”

She sobs, and her knees go out from under her. “How can you forgive me for leaving you first, for retreating? I’m sorry, Finnonya, I’m so sorry.”

- - -

“I miss you.”

She says it almost casually, looking out from Amon Ereb’s battlements in the early morning. “It still hurts, every day - so badly some days, Finno - but I’m learning to live with it.”

It’s barely dawn; no one else is around. Maedhros has made sure to do this absolutely alone ever since the time, a few months ago, when Maglor had caught her at it and ventured to ask if Fingon was haunting her as a houseless spirit, tethered to her somehow. She’s snarled at him, spat that she could never be that selfish, that Fingon’s spirit was safe in Mandos and if he couldn’t have lived, then that was best.

There’s no one actually here that she’s talking to; she is sane enough still to know that. But it brings her comfort even so.

“It doesn’t feel like I should be able to. It doesn’t feel like we should still be living at all, sometimes, when so much is lost. But if we just stop, then Morgoth wins again, and I don’t know that I’m capable of that.”

She looks out over the mist that’s slowly parting to reveal the shape of the land, and leans on the parapet. She pretends, just for a moment, that she can feel the warmth of a familiar body leaning next to her, on her left where her vision’s never been quite right since Angband. 

“I think we’re settling in here, as much as we can settle in anywhere,” she comments. “It’s strange, to have a home that I’ve never gotten to show you. Everywhere else I’ve lived, you got to visit. I almost wish we’d come down here sometime, before the Bragollach, just so that I could have known you saw it with me.”

She pauses. “And no, watching the tapestries in the Halls doesn’t count. If you are.”

On her more self-loathing days, she thinks he couldn’t possibly want to waste more time being bothered about her. On her more cynical days, she thinks the Valar would never allow him the kindness of remaining informed about events on this side of the Sea. But this morning is neither, and she indulges in the pleasant thought that Fingon might know she’s talking to him, even though he isn’t here.

She spends a handful of minutes telling him the news of Amon Ereb, and the small doings of her brothers, before she has to begin her day in truth.

- - -

“I can’t do this. I can’t - I can’t do this.”

Maedhros sits on the edge of her bed, hunched over. She drags her fingers through her hair - still shorn close, all these years later - and tries to control her breathing. 

“I don’t know what to do, Finno, I - the Girdle’s gone, and Lúthien’s dead, and Tyelko and Curvo won’t listen to me anymore. They’re going to Doriath with or without me - they’re going to get themselves killed. And the Oath - ai, it claws at me for even thinking of trying to prevent them.”

She’s held the Oath back for years already - truly impossible circumstances will lull it to sleep for a time, and she’s been very good at convincing herself and her brothers that Melian and Lúthien constitute impossible circumstances just as much as Morgoth currently does. Before, long before, Fingon had kept it almost unnoticeable at times, her older vow easing the bonds of her later one.

But he’s gone, and there is no starlight in her mind, only the Oath and the waiting darkness and the raised voices of her brothers screaming at each other.

“I wish you were here,” she says desperately. “I wish you would come and help me with this. Somehow. Any way at all. Just by being here, even.”

She lets her hand drop, grips the stump of her wrist until her nails dig in.

“Or maybe,” she adds more quietly, “maybe it’s best. Maybe I would just drag you along with us.”

- - -

Sirion is burning around her. The soldier dead at her feet is wearing Fingon’s colors and sigil.

An escape from the Nirnaeth, some corner of her mind notes with detachment. Perhaps he went with Turgon’s retreating forces to Gondolin, and then here when that city fell. Only to be felled, after all that, by his former king’s disgraced kinslaying wife.

A dark, bitter chuckle seeps out of her. “Do you see?” she rasps. “Do you see what I have become?”

There is no answer, of course. Maedhros doesn’t even try to pretend that he’s there with her. 

He would not deign to give her even a scrap of his attention now. Not that she deserves it.

- - -

They’re camped somewhere in the middle of the wilderness, picking their way back to where Amon Ereb is hopefully still standing. Maedhros looks over at where Maglor is stretched out asleep, his arm over the tiny peredhil twins that are curled up against him. Against all sense or wisdom, he’s been stubbornly attached to them ever since he stumbled on them in the ruins of Sirion, and (displaying even less good judgment) the twins seem to have decided to overlook his sacking of their home in favor of latching onto him as the one safe thing in a world gone mad.

It can only end in tears, but Maedhros has had even less luck than usual persuading Maglor of that.

She tilts her head back, looking at the sky.

“What do I do now, Finno?”

The only starlight that answers is that which she can see above her.

- - -

...and one time when he was there.

The battlefield is chaotic and nightmarish, and Maedhros feels right at home.

Finally, finally, she has a chance to do something unequivocally right, to extinguish Morgoth’s creatures in as great quantities as her strength will allow. Perhaps she may even be permitted an honorable death in battle, one of these days, but until that occurs, she is going to be as much help as she can.

They have an unspoken agreement, her and Gil-galad and Finarfin. She will keep her forces well away from those of her once-adoptive-son and her uncle, and help the war effort however she can, and they in return will let her alone to do so rather than pursuing the issue of the kinslayings.

Someday, she might let them do so. Maglor has talked of it. But first, they must lay hands on the two Silmarils still in play, and raise the not-quite-grown twins (and keep them firmly off the actual battlefield), and also do something about the great number of orcs and other monsters that never seem to stop coming.

There is a gap, for a moment, a breathing space. Some of Finarfin’s forces are fighting nearby, though per usual they have not made contact. Maedhros glances their way as she moves towards the next wave of the enemy, and--

--stops. Catches the briefest impression of something, someone familiar. 

Finarfin’s fighters wear cloaks the color of elanor, and Gil-galad’s wear a blue that’s almost gray. But the warrior at the head of the pack is cloaked in deep, deep blue, and she swears she sees dark braids woven with gold escaping from under his helm.

He twists, and dark eyes meet hers.

“Finno?” Maedhros says, barely aloud, half without knowing it.

She doesn’t even register the orc chieftain coming up behind her.

#silmarillion #maedhros #russingon #maedhros x fingon #female Maedhros #apologies for the cliffhanger! #already plotting the follow-up if that helps #roots of my tree #my stories #angst #bad times post-nirnaeth

[stitcherofchaos]

A Defense of Maglor

Maglor is my favorite character in the Silmarillion. I know there are people out there who loathe him and there are people out there who love him. I know he murdered, that is a fact. There is also the undeniable fact that he chose to take the oath and burn the ships. There is the fact that he was deathly loyal towards his family.

But I have to say this...

Whoever says that he turned around and became self righteous or delusional, clearly didn't read The Silmarillion as how it ought to be read. These are pretty darn bold words but the reason I like Maglor's character is because of two things.

1: He is fictional. I think if you use his name alone, you can misconstrued him subconsciously into a real life person (but I am going to use his name because saying ‘Maglor’s character over and over drives me nuts) the point is, this essay is about CHARACTER not a real person.

2. He raised Elrond into the elf we see/read in The Lord of The Rings. I'm pretty sure if Elrond was abused in any way by him, he would not be the same great elf lord. Not to mention Elros was a mighty and gentle king, as if I don't know who THAT'S reflecting.

3. He was the only son of Feanor to throw away a silmaril, and regret sorrowfully (now tell me if he is so 'self righteous' or 'delusional', why is he so sorrowful and regretful canonically?)

I had to say these things because Maglor hate makes me physically nauseous (and for pete's sake, I'm exaggerating). Now, you may think I am a hypocrite for taking one's perspective alone on a character so seriously. But I am a self made writer myself; I am not trying to force my opinion on anyone. But when someone misunderstands a character from how they themselves view them instead of seeing the character the the author intended to write, that bugs me greatly.

And yeah yeah, there are people out there who just don’t care and writer whatever that heck they want due to their fanon ideas….

Why don’t you go and write about your own character from those ideas and create your own story instead of leeching off from a famous author?

I like Maglor because the way Tolkien rewrote several drafts of the silmarillion to create characters into the way he saw them.

Maglor is not perfect, he is morally ambiguous at best and evil at worst, but who was the one who saw the Star of Earendil and had hope? The fact that he's not a perfect character or the 'good' or 'nice' son of Feanor is the reason I like him so much. Tolkien did say he inherited his mother’s more gentle temperament. Again, an ignored fact in canon.

At least I am not one of the greater hypocrites who gives his good traits to Maedhros and Maedhros's bad traits to Maglor. Is it because Maedhros is hot? You can be honest with yourselves. Everyone wants to find excuses for the handsome ones.

I don't find excuses for Maglor. Whether anyone in this site wants to admit it or not, finding excuses for a morally ambiguous character is a toxic trait. It is not a healthy way to go through life.

That being said…

Who has ever thought of the idea that Maglor's soul was ripped apart when he realized he was the enemy all along?

Tolkien was a Catholic first and foremost. I believe that when he wrote that Maglor could not withstand the pain of the silmaril, he meant the great spiritual pain of his soul being torn apart by the guilt and regret.

((I also have a headcanon that his body became a husk afterward and did eventually fade, it was like in a catatonic state where he could only walk and sing. Also, that you can hear his voice along the cliff sides or caverns of the beaches, he was known as the mighty singer, it's not because he's still around, but because of the eternal echoes that still haunt the beaches.) I like solid explanations before anything too abstract.)

Also, another thing. Who the heck thinks they themselves are self righteous enough to decide whether to forgive the feanorians or not? They are FICTIONAL. And besides, that's the Teleri's job. If someone asked me whether or not I would look Maglor in the eyes and forgive him. I would tell that person that I had no right because it was not my business. Some people hate Maglor/the feanorians so much to the point where you would wonder if they actually believe that they were personally effect by the feanorians. If you’re one of those people, please either get some therapy or touch some grass (I’m trying to be as gentle as possible so forgive me if I offended you).

The reason I like Maglor, it's actually a pretty deep and personal reason. But, who cares, it's not like he's real or that anyone else on this site cares about self preservation or privacy.

I read the Silmarillion during a darkplace in my life. So when I read about a character who was loyal, merciful, imperfect, ruthless, and regretful... I admired him. Someone who gave up his morals to protect and serve his family, that is admirable. Though his loyalty should have been with his morals, it was still fierce and bright like any son of feanor, or any more so than any of his brothers.

I like him, because he taught me what you should do in times of hardship and crisis and what you should not do, which is basically what I was going through during that time, and even now. That is, despite circumstances, remain hardy and stick to your morals because doing so will give you a prosperous ‘harvest’. Stay close to your family with loyalty and charity, but be wary of the family members who use or manipulate you, get out of that kind of situation. Like imagine you have a ‘Fëanor’ parent. Would you rather live with him or your ‘Nerdanel’ parent? Make a better choice than the choose of those seven brothers. They chose wrong and it lead to their deaths.

Tolkien wrote stories to create, and to teach. I don't see why I should ignore these values instead of appreciating and learning from them. It's the reason why I prefer to look at Maglor's character and learn from him rather than hate or search for reasons to hate him.

#maglor #yeah I am serious #and a hypocrite #I am not perfect either you know #unintelligible rants #the silmarillion #tolkien #silmarillion #feanor #maedhros #curufin #caranthir #celegorm #ambarussa #amrod #amras #you can take this and apply it to any of the feanorians really #this has somewhat of a chaotic energy to it #don't be afraid to reply #I don't bite

[grey-gazania-fic]

A Stitch in Time

Elrond, Caranthir's wife, and a Fëanorian heirloom. Rated G.

The quilt had been added to the twins' bed during their first winter at Amon Ereb, after two nights spent curled together for warmth. Clearly their captors — caretakers? Already the lines were blurring — had noticed, and had taken steps to remedy it. It smelled of cedar and gave their room some much-needed color. Large enough to cover the bed of a full-grown man, it was more than sufficient for two children, and could even be folded in half for extra warmth on particularly cold nights.

And it was utterly unlike the other quilts they had seen, with their neat, regular blocks and clear patterns. This one was a rich riot of reds, golds, and browns, with different fabrics cut into asymmetrical shapes and quilted in winding, stylized, visible stitches. It quickly became a comfort, something that could hold Elrond's attention when he was ill or injured and confined to his bed. There seemed to constantly be something new to discover — here a sliver of fabric soft as lamb's wool, there a quill picked out in neat, tiny stitches. Tiny brass bells hung at three of the corners; the forth was adorned with a slender gold ring sewn on in blunt stitches of crimson thread.

And yet, somehow it never occurred to either of them to ask about it, not until they were half-grown and fast becoming too large to comfortably share a bed. It was Elros who gathered up the nerve to speak, after he had helped Maglor move a second bed into the room and begun to take his share of the blankets.

"You can keep using the quilt," he said to Elrond. "I know how much you like it." And then, turning to Maglor, he said, "Who made it, anyway?"

"Our sister-in-law," Maglor said after a moment of silence. "Caranthir's wife." And then, before either of them could ask, he added, "She stayed in Aman."

Caranthir, Elrond knew, was the brother who had built the keep, and one of the three who had fallen in the attack on Doriath. He wondered, sometimes, about those brothers. What had they been like? Did they have Maglor's gentleness or Maedhros' wry humor? Were they as tired-eyed and worn as Fëanor's remaining sons, at the end? But the topic was clearly closed, as Maglor folded down the last blanket, clapped Elros on the shoulder, and left the room.

And so the quilt stayed on Elrond's bed, always there to greet him when they returned to Amon Ereb each winter. And when Maedhros and Maglor informed them that they were being taken to King Gil-galad, after their protests had broken like thrown dishes against the wall of Maedhros' will, when they had given in and begun packing, Maglor had folded the quilt up and placed it in Elrond's bag, just on top of Maedhros' herbal. The corner with the ring rested face-up, and he traced it with his long, strong fingers.

"It's his wedding ring, isn't it," Elrond said. It wasn't really a question; he'd guessed as much years ago.

Maglor nodded. "It feels like I'm sending a piece of my brother away with you," he said with unusual candor.

"You are," Elrond said. "And I won't forget them. Or you."

The Sons of Fëanor were not good men, but neither were they wholly evil. Someone needed to remember that. Maedhros was grim and deadly and cooly logical, but he was also a patient teacher, prone to unexpected dry wit but never mocking his students. Maglor was equally deadly, but he had soothed their nightmares with his gentle voice and taught them all the lore he knew.

And the others…he'd learned about them, slowly. Celegorm, who had spent half his childhood sneaking his dog into his bedroom or running wild in the woods. Caranthir, who had liked numbers better than he liked most people but who had spent nearly every waking hour at Maedhros' bedside while he recovered from his torment on Thangorodrim. Curufin, whose own son had denounced him but who had spent a full day designing Himring with one hand tied behind his back, making certain that his brother could live there without hinderance. Amras, who had dragged his twin into trouble at every opportunity. And Amrod, who felt such kinship with the Green-Elves of Ossiriand that he had nearly abandoned Quenya entirely for Sindarin.

Someone needed to remember those things, after Maedhros and Maglor were gone.

"You know that we knew Gil-galad's father well," Maglor said, dragging Elrond's attention back to the present. "If they're anything alike… You'll be in good hands."

Elrond didn't answer, but wrapped his arms around Maglor in a last, unspoken goodbye.

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#elrond #sons of fëanor #sons of feanor #caranthir's wife #parmacundë #my ocs #quilting #grief #the silmarillion #silmarillion fanfiction #silm fic #silmarillion writers' guild #silmfic #tolkien fanfic #tolkien #silmarillion

[glitteringaglarond]

How I would rewrite the LOTR movies aka my thesis statement in fixing what they did to Faramir (and others):

They should have been exactly like the books.

Aaaaand post.

But no I actually want to put some thought into this, because I truly hold that even with (most of) the changes, the PJ LOTR movies are truly works of art. I want to explore the idea of how to rewrite them within the framework of what they are, although obviously pulling from the books. A lot of this is an exercise in reframing movie scenes in order to better match book characterization.

My restraints are not to add something without taking out something of equal or similar length (with the exception of adding just one or two lines to a scene). For example, I could add in Tom Bombadil but then would probably have to take out Caradhras. But also if I wanted to include Eowyn's entire speech to the Witch King I wouldn't need to take anything out to do it.

I'm also not going to be sticking 100% to the books either. There are moments that will basically be "this isn't canon either, but it's closer to canon, and doesn't ruin this character in the process".

So let's do this!

The Fellowship of the Ring:

The first movie is, in my opinion, adaptationally the best of the three. There is a lot of excellent stuff that is cut out (Merry organizing the Conspiracy to smuggle Frodo out of the Shire, Tom Bombadil, Glorfindel, etc.), but all in all I would not change much of it.

Key word: Much

The two characters in the FOTR movie that I would tweak slightly, while still fitting within the time, structure, and pacing constraints of the movie, are Aragorn and Elrond.

---

So we get to our first change: the infamous "men are weak" scene between Elrond and Gandalf. Because we all know that Elrond Peredhel, beloved brother of Elros Tar-Minyatur, foster father of Elessar Telcontar, and lore-master of all people, would never hold that opinion. So instead, I want to reframe this conversation.

Instead of being bitter and angry, I want Elrond to be sad. Instead of "men are weak" I want "What is the strength of even the men of Gondor against the power of the Ring," before going into a flashback where he watched Isildur take the Ring and made the mistake of not recognizing it. Frame it as building up the deceptive power of the Ring (which will then come into play later with how it fools Boromir), and how because of this mistake the power of the Ring overcame the strength of Men. "I was there, Gandalf. I was there 3,000 years ago when the strength of men was usurped by darkness. I was there when the shadow began to grow anew, in the same moment it was vanquished, and I could not recognize it."

(you get the idea).

---

So now that we've changed Elrond, the changes to Aragorn's character that ostensibly come from the self-doubt he grew up because of movie!Elrond's "men are weak" policy need fixed as well.

Again, without just making movie!Aragorn into book!Aragorn, but just creating something within the movie framework that is more aligned with book!Aragorn, I suggest the following.

The scene with Boromir is mostly fine, so I shall leave it as is. The changes I make will happen when Arwen shows up and in his conversation with her. Her "Why do you fear the past..." will not be answered with "the same blood flows in my veins - same weakness" but rather "The very darkness that destroyed Isildur is growing. I have spent countless years being hunted by it, and now I must face it head-on", (implying that's what his fear is) which ties in rather perfectly with her "The Shadow does not hold sway yet; not over you and not over me." Thus we still get the impression that she is older and wiser than him, and even allowing him some level of vulnerability that he doesn't really have in the book, without removing his greatness.

---

One final scene I would re-frame is the conversation between Elrond and Aragorn at Gilraen's memorial.

First of all, while I wholeheartedly accept that there is a memorial to Gilraen in Rivendell, I refuse to believe that it would be allowed to be so un-tended that Aragorn literally has to wipe off leaves and dirt.

Secondly, I want Elrond to be there first, and for Aragorn to join him. Elrond has been sitting beside the memorial of his old friend, because the return of Aragorn makes him miss her all the more keenly. "She wanted to protect her child..." etc. is a decent bit of dialogue and I would keep it as is. But now I'm making a change.

Elrond: "She knew in Rivendell you would be safe. In her heart, your mother knew your road would be full of peril if you were ever to come to the light at the end of the darkness."

Aragorn: "A light she could not find the hope to survive long enough to see."

Allow this to sit between them for a moment, before having Elrond ask a question: "And do you have the hope needed to find that light, Estel my son?"

This does multiple things. 1) It frames Aragorn's future as a choice. One he has already made in the book, but a choice I don't see a problem with making part of the main plot. It's no longer about not wanting "that power" or his fate, but rather whether or not he has the necessary hope to see it through (spoiler alert: he does). 2) It establishes the father/son bond the two of them have 3) It name-drops Estel. Which I love for reasons.

This would then cut to Anduril being re-forged, and Aragorn would have it throughout the entire rest of the movies.

Because I have now added something, I must take something away. Obviously, because Aragorn is no longer hiding from his destiny, we can take away the "you are afraid... scared of who you are, of what you are" scene between him and Boromir.

---

Other than that, the only real changes I would make are let Aragorn be a little bit more involved in choosing their course. I'm fine with Gandalf being the one not to want to go to Moria, but Aragorn should suggest it as an alternate route instead of Gimli.

---

The Two Towers:

I want to change just about everything about this movie, as it's the worst of the three adaptation wise. However, I am still going to stick to the general constraints of pacing and structure of the movie.

To continue on from the changes to FOTR, I'm going to talk first about how the changes to Elrond and Aragorn will have an impact on TTT.

First of all, Aragorn will be walking forward with the weight of his legacy on his shoulders and will act accordingly. This includes being dramatic about being told to leave Anduril at the door before going in to see Theoden.

Most of the whole "I do not want that power" plot is absent in this movie, but the dynamic between Elrond and Aragorn in those flashbacks would be massively different because of the changes I've made to FOTR.

---

First, a minor change to the Aragorn/Arwen flashback. I don't want Aragorn filled with as much doubt as he is in the movie. Instead of "You must go with Frodo; this is your path" "My path is hidden from me..." "It is already laid before your feet, I want to reframe their conversation slightly.

Arwen: "You must go with Frodo and follow the path you have chosen. Follow your path through the shadow, to the light."

Aragorn: "And if the shadow proves stronger than the light?"

Arwen: "That is yet to be seen, but you cannot falter now."

And then we can keep the lines about "If you trust nothing else trust this... trust us" because my romantic heart loves them.

Once again, it reframes this into being about Aragorn knowing that his role is to be one of Hope that will bring about light after the darkness, but because his mother has just died, and very explicitly without any hope, he is allowing himself to privately express doubts. But it still does not take away from his greatness.

---

Next is a change to the Elrond and Aragorn scene where he basically tells him Arwen is leaving and that's final. I feel I must repeat, this exercise is not me making everything like it was in the book, but rather making small changes that bring the movies closer to what they should have been while still sticking to the structure and pacing provided.

Once again, this is a reframe, and not getting rid of it entirely, because to stick with the structure we do need Arwen to start to leave.

Elrond: "Our time here is ending. My time is ending. Soon I will sail away to the Undying Lands and leave much that I love behind me - including you, Aragorn. Do not ask me to leave behind my daughter as well."

Aragorn: "You know that choice does not belong to me."

Elrond: "Her choice depends on you, Aragorn. Should you come to the light at the end of the shadow and take her hand, you will bring to me a bitter parting - one of the bitterest I have faced. And still, you will not spare her the grief that mortality ends in."

Once again, Aragorn won't really answer Elrond, but their conversation hangs heavily in the air between them. When he goes in to speak to Arwen, instead of trying to sneak off like in the movie, I would now reframe it to echo the conversation he just had with Elrond.

Aragorn: "You have a chance for another life. Away from war... grief... despair. A life where the bitterness of partings will not weigh heavily on you."

Arwen: "Why are you saying this? I made my choice long ago, to accept both the bitter and the sweet."

Aragorn: "But what of the griefs you force others to bear? Can we really inflict this sorrow on Elrond? On your own mother, who even now awaits you?"

Arwen: "Would you have me depart, Estel?"

And then cut out of this scene to the one in the movie where Eowyn is asking about Arwen, and have Aragorn answer "she is sailing to the undying lands."

Again, it's not exactly like the books, but it's much less "Dad doesn't approve of his daughter's choice in boyfriend" and more "This choice that they are making is one that brings as much grief as it does happiness". Also, it allows for another name drop of Estel. Which I love. For reasons.

---

Shockingly, I would not change very much about everything going on in Rohan. Because the whole under-a-spell thing going on with movie!Theoden is easier for a general audience to understand, I would keep it. However, I would change Theoden going against Gandalf's advice to go to Helm's Deep. I would have Gandalf suggest going there, as in the books, and Theoden agreeing to do it.

I would also get rid of the entire Aragorn-falling-off-a-cliff side plot, and replace it with some Eowyn material.

Before Theoden departs to Helm's Deep Eowyn, of course, expresses her desire to join them. Instead he orders her to stay behind and rule Edoras, and we get a scene of her being dressed in armor and knighted. This makes it clear that while she is being left behind, her duty to Edoras is deemed just as important as Theoden's duty to Helm's Deep, even if it's something that irks her.

(obviously Eowyn not traveling to Helm's Deep changes the framing of her conversation with Aragorn about Arwen, but they can have this conversation as he is getting ready to depart).

I would also change the elves coming to Helm's Deep to the arrival of the Dunedain. Yes, this is a little bit before when they were supposed to show up in the book, but it that's a smaller change than bringing in a bunch of elves. We can also have Halbarad die here instead of at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, as opposed to Haldir meeting his end.

---

You all know the point of this exercise all comes down to what Peter Jackson did to Faramir, so let's talk about Faramir.

Objectively, the Osgiliath plot fulfills two purposes: 1) it extends Frodo and Sam's story, which in the book is much shorter than everybody else's story, so that they can still get about as much screentime as everybody else as each movie progresses and 2) it clues people in on what is happening in Osgiliath and in Gondor in general.

So let's fulfill these purposes without completely ruining Faramir.

First of all, instead of Faramir having his men bind Frodo and Sam's hands when he's taking them to Henneth Annun he tells them "Bind their eyes as we lead them onward - we must keep our secret paths a secret". This immediately keeps the momentum going, but instead of framing him as somebody who has the possibility of having a cruel streak (as is later proven true in the movie by him having an emaciated halfling brutally beaten), it shows that he's very practical in these dark times, but not cruel.

When Faramir mentions that Boromir is his brother go ahead and have both the flashback to his vision of the boat, as well as to him and Boromir at Osgiliath. However, we are getting rid of the retcon that ruins Boromir's motivations/character, and is part of everything going sideways with how the movies portray the line of Stewards. Instead of a victory speech after retaking Osgiliath, have the flashback show Faramir and Boromir fighting side-by-side, and being unable to stop the Nine from crossing over the bridge and then riding off into the distance. (Towards the Shire, being inferred). And when the Nine pass over safely, most of the forces draw back. So it becomes a victory, but a very cautious, uncertain, terrifying victory.

Give Boromir a moment where a young soldier, barely more than a boy, dies in his arms. This then ties in to how close he was to the Hobbits and how willing he was to die for them. When the boy dies, have Faramir pull Boromir to his feet and comfort him, showing that while Boromir is the support for the soldiers - Faramir is the support for Boromir. After taking a moment to compose himself, have Boromir joke about how he's not sure how he'll manage without Faramir when he leaves for Rivendell to get counsel from Elrond in the morning, and then switch back to the present.

This will be longer than the flashback in the movie, but now we don't need Faramir to take Frodo and Sam to Osgiliath to get an idea of what's happening there.

Now we have started establishing the kind of person that Faramir is, even if it's not completely book accurate, and can keep moving forward.

We will keep the sequence of flashback -> catch Gollum -> conversation with Frodo and Sam, instead of having the conversation where he finds out about the Ring before catching Gollum, but we will still change things a little bit. Namely: completely get rid of the scene where Faramir has an emaciated halfling cruelly beaten.

After catching Gollum, Faramir talks with Frodo and Sam. We're going to let him have a little bit more information than he does in the books, and he is able to guess who and what Gollum is.

Faramir: "Gandalf came to Minas Tirith searching for answers not long ago. It seems to me you two and your companion spell out the question he wanted the answers for. I do not doubt that Fate has bound you with the errand of my brother, who went in search of answers about Isildur's Bane."

Frodo: "Your guess is close to the mark, Faramir, but I am bound to secrecy and cannot say more."

Faramir then pieces the rest of it together and guesses that Frodo's burden is the Ring, and then says something to echo Boromir's words when he tried to take the Ring - which terrifies Frodo. "So your Burden is the weapon of the enemy, and you are traveling towards Mordor. Will you then destroy it? Is that your purpose? Deprive these lands of a powerful weapon?"

And of course Frodo and Sam do not trust Faramir. They've known him for a single day, so they jump back and draw their swords, but Faramir waves them down. "Put down your swords. I am wise enough to know that there are some perils from which a man must flee. Sit at peace! I would not pick up this thing and use it if I found it by the roadside - I know too well of the darkness, and do not doubt that the Ring would destroy all light, no matter who wielded it."

(Again. Not as good as book!Faramir, and we don't really get him realizing what happened between Frodo and Boromir, but certainly better than what the movie gave us.)

Also keep this entire conversation, because it's beautiful:

'Well, Frodo, now at last we understand one another,' said Faramir. 'If you took this thing on yourself, unwilling, at others' asking, then you have pity and honour from me. And I marvel at you: to keep it hid and not to use it. You are a new people and a new world to me. Are all your kin of like sort? Your land must be a realm of peace and content, and there must gardeners be in high honour.'   'Not all is well there,' said Frodo, 'but certainly gardeners are honoured.'

But now we run into a problem, in regards to the two reasons mentioned above as to why the Osgiliath arc was included: even with the extended flashback sequence, this still is not quite as long as what it needs to be to extend this portion of the story to match what's going on with the rest of the Company.

It's closer to the mark, but if we want to end Frodo and Sam's portion of the story at the end of the movie to them walking together at the edge of Ithilien after leaving Faramir, this needs to be a bit longer.

So follow Faramir as he goes to Osgiliath, departing from Frodo and Sam in friendship. Have him escort them as far as their paths coincide, and then leave them behind to go to Osgiliath. And have Sam say something about "He's like Boromir, this Faramir is. Only... only different" and have Frodo somberly agree.

Then have a scene with Faramir at Osgiliath, tension heavy in the air because they know another attack will come soon, and they only won the last attack because the enemy drew back. This will be intercut with the victory at Helm's Deep, and Sam's "folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't" speech.

Then we can get the scene of Gandalf, Theoden, Aragorn, Legolas, and Eomer's stunt double looking out in the direction of Mordor, and then cut back to Frodo and Sam with their "will we ever be put in songs or tales" conversation.

And there we go! We killed some time, didn't destroy Faramir, Boromir, or Denethor, and got to understand what's happening in Osgiliath a little bit better.

---

Also, as it's relevant to mention this now, change the majority of Galadriel's voiceover at the start of the stuff with Faramir, because most of it sets up the arrival of the elves to Helm's Deep and the ruining of Faramir. Because the movies have established a connection between Arwen and Frodo, with Arwen taking Glorfindel's place, have the mental conversation be between Galadriel and Arwen, not Elrond. During this conversation Galadriel can talk about "the strength of the ringbearer is fading", but also talk about how Sauron's darkness is growing and hope dims. Imply that Galadriel's words, along with Arwen's conversation with Aragorn, is part of what convinces her to leave. So basically make the conversation about Frodo, Aragorn, and Arwen, and not about... ruining Faramir.

And then related to this, in the scene in the movie where Elrond talks about the future and Aragorn's death, I want to make a couple of changes. Arwen has had the mental conversation with Galadriel, and is now nearly convinced to leave. So she asks Elrond... what would my future be if I were to stay? And he tells her - similarly to what he tells her in the actual scene. And this, knowing the grief she will bring to her family and that she will not, in the end, escape herself, is what makes her choose to leave.

---

One more change I would make is that the Ents decide at Entmoot to attack Saruman. Merry and Pippin helping convince them with the whole "the closer we are to danger the farther we are from harm" bit added very little time to the movie. And while that line is fantastic, I would rather see the Ent's come away from their entmoot singing and booming like drums.

Also, don't make Gimli the butt of the jokes, and give him his angsty but badass Helm's Deep injury.

---

The Return of the King

A lot of the first bit of this move I'll leave mostly untouched. As much as I'm sad we don't get the scouring of the Shire I get why it wasn't included, so Saruman dies at the beginning of ROTK. Arwen also chooses to stay in Middle Earth after having a vision of Eldarion, and yes... even the bit with Gandalf taking Pippin to Minas Tirith because Sauron thinks he has the Ring. Although I will change what exactly it is that Pippin saw, and instead just make it that he was questioned by Sauron. And now they have to get him to Minas Tirith so that he's safe behind those strong walls before a Nazgul can get to them. (this can even be where we include an alteration of "the closer we are to danger, the farther we are from harm" line, because if they're riding for Minas Tirith they're actually getting closer to Sauron).

---

The first major change (if I'm remembering the sequence of the movie correctly) is the scene where Elrond brings Anduril to Aragorn. Because remember, in my rewrite he has it from the time they leave Rivendell.

Instead of Elrond showing up with the sword, we'll have Arwen show up with the standard that she made for Aragorn and with a message from Galadriel, reminding Aragorn of the Paths of the Dead. Aragorn travels with her, Legolas, Gimli, and the Dunedain (who remember showed up at Helm's Deep in my rewrite) on that road.

I would also change absolutely everything that makes the Paths of the Dead humorous, absolutely including Gimli blowing away ghosts. It's going to be exactly like stepping into a horror movie. We also will not see them get to the ships, because I want the arrival of the ships at Pelennor Fields to be a moment of horror and doom until Aragorn is revealed to be on them.

When they arrive at Pelennor Fields, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Arwen, and the Dunedain attack and kill orcs, while the ghosts are merely helpful in frightening them. They might not be able to be killed, but they can't kill foes either. They can just get them to drop their weapons so our heroes can kill them without any trouble.

Arwen can also continue traveling with Aragorn everywhere he goes, and can be part of the final battle at the Black Gate.

(again, not exactly like the books, but more in line than what we got while still sticking to the pacing and structure provided in the movies).

---

Denethor is the other major thing I would change, predictably.

First of all, like in the books I would have Pippin and Gandalf see the beacons have been lit as they ride towards Minas Tirith, which increases Gandalf's fears. This, however, means we don't get the scene where Pippin has to light the beacon, so I'm replacing that with something else.

After the initial conversation with Denethor, which will automatically be a bit different because Denethor has already lit the beacons, but which will include Pippin offering his service, Gandalf and Pippin talk. Gandalf says Denethor is very wise and very powerful, but he fears how he came to have the information he has. Because Aragorn has not yet revealed himself. While this conversation with Pippin is going on, show Denethor in his tower with a Palantir, watching as Sauron's armies move slowly across Middle Earth and towards Osgiliath.

Cut to Faramir in Osgiliath, and the attack/retreat towards Minas Tirith.

Slightly reframe the scene with Faramir and Denethor, and make it clear that Denethor is so upset about Faramir sending Frodo towards Mordor with the Ring because he knows some of what is coming. "You did what you deem to be right, and yet you are sending a halfling alone to confront an entire army. He will fail, and all will fall."

Also don't make the ride on Osgiliath a suicide run, but an actual strategic move to buy time for Rohan to come.

Then when Faramir is injured, give Denethor another scene in his tower with the Palantir. This time, instead of just watching, have him seem to truly try to force more information out of it... and he catches Sauron's eye. "You think these armies are all you need to worry about? You know nothing. Hope is ended, and only time stands between you and death", he hears in his head as Sauron forces him to look upon the black ships, the massive armies, and Osgiliath smoking in ruin.

And that is when he goes truly insane.

Finally, instead of running a 5k off the wall, when Gandalf saves Faramir from the pyre, have Denethor pull out the Palantir and give Gandalf an echo of Sauron's words. "Hope is ended, and only time stands between us and death. So I choose my own time" before lying down on the pyre and burning, due to the oil poured all over himself, before anybody has the chance to save him.

---

Frodo. Never. Tells. Sam. To. Leave.

We can extend their stay in Mordor a little bit to make up for it, time-wise. After they escape from that party of orcs they get caught up in, give them one last encounter with a couple of orcs deserters. The deserters see the two of them and try to kill them, but Sam fends them off. This encounter has an upside and a downside. The upside: these orcs had water, so now Frodo and Sam have more than they did before. The downside: they are now even more exhausted then they were before.

---

Actually give Faramir and Eowyn more time in the Houses of Healing to make the movie romance work. Partially fixing Faramir's character goes a long way in making it work better now, but one scene where they stare at each other is Not Enough.

---

Not all of this is perfect, of course, but that's how I would effect a rewrite of the PJ LOTR movies without massively changing the basic pacing, structure, and scene-placement that we were given.

If you made it to the end, what do you think? Is this better or worse than what we got?

#lotr #the lord of the rings #lord of the rings #my op

[catyo90]

Elendil x F!Reader: Noticed Glances

Warning: Fluff then Smut under the cut, Smut, Minors DNI, Graphic,

Requested by @thetempleofthemasaigoddess​

Being a Lore Keeper was not as exciting as some believed. But to you it was the best job you could have. You loved reading about the history of elves long since past or the humans who lived far to the east or the dragons of the far north. But what you loved most was the visits from a particular captain. For the past year, he would visit you, at first it was quick visits but one day you noticed his visits were more in duration and amount. You never knew when he would stop by but you always enjoyed his company. Even more, than you thought possible.

You looked around to see that it was surprisingly later than you thought it was. You sighed knowing he most likely would not be there today. It was far too late for him to ride out. You were alone in the Hall of Lore, many of the apprentices were not night owls like you were seeing as all of them had retired for the night in the chambers below and the Grand Lore Keeper had left for the night leaving you in charge. You didn't mind the alone time as your mind wandered to the countless visits from Elendil over the last few weeks.

You remembered the first time Elendil came to the Hall of Lore, you believed him to be there only by request by the Queen Regent or perhaps even the ill King. Not because he couldn’t be academic as well as a captain, of course, but because he wore a face so determined yet also lost in thought. Believing him to be wandering around the halls before he was due to go on a naval journey, or clandestine meeting with the Queen Regent, you were shocked when you found him sauntering down the spiral staircase before you with resolution resounding from the fall of his boots.

Instead of speaking, he lingered between the two gold candle stands that lined the final step of the library steps, just glancing at you. Removing his hands from behind his back, he bowed lowly to you and finally broke the knife-cutting tension in the sea-scented air.

“Forgive me I did not mean to intrude, I am Elendil, and I am searching for some sea maps of the southern waters. And most of the people I have asked back in the city recommended to ask you.”

“My name is Y/n. How might I help you, my lord.”

You bowed in response as you grabbed a few tomes under your arm. You remembered him inquiring as to your isolation, as at the time you were the only one under the Grand Lore Keepers wing, you had managed to catch the breathlessness that came to you as he spoke. You couldn’t help it, he was the most beautiful man you had ever since and his voice was so deep that you could swear it was the only voice you ever wanted to hear for the rest of your days. After finding the scrolls and maps he needed he bid you a fair evening, bowing down once more and thanking you. His eyes never left yours, eyes like a sea during a storm or the glow of starlight at night as he turned on his heel and left. The whole encounter left you feeling bewildered for the rest of the night, and for the next few days… until he came back again just a few quick morns later.

That time, he had come for some sea charts but since some needed to be updated, you had managed to convince him to stay longer than usual. He would sit down with you on a stool opposite your neatly organized stone desk seeing books from almost every category opened with notes and corrections made into them. He eyed the tapestry of Elrond and Elros on the wall as he watched you work, fervently pouring over old sea charts and cross-referencing them with unrolled scrolls that were so ancient that even the oldest of scholars could barely make them out. You always thought the smell of sea salt and books was comforting to you and you soon learned that he did as well. His intentions confounded you when he would leave.

You had noticed he always asked for you even when the elders offered their help, and yet you found yourself missing his company whenever he was gone too long. Thankfully, he never was unless an urgent matter of kin or kingdom drew him away. He came the next day, and the next, and the next, until it became the first venture out into the cold autumn air when he woke and dressed; it became the last place his wearied body sought out when his long hours on the open sea were done under the stars.

-

You shook your head remembering that you had a lot of work to finish for the night. You started by grabbing a few scrolls and properly organizing them on the shelf, climbing the ladder you finished up rather quickly and managed to even find a few lost books, no doubt from the apprentices that didn’t care for logging everything down. You sighed as you grabbed them and climbed down the ladder when suddenly you felt your foot slip on a step making you lose your footing. You were expecting to hit the floor with a loud thud but it never came. Only the feeling of someone's arms having caught you made you realize that it was Elendil who had caught you. Looking up into the grey eyes of the man whose beauty could rival that of any elf. He spoke with a voice that was both gentle and concerned.

“You alright?”

You were silent for a moment before you managed to find the words to say.

“Oh yes...Thank you. Would not have been a pleasant way to end my day.”

He carefully let you down noticing the books you were grabbing had landed on the floor. He picked them up and offered them to you. You took the books from him and breathed a sigh of relief as you examined them seeing that they were only a bit scratched. 

“Glad I arrived when I did, It would be most unpleasant to see you harmed.”

“I would have to agree with you on that... not that I'm not thankful or anything Elendil but what are you doing here so late. I know you have in the past but from what I remember the last we met you said you would be at sea for almost three days.”

“The waters have grown too cold for the ships to leave and the Queen Regent has ordered all of us to stay on land for the time being. As for being here. I won't deny I would rather be in your company than with my crew.”

“Well, you are most welcome here. Though you will find we are the only ones here tonight.”

“No one to help you?” He said with a curious look

“Yes, and No, the elders left for their homes for the night and the apprentices are all asleep in the chambers far below. But now that you are here...” You smirked as he crossed his arms smiling at you.

“Oh I see, so you only wish me to be here for my services. Well, then who am I to argue.”

“Don’t worry I just need some help finding the last book that goes with these.” you gestured to your desk where he saw a two out of three. Seemed the last one was nowhere in sight.

“And after we find your illusive book?”

“Then we can relax and enjoy each other's company.”

Elendil slightly was taken aback by the statement. If he only knew how much that had a second meaning hidden behind it. You felt your face get a bit heated as you realized what you secretly wanted and tried to forget about it. 

“A..Anyway we can get started in here and then try looking archives above..”

Elendil smirked as you walked over to the elegant shelves seeing some books out of order and moving them to where they belonged as you searched. Elendil did try his best to search for the book but he was in truth lost in his own thoughts. He was here for a specific reason but in truth, he was not sure how to tell you how you would react. After finding nothing in the main chamber you both started up the stairs to the higher level seeing a smaller amount of shelves and the sight of the sea spread out before you both. You couldn’t help but take in the scenery. The sea was just so beautiful, yes at times you would find yourself dreaming of the ancient forests of the elves or the delving kingdoms of the dwarves but you had to admit you would never truly tire of the beautiful ocean, especially at this time when the stars reflected perfectly in the waves as if the skies surrounded the entire island. 

Elendil was scanning over the shelves and found himself looking over at you, you were a truly beautiful sight. Your hair blew in the wind as you leaned over the railing enjoying the slightly cool air. Your robes were a dark elegant blue that in truth he couldn’t help but let his mind wander. He cleared his thoughts away as he returned his attention to the task at hand. You turned around and you prayed to any of the Valar that what you saw before you were no dream or illusion. His hair was as elegant as it ever was and the blue colours of the sea guard complimented him so well, you could see when his arms would move how strong he truly was. And while he was quite a tall man you truly loved the height difference between you two. When he was near you, you felt safe and protected when there was no reason for it.

You felt a small blush rise as you started to look around for the book as well as trying so very hard to focus.

As you both searched through the old and new volumes amidst the rows of shelves in the smaller chamber, you could feel the intensity radiate from yourself as you would occasionally catch yourself glancing at him and you, in turn, would see him glance at you as he pretended to search beside you. As your fingers scanned up and down the spines, the side of his palm and pinkie bumped against your hand. At first, his mind seemed to falter, but he quickly recovered as he turned his head back to the shelves and pretended his heart wasn’t thudding as loud as a storm against his tunic. As he lowered his hand and turned to search one of the last shelves, he clenched his fingers as they burned to reach back and grab your hand in his. You turned your head back to the shelves and looked up to see a book on the top of the shelf itself. You tried grabbing at it seeing your hand fail to grab it you were about to grab the stool until you felt his presence behind you and saw him reach up to grab the book bringing the book into your hands.

“Thank you...” you curtsied to him as you walked over to the desk in the middle of the chamber placing the book on top and then returning them to their spot on the adjacent shelf.

“Well, I’m glad I'm finished for the night. My neck is hurting so much.” You said rubbing the back of your neck wondering if Elendil was tired as well. You saw him leaning on one of the shelves with a smirk on his face.

“What are you thinking?”

“I just was thinking that you do a lot of work for one person. Even more than that of the Queen Regent. I will have to help you more when I come to visit..”

“Well, I do enjoy your visits even if it really is only to help you with research or information that so many here have no idea even exists.”

“Those are not the only reasons.”

“Not the only reasons? Well, I do suppose we have the finest maps as well.”

“True but not that either.” He leaned off the shelf placing his blade near the table as you watched him cross his arms over his chest looking out into the sea.

“In truth, your company is one of the more important reasons I come here.”

“Elendil, I know you and I get along quite well...but riding out here almost every day just to have my company. Some would say that is required for people to be more than friends.”

You walked up to him a bit confused but secretly hoping his answer would be a good one. He looked over at you and smiled.

“I ride out here almost every day only to see you.”

Silence.

It took you a long minute to realize what he meant. Every time he asked for your help. Every scroll, volume, tome, book and map he ever asked for was never the true reason he was there. That he was secretly only ever wanting to see you. You felt your face become heated as a very evident blush crossed your cheeks. You felt your heart beating like crazy as you turned around trying to calm yourself down. Though that all went out the window when you felt his arms wrap around you, you couldn't help but cling to his arms as if you both were your only lifeline. His breathing was so calm and his scent was somehow like oak.

“Y/n. Ever since the first day we met. I’ve been hunted by dreams of you and visions of you in the halls, even times where I swear I hear your voice call my name even when I know it can not be. I am truly, madly and completely in love with you.”

You felt your heart beat faster as you could gently feel his beat against your back. You smiled and turned around to face him looking up at him you placed your hands on his chest feeling him breathing beneath them as he looked down at you. You turned your head away from him realizing you were still so nervous until you felt his hand gently grasp your chin to move your gaze back at him his eyes showed nothing but love as he glanced down at your lips gently bringing his lips to yours. Only for a moment before he moved his head back to look at you once more. You were completely enthralled by him as you glanced and got lost in his eyes as you spoke.

“Elendil...my dear Elendil.”

You couldn’t help it, not when you loved him so much. You brought your lips to his and felt his grasp around your frame tighten. His lips felt soft to the touch as his fingers though clearly rough from working out on the open sea were careful and gentle toward you.

You could feel his body becoming more relaxed as you melded into his embrace, his hand cupping the back of your neck as you gripped onto his shirt. Your lips were desperately moving against each other, the relief of knowing you both loved each other coursing through both of your veins as he pulled you as close to him as possible.

“You should have done this sooner,” You murmured against his lips as he chuckled to himself as pulled away just slightly to scatter kisses across your face feeling his beard tickle your face ever so slightly as you pulled him into another kiss. It started simple, to say the least, your hands delving into his locks as his fingertips traced delicate shapes onto your arms, gliding down to tentatively hold you closer to him. You felt his lips trace down your neck you gripped at his shirt trying to catch your breath. You felt his lips leave yours allowing you two to pause for a moment as you both took in each other's presence

Looking into his eyes you couldn’t help but smile as he held you tight as if you would be taken by the sea. You gently kissed him once more feeling the cold night breeze you shivered slightly until you felt his arms tighten around you once more. How could feel the warmth envelop you as he took one of your hands in his placing it on his chest ever so lightly rubbing his hand against yours as closing his eyes. You could see he was almost in a trance as he looked into your eyes, you watched as he lowered his head to yours this time placing a light kiss on the lips, one that made you feel completely and madly in love with this man.

Y/n...Are your chambers nearby?”

“Y...yes just past the archway over there.” You pointed over to the side of the tower where only one door and room showed.

“I believe I would prefer this to continue in private, don’t you?”

You nodded into his chest. He chuckled as he realized you were blushing like crazy. He brought your gaze to meet his for a moment and smiled at you. He grabbed his blade from the table and hurried you into the room by taking you by the hand before locking the door behind you. You watched him place his sword next to the door before returning his attention to you as he took your face in his hands gently kissing you on the lips once more but stopped before he continued. You looked up into his eyes, you knew he was thinking to himself as he brought a gentle hand to the back of your neck touching his forehead to yours breathing deeply.

“Y/n if you wish for this to stop tell me, But if so, I… I need you to end this because I can’t.“

You shook your head bringing your hands to his face to bring him in for another kiss. You felt him slowly backing you into the bed, he gently took you into his arms allowing both of you to fall on the soft satin sheets. You allowed his hands to slowly move up your body grazing your breasts as he kissed you once more. You gasped softly; the touch of his lips against yours caused searing bolts like lightning to travel through to your core, rendering your knees weak. You felt your hands begin to shake as you slipped your arms around his waist, and then the tremor began to make their way up your arms and into your whole being until you were a trembling, nervous wreck before him.

He pulled his face back just a bit to search your eyes, to convey without words how he felt. The heavy, emotional atmosphere sizzled and crackled between the two of you, causing both your hearts to gallop and your lips to quiver ever so slightly.

"Shh." He whispered as his fingers and thumb caressed your face, the other hand softly stroking your back. His eyes were soft, glassy, and full of emotion.  He pressed his lips to yours again, this time in a hungry, searing kiss.

You whimpered against his lips as his kiss set your whole body tingling, igniting a fire inside of you. He threaded his fingers into your hair, inadvertently pulling more strands loose. His fingers felt wonderful in your hair, each caress of his fingertips sending sparks down your body, adding to the overall effect he was having on you. You had never realized that a kiss could induce such feelings. You could feel your chest tight with emotion, your heart beating rapidly as you felt tears gathering in your eyes; here was the moment for which you'd been waiting for so long, the moment that you always dreamed of. You hadn't dared to believe that Elendil could reciprocate your feelings, that you deserved a man like him.

He pulled you closer to him, and when he pushed his tongue into your mouth, you couldn’t help but gasp in surprised pleasure. He kissed you with desperation and passion as if trying to convince you through his kiss how real this was, how much he wanted you. Your breaths came in heavy pants as heat pooled between your legs once again and instinctively pushed your hips against his. You still couldn't believe this was happening, and that he truly did want you as much as you wanted him.

Elendil broke the kiss to trail kisses down your neck, occasionally nipping gently. You tightened your grip around his body.

"Elendil…" you whimpered softly, and the tears fell from your eyes. He began rubbing and squeezing your back now, his hands inching lower until he grasped you in a possessive grip. He felt like he could pass out from the overload of sensations coursing through his system. You whispered his name repeatedly, like a mantra.

"I want you - to - be - mine." He growled, between kisses along your neck and jaw.

"I’ve always been yours." You whispered, for fear that it would sound like a sob.

"By the Valar…Y/n, "

You placed a finger against his soft lips gently cupping your hand to his jaw. He dropped one arm, and let the other one smooth down your arm to capture your hand in his. He pulled you into his arms once again, and kissed you tenderly, much more tenderly than the first kiss. You brought your hands to the hem of his shirt tugging at it for him to take off. You saw him smile as he removed it to show off his slight muscular form, the light peppered hairs on his chest made you blush as you wrapped your arms around his neck. The feel of him without his light armour against your chest caused a sense of lust to course through you making you sigh. You watched his smiling face as he stroked your cheeks. 

"You are truly beautiful." He whispered, caressing your cheek with one hand, the other hand propping him up on the bed. He gently lowered himself between your legs, allowing you to feel his hardness pressing against your mound. 

"So lovely." He leaned down and brushed his lips against Yours, and moved his hips in an upward motion. You gasped against his lips, the pressure mounting in your womanhood increasing. He resisted the urge to repeat the action, instead, he trailed kisses down your neck, over your collarbone and between your breasts. His fingers held your soft breasts as he looked up to gauge your reaction. You simply nodded, smiling warmly up at him. You stroked his hair and his shoulders as he planted soft kisses along the skin of your breasts, he noticed with delight how your breathing came in short pants. He propped himself up on his elbows, the sight of you lying there so vulnerable, with your soft breasts exposed to him nearly undid him.

"You truly are perfection." He stroked the skin on your chest between your breasts, almost too afraid to touch the untouched skin of your nipples. He gazed down at you for a moment, feeling his throat constrict with emotion. 

"Please..." You whimpered, pulling his hands over your breasts. You moaned, arching your back into his palms as he gently kneaded your breasts when he rolled each nipple between his thumb and finger, you felt like screaming. You ran your hands up his broad, masculine torso, revelling in the feel of the soft hairs covering it. You let your hands trail back down to cock, eager to release him. But he removed your hands, pinning them above your head, and cinched your wrists in one of his hands. He kissed you gently for a moment, subtly grinding his hips against your aching womanhood. Growing more confident, you bucked your hips against him, needing more friction. Elendil made a choked huff sound, fuelling your desire even more. He let go of your hands and before you could get your hands to release his cock, he pulled back. 

"Uh-uh-uh, not yet. My lady" He laughed, as you groaned. He gave himself a moment to take in your beauty, he felt himself twitching in anticipation. You looked so vulnerable and pure, yet so sensual as he shook his head in wonder. He reached one hand down to trail his fingers up the inside of your thigh, watching your face all the while. you felt his fingers trail all the way up over your stomach, back up to your breasts. He leaned down to take one of your nipples into his mouth, just gently flicking his tongue over the hard bud. You hissed as you brought your hands to grasp his head tightly. He let his hand caress back downwards again, and finally, you felt him move toward your centre. You were soaked. He slipped his middle finger over your very swollen clitoris, as you bucked wildly against him, crying out unintelligible to him. The sounds you made caused his cock to throb painfully in his trousers. With one hand, he pushed them down as far as he could, as you pushed them down the rest of the way with your feet.

Once he was out of his pants, he returned his full attention to him worshipping your body. He dragged his tongue across to the other nipple, giving it a bit of love before trailing wet kisses down your abdomen. He wanted you so badly, that part of him was almost losing control, but the care he had for you overrode his urges. He wanted to ease you into this with gentle love and care. 

You were in a complete state of bliss. You lay there contentedly, stroking his hair and his shoulders as he drew kisses over your skin rubbing and caressing you even closer. You felt her eyes close for a while, enjoying the contrast of his soft lips and his beard tickling against her skin. When his lips met your hips, you bucked up your hips in pleasure.

You clutched his hair and tried to pull him up, but he was having none of it. He did speed up a little bit however and moved downwards. His tongue and his teeth grazed your skin causing you to gasp as your back and shoulders arched. You had heard of men kissing women between the legs, the thought seemed to make quiver with anticipation. You looked down to see his cock making you slightly nervous from the size. Your eyes went wide. You reached your hand forward, gently stroking him.

"Y/n…" he hissed thickly, bucking into your hand as you continued to stroke him. It felt so hot and hard, he groaned loudly. One hand lazily stroked your thigh, the warmth of his palm enhancing the blooming heat in your body. He drew his hand downwards to lovingly stroke your folds as you stroked his cock in time with the gentle thrusts of his hips. He kissed his way up the inside of your leg, caressing and stroking every part of you that he could reach with his hands.

Finally, he arrived at the junction between your legs, and wasted no more time – he pressed his tongue against her. You cried out loudly, your voice high-pitched with a mixture of pleasure and panic.

"Don't worry, my love. Just relax." He entwined his fingers with yours, as he kiss you passionately down there, licking and using his lips. You studied the way his eyebrows knitted in concentration, the outline of his soft lips working to bring you closer and closer to complete release. He withdrew one hand from yours, to gently push inside. You groaned breathily when it pressed against that certain spot, and you felt him smile against your skin. He closed his lips around your clitoris, sucking very gently, before flicking his tongue over it rapidly.

Suddenly the pleasure became too much to bear – the slowly-building pressure exploded past its boundaries, your pleasure boiling over, making you cry out his name hoarsely. Your hips bucked involuntarily against his face as he continued as he gently pushed his fingers in and out. You found yourself overly sensitive after your first ever 'man-made' climax, he gently moved his head away seeing you trying to catch your breath.

"I don't even know what to say." You giggled.

"You don't have to say anything. But I will say something – you are the most beautiful woman in the world and the next." His voice was husky with desire, and the sound of it caused your desire to soar once again.

You took his erection into your hand once again and guided him to your entrance.

"Are you sure?" he asked, hesitating. You nodded, though you were extremely nervous. He was very large, and you were rather small compared to him. He knew he would have to be patient.

He pushed the tip of his cock into you and held it there for a moment so that you could adjust to the feeling. He watched your face for any signs of distress, but so far, you seemed to be handling it much better than you thought. He pushed in a little bit deeper and thrust gently. He still wasn't even halfway inside. He wanted desperately to sheathe himself inside fully, but he didn't want to hurt you

"It's ok. Keep going," you whispered, lovingly stroking his back.

He pushed in further – you winced in pain. He was of quite considerable size, and you were very tight. You knew it was normal for it to feel this way at first – you'd never had anything apart from yourself being there, and he stretched you further than he had imagined.

"I'm sorry," He whispered against your neck, holding still once again.

"Don't be." You knew the pain wouldn't last, yet the shock of him inside made it hard to relax. 

"I just need to relax." You tried to keep your tone light, but he could hear the anxiety in your voice.

He lifted his head to look at you and kissed you softly as he pushed deeper still. You relaxed as best you could, and encouraged him with your caress and kisses. He was finally fully sheathed inside of you, you both let out a breath you didn't know you’d been holding. He held himself inside still, giving you a chance to adjust to his size.

Gradually, you both found a slow, gentle rhythm. He cradled you protectively in his arms, resting his forehead against yours as you moved together. 

"I'm sorry." He whispered again, and you kissed his lips. You couldn't contain the tears of love that spilt from your eyes; your whole body was shaken by heavy emotion, as you felt yourself on the edge of burst. Each of his thrusts caused spears of desire to shoot upwards and outwards, the feeling, unlike anything you'd ever imagined it could be.

You clung tightly to him; he was your anchor in this tidal wave, and you never wanted to let go. No romance novels you’d read adequately described the depth of love you felt for him. Your heart sang with adoration for this formal, charismatic, gentle giant; he was being so caring and considerate. You could sense how hard it was for him to restrain himself, which made it obvious that he was doing this for you, for your comfort.

Once he was satisfied that you were actually enjoying yourself, that the pain was gone, he began to move a bit faster, a bit deeper, while still keeping it slow and gentle. You met his thrusts with your own, gripping him hard. You wanted him to go faster, go harder, but he was worried that if he did, you'd be sore afterwards. But you urged him on, driving your hips against his until he felt his control slipping – the desire to be gentle made way for more primal urges; his loving kisses became more and more ferocious, his teeth catching your bottom lip and nipping none-too-gently at your jaw as he increased the speed of his thrusts. Your cries became higher in pitch, as you dug your fingers into him, arms holding on tight. Both of your movements became frenzied, and frantic, whispered words of encouragement and comfort turning into shouts of how good it felt.

And just when it seemed that the floodgates couldn't open any wider, He gripped your cheeks and said, 

"Ge Melin, beautiful Y/n."

You let out only a few tears, not sorrowful ones but those of joy.

"Oh, Elendil…Ge Melin. I always have." He exhaled loudly with the biggest smile as he continued to pick up the pace.

Soon, there was no more room for words - the only sounds were the sounds of flesh slapping against flesh, you both panting, your grunts and groans of blissful effort. The sounds he made enhanced the slowly-building tension coiled in your most sensitive place until his increasing grunts and moans caused your climax to come rushing in. When he felt reached between the two of you gently rubbing your clitoris, you felt yourself tip over the edge. 

"Elendil!" you shouted, convulsing under him as he held you tighter before his movements faltered and he spilt his seed inside you, hoarsely whispering unintelligible words of love in your ear. He all but collapsed on top of you, panting and dripping sweat. You pulled his face to yours, as he placed loving kisses over your face.

"I swear I will love you forever," He whispered, stroking your face lovingly.

You stayed like that for a time, just caressing and whispering words of love and affection to each other, enjoying the feeling of skin against skin, getting to know one another on a deeper level. He kissed your cheek softly. 

"By the Valar, Y/n, I love you." He said again, pulling you in for another cuddle before he reluctantly stood up. You crawled under the covers to get warm and curled into a ball. Pleasant exhaustion swept over your whole body. He chuckled softly, loving the fact that he could lay naked with you now. A secret fantasy that he always dreamed of since first meeting you. He carefully snuggled up behind you and draped his arm around you. His emotional soft heart swelled in his chest – how good it felt to be able to feel your pressed up against him, naked, and how good it felt to be able to press his nose into your neck and breathe you in.

You woke up a little while later, to feel Elendils' hard, muscular body pressed against yours, his hands stroking up your hip and arm. You breathed a satisfied sigh, enjoying the sensations he was causing to your body. Goosebumps prickled your skin as he caressed you, causing you to hum softly. From your sound, you felt him grow hard against your inner thighs, and you felt your desire flare to life. You smiled to yourself as you subtly pushed your rear against him, earning a low groan from him. The stroking of his hand became more urgent, and he slipped his other arm under your neck to hold you closer. He couldn't resist the silken feel of your skin against his member. He rubbed it against you and then gently lifted your leg and pulled it back so it rested over his leg. You arched your back to give him better access, and he rubbed the head of his cock gently over your sex. You felt somewhat wild, but it mattered less than the bolts of desire zapping through your whole body.

"Mmmh…" you moaned, gripping his arm. He reached around with his other hand to rub your clitoris gently making your voice increase in pitch. He chuckled into your neck as he pushed his tip inside, once again pressing in slowly. You didn't tense against him this time – you were much more relaxed about the whole thing. You reached your arm behind yourself to clutch his head as he increased the depth of his movements, your soft grunts and moans urging him on. You lift your leg higher and arched your back further, wanting, no, begging him to push deeper. His head felt hazy with lust knowing fully well that he just wanted to take you even harder than before, but you could sense he was afraid that you were still tender.

"Is it alright?" he asked you. As he gently cupped a hand to your cheek turning your gaze to meet his.

"It feels wonderful, my love…it's more than wonderful." Your words came out as halting grunts as you felt your walls become tighter and wetter around him.

Sensing your imminent climax, he pulled out and manoeuvred you so that you were straddling him. The way the candlelight flickered over your shining skin made his heart swell. He ran his hands over your arms, your neck, and down your chest, over your breasts. Your skin was so soft, just as he'd always imagined. 

"Come here." He whispered, holding the base of his erection for you to slide onto. You carefully lift your hips and gently lower yourself down onto him.

You slowly ground your clitoris against him as he gently thrust, panting with need as your womanhood swelled yet again. You leaned forward so that you could rest against him laying your head against his chest. You listened to the beat of his heart – it was faster than usual, owing to his lust. You couldn’t help but smile as you placed soft kisses against his skin as he caressed you, causing goosebumps to rise all over your arms and shoulders. His hands never stopped moving the whole time, making you feel warmed by his love. He placed his fingers under your chin to lift your face to meet his as you both gazed smilingly at each other as you both increased your movements.

You pushed yourself upright so you could run your hands along his broad chest and torso. You sped up your grinding movements, placing your hands on his chest for support. Another orgasm for the night snuck up on you before you had a chance to stop it and shuddered on top of him. He gripped tightly onto your hips; he felt himself tipping over the edge too as the sudden relief of his seed came.

You traced circles on his chest as you listened to his panting. It all felt so familiar to you, as though you’d always been together. So this is what love is like, you thought. 

"I feel like I have been waiting for this forever." You sighed

"I'm sorry." 

"Elendil, why did you keep me waiting for so long?" you looked up at him, your eyes twinkling as brightly as mythril.

"At first I thought my feelings toward you were inappropriate. I – I kept pushing my feelings away because I thought that if I allowed myself to…" He sighed and continued stroking your skin, causing goosebumps. You didn't press him for an answer. 

"I wanted to make our first time together special. I was going to wait so that I could have you all to myself uninterrupted for at least a week, but here you have a lot of people expecting things from you." He blurted.

"Oh, my dear Elendil. Our first time was special, this is special. I am happy as long as I'm by your side, and I am at home whenever I'm with you because home is where you are." You pushed yourself upwards and kissed him tenderly. 

"Ge Melin Elendil.”

He turned his head to kiss your palm before falling against the pillows. He brought you up into his embrace allowing you to lay your head against his chest. The sounds of the ocean surround you both as the sound of early birds cawing out. He brought his body closer to you and kissed you softly. 

"Perhaps now we should get some rest." You smiled warmly. 

"I would have to agree.” You kissed his neck and leaned up to kiss his lips.

He smiled at you as you both sank into the bed. You brought the blankets over both your bodies moving closer to his body. You smiled both of you treaded off to sleep.

-

You stirred when a ray of sunlight slipped through the curtains and onto your eyes. You could tell by the shade of the rays that it was still early in the morning. You rolled over and were surprised to find Elendil still sound asleep beside you. You knew he was an early riser, so he was very likely to wake up soon. As you lay there watching him, an idea popped into your head. You weren't sure if it was something you should do, but the more you thought about it, the more irresistible the thought became. You looked down to see he had thrown off all but a sheet sometime during the night. He was laying on his back, breathing even, eyes shut tightly. 

You moved slowly, careful not to disturb him. You sat up and slowly peeled back the sheet. Much to your surprise, his cock was already half hard. You smirked, feeling like the Valar had smiled down on you. You were very gentle as you took his cock into your hands and slowly began to stroke it. He stirred slightly, clearly feeling something even if his brain couldn't place it. As his cock began to harden more, you slipped it into your mouth, sucking slowly, letting soft moans of pleasure slip from your lips. You started to feel him begin to wake up then, but he was still in a daze. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he knew it felt good. 

You continued sucking as his cock grew to its full size. In moments he was rock hard and his hips were moving against your mouth of their own accord. His eyes fluttered open and he slowly looked around the room. When he looked down, his breath caught in his chest at what he saw: your pretty little mouth wrapped around his cock, bright lust-filled eyes locked onto his face. You moaned softly as if to acknowledge the fact that he was now fully awake. Your moan pulled one from deep in his own throat. 

"-feels so good. If you keep this up d-don’t think I’ll last my lady" he moaned. You were surprised by his words, thinking it would take longer to work him to orgasm. But you didn't stop, in fact, you sped up slightly.

"Ah!--" his hands tangled in your hair as his hips bucked up slightly. You focused more on your efforts, using your hands to stroke the rest. His body tensed as he came with a loud groan, filling up your mouth with his seed. You let go of his cock away from your mouth with a pop sound making him moan from pleasure as he pulled you gently up towards him. He kissed you softly before rolling you over so you were under him.

"Good morning," he whispered. You grinned. 

"Good morning." 

“ I will have to visit you every night now if that's how you're gonna wake me up." He said holding you tight kissing your neck pulling you into his lap.

“Though, I must admit I will hate to see you leave this morning. Eru knows you will be busy.”

“Actually... I asked for one of the apprentices to take over for me today. They won’t come looking for me.”

He looked at you with a small smirk on his face, and you gasped feeling him lift you up ever so slightly as you felt his cock harden again and entered you once more. His eyes started to darken. 

"Elendil--" Your words were cut off by his fiery kiss. He barely gave you time to register what was happening before his hips moved frantically between your legs and you were crying out in pleasure. 

“Captain...Y/n.” He growled out. Your eyes widened as he brought an arm under your leg kissing you passionately up your neck before desperately bringing his lips to yours. You knew you were in for one of the most blissful mornings of your life...but you wouldn't have it any other way. 

#elendil x reader #Elendil #reader insert #Smut #reader #Rings of Power #elendilf #Female reader #new #catyo90

[novemberthecatadmirer]

@saurons-pr-department​ @shrikeseams​

That’s a brilliant idea now you have given me some stupid cracky thoughts

(Making a new post because length) 

(I hope these all are not offensive! Also apology for not being able to write well)

…You know it can be arranged if we be VERY shameless and crumble Canon into a ball

and treat the Aman part of the Akallabeth as not-entirely-reliable history patched up by Elendil based on limited sources

When Ar-Pharazon’s troops sailed, Noldor got warned by the Valar; of course they evacuated this time. They learned their lesson

Tirion was a LARGE city! It took time to evacuate and it took time to hide the trace

And it took time to set up all the traps

We don’t know how far exactly was Tirion from the shore? It took 1 Valinor year for Noldor to reach Alqualonde; that’s like 9 sun years but they were mostly civilians not experienced for long distance travel and they were marching in the dark.

It did not seem to take long for Earendil to reach there from the shore. However everything about Earendil reaching Valinor was so tricky, maybe the Valar intentionally made the road shorter for him and Elwing

The Valar had no intention to make the road shorter for Ar-Pharazon’s troops

Let’s say it took at least a few months?

Did Ar-Pharazon even have a Valinor map?

Maeglin jumped out of nowhere: Hi there I can show you the way to this white city filled with wonder and wealth if you let me be a lord and marry my beautiful princess cousin

Ar-Pharazon: Obviously that’s a very convincing reason to turn traitor That’s a man of culture

Maeglin took them into the mountains avoiding all the small elf settlements along the way

They did not notice they were walking in circles because Aule subtly changed the landscapes from time to time and many trees in Valinor could move on their own

Sometimes some of their soldiers just disappeared and never be seen again.

Bad for morale, but people assumed those just fled because most of them were slaves

Food poisoning further delaying their march

“I’m awfully sorry I did not know those fruits and mushrooms are poisonous to mortal men” (He knew)

Meanwhile back at shore, elves ambushed the ships they left behind

Noldor: …It feels awful to say this brings up memories

Teleri: It’s not stealing they abandoned all those pretty ships behind it’s just aggressive adoption we will treat those poor babies as our own

Sindar: You know what I definitely heard this argument before

(Meanwhile there was probably some Numenor evacuation going on)

(Tuor finally got a chance to free some slaves and fix some wrongs his descendants had done, and save those of his descendants that still wished to be saved)

(Seriously, the grandfather of your first king used to suffer as a slave then you started enslaving other people what’s wrong with Numenoreans)

After it was done Earendil sent some signals through his flying ship

“Okay we are close! Tirion is just behind that mountain. I know a good place to set up the camp.”

Ar-Pharazon made his speech to a very empty city

Under the lovely hills around Tirion there was a lovely cave complex

Earlier, House of the Mole: Yes let’s get some mining explosives to set up a trap

Sinkholes happened and trapped most of the troops

Somehow Ar-Pharazon did not fall into any of the traps which ended up with him and Maeglin wrestling at the edge of a sinkhole, trying to push each other down the edge

Maeglin: Okay this is definitely familiar at least this one does not bite

(He did not need to as king of Numenor he had a very sharp sword.)

(Elros would be VERY disappointed.)

Then a crack opened beneath them and swallowed them both

(People still argued whether it was divine intervention or the land was just being unstable after explosion. It was a little bit convenient.)

Folk of the Mole dug them out in time.

(Some of them landed quite a few kicks on Ar-Pharazon’s face in the process and ‘accidentally’ broke his arms. They argued “he’s dangerous we must disarm him first”)

Dior and others came and sang the trapped troops to sleep

Eventually everything was done

“What should we do with all the political fallout? Now we have their king and most of their troops but Sauron is still there and... do we go on to war against him?”

(Some people immediately started yelling “no that’s a terrible idea don’t start the fire again”)

“What if Sauron take this opportunity to make himself king of Numenor and get his whole control over Middle Earth. I bet he has been plotting for this result all the time.”

Then the whole world started trembling and Aman got separated away and Numenor sank and Sauron drowned

“At least Sauron got drowned that’s the silver lining?”

(Some extra-mean Maiar had secret party afterwards celebrating Sauron losing his pretty face)

I think Sauron was definitely plotting something by sending Ar-Pharazon and his strongest troops and likely the most loyal generals away to invade Aman... While he himself stayed behind. 

It was like, he knew they would fail in some way and he was expecting it and actively encouraged them to believe they had a chance

I don’t think he liked Ar-Pharazon at all... (all the “getting defeated and taken as hostage” part.) I think his plan was always to make himself king of Numenor after Ar-Pharazon got dealt with in whatever way in Aman. 

He could tell Numenoreans that now the gods view them as enemy and only he could save them all. It’s not like he had no experience taking over someone’s legacy? No shame in picking low hanging fruits

Also I feel he was using Ar-Pharazon to test the water... Like, how hard could he push the buttons. And what kind of reaction he could get. It would also be nice to potentially lure some Maiar or even Valar into hurting the Children. Would be neat to make a few Ainur fall.

(Of course, always extra fun to fuck some elves up. They should not be allowed to feel safe in Aman!)

Anyway Sauron was using the move to achieve multiple goals. (He was SMART! And COMPETANT!)

The only thing he did not expect was the Valar would call for help from Eru and there was actually an response and the response was EXTREME.

Look, I don’t believe any of the Ainur even the Valar would be able to even imagine it’s possible to turn the world into a BALL...

----------

Okay, listen to more of my stupid cracky ooc headcanon

The elves and Ainur spent a while to figure out what to do with the captured mortal men

A lot of effort was spent on figuring out what type of mindset they were on

Some of them were slaves who got promised freedom for them or their family as reward for fighting in the army

Some of them joined the army out of desperation for money.

Some of them truly believed the Valar would come to kill them all if they did not fight back (learning that their island just got sunk did not help)

Some of them had aging family members and really wanted to make their family immortal

Of course there were the awful ones came here for power and pretty elves

(Tuor tried to have a TALK with Ar-Pharazon and failed.)

Even a lot of those who came for more innocent reasons had done war crimes before

Slavery and Colonization had been very thoroughly weaved into the late Numenor society

It was a MESS

Also it was not healthy for mortal men to stay in Valinor at all

Much of the “figuring things out” part happened in Tol Eressea

Later on some little islands raised by Valar further away

Anyway

It ended up with a few mortal men settlements at the edge of the sea

Multiple islands. The troops split into multiple groups that refused to live with each other. 

Lots of therapy sessions (as best as elves or Ainur could offer, which probably was not always enough)

The awful ones were banned from leaving their island 

(The former slaves now living on the neighboring islands took shift monitoring them very carefully)

(Some water Maiar patrolled the area in case someone tried to kill someone or started to burn down houses. There were a few assassination attempts.)

Some of the worst ones including Ar-Pharazon chose to be put into sleep because PRIDE

Eventually the mortals left in Aman learned to build ships

Elven ships could not pass the border of Aman

Somehow the ships built and sailed by the mortals was able to leave (It was pure chaos when it happened for the first time)

Nobody knew how it worked. But also, nobody knew how the elven ships found their way to Aman as well. 

Most of mortals eventually left on the ship back to the mortal world.

Some of them chose to stay. Including many former slaves who only had bad memories out there; it helped with healing when you were a world away from your past nightmare.

But many of their children desired to leave when they grew up.

Also half elves happened and not everyone chose immortality.

(There was a whole world out there to explore! Life is short for mortals.)

(And the world beyond the world after they took the Gift.)

So every once in a while there would be a ship departing from those islands, going to Middle Earth and never return.

Istari reached Middle Earth on one of those ships

#tolkien #silmarillion #the silmarillion #silm #silm headcanon #silmarillion headcanon #sauron #mairon #ar-pharazon #numenor #maeglin #tirion #silm crack #akallabeth #sauron was competent and played no fair game #really he was planning to take over numenor #the deadly girl boss sending foolish man to death trap #then take over his kingdom and cry beautifully and swear revenge against elves #he needed a reason for numenoreans to declare war against the elves on middle earth #he just did not realize valar would play dirty and call for parent #anyway #look I am just not very happy with akallabeth and have opinions

[kanalaure]

actually you know what, while im thinking about maglor when am i not? there's this persistent thought i keep having

idk, maybe im missing or forgetting a chunk of the novel, but. maglors thoughts and motivations abt the events of the silm just... dont seem to exist til around the sirion-kinslaying era? not that he doesnt have any, thats not what i mean

i mean.... he's fundamentally a follower, despite technically having been acting high king of the noldor for longer than his father and maedhros and fingon combined. whatever he actually thinks about alqualonde, or doriath, or the oath or doom in general, he keeps it to himself (really, he's remarkably quiet about his feelings for someone who's so famous for being a singer, poet, and historian that that's frequently mentioned before the whole kinslaying mess(es)) and sort of goes along w what he's told to do. right up until he takes in elrond and elros, which is painted as his decision in the published version (if not all the drafts, but thats another discussion). and after that he voices relief about the silmaril being placed in the sky when it first sails no 'secure from all evil' isnt making me cry bc i believe he included himself in that category, i'm just cutting onions. at midnight, and later his reluctance to keep going down this path. and its just interesting to me, how him and mae seem to have opposing arcs about it?

bc maedhros starts off strong. he goes to beleriand to revenge their grandfather and doesn't actually seem to give a damn about the silmarils. he refuses to burn the ships, he makes himself a mighty enemy to morgoth, for centuries, and then... the nirnaeth, he loses fingon credibility, and celegorm slides into that void of leadership. doriath happens, and maedhros didnt want to go, but in the end, does, doesn't find dior and nimloth's boys, and just... seems to give up, between then and sirion. because its definitely him who orchestrated that attack, and later he argues with maglor until he caves and they make that last horrible run on the silmarils

this doesn't really have a point, per se. i just had the thought, and it keeps grabbing me at odd moments, so i guess i'd like to hear what anyone else thinks about it

#silmarillion #silm meta #maglor #maedhros #listen i cannot stop thinking about these two #ever #disaster codependent siblings

[sweetteaanddragons]

Written for the prompt “It’s not illegal if we don’t get caught” for @spring-into-arda

This is one route my SoSP!Gil-Galad body swaps with RoP!Gil-Galad story might take . . . but from the persective of SoSP!Elrond.

(If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can find the original story here.)

Elrond had a great deal of respect for all of the people who had sworn themselves to him.

This did not stop him from occasionally wondering - purely from professional concern as a healer - if some of them had gotten hit on the head rather too many times in the First Age.

“No,” he said firmly.

“You have to admit he’s been acting strangely,” Lauriel said stubbornly.

“The king has not been himself the past few days,” he conceded. “I am entirely willing to hear out any reasonable suggestions on how to approach the matter.”

Lauriel looked helplessly to Anufin and Faronde, who looked rather helplessly back.

“We thought you would like this one best,” Faronde said at last. “Since it didn’t have any kinslaying in it.”

Ah.

Some of the Feanorians’ old followers had reacted to the past kinslayings by seeking atonement; some had reacted by trying to forget it.

And then there were the rest of them, who considered it a point of pride that while they certainly would not engage in any kinslayings without being ordered to, they would, at the slightest hint Elrond would approve, be happy to prove their loyalty by obliging.

Elrond spent a great deal of time making sure it was very clear that this was neither necessary nor desirable.

“No,” he said again even more firmly. “To both those other ideas and to Lauriel’s.”

“It’s not technically treason,” she tried. “Especially if we don’t get caught until it’s all ready.”

“We are not attacking the legitimacy of Gil-Galad’s reign in front of the court,” Elrond said firmly. “ . . . or anywhere else. He is our king, he is my kinsman, and he is a good man, regardless of any . . . oddities lately.”

“But if he’s forced to abdicate, you’d be king!” Faronde argued.

Anufin and Lauriel both winced.

“That’s not the argument you think it is,” Anufin told her wearily.

“We’ll go back to the drawing board, my lord,” Lauriel said hastily.

“Do that,” he said firmly. “In the meantime, I will try talking to him.”

Like a reasonable person, he very deliberately did not add, because these were his people, for better or worse, and he respected them.

He was glad of that later when that conversation ended with Gil-Galad ordering him confined to his quarters, with visitors being specifically prohibited, an overreaction so large Elrond was starting to fear something truly terrible had happened.

The prohibition against visitors did not, of course, prevent Lauriel from sneaking in not an hour later.

“No one has committed any treason,” she announced. “Yet.”

Elrond did not like the ending of that sentence.

“In good news, if you’ve decided you’d like some, I think the surviving Doriathrim and Gondolindrim are with us. They are very concerned by recent events.” She paused. “I can’t speak for the Gondolindrim, my lord, but the Doriathrim are very good fighters. If you want to take them up on it.”

It was times like this when Elrond most missed Elros. If this kept up, he was going to start feeling like he was the crazy one.

“No,” he said.

Lauriel waited.

“ . . . but see if you can sneak Cirdan in here. He knows Gil-Galad best. Perhaps it’s time we talk.”

#silmarillion #scion of somebody probably #b2mem 2023 #elrond #body swap au

[the-elusive-soleil]

love from before still strong

For @tolkienfamilyweek Day 1 - Parent-child relationship

Maglor is shaking as he makes his way through the shadows. His hand is still in searing pain, even though the Silmaril is now at the bottom of the sea. He can see the horrified, startled face of the guard he killed, and the horrible blank emptiness on Maedhros’ face just before he pitched forward and--

He shudders, tries to put it out of his mind.

He needs to get to Elrond. There is no room for a plan or for thoughts of consequences, only for that singular goal.

There’s nothing else left, is the thing. Morgoth is defeated (no thanks to him), all his brothers are dead, the Silmarils are gone and it is probably for the best, and Elros is already gone with the Men from the Host, departed for their new Isle of Gift while Maglor was huddled in the woods trying to come to terms with still being alive.

There is, distantly, the lurking possibility in the back of his mind that that could change. He is trying very hard to not entertain that possibility. There is no good reason for him to be alive when all his brothers are dead, but the situation only becomes more senseless if he throws away the life that only he has been allowed to keep.

So here he is, slipping through the camp of the Host of the West that he fled from, sword dripping blood, only days ago.

Fortunately, he does have some idea where to go in search of Elrond, from when he was here before--not from anything he saw, but rather from where in the camp Gil-Galad was most eager to prevent him and Maedhros from passing. More than that, he knows his son, and it is no stretch of the imagination to suspect that he ought to check the healers’ tents first.

Sure enough, as he approaches the tent at the end of the row, he hears a familiar voice saying, “Is there anything else you need from me tonight, Annehtë?”

It’s Elrond, which is good, but he’s not alone, which could cause problems. Maglor draws close to the side of the tent, the better to listen for an opportunity, and to stay out of sight of anyone passing.

“No, you’ve done all you ought to and more,” says an elf-woman who is presumably Annehtë. Peering through a gap between tent panels, Maglor spots her, a blonde Vanyarin who is probably not that much younger than himself, but whose face bears less stress than any elf of Beleriand’s anymore and makes her look unwontedly young.

Elrond, in plain and serviceable healer’s robes, looking weary but otherwise no worse for wear, is moving towards the tent entrance. “Then I will bid you farewell till morning, for this day has me unusually weary.”

Before he can leave, though, Annehtë calls out, “If you will stay a moment, there is a matter I would speak with you on.”

Maglor stifles a curse, and Elrond looks no less irritated as he turns around--he’s hiding it well enough for dealing with a relative stranger, but Maglor recognizes that set of his shoulders from every time he was made to eat greens he did not want. “What is it?”

“Why don’t we sit down?” Annehtë says, not really making it a suggestion. Elrond complies, mouth pressed into a thin line. “I’ve been meaning to check in on you ever since...well, since the incident a few days ago.”

So that’s what this is about.

Elrond’s face remains a polite mask. “I don’t see how there’s anything to discuss. Unless you suspect me of aiding and abetting them, which King Gil-Galad and King Finarfin have already determined was not the case.”

“Oh, no, of course not.” Annehtë sounds shocked at the very thought. “It’s only that, well, they put you through so much before. You were only just starting to recover, and then to have them come so close again, so violently--you must have been afraid they would come after you and your brother, to take you again.”

“Why would they do that,” Elrond asks quietly and evenly, “when they were the ones who sent us here?”

“I can only guess at how such twisted minds may work,” Annehtë ventures, “but people like that don’t ever really let their victims go, you know. It’s part of the game they play, catch and release.”

“And what exactly would you know about it?” Elrond’s voice is terribly calm and cool. “Having lived all your life in Aman, where supposedly everything is perfect.”

“I have had opportunity to learn from my Sindarin colleagues since arriving here,” Annehtë retorts primly. She reaches out and takes Elrond’s hands in hers. “I understand that you must have felt such a need to be defensive of the Fëanorians when you first came here. You’d never known anything else, so of course you would want to cling to it. But they’re gone now, and it’s safe to let yourself admit that they were cruel to you. They destroyed your home and took you captive, and allowed you to know nothing but their own ways and their rules. They hurt you, and now you don’t have to pretend otherwise anymore just to get by.”

Maglor’s heart pounds in his chest. Not because he believes what the Vanyarin woman is saying in her falsely sweet voice--he knows he and Maedhros parented the twins to the best of their ability, knows that they gave them every scrap of love they had to offer, and is fairly confident that Elrond and Elros held some affection for them in return. But this is exactly what he had feared would happen when they sent their sons away: that the Sindar and Amanyar would teach them to hate the people who had raised them, and would in time so convince the twins that they had been abused that he and Maedhros would never be able to reunite with them again.

He supposes it is only surprising that it took this long for anyone to try.

That does not make it tear at thim any less when Elrond bows his head and admits, “I cannot deny that there is some truth in what you say.”

Maglor cannot stand to listen any further. He came too late and lost his chance, and now his son is slipping away from him. Intervention is impossible, so he does the only thing left to him and flees.

***

Elrond had already had more than enough of Annehtë before she tried to lure him into some kind of soul-baring exercise. The fact that she was delaying him when he could swear he felt the presence of one of his fathers just outside only compounded the irritation. He tried polite evasion, and when that seemed to be waxing ineffective, attempted to feign at least partial agreement in the hopes that she would let him alone.

Instead, his trouble only increased: no sooner had he forced out the words than he felt Maglor’s presence abruptly recede, as if in flight. No, no, this couldn’t happen, he couldn’t have the chance to finally keep hold of someone just slip through his fingers like that.

He itches to leap up and chase after Maglor right then and there, but Annehtë is still there, looking at him expectantly after his most recent statement. Right. He has to deal with this nonsense.

“It is true,” he continues, “that Maedhros and Maglor invaded and destroyed our home when we were children. But that is the only true thing you have said. They were kind to us from the beginning, although it would have been expedient to kill or abandon us. They loved us as their own sons; they only sent us away because they were sending everyone away that they could.”

Annehtë is spluttering. “But--but they were, are kinslayers! They cannot have had kindness in them, or how could they have done all that they did?”

“I do not know,” Elrond says, a little proud of how steady his voice is despite his rage. “I have wrestled with that myself. But there is no doubt in my mind that they loved us, that they gave us all the goodness they could scrape together in themselves, which was no small amount. So you will not say such things to me again--not only because they are false, but because my relationship with my fathers is none of your business.”

Then, finally, he has the opportunity to storm out in the wake of her stunned silence, and the moment he is out of the tent, he breaks into a sprint in the direction he felt Maglor’s presence receding towards.

Fortunately, his foster father does not have much of a head start, and it only takes a few minutes for Elrond to detect that flare of fëa and follow it into the woods. He quickly spots a figure curled in the shadows at the base of a large tree. A couple of paces closer, and he realizes that Maglor is weeping silently.

That does it. He flies across the short remaining distance, dropping to his knees and reaching out. “Atya? Atya! It’s all right, I’m here, I’m sorry...”

Maglor looks up at him, wide-eyed. “Elrond. Is it really you? I thought--”

“If you had stayed only a moment longer, you would have heard me go on to verbally eviscerate her,” Elrond declares. “I felt you outside the tent, I was trying anything I could to get away quickly, but it only led to me having to chase you down. What has happened to you? Where is Atar? Why did you not come to me, or to Elros or both of us, before?”

Maglor shivers. “Maedhros is dead,” he says hoarsely.

Elrond freezes. “What? He cannot be--they told us they had let you both go unharmed, they swore to me--”

“He cast himself into a chasm of fire,” Maglor continues, glorious voice flat and dull. “We took the Silmarils, and they burned us as they burn creatures of evil, and--he could not bear it. They physical wound, yes, but not--and so he ended.”

He looks up at Elrond, meeting his eyes for the first time. “He was gone, and Elros had already left for wherever his Isle of Gift will be, and there was no one else, so I thought to go to you. And then I heard--”

“--possibly the least important part of all that I had to say,” Elrond assures. He cradles Maglor’s hands in his, noting with an inward hiss of dismay the ugly burn upon the right palm. “I did not want to leave you and Atar before; I am certainly not going to let you slip away now.”

“You should,” Maglor says, making a brief abortive movement as if he would pull away but cannot bear to. “I have slain kin again, I am a thief and a murderer and kidnapper, my heels are dogged by a curse--”

“I care for none of that,” Elrond says quietly. “That is, I am not glad that you have killed again, but I don’t think you will do so any more, and I do not think there is any punishment anyone could inflict on you that would be worse than the rejection of the Silmarils and the loss of Atar.”

Maglor is silent, only bowing his head.

“I will not be staying with the Host for much longer,” Elrond forges on determinedly. “Finarfin has been trying to talk me into returning with the Amnyar, but I do not plan to. As soon as I can make that clear without burning any bridges, I will be leaving here--I want to travel, and study the different peoples of Middle-earth, and collect their knowledge. So much has been lost during the wars, but nowperhaps I can seek to preserve.”

A brief hesitation, and then, “If you will only wait here where I can find you until then, you are welcome to join me--no, more than welcome, I would earnestly desire it. We can travel together. First to Elros, I think--he will be glad to see you are alive, and will want to mourn Atar with us.”

There is a terribly long silence before Maglor lifts his head again. “I should not agree. I do not deserve it,” he says. “But I fear I am too weak now to fight against what I want so badly.”

Elrond lets out the breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Good,” he says, a little unsteadily. He can work with that. Slowly, he drops the rest of the way to the ground and pulls Maglor into a tight, fierce embrace. “That’s good. That’ll be all right.”

#tolkienfamilyweek #silmarillion #maglor #elrond #kidnap fam #post war of wrath #maybe this belonged under the found family day? #but kidnap fam was my silm gateway drug and it's what I think of first when I see “tolkien” and “parents” #archaeologist-anthropologist elrond makes another appearance #so does my favorite genre of “outsider sees kidnap fam and assumes the worst” #soleil writes things #refracted (fanfiction)