The constant fandom whiplash over Maglor is funny actually. "He's the good one" "he's the worst one" "he's soft and gentle" "he's a violent warrior." STOP. he's barely a character. He's got like one long paragraph of canon across the Silm and relevant HoME - he's whoever you want him to be babes

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

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

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

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

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

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

no more sweetie pie fingon; they're both punchable pre-darkening

Maedhros and Fingon always remind me of something someone said about House and Wilson when House was a hot fandom: Wilson only vomes across as a nice guy because he spends so much time standing next to House.

In real life you donot really get asshole&cinnamon roll friendships, just extreme asshole & chiller assole. Fingon's the asshole who plays nice(er), and he's still a jerk and a killer. 💚

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Curufin, Caranthir and Cleeg🕺

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

in reference to this post:

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

Curufin, Caranthir and Cleeg🕺

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

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

and what’s more insane is that everyone but curufin PREFERRED their mother names. “Prince Strong Finwë which bow should I retrieve for you” “no no I prefer my mom’s name” “of course Prince Anger Issues”

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

#something something so caught up in one another u had to literally cut them apart#absolutely the feanor curufin celebrimbor legacy debacle is abt the talent/genius/soul but its also abt the body the body the body#and when celebrimbor was not delivered by cesarean i think that was an instance of being very healthy and normal on curufin’s part too#but that is another digression -@batshape

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

Turgon: the entirety of Gondolin. 'nuff said.

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

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

(this implicates Fingolfin too)

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

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

#the consistent Ñolofinwean response to being told what to do is STFU You're Not The Boss Of Me#in light of this it is no wonder Fingolfin invented power-jockeying for rank#the idea of anyone telling him what to do incites a soul deep revulsion that he makes everyone else's problem#and so do his children -@pearlescentpearl

If Aerin dies it’s extremely upsetting to me but To be fair we do not know if Aerin dies! Whether she was in the house or not is ambiguous and in Christopher Tolkien’s notes in the book of lost tales version, when he compares Aerin’s story in BoLT to hers in the Narn he says only that she burns the house in the Narn version, not that she dies. As Aerin explicitly survives in a position of leadership in the BoLT version, I always assumed that if Tolkien meant her to die in the Narn, this difference would be noted 

“The story of Airin’s judgment on these doings made in order to save Túrin was afterwards removed and Túrin’s solitary departure was expanded, with the addition also of the firing of Brodda’s hall by Aerin”

I am conflicted about my own interpretation

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

#elves inventing new types of social anxiety oh god#'i'm not going to be Rude about this'#this is giving me 2015 star wars forum vibes. mind shields and meditation and strong feelings seeping through....#this explains everything about all the guys going into exile actually. daeron was being POLITE alright his lúthien guilt and grief was too#strong for polite society. it kept seeping into his music and making everyone upset. thingol didn't want to fire him so he just. left.#to avoid making it awkward#also maglor. imagine a mindscape so awful even war criminal maglor feanorian goes 'yikes i'm not going in public Like This'#sorry for going off on the tags. i think this sounds hellish actually but you are incredibly correct#the silm

tags via @searchingforserendipity25

the tide™ problem

gorgeous gorgeous cities where the streets are, for a few hours a day, covered over with a few inches of foaming sea