Imagine being literal Satan and then you hire this little twink to work for you and suddenly you get bossed around in your own fortress and permanently shamed for your utter lack of organization skills
I love how the fandom has given shape to Maedhros. He is sometimes gentle, sometimes feral, he is terrifying but beautiful, he is a war general and a politician, he is an elder brother, stern and kind, in some versions he loves Fingon, he loves Elrond, he regrets his deeds and hates his legacy, in others he longs for his parents' forgiveness, he is Fingolfin's friend or rival, he is witty, he is pensive, he is angry and he is desperate, he is hopeful but not for himself, he is proud and he is self-loathing, he feels crushed by responsibility but he grows into his role.
I love reading about him because the fandom makes him so interesting and complex and relatable.
Sometimes I read a fanfic and I'm awed, wishing that I could write a version of Maedhros that lives up to all of this. There are some incredibly talented writers in this fandom and I'm forever grateful.
See one of my favorite Rivendell headcanons is that even though it's a wonderful, peaceful sanctuary, pretty much everyone there could be incredibly dangerous if they wanted to be. Like, let's think about who lives in that valley.
Elrond Peredhel, resident healer and eldritch crime against nature, self-explanatory
Glorfindel, slayer of balrogs, self-explanatory
Erestor, probably Feanorian, definitely dangerous
Old Feanorian diehards, all of whom are probably looking for an excuse to commit morally justified violence
Old Gondolindrim/Iathrim, who, despite what they might tell you, are exactly as dangerous as the Feanorians
Garthaglir the Library Orc, who absolutely remembers how to use the giant battleaxe he keeps behind his desk
A strange, shadowy figure roaming the valley who I'm *sure* isn't Maglor Feanorian, but who is nonetheless a terrifying singer
Elladan and Elrohir, who have spent the last several centuries becoming nightmare fuel for Sauron's forces
Arwen, eldritch, bites
Bilbo Baggins, not to be underestimated, can defeat a grown man with nothing more than his scathingly polite commentary
Dunedain visitors, vaguely feral, highly trained
Aragorn, very feral, highly trained
Lindir, not actually dangerous, but if you upset him you are going to have problems with everyone else on this list
I actually really like the idea that a lot of the people who live in Rivendell are inherently kind of dangerous, because it means that they're actively choosing peace and kindness for themselves and I love that.
I read the silmarillion a few months ago and became quite obsessed with it.
Maedrhos became one of my comfort characters and my favorite of the entire Tolkien legendarium.
Maitimo / Maedhros 💜✨. I love him so damn much. I've been drawing him a lot lately and I thought it would be appropriate to give him a reference for how I imagine his scars. I still need to change a few things to be happy with the way i draw him.