#(All the Noldor-supremacists think he's such a faker)

[fuckingfinwions]

"Good morning Curvo, do you have a minute?"

"Sure, we've got enough swords finally. what do you need?" Curufin said as he took off his forge apron. He was wearing only two bracelets and no rings, but the apron had hidden an intricate silver net that stretched from a necklace all the way down to fasten to his balls, held in place by delicate chains looping behind his back (and through half a dozen piercings) so it wouldn't get caught working in the forge.

"I want you to make another set of armor. Plain except for the star on the breast, and that raised as little as possible. All steel, no gems, no gold."

"What, did a Balrog damage your last one?"

"No, it's still in good condition. This armor would be for you."

"Absolutely not!"

"Curufin, please. You need to wear armor when going between cities."

"I already have a set of armor, made by the best smith in history."

"The armor Father made is beautiful, but totally impractical. The flames of the edge of the pauldrons are a perfect handhold for on orc to grab you off your horse. The relief of the palace is beautiful, but every one of the gems concentrates stress, and every thin spot is a place it will crumple. You know metal better than I do, you can see the flaws just as well."

"So it's a bit risky to wear. Living in Beleriand is a risk, leaving Valinor was a risk, every time you go out to charge at orcs is a risk. I'm not going to ruin our family's reputation just because I'm scared."

"I don't take risks unnecessarily, only to protect our people, and you shouldn't either."

"So our family name isn't worth protecting, not if the so-called king says so."

"Curufin, that's not what this is about. Fingolfin has nothing to do with this."

"Really? Less than a year ago, the pride of house Nolofinwe disappeared without a trace. And it's complete coincidence that today you ask me to dress plainly."

"I'm not asking you to dress plainly all the time, or to give up the armor father designed. You can wear it whenever you're at court, or riding within a few hours of a city where it should be safe enough. But when you're in the wilderness, or planning to go out and fight, no one's going to be thinking about your appearance. It will just be for some circumstances."

"So only some of the time I'll be humiliating our house, and most people won't notice. That makes everything better."

"It won't humiliate our house to do as the head of the house orders. And just like Father required that you wear an apron and nothing that dangles in the forge, I am requiring that you wear durable armor when in battle."

"Fine. I will make a set of steel armor for myself that has no gems, inlays, or flourishes."

"And that doesn't shine like a beacon, making a target for every orc in sight."

"Seriously? My apron is intricately tooled leather, and you won't let the armor even shine? Even though the first set of armor is already so form-hiding I could have a full body rash and a potbelly, and no one would know?"

"I'm serious. You have to wear it once, so I can see you actually made the armor. After that, if you think it's worth never going out of sight of Himlad, I won't force you to wear something so plain."

"I'm holding you to that."

"Of course."