#Alqualonde

[fflewddur-feanorion]

[psstwantsomecheese]

Fingon being the only kinslayer in his family the same way Maedhros was the only Feanorian that didn't participate in the burning of the ships ourgh

[serene-faerie]

The take that Thingol overreacted to the news of the First Kinslaying is honestly a really bad take. And the fact that some people actually argue that “he didn’t know the Teleri”, or “those were just his brother’s people! Why is he so mad???”, it really doesn’t sit well with me.

Like, Thingol may be a Sindarin king, but he’s still ethnically related to the Teleri! He, the Iathrim, and all of the Sindar are all ethnic descendants of the Teleri, which means that some of them probably had Telerin relatives who were killed in Alqualondë! Hell, I'm pretty sure Thingol also had Telerin friends who were slaughtered in the First Kinslaying! He had to do something for the sake of his people, or they would be angry at him for letting the Noldor off the hook!

Also, Thingol has every right to be angry about the First Kinslaying. After all, the Noldor basically slaughtered the Teleri for refusing to hand over their ships, took the ships anyways, and then they lied to him about their reasons for coming to Middle-earth, too. They literally took advantage of his hospitality while hiding such a horrible crime from him, and they're basically disrespecting his authority and trying to assert their own claim over Beleriand! No wonder he gets so upset about them lying to him!

And yet, despite everything, he doesn’t lash out. He maintains his dignity throughout this whole crisis, even though he was surely furious at being deceived by his potential allies. All things considered, Thingol handles this situation with quite a lot of grace, and he still manages to maintain an alliance with both Finrod and Fingolfin's people.

He deserves a lot of credit for this, imo.

[ghosthauni]

Alqualonde but I don’t like some details and technique anymore (want to redraw later, let this piece be here)

[lendiel]

*After the first kinslaying in Alqualonde*

Feanor: Am I going too far?

Finarfin: No, no, no. You went too far 7 hours ago. Now you‘re going to prison.

[tanoraqui]

the Kinslaying at Alqualondë is sooo interesting because it is both the Noldor's original sin (everything before that was just family drama and/or dramatic, if binding, rhetoric) and the LEAST of their great crimes. Eonwë literally does not name it when saying why the House of Fëanor has lost their right to the Silmarils; he highlights the other two Kinslayings - "and most of all because of their slaying of Dior and their assault upon the Havens" - but not Alqualondë. It is a BLATANTLY obvious parallel to Morgoth coming in the Darkness, killing Finwë and stealing the Silmarils, for "these [ships] are to us as are the gems of the Noldor; the work of our hearts, whose like we shall not make again." The Noldor did NOT plan to start killing: "[Fëanor] went to the Haven of the Swans and began to man the ships that were anchored there and to take them away by force. But the Teleri withstood him, and cast many of the Noldor into the sea. Then swords were drawn, and a bitter fight was fought upon the ships..." [emphasis mine] It's not clear who made the first killing blow, but actual weapons were clearly drawn only AFTER the Teleri proved themselves willing and able to fight. Did Fëanor mean to simply intimidate them into giving him the ships? Did he think Olwë only refused because he was cowed by the Valar, and would surely give aid with a nod and a wink if he had an excuse? Every single one of these people had grown up in blessed peace, except those who had Journeyed, who still (so far as we know) had no experience of battle. The only person other than Fëanor named as playing a key part in the whole mess is Fingon, "rush[ing] in before they knew rightly the cause of the quarrel", portrayed in all the rest of the text as the closest the Silmarillion gets to an archetypal hero. It was the greatest loss of peace and collective innocence that Aman ever faced, and it was such a MESS.

[saintstars]

The Sea and Sorrow @ainurweek

[lindadonnadavvero]

The outfit. The man bun. Sauron slayed more than Alqualondë.

[thranduilofsmirkwood]

Made me laugh waaay toooo hard ⤵️

[sadsilmarilsoup]

Yk that trend that's like "baking bc murder is wrong." Now just imagine how much smoother the silmarillion would be if Fëanor did that.

Fëanor: baking bc kinslaying is wrong 🎀

*a little bit later*

Fëanor: Nelyo look, I made cupcakes!

Maedhros: Oh that's nice

Fëanor: I burned them

Maedhros: Oh, well, it's better than those swan ships that you were planing on burning...

Fëanor:

Maedhros: atar...?

Fëanor: *commits arson*

[foedhrass]

There are big fish to be caught in the sea at Alqualonde. The fishing spear is the same Aegrathil would use to defend the town.

Cosplay & edit: Foedhrass

Photo: Goldiepond

[psstwantsomecheese]

I think it's sweet that on the march to Alqualonde Finwe's grandchildren are all so ride-or-die for each other even though their own fathers are actively trying to divide their family

Cause you've got Finwe's sons fighting over leadership and how to deal with the Valar the entire journey

Meanwhile Finwe's grandchildren despite having their own agendas all of them are willing to cross because well if Maedhros is going then Fingon is going and if Fingon is going then Turgon is going and if Turgon is going then Finrod is going and if Finrod is going then I'M going... etc etc

Thou shalt lead and I will follow and all that

[serene-faerie]

When Thingol learns of the First Kinslaying, he doesn’t show any emotions. Though his mind is reeling with rage and grief and horror, he suppresses all of his emotions.

He confronts Finrod and his kindred with an icy calm. His heart is burning with rage, and he wants nothing more than to avenge his fallen kindred. But he is a king, and a king must be in control of his emotions.

He sends his Noldorin guests out of Doriath, and tells them to leave until his emotions are calmer. He declares his ban on Quenya with frost in his voice. He doesn’t let any emotion show upon his face.

But later, when he is alone in his study, Thingol is overcome with grief. He collapses to his knees before the fireplace. Tears spill down his cheeks.

Thingol weeps for Olwë and his Telerin friends who were slain in Alqualondë. He grieves for Finwë, his dear friend whom he never saw again. His heart is burdened with regret, and he weeps for a very long time.

Both Melian and Lúthien find him weeping in his study. Thingol doesn’t bother trying to control his emotions in front of them. But neither his wife nor his daughter mind. They stay with Thingol and grieve with him.

And at that moment, Thingol isn’t the King of Doriath.

He is just Elwë, kinsman of Olwë, friend of Finwë.

[silmarillion-stats-polls]

Edit: 31.1% of people think Fingon should involve himself in the fighting. A further 89.7% think he should take immediate action. The winner is, of course, the most likely (and least productive) course that any of us would take were we there.

[aracaranelentari]

People always talk about Fingolfin "following Fëanor" during the Flight, but hardly ever mention that his words to Fëanor are just an afterthought, a bonus, not the main reason he went. The first and one of the two most prominent reasons was because Fingon urged him. And Fingolfin marching in the Flight of the Ñoldor against his wisdom because Fingon urged him is so fascinating to me, mostly for what it may imply for Fingon angst.

I mean he was at the forefront of Fingolfin's host until at least Alqualondë; though after Alqualondë it's never mentioned again, so I wonder if he stopped leading first after that. But my point is: Fingolfin marched behind him, he followed Fingon. And what became of him following Fingon into exile? The Doom of the Ñoldor, Alqualondë, Fëanor abandoning them, them needing to cross the Helcaraxë and losing tons of people, Argon and Elenwë's deaths, etc etc...

Not that any of this is directly Fingon's fault, of course, but I wonder if Fingon had a moment where he looked at his father after Fëanor abandoned them and just thought "This is my fault, he's here because of me. He could have been happy with his wife, mom, and brother in Valinor but instead he followed me and now we're Doomed and in despair".

Because after that, Fingon followed Fingolfin. He followed his father across the Helcaraxë, he saved Maedhros in part to heal the rift between their hosts and make things easier for his father, he held Dor-Lómin for his father and then vacated it when it was given to Hador, he worked seemingly directly for his father as a war commander during the Siege (beating back Glaurung, that orc host that tried attacking them from the north etc). It just seems to me that he was glued to his father's side and did almost everything for him, for his sake. I wonder if this was to "make it up" to Fingolfin in his mind for dragging him into this mess, and/or maybe because after Alqualondë Fingon no longer trusted his own rash decisions.

This is just one potential theory/interpretation, I know, but... Mmm, yum, yummy angst,,,. ..