#Finwe/Thingol

[carmisse]

Random moments from the Silmarillion PT 3

[sadlybeans]

Finwë, First King of the Noldor - headcanons

Ok that title is misleading, this is more like… a compilation of lore I’ve built for him for my AU which you can read on AO3 shameless plug. A lot of them are built around canon, so I don’t think they particularly interfere with it? Except perhaps in parts where I’ve forgotten they do. I hope you enjoy them!

First and foremost; Finwë was not born Finwë. His birth name has been long forgotten except by a handful of living elves, but nobody speaks it anymore. He was orphaned very young but had no lack of love and support, since he had a handful of older sisters that collectively raised him. Back then in Endóre life for the Tatyar was very different in many ways, with an underlying danger lurking at every corner, but he lived a relatively normal carefree childhood in what manner it could be had.

Since his early days he had a close friendship with Elwë of the Nelyar, and they could often be seen together. As they grew into their teenage years it became impossible to spot them apart— many of the elders in his clan often caught Elwë sneaking in and out of his bedroom at night. They were each other’s first love, and soon after reaching their teenage years was when Finwë met Míriel.

Now, slight canon divergence— The Tatyar were not strictly monogamous before they reached Aman. Finwë’s elder sisters each had more than one spouse, and while not everyone chose to do so, it was also very common. Therefore, he was so sure that one day he’d marry both Elwë and Míriel. Although at first the both of them had a slight rivalry they eventually bonded over their need to keep a then reckless Finwë safe, and while they were not attracted to each other they were happy to plan a life the three of them together. It was possible, after all… or at the very least it should’ve been. But then Oromë rides towards the quendi.

Ingwë, Finwë and Elwë volunteered to visit Valinor of their own free will. It opened their eyes to a light that they had never seen before, and offered a tantalising opportunity that they couldn’t pass on; in Aman they would never have to worry about what hid in the dark anymore. In Aman they could build a safe home for their families, start a peaceful life. It was an offer that they could not refuse. When they come back, they convince their people that this is the right choice, telling them of the beauty and wonder of their future home. It was the best choice Finwë could’ve made… and the one he regrets the most.

The Sundering happens, and those of the Tatyar that want to find this blissful land set on the Great March towards the west. But it wasn’t a peaceful travel… there was something always standing behind them, always looking, and whenever they were distracted it pounced. One by one people vanished into the dark, never to be seen again. When the first of Finwë’s nieces disappeared he and Elwë looked for her in the forest for weeks, until they were forced to confront the reality that they had to continue with their hands empty. She wasn’t the last either. Once he had had a numerous family… but once they stood by the shore, there was only him and a handful of very distant relatives left. All of that pain and sorrow was only made worse by the disappearance of Elwë. He too had vanished into the forest forever, and Finwë was only kept slightly together by his desperate need to bring his people across the sea, and by Míriel who was always there to hold his hand.

In Aman, life was supposed to be perfect. He and Míriel married at last, and to his shock this is when the Tatyar, who will soon become the Noldor, make him their King. A new life is slowly coming together, and while a lot of precious things were lost, there was a hopeful future awaiting them.

It was the ainur who brought word of Elwë and Melian’s marriage. The devastation was impossible to describe… it would’ve almost been easier if he had been taken like all of his family was, but instead he found that Elwë had willingly abandoned him, and that he had never even bothered to let them know he was alive. He didn’t even spare him a second thought later when he sent word to Olwë of his marriage.

And then Míriel gets pregnant, and then sick.

Curufinwë Fëanáro was born silent and asleep, burning bright with far too much fëa in such a tiny body, and Míriel was dying. She lived only hours after his birth, only enough to hold their son, name him, and make her husband promise he’d live on and protect their child.

Finwë’s pain couldn’t be contained anymore. He had no more sisters who could teach him about parenthood, his first love had abandoned him entirely, his wife was dead, and his only son would not wake… the healers said it was very likely he would not live long. Night after night he sat by the crib, watching him breathe with difficulty, and could do nothing to fix it. Ingwë and Olwë had to drag him to bathe and eat, but nothing could bring him out of that state. He was fading, even in the blessed lands.

And then one night his son woke with a scream and cried.

Holding the baby to his chest, alive and screaming with strength, he was given a new lifeline. A new beginning of what would be a hard but fulfilling life nonetheless… And so, along with his child, Finwë of the Noldor is properly named and born, named along his son.

A lot of things would be hard to move past, and a lot of things would have to be learnt from scratch without guidance, such as being a king and a father and mother simultaneously. He could never handle calling his son by his mother name without remembering the days where he laid motionless on that crib (Fëanáro, in turn, would always prefer people to call him by his mother name, but Finwë would always be the only person allowed to call him Curufinwë), and he could never fully understand why he had to choose between the women he loved when he loved them equally, but that would come much later.

First he’d need to tend to a clever and energetic little elfling who would have a million questions for him, like where his ammë was, why he wasn’t allowed to do everything all other children were, why he was sick when no one else was, why atar was the only elda with black skin in all of Valinor— some of those would be painful to answer, but he would answer them nonetheless.

[sakasakiii]

a while ago i was sent an ask from @waterjewelsspite (answered below) wherein i was asked about different elven fashions.... so from left to right: doriathrim fashion, teleri + nargothrond fashion, vanya fashion :DD these have been sitting in my drafts as uncoloured wips since early 2022 omg, but better late than never i suppose !!!

i didnt have a specific sketch page for the noldor that i did back then hahahaha so i came back to it recently and took it as a chance to do some assorted concept doodles with the kind of outfits i imagine them wearing in mundane situations? i dont quite know how to explain it but i hope my annotations can help show my thought process a bit!!

cant believe it took me this long to give like half the characters proper fullbody refs or designs (im looking at YOU beleg and mablung) but this has been super fun and really refreshing, so thank you again waterjewelsspite for the kind ask!!! sorry again it took. two and a half years. OMG. for me to get it done 😭😭😭 i hope this sufficed!!!

in usual fashion, bonus feanorian shenanigans: caranthir's first business/publishing/entrepreneurship/girlboss venture

[thesummerestsolstice]

Silmarillion AU Where all the Elves are Hobbits and the Stakes are Significantly Lower:

Finwe is mayor of his part of the Shire, happily married to both Miriel and Indis because they all have two hands

Miriel doesn't die after childbirth she just goes off on a trip to find new artistic inspiration and doesn't come back

Don't worry she eventually shows back up again– turns out she got lost and a kind elvish warrior named Vaire helped her find her way back

Feanor has a good relationship with his siblings, although he and Nolofinwe have engaged in several bouts of passive-aggressive one-upsmanship

The most famous of these ended with Nolofinwe swimming several miles across a lake in winter to prove that he was the more dedicated brother. Feanor agreed after telling him off for being reckless.

The Silmarils aren't pseudo-holy gemstones here, they're a set of three really intricately carved pipe-weed pipes that the Finweans pull out on ceremonial occasions

Morgoth isn't a fallen god he's just an asshole elf who regularly breaks into the Shire to steal things

One day he steals the Silmarils; he doesn't kill Finwe though he just knocks him out

The rest of the First Age is mostly just increasingly convoluted plots by various Finweans to break into his fortress and steal back the pipes (and all the other stuff Morgoth has stolen)

The first of these attempts involves Feanor stealing one (1) boat from Mayor Olwe. No one dies though and he puts it back afterwards. It still results in a lot of petty gossip.

After one of the attempts Morgoth catches Maedhros and hangs him up in a really tall tree

He's stuck there for three weeks before Findekano finds him and gets him down with the help of a homemade hang-glider called "Thorondor"

One of the other hobbit mayors is Thingol, a dear friend (and possible ex boyfriend?) of Finwe

Most of the Ainur are elves here but the concept of hobbit Thingol marrying an eldritch goddess is too funny to pass up so Melian is still a Maia here

She and her descendants look pretty hobbit-ish but they have fairy wings and little antennae

It causes a huge scandal when their daughter, Luthien, runs off with a dwarf prince named Beren

Thingol even writes a very strongly worded letter telling her not to marry him, which is a very extreme measure by hobbit standards, but she doesn't listen

Eventually Beren decides to steal some hobbit stuff back from Morgoth to prove his worthiness

He ends up stealing back one of the pipes and giving it to Thingol

Thingol grudgingly accepts him and Bluthien settle into a nice, quiet life in the Shire

There's no Doriath kinslaying either there's just a long, very passive-aggressive series of letters between Thingol and Feanor until Finwe eventually steps in and Thingol returns the pipe

[silmarillaure]

Am I the only one deeply confused by Thingol and his line's theft of the Silmarill.

I can't be the only one who thinks that if I was in the Sindarin royal family's position, that I would keep a stolen item.

I can't imagine being Thingol, and keeping the jewel made by my friend's son, something my friend was murdered over, and thinking I had any right to it over my friend's tortured & grieving grandsons.

(I hope Finwë spit in Thingol's face, cussed at him in Quenya, & strangled him if he was able to. If Thingol is allowed to punish ALL the Fëanorians over C&C's actions, Finwë deserves to rip that filthy a-hole's hair out of his sculp & kick his face.)

I can't imagine being Dior and thinking that keeping that jewel from the sons of the person who MADE it, at the expense of my kingdom.

Elwing I'm more sympathetic towards, but it's still ridiculous to me that she believed she deserved the Silmarill more than the sons of the person who MADE it.

And yes, the Silmarill would burn the Fëanorians and they deserved to get burnt by it, but it should still be their property to get burnt by regardless.

If I somehow end up in the same afterlife as Tolkien, I need him to explain this to me so bad because I do NOT understand how it's justified to keep stolen property from the rightful owners.

[havenotwillnotreadthebooks]

Ok but imagine the Noldor trying to have a nice banquet after the entire Finwean Fam has been therapized and released from Mandos. Except Eonwë is the one announcing the names and titles as people arrive (it’s supposed to be a sign of goodwill from the Valor).

All goes well (except when he announces to the entire room that “Fingon Findékano Astaldo Nolofiniwion, Prince of The Noldor and Husband of Maedhros Neylafinwë Maitimo Feanorian” has arrived. In his defense, Eonwë didn’t know secret marriages could last almost four ages). But the Real Drama starts when Elrond arrives.

When Elrond arrives; Eonwë looks at the Peredhel in the entranceway, looks at his magic Scroll of Heritage-Information, and there is a long moment of silence where Eonwë contemplates if he really wants to spend 5 whole minutes announcing Elrond’s heritages.

Eonwë, in the end, decides to take a shortcut. Cuz how wrong could it go? As such, he announced to the Finwean Fam, several courtiers, several politicians, and to the face of Finwe’s actual children that “Elrond, Lord of Imladris Remade, Descendant of Finwë Noldoran and Elwë Singollo, and [Insert Celebrian’s Introduction] has arrived.”

Speculations rise, and whispers are everywhere about what the hell “Descendant of Finwë and Elwë” could mean. (A lovechild, somebody says once jokingly).

Elrond was expecting Earendilion, Neylafinwion, or Kanafinwion, even Peredhel. He was not expecting the first kings of the Noldor and Sindar themselves to be named.

Anyway, the worst part is that because of Mixed Ancestry, Elrond actually does look like a combination of Finwë and Elwë. The lovechild rumors grow.

[firefly-artwork]

Finwë & Elwë

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Finwe & Thingol by huijiamaihongshu

[hamletphase]

IT'S FINALLY DONE...... SILMARILLION FAMILY TREES!

this was mostly for my own reference, but i spent a really long time on them, so i thought i'd share it. and here's a google drive folder with all the files, because the quality is shot to hell here. i hope the names are at least a little legible.

[eloquentsisyphianturmoil]

“Thingol and Finwë were the original homoerotic asshole duo,” I say into the mic.

The russingon fans boo. I begin to walk off in shame, when a voice speaks and commands silence from the room.

“She’s right,” they say. I look for the owner of the voice. There in the 3rd row stands: J. R. R. Tolkien

[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.

[sadlybeans]

idk if i ever shared this here, but it’s still one of my funniest moments— warning for shitty jokes i guess??

[sakasakiii]

Dude I'm literally obsessed with your art, it's AMAZING. Also, thank you for making those family trees?! They're amazing and really help me with recalling who is who and related to who, lmao. You're literally the best, bless.

acckkkkk thank you nonnie!!!!! thats so kind of you to say! im especially thankful you like those family trees...... warning for incoming yap session! i pinned it on my blog bc i thought itd be helpful for ppl unfamiliar with my designs of who's-who, but looking back on it now ALMOST THREE YEARS LATER?!?!?!?!!???? there's so many things with it that i wish i could change! im really honoured that youve been finding it helpful with recalling who's related to who, but now i tend to feel guilty abt possibly feeding ppl the wrong information about tolkien's lore aaahahaha (seeing as some of the family relations there e.g. rumil being miriels dad, glorfindel being elenwe's brother, mags n his wife having two kids, are my own headcanon OTL)

nonetheless, its really really high praise to hear that and im very grateful you took the time to send in such a lovely ask, anon! ❤️ hearing all this talk of trees and whatnot made me think back to a tolkien untangled video i was watching where he basically said along the lines of 'most of the iconic elven genealogy in middle earth can be traced down to starting with finwe and elwe' which really shook my worldview HAHA... so in the spirit of continuing silly ask doodles, here's two bros doing some gardening together :D

thank you so much again for such kind words, and i hope you have a wonderful rest of your week!! and a very happy and belated new year's to everyone reading this! ᕙ( •̀ ᗜ •́ )ᕗ

[thesummerestsolstice]

I like the idea that the Valar can grant boons to men or elves they favor. Sometimes visible– glowing markings, feathers, claws– and sometimes not. Attitudes of these blessings ranged from fear to reverence to jealousy, often reflecting opinions of the Valar more generally.

Galadriel's special treelight hair came from Finarfin. Finarfin got it as a result of Manwe's favor. Given how rare it was for Manwe to bestow such gifts, this caused quite a stir. Later, Morgoth would spread rumors that Manwe was trying to set Finarfin up as the new Noldor crown prince, bypassing Finwe's older children.

Namo gave Fingolfin a blessing, and no one was particularly sure why, Fingolfin included. The truth was that Namo had already foreseen Fingolfin's death, and wanted to give him the strength to let him wound Morgoth before falling to him. Namo has always felt a sense of responsibility for those who choose to come to his halls, even if he's powerless to change their fates.

Celegorm was blessed by Orome, given the kind of teeth and claws that a few of his best disciples had been granted over the years. Orome couldn't take those gifts back, so Celegorm kept them for all his life. You wouldn't know that looking at paintings of him, though, because none of them show him with the marks of Orome's hunt. Whether this was a choice made by him or by later revisionists trying to minimize his connection with the Valar is unknown.

Varda gave blessings to both Earendil and Gil-Galad in the final years of the First Age. Both of them are said to have shone like stars afterwards, and there were some darker rumors that like the hallowed Silmarils, they would burn any unholy flesh that touched them. Some speculated that the blessings were Varda's way of apologizing for leaving the elves to face Morgoth alone for so long.

Ulmo is probably the Vala who's given out the most blessings– Cirdan, Turgon, Finrod, and Tuor all recieved boons from him, among others. But everyone who's gotten blessings from Ulmo is weirdly secretive about it. There's lots of gossip floating around– Ulmo is the reason Cirdan has a beard, Ulmo is the reason Turgon is taller than Maedhros, Ulmo is the reason that everyone likes Finrod so much, actually everyone blessed by Ulmo gets gills and he has secret underwater meetings with them– you get the idea. Well, probably no reason to consider that last one. I can't imagine any of the Valar using their power for something that foolish.

There is fierce scholarly debate on whether Thingol received a blessing from Melian, and whether her descendants could, theoretically, do the same. Elrond would like everyone to please stop asking him about it. Elrond would also like everyone to please stop talking about Gil-Galad's hair turning silver after the two of them took a very normal hunting trip together.

(Multiple Valar have tried to take credit for just how amazingly luscious and wonderful Finwe's hair is. But no, that wasn't a blessing. He's just like that.)

[eri-pl]

Another Silmarillion poll

[sesamenom]

Family Tree Version 3, now featuring dwarves, hobbits, and the intricacies of however ainur are related!

Double lines on each side of a line break are used where lines overlap (---ll | ll---). Dashed lines indicate unknown numbers of generations, and dotted lines are for adoption. Grey text is used for alternative/old draft versions and assumed relationships (such as sticking oropher in with the sons of galadhon, or putting one of the dunedain as the tooks' fairy ancestor).

Version 2 here