#Gondolindhrim

[maglors-anion-gap]

(@cosmic-walkers so sorry for the late reply - work was very busy this week. Posting our thread as a new post because I feel bad gumming yours up with a bunch of reblogs. RIP to everyone's dash tho, the ADHD is leaping out and this post will not be short.)

Note: the text in all the images has been copied into the image description function on desktop. let me know if for some reason it can't be accessed.

Anyway, cosmic-walkers and I had a really good exchange about maeglin and his treatment in text that got me thinking again about eol and the difficulties I've had engaging with his narrative even after coming around to a more nuanced.

I mentioned this in my tags and asked how folks go about repairing eol's narrative:

And I got a really thoughtful reply that, with permission, I'm sharing here so that more people can see it. Hopefully it is as interesting to you all as it was to me. (browse images right to left, top to bottom. comments organized in vertical order in each image).

Thank you @cosmic-walkers for taking the time to write that out for me. It absolutely makes sense, and I actually really love getting long messages because I feel like the length constraints of both tags and comments hinder free conversation.

Thank you @cosmic-walkers for taking the time to write that out for me. It absolutely makes sense, and I actually really love getting long messages because I feel like the length constraints of both tags and comments hinder free conversation.

I have a degree in public health, and my focus was interpersonal and family violence; I don't bring it up to toot my own horn, but rather to offer some context for readers here and to draw from as I analyze the patterns of behavior in the narrative.  For what its worth, I think that more nuanced readings of eol's character line up pretty well with frameworks for understanding unhealthy relationships, abusive relationships, and family violence.

I think it makes people uncomfortable to engage with the idea that abusers are humans.  I don't mean that people ought to feel a preponderance of sympathy for them (at the expense of their victims), but rather that humans have human triggers, motivations, and psychologies.  Of course, we are talking about elves, but *vague hand waving.*  I joke that my degree was the most expensive, circuitous way to get therapy, but it really did help to engage with concepts like family systems theory to understand my own life and move forward in healing past "that sucked and my abuser is a monster .... who somehow manages to treat everyone else well... why me?"

Family systems theory posits that abuse can arise in certain dynamics and be conducted by people who, in other dynamics, would not act abusively.  It asks us to describe both the overarching family system as well as the subsystems that exist between different members.  Noise in one subsystem echoes to impact the rest of the system.  It emphasizes the impact of boundaries (divisions, openness or isolation, emotional closeness), roles (patterns of behavior, and who may be targeted/blamed/scapegoated), rules (spoken and unspoken standards, traditions, and guidelines), and hierarchy (power, who holds it, respect and lack thereof).  People chafe against the the last concept, feedback and circular causality, because when applied incorrectly it can sound like the victims are provoking their own abuse - this is not true, and it should not be applied like this.  It only means that a relationship yields certain behaviors depending on its climate, and that once a pattern of behavior is established it becomes harder to break. 

When analyzing family systems theory, many people choose to pair it with the family resilience model, which prioritizes repairing the broken aspects of (sub)system relationships, hilighing positive characteristics and using them as strengths to propel other behavior change, and promoting flexibility, openness, and equitability of social and economic resources to stabilize (sub)systems to begin the healing process.  Of course, not everyone wishes to remain in contact with their abuser.  Of my two abusers, one I have cut contact with and the other I now have a healthy relationship with.  But, utilizing models and evidence based practice like this is critical to actually understanding and then remediating abuse and its damage.   

Edit 1/1/23: I forgot to mention the impact of stress on abuse. Many abusers release their stress, confusion, and concerns in the form of abuse because they don’t have another way to process and positively direct those emotions. This can be caused by lack of emotional intelligence or ability to self regulate and soothe, lacking interpersonal communication skills, poor modeling from their own role models. I’ve written evidence-based program plans for mitigating teen dating violence, and to make an impact you have to far in advance of the common age of onset of dating violence. We should be teaching stress management tools, emotional regulation, communication skills, and bodily autonomy is late primary and early elementary school. But many people connect dating violence and sex in their minds and don’t want to talk about it with kids. In reality, a lot of abuse happens because of disregulation, not because of inappropriate desire. This is compounded in real life by theories of power and hierarchical respect - if people feel like someone is of higher value than them, they treat them respectfully, but if they feel like they are the person of higher value, they feel it is within their rights (and perhaps a just affirmation/ defense of system hierarchy) to treat them as they please.

I bring all this up because after reading your comments, I tried using it to analyze the system of Eol, Aredhel, and Maeglin, and the subsystems between them.  We agree that as a whole, their family system is tense, unequal, and prone to violence (not necessarily the physical kind). Edit 1/1/23: everyone in the family is experiencing stressors, including Eol himself. The way he responds to these stressors is not healthy and has an impact on the subsystems of their family.

The subsystem of Aredhel and Maeglin is the easiest to analyze in some ways, and there's a wealth of knowledge to pick over.  The two of them are emotionally close, open with each other, ally with each other (as in, we do not canonically see either of them display pecking order behavior in which one abuse victim then abuses someone less powerful in another subsystem), and seem to have similar power distance (aredhel is his mother, but she is not characterized as being domineering toward him, and has about as much systemic power as maeglin in comparison to eol, though eol treats maeglin worse initially, forming a subsystem I discuss next).  

Eol and Maeglin form a fractious subsystem.  It is characterized by high power distance, emotional isolation (see: not naming Maeglin until he was far along in childhood), and Eol regards him more as a possession than as someone worthy of his respect and basic dignity (see: the attempted murder).  Resources is a more uniquely human concept, but Eol is the lord of Nan Elmoth, he exerts some control over the forest, he maintains his own staff and people, and he has the ability to forbid (and enforce) certain behaviors.  Maeglin spends more time with his mother than father (out of the house too, if memory serves, though this may not be so odd for elves) and dreams of running away to Gondolin, and it seems to me that Aredhel's tales of Gondolin (ironically, a city-prison of another sort) are so sweet to him because of his current family situation.  

Aredhel and Eol form the third and final subsystem.  I think it is important to note here that many, if not most, abusive relationships begin well.  At baseline, many abusers are adept at concealing red flag behaviors until they successfully lock down their victim.  But I am more interested in exploring the family systems model of abuse here (Eol is often analyzed using the characteristics of a serial abuser, and while some people fit that model, in combination with the terrible handling of race and culture in this arc, brute caricatures, and white damsels, I think it does more to reinforce an over-done reading that leans into rather than away from Tolkien's biases).  

As you so rightly mention, Aredhel and Eol begin their relationship with a certain degree of love.  We can see some differences in power, agency, and respect from the start - I am reminded of Eol enchanting the woods to draw Aredhel in.  However, this is a storytelling device common to fairy tales, even ones intended to be read romantically, and because I am a huge lover of the Ballad of Tam Lin I must be honest with myself and admit that this alone can be taken as a stylistic choice and not an indicator of purely evil intentions.  

The difference in power only grows as Eol forbids Aredhel to visit the lands of the Noldor; this puts her in a difficult bind, as she is also not welcome in the largest kingdom of the Sindar.  In general, controlling someone's movements indicates a paternalism and lack of respect that it's difficult to build a healthy relationship on.  Now, initially they do go about exploring together, and I think this is something that would have endeared Eol to Aredhel, something she would have enjoyed, something they could have found common ground in, and something that perhaps reminded her of old friends like Celegorm.  As their relationship degrades, we see mentions of that closeness, emotional openness, and equity of station disappear.  Now Eol goes about his business, Aredhel concerns herself with their son, and they wait until Eol is gone to flee.

On the topic of why people agree to the demands of abusive or otherwise toxic partners, when interviewed many people say that they would like to stay with their partner but that they just want the abuse/hurtful behavior to stop.  Now, it's not always possible to achieve that, but many people love their abusers. They make excuses to themselves, their families, and to the medical and legal system to protect them.  We cannot discount the impact fear, threats, isolation, and lack of resources have on this behavior, but it would be wrong to dismiss the emotional attachment many people feel.  I believe this is a valid reason why Aredhel would initially entertain Eol's demand that she not travel in noldor lands (additionally, she has only had experience with her brother at this point, and Turgon eventually relented and let her go, so perhaps she thinks she can eventually wear Eol down into relaxing his restrictions).  It would also explain why she pleads twice to save Eol's life. 

Now, I think their relationship, even before Maeglin was (lovingly) conceived, was poised to fall apart.  Eol cannot get past his opinions of the noldor, and while those opinions are not incorrect and are, on their own, valid to hold, he marries a noldor woman and has a half-noldor child with her.  I think a certain lack of trust in Aredhel, and lack of respect for her cultural background, lays the foundation for his abuse of their son.  I read some excellent meta recently about the functional impact of the Quenya ban, and the writer posed that by banning Quenya, the language and culture was associated with kinslayers - thusly, anyone who wanted to participate in political life in Beleriand (which required peace and intergroup co-operation) would have to disavow not just the kinslayings (despite being overwhelmingly kinslayers themselves) but also there heritage.  I can see this kind of mentality come out strongly in Eol's treatment of Maeglin: he is concerned that Aredhel teaching Maeglin about her family is like a poison to him, that any faith he has in his wife's good nature or his own ability to parent effectively and teach Maeglin about his own culture is overwhelmed by the canker of noldorin culture.  

I think this further corroborates your claim that their relationship slowly degrades from good to bad, because I don't think Aredhel would have tolerated that initially, and if we follow LaCE I'm not sure conceiving Maeglin would be possible with the degree of animosity we see toward the end of their relationship.  But I might push a little on the idea that the relationship between Aredhel and Eol was healthy up until the birth of Maeglin.  I think the introduction of Maeglin to the family, the creation of two new subsystems, the shift and echo of power within the system, all combine to catalyze abuse.  But a loving relationship does not equal a healthy relationship, and loving and being loved by someone does not mean that you have a true, deep respect for each other.  It is fully possible to be in love with someone, care deeply about them - and be unable to relate meaningfully to them, or understand their fears or needs. This is how I perceive Aredhel and Eol's relationship almost up until the moment she flees from him.

Now I have some loose end thoughts.  Regarding the impact of Eol's parenting on Maeglin, there is some interesting research on chronic fear in children that I refer to now.  Chronic (prolonged, or recurring) fear in children causes a host of acute and chronic issues later, both physiological and psychological.  Blood sugar, stress hormone levels, sleep health, capacity for and strength of emotional attachment, attention span, short and long term memory, sociability and antisocial behaviors, and rage are all negatively impacted by experiencing chronic fear.  Fear is a word that has certain connotations in people's minds, but in this context it can mean anything from living in a war zone, to experiencing abuse, to being bullied or growing up being discriminated against for any reason, to being food or housing insecure, to being routinely disciplined in an illogical/punitive manner.  Not all sources of fear are imminent physical threats (there is a reason it is a separate and unique felony crime, for example, for a child to witness abuse taking place even if the child is technically safe).  

So we can look at all this and apply this to how we think Maeglin thinks, feels, and interacts with the world considering his poor relationship with his father, the disintegrating relationship between his father and mother, his introduction to gondolin (and losing both parents), and then the discrimination he faces within Gondolin.  He moves from one system of fear to another system of fear, and the irony is that his father couldn't stand him for his mother's heritage and the Gondolindhrim judge him for his father's.  I think in some ways, Nan Elmoth and Gondolin are reflections of each other, and what happens when xenophobia, isolationism, and fear come into play.

Something else that came to mind while writing was that different groups of Sindar view the Noldor differently. Doriath views them as a challenger to the rule of Beleriand, and this is evident in how Thingol speaks of his kingship and the laws he makes.  Some Sindar go with Turgon to Gondolin - though the ruling class, and the historians like Penlodh are all Noldor, so while Maeglin was not entirely alone in Gondolin, he still was not truly free, and the historical record after his death is most definitely biased.  the Sindar in the north see the Noldor as allies - though again, similarly to the Sindar that took Turgon as their Lord, or the Edain immediately swearing to elvish Lords, I see Tolkien's bias and racial hierarchy creeping in here to determine "logical" progressions of events.  I think all of this contributes to a very tense environment in Beleriand, between the noldor and the sindar, between different groups of sindar, etc etc, and different groups would likely have different fears/reactions to the Noldor.  I think Eol was poised, with his cultural trauma, for his marriage to fail.  And he is mentioned in connection to Thingol, not Círdan, so his cultural and political context comes into play here.  Additionally, we have no idea how old he is.  Thingol (and Círdan too iirc) is old enough to remember the Teleri that left for Valinor; this is speculation, but Eol could be as well, which would at least contextualize his intense reaction to the kinslayings as an even more personal grief. 

This was a very long free-form way of processing what I think about Eol, and I think I can safely say I find him more interesting as a character now.  I really wanted to like him! I tried so hard! I can find something to like about almost every character in the legendarium (even if it's just a "wow that is such an interesting/stimulating way to build characterization").  And I think I can do that with Eol now.  I think there's so much to explore re: Nan Elmoth, his skill as a smith, and his relationship with the dwarves.  

I actually think it was you that posted about Feanor and Eol being similar, and the thought crossed my mind again as I was writing this up, firstly because of their similar passions, but also because I think they respond to stress, fear, and grief in a similar way.  Neither of them handle it well, and they take it out on the people around them.  In fact, I think it's great to contrast these two.  On the one hand, we have Feanor, grieving his mother, his father, the last bit of stability in Valinor, and feeling like he doesn't belong in that society, that he's tainted, and that everyone secretly hates him (Morgoth's brain worms aren't helping).  On the other hand, we have Eol, who is grieving the murder of his kinsfolk, and who views the arrival of the noldor as the colonization and the potential obliteration of his people (a valid fear to have, and corroborated by those princes of the noldor who cross the sea not to fight Morgoth but to obtain kingdoms of their own).  And of course, the threat of imprisonment in Gondolin for life is the last straw, and very important in my mind when considering what Eol does next.  

It just came to mind, but you could perhaps draw a parallel between Eol trying to kill Maeglin as a perverse mercy killing to spare him the pain of being an outcast in Gondolin, and Denethor trying to burn himself and Faramir alive to prevent their remains from falling into the hands of the Enemy.  Eol has a certain love for his son, and unfortunately it's the killing kind.  

Again, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me, and I'm in agreement with you!  It was really helpful to hear your thoughts.  In a way, it was kind of freeing to hear you say Eol was kind of crap?  The last conversation I had (years ago) with someone about Eol and transformative works, I got the distinct sense that they thought anything less than a fully exculpatory reading of Eol (and reworking the narrative to place the blame of Aredhel's death on "an accident" or "getting between Turgon's men and Eol") was not good enough to repair the narrative.  And don't get me wrong! I actually really enjoy AUs and canon divergence, and this arc is no exception!  

But sometimes I like to stick closer to canon, and pick apart the biases in the narrative and how they're impacting the characters, especially in an arc that is tied so closely to those characters.  I had a pretty firm grasp of the biases at play, but I didn't have as good a handle on the dynamic between Eol and Aredhel and that really tripped me up when I considered possible adaptations to their arc.

My final thought is that I hate having the only character of XYZ background be the villain.  I think the way I can potentially get around that is that because it's easier to repair Maeglin's narrative, it's easy for me to make Maeglin sympathetic.  As you said, Eol is sympathetic, and nuanced, but also kind of a shitty guy.  Whereas Maeglin is sympathetic, nuanced, does some things are are Not Well Adjusted, but also imminently likable once the narrative biases are stripped away.  Most of Maeglin's "Crimes" in the narrative are like "he was in love with his cousin, but he was respectful and didn't say anything about it, but she was a mindreader and found out anyway," and "wow he's so close to the king, that's suspicious (even though they're blood related and that's not a red flag at all)" and "he gave up the city ... to gain his cousin as a prize ... but he was tortured first,  so maybe it was the torture that really sealed the deal, not the cousin-loving?"  Sorry, abrupt departure from academic language into dark humor.  But yeah.  Fully fleshing out both of these characters - and maybe including some of the sindar of Gondolin and Nan Elmoth as OC's even? - is maybe the way to go.

[edennill]

Beleriand Dashboard Simulator • part 3

Part one, part two

🔆 hador-lomin following

1 722 notes

♟️narrond following

wait, are @turin-deactivated4841207 and @outlaw-neithan-deactivated4880911 the same person as @mormegil?

⚔️ adanedhel

Not really my business to say, seeing as I'm neither of these, but people have reasons for changing blogs/names/URLs. If this was true and if I was that person I would be very annoyed at whoever posted such a thing for everyone to see.

#please take it down for general safety of people who might need it

4 notes

⚓ nenil-noriel

I am sick and tired of Gondolindhrim complaining they're bored. How about you try living here and fighting orcs for a while? I'd be glad to switch.

👤 house-of-the-mole following

I'll let you know we fought alongside everyone in the Nirnaeth.

⚓ nenil-noriel

Sure, do pat yourself on the back for doing the bare minimum.

17 089 notes

👰🏼‍♀️ celebrin following

Guess who got engaged today?!!! 💕💍🥰

#no one even got ordered to bring a Silmaril lol #so I dare say it went perfectly #!!! #can you tell I'm excited?

31 notes

🎼noldolanteyy following

thinking of changing my url (for pretty obvious reasons)

#doriath kinslaying

11 notes

🎼musiquendil-former-noldolanteyy following

No, really, this is the worst time ever to be a musician. I'm not pretending that the way he let us down is in any way worse than everything else Maglor Feanorion has done, but...

Can we separate art from the artist when the art itself is so interwined with the artist's deeds? Can we appreciate the noldolante itself ignoring that it was entirely a lie, regrets that apparently didn't stop him from committing the same evil over again?

But it is impossible to cut oneself away from all influence Maglor Feanorion has had on our music. And even keeping to the apolitical pieces, should we ignore the person of the artist? Does it help anything?

It's like the famous Fëanorian lamps debate all over again. Do we change the name since we're uncomfortable using it? Do we try to forget who was their creator - but is that even ethical, no matter what evil he wrought? Or is that maybe wrong? Maybe, if we use the lamps, we should be discomforted?

#I really don't know how to approach this

101 notes

👰🏼‍♀️celebrin following

So, we've arrived at the havens. I thank you all for the condolences, thoughts and prayers... I still don't know what to do from now on, but I guess maybe I can finally rest a bit. And mourn.

To all the people asking, yes, my husband and son are thankfully okay; this is the one silver lining. My son seems to have made a friend already...

#personal #gondolin

32 notes

🕊️queenelwing-unofficial

putting this under cut so I can delete this later, but please have a passionate rant about how a girl actually feels about receiving missives from the people who killed her parents.

read more

#honestly why do they presume I might want to actually meet with them #though tbh now that the anger's worn of I'm mostly afraid #and of course my husband *has* to be gone right now... #I'll probably delete all this tomorrow but I couldn't help myself

11 notes

[fountainmisuse]

I happened to hear your latest composition the other day. I wanted to let you know how - perfectly adequate it was. Hardly anything that could be improved, really. || @salmaganto

Oh, that little ditty I threw together while Glorfindel and I were out drinking the other night? I’m glad it meets your standards! I sometimes worry that coming up with pieces on the fly is ill-advised when wine is involved, but clearly I have nothing to worry about.

Funny, it’s been a terribly long time since I’ve heard something of yours, @salmaganto - I suppose whatever you’re working on is going to be a doozy. Or is it that your last composition hasn’t made it around the city yet? Don’t worry, I know the Gondolindhrim can be a little slow to warm to your style, but they’ll come around and I’m sure I’ll be hearing it presently.

[weezlbot]

Capped off at 230.

Forgot the name of Aragorn's son Eldarion and Eomer's son Elfwine (remembered Elboron, Eowyn and Faramir's son, somehow). Also forgot a number of the Gondolindhrim. I remembered Vardamir and Manwedil, but forgot Tindomiel and Atanalcar. I could only remember the real names of two of the Nazgul, and it took me a very long time to remember Ori, Nori and Dori.

Attached is photo proof. Sorry for low camera quality.

I had to abbreviate some last names. S-B is Sackville-Baggins, G is usually Gardner but occasionally Gamgee. B is either Brandybuck or Baggins.

Bonus internet points will be awarded to anyone who actually tries this exercise before voting.

Assume you need to get the spelling at least somewhat close, and if a character has multiple names, only one counts. Also, if a character doesn't have a canonical name, I'm sorry, but "that guy's wife" doesn't count.

For reference, if you can name the 9 members of the Fellowship, the eponymous Hobbit and his 13 dwarf buddies, 3 prominent women, and the guy who runs the Rivendell B&B, that's 27 characters right there. And you probably also know the name of a dragon.

For further reference, Tolkien Gateway has 637 (!!) pages dedicated to Third Age characters. (Don't click that link until you've voted, of course)

Edit: Your humble pollmaker gave this a try, and got as far as 73 before deciding she was too tired to keep trying to remember dwarf and Silm names. If you also want to share (and don't mind people being incredulous at your having forgot ____), pastebin allows you to paste text and share it for free. :)

[ravencounsellor-moved-blog]

s.o.s

Do I want my Erestor to have short hair?

[makalauriels]

When will any of you admit that the Noldor do not let women inherit?

I keep on seeing people going on and on about how Gil-galad treats Elrond and Galadriel in Rings of Power, and how it should be more equal because of their descent but it doesn't mean jackshit to the Noldorin power structure.

Galadriel is a female member of the House of Finwë, she wouldn't be High Queen. Because if women could be High Queen of the Noldor in Beleriand then the throne would have gone to *Lalwen* after Fingolfin's death as the oldest of the House of Finwë in Beleriand. The tension in the crowning scene is precisely *because* she's older than Gil-galad. He's High King but Galadriel doesn't really give him the respect he's due. Which part of all the stink eyes she's giving him is her submitting?

Elrond also cannot be High King because his Noldor ancestor is Idril, *daughter* of Turgon. She might have been able to lead the Gondolindhrim but the rest of the Noldor? They would not accept her rule. The Sindar of Doriath, on the other hand, accept Elrond's grandfather Dior as king, and he's descended from the female line.

And you can almost kind of see how the Noldor became that way because what would you need to inherit in Valinor? People don't die there. Inheritance is a formality so short lines make sense. The Sindar and other peoples of Middle-earth need to worry about succession more and they must be more flexible (Numenor absolute primogeniture my beloved).

Like, just accept the Noldor have sexist succession laws. You can write more dramatic tension that way.

[altrightaltrightaltright]

Of all the stories in the Silmarillion, the entire story of Gondolin and its fall has to be my favorite.

Let’s start with the fact that the city was literally ordained by Ulmo himself because Turgon was homesick. Like there was no kidding when it was said that Ulmo did not forsake the children of Illúvatar. Then Gondolin literally became a white shining city on a hill. Other Elven kingdoms? Fuck off. Doriath may be cool, but it’s ruled by this fucker. Was it Doriath that went to war alongside the elves at Nirnaeth Arnoediad? And was it Doriath that was so noble a kingdom that an entire race of men sacrificed themselves to keep its secrecy? Hithlum? Maybe. The kingdoms of the sons of Fëanor? The Havens? I don’t think so. 

But his dumbass doomed his kingdom because he refused to listen to his wife about avoiding the Silmaril and the doom of the Noldor. It can be said that Turgon’s pride ended Gondolin, but I believe that Tuor could have swayed him if not for Maeglin’s poisonous ear. And you can’t fault Turgon for trusting him, Maeglin was his fucking nephew. Nargothrond is the closest to Gondolin until Túrin’s dumb ass convinced Orodreth to reveal his secret location. Don’t even get me started on the centuries of utter peace. Like, Turgon forbade people to leave, but they were so happy they decided to stay anyway! Imagine the perfect paradise being built! And he was right wasn’t he? Both times Elves left, Aredhel and Maeglin, they both brought back shit that would lead to the ruin of the city. That’s not even counting the scores of Gondolindhrim slaughtered at Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

And the sheer heroism of the fall gets me every time. Maeglin gets his ass beat and thrown off the same wall as Eöl, the epitome of poetic justice. Turgon throws off his crown and sacrifices himself for his city. In my headcanon he recants after the Maeglin’s betrayal and believes he doesn’t deserve to escape his before his people. Ecthelion fucking headbutts a Balrog into a fountain. Not just any Balrog, but Gothmog, the fucker who surrounded and slew Fëanor himself. Glorfindel is so badass and noble that he gets reborn and saves Frodo thousands of years later from the Nazgûl. And Idril saves many with her secret tunnel. The heroism and tragedy, along with the fact that Turgon declares victory as his people escape, the fact that Gondolin was the last Elven bastion, and the fact that Glamdring was refound and Glorfindel was reborn as an Elf and sent to Middle-Earth. The tragedy of Gondolin is massively amplified, and forever holds a place in my heart. These are my favorite fanarts of Gondolin courtesy of my favorite Tolkein artist, Ted Nasmith.

[maglors-anion-gap]

Tolkien Secret Santa 2022

My submission for the 2022 @officialtolkiensecretsanta event, for @jaz-the-bard! I hope you have as much fun reading this as I did writing it!

"Under That Burning Ether" [AO3 Link]

Rating: E

Warnings: Major Character Death

Words: 7000

Relationships: Idril/Tuor, Idril/Maeglin, Tuor/Maeglin, Idril/Tuor/Maeglin

Characters: Idril, Tuor, Maeglin, Turgon

Tags:

Fairy Tale Retellings, Daughters of Ys AU, Gondolin, Magic, Trans Male Character, Trans Maeglin, Oral Sex, Fingering, Vaginal Sex, Anal Sex, Strap-Ons, Transmasculine Author

Summary:

There once was a hidden kingdom in the mountains.  Some people say it was hidden with magic and some people say the mountains were just tall.  They would both be right, in a way. The mountains did hide Ondolindë - for a time, for a price. 

[markedasinfernal]

'Thus led by Tuor son of Huor the remnant of Gondolin passed over the mountains, and came down into the Vale of Sirion; and fleeing southwards by weary and dangerous marches they came at length to Nan-tathren, the Land of Willows, for the power of Ulmo yet ran in the great river, and it was about them. There they rested a while, and were healed of their hurts and weariness, but their sorrow could not be healed.' - Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin, The Silmarillion.

Flight of the Doomed, by Ted Nasmith

[maglors-anion-gap]

Come Tomorrow (You Won't Find Me Here) [AO3 Link]

A remix for firstamazon's Healing Wounds for @tolkienremix 2022

I posted this on the AO3 collection when it opened but forgot to publish this out of my draft :( sorry

Wordcount: 2,215

Rating: E

Warnings: None

Relationships: Glorfindel/Maglor

Tags: Rivendell, Grey Havens, Angst (just a little) with a happy ending, frottage, (mutual) oral, transmasculine author

Summary:

"They are tired of ghosts, the both of them, even ghosts they love." [Glorfindel makes up his mind to sail for Valinor, but he won't be going alone]

Come Tomorrow (You Won't Find Me Here) [AO3 Link]

[maglors-anion-gap]

Young, short Húrin sparring with this great, powerful elven king perhaps nearly two feet (60cm) taller than him is such an amazing image

And I so agree he’d remind him of Fingon!

-@outofangband

[referring to this post]

yeah, I've kind of fixated on how So Many elves see a Man running around (or Dwarf) and go "Babie! A Babie for me!" - ok that's kind of infantilizing, but truly. Without fail, they're like, "This is my brother/friend/small child, he's mine."

The Gondolindhrim actually turn out to the sparring fields to watch the two of them. Turgon is Very Hard to Beat - I headcanon that while he has his sword, he also uses a spear of some sort (there's a headcanon floating around tumblr that elenwe was a spear fighter). So Turgon is very tall, has a very long reach, and uses a weapon that he can use to keep himself at a distance from his enemy. Húrin is a close-range fighter, and because he is small, he is fast. Turgon is fast, but it's hard to close the gaps in his guard against someone as small as Húrin, who takes full advantage of that by getting up in his business as quickly as he can. I love the idea of Húrin the in-boxer lol. Húrin has dropped Turgon more than once; it doesn't happen that often, but it does happen.

Re: similarities between Húrin and Fingon, I feel like the two of them have this pretty unassailable good nature, with a deep vein of compassion. Of course, Húrin suffers horribly in Angband, and loses his way for some time... But yeah, I feel like given my headcanons on Fingon's size, his similarities to Tulkas (the wrestler), and what we know about his different martial skills, he would be an in-fighter as well, which is why Húrin seems to similar to him.

[maglors-anion-gap]

quirks/hobbies headcanon and random for Húrin!

-@outofangband

[from this ask game]

Húrin

Quirks/Hobbies:

Húrin takes up whittling in his spare time. He can make basically anything out of a spare bit of wood, bone, or occasionally stone. It's not just a diversion, it's useful. Stakes for holding his tent up, spoons for cooking -- on one memorable occasion, a hastily fashioned dagger of sorts. Wooden animals for his children - or any children, really. Bone flutes - he can't play more than a few simple tunes, but the craftsmanship is good, and both men and elves like to trade them from him.

Random:

So, Húrin spends some time in Gondolin with Turgon. Now, Húrin is noted as being a manlet but having incredible martial skill so. Turgon takes him under his wing not just out of fondness for the descendents of Hador, but because in my opinion, Húrin reminds him of his older brother Fingon (small, bulky, enjoys seinfeld-festivus-style feats of strength) even though they look basically nothing alike. The Gondolindhrim don't really understand why Turgon takes a human Húrin on as a sparring partner but... yeah.