#Luthien! And all her kids!

[eloquentsisyphianturmoil]

If the character didn’t have black hair, grey eyes, and pale skin Tolkien was too ashamed to tell us what they looked like.

[wethecelestial]

just saw someone point out how weird it is that the statue of the elf and the dog in lindon in trop (who i assumed was luthien bc like...who else) has a star of feanor on its chest

which like. i mean obviously the star is there bc somebody just didn't think this through beyond "oh this looks cool." BUT i think it is very funny to imagine that in the trop parallel universe, instead of becoming cautionary tales about hubris and ghost stories that parents use to scare their children into behaving, the feanorians have just become like. completely divorced from their political and historical motivations and the devastating consequences of their actions on people's actual lives and are instead now just like: Thee Fashionable Aesthetic. fashion designers sticking an eight-pointed star on everything to show that they're EDGY and PROVOCATIVE and NOT LIKE OTHER ELVES. showing up to elf school with the star of feanor on your shirt is the equivalent of that one kid in high school who always wore a che guevara shirt to class and told your teacher that they didn't do the homework because They Aren't Gonna Be Part Of The System, Man,

[eri-pl]

The sad thing about Elrond

(no, not everyone sailing or going brr on him, the other one)

From all the people who like Elrond, who claim to be friends, even to love him maybe, very few see him as himself. His parents (sailed, effectively sailed + parents extended edition: dead, ???), his brother (brr), his wife (sailed), his kids (brr, ?, ?). Maybe a few others.

Others look at him and see someone else's face. Or at least they see Elrond as a symbol of this or that. Never as himself.

He just tends to remind everyone of someone or another.

Many of the old Noldor see him as The Last Feanorian (minus the kinslaying problem), many elves see him as Luthien 2.0, many humans see him as the blend of all the elves they ever heard of (at least the good ones) and/or as a stand-in for their legendary ancestor king Elros, even Bilbo sees him as Mister Related To All The Stories Which I'm Gonna Sing Anyway. And there are probably many other things worrying is seen as.

(yes, Arwen has this problem too, but she's not in the Silm, and I mostly think about the Silm)

I suppose even Elwing sometimes looked at her kids and saw Earendil's face in them. That's what parents do, especially when missing the other parent. But it was only moments.

And then she was chased and jumped.

I'm sure M&M initially saw the twins, at least subconsciously, as a replacement Ambarussar, and as their redemption for what happened to Dior's sons. But I think they (at least Maglor) got over it and learned to actually see them, and this was one of the things that made "and love grew" possible.

And then one died and the other disappeared.

What's most sad in this is that I don't treat Elrond better. All the reasons I like him (at least the vast majority) aren't really about him. Realizing that may be the reason why I count him on my fave list lower than Finrod. He's still 3rd on the list anyway. But I wish he was there more as himself and less than the symmetry axis of the Silmarillion and all the associations I have to him.

Tbh he probably wouldn't be this high. I imagine Elrond is actually thie same kind of well-mannered, polite and kind as was one of my friends in high school and while it was fully a good thing, it also somehow made her hard to approach or to relax around. Which... Is even more sad, I guess.

[spinningalbinoturtle]

Lotr characters and their dogs (and other pets)

Frodo

Canonically not a dog person but also just has cat person vibes

He has two cats one of them is a chubby gray kitty named Luthien and she is incredibly spoiled. A birthday present from Bilbo

His other cat is a stray who hates everyone but Frodo- its super scrangly and Sam calls it Gollum and it stuck

After the Quest Frodo gets a little beagle service dog that helps him with PTSD and other medical stuff

Sam

Pre Quest had an old basset hound named Fingon. His dad said they didn’t have room for it but Sam insisted on feeding it and when he moved in with Frodo it came along.

Post quest he has a border collie named Ellie (short for Galadriel) who helps him replant the shire

He also keeps chickens at Bag End and spoils them a bit. They are just for eggs

Also has a little dairy cow for fresh milk. Her name is Bell after his mom

Merry

The Brandybucks have a pack of mastiffs and they love Merry. Frodo is terrified of them

They also have several feral maine coones that lounge around their manor and also love Merry but hate everyone else

Has a full size horse post quest which he is very proud of and scares the other hobbits. Its name is Theoden

Pippin

Lets be honest with ourselves Pippin has a lab who has the exact same personality as him and they go everywhere together. Its name is something really basic like Buddy

He also keeps turtles and has a whole menagerie for them. They’re all named after different foods

Aragorn

Aragorn has a husky/malamute that he found on his travels north. He howls back and forth with it and is convinced he can understand it. When he becomes king it sits at the foot of his throne and occasionally will randomly howl in the middle of a meeting.

Horse girl all the way. Brego is his bestie. Man takes excellent care of his horse and buys all kinds of extraneous shit for it.

Boromir

Denethor has a pack of vicious looking dogs but Boromir has a Dalmatian that loves him so much

Faramir adopts it for a while after Boromir dies but Faramir is much more of a cat person, so ultimately its adopted by Aragorn and becomes mates with his husky. The puppies go to his and Arwens kids

Legolas

This could go one of two ways-either he has a super graceful hunting dog like a greyhound or whippet or he has a little pomeranian he dresses up and treats like a baby

He has tried to domesticate the spiders with little success maybe because he’s also killed a lot of them

Gimli

Gimli is a terrier person. He has a little Scottish terrier who sits on his lap all the time when he’s working. Gimli made it a little sweater and it hates Legolas (its jealous of Legolas stealing Gimli’s attention).

He also keeps canaries and they are very well cared for and all have names and he’s the only one who can tell them apart

Eowyn

Has a massive Rottweiler who is super intimidating to everyone except Eowyn. It has bitten Grima multiple times. Around Eowyn it acts like a little puppy.

She also loves her horse as all Rohirrim do.

I could also see her as raising ferrets or chinchilas as well

Faramir

Firmly a cat person

Doesn’t mind dogs but vastly prefers cats

Has six of them and they’re all rescues. Their names are : Mithrandir, Radagast, Varda, Melian, Beren, and Pippin.

Eowyn indulges her crazy cat husband even when their house is overrun with kittens

Arwen

Also firmly a cat person

She’s fine Aragorn’s dog but that’s just cause its well trained

Usually just has one or two cats at a time. They’re a special breed from Lothlorien and they’re really beautiful. They like to sit on her lap and purr. They’re also vicious mousers.

Eomer

Has a big great dane who hangs out in Edoras. Its super sweet and dorky. Everyone loves it.

[havenotwillnotreadthebooks]

Headcanon that somehow Finrod is Elrond’s most legally legitimate relative besides Galadriel, Celebrian, and his children (Aragorn excluded).

• Whenever Finrod had a Good Friendship with a Beorian they would make him a godfather of their kid(s).

• Beren is legally Finrod’s godchild (along with several other beorians).

• Then Luthien and Beren decided to honor Finrod by making him the godfather of their kid, Dior.

• By some divine humor, Dior adds Finrod to the legal family registry as his uncle or something.

• Elwing keeps the family registry as it is because if her dad claimed this “Finrod ‘Nóm’ Felagund” is family, it must be true.

• The argument can be made that Elwing left her kids, sure, but whatever anyone’s opinion about Elwing is, Finrod is still legally e&e’s grand-uncle/great-grandfather

Now for the other side!

• Finrod is Idril’s honorary uncle and legal guardian if her parents die. Because Turgon in Valinor never thought death would be a thing and he wanted to annoy his siblings.

• Idril makes Finrod Earendil’s Honorary Grand-Uncle and Legal Guardian, to keep the joke going in an increasingly stressful world.

• Eärendil doesn’t know the joke but the paperwork says Finrod Felagund is his family, and they’re both blonde so it’s probably true.

• Eärendil makes sure to put Finrod in the family registry after Gondolin has fallen and he is all grown up. Gil-Galad squints, but doesn’t question The Dreaded Finwean Family Tree™️.

• Eärendil does not think to communicate Grand-Uncle Finrod to Elwing.

• Elwing does not think to talk to Eärendil about Grand-Uncle Finrod.

And finally

• By his marriage to Celebrian, Elrond is legally Finrod’s nephew-in-law.

• By his feanorian kidnap-adoption, Elrond is Finrod’s second half-cousin.

• Once in Valinor; Elrond has to read all this paperwork and go through the slow realization of “Finrod, again.” As the sunshine elf continues to pop up Everywhere in his family tree both biological and adoptive.

Of course, there are other people that Elrond is also ridiculously related to but, the idea of Finrod “That Friendly Guy” Felagund somehow being Elrond’s most Legally-Binding relative is great.

[sakasakiii]

Hi!

I love your work!! Your art is very pretty. Do you have a specific idea of how old everyone is ? Do you lean more towards canon or do you have your own dates in mind ? If don’t wanna a answer it’s ok!

Hope u have a nice day

(Remember to drink water!)

hiiii nonnie!!! thank you for checking in, and im happy u like the stuff i put out!! when it comes to ages, it's difficult to answer sometimes bc of the way professor tolkien's timeline is-- it makes gauging one singular place where most of the cast can be compared something that makes my tired brain go 😵🤧🤕 but i love the prompt youve given! and thus heres my attempt at it

with most of my tolkien stuff, i always try to stick to canon wherever possible emphasis is on try lmao and the topic of ages is one such place. i do make exceptions to the Professor's canon sometimes for a few reasons: 1) i like some of the scrapped ideas in his drafts, or 2) i just prefer other options. with ages, i think the only charas with canon-established ages i deviated from are fingolfin, finrod, turgon, and aredhel. i try to keep cases like these minimal tho, so i hope it doesn't bother anyone too much... 👉👈

anyways i figured just dropping a list of numbers would be kinda boring to look at so heres an illustrated guide to what the ~rough~ ages of the finweans are in my head whenever i write or draw. Y.T. 1495 (the year Finwe dies) is the controlled medium ive used to enable a fair comparison of the Finweans

note: "born Y.T. xxx" means this is the canon date of birth listed on Tolkien Gateway. "est. born [xxx]" means this is a noncanon estimate:

the First Age gets a lot more muddled from there due to the hullaballoo of everything going on, so ill only be including the doriathrim and a few other denizens of nargothrond:

it's mostly the older elves that are more undefined/vague with their ages (i.o.w. others like elwing, earendil, the peredhil twins, and most Men all have set dates of birth), so they're all i'll be doing for now. but it's that vagueness which makes hcing all the more enjoyable, isn't it! plus since we’re on this subject, under the cut are just a few headcanons and musings ive had that i wanted to put somewhere 😙

Finarfin and Earwen were born within months of each other! Finwe and Olwe made a Really Big Deal out of when they found out their wives were pregnant at the same time. As a result, the two were often sent on many playdates with each other to “bolster healthy relations” between the Noldor and the Teleri. It wasn’t an arranged marriage situation, but I like to think they were goofy for each other from the start… Resulting in the two eventually getting married as soon as they came of age, the fastest out of all of Finwe’s kids to do so. 

The reason the Ambarussa are significantly younger than the other Finweans (especially the Feanorians-- there’s a 100 Valian year gap between them and Curufin alone!) is because I imagine they were accidental babies that even Feanor didn’t expect to conceive. too bad morgoth said "its morgin time!" and started Messing Things Up shortly afterwards.....

Anaire was Lalwen's good friend long before she married Fingolfin; they met through Lalwen who wingmanned Fingolfin the whole time. i like think Anaire'd be the best out of all the wives at keeping good, healthy bonds with all the women of her family :DD

luthien's potential 姐姐/big sis dynamic with all the younger doriathrim elves is something i daydream about a lot 😌 but sometimes the fact that she's older than finarfin keeps me up at night

this has been really fun, so thanks again for asking-- annnd yessir, i am chugging water as i write this so you better be doing the same ❤️ have a great start to your week!

[bidmoth]

AU where Elrond and Elros are actually Maglor’s sons:

Elwing and Earendil desperately want children. Unfortunately, unlike elves, half-elves can be infertile. It’s just not working.

Meanwhile, Feanor’s sons send a letter asking for the Silmaril (Or Else)

Elwing writes back that she’s willing to negotiate

She makes her case - she needs one of Feanor’s sons to father a child with her. She gets the kid, they get the Silmaril and then they fuck off out of her life forever. They get no paternal rights.

none of Feanor’s sons want to do this. At all. But unfortunately they swore that pesky little oath that they’d do anything for a silmaril…

Maglor draws the short straw

he goes to Sirion

Elrond and Elros are conceived

Sidenote: sex = marriage for elves, not half-elves. Half-elves, like humans, are perfectly capable of extramarital affairs. So Maglor is now technically married to Elwing, but she’s not married to him. Everybody involved hates this.

And then Elwing reneges on her deal

she doesn’t give Maglor the Silmaril in exchange.

It’s hers! It was bought with Luthien and Beren’s courage, and Dior and Nimloth’s blood, and Elured and Elurin’s absence. The sons of Feanor have no right to it. She never intended to give it to them.

Maglor and his brothers are MAD about this but they don’t want to attack the settlement where Maglor’s infant children are, because the kids might get hurt. Also, no matter how messed up the circumstances, Elwing is kinda Maglor’s wife now, and the idea of killing her is weirdly complicated. It is both more and less palatable than it was before…

they hold off as long as they can, but the oath is pushing at them

meanwhile, Elrond and Elros are raised as Earendil’s sons, but there are rumors about the truth

Cue the Third Kinslaying a few years later

[annoyinglandmagazine]

Hamilton songs as the Silmarillion prt 1

Who lives, Who dies, Who tells your story: Elrond Peredhel. Thinking mainly about all the kids he fosters in Elros’ line. But also the idea of him preserving the histories and memory of the Feanorians alongside the rest of his family.

Quiet Uptown: Either kidnap fam, with everyone’s assorted trauma (I think maybe Mae and Mags thinking about their brothers) or Feanor and Nerdanel reuniting after everything

Say no to this: Silvergifting. Celebrimbor and Annatar. Need I say more?

Burn: Nerdanel obviously. I’ve heard that take before and honestly it seems written for her. But I’m also going to add the possibility of Curufinrod. Some parts more than others I feel would also fit either point of view for that one. I lean a little more towards Curvo though. Maybe some kind of jealousy towards Beor and Barahir?

Non stop: Maedhros after Angband. All the diplomacy over letters, probably from his sick bed. The song just describes him so well. Also Elros.

Helpless: Luthien and Beren fits very well. But also Halenthir if we’re getting creative. Especially the bits about meddling siblings.

Satisfied: Russingon. If we’re going with Fingon having a wife. Forbidden love. It just makes me emotional. From Maedhros point of view.

Room where it happens: Nargothrond. Mainly Curufin and Celegorm and Orodreth. Feat Finrod and Beren.

Alexander Hamilton: Feanor. Just Feanor.

Schuyler Sisters: The three Cs. Just imagine it. Also Idril, Aredhel and Galadriel works. But seriously Celegorm, Caranthir - and Curufin. It would be incredible.

Farmer Refuted: Feanor harassing Eonwe while being backed up by Celegorm and Curufin. So funny.

You’ll be back: Thingol talking to literally anyone. He just has that entitled vibe. Also maybe Sauron to Maedhros.

Right Hand Man: Elrond and Gil Galad when they meet during the War of Wrath.

[the-elusive-soleil]

Some random headcanons I have for a Silm modern AU:

Feanor is the son of Finwe's ex-wife Miriel (they split more or less amicably due to the more kids/no more kids thing). There are more resources to help deal with this than in canon Valinor, so while Feanor isn't happy about the Indis and half-siblings situation, he's able to get to a place of mostly getting along with them.

Finwe made his money in investments--Aule Industries, Elentari Electric Co., Sulimo Aerospace...you get the picture.

Feanor could have gone to work for Aule Industries, but instead he struck out on his own as an inventor, and holds patents for several now-common items.

He's married to the famous sculptor Nerdanel. They've had their disagreements, but they're in couples therapy and working on sticking together.

Fingolfin is a state-level politician. He and Feanor mostly sort of get along provided everyone avoids certain topics.

Maedhros works for Fingolfin as a political fixer, which he is very very good at. Feanor has mostly made his peace with this.

Maglor went through a classical musical education, but eventually his hobby band Noldolante took off to the point that he went full-time with it. He's the lead vocalist and songwriter. Currently thinking their sound would be something like heavy metal but with the instruments and volume of acoustic folk.

Their musical rivals are the folk duo Nightingale Shadow, the brother-sister pair Daeron and Luthien Gray.

Celegorm got a job through his grandfather's friend Orome Aldaron at Aldaron LLC, an outdoor gear company resembling Cabela's, as a spokesperson/sponsored rep type of thing. He has a huge dog and tells a different story every time someone asks where he got him, and keeps trying to ask out Luthien from Nightingale Shadow (which drives Maglor nuts).

Caranthir is a stocks trader and financial advisor, which has made him wealthy enough on his own to rival Finwe. At some point, he announces his engagement (despite no one in the family knowing he was dating) to a small business owner named Haleth who takes none of his guff.

Curufin works with his father as a fellow inventor. He married an epidemiologist several years back, and they have a small son, Tyelpe, who is already being brought to an unbelievable number of "take your child to work" days. Everyone's bracing for the mad science to reach critical mass once Tyelpe's old enough to wield a screwdriver.

Amrod and Amras are still in high school and haven't confirmed a path in life yet, although they do quite a bit of Celegorm's social media stuff with him.

Fingon used to work with his father and Maedhros, but eventually decided that politics wasn't for him, and now runs a nonprofit to aid disaster victims. He and Maedhros frequently tease each other about how exhausted their respective careers are making them.

Turgon works in some capacity for the city government, which he claims is the level of politics where things actually get done.

Aredhel also works for Aldaron LLC as a spokesperson; sometimes she and Celegorm will collaborate on posts.

At some point, she starts a relationship with a guy named Eol, but leaves him when he turns out to be a controlling jerk. Post-breakup, she finds out she's pregnant, and ends up keeping the baby because Eol doesn't want her to do so and make him pay child support. She turns out a better mom than anyone expects.

Finarfin is some kind of lawyer working in conflict resolution and mediation. He is very good at it; he ought to be, given all the practice he's had.

Finrod owns an ethically sourced jewelry company. His brother Orodreth works for him.

Aegnor and Angrod are college students; Angrod is undeclared, but Aegnor is studying anthropology.

Artanis is in high school and the most politically minded teenager ever. She's in student government and on the debate team and Model UN, you name it. The family used to joke that someday she was going to rule a small country. They still say it, but it's become less and less of a joke over the years.

[sesamenom]

magic maia treelight hair [Long post]

idea:

galadriels hair changes color based on whichever treelight its under during the day its more gold and at night silver. in valinor it was silver-gold at dawn/dusk, bright vanya-gold at noon, full silvery white and midnight. in beleriand the effects arent as strong so it changes less. during the darkening it turned black with starry streaks until the first sunrise.

celebrians hair changes a little, still subtle but noticeable if you compare silver-gold morning hair to completely silver night hair.

elrond (who also has color changing hair from luthien) and celebrian's kids hair is all over the place. elladan and elrohir wear dark hoods when hunting because randomly gold flashing hair is not helpful. arwen's hair turns almost entirely silver-gold during her stay in lorien. in gondor whenever she gets near the white tree her hair turns silvery white. aragorn keeps getting woken up at night by arwens telperion hair. elladan and elrohirs hair turned gold for a week from hanging around uncle glorfindel too long. at night when earendils star is in the sky all three of their hair turns to default luthien-purpley with random white and streaks.

[fistfuloflightning]

So. Someone a bit ago commented on one of my fics (or here, not sure) about my penchant for odd Tolkien rarepairs. I myself forget just how many I have, so here’s the rundown and why I like them:

Maedhros/Maeglin (just. the angst. of being buried under your mistakes and finding a kindred soul to share that same burden and heal together. soulmates. who might’ve even met during the nirnaeth. and they’re definitely switches your honor)

Celegorm/Aredhel or Celegorm/Dior (or Dior’s reckless/headstrong stubbornness reminds him of Aredhel and there’s a lot of angry/bittersweet proxyfucking and guilt and ‘I don’t know who I truly love anymore’)

Maglor/Luthien (beauty for beauty’s sake. and honestly anyone but beren. luthien getting involved with the war to protect her murderbard boyfriend and actually putting a dent in morgoth’s forces. mags trying his hardest to protect her as much as the silmaril she won back for him)

Curufin/Finrod (sending your husband to his death (that he knew abt but didn’t tell you) and screwing up your sons and living the rest of your shortened life regretting soooo. many. things. and then having to deal with them after mandos. a bitter beautiful chaotic mess that can only end in tears)

Fingon/Varda (don’t ask: even I’m not sure—something something gil galad’s associated w/ stars and no one knows who his mom is and I like me some valar with greek god leanings)

Aegnor/Haleth (battle bros to lovers, bc haleth won’t take no for an answer like andreth did 😒)

Argon/Amarie (falling in love with your cousin’s ex was not the intention after being the first one killed/sent back. but she’s finally moving on from finrod and you’ve grown to care for her company more than you thought…)

Daeron/Beren (beren didn’t deserve luthien—this started as a joke but these two seriously deserve each other in all their squabbling glory)

Mablung/Nienor (they just. deserve happiness and peace. and lots of adorable peredhel kids. please)

Eowyn/Merry (same as above, but they have the benefit of having an entire shire to rebuild and different cultures to find wonder in and grow to love as much as their own)

idk I might be missing some but these are my thoughts on my main Tolkien rarepairs

[grey-gazania]

I'm sorry someone bombarded you with bitchy comments 😭. While my To Read list is lengthy and continually lengthier (actually I think something of yours with her is on it), I'd like to hear more about Ianneth-Fingon-Maedhros if you want to talk about them.

@polutrope

It wasn't really upsetting, just annoying and honestly a little bit funny. This guy left comments on all six chapters of By Love or at Least Free Will, every time I updated the story, just objecting to the entire premise of the story and ranting about how Elves have incorruptible pure souls and are immune to lust. I was sorely tempted to respond with this quote from "Laws & Customs Among the Eldar":

Even when in after days, as the histories reveal, many of the Eldar in Middle-earth became corrupted, and their hearts darkened by the shadow that lies upon Arda, seldom is any tale told of deeds of lust among them.

'Seldom' is not the same thing as 'never', and furthermore, I don't think lust is even a major theme of my story. It's more about conflicting obligations and unruly hearts.

In the end I deleted the comments without responding, because I have a personal policy of not engaging with people who are acting in bad faith. But I have to assume that this guy has no actual hobbies if he spends his time hate-reading entire stories instead of just...closing the window and moving on with his life. Maybe take up crochet, bro? Or volunteer at a soup kitchen? Watch a TV show that you like? Grow some tomatoes? Do something that will be more fulfilling than typing long screeds on AO3. I promise it will make you a happier person.

Anyway. On to the actual topic of your ask! As you've probably noticed, I am very fond of Russingon. However, I am also very fond of Fingon as Gil-galad's father. At first I balanced these two ideas by keeping my Russingon ideas and my Fingon-father-of-Gil-galad ideas in two separate universes, but then I started really fleshing out Gil-galad's mother, and it made me think some thoughts. To repeat something I said to @cuarthol in a comment on AO3:

...half the genesis of Ianneth was seeing so many stories (in multiple fandoms, not just Tolkien) where the woman is written out of a canon or semi-canon couple to make room for a popular M/M ship instead, without the female character being treated with any respect. I decided that the female perspective on that situation would be a nice change of pace and interesting to write.

I'm not trying to point fingers -- I'll readily admit that I have my male faves just like the next gal and that it's fun to make them kiss -- but the wives and girlfriends don't get a lot of love in fandom, do they? And it doesn't help that the legendarium in general tends to be a bit of a sausage fest. So I decided that Fingon would have a wife and be in love with Maedhros. But instead of focusing just on the forbidden love, I was going to focus on the wife's feelings, too.

Ianneth ("bridge-woman") is one of the Northern Sindar, from the community that lives around Lake Mithrim. She's the daughter of Annael (yes, that Annael), whom I've imagined to be one of the more influential leaders among the Northern Sindar, and particularly among the Elves of Mithrim.

Her betrothal to Fingon starts as a political arrangement. Fingolfin loves Fingon dearly, of course, but he's also been hinting for a while now that Fingon really needs to settle down and start having kids so that there will be a strong line of heirs should Fingolfin die. After all, Argon's dead, and Turgon and Aredhel abruptly fucked off to god-knows-where some three hundred years ago and haven't been seen nor heard from since. Your dad needs some grandsons, Fingon, and this also seems like a ripe opportunity to strengthen the Noldor's alliance with the Northern Sindar.

I don't think political marriage is unknown among the Elves of Beleriand. (For one example in the text, see Celegorm trying to marry Luthien to force Doriath into an alliance.) And the quote I drew the title of the aforementioned Fingon/Ianneth story from, also found in "Laws and Customs Among the Eldar," is:

The Eldar wedded only once in life, and for love or at the least by free will upon either part.

Free will could easily mean, "Are we in love? No. But I'll still marry you, for the good of our peoples, and I'll bring some of Dad's soldiers along with me." That sort of thing happened all the time among real-world nobility, so I see no reason why it can't happen among Elven nobility in Beleriand, too.

At any rate, Fingolfin arranges for Fingon to meet the daughters of some of the more powerful leaders of the Northern Sindar, and he's hint-hint-hinting that Fingon really needs to pick one of them to be his wife. Fingon, having been in love with Maedhros since they were young in Valinor, is not exactly keen on this plan. But he goes along with it anyway because he is a dutiful son, he knows that his father is right about needing to strengthen the line of succession, and he also knows that revealing his (quite taboo!) relationship with Maedhros to his father would probably break Fingolfin's heart.

It takes Fingon a while to decide who to court, but he picks Ianneth because he likes her sense of humor; she has the guts to gently tease him at their first meeting, which he finds quite charming. He doesn't think he can love anyone besides Maedhros, but he does look at Ianneth and think, "This is a woman I could grow to care for and whose companionship I think could enjoy."

The trouble begins when, over the course of their courtship, Fingon starts falling in love with Ianneth without falling out of love with Maedhros. And he doesn't know what to do about this. He can't call off the marriage, and he doesn't want to break things off with Maedhros, so he decides to just...keep the whole thing with Maedhros a secret and marry Ianneth anyway. It's not a good decision, but really, are there any options here that won't end with someone getting hurt? I don't think so.

So we have Ianneth, blissfully ignorant of her husband's infidelity (for now); Fingon, in love with two people at once and feeling horribly guilty about it, but unwilling to pick one partner over the other; and Maedhros, resigned to the situation but still hurting because Fingon is no longer his alone.

Maedhros' feelings are complicated by the fact that, once he meets her, he finds that likes Ianneth. It would be easier, he thinks, if he could write her off as just a political necessity for Fingon, but it turns out that she's charming and intelligent and kind, and he can understand why Fingon loves her. His feelings soften further once Ereiniel is born, because Fingon is so happy being a father, and he loves Fingon, so how can he begrudge him that? There's a line from "Famous Blue Raincoat" by Leonard Cohen that I always think of when I'm getting into Maedhros' head at this point:

And thanks for the trouble you took from [his] eyes. I thought it was there for good, so I never tried.

Things tick along about as smoothly as they can for thirteen years, until, in the aftermath of Fingolfin's death during the Dagor Bragollach, as Fingon prepares to send Ianneth and Ereiniel to the Falas for their safety, Ianneth learns his secret. This is understandably devastating for her, and leaves her wondering if Fingon ever really loved her as she loved him, or if his marriage to her was simply a politically expedient sham.

Add to that the fact that she leaves for the Falas less than ten hours after this revelation and spends most of that ten hours either crying or asleep, as she's too upset to really talk to Fingon about what she's discovered, and it leaves her with this horrible knowledge and all the worst thoughts that come from it gnawing at her nearly a full year until Fingon next comes to Eglarest -- time that she spends as the sole caregiver for her young daughter, among strangers in a foreign city, without her mother or her sister or any of her friends who might have theoretically been able to offer her some emotional support.

Theoretically is a key word there, though, because even if, say, her sister had come to Eglarest, Ianneth isn't sure she'd even be able to tell her. For one thing, she can't help feeling ashamed, because infidelity is very rare among Elves, and she can't help thinking that maybe she failed as a wife somehow, and if she'd done something different, Fingon wouldn't have strayed. Then there's the fact that he's the High King of the Noldor, and if this gets out it could cause a crisis in the Noldorin government and possibly tank the alliance between the House of Fingolfin and the Northern Sindar. Ianneth is a practical woman, and she's of the Northern Sindar -- the people who have been living practically on Morgoth's doorstep for centuries, with no Maia queen's magic girdle to protect them. Their alliance with the Noldor is vital, and she would never want to jeopardize it.

So Ianneth is just...completely alone with this pain. She has no one to turn to, no one who can comfort her. And that pain is central to her story, and a not insignificant part of Ereiniel's story, too.

[eri-pl]

Melian saw the darkness in Thingol's eyes and married him anyway

Long, chaotic stream of thought below cut (no, nobody owes anybody a relationship)

I'm not saying Idril should have married Maeglin, or whatever. I'm perfectly fine with "Idril didn't want to date Maeglin because she was not into it, and/or he was her cousin and whatever". She had every right not to. Same as everyone.

I'm just saying "saw the darkness in his eyes" is a very weird way of phrasing it. Especially when we look at the three cases of "darkness in eyes" (all essentially fatal):

Melkor (seen by Varda, in the context of romantic rejection)

Feanor (seen by Galadriel in the context of I have no idea) (also I'm sure Nerdanel wasn't blind either. But, as I said, "darkness in eyes" is not a good reason to not get in a relationship, not by itself. "I can't handle this darkness" is a good reason. Nerdanel could handle a lot)

Maeglin (seen by Idril, in the context of romantic rejection)

What do those three have in common?

One of the interpretations (not the one where Thingol easily fits however) is "they're great, best they can, but still not good enough":

Melkor is the most Vala, but he was also the first Vala and he "grew up" being the only finite being he new. and he hated it, he despised himself for being less (it is clear to me from the description of his obsessio with the Flame etc)

Feanor was the most Elf to even elf, but also Finwe wanted more kids, so obviously Feanor got the message that he wasn't enough.

Maeglin was brilliant, and an only child, but also his father was the super-stern, avoidant-attachment tangle of cold trauma that was Eol. I'm sure he got a consistent message of "you aren't enough".

So, there's this inherent not-enoughness. (How is this a reason to not date someone??? I mean, sure, it results in behaviors and problems, but really, really, we could phrase those rejections differently.)

(Or maybe it was "she saw he's going to be evil" but I hate this concept, it rubs wrong with free will to me)

Am I bashing Tolkien? Not really. You know, what vibe I get from those darknesses? CSL's relationship to Susan. You know, "the character he obviously hated". The character he based most on himself.

"Saw the darkness in his eyes" (and hated him for it) really feels like the author looking at himself. So of course I'm not going to bash him, he bashed himself too much already.

So what was that part about Thingol? Just a click-bait?

Melian was an Ainu. Thingol was an Incarnate,. In a world where the very existence of incarnates is a result of the discord, a result (or at least everyone believes so) of evil. of course he would have tons of darkness in his eyes! His very existence is something that shouldn't be if everything went well!

(BTW Feanor "killed" his mother and Maeglin was a child of a marriage that was terrible and not even a valid marriage tbh. they both have very much of the "their existence is the result of some evil" syndrome)

And I'm not saying Melian owed Thingol to marry him. No, she did not. But she saw the opportunity and she chose to and that's passing awesome.

(And then the same motif with Luthien and Beren who was a Men and as we all know, Men are problematic, even compared to Elves.)

And I know this started from Tolkien's wife, but still, the fact that it's always this gender setup... It's interesting in many ways.

I'm not even saying that Idril owed Maeglin (or any other sombination of those) a friendship, or a therapy. No. She set her bounduaries and it was a good thing to do, you need to know your limits and needs and all that.

But when someone can afford it, can afford to look at the darkness, and go forward anyway... it's passing awesome.

Also, going back from metaphysics into attachment styles and relationships and marrying a sad person... One day the darkness will be too much to handle. Not for B&L who lived a short life, but Thingol often ignored Melian, and Feanor and Nerdanel even separated.

But it is normal. And it doesn't make the relationship wrong.

You can handle only a finite amount of someone else's emotions (if you choose to handle them at all, which, again, you are not obliged to) and the point of it is for them to grow and learn to not need your help anymore. It is difficult and doesn't always work and it is normal. It is human.

My point is than it is better to support someone for as long as you are able to without herming yourself and then let them handle it on their own, than to not support someone at all. But again, sometimes "as much as you can afford" is zero, and it is ok. It is ok to not interact with difficult people.

Just please, don't say "I saw a darkness in his eyes". Say "I cannot handle this" or "I have other emotional commitments", or "I need my strength elsewhere" or "I need time and peace to heal" or something like that. It is about your rights, not their wrongs.

You don't owe anyone a relationship, friendship, or anything. But nobody is inherently undeserving of relationship or friendship, or fully incapable of it (some people need more help than others though).

ps: "passing" is a term I borrowed from "le Morte d'Arthur" and it means something like "exceeding expectations". I like it.

And, leaving the theme of romance, I could probably write another long post about how the opposite of "darkness in his eyes" is the light of the Trees in eyes of the Elves (except: Feanor had both) and why I'm not as big a fan of the trees as everyone in the canon (they were a good thing, but not as absolute as everyone paints it) and what Valinor was and what it was not and how the very existence of Valinor is the essence of "you have darkness in your eyes, you can't play with us" attitude but also my expectations are way too high and it's easy to complain in hindsight

Maybe one day I will post something more coherent about it.

Just... let's end this on saying that seeing the darkness, and calling your beloved beautiful and getting married anyway—

[spinningalbinoturtle]

Lotr Characters and their Kids-Headcanons

Sam and Frodo-

They just have Elanor who was orphaned during the Troubles. She’s a precocious kid and very into all things Elvish just like her dads. Like in the books she moves to gondor for a year and is a handmaiden to Arwen. After that she stays another year and studies botany and becomes a pioneering scientist in the study of medicinal plants. She writes a book on it and its considered a classic. Eventually moves back to the Shire to be by her parents (who move to the seaside when they get older) and she marries Pippin’s son.

Merry and Estella-

they weren’t too keen on having kids initially but when Estella gets pregnant they are excited. Their son’s name is Theoden- Theo for short and he’s a lot like his mother but close with his father. Two years later they try for another and its another boy whom they name Boromir but he just goes by Boro- he fights with his brother a lot but they also get into a lot of trouble together

Pippin and Diamond-

Their son is Faramir and he’s best friends with Elanor. His craziness balances out well with Elanor’s more introverted qualities. Pippin also has triplet little girls- Poppy, Violet, and Frances. They terrorize Tookland.

Aragorn and Arwen-

They have four kids. All the kids are very polite intelligent and beautiful. Eldarion is the oldest and raised to be king. Because of this he has a lot of anxiety from an early age which he doesn’t tell his parents about until well into his teens but when he does they are very supportive. Gilraen is his younger sister and she is very scholarly. She helps found the first University in Minas Tirith and is Eldarion’s number 1 counselor. Miriel is a the middle kid and enjoys spending time with Legolas and Gimli-she’s a bit of a loner but grows up to be a respected diplomat to Harad , Mirkwood, and Erebor because she’s interested in bridging cultural divides. Luthien who goes by Lucie, is the youngest and a bit spoiled. She’s very adventurous and idolizes Eowyn. She grows up to lead the Dunedain.

Faramir and Eowyn- Elboron is their son and is doted on by his parents who both grew up kind of neglected (especially Faramir) he’s a very kind kid and takes after his dad a lot. Close with his parents even into adulthood and has a very healthy relationship with them. When he’s a 10 they have a little girl named Melian (Mel for short) she’s very fiery as a child and close with her older brother. She grows up to be both a healer and a strong leader just like her namesake, never marries but has a long term fem partner from Rohan.

Legolas and Gimli don’t have kids they just are the cool uncles to everyone else’s. They are perfectly happy with that. They do have a couple dogs whom they treat like children (see pet headcanons post).

[emmanuellececchi]

Pasting here my take on the end : Arwen and Aragorn

(because comments were not available...) First of all thanks for this one OP, I loved it! (A strange thing happened... I wanted to link to the original post and couldn't because "Fantom blog" 😳😱😶)

*roll sleeve* bitching time (it's going to be a long one, brace yourself)

This is one of the aspect of the book that I NEVER understood or accepted. And bits of it had confused me. You are absolutely welcome to answer, add details, not agree and explain, argue. But with respect and kindly, please, that's all I am asking. (putting behind a cut)

Let's begin with Arwen:

For what I understood she choose the fate reserved to human. Which, to me, even after reading Luthien and Beren, means she is mortal. So... she is not stuck to roam endlessly in an abandonned Lorien. She will die of old age.

If this is the case: Why don't you stay with your children and grandchildren? Taking care of them, being like all grandparents and taking a bit of the weight of the kids while they do and have "gondorian" fun or spend some time in Rohan with their cousins or in The Shire? Why don't you go and visit all those people? Why don't you discover this world?

If this is not the case and Arwen is just stuck, an immortal elf in the mortal world: Why Lorien if everyone has left? Why not go with Thranduil (@sotwk : how long did he stay? I'm sorry I don't remember). Why not Ithilien? The Shire? One again, if you're immortal go and visit! and why not stay a bit and enjoy those kids and grandkids? I can udnerstand it might get weird being immortal and seeing your kids and grandkids becoming older but... You could at least have stayed a bit. Or become an archivist?A librarian? Go to Dol Amroth?

I mean, there are sooooooo many possibilities for this lady to finish/not finish her life rather than roaming endlessy in an empty Lorien, like WTF?

Aragorn:

First, yes, I love Aragorn (like really). But... Why did he do this? Oh yeah. Don't want to stay and be overbearing over your kid, uh? Ah yeah, because you don't want to become an old man, shaked by old age, and everyone seeing you becoming frail? Sorry but isn't that your (sorry for the word) F*****ng ego speaking?

I mean, it's the fate of all men to age and die. But you, you have this choice and then, you abandon everyone, including your wife, just because you don't want to show what old age could do to you?

Okay, Arwen knew what she had signed for... Although she said it, she understood at this moment what was the real meaning.

But one : Aragorn, why didn't you discuss this with your lady wife? Like "hey sweetheart? how do you feel if I would stay a few years more? Maybe I'm going to become frail and a bit shaky and maybe forgot people but... What d'ya think? Getting old together?" She could have decided herself, it would have been her choice. Not the first time she would make a hard choice (just so you remember).

Two: speak to your kids "Hey, by the way, mind if I stay a while?" Maybe they would have say no, or yes. But even if it has been a no... There a whole world to explore with your lady! Why not go to the Shire and have a few last years with them? Or Rohan and end under a barrow like the Rohan kings (hey, wouldn't be something rather than asking if they want Theoden to stay in Gondor ? - This one's for you @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras)?

Rambling's almost finished. Essentially, there could have been a different ending for those two, if Aragorn has discussed it and not choose all alone what was best for everyone. And if Arwen had realized she was free to do whatever she wanted. I suppose I felt a bit insulted that, because Aragorn was dead, her own life must end. And maybe her love for him was that strong, maybe she was just so heartbroken that she couldn't stand being without him. But then, why didn't Aragorn stayed?

So, here it is, my rambling/ranting for Saturday morning. Once again, feel free to argue, discuss, exchange, bring more info, etc...

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

Melian is abusive au

(Guys, this is an au where melian is abusive, and in no way a reflection of canon (unless you want it to be))

What if in this au, luthien didn’t just become mortal to be with beren, but to also escape her mother’s influence and to set Elwe free?

Like, Luthien knows she’s not gonna beat her mother 1 on 1, she’s been living under her thumb her entire life. And in turn, melian has been using luthien to keep elwe from doing something drastic and luthien hates it.

So when beren is sent on the suicide quest to get a silmaril, luthien saw it as her chance. She didn’t know exactly how, but she knew in her gut that this was her way to victory.

And when luthien stands against sauron and morgoth she unleashes all her pent up frustration and rage at her situation and she takes them out. Yeah, she’s also doing this for her love for beren, but by god she finally has the chance to pummel an ainur into the ground, she’s gonna take it.

Moving on, when luthien become mortal, she feels free, truly free, for the first time because she knows melian can’t follow her to the mortal after life.

Yes she feels a deep sadness for her father, that he will loose his child and that she won’t ever see him again, but there’s also a bit of relief bc elwe was forced into conceiving her, and while he loves her, he also resents her a bit for existing, and luthien in turn resents her mother even more for putting her in this situation.

Elwe letting himself be killed by the dwarves bc he doesn’t care anymore, knowing that his kid will be ok.

(Idk, i guess in a bit of a swisted way, both elwe and luthien chose death over staying in the situation they were in, and once melian realized that her tools were no more, she had to leave too.)