#This was Nelyo's

[dfwbwfbbwfbwf]

What did it cost?

Maitimo believed they could win once. Despite enduring the loss of his father, three decades of torture, hanging from Thangorodrim's smoggy cliffside, losing his hand, and losing his kingship, he thought they had a chance.

The best strategy was to wait, he figured. Wear Morgoth out. The Dark Foe rarely sent more than the occasional raiding party out; he must've been scared.

Morgoth had not been scared. He was scouting.

Maeðros wanted to do things the right way. He wasn't the King of Beleriand - there was no true King of Beleriand, no matter what Thingollo claimed while hiding in his halls - or even King of the Noldor, but he desired safety and peace for the Eldar and Atani and Casallië behind his lines. He wished to give them the security he'd grown up with.

They would take down Morgoth, and when they did, his family would have the Silmarils back. The blood and pain of thousands, hundreds of thousands even, would be avenged. His father and grandfather would receive the justice the Valar refused to give.

Then came the Dagor Bragollach.

In a matter of weeks, the Noldor lost nearly everything. His cousins, dead. His uncle, lost. The Bëorians, missing. The Hadorians, fled. His brothers were scattered across Beleriand - he worried for Celegorm and Curufin and Celebrimbor the most, as they could easily end up sandwiched between Doriath and Nan Dungortheb. He couldn't breathe easily until he finally had all six brothers and one nephew accounted for in the spring.

Fingon was king now.

The loss of manpower and land was a devastating blow, and Thingollo refused to provide any sort of aid aside from offering refuge to the Thindar and Laiquendi - many refused to go, for they had grown to love the Noldor who defended them, and Maeðros was touched by their loyalty, if not saddened by their stubborn refusal to leave for safety he could no longer guarantee.

Years passed in a new stalemate with Morgoth, for while the Gap was gone, Himring stood tall. Maeðros did everything in his power to guard the pass to what had once been Himlad - even if Thingollo deserved every orc that reached Doriath, the people outside the Girdle didn't. His once bright optimism faded to a gray haze over his mind.

When he heard of Beren and Lúthien, Maeðros felt hope like he hadn't felt in years. He went to work doing what he did best: strategizing.

More letters leave Himring in the next week than in the last year.

Thingollo and Artaresto refuse to get involved.

"You're as treacherous as your brothers," Artaresto wrote.

"You're a murderer," Thingollo scorned.

Maeðros nearly tore a chunk of hair out in frustration. How myopic could they be? Was this a Teleri trait, to remain unconcerned about events until they directly threatened you? Olwë had been the same, even before the Darkening. Could these kings not see that all of Beleriand was at stake? Could they not see that, if they didn't stand together, they'd fall alone?

.... No matter. Maeðros would make it work. Bór mentioned his sister's husband led a sizable force, and Caranthir had a fondness for Men. Perhaps Caranthir could speak with this ... this Ulfang.

.........

Maeðros could not make it work.

Fingon was dead.

Turgon was gone.

Gil-Galad was too young to rule.

The Noldor were scattered.

Himring was lost. His followers wandered Ossiriand, dwelling among the Laiquendi, but Morgoth's influence only grew. Every month, there was less land, less food.

There was no chance to retrieve the Silmarils.

Maeðros had tried to do the right thing, and it all amounted to nothing.

What did it cost?

Everything.

[runmienn]

Last one, Maedhros :)

[wisesnail]

And here's the final version of Maedhros - I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, I hope you like it too 💙

Prints and other stuff on my Redbubble, Teepublic and Threadless

[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

[cats-spilled-wine]

My first serious attempt at digital art: Maedhros

[ilaneya]

hey i’m back with my favourite silm character once again

[storkofyore]

Trigger warning: blood

“This love it is a burning sun // Shining light on the things that we’ve done.”

I’ve been working on these pieces for a few days, and I tried to include as much slight symbolism as I could.

I’m rather pleased with the end result of these drawings, frankly.

[quinthejester]

Awa look! It’s Maedhros! I think it’s been like a year since I last drew him

[carnethyne]

After all this wandering, I finally feel like settling down...

[nelyoslegalteam]

Turgon invented the filing cabinet.

how does it feel to be the most correct person on the internet today

[silmawensgarden]

Maitimo sketch for today ♡

I felt like reevaluating my design for him and this comes close to how I see him ^^

[cowboymater]

what kind of demented motherfucker brings sashimi home from a restaurant and cooks it. can we change john constantine's alignment on the dc wiki from neutral to evil

[runmienn]

Brothers quarrel

Maedhros and Caranthir

[wisesnail]

Err… hello. I'm having some technical issues but this won't stop me from painting problematic #elves… Have another #Maedhros because I 💙 him (ꈍ ᴗ ꈍ✿)

(Once again, ref from Pinterest but despite checking I couldn't find the original source! Sorry!)

Prints and other stuff on my RedBubble and Threadless

[babynonbinarywitch]

Imagine for me…

It’s a cold, winter night early in the twins’ time with Maglor and Maedhros at Amon Ereb

They try to escape in the middle of the night, taking what they can with them

Maglor and Maedhros wake up to the twins missing, and a blizzard blowing in

Maedhros is the first one on the track, his fur cloak on his shoulders as he searches, a different set of twins on his mind, ones with snow-white hair that were only a little younger than Elrond and Elros, ones that he never found

Maybe he calls the wrong names once or twice

The twins are eventually found, red-faced and shivering up a storm

Maedhros has them wrapped in cloaks and in his arms under his own cloak, so very relieved as they walk back

Nobody will ever say whether he was crying or not

The twins catch a cold after this stunt, and Maedhros just huffs a laugh, relieved that they’re alive to have to worry about a cold, more than willing to look after his little peredhil

Only Maglor sees him later as he collapses against the wall, silent tears he doesn’t bother wiping away

[nightmares-2]

Kidnap fam (Digital version)