#but if i find one person saying ‘maglor was more like feanor than curufin was’

[inthehouseoffinwe]

Ooooo love this!!! Adding on and agreeing to this and your tags op! Listen, I love a politically smart Maglor as much as the next person, as the son of the Crown Prince you kinda have to be. But I love the idea that his songs didn’t really cross his mind as a political tool until several years into Beleriand.

Even then it remained a passion. Sure, he’ll make a piece for certain occasions if it’s called for, but even his brothers don’t push him into that. Maedhros has only asked him to do so maybe two or three times? Because it’s one of the few things left from a time they can never go back to, and it’s something so *Maglor* they don’t want to turn that part of him into a weapon too.

Like with my siblings, there are certain things they do that I’d never ask them to turn into a rigid job, because it’s something that brings them joy and I don’t want to take that away from them. Especially during difficult times.

So yeah, the Fëanorions could do with him being a little more aware to the ramifications of some of his compositions, but everyone has their vices. The comfort from seeing him do something purely from his heart is worth more than anything else.

Moving into Maglor as a person, he’s good at violence, had to be to survive an Age of high stress battles. But it doesn’t seem to be as deeply rooted in him as his brothers, and singing is something he does on the daily without thinking too deeply on general impact. Including songs for battle. It’s just. What he does.

He thinks on the emotional power but not specifically as a weapon, but as a ‘what tune/words/etc work best for this moment. What seems right.’ Get me?

The Noldolantë was probably one such work. Created as a release for his and his people’s pain, a way to process everything that’s happened. Probably what helped him stick around for longer than Mae in the end. He’d already accepted everything he’d done, good and bad, long before we got to the end of the Age.

Maglor ultimately became a villain in the story and made some pretty messed up choices. But he’s not inherently evil, is specifically pulled out the narrative for his compassion and the redeemable aspects (as you mentioned in your tags) and that’s what makes makes him so interesting.

Especially when you consider Pengolodh as an in-universe narrator who highlights this softer more redeemable side, when Maglor should be despised the most as the survivor who partly led four kinslayings, without the saving grace of military victories against Morgoth that Maedhros had.

But yeah, Maglor’s such a fascinating character because we know so little about him. He exists silently in the background until very specific moments and it’s fun to play around with who he actually might be.

(Also, agreed. The only real similarly I see between Fëanor and Maglor is their passion for their craft. But specifically the passion a young Fëanor had, inventing for the sake of inventing.)

TBH my ‘vision’ of Maglor is more of a music nerd than any kind of drama queen fanon makes him out to be sometimes.

Like someone who just doesn’t see the political ramifications other people saw in his songs, when it really was just a good metaphor. Someone with messy hair and pulls it back without even brushing it before going to a royal festival. The geeky, melancholic version of Finrod in his own family. A Maglor so obsessed with music and words he thinks about the sheer art of the Oath’s words rather than the context within itself or what it entails. Someone who wasn’t aware of how the Noldolantë could have been taken the wrong way and didn’t even finish it before he vanished from history (or, who knows, he probably forgot to bring the lyrics written with him when the Gap burned), probably had a meltdown when he realized that he had lost it. Someone who loves music so much that, after all is finished, he fades while singing, because it was all he had left.

Someone who once had a joyful, innocent spirit which was brutally killed after he did.

[shrikeseams]

I saw your tags on the werewolf-biting post and while overall I agree, I really want to argue on Celebrimbor being high on the “would rather arrange to kill the wolf a different way” list. Celebrimbor may be a relatively moral, earnestly-seeking-cooperation-and-improvement-of-lives-of-others Fëanorian, but he IS still a Fëanorian, and moreover, whatever age you imagine Celegorm got Huan at, we can pretty much guarantee Celebrimbor is the only Fëanorian, indeed only Finwëan, to grow up with a giant dog as his honorary 7th uncle. Celebrimbor would be low on the list of likely to bite the throat out of a /person/, but a werewolf? A werewolf is FAIR GAME.

Look. does Celebrimbor think that a werewolf's throat is a just and correct place for his teeth to be? Absolutely! Nonetheless, if his teeth can reach a still intact werewolf throat, that is a sign that several layers of clever and carefully-wrought defensive measures have failed miserably. Quite possibly it means that other, less enthusiastically toothy people are now also trying to murder a werewolf with their bare hands! Just because Celebrimbor would take great satisfaction in doing it doesn't mean he wouldn't recognize it as a mode of failure.

In this, I think he takes after Curufin more than, say, Feanor. Under the right circumstances, Feanor (and Celegorm, and possibly post-Thangorodrim Maedhros on a bad day, likely at least one of the twins) would vault over his own fortifications for the pleasure of unarmed werewolf combat. Curufin and Celebrimbor (and Maglor, Caranthir, and hopefully at least one twin) would rather let the war machines on their battlements take care of things.

I feel like what we really need is one of those two axis gradient thingies. One axis is how enjoyable an individual finds unarmed werewolf combat, and the other axis is how likely they are to use unarmed werewolf combat as Plan A.

[lalaithion]

Ranking the Sindarization of the Names of the House of Finwe

A completely objective list

The Good

Irissë -> Aredhel. Look, Irissë is a great name, but Aredhel, pronounced properly, with a voiced "th" sound, like in "this", and a tapped "r", like a "r" in Spanish or Italian, just sounds so wonderful. (Actually, can we talk about this? English speakers tend to refer to both the tapped r and the trilled r as "the trilled r", so which is it? Most of the written sources say “trilled r”, but most of the speaking samples I can find just tap the r instead of fully trilling it.)

Artanis Nerwen -> Galadriel. Artanis and Nerwen are both just such boring names. Galadriel has four syllables each more awesome than the last. High Queen of the Noldor in my heart.

Nelyafinwë Maitimo -> Maedhros. Not that I dislike either of his Quenya names, but (with the same pronunciation notes as Aredhel) Maedhros just sounds so cool. And yes, the fact that he's a war criminal with the name "sexy readhead" is just too funny.

The Meh

Curufinwë Fëanoró -> Feanor. Boring! You just cut the "ó" off the end. Feanor doesn't do anything by halves except this. Okay, granted, his family did this to him – he was a linguist, I'm confident he could have done better if he had been a better tactician.

Turcafinwë Tyelkormo -> Celegorm. These are all good names. Alright, the "finwe" theme of Feanor's father names are really bad, but his mother name and his Sindar name are both good. Still, Tyelkormo is better.

Morifinwë Carnistir -> Caranthir. Yeah, these are both fine. I personally have a hard time actually pronouncing "Carnistir" correctly without tripping on the unfamiliar-to-english combination of the tapped r and the n (It's not pronounced like carnage! You need to tap the r).

Curufinwë Atarincë -> Curufin. Once again, Boring! Maybe I shouldn't be so confident that Feanor could have done better than his family, if Curufin is also just going to cut off the last vowel.

Telufinwë Ambarussa -> Amras. Abarussa is a super cute name for the twins to call each other and for others to refer to them as a group, but this is better Sindar name of the twins, so it gets to go in meh.

Ñolofinwë Aracáno -> Fingolfin. Thank Eru he went with his father name instead of his mother name; Argon is a bad name for a minor character but it would be even worse for the High King of the Noldor.

Arafinwë Ingoldo -> Finarfin. Not great, not awful. I can't help but think of dogs for the "arf", but in honesty he does sound like the cuddliest of Finwë's sons.

Artaresto -> Orodreth. Both good names. Nothing to see here.

The Bad

Findekáno -> Fingon. Oh my god. Findekáno is great and this name change sucks. Why did you do this to me, Tolkien.

Turukáno -> Turgon. Okay, at least Findekanó is doing better than his brother. Whenever I see Turgon my brain autocompletes it to "turgid", which is not a good epessë to be carrying around.

Kanafinwë Macalaurë -> Maglor. Once again, what a loss. Macalaurë is so fun and beautiful to say out loud. Maglor sounds like a depressing brand name from the 50s.

Arakáno -> Argon. That's an element dude. Also another "gon", which sucks.

Ambaráto Aikanáro -> Aegnor. Not as bad as the upcoming Rods, but. It's still bad.

Angaráto Angamaitë -> Angrod. This is the first of the Rods, which round out the end of this list.

Pityafinwë Ambarussa/Umbarto/Ambarto -> Amrod. Another Rod, so nothing needs to be said.

Findaráto Ingoldo -> Finrod. It's just so bad. I'm sorry, I just can't deal with this one.

[anaisonfire]

I was reading fic and was suddenly hit with the overwhelming desire for Daeron/Maglor secret marriage.

They meet at the Mereth Aderthad, of course. Sparks fly. (Supposed-to-be one night stand optional.) One thing leads to another and they (due to various factors, not least of which in-the-moment impulsive decision making, though neither will admit it later) end up getting married, slightly before the Dagor Bragollach. Oops.

Given the political tension between the Noldor (and especially the Sons of Feanor) and Doriath, they can't just go in front of Thingol/Fingolfin/Maedhros and announce it, of course. They decide to keep it on the down low (read: not mention to anyone) until such a time they can figure out some way to break the news and maybe even spin it as a good political move that offends the minimum amount of their easily offended people.

Then: Battle of Sudden Flame. Fingolfin challenges Morgoth and dies. The timing is definitely not right.

The timing, in fact, gets progressively worse as events start happening and then don't stop happening.

The Luthien thing is a sore point for multiple reasons. Whether you take Daeron as just a friend (obviously he's not in love with her here, his motivations are somewhat different) or as her brother, the end result is the same: when he can't find Luthien after she slips away, he ends up going to Maglor. He is still there (though his presence isn't known by many) when news of Celegorm and Curufin's actions and the Silmaril Quest reach them.

The ensuing fight is not pretty. (Or quiet. Though it's anyone's guess what impression the people of Himring came away with.)

(Maedhros won't stand for any of Maglor's evasive non-answers. Eventually, Maglor caves in and tells him... something. I can't decide if later events are more tragic if Maedhros knows or doesn't.)

They say some horrible things to each other and Daeron is just. Done. He leaves, as fast as one can leave a fortress like Himring, and goes East. He's not sure, then, if he means to never return - maybe they'll give it some time, instead, and talk again later and go from there.

Of course, then the rest of the First Age happens.

Suffice to say, Daeron and Maglor don't meet, let alone talk, for quite a while after that.

(And if both of them regret, occasionally, in the dead of night, their last words to each other being bitter and harsh, well. Neither the woods nor the sea are prone to gossip.)

...

...

...

The round world keeps turning. Ages pass. The time of the Elves in Middle Earth draws to a close and passes from legend into myth. Dwarves go deep into their kingdoms and the surface forgets them. Hobbits hide away from the world and become little more than fairy tales. Gondor rises and falls and rises again. The world of Men is in constant flux and slowly - and yet quickly, as is the way of mortals - it changes.

And still, in the deepest forests and on the most isolated beaches, the two greatest minstrels of all the Children of Iluvatar wander.

...

With that being said, there's a limit to how many thousands of years one can both be alone and stay alive. (And neither of them particularly wants to die. Not really.)

If someone were to ever compare notes and timelines, they would find out that the first of them to wander back into society - slowly relearning the ways of being a whole person, surrounded by other people - is Daeron.

Maglor does not so much wander back into society as society becomes inescapable, even for one as good as avoiding people as him. He gives into the inevitable and slowly he too becomes more Elf than sad voice echoing over the waves.

They are not fine.

And yet, there they are: he who's seen the Light of the Trees in Aman and he who's known the sight of the Stars in the twilight of Beleriand; they who saw the first rise of the Sun; the last of their people on these shores. And, crucially: they who still look at the other and see a mirror to their soul, despite everything, after all this time.

So when they - inevitably, for the world is small - meet again they do not fight, as one familiar with history might expect. They don't even raise their voices, in either argument or song. (That comes later.) Instead Maglor looks at Daeron and Daeron looks at Maglor, and it's a good thing no mortals are around at that precise time, because they look at each other for so long it passes from awkward to embarrassing to uncomfortable to witness.

Eventually, they do speak - after they remember how to, because this is a conversation that cannot happen in these new Mannish tongues - and they do argue. Some things are unforgivable - or not for Daeron to forgive on others' behalf - and some things Maglor will not apologize for. They are both proud and even centuries of wandering has not changed that.

They also make music. They play very old songs on new instruments, in new languages. They create entirely new compositions, both together and on their own. They move mortal hearts and inspire many.

They are alive. And they live.

[kanalaure]

so this popped back into my notes, and it occured to me that i left a few people off. so! let's fix that

feanor: actually a really good cook, but he cannot consistently remember to eat and thus isn't allowed to be in charge of family meals— frequently has to be brought to the table for meals because he fell into a creative fugue and didn't realize how long it had been since he started. when he does cook for everyone there are never any complaints (particularly from whoever got freed up from that duty). the source of maglor and celegorm's absolute disregard for measuring spoons

nerdanel: moved back in with her dad after her family left aman for a reason.* (i'm not saying she's the source of curufin's difficulties, because even she isn't that bad, but i am saying she doesn't not have anything to do with curufin's difficulties. he had to inherit something from her after all.) makes a mean cup of tea, though

celebrimbor: there's nothing wrong with what he makes,** but he doesn't cook often. he likewise suffers from the congenital 'genius smith who forgets bodies need food' condition their family invented. accidentally invented artificial spring water while ost-in-edhil was being built because he dropped a pebble of marble into his drink without noticing, which rapidly turned into a city-wide drink development binge that only ended when they realized they were starting to cut into building supplies***

elros: much more interested in eating food than preparing it.**** reasonably competent baker, because it usually involves long periods of leaving the thing alone before having to deal with the dough again, and not having to mind it every second until completion means he does not get bored and hand the whole thing off to maglor or whoever. if novelty aprons exist in-universe, he owns at least five of the 'kiss the cook'-type ones (even though he can barely boil an egg), and at least one of them is embroidered with 'i loaf you'

elrond: cooking non-ability best summarized by 'what do you mean this herb has culinary uses?' which is to say, i don't think any of his excessive number of parents and guards and guardians managed to kindle a great enough interest in it to get him to come back after the first lesson. and if they did manage that, he probably shoved the knowledge aside to make room for more Healing Lore™️ and important herald know-how when it became clear to him he'd never need it personally. honestly the best person in the family to have no interest in developing culinary skill bc as a healer he is by default one of the most necessary and valued members of whatever party he is with at any given moment, no one's going to let him go hungry. tl;dr he's got poultices and tinctures to mix, leave him alone

(*there were other, more serious reasons of course, but this is the fun silly post™️ and thatsigncantstopmebecauseicantread.jpeg)

(**if no one else is eating it and no one's around to stop him, he does horrible mad scientist things to food like toast bread and sausages on the forge coals and eat them straight off his workbench, because he can't be bothered to leave the forge long enough to feed himself when this works just as well. (it does not. no one do this. he probably had a serious case of heavy metal poisoning when annatar showed up and that's why he didn't find him suspicious))

(***this has a historical basis! lofty pursuit's video on the egg cream soda covers the history of man-made spring water)

(****berry thickets look like a bear's been at them by the time he's through. the scourge of all jam makers within half a league of his current location)

feanorian cooking headcanons, because im tired and sad and want to think about something fun

maedhros: makes a lot of soup bc you can make big batches almost more easily than small ones, and usually when he cooks he's babysitting or his little brothers will sidle up wanting some of what he's having. occasionally his parents will wander in from their workshops after a seventeen hour creative binge not sure what day it is but suddenly realizing theyre very hungry. after thangorodrim he has this little skit he loves to do that everyone else hates where he pretends he chopped the veg too hard and cut off his hand, bc what is the point of having all these little brothers if you cant antagonize them with dad jokes and maybe guilt trip them a lil into better behavior

maglor: only knows how to make a handful of things but does them well. dump and pour cook, so everything comes out a lil different each time. has never given anyone food poisoning, unlike some brothers he could name. drives caranthir insane bc he will just throw a handful of peppercorns or whatever in there all casually because they make things taste good and dont you know how much those COST, kano??! probably invented the in-universe equivalent of a sandwich so as to more conveniently eat while composing

celegorm: overall? pretty good, but its a lot of the same things with very minor variation. him being a skilled hunter, it's a lot of deer and small mammals, game birds and fish. probably good with edible plants and herbs growing wild, bc you only need to be made fun of by your entire family for getting scurvy one (1) time before you wise up, so your food would be well seasoned. however. absolutely everything is cooked over a campfire. put him in the wilderness and He Will Provide. stick him in a kitchen with an hearth and a pot rack and he is Lost. like maglor, has never met a measuring spoon he wouldnt ignore

caranthir: will measure spices to the microgram, kano, because he does know how much they cost thankyouverymuch. he's the best (only) baker of the bunch and likes all the math involved in it. just a mediocre cook though, partly bc maedhros invariably got to the kitchen first, and he's really meh about the idea of cooking anyway so he doesn't really protest or try to get in the kitchen on his own time to improve. (exceptions to this: likes making jams and fruit butters.) despite this, has never given anyone food poisoning

curufin: no. nope. no. it's his achilles heel. see mentions of food poisoning above

amrod and amras: got a lot of their cooking know-how straight from celegorm when they were out hunting, so it's all more of the same: deer, rabbit, fish, etc. like caranthir they dont get a lot of time or opportunity to practice bc maedhros beat them to the draw, but like maglor sometimes they will go off and make their own food for the hell of it, or because they were craving a specific thing. they only gave their family food poisoning once, curvo, and that was because they hadn't really nailed the pickling process yet. speaking of, they do a lot of pickling and other longterm things like cheesemaking that have a scientific element to it. they think its neat, and also its one of the few areas none of their older brothers ever tried to break into so for once there's no comparisons to be made, positively or otherwise

[theelvenhaven]

Feanorians Love Languages

Feanor - Physical Touch, Gift Giving and Words of Affirmation.

Feanor has no idea how to keep his hands to himself once the two of you are together. He is always holding your hand or has a hand on your waist, keeping you pulled close to him. Always breaking propriety and planting kisses to your lips in a clear display of affection even in public. 

Any affection that you want to give in return will be happily and well received. Feanor will rarely ever turn down any of your affections, he loves to know that you feel love to the same intensity and degree that he does. 

He also loves to shower you in gifts, even if it’s not your love language. Feanor loves nothing more than seeing you in any of his creations that he crafted specifically for you. He never expects any gifts in return, and this is where words of affirmation do come into play for him receiving. He loves to hear that you enjoy the gift he has given you, and feels prideful to hear you sing such high praises of his work.

preAngband!Maedhros - Physical Touch, Quality Time

Maedhros loves and savors everything there is to love about sharing in physical touch with you. From how soft your skin is, to how small your hand is in his. While he keeps the affection minimal in public, in private he loves that you want to give as much as he wants. 

Quality time with you is also a great way to help Maedhros feel loved. And a way that Maedhros wants to make you feel loved. This easily ties into physical touch. You could spend all day in bed together it will be considered time well spent in Maedhros’ book. Especially when it’s a much needed break that you two have anticipated on. Any time that you want to spend with Maedhros, be it in leisure or work, he’s happy to take the time with you. 

postAngband!Maedhros - Acts of Service, Quality Time, Words of Affirmation

After his time in Angband, Maedhros’ love languages are going to have changed considerably. Physical Touch no longer being one of his main love languages, this doesn’t mean he won’t indulge you if that’s your love language. It just means he’s going to show his love for you differently.

Which he feels he does best by Acts of Service, Maedhros prefers doing for you and you for him. If there’s anything you need at all of him, basic tasks such as picking up a few things, or taking something to the seamstress, or writing a letter for you he will do so without complaint. He’s also the person to not even really need you to tell him, if there’s something he knows you’re too busy to get done, Maedhros is happy to do it for you. If you offer and do the same in return for him, while he won’t show it very well, it is immensely appreciated and adored. It makes him feel as though you care just as much as he does about you.

Another way that Maedhros likes to show his love for you is still Quality Time. Physical Touch be on the fence, but literally any time spent with you that can be spent, Maedhros loves and enjoys every minute of it. He also does what he can to make sure that there is Quality Time for you both that is not just done on a work related level. Maedhros wants to make sure that you continue to feel loved and as though you are important to him, and he understands that all of the time spent at work isn’t going to make you feel that way. 

A sure fire way to make Maedhros feel undeniably loved, in a way that he certainly won’t indulge you in often outside of an I love you or a thank you is Words of Affirmation. While it’s not that Maedhros doesn’t think you don’t deserve to hear those things, because he certainly does, it just has more to do with his trauma. So putting those emotions into words beyond simple I love you’s or gratitude is hard for him. But hearing you say such sweet things, and fawning over him, while he will act a little uncomfortable or uncertain of what you said. It leaves Maedhros feeling reassured where he needs it, and loved as well. 

Maglor - Words of Affirmation, Gift Giving, Physical Touch

Maglor’s a great and masterful musician, who certainly knows how to use his words in the greatest ways possible and that is to bring people joy and strong emotions. You are certainly the target for all of the sweet nothings, and high praises that he wants to sing. Wanting to show you just how much you mean to him. Maglor is not one to get upset if you don’t necessarily return the affections verbally, as he knows that it can be a bit much.

Another way Maglor likes to show his affections for you is by gift giving. While it can be extravagant things to show you his affections, you are far more likely to receive simple and meaningful things. Be it because he saw some flowers that he though you’d enjoy, or a song and poem he wrote for you. This is also a good way to help make him feel loved as well, even if its something that feels so menial to you that you give him. It means the world to him because you thought of him in that moment, and he loves to know he’s on your mind as much as you are on his.

Physical Touch is the ultimate way to make Maglor feel loved, especially in response to any of Words of Affirmation or Gift Giving. He loves all of your hugs and kisses, and accepts them without question at every opportunity. Again, he loves to know that he’s on your mind all the time. Your fingers and palm against and entwined with his, with your thumb stroking his hand absentmindedly fills him with adoration. 

Celegorm - Physical Touch, Quality Time, Acts of Service

One of Celegorms biggest and most prominent love languages is going to be Physical Touch. While Celegorm knows he can be good with his words, he’s not a very mushy and romantic person like Maglor. So he does this by sharing in Physical Affection. Celegorm is very handsy and loves to always find ways to touch you even in public. Though in private he certainly gets far more inappropriate and seductive, even if he’s seduction is unsuccessful he loves to just make you feel wanted and desired.

Another way that Celegorm loves to show his love for you is Quality Time in his own way. He’s always trying to find something for the two of you to do that incorporates something that you both love. If you love hunting he will continuously offer to bring you along with him. If it’s not your favorite instead he’ll invite to sit outside to read or draw or garden while he shoots at targets. Just something that has the two of you together, even if you’re not physically touching.

Acts of Service are a good way to make Celegorm feel loved and cared for, aside from Physical Touch- which both could tie into each other. He likes knowing that you had him in mind when you did something for him, especially if its unprompted. Celegorm isn’t one for big acts of service gestures. The simple and uncomplicated things are what he enjoys, such as if you thought to get his clothes out for the next day. Or help him pack for a hunt, or you made him his favorite food without him asking or telling. 

Caranthir - Physical Touch, Gift Giving, Quality Time

Caranthir, while confident and sure of himself, knows he’s not the greatest with his words. So Physical Touch is a great way for him to show you just what you mean to him. As well as a great way to show him what you mean to him as Caranthir loves to be on the receiving end of Physical Touch as well. Your soft skin or lips against him, is just purely intoxicating and makes him feel loved and cared for. While Caranthir prefers to keep affection minimal in public, he won’t deny you if you initiate, the display always makes him feel prideful and content.

Caranthir is a Gift Giver, and he loves to make sure that your ever need, want and desire is taken care of. Most of his gifts are practical and things that you have expressed that you have needed or wanted. Though there are definitely times he has surprised you with something you haven’t asked for, such as beautiful jewelry or new robes he has hand beaded or embroidered.  It makes Caranthir feel good to know that you are well taken care and don’t have to stress over the things you need.

Caranthir is a relatively grumpy looking ellon, and knows his tongue can deliver sharp bites when necessary, and works hard to keep a cool exterior. He knows that he isn’t always favorable company, so a good way to help make Caranthir loved is the fact that you want to spend Quality Time with him. He loves knowing that you want to be in his company, and it feels good to know that someone does. Especially coming from you as he values you immensely. So when he’s embroidering things, or working on paperwork and you just want to go and sit in with him while he’s busy, it makes his day immensely better.

Curufin - Acts of Service, Words of Affirmation, Quality Time

Curufin prefers indulging in Acts of Service as his way to show you how much he loves you and what you mean to him. Curufin is very much a hard ass, and always needs to show and prove just how tough he is, that’s just his personality. So he’s not very soft, but ways to show you he loves you is by doing things for you. Especially if it’s something that has been incredibly strenuous and stressful on your shoulders, Curufin will swoop in to do what he can to save the day for you. 

While Curufin isn’t very soft, he certainly knows how to put that clever tongue of his to good use. Curufin won’t monologue and droll on and on about why he loves you, but he certainly knows what to say to you to instill confidence, or how to make you feel wanted and needed. While Curufin won’t really say it, he loves when indulge him with Words of Affirmation. He loves your high praises and sweet words, though he prefers if it’s mostly kept in privates. I love you’s being the exception.

But most of all, the best way Curufin feels loved is if you want to spend any Quality Time with him. Even if that means that you are doing your own thing but in the same room as him. Curufin just really enjoys your presence, and it’s soothing to have you nearby and with him. It’s so satisfying when you two are lounging around, and you’re reading a book while he is writing a few things down, sharing in conversation together. He loves knowing that you want to be with him even if you two aren’t heavily interacting with one another.

Amrod - Quality Time, Acts of Service, Physical Touch

Quality Time is incredibly important to Amrod, and it’s one of the best ways to show you he loves you. Amrod has times where he isn’t very verbal, so speaking out Words of Affirmation might not happen very often. So he’d rather show you how loves you by spending time with you. It could be together hunting, both of you gardening, taking care of domestic things, or doing so in leisure. All Amrod wants to do is spend as much of his time with you as he can.

Again because Amrod has bouts of being mute, Amrod just wants to make sure the point gets across that you mean the world to him. So he does this by doing Acts of Service for you. Amrod loves doing the things that you can’t do for you, or helping you with things he knows you can manage. Amrod just wants you to know he appreciates and loves you. Though his favorite is helping you because that means that the two of you get to spend time together.

While Amrod isn’t very big on being the one to hang all over you like his twin, Amrod will still give you the Physical Touch that you need. Though his affections is far more tamed and not nearly as overwhelming. BUT Amrod is completely content and full of love if you want to hang all over him and shower him with your affections. He loves the way your lips feel against his, or how you embrace him in either gratitude for his help or just for the sole fact that you want to be with him. It makes him feel so incredibly loved and adored.

Amras - Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation

Amras’ favorite way to show you just how much he loves you is through Physical Touch. He is huge on wanting to touch you as often as he can to show you just what you mean to him. There are constant kisses on the head or forehead, him just gently touching your back or holding your hand. Gentle embraces and soft kisses on the lips. Just anything to show you how much he loves you. Returning the affections is a good way as well to make Amras feel loved and appreciated as he wants to know that you love him as much as he loves you.

Amras, unlike Amrod, is excellent with his words and is quite talkative. He’s a bit of a mushy romantic and is happy to shower you with praise and love and affection in the form of words. Just as much and often as he will with Physical Touch. Amras is also more than happy to be on the receiving end of Words of Affirmation and LOVES to know that you too feel the same way he does. It instills some serious confidence in him, as well as just fills him with adoration and love for you. 

Amras is pretty simple in making him feel loved, just by indulging him in his own love languages is enough for him. 

Celebrimbor - Gift Giving, Physical Touch, Acts of Service

It comes as no surprise as one of the greatest smiths, that Celebrimbor’s biggest love language would be gift giving. With his obsession to craft as much as he does, there will absolutely be an abundance of jewelry in your jewelry box. Though he does try to do this in increments so to you the gifts don’t feel overwhelming or as if they’re meaningless. 

Which brings us to our next love language, being Physical Touch. He adores any and all physical affection you want to give him. Happily with Celebrimbor give it in return. He loves all of your embraces and how soft and small your body is against his, or just how soft your lips feel against his own or against his cheek. It’s a very good way to make him feel loved, and to make you feel loved in return. 

The thing that Celebrimbor appreciates just as much as your touch is the Acts of Service you may off him. Even if it’s not very often or all the time. Anything that you do to help make his day that much easier or better is the greatest feeling. It could be something as simple as bringing him his lunch, or something to drink. Or running papers to the appropriate person or offering to help him with other things. It also assists in making him feel loved and cared for.

* * * 

tags: @saviorsongwrites​ @lilmelily​ @dicksoutformtl​ @fandom-hoe101​ @icarus-fell-in-spring​ @allinwonderlands​ @red-riding​

A/N: I put an undercut because of how long this turned out to be

[allthatglittersisnotgoldrush]

Author Interview: Victoryindeath2 (by Mythopoeia

Thank you @abadpoetwithdreams! I hope you don't regret the last question you asked :D

1. You are responsible for creating the characters of Frog and Sticks! What canon Silm event are you most excited to see from their child perspectives?

Soooo many things—but I am interested to see how they will feel when Mae is back on his feet, a warrior more deadly with his left than he even was with his right, the sort of man who can in canon create the Union of Maedhros. The children have seen Maedhros at his lowest, seen him tormented and crushed into the earth in the cruelest of ways. They also saw how he could be his best even when there was no hope or light for him—he protected them and was kind to them and loved them. I am just interested to see how other men’s and women’s opinions might change as Maedhros moves into the next phase of his life, and how the children will, in some ways, always see Maedhros as their Russandol.

Sticks: yeah I knew he was cool before you all realized it

Frog: *drops a rock in Mae’s left hand and curls up in his lap* tell me and my pet rock a story Mae

Mae: I actually have leadership things to do....

Sticks: you owe us for all the stories you didn’t tell us back in the Bad Place

Mae: *tells them a story and Fingon finds the kids sleeping under Mae’s arms twenty minutes later*

(There is also a non-canon event sometime in the future that I want so VERY badly but guess I can’t say because of spoilers *sighs*)

2. We often joke about how this AU is basically our own crazy version of a Silm tv series. What are some of favourite moments in the series so far that stand out to you as particularly cinematic?

There are so many moments, some of the wondrous and stunning variety, and some of the quiet and beautiful....but here are a few that leapt right to my mind:

a. Maedhros and Fingon parting the last time before Feanor divided the families almost forever! Maedhros with his hair in the sunlight on his horse and the line, “see you on the other side, cano!”

b. Gosh DARN it Mae on the cliff, with Morgoth offering him the chance to leap to his death, and he doesn’t take it *cries*

c. FINGON’S CHILD OF THE WOLF MOMENT WHERE HE TAKES MAIRON OUT (ALSO RIGHT BEFORE WHEN MAE GRABS AT HIS ANKLE AND TRIES TO GET FINGON TO SAVE HIMSELF)

d. Maedhros riding into the thrall camp and basically falling into Gwindor and SLINGING AN ARM AROUND HIS NECK YES HUGS ALL AROUND YESSSS

e. Look Ceili fic I know we talk about it all the time but I am here to talk about it again, especially the moment where Mae pulls Caranthir out on the dance floor and then they all dance together and everyone ends up in a pile on the floor except for Mae who just stands over them all laughing I think doubled over and there is so much good energy in that scene I NEED IT ON SCREEN

f. Personally I like to think that Celegorm stalking his way into a club in New York City and beating the living daylights out of Eol was cinematic

g. Maedhros having successfully argued Huan’s way into the journey west, stumbling all tired like up to the stairs, and meeting Nerdanel there, and resting his head on his mom’s neck. The darling tol bby

h. MAE ATTACKING ULFANG FOR THE SAKE OF HIS BROS, GOING FROM DEPRESSED BROKEN BABY WHO HAS LOST ALL HOPE TO DEPRESSED BROKEN BABY WHO HAS LOST ALL HOPE BUT STILL WILL FIGHT FOR HIS BROS

i. Bby Mae lying on Feanor’s chest ;;;;;;;;;;; before Feanor became the worst

j. Can’t even remember what fic it was at this point but there is a dream? Mae has? Of like....the sea and red sun or something? It was a lot

k. There are many many more moments and I am mad that I can’t remember the one that stood out to me recently

l. ..........the whole fic Seven Card Stud

m. MOONLIGHT GUNSLINGER MAE AND HOW HE TOTALLY OUTCLASSED MAIRON

n. Every hug and brotp and found family moment ever. I have addictions and there is never enough of what I want on screen

o. THERE ARE MORE SPECIFIC ONES BUT I HAVE TO STOP AT SOME POINT DON’T I

3. Walk me through what an ideal day would look like for Caranthir?

The MOST ideal day would be Caranthir waking up in his little closet bedroom in Formenos and realizing he just had a horrible nightmare, and also realizing that he still has his mom and ALL of his brothers. And then at the breakfast table Feanor says something like “wow I’ve been stupid in a good many ways, and a rotten dad because of that, good thing I have recognized my flaws and shall now be a better person, also Mae you can stop going to live in the city if you want, just stay here with your brothers. Also you know, Caranthir, even though you’re still my least favorite child, I’m proud of you. And not just because these are the best pancakes I have ever tasted.”

Then Caranthir probably helps his mom in the garden, gets some quality one on one time with Mae when Mae helps him make a pie, Mae reminds him how special and good he thinks Caranthir is, and Celegorm and Curufin ask Caranthir to join them for fishing. Not that Caranthir necessarily wants to do that, but he does want to be asked. Then Amras and Amrod ask him to help them with sums, so that he feels like a helpful big brother, and without being asked, Maglor takes out his fiddle and plays the slow-moving, peaceful song that Caranthir loves and Maglor despises because it is not challenging enough

4. What is a character POV you have not written yet about but would like to?

I would like to write something from Maeglin’s POV—I feel a powerful urge to protect that lost boy. He’s had an odd and often terrifying life and he needs a break. Good grief imagine having a mom like his mom, imagine Morgoth commanding you to call him uncle. Ew. Anyway, he’s exactly the sort of character I usually adopt as my son. An angsty sad boy without much future, who needs LOVE

5. If you could recommend only one fic from each author (including yourself, of course) what would they be?

HOW TO PICK?!

TolkienGirl: wayyyyy too many to really choose from but I have to go back to the beginning and say “news, breaking” because of the way it introduces my Feanorian boys, and also because of Mae wearing a flowered apron one minute and then a half open leather vest the next, with his glorious hair tied back!

Mythopoeia: I feel like I have to say “those gathered beneath” because it was so DEFINITIVE of our favorite Irish family, and also Turgon is a great narrator (but since I always talk about this fic I shall also add another, lesser known perhaps: “save ourselves unaided” because it introduces Haleth and more people need to appreciate Haleth and Mythopoeia’s Haleth is SO GOOD)

Victoryindeath2: “a certain slant of light (where the meanings are)” because it was my first Caranthir fic, and so it holds a special place in my heart

Bonus Q: The Feanorians are now a KPop group. What are their hair colors and roles?

THE WAY I CHOKED ON MY LAUGHTER WHEN I FIRST READ THIS QUESTION

I ALSO GOT WAY TOO CAUGHT UP IN THIS SO IF YOU ARE AN AU READER WHO DOESN’T CARE ABOUT KPOP IN ANY WAY YOU CAN STOP HERE, I WON’T BE MAD. On the other hand I think I have really good answers so maybe you should continue lol

Maedhros: He has to be a coppery red-head, doesn’t he? Maybe something of the red color that you once told me you wanted Heeseung to try. He would make a great leader, but ALSO. Also I think that he has had enough stress in canon in and in our AU, so I really just want to give him the opportunity to be merely the eldest hyung, who everyone goes to for comfort, for hugs and advice, and who supports the leader quietly. He is a good vocalist and can maybe rap in a pinch? but we put so much emphasis on him as a dancer that he HAS to be the dance leader. Obviously. Is widely acknowledged as the visual of the group

Maglor: Longish black hair, maybe midnight blue or deep purple. Has tried several different hairstyles and regretted half of them. He claims a specific aesthetic in hair and dress is necessary for him to compose the group’s songs, and while he gets teased by everyone for this he also writes amazing music so? It works? Is definitely a vocalist. His vlives consist of him playing every instrument known to man, and half the time Mae is sitting in the background listening with an awed expression on his face—till he falls asleep. Maglor can’t decide if he is pleased by this or insulted

Celegorm: Usually rocks blond or silver hair, but one time some fool insulted Amrod’s pink hair and the next thing you know Celegorm had pink hair for three months. Probably disparaged Maglor’s mullet phase but tried it once himself as a penalty for a game in a Run Feanorian episode and kinda thought it wasn’t half bad.

Celegorm is the “I don’t follow what the company says” member, “screw the rules if they aren’t good for my fam.” He is also a sick rapper and his diss tracks and mixtapes are things of beauty. He also clearly frequents the gym and will toss an annoyed member—most likely Maglor, but sometimes Curufin—over his shoulder any chance he can get. Has definitely done pushups with Amrod or Amras on his back. He and Mae swept the ISAC games

Caranthir: Typically goes with brown/black hair, which only throws the fandom into more of an uproar when the rare occasion arises in which he actually dyes it some other color. Probably went mint for a music video and Curufin started calling him mint choco boy, which offends him deeply as he is (sadly) on the side of “mint chocolate ice cream tastes like toothpaste.” He’s a vocalist with a rougher voice that is surprisingly pleasing to listen too.

Speaking of surprises, Caranthir never quite understands his own popularity. He didn’t like to do vlives by himself for ages, until Mae encouraged him to do cooking and baking vlives, and now he does one once a month on a schedule. Fans are putting together a book of his recipes

Curufin: He does intense and striking hairstyles and colors, and is probably the most likely to do black hair streaked through with red, teal, green, gold, white, etc. He claims to be the visual of the group and Mae is the one member who always agrees with him. I’d say he is also a dancer, one almost as good as Mae but with a different style, and he has a quick and sharp rap. He is heavily involved in the production of their songs over time.

Here is the thing though—I think, in this better non-canon non-Gold Rush AU universe, that Curufin could be the leader. See, Feanor is not gonna be the company CEO loll. Fingolfin is. And Fingolfin mentors better than Feanor EVER could. And Curufin is a sharp lad, very smart and crafty, and if he could just be convinced to care about all his brothers/group members like he does about himself and Celegorm in the AU, and if he just has proper guidance, allowing Mae to assist him in struggles, going to him for support, I think he would be an excellent leader

Ambarussa: Amras and Amrod have tried every color and color combination under the SUN, and they often coordinate with each other either to match or complement. Amras sometimes gets tired of this, preferring to stick to the general group color scheme, and when that happens Amrod just says fine be like that and goes off and does his own thing. Sooner or later though, Amras always gives in and joins him once again.

The twins obviously have all their hyungs wrapped around their little fingers, even Maglor who is driven insane by them crashing into his room shrieking and giggling when he is trying to write music or run a very serious vlive. As far as their musical talents go, I love when maknaes are ridiculously well-rounded, and these are Feanorian maknaes, so I’m gonna say they can both dance, sing, and rap. People have placed bets on whether they will grow as tall as Mae (spoilers, they won’t, no one ever will, he’s the tallest in Kpop world)

Huan: is the team mascot, and lives in their large dorm with them because Celegorm said so

Anddd that’s all folks

[fuckingfinwions]

it's pretty fucking rich of curufin to call the servants perverts for doing what he/his family forced them to do! omg! also i love the detail that sometimes fingon is just like 'suffer bitch' and doesn't stop curufin from getting his own self in trouble. i wonder what celebrimbor thinks about all the tension between the three of them--he must be terrified, poor bby. also i love the detail that maedhros believes in thematic/ironic punishment. i imagine he does it a lot to curufin esp when hes str

*stressed abt ruling the noldor and whatnot. i wonder if he ever directly tells curufin that if he actually put any effort into it that he *might* be the best sex slave/concubine? just to have more 'competition' btwn him and fingon? (and maybe its just a ploy, hes much fonder of fingon just for actually just getting on with it and not being so annoying). also maglor and his elaborate shows. maglor sounds insufferable. is he rlly perfectionistic and dramatic with his directions/ideas/visions? ver

*very particular and demanding? i can also see some really dark domestic humor with like, maedhros being like 'tf are my sex slaves' and it turns out they're all tied up in rlly weird ways running through 'rehearsal' for the 50th time that night or sthg and maglor is like 'oh damn its morning? i hadnt noticed' and ends up having a very very weird party a few weeks later full of avant-garde noncon horror that his pretentious artsy friends who all applaud his 'vision'. also i had wondered, if maed

*maedhros ever feels like he needs to punish nolo or fingon but in a more 'ironic' way, does he do it by forcing them to punish or touch eac other? like if fingon winces or flinches at jsut the wrong moment or something 'oh if i'm so disgusting then i'm sure you'd prefer him to rim you' and nolo is ofc desperate to fix the situation with his son hurt as little as possible. cant imagine curufin wouldnt be very upset too if celebrimbor is brought into his own punishments. cant see that ending well

Celebrimbor is rather terrified by the whole situation, but luckily, all of the other Servants are interested in keeping him safe. Curufin of course wants to protect his son. Nolo doesn't want this to be happening to anyone, and Celebrimbor is the only one he's currently able to make things less terrible for. Fingon thinks that Curufin deserves everything he gets, but Celebrimbor is innocent; and also that Curufin is probably bad at caring for people in general and a bad father. Curufin's defiance, coming at the same time when Fingon learns just how much his own father sacrificed for him and his siblings, just cements that belief.

In practice, this works out to Fingon teaching Celebrimbor a lot about both how to navigate life as a servant and just general socialization. Celebrimbor is torn between trusting Fingon's advice, because Fingon is acting like an older sibling/uncle and Celebrimbor misses that type of connection; and doing his best to stay far far away from Fingon, because Fingon hates his dad and might use him as a proxy, and also look what just happened with Celebrimbor's uncles.

(Also, I think just before he comes of age, Celebrimbor is going to decide he wants his first kiss to be with someone who is NOT Maedhros or Maglor. He might find one of the normal servants' teenage kids, or he might kiss Nolo, as the least scary option. Maedhros is unlikely to notice, and wouldn't be too upset as long is it didn't go any farther - there'd be a punishment along the lines of wearing a stimulating plug and a cage for a day.)

I like the idea of Maedhros encouraging competition, but I think he'd go for it sightly differently. "You always thought you were so special. So smart, could've been a genius at anything you chose, the only reason you didn't make a marvelous invention was because all the easy breakthroughs had just been discovered. But now I see you're mostly an idiot. You perhaps have a little natural talent at forgework, but with different birth could have spent your whole life making nails and horse shoes and never thought of anything greater. You can imitate if someone has already shown you the steps, but you have no creativity of your own. Nor can you figure out how to apply your skills to a new area, instead guessing blindly and patternlessly. Poor Inke, can't even suck a cock without someone smarter telling him how to do so."

Maedhros purposely avoided directly mentioning Feanor. That tends to just make Curufin more defiant, reminded of his pride and that he ought to be a prince. Also, Maedhros is not sure Feanor would actually approve of his actions, and Feanor's potential anger on his return is a bit of a mood killer. Being immortal, Feanor never felt a need to discuss in detail what would happen if he died and Maedhros took the throne. Maedhros is confident he's following Feanor's example, but some instructions might have been nice.

Curufin is now going to try and be the best lover Maedhros has ever had, purely out of spite.

Yes, dark comedy where Maedhros wants Fingon to ride him, but he's too exhausted from practicing double pirouettes where he jumps and lands with his cock an inch away from a spiked post. Maglor says it symbolizes the short distance between despair and desire. Curufin then fucks him using a strap on that he's wearing backwards (symbolizing fear of intimacy) while Nolo does the splits and fingers himself (symbolizing the loss of community in modern society).

Maedhros just thinks that, as king, there ought to be someone with enough energy to get him off the way he likes. Maglor says he's an artist, you can't expect him to make a masterpiece without using all the instruments. Maedhros is privately thinking maybe he should have made Caranthir crown prince, then he'd only be down two at once as Caranthir pretended to be a sadist rather than a masochist, or maybe one of the Ambarussa.

I think Maedhros ends making Nolo officially allowed to refuse sexual orders from Maglor it's been going on for longer than five hours. Also, despite Maglor's protest of artistry, if it involves nudity or genitalia it counts as sex. Nolo isn't Maedhros's favorite, but he's pretty enough, and both Curufin and Fingon would totally take advantage of the out.

Maedhros makes Nolo and Fingon punish each other sometimes, by making them be the one to inflict pain. But he doesn't use sex with each other as a punishment. They''re just so hot, he wants to watch them touch each other multiple nights a week, and he's not the type to make up new rules as an excuse for punishments. And the point of a punishment is that it's something the person involved dislikes, true, but it's also supposed to be something that they can avoid, so that you actually change their behavior. Maedhros likes ordering Nolo to kiss Fingon, and kiss a line down his body, stopping to caress every inch of him as if he's the most beautiful thing in the world. No one believes that Maedhros would stop ordering it if Fingon didn't disobey, so it doesn't work well as a deterrent.

Re: Celebrimbor being brought into Curufin's punishments, I had an idea for "power play" which I didn't end up using. Maedhros is trying to get Curufin to behave, and Curufin is being stubborn, and also insulting Maedhros. So Maedhros beats Curufin with a crop, then ties him to Maedhros's bed.

Maedhros sets oil and a very large set of anal beads on the bed. Then he draws the bed curtains.

"I'm going to have my dinner here by the fire tonight. Celebrimbor is going to bring it to me, and wait on me throughout. When I've finished eating, I'll check on you. If you have all the beads inside you and your cock hard, I'll send Celebrimbor away for the evening while I play with you. If not, I pull back the curtains, and he gets to sit by and watch you. Do you understand?"

Curufin nodded. "Are you going to gag me?"

"Why would I do that? I don't mind if your son overhears you moaning."

[dlatl98]

And I once again analyzed the Feanorians and their crush clearly(crazy about shipping). Feanor and Nerdanel Maedhros and Fingon Maglor and the wife who didn't follow Celegorm and Lúthien Caranthir and Haleth (I support the fan theory that Caranthir's wife who didn't follow was only on paper for tax evasion) Curufin and the wife who didn't follow. and Celebrimbor and Sauron (f**k) Do you see the similarities? Yes. These are stubborn people who can say no to the Feanorians who know how to persist! Nerdanel, didn't follow. Fingon? Maedhros told him to shoot him, and he saved Maedhros. He must have told him to retreat. He held the line. Maglor's wife, didn't follow. Lúthien destroyed Celegorm. Celegorm finally met a rare person who could crush him even more than Orome. It is only natural that it is half Maia. Caranthir, made an offer to Haleth and was told no. And if the two were truly a couple, among Tolkien's human women who were so considerate that they did not f**k male elves, Haleth was the only one who f**k the elf male, telling him to overcome the fact that he would be ok if his lover would grow old and die. She's strong. Curufin's wife, she didn't follow. It's rather an extraordinary situation that she didn't follow a husband with enough charisma to succeed in a coup and a son who is likely a minor. and silvergifting is......(f**k)

Yes. Feanorians are only attracted to those who meet the extremely rare criteria of being stronger and crazier than they are. Conversely, we can measure the madness and strength of others based on their madness and strength. Yes, they are fools who find themselves more attracted to Lady Macbeth than to Macbeth. Or maybe Macbeth is only attracted to Lady Macbeth. and It may not have been recorded because the recorder was not interested, but it may also have been not recorded because it was too dangerous to do so. Yes, that's right. The Feanorians were born to be destroyed from the beginning…

The one who didn't go together

Of the sons of Fëanor, the one who is most certain to have married is Curufin. Celebrimbor is proof. And they did not go together. Like Nerdanel. The one Curufin who most resembled Fëanor chose made a similar choice to Nerdanel. That's interesting. And this one is crazy enough to marry Curufin, and Curufin and Celebrimbor are stubborn. And while Nerdanel is described as being wise and self-controlled, this one…the lack of description is a perfect alibi for the imagination. This one could be completely wild. I often imagine that this one not only did not go, but that she went to great lengths to keep his son and husband from going with his crazy father-in-law. Celebrimbor was probably still a minor at the time, since he did not swear an oath. And Curufin would never leave his only son behind. Fëanor would never want his only grandson taken away. And this one would never want his husband and son taken away. The summary of what happens when you can really use the word absolute to mean absolute: a terrible fight between a married couple. There is not enough time to open the door to divorce and custody disputes in Eldar for the first time. The husband talked that she will follow him immediately or she will never see him again. She knows that her husband is confident in his ability to speak well. The only thing that makes her not inferior to her husband is her stubbornness. So she tells him to convince him one last time, and then she takes out a glass. Then she pours the sleeping pill she prepared in advance. You said there is no time? The damned father-in-law has to hurry, so if his son and his grandson don't show up on time, he will have to leave them behind. He won't be able to find them openly. He can't show his most loyal son that he is skeptical of the cause before it even starts! (Or she can just hit her husband's head with a frying pan.) Curufin is horrified to see his son snoring next to him, tied up tightly. He doesn't get surprised because he already guessed that he was tied up too. But the crazy father-in-law is also crazy… In fact, everyone knows Curufin and his wife's temper, so when Curufin is out of sight, the rest of the Feanorians attack. Everyone knew she would do something like that… In the end, her husband and son leave, leaving her wailing. Fëanor goes on a rampage, but in the end, everyone's morale and Celebrimbor and Curufin stop him, so he gives up on punishing her. The other Fëanorians also keep quiet, and everyone just knows that she did not go with them. From this, we can guess that her occupation is an apothecary. If she were not an apothecary, someone would have noticed while procuring sleeping potions…

[sweetteaanddragons]

A Guide to Feanorian Elves, by Bilbo Baggins

This is for @mstreason who wanted Feanor, Bilbo, “Have I mentioned I hate you?”, and fake academia. 

I struggled for a long time with the “Have I mentioned I hate you?” aspect of the prompt as Bilbo is not a particularly hateful person and while Feanor is certainly very capable in that area, Bilbo is not a particularly likely target.

I ended up going with a more playful direction with that prompt. Unfortunately, the words, “Have I mentioned I hate you?” never directly appear in the fic, I feel that they are somewhat implied towards the end; I hope this story fits the prompt well enough for you to enjoy it.

. . .

Well! With all the hustle and bustle and new guests arriving, it shall be all I can do to remember everyone’s names, and while Frodo seems to be muddling along well enough, I fear poor Sam is in the same boat as I, and he has had even less time to learn the oddities of elvish naming conventions. To that end - and for the benefit of any future travelers in Aman who find themselves rather over their heads - I have constructed the following guide. Hopefully it shall do us all some good.

The House of Feanor:

Feanor, also called Feanaro, or, rarely, Curufinwe: His first two names at least have the benefit of being rather similar to each other, and he stands out in a crowd rather nicely. It seems rather trite to say that you’ll know him when you see him, but I find that it is indeed true. If you are in any doubt, I personally recommend dropping the use of Þ and replacing it with ’s’ while speaking in Quenya in his earshot; if he flinches and visibly restrains himself on the basis that you are a mere hobbit and cannot possibly know better, then it is almost certainly Feanor.

The main difficulty here lies in his title. It is as of yet unclear whether he should be referred to as ‘High King,’ “King,’ ‘Prince,’ ‘Lord,’ or if perhaps all titles ought to be dropped altogether, and picking one to use makes a rather large political statement. I recommend pretending to be old and confused enough to refer to him as ‘Mayor’ and then using whatever you’re corrected with, although admittedly this strategy may work better for some of us than others.

Nerdanel: If she has other names, I’ve never heard them, which makes her rather unique among the elves here in Aman. If she has preferences on titles, she’s yet to make a sufficient fuss about it for the gossip to reach me, so just figure out what you’re going to call Feanor first and then call her the feminine form of that. She’s almost as easy to spot as her husband; just look for the red-headed woman with the rather impressive muscles, presumably from hauling around all that stone for her sculptures.

Maedhros, also called Maitimo, also called Russandol, also called Nelyafinwe: There is no one alive who needs that many names, and I stand by that point firmly.

That said, the names provide several useful descriptors of him, so, in order: Maitimo apparently means well-formed, and although I suspect most mothers would say the same upon seeing their first child, apparently there are a fair few maidens in Tirion who agree despite everything that’s passed since. Russandol is a reference to his red hair, which matches his mother’s very well, and Nelyafinwe means “third Finwe” and seems to be regarded as a backhanded insult to Feanor’s two half-brothers, so I recommend avoiding that one unless you intend to wade far deeper into elvish politics than good hobbitish sense would dictate. Maedhros seems to be safe enough and even the preferred form, so it might be best to stick with that.

He has been a king, a prince, and a lord, and although no one seems to be keen on calling him the first, the rest are still up in the air, and I’m hearing now that they’re considering making up some brand new title for former kings, of which they seem to have an abundance. I recommend repeating the mayor trick, or, if they seem to be catching on to that, coughing in the middle of mumbling your pick of titles. This has the added advantage of the nearest elf usually offering to fetch you a beverage.

Maglor, also called Kanafinwe, also called Makalaure: If you don’t recognize him after all this time in Elrond’s house, I can’t help you. Personally, I think it best to just stick with calling him Maglor, as that’s what we’re all used to, but I’ve written a brief etymology of his other names in case you hear anyone calling him something else.

Kanafinwe means strong-voiced of Finwe. The strong-voiced bit sounds like another name that would occur to a great many new parents, but it also turned out to be rather prophetic, so it suits him. Makalaure, on the other hand, means gold-cleaver, which makes little sense to me, as I’ve yet to see him cut anything in half, much less gold, but apparently it is meant to refer in some manner to his skill with a harp. 

You may also hear a few people with more voice than sense call him ‘Elrond’s pet kinslayer’; I recommend giving these people your best look of disappointment and/or disapproval until they look ashamed of themselves and stop.

Celegorm, also called Turcafinwe, also called Tyelkormo: I am told Turcafinwe means ‘strong Finwe’ which is appropriate enough, given his skill at hunting, but it seems to leave a rather poor implication towards the original Finwe’s comparative strength. (This observation is probably left kept to yourself, however.) There seems to be some disagreement about what hair color to expect from him (I have no idea why; perhaps he likes to dye it), so if you miss his introduction, try bringing up hunting and seeing who looks most enthusiastic about it. Alternatively, see who looks most awkward around Elrond - I imagine there will be some lingering difficulty about the whole Luthien affair. Goodness knows there was in the Shire after Poppy turned down Otho, and this is a good deal more awkward a situation than that.

I would try not to bring that up though as his mother name when translated reveals itself to be a prediction of a quick temper which, combined with his strength, might be best not to provoke.

Caranthir, also called Morifinwe, also called Carnistir: Morifinwe translates to ‘Dark Finwe’ which has led to some calling him “Caranthir the Dark” which contrasts rather nicely with those that call his older brother “Celegorm the Fair.” Said darkness is a reflection upon his hair, not his character, although since he is hardly the only dark haired Feanorian, I am not sure why it was considered worth commenting upon.

It still strikes me as a better name than Carnistir which as best I can make out means “red-faced.” I have no doubt that this was indeed true upon his birth, but as this is true for most healthy babes it seems rather pointless to make a name of it.

But I suppose I am being rather harsh; the duty of naming a child never fell to me as Frodo was already well secure in his name by the time he came to me, and I suppose upon being handed a newborn babe, it might be easy to panic and just say the first thing that came to mind.

Curufin, also called Curufinwe, also called Atarinke: If you look around and see someone that looks almost exactly like Feanor but who is deferring to the person that’s actually Feanor, that’s Curufin. Feanor passed down his less used name to Curufin, but it still seems best to stick the Sindarin form in order to help avoid confusion.

Atarinke means ‘little Father,’ a name that must have been wonderfully appropriate in childhood but seems a little less so now as Curufin has managed to surpass his father in height by approximately the width of a thumb, at least according to Maglor. I am also told that I ought not to bring this up.

Still, I suppose ‘little Father’ remains somewhat appropriate as he is the only son of Feanor to have actually achieved the state of fatherhood.

I think. I am still not entirely clear on which kings Gil-Galad is descended from, exactly.

Celebrimbor, also called Telperinquar: According to elvish naming customs at the time of his birth, he should have at least one more name, given to him by his mother. I can find no one willing to tell me this name, or, for that matter, to talk about his mother. I will continue searching what records I can but will decline from further questioning as, despite what the Dunedain might have thought, I am actually capable of tact in these things.

Telperinquar means silver-fist which works well enough for a smith, and, in an additional stroke of luck, he is the only who currently has a clear title: Lord of Eregion. The fallen state of that city appears not to matter in this case, so Lord Celebrimbor or Telperinquar it is.

This is additionally important as while you may not end up talking with all the Feanorians during this visit, a long talk with Celebrimbor seems rather unavoidable. Hopefully it shall be good for all of us.

Amrod, also called Pityafinwe, also called Ambarussa, also called Ambarto, also called Umbarto and Amras, also called Telufinwe, also called Ambarussa: I recommend calling them both Ambarussa as apparently even their own brothers sometimes can’t tell them apart, in which case, we haven’t a chance. Supposedly Amrod’s hair is a shade darker than Amras’s, but unless they’re standing next to each other, I’m not sure how we’re supposed to tell the difference.

As they’ll be arriving first, it seemed best to go ahead and give you this collection of notes as it stands; a continuation of the guide shall be presented shortly before the arrival of Fingolfin and Finarfin’s clans.

. . .

Dear Master Baggins,

I was delighted to make your acquaintance last night. I was slightly less delighted when I discovered this packet which appears to have fallen from your pocket.

- [ink blot over title] Feanor

. . .

Dear most honorable and hopefully most forgiving [ink blot over title] Feanor,

Oh, dear. In my defense, I never intended anyone other than my nephew and his good friend to read this; I assure you I would have made it far more polished if it were for public consumption.

Please forgive any lines that may have given offense. In the hopes of more readily attaining this forgiveness, I have enclosed copies of my notes on your half-brothers’ families.

- Bilbo Baggins

. . .

Dear Master Bilbo,

Your second set of notes was delightful; all is most certainly forgiven.

- [ink blot] Feanor

[kendrixtermina]

Further reactions to "The book of lost tales":

I appreciate that Idril canonically wears armor and does swordfighting.

I feel like I can actually imagine adult!Idril much better now like in armor and with open hair, distraught but ready to fight while babby Earendil does not yet realize the danger...

My first thought is that Earendil was probably cute in that baby chainmail. My second thought is OUCH, Idril and Tuor always made sure their growing baby had fitting chainmail cause they felt the apocalypse might get them at any moment. Imagine that, imagine them having the baby armor fitted every year or so :(

Its fun how much of the basic structure already exists but most of what you'd consider the main characters doesn't exist or is scattered across various minor roles The only Prince anywhere in sight is Turgon - Except for Team Doriath, theyre all accounted for. I suppose Maeglin is kinda there in name only with vaguely the same role & motivation, but looks personality and background all did a 180 since. Luthien is still pretty much "princesd classic" at this point, not quite the fearless go-getter from the final version - markedly this version tells Beren that she doesnt want to wander in the wilderness with him whereas the final one says she doesnt care and its Beren still wants to get the shiny so as not to ask this of her and also for his honor.

I mean in the finished version Id consider the 3rd and 4th gen royals to be the main characters (well, alobgside Team Doriath and the varioud human heroes) and theyre hardly here. Imagine the silm with no Finrod!

Feanor had no affiliation with the royal family whatsoever, and is also generally less super. He's just the guy who won the jewelsmithing competition, not the inventor of the whole discipline. Still seems to have been envisionad as a respected member of the community who gets called to the palace for crisis meetings and is listened to when he stsrts giving speeches. From the first he already has the backstory of going off the deep end (or at least growing disillusioned with Valinor) after a family member is killed by Melkor and theyre still the first to die, but its just some other rando unrelated to the royals

The situation regarding the humans is different - instead of Melkor leaking their existence, its Manwe who explains that the other continents were supposed to be for them eventually. So Feanor goes off on a tirade about weak puny mortals comes off as a more of a jerk unlike in the final version where Melkor barely knew about the humans and described them to the Noldor as a threat. On the other hand in this one, also very much unlike in the finished product, Melkor dupes even Manwe into being unfair to the elves as a whole. In this the final version is a definite improvement, both Feanor and the Valar come off as a lot more sympathetic and though still deceived he's partially right in some things at least, so you have more of a genuine tragedy rather than a simple feud

There is something to the idea of Commoner!Feanor tho. I guess some of this survived in his nomadic explorer lifestyle and how both his wife and mother (who arent mentioned here) eventually were the ones to get that background of being not especially pretty ladies who are not from the nobility but got renown, respect and acclaim for their unique talent and contribution to society, with each having invented things and Nerdanel also being renowed for her wisdom. Hes sort of an odysseus-like Figure in that sense. I suppose later developements necesitated that Maedhros & co. have an army not just a band of thieves, which means they needed to be nobles/lords. That said this being a society where artisans are very respected and half the lords have scholarly/artistic pursuits going, the gap was probably not as big to begin with as it might have been in say, medieval England. Esoecially since Nerdanel's father had been given special honor by one of the local deities and that the social order might have been a very recent thing in Miriel's time. One might speculate that the first generation of Lords started out as warriors during the great journey, or perhaps just Finwe's friend group.

Also found that bit intetesting where the Valar have to deal with the remaining political tensions and effects of Melkor's lies on the remaining population in Valinor... - i guess with the change of framing device it was less likely for news of something like this to reach Beleriand. That, or the existence of Finarfin and his repentance made this go smoother this over in later cannon

Turgon's go-down-with-the-ship moment reaaly got to me. Im half tempted to write a fic where his wife, siblings and dad glomp him on arrival in Mandos. I dont care that none of them exists yet in this continuity i want Turgon to get hugs

I love all the additional Detail that got compressed out in the shift from fairytale-ish to pseudohistoric style especially all the various Valinor magic insofofar as it is compatible with the final version - particularly love the idea of the connection between the lamps and the trees that is now integrated into my headcanon forever

Its actually explained what the doors of night are

If I had not already read unfinished tales or volumes X to XII where this is also apparent, this is where I would say: Ah so the Valar were supposed to be flawed characters. Manwe has an actual arc; by the time he sends Gandalf he finally "got" it. I think in the published silm the little arcs of Ulmo and Manwe are mostly just lost in compression/ less apparent when only some of the relevant scenes got in but not all

It occurred to me way too late that the "BG" chars are the most consistent because theyre at the start and most stories are written from beginning to end. Finwe doesnt get a dedicated paragraph of explicit description until HoME X but my takeaway was that he's described pretty much like I always imagined him anyways/ same vibe I always got from him... charismatic, thoughtful, enthusiastic, sanguine temperament, brave in a pinch but at times lets his judgement be clouded by personal sentiment (though that last bit is more apparent/salient as a character flaw once he became the father of a certain Problem Child) ...i guess this would be a result of jrrt having had a consistent idea of him in his head for a long time.

This means Finwe's still alive at the time of the exodus which is just fun to see/interesting to know... Interestingly he sort of gets what later would be Finarfin's part of ineffectually telling everxone to please chill and think it over first while Feanor simply shouts louder (which is consistent with his actions before the sword incident in later canon where he initially spoke out against the suspiciozs regarding the Valar) - but its not exactly the same, he's more active than Finarfin later in that when "chillax" availed nothing he said that then at least they should talk with the other Kings and Manwe to leave with their blessing and get help leaving (This seems like it would have been the clusterfuck preventing million dollar suggestion in the universe where Feanor is related to him and values him) but when even that falls on death ears he decides that he "would not be parted from his people" and went to run the preparations. I find it interesting that the motivation is sentiment/attachment (even phrased as "he would not be parted from [his people]" same words/ expression as is later used for the formenos situation), not explicitly obligation as it later is for Fingolfin (who had promised to follow Feanor and didnt want to leave his subjects at the mercy of Feanor's recklessness )

Speaking of problem children. It seems the sons of Feanor were the Kaworu Nagisa of the Silmarillion in that originally all they do is show up at some point and kill Dior as an episodic villain-of-the-week. And then, it seems their role got bigger in each continuity/rewrite... probably has something to do with the Silmarils ending up in the title later making it in the sense their story that ends and begins with them. They have zero characterization beyond "fierce and wild" at this point, though in what teetsy bits there is we already have the idea that Maedhros is the leader and Curufin is the smart one/shemer/sweet-talker, though not the bit where Maedhros (or Maglor, or anyone really) is "the nice one". Which I guess explains why "Maglor" sounds like such a stereotypical villain name.

"The Ruin of Doriath" was purportedly the patchworkiest bit of the finished product, but I never noticed and it actually left quite an impression of me upon first reading, the visual of Melian sitting there with Thingol's corpse in her arms contemplating everything thinking back to how they met... she had the knowledge to warn him not to doom himself but couldnt get him to understand it because he doesnt see the world as she does.... After reading this though I wish there was a 'dynamic' rendition that combined all the best bits like, youd have to adapt it to the later canon's rendition of the dwarves, have Nargothrond exist etc. But i mean that just makes Finrod another dead/doomed relative of Thingol's whom bling cannot truly replace, like Luthien and Turin. In the Silmarillion you could easily read it as just an "honoured guest treatment" but here and in unfinished tales I get the impression that Thingol actually did see Turin as a son.

Already you see the idea of trying to make the stories all interconnected but there is less than there will be (the human heroes aren't related yet and there is basically no Nargothrond, which is later a common thread for many of the stories - a prototype shows up in the 'Tale of Turambar' tho complete with half baked prototypes of Orodreth and Finduillas

O boi im not even through yet

[ambarto]

Headcanons for Maglor’s and Curufinwe’s wives

Don’t you guys just love how so many of “canon” female characters in the Silm end up being basically your own OCs? Anyways, pretty much what it says on the tin, my Feanorian wives OCs. A little bit of these headcanons are in my fic Much, more, less, nothing already, but I’m gonna expand on pretty much whatever my thoughts are. Very long post under the cut (and I sure hope the cut is working because if it isn’t this is gonna be long to scroll through).

Maglor’s wife - Vílerë

- The name for this girl is my own probably kinda sloppy work. I found in some Quenya dictionaries the word “vílë” which means “gentle breeze”, and it fit perfectly within my vision of her. The ending -rë is feminine and can denote an agental meaning, making the name mean “[girl] who makes a gentle breeze”, or something along those lines. I want to point out I have never studied Quenya at all and so this goes off entirely on various dictionaries I’ve been through.

- Vílerë is the girl’s mother-name, and it refers to two things. The first, is that she was born with very weak vocal chords, meaning her voice always sounds barely louder than a whisper. The second, is that she is also a very skilled flute player.

- Her parents are Noldor, but her grandmother is Teleri. Vílerë’s eyes are dark brown, which comes from her Teleri grandmother. Her hair is black, and she wears it long and plainly braided. Her skin is a light brown color. She’s not considered exceptionally beautiful, but not ugly, either. By Noldor standards, she’s cute, but in a little plain way, and a little on the shorter side.

- She’s a quiet girl, she doesn’t speak much. Partially it’s because of her voice, but it’s mostly just her personality. She doesn’t like drawing attention to herself, and she prefers being alone or with a few good friends rather than in the middle of a crowd. Because of this, she also doesn’t play her flute a lot in public, although she is known for being one of the best players and her music is loved by anyone who hears it. With those who know her, she’s kind and sweet, full of smiles and with a sharp wit you would not guess at first.

- While quiet and introverted, she’s got a strong will, and she will let people clearly if there is something that displeases her. She picks her words carefully, and if angry she’s good at getting her point across in the most cutting ways.

- She and Maglor met through music, and spent a great deal of time playing and composing together. She understood his more introspective moments better than most others, and she was drawn to his more caring side. She was good at getting him out of any bad mood and at humoring him when he got involved in some kind of musical competition with others; and he in turn helped her get out of her shell a little, but never tried to force her to come out on the spotlights with him. She took a liking to him from the start, although she sometimes rolled her eyes when his Feanorian pride showed through a bit too much.

- While still deeply in love, she did not follow him in exile. She did not agree with the Kinslaying, especially being part Teleri herself, and thought that it was absurd to do all of this just because of some rocks, no matter how beautiful they were. She didn’t want to leave her husband, and was also quite curious to see what was on the other side of the sea, but in the end she stayed in Valinor with her family.

- Other than music, she also enjoyed poetry and theatre. She had an appreciation for painting, but she never really learnt how to do it, and was more content with just looking at art rather than creating it. She also knew a bit about woodworking, because it was her parents’ profession, but she never really liked it. She enjoyed traveling too, and seeing new landscapes, and after marrying Maglor took her around to see all the cool places he had been to with his father and brothers.

- Some people had to say about her and Maglor marrying, because Vílerë lived in a village outside of Tirion and her family was one of the common folk. Some particularly vicious ones also complained that she didn’t look beautiful enough, but they had all learnt very well to not badmouth the beauty of the wife of someone of Feanor’s line. She was honestly more annoyed by receiving all that attention than by the negative comments in themselves, because she hated the positive attention too.

- She has one younger sister, who married before her and had two children. Vílerë herself married late in life compared to the average, although she was still a couple centuries younger than her husband. Out of her in-laws, the people she got along with better were Maedhros and Nerdanel, and she also was on friendly terms with Fingon and Finrod. While she did not have any quarrels with Feanor or with Maglor’s more outgoing brothers, she did find them exhausting in the long run, and better dealt with in small doses.

- While she grew to resent the Valar, although not as strongly as her husband’s family, when she was younger she liked to spend time in Lorien, and the quiet presence of Irmo and Este.

Curufin’s wife - Vanien

- Her name I took from RealElvish.net because I got lazy, although for some reason it’s not listed there anymore? For some reason? The closest it lists are Vanie and Vaniel, idk why they got rid of the specific one I used. Just my luck. Anyways, Vanien comes from “vane”, which means “fair or beautiful”.

- Her name says all about how she looks. She is the picture of Noldor standards of beauty. She has black hair and strikingly blue eyes, her skin is pale, and her facial features look like they could be put on a statue. She’s the kind of woman who could compete in Tirion Next Top Model, if they had it.

- Her family is entirely Noldor, going back all the way to Cuivienen, and fairly respected. They’re not nobles, but her parents are very good healers, which in Valinor mostly meant they were spectacular surgeons who could fix any idiot who had gotten attacked by a wild boar or something of the sorts. She was herself a healer, and very skilled.

- She and Curufin met though work as well. She had been developing a theory that perhaps one could enchant jewelry to give it properties that would make healing and recovery faster, and she had decided to go look for a good smith who could help her with it. It turned out making that kind of magical jewelry was extremely difficult, but she did get a husband out of the deal.

- She’s a city girl and at ease in the middle of the hustle of Tirion. She’s got a charming smile and she’s an excellent conversationalist. She’s a good girl, but she’s also got a rather competitive and petty streak, and if someone pisses her off she will get herself a nice revenge. Nothing truly bad, of course, but she’s not above turning her husband’s hair green if he acts too annoying. She’s more mischievous than harmful, however.

- Her main flaw is probably that she is a bit vain. She’s very aware of her beauty, and will do her best to flaunt it. She has excellent taste in fashion and hairstyles, and a husband who can craft her some of the most amazing jewelry one could think of. If she goes to a party, one can bet she’ll make sure to be the most breath stoppingly beautiful person in the room.

- She’s more outgoing than her husband, but she doesn’t mind that he sometimes ends up working on a project for days on end, although it does annoy her, as a wife and a healer, how he sometimes ends up forgetting to eat and rest. He often looks for her input when coming up with a design for something. Bitching about people who annoyed them is a bonding activity for them, but of course not their only topic of conversation. They like to go out on rides together, either along or with Curufin’s family. They are both ridiculously proud spouses, Vanien is extremely proud of her handsome, clever, and talented husband, and Curufin is extremely proud of his beautiful, smart, and talented wife. They’re also a good match when it comes to being stubborn.

- Celebrimbor is the only son they had, because Vanien struggled to get pregnant and carry the child to term. Sadly ironical, for a healer, and she was very protective of her son once he was born. She was a caring mother, and the kind who likes to cheer her brooding son by tickling him until he’s out of whatever tantrum he was throwing.

- Officially, it’s said Curufin’s wife stayed in Valinor, but I like to think that she came to Beleriand with him and Celebrimbor. She was a headstrong woman, who had her husband’s resentment towards the Valar and almost enough pride to match him. She did not directly participate in the Kinslaying, but cured the Noldor who had been wounded in it, and got on the ships with her family. Unfortunately, she ended up being killed in the Dagor-nuin-Giliath, and because of her rebellion she was held in Mandos until after the end of the First Age.

- She gets along well with most of Curufin’s family, especially Celegorm and the Ambarussa, and bonded with Feanor by answering all his questions about the body as well as she could. She became good friends with Aredhel, too.

[wearetakingthehobbitstogallifrey]

BTS Members as the Sons of Feanor

OH MY GOSH WHAT THE HECK

so @thelonelybrilliance just showed up late to the Silmarillion and new to BTS and she decided to break my brain by tagging me and @abadpoetwithdreams asking us if we could match up the 7 members of BTS with the 7 sons of Feanor. May she never ask such a question again because I have spent about 6 hours total writing this rant essay that is somewhere of abouts 3500 words. I don’t have the self-control to stop myself from things like this, I love Tolkien and BTS too much

anyway here is a very long and rambling post that was partially composed in my head in the shower and is now just stream of consciousness

(Disclaimer: The members of BTS are beautiful souls and this post is in no way saying that they are as murderous as my problematic faves the sons of Feanor)

ok so the only thing I know for ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN is that Namjoon is Maedhros. if you know anything at all about BTS and the Feanorians, the reasons are obvious:

1. Namjoon is the tallest, and Maedhros is literally called Maedhros the Tall.

2. Maedhros has a lot of names but he was called Maitimo by his mom which means “beautiful” or “well-shaped one” and such an appellation is perfect for Namjoon (ok let’s be real the name could fit every single member of BTS but whatever)

3. (and most important!) never was there a more harried elf trying to keep his brothers in line and alive and not cut to pieces by some justifiably insulted cousin or Sindarin. Maedhros is the mom, the dad, the king, the leader, the eldest bro. “Guys, can we NOT be rude to the sons of Finarfin, can we NOT start a war among the Noldor when we still have Morgoth just across the way” I’m pretty sure he would also lose his passport multiple times if Middle-earth had such things, because his brothers are hard enough to keep track of. while Namjoon may not be the eldest in years, everything else matches up too perfectly. He is the leader of BTS, the spokesman, the one who encourages the other members to step up and speak, helps them with their English (even when he judges them for their dumb mistakes lol), is literally SO DONE with his bros all the time but loves them so freaking much. He is the planner, the peace-maker, yet also has fire in his veins and has seen a lot of darkness and suffering and survived to become even stronger. So too with Namjoon

(caveat: if BTS were Feanorians, and Namjoon captured by Morgoth himself, there is no freaking way they wouldn’t have done SOMETHING to rescue their fearless leader. Jin and Jungkook would storm Thangorodrim fists swinging, followed by Jimin and J-Hope, fierce like you’ve never seen them, and Taehyung would Luthien Tinuviel Morgoth centuries early, or Yoongi would simply glare at Morgoth till he shrank down into a puddle of trembling goo. Don’t laugh at me you know I’m right)

moving on

I have maybe two choices for Maglor? One is Jin, but that might partially be because everyone always talks about how Namjoon and Jin are the mom and dad or dad and mom of BTS. and Maglor is always paired in my head with Maedhros as the other parental figure of the Feanorian bros, though that might be because of how he and Maedhros look after Elrond and Elros. Of course, I love Jin’s singing and I will never ever ever be over “Epiphany”, so I am way cool with making Jin Maglor as far as the music thing goes

All this said, I am not sure if this is the best fit overall. Jin is the King of Chaos in BTS, and I wouldn’t name Maglor as such...also I think I might have another Feanorian for Jin, but I’ll get to that later (spoilers, it’s...Curufin??!) (oh no, I just realized I might have one other argument for Jin being Maglor: “I use other people to make myself happy. I make myself smile by making others smile.” Like, that could be a good quote for Maglor potentially, if you want to relate it to his music, or his care for Elrond and Elros……..but I’m still thinking Curufin for Jin. Stay tuned)

So anyway my other option for Maglor would be...oh heck no I have two other options. No wait THREE. What the HECK. ok let me figure this out. The options are J-Hope, Yoongi, and Jimin. I’m not even sure why yet so let’s find out. (sidenote: if Maedhros did not exist Namjoon the song-writer would be Maglor, as the greatest poet and bard)

1.  J-Hope as Maglor: I don’t know, I had reasons but they are escaping me. Maglor is said to have had a gentler temperament than his brothers and I would say J-Hope has a very soft sunshine heart. I guess one thing is that Maglor was left to hold everybody together when Maedhros was captured by Morgoth, and if Namjoon was ever hung on a cliff for an indeterminate amount of time or whatever equals that in our world, J-Hope would step up. I keep seeing things about how he supports the other members when they are having tough times, giving them encouragement and food and love. He leads them in practicing dance choreography all the time, and if I remember I am pretty sure Namjoon actually stated that Hoseok would make a good group leader. 

Also one time Namjoon was talking about Hobi (oh shoot, should J-Hope of the many names be Maedhros of the many names? Lol maybe in that one universe where Namjoon is Maglor, then Hobi could could be Maedhros) Namjoon says that J-Hope is like water (where did Maglor toss his Silmaril again hmm?) and puts people at ease. Well idk about other people but Maglor seems to have put Elrond and Elros at ease because even after that whole Kinslaying thing “love grew between them as little might be thought.” I too would probably come to love J-Hope no matter the past between us. He is just that sweet and soft-hearted

2.  Yoongi as Maglor: ok honestly I really really actually want Yoongi for Caranthir, more on that later. However I also like Yoongi as Maglor because it is unexpected, yet certain things just feel right. I keep thinking about Yoongi’s “First Love” where he raps about how his PIANO was his first love (GOSH ISN’T THAT THE SWEETEST THING EVER) also in Lee Sora’s “Song Request” he raps this: “I’m happiness to someone and the soul to another / A lullaby to someone and at times a noise / I’ll be with you at your birth and your end / Remember we’re always together anywhere / I’ll always console your life / So just lean on me and rest sometimes” and LOOK I JUST DIED TYPING THIS but what I am getting at is music is burnt into Yoongi’s soul as I think it is Maglor’s, and Yoongi really is very soft and loving and also one time Namjoon said that Yoongi “makes me ponder about what kind of person I am” and Maglor several times is a voice of reason and very much tries to dissuade Maedhros from going after the Silmarils one last time. Idk it could work (but also...CARANTHIR) (BUT ALSO OMG YOONGI’S VOICE MURDERS ME WHEN HE RAPS AND HIS PASSION WOW AND NOW I AM PICTURING MODERN DAY MAGLOR RAPPING  OBLIQUELY ABOUT HIS FAMILY AND PAST AND PAIN UGGGGGGGHHHH

3.  Who was my other choice? Right, Jimin. Why did I say Jimin?? ? i don’t remember, dang it

Ok I think it is definitely time to do Caranthir.

As previously stated, I love Yoongi as Caranthir. I have my reasons personally I think they are very good reasons :D Ok Caranthir is WOW ok I am OFFENDED because I just went to double-check something on wikipedia and I typed Caranthir into the Google search engine and the first three results were all about this Caranthir dude from the Witcher, and while that game seems very interesting I am UPSET for Yoongi’s I mean Caranthir the Dark’s sake.

AHEM

Caranthir the Dark. What a name. I mean it might just be a reference to his father-name of Morifinwe and to his hair, but he is also described as being the harshest and quickest to anger. Yoongi, bless his soul and his actually very soft and squishy heart, is well known for: being unbothered by BTS general antics, for being the one to sit back and watch everyone else do dumb stuff (like when they were all dancing to MIC drop and he just walks away from them, or when they are all acting like kids jumping in the pool and he just watches with a smile on his face while drinking a glass of wine and look to me Caranthir is the one Feanorian who doesn’t pair up with anyone in particular, like we have Maedhros and Maglor, Celegorm and Curufin, Amrod and Amras, but Caranthir is the one who goes off and lives separate from them and

GOSH now I sound so dumb because I am NOT trying to say that Caranthir doesn’t love his bros or that Yoongi is a loner that is NOT what I am saying, agh I mean Caranthir is great (minus, you know, the kin-slayings the Feanorians sadly fall into) and even befriends Haleth’s people and protects them, t’s just this weird categorizing thing in my head, that Caranthir is the crusty brother, and while he loves his bros to DEATH and they him, the majority of his bros are sliiiiightly afraid of him, in a brotherly way, like how the members are with Yoongi! Like just recently oh what was it, they were on a BTS Run episode and someone had to splash or otherwise give Yoongi a penalty and right away everyone was like NAMJOON YOU DO IT. turning to the leader hyung because they don’t want Yoongi to be mad at them

Of course now I am remembering that one post of gifs demonstrating how Jungkook is the only one who can bother Yoongi without dying lol except NOW I am picturing Amrod the youngest Feanorian* being the only one who can bother Caranthir and then the ensuing PAIN because Amrod Umbarto (thanks for THAT name, Mom) perishes (in certain canon) in flames at the Burning of the Ships and wowwww no I do not need any of this pain

*SIDENOTE: AMROD IS THE YOUNGEST IN CERTAIN CANON WHICH CONFUSES THINGS A HECK OF A LOT SEE THE AMROD AND AMRAS SECTION BELOW

I’m pretty sure I have never rambled so much in my life and also pretty sure I have way too many parentheses and not all of them are closed oops

Anyway, imagine Caranthir as the brother you are afraid of but would die for and who would die for you if anyone looks at you wrong, the brother with the wry acerbic wit, but who LITERALLY LIGHTS UP THE UNIVERSE WITH HIS SMILE AND ALSO DOESN’T EXPRESS HIS LOVE ALOUD AS OFTEN AS SOME OF YOUR BROTHERS DO BUT

HE SECRETLY LOVES PHYSICAL CONTACT AT TIMES AND ALSO SECRETLY LOVES PIGGY-BACK RIDES EVEN THO HE PROFESSES TO HATE THEM AND GIVES OUT WISE LIFE ADVICE TO HIS BROS AND HIS PEOPLE AND IS SUCH A SOFTIE FOR HIS BROS AND OCCASIONALLY SENDS ONE OF HIS BABY BROS LONG LETTERS WITH A SIMPLE “I LOVE YOU” AT THE END THAT HAS CELEGORM OR AMROD CRYING FOR TEN MINUTES (HAHAHA GUESS WHO I THINK TAEHYUNG WOULD BE)

Also someone has to be the best cook of the Feanorians and it might as well be Caranthir

….apparently I’m not done with Caranthir, because “the Dark” also makes me think of a dark horse, or at least something happening that is unexpected, and that reminds me of that interview where dad/mom/interpreter Namjoon was like yeah none of the other members can speak English, and then Yoongi just out of NOWHERE speaks a line of great English and Namjoon was like ….guess I was wrong

OKAAAAY WHERE ARE WE

I do not have very clear thoughts about who the rest of the members are so let’s just go with my brain and hope it makes some good connections

Let’s do Celegorm since I just mentioned him

Celegorm could be either Taehyung or….Jin? :? Merrr idk. Let’s examine

I think the main reason why I jump at the option of Tae for Celegorm is because of Tae’s love for his dog Yeontan, or Tan, and of course Celegorm is the master of Huan, and they had a very special relationship for ages until Celegorm f---ed up. Seriously, you want to see something cute? Look up Tae’s Vlive that is entirely focused on his lil pupper (what am I saying look up ANYTHING about Tae and you will find something cute)

On the other hand Jin could be Celegorm because Celegorm is known as the Fair and if you don’t know by now that Jin is World Wide Handsome I don’t know how I can help you

OMG WAIT I JUST THOUGHT OF OTHER REASONS WHY JIN COULD BE CELEGORM! So Celegorm’s father-name is Turcafinwë, which basically means “strong in body” and Jin has got those broad shoulders (gosh they are so broad). Also, Celegorm’s mother-name is Tyelkormo, or “hasty riser,” referring to his quick temper and habit of leaping when angered. And this doesn’t perfectly relate but the amount of times I have seen Jin yelling or just being wild in general or even just pretending to be mad makes me think of this. Also there was one time idk what was even going on but Jin was struggling to pronounce Bangtansonyeon-dan (SAME) and saying it was too long and difficult and J-Hope was teasing him and Namjoon told him not to get mad since he had been calling himself a fairy and shouldn’t be mad as such, and Jin was like hey I can be a mad fairy if I want lol

See now I am just confused because now I am looking back at Jin as Maglor and I might like that better? WHY IS THIS SO HARD

Speaking of Jin, and Celegorm, why on EARTH was I thinking of Jin for Curufin? Ugggh see my problem is I ran out of time last night and so I am finishing the essay some 20 hours later and I kNOW that when I was saying Jin should be Curufin I had a better reason then their names rhyme. Heck, I could make that same argument for Jimin as Curufin.

Except I also have a second and better argument for Jimin as Curufin, at least under the circumstance where Taehyung is Celegorm. Look, all the BTS members are really close with each other, and you can literally argue all day about who is closer to who (a really pointless waste of time in my opinion I mean why argue when you can just melt over them all being sweet and funny and kind and teasing with each other) but anyway all that aside one thing I love in particular is how sweet Jimin and Taehyung often are with each other, holding hands and comforting each other and being on teams in competitions *starts laughing at the memory of them being complete disasters that one cooking show* and anyway Celegorm and Curufin seem pretty inseparable, running around causing all kinds of trouble (guys sTOP). Jimin and Taehyung have called themselves soulmates, so it makes sense to have them be part of a duo

Not that Taehyung would engage in a kidnapping stunt like Celegorm did, but the point is, Jimin, the precious bby, has Tae’s back

Jimin: “Taehyung is the happiest when he is with me” aww

This has nothing to do with the point of this post but I just need to stop here and say that Jimin is so freaking talented I was just looking up some gifsets of him and obviously his singing is angelic but also OMGGG his dancing!!!

Ok, jumping back slightly, I guess one way Jin could be Curufin is if Jungkook is Celegorm, because I could see those beautiful dorks running around causing all kinds of trouble, except I really have no reason to have Jungkook be Celegorm, especially since he is very much Amras in my head for reasons

OOOH NO I also thought of a way in which Jungkook could be--wait for it--cURUFIN. WHY AM I LIKE THIS

You see, Curufin was his dad’s favorite son and thus Feanor gave his favorite son the exact same father-name Feanor had, Curufinwë, and Curufin is the only son who chose to use his father-name over his mother-name if I recall, and anyway all meaning he probably loved his dad a lot and was proud of his name, and this makes me think of how Namjoon gave Jungkook the title of the Golden Maknae and of how freaking much Jungkook looks up to and respects Namjoon (look while Namjoon is a hyung, he is also a dad figure, so he may as well be Feanor and Maedhros both)

I guess if Jungkook were Curufin, Jin could go back to being Celegorm

Aaaaggggh you do not know how much hair I have pulled out this is taking a lot of brainwork

FINALLY AT THE LAST TWO

We now present my exceedingly confused ramblings regarding the twins Amrod and Amras. Before we begin, let me SHAKE MY FIST AT TOLKIEN FOR MAKING THIS ESSAY EVEN MORE CONFUSING TO WRITE

See, I had Jungkook all set up in my head as Amras, the youngest son according to the Silmarillion. Jungkook is the maknae, the baby, and all the members DOTE on him and he loves them and respects them and pesters them and it’s great, so yeah Jungkook has to be Amras the baby of the Feanorians. I would then put Taehyung as Amrod, the just barely older bby who the other members also adore and protect. Jungkook and Taehyung are SO FREAKING CUTE whenever they are doing stuff together, whether it is singing or hugging or holding each other on their backs while they singing. When they goof off together or pester each other, they are the most precious, must dorkiest dorks to ever be my faves. Hence why I pair them together in my head as Amrod and Amras, at least the times when I am not pairing Tae with Jimin or Jungkook with Jin. Amrad and Amras seem as inseparable as Celegorm and Curufin, and they go off and live in some beautiful wild part of the land and basically stick to hunting and staying out of everyone’s business until they get reminded they took a stupid oath

EXCEPT then Tolkien has one alternate writing where the youngest is actually AMROD and Amrod dies at the burning of the ships because Feanor doesn’t know how to count his kids I guess (Namjoon you lost something again) (sorry that is a terrible joke) (but is it made slightly better by the fact that while Namjoon is apparently Feanor he is much more Maedhros, who was against the burning of the ships and did not participate?) so like this is where I started to get my third headache (exacerbated by the fact that I haven’t eaten dinner yet and it is 9 pm what is wrong with me) because then I have to make Jungkook Amrod and Taehyung Amras. It’s such a trial having to write both their names next to both Feanorians

On the other hand, an interesting thing to think about is that in this alternate writing, Amras was so aggrieved by his brother’s death that he called out Feanor--Feanor!--for being so dumb as to A. call or let his wife call their youngest by the name of Umbarto (the Fated) and then to B. accidentally let him perish in a fire that FEANOR started because he had a grudge (and I think Tolkien wrote that that Amrod was possibly sleeping on the ships because he was upset with Feanor for the terrible deeds he was committing, so like, double way to go Feanor)

I am really tired and hungry my head hurts

What am I missing?

I like Taehyung and Jungkook best for Amrod and Amras a lot BUT if I were doing one of the other options above, I could see having the follow lineup:

Jin=Celegorm, Jungkook= Curufin, Jimin=Amrod, Taehyung=Amras

In this instance, I could see Jimin and Tae as either Amrod or Amras no matter which one is older. Taehyung could definitely be the bby and do his own thing but could also be the brother who mourns his brother and calls out Feanor. Actually though Jimin while being young and precious gives me more of an older brother vibe than Taehyung does, so I guess I would have Jimin be the elder of the twins. Yes, that makes more sense

UGH but wait if I put Jimin and Tae as Curufin and Celegorm, I could put Jungkook back as youngest bby Amrod or Amras, but would Jin fit into the older twin role? Maaaaybe, if you just think about Jungkook and Jin heading off by themselves and goofing off...I don’t like it as much though

Possibilities So Far

Maedhros: Namjoon, maybe J-Hope?

Maglor: Jin, J-Hope, Yoongi, maybe Namjoon

Caranthir: Yoongi

Celegorm: Taehyung, Jin

Curufin: Jimin, Jungkook

Amrod: Taehyung, Jungkook, Jimin

Amras: Jungkook, Taehyung, Jimin

……………………….

I have spent five minutes now trying to figure out possible final line-ups but it’s all a mess

I  LITERALLY CAN’T THINK ANYMORE

I DECLARE THIS ESSAY/RANT HAS COME TO AN END

PLEASE CHELSEA SEND HELP!

WHAT AM I MISSING/HAVE WRONG? IS THERE A BETTER SPOT FOR J-HOPE? SHOULD SOMEONE ELSE BE CARANTHIR? COULD JIN BE A CARANTHIR IN SOME WAY?? (I THINK I COULD HAVE THOUGHTS ABOUT THAT BUT I AM TOO TIRED TO THINK THEM)

[radiantanor]

16, 19, 22?

16. What do you think of Fingolfin going to attack Melkor?

I doubt that he believed he could win that fight, but he must have thought that the slim chance that he would manage to at least give Morgoth a significant injury was worth his life and that it was more likely than success in the war (which he wasn’t wrong about). It’s tragic that he lost hope to that degree.

It was, of course, also one of the most badass things anyone ever did.

19. Who do you think had the worst destiny: Húrin or Túrin?

Hmm, having to watch a loved one experience horrible things versus actually experiencing those things oneself. In this case, I’m going to say Húrin had it worse, since he had to watch everything that happened to his family, while knowing in advance how it was going to go wrong and not being able to warn them, and experiencing horrible things himself at the same time and afterwards, too.

22. If you could marry one of Fëanor’s sons which one would you choose? 

No offense, but is divorce a thing? I’m not answering this question if it isn’t, because we’re getting one before the next kinslaying. (Unless this is set in 4th Age Aman after everyone has been reborn, in which case I still want to have the option, just in case.)

Actually, I still have no idea. (Surprisingly, I don’t seem to have put much thought into the Sons of Feanor as marriage options, I wonder why.) Okay, let’s do this by exclusion.

Firstly, there are a lot of reasons to exclude Celegorm and Curufin right away - Curufin is definitely married, and in both cases our personalities are likely incompatible, which is what I’m saying so I don’t have to write down all the actual reasons. Amrod and/or Amras seem okay, but I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to tell them apart. I’m not sure about Caranthir; I don’t like his anger issues, but he seems like he is considered a worse person than he actually is. Not sure about him, but probably not. Maedhros and Maglor might seem like the best options, but Maedhros has 1000 other priorities like being a leader, babysitting younger relatives, the Oath, Fingon probably. Even Maglor still has too many issues that I wouldn’t want to be involved, plus I can’t listen to sad music for that long.

Does Celebrimbor qualify? Actually, forget that, I couldn’t marry him: it would be really awkward if Silvergifting happened, and if it didn’t happen he would probably find out that I kinda ship it at some point, and that would be horribly creepy and awful, uh, even more awkward. (And another reason I’m not marrying Curufin).

Conclusion: I have no idea, I wouldn’t want to marry any of them, if I have to pick I’ll use a pendulum or throw some dice or something.

[theepolynesian]

One Big Happy Family

Summary: Celegorm tries to train you, but your other brothers get in the way.

Word Count: 826

Requested by: Anon ps Please let me know how you felt about this story. I really want to know.

A/n: I have never read The Silmarillion and this is my really pathetic attempt at it. I don’t really know if this is what the anon wanted, but they’re all happy? lol I really need to read this book.

Master Lists: Drabbles/Imagines, and Completed Series

You make your way through the halls of Tirion. You had asked Celgorm to train you. He had agreed, but not without the disapproval of Caranthir. He said you had no place learning how to fight and that you would fail in that like you failed in other things. You had told him off saying that he didn’t need to be such a shitty person all the time. That made him storm off like the child he is.

You step into the court yard and Huan comes bounding up to you. You pet the wolf on his head even though he was the height of your shoulders. You were sometimes scared of the animal but Celegorm knew how to speak to animals so it didn’t bother you as much.

“Ready, little one?” Celegorm asks. “I’m older than you rommy,” you retort. You were the third child of Feanor and Nerdanel and the only girl of the family. It was hard sometimes, but you dealt with it.

“You’re still little, little one,” he replies and you open your mouth to retort, but you are tackled to the ground by your twin brothers.

“Caranthir said you were training today and we wanted to watch,” they say from your back. “Did you have to tackle me to the ground?” you mutter as they get off. “Yes,” they both say in unison and you roll your eyes, taking Celegorm's offered hand.

You dust yourself off before glaring at the twins.

They cower before hiding behind the standing Huan. He looks at them before moving away, exposing them to you. They groan and you shake your head.

Celegorm hands you a sword and you groan as Maglor and Maedhros walk in.

“Is this like a group critique or something?”

“Maybe,” Maglor shrugs.

“Shouldn’t you be writing poetry or something?” you mutter, but you know he hears you as he scoffs.

“Rude. I just wanted to check on how well my sister can handle a sword,” he grumbles.

“Well you won’t see much given the fact that this is literally my first time holding a sword,” you say, sticking the sword on the ground and leaning on the hilt.

“You’re already damaging the sword and you haven’t even started yet,” a new voice adds. You turn to find Curufin with his long dark hair tied up in a bun.

“Why is everyone here all of a sudden? Did you all come to make fun of me?” you ask pouting. Your brothers laugh.

“No we just want to give advice because we know Celegorm will mess up eventually,” Amrad states and Celegorm scoffs. “I can take you down with one hand tied behind my back,” he says.

“Sure you can,” another voice adds. You turn to find your last and harshest brother walking into the courtyard.

“What are you doing here? Thought you didn’t want me to learn how to fight. What was it you said? Oh yeah , that a woman had no place fighting and I would screw up anyway,” you tell Caranthir.

“You know how I am,” he says, taking a seat on one of the stone benches. “That is no excuse,” you say, twirling your sword.

“Let’s just start. We already lost enough time,” Celegorm states and you nod, turning to face him as your brothers take various seats around the courtyard.

“Now. If you spread your legs to shoulder width, you’d have a better stance,” Celegorm states.

“False. One foot forward and one foot back gives you more power,” Caranthir calls out and you smile, doing as he’s told.

“Make sure your more prominent foot is in the front,” Maedhros adds. You had your stance correct.

“Am I teaching or are you?” Celegorm growls.

“Well, id you’re not going to teach her right, we should probably do it,” Caranthir replies and you giggle at their antics.

“You are all such a pain in this ass,” Celegorm states, shaking his head. “If you weren’t such a bad fighter, we wouldn’t be,” Maglor states.

“Remember that one time that you actually fell on your ass?” Amras adds with a laugh.

“All because you tripped over a root. I mean what kind of elf are you?” Amrad asks, shaking his head.

“But he fell on his front. That time he fell on his ass was when he swung at a practice dummy and it bounced back because it was the flat edge that hit the dummy,” Curufin states, laughing and you all laugh at the memory.

From the balcony, Feanor watches as his sons take the mickey out of each other rather than teach you how to fight. He looks down as an arm wraps around his waist.

He smiles at Nerdanel.

“Don’t you just love our children?” she asks him, red hair falling over her shoulder.

“More than all the gems in the world,” he says before placing a kiss on her temple, looking at his one big happy family.

[ten-summoners-fails]

For the Silmarillion themed question : 6, 8, 13, 22 and 24 :)

6. Would you have followed Fëanor?

Without any doubt orhesitation, yes; even if I saw in advance all the pain and regret it wouldcause me (and others). Personal evolution happens through trying, failing,making mistakes, falling into the darkest pits of our own mind, then getting upon our feet and trying again. Other than that, I can imagine situations where Iwould follow a real-life version of Feanor even; with my deepest personalvalues questioned every day, I admit that I often have just the mood to get upand change the world. I’m afraid of the day when I might eventually acknowledgethat I can’t.

8. Who is your favourite character from the book?(You CAN’T cheat like me, it must be JUST ONE)

In that case, I refuse toanswer this question, because I can’t choose one. It seems impossible. Either Ican say I have a dozen favourites, or I can say I have none. Those who followmy blog and read my writings probably already know that the Sons of Feanor areamong my favourites, but so is half the royal court of Gondolin, so are theinhabitans of Rivendell, and so is Bilbo Baggins (even if he doesn’t appear inthe Silmarillion).

(Most of you probablythink that my favourite is Maedhros, and maybe you could really say that; butthe truth is not that simple. Of course I, like everyone else, am sometimes„plagued” by favoritism, but I prefer to say neutral on some level and merelywrite about the characters who I find interesting. The best example for this isprobably the case of Maeglin: I don’t entirely understand him and I can’tidentify with him either, but still he continues to intrigue me, therefore Iwrite about him. Another such example would be Saruman, who literally makes mecringe, but that didn’t stop me from creating an entire thread for him in theold version of my ’A Tale from Rivendell’ series, merely because making him appear,think and act was fascinating. I like challenges).

13. A character you don’t like and why.

I greatly admire Lúthienand Beren, and I find their tale mesmerizing (no wonder it’s so carefully anddelicately handled in ’The Seven Gates’), but with all due respect, I don’treally like either of them.Especially Lúthien. To be very honest, I don’t care about her that much, andmany of her actions seem a but too „ex machina”. I mean, there’s a bit of animpression that the tale of Beren and Lúthien is set in some standaloneuniverse, where certain rules of the actual Silm universe don’t apply, andwhere several characters act in an absolute OOC manner (like Celegorm andCurufin. But that would be a long story, and it’s not like I’m defending orpalliating them, either!). Also, neither Beren nor Lúthien seems half as vividas, for one, Thingol. Or even Eöl!

However, I must alsoacknowledge that I have developed most of my way of viewing The Silm throughreading the tale of Beren and Lúthien, which has led me to create the notion of„second degree mythology” but that’s entirely another story, and I’d rather notbore you with it now.

22. If you could marry one of Fëanor’s sons whichone would you choose?

Is „none” an option? :D:D

All right, all right. Sincethey are all sociopaths on some level, I’ll stay superficial and choose Maglor,just because I picture him as the kind of lover who dresses elegantly, holdsyou the door, calls you „mlady” from time to time and greets you by kissing theback of your hand. (And he makes music). I would like that.

24. Why do you think that the race of men are theonly one that never went to Valinor besides the orcs?

…so basically you’reasking me why we have Gimli and the Hobbits going to Valinor, and never mortalMen – I mean, not Earendil-like Men, but actually „real” Men, without any Elvenblood? Huh. Are you sure you want me to answer that? OK. Let’s study some HoME,LaCE and other beautiful things together, then.

First of all, let me admitthat my independent knowledge is not very deep in this particular matter; inorder to be truly able to explain it, I would have to reread quite a fewletters and studies, which I can’t manage right now, but I’ll tell you what Ican. (And of course, my own opinion).

If we want to answer whyMen did not go to Valinor, we need to see why others did. Starting with the obvious: I see the case of Elves as a trulyunique one, and here is why.

Firstly – of all beings -,we have the Valar and maiar, beings who are more closely connected to„supernatural” dimensions of existence than material ones. Their knowledge and insightmay seem inhuman, and (especially in the case of Manwe) very close to omniscience, butthat is not the case. In my opinion, everything they know or guess in advancecomes from the impressions and sensations they’ve had during the Ainulindale,which set the frames of past, present and future and created the dimensions oftime and space. At that point, they could have had impressions on what wasabout to happen, and what was the general purpose of the Allfather (even if thevery essence, the entirety of the world’s fate remained in secret, a secret evenManwe could not tell). And when it comes to the maiar, it’s practically thesame case – only, they’re less powerful beings. Still, they have much lessconnection to the material world than other beings do, and are mostly „chained”to the eternal echoes of the Great Music, right from the birth of the world.

Elves, however noble and powerful,are no such creatures: their existence is strongly and inseparatablyintertwined with that of Arda. The world, initially, was meant to be perfectand functionating, but the machinations of Melkor sort of ruined those plans(well… this is a quite fascinating subject, we could argue a lot about that;recently, I had the honor to witness a lecture of a Tolkien scholar onIllúvatar’s notions of free will and free decisions, and how Melkor tried tointerfere in his plans; the question if he succeeded or not was an open one,and honestly, no one in the room could answer it at the end of the discussion.But whatever!!). All in all, Elves are bound to remain young in body (but notin spirit) and live on, as long as Arda lives. This is the manner of theircreation, and the fact that their body doesn’t age and is immune to maladies,sicknesses and lighter wounds is – in truth – no more than a biological defensemechanism (if you don’t believe me, please consult LaCE). Also (my friendnosmaeth has re-drawn my attention to this fact recently), there is not ONEline in the ENTIRETY of the Professor’s works which states that they are immortal!They simply live on, or, if you prefer, continueexisting – while Arda exists.

What does this mean?Mainly that they are f*cked. Sorry for the strong word, but really. Severalmillenia of joys and sorrows just weighs hard on one’s shoulders, and requiresan inhuman mindset (one I always have a hard time showing in writings, or inany other way. Yup. Elves are not superhumans, but entirely another race…).

Dwarves, Men and allother mortal races, however, were given the Gift of Illúvatar – death – which allowsthem to free themselves from the chaines of Arda marred, and reach directly outto the Creator when they leave the Circles of the World. This basically meansthat they have access to a sort of entire healing and absolution Elves wouldhave trouble seeking. Mortals – and especially men – were given the gift ofbeing able to purge themselves from everything wrong Melkor ever did to theworld.

So why could Frodo, Bilbo,Gimli and Sam go to Valinor? If you ask me, the privileges they got had nothingto do with their race. Mortal Men could have perhaps earned this sort of gift ifthey were Ringbearers, and the fact that no Man happened to have this role inthe history of Middle-Earth does not imply that Men didn’t go to Valinor simplybecause they were Men, or it was not the fate of their race. What happened toBilbo, Frodo and Sam was exceptional, and sort of made them leave the frames oftheir own purpose and existence. They – along with Gimli - could go to Valinorbecause they were members of the Fellowship of the Ring; and the three Hobbits,in addition, were Ringbearers. They’ve seen and endured things that could notbe healed in Middle-Earth; the Blessed Lands were the only possible cure forthe wrongs they’ve suffered, and thusly, they were given this gift. As forGimli, we could argue if his arrival to Valinor was some Galadriel-ex-machina,or was simply granted to him because of his remarkable friendship with Legolasand his service as a member of the Fellowship. Returning to Men… Aragorn andBoromir were the only Men in the fellowship; Boromir would have never gone toValinor, and Aragorn was destined to another fate.

Speaking of Men ingeneral: if we go back as far in time as the very history of Númenor, sailingto Valinor was the very thing the Valar forbid them. To explore the mostobvious reason behind this, I could very well quote the Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth (from the HoME series): „Do candles pity moths? / Or moths candleswhen the wind blows them out?” – Valinor could have had the very sameeffect on Men as the company of Elf-lords did as mentioned by Sador Labadal (inthe Children of Húrin), among others: it could drain them out, diminish theirpowers too quickly, before they would be able to reach the fullness of theirown human potential. Also, one cannot have the Gift of Illúvatar and theblessings of Valinor at the same time.

Gosh anon, I could haveonly said that „Men couldn’t go to Valinor because it was not their fate”, butI wanted to draw a bit of background to it… hope I didn’t scare you off. Andthank you for asking!