#does it count as an oc if you're expanding on an unnamed background character with little to no evidence?

[the-elusive-soleil]

State of the Union: Curufin

So I have Thoughts about Curufin and his unnamed wife and their relationship in general

Most of which stem from my general assumption that Curufin wasn't dark and twisted from the beginning in Valinor--he just sees the world in a very particular way, and that perspective on the world ends up lending itself rather well to developing a dark side later on, but it didn't have to

(I tend to headcanon Curufin as having a highly analytical way of looking at the world; he's very, very good at figuring out all the little moving parts of something, at identifying root causes, at understanding what and how and why. For material things and devices and such, yes absolutely, but also eventually people and what makes them tick. And sometimes he can get a bit in his head about it and see people more as additional moving parts of the universe than as messy, feeling individuals, but in Aman he's got a handle on it and it's not causing problems)

Anyway

A lot of the headcanons I saw early on were of him and his wife having a falling out clear back in Aman (a la Feanor and Nerdanel) and her electing to stay behind either before Alqualonde or immediately after

And there's nothing wrong with those, they just don't...sit right with me

If we're running with the assumption that Curufin wasn't a horrible person from the word go, then let him have a healthy and happy marriage

Related to that, I also tend to question the assumption (perhaps based on the thought that Celebrimbor Had To Get The Niceness From Somewhere) that Curufin's wife was all sweetness and light and an overall sharp contrast to his own personality

It just seems more likely and more interesting to me that he would fall for someone who sees the world similarly to how he does, that that would be something they bond over and that she sees as a feature, not a bug

I don't necessarily want her to also be a smith/inventor/maker, because then we're veering dangerously close to just having Curufin but female

So someone with a different craft/profession, but who approaches it the same way that he does his making of things

For your consideration, a scenario:

Curufinwe doesn't usually go hunting with Tyelko, but he is good at it when he wants to be (strong pattern recognition makes for a good tracker) and so he happens to be out with him the day Tyelko falls and breaks a bone

It's nothing life-threatening, but it is serious enough that they need to seek out a healer

(Perfect paradise or no, I refuse to believe that there wasn't any call for Amanyar healers; you know the Noldor picked up plenty of injuries in pursuit of their crafts, to say nothing of the Teleri's boating accidents)

And usually the healers they've dealt with before have tended towards nurturing and coddling and sternly admonishing whichever of them is injured to take better care of themselves next time, but not this one

[guess I'm gonna need a name let's go with] Cestanolwe

just calmly sets the bone and gets it splinted/cast/whatever, and she sets Tyelko up with painkillers, and she's not brusque but she is. businesslike. She doesn't fuss or carry on or insist on pity that Tyelko doesn't want--although she does have quite a few questions on just how he broke the bone in the first place

She and Curufinwe get to talking, and it turns out she's really into studying the way bodies work and all the different weird things they do and ways they can go wrong. Helping people is great, but she's in this for the scholarship and the discovery

When she's done with Tyelko, her parting care instructions are less like a normal healer's chiding and more like a craftsman's advice on this or that material's capabilities. Somehow this is actually more effective

Curufinwe is kind of in love with her right then and there

The funniest possible version of this is where he doesn't quite realize right away, but just keeps on coming up with excuses to see her again. His brothers haven't seen this much of him since he came of age and got unrestricted workshop time. When they run out of injuries, he shows up at the clinic with a severe burn

(Which was not on purpose, but also could probably have been avoided if he hadn't been distracted with why am I like this, what is going on and then an abrupt realization)

And Ceste had probably figured out what was going on around the third or fourth time he dragged a brother to see her, but now they're on the same page, and they really do get on like a house afire

They're a fun pair, because they are both so analytical and logical, and yet they are willing to mutually jump into the bonkers irrationality that is being in love, for each other

Eventually they get married, and come up with little Tyelpe. My dad!Curufin headcanons should be in their own post, but suffice to say: both of them love their son dearly and think he is amazing, and Tyelpe does not grow up in a cold and stifling household

Then the Oath happens

Ceste is very clear that she is not going to be left behind while her husband and son and assorted in-laws go off to war on another continent

I am not actually sure to what degree she might participate in the Alqualonde kinslaying. If she does participate, she would probably be better than average at the mechanics of killing (considering everyone involved has zero practical experience), but it would also significantly mess with her head because she is a person who fixes things, not someone who breaks them

She still sticks with it and continues to Middle-earth (although she doesn't do combat again)

And I think she makes it as far as the Dagor Bragollach before death finally catches her

And Beleriand had not been doing either of them any favors, but after she's gone, Curufin just sort of. stops trying to be anything but the worst version of himself, because what is the point