#gil-galad: the quest for origins

[moosalicious]

My favorite takes about Gil-Galad's parentage so far, ranked from least to most absurd:

Orodreth's son, Finduilas's brother (a solid take, the most easily explainable one)

Actually Finduilas, who somehow didn't die

Lalwen's son, who Fingon claimed as his own

Son of a Fëanorian, who Fingon is passing off as his own and everyone just lets it slide because they need an heir

Related to the last one, everyone thinks Fingon is doing a terrible job of hiding that he's the son of a Fëanorian, but actually he's doing a great job of hiding that Gil-Galad isn't even related to anyone in the royal family

Actually Eluréd

Some rando who deliberately conned his way into kingship, but he's good at it and no one else wanted the job anyway

Some rando who accidentally conned his way into kingship and doesn't know how to get out of it

Someone who got hypnotized by a dragon into believing he's the rightful king, and no one -including the dragon - thought he'd do such a good job at it

Finrod had a Science Idea, and now he's the son of Finrod and Fingon and Maedhros too

[fingolfinwiththesteelchair]

Mightiest Elf Fight Club - ROUND 3

Originally, 4 elves were going to be eliminated, but Maglor and Galadriel tied, so we're eliminating 5 elves, which means we can consolidate everything in to one poll.

Maglor, Rog, Galadriel, Finarfin, and Finwe are all out!

Two more elves are being eliminated! This poll will run for one day because three days is just too long. Select the elf in this group that you think would come in LAST, I repeat, vote for the elf in LAST PLACE. The elf you vote for will be ELIMINATED from fight club.

Magic is 100% allowed in these fights. Taking magic away from an elf seems a bit like removing a person's liver and kidneys; magic and Songs of Power cannot be untangled from the Eldar, especially those born in Aman who have it oozing out of their pores. Steel and arrow and magic and song are all allowed in fight club. If someone wants to dance their opponent to sleep or rapbattle them into submission, more power to them

Propaganda and mighty deeds are below the cut

Glorfindel: One of the few beings to successfully slay a Balrog, Glorfindel died and came back to life (he did it before Gandalf made it cool). He spent his time in The Fellowship of the Ring gleefully chasing down the ringwraiths, who were so scared of him that between the choice of Glorfindel and a magically-pissed off river, they chose the river. Weaknesses: needs a haircut

Gil-Galad: The elf so cool no one knows who his parents are. The Last High King of the Ñoldor, Gil-Galad held the ring Vilya. He fought against Sauron's armies in the second age, and then again during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, where he engaged Sauron in single combat and won, driving him back. Weakness: fiery hands

Maedhros: Maedhros has fought in countless battles against Morgoth, including orchestrating the Union of Maedhros. He's known for his ferocity with the sword. He held the fort of Himring against the tides of Morgoth's forces for nearly all of the First Age. Everyone wants him carnally. Weaknesses: Silmarils, oaths.

Finrod: Finrod has fought in the Dagor Bragollach, and later joined Beren in his quest against Morgoth and Sauron. Finrod got into an epic rap battle with Sauron, and then, completely naked, Finrod killed a werewolf with his bare hands and his teeth. Weaknesses: Beren

Fingolfin: A High King of the Ñoldor, Fingolfin braved the Helcaraxë, fought in the Battle of Sudden Flame, and then rode out alone to Actually-demigod-Satan's house, knocked on his door, and told him to come out and fight him one on one. And then he almost killed Actually-demigod-Satan, dealing seven devastating blows that would never heal. DILF. Weaknesses: Hammers

Feanor: You love him! You hate him! It's Feanor, one of the biggest driving forces behind the entire Silmarillion! Feanor invented weapons before anyone else in Aman had done it. He called Actually-demigod-Satan a bitch to his face, and then slammed a door in it. Feanor left Elf-Heaven, took the ships of the Teleri by force, and fought against the armies of Morgoth before the sun and moon even existed, falling only to a large group of Balrogs! Weaknesses: Silmarils, oaths

Luthien: Luthien, fairest to have ever lived, used her powers to free herself from her father and gain the help of Huan the Hound. She passed through the gates of Angband, avoided the great wolf Carcharoth, and then used magic in a dance to put Morgoth himself, and his court, into a deep, enchanted sleep. She then rescued her boyfriend, stole Morgoth's crown, and fled Angband with her love. Weaknesses: Beren

Mablung: One of the greatest captains of the Sindar, Mablung helped hunt down the wolf Carcharoth to retrieve the Silmaril the wolf had swallowed; Mablung was the one who cut the jewel - and Beren's hand - from the werewolf's stomach. Weaknesses: Heavy hands

Ecthelion: Ecthelion fought in, and survived, the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. Not only was he one of the few named characters to slay a Balrog, he was the one who slayed Gothmog, the Lord of the Balrogs. Weaknesses: Being too sexy to live, wearing armor in water

Fingon: He walked into Morgoth's domain, rescued Maedhros, and then flew right back out with an injured Maedhros, leaving Morgoth wondering what the hell happened to the elf had chained to a rock for thirty years. Fingon fought in many battles against the forces of Morgoth. When Morgoth sent Orcs to attack Hithlum, Fingon beat the tar out of them so thoroughly that Morgoth invented dragons. Weaknesses: Gothmog

[ceescedasticity]

Considering this question with regard to the Nauglamír:

If the treasure belongs to the original owners or their heirs, then it belonged to Galadriel or possibly Gil-galad.

If the treasure belongs to whoever killed the dragon, then it belonged to Túrin; after Túrin's death Húrin could make a claim in his name. By this interpretation Húrin was within his rights to give the necklace to Thingol and Thingol thereafter owned it.

If it's finders keepers, then Mîm owned it until his death. Since Mîm had no surviving connections it's not clear who it should have gone to after that, but it's not a good look for Húrin to take it even assuming he was not in the wrong to kill Mîm.

The 'whoever killed the dragon' take would probably also support the Silmaril of Beren and Lúthien rightfully belonging to them and therefore Thingol — substitute 'got the better of the Dark Lord' for 'killed the dragon'. Close enough.

Under none of these interpretations do the dwarves of Nogrod have much of a claim on it. However, under the first and third Thingol definitely does not have any right to it and it's some degree of offensive he's claiming to, so I can see an argument that it should be returned to the manufacturers for safekeeping at least temporarily.

—The dwarves aren't recorded as having claimed it on those grounds, and only doing so after the Silmaril was attached would be suspect anyway, but I can see that argument.

[Side note: Regardless of rightful ownership, if I were Galadriel, and I was in Doriath, and Thingol started wearing a famous piece of jewelry which belonged to my late brother who died on a quest Thingol set, with the prize of the quest set in it, I would not be in Doriath much longer even if the prize in question were significantly less dangerous than a Silmaril.]

[ao3feed-tolkien]

Snapdragons

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/DJxofQL

by FeyHunter78

She kept her eyes closed and took a calming breath. “You have my heart; it will always be yours. I could no sooner carve your name into it than my heart would already know its owner.”

Elrond's hand, calloused from writing, caressed her cheek. “Then allow me to declare our love, for all to hear.”

“I cannot.” She whispered, all but wincing when his touch left her. “I am sorry, but I cannot, no matter how much I long to.”

His lips brush against hers gently, fleetingly. It is an acknowledgment and a farewell, a parting touch that will linger there for eternity, as if he’d burned her.

She doesn’t open her eyes until the sound of his footsteps disappear. Once she does, she collapses, the soft grass cushioning the fall to her knees. She buries her face in her hands and sobs. Her shoulders shake as she bends under the weight of her grief. Her hair falling forward and brushing against the flowers.

“Oh, sister, I warned you.” His voice is kind, not angry like she feared, and his hand is warm upon her back. He crouches down beside her. “We must leave, Mordor awaits.”

Maeria awaits her brother Halbrand's return, but as she waits, she finds it harder and harder to believe in his mission.

Words: 2245, Chapters: 2/?, Language: English

Fandoms: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (TV 2022)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M

Characters: Elrond Peredhel, Young Elrond Peredhel - Character, Original Female Character(s), Durin IV (Tolkien), Disa (The Rings of Power), Ereinion Gil-galad, Galadriel | Artanis, Halbrand (The Rings of Power), Sauron | Mairon, Other Character Tags to Be Added

Relationships: Elrond Peredhel/Original Female Character(s), Galadriel | Artanis/Halbrand (The Rings of Power), Elrond Peredhel/Reader, Young Elrond Peredhel/Original Female Character (s)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Elf/Human Relationship(s), Half-Elves, OC is a half-elf, Elves, Dwarves, Love at First Sight, for Elrond at least, OC is slower to love, Friendship, Quests, Siblings, Fluff and Angst, Halbrand is a good brother but also he's evil idk what we want from him tbh, Canon-Typical Violence, Not Canon Compliant, Protective Elrond, OC has magic, Rings of Power, secret siblings??? They know they're siblings but no one else does, I mess with the lore for plot reasons, Love Confessions, Broken Hearts, Eventual Happy Ending, maybe also, Eventual Smut, but I'm not sure yet, Courtship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/DJxofQL

[symphonyofsilence]

So, now, according to TROP, Finrod, in Valinor calls Galadriel 'Galadriel', which is a name given to her by her husband after she goes to Middle-earth and sees him there. the aforementioned husband has not been mentioned in the show so far. instead, Galadriel flirts with an original character and to a lesser extent, with her future son-in-law who is generations younger than her and is apparently her bestie now. (But they don't even mention that Galadriel is Gil-Galad's aunt cuz God forbid she actually has some of the caliber that she canonically had. Nobody listens to her, nobody looks up to her, nobody even calls her "lady".) She doesn't even inform her husband and says goodbye to him when she decides to go to Valinor. She doesn't go to see him when she apparently comes back from years of expedition.

(And Galadriel and Halbrand accidentally hold hands in their sleep in the concept art so make of that what you will.)

Also, Galadriel is the Sindrin form of "Alarariel". The Noldor of Valinor, including Finrod, didn't know Sindarin, a language spoken by the elves of Middle-earth.

Then how should have they shown that this child is Galadriel you might ask? Well, they didn't have any problem showing her with the same shift she was wearing in her childhood flashback when she was grown up! But actually, I say, change that whole scene! The point of the scene was probably Finrod's dialogue about the buoyancy of the stone and holly shit! Was that bad! The dialogues are so trying to be philosophical and epic and end up so cringe!

And apparently, Finrod had sworn to find Sauron?? And Sauron found him first?? And killed him?? After the first age??

And look, there is "breaking lore" and then there is "eliminating the whole Akallabeth" which the show is about.

Finrod dies saving Beren. If Finrod wasn't with Beren in the quest for Silmarils, Beren would have died. (Since Beren managed to get that close to Sauron because of Finrod's shapeshifting arts, he might have died sooner.)

And had Beren died, there would have been no Dior. No Dior, no Elwing. No Elwing, no Elrond and Elros.

Elrond is now in the series, and Elros is the first king of Nomenor, which is the subject of a large part of the series.

And it may seem that this will just eliminate the first king of Numenor. But no. There will be no Numenor at all.

Had Beren died, the Silmaril would not have been taken from Melkor's crown and gone to Doriath. The sons of Fëanor wouldn't attack Doriath. Elwing, who would not exist in this scenario, even if she did, wouldn't have gone to Sirion and would not meet Eärendil, and once again, Elrond and Elros wouldn't exist. But more importantly, the sons of Fëanor wouldn't attack Sirion, and therefore Elving wouldn't throw herself into the sea with the Silmaril, so Earendil wouldn't know that his land was gone and that his children had probably died, and reached his last straw and gone to Valinor to ask for help, and because the Silmaril wasn't with him he wouldn't have managed to reach Valinor.

So Eärendil wouldn't have reached Valinor to ask for help, the War of Wrath wouldn't have happened, Beleriand would still be in Melkor's grasp, and the men wouldn't have helped the Valar during the War of Wrath so the Valar wouldn't create Numenor as a reward for them.

Therefore, a huge part of the series should not exist.

But no, apparently the showrunners thought it was more important to change Finrod's death to motivate Galadriel's absurd plotline, in which the wisest of the Eldar throws herself into the ocean and sidestrokes her way from Valinor to Middle-earth. (Valinor that Galadriel was not allowed to go to in the first place... so the whole point of the scene where Galadriel passes her test by rejecting the ring and succeeds in going to Valinor is lost. After removing the story of Galadriel's ambition and that she had come to Middle-earth to rule a land of her own and spent the Second Age looking for that land, and replacing it with this pointless plotline, removing both Galadriel's arc and the weight of the scene that she rejects the power of the ring.)

Also, apparently, Finrod took the oath of Fëanor. Yes, technically, that wasn't the oath of Fëanor. That causes its own problems but I understand that they didn't have the rights to some things but then THEY SHOULD HAVE LEFT IT ALONE! But a bunch of elves holding their swords out while the narrator is talking about how the Noldor swore to defeat the enemy and went to Middle-earth is alluding to the oath! They knew what they were doing when they added it!

And they could have just added a bunch of elves crossing ice with Galadriel, Finrod, and a dark-haired man in blue leading them?! Show the Noldor coming to Middle-earth, strong Galadriel being a leader, Finrod coming to Middle-earth, and a little cameo of Fingolfin without basically showing Fingolfin if they hadn't had the rights (just like how they showed little ginger children in Valinor probably with Amrod and Amras in mind) and stay true to the lore!

Also, with that hairstyle, show! Finrod looks like a popular but bullying captain of a high school's basketball team who would bully book! Finrod for being a theater nerd.

Oh, and, Celebrimbor apparently doesn't have any relationship with the dwarves before Elrond's arrival.

And Elrond, the heir to the Sindarin throne via Thingol, Noldrin (Gil-Galad's heir) via Turgon, and all the houses of the Edain is not an "elf lord" enough!

And yes! That was important! Cuz Elrond, the heir to any thone that there is, CHOSE instead become a healer, minstrel, linguist, loremaster and basically hotel manager. (I like what Robert Aramayo did with the role though. Elrond, Durin, and Disa were the only characters I liked.)

They keep needlessly going against canon! Not having the rights to this book and that book is not an excuse to willfully go against anything the books say!

And you might say that these go against the books, but are not bad writing.

Well, there is bad writing, too.

Show! Galadriel is SUCH a one-dimensional, unlikable, unrelatable character. All she was during the whole thing was angry and in posession of a dagger. With a single purpose and one thing to do. Making bad decisions while pretending to be wise. And the acting doesn't help it at all.

And jumping from the edge of a sword?! Listen, either your world has rules different from ours, or it's the same and you can't break physical rules in such a world! When you establish swords and people's wrists in your world as something that can be deflected with other swords, you can't say that they can endure (the weight of a person+ their armor)×(the acceleration of that person+ g) AND navigate a distance (r×teta) while enduring this weight to give that person an acceleration!

And you can't make people care about your characters and thus their plotlines with 5 minutes at most for each of them in every episode! There's not enough time for anyone to get invested. They don't have any filler scenes to show their characters and their relationship and make us care about them.

And that going to Valinor scene?!

We KNOW Galadriel wouldn't go to Valinor. So if you're choosing that bold plotline (going against the canon and logic along the way) the focus shouldn't be on whether or not she would go, but HOW she wouldn't go! I guess it was supposed to have the emotional weight of someone rejecting heaven for a cause or a person or something but it didn't work. Cuz we didn't know this show's Galadriel. We didn't know much about her adventures in Middle-earth and her relationship to the land, how she fought for it, who she had there (like...you'd think adding Celeborn and Celebrian would have helped), and her cause, keeping Finrod's oath did not work cause FINROD DIDN'T HAVE SUCH AN OATH!

And there is a LOT OF telling and not showing.

So yeah, to answer the showrunners question "can we make the novel that Tolkien never wrote?", yes, you can. You just did. Tolkien never wrote any of these. And would never.

[sweetteaanddragons]

Additional Finale Thoughts

Spoilers ahead.

- Curious about Elrond saying Gil-Galad owed him the time; he seemed to be implying that Gil-Galad owed him a specific debt. Was that about Galadriel or something else?

- I feel like Gil-Galad may have opinions on the One Object of Power Promised to Him becoming These Three Objects of Power that Are Not All Going to Him.

- I hope at least one person write the AU where Galadriel DOES take Sauron up on that offer, and he DOES genuinely try to be good, and then Celeborn shows up, and Sauron decides he can commit one little murder, as a treat, to preserve this great order they’ve got going, and then it’s all downhill from there.

- I like that we now have an origin story for why Gandalf feels each quest needs at least one hobbit: it presumably works out for him, so this is just how he does things now.

[wyllzel]

nct but i assign them a relatively obscure tolkien character

taeil: olwë, an elf king who mostly just chills and has a bunch of awesome ships. unfortunately these ships are stolen

johnny: elu thingol, an elf king who spends a good chunk of his life mutually staring a minor goddess and falling in love with her, and then spends the rest of his life being mildly stoic/fatherly and sending people (see: mark) on very dangerous quests. also he is literally the tallest elf ever

taeyong: maedhros, a very powerful elf who basically has the world on his shoulders rip 😟

yuta: finrod, an elf who is super sexy and charismatic and has sick jewelry and dies fighting a werewolf (for beren (see: mark) lol) which is pretty metal

kun: orodreth, an elf king who kinda just chills and leads a fairly quiet and prosperous life until this human dude (see: yangyang) fucks everything up :/

doyoung: maglor, an elf whose whole thing is being emo and singing songs and also his bff/older brother is maedhros (see: taeyong) so this just makes sense really

ten: fingon, an elf who was high-king for a while and sang a song to rescue maedhros (see: taeyong) from sauron’s evil boss. and that song was jopping :)

jaehyun: aegnor, an elf warrior whose personality is essentially just being mega cool and sexy. he falls in love with a human lady but alas, tragedy

winwin: mablung, an elf who’s beleg’s (see: renjun) bestie and co-worker and basically he’s an all-around good and valiant guy who ends up following túrin (see: yangyang) as he fails epically

jungwoo: tuor, a human who is essentially a really cool and heroic romantic lead and an all-around good guy. he’s túrin’s cousin (see: yangyang) and is basically like “what if túrin got to live a good life” LOL

mark: beren, a human who is tolkien’s self-insert.. he’s really just some guy who has it REALLY bad for this ultra powerful beautiful elf lady and he tries and fails at an insane quest for her. nice

xiaojun: ecthelion, an elf who is a major hottie and generally has elegant and noble vibes. great warrior. besties with glorfindel (see: hendery)

hendery: glorfindel, an elf who is known for having long hair (hint hint @ hdy) and being a cool warrior but also slightly goofy iirc. besties with ecthelion (see: xiaojun)

renjun: beleg, an archer elf (aka proto legolas) who is very well-liked and compassionate, brave, etc and is a good friend/mentor to túrin (see: yangyang) 

jeno: gwindor, a very nice elf guy who was betrothed to orodreth’s daughter (see: taeil) but then he got kidnapped by Evil Forces and when he escaped w help from túrin (see: yangyang), túrin ended up stealing his girl. and then destroying his kingdom. oops

haechan: elros, a part-human part-elf who ended up choosing his humanity (and so become mortal) and becoming the first king of numenor, aka atlantis, aka he is super mega cool and very fascinating as a character. also he’s elrond’s twin lol

jaemin: eärendil, a part-human part-elf who’s elrond’s dad and also he’s kinda unhinged and crazy brave… his story is just generally pretty intense lol but he kinda has chill energy which feels very jaemin-ish

yangyang: túrin, a human who is basically described as the hottest guy ever but also he’s super emo and canonically doesn’t speak much at all. he is a warrior but shrewd/charismatic when needed. also he accidentally commits incest rip 😔

shotaro: bëor, a human leader guy who basically saves his people by making First Contact with the elves (aka finrod (see: yuta)), not much is known about him but overall seems like the hopeful leader type!

sungchan: gil-galad, an elf who becomes high-king but has a very mysterious/indeterminate origin story??? he’s cool tho, he does his best until he’s killed in battle against sauron rip </3

chenle: celegorm, an elf whose entire personality is being a jock and liking dogs and chenle plays basketball and has daegal. perfect

jisung: curufin, an elf who’s pretty crafty (origami legend) and is besties with celegorm (see: chenle) 😎 they sure do pull some fun pranks together.. lol… (they cause problems)

[hxmosuperior]

Of the Sons of Curufin and Finrod

          Curufin, fifth son of Fëanor, was the second of his name. His father and son also bore the ataressë of Curufinwë, but Curufin was accounted as the least of his line, for he had no ‘Great Works’ recorded into the annals of history as his father had with the Silmarils, and his son with the Elven Rings. Yet in his letters from his later years before his disgrace and death, he often made mention of his children in a way that provided the answer; should anything of his creation be considered his ‘Great Works’, it would be the three sons he bore.

          All three of them were fathered by Finrod Felagund of the House of Finarfin, later King of Nargothrond, Curufin’s sometime lover and rival, though the two never considered themselves wedded to the other. There was not an absence of affection or love between the two, but nonetheless, more reasons were found against the hypothetical union than in support of it, the majority of which culminated in Curufin’s betrayal of Finrod during Beren’s Quest for the Silmaril.

          Celebrimbor, Lord of Ost-In-Edhil, was the eldest son, and the only born in Valinor. He was also the only who carried on Curufin and Fëanor’s legacies as smiths and craftsmen. Though like his brothers, he repudiated Curufin in Nargothrond, Celebrimbor remained steadfastly a member of the House of Fëanor, marking all his works with their family’s eight-pointed star, such as seen on the engravings of the Doors of Khazad-dûm. Sadly, as with all those of the House of Fëanor, he would meet an ill end after being deceived by Sauron under the fair guise of Annatar.

          Inglor, originally father-named Laurefinwë for his golden coloring, was his second son, born after the Mereth Aderthad, in the days when Finrod still dwelled in the North of Beleriand. While still in his childhood, Inglor was brought to the newly-founded Nargothrond, where he was raised as Finrod’s son. In this, he opposed his elder brother, something that would later cause their sundering, for he could not forgive Curufin for his betrayal of Finrod, nor did he wish to claim descent from the House of Fëanor. He passed down his pride in the House of Finrod to his son, Gildor Inglorion.

          Gil-Galad was the youngest of his sons, named Artanáro at birth in honor of his grandfathers, Arafinwë and Fëanáro. He was born after the Dagor Bragollach, when Curufin sought succor in Nargothrond. Taken in as a ward by Orodreth, his paternal cousin, after the death of Finrod and exile of Curufin, he chose to forge his own path, neither denying his ancestry nor limiting himself by it. Though he was barely in his majority at the time of his coronation, his rule ushered in an era of peace, and he would go on to become the longest-reigning of the High Kings of the Noldor in Exile.

[handmaiden-of-varda]

Home

Pairing: Fingon x fem! reader

Summary: When Sauron was defeated, you sailed West to be reunited with your family

Warning: Slight angst, brief mention of character deaths (canon)

A/N: Hey everyone! Thank you for your support on my last fic. Fingon is another favourite character of mine, after Éomer, and again there aren't enough fics of him. I originally planned to make this as a series but I haven't got the time, so I decided to cut things short and focus on the happier side (the series was supposed to be angsty and this was supposed to be the epilogue). Hope you enjoy!

Elenwen was what they called you. Star-Maiden. A maiar of Varda, warden of the stars and guardian of the light.

You were one the first maiar to journey to Middle Earth, along with Melian. Given your powers, you were tasked to keep the growing darkness at bay. But just like her, you had met and fallen in love with an elven king.

Fingon was your husband, and you ruled beside him in Hithlum as High Queen of the Noldor. Eldarian, Elven-Queen, was how your people adressed you. Together you had a child, Ereinion or Gil-Galad, who succeeded his father after his death.

You loved them both dearly, and the grief of losing your husband and son pained you so that you almost faded, but you couldn't go. Not yet. There was a task needed to be done, what you were sent here for in the first place. You knew they were waiting for you in Valinor, and it gave you strength. So you vowed to protect the free people of Middle Earth and to see the dark forces destroyed before you rest. Thus you became a living legend known as the Swift Blade, a formidable warrior of mysterious origin who brought terrors upon the enemy with each stroke of your blade.

Regardless, not many in Middle Earth were aware of your existence nor did they possess the knowledge that you were one, same person. Only people like Gandalf, Cirdan, Elrond and Galadriel were counted amongst the few. You had assisted the company of Thorin Oakenshield in their quest to reclaim their homeland, you were even a part of the Fellowship of the Ring, but none knew who you truly were. To your companions, you were simply (Y/N). It wasn't until the ring was destroyed and Sauron was defeated that the fellowship learned of your identity, of your wish to sail West.

To say they were surprised is an understatement, but they understood why you did so. During the quest, you had grown close with each member, even with your mysterious nature, and they saw you as a mentor or motherly figure. They valued your strength, your wisdom, and most importantly your compassion. Nevertheless, some still tried to convince you to stay longer, particularly Merry and Pippin, but your heart was set. It was time, and you had been waiting for too long.

And so your time in Middle Earth came to an end. Your companions, your friends, all came to bid you farewell. You were sad to leave, but you knew that they would lead a happy and fulfilling life, which gave you comfort. With one last look at your friends, you boarded the ship that would take you home.

. . .

Valinor was almost exactly the same as you remembered. The same beauty and joy radiated off the land, despite what happened thousands of years back. You watched as elves got off the ship and be reunited with their loved ones, a small smile plastered on your face. You could feel your heart beat faster as you scanned the crowd, trying to look for certain dark-haired ellons. In the distance, you spotted Celebrian, who immediately ran to Elrond and Galadriel as soon as they were in her sight, and you felt happy for them. Galadriel was your husband's cousin and one of your closest friends in Middle Earth, and Elrond was like a son to you.

As the crowd began to disperse, your heart sank. Where are they? You didn't want to think about the possibility that they might've forgotten you, or worse, that they were never reborn. No, that wouldn't happen.

"Ammë!"

You whirled your head towards the direction of the voice and saw your son standing there, beaming at you.

"Ammë," he said again, running towards you and hugged you tightly. "Ammë, how we miss you terribly so!"

You returned the hug equally as strong. All of your worries from earlier melted away and the two of you stayed that way for a while before you pulled away to take a good look of his face. He had not changed since the last time you saw him. You had imagined this moment over and over again, yet now everything felt so surreal to you.

"Oh Ereinion, my son! You are here, you are real," you said while cupping his face. "Have you been well? I have missed you and your father as well. Tell me, where is he?"

Gil-Galad grinned wider and took your hands.

"I have never been better now that you are here, Ammë. Come with me."

He led you to a flower-covered meadow, and you saw a figure clad in deep blue and golden robes in the middle. Even with his back to you, even after all these years, you could easily tell who he was. Fingon. Your husband.

"I shall leave you two be."

You nodded to your son before slowly walking towards your husband. Upon hearing your footsteps, Fingon turned to you, eyes widened before closing the distance between you and pulling you into a bone-crushing hug, wrapping you in his strong arms.

"My love, my light, my star," he whispered to your hair. You could feel your hair dampen as he weep, and you tightened your grip as you felt your own tears rolled down your face. The two of you stayed in that position for a long while, each reluctant to let go as you both feared the other would disappear if you did.

When you finally pulled away, you barely had a moment to breathe before he pressed his lips to yours, pouring a millenia's worth of longing and despair into the kiss.

"You are here," he whispered, breaking the kiss. "You are real."

You smiled, remembering that you had said the exact same words to your son earlier. "I am here, my love. I am back," you reassured.

"We waited for you. Here. Everyday." He gestured at the surroundings. "We waited for your return, and here you are."

You gazed around, and only then did it register to you that the meadow looked incredibly familiar. Fingon took notice as you dawned in realization and smiled.

"This is a reminder of our home in Hithlum. Lady Varda gifted me this land, and with the help of Lady Yavanna we made it to look like our meadow, the one we had in Hithlum. Do you remember?"

"I remember," you said gently. Of course you did. Back in Hithlum, the meadow was your favourite spot. It was where Fingon had asked for your hand, and it was where Gil-Galad learned to walk for the first time, among many other fond memories.

"I am sorry."

"Whatever for, my love?"

He looked down and closed his eyes. "I am sorry for leaving you and our son behind, for bringing you such grief. I am sorry that you had to endure everything alone, and that I could not be there for you. I am sorry."

Your expression soften as you caressed his face.

"It is not your fault, my love. We are together now, aren't we? That's all that matters. We have an eternity to make up for the lost time."

"That we do."

He kissed your forehead and extended his arm to you.

"Come my love, I believe our son is waiting for us."

There were still many things to be said, many things to be done, but you would have time for those. Now, you wanted nothing more than to spend time with your family.

You were finally home.

Masterlist

[fuckingfinwions]

Ooh gil Gilad origin

Gil-Galad is not anyone important. His mom is a Noldo who grew up near Formenos, dad is a Nando. They have a farm near Himlad.

One day, Gil-Galad comes in from doing farm chores to find they have a guest. It’s Lord Curufin.

(I’m not going into what fashions would actually be common, but here’s a modern equivalent: Fifteen year old Gil-Galad is sweaty, wearing blue jean overalls with no shirt. Basically-the-president is sitting at the dining room table in a perfectly pressed suit with a briefcase in front of him.)

Curufin says, “You had very high scores on your exams. I’m going to interview you to be my son’s private companion.”

Gil-Galad answers questions about how many languages he speaks, how strong he is, if he’s had other sexual partners, if he knows how to dance, etc. Curufin doesn’t ask Gil-Galad to strip or do anything indecent, because it would be awkward for Celebrimbor to have a lover who has been intimate with his father. Curufin does ask Gil-Galad to recite tongue twisters and do a backbend, so he can see that Gil-Galad has good muscle control.

When he’s done asking questions, Curufin leaves. He has more candidates to interview!

A couple weeks later there’s formal letter delivered to their door. Gil-Galad has been selected to be Prince Celebrimbor’s private companion, and so join the royal household. He should arrive at the castle in the Pass of Aglon no later than X date, and Curufin will send a someone to help on the farm before the harvest needs to be brought in.

This is a fantastic honor, and also a duty. Under the Noldor feudalism-ish, Curufin has just as much right to call on Gil-Galad for this as to call soldiers for a war. It really doesn’t cross anyone’s mind for Gil-Galad to refuse.

So Gil-Galad shows up. Makeover montage, fancy clothes, etc.

On Celebrimbor’s Sweet-Sixteen-equivalent, Gil-Galad is waiting (fully dressed in easy to remove clothing) in Celebrimbor’s bedroom after the party. Celebrimbor knew he would get someone as his private companion, but Gil-Galad is even prettier than he’d hoped.

Gil-Galad: “Hello, I’m Gil-Galad. Lord Curufin selected me to be your private companion.” He memorized that phrase and has been practicing it in his head for the last hour.

Celebrimbor: “You’re beautiful. Can I kiss you?”

Gil-Galad finds this reassuring that Celebrimbor thinks of him as a person who can have preferences and boundaries, and also is relieved that Celebrimbor isn’t asking him to do anything he doesn’t know how to do. He says, “Of course.”

That first night is kind of awkward, but very enjoyable. Celebrimbor is a very tactile person, and his hands explore every inch of Gil-Galad’s body. Gil-Galad jerks Celebrimbor off, and then Celebrimbor wants to see what he looks like when he comes in return.

(Celebrimbor also got a book of sexual advice/positions as a birthday gift, which will be helpful. Gil-Galad has kissed people before and exchanged handjobs, Celebrimbor has not.)

Gil-Galad and Celebrimbor become friends. Celebrimbor has lessons on politics and such, and Gil-Galad attends as well. It’s not much more work for the tutor to teach two teenagers instead of one, and Gil-Galad doesn’t have anything else he has to do.

Gil-Galad notices that he’s gradually getting less fit as he’s not working on a farm all day. Celebrimbor asks him if he’d rather work in the forge or train with a weapon, as ways of staying in shape. Gil-Glad chooses the latter, and when Lord Curufinwe’s only son wants someone trained, you can bet he gets the best weapons master available. Sometimes Lord Celegorm even spars with him, as they both favor spears

There’s a period of happy times. The have sex (Gil-Galad always submitting of course), and discuss Celebrimbor’s latest projects and news from across Beleriand, and go out to bars together. They’re basically friends with benefits. Gil-Galad would be shamed forever for breaking his word if he left, but he doesn’t want to so it’s okay.

When the Dagor Bragollach happens, a lot of people die. Gil-Galad’s family farm is destroyed by Glaurung, with his parents on it. Celebrimbor’s mom dies defending the pass. They head south to Nargothrond and safety.

Finrod treats Gil-Galad more like Celebrimbor’s friend from another noble house than like a servant Celebrimbor is friendly with. This means Gil-Galad is invited to the formal dinners and such, rather than attending the dancing later but staying away during important talks so he doesn’t distract Celebrimbor.

The Quest for the Silmaril happens.

Celebrimbor denounces his father and uncle. Celebrimbor is in a glum mood all day, but Gil-Galad doesn’t push because the cause is rather obvious.

That evening, Celebrimbor says what’s on his mind. “Since I disowned my father, I’m not a prince anymore.”

“Yes, that’s so.”

“So you don’t have to stay. It’s not desertion to leave anymore, and a random blacksmith doesn’t need a private companion.”

“I hadn’t thought of that side of it.”

“Why not? It’s the part of this mess with the biggest impact on you! You weren’t close with my - Curufin and Celegorm, or with Finrod. Orodreth will run the city much the same as Finrod did, and all your friends are still here. The only thing that’s different for you from yesterday is that there’s no consequence if you walk out the door and never come back.”

“You’d be sad, and I’d miss you. Those are consequences.”

“You don’t have to care how I feel anymore. No one does! Curufin doesn’t have to care how I feel because I’m not his son anymore. Orodreth doesn’t have to care how I feel because his biggest political headache just walked out the door.”

“I still care about you.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“You don’t have to care how I feel either. In fact, you never had to! You could have just ordered me to strip whenever you wanted to have sex. Or to work in the forge to stay in shape even though I hate the heat. I would still have done it, and no one would have stopped you.”

“That would have made you pointlessly miserable.”

“And I don’t want you to be miserable either.”

“I don’t want you to stay out of pity.”

“What if I stay because we’re friends, and friends help each other?”

“Okay.”

“Besides, Celebrimbor the blacksmith is still as handsome as you were yesterday.”

So Gil-Galad and Celebrimbor stay in Nargothrond and continue their relationship. After a couple weeks for Celebrimbor asks to bottom, and they start switching things up more.

Orodreth invites the two of them to regular council meetings. Celebrimbor is, despite his claims, still the person most in touch with the Feanorians who live in Nargothrond. Gil-Galad is there mostly because Orodreth knows it pisses Curufin off to have Gil-Galad treated as an equal to Celebrimbor, and he hopes word gets out. (Curufin would see at as bringing Celebrimbor down to a commoner’s level.)

By the time Turin arrives, Gil-Galad and Celebrimbor are established members of Nargothrond’s council, and Gil-Galad has shown a talent for political advice.

Celebrimbor and Gil-Galad argue about the Turin/Finduilas/Gwindor situation.

Gil-Galad says that Finduilas is betrothed to Gwindor, and she has a duty to obey her word, now matter what happened to him. Celebrimbor believes in upholding one’s word, but it’s obvious to him that nobles are allowed to take lovers before they’re married and then break up with them - why shouldn’t Finduilas delay the marriage by a year or ten for a fling with Turin? Gil-Galad says that you can’t have one set of morals for people with fancy grandparents and one for other people. Celebrimbor says obviously you can, just because he’s renounced his position at the top doesn’t mean he thinks there’s anything wrong with the system.

The argument gets really personal, and they break up. They probably would have gotten back together after a few months to cool off.

But Nargothrond falls. They survive, and are suddenly the senior council members - everyone is looking to them for direction. Well, mostly to Gil-Galad, as Celebrimbor is still seen as too Feanorian. He remembers Orodreth talking about Doriath as exclusionist, but Sirion is nearby and Cirdan has a good reputation. Most of his folk fish, there will probably even be farmland available for the Nargothrondrim to use.

By the time they reach Sirion, everyone agrees that Gil-Galad is in charge even if they’re not sure why. Someone asks what house he’s part of, and Celebrimbor give the accurate but extremely misleading answer of “the royal house”.

[lachind]

Sauron

Basic Information

OTHER NAMES: Mairon, Sauron, Annatar, Gorthaur, Tar-Mairon, etc. TITLES: the Admirable (originally), the Cruel, Necromancer, The Shadow, The Enemy, The Dark Lord, Lord of the Rings DATE OF BIRTH: immortal DATE OF DEATH: immortal; ultimate defeat was on March 25th, T.A. 3019 GENDER: male ORIENTATION: pansexual RACE: Maia

Appearance (in his preferred form)

HEIGHT: 7′7″ BUILD: slim, immensely strong HAIR: light auburn, long and straight EYE COLOR: red, orange sclerae FACECLAIM: Cody Fern

Personality

LIKES: power, independence, forging and crafting, organization DISLIKES: admitting defeat, losing power, being interrupted in his work, appearing as weak or a failure POSITIVE TRAITS: driven, hardworking NEGATIVE TRAITS: all of them NEUTRAL TRAITS: astute, detached, restraint

Abilities

THREAT LEVEL: insurmountable SKILLS: excellent long-term and short-term battle strategist, fighting, forging WEAPONS: longsword or mace LANGUAGES: all languages in Arda

Biography

Originally a Maia of Aulë, Sauron was called Mairon the Admirable. He was a hard worker and eager to please, in the beginning; with a love for order and planning that eventually grew into a need to control all that he could. When Morgoth approached him during the First War, he exploited this, promising to give Mairon power second only to his own; and Mairon saw an opportunity to make the World as he saw fit, against the will of Eru himself.

He continued to dwell in Aulë’s house for a time, working as a spy of Melkor. But when he built Angband during the Years of the Trees, Mairon abandoned the other Ainur to reside there as Melkor’s lieutenant. When his treachery was revealed he was named Gorthaur by the Sindar already in Beleriand, and Sauron by the others, though he continued to call himself Mairon.

After the destruction of the Two Trees and the rising of the Sun, Melkor fled to- and left- Angband, leaving Mairon in command of the fortress and the war, while he sought the second-born Children of Ilúvatar to corrupt them to his service. Mairon stayed there until the death of Fingolfin, after which he assailed the island of Tol Sirion. He claimed Minas Tirith, the watchtower built by Finrod Felagund, and the island was renamed Tol-in-Gaurhoth. 

He lived there until the Quest for the Silmaril, carrying out Morgoth’s bidding. After the capture of Finrod, Beren, and their companions, he had them thrown into a pit of werewolves to be killed off one by one. When all but Beren were killed, Lúthien and Huan came to his rescue, and when Mairon realized who had come, he saw an opportunity to further please his master by capturing the daughter of Thingol. But every werewolf he sent was defeated by Huan, until Mairon himself took the form of the greatest werewolf to walk the earth and moved to kill Huan and take Lúthien himself; but her magic blinded and wearied Mairon until he could no longer fight off Huan. He surrendered at last, and yielded control of the isle to Lúthien before fleeing to Taur-nu-Fuin as a vampire.

Mairon toiled in the forest for only a few months before returning to Angband; by the time he did, Melkor had already lost the Silmaril to Beren and Lúthien. Due to the injuries he sustained in the fight against Huan, he played a smaller part in the war for the next few decades; spending it mostly within the stronghold, delegating tasks, playing the role of the organizer and avoiding battle. He regained his power eventually, of course, and put forth more effort than before in both strategizing and physical fighting; attempting to regain the respect he lost.

With the eventual defeat of Melkor’s forces and the end of the War of Wrath, Mairon initially gave himself up to Eonwë, repenting of his evil and asking for pardon. But when Eonwë ordered him to return to Valinor to be judged by Manwë, Mairon was unwilling to lose the power he had gained, or suffer the humiliation at the feet of the Valar; and he fled and hid himself in Arda for a thousand years.

Though he longed to serve Melkor again and lamented his capture, he grew slowly to appreciate his sovereignty, and what he saw as a chance at ruling Arda on his own; but Melkor's name and image consistently found its way into Sauron's work, usually in his corruption of Men, exalting his former master.

In the first part of the Second Age he remained largely hidden, secretly growing in power, until the increasing skill of the elves caught his attention. He aimed to turn them to his service, and so put on a fair form and named himself Annatar, claiming to be sent by the Valar to teach them. He was received by Celebrimbor in Eregion, though he was not trusted by the other Lords of the elves. He shifted his focus to Celebrimbor’s people, learning their secrets, and guiding them in the creation of the Rings of Power. About ten years after their completion, Sauron created the One Ring, but as soon as he put it on his true identity was exposed to Celebrimbor and the elves. When they refused to give up their Rings to him, he waged war.

It was at this time that Sauron completed Barad-dûr with the help of the One Ring’s power, built the Black Gate, and assailed Eriador in the War of the Elves and Sauron. Celebrimbor was tortured and killed, and Eregion was destroyed in what the elves know as the start of the “Days of Flight”, for those of their people that fled to Valinor simply to escape Sauron’s wrath. But his defeat eventually came at the hands of the Númenóreans, who answered the elves’ call for aid, and he fled back to Mordor with what little remained of his forces.

Although Sauron’s resources were greatly depleted, he continued to subjugate men to the East and South, and assail Númenórean settlements in Middle-earth. After some time he declared himself King of Men, which angered the Númenórean king Ar-Pharazôn further, and he set out to Middle-earth to defeat Sauron once more. At the sight of the Númenóreans’ forces, many of Sauron’s servants fled, and realizing that he would not conquer them through sheer force of arms, he put on a fair form, and surrendered to Ar-Pharazôn to be taken to Númenor as a captive.

Upon setting foot on Númenor’s shores, Sauron, who began calling himself Tar-Mairon, set to corrupting the hearts and minds of the people, beginning with the king. In three years he was made Ar-Pharazôn’s chief adviser, and controlled the kingdom from behind the throne with manipulation of Ar-Pharazôn’s desires and fears. He ordered temples built to the worship of Melkor, whom he claimed would free the Númenóreans from death, and they performed human sacrifices to the Vala in hopes of being released from mortality.

When Ar-Pharazôn was near the end of his life, and fearful for what would come after, Sauron convinced him to assail Valinor itself, promising him that he could defeat the Valar and gain immortality. However, as soon as he set foot upon the shores, Eru Ilúvatar himself intervened directly and made the world round, sending the Númenórean king and his fleet into the sea, and drowning the island of Númenor. Sauron was in the Temple of Melkor when this happened, and his physical form was destroyed in the flood. His spirit fled back to Mordor, where he realized he had forever lost the ability to take a fair form. It was only then that he finally began to call himself Sauron, rather than Mairon.

Without the ability to take a fair shape, Sauron could no longer fool his subjects or gain their trust; so he began to resort to terror and force alone. He continued to tyrannize men in the South and East of Middle-earth, many of whom worshiped him out of fear. Meanwhile, the survivors of Númenor founded Gondor and Arnor in Middle-earth, and gathered men from many lands to unite under the kingdoms. Due to his humiliation at being forced to surrender to them and his bitterness at the loss of his physical form in Númenor, Sauron still hated the survivors; and no less because they were the Faithful, who never served him or worshiped Morgoth. He struck first, attacking Gondor in S.A. 3429. They responded by uniting with the elves, and engage Sauron in the War of the Last Alliance. They marched against Mordor, fighting the Battle of Dagorlad (with heavy losses on both sides), and upon finally reaching Barad-dúr, laid siege to the tower itself. The siege pressed for seven years, until Sauron finally left his fortress and joined the battle himself. Though he defeated Elendil, King of Gondor, and Gil-galad, High King of the Noldor, he was defeated by Elendil’s son Isildur, and his Ring taken from him.

Though his spirit lingered, Sauron was greatly weakened without the Ring. He’d put so much of his own energy into creating it, that its loss left him unable to take physical form for 1,000 years. Unable to impose his will upon the Free Peoples, he fled far to the East, hiding there and regaining his strength in secret.

In T.A. 1050, Sauron first occupied Greenwood, beginning to build his fortress Dol Guldur there on the southern hill of Amon Lanc. Though his presence concerned the Wise, they did not pay it as much heed as was due; they thought it to be a Nazgûl that was residing in the fortress. From there, he directed his followers in the East, South, and the region of Angmar in Eriador to assail Gondor and Arnor. Angmar was successful in destroying Arnor, but was subsequently defeated by an alliance between Gondor and the elves. However, the Nazgûl were successful in capturing Minas Ithil for their master, who renamed it Minas Morgul. It was there that the line of Gondor’s kings ended for nearly a thousand years, when Eärnur entered the city and was never seen again.

Sauron remained hidden in Dol Guldur until T.A. 2063, when Gandalf entered the fortress and sent him fleeing back to the East, with Khamûl, one of the Nazgûl, in his place. He set his focus to the Easterlings once more, corrupting them and banding them together under his banner, so that upon his return he had countries under his command. He returned to Dol Guldur in T.A. 2460, and in 2845, captured the dwarf Thráin II, tortured him, took from him his Ring of Power and abandoned him to die in the dungeons of Dol Guldur. Five years later, Gandalf entered the fortress again and came to realize that the Necromancer that they knew of was in fact Sauron. Still, he remained in Mirkwood until T.A. 2941, when he was assailed by the White Council and defeated by Galadriel. He fled from Dol Guldur for the last time, returning to Barad-dûr and ten years later revealing himself openly as Sauron. Meanwhile, when Saruman discovered a palantír and sought to use it, Sauron’s mind linked with his. Despite the power of the Istar, Sauron was able to deceive him, and by T.A. 3000 he had corrupted him into his own servant. 

In the years following his banishment back to Mordor, Sauron raised massive armies of orcs and further corrupted men of the East and South. Eventually, after Gollum lost the Ring to Bilbo Baggins, he wandered into Mordor in search of it and was quickly captured by the Nazgûl. Sauron quickly learned of his reason for being there, and came to torture him himself, until he heard the names “Shire” and “Baggins” and sent the Nazgûl there to retrieve his Ring. Of course, by that time (unbeknownst to him), Frodo had already left the Shire and would soon join the Fellowship of the Ring. 

Through most of the War of the Ring Sauron remained in Barad-dûr, commanding Mordor’s armies from his tower. It was when Aragorn used the palantír from Isengard that Sauron realized Isildur’s heir was found, and he assumed that he had the Ring with him in Minas Tirith. Thus he sent an army and the Witch-King of Angmar to seize it and destroy Minas Tirith; in this he failed, for Mordor lost the Battle of Pelennor Fields, but the Free Peoples were greatly weakened, and Sauron had the military strength still to overthrow them. 

Had it not been for Frodo and Sam, and Gandalf’s idea to engage Sauron’s forces directly at the Black Gate, thus drawing his gaze away from the hobbits, Sauron likely would have triumphed in the end. Although Frodo’s strength failed him and he gave into the Ring at Mount Doom, its power stronger at the place of its making, the Ring fell into the fire with Gollum. Being that he had put so much of his own power and his very essence into the creation of the Ring, Sauron fell with it, losing his physical form for the final time. 

For a brief moment, Sauron’s spirit towered over Mordor, his armies, and the armies of the Free Peoples, but was swiftly blown away by a wind from the West, and Sauron at last joined his master Morgoth in the Void. 

[lendmyboyfriendahand]

Gil-Galad “Fingon’s son” and how everyone had reason to lie

I’m working under the assumption that Gil-Galad is a descendant of Finwe, and that he was born at some point after the Dagor Bragollach, possibly even after the Nirnaeth Anoediad. I’m also assuming the Noldor don’t believe in ruling queens, which is all but stated in the text.

I don’t know whose kid he is, but I know why he went down in history as Fingon’s. Let’s look at potential parents (all living members of the house of Finwe). [under a cut for length]

The Feanorians are disinherited, and any children of theirs would also be so. Maedhros never meant to completely give up his claim, just step back one place (yielding the kingship to “the eldest here of the house of Finwe”), and his brothers didn’t even agree with that. It’s a plausible tale that Fingon entrusted his son into the care of his best friend Maedhros before the battle. Turgon arrived so late, and had been in Gondolin for years, he can’t honestly say he knows more about his brother’s life than Maedhros does these days. There’s a child here who is obviously of Finwe’s line. Silver hair is rarely seen on Noldor outside the line of Miriel, but perhaps his mother was a Sinda.

Celebrimbor has no one to turn to. Everyone in Nargothrond hates him for the actions of his father and uncle. He doesn’t exactly expect a warm welcome if he goes back to his father and says “I still hate you for killing Finrod, but your grandson needs shelter.” Doriath and Gondolin are closed to outsiders. That leaves the Falas, but even there a Feanorian will be viewed with suspicion. He does what he sees as the kindest thing possible for Gil-Galad. Celebrimbor will have to work the rest of his life to overcome his family; Fingon’s son, entrusted to his cousin’s care for the hazardous journey south, will be loved and trusted by all.

The death of Turgon’s wife Elenwe was well known. There has only been one remarriage in elven history, which was with the consent of the deceased and still led to trouble. Turgon’s bastard son leaves Gondolin at the same time the army marches off, but in the opposite direction. Many civilians of Hithlum are fleeing south as well, one more child with his mother will hardly be noticed. When the news of the battle reaches Balar, she takes the opportunity to claim her child’s rightful inheritance. If Turgon won’t acknowledge his child, his brother will have to stand in.

All of Gondolin knows the princess Idril is wed and has a child, you can’t keep a royal pregnancy secret in a closed kingdom. But if her husband (who finds the whole thing a bit amusing and a bit hot), and her father the king, approve of her courtship of Tuor, no one else has grounds to speak against it. Tuor is mortal and will die in a few years anyway, and the scandal will be but a brief incident in the life of their princess. Then Earendil is born, and the city falls, and Idril’s husband falls with it. The people of Gondolin have little left other than pride in their heritage and in their princess. Nothing is allowed to taint her reputation in front of the Sindar, so Gil-Galad becomes Fingon’s son. With Turgon sadly dead, it doesn’t even disrupt the succession. 

Maeglin betrayed Gondolin to Sauron.  The Gondolindrim won’t execute a child for his father’s crimes, regardless of any grumblings about tainted blood.  With Turgon dead, the throne would normally pass to Earendil - if he were actually an elf. Erenion - called this because Maeglin, like Eol, refused to name him until he was twelve years old - is next in line. He would make a good king, or at least could be taught to be one by the time he grows up, if it weren’t for his origins. So Erenion is Fingon’s son. (If Erenion became just a random child instead, the crown would go to Orodreth, and the Gondolindrim aren’t going to be ruled by an outsider.)

Lalwen got left out the history books herself, as a woman who never ruled a realm. Gil-Galad inherited the crown, so he must be the son of the High King. A lack of information about his early life reflects the chaos that followed the Bragaollach and the Nirnaeth, not any oversight on the part of the historian.

Orodreth wants his son to be king. After the fall of Tol Sirion and then Orodreth doing absolutely nothing as Celegorm and Curufin turned Nargothrond against Finrod, the rest of the Noldor don’t really respect him. In addition, Gil-Galad would rightly be behind any children Idril or Maeglin have, if they ever emerge from Gondolin. Fingon might have sent his son to Finrod in his safe hidden city, and it’s a good thing the information was not widely shared - imagine what Celegorm and Curufin would have done had they known! Orodreth sends Gil-Galad to Balar not because he truly worries the city might fall, but to be prominently known as the Heir to the Throne somewhere people can’t compare their appearances.

The parents of a child being separated during a pregnancy is harmful for both the parents and the child. Findulias had tried to convince Gwindor to stay, and not go along with this foolish plan to challenge Morgoth. When he insisted on fighting, she comforted herself with the belief that he would return soon, after all, he was going to defend the capital city, that can’t be too dangerous right? He didn’t return though, and Findulias was left to raise their child alone. She got enough pitying looks over Gwindor’s death/capture (no one knew which) as it was, she couldn’t have borne the way people would look at her if they knew she was a widow. So she wasn’t, and therefore Gil-Galad could not be her son. The child of one of her cousins though, she would be his closest kin in Nargothrond, and it would be quite logical for her to raise him. Fingon was unmarried, and lived long enough he could have an infant son.

Galadriel crossed the sea to rule a kingdom of her own. She learned how to defend a kingdom from Melian, and scouted land east of Taur-im-Duinath to found one.  She would be Queen, with Celeborn king beside her - not her beside him - and their son the crown prince. Erenion, scion of kings, has a claim to the thrones of Tirion, Aqualonde, Doriath, and perhaps even Valmar.  Galadriel planned to keep her kingdom quiet until her reign was firmly established, but had notified her brothers and received assurances of their support, both politically and sending prospective citizens.  Then the Dagor Bragollach happens, and Aegnor and Angrod dies, and she won’t found a new kingdom when the current ones are barely standing. Finrod dies, and then the Nirnaeth, and Galadriel realizes that her kingdom will not be founded this Age.  But she is proud, and Erenion was born to rule. If her cousins’ foolishness means he will not rule Galadriel’s kingdom, he will rule the Noldor, for as long as they have left. Galadriel, Celeborn, and Erenion travel to Balar, where she introduces Erenion as Fingon’s son, heir to the throne of the Noldor, in her mind the least of what he deserves.

EDIT: I forgot Finrod. Finrod left on a quest that was nearly certain to lead to his death. Celegorm and Curufin have basically taken over Nargothrond. If Orodreth, a grown elf, can’t stand against them, what chance does a young child have? Orodreth feels a duty to stay and do what he can for the city, but he sends Gil-Galad away, as who knows the sons of Feanor are wiling to do to consolidate power. A ‘young kinsman of the High King’ arrives at the Falas, truth that distances the boy from any attempts at revenge.

crossposted to pillowfort

[senselessconjuration]

Very long thoughts on RoP below. Mild spoilers. Tl;dr I was surprised by how much I liked It and will definitely keep watching.

I enjoyed it FAR more than I expected to. It mostly has the feel of leaving out without erasing details that the original trilogy managed, and honestly it’s too early to judge a lot of changes they made on any basis beyond “that happened differently.” My gut reaction to the opening was that either they threw out a lot of lore or Galadriel’s being an very unreliable narrator here and after finishing both episodes it seems like the second might turn out to be true which is a Very interesting direction to go imo.

I like Nori and Poppy so much already (Megan Richards is the most Hobbit-looking actor in the entire franchise and I love it). I’m pretty firmly in the Stranger as Gandalf camp and even though it’s not Tolkien canon him meeting the Harfoots first is a change I fully support, love how that informs his relations with their Hobbit descendants. The firefly lanterns made me go “adorable!” out loud and then turned into great foreshadowing (“when his tools have done their task he drops them”)

I’m absolutely shocked at how much I like young Elrond, he was the character I expected to be most frustrated about based on what we heard about him pre-release. He feels like a more likely proprietor of the last homely house than the film incarnation. (Also the show continues the canon tradition of people casually discussing the events of his super traumatic past with him like it’s nothing)

Durin and Disa were also very lovable and I’m a sucker for elf/dwarf friendships. Unspoiled Moira was my favorite location so far. Very excite for this plot line and hoping to see Durin get his doors.

The Bronwyn/Arondir storyline is another thing I expected to dislike and was pleasantly surprised. I want to see how the show handles the humans who sided with Morgoth angle because it has the potential to be really interesting or really terrible depending on how it’s done. Also her “there are some good people there,” felt exactly like how people talk about the embarrassingly conservative small town they grew up in. I need that old guy who runs the pub to wear a shirt though.

Galadriel’s story is thus far my least favorite. Right note I’m not sure why the “elvish warrior maiden on a self-destructive Revenge quest” character needed to be Galadriel at all when they could’ve created a new character entirely. It does seem like they’re taking some elements of her actual story (difficulties on ice, rebellious journey to ME) and recontextualizing them, but I’m finding that more frustrating than satisfying.

Aestheticly there were some really really beautiful moments and some that seemed lazy. Gil-Galad for example was very meh (not even close to the Majesty of lee pace as Thranduil, when if anything he should have MORE). The short- haired elf men and beardless dwarf women were disappointments but not deal breakers. There were some good creepy bits (honesty the creepy bits were one of the weakest parts of the original trilogy so this is an improvement). Liked that they threw in a cheesy cross fade transition in PJ’s honor, missed the dreamy-fuzzy vibes of the OG (there’s such a thing as too much definition tbh).

I’ve been a Tolkien fan for just about 30yrs now. I remember when the Fellowship of the Ring came out how sure I was that I would hate it, and how transformative it turned out to be. This show, I expected to be disappointed And/Or indifferent and ended up pleasantly surprised And optimistic.

There were enough good things to look at and enough intriguing seeds planted that I am excited to keep watching. While I really hope they manage to achieve the emotional depth that really makes all the details of the world building sing, I’m not sold they they will. It’s not clear yet exactly what kind of story they are telling. But they have my attention and more goodwill than I had going in.

[rubychan228]

Just to add, from Tolkien's letter #153 To Peter Hastings, from September 1954:

Sauron was of course not 'evil' in origin. He was a 'spirit' corrupted by the Prime Dark Lord (the Prime sub-creative Rebel) Morgoth. He was given an opportunity of repentance, when Morgoth was overcome, but could not face the humiliation of recantation, and suing for pardon; and so his temporary turn to good and 'benevolence' ended in a greater relapse, until he became the main representative of Evil of later ages. But at the beginning of the Second Age he was still beautiful to look at, or could still assume a beautiful visible shape – and was not indeed wholly evil, not unless all 'reformers' who want to hurry up with 'reconstruction' and 'reorganization' are wholly evil, even before pride and the lust to exert their will eat them up. The particular branch of the High-Elves concerned, the Noldor or Loremasters, were always on the side of 'science and technology', as we should call it: they wanted to have the knowledge that Sauron genuinely had, and those of Eregion refused the warnings of Gilgalad and Elrond. The particular 'desire' of the Eregion Elves – an 'allegory' if you like of a love of machinery, and technical devices – is also symbolised by their special friendship with the Dwarves of Moria.

Also, Sauron or rather Mairon (The Admirable), never knew the light of the Trees because he had defected before the Valar moved to their second home of Aman, but he did live in Almaren in the light of the Two Lamps.

* Also, remember that Gil-Galad and Elrond both foresaw that if Galadriel continued he quest to find Sauron she would "bring about the very evil she sought to destroy" or something like that? Galadriel keeps pushing Halbrand to do a lot of shit he doesn't want to do. If Halbrand is Sauron trying to repent she could end up derailing that quest and inadvertently setting the stage for him to slip back into evil.

Also can Sauron be repentant? Even his true name is Sauron, which is elven word for "horrible one", and he was notable for never being in Aman, unlike Istari, for example, so he never witnessed the Light. That's why he was so evil in Lord of the Rings.

Canonically he was repentant after the fall of Morgoth, but too proud to submit to the judgement of the Valar, so he fled and hid.

I would have to look for it, but Tolkien himself confirmed (I think in a letter) that for about 400-500 years he truly was repentant and tried to "be good".

So Halbrand can be Sauron at this stage of his existence. Naturally, I cannot be 100% certain about it until the show confirms it (or not).

He was part of the Ainulindalë, and at that time he was not under the influence of Morgoth, that's light enough for me.

And isn't evil a person's choice rather than their inherent treat? Sauron, though repentant at first, eventually succumbed to his dark side, but he had a choice. He just made the wrong one. The result was forging of the One and everything that followed. And that version of Sauron was past redemption.

Free will is a part of the Roman Catholic doctrine (I can remember St Augustine wrote about it quite extensively). We can choose what path to follow. Nobody is destined to be bad. Tolkien was a Catholic, so that was a part of his faith, too.

The thing that sold me on the idea of Halbrand being a repentant Sauron was him saying "I am sorry. For your brother. For all of it." Not sorry about it. Sorry for it. He as much as admits he's responsible. And he seems genuine, because if he was acting, why would he keep acting when nobody is around?

His idea of staying in Númenor and be a simple smith is sure a good way to avoid temptation. He's still proud as [insert as what, don't want to write an expletive] - when the men wanted to beat him up, he begs them not to do it, and then he gets into a rage and we can see how violent he can be (also, quite apt at fighting). He also begs Galadriel to leave him be, because he knows himself.

Of course, I can be totally wrong! It's just a theory.

Thanks for the ask!

[glorfindel-of-imladris]

Doing this purely for Tolkien, because why not?

• First character I fell in love with: Glorfindel? And weirdly enough, Erestor. Yes, I did, in fact, just pick that guy that appeared once during Elrond’s Council, but you’ll actually find that my original ‘Fellowship of the Ring’ was earmarked like crazy in that chapter. I don’t know either.

• A character I never expected to love as much as I do now: Elrond

• A character that everyone else loves that I don’t: Do people love Lúthien? Because I don’t love Lúthien. Also, do people like Túrin? Because fuck Túrin. I also almost said Sauron/Mairon, but this particular crazy fuck is actually growing on me.

• A character I love that everyone else hates: Not hate maybe, but I find most people are indifferent when it comes to Ereinion Gil-galad. Are you kidding me? Have you seen his credentials? Have you imagined what he must have been like? I also hold this firm belief that people from Finarfin’s line are lowkey (and in Galadriel’s case, not so lowkey) awesome. Ergo, Gil-galad is great. Give him the love he deserves.

• A character that I used to love but don’t any longer: Maybe Námo, because I was a teenager and he gave off that gloomy, Destiny of the Endless vibe. Nowadays, my favourite Vala is Nienna.

• A character I would kiss: Éowyn! ♡ And maybe Éomer. (So I have the hots for the Rohirrim sibs, sue me.)

• A character I would slap: Finduilas. Forever.

• A character I’d want to be like: Olórin/Gandalf. If the Quest of Erebor to the War of the Ring was a game of chess, this guy was the gamemaster who’s an absolute monster at setting the field.

• A character that makes me laugh: Thranduil. He is such a bitch, but at least he is a bitch with integrity. I love those types. I marry those types.

• A character that I miss: BELEG. And Maglor.

• A pairing that I love: Glorfindel/Erestor

• A pairing that I don’t like: Glorfindel/Ecthelion

You know you’re bored~ lol, answer it also if you want to! :P

[sweetteaanddragons]

Adventures in Matchmaking (A “Can’t Time Travel Without ‘em” Story)

There was a time when all Fingolfin had had to say to anyone on his family on the topic of marriage was that he hoped they’d someday find someone who made them as happy as his wife made him. 

He missed those days.

Feanor had been joking about the matchmaking being his problem, probably, but Fingolfin had sat down to think it all through, just to be safe.

Feanor’s branch of the family was fine. The only offspring any of them had managed was Celebrimbor, who was safely born and on his way to adulthood. While he supposed it was possible that one or more of them might give Feanor more grandchildren this time, Fingolfin wasn’t worried about gaining additional family members. He just didn’t want to lose any.

HIs own house was another matter. Idril was safely born, thank goodness, and it was a long time before she would meet Tuor, but he’d have to keep an eye out in the meantime to make sure no one wiped out anyone key in Tuor’s family line.

Which would be a lot easier if he knew more about Tuor’s family line than House of Hador. He’d just . . . have to hope for the best on that one, he supposed, and then throw his full support behind Idril if her father got twitchy about her marrying a human.

Maeglin was the real problem, though.

Given his daughter’s long search for Maeglin in the halls and refusal to leave without him, he was pretty sure that given full knowledge of the choice between Maeglin existing and Maeglin not existing, she’d take the former in an instant. Fingolfin was not opposed to this. Maeglin had done a terrible thing, yes, but there had been at least an element of coercion, and if they started getting rid of family members on that basis, they’d hardly have any family members left.

The problem was Eol.

Aredhel had refused to talk about her marriage for the most part, which was understandable, given how it had ended. She had refused to search Eol out, but she had refused to hear much ill spoken about him either. She just . . . hadn’t spoken of him.

There could be no Maeglin without Eol, but Fingolfin wasn’t about to let his daughter get tangled up in a marriage that would lead to unhappiness.

Alright. So Eol was necessary. His marriage to Aredhel was necessary. Eol being a terrible husband was unacceptable.

Well, they had a few centuries. Surely that was enough time to track down Eol and beat his character into a better state.

Daydreaming about the beating part of that process being rather literal cheered him up considerably. It was a plan, at least. He’d do his best with it. 

That just left Finarfin’s branch of the family.

Finduilas was already on the way, so that was one worry down. Galadrial hadn’t met Celeborn yet, but Celebrian wasn’t due for another Age; there was a large safety zone there.

No, the problem on Finarfin’s family tree was Elrond and Elros. 

He’d already thought through getting Earendil born; the problem was going to be getting Elwing. By all accounts, Beren and Luthien had barely survived their first go around, but he could at least hope their Doom was strong enough to withstand a minor thing like time travel.

The main concern there . . . assuming Beren’s ancestors survived long enough to produce him and that Beren survived long enough to meet Luthien . . . was whatever quest Thingol would assign Beren. Presumably it would be different this time, although if Thingol did still request a Silmaril, Fingolfin would be happy to give him one on the condition that he got to go along and chuck the thing at Thingol’s head.

. . . Which was a terrible idea that was nonetheless intensely satisfying to think about.

Anyway.

Presumably, though, Thingol would ask for something equally stupidly dangerous. If Fingolfin heard about it in time, he could invite himself along to help on the excuse that . . . Well, surely someone in Beren’s family would still do something useful for someone in Fingolfin’s family at some point. Failing that, Fingolfin could claim to be either a big supporter of young love or a big supporter of annoying Thingol, depending on the diplomatic situation at the time.

So that would get them Dior, hopefully, but frankly, all Fingolfin knew about Dior and Nimloth was who their parents were, who their kids were, that they’d owned a Silmaril, and that they’d killed some of his nephews and then been killed by the rest. He had no idea what had attracted them to each other. He’d just have to hope it would still be present.

If it was, that would give them Elwing.

Who would presumably (hopefully) not be a refugee this time. She’d be in Doriath. A Doriath that might still have the Mantle if they managed to keep Thingol from getting himself killed. 

How was she supposed to meet Earendil?

Later, he told himself firmly. He’d worry about those details later. That was about as far ahead as he could plan. They’d meet somehow, he’d make sure of it if he had to kidnap one of them, and that would get Elrond and Elros born. There would be plenty of time to get Elrond and Celebrian together, presuming he could keep Elrond alive long enough. Elros . . . he didn’t even know who Elros had married. Elros was on his own. If in a couple of ages Elrond started getting concerned about his daughter being interested in one of her many times removed cousins named Aragorn, he’d know it had worked out. If not . . . He had no idea.

So that was ever-

No. No, it wasn’t everyone. He’d forgotten Gil-Galad.

What he was supposed to do about Gil-Galad, he had no idea, since all of his children had either been genuinely ignorant or else supremely unwilling to share where the boy had actually come from.

Fingolfin wasn’t even entirely certain he was related by blood to the man. It was entirely possible someone had - found? adopted? kidnapped? created him from scrap metal and spare gears in a fit of boredom? - acquired him in something other than the usual way. If that was the case, and his original parents survived this time, he could still exist but under an entirely different name.

Maybe someone had told Finarfin something. Or Feanor. If any of Feanor’s sons had known, surely they would have been willing to tell their father given everything else they had done for the man.

Of course, that was assuming Feanor had asked, something Fingolfin rather doubted.

He’d manage. Somehow. He was going to drag this family into existence if he had to stab Morgoth in the face and write love letters under fake names to do it.

One of those potential scenarios was a lot more disturbing than the other, and it wasn’t the one that involved stabbing, but Fingolfin was willing to do it.