#yes finrod is like that

[eri-pl]

For @morgoth-into-the-void-week day 2: the Void. Again, not much Morgoth in this, mostly talking about… well, about today's topic. Science/philosophy without plot. I think I like those.

Athrabeth Finrod ah Ilmare

AKA too much astronomy

"I don't know," said Ilmare with a smile, just as Finrod approached her and bowed. She sat on the grass, among bloming white crocuses, contrasting against her dark blue robe. A wide view of Aman stretched in front of them, perfectly clear despite the height.

Finrod smiled too, partially to chase away his irritation. "I haven't even said anything."

"Everyone knows your kind of questions. The fate of Men. And Elves. And the end of Arda. Why else would you climb up here?"

"I was visiting my grandmother, it's not far to climb here from her house. Yes, I decided to use this opportunity to ask you a question, my lady. But it has less to do with death or time, and more with the far reaches of the sky."

"Sit down then, as this may be a long discussion. Time and the far reaches… they are not as different as you may think. But ask, then, so that I will not keep answering the wrong questions."

Finrod sat somewhat below her, as respect for a Maia dictated, but still close enough to make the conversation feel more friendly than formal. "What is the Door of Night? What lies beyond it?"

Ilmare blinked. "Is this about your cousins?"

"No, not really. I know— I met them." Finrod shook his head, focusing on happier thoughts. "It's about many things. About the limits of Ea. Earendil goes through the Door, and yet he does not leave it. But when Morgoth was thrown… The way Lord Manwë spoke about it, everybody spoke about it was as if he ceased to exist, or at least, if that's even possible, somewhat ceased. Yet, it is said that he will one day return and Earendil—" He stopped, seeing Ilmare's displeased expression.

"Said by whom?"

Finrod moved away, even moreso with his mind than his body. "The wise."

"If so, then they aren't as wise as you deem them. Who would say such things? Rúmil? It does sound like Rúmil. I am not demanding an answer. I do respect your willingness to protect the reputation of others. Even if they are not wise." She shook her head, silver hair sparkling in the sun. "Whoever said this, do not take your lore from them. I can show you the limits of Ea."

For a while he did not know what to say.

"Not the limits you seem more interested in," added Ilmare, "but one that shall answer this question."

An invitation hung in the air, an unseen plea, and Finrod yielded to it. Darkness seemed to surround him, filled with countless stars, and in the middle of the darkness there was something like a ring, or a star that was empty inside, a crown of fire surrounding a deep darkness not unlike the one that came when the Trees had died. The starlit void twisted around it.

"The Door of Night lead to Ilmen, through which Earendil sails." Those words seemed to echo in the emptiness around, spoken in Ilmare's clear, melodic voice. "And nothing can leave Ea within Time, or enter it, except spirits of the Children. And prayers, messages, yes, this too. But as for beings, only the spirits of the both kindreds may come, and the spirits of Men may leave. And yet—"

The empty star seemed to move closer, but its shape twisted and trembled, like a miswrought glamour.

"Unfortunately, I do not know how do they look when seen with bodily eyes, and I can imagine only this much. Those things do not have a name, but I think of them as Doors of Nothing, or Doors of Forever. Nothing living can stand their closeness. Nothing that is of the matter of Ea. I tried to look at them embodied, but couldn't— they unravel everything that is not spirit. They unravel the Time itself."

Ice crept up Finrod's spine and he was suddenly back on the sunny meadow, trembling, his heart racing.

Ilmare stared at him.

"So—" he managed to say "—so it is, indeed, terrible? but no, it can't— It can't be."

She smiled gently, and slowly reached towards his head, and when he leaned in, started stroking his hair, as if Finrod was but a child. And like a child he did feel now.

"No, it is not terrible. It is strange, and not meant to be touched. But those are part of Ea, and, as each part, necessary. They proved necessary. For you see, Morgoth was bound to his body, by his own choices, but nonethless strongly."

Her hand at his head was warm and calming, and Finrod closed his eyes, letting the sun color his vision red.

Ilmare continued. "And those Doors… if we looked at Morgoth, if I showed you the one he was thrown into, when he reaches it —which I will not show you, as you are already scared enough— you would see him forever falling, stoped in place, unable to reach the center. But for him, from what my lady told me, for him it is a mere moment, and then he falls. And then nobody knows, but I think this means that we shall meet him when Time itself ends, because only then those two stories can meet."

For him? For us? This was not how time was supposed to work. And yet, if Lady Varda herself had said that… "I think I need some time to think about what you told me. Thank you, my lady, and I apologize for rejecting your vision."

Ilmare looked at him with a warm smile. "You do not need to apologize. I know that the Children are scared by things we cannot predict, and amazed by surprising things, and enraged… After all those years, you are still a riddle to us. Please, visit me if you will have more questions, I did enjoy this conversation. I will try to be less terryfying the next time."

As the Maia went away, and the last glimmer of silver embroidery of her cloak dissapeared behind the turn of a mountain path, Finrod lay on the meadow. Something she had said echoed in his head, but he couldn't say what. It still felt like a riddle than like an answer, but neverthless it pulled at his heart softly but deeply, with the feeling he hadn't felt since he died. What had she said? What about the empty star was so important?

No matter how terryfying the vision had been, this was just the beginning of his research.

[violecov]

Saw this comic, and immediately thought of the silm.

I just love Feener too much and couldn't resist.

[likesdoodling]

So y'see, I forgot Orodreth existed up until I had kind of finished this thing, so in case you're curious, here's the original-

Guess who just connected the dots on who was who in a certain series?

So first time through I was like, Galadriel has a brother? (this was me 'pre silmarillion knowledge power up') and I was scrolling through random lotr and rings of power memes the other day (as you do, some of the stuff out there is Hilarious~ gotta get inspiration from somewhere, y'know?) and I was looking at this guy.... And going... 'Wait a minute. Galadriel's brother... Don't tell me... This is.. FINROD?!

*pauses to recalibrate~

:0:0:0

Now. Let me make one thing clear. I actually do like the Rings of power series (if you think of it like, 'someone got a huge budget for their fanfic!' then it's pretty cool/funny - especially if you watch it with fellow Tolkien fans, cause then you can be mock outraged in company~)

But. Finrod. 'killed a werewolf with his bare hands' Felagund. Deserved better. *wipes away imaginary tear~

Honestly I don't really care about the characterisation too much- it was the hair part that made me redirect my passion into making this. Like. My mental image of Finrod isn't necessarily a stern warrior type who is incredibly wise and would never say things like 'you gotta think positive! That's what makes ships float guys!' (wonder how well that worked crossing the Helcara- *ahem - moving on) but it does include long flowing golden locks. I... I just can't imagine him without the hair~

And thus this 'comparison' was born~

Also I thought drawing all the siblings teasing Galadriel (since she is the youngest sibling), would be funny.

:D

[youareunbearable]

Its late and im tired so please excuse if this doesn't make sense but lately, I've been thinking about Angry Aredhel must have been

Like realistically, when has this woman made a single decision about her future for herself, and in the few times when she did, when did it not end in tragedy

She must have been so angry, so frustrated and wrathful at her lot in life. She was meant for other things, greater thing! She was a disciple of Orome, the Maiden in White, one of the best hunters in his group along with her cousin.

Yet here she is, caged and trapped like a pretty little canary in a wire house. Stolen from her purpose because of her eldest brother's blind loyalty, her father's stubborn pride, her second oldest brother's blinding grief, and her baby brother's terminal bravery. She's across an ocean, escaped one cage for another by her tormentor and abuser posing as a husband.

The bastard won't even name their child.

She must have be so angry, stuck in that endless darkness, the forest must be such a familiar landscape but so different, twisted and wrong like looking into a warped mirror.

Shes grieving outside her "home" one night, having managed to convince the trees to part their branches just enough that she can glimpse a star or two so she can bask in the starlight. Its been a year since the birth of her son, and nothing has changed. Eol won't look at the boy, and she can feel herself drifting. Without the ability to see the passage of time, without the Light of the Trees or with the Sun and Moon chasing each other across the sky, things are blending together and she feels adrift.

At least when they crossed they ice, they were able to watch the stars move across the endless dark.

The starlight warms her skin, as weak and distant as it is, so she basks. With her eyes closed and face tilted up she feels like a lizard in the mid day sun. Behind her, she hears a noise, a twig being deliberately stepped upon. Aredhel whips around, raising her glowing lichen lamp, wondering if its her husband or one of his servants come to take her back. She feels a little feral at the idea of being dragged away from the pitiful starlight.

A wolf, with a pelt as crisp and clean as the snow dusting Himring's mountain top, slinks into the soft glow. Its fur takes on an almost sickly colour in the green luminescence. The wolf settles at the edge of the light, resting on its haunches as it observes her.

Aredhel thinks she's beautiful, for it is a female wolf. Even in the weak lamplight the beast's silver eyes seem to glow on their own, piercing her very fea and enticing her to come forward, to come closer. There is a power within the she wolf, one Aredhel craves.

The white beast introduces herself as a member of Orome's hunt, and Aredhel believes it, for the she wolf looks like the perfect hunter. The wolf asks her what she, as a fellow hunter, is doing out so far away from her kin and cub.

Momentarily surprised by the ability to speak, for not even Huan can speak so freely, Aredhel responses. She shares her desire for light, her frustration with her "husband," and how she wants a different life for her son. She never wanted this, and she wishes she had the ability to take control of her own fate.

The wolf is sympathetic to her plights, and offers to help her free herself and her child.

"You do have the ability to change your own fate, young one. Asking for help is something no one else could have done for you."

So Aredhel leads the wolf back to Eol's house. They walk through the entry way, both hunters are silent as the dawn as they go. Aredhel heads towards the master bedroom, but hesitates at the door. She can see Eol on his side of their bed, snoring lightly as he does. She hesitates, seeing a vision of what will happen once he realizes she's gone. Fire, doom and death follows her, poison and a flash of fang would flicker in him before he strikes her down for disobedience, for stealing away the son he won't even name.

The wolf nudges her aside, ghosting past her into the room. Aredhel's throat closes up and she slinks away, heading towards Lomion's nursery. She leaves to go strap her sleeping infant son to her chest, then grabs some supplies from the kitchen in a bag. Not even hearing a mouse skittering in the walls, let alone her wolf companion, she steels her nerves to check the master bedroom one more time.

As she passes her bedroom, she can see through a crack in the door and her breath freezes. Standing over the now corpse of her husband, maw dripping red from the freshly torn out throat, the white wolf looms. Aredhel stares transfixed, she can almost taste the blood between her own teeth, feel the rush of the kill, ache of her gums as tendons and tissue would rub against them. The wolf turns to look at her, silver eyes wild, white fur stained with her kill. Aredhel feels the air return to her lungs, she feels lighter and free, a little giggle slips past her lips and the wolf peels back its lips and bares its dripping fangs in a smile.

Aredhel leaves the house, fleeing on foot and all the while she can hear the wolf following her, keeping pace and shadowing her in the darkness, and at some points, ahead of her, leading her out of the woods. Running like this, oh she hasn't done this in years!. The wind snapping at her hair, branches and leaves kissing her cheeks and arms, the rush of a completed hunt with another one ahead of her feels like her first real breath in a long time. It feels like days later, and seconds, heartbeats, when she can see the treeline, dawn's hazy reddish glow peaking through the trees.

Aredhel gives a joyful cry and runs faster. That laughter bubbling up inside of her finally bursts past her lips once she breaks the treeline. The sun on her skin is warm and bright and all she wants to do is laugh and cry and scream until her throat is raw and her tears run dry. But she has to keep moving, she has Lomion still with her, and she is too close to the woods to feel truly safe yet. She walks north, and east, not really knowing where she's heading but knowing that she'll cross into her cousins' land soon. As she walks, she soon realizes that she hasn't seen or heard from her she wolf in a while. Stopping, Aredhel turns to look back, but no where can she see that brilliant white coat, or any tracks that look like wolf paws. She squint, looking back at the distant treeline and sees nothing but shadow. She mourns for her companion, wishing she could have wished her well or at least thanked her for her help. She wonders if Orome set the wolf to free her, not wanting to see one of his hunters in chains.

Its about mid morning when she comes across some of her cousins men, and they're horrified. They ask if she's ok, of she's hurt, they take her to a nearby stream even though she insists she's fine, that she wants to see her cousins.

When she sees her reflection she's scared for a moment. All she can see it blood, dried and crusted down her throat, staining her lips and chin. There is red all along the collar of her white dress, her sleeves, but her hands are clean, and so is her son still asleep strapped across her chest. She looks into her reflection, not yet comprehending. Silver eyes that seem so familiar stare back above the red, above the proof of her freedom.

She bares her bloody teeth in smile.

[mairon-goth-minion]

If I had a dollar for ever TRAGIC GAY SHIP™ I’d DIE for, I could GET SO MANY MORE BOOKS

[galadriel-blue]

Why do I feel like if I had to choose and enemies to lovers plot with Galadriel (Since Celeborn isn't here yet) I would choose Adar as the love interest over Sauron?

[vorbarrsultana]

Don't close the doors, take me, While I still know you, Truth! Having fulfilled His Design, not knowing it's price, I thank you for opening up to me!

Maxim Rakovsky as Finrod Felagund | Finrod Rock Opera

[tathrin]

The uppity-ass websites I have to use for research to write Thranduil, I swear... Anyway if anybody else finds themselves in need of wine terminology, here you go.

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

What if Beren and Luthien were genderbent? How does this change things?

Oof,

Well i think it would depend on how much you think the elves put weight into gender roles. If they don’t put a lot of weight on it, i personally don’t think it would chage that much.

If you do think the elves would put a lot of weight in it, i think it can change so much as to say that they don’t even go out to steal a silmarillion.

I do think that if Luthien was a guy, he might have been let out of the girdle more/would have become a warrior, maybe. His parents might not have been as overprotective, especially Elwe. However, it can still be argued that male!Luthien is a soft boy™️ that isn’t a fan of fighting. Furthermore, Elwe can still be overprotective of Luthien by virtue of Luthien being his kid and not wanting to loose him.

Idk, if there would be a close relationship between Luthien and Galadriel, or if now it’s Luthien and Finrod that are best buds.

(Mind you, i’m thinking through all this as i’m writing it, so apologies if it’s not so coherent)

You know what? If Luthien and Finrod are friends, Luthien might be more involved with Nargothrond/might have visited there. Maybe he met C&C there as well. Food for thought.

Regardless, even with the gender changes, Elwe would still oppose marriage between Luthien and Beren, bc he doesn’t think anyone, let alone a mortal, is good enough for his son.

Beren, i think, regardless of gender would still be Beren, up until she meets Luthien.

How they would meet could either stay the same, or change a bit. I do think them meeting in a peacefull setting is important. You know what? Let’s keep it the same/similar. Beren sees Luthien dancing in the moonlight and promptly goes “holy shit he’s pretty”.

And luthien spies her and thinks “oh, she’s cute”.

I personally hc Beren as socially awkward, charismatic when s/he wants to be, but socially awkward when it comes to one on one converstations. Don’t get ‘em started on romance.

And maybe Luthien invites Beren to join him, just for fun (for some reason i have the scene from httyd where stoick and valka are dancing together in my head).

And they have fun, which kickstarts their affection for one another.

I think both of them would appreciate having a partner who’s strong in their own right, just because they’re scared of possibly loosing the other, so with Luthien being son of a maia, and Beren being one of the most wanted people on the planet, they also feel more comfortable trusting each other.

I think Beren would like the levity Luthien would bring, and also not be bothered by Luthien being half maia bc, fuck man, she’s seen so much weird shit. And Luthien likes Beren’s pragmatism, and also that Beren fell for him before she knew he was a prince.

Moving on-

Of course you have the whole drama with Elwe.

Elwe’s like “this bitch is not marrying my son” again, how elwe goes about it would be influenced by the emphasis he would place on gender roles. I think if he were more traditional, he would maybe say things like “she’s not pretty enought for him” “she won’t make a good wife” etc.

Tbf, in this scenerio Beren can still pull something like “well, what if i wore a silmaril around my neck, would i be pretty enough then?” Which can still lead to a quest for the silmaril.

Or elwe could have a whole different challenge for her to win Luthen.

But we’re gonna go on the assumtion that there is still a quest to steal a silmaril.

So Beren sets out with Luthien, bc i think elwe would have a significantly harder time keeping him in place, especially if Luthien is a warrior himself. And they go to Nargothrond for help from finrod, who’s indebted to Beren’s family and who is Luthien’s friend.

And then of course you’d still have drama with C&C.

Bc Beren and Luthien arrive together, i don’t think C&C would bother them individually as much. Also, no kidnapping of Luthien by Celegorm.

There would still be a stir, idk how the party would go, maybe there would be less members, and Beren and Luthien could convince Finrod to stay bc *motions to Luthien* they have a half maiar on the quest, they don’t necessarily need more man power, especially on a stealth mission.

Also, bc of Luthien’s open presence, there might not be a coupe. And maybe even grudging respect.

You know what? What if Celegorm or Curufin or both join them on the quest? I mean they’re going for the silmarils right? With the help of a half maia, surely they’ll do better.

So like the 4 + huan set out. And Finrod still stays on the throne. (Wow, history really is changing)

And maybe, just maybe, the 4 do manage to sneak past sauron. Or maybe they immediatly go option: nuclear and just destroy sauron on their way through.

Celegorm shoots at sauron: THIS IS FOR MY BROTHER YOU POS!!!

And they travel on.

And with Curufin there, when Luthien lulls Morgoth to sleep, with his tools they manage to snag all 3 jewels instead of just one.

And they run.

But instead of headin towards the girdle they go to one of their brother’s outposts. Let’s go with himring.

(Is this slowely turning into a fix it? Maybe.)

And well, since curufin and Celegorm technically have the silmarills in their porssession (and for cautious sake the 2 brothers are the ones holding the silmarils) the vow is lifted.

So all their brothers go “wtf”.

Yada yada yada

They make it to himring and are like “hey look what i got!”.

Cue maedhros having a small panic attack.

Bla bla bla bla bla.

Of course is Luthien excited to be amongst kinslayers? No. But, tbf, he’s also half maia and maia don’t exactly have the same taboo. Beren’s human, kinslaying in and of itself doesn’t bother her.

Tbh, i don’t know how Luthien would handle being around the feanorians, bc yeah they did kill his kin, but also... it’s complicated for him. And clearly finrod doesn’t seem to have too much of a problem with then if they were letting C&C stay with him.

I’d like to think that, now that the vow is lifted (almost called it a curse for a second there), maybe curufin fashions one into a beautiful necklace for Beren as a big fat fuck you to elwe and a thanks for helping them get free.

Idk, it depends on what you think the silmarils are, are they just shiny jewels or do they have a bit of feanor’s faer in them. For the sake of where i’m going, it’s the former.

N e way, beren and luthien get back to doriath with Beren wearing the silmaril necklace while staring down elwe defiantly. And Luthien’s like “i’m gonna marry this women”.

Bc Beren said that “if she were to wear a silmaril as a necklace, would she then be pretty enough?” As opposed to promising to hand elwe a silmaril, the silmaril stays with beren, or maybe she gives it back after having proven a point.

N e way, bc Elwe isn’t the one to have the silmaril in the end, i think both massacres are avoided, so doriath still stands proud for a lot longer.

Also, bc they didn’t die/have to come back to life, idk if Luthien should choose to follow his wife after she dies of old age. It’s be interesting if he didn’t bc that means that the “choice of the peredhel” maybe wouldn’t exist, and that opens up whole new possibilities with aragorn and arwen down the line, and even elros. (Ngl, a little fuzzy on the whole “choice of the peredhel” thing)

Or maybe he does give up his immortality and follows his wife, convincing mandos to let him.

Either way, the story would change significantly enough that the impacts is different (for one, instead of Arwen being as beautiful as luthien or smth, it’d be more that she’s as powerful as luthien? Idk.)

Or you know, maybe canon would still happen, just with genderbent Luthien and Beren.

I really do think that the amount of impact their gender has on their story has to do with how you interpret their characters.

...

You really made me write a lot, huh?

It was fun.

Did it come off across as a bit like a fix it? Yes. But, tbf, Luthien being arguable the most beautiful elleth in the world is such an important aspect of the story, that taking it away would change how people would treat him, and thus the whole storyline, drastically enough that i think a completely different outcome is possible.

[eri-pl]

One day I'll make* a chart of Silm characters with the axies being: "need a punch in the face** and a redemption arc <-> did nothing wrong" and "boring (or undescribed) <-> I am very normal about them". The corners would be ...probably Ulfang, unless I can think of a more boring villain; Melkor|Morgoth|Idiot#1 ; Tuor, probably (or someone more niche) ; can't decide between Elrond or Finrod ... no, I would probably put Nienna there. But those are quite uneven corners tbh. (and Thingol quite likely may end up as the zero point ie the center)

[tanoraqui]

as a secret fan of the trope “immortal being imprints on family but is initially 1 or more generations off from their actual Destined Romance in it, leading to tragic problems”, and an even bigger fan of relationships (romantic or otherwise) which are wildly awkward for everyone except the happy couple, I think it’d be great, actually, if:

Idril and Tuor decide to have another child at some point, really any time in the Second Age or later (just one, though—living in Aman is already kinda straining Tuor’s fëa; he’s fine, but parenting a half-elf is…a lot)

The Choice of Peredhil is innate, actually, though only for one generation out unless complicated by Maia blood. Their daughter (Name TBD) chooses to be an Elf with no hesitation—save 1 Man kept alive by dint of Ulmo being clingy a loyal friend and patron, everyone she knows are Elves, or Ainur! Why would she want to leave her family, friends and home?

Shortly after Maeglin gets out of Mandos (which takes longer than anyone in the family but the Fëanorians), they meet in circumstances wherein neither realizes who the other is, familially speaking, and nor does either introduce themselves properly

They almost just straight-up elope, but NameTBD Idriliel decides at the last moment that she really would like to introduce him to her parents first, and she to be introduced to his. Possibly all at once?

(Maeglin either genuinely thinks she knows who he is or by some contrivance fails to tell her between the proposal of this meeting and the meeting itself. Either way, he fully intends to introduce himself fully to her parents, and he has no intention of marrying this maiden whom he loves without her knowing his identity and dark first life.)

Absolutely nobody, including Maeglin, is adequately forewarned

Chaos ensues

[elrondsscribe]

You know smth

I’m not into Harry Potter anymore, and I wasn’t a huge Snape fan when I was

But what the Snapewives had? That experience of a character that could both hold elements of yourself and also be an object of your dedication, desire, and care? That experience of religious devotion, sexual gratification, emotional obsession, and participatory creation thru fanfic all combined in one place?

I want that

I want that very much

[fuckingfinwions]

"Good morning Curvo, do you have a minute?"

"Sure, we've got enough swords finally. what do you need?" Curufin said as he took off his forge apron. He was wearing only two bracelets and no rings, but the apron had hidden an intricate silver net that stretched from a necklace all the way down to fasten to his balls, held in place by delicate chains looping behind his back (and through half a dozen piercings) so it wouldn't get caught working in the forge.

"I want you to make another set of armor. Plain except for the star on the breast, and that raised as little as possible. All steel, no gems, no gold."

"What, did a Balrog damage your last one?"

"No, it's still in good condition. This armor would be for you."

"Absolutely not!"

"Curufin, please. You need to wear armor when going between cities."

"I already have a set of armor, made by the best smith in history."

"The armor Father made is beautiful, but totally impractical. The flames of the edge of the pauldrons are a perfect handhold for on orc to grab you off your horse. The relief of the palace is beautiful, but every one of the gems concentrates stress, and every thin spot is a place it will crumple. You know metal better than I do, you can see the flaws just as well."

"So it's a bit risky to wear. Living in Beleriand is a risk, leaving Valinor was a risk, every time you go out to charge at orcs is a risk. I'm not going to ruin our family's reputation just because I'm scared."

"I don't take risks unnecessarily, only to protect our people, and you shouldn't either."

"So our family name isn't worth protecting, not if the so-called king says so."

"Curufin, that's not what this is about. Fingolfin has nothing to do with this."

"Really? Less than a year ago, the pride of house Nolofinwe disappeared without a trace. And it's complete coincidence that today you ask me to dress plainly."

"I'm not asking you to dress plainly all the time, or to give up the armor father designed. You can wear it whenever you're at court, or riding within a few hours of a city where it should be safe enough. But when you're in the wilderness, or planning to go out and fight, no one's going to be thinking about your appearance. It will just be for some circumstances."

"So only some of the time I'll be humiliating our house, and most people won't notice. That makes everything better."

"It won't humiliate our house to do as the head of the house orders. And just like Father required that you wear an apron and nothing that dangles in the forge, I am requiring that you wear durable armor when in battle."

"Fine. I will make a set of steel armor for myself that has no gems, inlays, or flourishes."

"And that doesn't shine like a beacon, making a target for every orc in sight."

"Seriously? My apron is intricately tooled leather, and you won't let the armor even shine? Even though the first set of armor is already so form-hiding I could have a full body rash and a potbelly, and no one would know?"

"I'm serious. You have to wear it once, so I can see you actually made the armor. After that, if you think it's worth never going out of sight of Himlad, I won't force you to wear something so plain."

"I'm holding you to that."

"Of course."

[nerdy-catfish]

Don't forget that in the poetic Lay, Sauron finds out who they are at the last moment and explicitly says he's going to continue torturing Finrod once Beren is dead:

"... But the king, / the Elf undying, many a thing / no man could suffer may endure. / Perchance, when what these walls immure / of dreadful anguish thy folk learn, / their king to ransom they will yearn ... Perchance, the errand I shall know, / ere all is done, that ye did go."

And earlier:

"... Wolves should come / and slow devour them one by one / before the other's eyes, and last / should one alone be left aghast, / then in a place of horror hung / with anguish should his limbs be wrung, / in the bowels of the earth be slow / endlessly, cruelly put to woe / and torment, till he all declared."

Throwing himself in front of that werewolf was certainly to protect Beren, but also almost certainly actively suicidal of him. Like you said, he knows what happened to Maedhros.

I was just spontaneously hit by sadness over Finrod's fate. We often make fun of him for the let's-challenge-Sauron-to-a-rap-battle-to-the-death idea, which is then often compared to Fingolfin, but I keep thinking about how absolutely terrified he must have been.

Because, contrary to Fingolfin, he did not want to fight Sauron. He probably didn't want to be on this quest at all. He went out of loyalty to the son of his friend, and because of the oath he had sworn, but I highly doubt he enjoyed the thought of going on a suicide quest to steal a Silmaril. Finrod wasn't stupid after all, he knew their chances of survival, and he had probably already made peace with the thought of his death.

And then, after he gets betrayed and abandoned, he suddenly ends up in Sauron's throne room. And Sauron starts singing.

That wasn't a dramatic act of bravery the way it was in Fingolfin's case (though it was of course incredibly brave) (and less stupid), but of pure desperation. They had maybe seconds left until their disguises failed, so Finrod had to do something right now. So he just started singing.

And I just keep thinking about how afraid he must have been. He just started a singing contest with an Ainur. One might think that he really wasn't risking anything when doing it, the result of loosing would be that same as doing nothing at all, but that's not the case.

Had Finrod not started singing, Sauron would have seen through their disguises immediately and probably just killed them. End of the story. As it is, the disguises fail anyway, but now Sauron is faced with an elf who can stand against him in songs of power. He is both angry and curious.

And, as I said, Finrod isn't stupid. He has seen the scars on Maedhros body.

He took the greatest risk possible when fighting Sauron, and he escaped only so closely from paying the greatest price possible. Really, being killed by that wolf shortly before Luthien arrived was tragic, but from Finrod's perspective, who had no idea that Luthien was coming, that was probably the most optimal outcome.

I know this is nothing new that hasn't been analysed in 200 fics and tumblr posts before, but, you know, I was sad, so I shared my pain with the fandom the way we do it here 🙂

[skyeventide]

does the Oath of Feanor work as a magical compulsion, or does it have magical properties, and are its consequences real?

yes, because the magic of Arda is also based on words of power, and it would be dissatisfying and limiting to assume that somehow that power doesn't work in this specific instance. no, because even if Feanor is the one speaking, not even his power could bend the fate of elves to that extent. yes, because the fate of any one people can be bent, delayed, or weirdly modified until an oath is fulfilled; in LOTR, the ghosts of the path of the dead prove it. no, because Manwe and Varda would not feel bound to enforce an oath of death with them as witnesses, and it goes against the rules of oathing. yes, because the enforcer is Eru, they just stand as witnesses and do not have the power to release the swearers as Eru would. no, because we don't even know if Eru accepted that oath. yes, because if the oath was invalid from the start, it would be beyond callous of Manwe and Varda not to inform the swearers and allow the consequences of the oath to happen. no, because a magical compulsion would remove or to an extent at least lessen responsibility of actions taken in its pursuit. yes, because the author of the story acknowledges a certain "will" of the oath by making it wake or sleep with active verbs. no, because even swearing without additional magic on top can feel like a compulsion to do things or to keep going that otherwise would not exist or not be felt by a given swearer. yes, because no matter what the everlasting darkness is or does, it can be real independently from any other prior compulsion to act; in other words, there may not be a magical property to the oath, but its called consequences for the swearers are very real. no, because there's several slightly different versions of the oath across the texts, and it's impossible to do a literal, word for word reading of its lines if it's possible to recite it slightly differently at a given time. yes, because the only valid version is the original pronounced by Feanor in Tirion, you can't wiggle out of that one. no, because who's to say that was recorded correctly, it's far too poetic for a sudden decision. yes, because who's to say that Feanor couldn't whip out all that via improvisation, I bet he could. yes, because other characters beyond the sons of Feanor treat the oath as something absolutely serious and real, and that includes Finrod in speaking to Andreth, when he says that Eru's name is not called upon even in jest, as well as Melian, when pointing out the strong forces awakened by involving that power. no, because neither of them can talk to Eru anyway. yes, because it's narratively more satisfying to imagine characters morally struggle against something that is eventually unbreakable and unavoidable like in any good tragedy. no, because it's narratively more satisfying to imagine characters do it to themselves and compromise with who they are out of family loyalty. yes, because the curse of Mandos actively turns it against the swearers into a betraying force, a consequence that wouldn't otherwise be a given, that is, nothing says that everything they start well would have finished badly and that the oath would have led them to defeat, and if it weren't magical before Mandos' addition, it is now. no, because Amrod's death in a draft would prove it breakable through his (admittedly only guessed) desire to turn back. yes, because he still died in the process, aka the everlasting darkness claimed him for being an oathbreaker. no, because how is it possible that it's simultaneously unbreakable and broken. yes, because the fate of arda and that of elves is inscribed within the eternal paradox of everything being predicted and everything being free will, and that will never be solved, neither regarding the fate of the elves nor the oath of Feanor. no, because the oath is a narrative device. yes, because the oath is a narrative device. three hundred more lines.

hope this helps. hope it doesn't. your pick.

[inthehouseoffinwe]

I need more dad Curvo content in my life. Like come on. He raised Celebrimbor. I fully believe Tyelpë is how he is in part because of his father.

Curufin saw the problems within himself and Fëanor - the immense pride and paranoia - and made sure his son grew up strong, yes, but also kind. Nurtured that gentle side because even if it was too late for him, it wasn’t too late for Tyelpë.

(That’s what pushed him to follow Fëanor, to rush out of Valinor and find a way to defeat Morgoth: Curufin needed to make a world where his son would be safe, and that inspired a passion and ruthlessness his brothers could never understand. They didn’t know what it was to see your child’s fear and be unable to do anything to reassure them. When the Trees went out Tyelpë screamed, clinging to his father and mother with a sound that would haunt Curufin until his death.)

Little Tyelpë whose heart was so good and open and trusting, it broke him to see some of that light dim in Beleriand. He tried to create areas for Celebrimbor’s inherent optimism and gentleness to flourish and grow, but in a world steadily growing more dangerous, it became increasingly difficult. Then the Bragollach happened.

Finrod wasn’t his favourite cousin, but he saw the opportunity for Tyelpë to recover and thrive. To live without his father and uncles’ bitterness hanging over his head, and he took it.

With it Curufin made sure his son wouldn’t fall to the vices that haunted his family, guiding him to assimilate into Finrod’s city and take his half-cousin as a role model no matter how he hated it. Celebrimbor wasn’t the revenge driven elf his uncles and grandfather were, and if Curvo had done this right, he never would be.

So whether he purposefully pushed Celebrimbor away from the family or not, I’m sure a part of him was so relieved and proud when he stood up, back straight, head held high, and said ‘no.’

Curufin could never draw the line when it came to his father. But he made sure Celebrimbor could.

And as far as he was concerned, he’d succeeded in far better than regaining a silmaril by the time he was killed.