for his valour was as a fire

“Maglor had been right. Without Fingon’s particular education in worthlessness, Maedhros’ death wish would have nowhere to nest, no matching frequency to amplify. They exist as perfect conductors for each other's radical symptoms, Finnu’s shame feeding Russo's hysteria, Russo’s despair invalidating every lesson Finnu learned about deserving and undeserving. Trust Russo to seek an acolyte in his atheism, and trust Finnu to find salvation in the suicidal.”

Most remarkably, how similarly he describes the moment of their final battle and death:

There upon the confines of Dor Daedeloth, the land of Morgoth, Fëanor was surrounded, with few friends about him. Long he fought on, and undismayed, though he was wrapped in fire and wounded with many wounds; but at the last he was smitten to the ground by Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs, […]

And then:

At last Fingon stood alone with his guard dead about him; and he fought with Gothmog, until another Balrog came behind and cast a thong of fire about him. Then Gothmog hewed him with his black axe, and a white flame sprang up from the helm of Fingon as it was cloven.

Fëanor and Fingon both lead their people to a battle against Morgoth with a tragic end. They are both left fighting on the battlefield alone, surrounded by fire, and perish at the hand of the exact same Balrog.

It is a seemingly strange parallel to make because these two characters often appear as complete opposites in the narrative. Fëanor divides his people by burning the ships at Losgar - while Fingon unites the Noldor by saving Maedhros. Where Fëanor begins a rebellion for his own cause of regaining the Silmarils - Fingon seeks ‘not his own, neither power nor glory.’

And yet, despite their differences, Fëanor and Fingon are the quintessential Noldos of the first age. Fingon becomes everything that Fëanor prophesizes for the Noldor in Beleriand:

We are threatened with many evils, and treason not least; but one thing is not said: that we shall suffer from cowardice, from cravens or the fear of cravens. Therefore I say that we will go on, and this doom I add: the deeds that we shall do shall be the matter of song until the last days of Arda.

Fingon's lament in The Lay of Leithian echoes Fëanor‘s prophecy (the lines were adapted later to be Gil-Galad’s own hymn):

The song of Fingon Elves yet sing, captain of armies, Gnomish king, who fell at last in flame of swords with his white banners and his lords.

Fingon indeed becomes the epiphany of the exiles: the combination of his remarkable heroism, valor, and the final doom that awaits him. Essentially, the fundamentals of The Silmarillion itself.

It is no wonder then that during the rebellion of the Noldor, Fingon the Valiant is moved by Fëanor’s words: ‘Yet I am not the only valiant in this valiant people’ (my emphasis).

They share an ambition, a capacity for leadership, and a skill of voice and strength, not to mention their connection to Maedhros, and the element of fire.

Letting Fëanor and Fingon die almost the exact same way signals the beginning and the end of an era for the Noldor in Beleriand: the death of their first King and, for all intents and purposes, the last.

Fëanor leads the Noldor to Beleriand, and with Fingon, they cease to exist as united people. Turgon becomes King, but who does he rule beyond Gondolin? The remainder is scattered and isolated after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, the Wars of Beleriand are effectively ended until the Valar take action, and the Doom of Mandos is completed.

For the sons of Fëanor, more than anyone, the Nirnaeth and the fall of Fingon signify a return to the very beginning. A cycle that starts all over again: with the death of their King in flames, their homes destroyed, their hands stained, and being left with nothing but an unfulfilled Oath to regain the one remaining piece of Treelight.

The fight for victory in Beleriand begins with Fëanor and ends with Fingon. It will have to continue in a new book with a new story that goes beyond the fate of Fëanor‘s Silmarils.

The War of Wrath shifts the narrative to a new continent, with a new generation of Elves and their High King - who will die in flames, much like Fëanor and Fingon, fighting before the very gates of Mordor.

It makes no rational sense. The best explanation Fingon himself can give is that the suffering threw the beauty into sharper contrast, like a lens focusing light. Even that cannot explain the vibrant life that seeped into Fingon’s bones while he stood on the battlements of Barad Eithel, braced on the edge of a fatal fall, feeling the clean mountain wind whip his braids back from his face. Barad Eithel was now a pile of broken masonry beneath the sea, but it felt more real and alive in his memory than the sun-washed marble of Tirion. There was nothing like it in Aman. That wild beauty was for Beleriand alone. That was the truth that the Reborn shared, but could not express to any other.

Fingon Comes Back Wrong From His Encounter with Glaurung part one

 this starts off far before Húrin is even born when Glaurung is fought off by Fingon’s arrows and his host (during the Siege of Angband at about 260 FA) and forced to return to the fortress for decades until he grows enough strength to attack again during Dagor Bragollach

As this is a Glaurung influenced verse, warning for possible mind control/being controlled or forced to act in ways you’d normally detest, gaslighting, psychological abuse, abuse of power, most of this going undetected

For one, during the Dagor Bragollach Fingon is already more vulnerable than he was when he first faced young Glaurung, so his mind is more open to this influence. He is tired, panicked and likely cannot guard his mind as much.

During his kingship, all the roads are dangerous, and communication is limited so it’s very likely that Fingon found himself in more isolation than he would normally be. Maedhros cannot travel as much from Himring, and everyone is occupied guarding the borders. This makes it easier for Fingon’s behavior to go unnoticed or for it to be assigned as just stress from the current circumstances.

Now I wonder if this psychological state can be spread to others, like a quiet mental disease. During the Union of Maedhros, Fingon rallies people to his side and being in close proximity to him, some of them start developing similar symptoms. This leads to that moment at the Nirnaeth when they all go savage despite Húrin trying to restrain them. The text includes references to fire multiple times: “Then the hearts of the Noldor grew hot,” then, “[Gwindor’s] wrath was kindled to madness,” and finally, in response to an act of violence, “seeing this all the host of the Noldor was set on fire, and Fingon put on his white helm and sounded his trumpets.” This is the fire of Glaurung now fully consuming their minds, and in a collective way.

What kind of skill do you think this would refer to? "Skilled in voice" is an obvious reference to his talent for Song but could also be a reference to his skill as an orator. "Skilled in hand" opens so many possibilities as a warrior, craftsman, builder, etc.

Any thoughts on this that you think fit his character?

You are one of the Fingon people to me! So honestly I’d defer to you for this but here are my thoughts!

Skilled in voice and hand could refer to a number of things as you said! For voice specifically, song/songs of powder, prayer, oration/persuasion!

I think Fingon’s persuasiveness is rather underrated! Here is one example.

Of course I bring Húrin into this but I imagine a lot of Húrin’s optimism pre Nírnaeth is because Fingon is very persuasive! He knows how the Bragollach went! He fought in the smaller battles of the aftermath as a teenager and, I think more pertinently, Morwen and Rían survived it firsthand! (I don’t think Morwen talks about it often but that she’s there in Hithlum at all says something and I headcanon she has scars from the Bragollach, ok this going off topic)

Húrin is aware of Morgoth’s terrible power (obviously not as much as he will be but…) and he still believes in the Union of Maedhros. It was likely Fingon who convinced him to bring his people not just to battle but to the forefront of the Nírnaeth!

Especially because, as I’ve talked about before, Húrin was not suicidal right before the Nírnaeth, noble death in battle or glorious desperate defeat were not what he wanted. He puts his family and his people on the line and does so knowingly, believing in Fingon’s cause.

(To be clear I’m not blaming Fingon, it’s just something I think about)

I think Fingon like most of the Finwëans (spouses included) tended to be an over talented overachiever with the wealth and resources to experiment and explore in his youth. He probably dabbled in a variety of crafts like I headcanon Maedhros did!

He might have done figure or landscape drawing, building models with a variety of materials, clay work, or even instrument creation! I imagine he also hunted with his sister or cousins often and might have developed prowess with both weapons and precision (and thus mercy) there.

Another possibility for skill in voice , and in hand is healing. Although there is absolutely an element of having to extend what one finds possible in the rescue of Maedhros, Fingon having skills as a healer would make sense whether these are practical skills or the more religious aspects of healing, that we often see with elves, prayer, song and other ritual. I don’t think he has any formal training as a healer, but I think it would make sense if by necessity he picked up on a lot of the skills especially over the ice and his skills developed there

Side note, but I think you could also make the case that the combination of voice and hand in the same sentence could refer to musical ability (maybe with a harp?) but Tolkien did tend to laud significant musical talent more than one sentence, so perhaps he was decent but not a genius. Anyway.

Everyone who loves Fingon as a character is intimately aware of probably his most heartbreaking line in the silm, '...and death was his reward.' Kills me every time. But I think it says something about him as a character and specifically, in this context, about why people might listen to him.

Fingon is Good. He's probably the closest we get amongst the Noldor to an archetypal hero, what with his daring solo rescue missions and confronting a dragon and all that (and it says something about the tragedy of the silmarillion that he still participated in Alqualondë, even if out of good intentions, and that not only did he die tragically, but his death was, amongst other things, a catalyst for the tragic and inevitable slide into despair for the Fëanorions and the ensuing terrible events).

Anyway! Fingon is a good person. And so his skill of voice is very different from the insanely high charisma stat that is Fëanor, and the diplomacy of Maedhros (and the varying degrees of persuasiveness amongst the other brothers, which is another discussion). I like to think that Fëanor, and to a lesser extent Maedhros, are the types of people who are so charismatic and persuasive that they all but steamroller the opposition into agreeing, or are skilled and clever enough, and sly enough, to get their opponent thinking that they've come up with the idea now in their head all on their own. The point is that they do it on purpose. Maedhros definitely has tactics to persuade people to his cause or to follow him or whatever he needs, ones that change from person to person depending on who he's dealing with. It's overt- people know him as a skilled diplomat- but he's good enough that it's a reputation that bolsters rather than gives him away.

I think Fingon is pretty different. Like @outofangband said, Húrin put his faith in Fingon, and I'd argue that he did that not because Fingon out-manouevered him, but because he believed in Fingon. That type of solid faith that relies on someone's character more than their skill with words alone. Húrin followed Fingon, a lot of people followed Fingon, because Fingon is good and kind and they liked him, and so they wanted to believe in him, and so they followed him.

I love that you gave Hurin as an example, alongside Fingon's skill with songs of power, and healing. I've always read Utúlie'n aurë! as a Shout of Power, full of righteous battle fury and serving to give people courage in a direct way (going beyond a simple inspiration, but actually altering their body chemistry at the moment).

His skill in making models and construction would be something he shares with his father and Turgon - the great Nolofinwean architects - and I love that for them. Suits them quite well.

“He has dwelt in the West since the days of dawn, and I have dwelt with him years uncounted; for ere the fall of Nargothrond or Gondolin I passed over the mountains, and together through ages of the world we have fought the long defeat.”

Two Ladies on the Balcony by Hamman Edouard Jean Conrad

The Grey Havens are inspired by Santorini and Budapest´s mosaic roof

Fëanor & Curufin: Splendor. They are wearing Noldor informal daywear inspired by Baroque/Rococo European Aristocracy (17th–18th century), especially the Sun King and the extravagant courts of Versailles. Opulent, luxurious robes with theatrical flair and shimmering footwear. Fëanor is wearing the dramatic gemstones that once belonged to Míriel. Fingolfin & Turgon: Discipline. They are dressed in Vanyarin court fashion inspired by late Ming Dynasty China (17th century). I tried to portray the restrained elegance of high-ranking Ming officials and princes. Layered hanfu, structured silhouette, and minimal jewelry. Refined nobility rather than ostentatious wealth. Finarfin & Finrod: Harmony. They are the most timeless here in my opinion. They are wearing Telerin outdoor fashion inspired by Ancient Mediterranean clothing (particularly Minoan and Classical Greece) mixed with Art Nouveau. Lots of drape and movement, sandals (because the Teleri love walking by the sea), gold jewelry, olive greens, laurel-style headpieces, wrapped waists. I tried to go 'less' historical noble and 'more' idealized gods.

Close-ups of my favorite details I'm forcing upon y'all

by lukesguywalker (@gaydhros)

“I could do it, you know.” Curufin sits astride Celegorm’s lap, a dagger held to his throat. Fury smoulders as a fell fire within him, growing hotter still in the face of the amusement dancing in his brother’s eyes. He tightens his jaw and pushes the keen edge of the blade harder against Celegorm’s throat, drawing forth the smallest bead of scarlet. “And what would you have left?” Celegorm asks in a whisper. A cruel smile twists his handsome features, warping them into something vile, monstrous. “A dead wife, a whore, and a child who cannot stand you.”

Mature, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

The absolutely pervasive mentality that unwanted criticism or critique shouldn't be given and should be ignored is why fans of color don't stay in fan spaces.

And I am not going to mince words here:

A lot of you are racist. A lot of your fan works are racist.

That might have been difficult to hear. And if it was, you should probably reflect on why that was.

"Fandom etiquette" has created a space where fans of color either bite our tongues and eventually leave or say something, get dogged on, and then eventually leave.