Levolent

we obviously don't know much about Maedhros pre-Exile. he's never specified as having a specific artistic or scientific talent, which probably kind of sucks if you're a Noldorin prince and your dad is basically Leonardo da Vinci. I tend to picture Mae working with Grandpa Finwe at City Hall, doing low-level political stuff, being an academic, so on and so forth. He's definitely popular, well-regarded, considered very handsome, etc, but not exactly a mad supergenius like his parents.

so we've got a character who, in his youth, is basically known for being attractive and responsible...

and then his beloved baby brother, the one closest to him in age and pretty much his BFF, is the single most talented musician on the whole damn continent.

like, that is some JUICY shit right there. it's like being a White House intern whose brother is Harry Styles. the amount of warring emotions must have been epic. On one hand you're incredibly proud of your baby brother for being so successful and making the most of his gifts, and on the other you wish everyone would shut the hell up about him for five minutes.

Then, of course, they get to Beleriand and the whole dynamic gets Uno-reversed. Suddenly, being the in-universe equivalent of Harry Styles isn't super helpful, but being a shrewd politician who can slice someone in half with a broadsword is.

Reborn Glorfindel taking a break by a drinking fountain decorated with a statue of Ecthelion

He sees many of them during his travels. And often - if someone passes by while he refills his waterskin - he asks about the statues, trying to grasp what this person so dear to him could mean to them, hundreds of miles and years away from the ruins of Gondolin.

‘It’s the Lord of the Fountains. Keeps the water clear.’

‘And what are the flowers for?’

‘When praying for protection, one should offer a flower. It is said that he likes golden ones specifically.’

Also, separately, I have to include this quote that is not in the Guardian article. It was an in an article from The Times where Emily Wilson was interviewed, but it's behind a paywall so I'm putting a screenshot/alt text instead of just the link. Emily Wilson is such an icon for saying this.

"[Emily Wilson] does, however have views on the women of The Odyssey. 'By Nolan standards this was great for women characters. By Homer standards it was a bit disappointing.'"

Lindir has heard Galadriel call Gildor kin but assumes that Gildor is like, Finrod's son or something because Finrod would absolutely name a child "Gildor Inglorion."

Erestor has heard Lindir sing some very familiar old Sindarin lays but assumes that he must just know them because of how popuar Daeron's compositions were. Nevermind that many of them are lost to history by the Third Age.

Gildor knows Erestor is Feanorian because he's not as subtle as he thinks but he doesn't really sing around people anymore– because singing the Noldolante for thousands of years straight has made his voice extremely dangerous– so Gildor assumes he's just another old Feanorian follower.

green elves with auburn and brown hair to blend in with the forests and grey elves with silver and black hair to match the sand and rocks.

Feanor : acclaimed scientist in several micro-specialities and a good grasp on a lot of fields , surprinsigly good in humanities too , college professor sometimes and on his way for a nobel prize

finwe put them all in family therapy after miriel's death and his remarriage , that made the family more healthy . Him and fingolfin do get on each others nerves a lot , but not sword point level . They have like not that big of an age gap either . Also having an autism diagnosis early and support throughout his childhood helped him a lot also his daddy is loaded .

A rival tries to set him on fire once , nearly manages , feanoro makes a full recovery , but it was a hard time for the family especially so soon after the murder attempt on finwe .

Maedhros : Went to law school and plan to pursue a career in politics . Perfect student , over-achiever . Was a professional fencer at one point but had a freak accident that took his right hand . Still besties with fingon he sees him somewhat oftene especially since he works with his dad , nolofinwe . Had a modelling career when he was young .