Whatever Catches My Fancy

Two Ladies on the Balcony by Hamman Edouard Jean Conrad

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

Variations

Nimloth lives and ends magnetically pulled into Túor’s polycule, because he does that to people. The histories only say that she married Voronwë, one of the few elves to remarry, and speculate that her husband’s mortal nature made such a feat imaginable. But keen eyed historians note that she and her second husband drop out of the books at the exact same time that Idril and Túor make their last voyage. (Eärendil and Elwing lose all their remaining parents at the same time.)

Nimloth lives and raised her daughter to bear the Silmaril proudly. When the Sons of Fëanor come with their demands she cannot bear to see her home burned again. She’s lost two children to them. She sneaks out at night and goes to them under cover of parley and manages to kill Maedhros before being killed herself. This changes nothing about the future except making Maglor a more unhinged kidnap-guardian.

Nimloth lives and cannot bear to see her daughter killed by those who have already stolen two children and a husband away from her so she bears the Silmaril out and gives it to the Sons of Fëanor. Everything changes, the Valar are not petitioned, Morgoth goes unchallenged, Beleriand burns, everyone dies horribly.

Nimloth lives and fights in the Third Kinslaying to protect her young grandsons. She intends to die, instead she finds herself waking up beneath a healer’s hands when Gil-Galad’s reinforcements come. Elrond and Elros are gone and she fights every day to get them back, through diplomatic and extradiplomatic means. The Fëanorians refuse to send even proof of the boys’ safety, until one day when they’re put on a boat and sent to Balar. They barely remember her but they make new memories. She dwells in Númenor with Elros’ kin for years, and after that finds a home in Mirkwood and visits Elrond often.

Nimloth lives only to die in the Third Kinslaying avenging her sons by killing 2 whole sons of Fëanor. If Dior can get 3 then she can have 2. Sans Maedhros and Maglor, Elrond and Elros have a less deliciously upsetting childhood with Gil-Galad and the Valar end up with two extra Silmarils on their hands after the war. Nimloth spends the next three ages getting high-fives in Mandos.

Paul Klee