See you at dinner, Loki.

Lovely. I shall dress for the occasion.

What sort of outfit does this call for? Is there an etiquette?

There is! The question is whether to follow it or annoyingly subvert it or imply that Maedhros is affianced to me which is distinct, clothing-coding-etiquette, from me being affianced to him.

Of course it is. Is that usually gendered or a matter of who proposed or what?

Gendered, which is why either one would be very problematic.

Bleah.

Think about it in terms of all the avenues I have to subtly annoy my uncle.

I don't want you to subtly annoy him, I want you to get along miraculously well.

We had two thousand five hundred years to try for that miracle, and we did try. You'd think what I did for him at Alqualondë might have done it, but honestly I am glad he's never thanked me for that.

Fëanor very profoundly wishes none of us existed. Even at his best he feels that, and it gets in the way of any meaningful familiarity.

It would be nice if he could draw a distinction between the circumstances of your existence and you.

It would. Though if I were some girl Maedhros brought home I expect he'd - he wouldn't bother being rude, but we still would not hit it off.

I don't think his problem is gender-related at all. He says he decided the Valar were wrong about marriage when he was twelve.

And they said his mother had to stay dead because his father couldn't have two wives, yes.

Well, in the context in which he brought it up it sounded like he decided they were wrong more generally, but I do imagine that was a contributing factor.

Maedhros always thought that if it came to his father's attention, 'I do whatever I want' might be sufficient justification and 'it's not as if I care about him' probably would be.

Ugh.

Oh, my father's - not the same way, not at all, but it is also true of him that he'd be tremendously reassured if I expressed actual hostility.

I socialize with your father less.

I think very highly of my father and trust his judgment in most matters and think he's a much better King than Fëanor but - the thing he'd object to, about the story that you felt would oblige you to denounce me, was that I would be giving Maedhros an avenue to manipulate me and if I said 'don't worry, I don't give him leave to talk' he'd relax enormously.

...eugh.

You're so pleasant to talk to about this because you react the way I think I might if I weren't so used to treating it all as a law of nature.