Another stupid little headcanon about Olwë and Elu Thingol (that I‘ll post rather than cleaning the house 😂)
Two brothers, two kings, but in entirely differnet ways. Like, they were as siblings are, super similar in some respects, the exact opposite to each other in others. But when it came to kingship, they were like night and day. Both were beloved by their people, both were quite successful (as in keeping their realms safe for a long time), but their styles of reign were polar opposites.
Olwë loved and lived that job. He was a good leader from the start, and though it grieved him to take his brother‘s crown and leave Middle-Earth, he still never felt overwhelmed. (Or hardly ever. Leading his people to Aman when he had never been there and everyone expected Elwë, not him, he was, um… let‘s say not entirely chill). But that was about it. He was soon regarded as a wise king despite his youth, ans he loved every moment of it.
He was filled with pride every time he stood on his balcony and looked over Alqualondë, HIS city, HIS people, the work of HIS hands. He was never afraid of hard work, and was prepared to labour tirelessly for the good of his people, and did so, too. But he also enjoyed the little benefits of being king, like not having to clean after himself, not having to care for day to day business. He could leave his bed in the morning and come back at night to find it in prestine condition. He did not run errands himself (well, ok, that‘s one thing where both brothers were alike. The other was that they were both wuite touchy when their authority was questioned), he would sit hours before a feast and let himself and his queen be dressed in all splendour.
And speaking of feasts… Olwë hugely enjoyed them, and being in the centre of attention, too. He was at ease with being the one in charge and making decisions, and every new day held new chances.
Elu, on the other hand, saw kingship as a burden. Something that restricted his freedom. He preferred doing things a and unwatched, and squirmed at the idea of being responsible for other people, in the sense of deciding for other people. He craved, above all else, peace and quiet. Sit in a tree. Sing. Dance. He was a faerie even amongst faeries.
He did things by himself. Never left his bedchamber without making his bed himself. Dressed by himself. For the longrst time mended his clothes himself, and refused to be touched by anyone save his family and closest friends. It was Melian who did his braids and helped him dress. No-one else.
Fests were his bane. So much so that he even refused to have his wedding celebrated, insisting that he and Melian were already wed, so there was no reason fussing around. Later, Melian and Lúthien both laughed themselves silly at Elu rather hiding in a cupboard than attending a feast, and it was Elmo‘s job to manage the precise amount of wine necessary to relax his brother enough to act naturally, without making him drunk. Most of the time, he succeeded. The occasions he didn‘t stayed in the Iathrim‘s collective memory. They smirked about every single one of them.
The one thing Elu really loved about kingship was the possibility to surround himself with beauty and lose himself in it. But that was it, really. He would have been far happier as a normal elf, and was more than happy to acknowledge Olwë as his sovereign when he was re-embodied in Valinor. Everything to get rid of responsibility. (That didn‘t keep him from being insufferably older-brotherish in private, though. Olwë considered feeding him to the fish once or twice. But mainly, they really loved each other)
To be fair, much of their respective attitudes were borne from their childhood. Elu was born and raised a prince, the eldest son of his father and thus expected to carry on Enel‘s line, and he HATED every moment of it. He wanted to roam the woods with Finwë, not learn about Lord Enel‘s… peculiar views of the world. And most of all, he wanted no attention. Coukd he have chosen, he would have become invisible. Not bother anyone, not be bothered by anyone.
The thing that made it all bearable was that Finwë found himself in the same predicament. Finwë was his anchor in so many respects. He was the adventurous one, he would always push Elu out if his comfort zone. They worked perfectly together. Had they not been seperated, Elvish history would have been very different. (No, not shipping them and not, never! saying Elu should bot have married Melian. But I sometimes wish they could just have gone to Aman together. But then, we would have no story)
Then later, when his parents were gone and Elu was left with Olwë and a baby-brother he now needed to raise, he learned the hard way that he had been pampered. Now it was him who needed to feed his brothers, he who needed to keep everything tidy. And that stuck with him. Keep it simple. Keep it orderly. Keep out of trouble. Not exactly what you‘d expect from a king.
