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I am so glad to be able to comment purely as a reader now that the story is posted - I loved this from beginning to end! There is just so much to like, from the idea that Maitimo's brothers are trying (with mixed success) to take care of him and protect him, Carnistir's thoughts on Macalaurë not telling Maitimo the glaringly obvious, to Maitimo's determination as soon as he finds out what's going on to set it right.

Idril, I love this! So much of it speaks to me.

Of course your choice of Maitimo and Carnistir, my two favorite characters to write about, and in particular Carnistir's role in using osanwe to try to ease his brother speaks to how I personally see his character. Although I also enjoyed those quick glimpses of the other brothers, which felt spot-on to me! (Curufinwe washing the crown with his tears! *goes weak-kneed*)

And of course, Mithrim in the winter under your descriptive powers was simply stunning. (In my own personal Mithrim, on this Yule day, pouring rain is slowly effacing our snow, so I prefer your version. ;) The setting comes to life as you write it: the mountains behind the lake, the sparkle of the snow, the opulence of their tents. Even the detail about Maitimo having trouble standing on the snow rang true to me! (I have lots of practice and still half-slid across my backyard this morning to take care of the chickens.)

(And of course I am thrilled as all get-out to receive as a gift a story set during a winter holiday that is not fluffy! I love both the notes of darkness and the implied bittersweet happy ending: a story that ended with satisfaction without the need for the cute or the saccharine. Heathen that I am, this felt perfect to me for the Yule season.)

That satisfying ending is probably my favorite bit of this piece: that Maitimo's first public act as king was to give the crown to Fingolfin. I imagine this similarly (though I've never written this, so you'd have no way to know, so this was a lovely discovery and coincidence) and love all the symbolic weight here, including his intention to bring peace, which I believe motivated most of his actions in the First Age, until he succumbed to the Oath and the kinslayings.

In short, this was such a wonderful and perfect gift for me to receive. Thank you so much for thinking of me and taking your time and skill to make something for me that I love so much. <3

Thanks for your kind words, I'm blushing now ;-)

I have to admit to drawing some inspiration from your Carnistir. I've tried to  make a character who canonically is "harsh and quick to anger" also well-intentioned and hopefully relatable. And Maitimo... I enjoy writing him. He's such a strong, layered and multi-faceted character... I was really happy when you asked for a story about him! 

Given the tone and content of the Silmarillion, fluff can very easily become jarring and OOC. Your request graciously spared me from having to walk that tightrope ;-)

You perfectly understood my intentions with the ending: a small ray of rightness and hope in the darkness. Of course this is the Silmarillion, so we all know exactly how it's going to end, but at least this one deed of Maitimo's brings about some good. 

I hope you and yours have a great holiday season!