#idk man i just think Fingon loved his dad a lot

[aracaranelentari]

People always talk about Fingolfin "following Fëanor" during the Flight, but hardly ever mention that his words to Fëanor are just an afterthought, a bonus, not the main reason he went. The first and one of the two most prominent reasons was because Fingon urged him. And Fingolfin marching in the Flight of the Ñoldor against his wisdom because Fingon urged him is so fascinating to me, mostly for what it may imply for Fingon angst.

I mean he was at the forefront of Fingolfin's host until at least Alqualondë; though after Alqualondë it's never mentioned again, so I wonder if he stopped leading first after that. But my point is: Fingolfin marched behind him, he followed Fingon. And what became of him following Fingon into exile? The Doom of the Ñoldor, Alqualondë, Fëanor abandoning them, them needing to cross the Helcaraxë and losing tons of people, Argon and Elenwë's deaths, etc etc...

Not that any of this is directly Fingon's fault, of course, but I wonder if Fingon had a moment where he looked at his father after Fëanor abandoned them and just thought "This is my fault, he's here because of me. He could have been happy with his wife, mom, and brother in Valinor but instead he followed me and now we're Doomed and in despair".

Because after that, Fingon followed Fingolfin. He followed his father across the Helcaraxë, he saved Maedhros in part to heal the rift between their hosts and make things easier for his father, he held Dor-Lómin for his father and then vacated it when it was given to Hador, he worked seemingly directly for his father as a war commander during the Siege (beating back Glaurung, that orc host that tried attacking them from the north etc). It just seems to me that he was glued to his father's side and did almost everything for him, for his sake. I wonder if this was to "make it up" to Fingolfin in his mind for dragging him into this mess, and/or maybe because after Alqualondë Fingon no longer trusted his own rash decisions.

This is just one potential theory/interpretation, I know, but... Mmm, yum, yummy angst,,,. ..

[runawaymun]

🔥🤔🐉

(And for a special challenge how about making the last one not Elrond, or in addition to Elrond - that'd be easy mode for you!)

🔥 Give us your hottest Silm hot take.

anti Earendil hot take (SORRY)

🤔 Tell us one of your favorite Silm headcanons. Can be one that’s out in the wild or a personal one!

I have so many, but I'll do one that I don't think I've posted about before. It's been floating around in my head for a while and I don't think it's really living in my brain as a canon headcannon, if that makes sense, but it's something I like to entertain every once in awhile.

Listen, a lot of wack things happened in the Silmarillion so I'm not saying that it is implausible that Elwing got turned into a white bird by Ulmo and flew to be with Earendil in the sky, and they sailed to Valinor together-- but I'm just saying it sounds very much like the kind of thing you would tell a distraught six-year-old to get them to stop crying, or-- as a leader, would tell a disinhertened group of people in the wake of a massacre to try and ease the sting of the fact that you can't find a body.

Like I just think there's something juicy about it. Like the last time we couldn't find a body in the Silm it was because Fingon had gotten trampled in the mire of his blood. And I like the idea of everyone going no, not again, not her, she's too little, she's not even fifty years old, not the child we crowned too early. It feels like the way that humans in the real world mythologized saints who met grisly deaths.

And also I wouldn't put it past the Ambarussa, ok? @ellrond and I were chatting about this because like...the Ambarussa are canonically two of the most vicious and unhinged of the sons of Feanor, and were in some versions of the story absolutely chomping at the bit for bloodshed when it came to Sirion, and also were pretty messed up due to the Oath. Crazy, crazy shit went down at Sirion -- and Celegorm was their fav brother, and that's the daughter of the man that killed/humiliated him.

And again idk I just think it sounds like something you'd tell a pair of distraught six year olds. There's something I very much like about "no, no you're fine omg please stop crying your mom's ok! your mom's ok i promise she uhhhhhhhhhh she jumped in the ocean and Ulmo turned her into a bird and she's with your dad in the sky!! Kano please get them to stop crying--"

🐉 A lot of figures in the Silm have weird Eldritch powers or possibly biology. Tell us about your headcanons for one.

fine, fineeeeee

IDK how to explain this one very well in terms of biology, but I love taking things Jirt gave us about characters to the most literal extreme I can, and that includes Maglor "Kanafinwe". I think aside from Elrond, my headcannons about Maglor were my first exploration into my system of Songs of Power and what it all looks like/what's possible from a Music standpoint. Again, not really sure how to explain it so here are some excerpts from And the Stars Shine the Same and Boundless Sky

A shout pierced the night. A shout full of power such that Glorfindel had not heard in an Age. The shock of it knocked three legions of Orcs off their feet as the very earth trembled. Glorfindel's eardrums popped. The Champion's blade actually froze mid-swing and a figure launched through the air, sword gripped in two bandaged hands, glowing gold.  Black hair glimmering in the starshine, storm-gray eyes swirling with the light of Valinor, a Song rising from his lips which pained the Champion as much as any weapon. 

-

An ear-splitting Shout cracked through the air: a slide of dissonant notes loud as an avalanche.  The wolverine snapped back the opposite direction as if yanked by a rope, slammed into a nearby rock, then went limp.  Maglor stumbled for a second, out of breath, and Elrohir had to catch him before his legs buckled. 

-

“He’s panicking. We need to get him home.” Maglor’s voice had taken on a whip-crack quality that neither of the twins had heard before, but obeyed without thinking. Elrohir bent to collect the scattered remains of Thalionel’s knapsack, and Elladan found himself starting up the hill to pack up their things before he was even aware he’d begun to walk.

I just love thinking about these legendary figures and thinking how legendary are they, really? Like on the one hand this is probably not what Jirt meant when it came to kanafinwe, but I think it's Neat. I love the idea of Maglor's Voice and command of Music being so strong that he can cause physical damage. Hell, I mean, from a scientific point sheer volume can kill someone. But I think it's more along the lines of not only volume, but also a uncanny ability to take someone's Theme and confuse it/yank it out of tune, or to find a kind of music that sounds so Wrong to them that it drives them to pain/madness (like Dissonant Whispers in DnD, you know?)

And then there's the makalaure angle - which I read as like, okay sure his voice is gorgeous, but how persuasive is he? To the point that you don't even really realize it? Playing your mind/body like an instrument to do exactly what he needs/wants you to do in that moment? No fucking wonder he was terrifying and earned his epithets.

I love wet pathetic woobie baby apologetic minstrel Maglor as much as the next person, but also give me terrifying Maglor. "Gold-cleaver" Maglor who can rip people apart at a molecular level with his voice. "Commanding" Maglor who can write his own intentions into your Musical Theme itself. Unhinged and powerful and terrifying.

And then let him miss when he was young, in Valinor, and was using that golden-tongue to sing lullabies to his baby brothers and sappy love-songs to adoring/exasperated audiences, instead of using it to kill.

silm ask meme