#mairon you absolute legend

[cilil]

But the Temple itself was unshaken, and Sauron stood there upon the pinnacle and defied the lightning and was unharmed; and in that hour men called him a god and did all that he would. (The Silmarillion)

The temple was under gay protection.

[source]

[helenvader]

3, 4, 16 - for the Fic Writer Asks!

Thanks! ❤

3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/story.

Absolutely random. I have some very basic ideas (and have a file with some "what happens'' ideas), but the plot emerges during the writing process. Usually driven by "What would this person say?" "How would they react in this situation?" "What is the logical thing to happen now?" etc.

Example:

The "what happens" for Chapter 2 of Beauty of Starless Nights was: "during the journey by carriage, there is an ambush, and unlike in the show [Shadow and Bone], they handle it professionally". That was it.

But then the conversation in the carriage grew into comedy, and it would have been tonally wrong to have the ambush in that one, so it was moved to Chapter 3. My editor had an idea to turn the ambush into the attackers setting the inn where my heroes slept on fire, and when I opened an empty document, for some reason I wrote this line:

"According to legend, the world begins and ends in fire."

What followed was a flashback passage on Frida (my main female character) witnessing her first execution of a Grisha (by way of burning; she's from Fjerda) when she was six, and being afraid of fire ever since, which led to other very much unplanned things. Some were planned, but were supposed to happen later in the story. And there were more surprises on the way. There always are.

Also… I do not write chronologically. If I'm stuck, I use a placeholder and continue in a different place, and do a lot of jumping. In the end, the result is surprisingly cohesive. 

4. Where do you find inspiration for the new ideas?

Some just emerge out of nowhere (usually when my new hyperfixation is fresh), but most of them are born in discussions with people on Tumblr, or discussions with my editor. She is very inspirational. And very brave. She was willing to edit my RoP stuff, and she doesn't exactly love the show.

16. How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Share one of them.

Not too many. Which is a normal state of affairs with me. Their number has grown to 3 since we last discussed it.

Voila the new one:

Title: Unnamed Something*: Mairon's thoughts on the injustice of the Maiar being "born into servitude" to the Valar. It's supposed to be short, and in second person, since it's great for character studies. (For those who don't know me, second person is probably not what you think. Here's an example, and feel free to ignore it).

I wish I could write this many words in one of my stories! 😂

*You can laugh, @somebirdortheother 🙃 But I finally have a name for Fire 3! It shall be henceforth known as The Brightest Flame.

[finmoryo]

Here’s some of my favorite Silmarillion fics!

Series

The Ever-Fixéd Star by EirianErisdar

Gen, Kidnap dads, Nerdanel/Fëanor

Maglor dies protecting Rivendell, and Fëanor and his sons are sent to the void. Elrond attempts to free them. Lots of family bonding, and of course, some angst that still’s unresolved because the creator hasn’t updated the second story yet. It’s heartbreaking at points. Probably my favorite fic series ever. Long but so worth it.

Aurë entuluva by ScribeofArda

Fingon/Maedhros, Maedhros + his brothers + a couple OCs, some more things I won’t spoil

A Nirnaeth Arnoediad fix-it series with a time loop. Maedhros suffers a little (a lot). Fingon cares for him so much. There’s also some wonderful family bonding. Long, but you should absolutely catch up to be able to read the new fic when it updates. I’m looking forward to Curufin’s story. Ongoing. Current story is a Thangorodrim rescue and recovery fic.

Meanwhile in Ost-in-Edhil by elennalore

Celebrimbor/Annatar

I feel like the tag ‘Poor Celebrimbor’ sums this up really well.

Modern Mayhem by protisvit

Fingon/Maedhros, Celegorm + Aredhel

A reddit post is turned into Russingon. Some other things I’ve read but don’t remember. Celegorm is chaotic.

Ships

Beguiled by One by Verecunda

Melkor/Mairon

Mairon is seduced by Melkor in Almaren. Poor Mairon. I read this between classes and couldn’t stop thinking about it.

a refuge from a sweeping wind, from a tempest by aikanaro

Caranthir/Haleth

Caranthir and Haleth have kids. Lots of fluff. Read this one at midnight when I had a Halenthir phase for about 2 hours before Curufinrod took over. 

Diary of An Elven Lord by Lady_Gavroche

Caranthir + his brothers, Caranthir + dwarves, Caranthir/Haleth

Mostly gen, but Halenthir is in there. Caranthir broods about his life and family. Pretty funny. 

How long is eternity? by Ysilme

Glorfindel/Erestor

Erestor gets kidnapped, and Glorfindel is desperate to find him. Erestor’s POV is a little anxiety-inducing at times.

scraps of dark in a starshrewn night by Solanaceae

Lúthien/Thuringwethil, Lúthien/Beren

Lúthien tells a story and Thuringwethil listens. I thought this one was pretty interesting.

The Stillness Obscured by JazTheBard

Maeglin/Túrin, Maeglin + Túrin + Túrin’s family

Túrin ends up in Nan Elmoth and is betrothed to Maeglin, who attempts to smuggle him out multiple times. Eöl is awful. It’s great. The tag ‘dubious baby acquisition’ is always a sign it’ll be a good fic.

The Magnificent Heart by ObtuseDunderfuck

Gil-Galad/Oropher, Oropher + Thranduil

Gil-Galad and Oropher love each other, but Gil-Galad is an asshole and problems ensue. Oropher has to deal with a pining fool. Elrond is as amazing as ever. Ongoing. 

In the Bleak Midwinter by Harp_of_Gold

Maeglin/Celebrimbor

Maeglin lived through the Fall of Gondolin and is found outside Celebrimbor’s camp. They both learn how to get along again. It’s really sweet and interesting and also kinda sad.  

The Legend-Makers by  AdmirableMonster (Mertiya), HoundsofValinor

Fingon/Maedhros, Elrond/Celebrían + their kids + Maglor

Elrond tells his sons a bedtime story about love and friendship - how Maedhros saved his husband from an evil monster. Incredibly enjoyable, kept me on the edge of my seat. 

The One More Likely by Ulan (you need to log in to an account to read this one)

Glorfindel/Erestor

Glorfindel leaves notes on Erestor’s desk, not knowing Erestor had a crush on him. Lots of drama ensues. Gave me a lot of feels.

Gen

Woven in Dreams by Lithgaeril

Caranthir + his parents + Curufin, Caranthir + Míriel

Caranthir meets his grandmother and discovers his craft. One of my favorite fics, it’s super sweet. Fëanor cares about his children.

brother dearest, i need some clout so pls model for my next instagram product placement? by protisvit, zuo_zuo

Maglor + Maedhros

Maedhros is sent to bring Maglor back to Valinor during modern times. Maglor is having a great time. Implied Russingon but it’s not really a big deal and is barely mentioned. A really funny fic, I really enjoyed it. I’ve reread it many times. The art in it is great.

Of Breaking by JazTheBard

Maeglin + Celebrimbor

Maeglin and Celebrimbor bond in the Halls while looking at the tapestries. This fic made me ship them, even though it’s only about friendship.

Jailbird by JazTheBard

Maglor + Boromir + Faramir, some more I won’t spoil

Maglor is captured and lives in a tower in Gondor. He adopts more children and has a crisis. A good late night read.

Say NO To Shiny (And Other Valuable Life Lessons) by fflewddur_feanorion

Maglor + The Fellowship + every character they meet along the way

Maglor joins the Fellowship and is dramatic. Regularly updated.

Unwanted Advice by certain_as_the_sun

Fëanor + E&E, Elrond + his sons + Fëanor, E&E + Kidnap dads (mostly Maglor) 

Fëanor is a disembodied spirit and haunts Elrond and his family, the only ones who can see him. This one is funny, but there’s a specific moment that I thought was really sad.

who could ask to be unbroken (or to be brave again) by Piyo13

Tauriel + Maglor, Tauriel + OC

Tauriel meets Maglor out in the woods and bonds with him. He’s the most parental figure-like Fëanorian I guess.

[iminye]

for the Silmarillion Ask!

5, 18 and 25

5) Elves, Men or Dwarves?

Elves! But I love Men too! And Dwarves! Do I have to decide? All of them have their their own ways in which I love them but if I have to make that decision I'll probably go with elves. Most of my favourite characters in the Legendarium are elves so it seems logical.

18) What is the hardest name or word for you to pronounce?

Surprise it's not Maedhros! His name is actually quite easy for me because in German A and E together become their own sound (a + e → ä) that goes really well with the dh sound → Mä-dhros. So yeah even though it's probably not the correct pronunciation (I think it would be Mai-dros?) it's not very hard for me.

But that's not the point. The name I have the most trouble pronouncing is actually Aredhel. I have absolutely no idea how to bring the Ar and the edh together in a way that sounds good. I alway pronounce it like Ar-ed-hel (R-at-hell) which is totally wrong I'm sure but it's like the only way it makes sense to me? But even then I often have to pause and think...

Most other things kinda happen because I misread stuff. Back to Maedhros on that matter or rather to his mother name in Quenya. I read Maitimo for the longest time as Matimo and pronounced it that way → Ma-ti-mo not Mai-ti-mo. Same goes for Mairon… he was Maron for a while.

And last but not least Ereinion! I mean I have a way to pronounce it but like the ei in German sounds like I in English and Eh-r-I-n-ion… idk if that is correct?!

Does anything I just talked about make sense without audio? I hope so if not I'm sorry

25) You get to have a conversation with J.R.R. Tolkien. What would you want to talk about?

I have no idea! Really… I think I would want to talk with him about Nordic Legends like the Edda or Beowulf but I'm not an expert and would probably not be able to contribute much. I'd just sit there and listen to him. More like that I would want to hear about his experience writing Lord of the Rings I think or on how he developed his languages. It would be a very one-sided conversation though with him talking and me listening.