#some people say their ship name is firebird but sadly that one is taken on my blog

[cilil]

Manwë x Fëanor is underrated and I'm going mildly insane with feelings.

Let me explain.

So a while ago I wrote a long post about the narrative parallels between Melkor and Fëanor (here) which I'll be referencing a little bit here, but for those who don't want to read the entire thread here's a tldr: Melkor and Fëanor share lots of similarities, including their fall from grace arcs and certain character traits and interests.

Now, my headcanon is that Manwë loved and still loves Melkor very much and he admired him too, seeing him as this powerful and intelligent older Vala that he was proud to call his brother. He tried his best to get closer to him, but found himself rejected (rather rudely and cruelly too) due to Melkor's anger issues and rampant jealousy.

So this leaves us with a Vala who, being made not to comprehend evil as the Silmarillion tells us, was created for harmony and to be loving, yet has been continuously denied love and affection from his beloved brother despite his best efforts... and then he meets Fëanor.

Fëanor who is so much like Melkor, but does something other than destruction with his potential. Fëanor who resembles Melkor in personality and, depending on your specific headcanons, also in appearance. Fëanor who is intelligent and curious and definitely wouldn't hesitate to ask Manwë about things he knows he could learn from him, such as poetry, Valarin or details from pre-Elves awakening history. Fëanor who is confident and insanely charismatic. Fëanor who can make music with his words too, just like Manwë loves. Fëanor who is all the things Melkor should have been.

You may already think that this doesn't sound like the healthiest dynamic and you'd be correct - but that's the point. This is the fun part. Isn't it beautifully fucked up? The King of the Valar developing feelings of love and obsession for an Elven prince and inventor because there's a void in his heart and soul that he desperately wants to fill? Said Elf taking on this situation without hesitation because he's confident, capable, ambitious and, let's be real, if anyone can and will adopt and wrangle their very own pet Vala it's Fëanor? And this entire thing being further complicated by both parties having brother and daddy/mommy issues? Delicious.

As a bonus, you even have a tragic ending if you go further down the canon timeline. Look how sad Manwë already was as is and then imagine how utterly devastated he'd be in a verse where he's both fallen in love with Fëanor and successfully projected every single Melkor-related issue onto him in the process. Imagine Fëanor feeling betrayed once Manwë (alongside the other Valar) decides to step in following the Fingolfin situation. Imagine the Noldor rebellion being even more dramatic. Imagine Manwë watching Fëanor die soon after and how this may have played into him sending the eagles when he did and why. Or maybe a canon-divergence where he sends the eagles at different times for different outcomes...

Ugh. I'm just... them. You see the vision. You feel the feelings. You get it.