#Go Maglor. Win with your pure power

[arofili]

Father to Son [snippet]

for @feanorianweek days 1 & 2 - a snippet of a longer fic I wrote last year, featuring the Kidnap Fam (Elrond, Elros, Maglor, and Maedhros). I am very proud of this fic, especially this section, and I wanted to share it again :)

This is a chunk in the middle section of the story; you can read the full piece here!

~

It is the new star that signals the beginning of the end.

This brief period of respite had never felt wholly earned. There is still danger everywhere, and Maedhros is still haunted by the ghosts of the children he lost, but now he has living children to bother him in his waking hours. Only, Elrond and Elros are not children any longer, but gangly youths with burning resentment against their captors.

Well, it is not resentment exactly. It is guilt and anger and loneliness, as any adolescent feels at the dawning of their self-realization, compounded by the confusion brought by the unfortunate circumstances of their upbringing.

Maedhros and Maglor have discussed the new star privately. Maedhros is certain it is a Silmaril that shines in the West, but he is troubled by how it came to soar across the sky. Had Ulmo discovered it in the depths of the ocean and taken it back to Valinor? Or had Elwing, its bearer, somehow survived her plummet into the ocean—and if she had, how had she found the power to bear across the heavens?

Years pass; the boys hear the rumors. This only adds to their youthful frustrations. They push against the constraints placed upon them by their guardians, needling Maedhros and Maglor where it hurts the most.

"The jewel in the sky is our birthright," Elros argues one night after supper, picking at a pimple on his neck. (Maedhros is intrigued by the imperfections of their mortal blood. The twins look so elven from a distance, with pointed ears and tall bodies, but up close they smell and act like humans.)

Maglor scowls. "If it ever descends to the earth, it is our inheritance," he says, a warning in his voice. "The Silmarils are the creations of our father. We have suffered and killed to win it back."

"We know," Elrond quips. "You killed our parents." He leans forward, a fierce light in his eyes. (One day, Maedhros thinks, he shall grow into his wisdom. Now, it is too big for him; he does not know how to wield it.) "Would you kill us, if we took our mother's property?"

"The Oath yet sleeps," Maedhros interrupts softly, before Maglor can ruin the tenuous relationship he has built with the twins in a moment of bitter honesty. "Do not waken it with foolish words."

He casts a warning glance to his brother. Maglor takes the hint and stalks off into the night.

"I wish I could get my brother to fuck off just with a glare," Elrond mutters.

"Give it a thousand years or so," Maedhros says. "And mind your language."

"You're not my father." The casual jibe stings more than Elrond knows. After all he has endured, Maedhros is an expert at hiding his pain, but he feels each hurt like it was the first.

"And yet I am the one who clothes you, feeds you, and keeps you from getting yourselves killed," Maedhros points out.

"Maglor does most of that," Elros pipes up.

"He's the prettier one," Maedhros says, straight-faced. "He always gets the credit."

That startles a laugh out of Elros, and even Elrond's lips twitch. Maedhros's own amusement is of the ironic kind. Once, that had not been true; once, he had been Maitimo, the handsome elder brother, but no longer. Now he is scarred and hideous, and the Light that shines from Maglor is more pure than the broken brilliance from Maedhros' shattered visage.

"One day you'll have to let us go our own way," Elrond says. "One day we'll be all grown, and you can't stop us from chasing down the Silmaril."

Maedhros looks at him and raises the fork he currently has attached to the prosthetic at the end of his arm. "Do you think I got this, and all my scars, from lying around and doing nothing?" he queries. "No, don't answer. It was hypothetical. I had six brothers, once. Now I have one. They all perished in that same goal, and we have far more right to the Silmaril than you. Take care to cherish the family you have before you lose them in pursuit of an unachievable goal."

"And do you count yourself as our family?" Elros asks. He just his chin out proudly.

Maedhros shrugs. "I have lost every person I care for, save Maglor. I don't let myself get attached any longer." He taps the fork-prosthetic to his knee. "Well, except for literal attachments."

It's a lie, and he knows it, and he knows the twins know it too. He has always cared for them, just as much as Maglor. They remind him of Eluréd and Elurín, the children he lost before ever gaining them. They remind him of Amrod and Amras, the children he should have protected better than he did.

Ever since meeting little Kanafinwë, Maedhros has been an older brother. The oldest brother. He has carried more infants in his arms, babysat more screaming toddlers in his "free" time, put an end to more sibling arguments, than perhaps any other person alive. He has certainly seen more of the children in his care perish than anyone else. He does not wish to see the same happen to the boys before him.

"You can't replace our parents," Elros says. "I know you feel bad for what you did to them. Well, you should. What you're doing for us, it's out of obligation, not love. We don't have to be grateful."

"Have it your way." Maedhros rises and makes to catch up with Maglor. At least he had been spared the twins' ire; he was the one who cared more openly. Maedhros was fine with letting Elrond and Elros project their anger onto him, if it meant sparing his little brother.

"Yeah. We will." Elros huffs. Elrond stays silent, but Maedhros can feel his watchful glare.

He hopes that when they do go their own way, it will not be with so much hatred in their hearts. Maedhros loves them, but he does not expect their love in return. He only wants them to be happy and wise, given time.

And he does not want them chasing the Silmaril.

~

[Read the full fic on AO3! And leave a comment, please!!]

[thelioninmybed]

Misc replies

berrysphase replied to your post “valaraukars replied to your post “AU maeglin in mithrim with grandad...”

I'm sideeyeing myself here for sounding so "MY PET THEORY" when my whole point was there's actually a whole bunch of ways to explain Earendil not getting the Kingship and some of them can leave Maeglin the legitimate heir -- lol sorry (Assuming Gil is Orodreth's, that is, I always do too!) I figure the relative Sindarin comfort with powerful women has a lot to do with Melian, but it turns out I could go on and add screenfuls about Elwe's special status

and king's choice etc etc so uh I'll spare you... Also surely this attitude has a lot to do with why Galadriel married a Sinda.

Elves arguing inheritance politics is my catnip but it's also a bit brain-breaking -- I mean here are these immortal beings arguing about different interpretations of inheritance law when inheritance was just invented out of whole cloth so recently, you get to blatant rationalization s and bad philosophical arguments so fast

No no, it certainly can be done but you’re right, I forgot about Earendil during my analysis. Gil as Orodreth has always made sense to me, especially with how small a player he is until after the War of Wrath. God, the Galadriel-Marries-A-Sinda thing is an excellent point. I tend to skim over the more overtly patriarchal crap in the text (and in my fic, unless I’m making a point) but it explains an awful lot about why such an ambitious woman would spend so much time away from the action - she has vastly more of a say in governance etc. in Doriath than she would have in her own peoples’ lands - and of course she’d marry a Sinda, this is great. 

God, yes, how did the issue of who would inherit Finwe’s crown break society when the issue was, as far as anyone knew, entirely academic? (because it was really a question of who daddy loved more :()

psychopompious replied to your post “valaraukars replied to your post “AU maeglin in mithrim with grandad...”

"and she's his great aunt" you say that like it would be a problem for him. that's only 4th degree consanguinity, same as first cousins!

also re: Celeborn's relation to Thingol, I think in that version it's through the schrodinger's cat brother (aka Elmo) but I'd have to dig up that lovely chart of Doriath's long line of cousin marriages to check

.......okay fuck, you’re right. Maeglin would. 

If that’s the case then I suppose I owe Tolkien an apology. But he’s dead and also we have no idea what happened to Lalwen so I’m just gonna sit on it. 

vardasvapors replied to your post “Paying attention to those things is not my forte but thank you for...”

I just wanted to mention that this series of prompted au's is like my fave thing in the fandom rn

Thx xx I just wish I could be more varied with them than ‘but then everyone died anyway’

crocordile replied to your post “valaraukars replied to your post “AU maeglin in mithrim with grandad...”

to be fair though, nothing in canon suggests elwing held a position of authority by herself; you can easily assume her position comes from her marriage :/ Though ofc that is not my interpretation/headcanon at all!

re: earendil's ellegibility for high kingship: on the purely legalist side cirdan and co might just be following finrod's logic and taking finarfin's to be the royal line after fingolfin's death, or something? i always assumed that (but then again i def hc gil as oro's son which not many do hahaha)

You: “I don't think Tolkien meant for us to interpret it this way."

Me, an intellectual w. a folder of Silm erotica: "He didn't mean for us to interpret a lot of things this way. But we did."

I.E. Elwing is queen and idgaf what Tolkien wanted. 

I am with you on Gil as Oro’s (AND NOT JUST FOR SHIPPING REASONS OKAY, I HAVE LAYERS), someone pointed out the thematic neatness of the three lines of Finwe’s descendants dying to other elves, to Morgoth, and to Sauron respectively and Gil as an Arafinwean falls neatly into that. 

simaethae replied to your post “Paying attention to those things is not my forte but thank you for...”

how about they win a decisive enough victory to reclaim *one* silmaril and then morgoth flips and... volcanoes. or something. anyway you could totally contrive an AU where some of the feanorians, i'm saying C&C for kicks, have to fall back to the safety of Doriath in the ensuing chaos with their newly-obtained silmaril (since after all we know a silmaril can get you through the girdle...)

like i'm sorry this is great but i feel like it just needs more terrible decision making from the noldor to be a silm AU >>;

I’m starting to feel bad for Anon, okay? Just like Mandos, even my cold heart can be moved to pity. 

C+C in Doriath would be exquisite tbh, it’s yet another closed system where they can feed on paranoia, claw for power, and Celegorm can get into a creep off with Daeron while Thingol despises them while coveting the jewel and Melian is like ‘for fuck’s sake guys’ but no one listens. At least maybe the dwarves are free of the murder shenanigans this time around!

emilyenrose replied to your post “Paying attention to those things is not my forte but thank you for...”

ok but any au where luthien doesn't dress up as a vampire is a bad end au anyway

Truer words have never been spoken. 

vardasvapors replied to your post “Idk if you'll agree or not, but for the au where the silmarils don't...”

this is so wonderfully terrible and perfect, i love the...honesty and simplicity of the things they say, in them talking specifically about their relationship, though the feelings and Maglor's claims about finishing it can map onto much more. Also "I'd like that" JUST KILL ME.

It didn’t kill Mae though, more’s the pity :( Okay but realtalk, thank you <3 I suppose by this point all pretension’s pretty much been stripped away, they’re well past the point where lying to each other or themselves would do any good. 

valaraukars replied to your post “Ok I've find that tag .. but you actually read it? You can find it...”

You know who defied the valar? You know who doesn't get any credit? You know who is a character of true depth and nuance, constantly dismissed by an undeserving fandom? Ungoliant

No no Ungoliant, as established, abandoned her children and is a bad mother and thus a bad woman giant spider. Please keep your vile glorification of her off my blog. 

imindhowwelayinjune replied to your post “Idk if you'll agree or not, but for the au where the silmarils don't...”

You are maddeningly good at feelings that cut to the bone and somehow have this soupcon of humor - 'I'd like that,' said Maedhros wistfully - that makes the feeling go straight through the bone to the marrow

I left off the hurtful swears cause I know you don’t really mean them. Maedhros wishes feelings really worked so literally :(