#this may be rambly and ill-conceived which i apologise for

[maedhrus]

Please write an essay on the merits of Maglor/Fingolfin. I'm listening.

excellent. you may regret doing so.

maglor and fingolfin share similar positions of being the second son to an important father and have carved out niches for themselves (maglor’s music vs fingolfin’s politics) as a result of this. where this pairing really gets me going, however, is immediately after fingolfin’s host arrives in beleriand. here, fingolfin has just suffered the loss of his (favourite? i choose to believe so) son, has spent 30 years fighting for survival on the helecaraxeë, shouldered the grief of his people and loved ones (because we all know that turgon got mega fucked up by elenwë’s death), is likely still reeling from finwë’s death and the noldor’s subsequent rebellion/exile, and was betrayed and abandoned by the brother he gave up everything to follow. that same brother who is now dead! before he has the chance to air any of this out! and, instead of his eldest nephew ruling in fëanor’s place, he instead meets maglor. maglor who never expected or prepared to be king, has little to no political experience, (is possibly dealing with the death of his youngest brother if we go with the crispy!amrod draft), and has given maedhros up for dead, because what else can he do! imo, this creates a delicious scenario for angsty conflict where fingolfin is both desperate to lash out and duty-bound to protect his people, and maglor is haunted by grief and guilt but will stubbornly hold onto his and his house’s power as long as he can. and then when fingon fucks off to rescue maedhros leaving maglor and fingolfin the heads of a very divided people held together on a string. and i feel like fingolfin would see ruling as more of a calling than maglor does, but maglor’s pride and his love for fëanor prevent him ever ceasing power to fingolfin, despite them both knowing he’s far more equipped for it. they’re both seeking to almost torment the other because they have their own guilt they can’t confront and the more they turn to each other, they build a relationship, and intimacy. and that guilt builds.

i think that a maglor/fingolfin relationship would be a perfect blend of repression, poor coping mechanisms, the confusion of familial and romantic love, seeking comfort in the other, and long debates over the nature of loyalty and duty. i think what began as a form of self-flagellation and punishment to inflict on each other turns to finding comfort in incredibly trying conditions turns to an affair they both hate themselves for but can’t bring themselves to stop. it’s also the perfect relationship to use if you want to pick apart the “saint fingolfin” narrative and get real gritty with them both.

in summary, vote magolfin in this year’s election

(also the potential for maglor/fingolfin to do the rhaenyra/daemon “take me to dragonstone and make me your wife” is incredibly sexy but I understand that it’s a completely personal taste)

#tolkien #silmarillion #maglor #fingolfin #maglor x fingolfin #magolfin nation rise! #asks #this may be rambly and ill-conceived which i apologise for #but that you for enabling me dear anon