#psy replies

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alackofghosts replied to your post “aredhel for the meme, please? :D”

omg yes, i totally agree that she would not have gone to/stayed in gondolin out of some obligation. it seems less prevalent these days, but, say, 3 years ago the fanon of her hating gondolin/turgon was much more common and it was URGH.

Oh man yeah, you wouldn’t think it from how much I whine and complain, but opinions of Aredhel and Turgon have improved so much recently, and that makes me so happy.

I totally headcanon that Aredhel is the real reason Turgon was able to keep the construction of Gondolin secret for the years that it took to complete. Just think of how much manpower it would take, and all the supplies - and who’s the most hardcore and most trustworthy wilderness guide around? Imo when he told her about this whole wild idea, she would have been like “how soon are we leaving? nevermind, just let me grab my arrows”. I mean this isn’t something Turgon trusted to anyone else, not to Finrod, not to Fingon or Fingolfin. But he trusted Aredhel. (Incidentally, I have a song for them.)

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vardasvapors replied to your post “Ngl, one thing I adore about the Lost Tales versions of the Fall of...”

the lost tales version has several wtf early elements but oh my god yes this. the chaos and insanity and atmosphere is SO GOOD. also idril. lost tales idril. i love her so much. so fingolfin. also voronwe herding cats.

YAAAS. I mean, one thing I appreciate about Pengolodh versus Ilfiniol is that Pengolodh is slightly less... Less. In general. And the idea of Voronwë having a son is?? What. (Probably just my OT3 showing itself.)

But oh man Lost Tales Eärendil too, running around a battlefield at six, swears off horses as the work of the devil, world's most gleefully murderous smol child. The Lost Tales are wild.

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hey jsyk, it's impossible to like anything from your blog rather than from a follower's dashboard - the round-ended green bar at the top of your blog theme blocks all the buttons. Just thought you might like to know!

AH SHIT. Welp, I’ve been wanting to change this theme since I first started using it, now I just have more reason. Thanks for letting me know friend!

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imindhowwelayinjune replied to your post “It’s super funny to me that no matter what, it’s Turgon who can’t...”

IDK why we spend all this time battling Morgoth when it's Turgon 'The Real Monster' Nolofinwion we should be fighting! Crimes include fatherhood, leadership, caring too much, and not having as much flair, coiffure-wise, as his brother. He's the worst!

I can't believe you, you forgot his worst crime. Everyone knows how he stood in the way of his brother's and cousin's True Love, and that the very sight of True Love transforms him into a senseless, ravening bear-elf bent on destroying the happiness of all young lovers. Also he's such a coward, but then, aren't all enemies of True Love simply jealous cowards?

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simaethae replied to your post “You know I really think Turgon would forgive Maeglin, if they were...”

I don't think Turgon would forgive Maeglin if he'd succeeded in harming Earendil or Idril, but as it stands, yeah. I'm not always sure how real Turgon's affection/forgiveness would feel to Maeglin, tho,when it's clearly so tangled up with Turgon's personal guilt (over the Aredhel and Eol thing as well) but you've probably put more thought into them than me :)

Yeah, the problem I always have writing reborn-in-Valinor AUs is figuring out how all these people who have seriously hurt each other in the past would interact. Especially with the folks from Gondolin, since you've got a bunch of deaths from friendly fire, and at least a dozen different ideas of What Really Happened.

I think guilt is something that's accompanied Turgon through most of his life, after Elenwe's death, and it's probably present in some form in most of his close relationships, but at the same time I see him as a very genuinely affectionate person. Thinking of that one quote that didn't make it into the published version, when Aredhel's companions returned without her, "at least I should be glad that three whom I trust and love were not led to death". He was clearly still devastated and probably angry, but he didn’t love them any less. Whether Maeglin would perceive that or not, well. Imo he has difficulty trusting affection in general.

I'm not sure Maeglin can even begin to extricate guilt from affection and forgiveness himself. Re: Aredhel and Eol, I really think he blames himself for that. If he hadn't asked Aredhel to leave with him, she would still be alive. If he'd reacted a little faster (or at all) when he was attacked, she would still be alive. He stood by and watched her die and didn't do anything. Maybe his father was right about him after all, maybe everything his father did was truly for his own good. If he had just obeyed his father to start with, both his parents would still be alive. He betrayed his father too, right? He stood by and watched him die and did nothing. It doesn't matter that he couldn't have done anything in these situations, that's not something he can face. (Which is my headcanon for why he refused to remain behind for the Nirnaeth and stubbornly stayed by Turgon's side through it, among other things. He can't stand the thought of simply standing by, yet again, while someone he loves dies.) They’re just a coupla guilty peas in the self-blame pod.

Haha yes I spend way too much time overthinking these two nerds please talk at me about them, please.

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@simaethae i love this. some versions of the Oath refer specifically to Feanor's "sons" but i think it's legit to read that as "descendants". if you take a literal reading you start getting some weird results tho - in particular it's not an oath to regain the Silmarils, it's an oath to take vengeance on people who steal them, or just don't give them back to the Feanorians. hopefully giving them back after a delay would still count?

HOPEFULLY. I've thought it was a bit weird myself. I guess you could make an argument for that pretty easily, it's not like they were thinking anyone who wasn't allied with Morgoth would get hold of one when they swore.

I've been wondering if perhaps the Oath simply functions on the subjective perceptions of those who swore it, since we know that it can be delayed. So, if they can convince themselves that they will have it back eventually, they can fend off the compulsion for a while. If it works the same way for exemption, then it really just depends on who Fëanor's sons subconsciously consider to be "Fëanor's kin". Which means that Maedhros could potentially say "You may no longer consider yourself family, but *I* still consider you family," to Celebrimbor -- or just to himself -- and even if that isn't a permanent fix, it would still buy them more time. It would presumably work the same for adoption, so if for example *Elrond* had somehow gotten a Silmaril post-kidnapping, he might also have been immune. The question is then how far can you push it before it's too obviously an excuse and they can no longer fool themselves.

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@alikuu There is a fic like that! :D wait a minute I will find it for u :)( alikuu Enjoy: https://m.fanfiction.net/s/4714469/10/

Thank you!! This looks really exciting.

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@feanope

I didn’t have access to my tumblr for months so I’ve missed most context for it, but stuff about it still crosses my dash sometimes. I like all of the characters too much to want to get involved, especially now that it seems to have mostly blown over, but some of the posts that are still going around are kinda depressing. I don’t know.