Comments

The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.

Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! What a bad way to go! When he reconsiders his decisions and sees his mistakes, when he finally realizes that his best creation are his sons, they react to the *bad* Feanor who swore the Oath, not the *good* Feanor who loves them and whose parting memory was going to be fun time with all the family together. So many regrets to work out in Mandos.:(

Great story.

 

Oh this was so utterly heartbreaking. I love the memories you have chosen, the regret as he sees himself with more objective eyes and finds his actions petty, wrong, regretful.  And that horrible misunderstanding at the end--he would do things diffently with the clarity death is giving him. Such a devastating comprehension.

But. I will find a shred of hope--for he goes to Mandos' Halls enlightened by his thoughts here. Not in anger or in rebellion but thinking of those he loved or who loved him tat evshould have cherished more. And that gives me hope for him in the Halls. 

That's a wonderful thought. I am a HUGE fan of "what happens in Mandos, and beyond" stories: the second chances.

It's fascinating, isn't it? Tolkien gave us some of the most poignant character moments ever, of those who realized some great error they had made, and tried to make up for it in the face of doom: Thorin, Boromir. But he also gave us characters who make similarly tragic errors and never get the chance to change anything: Isildur. And those whom he lets us see only from the outside: and we are left to guess or imagine whether they felt regret or not: not only Feanor but Thingol come to mind.

And in every case. we readers say (and write, and draw): what if?

Oh wow, this story really packed a punch! Such a bitter list of regrets and could-have-beens already... and such an awful, heavy misunderstanding to finish it off. Powerful writing and such a satisfying, thought-provoking look at what may have gone through Feanor's head as he died. Brilliant work!

I know I praised this on Tumblr and commented on AO3 but just want to go on record here (what I consider my home site) at how wonderful it is. Very special to me over the last couple of days, because I have been examining a lot why I find Feanor and sons so compelling.

Anyway, here is a cut and paste of my initial AO3 comment.

You ripped my heart out! This is such a keeper. I am so jealous. All of this stuff is in my heart and my mind when I write stories of Feanor and all of the Finwean brood, but I spend tens of thousands of words and never am sure I manage to communicate what it is that moves me so much about his story. Oh, well! That is what I do--write fanfic to try to ferret out those individual tangents.

And the end! I love the concept that he could have been trying to say something else. It is beautifully done. Thanks so much for adding this to fandom.

And I thank you for commenting here, too. This site has the totally unique--Silmarillion-ness---that steeped-ness in the legendarium that just delights me.

This week I ended up reading a story here from 2010 and it was amazing: that layered sense of fan creation and imagination, which this site can offer as a dedicated archive.

I am rambling a bit, I blame wine and Netflix.

But, that's why I cross post and why I appreciate your commenting here after being kind enough to do so on the other platforms.