#textual ghosts
Maglor/Spouse headcanons
(featuring my OC for his hubby, Ringwë “Ringo”Ilyannon)
Despite being the shorter of the two, Mags is the big spoon (he also tops most of the time)
Ringo is a NEAT FREAK and his eye twitches when one thing is out of place while Mags is literally a hot mess “it’s organized chaos, Ringo!”
Ringo followed his husband to ME, not because he was swayed by Fëanor’s words but for two other reasons, first was loyalty to Mags and the second was because he was just getting mad bored in Valinor (where nothing ever happens unless Morgoth is around to stir shit up) and he needed material to write a play about that wasn’t The Merry Misadventures of Gods Part II (his very popular comedy series about the Valar). He wanted to be around when history was being made.
He and Maglor fought side by side on several occasions even though Maglor was a spell-singer and Ringo had to learn fighting skills on the go (“I never fought but I’ve air-fenced for roles before”)
Ringo was Mags’ biggest support when Mae was captured and he got into fights with his brothers about his “failure” to rescue him (“I’m writing a new play. It’s called ‘if you don’t leave my husband alone I’ll kick your fucking teeth in”)
Ringo is a total blanket hog which Mags doesn’t mind because it gives him excuses for cuddles “you’re gonna share this warmth one way or another”
When the Gap fell, Mags ordered Ringo to go with the retreating survivors and this stubborn bitch said “if we’re dying, we’re dying together whether you like it or not.”
Whenever they get bored of their wandering, they stay in Amon Ereb (which is a perfectly serviceable keep that Mags sings an enchantment around to make it look like ruins)
Mags calls Ringo “coivenya” (my life)
They argue in the dumbest ways, Mags will sing obnoxiously to annoy Ringo while Ringo recites increasingly insulting poetry.
They’ve definitely sucked each other off under the table when meetings got boring
Ringo was away when Maedhros killed himself so he came back to find his husband and law-brother gone and the fortress a mess, he at first thought that they’d been assailed by orcs. But then he heard Maglor’s singing and found him at the edge of the water.
Weirdest place they had sex? On Himring’s roof. Maedhros had them up there patrolling for orcs and whatnot but when a couple hours passed and all they saw was snow, they were like “Welp, bored now” and banged on one of the turrets (facing forward so they could still scout for enemies). When Mae heard about this, he tried to be the intimidating older brother but ended up laughing his ass off because him and Fingon did that same thing one time.
Whenever Ringo’s having a bad day, Mags would pick him up some of his favorite fruit (strawberries, but when they were Exiled and on the road it was hard to get them. He learned to freeze-dry them from Celegorm so they’d have a supply when they were on the go). When Mags is having a bad day, Ringo does hilariously bad but surprisingly accurate impressions of people Maglor dislikes and it has him cackling every single time.
Ringo may be a neat freak but that doesn’t extend to his hair. His hair is curly as fuck and most of the time it’s thrown up in a braid because he can’t be assed with it, so Mags usually takes care of it.
Feanor didn’t like Ringo at first because his family were Fingolfin’s supporters and said that no son of his would marry a potential “plant.” Ringo’s parents didn’t like Maglor cuz of his dramatic and admittedly arrogant musician personality, fearing he would be as flighty as his stage persona. So the two of them did what any reasonable elves would do, eloped. They did the equivalent of a drive-thru Vegas wedding with like three of Mags’ brothers there.
When he got back home, Mags didn’t even bother hiding it from Feanor. “Where did you get to, son?”
“Oh, I went out and got married” cuz at that point the marriage was already performed and Feanor couldn’t do shit about it. He eventually warmed up a tad when he saw how happy Maglor was (and how Ringo made the twins laugh)
Ringo was happy that Mags had such a large family since he was an only child himself and always wanted siblings.
Maglor just saying “fuck u dad, I’m getting married” inspired Mae to be public about his own relationship with Fingon.
Vague thoughts, probably super jumbled because it’s 4 am and I can’t really sleep.
The good posts about sexism baked into Tolkien’s works have shaken a few old thoughts loose in my brain. I think it’s a little sad that we often assume the textual ghosts of canon wives have to exit the story. Maglor’s wife, Caranthir’s, Curufin’s, Orodreth’s—we don’t know who they are, but I rarely see fanfic where they explicitly survive their husbands in Beleriand. They die, or they vanish. For the Fëanorions, sometimes their wives are just written as staying behind in Valinor altogether.
And I think that’s a little sad because I think we’re sleeping on some excellent character potential here! Maybe I have weirdly specific tastes. But I’d like to read this story: a woman marries a prince in paradise, but heads East with a Kinslayer into the unknown. I want the tale of how they fall apart, whether it’s because the wife rejects the husband or the story rips them apart. And above all, I want the story of how the wife learns to live again in the peace after Beleriand sinks, and the story of what she makes of herself in the absence of a husband.
More specifically, I want this kind of story with Maglor’s wife! Nobody else makes it out of Beleriand with a spouse to face after. I’d also love a story where Elrond and Maglor’s wife band together to find their sad trashbag of a father/husband and forcibly rehabilitate him. Also, I’m not sure I’ve ever read a Maglor-sails-west fic where he’s actually okayon a fundamental level. He’s got a lot to recover from, but I think that having a son and a wife who demand Maglor do better would actually make a big change over the millennia. It’s certainly a massive improvement over three Ages singing laments to the sea.
Vague thoughts, probably super jumbled because it’s 4 am and I can’t really sleep.
The good posts about sexism baked into Tolkien’s works have shaken a few old thoughts loose in my brain. I think it’s a little sad that we often assume the textual ghosts of canon wives have to exit the story. Maglor’s wife, Caranthir’s, Curufin’s, Orodreth’s—we don’t know who they are, but I rarely see fanfic where they explicitly survive their husbands in Beleriand. They die, or they vanish. For the Fëanorions, sometimes their wives are just written as staying behind in Valinor altogether.
And I think that’s a little sad because I think we’re sleeping on some excellent character potential here! Maybe I have weirdly specific tastes. But I’d like to read this story: a woman marries a prince in paradise, but heads East with a Kinslayer into the unknown. I want the tale of how they fall apart, whether it’s because the wife rejects the husband or the story rips them apart. And above all, I want the story of how the wife learns to live again in the peace after Beleriand sinks, and the story of what she makes of herself in the absence of a husband.
More specifically, I want this kind of story with Maglor’s wife! Nobody else makes it out of Beleriand with a spouse to face after. I’d also love a story where Elrond and Maglor’s wife band together to find their sad trashbag of a father/husband and forcibly rehabilitate him. Also, I’m not sure I’ve ever read a Maglor-sails-west fic where he’s actually okayon a fundamental level. He’s got a lot to recover from, but I think that having a son and a wife who demand Maglor do better would actually make a big change over the millennia. It’s certainly a massive improvement over three Ages singing laments to the sea.
