"The Tapestries"--Chapter Six

[dawn_felagund]

In last week's chapter, the Noldor sailed across the sea to Middle-earth after dispatching of those pesky Teleri. In this week's chapter, Feanaro first begins to ponder the idea of burning the ships...and his growing paranoia and madness becomes clearer as well.

Thanks to all who are reading! As usual, comments and concrit is welcome.

Comments

[frenchpony]

An interesting chapter. Fëanor as a character is fascinating here, but the world in which he lives strikes me as a little off, somehow. I liked the realism of Elves misjudging their first steps on the shores of Middle-earth and hurting themselves, and I enjoy Fëanor's ruminations about his own paranoia.

As always, your concept of Arda is, technologically, an extremely modern place. I hadn't exactly thought of Maedhros as an engineer. And . . . did rubber trees grow in Aman, too? Would they have thought to bring potted trees to Middle-earth, or wodges of raw rubber? That whole thing just didn't feel right.

This sentence: The stuff that makes up his eyes turned its flashing green belly to me. is a somewhat bizarre metaphor. But this one: Right at this very moment, I am consoling fourteen slain Teleri and two Noldor who’d been lost at sea and three Avari arrived from the Outer Lands; I am watching your mother work and holding my wife and trying not to laugh at Oromë’s jokes at counsel, lest I betray my dignity. is fantastic.

[dawn_felagund]

I'm going to cut the specifics about fixing the ships entirely. I don't know anything about that sort of thing, and it doesn't do well to pretend that I do. Even rubber-acquisition issues aside, you're right, it's just weird.

How 'bout if I change "engineer" to "architect," which is more of what I meant anyway? He's more of a hobbyist in this; reference is made in AMC at one point about how he and Feanaro make corrections to an architecture book that they find lying about in an inn.

The bizarre metaphor I wanted to be bizarre. The fantastic line I found quite ordinary! :)

[frenchpony]

The bizarre metaphor I wanted to be bizarre. The fantastic line I found quite ordinary! :)

One writer's bizarre is another writer's fantastic?

[ann_arien]

Mmm.. another chapter. And I get to enjoy it properly, at home. I like the way you alternate between Feanaro in the halls, still not used to being without flesh and blood, still unable to completely understand what is expected of him and what he should do with himself and Feanaro in Aman, clearly losing control of things as they developed into madness and lead to his death.

I loved the opening: In life, I had begrudged the fact that I had to sleep. Sleep took me from my work, from matters far more important than the self-indulgency of repose. I think we've discussed this once or twice and I must have told you that I feel the same way. Only I wish that there were a pill for sleeping and a pill for eating, to simply stomach and then see to other matters.

Ah, you exaggerate your importance, Fëanáro, as always.

That must have cut deep, even for someone as humbled by his new condition as Feanaro.

Fëanáro, and I am yours to summon, just as anything else.”*ahem* Sorry, but did you honestly think you'd get away without me finding

[dawn_felagund]

There are eleven chapters in this story, and I'm going to post the last two together, as they have more impact when read together. (They're also very short.) So there's not too much more

[ann_arien]

As for Feanor in the Halls and in life...the scenes in Middle-earth I wanted to show his gradual descent into madness. I do not believe that he was "all there" at this point in his life...and with good reason.

No, I don't believe that Feanaro was "all there" at that point either. I see him as much too rational and practical to have made so many reckless and down-right pointless choices, if he were 100% himself. What shocks me is that none of his sons (or all of them) had the courage to stand up to him and maybe try to bring him back from his descent into madness. True, he was not one to stand up against and the speed with which the events were unfolding did not leave much room for looking after one's mad father, but...

Of course, the PoV is complex because he is looking back and so is aware of his madness.

I think that this is what I love most about this story. I'm so impressed by the clarity with which he looks back at himself and how he openly admits that he was, indeed, afraid, out of control and more than a little mad.

I do

[dawn_felagund]

What shocks me is that none of his sons (or all of them) had the courage to stand up to him and maybe try to bring him back from his descent into madness. True, he was not one to stand up against and the speed with which the events were unfolding did not leave much room for looking after one's mad father, but...That's kind of how I see it: They were caught in such an impetus at that time that they simply could not stop it. This is even canon, to a degree: Feanor didn't want the Noldor to take their time, iirc, because he was afraid that once passions cooled, they wouldn't be so keen on his ideas. (Or am I imagining this?) I imagine that they were hit by Finwe's death and the death of the Trees; imagine the shock of that. Everyone was emotional. They swore the Oath. And I see that as the turning point