Unknown By Hozier Is So Celebrimbor / Silvergifting Coded

unknown by hozier is so celebrimbor / silvergifting coded…

“do you know i could break beneath the weight of the goodness, love i still carry for you? and i’d walk so far just to take the injury of finally knowing you.”

In the not so distant future, Celebrimbor comes to Aman.

He didn't respond to the summons right away, which surprised many, though they didn't comment on it, and once re-embodied Celebrimbor is very quiet, and very still, and doesn't say or do much beyond what is necessary.

His convalescence is not quite in keeping with what is usual, but the Valar and the Maiar who work among those who have recently appeared in Aman treat his new body carefully; they know that the soul inside it is still hurt, still damaged, still withered and gasping, and the day when Celebrimbor will be truly healed is far, far away.

There are elves among them, of course, and they escort Celebrimbor outside every day. They take him to places of surpassing beauty and he is gently complacent, acknowledging their kindness with a smile that's barely there, or a nod of thanks, but nothing more, until the movement and migration of the kingfishers along the lakeshores and up the major river valleys in Aman captures his attention.

There is no winter in Aman, just spring and summer and spring again, but the birds move into the valley where the newly awakened reside with some regularity, and their calls at dawn and midday make Celebrimbor sit upright in wonder, every time. Finally he asks for charcoal and paper, for paints and watercolor, and begins to draw the kingfishers and all their variations through the seasons.

This goes on for some time.

(When a well-meaning elf asks if he wouldn't rather work with metal, wouldn't rather hold a hammer and strike an anvil instead, he drops his brush and walks away suddenly, one hand cradling the other, and the elf has to collect his scattered drawings before they are taken by the wind. They do not ask again.)

One day an attendant loses track of Celebrimbor in the wild. Hours turn into days and soon a search is on. Some of the elves don't understand. They ask, what harm could possibly come to him here? One of the Valar who lingers nearby cuts the air with a gesture, his expression grave, and they fall silent.

Celebrimbor is found by the shore of a small, clear lake, hidden among the grasses with an injured kingfisher in his arms. He is filthy, and he is crying.

"It fell from the sky," he tells the same Valar who silenced the elves. "Can we save it, please? It's so badly hurt, it might be dying, it's done nothing wrong."

"Of course, of course," is the answer. "Of course, we can but try."

i’ve dipped casually into bagginshield recently (10 years late 💀) and i am absolutely fascinated by how popular that ship seems to have been in fandom spaces. like it’s a great ship of course but i genuinely didn’t know people were that into the hobbit trilogy? i was deep into marvel and superwholock at the time and completely missed it. could just be a case of being in the right place at the right time (what i affectionaly refer to as the golden age of tumblr).

the rings of power + favourite s2 quotes

Broke: Gondolin was a serious, conservative, prudish city.

Woke: The Gondolindrim were stuck in one city for 400-ish years with no Morgoth threatening them and basically nothing do to. If anyone in Middle-Earth was entertaining themselves with festivals and ragers, it was them. We're talking drunken moshpits, people getting thrown into fountains, endless romantic intrigue between most of the Lords, the whole nine yards.

Bespoke: The Gondolindrim were party animals but they all agreed that what happens in Gondolin stays in Gondolin and never talked about the parties after the fall; which is why Gondolin gets a reputation for being so serious and boring. Most of the Gondolindrim, and especially Turgon, think this is hilarious.