#tefain nin

I contributed to 4 different collaborations as part of the @tolkienrsb this year, so I wanted to collect all the relevant links in one post for your convenience!

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MY WRITING

A Certain Knowledge -- Russingon AU -- AO3 link, tumblr promo, art by @timetravellers-art

So This Is Love -- Russingon fluff in Valinor -- AO3 link, tumblr promo, art by @thatfeanorian

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MY ART

Bird Brothers -- Eluréd & Elurín -- art on tumblr, art on AO3, fic on AO3 by @nothing2c, tumblr promo

(sorry for taking approximately 400 years to answer this, oops)

Oh boy do I!

I headcanon that Anairë is a very devout, Vala-honoring woman, and she very much tried to pass that onto her children. (It only really took with Turgon, rip.) She gave her children mother-names corresponding to various Valar: Astaldo (Tulkas) for Fingon, Núrondil (Ulmo) for Turgon, Aldarindë (Oromë) for Aredhel*, and Sintamo (Aulë) for Argon.

*Someone else pointed out to me once that Írissë could actually be a reference to Irmo, which is a possibility I hadn’t considered! But personally I think it’s more likely that Írissë is her father-name, a reference to Fingolfin’s sister Írimë.

These mother-names were semi-prophetic, and also influenced her children to seek out a connection with their namesake Valar. Fingon is certainly very valiant, and I think that with encouragement from Anairë he trained under Tulkas for a time...but also, he probably ends up having a stronger connection with Manwë. Turgon was more inclined to spend time by the sea with his Arafinwëan cousins because of his mother-name, but no one could have guessed how important Ulmo would be to him in Beleriand. Aredhel was always a wild, free spirit, and likely would have traveled with Oromë’s Hunt regardless of her mother-name, but it was certainly something she used when arguing with her mother about whether it was proper for a lady to go hunting, and all in white at that! As for Argon, I think Anairë waited an unusually long time to name him, because she didn’t have foresight around him; only when he showed interest in smithing (which, while a very Noldorin trait, was unique to him among his immediate family) did she give him a name of her own.

...But as for Fingon and Anairë specifically, I think they frequently clashed on topics of religion, especially as Fingon grew up and started forming his own opinions. Of course, to Anairë, it looked an awful lot like his Fëanorian friends were “corrupting” him with their blasphemous ideas, but to Fingon it was an awakening to concepts his mother had sheltered him from. Fingon never quite shakes the foundation of his belief in the Valar, or specifically his fondness for Manwë and Tulkas, but his feelings toward them are much less reverential than Anairë’s. And when Fëanor and Maedhros start talking about how the Valar had betrayed them, were caging them, Fingon was inclined to agree, because he too was curious about Endórë, and he was very sympathetic to the Fëanorians’ grief over Míriel’s unjust death (if not their disdain/hatred for Indis and her line).

When I operate in a ’verse that includes Valarin homophobia, Anairë very much buys into that. Her latent feelings for Eärwen are suppressed, and she is openly disapproving of queerness, meaning that Fingon has even more reason to hide his relationship with Maedhros from his parents. Eventually she will experience a shaking of that faith, leading to her hooking up with Eärwen after the Darkening, but it will take a lot for her to get to a point where she doesn’t feel guilty about her own bisexuality...at which point she’ll be feeling guilty about how she treated her own kids about their queerness. (Because they are all queer—Fingon is gay, Turgon is a horrifically repressed bisexual, Aredhel is aro and bi, and Argon is aroace. And Fingolfin is also a repressed bisexual!)

When the Darkening comes, Anairë stands by her faith. She chooses her religion over her family, over her marriage and her children. It leaves her utterly alone. (She also chooses Eärwen, but she doesn’t want to admit why, at first.) She doesn’t regret her choice, not really, because Beleriand was horrible and killed her whole family (save Idril), but she also feels a lot of grief and guilt over not being there for them when they needed her.

I contributed to 5 different collaborations as part of the @tolkienrsb this year, so I wanted to collect all the relevant links in one post for your convenience!

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MY WRITING

A Warg in Sheep’s Clothing -- Fíli & Kíli & Warg OC -- AO3 link, tumblr promo, art

To Find the Sun -- Legolas + Gimli & Arien/Ilmárë -- AO3 link, tumblr promo, art

Laurefindilemma -- Elenwë accidentally impersonates Glorfindel -- AO3 link, tumblr promo, art 1 & art 2

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MY ART

Black Swords -- Maeglin/Túrin AU -- edit, fic on AO3, tumblr promo

Whom shall they bear hither first? -- Russingon AU where Maedhros sneaks Fingon onto the ships -- art, fic on AO3, tumblr promo

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TREATS