for @finweanladiesweek Day 1: Míriel Þerindë and Indis!
Rating: G | Major Character Death
Relationships: Indis/Míriel/Finwë, Indis & her parents, Indis & House of Finwë
Characters: Indis, Míriel, Finwë, House of Finwë, Ingalaurë (OC), Alcariniel (OC), Ingwë, Findis, Finarfin, Finrod, Glorfindel
Word count: 1,500
what do you think of childhood best friends russingon? doesn't necessarily have to be your hc but i was curious on how you'd view and interpret this
im the person from before, i wanted to clarify i was talking of russingon childhood best friends to lovers! im not sure how i hc their relationship as being platonic and friendship-ish before actually getting together so i'd like to know what you think of it!
Yes anon, I absolutely have headcanons about this!!! Have it in timeline form, since that's how I've written these down, lol. All events are headcanon unless italicized, in which case they are canon.
(Note: Fuck Tree Years, all my homies hate Tree Years, I completely disregard their absurdity, 1 Tree Year = 1 Sun Year in all my timelines because otherwise none of this shit makes any sense. I know I'm not great at math but Tolkien was WORSE.)
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Y.T. 1279: Fëanáro weds Nerdanel...first in the woods on a camping trip, then officially a month later.
1280: Birth of Nelyafinwë Maitimo to Fëanáro and Nerdanel...less than a year after their ~official~ marriage.
1292: Ñolofinwë marries Anairë, without a hint of scandal. Theirs was an arranged romance that grew from mutual like into a genuine fondness and eventually a deep love.
1293: At a family event, Ñolofinwë mentions that he and Anairë are considering having a child. Fëanáro immediately decides he and Nerdanel are having a second child. Ñolofinwë muses that he is considering following the pattern established by their father and Fëanáro himself and giving his child a -finwë name; he also might incorporate “káno” from his own amilessë if the child is a boy, perhaps something like “Kánafinwë”? Fëanáro takes careful notes.
1294: Birth of Kánafinwë Makalaurë to Fëanáro and Nerdanel. Anairë, pregnant with her first child, is furious he stole their name; Ñolofinwë appeases her, though he is also upset, and reverses the word parts to form the name Findekáno.
1295: Birth of Findekáno Astaldo to Ñolofinwë and Anairë.
1299: Arafinwë marries Eärwen. At the wedding, Ñolofinwë mentions that he and Anairë are considering a second child. Fëanáro rushes to outdo him by producing a third. (There is some scandal regarding A/E, but that's not particularly relevant here.)
1300: Birth of Findaráto Ingoldo to Arafinwë and Eärwen; birth of Turcafinwë Tyelkormo to Fëanáro and Nerdanel; birth of Turukáno Núrondil to Ñolofinwë and Anairë. A great celebration is held to honor the birth of three new grandchildren to King Finwë, one to each of his sons.
While the adults are busy with the babies, Maitimo (20) volunteers to look after little Findekáno (5). The two quickly take a liking to each other, and Findekáno’s lifelong adoration of his elder half-cousin begins.
1315: Birth of Angaráto Poldoro to Arafinwë (85) and Eärwen (115). At the celebration of his birth, Maitimo (35) and Findekáno (20) meet again and become proper friends. Maitimo offers to tutor Findekáno, which their fathers somewhat warily agree to.
1324: Maitimo (44) and Findekáno (29) invite Tyelkormo (24) to accompany them on a hunting trip. Tyelkormo falls in love with the wilderness and the sport; Findekáno falls in love with Maitimo—or, at least, realizes it now that he has someone else interrupting his time with his best friend.
1330: Maitimo turns 50. Findekáno (35) gives him a kiss as a begetting day present.
1342: Very much aware of his feelings, Findekáno (47) gives a willfully-oblivious Maitimo the epessë “Russandol.”
1345: Findekáno turns 50. Remembering his own 50th begetting day, Maitimo (65) returns the gift of a kiss, and realizes that he is in love.
1346: Findis weds Elemmírë. At the wedding, Findekáno (51) confesses his feelings to Maitimo, who is terrified by the implications and possibilities. Maitimo distances himself from Findekáno, but living in denial only strengthens his feelings...
1350: At the party celebrating Findaráto, Tyelkormo, and Turukáno's 50th birthdays, Findekáno (55) and Maitimo (75) reconcile. Platonically. Of course.
A few months later Maitimo breaks down, confesses his feelings, and they finally get together.
1380: Maitimo turns 100. Findekáno (85) asks to marry him. Maitimo turns him down; they fight. They both independently turn to Findaráto, letting him in on their relationship, and he gently pushes them back together.
1395: Findekáno turns 100. Again, he asks Maitimo (115) to marry him. Maitimo admits that he wants to, but raises concerns about politics and their families. They fight, and Findekáno ends things. Heartbroken, Maitimo confesses what happened to Makalaurë (who already guessed what was going on with those two); Findekáno does the same with Írissë (who, likewise, already knew). Their siblings tell them to get over themselves; after only a few days, Findekáno and Maitimo get back together.
1485: Fëanáro threatens Ñolofinwë with a sword. He is judged by the Valar and exiled to Formenos for 12 years. Finwë elects to accompany his eldest son to Formenos; Ñolofinwë takes over as king-regent of the Noldor.
Maitimo (203) and Findekáno (188) despair of there ever being a “good time” for them to come out with their relationship, even putting the Laws and Customs aside. In a moment of passion before Maitimo leaves with his father to Formenos, they elope. They decide to keep their marriage a secret from all except those who already knew.
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...I have more, but then we're getting out of courtship and into canon territory, so I'll stop here :) Hope you like my thoughts, anon!
Oh man, for a character we have next to no information about other than “Vanya” and “sang a really sad song about the Trees,” I have a lot of headcanons for Elemmírë!
First of all, Elemmírë is named after a heavenly body (possibly Arda’s version of Mercury?) and the name is not given in either a masculine or feminine form, so we don’t know Elemmírë’s canon gender. This of course means that Elemmírë is trans, you can’t change my mind! I’ve seen depictions of them as nonbinary, which I love, but personally my Elemmírë is a trans woman!
All the rest of my headcanons are pretty much made up whole cloth :)
I intended to make like, a bullet point list of headcanons, but I ended up referencing my recently created personal timeline of the Years of the Trees and the First Age, and...it kind of expanded into an essay on Elemmírë’s role in the larger story of that verse of mine. So, under the cut is a roughly 2,000 word essay on my take on this blank slate of a character!
~
Elemmírë is one of the Unbegotten elves who awoke at Cuiviénen. When she awoke, everyone assumed she was a male elf, which didn’t really sit right with her but she didn’t know how to express herself at the time. For the first part of her life she lived as a nér.
Elemmírë has a sister*, Calima (one of my OCs). Calima marries an Avar, who she manages to drag with her on the Great Journey despite his reluctance to go West. Right before Ulmo takes the Vanyar and the Noldor to Aman, Calima’s husband leaves her and disappears into Taur-im-Duinath...but not before Calima becomes pregnant. Elemmírë comforts her and supports her through the birth of her child, Elenwë - the first child to be born in Aman.
*(My headcanon around Unbegotten siblings is that some elves woke with soul bonds that connected them to other elves, which while they aren’t genetically related, they consider to be siblings of their fëa. This is the case for Elwë, Olwë, and Elmo; I also gave Nowë (Círdan) and Ingwë OC siblings. Finwë is a loner, which is part of why he’s so concerned about creating and keeping a marriage bond...)
While Ingwë is busy building Tirion with Finwë, his sister-in-law Alcariniel (the mother of Indis; her spouse died on the Great Journey and has yet to be reborn) leads some of the Vanyar to the foot of Taniquetil and founds what will become Valmar. Calima, Elenwë, and Elemmírë go with Alcariniel.
At this time, Elemmírë enters into the service of Varda. She develops a close relationship with her Vala, and feels more comfortable in the beautiful starry robes and among the company of mostly priestesses than she ever did in the more gendered Vanyarin society. She sings and composes hymns to Varda and the heavens.
About a century later, Elemmírë is an established and well-renowned musician in Valmar. It is then that she meets Findis, daughter of Indis, when Findis is visiting Taniquetil with her grandmother Alcariniel. Findis greatly admires Elemmírë’s songs and engages her in a discussion about poetry; the two quickly become friends.
After another hundred years or so, Findis’ half-brother Fëanáro has his fourth child. Finwë invites his whole family to the celebration; Findis now lives in Valmar and does not always attend these begetting day parties, but she happens to be in Tirion for the occasion - with Elemmírë, who tags along to the party.
At the celebration, Makalaurë (a young teen in Elf Years) sings a piece he wrote for his new baby brother, and Elemmírë is greatly impressed by his talent and offers to teach him personally. He’s had music tutors before, but none so renowned, and he is absolutely star-struck. Fëanáro has an inherent distrust of the Vanyar, but he cannot deny his son anything, especially when it comes to furthering his craft, so he agrees to let Elemmírë teach Makalaurë, on the condition that she move to Tirion. Findis offers to move back as well, so her friend won’t be alone; they move in together.
A few years later, Elemmírë takes her star student Makalaurë to Valmar so he can perform at her niece’s 200th begetting day party. This is, of course, Elenwë; Makalaurë is immediately besotted with her, and does his best to impress her. Of course, Elenwë is well into adulthood and Makalaurë is still an awkward adolescent, so nothing ever comes of this, but they do eventually become friends.
All this time, everyone has assumed that Elemmírë is a nér, but with every passing year she becomes more and more certain that is not actually the case. At last she confesses to her dear friend Findis that she thinks she might be a nís, and while Findis isn’t quite sure what that means at first, she’s very supportive and encourages Elemmírë to go to Varda with this revelation.
I do operate in a verse where some homophobia and transphobia exist in Aman, kind of accidently put into place by a well-meaning but ultimately harmful decision by Manwë, but Varda is significantly more chill than her husband. She doesn’t really get what Elemmírë is saying, but she supports her servant’s change in expression. Elven gender roles are pretty loose, so it’s not really that much of a difference, and with Varda’s support Elemmírë feels more confident in herself and comes out to the public.
Most elves, especially the Vanyar, likewise don’t really get it, and privately they still see her as a nér, but there is a firm taboo against rudeness which means they will refer to Elemmírë with the correct pronouns and honorifics and such because it would be incredibly rude not to. The discomfort with someone else’s non-normative expression is easier to deal with than the social impropriety of deliberately refusing to respect someone’s wishes about their personal identity.
This, along with Varda’s kind-of-confused-but-she’s-still-got-the-spirit support of Elemmírë means it’s a pretty smooth transition process for her. Since her name isn’t gendered, she decides to keep it, and she is much happier now that she can express her true self. She also has a staunch ally in Findis, who she has recently begun courting.
Again, there is some homophobia in my verse, and two níssi in a relationship is generally frowned upon, but the half-acceptance of Elemmírë’s gender allows them to exploit a loophole in that particular Law/Custom. Manwë, at least, still sees Elemmírë as a nér, and so doesn’t see anything wrong with her dating Findis. It’s not the ideal situation, but Elemmírë and Findis aren’t really the “fight the system” type, so they’re content to live with the happiness they’ve been allowed.
Eventually, Makalaurë reaches his first coming of age** and Elemmírë takes her student on a tour of all Eldamar to show off how exceptional a musician he has become. He is declared a master singer, and leaves Elemmírë’s side to pursue mastery in instruments, beginning with the harp. His teacher couldn’t be more proud.
**(In my headcanon, elves have two coming-of-age ceremonies: one when they reach age 50, and are considered physically mature and old enough to be given more freedoms in their decisions, including now being of a socially acceptable age to start dating; and the other at age 100, where they are considered a Full Adult and able to marry. Sometimes elves marry younger than that, but it isn’t super common. Age pretty much stops mattering, especially when it comes to age gaps in relationships, when an elf is about 150.)
Not long after this, Elemmírë and Findis get married! Makalaurë performs his then-masterpiece at their wedding. Also at the wedding, Findekáno is caught up in all the glorious romance, and the possibilities of same-gender marriage now that two níssi (one a princess!) can be wed, and confesses the depth of his love for Maitimo. Maitimo...immediately panics and brings up all the reasons why their love is doomed, how their aunts are the exception and not the rule and besides there’s that loophole they’re taking advantage of that doesn’t really work for néri like us - but notably does not deny that he feels the same way. Findekáno is heartbroken by the rejection; Maitimo is terrified of his feelings and distances himself from his beloved cousin for a time.
But of course that doesn’t last long - and it’s at the celebration of the birth of Laurefindil, Findis and Elemmírë’s son, that Maitimo brings himself to reconcile with Findekáno...platonically. Of course. Until a few months later where he just can’t take it anymore and breaks down and confesses he can’t deny his feelings any longer, and they get together at long last.
Findis, Elemmírë, and Laurefindil return to Valmar and settle down there. Laurefindil is buds with both his Vanyarin cousin Elenwë and his oodles of Noldorin cousins. At his first coming of age celebration, he introduces his cousin Elenwë (on Elemmírë’s side) to his cousin Turukáno (on Findis’ side), and Turukáno immediately falls madly in love and begins some intense pining that will rival even his older brother’s romantic dramatics.
As strife grows among the Noldor, Findis and Elemmírë distance themselves from Tirion as much as they can; Makalaurë is pretty much the only Finwëan who is allowed to visit them. However, Laurefindil misses his Noldorin cousins and, after his second coming of age, chooses to move to Tirion and join his grandfather Finwë’s court. He becomes even closer to Turukáno (who has by now married Elenwë) and is very loyal to his older cousin.
At the Darkening, Elemmírë is deeply grieved at the destruction of the Two Trees, and it is then that she composes her most famous song, the Aldudénië, “Lament for the Trees.” Her grief is compounded when her son chooses to go into exile with his Noldorin kin - and, almost worse, when her niece Elenwë chooses to leave as well.
Elenwë is the only Vanya who leaves (well, the only Vanya who is fully culturally Vanyarin without any Noldorin ancestry), mostly because she cannot bear to be separated from her husband and young daughter, but also because she knows the story of her Avarin father who stayed behind in Endórë and hopes that she will meet him on the hither shore. (Unfortunately, she perishes crossing the Ice. Idril will eventually meet her maternal grandfather, but not until just before she and Tuor sail West. Elenwë is reborn in Aman shortly after the founding of Gondolin; she reunites with her Vanyarin family and with her good friend Amárië.)
I don’t have a whole lot of headcanons for Elemmírë and Findis during the events of the First Age; they live mostly a quiet life. I think Elemmírë rededicates herself to the service of Varda, and pleads with her Vala to show mercy for the Noldor in their need. (Perhaps that helped to convince Varda’s husband to send an eagle to Thangorodrim?)
When they hear of Laurefindil’s death in the Fall of Gondolin (because of course Glorfindel followed his favorite cousin Turgon to his hidden city, and got a noble house out of it!), Elemmírë and Findis grieve his loss all over again. They don’t know how long it will be before his rebirth, and they soon decide to have another child together. This is their daughter, Faniel, who grows up on stories about her brother’s bravery.
Eventually Glorfindel is reborn, and he has a few good centuries in Aman with his family (and his husband Ecthelion, who he finally gets to marry; they had gotten betrothed the day before Gondolin fell, RIP) before the Valar send him back to Middle-earth to play the hero again. Elemmírë and Findis are once again heartbroken to lose him, but they are at the same time incredibly proud of their son for his bravery and dedication to all things good in the world. This time, he leaves with the blessing of Varda, his mother’s patron Vala, and a promise that he will return when his task is complete. He does, but not until the Fourth Age, when he sails back to Valinor with Elladan and Elrohir!
