#deer snuggle

[echoofthemusic]

Túrin and Niënor were haunted for most of their lives by the lack of a sibling’s presence. Túrin found Niënor through the memory of Lalaith; Niënor found Túrin — and Lalaith through his memory. Home, though deprived in reality, lived on in memory: the shadow of loss sat silently where a patch of sunlight used to linger, where a laughter had died out; only a few thin rays, almost invisible, sank into the hearth and turned into embers, to be ignited when an ineffable, mysterious joy returned to the house of the mind. So it was in that firelight brother and sister saw each other’s faces clearly, but as in a dream, and with their joy came an overflow of affection, culminating in love — only they were mistaken about the nature of that love — and the truth destroyed them.

[echoofthemusic]

Just got reminded that Nienor calls Brandir her brother but gives her heart to Túrin. What kind of dramatic and tragic irony is this. 😭 This is like Túrin saying he wish he had a sister like Finduilas. Just thought I could not find yet another twist in this book. 😔

[echoofthemusic]

@elwing @outofangband

I fell asleep last night before writing the next part (as I should tbh) but as I continue I realize this actually has three parts topic-wise. So the second part is sibling-bonding AU. I hope this makes more sense since I feel less like my brain is about to short circuit trying to answer a question.

So I think “she had found at last something that she had sought” and “what [he] long sought in vain has come to [him]” are very revealing, as in when Túrin sees Niënor his subconscious goes: this Hadorian-looking girl —> Finduilas —> Lalaith and when Niënor sees Túrin her subconscious goes: this Bëorian-looking boy —> Morwen. It’s so soft they actually represent home to each other: the likeness of the first family member he lost in childhood and the likeness of the only family member she has known since childhood. I also tearfully love how family hardships shape their actions that cross roads with doom: Túrin keeps fighting the enemy who has hurt his kin despite the curse and Niënor keeps following her loved ones into peril despite the curse. The idea they stumbled and fell into the trap by loving too deeply is…wonderfully tragic.

Túrin and Niënor without their sorrows don’t feel in character to me, so they still bond in that retrieving childhood and home way in this AU. The only thing that changes is transparency of identities (and absence of sex of course). I’m not sure if this AU should be set around the same time in canon only without the part Glaurung swoops in and wipes Niënor’s memory, but it seems to work? Morwen could be there too, since she doesn’t deserve to lose her daughter that way, but I’m not sure how the siblings’ bonding works with their mother present… Morwen is a stern parent, but this is her seeing her children finally meeting after fearing the worst for her son, so I like to think she gets soft for once in eons. I’m weak for hurt/comfort stuff (mostly because comfort is rewarding) so Túrin and Niënor going through swoon/sick episodes and reaching out to each other appeals to me. Then as home to each other they heal together in peace, in a woodland house with a lovely garden, while their mother de-stresses. One day they hear a loud noise in the wood and go out to see what causes it. This is where they encounter a changed Glaurung…

[echoofthemusic]

@elwing @outofangband

Ok I’ve been daydreaming on and off about this for a while lol. This has two not exactly connected parts so I’ll just talk about the first part in this post — symbolically riding Glaurung. Well you’re both involved with Narn and Silm for much longer than I’ve been, so see if this idea is on point or nonsense.

Maybe I should start with the much debated question: “Is the curse a real thing?” I think it’s a yes for me but I can’t explain it in a convincing way. I see Morgoth as an active curse in trying to ruin the lives of the children of Húrin. I read this great post iirc about Morgoth as a puppet-master who works through agents. Glaurung is very much the curse agent in the later half of the story, leading Túrin and Niënor away from the safety of hidden realms and people they should find and pushing them together into the curse loop, therefore I see Glaurung as one of the symbols of doom, and the symbol when it comes to the incest. Túrin does manage to kill Glaurung, but the point stands when he is still by doom mastered?

I think dragon-slaying goes into the category of things Túrin does succeed in — he has done great hurt to the enemy for years and avenged his kin in this way. I feel like the double-edgedness of Túrin’s defiance crosses roads with things out of his control? He’s too concerned with attacking and doesn’t give enough room for preserving. I think about Aerin a lot when it comes to faults in Túrin’s actions. As for Niënor, I think she’s more into preserving, but she also struggles with her lack of assurance and hope in that, which also crosses roads with things out of her control… See I go all over the place every time I try to answer that question.

Anyway, I imagine dragon-riding AU would be like symbolically mastering doom and maybe changing the nature of doom. I think Glaurung needs to be somewhat less nasty for this dynamic to be possible. Túrin and Niënor could try to tame him (and adopt him as their giant pet) while growing as people through their loving platonic bond along the way…

[echoofthemusic]

@elwing @outofangband

Sorry I still haven’t arrived at taming Glaurung yet! I need to add this interlude between part two and part three. I felt bad about a less cursed AU in which Nargothrond is still destroyed, so I came up with an alternative, but it changes a lot of things, and I still feel bad because this time the Hadorians are less fortunate, but it’s more satisfying to have Glaurung tamed before he sacks any realm.

An alternate option for Túrin and Niënor to meet as siblings I could think of is an AU in which Túrin returns to Dor-lómin for Morwen and Niënor from Doriath. (Thanks for pointing out Túrin’s open war campaigns in Nargothrond enable Morwen and Niënor to come safely to Doriath and thralls to escape!) Túrin doesn’t run into trouble with Saeros and continues to fight on the marches of Doriath until he can no longer stand the lack of tidings from Dor-lómin and decides to check on his mother and sister, against Thingol and Melian’s counsel, I guess, but this AU is less cursed. However, I struggle with how things go down when Túrin gets to Dor-lómin, because I doubt a rescue mission could go well if he starts a rebellion. If he doesn’t lose his temper and tries to figure out a plan with Morwen, Niënor, Aerin, Sador, and other thralls to avoid large-scale conflict and vengeance from the Easterlings, maybe it could succeed? Though it would be difficult to free many thralls or help them escape without a safe road, so I feel sad about that, but it wouldn’t be a mess?

Morwen and Niënor come to Doriath with Túrin’s aid. Túrin and Niënor have a great bonding time for many years, riding horses, walking in the woods, and learning about plants together. She helps him relax after he has done too much battle. Beleg doesn’t get stabbed by Túrin, and Nellas finds a new friend in Niënor, so the four of them could form a polycule, which Mablung ends up joining. I still doubt Túrin could stay at ease in Doriath for a very long time though. Maybe Túrin is provoked into leaving under different circumstances, and Niënor follows? Morwen has to follow after. Beleg and Mablung have to do their canonical tracking tasks. When they catch up with the siblings, Túrin would rather not go back, and Niënor would rather go back but not without Túrin. Yet peril doesn’t find them outside the Girdle after all, for instead of a malicious dragon they encounter a tamable dragon…

Regardless of which scenario you prefer Túrin and Niënor to bond as siblings, the next part (hopefully the last part) with Glaurung will apply to both.