Did a thing for the fic, Every Breath You Take by @arahir
!! also heard it was your birthday so ansjsks happy birthday!
anyway you write good and i love your works (the parkour fic changed my life omg) and I hope u had a great day!
Finduilas/Gwindor, because I am The Most Predictable :)
reading the CoH :~~
• my thoughts:
I've written my headcanons about them, but basically I think Gelmir and Gwindor grew up with Finduilas and they would play and swim in the Ivrin; Finduilas was, according to the Lay, a sickly child, so I think their energetic personality would be very refreshing. Gwindor has a temper that Finduilas finds easy to laugh off, and Gwindor trusts and admires her ever since he was a kid, and both he and gelmir had a crush. I've largely adopted headcanons from you swamp, especially the one about them giving each other lovey-dovey sappy nicknames hahahahahaha, I love that one to bits!!
Though to be fair I also agree with you on one thing: I”m super interested in their break up? IDK maybe its a bit morbid OR MAYBE ITS YOURHEADCANONS AND FIC AND FANMIX, but I enjoy thinking about Gwindor’s return (even if it makes me miserable). They love each other a lot and they try so hard to make it work, but they have changed so much, and it kills both of them :~ Its not only Gwindor who is very different, but Finduilas has at this point seen much of death, betrayal, politics and the ugly side of people’s hearts and she also needs comfort... and I think its so ironic because, in a way, Túrin is to her precisely what she is to Gwindor, and I’m not sure how well Gwindor understands that: I imagine he thinks its only about him and his own shortcomings when compared to someone like Túrin, when actually this is about Finduilas too, who she has become and what she needs. Like, Gwindor, its not your fault bby omg hugs him gently
I absolutely love their reunion scene though, and I’m not sure I like it better in the CoH – with her hugging him like that lovely fanart – or in the Lay where she sings a powerful song that makes everyone shut up and tells her father off, and welcomes him after he lost his temper with Orodreth. Since we can assume Gwindor had a temper before the Morgoth factor, when she sees him actually backtalking Orodreth – who also has a temper in this version – she completely recognizes the person he was? IDK I liked it a lot because somehow it also resonates with the reasons she stops loving him gradually, or finds herself attracted to Túrin – because that flame Gwindor had and she glimpsed briefly upon his return has in fact been almost extinguished, and Gwindor is like a fireplace that produces more smoke than actual fire? And Gwindor himself recognizes this, and it makes him feel even worse about everything. IDK I think Gwindor really wanted to simply die at some point :~
• What makes me happy about them:
Ok, I REALLY like how well they know and respect each other in this sense: On his side, I like that Gwindor sorta idolizes Finduilas, yes, but he never sees her as a mere symbol – he considers her a real person with real feelings that he feels compelled to respect. Its, ok, its not idolization, but true admiration for the person she is, and that’s not something we see so explicitly in a book that tends to make symbols of purity and wisdom out of elvish women. On her side, I also like she respects him a lot and knows him well enough to recognize him after he comes back, and that she earnestly tries to love him romantically, though ugh girl please its ok dont hurt yourself, things happen, its ok :(
• What makes me sad about them:
The circumstances of their break up are pretty horrible. Gwindor goes through some of the most terrible shit we actually see up front in the narration – its not a distant “and some elves were enslaved” but rather a very close “this elf physically lost all he had once and then regained it just to emotionally/psychologically lose it again”. Finduilas has her own griefs to deal with as well, her guilt for not being able to love Gwindor not the lesser of them. The official break-up in itself is very clean, but psychologically it isnt. Everybody is miserable – except for Túrin who earnestly believes he’d doing the best he can for the two elves he loves the most lol.
• things done in art/fic that annoys me:
Thankfully I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard of vicious Finduilas hate and it is the worst thing, if you hate Finduilas I dont even know what to say get out
• things I look for in art/fic:
For these two I look for art and fic in any form :’(
• Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:
HAHAHAHAHA ok crackships time
I said it before: I ship Findu/Nienor and I’m so not sorry hahaha. I just want these two loving each other and making each other smile. I also don’t have a problem with Finduilas/Túrin if we follow the Lay verse, or in a AU, idk I don’t mind (though much better if Gwindor has died because otherwise its too sad for him and I can’t tak all this misery and I will cry).
“”SOMEONE”” mentioned Gwindor and Celebrimbor and now I can’t get that outta my head either. It could be so good for both of them. I’ve also toyed with an AU CoH were Túrin ad Nienor swamp places and imagined maybe changing the triangle to make it findu loves gwindor loves nienor lovesfindu, but i haven’t thought aboutit a lot and so far its just a vague idea.
• My happily ever after for them:
Reborn in Aman, though I can’t see them marrying :( but as good friends,reconciling and loving each other with sincerity, going for walks with Gelmir. Maybe romantic love can come up again but i imagine it would take a lot of time, like a looooooot of time.
• what is their favorite non-sexual activity?
Fooling around the pools :D Finduilas is canonically a fantastic singer, so sometimes she sings for him. She sometimes takes him to visit Celebrimbor with her, and I imagine they must enjoy courtly things such as dancing :)
To be honest, I don’t ;( at least not in the CoH, maybe in an AU I could like it.
• my thoughts:
When we meet Brandir in the book he is already facing a terrible situation: his power is declining as his people don’t feel much safe under his rule/his rule is being mined by people who advocate protection of the frontiers instead of cautious hiding. The spokesman of these people is Dorlas, who acts like some sort of unofficial marchwarden and leads his band of warriors who have apparently 0 respect for Brandir (he was probably a Hardang supporter, going by the Wanderings of Húrin). Brandir is lame and its hinted that is used for his belittlement many times by his adversaries. He’s trying his best according to his own wisdom, but his people are afraid and he resents some of them for questioning or ignoring his authority.
When Niniel arrives, she stays at his house and he is her main caretaker – he heals her and teaches her a lot of things, they talk a lot and there is genuine affection between them. Ok.
I think... my totally personal opinion and I might have red the text wrongly, or just be having the wrong impression, but I think Niniel appeals so much to Brandir because she makes him feel needed and appreciated. She doesn’t care about his condition, she likes his company, she admires him, and she likes to hear him talk about subjects that I imagine most people his age find boring. So she is a balm to Brandir, right? They could be happy, living peacefully and talking about things forever.
Except she doesn’t love Brandir, she loves Turambar. And there are two sides of Brandir here: one, he is wise enough to recognise Túrin means big trouble the moment he shows up knocked out with a big sword and looking like shit. Two, this foreboding/wisdom joins in with his bitterness towards the things he simple isn't (but Túrin is).
So Brandir is being cornered by the unavoidable problem of the orcs threatening Brethil and how his people are not so sure of his advices anymore, and so he anchors himself on Níniel, focusing on her more and more as he starts to neglect or not care about ruling his defiant people. He feels she shouldn’t marry – its a sincere feeling, be it either foreboding or common sense because Túrin obviously has a Past with capital P – but it is also mixed with his own wishes to keep Niniel under his wing. Its not about having children or sex or a status wife – Brandir NEEDS Niniel, because he's tired and he feels like giving up on everything else. So he puts Niniel on this pedestal and treats her like the only thing worth loving in the whole world, and starts not caring anymore because if he has Níniel then he’s okay – this is the feeling he forfeits his position, arms himself and follows her. This dedication could be very interesting/romantic if it wasn't for the big problem:
Going to Niniel’ s side now, its a lot more simple. She doesn’t want him. Its a sincere affection, and she loves him, but not the way he wants or needs. She is a real person, with her own troubles and wishes, and what she wants is Turambar. Its simple.
So I don’t ship it because Niniel doesn’t, and because it bothered me the way he kept projecting his own feelings on her without really listening to her, especially at the ending. ( I was creeped out to the max when he says his ghost will chase Niniel’s ghost and I was like dude, for fuck’s sake lay off she’s not into you!!)
It really has nothing to do with me shipping Turin/Nienor – I’m a multishipper and I ship each of them with other people as well sometimes, but I just...... idk, I totally understand this ship, but I can’t bring myself to like it :/ maybe its because it reminds me too closely of a personal experience, but nah man. Unless in an AU where Brandir doesn’t put all his emotional needs on her... idk
• What makes me happy about them:
Oh well, they obviously enjoy each other’s company and like each other :)
• What makes me sad about them:
Everything I alredy mentioned; I hoped Brandir could see her more like a person and less like a symbol. BRANDIR YOU’RE NOT LISTENING
• things done in art/fic that annoys me: • things I look for in art/fic:
For once a Brandir that is not the representation of everything that’s good and pure in the world. I like him a lot, but he had a deal of flaws as well – well-justified flaws, maybe not his fault at all, result of bullying, but still yeah he was not baby jesus!
• Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:
Nienor I’ve talked about, Brandir I really just don’t know....
• My happily ever after for them:
Brandir never finds her soul and leaves her alone lol
They meet in the afterlife and make each other company, help each other heal
I could read a good AU where she marries Brandir instead, if its an AU where she actually loves him...
