What were Legolas, Laerophen, and Laindawar’s relationship w their mom like?

Hi there, Nonnie!

Ooooh, this may be a convoluted answer. Here we go!

Here’s my Aelir tag, so you can get a handle on who she was. I’ll separate this answer out into each of the princes, so you can get the gist of their relationships.

Laindawar
When he was born, Aelir often bundled her eldest child onto her back as she raced through her beloved woods. Laindawar grew to toddlerhood sitting under green eaves beside his mother, or strapped to her as she clambered and danced and leaped through the trees.

Aelir was an odd sort of duck. She was tall, dishevelled, nearly squirrelish in her manner, not very talkative at all. Her eyes spoke more than she did. She was more at home with her trees than in the company of other elves, and Laindawar most definitely absorbed this tendency. He too is a loner more content under the branches. This is not only due to his own natural tendencies, but to those early formative years spent with his mother, alone but for the wind in the leaves and the soft puff of their breath.

As he grew, Laindawar was brought forward into the world of his father: the court, the business of being a crown prince and a political figure. He would retreat to his mother as an escape, for the peace and rest her presence brought.

(Thranduil did likewise, funnily enough. Aelir was a calm, wild haven for them both.)

As Aelir sickened, Laindawar’s resolve to kill all the evil in the forests hardened into something diamond-plated and implacable. He has never given up.

Laerophen
Our awkward giraffe was born several years after his brother, and he was at one glance obviously Thranduil’s child. He had the hair, the eyes, the height! Yet he was in spirit a retiring soul, and preferred the quiet and his own company.

Also, it appeared that he was made mostly of elbows and knees.

It was for Laerophen’s sake that Aelir began to stay longer and more frequently in the palace. It was Thranduil who taught him to read, but it was Aelir who sat with him and listened as he devoured all the books around him and told her about what he had learned in excited piping tones.

She often brought him out of his rooms, just the two of them (three, if Laindawar were willing to take time away from his hunting). Unlike Laindawar and Legolas, Laerophen would walk through the trees by his mother’s side. He would not leap from bough to bough. She would hold his hand.

She taught him the bow, though he did not show any especial gift for it. But he loved the time with his mother, and so he worked diligently at it.

When she left, Laerophen’s world contracted to his rooms once again. The only one who could coax him out was Legolas.

Legolas
Their little green leaf was such a shock. SUCH A SHOCK. Aelir had been sickening for centuries – how was she to know that this was any different? But there it was, she was due another child. Weakened as she was due to the poisoning of the forests, she worried. God, did she worry.

She needn’t have worried, not for him. Legolas was walking before he was crawling, desperate to stand and do everything right now!! NOW!!! He wanted to see everything, know everything, touch everything. He was, unlike her quiet eldest children, noisy. He cried loudly, sang loudly, laughed loudly.

He was effusively affectionate.

Everything in him bubbled over with curiosity and joy.

Aelir brought him into her forests as much as she was able, and strapped him to her back as she had for Laindawar. Unlike his brother, Legolas did not enjoy being confined to such safety. As soon as he was able, he wriggled free to dangle and clamber and run just as his mother did. “Look Naneth! Look at me! Look what I can do!”

He made her laugh helplessly and happily, even as the shadows under her eyes deepened.

She tried to stay for him. She truly did.

okay but crotchety old Dis, forcibly dragging Thranduil by his long, pretentious elven hair, into some semblance of character development; meanwhile, Vili, wearing a suitably skimpy cheerleader outfit, frantically waves pom poms at her, mouthing “that’s my girl!” and “I love you” every time she says something particularly cleverly cutting. the entire time, Dis is quietly muttering/thinking about how she is far too old for this nonsense.

OH MY GOD

That sneak peek! Dis! Thranduil being dragged kicking and screaming into character development! Vili! I just want to cuddle all of them and you. -sniffles-

Heeeeeeee, I am SO GLAD! Thank you, Nonnie!

And yeah – Thranduil is absolutely resisting this new knowledge, he can’t find out ANYTHING terrible about Gimli – but he’s being forced to confront some of his own less-than-compassionate decisions heh. YOU’RE GONNA DEVELOP – WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, MISTER. :DD

Vili is such a goddamn sweetheart, I wanna hug him forever. And Dis needs all the love, god. So much love.

I just saw the ask where you said Laindawar will make friend in the mountain, and I can’t wait to see it! Of course, since my brain’s supposed to be focused on Nano, it’s instead been focused on trying to figure out who his unlikely friend is. Currently, my guesses revolve around Orla or Dwalin (warlike dwarves & warlike elf), Barur (winning someone over through food is a good technique) & Gimris (if Laindawar ever discovers chill anyway). Anyway, I really love your fic & the sneak peek was cute

EEEE THOSE ARE ALL REALLY GOOD GUESSES… but I must disappoint, sorry! Not gonna be any of them.

Good luck with Nano! I WISH YOU ENDLESS INSPIRATION AND STRENGTH TO YOUR TYPING/WRITING

Hi! So I’ve never actually reached out to a fanfic author before (because shyness) but I just really want to say how much I love Sansukh – on my third re-reading! I especially love how you have dealt with Fili; your approach to people realising how much potential he had but never got to achieve is so well done. Just wondering if we’re going to get more between Thorin and his nephews? (for example, how do they feel about Thorin’s relationship with Gimli – any jealousy when he calls him ‘son’?)

AHHH THANK YOU NONNIE! I am stunned and stoked that you enjoy it so much! And eeee, yes, I’m so glad you like Fili’s trajectory in the fic! He is my Golden son, my word yes. He’s come SO FAR.

There’ll be some more! But at this stage I think it will be interactions in combination with other characters… not entirely sure! *cough*DIS*coughcough*FRERIN*cough*

Oooh, I’ve covered a bit of that in the story through their reactions etc: They’re not jealous, no way. Really early on, they saw that Gimli was helping Thorin connect and re-centre himself. That’s a GOOD thing.

Like, if someone close to you is self destructive and imploding slowly, and you personally are not the one that gets through and helps them (despite trying or whatever), it doesn’t really make sense to be jealous of the person that does. You’re relieved and happy that the one close to you is doing better.

Thorin has a special name for his nephews: they are his Undayûy. It means ‘greatest boys’. They are special to him in ways that Gimli can’t replace (and vice-versa). Thorin will always feel protective and paternal towards them: he helped raise them.

He’s not the primary parental figure to Fili and Kili – Dis is and always will be THE parental figure – but he is absolutely one of the most formative pillars of their lives, is there for them, teaches them, cares for them. He loves them unconditionally.

At first, Gimli was a touchstone for Thorin, he’s been a way back to the world and to life. That’s an entirely different thing, and he loves Gimli for it in a different way. I love my students entirely and with all my heart, I’ve watched them grow up and change and learn and BECOME, and I am stupendously proud of them. But I don’t love them exactly the way I love my niblings.

Too, much like a teacher-student relationship after a long long time, Thorin and Gimli are moving slowly towards a friendship of equals now.

Thorin has a gigantic damn heart. There’s a lot of love there for a lot of people.

(PLUS Fee and Kee love Gimli too. They were playfellows and friends as children, and he helped their uncle AND their mother. They’re all ‘AW YEAH GO GIMMERS!!!’)

This is really random, but who are Wee Thorin’s parents? I seem to have forgotten and I couldn’t find where it was stated

Hey! No worries – massive cast, after all! Here’s the character list, though I haven’t read over it/checked it in a while. It gives you all the characters and their relationships to each other.

Wee Thorin is the first child of Dwalin and Orla. He’s the equivalent of a human 13 or 14 year old. He was dubbed ‘Wee Thorin’ at his birth, and despite being quite a large and husky lad, he SIMPLY CANNOT shake the name! He has two younger brothers – Balin (”Balinith”, approx 8 in human terms) and Frerin (”Frerinith’, approx 3-4 in human terms).

His very best friend is Gimizh, the son of Bofur and Gimris (Gimli’s nephew, the cookie-stealing Terror of Erebor).

So I was telling a friend of mine about your royal family of elves and trying to give her a brief summary of the brothers ended up like this; There’s the awkward warrrior with zero chill, the awkward scholar beanpole, and Legolas who is basically curiosity wrapped in an elf.

PRETTY MUCH. :DDD

Though – Laindawar isn’t awkward, heh – he is a small, graceful, deadly little package. He won’t get blurty or clumsy when he is wrong-footed. He’s more like ‘stares at you like a falcon stares at a mouse.’

After the other anon’s questions about the boys’ relationship to Thranduil, I have to ask: How do Laerophen and Laindawar (really hope I spelled those right!) interact with each other, and with their little bro? I know in Midwinter we see a bit of Laerophen/Legolas interaction, and Legolas’ hero-worship of Laindawar at that age, but it kind of seemed like Laerophen is jealous of his older brother?

Ooooh, I’ve answered this before, but in a really higgedly-piggedly fashion. Check out my Laerophen or my Laindawar tags!

Summarised: Laindawar and Laerophen get on very well with each other. They are both loners, and neither feels the need to press the other for attention or amusement or whatever. Also, they were quite close in age.

We see that Laerophen tried to be as martial and physically adept as Laindawar – not gonna happen, sad tall baby. He still holds a small amount of resignation towards this. He can’t really see that the things he can do are just as impactful. He doesn’t need to be as amazing a warrior as Legolas and Laindawar to do great things. Case in point: Erebor.

(something to note here: I am a middle child. I feel this In My Bones.)

Both Laerophen and Laindawar are incredibly protective of Legolas – and he confuses them a bit. He was an unexpected gift, born centuries after both his brothers. He is just so unlike them in temperament.

Dunno if you’ve been a part of or been intertwined with a family in which there is a massive age gap between siblings, but again, I myself am. There’s a big distance in comradery between the sibs with the age-gap – you can love each other dearly, know all there is to know about each other, but there’s an unavoidable remoteness there. You’re never quite on the same page, even when you’ve reached adulthood. You never quite lose that gap.

Laerophen is astonished and delighted by Legolas, constantly. His younger brother pulls him out of his layers and solitude, makes him a part of a tiny community of two. We see that in Midwinter. Laerophen would be alone more often than not if it weren’t for Legolas. Yet Laerophen cannot be as social as Legolas can, he must retreat at times. He can’t keep up with Legolas’ pace for too long before burning out.

Legolas is also one of the few people who know that Laerophen can be funny.

Laindawar is proud as FUCK of Legolas. His muindor and he share the same spirit of adventure, and also a love of weaponry and combat. Laindawar was probably happier than Legolas was upon the day his younger brother out-shot him at the Autumn revels. He is known to boast of Legolas’ archery in a way he won’t ever speak of his own swordsmanship. But he can’t be as affectionate as Legolas, he cannot be as open with himself. It’s just not his nature.

When Legolas was small, his brothers took it upon themselves to teach him different aspects of the world. Laindawar taught him weaponscraft and woodsmanship, and Laerophen taught him histories and stories.

There we go! Hope that’s interesting!

Do you have any headcanons for Oropher and his wife? Also sending you cuddles and smooches because you are just that awesome.

Hey Nonnie! *dives on you and smooches and hugs you back* Thank you, dear!

ohboy, not really – not heaps, anyway. I have a name for Thrandy’s mum – Haedirn, which means ‘Silent Watcher’, and I have done a sort of stream-of-consciousness headcanon on the spot about Oropher before… but I haven’t really fleshed anything out.

Here’s my little thing on Oropher!

And now here’s some off-the-top-of-my-head ideas on Haedirn: She was a Sinda, from Doriath. I sorta want her to be an historian and a scholar??? (that’s where Laerophen gets it from, perhaps) Also sarcastic af. Shithouse at archery, but great with boats and water, basically half-fish when you get her into a river. Terrifying with a spear or a quarterstaff. Not so great at following instructions – tends to ignore, improvise and ‘improve’, a bit of a know-it-all. Loves willows and reeds and mangroves and other water-dwelling trees and plants. Warm low contralto singing voice, smooth and rich as honey.

(Thranduil’s name means ‘Vigorous Spring’ – in the sense of a fast-flowing river ~~best guess, there’s some etymological argument~~. I like to think she gave it to him, singing in that low sweet voice, the sound of the wind in the river-rushes.)

There we go! Hope you like!

the question about laerophen and thranduil’s relationship got me wondering about laindawar’s relationship w thranduil too. if you have time, could you go more in depth about that too? you make all your characters so interesting, i love learning everything possible about them

Hi Nonnie! Sure thing – also alskdhgflajhsdgflsajh aaaaah I am so stoked you want to know more, that is just THE LOVELIEST, you are the LOVELIEST <333

OKAY! Laindawar! And Thranduil! Here we go!

So, Laindawar is the oldest. He was close to his grandfather Oropher and grandmother Haedirn (”remote watcher”). He was a young prince when the Greenwood was at the height of its beauty and strength.

He was a slight and short child who fought grown elves with his fists and teeth when he heard even the slightest hint of criticism towards his family. He became a slight and short adult – and the best swordsman in the whole of the Greenwood, a relentless tracker and a stupendous hunter. He was happy, and proud.

Then Dagorlad.

Away marched Oropher,

Haedirn and Thranduil and Laindawar, leaving Laerophen as regent in the Greenwood.

Only Thranduil and Laindawar returned.

Laindawar watched his father go through hell on that terrible day. It is Laindawar, better than either of his brothers, who understands what Thranduil has sacrificed and endured to keep their people safe. He understands why his father chooses the methods and policies he chooses.

He is also eternally, quiveringly, desperately chasing his father’s approval. He has it, of course. But Laindawar chases it regardless: he will be a better warrior, he will keep the forest safe, for that will please his father, he will kill thousands upon thousands of spiders, and perhaps his father will smile.

He doesn’t chase Thranduil’s approval necessarily for the sake of his own ego – Laindawar’s ego is plenty healthy, though it’s always nice to get a boost – but he does chase it for the positive reaction from Thranduil. He wants his father to be less sad and wounded, he wants him to be happy.

What does Laindawar do when faced with a problem?

Thranduil, for his part, has always seen Oropher so clearly in Laindawar’s face. It is a good thing that Laindawar is taciturn and stern of expression, because if he were more animated in his features the resemblance would be agonising. He is absurdly proud of him, loves him to death and beyond. Thranduil TRUSTS Laindawar. He trusts him to know his mind, and to support him. This is no small thing: Thranduil has walls that are MILES HIGH. He is so, soooo guarded. SO GUARDED.

He tries to tell his son this, over and over. He hopes it will cause Laindawar to understand that he loves him regardless, that he is proud of him regardless. That he can relent once in a while, that he can rest.

Laindawar sees these positive signs/reactions as confirmation that what he does can make his sad, bitter, angry father happier, and so redoubles his efforts.

As I’ve said before: LAINDAWAR HAS -3000 CHILL.