#...also Fingolfin getting to experience the loss of a parent in a way that allows his half-sibling access to theirs

[shrikeseams]

Once again considering the au where Miriel darts out of Mandos the instant Finwe bites it, and appears unheralded in Tirion like Eru swung a metaphorical two-by-four at the back of Feanor's head right before he's about to proclaim the Oath.

[sallysavestheday]

2, 7, and 8 for the asks game, if you’re willing!

Thanks for the ask, @eilinelsghost!

2. Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

Not stories, per se, but certainly perspectives and approaches to characters.

For instance, I was fortunate to have a marvelous father: he was a gifted teacher, endlessly patient with children's struggles, and a fierce defender of those who needed defending while also allowing the people he loved to make all kinds of necessary, character-building mistakes. He had his own rich complications, of course, and he let us see and learn from them in a way that was very vulnerable and not at all characteristic of his times or his upbringing. All the good fathers in my fics echo him in some way or another: Fingolfin in From the Heights, Such Light and Air, for instance, or Glorfindel's father in What Carries You, or all of my Thranduils (I will die on the Good Dad Thranduil hill), or even reborn Celegorm in Settle Your Wild Heart. I enjoy being able to share my dad with others through them, in a way.

I'm also a parent, and I work in a profession and in places in the world where there are terrible losses, every day, so sometimes that percolates through to my writing. Finrod in To This, He Had No Answer is a little bit of me, I guess. But then, so is Melian in Blood of My Blood, Bone of My Bone. The circle of life, man...it's all about perspective.

7. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

That is actually extremely variable! I have poured some fics (like This Blood Will Tell) out onto the page in one fugal burst, hit post, and then never touched them again. Others I tinker with and am never quite satisfied, but eventually just hit post so I can move on. Once I start it's rarely more than a few days before I post something, though. Have to clear the decks for the next bolt of inspiration ;). Sometimes I do go back into a post and wordsmith a bit after it's been up for a while, but never anything serious. Once it's out of my hands it will mean what readers make it mean to themselves, anyway -- I can't control that. So I get things to a place where I can stand them and then send them out into the world.

8. Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

I'm toying with an idea or two around the connection that Fingolfin and Maglor have as second sons. It's getting enjoyably angsty!

I'm also working on a little thing about Fingon and Aredhel right after Alqualonde, in which she leapt in at his side and ... well, let's just say they don't have the same regrets. It's complicated!

Thanks again for asking :)