We'll dance among the stars by daughterofshadows

No warnings apply.

Galdor reminisces about his old home planet.

The prompt for Aman was A dream of a faraway place. It made it in, just barely XD

The prompt was Feeling alone, and that's what it's about.
Nellas struggles to find her place now that she's left her home.

The chapter ends on a positive note, but the beginning is a bit sad, so tread carefully.

Okay, here are where things get minorly complicated, because I introduce a lot of OCs from my other Gondolin centred fics.

As per usual for any fic involving many of my OCs, I'll give you a short who's who. This includes Quenya and Sindarin names where applicable.

Language Notes:

Nellas is speaking nearly exclusively Sindarin, so she'll be using those names until a character tells her otherwise. Laegolas, too, is speaking mostly Sindarin at this point, while Celebrilmal uses Quenya names, even though she is in-universe speaking Sindarin for Nellas' sake.

The Cast:

Nellas: We've met her in the previous two chapters. In this universe, she is a biologist. More on this will come in Balar - Part IV, so stay tuned to learn about her research!

Laegolas/Laiquilasse (of Gondolin). Also called: Laiko: Just like in And we were never meant to win (a canon universe Galdor/Nellas romance), I'm not using the Silvanised version of the name, because I don't see why Nellas would be using it. (Also, it helps me differentiate him from LotR Legolas, which is sometimes important). He's Galdor's nephew, but was mostly raised by him and therefore considers him his father.

Celebrilmal. Also called: Celee, Laura (based on her Quenya name Laurelohte). OC: Originally developed by Lyssa, I adopted her when I started writing the TMP universe. You can find her in a few canon universe fics such as Coming home and How I met your mother. She is the daughter of Salgant of the House of the Harp and Laurendil (another OC. More on her next chapter.)

And on we go! Nellas and co finally make it to dinner with Celebrilmal's parents!

That means we're introducing more cast members! I'm keeping these shortish, because there are a few things planned that will dive deeper into their stories.

Galdor (of the Tree): You've met him. Married to Nellas. Currently very busy.

Laurendil. Also known as Laurie. OC: Celebrilmal's mum! Sister to Elenwe and Glorfindel, married to Salgant. In this universe she is an accountant. Bubbly, talks a lot. I hope it shines through.

Taminalma. Also called: Alma. OC: They're Rog's spouse, and an electrical engineer. A fellow enby. Both Alma and Laurie made their debut in my works in Family lost, Family found aka the origin of my Gondolin obsession. Additional interests include astro-biology.

Rog. Also called Roka: Married to Alma, also an engineer. Likes to cook. Has a prosthetic arm, because Anérea shared a link to the Alternative Limb project and it's been incredibly inspirational. This also goes for Idril btw. Descriptive writing is not my strength, so details on how those protheses look is currently lacking. (Which is why I urge you to look at the link!)

Salgant. Also called Salakanto, Kanto: Married to Laurie, Celebrilmal's father. Works in what basically amounts to Human resources, only it's more elves. Kanto/Laurie and Alma/Rog are queerplatonically involved with each other, which is why they're living and raising Celebrilmal together.

Elenwe: In this universe, she's Glorfindel's and Laurendil's older sister. Occupation undetermined.

Idril: Roughly the same age as Celebrilmal and Laegolas. They're good friends.

Glorfindel: In charge of the biology department on the VSS Gondolin. Because I thought it would be fun. In an open relationship with Ecthelion.

Final chapter of the Balar arc!

A bit of science geekery, a few fears for the future and a generous pouring of love.

No new characters, just a few beloved old ones.