emyn-arnens

[emyn-arnens]

Meduseld, the great Golden Hall of Edoras

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Can you tell I like drawing hair? Because I like drawing hair.

[emyn-arnens]

Flight to the Ford by John Howe

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A new illustration for The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. I have a plan to draw several pictures for the lovely poem. :)

[emyn-arnens]

ignore faramir hes kinda ugly but heres a quick farawyn drawing :3

i never know how to dress lotr characters as i dont know anything abt this style of clothing so i kind of just vibe

[emyn-arnens]

Fic Snippet Train!

Share a snippet from a fic that you loved writing but doesn't get a lot of attention! Then tag three other people. I wanna see your writing. :)

Thank you to @tobermoriansass and @queerofthedagger for the tag.

I usually write Silm fic, but occasionally I dip into LOTR, as well. My Legolas/Gimli fics are pretty popular, but the others are more obscure. Here's one I'm particularly fond of: a little Faramir and Éomer, in a canon-not-impossible first meeting well before the War of the Ring. I love them as friends from the very beginning, and it was a way to indulge my conviction that Éomer is Secretly Into Elves. That becomes clear a little later in the fic, but here's the setup:

It is a tale for the air, so they take their own bread and cheese and fruit to the walls of the city and sit looking out over the great pale plain. Éomer lets the words fall from his lips as he has learned them – rolling through his blood like the hooves of the god-touched horses come down out of the North, Béma’s gift and blessing running with them. Faramir listens with those soft, rapt eyelids, nodding as the rhythm catches him, building the words into a song. “You have a gift for storytelling,” he murmurs, afterward, as the echoes of the imagined hoofbeats fade. Éomer grins, and ducks his head. He did not think it was a thing they valued, here in the stone city, where every corner seems filled with books that tie words down, and all the nobles read. But Faramir is proving full of surprises, unassuming though he may seem. Éomer risks a rejoinder. “Let’s hear one of yours, now, in exchange.”

Read the rest in Among So Many Marvels, on AO3.

@idrilsscribe @emyn-arnens @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras care to share a little bite of something of yours that deserves more love?

[emyn-arnens]

@hobbitwrangler is too kind to include any of her own fics in this list, so I'll do it for her!

Mother Wolf (T, Aredhel, Eöl, and Maeglin, 2.1k): A deliciously satisfying depiction of Aredhel breaking free from Eöl's grasp.

the plain sight of our destiny is the cruellest thing of all (T, OFC & OCs, 4.3k): A vivid, harrowing look at Umbar under Sauron's hold, and its impact on one of the victims of his rule.

Too Burdened to Fly (G, Finduilas of Dol Amroth, 3k): A heartbreaking exploration of Finduilas' final moments.

B2MEM International Women's Day recs

I love the idea of spotlighting fics with female characters today, so here's my contribution to @spring-into-arda's Back to Middle Earth event!

she planted this garden by lonelyvisitor (G, Elros/Elros' wife, 0.8k) Beautifully written fic with such a fully realised main character that interrogates the alien-ness of the peredhil and how painful and strange it would be to be married to one of them.

A Thing Strange and Crooked by @emyn-arnens (T, Idril & Maeglin, 2.6k) An incredibly realistic depiction of Idril's isolation and sense of helplessness in the face of Maeglin's pursuit of her.

What Comes Naturally by @imakemywings (G, Indis & Míriel, 2.9k) The way this fic explores the aspects of motherhood that are painful and unglamourous and just plain sad ... I get emotional just thinking about this fic. And I live for this interpretation of Míriel.

Unwary by @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras (T, Théodwyn, 3.1k) Wonderful Théodwyn characterisation, I love her anger and resentment and frustration and how it all tangles with her grief at Éomund's death.

Birthright by cuarthol (M, Findis/Gandalf, 3.5k) I am still absolutely in love with this characterisation of Findis and the way her grief affects her.

Sword-hearted by @emyn-arnens (G, Éowyn, 1.7k) An insight into Éowyn's childhood that also weaves in Helm Hammerhand's daughter and references to Éowyn's aunts.

a fish, floundering on dry land by ncfan (T, Finduilas of Dol Amroth, 4.1k) Not only does this capture Finduilas' waining in Minas Tirith, it also comes with a cameo from one of Denethor's sisters.

what the shadows hid by @swanmaids (T, Lúthien/Thuringwethil, 0.5k) Perfect horror piece that manages to be hot, intimate and creepy all at once.

plundered her and stripped what remained by @swanmaids (M, Aerin & OC, 2.2k) A heartbreaking look at what befalls Aerin and the women of her people, caught between the pain of what they have lost and the pain that is to come.

Askance by @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras (G, Vidumavi, 5.3k) This fic perfectly portrays Vidumavi's sense of self and how she struggles with her feeling of otherness in Gondor.

Threads by Adlanth (G, Finduilas Faelivrin, Edhellos & Orodreth's wife, 1k) Gorgeously written conversation about foresight between three generations of elven women from three different backgrounds.

Beneath the Innumerable Stars by @emyn-arnens (G, Findis & Ilmarë, 0.9k) A conversation between Findis and Ilmarë about Findis' fears in the oncoming War of Wrath, with such vivid, magical imagery.

Queen Under the Mountain by @imakemywings (T, Dís, 2.9k) A look at Dís' grief and emptiness after the the Quest for Erebor, and her musings on how hollow her people's victory is for her.

Mutual In Divine Love by @elvain (G, Arwen/Éowyn, 4.1k) Love Arwen's rejection of fate in this fic, and her immediate appreciation for Éowyn is wonderful.

[emyn-arnens]

Frodo Escapes the Black Riders by Anke Eissmann

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legolas as a warm-up!

[emyn-arnens]

shieldmaiden of rohan

[emyn-arnens]

Night sky Elrond and Glorfindel on balcony at Rivendell with Varda as a sky ^^

one of the nicest commissions I ever got for dearest thetwobones.tumblr.com/  ♥

[emyn-arnens]

Indis 👸👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩

[emyn-arnens]

Finarfin in armor! for @justadutchperson <3

[emyn-arnens]

Witch-king and some landscape

[emyn-arnens]

Taking a break from sharing coffee paintings to post my acrylic painting of Bag End.

My friend commissioned it back in 2017, and I spent weeks slowly working on every detail 😅

Here are some work-in-progress shots. I'm definitely considering making a similar one, and make prints of it 🤔

Painted with acrylic colours on canvas board.

[emyn-arnens]

Elladan or Elrohir, or both (lol) are ready!!!!

I couldn't help making them twinkle in the dark

[emyn-arnens]

Hello! I've been meaning to ask this question since I read Sword-hearted but I was wondering if you've any headcanons you'd like to share about Théoden's sisters (only the unnamed ones or Théodwyn or both, I don't mind!)? (no pressure at all!)

I do indeed! I’ve been working on fleshing out Éowyn’s aunts for a WIP, and International Women’s Day seems like a good a day for sharing these.

Théodburga (born in 2946) was Thengel and Morwen's eldest child and daughter. She took after Thengel in appearance and Morwen in personality. She held greater love toward Rohan than her father did, and during her youth in Gondor, she would often ask her father for stories of Rohan, to which he would (usually begrudgingly) indulge her. She was often more successful if she asked Morwen, who had learned all that she could from the libraries of Lossarnach of the stories and culture of Rohan during her courtship with Thengel. As she grew up, she came to appreciate both sides of her ancestry.

Théodburga married Éoforheard (uncle of Éomund), lord of Aldburg, in 2970 and had three daughters with him (who, though Éowyn grew up in Aldburg with them, had such a gap in ages from her that she never was able to befriend them, and all were married and settled by the time Éowyn was taken to Edoras, leaving her without cousins to ask to come with her and keep her company). After Éoforheard’s death, Théodburga took up rulership of Aldburg until Éomund came of age and she relinquished the rulership to him. She was held by all the people of Aldburg as a greater ruler than her husband had been.

Despite their differences in age and personality, she grew close with Théodwyn after they had both reached adulthood, and she grieved greatly at her sister’s death, wracked with guilt at not being able to draw Théodwyn from either her illness or the depression she had fallen into after Éomund’s death.

Trewred (born in 2952) was the second daughter and took after Morwen in appearance, inheriting her dark hair. Having been under a year old at the time their family moved to Rohan, she had no memory of Gondor, and as a child often begrudged the people of Edoras for speaking ceaselessly of her Gondorian looks, when she herself felt little connection to Gondor.

She applied herself to learning the history of Rohan and often kept company with Gléowine, the court minstrel, learning the songs and tales of Rohan, and spent much time in the company of the older men and women of the court and city, who were held as elders and sages. She became known as a wite, or wise woman, and the people of Edoras often came to her for counsel.

In 2977, the lord of Hytbold in the Eastemnet visited Edoras, and Trewred married him a year later, seizing the chance to escape Edoras, where she felt she could never fully shake off her Gondorian ancestry, however much she immersed herself in the history and lore of Rohan. She and her husband were never able to bear children, and he died only a few years after they married. She never remarried and chose to remain in Hytbold, where she became greatly esteemed among her people for her wisdom.

Trewhild (born in 2956) was the third daughter, and like Trewred, she took after Morwen in appearance. As children, she and Trewred were the closest of the sisters, since Trewred was too young to have any memory of Gondor and Trewhild was born after their family moved to Rohan. That they both visibly reflected their Gondorian ancestry the most of their siblings and yet had the least connection with Gondor bound them all the closer. Trewhild loved (and was greatly skilled at) sparring and feats of arms and often joined Théoden as he trained with the men of his father’s Éored.

Trewhild never married (and as the fourth child felt little obligation to produce an heir) and instead chose to relinquish her title and duty. She stayed often in Hytbold with Trewred, and during the spring and summer would join the nomadic Rohirrim in the Wold, who named her a shield maiden, and protected their herds from Orc raids. It was Trewhild who first inspired Éowyn to want to become a shield maiden.

As a child, Théodwyn was greatly curious about her Gondorian heritage and the land that had been home to all of her siblings but her and Trewred, and often begged Morwen to tell her of her youth in Gondor and to describe for her the flowering vales of Lossarnach. She harbored some resentment over never having seen Gondor and couldn’t understand Trewred and Trewhild’s desire to distance themselves from their Gondorian ancestry. For this Thengel loved her dearest of all his children.

Théodwyn was closest with Théoden, often following at his heels as he went about his duties. When he returned from patrols and from hunting Orc raiding parties, he often brought her little gifts—a wooden horse he had carved while sitting on watch, an Orc arrowhead he had collected after a battle, a bundle of sweet cakes he had bartered from the Éored’s cook—and Théodwyn cherished these.

All of Théodwyn’s sisters were still alive at the time of her death, and though Théodburga would gladly have taken in Éomer and Éowyn, she knew how deeply Théoden had loved Théodwyn and did not want to rob him of the last memory he would have of her, and so she did not counter his offer to raise Éomer and Éowyn.

The general consensus from most fans seems to be either that the three unnamed sisters had died by the time of Théoden’s death and had left no sons who could lay claim to the throne of Rohan (or those sons had died), or that they had moved back to Gondor and married there and thus effectively removed any potential children they might have had from the succession. I don’t personally care for all of Théoden’s sisters and their children having died before the time of his death. It seems implausible to me that absolutely everyone would have died by then, and thus my headcanon about only Théodburga having children.

And I don’t really buy the idea that the two eldest unnamed daughters would want to move back to Gondor because of having spent their youth there, as the oldest daughter would have been between six and ten years old at the time of moving, and the second eldest somewhere between infancy and four years old—too young, imo, to have formed much of a connection to Gondor, or at least the kind of connection that would induce them to move back as adults.