emyn-arnens

[emyn-arnens]

Galadriel and Olorin (finally) in Valinor after the war of the ring.

[emyn-arnens]

Faramir and his love for Eowyn does give some wish fulfilment, especially perhaps for people like Eowyn who deal with depression, low self esteem, abandonment issues or a general dread for the future.

He falls for Eowyn very swiftly, and is persistent in his courtship of her without being overbearing or demanding. He helps her understand her true desires and presents a future to her that meets those wishes. He is gentle and nurturing and takes care of her, while also giving her space and support to stand on her own two feet. His love doesn't dominate her but energises her to take control of her own future. He sees Eowyn's vulnerabilities and need for care, as well her great strength and abilities, and neither one diminishes the other.

And he sees her. He meets her at the very lowest moment in her life, he hears her when she says she wishes only to die. And his clear sightedness, along with his efforts to converse with those who know her personally, gives him an incredible insight into her character. When he falls in love with her, it's with full awareness of who she is. His love is very true. And for one who has been as lonely as Eowyn, to have someone who can understand her so well, is very liberating.

[emyn-arnens]

Across So Wide a Sea: Part 3

Summary: A new age of the world begins, and Galadriel faces her greatest grief.

Rating: G

Word Count: 12.8k (total: 33k)

T. A. 32, Urui

Amroth’s anger begins to cool. I suspect the reason lies in the long trips he takes to the western edges of the forest near the grey feet of the Hithaeglir. His guards report that he travels often to the river that skirts the foothills and intersects with the Celebrant.

There is an Elf-maid who lives there, Nimrodel. I have never met her, for she has no love for the Noldor, and Amroth does not speak of her, but his manner is changed; there is lightness about him that I have not seen since Amdír’s death, and the door of his heart edges open.

He greets me courteously now, and if his manner is distant and distracted, it is an improvement over his cold anger. I shall make a king of him yet.

You might think, Finrod, that I have lost my desire to rule, but fear not—my designs have not slipped. I would gladly rule this land and these people, but the time is not yet right, and Amroth is the rightful ruler, unsuited though he was when he came into the role. Further, the Elves of Lindórinand bore great love for Amdír, and though they welcomed me, they would not see me take up rulership of Lindórinand and so soon put an end to Sindarin rule. I am content for now to be a kingmaker and to again align the pieces of the board against Sauron.

Artanis, content? I hear you cry. But mark me: I am content, or at least as content as I ever shall be, torn as I am between two desires. Things move as I will them, and I am pleased.

Read the rest on AO3.

[emyn-arnens]

Endless Lord of the Rings Gifs [32/???]

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👑Nerdanel 👑Eärwen 👑Anairё

[emyn-arnens]

day of the lamps!~

happy new year~

[emyn-arnens]

2024 Fic Roundup

thank you @imakemywings for tagging me! <3

Total Words Published at end of year: 49,104

Fandoms: Exclusively Tolkien - LOTR & The Silmarillion if you want to get technical.

Highest Everything (raw kudos, hits, comments): (I knew what the answer to this would be, the people have clear favourites xD)

Hits: Victory in Defeat (591)

Kudos: Victory in Defeat (84)

Comments: White Blossom (11)

New Things I Tried: Writing dark!fic, something that I never thought I'd do in a million years, and writing a modern AU. Also, although I've written with OCs before, I've never written them in the Tolkien universe, and it was kind of scary doing it, so I'm counting it.

Fic I Spent the Most Time On: the plain sight of our destiny is the cruellest thing of all. This fic was the product of several months on-and-off work and multiple rounds of editing and polishing.

Fic I Spent the Least Time On: The Face of Spring. I banged this one out in an afternoon, it was like I was possessed.

Favourite Thing I Wrote: This is a hard one because I love all the fics I've written this year but I'll go with the plain sight of our destiny is the cruellest thing of all, which is ironic, given that I initially abandoned it as a dud. I just so love all the characters I was able to create and their relationships with each other, and I had such fun exploring Umbar. Also I'm so proud of the claustrophobic horror vibes in this one.

Favourite Thing(s) I Read:

Right-ho, Edrahil! by oswinry - a Jeeves & Wooster style Finrod & Edrahil fic is absolutely inspired and this is so effortlessly, side-splittingly hilarious.

A Thing Strange and Crooked by Arveldis - great investigation of how Maeglin's insidious influence isolated and suffocated Idril, the characterisation of Maeglin as a horrible creep who slides beneath society's radar is perfect.

Unwary by Showed_Up_Late_To_The_Muster - beautifully written, emotionally raw exploration of Théodwyn's final days, the themes of difficult marriage, grief, anger and resentment are perfectly executed.

Love in Spades by 0Rocky41_7 - the fic that made me an aroace Maedhros fan. Every character interaction is flawless, every single relationship depicted is so rich and vivid.

a fish, floundering on dry land by ncfan - heartbreaking portrayal of Finduilas' suffering in Minas Tirith, made even better by the emphasis on her interactions with other female characters.

one of your girls by swanmaiden - this fic is very aptly named because it made me one of the celegorome girls. I don't even know what to say about this fic except that it's a masterpiece, the characterisation of Celegorm is just so delicious in this.

dawn by swanmaiden - beautiful, gorgeous, so painful, Rían's grief and hopelessness are so vividly brought to the fore, and Annael's attempts to bring her back to herself have me with my head in my hands every time.

Like a Wave That Should Engulf the World by Arveldis - put me through all the feelings with Faramir foreseeing Éowyn's death but the love and tenderness which this oncoming grief brings out is what really makes this fic exemplary.

Writing Goals for 2025:

Finish and post a multichapter fic. (I've got several in the works and if I can get at least one posted that would be great!)

Post at least one of my Arien fics.

Post at least one fic featuring (a member of) Duinhir's family.

tagging @emyn-arnens @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras @dilettantefeminist @queerofthedagger if you'd like to do this (I'd love to see your answers!)

[emyn-arnens]

my @whiteoliphaunt gift for @greyjedijaneite - enjoy!

- - -

Celebrían was getting impatient. Only her husband’s hand in hers, warm and solid, kept her from pacing nervously up and down the harbour. Her vision was starting to blur, so long had she gazed across the sea to the distant horizon where her father’s ship would appear.

“He will come, dear.” 

Her mother’s voice in her head was steady and sure, but Celebrían knew her well enough to feel Galadriel’s impatience, mirroring her own. Long had they both waited for Celeborn to join them on these shores, and Celebrían longed for her family to be complete once more.

Elrond squeezed her hand encouragingly. “Soon, my love,” he whispered, and Celebrían smiled at him before turning her gaze back to the sea.

There, in the distance, a white ship had passed the horizon and grew steadily closer.

“He is coming!” Celebrían cried. “Naneth, there he is!”

Galadriel’s smile was more radiant than the midday sun glittering on the water as she gazed out at the ship that bore her husband to her, her hair and dress fluttering in the breeze, her eyes lit with ancient longing.

Soon the ship was close enough to see Celeborn at the prow, tall and silver-haired, and yet it seemed an eternity to Celebrían before it at last landed on the shore, and she ran towards it and jumped on board before the gangplanks had been laid out.

“Ada!” she cried, tears of joy in her eyes, and there he was, his arms around her warm and familiar after centuries apart, and she wept with gladness.

“I have missed you, ada,” she sobbed into his shoulder, and felt her father’s lips upon her brow.

“I have missed you as well, my little silver starling.”

They embraced for a long time, and at last Galadriel joined them, her forehead resting against Celeborn’s, the flicker of osanwë between them, and here in her parents' embrace Celebrían almost felt like a child again, loved and protected and wonderfully content, her family at last complete again.

[emyn-arnens]

And what if I cried at every moment of Frodo struggling and still being supported by his friends and loved ones. What then.

[emyn-arnens]

Across So Wide a Sea: Part 3

Summary: A new age of the world begins, and Galadriel faces her greatest grief.

Rating: G

Word Count: 12.8k (total: 33k)

T. A. 32, Urui

Amroth’s anger begins to cool. I suspect the reason lies in the long trips he takes to the western edges of the forest near the grey feet of the Hithaeglir. His guards report that he travels often to the river that skirts the foothills and intersects with the Celebrant.

There is an Elf-maid who lives there, Nimrodel. I have never met her, for she has no love for the Noldor, and Amroth does not speak of her, but his manner is changed; there is lightness about him that I have not seen since Amdír’s death, and the door of his heart edges open.

He greets me courteously now, and if his manner is distant and distracted, it is an improvement over his cold anger. I shall make a king of him yet.

You might think, Finrod, that I have lost my desire to rule, but fear not—my designs have not slipped. I would gladly rule this land and these people, but the time is not yet right, and Amroth is the rightful ruler, unsuited though he was when he came into the role. Further, the Elves of Lindórinand bore great love for Amdír, and though they welcomed me, they would not see me take up rulership of Lindórinand and so soon put an end to Sindarin rule. I am content for now to be a kingmaker and to again align the pieces of the board against Sauron.

Artanis, content? I hear you cry. But mark me: I am content, or at least as content as I ever shall be, torn as I am between two desires. Things move as I will them, and I am pleased.

Read the rest on AO3.

[emyn-arnens]

It is this quote of Arwen's, not in the books, but in a compilation of Letters by Tolkien, that really warms me to Arwen as a character.

Now, Arwen's kindness to Frodo and the sacrifice she makes is laudable, but it doesn't a personality make. And a virtuous woman is expected to be brimming with kindness and constant self-sacrifice as a par for a course.

The Story of Aragorn and Arwen gives Arwen more texture, revealing her pride in her lineage, her attraction to Aragorn directly linked to his kingliness, her scorn for the Men of Numenor who caused the fall through their fear of death, and the ambiguity of her death, and her final feelings on the choices she made. These make her vastly more interesting, but they're not likable traits, although when combined to the kind act above, she starts becoming a character I can care for.

But the quote above, which shows Arwen didn't just do Frodo a kindness, but had to be logical and practical about it. She is aware of Frodo's suffering, thinks of a cure for Frodo's suffering, then has to think of a way of putting that plan into action.

She has to make a logical argument to Gandalf to justify Frodo taking her place, she had to use reason and rhetoric to achieve her ends.

If kindness and self-sacrifice are traditionally "feminine" virtues, then practical thinking and logical reasoning are considered "masculine". Arwen here combines both virtues, kindness and practicality, to achieve her ends.

This elevates her from a character passively exuding goodness, to a moral agent who has to not only choose to do good, but also choose the correct way to achieve that good.

[emyn-arnens]

CATE BLANCHETT as GALADRIEL The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)

[emyn-arnens]

“Shire still life”

Watercolour created as part of a logo for the German Tolkien Society.

Also, today is my 33rd Tolkien anniversary. On Boxing Day 1991 I had my very first contact with the Professor’s works.

[emyn-arnens]

One week until Arafinwëan Week!

Welcome to Arafinwëan Week! This is a new event following in the footsteps of @arafinweanweek, last run in 2019. This event celebrates the House of Finarfin and all of its descendants.

The event will run January 5–11 and accepts all types of fanworks. There is an AO3 collection for the event here.

Below are some suggested prompts for each day of the week. They are not mandatory; feel free to combine them or disregard them entirely.

Day 1: Finarfin | Eärwen | pre-Darkening | family, duty, and kingship Day 2: Finrod | Darkening and Flight of the Noldor | oaths, loyalty, and sacrifice Day 3: Angrod | Aegnor | Crossing of the Helcaraxë and the War of the Jewels | lordship, allies, and vassals Day 4: Galadriel | Second Age | choices and regrets Day 5: Orodreth | Finduilas | textual ghosts | Third Age | heritage, history, and heirlooms Day 6: Gil-Galad | Celebrían | Arafinwëan OCs | Valinor and re-embodiment | future and legacy Day 7: Later generations | free choice

Please mention @arafinwean-week (mind the dash! arafinweanweek is the old event's blog) in the body of your post and tag #arafinweanweek and #arafinweanweek2025 in the first 10 tags. You may also submit a post. Please place any NSFW content beneath a read more/link to AO3.

For more information, please see the FAQ. If you have any questions, drop them in the ask box.

Art is by @ela-draws.

[emyn-arnens]

Éomer and Lothíriel.

Secret Santa gift for @miss-mouse

[emyn-arnens]

On Arwen, Legacy, and the Gift of Men

I've been meaning to make this post for a while, actually, so here goes:

For all we talk about Arwen's inadequate characterisation (and I won't disagree, because in comparison with all the other characters in LOTR and even the Silmarillion, Arwen isn't very heavily characterised or featured in the text of LOTR at all), I feel like what really defines her, despite a lack of obvious characterisation, and despite possibly being unintentional (though I doubt that somehow), is this overwhelming sense of having been burdened with legacy — something that feels so central to her character that it makes up for everything else and gives you a good sense of who she is. Which leads me to believe that even if she had not fallen in love with Aragorn, she would have chosen mortality anyway.

The most famous part of Arwen's inherited legacy, of course, is her similarity to Lúthien. She is someone 'in whom it was said that the likeness of Lúthien had come on earth again' (LOTR, Book 2, Ch.1), and in the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen (LOTR, Appendix A), Aragorn sees her and immediately calls her 'Tinúviel'. She looks like Lúthien, lives (to some extent) like Lúthien, and ends up dying somewhat like Lúthien too. Then there is the legacy passed down to her as a Finwean. She is named 'Arwen' (noble-maiden), a name choice that echoes the name 'Artanis' (which is of course Galadriel's father-name, and means 'noble-woman'). This sets up a comparison (which cannot be ignored, for names are of utmost significance in the legendarium) between Arwen and Galadriel — Galadriel, who is a survivor of the First Age, learned in lore and magic (under Melian's tutelage too), kind and compassionate, but also powerful and fearsome. So both Arwen's name and her face are, to a great extent, something inherited from people who are in many ways far greater than herself in their power, influence and majesty, and people whom she may feel she has to live up to.

Arwen's legacy, and the many connections she has to the noble Elves of the First Age, understandably seems to weigh on her, especially in her demeanour. Of her it is said that 'her face was more grave, and her laughter now seldom was heard' (LOTR, Appendix A) , and there is a solemnity to her, unlike Lúthien's unabashed enthusiasm for life, or Galadriel's ambition. It is evident in the little that we see of her that she is, despite being compared time and again to and Galadriel both, not much like either of them. Taken in the context of the rest of Middle-Earth's history, as well as with reference to her other name, 'Undómiel' (meaning Evenstar), this difference becomes far more significant. For Arwen was born in the Third Age, when time of the Elves in Middle-earth was drawing to a close; indeed, Arwen's Elven heritage is referred to by Aragorn as 'the Twilight you must renounce' (LOTR, Appendix A). She is the Evenstar of the Elves: with her, the sun will set on their time in Middle-earth, and they will depart for Aman, to be removed from the rest of the world until thr Dagor Dagorath, if it ever happens.

But Arwen has so much to live up to. She is as beautiful as Lúthien, and named after Galadriel, but the Age itself sort of denies her the chance to live up to that legacy — as an Elf, from what we know of Arda, she can never truly measure up to her ancestors' deeds in the First Age, because it isn't the First Age anymore, and her people, almost collectively, are tiring of Middle-earth, which itself is growing older and weaker. There is nothing for an Elf here. If you'll pardon me for bringing in an unexpected comparison, it's a bit like Sophie Hatter's case (from Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, if anyone is unaware). Sophie feels she'll end up a failure or worse off than her sisters because that's how the world allegedly works. And in much the same way, Arwen can be interpreted as someone who feels like she can't be anyone of note in the Third Age as an Elf because Elves can't be notable in the Third Age.

Which brings me to my final point: that I think Arwen would have chosen mortality, and the life of the Aftercomers, regardless of whether she'd fallen in love with Aragorn or not. There's a bit in the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen about this that I think of when I try to make sense of Arwen's character. During Arwen and Aragorn's very first meeting, when he is but a boy and she hasn't fallen in love with him yet, she responds to Aragorn's claim that she is 'in [Lúthien's] likeness' with 'Yet her name is not mine. Though maybe my doom will not be unlike hers [emphasis mine]. But who are you?' Note here that she doesn't know or love Aragorn at this point. But she is already considering what choice she shall make in regard to remaining functionally immortal or becoming mortal. Of course, some of this can be ascribed to Elven foresight, but I still find it quite significant, because I see her becoming mortal as her choosing the only way she feels she can live up to Lúthien and Galadriel, who are both in some way a significant part of her identity.

Let's come back to Sophie Hatter. In her text, her transformation into an old lady comes with a sense of liberation, in that she feels she can do as she pleases, and is unshackled from her supposed fate. I tend to see Arwen's choice to become mortal as a similar kind of liberation, made more significant in Arda because in Arda, the 'Music of the Ainur [...] is as fate to all things [save for Men]' (The Silmarillion, Ch.1), and as an Elf, she cannot be anything but what is fated for her. Arwen breaks free of the shackles of 'Elves will fade away or sail, and become insignificant, doing their part in the fate of the world' through her choice, and ends up becoming a Queen. Even if she hadn't been a Queen in some alternate universe, I don't doubt that until her death, she would have been one of the chief advisors of the kingdoms of Middle-earth. But in the role which she ends up, she becomes influential.

No longer will she be remembered simply as 'Arwen, daughter of Elrond', relegated to footnotes much like the daughters of Finwë, but as the first Queen of the Reunited Kingdom, the first Queen of Gondor in living mortal memory. In this she becomes as important as Lúthien and Galadriel ever were — she, too, will make her mark on the dawn of a new Age, until she has 'laid herself to rest upon Cerin Amroth' (LOTR, Appendix A). Even in her death she will be like Lúthien, who chose to die a mortal after living in peace, and like Galadriel, who chose to 'diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel' (LOTR, Book 2, Ch.7). The legacy she leaves — that of a whole kingdom — will be as great as that of her forebears. And I feel like she would, considering how much her heritage seems to impact her and shape her, choose that greatness anyway (almost as a contrast of sorts to Galadriel refusing the Ring, but I digress).

So yes, that's my take on Arwen. That despite the lack of information and characterisation we have for her, she can be interpreted as a complex individual, shaped by her circumstances, her heritage, and her ultimate choice to make a mark on the world as great as that of any of her ancestors by choosing mortality; not simply for love (as I feel it often gets simplified to), but also to break free of the fate that binds her and to be truly free by renouncing Elvenkind and taking the Gift of Men: that 'they should have a virtue to shape their life, amid the powers and chances of the world, beyond the Music of the Ainur' (The Silmarillion, Ch.1).

[emyn-arnens]

Galadriel and little Arwen.