#Aragorn and Arwen's daughters

[edennill-archived]

I really like to think there is some debate among scholars on whether Tol Fuin is part of the Reunited Kingdom on a technicality, since its Kings are straight-line descendants of the last Lords of Dorthonion.

...

The opinion of His Highness King Elessar on the subject: It would, you know, make about as much sense for me to say we're still the Lords of Andunie.

The opinion of Her Highness the King's youngest daughter: That would actually be immeasurably cool and dad is a spoilsport.

The opinion of any given random inhabitant of Middle-Earth: I mean Gondor-and-Arnor is welcome to it; no one lives there for a reason, but if they want a barren wasteland with a feel altogether too similar to Mordor on sentimental grounds, who am I to stop them?

[partfae]

when elrond finally sailed i like to think that he saw celebrían waiting for him on the shore and leapt from the boat, splashing through the waves until he could run to her, unable to bear even another moment apart.

[wakingupthetrees]

do you ever think about the fact that legolas was probably the one who had to tell elrond that aragorn and arwen had passed when he got to valinor and just. cry a bit.

[whitmerule]

Arwen: I choose a mortal life.

Elrond: et tu, Arwen??

Elros, somewhere: hell yeah that's my niece 🥳

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Monsterfucking and LotR BTS, you say???

Okay first of all I have looked for that specific gif for years and never been able to find it, WHAT did you search in order to get it!?

I don't think monsterfucking will surprise anyone who's paid the least attention to my fic writing over the years, ha ha, but yes LotR was baby's first fandom (along with PotC). I had the extended edition and watched all the BTS stuff on the DVDs. It's what sparked my love for behind the scenes information and learning how movies are made. I love that you're so delighted over this. XD

[annabthesolitarywriter]

✍️✍️✍️

(I cheated and now you have to pick 3 bwahahahaha)

Thank you for the ask! It took me a long time to pick them, but I have my three characters at last! I'm going to talk about Hilde (Rohirrim OC), Lóthuil and Meleril (Gondorian OCs; youngest daughters of Aragorn and Arwen. Their older sister Gilraen appears in my Gaps and Ghosts one-shot for Tolkien OC Week 2024)

Hilde

She's not of noble origin and is native of Rohan. She spent her early childhood in the Westfold (she was born there) and, although she never had a title, she was not always poor. She comes from a family of traders—they primarily traded horses, but also clothes, barley and other items—and they used to be “rich” compared to their neighbors. That was before the War of the Ring, when Saruman’s forces as well as Dunlendings attacked and burned the Westfold. Her family lost everything—I headcanon that those who are not nobles live together in the same house like a big family and support one another unconditionally in whatever someone might need—and Hilde’s grandparents died trying to save their possessions. All of their children died (they had five children total) except for Hilde’s father, who was a child of ten at the time (roughly around TA 3018/3019). Settlements in the Westfold were eventually rebuild once Éomer became King and Hilde's father served Grimbold, Thane of Grimslade, for a time. Grimbold gave him a place to stay in his manor and paid him a weekly salary of ten coins. As a result, he amassed quite a bit of money and, at the end of his service to Grimbold, he had amassed quite a bit of money. He was then able to leave the Westfold to settle in Aldburg, capital of the Eastfold and former capital of Rohan. He found himself a decent house—not a mansion or anything, but still, a nice little house with all that he needed to live comfortably—and, a few years later, he found himself a wife as well. Unfortunately his wife was a beautiful as she was inconsiderate and shallow and spent all of her husband’s money while he was away. (This happened roughly around FoA 9 when Éomer and Aragorn and their armies where busy subduing the Haradrim. I headcanon it was no major battle or anything, but everyone thought a major conflict would erupt, so everyone who could wield weapons was summoned to join the army). When Hilde's father returned home, he quickly found he no longer had money and, of course, things between him and his wife were never the same again. He did not divorce her (I don't even know if divorce exists in Rohan, I should look it up), but they were only married in name. Hilde’s dad started working as an assistant blacksmith and, although it was hard at first since he knew nothing of the craft, he quickly learned the basics and, overtime, he became quite good at it. He also decided to resume what had been his family's business for generations—trading horses. He thus found a way to make money again; money which he promptly hid from his wife. They were no longer on speaking terms and he often spent his nights at the blacksmith workshop to avoid being with her. The hostility continued until she got sick a few years later. Out of pity, he decided to sort of rekindle their relationship and took care of her until she got better. Hilde was at last born in FoA 17. With her mom fully recovered and quite a bit of money coming in (and somewhat of a repaired relationship), they started to act like a normal family and had quite a happy life for a few years. The money and other valuables and most things still remained hidden—I think Hilde's mom was actually kleptomaniac, it's just that her illness was not known in Rohan….for obvious reasons—but they found a way to make their relationship work (mostly for the sake of their child, but also for themselves).

It seems like they got their happy ending, right? Well,…not exactly. They had a few happy years before Hilde’s dad died. Shortly before his passing, he had decided to tell his wife where he kept his money trusting that she would use it to take care of the house and of her daughter. She promised to do so and tried to abide by her promise, but she soon went back to her old ways and squandered all the money again (this time, out of sadness rather than selfishness…I mean, it’s still a bit selfish, but I think she tried to forget about her pain by spending and buying as much stuff as she could. Useless stuff, mostly). Seeing how irresponsible her mother was, Hilde decided pretty early on that she had to earn her own money if she hoped to survive—her mom mostly bought random, useless stuff instead of, you know…food, water, utilities…that kind of irrelevant stuff no one cares about—and started working as a cleaning lady for highborn people. Her mother died at some point, but the two of them were never really close as she blamed her for her misfortune and for her father's death. She basically just paid the funeral expenses and that was it, I am not even sure she attended the funeral. Probably not, though. After a few years of cleaning mansions and places belonging to nobles, she was recommended to Éomer. She was pretty famous among people attending banquets at Edoras and someone in Éomer’s inner circle mentioned her name. A few weeks later she was officially summoned to Edoras and started working there, cleaning floors, helping in the kitchen and occasionally serving meals.

Now, time-skip to FoA 39.

Wyn is in Pelargir visiting Anárion and keeps talking to him about Rohan and the fact that she wants to visit her grandmother's country. Anárion at first tries to dissuade her—he knows their mom will never give them permission to go and he also knows Eönwë doesn't want to get involved in personal things of this kind—but then he reluctantly agrees to take her to Edoras. He has to ask his grandfather for information because he barely knows where Rohan is and has him write a letter to Éomer announcing their visit. I sort of imagine Éomer going like “oh, yes, my sister's grandchildren…how many are they and what do they look like?” and Lothíriel being like “I have absolutely no idea”. That's funny to me. A few weeks later they receive a letter saying that they're welcome to visit if they wish and a few days/weeks later, they finally get to Edoras. Lothíriel hosts a welcome dinner and Hilde is there serving meals. That's when Anárion first sees her and he's immediately attracted to her. Enna has tried in vain to set him up with a Gondorian lady of her choosing (one of the many girls at her “finishing schools”) but Anárion is not really interested. She's not ugly or rude in any way, but he makes it pretty clear he doesn't want to marry her. He sees Hilde and he's immediately drawn to her, but he's kind of disappointed when he realizes she doesn't speak Westron. She only knows a few words she overhead from other people, but, due to her circumstances, she could never afford to get an education and knows nothing about what lies beyond the borders of Rohan. She is not familiar with most places in Rohan either, actually. She's never had a chance to travel so her knowledge about basically everything around her is…extremely limited. Anárion tries to talk to her, but the minute he does, she burts into tears and runs away, hiding in the stables. She spends the night there and the following morning she is back at work. Anárion and Wyn stay in Rohan for about a month—his grandfather is the only one to know that they're not in Pelargir—and Anárion tries several times to start a conversation with her.

Éomer has noticed his interest in Hilde and teaches him a few basic sentences in Rohirric (or is it Rohanese?) so that he can at least explain who he is. Anárion writes them down and practices in his room that very night, but, when she shows up, he gets nervous and just ignores her. He has to read the sentences off his piece of parchment to actually speak to her and, when he tries to do so a few days later, she just frowns and looks around. He thinks he's hopeless and leaves her alone. Wyn sort of ships them already though and tries to help. She asks Lothíriel for help and learns a few other sentences on her own before she visits her in the kitchen. Hilde is washing dishes and sweeping floors when Wyn sneaks up on her and nearly gets hit in the head. Hilde tries to apologize and the two girls start “talking”. On Wyn’s part, it's a lot of mumbling, hand gestures and random words, but Hilde sort of understands what she wants to say. Over the following days, Wyn drags Hilde to Anárion’s room while also involving Éothain into the whole thing. I don't know how Wyn meets Éothain yet, but she's so bubbly and happy that it's nearly impossible for anyone to dislike her. So, Éothain acts as the official interpreter for the two of them (Anárion and Hilde) and Anárion tells her a bit of his life-story and also says his mom has a school for girls and that anyone is welcome. Wyn immediately understands what his plan is and insists (she basically nags her nonstop) until she reluctantly accepts. They all talk to Éomer and Lothíriel about it (they also talk about Enna, how she's doing etc…) and the King and Queen of Rohan agree to let her go, but only if she's willing to do so herself. Hilde is not afraid of them and sort of likes Wyn, but she's nervous because she knows nothing about Gondor and probably doesn't even know who Enna and Eönwë are. They give her a few more days to think it over until she willingly says she'll go. They take their leave and are back in Ithilien a few weeks later. That's where things get interesting. Anárion tells Enna that a new girl that may benefit from her schooling. Enna is initially very happy about it as she assumes he's referring to some Gondorian lady he met (remember that she did not know he and Wyn had secretly traveled to Rohan) and asks to meet her. Wyn tells attendants to give her a bath and prepare a suitable dress and a meeting between the two of them is arranged. Hilde tries to tell them that she doesn't feel comfortable meeting anyone unless either Wyn or Anárion are there with her and they both readily accept to escort her to their mom and keep her company. Anárion is a bit nervous about introducing her to his mother (he's painfully aware that she loathes anything Rohan-related), but, by this point, he's fully smitten with Hilde and thinks his mom will understand how he feels. Also, he feels it's about time Enna got over her trauma and dealt with it as any adult would. The two of them meet and Enna thinks she's hallucinating Éowyn (they kind of look like one another). As a result she has a major, full-blown panic attack, which the physicians nearly mistake for a heart attack. Hilde doesn't know what's going on and thinks it's her fault and tries her best to apologize. Mírion runs to his mom—he’s constantly checking on her—and as soon as he sees Hilde (and the way Anárion looks at her), he connects the dots. He calls the healers and puts his mom to bed, refusing any help from Anárion. Wyn immediately understands Mírion is about to snap and conveniently escorts a very confused and saddened Hilde out of the room and shows her around.

Once Enna is taken care of, Mírion storms out and Anárion follows him. He prods for an explanation, but Mírion flees to his chambers and locks the main door, eventually opening it up again since Anárion keeps on knocking. A very loud argument ensues—Mírion’s like “you were in Rohan having fun with that girl while I was here taking care of our family, huh?” and basically tells him to stop fooling around and to focus on the girl he's supposed to court aka the one Enna picked for him. Anárion yet again says he does not wish to marry her and Mírion says his feelings don't matter and that he should please his mother. (Mírion is indeed courting/spending time with the lady Enna picked for him. She’s also from her finishing school and, although he finds her well-mannered and very beautiful, he is not sure about his feelings for her. Not that it matters since he'll do anything to please his mom. He's understandably obsessed with her wellbeing and would kill himself if either she or Eönwë asked it of him). Anárion is more like “I love you so much, Mother, but it's my life, not yours.” The two bothers have completely different opinions on the matter and they momentarily fall out with one another. Long story short: Mírion doesn't approve of Hilde—he thinks Anárion should have known better—and Anárion doesn't care. He adores his baby brother, but he has a will of his own and won't dismiss a girl he likes just because his mother doesn't approve of her. Mírion would do so at once just to make her happy instead. That's the main difference. So, while Enna’s sons stop talking over this apparently trivial matter, Finnie sides with Wyn and Hilde and helps Hilde learn a bit of Westron. Hilde bonds with both girls, but I think Wyn will become her bestie. Anárion is already in love with her and Hilde falls for him as she gets to know him. Before she dies, Enna gives them permission to marry and once Sauron is finally dead, the two of them marry and Hilde becomes lady of Lebennin. They'll have a daughter, Éowyn, (as a tribute to the person that believed in them the most as well as to the most iconic woman in Rohirric/Rohanese history) and a son. Mírion will eventually apologize and rekindle his relationship with his brother before he leaves for Valinor.

Fancast for Hilde: Aimee Richardson.

Aimee Richardson as Hilde and Archie Barnes as Anárion

Literally his face the first time he saw Hilde

Also, ship name is probably Hilderion

Lóthuil

Princess of the Reunited Kingdom, second daughter of King Elessar and Queen Arwen. Her name means "Spring Flower".

She was born in FoA 16 shortly after Enna’s wedding to Eldarion. Arwen wasn't actually supposed to attend the wedding, but she insisted on it because she did not want to miss her little boy’s special day. I haven't picked a day for Eldarion and Enna's wedding yet, but I think Lóthuil will be born roughly a week later. She was born in the spring, hence her name.

Lóthuil’s birth was very difficult for Arwen, which is why Aragorn decides they won't have any more children. Personality-wise, Lóthuil is much more of a lady than her older sister, but she too is very blunt and not cut out for courtly life. She only is smarter about it and, contrarily to her sister, she knows how put on a poker face. She also tends not to be extremely blunt when addressing her parents and, contrarily to her sister, she doesn't talk back if she disagrees with her parents’ decisions. She makes her ideas known, but she's much subtler and way more gentle when communicating with her elders, which is why Aragorn pays way more attention to her. Despite their age difference (thirteen years) she's extremely close with Gilraen and tries to quietly support her. Gilraen and Daerion get married in FoA 22 when Lóthuil is eight years old—yes, Aragorn does actually wait until his eldest daughter comes of age before officially marrying her off. I think the whole Enna/Eldarion marriage fiasco made him realize a few things. I think he also wants to be certain Daerion actually cares for Gilraen. Upon his betrothal to Gilraen, Daerion is created lord of Lossarnach and Gilraen is escorted there as well, since she is to be the fief's future lady. Lóthuil will be visiting her sister very often and, although she has her own nanny and a bunch of other people at her service, she will be mostly raised by Estella (Gilraen’s governess and de-facto mom). Gilraen will of course escape to Dol Amroth as often as she possibly can and will take Lóthuil with her and the two of them will secretly spend a lot of time with “Aunt” Mörwen, Aragorn’s first cousin (her father was canon Gilraen’s older brother; an OC I won't be developing since he has no impact on the story itself). absolutely nothing. I feel like Aragorn will eventually learn to value his daughters. He loves them but for some reason he cannot show it that much and they are both hurt his aloofness around them. Both girls take up archery as a hobby to deal with their frustration and, according to Uncle Legolas, they are both excellent. Both girls are very good friends with both Enna and Nel and, after Enna marries Eönwë and sets up her “finishing school”, Lóthuil is one of the first people to be officially enrolled. This is something Eldarion suggests as he hopes it can work in his favor as well.

By then he genuinely wants to make amends and apologize to Enna and thinks Lóthuil may be key to a reconciliation of sorts. Although he will always be Aragorn and Arwen’s beloved boy. I feel compelled to mention that Aragorn is no longer as blinded by his actions after the whole accident/scandal involving Enna and their unborn baby. I think that’s what prompts Aragorn to value his daughters a bit more, and the event, although tragic for the realm and for Enna, marks the beginning of his improved relationship with Gilraen. He won’t completely change his mind straightaway, but he realizes that he was wrong to overlook his daughters. He spends a lot more time with them and actually asks for their opinion on quite a few matters. Eldarion’s opinion is definitely still more important to him, but the girls’ ideas are not dismissed either.

Now, back to Lóthuil. While she is not a poor student as far as music, literature and other subjects are concerned, she is absolutely atrocious at embroidering, playing instruments and acting…like a princess. Enna tries to teach her a few things and takes her into her service as one of her ladies-in-waiting, but she quickly realizes she’s far too similar to Gilraen to be trusted as a lady-in-waiting. Mind you, Enna ADORES both girls, but…even she has to admit they are not cut out for court life. Knowing Aragorn is still trying to marry her off to people and knowing full well there’s no chance she will get to be happy with the nobles Aragorn has an eye on, she arranges for her to travel North. She has always had a fascination with all things Arnor and Enna hopes she will be able to find some lasting happiness there. She talks Aragorn into letting her go and the King eventually agrees.

On her way to Annúminas—she goes on her own without soldiers to protect her. She doesn't like to be followed—she decides to visit an inn in Tharbad just to rest a bit and she meets a group of boys who start bothering her and making comments about her unkempt appearance and so on. Just as she’s about to confront them, another boy more or less her age tells the group to mind their own business. Lóthuil frowns as she notices everyone bowing to him and casually asks the bartender about him. It turns out that the boy who defended her is the son of the lord of Tharbad. She looks at him and immediately thinks he is gorgeous despite his ridiculous haircut. I have come up with a few scenes of them practicing archery together and gradually becoming friends (she kind of already likes him, but wants to get to know him to make sure he falls in love with her and not with her family/titles, which is why she doesn’t tell him she’s one of the princesses when he asks for her name. I think she actually gives him a fake name which is yet to be decided. They will marry a few years later (dates are yet to be decided, but I think they’ll marry around FoA 38/39). I think her husband’s name will be Idhrenion. (Ship: Lóthrenion)

Ewan Mitchell as Idhrenion & Marina Moschen as Lóthuil

Gorgeous with a ridiculous haircut. Ewan Mitchell just fits.

Meleril

Born in FoA 19, she is the youngest daughter of King Elessar and Queen Arwen. Arwen and Aragorn did not want any more children after Lóthuil and she just…kind of happened, I guess. She’s considered the ugliest member of the Arawen family since she looks way more human than her siblings and because she's way chubbier than her sisters (that doesn't mean she's fat…she's just not as thin). Most ladies are kind to her just because she's a princess, but she's constantly bullied and called names behind her back. She's retiring, private and very kind. Although she has definitely cried a few times about it, she generally doesn't let negative comments affect her. She can be very self-conscious and, though she doesn't speak to anyone about it, she thinks she'll never wed anyone because she'll never be pretty enough for marriage. She has no desire to learn to fight and never once engaged in swordfighting or archery. She prefers more traditionally feminine occupations such pottery and needlework. She's an avid reader and likes talking to people and recording their thoughts on things (had she not been a part of the royal family, she probably would have been a scholar, a scribe or a writer). She has a parrot named Elros and spent her entire childhood trying to teach him how to speak. Eldarion has a soft spot for her and, as he is worried about her spending nearly all of her time with her parrot and nearly anyone else, he encourages her to attend Enna's school. As Enna grows fond of her, they spend a lot of time together and Meleril casually happens to be around one day that Elboron visits Enna to try and make things right with her (as I probably mentioned before, they don't see much of one another as time goes by. Enna doesn't hate him or anything, but she can't look him in the eye because he reminds her too much of Éowyn and it's too painful to bear). They stare at each other and Meleril tries to avoid him because she's afraid he’ll think she's fat and ugly. Elboron looks at her and, as soon as she leaves, he asks for information about her. He doesn't know who she is yet, but he's intrigued primarily because she doesn't look as stuckup as most ladies. He can tell she's very insecure and kind of just wants to comfort her (that's the Faramir in him coming out). He tries talking to Enna about her, but Enna doesn't really want to speak to him. Meleril gets acquainted with Enna’s other siblings and becomes friendly with Selim, who encourages her to write letters to Elboron. The two of them start corresponding and Selim tries to be the best wingman he can possibly be. He also teaches her about Haradrim customs and she becomes interested in Haradrim fashion. I haven't figured out the details of their relationship yet, but Meleril and Elboron do get married eventually. (Ship name: Melboron? Elboriel? Probably Elboriel sounds better)

Fancast for Meleril: Mariya Andreeva

Mariya Andreeva as Meleril and Toby Regbo as Elboron

Thank you again for the ask & I hope it makes sense!

[whiskawaybelf]

I've just realised that my next gen fic has basically turned into six kids in Rohan having three months of 'Heirs to the Kingdom' summer camp.

Eomer and Lothiriel did not plan for all six of them to come and be chaotic together (two of which are their children, so they did plan that) but now they're all here and this fic went from a cute little story with Elfwine and my little Aragorn/Arwen daughter OC as our viewpoint character. Fun little side characters. Elboron is there. Elfwine's sister is there. We have some original characters from Rohan. it's fun!

and now it's fucking chaos. a third of the story is just their shenanigans through three months. Now I sort of want to make that its own story and I have.... so many stories on at once.

But I love them

[dalleyan]

Elfwine Chronicles (new LoTR stories, Awry, ch 1 posted, 9-6-23

Perfection came easily to Eldarion, but on the one occasion it means most to him, it proves annoyingly elusive.  (Drama, Angst, Romance, Family, Humor) (2 chapter story)

Chapter 1  -  (Mar, 25 IV)

“You are not nervous, are you?” Eldarion asked, with some surprise.  He had never known Luthiel to be anything other than cool and collected in any situation.  It was one of the traits he most admired about her.

“A little,” she reluctantly confessed, then turned to eye him defensively as she explained, “it is not every day a girl marries the Prince of Gondor, which will one day make her queen.”

Her voice faltered and he dropped his gaze, smiling slightly in understanding.  He had not expected Luthiel to be intimidated by anything, least of all anything to do with him.  This was a new facet to her that he was seeing.  Raising his eyes to fix her gaze with his own, he lithely stepped in close, his hands moving to grasp her shoulders. 

“You will be a beautiful bride, my love – the perfect bride – setting the standard for all others.  And, when the time comes, you will be a wonderful queen.  I do not doubt it for a moment.”  He gave a deprecatory laugh, adding, “I have more concerns about my suitability as king than yours as queen.  All of Gondor may come to know me as the king who did only one thing right – married the best woman in the land, so she could rule beside him and save him from himself.”

He pulled her into his embrace, feeling the weight and truth of his words, and she held him tightly.  His observations had both touched and reassured her, something that she found rather surprising.  She knew better than most what a good man Eldarion was, though it was sometimes concealed beneath his bravado, but he still was able to catch her unaware in moments like this.  She doubted very much he was this open and sincere with many others.  Despite his gregarious personality, in many ways Eldarion was a closed book when it came to himself, and she had the feeling she had only skimmed a few of his many pages.

Winding her arms around his neck, she pulled him to her in a kiss, then whispered, “Thank you, beloved.  I will try to be the wife and queen you envision me to be.  And I am certain that you will be an excellent king.  My father has long spoken well of you, and he does not offer such praise lightly.”

Her cheek settled against his chest, and they stood silently in each other’s arms, content for this moment.  Eldarion was not completely convinced, by her words, of his own capability to be an effective monarch, but he could not imagine he would fail with her at his side.  Whatever good there was in him, she brought it out and made it better.  Gondor had no idea how fortunate they were that she had accepted him, had loved him – indeed, had put in the effort to mold him into someone she would consider marrying.

xx

The couple was due to wed in less than a fortnight, and Eldarion had spared no effort in planning the perfect wedding.  Naturally, as heir to the throne, the occasion would be special and require a high level of pomp and circumstance but, more than that, he wanted Luthiel to have the most magical wedding there had ever been.  Gondor would make this whole ceremony all about him, but as far as he was concerned, it was all about her.  She was not merely ‘the girl who was wedding the Prince of Gondor’, but rather she was the one woman who touched his heart and soul, who had seen beyond his bluster and liked the person she found hidden safely away from public view.  She had weaned him, for the most part, of his obnoxious behavior and transformed him into a better man and a better future king.  She deserved the place of honor at this fete.

It had all been arranged.  Invitations were sent far and wide to honored guests, friends and, most importantly, family.  The entire royal family of Rohan was expected to be in attendance, both because of their connection to Luthiel, but also to him.  Because of the hand his sister, Dariel, and her husband, Elfwine, had in helping the two of them get together in the first place, Eldarion was especially anticipating their arrival for the festivities.  He owed Elfwine a tremendous debt for his friendship and guidance during his rather clumsy attempts at wooing Luthiel.  The party from Rohan was due to arrive a couple of days before the wedding, and he welcomed the idea of a brother standing beside him through all this.

continue reading on AO3:

               (https://archiveofourown.org/works/49917205/chapters/126020983)

[lanthanum12]

Niennandil-verse advent calender day 4 (Arwen and children)

Eldarion and his little sisters, Maedhrill and Glorlin, watched as the batter swirled together in a creamy blend under the care of their Naneth. All three of them could not wait to taste the rich lembas. Naneth made it for them on special occasions and the upcoming Yule was certainly one of those.

“Can we make the lembas red because it’s Yule and my favorite color?” Maedhrill asked Naneth. It would be far improved that way. The waybread was delicious enough but Yule lembas would be even better!

“Of course not! That will ruin it!” Eldarion scolded. He had been told of the ancient tradition and to change it seemed disrespectful to him. Maedhrill crossed her arms and huffed at this response. Glorlin gave her twin sister a sympathetic glance. Eldarion was very rude.

Naneth abruptly stopped her stirring and set the bowl down. Such an idea required one’s full attention to consider after all, “Well…it would be unconventional but red is the color of the brave Fëanorians and Yule as you said.”

“So we can make it?” Maedhrill asked, clasping her hands together.

“Yes, I believe we can. As for you Eldarion, if your sister has an idea, be kind even if you don’t agree,” Naneth said.

“Sorry about that Maedhrill,” Eldarion mumbled.

“It’s fine,” Maedhrill said with a smirk. She had won.

“Could we put some berries in to turn it red?” Glorlin suggested.

“Yes, cranberries would be splendid,” Naneth nodded. Glorlin rushed away and as quick as she left she returned with a basket of the glistening berries ripe with a sharp tart bite to them that Glorlin loved. Maedhrill grabbed a masher and shoved it on the berries, the skins of them broke away letting the crimson juice flow. Finally once the berries had turned into a soup and Maedhrill was flopped down on the table in exhaustion, Naneth scooped up the basket and added the cranberries to her batter. Glorlin was scribbling down everything Naneth did in her lavender journal with sloppy handwriting that would prove unreadable the very next day.

Then it was time to cook the lembas which none of the children could aid in, all they could do was wait. When the lembas was finally done they let out a cheer. The vibrant scarlet of the batter had faded into a light tinge. It was no longer festive enough for Maedhrill, so she suggested; “We should add red sprinkles to the cakes, icing too!”

Naneth forced a smile and shook her head, “Well if you insist.”

“We do,” Maedhrill said. Glorlin agreed. Eldarion just looked frustrated but Maedhrill and Glorlin cared little about him now. Icing and sprinkles were too important.

The twins smeared layers upon layers of shimmering white frosting on their cakes and tossed sweet stars of red and even green on the tops. Then piled even more frosting once they had finished with the sprinkles.

At last, the world’s sweetest lembas was finished. It was overflowing with gooiness and sugar and color that no one would be able to look at them and not tell that it was meant to be eaten on Yule.

Though the days before Yule were still occasions for such treats, so Maedhrill, Glorlin, Eldarion all enjoyed a piece of lembas. Naneth and Father tried theirs later, though with slight frowns instead of smiles after eating a particularly large bite of icing. It was no issue though, as Glorlin recorded that they liked it very much upon being asked.

-------------------

I have just overlooked a bunch of the canon info about lembas. But the idea of Arwen teaching her kids (all of them, if Eldarion wants to be involved in making it she’s happy) lembas is so sweet. I can’t imagine that she wouldn’t do that. It’s much nicer than in canon where lembas is just forgotten. Yavanna would be very proud to see Yuletide lembas and eat it with a smile. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are elflings who grow up to be Yavannildi who have made Yule lembas before.

[withinycu]

.

[balrogballs]

One thing I often think about when it comes to the Jackson films’ fleshing out of the Elrond and Arwen storyline is how in Return of the King, Elrond straight up just admits that he’s seen Arwen’s son through his prophetic visions — presumably a similar scene to the one she saw, but with her instead of Aragorn holding the child.

And yes, obviously the actual point being made there by the film was that Elrond lied to/misled his daughter because he didn’t want her to die.

But can we just take a moment to think about him actually experiencing that vision? That’s his grandson. That’s his grandson. This elf, who once wholly gave his heart to a mortal infant brought into his household, looking into the future and seeing the proof of the love he has given both Aragorn and Arwen. That’s his grandson right there, all of five years old and destined for a more blissful life than any of his ancestors. That’s his heir and Elros’ heir, messing about in a forest with two people whom he loves more than the world. That’s his fucking grandson.

And can you just imagine what it must have been like, coming out of that vision? The cold understanding that this is what it has come to in the end. That his grandson, his very first one, would be the collateral damage of his daughter’s salvation. That out of all the thousands of possible futures knitting about his head, there’s not a single one in which he can save them both.

edit: i’m so sorry here’s some cute grampa elrond content to make up for it

[edennill-archived]

Headcanons for Aragorn and Arwen's kids

Eldarion:

So, he's the 100% canonical one... and I haven't got that much to say about him? Probably because he's canon, but...

He's known he'll one day be king since birth and it's always seemed the most natural thing in the world. He wears his heirship like well-worn coat; it's just that obvious a thing for him.

I don't mean he's entitled, by no means. If he lost this surety, he'd be disoriented, but he'd survive. As is, however, he knows he'll be king and it's as much a truth of life for him as grass being green or anything.

He's got this very specific air about him that's been common to all the half-elven boys (of his line at least, if there are more somewhere). It's not really definable, but if you stood him up next to Elladan/Elrohir/Elros/Elrond/even Eärendil at his age, it would have been obvious they're related.

Visually, he mostly takes after Arwen.

Long later, his first child is a daughter and Aragorn manages to get the law changed to allow for Ruling Queens in the future, citing the fact that his straight line of descent from Elros leads through two women who were unfairly passed over for the throne.

Gilraen Larinquë

For some reason I've decided the daughters both have a Sindarin and Quenya name each. Eldarion should also have one more name then, tbh, but I haven't come up with any.

"Gilraen" (S) is self explanatory. "Larinquë" (Q) popped into my head without explanation one day and associated itself very tightly with the character. It's the name of a tree that grew in Númenor ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

She usually goes by Larinquë.

She's got golden hair, which surprised literally everyone, because people of the line of Lúthien are typically dark. Her parents decide she must take after Galadriel, because that's the last person in her family tree to be blonde (actually there's also Eärendil but neither Arwen nor Aragorn ever saw him), but at some point Glorfindel pronounces her a carbon copy of Indis.

No one knows how come. The half-elven are famous for yielding people that look identical to their ancestors, but it's usually Lúthien. Still, Glorfindel should know so they shrug and move on.

Her character doesn't entirely fit in with the rest of the family either. No one knows where she got that certain primness and an exaggerated sense of what is proper, but she is like that.

They don't understand her, but respect her nonetheless.

When it comes to opinions on certain extended relatives, she absolutely loathes Fëanor & Sons in all the tales. She doesn't even think them narratively fascinating, just infuriating.

All of A&A's children are very musical (it took like a dozen generations of descent from Melian for the house of Elros to first produce someone who wasn't), but she's the most accomplished at playing the largest variety of instruments. Like virtuoso-level accomplished.

People are very surprised when after being quite suspicious of "those barbaric peoples in the South" she strikes up a friendship with the daughter of an ambassador.

Look, she knows how to admit she was wrong. That she now knows better. And she's always been too well-behaved to ever be impolite to somebody's face, that too, so turning a new leaf comes easily enough.

In fact the ambassador's daughter becomes her best friend and she visits her homeland with her one day.

And gets engaged to her cousin.

He's a scholar and they end up living in Minas Tirith where he translates things back and forth, sometimes official stuff, but also a lot of art, and dabbles in anthropology.

Eireniel Elrenë

"Eireniel" (S) means "daughter of kings", and tbh it's very appropriate, because there's few people descended from more kings in the world.

If it's formed analogously to "Eirenion"... well, that was a coincidence, thought it's not like Arwen is loath to commemorate her father's one-time best friend.

"Elrenë" (Q) means "memory of elves" and it might be a mothername of foresight actually??

Arwen spends a lot of time telling her children of the house of Finwë. Like, a lot.

But it's not just, or even mostly the legends. So much of it is composed of the stories Galadriel had told her once, of those little moments that never made it into history books, of who was like what in childhood... She doesn't think it should be forgotten.

And songs. Arwen knows a lot of songs that would mostly be scholarly interest at this point. And she teaches them to her kids, but mostly to Eireniel. Eireniel walks around Minas Tirith singing old songs of Doriath and Dorthonion in archaic dialects.

And one day, after Arwen is gone, she will decides to wrote those things up. And she does. It's not a typical history book, but it depicts everyone concerned as actual flesh-and-bone people. It becomes pretty popular for that.

On a different note, she also takes after Arwen and forms another link in the grand tradition of being Lúthien look-alikes.

Ok, it's not that simple actually. She does take after her father significantly and isn't identical to her mother. But when Celeborn first sees her after she goes through puberty, he takes a step back and exclaims "another one!". So the ressemblance is definitely there.

She and Eldarion are very close. Yes, poor Larinquë is the odd one out in this equation.

When it comes to musicality, she may not be as accomplished a player as her sister, but she really lives and breathes and thinks in music.

You know how people in ME are said to sometimes hear echoes of the Ainulindalë in the sea? Well, this is way stronger in Melian's descendants and doesn't only pertain to qater. In Eireniel's generation it's significantly weakend, but it's still there, and it shows.

Eireniel is just slightly weird.

There was this one time she stood in front of the sea somewhere in the coastal regions, and sang, and... things happened. There were people around, and they were intrigued to say the least.

She ends up marrying a son of the Lord of Dol Amroth and moving to the coast. She likes it there.

She has two children, Ëarnil and Eärwen and they're both silver haired. This is possibly even rarer than Larinquë's gold.

Two last completely random headcanons are that she enjoys sparring and has a funny habit of imitating birdcalls, which ability she bargained with a gardener to teach her as a child.

[afanofmanyhats]

One of my favorite things about Tolkien's writing is that he has a very specific, recurring trope. For lack of a better term, I'm dubbing this the Tolkien Wife-Guy.

This is mainly obvious in the Silmarillion, but Tolkien loves to write couples where the man is a notable individual- nobility, commits a great deed, or both- but the wife is at least equally notable, if not more beloved or powerful. Manwe is the king of the Valar and Eru's main representative in Arda? Everyone loves Varda more, and Melkor fears her more than his own brother. Elu Thingol is the king of the Silvan Elves? His wife is Melian, whose Girdle is the magic that keeps Morgoth's forces at bay. Beren is a chief among the Edain, who befriends animals and survives one of the most nightmarish places in Beleriand? His wife is Luthien.

Even in Lord of the Rings we see this occur, though the couples are on more even footing. Tom Bombadil is... Tom Bombadil, but Goldberry is the River-daughter, and Tom adores her above everything else, and the hobbits are completely taken in with her when she's their host. Similarly, while Celeborn is a mighty lord among Elves, Galadriel is one of the only Noldor in Middle-earth who saw the Two Trees, and her hair inspired Feanor to make the Silmarils, not to mention her own accomplishments in the war against Morgoth. Aragorn is the king of Gondor and Arnor, but Arwen is the Evenstar of the Elves, the descendant of three(?) different royal Elven lines. And Faramir becomes the Steward of Gondor and is one of the noblest men alive, but Eowyn killed the Witch-king, so you know. She got the grander moment for the saga.

But with (most) of these couples, we never get the impression that the man views his wife as Less-Than, or as a junior partner. Thingol is the main exception to this in how he dismisses Melian's counsel, and that's made out to be his foolishness within the text. Otherwise, Manwe treats Varda as his co-ruler, Beren never tries to downplay Luthien's achievements, and I'm pretty sure most of Tom Bombadil's dialogue is about how gorgeous Goldberry is. It's really sweet.

All of these examples really testify to how much Tolkien loved his wife. People rightly point to Beren and Luthien as the prime example of that, but I think you can find it in these other couples too. Even though Edith is mainly known to history as Mrs. Tolkien, it's evident to me that Jirt saw her as a whole person worthy of admiration outside of being his wife.

[elistariel]

[artbyleav]

“Then Aragorn was abashed, for he saw the elven-light in her eyes and the wisdom of many days; yet from that hour he loved Arwen Undomi daughter of Elrond.”

I saw all the valentine day posts and it made me want to draw my fave couple 🤍

Also if you were curious the elvish means “I love you”.

[velvet4510]

I don’t think any of us should ever overlook Celeborn’s love for Galadriel, because it’s really something.

Usually in Tolkien’s texts, it’s the girl following the guy. Lúthien followed Beren to Tol-in-Gaurhoth and Angband and later into death itself, Níniel followed Turambar to Cabed-en-Aras, Elwing followed Eärendil to Valinor, Éowyn followed Faramir to Ithilien, Arwen followed Aragorn to Gondor and later into death itself, etc. Not that this is a bad thing, not at all. (It should never be deemed disempowering for a woman to follow a man she loves and who loves her and treats her right, if that is her choice.) But overall, considering the wide variety of couples in Middle-earth, it does get repetitive sometimes.

Yet with these two, it’s the opposite. Celeborn always followed Galadriel.

When Galadriel departed Doriath, Celeborn went with her. He left all his kin behind to be with her. We don’t know for sure how his kin reacted to his relationship with a Noldo, but it could very well be that they eloped. She was just that important to him.

Then for the next 2 ages, they endured all sorts of trials and tribulations together across Middle-earth and eventually settled down in Lothlórien. There, Celeborn never tried to make Galadriel subservient to him. She had as much say in how things were run as he himself did. They were true co-rulers, equals in every way.

Then finally, Celeborn temporarily let Galadriel go. He was alright with her leaving on the White Ship to see their daughter and her parents and brothers again, while he stayed behind to finish what needed to be finished. He didn’t force her to stay with him when he himself could not (yet) leave. He didn’t hold her back from reuniting with people she loved and had lost so long ago.

And ultimately, Celeborn followed Galadriel once again. Though he was a Sinda born and bred, and never before had any desire to cross the Sea, he left his own homeland behind forever to reunite with her in her homeland. She still was just that important to him.

This guy was down bad for this girl. He lived his whole life drunk on wifeguy juice. Respect Celeborn.