#of lileyn

[nenuials]

Do all of your OCs get along with each other? Or are there any who would dislike another OC of yours for whatever reason?

Dúion and Lothrin wouldn't get along that well simply because Dúion wouldn't take two looks at her before deeming her a blood-traitor for her frequent associations with the Noldor, while Lothrin would be really hurt by someone so close-minded that they wouldn't even allow her a chance to defend herself. Maybe if they were locked in a room somewhere and had to spend a sizable period of time together they could overcome those differences and arrive at a begrudging friendship.

Astoeth is simply way too busy to try and unravel Dúion's layers. Like, you need a patient person to try and see the diamond under Dúion's many, many, many layers of smart remarks and downright antagonistic comments. Under all those many layers there's a really funny person hidden, but it takes a really patient individual to get to that point which Astoeth simply isn't. She has way too much on her mind to spare a second look at some distant Avari messenger. He would definitely be annoyed by her indifference while Astoeth would be annoyed by his temper.

Of course Lileyn and Hav & Bron are blood-enemies by birth, since the animosity between the Rohirrim and the Dunlending has a really long history. I think if they've met any time before the War of the Ring a fight would've ensued, but the War changed much in both countries and I'm happy that any cultural animosity was solved in the end.

A thing I really like about Lord of the Rings is just how fast friendships get struck between the characters like people just meet and suddenly they're best friends. *thinking back on eomer and gimli* I think the same principle applies to my OCs too like most of them would be fast friends, and any initial animosity would be quickly solved when they'd find out about the other's allegiance.

[nenuials]

This is perhaps a macabre question, but have you given any thought to how your mortal characters pass away? Illness or old age? Surrounded by loved ones? Who inherites Sidhen's brooch if she has no children? Is Lothrin present when Giznik eventually passes away?

For everyone else, I have a post about the fate of my immortal characters here.

I’ll make a bullet list:

As it may be, from all her friends Sidhen died last. First, Toram died on Pelennor, then Maradan died some years after Annúminas was rebuilt, happy and content in Bree, Melilot and Adamanta died of old age in the Shire and her wife Mara died 40 years after they were wedded, well into her 70s. Her brooch was inherited by her niece, as Sidhen had no children. Sidhen’s sister married a scholar and had 3 children: 2 daughters and a son. The son became a scholar too, like his father, the first daughter became a crafts-woman and the second was interested in the politics of the kingdom, so she worked towards getting a seat on the council of the north. She was the one to inherit her aunt’s brooch and wears it proudly. It is quite sad that Sidhen had to live more than 20 yeas alone on her farm east of the Shire, after the death of her wife. She passed peacefully and was found somedays later by one of her hobbit neighbors from Buckland. They informed the Mayor of the Shire, who informed the Council in Annúminas, who in turn informed Sidhen’s family in Esteldin, who finally travelled and buried her in a small ceremony. 

Melilot didn’t have any children as she is ace and told her husband long before their marriage that she has no wish to raise one. Adamanta married her childhood sweetheart and decided to adopt, as I’m pretty sure after the Scouring of the Shire there must have been some orphans around. Everything that the sisters had, went to the child. Both of them died happy and content in Oatbarton.

Giznik died quite old, but sadly not by a natural cause. He was part of the dwarven expedition that was trying to salvage whatever possible from the ruins of Nogrod and Belegost. Both cities lay destroyed long into the Second and Third Age, the taint of the great enemy still present on them. While mining there, Giznik inhaled some poisonous spores from some ancient relic of the enemy, and died shortly. Neither his wife, nor his children had a chance to say their goodbyes. He was buried with all the reverence of a dwarven hero. Lothrin, who lived in Lindon at the time, was informed of this development, but sadly by the time she travelled to the northern parts of Ered Luin, Giznik had long been buried. She paid her respects to her friend and his family. 

Balna was a famed jeweler and she had many a great apprentices throughout her life. Her dying wish was to be cremated and her ashes turned into a most beautiful jewel. Her apprentices turned her into a splendid diamond, that was the crowning beauty of a golden necklace. The necklace was long worn by the dwarven royalty of the Orocarni mountains. 

Calnedon suffered greatly towards his old age due to his aching joints. The fact that he was living in Dol Amorth didn’t help much either, as the sea salt present in the air only worsened his condition. He lived well into an old age, but one day slipped on some seaweed-covered rocks near the beachside and hurt himself greatly. He was rushed to the infirmary of Dol Amorth and managed to say his goodbyes to his children and wife before dying of internal cranial bleeding. 

Lileyn fought her entire life for the betterment of the relations between the Rohirrim and the Dunlending, but sadly died into her 60s due to a stroke. The first stroke she had, she managed to survive but the second stroke proved to be fatal. 

ENJOY MY CHARACTERS? READ THIS ANSWER ON MY TOLKIEN BLOG!

[nenuials]

Do all of your OCs (if they know each other) get along, or are there any tensions between them? How would Dûion feel about Astoeth who was tutored by one of the Noldor for example?

For an explanation of who knows who please see > this post

Taking that aside, Duion is the perfect example to start with. He’s never met Astoeth but knows of her exploits through Naeriel. Credit is due where credit is due and he respects the incredible work she’s putting into the betterment of all free people. Doesn’t mean he has to agree with the source of her tutoring or resources so it’s best he keeps his distance. Duion has never been to Lindon and never intends to.

Lileyn and Hav + Bron started out as sworn enemies since the Rohirrim and Dunlending people do not get along for the simple fact that the Rohirrim stole their ancestral lands. But through trials during the War of the Ring their bond grows and they manage to start building together a brighter future for their respective settlements. 

I don’t know if I ever mentioned him but I have a secondary character called Njall who I would like to add to the minor character list. Njall is a born Angmar(ean?) who served the Iron Crown of the Witch King. He was a scout and often sent beyond the borders of Angmar into the North Downs and Evendim to gather information on the free people of Eriador. This instantly puts him at odds with all my dunedain characters as well as Lothrin. Njall got captured by the dunedain while on a scouting trip in Evendim.

Balna gets along splendidly with the dwarves in the east but might find cultural differences when coming into contact with her kind in the west.

Minor squabbled might arise between any of my characters, it’s impossible to have any kind of relationship with anyone without arguing from time to time. We are different people and see differently on some issues.

If I can think of more examples, I’ll edit the post and add them here. 

[nenuials]

Istg if only I had the energy it would be over for y’all (pic taken off twitter)

[nenuials]

some of my lotro characters:

> adamanta hornblower of the shire > astoeth of lindon > gabnik gibnikul of ered luin > lileyn of rohan

[nenuials]

A small explanation into how my Tolkien OCs are connected to one another

Lothrin 

met Astoeth in Lindon, sometime before the ending of the Third Age. They marched together to serve in the War of the Last Alliance. Both lost someone dear to them in the war (Lothrin her elder brother and Astoeth her betrothed). Have stayed truest friends forever since.

met Sidhen in the North Downs, during her childhood. They are frequent travel companions, as Sidhen is always tasked with delivering messages between the dunedain fortifications. They both have a fondness of visiting hobbit dwellings. Through Sidhen she sometimes meets Toram and Maradan.

met Melilot and Adamanta Hornblower during their young years. Has had short meetings with them from time to time, whenever she rode through Oatbarton

met Giznik during her young years of the Second Age. They both have fled the destruction of Eregion and worked together with other people on the construction of Imladris. Parted ways, when Giznik settled in Ered Luin.

met Calnedon for a short while after the Battle of Pelennor in Minas Tirith.

through her friend Naeriel, she has met Duion, but only for a couple short times. 

 never met Lileyn, Bron, Hav or Balna

Sidhen

Toram and Maradan are her friends and companions. She has constant contact with them.

She has a fondness for Melilot and Adamanta and frequently travels to Oatbarton with Toram, for their company.

met Astoeth, whenever Astoeth came to the Shire to gather herbs

Has frequent contact with Lothrin.

Lileyn

at one point in time during the war of the ring she met both Bron and Hav of Dunland. Through time and trails their bonds have grown.

met Calnedon when after the War of the Ring, she traveled to Gondor

Duion

met and befriended Balna of the Orocarni. They frequently exchange favors.

[nenuials]

Do any of your OCs have children? If so, how are they as parents?

Let's take them one by one:

Elves: None of my elf ocs had any children (Lothrin, Astoeth, Dûion ). The closest out of the three is Lothrin since she loves teaching dúnedain children their history, as well as training them in arms. She is a very stern but fair teacher and the children love her for that.

Dwarves: Giznik had children, a son and a daughter if I’m not mistaken. He was a gentle father and playful, while his wife, Milna, was the stricter one. Giznik’s own father, Asnaz, was quite strict, so we wanted to be kind and fatherly to his own offsprings. I’m not sure about Balna. She might’ve had a daughter.

Hobbits: Melilot told her husband Isumbert right from the very start that she wants to stay childless. It was the condition on which they married. Adamanta on the other hand wanted a child very much, but couldn’t have one naturally with her wife, Mirabella. They ended up adopting after the Scouring of the Shire. Adamanta is a very doting parent, just as her mom once was on her. She tries very hard not to be, but she just doesn’t want anything bad to happen to her child. Melilot likes playing with her adopted niece from time to time.

Men: Unfortunately Toram died before he could adopt a child. Sidhen never got around to adopting a child, prefering instead to play with her nephews and nieces on her sister’s side. I think Calnedon had a son and a daughter, but he was an absent parent due to his constant military service. I’m not sure about Lileyn, since she was quite busy acting as a diplomat. Maybe she stayed childless.

[nenuials]

Following your thoughts on canon/OC-shipping, do you ship any of your OCs (other than Branwen) with canonical characters?

Ehehehe... this kind of question is the reason I come to tumblr :)

I’ll take them one by one, let me think: Astoeth had a betrothed but he died in the War of the Last Alliance and she instead dived deep into her work, losing her desire for romance. Sidhen married Mara Hollyleaf of Bree. Melilot married Isumbert Burrows and Adamanta married Mirabella Cotton, her childhood friend. Toram had his sights on someone but he died before professing his love. Dûion is smitten with Naeriel and she loves him in return, but we know already that it ends in heartbreak. Giznik married Milna of Ered Luin. Calendon married a woman of Dol Amroth, and Hav and Bron married Dunlending people respectively. I’m not sure Lileyn ever married, but she might’ve with a fair-headed lad of the Rohirrim. 

I’d say all of my ocs pretty much either marry other ocs or are not really interested in romance.

[nenuials]

Strange question perhaps, but would you say any of your OCs fall under the LGBTQIA-umbrella? I'm just curious, nothing else. :)

Lothrin is aro/ace. She’s basically my oldest Tolkien OC and in all these years I could never think of a potential romance for her. She just never strikes me as the romantic type. I know nowadays it’s a bit cliche for the “strong woman warrior” to not be interested in romance but I just feel this is her.

Astoeth is definitely bi. She had a betrothed called Duon who died in the War of the Last Alliance and that’s pretty much it. Our healer is often too busy with her patients to pay attention to romance and such, but she is interested in both lords and ladies.

Sidhen is the biggest lesbian this side of the Brandywine. I’m still thinking who could woo her or if she had anyone special in her life.

Both Toram and Gabnik (Giznik’s descendant who lived during the War of the Ring) are gay. Same problem though, still haven’t thought of potential partners. 

I was thinking of Balna having a female trans sibling. One of my best friends is fem trans and she’s helping me with advice on how to write her.

Lileyn is bi as well, now that I think about it.

Melilot is ace but not aro while Adamanta is definitely a lesbian.

Everyone else is straight. 

[nenuials]

can i just say, i love how your tolkien ocs have specific professions? i don't know why, but it brings joy to my heart when fantasy characters have a specific occupation, specially if it's a more usual one, like some of yout ocs have (like chronicler and jeweler)

Ever since I read the post about medieval jobs my view on my ocs and fantasy in general was forever changed. Like, as much as fantasy and even our society wants to make us forget, we only exist as a society because there’s people out there doing high labor, low paying jobs in the agricultural and textile sectors. We couldn’t exist without all the people out there sewing clothes, making shoes, planting corn, making furniture, healing others and so on.

For example let’s take the LOTR fellowship. Most of the fellowship are more or less law enforces/police men to put it in modern terms. Aragorn works as a police man in Gondor and Eriador, same for Boromir but he’s more like a police chief. Gimli and Legolas are half politicians since they are royals in their respective kingdoms and half law enforcers since they make decisions and fight. Gandalf is more of a wildcard but when he transforms in Gandalf the White he takes more of a violent role when he fights at Helm’s Deep and Pelennor Field. And we are left with the four hobbits. I’m not sure if Frodo has a profession apart from writing. Merry and Pippin are once again high ranking officials so politicians since Pippin became the Thain of the Shire and Merry the Master of Buckland. We are left with dear Sam, who is a gardener. One of the reasons I like Sam so much is because just a simple gardener from the Shire helped save the entire world. (Not that the others didn’t.)

This is an element I feel like a lot of fantasy is missing. Like a lot of the heroes of fantasy are highly trained warriors or mages or thieves but I’m not seeing too often out there stories about how a simple baker or woodworker helped save the world.

In regards to my ocs, like the fellowship, half of them have law enforcers profiles: Maradan, Sidhen and Toram being rangers; Calnedon being a Gondorian guard, Lileyn being a Shieldmaiden and Adamanta Hornblower being a Bounder. But then you have people who have another profession and happen to fight: Duion is a messenger first and foremost but he fights to protect himself. Bron is a taxidermist and huntress but will fight to protect her village, Lothrin is an academician and diplomat but has fought numerous times for Eriador. And then you have the people who are not fighters at all: Astoeth who is a doctor, Melilot Hornblower who is an academician, Balna and Giznik who are artisans, Hav who is a politician and Njall who is a woodworker.

In the future I’d like the characters that I create to have more mundane roles. I’d really like to create a candlemaker dunadan who likes in Evendim, or a female noldor who works as a gardener in Rivendell, or a carpenter Hobbit and so on. There jobs are necessary, and I’m here to use my creative energy to fill in the gaps.

[nenuials]

Which one of your OCs would be the most tempted by the One Ring if they were ever offered it, and which would be the least? It's a question I like to keep in the back of my mind when making my own Tolkien-characters. :)

From a canon point of view, humans are the most susceptible to it, so from that perspective people like Maradan, Hav, Njall, Lileyn and so on should succumb the fastest to its will. 

But considering my interpretation of how the powers of the ring work, I do believe that the ring enchants those who seek power first and foremost, that’s why it had the hardest time trying to corrupt hobbits. It took 500 years to break Smeagol completely; the only reason Frodo succumbed to it was because of the Morgul blade wound and because of the proximity to Mordor and it didn’t even work properly on Sam. So from my characters the hobbits Melilot and Adamanta would be top of the list on people who would be the least tempted. 

In the middle I do believe there are characters like Sidhen and Toram. They might be tempted by the power the ring might offer them, but just as their chieftain Aragorn they would refuse it.

Lothrin, just like Boromir would have a hard time saying no to it. The power of the ring is tempting and with it she could finally protect both Lorien and Evendim forever, just as Boromir wanted to protect Gondor. No stain would come on those lands ever again. But the ring would corrupt her, that is without doubt. Like Galadriel, if she met Frodo and had the ring offered to her she would ask him to keep it away.

Astoeth would take it, that is without doubt but never wear it herself. She would study it, study how it affects others. She might even grow possessive over it, maybe mirroring the way Smeagol behaved without the Gollum part. 

As for my other characters, I need to think some more about the kind of reactions they would have.