Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza

Not sure where to start with building a new character? Or how to mesh your old Plaza character with the NuPlaza, and how you've grown yourself in the intervening years? Or does your character keep running into situations you didn't expect and you're not quite sure how they should react?

If so, this is the thread for you!

This second thread will be mostly participant-run. Feel free to ask each other follow-up questions, or to state that you don't want follow-up questions and simply wish to work through the prompts yourself.






There are two available 'tracks': Basic Character Development and Advanced Character Development.

Basic Character Development is for those of you who have no idea where to start and need to work from the ground up. Usually you'll be starting with a brand new character, but not always.

Advanced Character Development is for those of you with established characters who want to delve deeper into your character's motivations, but want some guidance doing so.

For Basic, please fill out this short character questionnaire and answer the first set of questions. This is where those interested in that track should start. Feel free to answer any/all prompts as they become available, especially for those joining in later.

For Advanced, please start with an initial post where you either link to your existing character bio here on the Plaza OR fill out the basic questionnaire linked above, AND briefly explain what you're wanting to further explore with that character for development.



Jump in and out whenever you need to. Don't worry about completing every prompt, or doing them in order.




1. New prompts and threadrunner updates will be posted in blue (#000080). Please refrain from using this color.
2. You are welcome to do both tracks at the same time for either the same character or different ones.
3. It is up to you when you switch a character from Basic to Advanced track, and you are also welcome to go from Advanced to Basic if you find that's what a particular character needs.
4. In each post, include the character name, which track you're working them through on, and include the relevant prompt.(see example below)
5. If part of your character development touches on any sensitive topics (Abuse: sexual, verbal, emotional; Violence: domestic, assault, etc.) please include a content warning (bold, in red) with the appropriate character portion of your post. Please white out the portion of your post where that content is contained, placing it between parentheses ((like this)). (see example below)

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Character Name: Taethowen
Track: Advanced
Prompt: #1 - Your character has just received tragic news about a dear friend or family member. How do they react? Are their inner reactions (emotions) and outer reactions (physical actions) different, even contrary, to each other? Why?

Response:

Content Warning: Domestic Violence

((Content requiring warning whited out)) Other part of the answer here. Or before the whited out part. Wherever it makes most sense. And of course, if your post does not require a content warning, no need to include that part at all.

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I'd love to have some helpers here! I'm thinking possibly one person from each 'kingdom' and/or various Middle-Earth races to help those who are wanting to develop characters of different cultures than where they've RP'd in the past.

Please have a minimum of 15-20 posts in RP settings where your character(s) are interacting with other player's characters which can be referenced (preferably not game threads, please. There's usually minimal interaction with other player's characters in games). Thanks!

This post will be updated with the available mentors as people volunteer.

@Androthelm - Androthelm: Advanced #1

@Dimcairien Luiniel - Éomund: Advanced #9

@Ercassie - Addhor: Basic #6

@Fuin Elda - Afarafin/Miresurie: Basic #6

@Jenny Harper - Jenwyn: Basic #7

@Lady of Shadow - Talina: Basic #8, Naelia: Basic #9, Advanced #4

@Lailyn - Lailyn: Advanced #9

@Lirimaer - Daehaeron: Basic #6, Advanced #6; Liria: Advanced #4

@Nen - Hiruluin: Advanced Track Questionnaire; Rien/Sparrow: Basic Track Questionnaire

@Pele Alarion - Pele: Advanced #4; Shamara - Advanced #3

@Rior Laegiel - Faylinde: Basic Track Questionnaire

@Taethowen - Eldreda: Basic #7; Ceadda: Basic #4; Aldith: Basic #4; Taethowen: Basic #7, Advanced #7; Sighard: Basic Questionnaire

@Tarawen - Zorzimril: Basic #1, Advanced #3

@Thalionwen Hunigfolm - Thalionwen: Basic #8, Advanced #8

@Windowcel - Windhladen: Basic #1

@Lady of Shadow - I appreciate the offer. Looking through your past posts, though, you don't seem to have done any RP outside of game threads so far on NuPlaza. I'll keep you in mind for a future mentor position, but I'd like to see you doing some RP outside of games and interacting with other players first. At least 15 posts would be a good start!

@Taethowen - I'm not sure if I'd qualify myself as mentor material, but I do enjoy reading everyone's answers to the prompts... Would it be OK with everyone if I chime in from time to time with a comment, suggestion or something that I found interesting and think it would be worth developing?

@Lady of Shadow - After you've been able to play some of that, you're welcome to re-apply for character dev mentor! I can't wait to see what you do!

@Nessa Saelind - It is more than ok with me if you contribute whenever you have input!

RL has my attention full scale, I'm afraid. I may get back to writing some of this at some stage, but not sure when that'll be ... would like to tell the stories, but brain a bit too full rn.

Totally willing to accept comments, suggestions and somethings if people want to give me them!

@Lirimaer no worries! I just tagged people from the previous thread so that you all knew where you left off there, no matter when you can pick it back up!

Just fyi that this thread *will* be completely self-paced and self/mentor-run for several weeks, starting this next week. I'll be taking a Plaza sabbatical for a while, which anyone who wants to know more about why can read here.

And I do also want to clarify that *anyone* can give feedback/comments/suggestions to other participants, unless participants have specifically stated that they're not looking for any at that time. Mentors are more for specialized aspects of character development, such as within one of Middle-Earth's cultures.

I will also leave comments for standard track if people would like. Maybe drag umoya to be cleaned out more

Character name: Shamara
Track: Basic
Prompt #4: Name 3 items your character always carries with them:
1 sentimental
1 practical
1 luxury

Sentimental: Since Shamara has not really experienced a real attachment and affection for anyone she does not have anything of a truly sentimental value. She kind of liked her new-found brother, but then again there was not enough time to form a bond before he disappeared out of her life again.

Practical: She always carries a small knife hidden away in her clothes, as well as a tiny vial of poison, which she considers both as the means to defend herself as well as the tools of her trade. Shamara likes being subtle and sly, relying mostly on her ability to charm people, so she does not like to carry anything large and cumbersome.

Luxury: Shamara greatly enjoys various fancy items to show off her wealth (unless required otherwise by immediate task), most often it is a piece of jewelry, such as a golden ring with a jewel, or a bracelet.

@Pele Alarion regarding the sentimental item for Shamara your answer got me thinking about something. Sentimental objects don't always need to be connected to people; and since she's not very attached to people, perhaps for her an object of sentimental value is could be something that reminds her of an accomplishment?

@Pele Alarion - seconding what @Nessa Saelind said about sentimental objects. While I do have several keepsakes that I keep around because of how they remind me of other people, I also have things I treasure because of what they represent to me. Like all the garments I sewed while I was in 4-H, especially if I won awards for them. So sentimental doesn't have to be attached to a person, it can be because of an accomplishment. Does Shammara have any particular pieces of jewelry that she prefers for her 'luxury' item(s)? What do they look like?

@Nessa Saelind - I'm going to go ahead and add you to the mentor list just so people know to keep an eye out for your questions/comments. I've found your feedback to be very helpful and insightful in general, so far!



I will be going on a Plaza sabbatical soon (as in today is my last day on the Plaza for a while), which is one of the reasons why this new Character Dev thread is going to be either self-paced or you can request help from a mentor if you get stuck somewhere along the way.

Anyone is also welcome to hit me up on discord (Rebekah Loper#4402 - you'll have to send me a friend request) if they're not sure about a question here.

I hope to be back around February-ish! See y'all next year!

Will answer the additional questions on Shamara, when her turn comes.

Character name: Pele Alarion
Track: Advanced
Prompt #4: Describe two of your character's deepest fears:
1 rational (plausible: such as a fear of fire after having been trapped in a burning house or witnessing a fire where someone died, etc.)
1 irrational (such as a phobia with no known event that triggered it)

Rational: Pele's deepest fears are that someone that is dear to her might die without her being able to do anything about - in a sense that either she is not present or unable to intervene even if she is present. It is easier for her to accept the loss of someone - either a fellow Ranger, a patient at the Houses of Healing, even a family member - when she can honestly admit that she did everything in her power to prevent the death or at least to ease the passing. However, after the death of her husband, she has taken on guilt for not being there to help him in any way, even when such guilt is rather unreasonable, and it feeds her fear that she might yet again lose someone the same way - without being able to intervene in any way.

Irrational: Pele believes that she can train herself out of any fear (maybe not the above-mentioned rational fear because she keeps denying it), and has overcome her fear of heights by rock climbing and similar activities. However... for one reason or another she is afraid of being caught up in a 'tickle ambush', i.e., someone suddenly tickling her without fair advance warning. Not that it causes any real harm, except a burst of laughter and perhaps an inadvertent counter-attack to slap or hit the tickler. And yet... she is afraid.

Since I've abandoned the "escape attempt" scenario, it might be a while before I can apply to become a mentor again. Lathana was only ever created to be a victim (since I wasn't planning on killing off my main character in the thread on the Old Plaza where Lathana was first introduced), so I'm not planning on changing that anytime soon. I do have another idea where Naelia takes Lathana to Mordor's newest establishment (a spa run by those two goblin brothers that may be more "brothers in crime" than actual siblings) as punishment for attempting to escape, so perhaps I'll follow through on this scenario instead...

Continuing on with Character Development...

Talina

Prompt: Basic #10 - Does your character have any physical or mental disabilities? What challenges are they struggling with, and/or what have they overcome?

I'm not sure if you would call this any kind of disability, more like a bad experience. Like I mentioned in the Lhun Boat Race thread, when Talina was a youngster (which was before Pelargir was invaded by the Corsairs, so it was a happier time for Talina, except for this one experience), a friend of the family that was visiting asked Talina if she would like to learn how to pilot a watercraft (it was only a dinghy, not the sailboat she's piloting for the race). Talina seemed to take to it easily enough, but unfortunately, someone in a speedier boat raced past her causing the dinghy to tip over and threw the young lass into the sea. Luckily, her father saw the event and was able to borrow a rowboat to go and rescue her before it was too late. The experience left Talina scarred enough (more emotionally than physically, since she was only treading the frigid waters for about five minutes) to refuse to ever try to pilot any kind of watercraft again (at least until the recent Lhun Boat Race, since she found that the skills she learns might come in handy in her training to become "one of them Rangers..." as Butterbur would put it), even when asked on occasion if she would like to try it again. She only agreed to take part in the Lhun Boat Race if she was allowed to go at her own pace, in order to overcome this childhood fear, and if she comes in last can always ask the Elves if they would be willing to train her further so that she's not a bundle of nerves every time she's asked to pilot any kind of watercraft.

I'll move over to Naelia to answer the next question:

Naelia

Prompt: Basic #11 - What aspect of daily life does your character find most challenging?

Constantly being on the lookout for her half-sister, Lathana's latest escape attempt, since it often interrupts her other duties (most often when she's hunting down Mordor's latest thief, so it can get a little tiresome having to go back and forth all of the time). Ever since Lathana was first captured (when she was first accused of betraying the Dark Lord by deserting Mordor's army, the Black Guard), she has always tried to find ways to escape, mostly when Naelia is busy with other responsibilities so that she might not find out about it, but Naelia has many helpers (Orngor being her most trusted one), so this never succeeds, but Naelia has to admire her half-sister's determination (if little else). She has this notion to take Lathana to Mordor's newest establishment, so that the goblin brothers of chaos can monitor her more closely (rumor has it that they're looking for a receptionist, so Lathana could fill this position as long as she promises not to try and escape while she's under their employ). If she attempts to escape again, one of the brothers can simply feed her to one of the Wargs in the Warg Pits and be done with her (since then Naelia wouldn't have to wonder if she had escaped once again when someone is summoned down to the Pits).

Prompt: Advanced #5 - What is the most stupid or foolish thing your character has ever done? What were the repercussions?

Agreeing to going on that scouting mission close to Northern Mirkwood where her mother came from. She should have known that her mother would try to "rescue" her. Luckily, her father sent along some helpers just in case that "Elf woman" would try anything if she happened to be outside when Naelia was scouting on how best to launch an attack on the kingdom (which wasn't accomplished until after word got back to the Dark Tower that she had been kidnapped). Luckily, her father had this notion or else Naelia's kidnapping wouldn't have been known until she attempted to burn down their kingdom in an attempt to escape. Though this experience did result in her mistrusting all Elves (as well as shunning her own Elven heritage, but this might have happened anyway once she found out how much of a nuisance her half-sister would become), it did teach her a little about the Elven culture that she could use to her advantage if she were ever to capture and interrogate one (like her very own half-sister, for example) on how to drive a point home that it would leave them scarred for life if they ever were to survive the experience.

Additional for Shamara (items): as for luxury items, she has a gold ring with a ruby cut in a form of rose; she likes it because it is more unusual in shape than the other rings she has, and she considers it a special mark of her affluence.
I still don't know about the sentimental items; it seems more likely that her tattoos and markings would rather be such than any actual items because each of these would hold meaning in her journey of life and signify a particular stage she has gone through, as well as her allegiance.

Character name: Shamara
Track: Advanced
Prompt #4: Describe two of your character's deepest fears:
1 rational (plausible: such as a fear of fire after having been trapped in a burning house or witnessing a fire where someone died, etc.)
1 irrational (such as a phobia with no known event that triggered it)

Rational fear: More than anything she is afraid to lose her life, or be maimed in any way - she has seen too many of her companions, enemies and random other people killed or sidelined because of being mutilated in some way, and she is determined to keep herself safe by any means possible.

Irrational fear: She is very much afraid of birds, and if anyone asked her what exactly is she afraid of that a bird could do to her she would not be able to provide any reasonable explanation; as much as she remembers there have been no encounters that could have caused this. Shamara does everything possible to avoid the creatures, and yet sometimes it is not possible, so she has learned to subdue the fear to some reasonable measure. After all, showing fear in the presence of certain people might be highly damaging.

Character name: Pele Alarion
Track: Basic
Prompt #5: Does your character(s) have any pets/animal companions? How did they acquire them? What do they look like?

Probably horses count, though they are companions only for long travels and such. Pele has two currently:
Misty - a grey mare, approximately 17 years old, mostly 'retired' and living at her parents' farm.
Temper - a black stallion, some 6 years old; while trained and obedient at need, still can be rather mischievous now and then.

@Pele Alarion well with a name like Temper what did you expect

BTW I've been thinking about your answer for Shamara re sentimental items, and the ring you described sounds like something sentimental to/for her. Especially since you mentioned that she "considers it a special mark of her affluence"

@Nessa Saelind Hmm, you might be right. Though I came up with the idea of that ring on the spot, so... Well, it can do.

Character name: Shamara
Track: Basic
Prompt #5: Does your character(s) have any pets/animal companions? How did they acquire them? What do they look like?

At the moment Shamara doesn't have any pets, though I can see her choosing a snake for a pet because she might feel that in some way her nature is similar to the snake's: it can suddenly strike with little warning. At any rate she would like to see herself as both subtle and dangerous, and is striving for it.

Character name: Pele Alarion
Track: Advanced
Prompt #5: What is the most stupid or foolish thing your character has ever done? What were the repercussions?

I am not sure I can think of anything particularly stupid at the moment that would have had any serious consequences, as Pele is usually does her best to consider all pros and cons of decisions made. I might need to take some time to think more of this!

However, she definitely is able of random mischief. It was surely very foolish to get Kaylin involved into setting up a trap of a mound of horse dung just inside the stable door, for the purposes of catching a particular person. However, just about anyone could have stepped into it: the commander, king, or whoever else... @Ercassie Ilisys ended up being the one getting stuck in that dung pile.
As for the consequences: suppressed laughter, pretending not to know anything about it, and a bath for the guest. Who knows what other consequences might follow should Ilisys be of a mind for revenge.

Character name: Shamara
Track: Advanced
Prompt #5: What is the most stupid or foolish thing your character has ever done? What were the repercussions?

It was highly foolish of Shamara to think lightly of the task Relic had given her: she came to Gondor and for a long time simply idled around, enjoying herself and relaxing, and not doing what she had been sent for. Somehow she had imagined that she could get away with it and explain it as taking her time to perform the task well. This nearly cost her both her newly found job and her hand which bore the mark of her employment with Relic. It took a lot of humbling herself and pleading for Shamara to keep both her place and all her limbs, though the payment for work was cut. Yet, it remains to be seen if she can manage to avoid any further trouble in this area.

So after a very long absence, due to a mixture of university, a family disaster and moving, I'm back for now at least.

Character name: Jenwyn
Track: Basic
Prompt #2 Who was your character's first love? Why were they drawn to them?

While growing up with her immediate family, Jenwyn briefly had a crush on the son of the local blacksmith, a tall boy with long sandy-coloured hair. She was initially drawn to his eyes, green like leaves which sparkle in the sunlight, but a mixture of shyness and lack of time while working on her mum's farm meant she did not pursue this any further. With nothing to stoke the flames, at some point the crush faded although she would occasionally see the boy when bartering in town with her mum.

Following the death of her immediate family and moving in with her cousins, Jenwyn had little time for crushes and romance. She felt life was hard enough and romance and the like only distracted her from the important things in life: surviving and keeping herself and her family safe. The idea of romance seemed alien and unwelcome. That all changed during the summer of her 14th year. As usual she travelled to one of the local villages with her cousins to trade. Her and her cousins would stay with a friend for several days, setting up a stall in the village square from which they traded the bounty of their land. It was during this time, when she was manning the stall that her and her family had set up in the marketplace in the centre of the village, a girl of her own age approached her stall. With flaming red hair, and a bright smile that seemed to radiate sunlight, Jenwyn was immediately captivated by her. The girl introduced herself as Hildelith and asked for some cheese. Taken back by this mystifying figure, Jenwyn was momentarily lost for words, and stammered a response. Hildelith found this amusing and laughed, a sound that to Jenwyn sounded like music. At this, Jenwyn regained her composure and quickly completed the transaction. Being in no rush to get back to her family, Hildelith declared that she would stay a bit longer, she seemed interested to get to know this visitor whom she had not met before. For the next few hours, Jenwyn continued to man the stall while Hildelith stood alongside and kept Jenwyn company. While manning the stall was usually a dull activity, time passed quickly. As the sky began to turn orange and they stood side by side and watched the sun sunk towards the horizon, a silence descended over the pair. By now, the market square had begun to empty and what little activity there was sounded distant and quiet, as if shrouded by a blanket. Suddenly, Jenwyn broke the silence, and asked Hildelith if they could see each other again the next day. Hildelith turned to Jewyn, whose blushing face was scarlet in the evening sun. Hildelith smiled and they arranged to meet the next day, when Jenwyn would not be manning the stall.

The next day, Jenwyn's cousins left go man their stall in the village square, leaving Jenwyn to do various chores around the house. It was already a warm day and Jenwyn impatiently waited as she worked in the garden. The sun rose high in the clear blue sky as the hours passed. She began to think that perhaps Hildelith would not show up at all, although she didn't know why she felt it so strongly, but she felt a great sense of disasspointment. Resigning herself to the acknowledgement that the previous day was nothing more than a fleeting moment, Jenwyn continued to sweep the floor. Suddenly she heard a call, and looked out the window, seeing Hildelith making her way along the path. Jenwyn rushed outside, calling back, and the two girls embraced. After embracing, Jenwyn and Hildelith left the house and headed away from the village. The two girls briskly trudged across the countryside, before coming to a stream. They followed the stream some distance before flowed into a small lake. Sweating and panting from the heat of the summer sun, Jenwyn and Hildelith sat down at the edge of the lake, dangling their feet in the cool water. They spoke about many things, Jenwyn told her about growing up with her mother and her siblings, and the day when her life was shattered. Hildelith told Jenwyn about her life in the village, being the youngest of five siblings and how she had little time on her own, so to her Jenwyn seemed like a sanctuary. They talked about their hopes, their fears and their dreams. As she sat there, facing the lake and occasionally glancing towards Hildelith, Jenwyn never felt as close to anyone as she did that day. The sun had began to dip below the horizon as they headed back to the village.

Jenwyn and her cousins stayed at the village one more day. Jenwyn had to man the stall again, Hildelith came to vist her but although she wished to, she couldn't leave the stall unattended. Jenwyn suggested that they meet up that evening. After the sun had set, Jenwyn sneaked out of the house. As Jenwyn stepped out the house, Hildelith emerged from a dark corner. The girls embraced and, hand in hand, walked in silence towards the stream they had followed the previous day. They sat down on the bank of the stream and listened as the gurgling of the water filled the air. They spent hours there, lying in the grass along the bank of the stream, gazing up in the clear night sky, the stars shining like diamonds in a velvet sky. They spoke only intermittently, words did not need to be said as they lay there, side by side, hand in hand. It was late when the two of them returned to the Jenwyn's house. As they said goodbye, the two girls shared their first kiss. Jenwyn and her cousins left early the next morning.

Over the next few months, Jenwyn and her cousins regularly travelled back to the village to trade, staying several days at a time. Each time she visited the village, she would meet up with Hildelith and whenever she was not manning the stall, Jenwyn would spend as much time as possible with her. Over this time, the two grew closer and closer. They roamed the countryside around the village, they went swimming in the lake, Hildelith even tried to teach Jenwyn how to shoot (something which did not come naturally to Jenwyn). It seemed the perfect summer romance, however heavy rain leading to flash flooding towards the end of summer resulted in a loss of many crops and that years harvest was scarce. With the onset of autumn, and winter fast approaching, a difficult future lay ahead of the village. Many people lost their livelihood and as autumn passed, some people started to leave to find a better life elsewhere. Initially a trickle of people, the flow of migrants became a torrent as the weather grew colder and it was one November when Jenwyn and her cousins had once again returned to the village when Hildelith found Jenwyn manning the stall. Hildelith told her that she needed to speak to her that evening. They met that evening and Hildelith revealed that her family were moving to Edoras*, a place that Jewnyn had heard about but had never visited and that seemed a million miles away. Jenwyn was in shock and couldn't speak, her eyes began to water as the realisation that this would likely be the last time she saw Hildelith dawn on her. The pair embraced, holding each other as unspoken words passed between them. They spent one last evening together, before Hildelith left the following day. Jenwyn and her cousins stayed in the village two more days, but the days seemed cold and empty. Jenwyn spoke little, carrying out her chores silently or manning the stall, completing any transactions quickly and without speaking anymore than necessary, until Jenwyn and her cousins departed for their homstead.

In the years that have passed, Jenwyn has neither pursued nor found romance. She continues to be focused on surviving and helping out her family, though she often finds her mind wandering back to those carefree summer days. Though each time she does this, a little voice inside her heads says don't look back, you can never look back.

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I'm not very good at writing credible dialogue I feel hence why all the conversation is indirect. Perhaps when I'm more confident I will re-write it with dialogue.

* Edoras doesn't seem that far away for an ending that feels so definite, but then Gondor feels quite far for poor peasants to travel and there's not really many inhabited places bordering Rohan... Then again, maybe the other side of the country would feel as far away as Gondor to someone who's a peasant...

@Jenny Harper This is an excellent story and honestly I love the use of colour to describe Hildelith and what being with her was like for Jenwyn. (The lack of direct dialogue honestly really doesn't detract from this for me at all honestly) I think a few good follow up questions to this that I"m curious about is would Jenwyns family not approve of the relationship is that why the sneaking? Or was it more the being out late?

Also the lack of colours being mentioned outside of Hildelith and the young blacksmith boys eyes - Do you think the Jenwyn finds the world greyer for the lack of love/romance?

Fuin Elda wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 6:20 am @Jenny Harper This is an excellent story and honestly I love the use of colour to describe Hildelith and what being with her was like for Jenwyn. (The lack of direct dialogue honestly really doesn't detract from this for me at all honestly) I think a few good follow up questions to this that I"m curious about is would Jenwyns family not approve of the relationship is that why the sneaking? Or was it more the being out late?

Also the lack of colours being mentioned outside of Hildelith and the young blacksmith boys eyes - Do you think the Jenwyn finds the world greyer for the lack of love/romance?

Thank you. I admit, I've never written any kind of romance scene (indeed, I'd never even thought of romance until I saw the prompt) but I'm glad you enjoyed it. In regards to your questions, I honestly don't know what the Rohirric (and other people's) attitude towards same-sex relationships is so I don't know if that aspect of it would have been an issue. I imagine, Rohan, being a warrior culture might have a similar attitude towards it as in ancient Greece? However, the sneaking out was more in regards to there being a curfew and Jenwyn not being allowed out after sundown (but the fact that her older cousin who is the head of the household quite often spends evenings in the local inn does make it easier for her to sneak out).

Yes, she probably does view the world as grey and lacking colour, but it's something she's become accustomed to. That whole summer was almost an anomaly for her, she had viewed the world as grey previously (due to having lost her family) and grey afterwards, yet that summer was a brief period of colour in her world

Even though I'm not a mentor in this thread, I felt the urge to respond after your prompt response @Jenny Harper, especially regarding the issue of LGBTQIA+ relationships. First off, I think it's wonderful that you've given Jenwyn and Hildelith that sort of dimension and relationship and want to thank you for helping to make the world of the Plaza a more diverse place

That begin said, I have lots of LGBTQIA+ characters (all except one in fact) and one of them is a Rohir, Walpurga. I decided to believe that all races and all cultures are 100% accepting of same-sex couples; we get so much push back and harassment in the real world that I realized I couldn't be arsed with dealing with that sort of negativity in my writing. We're valid and I chose to create a Middle-earth that sees us as such. Naturally though, you are free to decide how you want to go about it with your own characters as you know what is best for them. I encourage exploration and self-discovery! I hope to see more of your writing in the future.

Also I apologize for Kool-aid Man style crashing the party.

Jenny Harper wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 7:22 pm
Thank you. I admit, I've never written any kind of romance scene (indeed, I'd never even thought of romance until I saw the prompt) but I'm glad you enjoyed it. In regards to your questions, I honestly don't know what the Rohirric (and other people's) attitude towards same-sex relationships is so I don't know if that aspect of it would have been an issue. I imagine, Rohan, being a warrior culture might have a similar attitude towards it as in ancient Greece? However, the sneaking out was more in regards to there being a curfew and Jenwyn not being allowed out after sundown (but the fact that her older cousin who is the head of the household quite often spends evenings in the local inn does make it easier for her to sneak out).

Yes, she probably does view the world as grey and lacking colour, but it's something she's become accustomed to. That whole summer was almost an anomaly for her, she had viewed the world as grey previously (due to having lost her family) and grey afterwards, yet that summer was a brief period of colour in her world

I like the idea or Rohan being similar to the Greeks I am very much with @Pharmakís in that I think most of the races and cultures will have some acceptance of the alphabet mafia with individuals being more problematic than the culture as a whole. I like that it's curfew dodging and not family/relatives.

@Pharmakís - I know it's not my thread and I hope @Taethowen won't mind if I tell you that you are always very welcome here! Your comments are always valuable, insightful and helpful and personally, I feel that you are a walking encyclopedia on some matters, and especially this one.

This was really sweet and lovely to read! I also did not miss the dialogue at all. Without it, it read like a sort of wistful memory of youth. Thanks for sharing this heartwarming story with us! I also wanted to say I'm glad you did not feel limited to portraying heterosexual romance. As far as Rohan goes, I like your line of thought about Greece. If it helps to know, I have portrayed my Rider of Rohan, Lailyn, in romantic relationships with both men and women. I view this in a similar lens as @Pharmakís in that it is acceptable and that her friends/family/etc are nothing but supportive.

Thank you for all the kind comments, everyone. I must admit, I am kinda surprised how well it was received, but it's a nice surprise. Thank you!

Lailyn wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 10:03 pm This was really sweet and lovely to read! I also did not miss the dialogue at all. Without it, it read like a sort of wistful memory of youth. Thanks for sharing this heartwarming story with us! I also wanted to say I'm glad you did not feel limited to portraying heterosexual romance. As far as Rohan goes, I like your line of thought about Greece. If it helps to know, I have portrayed my Rider of Rohan, Lailyn, in romantic relationships with both men and women. I view this in a similar lens as @Pharmakís in that it is acceptable and that her friends/family/etc are nothing but supportive.

Yes, I was definitely going for the wistful memory of youth vibe, young summer love. I don't know, although I never had it myself, the idea of having a summer romance when you're young appeals to me. I suppose it's partly wistful of my own youth (and lack of romance therein), I guess it's the hopeless romantic inside me. Did anyone get the Boys of Summer reference?

Pharmakís wrote: ↑Tue Aug 03, 2021 7:41 pm Even though I'm not a mentor in this thread, I felt the urge to respond after your prompt response @Jenny Harper, especially regarding the issue of LGBTQIA+ relationships. First off, I think it's wonderful that you've given Jenwyn and Hildelith that sort of dimension and relationship and want to thank you for helping to make the world of the Plaza a more diverse place

That begin said, I have lots of LGBTQIA+ characters (all except one in fact) and one of them is a Rohir, Walpurga. I decided to believe that all races and all cultures are 100% accepting of same-sex couples; we get so much push back and harassment in the real world that I realized I couldn't be arsed with dealing with that sort of negativity in my writing. We're valid and I chose to create a Middle-earth that sees us as such. Naturally though, you are free to decide how you want to go about it with your own characters as you know what is best for them. I encourage exploration and self-discovery! I hope to see more of your writing in the future.

Also I apologize for Kool-aid Man style crashing the party.

Thank you. Although I didn't actively set out with a purpose of increasing the diversity of the world of the plaza, I'm glad I could do that. In fact I hadn't considered her sexuality until I read the prompt (which is the point of the prompts, I guess!). I agree with your point about how there's so much negativity in the real world, why have it here. Though I think I will go about my characters in the same way as you have gone about yours, not that Jenwyn is likely to be in a relationship with anyone any time soon.

@Jenny Harper - I read your character prompt a few days ago, but didn't have enough time to concentrate on giving it the propper comment it deserved.

I know that the main theme of your answer was the romance between Jenwyn and Hildelith - which you wrote so beautifully and I really loved how you portrayed it. What you wrote worked well even without the dialogue, although I'd love to see that scene with some dialogue when you feel confident enough and ready to do it. However, I digressed. I wanted to focus on the socioeconomic status and conditions that are scattered throughout your post because I think those things also shape Jenny's reactions.

I found this passage rather interesting:

Jenny Harper wrote: ↑Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:20 pmFollowing the death of her immediate family and moving in with her cousins, Jenwyn had little time for crushes and romance. She felt life was hard enough and romance and the like only distracted her from the important things in life: surviving and keeping herself and her family safe. The idea of romance seemed alien and unwelcome.

it reminded me of Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games series who had the same attitudes towards romance and survival, especially after the death of her father when the family's socioeconomic status declined. If memory serves me, regarding Jenwyn's financial status you mentioned they were what we would now call middle class? And her financial status did not change when her family was killed? If I remember correctly. Do you think Jenwyn's socioeconomic conditions influenced her attitudes towards romance, or was it more about or solely related to the tragic way her family was killed? And an addendum to this question: does she feel the same way about close friendship (or any type of close relationships to others) as she does about romance? That they are a distraction?

This comment was also interesting:

Jenny Harper wrote: ↑Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:20 pm* Edoras doesn't seem that far away for an ending that feels so definite, but then Gondor feels quite far for poor peasants to travel and there's not really many inhabited places bordering Rohan... Then again, maybe the other side of the country would feel as far away as Gondor to someone who's a peasant...

In the 1st Character Development thread in the introductory post for Jenwyn, you mentioned she is from the Westfold. I was looking at the map of Rohan and for the Westfold there are only 2 canon settlements mentioned: Edoras and Helm's Deep. However, just because Tolkien didn't mention many settlements in Rohan it doesn't mean that larger towns didn't exist and that we as RP-ers can't put them on the map. They did this for LotR Online game and we did it on the Plaza. Just to be clear, this isn't a critique of your choice, just sharing some information that might or might not be useful for future plotting.

Nessa Saelind wrote: ↑Sat Aug 07, 2021 10:32 am @Jenny Harper - I read your character prompt a few days ago, but didn't have enough time to concentrate on giving it the propper comment it deserved.

I know that the main theme of your answer was the romance between Jenwyn and Hildelith - which you wrote so beautifully and I really loved how you portrayed it. What you wrote worked well even without the dialogue, although I'd love to see that scene with some dialogue when you feel confident enough and ready to do it. However, I digressed. I wanted to focus on the socioeconomic status and conditions that are scattered throughout your post because I think those things also shape Jenny's reactions.

I found this passage rather interesting:

Jenny Harper wrote: ↑Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:20 pmFollowing the death of her immediate family and moving in with her cousins, Jenwyn had little time for crushes and romance. She felt life was hard enough and romance and the like only distracted her from the important things in life: surviving and keeping herself and her family safe. The idea of romance seemed alien and unwelcome.

it reminded me of Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games series who had the same attitudes towards romance and survival, especially after the death of her father when the family's socioeconomic status declined. If memory serves me, regarding Jenwyn's financial status you mentioned they were what we would now call middle class? And her financial status did not change when her family was killed? If I remember correctly. Do you think Jenwyn's socioeconomic conditions influenced her attitudes towards romance, or was it more about or solely related to the tragic way her family was killed? And an addendum to this question: does she feel the same way about close friendship (or any type of close relationships to others) as she does about romance? That they are a distraction?

This comment was also interesting:

Jenny Harper wrote: ↑Mon Aug 02, 2021 7:20 pm* Edoras doesn't seem that far away for an ending that feels so definite, but then Gondor feels quite far for poor peasants to travel and there's not really many inhabited places bordering Rohan... Then again, maybe the other side of the country would feel as far away as Gondor to someone who's a peasant...

In the 1st Character Development thread in the introductory post for Jenwyn, you mentioned she is from the Westfold. I was looking at the map of Rohan and for the Westfold there are only 2 canon settlements mentioned: Edoras and Helm's Deep. However, just because Tolkien didn't mention many settlements in Rohan it doesn't mean that larger towns didn't exist and that we as RP-ers can't put them on the map. They did this for LotR Online game and we did it on the Plaza. Just to be clear, this isn't a critique of your choice, just sharing some information that might or might not be useful for future plotting.

Thanks for your kind words. I'll hopefully add a dialogue version at some point, at the very least it'll help in the portrayal of Hildelith, whom in my mind is similar to Enola Holmes from the film Enola. Interesting that you should mention Katniss, and I can definitely see the parallels. Though it wasn't deliberate, I think there was some inspiration there from Ellie from the Last of Us series. In answer to your questions, I think her attitude was more relating to the tragic way her family was killed. She learnt that the world was a harsh place where lives can be turned around in moments. Romance seemed like something trivial when you realise that you could wake up one day and be brutally killed by orcs. I think her attitude towards close friendship is similar, though perhaps one day that will change...

Thanks for the linking the map. Looking at it, I would say Geoluraed would be the place where Hildelith lives. Geographically it makes sense: it's near a river, so flooding would be be a possibility, the stream they walked along could lead towards the river and I can just replace the word lake with river and it's pretty far from Edoras so moving there.

The only problem is looking back in my character's backstory in the Hall of Rohirric histories, there are a few inconsistencies. I mention that she returned to her village in the Westfold. Which she may have done but she wouldn't have stayed. Also her cousins lived in the Westfold. Which wouldn't make sense, so I'm going to have to move them to somewhere in the Wold. Maybe Bremesgraf. Though Jenwyn found them after surviving the attack on her village so they were living within walking distance of the village. I guess it's possible they moved some time afterwards.

Basic Track #6
Character Afarfin
Is your character known by any nicknames or pseudonyms? What is the origin of them?

Afarfin or Miresurie does not have any previous nicknames from his first life, though perhaps that's because Arasoron and Aigronding Mordagnir were too afraid to tell the elf the nicknames to his face.

Afarfin in this particular life however has gotten the nickname 'babyface' from his Husband Ruindil - A Gondorian pirate sporting a long full red beard who is fearless mostly on grounds that he's survived Mylien Silant and Fuin Elda for years before Afarfin came back into Fuin Eldas life and therefore has far less fear of death than Arasoron or Aigronding becuase Fuin and Mylien would protect him (or at least he very very much hopes that's what they'd do) Mylien also calls him 'babyface' and 'sweetcheeks' for the same reason.

@Jenny Harper - it's interesting to me that Jenwyn's attitude to any kind of close relationship after the tragic death of her parents is to kind of "close herself off" to them and think they are trivial. She could have gone the other route and see how those connections are precious (side note: it took me 2 times to write that word correctly ) and crave them. I hope she will have more opportunities to experience the other side of that. Regarding the character's biography/backstory in the Hall of Rohirric histories - it's natural that things will be in flux and change as you develop and get to know the character better. You can always edit your post or post a new version once you get to know the character a bit more.

@Fuin Elda - more of a general comment inspired by your answer on your prompt than your answer to the prompt. Although Mylen and Ruindil are a more recent addition to Afarfin's story I think it would really be interesting to see the answers to the previous prompts having in mind the polyamfam. I think the family gives Afarfin another layer and it would be an interesting point to view his story from.

HOnestly there are only really 2 of the previous questions that would even really be affected by the Polyam fam update that Afarfin has gone through would be #3 being the most affected and #4... MAYBE #1 the rest I honestly don't think would be affected by it just because of the nature of the questions... The advance track 100% has away more things that would have been affected but I haven't done it yet. I'll probably go and reanswer #3 and #4 though before I continue because he has changed and been altered because of how things have played out.