1 & 10 for the Tolkien meta meme?
1. Pick a character who does not appear in either The Lord of the Rings or the published Silmarillion, and elaborate on their backstory.
Lalwen!
I don’t have much of a backstory for her childhood– this is really a prompt that’s better suited for a fic (which I’m not writing because I don’t have the time)– but I do think she survived Beleriand and returned to Aman after the War of Wrath. She took up leadership on Tol Eressëa and ruled as queen there. Furthermore, I think it took until Beleriand for her to realize that she’s attracted solely to women. And as a final tidbit, she wears a pixie cut after the First Age, both because she loves it and as a visible break from tradition.
10. Pick a character or group who you believe is unappreciated, undervalued, or undeservedly reviled by fandom and explain why they are awesome.
Indis.
A lot of the stuff that makes her awesome is buried in HoME, but… she’s not a dainty little stepmother who did nothing worthwhile. I mean, really. There’s a large difference between in-universe bias from a character and fandom basically going, “Fëanor is 100% right about everything, including hating his stepmother who did nothing wrong except marry his father.”
I understand that the fear of being replaced is a normal reaction from a child… but Míriel was dead and not returning. How is any of this Indis’ fault?
(Of course, it doesn’t help that narrator of the Silm is also critical of the decision to remarry.)
She raised two awesome sons, two HoME-canon daughters, must have helped the Noldor in Aman recover from the Darkening because it seemed none of the other leadership stayed (at least until Finarfin returned), had her own interests (music and running). She seems to have had a cheerful personality and a sense of humor (chiefly the line from HoME X: “and there was ever light and mirth about her while the bliss of Aman endured”).
I don’t get the hate for her; I really don’t.
