An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Finally updated this one. It's essentially completed in my notes, so hopefully it will not be so long between updates. Elendur and Elendil set off on a secret pilgrimage to the Meneltarma while Isildur lies infirm, injured from stealing the fruit of the White Tree.
Nobody reads this but I've put together an outline TROP fic that gives Earien the redemption she deserves and gets her to Middle-earth surviving the Downfall and explains why she's left out of the annuls of Numenor and I wonder if I'll ever actually write it.
Belated holiday gift to me: the 1980 J.R.R. Tolkien Calendar (the year I was born)! It's the Great Illustrators Edition and some of these pictures are wild!
As Isildur lies infirm, suffering the wounds inflicted when he rescued the fruit from Nimloth, his son prepares for his own great deed of faith. Nearly twelve years old, Elendur will make a secret pilgrimage to the summit of the Menaltarma. It is a journey he had planned to make with his father, but Elendil will join him instead.
In the same universe as my other Elendur of Númenor stories.
What did Ema’s Reddit interview say? I can’t find any of the questions. Do you have a link or can you do a mini recap? Thanks in advance!
Hey, here is the link for you! Ema's present for about the first 40% or so, I haven't listened past that yet. I will put part of the interview highlights under the cut (I really did not need much prompting to gush about it lol) since some of what she had to share about character backgrounds hasn't been revealed in the show yet so it could be considered spoilers.
First of all, I am more impressed by her with every interview I find, she's just incredibly dedicated to understanding Númenor and its history. She mentions lurking in the subreddit (she used the term "Elendilf" lmao) and having found that really useful while she was figuring out who Eärien really was. She also references a few characters from The Mariner's Wife (one of the Unfinished Tales) and how they informed her understanding of her own character in ROP which I thought was genius (Erendis and Ancalimë make SO much sense in terms of thematic overlap with Eärien, imo). She really did a deep dive into the lore, and she definitely did her homework and then some in terms of the languages.
There's a lot of other great stuff there about other characters and cast members but the part that I was referencing in the tags of this gifset is that in show, the mother of Eärien, Anárion and Isildur died rescuing Isildur from drowning, which is obviously completely devastating and I'm not crying you're crying!!! It makes SO much sense as to why Elendil is having a crisis of faith as well as trouble connecting with Isildur in particular. It really casts a whole new light on Isildur's relationship with his father's expectations, and the rest of his family. This next part is not confirmed but my speculation is that after their mother's death, Anárion left the rest of the family to be with his grandfather Amandil in the west of the island, and we will see the two of them introduced next season along with more of the Faithful--I could be wrong, but either way his mother's death seems to have strengthened Anárion's relationship to his previously held beliefs, contrasted to the way the rest of the family has (understandably) reacted.
In short: Ema Horvath is amazing and I cannot believe what a perfectly angsty storyline I am getting for Isildur. I'm so interested to see where Elendil and Isildur's relationship in particular will go from here (we can generally presume where it will go, but not exactly how!). Maxim Baldry in his Reddit Talk also had some amazing insights, and clearly knows his stuff like Ema does. I cannot get over this cast, they care so much about authenticity to the source material and anyone who claims otherwise could not be more wrong.
She is begging him to choose her and their family. She is begging him not to leave her alone. Because Isildur and Valandil (and Ontamo) are dead. Anarion may not be dead, but he is gone. Without Elendil she is left all alone.
But he won't budge. He made his choice. And he is kind of cruel in this moment.
And this is the moment it hits her. To her father, there will always be more important things than her.
He is betraying their family, and the she can't do anything to stop him.
And this moment of clarity is breaking her heart all over.
And it's making her angry that she means so little to him. But she suspected, and that's why she brought Míriel with her.
And finally, resignation, and pain.
Eärien just wants Elendil to choose to stay alive for her. But Elendil is choosing to die for his ideals. He never stopped to think of the consequences of his actions on Eärien and her life.
I'm not saying he is wrong. I'm just saying that I'm a Joel Miller kind of girl when it comes to fathers.
Final chapter is up and this monster has now been finished!
The Visit
He cannot hold onto Eärien. He understands this. She will make her life and her own choices and he cannot make them for her, nor demand that she bend to his will. He has raised her and she is grown and all he can offer her now are his prayers. And his love. He gives both freely and if her poem is to be believed, she knows this. He will have to come to terms with many things, and he does not want to. But he has come to understand that it is not just Eärien he fears he is losing.
Shamelessly obsessed with Nia Towle these days after making the journey to see her in Hamlet with the RSC a few weeks ago. Catch these two short films showcasing her talent and enjoy!
"They Found Her in a Field"
"Late"
Alexander Mansfield Martinez is a writer and director based in London, UK.