Henneth Annûn Story Archive

A spark that came to me in the 'Faramir's Name and Other Evidence' thread, that Marta and Soubrettina were kind enough to fan! Names seem to have special signifigance in Middle Earth. Each culture seems to have a unique way of naming themselves- Gondorians take names from old legends and history, the Dwarves have secret names that they reveal to none but dwarves, the Ents have extrodinarily long names in Entish, and so on. The challenge would be to write a story, drabble, poem, or whatever-you-please that discusses (directly or indirectly) the topic of names. There are really a lot of interesting options to be explored here. How does the character in question feel about their name? Does the actual meaning carry any weight for them? What about namesakes? There are many, many people in Middle Earth who share a name with someone in Tolkien's history- Boromir, Denethor, Arathorn, Aragorn, Finduilas, Ecthelion, Beregond, Mablung, Hamfast, Faramir, and so on. How about the process parents go through when naming their children? What were some of the names that parents considered- and then discarded? Was everyone pleased at the choice of name? Or how about the lack of a name? Gollum forgets his name. What the heck, I bet Bill the Pony didn't have a name until Sam gave him one. Have fun with it- make it funny, make it serious, make it whatever you want... just as long as you pledge to make it!

 

Hi Eldamir What about namesakes? There are many, many people in Middle Earth who share a name with someone in Tolkien's history- Boromir, Denethor, Arathorn, Aragorn, Finduilas, Ecthelion, Beregond, Mablung, Hamfast, Faramir, and so on. I just wanted to point out that we already have a Namesakes challenge going, so any new challenge would really need to cover different ground. But you have lots of other great ideas here, so I'm sure this can be shaped up into a separate challenge with a different slant. Cheers, Liz

 

I think 'What's in a name?' can be perfectly distinct from 'Namesakes'- it was spawned- at least for me- from the meaning, rather than the heritage of Faramir's name... and nearly all the names have some very specific meaning or connotation for thier bearers, so...

 

Chah! (OK, that link is just completely random spam that I decided to include. But it's funny!) Eldamir, check out this nuzgûl. What a strange coincidence! Here's the trick with this: nuzgûl can be transformed into challenges. Since Liz's [edit: Sufficient (not Failure!)] already adopted that nuzgûl, you only need four more authors to agree, and I can go make it a challenge! Allie Challenge Mistress

 

Since Liz's Failure already adopted that nuzgûl, you only need four more authors to agree, and I can go make it a challenge! *blushes* Good grief, I'd forgotten that nuzgûl even existed, let alone that I'd adopted it (although with Sufficient rather than Failure, Allie ), but I was thinking that particular story would probably fit whatever challenge emerged here. ... I could enter yet another story about Faramir's name if it would help qualify the challenge? Cheers, Liz

 

(although with Sufficient rather than Failure, Allie ) You write so many good, introspective Faramirfics that I confuse them! (I'm fond of Sufficient, but Failure is one of my favorite vignettes ever.) Yes... So that means one pledged author! We'd only need three more! Since nuzgul move to challenge when they have five stories entered(no matter the # of authors), Failure will count as one, and your promise to write another as one more. So three more! (If you're interested, Eldamir, then two more!) Allie

 

Count me in. I have a half-finished vignette, basically Fastred's musings on Elanor's name (what it means for the Shire that a Gamgee is naming his daughter after an Elvish flower). I'm not sure when I'll finish it, but definitely count me in. Marta

 

Ahh, missed the 'Namesakes' challenge, so thanks for pointing that out! And also the Nuzgul... Wow, it seems like names are a hot topic! Anyways, of course I'm in. So now that Marta has jumped on our merry bandwagon... one more! Come on, you know you want to...

 

Ah, mais non! See Namesakes here. It closes in August, so you have plenty of time to grab a placeholder, or to write a story! Visit Open Challenges to see just how many challenges we have open. And just one more needed for this one! Allie

 

..must..........resist.......grrrr....... ::clenches teeth:: will not....give.... ..in Damn your black heart, Allie ! How do I get suckered into these things?! Fine. I'm in. I have a perfect lil vignette of a WiP that will work., although it is a musing on an OC's name. :::muttermutterstupidchallengesmuttermutter::::

 

your promise to write another as one more. Write another? Who said anything about writing another? I was going to enter Cup of Bitterness: First Meeting, which also involves the acquiring of names and titles. Cheers Liz

 

Damn your black heart, Allie ! How do I get suckered into these things?! I'm sorry... were you accusing me of wrongdoing? But I would never be evil, and try to foist any challenges on the hapless victims my friends. *sigh* Apparently I'm an easy target for blame, just because I wear the hat. Affectionately, Allie

 

Thanks! So that makes five, then, doesn't it?

 

Indeed it does! Watch this space. Allie *trots off to transfer nuzgul to challenge* Challenge Discussion edit: fixed links.

 

*sigh* Apparently I'm an easy target for blame, just because I wear the hat. That's my take on it. Especially considering I've got -- lemme count --FIVE, count em, FIVE challenges backlogged, thanks to your insidious insidiousness. SIX, counting this one. And there may be one I'm forgetting... The fact that I proposed two of those six has nothing to do with anything.

 

Especially considering I've got -- lemme count --FIVE, count em, FIVE challenges backlogged, thanks to your insidious insidiousness. SIX, counting this one. And there may be one I'm forgetting... Pardonez-moi? I protest! Those nuzgul were flung by different fingers than mine own! The fact that I proposed two of those six has nothing to do with anything. See? You're more of a danger to yourself than I am! I need an official disclaimer. Like: "Allie is not to blame for any injuries, maimings, or loss of free time incurred whilst browsing Challenges. Browse at your own risk." Allie

 

Allie *trots off to transfer nuzgul to challenge* Challenge Discussion Er, Allie, that's a very nice challenge, but not the challenge for this thread (those links go to the Many Generations of Men challenge).... Cheers, Liz

 

*sigh* Fixed. Thank you... This is what comes of sorting things out for two challenges almost simultaneously. Allie

 

This is what comes of sorting things out for two challenges almost simultaneously. {{{Allie}}} In case anyone hasn't said it recently, thank you to you (and RiverOtter!) for all your hard work in Challenges. Cheers, Liz

 

See? You're more of a danger to yourself than I am! Crap, you may be right, especially considering the madness I volunteered myself for last night. I don't know what's wrong with me, Doc. These ...ideas just keep leaping into my head!

 

Liz wrote: {{{Allie}}} In case anyone hasn't said it recently, thank you to you (and RiverOtter!) for all your hard work in Challenges. *blush* {{{Liz}}} Thank you! It's just so fun it doesn't really seem like work! EdorasLass wrote: Crap, you may be right, especially considering the madness I volunteered myself for last night. And I have taken full advantage of that madness, I assure you. I don't know what's wrong with me, Doc. These ...ideas just keep leaping into my head! You've been hanging around challenges so much, that you're catching nuzgulflingeritis: the irrisistable impulse to fling nuzgul at the most random times. Allie

 

Wow, that makes a lot more sense now. Thanks, Meril!

 

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