Arwen in the Afternoon 2. Author's Notes - Stories

2. Author's Notes

The Elves of my stories have more in common with Irish tales of the sídhe than with the Silmarillion. Along with the blasphemous trampling of Tolkien canon on Elven sexual mores, this story takes liberties with the timing of certain events. The Tale of Years gives 3009 as the time of Arwen's return to Rivendell; I have placed that event somewhat earlier. Tolkien does not tell us the year of Gilraen's return to the Dúnedain.

Readers of my WIP The Sword of Elendil, a canon-conscious AU tale of Aragorn's young manhood, will notice certain elements in common with this tale: The description of the Dúnedain Keep; the fact that Aragorn and Halbarad are second cousins, related through the line of the Chieftains. Arwen's character is the same in both stories. However, Halbarad and Aragorn are not lovers in The Sword of Elendil. Thus, "Arwen in the Afternoon" is an AU of my AU.

A sharp reader will notice that the story of the Dwarves being murdered in the mountains is placed in the same year as the destruction of Balin's colony in Moria.

The poem is adapted from Tolkien's verses in The Hobbit, and quite at variance with his intent. (Or perhaps Bilbo bowdlerized what he actually heard.) The lines are also vaguely inspired by the medieval Welsh poet Dafydd ap Gwilym.

This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.

Comments

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Arwen in the Afternoon

Alassante - 30 Jun 08 - 9:22 AM

Ch. 2: Author's Notes

Since this is now been reviewed here, I thought I would leave a copy of my MEFA review here so you had it with the story. I keep thinking of the old joke between my friends and I 'you're going to hell for this' But I'm sure you'll have lots of company (including me! lol) and we'll all have a roaring good time.

Although I was warned I wasn't expecting that! lol Gandalf's Apprentice's story has an interesting twist on the thoughts of LaCE and how men and elves behave. Those naughty elves - who knew? The style of writing was wonderful and it was a very enjoyable story to read. I like seeing a fiction with Gilraen and Halbarad in it as well. Gilraen is so often ignored in the fandom in general. Poor Aragorn though - all that pressure to get married then his little minx of a woman er elf exhausts him and his friend. A future King and leader of the Dunedain's work is never done!

Gandalfs apprentice - 02 Jul 08 - 10:56 AM

Hi Alassante: Many thanks for your perceptive comments on "Arwen in the Afternoon." It is a story that proved difficult to get right and it went through several different versions. This one finally achieves the balance of romance, humor and angst that I was after for Aragorn, Arwen and Halbarad.

ziggy - 31 May 10 - 5:48 AM

It makes so much more sense to me that elves should regard sex in this way, rather than the rigid and puritanical LaCE. Immortality must get a little dull.Well, in my smutty little mind anyway. And a happy ending too!

I like the way Gilrean is portrayed, and her relationship with the other characters- especially liked her frantic signalling to Arwen to keep quiet.

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