What the...?

Hobbit fandom question by Hellga on 2014-12-21 22:20:00 UTC Reply

Hi all, those I have met long ago and those I have not met yet.

I dared to peek into the Hobbit section of FF.net and it's even more horrid than I remember LotR fandom being...

One question, though, for those who have kept up with the Hobbit badfic - does anyone know who has started the trend for calling dwarf women "dwarrowdams" and if that's a terms that was brought over from some other fandom/game?

Thanks!

I think it was actually started via goodfic. by Lily Winterwood on 2015-01-10 18:03:00 UTC Reply

There's a long and actually pretty good fanfic where Thorin uses a pool in the Dwarvish afterlife to spy on the events of the War of the Ring. It got extremely popular, and it utilized the term extensively, so it's likely that this fic, with its research and world building on the Dwarves, spawned or spurred on the trend.
So apparently... by Sara on 2014-12-22 09:20:00 UTC Reply

..."dwarrow" is the historical plural for "dwarf" in the word's home mythology (Norse, I think?). Tolkien called his pluralization into "dwarves" a bit of "personal bad grammar", but it seems to have been kept in order to match the pluralization of "elf" into "elves". Thanks, Wikipedia!

This doesn't excuse "dwarrowdam", though, because that still isn't anywhere.
What the...? by COG on 2014-12-22 08:08:00 UTC Reply

Hai!

But, what... I have never heard of such a term and it sound ridiculous!

Dwarves are one of my favourite species within the LOTR and the Hobbit Fandom...

This is just-
I think I found a solution: parody fic by Hellga on 2014-12-22 06:45:00 UTC Reply

To channel my frustration into something constructive, I decided to write a two-part ficlet. Chapter 1 - lure unsuspecting Suethors in, making them think it is another "girl falls into Middle-earth" fic. Chapter - the girl meets very logical death in the not so logical world.

I posted the first part, I will give it a few days and then post the second chapter (still to be written). :)

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10907451/1/Beware-of-Your-Dreams

Re: I think I found a solution: parody fic by Sara on 2014-12-22 09:17:00 UTC Reply

Oh, please let it involve an actual dwarrow dam. And something gruesome.

...what? by Iximaz on 2014-12-22 03:12:00 UTC Reply

I have never seen that term before. Not even in D&D, and my gaming group has done/seen a lot of weird things. Man, and here I thought 'She-Elf' was bad...

Oh, right! Have a welcome-back ribbiting pocket saber-toothed kitten! Feel free to remove the urple bow around its neck. :)
Wat. by Sara on 2014-12-22 01:38:00 UTC Reply

As far as I know, the only time the word "dwarrow" appears in Tolkien's writings is in "Dwarrowdelf", which is probably the influence behind this...lovely?...new term.

A quick Google search shows it only showing up in Hobbit-related fanfic. I'd *love* to find out who coined this. Because it's dumb.
Wait...what? (nm) by eatpraylove on 2014-12-22 01:17:00 UTC Reply
They're called what? O.o by Neshomeh on 2014-12-22 00:06:00 UTC Reply

Hi, Hellga! It's always nice to see you again. ^_^

And, as my incredulous reaction may have told you, I've never heard the term "dwarrowdams" before and I have no idea where it came from. I haven't been following the Hobbit fandom that closely, and I kinda get the sense that that was a good life choice. O.o

That said, if you have any particularly heinous fics to report, you might find me a willing sporker. Or, if not me, then someone.

Welcome back!

~Neshomeh

That was exactly my reaction. by Hellga on 2014-12-22 00:43:00 UTC Reply

Thanks for welcoming, Neshomeh! :)

Yes, and the term just upset me so much more than She-Elf ever did. Though I must say, average level of Hobbit-fanfic is even lower than that of the LotR-fanfic. At least, back then there were some decent fics in the mix, now I didn't see any. Can't say anything is really terrible, just average stupid Sues joining quest and all varieties of slash...

Hellga! *glomp* by Araeph on 2014-12-22 05:47:00 UTC Reply

Been a while. :)

I personally think someone was just trying to be alliterative with "dwarrowdam," and the word got carried away. I, too, find it much worse than she-elf considering the definition of "dam":

noun
1. a female parent (used especially of four-footed domestic animals).

Ooh yeah, way to show respect to the Dwarven women!

Also infuriating is that fanwriters--even otherwise articulate ones--constantly use the word "dwarrows." That's like saying "deers" or "mices"! Just goes to show that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

~Araeph

*hugs* by Hellga on 2014-12-22 06:41:00 UTC Reply

Yes, I am trying to pretend that whomever coined the term was thinking of the Middle English meaning "lady" but still, the result makes me want to feed her to Azog's warg.

And yeah, dwarrows is ridiculous. Why not use words that Tolkien did? Oh wait, they probably just watched the movies and read Wikipedia, not actual Tolkien...