Names

Recruit or assimilate? by galenfea on 2011-01-02 15:39:00 UTC Reply

I'm currently working on my next mission, but I've run into an OC and I'm not sure what to do with her. She's Thranduil's wife and seems basically inoffensive, but in the one mission I recall reading where Legolas got OC relations and they weren't Sues or Stus, they were all recruited because royals would find it hard to assimilate.
Certainly, she's done nothing to deserve being killed; she seems mostly to exist in order to support the budding relationship between Arwen and Legolas. I'd leave her alone were it not for her rank.
What are your thoughts, more experienced members? Should Jackson and Felaben recruit her, or neuralise her and let her assimilate?

Let her assimilate, I'd say by Rilwen Shadowflame on 2011-01-03 13:37:00 UTC Reply

Though given Elves soul-bond at marriage it'd be cruel to tell her she wasn't married to Thranduil without further intervention, in my opinion.

We know Thranduil had a wife. If this is her, she'll just wind up wherever Thranduil's wife is supposed to be, afterwards, once you get canon to snap back.

Oh, good point. by Neshomeh on 2011-01-03 22:07:00 UTC Reply

I hadn't thought of that. Good catch!

~Neshomeh
And as Cassie noted... by Rilwen Shadowflame on 2011-01-03 13:39:00 UTC Reply

We don't know where his wife is. Some fanon declares her dead or in Valinor, but unless I'm much mistaken, it is fanon, so the real thing could go either way.

Yeah... by galenfea on 2011-01-03 14:28:00 UTC Reply

My personal fanon is that she's alive and well and sort of a badass, but I know that's not canon and wasn't sure which way to call it. I'm going to go for just neuralising her, telling her this has been a weird dream without saying anything about her relationship to Thranduil and letting canon sort it out.
And giving her a name because God knows it was too much effort for the author to do so.

Names by Rilwen Shadowflame on 2011-01-03 16:28:00 UTC Reply

I wouldn't give her one; the fact she went unnamed means she doesn't contradict canon or possible canon in that way. It's actually way more convenient that way and ought to aid her in assimilating into canon.

OK by galenfea on 2011-01-03 16:39:00 UTC Reply

Good thought. The lack of a name was just starting to get so annoying.

Neuralyze by Neshomeh on 2011-01-02 19:15:00 UTC Reply

The cool thing about canon snapping back is that it can fix pesky little things like false genetics. Neuralyze her, tell her she's no relation to the royal family, and let canon take its course. QED. {= )

~Neshomeh, who's doing something similar in her current mission, hopefully to be released very soon.

Yay! by galenfea on 2011-01-02 21:53:00 UTC Reply

I love canon snapping back into place. Especially as she's not very well developed, that should work, then.

Thanks, and good luck with your mission!

I'd say... by Cassie Cameron-Young on 2011-01-02 17:55:00 UTC Reply

neuralyse and let her assimilate into the canon. Thranduil's wife isn't mentioned in the books, which is why those who've read them tend to assume she's either dead or left for Valinor. As far as I know, neither is true; she just wasn't mentioned because she wasn't of any use to the plot.

The mission you read was actually one I co-wrote with Kgarrett; we decided to recruit the brothers of Legolas (and the eldest's wife and kids) because they were shoehorned in to facilitate Legolas's whiny bratty teenager-ness. Legolas was never mentioned as having brothers, and we decided it was seriously improbable for Thranduil to send his youngest son on a dangerous quest, and also for him to have children over a millennium apart in age. Also, the brothers' basic personalities were not very consistent with typical Elvish behaviour, particularly royals, so we recruited the lot rather than have unexplained extra kids of Thranduil running around.

If Thranduil's wife is basically inoffensive to canon, you can likely get away with neuralysing her; after all, Thranduil had to be married at some point, or there wouldn't be a Legolas.

Expand this post →

Yeah, that's sort of what I figured by galenfea on 2011-01-02 21:50:00 UTC Reply

I was mainly wondering if there was some tradition that extra relatives were always recruited or killed. I always name Thranduil's wife as an example of why I find it hard to draw the line between OC and canon in LotR...

I like that mission - just finished reading it again. You're certainly right about their personalities. This woman doesn't really have one at all, so on that score she's probably all right.

Thanks!
Legolas' mother was left in the "legolas by laura" mission. by Laburnum on 2011-01-02 18:00:00 UTC Reply

Dafydd and Selene didn't kill her then, so presumably it's okay to leave her alone in this one too.