Hands Wide Open by Elleth

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Fanwork Notes

Written for TalullahRed at the 2014 Yule Exchange, for her prompt: Set in Eglarest, naturally with seascapes, preferably wintery, but it's up to you. We get a glimpse at the daily life of the city. Something gets lost. Many thanks to Elvie for her beta!

Fanwork Information

Summary:

A group of Easterlings, the rambunctious young High King of the Noldor, and Eglarest in winter may not make for quite as disastrous a day as Galdor of the Havens initially suspected.

Major Characters: Círdan, Galdor of the Havens, Gil-galad, Original Character(s)

Major Relationships:

Genre: General

Challenges:

Rating: Teens

Warnings:

Chapters: 1 Word Count: 3, 055
Posted on 2 January 2015 Updated on 2 January 2015

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Comments on Hands Wide Open

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I like the idea! Maedhros listening to the advice of an Easterling tactician, the sensible hostage plan that unfortunately backfires, the daring escape, Cirdan's and Galdor's reactions...

And that some of Bor's tribe survive (we hope), east of the mountains.

Also Gil-Galad with tar on his circlet!

Thank you, Himring, that was a lovely review to read! I had a lot of fun working with the Easterlings and their perspective, no doubt also thanks to your fic and Broddun (whom I think Ayulan might think of highly as a person, even if they are on opposite sides) who made me entertain the idea of Easterling fic to begin with (in general, not for this prompt in particular, it's just where all that converged) and giving them something of a hopeful ending - if I have any say, they'll be finding their kin in Rhûn again and living out the rest ot their days in peace. 

Gil-galad was a delight to write as well. It was exhausting keeping up with him and his antics (poor Ivrellain! poor Alphangil, although she's obviously absent/busy in this fic), but exploring him was fun. :)

These interminglings of the Western and Eastern cultures in Middle-earth are among my favorite themes, and this story really filled the bill.  It's refreshing to see the Easterlings portrayed with such dignity.  As an avid fan of drawing upon primary world history to interweave with Tolkien's secondary world, it probably comes as now surprise that I love how you used Mongolian culture as your inspiration for the Easterlings. Fits perfectly. 

Your characters are all well-drawn and vivid in this short story, Elleth, and I got a big kick out of young Gil-galad (your depiction of his personality works very well for me) and Abaqai.

 

It comes as no surprise, but it comes as a delight anyway - with you as the mistress of informing Middle-earth cultures with real-world counterparts, I was hoping it would pass muster if you decided to read it, and I'm very happy it did! :) I couldn't help treating the Easterlings with dignity - impossible not to when stepping into someoen's shoes as a writer since their motivations and worldview make their behaviour so much easier to understand (looking at you, DM!). I'd briefly considered writing Brodda and Lorgan into this story and ruminated on their characters in the process, and they landed smack in a very grey area in the process even though they fought on Morgoth's side (and now I very much want to write them and their life in Dor-lómin as well). But "pround and barbaric" (as Tolkien puts it) doesn't really cut it, especially not for the Easterlings of Bór's tribe who might have been elevated into Elf-Friend status if the Nirnaeth had gone their way. 

I'm glad Gil-galad and Abaqai convinced, too. I quite like this characterization of him myself, it seems like a good starting point for the longest-reigning king of the Noldor, and I'm very fond of Abaqai as well, and have some ideas how to carry on her legacy in my take on the legendarium. She's going to make it far. :) 

Thank you so much for reviewing here as well.