Thread: Couples

Ok so I'm not an RP'r, but I've seen some of it going on. I've seen quite a few couples but the other day I saw a hobbit male/woman female couple. This got me thinking, "I wonder if races mixed in middle-earth?". What do you guys think about this? How about a hobbit/elf couple, or a female dwarf and a man(weird right?)?

Beren and Luthien,
Aragorn and Arwen,
Elrond and his wife (I forget her name..)
You may notice that they're all elf + human. I don't know of any hobbit/elf/dwarf mixes...

Hobbits generally keep to themselves, and are very shy around the big folk, and no one knows exactly how dwarfs propogate.

There was a rumor going on in the shire, though, that Brandoboros Took had human blood in him, as he was able to ride a fully grown horse, and the whole Took family is supposed to be odd (I mean, look at that crazy Bilbo fellow), so....

On similar lines, I tend to wonder if gay relationships were ever possible in Middle-Earth, or whether that's a Thing That Doesn't Happen. There were certainly some fairly fierce friendships in the books, but I'm not certain how close the rules of the universe would allow me to write my minstrel and her skirmish-soldier.

Originally Posted by Malbarad

Hobbits generally keep to themselves, and are very shy around the big folk, and no one knows exactly how dwarfs propogate.

There was a rumor going on in the shire, though, that Brandoboros Took had human blood in him, as he was able to ride a fully grown horse, and the whole Took family is supposed to be odd (I mean, look at that crazy Bilbo fellow), so....

He's the one (nicknamed Bullroarer) that knocked the head off Golfimbul the goblin and invented golf isn't he? It's that Tookish blood that made Bilbo so adventurous (Belladonna Took was his mother iirc) and probably gave Frodo the guts he needed to save Middle-Earth. No doubt it saved the Shire as well when Peregrin Took took up arms with Meriadoc Brandybuck (who were made taller by drinking the Ent draughts) and rallied the hobbits against Saruman in the Battle of Bywater.

Originally Posted by smoken123

Beren and Luthien,
Aragorn and Arwen,
Elrond and his wife (I forget her name..)
You may notice that they're all elf + human. I don't know of any hobbit/elf/dwarf mixes...

Elrond's wife Celebrian was Galadriel's daughter, so you've gone a bit off there

The one you're looking for was Tuor and Idril (Eärendil's parents).

OP: given that it's Tolkien's work we're talking about, you should be able to answer your own question

Rumors about the tooks say that somewhere along and elf and hobbit became partners... explains the adventure..... The generally taller size..... Plus bullroarer was 5' 3" i think lol

"It was often said (in other families) that long ago one of the Took ancestors must have taken a fairy wife. That was, of course, absurd, but certainly there was still something not entirely hobbit-like about them -"

IMO, just a rumor. If you're going for Tolkien's universe, interracial relationships should really be avoided.

Furthermore, in "Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth" there is a conversation between an Elf and a Woman, where they touch on her childhood romance with another Elf (his brother) that barely happened before it was over. The Elf left her, because he loved her and did not wish for their relationship to become a bitterness to both of them. (And that's a terrible sum-up, but please go read it. It's brilliant stuff.)
Finrod also says "Nay, adaneth, if any marriage can be between our kindred and thine, then it shall be for some high purpose of Doom. Brief it will be and hard at the end. Yea, the least cruel fate that could befall would be that death should soon end it."
And so it was with the few interracial marriages that happened. As for high matters of Doom -- structuring a roleplay that would by its very nature affect the world is going to end disastrously. You can't explain to everyone you meet how your relationship happened without it becoming all you talk about and therefore unnatural, or that it's not a Mary-Sue lorebreak. Which means the only kind of roleplay you're going to get with other people while integrating that is either going to be one where everyone is ridiculously politically correct because they are really from our world and our time, or one where people politely ignore your relationship, or one where people eagerly support your relationship and that you've held to it 'despite social barriers' when the barriers aren't actually social ones at all and furthermore roleplayers that have been opposing you in-character will be few.

Almost getting a bit rant-ish there, but... No one OOC is barred from making a character of any race. Keep things tribute to Tolkien. There's nothing wrong with a little bit of stretch for the sake of having fun and convenience (It's not always feasible to have Lorien characters meet in Lorien, it isn't always possible to avoid Moria in-character) but where it's downright easy to keep to the world we've been given, why not do it?

All that being said, if you want to show affection to a character of another race when you're not actually trying to roleplay, go for it, nbd. :P I know a couple OOC whose main characters are an elleth and a hobbit-lass, and when they're not roleplaying they're adorable, and when they are roleplaying they know each other but don't go all IC-romance on you.

To answer the OP, mixed race romances are not Lore-based. As noted by the Elvish Mouse, those we know about were tied into the Fate/ Doom of that era. Furthermore, the various Free Peoples kept to their own turf with the notable exceptions of Bree and Esgaroth. There are a few short periods of casual interactions but usually the races only meet when planning for battle.

However, no matter what some might think, we are not playing in the Professor's World. Dwarves are in the Golden Wood, Elves are doing Shire Post, Men can help reclaim Moria, Hobbits can explore the frozen North; none of this is lore-based. We're enjoying a world based on the Lore but not hobbled by it. If we wish to explore the complications of affairs betwixt Free Peoples, there are options from serious ("Our romance is a sign of the end of this Age. Let us enjoy the fleeting pleasure that we can find.") to silly ("I never realized how cute furry toes could be...").

You can use these desires as a springboard into ongoing personal plot-lines. My Elf Lore-Master is looking for a Beren to her Tinuviel, her Hunter uncle has been accosted by Hobbit lasses and my Dwarven Minstrel was drug off stage by a drunk Woman for immoral purposes. It can be loads of fun exploring the options but just keep the spicier bits in private chat so you won't offend/ shock others.

Originally Posted by Micrathene

On similar lines, I tend to wonder if gay relationships were ever possible in Middle-Earth, or whether that's a Thing That Doesn't Happen. There were certainly some fairly fierce friendships in the books, but I'm not certain how close the rules of the universe would allow me to write my minstrel and her skirmish-soldier.

When the Professor was writing, there were Things That You Didn't Talk About and this one of the biggest ones. There was a polite code for Such Things (e.g life-long bachelor, confirmed spinster, etc.) but, once said, you would change the subject. Nonetheless, looking through history, you find lots of fierce friendships, formed on the battlefield, that becoming quite intimate when customs & circumstance allowed. The rules of this world won't stop you from writing about such but it won't allow you to show it in public (i.e. skirmish soldiers always maintain their distance).

That being said, there's nothing to stop you from having same-sex relationships with other players. You can dance together, play silly emotes and carry on in public. When you switch to private channels for more intimate moments, it's also writing practice as you need to think & write quickly to keep the chat interesting.

For example, my Rohan Spear-Maiden met a Burglar lass at a Shire concert who helped her with synchronized dancing lessons. This led to some shy flirting by the Burglar which my character suddenly realized she liked. This led to several awkward conversations, full of misunderstandings & revelations, just like in the Real World. It turned out their back-stories had similarities (e.g. both were Elf-Friends before starting the Epic Story) and both wanted one stable relationship in these dark times. Lots of role-playing chats later, they're a pledged couple, waiting for the war to end so they won't be parted by duties anymore. In the meantime, there have been lots of spicy conversations....

Originally Posted by smoken123

Beren and Luthien,
Aragorn and Arwen,
Elrond and his wife (I forget her name..)
You may notice that they're all elf + human. I don't know of any hobbit/elf/dwarf mixes...

Elrond's wife was an elf. She was Celeborn's and Galadriel's daugher, Celebrian.

Just saying.

But, to the subject, hobbits would stick to hobbits and I imagine dwarves would stick to dwarves. Luthien and Berem were two very special people, as were Aragorn and Arwen.