What's the story behind your avatar and forum name?

The artwork is mine as I intend to publish with pictures of the major scenes.

Click to expand...

I really like the drawing of your avatar.

My username is the same one I had originally on TORN (the One Ring.net) before I had it changed when I took a break from both movie Thorin and the Hobbit movies. Since I'm back into both (which means I have to buy everything over again, since I didn't keep anything other than the original novel and the Smaug art book), I kind of regret doing this, so I put it in my signature on that site instead, since I'm unsure if I can get it changed back. It also refers to my only Hobbit OC, Marida, who will be going back to Erebor in Middle-earth after a decade in the modern world. The reason for this is that the time portal she used to travel to the modern world is beginning to break down due to a similar one on the tropical island of Isla Nublar on Earth being destroyed by the volcanic eruption of Mt. Sibo. I will be writing a fan fic about this (which will be both a crossover and AU story, since the heirs of Durin survive in my stories, regardless of what happens to them in the book and/or movies) and posting it on Ao3 (my username is Island_Queen).

My avatar is just a picture of movie Thorin that I found online, since the pictures I'm using on some other sites were too small. My avatar usually relates to my username is some way, so unless I change it (unlikely, unless I change it to the name of my OC and use Queen of Erebor as my title), I probably won't be changing it anytime soon (though I may change it to a different picture, but it will be of the same character, more movie related than book related, since I didn't care for the character in the book, though because of the movie portrayal, I may understand him a little better).

My Avatar is nothing to do with Tolkien or any of his characters. The name is simply my middle name backwards, the picture is my drawing of the eponymous hero of the Picts from my first historical novel (unpublished), ‘The Kings of Kaltis’ who is called Connarch Uredech. I have used the avatar for several years now and never felt the need to change it. I suppose a character like Elrond or one of his twin sons would suit me, but I rather like Kiredor as he based on my ancestors.

My name: WatcherWraith is...something I came up with after a long solo roleplay where I basically travelled many worlds and lands in my head. I was always very painfully aware it was only roleplay, so...I felt like a wraith, only half there. And a wraith, in the sense I was using it, can only watch. So...I combined the words and use it pretty much everywhere.

My avatar is my favorite fan art/concept art for Talion, the Ranger of the Black Gate from the video games Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War, which are perhaps my favorite video games of all time. Love everything about them.

My signature is what both Elendil and Aragorn said when they came into their own. Elendil, when he first set foot on the shores of what he knew would now and forever be his only home, and Aragorn when reclaiming his ancestors' lost legacy. If ever here was a world where I could set foot on the shores of the land, this is what I would also be thinking, though I doubt I would dare to say it aloud.

I am Tyelko and Tyelko means...me.

My story’s fairly straightforward.

For my forum name: The simple answer is, I am Fingon because my best friend is Maedhros.

The long answer began in January of last year, 2023. My best friend, @Maedhros_Nelyafinwë, had been telling me since Nov/Dec of 2022 about this new obsession of hers, of a red-haired, one-handed Elf named Maedhros from The Silmarillion and this awesome RP she was currently a part of on a great forum she found. I had heard of the book before, but never gotten around to reading it. She sent me the link to the RP, and as a lurking guest I read along, quickly coming to obsess over everything Finwian with her. While reading the RP, I met this delightful chap named Findekáno, who was a cousin of Maitimo’s and a true-blue friend in every sense of the word. I immediately fell in love with this character. Maedhros (my bestie) told me about how Findekáno was the one who rescued Maitimo from hanging off of a cliff for 30 years and had to cut off his hand to do so. This piqued my interest greatly, and I had to know more. So, I started reading The Silmarillion as a way to get to know all the characters and references better. I loved it!!

Maedhros and I go way back, being besties for nearly 12 years now. We share many of the same obsessions over fandoms and genres, and one of the things we love doing is role playing. As such, we have had many pairings of our favorite characters over the years: Anakin Skywalker and General Grievous from Star Wars; Christine Daaé and the Phantom from The Phantom of the Opera; Arthur and Merlin from the BBC show Merlin; even our own book characters coming together! It was only natural I gravitated towards a character who was close to her favorite here as well. Fingon, who was the best friend of Maedhros and stuck by his side through thick and thin? Yes, please!! Additionally, from what I’ve learned about Fingon’s character and who he is, I also connect with him greatly on a personal level, as we share many qualities. Of any character I’ve latched onto deeply before, I feel he is the closest to the way I am in real life.

Eventually, after lurking around here on the forum for a few months (though only entirely focused on reading the RP), I decided it was high time I actually joined TTF. Who would I be? Who else! There was no question at all of what my name would be. I am the best friend of Maedhros, and I always will be. ☺️

As for my avatar, I originally had a different picture in place for Fingon, and I really quite liked it. I would have had no designs for ever really changing it, except for the fact I discovered in my digging around on the forum- there was another user who happened to use the exact same picture as their avatar. It was from many years ago, and they don’t appear to be active on the forum anymore, but it was enough to cause some confusion when seeing my picture associated with a post and then realizing it wasn’t me. So, I decided to change my avatar. It took me a while to consider what would suit me next, but then my good friend here, @Glorfindel Goldtress, suggested I try the special Canva art she personally made for me. It fit nicely into the small spaces for the PFP and still looked good, so there it shall remain as my avatar. *Note: She also designed the image which is now currently my profile background as well. Thank you, mellon nín! 😊

Aww, what a great summary of our friendship, Finno! I'm so blessed to call you my bestie! ♥️💙

I guess mine is fairly simple - the Witch-king Of Angmar is my favorite LOTR character (I would LOVE to fly around on one of those fancy fell beasts, too!). He and I have some things in common, such as our love for black clothing and a tendency to prefer night over day. 😄 So, it seemed natural for me to choose him as my username and avatar here.

When I first joined, I went by the name Ariel which I came up with on the spot, not putting much thought behind it. I didn't exactly know the meaning of my own name at that time. "Ara" was on of the few words I knew the meaning of, which just happened to be meaning behind my nationality, noble. I had no favorite character back then and had no plan of spending as much time here as I do now and so I tried coming up with a username which was more personal.

A couple of months after, when I had just begun finding friends here, meeting some of the members of the amazing gang of TTF Youth and starting an RP with them, I decided I need a change to fit in better. And that was when I started getting to know the character of Aredhel Ar-Feiniel.
She was the coolest girl in the whole book, and not just because she was good with a bow. The thing which caught my interest was her selfless and forgiving heart. Later on, when I started writing as Celegorm or Tyelkormo in a private RP and now fanfiction with @Maedhros_Nelyafinwë , I started growing into his character as well, and one of the reasons I chose him as my new username was the fun sibling-like dynamic I had with her in the lighthearted RPs.
I might be Tyelkormo now, technically, but I'm still Aredhel to most of my friends here. @Glorfindel Goldtress being the genius nickname generator that she is, came up with a nickname which is a combination of my real name, Aredhel and Tyelkormo, so that everyone can be happy!😁( I was very hesitant about changing my username to Celegorm and I sometimes miss being just Aredhel, so the nickname helped a lot!)

And my avatar's just a hot dude.

Tyelkormo the Fair said:

was very hesitant about changing my username to Celegorm and I sometimes miss being just Aredhel, so the nickname helped a lot!

Click to expand...

Awww, I didn't know this! I'm so glad it helped you. 😊

Glorfindel Goldtress said:

Awww, I didn't know this! I'm so glad it helped you. 😊

Click to expand...

It's precious because it's from you!🥺

As for myself, I am Glorfindel because he is my favorite Tolkien character. Full disclosure: When I first read the LOTR books, I actually pretty much forgot about him because I watched the movies afterward so many times. (That Arwen! 😼)

It had been many years since I last read the books, and I didn't own them for some time, so it left my memories of the books from my one-time reading so long ago bereft.

When I did get back fully into the LOTR world, I will admit it partially came about through fanfiction. 1. Because they're usually shorter, and 2. It was an easier way to connect with some of my favorite works of all time. Either way, it was through some fanfiction authors' portrayals of Glorfindel which brought about my full remembrance of him, and I greatly admired his noble character. This also led to a regenerated interest in The Silmarillion, for it had also been years since my one-time read-through, and my remembrances of that novel were much fewer.

Then I got back into the beloved books, thanks to getting a set of The Hobbit and LOTR for my birthday. I read through them again, and I espied Glorfindel's entrance in the "Flight to the Ford" chapter, and I was awed by him completely. It was rather like having heard of a hero for some time, and at last truly meeting him for the first (I suppose second) time.

This is the long answer for why I am Glorfindel, and you can see my signature is the description of him from "Many Meetings", which I fell in love with him for (not romantically 🙄).

The Goldtress part of my name comes from the fact it's my favorite meaning of his name and, in my opinion, the most poetic.

And the avatar I prompted through AI with a very similar descriptIon to the books. It was and is so close to my mental image of Glorfindel it has become my staple of images for Glorfindel; hence, it is my avatar.

I have used this name and profile picture before, on a Twitter account.

The name 'Server Room Gremlin' was meant to suggest a weird creature that lurks around in dark rooms full of electronics and blinking lights. Possibly causing strange or inexplicable events to happen.
I didn't think about it too hard, but I suppose it matches me. I do like dim lighting and computers, and my life so far has been quite weird, with many events that were strange to me at least. (So much so that when 2020 came around, bringing everything it brought, I was not particularly shocked or unduly irritated, and just kinda got on with life...)

The profile picture is one of the elf soldiers in a drawing/sketch of the Battle of Unnumbered Tears (by Alan Lee). I just liked his face.

The title under my name, 'Crafty' is a reference to 'Curufin the Crafty'. In October last year, I became fascinated/intrigued by this character, and decided to start working on a fanfiction about him. A bit later, I also started participating in roleplays on this forum as him.

My wife is always called me the Muskrat because she says I just tried to wrestle around and avoid large dangerous creatures. Sort of like the hobbit of the rodent world. Maybe I should try to find a Muskrat avatar.

Lhunithiliel said:

What's the story behind your avatar and forum name?​

Click to expand...

My avatar is some AI artwork I found on Pinterest, and my forum name is that of my Middle-earth OC of one of Aragorn's and Arwen's daughters. I have a big fan-fic story of her that I will share here soon in The Red Book of Westmarch.

Name and Avatar totally unrelated to anything Tolkien.
Just have always liked astronomy and mythology (among many other interests).

Deimos... smaller of the two moons of Mars.
Mythological: Deimos was a henchman, along with Phobos, of Mars [Greek: Ares] the god of War.
Deimos (Greek) means dread, terror. Phobos (Greek) means fear (e.g., think acrophobia... fear of heights)
Wherever/whenever there is a war, fear and dread are also present.

And my Avatar?.... "Space is deep, Excellency." 😉

Deimos said:

Mythological: Deimos was a henchman, along with Phobos, of Mars [Greek: Ares] the god of War.

Click to expand...

I had always thought they were his sons with Aphrodite, or Venus, if we're going Roman. There's a lot of versions of the myths out there.

Ashley said:

I had always thought they were his sons with Aphrodite, or Venus, if we're going Roman. There's a lot of versions of the myths out there.

Click to expand...

You are correct...That is, your version is one of the accepted "origins" myths.
When I said they were Ares/Mars henchmen** I was describing their [mythological] roles as indicated by their very names.
I.e., they were warlike [war-related] attendants of Mars (their father, as noted in some myths)

Edit: had to do a little sleuthing but I found that an aptronym is a name for someone that describes the attributes of the person.
So Deimos and Phobos are aptronyms for Mars' two henchmen.
Similarly you could say (as is typical in mythology) certain traits or human behaviours have been "personified"

**henchman: a trusted follower; formerly a page or squire

Deimos said:

Name and Avatar totally unrelated to anything Tolkien.
Just have always liked astronomy and mythology (among many other interests).

Deimos... smaller of the two moons of Mars.
Mythological: Deimos was a henchman, along with Phobos, of Mars [Greek: Ares] the god of War.
Deimos (Greek) means dread, terror. Phobos (Greek) means fear (e.g., think acrophobia... fear of heights)
Wherever/whenever there is a war, fear and dread are also present.

And my Avatar?.... "Space is deep, Excellency." 😉

View attachment 40441

Click to expand...

I guess my answer doesn't really explain why I chose the [astronomical /mythological] name Deimos; only the origins of it.
Like, maybe why didn't I choose, for example, the name Luna?
(Oh yeah, right. Like I'm going to set myself up for all the comments about being a lunatic or loony. 🙄😉)
I guess I wanted something that was forbidding or frightening.
I have the same name on many other forums but the Avatar I use most often on the other sites is one or the other of these (both the same character) , which is quite scary if you know the myth behind it.

Lhunithiliel said:

The title of the thread tells it all.
And here's something more...
What has made you choose THIS avatar? How did you come to the idea of chosing this particular picture? What does it show/express...? And why do you change it from time to time (IF you do)?
And your TTF-name? How did you chose it? Does it have a meaning?
******
As for me, I, being "in love" with the misterious race of the Elves and the beauty of that mythical land Valinor, decided to combine them both. As for Valinor I think I have found a very good picture - misterious, beautiful and with the star of Earendil..., the seas...
As for the "elf" - part.... well I could not find anything else that could look "elvish"-ly enigmatic and I liked this photo of Liv...
Then Nom assembled the pictures (Thank you, Nom!) and here it is.

As for my forum name, I received it from the "Barrow-downs" site. There the "Name generator" gave it as the Beleriand Elvish for "a lonely eagle". I liked it so I accepted it.

**

Now, it's YOUR turn!

Click to expand...

My avatar has nothing to do with Tolkien’s lore. Kiredor was a fun character in one of my short stories, and the artwork is my painting of the front cover (or not, I haven’t decided yet) to my 1st novel ‘The Kings of Kaltis’ (still editing). The character, and main protagonist, is called Connarch Uradech; a Pictish warrior embroiled in murderous clan politics, royal incest, all the while fighting the Dal Riada (Irish), the Romans, his King - all over the love of a strange and mysterious girl from one of the lower clans; but his main fight is for his sanity and an uncontrollable demon that consumes him.