💬 💬 💬 !

Haha! Someone wants to be encouraging! 😀 Well, this is supposed to be all about bragging, so let’s get to it. And I’m going to make myself look at my recent works and pick a quote from each.

“We are surrounded by strangers wearing our loved ones’ faces,” Faelindis said. “What a strange torment.”
(Release from Bondage- Chapter 10, cheating here as this was one of the first lines I wrote from this chapter more than a year before I finished it)

She runs a hand over his brow, pushing aside the almost iridescent golden hair. “Tirion is full of sour, quarrelsome people who make you unhappy to be around. It is better for you in Alqualondë. You should stay here. You are beautiful here.”
(I’d cheat and link all of Pearl because it’s so short, but here’s the part I consider the best)

And from Soldier:

Aereth leaned over to look down the hallway, then back to Bân. “I will have someone teach me the new word shapes, and I shall write to you until you have leave to visit the city once more. Write back to me; I have friends among the Green Elves that chose to stay inside the Girdle’s safety, and they have friends among the March-wardens. Address letters to me and I to you. They shall ensure the letters are received. Speak honest words, hide no shameful secrets. I would have the respect of your honesty instead of pleasant friendship built on falsehood.” Bân made as to start a protest to her words, but Aereth frowned and rose her dirt-stained hands in a blocking gesture. “I desire to believe you, and believe no foulness rests under your fair seeming. I,” her voice faltered. “Write to me, Bân.”

He wanted to see the sky. Somehow, he knew if he could look up at the sky, even if it was dark, even if it was raining, he could see her.

A stack of sigils from the Silmarillion; a sprig from a small white flower that looks like little cups on a thin stem; a Batfam family portrait; the sound of the ocean; a red hand

the magic circle fizzes,

a bright glow from the images-

especially the red hand calling out in color as the saturation brightens-

but the flower shrivels.

the smell of salt intensifies,

a mutter on the wind

“y’all honestly engage girdle time i really don’t like~”

boromir vs turin

Oh, gut feeling for a fight? I want to say Túrin, but feel I might be selling Boromir short, and okay Boromir is the prince-in-all-but-name, a general and fighter focused on that, of a kingdom that is on its long decline and basically founded as a post-apocalyptic kingdom whereas Túrin has a magic sword and some nice armor and periodically goes between homeless outlaw and full-supported with gear and support elven prince-in-all-but-mortality-status, and for all the glory of the First Age setting, it is in the past and there is technological and straight knowledge advances in Tolkien’s universe, if muted by that post-apoc slow decline underlying narrative thread. And I compare what are their fighting experiences, orcs versus orcs, their armor and weaponry, living their entire lives during a state of war…

But I look narratively, the curse and all, Túrin is going to kill Boromir if the two have the sort of misunderstanding that leads to them fighting. Boromir is the sacrificial lion, the good friend and ally that fails to save Túrin and himself from the Doom. That’s their respective roles in stories. Boromir’s passing will be mourned and regretted, and Gurthang will sing of Boromir the Bold to twist the knife when Túrin under a new false name runs into Faramir and Denethor for that dramatic irony. It all fits.

🔥 all five of Finwë’s children

Fëanor is a would-be fascist, certainly isn’t a champion of free-will (a control freak who mistrusts, betrays, and murders anyone would disagrees – or just doesn’t give sole loyalty to him- is not a champion of free thought), is not a good father, and is all-around loathsome. What little sympathy I had for his character shriveled a long time ago. His Tirion speech makes my soul shudder and that the ‘deeds worthy of song’ speech, while pretty out-of-context, has as its context the statement that he feels absolutely no shame or guilt for attacking and stealing from innocent non-violent neighbors and allies and will brag about the infamy of it – that makes the quote absolutely vile.

~~unpopular opinion meme time, i am not pulling my punches~~

Findis is more interesting and easier to write than some of her siblings, at least for me. I have very clear ideas of her personality and what she does in Valinor. She had to face the ugliness of her half-sibling and doubts about the legitimacy of her parents’ marriage and her very existence on her own until Fingolfin’s birth.

Fingolfin’s fruitless attempts to try and win his half-brother’s tolerance, while laudable for trying to be the decent man and understandable because of the imperfections of family and heart, still were a waste. The Flight of the Noldor was wrong, there was never the formal atonement and gesture of apology, I cannot divorce him and the Noldor from the imperialistic grossness. Still he accomplished far more than Fëanor ever could against Morgoth and didn’t lose sight that the goal was to fight and try to injure and inconvenience a God of Evil.

Lalwen was one of Fingon’s only other friends, the family member who stood by him, shared her hobbies with him, was placed by Fingolfin as Fingon’s adviser and regent following his death, and Fingon rebelled against having to defer authority and kingship to his aunt and sent her away.

Finarfin was politically savvy. He wasn’t a coward. The act of admitting his was wrong and turning back was astronomically braver and showed the moral strength and sort of attractive personal qualities that no duel or fancy words with disgusting subtext can come close to. He was closer to his brothers-in-laws.

Indis and her children >>>>>>>>>>>> Finwë > Fëanor

Top 5 songs u associate with a character

You know some of these, but …there are certain songs that the second I hear them I think of characters or exact scenarios with said characters, even if the tie is nebulous. Majority of these are original characters, or expies off canon characters. You want the honest response to this question? Get ready for the original fiction characters:

“Sometime around Midnight” The Airbourne Toxic Event. This is Boy Named Earthquake/that haunted cat story down to its bones. This is one character, once troubadour of doomed city, reborn and singing about the love square that once was and still is to the other three, to the outsider prince now mountain god/cat carrying a ghost who desired the princess (who he killed when sacking their city) and how he was pined after by the dancer who is now a witch/war goddess, how he now for centuries has returned but can’t return the dancer’s affection, and the singer himself who loved the dancer, himself desired by the princess. Bolero Effect into Angst and Longing~
“Willow Tree March” The Paper Kites. Okay this is Over the Garden Wall, in particular Wirt. Blame an AMV.
I started listening to Florence the Machine’s new album during the full descent into Batfam feels. “What Kind of Man” is Bruce/Selina BatCat Shipping Feels. Which Witch, btw, is that AU where Jason comes to Gotham a bit early to arrange that Stephanie Brown, here her death not yet reconned away, be dunked in a Lazarus Pit, and crawls out of it angry that ‘he killed her. he let her die’ (is this referring to two separate characters? You decide!) and Jason is getting his revenge as Red Hood for both of them. Under the Hood arc goes basically as in canon, except Jason makes sure to kill Black Mask, and a scene in this AU is Jason telling Steph after it’s over how Bruce wouldn’t kill the Joker, but he killed Black Mask for her and yeah this is the anti-villain power couple AU of my heart. In said AU they also end up escaping the League with either Damian or one of his cloned brothers and becomes a fluffy domestic fic i’ll never write. You’d think this all means I can borrow the song emotions for the Under the Red Hood AU that I can feel comfortable writing if I make them fit in the story universe of Rose Red, but no~
Florence + Machine– “Cosmic Love” is Beren/Lúthien. “Heavy in Your Arms” is Theon/Jeyne.
Woodkid- “Iron” and “Run Boy Iron” are two very different moments in Rose Red having to do the with secondary ‘sad squire dog’ mentor character. Urwin, deposed priest-in-training, is taken in by Tovias, the bastard son of a noble family with super powers, magic sword, blood connections to important hero and the monster he defeated. Though sent away, Urwin returns to fight alongside Tovias (my faithful dog), Tovias dies. That’s the prequelly bit. Towards the very end of the climatic ending battle, Tovias’s ghost basically kicks Urwin awake/out of death, carries him until Urwin finds his feet and begins to run again to go save the world.

top 5 anime (I know Kenshin and Princess Tutu are gonna make it but WHO ELSE) actually, let’s change this up a bit – top 5 anime for story and top 5 anime for art

I don’t watch or read manga and anime like I used to, so I have to try and remember. This will prove how dated I am…

First of all, Fullmetal Alchemist (manga or Brotherhood anime) for plot, use of characters, the art having a distinctive good style but that plot was better crafted than most books I read especially in how it used characters and kept them important.

Even if the post-Christmas Bowl arc wasn’t worth reading for me, and the anime version was low-budget bad but charming in its terribleness, Eyeshield 21. Very memorable characters, great moments for a sports anime, likable and endearing and soo very funny, it made me learn and care about football, which twenty years living in the state of Texas could not. Underdog team will lose as often as it wins via miracles. The manga art is phenomenal.

Read CLAMP for the art – for the cover art- not for plot.

Vinland Saga. Art, plot, philosophical musings, historical pretty accurate Viking Age, punch a horse, most incredibly epic and long prologue to an intense farming story ever. (makes sense in context)

Fruits Basket is an anime I enjoy for nostalgia and it’s sweet and funny and cute and underlying darkness without too heavy for what’s basically a reverse-harem anime setup.

Ouran Host Club however is a hilarious spoof on the genre and not bad as live-action.

Cowboy Bebop is the one you’re supposed to rec, but Samurai Champloo is the one I’ve seen all of. Animated fights, the style choice to do the playfully stylistic anachronistic, the story when mysteries revealed.

For the long-runners, I’ve only watched a bit of One Piece, art style isn’t my thing, Naruto when read together has some great moments and every once and a while the anime ups their game. Bleach…Kubo Tite is a great fashion designer, not great and keeping a plot from going kudzu, and the fandom jokes about the anime and manga were the best part.

Trigun. the anime, the overall plot wasn’t perfect, but it made me cry, I loved the four main protagonists, scary villains.

Ghibli Films I love Spirited Away, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Princess Mononoke.

I’m just gonna ask a bunch of these since your tags said you were bored, feel free to ignore any/all of them lol. okay, top 5 Edain

~~already said Andreth~~

Beren
Bëor the Old
Tuor
Morwen or Rían
…omg the me of several years ago doesn’t believe this but Túrin.

Now mortal OCs, the list goes:

Kreka
Bledda
Bortë
Boromir (he isn’t an OC but let’s be honest)

And honorable mentions to Haleth, Roas, Barahir and Emeldir, Lalaith, Bandir the Lame….

Top 5 movies with great costumes!

Oooh, this is hard off the top of my head, but I’ll give it a go:

Hero. Use of color in general in that movie but costuming was a big part of that.
Marie Antoinette. I didn’t honestly like it, but it had such fun and lovely Rococo fashion (with a twist on accuracy to get the vibe across). Elizabeth: The Golden Age same thing but replace 1500s for 1700s. Even more stylized version of Tudor/Elizabethean, but to convey the mode and impact and this is why I image Noldor elves the way I do.
The SW Prequel Trilogy – and no, not just for the wardrobe of Amidala and her handmaids. The Fifth Element, however, for sheer fun and wacky mixed SF fashions, looking a good mix of not-dated zeerust, plausible future trends, but also yeah no not plausible we are in the realm of SF/Fantasy so enjoy it.
Man of Steel I love the Kryptonian costumes, this alien but from organic shapes with so much intricate detail and bulky yet delicate almost fragile cage-things. SF whee! and then on earth the plain-clothes, then Lois is introduced in a bulky parka, Clark is shirtless in tattered jeans thank you with a wandering the earth scruff, how cleaned up and bright and iconic the superman costume while clear that this is what comes from that Krypton when it was or could be brighter and way less fossilized.
Okay I’m been cheating. But one more. Rurouni Kenshin. So accurate at times to the original manga but also doing a better job fitting the period and making looks work for live action big screen. Kanryuu’s platform shoes. Kenshin receiving the iconic red gi from Kaoru. Giving Megumi Heian-style noblewoman eyebrows. The police uniforms. Meiji Era’s blend of kimonos and imported Western clothing. The various textures, designs, level of wealth shown by clothes, kaoru’s white and brown kendo look and then her pale kimonos, the badguy costumes… I love it all. Sequel films also good- Aoshi’s iconic white coat so battleworn and stained and the sleeveless look underneath – thank-you. Yumi’s outfits, especially the white lace one. Misao in pale lavender, ho Shishio’s look was enhanced and the gold lining the brocade and how realistically burnt his skin looked.

top 5 female characters and top 5 elves from anything. anything at all.

Elves, while I’ve read more than enough fantasy as to encounter hundreds, there’s a reason this is a Silm blog, so my top 5 elves?

Finrod Felagund – actual noble king, loves humans and other mortals with every fiber of his immortal body and respects them, wishes to learn from them as much as share his own vast knowledge and prosperity, has a great death, his major flaw is treating people with more faith than they deserve.
Ingwë Ingweron. So okay my head-canons count for a lot of this, but begin with this: the head elf of a species of incredible bad-ass assholes and leading his people to successfully defeat a big bad and to have almost un-interrupted lives of peace and prosperity and having never in the history of the world committed atrocities and terrible acts towards peaceful fellow sentient beings. That so little is known about him precisely because he didn’t leave the world worse off in some way, only ever better. If one is to have an archetypal Good Elf King, he is it.
Lúthien Tinúviel. cheating on the elf here, add her to the other list. Action heroine without being one that does traditional fighting. Who uses singing and dancing and willpower and guile while staying a good person. Who is so very feminine coded but also undisputed the most powerful and successful hero in this book about epic heroes. Who loves this traumatized scruffy interloper, demands to be with him, argues with him when he tries to patronize, stands ups up to her powerful royal parents but is able to have some reconciliation and then still be independent of them.
Elu Thingol- you’re an ass but also a good king -or at least trying to be, who tries to protect his people and tries to protect their culture from being erased or subsumed, who has many flaws but for the most part is also self-aware of things like his temper and tries to make amends. (That is a rare and attractive trait). That he works as hero in some parts of the book (romantic one at that) and also the minor antagonist, and has a very Greek tragedy ending. He feels exactly like a main character of myth and epic while also being the ‘elven king’ on which all others are based. And fun to write.
Círdan and Olwë tied for the novelty of sea/ship elf. Which you don’t see mariner elves in fantasy as much as you do in Tolkien, shame. Olwë for dropping truth bombs and being like Ingwë, Círdan for friend and ally award of every age and being the weary seen it all will be here to the end.

Okay, for five favorite female characters (and I won’t call this a top five list because like any time I’m asked to definitively rank I can’t) from fantasies I re-read or thought about recently:

Already mentioned Lúthien, so putting Andreth here instead
Catelyn Stark
Sabriel
Shallan
Granny Weatherwax

First sentence: “Míriel took a step up the mountain.” (either míriel, any mountain!)

Metaphorically, of course, but the task was daunting, not in its difficulty but in the magnitude. The reports of the war effort against the Enemy, this final assault against Morgoth, the joint efforts of Valar, Eldar, and mortal men to defeat and capture the enemy of the world, could have stacked to make a small hill at least. This is, if the data had a physical form. That was her job, to give the history a tangible form -and if she chose tapestries as the vehicle of expression, well that was her prerogative. Much like mountain climbing, standing at the peak was the most exciting part, and she wished she could leap to the end, focus on Earendil’s slaying of Ancalagon and Morgoth dragged off his throne.