Tag: swampdiamonds

“crown shyness”, doriath

Had to think about this. There could be a good Dior and Nimloth fic with a bit of that King George VI and Queen Elizabeth vibe, in that Dior was the son of Princess Lúthien but it wasn’t like anyone was expecting Thingol to die and the crown of Doriath to pass to him. I’d argue if Dior even knew, as in truly understood, he was royalty during his childhood. Then he’s thrust into this role and Nimloth thrust into the position previously held by an actual goddess.

Alternatively, pun route with Galadriel ‘maiden crowned by radiance’ and we have a comedy about Celeborn quietly trying to court Galadriel in his own way and his friends and family either trying to help or hinder his efforts (and which is which doesn’t match the intentions)

swampdiamonds replied to your post : BTW – anyone who starts complaining about ‘why…

YES, god, “but why didn’t they just leeeaave” makes my blood boil.

YES. Someone says that and I want to smack them. 

Maybe because they don’t have transportation, or a relative/pets/business/something they can’t or feel they shouldn’t leave behind. (Those I know that stayed, it was because of that or because like me lived inland enough. Heck, the owner of the newborn calf Harvey- he runs a boarding kennel so he was staying- and shaking his head as so many people who were evacuating Corpus were leaving their animals at his facility) Maybe they don’t have the cash set aside to pay for an extended trip out of town. Or maybe, just maybe, they know how jam-packed crowded the evacuation routes out of town might be, especially if trying to leave the day of, with rain already coming down and the roads dangerous to drive on. And that with everyone trying to get out -regular Houston traffic is bad enough- just imagine everyone stuck in their cars as the floodwaters hit instead of their houses.

Maybe because they remembered that of the 113 who died in Texas because of Hurricane Rita, 107 were related to trying to evacuate the city (if you look specifics, most causes tied into the heat-wave before the hurricane hit).

swampdiamonds replied to your post:
Since I couldn’t do much else, in-between the…

I started watching and was on the fence about continuing, for similar reasons, but I couldn’t remember enough about the book plot to compare. So my main takeaway was “I ought to reread Anne of Green Gables”

That’s an excellent response 🙂

Very little of the dramatic plot events in the show happened in the book, aside from the getting drunk, Minnie May’s croup, and Gilbert being heart-eyes for Anne after she smashes a slate over his head- though she’s too busy trying to beat him academically to notice.

The 1985 movie is pretty good- takes some liberties, too. I was so excited with this new series because the casting was actual children and like the ‘85, it was filmed in PEI and showcased the period setting and beauty.

Ironically (not really if you know*), the most accurate retelling is ‘Akage no Anne’, a Japanese anime series from the 70s. It’s obviously dated animation, but made by the guys that would go on to found Studio Ghibli, which shows, and the backgrounds are gorgeous and it captures the slow-paced idyllic feeling.

*Anne of Green Gables is HUGE in Japan. In part because a translation was released right after WWII by a Japanese woman who worked to translate most 18th and 19th cen English classics, and promoted and encouraged by the Americans for young Japanese women to read; it’s taught in schools, then the 70s anime was played on repeat for at least ten years every morning, long-running touring musical, there’s a now-defunct theme park, and every time there’s a new Anne series (two years ago it was a series about the translator, Hanako to Anne, before that a animated movie ‘Before Green Gables’) tourism to PEI from Japan spikes, but every year there tends to be over 300,000. There were commemorative stamps for the anniversary of the book in Japan as well as Canada.

swampdiamonds replied to your post:
gdi I saw the memes when I was on my phone and…

oh man, turin bodyswap with ANYONE has so much comedy potential

I only want it as a crack fic because if I make fun of people in Túrin’s circumstances and keep it to black humor, it makes the tragedy bearable. But the sad thing is I’m firmly convinced swap most Noldor princes and quite a few others out with Túrin and they’s make a worse mess of that curse or accomplish less. And yet Túrin has the kinder heart and better morals, even with his ‘you tried but fucked it all up’ gold star and his temper, that he would be so much better for Beleriand than the terrible seven.

Angrod

  • 1-3 things I enjoy about them

He is easy to write and works wonderfully for me as a POV.

Arfinwion Exilic Noldor. Most tolerable form of the breed.

See answer below for favorite quote- but short version: he redeems (not completely but at least makes an effort towards re-balancing) the incredibly vile moral debt that the Noldor as a whole have incurred to Sindar. Not at first, and reacting out of defensive brotherly feelings for Finrod and tired of being belittled and undermined and then grouped with people who have murdered or tried to murder members of his family. But he does. He has the most moral high ground and integrity of any of the Exiles.

He never looses sight that his reason for being in Beleriand is to fight Morgoth. Not the gems, not empire building, not attacking non-Morgoth allied groups.

He supports and listens to Fingolfin, is one of the few that are actively supporting FIngolfin’s desires as High King of the Noldor in Beleriand and therefore giving validation and political weight to that title. Because if the fellow princes do not, that leadership title is meaningless – feudal ties are a two-way mutual support and if the lower end of the hierarchy does not buy into the social contract, there is no organized society. Angrod and Aegnor’s loss after the Bragollach is what destroys the High Kingship as anything but lip-service, though it is the loss of Finrod the Diplomat and C&C destroying any trust and moral standing among allies that is the final death knell.  

  • Something interesting about them based on tenuous circumstantial evidence

His grandfather was Olwë – he must have had a great deal of familiarity with Alqualondë, with sailing and the ocean and ‘Iron Grip’ conjures images of him holding firmly onto lines for the sails or the steering rudders. 

  • A question I have about them

Orodreth is older brother or son? Because I flip-flop on this question constantly. Also, did the name Iron-grip mean Tolkien wanted any Noldor smithing traits assigned to Angrod or was this solely a martial epithet? What was his thoughts on the whole Aegnor/Andreth situation?

  • A random relevant line I like

Then Angrod spoke bitterly against the sons of Fëanor, telling of the blood at Alqualondë, and the Doom of Mandos, and the burning of the ships at Losgar. And he cried: ‘Wherefore should we that endured the Grinding Ice bear the name of kinslayers and traitors?’

Truth! Maybe it’s the years of reading Wheel of Time, but look, common decency and telling your allies crutial info.

Look, you want to know the direct comparison to the Noldor coming into Beleriand and lying to Thingol’s face and his people about murdering Thingol’s people and kin, if only by omission? It would be exactly if the Valar, upon paroling Morgoth, had not informed any of the Elves that this is Morgoth and he had been responsible for the capture and torture of elves in Cuiviénen, that because they think he’s repentant now (and without imprisoning Morgoth in Mandos for as long as they did or at all) the Ainur will stay silent about his crimes, his history of rebellion, in fact will lie and imply or say that Morgoth has always obeyed Eru. In fact it would be as if Morgoth showed up to that party after murdering Finwë and losing the Silmarils to Ungoliant and because now he wants to go after that spider in revenge he’s totally on Manwë’s side and no one says anything to Fëanor or Fingolfin or the rest of the Noldor. The lack of fandom outrage on behalf of the Sindar for the Kinslaying is gross.

  • My preferred version, if there is more than one version of their story (or part of their story)

Aside from my headcanon version?

Published Silm version. Ignore any version that has them joining the Fëanorians on the ships or a friendship that survives that moment (With the rest of their characterization)

  • Favorite relationship(s)

He lived among the Bëorians for several generations, had a working early-feudal style relationship (which are deeply personal bonds), died beside and for them. 

And Aegnor.

And Edhellos. (Question yet again- Eldalotë has a Sindarin name because she went into Exile or is this a Arfinwë=Finarfin thing?)

  • How would they react to Tom Bombadil

No clue.

  • Optional: Something about them that I think people forget

See moral high-ground. Trumps even Finrod in that respect.

1, 4, 11, 21 (&/or any that you particularly wanted to answer)

I’ll stay with the Silmarillion fanfic for all of these

1) is there a story you’re holding off on writing for some reason?

The Ingwë swaps with Elwë AU because I haven’t introduced Ravennë in Of Ingwë Ingweron yet. The Great Fever of Dorthonion 432 because I hate the ages in canon for the Bëorians but I want canon timeline framework. Of the Beren’s Band of the Red Hand, I know Aglar/Alcar’s is going to be a bitch to get through (AU Robb Stark) because there’s a lot of family plot to set up, plus his focus would heavily feature the Fëanorians and the First Kin-slaying but from the Noldor perspective and the story-line does not think remotely kind of them (Fëanor using the cover of battle to kill ‘Ned Stark’ as to remove a voice of dissent) – there’s a shit-storm heading my way when I write that one.

4) favorite character you’ve written

Of the OCs, Faron because I’ve spent so much time in his head and I have a good handle on his wants, history, inner voice – he has my snark but isn’t too obnoxious about it and it still fits him as the Theon Greyjoy expy. And I get to play with horror and world-building but also fluff and sweetness.

11) what aspect of your writing do you think has most improved since you started writing?

I’ve posted old original fic about, some will stay hidden. It’s hard for me to judge what my strengths as a writer are. I know I’m more confident with the concept of writing fanfic. I think I’ve gotten stronger with sentence structure. Dialogue I think. (I’ve never been afraid of writing it; I’m not sure if I’m good at it. Sometimes I think there’s a unnatural stilted-ness but at least I no longer phonetically awkwardly write dialect) Less glaring substitutions in of non-English terms.

21) what do you think when you read over your older work?

Typo, typo, this sentence was awkwardly written/flows wrong. Nah for the most part I love to re-read my work and most of the time am happy with it. Some of them I think are really good. 

And for Author’s Choices – I’ll pick two but I’d love to answer more (hint hint other followers):

24) have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?

Not expert, but the time I spent on Wikipedia and other sites looking up things like plant and animal species, basic pottery glazing, etc… should be obvious.

3) what order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

Usually I start with the opening paragraphs, then skip to climatic or favorite scenes if a longer piece. Usually I won’t have the very last scene written, but the penultimate, and then a lot of time spent trying to connect them.

swampdiamonds replied to your photoset:Some pictures from the Goliad field trip, taken…

wow, how pretty! (also lol at the angel’s extra toe)

Thanks! it was a nice day, if slightly hot and too many mosquitoes (and y’all know what I consider hot is several degrees higher than many). The presidio chapel (Our Lady of Laredo /La Bahía or something I can’t remember) is still in regular use, but the mission chapel is a reconstruction built during the Great Depression. Fresco was painted I don’t ‘member when, much later than the original construction I know. The altar statute is the original though, and supposedly originally recovered/taken from La Salle’s doomed fort. Still, both are run as museums about the Native American tribes that lived in this region and the mission life, the Spanish colonization, Mexican and Texas Revolutions, quite a bit about ranching – this region around Victoria, TX is where the whole vaquero ranching system that you see in all those Westerns started, as the converted natives tended the huge cattle and horse herds, and thus there’s this where the re-enactor talks about it and shows off the various tools and weapons – kids tend to like this part the best 😉 

And ya’know. Battle of Coleto Creek and Goliad Massacre. 

pic under the cut, i know you can barely see the guy, sorry…

fall, bake, leaf

Pieces of brown hair framed her face, and as she turned her head to look at the shattered pots and flowers he had crushed in his fall, he could see the caul of silver mesh studded with seed pearls capping her hair and one long plait braided down her back.

Sure, the craftsman’s prattle was continuous and full of information that Elwê could not decipher, and it made no difference to him where the other had found the clay he was molding or how thin to make the coils or just what wood shavings were best to line the fire pit to bake the vessels.

Not that they were dark and leafless, but the very shape was subtly wrong, until one saw that the branches were roots, and it was as if the trees had been flipped, trunks going into the black earth of death’s gate and the tapering forking roots reached out into the colorless gray sky and shadow moon.