Fanfics and fandom
Apr. 14th, 2004 12:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
misscamHmm, what the heck is all this noise about the Mithril awards? Or don't I want to know? I was nominated last year for OFUM , but I think the whole thing was in the middle of my exam period and I didn't really detect any misgivings about the award last year. But then I am easily distracted. Not sure if this is a good thing or not...
Fanfic awards can be an invitation to disagreements, that's for sure. Then again, so can everything in fandom. I learned that the hard way. It pains me to think of some of the stuff I did during my stay in the Voyager fandom. Took me a while to even figure out what I did wrong. But like all painful lessons, it was very educating.
My second fandom was much more quiet and small, and I made some very good friends and improved heaps in the fanfic department. But even there some fighting happened, although not involving me this time.
And my present fandom (which is LotR, of course. Duh) - well, let's just say it has been somewhat of an inspiration for OFUM-Sauron&Morgoth. I tend to stay the heck out of the fights if I can, and I hope I'm generally a pleasant kind of person in this fandom. If I behave like an arse, feel free to hit me with a fish.
Aaaaaanyway...
Autumn was in the wind lashing through Eryn Lasgalen, the air with it cold and misty of the mountain. Another season to come, another season to come. Change. Change in Eryn Lasgalen that had once been Mirkwood. A new name with the end of the Shadow for the great forest. And King Thranduil of Eryn Lasgalen felt as it was as if the new name had made it more beautiful still, the colours clearer, the air crisper, the trees taller. What had been burned was slowly growing back, black ashes replaced by green moss.
He stood high on a hill with the forest laid out before him, feeling the sun on his face and the wind whipping at his hair. Winter’s cold would not come for a while yet, but the warm embrace of summer had passed. Change now reigned.
And Thranduil knew his time in Middle-earth was coming to an end. He could feel it in the wind, in the grass beneath his feet, in the sky high above. It felt almost as if he was haunting his own kingdom now, not quite here, not quite gone. The West was calling now.
But Legolas might still linger, Legolas who would soon return to him.
He lifted his eyes to the south, distant mountains glinting to the southeast, a faint mist clinging to their tops. It had been a good home, even when darkness and shadow had lain upon it. And it had undoubtedly been his, his kingdom who had stood firm against the Shadow of Sauron, his army who had fought ever on, his son who had been one of the Nine, his, his, his…
The joy of what he had managed still sung on his blood, but weariness had crept upon him. Taur-nu-Fuin was no more. Eryn Lasgalen was now, but he would not linger long to behold it. He would go West soon, see again Nimorn and her skin whiter than snow, but eyes darker than the nightsky…
The wind hummed and turned southwest, growing in strength, forcing the trees to yield and bow. And distantly, Thranduil could see the borders of his land, trees gleaming and waiting. And further yet, a small party approaching the forest. His heart knew who it was as the trees did. Legolas. Legolas had come.
But as he stood high in the wind, rejoicing over the fall of the dark shadow of Mordor, King Thranduil could not see the shadow of light that had fallen on his son.
I'm not sure about Nimorn as a name for Legolas's mum - it means 'white tree', so it has a forest feel to it, but finding the right name is hard sometimes. You feel like you'll know it when you find it, but it's hard when you're still pondering how to write that character. Most tricky.
My reason for posting this is that I'd love some comments on my little Thranduil-POV. I'm always unsure when I do a POV that's new for me, as it can take a while to get a feel for a character. And Thranduil is somewhat a sketchy charcter, appearing in The Hobbit of course, but that has a very different tone to what I'm writing so I have adapt Thranduil some (I promise I won't hurt him too much in the process). I'm having slight troubles with this Thranduil given that I'm also in the middle of writing OFUM-Thranduil sneaking about in our world. He's being decidedly naughty, which makes my own brain want to write Legolas and Gimli doing naughty things.
*Bad* brain!
Fanfic awards can be an invitation to disagreements, that's for sure. Then again, so can everything in fandom. I learned that the hard way. It pains me to think of some of the stuff I did during my stay in the Voyager fandom. Took me a while to even figure out what I did wrong. But like all painful lessons, it was very educating.
My second fandom was much more quiet and small, and I made some very good friends and improved heaps in the fanfic department. But even there some fighting happened, although not involving me this time.
And my present fandom (which is LotR, of course. Duh) - well, let's just say it has been somewhat of an inspiration for OFUM-Sauron&Morgoth. I tend to stay the heck out of the fights if I can, and I hope I'm generally a pleasant kind of person in this fandom. If I behave like an arse, feel free to hit me with a fish.
Aaaaaanyway...
Autumn was in the wind lashing through Eryn Lasgalen, the air with it cold and misty of the mountain. Another season to come, another season to come. Change. Change in Eryn Lasgalen that had once been Mirkwood. A new name with the end of the Shadow for the great forest. And King Thranduil of Eryn Lasgalen felt as it was as if the new name had made it more beautiful still, the colours clearer, the air crisper, the trees taller. What had been burned was slowly growing back, black ashes replaced by green moss.
He stood high on a hill with the forest laid out before him, feeling the sun on his face and the wind whipping at his hair. Winter’s cold would not come for a while yet, but the warm embrace of summer had passed. Change now reigned.
And Thranduil knew his time in Middle-earth was coming to an end. He could feel it in the wind, in the grass beneath his feet, in the sky high above. It felt almost as if he was haunting his own kingdom now, not quite here, not quite gone. The West was calling now.
But Legolas might still linger, Legolas who would soon return to him.
He lifted his eyes to the south, distant mountains glinting to the southeast, a faint mist clinging to their tops. It had been a good home, even when darkness and shadow had lain upon it. And it had undoubtedly been his, his kingdom who had stood firm against the Shadow of Sauron, his army who had fought ever on, his son who had been one of the Nine, his, his, his…
The joy of what he had managed still sung on his blood, but weariness had crept upon him. Taur-nu-Fuin was no more. Eryn Lasgalen was now, but he would not linger long to behold it. He would go West soon, see again Nimorn and her skin whiter than snow, but eyes darker than the nightsky…
The wind hummed and turned southwest, growing in strength, forcing the trees to yield and bow. And distantly, Thranduil could see the borders of his land, trees gleaming and waiting. And further yet, a small party approaching the forest. His heart knew who it was as the trees did. Legolas. Legolas had come.
But as he stood high in the wind, rejoicing over the fall of the dark shadow of Mordor, King Thranduil could not see the shadow of light that had fallen on his son.
I'm not sure about Nimorn as a name for Legolas's mum - it means 'white tree', so it has a forest feel to it, but finding the right name is hard sometimes. You feel like you'll know it when you find it, but it's hard when you're still pondering how to write that character. Most tricky.
My reason for posting this is that I'd love some comments on my little Thranduil-POV. I'm always unsure when I do a POV that's new for me, as it can take a while to get a feel for a character. And Thranduil is somewhat a sketchy charcter, appearing in The Hobbit of course, but that has a very different tone to what I'm writing so I have adapt Thranduil some (I promise I won't hurt him too much in the process). I'm having slight troubles with this Thranduil given that I'm also in the middle of writing OFUM-Thranduil sneaking about in our world. He's being decidedly naughty, which makes my own brain want to write Legolas and Gimli doing naughty things.
*Bad* brain!
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no subject
Date: 2004-04-14 07:45 am (UTC)Great snippet thing though.
no subject
Date: 2004-04-15 03:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-14 08:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-15 03:05 am (UTC)And practice does add to one's writing skill. As does a bit of age.
no subject
Date: 2004-04-14 10:42 am (UTC)King Thranduil could not see the shadow of light that had fallen on his son. This sentence confuses me however. I'm trying to picture Legolas' emotional state and I can't tell if he's happy or sad. Shadow would indcate that he's not happy with coming back and that he's feeling the sea longing. Reminds me of Galadriel's comment that about how under trees he'd no longer find comfort. But if it's light then well that's a good thing. But the fact that you use shadow seems to indicate a bad thing...
Am I making any sense?
no subject
Date: 2004-04-15 03:16 am (UTC)Actually, you seem to have picked up on what I intended with the sentence. Legolas is feeling both sadness and joy, as the narrative revealed in previous Nocturne chapters. He doesn't know what his father will say, but he thinks that what he has to say will bring his father grief. On the other hand, Legolas is in love at this point. The sentence is meant to be a bit of vague forshadowing which will be addressed later - Legolas will grief his father and cast a shadow over Mirkwood - but it is not an evil thing Legolas have committed himself to. So I felt attracted to the phrase 'shadow of light' because it gives the kind of associations you picked up on.
That make sense?
no subject
Date: 2004-04-14 03:37 pm (UTC)On a completely non-related note, I e-mailed you about adopting a mini ages ago, and just happened to check the list today and see my name next to one. Does this mean that Evlish is mine? *excited quiver* (Oh stop laughing. I need things like this confirmed. Some weird personality trait.)
no subject
Date: 2004-04-15 03:18 am (UTC)I suppose it's possible your e-mail sorts out attachments or something so you didn't get my e-mail - was Evlish the one you asked for in the first place?
no subject
Date: 2004-04-15 03:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-04-14 09:00 pm (UTC)I think it's because they said the judging process would be one thing, then changed mid-judging. Also, stories that should not have been eligible for certain categories mysteriously got a leg up when the judges just happened to be the authors' very close friends...
And the Thranduil POV is poifect. I can't really think of anything you could do to improve it.
no subject
Date: 2004-04-15 03:26 am (UTC)And of course I was worried my name someone was dragged into it given that I was short-listed.
Thanks:) But anything can be improved. That's the beauty of writing. It's never really finished.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-01 01:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-02 04:55 am (UTC)Well, I'll readily admit I'm often inclined to always assume the worst in many, many cases, but I'm not sure if you were referring to me.
Nothing like a good grudge to get in the way of rational thinking, eh?
Oh no no
Date: 2004-05-03 02:42 pm (UTC)Re: Oh no no
Date: 2004-05-04 04:00 am (UTC)I hope they weren't slamming on you in any way though - I rather liked your winning story (in a creepy sort of way).
Muahhahaha
Date: 2004-04-19 07:57 am (UTC)I would, however, like to know what Thranduil and Lina would do if they found out what Miss Cam had been writing >:D . . .
Re: Muahhahaha
Date: 2004-04-19 02:08 pm (UTC)Good idea, buttercup87.
Re: Muahhahaha
Date: 2004-04-20 02:01 am (UTC)