@spring-into-arda (308 words)
My first thought on seeing that one of the prompts this time was the song "Ashes" by the Longest Johns was that this was a great prompt for Elrond and Numenor; the talk about worshipping the ashes really seems to fit with later stage Numenor and tending to the flame of life and hope is a very Elrond thing.
(Okay, my very first thought when I saw that one of the prompts was a song link was an irrational certainty that it was a Rick Roll. Tumblr has made me paranoid.)
. . .
It was a hard thing to visit Numenor now. He had seen it when it was green and golden; to see it slowly crumble into ash was a hard thing.
It was elves who were supposed to be most tempted by memory and its traces of old glories; to see Men so enthralled by their own past, their own dead, felt unnatural. Elrond had known these faces when the lifeblood was still bright in their cheeks. He did not mind seeing them captured in stone, but to see more care expended on these remnants than on the ever fewer children whose voices echoed down the cold streets - it disturbed him.
There was not much he could do. The kings of Numenor did not like an elf telling them their business.
Even if the one doing so was, even now, not quite an elf.
There had been a time -
But he turned his mind firmly from memory. He could do no good there.
He could do some good here in the poorest quarter of the city in the market corner where a host of anxious mothers with infants who had caught the fever plaguing the city had gathered because they had heard he could help.
It was a good reminder that there was still some new life in the city.
“Hello, little one,” he said softly to the first squalling little one that was placed in his arms. “Let me see what is amiss. Should you like to hear a song while I do?”
It was an old song, good for soothing fevers and children alike.
He had sung it long ago to some who were now immortalized in ever more elaborate stone. He could lose himself in grief for that if he let himself.
He could.
He would not, so long as there were more children to tend.
someone on twitter is trying to claim that use of an em-dash is an indication of AI-generated writing because it’s “relatively rare” for actual humans to use it. skill issue
I'm being stupid again...
I previously had a Coulson thought the other day, but couldn't remember where he grew up, so I googled it, right? Then I did some v v light research about the area, and uh....
You've gotta be joking me...
more fun exchanges
Maedhros: And who are you to claim high kingship of the Noldor? Gil-galad "Son of Plothole" Ereinion: Wouldn't you like to know, weatherboy
Fingon is the archetypical hero. He does great deeds of valor and daring, notably Maedhros’ rescue and rushing out to defeat Glaurung. He is not terribly afraid of consequences, which is wonderful when he is the only one he’s responsible for. His talent is forging ahead and inspiring everyone to follow him.
Fingolfin is the archetypical king. He is the one that holds his people together across the Helcaraxë and brokers peace with Maedhros after he’s rescued. He’s incredibly aware of every possible consequence, which is wonderful when he’s responsible for a whole kingdom. His talent is uniting everyone and inspiring them to move forward together.
When Fingolfin dies, he acts as the hero, not the king. He tries to borrow his son’s talent for incredibly inadvisable stunts, but it isn’t in his nature. He believes the Noldor are doomed, and thus dies in despair fighting Morgoth because he does not see another path forward, only defeat.
When Fingon dies, he acts as the king, not the hero. He tries to borrow his father’s talent for forging political unity, but it isn’t in his nature. The Nirnaeth’s forces are disunited from their conception to their defeat, and Fingon dies full of hope fighting Morgoth because he does not see any other path forward, only victory.
Fingolfin’s legacy was despair, though he left a lasting blow against Morgoth. Fingon’s legacy was hope, though he did not so much as touch Morgoth.
"Howl Jenkins is swarming in girls falling head over heels for him" factoid is actually a statistical error. Average girl is tired of his existence. Sophie Hatter, who falls head over heels for his stupid overdramatic face at least once a day, is an outlier adn should not have been counted
Oooh, tell me about "Steve blipped"!
This one is built off the question: What if Bucky survived the Blip at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, and it was Steve who turned to ashes? Written from Bucky’s POV, this one is kind of an angst-fest. I don’t have the full thing drafted out, and I’m not sure when I’ll ever finish it, so here’s a snippet of the beginning:
————
“Bucky.”
It was Steve’s voice, with something in it that yanked Bucky back ninety years to the days when Steve was a sick little kid, frightened and unsure behind his bravado.
And then Steve turned to him, blue eyes wide—and collapsed into a column of grey ash.
No.
No, no.
No.
He never remembered stumbling forward, never remembered landing hard on his knees. He only remembered the sick horror clambering up his throat, the ash dissolving between his fingers even as he clawed at it, tried to gather it.
NO.
A barrage of neon blue death rays, aliens, childhood illness flashed behind his eyes—all the things that Steve had faced, had fought through, had survived by sheer force of will…
…only to be defeated now by a simple snap of fingers.
It was unthinkable.
It was true.
Bucky’s world reeled. He bowed his head and let the despair take him, waiting for his own body to dissolve.
It didn’t—and there lay the true tragedy.
Till the end of the line, they’d always said.
He had never wanted Steve’s line to end first.
Christian FangirlMostly LotR, MCU, Narnia, and Queen's Thief
277 posts