A Tolkien fic rec

[thrihyrne]

Yes, you saw that right. I've been conferring with a couple of Tolkien-centric people on my flist, found via the Wraeththu fandom (yes, you also read that correctly), and found myself looking through the slashy_santa archives. I know I've mentioned before that I've been leaning more and more toward writing Tolkien fanfiction again, and this gem that I stumbled across has pushed me over the edge back into it.

Oh, and I bought my airline tickets to go to England in October. And then my credit card company blocked me and I had to explain myself. Still, I'll be at the Con and will meet Storm Constantine and veloona who will be visiting from Germany and hopefully callumjames as well, and maybe even ducking over to Ireland. If not, I'll spend a couple of days in Wales. Email me if you want flight details.

So! :cough: llembas, I know you've been having rather a craptastic week, and a couple of years ago when I was writing fic as Christmas gifts, you asked for a Halbarad-centric story and I wrote a wee one. This is an Erestor/Halbarad fic, though as the requester stated, s/he wanted characterization much more than explicit smut, and the author, Lady E, delivered a thousand-fold. It's quiet, understated prose, with some repetition of phrases that I know was intentional, to do with listening (on Erestor's end) and the cage of bones and pulse of blood (for the Man), and it's simply exquisite.

Those of you on my flist whom I've known initially since my Tolkien days, and many who crossover with the Ardaverse, please go here to read "And Whisper You to This Earth". You won't regret it. The only complaint I would lodge, if I had to, is that it's done in present tense, which, as a rule, I dislike. [ACK! In reading my story for Jen that is Halbarad-centric, I see it was also written in present tense. ::raps knuckles::] I was more than willing to overlook it for the rarepair-ness of the coupling (which, I'll admit, was what first drew me in), her canonical knowledge, the imagery and sparse tone to the story, and the innate tragedy of any mixing of Elves and Men. But this one is so inherently quiet in its presentation, which makes it all the more profound when it comes to both its passionate crux and pre-known tragedy.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Just saying.

Back to your weekend and watching the Olympics, or whatever else. I've maxxed out on Project Runway, Shear Genius and Britain's Next Top Model. I've been writing Ithiel-centric fic and dealing with my credit card company and booking my flight to England. Color me done for today. :P

Comments

[thrihyrne.livejournal.com]

I'll bet you would probably hate most of my fic faves.

I wouldn't say that, right off the bat… but we might have very different taste in fanfic. ;) And it definitely depends on the pairing, and what I'm looking for in the pairing, or trio, or whatever. This one just bowled me over, probably due to the Halbarad element, but I'll stand by my initial reaction to it. I found it beautiful.

:shrugs, demurely:

I look for different things in different areas. This one took me by surprise, and I quite enjoyed it. That said, I'll certainly not look away from other entries in the new postings. I just haven't been moved by Tolkien fic not written by people I didn't know beforehand in a while.

[jaiden-s.livejournal.com]

I just haven't been moved by Tolkien fic not written by people I didn't know beforehand in a while.

Interesting. I'm the opposite. I'm tired of the same old crap and most of the authors I used to read are stuck in ruts. Life is too short to read bad fanfic. ;)

I think what bothered me the most about the above fic was the writing style. Like you, I dislike first person, but if I remember that story correctly, the author took the whole thing entirely too seriously. I find it annoying when a writer tries to out-Tolkien Tolkien. All I know is that I didn't finish it. If it's that good, I may give it another try.