The Small and Secret Things by

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Fanwork Notes

In a time not long past, I used to write a drabble every day that used or was based upon the Word the Day from Dictionary.com and post it to my LiveJournal. It is said that writers should practice every day, if only for fifteen minutes, and this was a great opportunity for me to do so. Alas, the Powers That Be at my workplace blocked access to message boards and forums, including LiveJournal, and I was no longer able to keep up.

These days, as an admin for SWG and with a busy "real life" besides, I sometimes go for days--weeks?--without writing. This is simply unacceptable if I hope to continue growing as a writer. So I've decided to make another attempt at the Daily Drabble, posting this time on SWG. (Since I'm here every day anyway and the Powers That Be haven't blocked us yet!)

Those of you who are crazy masochistic inspired to join me are welcome to do so. Drop me a line and I'll create a series so that we can keep all of our work together. You're of course welcome to get the Word of the Day from my entries, but since I'm not always what one would call timely, then it's probably best to subscribe here to have it emailed to you daily. Of course, you don't even have to use the Word of the Day. I chose the Word of the Day so that I could also improve my vocabulary at the same time as getting my daily "fix" on writing, but the point is to write something every day based on what inspires you.

The rules are simple: There really aren't any rules. I use either the Word of the Day itself or its meaning/theme in my daily drabble. I also can't guarantee that I'll post on weekends, but I usually try to catch up come Monday. Usually, I choose to adhere to fixed word counts because (as my readers will attest) I do have a problem with discipline in my writing. But pieces that aren't a fixed count or that are longer than a "ficlet," of course, work as well.

Per usual, for my drabble series, I will mark pieces that contain adult content with an asterisk (*) so that they can be easily identified in the table of contents.

And (finally) the title "The Small and Secret Things" comes from the Valaquenta: "She is the lover of all things that grow in the earth, and all their countless forms she holds in her mind, from the trees like towers in forests long ago to the moss upon stones or the small and secret things in the mould." The quote is about Yavanna, of course, but I think it describes the outlook of successful writers too: Those who notice everything, from those large enough to change to world to the small and secret things that stir a single heart.

Fanwork Information

Summary:

An attempt at writing a drabble or other short fiction every day, based on the Dictionary.com Word of the Day. Please see the story notes for more information. ETA: This project is on indefinite hiatus. I am working on my second degree as well as working full-time and so have had to tell the muses to take a hike. Hopefully, once my classes end, I'll be able to get back into writing.

Major Characters: Amandil, Ar-Pharazôn, Aulë, Caranthir, Celegorm, Eärwen, Fëanor, Finarfin, Fingolfin, Finwë, Haleth, Maedhros, Maglor, Mandos, Melkor, Míriel Serindë, Nerdanel, Original Character(s), Tar-Míriel, Tar-Palantir, Turgon

Major Relationships:

Genre: Fixed-Length Ficlet

Challenges: Gift of a Story

Rating: Teens

Warnings: Torture, Mature Themes, Violence (Moderate)

This fanwork belongs to the series

Daily Drabbles (or Taming the Recalcitrant Muses)
Chapters: 36 Word Count: 11, 218
Posted on 21 June 2007 Updated on 6 September 2007

This fanwork is a work in progress.

Table of Contents

Evening in Alqualondë

The betrothal of Arafinwë and Eärwen. I tried here to capture the languor of Alqualondë in contrast to Arafinwë's restless anxiety at waiting for Eärwen's reply. This was tough ... in just 100 words!

The Failure of Logic

Maedhros on standing up to Fëanor about burning the ships at Losgar. This moment has always had significance to me, for it is the first indication of Maedhros's understanding of the need--and power--of unity between the Noldor. Yet it also is the first proof of how the strife between the princes of the Noldor will forever damn their quest against Morgoth. It is a portent of many things to come.

A Study of Curufinwë

Fingolfin tries to understand his half-brother's elusive affection. I have tried to use my "Nolofinwë voice" for this one: economical and to-the-point, focusing on physical (versus emotional) observations.

I totally blame Fëanáro for making him that way. ;)

The Venerated

I've never been a huge fan of the Valar, but I have always (oddly) possessed a weak spot for Námo "Named After My Halls" Mandos. It is always fun to try to get into the mind of someone strong (or cruel) enough to bear seeing the future and knowing that he can do nothing about it. Here, he watches the Eldar arrive in Aman.

Torchlight

A double-drabble where Celegorm remembers his friendship with Oromë before he swears the Oath of the Fëanorians. I often ponder which son went first and which went last; in my mind, I often change their roles and try to develop the motives for each choice. It could make an interesting series of stories someday. In the meanwhile, it's a fun characterization exercise at least!

There Was Long Ago a Tree

Nerdanel remembers life before the Darkening and her estrangement from Fëanor. This is a weird tribble (300 words) with some darker themes but nothing graphic. It was inspired by Noliel's much brighter Swinging in the Rain for Seven in '07.

Difficult

Maedhros on acclimating to Himring after life in Tirion.

Exchanged Aborning

Finwë considers Míriel's sacrifice for Fëanor. This loss--a husband's loss of his wife on an occasion supposed to be joyous--has always been to me one of the most tragic tales of The Silmarillion. My stories never quite do it justice … but I keep coming back to it nonetheless.

The Gift Horse

Maedhros gives Rochallor to Fingolfin. This particular detail is not canon, but Maedhros did gift horses to the people of Fingolfin:

Of those horses many of the sires came from Valinor, and they were given to Fingolfin by Maedhros in atonement of his losses, for they had been carried by ship to Losgar.
-"Of Beleriand and Its Realms"

This piece consists of six hundred-word drabbles.

A City in Light

Turgon contemplates the building of Gondolin. I have tried for an archaic, slightly overwrought style in this one because, well, today's word is archaic! It seemed fitting. Since I will soon be writing Turgon, it seemed the perfect opportunity to test his voice, which, in my mind is (you guessed it) archaic and slightly overwrought.

This piece is a quadrabble: exactly 400 words.

Longing for Light

On the way to Alqualondë, Fëanor thinks on the Silmarils. It has always been my private theory that part of Fëanor's obsessive pursuit came with the association of the theft of the Silmarils with Finwë's murder, almost as though to resolve the first would also resolve the second. This drabble explores this idea.

Irrational

Today is Friday the 13th, and today's word deals with a phobia more irrational than most (and phobias are inherently irrational). So today's tribble--exactly 300 words--deals with what appears at first glance to be borne of paranoia and irrationality, a misgiving that leads to the creation of the Silmarils. This idea is expressed in The Silmarillion:

In that time were made those things that afterwards were most renowned of all the works of the Elves. For Fëanor, being come to his full might, was filled with a new thought, or it may be that some shadow of foreknowledge came to him of the doom that drew near; and he pondered how the light of the Trees, the glory of the Blessed Realm, might be preserved imperishable.

But a Stone

Fëanor, it seems, has taken over the daily drabble. Today's tribble again features him, but when the Word of the Day means "fruitful and productive," then who else but Fëanor comes to mind?

I've always believed that Fëanor was a difficult, demanding father but nonetheless adoring of his children. In fact, I spent an entire novel developing this idea. Today's piece looks at the same in the more reasonable length of 300 hundred words.

Housecleaning

Today's word is a funny one, so I've made an attempt at a humor piece. Celegorm cleans his room, in 200 words.

Love in Pearls (a.k.a. "Wet Elves")

Today's tribble (300 words) is dual-purposed. For one, it is inspired by the Word of the Day, bibelot. For another, it is dedicated with fondest wishes to Cheryl, who asked for a birthday drabble called "Wet Elves." Well, it's only one wet Elf and I've chosen a different title, but I hope that it suffices. Happy birthday, my dear!

Eärwen watches her soon-to-be husband construct a special gift for her on the beach of Alqualondë.

This Place

It is said that Amandil set sail in a small ship at night, and steered first eastward, and then went about and passed into the west. And he took with him three servants, dear to his heart, and never again were they heard of by word or sign in this world, nor is there any tale or guess of their fate.
--Akallabêth

The fate of Amandil …

Blindness

Fëanor and Finwë argue about the Valar. I've intended something of a chaotic feel to this piece; Finwë is only reluctantly coming to the realization that something is afoot. This will culminate, of course, with Fëanor's exile from Tirion and the Valar taking Finwë's right to make the decision concerning the fate of his son and subject.

*None Need Know

Maedhros on the plasticity of memory following Angband. Please note: This double drabble contains violence, not quite enough to warrant an adult rating but enough that I ask readers to tread with care.

Perspective

Fëanor replies to Finwë from Monday's double drabble Blindness about his growing mistrust of the Valar.

The Calm Before

Maedhros on the day that Celegorm and Curufin arrive in Himring after being banished from Nargothrond. A double drabble.

Words to Tell

Finwë, upon returning to his people from Valinor, ponders the difficulty of putting into words what he has seen. I've gone for a slightly surreal feel here in hopes of maybe conveying what it was like for the early Elves, dwelling in a world where so many things are new to them and there is much still to understand. This is a tribble, 300 words.

*Persuasion in Three Drops

Morgoth attempts to persuade Maedhros into encouraging his brothers' surrender. Please be forewarned that this piece contains torture and violence, nothing graphic, but possibly bothersome to some readers.

This piece is a drabunculus. As far as I know, I invented the drabunculus form; at the very least, I invented the name drabunculus. Drabunculus is like homunculus: It is a single drabble with drabbles inside of it. In this particular piece, each number of the count (One, Two, Three) marks the start of a new drabble, a new introspection from Nelyo. The "container" of these three drabbles is also a drabble, bringing the word count for the piece to exactly 400 words.

It's not a particularly easy form to write, and I always swear that each drabunculus will be my last. But the form seemed well suited for this particular piece, so I brought it out again.

This is going to be the last, though. ;)

The House of Unexpected Light

This is one of those double-purpose series again. It is first--like all of the ficlets and series here so far--inspired in part by the word of the day. It is also a birthday gift for Anglachel in response to her request on HASA for a story about a building.

I've chosen Fëanor's house in Formenos. I will make a quick note on canon interpretation before offering the story. In the Felakverse that I use for my stories, Formenos did exist before Fëanor used it as a fortress for hiding his treasures. It began as a mining town that developed a reputation for serving as a safe haven for craftsmen with extraordinary talent and eccentric tendencies. Hence Fëanor's attraction to it. He spent summers here for many years before his exile from Tirion; hence his decision to live and store his treasures there during his banishment.

The note that Formenos was built after Fëanor's exile was made my Christopher Tolkien, and I don't consider it canon as I have never found writings from J.R.R. Tolkien backing it up. The word Formenos does mean "northern fortress," and that is the only--and rather flimsy, in my opinion--evidence behind CT's addition to the index that I have found.

So here are three drabbles and three double-drabbles about Fëanor's house in Formenos. Happy birthday, Anglachel!

How Carnistir Fixed the Towel Rack

A silly little ficlet in 700 words. Celegorm gets stuck in a window, and Caranthir helps him out. Featuring hedgehogs, neglected laundry duty, and a bit of bathroom humor … literally. You've been warned.

Nonsense

Just after Fëanor's birth, before Míriel's condition is revealed, Finwë is tormented by unease. A perfect hundred-word drabble.

The Orphan

The dispute between Fëanor and Fingolfin, from the perspective of Fëanor, in 100 words.

Personal Failings

Maglor gives his brothers the news of Maedhros's capture, in 100 words.

*The Burden of Sight

For Gadira, three double drabbles about Númenor. Tar-Palantir is troubled by visions of his daughter Míriel, her future, and her fate. Warning for implications of canon incest and non-consensual marriage. It's nothing particularly explicit, but readers sensitive to these subjects should tread with care.

The Conscript

A conscript of Maedhros fleetingly meets his lord on the night before the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. This is a fairly long piece--four double-drabbles and a tribble--but it begged to be written, so I obliged.

Notes on obscure canon follow in the endnotes.

Thralls

Finarfin considers his choice, that of the majority of his people, and the illusion of freedom. A tribble.

Fëanor's words come from The Silmarillion, "Of the Flight of the Noldor."

The Defiant Heart

Aulë considers Fëanáro, in 300 words.

Worries

One of Finarfin's children considers in retrospect his seeming frivolity in the face of political and familial upheaval. A drabble.

This, of course, hinges on the Felakverse notion that Finarfin tended to project an air of flightiness that was carefully contrived to preserve the delicate political and familial relationship between his brothers.

As for which of his children is speaking here? I have my own ideas, but you're welcome to picture whomever fits best for you.

A Hand Held by Stars

For Sara, who asked for a story about Maedhros in love for her birthday, a quibble (500 words) about superstition, logic, and love. Happy birthday, my dear!

Gratitude

Maedhros thinks on Fingon and how to repay his cousin for his heroic deed. A double drabble.

The Song

I have fallen woefully behind in the daily drabble, though the reason behind this is not entirely bad: instead of drabbling, I am working on full-length stories. Nonetheless, I am attempting to catch up with some past Words of the Day that I found particularly inspiring.

This one is for Unsung Heroine and is a (very belated) birthday gift. She asked for a surprise, which I knew to mean "Caranthir/Haleth, preferably with some angst" (and which UH quickly verified!) The following six drabbles, I hope, accomplish just that. In these drabbles, I have incorporated her AU unconventional view of canon with my AU unconventional view of canon: Caranthir and Haleth were romantically involved, and Caranthir was unusually prescient and perceptive to the hidden thoughts and emotions of others. So it's safe to assume that this piece is AU unconventional.

Indiscretions

This one is for Elleth, for her birthday (for which I am on time for once … by my time anyway), who asked for "something starring Feanor, Nerdanel and some fluff, with a dash (ok, a bit more) of melancholy thrown in, but sans the kidlets." Happy birthday, Elleth!

In exactly 600 words, Nerdanel and Fëanor spend their first night together. Sounds provocative, eh? Let me know at the end. ;)

Comments

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Oh, Dawn. You challenge me. I love your characterization of Arafinwë and Eärwen—that could give you kind of a jump start on the drabble since I already <i>know</i> them and brought that information with me. But, in fact, it would have worked without that knowledge. It still means more to me with it. Maybe I can try to do some with you—I am working on my Feanor thing today though! Soon, very soon, it will be done!

I just posted something about it to the Yahoo! list as well! :^D I used to have a few crazy people drabbling with me every day when I did it on LiveJournal. Even if you don\'t write one every day ... hey, it\'s a fun diversion when the inspiration is there! (And in all honesty, I can never keep up every day either. Some days, there\'s just no inspiration. Or I get a really stupid Word of the Day. Or--Eru help us all!--I actually have to do *work* at my job. o.O)

I\'m about half-finished the Curufin thing. Eru, who knew that there was so much about freakin\' Curufin in the HoMe?? Anyway, we\'re at a good place: only three left to go once you finish Feanor and I finish Curufin. I\'d say we\'re ahead of the game. And I\'ve gotten more stories and artwork in too, w00t! So things are still going better than planned ... in other words, take all the time you need. There\'s still more than two weeks before Feanor is up.

Hi, Rhapsody!
Thanks for all the reviews in the past few days. I really appreciate it! :)

I do double (or triple, quadruple, series, drabunculi ... ;) as well as single drabbles, yes. I suppose it\'s whatever people want to do. I do fixed-length because of my tendency to *ahem* go on a bit. I\'d end up writing 10K-word stories every day, so I limit myself to a fixed length. Some topics just seem worthy of more words. Like this one: I really wanted to convey two ideas here. Celegorm\'s loyalty (and desertion of) Orome, but also, how compelled he and the rest of the Noldor are to Feanor. And I wanted to capture a bit of the scene as well: the torchlight on the faces of the Noldor, creating shadows they\'ve never seen before, the air alive with firelight. So I chose a double.

And I agree with you on Celegorm ... well, you know! :) It\'s interesting to look at his character, how different he is from his father in some regards yet like to him in others. It makes him complex ... and deserving of more stories than he gets, for sure! :)

Cool! I always like seeing different aspects of that night/event, since - if I recall correctly - the Silm says only that all of the sons swore the Oath, but doesn't give any hint as to how each felt about it/their individual motivations at the time. (Plus, we can probably bet that a certain Pengolod might have a biased view of things...)

Very interesting. Very effective. I should have noticed this drabble earlier since I recently spent a good deal of time thinking about how Maedhros and Maglor each must have thought about not attempting a rescue. I am gratified that it is at very least compatible with how I had thought of it. (I shortened the canon time in my own mind that he was held--I could not wrap my mind around so many years in captivity nor so many years hanging by one hand. So I have chosen to take those numbers as literary/poetic hyperbole.) The concept in your drabble of the counting being part of the torture rang true for me. Don't know if I ever mentioned that my brother-in-law was held in Pinochet's prisons in Chile as a teenager. He told that the waiting for the inevitable next round was so much worse than enduring it when it came. His recounting his experiences to me very much influenced my own perceptions of Maedhros's ordeal and survival, that and things my mother-in-law told me who is a WWII concentration camp survivor.

Oh my, no, I never knew either about your brother-in-law or mother-in-law! How awful! My area of study in university was post-traumatic stress disorder in victims of political violence, particularly children. Hubby studied terrorism. Between the two of us, we were a real bundle of fun ... but I did learn a lot (too much, sometimes) about such things. Luckily, my own experiences--and those of my family--are so far confined to books.

On the time issue, I tend to favor shorter times myself. I've seen stories that portray Maedhros as having hung for 50 years, and I just have trouble wrapping my brain around this idea. Both physically and psychologically, I don't think this would have been possible.

In my personal view (not to be mistaken for anything resembling canon ;) he was in captivity for many years while Maglor and Morgoth pretty much played political games with each other (and there is an osanwe connection with Maedhros and Caranthir as well; I did a series about this last Christmas). Finally, their combined "intelligence" forces Maglor to realize that rescue will not be possible, nor diplomacy with Morgoth. He knows that Maedhros will be killed (though he's no idea how), but he makes the heartbreaking decision to send final word that he will not be seeking to have his brother returned to him. At which point, Morgoth puts Maedhros up on Thangorodrim.

I don't imagine that he was there long at all; no more than a few weeks. He has to be up there when Fingolfin passes by until the time it takes Fingon to 1) realize what is going on 2) decide to attempt rescue and 3) make the trip from Mithrim to Thangorodrim. This will guide my final decision on how long he hung, when the time comes to write it. In the interim, my muses tell me that some of the brothers who didn't agree with Maglor's decision attempted a rescue, but it failed horribly and they never even found their brother. But apparently, this was a point of contention in the Family Feanaro, so they're not too eager to talk about it. Yet. ;)

This is a chilling story with some beautiful contrasts, really, but quite unrelated to that, I love the line "When he came, he came alone but for his wife, who was red-haired and laughed a lot [...]." Very in-character with so few words.

With regards to Formenos - I didn't know that that was CTs assumption, and I'm not debating whether or not it is true... either could be, considering that "Formenos" doesn't just have to mean "Northern Fortress". The Ardalambion Quenya dictionary (which does translate the name that way, too) has two more relevant entries:

os (ost-) noun "house, cottage" (LT2:336; hardly valid in LotR-style Quenya - writers may use coa or mar)

osto (1) noun "a strong or fortified building or place, strong place, fortress" (MR:350, 471; WJ:414); "city, town with wall round" (OS, VT46:8)

So you may not even be wrong with your idea that there was a town before Feanor went into exile. I would consider it highly unlikely that he just settled somewhere in the wilderness.

/rant. ;)

I've always assumed it was CT's doing since the note that Formenos was built after Feanor's exile is in the Index of Names, which CT compiled. But thanks for the info from Ardalambion; that's AWESOME! :) I'm again going by the Index of Names for the meaning "northern fortress" as well. I've taken it at its word there simply because I don't possess the linguistic prowess to argue. ;)

There's another interesting quote in The Silm that has always led me to believe that Formenos was more than Feanor's own private nuthouse, Finwe and his sons only allowed. In "Of the Darkening of Valinor," it says of Feanor's summons to attend the festival in Tirion that "Finwë came not, nor any others of the Noldor of Formenos" (emphasis mine). Who are these other Noldor? His sons? Then why not, "Finwe came not, nor the sons of Feanor"? His servants and followers? But it makes pretty clear earlier that Feanor was pretty paranoid about his treasures, allowing only Finwe and his sons to handle the Silmarils. Would he trust others outside the family in such close confidence?

So it's always been my private opinion that those other Noldor lived there before Feanor was exiled and were alike to him in their talents and beliefs about the Valar. It's based on very shaky canon, yes, but I've never had anyone able to completely disprove it either. :)

First, please allow me to note that I have thoroughly enjoyed each ficlet you've written in reflection of the Word o' the Day (I have that on my iGoogle as well), but <i>The House of Unexpected Light</i> is particularly striking.  You make excellent use of your talent for evocative imagery and emotion, but from a completely different viewpoint.

The details are great, especially reading this as a one-time (and temporary) architecture major.  Feanaro's marking off measurements by steps (vs. surveying) is fabulous and smileworthy! 

Many buildings have a "presence," that is, an imprint of those who lived there. I know, atypical of rationalist me to say something like that. You captured the "presence" of Formenos beautifully.  Your description of Finwe and Morgoth's final confrontation turns a few lines of lofty myth in thr original to the palpably tragic here.

Finally, I'm wondering if Frank Gehry took inspiration from Feanaro!

Thanks so much for reading and for such a wonderful and detailed comment. :) Anglachel\'s challenge was one that grabbed me and just would not let go ... but then, I also have this fascination with writing the \"places of Arda\" and the drabble/ficlet/series seems to be a form really well suited to that. It would be hard to make a whole 5,000-word story out of capturing the \"presence\" of a place. It is my hope to one day have enough drabbles/ficlets/series about the places of Arda to make a \"drabble tour.\" That\'s on the ne\'er-diminishing w-i-p list. :)

The fight between Finwe and Morgoth ... that is one of the scenes in the book that for some reason has always been so clear to me. I even have a song that serves as a soundtrack for it! Finwe\'s death in general keeps drawing me back in, cheerful lass that I am. The idea of such a loss to a people that were never supposed to know of such things ... I imagine the grief in a \"normal\" society like ours and can\'t imagine what the Noldor (esp. Feanor) must have been feeling. Maybe that\'s why I keep coming back to it in stories. (Or maybe I am that morbid!)

Wow! Loved this one. Snarky, sinister and yet not ranting. Very subtle, Great comment on Mandos and devastating reflection on both Manwe and the Vanyar. Another uniquely Dawn fic. It's hard to write a decent drabble. This one does what they are suypposed to do--actually say something of significance in a few words.

Thank you, Oshun! I love my Namo muse for this; he gives such great insights. :)

I don\'t think the Valar necessarily invited the Elves with intentions of being venerated. But I don\'t think they protested being loved like that either ... and I do think that they thought themselves \"above\" the Eldar, even as they supposedly counted themselves as friends. The notion that the Eldar could be equally/more happy in a world without the Valar, that wasn\'t manufactured by the Valar: impossible! They just couldn\'t understand this.

I have trouble with perfect drabbles. It is nearly impossible to say something of worth in just 100 words. Hence the fact that my \"daily drabbles\" usually end up much longer!

Egregious canon errors? Oh, no. The only one who perpetrates Númenor canon here is me!

This is a wonderful (triple?) drabble, and I was so very glad to receive it as a present. I´ve spent many months living with those characters, and now it was thrilling to see your view of them. Thanks!

Tar-Palantir´s visions seem quite a heavy burden to bear (a bit similar to how it will be for Míriel herself in my own version). The last of the three parts is by far the best: the way it ends is a very clever punch to the reader´s proverbial gut.

I also felt the appropriateness of the writing style, so ornate and baroque for the most ancient realm of Men.  Lastly, one thing I did not quite understand was the mention to Gimilkhâd in Drabble #2 -I found it a little confusing, but I´m sure that was the intention.

Thank you, Gadira!

I can\'t wait to start on your Numenor story ... but the site currently blocked at work. Grrr! No worries, I am working on hacking it ... >:^)

The mention of Gimilkhad in II ... that is a childhood memory on the part of Tar-Palantir where he is swimming in the sea with his brother, and his brother pretends to drown but really to yank T-P under the water. It\'s certainly not canon, just a Dawn Felagund flashback-memory-thing. :^P

I can\'t tell you how relieved I am that I did not mess up the canon too badly. I love the Numenor story but am worthless when it comes to really grasping the canon. Anyway, again, thank you for reading (and reviewing)! :)

Very beautiful. The reference to the book nearly broke my heart. "Awareness of what we will sacrifice for them." That is surely the way this young man would see it. But you are aware of my prejudices--I would argue that there has never been enough written (and that is in no way a criticism of this poignant story) about the cost of what Maedhros sacrificed for them. Loved the description of his impression of what Maedhros looked like--made me all weak-kneed and fan-girly. Love the details you imagine--the vegetable dye numbers! I would never have thought of that.

I would totally agree about what Maedhros has sacrificed. It was interesting, though, to consider the PoV of someone not as wrapped up in the war as he; maybe not even Noldorin? Of course, it was \"lose one or lose them all,\" and surely, everyone understood this in some sense, even the young OMC.

As for fangirling ... :^D I\'ve been know to do that. Sometimes.

Out of so many lovely stories I decided to review this one because I'm a hopeless Maglor fangurl it neatly describes the moment when, whatever the interpretations of his previous self, Maglor comes out as the guy who will hold power in the middle of a crisis, rule the Gap, kill Uldor and refuse to jump into the chasm (or the sea, in his case) when everything else is lost. Short, sweet and to the point.

Thank you, Angelica! I don\'t like weak, simpering Maglors in stories, and I\'m on a personal quest to restore his reputation as the strong Elf he must have been. ;) I\'m glad that you liked this one; it is always a delight to find that those pieces I didn\'t count as my best (like this one :^/) do reach people. Thank you!

I've been known to serve red wine with fish and chicken. Depends upon the sauce! LOL Maybe I am more like Finarfin than I thought to worry about it!

I have no idea who is speaking. Of course, I am currently fixed on Finrod. I would guess maybe Finrod. Galadriel in my verse is too stubborn and self-centered to understand for a long, long time and the others are not clear enough in my mind as to what they might think. (Except, Orodreth seems too dumb--but that is a blind prejudice.)

I drink red wine with everything. Because I like red better than white! :^P

Now my personal thought was Galadriel. I couldn\'t see Finrod or Orodreth (esp. Orodreth) possessing that raw ambition ... and I don\'t have Angrod and Aegnor characterized that well yet! (Confessions of a lazy author.)

I nurture a secret love for this particular AU pairing. Having Unsung Heroine as a friend (who always wants more more more of Haleth/Caranthir!) and knowing every rabid Caranthir fangirl in Modern-earth besides is always a good excuse to keep writing it, even if it doesn\'t fit with my own verse.

And I love Kasiopea\'s picture too. (And there\'s another Caranthir fangirl, if you didn\'t know. ;)

Haven't commented on this one yet because I didn't know what to say. Heartwrenching for me to read both of their thoughts in this short piece. I guess I'll quote Fingon from my next chapter of A New Day, which you haven't seen yet: "Findekano carefully concealed the anguish it caused him to consider how Maitimo, in better times and before the oath, would have made such an admirable king."

Ai, you tease me! ;)

I don\'t think that my Findekano would see Maitimo as inherently flawed as Maitimo sees himself. It\'s tempting to do an \"answering\" drabble from Kano\'s PoV. In my Felakverse anyway, Kano believes that Maitimo\'s true fitness for the throne is revealed by the ease with which he gives it up. Quite the irony.

And of course, I was heavily inspired by your work with this pair and this particular time in their history when I wrote this, so thank you for that. :)

Teehee ... Mexican doorbell, I like that. ;)

The foreboding was my attempt at fluff con melancholy. Definitely one of the more difficult challenges I\'ve been given since asking people for story requests, not that I\'m complaining. I\'m glad that it shows through, though. :)

(Now that I'm over the birthday-induced squee, I'll try to keep the review as sane as can be...)

All the stories you could have written, and all the scenarios you could have developed... this. It's perfect. It fits perfectly with my idea of them, Feanor's complete obsession with his future wife, and in turn, Nerdanel's devotion to him. Youthful, foolish and in love, but with already, still, with very distinct character traits and that kind of wisdom that's so uniquely hers. 

Wonderfully crafted, and while not as melancholy as I thought it might be (which isn't a bad thing, not at all, please don't get me wrong!), there's the foreboding and knowledge of what is going to happen, and all of that in connection with the story... the result is a thing of beauty, thank you so so so much for this lovely gift! :) <3  

Hi, Elleth!

I am so glad that you liked it. :) I did my best to mix melancholy and fluff ... when I tell my friends to challenge me as much as they\'d like with the most unlikely mixes of scenarios, this is what I have in mind. ;) Someday, I\'d like t revise to do the melancholy a bit more ... though I don\'t know. Anyway, it was a great challenge, and I thank you for it. :)

You see Nerds and Feanor pretty much as I do. In fact, as I write the novel-prequel to AMC (which is basically a loooooong version of their lives from early childhood to Nelyo is born), I tell myself before each writing session: Obsession. This strong emotion that surpasses the love that most people feel (I may understand that a teensy bit *blush* :^P) and causes one to do all sorts of silly things. Of course, this makes their eventual estrangement that much more painful ... but I don\'t need to think about that while writing their happy beginnings, right? ;)

Okay, I\'ve rambled at you enough for a comment reply. :) Thanks again for the comment and I hope your birthday was fantastic, as you deserve! *hugs*

Thank you so much! I really like this piece too ... but I rarely write comedy, and it\'s so much fun! (As you have proven so well of late. ;) Btw, I got your email ... hopefully I\'ll have everything finished by tomorrow. Don\'t yell at me and tell me it doesn\'t matter either. ;) I have another beta that I promised last week and forgot about! *headdesk* That\'s the only reason I have to say \"hopefully.\"

Okay. I\'ll stop rambling in my review reply. Thanks again for both reviews; hopefully, someday, I can pick up this project again!