Tumblr crosspost (16 December 2020)

I’ve always thought it interesting that “The Mariner’s Wife” places such an emphasis on Erendis looking strange (in a beautiful way, but strange) to other people on Númenor. Aldarion thinks she’s an Elf (from Tol Eressëa, I think?) until he gets close up, and we hear later that other Númenóreans are struck by her appearance, because it is “of a kind seldom seen in Númenor; for Beregar [Erendis’s father] came of the House of Bëor.”

So it’s pretty much wholly attributed to her being Bëorian. It turns out that her whole region was predominantly settled by Bëorians, so it seems to be a regional thing.

The physical difference between Hadorians and Bëorians is usually presented in terms of hair color, but … it’s hard for me to see the other Númenóreans as so agog at someone simply having dark hair. To me it sounds like there’s something more, idk, substantial in the difference of appearance—something which, to go by Aldarion’s initial reaction to her, is at least somewhat reminiscent of the Elves who visit Númenor (presumably Eldar). Of course, Bëorians looking somewhat (or in some cases, very much) like Eldar is not new, but it adds to the association there.

This is doubly interesting because the Faithful primarily came from the same region and thus, it’s very possible that the Númenórean ‘look’ among their descendants would be more like Erendis than what was typical of most Númenóreans.

I’m not sure what Erendis does look like tbh, but I do think her look—and by extension, Bëorians’ and most of the Faithful’s—would be pretty distinctively different. 

Tagged: #i imagine that the transition to númenóreans /generally/ looking like elves is still ongoing at this point #but once it really takes hold most númenóreans look like vanyar and faithful like noldor #which is honestly kind of hilarious to me given the uhhhh cultural dynamics there #but what that difference /looks/ like beyond coloring is still up for grabs

Tumblr crosspost (16 December 2020)

An anon said:

I just reread Subsequent Connections on AO3, and was wondering in that universe, what the Fitzwilliam family reaction would be to a Darcy/Elizabeth relationship? If they had any ambitions for Darcy's marriage, I guess there would be some disappointment with Elizabeth, but at the same time she is family, and the coming back from the dead thing makes it hard to begrudge her I guess! And I'm curious about Lady Catherine's reaction to her daughter being jilted for her favourite niece this time...

I replied:

Yeah, that’s pretty spot-on, I think. One of Lady Catherine’s objections to canon Elizabeth is that she’s unallied to the family at large, which wouldn’t be an issue here, even while they certainly had higher ambitions for Darcy than a quasi-poor relation. But SC!Elizabeth is still a Fitzwilliam and they already love her, so it’s easier.

Also, I imagine that some of the Fitzwilliams would guess what was going on before Elizabeth did herself, lol. Eleanor, certainly James, and oddly enough, probably Milton. Cecily would like to see it but can’t quite associate Darcy with romance. Lord Ancaster is completely oblivious, as is (in a sadder way) Lady Ancaster. And Lady Catherine, of course.

It would definitely be hardest for Lady Catherine, both because of her plans for Anne and Darcy, and because she’s genuinely fond of Elizabeth and has planned for her advancement. I think she’d be less angry, but more upset, if that makes sense (there would still be a Scene) but come around much more quickly when the usurper is an actual Fitzwilliam.

Tumblr crosspost (16 December 2020)

*after discussing SW for an hour and a half*

me: honestly, I’ve had people ask me questions about the expanded universe to prove my nerdiness.

best friend: …you really don’t need to prove that.

me: well, there’s the thing where you’re less of a fan if you don’t know about the [Star Wars] EU, even though my thing is that I do know about it, I just dislike it.

best friend: you own and have read Splinter of the Mind’s Eye. I think you’re good.

me: it’s bad, though. Just … interestingly bad.

*cue discussion of Splinter of the Mind’s Eye for twenty minutes*

Tagged: #it is in no way canon but nobody will tear luke's space duolingo account from my headcanon

Tumblr crosspost (16 December 2020)

elperian responded to this post:

I still think the best way to be with the [Star Wars] EU is mutually agreed upon fanfic, with allowances for separate agreements along the timeline. I, for example, don’t care to know anything past maybe 8 years out from ROTJ. I know I may be an outlier with these mutual agreements though.

I replied:

Honestly, if people treated it more as a semi-continuity-sharing fic archive, I’d … still be indifferent to a lot, but probably not actively antagonistic. But as a semi-canon that gets shoved down people’s throats even while it’s subject to being negated by the corporate overlords at any moment … yeah, that’s always going to bother me.

Tumblr crosspost (16 December 2020)

F-lock will always be my favorite feature of a site when it exists, but one thing I do really like about PF is the ability to set a post so that people can comment but not reblog. There are kind of inane posts I make which I don’t mind people responding to at all, but when they reblog without commentary or explanation, it’s confusing and disconcerting.

I can’t speak for everyone, but this happens to me a lot, so it’s nice to have a place where I can just opt out of that particular experience without going full f-lock.

[ETA 3/14/2024: Tumblr has actually had this feature, functionally, for awhile now! Too little too late, though.]

Tumblr crosspost (16 December 2020)

heget responded to this post:

how populated is pf now?

I replied:

I’m not sure. I’ve only ever used it to talk to a handful of friends, so it’s hard to judge the overall site.

Tumblr crosspost (16 December 2020)

I reblogged this illustration of Faramir and Éowyn by cycas on Tumblr and added:

#A SUDDEN CANON DEPICTION APPEARS #mingling hair!!!! height difference!!! i LIVE! #also this is beautiful op #kasdfjkl;fdas i've finally seen a faramir with longer hair than éowyn... i'm just #!!!!!!!!!!!

Tumblr crosspost (17 December 2020)

An anon said:

One of my biggest issues with 1995 P&P is that both Darcy and Elizabeth look too old. David Rintoul's Darcy was definitely too robotic for my tastes but I definitely got "young and fashionable" vibes from him.

I replied:

It’s not one of my biggest, in that there are a lot of other things that bother me more, but it does bug me, can’t lie. Just about everyone seems 5-10 years older than they should.

It definitely contrasts with the 2005 and 1980, where IIRC the ages are kind of all over the place, so some are spot-on or nearly so, and others are wayyyy off. If I recall correctly, the 1995 is more consistent but also almost always ‘off’ in that 5-10 year range.

I know this seems trivial to some people, but I think the ages do matter to their backgrounds and developments and general characterizations. Not just the young ones, either—Mrs Bennet would be barely middle-aged and Mrs Gardiner is almost certainly in her 30s. That affects the impression they give (to the audience and to the other characters) and their own experiences and personalities and dynamics with other people.

And I do think that Garvie and Knightley come across as early 20-somethings where other Elizabeths have a certain … hm, air of maturity about them that doesn’t fully work for me. Meanwhile, Darcy is literally introduced as a “young man,” is still in his 20s, and (like Elizabeth) has a character arc that rests on brand! new! experiences! And I think that the adaptations generally are—not interested in getting that across with him. But the 1995 is especially uninterested in that aspect IMO, so generally speaking, I’m with you there.

(I also agree that Rintoul is too far on the robotic end, but does come across as fashionable! It’s an interesting choice, because at first, Darcy seems to simultaneously resent ‘the world’ [i.e. the fashionable world] while also being judgy about people not being part of it. He’s not a fop by any means, but he is part of a certain world, and the ways in which he doesn’t fit aren’t visible, sometimes even to him.)

Tumblr crosspost (17 December 2020)

I just noticed that my Facebook background is still Portland, which is … not where I actually live these days, but also I’m in exile and I suffer

Tagged: #i like wa better than or but portland better than literally anything in wa ... idk #cascadia ftw #i do love it all! just ... portland ;_;

Tumblr crosspost (17 December 2020)

[Context from 14 March 2024:] So, back in 2015, I was searching for a bunch of information on SF/F publications, and thought it might be of interest to my followers on Tumblr, so I posted it for them. It eventually spread around Tumblr (read: has over 40,000 notes at this point; I finally deleted the original post, something I almost never do). Much of the information is long outdated; magazines have gone under, or changed their pay-rates, or no longer accept submissions, or were part of a long-since published anthology, etc etc.

Anyway, I reblogged the original post in Dec 2020 (as you see from the title line) and said:

Y’all, I posted this nearly six years ago and the information is extremely outdated. The SFWA maintains a pretty good list of markets these days, and you can also find much more recent collections of links/information on Google.

Tagged: #i know this won't reach most people but it's covering my activity bar AGAIN and i just. had to say something. #words about words #writing #not sure what my more general tag is any more...

Tumblr crosspost (18 December 2020)

One of the students I’d had in a previous class said “thank you for another efficient semester” in their final email, and I … think??? that’s a compliment, but I am not at all sure!

Tumblr crosspost (18 December 2020)

I thought I’d become pretty zen about LOTR on Prime, but a Youtuber I was just watching was like … hey, what if it’s a prequel to the movies? They could share continuity and everything!

me:

Tagged:

#the one(1) thing that makes me pretty chill about it is the possibility of an interpretation of middle-earth that's DIFFERENT #even if it's bad it will be differently bad! #but what if ... not? #like yeah i expect there to be considerable influence bc the films exert /such/ a vast influence on the popular imagination #but aghhhhhhhhh #i mean ... i'm sure it would be complicated legally to do that but EVEN SO it will haunt my nightmares #lord of the rings movies #(i am not saying they are all bad fwiw #or even mostly bad #but they are flawed and theirs is not the sole permissible vision for middle-earth)

[ETA 3/14/2024: ngl it has since become very clear to me that much of "Tolkien" fandom actually disagrees that other cinematic visions of Middle-earth are a good thing, or even a tolerable thing. ROP does have a different vision from the Jackson films, but it's pretty moderately different tbh, and even that is a cause for sackcloth and ashes. Meanwhile, social media keeps bombarding me with defensive arguments against Christopher Tolkien's criticisms of the Jackson films, including "Christopher Tolkien did a lot of good but he didn't get his father the way Peter Jackson did and should have been more grateful to Jackson." I'm not uncritical of every editorial choice Christopher Tolkien ever made—nor was Christopher himself—but the stans who cannot hear a word against the films, including from Tolkien's now-dead son and confidant, while throwing screaming tantrums about ROP at every opportunity? Come on.]

Tumblr crosspost (19 December 2020)

I was looking for a post and instead ran over a really old one where I pointed out that when Éowyn is 75, Faramir will be the same age that Aragorn is in LOTR, and live 33 more years.

Thanks, past self.



Tagged: #don't think it's likely that she has éomer's lifespan either #:\ #also just thinking about it ... everyone thought denethor was prematurely aged bc his people and family don't age like that #faramir will probably neither look nor feel old until he's at least 100 #idk i'm kind of thinking back to andreth and aegnor and like - obvs he's not literally immortal #(he == faramir) #but there's that concern with /aging/ and not just with literal death #in the athrabeth that the fourth age couples shrug off #when éowyn asks if faramir would have his people ask if he couldn't have chosen a númenórean i do kind of wonder if any of this is in her head #in any case his answer is 'fuck it i don't care' #which is such a nice contrast with aegnor lol #honestly ... i loved him from ttt but also #this is part of it too! #he's got to know what's going to happen #but some things matter more than borrowing grief!!! #also #him being so númenórean and yet turning his back on the blood purity shit without a moment's reservation is just ... #<3 #okay this ended up at a more optimistic note than it started on

Tumblr crosspost (19 December 2020)

I reblogged a link to Catherine Chmiel's illustration of Éowyn; her site is no longer maintained, but the Wayback Machine has a working link here.

Tagged: #i was combing through some more and saw this again! #such a good éowyn #definitely one of the closest to my initial impression of her