B2MeM09: Day Eight

[dawn_felagund]

Day Eight

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Is it? And ugliness? Is it also relative? Write a story, poem or create an artwork where the contrast beauty/ugliness plays a central role.

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Past prompts as well as links to the stories written in reply to them can be found here. Banners and icons for B2MeM participants can be found here. If you want to know what the heck is going on with this "B2MeM" thing, you will find the project description and guidelines (pretty straightforward) on our homepage.

Comments

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Title – True Royalty
Author: Linda Hoyland
Characters/Pairing: Aragorn, Faramir
Rating: G
Disclaimer - These characters all belong to the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien. This story was written for pleasure and not for financial gain.



Faramir had often dreamt of the return of the King. He imagined the heir of Elendil riding upon a white horse, dressed in the finest velvets adorned with jewels, a crown upon his head.

He had known the stranger at once when he came to him in the darkness. Tall and gracious he stood, and a light was in his eyes. Faramir heeded his call.

Opening his eyes, Faramir studied his king. The man’s weary features were streaked with sweat and blood. His plain garb was well worn, but his eyes sparkled, warm and kind. Arda had no nobler sight.

http://lindahoyland.livejournal.com/137195.html

[dawn_felagund]

You show beautifully that Aragorn's nobility is not confined in rich clothes and jewels but within himself ... and the positive influence that he exerts on his people. Very nice! :)

[lindahoyland.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I'm pleased you enjoyed this.I'm a big Aragorn fan!

[telperion1.livejournal.com]

Here you go: Bilbo in Rivendell, post-Ring War.

http://telperion-fic.livejournal.com/54019.html

[dawn_felagund]

This is great! You really used the beautiful/ugly theme amazingly well here to show how close the two can lie to each other. I felt as unnerved as Bilbo, and my mind is whirring now and thinking about the thin line between good and evil in the books ... *lifts feet from the bunnies* Excellent work (as always :)

I did notice one little typo: a president where there should be a present. ;)

[telperion-fic.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you "enjoyed" it, though enjoy probably isn't the right word. As I said over at H_A, I've been living aesthetics for the last several months as I tried to make my addled brain grasp enough philosophy to write a paper on it. So while seeing a beauty/ugliness prompt got a groan out of me, it was also one that I'd already put a definite amount of thought into already.

On typos: Thanks for letting me know. I really am doing my best to catch those before I post, and I want to be able to fix the ones I mis. Because of the nature of this challenge (and because just_ann_now is out of town) I'm working without a beta on these ficlets. Which is okay for drabbles but a bit of a change for the longer ficlets and vignettes I seem to be writing. So I kind of regard these as polished second or third drafts rather than final drafts to which I won't change things.

[dawn_felagund]

I hear you on quick posts. :) I'm in the same boat!

We do need a different word than "enjoyed," I think. :) It just doesn't quite work when talking about the appreciation for how one handles darker subjects!

[rhyselle.livejournal.com]

http://rhyselle.livejournal.com/72002.html

My muse seems to be attached to the Valar and Maiar, it seems. This one is set at the end of the War of Wrath...

[dawn_felagund]

I, too, have always thought that Melkor must have been exceptionally beautiful once, and I like how you show his change in physical appearance along with his descent into darkness (in the figurative sense). Hope Hoover did an illustration of Melkor once ... here. I always liked it for the same reason that it shows what your drabble does, for me: the vestiges of beauty and the marring that came with his corruption.

Here's to hoping those Ainur keep whispering! ;)

[dolamrothdame.livejournal.com]

Huhn. I've got to start writing shorter ones! Here's mine:

http://www.tolkienfanfiction.com/Story_Read_Chapter.php?CHid=4370

[dawn_felagund]

Yes, I have been seriously impressed with what you've managed to write every day! :) And while I certainly understand the desire not to go thirty-one days of full stories every day, I've sure enjoyed them! :) Here, as elsewhere, your characters really draw me in, and your writing is just fantastic!

[whitewave16.livejournal.com]

Forgive me Dawn. ;-)
http://whitewave16.livejournal.com/29276.html

[dawn_felagund]

Oh, you are forgiven and then some! This is awesome! I lost it as soon as I saw sooty Nerdanel ... and Feanor with hearts in his eyes got me too. ;)

[hrymfaxe.livejournal.com]

My take on this prompt is here (http://hrymfaxe.livejournal.com/33402.html#cutid1). I have combined days 8 and 9.

[watersandwilds.livejournal.com]

*huffs and puffs along behind* I'm slooowly catching up on these. :P

Maitimo (http://watersandwilds.livejournal.com/53981.html): Maedhros muses on the irony of his name just after he's rescued from Thangorodrim.

[dawn_felagund]

He makes my heart hurt too. *sigh* *hugs him*

I've always found the irony of his name painful too. You really show that very well here, especially with the knowledge that he survived Angband without weeping, but cannot survive this.

Heartbreaking, but lovely writing. :)

[watersandwilds.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :) He does make me want to just go and give him a hug so badly. This was both difficult, and enjoyable (in a strange way) to write, and I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[f-ireworks.livejournal.com]

Hello! *waves* A little late, but here is my entry for this prompt:

Title: In the mouths of Hobbits (http://f-ireworks.livejournal.com/41926.html#cutid1)
Characters: Merry, FOC, with a brief cameo by Eomer
Rating: G
Disclaimer: These characters belong to J.R.R. Tolkien and have not been used for financial gain. Lady Aethelwyn is my own invention.

[dawn_felagund]

I'm so glad that you're participating in B2MeM and that your muses are speaking, even if slowly. :) This was a lovely piece; the story-within-a-story worked well for me, and those last lines? Perfect! Absolutely fitting what one would expect of Merry, for sure. :)

[lanyon.livejournal.com]

i'm not the only one leaping on the eöl/aredhel approach for this prompt (albeit with a side of thingol/melian): stunned (http://community.livejournal.com/100_indecisions/14949.html)

[dawn_felagund]

Wow, this is such a gorgeous line: "she is fury and light and blinding whiteness." *happy sigh* Beautiful work, yet again. I am awed at how much you fit into so little here!

[lanyon.livejournal.com]

thank you so much! :)

[independence1776]

Here's mine, combined with Prompt 14: http://indy1776.livejournal.com/6425.html