Bad news

[tehta]

1. I have been crazy-busy recently, both with work and with personal stuff, and so have not had much time to write.
2. I am about to go on a nine-day Easter vacation (to the Philippines!) so who knows what the writing/posting situation will be in my near future. (I do hope I will be able to put together something else for b2mem, since my original goal was to do four small things, and I have done three. But all I will have is a small tablet and I don't like typing on it.)
3. I am no longer sure whether second-age Glorfindel is worth writing about. He's just too damn perfect. (Power close to that of a Maya? Really?) I need to figure out his "motivation" -- things he would desire and/or fear enough to drive a story -- and I don't think it can be anything very personal. Thing is, my reborn G seems to view Elven death as an inconvenience, so that's not a real threat. I suppose his smug insouciance could cause conflict with others, in itself, and he could learn to really care about Middle-earth... (Second-age Ecthelion might be better, because my E could create internal drama during a beach vacation. But still -- too damn shiny and perfect.)

Comments

[wulfila.livejournal.com]

Enjoy your Easter vacation - it sounds very exciting!

Oh dear, I hope I didn't cause any Glorfindel-related writing doubts with those silly hero thoughts of mine!

If that isn't the case, I am probably the wrong person to give advice, because I tend to consider canon as a mere inconvenience when it gets in the way and would suggest to play fast and loose with it.

If the Halls of Mandos have a revolving door, so to speak, Elven death would be a mere inconvenience (and one might have a lot fun with "I shall kill you each and every time I meet you!"), but perhaps, one could make things sadder and more complicated? Maybe going back to Middle-earth after rebirth means to forego the standard Elven death-and-return henceforward, so that any new death is permanent and there is no return option to Valinor for those who chose Middle-earth? In that case, the decision to go where he was needed even if it meant giving up a lot would have been a sacrifice in itself, and death might not be so easy to shrug off if he doesn't know what comes next this time.

Alternatively, there might be the whole "Are we doing the right thing at all?" route (why, yes, of course, I will tell you he needs to befriend some orcs!) and the question whether the Valar are doing Eru's will indeed with luring the Elves to their gilded cage (that smacks suspiciously of Turgon's equally questionable "hidden city nobody may leave" politics, and look where that got everyone) - ending up in Mandos with such thoughts again to be either brainwashed and/or never released again for fear of sedition might make death more interesting, too. (If one wants to go with that kind of interpretation, his suggestion to send the Ring to the Valar or chuck it in the sea might just be an attempt to test his doubts - will the Valar do the right thing, or are they corrupted indeed and will fall to the lure of the Ring as well? Too bad Elrond had to intervene with that Mordor idea).

And now, I shall stop posting hideously OOC theories. But I would love to see that hypothetical beach vacation fic.

[tehta.livejournal.com]

I don't know... I will think about all this, but I am not sure I want to open a can of worms with the Valar... Except maybe Mandos, who comes across as a jerk.

But my doubts are certainly not your fault. I doubt everything always! Like Ecthelion...

I will see whether the beach inspires beach-fic...

[wulfila.livejournal.com]

All right, no Valar drama then. Here's another thought that might be more in character for your Glorfindel: He obviously thrives on popularity and public recognition in your Gondolin fics. Who says he is going to be all that popular as a returnee to Middle-earth? Apart from those who claim he is probably an impostor anyway and not really that Glorfindel, there might be those who are not happy at all that Lord Elrond obviously trusts him more than others and gives him an important position, especially if there are people who feel he "stole" their job by just turning up again and being a living legend while they did all the hard and less glorious work in the meantime. So, still doing his duty and working for the common good while he is not everybody's darling and has to re-earn the universal respect he enjoyed in his first life might make for an interesting situation/motivation (just running away to Valinor again and leaving the denizens of Middle-earth to solve their own problems would not be very honourable, after all - but tempting at times).

Or perhaps, you shouldn't think about any of this, but simply enjoy your vacation and relax a bit. Things might look different after a short break from writing and doubting. (Easier said than done, I know).

[tehta.livejournal.com]

You are right - it would be hard for g to feel mistrusted. And why should even elrond trust him at first? Elrond might not be inclined to trust his dad's acquaintances on sight...

[wulfila.livejournal.com]

True enough. (And if you want to be really mean, his late-night visit to Erestor's quarters in that short story of yours can cause additional rumours that he must be some sort of dissolute libertine on top of being untrustworthy, because the cleaners have long since discovered Erestor's "secret" stash of ancient documents, fake Vanyarin scroll included, so everyone knows what must have been going on behind closed doors that night, and that without any sort of permanent relationship developing. Shocking!).

[anna-wing.livejournal.com]

He could just be disoriented and suffering from a bit of culture shock when he realises how different Middle-earth is now ("Celebrimbor is doing what?"; "What happened to Beleriand?"). There doesn't have to be conflict with other people as such, just him learning how to deal with a completely new world.