Comments on Taking Readings I

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Optimism is a pretty little thing isn't it?  That is the feeling I sense on reading this.  And just because something is beautiful and delicate in appearance it does not mean that it is weak - ask the spider!

Your allusions to various Springtimes in Arda work well throughout the piece along with the snippets of hopeful possibility that this, my favourite, season offers...

Nice is not an offensive word.

Best Regards,

CiH.



Thank you very much! No, nice is not an offensive word at all!

I agree, optimism is pretty, perhaps, but not weak. As I rather tend to pessimism myself, it is something I really admire.

By the way, I was glad to see you are working on The Great Tales of Beleriand again! I've been meaning to re-read, but at the moment I've got  a lot of reading to catch up on.

 

Oh I recall that conversation.  How pleasant to see this pop up today.  This is an excellent way to explain Vána's function, an undying curiosity while the world's other attributes as manifest in the other Valar decline to weariness.  The way you illustrated Vána-nature in several familiar characters was perfect.



I'm glad you approve! Actually, when I had written this, I went back and realized that I'd missed part of the conversation, but that some of what had been said remarkably agreed with what I'd been trying to convey here!

Which reminds that I was going to go and check out Lirillo at HASA, but I haven't got around to it yet...

For whatever reason, from last night to this, I've been lonely, mopey and just plain lazy. I've had all the chapters from this story up in tabs for about a week and only just now read them.

I've noticed that this one in particular has gottent the most attention from your reviewers, and rightfully so. It seems simple at first, but underneath is a deeply uplifting sentiment, and one reading has elevated my entire mood tenfold.

When I'm depressed, I often think about when people tell me that I need to do something different or make some kind of change in order to improve my situation, but it never makes me feel any better nor does it make me feel like acting on that sentiment. I think this little piece highlights why: the new and unexpected should be about the wonder and the possibilities, not just the chance of personal fulfilment.

"And Bilbo runs out the door without a handkercheif." Brilliant, absolutely brilliant.



I'm very sorry to hear you've been depressed--and delighted if this piece managed to lift your spirits a bit!

It's a rather unusual story for me. I was partly influenced by Dwimordene's piece on Nessa, which I had just read-- and so writing it, too, was a bit like an unexpected gift at the time, which I'm happy to share if I can...

I've always thought that not only Fëanor, but all Noldor, must have felt almost "trapped" in Valinor. They really belonged to Middle-Earth, they loved to have their own kingdoms, their own spaces to live, learn and explore. Valinor was, to them, a "golden cage", but a cage anyway.

But the Vanyar, in my headcanon, were different. But it's possible that, as you say, they were also trying to find their own place in Valinor, and, in a way, were as restless as the Noldor. Interesting point of wiew.



Yes, I agree about the Noldor or at least many of them. Not all the Noldor who felt restless were even of Feanor's party and I think at least some of the restlessness was there even before Melkor fanned the flames. Feanor certainly shows it. But it must have been quite a shock after Feanor's trial, for some of them, to realize how they had been manipulated by Melkor nevertheless.

As for the Vanyar, their movements here are more or less canonical: first to Tirion, then to Valmar, then further up Taniquetil. Of course those movements are usually interpreted differently--but it seemed to me that you could argue that there is a similar restlessness here, just in a different direction, with a different focus.

Of course, there is a reason I gave these words to Aegnor: because he has both Vanyarin and Telerin relatives and connections and also because of what we know about his fate later on.