#fanfiction help
Does anyone know what Vitkor’s nickname/pet name for Yuuri is in Russian? It starts with ‘so’ or 'soy’ or something like that. It’s pretty commonly used in fics, but for some reason I can’t find it.
I wish I had some people to swap ideas with regarding alternate universe what if possibilities concerning how the war in Gondor, Rohan, and Eriador might progress if Sauron regained the One Ring. There are the usual forums, but there is are ideological differences between fanfiction writers and non-writer fan/scholar types. (Fanfiction writers tend to be more creative and open minded in their approach to Tolkien’s world, while non-writers tend to look down upon alternate interpretations of the text, or deviations from it in creative media.) I don’t want to argue with someone who is convinced that their understanding of the canon is the only right one, or those who shut down these sort of discussions because they feel that a Fourth Age that starts out with Sauron in command is too depressing to contemplate.
It would be good to discuss these matters with people who are open to multiple and possibly conflicting interpretations of the canon, and all of the various ways one can diverge from it while still remaining rooted in Tolkien’s lore.
In The Circles, Sauron has regained the One Ring, and now controls the eastern part of Gondor. There were major Mordorian losses in Rohan, and as of the summer of 3019, Rohan remains free.
When he started writing The Circles, one of Angmar’s goals was to bring a First Age feel to the Third/Fourth Ages. He was especially inspired by the dark years that followed the Nírnaeth Arnoediad and the fall of the various strongholds of Elves and Men. He also liked the concept that not all the elves would flee to Valinor, but that many would stay, and fight for Middle-earth. Therefore, in The Circles, there ARE elves at Helm’s Deep, but it’s the Second Battle of Helm’s Deep, and the elves are from Rivendell and led by Glorfindel.
The Circles was inspired by a RPG of which Angmar was the gamemaster. He was forced to end the game prematurely, and so he made Mordor win major victories in eastern Gondor but suffer major losses Rohan. This resulted in a temporary ceasefire, with Rohan, west Gondor, and Mordor hastily making fortifications and seeking reinforcements. Since The Circles was originally meant to be a campaign in this RPG, Angmar and I carried over these ideas into the fanfiction version of the story.
I like the concept of a sort of cold war between Mordor and East/West Gondor, as Sauron works on fortifying and strengthening his hold in eastern Gondor while planning his next move. I can see a lot of spying and espionage going on, as well as border skirmishes. Outlaws, rebels, La Résistance. (Angmar led an Occupied Gondor campaign towards the end of RPG, in which the Mordorian occupying forces in eastern Gondor demanded that the people pay extravagant tribute to their new overlords.)
For the sake of the story, I don’t want Sauron to achieve swift widespread victories. There is this attitude in the Tolkien fandom that if Sauron regains the Ring, BOOM, all of Middle-earth will be his. However, it takes weeks for an army to get from Point A to Point B, and many of Sauron’s allies come from a great distance from the lands with whom he is waging war.
Also, Angmar envisioned there being dissent within Sauron’s own allies, nations and tribes who resented paying tribute of money and slaves to the Dark Lord. With the publication of Nature of Middle-earth, it turns out that Tolkien had the same idea - that the Blue Wizards were working behind the scenes, stirring up resentment against Sauron, and this was one of the reasons that led to Sauron’s forces at the time of the War of the Ring not being as strong as he would have liked. While Angmar did not get a chance to do anything with the Blue Wizards, he did play around with the concept of rebels and revolutionaries. In the early days of Angmar’s RPG, he entertained the idea of the peoples of both the West and East joining together to fight against Sauron in a sort of War of the Last Alliance type situation - but something like this would probably occur later in the Fourth Age. (He imagined Sauron as eventually becoming more and more power mad, to the point of Morgoth-style insanity.)
In the summer of 3019, the war in Gondor and Rohan seems easier to contemplate than the conflict in Rhovanion. I’m not sure what parts of Rohvanion would be most important to Sauron. Angmar and I thought that Lorien would fall first, because Galadriel couldn’t use Nenya to defend her territory if Sauron had the One Ring. However, over the years, I have had some second thoughts about this, because there is significant evidence that Galadriel has similar powers to her brother Finrod, and was able to destroy Dol Guldur with her own native strength even after Nenya lost its powers. Also, while Galadriel can’t wear Nenya when Sauron has the One Ring, I’m not sure his having the One Ring in his possession would negate the defensive spells laid on the area using Nenya in the past.
I think Lothlorien would have personal significance to Sauron, especially since now he knows that Galadriel was a Ringbearer. But I’m not sure what order of significance the other Rhovanion territories would have - Thranduil’s kingdom, Dale, the Lonely Mountain, the Beorning lands, and any Northmen settlements. The Rohvanion front is often overlooked in favor of Gondor and Rohan, both by fans and by Tolkien himself.
There is another matter to consider. Since he now has the One Ring, perhaps Sauron’s goals might shift to reclaiming the Three? The war for Middle-earth might morph into Part Two of the War of the Elves and Sauron.
A CAVEAT… I don’t actually want to write a war novel with a lot of combat scenes, but these are events that would be taking place in the background of more peaceful plotlines. The Circles was never really meant to be about the war, but how the war affected the characters.
NOTE: These topics are further explored in Galadriel vs Sauron and the Fate of Lorien.
someone in a fanfic: s-stutters in embarrassment
me, closing the tab: sorry I must go
Unrealistic Stuttering: “S-sorry I-I d-d-didn’t m-mean t-to…”
Realistic Stuttering: “Sorry, I uh… I didn’t mean- I didn’t mean to do that…”
When people stutter, they usually reword what they’re saying as they speak, and subconsciously insert “filler words” such as “uh, like, you know,” and etc.
*puts on speech therapist hat*
ACTUALLY! It depends on why they are stuttering.
A Nervous Stutter results in what is called Mazing, or rewording the sentence. That is the classic “I, um… well I… look it’s just that… so we…” that @hellishhues is talking about. When someone is mazing their words you’re seeing a form of Speech Apraxia where the brain is having trouble forming verbal speech. This can be brought on by brain damage, memory loss, anxiety, nerves, and several other things.
The root cause of a nervous stutter is a disconnect between the mouth and the brain.
With this you will also sometimes see the classic “S-s-s-sorry…” especially if the person has been training to speak clearly and is now at a point of fatigue or stress where they are not mentally capable of forming the words.
The other kind of stutter is a Physical Stutter, sometimes referred to as slurring, and another facet of Speech Apraxia. This stutter is caused when the muscles of the mouth, tongue, and throat are physically unable to form certain sounds. This is most often seen in the very young and victims of brain trauma.
Sounds are acquired at different ages, so a 2-year-old will probably not be able to clearly pronounce certain words (which is why toddler sound so off when they’re written with developed dialogue). These mis-pronunciations are sometimes referred to as lisping, but only if the sounds are run together. If the person starts and restarts the sound because they got it wrong, it can also sound like the classic sound stutter.
But it all depends on why the character is stuttering!
Do they have Speech Apraxia, Audio Processing Disorder, muscle dysfunction, or another medical reason to stutter? (1)
Are they stuttering because of anxiety, stress, or fatigue? (2)
Does the stutter stem from intoxication or blood loss? (3)
All of those will sound different!
1 - Will have mazing, repeated sound stutters, and be the classic stutter that annoys OP.
2 - This is where you’ll see the repetition stutter, mazing, rephrasing, and filler words.
3 - This is where you are more likely to see starts and stops and slurring of words.
My mum has apraxia and I just wanted to say that’s one of the most concise and clear ways I’ve seen it explained, thank you!
Scars are the part and parcel to our life experiences. They are the marks left behind that we can point to and say: when that happened, I got this. Every character will have a few scars. However, whether they got those scars on the battlefield or from running into a piano when they were six is anyone’s guess. It’s important to remember that all scars can have meaning and they do not necessarily rate importance based on how traumatic the experience receiving the scar was. Scars are part of your character’s physical history and a memory inhabits each that only they may know.
Scars can be an important physical indicator of a character’s life experiences and whether your character is a casual martial artist or a soldier, it’s likely that they’ll have at least a few. The character who the scar belongs to is the only one that can tell other characters what it means, only they really know the full extent of its history and what it reminds them of. So, when you are writing about scars, it’s important to track what a character will say, what they won’t say, and what the scars they carry can give insight into who they are and where they’ve been.
