b2mem | B2MeM 2013: Wildcard Day

The Ruling Ring passed out of the knowledge even of the Wise in that age; yet it was not unmade. For Isildur would not surrender it to Elrond and Círdan who stood by. They counselled him to cast it into the fire of Orodruin nigh at hand, in which it had been forged, so that it should perish, and the power of Sauron be for ever diminished, and he should remain only as a shadow of malice in the wilderness.

Chances are you've had a moment like this: gone the distance, gotten to the very edge ... and failed to finish what you started.

Throughout the month, we will offer weekly wildcard days, days when there are no new prompts but instead a simple, Tolkien-related task, for those who wish to participate. We hope wildcard days will give you a chance to refresh your muses, read, catch up on your WiPs, and breathe! :)

Our third wildcard day task: Finish something.

While completing that dusty WiP or finally commenting on that story you've read five times and absolutely love hardly have the gravity of finishing off the One Ring inside Mount Doom, we all know we have our minor Isildur moments ("Umm ... weregild. Yes, right, weregild!") when we have something we know we should and, maybe, deep down inside want to do--and yet don't.

Participants today should finish something related to their fannish participation. This can be as ambitious as finally completing that long-enduring WiP or as simple as leaving a comment on a story you've always meant to express your admiration for, finishing that final copyedit, getting a piece posted to your journal or archive, or reading that story on your wish list that you never seem to have time for. As always, you decide what counts for this challenge, and we encourage you to be creative. If you want to share what you've done for today's challenge, feel free to leave a comment on this post.

So chase off those spoon-thieving relatives, find a cozy place to settle in, and use today to finish something!

'Well, I've made up my mind, anyway. I want to see mountains again, Gandalf, mountains, and then find somewhere where I can rest. In peace and quiet, without a lot of relatives prying around, and a string of confounded visitors hanging on the bell. I might find somewhere where I can finish my book.

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Our third wildcard day task: Finish something.

I finished something! I had a nice star of Feanor I had been holding on my harddrive for a while. I wanted to make a banner of the Union of Maedhros used in the Nirnaeth Arnoediod with it. I did it. It is here on the SWG now:

http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.org/archive/home/viewstory.php?sid=1738&chapter=6

Hooray! It probably goes without saying that I love it! :D If I had a real one, I'd fly it on the flagpole in front of the house.

I should probably make you one and hold you to that comment! I know how to make banners like that from my university days!

If we hang a Ravens flag in front of the house (there's an Irish flag out there right now), then I will fly a Feanorian banner. ;)

My inner history geek wants to point out that black on red is heraldically unsound (and unwise; in bad light, it'll simply look like one big dark field). Wait a moment, I'll shut her up --

there we go! I quite like the design idea. Combining the Star of Fëanor with a Silmaril-y core is rather clever, IMO!

I am sure it does not reflect heraldric standards of the middle-ages (and certainly not Tolkien's), but it harks back to my youth. I am all about using The Silmarillion to tell my own stories.

I didn't even make the connection there! Very cool. I don't tend to put much stock in Middle-earth-as-Middle-Ages either and haven't studied Tolkien's "canon" heraldry enough to know to what he extent he did/didn't conform to heraldic rules of that time period (or developed his own). (Not that I'm good with heraldry anyway. I always disliked that aspect of the SCA.)

I get a kick out of heraldry in general. But do not really know the rudiments of it in enough detail to concentrate largely on it. George R.R. Martin had a lot of fun with it. The bottom line would be to be able to identify ones allies on a battlefield? I am not even sure about that.

Here is the one I use on St. Patrick's Day of an Irish regiment of Union troops in the Civil War.

The only rule I think I ever internalized after six years in the SCA--and designing heraldic devices is one of Tristan's specialties, so I heard a lot about it--was colors can't touch colors and metals can't touch metals. I think. So the [medieval] herald would have a problem with red on black since they're both colors. I thought the [medieval] herald would have a problem with Finrod's crest since yellow touches green, but I think the yellow is actually supposed to be gold--metal!--which makes it okay. However, symbolically, I think red and black are a potent combination; I could go on at length about what a choice of black over white, silver, or gold might mean for the House of Feanor at this point, but I'll spare you. ;)

GRRM's discursions on heraldry are always a signal to me to skim! :D It's weird 'cause I liked heraldry as a kid ... the SCA has soured me, I guess, on this as with many things.

We get a lot of heraldic detail on the various Houses of Gondolin and, of course, the Elvish heraldic devices (although those don't originally have battlefields in mind). So you're right, I should've done some research about Tolkien's heraldic rules first! ^^

Yeah, the country I live in has a heraldically unsound flag, too (two tinctures bordering on each other). Modern heraldry often cheats (either by not giving a damn at all, or by re-defining Gules (the colour red), a tincture, as Copper, a metal. Which would make black (tincture sable) on red (metal copper) completely legitimate. (Still doesn't legitimize the German flag, though, because even if you say the red is copper so it can border on black, you have a problem on the other side, where the "copper" is bordering on gold, another metal -- metal on metal is only allowed for the Vatican.)
-- anyway. I'm sure you didn't want to know that!
Nice connection to Che, though. I hadn't thought of that at all (I'm probably too young)!

YAY! I need this task. *scurries off frantically to look through old stories from 2012*

Lol! I thought this might be a good week for it. From past B2MeMs, I know this is the point where a lot of people start thinking, "OMG, I have so many things started ..." and wonder how they will finish them all. 2012 was an especially good year for that! :)

*g* Yes indeed. Just wait! I will be back to this entry in triumph or, um, something.

And here is what I did today: A short story from B2MeM 2011 and a double-drabble from B2MeM 2012 finished/edited and posted. I kinda poked at a few other things and pushed them a bit closer to completion, but they aren't finished so I won't count them.

I finished the long overdue 2nd chapter of my story "The Riddle of Strider" =)
FFN: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8544347/2/
SoA: http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterview.asp?sid=7055&cid=31651

Edited 2013-03-17 20:06 (UTC)

Okay, I did it! I created an account and joined a group! Now I need to finish my profile and add post, so as not to be mistaken for a troll.
Thanks for the nudge in the right direction, scared little me would never have dared that without this b2mem task!

I have been trying to add a story at the SWG site but when I preview it, it shows the wrong series. So I will leave some reviews instead.

That is a bug in the software. If you add the story, it will not be placed in that series. Placing a story in a series is a step completely separate from adding a story to the archive.

Oh, ok. I thought I was doing something wrong somewhere. I will add it then, and try and get a few more reviews in.

Pledge to finish: Chapter Two of my Cuiviénen fic (I don't need yet another abandoned WiP!) and doing a beta.

Hah! There's already been a lot of spring cleaning in my WiP folder thanks to earlier prompts... but now I can finish practically ANYTHING? Perfect! :D

B2MeM 2013: Wildcard Day

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