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[camwyn]

I need to dig my copy of The Atlas of Middle-Earth out of wherever I packed it. There's a map of Numenor in there that I want a look at. I've seen one too many badfics lately that gratuitously bash Boromir... dammit, I like the elder son of the Steward. He deserves someone other than his extremely prickly father on his side.

WYGO comes first, of course, but I have a feeling there's going to be a Vimes of Numenor story sometime in the fairly near future. I don't know if it's going to be Cirion Vimes, necessarily (Captain of the Guard of the White City under Denethor II); it could just as easily be Eradan Vimes (Cirion's father), or potentially Lindorie Vimes (daughter of Pelendur Vimes, who was the head of the House when Ar-Pharazon made the disastrous mistake of bringing Sauron back to Numenor). But SOMEONE from the Vimes of Numenor lineage is going to come out soon... Axe of the Grandfathers and all.

Comments

[derien.livejournal.com]

<3! (You rock with your Tolkienesque lineage.)

[dragonwhishes.livejournal.com]

*Dittos with the <3, and she hasn't even READ LOTR.*

[dormouse-in-tea.livejournal.com]

hooooray!

I don't like the Boromir bashing either, and I don't even especially like Boromir. So I'm looking forward to this.

[neotoma.livejournal.com]

dammit, I like the elder son of the Steward. He deserves someone other than his extremely prickly father on his side.

I like him too -- the movies actually helped a lot to make him a person instead of a plot device.

But SOMEONE from the Vimes of Numenor lineage is going to come out soon... Axe of the Grandfathers and all.

Will we get to see someone talk to one of the major LoTR soon? I'm thinking that a Vimes would be quite suspicious of Gandalf...

[camwyn]

Possibly. I did a driblet where I introduced Eradan Vimes some time ago; he was on the scene when Thorongil first turned up, and told Ecthelion that he didn't trust the fellow any farther than he could spit. Cirion, for his part, appeared in another driblet (like a drabble, but with less coherence around a plot point and more sense that it's part of something else), where he started influencing events in a new direction... Cirion might not be fond of his boss personally, but he doesn't like seeing Denethor run himself ragged when Gondor is at stake, so he feels it's his duty to periodically remind Denethor that staying up all night to do whatever it is that sends lights out the window of the highest tower is not good for his health. And Denethor occasionally listens, because Cirion is absolutely devoted to keeing Minas Tirith safe. So either of them might well be a candidate for 'ugh, wizards'.

Cirion driblet

[jessara40k.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've seen that, where is it?

Re: Cirion driblet

[camwyn]

Uff da. The Cirion bit was months ago. Lemme see…

Found it. http://www.livejournal.com/users/camwyn/393133.html is the original, but I'll repost it here.

Cirion Vimes sighed. "You've been fooling with that thing again, haven't you, sir," he said wearily.

Denethor cast a sharp-eyed glance at him. "What of it?" said he. "It is mine by right, as Lord of the City. Would you have me turn aside so potent a tool for the protection of our people?"

"I'd have you use it a bit less often, for one thing," Cirion snapped. "Seems like you're up in that tower flashing the lights off and on every other night these days. Not what I'd call healthy, that."

The Steward smiled, a thin-lipped, humorless expression. "Your concern is noted, Commander. Though I think, perhaps, misplaced."

"As you like, sir," said Cirion, who had learned long ago that when the Steward was in one of his moods there was no arguing with him. "Only it seems to me that a man who hasn't had a full night's sleep in the better part of twelve weeks might miss a trick or two when it comes to mental wrestling, if you take my meaning."

Denethor said nothing, though his eyes went to the window on the East.

Cirion tucked his hands behind his back and waited. Eventually, Denethor shook his head. "Perhaps," he said. "You may go, Vimes."

"Sir."

The Steward might've meant anything, or he might've meant nothing at all. Cirion didn't know and had long since given up on expecting straight answers from the man. But that night, when he paused in his patrol to look up to the main tower of the Citadel, he saw that Denethor's window was dark. He grunted, nodded to himself, and went back about his business. It would do.

[hangingfire.livejournal.com]

Yeah, sometimes I think that a lot of the stupid sorts bash Boromir simply for being human and fallible. The rest of the Fellowship is largely exceptional, and Boromir does, well, what a lot of us would probably do under the circumstances. I mean, even Isildur kept the damn thing against all advice. Not exactly fair to pick on Boromir for being suckered too.

[camwyn]

What gets me is that Tolkien said in one of his letters that he felt Legolas probably accomplished least of the Nine Walkers. That would indicate that Boromir- human, fallible, tempted, dead by the end of the first book Boromir- achieved more in his time on the pages of canon than the fan-favourite. There ought to be way more mad props for that.

[hangingfire.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It occurs to me that the key to Boromir is that even though he IS fallible and tempted, he manages to overcome it and acknowledge his failings before he dies. He goes through an entire cycle of development, really -- hubris to fall to redemption -- in about a fifth or sixth of the total page count of the books. Whereas Legolas kills a bunch of orcs. Peanuts by comparison!

[camwyn]

To be fair to Legolas, he did found a new elven colony in Ithilien. It didn't really last long by Elven standards, because everyone went over the Sea, but that's at least something more constructive.

[bohemian--storm.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, you're officially one of my favourite people. I'm a die hard Boromir protector. I was one of those people who stood up to all the fangirls after the first movie came out and just kept repeating, "Boromir is a good man. He is the best example of a true man in that series."

You've made me want to go back to read the books now. I should do that. It's been almost a year.

[camwyn]

Yeah, he was a bit of a jerk- even in the book he came off as on the arrogant side- but he was a career military man starting from when he was barely old enough to hold a sword. I have yet to encounter someone whose life is that devoted to the military who comes out of it without some kind of personality twist. Believing you're eminently qualified to head the defense of the oldest free nation in the world, and having a lifetime of experience to back that up, is going to give you rather a jaundiced view of wizards and isolationist elf types. He's entitled to that.

[bohemian--storm.livejournal.com]

I completely agree. I remember talking to a friend about it after she'd seen FotR (she hadn't read the books) and she was saying what a terrible person Boromir was to let the Ring corrupt him like that. It just baffled me because I think that he became the most human character because the Ring got to him in that way. I always felt like Aragorn was a super hero and Boromir was the every day man and that's what I loved about him.

Plus, I've had a thing for Sean Bean for ages. ;)

[camwyn]

Occasionally I do an exercise when I set about getting to know a character for a roleplaying game: how would this character react to the One Ring? What would the Ring offer them, and how likely would they be to waver in its direction? I can think of one character I've ever played who wouldn't be touched by that- he'd have the Book!Faramir reaction of 'not even if I found it by the highway would I take it'. Everyone else? Forget it. There is always a way in.

(Although I rather fear what would happen if the Ring wound up in Constantine's London. I have this image of Callum Keith Rennie as John Constantine picking the Ring up on its chain, peering at it, smiling, and going, "Hallo, you..." And the Ring shivers.)

[bohemian--storm.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a good exercise, actually. I can guarantee that one of my characters would try to rule the world with it, one of them wouldn't know what to do with it and ... I think the third really wouldn't let it get to her. 'Cause she's endlessly good.

That's a great visual, though. I can just picture him bent over the Ring and grinning. Wow.

[camwyn]

I had one RPG character I knew would go for the Ring in a heartbeat; he was from Hong Kong and had little to no exposure to Tolkien. When he arrived in the States six years after starting the 'GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW' process, there were three things in the world that he feared: VD, getting a woman pregnant, and the Communist Party of mainland China. (A friend of his had been disappeared after Tiananmen Square and surfaced four years later deaf on one side and all but blind.) If the Ring showed up anywhere near him? Pff. He'd grab it and make a beeline for Beijing, the poor bastard.

So I really can't blame Boromir one bit.

[bohemian--storm.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to picture how Ray would react to it and it's hard. I know he's an essentially good man, but it's the One Ring! I think it would slowly get to him and he'd either go mad or go evil and use it.

As for Lilah? Well, she's the great bitch of the universe and she would love to have that Ring. She almost did get her hands on it at one point in theatrical_muse.

Oooh, please!

[jessara40k.livejournal.com]

I'd just love to read that, if someone, anyone cared to write it.

[teldreaming.livejournal.com]

I'm like that, only for Denethor. Sadly I think I have even less success than you.

[midnightlurker.livejournal.com]

I rather liked the version where Denethor was a Vimes. I'd like to see what that would do to continuity... probably set it on puree...

[teldreaming.livejournal.com]

Second that. I happen to think watery elf he-tarts forging swords at you isn't all -that- as a qualification for kingship goes. I've always wanted to see a good version of Denethor surviving post-war and questioning Aragorn's credentials, rather than Aragorn being shoed in by default. But then, I know I'm partial.

[almeda.livejournal.com]

Metaquoted. :->