#the extent to which i hate my job cannot be understated

[catofadifferentcolor]

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

War must be, while we defend our lives against a destroyer who would devour all; but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.

I first read The Hobbit in sixth grade. It had long been one of my mother's favorites, and the fact she delayed so long in giving it to me to read was almost certainly so I could appreciate it fully the first time I read it.

I read The Lord of the Rings a year later and one cannot possibly understate the impression they made on me. I read a lot of books, but only a handful have ever jumped up, grabbed me, and glued me to a seat the way LotR has. Despite that, this is only my third read of the series. The Hobbit movies really did a number on my enjoyment of Tolkien and, well, I read a lot and have a to-read pile taller than I am at all times.

The Two Towers has always been my favorite book of the series, which is a bit odd in retrospect. It's very hard to get middles right. It's also organized in a manner that no modern publisher would allow to print - but it works. Misinformation, uncertainty, and hope in the face of overwhelming odds is what LotR is about. Half of the terror is not knowing if your friends are okay or if the Ring is still on the way to Mordor - even if half a book on wandering hobbits is a bit on the tedious side.

Part III has always been my favorite - Legolas and Gimli shine at the start of the book, as of course does Aragorn; Pippin starts growing into his own; and Eomer is a treat I'd somehow forgotten the extent of. Honestly, if you were to crack open my ribs you'd probably find the better part of this book graven on my heart.

Which isn't to say that Part IV isn't still brilliant - but it wears a little, as the Ring wears on Frodo, and if Faramir wasn't there to add some much needed brilliance (if inexplicable lack of desire for the Ring, which is near unique to him) I'd be driven to madness by much of Gollum's speech.

And yet it works perfectly as a book. Nobody knows what anybody else is doing - especially the all-seeing evil powers, though they think they do. It is a glorious parallel for the state of modern warfare, and the overconfidence of evil. Indeed, the powers of good admit their mistakes. Gandalf, Aragorn, Frodo - over and over again they lament their mistakes - but Saruman alone says inevitable and certainty.

Sigh. I remain truly jealous that Tolkien was able to write something so beautifully full of depth and character and history while holding a full-time job and that I can barely get anything off the ground and often end up hating every word I've ever written. The fact that he managed this massive undertaken - and that it was appreciated by the world - gives me hope in dark times.

As always, The Two Towers stands brilliantly as the picture-perfect middle for an outstanding trilogy. I love and adore it in every way.

[woodchoc-magnum]

Not specific to any story, but I’m amazed by how much and how fast you create your stories, you’ve written amazing pieces and in what seems short amounts of time, how do you do it?

It’s honestly amazing and each time I get an email that you’ve posted something I get excited because I know I’m in for something good.

Hope you have a nice weekend! ✨

I genuinely don't know - I'm always thinking about whatever fic I'm working on, I type pretty quickly and I always write when I'm at work as well. On a good day I can smash out a few thousand words; on a really good day (i.e. a boring day at work) I can probably write about 10k. 😅

I get bored at work very easily (because I hate my job) - and I always have my Google doc open with whatever fic I'm working on in the background, and when I need a break from thinking about work, I'll write for a while. I actually find it easier to concentrate on whatever fic I'm working on when I'm at work, because I can't look at Tumblr/YouTube, so there are no distractions (and no, work doesn't count as a distraction, if anything it distracts me from writing!).

And then this may come as a surprise (not really), but I don't have much of a social life to speak of - two of my closest friends recently moved away, and I see my best friend on Saturday nights but other than that it's just me, my cats and my computer (which I'm fine with - I don't want a partner or anything). Plus since the pandemic I haven't really been away on holidays or anywhere, and I don't want to go out right now because of COVID, so... yeah, I have a lot of free time.

Writing has always come very easily to me and I don't know how to explain it. I just find an idea that excites me and then I write-and-write-and-write until it's out of my head!

Pre-911 I was writing a lot as well but they were stories with original characters. Since Buck and Eddie set up permanent, rent-free residence in my brain, they've been all I've thought about for the last two years. Not super great when my ultimate goal is to publish a book, but I figure it's all practice and it's only making me a better writer.

I'm really glad you enjoy my fics! 🥰

inbox me random-ass questions about my fics