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Caranthir, while dark in temperament to match his dark hair, is a largely maligned character within The Silmarillion. Ill-fitting among his brilliant family, he is quick to anger, withdrawn, and a brooding figure. Yet, he develops into a man astute in his alliances, open to change, and defends the free lands of Beleriand as much as he is able. ...When he is not kinslaying or fulfilling terrible Oaths. Like all of the flawed Fëanorians, he is captivating in his own way.

This fic is an ongoing series of character studies of Caranthir, Carnistir Morifinwë,

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Slap-happy rough draft energy - Caranthir edition

When one's been writing for a long time (for fanfic is a guilty pleasure and a break from smithing original creations), one tends to get giddy. That said, filler to set the tone of a conversation in rough draft is a good way to keep the energy of a scene without having to do the heavy work of actually writing:

"'Father plans to ride north in a month,' Maedhros said quietly, handing the block back to Amrod, who rolled across the rug and began building another tower. 'He says Ambarussa is old enough to ride with us this time. Mother and I think not, but you know how Father’s will is all. ...Mother will not be riding with us.' Caranthir scowled, a default expression that he never could control. It frequently made the wrong impression. 'She always has before.'

'She needs time to finish her work.' Maedhros said, lying back on the bed and covering his eyes with his wrists. “Plus, Dad is being a DSM-5 narcissist again.”

'I totally get that,' Caranthir said. 'What a dick.'

'Language,' Maglor warned from across the room. A badly plucked note fell from his fingers. 'It is amazing what small ears can hear.'

'I didn’t hear Caranthir calling Dad a dick,' Amras said, adding crenelations to his portion of the castle. 'What’s a dick, anyway?'

'Like a weenus,' Amrod said, giggling. 'Dad’s a weenus.'"

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I am forever team terrier-dressed-as-an-alien-mammalian-lizard-bug and will die on this hill.

the ultimate fantasy vs sci-fi standoff

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Collecting green bugs, without pins or ether.

Green Flash (Artipe eryx excellens), family Lycaenidae, Malaysia

photograph by LC Goh

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My new favorite Local Bug, aside from our family of House Centipedes.

Utah's most special guy, the Coral Pink Sand Dunes tiger beetle, only occupies a 1800m x 300m area in the state park of the same name. This guy is NOT going places!

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Green moth! I lichen her.

Orache moth, Trachea atriplicis, Noctuidae

Photographed in France by Matthieu Berroneau

Shared with permission; do not remove credit or re-post!

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They have always been friend-shaped.

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In the Dust

After the brutal death of King Oropher at Dagorlad, Thranduil must step into leadership in the last push to overthrow Sauron. Examines the burden of kingship, the balance of self versus duty, and male friendship in a time of great loss. Character studies of Thranduil during the Last Alliance at the end of the Second Age.

Five chapters, completed series.

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Companion piece to my series, March of Maedhros. Takes place after the chapter "Vigilance," which does not need to be read to enjoy. Mostly explicit and erotic—I keep sex scenes separate from main works for those who are not into that sort of thing. Some characterization, but it's mostly two Elf princes being consensual and naughty together.

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Also known as "Waking up at 3 a.m. without a pen-pad and pencil."

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Snek gate, for sneks.

Snake Gate, nr. Tintern Abbey, England

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Fingon characterization

I used to think of Fingon as The Valiant, that clean-cheeked Jenny Dolfen-esque hero with a noble brow who gazes into the middle distance while swanning off to rescue Maedhros from the hell of Thangorodrim.

In writing Fingon, I find that while indeed The Valiant, he's just another haughty Noldo jerk. He is heroic, just a total jackass.

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Character studies of Maedhros, son of Fëanor, from his rescue on Thangorodrim to the Second and Third Kinslayings in Beleriand. This March explores his relationships with Fingon, Fingolfin, Maglor, Celebrimbor, and his extended family throughout the First Age.

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Next time I have to endure an elementary-school friend birthday party I’m gonna take along these fine people.

Happy Wednesday everyone!! Have a fantastic day!

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Beau!! This is what I imagine the uniforms would have looked like had the original Star Trek series received the budget and support of its studios at the time of filming. Television was a different kind of frontier then, with a shorter vision, and much of the costuming then came out of theatre rather than screen. That we would still adore Trek 55+ years later never occurred to studio execs in the 1960s.

Mccoy AU1.0 Concept 102522a

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Art livestreams, art shop, and support me by buying me a kofi - all on my pinned post on my tumblr!

Art live-streamed on twitch at “almalvo”~

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PATREON COMING SOON!⏬

(HD renders/Process Timelapse Videos/Canvas Files/ Exclusive Projects/and more!)

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Be right back. Goin’ to the grocery store in flu season.

515 - Contaminated

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This is how I, too, interpret the Bashir-Garak dynamic. Both men have traumatic childhoods that were the outcome of manipulative parents, but what allows Bashir to salvage his sense of love if that, in a twisted sense, his parents really did love him. Garak, however, was used as a means to an end by his father, and his mother was too low on the Cardassian social structure to do much about it while likely also accepting the social convention. Garak is capable of love, but that sense was atrophied on purpose to protect himself, for the sake of his position in the Obsidian Order, and in Cardassian society as a whole. Love is latent within him during his time at DS9; he is able to recognize love but discards it in favor of forming alliances. This is why he approaches Bashir. Here is a pretty toy that he covets, and the doctor’s position in Starfleet will allow Garak to keep his eye on the Federation. (Doctors exist both within and without the chain of command, allowing Bashir—and thus Garak—greater potential leeway for getting/giving information.) But love does not enter Garak’s affections (for he is affectionate and flirts in a Cardassian manner), but if he feels inklings of love he must quash them to the level of unconscious yearning. I feel that Garak’s love for his father, Enabran Tain, exists in this same repressed space. True, Garak openly looks for his father’s approval (torturing Odo, skirting back into Cardassian society when tempted but not quite giving in, etc.) in a way that is acceptable to the son of the head of the Obsidian Order. But approval and love are not the same thing. The only time we see true love for his father emerging, and a little boy’s craving for love that never came to be, is when they are in the Dominion prison (”By Inferno’s Light”). Garak’s shell breaks precisely once, when he lifts his head and sighs, obviously crying, as he asks for Tain to acknowledge him as his son. This is a moment that leaves Bashir in clear distress as he looks on. In the end, Garak never gets his father’s love, but he does get his father’s approval (”I was proud of you that day.”) and that is close enough for Garak. Had a loving, romantic relationship between men been allowed to happen on 1990s television, this moment in the Dominion prison would have been a perfect turning point for Bashir and Garak to openly fall in love from that season on out. I would argue that it is at that moment that Garak begins to lose the armor of being “A Cardassian and Son of Tain” and instead becomes a man who is capable of love, even if he does not recognize it at first. He allows Bashir to witness him at his most vulnerable, in excruciating emotional pain, something that a secret government operative like Garak would not have been able to allow at any earlier time in his life. Cardassians as a whole do not allow people outside their family to witness family rites, but here is Garak, allowing Bashir into the circle of family, as one might a spouse. There is a connection deep between Garak and Bashir, even if Garak cannot yet give voice to its exact shape.

Honestly, I want a reversal.

Garak never thought of Julian amorously because of many reasons-- regardless of how attractive and sweet and everything he was-- he wasn't Cardassian and even if he were, he was too nice. (Sure, he'd thought to have a tumble in the hay, but he'd never thought about loving him.)

Julian pined forever after Garak, and after the war was over, decided to come to Cardassia and tell him about his feelings.

Garak being socked in the gut with the realization that he's been in love all along and freaking out over it.

Everyone always writes it the other way round.