#wren wips: partial transcript

[wildwren]

Partial Transcript - a Middle-earth Dystopian AU

One hundred and fifty years after a technological arms race, the Noldorin system of geoengineering has proved dominant over (and annihilating to) the resource-intensive Melkorian industrialism. Now, the Noldor live in great towering havens where they rule over the sky, known as the Beacons. The descendants of the Melkorians survive on the depleted Ground, scraping what lives they can out the waste of a once-great technological culture, heavily surveilled and criminalized by a system of bureaucratic Noldorin Councils. Smack dab in the middle of these tensions, Halbrand Gorthaur, known dissident and purveyor of Melkorian ideology, finds himself under suspicion for the recent disappearance of one of the Noldor. His Beacon-mandated defender (and suspected paramour) Galadriel Arafinwë has seemingly vanished into thin air, which is not an easy feat under the ever-watchful eye of the Beacon seeing stones. The stone-magic is the source of the Noldor's dominance across the entirety of the Beacon-range, and it's all justified by their Great Project, the Preservation of Worldly Beauty, their organic superiority -- or so they like to believe. But Galadriel had a different belief system, and now Halbrand has no idea where she's gone. He does, however, have a troubling blank spot in his memory from the days surrounding her disappearance. After failing to rouse the loyalty of his collaborator Thuringwethil, Halbrand sets out on his own, desperate to avoid being thrown in another gilded prison, but he's not entirely defenseless. He carries with him some of the last of the Melkorian comm tech -- the secret kind that can outsmart Noldo stones. As Halbrand travels the Ground, meeting old friends and making new enemies, passing along messages both mundane and coded, he suspects Galadriel may be playing a game of her own. But he has no means of fathoming where she's been hiding, how far her plans reach, or just how central he already is to their fruition. After driving himself to the very edge of the Beacon-range, Halbrand -- if he can even call himself that -- will face an entirely new challenge: an unmapped wilderness more hostile than anything he's encountered before, and a true psychotic break.

more posts to come re: the galmiriel of it all! i have so much more to share from this wip, including fic and fanarts. im having a lot of fun with it. you can keep track of the updates at my partial transcript tag. and if you're intrigued by the world or the premise, please don't hesitate to send me an ask! i would love to talk about it i have so much to say ha hah

[wildwren]

help you guys i just wanted to write a saurondriel "public defender with inappropriate relationship" AU and now it's become an experimental multi-POV gone girl-esque missing person mystery set in a dystopian elf surveillance state. oh also its OT3. but NOT the one you think. why

[wildwren]

wip wednesday

thanks for the tag @brynnmclean! ive been excited to share a bit from my dystopia au . who knows when ill be ready to post any of this, but honestly working on it has been getting me through. anyway, the set-up for this fic is kind of complicated, and due to a recent unfortunate comment i received, im having some doubts about whether my writing is comprehensible at all sooooo

general wip notes: galadriel is missing, saubrand is under investigation for it, they're exes.

general wip worldbuilding notes: This fic takes place in the aftermath of a major cultural conflict, much like the Second Age of Middle-earth. After a technological arms race, the Noldorin system of geoengineering proved dominant over (and destructive to) the resource-intensive Melkorian industrialism. Now, the Noldor organize their society into great towering havens where they may rule over the sky, known as the Beacons. The people on the Ground survive in a state of post-industrial informal feudalism, closely surveilled by the bureaucratic Noldorin system.

here's a snippet of Saubrand and his complicated criminal bestie Thuringwethil (who i decided is not a butch lesbian, but a high femme tgirl lesbian. in case you were wondering.)

“Anyway,” Wethil says, before Halbrand can start. “I didn’t even know you’d been picked up until yesterday, and by then, they'd let you go, right? Or close enough anyway. I was at a gathering.”  Halbrand’s curiosity snags on her evasive tone. “What gathering? Where? Did you make any useful trades?” “No. You wouldn’t have enjoyed it.” She studies the beds of her milk-white nails. “It was down at Udûn.”  “Eurgh,” Halbrand says, not shocked but disappointed. “You haven’t joined that cult, have you?” He imbues the words with as much disdain as he can manage.  “Oh, stop it. They’re not that bad.”  Halbrand makes a face. “What sort of self-respecting Melko makes his disciples call him ‘Father’? That’s Noldo bullshit.”  “Maybe he’s not an old-school Melkorian,” Wethil says.  “I rest my case.” “He’s much less your enemy than some others who you hold more dear.” Wethil raises her dark eyebrows meaningfully.  “About that.” Halbrand turns, pours a shot of his own, and shoots it back in the time it takes Wethil to crack each of her shoulder joints, and her jaw. They both know they’re getting to the business. “Friend,” Halbrand says, turning back to her with a smile. “Do you remember, by any chance, whether we saw each other on or around the night of February 18th?” He lifts his empty glass once. “You’ve always had a keener memory than mine.”  Wethil’s not immune to flattery (he knows this), but her eyes narrow now. “Why are you asking?”  “I have…a gap, that’s all.”  “A gap?”  “I don’t remember what I was doing on the night of the 18th. Or the day after. Or the day after that.”  “I don’t understand.” “For – fuck’s sake! That’s the night the missing Noldo disappeared! And I don’t have an alibi.”  Wethil stares at him for a moment, then snorts. “‘The missing Noldo.’ Listen to you. Who cares if you don’t have an alibi? They’ll get you for it one way or the other, if that’s what they want. I’m not about to present myself at a Beacon for testimony.”  “What if I did something to her?” The words explode from his mouth, too long buried, chewed over in silence. He should’ve done another sweep for any plants before spewing off about this topic. Either way, it’s too late now.  “What if I…hurt – the Noldo.”  “Oh, Sau,” Wethil says, tilting her head once to the side, using that name that sets Halbrand’s skin crawling. “You’re worried about her.”  “I’m not, really. Galadriel can take care of herself.”  “Galadriel!” Wethil exaggerates each syllable with a sadistic sort of glee. “Your girlfriend.”  “She’s not my girlfriend.”  “She was sort of your girlfriend. And now she’s your ex-girlfriend, who you may or may not have murdered. You have to admit, it’s a little bit funny.”  Sauro – Halbrand throws his ceramic cup at the far wall beside Thuringwethil’s head. It explodes in a shower of clay dust.  “Alright then,” Wethil says, nonplussed. “Not funny. Wasn’t she obsessed with you? Who’s to say she’s not fucking with you now?”  Halbrand is in better control of his emotions, now. “The thought has occurred to me.”

tagging @mirdaniaa because i need to see more snippets from your eregion fic. and anyone else you wants to do it!!! please let me know if you'd like to be tagged in future! i just try not to be annoying lmao