Getting the ball rolling

I've finally gotten up the courage to make a DW account...and now I'm so nervous I haven't been able to make a first post! I've been involved in online fandom to some extent (through FFN at first, then Tumblr and AO3) for a time period that's rapidly approaching half of my life, but as I'm still a bachelor's student that really isn't very long at all - less than a decade.

The truth is that it's been a while since I've managed to finish any fic, mostly thanks to my academic commitments forcing me to become a hermit in the library for a few weeks every quarter, but I'm hoping that getting involved with fan community on DW will give me the inspiration I need to sit down and just get things on paper.

So hello! Nice to meet you! I'm so excited to be here.

Elrond

I see a lot of people interpreting Elrond and Elros’ choices as Elros being bolder than Elrond because he chooses the unknown, but I think of it a little differently.

Elrond’s choice to be numbered among the Eldar takes an immense amount of courage. He’s seen firsthand in Maedhros and Maglor the sheer weariness that comes from the (theoretically) unlimited lifespan of the Eldar, but he still chooses to risk that misery. He takes a chance on Middle-earth. However terrible Elros’ life in Numenor could turn out to be, he’s only stuck there for a finite amount of time. Elrond is betting everything on Middle-earth.

There’s a lot of talk about how Elros’ choice to accept the Gift of Men shows his willingness to embrace circumstances as they come, that he isn’t afraid of change, and I’m not saying that isn’t true; but that same character trait is something Elrond definitely has as well. If there's one thing Elrond isn't, it's over-cautions. It takes a lot of guts to commit yourself to life when you have very little idea where it will take you and you could be around forever.

The Time I DEFINITELY Met Maglor IRL

I grew up in Monterey, California, otherwise known as the last bastion of suburban "normalcy" between the hippie enclaves of Big Sur and Santa Cruz, and also kind of a tourist trap.

I was down by the beach around sunset once when I heard a hauntingly beautiful and unearthly tune. Rounding a sand dune, I found a disheveled man playing the didgeridoo as I have never heard it played before (and having grown up near Big Sur I have heard rather more didgeridoo playing than I might have liked).

He played for several minutes, until the sun sank fully below the horizon, whereupon he bowed deeply to the sun and informed me that he spends his time traveling up and down the California coast, playing his didgeridoo on the beach every sunrise and sunset.

Only one conclusion may be drawn from this. Maglor son of Feanor wanders the coastline to this day, lamenting the evils done for the sake of the brothers’ dreadful oath - and plays a mad didgeridoo.