Seasons of Drabbles – Fall 2022

Another seasonsofdrabbles round is at an end, and – as always – it was tremendous fun! I love how much leeway a drabble exchange gives folks to be experimental.

I wrote two fics:

"sorrow for sea-fare" for zdenka
Tar-Míriel/Uinen, double drabble sequence (600 words)
Summary:
And it came to pass, while the wood of Nimloth burned, that Tar-Míriel – who had ever loved the night-blossoming Tree – slipped from the palace, and came in secret to the westward shore.

"stands yet the wallstone" for Microscopium
Object and concept anthropomorphism, triple drabble
Summary:
The city had no name.
This was a new state of affairs, and the city was still getting used to it.

I'd been re-reading some of Oscar Wilde's fairy tales before sitting down to write, and I think it shows: the first is reminiscent in some ways of "The Fisherman and His Soul", the second of "The Remarkable Rocket" – only a little bit, and a very poor reflection, but the influence is there. fiona15351 very kindly betaed both, and she was the one who suggested using a line from "The Ruin" to title "stands yet the wallstone", which gave me the idea of titling "sorrow for sea-fare" with a line from "The Seafarer". (In retrospect, "stands yet the wallstone" would have been an excellent title for "Deep Roots", my TRSB fic this year, but…well, hindsight's 20/20.)

I received two fics as well:

"blessed" by sincereously
ASOIAF, Baelor the Blessed, single drabble sequence (700 words)
Summary:
Seven perspectives on Baelor, for each of the seven gods.

Folks, "blessed" is the Baelor fic of my dreams! It's a nuanced and beautifully written take on a deeply complex character, and might just be my favorite Baelor fic out there. I genuinely teared up reading it, and I truly can't recommend it more highly.

"annealed" by allegoriesinmediasres
Maedhros/Fingon, paired single drabbles
Summary:
"... and the Orcs fled before his face; for since his torment upon Thangorodrim his spirit burned like a white fire within… "

― Quenta Silmarillion, "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"

"annealed" is a lovely and poignant Maedhros character study, with some sweet Russingon as well. For its word count, it packs an outsize punch!

I wrote "nidicolous" for AllegoriesInMediasRes as my assigned recipient in the summer round of this exchange, and I think I was their assigned recipient this time, so we clearly have tastes in common! I think I'll keep an eye out for their prompts in the next round…

All in all, definitely a very good time, and I'm looking forward to the winter round!