Fannish observation, feel free to ignore
*snickers*
In Tolkien - specifically, Silmarillion - fanfic, there's a sort of movement that strives to explain the originally mythological goings-on and/or backgrounds in other ways, mostly natural science. Sometimes this results in really awesome stories and thought experiments while sometimes I dislike it because it deconstructs things just a bit too much for my taste. Kinda like in real life, really: If it gets too deconstructive, I'm off...
Anyway, among the MEFA nominees is a story that explains how the Elves got to "awake" in Middle-earth in the first place by taking the good old sci-fi plot of the prisoners exiled from some other planet for some reason (in this case, free thinking and creativity, but I always have to think of the The Restaurant at the End of the Universe where they're hairstylists, fashion journalists and other people their society found, um, expendable, IIRC. Ai Valar, I feel a cross-over plotbunny coming on.). Anyway, the point is that they weren't put there by some creator, but by space aliens. I know how that sounds, but it's actually an awesome piece of fanfiction and it isn't long, either, so why not read it if you're curious? Hey, it's a fine enough premise as long as we're moving in the realm of fiction anyway. I'd just be raising my eyebrows if you wanted me to believe such a story about, like, real humans on, like, real earth...
Anyway! Why am I telling you this?
Because one of the previous reviewers wrote something that made me facepalm and laugh at the same time, namely:
[...] And who is to say that Eru Iluvatar did not so arrange matters to allow it to happen this way? [...]
AHAHAH. Oh dear. Way to miss the point, darling!
To be honest, I actually believe that he - and no, this is no generic masculinum, this actually is one of the rare guys in the fanfiction business, and yes, it is a business in the sense that damn, we're busy - anyway, that he did get the point and did that on purpose because WHAT MUST NOT BE CANNOT BE. Which is kinda scary. I mean, I love to hate Eru and/or the Valar as much as the next Fëanorian, but that doesn't mean that I have to think they're real, or prescribe to my characters or worse, other real people to think that -- you get the point.
(Personally I do like to think that Eru and the Valar are kinda sorta real within the framework of the story. But whatever floats your boat and sinks your island, really. And in this story, they really have no place.)
(I thought I'd never get to use this icon. Finally! Finally! >:D)
- - -
In more productive news, I cut all the reeds in our constructed wetland (thank you, al_pha!), because that's what you have to do in autumn to keep it nice and orderly and growing back next spring, or something. Most of the reeds I used as mulch for the garden, but some I kept to try making skeps later on. No, I won't use skeps on my real bees, but they'll be cool to have for LARP events. Remember, guys, it's all fun and games as long as it only happens to fictional people! Or bees, as the case may be.