Tangentially related to my earlier journal in that LotR is discussed
Man, I really want a big juicy fic detailing Legolas and Gimli's journeying together back to their homes in Mirkwood and Erebor. There's a lot of when they visit Aglarond and Fangorn, a few of them parting and after in their respective homes (and pining, hah!), and one or two of them visiting each other before the Big Move South (lol family meetings), but there's none while they're still going through (or around) Mirkwood, as they'd have to to stay together the mostestest (<-totally a word in Fangirlond) which they'd totes want to do. It could be a wonderful getting-together journey story! Most of the stories either have them fall all over eachother at Helm's Deep or Gondor (the first time) or the Glittering Caves (even in Lorien!). Or they stay quiet for a long time, and finally get together while working for Elessar to rebuild Gondor. If it's the latter, they almost invariably realize while in Lorien/Rohan/Gondor/Aglarond/Fanghorn, but say nothing out of fear. Or then, magically they get over it after parting/pining/colonizing new places/working in Gondor!
This is NOT saying that any of those fics are bad, in fact I love almost every Gimli/Legolas fic I've ever read, and those I didn't love, I liked, even the parodies! This could be because they are one of my few (*cough*lies*cough*) irrevocable OTPs. I guess in re:Mirkwood!travel!fic I just want to see more of them together, and that one's an untold (as far as I've found) story. I mean, think of it guys! There's a million ways to tell it!
Revisiting Lorien and its Lady! Helping with clean-up at Dol Guldur! Or avoiding Dol Guldur, for fear of discovery/ridicule/enforced parting by the other Elves! Battling their way through the remnants of Darkness in Southern Mirkwood, or taking the roads beside the Aduin up to the Old Forest Road… Travelling down that road to prolong the company (and arguing about its name/sharing its history the whole way) or crossing it and heading into Greenwood proper then. Running into Radagast convening with nature at some point, or Beorn’s descendants, or being spied on by other Wood Elves (and Legs having to answer to daddy later on), avoiding the Elvenking’s Halls or having an uncomfortable meeting in them while passing through, rounding the Mountains of Mirkwood (ha! If they could be called that), stumping the dwarves on the River Running, bathing (ohohohohhh!) in the Long Lake, parting at Esgaroth (and confounding the Men that may or may not still be there)…
(They're persistent and correspondingly voracious.) Ooooooooooooh the possibilities! And all the while their friendship’s begun to bloom into something more and they come to an understanding…I wish I could write, let alone write in a passable style.
I mean look: Here’s Middle Earth
Here’s the whole damn trilogy
Here’s the basic path our beloved friends took (with some of the conjecture I was talking ‘bout)
And, for shits and giggles, The Hobbit (During which Aragorn was 10, Gimli was 62, and Legolas was about 78-80 years younger)
And yes, that was all from memory. I am a sad, sad geek. Incidentally, the more I stare at this map and a map of Aman, the more I start relating it to regions of Europe and Eastern America, albeit before much geologic shifting (there are gods, they can do that) and drawn by an ancient, amateur cartographers reminiscent of some of these beauties. I mean, this is a close and accurate depiction for the guys I’m talking about.
Also, why are there no passable height charts for LotR? It would make sense considering that everyone is of a different species/race! I want reference, damnit! Legolas is either adoptive Silvan of Sindarin descent or mixed-race Elf, Arwen is Half-Elven (well, technically quarter Man); Aragorn is a direct-line Dunedain of Numorean descent, Boromir is a not-so direct Dunedain; dwarves like Gimli are mostly 4’-4.5’; ‘modern’ Hobbits have a range of 2’-3’, but Merry and Pippin drank from the Entwash and so magically got a bit bigger.
The only chart I’ve found places Legolas at about 5’6”-5’8,” shorter than Boromir! We can assume Elves have an average range of heights, mostly man-high or taller. Galadriel is man-high, which is just shy of two meters (6’6”), Celebrian is taller. One of the larger Elves of legend had been described as “just a bit over eight feet”, and Legolas is described as “as tall as a young tree”. He’s gotta be bigger that a regular man, even of Numorean descent. And it doesn’t even cover proportions! Gah! I’m gonna have to do this all myself…
Wait, wait, wait…
STOP: STUDY TIME!
This is NOT saying that any of those fics are bad, in fact I love almost every Gimli/Legolas fic I've ever read, and those I didn't love, I liked, even the parodies! This could be because they are one of my few (*cough*lies*cough*) irrevocable OTPs. I guess in re:Mirkwood!travel!fic I just want to see more of them together, and that one's an untold (as far as I've found) story. I mean, think of it guys! There's a million ways to tell it!
Revisiting Lorien and its Lady! Helping with clean-up at Dol Guldur! Or avoiding Dol Guldur, for fear of discovery/ridicule/enforced parting by the other Elves! Battling their way through the remnants of Darkness in Southern Mirkwood, or taking the roads beside the Aduin up to the Old Forest Road… Travelling down that road to prolong the company (and arguing about its name/sharing its history the whole way) or crossing it and heading into Greenwood proper then. Running into Radagast convening with nature at some point, or Beorn’s descendants, or being spied on by other Wood Elves (and Legs having to answer to daddy later on), avoiding the Elvenking’s Halls or having an uncomfortable meeting in them while passing through, rounding the Mountains of Mirkwood (ha! If they could be called that), stumping the dwarves on the River Running, bathing (ohohohohhh!) in the Long Lake, parting at Esgaroth (and confounding the Men that may or may not still be there)…
(They're persistent and correspondingly voracious.) Ooooooooooooh the possibilities! And all the while their friendship’s begun to bloom into something more and they come to an understanding…I wish I could write, let alone write in a passable style.
I mean look: Here’s Middle Earth
Here’s the whole damn trilogy
Here’s the basic path our beloved friends took (with some of the conjecture I was talking ‘bout)
And, for shits and giggles, The Hobbit (During which Aragorn was 10, Gimli was 62, and Legolas was about 78-80 years younger)
And yes, that was all from memory. I am a sad, sad geek. Incidentally, the more I stare at this map and a map of Aman, the more I start relating it to regions of Europe and Eastern America, albeit before much geologic shifting (there are gods, they can do that) and drawn by an ancient, amateur cartographers reminiscent of some of these beauties. I mean, this is a close and accurate depiction for the guys I’m talking about.
Also, why are there no passable height charts for LotR? It would make sense considering that everyone is of a different species/race! I want reference, damnit! Legolas is either adoptive Silvan of Sindarin descent or mixed-race Elf, Arwen is Half-Elven (well, technically quarter Man); Aragorn is a direct-line Dunedain of Numorean descent, Boromir is a not-so direct Dunedain; dwarves like Gimli are mostly 4’-4.5’; ‘modern’ Hobbits have a range of 2’-3’, but Merry and Pippin drank from the Entwash and so magically got a bit bigger.
The only chart I’ve found places Legolas at about 5’6”-5’8,” shorter than Boromir! We can assume Elves have an average range of heights, mostly man-high or taller. Galadriel is man-high, which is just shy of two meters (6’6”), Celebrian is taller. One of the larger Elves of legend had been described as “just a bit over eight feet”, and Legolas is described as “as tall as a young tree”. He’s gotta be bigger that a regular man, even of Numorean descent. And it doesn’t even cover proportions! Gah! I’m gonna have to do this all myself…
Wait, wait, wait…
STOP: STUDY TIME!