Discussion Thread for THE ANCILLARION: Of the Silmarkenstone Conspiracy, etc.

[Kitanna]

Is there any sort of plan on how our merry band of Sues will meet up at the Pony?

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Kitanna

Is there any sort of plan on how our merry band of Sues will meet up at the Pony?

I think Lalaith and Mithalwen are in Rivendell. At least, that's what they said originally. In any case, its not necessary for everyone to be in Bree at the beginning. Part of our party should be spreading angst about in Imladris in preparation for the all-out angst-fest when we arrive (thus Elrond, wishing to be rid of the whole lot of us in one fell swoop, will, in his anxiety, invent a quest to send us as far away as possible).

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

I'm a little bit leery about committing to this, since I've never done an online RPG and my overall creative levels are pretty low right now, but if I can figure out how and when to enter gracefully, how would this character sound?

NAME: Súlómëa (though she prefers to go by Súlaurëa. When the Elves gave her a name, she thought it was Súlaurëa, golden wind, because of her appearance, and was rather disappointed when she heard it was actually Súlómëa, gloomy wind. In ME, she will try to go by Súlaurëa, but anyone who has ever been in Valinor – Galadriel and Glorfindel and even the Balrog included – will know her real name.)

AGE (chronological): Subject to debate

AGE (mental): About... 17, human-wise, sort of that snotty/pouty high-school cheerleader full of herself and "nobody understands the real me" age

RACE(S): Maia

GENDER: Female

SPECIAL WEAPONS/JEWELLERY/OTHER ITEMS: a golden staff, much better than any of the Istari have, because she knows how to use it like a proper quarterstaff – when she isn’t tripping over it, getting it tangled in her long golden tresses, or knocking herself in the knee, foot, or jaw with it. It will also act like a lodestone for magical items, so there should never be a problem keeping track of the Ring and its bearer (theoretically).

RENOWNED CRAFTSMAN WHO MADE THEM: She tried to wheedle Aulë into making it for her, but he didn’t have the time, so she whined until he caved and told one of his lesser Maiar to make something quick for her to get her to go away. She will claim, however, that it came to her from the hands of Aulë himself, since he was the one who handed it to her when she came to pick it up.

SPECIAL ABILITIES:

1. Whining until she gets her way (she calls it “encouraging cooperation”).

2. Singing in minor keys – even if the song is in a major key, she will sing it in a minor key, or sing louder until everyone has to sing in a minor key to stop the dissonance. This can prove remarkably effective in dispersing crowds and breaking up brawls, because people will run from the sound of her singing. Unfortunately, it also can break glass and cause deafness or insanity if it goes on long enough.

3. Since she wasn’t sent as one of the Istari, she’s not in a real mortal body, so she doesn’t feel the need to follow their restrictions. She particularly likes popping in and out of places with a thought (or without a thought, which is all too often the case).

4. She can do a remarkably good imitation of Námo's trademark Voice Of Doom.

SPECIAL PET(S): Pet? Aren’t all these silly Eruhíni creatures supposed to be pets? Especially Hobbits?

RELATIONSHIP TO TOLKIEN'S CHARACTER(S): She thought she would be one of the people of Manwë and Varda when they first entered Ëa, and though Manwë put up with her for a while, he wound up fobbing her off on Námo and Nienna when her singing started a plague of depression with the rest of his servants. When Nienna gets tired of her, she sends her to Námo, and when Námo gets sick of the constant griping and moaning, he sends her back. They sent her to Irmo for a while, hoping that the atmosphere of Lórien would improve her mood and disposition, but Estë declared that Súlómëa’s part of the Music was undoubtedly the root of the Children’s Seasonal Affective Disorder, and told Irmo to send her back to his siblings. Unfortunately, when she got back to Mandos, she heard that her brother Pallando had been sent away as one of the Istari, and she was livid that A). he didn’t tell her, and B). nobody asked her to go, since she had always been much wiser than he.

IS IN LOVE WITH: She fell for Olórin when he was studying with Nienna, and tried to get him to notice her while she was in Lórien. It drove him crazy, which (aside from his wife's insistence) is why Irmo agreed to send her back to his siblings; he couldn’t get in even a ten-minute session with his Counselor without Súlómëa showing up to swoon.

IS LOVED BY: Nobody, absolutely nobody, they don’t understand her, and she just doesn’t know why *sob* *sniff* But she’s bound and determined to get Olórin to give her a good requite – once he gets out of that rather disturbing and icky mortal body. She could even get used to that, though, if he made it worth her while.

APPEARANCE: Tall, taller than Galadriel or any female Elf, with perfect porcelain skin (luminous, clear, and pasty white), LONG (down to her ankles) luxurious golden hair that always seems to be flowing in the wind, and amethyst eyes with golden flecks, brighter than the stars. Sometimes TOO bright (they glow in the dark). She always wears sky blue, partly because her brother was one of the Blue Wizards, and partly because she still thinks she should be one of Manwë’s people, so she will NOT blend into the scenery, unless they happen to be in ME’s version of Hawaii or the Caribbean.

TOKEN FLAW/WEAKNESS (which proves that your character is NOT, repeat NOT, a Mary Sue!): She whines if things aren’t going her way. She can depress anyone with more than a minute of her singing. She trips over her own hair a lot of the time (especially when trying to use her staff). If she braids it to get it out of the way, she has a tendency to knock out other people, or herself, when she tosses her head. She also ticked off the Valar when she left Valinor without permission, so even though they won't come after her directly, one never knows when she might get struck by lightning, or caught in a sudden flood, or tangled in a web of vines that wasn't there a second before, or knocked over by an earthquake....

TRAGIC PAST/OTHER REASON FOR ANGST: She is SO misunderstood by just about everyone in Valinor, especially the Valar, who just can’t seem to see why she’s so terribly special and deserves a better job than running messages between Námo and Nienna (which they could send just as well in osanwë, if they wanted). If Sauron would recognize what she’s really worth, she’d consider throwing in with him – if she didn’t have that unrequited crush on Olórin.

REASON THE FATE OF MIDDLE-EARTH DEPENDS ON YOUR CHARACTER: Well, Alatar and Pallando disappeared on some beach in the East and haven’t been heard from for just ages, Curumo is an arrogant SOB who thinks he’s so smart, he’ll wind up making a mess of things just to show off, Aiwendil is a literal bird-brain, and poor Olórin just shouldn’t have to do all this without the help of at least one Wizard who isn’t all tuckered out after nearly two thousand years stuck in that old mortal body, the poor dear. If she doesn’t give him a hand, who will?

Just a thought... not sure I could pull it off, though this would leave an opening for her to come and go, as I might need to. Any thoughts?

[Nerwen]

Sorry for the delay in posting... I've had heaps of work on.

I'll get something up in the next few days.

EDIT: Ooo, a Maia-Sue! They're the pits... mainly because one can make them ridiculously hyper-powered, and still claim it's "canon".

Just a suggestion– I think Súlómëa should be the sixth member of the Istari. It's one of the classic types. She's just Somehow™ not subject to the same rules. (No Sixth Istar has ever had to appear as a wrinkly old crone...)

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Just a suggestion– I think Súlómëa should be the sixth member of the Istari. It's one of the classic types. She's just Somehow™ not subject to the same rules. (No Sixth Istar has ever had to appear as a wrinkly old crone...)

Not a bad idea. Heaven knows, I've seen enough of that sort of tripe, especially when the Sixth Wizard is female. Though I rather like the notion that she did this without permission and ticked off the Valar, so she never knows when they'll do something to try to cook her goose to get her to go back where she belongs. Throws in an element (or four elements ) of uncertainty that will also make it possible for her to depart the scene for a while without having yet another pout or hissy fit. Getting struck by lightning out of a clear blue sky can do that to a person.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Ibrîniðilpathânezel

Not a bad idea. Heaven knows, I've seen enough of that sort of tripe, especially when the Sixth Wizard is female. Though I rather like the notion that she did this without permission and ticked off the Valar, so she never knows when they'll do something to try to cook her goose to get her to go back where she belongs. Throws in an element (or four elements ) of uncertainty that will also make it possible for her to depart the scene for a while without having yet another pout or hissy fit. Getting struck by lightning out of a clear blue sky can do that to a person.

What color Istar is she? We have white, gray, brown and blue already taken. Fuscia? Mauve? Something to highlight her eyes or skin tone? Ecru would be good. The Ecru Istar. Nice ring to it.

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

Well, since she's a very bright sky blue, I should think Cerulean would be the most appropriate. Teal, Turquoise, Aquamarine, or any other overused synonym in the blue spectrum would go. But given how overused Cerulean is in bad fanfic, I opt for that. It would offset her flowing golden hair so nicely, too. And she is Pallando's sister. Also, this allows the potential for confusion as to whether or not she is one of the two Blue Wizards who disappeared and Do Not Come Into These Stories. (As a matter of fact, I seem to recall at least one piece of lousy fanfic in which one of the two Blue Wizards was declared to have been a woman, who of course came back to rescue the Fellowship, or to defeat Sauron in the Fourth Age because the company had actually somehow botched the job and didn't really defeat him completed. Ack.)

[Morthoron]

*Snickers malevolently*

Yes, where would our flailing Fellowship be without an insipid Istari? That coming and going bit will work out fine, as you can say it has a relevance to canonicity given Gandalf's frequent bouts of secretive flightiness from Bilbo in The Hobbit and Frodo in LotR. It's just that in this case, Súlómëa (or Súlaurëa, rather) tends to go AWOL for no apparent reason (save pouting perhaps).

Excellent, Ibrin!

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

Yeah, and people can even call her "Sú" without inspiring confusion or pouting (unless they mean she's a windbag).

[Kitanna]

I put up a save, though this isn't fast moving enough to warrant a save. However, I'll actually contribute to this silliness if I have a save up.

[Oddwen]

Pardon my thread necromancy - but I noticed that your story is lacking a huge part of the fanfic base...any mention whatsoever of Legolas.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Oddwen

Pardon my thread necromancy - but I noticed that your story is lacking a huge part of the fanfic base...any mention whatsoever of Legolas.

Oh, I had that one planned for the future.

[Ibrîniðilpathânezel]

I'm still observing. Perhaps I shall write a paragraph about observing...