This was a gift to a friend. Haleth is one of my favorite Tolkien characters–she’s a leader, and determined. Also, I have to be impressed with someone who led her people through Ered Gorgoroth, the mountains of terror (which even Morgoth avoided!) by force of will alone.
This is heavily influenced by Russian illustrator Ivan Bilibin. Sorry it’s a little wonky in shape. The paper did curl a bit, so the lines are straight. The picture just captures how it’s curled.
I genuinely actually don’t understand where the “Leia has anger-management issues” thing came from…???? Why the heck do people think she has an awful temper and can’t control her anger??? Just because they want to be like LOOK SHE’S JUST LIKE ANAKIN SHE IS TRULY ANAKIN’S CHILD IF ANYONE WOULD TURN TO THE DARK SIDE IT’S LEIA LOOK AT THAT ANGER!!!!!!!!!??
When actually we never really see Leia lose her temper in a situation that doesn’t like, call for a loss of temper…
Like, Leia sassing Vader and Tarkin in my opinion doesn’t count at all as anger management issues??? She’s showing these evil men who are holding her against her will and torturing her that she’s still strong and not being broken or intimidated by them. Likewise when she shouts at Han and Luke during the rescue–she just watched her entire freaking planet get blown up, the people rescuing her clearly have NO COHERENT ESCAPE PLAN and if they don’t escape then the ENTIRE GALAXY IS FUCKED, and she is CLEARLY the most qualified of all of them to be in charge and yet [Han especially] they’re not listening to her. Like it’s a high pressure situation and Leia is RIGHT when she yells because Han and company keep doing stupid shit (firing the blaster inside the trash compactor, shooting in the halls and giving away their position, etc), not to mention Han’s insulting her the entire time.
Then there’s when she yells at Han in ESB. Like, I’m sorry are we really going to attribute ANY of that to “anger management”????? That’s not Leia losing her temper, that’s Leia belligerently fighting against the extreme sexual tension. They want each other so badly and they both can feel what’s going on and so for Leia if she gets angry at him she doesn’t have to acknowledge that she’s in love with him and that she’s hurt that he’s leaving her. PLUS again Han deliberately does everything in his power to push her buttons and call her names and insult the cause that she’s devoted her life to because he’s trying to provoke a reaction out of her… So… Yeah extreme sexual tension and incredible angst. Not “uncontrollable temper” or “anger management issues.” The fact that all of this intense bickering and shouting immediately vanishes once they’ve professed their love to one another is, in my opinion, evidence of that fact.
Yelling at Lando on Bespin. Well, he had literally just sold them to the Empire and was the reason Han was frozen in carbonite and Leia and Chewie had been taken into custody of the Empire which essentially was going to equal death for all three of them, and then he was like “LET ME HELP UWU!!!” Yes, WE know that Lando was in an impossible situation, but if I were Leia I’d also be pretty damn pissed off at the man who had just handed the love of my life over to Vader and his bounty hunters and subsequently reluctant to trust him, wouldn’t you??? I’d hardly call completely called for anger an indication of anger issues.
It’s just. Yes, Leia is FIESTY. She’s not afraid to speak her mind or stand up for herself or snark at people who SNARK AT HER (cough Han cough), but I don’t think there’s a single moment in the OT that indicates that she has “anger management issues” or anything resembling an abnormal temper. Nothing like with Anakin, whose rage leads to his slaughtering an entire village of sand people. She never screams for no reason or gets disproportionately angry at anything. There’s also the trope that she’s just this senator who was unleashing her fury on everyone in the senate and chewing them all out… Why would standing up for justice against evil tyrants and dictators be equivalent to a loss of temper? It’s possible to be passionate about something and speak your mind and even get a little worked up (which I don’t even think she was doing) without losing your temper and failing to manage your anger… I just honestly feel like because she’s a girl and a princess the fact that she shows any anger or sass at all somehow gets translated to FURIOUS TEMPER!!!!!!! when it’s like… no???? You don’t succeed in politics or diplomacy or ESPIONAGE if you can’t control your temper. And the concept of Leia being unable to control her emotions seems to me to be the exact opposite of her characterization–that is, as someone who refuses to let her emotions or feelings or temper interfere with her job. So yeah maybe it’s just me but I honestly hate this concept. “Gets angry sometimes in a situation that would make pretty much anyone angry” does not equal “anger management issues and bad temper like Anakin.”
Just to highlight it again:
“because she’s a girl and a princess the fact that she shows any anger or sass at all somehow gets translated to FURIOUS TEMPER!!!!!!!”
@corellian-smuggler, I think you’ve diagnosed the whole issue right here. A woman who shows anger is an ANGRY WOMAN. This also means that her anger is a problem, a character flaw, something that should be managed better, literally no matter what has occurred to make her angry. Much of the discourse around / treatment of Leia completely reflects that and does the character (and women) a great disservice. If she were a male character, she would have to break a lot more things and hurt a lot more people physically to even register as the level of angry people seem to say she’s at.
And yet. I like “angry Leia.” I like Leia whose disappointment/frustration with incompetence/unwillingness to accept defeat is feared by the people who answer to her (because she is demanding and accepts no excuses, not because she is cruel or violent). The Leia who is unwilling to give up anger simply because it is supposed to be a virtue to do so. The Leia who lets the injustices of the galaxy burn in her belly as fuel to fight them. The Leia who is unwilling to forgive the unforgiveable. The Leia who is sometimes more comfortable in anger because the other emotions are too weighty and she needs to somehow get out of bed the next day. I even like Leia as slightly more vulnerable to the dark side than Luke, because she carries more anger than him, justified anger yes, but anger nevertheless (and yet, of course, she always smart enough, kind enough, wise enough, strong enough not to fall).
Leia as having anger or being angry is not problematic characterization in my view (nor did you say that it was). The idea that her anger is a problem is suspect; why shouldn’t she be angry about oppression that resulted in the genocide of her people, the apathy that allowed that oppression to grow to that point and continue beyond that (as so many capable and able people refuse to engage in the struggle), and all the other things she’s experienced, etc.? The idea that Leia is inherently or unjustifiably angry, separate from external events, or that she has uncontrolled anger is also problem. And in many ways Leia is great at anger management- she is strategic about when she goes off and with whom, as well as how far she goes, and under what circumstances. She can stay steely calm when she needs to.
I like to think Leia lets loose on Han a little because he’s a “safe person.” Like, he’ll still talk to her later, they’ll still laugh together, she won’t have created an intergalactic incident or alienated someone vital from the Rebellion. She’s actually had very little opportunity to just let go and be angry if that’s what she is. Han isn’t alienated by their fights, he always comes back for another one. 😉 If he leaves, it’s not going to be because of a fight with her but because leaving was always his plan. She doesn’t have to worry about alienating him from the Rebellion, because he’s so committed to saying he’s not a part of it anyway and because no matter how many times they fight it doesn’t stop him from helping out. He doesn’t think her anger is a problem or try to talk her out of it or expect her to “manage” it with him.
I see a lot of writing advice, particularly about giving characters flaws. The main advice is “everyone has flaws! make sure to give your character flaws or else it’s not realistic!” And after thinking about it… I would like to challenge this.
It essentially posits a view of human nature that there are good and bad traits, and that these traits can be neatly diagrammed into separate columns, one set of which can and should be eliminated. It tends to go along with a view that posits character development should be about scrubbing away of “flawed” traits until the character achieves more a higher level of goodness, or else the character doesn’t and falls into tragedy. This is not untrue, necessarily. There are definitely some “flaws” that are 100% bad and sometimes a good arc is about slowly losing them. However, I could call this advice incomplete.
Consider thinking about it this way. Characters have traits and often whether or not that trait is a flaw is purely circumstantial.
For instance, fairy tales I read as a child. In some, when an old beggar asked for money on the road, it was a secret test of character. The prince who gave the old man money or food would be rewarded. But in other folktales I read, the old beggar would be malevolent, and any prince who stooped to help him would be beaten, punished for letting his guard down. Now, in a story as well as in real life, either of these scenarios can occur–a stranger who asks for help can be benevolent or malevolent. So which is the flaw? Is it a “flaw” to be compassionate? or is it a “flaw” to be guarded?
Trick question–it’s purely conditional. Both traits are simultaneously a strength and a weakness. Either has an advantage, but either comes with a price as well. And whether the price is greater than the advantage depends on circumstance. The same can be said for most character traits, in fact!
An agreeable character who gets along with everyone will be pressured into agreeing with something atrocious because it’s a commonly held viewpoint. A character who’s principled and holds firm even under great pressure will take much, much longer to change their mind when they are actually in the wrong. A character who loves animals and loves to shower them with affection will get bitten if they try the same on every animal. As the circumstances change, flaws become strengths, and strengths become weaknesses. And even a trait that’s wholly virtuous, such as compassion, comes with a price and can be turned for the worst.
You don’t have to think about inserting flaws into your character. Your character, even the most perfect “Mary Sue,” is already flawed the moment you give her any traits at all. The problem with Mary Sue isn’t a lack of flaws, it’s a lack of circumstances to challenge her properly, to show her paying the natural price. Your job as an author is to create circumstances in the narrative that 1) justify why these traits exist in your character 2) show what your character gains from these traits and then 3) change the circumstances to challenge her.
Make your character pay the price for their traits, for their choices. And then, when challenged, you can make a hell of a story by showing us how they adapt, or why they stick to their guns anyway.
this is well said. there is no such thing as a mary sue character, really, only a mary sue story. when every other character and circumstance revolves completely around the protagonist, that protagonist becomes a mary sue, no matter how ‘flawed’ they are. when the story is true to its own momentum and consequences, and the other characters are complex and have their own motivation, even the most perfect character can’t be a mary sue.
a mary sue isn’t a ‘perfect’ character, it’s a black hole that eats the story.
It’s common knowledge that none of them die at the Nirnaeth.
Common knowledge is wrong. Amrod dies there.
This passes unnoticed from everyone who is not among their family or followers for two reasons. One, it’s extremely easy to mistake Amras for him at a distance.
Two, people do, actually still see Amrod. Still hear him, even. They just don’t see him touching things anymore.
Amras is there when he dies. He goes charging forward, screaming, and then when he reaches his twin, he nearly gets killed himself because he does a double take.
Amrod is there on the ground, blood pooled around him.
Amrod is standing above his own body, looking down in confusion.
Not sure what else to do, Amras grabs the body and continues the retreat with it. His guard covers him. Amrod follows along. He can’t fight, they discover quickly, but he works quite well as a distraction.
When they meet up with the others, Maedhros is in full grim commander mode, and Maglor is desperately trying to force some life back into him. “Look,” Maglor tells him, “the Ambarussa are here. We all made it out. Not all is lost.” And he tries to clap Amrod on the shoulder.
To understand what happens next, you must first understand this:
Elured and Elurin’s first memory of the sons of Feanor is of three of them making their father scream, and then the dreadful silence that followed. They remember being carried roughly through the halls to a blood spattered man who brusquely decided their fate.
They do not have context for this memory. They remember their father wearing a shining gem, but no one spoke to them of messengers or coming war. Even after it was over, few spoke to them of it. They have fragmented whispers of those determined to justify their part in a second kinslaying. They have Curufin’s desperate rant to Celegorm about the importance of finding the jewel so they can help Feanor. They know of the Oath, and they know it hurts them and that it’s likely why none of Feanor’s sons can fully die, and they know their parents are dead, and they know all of these events are related, but no one has ever quite laid all the pieces out for them.
Elwing is a young queen. She has strength and skill, but she has not grown into the fullness of them yet. She is so very young, especially by elven standards, so she leans on her councillors and everyone thinks it probably for the best.
This is what you must understand about the councilors:
They are not, mostly, bad men. That does not mean they always do what is right.
Amras feels stretched, and though he won’t admit to it, in pain. The Music of the world rages against him, at the wrongness that warps around him. It comes on suddenly. Curufin theorizes that having a living twin delayed the effect and that now that Amrod is dead, this protection is gone.
“Doesn’t that mean it’ll hit us sooner?” Celegorm asks.
The dead all look at each other and don’t answer.
“Do you think we’ll start to lose ourselves like the houseless spirits?” Amras asks quietly.
“Probably,” Caranthir says.
Curufin smiles grimly. “At least we’ll have the Oath.”
PLEASE REBLOG AND ADD ANY OTHERS YOU MIGHT KNOW OF ❤ ❤
WOOKIEEPEDIA. The source of anything and everything you want to know related to Star Wars. Good for fact-checking, character history, or simply killing time. There is also, of course, the official Star Wars Databank!
TIMELINE. While hosted on Wookieepedia, this is nevertheless deserving of its own bullet point. This page provides an approximate timeline with dates of all canon material. You can also filter items, so that it displays only TV episodes, for example, or only books, or only movies! Find the Legends timeline here.
STAR WARS SLANG AND PHRASES. A collection I’ve been keeping of phases, slang, idioms, insults, and more from the Star Wars universe. This also contains a glossary of frequently used terms, such as “refresher” in place of “restroom”. Please feel free to use/share!
STAR WARS NAME GENERATOR. This is a fun one AND a life saver. You can generate up to 100 Star Wars-sounding names ( first and last! ) with a click.
The other day I came across this awesome program by accident
(I don’t even remember what I was actually searching for, but on the several
times I’ve looked for a program like this I’ve had no luck). It’s cool enough that I wanted to share it.
It’s called DesignDoll (website here) and it’s a program that lets you shape and pose a human figure pretty much however you want.
There’s a trial version with no expiration date that can be
downloaded for free, as well as the “pro license” version priced at $79.
I’ve only had the free version for two days so far, so I’m not an expert and I
haven’t figured out all of the features yet, but I’ve got the basics down. The
website’s tutorials are actually pretty helpful for the basics, as well.
Here’s the page for download, which has a list of the
features available in both versions.
There are three features the free version doesn’t have:
Can’t save OBJ files for export
Can’t download models and poses from Doll
Atelier (a sharing site for users; note that the site is in Japanese, though)
It can’t load saved files
The third one means that if you make a pose, save it, and
close the program, you can’t load that
pose/modified model later. You have to start with the default model. I
found that out when I tried to load a file from the day before (this is why
reading is important…). Whether saving your modifications (and downloading models and poses) is worth $80 is up to you.
But, the default
model is pretty nice and honestly if all you’re looking for is a basic pose reference
it should work fairly well as it is. Here’s what it looks like:
There’s a pose tag
that lets you drag each joint into place and rotate body parts. The torso and
waist can be twisted separately, and it seems like everything pretty much
follows the range of movement it would have on an actual human.
Even the entire shoulder area is actually movable along with the joint! See, like how the scapular area of the back raises with the arm:
The morphing tag
is one of the coolest features, in my opinion. It lets you pick and choose from
a library of pre-set forms for the head, chest, arms, legs, etc. It has some more realistic body shapes in addition to more anime-like ones. Don’t like the
options there? Mix a few to get what you want! Each option has a slider that
lets you blend as much or as little as you want into the design.
So you, too, can create beautiful things like kawaii
Muscle-chan!!
The scale tag
lets you mess with the proportions and connection points of different joints. This
feature combined with the morphing feature not only allows more body shape
variations, but it also means that you can do things like make a more digitigrade
model if you want. (The feet only have an ankle joint, but for regular human poses that’s all that you really need, so whatever.)
Or you can make a weird chubby alien-like thing with giant
hands and balloon tiddies if that’s more your thing.
The ability to pose
hands to the extent it allows is far more than I could have hoped for from
a free program. Seriously, you can change the position of each finger joint individually, as well as how spread out the fingers are from each other. Each crease on the diagram below is a point of movement, and the circles are for spread between fingers.
And to make it a bit more convenient, there’s a library of pre-set hand poses you can pick from as well, and then change the pose from that if you like.
In both versions, you can also import OBJ files from other places for the model to hold, like if you wanted to have them hold a sword or something.
Basically, this program is awesome and free and you should
totally check it out if you want a good program for creating pose references.
I just wanted to add a little more to this. If you have trouble figuring out how light sources work in your drawings this also allows you to choose where to have a light source.
That shaded ball on the left is your light source. You can see how moving the point changed the shadow cast.
Oh and all those other nifty looking things in that bottom bar there, yeah it’s what you think. You can change the model color to one of these presets or even customize your own palette.
Plus for all you lovely people who want something a little more simplified to use as a pose reference
You can turn your model into the classic wire frame.
Why reblog this? Because for more visual creators, this will be like the lumberjack discovering chainsaws. “Reblog to save lives” as the saying goes.
Note however that this program doesn’t work for a Mac OS. As I found out.
radiantanor.home.blog 