dawn_felagund | The Daily Drabble--x2!

Obviously, I missed the daily drabble yesterday. I was a busy girl, finishing AMC and doing beta-stuff (and some work too...really!) and then utterly exhausted for my last two hours at work. So I thought it better to wait until today and do the words some justice.

Just a reminder to those who want to play along with the daily drabble, you can get the words at Dictionary.com or through the

dictionary_wotd LJ feed.

So, without further ado, the words for yesterday and today are:

stolid \STOL-id\, adjective:
Having or revealing little emotion or sensibility; not easily excited.

Examples
"Normally stolid, she occasionally joined in the frequent applause and smiled along with the laughter at the
high-spirited session."
-Seth Mydans, "Indonesia Leader Imposes a Decree to Fight Removal," New York Times, July 23, 2001

"The inherent irrationality of markets was first demonstrated in the 17th century, when the normally stolid Dutch population was seized by a tulip craze that caused the people to pay insane prices for a single bulb."
-Robert Reno, "Analysis: A market that rides on bubbles," Newsday, August 7, 2002

"Republicans hailed Kemp as a quick-tongued charmer who would ... appear in attractive contrast to the stolid Al
Gore."
-James Fallows, "An Acquired Taste," The Atlantic, July 1, 2000

"Ulster Protestants are a slow, stolid, quiet, decent, law-abiding people, unstylish and unfashionable."
-John Derbyshire, "Paisley Goes to Washington," National Review, March 15, 2001

Eymology
Stolid derives from Latin stolidus, "unmoving, stupid."

metier \met-YAY; MET-yay\, noun:

An occupation; a profession.

An area in which one excels; an occupation for which one is especially well suited.

Examples
"The pairing of Maynard and Salinger -- the writer whose metier is autobiography and the writer who's so private he won't even publish -- was an unlikely one."
-Larissa MacFarquhar, "The Cult of Joyce Maynard," New York Times Magazine, September 6, 1998

"In Congress, I really found my metier.... I love to legislate."
-Charles Schumer, "quoted in Upbeat Schumer Battles Poor Polls and Turnouts and His Own Image," New York Times, May 16, 1998

"He is in the position of a good production engineer suddenly shunted into salesmanship. It is not his metier."
-James R. Mursell, "The Reform of the Schools," The Atlantic, December 1939

Etymology
Metier is from the French, ultimately from Latin ministerium, "service, ministry, employment," from minister, "a servant, a subordinate."

~oOo~

Today's double-drabble incorporates both words and is built off of the Felak!verse notion that Maedhros is skilled in the arts of diplomacy, something not as obvious in his father.

Destiny
My father found his métier with ease, as though it came upon him from a place beyond the world and took hold of his hands; as though something mightier than him was shaping the artifacts for which he gained renown. He would not entertain conversation on “destiny”—he snorted in derision at the mere mention of the word—but he seemed an example of that very notion he shunned, as though he’d been created with thought of his later works in the shape of his hands.

I too sought my hopes, and the proclaimed superior agility of my mind sent me into the stolidity of scholarship, into hours lost in the company of only books.

It was joy I found, but at what? The praise of my father, my peers, of seeing my words upon the desks of luminaries? It was when I was freed from the confines of the library and chanced to speak with others, to take their hands in mine, that I found happiness, although this grieved my father, that his firstborn should become one of the “politicians” whom he despised, dealing not in concrete thought but in something diaphanous and immeasurable.

Something a lot like destiny.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Mmmm... beautiful work, well done. I'm reading it after having finished the first chapter of AMC (which I have gone back to, BTW) and the mood is very much the same, as the 1st chapter of AMC has Miatimo in the library.

You've comprised many things in just a handful of words: Feanaro's shunning of the "destiny" idea (he and I see eye to eye on this one), expressed by this wonderful expression: as though he’d been created with thought of his later works in the shape of his hands.; Maitimo's natural talent of relating with people (which I also believe he possesses, and it's not just Felak!verse) and his initial attempts to follow his father's scholarly pursuits, if not his interests in the material part of is craft. And you've done a great job at outlining the relationship between then, plus the more realistic view that Maitimo has of pretty much everything.

I'll do the drabbles tomorrow. Now I'm a little tipsy from an experiment with red wine, vanilla and cinnamon. ;) The words are OK, except for one thing... "métier"... Merde! (That's crap in French). I can speak French pretty well but Mandos... I HATE IT! So I'll probably be using an equivalent of the word when my mind is sober enough to think of a drabble or two.

I also don't like the notion of destiny, but it seems to exist to some extent in Tolkienverse, since Namo can see the results of actions before they happen. Of course, we never know how reliable he is with this. Mehtinks we need an empirical study. ;)

Still, I don't see Feanaro as the type who--even in a world where there is decent proof of destiny--would accept such a notion. He's so proactive and always shaping things...I don't think he'd want to believe that he is walking into a future that has already been made for him.

I agree with you that the canon certainly seems to imply Maedhros' skill in diplomatic matters. The "Union of Maedhros" is certainly one accomplishment. (Personally, I prefer a different "Union of Maedhros" *pervy fangurl cackle*)

I look forward to reading your drabbles! I never had French but rather Spanish (although I am "merde" at it...or "mierda," in Spanish :^P). So the other day's "paterfamilias" was more my speed, although I had trouble fitting that word into my notion of Silmfic.

Red wine, cinnamon, and vanilla sounds good...although right now, it'd probably put me to sleep!

Still, I don't see Feanaro as the type who--even in a world where there is decent proof of destiny--would accept such a notion. He's so proactive and always shaping things...I don't think he'd want to believe that he is walking into a future that has already been made for him.

I feel exactly the same way about him. And almost everything he says in the Silm points to this. Of course, the fact that you and I think the same way makes us even more inclined to think of him as such.

Lol, the challenge words are really weird, sometimes, and hard to fit in a Slimfic drabble, especially since I want all of mine to be with and/or about Feany, but I will try to make the most of it.

Oh, I do like your Maedhros!

I like him too. I mean, besides for the obvious reason that he's...well...hott. ;)

*nibbles Fingon's ear in your icon*

Oh, man, that is beautiful. I love it, Dawn. I love how you show Maitimo's graceful movement into the destiny that he has accepted while his father doesn't understand it, being too immersed in his own gradual loss of sanity. I just want so much more of this type of thing! This drabble is simply wonderful.

More you shall get. ;) Upcoming stories in my epic will focus more in Maitimo moving into his "destiny" as a leader versus a creator, even a scholar. He already knows that he is inferior to his father in this, and his natural gifts point him into the very station that Feanaro despises.

*rubs hands eagerly in anticipation of strife and angst*

Silliness aside, thank you--as always--for your kind words. :)

Don't mind me for trying out different icons in these comments. I'm trying to decide what to keep and what to discard.

*salivating over expectations of upcoming stories*

I love strife and angst!

I find myself quite entertained by your icons.... ;)

I like that. It's calm and nice and...there's some simplistic quality to it that I like. :)

And I was thinking "oh dear, Dawn's forgotten already...for real this time!" :P

I find that drubbles lend themselves to calmness and poeticness (if that's even a word...too lazy to look it up) more so than drabbles. In those, I'm always trying to create an impact. Sometimes, I fear that my drabbles feel formulaic.

Anyway, I have not forgotten. ;) Dictionary.com reminds me with an email every day. As soon as I finish answering my comments, I shall do the word-of-today and the word-of-yesterday. Probably another drubble. ;)

Yeesh, my computer doesn't like me...

Yes, drubbles can be very nice for calmer themes. Actually, I'm rather partial to the drabble-&-a-half!

And I'm glad you haven't forgotten!

BTW, I'm *not* skipping class...we got out early!

I was wondering...earlier, I was *this* close to asking, "Are you playing hooky??" but then decided that you don't need me scrutinizing your (mis)behavior online. That'd be kind of creepy! :^P

The new drabble is up, btw. ;) And I will read yours this afternoon. (I gave up on my flist at about the 80th post. o.O)

Haha, well I knew you were secretly wondering. ;P

Yay new drabble! I'll have to go read it, but might not be able to before my *gulp* chem lab.

I don't believe in destiny.

Come to think of it, I don't think Feanor would either, though many elves seem to...

*goes off to ponder*

Destiny certainly seems present in Tolkien's world. Namo, for example, can see the outcome of events before they happen. But I'm with you that I see Feanor as shunning this notion. As proactive of a character as he is, I can't see him shrugging his shoulders and saying, "Eh. What will be will be, then."

And I'm with him in that. The idea of destiny sucks, in my humble opinion! ;)

The Daily Drabble--x2!

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