B2MEM: Frozen (drabble)

[were_lemur]

Disclaimer: Tolkien's. Just borrowing.
Character: Denethor
Warning: Just Fucking Depressing

They say his heart froze, when his Lady died, though they dare not say it loudly. The Steward, never a patient man, has grown cold and harsh in his grief, and even his sons cannot thaw him.

They said he did not cry, even at her deathbed, though he sat for three days without food or sleep. His tears were unshed, they say, and so they turned inward, and froze around his heart.

Months turned into years turned into decades, as his heart froze in his chest. In the end, even the heat of the pyre could not warm him.

Comments

[sealover-astara.livejournal.com]

Just Fucking Depressing
True. But it makes the guy all the more huggable. *sigh* In short, very good!

BTW, I'm glad you're still into Denethor. *wink*

[were-lemur.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you liked it. I wasn't sure if it was going to be unreadably depressing or overdone or just plain mawkish.

[illwynd.livejournal.com]

Poor Denethor! *sniffle* Nice drabble! ^_^

[were-lemur.livejournal.com]

Of everybody, I think it's Denethor I feel worst for. He seems to lose the most and gain the least, and dies thinking that everything he fought for is going to be destroyed.

*wibbles*

[b2wm.livejournal.com]

Sad, but wonderfully written.

[were-lemur.livejournal.com]

You like me! You really like me! :p Seriously, I'm glad you liked it. Sad is hard for me. I'm never sure if I've got it right, or if I've tipped over the edge into bathos. If that makes any sense.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_grayswandir_/]

Dude. Very nice.

I know just what you mean about the difficulty of writing depressing fic; I'm always paranoid about entering the "overboard or just plain mawkish" territory too. It's a difficult balance. But I can tell you, you did this beautifully. The whole ice and fire business -- lovely. This, honestly, is more how I see canon!Denethor; for purposes of enjoying fanfic I'm usually willing to suspend my disbelief and let him be a little softer, but what you have here strikes me as being closer to what Tolkien intended.

And for heaven's sake, when is a Denethor fic not going to be depressing? Even in the canon, depressing is what Denethor is for. It's probably why we love him so much.

[were-lemur.livejournal.com]

This, honestly, is more how I see canon!Denethor; for purposes of enjoying fanfic I'm usually willing to suspend my disbelief and let him be a little softer, but what you have here strikes me as being closer to what Tolkien intended.

And the squeeing was heard throughout the land.

Wow, this is seriously, absolutely, utterly high praise. Um, wow. Close to speechless, here, and grinning like the dork I am. And saying "wow" a lot, apparently. ;)

I actually wrote the fic backwards. I got the last line first, with that imagery, and then built the rest of the fic to reach that point.