Meme

[tarigwaemir]

DeWolfe Apts., on the Feast of St. Elizabeth of Schoenau

Tagged by kenbu: Explain your LiveJournal name, its meaning, and mention an alternative username you would have used. When you're done, tag as many people as there are letters in your name.

Haha, this explanation is a little embarrassing, which is why I removed it from my userinfo a few years ago, in hopes that it would make stumblers-by less able to immediately discern my pompous and ridiculous side. Not that it's made much difference since everyone asks me sooner or later about my username anyway. So, once again for those of you who have been wondering but never found a chance to ask.

My first fandom was Lord of the Rings before I even really properly knew that fandom existed in its current online community form. (In other words, before I met tryogeru and lush_rimbaud.) I used to hang out on the Tolkien message boards on AOL's member forums, which in turn led me to Member Fiction Forums, which were a cross between fictionpress.net (yes, with all the Mary Sues) and roleplaying communities. It was there I began inventing various personas, all of which got elaborate Mary Sue names. Some of these I still remember, like Aura (dark blue dragon shapeshifter who was a guard at the temple of Shangri-la) or Celyre Titheray (I derived the last name by looking up the Latin word for "weaver" because yes, she belonged to a weaver's guild).

My favorite, however, never appeared on any message board or forum, but remained as an alter ego for all your typical middle school fantasies. Tari Gwaemir was constructed out of words taken from The Silmarillion's Quenya and Sindarin appendix. You see, tári roughly translates to "high one" in feminine form, i.e. "queen" or "lady". (Tar is the masculine form. Annatar or "Lord of Gifts" was another name for Sauron when he was busy corrupting the hearts of the Numenorean kings. Elentári or "Queen of the Stars" and Kementári or "Queen of the Earth" were Elvish titles for Varda and Yavanna, respectively.) Gwae means "wind" (see Gwaihir meaning "Windlord", the eagle who rescued Gandalf from Orthanc, although I think this is the Sindarin form) and mír means "jewel" (a common root in female names according to the appendix, see Míriel, Fëanor's mother). If you put it together, "Queen Windjewel". Yes, that's the sort of girl I was at twelve.

(As you've noticed by now, I was a Silmarillion nut. I like it better than the trilogy, although I'm one of the few people that do. I also liked the appendices in Return of the King.)

For the curious, Tari Gwaemir was a hunter, the wise woodsman (or in this case, woodswoman) who guides the hero and his entourage through perilous woods, etc.

Anyway, years later, I decide to consolidate all my online names, of which I had many, into two so that I wouldn't get confused and forget passwords all the time. I used Saga Ludi for real life correspondence and Tari Gwaemir for everything else. Since that was around the time I began using LiveJournal (back in 2002), naturally my LJ got named tarigwaemir. Now, Saga Ludi is largely abandoned, and only a very few high school friends will remember that name. But I use "tarigwaemir" everywhere, and it's become too entrenched for me to change it.

Besides, its origins aside, I always thought Tari sounded nice.

Speaking of which, my mother once said that she thought I should get a middle name because there were so many people with my real name out there. How would I be able to distinguish myself otherwise? She brainstormed for a while about what sort of middle name I should have. Some possibilities considered were her maiden name, the name I would have had if I were born a boy, and various favorite saints of ours. I told her that online, I went by Tari, and she said, "That sounds like a nice middle name!" Hah.

People usually call me Tari online but I don't mind being addressed by my real name. That being said, I try not to use my real name too often in public posts, mostly because I think it's a safe habit to practice, even when unnecessary.

Not tagging anyone because "tarigwaemir" has 11 letters. >_<

sub_divided has inspired me with her experiment. I'd like to attempt something similar, although I won't be able to write six hours a day. Maybe one hour (and three hours on weekends), of anything fictional in nature? I'll try it out starting today. Clearly I won't have much output but maybe it will add some structure to my life. Also, maybe I'll actually get around to finishing the alphabet drabbles.

Off to watch soccer. Korea vs. France!

Yours &c.

Post-script: This icon has reminded me that 왕의 남자 or The King and the Clown has been out on DVD (and hence the Internet) for quite some time. For the Lee Junki fans on my friends list who haven't gotten their hands on this movie yet, I have it on .avi with subtitles and am willing to upload.

Comments

[thisresonance.livejournal.com]

(As you've noticed by now, I was a Silmarillion nut. I like it better than the trilogy, although I'm one of the few people that do. I also liked the appendices in Return of the King.)

OMG, I love you! XD I don't know very many people who like The Silmarillion the best, either. I'm a big fan of that, the appendices and The Unfinished Tales. I am disappointed Tolkien didn't write more about The Last Alliance of Elves and Men and that whole age. I've had an obsession with Gil-galad since reading Sam's "Gil-galad was an Elven-king" poem in FotR. XD

(For the record, my "Tolkien name" was Eleniel [elen "star", -iel "maiden"]. I might've had others, but I don't remember any of them anymore.)

sub_divided has inspired me with her experiment. I'd like to attempt something similar, although I won't be able to write six hours a day. Maybe one hour (and three hours on weekends), of anything fictional in nature? I'll try it out starting today...

That reminds me of an entry worldserpent wrote a long time ago (and I've given up finding again). She linked a Q&A page on Philip Pullman's website (http://www.philip-pullman.com/about_the_writing.asp). He talks about his writing process and how he forces himself to write three pages a day. It's very interesting and a lot of what he says made me respect him so much more. I like what he said about how writers should write for themselves and not their readers. Even if you don't like his books, it's a good read.

Post-script: This icon has reminded me that 왕의 남자 or The King and the Clown has been out on DVD (and hence the Internet) for quite some time. For the Lee Junki fans on my friends list who haven't gotten their hands on this movie yet, I have it on .avi with subtitles and am willing to upload.

I'd raise my hand for that one, but I actually have no more room on my computer. :( I need to remember to devote some time to burning my favourite animes and deleteing all the stuff I don't want anymore...

[troisroyaumes]

Yay, another Silmarillion fan! ::hearts back at you:: I was especially fond of Finrod Felagund as well as the whole story of the fall of Gondolin. One of these days I plan on hunting down all of Tolkien's old notes compiled in the eight-volume History of Middle-Earth. XD By the way, "Eleniel" sounds very lovely and has the added advantage of being linguistically correct (unlike mine). ^_^

I think I've seen that link on Charmian's LJ before, but yes, it is inspiring, isn't it? I don't think I can manage three pages of fiction, even if I did sit around for six hours. The interview also reminded me that I have yet to read Lyra's Oxford. ::adds to the to-read-next list::

[matrixrefugee.livejournal.com]

Whoa-WOW! Glad to see I'm not the only one who digs The Silmarillion big time! I read that when I was 14 or 15 -- I think -- long before I read LOTR, and I utterly loved it, appendices and all (Doesn't stop me from loving the affectionately silly fansong someone wrote about having trouble understanding it, since I can empathize with people who do).

And you know, I'd always had a feeling that your username was Tolkien-inspired.

[troisroyaumes]

Oh cool, another Silmarillion enthusiast! I didn't read it until after Lord of the Rings although I wish I had found it before because it would have placed the trilogy in a better context. ^_^

[clocklike.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's such an interesting username! I honestly thought Tari was your Korean name, like 태리. *hides in embarrassment now* XD

Ah, is 왕의 남자 any good? It was such a big hit back in S.Korea, it was inevitable that I heard about it. (PS: Korea vs. France, 1:1 tied! It all depends on the match between Korea and Switzerland, I think?)

[troisroyaumes]

Haha, no, but you aren't the first person to think that. Actually my Korean name is much more boring (하나) although I still like it.

왕의 남자 is really excellent, both beautiful cinematography and brilliant acting. I think you'd like it a lot especially since I remember you saying that you were interested in 연산군 (he's the 왕 of the title). Also, on a shallow note, 이준기 is strangely pretty. Let me know if you want me to upload it for you. XD

I'm pretty happy about the tie, especially since during the first half it seemed that we might lose. We could still advance to the next round even if we don't win against Switzerland, as long as we don't lose and as long as Switzerland doesn't win against Togo. So we're in a pretty good position here, even if it isn't rock solid. I saw the crowds of Koreans at the Staples convention center in LA...so heartwarming. XD And I was proud that the Korean supporters in Germany outcheered the French fans too. XD

[jaebi-lit.livejournal.com]

OMG I was in Kblock yesterday during the end of the match and it was crazy. Someone, I forget who, said that Kblock was like 서울, which is IMO generally not true, but yesterday, it really was. The entire street was packed with people in red shirts shouting, "France will lose! Korea will win!" It was fabulous. :)

[troisroyaumes]

Ooh, my parents were in Koreatown to cheer during the match as well. XD It sounds awesome; I wish I'd been there too.

[serendip.livejournal.com]

I am glad we tied XD I was rilly afraid we were going to lose, but the second half was definitely an improvement. I normally hate sports, but for the World Cup, I totally make an exception XD Even in the Olympics, I tend not to get quite so mad mad mad. For example, if Korea were to show up against the US again, I would want them to trash US soundly. Okay, I want them to SLAY, but I felt that was a bit much XD~~~

The Silmarillion and the Hobbit I liked much better than the trilogy, cos I thot the trilogy tried to achieve both the Silmarillion and the Hobbit's effects simultaneously and failed.

[troisroyaumes]

Yes me too. During the entire first half, I was moaning whenever France approached the goal...the neighbors must think I'm nuts. World Cup definitely is the only sporting event I get this excited about, and for good reason too! It's kind of neat how all the Koreans are of one mind on this. XD

I agree with you about the trilogy, although I did still like it anyway. I think it's the reason a lot of the people who attempt the books and find them disappointing; they're supposed to be fantasy novels, but Tolkien really wanted to write mythology, which wasn't what most readers were expecting.

[jaebi-lit.livejournal.com]

Whoa. I always assumed that your LJ handle was a Korean word that I didn't know. It's kinda cool that you've gone by the same pseudonym for so long; I've dropped and changed LJ handles a handful of times since entering fandom four years ago, which can occasionally make it hard to keep track of things.

[troisroyaumes]

No, nothing nearly so cool. ^_^ Although it's funny how many people assumed my LJ name was Korean (not just you and kenbu for sure). Sometimes I consider changing it (I mean, I do sincerely like the name, its ridiculous "translation" aside, but it's hard to type and hard to remember) but in the end I'm too lazy. I think also by this point, I've come to identify rather closely with the name. Even my RL best friend, who introduced me to fanfiction, is just as likely to call me "Tari-chan" as my real name.