The Silmaril Awards 2021: It's Time To Vote!!

Hey y'all. It's been a WEEK.

And I just don't mean temporally. That, too. It has literally been a week. But also, it has been an INSANE week. 

I'm not just talking about the fact that I have a landscape architecture project that's due for pinup on Friday that requires an 18x24 plan AND an 18x24 page of sketches. (Did I mention I don't really...sketch?) Nor the fact that I need to write a walking tour for one of my classes. Nor the fact that I have another pinup next Thursday, which I have only one class period to work on, unless I decide to do overtime, and I really hate doing overtime. 

No, I'm talking about the fact that I had to host 76 Strange Characters in my dorm room! (Actually, they're still here. I'm about to kick out all but five of them, though, at least until the awards ceremony. It's about time, sheesh.) 

The-- Oh, Hagrid, what's up? Where is A-Through-L? The church roof?? Dangit, I thought he was supposed to be a well-behaved Wyverary! Father is going to kill me! 

Just a moment, guys. 

Okay, I'm back. A-Through-L is successfully corralled and thank goodness for the person who nominated Hagrid! I definitely needed his help with some of the more animal-like strange characters. 

(I mean, someone nominated a swamp monster?? Also, two big cats?)

But-- Calcifer, get off my bookshelf! I don't care if they're delicious, get back on the electric tea kettle base, or I'm sending you back to Kenzie, and I don't care if Twinkle is there! 

Anyway, hosting 76 Strange Characters in my dorm room! I actually cheated a little tiny bit, and my roommate (who did end up learning about it...coming back from class to multiple fictional characters milling around, including a sentient dog-ape thing (sorry Gurgi, but it's true) and Mad-Eye Moody, was kind of a tipoff) and I decided to send some of them down the hall to the room where three of my guy friends are living on the men's wing of our floor. I mean, them not being able to access the men's bathroom at night was kind of a problem, plus the guys' room is way bigger than ours. I had to beg and use puppy eyes just a leeeetle bit. But my friends caved. Well, one of them caved. I'm not sure what he told his other roommates. So, we sent Heartless's Mad Hatter, Mad-Eye Moody, Luck, Justin Case, Oskar, zhamM, the Staryck King, Wit, Sam Miracle, Eugenides, Zero, JinYeong and Howl down there. Maybe a couple of others, too. I kind of lost track and just started waving male characters in that general direction. (And there were a lot of male characters.)

I hope those boys are still my friends after this. I did hear some complaining about Howl locking everyone in the men's wing out of the bathroom. I guess he doesn't understand what multiple stalls are for. Plus, JinYeong has been freaking them out just a tad? I think one of the guys might've locked him in the closet while they were sleeping, ngl. But I think Justin Case has been making everyone tea, so that should keep things at least a little peaceful? 

I need some of that tea, actually. Be right back.

*re-enters with a mug of tea, after beating a hasty retreat from the chaos engendered by the Wit making a remark about Howl's hair, possibly involving the word "orange"*

*sips tea* 

So, where was I? Oh, yes, we sent some of the male characters down to the boys' triple. Most of the others found a spot in here--we had enough room for some make-shift bunk beds, and a couple of characters slept under our beds--they're semi-lofted, so there's room. And we've been taking hot-bed shifts with a couple as well.  

Plus there are the ones, like Po, that don't need to sleep, and just kind of lurk. 

Those ones are fun.

Yeah. 

Fun.

(And don't get me started on the Dufflepuds. Just. Don't. Whoever nominated them deserves more time in purgatory, because I've gotten a lot of time off my purgatory hosting them. XD They're driving me insane, y'all. INSANE.)

But hey, there are compensations! I got to meet Tonks finally, and she is so cool! And as much as I complain about Calcifer, he's hilarious, and the Staryck King is AWESOME, and Lina is a sweetheart, and the Boggart is great fun, even if he keeps complaining about how we drained all the bogs under Champaign-Urbana to build the towns. (Look, it was not my fault, ok?) He's found a kindred spirit in Glerk. And of course, Sam Miracle is awesome, even if his snake arms are a tad unsettling. And EUGENIDES! I FINALLY GOT TO MEET EUGENIDES! (God bless whoever nominated him. Seriously. The best.) Of course, I did have to prevent him from making off with some of my roommate's earrings, but I don't care about my own earrings that much, so I just gave him some of those. Oh, and Sophie! Sophie and Tonks have been getting along really well, which is sweet. 

Now, I--oh, Oskar. Yes, I'll take you to the library before you leave, I promise. Now go, I'm trying to--and that three-story bookstore? Okay, sure. But for right now you really do need to go. Thank you.

*sigh of relief, cut off into a choke as the Cheshire cat's smile appears in midair right in front of me*

Dangit, I thought I told you not to do that! Go play with Chess Shire! 

Despite all of the positives of hosting all these characters, I am extraordinarily tired of the jump scares.

Unfortunately, it seems like Cheshire is going to be sticking around a little longer...along with a few other characters! 

Let's take a look at which five characters received the most seconds, and thus will be moving on to the voting round! 

The Nominees

Calcifer (Howl's Moving Castle)

Calcifer spends most of his time making sure that Howl's moving castle continues to operate, while also occasionally cooking meals, when someone can bully him into submission. Oh, and also, he's literally a talking piece of fire (aka a fire demon, aka...well, spoilers). Which is nice for boiling water quickly, but a little inconvenient for fire code inspections.

"'It would be a thin blue face, very long and thin, with a thin blue nose. But those curly green flames on top are most definitely your hair...And those purple flames near the bottom make the mouth...You have two green tufts of flame for eyebrows. On the other hand,' Sophie continued, looking into the orange flames, 'if the spell was off, I'd have my heart eaten before I could turn around.'

'Don't you want your heart eaten?' asked the fire."

Gurgi (Prydain Chronicles)

Gurgi spends a lot of his time worried about "smackings and whackings" on his poor tender head, but also about where his next "crunchings and munchings" are going to come from. While not necessarily the most appealing of creatures--a matted monkey-dogish creature--he's certainly a faithful friend as well as being strange, and was very disappointed that I wouldn't take him to class with me.

"'Now Gurgi’s head must be chopped off,' the creature moaned. 'Do it, great lord, do it quickly. Gurgi will squeeze up his eyes so as not to see hurtful slashings.'"

The Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland)

The Cheshire Cat apparently spends much of its time giving enigmatic non-advice, and also appearing and disappearing leaving only its smile which is quite disconcerting, let's just be clear. While the Cat doesn't take up much page time, it certainly leaves an impression on the readers and anyone unlucky enough to share a room with it.

"Well then, you see, a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl then I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad."

Howl Jenkins (Howl's Moving Castle)

Howl is Quite Heartless, but when he's not luring innocent young girls to his castle to eat their souls or just courting a bunch of young women and getting bored and ditching them, which is nearly as bad this is why I sent him to the boys' room, rather than letting him stay on the women's floor he's trying to figure out how to look his Very Best (mostly by spending scads of time in the bathroom), or how to disguise his suits from Sophie, who's pretty sure that he's doing something malicious with them, or how to attend funerals (hint: looking like a dog). But when His People (loosely defined as whoever happens to be in his castle) are threatened, he may even allow wind to advance an honest mind. 

(That was an unfairly long summary of Howl, yes, I'm aware. XD No, of course I didn't fall in love with him while he was here. Dangit, quite making these groundless allegations.)

"'Look. Survey. Inspect. My hair is ruined! I look like a pan of bacon and eggs! Look at it! It's ginger! I shall have to hide until it's grown out!' He spread his arms out passionately. 'Despair!' he yelled. 'Anguish! Horror!'"

Winter (Lunar Chronicles)

Winter is the stepdaughter of the queen of Luna, she's scarred (yeah, her stepmother has Issues) and she might just be slightly crazy. Or maybe principled. Or maybe both? Or maybe crazy because she's principled? An interesting combination. (Also interesting in that she sometimes uses her insanity to manipulate people?) But she's also definitely a whimsical and feminine princess. All in all, super fun to host in a dorm room with a bunch of very sane women (*cough* Sophie Hatter *cough cough*)

"She was prettier than a bouquet of roses and crazier than a headless chicken. Fitting in was not an option."

Now the important bit! You need to go to THIS LINK to VOTE for your favorite strange character! (And your favorite characters in the other categories, too. But we all know that the strange characters are the most important, of course. ;)) The character with the most votes will officially collect a Silmaril to hang on their wall (or tree, or hearth or...whatever), so this part is really important!

Also, go check out all of the fun the other hosts have cooked up on their blogs for announcing their nominees--I'm sure there will be plenty more stories of hostly woe. ;)

Most Faithful Friend - Sarah Pennington
Wisest Counselor - Jem Jones
Most Magnificent Dragon - E. E. Rawls
Most Nefarious Villain - D. J. Edwardson
Silver Tongue - Christine Smith
Most Mischievous Imp - Kenzie Keene
Most Majestic Ruler - Grace Taber
Most Epic Heroine & Hero - Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
Strangest Character - Samantha Benedict (you are here!)

Also important and exciting news! My sister, who goes by Legolas on this blog, but whose writerly name is Naomi Brooks, has a story published on Havok today!! (I'm literally so proud of her. She's amazing.) You can read it HERE. 

Who are you rooting for to win? How has your week been? Are you surprised that Winter beat out Mad-Eye Moody? (I sure was!)