#aipilosse

[meadowlarkx]

Finrod/Sauron and 28 (as a lie) for the kiss meme?

Finrod woke in the darkness and found Edrahil near him. His eyes were accustomed to the gloom of the pit now, and he surveyed their surroundings as he tested, with his spirit, the strength of his remaining enchantments. There seemed no imminent danger, no wolf-like growling and snuffling. The dim shapes of his companions were still, but their breathing was steady. So Finrod turned his attention on Edrahil and let himself take his hand.

His friend looked barely hurt. He glowed against the ceaseless night of the pit. An indescribable emotion surged in Finrod's chest like the tide. What regret, to have led such a friend here to die. What joy, to find him a faithful friend, nonetheless, and wonderful.

"I can only thank you," he said softly. "I have no heart yet to say sorry."

Edrahil nodded, and looked on him seriously. "Our errand…" 

His voice was more musical than Finrod expected to hear it. Perhaps after days of Orc-speech and wolf-growls the familiar grew sweeter.

Finrod raised his hand and kissed the knuckles, dragging both of their shackles with the motion. "Speak not of it."

“As you command, my lord.” 

Was that pause—assessing?

Finrod sighed, frustrated. His mind was playing tricks on him, making him distrustful of an Elf-captain he knew like his own soul. Edrahil would not give them up to Gorthaur’s listening ears; he was more pragmatic and tactically-minded than Finrod himself. “I should command far less, I think.”

“You may command me always,” said his friend’s sweet voice. “Long have I loved you.” He kissed Finrod with the ephemeral caress of a flickering flame.

[maironsbigboobs]

Orange moot! 🎃🎃🎃

(ask game)

Yes it sounds fun!! But my terrible secret is I do not like peanut butter 😔

[gwaedhannen]

🔮

🔮You can reach into the Beyond and ask the Professor to settle one (1) debate for you. He won't even waffle on the answer, honest. What do you ask him?

Tempted to throw a grenade into the fandom and ask if Fingon and Maedhros were lovers.

But really what I want to know is: What happened to Lalwen? Did she survive the First Age? If she died, when? Did you even plan her fate and didn't just throw up a name with zero other ideas because you didn't want Finwë to have only sons?

[herenortherenearnorfar]

For @aipilosse late but much labored over. Family Pulled From a Flood was one of the best fics I got to read this year (Elwing! Reproductive health! Community!) and I had to do a little tribute to it.

For her children, she weaves.

It is not her greatest skill—not this kind of weaving, standing up at a loom tall as she is, with a wingspan to match a gull’s. Linen thread is too fine and slippery, she does far better with reed plaits or hemp canvas. Fishing nets require diligence, but they hold no grudge if the knot is tied twice or a thousand times.

Table fabric, clothing fabric, must be smooth, dense, light. Every snapped thread must be replaced and every gap in the pattern accounted for. She will not give her children much but she will give them this.

She lays the warp threads out, ten for every length of her thumb. All told there over a hundred of them, divided into pairs and tied to loom weights. Still, the elven ladies will sigh and tell her of how high thread counts could climb in Menegroth, where Melian showed her weavers to make mist-thin cotton, silver as the stars.

It would seem like a fairy tale if not for the little nightdress she was carried away in, which sits in a special drawer separate from her mundane clothes. A muslin shift, deceptively simple until you look at it sideways and see the waterfalls and willow leaves embroidered into the very weave. From one angle, nightingales dance around the collar, and from another there are leaping hounds. Whenever she holds it—a rare occurrence for it makes her teary—it feels like air in her hands.

There is only one of it, and she is having twins. Besides, some heirlooms should stay buried.

They will have new clothes, her children, fresh linens for a fresh world. The first two years they won’t need much. Lady Arien, friend to Men, swoops lower and lower each year, trying to spook the Enemy away. To cope with the sweltering heat, most of the Bëorian children go naked except a waist cloth and some simple charms. She won’t deprive them of playmates—both she and Eärendil are aware of how difficult it is to make friends with a title in the way. Duty will have its say eventually though, and they’ll need formal clothes.

She rests her hands on her belly and thinks—swaddling clothes for the younger years. A shirt for the ages of two to five. A vest and trousers will be suitable after that, but she’ll wait until they’re of a consultable age to start work on those.

This early in the pregnancy, there have been no kicks or flutters. The constant nausea, making her feel like a disgruntled owl, is so far the only physical manifestation of her condition.

Yet she can feel them. They flicker on the very edge of her consciousness, two potentials not yet filled. It is like the awareness of two great cups on her periphery. Every time she looks back there is another drop of water inside, and still so much more to go! They will be expansive.

“What do you think?” she asks them, “Shall I stop dawdling?”

They give no answer.

The weft thread is even finer than the warp, like gossamer. A single strand of it disappears in her fingers, cobweb until light hits it. The whole skein must be a hundred yards of hair thin silver.

It’s not her spinning. She hasn’t announced her pregnancy officially yet, as Men are prone to early losses. Silence sometimes speaks louder than words, and tributes have been piling up at her door; hand-me-down teething rings of thick elk bone, waist-bands of carved wooden leaves, shell bracelets, tiny stud earrings, restorative tonics, and thread— so much thread.

The Eldar, who spin the finest, expect her to be a weaver. It is a princess’s right—weave the cloth, bake the bread. She’ll have to teach her children, regardless of gender, so that they can teach their daughters. She and Eärendil have always assumed they are mortal; better to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed.

Openwork every two hands of the baby wraps, she decides, to keep it light. A simple, geometric gauze of knotted weft. It’s a Gondolindrim technique, used especially with contrasting threads to create a dizzying multicolored sheer, but it can be adapted to the whitework of Sirion. Idril wouldn’t mind. Besides, she has the thread for it, right twisted crepe from one of the Gnomish townspeople.

She counts her threads, does the calculations, and begins to weave.

The first few inches are a simple linen weave, in and out, in and out, then swap for the next row. The greatest challenge is keeping the warp straight. No wonder Gwînd has a thousand eyes, she must watch so many little threads. It would go faster if she had someone to beat the weft for her, instead of having to pause every few rows to tighten the work. On the whole, however, she enjoys the solitude. Outside her window, two stories below, she can hear the town bustling, the hills calling. Further still sounds the sea.

Soon the light will be gone and she’ll put it away her shuttle. First, she’d like to finish a band of openwork.

She picks her place carefully, hits the weft above it a few times for good measure, and begins. It’s to be diamonds, not quite the shape of the Jewel that has brought them safety but not far off either. Where each point begins, she twists the warp threads together, two twining on two, and secures each foursome with a knot in the weft. It’s like making a fishing net, the repetitive twists, loops, and ties.

When you weave, you have to know your position in the design. Elwing has never struggled with belonging. Sometimes she thinks could suffocate in it, like a flailing man in tidal flat quicksand, but that sort of melancholy is short-lived. She’d rather her children grow up here, where they are loved by people who have loved their like before, than in the West or Balar or any other haven on the face of the earth.

“I cannot promise your house will be safe,” she tells them, setting down her shuttle and examining her work. Seven diamonds, in a staggered semi-circle. They’ll become stars when she goes over it with embroidery thread, a facsimile of the holy Belaicritha. “It’s a good place though. A kind place; there are too few of those left.”

Still so much left to do! Babies are a trial to raise right.

Elwing finishes her weaving one month after her feet start to ache. The last few yards require an extra set of hands and she’s far too tired to do anything fancy. That must be saved for post-production.

Once she’s off her feet, the next stages can begin. Her panel of experienced human midwives have advised her to limit her activity, as twins are a challenge for human women and practically unheard of for elves (her mother had older twin sisters, but her most of her maternal family is dead). They’re worried the neck of her womb is too short, worried her pulse beats too hard, worried she hasn’t gained enough weight. Her children burn bright in the back of her mind, stars slowly turning into suns, but Elwing worries too.

Elven children are precious gems, shepherded and protected, and rarely lost. Out of the five half-elven children Elwing knows of, two have met horrible fates before the age of eight and two have been only children.

She wishes she’d asked Idril more about her history of miscarriage. She wishes her mother were here.

While Elwing takes meetings in the cobblestone courtyard that doubles as a laundry, she makes her children clothes. The baby wraps are tied off with tassels and over-embroidered, the gauzy spaces reinforced against curious little fingers. She knits warmer blankets of their rare wool, gathered from the semi-wild sheep who consent to be sheared once a year. These she makes durable, dyed the light blue the wood elves call elu.

With four yards of her best linen, she stitches together their shirts, carefully aligning the lay of the cloth so the drawn-thread embroidery will be even. The sleeves and collars are wide, with adjustable buttons, so they can grow into them as they age.

She stitches the outline of birds, sailing ships (just two triangles perpendicular), sprays of water creasting up, rosettes. With the tiny silver scissors that were part of her dower, a scrap of a city long toppled, she cuts away the weft inside.

With the leftovers she makes ribbons, handfuls of cutwork lace to tie back their hair or tie up their skirts.

“You do not have to do it alone,” she is cautioned, by many fronts.

“I know. But I want to. I want them to be wrapped up in my love.”

Her mother was a great weaver, despite her youth. Sometimes, when Elwing looks at her little nightdress, all that remains of a childhood she barely remembers, she wonders if Nimloth made it, pouring herself into every shimmering thread.

Elrond has little of his childhood, and less that has survived the years. His first sword was lost in a petty battle, his brother left of his own will. But there’s a scarf he keeps folded in a cedar chest…

It was Elros’ originally, he remembers that much. Elros screamed until they let him bring it. Maglor stripped their little linen shirts away a few months later, “they’re too small for big boys, he said, and it’s too cold here in the badlands”. What he did with them Elrond does not know. But Elros kept the scarf and since they slept together it served as comfort for the both of them. On such small children it could be a shawl, even a blanket.

The linen did not hold warmth well, especially not woven so full of holes. And it always smelled faintly of smoke, a scent that could bring them to tears on a bad day. It should not have been so reassuring, to come home and dig their fists into the burnished weave.

“It holds the talisman of the starsetter,” he’d tell his brother, “So it can chase monsters away.”

He said it so authoritatively, like it was a fact he’d always known.

When Elros went to Númenor he left it in Elrond’s care. “You are to be the one who remembers,” he said, “This is worth recording.”

“There are many ways of putting down a history,” Elrond protested, “Keep it for your children.”

“They might learn the story,” Elros insisted, “But they will never know the loneliness, not while I still breath. They will not understand, and I will not have it any other way.

When he attended on the King’s deathbed, he brought the scarf, yellowed with age.

Now it sits in a box.

He shows it to his children, because he wants them to understand fear, even if he hates the idea of them experiencing it. They nod solemnly but they don’t really know, and for that he’s glad.

One day, acting on an urge he cannot name, he shows it to Glorfindel. It’s become a habit to introduce him to all antiquities, on the off chance that he recognizes them, but Elrond doubts he’d know the provenance of a linen wrap.

“Ah, that’s Gondolin weaving!” he says brightly, “Though—hmm, I’m no expert in textiles, but the overwork seems Iathrim. And the linen is very grey; we preferred an eggshell if we couldn’t get marble white. Someone must have made this after I died.”

“Yes, it’s from Sirion.” At times, neutrality is the best one can strive for.

Glorfindel inspects it with renewed fervor, never touching the surface of the fabric (which still, after all these centuries, holds a slight sheen).

“It isn’t Princess Idril’s work,” he declares finally.

When he’s gone, Elrond does something he hasn’t since childhood, and buries his face in it.

Strange, maybe it’s the long years, or all the places it’s travelled. Maybe it’s how he’s grown. The smell of smoke has obviously faded from the linen in the past several millennia, but lingering behind it is the subtle scent of the sea.

Notes: I tried to mirror some of the Sindarin in Family Pulled From a Flood; Gwînd for Vairë, the Belaicritha for the Valacirca. The weaving and embroidery described is a combination of Peruvian gauze techniques adapted to an Attic loom and Hardanger embroidery.

[zealouswerewolfcollector]

for the choose violence ask game 🔪 18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on... and/or 25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on…

Arafinwion and Nolofinwion dynamics pre and post first kinslaying, especially Fingon with Angrod and Aegnor.

The exodus of the elves to Valinor and the journey over the Helxaraxe. So many things might have happened on the road. The parallels of Finwe leading his people to paradise and his son Fingolfin leading them back through hell.

Finarfin's children and how they felt about their father turning back.

25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing

Varda shouldn't have/didn't have a right to bless the Silmaril. I didn't think it was so common, but I've been seeing this a lot lately.

First of all, I don't think anyone back then thought it was a big deal. I don't think even Feanor objected to it. I don't think Varda did it with malicious intent. The Silmaril were a magical thing that amazed everyone. The Valar are quasi-deities, so blessing something is just a thing they do. And if it isn't mentioned that she didn't ask Feanor before doing it, it doesn't mean that she didn't.

Also, why is it such a contentious subject? My guess is that it's because Varda blessing the Silmaril indirectly led to them burning Maedhros and Maglor's hands. A lot of people don't like it. But it was supposed to happen. It makes narrative sense. The thing they wanted most of all in the world, the thing they did so many terrible things for rejecting them was the only ending that makes sense. I think the Silmarils would have rejected them even if Varda hadn't blessed them. If they didn't, this would have been a very different book.

Thanks for the ask <3

ask game here

[polutrope]

Ambarussa Appreciation

I have said before that I think Amrod and Amras have much untapped imaginative potential. But that's not to say there are no intrepid creators who have done marvellous work with the sixth and seventh sons of Fëanor. Here are some of them! Feel free to reblog this with additions of your own.

Fics

A Kind of Mercy by @aipilosse (T, 0.8k). Amras & Amrod. A haunting character study.

truth in a mirror by athenakarthagonensis (E, 4.4k). Amrod/OMC. Stunning prose and a dangerous lightly-toasted Amrod. The unique Green-elf POV is excellent.

The White Tower by Anna_Wing (not rated, 11.2k). Post-canon Elwing-focused fic (fascinating worldbuilding and musings on the nature of the Oath), but interesting and refreshing to see her interacting with the 'forgotten' Kinslayers.

Who By Fire by me (M, 4.9k). Amrod/Fingolfin. Two grief-raw souls connect at Mithrim. Lightly-toasted Amrod. cw: past attempted suicide, mental instability, injury, animal death.

The Same Blood by me (T, 1k). Amras and Amrod's relationship feels the strain of what they have been through. Follow-up to the previous fic.

as a mist of light, chapter 12 by @swanmaids (T, ficlet). Amras finds a way to cope after the fire. Crispy Amrod. cw: self harm.

We Shared Everything by @cuarthol (M, 2.2k). Amras and Amrod shared everything, until they didn't. Crispy Amrod. Fantastic use of first person (plural and singular).

Dénouement by @sallysavestheday (G, 0.9k). Amrod/Aredhel, post-canon. Two people who were killed by people they love find understanding in each other. Crispy Amrod.

A Name by @skyeventide (G, 1k). Beautiful and impactful musings on identity, pulling from the convoluted and complex names associated with these two. Lightly-toasted Amrod.

The Seven Trials of Fingon the Valiant, chapter 6 by me and @melestasflight (T, ~2k). Something lighter! The twins seduce Fingon.

Art

There is actually a pretty rich array of fanart of Amrod and Amras. Here are just a few of my favourites.

Amras and Amrod by @wisesnail

Amras and Amrod by @welcomingdisaster

Amrod threatens Elrond and Elros by @runawaymun, a chilling commission for my fic And Love Grew

Amrod by @myceliumelium

Amras and Maedhros by @redbootsindoriath

Amrod by @tabukomi

Ambarussa by @thelien-art

Ambarussa by @spvce-oddity

Maedhros, Celegorm, Amrod, Amras by @albuum

Any finally some HoMe quotes about the twins, who get so little in the published Silm.

325 [525] Torment fell upon Maidros and his brethren, because of their unfulfilled oath. Damrod and Díriel resolved to win the Silmaril, if Eärendel would not give it up willingly. […] 329 [529] Here Damrod and Díriel ravaged Sirion, and were slain. Maidros and Maglor were there, but they were sick at heart.  From 'The Later Annals of Beleriand' in The Lost Road

"The two twins were both red-haired. Nerdanel gave them both the name Ambarussa - for they were much alike and remained so while they lived. When Fëanor begged that their names should at least be different Nerdanel looked strange, and after a while said: 'Then let one be called [Ambarto >] Umbarto, but which, time will decide."

"The twins called each other Ambarussa. The name Ambarto/Umbarto was used by [?no one]. The twins remained alike, but the elder grew darker in hair, and was more dear to his father. After childhood they [?were not to be] confused…" From 'The Shibboleth of Fëanor' in The Peoples of Middle-earth

[myslashyvalentine]

❤ MSV 2024 Collection is Open!❤

Happy Valentine’s day!

Congratulations to our new writers who completed their first swap! Thanks as well to all our veteran writers who continue to participate and make this swap a vibrant part of the Tolkien community. 

My Slashy Valentine 2024: The Master List!

AdmirableMonster wrote A Light Beneath Frozen Water for JazTheBard

Aglarien wrote Rosemary for Remembrance for Tethys_resort

Aipilosse wrote Star-kissed for undercat

Ally/steadfastalysanne2022 wrote Always Waiting For You Just to Cut to the Bone for AdmirableMonster

Argleena wrote Coming Back to You for Aglarien

Bird/ingenious_spark wrote Knit Together for raiyana

BloodwingBlackbird wrote Winter glowed on her leaves for HewerOfCaves

bluehair wrote Tell Me No for Aipilosse

Branka/LadywithaQuill wrote New Beginnings for senalishia

ChrissyStriped wrote Sharing Everything for Jade/Elladansgirl

cílil wrote Herald, Hero, Muse for Maironite

Cirilla/FakeCirilla9 wrote Falling star for Ally/steadfastalysanne2022

Cissy/Lost_inMiddleearth wrote If I Could Make Days Last Forever for phyncke

Elentarial/BaccaratBlack wrote The Forlorn for bluehair

elfscribe wrote And With Him Was Elrond for tabru

Elio/eliogardens wrote Uprooting for Kay/seregons

Ettelenë/firstamazon wrote Under Unclouded Stars for mangacrack

Fey/ThatFeanorian write With Song Meant Only For You and I for Torpi

forelevenses wrote to be alone with you for Luciann/Lucigoo89

Frances/Melusine6619 wrote Anniversary Celebration for RaisingCaiin

Gilithlin wrote Crescendo for elfscribe

Heather/indestructibleplum wrote Phantom Pains for Nuredhel

Heather/ohboromir wrote Hope for yletylyf

Helholden wrote Under the Stars, Above the Sun for Katrina/lemurious

HewerOfCaves wrote White Daffodil for IDNMT/I_did_not_mean_to

IDNMT/I_did_not_mean_to wrote Mix & Match for Zhie

IgnobleBard wrote Friendship Like The Holly Tree for Marchwriter

Jade/Elladansgirl wrote One Night With A King for Branka/LadywithaQuill

JazTheBard wrote Five Meetings for Ruinel

Katrina/lemurious wrote Fair They Wrought Us for Helholden

Kay/seregons wrote I Pledge My Heart to Thy Doom for sallysavestheday

Kefi/EclecticKefi wrote Our Gentle Sin for Kit/kitkatkaylie

Kit/kitkatkaylie wrote Youthful regrets for Lilithsea

Kristen/Harp_of_Gold wrote day will come for Chrissystriped

likethenight wrote the distraction or the force for Argleena

Lillithsea wrote The King of the Greenwood for Elentarial/BaccaratBlackLithgaeril wrote What to Make of This for Kefi/EclecticKefi

Luciann/Lucigoo89 wrote Two Lives Will Be Spared This Day for octopus_fool

lynndyre wrote There and Back Again for Ignoblebard

maglor-my-beloved wrote Of Farewells for Ettelenë/firstamazon

Maironite wrote Ready To Fall for Cilil

mangacrack wrote the home where I belong the most for reindeer_pizza

Marchwriter wrote All That Is Gold for likethenight

Mawgy wrote To the Victor Goes the Spoils for Gilithlin

NiennaWept wrote peaches we devour, dusty skin and all for thurinngwethil

Nuredhel wrote The flower and the flute for Whimsy/a_world_of_whimsy

octopus_fool wrote Thrush and Stag for lynndyre

phyncke wrote The King's Cabin for Frances/Melusine6619

RaisingCaiin wrote to warm my bed for Mawgy

reindeer_pizza wrote The King's Treasure for Skaelds

Ruiniel wrote Ára for Verecunda

sallysavestheday wrote Let Not My Love Be Called Idolatry for skywardstruck/tomefaired

❤sallysavestheday wrote Op. 1: Serenade for Bow and Axe for red_lasbelin

Senalishia wrote Cut Straight to the Heart for starlightwalking

Skaelds wrote you better not kill the groove for Elio/eliogardens

skywardstruck/tomefaired wrote show me the limits of your deceit for Tathrin

starlightwalking wrote Lazy Day for forelevenses

Tabru wrote Elrond and the King for visitor/lonelyvisitor

❤Talullah Red wrote Snowflight for BloodwingBlackbird

Tathrin wrote A Testing of Wills for Kristen/Harp_of_Gold

Tethys_resort wrote Two in Shadows for NiennaWept

thuringwethil wrote between my fingers, she leaves, then she lingers for  Cissy/Lost_inMiddleearth

Torpi wrote Ripe Fruit for Fey/ThatFeanorian

undercat wrote Comfort from a Heavy Hand for Heather/ohboromir

Verecunda wrote All the Luck in the World for Heather/Indestructibleplum

visitor/lonelyvistor wrote one whole with my other for Lithgaeril

Whimsy/a_world_of_whimsy wrote In the beginning for Cirilla/FakeCirilla9

yletylyf wrote Another Way for Bird/ingenious_spark

Zhie wrote Minuet for Basalt_Serpent

❤Zhie wrote His Father's Son for maglor_beloved

❤ Zhie wrote Very Welcome Visitor for Indestructibleplum

—————

❤ denotes a pinch hit or a treat. Thank you to our pinch hitters, Talullah Red and Zhie; they made sure everyone got a Valentine's Day story (or two). Sallysavestheday also wrote a treat for me!!!

If you need a link to the entire collection, it is right here: 2024 My Slashy Valentine

[destinyminnow]

art of The Yawning Grave by @aipilosse

[ardafanonarch]

So, do we know who’s really the tallest, Thingol, Turgon or Maedhros? Or someone else?

@aipilosse did a great summary of the evidence on this recently.

tl;dr: It's between Thingol, Turgon, and the pseudo-canonical fourth child of Fingolfin, Argon.

The only other contender, whom some fans include in the running for tallest, comes from the very early Lost Tales: a lord of Gondolin named Penlod is described as "tallest of the Gnomes" (The History of Middle-earth Vol. 2: The Book of Lost Tales II, 'The Fall of Gondolin').

Maedhros is just regular tall.

[elronds-library]

Something Less Certain

by Aipilosse (@aipilosse)

Part 5 of Fëanorian Week 2021

With the sea-longing growing, Sam makes plans to go West. He'll need some help to actually set sail though.

General, No Archive Warnings

Words: 7,381

[tolkienremix]

Silm Remix 2023 Roundup!

​Thank you to everyone who participated in the Silm Remix 2022! We’re so thrilled to have inspired so many fantastic works. Please, go forth and enjoy these marvelous creations!

~~~

Aipilosse remixed jouissant's mock your own grinning into As Hush as Death

arriviste remixed HewerOfCaves' We Live a Lie into the world to come

asterisq remixed swanmaiden's post mortem into what remains

BaccaratBlack remixed I_did_not_mean_to's Night like this into Through the Darkest Night

Brievel remixed kitkatkaylie's Light from the Dark into Dawning Light

Drag0nst0rm remixed Brievel's Nightmares into Dawn

Grundy remixed asterisq's Flashing fire - cold as ice into Smoke & Ashes

HewerOfCaves remixed BaccaratBlack's Desperation and Defeat into Maiar Hate This Simple Trick

I_did_not_mean_to remixed SpaceWall's The Second Rebellion of the Noldor into A key change

Idrils_Scribe remixed LadySternchen's Goodbyes (chapter 33) into The Lark That Rises

JazTheBard remixed TheChasm's in the breaking into Wait for the Dawn, Wish on a Star

jouissant remixed undercat's To the Land of the Forsaken into In Forsaken Lands

kitkatkaylie remixed Drag0nst0rm's Like Tomorrow Won't Arrive into Round and round and round again

LadySternchen remixed Idrils_Scribe's Shadows Laid Before the Sun into Beyond The Mists

lonelyvisitor remixed JazTheBard's You Belong Among the Wildflowers into when a flower grows wild it will always survive

maglor_my_beloved remixed reindeer_pizza's First Meetings into See this Task to its End

reindeer_pizza remixed welcoming_disaster's eggshell into Expectations

searchingforserendipity remixed maglor_my_beloved's Lilac into Love, Caution

searchingforserendipity remixed maglor_my_beloved’s The Harper into Singing Sweet Songs As They Went

SpaceWall remixed arriviste's Some brief yet hopefully instructive notes on sexual differentiation between the Eldar and the Atani, by Finrod Felagund into From the Archives: “Warmth and Kindness,” an Interview with Nerdanel Mahtaniel

starlightwalking remixed steadfastalysanne2022's In This Mad Season, I Come Undone and Her Father's Daughter into His Daughter's Father

steadfastalysanne2022 remixed searchingforserendipity's Ahead, above, across, here into here is the deepest secret nobody knows

swanmaiden remixed Aipilosse's Family Pulled From a Flood into Ebb and Flow

TheChasm remixed Ancalimë (Cymbidia)'s Breadgiver into keep it in remembrance

undercat remixed lonelyvisitor's A Mistress Of Her Own Lust into the first filament

welcoming_disaster remixed starlightwalking's a most faithful vassal into smoke signals

[meadowlarkx]

Some March fic recs!

For Tolkien Fanfic Reading Month! Limiting myself to stories I read in March (but posted anytime). (header by Anna Zakharova on Unsplash)

picnic by @swanmaids - A bored and reckless Aredhel goes to Vána's orchards seeking adventure and has an experience. This lush and sexy fic feels like a warm summer afternoon. I love how seductive and eerie Vána is here!

Kiss and Marry by @thecoolblackwaves - Have you ever looked at Celegorm and Curufin and thought, "They should be the stars of a romcom"? No? This fic is here to reveal that wonder to you.

弄假成真 by Divano_Messiah - Maglor has been telling people at school that he has a boyfriend. Maedhros is jealous until he learns who it is. (I admit I read this via google translate, you can too...)

Envy by @polutrope - In Tirion, Maglor and Elemmírë struggle to handle each other's reputations with equanimity. The people around them try to respond. This fic is so funny and sweet--I love this take on Elemmírë and Fëanor's guest appearance is hilariously him.

Youthful Regrets by kitkatkaylie - Turgon and Maglor fall in love in Valinor before Turgon's engagement to Elenwë. I really like the personality contrasts of this ship, with Turgon opening up to Maglor, and how this story sketches out their relationship through the whole arc of Silm to its bitter separation.

I risk my life to make my name by @maironsbigboobs - The brave knight Galadriel goes on a journey to meet the Green Woman Melian and her fate, ft. adventures along the way. I love how Tolkien is blended with Arthurian conventions here--it works so well and brings out the myth vibes of Silm that I love so much!

Strange Currencies chapter 12 by @jouissants - This is such a beautifully-crafted tale in every regard, but I want to especially mention this flashback chapter I read in March, covering Maedhros' and Maglor's voyage on the swan ships up to just before Fëanor's death. The horror of the Fëanorian Noldor arriving in the dark with their distrust, inflated ego, and total lack of knowledge of Middle-earth comes through here so, so vividly--this part can be read by itself, go check it out!!

Oubliette by Stramonium - Horrifying and so vividly written scene of Maedhros in Angband, isolation, and monstrosity. Poetic and awful, I can't do it justice in summarizing it.

arrangement for flute and harp by @jouissants - Maedhros is determined to work late, so Maglor and Fingon decide to entertain each other. The Himring atmosphere and incredible character dynamics make this also really sexy smut such a wonderful story.

whatever you would crave by @eight-pointed-star - Sooo sexy ficlet in which Fingon and Maedhros attend to Maglor's Needs. Short but immensely powerful.

scherzo for ink and parchment by @dovewifes - Charming and comedic missives exchanged between Maedhros and Maglor during the Long Peace, ft. romantic endearments and the invention of emojis. Maedhros' so-apparent love for Maglor is something I especially cherish about this fun fic.

Star-kissed by @aipilosse - Celeborn of Doriath rescues recently-of-Gondolin (and silver-haired!) Celebrimbor from a predicament in Nan Dungortheb. Incredibly clever, funny, and hot!

Purification by @zealouswerewolfcollector - Thingol is curious about Maedhros: throne sex ensues. A favorite ship of mine in a flavor I'd never considered. Incredibly intense and super well-written.

Comfort from a Heavy Hand by @undercat-overdog - After the Bragollach, Mablung tends to an injured Beleg, and they seek comfort together. The wreckage and destruction of the battle feels so vivid in this one, and the dynamic of Beleg/Mablung as past teacher and student (and current battle companions) is wonderful.

Thou knowest to-night, and wilt know to-morrow by @welcomingdisaster - A brilliant installment in an ongoing Children of Húrin AU series that has the most beautiful, unsettling, and dreamlike atmosphere. In this fic Maedhros teaches "Cáno" about pleasure in preparation for their marriage bed. Catnip to me personally!!

Proxy by @aipilosse - Celebrimbor comes to reproach Celegorm in Nargothrond after Finrod's departure. They fuck. Gender, tension, messy and complicated emotional dynamics all around. The dirty talk is so so good.

Star of the Nevrast Shore by joanofarcstan - Silmarillion filk of one of my favorite folk songs! What more is there to say!! A sweet tale of Gondolin told from Voronwë's point of view, recounting the love between him, Tuor (the star of the Nevrast shore), Idril, and Maeglin.

A Light Burns in the Forest by fictional_hr_department - Thranduil and Oropher escape Menegroth with child Elwing. The title and art by @lycheesodas give me chills and the atmosphere of the fic as they make their disorienting journey to Sirion really brings to life the terrible aftermath of the second kinslaying.

By Your Side by HiyoriTomioka - fem!Eärendil and Elwing support each other in this ficlet... such a good vision of this ship, and the way Eärendil thinks about Tuor and Idril here with longing uncertainty makes me think of a trans!Eärendil even though that is not explicit.

Something Sleepless in Mirkwood by @imakemywings - Thranduil sickens as the Greenwood does. Elrond tries to heal him, but can't understand at first what's happening. Brilliant and canon-compliant (To Me) wry, proud, and eerie woodland king Thranduil--go give this a read!

A boat, my boat, out upon the River by Tethys_resort - Sméagol is trying to craft his own boat to take fishing. His family keeps getting in the way. This sweet fic paints such an idyllic picture of proto-Hobbit life and made me really feel the tragedy of Gollum.

The Fortress by TheLegendCreator - Brief and haunting fic in which a Dwarf visits the ruins of Himring and they have a conversation. I love the view this offers of Maedhros and the fierce loyalty Himring and its folk had for him.

one whole with my other by @i-am-a-lonely-visitor - Indis' marriage to Finwë is transferred to bind her instead to reembodied Míriel. This turns out to be a good thing. An incredibly touching, beautifully wrought and worldbuilt story. I just love it so much.

The Number One Exercise for Relieving Work-Related Stress (Click to Find Out!) by @imakemywings - Date night in Mirkwood. Maglor (Noldorin princess, ex-kinslayer) adorns herself for the benefit of Thranduil (the Elvenqueen)--or that's her plan, anyway. This story is so sexy, so funny, and honestly so touching. I just adore this ship as a happy ending for Maglor and their relationship is gorgeously fleshed out here.

Cousin, Sister, Lover, Queen by broken_pencils - Lesbian Éowyn discovers desire... through Éomer's betrothed Lothíriel. Lothíriel is a stealth fav for me from the Éomer fics I used to read as a kid and I really enjoyed her here, and the lush atmosphere of this story.

His Return by @danmeiljie - Beautiful, tender scene of Maedhros and Maglor reuniting as per @tari-cua's art. Such lovely descriptions in this one and so cozy.

[swanmaids]

original character-focussed fic recs

One of the best feelings for me as a fic writer in this fandom is when somebody tells me that they liked one of my original characters. Character creation can be hard work and nerve-wracking, so it’s really rewarding whenever people tell me that it’s paid off. This fandom has a wealth of fantastic, memorable original characters, so I wanted to make a recommendation list of some of my favourite fics that feature them. The fics in this list are a range of lengths, ratings, warnings, and themes, and I’m hoping everyone will be able to find something to their taste here.

Of course this list is not exhaustive, and I’m always open to more recommendations!

All the splendour they could bear by asterisq; t, 1k, cntw.

The Ar-Pharazôn (& Sauron) regime commissions art for the temple. The artist tries to survive the assignment.

Bitter Heart, Bitter Heart by thegreatpumpkin; f!Galathil/OFC, t, 20k, nawa.

She had loved her brother better once. She had loved them all better once; but too many times she had swallowed bitterness, and now her heart was all sown with ashes and salt. Noble Celeborn, wise Celeborn, shining in his place beside the king! Galathil was reminded at every turn of the ways in which she did not measure up.

The Bread Maker’s Lament by havisham; Morwen & OFC, t, 1k, nawa.

A young woman, living in First Age Hithlum, grapples with grief and loss, and bakes bread.

The Carpenter’s Son by @kareenvorbarra; OFC/OMC, m, 9k, rape/noncon.

An untold story of conquered Dor-lómin, in which an Easterling carpenter has a child by his Hadorian slave.

The Constant Gardner by tehta; OFC & Egalmoth, t, 4k, nawa.

Running Yavanna’s errands in First Age Middle-earth is a tough job, but someone has to do it.

To die in the light by @skyeventide; Maedhros & OFC, m, 6k, violence.

A thrall escapes Angband. This is the journey of what comes after.

Dwell in death’s shadow by @undercat-overdog; Curufin/Wife, g, 3.5k, nawa.

A child eavesdrops on an argument he was never meant to hear.

an ecstatic accident by void and fire by Chestnut_Pod; g, 0.5k, nawa.

Follow the blue roads of Arda.

The Elf Who Circumnavigated Arda in a Ship of Their Own Making by @arofili​; OC & OFC, g, 1k, nawa

Three letters home from a Telerin adventurer.

Far Too Many of You Dying by @starspray; OFC & Teleri, t, 1k, cntw.

After the Noldor depart, Alqualondë is left reeling.

Four Winters by @aipilosse; Celegorm & OFC, t, 6k, nawa.

Four winters in the life of Gwíneth, daughter of Urthel. A rescue, a hunt, a fall, and the abyss.

His Hour Had Come by @polutrope; Saeros & OFC, g, 1k, nawa.

Saeros' daughter reflects on the life and actions of her father.

Lost at Sea by starspray, Uinen & OFC, 0.4k, g, nawa.

An Avarin elf accidentally gets lost at sea and gets stuck halfway onto the Straight Road. Uinen helps out.

These Newborn Shores by @kazaera; t, 14k, nawa.

It's the early Second Age and the Host of the Valar have just departed. The disparate refugees now sitting on the new shores of Lindon, tasked with building the fleet of Númenor even as they are still reeling from Beleriand's destruction, must find a way to move forward despite their losses.

Figuring out where to get their clothes from would be a good place to start.

Not by the Hand of Man by Sath, Tar-Miriel/OFC, e, 7k, nawa.

After his chief priestess is assassinated, Sauron summons his most powerful servant, a woman of Far Harad, to Númenor.

on a long road (miles to go) by Solanaceae, g, 5k, cntw.

Andreth in the House of Adanel.

One Who Holds by @slightnettles Elrond & OFC, g, 4k, nawa.

As the War of Wrath and the breaking of Beleriand approach, a woman of the Easterlings meets a young Elrond.

SeaLight by Anerea; g, 0.3k, nawa.

A Telerin Elf's first experience of the waters of Belegaer, at the end of the Great Journey.

A Seduction by The_Wavesinger; Tar-Miriel/OFC, e, 2k, cntw.

Tar-Míriel attempts to take revenge on her husband by seducing his sister.

Si la mar fuera de leche by Chestnut_Pod, Elros/OFC, Elros & OCs, t, 23k, nawa.

Ten years after the Valar pulled Númenor dripping from the sea, Elros receives a visitor.

Starlit Waves by raiyana; Cirdan/OFC, m, 2k, nawa.

“Congratulations, my love, you have made a plank. Yet again.”   Dry tones teased his ears softly, the silent footsteps of his beloved Ngilith giving him no warning of her approach.

Talathien by maerzkindt; Haleth & OFCs g, 7k, nawa.

Linnoril, a woman from the group later known as House of Hador, returns to her mother's folk of the Haladin and joins the guard. An exploration of reconnecting, forming new bonds and playing fast and loose with First Age Edain lore.

The Thousand Stories by herenortherenearnorfar; OFC/OFC, t, 19k, mcd.

They're important, the myths people tell about themselves, about their histories. You can learn a lot from a tale or seven.

A Traitor’s Issue by herenortherenearnorfar; OFC & OFC,t, 16k, violence.

Ulfang's daughters(in-law) seek aid in the aftermath. Reckoning with their own grief and choices (or lack thereof) they navigate Angband, the nightmare they grew up with, now the only place they can turn for help.

The “Unmarried” Queen - Deficiencies in Numenorean Scholarship by Sath; Tar-Telperien/OFC, g, 1k, nawa.

Rosie Cotton and Samwise Gamgee's granddaughter, a scholar of short stature and lofty goals, finds an earth-shattering document being used to steady a table leg in Minas Tirith.

Willow-Meads by Narya_Flame; g, 5k, nawa.

a willow-spirit, some places she went, and the people she met.

the wind that shakes the mountain by platinum_firebird; OFC/OFC, t, 2k, nawa.

The tale of Mazlav, daughter of Temolv, chieftain of the Uzba clan; and of how she met her lover and companion-in-arms, Aalta of Ishahú.

With the Stars in the Darkness and the Love in the Light by Zdenka; Haleth/OFC, Haleth/Goldberry, Nellas/Goldberry, t, 3k, nawa.

At Nienor's request, the women of Brethil share stories and songs about Haleth, the river's daughter, and those they loved.

[gwaedhannen]

End of Year Fic Recs

Recommend up to 5 series or multi-chapter fics from 2023 that everyone should read (multi-year WIPs count, if the last update was in 2023).

Recommend up to 5 single chapter fics/one-shots (long or short) from 2023 that everyone should read.

Recommend up to 5 fics NOT from 2023 that everyone should read (oldies but goodies).

Recommend up to 5 of your own fics (completed or WIP) from 2023 that everyone should read.

Open tag courtesy of @grey-gazania. No-pressure tagging everyone here and anyone else who wants to participate.

All Tolkien stuff. Mind the tags on AO3. Nothing Explicit but some Mature.

5 series/multichapter fics:

1. sir, take it easy by @exercise-of-trust (Maglor, Finrod, Celegorm, Maglor/Maglor's Wife)

“I thought you were adamant that no music was bad. And what would do you suggest, that we go back to Ráincë’s parallels in fifth, or Ambalincë’s discant exercises in fourth? Those were old before either of us were born, and you know it.” “I am not saying it is bad. I am saying that to me it sounds like all the fiends of Morgoth, but worse, because the fiends of Morgoth were not taking a clausula I wrote for my parents’ anniversary and mangling it. However, as its inclusion in this anthology shows, there are other people who like it, and while I do not understand it, I am not about to give up my Neldor or my Palecéva because the wind of scholarly opinion has blown against them from time to time.”

2. Spun by Grace by SpaceWall (Galadriel, Lúthien, Maeglin)

“Did you see them? The kinslayers who took your Nana? Who tried to take you?” “Ada says I did, but I don’t remember them. I don’t remember anything, except Nana screaming.” “Did your Ada say anything after? Aside from telling you to hide and stay safe.” The child nodded, bravely, and said in as clear a voice as he could manage. “He said they took Nana because she was bad. He said she was a kinslayer like them, and I had kinslayer blood in me, and they’d take me too if I wasn’t good.”

3. An Oral History of Dying in the Dagor Bragollach by Beleriand Death Trip (too many characters to list)

Please note that all participants were recently rehoused, but not extremely recently (this is regarded as unethical in our field). They have all had the opportunity to reflect on historical events after their death, both during their stay in the Halls and after being rehoused. We do not regard this as “contamination” of their recollection for our purposes, but rather as part of the normal process of narrative formation.

4. Foresight by @aotearoa20 (Fëanor and sons)

“He’s so small,” he said, not softly, “Such a beautiful baby.” “I know. He’s mine.” Fëanáro glared, he dared not do anything else. “You should appreciate it while it lasts,” when he smiled and the scar on his lip twisted strangely, “He’ll not be either for long.”

5. The Hazards of Love by @aipilosse (Finrod/Amarië, Anairë, Findis, Elwing)

Excerpt from The Empty House by Vatharwë Lelyindë held herself straight and tall, undaunted by Helluinon’s greater height. “You, my Lord, are free to live as you would, but others bear chains you cannot see. You speak of oaths and bonds, and yet you must see that when an oath comes in conflict, it is yours that is always the greater, and the other party must always acquiesce. So it is with me, so was it with your mother, your younger brother, and even your dearest friend!

5 single-chapter fics/one-shots:

Raised by Wolves by @warrioreowynofrohan (Elrond, Elros, Gil-Galad, Maglor, Maedhros)

“I hate him, and I do not hate him. Or, I do not hate him for cruelties. I hate him for kindnesses.”

2. The Hope of Love: Eärendil and Elwing as Symbols of Romance in Popular Culture by @imakemywings (Elwing/Eärendil)

Capping off these mesmerizing performances is Elwing’s final speech to the Teleri of Aman, a moment so fascinating that it has become the basis of many other dramatic confrontations throughout popular media. Almost anyone will recognize the line “I plead my hope,” or even its more extended version “Oh ye of foreign shores, I plead my hope. Let my home not be crushed ‘neath the boot of Bauglir,” even with no familiarity with the film. The passion of Torthoriel’s performance here has brought many a moviegoer to tears and captures a moment few had before bothered with—Elwing’s part in gaining the aid of Aman.

3. the bones of small contention by @quixoticanarchy (Celegorm, Oromë)

“You see, evil haunts a hungry man. If he eats his fill, he is called immoral; if he refuses, he will starve honorably. But free is the man who realizes that there is no satiety to be had, and equally there is no reward waiting in starvation. If my end shall be evil regardless, then my deeds matter not. I may eat as I please, and in that transgression, I find some shadow of liberation. A kind of laughter, almost - a light and wild feeling, like the moment after releasing an arrow, or the moment after the plunge off a cliff. You would not understand.”

4. all the daughters of my father's house (and all the brothers too) by Chestnut_pod (Fin-Galad)

These are the things ladies are, in the songs that are told of Finduilas and Niënor, her mirror: Love. Beauty. Laughter. Inconstance. Haunting. Sorrow. Screaming. Silence. In fact, the tales are not told of them. They are merely there. Many songs are written of Gil-Galad. Centuries after his death, Hobbit-children learn to sing of him.

5. Fire From The Ashes by @herenortherenearnorfar (Nienna, a Balrog)

“There is a terrible pain to conciousness,” Nienna acknowledges. She has not yet let go. “I just want to be an instrument.” Coals glow bright for a moment in the wind and then fade. “I was made to remake worlds, not feel this guilt.”

5 oldies but goodies (fair warning these are all liable to make you cry):

1. The legacy of a failure by from_the_wood (Frodo, Merry's Granddaughter, Merry, Pippin, Sam)

That's the thing with despair: it wants to erase everything, all of you, all that had been, or could have been - kind word, memory, hope for the future - but it cannot do so. It cannot. It should not.

2. An Oral History of the End of Innocence by @ceescedasticity (House of Olwë, Galadriel)

I think Hawser Road probably had the highest proportion of… Noldor swung their swords at a moving group and hit Noldor. Lindar shot arrows into crowds and hit Lindar. Noldor tried to ride down Lindar and also rode down Noldor. Lindar trying to get away trampled Lindar. Torches everywhere — I have never been so grateful the city is mostly stone, but wagons set on fire, sheds and stalls and barrels set on fire, there were some wooden additions… Panicked horses. Panicked cows, of all things, who brings cows when you're fleeing the gods to fight another god. There was so much screaming.

3. The One With All The Birds by @clothonono (Elwing/Eärendil, Elrond, Nerdanel, Sons of Fëanor)

What was her desire? "I desire my father, given back to me again," she said. "And my mother, and my brothers too. And my people, and my home, and all the years of my children's lives. Can the Lords of the West grant me this?" No one answered. Everyone knew the answer. "Equally I might desire that my enemy be punished. Let him go to the Halls of Mandos, whence none escape. Let me know that he is prisoned, so that I may gladly walk free." Is this your desire? "No," said Elwing. "I already told you my desire. Let justice be done. There is no vengeance that will satisfy me; there is no redress that can restore to me my father, my mother, my brothers, my home, and my children. There is nothing I want that he or you can give to me."

4. To Love What Is Mortal by @astridbecks (Lúthien/Thuringwethil)

Splintering pain as she was torn apart, yet as she parted beneath the hands of Lúthien there was a curious want mingled with the agony – strip me of this darkness, lay bare my soul, remake me – break me – and she had known pain before, had always known pain, but this was new and different and somehow right. (hurt me, because I deserve it. break me and make me as clean as you.)

5. woman into bird by @arrivisting (Elwing/Eärendil, Idril, Tuor, Elrond, Elros)

This is the best gift parents doomed to die can give their half-elven children, after all: to spare them the sight of their ends.

5 of mine from 2023:

1. Kill the Flame (Galadriel, the whole 3rd Finwean generation)

For Angrod, laughing at everything and everyone. You were an ass but you were our ass. You taught me patience, however little you meant to! For Aegnor, firebrand of our family. You saved me when the cold of the Ice tore into my heart. From you, I learned when to burn, and when to smoulder. For Finrod, dearest brother. What can I say? What words would suffice? Your ring’s bearer is worthy of his ancestors. I miss you. I miss you I miss you I miss you I miss you I miss you.

2. The Myth Hanging Heavy Over You (Elrond & Elwing)

He sends radiant wings, dark hair streaked with silver, a queen’s pride, laughter among the waves, lembas, handkerchiefs. He receives home, with such ardentness that he weeps for a week.

3. Sorrow Beyond Words, Collected Testimony of the War of Wrath (Finarfin, Lalwen)

The Valar said that he could no longer twist elves into orcs even by the time of his first imprisonment, but from the conditions there, from the bodies we pulled out…I don’t think he cared. Every torture, every debasement, every abomination against the Eruchîn that could be imagined. For each we thought might survive if we got them to the surface, there were five who wouldn’t, and ten corpses.

4. Shall we look at the moon, my little loon? (Aerin, Aerin's mother)

Aerin stands in her mother’s dress before the looking glass, eyes unseeing. Hitheth adorns her with the jewelry which will be her dowry, the only riches of her house, the last gift of the elves who vanished into the mists as if they never were.

5. Still-untitled "What if Fëanor took the Helcaraxë" AU (Círdan, Thingol (for now))

It's still Y.T. 1497. Morgoth hasn't had centuries to innovate his siege technology, but Círdan's cities also haven't been rebuilt with Noldor walls. The Grey Annals says Fëanáro's host arrives some seven solar years after Melian raises the Girdle. (Yes if we go by the usual "1 tree year = 9.582 solar years" then it could've been upwards of 25 solar years since the Darkening in 1495 before the landing at Losgar.) (I hate Tolkien's timelines sometimes.)

[maironsbigboobs]

End of Year Fic Recs!

Recommend up to 5 series or multi-chapter fics from 2023 that everyone should read (multi-year WIPs count, if the last update was in 2023).

Recommend up to 5 single chapter fics/one-shots (long or short) from 2023 that everyone should read.

Recommend up to 5 fics NOT from 2023 that everyone should read (oldies but goodies).

Recommend up to 5 of your own fics (completed or WIP) from 2023 that everyone should read.

I wasn't tagged by anyone, but I can't resist the chance to share some faves:

Multi-Chapter Fics/Series

Reconcillation – by @transmairon –  T, Sauron/Celebrimbor, ongoing – Fourth Age Sauron facing the consequences of his actions and trying to reintergrate himself with the world. I cannot wait to see Celebrimbor’s reaction to meeting him again.

From Mother to Daughter – by Galenfea – Gen, 5k – The fiber arts passed down through the generations. This is the kind of topic I love; a peek into the everyday lives of elves.  I loved the world-building!

companions in shipwreck – by spellworth – T, multiple, ongoing – An exploration of canon of female characters. I love this one, wonderful writing and creatvity – especially when writing about characters where canon gives them a name at most.

Haunted, Hunted  - by @imakemywings – T, Elwing & Maedhros, 9.3k - Elwing goes for a walk in the woods… This one is so cool, I loved the fairytale elements and Elwing’s horror was palpable!

dye me, nocturne – by @solmarillion – T, Daeron/Maglor, 12k – Darron finds a stranger on the shore and they get talking. I love how messy Maglor is here, trying to get what he wants out of Daeron, and how raw this fic was in the grief and bitterness in these two exiles at the end of the First Age.

Single Chapter Fics/Oneshots

elvenkings – by @meadowlarkx– Gen, 1.5k – A look through history at Menegroth’s fall. This one had me sobbing, it’s so beautiful and full of tragedy.

Bow and Helm and Hand –  by @jouissants – E, Beleg/Mablung/Túrin, 3.5k – Mablung joins Beleg and Túrin on the marches. Very sexy and filled with wonderful characterisation and delicious hints of angst and foreboding.

Echo of the Music – by @starspray– Gen, Thingol/Melian, 471 – A sweet look at Melian and Thingol’s relationship to each other, to art and to music (and the Music)

"…on a place of insecurity." – by @carlandrea – Gen, Thingol/Melian – This is one of my favourite Thingol/Melian fics, it’s so tender and Melian’s foreboding makes me so emotional.

At the Moment of Parting – by @daegred-winsterhand – T, Beleg/Túrin, 1.5k – Sweet and sad, Turin’s grief is so thick and real.

Pre 2023 Fics

The Gleaming Road – by melblue – E, Éomer/Faramir, 28k – Misunderstanding is a favourite trope of mine and it adds to the Drama here, with poor Eomer not knowing what Faramir is expecting from him. I don’t read a lot of LOTR era fics at the moment but this one is an old fave!

The Marchwardens – by roseofthebrightsea – Gen, Beleg, Mablung, Haldir etc, 6k – I love fics that are snippets of characters lives and this has some wonderful writing and sharp characterisation in short words.

A Challenge  – by @polutrope – M, Daeron/Maglor, 1.4k – The fic that got me into Daemags! Such a fun and entertaining fic!

Unkinged – by @arofili – E, Finwë/Miriel/Indis, 1k – Looove this, a beautiful moment between the three of them in a happier time.

The Gold Are Venomous – by @aipilosse – E, Sauron/Celebrimbor, 3.1k – I love Fourth Age silvergifting and I love mischievious Annatar is here, still up to no good after all this time… though Celebrimbor isn’t complaining (much) 😉Sexy and amusing.

My Fics

I risk my life to make my name – E, Galadriel/Melian, 10k – Gawain and the Green Knight AU. This was my first attempt at something multi-chaptered and I really like it still; it was fun to write and I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Starlight – M, Mablung, 944 – Mablung falls in Menegroth. This is was fun because I love angst and I liked playing with the structure with flashbacks.

Feast – Gen, Idril & Turgon, 1k – Idril reflects on her time on the Ice and how her father looked out for her. I love thinking about Idril & Turgon.

Reunion – Gen, Andróg & Andvir, 858 – Andvir finds his father in the wilds. I am never not thinking about the Gaurwaith.

Jealous Kiss –  Gen, Celebrimbor/Sauron, 370 – Annatar teases Tyelpe. I love it when Annatar causes problems on purpose.

[thescrapwitch]

Give me backstory on your longest currently in progress (meaning you have actively worked on it in, say, the last two weeks) fic!

Thank you for the ask!

For this, I'm going to talk about Reforged, since its the one I literally just posted a new chapter for. Be warned, this is gonna be long:

I had no strong feelings towards Maeglin at the beginning of this fic. But Celebrimbor is one of my favorite Silmarillion characters, and there are so many interesting parallels between the two. Father issues, smiths, a connection with Sauron/Morgoth, the downfall of a shining kingdom (Gondolin for Maeglin, Eregion for Celebrimbor). I started to wonder what it would look like if Maeglin had lived and they had met. At the time when I started writing, there were a few fics that explored the idea (shout out to Don’t Carry It All by @aipilosse which I really love; it's a great fic everyone go read it) but I wanted more.

My goal, then, was to write the sort of Maeglin Lives-Redemption AU that I wanted to read. One that focused on him making amends for what he'd done, the impact of Celebrimbor's friendship in remaking his life, and what to do when the pieces of that newfound happiness shattered again. So I scribbled down an outline for a one-shot. I know, I say it every time I talk about a longfic, but that’s because I like writing one-shots. You get the story done and posted and then you don’t need to worry about it anymore. I thought this would just be the greatest hits of Maeglin and Celebrimbor’s friendship from the end of the First Age to the end of the Third. I knew the beginning (being taken in by Celebrimbor), how things would get worse (ie: a certain banner), the climax (a scene that I cannot talk about yet but am EXTREMELY eager to write), and the ending (which will be happy, I promise). Quick, easy, no longer than 5,000 words.

(Reforged is now over 73,000 words and still going.)

At the time when I started it, I had also recently finished After Sappho by Selby Wynn Schwartz, which is now in my top five favorite books of all time (READ IT, ITS SO GOOD!). I adore it, and part of the reason I love it so much is its structure. The book is made up of fragments, small moments of the characters' lives that span through years and years of history. So much is said and explored through those small scenes, and I wanted to try and do something similar.

(I am obsessed with story structure. Absolutely obsessed. One of my favorite things about books and writing is taking apart the bones of how a story is laid out. Its fascinating to me and I’m constantly looking for books that try something different with it)

The title “reforged” refers both to Maeglin remaking his life from the pieces it's been left in, as well as his craft as a smith. This structure, therefore, fit the theme of the story, its fragmented scenes coming together to create a whole tale. It also took a lot of pressure off of me for writing! I gave myself permission not to stress over transitions, or to show events in different ways: letters, one-sided conversations with statues, etc. It helps so much when I am stuck that I can use one of those ways to approach the scene from a different angle (especially since it covers SO. MUCH. HISTORY).

I also need to shout-out The Harrowing by @chthonion (again, very good fic go read!) which I had also been reading at the time I started and which has altered how I view conflict within stories. It inspired me to really look at how I was presenting the different people in Maeglin's life, to let them be very complicated and tangled as they all tried to make their way through history (such as Eöl or Gil-Galad's anger with the Fëanorians or Maeglin and the surviving Gondolindrim).

And that's how Reforged came to be! Currently, it is the longest fic on my AO3, though there's now only three (!) chapters left. I am very grateful for all the kudos and comments I've gotten on it (especially for Chapter 10 - those screams made my MONTH).

And thank you again for the ask and letting me ramble about my fic! ❤️❤️❤️