#b2mem 2025

[sweetteaanddragons]

B2MEM - Defenses and Endurance

@spring-into-arda (357 words)

He had many excellent defenses, long prepared, as to why he should not go back to Aman. They began with the Oath - and frankly, Maglor felt that should be enough on its own - and slowly wound down to the frankly less noble.

He thought he had prepared for any attacks anyone might make on the subject, whether verbal or otherwise.

He had forgotten to account for Elrond turning to begin addressing the matter and stumbling into his own desk like the fevered elfling he once had been instead of the great elf lord he had become.

Maglor was across the room in a moment, half supporting him; Elrond was still leaning far too heavily on the desk.

“You’re exhausted,” he said, and he wanted to say it lightly, but he could not quite hide the horror of just how much weariness Elrond had managed to conceal behind his perpetual mask of serenity.

“It is nothing,” Elrond said, but he could not quite hide the way he struggled, just slightly, to catch his breath. “The ring fails. I must adjust to it until I have sailed.”

Until.

And there Maglor hesitated.

Elrond would improve after sailing, he told himself. Things would be better once he was no longer trying to support the Valley with strength he no longer had.

But Maglor knew, better than most, that Aman did not heal all ills.

Especially of the spirit.

“I will be well,” Elrond promised him, arms faintly trembling as he allowed Maglor to help him into a chair. He hesitated, then said - “Will you sing something for me? It will help, I think, and I should not like to worry the others - “

All the old songs of endurance, of strength unfailing, sprang at once into his mind; they had helped in worse cases before and could again.

“Of course,” he agreed. 

(It did help.)

(And since it helped - )

(He could not bear sending Elrond to sail alone, never knowing if it had been enough.)

(If there was any aid he could give him - )

(He owed Elrond that. He owed Elrond every chance he could give to enjoy Aman hale and strong. He owed him that and more.)

(Elrond had already asked him once to return with him.)

(He would not make him ask again.)

[balrogballs]

The Last Journey of Arwen Undómiel

True drabble (100 words) and traditional art in (water)coloured-pencils, gold leaf and, painted lace leaves — for @spring-into-arda B2MEM Basketball Championship. Team Idril and the prompt was “CHAOS” and I chose to focus on Arwen’s final moments in Lothlorien.

See below for a WIP pic midway through losing my mind trying to put glue on these horrible little leaves without accidentally gluing my fingers to my ass.

[hobbitwrangler]

B2MEM International Women's Day recs

I love the idea of spotlighting fics with female characters today, so here's my contribution to @spring-into-arda's Back to Middle Earth event!

she planted this garden by lonelyvisitor (G, Elros/Elros' wife, 0.8k) Beautifully written fic with such a fully realised main character that interrogates the alien-ness of the peredhil and how painful and strange it would be to be married to one of them.

A Thing Strange and Crooked by @emyn-arnens (T, Idril & Maeglin, 2.6k) An incredibly realistic depiction of Idril's isolation and sense of helplessness in the face of Maeglin's pursuit of her.

What Comes Naturally by @imakemywings (G, Indis & Míriel, 2.9k) The way this fic explores the aspects of motherhood that are painful and unglamourous and just plain sad ... I get emotional just thinking about this fic. And I live for this interpretation of Míriel.

Unwary by @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras (T, Théodwyn, 3.1k) Wonderful Théodwyn characterisation, I love her anger and resentment and frustration and how it all tangles with her grief at Éomund's death.

Birthright by cuarthol (M, Findis/Gandalf, 3.5k) I am still absolutely in love with this characterisation of Findis and the way her grief affects her.

Sword-hearted by @emyn-arnens (G, Éowyn, 1.7k) An insight into Éowyn's childhood that also weaves in Helm Hammerhand's daughter and references to Éowyn's aunts.

a fish, floundering on dry land by ncfan (T, Finduilas of Dol Amroth, 4.1k) Not only does this capture Finduilas' waining in Minas Tirith, it also comes with a cameo from one of Denethor's sisters.

what the shadows hid by @swanmaids (T, Lúthien/Thuringwethil, 0.5k) Perfect horror piece that manages to be hot, intimate and creepy all at once.

plundered her and stripped what remained by @swanmaids (M, Aerin & OC, 2.2k) A heartbreaking look at what befalls Aerin and the women of her people, caught between the pain of what they have lost and the pain that is to come.

Askance by @from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras (G, Vidumavi, 5.3k) This fic perfectly portrays Vidumavi's sense of self and how she struggles with her feeling of otherness in Gondor.

Threads by Adlanth (G, Finduilas Faelivrin, Edhellos & Orodreth's wife, 1k) Gorgeously written conversation about foresight between three generations of elven women from three different backgrounds.

Beneath the Innumerable Stars by @emyn-arnens (G, Findis & Ilmarë, 0.9k) A conversation between Findis and Ilmarë about Findis' fears in the oncoming War of Wrath, with such vivid, magical imagery.

Queen Under the Mountain by @imakemywings (T, Dís, 2.9k) A look at Dís' grief and emptiness after the the Quest for Erebor, and her musings on how hollow her people's victory is for her.

Mutual In Divine Love by @elvain (G, Arwen/Éowyn, 4.1k) Love Arwen's rejection of fate in this fic, and her immediate appreciation for Éowyn is wonderful.

[spring-into-arda]

March 8 - Prompts

International Womens' Day! Create, comment on or recommend fanworks featuring women as main characters.

The optional weekly theme is: Community, Fun, First Times

If you want to share your responses to these prompts with us, you can tag us here on tumblr, or put them into our AO3 collection.

[maglor-my-beloved]

Lady Mithrellas' circlet

.

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A tribute to Mithrellas, our lovely Spy in the Shadows from B2MEM 2023, featuring my first handmade circlet!

created for @spring-into-arda's Basketball Championship.

[hhimring]

Music Makers

Wandering by lone sea-breakers, and sitting by desolate streams (Arthur O’Shaughnessy)

Maglor:

If you can never go home--

it becomes a poem.

If you have blood on your hands—

it becomes a song.

If you have betrayed your kin—

it becomes a poem.

If you have failed your family—

it becomes a song.

If your voice dies in your throat—

it becomes a poem.

If there is nobody to listen—

it becomes a song.

Daeron:

If you can never go home—

It becomes a poem.

If you betrayed her trust—

it becomes a song.

If you will never see her again—

it becomes a poem.

If there is nobody to play for—

it becomes a song.

If you do not dare to remember yesterday—

it becomes a poem.

@spring-into-arda

Late submission for Experimental Tuesday.

[gayfrogpolycule-art]

My contributions to this year's B2MEM Basketball Championship!

Check them out at @spring-into-arda and maybe join in on the fun!

[sweetteaanddragons]

B2MEM - Fun (For Certain Values Thereof)

@spring-into-arda (265 words)

Maglor had occasionally imagined someone coming to find him. In his more maudlin moods, he pictured soldiers come to arrest him; in his more self-indulgent moods, he pictured someone who was actually happy to see him. What he was doing in this scenario was equally variable; singing the final verses of the Noldolante while staring out to sea was probably the most narratively appropriate option, but even something as mundane as being found while starting a cookfire would have been perfectly acceptable.

It did not, he felt strongly, give the proper impression to be found beside a sandcastle.

The process that had ended in a sandcastle had been inescapably natural; he has sung a requiem for his father, which had led into a series of other songs about or for his father, from the laments to the war songs to the praise songs to the light hearted songs of his childhood.

Including the one he had composed when a holiday to the shore had ended in intensely competitive sandcastle building. His father’s had been magnificent. Maglor had mostly been too busy composing his song about the occasion to bother.

It had not taken much to wonder if he could do better now.

He could, as it happened.

This did not change his feelings upon hearing an awkward cough and looking up to realize that in his reverie, he had allowed himself to be surrounded by a group of elvish soldiers who were looking somewhat doubtful that they had found the right target at all.

This would not make for a good verse of the Noldolante.

[spring-into-arda]

Starting on March 1, we'll be releasing daily prompts for everyone to use for Back to Middle-Earth Month.

Each set of prompts comes with an optional weekly theme that matches the themes for our basketball championship event. You can include it or not as you see fit.

Late submissions are always welcome, so don't worry if you can't come up with something on the day!

You can share your work with us by tagging this blog on tumblr, or by submitting your stories and art to our ao3 collection: B2MEM 2025 Ao3 collection

We hope you have a lovely March!

[spring-into-arda]

Two basketball conferences have been battling for supremacy for centuries. This March, the madness comes to a head with the B2MEM Basketball Championship.

Choose your team. Attend the draft and put together a roster that you and your fellow creators can use to go head-to-head with other teams in this year’s championship.

Win points for your team by creating fic, art, comments and rec lists, and let's find out together who will earn the title of B2MEM 2025 Basketball Champion!

Registration form

Event info

This event will be happening on discord. Joining the discord is mandatory for event participants to facilitate communication between teams.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out!

[spring-into-arda]

Prompt Round-Up Week 1

Don't worry if you missed any of these! Late submissions are always welcome, both in the AO3 collection and by tagging us here on tumblr!

Optional weekly theme - Community, Fun, First Times

March 1 ‒ Coming home | Reunions | Missing somebody

March 2 – Community Sunday! Comment on a fanwork that was created over 1 year ago | Listen to a podfic | Rec your top 3 comfort fics

March 3 ‒  Chaos | Troublemakers | Out of Bounds

March 4 – Experimental Tuesday! Write a songfic! | Experiment with textiles | Try out an Alternate Universe

March 5 ‒  First Meetings | Games | Connections

March 6 – Meta Thursday! Share your meta/headcanons about a Tolkien character.

March 7 ‒ Audience | Ball | Court 

March 8 – International Womens’ Day! Create, comment, or recommend fanworks featuring women as main characters.

March 9 – Community Sunday! Read and comment on a story about a character you’ve never read about before! | Comment on/reblog art that features the colour purple | Listen to a fan song

[maglor-my-beloved]

Peace-Gift, War-Child

Characters: Annarainë (OC)

Warnings: none

Words: 200

Peace-gift, she is named, but Annarainë does not care for peace.

Peace means being quiet and placid and well-behaved.

Peace means enduring any and all insults thrown at her and those she loves without complaint.

Peace means hearing the whispered threats and seeing the bruises on her elders’ ribs and never fighting back.

Peace means betraying the Flame Imperishable and everything he fought for.

Annarainë is tired of peace. She wants to fight. She wants to defend her House, wants to prove herself, wants to teach each and every one of those bastards in Lindon never, never again to insult the greatest Elf who ever lived.

She cannot kill them – it would upset her Lord, and Annarainë loves him too dearly to trouble him so.

But that does not mean she cannot fight back.

Does not mean she cannot shout at them, slam doors and break things, make a scene, when the courtiers insult her and expect her to take it quietly.

Does not mean she cannot proudly wear the eight-rayed star to every feast and every diplomatic function and dare anyone to say something.

Does not mean she cannot be as unapologetically loyal as those who came before her.

created for @spring-into-arda's Basketball Championship.

[sweetteaanddragons]

B2MEM - "Ashes"

@spring-into-arda (308 words)

My first thought on seeing that one of the prompts this time was the song "Ashes" by the Longest Johns was that this was a great prompt for Elrond and Numenor; the talk about worshipping the ashes really seems to fit with later stage Numenor and tending to the flame of life and hope is a very Elrond thing.

(Okay, my very first thought when I saw that one of the prompts was a song link was an irrational certainty that it was a Rick Roll. Tumblr has made me paranoid.)

. . .

It was a hard thing to visit Numenor now. He had seen it when it was green and golden; to see it slowly crumble into ash was a hard thing.

It was elves who were supposed to be most tempted by memory and its traces of old glories; to see Men so enthralled by their own past, their own dead, felt unnatural. Elrond had known these faces when the lifeblood was still bright in their cheeks. He did not mind seeing them captured in stone, but to see more care expended on these remnants than on the ever fewer children whose voices echoed down the cold streets - it disturbed him.

There was not much he could do. The kings of Numenor did not like an elf telling them their business.

Even if the one doing so was, even now, not quite an elf.

There had been a time -

But he turned his mind firmly from memory. He could do no good there.

He could do some good here in the poorest quarter of the city in the market corner where a host of anxious mothers with infants who had caught the fever plaguing the city had gathered because they had heard he could help.

It was a good reminder that there was still some new life in the city.

“Hello, little one,” he said softly to the first squalling little one that was placed in his arms. “Let me see what is amiss. Should you like to hear a song while I do?”

It was an old song, good for soothing fevers and children alike.

He had sung it long ago to some who were now immortalized in ever more elaborate stone. He could lose himself in grief for that if he let himself.

He could.

He would not, so long as there were more children to tend.

[maglor-my-beloved]

Old Friend

Mandos was, for the most part, silent.

The spirits of the dead would whisper amongst each other, and the newly arrived would sometimes scream or sob, while the pain of their death was still on them, but that was it.

It had taken Tínwerhîn some time to get used to the silence, accustomed as they were to living with their forge-loving husband and son, six quarrelsome law-brothers and no less quarrelsome law-parents, but time was one thing the souls in Mandos had in excess.

And so they were startled when, all of a sudden, the silence was broken by loud, echoing barks. Familiar barks, they realised after a moment of shock, but that could not be – he could not be –

But there he was, over-large and soft-furred and keen-eyed as always, and Tínwerhîn could not help but throw their arms around him and weep, holding tight onto this familiar creature, so dear after the long loneliness in these halls.

“Huan,” they whispered, their face buried in his fur, “Huan, where is your master, and your master’s brother? Where is my son, the child you guarded and played with so long ago? What has happened that you are here and they are not?”

Tínwerhîn did not think that Huan would ever willingly leave his master’s side, and yet, looking into the hound’s intelligent eyes, they knew that he had done just that. They thought of just how far their bright, beloved law-brother must have fallen for his eternally loyal companion to turn from him and wept.

created for @spring-into-arda's Basketball Championship.

[spring-into-arda]

March 10 - Prompts

Conflict | Exploration | Windmill

The optional weekly theme is: Test, Struggle, Progress

If you want to share your responses to these prompts with us, you can tag us here on tumblr, or put them into our AO3 collection.

[spring-into-arda]

March 2 - Prompts

Comment on a fanwork that was created over 1 year ago | Listen to a podfic | Rec your top 3 comfort fics

The optional weekly theme is: Community, Fun, First Times

On Sundays, instead of giving you prompts to create fanworks, we're encouraging you to reach out to the wonderful people in this fandom that make this community what it is.

Tag us in your rec lists, or just send them to your best friend, whatever works for you.