#i love them so much alhdlahagf

[maedhrosdefender]

~LONG~ POST

this has been so long coming but here is my aralas fic recs masterlist bc i love them so much and there’s too little good aralas fanfiction on ao3

hawthorn by aeolianharps https://archiveofourown.org/works/39137910/chapters/97913703

my favourite fic of all time. 50K, from pre-fellowship first-meeting in mirkwood to post-rotk angst. the most heart-curdlingly beautiful thing i have ever read. will make you sob but also be so glad to be alive

of men by aeolianharps https://archiveofourown.org/works/21775381/chapters/51957199

can you tell i love aeolianharps?? i do. 25K, from fellowship to post-rotk angst but with a happy ending. so hauntingly beautiful oh god.

a ghost story by samarqand https://archiveofourown.org/works/24366931

almost 10K oneshot that goes from pre-fellowship to post-rotk. the most harrowingly forestial sort of love story god i love it so much

the language of the birds by samarqand https://archiveofourown.org/works/25388575/chapters/61564924

exactly 20K from pre-fellowship mirkwood to mid-rotk one of my fav fics of all time, just the most gorgeous portrayal of love and longing and yes.

how the heart approaches what it yearns (series) by sakurashakedown https://archiveofourown.org/series/2827483

38K overall and ongoing, the first fic is 7K, the second 3K and the third 27K, the most wonderful pre-fellowship questing with aragorn portrayal of neurodivergent legolas and just fluff fluff to heal your soul

Now to rapid fire from one of my fav fic writers ever, Nanethoiithil: Rivers of Starlight https://archiveofourown.org/works/41660493 More Lovely and More Temperate https://archiveofourown.org/works/39477444

Whispers in the Dark https://archiveofourown.org/works/39273417/chapters/98273073

A Brief Respite https://archiveofourown.org/works/38184877

Beware of the Sea https://archiveofourown.org/works/37798204/chapters/94374856

Earth https://archiveofourown.org/works/37143091

All by Nanethoiithil, all <15K wonderful established relationship aralas, mid-fellowship questing with the most wonderful fluff and fellowship dynamics and hurt/comfort, except for Beware of the Sea which is post-rotk wrong person wrong time. all so lovely it takes my breath away

In Fading Light by milgarion https://archiveofourown.org/works/822388/chapters/1558852

been a hot second since i’ve read but a full-on 63K developing relationship aralas, great if you’re in the mood for something more ~classic~ with more traditional angst. absolutely fell in love with this and it’ll always have a place in my heart

those are the fics that left a wordless void in my soul once i finished them, that have had such an impact on my life it feels as though they never leave my mind, now here are a few that are less so, definitely i don’t think about them every waking hour of every day, but are still really really good:

elf ears are just ears by yerimheart https://archiveofourown.org/works/43091700 (1500 words first kiss adorableness)

the moon will sing a song for me (i loved you like the sun) by eirvosol https://archiveofourown.org/works/42569739 (1300 words declarations of love, established-relationship, a lil cliché but it’s ok)

Dead on Your Feet by LuvAtFirstRead https://archiveofourown.org/works/42147552 (6K injury/recovery trope, established relationship, also lil cliché but it’s good)

This Realm of Ours by Living_City https://archiveofourown.org/works/41136546 (1700 word established relationship injury/recovery fluff so well written agh)

in dreams i can hear your name by osamugiris https://archiveofourown.org/works/40875900 (4K classic immortal dying bc mortal doesn’t love him back fluff, SO well done)

aaaaaaand of course everything by one of my favs again: himboredfield

burdens of war and love’s embrace https://archiveofourown.org/works/31518371

i had been lost to you, sunlight https://archiveofourown.org/works/25743196

give me how it was, our place under the sun https://archiveofourown.org/works/24639829/chapters/59532244

all by himboredfield, (1400 words, 4K and 20K respectively) all are pre or mid-fellowship super fluffy aralas love confessions, with an AMAZING grasp on archaic language, so tolkien-esque and lovely.

aaaaaand to finish off with some shameless self advo, here’s my fic: at the impasse of the age, we lie in oblivion by u_wear_fine_things_well (me :D) https://archiveofourown.org/works/42924453/chapters/107839779

my 75K word magnum opus, angsty yet bantery lotr rewrite except gayer and sadder and, yk, aralas-er with a bittersweet ending

this post is for everyone who had to wade thru hundreds of not super well written fics just to find some good gd fluffshots of our fav twink archer and his punk, perpetually tired bf!! there are good ones out there (and ones that will rip your whole entire heart out of your chest like the first 4) i promise