#i *love* your maedhros characterization SO MUCH

[nelyoslegalteam]

you are a Maedhos person to me and one of THE Maedhros people!!and Fëanor !

-@outofangband

i was ALREADY permanently riding the high of this being my maedhros blog to you and you come in here and hit me with THIS????????? you come into my house and SAY KIND THINGS TO ME??????? ;www;

<3333333333 !!!!!!!!

[echo-bleu]

End of the Year Fic Recs

thank you @thescrapwitch and @sallysavestheday for tagging me!

This is a wonderful game, I love reccing fics and I should do it more. I'll keep it all Silmarillion for the recs, since that's the bulk of what I've read this year. I haven't had the spoon to leave proper comments on some of these, so hopefully reccing them can count too?

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).

- The Harrowing by @chthonion. I am forever in awe of this whole series and of Chthonion's writing. Somehow every single sentence is relatable and at least half of them are a punch in the gut, but in a healing way. A delightful Frodo, Celebrimbor and Finrod working through their trauma and Annatar, remade as an elf, learning how to be a good person (and a person at all, really).

- we will make this place our home by @leucisticpuffin. Truly delightful 70s AU as narrated by 8 year old Elrond, who just makes my heart melt in every chapter. Maedhros and Maglor as traumatized foster parents doing their best, the twins with their antics and their fears and joys, it's such a breath of fresh air and I can't get enough of it.

- Hanged Man by @tethysresort. Second age fic about the fall of Eregion and the start of Imladris with so much interesting worldbuilding and plot, and characterization of Elrond and Glorfindel especially that I really loved.

- Everlasting Song by @amethysttribble. This is perhaps a little more niche, a crossover with A Song of Ice and Fire, but I'm not an ASOIAF fan at all and I have like two whole memories of the books and I'm still finding absolutely delightful. Top-notch characterization of the Fëanorians, and it really keeps you on your toes.

- Aurë entuluva by @theheirofashandfire. Just very recently caught up with it and I love it to bits! The time loop is all kinds of angsty and breathtaking, and I really love the world that is being constructed afterwards. Wonderful Russingon, and I'm also, especially, in love with her Curufin and Celegorm.

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

- Wayward Son by @thescrapwitch. Angst exactly like I like it. Fëanor and Maglor, and it will make you cry. @thescrapwitch writes Maglor just wonderfully and I really love this Fëanor that will do absolutely anything for his son.

- On the difference between hostages and sons by leodesic (and the rest of the series as well). Absolutely delightful Elrond and Elros, as seen by Gil-galad when they first come to his court. I love Elrond defying expectation, and this was such a wonderful read.

- the world to come by arriviste. Arda Remade, told through the shadows and the gaps of what's missing. It's eerie, and I love a well-written eerie fic that leaves you feeling a little off-balance. Wonderful reflection on the price of perfection.

- Sea-Bells and Sunlight by @actual-bill-potts. Finrod, Lúthien and Beren in Mandos. This broke my heart in the best way.

- in the breaking by @thelordofgifs. Short but terribly impactful study of Maedhros and Maglor before the end, one of the best I've read of them.

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

- A Farewell to Arms by MorwenSteelsheen (LOTR, Farawyn). Such a wonderful characterization and development of Faramir and Éowyn's relationship in a slight canon divergence where Éowyn arrives in Gondor two years before the end of the war of the Ring.

- The Splintered Light by @thearrogantemu. The whole series. These Gifts That You Have Given Me (Silvergifting) is well-known in the fandom, I think, and I absolutely loved it, but the other fics set in the Fourth Age were among the first I read in this fandom that I just fell straight in love with.

- The Host of the West by @mynameisjessejk. Various fics of the Otter Mayhem and Otterless Mayhem series could have gone into every category here because I love them all, but this is the one I chose because I reread it yesterday for the fourth (fifth?) time and it still had me bawling my eyes out. Probably my favourite Finrod, and definitely an inspiration for my own writing. The whole series is about healing and redemption and elf therapy and all of it is delightful.

- The Peril (and Potential) of Unleashing Lightning in a Fishbowl by @dawnfelagund. This one took everything I thought I knew about Caranthir, threw it out the window and gave me a truly brilliant characterization I didn't know I needed in my life. The worldbuilding is also delightful, and so is Amarië.

- Aranya by SpaceWall. I read this recently and it's really staying with me. Some people in my asks have expressed interest in fics that take the Valar to account for their mistakes, and this is a wonderful one. With a bonus revolution. I really love the non-linear storytelling as well, a hard-to-use tool that is done wonderfully here. Plus the title is inspired.

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

- your veins are empty of dust. Character study of Nerdanel as feels her family die across the sea, and she sculpts. This is also the fic for which I made the art I'm probably the proudest of to date.

- your smile tells me I'm safe. Modern AU with aro Maedhros and a Russingon QPR.

- silver. Míriel, Celegorm and Celebrimbor, and living with chronic illness.

- the light that you keep burning there. Part of a much larger AU where the second and third kinslayings don't happen, but this one is about Maedhros, Maglor and Fingon in the later years, as the world crumbles, trying to remember what (who) they're fighting for.

- if I am to braid my mystic crown. The Silmarillion retold through worldbuilding headcanons about braids.

Tagging @unforth @foodsies4me @wren-of-the-woods @camille-lachenille (I don't know who has already done it, so feel free to send me a link if you have!)

[imakemywings]

Below will be fanfic recs for TOLKIEN, HADES, DRAGON AGE, MASS EFFECT ANDROMEDA and THE TERROR. Once again, I’ve tried to break the Tolkien recs down by character groupings but you all know what a thankless task that is. Asterisks by particular faves! (〜￣▽￣)〜

(Photo credit to Craig Pattenaude on Unsplash.)

Past fanfic rec lists

Tolkien

Sindar

As a River Flowing Into the Sea by Melesta - E - 3.2k - Elwing nurses a long-standing crush on Princess Idril. Love the symbolism and the characterizations here!

Bitter was Their Parting by Atalantie - G - 2.2k - I can’t speak, I’m crying about Arwen and Elrond.

Different Ways to Light a Path by baby_bat_98 - G - 5.1k - If you are looking for early stages of Gimli and Legolas coming to understand each other this fic is for you! Legolas is having a very bad no good time in Moria and Gimli offers some assistance.

* Chain and Trammels by am_fae - G - 322 - AHHH! It is SO testament to Lark’s writing ability that so much is fit into such a short fic. This speaks VOLUMES about Melian and her choices pre-canon and throughout Silm. And so poetically written, as always!

Hemlock and Niphredil by theScrap_Witch - G - 4k - Absolutely wonderful and crushing examination of Thingol and Elrond in Aman bonding over a daughter who chose mortality.

* A King is He That Can Hold His Own by iddump - I hear you. But Mae, you say, you’ve recced this fic like five times already. but listen. Listen. This week’s new chapter was so good it has to go on here again. Blown away once more by iddump’s grasp not only on the characters but their relationships with each other. This fic is a thesis statement on Maedhros and Thingol and I am here. for. it.

Nothing Beside Remains by TheChasm - G - 1k - Elrond and Elros take a trip to Doriath and everything is bittersweet. Wonderful exploration of their relationship to each other as well as to their family history.

* The Redemption of Daeron by Runedhel - T - 7.3 - Entirely in verse, this dedicated love letter to Tolkien and Daeron in particular blew me away. This author has fantastic talent and I was amazed at how well Tolkien's poetical style was captured. And of course, I love a happy ending for Daeron, even if it takes him a while to get there <3

The Self is Not So Weightless by Alyss_Baskerville - G - 1.3k - Sobbing again over Elwing meeting Thingol in Valinor. Absolutely wonderful fic!

To Speak of Nothing by Alyss_Baskerville - G - 3.7k - Honestly going a little wild over this take on Elrond and Elros’ relationship with Maedhros and Maglor. This look at the twins’ final goodbye to their kidnappers and caretakers is SO good and also shows how each of them views it a little differently.

Noldor

The Beloved by am_fae - E - 7.1k - Lark literally never misses. Once again Finrod and Sauron’s dynamic is utterly transfixing and their growing internal conflict over their feelings is delicious.

* Calma, Lambe, Lambe, Ore by sallysavestheday - G - 656 - Maglor and Daeron both made me laugh here and I loved the tone of this piece. Pretentious Maglor and snarky Daeron makes for such a fun dynamic.

The Chain that Snaps by am_fae - T - 5k - This masterpiece comes to a stunning and explosive conclusion to masterful effect. The emotions here come through so powerfully and vividly you can't help but be on the edge of your seat.

Deliberate by unendingwanderlust - E - 1.1k - Delightful bit of Meladriel smut with Galadriel getting the spanking she sorely needs. Very fun character dynamics!

Ensnared by swanmaiden - E - 749 - Messy messy Celegorm fucking one of his followers. His attitude here is so believable and as usual, Heather excels at capturing self-destructive characters. Nice work!

Hearth Fire by Atalantie - G - 1.4k Lovely little look at a tenderer, if still contentious, relationship between Feanor and Findis as the rebellion of the Noldor draws nigh.

In Fields of Gold by Arveldis - G - 350 - This is such a lovely glimpse of Finwe and Indis’ happiness and love. Beautiful imagery!

Just Call Me Home by sallysavestheday - T - 1k - A sweet moment between Celebrimbor and Finduilas after Celebrimbor disowns Curufin. Very touching <3

Maglor Indebted by SpaceAsthmatic - T - 8.2k - Very interesting look at Third Age relationships! When Maglor is badly wounded, he’s found and nursed back to health by an unlikely culprit–Legolas, only child of Thranduil, former Doriathrim. I really enjoyed the character interactions here!

Most Grievous of Partings by AngelQueen - T - 2.3k - Ahhh this look at Feanor and Nerdanel’s last parting is SO </3 The author does a great job capturing Nerdanel’s perspective.

Sown as Seed in the Dark by Melesta - G - 837 - The flowers are on Fingolfin’s side. Beautiful dialogue, and another angle for us all to weep about Fingolfin.

Starless by ncfan - T - 1k - Wonderfully claustrophobic look at Aredhel’s pregnancy in Nan Elmoth.

Tapestry of Years by NiennaWept - M - 5.7k - Love the dynamic between Galadriel and Melian here, and how despite her best intentions, Galadriel just can’t stay away.

True Wife by spellworth - G - 700 - You know that feeling when you supported someone on something because it seemed right and then later you realized they were totally in the wrong? Nerdanel knows that feeling :’) Fantastic dialogue and I love how the relationship between Feanor and Nerdanel is portrayed here.

Untitled by tanoraqui - This is such a fun look both at Finarfin’s relationship with Earwen as well as his position as Finwe’s youngest child. Great prose and a really sweet relationship between Finarfin and Earwen here!

Untitled by that-angry-noldo - ugly crying about Finarfin and Finrod’s relationship…also Finrod’s relationship with Nargothrond…really great work in using only a few lines to convey so much.

* Wan Little Husks of Autofiction by clovis_unleashed - T - 7.6k - Ahhh this is SUCH a fucking fantastic characters study of both Maglor and Daeron and how they are processing the Feanorian violence of the First Age a long time past. Absolutely phenomenal conceit of the conversation allegedly being about music. Cannot recommend enough.

Who did I suborn to do this piece? by birrdieEdwards - M - 1.1k - Fucking oof, brutal look at the kinslaying at Sirion with a painfully realistic Maglor and just enough canon divergence to make it that much more tragic.

Men

Ease Out the Thorns by myliobatis - G - 1k - Eowyn tries to help her soon-to-be-wife Faramir feel more comfortable in her own skin. A really sweet fic <3

The Horn of Gondor by saentorine - T - 3.5k - Very sweet and yet foreboding look at Boromir in the final days of Finduilas’ pregnancy with Faramir.

Labor of Love by Scyllas_revenge - G - 2.6k - Little Aragorn with his Super Serious crush on Arwen is adorable and poor Bilbo gets caught up in this XD

The Last Queen of Numenor by NevillesGran - G - 2.1k - Beautiful meeting between Tar-Miriel and Earendil at the fall of Numenor. Really captures the mythological energy!

Lavender Fields by Spurandsaddle - T - 507 - Arwen is less-than-subtle with her flirting, but it still takes Eowyn a moment to grasp it.

Rebuilding by bomberqueen17 - M - 7.7k - Excellent portrayals of both Eowyn and Lothiriel. A believable coming-together after the fight for Minas Tirith and good explorations of their feelings about their roles in life generally!

Ride Out with Me by raiyana - E - 2.1k - A really cute Eowyn/OFC fic from Eowyn’s youth!

Terra Incognita by aurembiaux - E - 8.1k - Faramir’s only been with men. Eowyn’s only been with women. They both try to get through their wedding night without having to admit this. Cute, sweet, funny.

With Every Seed You Sow, Let it Wash Away, Wash Away by hexagons - G - 3.9k - A beautiful exploration of Faramir post-canon and his budding friendship with Legolas. Excellent character portrayals!

Hobbits

Come True by Vulgarweed - G - 1.7k - Cute little fic about Elanor Gamgee meeting one of her heroes: Eowyn of Rohan.

Hades

Eternal Reward by cyankelpie - G - 2.3k - A lovely and touching look at the start of Asterius and Theseus' friendship.

Night Sightings by youtomyme - E - 6k - Sexy voyeurism between Hades and Persephone with Nyx's help.

Dragon Age

Anything Worth Doing by @chocochipbiscuit - E - 4.7k - Fabulous look at both Aveline and Isabela and the shift in their relationship after Aveline and Donnic divorce. I really enjoyed how real this felt (but still sexy!) I felt like this captured believable attitudes for women well into adulthood and that was very enjoyable.

Mass Effect Andromeda

Drusilla's Phosphorescent Adventure by drladybird - T - 6.6k - This is SUCH a fun look at Peebee and Vetra's relationship. Their banter fascinated me in-game and this fic does a commendable effort at capturing both the initial tension and the developing friendship.

Not So Recent History by Inquartata - T - 2.8k - Hundreds of years after the Andromeda Initiative arrives, Ellen Ryder awakes and meets Peebee, then a matron. Honestly, this fic convinced me that Ellen/Peebee is a far more compelling ship than Rybee. Let Ellen have some fun!

The Terror

Come Knocking by wildflower_47 - E - 3.5k - Delightful shenanigans when Francis, newly promoted, arrives at Franklin's house with a polite gift and is waylaid by a very intent Sophia. Love the dynamic of their relationship here!

Dark Red by flowermasters - E - 2.8k - Tasty sexy university AU where Francis is a professor at Sophia's university and she likes having a toy around. Really does a great job capturing the physical intimacy combined with the absence of true emotional intimacy.

An Ember, Stoked by Anonymous - E - 3.7k - Did you know "The Terror" has the most fanfics in the "sexual dysfunction" tag? Jopson is here to help Captain Crozier out with that.

Find the Wind to Fill My Sails by mothicalcreatures - G - 1.1k - A really touching moment where Sophia helps transwoman!Crozier explore privately presenting as a woman for the first time.

State of Grace/A Closing Flower by sshysmm - T - 432 - A short, sweet moment between Sophia and Francis before the departure of the expedition.

[emyn-arnens]

End of Year Fic Recs

Tagged by @grey-gazania @thescrapwitch @dreamingthroughthenoise—thank you!

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.

Oneshots

I'm cheating and doing 10 oneshots because I haven't had the spoons for reading longfics the past couple years. Hoping to change that this next year!

The Aching by @searchingforserendipity25 (G, Maedhros & Celegorm & Curufin, <1k). Maedhros in the aftermath of Finrod's death. Seren wrote this for me, and I have so much love for this exploration of Maedhros' grief over his cousin's death.

A Missive in all Goodwill by @actual-bill-potts (G, Finrod, Galadriel, and Thingol, 3.3k). Finrod tries to forestall the growing tensions in Doriath and Nargothrond. It's devastating. I love it.

Bitter Was Their Parting by @dreamingthroughthenoise (G, Arwen & Elrond, 2.2k). Arwen and Elrond bid each other farewell for the last time. Alantie wrote this for me earlier this year, and I'm still not over it.

Elegies Unwritten by nonisland (T, Éowyn & Merry, <1k). Éowyn and Merry on the road to Pelennor Fields. Éowyn and Merry's relationship is one of my favorite LOTR friendships, and this fic depicts it so well.

For One Year, One Day, of the Flame by @cuarthol (T, Aegnor/Andreth, 1.8k). A beautiful fix-it fic for these two, featuring an older Andreth and an Aegnor who is every bit in love with her as he was when she was young.

Things Yet to Be by @polutrope (G, Finrod & Turgon, 1.4k). Polutrope wrote this for me as a gift, and I love this glimpse of how Finrod wrestled with his foresight even as a child. It's also a very sweet look at Finrod and Turgon's relationship as children.

Threads by @slightnettles (G, Finduilas & Orodreth's wife & Edhellos, 1k). A wonderful depiction of Finduilas' foresight and her relationship with her mother and Edhellos.

Too Burdened to Fly by @hobbitwrangler (G, Finduilas of Dol Amroth, 3k). A beautiful exploration of Finduilas' thoughts in her final moments. It wrecked me in the best way.

What Lies Beyond the End by @melestasflight (G, Maglor, <1k). A beautiful depiction of Maglor casting away his Silmaril and choosing to live, with absolutely stunning imagery.

your veins are empty of dust by @echo-bleu (G, Nerdanel, Anairë, Eärwen, Finrod, and Maglor, 1.7k). An absolutely devastating exploration of Nerdanel's grief as she receives news of her husband's and sons' deaths, as well as those of Anairë's and Eärwen's children.

Oldies

Across the Gulf by Antiheld (T, Aegnor/Andreth, 3.1k). Andreth visits Aegnor one last time. One of my favorite fics ever; I've probably contributed to half of its hits.

A Few Good Years to Spend by @verecunda (G, Aegnor/Andreth, 4.8k). A beautifully written Aegnor/Andreth fix-it fic with the happy ending they deserve. I love it to pieces.

The Courtship of Lady Éowyn by @starry-mantle (T, Éowyn/Faramir, Merry, and all the rest of the hobbits, 7k). If you've followed me for any length of time, you've probably seen me rec this fic again and again, and it's because I can't get enough of it. Perfect characterizations all around.

Nine Fingers by Prackspoor (G, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, 6.3k). Wonderfully chilling fic featuring Frodo and his friends on their return to the Shire and a mysterious stranger they encounter upon the outskirts of the Barrow-downs. It has some of the best slow-build horror I've ever read in a fic.

The Swallow by rhymer23 (G, Merry & Pippin & Éomer, 4.3k). Very touching and moving depiction of Merry and Pippin's final journey to Rohan to visit Éomer on his deathbed. A delicate, deft portrayal of aging and mortality.

Mine

As the Hare Flees Before the Wolf (T, Celegorm & Eöl, 1.8k). Curufin is not the only son of Fëanor Eöl meets upon the plains of Himlad.

in the hills of dorthonion (G, Aegnor/Andreth, 4.1k). The first meeting of Aegnor and Andreth and the beginning of their relationship.

Over Seas of Starlight (G, Frodo & Gandalf, 3.7k). On the journey West, Frodo discovers Gandalf's true nature and learns of the country that will soon be his home.

West, West Away (G, Sam & Thranduil, 3.6k). Sam meets an unlikely kindred spirit on the journey West.

when the cold wind rolls in from the north (G, Andreth, 1k). As the Bragollach rages, Andreth waits.

I'm late to this and can't remember who's already done this, so I tag everyone who's been tagged here and hasn't done this yet.

[grey-gazania]

20 questions for fic writers

Yoinked from the lovely @sallysavestheday and @melestasflight!

1. How many works do you have on Ao3? 65, though one is a compilation of unrelated short pieces.

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count? 199,601

3. What fandoms do you write for? Mostly Tolkien, though I have a few older bits and bobs from other fandoms hanging around.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? In terms of kudos, my various Kidnap Fam stories are overwhelmingly my most popular:

A Stitch in Time (Elrond's life as seen by a quilt)

And They Looked Up and Saw a Star (Early-days Kidnap Fam WIP)

Root and All (Kidnap Fam feat. Maedhros, Elrond, and botany)

Speak No Evil (Kidnap Fam feat. Orkish lessons)

Little Drop of Poison (Kidnap Fam feat. injured Maedhros and healer Elrond)

5. Do you respond to comments? I try to respond to them all, but sometimes my responses are very late, especially if the comment comes when I'm having a depressive episode or a chronic illness flare-up.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Leaving aside unfinished multichaps that will have angsty endings but haven't gotten there yet, it's probably either The Hearts of the Eldar (the Third Kinslaying and all that it entails) or Pain Unbearable (Maedhros' death).

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably Half Past Ten in the Rose Garden (Caranthir/Caranthir's Wife engagement rom-com). Still debating whether I should add another chapter or wrap it where it is.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Only ever on fics featuring Fingon's wife. Some people get real heated about those.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I don't, nor do I read it. It's very much Not My Thing. I think the closest I've come is The Bed We Share (Fingon/Fingon's Wife, Fingon/Maedhros), which does have a sex scene, but it's not particularly detailed.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? No, though I do enjoy reading them on occasion. I'm going to take this opportunity to recommend Evidence by Camwyn on FF.N, which is the single most delightful crossover I've ever read. (Silmarillion/Discworld)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! A kind reader translated Root and All into Russian, where it seems to have been moderately well-received, at least from what I can tell using Google Translate.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Nope. I suppose I'd be willing to give it a shot, but I do have Very Strong characterization opinions that might make it difficult.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? Maedhros/Fingon! Though Elrond/Celebrian and Caranthir/Caranthir's Wife are close seconds, and Glorfindel/Erestor and Legolas/Gimli are very old and longstanding favorites as well.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Things ain't lookin' good for The Longest Journey I Have Known (Fingon's wife and Celebrian travel to Valinor). I am Extremely Stuck.

16. What are your writing strengths? Worldbuilding, character dynamics, and description.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? PLOT. God, I am so bad at come up with interesting plots. Also probably pacing, I need to improve in that respect.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I do it rarely -- in fact I think Maps might be the only Silmarillion story where I've done it. I included a Quenya translation of part of a Yiddish folk song, and in that case I had help from the Lizard Council, and particularly from the esteemed and dearly missed Darth Fingon, who looked over my translation and corrected a few errors.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Star Wars, back in, uh, 1999, I think? I've been doing this for a good 25 years.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Girl, that's like asking a mother to choose her favorite child! But if I absolutely must pick, it's probably The Flight of Birds, which features Elrond, newly arrived on Balar, dealing with his conflicted feelings about his mother.

Tagging @thelordofgifs, @vidumavi, @cuarthol, @swanhild, @leucisticpuffin, @emyn-arnens, @polutrope, @welcomingdisaster, @zealouswerewolfcollector, @that-angry-noldo, @thescrapwitch, @spiritofwhitefire, @swanmaids, @hhimring, @elfscribe, and anyone else who wants to share -- @ me and say I tagged you!

[zealouswerewolfcollector]

End of Year Fic Recs

I was tagged by @swanmaids and @grey-gazania. Thank you both <3 The year hasn't ended yet, so I can post this.

Inviting all tagged authors to participate if you haven't already.

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.

Five Series/Multi-Chapter Fics

1. By Treason of Kin Unto Kin by @amethysttribble

This epic Silm/aSoIaF crossover is the third part of Tribble's Everlasting Song series. It's gripping, fantastically written and very carefully thought out. You won't regret checking out how the sons of Feanor, reborn in Westerosi noble families, navigate the aSoIaF world.

2. The Valiant by whyyesindeed

Reborn Fingon returns to Beleriand to find his husband just before the Third Kinslaying in this beautiful and touching fic. It has a sequel too, which I haven't read yet, but I'm sure it's just as well-written as the first part.

3. Celechwes Fixes the Noldor by @tanoraqui

To my shame, I haven't finished this fic yet, but I can't recommend it enough. Celechwes - who marries both Fingon and Maedhros - is a delightful protagonist, the story flows so smoothly and is so much fun to read, while also being very moving.

4. The Seven Trials of Fingon the Valiant by @melestasflight and @polutrope

All seven sons of Feanor court Fingon in this hilarious, brilliant and inspiring fic. I had so much fun reading it, and if you haven't yet, please do yourselves a favor.

5. For We Walk by Faith, Not by Sight by an_evasive_author

This fic began in 2019 and continues to this day, and I still love it like before. Post-Thangorodrim and beyond Russingon with canon divergence. It is exceptional but deals with a very heavy subject-matter, so make sure you read the tags.

Five Single Chapter Fics/One-Shots

1. Tender Morsels by @sallysavestheday

Everything Sally writes is brilliant, but this one did something to my brain. Dark romance (like cannibalism dark) and Russingon coupled with perfect prose. It makes me go insane.

2. Project Requirements by @searchingforserendipity25

This short supply list by Miriel will delight you and break your heart. The author is an expert in this.

3. The knife that shapes the knife by @quixoticanarchy

This OC-centric fic is a careful, heartbreaking study of observing without acting, going with the flow until you sink into evil when you were trying to do good. It stayed with me for a long time.

4. enemy of good by @welcomingdisaster

Every single fic by the author could be here, I chose this one because it was the first one of I read. Maedhros is going through some stuff and tries to resolve it through bondage and sex. Incredible characterization and writing. Russingon, E-rated.

5. post mortem by @swanmaids

Examination of four Feanorian bodies post-Second Kinslaying - a brilliant idea, executed perfectly. The clinical description doesn't take away from the horror, on the contrary, adds to it.

Five Oldies but Goodies

1. No Way You Can Fall by @hhimring

Himring's Maedhros is one of my absolute favorite Maedhroses ever. This fic takes place post-canon with Maedhros freshly out of the Halls meeting a suspicious Fingolfin at Fingon's house. It is written with so much care and gentleness. It warms my heart every time I read it.

2. Tributary by @oopsbirdficced

It's a Spirited Away/Silm fusion and it's Russingon! What's not to love? Adorable, beautiful and magical, I still remember this fic from time to time, even though I read it so long ago.

3. In From the Cold by @dorwinionwhining

Short but so sweet and so well-written Russingon ficlet. The tenderness and their easiness with each other kills me. So good!

4. fools enough to love each other more than we can bear by @potatoobsessed999

After the Nirnaeth, Maedhros receives braids with golden ribbons from Morgoth. Now he has to decide if he should go and save Fingon. Unbearably painful and so good. I can't bear to reread it because it hurts so much.

5. Testrun by goldtoashes and heirsofbrokenlegacies

This is just one part of the authors' series Grow as we go. It's a Modern AU that includes pairings Maedhros/Fingon, Maedhros/Sauron, Sauron/Celebrimbor and even Maedhros/Sauron/Fingon. The whole series is amazing, but this part is my favorite because it's just Maedhros and Fingon in domestic bliss. The series is E-rated, this one part is M-rated.

Five Fics of My Own

1. Lady Makalaurë Fëanáriel Dying of Poison, Late Second Age, Artist Unknown

Post-canon Maglor wanders alone in her spaceship until she discovers something that Gil-galad has to know. This fic doesn't get much attention, which is understandable (it's an AU, a Space AU at that, genderbent and Maglor/Wife), but I loved writing it and I still like it. This was my second TRSB fic this year, and it's the first time I wrote two fics for this event, so I'm pretty proud of it.

2. My cannibalism ficlet and it's companion the other cannibalism ficlet

The first one is quite tragic because I like tormenting Fingon. The second one is lighter in mood, but it's still about cannibalism, so.

3. Alone in the Unknown

The angstiest thing I've ever written. It's the latest part of my Fingon Lives AU. This one focuses on Maglor and his futile attempts to bring Maedhros out of his near-catatonic state.

4. Fingolfin and Fingon and later Maedhros and Fingon discuss some heavy subjects

Not to be too modest, but I think I did some of my best writing here. Fingolfin has fears that Maedhros might be under Morgoth's influence and shares them with his son.

5. Now a Quill, Now a Sword

Maedhros and Fingon's relationship told mostly through letters. This fic deserves a click just for @melestasflight's absolutely stunning art embedded in there if not for anything else. It was a pleasure collaborating with them.

[meadowlarkx]

End of Year Fic Recs! 🔮

Tagged by @swanmaids! I like this format a lot, thank you 💕 There were so many amazing Silm fics this year that it's nearly impossible to pick out just a few, but I did my best.

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.

Multi-chapter fics

Strange Currencies by @jouissants (in-progress, Maedhros/Maglor accidental LaCE marriage, M) - this fic is one of my absolute favorite things to come out of 2023, lavishly and heartbreakingly imagined post-canon reembodied/returned Exiles and brilliant maemags falling together in late Beleriand. invest now!!!

here we go again by @i-am-a-lonely-visitor (completed, Orodreth/Celebrimbor & Gil-galad Mamma Mia AU, T) - the most summer fun ever with one of my favorite Celebrimbors, delights me to think about and I think about it often!!

Such a Marriage by DifferentSong (in-progress, fem!Maedhros/Maglor set between Doriath and Sirion, M) - I feel personally blessed by the ability to list multiple maemags longfics on this list. This one is so tender, with incredible characterization for both these two and Tolkien Elves (old & young, sad & gay) in general; leader fem!Maedhros owns my heart.

What the Water Gave Me by @imakemywings (completed, Finduilas/Nienor canon divergence AU, M) - beautifully described and cozily, realistically lived-in development of a relationship between these two in a universe where Nienor survives her suicidal leap; this bandaged the wounds left by CoH for me!

In Twain by @jouissants (completed, gothic and gendery Maedhros/Elrond and Maedhros/Maglor, E) - cinematic reading experience and deliciously winding tale of Elrond's coming to better know Maedhros, Maglor, and himself; so many lines from this--and the ending--just grip me and won't let me go.

Single-chapter fics

Wondrously Wrought by @searchingforserendipity25 (Maedhros & Maglor in a universe where Noldor craft their children's personalities, G) - this beautifully written fic has me in a chokehold months & months later, I simply love it so much--the Fate of it all and the dynamic between them, and how thick the tension and emotion hangs even in these few moments.

and some of us returned by @i-am-a-lonely-visitor (Maedhros/Maglor, past Maglor/Glaurung assault at the fall of Maglor's Gap, M) - fulfilled my wildest dreams of Glaurung angst played straight, eerie and gorgeously written psychological horror told through Maedhros' eyes and his own possessive love for Maglor.

As You Wish by @imakemywings (Maglor/Thranduil battle couple devotion and hurt/comfort, T) - so many great single-chapters this year but this one is SO dear to me; I love eerie attack dog Maglor who simultaneously cares overmuch and I think this ship is so thematically chef's kiss as an alternate ending for him; wry Thranduil is fantastic here too.

one of your girls by @swanmaids (Celegorm/Oromë, Celegorm & Maglor; femininity and internalized homophobia in Valinor, E) - masterful weird mythical Ainur devotional customs surrounding Oromë and his hunt, and a really touching exploration of Celegorm's character in a time when he still has yet to choose his fate. Celegorm's tension with Maglor is great here too.

Played by @disastrousexpense (Maedhros/Maglor, Maedhros/Fingon where Maglor seduces Maedhros through the guise of "teaching" him for Fingon's benefit, E) - one of my favorite Maglors this year, so theatrical and affected and alluring and (in this Valinor period) quite selfish, yet expressive and deeply, deeply feeling. a rollicking story that made me laugh and then made me cry!

Oldies but goodies

Elvish Letters by @ladygavroche (Caranthir & Finrod, Celebrimbor & Fëanor, Maedhros & brothers, epistolary humor, in progress, G) - this is a favorite of mine, along with the Caranthir fic earlier in the same series. Incredible and hilarious epistolary that just sings!!

The Silver Queen by @i-am-a-lonely-visitor (AU where Gil-Galad is Celebrían, trans!Celebrían/Elrond, completed, M) - such a lovingly written fic for a brilliant concept. Multiple scenes of Celebrían's arc in this had me weeping earlier this year.

The High King of the Noldor and His Faithful Hound by shatteredGlasses (Hrunting_License) (Celegorm/Maglor, assault and tensions during Maglor's kingship, completed, E) - During Maedhros' captivity, Celegorm thinks the worst of Maglor, and Maglor uses Celegorm for self-harm. Genuinely disturbing, excellent angst, and very formative for me!

Through the Smoke I See You by Dragonstorm (Maedhros & Maglor, Maglor's Gap and Dagor Bragollach, single-chapter, T) - one of my favorite explorations of Maglor's devotion and guilt towards Maedhros, and the immense risk of trying to hold the Gap! I love it so.

Thistle Whistling on the Wind-Blown Field by happythoughhuman, Torpi (Finrod & Edrahil, Finrod & Avari, culture, environment, storytelling, completed, M) - I've been meaning to revisit this strange gem of a TRSB fic for a while. One of the most vivid explorations of Melkor's impact on the environment in Middle-earth, of serious Elven cultural differences and the notion of Finrod as a kinslayer (while a very Finrod-loving story; he shines in this, making connections as is his wont). Also, won my heart for putting mangroves in Valinor.

My own fics

bite thy wings and let thee crawl (Melkor/Maglor, noncon macro/micro horror porn inspired by this art by @aquaregiaart and Lay of Leithian, E) - the Big Melkor fic, set during Maedhros' captivity. In my head this is my best work of 2023 and probably ever. Come closer... give him a click.... he can't hurt you....

Less Wise (sapphic Maglor/Thranduil, canon divergence, E) - pining with a happy ending in an AU where kinslayer fem!Maglor has come to serve Mirkwood's king fem!Thranduil. This was my attempt to write the sort of comforting and cathartic fic I so enjoy reading.

elvenkings (here on tumblr as well) (moments ft. Orodreth, Thranduil, Elwing, Elrond, G) - my drabbles fic for Sindar Week 2023 about the long-lasting echoes of Menegroth and Iathrim heritage. I'm really happy this brief story resonated!

pursuit (Tulkas/Nessa and Oromë/Nessa, genderfluid Nessa, M) - Nessa and Tulkas wed. Smut and mythical vibes ft. confident and changing Nessa, the dancer and the god of prey. I love that weird Ainur shit.

yes many and beautiful things (Maedhros/Maglor during the War of Wrath, M, now with art by @aquaregiaart!) - After their final argument about stealing the Silmarils, Maedhros and Maglor share themselves with each other wholeheartedly one last time before the end; sort of a "what if they loved each other and that was worse."

[aracaranelentari]

Fingolfin is my fave character so thank you for all the posts on him!! Can you tell me why you love him so much?

Happily I will try, but Anon you have asked a hard question! If there's anything I struggle to understand, it's the patterns and reasonings behind my own interests, which are often irrational and very inconsistent!

Well a few simpler reasons are: He's dauntless but also wise, ambitious but kind and cautious - he thinks before he acts (most of the time). He has ice symbolism to parallel Fëanor's fire, which I think is super cool. I think he's a very good king! His people love him, and he seems to listen to his people and often takes council with others, not relying on his own wisdom only. An underrated reason to love Fingolfin is that he's half Vanyar, which is potential for interesting interpretations for his character, such as my personal theories that he's a dancer and is Ingwë's favorite nephew.

I also love characters who have a lot of inner turmoil and battle with themselves constantly, and both Maedhros and Fingolfin I think fit this bill pretty well, though in Maedhros it's more obvious. Fingolfin is quite similar to his brother Fëanor in quite a few ways, and to me it seems like throughout the narrative he tries hard to suppress the more explosive aspects of himself, and put his people's needs before himself. He's jealous of Fëanor but tries to make peace with him anyways, he holds the Fëanorians accomplices of their father but accepts Maedhros' repentance and makes peace with them, he's proud of his people's strength and wants to attack Angband, but won't force his people to do what they don't want to. He's really quite the respectful guy and good diplomat, despite his own pride!

Obviously he goes apeshit at the end of the Dagor Bragollach, and his duel is incredibly fascinating to talk about by itself, another reason I love him. Fëanor once said "Such hurt at the least will I do to the Foe of the Valar that even the mighty in the Ring of Doom shall wonder to hear it", and there's only one among the Ñoldor who accomplished this. If Fëanor's main two reasons for the Flight were 1) get the Silmarils back, and 2) get revenge on Morgoth, didn't Maedhros technically fulfill part of the first reason, and Fingolfin fulfill the second?

There are also more meta reasons why I'm such a Fingolfin stan. I think Fingolfin is overlooked and/or oversimplified by a lot of the fandom, and grossly mischaracterized by much of the rest of it. I might be exaggerating a bit, especially when characterizing Silmarillion characters is so difficult, and will be inconsistent by the nature of the source material not going in-depth with their personalities. My interpretation of Fingolfin will not be the same as someone else who has read the same material, and because he's my favorite character, my interpretation may be biased in favor of him being a compelling individual. Still, a lot of the Fingolfin takes I see, especially from annoying dude-bros and people who villainize him to try to justify Fëanor, are very frustrating to me. All this to say that I love my Fingolfin, but dislike some of the other Fingolfins I see (not all of them! There are plenty of other wonderful Fingolfins), and I think quite a bit of my intense love for him comes from a place of defying the interpretations I dislike. I don't know if that made sense, or was a satisfactory answer to your ask, but I tried my best!

[leucisticpuffin]

Hi! First of all, I love 'we will make this place our home'. So, so much. It is beautiful. Amazing. One of the best stories I ever read on ao3, I am not kidding.

The thing is, I was wondering about a detail in Elronds characterization. Or, his entire characterization, I guess. So, what I have noticed so far is this: He is really sensitive to cold and wet things (like wet socks) and goes out of his way to avoid them, he is often anxious about things he can't control, he hates noisy environments, and is often sick or has stuff similar to panic attacks when he gets overwhelmed, usually by his own worrying. He notices things others don't (the ghosts, in this case) and gets so lost in the process of researching things that he forgets he could just ask Maedhros and Maglor, who were literally there for what he wants to know. When he is overwhelmed, he reads his wildlife book, and describes that it really calms him down. In the chapter with the doctor, he mentions getting injections and being frustrated that no one would actually ask his questions about them. There is more, but I don't really remember everything right now.

I have not yet read the whole story (or, all the released chapters), only to chapter 26, but I just really recognize a lot of the features Elrond has in myself and in what others have told me about their experience, so I just wanted to know, did you write Elrond as autistic?

Now that you mention it - yes, my Elrond is autistic, though I didn't realise it when I first started writing!

I have a tendency to write characters as autistic without consciously noticing it - I am autistic myself, as are half my family, so my understanding of "how people work" is heavily skewed toward neurodivergence. I did start to wonder if Elrond might be autistic a little while ago*, but I didn't realise the autistic-coding was so present in earlier chapters until you pointed it out. So your ask was something of an epiphany! (Also something of an "oh look I've done it again" moment...)

Also worth noting that I work in a school for autistic children and teenagers**, who have a strong influence on the way I write children. Many of them have anxiety and trauma from their time in mainstream education, and I have drawn on their experiences in my writing - particularly Elrond's anxiety around attending school. (I think he would find school overwhelming even without Miss Bedhril making everything worse; of course she doesn't help).

I think he's the kind of autistic who is hyper-empathetic and very detail-focused - useful traits for a healer/doctor, if he can find ways to manage the accompanying anxiety.

Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad you're enjoying my ramblings :)

*Shortly after I noticed I'd given Maglor ADHD, in fact. Can you see a pattern here?

**Note: my teaching colleagues are all lovely although surprisingly bad at spelling and Miss Bedhril is very much their opposite. No inspiration drawn there.

[maglors-anion-gap]

1, 11, and 13 from the nice asks, please?

[for this ask game]

A fanon characterization that you love:

I really enjoy fanon lalwen. She's not in the silm and she gets almost no exposition elsewhere so she really is the blorbo personality I invented. Lalwen the best friend of fingolfin, lalwen fingolfin's right hand man, lalwen the loud and the smiling, lalwen the lesbian -- idk I just really like how some folks have turned her into the big, gregarious lady, especially since most of tolkien's ladies fit different niches (tolkien would have exploded if he'd ever met a butch dyke, I don't think he'd know what to do with a woman like that). Otherwise, I like fanon maeglin a lot. Singly handedly fixed tfog for me so that I didn't have to avoidantly flip past chunks of it. Maeglin's canon behavior is obviously a real-world phenomenon (and the reason I had personal issues enjoying tfog) so there's value in analyzing that. But at least for me, it's been very nice to see people examine the interplay between low self-esteem and outward confidence, the trauma of adolescence and the adult responsibility of growth and recovery, inquisitive desire for greener grass and the feeling of freakishness or otherness. I think a lot of it takes themes present in the original but pares away some of tolkien's dated coding and the broader discomfort casual fans might want to avoid.

11. Recommend a fic with an unusual/original headcanon or characterisation that you loved:

I would recommend Half Mourning by @skyeventide! One, I love the idea of Maeglin having Dwarvish tattoos. There's so much depth there; that they'll fade and take a part of his identity with him, how distancing himself from the bad parts of his life has forcibly distanced him from the good or familiar parts as well. Two, Maeglin as a mirror for other people! Gaia has really masterfully captured something I didn't know I needed to see in Maeglin. He's usually written to be either charismatic and biting, or withdrawn and dejected (and to be clear, I enjoy both). But this fic kind of opened a third door: Maeglin who is whatever the situation requires, who has past associations and familiar customs but no real positive tether to his identity, the knowledge that he is not unwelcome but that he does not belong, that the easiest way to avoid scrutiny is to mimic the person in front of him. I felt very called out.

13. Recommend a fic (can be your own!) that features something you wish was written about more:

This is actually a series (sorry) but The Years Start Coming and They Don't Stop Coming by @i-am-a-lonely-visitor! I am very taken with Visitor's Celebhir (trans celebrian). I think a lot of folks (myself included) often write trans characters as having transitioned to their canon genders (for example, transmasculine maedhros is a staple of mine). And I love this, it's great! It's one way to explore. But I think for a while, at least what I saw, there was a bit of a stir across fandoms about best practice for writing trans characters (eughgghhh) and the Arbiters settled on "needs to match canon gender" and then enforced that vigorously. So personally, I love love love it when people take a canon character and say "I'm transing their gender the opposite direction." It requires you to analyze the character, pare them down to the characteristics about them that will never change (similar to the analysis required to set them in a wildly alternate universe) and then overlay on top of that the new characteristics of what it's like to be trans, how they interact with the world now, how that changes their character, etc. For example, Visitor's Celebhir has a certain tension with Galadriel that wouldn't exist in that manner for Celebrian. Very very tasty analysis going on. (I will be posting transfeminine caranthir soon - I say, having said this for the last three months). TL;DR: I think we should trans more characters, and if your first anxiety is "what if I'm transing them wrong??"/"I heard someone say you should never trans a character like this" you're probably *not* transing them wrong and it's going to be fine (and people love to beta so!)

[crownlessliestheking]

🗡️💀😈 for the ask game!!! i couldn’t choose so you can pick one if you want (or all :3c)

🗡️ Defend your favorite war criminal (or make them worse - I'm not your mom).

I want you to know this was absolutely agonizing. Like. WHO do I choose. Who indeed....

Anyway, it's Maglor, and I'm making him worse. Now I am not thee esteemed Maglor scholar -- this is @samarqqand, whose phrasing I am borrowing when I say that Maglor's a moral invertebrate. Like. For real. It's overcooked linguine in place of a spine. And I think that specifically is what makes him worse. Fanon likes to characterize him as softer than his brothers (certainly, he wasn't as vocal about certain things as Celegorm and Curufin), but that -- does not make it better. He commits 3 kinslayings. He holds the Gap through the entire Siege; he cleaves to Maedhros at every available opportunity -- damningly, even when he disagrees. If Maglor does not think that there should be a kinslaying at Sirion, he either does not protest, or does protest and is not recorded and then does it anyway. If Maglor is a Soft Boy (TM), if he is only a tender musician, then why would he turn his sword and voice (arguably the greater weapon of the two) against innocent people? And yeah, the folks at Sirion were innocent. I could even argue that Dior didn't deserve what he got, nor did the majority of the people at Doriath! (The first kinslaying is trickier because I cannot point at Maglor and go, yeah, he has a pretty large share of the blame.) He exists in this liminal space between accountability and denial for much of the Silm, one that he is desperately trying to maintain; look at his reign as High King, however brief it was -- he doesn't do anything. Maglor sits there and is paralysed, because all the choices are on his shoulders. He either damns his brother to torment for good or he loses more of his people trying to get Maedhros back. He either leads a charge for the Silmarils like Curufin is maybe advising, like his father would do, or he remains cautious, starts properly settling Beleriand and keeps a watch on Angband while extending diplomatic overtures. And...all we know of his kingship is that Maedhros is chained up. It says a lot, you know? He is consumed by despair, sure, but I tend to read his action of casting the Silmaril away at the end as not like, a plea for redemption, or 'get this away from me, I am above the Oath' or whatever, but as an act of cowardice. He could keep the Silmaril, yes. He could hold to what is left of his family, but then he'd have to face what they became. He could go back to Valinor, even, really take advantage of that pardon (or create one for himself, Silmaril in hand), but then he would have to face what he did. He could (as fans enjoy) even go visit Elros and Elrond in their respective places, or stay at the Havens, or see Celebrimbor (and who is to say he did not, or that these people didn't come looking for him), but...as far as we know, he doesn't. He knows what he did, and I think by the end of the FA, he can no longer justify it, which means that he is incapable of looking at it head on. What else is there to do but fade to a voice in the wind? By that point, I think he knows full well that it doesn't matter if he didn't want to hold the sword, he still killed with it; it doesn't matter if he tells himself that he never made the call, he still went along with it. The everlasting Darkness isn't for him, but he is not brave enough to face going home.

😈 Give the villains some love. Which antagonist is most interesting to you and what about them draws you in?

I mean, Sauron is the obvious answer. The camp, the glamor, the deep, deep tragedy of Silvergifting and the concept of a villain whose initial goal is to order, to put things A Certain Way. The concept of a villain who loses bits of themselves completely and utterly, who is given a chance to repent and who says no. I am also very into Ar-Pharazon these days, but only as he exists in my own head. I fucking love that guy's hubris and his ambition, the two things that make him so great and frankly a bit scary to Sauron that ultimately end up being his downfall -- like, sometimes I stop and I think to myself, damn, did Sauron really need to do that much work to manipulate this guy into trying to get to Valinor and seize immortality? And the answer is...honestly, probably not. Pharazon was terrified of dying, he was flush with hubris, and, well. All he needed was to know that it was an option. I love Akallabeth Numenor generally, though.

Maximum chaos bonus question (💀): You have a "Get out of jail 'Doomed by the Narrative' free" card. Who do you give it to?

Oooooh, this is really, really hard. I honestly think I'd give it to Finduilas. She's not even doomed by her own narrative! She's doomed by Turin's (although to be fair, so is everyone else that Turin meets or so much as looks at.) Plus I'm really fond of the Fin Galad theory.

[echo-bleu]

11. Link your three favorite fics right now

28. On average, how much writing do you get done in a day?

Thank you!

11. Link your three favorite fics right now

Let me check my bookmarks real quick. They will all be Silmarillion fics, as that's where my brain is at currently.

we will make this place our home by @leucisticpuffin, a 70s AU where young Elrond and Elros are fostered by Maedhros and Maglor. I just can't get over how homely and comforting it is, while having *precisely* the right amount of hurt/comfort and melancholy, and the writing is a thing of beauty that I wish I could write even half as well.

The Harrowing by @chthonion (and it's prequel Anastasis). I wasn't into Silvergifting at all before this fic, but I can't get enough of it now. It is so beautifully written, a truly moving exploration of trauma and redemption, and also regularly has me laughing my ass off. It's also the best characterization of Frodo I've read, and wonderful wonderful Finrod and Celebrimbor. I just love everything about it.

The Host of the West by @mynameisjessejk. And the whole Otter Mayhem and related Otterless Mayhem but this fic in particular is a take on Finrod that I just can't get out of my head. I've reread it like three times and it still haunts me in the best way. Otter Mayhem, in general, is a wonderful, comforting and yet realistic exploration of all the trauma of literally every Silm character, with added otters. Reading it is very much like an otter hug.

28. On average, how much writing do you get done in a day?

Oof. Two years ago, the answer was about 1k, I wrote very regularly and pretty consistently, but I absolutely do not remember how I did that.

The current answer is "sometimes".

Send me questions about my writing!

[imakemywings]

Below will be fanfic recs for ASOIAF, 80 DAYS, THE BURNING KINGDOMS, and TOLKIEN. Once again, I’ve tried to break the Tolkien recs down by character groupings but you all know what a thankless task that is. (。・ω・。)

(Photo credit to Michael Anfang on Unsplash.)

Past fanfic rec lists

80 Days

One Must Imagine Sisyphus Happy by Prox - T - 11.1k - Fogg/Passpartout - Wonderful characterizations; the author really captures Fogg's voice and keeps it feeling in-character throughout his tribulations.

ASOIAF/GOT

It's a Long Way from the Red Keep by Storytelling_Necromancer - T - 703 - Cersei/Jaime - The Lannisters and the Folgers incest commercial. What more needs to be said?

The Burning Kingdoms

Cautionary Tale by @meadowlarkx - M - 1.4k - Malini/Priya, Mani Ara/Priya - Lark blows it out of the water with the character dynamics here, and Mani Ara preying on Priya post-TOS when she's vulnerable, particular wrt her feelings for Malini, feels so on-point.

Tolkien

Sindar

A Word and a Kiss by Miss Kitty - NR - 1k - Luthien/Thuringwethil -  An oldie but a goodie–this take on Luthien and Thuringwethil has me foaming. Exquisite vibes!

Duet by @welcomingdisaster - E - 4.2k - Daeron/Maglor - Lena plays with a really interesting take on the emotional power of song on the singer in Tolkien’s verse. And some lovely Daemags sex!

Everybody Needs a Second Chance by myliobatis - G - 1.2k - Thingol & Turgon - This fic was just such a delight, a funny little fic about Thingol and Turgon meeting in Aman.

Interlude in a Minor Key by yletylyf - M - 2.5k - Aredhel/Luthien - Cute PWP with Aredhel and Luthien.

It Would Make Every Nightingale Sing by eye_of_a_cat - M - 6.6k - Elwing/Maedhros - The pairing is certainly unusual, but this author makes it work so well and follows such a captivating arc of development for it.

Love is Not Love Which Alters When it Alteration Finds by i_did_not_mean_to - E - 3.5k - Melian/Thingol - Delightful Thelian piece which just revels in the strangeness of their relationship and how much each of them enjoys it.

More Precious was the Light in Your Eyes by @searchingforserendipity25 - G - 1k - Daeron/Man OFC - Such a tender look at Daeron’s growth post-exile.

The Myth Hanging Heavy Over You by stormfallen - G - 1.1k - Elrond & Elwing - UGH so painful and tasty Elrond parental angst. I really love the framing techniques of this piece.

No Sacrifice Without Blood by everythingnumbs - M - 18.9k - Luthien/Thuringwethil -  F/F LONGFIC! A tasty 18k of Luthien imprisoned by Celegorm and visited by whom she thinks is a servant of his…all the while plagued with unsettling and lurid dreams…

Stained Glass by @polutrope - G - 400 - Elrond & Elwing - Bittersweet tenderness when Elrond arrives in Aman and seeks out his mom. Love this for them <3

Untitled by @swanmaids - NR - Dior/Nimloth - I looove the uncertainty here where neither Dior or Nimloth really know what to expect from their experience with children because of Dior’s strange blood. Also, love the use of the Silmaril for their own needs.

Wildflowers: The Tale of Aredhel and Luthien by lightofthetrees - G - 10.3k - Aredhel/Luthien - A sweet AU fic where Aredhel escapes into Doriath with Maeglin, who grows up there instead of in Nan Elmoth. I really enjoyed the glimpses into their lives in Doriath and the ending suited them very well!

Wild-Wandering by Wood and Glen by @meadowlarkx - M - 1.7k - Daeron/Luthien - Beautiful writing which so brings you into the physical and emotional space of this tragic fem!Daeron/Luthien story.

Winter Glowed on her Leaves by BloodwingBlackbird - M - 1.2k - Galadriel/Luthien - Luthien is a powerful force on Galadriel and I love her as a perpetual “what-if” in Galadriel’s memory.

Woman Into Bird by arriviste - T - 6k - Earendil/Elwing - Beautiful, heartbreaking Elwing piece. The final scene is a gut-punch.

Noldor

Berries and Starlight by Narya_Flame - T - 829 - Indis/Miriel - Indis and Miriel out during the winter <3 Does an excellent job capturing the natural atmosphere and I love the energy between the women!

Crescendo by Gilithlin - E - 3.7k - Daeron/Maglor - Fantastic Daemags; I was just delighted with Daeron’s character portrayal here.

Fouled Water by @grey-gazania - G - Another touching look at Elves and the land they inhabit, and the tragedy of Beleriand.

Her That I Call My Own by LiveOakWithMoss - M - 644 - Indis/Miriel - Tasty Mindis smut with feelings <3

Glasshouses by @searchingforserendipity25 - 2.5k - G - Glorfindel/Turgon -  Ahh such a sweet relationship here and wonderful characterization of both Glorfindel and Turgon <3

Indissoluble by @polutrope - E - 2.5k - Idril/Tuor/Voronwe - P does such a great job showing characters are are comfortable with each other and really beyond being embarrassed about their sexual foibles. This fic also does a great job balancing a committed three-way relationship!

The Kinslayer in the Woods by @elvain - T - 4.5k - Daeron/Maglor - Love this portrayal of Daeron, as well as the games he and Maglor play to avoid having to be who they are.

Life in Miniature by @thescrapwitch - G - 2.8k - This is SUCH a lovely little fic surrounding the memory of Gondolin in Aman. Author does an excellent job of weaving in the views and feelings of many characters and it feels so true to Elves’ strong memories, particularly to places.

Like I'm Set on Fire by corollaire - M - 808 - Indis/Miriel - Tasty Mindis oral; see Miriel on her knees for Indis.

One Whole with My Other by lonelyvisitor - E - 4.2k - Indis/Miriel - Now obsessed with the idea that Miriel and Indis are legally married to each other vis-a-vis Finwe. The author does a wonderful job with the feelings here.

Peaches We Devour, Dusty Skin and All by @niennawept - M - 2.2k -Aredhel/Elenwe -  Some very tasty Aredhel/Elenwe! Their dynamic here is sexy and the pull towards each other warring with Elenwe’s goals for herself 👌

The Most Precious of Treasures by AroaceMoon - E - 651 - Celebrimbor & Sauron - SHIT this dialogue is tasty and ever so painful. Silvergifting.

The Love I've Found by Corollaire - 1.4k - M - Indis/Miriel - Modern AU Mindis fluff with bonus kid shenanigans from Feanor. It’s so cute!

Picnic by @swanmaids - E - 1.6k - Aredhel/Vana - Ahh! Here we get the Aredhel/Vana partner relationship to Celegorm/Orome and I love it!! Vana is so carefree and relaxed here, but still concerned with Aredhel’s feelings <3

Pity For Your Hurts by @thelordofgifs - 666 - G - Finduilas/Gwindor - Finduilas and Gwindor before his capture </3 This piece captures a very ~courtly love~ kind of feel in their relationship and despite differences, you can see how much they care for each other.

The Plans We Make, the Memories We Record by LadyBrooke - M - 1k - Indis/Miriel - Bittersweet Mindis (w/ hints of Finwe/Indis/Miriel) as these women struggle to move on in the wake of everything that’s happened.

Sawdust by @starspray - T - 559 - Findis & Finwe - I love this exploration of Findis’ relationship with Finwe! I feel like that’s one that isn’t often explored and it’s done very well here.

Shadow-Song by Arveldis - T - 730 - Finrod & Sauron - This ficlet does an excellent job capturing the power play between Finrod and Sauron, as well as making Sauron terrifying.

Shadows of Valiance by Midnightjynx1813 - G - 2.5k - Azaghal/Maedhros - Azaghal and Maedhros bonding! This author works poetry into the fic to great effect and I really enjoyed how much Maedhros comes to rely on Azaghal.

Sometimes Too Hot the Eye of Heaven Shines by @welcomingdisaster - M - 2.6k - Celebrimbor/Narvi, Celebrimbor & Sauron - Crunchy look at the dynamics between Celebrimbor, Narvi, and Sauron from Sauron’s perspective.

To Give Up Control by @jouissants - NR - Maglor/Uinen - Ahhh just delicious Maglor/Uinen…Alix’s descriptions are always SO vivid and beautiful.

Two Queens by LiveOakWithMoss - E - 262 - Indis/Miriel - Miriel sure knows her way around a strap.

Untitled by @that-angry-noldo - Finrod at torment with Sauron :’) Author really does well with Sauron’s otherworldly presence and the fear that causes.

Untitled by @jouissants - NR - MY FUCKING HEART. Five sentences and I’m gone. Finrod stop hurting me challenge 2k24.

Untitled by @tanoraqui - NR - Feanor & Fingolfin - Love that tasty angsty awkward post-rebirth Feanor-Fingolfin bonding.

Untitled by @polutrope - NR - Daeron/Maglor - Beautiful little Daemags fic…<3 Really enjoy the touches of Maglor’s nostalgia and I’m a sucker for him treating Daeron like a treasure.

Void-Junk by arriviste - G - 2.2k - It’s so juicy, Maedhros finding his way onto Vingilot.

White Flowers by @starspray - T - 841 - Aredhel & Turgon - Weeping once again over Nolofinweans, especially Aredhel and Turgon.

Men

A Monster in the Shadows by @hobbitwrangler - G - 3k - Eowyn & Theoden - Really cute but also heartbreaking bonding between Eowyn and Theoden, when Eowyn is new to Edoras and still recovering from her parents’ deaths :( Author does a great job capturing how that grief might manifest for a child!

Celebration by maitimiel - NR - Tar-Miriel/OFC - Crunchy tasty Tar-Miriel’s favorite handmaidens sleep with her ft. her and Ar-Pharazon’s marital issues. Excellent look at the dying Numenorean state.

Courting Gifts by Muccamukk - G - 1k - Arwen/Eowyn, Aragorn/Arwen - This is such a cute Arwen/Eowyn piece focusing on the cultural differences between Arwen and the Men around her.

Cousin, Sister, Lover, Queen by broken_pencils - E - 11k - Eowyn/Lothiriel - This one is so good and so bittersweet and hit so many real notes. I’m just aching for Eowyn. The author does a great job of balancing her inherent unhappiness as a lesbian in a marriage with a man with the deep platonic love she obviously has for Faramir, and Lothiriel is such fun in this.

Fade by Lady Ash - E - 6.2k - Denethor/Gandalf - Can I say something other than "Denethor/Gandalf BDSM relationship" that would entice you more?

Ode to a Nightingale by @maironsbigboobs - E - 1k - Aragorn/Arwen -  Some light, fun, Aragorn/Arwen smut.

Plentiful as Sand is Plentiful by @searchingforserendipity25 - G - 675 - I so love this look at Aragorn and Elrond’s relationship <3

Shake Loose All Your Garnet Jewels by lastwingedthing - T - 2.8k - Arwen/Eowyn - Lovely lovely fic on “what if Arwen and Eowyn had been part of the Fellowship?” Absolutely cinematic!

Untitled by @swanmaids - NR - Annael & Rian - Rian :((( Her story is so sad and yet there are at times griefs that cannot be overcome and Heather captures that very well here.

Without Dawn, No Evening by pscoptera - M - 4.6k - Arwen/Eowyn - If you want a truly historic fic, this one was originally written before the Return of the King film had released. A really interesting look at Eowyn’s sexuality and desires with what feels like realistic muddling of the issues in her mind.

Hobbits

On These Hither Shores by Arveldis - G - 3.2k - Boromir & Frodo - Boromir and Frodo bonding (sort of)! This fic does a great job capturing their feelings.

The Power of Tea by @hobbitwrangler - G - 1.8 - Bilbo & Gilraen - Fantastic character dynamics! And Bilbo feels so in-character.

Twist to Uncoil by katajainen - G - 1.3 - Bilbo & Thranduil - Ahhh lovely lovely look at Thranduil and Bilbo’s relationship as Bilbo recounts his time living in Mirkwood unseen.

[actual-bill-potts]

interestingly a lot of the headcanons I’ve had abt the silm since I first got into it seem to go against the grain of the majority of (at least tumblr) fandom:

- I don’t think finrod fucked in beleriand. I am aware that is nearly his whole characterization in at least 50% of this fandom lol. But I view him as more of like. an enthusiastic scientist type who is so genuinely interested in everything that you can’t help but fall in love with him, while also just. not being very into sex. He tried it once or twice and was like "not for me" (despite this I will read fics with just abt any finrod pairing, it’s just not how I picture him exactly)

(TW: brief mention of sexual assault below the cut)

- on the same note, I don’t think finrod got back with amarië. First because once someone you love has chosen something else over you, it’s so hard to trust them again. It’s different when it’s mutual duty (like fingon and Maedhros) but when someone has sent a clear message that they will give up your relationship for [their family’s approval/their friends’ approval/the promise of beleriand], why would you risk your heart like that again? (I have firsthand experience with this, as a guy I was dating chose a job 2000 mi away from where I lived despite having options closer to home. We did long distance for awhile but tbh I never really forgave him. Maybe that’s my own neuroses talking but that shit is really hard.) and ALSO because finrod is a completely different person when he comes back to aman. Maybe he’d just slot right back into everything like he never left, but I doubt it man. I think finrod and amarië probably end up on good terms in the Second Age and beyond cuz they’re both the chillest of people, but I don’t think they want to touch dating the other again with a ten foot pole.

- I don’t read maglor and Maedhros being particularly close until the end when all they have left is each other. The personalities and interests that come through the text are so disparate that they were probably cordial (and obviously trusted each other quite a bit) but never really got to know each other that well till after the dagor bragolach at least.

- Caranthir imo was the epitome of Just Some Guy, and he never had a Craft™️. Also, he and haleth were very cordial friends with benefits which didn’t go beyond that.

- I think celegorm and finrod were much closer than curufin and finrod, which is why celegorm reacts with as much rage as he does in nargothrond. My evidence: finrod wanders all around beleriand, and he’s specifically mentioned going hunting with maglor and Maedhros. His kingdom is beautifully built but that’s cuz he’s so good at making friends, not bc he’s so Crafty. I think curufin probably always held finrod at arms length out of loyalty to his father, and finrod never pushed. Otoh celegorm I think cared a lot less about the politics, and he and finrod shared several key interests (hunting, nature, leadership—both finrod and Celegorm are ambitious, though perhaps for different reasons). So I could see them as being friends in Aman and becoming close in nargothrond.

- I think Aredhel and Eöl loved each other a lot and had a pretty good marriage until Maeglin got older and they realized they had fundamentally different parenting philosophies. The text says that Aredhel "was not wholly unwilling" which is certainly damning with faint praise, but it was also written by a survivor of the Fall of Gondolin, who wouldn’t have thought highly of her husband and son. My reasoning is: 1) canonically, sexual assault often results in Elves fading, unless they are prevented by some higher power. Could Eöl have taken Aredhel by force and then prevented her from dying? I mean, maybe, I guess, but then why did he just let her wander off however many years later? It’s unlikely. 2) elves cannot have unwanted children. Elf children require their fëa to be nourished by both parents, or they die. If Aredhel had not wanted Maeglin, Maeglin would not have been born. Personally, I think they fell madly, passionately in love, had a kid too soon, and then discovered that Eöl was not good at being a father and that Aredhel did not agree with his isolationist policies. Happens all the time, minus the secret Noldor cities and poisoned spear-throwing.

- I think Galadriel originally married Celeborn for politics, and only came to love him later. I realize that for an Elf this is literally the worst decision you can ever make, but Galadriel really wanted a throne, and also was pretty focused on keeping noldor-sindar ties strong. That’s why they didn’t have a child until the Second Age, despite the centuries of peace they were married. I think it was definitely a mutual political thing, and they were both extremely ambitious people who were extremely satisfied to finally be rulers in the Second Age.

- I think finrod knew lúthien quite well due to his visits to doriath (I haven’t done the math but I think he is mentioned as hanging out with thingol more than anyone else in the silm) and that his decision to go with beren was at least partly driven by that.

- I think Lúthien’s song in Mandos is what allowed Finrod such an early release, and that he probably spent a great deal of time in Lórien after. I also think Lúthien’s song convinced Námo to grant Aegnor mortality and follow Andreth. So the line of Arafinwë never saw Aegnor again.

- Relatedly, I think that Mandos is not a place of healing necessarily. It certainly can be, but the gardens of Lórellin are specifically described as being places of rest and healing. Mandos is just…a place where souls sit. Námo keeps them there for some appointed time (who knows how that’s decided) and then lets them go to Lórellin so the healing can begin. He is not the healing Vala. There’s a whole ass other Vala whose whole job that is.

Curious to hear others’ against-the-grain headcanons if you’re willing to share! It’s cool to see how different people interpret the book

[imakemywings]

I must have missed this post going around on Friday, so I didn’t get this out then, but here are the week’s recs! ╰(￣ω￣ｏ)

high in the halls of the kings who are gone by Arveldis - UGH painful recollections of Gildor returning to the halls of Nargothrond after Glaurung’s death </3 Have to say also that I love this title.

Brushstrokes by theworldisquietheretooquiet - 🚨 RED ALERT 🚨 New Ninduilas fic!! This fic uses that tasty conceit of one character painting the other’s portrait. A great job capturing both characters here!

prick a finger, cut your hands (tell me where this road ends) by @welcomingdisaster - Absolutely fantastic dynamic between Miriel and Indis in this shipfic, and a great job of weaving the past into the present.

Stars as Cold as Forever by asterisq - Terribly realistic look at the struggle for supplies on the Helcaraxe...really drives home the every day fight for survival they were under for so long :(

As a Lie by @meadowlarkx - Ehehe the kind of fucked up behavior you’d expect from Finrod/Sauron. Lark does a marvelous job with the characters and their bizarre and compelling dynamic.

Like New Flowers on Ancient Hills by @starspray - I just loved the characterizations here! Sad Elves finding healing in the Shire is such a lovely theme and it works so well here.

More Ferven Flight by crownlessliestheking - Frankly amazing take on Ingwe/Manwe with a gorgeous blend of religious devotion and love. Beautiful prose too!

Raised by Wolves by @warrioreowynofrohan - A wonderful look at Elrond and his struggle with his identity and his complicated relationship with Maglor and Maedhros. This fic addresses the tragedy of his and Elros’ cultural loss and the difference in their attitudes in their youth versus after some more maturity.

Was Dancing There by @starspray - Ahhh a beautiful work for Ekphrasis Week addressing some friezes on the walls of the Havens at Sirion...TT_TT

Silence Sharper Than a Knife by asterisq - Ow ow ow Daeron watches a performance of The Lay of Leithian. If you love sad regretful minstrels you will love this.

Listen to the Song by @polutrope - Happier Daeron fic! I love how this fic portrays Daeron as a child, and Beleg being good with kids makes perfect sense!

Because the World is Saved by @meadowlarkx - Bittersweet Starwing </3 Their relationship is so sweet here, but you can tell how much they’ve been through :(

Now This, Now Us by crownlessliestheking - Miriel is struggling with the living world, but Indis is there to help. Again, excellent writing from this author.

To Distract by @meadowlarkx - AhhhHHHH that kind of pre-reveal tension that makes you foam at the mouth when Doriath doesn’t know why or how the Noldor ended up in Middle-earth. And paradoxically around that, a very cute relationship between Daeron and Finrod.

Untitled by @elentarial - Frankly losing my mind over this idea. The confrontation between Daeron and Maglor in Menegroth is so fraught I was biting my nails even through this short fic!

Longing by @curanthir - Cute Finwe/Thingol with slight angst. Their youthful dynamic here is sweet! It’s nice to see them before the mantle of kingship starts to weigh on them.

Untitled by @swanmaids - Fantastic look at Idril post-Nirnaeth and the increasingly fraught dynamics in Gondolin. A tragically realistic look at Idril’s logic and why she never raised her issues about Maeglin with her father :(

Untitled by @that-angry-noldo - Staying behind in Aman wasn’t all sunshine and roses for Finarfin and it’s really nice to see explorations of the challenges faced by the Calaquendi in the wake of the Darkening. And this is such a realistic-feeling take on it!

Happy Friday, Fellowship! 💛

Fic recs are the best way to help promote someone else’s works! Find some of your favorite fics, they could be WIPs, completed, old, new, whatever you want to share, and rec at least (1) of them for us and your followers to see! Who knows, it might just be the fic someone out there is looking for!

Bonus: tag the author (if possible) and share with us why you are recommending this fic!

[zealouswerewolfcollector]

February Fic Recs

I’ve decided to make a fic rec list at the end of every month. I missed January, but if real life allows, I’ll try to keep it up from now on. I haven’t read much during these last couple of months, so this isn’t a very long list. I hope to have more recs next time. Here we go!

New Fire in the North by @torpi46

The Silm/ATLA crossover you’ve been waiting for! It’s funny, it’s gripping and it’s very very good. Please check it out to read about Zuko’s life in Himring and his friendship with Gil-galad.

Hounds of Lórien by @arofili

This Modern AU has both Russingon and Samfro. Anna writes them both with so much love. It absolutely shines through.

Two Guys, Chilling In A Doomed City, Five Feet Apart... by @herenortherenearnorfar

Celeborn/Celebrimbor, how great is that? So so great thanks to the absolutely brilliant writing. It is a Modern AU, but the characterization is impeccable.

No dark till something shines by @quixoticanarchy

Smartly and fantastically written, this fic focuses on the aftermath of Fingon’s battle with Glaurung. Philosophical and linguistic discussions and tender Russingon - there is nothing better.

Men’s Short Program - Elven Skating Union Grand Prix Final by @austerlitzborodinoleipzig

A delightful Figure Skating AU written as commentary to a tournament. I hadn’t forgotten this fic since I read it two years ago and was very happy to reread it when it was posted to Ao3 recently.

Handful of Stones by @catadromously

This wonderful Canon Divergence AU has Maeglin in Hithlum after Aredhel’s death. It is as heartbreaking and as beautiful as you think.

For We Walk by Faith, Not by Sight by an_evasive_author

This is a big WIP about Maedhros slowly healing post-Angband where he has lost his sight. It breaks and mends my heart with every chapter. Please read the tags and warnings carefully. If this isn’t your cup of tea, check out other works by the author. They have a variety of wonderful fics.

how much there is for madness— cruel, or complying? by @sakasakiii

Only the first chapter of three has been posted, but it is terrific. If you’re up for early Formenos tensions and a beautiful brotherly relationship between Maglor and Maedhros, this is the fic for you.