#teitho challenge

[teitho]

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER TEITHO PROMPT: Do you remember . . .

This prompt can be used for any character, any book, any timeframe in Tolkien’s work! We can’t wait to see what memories you will use for your stories and art this month!

Will you have your characters think back on good times or bad? Difficult days or ones of joy? A simple day or a fraught one?

Is it a thought going back to the Light of the Two Trees? The first sunrise over Beleriand?

The shadows of Menegroth? The caves of Nargothrond? The Halls of Theoden? Sunlight on a river?

Or perhaps three stone Trolls? A raven? Or the taste of strawberries on a spring day in the Shire?

Please do remember to submit your story/art for this prompt to teitho.contest@gmail.com by September 30, 2024!

Your Teitho mods,

Sian22, lotrfan, and Cassie

(As always, please feel free to contact us with any questions or prompt suggestions or suggestions for promoting teitho!)

[ladysternchen]

What Is Right And What Is Easy

Finwë

“(Melkor becomes suspicious, and guesses war is purposed against him, because of the Quendi. During Oromë’s absence his emissaries are busy, and many lies circulate. The `heresy’ awakes in new form: the Valar clearly do exist; but they have abandoned Endor; rightly as the appointed realm of the Quendi. Now they are becoming jealous, and wish to control the Quendi as vassals, and so re-possess themselves of Endor. Finwë, a gallant and adventurous young quende, direct descendant of Tata […], is much taken by these ideas; less so his friend, Elwë, descendant of Enel)”- J.R.R.Tolkien (editor Carl F. Hofstetter): the Nature of Middle-Earth, Chapter XIII ‘Key Dates’

“Finwë! Lord Oromë has returned!”

Finwë wrinkled his nose, looking sceptically at his friend.

“So?” he asked finally, wincing inwardly at how cool he knew his voice sounded. Unsurprisingly, Elwë frowned at his friend’s less than enthusiastic attitude.

“What do you mean, ‘so’? He is going to tell us more of Valinor, and besides, when he is here, no Shadow will dare come close.”

“The Shadow is conquered, they say.”

“I hear that. But there are still enough foul things on the loose in these woods!”

“Yes…” Finwë said. “…or so the Vala says.”

Elwë just stared at his friend, until Finwë bit his tongue in dreadful realisation. 

“Elwë, I… forgive me, I did not mean to…”

“It’s fine! But will you come now and hear for yourself what Oromë has to say?”

“What if he is only trying to lure us to Valinor, though? What if the Valar are really truly the evil ones? I mean, we are happy here, are we not?”

Elwë considered that for a while, his eyes on the star-strewn heavens. At last he sighed deeply, looking as if he were carrying a much older elf’s burdens. 

“I don’t believe it. I know many do, I know it sounds so very… plausible. But there is no evil in Oromë. Anger, perhaps, wrath even, but no evil. Have you seen the light that shines within his eyes? Something so pure cannot in itself be evil, I am sure about it! So will you come with me back to the others?”

Finwë still was reluctant, though he had to admit that Elwë had a good point.

“But you were the one to take ages to start trusting Oromë…”

Elwë shook his head.

“No, your memory deceives you there, my friend. I trusted Oromë from the start. But I needed time to think over what he told us.”

An almost pained look crossed Finwë’s face.

“Yes. I know you did. You always think everything over. But it seems that that is no bad thing this time. Alright. Let’s go!”

Ingwë

He balled his fists in frustration beneath his cloak, doing his best to keep his face even. Lord Imin was smiling understandingly and somehow, that made him even angrier, and he was by the Valar not prone to anger quickly.

“The tales you tell of Valinor are blissful, Ingwë and I understand your youthful desire to seek new shores…”

“Lord, with all due respect, you speak as if with the wisdom of age, that truly only the Powers, who are ageless and timeless, possess. It is said by them that this is the Age of the youth of all Quendi, so it might be all our youthful duty to find a home that is more suitable for our kind.”

Still, Imin was smiling, and Ingwë could have hit him for it. Behind Imin, Iminyë, Tata and Tatië, Enel and Enelyë stood with grimmer expressions, though all very much signalling consent to the eldest’ words. Ingwë chanced a glance at Finwë and Elwë, who stood beside him, Finwë glaring furiously at the elders, Elwë with his gaze lowered to the ground, looking about as comfortable in his position as a speared fish. It was all Ingwë could do not to roll his eyes at the pair of them, for none of them was in the least helpful, though for very contrasting reasons. Wryly, he thought that if one could somehow mix his friends together, make one out of two, they might actually become useful.

“You are bold, Ingwë. But consider this- here is where we awoke, where we are meant to be. The shores of the sacred waters of Cuiviénen are our home. The Quendi belong here, as the Valar belong in their realm of eternal bliss. We shall be ever glad of their friendship and help, but the offer to live among them we must refuse!”

“But…”

“The people of the stars we are, young lord!” said Enel, speaking up for the first time. “Have you not told us of eternal light there in Aman? How could the Eldar prosper in such a land? It seems to me that they would live in bliss for only a short time, burning with a flame too bright for their being, and then soon perish!”

Ingwë resigned himself to saying what he had tried to avoid saying until now for Elwë’s sake, but now felt he must voice.

“But it seems likely that we shall perish here even sooner. Was it not, Lord Enel, Lady Enelyë, a prince of your house that was only lately slaughtered, his wife taken by the Shadows, only to leave their infant son behind? Is that what you would choose for your people truly?”

Predictably, a shudder went through the crowd and Ingwë sensed more than saw Finwë’s piercing glare while he laid a comforting arm around Elwë’s shoulders.

“That is quite enough, Ingwë!” Ilion spoke up, and though his tone was gentle, Ingwë could discern the warning in his father’s words.

“The Quendi that awoke on these shores will stay by these shores, whether you youngsters like it or not!” Tata stated, and had those not been words of doom, Ingwë would have laughed. It was easy to trace the passion with which words were spoken from Tata to his youngest lord without any trouble. 

“Then the Quendi will have to decide whom they will follow.” said Ingwë, raising his voice, so that everyone could hear him. “I ask therefore the tribe of the Minyar, my people, to choose whom they will follow!” 

Elwë

Stars. Light. Diamonds in the sky. Or pearls on endless shores, shimmering in the light of the Trees. What was right? What wrong?

His head swam as if he had received a heavy blow, making him incapable of even a single straight thought, confused, and lost. Entirely lost.

Trees? Or stars? Lady Yavanna? Or Queen Varda?

It does not work like that, young lord.

Varda’s laughter, so clear, so warm, so pure.

You need not decide. My stars remain where they are, regardless whether your people do so as well.

He stumbled, branches piercing the palms of his hands as he fell on them.

Yavanna and Varda had exchanged mirthful glances at his words. He had not understood, but then, there had been so much he had not understood.

It would have been so easy, to give into the will of many of his people, to stay on starlit shores, the journey so difficult, Aman so bright, the sea so wide.

Do I choose what is easy? Or do I choose what is right? 

He had never doubted Oromë, nor the Valar in general. And Finwë…

Finwë. Thoughts of his dearest friend stirred his mind out of its exhausted stupor. He had gone to visit Finwë, but then…

Mist seemed to fog his mind again. He would surly die here, and soon. His throat was dry, and his limbs shook with the effort of scrambling to his feet again. Tired. He was so tired.

And yet he blinked, and after a little while his vision cleared enough for him to see what was in front of him- bushes, too thick and thorny to penetrate. To his left the trees stood closely together, to his right, the terrain fell a little, the ground rocky and treacherous, and yet… it sloped downhill, and going downhill would be so much less exhausting, at least for a little while. And did not all this land fall towards the sea? The sea… he had a feeling that he needed to be there. Nowë’s little toy ships on the mirror-clear surface of Cuiviénen. Home. The easy way.

Do I choose what is easy, or what my heart tells me is right?

The song pulled him towards the trees, so beautiful, and there was something familiar about it, something that made him think of Oromë. Had the Vala come again? Would he save him?

But was this all real? Was anything real? Who was he? Where was he? What was he doing there?

Song. Light. The way to go.

His last thought, before he forced himself to walk on, his mind then so set on putting one foot in front of the other that there was no room for anything else, was of the song, and of how, when his strength would finally be spent, the music would be the last thing he heard, and that was a very comforting thought.

Olwë

The sea rushed back and forth, back, and forth. Olwë lost himself in that rhythm, as he had done frequently ever since they had reached the coast. Back, and forth. Yet today, that sound brought him no comfort.

Back…

Was he supposed to do that? Turn back now, after they had come so far? Refuse Ossë and his island and stay? 

… and forth…

It was almost time now, the Maia had said, and Olwë knew it well enough within his own heart. They had long lingered here, and now was the time to go on.

Though could he go on? 

‘How can you do this?’ Elmo had asked him last night, despair and barely concealed fury in his voice. 

‘I can do this because our people are my responsibility now, and I have to lead them on. That is what Elwë wanted, what he laboured for for all these long years!’ he had answered, trying to convince himself as much as his little brother. 

There would be no reaching Aman after that. If he left now, he left Elwë behind, his dreams and hopes, and everyone who refused to leave without him.

No. No no no! 

He needed to be firm on this, could not allow the voices in his head to re-awaken. There was no older brother anymore to leave behind. 

Elwë is gone, he is dead, there is no other explanation! 

Elmo and Nowë were being stupid, and Beleg and Mablung and everyone else who wanted him to delay their journey further. He knew, he was utterly certain, that Elwë had not just walked away from his people, had not left them by his own free will. And that left only two possibilities- either he was dead, killed in some freak accident or by some fell thing, or… no, but that, too, was something he could not allow himself to think. And yet he could do nothing against his imagination showing him what would likely be Elwë’s fate were he indeed unlucky enough to live still. Captivity. Torture. Torture beyond what an elf could endure, until nothing was left of him but a maimed body and mind, bound to the will of the Shadow. Olwë had never believed it was truly gone. The one called Melkor might be, but not Evil itself. He wanted nothing more than to be gone from these shores, to be where the Powers dwelled, where it was safe.

‘Is that truly how you repay him for everything he has done for us? You just give up on him?’

Olwë had caught Elmo by the wrists then, forcing him to calm down and listen.

‘I am NOT abandoning him. But we searched, Elmo. Everywhere. Many, many times. Elwë is gone. And I know this is what he would have wanted me to do- complete his work, lead his people on. Get us, you and me, to safety!’

‘Aye, I agree. That would be exactly what he would say, being noble, acting the hero. Because he has learned to always put us first because he loved to think of our safety as his responsibility, and oh, did he enjoy himself in that role. But we have a responsibility for him, too. We are brothers. And what are brothers for if not to look after one another?’

Elmo’s words stung still. A lot. But what really hurt was what Elmo had said next.

“I am not leaving here without him. He promised me not to leave me again and I do not think he did. And I am most certainly not leaving him!”

So there he was now. If he chose to leave Middle-Earth, he was losing both his brothers, and Nowë, too, if his cousin did not return to the them soon. He was losing all his family. There would be nobody there to pat him on the back, to say they were proud of him when they would finally reach Aman. He thought of his wife and their future children. Her parents had stayed at Cuiviénen, her sisters left them on the journey. Their children would just miss so much. No cousins to build boats with. No uncles and aunts to fish them out of the waves if they ever got over-excited. He would call himself king, and ever in his heart feel that this crown did not belong to him.

 And if he were to meet Elwë again? They had learned that the Fëar of those that had died could be rehoused after a fashion, return among the living. So what would happen if he did come face to face with his older brother once more and had to explain to him that he  had left Elmo behind? Elwë would never, ever, forgive him.

Back…

Maybe they could really be happy here. The sea was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The stars overhead gave them light. Ossë and Uinen and Ulmo were ever there, so would it really be so bad to stay? And after all, that meant they could one day reconnect with those they had left behind. This, after all, was home.

… and forth.

But really, his mind was set, and had been from the start. He would do what he and Elwë had set out to do what now felt like an eternity ago. 

When he sought out Elmo, he knew at first glance that his face showed his decision, for his brother smiled sadly at him.

“I stand by what I said. I will not leave Middle-Earth without Elwë.”

“Thus we, too, must part then. But Elmo? Promise me you will stay safe. Promise me you will find love and happiness, whether you ever find Elwë or not. And if by some chance you do find him alive, tell him I love him. And that his excuse had better be good!”

Elmo nodded, and Olwë embraced his brother, then turned to board the island at last, to turn his back to the lands of his birth, never to look back.

[arofili]

Tolkien Fandom Event Calendar

Recently I’ve received some asks about events/weeks in the Tolkien fandom, so I thought I’d compile a list of those that I know about. This is not exhaustive, and dates are subject to change by the organizers of these events!

Other blogs you can check out are @tolkieneventsblog and @tolkienfandomevents, though I’m not sure how active those are. The @silmarillionwritersguild Discord also has a channel dedicated to signal boosts for all sorts of Tolkien-related & general fandom happenings, which is another excellent way to keep up with fandom goings-on.

Want to run your own event? Here’s some of my tips!

If your event is not on here and you’d like it to be, let me know and I can add it :) Note: I will only add events that have announced dates!

~

JANUARY Screw Yule My Slashy Valentine @myslashyvalentine — work time Lord of the Rings Secret Santa @lotr-sesa — reveals Thorin’s Spring Forge @thorinsspringforge — signups Second Age Week @secondageweek

FEBRUARY Hidden Paths My Slashy Valentine — reveals Thorin’s Spring Forge — claims Maedhros and Maglor Week @maedhrosmaglorweek

MARCH Back to Middle-earth Month @spring-into-arda Thorin’s Spring Forge — work time Fëanorian Week Fun with Fanon Fest Round 1 @funwithfanon

APRIL Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang @tolkienrsb — signups Silm Remix @tolkienremix — signups & assignments Thorin’s Spring Forge — reveals  Aralas Week @aralas-week Barduil Month @bi-widower-dads All of Arda is Autistic @all-of-arda-is-autistic F3: Focus on Friendship & Family, Phase I @spring-into-arda

MAY Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang — claims Silm Remix — reveals Aspec Arda Week @aspecardaweek Angbang Week @angbangweek Gondolin Week @gondolinweek F3: Focus on Friendship & Family, Phase II

JUNE Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang — work time Scribbles and Drabbles @fall-for-tolkien — signups Tolkien Ekphrasis Week @tolkienekphrasisweek F3: Focus on Friendship & Family, Phase III

JULY Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang — work time Scribbles and Drabbles — claims Tolkien Gen Week @tolkiengenweek LotR Ladies Week @lotrladiessource Tolkien Appreciation Week @tolkienweek Tolkien Latin American & Caribbean Week @tolkienlatamandcaribbeanweek

AUGUST Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang — deadlines Scribbles and Drabbles — art reveals Innumerable Stars Exchange @innumerable-stars — nominations & signups Tolkien of Colour Week @tolkienofcolourweek Silvergifting Week @silvergiftingweek Tolkien OC Week @tolkienocweek

SEPTEMBER Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang — reveals Scribbles and Drabbles — work time Innumerable Stars Exchange — signups & assignments Sindar Week @sindarweek Dor Cúarthol Week @dorcuartholweek Finwëan Ladies Week @finweanladiesweek

OCTOBER Innumerable Stars Exchange — reveals Scribbles and Drabbles — work time Half-elven Week @halfelvenweek

NOVEMBER Tolkien Secret Santa @officialtolkiensecretsanta — signups & assignments Scribbles and Drabbles — fic reveals Nolofinwean Week @nolofinweanweek

DECEMBER Tolkien Secret Santa — advent calendar & reveals My Slashy Valentine @myslashyvalentine — signups & assignments Lord of the Rings Secret Santa — claims Khazad Week @khazadweek

MONTHLY EVENTS: These events have prompts/challenges occurring every month. Teitho Contest Tolkien Short Fanworks Silmarillion Writers’ Guild @silmarillionwritersguild

(this list was last updated 5/4/23)

LEGACY EVENTS: These events used to occur, but have not happened within the last year. Arda Needs More Pride @ardaneedsmorepride (bimonthly; last run 2020) Kiliel Week @kilielweek (timing variable; last run 2021) @oneringnet monthly events (last run 2021) Atani Week @ataniweek (January; last run 2021) Legendarium Ladies April @legendariumladiesapril (April; last run 2020) Gates of Summer Exchange @gatesofsummerexchange (May-June, last run 2022) Tolkien South Asian Week, run by @arwenindomiel (June; last run 2022) Arafinwëan Week @arafinweanweek (July; last run 2019) Fëanturi Week (August; last run 2019; no official blog and the creator has deactivated) Imladrim Week @imladrimweek (November; last run 2019) Doriath Week @doriathweek (November; last run 2020) Tolkien Family Week @tolkienfamilyweek (November; last run 2021)

[vamp-ress]

Writing Check-In

Active WIPs (as in: I'm actively working on those)

Broken Wings (working title) This Viggorli bunny is still taking up all my brain power. I'm now at 47.000 words and about 2/3 done. At the moment I'm stuck writing a pivotal dialogue scene and my usual tactic of simply powering through a first draft to get it over with isn't working overly well. We'll see ... Since I started writing this story within two or there weeks of "conceiving" it, I'm changing quite a few things as I go along. This is not usually my MO - usually I ponder a story for a long, long while in my head and when I start writing I have all the details detailed out. Here though, the first draft is pretty rough. I've already made a bullet point list of things I need to change in editing.

WIPs on hiatus (as in: on the backburner, but they will most probably come back)

The Way North (working title) Yepp, still on hiatus. Aragorn and his female OC (don't worry, this won't be a romance) are still sitting quietly on my harddrive awaiting further inspiration.

First Meeting (working title) This is also still on hiatus. This is actually really depressing, but I can't really write A/L when I write V/O. The tone of my Aralas stories doesn't really gel with Viggorli and it's so very jarring to switch between both.

Dol Guldur (working title) Yes, I actually managed to start a story in August to then promptly put it on hiatus. This was meant to be a Teitho entry and I've written three pages so far, but then the aforementioned Viggorli AU took up all my brain-space and all other inspiration has flown out the window since then. It's most annoying. I know found out the sakurashakedown wrote a story for that particular Teitho challenge - what a missed chance. We could have "competed"!

Finished Stories (as in, will post eventually)

Live and Let Die This A/L darkfic AU is still on the horizon. It is finished and is just waiting for the days to grow shorter and darker. I should probably post this now, shouldn't I? It's getting cold, dark and depressing. Just like this story. Are you in the mood for some major character death? Let me know - I can provide.

With Silver This next installment in my With-Verse is finished. I'm going to repost the whole series to DW's Vigorli comm and once I've done that the new story will follow. This will hit your dashboard in November. That means you'll have 12000 words of yummy Viggorli to look forward to. You are welcome ;-)

Labour of Love This Viggorli ficlet will be posted sometime after "With Silver" - so probably late November or early December. This is an AU where I took the characters to a strange place. I'm not really sure what possessed me to write this, but I love them both dearly in this story.

Blood Moon This little ficlet was written for @flashfictionfridayofficial. I mean, I have a werewolf!AU. I absolutely have to write something for a prompt like full moon frenzy. So this is Aralas, even if they both are never mentioned by name and they're not doing anything slashy in this story. The wolfverse is my Middle Earth playground. The fact that I write all of these stories in first person seems limiting, but it gives me the chance to explore something like this.

Waylaid I developped the plot for this while on a walk with my two ponies (and yes, it was evening and fog was creeping in). When I came back to the barn, the story was done and I wrote it down in two days. It was a little short notice for Halloween, but who cares. It's not meant to be more than a quick fun romp for Viggorli. So all's good.

[arizonapoppy]

fanfic ask: 2 and 5 ! 👀

Thank you for the ask @batrachised ! I have greatly enjoyed following along with everyone's commentary on Kilmeny- I'm looking forward to joining in with the next read along in the LMM community. Which brings me to

2. Do you participate in any writing events or challenges throughout the year? If so, what do you like about them?

Most challenges I do are in the Tolkien community, because there is usually something every month, such as Teitho or Silmarillion Writer's Guild. MyEvilMouse has random challenges in the Star Wars community that take minimal arm twisting to join as well. EM's challenges usually get me out of my comfort zone, like writing smut for the Luke + All The Ladies challenge. I like the SWG monthly challenges because they are so creative and unique. I wish I could do more with them!

5. What is the perfect environment for you to write in?

The perfect environment for me to write in is at the coffee shop across the street from the back entrance of my neighborhood. They have a meeting room with big long tables and outlets and a nice picture window. It has the most amazing muffins. Ideally it would not be a morning that MMO is there. One time I was busily typing in a different area of the coffee shop. This spot is off the exit to the courtyard. A three year old child came in from outdoors, walked up to me, and licked my peach crumble muffin that was sitting on the stool in front of me. The mother was mortified and offered to buy me a new one. I was pretty sure I had gotten the last one, so I just laughed and laughed and peeled that part off but it took me a moment to get back into the right headspace after that.

Anyone else want to send me a writing ask? Here's the list

[sauronnaise]

Posting this on main (after conversing with @maedhrosrussandol I judged it'd be worth it): some of us are on Dreamwidth! Don't be intimidated by the 'olds'. It's nice to be mid/late twenties like me and feel like a youngster. It's quieter though (not that I mind. And if people want more activity, well, they can create a blog, duh).

Silmarillion Writers' Guild and Stories of Arda are still active. Teitho has posted challenges for 2024 as well.

The Silmarillion fandom is collapsing.

Has anyone else noticed a lot of people leaving the silmarillion just general Tolkien fandom? Especially on tumblr. One of my favourite Silm blogs deleted their whole account and just disappeared. I’m seeing a lot of amazing creators put out their farewell statements. I absolutely don’t blame anyone who is choosing to leave and especially if it’s just because they’re not happy anymore or are moving on to other things. But I’m noticing that a lot of people are being very negative and some creators have explicitly stated that this has impacted them leaving and losing love and interest for something that once made them so happy because of all the negativity aimed at them. It’s so sad. Also wtf this is a hobby and some people are so demanding with creators like they’re not creating things unpaid and in their free time. Hating on people for what they love and find comfort in or calling them weird for liking and having different takes on certain FICTIONAL characters is disgusting and you’re absolutely the problem if you do that.

To any creators seeing this I just want you to know how much your work is and contribution is appreciated. Especially since it’s not that big of a fandom on here.

[astoryinred]

Now that Éowyn is sure who and what she wants, there's some unfinished business she needs to handle -- such as explaining things to her brother.

Posted for "Longing" in the Teitho challenge.

[sian22redux]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Éowyn/Faramir (Son of Denethor II) Characters: Faramir, Éowyn (Tolkien), Finduilas of Dol Amroth, Thorongil, Aragorn | Estel, Boromir, Finduilas of Ithilien, Elboron (Tolkien), Theomund of Ithilien Summary:

One diary. Three different Mettare Eves. Three generations of the Steward's family. Sometimes a secret wishes to be shared.

Written as Annafan's belated Christmas present and for Teitho Challenge 'Curiosity' where it placed first.   Faramir certainly didn’t get his love of Quenya poetry from Denethor! :)

[roselightfairy]

Fic Rec

Of Wine and Rhymes by Adelie P.

Summary: Lively nights in Emyn Arnen lead to a new invention, which is immediately put to good use. Also featuring: Aragorn, Arwen, Éomer and Lothíriel. A tongue-in-cheek one-shot written for the February Teitho challenge (the theme was "First") with no connection to my other stories.

...

If you want to read a hilarious, tongue-in-cheek fic that had me doubling over with laughter, in which Faramir (with Gimli’s help) invents the printing press and Arwen writes erotic poetry, please read this.

[independence1776]

Snowflake Challenge Day 9

Challenge #9: In your own space, brag about yourself. Tell us what things you've done that you're proud of; the things that make you the wonderful person you are.

Have a list of all the fanworks I posted in 2020.

Graphics

1. This is how we defend ourselves. Moodboard created for Back to Middle-earth Month. Full text on moodboard: “This is how we defend ourselves: Sword and shield, song and story, family and friends.” 2. Title page for ‘Stars, hide your fires’. This was the title page for the Tolkien fic “Stars, hide your fires” written by Fernstrike and Raiyana, which was also illustrated by Lyra. It was created as part of my team’s response to SWG’s Block Party challenge for the Team Storytelling event. 3. LotR graphic for Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday. Every autumn, I get the urge to reread LotR.

Meta

4. How long was Caleb Dume Depa Billaba’s Padawan? What it says on the tin. Fanfic 5. Cold. Maglor and the cold. No warnings; rated general, gen. 169 words. Written for Teitho’s 2019 Nov/Dec challenge, but the anonymity rules meant it was posted in early January. (Also posted on AO3.) 6. Shifting Dunes. Owen and Obi-Wan talk while Luke trains. Beru/Owen/Obi-Wan. No warnings; rated general; poly. 785 words. Written for Maythe4thbewithyou. 7. Answers Yet to Come. A month after the war ends, Cal Kestis runs into Caleb Dume on one of the not-quite-forbidden lower levels of the Jedi Temple. No warnings; rated general; canon divergent AU. 1066 words. Written for JediJune. 8. Evolving Roles. A sixteen-year-old Kanan gets stranded in Anchorhead and runs into Obi-Wan. No archive warnings; rated teens, canon divergent AU. 2835 words. Written for FandomTrumpsHate 2020. 9. Never Discussed But Silently Acknowledged. After two years on Tatooine, Ben Kenobi is generally considered well worth the effort to court due to his clear ability to take care of himself alone in the desert. Beru and Owen make their opinion clear. Beru/Owen/Obi-Wan. No warnings, rated general, poly. 1800 words. Written for Star Wars Rare Pairs. 10. Little Things. Kanan shares a bit of his past with Ezra. No warnings, rated general, gen. 683 words. Written for Rebels Secret Santa.

[teitho]

Our prompt for Nov/Dec is Healing.

Healing figures significantly in many of Tolkien’s works. We encounter healers like Elrond, the staff of the Houses of Healing in Minas Tirith, Aragorn and the healing hands of the King.

We see many characters being healed—Frodo, Faramir, Eowyn, Merry.

Healing isn’t only confined to physical injury—there is healing of mental and emotional hurts as well.

And we also see incomplete healing—where characters may be healed of bodily injuries swiftly but the horrors and trauma they endured persist—Maedhros, Gwindor, Frodo.

Healing also affects the land in Tolkien. Ithilien—where Legolas and his people go at Aragorn’s request, to rejuvenate and cleanse the land—is just one example of this.

Healing can also be seen in the context of interpersonal relationships—Maedhros healing the rift in the house of Finwë, the repair of Bilbo and Thorin’s friendship at the end of the Battle of Five Armies.

What stories of healing will you give us? We can’t wait to see where your imagination takes you!

Stories or art should be submitted to teitho.contest@gmail.com by Dec 31!

Your mods

Sian22, lotrfan, and Cassie.

[ladysternchen]

teitho-challenge ‘crossroads’

Any of you who entered it, have you had any reply? I’m kind of worried that my mail didn’t reach them, but at the same time don’t want to bother them...

[ao3feed-tolkien]

Another Man's Treasure

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/cwvnOxZ

by WindSurfBabe

A tale in which losing things is no misfortune, and finding them, no serendipity. 1st place in the August/September 2022 Teitho Challenge "Rings".

Words: 4770, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: Gen

Characters: Celebrimbor | Telperinquar, Narvi (Tolkien), Original Hobbit Character(s)

Additional Tags: Teitho Fanfiction Contest

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/cwvnOxZ

[arizonapoppy]

#3 for the fandom asks! either for tolkien or a kdrama of your choice :)

Hi @ichariancarrion ! Thank you for the ask!

I'll go with Tolkien, since I haven't really gone down many kdrama fandom rabbit holes. I'm going to pick Andreth Saelind, from the Athrabeth. I am one of the people that took several tries/running starts to get through the Silmarillion and the Histories of Middle Earth. I am sure that I read about her at some point but she made no impression on me.

That changed when I saw a random rarepair post of someone thinking who was intrigued by the possibilities of Andreth x Finrod as a ship. I liked the image that the OP painted and knew nothing of the characters. I reblogged the post and then of course it was lost to time in the broken Tumblr tags. Eventually I had to write something for a SWG challenge and those characters came to mind. I went down a meta rabbithole reading the Athrabeth in all its different variations trying to piece together a timeline like Kenneth Branagh piecing together every single version of Hamlet that weren't supposed to be together in the first place. I read anything I could find on the character bios on the SWG, Tolkien Gateway, etc. The result was one of my favorite stories that I've ever written: "Tapestries and Fate."

I wrote another setting of it for a Teitho challenge: "All the Stars are Faded." I have a third idea with major bullet points in my head but it has fallen victim to the self-imposed compulsion to "must research before I write" and needing to know more about the Siege of Lemberg. (aka Lviv, Lwów)

[ao3feed-thehobbit]

The Children of the Kindly West

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2WMnOJS

by Altariel

When a small boy gets sick, tall tales are the best entertainment. Written for the Teitho Contest Picture Challenge IV, where it placed first.

Words: 1672, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Series: Part 1 of Garden of Gondor

Fandoms: The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien, TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: Gen

Characters: Faramir (Son of Denethor II), Aragorn | Estel, Éowyn (Tolkien), Eldarion (Tolkien), Elboron (Tolkien), Original Characters

Additional Tags: Teitho Fanfiction Contest

read it on the AO3 at http://bit.ly/2WMnOJS

[vellichrome]

The Song of the Sword

by: Tanis (iiiionly) | [ao3] [ffn]

The Gen version of this story won 3rd Place in the June 2013 Teitho Challenge - Weapons. Aragorn sets about reforging the sword of Narsil in order to save a friend's life. As this follows neither book nor movie canon, it would probably fall under the category of AU. Featuring Aragorn and Legolas, with mild slash connotations.

This is a sequel to Breath of an Elf, which was a tag to Neoinean's fabulous story, ... and it was done.