#the blorbos feature heavily in this list because i am very predictable

[emyn-arnens]

In honor of @genworkjune, I've put together a list of some of my favorite LOTR gen works. Works are organized by whether they take place before, during, or after the War of the Ring. If there is overlap between categories, the work is located in the category that fits the majority of the work. All works take place in book canon.

PRE-WAR OF THE RING

dark water burning through your bloodline by @rarepairnation (T, Faramir & Boromir, Faramir & Denethor, Faramir & Gandalf, Faramir & Aragorn, 4.2k):

Since his childhood, since as long as he remembers, Faramir has dreamt of a wave. It is not a dream of creation, nor of hope. It is the draining of the coastline before the flood. It is the inevitability of the fall. He watches the marble and gilt of Númenor drown countless times before he knows what Númenor was. Before he knows he is watching his forefathers die.

Daughters, Sisters, Wives by rhymer23 (G, Éowyn & OFCs, Éowyn & Théodwyn, Éowyn & Lothíriel, 4k):

"I should have given you sisters," her mother said. "This is such a place of men." This is a tale of Éowyn and the girls and women who might have been friends in the years of her childhood, the dark years of her growing, and in the years yet to come.

WAR OF THE RING

Called, I Answer by lynndyre (G, Aragorn & Faramir, ~900):

Aragorn heals Faramir and calls him back to himself.

Elegies Unwritten by nonisland (T, Merry & Éowyn, ~500):

Éowyn and Merry, on the road to the Pelennor Fields.

Last Summer by rhymer23 (G, Frodo & Sam & Merry & Pippin, 5.4k):

It is one year on, and the Shire has never been more glorious. But to the hobbits of the Fellowship, even the sweet taste of summer can stir memories of the winter that has passed.

theft and shrubbery by @southfarthing (G, Frodo & Sam & Merry & Pippin, 2.7k):

Hobbiton's notorious poetry society decides to hold its meeting in Sandyman's front garden. At midnight. Rather loudly. Frodo can't say he's particularly sorry about it.

The Road from the South by Evandar (G, Boromir, 1.4k):

Boromir hasn't truly rested since he left Gondor, and he knows that it should rightfully be Faramir on this quest, but that doesn't stop him from following the road north to Imladris.

Waiting on the Wise by rhymer23 (G, Boromir & Gandalf, Boromir & Merry & Pippin, Boromir & Elrond, 6.4k):

Boromir endured much hardship on his long journey to Rivendell. What comes after, in the quiet and safety of the House of Elrond, could prove yet harder to endure.

POST-WAR OF THE RING

The Swallow by rhymer23 (G, Merry & Pippin & Éomer, 4.3k):

Having said his last farewells to the Shire, Merry visits Edoras and its King one final time.

What the River Carries by dearfriendicanfly (G, Frodo & Merry, Merry & Pippin, 5.2k):

"I was just thinking that you aren't talking much." "...I'm talking to you now, aren't I?" "You are," Pippin admits. "But... you're not really saying anything, if you understand what I mean." The quest is over, and Merry is home, standing a whole foot taller than when he left. But with Frodo gone and Pippin coming of age, Merry isn't sure how he fits into anything anymore.