#undercat-overdog

[aipilosse]

The Gold Are Venomous

One problem with having an evil shapeshifting husband is that he is frequently left off of invitations. One advantage of having an evil shapeshifting husband is that he is very easy to sneak into dinner parties.

A gift for the amazing @undercat-overdog, featuring snekron, and closet sex. 

Pairing: Celebrimbor/Sauron

Rating: Explicit

Read on AO3.

Snekron heavily inspired by the art of 3ampeidd! 

[gwaedhannen]

✨ - Worldbuilding or background story elements. (dealer's choice of topic!)

(Unusual headcanon ask game)

Rivendell has always had a decent sized human population, ever since the valley's first days as a hidden shelter, when Eleryn's scouts started returning with survivors of the villages near Eregion that Sauron's armies were pillaging out of boredom.

The population grows over the Second Age. More survivors, residents of Minhiriath and Enedwaith displaced by Númenórean logging and settlements, residents of future-Gondor displaced by Númenórean settlements, escaped slaves from Númenórean colonies (sensing a pattern here?). Valandil's wife (descendant of a noble Númenórean house that lost favor with the King and was exiled to Middle-earth centuries prior) was from that people.

Refugees from the collapses of Rhudaur and Cardolan, as well as those fleeing the various invasions and wars in Rhovanion and Gondor join the population in the Third Age. Though most of the surviving Dúnedain of Arthedain settled in the Angle, some go to Rivendell where their chieftains are raised. Elrond makes sure that his foster-sons play nice with everyone, Dúnedain or not.

Over the main gate of Rivendell, Elrond himself carved a great relief of the coming of Doriath's refugees to the Mouths of Sirion, toddling Elwing at their head, welcomed by the escapees of Dor-lómin and Brethil. He has sought to repay that welcome ever since.

"Wait what about Lindir's line about it being hard to tell the difference between a Man and a Hobbit because all mortals are the same to elves" he's just racist.

[arofili]

Royal Service

for @jaz-the-bard​, @undercat-overdog​, and moiety! also an extremely belated Kinktober entry for Day 31: Begging Kink :)

[ao3] - rated E; 779 words; Elrond/Celebrían/Gil-galad

~

“What do you think, Gil?” Celebrían purred. “Has our little lord been good enough?”

“He has been very good,” Gil-galad rumbled, lazily rolling his hips so his cock rubbed against her pearl.

Elrond, bound and gagged before them, whimpered pathetically. His cock bounced against his stomach as he writhed, eyes wild and flashing a thousand different colors in his desperation.

Celebrían hummed. “If only he could be still,” she chided. “Then perhaps I might let you mount him the way he so clearly desires.”

“And you, my queen?” Gil-galad asked.

She stroked him, grinding his cockhead against her pearl deliciously. “I would watch,” she said breathily, “and enjoy the view. And when you are done, I would take my fill, and ride his mouth while you lick your seed out of his tight, pink hole.”

Gil-galad moaned, and kissed her, his cock slipping in her juices. She almost thought to let him inside her—but no, not today. She was still sore from the night before, when they had each taken their turn fucking her cunt and her mouth, and it had been she who was tied up and at their mercy.

(Tomorrow, it would be Gil’s turn. She knew already that Elrond had some wonderful plans for their king.)

Elrond whined, drool dribbling from beneath the gag and onto his chin. Celebrían laughed, and reached over to loosen it, freeing his sinful mouth.

“Please, please,” Elrond begged, his voice low and wrecked. He was so hard, and with each plea his cock throbbed. “My king, my queen, please, let me serve you...!”

“He begs so beautifully,” Gil-galad sighed. “Shall we indulge him?”

“Roll over, Elrond,” Celebrían instructed, and watched gleefully as Elrond submitted to her command instantly. He gasped and moaned, lifting his ass into the air without even being asked, offering himself for the taking.

Celebrían and Gil-galad kissed one more time behind his back, sure to make the sounds of their mouths and tongues meeting as obscenely wet as possible. Then Gil-galad gave Elrond’s rear a light slap, drawing a breathy scream from their herald that was so exquisite that Celebrían just had to sink a finger into herself.

She watched with delight as Gil-galad set to work opening Elrond up with his fingers and tongue. Elrond cried out pleas for mercy all the while: Please, please, my king, please; take me, use me, ruin me; now, Gil, please, please, please...

“Do it,” Celebrían ordered hoarsely when she could take it no longer. She’d already wrung one climax out of herself just watching, and had four fingers buried in her dripping cunt as she chased the second. Ai, they were so beautiful together!

“He’s not quite ready,” Gil said with a frown.

“Please,” Elrond sobbed. “I’ll do anything, please, just fuck me—!”

“You heard him,” Celebrían said. “Do it!”

Gil-galad groaned, and lifted himself up so he could fuck into Elrond with one long thrust. Celebrían watched greedily as her king’s girth shoved its way into Elrond’s tight hole: he truly wasn’t quite stretched enough, but the howl Elrond let out as his king breached him was one of soul-deep relief, not of pain.

Within seconds Elrond had spilled, and Celebrían followed. Gil-galad pounded into his herald with rapture, drinking in Elrond’s cries as if they only gave him more strength. Elrond continued to beg for more, even when he had all but collapsed into his own mess on the bed; and Gil-galad gave it to him, until he had no more to give, and spent deep within Elrond’s body.

Celebrían gave them a few moments to recover before she crawled over to join them. “Elrond, my sweet,” she murmured. “It���s time to serve your queen.”

Gil-galad groaned and withdrew from Elrond, allowing him to roll over onto his back and offer up his mouth for Celebrían’s use. Sighing, she settled over him, shivering as she felt his tongue delving into her cunt and swirling around her pearl.

She smiled down to Gil-galad as their king spread apart Elrond’s legs and set about licking him clean. Elrond twitched and moaned as their king’s tongue probed his hole, and each tremor sent a shock of pleasure through Celebrían’s spine.

Elrond’s cock was fully hard again when Celebrían’s climax overtook her again, drenching his face. She shrugged herself off him, cradling him and whispering soft praises as Gil-galad licked and nipped at Elrond’s length until he spilled once more.

“Beautiful,” Celebrían murmured, beckoning Gil-galad forward so she could kiss Elrond’s seed from his mouth. “Both of you. Just beautiful.” And she pulled her lovers close, her heart full and her lusts sated, if only for the evening.

[herenortherenearnorfar]

For @undercat-overdog more Baby Gollum AU, featuring penguins, an aquarium, and solo-parenting.

Halacormen is not Alqualondë for political tensions. Still, it’s a Teleri town, and Celebrimbor is… Celebrimbor. So he’s sat out this parenting expedition, leaving Alyahtar alone with a squirmy pingwin of a child.

(His child, in the sense that it was his responsibility, and he had made it—her. Most likely. There is a debate to be had.)

The pingwin are what they’re here to see. That’s what the small ones, the hobbits who brought about his end, called them, and the atrocious ruralism has stuck.

Alyahtar prefers their proper title, quesslingwë, given at the time of the first scientific treks south path the lightless lands. His opinion bears astoundingly little weight on Western shores. Some people go out of their way not to listen to him. If not for Celebrimbor he never would have averted that bridge collapse.

Their wagonfull of travelers is getting close to the coastline now. Maitamië stops charming their fellow passengers (a baby is always charming in Valinor—and if her teeth are arrowheads and her irises too big for her eyes, well, there have been rumors of the fate of orcs) and starts gasping at the approaching edifice of the Fisherman’s City. It’s an impressive sight, the great domes bubbling out of the icy southern sea, the long silver walkways looping out into the wavy blackness. From above there are said to be patterns, the long frills of a tail, interlocking scales, an impression of a fish viewed through murky water. From below, one sees a stranger sight, the moveable nets and hanging baskets of an entire modular, sea-set hatchery. They anchor oysters to thick braided ropes and culture their own kelp garden past the horizon. Deep on the ocean floor, they keep sea urchins and log-like, slimy creatures dubbed sea cumcumbers (another hobbitism). By all accounts it’s a clever operation.

Alyahtar is not about to test Ossë’s patience, so recently extended to such delights as “letting him on boats” and “ letting him wade at the seashore if he agrees to be slammed in face by every wave” to deep water exploits. The temptation would be too great and his old colleague does not have remarkable patience.

No, they’ve come come to see the pingwin, and those are conveniently on land, along with the rest of the aquarium.

Maitamië shakes his arm. “Birds,” she points, directing his gaze for the hundredth time to a pertinent bit of wildlife. In this case, a group of fat boobies swooping out over the rocks to their east. A nesting ground, based on the streaks of droppings painting the dark stone white as the towers of Gondor.

“Yes, they’re quite common along the coastline. Certainly more so than mammals, current company excluded.”

His seatmate, a tiresome weaver from just south of Alqualondë, who loves canvas and his five daughters, two of whom live in the city they’re destined for, chuckles knowingly. Like he thinks Alyahtar counts himself among the mammalian order. A frustrating misconception, but one that’s better uncorrected. Sauron is not the most uncontroversial of figures in this land, but he’s not recognizable. Centuries behind helmet and wolf-mask and changeling guise have granted him an anonymity wretched Finrod Felagund can only dream about.

“Big birds,” Maitamië says in fairly coherent Quenya, directing his attention to a cormorant above. She follows it up with a garbled, half Westron, “They eat fish and I eat fish and I eat them.”

He brushes her wispy hair, already tangling in the brisk sea breeze, back from her face and wipes her runny nose. They’ve had to remove most of her beloved jewelry for this trip, the air gets too chill in the far south, and without jewels she’s antsy. “Larger diving birds do eat fish—not all seabirds though. There are some scavengers along this part of the coast, along with some insectivores and waders.”

It’s delightful how she drinks in new information. There’s a hunger to her every movement in the world, as if she knows that she spent centuries starving in the dark and has decided to make up for lost time. They’re not certain how cognizant their ghostling is of her last life—there seems to be knowledge from before, but awareness is hard to gauge with a toddler.

Maitamië’s dragonfly eyes narrow fractionally. “Insectivore?”

“They eat bugs.”

She shrieks, little hands grabbing the wind—she’s lost her gloves again. “I eat bugs!”

The entire wagon is grinning at her, the fools. Healthy child development is no laughing matter. “Yes, they’re very high in protein. Worms and snails, midges, crickets, mayflies…”

The low recitation of invertebrates, along with a gentle rocking, quiets her wriggling. Curled in his lap like this she feels like a project; the closest comparison for this weight is the pressure of a lap desk and yards of chainmail atop it to loop. Wolves never ran so small, nor Celebrimbor so hot. Neither ever tried to take his earrings out of his ears just to see what would happen—at least not in public. He is constantly monitoring curious hands and frustrated teeth.

One last hill and the gates of Halacormen are before them. With the ocean as a wall, they put little into actual gateage, but there is a waist high silver fence ringing the premises to deter the neighbors, who’d otherwise break in and gorge themselves on fish.

Visible past the bright walkways and domes and lighthouses of the city, is a rocky beach, a low, flat expanse of perfect pebbles. It goes on for about two miles and all up and down it birds nest. When Halacormen was first constructed, it sat on a more disfavored end of the beach, too close to the aggressive cliff dwelling birds, not suitable in the character of the rocks provided.

Over the next few centuries the presence of mass amounts of sea life, as well as the soft hearts of elves, changed the game. Now the pingwin nest as close to the city as they’re allowed and beg shamelessly for scraps. In an effort to contain a burgeoning nuisance species the city officials sectioned off the nesting ground. Now tours must be monitored and there’s an associated aquarium, with, he’s been told, many excellent examples of sealife.

“Fish?” Maitamië coos, pointing at the gleaming spires of the mariner’s town. Alyahtar redirects her hand (gloveless once more) to a low slung grey stone building curving along the seaside.

“Fish,” he confirms.

They part ways with most of their travelling company at the entrance to the city, another bit of evidence that mercy is real. A few stick the course, including a young taxonomist from Tirion with an audacious goal of categorizing all living things based on their relative balances of the three humours (air, water, and fire), as well as a quiet fellow in woodland green who has been giving him odd looks.

The remaining band trudge along the rocky path to the pingwin, Alyahtar at the back as his child insists on walking on her own two legs (short).

“Fish first, or birds?” he asks when they finally arrive. Celebrimbor has been all about presenting choices, lately.

“I want fish!” Her Sindarin is better than her Quenya, perhaps because she hears fewer dialects of the former. They’ve been attributing her productive verbal delay to the linguistic variety of the West. It should even out in time. “And frogs! And squid!”

“I can only guarantee you the fish, but our cephalod prospects are good.” He crouches in front of her, furs dragging in the gravel. “Remember, we look with our eyes, not our teeth.”

“Mnnaph.” To demonstrate, she takes his hand (gloved, someone has to model appropriate dress) and gums it, pointedly not biting down.

Alyahtar passes her a piece of jerky to chew on, one of his bracelets to fidget with, and slides her little hand into his. “We look with our eyes and do not touch at all. These are demonstratory fish.”

“For science,” his scrap, his little concretion, their gift of grace, says. She learns very fast.

They step inside the dark aquarium. The exterior is built sturdy, to weather storms, but inside it glows with as much glass and light as a Vanyarin cathedral.

Light refracting through water makes everything blue, a deep, pure color that brings to mind newborn stars. He rather wishes he had his husband to share the shade with—it would make a beautiful gem.

The cold southern waters don’t sustain the brightly colored coral dwellers of Alqualondë or the large pink salmon of Oromë’s inland lakes. This is a place for deep water oddities, three foot tooth fish, giant squid, black and white toothed whales. Only the smallest, shallowest specimens fit in this building.

With a shriek, Maitamië drags him to a tank of mackerel, swarming like birds. The flash of scales as they swim past in perfect synchronization sends her into paroxysms of delight, throat bobbing like a pelican. “Glem, glem. Ada, look!”

They are, he must concede, very good fish. Parasite free. Healthy. The people here know how to do at least one thing well.

They move past the exhibits on bivalves, crustaceans, and sea urchins with minimal incident, the tanks being too high for her to get her hands inside them. Someone will have to wipe sticky handprints and several licks off the glass after they go, but that’s a problem for other people.

At the squid they run into trouble. It seems that some of the elves of the institute are interfering with the animals. Doing this around a three year old ought to be a crime, in Alyahtar’s opinion.

He catches Maitamië by the scruff just as she begins to run. “Look with our eyes, tadpole.”

One elf is stripped down to breeches and diving amid the while a partner stands above her at the lip of the tank. Two more are at the base of the tank for backup. Two dozen sluggish squid, a forearm long at most, swirl in the water around the diver, who is occupied securing a loose mesh netting between the two sides of the aquarium, dividing it, and the squid population, in half.

Maitamië, still trapped in his arms, leans forward and shouts at the nearest person. “Why? Why!”

Instantly, all of them smile, dopey in the way Valinorean get around infants and echoes of the forbidden east. The one elf whose hands aren’t full jogs over.

“Hello! You’ve caught us at a bad time, we’re trying to split our squid.”

Alyahtar inclines his head politely. “Yes, I can see that.”

Wriggling like a worm, Maitamië asks again, “Why?”

“Why, please.”

The elf doesn’t balk at the demand, or the teeth Maitamië is showing. That’s some kind of testment to his character. “We’re doing an experiment to see if we can reduce rates of intrashoal violence among the squid along the coast. We’ve been seeing very high levels of mortality before spawning, which may be a result of contamination spilling out from Avathar.”

They’d passed by that tainted place on their journey south. It hurt just to look at, ached to be in the vicinity of. It weeps, like an old wound unhealed. Unsurprising that the pustulence might sicken other lands.

“What are the symptoms?” he asked, suddenly curious.

Their guide glances briefly at Maitamië. “Ah. Aggressive in-group cannibalism. We expect some level as they get big enough… but this is driving population collapse.”

Maitamië looks back to him. “They’re eating each other when they shouldn’t,” he tells her.

“Look with your eyes,” she agrees.

Alyahtar bounces his hip, shifting his lanky surprise so she sits more securely. “I’ll keep this one out from underfoot then. But if you have any papers…” It’s always good to see a well executed bit of mending, the world made better. It’s almost as good to see an obviously botched job because then he and Celebrimbor can fix it themselves.

“We don’t expect the results for a few years,” the elf (young, probably not in charge) says. Then, in a lower voice, “But if you write to the head of the marine reparation program he loves to talk about the process.”

The pleasure of finding a new corner of research to meddle in gets him through the dogfish, the cod, the hake, the speckled pink skates. When they finally emerge into the brisk summer air of the pingwin hatchery Maitamië collapses into entirely new contortions of joy.

“Bird! Bird! Gwin-bird!” A fearless pingwin squawks at her and she makes a miserable retching noise back.

“Hands to yourself and stay on the path,” he warns. Tourists around them are going so far as to put hands on the pingwins, who, being accustomed to interaction, preen in response. Some local girls, obvious by their otterskin capes and greased limbs, are playing in the surf, splashing each other and their avian friends.

Two of Ulmo’s nereids, wearing a blubbery guise, are sunning themselves on a guano stained rock. One of them sees Alyahtar and makes a rude gesture.

Maitamië clutches his wrist. “Look! A baby.”

Sure enough, in one of the low rock burrows is an early hatching nestling. It hasn’t opened its eyes yet but it has a thin coat of fuzzy feathers. As they watch one of the parents waddles up to deposit food in its open mouth.

“A papa and a me-gol,” she whispers in wonder.

“What?!”

“You’re the big one and I’m me.”

Sometimes, he wonders… and then he puts his questions to the side. “You are what you are,” he agrees, and watches fondly as she mimes regurgitating krill into a baby’s mouth.

This is a perfectable thing. This is a wound that is healing.

There is no better work to do.

[anghraine]

undercat-overdog replied to this post:

hi! just came across this post and while I absolutely agree with the peredhil feels, the connections between arwen/tindomiel/earendil and the dawn/dusk symbolism, I disagree a bit with the analysis of the names. Are you ok if I reply? if not, feel free to delete this comment :)

You can certainly reply directly if you wish, and I generally don't delete anything other than spam/bots/open bigotry. That said, I'm extremely unlikely to change my mind given Tolkien's translations in LOTR, so you might find it more rewarding to make a separate post about it. I'm fine either way.

[swanmaids]

cw domestic abuse. thank @undercat-overdog for the term "great year".

What Aredhel thought she missed the most, in dark Nan Elmoth, was the Sun. 

Perhaps it was a strange thing to think. The Sun was young – it had existed for just over three Great Years when she rode past the gates of her brother’s kingdom. The Eldar had scarcely known it. Aredhel remembered the divine maiden who was now the Sun as she had been in Aman, tending to Laurelin with a lover’s devotion. What was the Sun, to one who had seen the Trees? 

Besides, Aredhel had other things to miss. The brothers and friends that she supposed she would never see again;  though Eöl said that they needed nobody else, so long as they had one another. The feeling of shaping her tongue into the language of her faraway mother; though Eöl said that it grated on his ears to hear, and that if she truly loved him then she would not wish to cause him pain. 

Where was she? Oh yes. Her thoughts had drifted off track, as they were wont to do these days. Perhaps it was strange to miss the Sun more than anything else, when it was only a fruit of the Trees of her youth, and there were other parts of her former life that she missed, which others might have accounted more important. But Aredhel was a strange woman – all her life she had been told as such, and now Eöl said much the same. 

At first he had said it with great compliments. There was nobody else like her in the world. Now, more and more, it was in anger – why could she not simply behave as a proper wife ought? He would not become so wroth with her, if she would just act right. 

But she had become distracted again. She had been trying to think of the Sun. What was it that she missed about it? Oh, everything. The gentle warmth of the rays against her naked skin that told her when spring had finally come. The splintered light filtering through the trees and alighting the forest on a morning’s ride. Each day in Vinyamar and Gondolin, she had taken a walk in the early hours to witness the break of dawn — and each time the sight reminded her, just as the first ever sunrise in Beleriand had, that there was still beauty to be found even in this forsaken world. 

It was an unkind thing to think of one’s husband, but sometimes she could not help but find Eöl’s determination to keep her in darkness to be unspeakably cruel. 

Sometimes too she wondered: what would happen to her, if she were to walk out of Nan Elmoth, beneath the sunlight again? Perhaps she would become like one of the creeping things that made their homes in the corners of Eöl’s house, wincing and skittering away from the brightness, dull eyes streaming. But it was an unnecessary thought. She was not going to leave; she would never find out. 

[meadowlarkx]

Some March fic recs!

For Tolkien Fanfic Reading Month! Limiting myself to stories I read in March (but posted anytime). (header by Anna Zakharova on Unsplash)

picnic by @swanmaids - A bored and reckless Aredhel goes to Vána's orchards seeking adventure and has an experience. This lush and sexy fic feels like a warm summer afternoon. I love how seductive and eerie Vána is here!

Kiss and Marry by @thecoolblackwaves - Have you ever looked at Celegorm and Curufin and thought, "They should be the stars of a romcom"? No? This fic is here to reveal that wonder to you.

弄假成真 by Divano_Messiah - Maglor has been telling people at school that he has a boyfriend. Maedhros is jealous until he learns who it is. (I admit I read this via google translate, you can too...)

Envy by @polutrope - In Tirion, Maglor and Elemmírë struggle to handle each other's reputations with equanimity. The people around them try to respond. This fic is so funny and sweet--I love this take on Elemmírë and Fëanor's guest appearance is hilariously him.

Youthful Regrets by kitkatkaylie - Turgon and Maglor fall in love in Valinor before Turgon's engagement to Elenwë. I really like the personality contrasts of this ship, with Turgon opening up to Maglor, and how this story sketches out their relationship through the whole arc of Silm to its bitter separation.

I risk my life to make my name by @maironsbigboobs - The brave knight Galadriel goes on a journey to meet the Green Woman Melian and her fate, ft. adventures along the way. I love how Tolkien is blended with Arthurian conventions here--it works so well and brings out the myth vibes of Silm that I love so much!

Strange Currencies chapter 12 by @jouissants - This is such a beautifully-crafted tale in every regard, but I want to especially mention this flashback chapter I read in March, covering Maedhros' and Maglor's voyage on the swan ships up to just before Fëanor's death. The horror of the Fëanorian Noldor arriving in the dark with their distrust, inflated ego, and total lack of knowledge of Middle-earth comes through here so, so vividly--this part can be read by itself, go check it out!!

Oubliette by Stramonium - Horrifying and so vividly written scene of Maedhros in Angband, isolation, and monstrosity. Poetic and awful, I can't do it justice in summarizing it.

arrangement for flute and harp by @jouissants - Maedhros is determined to work late, so Maglor and Fingon decide to entertain each other. The Himring atmosphere and incredible character dynamics make this also really sexy smut such a wonderful story.

whatever you would crave by @eight-pointed-star - Sooo sexy ficlet in which Fingon and Maedhros attend to Maglor's Needs. Short but immensely powerful.

scherzo for ink and parchment by @dovewifes - Charming and comedic missives exchanged between Maedhros and Maglor during the Long Peace, ft. romantic endearments and the invention of emojis. Maedhros' so-apparent love for Maglor is something I especially cherish about this fun fic.

Star-kissed by @aipilosse - Celeborn of Doriath rescues recently-of-Gondolin (and silver-haired!) Celebrimbor from a predicament in Nan Dungortheb. Incredibly clever, funny, and hot!

Purification by @zealouswerewolfcollector - Thingol is curious about Maedhros: throne sex ensues. A favorite ship of mine in a flavor I'd never considered. Incredibly intense and super well-written.

Comfort from a Heavy Hand by @undercat-overdog - After the Bragollach, Mablung tends to an injured Beleg, and they seek comfort together. The wreckage and destruction of the battle feels so vivid in this one, and the dynamic of Beleg/Mablung as past teacher and student (and current battle companions) is wonderful.

Thou knowest to-night, and wilt know to-morrow by @welcomingdisaster - A brilliant installment in an ongoing Children of Húrin AU series that has the most beautiful, unsettling, and dreamlike atmosphere. In this fic Maedhros teaches "Cáno" about pleasure in preparation for their marriage bed. Catnip to me personally!!

Proxy by @aipilosse - Celebrimbor comes to reproach Celegorm in Nargothrond after Finrod's departure. They fuck. Gender, tension, messy and complicated emotional dynamics all around. The dirty talk is so so good.

Star of the Nevrast Shore by joanofarcstan - Silmarillion filk of one of my favorite folk songs! What more is there to say!! A sweet tale of Gondolin told from Voronwë's point of view, recounting the love between him, Tuor (the star of the Nevrast shore), Idril, and Maeglin.

A Light Burns in the Forest by fictional_hr_department - Thranduil and Oropher escape Menegroth with child Elwing. The title and art by @lycheesodas give me chills and the atmosphere of the fic as they make their disorienting journey to Sirion really brings to life the terrible aftermath of the second kinslaying.

By Your Side by HiyoriTomioka - fem!Eärendil and Elwing support each other in this ficlet... such a good vision of this ship, and the way Eärendil thinks about Tuor and Idril here with longing uncertainty makes me think of a trans!Eärendil even though that is not explicit.

Something Sleepless in Mirkwood by @imakemywings - Thranduil sickens as the Greenwood does. Elrond tries to heal him, but can't understand at first what's happening. Brilliant and canon-compliant (To Me) wry, proud, and eerie woodland king Thranduil--go give this a read!

A boat, my boat, out upon the River by Tethys_resort - Sméagol is trying to craft his own boat to take fishing. His family keeps getting in the way. This sweet fic paints such an idyllic picture of proto-Hobbit life and made me really feel the tragedy of Gollum.

The Fortress by TheLegendCreator - Brief and haunting fic in which a Dwarf visits the ruins of Himring and they have a conversation. I love the view this offers of Maedhros and the fierce loyalty Himring and its folk had for him.

one whole with my other by @i-am-a-lonely-visitor - Indis' marriage to Finwë is transferred to bind her instead to reembodied Míriel. This turns out to be a good thing. An incredibly touching, beautifully wrought and worldbuilt story. I just love it so much.

The Number One Exercise for Relieving Work-Related Stress (Click to Find Out!) by @imakemywings - Date night in Mirkwood. Maglor (Noldorin princess, ex-kinslayer) adorns herself for the benefit of Thranduil (the Elvenqueen)--or that's her plan, anyway. This story is so sexy, so funny, and honestly so touching. I just adore this ship as a happy ending for Maglor and their relationship is gorgeously fleshed out here.

Cousin, Sister, Lover, Queen by broken_pencils - Lesbian Éowyn discovers desire... through Éomer's betrothed Lothíriel. Lothíriel is a stealth fav for me from the Éomer fics I used to read as a kid and I really enjoyed her here, and the lush atmosphere of this story.

His Return by @danmeiljie - Beautiful, tender scene of Maedhros and Maglor reuniting as per @tari-cua's art. Such lovely descriptions in this one and so cozy.

[theoppositeofprofound]

Jumping off @undercat-overdog sprawling insights: what if we gave Annatar a mustache. Just a slender, villainous mustache. Maybe a goatee. It’s clearly evil facial hair, but elves, who have limited experience with beards, just think it looks very dashing and wise. It’s a well-known fact that Aulë bestows such gifts upon his favored!

[imakemywings]

I'm glad they (or you did in the tags?) mentioned Maedhros because given Celebrimbors actions toward his uncle and father and later his actions at the fall of his city, I'm pretty sure Maedhros is the last person he would want to see or want for comfort (it seemed there was a general consensus that Celebrimbor would look for him of all people for comfort or something, which is weird for me because like @undercat-overdog said, most people don't rate their uncles as the most important people and he hasn't seen them for thousand years and when he did hear of them, it's the news of them committing the second and third kinslaying). I also subscribe to @aipilosse's headcanon about the feanorian brothers not being that close hence why Celebrimbor can easily ignore them because the relationship wasn't that deep to begin with. I fervently agree with you about Finrod most likely the family he would immediately live with after rebirth. Honestly, I headcanon him living with Finrod and Finarfin because I feel like that's the house where Celebrimbor would be able to heal (I subscribe to Finarfin being the best father and grandfather out of the three, sue me.). And even if Celebrimbor did start speaking with his father and uncles (and grandparents) the relationship wouldn't be the same anymore, like he's polite but there's no warmth or fluffiness or tearful reunion or something, it's not there anymore. What do you think of him and Elwing bonding over the trauma of getting screwed over and losing their city and people to a bunch of assholes?

With FULL WARNING that everything following is pure headcanon, since we don't actually get anything in canon on how Celebrimbor feels about his family (except that eventually he found them so morally repugnant he no longer wanted to associate with them), I think we're a lot in agreement here, anon.

I'm not opposed to Celebrimbor having originally been close with his uncles--every family is different and sure, it could be that his paternal uncles took a particular interest in his life. I DO think he was very close with Celegorm, if only because Celegorm was such a presence in his life, particularly in Middle-earth. However, I don't personally see him as super close with his other uncles (However, Lady_Gavroche has an excellent fic about his relationship with Caranthir that's a lot of fun!) I don't think Maedhros and Maglor were very fond of children as younger adults (Maedhros makes something of an exception for his brothers; Maglor does not), so I don't envision them taking much of a role with Celebrimbor.

However, with or without the premise that he was originally close at all with Maedhros, I WILL stand by that I don't think he wants anything to do with Maedhros after his death.

For me, it's that Celebrimbor put his foot down before arguably the worst of the Feanorians' atrocities. Leading up to his essentially disowning his paternal family, we have: Alqualonde, the burning of the ships at Losgar (either of which Celebrimbor may have personally had a hand in, we don't know), the fractious relationship with Doriath, the coup against Finrod, the kidnapping and attempted forced marriage of Luthien, and the effort to use Luthien to blackmail Thingol. Already at this point, Celebrimbor says "No, enough, I can't side with you anymore." (And I think his moral journey from someone who, in my mind, participated in the kinslaying at Alqualonde and in the ship burning at Losgar, to someone who says "No, this is wrong and we can't keep doing these things" is soooo interesting.)

AFTER Celebrimbor has already sided with Orodreth and left behind his family, THEN we have the attempted murder of Beren and Luthien by Celegorm and Curufin, the failure of Maedhros to address their actions in any way, the Second Kinslaying, the particularly cruel way Elured and Elurin were killed, the Third Kinslaying, the kidnapping of Elrond and Elros who were then held onto for an unknown number of years, the slaying of Eonwe's guard and the theft of the Silmarils AFTER everyone else had put their whole heart into defeating Melkor.

Like, they got SO much worse after Celebrimbor had already had enough. I imagine the amount of horror and revulsion he feels towards them and the things they did are quite high. And Maedhros, the guy who was head honcho for ALL of these things--Celebrimbor is supposed to get comfort from HIM? This guy? Nah man.

Celebrimbor died in agony and torment trying to prevent more death and bloodshed as a result of his creations. Maedhros decided slaughtering a bunch of other Elves was the best way to get what he wanted. I'm really not sure what they have to say to each other at this point.

We don't know anything about Celebrimbor's maternal family (although @swanmaids has seduced me on the idea of Curufin's wife going along with the rebellion of the Noldor and going with the Feanorians to Middle-earth) but even on the extended paternal branch of his family there are other people who have experience with torture, even torture by Sauron or Melkor! Maedhros is FAR from the only person with this experience!

Finrod would be my #1 choice because he, like Celebrimbor, was tortured by Sauron for information, and because I like to imagine they were somewhat close in Nargothrond, and that contributed to Celebrimbor being so disturbed by the way Celegorm and Curufin treated Finrod. (This is a fun fic about Finrod helping Celebrimbor through rebirth.)

There's Finduilas, who's captured and killed by Orcs; there's Celebrian, who's captured and put to torment; there's Orodreth who was killed by Glaurung; there's Aredhel who dies of slow poison thanks to her husband...and there are probably plenty of Celebrimbor's other friends and acquaintances and neighbors who have similar experiences and whom he can sympathize with. Even Nerdanel is likely to be a much better choice, since she at least never partook in any of that. He has options.

And I agree, IF he had interactions with his father and uncles again, it would be a very different relationship from what it might have been before. I can easily see him deciding he simply doesn't want them in his life anymore at all, full no-contact (as much as that's possible in Tirion).

As for Elwing, I think it would take her a while to come around to Celebrimbor just because he IS a Feanorian and I don't think she's especially inclined to give any of them the benefit of the doubt, not least one who created Sauron's rings of power ^.^;;; I'm also not sure how welcome he'd be around where she lives since iirc her tower is in or around Teler territory and you know, Alqualonde and all. But it's possible he wins her over. Kirta does a really interesting fic where Celebrimbor and Elwing meet before the attack on Sirion.

I also think it's fun when he gets to chat with Frodo.

ANYWAY long story long...I can zero percent see Celebrimbor seeking comfort from Maedhros, and honestly, it would be INCREDIBLY audacious (derogatory) for Maedhros to assume Celebrimbor would WANT comfort or support from him at this point.

[outofangband]

in response to an ask from @justpostsyeet about what Laws and Customs of the Eldar say about sexual assault

under a cut for non graphic discussion of this!

also thank you to @undercat-overdog for helping me find the relevant passage that I literally had memorized but could not find (seriously I spent like an hour reading through Morgoth's Ring and could not find the part I needed, my fault for researching when half asleep but anyways, Undercat saved this post!)

The ask: Hi, hope your having a good day/night (maybe this request doesn't worsen your day). I honestly love your posts and I've a thing that I want to ask to you.

Maybe you has done this before but what do you think the elves view on sexaul assault must be?

And even if it's true what must be the reaction of elves when the a) hear about such news, b) witness such cruelty, c) experiences such awful things themselves .

I know it's a very sensitive topic and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable so, ignore it if you want. I've my own headcanons but I just wanted to know your opinions.

My response: this does not worsen my day! I'm sure you know this from my posts but I write a lot of darker topics and I'm fine discussing this! Indeed, I enjoy discussing darker topics, I can find it very cathartic to write about

Thank you so much for the ask and for thinking of me!

The concept that elves cannot survive sexual assault comes from Laws and Customs of the Eldar, an essay style section of Morgoth's Ring, in the Histories of Middle Earth. In LaCE, as it's often known, Ælfwine, or Elfwine, a pre canon character in The legendarium is credited with the editing of this text as well as other parts of the histories of Middle Earth adding another aspect of meta to it.  

LaCE is a controversial essay. Many consider it to be precanon or non canon. Others consider it an in universe philosophical or religious work rather than biological facts or universal standards for the elves. I think this interpretation is probably accurate

The relevant part you're talking about is a footnote in response to this line of LaCE Even when  in after days as the history is reveal many of the Eldar in Middle Earth became corrupted and their hearts darkened by the Shadow that lies upon Arda seldom is any tale told of Deeds of lust among them.

The footnote reads ...But among all those evils there is no record of any among the elves that took another spouse by force for this was wholly against their nature and one so forth would have rejected bodily life and passed to Mandos. Guile or trickery in this matter was scarcely possible even if it could be thought that any elf would purpose to use for it; for the Eldar can read in the eyes of another whether they be wed or unwed 

I agree with you that it's probably not the case that sexual violence instantly leads to death.

I think it's fun to play around with whether or not LaCE is a, canon or b, strict biological law! Generally I go with it not being so but there is a lot of fascinating ideas that can be explored, if often horrifying ones, treating it like that! (the idea that elves can tell in the eyes of another if they're married or not is FASCINATING even if the idea that such a phenomena would prevent sexual violence is...troublesome...)

On the basis of LaCE not being biological law though, there are a few possibilities for this inclusion (note: these are in universe possibilities, not a complete list of reasons why Tolkien might have included it)

a, an in universe narrator trying to mitigate or cover up the fact that this did indeed occur

b, as in most versions he appears in, Ælfwine is not an elf but a human, this could simply be an idealistic notion or misconception or even misunderstanding or mistranslation

c, sexual violence is a taboo subject in many human cultures, it's certainly not implausible that it was treated similarly the elves. Even if it's not an attempt to cover up actions by well known figures in the history of the Eldar, it could be a denial of cultural traumas or a refusal to reckon with a certain kind of pain

The fact that it specifically reads 'no record of any taking the spouse of another by force' is somewhat strange. Obviously, non married people can be the victims of assault (and people can be victimized by those they're married to; it's worth noting here that Tolkien did seem to realize both, some of the primary, and only, instances of rape in the legendarium are instances of marital rape)

A...generous reading is that it is worded like this because the footnote appears in relevance to the section about marriage and this is meant to discuss specifically how certain trauma affects the marital bond, something that LaCE defines as a spiritual and physical matter.

(Plenty of horror you could potentially explore there; spouses actually feeling the pain and trauma of their partners due to this bond, whether trauma from this kind of violence or other)

What I do think is true is that elves have a stronger connection between body and mind and soul and that severe trauma of any kind can lead to physical consequences up to, including and beyond death of the body. This is of course not unheard of in humans, stress takes a physical toll. But for elves I think this connection is perhaps more profound.

This is not limited to sexual assault and indeed most of the instances we see of this in canon are not related to sexual assault.

It's worth noting that there are some troublesome aspects of Tolkien's wording. Obviously the linking of sexual assault and lust is not entirely accurate. Desire and lust often do not play a role in sexual violence; power and control perhaps being more pertinent. Then of course the fact that it says 'no record of one taking the spouse of another by force' is also questionable as I talked about above.

In conclusion, I think like the rest of LaCE, it makes more sense as the philosophy of one group or individual rather than biological reality.

Finally, I'll note that the two primary examples I can think of in the works of victims of sexual violence who "choose" death or at least leaving body or life in some form or another are not elves but are Aerin, a human, and Arien, a Maia (Arien's example also not being strictly canon), both of whom choose fire. (also I think that whether or not Aerin died is actually ambiguous and is certainly not definite, that being said the idea that she did is a perfectly plausible reading) Also why are their names so similar...

[aipilosse]

Star-kissed

My @myslashyvalentine gift for @undercat-overdog! I had so much fun writing this; Telpe/Telpe 4evah.

Pairing: Celebrimbor/Celeborn

Rating: Explicit

Select Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, light gore, Sex Pollen, Minor Celeborn/Galadriel (Tolkien), First Time, Pillow Talk

Summary: Celeborn encounters the sole survivor of a party of travelers from Gondolin while patrolling near Nan Dungortheb. The more he learns about him, the stranger he seems. And then there's the matter of the poison…

Read on AO3!

[batshape]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤

thank you @samarqqand for the tag!! i spent the last two years finishing my masters, writing papers and proposals and a thesis etc, so i’ve been largely ficced out for a long time. but these five are my most darling works, and i will inevitably write more lesbian feanor/nerdanel, because i am addicted to dyke drama and they do it so well.

unfortunately, my two year break from writing fic also coincided with a very long sabbatical from reading fic, and i am desperate to catch up on the everybody’s greatest hits. tagging @i-am-a-lonely-visitor, @undercat-overdog, @crackinthecup, @aipilosse, and @potatoobsessed999 (but if you’ve already done it, feel free to do it again or to ignore)

now in no particular order (at least that i’ll admit), my top fic self-recs:

1. affectation: celebrimbor/annatar, t, 5k words, content warning for inevitable gore and torture mentions

Annatar knew the irritation in his own expression, could taste the disdain in his mouth. He said, rather plainly, “Celebrimbor of Eregion. I am going to eat you.”

i was taking a seminar on archive theory when i wrote this, and the idea of sauron curating an archive of things he took from celebrimbor’s rooms and personal library after his ruin of ost-in-edhil got its teeth into me. the archive building ended up mostly off-screen; instead annatar begrudgingly advises grad students, discovers archive anthrax, and is overall too familiar with his most tolerable colleague.

2. little tenderness: feanor/nerdanel, e, 4k

“Is it not exhausting to imagine abandonment around every darkened corner, wife of mine?”

feanor and nerdanel have t4t lesbian divorce sex following feanor’s exile to formenos. nothing is resolved, and arguably they both get worse. feanor’s missed character potential as a genderfucked lesbian with the same extremely large chips on her shoulder regarding primogeniture, her sons, and high kingship still regularly turns my own brain to soup.

3. letter 97: fingon/maedhros but also gen, t, 9k

“Still the question remains,” Maedhros continued tranquilly, “whether you were offended on my behalf or on yours, when you were accused of keeping a monster leashed for your own amusement.”

the elfschatology one! featuring my own wretched and reprehensible darling, an orc angband escapee doing a little bit of an anthropological study abroad. fingon visits maedhros in himring, wrestles with both his own and maedhros’ wartime uncertainties on what makes an elf, what makes an orc, and what an end to a war would even mean if they made if there. ‘so you want to understand your monstrous boyfriend’s lukewarm concern for his immortal soul,’ a generally unhelpful how-to

4. on gold, and the wearing of red: caranthir & maedhros, g, 4k

“My messengers wear gold in their mouths,” he said curtly, and his brother flashed him a brief smile. The gold of Maedhros’ own teeth shone in firelight.

caranthir’s pre-nirnaeth relationship with his eldest brother as demonstrated through the fashion trends he disapproves of, the ones he adopts himself, and the ones he actively enables. maedhros is more than a little monstrous and simultaneously very beloved by his men and his little brother both. in other words, the sharp teeth fic.

5. to my father’s house: caranthir & finrod, t, 17.5k (4 chapters), content warning for major character death and gore

“It is not a very long dream. There is a servant atop the stairs with a carafe, and one of your brothers is giving a toast, though in the middle of it the servant drops the carafe and—” He gestures vaguely. “—wine, all down the stairs.”

caranthir and his damnably likeable arafinwean cousin, until both their deaths. in which caranthir is also cursed with perhaps the most useless gift of foresight in first age history, and dreams since childhood of the various ways in which he could, would, and ultimately does die. relatedly, there is something so special to me about a man who does fiber arts and is also unfalteringly miserable.

you can find the rest of my fic at ao3 under batshape.

[gwaedhannen]

Throwback Thursday

Not sure how much of a throwback it can be when I've only been writing for four months? But ok. Tagged by @thelordofgifs and @polutrope to rec a fic of mine that's at least a week old!

I kinda cringe a bit looking back at my 2023 writing, but I still have a fair bit of fondness for Kill the flame, as my first published work. It's got family angst! Gut punches! The blurry line between forgiveness and loneliness! Vague headcanons and hints of characterization that I've yet to do anything with! Shortness! Quintessential stormfallen.

For Turgon, steadfast always. Your descendants still build in the echo of Gondolin’s unforgotten glory. For Amras, quiet on the woodland trails. They say you went mad in the trees. Or did you simply find a truth no one else could accept? For Amrod, betrayed and yet unbowed. You were pulled from the fire, and walked back to it with eyes open and torch held high. She had not wept, to see her father again. She had not wept, as the Herald laid down his sentence. She had not wept, as the white ships sailed away.

No-pressure tagging @ceescedasticity, @undercat-overdog, @that-angry-noldo, @between-thepages, @thescrapwitch, and anyone else who wants in!

[child-of-hurin]

Fic author interview meme - tagged by @anghraine!

Apologies if you've already done this and I missed it, but tagging @squirrelwrangler @undercat-overdog @chthonic-cassandra @hoeratius @outofangband @seagodofmagic and everyone else who sees this and feels like doing it :)

1- How many works do you have on AO3?

58, more than I thought

2- What's your total AO3 word count?

146,888

3- What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1. Surrender, 615 words, The Mirror Visitor, 149 kudos 2. Locked, forgotten, 1,6k words, ASOIAF , 91 kudos 3. With imperious hand, Fate turns the wheel,  8,8k words, Queen’s Thief, 85 kudos 4. Simple fix, 2,8k words, Supernatural, 77 kudos 5. Tied: Cupid and Psyche, 742 words, Queen’s Thief, 66 kudos A flower trampled underfoot, 1,9k words, Silmarillion, 66 kudos

I have a couple of anonymous/orphaned works that I can recall that have way more than any of this: one Azula/Zuko that has over 350 kudos and a Wincest fic that’s currently on 289! They’re both pure E-rated kink, so I think it figures hahaah.

4- Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to, but sometimes I get a little stumped between a desire to respond in depth vs the conscience that ao3 comments are not really the place for fandom conversation…

5- What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

IMO, either my most recent Vinland Saga fic “Ordeal,” or my first posted fic ever, “Barren”, about Míriel and Pharazôn.

6- What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

I’m thinking it’s probably “Washed Ashore”, a short fic that ends with Gil-Galad telling Círdan that Ëarendil is alive and returned with an army in tow.

7- Do you write crossovers?

no

8- Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I know I did but it was in an orphaned work and I can’t recall which, or what fandom it was for? But I think that’s why I switched to just publishing anonymously instead of orphaning it altogether, so I can still delete comments and stuff. Haven't had to, though.

9- Do you write smut?

Occasionally :) 

10- Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No

11- Have you ever had a fic translated?

I THINK so, because I remember someone asking me about it, but I can’t recall which fic or what language…

12- Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I wanna do that with Kate!!! Maybe one day

13- What's your all-time favorite ship?

The ship I’ve written the most for on ao3 is Irene/Gen from Queen’s Thief, and it’s definitely one of my top favorites!

14- What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I don’t usually post fics unless they’re finished or very close to. So the answer is something in my fic folder tentatively called "A Mirror, Cracking", which is an AU of Niënor in Brethil, if she remembered who she was! I'm suuuper fond of it and likely never finishing it, I plan to post it unfinished at some point, amnesty-style.

15- What are your writing strengths?

I think I’m good at creating a dramatic scene! Or let’s put it this way: it’s what I enjoy the most when I write

16- What are your writing weaknesses?

I’d like to write longer, more committed stuff sometimes, but I find it very hard! I also think my prose is very commonplace, but it doesn't actually bother me.

17- What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I avoid doing that at all costs. I either put a descriptive indicating they’re speaking another language, or I say the POV character can’t make it out. I don’t think it’s tacky and I don’t judge it in writing, I just don’t like doing it myself.

18- What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Tolkien <3

19- What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

My dream is to write a Mediana/Ophélie fic for The Mirror Visitor, simply I think this ship is insanely hot and there was just one meager 155 word ficlet for it last time I checked! I have some notes for a fic but lost steam; maybe reading the English translation of those books will do the trick.

20- What's your favorite fic you've written?

I’m super fond of “A haunting”, one of my fics with the least amount of kudos... which I understand, because it really is one of those “I wrote this for myself but you can read it if you want to” cases—in terms of themes, characterization, style and format, corny quote at the beginning, etc, super indulgent. I really just had a lot of fun with it and it still touches me whenever I reread it, and I think the language and characterization are pretty solid! I like it a lot and I'm super proud of it :)

[swanmaids]

End of Year Fic Recs

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.

I've cheated a little and done 4 multichaps and 6 oneshots, soweee, I hope you can all forgive me. Also yes all my self recs are E-rated, not soweee

5 Series/Multichapter Fics

Shall these bones live by @undercat-overdog; m, cntw, 100k+, in progress, celebrimbor/sauron {got me onto the silvergifting train. gorgeous worldbuilding and dialogue.}

Swanmaiden by @wonderwafles ; g, nawa, 3k+, in progress, elwing/earendil {not just recommending for the title! perfect baby peredhil feelings.}

What the water gave me by @imakemywings; m, cntw, 27k, finduilas/nienor {canon. to meeeee. tender and healing.}

Ungoliant’s Bane by @polutrope ;g, nawa, 3k, earendil & eltwins, maglor & eltwins {great integration of early canon, great peredhil family}

5 One-Shots

Compass by @slightnettles; m, rape/noncon, 4k, morwen/aerin {incredible tribute to this underrated character.}

Ice Glossary by @sallysavestheday; g, nawa, 2k, fingon/maedhros, turgon/elenwe, fingon & turgon {excellent original concept and carried off perfectly.}

Less Wise by @meadowlarkx; e, nawa, 6k, f!maglor/f!thranduil {hot and angsty and gorgeous}

prick a finger, cut your hand by @welcomingdisaster, e, nawa, 3k, indis/miriel {impeccable sexy dyke drama}

submersible by @jouissants; t, nawa, >1k, maglor/uinen {unhinged, sexy, atmospheric horror in under 1000 words.}

A Thing That Sustains by @searchingforserendipity25; g, nawa, 2k, idril & anaire, idril & turgon & elenwe {perfect idril portrayal, every line hits.}

5 Oldies but Goodies

all they had to lend by gogollescent; g, cntw, 2k, elwing/earendil {beautiful bittersweet war of wrath fic}

Si la mar fuera de leche by chestnut_pod, t, nawa, 23k, elwing & elros, elros/wife {numenor worldbuilding and peredhil feels}

A Life's Work by @elwing; g, nawa, 2k, dirhavel {great understated portrayal of an underrated tragic character}

Sins of the Father by @zealouswerewolfcollector; t, nawa, 4k, turgon & nolofinweans {wonderful painful nolofinwean angst}

Finrod/Sauron One Thousand and One Nights AU by meadowlarkx; e, cntw, 27k+, in progress, finrod/sauron {lovely prose, hot, amazing characterisation}

5 Self Recs

one of your girls; e, nawa, 5k, celegorm/orome {celegorm, orome, and a dress. lowkey think it's my best fic}

the salt in the wound; e, cntw, 4k, luthien/curufin's wife {evil girl scissoring, also known as that fic with the knife handle}

we may rehearse most obscenely; e, nawa, 3k, celegorm/orome/vana {what if puck got spitroasted by oberon and titania... also known as celegorm, orome, and vana spend some time together.}

devoted to the sea; e, nawa, 3k, earendil/elwing, earendil/mermaids {attempting to apply bolt canon to silm canon for sexy purposes}

ebb and flow; e, nawa, 4k, earendil/elwing {my first e-rate, earendil is a very attentive husband to his pregnant wife :)}

I'll tag everyone who's been mentioned in this!

[meadowlarkx]

tagged by @welcomingdisaster to share the first lines of my last ten posted fics and see if there is a pattern! Thank you I love this meme 💖💖

I've now posted a few more stories since I last did this, so let's go...

strike another match: Maglor, like his brothers, had packed little when they left Aman’s shores forever.

amendation: Maglor had imagined he’d lost the capacity for hope.

Singer Doomed: Fëanáro, Elemmírë recalled, had a sweet voice.

cautionary tale (The Burning Kingdoms): “Why do you still come to me wearing her face?"

wild-wandering by wood and glen: Peace settled on the new realm of Doriath as though it had never left.

Less Wise: There are streams in Mirkwood that travelers cannot drink from.

bite thy wings and let thee crawl: “Remove your helm."

Mapmaking: “Yet your position is vulnerable.”

Scripts and Tongues: Stiff parchment crackled under weathered fingers as another page turned.

elvenkings: Afterwards, they went back.

I think I tend to want the first line to either sort of dump readers into the middle of the scene or not quite "reveal" entirely what's going on... with simpler/clearer language than the later writing somewhat, too? Or something.

I tag @imakemywings @i-am-a-lonely-visitor @aipilosse @undercat-overdog @thecoolblackwaves @dovewifes @searchingforserendipity25 if you'd like to do it!