Tolkien Fanartics: Mapping Arda - The Second Age
In the third part of the Mapping Arda series, Anérea and Varda delle Stelle present a selection of fan-created maps of the lands of the Second Age.
SWG News
New Challenge: Potluck Bingo
Sit down to a delicious selection of prompts served on bingo boards, created by the SWG community.
Bingo Cards Wanted for Potluck Bingo
Our November-December challenge will be Potluck Bingo, featuring cards created by you! If you'd like to create cards or prompts for cards, we are taking submissions.
Tolkien Meta Week, December 8-14
We will be hosting a Tolkien Meta Week in December, here on the archive and on our Tumblr, for nonfiction fanworks about Tolkien.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] Eä's Redemption by AaronAzrael
This is my new poetical attempt to add my own interpretation to Tolkien's Cosmology as to Eru's Creation and the Valar's minds and behind-the-scene providence reasons and mechanisms.. I often review Eä as part of our own world, just in another dimension, this is why I have always seriously…
[Writing] Collection of Potluck Drabbles by Artano
This is a collection of true drabbles completed for the 'Four Words' drabble bingo card.
[Writing] An End to All Things by Thorveig
Mairon stood in utter stillness for it seemed to him that the voice of his master mocked him from afar...
At the end of the First Age, Sauron makes a choice.
[Reference] Mapping Arda, Part III: The Second Age by Anérea, Varda delle Stelle
A series of articles featuring fan-made maps of all the lands of Arda. Part III explores the island of Númenor and mainland Middle-earth during the Second Age.
[Writing] The Reckless Hearts of Mortal Men by mouse
Two years before the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, Húrin and Huor journey from Dor-lómin to Eithel Sirion for a war council with their new allies from the East. A story about the stirring of hope and foreshadowing of woe. Well-peppered with humour.
[Artwork] Valier & colours by daughterofshadows
Semi-abstract arts representing the queens of the Valar.
[Artwork] 2024 Potluck Doodles by silmalope
Assorted prompt fills for the 2024 Potluck bingo boards, to varying degrees of completion! :)
Current Challenge
Festival of Lights Fest
This is a fun and low-key event meant to encourage works about or inspired by Hanukkah, running this year in conjunction with the Potluck Bingo challenge. Read more ...
Potluck Bingo
Help yourself to a collection of prompts on bingo boards designed by members and friends of the SWG. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Vintage
Pick your prompts from four bingo cards themed around vintage literature, art, poetry, and fanworks. Read more ...
New in References
Mapping Arda, Part III: The Second Age by Anérea, Varda delle Stelle
A series of articles featuring fan-made maps of all the lands of Arda. Part III explores the island of Númenor and mainland Middle-earth during the Second Age.
Doom and Ascent: The Argument of ‘Beowulf: the Monsters and the Critics’ by Simon J. Cook
Simon reads 'Beowulf: the Monsters and the Critics' to conclude his account of the Anglo-Saxon tower of its allegory.
Why People Don't Comment: Data and History From the Tolkienfic Fandom by Dawn Walls-Thumma
A reworking of the 2018 article for Long Live Feedback that includes data from the 2020 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey, pointing to a lack of comments as related to skill, confidence, and community connection.
Featured Themed Collection
Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features fiction, artwork, and essays that transcend the idea of Orcs as the enemy, instead considering their humanity.
Alliterative Verse for Arda by Rhunedhel
Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features alliterative poems about Middle-earth.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Homage to the Song of Durin by Flora-lass
Legolas is inspired by Gimli's song - and by Gimli himself.
[Artwork] Long-tressed Wingildi by Anérea
"... the long-tressed Wingildi ... spirits of the foam and the surf of ocean."
~ a painted sketch for Scribbles and Drabbles 2024.
[Writing] Partners in Craft by elennalore
Annatar realises that he might like Celebrimbor too much.
Around the World and Web
Festival of Lights Fest 2024
This is a fun and low-key event meant to encourage works about or inspired by Hanukkah, running this year in conjunction with the Potluck Bingo challenge.
Fluffcember 2024
Fluffcember is a Tumblr event with daily fluffy prompts during the month of December.
Hidden Paths 2025
Hidden Paths, an event dedicated to the celebration of smaller Tolkien canons, has released their early prompts for the 2025 event.
Teitho November/December Contest: Healing
The theme for Teitho's November/December contest is healing.
Lord of the Rings Secret Santa 2024
LotR SESA has been ongoing for twenty-one years and is running again this year as a prompt meme hosted on AO3 for all genres of Tolkien-based fanfiction.
New and Updated Fanworks
Include Beyond the Silmarillion Fanworks
A Star In The Darkness by Gabriel
Angrod's hopes for a new life in a strange new land with the object of the Noldor's wrath residing to the north, may not be as easy as he believes.
| Major Characters: Historical Character(s), Angrod, Eldalótë |
| Major Relationships: Angrod/Eldalótë, Aegnor & Angrod, Angrod & Original Character |
| Genres: General | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 898 |
| Posted on 13 August 2022 | Updated on 13 August 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (0) |
Regarding Storks by Lferion
Celegorm went his own way even as a child. Some people consider that a problem. His family doesn't.
| Major Characters: Original Female Character(s), Celegorm |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Family, Fixed-Length Ficlet, General | Challenges: Zingers |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 305 |
| Posted on 12 August 2022 | Updated on 13 August 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (8) |
A Promise by Rocky41_7
When they were very young, Amarie made a decision about Finarfin's eldest son.
| Major Characters: Amarië, Eärwen |
| Major Relationships: Amarië/Finrod |
| Genres: Ficlet, Fluff, Het | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 478 |
| Posted on 10 August 2022 | Updated on 10 August 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (2) |
Sauron vs Finrod in Eregion by elennalore
The Gwaith-i-Mírdain turn a famous duel into a stage play.
| Major Characters: Celebrimbor, Sauron |
| Major Relationships: Celebrimbor/Sauron |
| Genres: Fixed-Length Ficlet | Challenges: Zingers |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Posted on 10 August 2022 | Updated on 10 August 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| View Fanwork | Comments (10) |
Summer Explosion by Himring
Having escaped the Downfall of Numenor, Inzilmith experiences the beginning of the War of the Last Alliance in Arnor.
| Major Characters: Original Female Character(s) |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Fixed-Length Ficlet | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: Check Notes for Warnings |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 102 |
| Posted on 6 August 2022 | Updated on 6 August 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (0) |
Túrin by firstamazon
Túrin's life illustrates Tolkien's concept of dyscatastrophe: an unexpected turn toward the tragic. The first part of this three-part biography of Túrin considers the early tragedies and downfalls of his life, through his years as an outlaw.
Homecoming by Grundy
The Noldor who left may have spent years dreaming of returning to Tirion, but that doesn't mean finally getting there after the War of Wrath is as simple as they imagined.
| Major Characters: Original Female Character(s) |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: | Challenges: Zingers |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 2, 131 |
| Posted on 5 August 2022 | Updated on 5 August 2022 |
| This fanwork is a work in progress. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (6) |
It's About the Journey by Rocky41_7
Just getting to the campsite is its own adventure.
| Major Characters: Caranthir, Celegorm, Fëanor, Maedhros, Maglor, Nerdanel |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Family, General, Humor | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 3, 322 |
| Posted on 4 August 2022 | Updated on 4 August 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (0) |
San rotser simpetalla pinqe by Himring
Ecthelion returns from the Halls of Mandos.
He is perhaps not quite as fixed as you might expect but, having sat through a recital of "The Fall of Gondolin", he decides something urgently needs fixing for somebody else.
And so, one fine spring day...
| Major Characters: Eärendil, Ecthelion of the Fountain |
| Major Relationships: Eärendil & Ecthelion |
| Genres: Fixed-Length Ficlet | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: Creator Chooses Not to Warn |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 202 |
| Posted on 2 August 2022 | Updated on 3 August 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (0) |
Songs of Middle-earth by Rocky41_7
The music of Middle-earth across the ages.
| Major Characters: Finrod Felagund, Galadriel, Sauron, Varda |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Music (Folk, Instrumental, New Age, Soundtrack, Vocal) | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Posted on 31 July 2022 | Updated on 1 August 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| View Fanwork | Comments (2) |
Horrifying October: A Retrospective (Link Collection) by Himring
In 2016, the Library of Moria community on LiveJournal ran a Horrifying October challenge, with 31 prompts, one for each day of the month.
The challenge asked for both new works and recs.
The link collection offers a selection from the submissions back in 2016.
Besides being selective, this is also a WIP.
However, you can find links to all the round-ups on LiveJournal (and so indirectly to all submissions) in the Collection Notes.
For more background on the Library of Moria and its community see the current Cultus Dispatches post: A Tribute to the Library of Moria
| Major Characters: No major characters listed |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Fanwork Collection | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: Creator Chooses Not to Rate | Warnings: Creator Chooses Not to Warn |
| Posted on 29 July 2022 | Updated on 30 July 2022 |
| This fanwork is a work in progress. |
| View Fanwork | Comments (0) |
Lunch Break by elennalore
A peaceful lunch break in Ost-in-Edhil. A drabble (100 words).
| Major Characters: Original Character(s) |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Fixed-Length Ficlet | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 101 |
| Posted on 29 July 2022 | Updated on 29 July 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (3) |
Gone by grey_gazania
In the aftermath of the War of the Last Alliance, Gil-galad's mother struggles to cope with her grief,
Written for Tolkien OC Week on Tumblr (prompt: gaps and ghosts).
| Major Characters: Unnamed Female Canon Character(s), Erestor |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: General | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: Creator Chooses Not to Rate | Warnings: Creator Chooses Not to Warn |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 1, 355 |
| Posted on 27 July 2022 | Updated on 28 July 2022 |
This fanwork belongs to the series
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (1) |
Elemmakil by Narya
Introduced relatively late in Tolkien's work on the legendarium, Elemmakil escorts Tuor to Gondolin, drawing on archetypes from elsewhere in folklore and the legendarium.
Seeing Stars by Narya
Reborn in Valinor, Meleth begins to build a new life.
| Major Characters: Amarië, Meleth (Elf) |
| Major Relationships: Amarië/Meleth |
| Genres: Femslash, Romance | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: Adult | Warnings: Sexual Content (Moderate) |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 1, 874 |
| Posted on 24 July 2022 | Updated on 25 July 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (0) |
A Clouded Gem by Rocky41_7
Indis struggles to understand her husband's son.
| Major Characters: Fëanor, Indis |
| Major Relationships: Fëanor & Indis |
| Genres: Family, Ficlet | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 563 |
| Posted on 19 July 2022 | Updated on 19 July 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (4) |
Warning Labels by grey_gazania
Maedhros and one of his followers discuss Elrond and Elros' future.
| Major Characters: Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s), Maedhros |
| Major Relationships: Elrond & Elros & Maedhros & Maglor |
| Genres: Ficlet, General | Challenges: Zingers |
| Rating: Creator Chooses Not to Rate | Warnings: Creator Chooses Not to Warn |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 1, 585 |
| Posted on 18 July 2022 | Updated on 18 July 2022 |
This fanwork belongs to the series
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (6) |
A Distant Peace by Astrance
Someday you’ll go far. And I really hope you stay there. Finarfin’s words to Fëanor haunted him throughout his life, from the idyllic land of Valinor to the shores of Middle-Earth.
| Major Characters: Fëanor |
| Major Relationships: Amras & Amrod & Caranthir & Celegorm & Curufin & Fëanor & Maedhros & Maglor, Fëanor & Finwë |
| Genres: Drama | Challenges: Zingers |
| Rating: General | Warnings: Character Death |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 2, 786 |
| Posted on 17 July 2022 | Updated on 17 July 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (2) |
Prehistory of the Eldar by Lyra
Before the Elves came to Aman, they spent centuries in the dark lands of Middle-earth, but there are few stories from these days. This series collects artwork and stories that attempt to close that gap in the history of the Eldar.
| Major Characters: Elves |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Warnings: No warnings apply | |
| Posted on 17 July 2022 | Updated on 17 July 2022 |
| This fanwork is a work in progress. |
| View Fanwork | Comments (0) |
Prehistory of the Eldar by Lyra
A collection of illustrations about Elves in their pre-Aman days.
| Major Characters: Elves, Oromë |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Artwork Type: Illustration |
| Genres: | Challenges: B2MeM 2016, Love Actually |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Posted on 17 July 2022 | Updated on 17 July 2022 |
This fanwork belongs to the series
| This fanwork is complete. |
| View Fanwork | Comments (6) |
Illegal Noldorin Immigrants by Himring
On Mount Olympus, Zeus receives a puzzling report about unusual activities among the Amazons.
His female relatives appear to know more about these than they let on.
| Major Characters: Legendary/Mythical Character(s), Eldalótë, Elenwë, Lalwen |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Crackfic, Crossover | Challenges: Also Appearing |
| Rating: General | Warnings: Check Notes for Warnings |
| Chapters: 2 | Word Count: 614 |
| Posted on 2 July 2022 | Updated on 16 July 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (21) |
Review of "The Great Tales Never End: Essays in Memory of Christopher Tolkien" by Grundy
The Great Tales Never End: Essays in Memory of Christopher Tolkien is a collection that pays homage not only to the extraordinary achievement of Christopher Tolkien's work on the legendarium but that acknowledges him as a person and scholar whose impact ranged beyond the borders of Middle-earth.
Party Hangovers in Hobbiton by MirienSilowende
Hobbits flock to The Green Dragon to try and decipher the meaning of Bilbo's speech and work out if he was insulting them, or complimenting them.
This is a fic for the Zinger! challenge.
| Major Characters: Historical Character(s), Bilbo Baggins |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Fluff | Challenges: Zingers |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 1, 604 |
| Posted on 15 July 2022 | Updated on 15 July 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (13) |
The Last Frost Fair by Narya
In 1814 Maglor walks the frozen river Thames, observing and reflecting.
| Major Characters: Maglor |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: General | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 1, 097 |
| Posted on 15 July 2022 | Updated on 15 July 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (2) |
Us Two by Grundy
"Dior was slain also, and Nimloth his wife, and the cruel servants of Celegorm seized his young sons and left them to starve in the forest."
Maedhros was not the first to look for the missing twins. Nor did he ever learn that they had been found.
| Major Characters: Amras, Eluréd, Elurín, Maedhros, Maglor |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: Character Death, Child Abuse, Violence (Mild) |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 3, 247 |
| Posted on 26 March 2017 | Updated on 13 July 2022 |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (13) |
