Winterlights by Elleth

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Fanwork Notes

Unless otherwise marked, all drabbles are stand-alones or in loose sequence following others with the same pairing.

Fanwork Information

Summary:

A series of femslash drabbles based around the daily prompts of the 2013 Femslash Yuletide project. Some ficlets for the 2014 run have been added. 

Major Characters: Aerin, Anairë, Aredhel, Arwen, Elemmírë, Elenwë, Findis, Galadriel, Idril, Indis, Lúthien Tinúviel, Melian, Míriel Serindë, Mithrellas, Morwen, Nellas, Nerdanel, Nienor, Nimrodel, Original Character(s), Tar-Míriel, Thuringwethil, Uinen

Major Relationships:

Genre: Experimental, Fixed-Length Ficlet, General, Slash/Femslash

Challenges:

Rating: Teens

Warnings: Sexual Content (Mild)
Chapters: 28 Word Count: 4, 364
Posted on 8 December 2013 Updated on 21 January 2015

This fanwork is complete.

Table of Contents

Fire on the High Moor

For prompt #1: By the fire. Arwen and Gilraen meet on the High Moor.

Winter Songs

For prompt #2: First snowfall. Nimrodel and Mithrellas greet the cold season.

Gratitude

For prompt #3: Under the mistletoe. Nellas shows Niënor a token of life in winter.

Sun Ensnared

For prompt #4: Decoration. Tauriel of Mirkwood entertains a visitor from Dorwinion.

Tongue-Tied

For prompt #5: Family dinner. Findis and Elemmírë encounter a problem.

Araman

For prompt #6: Holiday sweater. There is some warmth to be found in Araman for Aredhel and Elenwë.

Never, Never, Never

For prompt #7: Blizzard. Aredhel and Elenwë on the northward road, and a terrible premonition.

Baked Apples

For prompt #8: Sweets and Treats. Nellas and Niënor share a treat.

Longest Night

For prompt #9: Holiday music. Nimrodel and Mithrellas, and a midwinter celebration.

Blaze of Candles

For prompt #10: Secret Santa. Lúthien seeks to help Galadriel bear the dark of winter.

Little Joys

For prompt #11: Snowman. On Helcaraxë, more than the needs of the body matter. (Aredhel/Elenwë).

Renewal

For prompt #12: Gift shopping. Anairë and Nerdanel explore Tirion after the Darkening.

Mischief at the Feast

For prompt #13: Grinch. Tauriel's visitor knows ways to make a night of guarding more pleasant.

Remembrance

For prompt #14: Holiday traditions. Míriel and Indis recall a festivity from Cuiviénen.

One Man's Loss...

For prompt #15: Baking cookies. Another treat for Nellas and Niënor.

Lights Within

For prompt #16: Christmas lights. Galadriel and Melian spend an afternoon together.

Gifts for the Living

For prompt #17: Homemade gifts. Míriel and Indis re-affirm their bond. (A follow-up to chapter 14).

Ice

For prompt #18: Ice. Crossing Helcaraxë is hard on Elenwë.

Treasure Trove

For prompt #19: Holiday stories. Anairë and Nerdanel make new memories.

Guest-Gift

For prompt #20: Cozy. Lúthien seeks refuge with Thuringwethil. (Mentions vampirism.)

Wrappings

For prompt #21: Gift wrapping. Although Tauriel's visitor must depart, there is no parting them yet.

Daylight and Shadow

For prompt #22: Winter travel. After the storm, Lúthien and Thuringwethil seek shelter. (A follow-up to chapter 20.)

A Warm and Flickering Light

For prompt #23: Candles. Nerdanel makes a candle for Anairë.

Litany

For prompt #24: Snowball fight. Aredhel mourns Elenwë. (Character death.)

Times to Come

For prompt #25: New Year. All's well that ends well for Nellas and Niënor.

Turuhalmë Garland

Ficlets from here on in are for the 2014 run of Femslash Yuletide.

Prompt #1: Trimming the Tree: Aerin visits Morwen and Niënor, bearing both gifts and demands.

Míriel's Song

Prompt #2: Holiday Traditions: Uinen has saved Tar-Míriel from the Downfall of Númenor, but she insists to return to the site of her erstwhile island once more. AU.

Thaw

Prompt #3: Chimney: After weaving the holly garland, Morwen, Aerin and Niënor come in from the cold. A continuation of my Day One ficlet.

Comments

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Excellent!  I have deep respect for those who can write a good drabble, and this is a splendid one.  In 100 words, you capture the shades of a northern winter.  The subtlety of the relationship between Arwen and Gilraen is nicely done.  I especially liked this: "...changing it into a colourless landscape where snow and chalk cliffs rival over the whiter shade."

*Takes deep breath*  SQUEEEEEEEEEE! 

OK, I am a pushover for all of this.  This short piece amplifies the brutality of the crossing of the Helcaraxë and that the civilized Firstborn must revert to their more ancient origings.  And muskoxen!  YES!  

"Írissë secures two, for Elenwë and for Itaril, wreathing them in the long furs, and the women sit, foreheads together, while the wind fails to rip away the little warmth between them."

The above leaps fully painted in my mind's eye.

Each of these short pieces is quite sensual, Elleth.  You make use of all the senses - sight, sound, sense of smell, subtle sexuality (subtext titillates me more than explicit :^)), and the sensation of bone-chilling cold, but thereis warmth amidst the chilly scenes of winter, too.

In short...

Fantastic!  Brava!

 

Having heard the howling winds of winter storms, I can relate, but I have always been in warmer quarters than Írissë and Elenwë are.  I definitely can relate to the chattering teeth!  The bone-chilling cold is so palpable here.

"the gates to Mandos swimming in her mind..."

Very effective way to show that these women are at the brink of dying.

Now let me appreciate my hot cup of coffee and my cuddly Ugg boots that are keeping my toes warm...

Thank you very much for the r/r marathon, Pandë! I'll lump everything in one comment, but the reviews are all very, very appreciated!

I'm especially glad the subtlety appeals - femslash isn't just about the smut, after all, and that's part of what I was trying to convey here - and I imagine explicitness would be much harder to write effectively without devolving into what a friend calls Ikea Erotica ("touch slot A to slot B now"), especially in the limited scope of a drabble... though I seem to have managed to succeed with vivid descriptions at the very least, which is a great relief - I missed drabbling after delving into longfic for a while, and it is fun to come back to and tinker with.

"Girithron" is a winter month, yes - it's the twelfth month of the Númenorean calendar, which clashes somewhat with Doriath, I know... but the Calendar of Imladris seems to be based on a Noldorin one, so the clash is even greater there, and a case could be made for a Doriathren ancestry of the Númenorean one, but that's merely a theory of mine. I'll be sure to add a note of clarification in the end notes of the chapter.

Baraneth is going to make another appearance; I have her and Tauriel listed again for the 13th, then hopefully with a glimpse at Dorwinion - it's much too tempting to play with, and you've just given me additional incentive with Fell Meats ch. 2. :^D

Astute observation on #5 - both Elemmírë as a minstrel/poet canonically and Findis as a budding scholar in my 'verse are very involved with words, perhaps even a little more than the Amanyar as a whole, so the dialogue seemed like a natural route to take here - I'm glad it worked!

Araman and Helcaraxë especially must have been utterly brutal, and the crossing of both equally so, with desperate measures and desperate moments both! I hope the Ugg boots and the coffee help drive the chill away! Thank you so much again, and I hope the next installments continue to tickle you.