Dark Matter

SWG Dark Matter challenge banner - photo collage, featuring photos of the Milky Way at night above sea-cliffs, a dragon's head, a ring on a chain, a sword held high, sheet music over a piano keyboard, a wrapped gift, a gem, and a pair of blacksmith's tongs in a forge fire. The caption "SWG Challenge Dark Matter February 15 - March 15 2025" is superimposed on the Milky Way

Dark matter is a substance found throughout the universe that goes unseen and is known to exist only because of its interaction with objects around it. This month's challenge seeks to imitate the mystery that is dark matter: a prompt that isn't there yet shapes the fanwork around it.

This month's prompts are anti-prompts, and your challenge is to create a fanwork where those prompts don't exist or that is shaped around their lack of existence. Prompts are selected using a randomized prompt generator. There are three categories to choose from: motifs and tropes, literary techniques, and words and letters. You can select your prompt from whichever of the three categories you wish (and if you're really feeling the dark energy, you can try prompts from two or all three categories in the same fanwork!)

We know this challenge is an unusual approach, so prompts range from very easy to just-about-impossible (don't use the letter E?!) You can reroll the prompt generator as many times as you want until you find a prompt that you can work with.

Thank you to Independence1776 for this month's banner and stamps!

Dark Matter Prompt Generator

This challenge opened in .

Fanworks Tagged with Dark Matter

This is a Writing fanwork

A Grief Ever-Worsening by Flora-lass

Maeglin writes to Idril.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Artwork fanwork

Dusk by Anérea

Young Andreth in a moth cloak

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This is a Writing fanwork

Lacuna by AdmirableMonster

In the wake of his ravishing by Morgoth, Mairon, who was Arien, falls.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Without the Counsel of Any by Artano

Fingon leaves a note for his family before attempting to rescue Maedhros

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Twinkle, Twinkle, Silmaril by Anérea

A reworking of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

3 columns made up of alternate sequences of hyphens and the letter u, arranged in the outline of three fishes side by side, facing upwards

The Fishes Advise Cirdan in the Matter of the Elven Rings by Himring

Adaptation of a concrete poem by Christian Morgenstern for the Dark Matter Challenge.

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This is a Writing fanwork

The Absence of Song by Elrond's Library

For the Dark Matter Challenge, a double drabble on the nature of Creation.

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This is a Writing fanwork

Anticipatory Grief by StarSpray

Dear Elrond, It feels a little silly to be writing this to you while you are sleeping right next to me, but I cannot sleep.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Sounds of War by daughterofshadows

An army marches to the War of Wrath.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

No Last Stand by elennalore

An Orc is writing to their loved one in the War of Wrath.

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This is a Writing fanwork

Call to the West by daughterofshadows

A drabble about sea longing without ever using the word sea. Or longing.

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This is a Writing fanwork

That Bard from Doriath by Flora-lass

Maglor, Fingon and Finrod go for a picnic, and Maglor is in a bad mood. Written for the Dark Matter challenge prompt: 'the letter E'.

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This is a Writing fanwork

Drabbles by Grundy

Any and all Silmarillion drabbles I have written will be posted in this story. May or may not fit in with anything else I've written.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents