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maka1aure · 2 years

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My references for Elven weapons: Swords and Spears

I need to stop spamming my friends with images of swords, so here are all the photos together (under cut because this post is incredibly long with the images)

- Fighting knives, daggers, and Telerin blades will have to go in separate posts.

Swords of Valinor: This group includes the weapons brought out of the West into Middle Earth, as well as the swords created in Middle Earth inspired by those original blades. They tend to be lightly curved, particularly at the tip, and the guards tend to be small.

Visual references: dao (particularly 雁毛刀), kampilan, dha

Swords of Middle Earth: The style of Middle Earth, crafted for practical defense from the beginning. They had straight blades and were used by the Sindar and Men. Mannish swords and rare elven swords sometimes sported full crossguards. (The Nandor and Avari forego swords entirely, preferring bows, spears, and traps, though the Green Elves’ daggers eventually evolved to imitate swords. The Silvans have their own swordlike weapons apart from their knives, which I will talk about later.)

Visual references: jian, any Middle Ages sword

Experimental Swords: Egalmoth’s famous curved sword: Kamakura period katana

Anglachel and Anguirel: keris (made in the shape of dwarvish weapons, but longer and straighter at the point)

Spears: Elven spears are very similar to human spears, save for the styles of craftsmanship. There’s a wide variation in these weapons; whatever spear that existed in our history, the elves have almost definitely used it.

No visual references provided here because literally any image of any spear from anywhere around the world could work for at least one Elven culture.

Battle spears: A subcategory of the above, used only in open warfare. They developed quickly in Middle Earth following the arrival of the Exiles, and were used by Sindar and Noldor alike. I was looking through elfdict dot com and found there isn’t a word for halberds, meaning they did not use them.. so here is a category of spears with similar functions because I cannot let this go.

Visual references: this specific French halberd, some more French weapons I don’t know the name of, and fauchards and glaives

Curved swordlike knives (scimitars): There is a Sindarin word for a cutlass, “lang”, which means they either used or were aware of such weapons. I suggest that the cutlass is a weapon developed as a multipurpose weapon for sailors, and scimitars were developed in parallel by elves from a combination of Silvan knives and manuscripts describing Egalmoth’s sword. As such, the weapon did not exist until the Second Age. A scimitar could be called cimithil (moon blade) in Sindarin. They were mostly used by Silvans, but some Sindar also used them.

Visual references: talwar, kilij

#my worldbuilding #noldor #Tolkien elves #The Silmarillion #silvan elves #nandor #sindar #green elves #wood elves

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esculentevil · 1 year

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Evil’s Greenwood Headcanons (#2): (Filosnell) Brush Brush

((This is a short story involving my Silvan/Mirkwood guard OMC, Mallosnell, bonding with Fili who’s also now bonding with some of the forest’s calves while visiting from Erebor. TL; DR. This’s really just to build his character/backstory, their relationship, and flesh out my Mirkwood.))

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆🗝️AO3/Pillowfort🌱☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆

“Who’s your friend?”

The guard freezes like a deer under fire and Fili wonders, for a moment, if he, too, rides one--like his king rides an elk. The prince brushes that thought aside as wide, golden eyes turn to stare at him, still a bit spooked, before the tanned elf clears his throat and gestures a deceptively delicate hand at the hairy calf sniffing at his surprisingly armorless torso, “This Katar. She is... woodland cow.”

The elf’s broken Common Speech brings a smile to Fili’s face (he finds it cute, endearing even, and enjoys helping the guard find the right words when he can), “Woodland cow? I didn’t know such a thing existed;” he eyes her tawny colored body and reaches out to touch it, happy when she seems more disturbed by their conversation disrupting her brushing than his fingers, “Why the long hair?”

He imagines it gets very dirty and tangled in the woods, like his and his family’s back when they were trekking through it... He mindlessly combs his thick fingers through the raggedy mane the small animal possess and laughs when she shifts closer to him in a silent bid for him to continue. He does, leaning over just a bit (the guard simply sits, cross-legged on a thick but seemingly hallowed-out log, having been too tall to comfortably reach the calf otherwise) and smiling at her.

The elf watches them silently (always silent, these tall things).

Finally, he turns his attention to him and, suddenly, he speaks--and Fili wonders, somewhat embarrassedly, if the elf had just been respectfully waiting for this. “Uinnarn*.” The soft, Elvish lettering flows over Fili’s ears as much as his head. He blinks owlishly at the guard, conveying his confusion, but waits patiently (himself) as the elf tries to translate what he means into Westron. “It is... Tale... of Creatures. Their story... collection? Ai!” The last bit is more of a frustrated sound than a real word and Fili nods at it, grinning down his want to chuckle, and keeps petting/combing his fingers through the contented calf’s mane. “How... they inter... interact!” The elf snaps his fingers, golden eyes glimmering like the mounds in Erebor’s treasure room, and Fili finds himself enjoying that: the joy and triumph on that ethereal face.

It suits him.

“With each other. The seeds and nuts and... spores of other uin--creatures--collect on this long fur and get carried farther than if not.” The guard gently pats aforementioned hair and smiles as the calf nudges his chest again for the brush. “Also easier for small animals and birds to hold.” Tan hands resume their task--on the other side of where Fili’s are--and Katar makes a loud, happy sound.

The guard of Mirkwood that completely disarmed Fili when they first met laughs.

And Fili doesn’t think he’s heard a more lovely sound.

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆🗝️🌱☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ☆

*I threw “creatures” and “spoken (not sung) tale/saga” together in the hopes it works as ecology.

#fili #mallosnell (oc silvan elf)#filosnell #katar the woodland calf #mirkwood #sindarin #the hobbit #mywriting #fanfiction #serialized fiction #oneshot #headcanon #budding relationship #poorly translated elvish #worldbuilding #I've been afraid to post this cuz I doubt it'll be liked; but I love Los and Fili #And I remembered that it doesn't matter if you like it so long as *I* do #And I DO love them cuz they're like Thorinduil but soft and sweet lol #tolkienfanficrecs

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sotwk · 7 months

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can you tell us more about the celebrations and dances in the Woodland Realm 🥺 (plus extra related headcanons regarding the 5 princes 😁 like what are their favorite celebrations? favorite dances/dance moves? dance styles?)

What an awesome question, dear Anon! In regards to the celebrations in the Woodland Realm: there are SO MANY of them, in my worldbuilding headcanon, at least! Feasting is such a major part of the Silvan/Woodland Elves' culture that I must take the time to write separate posts describing each one. Mereth Nuin Giliath is the one movie creation, but I have several of my own to add.

For now, while I work on those, I hope you don't mind if I offer you some general headcanons about dancing in the Greenwood culture, and describe in particular (as you requested) the customs and preferences of the Thranduilion Princes.

Dance Culture of the Greenwood Elves

Silvan Elves love to dance. Along with singing, dancing is an art form highly valued in their culture long before the Sindar arrived to assimilate with them.

Silvan styles of dancing are primarily informal and done in large groups during community gatherings. They are joyful, vigorous, and incorporate skills in jumping, spinning, and various acrobatic feats. Such dances are done in lines or circles and require no partners. All participants perform generally the same movements, which are learned organically and usually passed down as traditions to the succeeding generations.

Many folk dances involve the use of "props" or objects that vary according to the function of the dance and the season or festival.

For example, spring dances have scarves or floral crowns, summer dances are done with more acrobatics and less clothing, fall dances integrate baskets and food, and winter dances use lanterns.

Every celebration or feast in the Woodland Realm includes dancing--no exceptions. Needless to say, every elf in Greenwood knows how to dance. It is considered a basic and necessary life skill.

Partner or "social" dances were first introduced by the Sindar Elves towards the middle of the Second Age, but they did not gain much popularity until the arrival of Prince Thranduil's betrothed, Lady Maereth.

At the betrothal celebration of Thranduil and Maereth, they danced with each other in front of the gathered guests (a form of the waltz), and this was the first demonstration of dance as a romantic activity, extending its function in Greenwood society as a part of the courting ritual.

Balls devoted entirely to social (i.e. partner) dancing became popular in the early Third Age. At these events, attendees can dance with their established partners, but balls also provide unmarried Elves chances to closely socialize with each other, with or without romantic intent.

Greenwood balls are considered formal, invitation-only events. They are typically held indoors and usually hosted by the Royal Family. Many times, they include guests from other realms.

The biggest annual ball is held at the palace in the wintertime, as the culmination of the season's main festival.

Attendees are not expected or required to come to any ball with an escort or partner.

The King and Queen dance with each other once to start the celebration, and then spend the rest of the evening dancing with other attendees. The same is practiced by their children; a married prince (i.e. Mirion, after he married Itarilde) has the first dance with his spouse and then is expected to give the rest of his dances to other partners.

Within the first millennium of the Third Age, other styles of dance were introduced by the royal family to Greenwood society as a result of their travels and dealings with other kingdoms and races.

Dancing with the Princes of Greenwood

Thranduil's sons may be of Sindar and Noldor blood, but due to their upbringing and the culture they embraced, they consider themselves Silvan.

Like all Silvan children, the princes learned to dance as soon as they could walk. Not only do they all have a natural talent for it (inborn athleticism and musicality certainly helps), but it is something they all genuinely enjoy doing.

Feasting with the people of Greenwood is something the royal family does regularly. There is no class separation at feasts, so the king, queen, and princes have no special seats or places; they dine and dance with their subjects for the entire celebration.

At most gatherings, dancing is still done in groups. But for balls or certain dances that require a partner, the princes may invite anybody to dance with them.

It is also perfectly acceptable for maidens to approach the princes and ask them to dance. (There is no expectation among the Greenwood Elves that the males have to ask the females.)

The social etiquette for the princes at balls is stricter than it is for their guests/regular attendees.

Public celebrations or balls are not opportunities for the princes to "bring a date"; those must be done privately, on their personal time.

It is understood that every ball hosted or attended by the Thranduilions comes with their willingness to dance with anyone who might ask them.

Protocol calls for the princes to dance with as many different partners as possible, and to avoid "doubling up" or attaching themselves to one person for the entire celebration.

Giving noticeably extra time, favor, or attention to one specific person is frowned upon and seen as rude to the other guests.

The Thranduilions embrace this as one of their social duties as princes of the realm. Between the five of them, over the centuries, it could be said that every single maiden in the realm has danced with at least one of the Princes of Greenwood. Many maidens could even claim to have danced with all of them, multiple times.

Bonus: The Thranduilions' Favorites

The most popular and most requested dance partner among Thranduil's sons is Crown Prince Mirion. This is likely due to his reputation for being a most gracious and amiable companion; he is also greatly admired and loved by his people, who consider it an honor just to spend any time with him.

Mirion is the most practiced at ball dances, and with his sociable nature, he enjoys this style and the traditions it involves the best.

Turhir favors partner dances over community dancing, since he finds group dances "chaotic" at times. He likes being able to spend one-on-one time with people, which surprises those who don't know him well and misjudge him as "stern" and "distant".

Arvellas is always eager to learn new dances, especially from other places and cultures. Although an excellent dancer, he much prefers to be taught or to mimic movements instead of coming up with his own.

Gelir is not much for slower dances (and likes the restrictiveness of ball dances the least), but he would be the first to jump into a dance line or circle--the louder the music, the wilder the style, and the more people involved, the better.

Legolas is the one most likely to create new moves and dance variations of his own, and more often than not, it will involve some sort of showy acrobatics.

For more Thranduil/Mirkwood headcanons: SotWK HC Masterlist

Elves HC Tag List: @quickslvxrr @laneynoir @auttumnsayshi @achromaticerebus @tamryniel @friendofthefellowshipsnerdblog @blueberryrock @aduialel @scyllas-revenge @glassgulls @ladyweaslette @asianbutnotjapanese @ratsys @conversacomsmaug @lemonivall @lathalea @heranintomyknife23times @heilith @entishramblings @stormchaser819 @a-world-of-whimsy-5 @freshalmondpandadonut @beekieboo @elan-ho-detto-elan-15 @konartiste @g-m-kaye

Other useful links:

Introduction to SotWK

Fanfiction Masterlist

Fanfiction Request Guidelines

#sotwk answers #sotwk headcanon #mirkwood #thranduil #thranduilion #sotwk oc #thranduil headcanon #legolas #legolas headcanon #greenwood the great #woodland realm #tolkien #the hobbit #lotr

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silvanpromos · 7 months

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“ being a magician has always been about, in part, accruing power ... but power, as you all know, does not come cheaply. ” a month has passed since iris eum's death and her loved ones are still looking for answers. all fingers point to silvan university and its illustrious student body composed of magic users hungry for more knowledge. the university itself carries its own secrets, its skeletons kept as close to its chest as its mystic arts. while the students and citizens of silvan attempt to move on with their lives, the city refuses to rest. did iris' death open the doors to the world of the dead? did her killers find more than they bargained for? the answers are as much of a mystery now as they were before.

SILVANHQ is a 20+, oc and poc only dark academia rp set in the fictional silvan, italy and its magical university. featuring original magical lore and an interactive opt in plot, we hope to focus on character development and collaborative worldbuilding. template found in the source link.

COMING SOON TO A DISCORD SERVER NEAR YOU.

#rpt #rpc #rph #discord rp #discord rpg #dark academia rp #university rp #magic rp #city rp

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arofili · 1 year

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@i-did-not-mean-to tagged me to self-rec 5 of my favorite fics!!

I’m gonna narrow it down to my 5 favorite fics written within the last 6 months, just so this is manageable, lol. and even then it was still IMPOSSIBLY hard!!

1. like the breaking of the dawn - Russingon smut ft. trans!Maitimo

2. “Beloved” - a remix of @melestasflight‘s wonderful stories “Song” and “Monster”

3. Heirlooms - cheating a bit here because this is two fics, one about the Elessar and the other about the mithril coat, tracing their journeys throughout the Ages

4. “cwîlidh” - Erien-is-Tauriel x Nimrodel ft. lots of Silvan worldbuilding

aaand 5. “crimson gifts” - Russingon secret relationship teasing for @elanna-elrondiel <33

truly there are sooo many more fics I’ve written - even just recently - that i’m very fond of, this was really tough!!!

I tag @melestasflight @elanna-elrondiel (use your art if you want!!) @cuarthol @runawaymun and @polutrope!

#tmi anna #tag games #i did not mean to #no pressure ofc <3

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outofangband · 2 years

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Hii! Hope you're doing well. If you feel like it, 6. Architecture or buildings from the worldbuilding asks for Mirkwood or Valmar?

From this world building list here , still accepting them!

I’ll do Mirkwood for now and do Valmar later!

One aspect of architecture, buildings or construction

The architecture of Mirkwood is very much a homage to both the Sindar of Doriath as well as Silvan and some Avari influences. The caves that house the palace of the elvenking is very much in memory of Menengroth though forms of sandstone such as Quartzite as well as limestone whereas Menengroth was primarily limestone, dolomite and marble. The colors of the halls of the Elvenking were darker too with pillars carved from stained and fossilized wood.

Metal is also used in Mirkwood though sparingly, primarily for weapons and fixtures for lamps. Dark iron is most common and steel is not produced within Mirkwood.

As always please feel free to ask more!

#the silmarillion #lotr #Mirkwood #the hobbit #middle earth #musing and meta #Doriath

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ao3feed-thehobbit · 1 year

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in their halls of stone

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/y0ZBEhY

by starlightwalking

A history of the Dwarven-Rings: from their gifting to the Kings of the Seven Clans, through the bellies of dragons, and into Sauron's grasp.

Words: 1200, Chapters: 1/7, Language: English

Series: Part 3 of Heirlooms

Fandoms: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Hobbit - All Media Types

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: Gen

Characters: Celebrimbor | Telperinquar, Durin III (Tolkien), Thráin II, Original Dwarf Character(s), Original Dragon Character(s), Tû | Thû (Tolkien), Tuvon (Tolkien), Were-worms of the Last Desert, Hrímil Frostheart (Lord of the Rings Online), Lhamthanc (Tolkien), Nazgûl, Original Nazgûl Character(s), Silvan Elf | Elves, Thranduil's Wife

Additional Tags: implied/minor silvergifting, Dwarves, Dwarven Rings of Power, Rings of Power, NOT TROP COMPLIANT, seriously there is 0 show content here, Headcanon, so many headcanons, Worldbuilding, Moria | Khazad-dûm, Dol Guldur, Blue Mountains | Ered Luin, Mordor, Rhûn, Harad, Torture, Betrayal, Kidnapping, Necromancy, will add more tags probably, Khazad Week 2022

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/y0ZBEhY

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #the hobbit

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ao3feed-tolkien · 1 year

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in their halls of stone

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2rNLh31

by starlightwalking

A history of the Dwarven-Rings: from their gifting to the Kings of the Seven Clans, through the bellies of dragons, and into Sauron's grasp.

Words: 1200, Chapters: 1/7, Language: English

Series: Part 3 of Heirlooms

Fandoms: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Hobbit - All Media Types

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: Gen

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2rNLh31

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #Tolkien #JRR Tolkien #Tolkien works #ao3 #fan fiction

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warnurse · 5 years

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Headcanon;; DORIATHRIN CULTURE

Most of Elliel’s mannerisms and ideas about her place in high society are echoes of her Mother, who carried this on as a Doriathrin Immigrant. Most Elven societies are more reformed than what they used to be in Beleriand, but Doriath had one of the most strait-laced and prudish societies of all Elven realms.

Elliel was born two years after the destruction of Beleriand, and so everything she knows of Doriath is only second-hand knowledge, based on stories from her parents, and her mother’s insistance to behave as a proper Doriathrin Elf would have. From what she knows, Doriath had an extensive gentry and rules for interaction among classes, and a complicated kinship regulation {both in terms of who one is related to by blood, by in-laws, and how one ought to interact with people of whom they have or haven’t met, also divided by class}.

Doriath developed increasingly complicated and convoluted societal rules over the years, although not many remember or know exactly how or why this came about. Some say it was to separate and maintain a superior status and leverage over the Laiquendi Elves upon their immigration to Doriath, others say it was their settling of Lindon; such ideals may have been influenced by the High Elves, as many had something of a superiority complex when interacting with their counterparts.The form of Gentry may have been influenced by Thingol himself, as some Iathrim claim that he sorted the social strata in order to surround himself with certain people, although it is uncertain if he alone influenced this.

With class divides also came divides in wealth: Thingol offered positions in his court to those useful and close to him, and with this, riches. Arranged marriages became more common within Doriath in order to keep positions and status. Classes of Elves became alienated from one another by status and means of social conduct. And what’s worse, their relationship with Dwarves was soured after the Nauglamir incident, resulting in prejudiced attitudes towards them.

Iathrim in particular are noted for being especially snobbish and hypocritical, as carry-overs from Doriath society. The stereotype regarding Elves being prudish and self-important was popularized mostly by Iathrim refugees, as well as the Noldor for their treatment and colonization of Nandor Elves and their lands.

The fall of Doriath left many Iathrim disillusioned with all that had happened, including the disorder and social divides that plagued Doriath before its fall. Many immigrants suck out a more “rustic” (or so they say) society that the Silvan Elves had, which was much more egalitarian pre-Sindarin rule. Upon Oropher’s arrival, however, he brought much of Doriath’s societal practices, but this gradually became more reformed over the years. Thranduil is now famous for having almost completely assimilated to Silvan cutlure. Most Sinda and Iathrim have already gone from Mirkwood, but many of those that remain still carry their grudges and old habits with them, including Elliel’s parents.

#headcanon #headcanon;;#worldbuilding middle earth #{basically: Doriath = Victorian England}#{also inspired by the fall of the roman empire which saw similar trends among class division}#{and this is why Elliel is. like that. why she cares so much about her status as a noble woman #even though there's little to no gentry among Silvan society}

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valarhalla · 3 years

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Hot Take: Fairytales and Fantasy are two closely related but fundamentally different genres with different features. One of the hallmarks of the fantasy genre is detailed worldbuilding, heavy description and explanations for everything, while one of the hallmarks of fairy tales is the ABSENCE of excessive details and explanations. The experience of a fairytale for the reader or viewer is one of accepting story elements without question, as opposed to the modern fantasy genre, where the reader or viewer is encouraged (usually) to dig deeper into the details than what is shown on the surface level of the story. Another key feature is a sense of universality and everywhereness- there’s a reason many cultures end fairytales not with “and they lived happily ever after”, but with something along the lines of “and it happened, it did not happen, and it could have happened in the homes of our neighbours.” Excessive detail breaks the everyman illusion which is crucial to the genre. Basically, in fantasy, the prince is Aragorn son of Arathorn, called Elessar, Elfstone, Dunadan, and the heir of Isildur son of Elendil, and the castle is Dol Guldur, built on the site of Amon Lanc, the former capital of Oropher of the Silvan Elves. In fairytales, the castle is just a castle and the prince is just a prince, and whichever one you picture in your mind is the correct one.

OCCASIONALLY, filmmakers gracefully bridge the gap between the fantasy and fairytale genres- The Princess Bride is a near-perfect example. We get a real drama with pathos and catharsis, and enough light detail about the world to keep things interesting, but not so much detail that the universality and everywhere-ness feels interrupted. The original Hans Christian Andersen text of the Snowqueen is another example of a text which fits into both genres. But Hollywood will continue to fuck up fairytales as long as it keeps conflating the two and trying to do things like turn Snow White into the Lord of the Rings- once you’ve added too much politics, you’ve no longer got the simple pleasure of a fairytale, and the aspects of fairytales accepted without question end up being confusing in an epic fantasy context where the world is assumed to follow some sort of logic. You just end up with movies which are bad examples of BOTH genres.

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elamarth-calmagol · 3 years

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What actually is LACE? (an informal essay)

What’s LACE?

Laws and Customs among the Eldar, or LACE, is the most popular section of the History of Middle Earth books. It's available online as a PDF here: http://faculty.smu.edu/bwheeler/tolkien/online_reader/T-LawsandCustoms.pdf . There’s a lot of LACE analysis in the fandom, Silmarillion smut fics are usually labeled “LACE compliant” or “not LACE compliant”, and I’ve been seeing the document itself show up in actual fics, meaning that the characters themselves are discussing it.

LACE is an unfinished, non-canonical essay split into several parts. It covers the sexuality of elves, which is mostly what people talk about. It also covers elvish naming (which I want to make a whole different post about), the speed at which elves grow up, changes that happen throughout their lives, their death and rebirth, and finally the legal and moral issues of Finwe remarrying after Miriel’s death. The discussion about rebirth conflicts with Tolkien’s later writings about Glorfindel’s re-embodiment, but to the best of my knowledge, LACE is the best or only source for most of the topics it covers.

However, LACE is not canon since it doesn’t show up in the Silmarillion. Counting all of the History of Middle Earth as canon is literally impossible, considering Tolkien contradicts himself all over the place. It is only useful because it has so much information that is never discussed in the actual canon. Many people consider it canon out of convenience.

Another important thing to remember is that, other than presumably the discussion of the growth of elvish children, the information is only supposed to apply to the Eldar (meaning the Vanyar, Noldor, Teleri, and Sindar) and not the dark-elves such as the Silvan elves and Avari.

The rest is behind the cut to avoid clogging your feeds.

Problems with LACE interpretations

But because it’s hidden in the History of Middle Earth (volume 10, Morgoth’s Ring), barely anyone actually gets the opportunity to read it. I don’t think most people are aware that you can get it online, so it doesn't get read much.

I feel like this leads to a handful of people saying something about LACE and everyone else going along with it. I definitely did this. I was amazed by all the things that were in the actual essay that nobody had ever told me about, or had told me incorrectly. For example, most people seem to believe that elves become married at the completion of sexual intercourse (whatever that means to the fic author). In fact, LACE explicitly says that elves must take an oath using the name of Eru in order to be legally married. Specifically:

It was the act of bodily union that achieved marriage, and after which the indissoluble bond was complete… [I]t was at all times lawful for any of the Eldar, being both unwed, to marry thus of free consent one to another without ceremony or witness (save blessings exchanged and the naming of the Name); and the union so joined was alike indissoluble.

I’ve seen a marriage oath being included in a few stories recently, but most writers leave out the oath entirely and just have sex be automatically equivalent to marriage. What would happen if elves had sex without swearing an oath? I don’t know, but I’d love to see it explored.

Then there’s a footnote that might explicitly deny the existence of transgender elves... or not, but I’ve literally only seen it mentioned once or twice. Overall, I feel like all of LACE is filtered through the handful of people who read it, and we’re missing out on a lot of metanalysis and interpretations that we could have because most fans never see the actual document.

Who wrote LACE?

I mean within the mythology of Middle Earth, of course. Since LACE appears in the History of Middle Earth and not the Silmarillion, we can be pretty sure that J.R.R. Tolkien himself wrote it and it wasn’t added to by Christopher Tolkien. But that’s not the question here. Remember that Tolkien’s frame narrative for all of his Middle Earth work is that he is a scholar of ancient times and is translating documents from Westron and Sindarin for modern audiences to read and understand. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings come from the Red Book of Westmarch, and I believe The Silmarillion is meant to be Tolkien’s own writings based on his research (though it might also be an adaption of Bilbo’s “Translations from the Elvish”, but I haven't looked into that). So what does LACE come from?

Christopher Tolkien admits in his notes that he doesn’t know. He says, “It is clear in any case that this is presented as the work, not of one of the Eldar, but of a Man,” and I agree, because of the way it seems to be written as an ethnographic study rather than by someone who lives in the culture. Honestly, it talks too much about how elves are seen by Men (e.g. speculating that elf-children might look like the children of Men) to be written by an elf. This changes once it gets to the Doom of Finwe and Miriel, but that could be, and probably is, a story told to the writer by an elf who was there at the time.

Tolkien actually references Aelfwine in the second version of the text. The original story behind The Lost Tales, which was the abandoned first version of the Silmarillion, was that a man from the Viking period named Aelfwine/Eriol stumbled onto the Straight Road and found himself on Tol Eressea. He spoke to the elves and brought back their stories to England with him. So it makes a lot of sense that Aelfwine would also write about the lives and customs of the elves for an audience of his own people.

Does LACE exist in Middle Earth?

I keep finding fics where first age elves discuss “the Laws and Customs” openly, as if it’s a text in their own world. I usually get the impression that it was brought by the Noldor from Valinor. But did the document actually exist in that time period? For me, the answer is definitely not.

First of all, LACE was probably written by a Man, meaning it could not have dated back to Valinor in the years of the Trees, because Men hadn’t awaked yet. In fact, the closest thing to an established frame narrative for it is that it was written by Aelfwine, who comes from the time period around 1000 CE (though Tolkien doesn’t seem to have pinned him down). This is at least the fifth age, if not later.

But what if you don’t believe that it was written by a Man? It still couldn’t have been written in the First Age, because it discusses the way the relationship between elves’ bodies and souls changes as ages go by. For example:

As ages passed the dominance of their fear ever increased, ‘consuming’ their bodies... The end of this process is their ‘fading’, as Men have called it.

A lot of time has to go by in order for elves to get to the point of fading. As a bonus, here’s another reference to the perspective of Men. LACE also discusses the dangers that “houseless feas”, which are souls of elves who do not go to Mandos after their bodies died, pose to Men. How would they have known about that in the First Age? It further says that “more than one rebirth is seldom recorded” (which isn’t contradicted anywhere I know of), and that’s not something you would know during your life of joy in Valinor, where almost nobody dies. That’s something you learn after millennia of war. This has to be a document written well after the Silmarillion ends.

So what about the sex part? That’s all we care about, right? Well, it is entirely possible that this was written down by the elves and Aelfwine translated it (though my impression is that he mostly recorded stories told orally to him and that elves were not very much into writing, at least in Valinor where you could get stories directly from someone who experienced them). However, why would the elves write this down? They know how quickly their children grow up. They’ve seen actual marriages. They don’t need that described to them. And if they did have a specific document or story explaining the expectations of them when it comes to sex and marriage, why would they call it “Laws and Customs”? That’s a very strange name for a set of rules for conduct. I’m sure they had a list of laws written out somewhere in great detail, like our own state or national laws (that seems very in character for the Noldor, at least). But I seriously doubt that those laws are what we’ve been given to read. LACE is not an elvish or Valinoran document.

Is LACE prescriptive or descriptive?

Here’s the other big question I’m interested in. Prescriptive means that the document describes the way people should behave. Descriptive means that it describes how people do behave. And the more I worldbuild for Middle Earth and the culture of elves, the more I want to say that LACE is prescriptive in its discussion of sex, marriage, and gender roles.

But wait. I’ve been saying for paragraphs that I think LACE is Aelfwine or another Man’s ethnographic study of elvish culture. Then it has to be descriptive, right?

Does it? How long do we think Aelfwine stayed with the elves? Did he wait fifty years to see a child grow up? Did he get to witness a wedding ceremony? Did he meet houseless fea? I don’t think he could have done all of that. Maybe a different Man who spent his entire life with the elves could, but then when was this written? When the elves were still marrying and having children in Middle Earth or when so much time had gone by that they had begun to fade already?

Whoever wrote this was told a lot of information by elves instead of experiencing it firsthand, the same way he heard the stories from the First Age from the elves instead of being there. Maybe it was one elf who talked to him, maybe several different ones. But did those elves accurately describe their society the way it was, give him the easiest description, or explain the way it was supposed to be? If I was describing modern-day America, would I discuss premarital sex or just our dating and marriage customs? Maybe people would come away from a talk with me thinking that moving in together equated to marriage for Americans in the early 21st century. And I don’t even have an agenda to show America in a certain way, I'm just bad at explaining. Did the elves talking to what may have been the first Man they had seen in millennia have an agenda in the way they presented themselves?

Or did the writer himself have an agenda? Imagine going to see these beautiful, mythical, perfect beings, and you find out that they behave in the same immoral ways Men do. Do you want to share the truth back home? Or do you leave out things that don't match your worldview? Did Aelfwine come back wanting to tell people what elves were really like? Or did he want to say “this is how you can be holy and perfect like an elf”?

Anyone studying the Age of Exploration will tell you that Europeans neber wrote about new cultures objectively, and often things were made up to fit the writer’s idea of what savages looked like. For example, my Native American history teacher in college told a story of how explorers described one tribe who (sensibly) didn't wear clothes as cannibals, because cannibalism and going around naked went together in their minds and not because of any actual incident. Unbiased scholarship barely existed yet. Even Tolkien was extremely biased and tended to be imperialistic, as we all know. There’s absolutely no reason to think that Aelfwine wasn’t biased in his own way. (Of course, now we have to consider what biases a Danish or English man from the centuries around 1000 would have when it comes to things like gender roles. I assume he would have been more into divorce and female warriors than the elves are said to be.)

But is that what Tolkien intended? Probably not. He probably wanted LACE to be descriptive. But he also never got much of a chance to analyse the essay after the fact, which might have led to him discussing its accuracy and even the exact issues I just pointed out about explorers. Anyway, we know he's biased, and honestly, what he intended has never slowed down the fandom before.

Conclusion

In short, I take LACE to be a prescriptive document describing the way elvish culture is supposed to be, not a blueprint I have to stick to in order to correctly portray elves. I also don’t believe the document that’s available for us to read existed even in the early Fourth Age, where The Lord of the Rings leaves off. There maybe have been some document outlining the moral behavior of elves, as a set of laws, but thats not the Laws and Customs we have.

Of course, canon is up to you to interpret. If you want Feanor discussing LACE with someone back in Valinor, go ahead. If you want to throw out LACE entirely, go ahead. It’s not even a canonical essay. All of this analysis is honestly useless when you consider the fact that no part of LACE exists in any canonical book.

But that’s Tolkien analysis for you.

#lotr #silmarillion #tolkien #laws and customs of the eldar #history of middle earth #silm #analysis #meta #headcanon #long post #mine

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sotwk · 4 months

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hope you are having a wonderful festive season! I was wondering if you have any headcanons about how your fav middle earth characters celebrate yule - thranduil's family, eomer's family, anyone else you enjoy writing!

Hello my Anon friend!

A Festive Holiday Season to you, too! :) I'm not sure if you've seen my teaser post announcing it, but I'm getting ready to start releasing some special stuff next week! Here is a peek at the series banner:

Although it's not evident in my Fanfiction Masterlist, I actually spend most of my time worldbuilding and developing headcanons specifically for the Woodland Realm. Currently, all my headcanons about the holidays describe traditions in Thranduil's kingdom--those of the Silvan people, and of his immediate family.

Here is an overview of the concept of "Yuletide" in the SotWK AU:

"Yule" or "Yuletide", is a winter observance that developed into an annual community celebration by the Elves residing in Greenwood the Great, some centuries after the Woodland Realm was established by King Oropher and his court.

Many different traditions were created and practiced by the Silvans over the course of the centuries, but the Yuletide season was at its peak as a kingdom-wide celebration during the reign of Elvenking Thranduil and his Queen Maereth.

Although spring and harvest festivals were historically viewed as the bigger celebrations of the year, Yule became very popular among the Silvan Elves due to many fun and joyful traditions established and/or propagated by the House of Thranduil.

Winter was a special season personally for Thranduil and his family because both Queen Maereth and Crown Prince Mirion were born in the middle of winter (Foreyule in the Shire Reckoning), a very unusual time for Elves to be begotten or born.

Yuletide festivities (as practiced during Thranduil's reign) were traditionally held over the course of 12 days, from December 21st - January 1st (Gregorian calendar).

More details to follow when the series gets released! <3

If you are interested in being tagged for this series, please say so in the comments. You can also fill out my Tag List form . (If you want to be tagged on this holiday series ONLY, please choose the "Other" option.)

For more Thranduil/Mirkwood headcanons: SotWK HC Masterlist

Elves HC Tag List: @a-world-of-whimsy-5 @achromaticerebus @aduialel @asianbutnotjapanese @auttumnsayshi @blueberryrock @conversacomsmaug @elan-ho-detto-elan-15 @entishramblings @freshalmondpandadonut @fizzyxcustard @friendofthefellowshipsnerdblog @glassgulls @heilith @heranintomyknife23times @ladyweaslette @laneynoir @lathalea @lemonivall @LiliDurin @quickslvxrr @ratsys @scyllas-revenge @stormchaser819 @talkdifferently6 @tamryniel @tamurilofrivendell @spacecluster

Other useful links:

Introduction to SotWK

Fanfiction Masterlist

Fanfiction Request Guidelines

#sotwk headcanon #the hobbit #thranduil #lotr #tolkien #legolas #thranduil headcanon #legolas headcanon #greenwood the great #sotwk oc #thranduilion #mirkwood #mirkwood elves #woodland realm #lord of the rings #yuletide #yuletide in the woodland king's realm #yuletide sotwk 2023

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stormxpadme · 3 years

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Tolkien OC Week Day 5: Worldbuilding

Gates of Tol Eressëa: Tales out of reach

At the beginning of the Fourth Age, after the last elves willing to leave Middle-earth had arrived in Valinor, Tol Eressëa turned from a place for the new arrivals during their first time in their new home into a small, independent Kingdom under the joint leadership of the last High King of the Noldor on Middle-earth and the Crown Prince of the last Sindar and Silvan realm in the old world. There, everyone not quite yet ready to let go of their old life was welcome to dwell for however long they wished to. On this island, the memory of Middle-earth and all its folks and wonders and beauty was passionately kept alive, in tales, art and in the shape of its heroes.

For some elves who missed their former life especially badly, these efforts did not suffice though. They would restlessly wander the coast and frequently swim out as far as they dared. Often, they spent weeks and months and years, just staring at a horizon they knew they would never be allowed to reach again.

Among those Firstborn with such deep homesickness were Élnen, the young daughter of the former Prince of Eryn Lasgalen, her uncle Tegiend and Tegiend’s husband Haldir, as well Élnen’s mentor Círdan. Thanks to the teachings of the latter, Élnen soon became a gifted sailor. Under the protection and guidance of her uncle and his husband, she sailed the shores of her home as far as the critical, watchful observation of the Valar would allow. Together, the four of them learned about the ways and creatures of the sea and the guidance of the stars of their new home.

In time, other elves joined the group who preferred the solitude of living at the very edge of their home over the hustle on the island and especially the main land. A floating city of ships soon housed hundreds of elves who only rare came back to the beach for visits or supplies. This phenomenon became known as the Gates of Tol Eressëa.

At some point, the four leaders of these elves befriended the maia Ossë, an old acquaintance of Círdan, who delighted in this silent but persistent rebellion against the powers that were and often gave the ships of this fleet a helping hand when a storm sent by the Valar tried to slow their children’s thirst for adventure.

While the Valar were worried about these developments, and sad that there were still elves suffering from their too-deep connection to a realm that would no longer have them, they never tried to put a stop to these activities on the ocean. Not least because they knew that if the prophecy of the end of all things would one day come true and darkness would return to their lands of peace, these eyes on the horizon of their borders would be the first to know that the time for a final stand had come.

For @tolkienocweek

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * (Tales Untold - a “The Lord of the Rings” series "Tales Untold" aesthetics | "Tales Untold" glossary) * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

#lord of the rings #and all tolkien lore #dysfunctional elves ftw #LOTR #The Lord of the Rings #tolkienocweek #editing #stormys fanfics #tbffart #tbffcontent #lotrart #elnen #osse #cirdan #haldir #tegiend #tw nudity

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silvanpromos · 6 months

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𝕿𝖍𝖊𝖘𝖊 𝖛𝖎𝖔𝖑𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝖉𝖊𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙𝖘 𝖍𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖛𝖎𝖔𝖑𝖊𝖓𝖙 𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖘…

a month has passed since iris eum's death and her loved ones are still looking for answers. all fingers point to silvan university and its illustrious student body composed of magic users hungry for more knowledge. the university itself carries its own secrets, its skeletons kept as close to its chest as its mystic arts.

𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖎𝖗 𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖚𝖒𝖕𝖍 𝖉𝖎𝖊, 𝖑𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖕𝖔𝖜𝖉𝖊𝖗…

while the students and citizens of silvan attempt to move on with their lives, the city refuses to rest. did iris' death open the doors to the world of the dead? did her killers find more than they bargained for? the answers are as much of a mystery now as they were before.

SILVANHQ is a 20+ skeleton and poc only dark academia rp set in the fictional silvan, italy and its magical university. we feature an interactive opt-in plot and open-ended original worldbuilding !

most wanted skeletons: the pastiche, the benefactor, the charlatan, the hellion and the facade !

discord link in source.

#city rp #discord rp #dark academia rp #university rp #mystery rp

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gffa · 4 years

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I was talking with @himboskywalker about Tolkien and fandom and fic, because I’m always curious where people’s “area” of the wider Legendarium are at, whether they’re a fan of the Dwarves or the Humans or the Elves or the Valar or what! (As a surprise to absolutely no one, the Elves are where my heart is at, where I very much love the Noldor, but if you give me a choice I’m going to run over to that Sindar-centric fic every time.) Which got us onto the topic of fic recs, where, yes, I’ve done a LOT of Tolkien fic recs but I tend to read something of a wide variety and this is a list specifically aimed at those who are familiar with the wider Tolkien world, but haven’t really read much fic and want to know where to start! Other Recs First: - If you haven’t gotten further into Tolkien’s work (like say beyond the movies), I’ve done something of a primer here, which includes fic recs and brief explanations and links to videos that help explain some things. It’s not as hard as it seems to get involved, honest! - Some other fic recs here, as an addition to the above. - My Tolkien blog (which I haven’t been on in awhile, though, I haven’t let it go in my heart yet) has, I’m not kidding, A LOT of fic recs, I did recs regularly for about three years, so it’s almost as massive as my collection of SW recs. If I Could Only Pick Three To Start You With: ✦ And What Happened After by thearrogantemu - This is the fic that took me from enjoying the Silm characters to diving face-first into really loving them, because it wove such an engaging story about the characters sailing to Aman at the end of LOTR, where various characters you wouldn’t think interacting would be as meaningful as they are, but the fic absolutely sells them on it. Frodo and Feanor having a conversation about language? Sam and Maglor sharing a boat to the West? These things are amazing, as this is a fic about healing and what it means to sail into the Undying Lands. Also, it has a Feanor and Fingolfin reunion that literally put tears in my eyes. ✦ Interrupted Journeys by ellisk - I’m generally not someone who does a lot of rereading of fic just because I have so many new ones to get to, but I’ve read my favorites in this series (parts 3 to 5 are my sweet spot especially) probably four times through now because “Elfling Legolas growing up in Greenwod with a whole cast of characters around him, as the Shadow so very, very slowly creeps towards them” may sound somewhat simple, but the worldbuilding here is off the scale. The weaving in of how much the First Age and various Elven politics influenced Thranduil’s ruling of a Silvan people is a major theme, but it’s also good parents raising that precious Elfling right and he and his cousins+friends getting into all sorts of mischief, so it’s balanced between humor and drama in the exact amounts I want. You can skip the first two fics and jump into the third if you like, which is when Legolas is introduced, but I enjoy the whole thing. ✦ Return to Aman OR Quenta Narquelion by bunn - I can’t pick between these two, they’re both incredible. Return to Aman is basically “Elrond grabs Maglor and drags him to Aman with them” and it breaths such incredible lift into all the characters of Aman, it doesn’t negate the terrible things the Feanorians did, but neither does it negate Elrond’s love for them and his biological family, too. It’s another fic that’s about healing and forgiveness and it made me glow to read it. Quenta Narquelion is basically “Feanor refused the call of Mandos after he died and everything started to snowball from there” and it’s an absolutely heartbreaking look at all our Problematic Fave Feanorians and how they were once good people trying to do the best they could, but bit by bit they slipped into the dark. It’s especially amazing for capturing the complexities of Feanor, as he hovers over his children as a spirit and it really brought me around on his character. The Silmarillion and other First Age Batshit Faves: ✦ The Starlit Sky by Cirth is the fic that really made me get the potential of reading about Maedhros and Maglor raising Elrond and Elros, where it does such a fantastic job of showing that there was genuine affection there, even the midst of all the angst and trauma and pain. You really get why Elrond could never give up on them, after reading this fic. ✦ In Courts of Living Stone by ncfan - “What if Maeglin never left Nan Elmoth and instead, several decades later, found himself on an errand to Menegroth and developed a relationship with Finduilas instead?” isn’t a fic I expected to capture my heart, but boy did it ever. Beautiful characterization and beautiful writing, it really captured my imagination, but also gave me ALLLLLL the Maeglin feelings, as well as made me pine that this Finduilas couldn’t have been more common in fandom. ✦ naught but the shores and the sea by ncfan is more of Elrond and Maglor, where it’s an AU that has Elrond finding Maglor after the disastrous attempt to recover the Silmarils and I loved it a lot. ✦ The Crane Wife by Trebia is one that takes an underused character from Tolkien (Lalwen, in this case) and breathes this incredible life into her, gives her personality and joy and sorrow and meaning and, look, any fic that can convince me that Thranduil would marry a Noldo and utterly believe it, you know it’s well-written! The Second Age Is Kind of Quiet in Fandom But I Love It Regardless: ✦ The Art of Long-Distance Grandparenting by Kazaera is a lovely and bittersweet (but mostly lighter in tone) fic about the separation of the Sea between family members and does a wonderful job with Idril’s character, as she tries to stay connected to her grandchildren while being so distant from them and unable to see them, unless they choose to come to Aman. There’s joy to be found here and it’s a lovely read. ✦ Relativity by French Pony is a lovely look at the final meeting between Elrond and Elros and strikes the right amount of bittersweetness, where it’s awkward and difficult and heartbreaking, but also feels natural and like this was how it was meant to be. I had many, many Elven Twin feelings during the whole thing. (I like all their fic, they’re worth checking out their other stuff for, too!) ✦ A Thing or Two About Elrond by Crookneck is a series of fics about Elrond and the various relationships he has--with Celebrian, with his children, with Gil-Galad, etc.--and I remember being really charmed by all of them and how much shit Elrond has seen over the course of his life. The Third Age, Lord of the Rings Version: ✦ Boromir's Return by Osheen Nevoy - This one is sort hard to summarize, but it’s basically “Boromir lives, makes a friend, and slowly changes everything about the LOTR plot”, but it’s so much more than that, where the worldbuilding is phenomenal, the pacing is incredible, it made me fall in love with Boromir as a character all over again, it contains probably the best portrayal of Denethor I’ve ever read in fandom, and I really loved the OC and so on. It’s utterly engrossing and honestly I cannot recommend it highly enough, even if you’re not usually into this sort of thing. ✦ The River by Indigo Bunting is a fic where Legolas and Sam get separated from the others for a brief time and I love fics that take two characters who don’t interact much, throw them into an intense situation, and sees what happens. It’s not precisely a light-hearted fic, it’s very intense, but it’ll make you fall in love with the sheer good in both characters and the friendship they develop. It’s brilliantly written and I cannot recommend it enough. ✦ A Bit of Rope by Aiwendiel is a fic where Gandalf doesn’t fall at Moria and it changes everything--not necessarily for the better. The slow, creeping sense of things changing, things going just a little bit worse here and there, until you realize how much darker the Fellowship’s journey could have been, was brilliantly done, and one I thought did justice to the idea, it’s not grimdark, there’s still light and hope here, but it makes you feel like, oh, maybe things happened as they did for a reason, even as hard as that seemed sometimes. Gorgeously plotted and utterly engrossing. The Third Age, Mirkwood Version: ✦ daw the minstrel has an entire series of fics about Legolas growing up in Mirkwood and there’s absolutely a reason why she was one of the most well-known authors in that corner of fandom. Her ability to create new characters (including two brothers for Legolas) was incredible, I cared so much about the family dynamics and got swept up in the drama (which was in a very loving family, but Legolas was definitely a mischief-seeker) and they’re fantastic. If you find yourself in something of a stretch with too many OCs and your attention wavers, you can always skip around, they don’t have to be read in order and a lot of the non-canon characters can be skimmed over, imo. ✦ In a Field of Blood and Stone by ScribeofArda is so much better than what The Hobbit movies gave us of the Battle of Five Armies, it does such beautiful justice to the complicated character of Thranduil and Legolas, not sacrificing the warmth there for how difficult these times are and the war they find themselves in the middle of. This Bard is also really engaging and fun to read--I read pretty much the entire novel’s worth in, like, a day or two because I could not put this one down. ✦ Swordplay and Swimming by cliodna_bright has an incredible meeting where Thranduil comes to visit Rivendell, runs into Elladan and Elrohir, who are young enough that they speak without thinking, and it’s not precisely a humor fic, but I was screaming the entire time because it’s so sharply written and so absolutely delightful, I LOVE IT. ✦ Deep and Crisp and Even by rivlee made me fall in love with how Elves and humans may look very similar, but there’s this sense of otherworldliness to the Elves, as shown through Bard’s eyes when he has a meeting with Thranduil. Beautifully written and just the right amount of atmospheric. The Fourth Age Where Everything Actually Does Mostly Work Out: ✦ Far Horizons by Bodkin is the Fourth Age fic of my heart, where the various Elves that we came to know in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are all in Aman and decide to build their own realm there. Which is difficult because Elven Politics even just amongst themselves, much less clashing with all the established politics of the other Elven realms in Aman! But it’s a light-hearted fic (for the most part) that’s about healing and moving forward, balancing their ties to their history versus that Middle-Earth changed them, and I love it for soothing my soul. (Thranduil sailed, you can’t tell me otherwise!!!)(Bonus moments of Glorfindel being pretty hilarious.) I like all of bodkin’s work, but this one has a special place with me. ✦ Age of Healing by trollmela is one where Maedhros and Legolas have a conversation in Aman and it’s about the bittersweetness of healing and how difficult it is, taking two characters who would never have met in canon and weaving something entirely engaging and poignant out of it. Collections That Span The Ages: ✦ This Taste of Shadow by Mira_Jade - This is a collection of dozens of various shorter stories (or sometimes 10k “ficlets”) that you can largely skip around in if you have specific characters you like or you can just start at the beginning and read through. It contains looks at pretty much everyone, from Maedhros to Galadriel to Thranduil to Elrond to Caranthir to Glorfindel to the Valar, etc. I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything I’ve read in this collection! ✦ Fiondil's Tapestry and Tales from Vairë's Loom by Fiondil are in the same vein and I have really enjoyed everything I’ve read from both of them! I especially remember that there was one chapter that had a scene between Thranduil and Cirdan and thinking, ahhhh, why has no one ever written that before!? as an example of the neat things it does. But also lots about Elrond and Glorfindel and the Valar and so on! This probably doesn’t feel like a super extensive list, but those collection series will give you an excellent spanning of Elves, Humans, Dwarves, Hobbits, etc., not just the same central characters, but giving time to a lot of lesser focused ones as well. Like, I feel I’ve read a fair chunk of Elwing fic, but I couldn’t point you to a specific one in my list of recs, which means I’m pretty sure it was in the collections ones or else she got some good scenes in one of the Aman-based fics, so I swear the above is at least a solid place to start for dipping one’s toe into Tolkien fic. AS ALWAYS, OTHER PEOPLE’S RECS ARE WELCOME, god knows I haven’t read anything in the last two years (and will have missed a lot even before that) and so I always need more recs, too!

#tolkien stuff #the silmarillion #fic recs #tolkien fic recs

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