take-the-hidden-paths
Hidden Paths
A celebration of fanworks for the smaller Tolkien canons
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Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Leaf by Niggle - J. R. R. Tolkien, TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Original Female Character(s), Original Male Character(s), The Porter (Tolkien)
Additional Tags: Implied/Referenced Character Death, Inspired by Art, Inspired by Music, Friendship, Homesickness, References to Depression
Summary:
Not everyone needs a train trip to Niggle’s Parish in their afterlife.
How about some other trees by a rather famous painter instead?
Written for @take-the-hidden-paths
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Hidden Paths 2024 - Prompts (Set 2)
One week in already! Here is the second set of prompts to tempt your muses...
~~*~~
Thematic Prompt: Gifts
Character Based Prompt: Morally ambiguous characters
Setting Based Prompt: Villages and small settlements
Text Prompt:
“Why was he born so beautiful?
Why was he born at all?”
- From The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker.
Visual Prompt:
[Image ID: 'Studies of a Dog's Paw' by Leonardo da Vinci. Three sketches of a dog's paw, covered in shaggy fur. /.End ID]
Audio Prompt: Galadriel's Lament - J. R. R. Tolkien
Wildcard Prompt: Choose a folk or fairy tale from our world, and use elements from it when creating your fanwork. (Note that the fanwork itself need not be a fairy tale, or anything like one!)
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The Psamathist's Cove
Summary: On a starry moonlit evening, two unexpected visitors come to Psamathos' cove.
Characters: Psamathos Psamathides, Little Boys 1 & 2, various sea- and land-fairies
Genre: Ficlet, Fluff, General
Rating: General
Written for Hidden Paths (@take-the-hidden-paths) 2024!
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Hidden Paths 2024 - Prompts (Set 1)
Hello Tolkien fans!
It's the 14th somewhere and I have a very busy schedule tomorrow, so here, have your first set of prompts a little bit early...
~~*~~
Thematic Prompt: Hauntings
Character Based Prompt: Threshold Guardians
Setting Based Prompt: The Perilous Realm
Text Prompt:
“Sometimes I think all this
Is a waste of time and effort:
For all words disguise what
We truly wish to say.
How then can we use
Our foolish fond words,
Beloved and enchanted words,
Wild words which run away with us?
Hold up the mirror to our thoughts,
Breathe on it, wipe it clean:
Let us begin again.”
From 'Cornish Words' by Donald R. Rawe, trans. Tim Saunders. Collected in Poems From the Edge of Extinction, ed. Chris McCabe.
The original Cornish is below:
“Nepprys y brederaf oll hemma
Yu sculva termyn ha gwyth:
Rak geryow oll a guth pandra
Ny a vyn leverel yn wyr.
Fatel ytho yllyn-ny gul defnyth
A'gan geryow fol ha whek,
Geryow kerys ha nygromansek,
Geryow gothyk, nep a bon a ves genen-ny?
Syns avan an gweder dh'agan tybyans
'Wheth warnodho, segh-ef glan;
Gesyn dhyn-ny dalleth arta.”
Visual Prompt:
[Image ID: The Van Gogh painting, 'Olive Trees In A Mountainous Landscape.' There are gnarled green and brown olive trees in the foreground; behind is a mountain range and sky in navy blue, with a cream and yellow cloud above. /.End ID]
Audio Prompt: Crosby, Stills and Nash - Guinnevere
Wildcard Prompt: Museums are perfect for inspiration! I've linked to the National Museums Scotland online collections, but feel free to use another museum (online or local to you) to search for an object or story that speaks to your muses.
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Hidden Paths 2024 - Prompts (Set 1)
Hello Tolkien fans!
It's the 14th somewhere and I have a very busy schedule tomorrow, so here, have your first set of prompts a little bit early...
~~*~~
Thematic Prompt: Hauntings
Character Based Prompt: Threshold Guardians
Setting Based Prompt: The Perilous Realm
Text Prompt:
“Sometimes I think all this
Is a waste of time and effort:
For all words disguise what
We truly wish to say.
How then can we use
Our foolish fond words,
Beloved and enchanted words,
Wild words which run away with us?
Hold up the mirror to our thoughts,
Breathe on it, wipe it clean:
Let us begin again.”
From 'Cornish Words' by Donald R. Rawe, trans. Tim Saunders. Collected in Poems From the Edge of Extinction, ed. Chris McCabe.
The original Cornish is below:
“Nepprys y brederaf oll hemma
Yu sculva termyn ha gwyth:
Rak geryow oll a guth pandra
Ny a vyn leverel yn wyr.
Fatel ytho yllyn-ny gul defnyth
A'gan geryow fol ha whek,
Geryow kerys ha nygromansek,
Geryow gothyk, nep a bon a ves genen-ny?
Syns avan an gweder dh'agan tybyans
'Wheth warnodho, segh-ef glan;
Gesyn dhyn-ny dalleth arta.”
Visual Prompt:
[Image ID: The Van Gogh painting, 'Olive Trees In A Mountainous Landscape.' There are gnarled green and brown olive trees in the foreground; behind is a mountain range and sky in navy blue, with a cream and yellow cloud above. /.End ID]
Audio Prompt: Crosby, Stills and Nash - Guinnevere
Wildcard Prompt: Museums are perfect for inspiration! I've linked to the National Museums Scotland online collections, but feel free to use another museum (online or local to you) to search for an object or story that speaks to your muses.
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Hidden Paths 2024: Ten Days To Go!
The first set of prompts will be posted on 14th February – although you don't have to wait until then to get creating. The prompts are optional, so if you want to work on something ahead of time, please feel free!
Last year's prompts are also still up and available for use, here and here. We accept all fanworks where one of the smaller Tolkien canons plays a significant role.
For further details about the event, please read our AO3 FAQs or our Dreamwidth sticky.
Hope to see you on the 14th!
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Hidden Paths Needs Your Help!
We are looking for folks willing to write a short promo post for their favourite small canon(s), to encourage others to read them and hopefully create for them. Here are the examples we have so far:
(Borrowed from Innumerable Stars, with kind permission from the mods!)
Roverandom (Dreamwidth | Tumblr)
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (Dreamwidth | Tumblr)
The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son (Dreamwidth | Tumblr)
Sellic Spell (Dreamwidth | Tumblr)
If you would like to write a promo post (or several!!), please message via the Hidden Paths page Dreamwidth or Tumblr and we can co-ordinate from there.
NB – accounts on a particular platform are not a prerequisite! I can repost/reblog on your behalf, with appropriate credit of course. I just need help creating the text <3
Mod Narya
#tolkien#tolkien fandom event#hidden paths#roverandom#the adventures of tom bombadil#the homecoming of beorhtnoth#sellic spell
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Hidden Paths 2024
Happy New Year, small canon fans!
Just a quick post to confirm that Hidden Paths will be running again in 2024.
Hidden Paths was created as a low-pressure, low-commitment opportunity to explore the lesser known Tolkien canons (e.g. Sellic Spell, Mr. Bliss, The Notion Club Papers), and create and share fanworks based on them.
The dates will be the same as last year, 14th - 28th Feb, with optional prompts at the start of each week of the event.
For more info on the event and how it works, check out our AO3 collection or our Dreamwidth sticky post.
Looking forward to seeing your creations!
Mod Narya
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Just a couple of days left to sign up, folks!
Sign-Ups Are Open
We have our tagset!
Once you have read through the Sign-Ups Info Post, go ahead and sign up. (Even if you've participated in previous rounds, please read the info post - there have been a few changes this round!)
This year the following fandoms require mod approval to offer Any Character:
The Silmarillion*
Crossovers*
LotR books*
Hobbit books
Hobbit movies
LotR movies
Rings of Power
LOTRO
Adventures of Tom Bombadil
Book of Lost Tales
Smith of Wootton Major
For the fandoms with an asterisk, meaning there are over 125 character tags in the tagset, we're going to want to hear why you feel you can tackle any assignment that may result. We will almost certainly NOT approve Any Character offers in these fandoms for any first time exchange participants.
Please either comment on the DW post OR email the mods with questions - we are still not reliably getting notifications about asks on Tumblr.
Sign-ups will close Sunday, 03 September 2023 at 8:00 PM UTC.
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Roverandom Promo Post
(Written by @independence1776)
Summary:
Rover is a small dog who is a bit inquisitive and a bit rude, who gets turned into a toy dog by an annoyed wizard. He's turned back into a real but tiny dog by another wizard and then gets to visit the Moon (flying on the back of a seagull named Mew), where he meets the moon-Rover, receives the name Roverandom, and goes on adventures on the Moon. He ends up in the Sea after that, where he meets the sea-Rover and goes on further adventures. It all ends happily and a full-sized Roverandom reunites with the Tolkien family.
Why should I check out this canon?
If you like dogs, cranky wizards, whimsical adventures, and happy endings, this is the book for you. If you want a story unconnected with Middle-earth but with a nod or two to the Legendarium as it stood in the mid 1920s, this book is for you. If you like wordplay, this is definitely a story for you. There are also a handful of Tolkien's illustrations included with the book. It was written as a tale to comfort a young Michael Tolkien after he lost a toy dog on the beach and is about 90 pages or about 25,000 words long.
Where can I get this?
Anywhere books are sold, plus your library may have a copy. It's included in the Internet Archive's copy of the "Tales from the Perilous Realm" collection.
What fanworks already exist?
There are 12 fanworks on AO3, many (but not all) of which are crossovers with Tolkien's other books. There are also some artworks in the Tumblr tag, though they're mixed in with pictures of the book, quotes, and occasional random material.
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Sellic Spell Promo Post
(Written by @naryaflame)
Summary: Sellic Spell ('strange tale', 'wondrous tale') is a short prose tale which attempts to reconstruct the folk story behind Beowulf, and also draws inspiration from the Norse Hrólfs saga kraka. It mostly follows the plot of Beowulf, up to the death of Grendel's mother.
Why should I check out this canon?
If you're a fan of folk tales and fairy stories, and/or you're interested in Beowulf and Tolkien's responses to that text, this one is for you! It has magic and horror, heroism and treachery, treasure and monsters, and can be read and enjoyed on its own merits, whether you're familiar with the source material or not. For the linguistically minded, the 2016 edition of Tolkien's Beowulf also includes the Old English version of the tale - and if your comfort zone is the Middle-earth legendarium, there are plenty of little links you'll pick up on as you read.
Where can I get this?
The manuscript is held at the Bodleian library, but for those of us who can't access the Oxford special collections, it was published in 2016 alongside Tolkien's translation of Beowulf. It's also available as a free PDF courtesy of the Internet Archive.
What fanworks already exist?
At the moment there are two fanworks on AO3 - a drabble from the point of view of the Queen of the Golden Hall, and a crossover with The Hobbit which blends the tale with the history of the Beornings.
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The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son Promo Post
Summary: This is a short play written as an alliterative poem, where two characters, Tidwald and Torhthelm (who call each other Tida and Totta), retrieve the body of their lord, Beorhtnoth, from the battlefield. The work was inspired by the Old English poem The Battle of Maldon and focuses on the aftermath of the battle.
Why should I check out this canon?
If you’re interested in themes like the futility and sadness of war, dealing with picking up the pieces after death, the strife between practical reality and imagination, dark shadows lurking just out of sight, and the conflict of pagan beliefs versus Christianity in 10th Century Britain, then this poem play is for you! It’s also in parts beautiful, sad, funny, and thoughtful. I particularly enjoy the differences between the two characters: young Totta, with his head full of poetry about glory and death, as contrasted with Tida’s no-nonsense practical mind.
Where can I get this?
This canon is a little difficult to buy, though it has been published, both together with The Battle of Maldon and also as part of a short anthology called Tree and Leaf. It is, however, available here for download in pdf format at Reader’s Library. There is a recording of Tolkien reading the play available as a audiobook from Amazon as well.
What fanworks already exist?
There are 7 works on AO3 so far! They include stories crossing over with Middle-earth, stories about riddles, and stories inspired by the themes of the poem.
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The Adventures of Tom Bombadil Promo Post
(This is the first in a series of promo posts we’ll be making over the signup period highlighting the smaller Tolkien canons, with the hope that people will enjoy them, request them, and/or offer them. If you have a particular favourite small canon that you’d like to write a promo for in roughly the format below, please let us know!)
Summary: The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is a collection of poems set in Middle-earth around the time of Lord of the Rings. Some of them are purported to be written by Frodo or Sam, but many have more mysterious origins, or have clearly been passed down from older times as oral tradition among hobbits.
Why should I check out this canon?
If you’re into hobbit lore, poems, exploring the corners of Middle-earth and mysterious things happening in strange places, then definitely have a look. Some of the themes of the poems involve shadows and reflections, trolls, Frodo’s experiences after the War, dragons and their hoards, Elves inviting mortals to go to Valinor, cats, Mewlips and Gorcrows, the Man in the Moon, Tom Bombadil, and much more.
Where can I get this?
The Adventures of Tom Bombadil is sold as a book on its own wherever you would normally purchase books. It’s also available in Kindle format from Amazon. If you aren’t able to obtain it for whatever reason, let me (@edgeoflight) know, and I’ll provide you with a copy.
What fanworks already exist?
There are 12 works so far on AO3, and they involve everything from femslash about Mee and Shee, to exploring what Gorcrows are, to works inspired by the various poems.
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Come on, small canon fans - let’s get requesting!
Sign-Ups Are Open
We have our tagset!
Once you have read through the Sign-Ups Info Post, go ahead and sign up. (Even if you've participated in previous rounds, please read the info post - there have been a few changes this round!)
This year the following fandoms require mod approval to offer Any Character:
The Silmarillion*
Crossovers*
LotR books*
Hobbit books
Hobbit movies
LotR movies
Rings of Power
LOTRO
Adventures of Tom Bombadil
Book of Lost Tales
Smith of Wootton Major
For the fandoms with an asterisk, meaning there are over 125 character tags in the tagset, we're going to want to hear why you feel you can tackle any assignment that may result. We will almost certainly NOT approve Any Character offers in these fandoms for any first time exchange participants.
Please either comment on the DW post OR email the mods with questions - we are still not reliably getting notifications about asks on Tumblr.
Sign-ups will close Sunday, 03 September 2023 at 8:00 PM UTC.
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Innumerable Stars is a low-pressure fic and art exchange for all Tolkien canons - great news for those of us who love the less well known texts! Nominations are now open.
Nominations are open!
Please make sure you've read the Nominations info post so your nominations can be approved quickly.
Once you've done that, the tagset is here. (Remember to copy-paste the fandom names!)
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I have been running an independent archive for over sixteen years now. During that time, I've watched the Silmarillion Writers' Guild go from one archive of many in a crowded field to one of the only independent archives that remains active. Furthermore, the options available to build your own archive have dwindled, leaving fans who want a greater variety of archive choices without much of one.
Last year, I started thinking about how to support the rekindling of independent archives and drafted a tutorial for how to build an archive in Drupal (the platform the SWG uses) that I plan to record this summer. However, this is not the only approach. The recent attention drawn to various issues with the OTW/AO3 has only hastened the importance of fans having the option again of building their own archives.
It's my first day of summer break. I have two months to tackle what I can of this issue, so to get a handle on where people are on the subject and where it's best to focus my energy, I've put together a survey on independent archives.
If you create or read/view fanworks, I want to hear from you! You do not need to have interest in independent archives. Responses are anonymous, and the survey will remain open through 7 July 2023.
You can take the independent archives survey here.
Signal boosts and reblogs are much appreciated so that I can hear from as broad a group of participants as possible.
Going forward, I will be tagging updates related to this work #independent archives.
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HURRAY, it’s back for 2023!
TRSB is a summer-long Tolkien fandom event where participating artists create a piece of art, which is posted anonymously for authors to view and claim. Authors then write a 5k+ word fic based on their chosen art.
The event is open to all canons that fall under the Tolkien fandom umbrella, including the small canons and crossovers between multiple Tolkien canons. Go forth, explore, and enjoy!
(Disclaimer: I’m no longer a mod but I did co-found this event, so I have a very soft spot for it.)
Sign ups are now actually functioning!
Xoxo, mod Raiyana
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