New Challenge: Epic 80s
This month's challenge features hundreds of fresh prompts from the bodacious decade of the 1980s.
Founded in 2005, the Silmarillion Writers' Guild exists for discussions of and creative fanworks based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion and related texts. We are a positive-focused and open-minded space that welcomes fans from all over the world and with all levels of experience with Tolkien's works. Whether you are picking up Tolkien's books for the first time or have been a fan for decades, we welcome you to join us!
New Challenge: Epic 80s
This month's challenge features hundreds of fresh prompts from the bodacious decade of the 1980s.
Cultus Dispatches: Communities Do Comment
Comment data from the SWG underscores community as an essential component to a robust commenting culture.
Instadrabbling Sessions for July, August, and September
Instadrabbling continues on the first Saturday of each month on our Discord server.
New Challenge: Scavenger Hunt
In this Matryoshka-with-a-twist, you will solve clues that point you to the challenge prompts.
[Writing] Is it raining with you? by AdmirableMonster
In the last days of Númenor, two very different men meet in Umbar and fall in love.
(Please note that while this work is heavily inspired by Disco Elysium, no knowledge of the game is necessary to read the fic!)
[Writing] Nasyalossë by Lovimmy3365
Erestor lay up against a tree, brown washed to black in the wet of the snow. The black disc of the new moon sailed across the dark sky. Erestor wished it were gone. He had no need to look into dark eyes any longer.
He was dying.
(AKA Erestor unwittingly travels back in time to the…
[Writing] From That Rubble by StarSpray
Fëanor shrugged, studying the contents of his wine glass. “Something must be done about that house. It will fall down eventually.”
“It does not follow that it must be you that tears it down single-handedly. Are you sure you do not want help?”
“It’s not as though I…
[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] Wrensong and Roses by Isilme_among_the_stars
Concerned by his responses to the paraphernalia of healing, Fingon steals Maedhros from his room for an impromptu garden excursion. Maedhros battles with dark thoughts.
[Writing] The Mirror Crack'd by AdmirableMonster
Rescued from a brutal Angband hunt, an ex-thrall with a strange and powerful artifact embedded in his spine is brought to Himring, for it is one of the only places in Beleriand which welcomes such folk. Though he has no memories of his life before, Anniavas slowly becomes accustomed to his new…
[Writing] Bon(e)fire by Fuin
On the night before the battle, Caranthir and his ally share thoughts about their peoples' traditions:
Burning bones ward off evil.
Epic 80s
Create a fanwork using on of our righteous prompts based on popular culture from the 1980s. Read more ...
Discovery
In this challenge inspired by the Polynesian wayfinders, choose a video, song, or historical fact as inspiration to create a fanwork. Read more ...
Communities Do Comment: Expanding the 3C's of Commenting with SWG Data by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Expanding on my 2018 article "Why People Don't Comment," comment data from the SWG underscores community as an essential component to a robust commenting culture.
Fandom Draws the Line: Fanworks, AI, and Resistance by Dawn Felagund, Grundy
By definition, fanworks fandom does not draw a lot of boundaries, but community archives and events have taken a strong stance against AI-generated fanworks due to ethical considerations and member input.
Grief, Grieving, and Permission to Mourn in the "Quenta Silmarillion" by Dawn Walls-Thumma
In a book as full of death as the Quenta Silmarillion, grief and mourning are surprisingly absent. The characters who receive grief and mourning—and those who don't—appear to do so due to narrative bias. Grief and mourning (or a lack of them) serve to draw attention toward and away from objectionable actions committed by characters.
[Writing] Down the Long Years by Isilme_among_the_stars
Bilbo, the strange old hobbit with the wandering feet, senses something special in young Frodo the first time he sees the lad; as they become close, they find in each other a cameraderie not well understood by other hobbits. Five poignant moments between Bilbo and Frodo Baggins over the course…
[Artwork] The Mirror of Galadriel by skywardstruck
Smoke rises from the Mirror, where the Lady of Lothlórien awaits to share its visions.
[Writing] Bar-en-Eladar by Gabriel
Out of the shadow, light is born anew.
A Chieftain is dead. And whilst the events surrounding his death are unclear, a son tries to come to terms with his loss.
Tolkien Gen Week 2026
Tolkien Gen Week will run from July 6-12, 2026 to appreciate all of the incredible characters and relationships within Tolkien’s legendarium that fall under the broad category of “gen.”
Tolkien Disability Pride 2026
This Tumblr event focuses on ALL creative works focusing on disability in Tolkien's universe.
Tolkien Native Language Appreciation Fest 2026
A Tumblr event to celebrate the linguistic diversity of the Tolkien fandom.
Scribbles and Drabbles 2026
Scribbles & Drabbles is a fic and art exchange with a minimum word count of 100 words.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Loved poor Namo's irritated discomforture at his "condition" and Manwe's response. "Alluring endowments" indeed. "‘I need you to kill me,’ pronounced the Lord of Mandos darkly."
I especially enjoyed Varda's interest in the proceedings. Good grin material.
Thank you, elfscribe!
I felt a bit sorry for the Lord of Mandos myself, but I thought it was high time he got brought down a peg or two. Too much Doom can be harmful... and I can be ruthless too. *** evil cackle***
Thanks for taking time to review, made my day!
Heh!
Mandos surely had that bit of humbling down coming to him. What is it with him and his dislike of my most beloved Feänor. :D
Wriggling bits. What an image!
I guess Mandos got terribly busy after Feanor got started with the Oath. He was used to just speaking doom and little else, suddenly there are all these dead elves coming back to be judged and all the rest. *** giggles *** Glad you enjoyed the wriggling bits...
I thought I'd leave my MEFA review of this fic here. Cheers!
Russandol not only writes stories of velvet darkness such as Chasing Mirages, but ones that display her wonderful sense of humor as well. I particularly enjoyed this one in which a disgruntled Námo shows up at the gates of Ilmarin to present Manwë with an unusual, er, problem. This story opens in a seemingly serious manner, much like a Monty Python Holy Grail sketch, in which a mysterious cloaked and hooded stranger arrives with a letter of introduction with inexplicably bad penmanship (ooh foreshadowing) from the Lord of Mandos, demanding to see the head dude. The impudence of the petitioner mightily pisses off Manwë, and from there the somber mood of the story begins to degenerate. [The room shook with his wrath, making Varda’s crystal bead lamps tinkle loudly. He was most proud of the humbling effect this trick usually had . . .]
As the story progresses, we discover the, er, source of Námo's trouble and his unorthodox proposal to cure it and begin to cackle along with Manwë. I enjoyed Námo's wrath at his minions and his creative punishments, Manwë's initial prodding of Námo's creation, and his horror at being asked to commit the unthinkable kinslaying, and Námo's whinging pleas. Varda's discovery of the exact nature of Námo's problem, and her subsequent desire to see her husband duplicate it, was entirely hoot-worthy. Plus any story that manages to work the word vië into it gets my vote. Thanks for the grin, Russandol.
This is a wonderful review, thank you, elfscribe! Your support at the MEFAs and outside them means a lot to me. This story was actually a most unexpected spin off from Mirages, a persistent, most annoying plot bunny. I could not think of anything else fanfic-wise until I wrote it to get if off my mind. I hope Námo has forgiven me, I've been dreading his revenge ever since I revealed his secret...
Great idea about copying MEFA reviews, by the way! I should do the same.
Ha ha, I loved reading this! Excellent writing, lovely sick humor, and it was quite impossible not to laugh at poor Námos predicament (likewise, it was impossible to stop imagining what he Manwë saw when he opened his cloak)! But Varda, hm... she has a peculiar taste, doesn't she? Lol!
Yes, Varda freaked me out a bit too, but there you go, the Ainur obviously have a different wiring in their brains. Funnily enough, the idea originated from my musings about Really Serious StuffTM like Elvish re-incarnation, when I was writing my current WIP. It went downhill from there.
Sick humour is a perfect description of Kinslayer, ask Namo and he will corroborate. But sometimes I am sane, I promise.
Thank you for reviewing!
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Comments on Kinslayer
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