Cultus Dispatches: Six Demographic Takeaways from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey
Ten years of demographic data from the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey show consistencies in who reads and writes fanfiction, as well as a few key demographic shifts.
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Cultus Dispatches: Six Demographic Takeaways from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey
Ten years of demographic data from the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey show consistencies in who reads and writes fanfiction, as well as a few key demographic shifts.
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.
[Playlist] Yacht Rock Silmarillion by Dawn Felagund
Have you ever wondered what would happen if the characters in The Silmarillion were smoooooth like they were sippin' a Sex on the Beach on a party barge in the harbor at Alqualondë? The "Yacht Rock Silmarillion" retells The Silmarillion as though the characters all had perms…
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"Move farther north," Caranthir says to her a month after the attack, gaze steady on her even as his hands continue briskly gutting fish. "There is plenty of land closer to my fortress, and my people can help protect yours if there is another attack."
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Fëanor shrugged, studying the contents of his wine glass. “Something must be done about that house. It will fall down eventually.”
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“It’s not as though I…
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A new star shines in the sky. They claim it brings hope.
Epic 80s
Create a fanwork using on of our righteous prompts based on popular culture from the 1980s. Read more ...
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Tolkien wrote more than just Middle-earth, and this challenge takes its prompts from his non-Ardaverse stories, essays, and poems. Read more ...
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[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…
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Out of the shadow, light is born anew.
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Esoteric Tolkien Week 2026
A fandom event dedicated to the strange, otherworldly, and inexplicable in Middle-earth and beyond.
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.
Scribbles and Drabbles 2026
Scribbles & Drabbles is a fic and art exchange with a minimum word count of 100 words.
This is very entertaining. I can imagine all of these attitudes and it fits within the world very well. Thanks for sharing. Poking to see if there are any further plot bunnies hiding in that bunny hutch. Seems there could be world of stories within this view of the world. I kind of love the idea myself that the Valar are not seen to be as infallible by the Sinar of M-e as they are by the Vanyar of Aman and the better-behaved of the reformed or non-leavers among the Noldor.
Oropher is a special case and I get a kick here out of his reclacitrance even when faced the outcome of his choices!
Nice work!
Thank you! :D
There are definitely more plot bunnies for me about the Sindar and how they (don't) fit in with the prevailing Noldor culture, whether exile or in Valinor. I think I already have a good dozen stories based on that idea, actually...I should probably post them over here at some point. I just always feel awkward shoving the Sindarin politics of not belonging into a list of stories that's primarily based on the Noldor.
The idea of the Valar not being seen as as infallible among the Sindar as the Noldor has always been a put theory of mine - I mean, the Sindar had their king marry a Maia, and I'm assuming she didn't sit in a lofty throne at the top of a tree removed from all the people for that many years. And as far as I can tell, Thingol had the final say, not Melian. So they wouldn't have been used to the final say being with the Valar or Maia, whereas in Valinor, Manwë seems to have had the power to come in and go "Hey, Finwë, we're exiling your son for years, this is out of your hands". My Sindar are very much "Hey, you abandoned us. To Morgoth. My grandfather got turned into a orc by him, while you say here and chatted with Ingwë. **** off, you're not as infalliable as you think you are."
Oropher would tell Elu off if he thought he was being an idiot, he's not going to let any Noldo tell him what to do. :P He's very reclacitrant around anybody who he didn't basically grow up being disciplined by (""**** OFF FINARFIN, you didn't change my diapers and you're not telling me what to do. Only Elu gets to do that, and my parents"). I'm glad you got a kick out of him.
That's very true, Brooke, one can't really see the Sindar being very comfortable with established Amanyarin society--or at least some of them, and Oropher in particular.
Maybe, if those are right who think that Aman is a lot bigger than it looks, they wouldn't actually have to live close to Tirion, though.
Of course, the Valar are another matter--no getting away from them in Aman, obviously!
I think the majority of the Sindar would not be happy with the established society - Oropher is definitely one of the most vocal about it (but he's one of the most vocal about everything :P). I actually think Nimloth might struggle more than him, at least in this universe. She's lost her husband, her sons, and everybody is expecting her to act like her daughter does. And that's not my Nimloth, who will never, ever accept that there is any good that came of her sons' deaths or that it's how things should be.
They don't have to live that close, in my mind, but the Noldor and Vanyar won't leave them alone - constantly wanting to come and convince them of things.
The Valar have exactly zero respect for boundaries. At this rate, Oropher will end up teaming with Fingon to launch a "Free Fëanor to slam a door in Manwë's face like he did Morgoth's" campaign.
As an ardent lover of the Sindar and the Iathrim in particular, I adore this! But it made my heart ache for how true it is. I imagine they really would be pariahs in an Amanyarin world. Perhaps not so much in Alqualonde, but certainly among the Noldor and Vanyar, I can see it.
Sorry for the very late reply! I must have dreamed that I responded to this...anyways, I'm glad that you adored it! I think they'd not be as big of pariahs in Alqualonde, but that for the sake of the Teleri's standing, it'd be an almost underground thing - because both sides would, I think, resent the Noldor and Vanyar to a degree and be willing to sneak things to have something over them, if that makes sense.
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