New Challenge: Epic 80s
This month's challenge features hundreds of fresh prompts from the bodacious decade of the 1980s.
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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] 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 ...
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'm going to write a stream of consciousness review as I read. :)
Firstly, I love the opening song. It fits the story and now I shall never hear this song without thinking of Fingolfin! :)
This sentence:
"Opening his eyes, he once more sought for his son, so like himself – driven by duty and responsibility. He smiled slightly to himself. There were some things Findekáno had inherited from his mother rather than himself: the compassion, the love and the humility that he and his own elder brother both lacked."
I was a bit confused by this sentence; I had to read it a few times. There are lot of pronouns that make it hard for me to follow who the "he" and "him" are. I'd suggest putting proper names in their places, something like:
"Opening his eyes, he once more sought for his son, so like himself – driven by duty and responsibility. Fingolfin smiled slightly to himself. There were some things Findekáno had inherited from his mother rather than his father: the compassion, the love and the humility that Fingolfin and his elder brother both lacked."
Fingon's musings about the world Ereinion will inherit--and Fingolfin's reply--is heartbreaking. So is the way that Fingolfin folds his rings into his son's hand. One can only imagine Fingon's awakening (and you mention this too, later! What a sad moment.)
In the fight scene, the word "dance" is used a lot. It's a great word, but I'd suggest being a little more sparing so that it doesn't become redundant.
But in all, a beautiful and heartbreaking story about a time in the history of the Noldor that receives surprisingly little attention. (I am among the guilty. :) You effectively bring these characters down from their places as epic figures, princes, and kings and show the personal impact that this must have had on the Noldor.
Hi Dawn, and thank you for a lovely piece of feedback. :)
There were severeal elves fighting for the use of the starting song but Fingolfin won ;) He pointed out how badly I had negelcted him until that point.
Thank you regarding the constructive critism regarding the pronouns in the particular sentance and also regarding the overuse of the word 'dance' I will take both suggestions under consideration and edit the story accordingly. (Probably it will take a few days dueto more pressing commitments though)
I am glad that you enjoyed the story and found it both heartbreaking and that I managed to bring the characters down to a personal level. I struggled a lot in writing this story and it is always ncie to hear that I managed to in the end post a successful story.
Thanks again!
*hugs*
Uli
Very powerful. I very much like the characterization of Fingolfin and Fingon in this piece. Extremely plausible scenario of why and how Fingolfin chose to act as he did. I've often asked myself what kind of man would do what Fingon did to rescue Maedhros--a similarly suicidal stunt, but with a purpose that is, despite that, life-affirming. Well, the one answer could be: the kind of man who had a father who would act as Fingolfin did when he called out Morgoth.
Thank you for another lovely review and once again sorry to take so long to respond. I had been trying to get into Fingolfin;s head for some time when I started writing this, deciding to start from the end of why he decided to take on a battle he must have known he could never win.
I had also seen/heard to many interprentions of FIngolfin as a harsh possibly abusive father and I go stubborn :) A lot of the reason behind wriitng it was a backlash agaisnt that and writing a loving father instead. I am very glad you enjoyed the story, in many ways it was the hardest one I have written so far (I do not do fightscenes well and lost count of the amount of times I was told by my betas that it didn;t work and needed rewritten again :D)
Thanks for the review.
*hugs*
Uli
I think this is a very vivid retelling of Fingolfin's death. You were able to convey the dark hopelessness of the Quendi at that hour so well.
Thank you. I love the Noldor, they are all flawed but at the same time so increadibly heroic.
Really glad to find this. Fingolfin has to be one of the most unfairly underappreciated characters in the Silm (I really want to write something for him but haven't managed it yet). I've often wondered what was going through his mind at the end and this is a fine take on it.
Thank you for the lovely feedback. You are right, I read far too many stories with Fingolfin as a bad or even abusive father and I wanted to write him as someone who, in the end, sacrifices himself to give his children a chance to escape and survive. :)
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