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: Stars Create a fanwork using star-themed prompts presented in a bingo board format.
Cultus Dispatches: Trends in Fandom Entry Year The films inspired a lot of fanfiction, yes, but exactly how fanfiction authors interacted with them predicts who remains in the fandom for long durations.
Character of the Month: Marach There are few details in the texts about Marach, but he is noteworthy for his allegiances and his descendants, who would become pivotal to the history of Middle-earth and the eventual defeat of Morgoth and Sauron.
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…
When uneasy dreams bring him back into Beleriand, Daeron finds a pair of twins who have lost their home, and an enemy who has lost himself. The Shadow's reach is growing ever longer, and if they are to survive, they must do it together.
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…
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Across three surveys and ten years, the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey has document when authors began writing. These data reveal trends in how film promotions, the films themselves, the books, and other historical contexts have influenced not only who writes but how long they stay.
There are few details in the texts about Marach, but he is noteworthy for his allegiances and his descendants, who would become pivotal to the history of Middle-earth and the eventual defeat of Morgoth and Sauron.
A dissenting voice in Marach's alliance with the Elves of Beleriand, Amlach experiences a change of mind after a mysterious twist in the story reorients his priorities toward enmity with Morgoth.
Erestor finds himself thrust into adventure when Elrond requests his company escorting Arwen to Minas Tirith after the War of the Ring is won. All too aware of the chronic illness that has bound his friend to Rivendell for the past several centuries, Glorfindel has some concerns. Erestor, aware…
The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.
I love the personalities you've given these two. They seem to fit them, while still being hilarious. Clever, as we weren't given much information about either one in the books. :)
I'm glad you like their personalities. This is the story where my version of Gil-galad acquired a personality of his own. I find him a bit hard to characterize, as you are absolutely right that we don't know much about him from the books. It ended up being a combination of deductions from Unfinished Tales, what was required for the stories I was writing, and how he developed in my head. Celebrimbor, on the other hand, leapt into my head almost fully-formed and never looked back.
I seem to remember reading in some footnote somewhere that Sauron loved mithril and collected a large proportion of the world's supply. It fit, so I stuck it in. Oh, the poltergeists have barely begun their work. I can (Almost) feel sorry for Sauron by the time they're done with him.
They'll go a long way beyond overturning teacups and causing trouble for Sauron's pets. The campaign has barely gotten started, and they'll push things to the outer limits of their mandate.
Thank you, Aiwen, for bringing such welcome entertainment during a day when I am stuck at home fighting a cold. If laughter is the best medicine, then Bringing Trouble to Barad-dûr is double-presription strength! This is terrifically funny! I love the premise, the characters, and all the little details: distaste for fish, Sauron's potential allergies. ghost-Celebrimbor and ghost-Gil-galad floating about and through things, Celebrimbor causing metal-fatigue and reminding Gil-galad that he knows a bit about Rings, Sauron's duvet and porcelain teacups (my DM - a dark lord who appreciates creature comforts - approves heartily) and well, so much is so funny!
Great story, and I can thank my mild nasopharyngitis for allowing me some quiet time to catch up here on the SWG. Bringing Trouble to Barad-dûr is a real treat!
I'm glad it's making you laugh a lot. There is a lot more of this story to come. It will be getting a bit less light-hearted shortly, due to Sauron being Sauron, but there should still be a lot to make you laugh.
No, he's not much of a literary critic, but I wanted to get at how more average inhabitants of Barad-dur were finding the mysterious happenings. You'll be seeing him again later. Glad you enjoyed it!
AH HAHAHA! This continues to be darkly hilarious, and major kudos to you for your ability to write what really is a slap-stick scenario so adroitly. I could envision all the hootworthy shenanigans. :^D
He hurled the Ring into the privy hole and floated to the ceiling to watch.
*Snort* Now that is a strategy to make Ring retrieval considerably more troublesome for the Dark Lord.
Of course, it won't be Sauron who has to go combing through the c&*p to find the dratted thing. This chapter is about as silly as the story gets. The plot will become more present and gain in intensity in the next few chapters. I'm glad you enjoyed the silliness.
I'm glad you liked that. I've been reusing some of the original characters that have already appeared with the idea that it will be more interesting to see fewer, more developed characters than hordes you only see once. This isn't the last you'll see of the Ambassador, although I don't think he'll be turning up for quite a while after this. He really isn't cut out for dealing with the likes of Sauron or the Nazgul.
They're certainly going to have a go at rescuing the prisoners. As for whether they'll succeed, for that, you'll have to wait and see. I just put the next chapter up.
The plan is well underway. As for Duilin, he was having a lot of trouble believing this is real, and he still has very little understanding of what is going on.
I wouldn't exactly have pegged the Witch King as the type to have daddy issues! (On the other hand, perhaps he was precisely the type to have daddy issues?)
We don't really know much about the Nazgul, including the Witch King. His parentage came up because I asked myself what canon character seemed most like they could be Sauron's kid. I came up with Angmar, and since this story partly follows the rule of funny, I included it here.
As for daddy issues, well, this is somebody whose magical powers and immortality are tied to his father, and who is second in command to his father. Everything Angmar has that he values is in some way or other tied to Sauron. Under those circumstances, he probably cares a lot about what Sauron thinks of him. It's a matter of survival, whether he loves or hates his father. I suspect he'd feel both emotions, so tangled together he can't tell them apart.
I remember this fic fondly from FFN and I'm very glad you're posting it here! This fic is utterly delightful. It makes me smile all the way through. And it manages to cover all sorts of absurd situations while still feeling in-character! (If Celebrimbor were sent into Barad-dur as a ghost with limited telekinetic powers, I feel that going into Sauron’s torture chamber and sabotaging all the torture instruments by giving them metal fatigue is exactly what he would do.)
Oh Valar, that was the greatest laugh I've had in days. I especially liked the bits about cows and Celebrian and Naz-girls. Sauron so out of his usual behaviour in this scene was just the best.
Comments on Bringing Trouble to Barad-dur
The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.