I will admit that, until a couple of weeks ago when NelyafinweFeanorion shared a fresh biography of Eönwë with me, I had not thought much about him. Clearly no one else had either, as he was one of the only major characters unwritten in our Character of the Month biography series. He stands forth in a rather bold way and then fades again into the background. He does much and little at the same time. He is both trusted and hamstrung by the authorities above him in the organizational chart choirs of the Ainur.

Eönwë is a middle manager.

He is expected to both lead and defer. He gets to deliver bad news that he had no part in deciding. He is a commanding warrior, standing at the head of the army of the Valar, but then he lacks the authority to pardon Sauron after the War of Wrath, which proves a lost opportunity, as Sauron slinks back to evil. In other words, Eönwë has been set on view-only and cannot edit the critical document in the critical moment of the legendarium, perhaps rewriting ages of history to follow. Instead, we get the Second and Third Ages and Sauron's repeated resurrections.

Eönwë's feels a relatable and modern plight, perhaps best suited to comedic treatment, but he handles it with grace, administering justice and maintaining equanimity while not overstepping his bounds. As NelyafinweFeanorion writes, "Eönwë is not putting himself forward to mete out justice. He offers an avenue of repentance and possible rapprochement, but he does not punish or subjugate the free will of these individuals. It is a contrast to the immediate and ruthless subjugation of Morgoth." Middle manager versus CEO.

All the same, I think most of us will agree that Eönwë deserves a promotion.

Read NelyafinweFeanorion's biography of Eönwë here.

And before you go, don't forget that instadrabbling is this weekend on our Discord server: Saturday, October 3, 2026 at 6PM/18:00 UTC (find this in my timezone).

SWG News

Character of the Month: Eönwë
This month's biography focuses on Eönwë, who started with a variety of identities but settled into the role of Manwë's herald, exemplifying the values of strong leadership and justice.

Instadrabbling Sessions for October, November, and December
Instadrabbling continues on the first Saturday of each month on our Discord server.

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.

New Fanworks

In the Gardens of Lórien by gaydhros [Writing]

“Can you wait that long?” Findekáno asks.

“Yes,” snaps Maitimo , though in truth he is not so sure. His bladder is ridiculously full, swollen and aching, jostling around uncomfortably with every step he takes. It takes a concerted effort of will not to squirm around awkwardly or grab himself between the legs each time the urgency spikes. He glances at Findekáno. “Stop enjoying this so much.”

***

The Gardens of Lórien are one place in Aman Maitimo absolutely, unequivocally, cannot piss. He will have to find a creative solution to this predicament.

Read more ...

When the Leaves Fall Golden by Dagstjarna [Writing]

Celebrimbor reflects on his life and his childhood in Tirion. 

Read more ...

Bury Me to Release Your Splendor by annarobots [Writing]

“Do you know what grows on the shores of the southern isles? A trading-merchant might bring many strange specimens to our lands, like nothing I have ever seen. In recent days, I have tasted a ripe fruit with firm flesh that parted beneath my tongue in a burst of liquid sweetness. So moist, so yielding, its juices dripped down my chin like fragrant honey. Have you ever known such succulence?”

Fingon’s wife has arranged a special surprise for the Lord of Himring.

Or: everyone’s cool with a little ethical nonmonogamy until someone throws a temporary sex change into the arrangement. Lord Maedhros loves Fingon with all his heart, that is known. But how will he react to Fingwen?

Read more ...

these, our bodies, possessed by light by atlantablack [Writing]

The first time Curufin kisses Finrod, it is to provoke.

There is no deeper meaning to it. Only a cousin with a pleasant smile and mild words; only Curufin's unending need to break things and a violence that has been hanging from his fists since they stepped into these caves.

He expects Finrod to reel back with disgust, expects him to be scandalized, to be offended, to narrow his eyes, maybe even to threaten. He does not expect for Finrod's mouth to open beneath his, Finrod's hands coming up to fist in his robes and pull him close. He bites at Finrod's lip savagely, and Finrod bites harder, smiling into the kiss when copper bursts bright between them.

It really only continues escalating from there.

Read more ...

The Skin of Your Mother Before You by gaydhros [Writing]

But Aredhel knew better than her mother; she was stronger, she was more willful, she was enlightened. She would not make the same mistakes Anairë had made. She would find a way to do it all differently.

***

Re-embodied in Aman, Aredhel struggles to come to terms with all that has changed, and all that has not.

Read more ...

Life, Like a Face Between Your Palms by gaydhros [Writing]

Fingon understood that hope was a choice. It was careful and deliberate, and it was hard, and the times when having hope seemed the most impossible were the times one had to choose it over and over again, every second of every day. This was the fundamental truth at the core of Fingon’s beliefs, the centre around which he understood the world and his place in it.

Very seldom did he waver in this conviction more than he did in the months following the Dagor Bragollach.

***

Fingon inherits the crown. Maedhros comes to Barad Eithel in the hour of his grief. Together, they figure out a way to move forward.

Read more ...

The Day Transcending Night by StarSpray [Writing]

The Rings have been forged. The armies of Mordor are marching into Eriador. Eregion burns. 

Far away from it all, by the shores of the Sea, Celegorm remembers his name.

Read more ...

Updated Fanworks

Where I can't follow you by Novenoe [Writing]

Eärendil and Elwing reflect upon their personal and political future during a very long and intimate night

Read more ...

A Thousand Winds that Blow by StarSpray [Writing]

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.

Read more ...

The Spruce Tree by Dagstjarna [Writing]

A young Celegorm and Curufin befriend an old Spruce tree. 

Read more ...

From That Rubble by StarSpray [Writing]

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 have much else to do. I need to build something new there,” he said after a few moments. “To do that, I must first clear away the old and broken things.”

Decades out of Mandos, too many things in Fëanor's life remain broken. He can't do anything except wait for his sons to come to him, but he can do something about the old and crumbling house where they once lived. 

Read more ...

The Mirror Crack'd by AdmirableMonster [Writing]

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 life and finds he has a queer connection with Maedhros, Himring's lord. As their intimacy grows, however, so do the dangers surrounding them, both without and within. What secrets are hidden inside the depths of Anniavas's lost memories--and how will those with whom he is forging and deepening bonds react, when those secrets are at last revealed?

Read more ...

The Seven Gates by Laerthel [Writing]

The impossible happened: a Silmaril has been stolen from Morgoth’s crown. Maedhros decides to reunite the People of Beleriand against the Enemy and attack him while he is still unprepared, which is by no means less impossible. Meanwhile, in the hidden city of Gondolin, Lord Glorfindel of the Golden Flower pursues the meaning of his recurring dreams – only to realize that he is not the only one to see them...

|| A novel-length canon gapfiller on the Union of Maedhros, the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and the downfall of the Sons of Feanor; plus my take on what could have been going on in Gondolin between the Bragollach and the Nirnaeth. ||

Read more ...

Beyond the Silmarillion Fanworks

IN THE SHIRE-RECKONING by Diane Finnis-Robb [Writing]

-This novel was completed for Hobbit Day 2026 and will be updated in serialized fashion here as I make final edits; so feedback is very much welcome.

-It is a multi-generational novel spanning the fgormation of the Shire to the Great Plague Year Thirty-six and focuses on the origins of an old feud between the Bucks and the Tooks.

Read more ...

For a Better World by Ellynn [Writing]

Thirteen years before the War of the Ring, an orcling — more intelligent and more curious than most — is born in Mordor. His curiosity will lead him to both incredible discoveries and perilous situations, all of which will shape him into a leader unlike any Mordor has ever known. But to become that leader, he must defeat all his rivals, especially the most abhorrent of them all — his enemy since earliest childhood.

Read more ...

Around the World and Web

Silm Smut Week 2026
Silm Smut Week is a Tumblr event celebrating sexually explicit fanworks.

Oritober 2026
A gen and safe for work event celebrating Middle Earth's favorite dwarf scribe!

Erestober 2026
An event running throughout October, to show appreciation for Erestor!