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SWG News
New Challenge: Tengwar
Each day for thirty-six days, we feature a randomly chosen letter from the Tengwar as a prompt.
A Sense of History: Crossroads
In the ongoing series on towers in Tolkien's work, a thread runs through "The Lord of the Rings," revealing the divine assistance of Varda in the travails of the Fellowship.
Cultus Dispatches: Canon Deviations, Multifandoms, and Original Content
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data gives some insight into what connections, if any, exist between fanfiction and original fiction.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Reference] Thálatta! Thálatta! by Simon J. Cook
While he never climbs the stairs of this Elf-tower, in Lothlórien Frodo Baggins descends a flight of steps to look into Galadriel’s Mirror, wherein he first sees the sea. This post examines the view.
[Writing] Tengwar (working title) by cuarthol
For the Tengwar prompt challenge. To be updated as new prompts are completed.
Current up through 'Arda…
[Writing] I Stood Aside by Flora-lass
Maedhros thinks about the burning ships. Inspired by a painting (see notes).
[Writing] Words of Wisdom by AdmirableMonster
One or more drabbles about Pengolodh and his babysitter Salgant.
[Writing] Les Mots de Sagesse by AdmirableMonster
Plusieurs petites histoires qui parle de Pengolodh et Salgant pendant des moments differents.
[Writing] "Tengwar" ficlets by chrissystriped
Fics written for the "Tengwar" challenge.
[Writing] Upon Cirith Thoronath by StarSpray
A horrid cacophony of cries erupts ahead of them, as orcs appear—up the cliff on hidden ledges, on the path, with bows and swords. And behind them rises a figure of darkness and flame. The heat rolls down the path over them, bringing the smell of burning flesh and bitter fear with it. Someone…
Current Challenge
Tengwar
A daily prompt of a Tengwar letter per day. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Storyteller
Storytelling is an interactive art, using words and actions to bring a story to life while encouraging the listener’s imagination. This challenge is all about storytellers in the Silmarillion tapestry. Read more ...
New in References
Thálatta! Thálatta! by Simon J. Cook
[]While he never climbs the stairs of this Elf-tower, in Lothlórien Frodo Baggins descends a flight of steps to look into Galadriel’s Mirror, wherein he first sees the sea. This post examines the view.
[]
With Gildor Inglorion we finally climb the stairs of Elostirion and look on the view, and what we see appears to reveal a hidden thread in the story of Frodo Baggins. This post reads two annotated translations of two Elvish songs to step through a crossroads in the narrative to arrive at the tower on the margin of the story, wherein is a stone that is a window onto Valinor.
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.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Waybread (The Waybredlik) by Himring
[]Lembas speaks out.
[Series] Apr 1st Stories by Uvatha the Horseman
[]Once a year on April 1st, a canon character from LOTR or the Silmarillion gets pranked.
[Writing] Crossing Forest River by Dawn Felagund
[]Bilbo recounts, in verse, the attempt of Gandalf, Beorn, and him to cross the Forest River after the Battle of Five Armies. Written for the Hungarian Tolkien Society's 2024 Mailing Competition.
Around the World and Web
Monstrous May 2024
Monstrous May is a Tumblr event where, for each day of the month of May, there is a prompt involving and invoking the monstrous.
Fellowship of the Fics: Modern AU May
During May, Fellowship of the Fics offers modern AU prompt lists for setting, character occupation, and dialogue on Tumblr.
May challenge at tolkienshortfanworks
The May challenge has been posted to the tolkienshortfanworks community on Dreamwidth. Thematic challenge: name; formal challenge: acrostic. As usual, these can be filled independently and freely combined with other prompts such as the SWG challenges. New participants welcome!
May 2024 Calls for Papers
Conferences and publications that have open calls for papers in May 2024.
Angbang Week 2024
All new, unpublished fanworks about the Angbang (Melron) ship are welcome during this Tumblr event, running 6-12 May 2024.
Cheesy Corn Chips
Two best friends share a first kiss, backed by a postcard-perfect sunset. A car chase twists through the streets of Paris before plunging through the Arc de Triomphe—while driving in reverse. The team of lovable and klutzy misfits pulls out a victory over the top-flight bullies, right at the buzzer. Such stories make us roll our eyes and groan but also hold the irresistible appeal of one more nacho chip or candy corn.
This month's challenge celebrates the corny and the cheesy in popular culture, the sappy and sweet and schmaltzy and saccharine. To participate, you will choose a prompt from a collection of corny, sentimental, and heartstring-rending pop-culture selections and use it to create a fanwork. As always, you can use any part of the prompt to inspire your fanwork and interpret it any way that works for you. Note that fanworks themselves do not need to be fluffy, sweet, or sentimental.
This challenge opened in .
Prompts
Choose your prompt from the collection below.
- View Prompts
-
Quotes
- "There have been five great kisses since 1642 B.C., when Saul and Delilah Korn’s inadvertent discovery swept across Western civilization. (Before then couples hooked thumbs.) And the precise rating of kisses is a terribly difficult thing, often leading to great controversy, because although everyone agrees with the formula of affection times purity times intensity times duration, no one has ever been completely satisfied with how much weight each element should receive. But on any system, there are five that everyone agrees deserves full marks. Well, this one left them all behind."
- The Princess Bride, William Golding - William Shakespeare, Sonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?")
- "Love is a lot like a backache. It doesn’t show up on x-rays but you know it’s there."
- George Burns - "So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help me find you."
- Paulo Coelho - "Love is like a virus. It can happen to anybody at any time."
- Maya Angelou - “'And what would humans be without love?'
RARE, said Death."
- Terry Pratchett, Sourcery - "Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans."
- John Lennon - "You’ve got to sing like you don’t need the money
Love like you’ll never get hurt
You’ve got to dance like nobody’s watchin’
It’s gotta come from the heart if you want it to work."
- Susanna Clark & Richard Leigh - "There is an element of truth in every idea that lasts long enough to be called corny."
- Irving Berlin - "This happens to be that the power of laughter and love would beat out the power of fear every time."
- John Goodman - "I have observed, throughout life, that a man may do an immense deal of good, if he does not care who gets the credit for it."
- Father Strickland - "It may be confidently asserted that no man chooses evil, because it is evil; he only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks."
- Mary Wollstonecraft - "Aha!—so far from being a madman, he was saner, you see, than the average of our race; for he had a warm spot in him for cats. When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction."
- Mark Twain - "Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him."
- Proverbs 26:4 - "Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him."
- Proverbs 26:27 - "Common sense and a sense of humour are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humour is just common sense, dancing. Those who lack humour are without judgment and should be trusted with nothing."
- Clive James - "He counted under his breath, and had only reached two when a cartwheel rolled out of the smoke and away down the road. This always happens."
- Terry Pratchett, Night Watch
Songs
- Meatloaf, "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" lyrics | video
- Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" lyrics | video
- Shania Twain, "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" lyrics | video
- Right Said Fred, "I'm Too Sexy" lyrics | video
- Tiffany, "I Think We're Alone Now" lyrics | video
- Vangelis, "Chariots of Fire Title Theme" video
- Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You” lyrics | video
- Shania Twain “Still The One” lyrics | video
- Chicago, “You’re The Inspiration” lyrics | video
- Bette Midler, "Wind Beneath My Wings" lyrics | video
- Bryan Adams, Rod Stewart, & Sting, “All For Love” lyrics | video
- The Bangles, “Eternal Flame” lyrics | video
- Enrique Iglesias, “Hero” lyrics | video
- ABBA, “Take A Chance on Me” lyrics | video
- The Foundations, “Build Me Up Buttercup” lyrics | video
- Starship, “We Built This City” lyrics | video
- LEN, “Steal My Sunshine” lyrics | video
- Bobby McFerin, “Don’t Worry Be Happy” lyrics | video
- Journey, “Don’t Stop Believin’” lyrics| video
- Rent, “Seasons of Love” lyrics | video
- The Refreshments, “Banditos” lyrics | video
- Barenakedladies, “Odds Are” lyrics | video
- Arlo Guthrie, “Alice’s Restaurant” lyrics | video (warning for use of the f-slur)
- Europe, "The Final Countdown" lyrics | video
- Kuana Torres Kahele and Nāpua Greig, "Lava" lyrics | video
Movie Clips
- Titanic, "The Promise"
- The Notebook, "Kiss in the Rain Scene"
- A League of Their Own, "Racine Belles Win the Game"
- When Harry Met Sally, “I’ll Have What She’s Having”
- Casablanca, “Of All The Gin Joints”
- The Sound of Music, “Sixteen Going On Seventeen”
- Love Actually, "Sam and Daniel Watching Titanic"
- The Mighty Ducks, "Flying V"
- It's a Wonderful Life, "Auld Lang Syne"
- Charlie’s Angels (2000) trailer
- Rocky, "Training Montage"
- Blades of Glory, "Fire and Ice Routine" (featuring the corny Aerosmith song "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing")
- Fast and the Furious, "10 Minutes of Car Chases"
Advertisements
- Always, "Like a Girl"
- Pfizer, "Be Brave"
- Pantene, "Follow Your Dreams"
- Water Is Life, "4-Year-Old's Bucket List"
- Purina, "Puppyhood"
- Extra, "Birds (Origami)"
- Thai Life Insurance Company, "Just in Time"
- Anheuser Busch, "Homecoming"
Other Video
- "The Present" (short film)
- "WiNDUP" (short film)
- Professional Wrestling. Any professional wrestling will do. It's all corny. This is just one possibility.
Images (Art)
- Frank Dicksee, "La belle dame sans merci"
- Gustav Klimt, “The Kiss”
- Watchmaker de Choudens, "Watch"
- George S. Harris and Sons, "Comin' Thro' the Rye"
- Knapp & Company, "Snow Balling"
- Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company, "In the Country Winter"
- Katsukawa Shunchō, "A Young Man, Two Young Women and a Girl at a Picnic Party"
- Jean-Claude Duplessis and Antoine Caton, "Vase"
- Kitao Shigemasa, "Boys Playing with a Basin of Fish and Turtles"
- Henry Julien Detouche, "In the Brambles (Dans le Ronces)"
- Vittorio Reggianini, "An Illicit Letter"
- Vittorio Reggianini, "La Soirée"
- Bessie Pease Guttman, "The Awakening"
- Andrew Lang, "Illustration from The Blue Fairy Book"
- John Henry Fuseli, "The Nightmare"
Images (Stock Photos)
- "There have been five great kisses since 1642 B.C., when Saul and Delilah Korn’s inadvertent discovery swept across Western civilization. (Before then couples hooked thumbs.) And the precise rating of kisses is a terribly difficult thing, often leading to great controversy, because although everyone agrees with the formula of affection times purity times intensity times duration, no one has ever been completely satisfied with how much weight each element should receive. But on any system, there are five that everyone agrees deserves full marks. Well, this one left them all behind."
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Fanworks Tagged with Cheesy Corn Chips
Assistance by Himring
Early in the Second Age, Gil-galad receives an important collaborator.
Devotion by Flora-lass
Beleg loves Turin. Despite everything, because of everything, forever.
Organum by mairoff
When Melkor approaches him it is not necessarily out of ill intents - he thinks. As Aulë’s second he enjoys a certain reputation - one that gives him the moniker Admirable.
No, Mairon does not start evil at all.
Though, perhaps it is in his nature to ever evolve, ever iterate, he is fond of empirical processes and his surroundings feel small and smothering sometimes. But Mairon laughs, Mairon cares, Mairon even loves.
And that is his own doom.
Gorthaur and Finrod at Tol-in-Guarhoth by Anérea
After capturing Finrod and his companions, Gorthaur attempts to discover their identities...
The blinding Sun by Varda delle Stelle
After the Midsummer celebration Fingon who had had too much wine talks with Maedhros, who is far too amused
This story is just a really flully idea that has come to my mind that I have done my best to write today, it was not beta read so please excuse eventual grammar mistakes :)
I Lava You: some silly sooty smut by Anérea
Pressure builds deep in Thangorodrim — a cheesy PWP drabble for the Cheesy Corn Chips Challenge.
Wealth Enough of Joy by StarSpray
Elladan and Elrohir are born at twilight in summer.
We Built This City by Grundy
Turgon's city is still just a dream. It will take good planning and hard work to make his vision a reality.
Out of the Ashes by StarSpray
In the wake of Melkor’s latest swath of destruction, Aulë found Yavanna kneeling, disconsolate, on the barren ground.
Burnt Sugar by sallysavestheday
Aegnor and Andreth and fires in the dark.
And better, and better is peace by Himring
Combatants returning from the War of the Last Alliance to the coast of Gondor.
A vignette.
Fly me to the Moon by daughterofshadows
Arwen remembers a dream, Aragorn makes a prediction, and Minas Tirith flies.
Millenia later, Eärendil gets company on the Vingilot and remembers his childhood.
Oh, and there are hot air balloons.
Live in the Moment by chrissystriped
Finrod watches his lover sleep and things about their coming deaths. Luckily, Balan wakes to comfort him.
The latest dream I ever dreamt by elennalore
Celebrimbor muses on the meeting that changed his life.
And still, we stand tall by Sarbanes Oxley
Finwë and friends go West
Eternal Flame by elennalore
On the last night of the war, Melkor sends Mairon away.
Homecoming by Lferion
The first ships to return to Valinor after the end of the War of Wrath are on the horizon. What does that mean, for the people on the shore, the people on the ships? A quintuple drabble.
In Service, Love by sallysavestheday
From the ruin of the Gladden Fields, where Isildur perished, three men only came ever back over the mountains after long wandering. One of these was Ohtar, the esquire of Isildur, who bore the shards of the sword of Elendil; and he brought them to Valandil, the heir of Isildur, who being but a child had remained in Rivendell. The Fellowship of the Ring, Ch 2, The Council of Elrond.
Ohtar is faithful.
