New Challenge: Epic 80s
This month's challenge features hundreds of fresh prompts from the bodacious decade of the 1980s.
SWG News
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.
New & Updated Fanworks
[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] A Thousand Winds that Blow by StarSpray
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.
[Writing] Is it raining with you? by AdmirableMonster
In the last days of Númenor, two very different men meet in Umbar and fall in love.
(Please note that while this work is heavily inspired by Disco Elysium, no knowledge of the game is necessary to read the fic!)
[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] 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…
Current Challenge
Epic 80s
Create a fanwork using on of our righteous prompts based on popular culture from the 1980s. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Birthday Bash
Daily word, image, and poetry prompts are loosely structured around events and milestones leading up to our 20th birthday. Read more ...
New in References
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.
Featured Themed Collection
Beyond the Silmarillion
[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.
Around the World and Web
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.
Fanworks Tagged with Romance
Autumn Hunter by Rhapsody
Celegorm returns home after the autumn hunt... A tripple drabble.
Enchantment by Rhapsody
Lúthien Tinúviel just dances on the glades of Esgalduin...
Maitimo and Findekáno by oshun
Story of young Fingon’s love for Maedhros and its reciprocation. Set in Tirion before the creation of the Simarils. (Slash.)
MEFA 2007, Second Place: Romance: Second Age or Earlier
The Coveted by Dawn Felagund
On Caranthir's betrothal to his wife.
The Beginning by oshun
Extended drabble on the theme of Elrond and Gil-galad
as requested by Claudio for his 2007 birthday.
(Non-graphic slash. Just a kiss.)
**MEFA 2007 Nominee**
Memories Of Findekáno by ford_of_bruinen
Nirnaeth Arnoediad is over and Maedhros is looking back and remembering his beloved cousin Fingon.
Night Magic by Rhapsody
Aearwen, elf of Nan Elmoth, looks back on her past and key moments with those she loved and are lost to her.
When the Stars Smile by Dawn Felagund
A romantic comedy about how Caranthir met his wife and developed his disdain for the House of Finarfin.
The Choices of Spirits by Dawn Felagund
Unlucky in love, Caranthir has settled into his lonely life in Middle-earth when love comes from the most unexpected of places: a mortal woman leading a band of refugees upon his land. In the love that grows between Haleth and Caranthir, the two cannot quite overcome the expectations of their people to be together fully, as they wish, and they face the inevitability of separation after death.
The Last Night of the World by Dawn Felagund
On the night of the fall of Gondolin, Laitameldë, the King's librarian, weds Glorfindel, lord of Gondolin. Despite what comes after, their love persists across time. Glorfindel/OFC.
