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] 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] 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.
Current Challenge
Epic 80s
Create a fanwork using on of our righteous prompts based on popular culture from the 1980s. Read more ...
Random Challenge
To Be Free
Use a fanwork to show a character working to achieve freedom. 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 Rape/Nonconsensual Sex
Marta's Mathoms - BMEM 2011 by Marta
A series of stories written for Back to Middle-earth Month 2011.
- New! "Jus Ad Bellum" ft. Elrond, Isiildur, and Maglor; 1,472 words
- NEW! "Things Unseen" ft. Elendil + Pharazon, 1,136 words
- NEW! "Three for the Elven-Lords II" ft. Cirdan, 200 words
Chasing Mirages by Russandol
The story of Eönwë, Maia of Manwë, and Mairon Aulendil after the War of Wrath. A tale of darkness, light, love and betrayal over the Ages of Eä.
Tolkien simply told us that [Sauron] fell back into evil, for the bonds that Morgoth had laid upon him were very strong. But this line is unsatisfactory on so many levels that it became a challenge to create a plausible background story for Sauron's fall, from the time Eönwë returns to Aman to face the Valar over his decision to free one of Morgoth's most dreaded minions to Sauron's final fate, long after the destruction of the Ring.
B2MeM 2011 and 2012 participant
MEFA 2011 1st Place - Incomplete: Drama & Smaug's Treasure (but complete since then!)
On Cold Thangorodrim by downtide
The captivity of Maedhros on Thangorodrim, and his subsequent rescue by Fingon. This is actually part of my modern AU - the elves are living in the modern world and the events in Middle Earth are told as a flashback.
Warnings for rape/non-con, torture.
Child of Dawn by Cirdan
Maedhros hears that Aredhel is being held against her will by Eol and goes to rescue her. Maeglin watches as Maedhros and Eol fight it out.
At the Edge of the Precipice by Cirdan
Maedhros is tormented in Angband by Sauron and frees himself from Sauron by submitting to Morgoth.
Noldolantë by Ithilwen
Maeglin at the fall of Gondolin. Graphic violence and adult themes.
Hide and Seek by Ithilwen
Young Amrod and Amras have gone missing, and the reason for their disappearance can be traced to a family tragedy. Warning: Adult sexual themes.
Elegy for Númenor - Volume 1: Journey to Umbar by elfscribe
The Númenórean King Ar-Pharazôn thinks he has won an easy victory when Sauron surrenders to him and becomes his prisoner. But the march back to Umbar with the conniving Dark Lord turns out to have many unanticipated twists and turns through a nest of politics and intrigue, including Sauron's attempted seduction of Ar-Pharazôn's favorite male courtesan.
This is volume I of a planned trilogy. An epic tale of political intrigue, the desire for immortality and love, sorcery, hubris, loyalty, lust, and catastropic amounts of water.
MEFA 2009 First Place winner in Genres: Longer Works: Incomplete (Vol. I is now complete)
This fic was recommended in USA Today, May 20, 2015! (They have a fanfiction section. Who knew?) Thank you to Uvatha the Horseman for the rec!
Three Year's Thrall by Anu
More about the Man that Idril married.
Just One Victory by Feta
AU. Morgoth never hangs Maedhros from Thangorodrim, which means Fingon is unable to rescue him. Centuries later, the Union of Fingolfin results in the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and a prisoner takes his chance for escape.
Journeys of Vása by Dawn Felagund
A series of vignettes about the first rising of the Sun, from the perspectives of different characters. Check the Table of Contents for more specific summaries and warnings. MEFA 2008 nominee.
The Apprentice by pandemonium_213
An ambitious young Noldorin man of Ost-in-Edhil lands a coveted appointment as an apprentice to the most skilled master smith of the Gwaith-i-Mirdain: Istyar Aulendil. The apprentice's mentor, a prodigy of the Aulënossë, has been sent to Middle-earth by the Valar and has knowledge of exotic and wondrous technology. Istyar Aulendil also has notoriously high standards. The apprentice must meet his mentor's expectations if he is to become a journeyman and work on an important new initiative.
MEFA 2008: First Place, Villains, General.
The Illgotten Son by Gadira
Aredhel, princess of the Noldor, gets lost in the forest of Nan Elmoth and is forced to marry Eöl, the Dark Elf. Bound by an oath of revenge, she lives on to bear his son, and tries to make him hate his father. My oldest fic... or the oldest fic I´m ready to show anyway.
The Last Queen by Gadira
The cliché setting for the Downfall of Númenor... or maybe not so much? Dark themes.
Full of Wisdom and Perfect in Beauty by Gadira
The History of the Downfall, from Ar Sakalthôr's accession to Ar Pharazôn's Armada. EPILOGUE: In Middle-earth, life begins anew, and hope lies hidden in the most unlikely places. Story now complete.
