New Challenge: Allusive
Literature and art constantly refer back to each other using allusions, and this month's prompts are inspired by allusions to literature, myth, art, and history.
SWG News
Cultus Dispatches: "The Rings of Power" Is a Ripple (So Far)
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data for 2025 shows that "The Rings of Power" TV series has not had the same impact on the fandom as the film trilogies did ... so far.
New Challenge: Building Middle-earth
Let global architecture be your inspiration in this challenge, where you will work with a prompts that are architectural styles, locations in Arda, or both.
Cultus Dispatches: Six Demographic Takeaways from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey
Ten years of demographic data from the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey show consistencies in who reads and writes fanfiction, as well as a few key demographic shifts.
New & Updated Fanworks
[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] Explain This by Elrond's Library
Melkor demands an account of Mairon’s failures.
[Writing] Message in a Bottle by StarSpray
Over the course of his very long life he had found a handful of messages in bottles, but it had been a very long time. So when he found the glass bottle on his little stretch of pebbly beach, he picked it up with the intention of tossing it into his recycling. But it wasn’t, he found, just…
[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.
[Artwork] Nerdanel/Nienna moodboard by Independence1776
A Nerdanel/Nienna moodboard.
[Writing] The Stars of Home by Idrils Scribe
Elrohir has been found after his long abduction by the Black Númenóreans of Umbar. He comes home to Rivendell, but all is not well: the Elf-child that was taken is now a Man grown. War and darkness have left Elrohir deeply scarred, and even at home there is danger...
An alternate universe…
Current Challenge
Random Challenge
Middle-earth Olympics
Complete Olympic events Middle-earth style! Read more ...
New in References
"The Rings of Power" Is a Ripple (So Far) by Dawn Walls-Thumma
The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies mark perhaps the most influential events in the history of the Tolkien fanfiction fandom. As the Rings of Power show approaches its third season, data from the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey shows that it is not even close to matching the impact of the films ... yet.
Six Demographic Takeaways from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Data from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey shows demographic changes in participant gender, age, and education and new revelations about neurodiversity.
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.
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.
Around the World and Web
Finwean Sibblings Prompt Fest 2026
A prompt-based fandom event aiming to focus on celebrating Finwë's children: Fëanor, Findis, Fingolfin, Lalwen, & Finarfin - ships, gen relationships, or character-centric
Tolkien Sapphic September
Tolkien Sapphic September is a month long event focusing on Sapphic relationships and characters in Tolkien and adjacent materials.
Gigolas Week 2026
Gigolas Week is a tumblr event focusing on the relationship between Legolas and Gimli
Innumerable Stars 2026
A character-based Tolkien fandom gift exchange is returning for another year of gifting.
Fanworks Tagged with Ar-Pharazôn/Tar-Míriel
Blood and Silk by Fredbassett
Ar-Pharazôn returns in triumph to Númenór and displays his captive to the waiting crowds. But his display of power is not to everyone's taste.
Jewel in the Crown by Fredbassett
The king's golden touch does not please everyone.
Black and Gold by Fredbassett
Pride goes before a fall, but some falls are deliberate. Mairon knows better than to fight a war he won't win, so instead he plays a long game ...
Nature Teaches Beasts to Know Their Friends by BloodwingBlackbird
Tar-Miriel, last queen of Numenor, reigns in name only. Isolated and hopeless, she seeks little more than survival. As the doom of Numenor draws near, she finds herself facing unexpected temptations and strange alliances.
Written for TRSB summer 2023 for art by elvencloud_a_plotting
Elegy for Númenor – Volume 2: The Darkening by elfscribe
Ar-Pharazôn, the mighty King of Númenor, thinks he has triumphed when his powerful enemy, Sauron, surrenders, and the King carries him back to his glorious island kingdom. However, Sauron’s greatest power lies not in his armies, but in his capacity for guile and seduction. A drama with many players.
Rating: M overall, although, no doubt, future chapters will have explicit content.
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.
