when i was a tiny baby queer (aka a 24-year-old), i went to my first pride festival probably three months after i kicked ex-gay therapy to the curb and came out to my parents. being the people they are, my parents came with me. they weren’t really sure about this whole gay thing, but they loved me and wanted me to be safe and happy and wanted to be involved in what was important to me, so they came along. (i also think my mother still might have thought i might get drugged or murdered or beaten by a protester of which there were plenty.)
anyway i wanted a memento of my first pride, you know, and this one vendor was selling keyrings, and i liked it, so i bought one. do you remember those italian charm bracelets that were all the rage like 10-15 years ago? it was a keychain like that, and it had a rainbow rooster, a rainbow cat, and then just a rainbow, and so I bought it.
i run into my mom a couple of vendors over and she goes oh you bought something? what’d you get? so i showed her, and i was like, “I’m not sure why it’s a rooster and a cat. Seems kind of random. But I liked the rainbows.”
and my mom, who was some form of minister’s wife for most of my childhood and teenagerhood, stares at me like she thinks i’m joking.
“What?” i say.
“…it’s a cock and a pussy, Jules,” she says flatly, and that is the story of how i died at the age of 24 while attending my first pride festival.
I hate it when people are like “gimli was given a gift that was denied Even to Feanor” as if Feanor is anywhere near Gimli’s league. Like if you just compare them Gimli is simply a better person in basically every way—like he’s sexier. He’s polite. He doesn’t go on random murderous rampages because he wants other peoples shit.
the best fanfiction you've ever read was written by a woman in her 40s before she made dinner for her kids. it was written by a teenager after school when they should've been studying for a history test. and a barista came up with the idea while they cleaned the espresso machine and busser fact-checked it on their break and the post-doc edited between writing grant proposals and the nurse apologized for typos in the notes after a long shift and behind every drabble and one-shot and multi-chapter fic there is a person with a wonderful and interesting and chaotic life and it is such a privilege that we get to be apart of it because they decided to do this thing we all share, for fun.
An Incident occurs and the Finwëan brood of Middle Earth are called to defend themselves.
The start of a charming tale of complete silliness told through letters.
@silmarillionepistolary
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Brought to you by the collective brains of Leaf and Lore with a huge shout out to @isilme-among-the-stars @glitterlessgold @a-tehta @beatles4ever65 @infiniteriver @mnimeresponding @stormsbreadth @motherfuckingnazgul @vaciena @gaydhros @dreamychaos
really funny to meet a genderless alien and make them your gender out of convenience and then fall in love and now you’re gay. you made yourself be gay.
This is a comment I just got on a story I completed two decades ago.
Clearly, I have spent all those years failing to think of a next chapter, but this rando is here to save me!
spring 2026 in review, silm Tolkien fandom edition
Every three months, I like to create a little round-up of my fandom experiences from the past season: fics I've written, great fics I've read, events I've participated in, and other milestones and notes. It's been a nice way to keep track of the highlights and raise awareness for some great fanworks that people are creating around the world.
Favorite fic I wrote this season: This might be the recency bias talking, but I'm extremely proud of The Sting of Salt and Pity, the fic I wrote as a fill for the May 2026 prompts in Leaf & Lore and LTC, and MerMay. Original female Elf character (a Bad Mom of Arda), Mature, 1.1k, horror themes, creator chose not to use archive warnings, see fic on ao3 for detailed tags and warnings.
Favorite fic I read this season: The Swan-Road by @glitterlessgold, Amrod-centric, General, 8.5k. A post-Losgar fic, not crispy Amrod, not toasted Amrod, but a new kind of Amrod we're calling BLANCHED AMROD!! I loved this fic so much. The imaginativeness, the grief, the inevitability & the Adventure of it all! Amrod talks to his boat much as Tom Hanks talks to Wilson the volleyball in Cast Away, and it's fantastic. (Btw, the author's Glorthelion WIP is also excellent!)
Complete roundup of fic and miscellany under the cut.
More fic recs:
A Florid Affair by @polutrope, Daeron/Maglor, Explicit, 3.7k, Sex Pollen (or is it)
Grounded by @amorbidcorvid, Celebrian/Elrond, Explicit, 2.5k, eldritch Elrond and FEATHERS this is so soothing and hot
Hand Over Heart by @a-tehta, Fingon/Maedhros's Severed Hand, Mature, 1.9k, this is so so funny i am giggling again just reading the tags and summary
History Obliterates by @regicidal-optimism, ensemble about the Third Kinslaying at Sirion, Teen, 1.3k, unreliable narrators
Hunger Inherited by @gaydhros, Fingon/Turgon, Explicit, 3.6k, guided masturbation, a brother sometimes just has to help another brother out like that
Metrology by @infiniteriver, Annatar-centric, General, 2.2k, Annatar invents the metric system!
Pet by Anonymous, Maedhros/OFC, Explicit, 1.5k, archive warnings for major character death & rape/non-con. This is such an unsettling and unforgettable fic. Maedhros keeps a tiny woman as a caged pet in Himring. I can't stop thinking about this story. I want to respect the rights of Anon but also I am just dying to crack open their brain and find more of their work
The Proper Bride-Price by @irnina, Celeborn/Celebrian, Celebrian/Maglor, Explicit, 6.4k, weird voyeurism and invented ritual sex practices. Incest!!
Sing for the Damage by @perchingpasserine, Maedhros/Maglor, Teen, 3.6k, angsty kidnap fam. SO good
the wittold's wife by @thepastisaroadmap, Curufin's Wife/Sons of Fëanor, Explicit, 5.0k, creator chose not to use archive warnings, wife-sharing, weird Noldorin sex rituals
Ficlets (which I am defining as works under 1k) and drabbles I wrote this spring:
Gil. Ga. Lad., Círdan/Gil-galad, Teen, 0.2k, an exercise in which I asked myself how could i take the intro of Lolita and make it Silmfic lol
I can't tell where your hair ends and mine begins, Marigol/Rose Cotton, Mature, 0.9k, hobbit femslash in a hayloft
Moonflowers, Earwen-centric, General, 0.1k
Naps in Alqualonde, Self-insert, Teen, 0.6k, written for Rare Kink Buffet 2026
nothing but the dark, Aredhel-centric, General, 0.1k
The Stone Eggs, Nerdanel-centric, General, 0.1k, Bad Moms of Arda
Longer fics I wrote:
Darling it's better down where it's wetter, Maglor-centric (well, Crablor-centric), Teen, 1.1k, Little Mermaid fusion fic for Crablor Day.
Freaky Friday, Aredhel/Fingolfin, Explicit, 3.5k, warnings for Rape/Non-Con and Underage.
Major Triad, Daeron/Maglor/Reader, Mature, 1.1k, a voyeur reader fic for Daemags week and polu.
The Queer Forest, Glorfindel/Treebeard, Explicit, 9.0k, WIP with 4/6 chapters posted, modern AU with Human Treebeard (or is he?), Huorns, dendrophilia & plantacles
Slain at Swanhaven, Galadriel-centric, Mature, 1.8k, Major Character Death, Canon-Divergence AU, Make It Worse
Firsts, milestones, and miscellany:
5 new ship tag inaugurations: Amrod/Glorfindel, Aredhel/Fingolfin, Glorfindel/Treebeard, Daeron/Maglor/Reader, Marigol/Rose Cotton
1 new character inaugurations: Marigol
1 fandom inauguration: The Hunt for Gollum (2027)
I reached 50 fics on AO3!
I discovered the Rare Kink Buffet which is just an absolute treasure trove of imagination and creativity. And may have claimed uhh 300 or so prompts 🤣
Events: the April 2026 Leaf & Lore was a wonderfully motivating community event as usual! I also joined TRSB26 as a writer for the first time, I wrote for Crablor Day & Daemags Day, and I participated in SWG Instadrabbling, the May LTC microfic challenge, and the May Leaf & Lore writing challenge.
This is my fourth "Season in Review" post, meaning that I'm rounding the corner on one full year as an actively sharing Tolkien fic writer! You probably won't hear me shutting up any time soon. Thanks everybody for making it fun 🫶❤️
"Mandos told us the Noldor are Doomed, that all of our works would come to ruin. This city will not stand forever. I have always known this. But what of it? Just because it is doomed will not make me love it any less. Just because it is doomed will not make me protect it any less fiercely. All things in Arda will come to an end. Perhaps all things will fall to evil and despair, but you and I,” he cups Glorfindel’s face tightly. Glorfindel opens his eyes and looks at him, lips parted in surprise, “you and I fight against that darkness for as long as possible. We guard what is kind and good and doomed and keep it peaceful and safe and happy, and every moment that Gondolin stands is a victory. Every moment that we are here, alive and breathing, is a triumph, and I will fight for those moments of kindness and beauty and love, and I will treasure them, and honor them, and—”
Two photos credits for this one! (What are you talking about? I didn't just slap a recolored Mt. Saint-Michel over a mountain background to make Gondolin. That would be craaaaaaaazy)
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
Photo by Bernd Feurich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-castle-near-the-grassy-field-9788514/
"Mandos told us the Noldor are Doomed, that all of our works would come to ruin. This city will not stand forever. I have always known this. But what of it? Just because it is doomed will not make me love it any less. Just because it is doomed will not make me protect it any less fiercely. All things in Arda will come to an end. Perhaps all things will fall to evil and despair, but you and I,” he cups Glorfindel’s face tightly. Glorfindel opens his eyes and looks at him, lips parted in surprise, “you and I fight against that darkness for as long as possible. We guard what is kind and good and doomed and keep it peaceful and safe and happy, and every moment that Gondolin stands is a victory. Every moment that we are here, alive and breathing, is a triumph, and I will fight for those moments of kindness and beauty and love, and I will treasure them, and honor them, and—”
Two photos credits for this one! (What are you talking about? I didn't just slap a recolored Mt. Saint-Michel over a mountain background to make Gondolin. That would be craaaaaaaazy)
Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
Photo by Bernd Feurich: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-castle-near-the-grassy-field-9788514/
several hundred years later: Ecthelion murders Gothmog
at least several hundred years later in the undying lands: Feanor reluctantly but also desperately trying to befriend/bribe Ecthelion into being friends in repayment for "avenging him" because "it was such a noble thing to do and you've done a great service to the house of Feanor" but also "I totally could have done it myself if.......(insert several bizarre examples that make it clear he has had a lot of time to think about it)" all while Ecthelion is slowly trying to back away.
(bonus points if you have Glorfindel and Elrond either suffering or cackling in their front row seats)
His beauty is beyond compare
His stature tall, and long his hair
Like every other man you wrote has been
I know the more you speak his praise
The fewer his remaining days
How easily you break my heart, Tolkien
I think this song is made of lies
Your fave's your fave because he dies
Or 'cause his pain gets worse in every scene.
If what it took to make us care
Was fairness, wisdom and great hair
We'd all be on here stanning Finarfin.
