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 🫶❤️
But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me,
What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?
The Lord of the Rings, Galadriel’s Song
It happened so fast.
After Alqualondë, Artanis looks only onward. There can be no return, not after what they’ve done. And what would await them? Only darkness, only sorrow.
Not even the curse and prophecy spoken by the dark figure standing high upon a rock could compel her to reverse course. Nor the abandonment by the faithless Fëanáro and his sons, the stolen ships that vanished into the unmeasured night.
She will not turn back, defeated, begging at the feet of the Valar for pardon.
Angst and Tragedy, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Flight of the Noldor (Tolkien), First Kinslaying | Kinslaying at Alqualondë (Tolkien), Helcaraxë (Tolkien), Canon-Typical Violence, Grief/Mourning, Guilt, Non-Linear Narrative, Make It Worse, mining the footnotes of the History of Middle-earth for the richest veins of angsty gold
But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me,
What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?
The Lord of the Rings, Galadriel’s Song
It happened so fast.
After Alqualondë, Artanis looks only onward. There can be no return, not after what they’ve done. And what would await them? Only darkness, only sorrow.
Not even the curse and prophecy spoken by the dark figure standing high upon a rock could compel her to reverse course. Nor the abandonment by the faithless Fëanáro and his sons, the stolen ships that vanished into the unmeasured night.
She will not turn back, defeated, begging at the feet of the Valar for pardon.
Angst and Tragedy, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Flight of the Noldor (Tolkien), First Kinslaying | Kinslaying at Alqualondë (Tolkien), Helcaraxë (Tolkien), Canon-Typical Violence, Grief/Mourning, Guilt, Non-Linear Narrative, Make It Worse, mining the footnotes of the History of Middle-earth for the richest veins of angsty gold
thank you to @sallysavestheday @ffigwit @amorbidcorvid @mnimeresponding @stormsbreadth @motherfuckingnazgul @starspray @bad-writer @glitterlessgold @moringottocake @thescrapwitch @balrogballs @ecofutural for the tags! Tagging everyone back.
I am working on a short fic based on this struck-out footnote from The Shaping of Middle-earth:
Finrod [meaning Arafinwë] is slain at Swanhaven in trying to stay the violence.
Here is the snippet! Warning: Major Character Death.
Remember Arafinwë, the soft-spoken, who at the Darkening sought to calm the panicked Noldor. He endeavored to persuade them to pause and ponder ere deeds were done that could not be undone.
Take heed, there is no shame in delay! Please, consider what you do!
Never once did Artanis hear Arafinwë’s voice raised in wrath. Even when she was small, and pounded her fists against his chest in rebellion against bedtime, he would wrap his warm arms gently around her tiny body, restraining her only to prevent further violence. He would stroke her hair, he would sing a low lullaby until, at last, she softened, and slept.
By the end, the golden lamps at Swanhaven were broken. The heavens, dark and still. There was the sound of gentle waves lapping upon the rocky shores. There was the sound of wailing.
Fëanáro, in triumph at the stone arch through which the stolen ships must pass, his white teeth grinning.
Artanis sees her father, fallen, each time she shuts her eyes.
It happened so fast.
Thank you @glitterlessgold for tagging me!
I have decided to share something that might, or might not, be a WIP. The scene below came to me in a flash of inspiration while I was trying to get Fingon to have sex with, er, never mind. And it does concern Fingon! Obliquely! But it is mostly about Ecthelion, as usual.
“And remember,” said Turgon, drawing himself up to his full height, “this is a secret assignment. You must not speak of it with anyone.”
“I understand, my Lord.” Ecthelion disliked having to look up at people, but he disliked his dislike of it more. Turgon was his liege! Looking up at, or to, him was appropriate, even if it was not always easy. “I will not discuss the matter with anyone–except yourself, of course. It would be difficult to do so, given that I do not know what the assignment is.”
“Ah. Right. Here it is.” Turgon reached under his desk to retrieve a locked box. Unlocking it revealed a second box, and unlocking that–a leather bag with a complicated buckle. Turgon took a moment to undo it before picking the bag up, rather gingerly, as if he feared its contents, and then, suddenly, upending said contents onto the desktop.
Ecthelion just barely kept himself from flinching, which was good, since the bag did not contain the dangerous insect or reptile he had been expecting, but merely a slim volume. “A book, my Lord?” he asked.
“In a manner of speaking. In a different, more accurate manner of speaking, it is treason, blasphemy, and depravity, all bound together with mediocre skill.” He poked at the book with the bag, flipping it over to reveal its front cover, which showed a stylized bird–a pigeon, Ecthelion thought–as well as poorly-kerned title.
EAGLEBACK MOUNTIN’, by A Lady.
“A zoological text, my Lord?” asked Ecthelion. “Does it contain inaccura–”
“No. Or rather, yes, I expect it does, but zoology plays no part in them, Eru be thanked. Regardless,” Turgon put the bag in the inner box, which clicked shut. “I want the author of this vile work found, And arrested.” He put the inner box in the outer box, and locked it with an emphatic, symbolic flourish.
“Very well.” Ecthelion nodded. “Only… my Lord, when you say I must not speak to anyone, does that include, well, witnesses? And forensic experts? Because–”
“Of course not! You know what I mean! Or, at least, you will,” added Turgon darkly, “once you have read the work. Which you should do as soon as possible: I consider this matter most urgent. My brother’s very honour is at stake!”
I am not sure I need to explain what the book contains, as my readers are smarter than Ecthelion and know that it is rpf of Maedhros and Fingon, in a precarious setting. I see this story as a police procedural, and a way to torment poor Ecthelion with imaginative gay porn. I am 80% sure I will try to write it for glorthelion week.
My child has lived too long in peace.
“There are worse things than water-spirits. Real dangers. Evil, rotting things that stink and go cloaked in shadow. You must not go so far. If you see the skeletons of the swan-ships that burned, you must turn back.”
I have never seen a foam-fay. I have never known anyone taken by a spirit of the sea. But the Sea itself is perilous. And the monsters walk abroad in the empty places of the enemy North.
To say nothing of the monsters that might dwell in one’s home.
There is a man walking all alone along the shores of Losgar.
A fill for the May 2026 @leaf-and-lore Sparks and Sprouts Challenge, the May 2026 LTC microfic challenge, and MerMay.
1.1k, Mature, Gen, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Ghost Stories, MerMay, First Age of Arda (Tolkien), Losgar, Nevrast (Tolkien), The Sindar (Tolkien), Legends, Folklore, Horror, Water Spirit, Bad Moms of Arda, Harm to Children, Additional Warnings In Author's Note
My child has lived too long in peace.
“There are worse things than water-spirits. Real dangers. Evil, rotting things that stink and go cloaked in shadow. You must not go so far. If you see the skeletons of the swan-ships that burned, you must turn back.”
I have never seen a foam-fay. I have never known anyone taken by a spirit of the sea. But the Sea itself is perilous. And the monsters walk abroad in the empty places of the enemy North.
To say nothing of the monsters that might dwell in one’s home.
There is a man walking all alone along the shores of Losgar.
A fill for the May 2026 @leaf-and-lore Sparks and Sprouts Challenge, the May 2026 LTC microfic challenge, and MerMay.
1.1k, Mature, Gen, Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Ghost Stories, MerMay, First Age of Arda (Tolkien), Losgar, Nevrast (Tolkien), The Sindar (Tolkien), Legends, Folklore, Horror, Water Spirit, Bad Moms of Arda, Harm to Children, Additional Warnings In Author's Note
“You’ve always baited me with this body,” Fëanáro murmured, sliding his hands all around, dragging the lace against her skin with aching slowness. “The gown you wore at your engagement, hugging you like a glove. Did you think I would not remember?”
Or, Indis tries to make peace, and finds herself in a compromising position. Fëanáro gets ideas.
I've another tolkien academic article to recommend, though this one is far more easily accessible than 'Wretched of Middle-earth' thankfully, though is also amusingly written by some 'Millers'
"Tolkien and Rape; Sexual Terror, Sexual Violence, and the Woman’s Body in Middle-earth" by T. S. Miller and Elizabeth Miller contains #1 an excellent examination of Shelob's often remarked upon 'monstrously-feminine sexuality' #2 a robust (if still too nervous for my liking) critique of Tolkien's treatment of rape in all his body of work, and #3 a whole new anecdote about Tolkien's medievalist scholarship that I had never heard about. This anecdote is also, crucially, so fucking embarassing for him like it has to be read to be believed.
The paper is (I think?) pretty approachable apart from the quotes that are in middle english. And somehow a bit funny too! Which I understand is strange to say about an article discussing rape but look;
In what follows, we will insist on paying close attention to what Tolkien and his writings say and show about women as embodied beings who desire and who age, even when these women take the shape of outsized arachnids.
honestly, having flexibility in your headcanons is such an important skill to develop as a fandom participant. like, it's great to have strong opinions of your own, but don't you want to hear what strong opinions others hold? I love being compelled by a passionate argument! go off! tell me something I don't assume! give me the tea that's not inherent to my watching!
“Just like that,” Findekáno murmured as a shuddering exhale fell from his brother’s lips. “It’s better if you draw it out.” He squeezed his knees to stop his hands from wandering between his legs. After a beat of near-silence in which he came dangerously close to thinking about what he was doing, he smiled and said, “It feels good, doesn’t it?”
***
Turukáno, newly come to adulthood, is lacking a vital skill. Findekáno makes sure that he learns.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien, J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth Legendarium & Related Fandoms
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Ecthelion of the Fountain/Glorfindel (Tolkien)
Characters: Ecthelion of the Fountain (Tolkien), Glorfindel (Tolkien), Sexual Tension - Character
Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Humour, Sexual Tension, Pre-Slash, First Aid, Catchy First Aid Rhymes, TW: Wound Care
Summary:
“Well then,” said Glorfindel, “can you tell me more about this very minor injury that you fear may keep you out of battle? As in, what is it, and how did you come by it?”
“It was an accident. A ridiculous one.” The corners of Ecthelion’s mouth turned downwards. “I was walking past the archery butts when, quite suddenly, I was struck by a stray arrow.”
“Where?”
“In the northern corner, just past the Balrog-shaped targets.”
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