I'm elwinfortuna on AO3, Dreamwidth, and Discord. Writer of fanfic for many fandoms but these days mostly Tolkien, Heaven Official's Blessing, and Word of Honor. An American in Scotland. Very far over 18. Not into discourse, definitely into sharing happiness and making friends.
The 2026 schedule:
Nominations Open: Sunday, 02 August 2026, 8:00 PM UTC Nominations Close: Sunday, 16 August 2026, 8:00 PM UTC
Sign-ups Open: Sunday, 16 August 2026, 11:59 PM UTC
Sign-ups Close: Sunday, 30 August 2026, 8:00 PM UTC
Assignments Out: Monday, 31 August 2026, 8:00 PM UTC
Assignments Due: Sunday, 11 October 2026, 8:00 PM UTC
Works Revealed: Sunday, 18 October 2026, 8:00 PM UTC
Authors Revealed: Sunday, 25 October 2026, 8:00 PM UTC
Silmaril Size And Shape Poll!
Alright, for reasons, it has once again come to my attention that basically everyone in the fandom envisions the shape and size of Fëanor's gems differently.
I feel like this may have been done before, but I could not find that poll again (if it exists), and I need to know...for reasons.
So. What Shape And Size Do You Think The Silmarils Are?
Thanks to @spiced-wine-fic for tagging me to post ten favourite lines from my last ten fics. However, I'm taking a page out of @hhimring's book and picking ten favourite lines from my ten longest fics!
I tag @naryaflame, @independence1776, @grundyscribbling, @xieliansbignaturals, and anyone who hasn't been tagged and would like to do it!
“But he hates me,” Nolofinwë said.
“But I hate him,” Fëanáro said at nearly the same time.
-- The Feast of Unity, Rated G.
2. "Maybe one day," San Lang said. "If I'm very lucky and work hard, I'll win over the person of my dreams."
Xie Lian looked up at him. There was a look on the face of San Lang that wasn't mischief or playful carelessness. In a moment, it was as if he had become someone else, someone much older and wiser. Whatever else you could say of the youth, it was clear he was very serious about this, in a way that was both childish and very mature at the same time. Somehow he combined the pure wonder and passion of a first love with the steady, settled determination of a grown person.
-- The Temple of Eternal Hope, Rated E.
3. "Will you take revenge for us?" Hua Bei asked, the words coming out weakly one by one. "Thousand year immortals cannot be defeated."
Zhou Zishu looked down at him, face very softly stern. "Revenge is meaningless," he said. "We have lived long enough to know that revenge only leads to more revenge. Killing means more killing, death means more death, and so the cycle continues, spiralling ever upward, until the whole world perishes in fire."
Hua Bei struggled up onto his elbows to look into Zhou Zishu's face. "Then what are you doing with your immortality?" His voice was breaking, sounding almost panicked, anger and pain running through it.
Wen Kexing answered, and at the sound of his voice, Hua Bei turned to look at him. "We love each other."
"That is all," Zhou Zishu said. "We are not immortals because of revenge, because of war, because of fear, because of death. We are immortals because we love each other. We have no purpose other than this. We have no task other than this. We are not here to destroy what's left of jianghu in fiery revenge, not even for the Four Seasons Manor."
-- Ten Thousand Years of Love, Rated E.
4. The stars look like streaks of light. The thought occurs to me that we are also but streaks of light flying through the blackness outside.
Sometimes a star loses the war of all matter and falls into a black hole. Eventually, they tell us, all matter will end up in black holes, that the very fabric of the universe will be reduced to elementary particles. I have trouble believing that. It sounds too dark.
-- Only Light, Rated M.
5. "It's true we never really talked, back then," San Lang said. "I was little Hong'er with no prospects, and you were you, the one with a bright future, strong, beautiful, loved by everyone. I couldn't pursue you then, so I just watched you, and made you the one I looked up to, the one I dedicated my life to."
"But my bright future didn't pan out," Xie Lian said. "I'm not strong or beautiful or loved by everyone, now."
"You are still you, gege," San Lang said, wrapping both arms around his waist and holding him close. "You matter, not any of those things. Though I disagree: you are so strong to have endured all you have, you are so beautiful even despite it all, and I hope that when I tell you I love you, it doesn't matter as much what the rest of the world thinks."
-- Heart in Paradise, Rated E.
6. Slightly suspicious even so, Methos kept a sword within reach.
“Good day, traveler,” he said, tugging at the sleeves of his longcoat, looking innocent.
“Is it?” the other man returned, frowning.
“The sun is shining, and I have beer,” Methos answered, smiling, but on his guard. “Of course it’s a good day.”
-- Meeting At Infinity, Rated E.
7. This is no typical lover's vow; I will show you what love is like after death; that the strength of it cannot be broken, that the silence of it cannot be shouted down, that the eternity of it cannot be wrested from me.
-- Threads of Eternity, Rated E.
8. Fëanor breathed in, and gave Fingolfin a smile that was almost tentative. "It is my hope that I will one day understand the intricacies of light itself, that I may put light into a vessel, yes, even the light of the Trees! This," - he gestured, taking in the forest around them and their journey to it - "is but the practice, the beginning. Perhaps one day I may invent some device that will allow me speak to him across the Sea. Or perhaps I will one day travel to Middle-earth, and there say to Elwë, 'Behold! I am the son of your friend who loved you, and in my hand I bring to you Light! My gift to you is the Light of the Two Trees themselves, a gift to be shared with all in Middle-earth and not as the Valar would wish it, kept for Aman alone.'"
-- Fire In A Flask, Rated E.
9. At the summit of the hill Maedhros turned. "They gave him no grave but this, no memorial but dust," he said, and neither Finrod nor Maglor needed to ask of whom he spoke. "All, all is dust and ash, and it is fitting that I too should end here, with all this ruin." He held up his hand with the Silmaril in it, and they could see that it was burning through the flesh of him, ruining his left hand, running fire up his arm.
"Maedhros, no!" Finrod cried out. "Cousin, no! Just let it go. You are not beyond healing." They were nearly at the summit now and Maedhros backed away, toward the north side of the hilltop.
"I am beyond it," he said, and his voice was almost clear, almost calm. "There is no veil between me and the fire in my hand, the fire in my heart. All else fades. I cannot let go." Flames licked up into his hair, surrounding him with a halo of flame, turning bright red locks black. He stood framed at the top of the hill, and looked at Maglor. For a moment he looked as though he wished to say more, but then shook his head, and stepped deliberately over the edge of the cliff.
-- Rescuing Maglor, Rated M.
10. In desperation [Molly] finally wandered into a joke shop, and poked around for a while, considering and dismissing various things. If she was going to do this properly, she wanted something that Sherlock wouldn’t guess, couldn’t predict and would be completely terrified by.
Then she saw them, rows of boxes of mankinis stacked on a shelf. She picked up a leopard print one, and considered Sherlock in it for a long moment.
The shop assistant heard her laughing from the other end of the store, laughing until the tears rolled down her face, and approached gingerly, asking “Are you okay?”
She held the mankini out to him, struggling to get the giggles under control. “I’ll take it,” she said.
Back home, she wrapped it up carefully along with the other gifts, and if she gave it a bit more careful of a wrapping job than the other presents, it was mostly because she was having a harder time keeping the giggles down and was more precise to compensate.
-- Ways of Moving On, Rated E.
If you have not already done so, please make sure you comment on your gift(s).
Thank you all for another fantastic year of Innumerable Stars and we hope to see you again next year. Please feel free to leave a comment here on Dreamwidth or email our mailbox if you have any questions or comments.
okay but have u thought about how wenzhou cutting each other's sleeve is not just about them being proud gays and the production team cleverly working around censorship, but also about what they come to mean to each other in regards of new beginnings and second chances, choosing a life with each other full of tenderness, intimacy, and love over one where they make others and themselves bleed?? wen kexing cuts zhou zishu's sleeve off when blood splatters on it after noticing zhou zishu's disgust. and zhou zishu cuts wen kexing's sleeve when it gets singed after the explosion has come so close it almost harmed wen kexing.
they're always trying to shield each other from harm and violence, even while knowing that the other person could probably take it. but they don't want for each other to be forced to take it anymore. they want only good things for each other.
Utúlie'n aurë! The day has come! The collection is open!
There are 42 works in the collection for your enjoyment. (Bear in mind that number might go up - there is no deadline for treats, so treats may still be posted any time.) You are an amazing group of creators!
Recipients - please make sure to comment on your gift(s) to thank your creator(s).
Creators - please bear in mind that not all recipients are able to pounce on their gift and comment immediately, no matter how much they might want to. (We know patience is difficult in this situation, but do your best.)
Everyone - creators love comments! If you like a work in the collection, tell the creator about it.
If there are any questions or issues, please let the mods know. You can drop us an ask on here, comment on DW, find us on Discord, or email us at the collection Gmail address.
Assignments are out! Check your inbox or your AO3 dash.
We hope you're as excited as we are - you have once again wowed us with the tagset, and there are some fabulous prompts. Go forth and create!
Anyone who has a placeholder Dear Creator letter - please make sure it is finished and available by Thursday, sooner if you can manage it. (The first thing most creators do is look at that letter - if you don’t have it done now, get it done ASAP!)
Assignments are due Sunday, 05 October 2025, 8:00 PM UTC
Minimum requirement is 500 words (authors) or a nice sketch on clean, unlined paper/the equivalent in your medium (artists).
If it looks like you will be unable to complete your assignment for some reason, please default as soon as you are sure and let the mods know! This allows us as much time as possible to arrange a pinch hit. There is no penalty for defaulting before the due date.
Any pinch hits will be posted here as soon as we know about them.
Treats - meaning extra gifts - are always welcome, and anyone can create them, signed up or not. If you see a prompt you love and would like to create something for it, go for it! (Treats are not subject to the minimum requirements and have no deadline.) If you think you might like to treat, you can find all the requests in the Requests Summary, and the collection is here.
Hi! I had a question, which others might have too, so I'm fine with this being published to the blog. I'm feeling too overloaded to actually sign up, but I've looked through the prompts and felt inspired by a couple of them. Can we write fills for prompts and submit them without signing up? It just feels like less pressure, which is what I need right now.
Absolutely you can! Treats are very welcome whether or not you’ve signed up. Just please be sure that you’ve abided by your recipient’s Do Not Wants before gifting it to them.
You can also gift to the collection generally by adding it to the Innumerable Stars 2025 collection without a specific recipient.
The collection will open for posting once assignments have gone out.
Have you seen one of these dipshits? If you post regularly on ao3, chances are YES, but more likely you didn't notice nor suspect it was a bot. Sometimes they start off nice, or even praise you before getting nasty out of nowhere, like so:
But much like Grok, their newest obsession is nazism.
I don't know where they come from, or what purpose this could possibly serve other than suicidebaiting random people in the internet, I guess; but apparently they've started parroting names from real users to send these comments and shifting their general length to go by undetected. Maybe those are scrappers trying to train 'reviewbots' to be sold as part of some scam service promising to give feedback for newbie writers, who the fuck knows.
Here are more examples of the tone and backhanded compliments you can find in these:
If you regularly post on AO3 or interact with writers in it, please pass this along so they don't feel insane receiving bombs in their inbox. This is ridiculous.
discoholicmusic
prguitarman
jacobvanloon
ellievsbear
