Might as well post my MSV fic and MSV pinch hit here, too.
Recognition, for @alanastarveil
E, 20k words, Fëanor/Fingolfin, Fëanor/Finarfin/Fingolfin
A half-resentful King Finarfin deals with his re-embodied brothers and their disquieting behaviour. He uncovers something both shocking and enthralling.
A delirium took him. Suddenly unfettered, he grabbed viciously of Ñolvo’s braids, delighting in their velvety cedar darkness, and yanked him. He wheeled around his head, snatching Fëanáro’s mouth and kissing him assertively, covetously.
They are mine, he thought, high on triumph.
Mine is the crown, mine is Lord Manwë’s favour, mine the ruins of the Ñoldorin polity and mine the inchoate hopes of a healed future, and mine, mine of all sons in this fallen House of Finwë, still a flesh that cradles the lost Noontide. And they two are mine also; re-enfleshed into my care, placed into my hands to host and guide them back to this capricious feast that is life. My brothers.
No Law Nor Love, for @ecofutural
E, 10k words, Fingon/Maedhros, and past: Fingolfin/Maedhros, Fëanor/Maedhros, a whiff of Fingon/Fëanor.
There is not enough left of Maedhros to sate Fingon. Too many horrible histories have taken too heavy a toll.
“I told you earlier, did I not? Curvo is nary a thing like our father was. Even I am little like him. But you, Astaldo—”
The slap, backhanded and firm, echoed across the ashlar in ricochets.
Maeðros smiled his ruined smile.
I know, I know. I have been tagged by so many lovely people these past months, but was too busy fighting a bad case of the writing morbs to share my work. Here is a snippet from my recently posted fic, The salt on your lips and the hands that God gave you. The main pairings are Maedhros/Dior, Maedhros/Maglor and Dior/Nimloth, but I hope you will enjoy this cute little Celegorm/Dior scene.
“Turkafinwë,” he murmured, “Turkafinwë,” but the body on top of his remained silent, dead eyes drained of treelight.
“You look like your mother”, Celegorm had snarled as he drove his dagger into Dior’s side. “You scream like her too,” and he did, he had, screamed and screamed until his throat was raw and his foe’s body had fallen heavy upon him. You could have been mine, the thought crackled in the air, my child with her, mine and mine alone, a claim laid with clawing hands and black hunger, until Dior could no longer discern whether he was his mother or his mother’s son, the sacrificial lamb or the sure-footed, taunting lion. Marked with steel and hatred, blood mingling with spit and viscera, an unholy union of hröar with the echo of Lúthien a silent, pleading divinity bearing witness.
“Turkafinwë,” the name not a mockery, not a question, but a fact he felt in the depths of his body, where soft fat and muscle had been penetrated savagely. Still he cradled the corpse of his foe, unfeeling fingers holding on to ripped flesh. If he turned his head but a little, he could angle it so their lips would brush together, and with that kiss of death perhaps he might follow proud Celegorm down the dim path to Mandos.
Thank you to the amazingly talented and lovely @annarobots, @balrogballs, @irnina, @starshadeemilyart, @gaydhros and @perlen-gold for tagging me (and uhm, probably some other people; I love you all very dearly). Consider yourselves tagged back, as well as @isilme-among-the-stars, @luthnethril, @melians-griddle, and @ecofutural.
okay since people seemed to like my maglor design from the WIP crop of the enormous mereth aderthad painting, here is maedhros from the same! currently in way way more of a WIP stage than his brother as you can tell and i’m still deciding between giving him a pipe or a hookah, but do note the ear-tip prosthetic he’s wearing 🥰
i try so hard not to let The Comrade™️ affect how i draw canonverse maedhros, but alas, the showy high ponytail was contagious.
Buckle up for unhinged Maedhros/Dior with a generous side of Maedhros/Maglor and Nimloth haunting the narrative.
Written for @infiniteriver for the 2026 @myslashyvalentine fic exchange.
Rating: E
Word count: 5164
Archive warning: Major character death (Celegorm)
Mind the tags!
The salt on your lips and the hands that God gave you - Chapter 1 - feyandferal - The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien [Archive of Our Own]
As always there would be no My Slashy Valentine without all the amazing writers, old and new, who take on this challenge. Thank you for still signing up when I changed all the deadlines this year.
Congratulations to all our new writers who completed their first swap: daughter0fdurin, duckwhatduck, emma_and_orlando, Ethele_Feanarion, feyandferal, Flora_lass, hautdesert, InfiniteRiver, inthedarkofthenight, jauneclair, julomaiboulomai, LeetheVix, lordlyliights, luthnethril, rebornflameofthenoldor, skatesfullofsunshine, StormsBreadth, Tar_Eleniel, tombombadildo, until_the_stars_are_all_alight, whirligiguana, and whovianhiddlestoner! Please check out their stories and make them feel welcome.
Our pinch hitters this round were so wonderful --- shout out to AdmirableMonster, elladansgirl, InfiniteRiver, LeetheVix, Lorinand_Lost, Tehhumi, tombombadildo --- they made sure no one was without a gift ficcie for reveal day. I could not have done it without them.
Thanks always to all our veteran writers who continue to participate, tell their friends and show new participants that this is a fun yearly tradition! Together you all make this swap a vibrant part of the Tolkien community.
And now, for your reading enjoyment…
My Slashy Valentine 2026: The Master List!
AdmirableMonster wrote Our Hands Clasped So Tight for EclecticKefi
♥ AdmirableMonster wrote The crownless again shall be queen for until_the_stars_are_all_alight
Aglarien wrote A Most Eventful Journey for Melusine6619
Aprilmoon08 wrote Power of Love for Ignoblebard
a_world_of_whimsy wrote The Price Of Defeat - The Price For Life for Harp_of_Gold
BaccaratBlack wrote Before They Were Kings for HewerOfCaves
below
daughter0fdurin wrote And so the Mountain Thawed for Lucigoo89
duckwhatduck wrote the hind at the green altar for whirligiguana
EclecticKefi wrote Elegy for StormsBreadth
elennalore wrote The Mole and the Serpent for Lanthanum12
elfscribe wrote Lost and Found for Aglarien
elladansgirl wrote Songs of the Nightingale for inthedarkofthenight
♥ elladansgirl wrote Days remembered for emma_and_orlando
Elleth wrote That Perches in the Soul for ingenious_spark
Elronds_Library wrote a riot of shadow and shine for NiennaWept
emma_and_orlando wrote The Art of Stating Intention for elladansgirl
Ethele_Feanarion wrote It only took two Ages of the World for aprilmoon08
FakeCirilla9 wrote The Shadow of the Oath for hautdesert
feyandferal wrote The salt on your lips and the hands that God gave you for InfiniteRiver
Flora_lass wrote His Clear Bright Eyes for lordlyliights
Harp_of_Gold wrote cut yourself open and let me inside for reindeer_pizza
hautdesert wrote The course of our journey here, here where we part for ohboromir
HewerOfCaves wrote Rules, Unspoken or Otherwise for luthnethril
I_did_not_mean_to wrote I have questions for you for elfscribe
IgnobleBard wrote Healing Wound for daughter0fdurin
ingenious_spark wrote Slow-Forged for starlightwalking
InfiniteRiver wrote Interterrās for mangacrack
♥ InfiniteRiver wrote Where Babies Go To for kitkatkaylie
inthedarkofthenight wrote if thine is glory for lynndyre
jauneclair wrote that each shall take his freedom for Rian
JazTheBard wrote The Two Fairy Princesses for maglor_my_beloved
julomaiboulomai wrote Dawn, Daylight, Delight for JazTheBard
kitkatkaylie wrote The Peculiarities of Peredhil for Tabru
LadyWithaQuill wrote Reunited At Last for Phyncke
Lanthanum12 wrote Love's Bitterness for maitimiel
LeetheVix wrote Recognition for Tar_Eleniel
♥ LeetheVix wrote No Law Nor Love for jauneclair
Lost_inMiddleearth wrote the darkest night will end and the sun will rise for mouse
lordlyliights wrote river to bath, hands to hold for tombombadildo
Lorinand_Lost wrote Virago for FakeCirilla9
♥ Lorinand_Lost wrote Kingmaker for jauneclair
LuciGoo89 wrote Even in the shadow of the mountain, none are lost for skatesfullofsunshine
luthnethril wrote love you with my eyes closed for feyandferal
lynndyre wrote Tirolach a Turon for LadyWithaQuill
maglor_my_beloved wrote Lady Fair for julomaiboulomai
maitimiel wrote Waves of Devotion for Elronds_Library
mangacrack wrote The Door Swings Wide for LeetheVix
Melusine6619 wrote When It's Love for Ethele_Feanorian
mouse wrote Long and Delicate Labour for duckwhatduck
NiennaWept wrote the river-gift for Elleth
ohboromir wrote Warrior's Bond for Lorinand_Lost
phyncke wrote The Wanderer's Lament by the Sea for whovianhiddlestoner
rebornflameofthenoldor wrote Pride Goeth Before a Fall for cytryne
♥ red_lasbelin wrote you should take this heart of mine for Flora_lass
reindeer_pizza wrote All His Evil Deeds for rebornflameofthenoldor
Rian wrote The Descent for Melesta
sallysavestheday wrote Atonement for tomefaired
skatesfullofsunshine wrote A Love Worth Waiting For
starlightwalking wrote An Unexpected Union for I_did_not_mean_to
StormsBreadth wrote Intreat me not to leave thee for sallysavestheday
tabru wrote Driftwood for ulmondil
Tar_Eleniel wrote With a wreath of flowers crowning her head for a_world_of_whimsy
♥ Tehhumi wrote Gone Beyond My Years for elennalore
Thinwhitedutchess wrote The flight of a bird has no wings for below_et_almost
tomefaired wrote summon forth the wounded night for Thinwhitedutchess
tombombadildo wrote Through the Shadows, Through the Swirl for undercat
♥ tombombadildo wrote Though It Touched Him the Nearest for jauneclair
until_the_stars_are_all_alight wrote she's calling my name (again) for AdmirableMonster
whirligiguana wrote hidden fruits for Lost_inMiddleearth
whovianhiddlestoner wrote Carved Antler for BaccaratBlack
—————
♥ denotes a pinch hit!
If you need a link to the entire collection, it is right here: 2026 My Slashy Valentine
Happy (belated) Valentine’s day! Please be sure to thank your writers.
Start a story, work on a WIP, finish a fic, dabble in drabbles, pen a poem, type a tale, or otherwise wrestle with words. Set your own goal: Leaf & Lore is all up to you.
🌿 🌿 🌿
Welcome! Brought to you by @idleleaves, Leaf & Lore: A Tolkien Writing Month is a Tolkien-centric writing challenge that runs from the 1st-30th of April and the 1st-30th of November.
Any and all parts of the Legendarium are welcome, from The Hobbit, LotR, and The Silmarillion to The History of Middle-earth series to film and TV adaptations of Tolkien's works.
Leaf & Lore is choose-your-own-goal - you can go with a traditional fic word count goal (from the easily achievable to the truly challenging) or you can participate in another way. Maybe you'd like to set a goal of editing a long fic instead, or complete a set amount of chapters, or even write meta? Goals can be changed or updated at any time, too. And if you're more of a reader than a writer, come join in as a beta or a cheerleader!
The Discord server will have both scheduled and impromptu write-ins, weekly low-pressure check-ins, plus channels for Tolkien chat, fic chat, snippets and sharing, and of course an off-topic channel as well. You can ask for a beta or a cheerleader at any time, too!
🌿 🌿 🌿
APRIL 2026 SCHEDULE:
March 20 - Discord server opens! Time to sign up and declare your goals! There will be a sign-up form posted here so you can be e-mailed the invite link to the Discord server.
Check-Ins - April 9, 16, 23, and 30.
Official Write-In Sessions - April 11 and 25 at 16:00 UTC and 20:00 UTC each time.
sick at heart actually to think of the generation now and the generations still to come in iran and the nations that surround it who will suffer preventable diseases, cancers, organ failure, congenital disorders, chemical poisoning, respiratory illness, infertility, miscarriages; who will develop chronic conditions and disabilities that could've been avoided, whose lives and the lives of whose loved ones will be cut short and curtailed by the environmental and infrastructural devastation inflicted by what happens today. in scope war and imperialism are on top of everything else environmental issues, concerns of disability justice... if you advocate for these causes you must be here too. safe soil water air and a chance to not be ill are human rights and the right of everything else that lives on earth
absolutely goes for lebanon as well, where in addition to the incalculable human cost, a precious, unique ecosystem, the harj al-raheb, is being poisoned and destroyed. made unlivable for everyone, even the trees.
If you are a westerner celebrating Khamenei's death in my face you're getting insta-blocked.
No one hates the man more than me. The "Islamic revolution" brought about the death penalty for queer men like me. It kicked out atheists, leftists, intellectuals like my mother and grandfather who had fought hard, taken up arms for a fairer Iran; it cannibalised that same rebellious youth that had overthrown the previous government and took over a movement that was not its own. The regime is corrupt, cruel and self-serving.
But the complete, absolute impunity with which, without casus belli, openly just because "it's too good an opportunity not to take it", without even official war declaration, the US and Israel just waltz into any country they choose and kill anyone they choose (or arrest, as in Venezuela), and well, sometimes a "pre-emptive strike" might kill dozens of primary school girls --- this is not something to celebrate.
It's a decaying, corpse-imperialism reduced to its most naked, short-sighted, violent world-wide bullying. A naked fist fucking the world to its pleasure.
If you for a moment think anything justifies that, or that "it'll be for the best", you're not just naive, you're privileged and blind to the point it becomes indinstiguishable from evil.
I challenged myself to read (at least) 28 Tolkien f/f fics this month for @tolkienfemfeb and leave comments. I hit my goal today!
By the numbers:
51.6k words
28 fics
19 authors
12 ship inaugurations
Most femslashed character from the sample: Galadriel (7 fics)
Most read ships in the sample: a tie between Anairë/Nerdanel, Aredhel/Galadriel, Galadriel/Luthién, Indis/Nerdanel (2 each)
7 cousin incests (9, if you count Elwing/Galadriel and Aredhel/Arwen)
5 genderswaps
3 textual ghosts
1 mother/daughter incest
And 1 Star Trek DS9 crossover
Here are the fics I enjoyed this month, in chronological order of when I read them.
and she loved much by @ecofutural, Aredhel/Multi, Mature, 4.9k WIP, Aredhel fucks her way through the women of Arda
are you on fire from the years by @i-am-a-lonely-visitor, Anairë/Nerdanel, Explicit, 6.3k, dirtbag art school lesbians
Faithful by @amorbidcorvid, Aredhel/Elenwë, Teen, 0.2k, last kiss
Glow, by @ridiculoussquid, Arien/Vana, General, 0.2k, the creation of Laurelin
this sea is also a garden/a place to sow our death by @ffigwit, Indis/Nerdanel, Explicit, 5.6k, hot mud sex
(more under the cut)
6. A Little Conversation by @urloth, Anairë/Eärwen, Mature, 0.5k, ósanwë orgasm
7. Bargain by @irnina, fem!Fingon/fem!Maedhros, Mature, 0.9k, mermaids
8. everywhere the ceremony of innocence is drowned by @amorbidcorvid, Elwing/Galadriel, General, 0.8k, transfem Galadriel, War of Wrath
9. Tarmenel, or Over-Heaven by @melians-griddle, Galadriel/Varda, Mature, 4.2k, YT goddess praise kink
10. Hypnagogia by @unendingwanderlust, Galadriel/Lúthien, Explicit, 1.1k, dream sex
11. Expect by @irnina, Aredhel/Caranthir's Wife, Mature, 0.8k, YT wordplay and social climbing & desire
12. There hovers forever around you delight: A beauty desired. by @urloth, Indis/Míriel, Explicit, 1.8k, Canon-divergent dominant Indis
13. thick like syrup with experience by @jouissants, Idril/Meleth, Explicit, 2.3k, liege/vassal dynamics
14. Lovers by @irnina, Aredhel/Galadriel, Teen, 0.5k, kissing silliness, a touch bittersweet
15. Belong by @irnina, fem!Finrod/fem!Turgon, Mature, 0.9k, a unique and moving modern AU
16. Little Shadows by @amorbidcorvid, Lúthien/Thuringwethil, General, 0.3k, sad Thuri POV
17. wild-wandering by wood and glen by @meadowlarkx, fem!Daeron/Lúthien, Mature, 1.8k, "She brought new instruments to the talan and took Daeron as a man would, and kissed her between her legs afterwards"
18. To be Alive on this Fresh Morning by @gaydhros, fem!Glorfindel/Idril, Explicit, 0.9k, mirror sex
19. Under the Lights by @monstrousgourmandizingcats, Aredhel/Galadriel, Teen, 5k, post-apocalyptic opera AU
20. apologies by @whatisleftofmybrainworms fem!Angrod/fem!Caranthir, Explicit, 1.4k, hate sex
21. The Queen and the Science Officer by @monstrousgourmandizingcats, Jadzia Dax/Tar-Míriel, Explicit, 1k, DS9 holosuite crossover
22. the careless feel of a bit of steel burns like a red-hot spit by @magicalmanhattanproject, Galadriel/Melian, Explicit, 2.6k, cw noncon, unreality, altered mental state
23. With Radiant Garland by @imakemywings, Galadriel/Lúthien, Mature, 1.4k, pubic hair
24. Under Unclouded Stars by Zdenka, Fíriel Fairbairn/Iminyë, General, 0.4k, dreaming of Cuiviénen
25. we carry our lives around in our memories by @amorbidcorvid, Anairë/Nerdanel, General, 0.2k, sailing
26. Choice by @irnina, Aredhel/Eärwen, Explicit, 0.5k, "less teeth"
27. Fledgling Swan by @vefanyar, Fingon's wife/OFC, General, 1.7k, Unrequited first love
28. stone toys by @welcomingdisaster, Indis/Nerdanel, Explicit, 3.4k, this one's pretty much what the title says folks
(ps I had to dig to find some of these tumblr users, especially older fics by writers who are less active currently; if I messed up and tagged you by mistake, please accept my apologies and let me know!)
the charming duo of @feyandferal and @outofangband have encouraged and enabled me (thank you ♡♡) so exilic eldarin funerary traditions drama it is!
the fëanorians start burning their dead in homage to fëanor. it's frowned upon to keep the ashes of loved ones, since fëanor's weren't able to be salvaged, but some people do it anyways (some people wear them. some people turn them into salves and curatives. some people eat them! which makes curufin very jealous). burial or being left out for carrion is a punishment for traitors and cowards. individual pyres are preferred, but after a battle soldiers may be burned together. beautiful idioms and poetic tropes grow out of wanting to share someone's pyre, or exchanging promises to attend to one another's funerary rites should one of you should fall.
the nolofinwëans split into two camps around the question of necrocannibalism post-helcaraxë. the anti-necrocannibalist school (the majority of the host, including fingolfin) heavily prioritize burial and the preservation of an intact body, due to the high numbers of people lost to the ice or whose bodies had to be left to freeze (the return of fingolfin's body to turgon for interment speaks to this concern, as does the intense community trauma surrounding fingon's death and physical obliteration to the point where there was nothing left to bury). the necrocannibalistic school, on the other hand, believes that loved ones should never be abandoned above or below ground, and the only way to keep them with you forever is to physically make them part of you via consumption. further extrapolations appear over time, including the idea that eating the dead results in imbibing some of their spirit and qualities, and a focus on the joy of fulfilling a purpose in preserving the lives of your kindred (drawing on the experiences of necessity-based cannibalism on the helcaraxë). they have elaborate funerary feasts, in which certain body parts may be set aside for close relatives and friends. a lively literary tradition arises around stories of a comrade bravely carrying back someone's heart/liver/little finger for their family, as well as allocating parts of your body generally reserved for kin to non-blood-related loved ones as a testament of your care. the conversion of a non-necrocannibalist at the behest of a dying friend is a surprisingly prominent theme. the schism makes fingolfin's early days of kingship a nightmare—legislation was required within the first month on whether the production of necrocannibalist erotic literature and art constituted a crime (it didn't, but fingolfin strongly encouraged abstaining)
and of course they're all at each other's throats all the time about who's right and who's a blasphemer and who's a good son while the sindar, who have been peacefully putting their dead in hollow trees and clay hanging coffins and caves and decomposing them with mushrooms, sit there like ohhh ☝️ these people have something wrong with them
I've read/seen so much good femslash this month, here are some of my faves. Please give all these amazing creators some love (and check tags before reading anything!) also shout out to @tolkienfemfeb 💗💕💓 thank you for organising such a great event
Fic
as a river flowing into the sea by Malesta, Elwing/Idril, 3.2k words. The pearl scene 🤯
Faithful by Elronds_Library, Aredhel/Elenwë, 200 words. It was Írisse who caught Elenwë's final breath.
Silm Smut Drabbles (ch5) by erestors_apprentice, Haleth/Melian, 100 words. Public sex
the careless feel of a bit of steel burns like a red-hot spit by TheHellAccount, Galadriel/Melian, 2.6 words. Traumatised Galadriel, dub/noncon
Mother-Name by Elleth, Aredhel/Galadriel, 469 words. Sparring, sword sucking...
Scissors in the Dark by AnnaRobots, Celebrían/Míriel, 710 words. I LOVE Celebrían in this. Catholic type guilt, shame and confessional
Teach You Worship by Elleth, Findis/Lalwen, 7.6k words. I love this ship. More religious guilt and shame
ode to summer by whatisleftofmybrainworms, Vána/Yavanna, 390 words. Lesbian Valar bondage 🩷💘
Turning the Other Cheek by Sath, Finduilas/Niënor, 1.7k words. Lesbian sodomy!
NSFT Silm September (ch24) by I_did_not_mean_to, Aredhel/Thuringwethil, 99 words. Blood 😀
Art
Mistresses' Silk by Dogblessya, Thuringwethil/Ungoliant. Big Spider Mommy
only another queen will do by katyamola, Indis/Míriel. 😳😍
Kinktober 2023 by Elanna_Elrondiel, Anairë/Nerdanel. Face sitting
The very lovely @feyandferal commissioned me for a portrait of Maedhros during the Years of the Trees, and even better, let his hair take centre stage! So for your enjoyment and his, enjoy Maedhros in his prime arrogant prince era, the little smirk of a man who has never heard the word ‘no’ in his life. His hair as vivid as I can get it, because this is a man who was pretty much called ‘carrot top’ for half his life 😭
Pictured here contemplating how to get you involved in his campaign against anti-redhead sentiment in Valinor (there is none: he’s just annoyed his dad was running around after Galadriel’s hair as if he isn’t right there with an even better mane, which spent even longer in Treelight, Atya 😡)
I am in love in love in love screaming drooling rolling on the floor tearing my hair out crying hollering in despair and shameless lust. He is *everything*. Asshole prince. 🥰
Good morning to people who are turned into birds as they jump from sea cliffs, sad beach cryptids, bad bitches who live in hidden cities, one-handed tragic figures, spirits of fire, victims of shipwrecks, people with great hair, receivers of ominous dreams and foresight, werewolves who thought they were the worst in the land but weren’t, unnamed wives and sentient malevolent swords
2087
stormborns
theartofmadeline
izzy806
jacobvanloon
dededos
