Gen Freeform Exchange 2021: Letter

[narya_flame]

Dear Gen Swapper,

Hi! Thank you so much for making a gift for me – I'm glad that we share a love for these canons and characters, and I can't wait to see what you make!
 

I have opted in to fic, art, podfic and video for all of these requests. However, most of my prompts are art or fic related, so if we have matched on podfic or video then I'm sorry in advance! It's not because I don't want either of those formats, but I'm not used to prompting for them; I'm really just intrigued to see what you come up with, so please use the characters, tags, likes and suggestions however you see fit.

(It isn't an officially listed option but I would also be open to poetry, either by itself or combined with one of the other formats!)

There are a few things I would prefer not to receive in a fanwork:
 

• Crack
• Focus on bodily functions and fluids (blood from injuries is fine)
• Focus on pregnancy, childbirth, babies or menstruation
• Unrequested AU that significantly alters the characters or worldbuilding, or takes the characters out of their canon setting, e.g. A/B/O, mermaid AU (canon divergence is fine, as is post-canon exploration)
• Noldor depicted as straight-up villains (including the Fëanorians; sorry but I love them. If you can't cope with depicting them as heroes, tragic antiheroes, or complex/grey/ambiguous, then please pick someone else to focus on)
• Ainur depicted as perfect and infallible
• Maeglin as inherently evil/twisted/plotting against Gondolin from the earliest days. (Feel free to have him broken and unstable after torture, but I don't buy "he was always evil and the betrayal was inevitable".)
• Maglor dead/mad/broken by shame for all eternity
• Legolas/Gimli
• Possibly not super-relevant for a gen exchange, but DNW certain takes on certain ships (DNW Maedhros and Fingon's relationship as purely gen; DNW Aredhel/Eöl as loving and consensual; DNW Elrond/Celebrían, Éowyn/Faramir or Aragorn/Arwen depicted as not really in love).

 
Outside of those, please follow the call of your heart.  I love all kinds of fanworks, and all sorts of genres and styles.  One of the greatest delights to me as a fan is stumbling across interpretations of characters and plots and motifs that I'd never considered; I have my headcanons, but in an exchange I am always keen to know how other creators see the stories I love. You are welcome to write or draw the occupants of Middle-earth (and beyond!) in any way that you wish. Diverse skin tones; disabilities; different body types; trans, intersex and genderqueer headcanons - go for it.  Whatever you decide to make, I am certain I will love it and I promise to squee happily over it.

 

General Stuff


Art Likes

• Abstract art (could maybe work for Tolkien's Ainur?)
• Action shots
• Art as character study, or illustrating the dynamics of a relationship
• Basically anything that plays with colour, light, shadow, space and movement
• Beams of light; strangely shaped shadows
• Calligraphy/illumination
• Close ups of tiny details like stitching, beading, engraving, etc.
• Clothing, jewellery and hair
• Comic panels; sets of linked drawings that tell a story
• Craft and sculpture
• Depictions of the natural world; tiny characters in vast landscapes
• Facial expressions conveying more than one emotion at once
• Fashion design
• Focus on a part of the body that isn't the face, e.g. a character's fingertips lightly brushing their lover's ear
• Group shots
• Intricate detailing on weaponry, armour, buildings, engravings, musical instruments...
• Limited colour palette; jewel tones; monochrome
• Maps, architectural drawings, floor plans, designs for a toy or new invention, etc.
• Portraits
• Unusual perspectives – through a window, over a gate, down a tunnel, from a distance...

Fic Likes

• Adventure and peril
• Anything to do with languages, linguistics and alphabets
• Canon divergence AUs, especially if used to explore some of the worldbuilding prompts below
• Complex character dynamics
• Conflicting motivations
• Found families/families of choice
• Grief and tragedy
• Hope, redemption and reconciliation
• In-world myths and legends
• In-world meta (see section below)
• Mercy/pity
• Mysteries and investigations
• Philosophical musings; academic discussions and debates
• Politics, on any scale
• Unreliable narrators and quirky narrative structures – for example, epistolary, fragmented narratives, stories told through found documents, framing devices, stories told out of chronological order
• Unusual perspectives, minor characters, original characters and textual ghosts
• Wry humour; finding something to smile over when times are bleak

In-Universe Meta

• “Filling in the gaps” e.g. fragments of documents complete with in-world commentary
• Bestiaries and spellbooks
• Catalogues
• Contracts and agreements
• Diary entries; project journals
• Essays
• Etymology
• History
• In-world scholarship
• Instructions and recipes
• Laws and proclamations
• Letters
• Literary criticism and analysis
• Marginalia
• Working papers and project notes

General Likes

• Battle plans, battle scenes and/or aftermath
• Candlelight
• Castles, fortresses, palaces and grand houses
• Cosy cottages (or hobbit holes!)
• Dragons!
• Fic, art etc. inspired by my own fanworks: remixes, based on, set in the same 'verse, using the same plotline, borrowing an OC, podfic recording, etc.
• Fog and mist
• Food, drink and celebration
• Forests; rivers; the sea
• Fusions of science and magic
• Games, contests and competition
• Ghosts, hauntings (literal and metaphorical) and liminal places
• Learning a craft or skill
• Libraries, archives and other knowledge repositories
• Loyalty and sacrifice; carrying on against impossible odds
• Music and musical instruments
• Myth, folklore and fairy-tale
• Objects and places with special significance – a “sense of history”
• Roaring fires
• Setting as character - feel free to take this literally, I love sentient nature and architectural horror
• Shining a light into places canon doesn't show us, or barely touches on – going off the edge of the map
• Starlight
• Storytelling, riddles and poetry
• Suggestion and implication, whether this is hints of backstory, a figure hiding in the shadows, or a slightly ambiguous ending – I love it when my imagination can get to work filling in the gaps
• The supernatural and the uncanny
• Unprompted crossovers between requests. If you want to send Tevildo to the Old Forest, or Maglor and the Doctor to King Arthur's court, then please be my guest.
• Villages, towns and cities, especially their unusual defining features, like Esgaroth being constructed on wooden piles in the middle of a lake
• Witchy, fey and eldritch beings

Relationship Likes


(I've tried to put ideas in here that are suited to a gen exchange, although if you want to include background romances or established relationships then I'm fine with that too!)

• Ambiguous relationships
• Banter and teasing
• Bedsharing; huddling for warmth
• Characters being utterly fascinated by one another (doesn't have to be romantic; could be admiration of craft/skill, or being impressed by someone's intellect, or something else altogether)
• Developing friendships – especially unlikely friendships
• Emotional reunions after long separations
• Enemies/rivals to lovers/friends
• Fierce loyalty and devotion, to the point of one character doing something incredibly stupid to help or save somebody they love
• Fighting back-to-back
• Forehead kisses
• Grey relationships that don't sit neatly in a box
• Hurt/comfort
• Quiet moments between people who care about each other, especially during or after huge events shaking their world
• Situational relationships – enemies having to work together, or people who wouldn't normally be drawn to each other forming a bond through circumstance
• “The little things” - light brushes with fingertips, smiles across a room...
• Tempestuous, complex or unhealthy relationships (see section on darker stuff)

Darker Likes

• Abandoned places; ruins; haunted houses/objects
• Being trapped in a small dark space, possibly with something terrifying lurking nearby
• Body horror. Especially pretty body horror, like flowers growing out of bodies, or being consumed from the inside by starlight.
• Body modification
• Canon divergence that initially seems like it will fix things but then makes everything worse.
• Character death. Most of these canons are somewhere on the scale from sad to tragic; death, loss and grief make them all the more powerful, so I'm happy for it to be explored (although please don't kill Maglor, who I firmly believe is still wandering around somewhere).
• Corruption and decay
• Dark magic and curses
• Dreams bleeding into reality
• Dubious consent
• Horror! Most forms of horror, to be honest. I'm rarely bothered by gore and I like being scared.
• Hurt without comfort, including terminal illness or fatal injury
• Malevolent ghosts and hauntings
• Memory loss, or memories being fake/unreliable
• Mental illness, including depression and suicidal thoughts
• Possession
• Psychological manipulation and abuse
• Resurrection and necromancy
• Ritual and sacrifice
• Seances
• Sentient nature
• Substance abuse
• Torture
• Unhealthy relationships/relationships with troubling dynamics, including obsession, jealousy and co-dependency

Fandoms and Prompts



The Book of Lost Tales


Characters/Relationships:

Makar & Meássë & Melko
Makar & Meássë
Solo: Ælfwine
Solo: Eriol
Solo: Maidros (Grandfather of Fëanor)
Solo: Nielíqui
Solo: Tevildo
Solo: The Man in the Moon
Solo: The Sleeper in the Tower of Pearl

Freeform Tags:

Academia
Adventure
Architectural Horror
Curses
Dark Fairy Tale
Dark Magic
Dreams bleeding into reality
Exploring the world
Fairy Tale
Folk Horror
Found Documents
Ghost Story
Horror
In-Universe Folklore
In-world Myths and Legends
In-universe nonfiction text
Inaccurate retelling of ancient myths
Magic
Mythology – Freeform
Solving a Mystery from the Past
Storms
Worldbuilding

Prompt Ideas:

• I would love something about the machinations of Tevildo and his castle of evil cats (something about that magical collar could be interesting, for the dark magic tag...). Are their descendants around in later Ages – e.g. the cats of Queen Berúthiel?

• Maybe you could explore how and why Fëanor's family tree is so different in this version of events; in-world meta to explain apparent discrepancies could be a lot of fun, or just take it at face value, if you prefer. (If you want to play the “what's in a name?” game, different versions of the legendarium give us multiple etymologies for Maedhros, so maybe that's something you could poke at.)

• To me BoLT has much more of a common “feel” with fairy tales collected by Grimm, Perrault et al than most of the published Silm does, and I would love to see something that teases out those parallels and themes. The giant cats and dogs always remind me of The Tinder Box – and if we matched on The Sleeper in the Tower of Pearl, then how about a Tolkien-based take on Sleeping Beauty?

• I really love the framing narratives featuring Eriol/Ælfwine, so anything about that would be incredible – sea-longing, viking raids, the Straight Road...

• What about The Man in the Moon, Tolkien's favourite party animal? Is he Tilion? What's his view on the song he's remembered by in Hobbit poetry?

• I am so intrigued by the Valarindi, and also by slightly creepy magical/supernatural children, so I would love something exploring what became of Oromë and Vána's daughter Nielíqui, and how her existence could be reconciled with canon as published. Did she stay in Middle-earth and become a nature spirit - maybe a dryad, or similar? Or maybe something darker happened. Maybe the Valier grew jealous of this little dancing maiden (I am completely OK with sinister takes on the Valar) - or maybe Nielíqui wasn't as sweet and innocent as she appeared...

• Alternative idea – is she something to do with the Entwives? (If you're doing art, then pretty plant-based body horror would make me very happy.)

• And what about Makar, Meássë, and other “god-figures” (e.g. Telimektar) that didn't make it into the published Silmarillion? Did something happen that removed them from the picture? History is written by the victors, after all...

The Silmarillion


Characters/Relationships:

Aredhel & Maeglin
Angrod & Caranthir
Argon & Caranthir
Elrond & Gil-galad
Elros & Maedhros
Elured & Elurin & Celegorm
Group: Sons of Fëanor
Maeglin & Glorfindel
Solo: Caranthir
Solo: Celegorm
Solo: Creator's Choice of Canon Character(s)
Solo: Creator's Choice of Character(s)
Solo: Creator's Choice of Elf Character(s)
Solo: Creator's Choice of Noldorin Character(s)
Solo: Fëanor
Solo: Houseless Elf
Solo: Indis
Solo: Maglor

Freeform Tags:

Adventure
Alternate Universe - Different People Survive
Architectural Horror
Awkward Conversations with People You Tried to Kill
Building A New Life
Camping
Canon Events From Perspectives Not Given In Canon
Difficult Decisions In War Time
Enemies to found family
Exploring the world
Fix-It
Found Documents
Ghost Story
Horror
Immortal Character(s) Through History
Immortality
In-Universe Folklore
In-universe nonfiction text
In-universe nonfiction text focused on worldbuilding
In-world Myths and Legends
Inaccurate retelling of ancient myths
Loneliness
Post-Canon
Rescue Missions
Ruined Castles and Fortresses
Setting as Character
Silmarillion - Maglor's Wanderings After the First Age
Silmarillion - Narrative Bias
Storms
Tolkien - orcs are elves
Worldbuilding
Worldbuilding - Exploring how canon POV character's bias influenced the narrative
Worldbuilding: Politics & Diplomacy

Prompt Ideas:

• Was Caranthir as dark and cruel as the canon narrator made out? (Personally I doubt it – check out this wonderful piece of meta by the incomparable Dawn Felagund.) What was his relationship with his cousins like, before the Oath and the first kinslaying? After his rebirth, what might he say to Pengolodh about his depiction in the text?

• The in-world narrator doesn't paint a terribly favourable picture of any of Fëanor's sons, or even really of Fëanor himself. Is that fair? Many of their deeds were heroic, before the Oath drove them down a darker path. Show me a tender family moment, an adventure in Beleriand, a quiet day in Valinor, a glimpse of their time under siege, or some insights into their wondrous abilities...or what about Indis? What did she make of her stepson, his family, and the choices they made?

• I think Maeglin gets a raw deal in the narrative, too. Maybe you could rehabilitate him a little? I'm actually a fan of him being close friends with Idril, and their relationship being misrepresented by later chroniclers, if that's something you're interested in exploring.

• I am very here for Fëanorians Win AUs, but also for canon divergence that still keep some of the tragedy intact. Maybe Celegorm survived Doriath, but Caranthir and Curufin still died? Or what about a character who spends less time on the “front line” but whose survival could nevertheless have a butterfly effect – how might things have gone differently for Men and Elves if Beleg had lived, for example?

• I love ghosts and horror in general, so feel free to frighten me under the covers with a scary story or spooky artwork. Perhaps a character is haunted by a vengeful spirit from their past, and eventually meets a grisly fate – or maybe you'd like to explore Thuringwethil's night time wanderings, or Sauron's deeds as a werewolf?

• A cosier take on the supernatural is fine too if that's what you'd prefer – maybe Nargothrond or Himring has a friendly ghost? Or perhaps a character from a later Age, or even our times, has a mysterious encounter they can't quite explain...

• I am a big fan of in-universe nonfiction of all stripes – theorising on the nature of Houseless spirits and how to appease them/bring them rest; the history of the Orcs; notes and maps of trade routes; essays on textile production; bestiary entries...go wild!

• I love the potential of Maglor's story to continue beyond the end of the First Age. I don't mind when you want to set the story, and if you'd like to move past canon and into known history, I'm completely OK with that – I love Maglor-in-history fics. I'm also a sucker for him growing attached to a mortal or group of mortals, reluctantly loving them, knowing that one day he will lose them.

• Maybe he could share some knowledge and insights from his earlier life? (I love to think of him being in Italy during the Renaissance, or in Rome at the height of its power, watching and maybe subtly influencing from the shadows...)

• I am OC-positive and chose the “Creator's Choice of Character(s)” tag to give you maximum freedom, so if you'd like to take any of the tags and explore them from the perspective of someone not mentioned in canon, that would be brilliant!

The Hobbit


Characters/Relationships:

Belladonna Took & Elrond Peredhel
Belladonna Took & Elves
Gandalf | Mithrandir & Belladonna Took
Group: The Beornings
Group: The Woodmen of Mirkwood
Solo: Beorn
Solo: Original Character from Lake-town
Solo: Original Character from Dale
Solo: Smaug

Freeform Tags:

Adventure
Camping
Canon Events From Perspectives Not Given In Canon
Exploring the world
Fairy Tale
Folk Horror
Ghost Story
Horror
In-universe nonfiction text
In-universe nonfiction text focused on worldbuilding
In-Universe Folklore
In-world Myths and Legends
Loneliness
Lost in the Forest
Lost in the Wilderness
Magic
Post-Canon
Ruined Castles and Fortresses
Setting as Character
Storms
Treasure Hunting
Worldbuilding

Prompt Ideas:

• What kinds of trouble might the adventurous Ms Took have got herself into, to make Gandalf remember her so fondly? Maybe she runs away to visit the Elves, or sails out to Tol Himring and encounters a sorrowing spirit. Perhaps she ventures into the Old Forest. Or maybe there's trouble closer to home, in the Shire – an unexplained disappearance, an intruder lurking by the borders, or a mysterious dwelling where nothing ever stays where the owner puts it...

• How did the Beornings get their shapeshifting abilities and at what age does this power kick in? Are they descended from Bëor the Old? Do Beorning playtimes consist of naughty bear cubs tearing around and getting in their families' way? I imagine them to have an oral storytelling culture, so if you're making art, maybe something with them all sitting out under the stars on a summer night, sharing tales.

• Lake-town is fascinating and unique among Tolkien's settings. I would be thrilled with anything exploring its history, customs, culture and politics, or a depiction of its construction, or anything to do with life as a Lake-towner (maybe a bustling market scene?).

• If your imagination leans dark, then how about something depicting the settlement after its destruction by Smaug? Was it a site of archaeological intrigue for later generations, and did the rotting dragon corpse under the lake have any unusual effects?

• I'd also be thrilled to get something about Dale in its glory days. Slice-of-life would be great here, or in-world art or meta – how about sketches of toy designs, or notes kept by a travelling trader?

• Inevitable dragon content request ahoy! Smaug brooding atop his mountains of gold? Smaug tricking and manipulating his enemies with dragon-magic? Or, if you'd like to focus on non-draconic characters and use Smaug as the villain, how about his attack on Dale from the eyes of some OCs, or even a pair of over-bold thieves attempting to enter his lair?

• (If you fancy a bit of dark canon divergence, resurrected skeleton!Smaug could make for some wonderfully creepy fic or art...)

• They only get a brief mention in the text, but I would love something about the Woodmen of Mirkwood – what's their history? What are their interactions with other Men, and the other races of Middle-earth? Some of the horror tags could work really well here, and you could even bring in Gollum (“the ghost that drank blood”). Or maybe you could show how things went for them after the War of the Ring and into the Fourth Age?

The Lord of the Rings


Characters/Relationships:

Alatar & Pallando & Glorfindel
Amrothos & Erchirion
Dwarves of Moria & Amdir
Galadriel & Original Rider of Rohan
Group: Entwives
Group: OC residents of the lands of the Entwives at the time they became the Brown Lands
Original Dunlending Character & Original Character from Rohan
Original Éothéod Character & Original Wainrider Character
Solo: Amroth
Solo: Creator's Choice of Character(s) from Cardolan &/or Arthedain &/or Rhudaur
Solo: Creator's Choice of Éothéod Character(s)
Solo: Early Fourth Age Goblin
Solo: Galadriel
Solo: Goldberry
Solo: Tom Bombadil

Freeform Tags:

Adventure
Canon Events From Perspectives Not Given In Canon
Court Intrigue
Dreams bleeding into reality
Enemies to Friends
Epistolary
Exploring the world
Folk Horror
Ghost Story
Horror
Hurt/Comfort
Immortality
In-universe nonfiction text
In-universe nonfiction text focused on worldbuilding
In-universe Folklore
In-world Myths and Legends
Lost in the forest
Lost in the wilderness
Magic
Post-Canon
Redemption
Rescue Missions
Ruined Castles and Fortresses
Sentient Nature
Setting as Character
Storms
Tolkien - orcs are elves
Worldbuilding
Worldbuilding: Politics & Diplomacy

Prompt Ideas:

• Who and what is Goldberry?! Her and Tom definitely have a dark side, which I would love to see explored. How did they come to the forest, and what is the nature of their power over the land around them? What exactly does Tom mean when he calls her “River-daughter”?

• What did Imrahil's younger sons get up to after the War of the Ring? Maybe they went as emissaries to the East or the South, or perhaps served in the house of the new King, or with the Prince of Ithilien. I'd be up for anything here, from political intrigue to brotherly bonding and adventuring.

• The horselords were my first fandom love, so I'd be up for anything about the Rohirrim and/or their predecessors, the Éothéod – social structures, cultures and customs, games and celebrations, food and drink...or how about forbidden friendships, for the Wainrider and Dunlending tags? A soldier taking pity on a wounded enemy, perhaps?

• I really like the version of events where Glorfindel returns on the same ship as the Blue Wizards. I wonder whether he kept in touch with them, and what they were busy doing at the edges of the map? Maybe Glorfindel occasionally had to send them bits of lore and information from Rivendell's archives. Maybe he even went to meet them in person once or twice...

• I was delighted by the inclusion of Amdir in the tag set; I don't have any specific prompts but I love the idea of him interacting with the Dwarves of Moria, so if this was your nomination then please have fun!

• As for his son – I'd love a version of events where Amroth lives, though probably with some serious injuries and trauma. Maybe he's found by a friendly group of Avari, or by Men? Entirely up to you whether you'd like to give him a happy ending and let him find his way back to Nimrodel.

• What happened to the Entwives? I'd love it if they were still around somewhere. Or maybe you could show them interacting with Men, after they left the Ents and crossed the Anduin?

• 'The Mirror of Galadriel' has been one of my favourite passages since I was a child. What powers that mirror? (Maybe she learned something from Melian in Doriath, if you're familiar with the Silm and want to go down that route.) If you're up for meta, notes and design iterations could be fascinating – and if you're making art, maybe a depiction of her using it? Alternatively, very much up for Second Age Galadriel, working with Celebrimbor in Eregion and coming to terms with the events of the First Age.

• I am fascinated by the legacy kingdoms of Arnor, and I love original characters. There's so much to explore here. If you want to examine the events leading up to the war with Angmar then I'm interested in the political relations between the kingdoms - what kinds of conflict arose before Angmar, and how did their lack of unity lead to the Witch-king being able to gain a foothold in the North?

• A look at Arnor after its fall could be interesting too - maybe a curious Hobbit or a wandering Ranger exploring some ruins makes an intriguing discovery, or has a supernatural encounter, either friendly or sinister...

• I threw the Goblin tag in for some fun, and as a change from my usual request roster. I'm eyeing up the redemption tag here but please do something else if you are so inspired!

The Adventures of Tom Bombadil


Characters/Relationships:

Group: The Mewlips
Solo: Fastitocalon
Solo: Fíriel
Solo: Old Swan from Elvet-isle
Solo: The Ostler's Tipsy Cat
Solo: The Shadow-Bride

Freeform Tags:

Adventure
Architectural Horror
Dark Fairy Tale
Dreams bleeding into reality
Fairy Tale
Folk Horror
Found Documents
Ghost Story
In-universe nonfiction text
In-universe nonfiction text focused on worldbuilding
In-universe Folklore
In-world Myths and Legends
Lost in the forest
Lost in the wilderness
Magic
Ruined Castles and Fortresses
Sentient Nature
Setting as Character
Storms
Worldbuilding

Prompt Ideas:

• Mewlips and Gorcrows...yikes. Perhaps a tale of an innocent wanderer stumbling into their clutches, or art of their horrible dwellings? Or a scary nursery story, told to frighten little Hobbit children?

• The Shadow-Bride is another wonderfully creepy creation - thank you, Tolkien! I am super intriued by the glimpse we do get of her, but there's so much more you could do. Tolkien scholars have pointed out the poem's parallels with the myth of Persephone, so maybe that's something you could explore?

• Is Fastitocalon a made-up cautionary tale, or is there really a living island lurking in the seas of Arda, waiting to plunge weary travellers down into the depths?

• 'The Last Ship' is so poignant. I always wonder why the Elves asked Fíriel to go with them – maybe she'd seen the Elven ships before? Art of the ships (and of course of Fíriel and the Elves), fic about their comings and goings, or in-world documents about their travels all very welcome.

• A possible Silm/HoME link – Fíriel is another name used for Míriel after her death...

• Another potential Silm connection, but for a different poem – is Elvet-isle another name for Valinor? And if so, who is Old Swan? A Maia, or perhaps a Telerin lord in disguise?

• I would love you forever if you drew the ostler's tipsy cat playing his five-string fiddle – or told me a bit more about how he learned to play the fiddle in the first place! That's no ordinary mog...is he Tevildo in disguise? (Now I'm thinking some sort of triple cross with Puss in Boots and 'The Devil Went Down to Georgia', but that's probably taking things a bit far...)

The Fall of Arthur


Characters/Relationships:

Group: Creator's Choice of Knights of the Round Table
Guinever & Original Fay Character(s)
Guinever & the Lady of the Lake
Lancelot & Agravain
Marrac & Meneduc
Solo: Agravain
Solo: Gawain
Solo: Guinever
Solo: Original Knight of the Round Table
Solo: Original Saxon Character
Solo: The Lady of the Lake (Fall of Arthur)

Freeform Tags:

Action/Adventure
Adventure
Canon Events From Perspectives Not Given In Canon
Curses
Dark Fairy Tale
Dark Magic
Dreams bleeding into reality
Exploring the world
Immortality
Kneeling
Lost in the forest
Lost in the wilderness
Magic
Mythology – Freeform
Post-Canon
Ruined Castles and Fortresses
Storms
Worldbuilding

Prompt Ideas:

• There's so much to play with here as most of the relationships are only sketched or skated over. The politics of the round table could come into play, or the mores of chivalry, or the betrayal and devotion woven through all of the legends.

• I love Tolkien's dark and witchy Guinever. She's brave, proud, ruthless, clever, manipulative and fascinating – and the continued use of “fay” in the text (and her own musings on turning men's fates to her own ends) suggests she has some kind of otherworldly power, which I would love to see explored.

• The Lady of the Lake isn't technically in this particular Arthurian canon, but she's such a mainstay of the legends that I don't feel bad asking for her. How does she fit into this version of the stories? I can see her having an interesting relationship with Guinever but please feel free to play about and include her however/wherever you're inspired to.

• Agravain doesn't get time on screen in this version either, but I'm intrigued by his grey and ambiguous characterisation in the Vulgate Cycle (cf. assorted Noldor in the Silm). I'd like to see more of him in this setting – maybe you could give him a quest or adventure of his own?

• This is a great canon for showing things from different points of view – I'm thinking of the OC tags here, but also characters like Marrac and Meneduc, who are just a throwaway mention.

• Gawain's sword was marked with runes by “smiths enchanted ere Rome was built,” and I can't help wondering whether Tolkien was thinking of his Elven smiths here...

Tolkien (2019)

Characters/Relationships:

Christopher Wiseman & Edith Bratt
Christopher Wiseman & J. R. R. Tolkien
Geoffrey Bache Smith & J. R. R. Tolkien
Group: The TCBS
J. R. R. Tolkien & Mabel Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien & Robert Gilson
J.R. R. Tolkien & Joseph Wright
Solo: Christopher Wiseman
Solo: Edith Bratt
Solo: Geoffrey Bache Smith
Solo: J. R. R. Tolkien
Solo: Mabel Tolkien

Freeform Tags:

A & B have an honest and completely frank discussion about difficult subject
Epistolary
Found Documents
Academia
Bedtime Stories
Character(s) writing poetry
Dreams – Nightmares
Dreams bleeding into reality
Friends bonding over unusual hobbies or interests
Friendship that's more important than Character(s)'s romantic relationship(s)
Gratuitous literary quotes
Hope vs. Despair
Hope
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder – PTSD

Prompt Ideas:

• I adored this biopic! I loved the gorgeous gothic splendour of King Edward's, the grime of Birmingham and how sharply that contrasted with Sarehole, the way flashes and snatches of things that would later be woven into the Middle-earth tales came to Tolkien on the edge of sleep, or half-drunk, or feverish in the trenches.

• Also I cried at the scene with Tolkien sitting in the tea-shop with Mrs. Smith after her son's death, persuading her to publish her son's poems (discovering Geoffrey Bache Smith's poetry was a happy consequence of watching this film).

• Some possible ideas of things to explore...Mabel's influence on her sons; Tolkien's close friendships with the TCBS; his romance with Edith; being mentored by Professor Wright; the aftermath of WW1, and how Tolkien and Christopher Wiseman coped with having survived.

• If you're familiar with, for example, Carpenter's biography or Garth's exploration of Tolkien and WW1, then feel free to draw on those too.

Crossover Fandom


Characters/Relationships:

Celebrimbor (Silmarillion - JRRT) & Hector (Castlevania – Netflix)
Celegorm (Silmarillion - JRRT) & Ravens of Erebor (The Hobbit – JRRT)
Fingon (Silmarillion - JRRT) & Fafnir (The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún – JRRT)
Gilmith (LotR - JRRT) & Uinen (Silmarillion – JRRT)
Knight of the Round Table (Arthur - JRRT) & Original Noldorin Elf (Silm – JRRT)
Maglor (Silmarillion - JRRT) & Barliman Butterbur (LotR – JRRT)
Maglor (Silmarillion - JRRT) & Eleventh Doctor (Doctor Who – 2005)
Maglor (Silmarillion - JRRT) & Gilmith (LotR – JRRT)
Maglor (Silmarillion - JRRT) & Mary Seacole (Historical RPF)
Maglor (Silmarillion - JRRT) & the Woodmen of Mirkwood (The Hobbit – JRRT)
Old Swan from Elvet-isle (ATB - JRRT) & Original Character from Alqualondë (Silmarillion – JRRT)
Original Oxford Archaeologist character (Tolkien 2019) & Nerdanel (Silmarillion – JRRT)
Tar-Aldarion & the Guild of Venturers (Silmarillion - JRRT) & Fastitocalon (ATB - JRRT)

Freeform Tags:

A & B have an honest and completely frank discussion about difficult subject
Action/Adventure
Adventure
Architectural Horror
Character enthusiastically agrees to doing something dangerous
Curses
Dreams bleeding into reality
exploring the universe
exploring the world
folk horror
Found Documents
Furniture Trying to Eat People
ghost story
I trust you to remove me from the equation if I become a danger to others
Immortal Character(s) Through History
Immortality
Learning how to be a team
learning to trust each other
Loneliness
lost in the forest
Magic
Mythology – Freeform
Rescue Missions
Ruined Castles and Fortresses
Sentient Buildings
Setting as Character
Silmarillion - Maglor's Wanderings After the First Age
Silmarillion - Narrative Bias
Storms
Time Travel
Treasure Hunting
Unexpected Friendship
World-hopping/dimension-hopping
Worldbuilding


Prompt Ideas:

• The first time I watched Castlevania I just devoured it for the story, and for the relationship between the central trio. The second time, I spotted an eight-pointed star on Hector the Forgemaster's clothing, and my crackiest crossover idea in a while was born. There's plenty of magical technology lying around in Dracula's castle, including a mirror that can transport people halfway across the world; between that and whatever Celebrimbor and the Gwaith-i-Mírdain invented or had access to, there's definitely scope for cross-dimensional communication or travel.

• Chatty corvids and Fëanor's wildest son...Did Celegorm know (or even breed or train) the Ravens' ancestors?

• The Doctor and Maglor...two immortals wandering through time and possibly space...what are their views on each other? How do their experiences compare and contrast? What stories do they tell each other? Show me a one-off encounter between the two of them, have Maglor as an undocumented companion of Eleven (accidental stowaway on the TARDIS!?), have them encountering each other multiple times at different points in their timelines...it's totally up to you.

• My favourite episodes of Doctor Who are almost always the ghost stories - think "Hide", "Heaven Sent" and "The Haunting of Villa Diodati" - but I also love the romps through futuristic sci-fi settings (bonus points for running up and down corridors!), the "let's visit history" ones, the lower budget character-focused ones, and the ones that turn on solving a puzzle (a very specific idea - with Maglor's musical gifts, can he do anything unusual with the Sonic Screwdriver?)

• Assorted other Maglor tags...I am a huge fan of Maglor turning up in post-First Age canon and in known history. I can easily see him encountering any of the groups/individuals he's nominated with here – although I wonder what Barliman would make of him!

• I do love the potential of pubs and inns as gathering places, as catalysts for plot - meeting strangers; overhearing wicked plans; seeing something one shouldn't - as places of rest and recuperation, and as crossroads, and gateways to adventure. Could be a nice setting for one of King Arthur's knights to meet up with one of the Noldor who never went West...

• Speaking of canon characters in history – Nerdanel!!! She's an artist and sculptor, so it would be amazing to see her exploring beautiful Oxford. Maybe she finds a portal, or perhaps she's gone looking for her wandering son? And if she's been in Valinor for all those years, she might need a local guide – enter OC archaeologist.

• Fingon and Fáfnir...I am imagining Fingon in some kind of curse-breaking rescue here. There is so much potential for adventure and heroics in this tag, and of course Fingon has plenty of experience with dragons in the First Age, so it would be fascinating to see what he makes of this one.

• There's no canon basis for it, but I can't help wondering whether Gilmith was offered the choice of the Peredhil, and which kindred she would choose to align with. Perhaps she went looking for her mother, which is why we don't hear any more of her in the canon texts? Plenty of potential for adventure, ghostly encounters, and more – and it would be really interesting, if she was allowed to choose immortality, to see what she thought of her choice thousands of years down the line.

• I've left some ideas about Old Swan above, and about Fastitocalon, so I will just add that I love the idea of Aldarion and his Guild of Venturers encountering the fabled beast. What might drive them to look for him? Hidden treasure? Or perhaps they found him completely by accident, and no-one believed them when they got home...

• A quick note on the tag about furniture eating people – I was thinking of Doctor Who here (which has previous on human-scoffing dustbins) but if for some reason we've matched on it for one of the other tags, well, colour me intrigued.