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narya_flameHello, dear worldbuilder, and happy 2022!
Thank you so much for creating a gift for me; I love the concept of this exchange, and I can't wait to see what you come up with.
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. Please 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.
I am also open to unrequested relationships of all kinds (provided they don't conflict with a DNW), so if you have a precious rare pair/OT3+ that you never get to write and it's compatible with one of my requests, please include it if you wish. (If you'd like shippy/NSFW inspiration, feel free to check out my Smut4Smut letter from last year.)
I've added in a list of things I love to see in fanworks, but as always, if you're inspired to do something different then please ignore all of this and follow your heart. This is not a shopping list and I would just like my lovely creator to have some fun with whatever we matched on. There are, though, a handful things I would prefer not to receive...
DNWs
I don't ship Gigolas or Angbang (or at least, I don't ship Angbang in a soppy/fluffy way...but creepy/dark takes are fun). I am a bit iffy on Eöl and Námo. I don't like them as they are written in canon; an appearance from either or both of them is not a DNW, but I generally prefer darker interpretations of them, or at the very least ambiguous/complicated depictions.
OK, with those out of the way, let's move on to things I do like and would be very happy to see!
Art Likes
Fic Likes
In-Universe Meta
Any
Darker Stuff
Characters I'm Always Happy To See
This is not me sneaking in additional requests and it's definitely not to say that I want these more than any of my other selected characters – most of them aren't even in my sign-up – but if they turn up uninvited or happen to go for a walk into a canon they don't strictly belong in, I can guarantee I will be delighted.
Relationships I Like
Again, not extra requests, but I am always happy to see them, and if they happen to be relevant in your fic and they do get a mention, I will be very happy.
Prompts from the Tag Set
I've referred to my tagged characters in a few of these prompts, but I'm aware we may not have matched on the character and worldbuilding combinations that I think are the obvious ones, so again, ignore and adapt wherever you like.
A note up front – it isn't an officially listed option in the tag set, but I would also be open to poetry based on any of these prompts, whether they're taged as Art, Fic or Meta in the “official” sign-up. For fic requests, I am up for podfic too. Any media type is welcome for treats.
The Book of Lost Tales
Characters: Ælfwine; Any or No Characters; Meássë; Nielíqui; Original Character(s); Telimektar; Tevildo
Fanwork Type(s): Art; Fic; Meta
Worldbuilding Tags: Dark Magic; The Enchanted Isles; The Straight Road; Viking Raids; What happened to the Ainur who aren't in the published Silmarillion?
There's some brilliantly barmy stuff in The Book of Lost Tales; it's like The Silmarillion on LSD, and I would love to see it explored a bit more. If you're a fan of the villains, then how about the wicked enchantments of Thû, or the schemes of Fankil, or the machinations of Tevildo and his castle of evil cats? (Something about that magical collar could be interesting...)
While we're on the darker side of things, what about Telimektar, Nielíqui, Meássë, and other “god-figures” that didn't make it into the published Silmarillion? Did something sinister happen that removed them from the picture? History is written by the victors, after all...
I also really love the framing narrative of Ælfwine's journey (and Old English Stuff in general), so anything about that would be incredible – or, if you're into lush descriptive prose or you're making art, something depicting one of the amazing locations in more detail would be very much appreciated.
The Hobbit
Characters: Any or No Characters
Fanwork Type(s): Art; Meta
Worldbuilding Tags: Lake-town; Mirkwood; The Effect of Smaug's Corpse on the Long Lake and Surrounding Area; The Toy-Market of Dale; Trade on the River Running; Trolls With Multiple Heads; Stone Giants; Were-worms
I love the worldbuilding in The Hobbit, and the little glimpses of so much more happening off the page. I'd be thrilled to get something about Dale in its glory days – sketches of toy designs, or notes kept by a travelling trader? – or something exploring the river as part of a trade network (how did the Elf-king get his wine?).
Lake-town is fascinating and unique among Tolkien's settings. I would be delighted 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?
For Mirkwood, I adore the scene in the book with the vanishing lights, so maybe you could draw that, or some of those weaving spider web tunnels, or a sinister forest scene with shadows that might just be dark, wicked creatures following you home. For meta, something about the early days of Sauron's occupation of Amon Lanc could be interesting – maybe observations about wildlife decreasing, trees in an unusual and sickly condition, something strange in the quality of the light...
For the trolls, giants and were-worms, art would be amazing – or bestiary entries and illustrations, lore, explorers' tales, children's rhymes and stories...go wild!
The Lord of the Rings: Request 1
Characters: Any or No Characters; Aragorn; Boromir; Faramir; Legolas; Original Character(s); Original Hobbit Character(s)
Fanwork Type(s): Fic
Worldbuilding Tags: Gandalf &/or Aragorn's previous journeys in Moria; Tales of Moria told across Middle-earth
I am so intrigued by the passages in Fellowship where the Nine Walkers are discussing the way under the mountains. Gimli's desire to visit Moria is evident, but it's interesting that all of the rest of the Fellowship have clearly heard tales of the old mines. What dark stories have reached Mirkwood, or the Shire, or Gondor? And of course, Gandalf and Aragorn have both been into the mines before...and "the memory is very evil"...I want to know what happened!
The Lord of the Rings: Request 2
Characters: Any or No Characters; Entwives; Goldberry; Original Character(s); Original Historian(s); Scatha; Tom Bombadil; Treebeard
Fanwork Type(s): Art; Fic; Meta
Worldbuilding Tags: Barrow-downs; Cold-drakes and Fire-drakes; Entish Language and Songs; Huorns; Records marked 'thus said Legolas'; The Dead Marshes; The Haunted Mountain; The Fate of the Entwives
AKA the Third Age grab bag request! I will lap up anything you're inspired to create here.
Ghosts and horror stories are among my favourite things to read, so please scare me silly with your take on the ghosts of the Dead Marshes, or the Haunted Mountain – or perhaps draw me some creepy art, with Spooky Scary Lights glowing through the darkness. I also love the dark fairy-tale weirdness of the Old Forest – are there Huorns in there? What's the nature of Tom's power over the Barrow-wights?
For the dragon tag, I'm partial to a female Scatha if that's a road you'd like to travel; if your preference is for the late Third Age, then maybe something about Smaug, or an original dragon (do we know that Smaug was the last one?). As for the Entwives, where did they go? What did they do there? How many, if any, survived to the end of the Third Age? Are they anything to do with the wandering elm tree on the North Moors in the Shire?
'Thus said Legolas'...nominator, I love you. No specific prompts here, but I'd love to know which records Legolas felt the need to have input into, and why!
The Silmarillion: Request 1
Characters: Any or No Characters
Fanwork Type(s): Art
Worldbuilding Tags: Gondolin; Vinyamar
This is an easy one. Both of Turgon's cities intrigue me, and I would love to see how you imagine either or both of them. A drawing of one of the cities in all its glory would be fantastic – but equally, I'd love a close up of a smaller detail, like a hidden alcove, or delicate scrolling around an archway. I like pretty much all of the Gondolin-adjacent characters so if you want to include your favourite Elf or Elves then feel free – or if your muse has a darker bent, then perhaps one of the cities crumbling and abandoned, possibly with something malevolent lurking in the shadows...
The Silmarillion: Request 2
Characters: Fëanor
Fanwork Type(s): Fic; Meta
Worldbuilding Tags: Valarin
From HoME:
“...The information that Pengolodh then gives is here set out more briefly. His preliminary points are these. Few of the Eldar ever learned to speak Valarin, even haltingly; among the people as a whole only a small number of words or names became widely known. Fëanor indeed, before the growth of his discontent, is said to have learned more of this tongue than any others before his time, and his knowledge must at any rate have far surpassed the little that is now recorded; but what he knew he kept to himself, and he refused to transmit it even to the Lambengolmor because of his quarrel with the Valar.”
This passage intrigues me – as does the note that the sound of Valarin was alien and even downright unpleasant to the Elves. (There is huge potential for language-based horror here, if your view of the Valar is less than benign.) What did Fëanor know of Valarin? How did he feel about what he knew? Did he record anything about it for posterity – if not for the Lambengolmor, then privately, at Formenos? Did he ever tell his sons or siblings or Nerdanel about it? I want to know!
The Silmarillion: Request 3
Characters: Any or No Characters
Fanwork Type(s): Art; Meta
Worldbuilding Tags: Calendar Systems; Heraldry; Manuscripts and manuscript transmission
I see calendar systems in the tag set every year, and I always think it would lend itself so beautifully to in-world meta, or to illustrated meta of some kind (a drawing of a calendar used by one of the peoples of Midle-earth?)
I thought it fitted quite nicely with the Heraldry and Manuscript tags, which seem to lend themselves to similar things. The Elven sigils are beautiful and I would love something about how and why any of them were chosen. Alternatively, feel free to draw me something gorgeous displaying one or more of them, or make sketches showing how they developed over time.
(If Elves aren't your thing, how about the devices of the Edain, or the Dwarves, or even the Ainur? Did different races use their sigils for different purposes? How did the process of choosing and developing them differ by culture?)
I don't have any specific prompts for manuscripts but I am intrigued by the tag, so if that was your nomination, please do whatever you please with it and enjoy.
Middle-earth: Request 1
Characters: Any or No Characters; Bilbo Baggins; Fëanor; Isengar Took; Olórin; Original Character(s); Pengolodh; Sauron
Fanwork Type(s): Art; Fic; Meta
Worldbuilding Tags: Crebain; Ghosts and Hauntings; In-universe Authorial Bias in Historical Texts; Magical Rivers and Forests; Ósanwë; The Nameless Things that Gnaw the Earth and that Sauron Knows Not; Wargs / Wolves / Werewolves; The “Round World” Version of the Legendarium
Another grab bag request here. There's loads to go at – Sauron and his wolf pack? Earth mysteries? A story or sketch of the supernatural? Bilbo quizzing Elrond about Pengolodh's thoughts on the Fëanorions? Fëanor discovering the world is round? (Or Isengar Took doing the same thing – after all, he supposedly ran away to sea? Or even Fëanor AND Isengar Took discussing the nature of the world, flat, round or otherwise...if you can make that work I will love you forever.)
If you're making art, then maybe something with the crebain flocking over Dunland, or a depiction of one of Tolkien's many sentient woods and rivers. Ósanwë could be fun for in-universe meta (we just have the one canon essay; are there others, lost to history?) or as a means to explore the bond between two characters – touching, romantic, or even creepy; it's entirely up to you. (Someone put 'Weaponised Ósanwë' in the Innumerable Stars tag set last year, which I thought had heaps of potential.)
I pulled out a few named characters who I thought combined well with the worldbuilding tags, but I really do mean the “any character” option, so if you want to put someone else front and centre then please feel free – and I love getting to know new OCs, if that would work better for the concept you have in mind.
Middle-earth: Request 2
Characters: Any or No Characters
Fanwork Type(s): Art
Worldbuilding Tags: Maps of Middle-earth and Beyond
This one is extremely straightforward – I would love you to draw/paint/make a map of any location from Tolkien's legendarium that your heart desires. It could be a well-known city, a tiny village that never gets a mention, a map of the Shire, or of Valinor, or one of the lands that Tolkien doesn't pay much attention to, like Khand. I will be thrilled with whatever you choose.
TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms
Characters: Any or No Characters; Original Character(s)
Fanwork Type(s): Art; Fic; Meta
Worldbuilding Tags: Connections between the Middle-earth legendarium & other Tolkien settings/texts
OK, I could not resist this one; I am a sucker for crossing multiple Tolkien canons. I'm fascinated by the motifs and patterns woven through Tolkien's body of work – how they evolved over time, their roots in his own life, and how they speak to his goal to create that “body of more or less connected legend” that he was aiming for, his own “intricate web of story.”
I've left this request wide open as the wild card option. I'm intrigued to see what you come up with – you honestly can't go wrong here! – but if you need some inspiration, here are a few ideas:
Thank you so much for creating a gift for me; I love the concept of this exchange, and I can't wait to see what you come up with.
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. Please 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.
I am also open to unrequested relationships of all kinds (provided they don't conflict with a DNW), so if you have a precious rare pair/OT3+ that you never get to write and it's compatible with one of my requests, please include it if you wish. (If you'd like shippy/NSFW inspiration, feel free to check out my Smut4Smut letter from last year.)
I've added in a list of things I love to see in fanworks, but as always, if you're inspired to do something different then please ignore all of this and follow your heart. This is not a shopping list and I would just like my lovely creator to have some fun with whatever we matched on. There are, though, a handful things I would prefer not to receive...
DNWs
- Crack;
- Focus on bodily fluids and functions (exception: blood from injuries);
- Focus on pregnancy, childbirth or babies;
- Unrequested AU that significantly changes the canon setting - for example, A/B/O or mermaid AU. (Canon divergence is great, as is post-canon exploration - I don't consider Elves/Ainur in history or canon artefacts turning up in charity shops to be AU.)
- The Noldor as outright villains;
- The Valar as perfect and right in all they do;
- Maglor dead/mad/broken by grief for all eternity;
- Tom Bombadil = Eru or Maglor.
I don't ship Gigolas or Angbang (or at least, I don't ship Angbang in a soppy/fluffy way...but creepy/dark takes are fun). I am a bit iffy on Eöl and Námo. I don't like them as they are written in canon; an appearance from either or both of them is not a DNW, but I generally prefer darker interpretations of them, or at the very least ambiguous/complicated depictions.
OK, with those out of the way, let's move on to things I do like and would be very happy to see!
Art Likes
- Abstract art (could maybe work for the 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/runework
- 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
- Fairy tale motifs
- Found families/families of choice
- Grief and tragedy
- Hope 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
- Solace
- Unexpected friends/allies/relationships
- Unreliable narrators and quirky narrative structures – for example, epistolary, fragmented narratives, stories told through found documents, framing devices, stories told out of chronological order; playing with canon narrative bias/intent
- Unusual perspectives, minor 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
Any
- A sense of history and wonder
- Animals
- Battle plans, battle scenes and/or aftermath
- Candlelight
- Castles, fortresses, palaces and grand houses
- Cosy cottages (or hobbit holes!)
- Dragons!
- Elves/Ainur in history
- 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
- Liminal places; the borders of the numinous
- Loyalty and sacrifice; carrying on against impossible odds
- Magic
- Music and musical instruments
- Myth, folklore and fairy-tale
- Objects and places with special significance
- Original characters
- Quiet moments
- 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
- 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
Darker Stuff
- 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 (unless this conflicts with a specific DNW). 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
- 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
Characters I'm Always Happy To See
This is not me sneaking in additional requests and it's definitely not to say that I want these more than any of my other selected characters – most of them aren't even in my sign-up – but if they turn up uninvited or happen to go for a walk into a canon they don't strictly belong in, I can guarantee I will be delighted.
- Celebrimbor
- Celegorm
- Fëanor
- Finrod
- Gil-galad
- Glorfindel
- Indis
- Lalaith (especially ghost baby Lalaith)
- Maeglin
- Maglor
- Mairon
- Melian
- Míriel
- Nerdanel
- Olórin
- Thuringwethil
- Ungoliant
- Bilbo
- Boromir
- Faramir
- Gilmith
- Goldberry
- Huorns
- Houseless Elves
- Original Rohirrim (&/or their ancestors)
- The River-woman
- The Watcher in the Water
- Artaxerxes
- Psamathos
- Roverandom
- Uin
- Guinever
- The Corrigan
- The Shadow-Bride
- JRRT himself
- The Inklings
- The TCBS
Relationships I Like
Again, not extra requests, but I am always happy to see them, and if they happen to be relevant in your fic and they do get a mention, I will be very happy.
- Anairë/Eärwen
- Anairë/Eärwen/Finarfin
- Aredhel/Meássë
- Elemmakil/Voronwë
- Eönwë/Mairon
- Fëanor/Nerdanel
- Fëanor/Fingolfin
- Fingon/Maedhros
- Finwë/Ingwë
- Galadriel/Melian
- Míriel/Vairë
- Míriel/Indis
- Míriel/Indis/Finwë
- Míriel/Indis/Finwë/OC (I like the idea of a fourth, who was left behind when the others went on the Great Journey – I blame Spiced_Wine for this headcanon!)
- Elrond/Celebrían
- Éowyn/Faramir
- Ilmarë/Thuringwethil
- Varda/Ungoliant
- Amarië & Nerdanel & Finduilas (or any combination of the three of them)
- Aredhel & Egalmoth
- Bilbo or Frodo & any Elves
- Boromir & Faramir
- Caranthir & Argon
- Celebrimbor & Celebrían
- Celegorm & Finrod (I also ship this!)
- Finrod & Edrahil (I ship this too!)
- Ingwion & Finarfin
- Maglor & Elemmírë
- Maglor & Olórin
- Mairon & Olórin
Prompts from the Tag Set
I've referred to my tagged characters in a few of these prompts, but I'm aware we may not have matched on the character and worldbuilding combinations that I think are the obvious ones, so again, ignore and adapt wherever you like.
A note up front – it isn't an officially listed option in the tag set, but I would also be open to poetry based on any of these prompts, whether they're taged as Art, Fic or Meta in the “official” sign-up. For fic requests, I am up for podfic too. Any media type is welcome for treats.
The Book of Lost Tales
Characters: Ælfwine; Any or No Characters; Meássë; Nielíqui; Original Character(s); Telimektar; Tevildo
Fanwork Type(s): Art; Fic; Meta
Worldbuilding Tags: Dark Magic; The Enchanted Isles; The Straight Road; Viking Raids; What happened to the Ainur who aren't in the published Silmarillion?
There's some brilliantly barmy stuff in The Book of Lost Tales; it's like The Silmarillion on LSD, and I would love to see it explored a bit more. If you're a fan of the villains, then how about the wicked enchantments of Thû, or the schemes of Fankil, or the machinations of Tevildo and his castle of evil cats? (Something about that magical collar could be interesting...)
While we're on the darker side of things, what about Telimektar, Nielíqui, Meássë, and other “god-figures” that didn't make it into the published Silmarillion? Did something sinister happen that removed them from the picture? History is written by the victors, after all...
I also really love the framing narrative of Ælfwine's journey (and Old English Stuff in general), so anything about that would be incredible – or, if you're into lush descriptive prose or you're making art, something depicting one of the amazing locations in more detail would be very much appreciated.
The Hobbit
Characters: Any or No Characters
Fanwork Type(s): Art; Meta
Worldbuilding Tags: Lake-town; Mirkwood; The Effect of Smaug's Corpse on the Long Lake and Surrounding Area; The Toy-Market of Dale; Trade on the River Running; Trolls With Multiple Heads; Stone Giants; Were-worms
I love the worldbuilding in The Hobbit, and the little glimpses of so much more happening off the page. I'd be thrilled to get something about Dale in its glory days – sketches of toy designs, or notes kept by a travelling trader? – or something exploring the river as part of a trade network (how did the Elf-king get his wine?).
Lake-town is fascinating and unique among Tolkien's settings. I would be delighted 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?
For Mirkwood, I adore the scene in the book with the vanishing lights, so maybe you could draw that, or some of those weaving spider web tunnels, or a sinister forest scene with shadows that might just be dark, wicked creatures following you home. For meta, something about the early days of Sauron's occupation of Amon Lanc could be interesting – maybe observations about wildlife decreasing, trees in an unusual and sickly condition, something strange in the quality of the light...
For the trolls, giants and were-worms, art would be amazing – or bestiary entries and illustrations, lore, explorers' tales, children's rhymes and stories...go wild!
The Lord of the Rings: Request 1
Characters: Any or No Characters; Aragorn; Boromir; Faramir; Legolas; Original Character(s); Original Hobbit Character(s)
Fanwork Type(s): Fic
Worldbuilding Tags: Gandalf &/or Aragorn's previous journeys in Moria; Tales of Moria told across Middle-earth
I am so intrigued by the passages in Fellowship where the Nine Walkers are discussing the way under the mountains. Gimli's desire to visit Moria is evident, but it's interesting that all of the rest of the Fellowship have clearly heard tales of the old mines. What dark stories have reached Mirkwood, or the Shire, or Gondor? And of course, Gandalf and Aragorn have both been into the mines before...and "the memory is very evil"...I want to know what happened!
The Lord of the Rings: Request 2
Characters: Any or No Characters; Entwives; Goldberry; Original Character(s); Original Historian(s); Scatha; Tom Bombadil; Treebeard
Fanwork Type(s): Art; Fic; Meta
Worldbuilding Tags: Barrow-downs; Cold-drakes and Fire-drakes; Entish Language and Songs; Huorns; Records marked 'thus said Legolas'; The Dead Marshes; The Haunted Mountain; The Fate of the Entwives
AKA the Third Age grab bag request! I will lap up anything you're inspired to create here.
Ghosts and horror stories are among my favourite things to read, so please scare me silly with your take on the ghosts of the Dead Marshes, or the Haunted Mountain – or perhaps draw me some creepy art, with Spooky Scary Lights glowing through the darkness. I also love the dark fairy-tale weirdness of the Old Forest – are there Huorns in there? What's the nature of Tom's power over the Barrow-wights?
For the dragon tag, I'm partial to a female Scatha if that's a road you'd like to travel; if your preference is for the late Third Age, then maybe something about Smaug, or an original dragon (do we know that Smaug was the last one?). As for the Entwives, where did they go? What did they do there? How many, if any, survived to the end of the Third Age? Are they anything to do with the wandering elm tree on the North Moors in the Shire?
'Thus said Legolas'...nominator, I love you. No specific prompts here, but I'd love to know which records Legolas felt the need to have input into, and why!
The Silmarillion: Request 1
Characters: Any or No Characters
Fanwork Type(s): Art
Worldbuilding Tags: Gondolin; Vinyamar
This is an easy one. Both of Turgon's cities intrigue me, and I would love to see how you imagine either or both of them. A drawing of one of the cities in all its glory would be fantastic – but equally, I'd love a close up of a smaller detail, like a hidden alcove, or delicate scrolling around an archway. I like pretty much all of the Gondolin-adjacent characters so if you want to include your favourite Elf or Elves then feel free – or if your muse has a darker bent, then perhaps one of the cities crumbling and abandoned, possibly with something malevolent lurking in the shadows...
The Silmarillion: Request 2
Characters: Fëanor
Fanwork Type(s): Fic; Meta
Worldbuilding Tags: Valarin
From HoME:
“...The information that Pengolodh then gives is here set out more briefly. His preliminary points are these. Few of the Eldar ever learned to speak Valarin, even haltingly; among the people as a whole only a small number of words or names became widely known. Fëanor indeed, before the growth of his discontent, is said to have learned more of this tongue than any others before his time, and his knowledge must at any rate have far surpassed the little that is now recorded; but what he knew he kept to himself, and he refused to transmit it even to the Lambengolmor because of his quarrel with the Valar.”
This passage intrigues me – as does the note that the sound of Valarin was alien and even downright unpleasant to the Elves. (There is huge potential for language-based horror here, if your view of the Valar is less than benign.) What did Fëanor know of Valarin? How did he feel about what he knew? Did he record anything about it for posterity – if not for the Lambengolmor, then privately, at Formenos? Did he ever tell his sons or siblings or Nerdanel about it? I want to know!
The Silmarillion: Request 3
Characters: Any or No Characters
Fanwork Type(s): Art; Meta
Worldbuilding Tags: Calendar Systems; Heraldry; Manuscripts and manuscript transmission
I see calendar systems in the tag set every year, and I always think it would lend itself so beautifully to in-world meta, or to illustrated meta of some kind (a drawing of a calendar used by one of the peoples of Midle-earth?)
I thought it fitted quite nicely with the Heraldry and Manuscript tags, which seem to lend themselves to similar things. The Elven sigils are beautiful and I would love something about how and why any of them were chosen. Alternatively, feel free to draw me something gorgeous displaying one or more of them, or make sketches showing how they developed over time.
(If Elves aren't your thing, how about the devices of the Edain, or the Dwarves, or even the Ainur? Did different races use their sigils for different purposes? How did the process of choosing and developing them differ by culture?)
I don't have any specific prompts for manuscripts but I am intrigued by the tag, so if that was your nomination, please do whatever you please with it and enjoy.
Middle-earth: Request 1
Characters: Any or No Characters; Bilbo Baggins; Fëanor; Isengar Took; Olórin; Original Character(s); Pengolodh; Sauron
Fanwork Type(s): Art; Fic; Meta
Worldbuilding Tags: Crebain; Ghosts and Hauntings; In-universe Authorial Bias in Historical Texts; Magical Rivers and Forests; Ósanwë; The Nameless Things that Gnaw the Earth and that Sauron Knows Not; Wargs / Wolves / Werewolves; The “Round World” Version of the Legendarium
Another grab bag request here. There's loads to go at – Sauron and his wolf pack? Earth mysteries? A story or sketch of the supernatural? Bilbo quizzing Elrond about Pengolodh's thoughts on the Fëanorions? Fëanor discovering the world is round? (Or Isengar Took doing the same thing – after all, he supposedly ran away to sea? Or even Fëanor AND Isengar Took discussing the nature of the world, flat, round or otherwise...if you can make that work I will love you forever.)
If you're making art, then maybe something with the crebain flocking over Dunland, or a depiction of one of Tolkien's many sentient woods and rivers. Ósanwë could be fun for in-universe meta (we just have the one canon essay; are there others, lost to history?) or as a means to explore the bond between two characters – touching, romantic, or even creepy; it's entirely up to you. (Someone put 'Weaponised Ósanwë' in the Innumerable Stars tag set last year, which I thought had heaps of potential.)
I pulled out a few named characters who I thought combined well with the worldbuilding tags, but I really do mean the “any character” option, so if you want to put someone else front and centre then please feel free – and I love getting to know new OCs, if that would work better for the concept you have in mind.
Middle-earth: Request 2
Characters: Any or No Characters
Fanwork Type(s): Art
Worldbuilding Tags: Maps of Middle-earth and Beyond
This one is extremely straightforward – I would love you to draw/paint/make a map of any location from Tolkien's legendarium that your heart desires. It could be a well-known city, a tiny village that never gets a mention, a map of the Shire, or of Valinor, or one of the lands that Tolkien doesn't pay much attention to, like Khand. I will be thrilled with whatever you choose.
TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms
Characters: Any or No Characters; Original Character(s)
Fanwork Type(s): Art; Fic; Meta
Worldbuilding Tags: Connections between the Middle-earth legendarium & other Tolkien settings/texts
OK, I could not resist this one; I am a sucker for crossing multiple Tolkien canons. I'm fascinated by the motifs and patterns woven through Tolkien's body of work – how they evolved over time, their roots in his own life, and how they speak to his goal to create that “body of more or less connected legend” that he was aiming for, his own “intricate web of story.”
I've left this request wide open as the wild card option. I'm intrigued to see what you come up with – you honestly can't go wrong here! – but if you need some inspiration, here are a few ideas:
- The Lossoth encounter the Great Seal or the Great Bear from The Father Christmas Letters
- The Guild of Venturers meet Fastitocalon on a voyage
- The Ostler's Tipsy Cat is Tevildo in disguise
- Roverandom gets to visit Valinor
- Uin the Great Whale has an underwater chat with Ulmo
- Old Swan of Elvet-isle is a shapeshifting Telerin mariner
- Fingon encounters Fafnir, with or without the dragon-helm
- Beewolf is a descendant of the Beornings
- Ilbereth is a survivor of Sirion
- Guinever is an Elf (or Peredhel?) who never sailed
