#elrohiri

[myrkvidrs]

It’s been awhile since I dove into my Elf Problem with fic, but I’m not gone from the fandom and I’ve recently picked up some absolutely stellar fic that I have to encourage everyone to read with me! These stories are so good and do incredible jobs with the characterizations and also I will never, ever be over how much I love the Elves. Thranduil and Legolas especially, but if you spend more than five minutes around me, you’ll hear me cry about my feelings on pretty much every Sinda ever, and here’s some fic that will really help with that. :D TOLKIEN FIC RECS: ✦ In a Field of Blood and Stone by ScribeofArda, thranduil & legolas & bard & gandalf & bilbo & cast, 112k    The Battle of the Five Armies, according to the book, from the point of view of the Elves. ✦ Oak and Willow by Potboy, celeborn/galadriel & thingol & luthien & melian & finrod & cast, 49k    The story of Celeborn and Galadriel - with the difference that this time it’s told from the Sindar POV ;) ✦ A Good Year by ScribeofArda, thranduil & legolas & elladan & elrohir & gandalf & elrond, 5.2k    Midwinter in Mirkwood: Elladan and Elrohir come to visit, Elrond and Gandalf argue over books, there’s ice skating and ice hockey and snow, and the beginning of a new year. ✦ The Bitterness of Mortality by Karri, aragorn & legolas & elladan & elrohir & elrond & thranduil, 39.6k    While visiting Rivendell, Legolas stumbled across a misplaced gift. Will he survive it? ✦ In the Service of the Elven King by artaxastra, thranduil & aragorn & gandalf, 2.1k    A short gen story with Aragorn, Thranduil, and Gandalf. This takes place in the decades immediately after The Hobbit. ✦ Learning to Live by Bodkin, oropher, valinor, 2.9k    Oropher is finding it hard to adjust to life in the Blessed Realm. Some solitary brooding. ✦ Adar & Ion by Sivan325, thranduil & legolas, 20.1k    Series of stories between King Thranduil and his son - Legolas, and Legolas is Greenleaf. Fluffy stories.rnrnFrom time to time guests joined the party. ✦ The Prince and the Pea by Karri, elladan & elrohir & aragorn & legolas & glorfindel & celeborn, 3.5k    Young Estel is led astray by elflords. TOLKIEN ESSAY RECS: ✦ The many faces of Thranduil ✦ What Tolkien Officially Said About Elf Sex full details + recs under the cut!

✦ In a Field of Blood and Stone by ScribeofArda, thranduil & legolas & bard & gandalf & bilbo & cast, 112k    The Battle of the Five Armies, according to the book, from the point of view of the Elves.    You can also read the fic on FFNET, if you prefer! I fell back into Tolkien fandom again recently and happened to stumble over this fic again and started reading it, whereupon I promptly got sucked into this gorgeous fic and now I’m going to write a terrible rec for it. In a sense, it’s a fairly simple thing, that it’s exactly what it says on the tin, a retelling of the Battle of the Five Armies, but from the point of view of the Elves, as well as being canon to the book, rather than the massacre the movie made of the Elves’ characterization. But it’s a deceptively simple thing in theory and terribly complicated to pull off well in reality, but, oh, this fic did it. You absolutely don’t need to be familiar with book canon, this fic isn’t about rewriting those scenes, but instead filling in what was happening with the Elves in between the pages of canon–while some scenes are pulled from the pages of the book, most of them are glossed over a bit (in a way that really, really works, I don’t feel cheated by any of it!), and instead it’s a really satisfying, complete, whole story about the point of view of thesecharacters. And, yes, this is what the Elves are! They’re not perfect, they carry grudges, Gandalf is often right in his gentle suggestions that kind of irritate Thranduil, that their relationship is not that of easy friends, but they are true friends nonetheless and they value each others’ council and respect the sheer weight of history that each has been through.    It’s a fic worth reading just for getting some great Elven culture worldbuilding, as they struggle with this constant war against the Enemy (aka Sauron and his evil), what it has done to them and how it’s worn them down, what cost they pay, but also how they still have faith. The fic does a gorgeous job of showing Bilbo’s role as being so important and so inspiring in exactly the way it should be–not preachy, but instead kind and caring and such a good reminder of hope. The fic does a gorgeous job of showing that Gandalf cares deeply and has such a bigger view than many characters, that he’s seen so much more than any one other person, but that he also gets to leave when the battle is done, he’s not the one rebuilding. The fic does a gorgeous job of showing the Elves carry long grudges against the Dwarves that are not necessarily right, but that they’re never less than Good People who sometimes have too much on their shoulders. And, oh, if you’re interested in Thranduil’s relationship with his son, this fic is so incredibly satisfying for that as well, that he is absolutely a King and has Seen Some Shit and isn’t always nice (but is always Good), but he would destroy everything for his son, just as an Elf would. The moments of him worrying over Legolas, the stern king softening into a father’s fussing at times, before the mask must be put back on, are incredibly done and worth reading the fic for alone, I can’t tell you how satisfied I was by them.    This is a fic that is incredibly solid in its telling, it’s so very well-written and paced and structured, all the things a story like this should be, that it adds so much, that it stays true to canon while exploring a different view, giving more depth to it. It’s a fic that gives multiple points of view characters, that this is a story worth reading for the Bard chapters, if you’re a fan of his, because of the beautifully written struggle he goes through to decide whether or not to lead his people, the anger that he feels at what’s happened to all of them, and how he can be so very human and so very good at the same time, that it’s all part of his character. It’s worth reading for Gandalf and Bilbo’s roles in the story as well, they’re such valuable and important and fun to read about! It’s worth reading for Legolas’ characterization, who is such an Elf, that there’s so much kindness in him, that he is such a warm and caring character. It’s worth reading for his friendships with other Elves and for how he interacts with humans and hobbits as well. It’s worth reading for all these things!    If you’re a movies-only fan, you can absolutely read this fic just fine, and I think it’s one of the top ones I would suggest for showing why I got so frustrated with the movie, because this is the Thranduil I recognize. Every inch of his characterization is exquisite, it’s so perfectly understanding of who he is, what his role is, and what history’s weight on his shoulders means. The references to the First Age, to Doriath and Thingol’s kingdom, to the long length of his life and the long fight against the Enemy, the weight the story of the Silmarils still carries, all of it is perfectly used to give further depth and understanding to his approach to things. This is a story with soliditly and weight, it’s a gorgeous look at the Elves during the Battle of the Five Armies, it uses its handful of OCs incredibly well (I was absolutely invested in them by the end, that’s how well written they were!), and one of those fics that’s dragging me back into this fandom because it reminds me of everything that I love here. ✦ Oak and Willow by Potboy, celeborn/galadriel & thingol & luthien & melian & finrod & cast, 49k    The story of Celeborn and Galadriel - with the difference that this time it’s told from the Sindar POV ;)    This can also be read on FFNET. After reading “In a Field of Blood and Stone”, I was in the mood for another fic that told events of the Tolkien canon from the point of view of another set of characters, so I decided to pick this one up and I’m so very glad I did–I think it’s a lot more accessible to fans who don’t necessarily know a ton about The Silmarillion, because it really is a well-told story just on its own! But even more than that it does an incredibly gorgeous job of showing exactly what it set out to do–that the Noldor point of view used in the canon could easily be very different from what the Sindar themselves experienced, that they weren’t so much awe-inspired by the Noldor as being polite in front of company. That they weren’t savage so much as simply valued other things, had other history. That they weren’t hot-heads so much as the Noldor really did some bad things and came into their lands and started acting superior. This doesn’t take away from that there are many Noldor to love, the fic is obviously deeply fond of Galadriel and Finrod especially, both of whom really do try to understand the Sindar. And the fic is gorgeous for giving such depth and care and fascinating detail to the Sindar, to the point that I can’t help but see it as a natural extention of canon! It feels so true to canon, just from another angle!    Of course, the other thing you’re here for is the points of view and characterizations of Celeborn and Galadriel and, oh, the fic is so good with both of them, they’re such incredible presences, that this Celeborn is brilliant and wise, that this Galadriel is the titan of presence she is in canon, and you see why they’re drawn to each other, how they interact, her steely spirit and his strategic warrior’s mind, is spot on. Even their issues, that Celeborn has never seen the light of the Two Trees or that their cultures are so different, that her kin killed his kin, that the Noldor do not make it easy for the Sindar, all of that is gorgeous. Seeing Thingol’s ban on the Quenya language is amazing here because you understand why and how it’s a smart move–they’ve known there was Doom laid on the Noldor, they could see it (and I love love love how Tolkien’s Elves are so well written here that these things are woven so naturally into the story!), but they never expected this, nothing so horrible as this. The Quenya ban is such a fantastic stroke because it’s not just a random thing, it establishes that this is Sindarin land while also not turning away the Noldor completely, and it’s little things like that, told from the point of view of the Sindarin Elves, that makes this a breathtaking fic for me.    It’s one of those that I’d put at the top of any list of fic to read if you want to understand a bit more of the history of the Elves of Middle-Earth, I think it reads well, so long as you understand the context of it (that this is the other half of the coin that is canon, that each side would tell things differently) or if you just want a really incredible look at how Celeborn and Galadriel might have come together, in a way that does justice to the epic scope of these events. It’s beautifully written and beautifully characterized, I loved every single moment of it. ✦ A Good Year by ScribeofArda, thranduil & legolas & elladan & elrohir & gandalf & elrond, 5.2k    Midwinter in Mirkwood: Elladan and Elrohir come to visit, Elrond and Gandalf argue over books, there’s ice skating and ice hockey and snow, and the beginning of a new year.    This can also be read on FFNET. Oh, this was a wonderful story about winter in Mirkwood, how the Elves find joy in everyday life and it absolutely sparkled for everything the author put into it–Thranduil, Elrond, and Gandalf being the Old People who watch over the younger ones, their arguments hilarious and beautifully in character with each other over an old book of Thingol’s from Thranduil’s library, to the way the younger elves interact with each other and have such joy even as the Shadow is never far away. It’s one of those that seems simple on the surface, but has such charisma and talent in the telling of it that it’s an incredibly strong, good story! I’m having a terrible time writing a rec for this fic, but it is so very worth a read! ✦ The Bitterness of Mortality by Karri, aragorn & legolas & elladan & elrohir & elrond & thranduil, 39.6k    While visiting Rivendell, Legolas stumbled across a misplaced gift. Will he survive it?    I have two caveats about this fic–one, there are too many epithets that distract from the story and, two, the events of Legolas’ mortality are never fully explained why and you have to just roll with that. Those things said, however, you can definitely make some educated guesses and the heart of the story is on the relationship between Elves and Men and Half-Elves, which the story delivers on in a totally engrossing way. I ate this fic up, the balance of hurt/comfort and what mortality means in this world. The concern everyone has for Legolas, the way the twins and Aragorn fuss over him, the way Thranduil is distraught over the loss of his son, the way this stirs up such deep feelings for Elrond, all of that is done in such an emotionally satisfying way. It’s longish and just the right length for reveling in all the care being taken with dying!Legolas that I ate it up like delicious candy. ✦ In the Service of the Elven King by artaxastra, thranduil & aragorn & gandalf, 2.1k    A short gen story with Aragorn, Thranduil, and Gandalf. This takes place in the decades immediately after The Hobbit.    There are some timeline issues in this fic (largely that the Watchful Peace ended three hundred years before Aragorn was born, so Sauron had long been back by this point/had left for good after the events of The Hobbit) but they stick out more because the fic is otherwise so lovely. I greatly enjoy the reasoning here, that Gandalf brings Aragorn to the Woodland Realm, because Elrond is wise and can fight, but he is not a natural leader of an army, nor was he even a king. And a king is what Aragorn needs to learn to be, to have the bearing and presence of one, which is exactly what Thranduil has. A lovely fic on such great characters. ✦ Learning to Live by Bodkin, oropher, valinor, 2.9k    Oropher is finding it hard to adjust to life in the Blessed Realm. Some solitary brooding.    I’m not sure if I’ve ever come across a fic of a rebodied Oropher in Aman before, so I was intensely curious and wary at the same time. This fic does a beautiful job of balancing what it’s like for Oropher himself to deal with everything, what he does and doesn’t want from life, with the struggles of any Elf released from Namo’s halls and the choices an Elf must make. It’s not a long piece, but it was wonderfully written and made me instantly smitten with the author’s universe and wanting more! ✦ Adar & Ion by Sivan325, thranduil & legolas, 20.1k    Series of stories between King Thranduil and his son - Legolas, and Legolas is Greenleaf. Fluffy stories.rnrnFrom time to time guests joined the party.    I’m recommending this as a series because they’re short fics and all generally have the same tone to them and I read them in bunches. They’re super fluffy fics from Legolas’ childhood, the kind that are almost sugary sweet, but I am fucking here for that in fandom, so I eat these up like candy when I’m in the mood for that! :D ✦ The Prince and the Pea by Karri, elladan & elrohir & aragorn & legolas & glorfindel & celeborn, 3.5k    Young Estel is led astray by elflords.    This was a super cute piece with the twins and Glorfindel adorably teasing bb!Estel with how Legolas is a prince, as you don’t quite know how to feel for him being used to tease the cute kid. Except for that it’s pure joy and packed with love between all the characters and utterly sparkled. So, I loved it. TOLKIEN ESSAY RECS: (I generally reblog whatever essays I can about the Greenwood elves, there are some really lovely and well-researched posts that help give context to Tolkien’s world and what can be pieced together with it! But sometimes there are links outside of tumblr that I think are well worth reading, so consider this a sort of… set of essay recs, rather than fic recs!) ✦ The many faces of Thranduil    My favorite thing about this essay (which is a good overall look at the character) is that it makes clear the point that The Battle of the Last Alliance is the single most important thing to understand Thranduil’s character, because it shapes so much of everything he does and why he does it. The movies briefly touch on it, referencing that he’s seen dragon fire before and the spiritual wound (which word of god says isn’t actually physical anymore, but still lingers on his soul), but they don’t explain just how horrifying that war was, how much he lost in that battle. It’s more than just that his father died there, but also they came home with barely one third of the elves they started out with, all for a battle where Sauron was not defeated and Isildur never did destroy that fucking ring. So, every time he looks south to Dol Guldur (where Sauron was situated, which was the source of the Shadow and the twisting of the woods and the spiders and the orcs), he was reminded every day of that battle and what it cost, not even for an actual end to the battle. So, yeah, he’s really not going to jump into any unecessary battles. ✦ What Tolkien Officially Said About Elf Sex    An incredibly well-referenced post about Elven marriage, romance, and sex, which I found super informative! The interesting things to take away are that Elves mate for life, they just don’t get remarried after they bond/get married (except for one time with Finwe which, well.), that they enjoy sex just fine for awhile and then sort of taper off once they’ve had their kids, and that you can’t really force yourself on an elf because they’ll die. Oh, yeah, and they’re hard-wired to find long hair attractive, which is why they all have it, and that is both great and hilarious.