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herenortherenearnorfar · 1 year

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For @thearrogantemu Formenos era light pastiche Scrooge Feanor with caroling. Let this be a warning to some of ye, give me a prompt or the house picks!

“Bah, humbug!” Feanor turned from the window as the sound of incoming wassailers grew louder.

“Quite right, father,” Maglor agreed, “They’re pitchy.”

Outside Formenos the snow swirled. Amid the blue-white haze came points of red light, lanterns held out ahead of small groups of singers. Bundled up against the cold, they travelled from household to household. Ostensibly, they were there to demand cakes and a drink of hot cider. In the process, they trod the paths and checked on every little cottage in the sparsely populated north. This far from the Valar, neighbors had to have each other’s backs.

It was the sort of tradition Feanor would normally approve of—fostering independence! mischief! But the Silvering put him in a miserable mood.

So he was installed upstairs, with Maglor and Caranthir for company, while downstairs Finwë and Maedhros ladelled beverages and greeted guests. A draft drifted up from the entryway. Though it wasn’t chill enough to make an elf shiver, he still complained.

“They’re just here because they think the Silmarilli will be on display. It’s a trick, a clever plot to get past our gates.”

Caranthir took a rare stance. “Grandfather would not countenance any threat to your good fortune.”

“And listen!” Maglor cried, “They are singing one of my songs.”

Up from the snow, carried by the wind, came the sound of clear voices.

The Holly has berries, as red as firey coals

The foresters and hunters, keep them from every foe

Nay, Ivy, nay

“See, father, they take your side in matters,” he said smugly. From this distance it was impossible to make out faces but he tried. It paid to know one’s fans.

“And after this I’m sure they’ll travel down south to wassail the Two Trees,” Feanor grumbled but his heart was no longer in it.

“It’s an awful long way to travel,” said Amrod from the stairs, “The Silvering will be over in a few short months and this is the only night of it worth singing for.”

Maglor waved exuberantly, though he refused to emerge from his nest of blankets. He’d never cared much for the cold, and liked an excuse to play to an audience. “Pityafinwë! What’s the news from the revelers?”

Amrod slunk over to curl up on the floor, resting his head on Fëanor’s knee. “They are happy with the hot wine and happier still to see Grandfather, though he has given them such stern looks for bowing to him! But they wish to see you, father.”

“To beg a glance at my works—“

“No! Because you are their crown prince and they are loyal to you above all others. They only wish a glimpse of Míriel Therindë’s son, on her favorite holiday.”

That cracked the ice. Muttering under his breath, Feanor stood. “I suppose I might as well put an appearance in.”

“Well, I shan’t move,” Maglor announced, only to earn a smack on the head from his departing brother.

“And no one asked you to! Come along, father, let’s go down to the hall.”

Formenos was properly decked out for Silvernight, the day when Telperion’s influence waxed most strongly. After all, it was Míriel the Broideress’s season, and this was her stronghold.

It was a well known fact that the trees shone more and less brightly depending on their season. Vala blessed or not, they were still trees—they flowered and fruited, shifted in the breeze. The small fluctuations in their influence meant little in moderate Tirion. A few more hours of blue light, a longer golden period, a tiny drop in temperature quickly absorbed by the warm sea. Further north, where tree light was already scarce, it changed weather patterns.

Beneath Telperion’s cooler light, Formenos grew biting. Flurries of snow built into drifts. Blizzards weren’t unheard of.

By all accounts, the Lady Míriel adored it. Tirion beneath the hot yellow glare of Laurelin wasn’t the place to wear three layers of needlepoint. In Tirion her tapestries were decoration, in Formenos they kept the freezing cold out. In Formenos when wassailers came they paid respects to her husband but their loyalties belonged to her. A needle worker was valued everywhere but when it froze she was invaluable.

The populace remembered. There was pinewood crackling in the hearth, letting out a bright green scent to remind everyone of lighter days. Holly hung from the rafters. Lightstones, Fëanor’s own work, a lesser predecessor to the Silmarils, were scattered everywhere, illuminating every corner. Every bench and chair was draped with furs, every wall bedecked with fabric. Celegorm had helpfully dragged in a stag from the forest and was dressing it on the high table; the smell of blood hung heavy on the air alongside the fragrance of cloves and wine.

“Fëanáro!” Finwë looked like he’d just seen the light of the trees for the first time. “Look at you, your cheeks are so red! Are you cold? Do you need something to eat?” Next to him stood Maedhros, holding a great bowl of spiced wine, and Curufin, holding his son (who he always liked an excuse to show off).

“Nelyafinwë, Curufinwë. I’m fine, Father. How are you? Don’t think you need to greet everyone, these people will suck you dry.”

“These people,” Finwë clucked, “They’re my people. And yours—look, another group is coming.”

From outside they could hear the singing, this group rowdier than the last:

Mistress, at your door, our wassail begins!

Kindly open the door, and let us come in!

Finwë’s eyes went soft. “Ah,” he said, speaking to the air, “they still sing to her.” This was as far as he got before the great doors to Formenos keep were thrown open, letting in the buffering wind. Along with it came Amras and the trio he was escorting.

“Papa!” he said sweetly, all decorum forgotten; this was his right as the youngest. He was then ousting by the choir, launching quickly into their wassail.

“Yes, yes, we all know what you’re here for,” Feanor seized the wine bowl from his eldest and brandished the ladle threateningly. “Come get something to drink. And something to eat. And sit by the fire for a while, you look half frozen—Tyelcormo, stop playing with that knife and get some meat cooking. We’re in for an evening of guests.”

An elderly elf, as elves went, wispy hair beginning to collect on her chin, eyes fathomlessly ancient, patted him on the hand. “I told you all he was Míriel’s boy, no matter what the stories said.”

Amras, fighting to rebar the doors, stopped and squinted. “I think I hear the bell at the gate again.”

Though embroiled in hospitality, Feanor still had the presence of mind to shout “Bring them straight through the courtyard! No detours and no deviations!”

He returned to hosting, directing his father to sit, sending Caranthir down to the larder for more apples to begin on the fire, marshalling forces to sally out and collect more firewood—apparently the hearth wasn’t blazing high enough for his tastes.

It was Maglor who stumbled downstairs, blankets abandoned. He hastened to his oldest brother (set on cookie duty) and tugged him down to whisper in his ear. Maedhros went pale as milk.

“Father—“

“Listen!” Finwë said from his exile (a luxurious bench to the side of the proceedings, with a wolf pelt draped over his lap), “We have more guests!”

Familiar voices could be heard faintly through the renewed storm outside.

Many white feathers hath the swan,

The more I drink, the less I can

Lay sticks on the fire, well may it burn

Give us wine to drink, ere away we turn!

This time Amras knocked, almost timid.

“Honestly, does he not know how to open a door?” Curufin griped, not noticing those of his relatives frozen in trepidation. He strode forward and shoved the entry open, revealing his brother and his cousins.

True to his name, Celegorm was the first to move. “Irissë!” he shouted in delight, vaulting over the blood slick table and bounding across the hall. Huan followed at his heels, barking joyously. “Aikanáro, Angaráto!”

Finwë was the next quickest on the uptake, joining the small grouping at the threshold. “My dears,” he said, wiping snow off their shoulders. “This is a surprise. You should have sent word ahead.”

“It was unexpected,” Aredhel admitted. “We were following a gorgeous elk and got further north than we anticipated. Didn’t realize until it started to snow and our horses couldn’t manage the drifts. We have a good camp in a cave a mile from here but when we saw the singers we thought—“

“Close the door,” Feanor ordered. “You’re letting the cold in.”

“Of course, Uncle.” Angrod said politely. Amras silently helped him, anything to not be in the eye of the storm.

Even with just a ladle in hand, Feanor looked frightening. The years had mostly erased the impact of the sword incident, a situation only a few of the collected grandchildren and none of Aredhel’s band had witnessed. “I hope you don’t expect food.”

“We did sing,” Aegnor pointed out.

Feanor ground his teeth. “You came! Under false pretenses! To infiltrate my house!”

“To see our relatives,” Angrod argued, “Our family, which we still love despite all misunderstandings.”

He turned his face away, “I see no family.”

“But I do,” Finwë said, soft but firm. “And it is my house too. I’ll vouch for them, Feanor, and I promise your treasures will go untouched, for your nephews have more interest in Oromë’s works than Aulë’s.”

At his father’s word, Feanor subsided. Perhaps it was the great love between them, or the lack of grudge he held for these of his brothers’ children (these three had never been much for politics). “They are your guests then.”

Finwë smiled, “Good. Now, let’s get you something hot to fill your bellies and something warm to take back with you to that cave, I shan’t have you freezing.”

“There’s venison if you’ll help me gut it,” Celegorm promised.

The tension in the air relaxed a little, the humming of songs started up again. A loving-cup was passed around and even Feanor grudgingly took a sip.

Maedhros found a quiet moment to lay a hand on Aredhel’s shoulder. “No one else came hunting with you?”

She shook her head. “We were alone.”

Regret passed over his face. “Ah. Well. I’ll find some fur coats for you.” The woven ones were tacitly off limits.

Once the venison was cooking and more wassailers had been sent on their ways, Maglor got it in his head to give a toast.

“To the season!” he declared, “Our silver tree’s gifts are more subtle than its twin but no less important. For in this time of cold we gain a greater appreciation of what really matters—family, togetherness, harmony both figurative and literal.”

“Wine!” Aredhel shouted.

“Yes, and wine.” Maglor conceded

They drank, some reluctantly. Finwë nudged his eldest son. “You should say a few words.”

Feanor stood. The floor in front of his seat was still blood soaked, thanks to Celegorm’s indoor butchering job, red soaking into the rushes. He stared at some parties, glared at others.

“To family,” he said, and turned away. Out the front door of the fortress he went, across the courtyard, past a second, interior gate, and then another. His sons who tried to follow him fell behind, and soon he was alone before the treasure house of Formenos, a sturdy little building meant to protect just three things.

He unlocked the door, went inside, and did not step out until the yellow light of Laurelin shone on the southern horizon.

To family. With those imposters present! Nonsense! Ridiculous! Humbug!

#silver sweetie you’re doing so good I’m working on yours #thearrogantemu #silmarillion fanfiction #feanor

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echo-bleu · 4 months

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End of the Year Fic Recs

thank you @thescrapwitch and @sallysavestheday for tagging me!

This is a wonderful game, I love reccing fics and I should do it more. I'll keep it all Silmarillion for the recs, since that's the bulk of what I've read this year. I haven't had the spoon to leave proper comments on some of these, so hopefully reccing them can count too?

Recommend up to 5 series or multi-chapter fics from 2023 that everyone should read (multi-year WIPs count, if the last update was in 2023).

- The Harrowing by @chthonion. I am forever in awe of this whole series and of Chthonion's writing. Somehow every single sentence is relatable and at least half of them are a punch in the gut, but in a healing way. A delightful Frodo, Celebrimbor and Finrod working through their trauma and Annatar, remade as an elf, learning how to be a good person (and a person at all, really).

- we will make this place our home by @leucisticpuffin. Truly delightful 70s AU as narrated by 8 year old Elrond, who just makes my heart melt in every chapter. Maedhros and Maglor as traumatized foster parents doing their best, the twins with their antics and their fears and joys, it's such a breath of fresh air and I can't get enough of it.

- Hanged Man by @tethysresort. Second age fic about the fall of Eregion and the start of Imladris with so much interesting worldbuilding and plot, and characterization of Elrond and Glorfindel especially that I really loved.

- Everlasting Song by @amethysttribble. This is perhaps a little more niche, a crossover with A Song of Ice and Fire, but I'm not an ASOIAF fan at all and I have like two whole memories of the books and I'm still finding absolutely delightful. Top-notch characterization of the Fëanorians, and it really keeps you on your toes.

- Aurë entuluva by @theheirofashandfire. Just very recently caught up with it and I love it to bits! The time loop is all kinds of angsty and breathtaking, and I really love the world that is being constructed afterwards. Wonderful Russingon, and I'm also, especially, in love with her Curufin and Celegorm.

Recommend up to 5 single chapter fics/one-shots (long or short) from 2023 that everyone should read.

- Wayward Son by @thescrapwitch. Angst exactly like I like it. Fëanor and Maglor, and it will make you cry. @thescrapwitch writes Maglor just wonderfully and I really love this Fëanor that will do absolutely anything for his son.

- On the difference between hostages and sons by leodesic (and the rest of the series as well). Absolutely delightful Elrond and Elros, as seen by Gil-galad when they first come to his court. I love Elrond defying expectation, and this was such a wonderful read.

- the world to come by arriviste. Arda Remade, told through the shadows and the gaps of what's missing. It's eerie, and I love a well-written eerie fic that leaves you feeling a little off-balance. Wonderful reflection on the price of perfection.

- Sea-Bells and Sunlight by @actual-bill-potts. Finrod, Lúthien and Beren in Mandos. This broke my heart in the best way.

- in the breaking by @thelordofgifs. Short but terribly impactful study of Maedhros and Maglor before the end, one of the best I've read of them.

Recommend up to 5 fics NOT from 2023 that everyone should read (oldies but goodies).

- A Farewell to Arms by MorwenSteelsheen (LOTR, Farawyn). Such a wonderful characterization and development of Faramir and Éowyn's relationship in a slight canon divergence where Éowyn arrives in Gondor two years before the end of the war of the Ring.

- The Splintered Light by @thearrogantemu. The whole series. These Gifts That You Have Given Me (Silvergifting) is well-known in the fandom, I think, and I absolutely loved it, but the other fics set in the Fourth Age were among the first I read in this fandom that I just fell straight in love with.

- The Host of the West by @mynameisjessejk. Various fics of the Otter Mayhem and Otterless Mayhem series could have gone into every category here because I love them all, but this is the one I chose because I reread it yesterday for the fourth (fifth?) time and it still had me bawling my eyes out. Probably my favourite Finrod, and definitely an inspiration for my own writing. The whole series is about healing and redemption and elf therapy and all of it is delightful.

- The Peril (and Potential) of Unleashing Lightning in a Fishbowl by @dawnfelagund. This one took everything I thought I knew about Caranthir, threw it out the window and gave me a truly brilliant characterization I didn't know I needed in my life. The worldbuilding is also delightful, and so is Amarië.

- Aranya by SpaceWall. I read this recently and it's really staying with me. Some people in my asks have expressed interest in fics that take the Valar to account for their mistakes, and this is a wonderful one. With a bonus revolution. I really love the non-linear storytelling as well, a hard-to-use tool that is done wonderfully here. Plus the title is inspired.

Recommend up to 5 of your own fics (completed or WIP) from 2023 that everyone should read.

- your veins are empty of dust. Character study of Nerdanel as feels her family die across the sea, and she sculpts. This is also the fic for which I made the art I'm probably the proudest of to date.

- your smile tells me I'm safe. Modern AU with aro Maedhros and a Russingon QPR.

- silver. Míriel, Celegorm and Celebrimbor, and living with chronic illness.

- the light that you keep burning there. Part of a much larger AU where the second and third kinslayings don't happen, but this one is about Maedhros, Maglor and Fingon in the later years, as the world crumbles, trying to remember what (who) they're fighting for.

- if I am to braid my mystic crown. The Silmarillion retold through worldbuilding headcanons about braids.

Tagging @unforth @foodsies4me @wren-of-the-woods @camille-lachenille (I don't know who has already done it, so feel free to send me a link if you have!)

#fic recs #echo's fanfiction #silmarillion #tolkien

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bishopmyrielfundraiser · 6 months

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Bishop Myriel Fundraiser 2023 masterpost

to be added to as more offers are submitted Rules 1. 3 cross stitch Christmas card slots and 1 bookmark -- @warrioreowynofrohan

2. 1500-2000 word fic, 1 slot -- @kjack89

3. Les Misérables-based poems, 10 slots --@granhairdo 4. historical romance fic, 1 slot -- @badassindistress 5. 1 case-bound journal or fic -- @pandamomentum

6. 1 drawing of a Les Mis character-- @labrador-tea

7. 1 illustration of a character, any fandom -- @genderfeel

8. 1 illustration for Les Mis or The Hobbit/LOTR in regular, stained glass, or cat style --@secretmellowblog

9. 1 illustration for Les Mis or Les Mis fanfic -- @grack-attack/@commongrackle

10. 1 custom translation in English of up to about 1000 words from any Victor Hugo work-- @thearrogantemu 11. 2 slots for custom embroidered patches-- @fructidors 12. 2 slots for digital art profile pictures/icons -- @bootsssss

13. 1 set of zines for The Hobbit webcomic --@secretmellowblog/@retellingthehobbit

14. 5 slots of linocut prints in custom colors saying "Trans joy will overcome transphobic hatred" -- @quillsand/@thelawsofdaylight

15. 1 custom lino print featuring a sentence/phrase of your choice -- @quillsand/@thelawsofdaylight 16. 1 pack of Enjolras-themed art prints and keychain--@syrupsyche/@erosyrup

#bishopmyrielfrundraiser #bishop myriel fundraiser #masterpost 2023

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silver-grasp · 7 months

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I don't think I ever shared this on here, but it's relatively old artwork I did from about four years ago. It was meant to be symbolic illustration for These Gifts That You Have Given Me by @thearrogantemu - four interlocking rings, with the One at the center and the Three around, with a sort of inscribed triangle array that I meant to represent the spiritual or metaphysical aspects of the ring craft. The whole thing was drawn using a compass and straightedge, and reflects several of the geometric constructions you can achieve with those tools.

#my art #silvergifting #kinda #the blue lines are meant to be evocative of light and lenses but I'm not sure I achieved that

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thescrapwitch · 4 months

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End of the Year Fic Recs

Thank you @tathrin for tagging me!

Recommend up to 5 series or multi-chapter fics from 2023 that everyone should read (multi-year WIPs count, if the last update was in 2023). 1 The Harrowing by @chthonion 2 the fairest stars by @thelordofgifs 3 we will make this place our home by @leucisticpuffin 4 Atandil series by @eilinelsghost 5 The Wide Waters Not So Lonely Sailing series by @tathrin

Recommend up to 5 single chapter fics/one-shots (long or short) from 2023 that everyone should read. 1 First Contact by @polutrope 2 Adamant, Sapphire, Ruby by @dreamingthroughthenoise 3 As the Hare Flees Before the Wolf by @emyn-arnens 4 your smile tells me I'm safe by @echo-bleu 5 A Damnable Spot by @imakemywings

Recommend up to 5 fics NOT from 2023 that everyone should read (oldies but goodies). 1 Ever-Fixed Star series by @eirianerisdar 2 Department of Song and Craft Safety, Review, and Approval by @icryyoumercy 3 what this darkness cannot swallow, it must spit out by @dialux 4 Fear, Fire and Foes by @cycas 5 In Full Measure I Return to You by @thearrogantemu

Recommend up to 5 of your own fics (completed or WIP) from 2023 that everyone should read. 1 Reforged 2 For Want of a Crown 3 Maglor is an Eldritch Horror series 4 Wayward Son 5 Through a Dark Mirror, Dreaming

Tagging @dreamingthroughthenoise @arofili @echo-bleu and @icryyoumercy and anyone else who wants to join in!

#fic rec #go read #super good stuff #silmarillion

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thelordofgifs · 10 months

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Friday Fic Recs

A compilation of gen fic recs for @tolkiengenweek!

a cup in summer’s hand by @vidumavi. Maglor and Caranthir cuteness!! Love love love Maglor’s characterisation here and the complicated loving brotherly dynamic. 3k, canon compliant, complete.

lakesong by @welcomingdisaster. Maedhros and Maglor and a skirmish with orcs, featuring terrifying unearthly Maglor and sad protective Maedhros. 1k, canon compliant, complete.

Friendship and Stern Demand by @polutrope. An incredible epistolary fic exploring the exchange of letters between Maedhros and Elwing pre-Third Kinslaying. SUCH fantastic characterisations and linguistic details as always! 2k, canon compliant, complete.

Faithless Is He That Says Farewell When the Road Darkens by @cycas. A War of Wrath-era fic in which Elrond and Elros encounter Celebrimbor, fight some ghosts, and have a fraught meeting with Maglor. 13k, canon compliant, complete.

Through the Smoke I See You by @sweetteaanddragons. The Dagor Bragollach, featuring Maedhros, Maglor and his Guilt. 3k, canon compliant, complete.

And What Happened After by @thearrogantemu. One of the absolute best post-canon Valinor fics of all time. It’s so hopeful and clever and touching and redemptive. Also Fëanor made me cackle from his first introduction. 73k, canon compliant, complete.

we will make this place our home by @leucisticpuffin. My favourite kidnap fam fic of all time!! I’d say I rec it too often but… it’s impossible to rec this too often. A 1970s rural England AU featuring traumatised eight-year-olds Elrond and Elros, Maedhros and Maglor as war veterans who have lost pretty much everything, a host of very charming and delightful OCs, and ghosts. 166k, AU, in progress.

let us love him at right angles (and each other not at all) by @thelonelybrilliance. Just Faramir and Boromir and Denethor being dysfunctional and heartbreaking 💔 629 words, canon compliant, complete.

where no storms come by @arrivisting. A lovely sad elegiac piece in which Maglor comes to Rivendell shortly before Elrond Sails, and must reckon with a wealth of memories as he decides whether or not to go with him. 14k, canon compliant, complete.

The War of the Ring by morwen_of_gondor. The sons of Fëanor sail back to Middle-earth to help with the war against Sauron. General chaos (in a non-cracky sense) ensues. 178k, AU, complete.

The Care & Feeding of Hobbits by Baylor. Boromir and hobbits you guys. BOROMIR AND HOBBITS. They are adorable. 20k, canon compliant, complete.

#silmarillion #lotr #fic rec #tolkiengenweek

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sallysavestheday · 1 year

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Tolkien Series Recs

Although I am most comfortable, in my own writing, with short pieces that express the essence of a moment or a character, I love to read longer works and well-developed series. I’ve been bingeing recently; here are 10 of my latest Tolkien faves.

I’d love to discover others, so please drop your own recommendations in the comments or the tags!

Return to Aman by @cycas. Post-canon; Elrond and Maglor return to Aman at the end of the Third Age and politics ensues. Fabulous worldbuilding; tender and thoughtful and hopeful, in the end.

Your shadow rising to meet you by @chthonion. Post-canon; Celebrimbor and Frodo and Finrod and Sauron and the House of Fëanor in Aman. An extraordinary exploration of faith, philosophy, politics, relationships, and weird science.

Under Strange Stars by @idrilsscribe. Terrific AU revolving around Elrond’s household in Rivendell, with epic scope.

The Ever-Fixéd Star by @eirianerisdar. Post-canon; a sprawling exploration of the House of Finwë in the Fourth Age and beyond.

Finrod: 30-Day Character Study by @cuarthol. Not technically a series but it reads like one. What it says on the tin. Magical and tender and hilarious and thought-provoking and a monumental achievement in 30 days.

Aurë entuluva by @theheirofashandfire. Time-loop fix-it AU of the Nirnaeth and related spinoffs. Crazy internal logic that somehow works and complex, beautiful characterizations.

Atandil by @eilinelsghost. Finrod/Bëor, etc. Fantastic worldbuilding and a rich, developing relationship. I keep plugging this one and it just keeps getting better and better.

King Fingon’s Menagerie by @z-h-i-e and lferion. Delightful mashup of characters from Middle-earth and Mr. Bliss. Funny, tender, thought-provoking, wonderful.

The Splintered Light by @thearrogantemu. Pain, suffering, deep thought, conflict, reconciliation, redemption and so forth for the House of Finwë, including hobbits fixing everything. Fabulous in so many ways.

Where You Go, I Will Go by @windandwater. The annotated LoTR you didn’t know you needed. Legolas/Gimli slooooooooooow burn. Delightful.

Tell me what else I should read!

#fic recs #tolkien fanfiction

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notbecauseofvictories · 1 year

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Yuletide Recs

It’s that time of year! The time of year when we celebrate the small, the niche, the weird and wonderful in fanworks---the Big Gay Episode of Horrible Histories and the metaphysical implications of Calvinball and some Devil Wears Prada fics that (if we’re being honest with ourselves) have since had their serial numbers filed off for publication as wlw romance novels.

Anyway, here are 10 of my favorites---mostly from weird fandoms (Thomas Kinkade paintings, Over the Garden Wall, Severance, fairytales, historical RPF) but I did sincerely enjoy them. I hope you will too.

union prayer by ohtempora Casey Jones the Union Scab - Joe Hill (Song)

Sins against organized labor have become a rising Heavenly issue due to an increased popularity in the labor movement on Earth. Pursuant to the last Heaven-Hell All Souls Conference, the Devil has agreed to accept mortals who commit sins against organized labor for eternal punishment in his domain.

It might not be objectively the best fic to come out of this particular exchange, but I’m listing this one first because it’s perfectly tailored to appeal to me. The “fandom” (so to speak) is a song I’ve listened to a lot in the last few years---one of the tracks on the Smithsonian’s Labor Songs discography! But the fic expands the premise the way only Yuletide can. A legal memorandum about the possibility of prosecuting strike breakers in heaven; delightful, delicious, exemplar.

The Only Place That's Real by Snickfic Christmas Cottage - Thomas Kinkade (Painting)

Every so often someone would come through the village, looking for the cottage. This time it was a man in a fine silk suit and a faraway look in his eyes.

any greenness is deeper than anyone knows by DesdemonaKaylose Over The Garden Wall

There is a strange, mournful singing that comes from just beyond the woods...

roses and sentiments, drowning in the sea of clouds by lightningwaltz The Six Swans (Fairytale)

At first he never leaves his sister’s side. (Or; the youngest brother and the years of his curse.)

r/severed by curtaincall Severance (TV)

Welcome to r/severed! This is a subreddit to discuss the experience of severance and provide advice and support to fellow severed people (and friends and family).

Special Modes by rivkat Severance (TV)

What are the special functions other than Overtime? Maybe they’re proposals in the files of Lumon.

The Chastisement of Margery Kempe by UpTooLate (NaomiK) 14th Century CE RPF

She thought that these horrible sights and accursed thoughts were delicious to her against her will. --The Book of Margery Kempe, chapter 59

RatTrApp by Mithrigil Pied Piper of Hamlin (Fairytale)

The plague is digital.

The Mire Tide by thearrogantemu The Silt Verses (Podcast)

They’ve locked the mud saint in the church kitchen. They’ve left the big industrial oven on, with its door open, in the hopes that the heat will dry him out enough that they can wrestle him onto the kiln car tomorrow in one piece.

What if it’s not that he’s lost his nerve, lost his faith, lost his reason? What if he’s closer to the god now than he's ever been?

in the absence of excavation (there is only speculation) by meroure Ancient British Stones/Dolmens/Archeology

They kept coming back. They loved me. Feared me. Revered me. Gave themselves to me willingly, a cyclical sacrifice with every death, a choosing of their own doing.

#fic recs #not.....all of them are 2022 because I got distracted by the general crueltide tag and all it had to offer #but most of them! thought there was some cool shit

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sumeriasmith · 2 years

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Meanwhile, I have finished cleaning up the scan for this one, which I think may be the first Silmarillion art I've done in more than a year? Damn. Pen and ink and watercolor, with a bit of marker in the hair, and, I think, a touch in the skin and clothes.

Anyway, this is Feanor and Fingolfin, and specifically, this is an illustration of my favorite scene from my beloved @thearrogantemu's And What Happened After. Possibly one of the best, and kindest, works of literature I've ever read; if you're at all into Tolkien and haven't read it yet, do so; you're in for a treat.

#silmarillion #tolkien #feanor #fingolfin #after #my art #fanart

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actual-bill-potts · 1 year

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for the shipping bingo: russingon, Elwing/Earendil, silvergifting?

these are good ones!

Russingon:

THEY R EVERYTHING TO ME. EVERYTHING. literally nothing compares to them. theyre fucked up and codependent they barely see each other theyre Doomed theyre war criminals they make each other worse they save each other over and over again.

Eärendil/Elwing:

ok unpopular here probably but. i simply do not think abt them. their story is beautiful and im not an elwing hater by ANY means. their characters are individually compelling for certain. but i also just...idk. i feel like tolkien said all that needs to be said.

one opinion that i have (though i don't feel terribly strongly about it) is that their relationship probably fell apart post war of wrath. for one thing, the loss of a child or children often results in the dissolution of a relationship. It's a terrible, life-altering thing. For another, they're long-distance basically forever. i am willing to bet that at least for awhile, eärendil blamed elwing for leaving the twins, and elwing blamed eärendil for being gone all the time. then elwing was upset that eärendil is doomed to stay on his ship forever, and eärendil is angry that she's not more supportive. and on and on...maybe eventually they patched up their relationship? but it is never going to be the same.

Silvergifting:

My relationship with Silvergifting is basically: there's some damn good fic out there. In particular, Anastasis/The Harrowing by @chthonion and These Gifts That You Have Given Me by @thearrogantemu COMPLETELY sold me on the ship. but i must confess that when i read the silm/HoME they did not immediately speak to me. They're somewhat compelling but not in a way that I feel the need to write/think about too much about personally.

#silvergifting #russingon #earendil/elwing #ask game #the silmarillion

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bishopmyrielfundraiser · 5 months

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Offer #10 -- translation of Hugo’s writing by thearrogantemu

@thearrogantemu I’m offering a new English translation of Hugo’s writing, up to ~1000 words. Got a favorite passage you want to see a new take on, a poem, a letter, a chapter?

For background, I’m one of the people working on a Ninety-Three translation; we presented “The Limits of the Inexorable” at this year’s BarricadesCon. For an example of my work, see this translation of the beginning of the ‘loose cannon’ sequence from Ninety-Three.

Once the winning bidder sends me the text they want translated, I’ll send the translation back in about a week.

Opening Bid: $15

(See rules for bidding and offering here)

#submission #translation #victor hugo #Les Miserables #les mis #les miz #quatrevingt treize #ninety-three #and all of hugo's works!

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warrioreowynofrohan · 9 months

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11, 13, 53 and 72 for the fic writer asks!

Yay! Thank you for asking! <3

11. Link your three favorite fics right now

1) all my war is done by arriviste

I still adore this one. Post-canon Fingon, dealing (or conspicuously not dealing) with the loss of Maedhros, his own guilt, and the return of his adult son (it’s complicated) Gil-galad, whom four thousand years of rule in Midfle-earth have left with a lot of opinions on how things should be managed.

It’s funny in parts, heartbreaking in others, and absolutely gorgeous.

The Sea of Ekkaia was beautiful, in its own way, but that way that was like no other place in Arda, in either Aman or Middle Earth.

It was a dark-blue that was almost black, even in the late afternoon, and the shore was less sand than gravel, a strange inconsistent rubble of rock and broken sea-shells that had been dashed to pieces by the constant fury of the waves. Staring out to sea, one did not see the far-away horizon the way one did on the gentler coast of Belegaer: there was no gentle faraway blue haze through which one might, perhaps, on a clear day, imagine that Middle Earth could be glimpsed, or at least the Straight Path.

No: instead along the horizon there was a seam of silver light, and then a great blackness, where the Sea of Ekkaia met the Uttermost West that was not quite the Doors of Night, but was certainly the end of Aman itself. If you stood on the shore watching, the seam would ripple with a pulse of light, sometimes green and sometimes white.

It was so far from anywhere the Eldar of Valinor lived. While they clustered around the Belegaer like moths to flame, this shore seemed instead to repel them. Was it the sight of the world’s end itself? It might be; yet Fingon thought there was more to why this wilderness was so little visited, this howling black sea lashing itself against a grey shore. It was beautiful, but not in the way Elves liked things to be beautiful: it was too raw, too unfinished, too savage.

It was too close to where Mandos kept his Halls, which were not only a thing of spirit but also matter, at least in the way that things in Aman were both. Too close to where Nienna’s tower looked out into the Void and where she wept, and wept, and wept. It was too close to death and to rebirth, to judgment and to pity.

Devastated by the discovery that the poem that gives the fic its name also contains the line I love another, and thus I hate myself. Because yes, that’s basically the fic.

Some miles further, Fingon said, “Did you ever meet him in Beleriand? After I died. I always wondered.”

“No,” Gil-galad said.

It didn’t seem like he was going to speak again, and Fingon had begun to assimilate that knowledge, that pain – that Maedhros had never seen him, had only ever known him through Fingon’s own eyes – when he added,

“But I saw what he did. Have you ever seen a whole city ruined, and known the ruiners to be Elves? It wasn’t even a city, poor Sirion! It was a refuge, a place for the desperate, as far to the West as they could get, as close to the safety of the Sea. They had so very little. No great stone palaces, no towers, no spires. Little enough fresh food. They were able to grow so little, and they lived on fish, and sea-weed, and what parties of brave hunting parties would bring back; and hope. They lived on hope, and they thought Elwing wore it around her throat, but the Valar didn’t come for them: Maedhros Fëanorion and his brothers did instead, and they burned and killed and ravaged. I’d say they salted the earth, but it was salt already. To fall on any innocent Elven city would be a horror: on poor Sirion it was the greatest cruelty I ever saw, and entirely pointless."

They said nothing more.

If you like it, you’ll almost certainly like the sequel, above the wind.

2) and what happened after by @thearrogantemu

One of the very first Tolkien fanfics I read, and still one of the best, particularly the conversations between Fëanor and Frodo in the second chapter, and Sam and Maglor in the third.

He looked closely at his hands, which were strong and graceful, well-shaped and unscarred. He ran his thumb up the side of his fingers and across the arch of the palm. “This, now, this is not quite right. No, they are too clean, far too clean. They say that the body draws its shape from the spirit but perhaps they overstated the case.”

“What do you mean?”

A shadow passed over his face, and all at once Frodo saw the immense age in his ageless features, as if each year of the circling centuries had landed like a blow. Heat rose against his mind again, searing and heedless and terrible. He tasted acrid choking ash in his throat, heard the wailing of distant voices, and all around him was salt and smoke and the flat metallic tang of blood.

Far to the east in Alqualondë by the sea, the sea-folk faltered at their nets as the shadow of ancient grief crossed their hearts, and in white-walled Tirion, the scepter fell as the High King of the Noldor suddenly stiffened in his seat, and then leaped up and ran to a window. He gazed westward, scanning the horizon beyond the Calacirya for he knew not what, pierced by a nameless hope.

But Frodo reached out in return and clasped both of Fëanor’s hands, and they did not burn, but were only flesh and blood, as his own. The heat faded, and Fëanor held out his hand before him; it was still empty and unmarked.

“No, too clean altogether,” he said lightly. “A hand shows what its work has been: calluses, inkstains, scrapes and nicks, little silver scars.”

If you like it, you will also like the sequel, The Very Wine of Blessedness, and probably others in the same series (‘The Splintered Light’) as well. When All Other Light Go Out (Findis) and Beyond the Western Sea (Finrod and Curufin) are two other of my favourites.

3) I love many of @clothonono’s fics, so the only way I know to answer this is to name the one I most frequently want to reread now. Which is….uh. Rochdeilin. I usually go for genfic so I’m little embarrassed.

It’s d/s russingon vulnerability kink. And it’s wonderful. I’m a fan of Maedhros being a sub, and I rarely see it done well.

If you want funny Russingon instead/as well, Fourteen Hours is hilarious and brilliant. On a different but also humorous note, Better A Holy Discord is basically the Valar MST3King the events of The Silmarillion, and along with the humour has so much insight that it’s basically my mission statement on the meaning of the book and who the Valar are.

13. what’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

I don’t deliberately follow a lot, but one - from CS Lewis, though I expect he’s not the only one to have said it - is that you know if something’s working by whether it sounds good when read aloud. I don’t often read my fic aloud deliberately, but I can tell when something seems to have the right beats and cadence, and it’s good for telling when a passage can stand or if it needs work.

53. How do you spend your time when it comes to fanfiction? Are you primarily a fic reader, writer, or a perfect 50/50 split of both?

I don’t do a lot of either - I’m pretty picky, about both my own work and others’ - but I definutely read much more than I write. I’ve only got a small number of fics, most of them short, and I don’t write on anything like a consistent basis. Part of that is due to the answer to the previous question - writing prose that doesn’t sound right is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I have never been able to discipline myself to “just get something down on paper” unless at least some of the words are already taking shape in my head.

72. What order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

I start with my favourite scenes / the ones are clearest in my head, and an outline of everything else. The outline varies in detail; so e parts will be very detailed, others will just be [x needs to happen here]. Then fill in the bits of the outline in pieces based on what I have the most idea about. But I’m very much a plotter - I can’t write something unless I have sone idea of the main things happening, how they hold together, and the central point/themes.

This was very fun, thanks again!

#fanfic #fic recs #tolkien #the silmarillion #the lord of the rings #frodo #sam #feanor #fingon #maedhros #valar #gil galad #ask game

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fremedon · 1 year

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No one asked for Les Amis as lesser Maiar, for good reason, because making them beings of any inherent power beyond the common measure of humanity fundamentally doesn’t work; LM is fundamentally a story about the Second-Born.

But I’ve been reading and rereading Silmarilion fic all week so here, have Les Amis as lesser Maiar.

(This got long.)

(And I am not coming up with their Quenya names or it would get longer.)

(That’s a lie, there will totally be Quenya names at some point.)

Enjolras: I was really taken by a couple of asides in @thearrogantemu’s fic, characterizing Olórin (Gandalf) as originally a Maia of Melkor, before he came to Irmo’s service, and characterizing Melkor’s original domain before he became Morgoth as transformation--that because of his fall, the Children have never known change without loss; and because of his banishment, change comes now unwilled by any Power.

You see where I’m going with this.

Enjolras is a spirit of transformation who joined in the Second Theme early and enthusiastically, because hell yes every creature should have a right to partake fully in shaping creation. And he did not repudiate him immediately: he saw the dissonance of the Second Theme as necessary to bring about the harmony of the Third, and as of the descent into Arda he was still Melkor’s creature to the extent that he was anyone’s.

When it became clear that Melkor had set himself as the enemy not merely of Manwë, but of creation, he left his service and attached himself to Manwë. In some ways it’s not a great fit. In substance he is a Valarauka, or close to one, a creature not of air but of fire; in temperament, he is the spirit of the sovereignty of the will over itself--the Maiar inherently serve the natures and functions of the greater powers, but his service is very much to the function and not the being that embodies it. He will take direction from Manwë, as the embodiment of legitimate authority rightfully wielded, but his nature is still that of transformation, and Manwë knows he will always serve the spirit of the law over the letter and conscience over authority.

Still, fire and air can collaborate well, and like his cousin Arien who draws the Sun, he accustoms himself to his new realm. He enjoys, more than anything, the long view from the crest of the Pelóri and the lower reaches of Ilmen, but his usual realm is far below that, in the spark of lightning, or as the breath that stirs the banked ember to sudden flame; or, among the nations of the Second-Born, as the voice that stirs oppressed spirits to remember that they are sovereign, and they are strong.

He appears in form sometimes as an eagle, but most often as a Man with a high forehead, like a horizon with much sky.

Combeferre: So in every possible Les Amis as system, Combeferre is a mess who doesn’t really fit anywhere. He has some affinity with Estë the Healer, obviously, and some with Aulë the Maker, but I’m going to put him in the domain of Irmo, Lórien, Lord of Dreams and the spouse of Estë, whose gardens flow into his own. He is the spirit of chimeras, invention, what is not but that yet may be. He treasures all the Children but loves especially the Dwarves and the Noldor, and shares with them many designs they must look to Aulë to realize; and for this he is also a friend to Aulë, for in this way the Maker is driven to expand and perfect the scope of his Art.

Prouvaire: And for Jehan, while Irmo would have been an obvious choice, I’m going to go with Nienna, the Lady of Tears, who grieves for all in the world that sorrows or is marred. By day he weeps for the world that is, and he weeps with the passage of time for the worlds that are no more and for those that will never be; and by night he walks in the gardens of Lórien and imagines the world that still might be, and he smiles.

Feuilly: While he also has some affinity for Aulë the Maker, who was so eager for others to teach what he knew that he created a whole nation of people, Feuilly is obviously a Maia of Vairë, the Weaver, who sees and understands all of history and translates it into the medium of decorative art.

Courfeyrac: Courfeyrac is a servant of Vána, the Lady of Spring, who governs birds and flowers and also all things that are young and full of potential. There is great friendship between him and Enjolras, as has often puzzled the dwellers in Aman, for Enjolras takes no notice of flowers, or birds, or springtime; but they walk often together in Arda, by themselves or in company with Combeferre, and where they go the spirits of the young are moved to the thought of new struggles.

Bahorel: Bahorel’s friendly belligerence could have gone a lot of ways--Tulkas, obviously, or I could see him as one of Ulmo’s, a cousin to Osse--but ultimately I think he belongs with Oromë, who along with Ulmo never entirely forsook Middle-Earth or the Children of Ilúvatar, and who is always ready to throw down with Morgoth’s servants. Sometimes he rides in his train in the shape of a great wolf, but more often he wanders through the cities of the Second-Born, and where he walks the paving-stones remember the mountains, and the fountains the rivers, and Men remember that they too are wild creatures.

Bossuet: So Bossuet is the reason that I wrote this up in the first place, because what he’s associated with, alone among the Amis, is luck. Which is to say, Fate. And fate and free will--and laws and contracts, and also curses--are all very firmly in the domain of Námo, Mandos, the judge of the Dead.

Which is hilarious.

So, yes, Bossuet is the happiest servant of the Doomsman of the Valar! If his master’s domain is that which is, and Irmo’s is that which could be, and Nienna’s that which now can never be, Bossuet dwells in that which could be worse, and helps--in what measure he can, for his power is not great--to ensure it is not.

(On the plain of Araman, during the Flight of the Noldor, while Mandos pronounced his Doom, Bossuet, unseen, slipped through the host untying shoelaces and breaking the buckles on luggage. The extra minutes of consideration granted to several would-be Exiles while they got their gear in order were instrumental in their choices to turn back with Finarfin.)

Joly: Like Bossuet, Joly is a minor servant of one of the greatest Powers--Yavanna, the Giver of Fruits. He finds and mends the errata in creation, helping to ensure that every living thing has something to eat, and something to eat it, if only in its decay. Fungi, especially, are his interest, and everything that lives and sprouts anew from death; but he appears most often in form as one of the Children, cheerful and pleasant to look upon.

Grantaire: I initially thought Grantaire would be hard to place--wine is Yavanna’s domain and art is Aulë’s, and depression is Nienna’s and Estë’s, and verbal shitposting doesn’t seem to have an obvious patron. But then I looked at his name, and who else’s could grande aire be but Manwë’s? Spirit of fog and vapor--the cloud that obscures, or seems to be other than it is; pipe-smoke and the wisp of the dying candle.

Grantaire maintains that it was he who introduced pipe-smoking to the Halflings and the Halflings to Olórin; this is almost certainly untrue, but Olórin has never denied it.

Manwë has never really known what to do with him, but Varda is fond of him. Her husband finds this unaccountable; to everyone who doesn’t have to work with him it’s clear enough why the Kindler, whose greatest work requires darkness for its greatest effect, might find mist a comfortable companion. Grantaire is dazzled by her--as he is by Arien, by Enjolras, by all bright spirits. Varda doesn’t encourage it; but when she retires her old and dying stars, those too weak to blaze out all at once, she will set a few of their embers aside for lamps, and in their light Grantaire’s vapors make brief but haunting shapes, and even Enjolras, who has no eye for beauty, cannot look away.

#les amis as #maiar #ainur #silmarilion

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thelordofgifs · 1 year

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@butterflies-and-fishermen I was so touched by your tags on the latest instalment of the fairest stars (the AU bullet point fic “Beren and Lúthien steal two Silmarils and things snowball” I’ve been posting to tumblr in irregular instalments, for people who missed it) that I thought I’d make a separate post to respond to them here, I hope that’s ok!

#but! But!#Celegorm may be doomed according to Oath rules#but this can't just be a tragedy#(bawling my eyes out)#if the Oath turns you into the worst version of yourself and takes what good you have left#then Celegorm died as a hunter of evil#not a predator of the weak#he gave his life for a worthy cause#for his friend#the Oath too was sacrificed#instead of being the altar on which everything was sacrificed#They will meet again#But even hound and hunter battling Carcharoth together for eternity in the void is a sweeter ending

You’re so right!! Killing Celegorm felt a bit cruel but ultimately I thought it was a much kinder ending for him than his canonical one. I wasn’t even intending to have him reunite with Huan initially (he wasn’t supposed to BE in the fic originally, but he insisted); but when I realised I could actually have something of a reconciliation with Huan for him, I couldn’t resist letting him die fighting evil. As a hunter of evil specifically (I’m so glad you used that phrase!), which calls back to his old role as one of Oromë’s following. (Yes, I totally did that intentionally, it wasn’t an accidental thing which ended up turning out neat, no not at all, why do you ask?)

But what I really wanted to address here was the Oath, and whether it really does “turn you into the worst version of yourself, and strip away the best thing you have left”. This is Maedhros’ line, which Maglor has also echoed in his conversation with Lúthien – importantly, though, Maglor added that he wasn’t sure whether or not he believed it. Do I, the author? Is that how the Oath works? That’s something I haven’t fully decided yet (although it is a fun idea to meta about, there’s been great discourse about the Oath recently) and probably shouldn’t reveal anyway because of spoilers. But I wonder how clearly it’s come across that the Maedhros of TFS wow look it has an ACRONYM it’s all grown up is… not always mentally in the best place. It’s not nearly as bad as it gets in canon – this is pre-Nirnaeth! But he still has so much Angband-related trauma, being chained up by Thingol was incredibly triggering for him, he’s very upset by his little brothers’ terrible deeds in Nargothrond, and he spent like five parts convinced he wouldn’t be able to hold a Silmaril – baselessly, as it turned out. Maedhros is very afraid of himself, and of the Oath. So take that line of his with a pinch of salt! The Oath might have turned Celegorm into the worst version of himself, and taken his best thing (his dog), but he both redeemed himself a little and got to reunite with Huan. Maedhros, for his part, has so far managed to avoid doing anything deeply terrible, and his own “best thing” (Maglor) hasn’t died.

As for Celegorm being doomed according to Oath rules – I’m unsure how relevant that will end up being in TFS, since I haven’t planned that far ahead (or at all lol). But after quite a few months of thinking, I came across the most beautiful line in this beautiful fic by @thearrogantemu: “Everlasting Darkness! As if darkness were a thing that could last!”

… which sums up my feelings better than I ever could.

OKAY I now need to apologise to: both the people I tagged completely unprompted in this rambly self-indulgent navel-gazing post about my own fic; my followers who assuredly did not ask for this pseudo-dvd commentary; readers of TFS who haven’t caught up on the last part and are now spoiled; and anyone who hasn’t read TFS and has no idea what’s going on here (quite intrigued by what you make of it with no context, though).

#silmarillion #the fairest stars #oath of feanor #the line of miriel #I will evidently take literally any opportunity to provide my thoughts on this au #and I’m only a bit sorry

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