Back to Middle-earth Month

Concerning the Shire, Part Four: Law and The Legal System by Dreamflower

2017-04-19T12:25:00Z

Posted by: dreamflower

(Continuation of my "Concerning the Shire" series of backstory.)

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Purple path; Square 4, Wild Card--"Complete any prompt from the Orange path" (non-fiction). I chose Worldbuilding.
Format: Essay
Genre: Non-fiction
Rating: G
Warnings: n/a
Characters: Hobbits
Pairings: n/a
Creator’s Notes (optional): This essay is basically backstory I have constructed for my version of the Shire, concentrating on a few aspects of Shire society, and some explanation for how I came up with that backstory.
Nearly all quoted references in this section are either from the Prologue of LotR, or from The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien Letter #214 or Letter #153. I hope to later footnote this more thoroughly.
Summary: Tolkien gives us a lot of information about the society of the Shire, but only some of the particulars. Coming up with details is up to the author of the fanfic; here are a few of mine.

Concerning the Shire, Part Four: Law and The Legal System
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B2MeM Statistics: April Update by Zdenka

2017-04-13T18:28:00Z

Concerning the Shire, Part Three: Occupations, Business and Trade by Dreamflower

2017-04-13T09:14:00Z

Posted by: dreamflower

Continuing the "Concerning the Shire" entries from B2MeM March '17.

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Purple path; Square 4, Wild Card--"Complete any prompt from the Orange path" (non-fiction). I chose Worldbuilding.
Format: Essay
Genre: Non-fiction
Rating: G
Warnings: n/a
Characters: Hobbits
Pairings: n/aCreator’s Notes (optional): This essay is basically backstory I have constructed for my version of the Shire, concentrating on a few aspects of Shire society, and some explanation for how I came up with that backstory. I hope to later footnote this more thoroughly.
This section is more fanon and RL history than anything told us, so consider this as some wild speculation.
Summary: Tolkien gives us a lot of information about the society of the Shire, but only some of the particulars. Coming up with details is up to the author of the fanfic; here are a few of mine.

Concerning the Shire, Part Three: Occupations, Business and Trade
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A Fascination with A Moody Serial Killer and Murderer

2017-03-31T15:02:00Z

Posted by: engarian.livejournal.com

B2MeM Prompt and Path:Personal Essay, Orange
Format:Essay
Genre:Narrative
Rating:PG
Warnings:Mention of death, murder, war, etc.
Characters:Fëanor and supplementary characters from the House of Finwë
Pairings:Various
Creator’s Notes:Tolkien provided the sandbox, I merely play with the bucket and shovel he left behind. No profit of any kind is made from my fanworks.
Summary:What is it about my favorite Bad Boy that made so many people follow him into disaster, committing acts they never would have dreamed of before? An irreverent examination of Fëanor and his history.

( Read more... )

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“O mother, hear me!” by Zdenka

2017-03-29T13:56:00Z

Posted by: zdenka

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Multimedia (orange path)
Format: mixed media (music, graphic)
Genre: angst
Rating: T
Warnings: foreshadowed character death and blood
Characters: Gudrún (Norse mythology)
Pairings: only implied
Creator’s Notes (optional): The Wild square sent me to the orange path, and I chose multimedia. This entry contains three things: 1) a recording of me singing a few stanzas of Tolkien’s alliterative poem “The New Lay of the Völsungs,” based on Norse mythology; 2) a graphic; 3) a transcript of the text that I’m singing. A longer explanation is under the cut.
Summary: Gudrún tells her mother Grímhild that she is troubled by dark dreams of foreboding. Her mother tries to reassure her.

( Read more... )

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In Defence of Fanmixes + a fanmix for Maglor by amyfortuna

2017-03-28T17:13:00Z

Posted by: starbrow.livejournal.com

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Orange Path, Multimedia
Format: Mixed Media, Essay
Genre: Meta, Fanmix
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Characters: Maglor
Pairings: None
Creator Notes: Could we get a new tag for genre: fanmix?
Summary: A spirited defence of fanmixes exploring the value they bring to the fandom, plus a new fanmix!

( In Defence of Fanmixes )

( Legends & Cloudy Dreams: A fanmix for Maglor )

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Art: Complementary by Alassë

2017-03-25T03:26:00Z

Posted by: alasse-mirimiel.livejournal.com

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Step Nine - Wild Space/Blue Path - Character Study or Ship Manifesto/Orange Path

Format: art

Genre: Romance

Rating: Gen

Warnings: None

Characters: Húrin, Morwen

Pairings: Húrin/Morwen

Creator’s Notes (optional): Wild space roller prompt was to complete a step from the Orange Path. Figuring what to do for the nonfiction path was tough! Only one step left :D
Summary: Húrin was fair of face and golden-haired, strong in body and fiery of mood. But the fire in him burned steadily, and he had great endurance of will. Morwen was dark-haired and tall, and for the light of her glance and the beauty of her face men called her Eledhwen, the Elven-fair; but she was somewhat stern of mood and proud. The sorrows of the House of Bëor saddened her heart.

( Link goes to my LJ )

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5 Books about Middle Earth That Were Not Written by Tolkien

2017-03-24T14:50:00Z

Posted by: mybluerose1990.livejournal.com

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Wild (green path): Complete any prompt from the orange path: a list of sources on a specific topic
Format: resource list
Genre: Gen
Rating: N/A
Warnings: none
Characters: N/A
Pairings: none
Summary: 5 Books about Middle Earth That Were Not Written by Tolkien & 5 Resources for Writing Tolkien’s Languages

( Read more... )

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"Review Plz? Feedback Behavior in the Tolkien Fanfic Community" by Dawn Felagund

2017-03-23T21:17:00Z

Posted by: dawn_felagund

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Meta on Fandom and Multimedia (orange/nonfiction path)
Format: essay
Genre: nonfiction/meta
Rating: General
Warnings: n/a
Characters: n/a
Pairings: n/a
Summary: A look at Tolkien Fan Fiction Survey data on who leaves feedback and how often, and how many readers wish they did more.

( Review Plz? Feedback Behavior in the Tolkien Fanfic Community )

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Some B2MeM Statistics by Zdenka

2017-03-21T21:40:00Z

Posted by: zdenka

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Meta on Fandom (orange path)
Format: I don’t know, statistics?
Genre: nonfiction, meta
Rating: n/a
Warnings: n/a
Characters: n/a
Pairings: n/a
Creator’s Notes (optional): My Wild square roll sent me to complete a prompt from the Orange Path. I’m also working on something more complicated, but it may take me some time to put all the pieces together, so in the meantime here is a quick and not very scholarly bit of fandom meta, in the hopes that some people will find it interesting or amusing. In fact, I am going to be as meta as possible and share some B2MeM-related statistics, involving the fanworks that are posted to this very community.
Summary: Ever wanted to know who the most popular B2MeM character is? Read on!

( Read more... )

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All the Kisses Tolkien Wrote by amyfortuna

2017-03-21T17:03:00Z

Posted by: starbrow.livejournal.com

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Orange Path, Compile a list of sources on a specific topic
Format: Essay
Genre: Non-fiction, Meta
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Characters: Beren, Luthien, Túrin, Niënor, Húrin, Aragorn, Sam, Frodo, etc
Pairings: mainly Beren/Luthien and Túrin/Niënor
Summary: A compilation of all the kisses in The Lord of the Rings (LOTR), The Silmarillion (Silm), the History of Middle-earth series (HOME) and Unfinished Tales (UT).

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History Obliterates / Keep Alive the Memory by amyfortuna

2017-03-21T14:33:00Z

Posted by: starbrow.livejournal.com

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Orange Path, Personal Essay
Format: Essay
Genre: Meta
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Characters: N/A
Pairings: N/A
Summary: I discuss my personal history in Tolkien fandom and hint at what the future holds.

( Read more... )

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Orange Path, Act of Kindness
Format: Essay
Genre: Non-fiction
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Characters: none
Pairings: n/A
Creator’s Notes: Originally posted at my Tumblr yesterday.
Summary: As an Act of Kindness, I did some stuff on Fanlore.

( Read more... )

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"References to Sources in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien" by Dawn Felagund (WiP) AND A Poll!

2017-03-19T16:44:00Z

Posted by: dawn_felagund

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Compile a List of Sources on a Specific Topic (orange path)
Format: Resource List
Genre: Resource
Rating: General
Warnings: Do not read while driving or operating heavy machinery.
Characters: n/a
Pairings: n/a
Creator's Notes: This is a WiP that may take years to finish. I decided to share it when I reached the midway point of The Silmarillion. Only a dozen-and-a-half more books to go!
Summary: For this prompt, I have decided to begin a project I have wanted to begin for a long time: make a list of every reference to fictional sources or lore or loremasters in Tolkien's works. This is for my own research on historiography and historical bias in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, but I've opted to make it public so that others interested in this topic can benefit as well from my work.

References to Sources in the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien

The next topic on the orange path is "Meta on Fandom." As some of you know, I ran a survey on Tolkien fan fiction a little over a year ago, and I have all this untouched data just begging to be crunched and written about. Only since this is B2MeM and not the indulgence of my own blog, I'd like to write about something maybe interesting to people reading here? So if you have an opinion on what I should write about, please feel free to choose from the topics below!

ETA: Readers and feedback it is! Thanks, everyone! /ETA

[Poll #2064889]

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"Mountains between the Light and the World" by Dawn Felagund

2017-03-15T13:21:00Z

Posted by: dawn_felagund

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Personal Essay (orange/nonfiction path)
Format: essay/meta
Genre: nonfiction
Rating: General
Warnings: This is a personal essay, so it veers a little deeper into my personal politics than I generally do in my fannish work.
Characters: Valar, Fëanorians
Pairings: n/a
Summary: For years, I've been bothered by the hoarding of light by the Valar behind the Pelori and, eventually, by Fëanor into the Silmarils. In this essay, I consider how the turn taken in current politics reflects some of the same tendencies.

( Mountains between the Light and the World: On Walls and Greed and the Privilege of Isolation )

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Concerning the Shire, Part Two: Education by Dreamflower

2017-03-13T15:02:00Z

Posted by: dreamflower

Continuing my Wild card--

Warnings: n/a
Characters: Hobbits
Pairings: n/a
Creator’s Notes (optional): This essay is basically backstory I have constructed for my version of the Shire, concentrating on a few aspects of Shire society, and some explanation for how I came up with that backstory.
These speculations and conclusions in Part Two are pretty much based on two quotations cited in LotR, and quoted in the body of this section of the essay, so this part is not as well documented as the previous part.
Summary: Tolkien gives us a lot of information about the society of the Shire, but only some of the particulars. Coming up with details is up to the author of the fanfic; here are a few of mine.

( Read more... )

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Dark vs Light: Contrasting Visions of the End of the World by amyfortuna

2017-03-12T13:44:00Z

Posted by: starbrow.livejournal.com

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Analyse a chapter or passage, Orange Path
Format: Essay
Genre: Meta
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Characters: Barrow-wight, Morgoth, Tom Bombadil, Finrod Felagund
Pairings: none
Creator’s Notes (optional): This is also written for this week's silmread chapter of LOTR.
Summary: Morgoth's vision of the end of the world (as expounded by the Barrow-wight) is contrasted with Tom Bombadil's and Finrod Felagund's vision of Arda Remade.

( Read more... )

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Concerning the Shire, Part One, by Dreamflower

2017-03-11T15:22:00Z

Posted by: dreamflower

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Purple path; Square 4, Wild Card--"Complete any prompt from the Orange path" (non-fiction). I chose Worldbuilding.
Format: Essay
Genre: Non-fiction
Rating: G
Warnings: n/a
Characters: Hobbits
Pairings: n/a
Creator’s Notes (optional): This essay is basically backstory I have constructed for my version of the Shire, concentrating on a few aspects of Shire society, and some explanation for how I came up with that backstory.
Nearly all quoted references in this section are either from the Prologue of LotR, or from The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien's Letter #214. I hope to later footnote this more thoroughly.
Summary: Tolkien gives us a lot of information about the society of the Shire, but only some of the particulars. Coming up with details is up to the author of the fanfic; here are a few of mine.

( Read more... )

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"The Deaths of Kings: Historical Bias in the Death Scenes of Fëanor and Fingolfin" by Dawn Felagund

2017-03-08T19:08:00Z

Posted by: dawn_felagund

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Analyze a Chapter or Passage (orange path)
Format: essay
Genre: meta/nonfiction
Rating: General
Warnings: There is discussion of violence and character death, but nothing that exceeds what is in The Silmarillion itself.
Characters: Fëanor, Fingolfin, Pengolodh
Pairings: n/a
Summary: The death scenes of Fëanor and Fingolfin parallel each other closely in plot, beginning with the rash pursuit of single combat with Morgoth. Yet the manner in which the narrator of The Silmarillion, Pengolodh, employs language and symbolism leads to two very different conclusions that likely served to advance Pengolodh's political and personal agenda.

( The Deaths of Kings: Historical Bias in the Death Scenes of Fëanor and Fingolfin )

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Food & Trade in First Age Beleriand by amyfortuna

2017-03-04T19:06:00Z

Posted by: starbrow.livejournal.com

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Worldbuilding, Orange Path
Format: Meta
Genre: Essay
Rating: G
Warnings: Nothing that isn't in canon, pretty much
Characters: N/A
Pairings: N/A
Creator’s Notes: I've been thinking about this bit of meta for some time, after a discussion on FFA in which I was lamenting Tolkien's vagueness around food, trade, and what diplomatic relations might have been like in the First Age. And this essay is dedicated to the nonnie who was also interested in the subject!
Summary: My thoughts on what the regions of First Age Beleriand might have had for food, and what they might have traded with each other.

( Read more... )

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"On Writing Aman, or the Balance between the Mythic and the Real" by Dawn Felagund

2017-03-02T20:51:00Z

Posted by: dawn_felagund

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Worldbuilding (orange/nonfiction path)
Format: essay
Genre: meta/nonfiction
Rating: General
Warnings: none
Characters: House of Finwë, Valar
Pairings: none
Summary: Fantasy writers, including creators of Tolkien-based fanworks, have long struggled to depict the "otherness" of realms like Aman. In the past, the Tolkien fan fiction community showed a preference for an idealistic portrayal of Aman that left little room for imperfection. My work has long taken the opposite approach, and in this essay, I argue for the artistic need and canonical basis for grounding stories set in Aman in a more recognizable reality of human experience.

( On Writing Aman, or the Balance between the Mythic and the Real )

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