Avatar

The Big Bad Silmarillion AU

@allthatglittersisnotgoldrush / allthatglittersisnotgoldrush.tumblr.com

Being an Ahistorical Collection of Completely Fabricated Documents Relating to the Noldorin Westward Expedition
Avatar

Interested in reading the AU? Follow the links below to our Wordpress, where you will find both organized hyperlink lists to all ao3 fics in proper reading order, and downloadable pdfs of each full “series” in the project, organized into their respective “episodes” and made freely available as we complete them!

Currently we have the full series one and half series two available for download, which is easily over 1200 pages of content for you to adventure your way through. Meanwhile, over on ao3, we are midway through writing series four! So if you finish reading all available pdfs and are hankering for more . . . There is plenty more. The road goes ever on, after all.

Thank you for stopping by, and happy reading!

Series 2 (part one)

Avatar
Since none of my work has met my own standards, I must judge it on the basis of that one which caused me the most grief and anguish, as the mother loves the child who became a thief or murderer more than the one who became the priest.

William Faulkner, on The Sound and the Fury, quoted in the Norton Critical Edition

Avatar

The time has come for me to put forward some predictions I have for the AU (I too have reread this series more times than I can count and would consider it genuinely a work of literature. You should be proud)

1. Maedhros and his brothers leave mithrim and settle in San Fran. Mae establishes Himring and gains some physical health back (not healthy by any means but healthier) and becomes a terrifying gunslinger

2. He also goes somewhat dark, I have this image of him like taking captive one of melkors people and carving feanorian onto them. Maybe nickname of the red devil?

3. In the long peace, there is a Christmas party and Himring and he dances with Estrella and maybe even does an Irish reel?? he marries Estrella. She becomes pregnant. She dies in the nirnaeth. I hope this doesn’t happen, …. But you’re evil so.

4. Mae’s brain damaged induced psychic powers get worse. Eventually there is a chase scene all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. Mae jumps from it

These ar ent predictions but at this point you’ve got me for the long hall. Thank you for everything you do ❤️

Avatar

you are such a delight for sharing these!

*shakes magic 8 ball*

... One of your predictions is almost completely accurate

... And one is almost completely inaccurate

Everyone feel free to keep predictions coming :}}}}

Avatar

Alright. I just did another re-read of some parts of the series. I even woke up crying from a dream remembering a somewhat harrowing scene. But I have two questions that stumbled into my brain while on my run today. I’m pretty sure you can only answer one of them as the last one would be a spoiler. 1) Did Melkor really have Feanor’s skull??? Idk if you have answered this but…I’m so creeped out by Melkor. He would totally do something like this. It’s such a psychological stab to Mae and the other boys. 2) Instead of Celegorm weirdly falling in love with Luthien, are y’all gonna give our girl Luthien some agency and have her runaway on her own with Triple Threat (aka Celegorm, Curufin, and Caranthir)??? I know the last one can’t be answered. Sometimes I go on mild obsessions on how you goddesses will handle the hot mess that is the Silmarillion. Okay, bye!

Avatar

Well, first of all, can we just say how flattered we are that you would not only have reread the AU once but more than once? Absolutely amazing news for us authors. Also, if you're comfortable saying so, WHAT was the somewhat harrowing scene that made it into an actual dream?!? There's something very meta about AU-infiltrated dreams, given the Maedhros of it all.

The answer to your first question is unfortunately... yes. Ulfang during his double agent era dug up Feanor's corpse, removed his head, and passed it along to Morgoth. He also passed along Feanor's wedding ring, which was sort of an... Authentication for both Morgoth and Maedhros in turn. Sorry for confirming this for you ://

Your second question ... Well, we really can't say much about the Lay of Leithian arc right now, but we do have a lot of plans for it, and we CAN assure you that our Luthien likes to be the architect of her own destiny just as much as her canon counterpart and that will be reflected in the way our telling does and/or doesn't align with canon. Also, without divulging the result, your inquiry led to a lot of discussion in the author group chat!

Thanks again for your kind attention and thoughtfulness 🙂

Avatar

everything to do with the Thangorodrim rescue but the bit that really absolutely made me stop to stare at the wall was realising just where Gwaihir was in the au

Avatar

Gwindor as our eagle savior...🦅🦅🦅 He contains multitudes. Sometimes we stumble into a realization of how well things "fit" and other times it's a carefully planned adaptation of the more high-fantasy aspects into a real-world scene that still hits the same emotional notes (hopefully)

Avatar
Avatar
apoemaday

What Resembles the Grave but Isn’t

by Anne Boyer

Always falling into a hole, then saying “ok, this is not your grave, get out of this hole,” getting out of the hole which is not the grave, falling into a hole again, saying “ok, this is also not your grave, get out of this hole,” getting out of that hole, falling into another one; sometimes falling into a hole within a hole, or many holes within holes, getting out of them one after the other, then falling again, saying “this is not your grave, get out of the hole”; sometimes being pushed, saying “you can not push me into this hole, it is not my grave,” and getting out defiantly, then falling into a hole again without any pushing; sometimes falling into a set of holes whose structures are predictable, ideological, and long dug, often falling into this set of structural and impersonal holes; sometimes falling into holes with other people, with other people, saying “this is not our mass grave, get out of this hole,” all together getting out of the hole together, hands and legs and arms and human ladders of each other to get out of the hole that is not the mass grave but that will only be gotten out of together; sometimes the willful-falling into a hole which is not the grave because it is easier than not falling into a hole really, but then once in it, realizing it is not the grave, getting out of the hole eventually; sometimes falling into a hole and languishing there for days, weeks, months, years, because while not the grave very difficult, still, to climb out of and you know after this hole there’s just another and another; sometimes surveying the landscape of holes and wishing for a high quality final hole; sometimes thinking of who has fallen into holes which are not graves but might be better if they were; sometimes too ardently contemplating the final hole while trying to avoid the provisional ones; sometimes dutifully falling and getting out, with perfect fortitude, saying “look at the skill and spirit with which I rise from that which resembles the grave but isn’t!”

You are using an unsupported browser and things might not work as intended. Please make sure you're using the latest version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.