"Who knows what she spoke
to the darkness, alone, in the bitter watches of the night,
when all her life seemed shrinking, and the walls of her bower closing
in about her,
a hutch to trammel some wild thing in?"
~ Gandalf the White, Return of the King
Updated 10/4/03
Lord of the Rings
Recommendations
Beautiful, lethal Elves! Sweaty, Manly Men! Hot chicks
with swords! What is not to love here?
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Bagenders
by Lady Alyssa and Random Dent
This is literally laugh out loud funny, and even though it really
could use a line edit in the worst way, I love it to pieces. It
just makes me laugh even *thinking* about some of the stuff the
Fellowship gets up to in modern England. (V)
Bandage by Keelywolfe
Legolas helps Aragorn heal. Very hot, and I especially like the
way she handles the Arwen factor. (V)
Beautiful
by Celli Lane
Legolas learns to see. Beautiful, indeed. I'm not reccing it just
'cause she wrote it for me, but because it gets right into Legolas'
head. (V)
Beauty by Kate Bolin
What if Galadriel had accepted the Ring when Frodo offered? "All
will love me and despair," indeed.
Breathe by Fileg
Three scenes on Anduin, between Boromir and Faramir. Nice sketch
of them as youngsters, and a nice tie-in to their final meeting.
(V)
The
Care and Feeding of Hobbits by Baylor.
Boromir learns about Hobbits in these beautiful slice-of-life stories
that capture the characters at their most charming and vulnerable.
Wonderful Boromir characterization, and I defy you not to sniffle
at least a little in various places. (V)
Comfort
in the Warmth by Nezad JK
Gimli fears his time with Legolas grows short as they camp under
the leaves in Fangorn. Short and sweet. (V)
The Darkness That Endures by Branwyn
Eowyn makes a different choice, because not every problem can be
solved by love. ::sniff:: My poor sad girl, she'll never be able
to be happy. (V)
Elven
Eyes, Human Hands by Caenis
Eowyn has seen the jewel Aragorn wears before. Intriguing look at
Legolas/Aragorn and Aragorn/Arwen through Eowyn's eyes. (V)
The
Elvish Way With All Good Beasts by Teanna
Horses. Yeah. You know, find me a girl who didn't dream of horses
at some point in her 'tween years and well, I think you've found
a liar. I'd be surprised, at any rate. Even I, city girl that I
am, had my horse-centered dreams as a preteen and this story hits
all those notes. How Legolas learned to ride the Elvish way. Sweet
look at a very young Prince of Mirkwood. (V)
The Flower and the Sun Ezra's Persian Kitty
The metaphor is a little heavy-handed, but it works in a humorous
way, as Legolas gets exasperated with Gimli's fumbling around the
subject of their relationship. (V)
Folk of a Different Race by Lemur
Legolas and Gimli try to satisfy Gandalf's request that they become
friends. Lemur nails the characters, so even though she seems to
have a fear of 'said', I still enjoyed this muchly. (V)
Folk
Unfree by Two Ladies of Quality
Eowyn and Aragorn share a moment after Helm's Deep. The details
are just ... right. Evocative, poignant, and real. (V)
Gold
and Steel by Sophie K. Werkers
Eowyn makes a choice for the future of Rohan. Chilling and sadly
plausible AU. Some minor quibbles with timeline terminology, but
nothing to stop you from reading and enjoying. (V)
The
Hill of Erech by Daisy Norbury
Legolas helps Gimli during and after the ride through the Paths
of the Dead. Poignant and sweet. (V)
I
Will Follow by Arachne
A moment between Legolas and Gimli, where things are unspoken, but
not impossible. And a loose sequel, Promises
Gimli thinks about falling during Arwen and Aragorn's wedding celebration.
There are some typos/words missing (and a few commas wouldn't hurt),
but the writing is just lovely:
Outside there were calls and laughter. There were cries here,
too. And Legolas poised above him, in that closed circle of two
where awareness consists only of the hard press of skin, of hammering
hearts and the frantic beat of pulses, of kisses and mingled breath.
Each movement became a slow promise, Legolas loved in the same way
he fought with a deliberate, graceful intensity and a total commitment
to the moment. (V)
In
Bliss by jenelin
Ten years after RotK, Eowyn and Faramir return to Minas Tirith for
a celebration, but all is not well with Eowyn. Lovely portrait of
a woman confused and the marriage that she sometimes takes for granted.
(V)
Just
a Thought by Afrai
Bwahahahaha! Elrond's thoughts as the Council convenes. So. Funny.
(V)
The
Last Elf Standing by Suzene Campos
::snicker::
Elves behaving badly. Epistolary fic. Letters between Elrond and
Thranduil. They're not all buddy-buddy, either. Elrond doesn't listen
to Thranduil's advice, and Thranduil gets to say, "I told you so."
I enjoyed this more than I should have. You'll have to take the
colloquial language and the broad characterization in stride. (V)
The
Last Grey Ship by ErinRua
The Fellowship is passing, and Legolas and Gimli attend one last
parting. Lovely, sad story of the end of their time in Middle-earth.
(V)
Laura
JV's site, which houses her wonderful Legolas/Gimli
fic. Heart's Ease, Lied: Lay My Heart Naked and Love
Knot are all beautiful evocations of this too-long-ignored (and
practically canon!) pairing. Laura JV hits both tone and characterization
on the head, and makes Legolas and Gimli come alive in their love
and doubt. (V)
Legolas
Shall Be for the Elves by Teanna
So why did Elrond send Legolas with the Fellowship instead
of Glorfindel? This is a lovely explanation, and it includes something
that I hold very dear to my own childish heart - hobbits playing
Frisbee. I kid you not. (V)
Light
and Memories by bounce
Lovely lyrical Legolas/Aragorn piece, set just after Helm's Deep.
(V)
Mother of Horses by hossgal
Written for the One Ring Challenge. Eomer has the Ring, and plans
to restore Rohan to her former glory. Chilling. (V)
A
Night at Edoras by Siberia
Faramir's used to coming in second, so it shouldn't bother him, but it does.
Lovely Faramir/Éowyn story. (V)
Not
Willingly Unlock by Isos Arei
This is a fic about words, about language and I am rendered inarticulate
by it. Exquisite, stunning, evocative, well-wrought - just a beautiful
telling of the love story of Legolas and Gimli. (V)
Nor
Iron Bars a Cage by Fay Jay
Gríma fic that gets right into his head and his obsession with Éowyn,
which leads to his obsession with power. Or possibly it's the other
way round. Sharp and evocative. I went, "Yes!" when I read it -
that's how dead on accurate the characterization feels to me. (V)
Orturmoriwen
by Twinkledru
Ah. In Middle-Earth, long before even the first Alliance of Men
and Elves against Sauron, there was one who fought the darkness.
And this is her story.
Parental Consent by Honesty
*dies laughing* Okay, the dialogue is a little too colloquial, but
the humor is just - you know Thranduil imprisoned Bilbo and the
Dwarves in The Hobbit, right? And Legolas is Thranduil's
son, and Gimli is Glóin's? And Thranduil and Glóin hate each other?
Neither parent is happy with the lover his son has chosen, and this
is a hilarious look at what would happen when they find out. (V)
Reflections
on Absent Men by Your Cruise Director
Boromir's death left a gap in many lives. This fic explores the
effects of his death on various people, and does it well. (V)
The
Question by Belinda (eyebrowofdoom)
Well. The writing is spare, lyrical, lovely. The characterization
is on. The conversation is both hilarious and deadly serious (perhaps
I shouldn't have found it funny, but I did, which made me enjoy
it more). Legolas and Aragorn are on their own, and Legolas says,
"If you want to, you have only to say." Things get a little clearer,
but the Elf remains very elf-like, and while Aragorn's physical
needs are satisfied his questions are never quite answered. (V)
Refraction
by Kielle
The truth behind the gentle myth that Finduilas, wife of Denethor,
pined away for the sea. Chilling and sad, and it makes so much *sense*.
I actually felt bad for Denethor, which is a first. (V)
Repairs
by Isabeau of Greenlea
Gimli repairs the notch in his axe after Helm's Deep, and meditates
on the things he's seen. Just a lovely piece of characterization
and writing. There needs to be more good Gimli fic. (V)
Shines Like Hope by Celli Lane
Beautiful Legolas POV on his relationship with Aragorn over the
years. (V)
Singing
in the Sun and Chasing
the Moon by Kielle
AU - Eomer accompanies Boromir on his search for the legendary Imladris.
Engaging characterization, nice action, good buddy-flick kind of
stuff. I really enjoyed these more than I expected to, given my
reluctance to go too far AU in Tolkien. (V)
Sky As Grey As Your Heart by afrai
An uncertain Legolas waits for Gimli to join him at the Grey Havens. Subtle, exquisite, in character. (V)
Small
Soldiers by Cori Lannam
Young Boromir and Faramir pay a last visit to their mother. Delicate
and true and deeply felt and real. These are real boys and you can
see the men they'll grow into and it hurts. So. Much. If you don't
sniffle while reading this, you are a cold, hard creature. (V)
They Say of the Elves by Brancher
This is a beautiful Legolas/Gimli piece - poetic and well-done and
just... oh, so achingly sweet. (V)
Thoughts
by kerosene
Nice thought piece, gets right into Eomer's head as he contemplates
Eowyn's choices and his own. One minor quibble - I cannot imagine
him referring to Theodred as 'Dred,' but eh, I can overlook it,
since I've run across so few good Eomer stories. (V)
Through the Leaves by Twinkledru
I'm not quite sure I buy this Legolas, but what if *he* had taken
the ring? Beautifully written, and chilling. (V)
Thrown
by Halrloprillalar
Legolas/Gimli the way it should be done. Delicate, sly, sweet and
loving. (V)
Too
Late for Misgivings by Shadow975
Boromir and Faramir say farewell as Boromir leaves to find Imladris.
Nicely done. (V)
Treacherous As the Dawn by BrieflyDel
Another from the One Ring Challenge. Arwen takes the Ring and arranges her wedding. Intriguing look at a not-very-fleshed-out character, and what she'd do if she had that power. (V)
Untying Knots by Keelywolfe
Hair -- long, beautiful hair -- is one of the few things that Tolkien
explicitly mentions as a turn-on for Elves. Legolas combs Gimli's
hair in this brief story, and such a simple act means so much more
than he could ever say. (V)
Wineðearfinde by Bill the Pony
Gimli and Eowyn take comfort before the battle. This is what I'm
talking about, people! I believe this could have happened. Two warriors,
love unrequited, and some hot sex. (V)
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