***alright so idk how niche this chapter is gonna be since im mostly gonna be talking about tropes in aralas fics so this would be a better read as someone who has read a substantial amount of aralas fanfiction BUT thats not necessary if you're just along for the ride then welcome <3
also this is better than having no chapter this week bc my inspiration = nonexistant 😍***
OKAYYYYYY WELCOME BACK TO ANOTHER CHAPTER OF MY LOTR BS
so this time we're gonna be talking about aralas fanfics, and not aralas fanfic RECCOMENDATIONS, i have a whole chapter on that if you want, but the TROPES.
things i love in fics, things i hate, things i'm very much over, the usual
and i DO have a couple more reccs that need to be shared with the world so we're also gonna do those <3
***
right starting off strong i have three new reccs for you guys that imma just go thru very very quickly bc those arent the main focus of this chapter but they're all absolutely top tier i promise
- hawthorn
on AO3
by aeolianharps
so if you read my aralas fic reccs chapter in which case ily then you know that i absolutely FREAKING ADORE aeolianharps's fics.
I WOULD DIE FOR THEM.
and their other fic "of men" still holds the title of the best fanfiction i've ever read and i'm tearing up typing this bc DUDE THAT FIC WAS SAD OMG
so obviously when they posted this fic, hawthorn, a 50K word aralas MASTERPIECE, of course i spent several consecutive business days screaming
i was so hyped for this fic omg
AND IT HAS NOT DISAPPOINTED
hawthorn is my current read, i am 18/31 chapters in and i absolutely CANNOT GET ENOUGH THIS FIC IS PERFECTION
im not gonna go too too far into why i love it so much bc imma cover that in the actual rant part of this chapter but oh my GODDDDD
THE WRITING THE CHARACTER ARCS THE ANGSTTTTTTT ASQLDHASLHDJKAFJKAKFHJKWF
essentially its a very silvan focused fic abt legolas's life pre-fotr and going into that time period and obviously his very tumultuous relationship w aragorn and w ppl in general (same leggy same) and it is absolutely freaking gorgeous
allow me to provide you with some quote material:
"What he is is wild, in his likeness. He is wild like him. He is rough like him. He is man like him, and for now that is enough. And in time, he craves that wordlessness in favor of his hands that fill every empty space."
YOU GUYSSSSSSSS if that doesn't make you wanna read it then idk what will
and no i will not tell you the context go read it and find out
- go wither love leads you
on AO3
by spellworth
really anything by this author is god tier but THIS ONEEEEE
this a 32 day 100 word drabble challenge for june of 2022 dealing only with lotr and silmarillion ships, AND HOLY SHIT THE WAY THIS PERSON WRITES
TALENT. T A L E NT.
there are only a few chapters dedicated to aralas but basically every other ship is a gay headcanon and its freaking amazing so i reccomend you guys check it out it's totally possible to read it in a half hour
- In Fading Light
on AO3
by milgarion
i very very veryyyy briefly brushed on this fic in a prev. chapter if you caught that then wow im really impressed
but the tropes in this fic are my main topic of discussion so we're not gonna go too hard on this one
basically it starts out as almost-death battle angst, yk how it goes, we love that and this fic has the HAPPIEST FREAKING ENDING--
like its so sweet. it's not REALLY happy is the thing, its bittersweet but its written in a way that makes you so happy bc its AFTER SO MUCH ANGST that you're just like oh phew finally we're done with that
anyways i absolutely adore this one and it was my obsession while i was reading it the writing is freaking gorgeous and more importantly the PLOT HAD ME HOOKED. w o w
again i cant really get into this one bc its a big thing for the rest of the chapter so i'll just give yall a quote like i did w hawthorn and if you dont read it i'll be sad </3 :
"Please. Do not make me grieve for you."
"As if I could every defy your will."
like ASKHSDHASJKFIHAFOWUSDFUIAGQUEFUEWIFGE
okay thats enough of that, all of those are amazing and top tier and i love them but HERES what i REALLY wanted to talk about this chapter
TROPES
IN
ARALAS
FICS
let's talk abt it - the good the bad the common the overused the underused
i was thinking abt this last night non stop so voila this chapter
1, the bad) ANGST
so like the common factor in aralas fics is angst, and a specific type of angst
AND ITS LIKE A SHITTON OF ANGST
And dont get me wrong—I love some angst when it's done well. While I'm not saying that angst in aralas fics is done BADLY, there are just some angst TROPES that are overused in a Aralas fics and THATS what i dont like
like it was good the first THREE TIMES, now im done
and the main one is the hOnOuR trope
I've brushed on this before and w what I've been reading recently I've absolutely decided that I FREAKING HATE THIS TROPE OKAY LIKE IM DONE STOP
basically it's the trope where Aragorn is like oH nO wE cAnT bE tOgEtHeR bC iM gOnNa bE tHe kInG aNd i hAvE rEsPoNsIbItILiEs aNd exPecTaTiOnS oF wHaT pPl wAnT mE tO bE aNd I hAvE hOnOuR—
LIKE NO. STFU. STOP. IM DONE IM DONE WITH THAT.
AND THEN HE LEAVES AND ITS LIKE A WHOLE THING AND HE GOES AND DOES KINGLY SHIT AND 90% OF THE TIME ARWEN IS SOMEHOW INVOLVED—
im very much done with this trope. If you want angst, if you want them not to be together then give me a different reason.
If I wanted to read abt privileged men's angst stopping relationships then I would just reread the trilogy
Read literally any wheel of time book ever
Any GOT
Fanfics go off of the canon and honestly I'd rather have the immortality trope than this—IM SO SO SO DONE W ARAGORN BEING A PRIVILEGED ANGSTY BITCH IN FICS
Can we stop that. LET THEM BE TOGETHER I BEG OF YOU.
2, the good) focusing more on Mirkwood/Silvan lore/Legolas's life pre FOTR in general
THIS ONE I ABSOLUTELY ADORE
we NEED more fics like this
language of birds and hawthorn ARE NOT ENOUGH I NEED MORE
it is just so interesting to read about a version of legolas who has a separate life away from aragorn and have fics that aren't fully fully centred and 100% driven by the romance
I LOVE lore in fics, specifically silvan lore and how that ties into both legolas's ancestry and his relationship w aragorn
fics where legolas's mom is mentioned, fics where it touches on his mixed ancestry and how that sucks for silvan elves who are very traditional - THAT IS MY SHIT
THIS is the angst i WOULD read, please and thank you
3, the common) basically the premise of every wattpad aralas ever
obviously like any ship with a multitude of fanfics written abt it aralas fanfics do have their overly common tropes, ones that you see in like every other fanfic
like in drarry the "potion gone wrong and now we're forced to be in love" trope is EVERYWHERE, so is the "forced roommates" trope
aralas has ones like that too
a) the immortality trope (oH nO wE cAnT bE tOgEtHeR bC iM mOrTaL aNd yOuRe iMmOrTaL y'all know the drill)
b) daddy thrandy sending legolas to rivendell to find a "wife" and he ends up falling for some guy named the heir of isildur instead idk
c) the council of elrond being used as a stepping point for the ship, especially used in oneshots to get it going
d) being in the forest for whatever reason and some shit happens in the forest 👀👀 (most often paired with the injury/take care of trope)
even though these are pretty common and i've read dozens of fanfics with one of these as a premise i'm not super mad at them
like if you want to use one of these in a fic, sure, i'm neutral on that, i'll still read it. i have read some fics where these tropes are done well and i have also read some where it's absolute shit
4 the overused) arwen and daddy thrandy
anddddddddd bc there are commonly used tropes there are also OVERused tropes and i'm leaning from being just annoyed at these to fully a hundred percent NO
a) arwen being the jealous girlfried in aralas fics
WHY. JUST WHY.
if i wanted to read about arwen breaking up my absolute otp aralas - I COULD JUST REREAD THE TRILOGY. REWATCH THE MOVIES.
i came here to read abt them being happy and uninterrupted i really didnt need arwen to be a part of this and this is used WAYYYYY TOO MUCH as a plot device
ive talked before on how arwen is literally already a plot device in lotr, keep it out of the fanfiction too
b) thranduil being an asshole
I AM SO SO SO SO SO OVER THIS ONE
THE NEXT TIME I READ AN ARALAS FIC WHERE THANDUIL IS PORTRAYED AS IN SOME WAY ABUSIVE - THATS IT THATS IT IMMEDIATELY DNF
quoting one of my fave ao3 writers: "Thranduil deserves to be portrayed as a good father!!" AND THEY COULD NOT BE MORE CORRECT
show me where the evidence that thranduil is a shitty father is IN THE ACTUAL LEGENDARIUM DONT POINT TO THE HOBBIT MOVIES
i didnt need this YOU didnt need this the fanfiction community didnt need this, so if you're gonna write an aralas fic make thranduil happy and in love with elrond please and thank you
5) the underused
andddddddd bc there's OVERused there's also UNDERused
we NEED more fics of these tropes SERIOUSLY
a) focusing in more on elrohir and elladan
i havent talked abt my obsession with elrond's sons on here yet but now is the best time i guess
I LOVE THEM I STAN THEM OKAY
so give me more fics where they're like aragorn's wingman brothers okay i think thats the sweetest thing ever
i've read WAY too little fics where they're even MENTIONED
b) ppl actually being happy for once lol
ive said it before i'll say it again:
GIVE
ME
AN
ARALAS
FIC
WHERE
EVERYONE
IS
JUST
HAPPY
AND LIKE A LONG ONE TOO AT LEAST 40K WORDS
no abusive thranduil, no jealous arwen, no foreign mercenaries calling legolas back to mirkwood, just aralas being cute and happy together
like i said there's just too much angst in aralas - GIVE ME A FLUFFY FIC I BEG OF YOU
OH AND ONE LAST THING:
if you're going to write an aralas fic PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT WRITE IT IN FIRST PERSON
LITERALLY NONE OF TOLKIEN'S WORKS WERE WRITTEN IN FIRST PERSON THATS JUST NOT HOW THEY WERE MEANT TO BE CONSUMED
write it in third person preferably past tense and keep that gorgeous ancient language that tolkien wrote the books in!!!
.....thank you.
***
okayyyy imma call it there
this chapter was pretty chaotic so im sorry abt that but i had fun writing it <3
as usual thank you for all the support, requests are always open, and i love you all sm <33
out ✨