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Subject: {ASSM} {REVIEW} The Annex Reviews, 8/2/02 - Whore to the Rings 2/2
Date: Sat,  3 Aug 2002 04:10:04 -0400
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The Annex Reviews, 8/2/02
by Lady Cyrrh (ladycyrrh@aol.com)
Website: http://members.aol.com/ladycyrrh 


Special Annex Review, Part 2 of 2

Whore to the Rings: Tolkien Fanfic on the Net



Website Review: Ansereg
Address: http://www.ansereg.com
Owner: Tyellas
Reviewed 7/30/02


Tolkien meets BDSM in these fanfic stories, written by an author who 
seems to have more than passing knowledge of play parties and scenes.

So what is Ansereg? It's an invention of the author's, a ceremonial BDSM 
practice indulged in by the elves. The ritual id designed to strengthen 
them for combat and test their will. That some get off on it is secondary, 
but generally accepted... it's also a very clever way of working kinky 
material into the canon material. (Ansereg is Sindarin for iron-blood, 
referring, perhaps, to the instruments used.) Logically it makes a lot of 
sense, considering all the enemies elves had in Middle Earth; it also adds 
some nice story elements of transgression, as not all elven peoples 
approve of Ansereg, or practice it in different forms. Again, very 
reminiscent of the modern BDSM community. The author includes a full 
description of Ansereg on the site, as well as a humorous vignette telling 
us, in Bilbo's words, exactly why these practices haven't been recorded... 
a rather gentle and humorous story compared to the fiction, which tends 
to be darker. 

The site contained a number of stories, including a slash about Elladon 
and Elrohir, the twin sons of Elrond; two stories about Legolas, and one 
about Galadriel. But it's in the Silmarillion-based fanfic that the author 
truly shines: "The One Ring to Bind Them" series, which details 
Celebrimbor's relationship with Sauron and the forging of the Rings of 
Power, and the "Gates of Steel" series about Maeglin and the fall of 
Gondolin. For my review, I read the Galadriel and Legolas stories, the 
whole of the "One Ring to Bind Them" series, and a Maeglin story.

I was very impressed by the stories' quality. Of all the LotR fanfic I've 
read, these are by far the best. The author has not only done a perfect 
job of imitating Tolkien's tone but he or she adds to it, embellishing it in 
ways the good professor never thought to do. The extensive research into 
the characters and settings shows. I was especially impressed by how the 
author humanizes the grander, stiffer characters like Galadriel, 
Celebrimbor and Aranwe, turning them into real people with real 
problems. The stories are structurally sound as well, and despite their 
sensationalistic subject matter, not self-indulgent... the kinks served as 
elements of the plot, not the rationale for the plot. Other kinkslash 
writers should take note.

Tyellas also writes a good Legolas, which, if you've read "Whore to the 
Rings" August story reviews, is a stickler with me. This Legolas is cool-
headed but slightly cocky, and isn't above using the secrets of ansereg to 
serve his own ends. In "Knives in the Dark," a Trilogy story, he 
challenges Haldir, who he believes insulted him. Haldir's submission 
follows:


__________________________________________________________________

As if he had not heard, Legolas rested his hands on his own waist with an 
arrogant air. "Two knives I have sheathed, Haldir. Now I would sheathe a 
third. To your knees again." 

Haldir dropped like a stone and leaned forward shamelessly. As Legolas 
shifted his tunic and leggings slightly, he said to Haldir, "Your tongue 
had best be as golden as your hair, and fair as your woman's mouth, or 
else I will demand your services for the Men, and even for the Dwarf, if 
he desires it! And keep your hands above your own waist; grip to me, if 
you cannot still them. You will not spend your lust yet, servant." 

"Yes, lord," said Haldir, and that was the last he spoke for some minutes. 
Once released, Legolas's rod was hard and hot as fresh-forged iron, slick 
with the fluids of withheld desire. Haldir would have marveled that the 
other elf's malehood was flushed with blood to the peak, although no 
kindly touch or caress had passed between them, but that Haldir was in 
the same state from receiving such abuses. Their first real embrace took 
place with Haldir shaking in the loam and grass, twining his arms 
around Legolas's back and behind as the standing elf sheathed the full 
length of his iron blade in Haldir's mouth. 

 This was Haldir's only chance to torment Legolas in any way, and he 
took it, daringly, teasing pearls of liquid desire out of the shaft with his 
tongue. He dipped low to nibble and suck at the base, to nuzzle the musky, 
dark-golden hair and taut testicles at the root. Legolas permitted this, and 
even allowed Haldir's hands to roam until they grasped the taut muscles 
of his backside. But then Legolas twined his hands through the wealth of 
Haldir's locks again and pulled the well-shaped head firm so that he 
could ride the open mouth before him as he willed it.

__________________________________________________________________


This was about the most Tolkienesque description of oral sex I've ever 
seen.

In "Birth and Thorns" the pairing is Legolas and Elrond, who find a 
kinky but relaxing moment together after a steambath at Rivendell. The 
attitude they have towards BDSM is entirely different from the 
overwrought passion slash usually favors, which always seem to end 
with declarations of mutual love, as if the whippings and spankings 
were equivalent to a romance-novel smooch. Instead, the characters 
approach it like experienced players... it's all ceremony, and may be 
either sport or a challenge, an intellectual trial as well as physical one. 
Of course, passion comes into it as well... but, especially in the "One Ring" 
series, that passion can lead to doom, not only for the unwise lover, but 
everyone. Interesting. 

Again, the author copied Tolkien's voice very closely, tending more 
towards the historian of the Silmarillion than the storyteller of the 
trilogy. Which was fine by me, as I still can't shoehorn Orlando Bloom 
into my vision of Legolas. The Ralph Bakshi Legolas... now, *that* was a 
Legolas. Pity no one seems to remember the animated film. (Side note: An 
animator friend told me that the movie's unsuccess apparently led to 
Bakshi becoming a very bitter man.)

I approached the Silmarillion-based series with a sort of dread; I'd tried 
reading the histories and Lost Tales in the past and thought they were 
snoozeville. But as I got into the series I was delighted at how the author 
made these characters from the pages of history come alive and fleshed 
out their world in a way that Tolkien never did... in a way that I'm sure 
he *would* have, if he'd had the time and the energy to tackle the tales 
the same way he tackled the trilogy. 

The "One Ring to Bind Them" series is about how Sauron tricks the elves 
of Eregion (the land known as Hollin in the Trilogy) into helping him 
forge the Rings of Power. It's a rip-snorting adventure tale with battle, 
betrayal, magic, and of course BDSM. As an added plus, it tells us about 
the sex life of Sauron, which is something I've always wanted to know... 
because, as far as literary fantasy villains go, Sauron is about the baddest 
of the bad, setting the template for all who have followed  

The plot begins when Sauron disguises himself as a Maia (Note: I had 
some trouble figuring out what a Maia was, but it's sort of a wise 
immortal in human shape) to infiltrate himself into the elven 
metalworker's commune at Eregion. He manipulates Celebrimbor, the 
head smith, by taking Ansereg with him, submitting to him to keep him 
infatuated. Of course, this sits ill with the Dark Lord, who is used to 
meting out pain and suffering instead of taking it, but he tolerates it 
until all the rings are forged. As it turns out Celebrimbor falls hopelessly 
in love with his protege, and Sauron eventually drives him to lead the 
smiths in a rebellion against the rule of Celeborn and Galadriel. This 
starts everyone on the road to disaster... when Sauron forges the One 
Ring, gathers his armies, and attacks. A grand slam of a finish follows, 
and a bitter defeat for the elves.

The series was truly a masterful work, the author's research showing in 
everything from the imaginative torture practices (Celebrimbor is 
tortured at the end with jeweler's tools) to a detailed knowledge of 
smithing and metalworking. He or she had an especially fine hand with 
Galadriel, which was also displayed well in the story "Bright and Dark." 
Galadriel visits the elven-king of Thingol and has her pick of two 
suitors, the black-haired intense Eol, or the silver-blonde Celeborn... the 
author doesn't let us see who she picked until the end. This story looked a 
little lonely, set off by itself with the essays -- I guess because it was a 
het fic and didn't have any kink. But in many ways it was my favorite 
because it humanized Galadriel, who's always been a sort of untouchable 
icon. (As I can't picture Orlando Bloom as Legolas, I can't picture Cate 
Blanchett as Galadriel. She's a fine actress, giving Galadriel strength and 
nobility. But... she just isn't *pretty* enough. There, I've said it. Call me 
shallow. On the other hand, though Hugo Weaving annoyed me at first, 
he grew on me, and I think he's a fine Elrond. But, as I said in the 
Tolkien fanfic essay, visual tastes differ.) 

The Maeglin story, "The Thrall of Gondor," is about Aranwe's 
relationship with the youthful Maeglin, a troubled elf character with 
visions of world domination. I read it out of sequence so I didn't quite 
understand the history behind it, but the author did a good job in 
showing how Aranwe, the elven smith Maeglin uses for his own ends, is 
snared through Ansereg into a psychologically submissive relationship 
that eventually betrays all of Gondor, a theme echoed in the Celebrimbor 
stories. 

Designwise, the site was plain but looked good, presenting the material 
well. My only complaint is that at least half the links were not working, 
not even my own. Many of them were to specialty sites dealing with 
Silmarillion fanfic or Tolkien darkfics (some translated from Russian) 
which is too bad.

So I was very pleased I found this site. If you have more than passing 
interest in Tolkien, but don't know where to find high quality Adult 
fanfics, check this out.

Interface: A
Content: A+ to A-
Will I visit again: Yes.



_____________________________________________________________
Comments to: ladycyrrh@aol.com
Website--->  http://members.aol.com/ladycyrrh

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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