August 2018 Challenge: Discovery

[oloriel]

Every year in August, we give special attention to the Second Age and stories set during this time. In the spirit of the Númenórean love of seafaring and discovery, our challenge theme for this month is Discovery. Prompts this month will come from two songs from Moana, a film inspired by the Polynesian wayfinders, possibly the greatest seafarers in the history of Modern-earth.

You can use any aspect of either video as your prompt: the lyrics to or a line from the song, an image from the video, a theme relative to the video such as courage or discovering one's cultural identity, historical details of canoe-building and wayfinding in Oceania--whatever inspires you! Fanworks do not have to be set during the Second Age or concern seafaring.

"How Far I'll Go" by Auli'i Cravalho

"Auli'i Cravalho - How Far I'll Go" (Watch on YouTube)

Lyrics to "How Far I'll Go"


"We Know the Way" by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Opetaia Foa'i

"Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa'i - We Know The Way (From "Moana")" (Watch on YouTube)

Lyrics to "We Know the Way"


Fanworks must be posted on or before September 10 in order to receive a stamp. As always, late fanworks are welcome but do not receive stamps. Complete challenge guidelines can be found here.

If you're interested in learning more about Polynesian wayfinding, check out this TEDEd video on Polynesia navigation; PBS has a companion website for their documentary on wayfinding; and the Polynesian Voyaging Society (who still sail the world using traditional methods, by the way) have resources on wayfinding, the star compass, and more.

HISTORY BECAME LEGEND ... OR COOL THINGS YOU FORGOT EXISTED ON THE SWG: AKALLABETH IN AUGUST

[angelica_ramses]

August has been Akallabeth month since 2006.It started as a challenge aimed at encouraging authors to focus their work on the Second Age, a time of soaring ambition and tragic downfalls which fandom often overlooked at that time. The challenge was repeated for the next two years and, as the SWG became home to more writers writing pieces set in this period it was also used to spotlight existing Akallabêth stories on our archive.

Then in 2009, we decided to host a special event focused on the Akallabeth: we invited our Second-Age authors on the archive--and anyone else who wished to contribute--to "retell" the story of the Akallabêth. But when we say "retell," we don't mean recapping the events that we can all read about in the book. Instead, the authors and artists who contributed to the compilation took the familiar tales and illuminated them, showing them from unfamiliar perspectives or in greater detail or with new interpretations.

Almost ten years later, we heartily invite everyone, newcomers and veterans alike, to revisit the compilation and enjoy the wonderful stories, poems and illustrations. From Elros and Elrond's momentous decision to the changing of the world, you will find thirty-seven original, challenging, amazing views of the fate of Numenor. Don't miss them!