Welcome to the home page for Middle Earth University.

MEU is a Lord of the Rings Alternate Universe (LotR AU) that was conceived of in 2003 when we wondered: what if the characters from LotR were college students? This is what we came up with.

The stories for MEU were written by a variety of writers -- some stories were written by a single author while others were a collaborative effort. The authors include Corli (aka phoebenpiper); Kel (aka kelbebop); Leah (aka Daisy Thistletop); Jenny; and Cathleen. The author(s) for each story are listed in the description and/or in the individual chapters.

Please note: two male characters (Merry & Pippin) are lovers in this universe, so there will be some boy-boy hand-holding and tame kissing in the stories. However, some scenes are more explicit slash, and these are clearly marked with warnings and ratings because they may not be appropriate for all readers!

Meet the students of MEU:

-- Philosophy major Frodo's consuming passion is editing the student literary magazine, The Ring.

-- Rugby player Sam works a zillion odd jobs to help pay his way through college and is struggling to get through Professor Elrond's Elvish class.

-- Roommates Merry and Pippin have been best friends all their lives but discovered there was more to their relationship over the summer. However, fiddle-playing Pippin's decision to join Eta Pi, the hobbit fraternity, causes some unrest between him and debater/journalist Merry. And having Grishnakh as their R.A. who is trying to get them expelled for "cohabitating" isn't making things any easier.

-- Eomer is at odds with his uncle, Coach Theoden, over the addition of orcs to the polo team.

-- Although stuck with a creepy R.A., Grima, freshman Eowyn is instantly befriended by Merry, who encourages her to write for the school newspaper, The Palantir, and become the first girl on the fencing team.

-- Poli Sci major Boromir is a leader of MEN (otherwise known as Mu Epsilon Nu, his fraternity) and the sophomore class.

-- When not pining away for Eowyn, bookish freshman Faramir rows crew with his big brother.

-- MEU's Housing Board was asking for trouble when they paired up neatnik environmental activist Legolas and messy, Harley-riding Gimli as roommates.

-- Aragorn enjoys sparring with Eowyn on the fencing mat and with his girlfriend Arwen over her latest schemes to make him a student leader.

-- Arwen helps run her Elvish sorority Tri Chi, the Student Council of Elrond, and her boyfriend Aragorn's life.

ORIGINAL ARTWORK BY KATRINA BENDER, AKA FALLING-STARCHILD

STORY/CHAPTER SUMMARIES for "Middle Earth University" are listed below so you can go directly to the ones you're interested in:

Note: the stories have been posted as chapters, even though they are individual stories written by different authors.

01 Moving In - by Corli & Kel - The students of Middle Earth University move into their dorms.

02 Settling In = by Kel, Corli, & Jenny - The students settle in, and freshman Eowyn is befriended by Merry.

03 RA Rules - by Jenny - Eowyn meets her creepy R.A., Grima, and then has an uncomfortable dinner with her brother and uncle.

04 Stormy Weather - by Corli, Kel, & Jenny - The night before classes start, a thunderstorm rumbles through campus.

05 WakeUp Call - by Kel - THIS STORY CONTAINS BOY-BOY KISSING/MAKING OUT AND MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL READERS! - Merry and Pippin don't make a good first impression with Grishnakh, their new R.A.

06 Music Theory - by Corli - Legolas attends his first class of Music Theory.

07 Biology Blues - by Corli - Faramir is happy to realize he shares several classes with Eowyn.

08 Catching Up - by Corli - Aragorn enjoys catching up with his friends until Arwen starts talking about running for Student Council.

09 Lunchtime - by Kel & Corli - The students eat lunch with their friends and family, filling them in on how their first day of classes is going.

10 Chemistry and Campaign Slogans - by Corli - Legolas can't seem to get away from his annoying roommate Gimli!

11 Very Old Friends - by Kel - Merry runs into his good friend / ex-girlfriend Estella and she warns him about the "cohabitation" rule in the dorms.

12 Elvish Imperatives - by Corli - Sam asks Frodo to tutor him in Freshman Elvish.

13 Cohabitation - by Kel - THIS STORY CONTAINS BOY-BOY KISSING/MAKING OUT AND MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL READERS - Merry warns Pippin about the "cohabitation" rule.

14 Election Interviews - by Corli & Kel - Journalists Merry and Eowyn interview the candidates for Student Council.

15 Trouble with Diphthongs - by Corli - THIS STORY CONTAINS BOY-BOY KISSING AND MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL READERS - Now that Eowyn is conducting half the interviews, Merry has time to help Pippin with his "diphthongs".

16 Gumbo and Apologies - by Corli - Merry apologizes for using Eowyn to do his newspaper assignment.

17 Eavesdropping - by Corli - While napping before choir, Pippin eavesdrops on the tragic lives of Arwen's and Legolas's "friends".

18 emoticon - by Kel & Corli - Merry and Pippin have an electronic conversation about the "beds" situation.

19 Hump Day - by Corli & Kel - THIS STORY CONTAINS BOY-BOY KISSING/MAKING OUT AND MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL READERS - Pippin rushes over to The Palantir office to tell Merry the good news about orchestra, and they celebrate while Eowyn works on the paper.

20 Intro to Chem Lab - by Corli - On the first day of chem lab, Professor Gandalf has the students pick their lab "threesomes".

21 The Fight - by Jenny - Boromir confronts Aragorn about Arwen's write-in candidate scheme, which Aragorn wasn't aware of.

22 Here Comes the Weekend - by Corli - The results of the Student Council election are out, and the students prepare for their first weekend of the school year.

23 TEIF - by Kel & Corli - Thank the Eldar It's Friday! Merry & Eowyn go to the school dance while Faramir tries to escape the Mu Epsilon Nu Little Sister Rush.

24 SATURDAY Night - by Kel, Cathleen, Corli, & Jenny - A campus-wide alarm goes off in the middle of Saturday night.

25 Practice Room - by Kel - THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC BOY-BOY LOVING AND IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR ALL READERS - Merry visits Pippin in the music building and "thanks" him for the song he wrote.

26 Activities Week Begins - by Corli & Jenny - Activities Week begins and all the campus clubs try to recruit new members.

27 Foiled - by Corli - The fencing team coach comes up with a scheme to prevent Eowyn from joining the team.

28 Happy Feet - by Corli - Merry gives Pippin a foot rub, which Grishnakh finds suspicious.

29 Plain Speaking - by Corli & Kel - Merry is furious that his debate team topic of "cohabitation in the dorms" was given to Elladan instead of him.

30 On Guard - by Jenny - Eowyn has to tryout for the fencing team by sparring with Aragorn.

31 Plurals - by Jenny & Corli - Faramir & Eowyn have their first lunch "date", although it's not for the reason Faramir hoped and it ends in disaster!

32 Three Little Words - by Corli - THIS STORY CONTAINS BOY-BOY SNUGGLING AND MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL AGES - Pippin says those "three little words" and is upset that Merry doesn't return them.

33 Ditto - by Kel - THIS STORY CONTAINS BOY-BOY KISSING/MAKING OUT AND MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL READERS - Since he has a hard time saying them outloud, Merry decides to put his feelings for Pippin to paper.

34 Anyone? - by Corli - Merry frantically tries to find a reason why he can't join Pippin at the Eta Pi party.

35 Young Miss - by Corli - Eomer tries to come to terms with that fact that his little sister is growing up.

36 Leaving for the Retreat - by Jenny - The first chapter concerning the Student Council of Elrond weekend retreat - Gimli is forced to share the bus ride with Arwen.

37 Cabin Fever - by Corli & Kel - The second chapter concerning the Student Council of Elrond weekend retreat - the sophomore class officers move into their cabin at the retreat.

38 Team Building - by Corli - The third chapter concerning the Student Council of Elrond weekend retreat - The sophomore class officers are forced to compete in stupid team-building exercises with the other classes.

39 Round the Campfire - by Corli, Kel, & Jenny - The final chapter concerning the Student Council of Elrond weekend retreat - The sophomore class officers find out more about each other whilst sitting around the campfire.

40 Eta Pi - by Kel & Corli - Merry changes his mind about Eta Pi after attending a frat party with Pippin.

41 Post Party Panic - by Corli - Pippin interrupts his sister Pervinca's studying, convinced that Merry might be getting back together with Estella.

42 Back on Track - by Corli - Eowyn and Merry go horseback riding together.

43 Practice Makes Perfect - by Corli - Pippin befriends Bergil, the son of one of the orchestra members.

44 Frodo's Mathoms - by Corli - Frodo shares his birthday mathoms with his best friends.

45 Race Day - by Corli - On the day of the first crew race, everyone has something else on their minds except for Boromir.

46 Frodo's Party - by Corli & Kel - At Frodo's and Bilbo's annual birthday celebration, Eowyn gives Frodo a gift and has a revelation about Merry & Pippin.

47 The Keys to the Problem - by Corli - When Legolas doesn't show up for class, Aragorn knows something must be seriously wrong!

48 I Toed You So - by Corli - When Frodo's toe turns black, Sam gives him medical advice which Frodo ignores. Based on a real-life incident with Cathleen, only I wasn't as kind as Sam!

49 Tea for Two - by Corli - When Eowyn literally runs into Aragorn on their way to practice, he takes her to tea to try to calm her down.

50 In His Drawers - by Corli - Grishnakh believes he's about to catch Merry & Pippin "in the act" - NO BOY-BOY LOVE ACTUALLY HAPPENS IN THIS STORY - THE OVERHEARD CONVERSATION IS MISTAKEN FOR SOMETHING IT'S NOT. HOWEVER, IT MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL READERS.

51 Heavy Load - by Leah aka Daisy Thistletop - Sam tries to balance rugby practice, studying, and all his jobs with the help of his best friend Frodo.

52 Conjugation - by Corli - Sam gets help from Merry & Pippin in studying Elvish verb conjugation. THIS STORY CONTAINS IMPLIED BOY-BOY LOVE, THOUGH NOTHING ACTUALLY HAPPENS. HOWEVER, THIS STORY MIGHT NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR ALL READERS.

53 Luck - by Corli - Faramir can't believe his luck when he's assigned to work on a class project with Eowyn.

54 Conception Parties -- by Corli (plus help from Jenny, Kel, and Cathleen) - The elf twins hold separate parties to celebrate their conception day.

55 Kissiversary -- by Corli and Kel -- Elladan helps Merry deal with his three-month "kissiversary date" with Pippin.

56 Prelude to Parents Weekend --by Corli -- The students eagerly discuss their plans for the upcoming Parents Weekend.

57 Parents Weekend Part 1 -- Tours & Troubles -- by Corli -- The students each have their own issues to deal with as their parents arrive for Parents Weekend.

58 Parents Weekend Part 2 -- Dining Disasters -- by Corli -- Dinners with their parents don’t exactly go smoothly.

59 Parents Weekend Part 3 -- Back to Normal -- by Corli -- As their parents leave, the students' lives start to get back to normal.

60 Filly Follies — by Corli -- Eomer struggles to control the two fillies in his life.

More chapters are on their way.

[Author's Note: April 24, 2018 -- I've finally got back to working on this, so expect to see at least a few more chapters updated soon!]