se vis pacem, para bellum is a Fusion Fic crossover between The Lord of the Rings/The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and the John Wick, reimagining characters like Galadriel, Halbrand/Sauron and other Lord of the Rings characters as part of the underworld of assassins and criminals from New York. It is written by Cec_Jo
and can be found on Archive of Our Own.
se vis pacem, para bellum contains examples of:
- Adaptational Early Appearance: Unlike in the show, Lórien is already existing as a city in the vicinity of New York. Of course, in the show, Lorien has yet to be founded by Galadriel and Celeborn, while in this setting is just a normal city that was already established long before Galadriel and Celeborn's birth.
- Adaptational Villainy: Because the plot takes place in the world of John Wick, heroic characters, like Galadriel, Celeborn, Finrod, Angrod and Aegnor are gangsters.
- Adaptational Species Change: All the characters from Lord of the Rings that count as Demihuman or god-like beings, are humans as a result of them being transplanted in our world.
- all lowercase letters: The title is written in lowercase letters.
- Art Deco: Galadriel has a villa in Lórien (which is now a city is US) recently renovated in the Art Deco style to fit with the other rich mansions from her neighborhood.
- The Corrupter: Galadriel's parents, Finarfin and Eärwen Noldor, were killed by a drunken driver when she was very young. After their death, uncle Fëanor took care to raise Galadriel and her older siblings as future assassins working for the Mafia, a life their parents always tried to shield their children from.
- Downer Beginning: Similar to Rings of Power, the story begins with Galadriel having traumatizing flashbacks of Finrod's dead body. And his death was quite more brutal than in the show.
- Fingore: Finrod has his fingers cut while being tortured by his captors.
- Gratuitous Latin: The title is written incorrectly in Latin. The correct form of the proverb is "Si vis pacem, para bellum", which translates as " "If you want peace, prepare for war".
- The Lost Lenore: Celeborn died of Lymphoma, and Galadriel still mourns for him years later.
- Plot-Triggering Death: Finrod's death is what kickstarts the conflict in the story. After years of going clean, Galadriel returns to the criminal Underworld to avenge his death and teams up with Halbrand, who is Sauron in disguise.
- Post Humous Character: Morgoth, and Galadriel's other brothers, Angrod and Aegnor died 4 years before Finrod, but their deaths don't affect as much as Finrod the plot.
