#Elvish royal family

[lizzybeeee]

Personal take: One of the weirdest things Veilguard did, outright baffling, in fact, is how it feels like they reset the status quo of the world to Origins - even further back, if anything.

The game avoids (at all costs) meaningfully delving into exploring what these events/lore reveals mean to the world and characters at large. But the entire time I was thinking: holy shit this is bad.

What happens in game has very, very bad implications for the rest of Thedas and how they're going to look at groups like the Elves and Mages. I'm looking at this from the perspective of someone whose played all three previous games, not from the perspective of datv which really brushes over all moral complexity and sociopolitical issues. Of course, it's just my interpretation but its based off what happened in previous games.

Elves

The Elvish Gods of legend came back, blighted, and ended up wiping out the majority of the South - I find it hard to believe that the elves would not be 'roped in' as being responsible somehow.

Elves could sneeze in a previous game and people would blame them for causing a plague and purge the alienage -> life is shit for an elf and the events of datv would have absolutely made life a thousand times worse.

Would there be purges of alienages? Are there groups like the chavaliers or mobs of humans going about an killing elves because 'It's your Gods. It's your fault.'

Obviously, it isn't. But there are plenty of examples in Thedas' history of people acting rashly/cruelly out of terror and anger - and it's the most vulnerable people, like the Elves and Mages, who are targeted.

The Dalish Elves, what remains of them, would likely be perceived as 'Blight/Old God worshipers' - people would chase them off for the 'crime' of living too close to them in the woods in DAO.

Terrified, angry people would not care if the Dalish said they had nothing to do with what's happening - there would be bloodshed.

If anything improved for the elves from the time of Origins -> Mahariel, Tabris, Lavellan, or Briala...it's likely back to ground one as the best possible outcome, and closer to the Exalted March on the Dales at it's worst.

Mages

Mages could, potentially, have been living a life of unprecedented acceptance if Leliana was Divine -> along come the Evanuris, mages, who are allied with the Venatori who are causing devastation in Orlais and the Free Marches specifically.

Missive - Message from the Front -> The Tide Turns "The Venatori and the Orlesian royal armies clash daily in Orlais. Val Royeaux is now under control of the rebels, and from there the Venatori launch attacks as far east as Kirkwall."

The original magisters (evanuris) wielding the Blight and Old Gods 2.0 x2.

Any templars who remained, who had the old mindset and outlook of how mages should be treated, absolutely would be pointing at the venatori and saying "we warned you what would happen without the Order."

Normal people wouldn't give a shit that it's only a 'few' mages -> their entire home is gone, their families are dead, and the people responsible are wielding magic.

Fear of magic would likely be at an all time high - If the Order doesn't exist people would likely be demanding for them to come back.

The mages - whatever goodwill they earned - are likely being faced with suspicion and terror because this is proof of what magic can do in the hands of power-hungry douchebags.

Maybe they help to fight and people don't get so suspicious of them - who knows! This game doesn't want to address the previous games so it's in limbo.

Spirits

Other people have done great posts about how the spirits were completely tossed aside in this game. Three games worth of humanizing spirits, with Justice and Cole, only to go back on it with Solas reinforcing the Veil and...maintaining the status quo?

He so earnestly discussed with us his perspective on spirits and how they're just as 'real' as those on this side of the Veil - we saw it with Cole firsthand. But I guess they can all chill in the Fade till Solas dies or whatever.

I'd argue that the elves and mages are in an even worse position than they were in Origins. It's just not fulfilling, to me at least, to see the World I got so invested in just regress to the status quo after three games of challenging it. For it to not be meaningfully discussed or spoken about in-game, just brushed aside...I may not have liked the decision to do this but it could have been interesting (at least) if they actually discussed it.

Also, people don't just 'band together' because of the Blight - Origins showed us very well that in times of strife and pressure peoples petty/deeply ingrained beliefs, prejudices, and values come to the forefront. Alistair's comment about “You know, one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together" -> was him being snarky about how everybody as Ostagar was on the verge of throwing hands with each other. They were united in cause not in belief - the cause being to eradicate the darkspawn.

It's just so grim, and with how they handled sociopolitical issues and moral complexity in datv (not at all) I have no hope that they'll be able to address this at all, if they even bother to and don't just...ignore it, I guess.

Maybe this is what the devs meant when they said that the 'tone' was similar to Origins - just straight up erasing whatever strides was made in the previous games and setting it back to square one lmao

[anghraine]

Speaking of the poll and the Stewards' background etc, I think the funniest part of the whole "well obviously Húrin of Emyn Arnen was of royal origin..." thing is that this is never explained in LOTR proper. So Pippin is just like, "hmm, Denethor looks a lot like Aragorn for some reason. And I feel like he has some kind of weird kinship with... Gandalf?"

And that would be a lot in itself, but it's wilder because Sam had the exact same reaction to Faramir, to the point of contrasting Faramir's wizard vibes with Elvishness as if it's something distinct from that, but there's no explanation, beyond it being some sort of maybe Númenórean thing.

Pippin at least has the advantage of Gandalf's vague explanation that Denethor has a fundamentally different background than Théoden that gives him certain powers and prestige. Tolkien's intent was for this to indicate that Gandalf doesn't know the details of Denethor's family history and doesn't really need to; he can tell Denethor is a descendant of Elros because it's just kind of written all over him and Faramir, as Gandalf sees things.

Now, it makes sense that nobody is going to get into this with hobbits because they have much more important and urgent matters at hand and there's no reason for most characters to suppose people of this unknown species would care at all, or possibly even have the context needed to get what "royal origin" has to do with "weird similarities to Gandalf." So instead the hobbits just receive these passing hints of some connection that no one bothers to clearly explain.

But the thing is, the hobbit protagonists are super enthusiastic about 1) Elves, 2) Gandalf, and most importantly, 3) elaborate genealogical charts.

Pippin would probably love an infodump about Melian and Lúthien's eldritch adventures and how Denethor and Aragorn are related to them and each other. It's just that no one in LOTR ever explains that wizards are Maiar, or what Maiar are, or that Gandalf and Sauron and the Balrog are all the same kind of being, as was Lúthien's mother, and sometimes her remote descendants still have that bit of Maia about them and it makes them strange and wizardly.

This is not a criticism of LOTR as written btw; it would not actually be interesting to most of the original audience of LOTR as a novel. But I think that in-story, the hobbits themselves would be thrilled to know that their pal Strider and the scary old Steward and, in a way, Gandalf are all related in a way that could be more or less charted out according to standard hobbit genealogical templates if they had enough paper and time.

[tanoraqui]

Dungeon Meshi Liveblog: Kabru & Mithrun's Life-Changing Road Trip

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safhkjkhf no but also fake!Kabru is entirely flat because Mithrun doesn't have depth perception...

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Between this and the information that the team has a 1:2 ratio of guards to criminals, with the guards often appointed by their families as a melodramatic show of loyalty to the realm - which is...possibly literally true, considering the prestige of badassery; but, considering the criminals and the danger, also very possibly a polite euphemism for what amounts to a public sacrifice... I kind of ferally want to know about the dynamics of the Canaries. Are they loyal to each other, or to the cause? Are they all just under the threat of execution? Kabru expected the captain of the squad to be an aristocratic guard, them being more trustworthy than a semi-pardoned criminal ofc, but instead he's...whatever exactly Mithrun's legal status is; I've avoided some details of his backstory.

...I might have to go back and try to actually mentally distinguish these people from each other.

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Laios Heaven is actually Kabru Hell, and vice versa. It's a very efficient system!

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*giggles* Kabru is having a weird, upside-down day.

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"Don't wish often" is such a threatening thing to say, honestly. Don't want. Don't try. Don't be alive, or this place will try to kill you and eat you, for it, too, wishes to live, and that is how the continuation of life works.

It's so so interesting how elves clearly have ANSWERS, answers that our party have been searching for, which would've made their whole adventure easier, and the elves just aren't telling people. To maintain their own power over other races? Probably. Because knowing about demons who'll offer you unlimited power would be a dangerous temptation to many? In fairness, probably that, too. But it sure as hell serves them first.

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Oh yeah, this definitely reads as aristocratic youths joining the Canaries isn't per se voluntary on their families' parts. It's the elvish Suicide Squad.

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The timeline isn't making sense. When Mithrun banished the giant mushroom, it was clearly implied that it went to where and when Team Touden were when we'd last seen them, just after their first incident with the changeling mushrooms and then the dwarvish cable car. However, now the pop-up side panels are saying that Kabru and Mithrun's week in the dungeon together is happening at the same time as Team Touden goes through their shapeshifter adventure, barometz, Golden Country, griffins... Which makes sense if one assumes the Canaries & co went into the dungeon right after Kabru first spoke to them, which does seem right in terms of those characters' plotline and personal timetables. But there was no indication, when it cut over to them, that we'd suddenly gone backwards a week in the comic's timeline; indeed, the giant walking changeling mushroom incident suggested it was a single continuity...

Is this just a continuity error? Did I miss some clarifying signifier?

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Kabru: [tells Mithrun his own backstory back at him]

Mithrun: You left out the soap operatic relationships rooted in royal intrigue, which in turn was rooted in millennia of other royal intrigue.

Kabru: Yes, but I need it to be understandable to a man who's mostly just going to ask me how the goat-demon tast– I mean, uh... Your story structure was bad, so I simplified it.

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Oh shit, that's the thing Marcille is studying! She doesn't know it summons demons!

...My instinct is, "if only someone told her instead of completely outlawing the knowledge, forcing her to stumble blindly into the consequences on her own!" But, uh... I'm not sure this would actually stop her. She's very determined, and also has her share of wizard hubris. This is, of course, a driving question of the story.

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It wasn't easier to kill them? It wasn't easier to simply stop drawing magic from the infinite-power dimension?

...ok obviously not the latter, because, y'know. Fossil fuels. But seriously it wasn't easier to just kill them?

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It's sooo intersting how everyone else views Laios's love of monsters as a dangerous moral failing, when it's really just...ecologist enthusiasm. The man thinks this class of being is Neat. He is harming literally 0 people about this. He isn't even forcing anyone to eat them, just inviting them really enthusiastically and/or pointing out that this is necessary in order to achieve their shared goal of saving Falin.

Yes, obviously this could be subverted into something terrible by an encouraging demon. Just like, obviously, a desire to protect and preserve people can be! Or a desire to live happily with your loved ones! Laios isn't worse than any other Lord of a Dungeon; y'all just hate monsters!

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Kabru that is SO gay, jfc. I object on principle to the phrase "no heterosexual explanation", but--

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M! V! P! M! V! P!

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Friendship? Teamwork? Mutual respect and shared understanding of goals? Mithrun is a very useful ally because he really does Only want to stop the demon; he doesn't care about the geopolitics of it. Though his perspective is still very elvish and he definitely will kill our beloved protagonists without hesitation if they seem like they're going to be a problem.

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I would read an entire novel about the formation of the halffoot union, honest to god. I bet it was very exciting. I bet someone tried to kill Chilchuck at least once.

[homunculus-argument]

More random toying with fantasy cliché tropes: The Main Character, but like, undiagnosed.

A protagonist who's got every single damn Fated Main Character -cliche in the books but keeps insisting they're totally normal. Every single weird omen that happens to them just makes them go "ehh, I'm sure that happens to everyone" and ignores them. The way ravens keep following them around and trying to tug at their clothes is probably normal and the weird birthmark that's shaped exactly like a raven is just a random splotch and it's completely coincidental that it's in the same place as this Hero Who Was Fated For was supposed to have a "mark of a raven" and it's not, like, a perfectly clear tattoo outline or anything so obviously it's not a raven.

And they keep trying to live an everyday life and royally sucking at doing regular things - as a trait that'd work as a fantasy author's cop-out way of going "see, this protagonist isn't a perfect mary sue, they suck at baking bread!" on a Cool Adventurer Protagonist, but since the protagonist refuses to go on an adventure, it wouldn't cross anyone's mind to figure that they'd surely be a natural talent in swordplay and magic and learning elvish grammar - that's just the Tragic Orphan Turned Incompetent Adult who sucks at baking bread and keeps insisting that everyone else is lying about never getting pestered by ravens.

It's made clear from the start that everyone in The Quaint Small Village is freaking sick of this weird person and they keep failing to convince people that they're not trying to be special, and going "look my aunt says I'm fine so therefore I'm fine", when the aforementioned aunt is very clearly the only person who keeps insisting that her sister's child isn't weird, they just suck at everything in ways that shouldn't be possible without the presence of magic.

Also obviously everyone gets prophetic dreams of their dead parents warning them about mysterious things and telling them riddles, right? That's just a normal part of being an orphan. And obviously it's purely coincidental that literally nobody else in the village has That Distinct Haircolour that's a famous feature of the local royal family and everyone making remarks of the protagonist's uncanny resemblance to the prince who is now king who visited the area a year before the protagonist was born is surely just being mean. Like coincidences just happen sometimes, right?

And eventually the protagonist's mother appears in a dream more clearly than ever, going "look, sweetie, you're 26 and you've been ignoring The Call Of Fate for, like, ten years now. You've got to answer eventually. Just go to the damn wizard already."

And the protagonist goes "uuuuuuuuuugh fine. But I'm going to complain the whole way."

[sotwk]

When and where was Thranduil born? (How Thranduil's age compares to other characters)

Thranduil: the Vigorous Spring (Thranduil's name and details of his birth)

Thranduil's royal title (Thranduil's formal regnal title)

Thranduil and hunting (Thranduil's history and skills in hunting, and his family's hunting traditions)

Thranduil’s love of wine (How wine connects with Thranduil's history)

Thranduil the Warrior King (Thranduil’s fighting prowess)

Why Does King Thranduil Glow? (Thranduil's Elvish “glow” in the BotFA)

Thranduil in the Sack of Erebor (Could Thranduil have helped kill Smaug and save Erebor?)

Thranduil's Fate in the Undying Lands (Does Thranduil sail for Valinor?)

Thranduil and Oropher's Tumultuous Relationship (Oropher's opposition to Thranduil's marriage causes a feud)

Thranduil's Mother: Lady Meluiel of Doriath (Thranduil's relationship with his mother and the early loss of her)

OTHER USEFUL LINKS:

Introduction to SotWK

Main Headcanon Masterlist

Fanfiction Masterlist

sotwk headcanon - This tag captures all SotWK headcanon posts, including minor ones that might not be on the Masterlist.

[hapalopus]

The Goblin Emperor is a political drama/fantasy of manners set in a steampunk-inspired world where elves, goblins, and other races don't quite live in harmony.

Following the assassination of most of the Elvish royal family, the exiled half-elf/half-goblin boy Maia suddenly becomes emperor. Thrust into this world of systemic violence, political intrigue, and staunch etiquette, Maia draws on his kindness and strict moral code to survive new foes and maybe gain some new friends.

You will probably like The Goblin Emperor if you have a soft spot for sad little guys, if you relate to eldest daughters and/or chosen ones, if you're autistic about worldbuilding, if you fantasize about being loved without the embarrassment of having to ask for love, and/or if you enjoy non-violent conflict resolution and an unwavering commitment to hope.

Here's the Goblin Emperor audiobook.

Here's the Goblin Emperor pdf.

Here's the fan wiki, which explains the lingo and worldbuilding.

Your local library can definitely fetch a physical copy for you.

[wowstrawberrycow]

Of Bread and Tension

Hello I am pleased to say I finally have the another prompt finished! I want to thank @celeluwhenfics for thier super fun food custom request. I hope you enjoy this one!

Here is the music I used to pull the words out. I'm not responsible for the music.

here is a link about my head canons regarding elven and Dwarven food customs. Click here!

Pairing: Gimli X Legolas (Gigolas)

Warnings: heavy family arguments (there is a happy ending I promise!)

Length: 3,018 words

"🌱Differences make our world so much richer than you'll ever know.🪨" -Me

Once finishing their adventures after the war, they decided to settle down. On this day the warmth of their husband’s oven-baked goods filled the house with a comforting smell. Such a scent always filled the house since their secret union. But even that didn’t settle the young royal. Avoirdupois dressed the air causing an infestation of worries. The pitter-patter of airy elven toes paced the floor of their new home.

With a shallow breath, they fidgeted gazing at the welcoming spread that lay on the table. Freshly baked bread littered the table. Some of which held delicious mysteries much like the mines themselves. A fine assortment of cheeses lined the bread platters. Some were even made of nut milks that Legolas labored over the previous two days. Two different savory vegetarian casseroles were made to accommodate the tastes of both their guests. A large bowl of lush salad accompanied the bread and cheese. Amongst them were roasted vegetables in a thick savory curried gravy. For dessert, fruit pies and traditional elven berried cakes had been prepared.

They both had worked together to prepare a successful blend of elvish and dwarven delights. But to the royal, it didn’t seem to be enough. They made absolutely certain that the setting was perfect with not a fork or napkin out of place. A final gasp escaped the elf as they noticed the wine missing. Their father wouldn’t hear of any meal without it. They ran frantically to the pantry to grab several bottles to accommodate their father’s thirst.

Gimli caught their lover right after the strong wine was properly arranged. “ Sweet one, slow down,” he held Legolas close. “You’re working yourself into a tizzy. Sit, I’ll tend to the rest,” he guided his lover to a chair.

Legolas obeyed their husband’s words, though be it begrudgingly. “ Dearest… I know he hasn’t forgotten. I said and did such horrid things. I regret all of them. You know I do… does he? I-”

“ Shhh,” Gimli placed a finger over their lips,“ Little gem, I know the man. He is stubborn but he will get over it. Even he has to realize people change.”

“Perhaps... But I know my own as well. He is… well… he is difficult to enjoy company with. I will apologize-” The worn royal stammered uncontrollably.

Gimli grabbed the elf by the jaw, staring them in the eyes with narrow eyes. His voice lowered in stern seriousness, “Ah, don’t you ever apologize for a mistake you haven't sleight of. We have talked about that. No more apologizing, understand.”

Legolas felt their face blaze and their voice hitch at the change of his tone. A soothing wave of what they could only describe as refreshment washed some of their worries away in the wind. “Yes, my starlight.”

“That’s my sweet deer,” Gimli kissed them deeply before tending to the rest of the homely duties.

Before too long, the sound of frustration grew like a flicker of fire outside their home.

Legolas with fear in their eyes looked at their husband for guidance.

The dwarf simply pinched the bridge of his nose with heavy exasperation, “So, it begins.”

The two exchanged nods and strode to the door to open it. Upon doing so they were not surprised to see the two men arguing. Thranduil casually held the hilt of his sword while Gloin wielded his axe ready to attack.

“Oi! Put that down ye stubborn old goat!” Gimli forced his father’s hand down.

"Ada, please! There’s no need!” Legolas gave Thranduil a hug.

“Boy! Have ye lost your wits!” Gloin slapped the back of Gimli’s head with rage in his eyes, “I was fine with ye, fallin' for a man. It’s strange but not unheard of. I could live with that. But a bloody fairy!” the shorter man bellowed, waving his axe at Thranduil. “ Your brat called my son a mutant! Ye then threw me and my kin away! I refuse to share a table with either of the-”

“How dare you wave that thing in my presence! You leave my child out of this! It was you who entered my territory in the first place! Or has your age stunted your ability to retain information dwarf? ” Thranduil spat venom with each word.

“Take it back, you arrogant bastard!” Gloin raised his axe ready to fight when he was caught under the arms of Gimli.

“Quiet! Ye didn’t come all this way to insult my lover in front of their father! I won’t stand for you talking that way to them!” Gimli growled, digging his strong legs into the ground.

The king looked utterly Furious, “ Explain yourself this instant,” Thrandil sneered at the shorter men than to his child. His hands trembled in shock. He had always done his best to protect his little one, despite their rebellious nature. He was sure his elfling would grow out of this ridiculous rebellion. Even still, he also never in his wildest dreams would have imagined his child going this far. Was it to spite him? “ no. You and I are going to have a chat alone right this second,” Thranduil seized the young elf by the arm.

 “Ada! I won’t! whatever you have to say you can say in front of my ‘HUSBAND’, “ Legolas snapped standing their ground before ripping their arm away from the older elf. 

“Your what?” Thranduil’s shocked expression turned mortified. His pale skin turned ghostly as if he may succumb to death at any moment. Gloin matched him equally in all parts. 

“Yes, if you have nothing further to add outside of further insult you may join us for the meal that we both labored for.” Their voice was low and threatened either to speak ill again. 

Gimli stood next to Legolas gripping their hand tightly in reassurance. A sense of pride welled in his chest for his little deer. After a long bitter silence, their fathers silently walked in paying no mind to the sweet and leafy cottage esthetic of the home.

Gimli gave Legolas free rein on how to decorate it as he only cared for one thing. That was being with his lover. The only thing he insisted on was that Galadrial’s gift be immortalized in crystal and be placed above the mantle for all to see. This greatly pleased Legolas. They had no objections to it, as that gift was given the day after they began their friendship. In a way, they thanked the wise lady for that life-shifting change.

Once seated at the table the men scowled at one another sending silent threats that only could be heard through their sharp daggered stares. Legolas trembled slightly unsure of what to say as the silence got to them. Gimli took Legolas by the hand beneath the table.

Clearing his throat, as he noticed his lover's discomfort immediately, “ You know, Legolas has a wonderful voice. I’m sure it would be nice accompanied by the sound of your flute.”

Gloin only scoffed, before filling his plate, grumbling a complaint about the lack of meat available.

Gimli frowned, palming his face at the old man’s behavior. 

Legolas looked to their father with a glimmer of hope, “ Ada… you know Gimli has made a point to make the casseroles and stuffed breads free of meat for us. There is even milk-free cheese for you and me. I made that myself Ada. Gimli showed me how.” 

Thranduil raised a thick brow and with a twitching eyelid as he turned to Gimli speaking through gritting teeth “ Thank you and the gracious wilderness for your labors, ” the man was not above breaking tradition. Then after downing a glass of wine, he graced Gimli further by taking the casserole, cheese, and stuffed breads.

Legolas lessened their shoulders tension before turning to Gimli, “ Thank you and the gracious wilderness for your labors,” they then began to fill their own plate, and picked up the small bowl beside their plate. Absent-mindedly, they asked, “ Daddy, would you please pass the salad?”

“Of course deer,” Gimli reached for the bowl beside him. 

Thranduil reached for the one to his right “Here, hina(child),”

Legolas felt all the color drain from their face, ‘what have I done?’ they thought fearfully as their father's eyes pierced straight through Gimli. 

Gloin did not help one bit as he finally relaxed, smirking at his son, “Oi, so I see who's the one begging for who.” the older dwarf busted into laughter elbowing Gimli. “ I knew he was prettier than most women but this takes the cake!” the dwarf downed his mug of ale with jolly triumph.

“Legolas is not a man, THEY are a person father.” Gimli groaned, correcting him, feeling his cheeks burn in embarrassment. 

“Whatever, if yer going to be with a pretty boy, like ‘them’ ye better not be the one taking it.” Gloin slapped Gimli's back. 

"Stop jabbing at them!" Gimli slammed his fists against the table.

“Have you no restraint!” Thranduil shouted from across the table before stabbing a thick roasted carrot with a knife. “ You speak of things that ought not to be spoken about my child in front of me as if I AM NOT HERE!” if the elf could breathe fire everything in his path would already be incinerated “And you! I want a word with you!” they pointed to Gimli with the knife. 

“ Ada, please!” having no time to feel humiliated Legolas got up from their seat and took the knife from his hand. 

“Oi, I thought your types weren't supposed to act ‘barbaric’ at the table?” Goiln held up quotations with his fingers.

The king immediately rushed up from his spot, shoving his child behind him ready to wield his swords. 

“That's enough! You can't say that right after you insulted them!” Gimli bellowed in return.

Legolas felt their heart sink lower as their lips trembled; they balled up their fists, “Ada, sit back down! Please!”

“You listen to me child, this man is an insult to you and myself! What has he done to you!?” Thranduil howled in outrage.

“ Are you trying to claim my son is dishonorable!” Gloin stood up, cracking his fingers. 

Thranduil ignored the man looking his little one over for nefarious marks of any kind. He was clearly not ready to think about let alone hear of his little leaf having a relationship like that with anyone. Quite frankly it petrified him as a parent. Could this dwarf be mistreating his only child!? Having power over a vulnerable one was nothing to take lightly.

“Are you listening to me you prick!?” Gloin shouted, punching the table. 

The chaos and anger crammed all in one space pushed Legolas to tears. Their throat stung while they belted out, “Stop it! I can’t take it anymore,” The elf ran out of the house, finally feeling the humiliation hit them.  

Gimli ran after them without a word. There was no way he would allow for his lover to suffer weeping alone.

Thranduil and Gloin stared at the open door. They each sat down stunned by the sudden draft of silence. The king set the wine glass aside, taking the bottle of wine to his lips. Gloin did the same downing his pint only to fill it with the keg that sat on the table. They each glanced at each other in passing, daring not to speak a word as if it were a game to see who would break first. Both were equally proud, and stubborn. However, they each shared a trait, which was their unconditional love for their children.

“Look,-” they both spoke at the same time.

“You first,” Gloin spoke politely.

“ I’m willing to put aside differences if it means I don’t lose my child,” he said wistfully while staring out the door. 

“Ey… me as well,” he said, realizing the rift they both had started. 

“ Make no mistake, this doesn’t mean I approve of you, “ Thranduil spoke sharply.

“Nor I you,” Gloin glared his eyes.

“For the children,” Thranduil sighed, while Gloin nodded in agreement.

They each left their seats after one last long swig of alcohol. Then trailed outside easily spotting the children under the apple tree in their backyard. Gimli held the sobbing elf as he often did, simply rocking them in his arms. He softly hummed to them in hopes of easing their wounded heart.

“Oh, sweetie... I’m sure there’s something we can do to make it right,” He lifted Legolas’ face to wipe away tears before kissing their lips. 

Legolas huffed desperately trying so hard to soothe themself  “I’m sorry Daddy, this was a horrible idea. I’m sorry-” 

Gimli held his jaw again, cutting his lover off, “ Little gem, what did I say about apologizing on behalf of others? It’s not your fault. We knew this day had to come. we knew it wouldn’t end well. There’s nothing you or I could have done to alleviate that,” he kissed them deeply, holding the back of their head firmly in place. 

The soft dominance of the situation soothed the royal, causing them to whimper through their emotions as the tears finally stopped. Each was unaware of the audience before them.

Both men stared astonished at the tenderness they witnessed. Gloin felt great pride in his son for being unwavering in support for his lover. He clearly raised the boy right. Thranduil noted how well the dwarf soothed his child's tears. He noted how the stout man never once placed blame on his little one and the proper use of his child’s preferred titles did not fall deaf on the older elf.  In contrast, Legolas’ humbled behavior didn’t fall deaf on Gloin. He expected a royal of their standing would be as arrogant as their father. It certainly impressed him.

“ Legolas hina, I believe we have caused you both enough trouble. May we start again.” Thranduil spoke, breaking the silence. 

Legolas stood up sniffling before hugging their father tightly with a nod.

“Ay, I’m sorry for insulting you and your lover… and for being a jackass.” Gloin nodded, sincerely rubbing the back of his head. He looked at the young elf and Gimli apologetically.

“you’re forgiven.” Gimil huffed before making his way back to the house with the others.

“I forgive you.” legolas turned to the older dwarf, taking a shy tone.

Once inside the air was far more lively, especially after Thranduil took several bottles of wine. 

“ Mighty heavens, how much of that will you put away!” Gloin laughed jovially, slapping the elven man's back. Like his son, he could not hold his liquor as well as the elves at the table. For, their wine at home was far stronger than most could find in Middle Earth. Both had lived off the powerful liquid of their homelands for several lifetimes of their dwarven company. 

“Little leaf, fetch me another bottle, we are out, “ Thranduil patted his child’s head. “ I don’t know what you mean master dwarf.” 

“You mean you’re out,” Legolas scoffed as they did as they were told “At least they aren't, at each other’s throats.” 

“Ay, darlin'… I can be thankful for that.” Gimli nodded, “Thank ye and the gracious wilderness for your labors.” Gimli kissed the other before finally settling in to eat. 

“You know when he was just a lad, he would steal my axe trying to outdo the other brats in the hall. Of course, you know that didn’t end well at all! The little fellow would fall backward every time he tried to wield it. You were so tiny even for a dwarf! We thought you would never catch yer height! “ Gloin laughed, causing Gimli to hold his forehead in embarrassment. 

“Two can play that game! How about all the times I had to dig you out of the wall? You’d not pay attention like a blind old bat and get yourself stuck!” Gimli snickered, slapping his father's back causing the older man to lose the ale from his mouth.

“You rugrat! You promised never to speak that secret!” Gloin bopped his son on the head.

Even Thranduil had to smirk at the sight. He peered at Legolas before deciding to share a story of his own. “My little one did their fair share of ridiculous things too,” he paused regally, sipping at another glass of wine. “ for example, they would crawl up in the trees and imitate the animals that they saw. It was so amusing to watch them imitate the squirrels and frogs. Frankly, they would imitate just about any animal they saw. I often caught them pretending to be a frog burrowing in the marshes I had to practically to drag them, kicking and pouting all the way home. It really was quite adorable.” They chuckled quietly enjoying the curry-filled bread and roasted vegetables. He even enjoyed the casserole. 

“Ada! No!” they protested. “Shall I mention the ridiculous dancing you do when you're drunk enough for such?” Legolas smirked devilishly with a giggle.

“A dance, you say? Oh yes, that’s great. Save it for after the cleaning, though.” Gloin belched loudly, snickering. 

“I certainly will not dance for your amusement dwarf!” Thranduil gasped a bit embarrassed. 

Legolas couldn’t keep the smile off their face after they had eaten their dessert. It had been far too long since they had seen the older elf seemingly enjoy himself.

After dinner and a prayer, Gimli began tossing the empty dishes to Legolas who both sang a tune as they cleaned. 

“Oi? What of the leftovers?” Gloin asked.

“Yes, it does seem like a waste doesn’t it?” Thranuil sighed, fearing that the earth’s bounty would spoil in vain.  

“Don’t either of you worry. My husband found a solution for that upon moving here. We have chilled underground storage in the back by the shed.” Legolas smiled at each of them from the kitchen.

Their playfulness and giggling from the kitchen as they cleaned reminded Gloin of home. It was at that point that he felt no need to worry about his son. The king on the same note watched them both helping each other with a gentleness in each other's eyes. He could feel the love seeping off of them. He flashed them a small smile. Then both parents drew back waiting to play a game of cards to bond as was a custom for the dwarves after their meals.

[spaceandbones]

fuck it oc picrews under the cut

This is Reymas she is a btd oc who got snatched by Ren when they were 21 and now lives as an immortal 28 year old vampire divorce victim trying to simultaneously murder Ren and make him stop human trafficking with the power of friendship and love. She was a vegetarian before she turned into a vampire. She really likes lighting things on fire and her biggest aspiration is to build a Bomb that Works. She got a dentist to give her fake vamp teeth before she even knew vampires were real and as a result even when her actual vampire fangs retract she still has these stupid fucking fake teeth so like. Get outed every time u smile I guess. Please please nobody ever tell her she has terf bangs 😔

This is Sun he turned Reymas into a vampire bcus her moral code flew a little too close to his century-long dead boyfriends who either haunts Sun as a ghost or is a hallucination caused by intense mental illness exerbated by being a 90 year old vampire who has never moved on from anything ever. He likes to think of himself as Apollo reincarnated bcus he's really good at being humble. Has the single largest victim complex on planet earth. He isnt. Hes not normal 🫦 but he plays the harp

THIS IS my dragonborn Onyx I made her when I was 14 and she's been reworked 45 times because I made her when I was a child. She is going to ride those fucking dragons. Doesnt really want to kill them. Doesnt rlly care about the civil war, either. She grew up as an orphan and during a teenage prison escape with an elvish prince of Valenwood named Rhys, she became his bestie and lived with the royal household in Silvenar for like 7 years. Onyx and Gallus were in the same orphanage in the Imperial City as kids. So sends her a letter calling for aid bcus he cant trust anyone in the guild. Onyx shows up sometime later and gets swindled by known Huckster Mercer Frey. She joins the thieves guild but isn't a good thief whatsoever. This is a swordsman who fights dragons.. she is incapable of silence. Her pàpà was a nord, her màmà was an imperial. Ya girl has some Big Genes and No Elf. Probably all she wants is a real family

Stay with me. This is my cccrazy catgirl Bearer of the Curse yes this is a dark souls oc... :/ she doesnt have ACTUAL CAT EARS I just think I'm funny and this picrew had them. Her name is Rown her nickname is the Silvercat. Known thief and pickpocket. She is a sorcery user who only knows Stupid Spells like Yearn and Flash Sweat and Chameleon (her personal fave) but turning into a vase isnt really going to work against Nashandra so either Rowan gets the Most help ever or shes turning into cat ground beef. Shes got a toxic friendship with Creighton the Wanderer. white-haired gang rise up

This is my dao boy cannagan I dont have anything bcus I have 37 minutes played in this game so far. He is a gay city boy elf rogue. Thats all I have. And this picrew of him in a hoodie. Hes a cutie. He would want to be a nascar driver if he was real and he wouldnt be able to so hed try drag racing strangers in his 2013 Honda Civic with custom rims and a $100 flame wrap. He has 13 speeding tickets. Would rather do Anything than admit out loud to being gay. Here is my fun fact: cannagan as a name has greek origins that mean Wolf Pup.

[pridaxus-worldbuilding]

Elvish Hierarchy System

The Prince

The ruler of Elvenwick. The prince runs most of the legislative matters as in making laws. There are things he can’t do unless it’s an emergency like start a war, deploy military, to have a state sanctioned executions. The prince however can make executive orders on guilt, participate in foreign affairs, veto, create new laws, appoint judges and other government officials.

The Grand Prince

The Grand Prince is the Prince’s heir apparent. He can only present formally in front of the Elvish people and/or make marriage arrangements without the approval of the Prince. The heir apparent is not always the prince’s son or direct descendant. From the time the heir presumptive turns 13 he may be given permission to become the Grand Prince. At this point no one could displace his role. Including if the prince has a son.

The Royal Family

The remaining members of the Prince’s family comprise of the rest of his immediate and extended family. Including the his wife, other children, mother, siblings, and cousins. These individuals participate in ceremonial duties such as: the head of armies, head of religious organizations, and heads of political movements.

The Prince’s Governors

The 10 richest lords in Elvenwick (and relatives of the Prince that live on Governors Island). Essentially it’s the heads of the households of Governor Island. they have legislative powers such as the ability to vote to declare wars, deploy military, and have state sanctioned executions. They may also vote for the creation of new laws and the appointment of judges and other government officials however both may be vetoed by the prince.

Governors/Judges

Governors are in charge of each of the major cities. Mostly their role is to create law interpret law and judge based off of the law. All criminals are brought before the governor to be judged and receive sentencing. However, this decision could be vetoed or overruled by the prince. They also own every church, university, mage guild, and law firm in their jurisdiction. Governors nor any classes below are not nobility.

Mayors

Mayors are in charge of the little towns within each city. Their main role is to enforce the law. They receive the law from governors and they are responsible for making sure the law is enforced. Mayor’s serve as the sheriffs of their towns as they may employ Guard or police forces to help survey crime, apprehend suspects and enforce punishments.

Clergymen

These members of society provide a service that can “cure” an issue that one has. Mostly high ranking service jobs within Elvish society including religious leaders, mages, arcane, professors, and lawyers. Unlike servants who may work for an individual, family, or the town, Clergymen work for the governors.

Commoners

This is mostly individuals who make a product and then sell that product. This includes artisans, blacksmiths, and other business owners. Commoners have the most freedom, as a commoner is the only class that can marry any other class.

Servants

These individuals sell a service. They may work for individuals, families, towns, or businesses. This includes many professions but some are ladies maids, teachers, secretaries, and knights.

Peasants/Farmers

Often called farmers, peasants gather resources. This is mostly as miners or lumberjacks.

Outcasts

A class mostly comprised of unemployed and unhealthy citizens, those without any form of apprenticeship, criminals, foreigners, and non elves regards of whether of not they would otherwise be apart of the servant or peasant class.

Classes are not completely rigid. With training or education it is possible for some outcasts to become servants or peasants. The higher one is up in the hierarchy, the more opportunity they have to move upwards (its easier for a Governor to be a Prince’s Governor than it is for a Peasant to be a Servant).

To determine someone’s rank in society, you go based off of the rank of their head of household. Which is usually the oldest man within the household. So if you live in a house of your father, your grandfather, your uncles your aunt your mom, sister, brother the head of your household is your grandfather. Even if your father would be considered a commoner if your grandfather is considered a servant, that’s where you are socially. Typically in families where there’s like an relative who is higher ranked that relative would adopt the members of their family. Women are the rank of their fathers family and then of their husband‘s family. If a woman was apart of the prince’s governors, social ranking, and then married to commoner, she’d be a commoner.

If an Elvish woman marries a non-elf man, she becomes an outcast as well. Non elves cannot take up jobs higher than what a commoner would have and even then non elf business owners are usually subject to discrimination. It’s hard to reach commoner roles if you are a non elf.

The roles are not necessarily financial caps, in fact there are commoners who are richer than mayors or governors and commoners who have become prince’s governors bc of their wealth. Servants of the prince are financially comfortable in ways that a mayor may not be. They are about social privilege for one’s self and one’s family. Unlike in Idealps where wealth is a trading card in Elvenwick social status is. The Elvish have created a society/country where elvish cis men have more social privilege than any other group.

[hottubraccoon]

Great Kettering; land of Artistry and Pride

south-east corner of the continent, primarily orc citizens

discofairy on Unsplash.

Society:

The social structure mostly mimics the classes of England in the late middle ages. Outsiders will call GK citizens / most orcs spies and eccentric artists, mostly vulgar and sarcastic, although others say they are teachers and healers, genuine and hardworking. GK calls themselves a sturdy and creative nation. The most attractive qualities for GK is dedicated, homely people willing to 'think outside the box', and physically, being neatly groomed and covered in tattoos is beloved. Higher class citizens like to think that respect is universal, they give it freely and expect it in return just as freely. Although that outward respect often turns into whispers and rumours behind closed doors. Orcs born outside GK, other races born within GK, immigrants, even just younger GK orcs will be written off as 'not getting it like we do' or 'trying to hard to fit in'. The need to improve in your skills, whatever they may be, is expected tenfold in these people as well. This mentality will have lots of orcs ultimately staying in / settling down in GK, whilst younger citizens will travel to learn and hone their crafts before returning to their true home. Tattoos are incredibly meaningful for orcs as they show social status, heritage, and personal challenges*. Lacking tattoos makes you too young, immature, or somehow 'lacking character' enough to hinder your tattoo journey. However, for children this is rectified with makeup, as it is considered to be the 'practice tattoo' to mimic their parents patterns, therefore using it as adult can be seen as immature or being so unskilled you have nothing to mark yourself with. Perfume is for lower/middle class citizens as they 'have something to hide' or are not nearly as groomed as the higher class. Jewelry and piercings are a highly sort after accessory in GK, the more gemstones the richer you are to spend so much on something so 'useless'. Especially as they are made to mimic an orcs tattoos.

*to learn more in depth, read about maori tattoo practices in New Zealand

Professions:

Most lower/middle class people teach their children the trade of the family and that's the best they will get. With more money and influence comes more opportunities and these children can go into areas that their parents send them to. The royal family gets a great education in how to rule, economy, trade relations, politics etc. but also how to FIND someone who can do the job for you. Families will spend some time everyday, practicing their crafts together in their home. For this reason, there are generally no school buildings in GK. Some families will 'trade' promising children to either broaden their horizons, or to find a more specialised skill from others. GK is the land of art; visual, writing, musical, dancing, anything that can be 'presented' as such is highly valued among citizens. Art where is meant to be shared, to be seen, there is no such thing as 'showing off' here. Most religious sites will have a gallery section, and noble homes will occasionally open themselves for galas and festivals.

Language:

The main 4 languages of Klenith are human, elvish, orcish, and dwarvish. The language in GK is Orcish. Imagine having a mouth full of tusks. There are lisps and a focus on throat sounds in the Orcish language. The written form uses lots of straight lines and circles or dots*. Poets like to turn the circles into small flowers for flair. There's a GK specific, fishing specific sign language for sailors and fishers. While it is difficult to use while on the open seas, smaller fishing boats will use this to communicate between village waters. There's the 'general' sign language for the nobility** allover Klenith. Most hand signs are reserved for the Spies or fishermen/sailors or the hard-of-hearing nobility. The Spies slang is also never spoken, purely a written dialect stemming from orcish and the equivalent hand sign, that is ever changing. 'The sign of a good fisherman is how vulgar he is and how many fingers he has.' A lot of swearing is against the seas/oceans or allusions to tragedies that happen in the rain, while happiness is in sunshine. There are also religious curses referring to various religious texts of Aeons. The royal family bare a purple crest of three down-facing arrowheads, each a different shade of grey, the palest at the top and the darkest at the bottom, encircled by small red berries. The GK royal colours are purple and red, though many foreigners believe that grey is included. The arrowheads are the cliffs that lines GK, the berries from their Aeons religion, and the red is later attributed to the Spies institution (although it was red long before the Spies rose to power/popularity).

*similar to written korean

**deaf or HoH people elsewhere default to the fisher's sign language

ktabori on Unsplash.

Other Parts:

For Great Kettering. 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

For Solistal. 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

For Kamikita. 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

For Birkina. 1 / 2 / 3 / 4

[viladlind]

a small rundown on fiyero's family, because the possibility of including them in a mistified rerun has me diseased and i've been meaning to get around to it anyways.

overall, fiyero's family is made up of his mother, his (supposed) biological father, his step-father, and two half-siblings. his actual biological father is a tiefling, but he never met him and his father doesn't know about any child. he was a sailor that left the island shortly after fiyero's conception.

(bro technically had three dads and all of them sucked. two of them are dead now. and he STILL primarily has mommy issues)

fiyero's name at the time was mallenor, but i'll call him fiyero throughout to keep it coherent. list goes as follows:

his mother, the queen of dovesong. nemirel faeldil. fiyero would call her amille, the elvish word for mother. i have many thoughts about nemirel that i'll get into at some point, but she's essentially a product of her environment. an untouchable beacon for the people of dovesong, strict and unforgiving when it came to fiyero. the only love she ever showed him was when she was defending his birthright (the throne) to others, which would immediately be contrasted by her cruel words when they were alone.

his step-father, thorondil faeldil. his mother wanted fiyero to call him atar, the elvish word for father. he never did outside of official settings. distant and passive, not interested in fiyero but rather the position of his own children. he often intentionally stepped back in the conflicts fiyero caused because he saw them as an opportunity to secure something for his kids.

half-siblings, the twins. nemirelien and nemirelion faeldil, named after their mother. complicated relationship here. they're his siblings and fiyero is glad that he's the one in line for the throne so that they can be spared the horrors of it. they're also a direct reflection of his mother's desire for children that obey. fonder of his sister than his brother, she'd often keep quiet about fiyero's schemes even if they all eventually came to light.

(there's a whole separate thing here about the fact that his siblings were named after their mother, but that fiyero never received that honour. nemirelien and nemirelion are quite literally only reflections of their shared mother, nemirel. there's no other meaning behind the names. mallenor, fiyero's elvish name, means "golden one". the elves of dovesong were known for their love for silver.)

his supposed biological father, the cover for his tiefling heritage. balhalp faeldil. nemirel was married to him until he died to illness and in her grief she sought out a sailor briefly visiting the island. when she started showing, people were told that fiyero is the child of her late husband. what fortunate timing. a miracle, isn't it, that he gets to live on through a child? a disappointment, isn't it, when that child turns out so differently?

(fiyero was always told that balhalp was noble and kind, often urging the queen to lend an ear. looking at his portraits, fiyero never thought much of such memories. he refers to balhalp as atar/father in an attempt to cling to something outside of the remaining royal family, some semblance of hope that there's something else for him out there.)

and his actual biological dad! a sailor, a trader, a tiefling. his name is fortune. fiyero never knew him and assumes he died somewhere in fiyero's 70s, considering the lifespan of tieflings is so short in comparison to an elvish lifespan. he never returned to the island after spending a night with the queen, because he's not stupid and knew that nemirel would never entertain the notion of humoring him, much less tolerating him. famously uptight, the elves of dovesong. and their leader had too much power for him to risk it. to him, it was an inconsequential night that would make for a good story over drinks.

[anghraine]

I was talking to my students and then some family members about how the death of Elizabeth I and succession of James was necessarily an occasion of upheaval, even when it wasn't necessarily violent or flirting with treason or whatever. For one, the death of a monarch that will lead to a new dynasty (even a related one!) is not quite the same as a familiar figure inheriting the country's rule from their parent or grandparent. It's usually a bigger change, with dynamics of loyalties and affiliations shifting around—that's part of the reason Elizabeth delayed acknowledging James as her heir.

Typically, you'd see courtiers etc deserting a dying monarch in order to signal their loyalty to the new monarch, even if the old one wasn't actually dead yet. Elizabeth's reluctance to share royal power was fundamental to her reign and her public image, so it's not at all surprising that she would be loath to encourage that kind of desertion in any particular direction.

Of course, another thing that complicates the Elizabeth -> James succession is that she had reigned for a long time (44 years iirc). By the time she was dying, a good number of English people had few personal memories of life under any other monarch, and those who did would remember the abrupt and unstable reigns of her predecessors, Edward and Mary. So James's accession came with uncertainty about what exactly it would entail, and a lot of late Elizabethan/early Jacobean drama in English is very concerned with questions of what obligations the governed owe to their monarchs (obedience? loyalty? are those always the same thing?), but also what obligations monarchs themselves have to their people.

This seemed especially pertinent to Lear, in which multiple characters defy capricious orders from a monarch or other authority out of loyalty: Kent challenges Lear and is banished, so skulks around in disguise to continue serving him, Edgar also skulks around in disguise after Gloucester renounces him and ends up offering what comfort he can to his father, and Cordelia returns to Britain with the French army in her ultimately futile attempt to help Lear. Meanwhile, Lear loses everything, is driven to take shelter in a peasant hovel, and starts to contemplate how his own failures as a king resulted in, well, peasant hovels.

Anyway, now I'm thinking about what a wild figure Elros must have been as, specifically, a monarch to the Númenóreans. He lived for five hundred years. Even his own children (also half-Elves! sort of!) and other descendants who benefited from his lifespan didn't live as long, and most Númenóreans during his earlier reign wouldn't have come near to it. Undoubtedly there were Elves who had known Elros in the First Age who were baffled at him choosing mortality and DEATH, and meanwhile on Númenor, there are all these people living out their extended lifespans under the reign of a half-Elf king who was ruling their people at their birth and would still be ruling after they died of old age. We know Elros retained his half-Elvish characteristics as well, so they've got this visibly Elvish, barely-aging, eternal king who looks like Lúthien as part of the fabric of life for centuries.

Yes, he's literally the first king—but for a lot of earlier Númenóreans, he's also the only king they will ever know. It takes him an incredibly long time to weary of the world as other mortals do. By the time Elros finally gets weary of Arda, and willingly lays down his life and passes to the unknown fate of mortals, Tar-Amandil is stepping into some very big shoes.

[adleryoung]

Let's take a look at some of your questions.

Do you really believe what you say or is it all an act? Also some rubbish about classism and the decline of the elves.

Elves do not lie. I'm not entirely sure what you're implying with the rest of your comment, but it is an established historical fact that too much associating with lowfolk is bad for our health. Staying aloof is the way to prosper.

Was he dabbing?

I have no idea what that means.

While Zandar was sleeping, did you ever use that magic bowl trick to see into her mind?

Fuma have mercy! That never even occurred to me. You lowfolk are truly devious … and yet some of you have the nerve to insinuate that I am Unseelie! Clearly a case of one of your many cognitive defects, the one called … what is it … projection? I think that's it.

Did you turn a low folk child into stew and feed them to Zandar? how did you come up with the "your original biological kid is missing, sent to lowfolk family, and yes, you did ask what did I do with the original lowfolk babe, so hey I made stew!" explanation?

Ah yes, I knew it was only a matter of time before this came up.

The short answer is, we are Royalty, and elvish royalty do not raise their own children! Additionally I came to trust Zandar less and less the more I learned about her. I couldn't let HER raise my child! She wanted to call the baby "Wulfrida," for Fuma's sake! That clearly indicates complete unfitness to be a parent. Furthermore: You can mock my intellectual ability all you like, but at least I had the sense to know that I was ill-equipped (not to mention too busy) to tend to the newborn princess myself.

Like, do you think you could have phrased it better, given how you presented yourself? Magical gate, fields strewn with skeletons, dead city, skeletal king on his dusty throne! You've clearly showed yourself as a great conqueror and killer of elves, wielder of terrible powers! To someone like her, wouldn't that paint you as someone who'd have no qualms making glazed ham out of random lowfolk and elf alike? Do you think this whole gig kinda, like, backfired a bit?

All of that should have charmed and impressed her! I admit it was my fault for failing to take into account the fact that Zandar was a complete stranger to elvish culture and knew nothing of our ways.

Also what herbs and vegetables do you use in your stews and what do you use as a thickener if you use any?

It requires a magickal spice called "paprika" which I believe is only available in Faerie. I don't want to give away too many secrets, because this information in the wrong hands could wreak havoc on your world … but I will whisper two words that will make sense to the initiated: SASSAFRAS FILE.

Now then, to properly explain what happened to the princess and her lowfolk swapling, I have to backtrack and set the stage.

Zandar and I had venery together, and I persuaded her to crown me. I was then able to issue a Royal Proclamation which lifted the geas confining me to Albric Tor, and also (reluctantly) honored the bargain I had made with Dr. Owter Cesawonki (aka Ash Marten.)

After a while Zandar became pregnant. I cared for her as best I could, even calling upon Barkingthwaite and Venatrix and my Ixie network to procure some of the more exotic foods Zandar craved as her gestation progressed.

Zandar was unfortunately addicted to the pernicious lowfolk habit of SLEEPING several hours per day. I joined her a few times, but ultimately I felt I was simply enabling her dependency. Perhaps during some of these naps, I should have used Estvan's water-bowl trick to spy on her dreams, but in retrospect it's probably best that I didn't.

More importantly, I could not stand wasting time lazing about when there was a world to explore! I hadn't seen anything beyond my stone circle and the battlefield in AGES, so every time Zandar snoozed, I was out wandering with a few of my Ixies, seeing sights and making connections. That's how I tracked down the O'Dor family that Vernier had married into so long ago. I also located the Persoc Tor Gate surprisingly close by (it's much farther in Faerie) and managed to get back in touch with Burnside and Rebecca.

But my goodness! Look at the time! That's enough for now, and I'll resume the tale when we meet again, next week. May Fuma guide your steps and protect you from owls until then!

[glacierruler]

Sanders Sides DND AU Chapter 1

Taglist: @hyperfixated-homo @cutebisexualmess @prince-rowan-of-the-forest Please tell me if you'd like to be added/removed!

Ships: anaroceit, intrulogical

Chapter 1

Words: 1913

Masterpost / Next chapter

Languages: Common is normal text, Thieves cant is small, Elvish is bold, Draconic is italic, Celestial is bold italic, Underdark is strikethrough, and any language that none of the characters know will be represented with symbols.

Reminder: Virgil is genderfluid and uses any pronouns(how he appears changes depending on how masc/fem/androgenous they feel), Patton is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns.

There will be slight cussing in this fic!

CWs: fainting, death, death mention, fantasy racism, stalking, crime, theft, necromancy, misgendering(accidental)

Paranoia was watching his targets move, staying quiet in the trees. Not wanting to startle them into starting a fight. After all he was much better at stealing when he wasn't noticed by who he was stealing from. This was his riskiest job yet, used to pick pocketing those who come to close to the alleyways, or breaking into places at night. But this, this was different. He was to steal the Crown Prince's crown, and his royal guard's bow. In order to do this, Paranoia had elected to follow them out of the castle and to the town of Coajot, and steal their items when they were asleep. But then it became more complicated. There were three of them adventuring, and, on the first day, it looked like they were taking shifts. Paranoia rubbed at the patchwork cloak, and nearly gasped when he swore the guard must have seen him. But thankfully he had chosen to have bark like skin, so he blended into the trees. After a few minutes the guard looked away and Paranoia breathed a sigh of relief. He hadn't been caught, but he needed to be more careful. One wrong move and he's in serious trouble, this is the Crown Prince and his guard, not some random noble in the shadows. Everything had to go perfectly, or he was dead.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Janus felt like he was being watched. He was traveling with the princes to colleges in Coajot, in hopes to find one for both of them. Although he only really cared about getting the perfect college for his love, making sure Prince Remus was entertained enough to not burn the whole place down was important to. So they were looking at not only a college for bards but also for necromancer wizards as well. Which was going to be hard, seeing as necromancy was still seen as this taboo evil thing. Back to how Janus was feeling watched, it started a few days ago, when they were packing for their trip. He swore he saw a set of purple and green eyes before they were gone. And there was the general feeling of being watched. However he could never find where it was coming from. Nor could he tell what it was because it wasn't his favored enemy.

"Love, is everything alright?" Roman, the Crown Prince to the Kingdom of Shalinglah, and also Janus's boyfriend, asked him. Janus really didn't want to lie to him, but worrying his boyfriend who'd been stuck in the palace his whole life wasn't his goal either.

"Everything is fine love, just seeing things or something."

"Oooooh! I see things all the time, often times dead things!" Remus, Roman's brother, piped up. While he wasn't the Crown Prince, he was still important to the royal family. So Janus had to make sure he stayed alive as well, which was harder to do some days.

Janus sighed, "the sooner we get this over with the better. And we're sure we want to venture on foot rather than take a carriage, a carriage would be faster-"

"No!"

"Adventure is fun!"

Both twins interrupted him, before Roman spoke up, "Janus, what is the point of an adventure, if we're just going to be stuck in carriages the whole time? Again love, are you sure there's nothing wrong?"

"Just got a weird feeling about this, it's probably nothing."

"Oooh, what kind of weird?"

"Shut up Remus, Jan and I are talking!"

"Don't tell me to shut up!"

"Both of you stop, we'll walk, but we're going to be extra cautious. Whatever is happening, I want us to be on top of it." Janus snapped, anxious and frustrated with how everything has been these past few days. The twins looked at him, both of them concerned as Janus doesn't usually act like this. "Look, I'm sorry, but one of us is to be awake at all times."

"Oooh, what if we took shifts, that way none of us was too tired to continue onwards!" Remus exclaimed, hoping to be actually helpful for once. Janus nodded, thinking it over for a minute.

"That could work. Remus, you shall take first shift, I'll take the next one, Roman you have the last shift. If either of you see anything suspicious, you wake me up immediately."

After both princes had agreed to this they started traversing through the woods to the town of Coajot. During the first night in the woods, Janus swore he saw something in the trees. But he couldn't see well enough to tell what it was. 'Probably an animal,' he thought to himself.

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Roman was arguing with his brother, Remus, about anything and everything. Yet he couldn't help but be worried about his boyfriend, Janus. Janus was looking around everywhere, trying to find something out of place. And honestly, Roman was feeling watched too, although that may have had to do with the fact that he couldn't use the wastebucket in a private spot. However he had been feeling watched before that, and had honestly felt less watched when he was using the wastebucket. So maybe there was something to the caution Janus seemed to be going through. But whatever, or maybe even whomever, was watching them hadn't done anything yet. So Roman wasn't too worried. Still he was cautious, ready to use his voice to ensnare whatever was following them into a false sense of security before he and his companions struck.

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Remus was bored. And sick of being watched by whatever was hiding in the trees. Scaring Prince Perfect and Snake Face was his job. Not some random forest coward's. While Remus wanted to go into the forest and find whoever it is that's watching them to give this stalker the worst time of their life, he didn't because he couldn't endure as much as the others(and Janus told him not to, that it wasn't worth getting in trouble for. If whatever was stalking them wanted to cause them harm, it probably would have already). So Remus would wait to bring the fear of all living things on this stalker until they showed themself. It had been three days of wandering the forest, and only lightly tormenting his brother and Janus; trying to ease the worry they were both feeling, and they had finally reached the city of Coajot. All three of them thought they would lose whatever was stalking them, or at least be able to tell what was going on. But all of them kept feeling watched all the way to the local tavern, The Flying Crystal, when a sickly thin centaur came out of the alleyway and collapsed in front of them.

"Do you think he's dead?" Remus asked, genuinely curious. Despite studying necromancy, he'd never seen a dead body before.

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Patton knew they should've eaten that sandwich that they managed to buy. But were they supposed to say no to that starving kid on the street? Sure, they were also starving, but it's better that they starve than another kid who can't take care of themself. They knew they were not only small, but dangerously skinny for a centaur, and they felt so hungry, just wanting a bit of food just to eat. But, despite being a thief, they would not steal for themself. If they managed to gain people's sympathy, and they decided to give Patton money or food then yeah, Patton would eat it, if someone didn't need it more than them. They also hadn't had a good sleep in years, and as they came out of the alleyway that the kid was in, everything went dark. They couldn't see, but before they were completely out of it, they heard someone exclaim:

"Do you think he's dead?"

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There were many things Logan was not intending to do today, or expecting to happen. Especially on his routine meal-break. But here he was now, trying to help this sickly centaur, with his minimal medicine skills. Thankfully he had managed to research some just a day ago. So it was easier for him to eliminate what would not work, and use what could. And he definitely hadn't expected to meet the prince's and their guard.

"Ah, it would probably be best to get him a bed at the tavern, and then get him something to eat afterwards, however too much might, erm what's the term, oh right, upset his stomach, and make his situation worse. After that, a diet will be best to put him on, for the longterm, and making sure he sticks to it is important as well." And Logan was rambling again. Coughing to distract from his thoughts, he barely remembered to add, "but taking him to an actual healer would probably work wonders, and they could tell you more than me." There was however something that was bugging Logan, he felt like he was being studied. Like the creatures in the college's nature observatory that he goes to. While normally Logan would even encourage being studied and used as an example for what to do, he did not enjoy being studied without his permission. Before he can start to look around, trying to find the source of whomever was studying him, the guard stops him.

The guard had an interesting appearance, as Logan had never seen scales on a human before, and one eye was that of a snake. He'd only ever heard of them. If Logan got permission, he would analyze that later.

"Will you help us get this centaur to a bed?" The guard asked, his voice silky smooth, and it felt like threads were being woven when he spoke too.

"Of course," with that both Logan and the Prince used the same spell, mage hand, to help carry the Centaur, with all four individuals picking up the centaur with their actual hands.

Once all of them were in the room the guard explained why he had stopped Logan from looking around. All about the stalking by a creature or individual, and how the guard couldn't manage to find any proof, but the feeling was there. And how the only way to stop whoever was stalking them was to let them get as close as possible, without letting their guard down. Also, Logan now knew and had permission to call them all by their names.

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Paranoia was pissed, first of all, of course the tavern that they all go in through is a No Changelings Allowed tavern. One of the one's that meant it and had a way of magically taking down a changeling's disguise through the front entrance. Next, now they have more creature's that Paranoia has to get around. Thankfully the room they got had a window, so he could sneak in. Unthankfully it was on the second floors, so Paranoia would have to climb to get in. So he waited until night, and when the moon was highest in the sky, he would sneak in and steal the crown and bow. As he quietly got in the room, he looked around, and everyone seemed to be asleep. Finding the Crown Prince's bag, it was more extra than he expected; red, with golden jewels glinting in the moonlight, Paranoia looked through it, and found the crown. Right after putting it in his pocket, and before he could turn around, he felt the tip of a sharp weapon, probably a sword, lightly pressed against his back.

"And just what do you think you're doing?"

[welikeimagines-andfandoms]

So i've just stumbled upon match ups and I'm here for this concept!! Bit of fun and all that, in the spirit of reader shipping i'd love a Hobbit/LOTR/HP/Marvel match up - lover of many fandoms here!

I'm late 20s, mid size, petite. Ashy blonde/true summer season who's an Aquarius and ENFJ. Have been compared to Chloe Grace Moretz and Abigail Breslin by people which I always find a weird combo but guess it somehow works for me.

London based but split my time in New York, Dublin, and Sydney because my family is all over. Appriciative of all kinds of culture - firmly believe that we all have to eat, find ways to enjoy ourselves in life, and eventually die so why not learn about different customs and travel to experience them.

Still love my comforts though - not afraid of out there art (Poor Things is currently my fave film in the Oscars race) and was raised on the 90s Sabrina The Teenage Witch. It's a fine line between having compassion and complaining and I walk that line well. I'm serious when i'm serious but embrace being silly. Ironic sense of humour, including dark jokes but can be sensitive at times. A realist with my head in the clouds and aware of it, if that makes sense! I know how to focus and dedicate myself to getting things done but firmly believe there is nothing wrong with wanting to be taken care of at the end of the day, balance is important.

In love i'm playful and poetic but don't hold back in saying how I really feel about a person. Definitely someone who rambles and overshares with my partner but incredibly observing and loyal to who i'm with. Building up the other person is important and self care is too - i'm always up front if I need to go off and spend time alone or with friends but my husband is my best friend hands down.

So curious as to what pairings you can come up with!

I ship you with Sirius!

✨ Can’t help but spoil you with pretty jewellery just a little bit

✨ Slow dancing together at home

✨ Planning trips and adventures together (in both the wizarding and muggle world)

✨ Runs you nice relaxing baths after a long day

✨ Always able to make each other laugh

✨ He’s like an excited kid when he goes on a plane with you for the first time

✨ Holds you whenever you need and is always down for a nap together

✨ Stealing his clothes whenever you can

I ship you with Thorin!

✨ Teaching you how to dance for Royal events

✨ Buys you beautiful gowns fit for a queen

✨ Loving to read and learn about his culture and ancestry

✨ Cuddles by the fire

✨ Romantic baths together

✨ Going all in with and loving his cultural celebrations

✨ Being able to go to each other always when you just need a moment to vent

✨ Loves how well you get along with his big family and friends

I ship you with Haldir!

✨ Showing you old elvish art and buildings

✨ Makes a ritual of running you a bath every night he’s home

✨ Adventures within Lothlorien together when he’s back from boarder watch

✨ Swooning whenever you wear lovely elvish gowns

✨ Stealing his cloaks and coats, making him laugh because you drown in them

✨ Perfect height for forehead kisses

✨ Loves carrying you whenever he can

✨ About once a year to manage to convince him to go on an adventure out of Lothlorien

I ship you with Thor!

✨ Dates at the movies

✨ Cuddles after a long day

✨ Showing him fun art things and him showing you art from Asgard

✨ Exploring on and out of Earth together

✨ Having little found family dinners at your house

✨ Talking on the phone together for hours

✨ He loves how smol you are

✨ Thors life is a bit chaotic so he’s very grateful for your help with organising and structure

[sotwk]

Nothing matters mlre to me than Mirion and Legolas relationship I love them so much. do you have any more cute headcanons about them?

I love that you love them, Anon! Thank you so much for asking me these questions! <3 Mirion and Legolas's relationship means a lot to me too, and I hope I've been able to convey that in the few fics I have written. I hope you've been able to check these out!

Greenleaf's Day Out - Chapter 5, A Royal Welcome

Greenleaf's Tree

Yuletide in the Elvenking's Realm - Chapter 4, Four Calling Birds

A Stab to the Heart

I hope to continue writing more, and your support encourages me to do so! Here are some additional Mirion & Legolas headcanons, just because you asked! :)

Mirion & Legolas Brotherly Headcanons: Thranduil's Eldest and Youngest Sons

SotWK Fancast: Henry Cavill as Mirion Thranduilion

Although all of his older brothers were kind to Legolas and cared for him in their own ways, Mirion was the most patient and tolerant of Legolas's hyperactive nature. He was rarely bothered by Legolas’s tendency to be underfoot, which meant endless nosy questions and constant requests of “can i come??”. Indeed, when Legolas was in his elfling stage, Mirion was the family member he succeeded at tagging along with most, even more than his parents, who could not always permit his presence due to the formal and serious nature of their work. (Which had grown more demanding since their earlier days of parenthood.) 

It was through Mirion that Legolas learned much about their realm and their duties as a prince. Legolas has a very good memory, especially with names and faces, and he liked to impress Mirion by showing off how well he remembered the names of people he was introduced to, and places they visited together. Adult Legolas modeled Mirion’s example of humility, the belief that a prince is a servant of his King and therefore of the King’s people. That is why Legolas never flashed his royal title around, and was always willing to contribute and get his hands dirty. 

Legolas’s devotion and loyalty to Aragorn was likely also influenced by Mirion. At the dawn of the Third Age, Mirion developed a strong friendship with Valandil, King of Arnor, whom he had met in his youth--the two shared a birth year! This led to an alliance between Arnor and Eryn Galen that lasted all the way to Eärendur's reign. Unfortunately, after the splitting of Arnor, relations gradually weakened. Upon meeting Aragorn, Legolas was happy to see the line of Isildur restored in him, remembering how much Valandil’s friendship meant to his brother. 

Little Legolas liked to spend hours watching Mirion work in the forge, making weapons and armour. Although Legolas did not quite have a knack for metalsmithing, he had a very creative and artistic mind, and as a child he was enthusiastic about sketching up designs and presenting them to his brother. Occasionally, Mirion would take some of the elfling’s best sketches and implement them into his work. And as Legolas grew older, the two began to genuinely collaborate on weaponry for real use. Legolas's expertise in Elvish blades (remember how he was able to identify Orcrist on sight?) came from Mirion.

When he was a younger elf still learning and training to be a warrior, Legolas had in his mind that he wanted to fight using a broadsword, just like Mirion did. However, the brothers did not possess the same strengths, and Turhir (who oversaw Legolas's fight training) advised that Legolas's talents were better suited for short swords. It took a while for Legolas to overcome this disappointment, but with his older brothers' encouragement, he embraced his style of dual-sword fighting--especially after Mirion made and gifted him with a beautiful set of fighting knives, the ones he carried during the War of the Ring. Nonetheless, Legolas can still swing a pretty mean heavy sword in battle, because he learned from the best! (see BotFA)

Mirion’s son, Aranion, is similar to Legolas in personality and temperament, which made the two of them naturally close friends. After Mirion’s death, Legolas did his best to help fill the fatherly role Aranion needed in his life.  Legolas’s devotion to Mirion’s children was one of the main reasons why he never left Mirkwood, even during its darkest times, until his participation in the Fellowship.

Want to learn more about Mirion? Mirion Headcanon Masterlist

OTHER USEFUL LINKS:

Introduction to SotWK

Main Headcanon Masterlist