#I also like this because Armitage talks somewhere about Thorin 'feeling' older than he looks & that makes sense since he SHOULD look older

[bitterseaproduction]

The Hobbit’s official movie books really push the original timeline as the film one (despite 0 aging of characters in flashbacks pfft) BUT they also present Balin as the most ‘aged’ of the Company in both appearance and description at 178, despite Thorin — visibly far younger — being 17 years older than him.

It’s a conundrum, but I got an idea when I noticed Dwalin in the books supposedly lives to 340, even though a dwarf living to just 300 is supposed to be as rare as a human making it to 100! There’s been arguments that that was just a ‘typo’ on Tolkien’s part, but what if it wasn’t? What if we roll with that? Dwalin did look shockingly younger than Balin even though he’s just 9 years younger! That’s just 3 if you take it in human years!

So, using that 340 as inspiration and a base line, what if we say the direct line of Durin the Deathless plus the occasional offshoot like Dwalin just age slower than the typical dwarf? That their max baseline is closer to 300-350 or even 350-400 versus the usual 250-300? Because, if we go with, say, 400 as Thorin’s base max, suddenly we go from ‘Thorin should look older than Balin’ to ‘he’s in the human equivalent of his late 40s,’ and that seems much closer to the slightly aged up Richard Armitage we got in movies, doesn’t it?

This would also mean Thorin IS older than Balin despite their dynamic, but hey—sometimes your younger cousin is just wiser than you. 😂

[fizzyxcustard]

Mistake.

Requested to be re-uploaded from AO3 and my previous blog by @nowiloveandwilllove

AO3 page here.

Masterlist here 

Pairings: Richard Armitage x Fem!Reader, Lee Pace x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Bad language

Notes/Comments: Any imagines can be requested as fics. Also any of my older fics from AO3 can be requested as re-posts. This was originally posted over 3 parts, but I’ve decided to just post it as a big one shot. 

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You missed Richard. In every sense. His laugh, his voice, his touch. There was nothing about him you didn’t miss. You wanted to be held, kissed, made love to. And it was becoming frustrating. So much so that you were pleasuring yourself most nights, especially when you had been talking to him on the phone. He was currently filming Hannibal in Canada, and you had agreed to accompany Lee Pace, Richard’s friend and Hobbit co-star to Hobbit Con in Bonn, Germany.

The hustle and bustle of the convention centre kept you occupied. And since you had agreed not to directly communicate with Lee, you kept yourself out of the way and scoured through all the merchandise at the large halls. Richard and Lee had agreed that you being seen with Lee would arouse suspicions of something going on between you both, seeing as rumours of yours and Richard’s year long relationship had already surfaced in online forums and social media.

Nights were the worst. You lay in bed in your hotel room which was next door to Lee’s and cried. You reached into the empty space beside you, wanting Richard there.

On the last night of being in Germany, your flight home at eleven the following morning, you decided to go and spend time with Lee. He had become a good friend of yours also, and Richard specifically wanted you both to attend the convention together so you had company. Richard had used his subtle persuasion to get you a ticket to the event free of charge.

You knocked on Lee’s door and waited. Then the door opened and the huge form of Lee towered before you. “Hey, girl, I was just about to order some wine. Do you want to join me?” he asked, giving you a big smile.

“Yeah, okay,” you replied, walking into the room. It was a typical man’s room: clothes on the floor, clothes in the chair; laptop, phone and charger on the desk in an untidy heap.

Lee called downstairs on the phone next to the bed, ordering a large bottle of red wine for two. You sat in the chair opposite the bed, but first had to take his worn clothing from it. “Sorry,” he said, grabbing the clothing from you, a gentle blush of embarrassment washing his face. “I need to pack shortly. I haven’t had chance to catch up with you today. How are things?”

You began to speak as Lee threw his clothing into his open suitcase, now and again turning to look at you. “It was okay. I just miss Richard,” you admitted, putting your head down. “It’s hard being without him for long stints, especially at night.”

“I get that, I really do,” Lee answered. He stopped the task in hand and sat down on the bed, looking at you. “This was why he asked for you to come with me. He knows that you get a bit lonely, and wanted you to be doing something exciting. It’s a lonely life in general for an actor sometimes.”

“I don’t know how you do it,” you replied.

Once the wine had arrived, Lee poured you a glass and offered it to you. You gladly took it from him, and allowed the warm liquid to glide down your throat, easing your tension. Your conversation continued, it mainly being around some of the fan questions Lee has been asked, and then his plans to go home to upstate New York to spend time with his dogs, and then begin work again.

“I know Richard wouldn’t mind but you're more than welcome to stay with me for a few nights if you want,” Lee offered. “The flight out was free with your ticket here anyway, and I can help with your flight back to the States. Don’t go back to England and be by yourself.”

You smiled at Lee, thankful for this thoughtful nature. He really had become a very close friend to you and Richard. By now you were sat on the bed next to him with your leg tucked under yourself. Without even realising the gap between you both had started to close. You wanted that comfort, that warmth, the intimacy. God, you missed Richard...with everything inside you.

“I don’t want to be on my own,” you whispered, looking at Lee.

“You don’t have to be,” he replied. And within a few seconds, his lips were against yours. Briefly you felt that long overdue warmth spread through you, but the cold, harsh reality of who you were kissing shot through your conscious mind like a bullet. And you gasped, pulling away from Lee.

***

Tension sat between you and Lee, becoming so tight that you could not breathe. Richard rang and text you every day, asking how you were and all you could do was lie and say everything was fine. Fine. Things were far from fine. You were staying at Lee’s home in upstate New York, not wanting to be alone, and all you could do was replay that haunting memory of kissing him, and it was ripping you apart with guilt and shame. Your need for companionship and intimacy had taken over, temporarily over ruling your love and devotion to Richard. But you had to tell him what had happened between you and Lee. There was no way you could hold it back from him; Richard deserved to know.

The day arrived, seeming to come around with lightning speed, when you were to see Richard back at his apartment. Lee had been kind enough to drive you down to the city, and the whole time you had been silent in the car, watching the buildings and vehicles flash past you in a motion stricken blur. “I’m going to tell him,” you said suddenly, breaking the silence.

“Who?” Lee asked, looking across at you.

You never even looked at Lee as you replied. “Richard. He needs to know what happened. I love him far too much to keep this from him, and if it means he breaks up with me, then so be it. I can’t lie to him and act as though everything is fine.”

“We could both potentially lose him,” Lee said sadly. “He’s a damn good friend to me.”

“And that’s why he needs to know, Lee. We both betrayed him, and I can’t live with myself and this weight.” You began to sob, seeing Richard’s face before your eyes as you closed them from the outside world. “I was stupid and weak, giving in to what I was craving.”

“We both were....”

Lee dropped you off outside Richard’s apartment block, saying his farewells to you. “It’ll all work out how it’s meant to,” he said with a sigh and then gave you a weak smile before helping you with your suitcase from the back of the car and then disappeared down the street.

You walked into the lobby of the apartment block, trying to avert eye contact from the staff there, and head to the elevator.

Your breathing became quicker and your palms sweat as you approached Richard’s apartment door, knowing he was inside. “Please, help me,” you prayed.

You knocked.

Richard’s bright smile greeted you and then he took your hand, gently pulling you inside. You choked back the tears as he took you in his arms, closing the door and then kissed you softly. “I missed you so much,” he whispered, brushing his hand down your face and smiling down at you, his blue eyes alight with so much happiness. You were about to break all of that apart.

“I...missed you, too,” you wept. Then you pulled away.

He whispered your name and wound his arm around your middle, pulling you closer. “What’s the matter, angel?” His face was full of concern for you.

You looked up at him, breaking even further inside. “I kissed Lee,” you said, the words tumbling from your mouth in one stroke.

Richard’s eyes widened, and then his brow furrowed and he looked away, shifting from you. He turned his back to you, his head down.

“I’ll leave,” you said. “I’m sorry.” There was no consolation you could offer to the man you loved after such an act.

As you left the apartment quickly, pulling your suitcase behind you, you never spoke a further word to him, or he to you. But as you closed the door behind you, you jumped at the sudden sound of something smashing inside.

You looked up at the ceiling, feeling the tears flow down your cheeks, and you walked away.

***

You sat in a coffee shop two blocks away from Richard’s apartment and you stared out the window, watching the yellow cabs zip past. Everyone was going about their lives, not caring that you had broken your lover’s heart by being selfish and kissing his best friend just because you were lonely.

Suddenly your phone rang and Richard’s name flashed on the screen. Your heart leapt in your chest and you reached across the table to pick it up, your hand shaking. You closed your eyes, breathing deeply and answered. “Hello?”

“Where are you?” he asked simply. “Come back and we can talk. You have nowhere to go.”

“I’ll find somewhere,” you replied, sighing. “There are plenty of hotels.”

“No, you’ll come back,” he demanded. “I’ll come and find you if I have to. I’m not having you walking the streets when I have...” he stopped. “I have...a spare room.”

You could see the way this was going from here. Of course Richard didn’t intend to continue your relationship; he felt that he needed to make sure you were safe until you could get home, continuing to be the gentleman he naturally was.

The conversation drifted off as an awkward silence weighed heavily between you both. Until Richard spoke again. “Where are you? I’ll come to you.”

You knew full well that Richard would not stand down so easily; in the rare times that you had argued or debated, he stood up to you and would not back down, and this was going to be one of those times. You sensed it, and with another sigh, you told him where you were.

And ten minutes later he appeared at the door, stepping inside and looked around the almost empty coffee shop. His eyes fell on you as you sat alone on the right hand side of the building next to the window with a still full mug of chai coffee at your arm.

Richard never ordered anything and sat opposite you. You couldn’t even look him in the eye, still ashamed of your betrayal.

“Look at me, please,” he whispered.

Hearing his voice with a pleading edge made you cry, and in response, to your amazement, he took your hand. “There are things you aren’t telling me,” he said, and that was when you finally looked at him. The guilt was consuming you. How could you have betrayed the very man you wanted to spend the rest of your life with? The man you hoped one day would be your husband and father of your children. Did he even want that with you?

“I miss you when you’re not with me, and I know I’m selfish to expect you to be with me all the time...but we’re apart for weeks at a time, and I love you...” you sobbed, feeling his hand tighten around yours. “I wanted your warmth, to be able to lie next to you, curl up in your arms. I’m so alone without you.”

You were terrified at Richard’s response to your confession and you looked at him, bracing yourself. But he just smiled weakly at you, nudging in closer so he was leaning across the table.

“I’ve contemplated asking you a few times if you’d travel with me. But I...” he stopped and swallowed hard. “I...erm, wasn’t sure if you were serious enough to want to.”

“Of course I’m serious about you. Why didn’t you think I was?” you said loudly, not caring if any of the other customers heard.

“I’ll be straight with you: when we met, I didn’t want a relationship. My job was everything; I’ve had opportunities given to me and I wanted to pursue them, and I didn’t care about much else. But deep down I want to settle down, angel, and maybe I’ve been scared I’d never find it. I feel I have...with you. I didn’t know if you wanted what I do from the relationship.”

You couldn’t help but smile at him. “I’d be happy to come with you wherever you go. And I want us to be settled as well. More than anything.”

Richard leaned further across the table and kissed you softly. Then he drew away, looking you in the eyes. “Forgive yourself for what’s happened. You told me straight, and that shows how honest you are. Let’s move on.”

[portinastorm]

Favourite characters

I was tagged by the lovely @bell88x9y to list ten of my favourite characters. Thank you for the tag! Some of these aren’t fandom specifically.

Now, I’ve read a lot, and I’ve watched a lot of TV and films as well, but damn it if this was harder than I could have imagined! No doubt I’ll post this list and then later tonight I’ll go ‘Oh crap, how could I forget such-and-such!’ so... yeah!

Thorin Oakenshield Of course he would be the top of my list. And - this is going to be sacrilege of the highest order - I prefer the Thorin that Peter Jackson and the ever-talented Richard Armitage gave us than the Thorin Tolkien gave us. Thorin is one of my favourite characters because he is so extremely flawed. He is so morally grey, yet what he does, he thinks is done for the good of dwarven-kind. Yet, we are also graced with just how much the Dwarven King-Under-the-Mountain has suffered for his people, and how much he would suffer still to give them a home, as well as how much pain he would DEAL OUT to ensure that his home isn’t taken away from him, all whilst suffering under the curse of gold sickness. Richard Armitage brings this marvellously to life, and honestly I just admire him and I’m so grateful to him for that. 

Robert Sugden Yes, he does make the list, and yes, I have recently favoured him over Aaron. Again, because he is morally grey, because his moral compass is sometimes pointed somewhere a little south of north, because he is mightily flawed and sometimes he knows this, but sometimes he doesn’t. And there is an air of mystery to him which I find so fascinating. Robert doesn’t see things in black and white, and that has led him into trouble sometimes, but it also allows viewers to sometimes see things from his POV in a way that they never would have before. Add to this the way that he is a scratched character. He’s not broken but he certainly knows what it is to have a less than sparkling childhood, and it’s something which is still affecting him now. He still isn’t treated to the concept that he is good enough and it’s heartbreaking.

Marsh From the Mistborn series. I was drawn to him first because of the way he felt that he had given all he had to give, and he just couldn’t do any more. And yet, even after he had all but given up, he was persuaded to do one last thing which led to his downfall. Except it didn’t, because Marsh is a Good Guy, but he still struggles against himself most of all. The reason I’m being so vague is because if I was to divulge everything, there’d be spoilers galore. Just know that I am in love with this character, and he is the one I cite when I need to provide examples of minor characters who I care about more than main characters!

Thomas Nightingale From the Peter Grant (Rivers of London) series. Another minor character that I love. Again, he is mysterious. We know next to nothing about Nightingale but that for a good long while he thought he was the last wizard left in London. That, and he is Old with a capital ‘oh’, and again, that just gives him an air of mystery because sometimes we’ll be told through Peter something about his boss, but never enough to build a full picture. Also, in book four we are treated to just how amazingly powerful the man is, and it’s quite spectacular

Mulan She defied every law (both written and unwritten) to stand in her father’s place in a war. She was always brave and outspoken and courageous and fiery, but she found the place where it MATTERED that she was all of those things. She didn’t find it in her old life where she would have been a wife for a man returning from war, she didn’t even find it in the army although she was one step closer there. She found it in herself. Let young girls watch this movie; let them see girls who can be strong, who can do things which people would think them incapable of, let them see that it was only when she was MULAN that she was able to save China. 

Miles Edgeworth If anyone has played the Phoenix Wright games, you may well know why I love Miles Edgeworth. He’s a haughty, snobby son of a bitch, with a past that just won’t quit. SPOILERS He was made to believe for years that he killed his own father, a lie which was perpetuated by the man who took him in, whose master plan was to topple Miles from his lofty heights and land him in prison. So yes, I love the angst that comes with this character, and I also love his development: it is through his old friend Phoenix that he realises that honesty is far more important than prestige. And oh my god, don’t even get me started on the Phoenix/Miles pairing! That ship can sail itself. Seriously, if they were the opposite sex then they’d get together by the end of the series but because the gaming company seems to think that kids can’t be exposed to ‘that kind of thing’, they threw in one of Phoenix’s old girlfriends, like give me a break!

Belle Yup, two Disney princesses. Deal with it! (I know that Belle and Mulan come from older stories but I do like the Disney versions of their characters). I love Belle because she’s different from the girls in her town: she’s smart and not just in the book-smarts kind of way either - she knows that Gaston is bad news as much as she knows that she wants something different from life. She sacrificed her freedom for her father (much like Mulan did for her own father), she knew what the Beast was, and she saw past the way he looked and the way he acted, and to the kind person within. I know that ‘Stockholm syndrome’ is passed around when it comes to Belle, but I personally don’t see it that way. I think that she genuinely did fall in love with another lonesome soul, and in doing so she also got the life that she wanted.

Ignis Scientia Anyone who has visited my blog in the past few weeks will know that I am obsessed with Final Fantasy XV, and as amazing as the game is, I do think it’s the characters that keep me coming back to it whenever I turn on my PS4. Ignis Scientia is, again, a minor character. But he has a past which we’re not altogether clear about. He was serving the prince from a young age, he perhaps had to grow up at too young an age, and who can say what happened to the rest of his family? He’s mysterious, he’s witty and sarcastic (the British accent for the English dub was a great choice!), he cares, he’s loyal. And (I’m gonna be vague in case some people haven’t played it, who want to play it) he’s hurt during the game. If there’s one thing I love for my fave characters, it’s to see them hurt, and it delivers. I’m hoping for Good Stuff in the Episode Ignis DLC!

Robin Scherbatsky She’s gorgeous, she’s fun, she’s a little weird, she’s sensitive, she’s kind, she’s witty, she’s sometimes lonely, she’s sometimes walled up. I’m more than a little bit in love with her!

Merida It was a toss up between her and Pocahontas (I almost want to defy the rules and add Pocahontas as number 11!), but I love Merida’s development, and I love the fact that she doesn’t want to marry, I love that she starts as so headstrong and whilst that doesn’t really change, it does get aimed somewhere different. I love the relationship she has with both her parents, and I love that they lead her down completely different paths, I love her independence but her need still to depend on her mother, I love her curly red hair and her Scottish accent, I love that she’s an amazing girl turned woman who knows her own mind and feels that she shouldn’t be dictated to by anyone.

Sorry that that got long. Actually, I’m not that sorry, I love talking about my favourite characters! If you got to the end of this long list, well done! I tag @shonamoyce, @turquoiseterrier, @stulot, @cassiopea-13, @fairytalesdonthaveendings, @heartneverliez (Sorry if you’ve been tagged before! Feel free to ignore this!)

[inert-pen-maid]

Do the top fiveeee!!(:

Ah! So generous when I only asked for one, you are kind :). I like doing these anon asks, I find them so therapeutic and take my time writing down how I feel. Feel free to scroll past! 

1) Tell Me About Your Crush? 

 I don’t crush easily on people; I’m ridiculously timid, and I think I mitigate crushes subconsciously as a self-preservation measure lmao. My crushes often hit me at once, rather than develop. I honestly think my first crush was Richard Armitage as Guy of Gisborne. I was eleven or twelve when that series aired and I just remember being confusingly besotted with the villain. That crush has never faded and I still think he might be the best-looking man on Earth. 

As for my real-life crushes? I once had complicated emotions with a friend - a very good friend, who can’t be my friend anymore for sad reasons. He’s selfless, loyal, kind and talented. He can speak three languages, and play the guitar so skillfully. He’s academic, thrilling and engaging. A 6′3, skinny guy with shaggy black hair and blue eyes: just a daft, lofty nerd who has no consciousness of his own worth or great potential. I hope he’s really happy. 

I once had a crush on an older man, about 15 years older, who has done a lot of travelling and never runs out of tales to tell about it.  A tall guy who likes dreadlocks and rock music and petrol-y things. I think it happened at first because he was the only person to sit with me and have a real conversation one night when we were out at the same place. Something happened once to suggest he had a similar feeling, but we should probably never speak of it again haha. 

2) Tell Me Something That Makes You Happy

I’ve already answered a similar one to this somewhere, listing 5 things. But a fresh one off the top of my head: I will go with finding out you have a nice message/post. Hand-written letters, or post-cards. There’s something very comforting about reading the literal physical impressions a literal and physical person you know has made with a pen, and has made with care. Letters and messages make me smile. 

3) Tell Me About Your Day

Nothing spectacular! Painfully resurrected via alarm at 6:50, to be in work at 8am. Listened to the radio with my colleague and talked about TV shows we like, the main matter at hand being ‘which manifest of Tatiana Maslany is the fittest one in Orphan Black?’ Walked home to find myself home alone with the dog, so painted my nails and blasted music all night. Tomorrow will be more interesting as my best friend’s son turns one, which means balloons and cake!

4) Tell Me About Yourself 

 A creative person, introverted until the alcohol spurs otherwise. I’m inert-pen-maid for a reason: writing will always be my first love, despite the fact that I’m crap at deadlines and procrastinate a lot. But ridiculously, I’m also a perfectionist? I draw my own tattoos, of which I have two - one inspired by Beauty and the Beast and the other The Lord of the Rings. I cite Tolkien and Peter Jackson as being the reasons I fell in love with creating, and that trilogy makes me so damn emotional. Also, strawberry milkshake makes me happy. 

5) Headcanons? I’m not so good with the fluffy otp headcanons, as most are! However, I once write a fic about Thorin Oakenshield and an OC years ago, and put so much meticulous care into the OC that I often watch The Hobbit films now and wonder where the fuck she is?? Like, she was in the story, right? That’s so Sansa Stark of me, lmao. Also, headcanon is that The Unkiss was not real but my God is it GOING to be. 

This was long! I apologise! Thank you, kind anon! 

IPM x