#also of course Estelle is named after her dads' mothers as well

[bimoonphases]

@wolfstarmicrofic July 24 - prompt 24: Kid Fic [word count 954]

Sirius checked his tie in the mirror by the main door for the third time. He had hated suits and ties since childhood, when he had been forced to wear them, but this time there was no escaping it. He needed to make the best impression. He was terrified.

“Are you planning to seduce the headmistress, my love?”

Remus looked him up and down with a smile while he put on his own jacket. Sirius’s eyes widened.

“Is it too much? Do I need to change?”

“Pads,” Remus said softly. “We’ve just been called up to the school, I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.”

“We’ve been called there because our daughter punched another kid.”

“And I’m sure there’s an explanation for that.”

Sirius sighed and followed Remus out of their cottage and through the streets leading to the primary school. He really was terrified. Everybody in the village had come to know Remus, his gentle demeanour, his willingness to help every time there was a medical problem because he had ‘studied medicine a long time ago’ which only meant he was able to distract the muggles long enough to use small healing charms on them. Sirius, on the other hand, knew he was the the handsome stay-at-home husband of Mr Lupin, the one who picked up his kids on a motorbike and wrote them excuses to skip school after a full moon. And now that Estelle had apparently punched a kid, he would be the father who didn’t know how to raise his own daughter. Anwell had never done anything like that since he had started school. Despite his black hair and almost silver eyes, the boy had Remus’s countenance, always his head in a book and helping others. While Estelle, despite being barely six and having a head of curly brown hair almost identical to Remus’s, had Sirius’s temper. Sirius shivered as they went through the school gates. What if he had failed in making her forget those three first months of her life in an abusive family? Worse, what if he had somehow managed to raise a mini version of his own mother, prone to violence and cruelty?

Remus took him by the hand as they walked inside the building, a helpful secretary immediately pointing them in the direction of the headmistress’s office. Sirius swallowed and tried to appear calm as Remus knocked.

“Come in.”

As they walked in, the headmistress rose from her seat and came to shake their hands. Estelle was in a chair in front of her desk, arms crossed.

“Misters Lupin, thank you for coming in,” the headmistress smiled. “Please, sit down.”

They took their places, on each side of their daughter. Sirius’s heart felt as if it was beating in his throat.

“Now, Mister Lupin and Mister Lupin,” the headmistress started. “In this school we condemn violence in all its forms. Estelle punched one of her classmates, and the only reason I’ve asked you here before deciding on a punishment is because she refuses to tell us why. I believe in hearing both sides, and Michael said he was just playing outside when Estelle punched him.”

“Why did you do it?” Remus asked, turning to the little girl.

Estelle stared resolutely at the floor, her lips a thin line.

“Estelle Hope Euphemia Lupin,” Sirius sighed. “Tell us what happened, will you?”

Estelle shook her head and Sirius’s heart beat faster.

“She’s never done anything like this, I don’t understand,” he said quickly. “There must be something else.”

“I agree, I hoped her fathers could get her to tell us what,” the headmistress nodded.

“Come on, ma petite étoile, dis-nous,” Sirius switched to French in the hopes to have a reaction, but without success.

He looked at Remus over their daughter’s head when there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” the headmistress said.

The door opened and Anwell walked in, his hand firmly around another boy’s arm.

“Hi Dad, hello Papa,” he smiled. “Headmistress, Michael has something to confess,” he added with all the seriousness his ten years of age could muster.

“I was chasing Violet to lift her skirt,” the boy said. “She was crying, it was funny.”

Sirius shuddered. So little, and yet… He looked at his daughter.

“Is this why you didn’t tell us?” he asked.

Finally, Estelle looked up at him, her eyes filled with anger.

“Violet is still crying in the bathroom and doesn’t want to come out,” she said. “I wasn’t going to tell on her.”

Sirius just nodded, and the headmistress sighed.

“Well, in these circumstances… You can all go. Not you Michael, you’re staying and I’m calling your parents. And Violet’s.”

Sirius waited until they were out of the building to take Estelle in his arms.

“I’m so proud of you,” he whispered in her hair as she hugged him back.

“I am too,” Remus nodded. “Of the both of you. We should never resort to violence, but some people only understand that language.”

“How did you convince Michael to tell what had really happened?” Sirius asked, putting Estelle back on the ground.

“It was easy,” Anwell shrugged. “I just told him Estelle would punch him again if he didn’t and make him spit out all his new teeth.”

“I could do with some of the old ones too,” Estelle smiled, taking her brother’s hand.

Sirius watched them skip in the direction of home, a mixture of pride and dread in his veins.

“Don’t you think…” Remus started delicately.

“Yes. They definitely have some Black in them,” Sirius nodded, before taking his husband’s hand. “Thankfully, there’s a lot of Lupin in there to contrast it.”

They kissed in front of the school before hurrying after their children.

[lavenderclearwater]

My Hero

She was really excited to go to school today (she was also kind of nervous, but no one else had to know about that part). Today she had to present a paper about the person she considered a hero in front of the entire class. It was easy to pick who her hero was, her big brother Percy. Most of her friends picked their older siblings too, but Percy was the only real hero out of all of them. Her mom told her all about how her brother saved people and slew monsters, like a knight in fairy tales. That was why he had to go to a special place every summer, so he could prepare and make sure that the monsters never win.

She had to promise never to tell anyone, or else he could get in trouble, so she kept those parts out of her paper. Her mom and dad helped her, but only a little bit. It made her sad that Percy wasn’t able to watch her present her paper, but their mom made it clear that he was going to be in class too during that time. Oddly enough, she was looking at him while explaining this to her. When she finally got to school after the bus dropped her off, she took out her special bracelet from her backpack. Her teacher told her that they would get bonus points if they brought something that reminded them of their hero.

Percy had made it for her as a birthday present (she had originally wanted the pen he kept on him all the time, but he told her that he needed it in case there were monsters he needed to slay). It was made of a small leather band with a single turquoise bead on it, the bead was decorated with a gold-bronze outline of a seashell. She had been so focused on the bracelet, she had not noticed that her teacher had called on her.

“Estelle Jackson, it's your turn sweetheart.”

She slowly got up from her seat and walked in front of the class, her paper in her right hand while her bracelet was on her left. Now that it was finally time, she started to feel more and more nervous. After taking a deep breath, she looked at all the people in front of her. All of them were waiting to hear what she had to say, her stomach started to hurt and her breathing quickened. For a second, she wondered if she could just leave. It would be better than just standing there, frozen in place. However, before she made the decision, she saw something move behind the window.

It was a person hiding behind the bushes, she could only tell who it was when they raised their head. Wait a minute…it’s Percy!

“Percy!” she squealed happily, forgetting all about how she was feeling earlier.

Her teacher’s confused expression reminded her that she was standing in front of her class and had just shouted her brother’s name, who was not supposed to be hiding in a bush by the window. She had to think quickly before someone noticed him.

“That is who I wrote my paper on, my big brother Percy,” she announced, then began to read the paper.

They never broke eye contact, it was easier to read when all she had to do was focus on him.

“That was fantastic, Estelle,” her teacher told her after she finished, but she already knew she did well.

She could tell by the way her brother looked at her (he was crying just a little bit, but he would never admit it). Also, right after that, there was the distinctive sound of a pipe exploding.

“What was that?” one of the kids in the room asked.

She looked at Percy, who had a hand covering his face which made his guilt clear. This wouldn’t be the first time she saw him do this, it was hard for him to control his powers when he was emotional. Their teacher left the classroom for a moment, then told them that the girl’s bathroom (the closest bathroom from the window) was flooded. It was so bad, that they were going to have to leave school early so they could do repairs. Since both her mother and father were working, they called Percy and asked him to take her home. Of course, he agreed, it was the perfect cover for him being gone already.

So everything worked out. He even took her out for ice cream (blue moon, her favorite), and in return, she promised not to tell mom that he had been there before they called him (she also made him promise to dress up as a knight for Halloween). That was the best day at school she ever had.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18588757/chapters/44088319

[thesibyllinebooks]

Percabeth Parenting: Grandma Sally

Percy couldn’t stop repeating the phrase over and over in his head. He was a dad now. He looked down at the babies he held in his arms. If it weren’t for the pink and blue bracelets on their wrists, Percy would have a hard time telling who was who. He loved Annabeth. He loved his mom. He loved his friends. But the love he felt for his twins, nothing could rival that. 

“You did amazing,” Percy said, looking at his wife. Annabeth sat up alertly in her bed, looking at blueprints on her laptop. Leave it to Annabeth to be concerned with her work just an hour after giving birth. 

“Thank you Percy,” Annabeth said sincerely. Even though her cheeks were flushed and her hair was a sweaty mess, Percy never thought she’d looked better. He’d never been more in love with her than he was now. She looked fondly at her babies overtop her computer. Sitting there, looking at Percy hold their twins like he was the luckiest man in the world was worth the seventeen hours of labor. “Have you called Sally yet?”

Percy nodded. His face lit up when Cassie- no, Theo, according to the blue bracelet-yawned. “I’m surprised they’re not here yet.”

“Me too,” Annabeth agreed. She closed her laptop. “Come here,” she said gently. Percy stood up carefully, slowly making his way to the hospital bed. He wedged himself in beside Annabeth. Gently, she lifted one of the twins into her own arms. 

“This is crazy,” Percy said, still staring at his newborns in awe. The impatient part of him wanted them to open their eyes finally. He wanted them to walk and talk too, but he knew he’d have to wait months for that. “We have kids.”

“I know,” Annabeth agreed. She kissed Percy on the cheek. “If they’re anything like you, we can say goodbye to sleeping for the rest of our lives-”

Annabeth and Percy looked up as they heard a loud shout from outside the hospital room. Percy’s black eyebrows wrinkled. “That sounds like-”

“Sally!” A man shouted. Percy recognized the voice as his step-father Paul’s. 

“Oh, gods,” he sighed. He lifted Cassie into Annabeth’s arms and slid out of the bed.

Percy opened the door to Annabeth’s room. The sight worried him, frightened him, and made him want to laugh all at the same time. His mother held balloons and teddy bears. Paul grabbed onto her arm with one hand, and held Estelle’s hand with the other. Sally was currently arguing with one of the nurses. 

“Ma’am, visitation ended three hours ago,” the nurse pleaded.

Percy knew the poor nurse didn’t stand a chance. “Well, I’m sure my grandchildren didn’t choose what time they were born. And we didn’t drive all the way out here in the middle of the night to be told we can’t see them!” Sally argued back. Her eyes flashed with anger. He’d told his mom the hospital likely wouldn’t let him come visit so late at night but of course, that didn’t stop her from rushing Paul and Estelle out of bed to get to the hospital.

“Ma’am, visitation begins tomorrow morning at ten,” the nurse said shortly.

Sally shrugged. “We’re here now. And we aren’t going anywhere.”

Percy stepped in before things could get hairy. “Mom,” he said, approaching his family and the nurse.

“Percy!” Sally’s eyes lit up. She handed her presents off to Paul and gave her son a rib crushing hug. “Congratulations! I can’t wait to see the twins, even though this one here-”

“Is doing her job,” the nurse said angrily. She looked like she wanted to hit Sally with her clipboard. 

“These are great,” Percy said, looking at the balloons and teddy bear and raising his eyebrows at Paul in amusement. He wondered where his mother got them at such an hour but decided not to ask. Paul clapped him on the back in congratulations. Percy bent down to hug his little sister.

Percy stood up and turned to the nurse. “Look, this is my mom. Is there any way you can let my family in? She’s really not going to take no for an answer, trust me. These are her first grandkids.” The nurse looked at Estelle in question. “She’s my sister.”

Percy gave the nurse his best pleading look. He hoped it would cancel out Sally’s threatening one. 

The nurse sighed, probably realizing she didn’t get paid enough to argue. “One hour, she said firmly.” She barely got the words out of her mouth before Sally took off behind Percy, practically skipping. 

As soon as Percy opened the door, Sally let out an earsplitting squeal when she  laid eyes on her grandchildren. She rushed to Annabeth’s bedside, her eyes welling up with tears in record time. Paul and Estelle looked excited, but not as excited as Sally. Sally looked as if she’d just had her own babies. 

“Oh my,” Sally breathed, beaming at Annabeth and the babies. “Can I hold them?”

“Of course,” Annabeth said. She grinned as Sally gingerly picked up first Cassie, and then Theo.

“Hello, I’m your grandma Sally,” she whispered to the babies. “Are you two finally going to tell me their names now?” Sally asked without tearing her eyes away from her grandchildren. Estelle moved in front of her so that she could see the twins for herself. Paul put the teddy bears and balloons on the counter in the corner of the room. He greeted Annabeth and congratulated her. 

“Cassandra and Theseus,” Percy said. “Cassie and Theo for short.”

“Greek names. How perfect,” Sally said. “I’m so sorry I’m crying. I just- I’m you two made it. I know most demigods don’t-” 

“Yeah, Mom,” Percy said. He didn’t want to think about that right now. But he had to admit that he was blessed. He had the best mom in the world, the best step-dad in the world, the best sister in the world, the best wife in the world, and now, the best twins in the world. Life was truly great.

“He won’t admit it but Percy cried too,” Annabeth said with a smirk. Cried was putting it lightly. While watching the birth of his twins, Percy blubbered like a baby in a mixture of excitement, horror, and overwhelming emotion. He’d thought Annabeth hadn’t noticed, seeing as she was busy giving birth at the moment, but apparently she had. 

“Just a little,” Percy relented. 

“I think I saw a snot bubble or two,” Annabeth said. She winked at Estelle, who laughed.  

“Look, I’ve never had kids before,” Percy said in his defense.

Annabeth snorted. “I sure hope not.”

Sally stared down at Theo. She’d passed Cassie off to Paul, who was gently putting her in Estelle’s arms. Estelle and Paul sat in the two chairs. Percy watched as Estelle stared down at her new niece. It dawned on him that they were closer in age than he and Estelle were. Percy cracked a smile at that. 

Sally finally looked up. “Have you talked to your father?” she asked. “You have to tell him.”

Percy shook his head. “Not yet.” He was sure had he told Poseidon, he would have abandoned his godly duties to visit. Percy had no problem waiting until his twins were a little older to introduce them to Poseidon and the rest of the gods but he knew his father would turn him into seafoam if he waited that long. But he also just wanted a moment of calm and quiet. In retrospect, he should have known not to expect that from his mother either. 

Sally nodded understandingly.  “I’m sure he’ll be excited.” Her eyes trained on her grandson once again. “They look just like Annabeth,” she noted. 

“Well, Aphrodite did promise to bless them with attractiveness,” Percy said with a shrug. He could already tell they were going to have his black hair, which was enough Percy for anybody.

Percy sunk back into the hospital bed and put his arm around Annabeth. She rested her head on his shoulder. He smiled at his family fawning over his babies. He was excited for everything to come, knowing full well raising the twins would be nothing short of interesting. He was excited though, to know his children were going to have two loving, dedicated parents at home, something neither himself nor Annabeth had had. He couldn’t wait to dive into fatherhood. Percy hoped he’d be a great parent. Then again, he’d learned from the best. 

[gaamagirl565]

Matters of the heart S2 Ep11

Matters of the heart Season 2 Episode 11 Only Shards {OPENING CREDITS} {Open to a ship docking at a pier as ocean waves splash up against it; a few sailors lay down the gangway off of the ship and some men begin unloading wooden crates off of the ship; Pan up to Isaiah looking at everything from the Quarterdeck} Isaiah: Wow… Captain:  Welcome to the dark kingdom, my boy. Isaiah: The dark Kingdom?  my grandfather used to talk about this place. Captain:  used to be abandoned for a long time. only within the last decade or so did it start becoming a normal Kingdom again. Isaiah:  it's truly amazing… {the captain drops a bag of supplies at Isaiah’s feet} Captain: I truly wish there was more I could do for you. that bag there should have enough supplies to last you a few days but it’s not much sorry. Isaiah: you've done plenty for me!  you gave me new clothes, you let me stay on the ship until you reach your next port, you even let me work for a small amount of pay. Honestly what more can I ask for? Captain:  I wish Corona was our next port so I could just take you home. You gave us quite the scare.  you injured yourself pretty good. Isaiah:  you've done more than enough for me. {Isaiah bends down and picks up the bag: showing his bandaged leg} Captain: at least let me tell you the lay of the land so you don't get yourself lost. Isaiah: well that could certainly be helpful. Captain: Right now we're in the Gorge that connects the main town of the dark Kingdom to the outside Forest Area.  after the black rocks in the gorge disappeared it allowed ocean water to flow through here creating a new port and opening trade for the dark Kingdom.  there should be a gondola to take you out of the Gorge. Isaiah: thank you sir but I think I'm going to explore the port a little bit and try to find a ship to Corona. hopefully, the captain will be as nice as you. Captain: let me tell you something my boy ships are always looking for help.  as long as you work hard you shouldn't have a problem finding a way home. also,  be careful about your wounds they're still healing. I know by now they're only a couple of cuts and bruises but even still that leg was really banged up… Isaiah: I promise I'll be careful. it was truly an honor to meet you captain and thank you for everything. Captain:  the pleasure was all mine, Isaiah.  tell your old man he did a good job raising such a fine young man. also if you ever need me or my crew just send for the captain of the SS. Salvator. {Isaiah salutes him; The captain laughs and salutes back; Isaiah walks off} Isaiah: Don't worry dad... I'm coming home. {cut to old Corona; Varian stands coldly with Zapada sobbing into his shoulder; around him are Lance, Adira, Akina, Rapunzel, an exhausted-looking Eugene, Lily and her Siblings, Catalina and Keira, and Nathaniel; they’re all wearing black and watching as a preacher blesses a headstone with Isaiah’s name on it} Nathaniel:...I can’t believe he’s gone... I keep thinking I'm going to hear his obnoxious laugh anytime now… Lily:...Isaiah… Cyrus: It’s alright lily...we’re all here for you. {Rapunzel walks up to Varian and places a hand on his shoulder} Rapunzel: Varian? you've hardly said anything, are you all right? Varian:... what's there to say? My son is dead... I Have Nothing Left to Lose. Zapada: Iubirea mea… {Varian walks away from the service} Zapada: Varian! Eugene: it’s alright, Zapada... I’ll handle it. {Eugene follows him}

Preacher: may this boy rest in peace, Amen… All:...amen… {Varian is on the edge of the river tossing stones in} Eugene:...Varian I- Varian: We didn't even have a body for the service… Eugene:... I know… Varian:  we just... set up a headstone for him.  that's all I have of him now. a stone with his name carved in it. Eugene: Varian… Varian: Haven't I suffered enough? but it just keeps piling on... I Fall In Love... I lose her...my family starts to become whole again... I lose my father... I become a leader,  my wife is expecting our first child together,  and I finally have a way to get rid of the cult for good...and then… {he throws the rock harshly into the water; Eugene flinches} Varian:  my son is taken from me... the one thing I had left of Estelle.  every time I looked in his eyes I saw his mother.  it made every day a little more bearable because part of her was still here.  and now he's gone.  it's all gone… {there is a moment of silence between the two with nothing but the sounds of the countryside before Eugene walks over next to him} Eugene: ... I'm so sorry. Varian: it doesn't matter now… Eugene:  ...one of the cult members was wounded... we captured him and he is currently waiting for us in the dungeon. {Varian looks up at him} Eugene: We might be able to get some answers out of him... maybe you'll get some closure. {Varian gets up and starts walking away} Eugene: Varian? Varian:  I'll meet you at the dungeon later today... be there and be ready. Eugene:..uh..Okay!...ready for what? {cut back to the dark kingdom trading port; Isaiah is still walking around he finds another ship docked at the pier and runs up to a sailor by it} Isaiah: Umm... excuse me. {the sailor snores and Isaiah groans before taking a deep breath} Isaiah: EXCUSE ME!!! {The sailor yelps and falls over} Sailor: what ye’ going and doing that for!? Isaiah: look I've been walking around all day and I'm exhausted... I'm trying to find a ship that will take me to Corona I'm willing to work to stay on board. Sailor:  Corona? Sorry, Lassie. But the next ship to Corona isn’t going te’ be here for another 3 weeks. Isaiah: What do you mean 3 weeks!? Sailor: I mean 3 weeks, lassie! The trade ship for Corona won’t be comin’ ere for 3 more weeks! Isaiah: What am I supposed to do for 3 weeks!? Sailor: I don’t know, lass...maybe some odd jobs around town...maybe an inn...ye’ seem like a resourceful kid. Isaiah: no I can’t wait 3 weeks I have to go home… Sailor: Corona is a 4 day trip on foot… Isaiah: i’ll...i’ll need a map...and provisions..plus I need to heal my injuries... Sailor: That’ll take coin. You need te’ work for that. As for te’ injuries...that’ll take time. Isaiah: then..i’ll need a place to stay for the time. Sailor: more coin, Lassie! Isaiah: You are literally no help! And stop calling me Lassie I’m a Laddie! {They stare at each other before the sailor starts walking off} Sailor: I think I’ll be needing a pint… Isaiah: HEY! G-Get back here! Sailor: Good grief, Laddie! What do ye’ want? Isaiah: You know you could be a little nicer! Sailor:  I could be but I choose not te’ be... look this town isn't very accepting of newcomers and strangers.  and if ye’ truly have te’ wait a while before setting off I suggest ye’ find a way to survive.  this is the real world. There isn’t a mummy or daddy here te’ protect ye’. Figure it out, kid. {the sailor leaves and Isaiah walks away looking nervous; he looks around a bit before sighing and walking towards the gondola. He steps on and quietly rides his way up} Conductor: all departing! {Isaiah steps off and notices most head for the bridge connecting the kingdom to the outside forest. He looks from the bridge to the forest and starts walking for the forest. As he’s walking there his eyes flash in colour for a moment} Isaiah: AUGH! {he falls to the ground and grits his teeth waiting for his episode to pass; once it does he whimpers and curls in on himself; cut to the entrance of Corona’s dungeon where Varian is waiting} Eugene: You're here earlier than expected. Varian: let's get this over with. {Catalina and Keira walk up} Varian: And what are they doing here!? Catalina: moral support. Keira:  I just want to get a good look at the guy who dared to touch a single blonde hair on that boy's head. Lance: that’s my girls... Rapunzel: They just want to help, Varian… Varian: ...fine… {Eugene walks over and unlocks the door to the dungeon; they all start walking down} Keira: so what do you think this guy is like? Catalina: anyone willing to hurt a kid is probably a piece of crap. Keira: he’s been running with this weird cult crew for a while I heard… Catalina: I don’t care who he ran with… the point is he was directly involved in Isaiah’s death. I’ll never forgive him for that… {Eugene opens the Cell door to reveal Noremoth tied to a pole in the middle of his cell with his shoulder bandaged} Catalina: *gasp* Noremoth: ...Catalina… {Catalina shakes her head slowly in shock} Noremoth: Cat...please let me explain! {Her lip quivers and she runs out of the cell in tears with Keira close behind her} Keira: Catalina, wait! Lance: Should I be concerned about that? Noremoth: it’s none of your concern… {Lance get close to him } Lance: oh I think it is… Eugene: Lance is Catalina’s father. Noremoth: * gulps*... you’re her father? Well then. Do what you must. Though do aim for the neck please that’s the quickest way. Varian: We're not going to kill you... yet. Rapunzel:  Or in general! nobody's killing anybody!  we just want to know some information. Noremoth: of course you do. Eugene: If you cooperate we’ll loosen your restraints.also I'm going to need to take your helmet and any weapons you may be carrying. Noremoth:... fine...W- wait a minute. why didn't you just pat me down for weapons when you threw me in the cell? Lance: We were a little more concerned with the fact that you were bleeding out. Noremoth: fair enough… {Eugene walks over and takes off his helmet and takes his weapons; he eyes the nordic necklace around his neck and lifts it up to look at it} Noremoth: Not that! {everyone jumps} Noremoth: please not that...it’s all I have left. It was given to me as a baby. The orphanage said I was dropped off with it...please...Y-your majesty. {Eugene lets go of it; Varian narrows his eyes} Eugene: don’t worry I’m not taking it. Noremoth: Thank you… Varian: enough of this…you’re going to answer our questions whether you like it or not, Noremoth. Noremoth: I never said I wasn’t, Varian. Lance: he knows you? You know him? Varian: He was the one that stole the blueprints to the device all those years ago.  he's also larkspur's right-hand man.  he's been a collective pain in my side ever since. Noremoth: I could say the same about you… {Varian puts his hand into his satchel} Varian:  tell me Noremoth... do you know what it's like to lose people you've loved? people you swore to protect? Noremoth:... not really. never had anyone care about me in my opinion. Varian: Well then, let me enlighten you. you have to wake up every morning realizing that no matter how hard you tried they still died.  and now I have one of those people responsible for the deaths of those that I loved in front of me right now.  give me a good reason why I should show you any Mercy. Noremoth:... I can't think of one. Varian: no you can't, can you? Rapunzel: Varian… {Varian takes out a flask with a glowing yellow liquid inside} Rapunzel: *gasp* Varian:  do you know what this stuff is?  It's a chemical solution of my own design. it grows at an exponential rate and encases everything it touches... I wonder what would happen if I were to... inject it into someone. Eugene: VARIAN! Varian:  you can tell us what we want to know... or you can possibly go through a long and agonizing death. your choice. {Everyone is silent but Noremoth blankly stares at Varian and then slouches against his restraints} Noremoth:...do it… Varian:  what!? Noremoth: do it... honestly I don't know what you're waiting for.  in your mind I killed your son even though I wasn't anywhere near him when he went over that cliff. none of that was supposed to happen. I tried to stop her... but it was already too late. her mind was made up. I've never held any real power in the decision-making. the fact that they all left me behind should prove how much I actually meant to them. I've never mattered to anyone so what's the point? {Noremoth looks up into Varian’s eyes} Noremoth:.. do it… {Varian trembles slightly before Eugene runs up and grabs his hand} Eugene: Don’t! Varian: Y-You heard him! He- Eugene: Varian, Your king commands you to stop! {Varian looks downward} Varian: ...My apologies, your majesty. {He starts to walk away out of the cell} Noremoth:  for what it's worth... I'm very sorry for what happened to your son. please understand... it was never our intention. {Varian bites his lip and exits the cell; cut to the edge of the forest where Isaiah is stumbling weakly; thunder rumbles above him and rain starts to fall} Isaiah: No! AH! {he runs through the forest before happening on a cave; he looks around before going in and sitting down shivering; He whimpers and he sneezes before his eyes droop and he falls asleep} Juniper: Over here, papa! {She runs in the cave} Juniper: Mama told you it was going to rain!  you never listen to us!  I knew it was a bad night for hunting. {Hector walks in the cave dripping wet} Hector: it's never a bad night for hunting. Juniper: Papa, look! {she points to Isaiah} Hector:... it's probably a kid from town. Juniper: what's he doing out here? Hector: most likely the same as you and me... hunting.. maybe Gathering... who knows and who cares.  he was probably waiting out the storm and fell asleep. {Juniper walks over and touches his forehead} Juniper:  he's freezing! {She takes off her cloak and drapes it over him} Hector: W-What the- Juniper that is a premium fur cloak! Juniper: and I can make another! I swear Papa you’re such a misanthrope. Hector: And I swear I don't know where you get this sassy attitude of yours. Juniper: you had best be joking...brr… {Hector rolls his eyes} Hector: Alright enough of that... now get over here before you get sick. {Juniper runs over to where Hector is in the cave and sits next to him; Hector wraps his cloak around them both} Juniper: *yawn*  do you really think he's going to be okay? {Hector looks over to the boy and cocks an eyebrow before looking back at his daughter} Hector:  he’ll be fine… {Cut back to Old Corona and Varian looking up at the stars} Zapada: Varian? I’m heading to sleep… Varian: I’ll be there soon… Zapada: are you ok- Varian: I’m fine! {Zapada jumps slightly} Varian:..I...I’m fine..just go to bed, you need the rest. {Zapada closes the door; Varian looks back up at the sky} {begin song “never enough”} {VARIAN} Make one mistake and it paints you for life Try to move on from all the pain and the strife We pray that life is forgiving to all, young and old But the thing we seem to forget is that life is Cruel and cold And although my heart screams to just give up My head screams back that it is never enough The path before me is laid out And although it’s dark and bleak I won’t give it satisfaction It will not hear my mournful shriek. Every day just brings new pain As this grief continues to wrack my brain I keep wondering if I should just give up Of is it true that it’s never enough? It’s never enough. Never enough. {End song “Never enough”} {END CREDITS}

[nancywheelxr]

If I haven't missed a request window?: Something where Elrond is an A+ dad (with Estel, &/or the twins, or Arwen? your call there) + also somewhere included there's an adorably disgruntled bird (like maybe a pigeon or a duck, idk? — I seriously just tried to look up what kinds of birds might actually live around Rivendell but I got nothing bc I suck)?

Hey! I wasn’t sure which bird to use, either, but I hope you like how this turned out!

*

There is a commotion in the hallway outside.

To be completely fair, they sound as if they are trying not to make a disturbance, but experience shows his children have never been very successful at that. True, it’s been far too many centuries since these halls have held a child’s laughter, but Elrond remembers. Most elves do, he’s sure, considering the fair amount of antics the twins have gotten up to over the centuries. Somehow, adulthood has yet to change that.

Another crash sounds just east of his door. 

He should probably make sure nothing dangerous is going on.

The door swings open carefully and he steps out to find a suspiciously empty hallway– which is not to say there isn’t plenty to be worried about here since the only thing lacking are the culprits of the mess left behind. At his feet, one of his once priceless vases is in pieces, ceramic dull in the sunlight, and more concerningly, mud stains the carpets, the walls, the– ceiling?

“How on–” Elrond murmurs, frowning as it drips lazily on the carpet. 

Well. That settles it. “Elrohir,” he calls, following the trail of dirt along the halls, “Elladan!”

Silence is all that answers him, as it was expected, and Elrond sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. Briefly, he considers leaving it be, but it would only be a matter of time until someone came to him about this, undoubtedly aggrieved. 

Outside the sun is shining warmly over the grass, a truly lovely day if he says so himself, and the creek in the woods is babbling gently, softer in this spring, and he wonders if he should expand his search to the nearby clearings.

As it turns out, there’s no need for that.

While Elrond is looking for his sons, the culprit for the mud trail skids around the corner and dashes right into his robe with a graceless flail of skinny limbs.

“Estel,” he half asks, more startled than anything, and helps the child up, taking the opportunity to check him for injuries. Not that he would be able to tell at first glance, considering he is covered in mud from head to toe as if he’d spent his afternoon rolling in a puddle. Still, first things first, he supposes, “are you alright?”

Realization dawns on him and his eyes grow large, likely guessing he’s in a fair amount of trouble. “Oh, Ada?” Estel fidgets, blinking up in an effort of making himself look as innocent as possible, “I can explain.”

“I’m sure you can,” Elrond says, allowing a touch of his amusement to show, “but I would rather be certain you are not injured in any way before listening to what I’m guessing is a quite long story?”

“Erm,” he shuffles, wiping watery mud from his eyes, “no, not hurt, no. I mean, yes, it is a long story but I don’t think– I’ll explain, I swear! I just need to do something first, so, uh.”

Elrond frowns as Estel’s eyes dart around quickly, but before he could inquire further on what could be oh-so-urgent, two sets of footsteps round the same corner Estel had sprinted from. 

“We found her!” Elrohir is announcing loudly only to stumble to a stop once he catches sight of Elrond, his face falling into guilt. “Oh, Ada, you are… here,” he finishes weakly.

Never too far from his twin, Elladan appears soon after and– is that a duck?

“Well,” Estel says, shrugging, “I guess I don’t have anything to do anymore.”

The duck still in Elladan’s arms squawks indignantly, ruffling its feathers, and Elrond finally takes in his sons’ appearances. They both have mud up to their chests and splattered over their faces, he’s guessing courtesy of the equally dirty duck, and Elrohir has a scrape on his cheekbone. 

Apparently, all three of the boys seemed to have thought today was, indeed, quite a lovely day outside.

“We can explain,” Elrohir tries, squirming under Elrond’s raised eyebrow, “I mean, Elladan certainly can.”

His brother coughs, startled, where he had been in the middle of passing the aggravated creature to Estel. Surprisingly, the duck takes to him without a fuss, shuffling in his arms. “I–” he glares at Elrohir, dusting feathers off himself, before turning sheepishly to Elrond, “see, Ada, the first thing you must know is that this is in no way our fault.”

“Nope,” Estel nods, his young face schooled in an overly serious expression that is almost entirely obscured by his duck, “not at all.”

Elrond crosses his arms. “Is that so? And which one of you would like to explain why you have a duck?”

“She’s mine!” Estel pipes up, grinning toothly and holding up the bird like a particularly treasured gift, “her name is Bain ‘cause she is pretty! I found her in the pond and she followed me home!”

Oh, dear. He decides to tackle an easier route for the time. “And how do you two add into this?”

“Hm,” Elladan stalls, kicking his twin unsubtly in the ankles, “we were in the kitchen?”

“When Estel came in,” Elrohir supplies, “with the duck under his arm.”

“And already covered in mud,” Elladan hurries to add, “but then the duck escaped–”

“Her name is Bain!” 

“And of course we offered to help–”

“ – and we went after her–”

“She is faster than expected–”

“ – and we found her in the pond again–”

“ – but she went loose in the house–”

“ – it was an accident, Ada–”

They all talk over each other, finishing and overlapping sentences, and Elrond has to admit it’s been a very long time since Elladan and Elrohir have looked quite this excited about something. After Celebrían– it hurts to simply think about it, truly, and it’s no secret the whole ordeal has been rather harder on the twins, having found her in that state and never quite getting their mother back wholly despite it, not until she was standing in the docks, backlit by the sunset and the promise of a better place waiting for all of them should they choose it.

In any case, things have never been the same ever since.

And while he can’t say it has now, it is unquestionably better. Since taking Estel in, the hunting trips have been further and further apart, shorter, few and far between. The human boy has his brothers wrapped around his little fingers, really, and Elrond cannot deny even shenanigans like this are welcomed after centuries of somber silence.

If he’s being honest, he’d say he almost missed this sort of thing.

“That’s quite enough,” he cuts in before they worked themselves into an argument, “the lot of you will help to clean the mess the duck has wrecked, yes?”

They nod in surprising synchrony. Elrond spares a moment to thank Eru that Legolas is not visiting at the moment. He doesn’t think the house would stay standing for very long with a fourth menace up and about.

“And Estel,” he crouches in front of the child. Not even ten years have passed and he’s grown so much– much too fast, in his opinion. Elrond fears he’s too used to the slow drag of time for elves. Humans, he knows, don’t have centuries to grow into adulthood; too soon, Estel will be leaving him for his own adventures and a fate he doesn’t dare think about. Now, though, Elrond softens. “I’m afraid you will have to let her back into the pond.”

Predictably, that upsets him greatly. “But, Ada– can’t she stay? Please?”

“She is a wild animal,” Elrond explains gently, “and she needs her freedom. Birds are meant to fly free, not live caged within walls.”

“But, but,” he hiccups, eyes growing watery bright, and Elrond notices the twins shuffling restlessly, “she’s a stray, like me, see? Why can’t you take her in, too?”

“You are no stray, Estel,” Elrond rests a hand on his shoulder, smiling as kindly as he can, “you are a part of this family and this is your home. Would you not miss us, were you to be away?”

He nods miserably. 

“I’m sure Bain has a family she would miss as well,” he wipes a bit of the mud from his cheeks, his nose, his chin. “She wouldn’t be as happy here as she is in her home.”

Estel looks at the duck, then at Elrond, then at his brothers, before sagging in defeat. “Alright.”

“You can still visit her, though,” Elrohir suggests, taking the duck from him, “I’m sure she would like that.”

That seems to cheer him up quite a bit, even if he still looks a tick away from bursting into tears. “Bye, Bain,” he whispers to the duck and the bird quacks at him in response. Remarkably intelligent animal, that one is.

“Make sure to ask for bread in the kitchen before you go,” Elrond tells them and Elladan shouts his agreement as they hurry away like that would get them out of cleaning up the mess. He snorts quietly, straightening up and holding out a hand for Estel, “now come along, we should get you in a shower before Erestor catches sight of all this mud.”

He makes a face. The concept of showering is still not to his liking, or at least until he’s actually in the water. “Ada, ‘Ro said Legolas is visiting soon. Can I show him Bain?”

Elrond counts to ten. This is news to him. “If he agrees, I don’t see why not,” he answers calmly, carefully keeping his resignation out of his voice, “did Elrohir have a specific date?”

“No,” then, “oh. He did say not to mention that to you. Erm, oops.”

Well. This can’t be good. He’ll have to have a talk with his sons. And possibly King Thranduil, although he’s not looking forward to that particular headache. “Don’t worry,” he ruffles his hair, ushering him into the bathroom, “do you want your boat?”

Estel nods and reaches for his little toy boat, happily forgetting about their conversation, and Elrond makes a mental note to have a guest bedroom opened before the end of the week. With a sigh, he settles to wrestle the child out of his dirty clothes and prepare himself for what is undoubtedly going to be a very long week.

[nemossubmarine]

DA RP Write-Up #16.6.2 & #16.7

More than a year later, the end of Halamshiral-adventure (the one that had me lost inspiration to write these in the first place) finally! Yay!

Alf is heading for the roof to check out the situation there. Humbert is there, trying to get to see what is going inside the room where the templars and mages are kept. While he doesn’t see much on that front (damn curtains). He does come face to face with a familiar face, one of the elven servants. So now there are three people in the roof, Humbert, Alf and the elven servant, or rather, Amara, Alf’s mother. They talk about Amara’s job, Amara acts real tough, Humbert tries to persuade her to drop the job. Alf gets angry at Humbert, because he knows that Crows can’t just not fulfill contracts. He leaves the situation.

While Randy is taking Edmund to Estelle, the two meet Elspet, who joins the group. They don’t get to do much, as Randy is approached by some of the Empress’ people, who inform him that the Empress would like to meet him. Of course Randy can’t not take up the offer. Elspet stays behind to talk with Edmund about the subject of Estelle’s and his son’s relationship, and she suggests that she go talk with Estelle, which Edmund agrees to.

Randy goes to the Empress and meets the Empress in her court mage’s room. Empress asks about Randy’s opinion of the party goers, and of course business is discussed, that’s how Randy got into the party in the first place. Randy offers some lyrium samples to Empress, and leaves to get them.

Boshara is going around asking for a mage, and finds her way to the room where the templars and mages are. There also is king Maric who asks to speak with Nathaniel Howe. Boshara comes face to face with her mother and asks for her to write her name in her book. Secretly she has written a message in the book about her being her daughter. Nesta writes something in her book, but Boshara hasn’t time to check it in front of all the templars.

On the roof, Humbert and Amara are alone, and Humbert attacks Amara. He manages to get her into a bear hug. She starts laughing and then crying, and says that Humbert is so not scary that she is relieved. Her showing that she’s actually a person and not just a killing machine opens the conversation between the two a bit. They discuss options. Amara says she can’t not kill Edmund, because Alf’s father is missing, and she has to locate him. But she does tell who ordered Edmund’s murder (that is, the Mortalitasi in the party). Humbert confisticates Amara’s stuff so she can’t go through with the murder. Amara meanwhile pickpockets Humbert’s money and sword.

Randy brings lyrium samples to the Empress, who orders her court mage to do something with it. Unfortunately something goes wrong, and suddenly there’s an explosion of a giant tree. Randy grabs the Empress and rushes her out of the room.

Elspet has found Estelle, and threatens her about knowing what she is after. She gets scared, and backs down immediately. The sound of the explosion reaches Elspet’s ears and she rushes towards the scene.

Alf is also there and he starts evacuating people. In the chaos Boshara grabs her mother and starts running up the tree’s trunk that’s rising towards the ceiling of the Palace. Humbert runs after the two. Alf grabs his bow and shoots down a templar that has attempted to follow the escaping trio.  Humbert stumbles trying to keep up with Nesta and Boshara, and instictively both Nesta and Boshara grab him by the hand and pull him to safety. Alf and Amara escape the scene as well.

Randy, noticing that people are in trouble, tosses the Empress into Elspet’s arms. Elspet smooches the Empress. Maric, from the balcony throws Nathaniel to Randy to safety. Randy catches the youngster. The balcony grumbles underneath Maric’s feet and he falls, but Randy manages to catch him, and gets a thank you kiss for his trouble. (end of session #6)

The thankful Empress invites Elspet over to her room. Randy checks in on if Maric’s alright, and he says he is fine, thanks for catching by the way.

The others have all found their way to the roof. Nesta, Humbert and Boshara have their first conversation, where Boshara tells Nesta that she is her daughter and is here to save her. The subject of Humbert never comes up directly but after Humbert leaves to take Nesta to Jelaina, Alf joins Boshara and Boshara, distraught, admits to Alf that Humbert might be her father and she doesn’t know what to do about it. She checks what Nesta had written in her notebook and it reads ”I hope you have a good life with your father”.

Randy goes back to the room where the tree suddenly sprung to try to find the other person in the room, the court mage Damien LaFond. The entrance to the room is quite blocked. Randy overhears Empress claiming that Damien was attempting to assassinate her, which he 100% knows not to be the case. Randy goes to have a dance with his wife, and they talk about what to do rest of the evening. Randy decides the best way to save Edmund is to get him super-drunk and hole him up somewhere. True it’ll be a a bit of an embarrassment, but at least he’ll be alive.

Randy takes this thing up with Elspet, who’s quite keen on getting it on with the Empress. This turns into a bit of an argument between the two because Randy is frankly quite disgusted by Orlesian politics and the Empress at this point.

Boshara and Maric are asked by the guards to come discuss the situation with what the tree and all that. The guards ask to look into Boshara’s belongings, which Boshara does, though she knows there’s super-incriminating stuff in her bag. But there’s nothing there, and the guards let the two leave. Outside the guards’ room Maric hands Boshara the belongings he nicked before the guards saw them and tells her her secret will be safe with him.

In the roof, Alf decides to go look into the source of the tree in case there’s something interesting. He climbs down it, and finds Damien LaFond, the court mage, stuck inside the tree, begging for help. Alf hacks him off and helps him to the roof. Damien tells that the Empress will have his head for this, even though he did exactly what the Empress told him, and he needs to escape. Alf promises him a place at our ship and together they leave to get him to Jelaina’s cart before it leaves.

Humbert sneaks Nesta out of the roof and towards the cart and acts quite mean towards her. He appears quite worried on what kind of ideas Nesta might give Boshara about proper uses of magic. Nesta asks if he has told Boshara about him being her father, he says no. He leaves her at the cart, and attempts to return back to the palace only to be caught by his fellow guardsmen and brought to his boss, who reprimands him for not doing his job. Humbert says he’s here to get some lyrium smugglers and names Alf and Amara and the Nevarran party as suspects. The guards say they’ll take this into account and then toss Humbert out. Well, this sort of thing has never stopped Humbert, who climbs the wall and enters the party again.

Elspet has some fun times with the Empress, but it doesn’t appear the Empress is much to her taste so she leaves to join the party again. Alf decides he is quite done with scheming, and there’s no way he’s attempting to stop his mother from killing her target, so he goes to the party hall and gets chatty with a guardswoman named Beatrix.

(note, I quite literally don’t remember how this ends, exactly, so here’s my best guess:)

Randy stashes drunk Edmund into his cart. The Nevarran party gets caught with lyrium. Maric asks Randy to ask the Empress to release Nathaniel Howe, Randy implies that Orzammar is in need of a templar and he’d be interested in getting Nathaniel for it, which the Empress agrees to (Randy saved his life after all). Amara leaves Alf with a letter explaining his dad’s situation.

The party is over and everyone leaves to go home. Elspet breaks up with her date, breaking her heart. Maric travels with Randy’s folks to see Nathaniel off, and tells Randy he is in great debt to him.

Back at the ship. Boshara gets to talk with Nesta. There’s some awkwardness as Humbert still doesn’t mention anything about being Boshara’s dad and neither does Nesta. Then Alf, kind of still upset about how Humbert handled Amara, spills the beans. Boshara attacks Alf. Humbert leaves the situation. Cahair and Elspet comfort Boshara. Boshara goes to talk with Humbert, so hey you’re my dad? - Yeah. Things are awkward, but could be worse?

THE END

[doctorwer]

Quick and Dirty History of Middle-Earth Part 26 Part C

Part 26 Or So Let’s Play “What Were They Up To Before They Were Famous, Part C”

Names

Aragorn II (Revered King)

Thorongil (Eagle of the Star)

Elessar (Elfstone, given to him in reference to Arwen giving him her Elfstone)

Edhelharn (Sindarin equivalent of Elessar)

Estel (Hope)

Strider (Name used in Bree)

The Dúnadan (Name used by Bilbo)

Longshanks (Another Bree name. Reference to the fact that Bree humans had shorter legs than Aragorn with his Dúnadan heritage).

Arakorno (Quenya form of Aragorn)

Born: Third Age 2931

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 88

He has too many names. Also, his birthday is March 1st! Anyway, his father was the Chief of the Dúnadan, the Rangers. As was traditional, Aragorn, the future Chef, grew up as a foster child of Elrond. But when he was only 2, his dad, Arathorn, was shot through the eye by an orc. Yikes. Elrond didn’t want it to get out that Aragorn was heir to Gondor and Arnor, so he changed his name to Estel and didn’t tell Aragorn who he really was. Growing up, he would go ranging with Elrohir and Elladan, so he had a good relationship with his future brother-in-laws! That’s good! When Aragorn turned 21, Elrond told him all about Gondor and the throne and his legacy. Normally, books like this would have us see the part where the freak out because they found out they’re royal, but we are able to skip that and pick up at the point where he was cool with it.

Leaving his mom in Rivendell (Oh, yeah. His mom’s still around), Aragorn started going all over the place. Rohan and Gondor and just everywhere. When he was 49, he met Arwen for the 2nd time in Lothlórien on the hill Cerin Amroth and they got engaged. So he’s been engaged since he was 49... and he’s 88 now... So 20 years later, Aragorn helps Gandalf track Gollum down. He does take a brief stop by Rivendell to visit his mother on her death bed. He was 70 at the time she died. After that, he caught Gollum, took him to Mirkwood, and caught up with Frodo!

Names

Théoden (King)

Horsemaster

Ednew

Born: Third Age 2948

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 70

Théoden was the oldest son of King Thengel of Rohan. He had four sisters. Three have no names, but we learn the name of his favorite, Théodwyn. We only know her because she was also the mother of Éomer and Éowyn. Théoden didn’t speak any Rohirric, since he had been born in Gondor and spent his childhood there. Théoden spoke Common and elvish. Tsk. The elite coming in to rule; he doesn’t even know the language his people speak. After Théodwyn and his brother-in-law died, he adopted Éomer and Éowyn.

Théoden married Elfhild, who got pregnant and had a son, Théodred (they love to name the sons a name that sounds close to the dads. It’s all over the place). Elfhild died giving birth to Théodred. Théoden ruled Rohan for 40 years before Gríma really started to mess Théoden up. Little dick.

Before Gandalf joined the Fellowship, he went to Edoras to warn Théoden about Saruman and to ask for a horse so that he could catch up with the Fellowship. Of course, Théoden was still under Saruman’s control. Théoden told Gandalf to take any horse and GTFO.  Gandalf picked Shadowfax, the bestest best horse in all of Rohan. Shadowfax was descended from legendary horses who could run really fast and really far without stopping. Of course, since Théoden told Gandalf he could take any horse, he couldn’t really say anything.

Names

Gríma (Mask, Visor, Helmet)

Wormtongue 

Born: Whoooooo knoooowwwsssss

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: Probably old. He sounds old.

Gríma is a bit if a mystery. He was the son of Gálmód and a native of Rohan. Pretty simple after that. He became a spy for Saruman because he was promised he could “marry” Éowyn. He used his lies and literal poison and shit to keep Théoden under Saruman’s spell. Gollum had tricked the Ringwraiths into going to the wrong place to find the Shire, but they passed by Wormtounge. The Witch-king questioned Gríma, who was all scared and told the Nazgûl where they could find The Shire and that Gandalf had been through Rohan recently. With Saruman, Gríma’s fate is changed the most from book to film. But we’ll get to that later.

Names

Frodo Baggins (Wise by Experience)

Frodo of the Nine Fingers

Nine-fingered Frodo (What is with named people based on horrible maimings they suffered?)

Frodo Elf-friend

Ring-bearer

Born: Third Age 2968

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 51 in the book/33-ish in the movie

OK, his age is one of the few things the movies changed that don’t fit well with the rest of cannon. In the books, Gandalf was gone for several years after the party, but Frodo stayed young because of the ring. Not so in the movies, where it looks like Gandalf has been gone a few months. Anyway, Frodo was the only child of Drogo Baggins and Primula Brandybuck. When Frodo was 12, his parents died. They went out boating and some say Drogo’s massive weight sunk the boat, and for some reason they couldn’t swim. Like, why go boating, then? SO, they both drowned. For a long time, Frodo lived with his uncle, Rorimac Brandybuck, Master of Buckland (Remember, that’s one of the three leaders of The Shire). Frodo was a trouble maker. Aw. Adorable. Bilbo adopted Frodo when he was 21. Frodo was 21. Bilbo was 99.

All the hobbits inter-marry to no end, so it’s hard to pin down the exact relationship between Bilbo and Frodo, but it was closer to cousin than uncle. But since Bilbo made Frodo his heir, it probably just seemed proper to call him Uncle Bilbo. Bilbo taught Frodo elvish and a lot of the history of Middle-Earth. The two even had the same birthday. Hobbits came of age at 33. I don’t know why, since they have the same average life spans as humans, 90-100. It seems like they don’t have very long time in the ‘adult’ age bracket. But since their entire lives just seem devoted to eating, drinking, and smoking, I guess they don’t need to be an adult for all that much. It’s not like they can’t drive a car until they come of age or they go away to college when they come of age or something. Anyway, when Frodo turned 33, Bilbo turned 111. Which is the birthday we see in the movie.

Name

Boromir (Steadfast Jewel)

Born: Third Age 2978

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 41

The oldest son of Denethor II and Finduilas. When Boromir was 10, his mother died. After that, his father was a lot more unpleasant. Even though their father clearly liked Boromir better, Boromir and his brother, Faramir, were very close. Boromir looked after his little brother. So cute. He spent most of his time keeping Team Evil from crossing over into Gondor through Osgiliath. Boromir never cared to marry (make of that what you will). He preferred to fight in battles and shit. And he didn’t care about history, expect the tales of the great battles of old. He was a jock. Faramir and Boromir started having freaking dreams, so Denethor ordered Boromir to go to Rivendell for advice. Faramir really wanted to go. Sad thing is, since Faramir passes on the Ring in the book, if Faramir was the one who went, both brothers might have lived. Boromir lost his horse along the way and had to go the rest of the way on foot, which took 110 days. Ouch.

Name

Théodred

Born: Third Age 2978

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 41

The only son of Théoden. His mom, Elfhild, died giving birth to him. Théodred was an officer type deal. Second Marshal of the Riddermark. Gríma tried to get Théoden and Éomer in trouble with the king, but they were just too loyal. They always followed Théoden, even if his orders were total crazy balls. Just before we first meet Éomer, Saruman assassinates Théodred. He had his orcs attack with clear orders to definitely kill the prince. There was a huge battle around the river and Saruman’s army that would latter attack Helm’s Deep were trying to get over the river. All this complicated military stuff happened and the strongest orcs charged Théodred at once, which is yesh. He died pretty soon after, but Team Good pushed the orcs back. If you watched the extended movie, you saw Éomer finding his cousin by a river. The regular movie just had Éomer riding up with some guy and then Théodred lying in bed, dying from poison, with Éowyn taking care of him. And then he’s dead. It’s very confusing without that river scene! Like, wait, he’s poisoned??? Why???? Who is he?????

Name

Samwise Gamgee (Simple Minded)

Born: Third Age 2980

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 39

Ah, Sam. We all know and love Sam. Fun Fact: Tolkien has said that Sam was always intended to be the hero of this piece. Yeah, Frodo carried the Ring. But Sam was the one who saved us all. Mentioned because my sister was all “Blah, Frodo was a horrible hero” and I was all “…No, duh…Kinda the point…” In a letter, Tolkien wrote that Sam was the “chief hero” and he’s the only Ring-bearer to give it up with his own free will, and he ends up saving Frodo over and over again. I almost wonder if it was commentary on typical English ideas at the time? Like, I don’t know what they thought back then in England, but it almost seems like the English expected their heroes to be rich and smart? Like, look at C.S. Lewis’ work? But Sam is even called simple minded, and every character overlooks him and acts like he is less than them. Not in a mean way, but a “I’m from a well-to-do family and you’re a blue collar worker” way. Literally everyone in the Fellowship are nobles in some way except Sam. But, throughout the book, he:

was all sly and did recon re:Frodo to report to Merry

pretended to be asleep so he could listen in on Frodo when he was talking with an elf

was the only one not tricked by Old Man Willow.

he surprises everyone by reciting a poem about Gil-galad from memory

he invents his own song, on the spot

he’s arguably the most level-headed of the hobbits. Nothing much spooks him.

It’s a constant theme that people misjudge him only to be shown up later.

Anyway, Sam is the son of Hamfast “The Gaffer” Gamgee and Bell Goodchild. Sam is the only one of the four hobbits in the Fellowship not even remotely related to them. The rest are all cousins several times over and shit. Like I said. They inter-married out the wazoo. They were all upper class and Sam was lower class. Sam had five brothers and sisters and he lived on Bagshot Row, which was very close to Bag End. Bilbo taught Sam about elves and about the world out there and encouraged Sam’s love of poetry. He also taught Sam to read, which is treated like a big deal, so most of his family probably couldn't. Sam was a gardener, like his father. His father had been the gardener at Bag End, but was retiring and Sam was training to take his place around the time the movie started.

Name

Fredegar “Fatty” Bolger

Born: Third Age 2980

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 39

Cut from the movie completely. He has a younger sister named Estella who one day marries Merry. He was in on the mission Frodo was on. He helped Marry, Sam, and Pippen secret Frodo out of the Shire. He didn’t want to leave the Shire, which is why he didn’t join them. His job was to stay at Frodo’s new house as a decoy for the Ringwraiths. Eventually, the Ringwraiths showed up, Fatty ran for help, and all of Buckland was woken by the Horn-call of Buckland, which chased the Ringwraiths out.

Names

Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck (Great Lord)

Merry the Magnificent

Born: Third Age 2982

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 37

Merry was the only child of Saradoc Brandybuck and Esmeralda Took. He and Pippin were first cousins. Merry knew something was weird about Bilbo since he was 18, a tween (tween = hobbit culture teenagers. They stay tweens from teen years until they come of age at 33). He saw Bilbo going down the road, when the Sackville-Bagginses came up it. The wife of in this couple would be the hobbit lady that Bilbo mentions in the beginning of The Hobbit and is all “Damn bitch stole all my spoons”. Anyway, Merry saw Bilbo disappear, then reappear on the other side of a hedge. He also saw a glint of gold as Bilbo put something in his pocket. So Merry was pretty suspicious. Little snoop also stole a look in Bilbo’s private journal. Merry didn’t tell anyone what he had seen or learned, though.

He had an important role at the beginning of the book, but that’s cut from the movie. It doesn’t make a huge difference, just made Merry clearly the brightest in the bunch. In the book, Sam, Merry, and Pippin knew that something was wrong with Frodo. Sam was indeed eavesdropping under Frodo’s window that night. It was they were worried about him and Merry came up with a plan to have the three of them go with Frodo. Frodo was planning to move from Bag End to Crickhollow, a house much closer to the edge of The Shire. Frodo, Sam, and Pippen went to Crickhollow where Merry met them. Frodo was all “Dear friends, I cannot stay” and the other hobbits were all “Surprise, Motherfucker! We’re going with you!” Merry was the one who got all their necessary gear and bought their ponies. Then the story continued like normal. We can pretend that Merry did have that plan, but Sam getting caught threw everything off and they had to start before they planned to. Which is why Merry and Pippin were stealing from the field instead of waiting…Just go with it…

Name

Faramir

Born: Third Age 2983

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 36

My poor baby Faramir. He was the second son of Denethor II and Finduilas. Faramir’s mother died when he was 5. Part of the issue was because she got weak after giving birth to Faramir and never really recovered. That and the fact that Faramir was pretty much a carbon copy of his mom, personality wise, led to Denethor disliking Faramir. Boromir was like their dad, proud and liked to fight. Faramir was more gentle and loved history and music, like their mother. Faramir also became friends with Gandalf, who Denethor hated and was sure was trying to take away his rule of Gondor. Which led to Denethor disliking Faramir even more. He became the Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien, who capture Frodo and Sam. His weird dream is what leads to Boromir going to Rivendell.

Name

Peregrin “Pippin” Took (People who Wandered)

Born: Third Age 2990

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 29 (omg he’s older than Éomer and Éowyn)

Pippin was the youngest child and only son of Paladin Took II, Thain of the Shire, and Eglantine Banks. Remember that the Thain is the second of three main leaders in The Shire. Pippin and Merry were first cousins. He was also Frodo’s second-cousin, once removed and Bilbo’s first-cousin, twice-removed. Hobbits loved family trees, which is how they can say such detailed relations like this. His older sisters were named Pearl, Pimpernel, and Pervinca. I sense a theme, here. Keep in mind, a hobbit doesn’t come of age until 33, so Pippin was the only minor in the group. That justifies some of his more stupid actions, I guess.

Name

Éomer (Grand War-horse)

Born: Third Age 2991

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 28

Another one of my babies. Éomer was the son of Éomund and Théodwyn, Théoden’s sister. When Éomer was 11, Éomund was killed chasing a bunch of orcs. After that, Théodwyn became sick and died. Théoden adopted Éomer and his sister and they went to live with their uncle at Meduseld, the Golden Hall. Éomer became good friend with his cousin, Théodred, and the two loved each other like brothers. After that, Éomer became the Third Marshal of Rohan. This means he led the group of defenders of east Rohan. So Éomer lived in Aldburg, a town in east Rohan. He was meeting with his uncle in Edoras when Gríma banished him.

Name

Éowyn (Horse-joy)

Born: Third Age 2995

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 24

This is my girl, Éowyn. Éowyn’s a BAMF. How many of you can say you’ve killed an unspeakable evil at the tender age of 24. Hell, I’m 22 and the most I’ve done is graduate college. Gotta get my shit together in the next two years. Anyway, this would be the daughter of Éomund and Théodwyn, Théoden’s sister. She was only 7 when her parents died. When Théoden started to fall under Saruman’s spell, Éowyn had to take care of him. What she really wanted to do, of course, was prove herself on the field of battle. 

Part 27 Or So Now Let’s Play ‘Where Are They Now!?’ (FINAL)

Quick and Dirty History of Middle-Earth Pt. 1

Note: Sources for all artwork can be found on the linked pages.