letterstomilenax

[mrkida-art]

Dwarf sisters from Ered Mithrin

[pinkstilettos-onmyface]

Watching The Hobbit as a female writer and I’m sooooo determined to do an all woman fantasy quest story one day I must have it I must make it mine my precious

(Because of the painful lack of women in this genre)

[courseyoulovemeyoudontknowme]

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014, Peter Jackson)

03/07/2024

[greypetrel]

Some of the secrets are necessary, don't get me wrong. It's just… Every time you're "more than just a person" to someone, you're also less than a person to them.

Six Characters Fanart Challenge: 6/12, Scout Lace Harding from Dragon Age. Aka: the cinnamon roll, too sweet for this world, too pure. Bioware please make the dwarves romanticeable, thank you!

I tried to colour the lineart at this turn, what do you think? 🤔

[feliciadraws]

Okay, after sharing this with @bamboorocket I realised I HAD to upload this stupid doodle of my Deep Rock Galactic OC Mona! It looks like utter dog poop but I just did this in like half an hour and I spent most of that working out her armour hahaha

I really need to do another proper thing of her because I love this gun-crazy gremlin child to freaking death ☠️

Meme inspo under the cut!

[thecureimcoldopensavdemo]

hi this is my current and soon to be retired fort of fishconstructs

[overexciteddragon]

I need to fucking talk about this scene BADLY

The fact that DunMeshi actually depicts starving dwarves as ripped muscular anime boys is, to me, absolutely incredible. I can't stress how often fat people starving are depicted as either skin and bones or ✨️beautiful and healthy✨️ (the latter being a body shape that they are encouraged to maintain), it's straight up a trope in so much media for skinny people to be depicted as fat in the past as if it's some "dirty secret", or for fat people to be depicted as unhealthy/ugly until they starve themselves enough to become "attractive", and on top of that the depiction of the Dehydrated Adonis Protagonist has become more and more present in our day-to-day media

Meanwhile, it's becoming more widely known that this isn't how bodies work at all; that fat isn't inherently unhealthy and that ripped bodies aren't just impossible to maintain but often quite dangerous. All of that put together, the depiction of more actors and characters that are fat, chubby, large, etc and not used as comedic relief has been so, so important to really hammer home that lean, dehydrated muscular bodies aren't necessarily something to aim for

But especially, dwarves being shown to have the same physical features as these ripped muscly characters (lean, bulging muscles, sharp cheekbones, defined pecs and neck muscles, etc) when they're starved, and that being depicted negatively is such a huge deal. This is also coming from the same anime in which one of its male protagonists is the epitome of the hero-- an athletic tall man in a shining knight's armour with a big shiny sword-- and he isn't shredded, he's got a tummy, he's got soft arms, he's clearly strong and muscular but it's all protected by a healthy layer of body fat

I'm never gonna shut up about how Dungeon Meshi has been such an incredible vehicle of body diversity with neither insidious fatphobia/queerphobia/racism nor performative (and frankly harmful) allyship behind it. I'm excited for how many young people (and older too!) will be made to slowly but surely question their internalized and ingrained fatphobia or general medical misunderstandings about weight as they watch/read this series. These are such important details and not enough media addresses them in such subtle but clear ways.

Bless Ryoko Kui but also bless Trigger for not doing what a lot of studios do (thinning characters and lightening their skin colours)

[hylorien]

Giant shoulder plates on petite women 😩

[twinqq]

"thorin has decided to stay with bilbo in shire" "bilbo has decided to stay with thorin in erebor" okay now listen. hear me out. it's both.

their homes is so important to both of them, because a huge part of bilbo's motivation to help dwarves on their quest is that bilbo loves his home dearly and wants for the company to have a home, too, and thorin's entire character is built around erebor.

so after the battle of five armies bilbo stays in the erebor for a bit, to help here and there, to see how the weight lifts of his friends' shoulders and they are happier than ever, to watch over wounded thorin and talk to him about a lot of things, and, when thorin is fully healed and he's on the throne again, he says his goodbyes to everyone, kiss thorin farewell (gently, in the forehead (thorin, the great and almighty king under the mountain, is bowing down for the little hobbit), while stroking his hair) and goes back to the shire.

they are writing letters to each other all the time. thorin has memorized every little curve of bilbo's handwriting, while he carefully read through shire's gossip and pies recepies and so, so many love words. bilbo learns a bit of khuzdul and everything about how's erebor restoration is going. thorin's letters is full of marks and word crossed out to the point where they cannot be seen (bilbo knows, that the words are "i miss you")

more importantly, every once in a while bilbo pack his things, hangs the "gone to visit a friend" sign and goes to erebor. he has a status of a king's quest and gold jewelry in his hair. he teaches dwarves new recepies, and works in a garden he planted, and feasts with his friends, and also provides helpful advice on the council meetings he attends. he's with thorin every second he can do so.

at some point he starts to bring frodo with him, and every member of the company adores him (even dwalin. especially dwalin, even he's not showing it.). thorin teaches him how to use a sword, listens to his rants about everything, and, if some dwarves catch their king on his throne entirely unmoving because some hobbit kid has fell asleep by his side, well, it's not like there haven't been rumors.

and, every once in a while, thorin is declaring that he is going on a hunt, or a travel to foreign lands, or something like that, and will take only his closest men with him, and slips away to the shire. company parts ways with him somewhere on the road, and thorin quietly arrives in bag end. guess who's changing in clothes that bilbo altered specially for thorin because no, you won't go to the market fully armoured, and is learning how to make pastry and how to choose vegetables on the market, and is helping with routine tasks like carrying heavy pumpkins and scooping them, and is also fixing broken cart or door or shutter because yes, he may be a king, but he's also a skilled craftsman. yep, you've guessed it.

thorin also sometimes helps bilbo's neighbors on occasion, and their fear changes to curiosity (oh, who's this very quiet and stoic dwarf who lives with you, mister baggins?)

also he's carving toys and little trinkets that go either to bilbo's shelves or to shire's children. also frodo is radiating with happiness every time uncle thorin is visiting bag end. also thorin gets to see how the acorn bilbo planted in his garden grows into beautiful oak.

in erebor bilbo can break out of the constancy that sometimes oppresses him, and in bag end thorin can be domestic, soft and vulnerable. but what's more important is that they are together, and they are home.

they are like hades and persephone folks...

[senshis-top-surgery]

It's me again, back with the Gender Analysis

I wonder if this will be controversial. I hope not.

But, probably, because even with the wonderful additions of @cloverandcrossbones to the ElfShi mannerisms post, people are still misinterpreting Senshi. People are calling him a twink? A femboy?

I'm going to look at various character's clothing, both in setting and in the daydream hour modern setting. I'm going to be using words like "feminine" and "masculine" but please bear in mind, I am going off what is seen as "typical" or "expected" - that is to say, what would not be punished or criticised by average society. I am not saying anything is inherently one or the other, bevause I don't believe anything can be inherently feminine or masculine, since those are terms made up to describe things. Like how something can't be inherently romantic. We assign these things.

Okay, that said, let's begin.

Let's look first, at two other Dwarves

Daya and Namari

We see them here, wearing what is presumably typical clothing for dwarf women. So let's take this as "Feminie Standard" for Dwarves

Here are some more outfits

Now we see a distinction between Daya and Namari. Daya's dress is now much more feminine, covering knees, while Namari's dress is still in Feminine Standard, but with slightly less frills. I would say Daya here is High Femme for Dwarves and Namari is just Average.

This is confirmed when we see them in modern clothes

Daya is wearing the cutest sundress, and even holds herself in a more delicate, feminine way. Whereas Namari is pretty neutral. Nothing particularly feminine or masculine. This may dissappoint some people, but I don't think Namari is that butch. She's certainly on the 'butch'er end of the lady spectrum, but she's not giving dedicated butch to me. More sort of, low effort comfy lady vibes.

I would say that both Namari and Daya are comfortable presenting as, and being seen as, women.

Okay, now we're going to look at Senshi

Senshi and Namari's armour is basically identical, except Senshi opts for a tits out look, probably because he's not actively combating as much as Namari.

Senshi having his chest out is not unusual for dwarf men, nor is covering the chest. Seems like dwarf men are similar to modern day human men. I'm jealous.

So, Senshi's armour is pretty much Masculine Standard. Or perhaps Dward Standard. But it doesn't give us much information on how he chooses to present.

For that info, we need to look at modern clothing Senshi

A Hawaiin (?) shirt and a dress shirt with a tie. A tie! For sitting on the couch with friends. Everyone else is dressed casual and Senshi chose to wear a tie. Even if he just came from work, he has not loosened it.

Look how nice his hair is! He's taking care of his looks. He cares about his appearance. The tie is a choice.

Now, I dunno about you, but this level of care is not Masculine Standard to me. Its like, Masculine+. He's not doing it like Namari, but he's also not over performing Masculinity. I'm calling it Masculine+. What it certainly is NOT is feminine. He also has the same body type. Because you can't change your body type (well, not easily).

Senshi is a bear. 'Bear' within the gay community refers to the body type of fat, hairy men. It is not in reference to behaviour. Same, I believe, is true of twink. Bears can be effeminate in their behaviour. As has been artfully illustrated in the previously mentioned post, Senshi acts effeminately. That's his behaviour. It's a part of his presentation but, it is not about his appearance.

Senshi is an effeminate bear. He's big, he's hairy, he cares about how he looks, he likes to dress masculine, and he likes to act feminine. He's still seems comfortable presenting as, and being seen as, a man.

This is what I personally mean by Genderqueer. Where you're not all the way within the expectations of society. He isn't acting the way a dwarf man is expected to act. He dresses the way a dwarf man expects to be dressed. He's doing Things with his Gender. Things that would make average society go "hmm...bad...".

This is long, so I may do a separate post for analysing Marcille and Falin. But that's my take on Dwarves.

This is of course in no way saying you can't headcanon! Or draw dress up! I love that shit. I just also feel strongly about acknowledging what IS and ISN'T in the source material.

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

Megathread: All Clues concerning “Elrond = Sauron” in “Adar meeting/Kiss scene” (2x07) - Part I

Fellow fans and I have discussed this theory several times, and in many posts, but I think it’s time to create the ultimate megathread, with all the clues, about it. 

And brace yourselves: this is a long read. The amount of evidence is mindblowing and so extensive I had to make two posts about it: Part II.

I) Visual clues:

1) The Touch ™

Let’s start with the obvious one:

This might parallel Sauron’s proposal to Galadriel in 1x08 (and even Galadriel’s reaction is somewhat similar in both scenes):

In 2x08, there’s also a callback to his previous offer (in Season 1 finale): I would have placed a crown upon your head. I would never have rested until all Middle-earth had been brought to its knees, to worship the light of its Queen.

In 2x07, there is an actual callback to Sauron’s offer in 1x08; when Galadriel reveals to Celebrimbor that she did wanted to accept Sauron’s offer (to be his queen):

2) Elrond's Inexplicable Glow Up

When Elrond arrives at Eregion, leading the Elven army, his face is soiled with dirt and mud. However, in the tent with Adar, he’s all cleaned up, with a fresh face, and pristine clean and polished armour and cloak, and flowing hair.

You have the beauty of your foremother, Melian of the Valar. If even a fragment of her wisdom is in your veins, you must know you cannot defeat me in battle. Adar can't see a pretty boy without gushing over him, 2x07

Why is this mention of Melian odd in this context? Melian was the Maia who fell in love with an Elf, Thingol, and birthed Lúthien, the Half-Maia, Half-Elf lady who married Beren, a human (and these two are Elrond’s ancestors). Maiar falling in love with Elves? Does this ring any bells?

Adar compares Elrond’s looks to one of the Maiar, angelic beauty (that Elrond, in spite of having Half-Half-Half-Maia blood, cannot truly have, no matter how attractive he is). And this isn't the first time in Season 2, that Adar talks about Maiar beauty, either:

And after what seemed endless thirst and hunger... I saw it. His servant's face. Sauron's face. And it was beautiful. Adar talks to Halbrand/Sauron, 2x01

There is also a lot of fire (red) on this scene; especially over Elrond himself: the ones who read my post about Sauron's color code in "Rings of Power" already know that red is the color used to signal Sauron's deceptions.

3) The Mystery of the Two Pins 

Hercule Poirot has entered the chat because the pin Elrond usually wears isn’t (1) the same as the one he has on in the scene with Adar, nor (2) the one he gives Galadriel: these are two different pins.  

Elrond’s pin is square-shaped and fits the circle; and the metal is mate. The one he used on the tent scene with Adar is diamond-shape and shiny (like Galadriel’s), and it’s placed on top of the circle (and not inside). 

3) Passing plot-device objects in an intimate manner is kind of their thing

4) The Two Saurons in Prince Durin’s speech

This is actually my favorite clue, and it’s used in mystery/thriller genre.

When Prince Durin is giving a speech to the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm to get them to fight for Eregion alongside the Elves, he mentions Sauron on two occasions. And what’s the footage on screen?

Sauron with Celebrimbor at Eregion (predictable):

But then, we have this: Elrond leaving the Orc camp after his meeting with Adar. Odd...

After we see him leave Orc camp, Elrond's next scene in 2x07 is him in full battle. Which might indicate that the battle didn't stop for Adar's meeting with Elrond... for some reason. 

4) Bear McCreary (OST)

“Elrond’s theme” is not present in the “Kiss OST”, which is strange, because when two characters kiss, usually their themes are mixed together. Yet, in 2x07, we only hear “Galadriel’s theme”.  

"Battle for Eregion": 4:27 - 5:20 (Kiss OST)

"Last Temptation": 6:27 - 6:55 (Rendition of Kiss OST with Sauron's theme on the background | this bit was edited and cut from 2x08, for some reason)

II) Autopsy of a Scene 

In this scene, we, the audience, see Elrond acting completely out of character. “Rings of Power” has established him as diplomatic character, a politician, and even Adar himself tells us this: "You are a courtier. More suited to wielding a scroll than a sword."

We do see (the real) Elrond growing into his “warrior” role in this episode, however, we still witness a certain vulnerability and unsureness to him during his scenes at the Battle of Eregion, because he’s starting his warrior arc, and we see him suffering with the loss of his kin, and his anguish and heartbreak over Durin not coming to help.  

We don’t see this in this scene, at all. It’s a completely different vibe. Here, his body language and attitude it’s like he owns the room. Even when Adar is a bit uncertain, "Elrond” is commanding and bold. Sure, he knows that Durin will come to help, but Adar’s legions are still massive (and the Dwarves only manage to control the situation in 2x08 because the Orc army is shattered and their leader is having a religious experience at the top of the hill).

Let's dig in:

"Your kin"!?

"Not before you have painted the sands of the Glanduin black with the blood of your kin."

Nevermind the threat, Elrond calls the Orcs Adar’s “kin”. Why is this odd? Perhaps we should recall Galadriel’s chat with Adar back in Season 1, to understand how the Elves truly see the Orcs:  

Adar: My children have no master. Galadriel: They are not children, they are slaves. Adar: But each one has a name. A heart. A heart. Galadriel: A heart created by Morgoth. Adar: We are creations of The One, Master of the Secret Fire, the same as you. As worthy of the breath of life, and just as worthy of a home. Soon... This land will be ours. Then, you will understand. Galadriel: No. Your kind was a mistake. Made in mockery. Adar reveals to Galadriel that he killed Sauron, 1x06

Galadriel calls the Orcs "slaves" and "your kind" because their existence is a mockery to the Elves themselves. Morgoth breed them as a corruption to Eru (Ilúvatar)’s creation (the Elves are called the “Children of Ilúvatar”). Meaning: no Elf alive would ever acknowledge the Orcs as “children” out of nowhere (let alone Elrond who’s meeting Adar for the first time, but apparently can read him so well like he has known him for ages).

The previous scene to Elrond’s arrival at Eregion, there's a lot of weight on Sauron’s blood being black, too: If you do not believe me, cut him open. Look at his hand, look at his blood. Black as pitch" as Celebrimbor describes it. We also see Sauron perform an illusion for his blood to appear red.  

Adar: My children have endured cruelties your bravest couldn't bear to hear spoken aloud. Elrond: "Are you prepared to spend their lives so freely, Adar? Are they?"

Why does Elrond keeps acknowledging the Orcs as "Adar's “children" or “kin”? He’s the enemy, and there is no agreement or diplomacy happening in this scene, because Elrond has been antagonizing Adar even since he set foot on that tent. There is no reason for Elrond to talk like this... unless he’s not Elrond, at all.

Because, in 2x01, we saw another character speaking in such a way: 

There is one. Since Galadriel's defeat, she sought out a new ally. An ancient sorcerer, to instruct the Elves in forging a new weapon. One you first told her about. A power over flesh. Do you remember those words? A power that will allow him to use your children as slaves in his army once more. Sauron/Halbrand "plants the seeds" of the Battle of Eregion in Adar's mind, 2x01

And this is the moment when Adar realizes that Halbrand is, in fact, Sauron, and later has Galadriel confirm his suspicion. It’s the mention of “his children” (Orcs) that triggers the recognition between them. Maybe, because: "Do you want to know what he [Sauron] offered me? [...] Children." He tells Galadriel, in 2x06.

The “idea” of the Orcs came from Morgoth, and Sauron was the one who used Dark magic to see it through. And, perhaps, that "magical imprint" creates a recognition between them, because, like Charlie Vickers said, Adar and Sauron share a deep and mystical connection.

Why is all of this relevant? Because after “Elrond” calls him “Adar” (“Father of the Orcs”), there is a switch on Adar’s whole demeanor, and we can even see him looking deeper into Elrond’s eyes, as if he was suspecting him not to be actually be Elrond. And we can see this in Adar’s body language:

Vorohil: The enemy outnumber us ten to one. So why the confidence? Elrond: Because I know something the Father of the Orcs does not. Vorohil: And what is that? Elrond: Even now Prince Durin is rallying a legion of Dwarves to our aid. And at the first rays of sunlight... you will guide them straight into Adar's flank [...] Ride to them now. Meantime, I will ensure that Eregion's walls hold for one more night.

Elrond continues to call Adar the “father of the Orcs” after he leaves the tent for some reason (force of habit?).

But it has to be noticed that Vorohil himself is puzzled by Elrond’s confidence and boldness. And why is Elrond sending him away, exactly? It’s not like Durin and the Dwarves need an escort to get to Eregion, we know they have been there before, in 2x03. Or is he sending him away for him not to tell anyone about this meeting with Adar? 

It's also worth mentioning that another character is also "ensuring that Eregion's walls hold for one more night":

Sauron: Lord Celebrimbor refuses to permit a counter-attack. He says the river will protect us [...] And that is why we're not going to obey him. Gather your finest troops. I am taking command of our defenses.

And how would Sauron know that the Dwarves are coming to help Eregion? Because King Durin III has one of the Seven rings of power, connected to Sauron himself. Which means that Sauron has a direct streaming service into Khazad-dûm, and is aware of everything that happens there. More; King Durin (by the power of his ring) doesn’t allow the Dwarves to help Eregion. Which means, the Elven army will be defeated (just like Sauron wants).

Planting the seeds of discord 

The diplomacy isn’t in the room with us, because we, the audience, don’t see Elrond trying to reason or deal with Adar in any way, shape of form. Instead, Elrond taunts him with doing Sauron’s biding and sacrificing the Orcs’ lives, while going full warmongering on Adar. 

Adar: Sauron is my enemy as much as yours. Give me what I need to defeat him and let us all be rid of him. Elrond: Is it not you that has done his bidding by laying siege to Eregion? Adar: Eregion has fallen into shadow. It belongs to the Deceiver now, as does every Elf within its walls.

What an odd thing for Elrond to say... How does he knows that Adar is doing “Sauron’s biding”? Has he earned his “gift of foresight” already? Without his ring of power? 

Elrond: Are you prepared to spend their [Orcs] lives so freely, Adar? Are they? Adar: The Ring for Galadriel's life. What is it to be? Elrond: Ask me on the field, when the neck with a blade against it is yours.

In this scene, "Elrond” is taking advantage of the Orcs’ dissatisfaction with Adar to create even more conflict between the “father” and his “children”. And the camera lingers on Glûg after “Elrond” says this: who was the first to betray Adar for Sauron, and stroke the first blow to kill him, in 2x08?  

Why is Elrond using tactics from Sauron’s playbook of manipulation and deception in this scene, exactly? Because, here, he’s “planting the seeds” of everything Sauron wants: the Battle of Eregion proceeding (as planned), the Orcs betraying Adar, and giving Galadriel a means to escape (which appears to be the only reason why Elrond is there, in the first place).

Houdini Elrond 

Elrond removes the pin in front of the Orcs and not one sees or says a thing about it. Glûg might have seen it (as I’ve read some fans saying), but Galadriel breaking free wasn’t going to stop the battle, so there was no point in him allowing it; and Galadriel killed several Orcs during her escape, so it kinds of contradicts the theory that Glûg  “let it slide” because he was upset with Adar. 

However, the Orcs being blind it’s one thing, but Elrond boldly faces Adar without his pin. Are you telling me that this corrupted Elf, with thousands of years old (older than Galadriel herself), doesn’t notice that Elrond’s pin is missing and that he took it off? 

What kind of sorcery is this!? Is almost like... magic.

"Forgive me"??

Why is Elrond asking for Galadriel’s forgiveness in this scene, exactly? It can’t be because he’s allowing her to stay as Adar’s prisoner, because he’s giving her a means to escape. And he looks very emotional for it to just be a trick to fool Adar. 

Also, Elrond being there in the first place is a contradiction to the promise he made Galadriel, in 2x04: 

Galadriel: Promise me, Elrond, you will put opposing Sauron above all other considerations. Even my life.   Elrond: I will make no promise whose asking is borne of that Ring. But I swear to you... defeating Sauron will come first. Even before you.

Is he apologizing because he broke his promise? Or because he’s about to kiss her (as I’ve read some saying)? All of these justifications seem kind of weak.

There’s another character who has a lot to apologize for, and who already had a similar to parallel this one, back in 1x05:

[edges-of-night]

Omg I'm like in love with ur blog rn 💕💕 I was wondering if you could do one where the reader comes from a culture that honors warriors and such (kinda like the dwarves)? And so the reader is basically very skilled with weaponry, fighting...etc

Thank you sm 💕

Thank you for your patience with this request – it was a lot of fun to write! Enjoy!

･ﾟ✧ Aragorn.

Having traveled a lot, Aragorn is familiar with your culture, though he has never been as close to someone from it as you. Seeing your famed warrior skills in person surprises him quite a bit – in a good way. He is enamored with the way you carry yourself and your weapons and, most importantly, how you lack a taste for cruelty and instead embrace mercy. He never gets tired of telling you that; it’s a value you both share.

･ﾟ✧ Arwen.

Arwen has great respect for you, since she is familiar with your warrior culture through her noble schooling. That said, she is also quite determined to introduce you to the finer side of life – something that you were never comfortable with or had any experience in. After all, the folk back home frown upon elaborate gowns and indulgent balls – but Arwen doesn’t care about your clumsiness. She always has a big smile on her face when you practice dancing! ♡

･ﾟ✧ Boromir.

Up until meeting you, Boromir has thought your people belonged to the realm of legends and children’s stories. Imagine his surprise when his rescue from the Orc attack came in the form of such a legendary warrior, dashing, loud and proud! To top it all off, you do not see the big deal of the affair and act very casual around the starstruck soldier. One smile is enough to make Boromir realise he has fallen for what he would’ve deemed a fairytale just one day ago!

･ﾟ✧ Elrond.

Elrond deeply appreciates how dutiful and tidy you are. You two are much alike in that regard. The kind Elf values your time together. That is the reason he sometimes wishes you were his little secret – he is quite tired of the ‘scandal’ your presence in Rivendell is to some particularly insular individuals. Whenever someone would dare to even insinuate bigotry toward you, Elrond would be the first to defend you – rather ardently, too, having served in war himself: “Let us see how you speak of them after having your life saved in a bloody battle!”

･ﾟ✧ Éomer.

Éomer may always say that he admires a fellow warrior – but the truth is, he first needs to come to terms with the fact that you are much more skilled and experienced than him. That is difficult for him precisely because he could very well imagine you as his romantic partner, but he knows that a relationship with such envy would be hard. The solution to his distress is hand-to-hand combat, which you never particularly cared for since it is not regarded as important in your culture. But dear Éomer is more than eager to practice with you!

･ﾟ✧ Éowyn.

It is absolutely needless to say that Rohan’s Shieldmaiden would be head over heels for you – but anyway! Not only does Éowyn love how adamant and strong you are, she adores training and sparring together with you. Her enthusiasm for your warrior culture can be overwhelming at times. You sometimes need to remind her that you are more than that. For a change, Éowyn would then teach you the songs of Rohan or tries to cook with you!

･ﾟ✧ Faramir.

Faramir adores you a lot. He would offer to be your squire and tend to your weapons, your armour, as well as your wounds after a fight. He would always make sure you never lost that spark in your eyes – he loves it too much! And while he is a very skilled archer and captain himself, he would never miss an opportunity to announce you to his enemies or bullies. He would also defend you ardently against anyone who criticises your perceived ‘lack of culture’ and give them an entire lecture of your people’s history and customs.

･ﾟ✧ Frodo.

Frodo would’ve never known you were real. He has read about your people in his books and even imagined himself as such a warrior when he was a child. To meet you in person delights him to no end – he has a bit of a celebrity crush on you! However, with his attention so sharp, Frodo wouldn’t fail to notice your distress in social interactions. But luckily, being both a gentleman and social butterfly, he can help you with that – maybe in turn for a show with your knives?

･ﾟ✧ Galadriel.

Galadriel has understood that you were the perfect bodyguard for her very early on. Other Elves may frown upon that – a warrior brute, without any regard for royal protocol or knowledge of Elven culture? So close to the Lady of Light, all day and night? But Galadriel doesn’t care a bit. She delights in the stories you tell her and even shows an interest in your swords, though a sorceress as powerful as her would never need one herself. She never treats you disrespectfully and values your opinion.

･ﾟ✧ Gandalf.

Gandalf cares very little for your culture’s glorification of warfare and honour. He’s seen the negative fallout of such extremes and is thus wary around you at first. Once he understood that you had a sense of humour though, he’d tease you quietly or give a flippant comment about one of your culture’s idiosyncrasies. It’d all be in good faith – Gandalf knows of the importance of self-defense, for example. Still, he much prefers just drinking a cup of tea with you ♡

･ﾟ✧ Gimli.

You could bond almost instantly with Gimli. You two speak the same language. There is, of course, an element of rivalry – especially when it comes to axes. That said, Gimli would absolutely fall head over heels for you after seeing just how skillfully and lightly you could handle hatchets and axes alike. Maybe you’d even “show him how it’s done” and then nonchalantly lean against the weapon, giving him a smirk – he’d melt on the spot!

･ﾟ✧ Haldir.

Haldir would, as always, pretend very hard that he doesn’t care at all for your weapon skills, stealth and sense of duty, and instead even show great disgust for your perceived lack of etiquette and politeness. But the truth is that you are the most intriguing and alluring creature he has ever met! He has always aspired to your level of conscientiousness and combat skills. He’d never say that, of course… but he might just challenge you to a duel and see how it goes – fully aware he would never stand a chance against you!

･ﾟ✧ Legolas.

Legolas definitely has a thing for warrior types like you. He delights in your strength, skills and sense of duty. After all, he himself is an enthusiastic archer and wants to learn as much as he can from you. That said, he also teaches you some much needed levity – not every social interaction is a battle! Observing you amuses him a whole lot, but his smirk is never cruel. He is also the perfect partner to help you unwind after a stressful day of etiquette and polite smiles – he just gets you!

･ﾟ✧ Merry.

Merry is a big fan of warriors. He yearns for your respect and affection – so much so that he’d greatly exaggerate his own combat skills to you, thinking he’d need to be just as martial as you to deserve your love. That is of course not the case, though you appreciate the effort he goes through. You would bond over combat training and philosophy alike. Merry is quick and eager to learn as much about your culture as possible.

･ﾟ✧ Pippin.

Pippin doesn’t know about the prejudice the old Hobbits have towards your people and thus treats you very differently than the others. He’d ask questions about war and honour that many would deem inappropriate. Even you yourself have to admit he is sometimes a bit overly eager. That said, Pippin would just as merrily introduce you to Hobbit customs, food and history. He’d also make a big point of the Tooks being “perhaps the most warrior-like Hobbits there ever were, honestly”, with an important look on his face, before breaking into laughter upon seeing you smile.

･ﾟ✧ Sam.

Sam leaves all the fighting stuff to you. He may dutifully separate the warrior and Hobbit cultures, but he really loves the dynamic you two share. He never shuts up about how proud your people must be of you, back home, seeing just how amazing of a fighter you are – sometimes that just means shooting an arrow to get a particularly red apple from a tree. To you, it’s a simple game, but Sam always kisses your cheek with great gratitude afterwards ♡

[talenlee]

3e: Eberron is A World Of Locks

Hey, do you know the world of Eberron?

Eberron is, in my opinion, probably the best setting Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 ever had. This is partly because of what it presents as available, with its world-native Changelings and Warforged. Another part of it is that it was (at the time) a fresh world which wasn’t already filled edge to edge with Important NPCs you needed to recognise and respect and route around, which like it or not, is one of the predominant things about the Forgotten Realms that stands out in my memory. There’s a wealth of ways players can anchor themselves in that world, with its recent civil war, its dragonmarked houses, and its various discarded, collapsed empires. There’s a lot of stuff to interact with, a lot of means to have a place in that world.

In addition to all that though is an interesting addition to the world that may be a bit less obvious because of how it changed a 3.5 D&D skill in the context of the whole world, and made room for characters who were in a way, trickier.

That is, Disable Device.

If you’re not overly familiar with the way the skill system of 3e D&D, it was a point-based system where your class informed how many skill points you got each level, plus more for your intelligence and plus more for weird extra reasons. These skills then added to your ability scores as appropriate; to jump required Strength, to Hide required Dexterity, all that sort of thing. Sometimes you got advantages based on traits about your culture, like your size or your gross physical qualities, sometimes you had cultural background advantages. It’s like how Elves got a bonus to Listen, Search, and Spot, while Dwarves got a skill bonus to who cares, they’re dwarves.

The skill system was elaborate in a way that didn’t usually wind up producing necessary results. This is a structure that often gets referred to as fiddly. It was worth having 5 skill ranks in a skill you didn’t plan on using because of how it improved another skill, but also that didn’t necessarily matter most of the time, meaning there was a sort of budgetary exchange that once you got it, kind of just dangled there. It also had the weird effect where skills spread out across a bunch of things – being good at jumping, riding, and climbing were all different skills even though fundamentally, those were kinda the same thing and reasonably, being better at any of them would make you a bit better at all of them.

There were some skills that were fantastically specific, like decipher script (that could be used to uh, decipher scripts), or very broad like use magic device (which could fake all sorts of nonsense and work as a skill check for making almost any kind of spell available to the people with the skill). And in this space there was a skill that served to show how skills could be setting specific.

In conventional D&D, high fantasy worlds like Greyhawk, machinery was okay-but-not-worth-it. Disable Device largely lived as a sort of ‘pick locks’ skill, which was usually useful for disabling traps in a dungeon delving environment, or opening doors you didn’t have access to. These two applications steadily became less and less important as magical ways to open locks and close them show up starting as the players level up into the higher level material of level 3. At around that point, the capacity of Disable Device to meaningfully address a need of the party becomes somewhat token, as you can use Knock to bust magical and nonmagical doors and locks, and traps start becoming magical and therefore, best addressed with spells and spellcraft.

It’s a shame too because in terms of an actual skill, like ‘a thing people can do’ Disable Device is pretty cool. It indicates a skill and thoughtfulness that seems like it should be applicable to more things. Toolkits were sometimes connected to the skill, armour repair sometimes but the actual craft of being good with devices was orphaned for its impact in the world and its application to adventurers with a degree of experience.

Welcome to Eberron then, where everything is high magic, sure, but the magic is used to catapult past the industrial revolution. This is a look you may know as Magepunk (which I think is reasonable to use as a term for describing my own setting, Cobrin’Seil). In Eberron, there are trains. There are machines. There are devices that people use in their everyday life, and with that comes a more widespread vision of the applications of disable device.

Now, this isn’t to say that I’ve grabbed the entirety of the Eberron compendium and dug through it for every single time Disable Device is used for every kind of system or interface. But rather that I know, as a GM, in that world, when people are surrounded by trains and chains and industrialised components, and the creation at the scale that suddenly, you didn’t need to consider things like unique, individualised magical creations to keep things safe or secure or operate things.

This has an effect of turning most forms of leaders and threats, people who have spaces that players want to approach and interact with, suddenly don’t have to answer a kind of outsourcing question. If magic is what makes a place dangerous, the people who command dangerous places are going to trend towards being magical. Wizards are the ones who have menageries and laboratories and fancy alchemy stations and whatnot, and those are the things that sites tended to need.

Except if suddenly, locks and tools and machinery exist that mean that you can have a site-based challenge that cares about material components without necessarily everything being a bespoke magical construction, and that means that suddenly the boss that runs this place isn’t the wizard who makes it work, but instead the person who has the power, the means, and the access to construct that sort of space.

Disable Device becomes more useful as a game tool, but also, the world is a place that allows more people to have access to the status of being a kind of ‘boss monster’ character at the end of a character’s narrative. And that’s all through the transformation of the world-centering power of characters.

High fantasy, unconsciously or not, directs all the attention towards the wizard.

Which is a pretty sad trick.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[verkomy]

okay so I’m rereading the hobbit and I want to make a list of my favorite quotes and parts so here we go:

“bilbo (…) got something a bit queer in his make-up from the took side” I chuckled

“mr. baggins was very fond of flowers” of course he was he’s a blorbo

“it was a beautiful golden harp, and when thorin struck it the music began all at once, so sudden and sweet that bilbo forgot everything else” bombastic side eye

“as he lay in bed he could hear thorin still humming to himself in the best bedroom next to him. bilbo went to sleep with that in his ears, and it gave him very uncomfortable dreams” criminal offensive side eye

“the explanation did not seem to explain” my brain 24/7 (but also when someone’s trying to explain the rules of any board game to me)

“bilbo was wearing a dark-green hood and a dark-green cloak borrowed from dwalin. they were too large for him, and he looked rather comic” bilbo in dwarven clothes, just throwing it out there

“bilbo baggins, a bur — a hobbit,” said poor bilbo, shaking all over, and wondering how to make owl-noises before their throttled him” this one made me laugh

“trolls simply detest the very sight of dwarves (uncooked)” this one too

“his house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all” I want to go to there

“dori, who was at the back next to bilbo, and a decent fellow. he made the hobbit scramble on his shoulders as best as he could with his tied hands, and then off they all went at a run. (…) that sent them on faster than ever, and as poor bilbo could not possibly go half as fast, they took it in turn to carry him on their backs” WE WERE ROBBED

“why, o why did I ever leave my hobbit-hole!” said poor mr. baggins bumping up and down on bombur’s back “why, o why did I ever bring a wretched little hobbit on a treasure hunt!” said poor bombur” comedic duo

gandalf answered angrily “I brought him, and I don’t bring things that are of no use” we love a supportive friend

“(gandalf) gave bilbo a queer look from under his bushy eyebrows” live gandalf reaction

“you ought not to be rude to an eagle, when you are only the size of a hobbit” good life advice

“here they sat on wooden benches while gandalf began his tale, and bilbo swung his dangling legs and looked at the flowers in the garden” a short king <3

“that only makes eleven and not fourteen, unless wizards count differently to other people” I LOVE BOOK BEORN SO MUCH and this whole chapter is probably my favorite by far

“the hobbit felt quite crushed, and as there seemed nothing else to do he did go to bed” what a mood

“long noses are sometimes useful you see” do with that information what you want

“they knew only too well that they would soon all have been dead, if it had not been for the hobbit; and they thanked him many times” AS THEY SHOULD, too bad thorin didn’t see any of what happened

“he did not like being dependent on by everyone, and he wished he had the wizard at hand” honestly, same

“never laugh at live dragon, bilbo you fool” another hopeful advice

“you are more worthy to wear the armour of elf-princes than many that have looked more comely in it. but wonder if thorin oakenshield will see it too” ouch

“then bilbo turned away, and he went by himself, and sat alone wrapped in a blanket, and, whether you believe it or not, he wept until his eyes were red and his voice was hoarse” this one hurts

“he was in fact held by all the hobbits of the neighbourhood to be queer” of course he was :D

[ambitionsart]

So... Deadlands but make it a Guild?

Putting it under read more because there's a lot.

So given the Deadlands characters have very little backstory we are headcannoning a lot here. Bare with me.

Edie, I imagine as a rouge (was torn with bard), who uses her sweet charms to get the information she needs. Picks up shifts in taverns in exchange for a roof for a few days.

Garnet is just Prudance 2.0. Since we don't know much of backstory, I can imagine her being a reserved magic user who does not talk about where her magic comes from, because lets be honest a less than savoury patron really doesn't go down well. (Also the idea of her having like a deck of many things, or where her patron picks the cards delt to deal damage would be fun)

Silas, I'm sorry this man is a barbarian. There is no other thing he could be, it's the unfiltered rage. Though I liked the idea of him duel wielding blades like his pistols. Also having miss matched armour to reflect he used to be someone important, the hints of his 'law man' image.

Nate, Okay so. Nate I struggled with. I'm thinking a paladin of some kind? Also I don't know how to translate, was at one point dead and now lives on alcohol and jerky, other than the common stereotype of Dwarves. So. Yeah. Sorry Nate. Though I do imagine him keeping his shirt as if it was something his late wife embroiderd for him and now it's too sentimental to get rid of so it's got patches holding it together.

Delacy, the idea of this relatively human party having a child half orc running around with them felt apt but also the level of humor of oxventure. Also Delacy being an unusually strong child also very good. I can imagine him being a fighter or some combat specific class.

If anyone has any better ideas, hit me up I'm not 100% on all of these, so please add your own to them.

[jasmines-library]

Poisoned heart

WHUMPTOBER DAY 7: Prompt: poisoned.

Fandom: The Hobbit

Summary: after being struck but a poisoned arrow from the Morgul bow, you suffer a fatal injury. Will you get help in time?

Warnings: Blood, Poisoned arrow, poison, sickness, pain.

Word count: 2.9K

Note: this follows the story line of Kili being shot in DoS. This can be read as platonic or romantic and can be seen as Kili x reader or Tauriel x reader, I’ve left it purposely ambiguous for you to decide.

MASTERLIST ⛤ WHUMPTOBER WORKS

🕸 ⋆ ⁶𖤐⁶ ࣪⋆🕸

“No! No!”

There was an uproar when the gates slammed shut, sending the barrels hurtling into the metal, bobbing up and down in the cold, white water. You could hear the rattling of Thorin’s hands gripping the gate and shaking it so hard that his knuckles turned white. The guard drew his sword, readying it before him only to collapse seconds later: plunging over the lip of the bridge and into the water propelled forwards by an arrow which the roaring orc had lodged deep within his back. He landed with a large splash, displacing the water around him.

“Look out!”

You watched in horror as more orcs began propelling themselves over the wall on the other side of the bridge, helpless as your little barrel bobbed along in the river. They barged through, slicing at the armoured guards. Roaring as they attacked, sending a myriad of bodies into the barrels below. Some orcs, some not.

One orc had managed to grasp onto the barrels, after launching itself into the water, leaping on top of Fili, who’s eyes widened in fear. Bilbo heaved himself up, gripping tight onto the barrel before plunging the glowing blue blade into the orc’s chest. It collapsed back into the water.

You watched, shell shocked as your friends fought the creatures ahead of you. Your barrel had just thudded into Kili’s before you. You had been one of the last ones to jump in, trailing at the back of the group. From here, unsheltered by the bridge like the rest of the huddle of dwarves, you could see the rest of the fight unfurl. You could see the orcs catapulting themselves over the walls. You could see that there would be no escape unless you got that door back open.

Honing in on the wooden lever, you clambered out of the barrel. Jumping across the others until your feet landed on the stone steps.

“Y/N?!” Kili called after you, but your response was cut short by another orc which swung at you. You delivered a firm kick to set it off balance before stabbing and twisting with your shortsword.

You hadn’t realised how many there were until you had begun to push your way up the steps. There were orcs flooding in from every direction; billowing down the hills and taking out the elves, flailing in the water, surrounding you.

You were already battling one orc, using your sword to block its attack, when another leaped at you from behind, its teeth bared and weapon lethal. Fili, who had been alerted to your stunt by his brother, flung his weapon at the orc just as you swung, decapitating the one in front of you. They both collapsed to the floor with an ugly ‘thud’.

The lever was just in front of you now. Just a few feet more and then you would be free. You rushed forwards, ducking as another orc soared onto the wall above you, but fueled by adrenaline, you took him down with one well placed jab.

The lever was steps away now, within an arm's reach. You could see the delicate lines etched within the wood. What you didn’t see however, was the scar faced orc chieftain, who had notched and released an arrow from his shiny bow. It lodged itself in your thigh, just short of your knee.

Stopping abruptly, you gasped against the sudden pain, your knee buckling beneath you.

“Y/N?!” Fili cried hoarsely, as his eyes flew open in terror.

Grunting, you leaned forwards, gripping onto the wooden lever and trying to force it down, but your fingers were clammy and your vision swam with pain. You collapsed to the ground, writhing as you clutched the wound - the arrow still embedded in your leg. Time seemed to slow as you lay there, helpless once again to the orcs that had begun to file over the stone wall once again. You forced yourself up on your shaky arms, trying to scoot yourself away from the danger. Then, there was a loud ‘thwip’ as another arrow sailed through the air. You flinched, preparing yourself for a blow that was never to come. This arrow settled itself between the shoulder blade of your offending orc.

Turning your head, your gaze settled on Tauriel emerging from the woods, weapon poised, auburn hair billowing around her. She danced forwards, notching and drawing, taking out the orcs quickly and with what seemed much ease. Other elves emerged too, drawing the orcs away from you and the gate.

Using this to your advantage, you heaved yourself back up. Jumping you wrapped your arms and legs around the heavy lever. At first, nothing happened, then it shifted and you could hear the rattling of the chains as they peeled the gates open slowly, releasing the crowd of dwarf-filled wine barrels then sending them over the edge of the waterfall. Your grip slipped again and you landed flat on your back, crying out in discomfort as the arrow shifted. Black dots danced in your eyeline.

You rolled onto your side, watching as the barrels were swept away, funnelling through the gap.

“Y/N?” Kili called out to you, watching you anxiously from below. His stomach knotted when he spotted the arrow.

Heaving your legs over the side of the wall and fighting through the wave of nausea, you gave yourself one final push. Your body plunged off of the bridge, landing in your empty barrel. You didn’t manage to contain your scream as the end of the arrow caught on the rim of the barrel, ripping upwards before snapping in half. All eyes snapped towards you, including Tauriel whom you had never seen look more concerned. You slumped against the barrel, your vision doubling and wound throbbing.

Another weak cry slipped from your lips as you were tossed about in the barrel as it went hurtling over the edge. The cold water spilled into the barrel as it twisted and turned inside the rapids. You were amazed it had managed to keep afloat. Your hand kept a futile grip on the rim as you whimpered each time your body shifted, sending agony throughout your body. Ahead of you, despite the motion of the water, Thorin stood, craning his head to try and see you within the carnage. Orcs chased after you, scrambling along trees and along the river banks. Some toppled into the water, shot down by the elves.

~

It seemed like an eternity before the rapids smoothed out and the little barrels were left bobbing along with the current. Thorin was using a mossy stick which he had acquired along the way to propel himself forwards. Most of the other dwarves had resorted to using their hands to wade along.

At some point, Bilbo had attached himself to your barrel. You weren’t sure when, your head was too hazy and everything had passed by in a blur, but you suspected it was when he saw you struggling to lean forwards in your little wooden raft. You were unsure how he was seemingly uninjured, despite the perilous rapids, but he tugged you along none the less. Somewhere around you Kili and Fili lingered. You had heard the brunette call out to you a few times, paling at your slumped head.

“Anything behind us?” Thorin called out to those bringing up the rear.

“Not that I can see.” Someone called back.

Thorin Oakensheild nodded, paddling towards a large rock. “Make for the shore.”

“Aye.”

There was another raucous as the rest of the group manoeuvred their makeshift boats towards the rock. They hauled each other up and out of the rafts then helped them onto the safety of the shore. You forced yourself out of the barrel, sliding into the water. It flooded into your wound. You hissed in pain, before rising to your feet then making your way as steadily as you could onto the shore.

You didn’t make it far before the stabbing agony was back, tenfold and shooting down your leg. With a grunt, you dropped to your knees, clutching the wound. You inhaled sharply, swallowing thickly the bile that had risen in your throat. There were hands on you in seconds as the two brothers dropped to your side.

“Y/N?” Kili looked at you, panicked. Fili’s hands did what his brother's mind was thinking, but his body wouldn’t allow him to do; press down firmly on the wound.

You cried out again at the pressure and the digging in of the piece of arrow that was still in your thigh. It sent another wave of nausea through you. Your mind screamed at you that something wasn’t right.

“Im fine.” You brushed him off, trying to push his hands away but to no avail, they were stuck down firmly, quickly being coaxed in your blood. “It’s nothing.”

“Kid,” Fili reprimanded, “This isn’t nothing.”

“I’m fine.” You repeated again through gritted teeth.

Kili was frozen, watching the way your face twitched every time your leg lit up with pain.

“We need to get the rest of the arrow out.”

You nodded. Squeezing Kilis hand, which had found it’s way into yours tightly. His brother dug his fingers into your leg to fish out the shards of the arrow. You gritted out a muffled cry, barely able to contain the vocalisation of your pain. Once it was free, you sagged against the dark haired man. You felt sick. You felt your stomach churn in pain, you felt the bile rise again in the back of your throat as you heaved rapidly. Something wasn't right.

“On your feet.” Thorin barked, scanning the area. He hesitated at his nephew's reply.

“Y/N is wounded. Her leg needs binding.” Fili stated.

Kili tore away part of his damp shirt, handing it to his brother who made quick work of beginning to bandage your gaping wound.

“There’s an orc pack on our tail. We need to keep moving.”

“To where?” Balin furrowed his wispy brow.

“To the mountain.” Bilbo implored. “We’re so close.”

“A lake stands between us and that mountain. We have no way to cross it.”

Bilbo thought for a moment. “So we’ll go around it.”

That was when the figure appeared.

~~~

You had gotten worse, feverish. Your legs barely functioned as you leaned up heavily against Kili. His arm was wrapped tightly around your waist, helping to keep you upright as they moved swiftly through-out lake town after being smuggled in by Bard.

As time moved forwards, the company had begun to notice that this was no ordinary arrow. That this was not an infection. No, your body was too hot, your skin shades too pale and devoid of all of the life it usually held. Other than favouring your left side, you were hunched awkwardly as though you had forgotten to stand. A thin sheen of sweat glistened on your forehead as you head lulled against the man who was half carrying you through the streets with his brother. You were bleary eyes and too much pain. Something wasn’t right.

Despite being feverishly warm, your body wracked itself with violent shivers. You had dried your hardest to hold in your yells of discomfort, but then your legs gave way completely and you crumpled with a howl of agony and a whimper, causing the two dwarves to stumble in their tracks.

“Y/N?”

You were laid down on the ground as soon as they had found somewhere safe to do so. You didn’t respond, only whined as your whole body was consumed with raw pain. There was a pat on your cheek as your head lolled on the damp ground. Kili cursed under his breath, unwrapped the blood soaked scraps and peeled back the fabric of your trousers. His sharp intake of breath was nearly on par with your ragged wheezes.

The wound was still bleeding freely, although it had slowed slightly due to being bound. That wasn’t what had shocked the man though. What had were the dark, angry tendrils that seeped across your skin from the wound.

“Oh my…Y/N?” Kili cradled your head in his hands.

You could only bring yourself to choke up one pain wrapped word. “Hurts-“

“She’s been poisoned.” His brother muttered. He tore off a part of his shirt to rewrap the wound with.

“Please… make it stop.”

~

Tauriel had come rushing into the village, blonde counterpart in tow. After capturing and interrogating an orc, she had rushed to find you. She couldn’t let you slip away. The elven woman would never have forgotten the way she felt her heart constrict at the mention that you had been shot with a Morgul arrow. The poison was fatal as it worked its way mercilessly through your body, shutting it down. At first, she refused to believe it, but the elf had seen it with her own eyes. She had heard the way you cried out, seen the way you scrunched up your face in agony. She couldn’t let that be her last memory of you. She wanted to remember the way you smiled with your eyes, or the soft lilt of your voice. So, she had raced to find you.

It wasn’t hard to follow your tracks. She had found the barrels at the bottom of the waterfall then seen the blood that laced the rocks. Her chest constricted as she pushed on. Dwarves were not light-footed people, so it was easy to distinguish the way the company had travelled. She noted the closeness of three sets which later dwindled into two and a pair of drag marks. Her issue began when the footsteps entered the town.

Though it didn’t take her long to find you within the village. She would be able to pick your voice out from within any crowd. Though this time she grimaced. It was your cries of agony that she could hear. You were buried within the house furthest from the village. She didn’t take any courtesies when she flung the door open, only to be greeted with the pointy end of a silver sword. Of course you were not alone. Whilst the majority of the group had headed off into the mountains, you had been left sidelined. A few other dwarves along with Kili and Fili had remained by your side; the latter of whom was directing his weapon towards the elf.

When she took a step back, and raised her bag filled with an assortment of herbs. “Please… I’m here to help.”

With a sharp nod, he removed the blade and let the woman into the room. Here, your cries were louder, despite how much you tried to hold them in. The Morgul poison was taking control of your body, drowning you in a pain clad state. The dwarves moved simultaneously to place you on the table. You writhed in their grip, clutching your chest.

Tauriel rummaged around in her bag, pulling out handfuls of herbs and mixing them together.

“Hold her down.” She said, as she moved towards you with a bowlful of herbs.

The four dwarves had to use a surprising amount of force to try and keep your legs still as you twisted and contorted in pain, crying out fatefully.

Kili, who was near your head, had to clench his jaw when he made eye contact with the elf. She had stilled at the sight of your wound, angry and festering.

You were consumed by a blinding pain when the brunette began to chant, pressing and rubbing the herbs into your wound. Your back arched as your stiffened, screaming.

Then suddenly it all stopped, as your body began to go numb. Your blood curdling screams morphed to soft whimpers. Fili glanced anxiously at his brother. Time seemed to slow again as you watched the woman work, tender but with haste. Then, Kili, still clutching your chest, watched as your breathing slowed and your eyes rolled into the back of your head.

~~

You weren’t even aware you had passed out until your eyes fluttered back open. Someone was fastening another bandage around your leg, and another was holding your hand softly. The remaining dwarves eyed cautiously from around the room. You squinted.

“Tauriel?” Your voice was barely a whisper.

“Lie still.” She told you.

“You cannot be her…” you muttered in a pained daze, gazing up blankly at the ceiling. “She is far away. She- she walks in starlight in another world. You’re just a dream…”

Your head rolled to the side, gazing upon Kili, who rubbed his thumb in circles on the back of your palm. He remembered the day the two of you first met her. She had saved his life. He had watched the way the two of you instantly clicked and the way that life had kept you apart.

Your fingers reached out, unexpectedly brushing hers. She took it and squeezed it gently. A smile made its way onto your face and you sighed contently happy two have your two favourite people by your side.

🕸 ⋆ ⁶𖤐⁶ ࣪⋆🕸

<- DAY SIX ⛤ DAY EIGHT ->

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@senjoritanana

@deans-spinster-witch