#elf marriage wip

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

Writing the elf marriage wip again and omg Roel is so silly.

He's spent 13 chapters and 50k words thinking Teddy was sooo dull and stupid and lame and cringe and plain-looking and referring to her as "the girl" and then she demolishes 5 men in as many seconds and stands over him in her Edwardian lady underwear looking hench and diesel and pissed as fuck and suddenly he's like "omg I'm so lucky MY WIFE didn't explode me with her mind before when I was rude to her. woaow ... look at how that lace frames her biceps ..."

Bro's sexuality got activated for the first time in his life, bless <3

[littlejuicebox]

LittleJuicebox Masterlist

Click here for my AO3 account. (Converting is a WiP).

If you’d like to be added to a tag list, please DM me and I can send you the google doc link. I have decided to keep tag lists for each individual series so you only get tagged in the ones you want.

My personal favorites are denoted by a +.

GN reader is denoted by a * otherwise assume Fem reader/OC.

Titles colored red are smut or other mature themes, 18+ only.

AstarionxWren Series:

This is a canon-adjacent passion project which focuses on Astarion and Wren, a ranger half-elf with her own backstory. She is based off my first Tav. Do you like angsty slow burns where two broken people find one another and learn to love again? Then this one is for you.

Chapter 1 / Chasing birds to get high (PG) + Chapter 2 / Between comfort and chaos (PG) Chapter 3 / Sunshine and midnight rain (PG13) + Chapter 4 / Protect the flames (M/Gore) Chapter 5 / Blue and silver bonded (PG13) Chapter 6 / Remember how it feels to have a heartbeat (PG13) Chapter 7 / Give peace a chance (M/Smut) + Chapter 8 / Dancing in a burning room (M/Gore) Chapter 9 / Lavender haze (PG-PG13?) Chapter 10 / I want to hold your hand (PG13)

Midnight Chimes Series:

Your parents own a tavern in Baldur’s Gate, and Astarion was somewhat of a regular when you worked at the bar in your younger years. You don’t exactly trust him. Now you’re an apothecary owner based in Waterdeep, and when the two of you crash on the beach, you aren’t exactly thrilled to see him there, too. But things aren’t always what they seem.

1 / The Prologue +

2 / Three years

3 / Luck +

4/ Ringleader

Midwinter Carol Series:

Eirianwen and Astarion were in love before the Ascension ritual changed his behavior toward her. She refused to become a spawn, and they went their separate ways. The story starts when they run into one another fifteen years later; Eirianwen returned to the city to deliver some news to the pale elf. Meanwhile, the Ascendant had a night time visitor that convinced him to change his ways, and he believes his ex-lover might be the key. Will he be able to change after fifteen years of living life as a debauched degenerate?

1 / The Prologue +

2 / The Barrier

3 / The Carriage

4 / The Auction +

5/ The Repeat

6/ The Affliction

7/ The Interrogation

8/ The Scheme

9/ The Snake

AstarionxReader One Shots and Mini-Stories:

Mini-Stories are grouped together in order and denoted by a “Part X” in sequential order after the title. These are in general "timeline" order and follow my (admittedly self-indulgent) headcanon for Spawn Astarion x Tav but can definitely be read as OneShots. All stories are AstarionxReader, some allusions to reader having spellcaster ability but otherwise no real description apart from being female in about 3/4 of the fics.

Act 1-2:

The little things.

Before someone steals your queen

Act 3:

Drunken nights*+

The nail salon

You'll stay still, won't you, little love? +

Post-BG3:

Mermaid whiskey+

Baking Cookies*

Astarion talks in his sleep Part 1*+

My Sun, My Moon Part 2+

Glowing in the Underdark+

Reflections on one year of marriage

Highharvestide Part 1

Highharvestide Part 2

Handmade+

Dadstarion:

The wish spell worked.+

Daddy?

Little bump.

Labor and joy

Skin to skin.

Milk.+

Little lockpick.

Beach babies.+

A growing brood.

Puppy love.

Stuck.

Pre-BG3 / Random / Ascended Astarion OneShots

Midnight chimes / The Original One Shot

Pre-BG3. You’ve known Astarion for years… or at least, you’ve known of him. You think he’s a rake, but one night he changes your mind. The series "Midnight Chimes" started based off this "prologue."

A Midwinter Carol / The Original One Shot

“A Christmas Carol” but Ascended Astarion is Scrooge. He sees you after your break up 15 years ago, and then has an unexpected nighttime visitor showing him past, present, and future. Will he be convinced to change his ways? The series "Midwinter Carol" started based off this "prologue."

Naughty or Nice?

You’re Ascended Astarion’s little toy in the middle of a party. TLDR; he’s tease and a BDSM dom.

Dancing on my own

[greenleaf4stuff]

Of Convenience 3

(all previous parts of "Of Convenience")

Adar x Celebrimbor (silverscars) political marriage AU, 3rd snippet. Officiator found, Adar and Celebrimbor get right down to business and get wed in the uruk camp. However, there is an unforseen hurdle. Celebrimbor ends up being the voice of reason this time around – with unexpectedly nice consequences. (aka, a kiss)

I feel like my muse has lured me in with candy (the political marriage AU idea) and is now holding me captive (making me write more snippets). Not like I have like. 20 ideas in my ideas folder and two other WIPs open or anything like that. Nuh-uh. I feel like I have gotten completely blindsided but – I am having an absolute blast so far?! Let’s see how far this wave will carry me, shall we?

(Also a big huge Thank You to everyone who has commented and liked and reblogged and sent me messages about these snippets, it’s been an absolute delight and I partly credit your lovely encouragement with why I have gotten so invested in this.)

They got through the 'ceremony' much better than Celebrimbor had expected. Between Galadriel's lingering reluctance and their shared lack of in-depth knowledge on how elven marriages were to be officiated, it had taken them a while to work out all the details (Adar had helped out in that regard, to both Celebrimbor’s and Galadriel’s surprise) – and then one of the uruk had demanded the two husbands-to-be add some words that included Adar's children and the marriage's legitimacy among them into the vows.

Safe to say, trying to get Galadriel and the uruk - Glug, if Celebrimbor was not mistaken - to settle down after this had been a bit of a hassle.

But still, they got through it - without cussing, without bloodshed, without attempts on one of the grooms' lives (Celebrimbor was considering Galadriel with newfound respect as he acknowledged that particular feat), and so the smith would count the proceedings as a victory. He'd had very few of those in the last few weeks, and would take it for what it was.

However, when it came to the end of the wedding ceremony, another problem arose:

"No," Adar flatly stated. It caused Celebrimbor to blink in surprise, and Galadriel to glare at the uruk from where she stood next to the two future husbands. Adar's face had hardened into a grimace of disapproval. "There must be a way to circumvent this."

What he was talking about was, of course, the part during which he and Celebrimbor were meant to kiss to seal the marriage. It was a common practice, not just among elves but men and dwarves as well. That Adar either hadn't anticipated it, or would now make such a fuss about it after having championed a political marriage as their primary option of cooperation, was baffling, to say the least.

Celebrimbor knit his eyebrows in confusion, even as Galadriel spoke. "Orc- Uruk. You pushed for this to take place, you cannot possibly think to stop now when we have almost reached an accord and bound the two of you-"

"I will not kiss him," Adar replied. This time, there was steel in his voice. "He accepted a political marriage, not one of passion. He clearly does not want to kiss me. I will not force him into it."

Judging by Galadriel's resulting look, she was taken just as off-guard by Adar's words and the smith was.

Coupled with Adar's strained expression, Celebrimbor couldn't help but feel warm at the other's objections.

The uruk had told him he wouldn't touch Celebrimbor without permission, that he would not force him. This had clearly been important to him, even before he'd fetched Galadriel. That it went so far as to include a kiss to seal their arrangement was doing something to Celebrimbor's stomach, and made him feel unexpectedly safe. Confident, even.

He could see that Galadriel and Adar were ready to get into yet another spat, so the smith stepped forward and slowly – very slowly – raised his hands to Adar's face.

The uruk briefly startled, surprised at the elf's brazen gesture, and it took him some obvious effort to untense again. Still, when Celebrimbor brought his hands up to the his cheeks, the uruk did not withdraw.

The feel of Adar's rough, scarred skin under Celebrimbor's fingertips sent a shock through the smith. The other was warmer than he had expected.

Up this close, Adar had green-blue eyes. And they were so completely focused on the smith that it almost stole his the air from his lungs.

"Adar," he tried, and could have sworn that the other had sucked in a breath as he spoke the uruk's name. "You were right, this arrangement is our best chance to avoid a bloody, gruesome war that would claim the lives of countless people – those of my fellow elves, and your children," he spoke back the uruk's words at him, as if reminding him.

"I trust you not to betray this alliance, and I trust you not to hurt me. You haven't so far. I allow you to-," it wouldn't help his case if his words failed him now. "To kiss me. It is part of the ceremony. It will take but a moment. I am allowing you to do this. Maybe neither of us has a desire for it, but, it is no hardship if done for a lasting peace."

Adar looked torn, mouth pinched and eyebrows furrowed, as he stared at Celebrimbor.

The smith tried again. "If you are holding back only for my sake, you do not have to. Truly. Though if it is because you are having second thoughts-"

"That is not it," the uruk spoke, voice brash, and he needed a moment reign himself in again. Celebrimbor waited with bated breath – his fingers still rested on Adar's cheeks, and the uruk hadn't even made an attempt to grab them or shake them away from his body. "I said I would not force you."

"You are not forcing me," Celebrimbor disputed, and leant closer. He could see Adar's eyes widen as he almost touched their foreheads together. The way the uruk’s mouth unconsciously opened made Celebrimbor feel even warmer, and he pressed forward with his words. "I could imagine far worse choices for a marriage, or even a kiss. You needn't fear for my comfort."

Granted, not exactly the most elegant thing to say to a man who would soon be bound to his side and commandeer a huge, deadly army straight towards Ost-In-Edhil, but it was the best Celebrimbor could come up with – without obviously lying, or giving away how the the thought of kissing Adar did in fact at least stirr something within him. A little.

He'd never just been interested in elves as potential partners, but he'd never thought he'd find himself in the position of kissing an orc- er, uruk.

Nor that he'd be even remotely interested in wanting to.

It was, indeed, a very strange day.

Maybe some of his thoughts had shown on his face, or perhaps his shoddy attempt of making Adar feel at peace had done some good after all, but the uruk eventually dropped his strained expression and exchanged it for a slightly guarded, but more relieved one. He nodded. "If you are sure."

"Surest I will be, considering the circumstances," Celebrimbor said with a tiny laugh, before he sobered again. "Apologies. But yes, I am sure. You may kiss me. Let us do this."

Somehow, his words did the trick, because when the smith leant forward, Adar did the same.

At the edge of his awareness, Celebrimbor could hear Galadriel gasp and the uruk guards make noises of disgust as they – very loudly – turned away from the proceedings.

But all that seemed to fall away when compared to the feeling of touching his lips to Adar's. It was a chaste kiss, just a press of lips really, but it was...surprisingly nice. Adar's lips were softer than Celebrimbor had expected, slightly parted and as warm as his cheeks.

Their noses brushed as the two moved closer together, and after a moment, there was a gauntleted hand on Celebrimbor's shoulder as Adar tried to balance himself. And soon after that, a second hand – slow and cautious – grasped his elbow.

Physical contact, yes, but it was done in such a considerate and respectful way that Celebrimbor hadn't seen it coming. He felt his belly quiver once more, this time more strongly than when he'd first considered what touching Adar might be like. It was hard, not to lean fully into the kiss – into the uruk – and just sink into the touch like he would into a hot bath.

When Adar drew away from the kiss, Celebrimbor realized with a start that he'd closed his eyes some time during it. Judging by how Adar had to reorient himself, he'd likely had the same happen as well.

'Huh,' the smith thought, and followed Adar's example as they untangled their hands from each other. Adar even brushed down the smith's robe before he retracted his hand from Celebrimbor’s elbow, while the elf couldn't help letting his hand touch Adar's hair as he dropped his arms.

It, too, was unexpectedly soft.

Flustered, he turned to Galadriel, ready to have her announce the marriage as officiated.

And felt the need to avert his gaze at the near scandalized, wide-eyed way Galadriel was looking at him, mouth open and all.

'Why isn't Elrond here to witness this? I thought there was absolutely no way to turn Galadriel of the Golden House of Finarfin speechless. He surely won't believe me when I tell him,' Celebrimbor thought, just a touch hysterical.

"That should be it, right? The wedding has been performed," Adar stated. He was once again standing next to the large table in the center of the tent, ready to down another glass of wine. Celebrimbor couldn't help thinking that so much wine before a battle could not be a good idea, but who knew what kind of a tolerance the uruk had.

Truth be told, Celebrimbor could probably use a glass himself, all things considered.

When Adar offered him one unexpectedly a moment later, the smith took it with a surprised but pleased expression, and thanked the other for it. Adar dismissed it, though not unkindly.

Finally, Galadriel found her voice again. Not without a sputter at first, however.

"You are right. You are now bound together. It...it is done."

"Well then. Cheers," was Celebrimbor’s reply to that, stated drily, before he downed his glass. Not the kind of wedding he'd imagined for himself, but well. At least he didn't have to invite Thranduil. That had to count for something, right?

[inexplicifics]

WIP Folders Game

Rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Tag as many people as you have wips. People send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, then post a little snippet or tell them something about it!

Tagged by @flawney - thank you!

Oooh boy. I think I need to learn how to make a readmore, because this is going to take a while. Also, I’m going to do non-AWAU fics only, I think.

I will not be tagging that many people! Please consider yourself tagged if you would like to be.

CAW Guxart mk 2

CAW: Cedric & Axel

CAW: Letho

Coën joins a pack (ISNLIV)

Jaskier writes to priscilla (ISNLIV)

SOH 3 (ISNLIV)

gaetan/letho in modern AU

Minor fall: Gweld

Pirate laiden - Aiden POV

Pirate laiden - Aiden POV 2

Gweld mk 3 (Three Bells)

Three bells - Vesemir

L/M warlady tribute 01

L/M warlady tribute 02

M/V guardian/mage

M/V guardian/mage 2

Aiden vs Puss in Boots

Broken lock - Marika & Milena reunite

Byzantine shifters - starbird

demon!Lambert/Milena

E/L wrestling

E/OC cursed Eskel

E/OC linnet

E/OC succubus rescue (outline)

Eldritch trio/Jaskier

Eskel & fae

Eskel character study

Eskel/Gaetan post-Tournament

Fine dining AU (notes)

G/E goat farm

G/E herbalist

G/E nostalgia deathfic

G/E prince & bodyguard

G/E/G2 packs

G/E/G2 volleyed & thundered 3

G/E/L 2nd 1st time sequel

G/E/L/J omegaverse claiming

G/J (?) werewolf!Geralt

G/J 5+1 Jaskier gets kidnapped

G/J catskier

G/J Geralt & a pixie

G/J h/c for Rose

G/J hostage essi

G/J little red riding hood

G/J mob AU

G/J modern AU lost J

G/J modern AU pack

G/J part-elf!J angst & h/c

G/J pirate!Geralt

G/J Rapunzel

G/J warlock!Jaskier

G/J warlord AU Jaskier volunteers

G/J whipping boy warlord AU

G/OC prostitute

G/Y dating

G/Y warlord AU

G/Y words

G2/S post tournament

Gargoyles with Starbird

Gen ? streetrats

Gen dragon wolf satyr bard

Gen high school AU

Gen KM with plumbing

Gen mercenaries

Gen nonhuman bar

Gen pavetta and geralt

Gen post-tournament school merger

Gen receptionist!Jaskier

Gen transformed Vesemir

Gen? Eskel & Deidre

Griffin pon farr

Gweld/Serrit modern college AU

J/W “warlord” CNC

J/W omegaverse pregnancy

J/W/C golden 3 - KM

knight!Milena

L/? Modern adult adoption

L/?/M space pirates

L/A against a wall

L/A collared Aiden

L/A d/s modern AU

L/A fae!Aiden

L/A fake dating modern AU

L/A hedgehog!lambert

L/A masseuse!aiden

L/A meet-cute karaoke 2

L/A modern with magic hedgehog

L/A neighbors

L/A omegaverse hidden scents

L/A pirate!Aiden for SAWB

L/A seven swans

L/A that-damned-cat

L/A thief’s reward sequel

L/A wrong apartment

L/A/M alpha!Milena

L/A/M auction: aiden

L/A/M bath aftermath

L/A/M bird!Milena

L/A/M cat witcher!milena

L/A/M cursed cat Aiden

L/A/M dire panther Milena

L/A/M dream soulmates

L/A/M duke’s third daughter

L/A/M fake dating

L/A/M fake dating modern AU

L/A/M forced marriage

L/A/M goddess!milena

L/A/M happened so fast second chapter

L/A/M high school AU

L/A/M holding out for a hero - finding Aiden

L/A/M knight!milena 2

L/A/M little merlambert

L/A/M mage!milena

L/A/M modern AU college

L/A/M modern AU tattooist

L/A/M modern auction

L/A/M modern tweet inspired

L/A/M modern wedding AU

L/A/M noble!Lambert witcher!Milena

L/A/M soulmate AU

L/A/M swan daemon

L/A/M time & tide alternate

L/A/M time travel soulmate AU

L/A/M Warlady Milena (and her Right Hand Zofia)

L/A/M wedding gift

L/A/V save that alpha

L/A/V/M bonding

L/A/V/M chase

L/A/V/M omegaverse

L/A/V/M omegaverse pt 2

L/A/V/M ruling omegas

L/A/V/M space romance

L/M batb beast!milena

L/M chained Milena

L/M chained Milena 2

L/M dom!Lambert

L/M dragon!Lambert

L/M hallmark yule mk 2

L/M holding out for a hero - marika miscommunication

L/M mail order milena

L/M meet cute in a cabin

L/M outsider POV

L/M sentinel/guide AU

L/M teacher!Milena

L/M werewolves darker

L/M wolves in the woods

L/M(/A?) modern bear trap

L/V cloaked

L/V/M begone to the witchers

L/V/M begone 2

Modern werewolf pack

tribute!Lambert warlord!Geralt

Vanyel in AWAU

Vexart tournament

Vipurr omegaverse human!gaetan

Vipurr regency AU

Weird omegaverse war prize thing

YW omegaverse acquiring Aiden

[y-rhywbeth2]

Elves: Social Life

Society, family, friends, dating and marriage, blah

Link: Disclaimer regarding D&D "canon" & Index [tldr: D&D lore is a giant conflicting mess. Larian's lore is also a conflicting mess. There's a lot of lore; I don't know everything. You learn to take what you want and leave the rest. etc]

Physiology and quirks | Names & Clans and Houses || Pan-Cultural things: Social life | Time and Age Categories | Homes | Language | Art | Entertainment | Technology || Elven 'Subraces' still a wip || Philosophy and Religion & Pantheons || Half-elves | [WIP]

I hit the point where I'm tired of editing and checking sources, so here's some idea on how relationships work for elves whatever level of coherency it has. There might be more or contradictory information in other novels, but I do not have that much free time.

Mostly surface elves, mostly elves in elven lands. Though it also applies to elven diaspora communities (who do stick together and maintain their culture).

• Elven social life in general, plus greetings and etc

• Gender roles in society (or lack therof)

• Family and terminology

• Dating, sex and marriage That I guess you can use for ideas for your elven pcs or if you're dating the vampire who probably doesn't give a damn about elven social mores, the druid or whoever. idk how much elven social norms matter to Ketheric, but if you want to fuck the villainous old man you could give it a shot.

-

'Elves who lived even in reasonably close contact were so connected to each other through the Reverie and the Weave that they shared at least some shadow of each other’s emotional experiences.'

'As I would think, so shall ye; As I would feel, so shall ye; As I would do, so shall ye; As I would not harm, nor shall ye; As I would, so shall the clan; As the clan would, so shall I; As we would, so shall ye; The People are as one, and never shall I stray from this, nor shall ye, for to digress is to diminish you and your People.' - The Code of the People

There's a balancing act involved in elven societies where personal freedom is greatly prized but at the same time they're very community-centric cultures.

An elf is an individual part of many things: their House, their settlement, their environment, the People as a whole (which includes the Seldarine). The health and wellbeing of all of these things is the health and wellbeing of you, as your elders will teach you growing up.

Regardless of blood relation elves will usually address an elf of same rank and age as siblings; 'brother,' 'sister,' etc. Another term for a young (surface) elven stranger is 'thaes.' Although insofar as I remember I think it's used to address an elf you don't know and just met with that term until you learn their name or title. There's a whole host of titles and honorifics for nobles, elders and important people.

A friend is 'ebrath,' for surface elves and 'abbil' for drow.

There are various nuances and rules governing how to address people, and you can get an idea of their personal opinion on somebody and their politics by whether they use your name and what titles of address they use when addressing another.

Elves prioritise their Clan/House allegiance first and foremost, their homeland second (be that Evereska, or the Wealdath, or Ched Nasad, or wherever), their subrace next, and then the elven people as a whole.

House politics is a whole other post, but suffice to say your House is usually your family, your political party and likely your employer with its own internal culture and laws that you follow, and you'll likely be working in the family business (or one of them). Your personal reputation affects your House reputation, and your House's reputation and the reputation and behaviour of your clanmates also affects your reputation and determines what doors are open or closed to you. If an alehouse is owned by a member of a rival House, or one of their allied Clans/Houses, don't expect service; if a village or hunting grounds is home to a rival House/Clan don't expect a warm welcome there.

The higher your personal rank and the rank of your family, the more the personal-community social symbiosis affects you. What counts as lessening or increasing personal and familial prestige varies by elven culture and what they value.

There's another balancing act in elven culture with really, really deep intimacy and also not intruding on another's personal space. There must be room for quiet and solitude and respecting the individuality of another in between the mind-melding and oversharing.

An elven social circle is often decided by hobbies and careers, where the elves gather together to learn from elves with skills they desire and debate and infodump about whatever hyperfixation they're absolutely obsessed about with those who share it (those who don't share these interests make poor conversation for each other). There will be months, if not years, where individual elves won't be seen or receptive to socialising because they're busy with whatever project they're working on.

Privacy is a concept, but it's not as strong as it is with non-elves. There is no nudity taboo, and a significant amount of elven magic used in daily life, even outside of communion, involves mind reading (usually for security reasons).

Your fuck ups will be remembered. Evereskans at least have no social taboo against plainly discussing the personal business and even the failures of others amongst themselves even if you're standing right there, so you will hear about it and your neighbours will know. It's taboo to be overly frank or cruel to you about it - and most are not intentionally being cruel, just matter of fact - but there will be reactions like pity and scorn all over.

The lack of privacy is actually one of the complaints elves often have about their own culture when it gets too invasive.

Elves are also very good at holding a grudge; forgiveness is not a virtue in a people who relieve their memories over and over every night, including any pain you've given them.

Their in-group thinking also lends itself too neatly to xenophobia. The Tel'Quessir are masters at the sport of us vs them, and choosing 'them' is a betrayal that can garner a response of mass hysteria and violence depending on the nature of the slight (real or perceived), although violence is significantly more likely from elven youth (aged under 100-250ish years old). Aiding an N'Quess against an elf? The height of betrayal.

An elven 'in-group,' usually their immediate community, is often tightly knit even if they don't like each other or spend much time together: the community's young are encouraged to grow up together and be educated together for the first 10-20 years, and shared reverie and the connections of the elven soul joined by the Weave and Sehanine provides a mild empathic link in the background which means that harming another elf in ones 'group' should rebound on the perpetrator to at least some extent. To harm your own is literally to harm yourself.

Elven friends and family usually commune and reverie together, allowing them to know the others' thoughts, memories and personalities almost as well as their own.

Expressing sadism and spite or engaging in violence amongst non-drow (and many dark elves too) is greatly frowned upon, it's considered 'lowminded' and the behaviour of the N'Quess. Even Lolthite drow frown on open violence and conflict within settlements, both for its disruptive effect and because it shows a lack of sense and skill (tavern brawls, military training and slum raids notwithstanding).

All that is far from saying that elves are incapable of resenting or harming other elves, as their long history of bloody disaster shows.

Relieving their memories in reverie means that elven relationships - the good and the bad - are long lasting. An elf remembers their grudges against you because every now and again they get a refresher where they literally reexperience the times you pissed them off. An elf stays in love with you because those early days and emotions stay fresh in their minds.

Exile is a great punishment, and elves encountering others marked such (whether they were exiled for something they did or self-exiled) respond with 'suspicion and hostility.' Exiled criminals and the most severely outcast often take up worship of Fenmarel Mestarine, patron god of said outcasts, and frequently pack up to live in the wilds alone. You can often spot why they're exiled because they often wear a personal token somewhere on their person symbolising it.

Elves usually expect their friendships and romances to be very emotionally intimate affairs where it's normal to know somebody's deepest fears and desires at a degree of knowledge that, say, humans would not volunteer. Friendships go deep. Aside from the racism that's one of the biggest contributors to their aloofness around non-elves. The time it takes to get to know some of them notwithstanding (humans in particular will be senile or dead before your newborn child is legally old enough to vote and elves like to take their time), the concept of losing such close loved ones in only a century or two (or worse, less than one) is devastating and they will relieve a life and loss for hundreds of years after their friends are gone. There's an argument amongst elves about whether a brief lifespan makes it all the more important to make use of that time and that at least they'll have the memories, or whether loving the 'shortlives' is a form of self-harm.

(While the traditional word for non-elves is N'Tel'Quessir, or N'Quess, in human lands the slang word aethen or 'the others' has caught on.)

Worse, N'Quess cannot commune, and so the spiritual connection and intimacy between elves does not exist. For elves, particularly elves not used to non-elves, this can be alienating.

Rule of thumb: Half-elves, gnomes and halflings are the most socially acceptable friends in that order. Elves and gnomes being the most culturally compatible N'Quess, with a respect for community, art and nature, as well as loving a good time. Humans and dwarves are in competition for the elven culture's least compatible, with dwarves generally winning since their cultures often have polar opposite values. Orcs and half-orcs - and other goblinoids -can expect to be viewed as vermin rather than people, though a half-orc might get an extremely racist and condescending congratulations on 'defying their base nature' or some shit. (Whatever elves on the whole think of the dragonborn has never really been discussed, and it's safe to say they don't like tieflings.)

There is a status, Sha'Quessir, the Elf-Friends, granted to non-elves who are loved by an elf (platonically or romantically) and perform some great service for the people which is rewarded with adoption. The individual is, for all social purposes, one of the People and must be treated with the same respect, with the price tag being that they must act as one of the people and share in their concerns and causes (like the grave-robbing of elven burial sites and tombs, the out of control deforestation and loss of elven homelands, etc). They're even allowed to live on Evermeet, and can be recognised by a token on their person called an elfrune.

In terms of politics it's usually a clash between the conservatives who want elvendom exactly as it is and 'always has been' with a clear distinction between the 'right people' and the others and what counts for a 'proper elf,' and the moderates and liberals who chafe under a millennia of tradition and/or think the Tel'Quessir need to join the rest of the world in the modern year before the oncoming future crushes them all.

-

Manners:

Inclining/'bobbing' your head in acknowledgement, or making a brief bow is the equivalent of a handshake.

Elves do not have a tradition of shaking hands, finding it a 'horrific affront' to attempt to grab their hand. Probably something to do with communion usually being initiated by holding hands and the fact that the fingers and palms of the hands are extremely sensitive, so touching hands is probably significantly more intimate to an elf.

Just in general elves do not seem to appreciate being physically touched by people they don't know or trust, and laying your hands on an elf who isn't your friend or family might piss them off.

Elves also have a strong aristocratic bent, which plays a part in their sense of hierarchy (usually more 'gently' established than with non-elves, but present nevertheless).

An elf of lower standing cannot make eye contact with one of higher standing without permission. When a noble passes you part for them and may not overtake them; if traveling by flight, you may never fly higher than a noble.

Walk with the crowd and the flow of traffic, never against it.

A polite farewell is: 'Sweet water and light laughter ['til next we meet].' The response to which is: 'Back soon for soft songs and bright wine.'

When introducing somebody to another person/s you end the introductions with: 'May your meeting and parting be of equal pleasure.' To which the person you're introducing should say: 'My honour is brightened.'

A full formal greeting when approaching strange elves on the road (outside the bounds of civilisation) is translated as: 'Fair be our meeting, for our hearts are light and our swords sheathed, we hold peace in our hands and its light guides us.' Which is to be sung.

Welcome home is simply 'Glad homeagain.'

Pressing foreheads together seems to be a display of affection.

All elven cultures have a custom of exchanging gifts, where the character of the gifter is measured by the value of the gift (such things being judged primarily by their aesthetic beauty and any magic it contains, with its material value benign judged second). It's polite to offer a gift of equal value in return. For the original gifter to refuse the return token in exchange is viewed as odd.

Amongst the dark elves of Ilythiir an exchange of weapons was a display of trust, and sometimes a pledge of service/assistance should they ever be called on,' which may well still exist amongst modern dark elves. Although Menzoberranzan has a variant where you take another's weapon, display your skill with it and hand it back to illustrate 'I mean you no harm' as a peaceful greeting with strangers.

There's a tradition called the Rule of Saving: When one saves another's life, the saviour can invoke a debt which means that the individual owes them their life to do with as they please.

Gender roles:

Rule of thumb, due to their entire pantheon being genderfluid elves tend towards egalitarianism in their societies. If your gods encompass both male and female genders then it's hard to say one is lesser or greater, and some consider androgyny in mortal elves to be a sign of divine favour.

On the other hand that doesn't mean elven societies are totally free of nonsense (and horror).

Many societies also have a slight inclination towards matriarchy (dark elves infamously having more than a 'slight' inclination in the majority of cases); a woman's word often carries more weight in discussions if she chooses to weigh in. Evermeet in particular saw a shift towards matriarchy as Queen Amlaruil grew to become a beloved monarch and ended up with an inner council of advisors comprised of the female elders of the noble houses.

Dark elves are of course infamous for their matriarchies: Lolthites, Kiaransaleen and Eilistraeeans all favour - if not mandate - female leadership. Men are artisans and helpers, women are leaders.

On the flip side there are the patriarchal elven societies.

Aquatic elves have a patriarchal nobility.

At least one city of Vhaeraunites has ignored the part of their god's doctrine that says 'equality' and instituted the patriarchal mirror of Lolthite society.

And then there was the sun elven empire of Cormanthor (which was sun elven by origin and overarching culture, but had significant moon elven population), which was a nightmare where women would bitterly comment that they were good only for arm candy and providing heirs and that many elven men would say they didn't believe women had brains; women couldn't socialise with elves outside of their House without their patriarch's permission, and one woman had a nervous breakdown at the idea of confronting her husband on the grounds that he could very well beat her to death for talking back in public and throw her corpse out the window and then just get a new wife (he does later, hungover, threaten her with a horsewhip for challenging him).

So you know, fun times.

Mostly you're getting full gender equality.

-

Family:

One's family, strictly speaking, is one's Clan (or House, if the family holds noble status (doesn't make every member a noble though)). Aside from your parents, siblings, first cousins, grandparents, uncles, aunts and such you have a network of in-laws, cousins and employees sharing your surname and playing a part in the family business/es. The largest Houses will have people scattered around the world that you've probably never met.

Ancestry is also a very important part of elven identity, and an elf will know the famous and infamous stuff their family got up to. If the fame came from heroism and great deeds then the family will obsess over it, if it's negative press then elves will carry the stigma or do their best to make sure the knowledge never sees the light of day (you do not want word getting around that you're descended from the Vyshaan or Dlardrageth, for example.)

That's your ancestry and Clan or House, but the immediate blood relations, and likely the people who raise you, are your Blesséd.

Due to their lifespans and low fertility rates, siblings rarely grow up together since it's likely that older siblings will be adults by the time they get any. Educating and watching over the family's children is often a task for the elderly, who can no longer work, so that they can still make use of their centuries of experience and contribute to the community.

Family lineage tracks matrilineal and patrilineal. Except for most drow, who only track matrilineal.

For the drow I only know of the words for mother and father ('Ilhar' and 'Ilharn')

For surface elves (for most of which there are no gender neutral variants given):

Parent: O Child: Sum Cousin: Tyss Cousins: Tyssir

Brother: Tan Sister: Nys Daughter: A'Sum Son: E'Sum Granddaughter by daughter: A'a'sum Grandson by daughter: E'a'sum Granddaughter by son: A'e'sum Grandson by son: E'e'sum Niece by sister (sister-daughter): A'Su'Nys Niece by brother ('brother-daughter): A'Su'Tan Nephew by sister (sister-son): E'Su'Nys Nephew by brother (brother-son): E'Su'Tan

Matrilineal line: Mother: O'Si Grandmother: I'Osi Grandfather: I'Osu Uncle: Osi'Tan Aunt: Osi'Nys

Patrilineal line: Father: O'Su Grandmother: U'Osi Grandfather: U'Osu Uncle: Osu'Tan Aunt: Osu'Nys

-

Dating and marriage

'The love of an elf is a deep and precious thing. Misused or spurned, it can be deadly. Realms have fallen and been sundered for love, and proud elder houses swept away. Some have said that an elf is the force of his or her love, and all else just flesh and dross...' - Shalheira Talandren (who is a bard so is perhaps being a touch melodramatic as her trade demands)

Like many non-human people, elves referring to their sexual and romantic partners translate the terms in common as 'mates' and the act of sex as 'mating.' (Dwarves, orcs, dragons and vampires also refer to their SOs as mates... although that vampire was an elf, so maybe it's just certain vampires. I don't know about gnomes and halflings but it's the preferred terminology for many demihumans and nonhumans).

You can also call your partner damia, an endearment equivalent to 'darling' or 'sweetheart' or whatever.

This is one of those things where it depends on the writer, but apparently some degree of demisexuality is very common for elves, where it can be a cultural norm to be baffled as to why you'd lust after somebody when you have no affection for them.

'Her men, however, were staring at Takari with such a look of feral hunger [...] Under the circumstances, they could hardly have developed any feelings of love for her, so it was hard for an elf to understand why the mere sight of her naked body should inflame their passions.' - The Summoner.

Somebody wearing revealing clothing or dressed naked would not be seen as advertising a desire for sex, that's just how they're dressed.

They also apparently have lower sex drives, which I suppose could make sense for a longer-lived species.

Courting will involve trying to impress upon the object of your affection the sincerity and depth of your feelings with songs - or poetry if you've failed as an elf and really can't sing - and dancing.

If things are moving towards the erotic then the dancing starts to take on that tone.

There is a form of acrobatic dance amongst elves that involves the dancers wearing nothing but body oil and bells, tied to their bare limbs and beaded into their long hair (which is worn loose), and this dance will often be performed with the aid of a fly spell or some equivalent.

Such dances are actually used in public performances, so while they might be sexual (or not) they aren't necessarily seen as inappropriate (though they can get grumbles from sun elven elders about how back in their day they didn't have this kind of impropriety).

Just in general it seems like elves like bringing magic into the bedroom, but aerial sex seems a popular choice from what I've seen on elf sex.

And ears and apparently hands are erogenous zones.

'On the subject of giving pleasure to elven maids, [the diary] mentioned using one's tongue gently on the palms of the hands and the tips of the ears.' - Elminster in Myth Drannor (despite the 'maidens' part it applies to elves in general)

For lovers who decide to engage in Rapport/aleiryid and bind their minds and souls in a permanent empathic link, the terms 'spirit-deep mate' and 'life-mate' have been used. 'Aleiryid' itself may be a noun for such a partner, and can only be used to refer to a life-mate.

Elves, regardless of how committed they are - eternally psychically linked or no - still generally expect to be given their personal space just as with any other relationship between elves.

In terms of monogamy vs polygamy, sun and maybe moon elves may be more inclined to monogamy and green and wood elves towards polygamy.

Green elves, and by extension most wood elves, default to polyamory. Jealousy is perverse and will disapprove of displays of such possessiveness and flirting and love are just parts of the joys of life. Which isn't to say they don't feel it, but the green elven approach to a love rival is basically, to quote one character, '[they'll] have to share!' The sylvan elves of the High Forest usually dance in trios rather than pairs.

Moon elves probably vary on that cultural norm; there's been an occasion where a moon elf pov character can be read as uncomfortable with polyamory, but on the other hand the silver elves are also infamous for their love of freedom and hedonism, and said character notes his own moon elven father would not begrudge his green elven ex-wife her flirting. Also in moon elven pantheon Corellon has a Queen who is simultaneously three people, so there's a religious argument to be made for 'the gods approve of polyamory' I suppose. As oathbreaking is considered one of the greatest sins possible in moon elven cultures one imagines that infidelity (and definitely breaking your marriage vows) is also very high on the taboo list, regardless of what the relationship set up is - Fun is important, but if something matters enough to make a commitment for it you keep your fucking commitment.

The dark elves of Menzoberranzan have usually been portrayed as serial monogamists, with a side of 'women can fuck as many men on the side as they like.' Dark elves in general don't expect a pairing to last forever.

Sun elves, I'm not so sure. They have a very strong emphasis on lineage and house politics and frown on 'philandering' though so legitimate marriages, family duty and knowing who the parents are is important regardless of monogamy vs polygamy.

Marriage ceremonies are most popular during Midsummer celebrations.

Elopements are most popular on nights of the full moon, when Hanali is supposed to bless your union with good fortune.

In common elves stick to the translations of 'spouse,' 'wife,' 'husband.' 'Consort' crops up, probably refers to nobles spouses.

Between moon elves at least, marriage can be a very simple procedure: you weave a flower crown and place it on your lover's head. That's it, you're married now. You don't need any witnesses or officiants; the prince of Evermeet married his human girlfriend by placing a flower crown made of laurels on her head in the middle of the woods during a private moment. None of the nobility nor his mother approved of him having a human girlfriend nor would they have permitted it, but doesn't matter: flower crown. Generally though there is more ceremony surrounding weddings

There has also been mention of handfasting too, which may be a similar deal, just with trying ribbons around your enjoined hands rather than putting flower crowns on your head.

If you want to bring a high mage into it - which is unusual in the modern era, when they're almost extinct - marriages have also involved the arcane.

Marriages, formal and informal, are performed by priests of Hanali Celanil who are bound by their faith to help you regardless of what society thinks - all lovers must be protected. I suspect most marriages take place under the moonlight, since elves seem to be lunar-centric, but that's just an assumption.

Entering into u'aestar'kess was a popular marriage tradition in love matches, a magical linking much like Rapport/Aleirin, but the enjoined beings can - through concentrating - engage in true 'verbal' telepathic communication. If one of the bonded is in danger then their connection will also alert the partner, who will generally stop at nothing to get to them. Also unlike aleirin u'aestar'kess permits two bonds to exist rather than just one.

Creating an Aestar'Khol was also a popular way of getting married - the ritual wove an oath, in this case marriage vows, into tangible existence in the form of a stone the size of a fist and likely in the shape of a statuette, though a quicker casting will produce a rock covered in inscriptions of the vow. It also allows the spouses to know that their partners are faithful, because breaching contract causes the vowstone to shatter.

Some elves, namely nobles, do arrange marriages, it's a useful way of calling dibs on particularly promising mages, warriors, priests, artisans and etc by having them marry into your House. There's also historical precedent for crackdowns on arranged marriages because squabbling and intrigue over powerful wizards was getting idiotic. If your family picks out a spouse for you you don't have to marry them, but you may face social and financial repercussions from your refusal. Not always though; some nobles, even sun elves, have turned their nose up at tradition and married non-elves and had half-elven heirs without losing too much prestige.

A holy order in the service of Hanali, the Chaperones of the Moonlight Tryst, are rogues and rangers who are tasked with discretely safeguarding elven lovers from those who would interfere with them or use their relationship for some end (blackmail or some other intrigue, for example). They can also be called upon to help arrange secret meetings between star-crossed lovers and aid elopements.

[makeshiftdraco]

WIP Wednesday

Wanted to share a little sneak peak of my new Adarond (Adar/Elrond) fic that I've been working on this week. If you're interested in a slow burn diplomatic marriage enemies to lovers long fic, the first chapter of The Diplomacy of Desire will be coming to AO3 soon!

“If you will not give me the ring to aid my cause,” Adar said softly. “Then perhaps there is another path we should consider.”

Elrond’s brow furrowed, curious and confused. The expression was far too charming. “Another path?”

Adar took a step forward, and he was gratified to hear the Half-elf’s breath hitch at the sudden proximity. The commander was even more beautiful up close, the scent of honeyed blossoms clinging to him. This familiar aroma was an intoxicating contrast to the sulfur and smoke permeating the air. Adar wanted to bathe in that sweet perfume before he defiled the Half-elven flower glaring up at him.

Somehow he restrained this urge as he offered a cryptic reply. “Tell me, Commander Elrond…what are you willing to compromise for the sake of peace?”

[whovianofmidgard]

Make and share 6 husband of my husband? (You mentioned this concept months ago and I've been 👀 ever since)

Thank you, it is about time that I did something with this fic. (link to ask games and my list of WIPs)

For those who had missed the prev post on Husband of My Husband, the concept is that Sauron had married Maeglin and the fall of Gondolin came about for Maeglin's love of Sauron. Then in the Second Age Sauron marries Celebrimbor. When Celebrimbor arrives to Mandos, killed by his husband's hands, Maeglin, feeling betrayed by Sauron's disregard of their original marriage, is there waiting for him and offering his help to heal.

Here is a bit of surprise Curufin PoV:

"That elf-lord," he pointed at Tyelpe's image in the tapestry. Then his eyes sharply cut between Tyelpe and Curufinwë, and very quickly and also correctly deduced, "Your son is being deceived. That Maia is no Emissary of the Valar, and he has deceived another before with this very same lie."  "What lie? Who is he?" Curufinwë's own anger was starting to rise. The fëa was being cagey with his answers and the more he said the more he felt an impending dread for his son's safety.  The elf visibly needed to steel himself for what he was about to reveal.  "He is Mai- Sauron, Morgoth's most prized lieutenant. And he is asking your son's hand in marriage."  He then scoffed, something vicious crawling into his voice. "What better way to gain someone's ultimate trust. How easy it is to learn someone's secrets through a marriage bond. But... that he would do it again..."  Curufinwë did not like this one bit and he narrowed his eyes at the other fëa. He knew too much about what was happening to Tyelpe, of Sauron's schemes, and it made the other elf beyond suspicious.  "How do you know all this? Who are you?"  The fëa hunched in on himself, the spectral memory of his dark hair falling over his face. Then quietly he said perhaps the most shocking thing he had said so far.  "I am his first husband."  The fëa then fled out of the chamber and before Curufinwë could even think of chasing after him, he had already melted into the shadows. 

[angelasscribbles]

WIP File Game

Thanks for the tag @justafunctionalmess

Rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! And then Tag as many people as you have WIPs.

Ok, I’m doing a couple of things differently.

First, don’t send an ask (they are currently turned off), just comment or reblog here or send me a DM.

Second, I’m just tagging my tag list. Consider this both an invitation to ask me for info/a snippet on my WIPS AND to post your own WIP folder titles. Also applies to anyone not tagged. Everyone who sees this, feel free to play along.

NOTE: If you ever wonder why I sometimes get overwhelmed and stop writing, it’s not for lack of ideas, but rather it's because I have so many ideas that my brain can’t decide where to focus and I end up focusing nowhere. It’s an ADHD thing, and it’s a real problem, believe me. You’ll see how many WIPS I have and this is just my fanfic. I have original stuff I’m currently working on as well.

My WIP titles:

(BR=Bad Romance, CRA=Cordonian Royal Airlines, VD=Valentine’s Day. BB=Blood Bound. TRH=The Royal Heir. ONiC=One Night in Cordonia. BRC=Bad Romance Continues. RC-Romance Club.)

Unless otherwise noted, these are all TRR fics.

BB Jax

BR relationship check in (ask)

BR TRH3

CRA VD2

Drake Cheating

Driam Drake steals Riley on purpose

Kuck Kink Drake

Liam claims her back at engagement kick off

Mistaken marriage

ONiC Liv x Max

The Highway Man follow up

Lost and Found (BR reboot if Riley had married Drake instead)

Ask: Bianca shares info with Hinge Riley

Ask: Drake and Liam friendship begins

Ask: truth or dare

Ask: Update on Dreo

Ask: Dominic x Maxwell (Choices/RC crossover)

Ask: Deliliah x Drake after she’s turned, like in Dark Elf

Ask: BR gang VD

Savage Love ch 39

 Law’s End ch 8

Dark Elf ch 9

The Dark Kingdom ch 9

Queen of Hearts: Leo

Insurrection ch 4

Behind Closed Doors ch 3

Leo and Liv ch 7

Bad Parenting ch 4

Bad Parenting Leo, Siobhan and Drake

 The King’s Mistress 2

The Defiant King Rock a bye baby

CRA The New Girl

BRC Bad Hinging

BRC bday

BRC Liam shhh

BRC Domvallier

BRC First Impressions Liam

BRC Jace in ambulance

BRC limo

BRC Max and Riley one night stand

BRC Operation Sunflower

BRC paintball

BRC Valtoria dinner party

BRC who do you love more

RC Melting Point Tenley (OTI)

RC HSR car battery

RC HS power

RC HS Austie

RC HS Mortal Ascension ch 3

Tagging everyone under the cut:

@walkerdrakewalker @kingliam2019 @twinkleallnight @tinkie1973 @secretaryunpaid 

@irishgrl2022 @queenmiarys

@differenttyphoonwerewolf  @jared2612  @belencha77

@karahalloway, @harleybeaumont @alj4890 @aussiegurl1234 @nestledonthaveone

@lovingchoices14  @bascmve01

@kristinamae093 @tessa-liam @gabesmommie1130

@queen-arabella-of-cordonia @sillydg

@3pawandme @dcbbw  @amandablink 

@indiacater  @bebepac @twinkle-320 @mattiematt1234 @phoenixrising0308

@emersyn-in-cordonia @lunaseasblog  

@hollygirl1269 @mainstreetreader @ohmyeightpastlives  

@gardeningourmet @21-wishes @73geenalove @jennieausten

@princessleac1

@kachrisberry @tornbetween2loves @fangirling12566  @pinklipsandmasonjars @savannahdix

@jerzwriter

[tilion-writes]

tag game yay!! Thank you for the tag @elvinye <3

Rules:

Writer summarises current WIPs badly. Readers vote on the one that sounds most interesting. Writer shares a snippet of the winning story as a reward.

(tagging @thescrapwitch and @gardensofthemoon, apologies if you've already done this one)

[dalliansss]

WIP folder game

Rules: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Tag as many people as you have WIPs. People can send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, then post a little snippet/preview or tell them something about it!

Tagged by @fistfuloflightning

Oh, wow, my WIPs are mostly Silmarillion and LOTR, but here goes:

Modern Popstar AU MaironFinrod - Rockstar ; Mairon is a CEO and Finrod is a European that made it big in the Korean idol industry. Contains past Angbang. (with @skaelds )

The Exhilarating Adventures of Disney Princess Turko - Oh you know, the works, Turko befriending Ungoliant. I can't even finish the first part, how am I going to write the rest of (oath free!) Turko's adventures in Beleriand lmao

Blood in the Mouth - Second Age arc and Numenor shenanigans. A.K.A Mairon's greatest hearbreak re: Celebrimbor (with skaelds also)

Blond Energy - Glorfindel and Finrod, both re-embodied, wreak havoc in Middle Earth and hijack their way into the Fellowship. Poor Samwise's brain cannot cope with all the ✨ B L O N D ✨

Sugar Baby - modern AU Angbang which connects to Rockstar. How Mairon, sugarbabied his way into being Melkor's husband. (also with skaelds)

Ereinion Gil-galad son of Caranthir - Gil-galad's life as a re-embodied elf in Valinor, living in the great city of Entulesse, home to all returned and re-embodied which does not answer to the authority of any of the three Eldarin kingdoms in Aman.

Galvorn Prince - Maeglin, heir presumptive to King Thingol of Doriath, is expected to contract a marriage with a Noldo to seal the alliance. The Noldor expect him to choose Finduilas of Nargothrond. Imagine everybody's (the Noldor, mostly) horror when Maeglin chooses Maedhros instead. (Because the Sindar retained the polycule culture of Cuivienen.)

From Cuivienen with Love - a.k.a the untold love story of Finwe with his greatest first loves: Miriel and Elwe. And how Finwe rose up to defy his ancestors, to give his family a chance of peace and more than just mere survival.

Yeah. I have the ideas, but not the time nor energy to write everything down. Fml.

Tagging: @cuarthol @skaelds @elentarial + YOU

[tathrin]

Tagged by @lordgrimwing

THE RULES: Make a poll with the titles of all your current WIPs. For whichever one wins, write 300 words and share a snippet if you want.

tagging: @roselightfairy @babybat98 @bifuriouswaterbender @estel-of-the-eyrie @rosalui

(and if you've already been tagged in this, please ignore and forgive me, I tried not to double-tag but I'm behind on the dash again!)

[time-to-write-and-suffer]

I'm making the elf marriage wip presentation thing and this cracked me up a little (ignore placeholder Picrew image)

my son wrinkle who has every disease

[dramioneasks]

Not With A Bang... - megalle - E, WIP - Draco Malfoy has just 9 months left on a 7 year house arrest sentence when the Ministry announces a new Marriage and Repopulation Act. Draco assumes it will not affect him as he is still under house arrest. He assumes wrongly. No matter, the Ministry, in their infinite wisdom, has paired him with one Hermione Granger. The witch has never met an injustice she hasn't fought against and so Draco assumes she'll fight this one to the death before tying herself to him. Again, he assumes wrongly. So now he has a wife who more resembles a ghost haunting his manor than the girl he once knew, a meddling elf, a rapidly approaching release date and no idea what life outside the Manor walls looks like or for the first time in his life, someone trying to tell him what to do with it. Authors Note: The fic was almost called "Hermione Granger Doesn't Give a F-"

[greenleaf4stuff]

Of Convenience – Epilogue (Part 11.2)

(all previous parts of "Of Convenience")

Adar x Celebrimbor (silverscars) political marriage AU, 11th snippet / epilogue, part 2. Adar and Celebrimbor consummate their marriage, aka, make love to one another.

Here be smut! This is at least M rated people. Please mind the rating!

This is it, the Good Stuff(TM)! Again, this is smut, but there is also a lot of fluff and sappiness mixed in here. It's also the final bit for the 'main story' of this AU – though, who knows, maybe I’ll pick it up again for some interludes or some glimpses into everyday married life for those two in the future, though likely at a much slower pace than this one. Thank you, again, to everyone who has joined me on this journey. I appreciate all of you and your support means the world to me. (And also, hopefully, I’ll see you guys in the notes for any future fics of those two I might write. Because I still have a couple ideas and WIPs to work on.) Enjoy, and once again, Thank You! <3 <3 <3

Once they had separated again, Adar appeared much more confident. He used only his right hand as he reached down, grabbed the hem of his tunic, and then began to pull it over his head.

As his long hair began to tangle in the garment, Celebrimbor reached forward and helped him out of it. Like his own tunic and Adar’s armor, they let it drop to the ground, forgotten.

The uruk’s chest was littered with scars as well; burn marks and the remains of old wounds that the elf could not identify. Perhaps, Adar would be willing to tell him about each of them one day.

"You are beautiful," escaped the smith without his permission, but he couldn’t regret the words. Even as Adar stared incredulously at him. "I mean it. I look at you and see beauty."

Celebrimbor wanted to make himself clear. "Maybe not in the typical elven way, but I can see you have survived great strain and terrible hardship. I do not mind the scars. They are a part of you, and I love you."

He knew he was being awfully emotional about all this, but- he had to speak these words. He didn’t want to leave any doubt about what he felt for the other, or how he saw him.

The uruk closed his arms around the elf and brought the two of them together in another embrace. He kissed Celebrimbor’s temple, his cheek, his jaw, and then whispered against his lips. "It has been a very long time since I have been called ‘beautiful‘. And even longer, still, since I believed it. But I believe you."

A pause, a breath. "How have I gotten so lucky? The most decent, the most kindhearted of all elves, and I get to call you my own. You, the one who was willing to see me and my children as more than just Morgoth’s creations."

"You are more than Morgoth’s creation," Celebrimbor said with conviction. "And if you have gotten lucky, so have I."

He dared Adar to disagree with his words by frowning just the slightest bit, until the uruk laughed and pulled him close again. They kissed once more. As Adar let his hands roam, so did Celebrimbor.

Adar’s body certainly was not like an elf’s, but this was not a detriment in the smith’s opinion. He enjoyed letting his hands move over the scars, felt shapes beneath his fingertips whose textures felt new and unique and exciting to him.

Likewise, his husband seemed unable to let his own hands rest either; they moved over the expanse of Celebrimbor’s back and between his shoulder blades, to his arms, up to his neck and then down to his pecs, which the uruk squeezed. The elf gasped into their kiss as a result, and when Adar made to draw back, he caught the uruk's fingers to press them onto his chest again and moaned into the other’s mouth at the resulting pressure.

They soon shed the rest of their clothing, stepping out of their shoes and boots as well as their breeches. Adar’s mouth wandered from Celebrimbor’s mouth to his jaw, his ear, and then his neck.

He was soft with his kisses, mindful of the bruising, until the elf drew his head closer with his hand and groaned as the other sucked his own bruise into the hollow of his throat. 

Celebrimbor didn’t care in the least whether or not someone else would see it, come morning.

Moving against one another sent sparks through the elf’s body now that they were completely bare, and he felt heat rise up his body when he felt how aroused Adar was already.

The uruk grabbed his behind and drew them against each other fully. Both groaned at the contact.

"Celebrimbor-" Adar began. He already sounded breathless.

"Tyelpe," the smith replied, quickly, before Adar could finish his sentence. At the other’s questioning look, Celebrimbor drew him forward and kissed him, before he repeated. "Call me Tyelpe. It’s short for-"

"Telperinquar," Adar finished. He sounded reverent as he said it. Celebrimbor felt himself shiver at the sound of his name on Adar’s tongue. He nodded to confirm it.

"...Tyelpe," Adar repeated the name as if tasting it. In turn, Celebrimbor moved forward as if to lick it out of his mouth. The kiss left them both breathless and flushed.

"...let us move over to your bed," the uruk suggested, quietly, and the elf let himself be walked over without hesitation. Instead, he tried to catch Adar’s lips again. It was like he had gotten addicted to them – their warmth, their softness, the pressure. He couldn’t stop seeking them out.

The uruk was careful as he helped his husband lay down and then moved on top of him. He caught Celebrimbor’s eye as he kept himself suspended above the elf, and only laid down when Celebrimbor stretched out his arms and beckoned him to do so.

Soon, they were moving against one other, rubbing skin against skin as they kissed, hands restless on each other’s bodies.

"What do you want to do?" Adar asked, once they managed to break their kiss for a moment. A fine strand of spit hung between their mouths and neither of them was willing to move far away from the other.

"Whatever you want to do," Celebrimbor replied. To make himself perfectly clear, he untangled his legs from Adar’s and loosely wrapped them around the uruk’s hips, who groaned deeply and thrust down against the elf in response. "If you’d let me, I’d want all of you."

His hips moved up into Adar’s thrusts all of their own. Both of them moaned at the feeling of them sliding against one another.

They could barely control themselves, and Adar eventually had to use his hand to grab Celebrimbor’s hip and pin it to the bed – though gently – so they would not finish too soon.

"Do you have any oil?" He sounded hopeful, even if he looked a bit skeptical.

His expression changed to one of surprise when Celebrimbor reached across and over the side of the bed, only to produce a small bottle, which he pressed into Adar’s hand. The smith felt rather proud of himself in that moment.

The uruk raised his eyebrows. "Do you always happen to have some spare oil nearby, or…" He suddenly narrowed his eyes, though it was clearly playful. "Did you hope this would happen?"

The elf grew just the slightest bit sheepish and fluttered his eyelashes at the uruk. "What can I say? If the the last two days have taught me anything, it is to always be prepared – and not let anything go to waste by holding back."

Adar looked at Celebrimbor with wide eyes for a moment, and then he smirked and shook his head, before he gave his husband another peck on the lips. "My dear, you are full of surprises. I hadn’t expected that you’d be quite so bold in this."

A pause. "I think I like it."

The uruk was careful as he prepared his husband; he took the time to warm the oil, helped Celebrimbor place a pillow underneath his hips and placed one of the smith’s legs over his shoulder. Before he touched the elf, he kissed the side of his knee and leant over him to have a good look at his face.

"Are you still certain?"

The smith smiled brightly at the question, and nodded. "Yes," he took a shuddering breath. "A bit nervous though, I’ll admit. I haven’t done this in a long time."

The uruk leant down to press his lips to Celebrimbor’s forehead, then kissed him deeply. "Me neither. I promise I’ll go slow."

The elf nodded, and held onto the side of the uruk’s face and his upper arm. "I know."

And indeed, Adar took his time. Not only did he stretch his husband, but he also stroked him as he knelt before the elf, twin sensations that kept Celebrimbor relaxed and in a state of near perpetual pleasure.

The elf languished in his position and how it allowed him to watch his husband while the other worked. There was a look of concentration on Adar’s face while he alternated between focusing on his tasks and Celebrimbor’s face, as if to make sure the other was truly enjoying this.

Celebrimbor smiled and made no attempt to hide his reactions; he looked at Adar with hooded eyelids and his mouth half-open, spilling sighs and gasps whenever the other touched him in a particularly pleasant way.

He could tell the uruk was slowly but surely becoming more impatient, though he was good at hiding it. He hadn’t once touched himself, so Celebrimbor stretched out a hand and tried to motion the other to come closer, "Let me do something for you, too."

Adar smiled gently, and used one hand to stroke the space between Celebrimbor’s leg and his lower stomach for a bit. "You don’t have to do anything but lie back. I’ll take care of you tonight."

"Next time, then," the elf insisted cheekily, and then moaned and arched his back when Adar found that sensitive spot inside him.

Whether Celebrimbor’s reaction had been the final straw to entice his husband, or whether he simply deemed him ready, the elf would never know, but Adar soon finished his preparations and began to arrange the elf’s body to his liking.

Legs wrapped high around Adar’s upper body, ankles crossed at the back, the elf let his lower body be hoisted up by an arm around his hip while Adar reached down to line himself up to Celebrimbor’s entrance.

The elf cupped his husband’s cheeks once more, stroking gentle fingers along the scars there. Their faces were so very close. Adar’s eyes were almost black with how dilated his pupils were by that point. He was a sight to behold, with sweat beading on his forehead and strands of his hair stuck to his skin.

And yet, his expression remained so gentle, so attentive.

"May I?" the uruk asked. Celebrimbor nodded, not quite sure if he’d be able to manage any words.

They both sighed and pressed close when Adar began to sink into Celebrimbor’s body. This was not just warmth, but heat that spread through him now.

There was no pain, only a stretch that felt wonderfully intimate, and Adar who seemed to fight his own pleasure to keep his eyes on Celebrimbor, to make sure he was alright.

Trembling with how good he felt, the smith let himself spill whatever words came to him. "You feel wonderful," he said. It was true. "You’re being so gentle with me, so careful, nobody has touched me with such reverence."

"I wish you could see yourself right now. I could look upon you all day. Want to-" his breath hitched and he moaned once more as Adar finally sank in to the hilt and crowded close, rubbing their noses against each other as the uruk tried to catch his breath. "Want to sketch you like this, so you can see how radiant you are-"

With a loud groan, the uruk brought their lips together. The kiss was deeper, more urgent now, it almost felt as if he wanted to drink Celebrimbor down. He wrapped his hands around the elf’s shoulders and behind is head.

They both were breathless when they broke apart.

"Can I-?"

"Yes, please, move-" Adar laughed, very softly, at Celebrimbor’s eagerness, and pecked his lips before he began to follow his husband’s request.

The friction felt downright otherworldly, and the pleasure was only heightened because the elf got to experience his husband’s as well. They moved with each other and quickly found a rhythm that worked for them as they slowly built up the pace.

Still, Adar seemed to hold back. "I’m alright, I feel good- you can let go. I want you to. Please," the elf coaxed the other. It was clear the uruk was enjoying this, with the way every other breath turned into a deep groan and how he couldn’t quite keep his eyes open.

Adar needed a moment to find his words, and moaned when he found a good angle on his next thrust before he answered. "I’m- quite strong-"

"I know," Celebrimbor remembered Adar’s battle prowess. He curled himself up and brought their foreheads together as he clenched down onto the uruk. "I want to feel it. I don’t care about bruising – you won’t hurt me. I know you won’t. I trust you."

This time, it didn’t take long to convince the other, and the smith soon held onto Adar with all his limbs and pressed his face into his neck as his voice rose in pleasure.

Adar hadn’t lied when he said he was strong; the way he snapped his hips down now was intense, but good. He managed to hit every single sensitive spot Celebrimbor had and still, nothing he did hurt, there was only pressure, and bliss.

"It’s good, it’s so good-" the elf reassured the other, encouraged him. "Please, don’t stop-"

They both were reaching for their completion now, desperate in how they scrambled against one another. Celebrimbor smeared spit onto Adar’s cheek as he attempted to speak, could feel the groans – no, growls – the uruk let out against the junction of his neck and shoulder, the way he mouthed at the skin.

"I’m close-" Adar warned through clenched teeth, before he brought his and Celebrimbor’s eyes into alignment again, both their hands around one another’s shoulders and on their cheeks now. "You feel so good, I’m so close-"

"I am too," Celebrimbor replied, breathless, eager, near overcome. "Please, you can-"

"Come for me," Adar asked him instead, and the elf was powerless to do anything but comply with a long moan of Adar’s name. Judging by the way Adar thrust down with all his strength and then shouted, loudly, he was quick to follow.

They were both shaking as pleasure washed over them, their hands slipped on sweat-covered skin, but then renewed their grip and held onto one another.

Celebrimbor couldn’t speak for himself, but Adar was quite the sight. His face was completely open now, and there was no strain, only the euphoria of release and underneath, the love he held for his husband, clear as day.

What a gift, the elf thought, that he got to see the other so unguarded and so content. Would get to see him like this, again and again.

The two husbands collapsed onto the bed in the aftermath. Adar was pressing Celebrimbor into the bed with his own weight, whereas the elf cushioned the uruk’s body with his own. Their grip on one another loosened as they caught their breath, but they did not fully let each other go.

Celebrimbor continued to rest his legs over his husband’s back and stroked fingers up and down between his shoulder blades. When Adar shivered and grew restless at the light touches, the elf moved his fingers into Adar’s hair instead, slowly carding through the soft strands and scratching his scalp.

Adar, too, seemed unwilling to move. His head was tucked under Celebrimbor’s chin where his breath fanned out over the elf’s collarbones. His right hand stroked a thumb up and down Celebrimbor’s hip, whereas his left one – the one usually in his gauntlet – sought of Celebrimbor’s free hand and linked their fingers together.

It was the elf who brought their hands to his lips for another kiss. Adar sighed in response, and rubbed in nose into Celebrimbor’s skin when the elf kissed the top of his head next.

They should probably move and get cleaned up, sooner or later, but for now, Celebrimbor just wanted to enjoy this moment.

He smiled, happy and exhausted, when Adar lifted his head. The uruk, too, looked like he’d soon fall asleep. Which was probably a good thing – both of them still needed to recover from the previous weeks.

As Celebrimbor stroked the back of his hand across Adar’s cheek, the other smiled back at him.

"I love you, Tyelpe," he said. Celebrimbor hadn’t ever seen him look more at ease, more happy, than in this moment.

His own resulting smile felt so wide the elf wasn’t sure how it could still fit his own face.

"I love you too, Adar. My husband."

The uruk reached over and brought their lips together once again. "Indeed. My husband."

[varlaisvea]

WIP Wednesday!

lol no one tagged me; I have 18 followers and I write mostly ESO fic. Clearly, I post for me. 😂

This won't make it into the final draft, but I like it anyway. This adorable ESO quest features a Nord whose wife is a High Elf—the only High Elf I can think of in ESO who married someone decidedly Apraxic. So I decided to have my also Very Apraxic OCs meet Viggol and Telline.

1.5k words, G-rated, discussion of racism

Two non-Altmer discuss what it’s like to be married to someone who has to keep you a secret—and who will live more than a century after you’re gone.

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Viggol looked back to where our Elves were talking. “That’s my wife,” he said proudly. “Drives Telline crazy when I tell people that. She thinks these stick-arsed Elves are going to run us out of town, but I have yet to find one who actually believes me when I claim that beautiful Elf debased herself by marrying an idiot Nord.”

“In plain sight is this one’s favorite place to hide,” I said.

He grinned. “See! You understand—that is the upside of living somewhere where all your neighbors consider you to be a genetically inferior halfwit, no? It would be absurd to imagine that Telline’s dutiful house-servant is actually her beloved husband. That’d be like suspecting your neighbor is secretly married to their horse.” He paused. “Though, I suppose I did wonder about a few of my neighbors back in Dawnstar…”

“Ha, this one has spent several long, cold, dark winters in Winterhold…” We exchanged a knowing glance. “But we are only visiting Summerset. Thank Jone and Jode, we do not live here—no insult to you.”

“None taken,” he said. “Telline grew up here, but we’ve only lived in Lillandril together for a few years. Just us and Pickle.” He gestured to the elderly dog at Telline’s feet. “It’s almost insulting; our neighbors don’t even seem to suspect a dirty Apraxic affair, even though everyone has dirty Apraxic affairs on this damned island. But Telline says I am far too handsome for that to protect me for long.” He nodded to himself, acknowledging the truth of his wife’s concern, then turned to me and scanned me from ears to tail. “You can relate, of course.”

“Just so,” I said, nodding to join him in somberly considering this problem. “As an up-jumped animal, this one is even more genetically inferior than a Man—most Elves probably imagine Eymei and I are colleagues, if they think anything at all. But, this one is strikingly handsome enough that occasionally an Altmer casts a glance, as if they suspect Eymei has a wicked little fetish for sugar-tongued liars.” I met his eyes, and the look on his face suggested he already knew what I was going to say next. “It is not as sexy as it sounds.”

We both chuckled and watched seabirds soar over the waves. Pickle was attempting to chase a gull, but quickly decided his obviously-achy hips could not sustain the effort, and came over to lay in the warm sand next to us.

“It’d be a great story, if I could tell it to anyone,” Viggol said, after a long silence. “For two or three years, I jokingly bothered Telline about marrying me at least weekly, until I started to feel like the joking had a bit too much feeling behind it; like I was pressuring her. I knew she couldn’t marry me. I just wanted to be with her. But, two or three months after I stopped pestering her about marriage, we got drunk and she asked me! It’s illegal, not to mention dangerous and socially repulsive, here in Summerset, but we weren’t in Summerset—I hauled her right then and there to the nearest Mara shrine. Of course I wouldn’t actually marry her until we were both sober, but we sat right next to the shrine for several hours until we were both of sound mind. And she didn’t back out!” It was very sweet, how moons-eyed he looked as he recounted this.

“Ah, when an Elf is willing to do something moderately spontaneous for you, this is true love, yes? What convinced her?”

He laughed. “She said—” he did his best impression of his wife “—‘I have never done anything stupid enough to risk regretting. I suspect you’d say risking regret is the only way to do something that thrills you.’” He looked over to where she was standing, with unabashed adoration on his face. His eyes were dewy when he turned back to me. “That was what she said. Why she was willing to marry someone who would die before she was middle-aged. She said she wouldn’t stay married to me unless she was right about it being thrilling. That was almost fifty years ago, and she’s still here, even though I don’t have more than ten or fifteen years left.” He wiped a tear and laughed self-consciously. “Sorry. I don’t usually get to tell people how wonderful she is.”

I just smiled. “This one can sympathize; please, do not apologize! You have found just the right audience. Fifty years is a long time to keep such things hidden.”

“Heh, if you’re asking for advice, friend, I don’t know that I can be helpful. Before this, we lived in Solitude for a couple of years—no one gave a skeever’s arse about our relationship there, though we still had to be discreet in public, and careful around Altmer. We did live in a cave for a few years; that helped.”

“An Elf willing to live in a cave for you! That is love, walker!”

“Don’t I know it! She was actually the one who originally suggested Blackreach. My adventuring days are over, but I found Blackreach to be more neighborly than Lillandril, if that tells you anything. But after fifty years of adventuring alongside her crazy Nord husband, at very least, Telline deserves a few years of uneventful, easy living.” He smiled and shook his head. “I was younger than you are now when I met Telline, and she was a bit older than your… wife?”

Somehow it felt fitting that this strange Nord would be the first to hear the news. “Yes. As of yesterday,” I said, with an unexpected choke in my throat. “Married in Eymei's ancestral tradition. There will be no Rings of Mara for us, but that is unimportant—two days ago, we both truly believed we'd never consider marriage. To each other, or at all.”

“Ha! An Elf willing to do something very spontaneous for you,” he said. “Congratulations! That sounds like quite a story!” We both laughed, and he hugged me with boisterous Nord enthusiasm. I was surprised at how much I appreciated it. “If you’re ever back in Lillandril, I’ll buy you a pint of ale so I can hear it. Or… whatever sickly-sweet thing you probably like to drink.”

I glanced back over to Eymei and Telline. They were both staring stone-faced at the waves as they talked.

Viggol said, “can’t imagine their conversation is as fun as ours. Not that most Altmer particularly enjoy fun, far as I can tell.”

I laughed sadly. “Congratulations on the sand slipping through your fingers!”

Viggol laughed too. “Since I was a little mer, I dreamed of being young and sexually frustrated while my spouse grew withered and elderly.”

“It is unjust that we must hide our relationship from Praxis-obsessed Altmer, but at least I get to spend decades waiting for my beating heart to be torn from my chest with well over half of my life still ahead of me.”

“Yes, I am so looking forward to the isolation and despair of grieving my life’s love, whom most of my kin consider a lesser being.”

Now Viggol and I were also staring stone-faced at the waves.

After a long silence, he said, “you’ll lose your mind if you don’t give voice to thoughts like that sometimes. I’m glad we could help each other—I don’t get to meet a lot of people I can talk to about my marriage. But friend, if there is one piece of advice I can give you… that Elf married you with full knowledge that that would be her future. I don’t even have to know your wife to know she has already stared all of that in the face. Am I right?”

I nodded.

“It weighs on me every day,” Viggol said. “It’s going to weigh on you, too, and believe me, it’ll only get worse as you get older and she stays young, capable, and beautiful. Part of the reason I was a bit in denial about the end of my adventuring days.” His voice came out strained as he continued. “It took me almost losing Telline to get it through my skull: I could either get crushed under the weight of what she’s willing to face for me, or I could be worth it.”

I looked down at my hands. “It is hard for me to imagine anyone being worth that.”

“Me too, friend. It’s impossible for me to say whether I’d make the same choice, in her place. But… doesn’t matter what I’d do. Fact is, I’ve got that Elf fooled well enough that she keeps making that choice every day—I’ve gotten to live my life knowing for damned sure that the wisest, kindest person I know thinks I’m worth it. So, I decided that until the day I die, I will do my best to be the person Telline thinks I am. I don’t always live up to it, but the effort has made me better in more ways than I can count.” He waited until I met his eyes. “Don’t do what I did. Don't waste your time worrying that you’re not worth it. Be worth it.”

I looked over at the Elves. They were sitting on the sand now; Pickle had wandered back over to them, and was laying next to Eymei. I think Eymei might have been quietly casting a lay-on-hands on his hips, as Telline talked.

I sighed. “The person Eymei thinks I am is… quite a cat.”

Viggol smacked me on the shoulder good-naturedly. “What if she’s right?”

[ladywithaquill]

The Line of Durin was Tainted by an Elf (Series)

Together Forever

Trying to Save His Friends

A Dwarf’s Declaration

Unsatiable

The Portrait

Smaugs ~For Smoking Hot Bois and Gurls~

A Love Hate Relationship

The New Cute Boy

A Surprise Gift for Christmas

To Survive a Dragon

Happy Birthday T

You

There Once Lived Kings

Strong Like a Horse

Their First Meeting

Still Connected

A Love Lost During Battle

A Feather Will Do

In Dire Need of a Smith

Initium Novum (Series) WIP

The Perfect Christmas (Latest)

Shut Up and Kiss Me (Latest)

A Marriage of Convenience

Mereth Nuin Giliath (Latest)

Meeting The March Warden of Lothlórien

Becoming a Father

Blonde Thieves

Rescue at Helm’s Deep

New Beginnings

Because You Are a Sindar Elf

New Beginnings

The Recital

Another Love

A Merry Christmas Indeed

A Visitor

The Birth of a King (Series)

Thorin and His Burglar

Making the Right Decision

The King's Lover

You Should've Killed Me

The Loss of A Lover

Ethuil

A Marriage of Convenience