#happy to put translation into tags if needed. Asked if Ren and her were family

[kriss-the-writing-nerd]

First meeting

Excerpt from the sci-fi one, where Ren first meets baby Kuro. So much fluff, and hey, parents! I love writing about this family, their lives are so complex.. Hope you enjoy!

Keilyn has no memory of their first meeting; he was just a month old when it took place after all. Rensé, however, remembers it clearly. It had been the morning of his sixth birthday and his Father and Mother were strangely giddy.

“Mama? What is it?” he asked repeatedly, tugging on her sleeve for her attention and gestures wide and insistent, and she turned and offered her arms. Rensé sighed in resignation because this meant he would not get any answers any time soon but he reached up all the same and Carmen hoisted him up onto her hip with a grin.

He watched from his perch as his Father gnawed on his thumb, nearly vibrating with excitement, and then the doorbell rang, the wall-mounted light flashing gently.

“They are here!” Akihiko grinned, his gestures wide and happy, and Rensé frowned and wriggled to sign indignantly,

“Who? Mama!”

Carmen laughed, her belly jumping against his leg, and kissed his cheek as she followed his running Father towards the hallway. Rensé clung to his Mother at the sight of three adults he did not know but the way his Father laughed and looked genuinely happy for the first time in months made him feel kind of.. funny. Warm. At ease.

His Mother carried him over to the group, two women and a man, and his Father beamed at them despite clearly talking a mile a minute, hands flying but not in proper signs. Carmen set him down but kept a gentle hand on his shoulder for comfort and Rensé waved hesitantly, not shy but uncertain as several pairs of eyes turned to him.

“Hi - my name is Esotsui,” the blond man signed, crouching down to his level as he spelled his name and showed him his name sign, an E tapped against his chin. Rensé smiled in response.

“I’m Ren,” he replied, spelling his name and then signing a variant on bird which made Esotsui beam, his blue eyes crinkling.

“Do you remember me?” he then asked and Rensé frowned, confused, and shook his head. Esotsui just nodded in acceptance and stated, “I have met you a few times before but it has been a while.”

Rensé looked up when his Father joined them and signed,

“Esotsui is my treasure - I love him dearly.”

“Like Mama and me?” Rensé wondered and Akihiko smiled affectionately.

“Not exactly in the same way but definitely just as much,” he answered and Rensé frowned but nodded in acceptance. “Do you want to meet the others too?”

He nodded and his Father waved to the two women laughing with his Mother and they glanced down then both smiled and knelt. One was pale and blue-eyed and smiled brilliantly, freckles scattered over her round face, and thick blonde curls flowed down over her shoulders. The other woman was even paler, but her eyes were silver-gray, and her hair looked almost white. She did not smile as much as her partner, but her eyes were gentle and welcoming.

They greeted him, that much he followed easily as they spoke, but then he had to look to his Father who immediately translated,

“Hello! What’s your name? How old are you?”

“I’m Rensé - I’m six today,” he answered dutifully, leaning back against his Mother’s legs a little for comfort. Carmen gently squeezed his shoulder in response, reassuring him of her presence.

“Congratulations! You look a lot like your dad - are you hoping to grow up to be like him?” the blonde asked and Rensé gave her a bewildered stare.

“Of course I do - he’s my Father. No - I want to be myself when I grow up,” he replied and Akihiko grinned so wide it made his nose crinkle as he relayed the answer. Rensé hesitated for a second then stretched out a hand to the silver-eyed woman and asked, hands quick with curiosity, “What’s your name?”

She gave him a soft look once his father had translated his question and slowly finger-spelled,

“Nithya.”

His Father gestured for his attention subtly and made small motions, whispering,

“She is Silver.”

Rensé smiled; the sign suited her so well. Then he turned to her right, to the blond woman with her soft round cheeks and wondered,

“What's your name?”

“Her name is Amanda,” his Father told him, using the letter A to draw a smile from the corner of his lips, and he nodded then looked to her and asked,

“Why are you here?”

Nithya stood as Amanda beamed and made the sign for ‘baby’ and Rensé immediately leaned forward eagerly.

“Are you a mom?” he wondered and Amanda nodded with excitement shining in her eyes, and then Nithya sat back down. Rensé gasped at the sight of the little baby in her arms, looking so small and helpless and soft in the pale blue fleece romper it was wearing. He could not say where it came from but he felt an overwhelming urge to protect this tiny little life and his hands flew through the air before he had even decided to sign, “Can I hold them?”

His Father translated his request and Amanda and Nithya exchanged a quick look then glanced up at Esotsui who nodded encouragingly, smiling strangely knowingly. Then Nithya gently put the baby in his arms and moved his hands to hold it securely and Rensé hugged the child to his chest as he folded down to sit on the floor, instinctively rocking gently.

He did not look up from the small face with plump cheeks and the cutest nose he had ever seen until Esotsui literally made him, gently tipping his head back with a finger under his chin.

“Do not worry - you can hold her for as long as you want or until she needs to eat. Her name is Maria - she is yours to protect,” he signed with firm gestures and Rensé bowed his head in solemn understanding; this would be his most important goal in life.

Then he bent back over the tiny baby and hesitantly mouthed, just to see if he could,

“Maria.”

He was completely oblivious to the fond looks being exchanged between the adults over his head.

Tag list (let me know if you want to be added/removed, no problems!): @weaver-of-fantasies-and-fables @cawolters @adorhauer @pens-swords-stuff @concerningwolves @draculas-husband

I actually deleted the first draft of this yesterday, had a moment of panic, and then realized that it was imported from my regular writing spot, still safe and sound.. puh. Also, I had a baby girl call me “The Hair” in baby sign this week and I’ve never awwwwed so hard IRL <3

[kingofthewilderwest]

Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people. I was tagged by @dyannehs​

LAST:

1. Drink: Water 2. Phone call: Myself. Because I lost my cell phone. Outside of that, my mom! 3. Text message: One of my awesomeful friends of awesomeness who I’ve nicknamed Hux (she’s the Hux to my Kylo!) 4. Song you listen to: A nerdy composition project I’m working on. *grins* It’s a secret ’cause I’m gonna share online when I’m done! 5. Time you cried: Actual-actual cry? Don’t remember. Tears in the eyes? Maybe like two days ago? Yay for being broke.

HAVE YOU:

6. Dated someone twice: Yes, I have dated the same person twice, and both experiences were quite wonderful indeed! And I’d probably date her a third time if life came around to it - both times we broke up came from us being too timid to do basic communication about relationship goals. We’re still really good friends rn - honestly either as friends or as dates, I’m happy either way! 7. Kissed someone and regretted it: Yes 8. Been cheated on: Not in the sex way, but my first relationship ended because my current gf was hitting blatantly on someone in front of my face, and while we were talking about maybe doing a poly thing, this hitting-on-someone-else was in the venue of putting aside and ignoring me, and that wasn’t okay.  9. Lost someone special: Yes. 10. Been depressed: Oh shit I forgot my depression meds again... *runs to take them* Umm. Yes. The answer’s yes. High-functioning depression, here I am, prime example. Yayyyy [sarcasm] 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: I don’t drink alcohol so nope.

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS: 

12. Silver 13. Chocolate brown 14. Black

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. Made new friends: Aye! 16. Fallen out of love: Not really? I mean I don’t know how to explain it. 17. Laughed until you cried: Thanks to Lance and Kaltenecker, yes. 18. Found out someone was talking about you: I guess my coworkers thought I was quitting instead of just reducing my hours, so I had to fix that rumor chain straight. 20. Found out who your friends are: I think that’s always an ongoing thing in life. This year, I’d say that I’ve had reaffirmations that the people I care about care about me, so that’s really awesome. It’s wonderful to know that people are thinking of me. And I’m thinking of you, friends! 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: Yep!

GENERAL:

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: About 99% of them. It’s very rare for me to add an internet friend to my FB contacts. 23. Do you have any pets: No. My apartment only allows cats and dogs, and I want guinea pigs again. ;_; 24. Do you want to change your name: I’m proud of my name and have used it as a source of inspiration (it means “pure”). That said, in the last few years, I feel increasingly distanced from my name and honestly think of myself far more as being named “Haddock.” Haddock is my name, my birth name is second. Still a good name, but I’m a Haddock. 25. What did you do for your last birthday: On the day itself: relaxed, bought myself froyo, Skyped family, chilled, was awesome. The general-ish week of my birthday: had a dinner with family, stayed up and binged all of VLD S4 the night it came out, hung out with a friend and also binged VLD. Basically, a lot of VLD. 26. What time do you wake up: The number fluctuates quite wildly day-per-day because “sleep schedule” is a myth. Today, I got up at 11 AM. 27. What were you doing at midnight last night: Answering asks on tumblr and PMing/texting a few good friends. 28. Name something you can’t wait for: Having enough money to live comfortably and not stress every time rent week comes around. 29. When was the last time you saw your mom?: A few days ago, Friday. 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: Oh where do I fucking start... Well. The biggest thing is I’d do is go back in time and prevent a terrifyingly bad argument/falling out with my ex/ex best friend that happened in 2011-2012, not because I want to still be friends with this person (I don’t anymore), but because the experience was very... traumatic... to both of us and I’d love us not to live with those mental scars. I’m still getting over those scars and it sucks. 31. What are you listening to right now: The composition I’m working on. 32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Yeah. Don’t know anyone well named Tom, though. One of my coworkers is a Tommy if that counts? 33. Something that is getting on your nerves: There’s one wonderful friend of mine who’s going through a really challenging time. I want to help them so badly, but they’ve been closed off and hermitting themselves to the point I think it’s harmful for them, it’s hard to contact them to help them, and they live too far away for me to check on them in person easily. I want to do anything to see them in person to help, or to talk to them, or anything... sitting in silence makes me very worried because this wonderful human soul deserves all the love and support they can get for what they’re going through. 34. Most visited website: Tumblr, Facebook, Netflix, Google. 35. Mole/s: I have two bumps on my forehead, one to either side. I jokingly call them horns, but they’re not evenly lined up, and the one on my left is much larger than the one on my right. 36. Mark/s: Bellybutton scar from a second degree burning incident, lots of scars on my hands right now from falling on concrete two months back, lots of scars on my wrists from a whole bunch of whatnot (I even have one from my sophomore year of high school when a school binder scraped me?), oh. And I have basically leopard-speckled shoulders from countless acne/pimple scars. For unnatural marks... three tats! Plans to get at least two more. 37. Childhood dream: To be a published, bestselling author or a college prof. 38. Hair color: Currently dark brown with bleached bangs and a strip on the right side. Natural hair color is what I call “dusty brown” and some people would call dirty blonde; it’s in that random in-between blonde and brown where the top is blonde-ish and the bottom is rather brown. 39. Long or short hair: I have the conundrum of enjoying my hair either really long or really short. I’m in the process of regrowing it to the long stage. It’s sort of at the bottom-of-the-shoulder-blades/boob length now. Goal is to go back to waist length. 40. Do you have a crush on someone: Does Takashi Shirogane count? 41. What do you like about yourself: Honestly, quite a lot? XD I’m very thankful to be a nerd who is apt to learn anything from sciences to arts and music and sports. I’m thankful to be a musician, a composer, a creative writer, an animation junkie, an analytical and logical mind, a complete and utter NERD beyond belief who lives in nerd culture. I love my appearance, I love my facial hair, I love my eyebrows and face shape, I love my body shape, I love that I’m left-handed, I love that I’m not conventionally pretty. I love being a Christian. I love being aroace. I mean when I’m not in a depressive, self-deprecating mode, I really am proud and thankful to be who I am all across the board; there’s very little that I dislike about myself. Mostly what I dislike is my current life situation of not being anywhere career-wise. Everything else, pretty happy. :) 42. Piercings: Two on each earlobe and one halfway up the cartilage. Dammit and I wanted like a dozen piercings by this type in my life. Get me a more stable paycheck and we’re fixing this! 43. Blood type: O+. Most common blood type, woot? 44. Nicknames?: I’ve had a terrifying slew of nicknames over the years. Currently, the most common ones are Haddock, King, (Kylo) Ren, Spock, and Toast. 45. Relationship status: Single in my chill natural habitat. 46. Zodiac: I am so bitter about my Zodiac sign I refuse to say it even though it’s not too hard to figure out what it is given other answers to this meme. 47. Pronouns: He/his/him, though honestly I really don’t care too much what people toss at me. 48. Favorite TV Show: Voltron: Legendary Defender. 50. Right or left hand: LEFT-HANDED WOOOOOOOO LEFT LEFT LEFT LEFT LEFT LEFT LEFT LEFT LEFT LEFTY PRIDE YOOOO! 51. Surgery: When I was nine I had four baby teeth and then the four adult teeth under them removed. Basically, a wisdom tooth like surgery but younger and with different teeth. 52. Hair dyed in different color: FUCK YEAH! I was getting really bored of my natural hair color but was keeping it natural for the purpose of looking professional (job searches). I’d been wanting to reinstate some purple and black again, but with my current job only allowing “natural” hair colors, I decided I couldn’t go that route. Instead I bleached the front and dyed the rest dark brown in a sort of inspiration from Takashi Shirogane. 53. Sport: I played soccer all growing up, so much fun. Love jogging. Sports are great, miss having the opportunity to do team stuff. Also really enjoy watching professional gymnastics, soccer, American football, and especially tennis. 55. Vacation: I want to see so many locations oh my fuck. My “to go to” list includes Bhutan, Nepal, China/Tibet, Mongolia, Cambodia (again... come on I miss it!), Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Japan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (England & Scotland), Norway, Canada, Peru, Mexico, South Korea, India, Myanmar, Austria, Germany, Iceland... um. Yeah. You. Get the picture. I NEED TO TRAVEL, YO! 56. Pair of trainers: Uh they’re like really raggedy and old and stuff

MORE GENERAL: 

57. Eating: I’m snacking on M&Ms again, like always. 58. Drinking: Water, though methinks I shall make some homemade ginger tea. 59. I’m about to: Probably go shower. It’s 3 PM and I still am in my pajamas. 62. Want: To fucking write and do NaNo and yet life’s been busy and I haven’t had the time for a word but I HAVE SO MANY VLD FANFICS I WANT TO DO AND AURGHGHGHGHGHGH the goal is to somehow write and finish my universal translator mix-up one this month???? We’ll see! Translators, stay tuned, and thanks again for offering to help! 63. Get married: 97% of me doesn’t want to get married I think? 64. Career: Linguistics consultant of doom. Not sure if this can be a career but if I could, I would enjoy continuing the remote work. To explain: I currently work contract positions with various companies who hire me for short-term projects, in which I use my linguistics expertise to analyze and annotate large sums of data according to certain guidelines. 65. Hugs or kisses: Hugs. I. LOVE. HUGS. SO. MUCH. HUGGGGGMEEEEE! I always look closed off in my body language but I swear the inside of me is always going “Giff me the cuddles and don’t let go.” 66. Lips or eyes: Eyes. Eyes are the most gorgeous thing about humans seriously. 67. Shorter or taller: I prefer to be the short one in all social situations. 68. Older or younger: For friends, I’m chill with whatever age you are. Dating, also chill, though I think I tend to prefer being slightly older just ’cause that’s how most of my relationships have been? But really doesn’t matter. 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: Arms. Nice arms are unique for me. I’m pretty happy with lots of different stomach types I see - tummies just are cute! :) 71. Sensitive or loud: A combo is fun but what I look for most in any platonic or anything relationship is someone with a deep heart. I want friends with whom I can confide in anything... so has to be that sensitive side (sensitive-logical if that makes sense is what I like best). 72. Hook up or relationship: I’ve done random PG hookups? But my answer for this is relationship; hookups are only fun for short-term boosts of self-confidence and not being 100% genuine and just being like carefree “whatever” for a night (make sure you both know you’re just doing the hookup night though, please guys, no deception!). Long-term relationships though are glorious like none other for their emotional power. <3 That is pure beauty, caring for someone deeply with lasting loyalty. But of course ya’ll know me... I find nothing more beautiful to cherish than deep platonic care! 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: Combo of both!

HAVE YOU EVER:

74. Kissed a Stranger: Yeppers 75. Drank hard liquor: Nope 76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: Yes ugh I have no clue where one of my pairs of glasses are again 77. Turned someone down: Yes 78. Sex on the first date: I’ve had sex never so this is an easy answer 79. Broken someone’s heart: Yes 80. Had your heart broken: Yes 81. Been arrested: No 82. Cried when someone died: Yes 83. Fallen for a friend: Yes

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

84: Yourself: Yes, typically 85. Miracles: Absolutely 86. Love at first sight: I mean I don’t deny it happens. It happens. But I don’t think it’s pragmatic to think that’s what’ll happen to you. 87. Santa Claus: Come on, of course North and the Guardians are kicking Pitch’s butt! 88. Kiss on the first date: Sure, why not

OTHER: 

90. Current best friend name: I don’t have one best friend right now. A few of my current closest friends are named Josh, “Hux”, Keith, JuLee, Rachel, Peter, and Meredith. 91. Eye color: Brown 92. Favorite movie: HOW DO I PICK ONE FAVORITE MOVIE FUCK YOU?? The Prince of Egypt, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the How to Train Your Dragon movies, Pacific Rim, there, I made a list.

Uhhhhh let’s so who should I tag... if you want to do it... @akkeyroomi @the-mr-eggplant @chiefrosepetal @thefuriousnightfury @insaneskye @fanwriter02 @dragonpride99 @jettara @margarethelstone @shailyesshadow @hubwalker1 @godguy0001 @theravenfliesagain @frosty-viking @jackthevulture @hiccup-is-left-handed @dragonnan @spacekeet @nightfury326 yaknowwhat I am not going to count but we’ll say that’s about 20 XD

[elljayvee]

First Lines Meme

RULES: List the first lines of the last ten stories you published. Look to see if there are any patterns that you notice yourself, and see if anyone else notices any! Then tag some friends.

@beatrice-otter​ tagged me! I tag: @basinke​, @travellinglemonworkshop​

1. The first time John brings Rosie by after Sherrinford, it's on her first birthday. 221B is still under renovation, but John's bedroom is finished; John's bedroom has a cot in it, squeezed next to John's old bed, the one he'd left behind when Sherlock was -- gone. (an infinite series of accidents; Sherlock/John, Sherlock)

2. Rosie turned one without her mother, with Molly and John singing to her in some kind of sick parody of happy families. After Rosie was tucked in her cot for an afternoon nap, John made tea, and he and Molly sat at his kitchen table, holding hands, letting the tea go cold. "She's a lovely child, John," Molly said. (Where are we now?, Sherlock gen) 

3. In Lothlórien, Gimli took advantage of a quiet moment in their camp, when the Men were away on some errand, to unpack khî pack and sort through it, repairing anything broken. “What's that?" asked Frodo, pointing at khî funnel. Gimli hesitated, not sure how to describe what it was for without giving away that khi was not, as they all assumed, male-sexed. (From Sweet Fellowship Comes Nectar, Legolas/Gimli, LOTR)

4. Legolas sprawled on his back on a camp-bed, in the tent he shared with Gimli. He was more than a little drunk, and had been so since the war's end. The celebration at Cormallen had been followed by feasts and days upon days of wine and song, and he was fond of wine, but now he could sense a calm coming. "Next we shall go to the city, I suppose," he said to Gimli. (Numberless the ways, and imperceptible., Legolas/Gimli, LOTR)

5. The warm summer breeze curled through the Burrow, three days after Harry's nineteenth birthday. He ran one hand up Ginny's leg to her knee, and then lifted her foot to his shoulder. The sole was dirty; some hours ago Ginny had kicked off her shoes. He kissed the side of her foot and inhaled. He remembered Hermione talking about the smell of freshly mown grass the day Slughorn had Amortentia in the classroom, and wondered if it was a familial thing. Ginny smelled of grass, too, green summer grass under a scorching sun.  (Flaming Aground (I’ve Said Too Much), Harry/Ginny, Harry Potter series)

6. Loki had converted a space near the quarters he shared with Thor for Sleipnir, and Thor found them both there one ship's-night. He wondered if he should ask what was being done with Sleipnir's manure, and opened his mouth only to have Loki interrupt before any sound issued forth. (Ship’s night, residential deck, third corridor, Thor:Ragnarok gen)

7. Gudrun and three other women set to work on a still in the ship’s galley. Gudrun has never built a still before, but she has operated one since she came of age, in her father’s distillery. She learned to repair them with her own hands, and building one is not so different. King Thor will approve, she is sure, both for the sedating qualities of drink and the disinfective properties of the alcohol. They have no soul-forge, no real healing facilities — nothing but the inadequate contents of the ship’s small infirmary. It is outfitted for the sorts of injuries one sustains in vigorous sexual activity, not in a world-destroying battle. First-aid supplies only go so far, with sword wounds and burns to the bone. (The Silent Man, Thor:Ragnarok gen)

8. An Alliance commander that Biggs didn't recognize stuck her head into the pilots' lounge. "Heard there was someone here from Tatooine?" (A Standard List of Questions, Star Wars gen)

9. "Poe. Look at me." (Commentfic: Shields, sort-of Poe/Luke, Star Wars)

10. Kylo Ren hung in the bacta tank, his hair drifting like snakes around his face; the breather a parody of his usual vocoder-mask. The medical droid wheeled up beside the tank and clicked to get Hux's attention. "He will awake in two minutes, General." Hux nodded an acknowledgement, studying the knitted scars over Ren's side, the muscles over the plane of his stomach. He did not let his hands curl into fists; anger at an unconscious man was pointless. (In Hand, Kylo Ren/General Hux, post-Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

What I learned: I like to pick up threads, loose ends, and I like to try to make sense of the (often nonsensical) canon that we have. The only outsider POV I use is Gudrun’s; it’s not a common technique for me, and when I use it, it is there for a very specific purpose. (I love reading outsider POV stories -- there’s lots of kinds of stories I don’t write but love to read, and that’s one of them.) 

Most of the stories are couplets -- two stories in the same fandom, written close to the same time (1&2, 3&4, 6&7, 8&9). Flaming Aground is, as well, although the story I wrote at the same time is incomplete and unpublished, so that leaves In Hand as the only odd man out.

From the titles, I notice that I consider punctuation part of the title: Numberless has a period at the end, and that’s intentional and part of the title. It’s more obvious when there’s a different punctuation mark (Where are we now?) but it’s always intentional. I hadn’t realized that I do that.

I start almost all of these off with a sense of place (Shields is the only exception, and it was commentfic -- so less thought-through and deliberate than the others). It’s important to me to put characters in their environment, and the chosen environment can add a sense of intimacy or of distance. The difference between 221B in an infinite series of accidents (repetition of John’s ownership of the space increasing intimacy even though John does not live at 221B at the time) and the comfort/homey-ness of the Burrow in Flaming Aground (Harry and Ginny are comfortable enough to have romantic contact in her parents’ house) and the coldness and impersonal space of the medbay in In Hand is a big part of setting the story’s tone. infinite is ABOUT intimacy and its complications; Flaming Aground is about comfort and playfulness and communication, and In Hand is about angry people who wouldn’t know intimacy if it bit them. 

I want to talk a little about the first two story couplets on the list, because I think the first lines tell you important things about the differences between the stories, and because the stories in these couplets are extremely closely related for stories that aren’t sequels to each other. 

an infinite series of accidents and Where are we now? are both post-S4 Sherlock stories with an asexual Sherlock and a heterosexual John. They’re in nearby universes -- they even share some dialog in the early parts of the story — but infinite is a much more hopeful story overall. The creation of intimacy in the first paragraph tells you, right off the bat, where Sherlock (the POV character for the whole story) stands re: John, and it’s an unwavering thread through the whole: Sherlock wants him home, and doesn’t want him to leave, ever, and is hopeful that this can happen. 

Where are we now? starts off in John’s home, without Sherlock there, and it’s sad and bitter. It is emphasizing disconnect, the death of Mary, and the way Sherlock isn’t as present in John’s life anymore. Molly’s presence is a lifeline, a way out, a marker that all is not lost. infinite isn’t a fluffy story -- I’m not interested in apologizing for John’s violence -- but it tackles the issues of the Sherlock-John relationship post-S4 from the point of view of healing and connection, rather than the point of view of fear and the struggle for self-control. 

From Sweet Fellowship Comes Nectar and Numberless the ways, and imperceptible. are both Legolas/Gimli, and they both address cultural differences and the difficulty people can have communicating their needs and desires. At their hearts, they are both about being seen. Sweet Fellowship is about how people see you vs. how you see yourself, and about how people with a different vision of themselves navigate an unseeing world. Gimli’s cultural background provides khî with emotional armor, but khi also comes to recognize certain dangers and corrosive fears that come along with navigating the world of Men. The opening line tells you that Gimli’s sex is not male and that khi uses an unfamiliar pronoun with no translation into Westron/English, so it brings you into the cultural differences immediately and clearly. 

Numberless is about learning to see yourself, when everyone else already sees you accurately. Legolas’s cultural background makes his journey more difficult, rather than offering him protection as Gimli’s did in Sweet Fellowship; he’s ancient and set in his ways, and isn’t expecting a radical emotional change in his life -- so he doesn’t recognize it when it happens. It opens with Legolas in close proximity to Gimli, and with indications of intimacy, but also with Legolas being drunk and somewhat careless of himself and of what’s going on around him. He spends a great deal of the story avoiding self-awareness in any way that doesn’t fit into his entrenched idea of himself, and that’s set up right from the start.