#organic damage

[citrusandrottefruit]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Steve probably should have had surgery after Vecna ​​died, because Hanahaki's roots seemed deep, but he chose to alternate between Max and Eddie's hospital rooms. There was no time to waste on his own health.

His parents were back this time. They had sold their house and bought a huge apartment for Steve, who wanted to stay in the city. His parents didn’t even question it, they just demanded his time for a week before leaving with a big hug and the promise of a trip somewhere nice that summer. If he had been a little younger, Steve would have been happier, but after so many years of neglect, all he could think was that this was as far as he was going to get.

A side note, an afterthought. They cared about their son, just not as much as they should have.

Steve's new apartment had four bedrooms, more than he needed, but he was glad his parents tried so hard to make up for it, because it meant he could offer Robin a room when she graduated and there would always be room for the kids. And Eddie and Wayne, who stayed with him while the government found them a new place to live.

Eddie made a joke about Steve's parents being more powerful than the government, for being able to find Steve a great place to live so quickly in a broken city while he and Wayne had to wait.

Wayne was usually around, and despite being a somewhat taciturn man, it was easy to see the love that overflowed for Eddie. It made Steve think of his mother, who had loved and suffered so intensely that she had developed Hanahaki.

And yet, she was not with him.

The cough got worse.

One day, Steve woke up in the middle of the night, struggling after yet another nightmare of torture. Some days, it was easy to forget about Vecna ​​in favor of that hour beneath the Mall, with his life in someone else's hands. On days like these, Robin was needed more than ever, but her parents didn't want her away so much, so sleeping in his new apartment was hardly an option. Calling her wasn't a good idea either, because all it would do was stress her out and they'd end up up all night on the phone. So he resigned himself to taking medication and going out to the balcony, longing for the fresh, clean night air.

He would turn on the TV or music, but he didn't want to wake Eddie, so he just stood outside with his eyes closed and imagined being alone again when Wayne and Eddie left, then tried to imagine what the trip with his parents would be like, if it were to happen. Steve still wasn't sure if he wanted to go, but it might be nice. Maybe he'd get something out of being away from Hawkins for a while. Maybe the coast would make it easier to breathe.

As lost in thought as Steve was, after years of trauma it was impossible not to be aware of the sounds around him, so when Eddie opened the bedroom door and started walking down the hall, he heard it. He stayed silent, not wanting to disturb Eddie.

Of course, Eddie didn't care and showed up a few minutes later with some tea.

For your cough, man.

After that, it became almost a ritual between them. Eddie was always there when Steve woke up startled, and Steve reciprocated. They always had nightmares, so who went to who depended on which one of them woke up first.

Sometimes they would stare at the stars in silence, other times they would talk. Most nights, they would end up in Eddie's bed, in one of the spare bedrooms, without touching each other.

Steve's room, which was definitely his and not a temporary arrangement, felt too intimate.

At the same time, Eddie began asking more and more about Steve's throat, about his shortness of breath, if he was okay, when he planned to go to the hospital. The questions became so frequent that Wayne noticed, too.

The feeling of being cared for was too much. Feared and desired in equal measure.

Eddie shouldn’t even be doing all this, because he was still bandaged, still covered in pink scars, still had a long way to go in physical therapy.

For the second time in his life, Steve felt suffocated by love.

This time, Steve almost hated it. Because he was in love with Eddie, because Eddie didn’t know the things Robin knew. Even if he loved Steve back, how could Steve demand that Eddie take care of him?

Mr. Harrington had reasons to stay with Mrs. Harrington. Although no one talked about it, Steve was sure that his father had been the trigger for his mother’s Hanahaki. And maybe if she had never left, chasing her father across the country, trying to be happy with him to stay alive, maybe… Just maybe, Steve wouldn’t have been alone and maybe he would have been healthy.

Neither Eddie nor anyone else had a good reason to pursue any kind of happiness or emotional stability with Steve.

In addition to the burden of living with a chronic, progressive disease that would possibly become terminal at some point, being emotionally involved with someone with Hanahaki was very complicated. It required loyalty, responsibility, patience, a willingness to accept endless arguments and a desire to reconcile.

Communication was essential. Making sure the other person felt good and loved, comfortable and safe. All of this was too much work, too demanding.

Loving Steve was a prison.

I'll try to post part 3 soon. I've already written the ending, but I'm thinking about how to connect this part to the ending, which will be happy.

[zolo-san]

Pleasseee some thoughts on Law not believing that he deserves love. 🥺🥺🥺❤️

Okay, so I think that Law feeling that he is undeserving of love is kind of a defining feature of his character and I think he feels this way for a lot of reasons one of which being because of how he sees himself as a bad, selfish person (for anyone who missed my ramblings on that you can find it here)

But I think that a huge contributing factor is how much he's been rejected throughout his life

Law faced A LOT of rejection in his early life, starting with the fact that him and his entire town were pretty much thrown away and abandoned by a government that was supposed to protect them It's also implied that after the eradication of his town, Law at some point tried to seek out medical help on his own (how else would he have known how the doctors would react to him when Corazon brought him?) and he undoubtedly was faced with a lot of rejection there as well (and a confirmed death sentence to boot) Then when he tried to join Doflamingo's family he was immediately met with more rejection from Corazon Though Corazon's actions had good intentions behind them, he definitely did not help with Law feeling rejected and unloved at the time He not only pushed Law away, but quite literally threw him away and beat him to try to drive him off (like good god my guy, there were better ways to go about that ;-;) Continuous rejection like that can have a very big affect on a kid (Part of which is the thought of "What did I do to deserve this?" easily turning to "I guess I must deserve this.") And while Law was a kid, he channeled a lot of his feelings about being rejected into anger and resentment - a behavior that was encouraged by Doflamingo and his family, but I think that later in life, it ended up fueling feelings of inadequacy and giving Law the impression that not only did he not deserve love, but he must be the type of person that deserves that kind of rejection

From the moment that Corazon chose to reach out and be kind to Law (starting with him covering for Law stabbing him) Law was unwilling to believe, even for a second, that someone could care for him in anyway because doing so would be opening himself to another potential rejection Not to mention, I think that there is a lot of trauma for Law surrounding the concept of someone "reaching out a helping hand" He was told by the sister in his town that there will always be someone willing to reach out and help only to have that immediately proven wrong and then subsequently proven wrong time and time again as people not only refused to help him, but out right rejected him I can't help but feel that all that makes it very difficult for Law to believe in the existence of the person with a helping hand~ I think that's also why he's so unwilling to be hopeful when it comes to doctors again - he knows how this goes down And for him, that's just how the world works, the message is clear: He is unloved and unwanted and that's how it's supposed to be And I can't help but wonder if he might also feel that this is what he gets for not being able to do anything to save the people most important to him For not dying with everyone else (oh hey there's that theme of survivors guilt again~)

There's also something interesting to be said about Law seeing himself as alone and rejected by the world because I think that's actually a contributing factor as to why Corazon feels for him and wants to help him Because Cora sees his younger self in Law Despite Law pretending as if it all doesn't bother him - as if he has accepted his death and the worlds apparent rejection of him - Corazon can see that, in reality, Law is just scared and alone And I think that's why when Law keeps questioning why Cora is so determined to help him and why he cares, that Cora tells Law to stop asking and to stop looking for a reason why someone might love him I think in saying that, Cora is trying to instill in Law that love is not something transactional, you don't have to earn it and you don't owe anyone for it Corazon gives his love to Law freely because he wants to It's as simple as that But even after everything that Law goes through with Cora, I think that's a lesson he was never able to learn or a concept he was ever able to accept

It's a fact that Luffy is the only person that Law ever explains his whole story to He's the only one that knows everything that Law has done and everything that he's been through And I can't help but wonder why that is? He clearly cares about and trusts his crew, so why is it that he never told them? Instead, he left them behind (Somewhere safe of course) and I think it's because he can't believe that they would or should help him I think that despite it all and despite how he feels about them, he doesn't think he has the right to even ask them to help him He doesn't think he deserves it

And I'd like to say that I think it's really important in helping Law to heal and unlearn this way of thinking that Luffy consistently, loudly, and very unapologetically declares his love for Law Luffy, much like Corazon, offers him love and support unconditionally, despite Law's attempts to deter him, despite knowing everything about him, including all the reasons Law thinks he's undeserving of love Luffy doesn't hesitate for a second He has no doubts when he reaches out a hand to Law offering to help him, care for him, and love him Why? Because Luffy thinks Law is a good guy and because he truly believes that Law deserves to be loved~

[moonlit-escape]

what the hell. gay little catboys

[dallasgallant]

Unpopular take- when the time comes Pony cuts his hair far too easily.

Like tearing off a bandaid. He sits on the toilet and lets Soda cut it off, quick and fast and a bit janky. Not as even as there father would have done it, he has a few cuts along his neck from boxing it off but it’s back close to the length he likes it. All the peroxide blond on the floor around him to be swept up and put in the garbage.

It’s not that he doesn’t care, but the church… how things ended wouldn’t be what he’d want to remember Johnny by. They found ways to pass the time but those days were rough and full of fear even before the fire. He cuts it off fast and without thought because he’s a Greaser. Greasers are tuff. They stay cool. He doesn’t let it get to him because he’s a guy.

Seriously, the brand of masculinity the guys ascribe to encourages Pony to calm and burry it. The way it translates as a greaser, as a poor guy, is to Be cool, be tuff and take out everything in a fight or with a drink or drugs or crime. You’re happy or you’re angry. Now the guys aren’t complete to this, no one is but it is the pillar they look to— even if they do cry and talk and some of them look at sunsets.

Pony’s fourteen now and it’s time to cut his hair.

[remyfire]

Luigi has officially lost enough weight that he can groom his own foot and leg, please clap for him

[majorpepperidge]

My hand is cramping and its nearly midnight (after starting this at 7-ish) BUT I STILL LIKE HOW IT TURNED OUT (after fussing over minor details for the last hour)

[plainlyraine]

I love being brainrotted and in o-chem. We were going over infrared spectrometry today and the professor said a carbonyl peak is characteristically "strong and broad" and just stared off like "Daniil would get drunk off his ass and call Artemy a carbonyl before passing out"

To which my friend agreed--

[lingrimmart]

Re-Animator fandom inhabitants — we see your reblogs, your tags, your unhinged reactions, and we just want to say: thank you. Truly. Every little comment and addition melts us completely. You’re all so sharp, funny, emotionally unwell in the correct way — and we love it.

It’s a beautiful paradox that the community obsessed with two toxic, co-dependent science freaks — often covered in guts, blood, and assorted bodily substances — is also one of the warmest, sweetest groups of people we’ve met online.

And honestly? We are not even surprised. Our friends who are also into guro (Jackie, Lila, V — yes, I’m calling you out) are some of the softest, kindest souls out there. <3

Also, a personal note: we basically jumped into this fandom face-first after seeing Team’s art and reading What Wakes Alone in Ice, so our brains kind of… imprinted on her like she’s some kind of elegant, emotionally devastating mother duck. No pressure, Team. You're just forever embedded in our neural architecture in the gentlest, most reverent way.

Thanks for making this corner of the internet so gross, brilliant, and tender all at once.

[celestialcass]

COCSA comic, frames 1-6. I was 9, she was 11. A decade of further violation by other perpetrators later, I realized flashbacks & nightmares meant I was traumatized. Her mother molested me too, when I was 13. I worry about that family. The daughter has kids now.

I used to think everyone wanted to touch me, and I had to let them.

[ghosty-schnibibit]

my opinion about the watcher news basically boils down to this:

watcher is screwing over a huge portion of its fanbase with this move considering how many people within it are teenagers who may not have access to streaming services, low-income adults who can't afford yet another streaming service (if any), and international fans who couldn't sign up for a US based streaming service even if they wanted to. it's okay to be angry about this, especially if you're one of those people who now can't support shows you loved or will be unable to see any of those shows going forward because of it.

and

youtube's payout to creators has dwindled in recent years to the point that it is impossible to fund the kind of productions watcher makes purely through it, and in order to sustain a company of 40+ people they need a more stable source of income not reliant on ads from outside companies and patreon, which, in this case, means a pivot to streaming. it's okay to be upset that creators you like have to turn to such methods to continue funding their work, whether you have the means to support them through these avenues or not.

and

if the early reactions to this move are any indication, watcher will probably not get the fan buy-in they anticipated and in all likelihood the new streaming site will either fail within a year or two because it isn't making enough money and take the company with it or they'll be bought out by a larger company and have their shows archived or deleted for tax purposes like what's happened to roosterteeth. it is okay to be scared by that potential future and seek to preserve as much content as you can before that happens.

are all statements that can and should coexist

[greenleaf4stuff]

In Convenience - Chapter 5, part 3

Adar x Celebrimbor (silverscars) political marriage to marriage of love AU, post story snippet 5, part 3. Celebrimbor and Gil-Galad continue to welcome the guests. The smith is delighted to see his neighbors from Khazad-Dum again. When Adar ends up joining the group, an unexpected item helps to avoid hightened tensions - and showcases the affection between the two spouses.

(all previous parts of "Of Convenience" and "In Convenience")

This was just very lovely and cute to write, the interactions between these characters were unexpectedly fun and sweet, to the point it almost wrote itself. Also, the 'item' hinted at above is something I had wanted to write about for quite some time now. :) Enjoy! <3

Once Oropher and Thranduil had concluded their conversation with Gil-Galad and Celebrimbor, more and more guests began to arrive and came to greet the latter two. Delegations of elves, men and even dwarves had followed the invitiation, most of them either curious or skeptical. What united them almost unanimously, however, were their open relief and delight at the defeat of Sauron.

It also seemed that once they saw Celebrimbor’s obvious happiness, and how his city showed all the signs of prospering in the aftermath of Sauron’s brief reign of terror, they were becoming somewhat convinced that the marriage, too, was worth celebrating.

One of the more openly questioning groups happened to be a delegation of neighbors and friends that Celebrimbor was particularly delighted to see.

"Prince Durin, Princess Dísa, Narvi! Welcome to Ost-In-Edhil," the elf greeted them with open joy, and was quite elated when the the latter came over and readily took Celebrimbor’s hands in his own to squeeze them. The elf returned the pressure with a wide smile. Even with his magnificent beard, it was clear Narvi was returning it with an equally bright one.

Before the elf knew it, the other had dragged him down and pulled Celebrimbor into a powerful, heartfelt hug. It made the Lord of Eregion realize how long the two of them hadn’t seen each other, and under what circumstances. He returned the embrace readily as a result.

"It is so good to see you," he said, and felt his frame shake as Narvi patted his back. He didn’t mind it in the least. "I had feared for you and your people, after Durin told me about the dwarven rings."

"Hmpf. As you can see, I am alive and well," Narvi replied. "Though your concern honors you."

He drew back and held onto Celebrimbor’s shoulders as he studied him. His gaze quickly turned approving. "You look very well, my friend. I, too, had feared the worst when news reached to us that Sauron had taken hold of Eregion," a long pause. "And that you’d been wed to an orc-"

"Uruk," Celebrimbor gently corrected, unable to help himself. It had become second nature to him, the way it was for Adar. One might claim the two of them had already begun to rub off on each other, which...likely wasn’t entirely inaccurate.

Narvi paused, but did not try to rebuke Celebrimbor. "Uruk, then. Still. A political marriage while they were right at the gates of your city, you can’t fault a dwarf for worryin’."

"If I could fault you for anything, Narvi, I have yet to discover it," the elven smith replied, and chuckled at Narvi’s fond eyeroll. "Your concern is much appreciated. Thankfully, it is unnecessary – I am indeed quite well. Splendid, even. More so, I imagine, once the hustle and bustle of today has passed."

The other gave him an understanding look and nodded, but then seemed to remember something and released Celebrimbor to step back. As he half-turned, Prince Durin and his wife Dísa came into view.

"We will continue to speak more, my friend, later on," the dwarf promised, before he bowed lightly and stepped back to let his prince come closer. Celebrimbor caught Durin and Gil-Galad throwing each other meaningful glances that the smith couldn’t hope to parse, and so he simply shrugged inwardly and fully turned his attention to the dwarven royalty in front of him.

"Prince Durin," Celebrimbor greeted, then turned to the dwarf’s wife. "Princess Dísa. It is good to see you. You, Dísa, look lovely as always."

And indeed, the princess had either changed before stepping in front of Celebrimbor and Gil-Galad, or she had been dressed quite elaborately for her journey. Her dress was beautifully made, shining like rare metals from the depth of the Misty Mountains, adorned with gemstones and jewels, gold dust in her hair, on her eyes, cheeks, and fingers. She shone preciously, even more so as she smiled at him, and he told her as much.

She chuckled and tried to wave him off. "Oh, quit it with the compliments, you’ll turn your husband jealous. Or mine," she joked, then came close and also gave him a hug while laughing warmly. "Narvi’s right, you look much better than we dared to hope for!"

Celebrimbor flustered, a little, but also laughed and returned her hug, mindful not to accidentally undo Dísa’s beautifully done hair; he could only guess how much time and how many people it must have taken to make it look like a piece of art, because it did.

When she drew back, she studied his chest and then her eyes widened excitedly. "That is the Sirannon, and the end of the embroidery there, isn’t it? And the Doors of Durin," her eyes sparkled as she smiled up at him. "What a wonderful choice for your garment."

Celebrimbor’s smile was a little proud, perhaps, and certainly wide enough to almost split his face in two. "I’d hoped you and your people might approve. We are neighbors, after all – good ones, or so I should hope. I wish to pick up and continue the collaboration between our people, and honor it to the best of my abilities, as soon as possible."

"Don’t you worry about that, elf," Prince Durin replied from the side, and Celebrimbor straightened to incline his head in respect at the redhead. The other returned the gesture, both to the Lord of Eregion and the High King of the Elves. "Now that the lyin’, deceivin’, good-for-nothin’ Lord of Falsehoods is gone, we will be quick to restore our previous trust, I am sure. If only because Elrond would surely subject me to his blasted doe eyes if we didn’t."

He was audibly joking, and smirked as he said his words, but also couldn’t help and curse Sauron in khuzdul afterwards. While Gil-Galad seemed quite content not to know what the dwarven prince was saying, Celebrimbor wasn’t afforded such a mercy, and he wheezed in his attempt not to laugh at Durin’s language.

"Sorry. I tend to forget Narvi taught you," Durin replied, though there was very little sheepishness to his words. He threw a sidelong glance at Dísa. "And this one, too. Elrond tells me you know how to curse in khuzdul now?"

Remembering his outburst at Adar’s camp – the one he hoped Elrond had not translated and retold to Gil-Galad in full –, the elf scratched the back of his neck and looked to the side for a moment, visibly caught, before he turned back to the dwarves. "I assure you, it wasn’t your lovely wife who taught me these words," Celebrimbor looked at Dísa, who smirked at him, emboldening him to add, "Or, rather. Not all of them."

They shared some laughter among each other. "I couldn’t have known you’d actually use any of it," Dísa defended, though her husband looked more approving than anything.

She stepped forward to touch Celebrimbor’s arm then, and her gaze grew unexpectedly soft. He was quick to pay attention as a result. "So, Celebrimbor. I know this is a feast to celebrate the peace, but there is another matter as well," her eyes seemed to bore into his, despite her light tone and easy smile. "How is the marriage? Are you as content as the occasion makes it seem?"

There were a few hidden questions, tucked safely into the corners of what she had asked – whether he was happy, if he was safe, if this was truly what he wanted or if he was merely doing his duty to the elven people.

It warmed his heart to witness her concern, even diplomatically voiced as it was. As he glanced at Durin, the prince wore a frown, much more plainly displaying his doubts than his wife did. Gil-Galad, notably, had been quietly observing the situation, sipping on some tea and holding himself back.

Perhaps, the interaction between him and Durin concerning that large stone table was still at the forefront of his mind. The thought brought a bit of mirth to the smith; Elrond had taken much delight in gossiping to Celebrimbor about the real nature of the dispute after the fact.

He gently put his hand onto Dísa’s shoulder, and let his own expression turn soft with open affection he thought of Adar, and how he felt whenever he was with his husband.

"I assure you, Lady Dísa, I couldn’t be happier with my lot. The circumstances of my marriage and subsequent partnership with Adar might have been unusual. But the victory achieved, we all achieved together. And both our feelings for one another are genuine. It’s not merely a political match – we have grown quite fond of each other."

He grinned and winked at his last words. Dísa’s bright laughter in response broke whatever tension had fallen over them.

"Now then, that does sound very promising indeed," she replied, and patted his arm. "You should come visit us. Maybe we’ll have more time to speak then. I’d certainly like to hear all about what happened to you. Must have been quite the experience, from what Elrond told us already."

"Oh, you have no idea," Celebrimbor replied. "I will make sure to visit you again soon, once all of this," he indicated Eregion at large, "has been taken care of. Speaking of which, how have things been in Khazad-Dum? Have they- improved?"

His question was asked haltingly, and the elf couldn’t help but fiddle with the braided ring on his finger as he brought it forth. He wanted to hear news from the dwarven kingdom, but he also feared what his friends might tell him; about the corrupted rings and their effects, especially. The fact that Narvi, Durin and Dísa had been so elated to see him was already more than he deserved, in his opinion.

Dísa kept her smile, but it visibly became a little strained as she grew more serious, and turned towards her husband, who readily stepped closer and regarded Celebrimbor. Instead of appearing angry or dismayed, his expression was wry more than anything else.

"Yeah, well. About that," he seemed a bit sheepish, causing Celebrimbor to blink in confusion. "Let’s just say I might have temporarily lost my place as heir apparent when I took a fist to my father’s face, knocked him out cold, and threw his ring down the deepest shaft I could find."

He said it with a mix of pride, defiance and embarrassment that gave Celebrimbor almost as much whiplash as the prince’s words had done. He heard Gil-Galad quietly choke on his tea, and needed a moment to fully grasp the other’s meaning.

"You. You punched your own father? King Durin III?" The smith raised his eyebrows in disbelief. Things must have been truly dire for the prince to do so; he might not always see eye-to-eye with his father, from Celebrimbor had witnessed, but deep down Prince Durin held plenty of respect for his king – adored him, frankly, from what Dísa had spilled in conversations between the two of them.

She nodded, gravely, and threw her husband a disapproving glance. "He did. At least he didn’t do it in public but, word got out anyways," the way she looked at Celebrimbor clearly said, 'Can you believe this hotheaded fool?'

The smith was torn between wanting to point out that the rings had indeed been far more dangerous than even Durin could have forseen, and agreeing that perhaps, stealing or wresting the ring from the dwarven king might have been the preferable option.

His eyebrows were raised in worry as he asked, "A-and. How is your father now?" He blanched. "You’ve not been cast out from your people, or your home, surely?"

The prince was quick to wave him off, while Dísa reassured him by rubbing his arm and giving him a firm headshake. A weight slid off Celebrimbor’s shoulders. "Nah, nothin’ like that. He was rightly pissed, declared I wasn’t his heir anymore and gave me the cold shoulder for a bit. But, I think ever since the rings ‘ave been gone, he’s slowly come back to his senses."

He shrugged. "He’s still mad about the punch itself, but I think he can understand where I came from."

Dísa nodded. "We need to give it time. King Durin’s got other things to deal with, for now, anyways," she was obviously reluctant to worry Celebrimbor even further, but then sighed and admitted, "We suspect there might be another...problem. Down in the depths of the mountain. We’re not quite sure what yet, but there have been rather ominous rumblings, and reports of fireshine from down below. We have been halting a lot of our mining, and even prospecting for new veins, as a result."

"That sounds quite foreboding," the elf agreed, feeling troubled by her words. "Don’t get me wrong, I am very glad to hear the rings have been taken care of. But this new potential threat...is there anything I can do to help?"

Durin’s smile was wry, while Dísa’s was bright.

"Nothin’ concrete yet, but we appreciate the offer," the prince said. "My father wants to exercise utmost caution – his words, not mine. We’ll have to see how that works out, for now."

"Of course," Celebrimbor replied, and bowed just a little. "You are not just allies, but neighbors and most importantly, friends. I would be happy to assist you."

"Perhaps me and my people might be of help here," came a voice from the far corner of the hall. Celebrimbor looked up to see Adar come in from the hallway, some of his uruk in tow, though they were careful to keep their distance from the dwarves. Adar inclined this head to Durin and Dísa, before he stepped up to Celebrimbor’s side. The elf held his breath, trying to gauge how the delegation from Khazad-Dum might react.

Adar, however, continued to speak – and looked at the dwarves evenly. "My children are able to navigate the dark with ease. They can also dig tunnels and climb quite well. Maybe they might aid your people in any excursions down into the depths of the mountain; if there should be remnants of something truly evil there, they would be able to sense and help identify it."

There was a heavy pause after he had made his offer; both Durin and Dísa had been visibly more alert since Adar had announced his presence. While Dísa merely looked cautious, but was trying to subtly keep an eye on the other, Durin was openly scowling at him. Adar, for his part, did not give away much through his body or expression, appearing serious but not tense.

Except for the fact that Celebrimbor make out how his husband had pressed his thumb to his wedding ring, judging by how he held his right hand. The elf suspected the uruk was itching to have his broadsword – not because he expected to use it, but because he’d often grasped it in the past when he had needed something to ground himself, from what Celebrimbor had witnessed.

He could see Dísa chance a glance at her husband, raise her eyebrows, and hurry to try and find both a smile and a polite answer to Adar’s words, while Durin opened his mouth to retort and squared his shoulders in a way that did not bode well.

The smith could hear Gil-Galad stepping over, perhaps to intervene, and Celebrimbor too was quick to put a hand onto Adar’s arm in preparation to utter his support of his husband’s idea.

However, neither of them were as fast as Narvi.

"That is a fine piece of work," he remarked, audibly impressed. When the Lord of Eregion and the others looked over, the dwarven smith had his gaze fixed on Adar’s cuirass. Celebrimbor blinked, and saw Dísa and Durin both halt, then take a closer look at the armor as well.

Celebrimbor felt himself preen, just a little, raising to his full height at the praise, for it was likely in part addressed towards him.

As he’d promised the other, back when Adar decided against wearing a traditional robe for the festivities, the elf had taken the uruk to his new forge a few times during the late hours of the evening. His assistants thankfully had been aware enough to busy themselves with projects on the far side of the smithy, while Adar took off his cuirass and allowed the elf to work on it.

They both had decided to leave the blackened color of the metal as it was, but wherever there were rust or holes, the smith had taken to the armor and patched it up. He’d decided to deliberately not try and make the metal he used fit in, but rather gone and done it by the way of the uruk. That was, he let his own additions be visibly new, and different from the rest.

Adar’s armor was now flecked with silvery patches of metal, which from a distance looked like stars in the night sky. The bigger parts, Celebrimbor made to be less shiny, and had decided to adorn with some subtle designs instead.

The rim of Adar’s gorget, for example, was now decorated with a fine line of subtle, beautiful holly leaves and sage blossoms, interwoven amongst each other in muted silver. There had also been a large hole in his chest armor, near the uruk’s stomach, which had been fixed and adorned with a constellation of the night sky over Eregion, an eight-pointed star as its center piece.

It was indeed a rather fine piece of work, if Celebrimbor might say so himself. Such praise from another smith meant a lot to him.

"Thank you, my lord," this was Adar, who had gone so far as to incline his head in gratitude at Narvi. Celebrimbor felt warmth swell in his chest as the uruk continued. "My husband was kind enough to repair parts of my armor as a second wedding present."

And then he turned and looked at Celebrimbor, gaze softening. "The first being the reforged crown of Morgoth – remade as the sword which helped us kill the Deceiver," with those words, he turned back to the dwarves.

While Durin looked quite stunned, Dísa was once again smiling and looking to be more at ease, while Narvi was nodding in obvious approval.

"No need to call me lord – Adar, right?" Narvi said, and bowed slightly. "The name’s Narvi. I’m a smith, much like your Celebrimbor," he smirked.

Celebrimbor could see just the hint of a grin on Adar’s lips as the uruk looked back at the dwarf, and then also bowed just a little. "Adar is correct. My children refer to me as Lord Father of the Uruk, but Adar is the only name and title I require."

He turned and bowed to Durin and Dísa as well. "Forgive my manner of introduction. I could not help but overhear your...plight."

While she still looked just a little apprehensive, Dísa was quick to smile brightly at the acknowledgement by the other, and curtsied in response to his words. "It’s alright. I am Dísa, and this," she proceeded to subtly elbow her husband in the side, who shook himself from his frozen state and begrudgingly bowed a little as well. "Is Durin IV, son of Durin III and Crown Prince of Khazad-Dum. Though the title might be in question, at the current moment at least." The last sentence was said in wry humor.

"It is a pleasure, and an honor, to make your aquaintance," the uruk replied, voice genuine and wholly without any audible caveats, which was a relief. Celebrimbor knew his husband was just as interested in trying to create a lasting peace between uruk and dwarves as Celebrimbor, Gil-Galad and Elrond were, but he also knew Adar would not accept any ill words or insults to be spoken about his children.

It was a fine line to walk, but one they had seemingly managed not to stray from, at least so far.

Durin’s gaze was still assessing, but between Narvi’s open curiosity and Dísa’s attempts at a polite, diplomatic conversation, nevermind Adar’s proposition, he eventually deflated and merely asked, "So, about that offer you made just now. You serious?"

Adar nodded, "Absolutely. My hope is that, between elven records, my children’s skills and your hospitality and equipment, we might find a solution to your problem – and perhaps, a first step towards a future collaboration between our people."

This time, Celebrimbor did not have to hold his breath, as Durin hummed and nodded in reply. Celebrimbor and Dísa threw each other hopeful smiles, and when the smith turned to his High King, he too looked to be slightly optimistic, at least.

[i-amusemyself]

[jangillman]

[afrenomes]

I really can’t stand seeing other Jews on here spreading misinformation about the “protesters” (honestly we should start calling them rioters or even militants—it’s what they call themselves), and their posts getting 9k+ notes, meanwhile Jewish students and NYC Jews are screaming into the void about who these people ACTUALLY are and our posts hardly even break 100 notes, with even half of Jumblr ignoring us, saying we’re exaggerating when we say what’s happening on campuses is THAT BAD, or saying that our civil rights (which are required to be protected under the law!) matter less than a person who’s violating their green card agreement facing the same legal consequences based on the same law that Biden used against violent West Bank settlers back when he was president

[abirddogmoment]

extremely ready for spring now

[the-knife-consumer]

☝️ it doesn't rot.. something about the remaining psychic energy and elder godhood messing with his body and constantly regenerating stuff the instant it's hurt/dying.

This also makes him live way wayyyy longer than he normally would. Not immortal but he might as well be since he'll outlive everyone he knows and then some.