#sam understood bilbo so fast

[tolkien-feels]

What about either Sam or Rosie? Or both, if you feel like it

I'm..... Trying to pick one but. I can't. You get both even though I shouldn't because I ended up getting more asks than I should and now I'm worrying that I won't be able to get through all of them this weekend. But I can't choose between Sam and Rosie, come on!

Sam

one aspect about them i love: I mean, it’s gotta be his devotion, right? And I don’t mean just to Frodo, though that’s when it’s most obvious. He’s devoted to his father and to Rosie, to Bilbo and to Gandalf, to gardening and to poetry. Sam doesn’t seem to love easily (which always surprises me because he’s such a human golden retriever!) but the people and things he loves become part of his identity and that makes me go feral all the time

one aspect i wish more people understood about them: Sam is so young. Only 10 years older than Pippin! Like Merry, he’s just out of his tweens. I feel like the way “young hobbits” usually mean “Merry and Pippin, as opposed to Sam and Frodo” in the books and the casting in the movies sort of obscures that. A lot about Sam makes more sense if you take that into account

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character: Parts of this are borderline canon but - Sam is an extremely fast learner, but in a weird way. It’s not that he learns things immediately, it’s that he learns them thoroughly in a shorter amount of time than you’d expect. You know the cramming for tests experience? You absorb everything at once, understand nothing in depth and forget it all by next week? Sam does the opposite. For a while it looks like he’s hopeless at learning, and then one day he appears to have become an expert overnight and is improving on what he was taught. Also, he never forgets anything he’s mastered

one character i love seeing them interact with: Frodo is the obvious answer, but unfortunately it’s also my answer. (Shout out to Gollum, though!)

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more: Ready for a weird answer? Marigold Gamgee. He seems to be closer to her than to his other siblings, and I’d love to know more about that. Or anything about that, rather

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character: Most elves are as charmed by Sam as he is by them. He doesn’t think highly enough of himself to notice that, but he’s surprisingly popular. It’s not that every elf loves him, but many do. More to the point: Elrond tried to get Sam to get some rest when Frodo was Dying in Rivendell and Sam had one of his “over my dead body!” moments that he has sometimes and Elrond immediately instinctively read in his heart all the courage and strength Sam still doesn’t know he has at this point. So every elf in Rivendell is under orders to honor Sam as a particularly cherished guest, but Sam never finds out about that and thinks elves are just... even nicer than he’d thought.

Rosie

one aspect about them i love: For someone who shows up for five seconds in a 1000+ pages book, Rosie sure displays a lot of heart. Singing in defiance of the evil surrounding her? Refusing to listen to despair? Telling Sam to remember his loyalty and go risk his life after she’s just got him back? This girl is no timid hobbit, she’s a match for Samwise the Stouthearted

one aspect i wish more people understood about them: At this point, I wish people just... Liked her. In any way, for any reason. If we're getting to specifics, though, I actually have a whole essay about how important I think she is, thematically speaking

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character: She’s an extremely capable housemistress. She keeps her wits about her no matter the situation and manages her time remarkably well. The older women of the Shire are all very proud of and impressed by her when she’s young and already such a help to her mother. Once she’s married? Even the most envious of hobbits have to admit she’s doing a great job running Bag End

one character i love seeing them interact with: I mean, canonically her only interaction is with Sam, basically, and I do like it, so... Sam, I guess.

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more: Frodo! Logic tells me they’d adore each other, and I know they have only a very short time together before Frodo leaves, but I really would love to see them interact. Other than that, I’m very curious about her relationship with Elanor, just because we know so much about her relationship with Sam, you know?

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character: All Cottons think of Bilbo's stories as Sam's stories, because of course he retells them to his friends, right? Sometimes he does a great job, sometimes it's confusing, but either way the Cotton boys consistently lose interest halfway through. Not Rosie. She can't keep track of most of what he's saying, and she's often so lost she doesn't even know what questions to ask to situate herself again, but she's spellbound by the stories anyway. She's sure it's a side-effect of having a crush, until after her marriage she finds herself listening to Merry and Pippin tell things she can't conceive (a wizard in a tower who's afraid of trees??) and she realizes that oh. No. She just does like the stories. Could the Red Book be read to her, maybe? She wants to understand everything from beginning to end now

[make-me-imagine]

Congrats on your milestone my dear! May I get a Lotr and Hobbit ship please? 18+ woman, bisexual, but I'd prefer to get shipped with a male. (Especially with one of the hobbits, or dwarves <3)

I'm about 5 foot 4. Shoulder length black hair, dark brown eyes, pale af like a vampire.

I'm very ambitious and goal-driven. I'm witty and know how to talk myself out of problems. I adapt and learn fast, but always look out for my loved ones. I'm empathetic and show my love via gift giving, cuddling, or spending quality time.

I'm a good listener, yet not the most outgoing and I've been described as slightly eccentric, but I love making my friends smile, tease them, or flirt if they're comfortable with it.

Not really the type to cause lots of trouble, since I'm mostly a rational person. My interests include history, mythology and folklore. I love being in nature, taking care of my pets and recently I've started urban exploring. I enjoy shopping and mostly wear dark, gothic clothes. I collect pins and cool rocks when I can find them.

I dislike rude people who think they're above others just because they're authority. I highly value justice and equality and will always fight for what's right. Thank you🍀

Thank you!

I hope you like them!

The Hobbit:

I ship you with Kili!

Why: I think Kili would find you refreshing. Like a rain shower after a hot dry day. He is so used to being around the others, who are much more rowdy than you. So he would find comfort in being by your side.

Confession: He would confess out of misplaced jealousy. One of the others would be talking to you, and Kili would misunderstand their intentions, fearing that they might sweep you off your feet before he gets the chance. Later, he would find you alone and confess how he feels. Being surprised and elated that you feel the same.

Best-Friend: Bilbo! I head-canon that you two grew up together, and have been like siblings forever.

Other: You weren't meant to join the company, but you followed Bilbo, fearing he might be in trouble. Once you proved to be useful and a good ally, they allowed you to stay.

---

Lotr:

I ship you with Sam!

Why: Sam is a romantic, though he is shy and reserved. He appreciates your empathy and good listening abilities. He adores that you dress and look a bit different than other hobbits and people he's met, and finds this very intriguing.

Confession: It would be a rambling awkward confession, after you caught him watching you with a love-struck gaze. Though he did not really say what he intended, you understood what he meant. And it lead to you telling him you felt the same.

Best-Friend: Merry and Pippin. With one you get the other. You grew up together, and they treat you like a sister.

xx

[mrsmarymorstan]

Bed Time Stories

So I was listening to “Thud!” from the Discworld series and my heart absolutely melted at the scene where Vimes reads to Young Sam. I then sent a WhatsApp message to @cersei-the-truth-bombardier​ telling her as such, and then proceeded to go to a Fígrid AU which then turned into mild angst which turned into me sending Cersei figrid drabbles at 9am my time whilst she was fast asleep. I’ve tidied it up and put it on here for you all to enjoy as well. 

Rune stones were more than just talismans. They were oaths, promises put down in unbreakable, everlasting stone. Once accepted they could not be returned and you had to fulfill the promise or else face the consequences. Fìli held a runestone in his pocket at all times. It said "amkubê" which meant 6:00pm, every day, landslide or gold rush. It more often than not also meant running, panicking and a few insulted noblemen. "I don't see why their nanny can't do it! What's the point in having one if you don't use them." Huffed Lord Flòki. "If he'd have just seen sense married an actual dwarf he'd not be in this mess." Added Lady Unna snidely. However Crowned Prince Fìli had already fled the room. There were more important things in life than mining rights and clan disputes. "Now come on you dirty little badgers and settle down before your father gets here!" "Too late, he's already here!" Said Eikin smugly, twisting round mid jump. His sister, Éolist, let out a war cry and hurled herself towards her father. Fìli gave out a theatrical winded noise. "Ambushed in my own Kingdom!" He cried, securing his grasp around Éolist as she pretended to fight him off. It was a game he remembered playing with his own father. Her brother went back to bouncing on the bed, this time out of excitement. The blankets were a complete mess and the general chatter suggested that bedtime was all but canceled.

"Eikin, Éolist,” warned their nanny, a raging fire burning in her eyes now “if you don't behave I will make certain that there will be no story tonight at all, or any night there after!” "No, Dara, it’s fine! Leave them to me. I'm their father, I've got this." Dara gave out an unconvinced noise but left them to it nonetheless. Despite her words she’d never actually stop Fìli from reading to them. She knew how much it all meant to them, especially to Lady Sigrid.   "Come on you two," Fìli sighed, dropping Éolist onto the bed where she promptly pulled on her brother's ankles to drag him down with her "You should be nicer to Dara, she's the one who has to run everything around here." "Yeah, but you're the Crowned Prince. So really we just need to be nice to you." "No we don't! We need to be nice to Uncle Thorin because he's the King." Fìli let out a noise of dramatic hurt "Well! If you would rather have Uncle Thorin here I can go get Uncle--" "Nooo!" Chorused the twins, reaching out to grab him by the sleeve. "We're sorry! We'll be good!" "We promise! Please stay, please!" "Well alright then." Sighed Fìli, flopping down into his chair again, trying his best to hide his smile at their triumphant cheers.  "So what story do you want to hear, the three little goats? The Raven and the mining stone? Snow Beard and the seven elves?" "The princess and the dwarf!" They said in unison. "Again?" he asked, raising a weary eyebrow. That story always took it out of him. So many years on, and it was still mingled with same pain and happiness. He wanted all his children to know it, the twins most of all, but it didn't make it any easier for him. "Yep! It's our favourite." grinned Éolist "Plus you can never do the voices right for the 3 goats; Uncle Kìli can though." "But we don't want him we want you!" Added Eikin quickly, ignoring his sister before she could get them into anymore trouble. "Alright fine, but you better keep quiet during it." The pair of them nodded, and crawled closer to listen. "Well, as you are both aware," he began "every dwarf knows the story of Smaug the terrible and how a band of silly dwarves, and one brave hobbit, set out to defeat him and reclaim their home." Fìli always made certain to include Bilbo in the story. Without him they would all have died a hundred times over. "Some even tell the story of Elven Siren's seduction of the innocent Dwarf Prince," "That one's rubbish though," whispered Éolist "everyone knows Auntie Tauriel's the one who got seduced." "But, the one they often miss off," Fìli continued, ignoring his daughter's very accurate statement "is the story of the young princess and the simple dwarf who fell in love with her." The kids squished closer towards him, Eikin clambering into his lap whilst Éolist snuggled deeper into his arms. They curled up close to his warmth, and their large blue eyes made Fìli's heart melt just as it had when they'd first opened them. He took a breath, and continued on with their story. "The princess was not always a princess you see. Whilst she was brave, and kind, and beautiful and all the other qualities a princess should be;” Éolist gave a snort of laughter at that but didn’t interrupt any further “the girl was in actual fact, the daughter of a bargeman. Her mother had died very young and so she had to play mother to her two siblings. But the princess did not mind, for she loved her family more than anything else. "Her family were very poor though, and as such her father had to take up some less than legal practices. One day he returned to their house with 13 dwarves and one hobbit. They gave her quite the shock when they climbed up out of the princess' toilet! "Yet still she showed them kindness, handing out warm blankets and clean clothes. She even made them tea, though some were not as grateful as they should have been. “Later that night, the dwarves snuck out the house to try and steal some weapons to get to the mountain, but were caught in the act and almost arrested! But they promised the town that if they helped the dwarves get to the mountain, then they would reward them with piles of silver and gold. "The Bargeman warned them all about what their task would involve, but the silly dwarves ignored him. "What some of them didn't know, though, was that one of the dwarves them had been injured on the journey by a poisoned wound from an orc's arrow. His leader refused to let him come with them to the mountain, but the dwarf's brother had made a promise not to leave him. They went looking for help but the only home that would take them in was that of the princess. "She set about trying to fix is wound as best she could, using every skill she knew. When the orcs came she tried her best to protect her little sister, just as the dwarf tried to protect his brother. When the elves came and saved the dwarves, the Princess got back to helping them. Slowly the dwarf's brother got better! In that moment of peace the dwarf and the princess talked about their lives and about each other. They had a lot more in common than one might think at first.

When the dragon came down from the mountain they all escaped in a boat together, the princess making sure they all had hats and scarves to keep them warm. She did not waver, even though her father was missing and she was about to lose be everything that she'd ever known. Their house, filled with all the memories of her mother, would be burnt to cinders. By the will of the Valar they'd somehow all survived. It was even the princess' own  father and brother who worked together to kill the dragon, bringing an end to his terror in a way the dwarves had never managed. "Later by the shore the dwarves set out to find out if their own family had survived. The dwarf tried to return the princess' scarf however she refused it, claiming that he could return it to her later once all things were settled. "All the meanwhile though, the orcs had been planning their next attack and so as soon the princess and the dwarf were thrown together they were torn apart. There was a battle you see, as everyone tried to defend the mountain from the attacking orcs. It was not the kind of battle you hear about in legends where the good survive and the evil die, for this was a real battle and that meant blood. Elves, men and dwarves all gave their lives so as the mountain would remain a stronghold to keep people safe in the future.”

When he became a father himself, Fìli had sworn to never glorify the battle. He knew now that they were not glorious or noble, they were filled with pain and suffering. Battles were best avoided, if they could be. That way you understood why you were fighting the ones you needed to.

“The dwarf had thought himself to have died on the battlefield when he’d taken a sword to the chest, yet a voice inside him kept him fighting and when he awoke it was to the princess' melody. She'd been caring for him. Cleaning his dressings and keeping infection at bay, all the while singing a gentle tune. “Once more, the dwarf tried to return her scarf but again, she refused; it was winter, and he would still have use for it. The dwarf argued back that she would need it too, but she insisted on calling it a gift. The dwarf cherished it more than any gift he'd had before. “He healed and slowly life returned to the mountain. The men had set up a new home and the two nations began to broker a lasting peace. The dwarf and the princess wrote many letters to one another in that time, and slowly grew to know each other more deeply than they'd have ever thought possible. They shared their hopes, their worries and the nightmares that still plagued them of the horrendous sights they'd seen. If you were to read those letters you would see the deep love they bore. “However, this was apparently not so clear to them themselves. A dwarf and a man was not a relationship people had heard of before. Indeed, it was not until the subject of marriage was raised that they even realised what they were feeling. You see, for men, finding a spouse is not about discovering your One and sharing that love with the rest of the world; it was a business contract, especially true amongst royals whose marriages were often used to seal political alliances. “The dwarf understood this. Or at least he attempted to. However he could not stand the fact that she was to be married to someone she had not even met. He tried to be respectful, however his fear that she would be unhappy ate away at him morning, noon and night. “He ended up going down to the city to speak to her. He wanted to be sure that she was happy to be married in this way. She smiled and she claimed excitement over her wedding preparations but the dwarf could see that it was faking it all. “He told her this. That he could not stand by and watch the princess marry for anything other than love. “In surprised fury, she asked him who else she could marry? Who else would give her people all they needed? If she married then it would mean her siblings could avoid the same fate. Plus it wasn't as though there was someone else waiting for her! “But the dwarf realised that there was. He didn't know how to say it though. So instead he respected her wishes and left her alone.

“The day of the finally wedding ticked around. The dwarf felt powerless to stop it. There could be nothing else anyone could do. “He still went to the wedding though, for even if she did not return his feelings then he could at least remain her friend. To everyone's surprise though the wedding was stopped in mid ceremony! Not by the princess as you might think, but by her groom! He told the room that he could not marry the princess because it would not be fair on her to be married to someone who could never love her the way she deserved. He would not allow his own heart's desires to be ignored anymore. He fled the building, leaving everyone in total uproar. "The dwarf was in a fuming rage that anyone could possibly hurt his beloved in this way! He went to find her, thinking her to be in tears but instead she was laughing. "The dwarf asked her why, and she confessed that she'd considered doing the exact same thing; except her groom had got there first. "The dwarf was confused. Who could it be she was in love with? "The princess laughed and told him he really was sillier than any dwarf in the land and kissed him. It was the kind of kiss you hear about in fairy tales. A kiss of true love that makes all the world come to a stand still. “Though many would try and stop them from being together, they never let it bother them. The pair of them married, and never were they happier than when they were together. And despite what many might have said, their love made the kingdom stronger, and so they lived happily ever after, till the end of their days." There was silence for a moment. Fìli involuntarily pulled his children closer to him, feeling suddenly desperate to never let them go. "I miss Mam." came a small voice at last. "Me too my little Colt. Me too." "I wish she could tell us the story instead, Frerin said she was really good at bed time stories." "Kendra said she was much better at telling your story than you ever were." Fìli gave a small chuckle, willing himself not to cry. It wasn't fair that they did not know their mother. They were only twenty-four when she'd died. The healers had said it was her heart. Sudden attacks like that were not unexpected at her age. But sixty was no age for a dwarf.