#thorin thought he was going to die alone but once again bilbo is there

[greeneyed-thestral]

[goodpointsandbadpoints]

I’m just thinking about Thorin deciding that if he was going to get taken down, he would take Azog down with him. And then about how he probably assumed he would die alone there on the ice, or maybe he wasn’t thinking about anything at all, and then Bilbo is there gripping his hand and giving him a precious last chance to make amends. And Bilbo had never thought that anything that had happened on this whole journey would ever happen to him, and he’s having to cope with every new heavy thing he experiences. And Thorin is probably feeling ten things at once as he tries to apologize--not five minutes ago, he was recklessly fighting one of the most dangerous enemies he could ever face and not shying away, because his nephews were already dead. Then Azog is dead, and the eagles came to their aid. And so on the ice, dying there, he has absolutely nothing to lose. (I wonder if this is the first time in a long time that he hasn’t been burdened by what he needs to do next.)

And Bilbo, before all of this, had probably thought about far off places, elves and men and dwarves, like some kind of impossible daydream. Then he was there, living it all, feeling more and more like the world really is a big place, but it could crush you so easily. He had his ideas of what the world was like, then he found out with his own eyes! It almost kills him so many times. Then he has to come back to his normal. And I wonder if he ever had hopes and dreams the same way ever again. What does the future look like to someone who witnessed a dream rise and fall in only a year? 

[sunnyrosewritesstuff]

bagginshield Horror/Scary Trick???? i love you sunny!!!

Oh my goodness, I really wish I had gotten this one out on Halloween. Better late than never! Thank you Sandy for such a fascinating ask to end this event! Love you too. 🩵🩵

No Escape from the Dragon

Pairing: Bagginshield

Type of Trick: Horror

Warning: Goldsickness, NC Themes

Words: 544

Bilbo ran through the halls, stubbing his toes on broken rubble, but not allowing himself to slow down in the slightest. He was after him. The dragon was after him. Shadows of teeth and talons played out on the wall, and spurned Bilbo on faster. He was panting to the point of nearly sobbing, rendering his magic ring ineffective at hiding him. But then the dragon could feel his air, he knew where he was.

“You can run, little rabbit. But you can’t escape me forever.”

He was right. There had to be a place he could go. A place he could hide. He wished he knew the halls of Erebor better, but the unfamiliarity of the stone surrounding him added another level of panic that Bilbo couldn’t escape from. There was no escape. He was never going to escape. What had he been thinking when he took the Arkenstone?

“I tire of your games, Thief!”

Bilbo whimpered involuntarily feeling the tears collect at the corners of his eyes. His sides ached from sprinting for so long, but he dared not slow down. He could never slow down. Not unless he wanted to experience flames licking at his feet. Oh Yavanna, he was going to die, wasn’t he? Before his thoughts could spiral further, he finally found a nook in the stone. Small enough for him to squeeze through without fear of being pursued. He took it. It was tight, but he was relentless in pushing through the hole, paying no mind to the scraps and scratches accumulating on his body. When he finally reached the room on the other side, Bilbo felt a form of relief. 

The dragon stalked by the hole back and forth a few times, spewing curses and threats before moving away. Only when Bilbo was certain he was alone did he allow himself to pull the ring from his finger and slump against the wall. He put his hand over his mouth to hide his heavy pants and sobs as much as possible. He found comfort in the pitch black darkness of the room compared to the shadowy light of the ring’s world. How did they get to this point? How had none of them seen the signs? 

There was a scoff against the stone, and Bilbo tensed immediately. He waited and watched, prepared to put his ring back on and begin this chase all over again when a hand reached out, snatching his hair and yanking his head up painfully.

Bilbo cried out, especially when his golden ring went bouncing away, lost amongst the rubble. Bilbo looked up into the harsh yellow eyes glaring at him from a face he once loved and realized he had lost everything.

“You belong to me now, Thief. And I’ll make sure you can never leave me again.”

Bilbo lowered his eyes accepting the golden collar and golden manacles allowing himself to be pulled by his chains. Chains that he would wear for the rest of his life. Part of him wanted to fight. Plan out another escape. The other part who knew his punishment would be unpleasant, just wanted to submit. Too tired of fighting him for so long.

“Yes, Master Thorin. I’ll never again question my place at your side.”

[luna-writes-stuff]

I would be honored if you could do an imagine for Fili crushing on someone who went on the journey with the Company. He thought she liked his brother, but after seeing him with Tauriel, Fili feels like he has a chance and offers everything to make her as happy as he thought she would be with Kili. Lovely fluff and some misunderstandings with everyone living because IF I CAN'T SEE CANON THEN IT DOESN'T EXIST

Mixed signals, Fili Durin (platonic Kili x reader)

what do you mean they don’t usually live???? Idk I always skip the last half hour of botfa. If I don’t see it, it doesn’t exist.

Ahahah I got taken away a bit so it’s a long request. Sorry….

Headcanons, female s/o

Tw: misunderstood feelings, mention of injury and blood, tiny sprinkle of angst, fluff, Kili being a lil shit, Fili being jealous, few mentions of Y/N I’m so sorry.

- This man is whipped for you. I posted a request similar to this one yesterday, and I feel like it says enough.

- The moment he sees you, he knows you’re his One. Yet, he can’t allow himself to show you. His brother wouldn’t shut up about it and besides that, after Erebor was to be reclaimed, he had to marry royalty in order to form an alliance.

- But Thorin wasn’t blind. He has seen the look in Dis’ eyes many times before. He had seen his sister find her One, so it came as nothing out of the ordinary when he witnessed his nephew do the same.

- And this is pre-dragonsickness. Back when Thorin was all “I hate everyone but I guess I have to keep up with these two idiots so I’ll tolerate them.”

- And he wanted to grant Fili the opportunity to be with his One. He had even told him to simply go for it.

- But Fili was a bit insecure. When you met him, you didn’t seem taken away in any way. It was almost as if it had only been him who was in love.

- And with that, you had grown remarkably close to his brother, Kili. You two joked around all the time. You sat together during the evenings, Kili would help you up on your horse/pony, he would take offer your watches and he even let you hold his bow and arrow. That is basically dwarven language for “I love you and I wish to court you” or “I love you and I’m so glad to have you in my family.”

- What Fili didn’t know is that Thorin told Kili about you being his One. But instead of teasing Fili about it, Kili had made it his duty to agitate his brother so much that he would have no choice but to confess to you before Kili would sneak you away.

- For your information: Kili had no intention of sneaking you away. He just wanted to make it look like it for Fili, and, lucky for him, you had just been going along with it subconsciously.

- But it did not agitate Fili. It made the poor lad confused and tired. You were showing so much affection and endearment to his brother that he felt like he could never compete. Even though Kili had never been attractive in dwarven standards, he knew his way around women. And seeing someone finally pay attention to him, made Fili happy for his brother.

- And Kili just kept up with the act. He was oblivious to what his brother was feeling. Thorin had quite specifically told Kili not to tell his brother, and for once, he didn’t. But when days turned into weeks, Kili made more advances. Not in any way uncomfortable for you, but they had been a step further.

- He would let you rest against him during night shifts, he would let his hand linger on your waist when he helped you get onto your horse/pony. This sneaky bastard even managed to toy with your hair.

- Fili grew absolutely devastated at these moments. He had distanced himself more and truly felt as if his One had been taken away and he would die alone.

- But then Mirkwood happened. It was obvious to Fili that his brother had taken a liking on Tauriel, the female elf that saved him earlier. You had been passed out of exhaustion in your cell, not paying attention to your surroundings anymore.

- And that was when Fili finally decided to speak.

- “What are you doing? I thought you liked Y/N and now you’re flirting with that elf? You can’t treat her like that!”

- And now Kili was confused.

- “I thought you liked Y/N?” He had questioned, not even knowing whether his uncle had been lying to him or not.

- “That doesn’t matter. What matters is, you can’t just run around-“ but Kili had already cut him off. “It does matter. Because Y/N isn’t my One. I’m not attracted to her!”

- And now Fili was dead silent. He had been contemplating on whether to act furious or taken aback. In reality, he had been a bit of both.

- “You don’t like Y/N?” Fili asked, nearly insulted.

- “I was only trying to agitate you. Uncle said she was your One but that you wouldn’t confess.” Kili admitted finally, knowing that keeping the act up any longer wouldn’t work.

- “So you tried to beat it out of me?” The only response the blonde got was a quiet hum.

- “You thought I would take away your chance of happiness?” Fili wondered aloud, his anger now showing more clearly. “Well, not if you put it like that-“ “How else am I supposed to put it?”

- With those words, the space grew quiet. One more question lingered on Fili’s mind, and he had to ask it.

- “Does she know you don’t like her?” A short pause was heard from Kili before he responded. “She does. When we grew closer she told me she wasn’t attracted to me and I told her she wasn’t my One.”

- A sigh of relief came Fili’s way, but his brother kept on talking. “She grew all confused by the concept of ‘Ones’. Had to give her a whole history lesson. She thinks it’s adorable. I’m sure she won’t reject you.” With those words, Fili’s ears pricked up.

- “How so?” “Because every time we are together, she won’t stop asking me about you.” Fili never thought someone could ever bring him more butterflies than when you smiled at him, but as Kili’s sentences reached him, his stomach felt all light again.

- “At first I thought it was because you were ignoring her, but I quickly figured out that wasn’t the case.” Kili shot a quick look his brother’s way, even though he had been in a cell on the other side of the hall. “She likes you, she really does. She’s not as good at hiding it as you are. If you ask her to court you, she won’t say no.”

- Fili had spent the entire night pondering over his brother’s words. Even as they escaped the dungeons and took the boat to Laketown, his anxiety bubbled up.

- But as soon as the orcs entered the city, reality sunk back in. They had been on the run while simultaneously claiming their homeland. There might be a chance neither of you would make it. And it terrified him.

- As you were busy holding off the orcs in Bard’s home, Fili had been right beside you covering your back. He knew asking you to court him would require more steps. Up until this moment you had only held a handful of conversations, but Fili was running out of patience.

- “When all this is over, I need you by my side.” He told you quickly, his voice heavy as he fenced off the attackers. You grew confused at your words, yet your actions did not falter one bit. And it only made Fili more attracted to you. How you maintained yourself on a battlefield, yet somehow managed to hold that perfect look. It could quite easily take his breath away.

- “But I am by your side.” You answered, not catching his meaning, thinking it had been too good to be true.

- “I mean by my side at Erebor. When we reclaim the mountain. Will you stay with me?” Upon your silence, Fili tried explaining his speech. “I know asking you to court me requires more steps but we might not have time for them anymore. I need you to stay with me. We can do all these steps afterwards, I promise.”

- You cast him a quick look before giving him a sincere nod. “I’ll stay with you.”

- And that is exactly what you did. Upon finally arriving at the mountain with the four dwarves, Fili finally got the time to braid your hair, even if Thorin told him to look for the Arkenstone. You had even managed to braid his hair too, even though you had no beads yet.

- Even as Thorin slowly grew insane, Fili had done what he promised; he remained by your side, defending you against his uncle and keeping you as safe as he could.

- During the battle of the five armies, you stayed with him and Kili. You traveled with the three of you, not once separating. Not even when Fili decided you should split up. Because of that, you managed to do quite a number on Azog before Thorin called out to him.

- Azog had gotten a good slash on your leg, nothing life threatening but enough to make you collapse on the spot. Fili had been so worried. He had promised to look out for you, but now you were bleeding out on the snow covered floor. Kili had already ran off for help, even though the possibility he would come back with one would be highly unlikely, as battle was still raging on.

- On top of Ravenhill everything had grown silent. Bodies of dead orcs were littered over the floor but all that mattered to Fili right now was you being safe. Eventually, Kili had ran back with Bilbo, Thorin and Gandalf by his side. They had successfully beaten Azog, finally putting an end to the bloodshed.

- As the mountain was being rebuilt, Oin had put you on bed rest to let your leg heal and Fili had been with you the entire time. Thorin hadn’t even tried to get him for royal duties. He knew he had been awful to you during his dragonsickness, and this was his way of apologizing to you. And you had been fine with it.

- When you had finally recovered, Kili took you to the forges to make beads for Fili. You wanted it to be a surprise for him, but you needed supervision. At first, Dis, Fili and Kili’s mother, had offered to help, but it had become her duty to distract the crown prince.

- A few burns and scratched had started to form on both your and Kili’s hands but it had been worth it. The beads were incredible.

- Fili was so happy when you gave them to him. He was so surprised by the amazing details and the thought and time your poured into them.

- He wears them the entire time. Now exceptions. Not even for bed or bath. None. They must always be in his hair.

- I WANNA WRITE MORE BUT IT’S ALREADY SO LONG BUT JUST ASSUME HE LOVES YOU SO MUCH AND WILL TREASURE YOU FOREVER AND LOVE YOU FOR EVERY LITTLE THING YOU DO

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

Dwarrowtober 2022 Day 16: Omen- Kili Durin x OX

Kili Durin x Rosemary Fairbairn

Description: Rosemary has a vision of the future and does not like what she sees.

Word Count: 1.5k

One of the many perks of having powers similar to a Witch or Fairy was foresight. Now, it wasn’t a very well known gift amongst them because they felt like they had no reason to lose it. In this case however, Rosemary felt that it was important to know what sort of track they were on. That’s why there had been several times where Rosemary would see what lay ahead and attempt to push the Company in the right direction.

It didn’t happen often, just when she felt like their spirits were beginning to dampen with how long and difficult the quest felt. For example, she knew they would meet those trolls and make it out alive, which was why she allowed Bilbo to take Fili and Kili’s dinner to them as they watched the ponies. She could also see that going to Rivendell would be more than beneficial to the Company, so she didn’t say anything when Gandalf ultimately organically coerced them into going to Rivendell despite Thorin’s distaste for Elves.

One fateful day Rosemary had had a sinking feeling in her gut all day as the Company traveled. At first she thought she was getting sick. After all they’d been traveling in the rain, which wasn’t good for anyones immune system, let alone a Hobbit’s. But deep down she knew that it wasn’t a physical problem, but one of the mind. Something was wrong, or perhaps something would eventually be wrong.

That evening she decided to look into the future and see what it held to keep her peace of mind if nothing else. Luckily it was her turn to be on watch which meant that everyone would be asleep and no one would see her. So, that night after making sure everyone was asleep she snuck over to Bombur’s spice pouch. She pulled out a few sprigs of rosemary (which was her usual trigger) then sat back down in front of the fire. After taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she threw the rosemary into the fire then immediately inhaled the fumes it created. Almost instantly she was in a vision of what was to come.

Rosemary had absolutely no idea where she was. It looked like she was on some sort of hill. Upon looking around she was met with Thorin, Dwalin, Bilbo and Bellarose. None of them seemed to notice her, but that usually happened with visions. For a moment there was no sound despite the fact that she could see Dwalin and Thorin’s mouths moving. They seemed to have come to a conclusion because they began to turn away, but just as they did so the faint sound of drumming was heard. Looking back at the tower, everyone saw a light appear. Atop the tower, Azog appeared dragging a bloodied Fili behind him.

“This one dies first,” Azog yelled, gesturing to Fili. “Then the brother. Then you, Oakenshield. You will die last!”

“No! RUN!” Yelled Fili, who struggled in the Orc’s grasp. Thorin, Dwalin, Bellarose, Bilbo and Rosemary could only look on in shock as Azog lifted Fili by the neck, then stabbed him through the chest with his arm-blade.

“Here ends your filthy bloodline!” Rosemary couldn’t stop the horrified gasp that left her lips as he dropped Fili, who fell to the ground from the tower, dead.

That was the last thing she saw before she blinked and appeared somewhere else. She was obviously still in the same general vicinity as earlier. This time she seemed to be in the tower that she’d seen Fili and Kili in just a minute before, though she was on the back side of it. Once again there was no noise at first, but after a moment it returned and she was met with grunts of both pain and endurance.

Upon turning around she was met with her future self fighting a giant Orc. Well, at least she was until it managed to overpower. It began to lift her up by the throat, but she managed to kick him in the knee on the way up , causing him to fall. He was quick to recover and grab her, throwing her against a wall and leaving her on the ground stunned as he raised his mace for the kill. He didn’t get to do that though as Kili suddenly leapt from a parapet onto him. They fought for a minute or two before Kili managed to slash him, but the Orc grabbed Kili by the head and raised the pointed base of his mace to stab him through the chest.

“No!” Future Rosemary shouted as she suddenly jumped on its back from behind. It managed to throw her down again, and she could do nothing as it raised its mace and plunged it through Kili’s chest. Both future and past Rosemary cried out in anguish in shock at the sight. As they watched the light begin to leave Kili’s eyes he stared into future Rosemary’s eyes, both of them tearing up. And with that, the Orc dropped Kili to the ground as he took his last breath.

By this point past Rosemary was on the verge of sobbing, her throat closing up and her eyes stinging with tears. Yet again she could do nothing before she was suddenly somewhere else, a bit further away from the tower. It seemed to be a frozen waterfall, and Thorin stood in the middle of it.

Rosemary watched on curiously as Thorin bent down to pick up his sword. When he did so he suddenly paused, eyes trained on something on the other side of the ice that the Hobbit just couldn’t see. He began walking, eyes trained on the ice beneath him before eventually stopping.

Before anything else could happen a blade suddenly shot up and stabbed Thorin through the foot. Agog burst from the ice and pinned Thorin down, making the girl gasp in surprise. As he stabbed his blade arm at Thorin, the Dwarf managed to stop it from piercing his chest by sliding his sword in one of the forks of the blade. Azog, using gravity and his superior weight and position, slowly began pushing his blade further and further, and Thorin struggled to keep it away. As they stared at each other, Thorin suddenly slid his sword out of the fork, allowing Azog’s blade to stab him through the chest.

As Azog smiled triumphantly, the Dwarf raised his own sword and stabbed the Orc through the heart. Thorin then flipped Azog over onto his back on the ice and forced his sword all the way through Azog and through the ice below. Azog dies, with Thorin kneeling on top of him. Thorin, mortally wounded, struggled to get up.

And just like that, the vision has abruptly ended, leaving Rosemary gasping for breath and trying to fight back tears. However, it didn’t last long as she ultimately just collapsed in a heap of soundless sobs. Seeing Thorin, Fili and Kili all die was just too much for her. It was overwhelming, this was the worst vision she’d ever received. Despite the fact that she was trying to remain quiet so as to not wake anyone up, it seemed to be all for naught as she heard rustling beside her.

“I-It was a-awful Kili,” she sobbed against his chest. The Dwarf got to work immediately stroking her hair and shushing her until she managed to calm down enough to speak.

“I-It was a-awful Kili,” she sobbed against his chest. The Dwarf got to work immediately stroking her hair and shushing her until she managed to calm down enough to speak.

“Alright, just tell me what happened,” he demanded softly. And so she did. Rosemary told him everything starting from the sinking feeling she had earlier that day to right now. Usually she left some details out, but that wasn’t a luxury she could afford after being traumatized. Once she finished speaking Kili stayed silent for a moment, then he suddenly looked down to stare into her eyes.

“Rosemary, I made a promise to both my mother that I would make it out alive and return to her, and I intend to keep that promise for both her and you. Besides, you always say that the future is uncertain, even with foresight. So we can’t even know for sure that it’ll get to that point. But even if it dies, I swear on everything I have that I won’t let myself die, especially if it means leaving you alone. Okay?” Rosemary sniffled then nodded, feeling a bit better after his promise.

“Okay.” Kili smiled, then kissed her forehead.

“Come on, you get some sleep while I finish the watch. You’re safe with me.” And Rosemary believed him.

[crowleysnaketattoo]

What we owe to each other

can also be read here

 Chapter 1

Dis came to stay 1 year and 7 months after Erebor was retaken. Nearly 5 months after Bilbo and Thorin wed in front of their people. Fili and Kili were healed by the time of her arrival, and she was saved from the memory of their still bodies on healing cots. But not from the toil it had on their bodies. 

Thorin welcomed her. What else do you do, when the only other kin in the world that knows your soul wants to come and stay? Dis knew above all others the work he went through, the trials he paced, to get their people where they needed to be. She may not know him like a sister would, but she knew him nonetheless. 

Bilbo knew him well. He often proved as much, tuning his questions to a crinkle of Thorin’s brow or the set of his mouth. He told him as much, when he whispered sweet things in his ear late at night. But he was not there at Moria, and he was not there the day the dragon fell upon them. 

Dis did not know him as Bilbo did. It is the way of the world, to have one who knows you best while everyone else possesses a shadow of you. But Dis knew his history the way Bilbo knew his thoughts. 

Bilbo asked him about it one night, early in their courtship, when everything was tender and new. He asked him about Moria. Thorin’s gut twisted as Bilbo spoke of Balin’s story. It was a tale of glory, of proof of his rule and power. But it was false. He had been a child shoved into a war. 

Thorin hesitated. It was not a good story, it was not kind. And he was warm, and calm, curled against Bilbo in the dying light of their hearth. But he sighed, and began to dig up old hurts. 

“I was barely old enough to fight. But my father needed all the soldiers he could have, so I came to his aid, along with my brother and sister.” 

Bilbo shifted, turning to face him. His hands came searching, and Thorin gently took them into his own. Wide eyes stared as Thorin continued to speak. 

“It was a slaughter.” He rumbled, his breath ruffling the top of Bilbo’s head. “We lost too many. I was terrified, and most of it was a blur while I swung wildly at anything that didn't have a beard. I-” 

Thorin paused to breath. Even now, safe behind stone walls with his love, he found a catch in his throat and tears in his eyes. He could, with careful practice, tell this story as stone faced as a statue. 

But Bilbo wanted to understand. Protecting him as he would a young dwarf would not help either of them, because then he would not understand. 

So he took a breath and continued.

“And after I took up my shield and cut Azog’s arm, which I barely can remember beyond the overwhelming sense of fear... I went searching for my remaining family.” 

Bilbo’s gripe was cold and hard, but it kept him in place. That he was here, that he was not drenched in sweat and blood and screaming. But words of another time ghosted his lips. It froze his throat and coiled up into his stomach. 

“Oh dear..” Bilbo murmured, reaching one hand up to trace Thorin’s face. Thorin leaned in to the warm touch. Bilbo gently leaned forward, for there was not much distance between them, and placed a soft kiss to Thorin’s brow. He moved back, resting his head on his other hand. 

Thorin’s throat cleared, and he began to continue, because once he was done, this story could finally be laid to rest. 

“I found my sister crying over the body of my brother.” Thorin spoked softly, “She cried into my shoulder, but all I could feel was tired. We couldn’t bury him. We didn’t have time.”

Thorin’s voice cracked and he shakily pressed his forehead to Bilbo’s.

“That night we watched our kin go up in flames. It stunk, and we were dirty, and cold despite the fire. Dis latched onto me and we stayed together until the next morning.”

Thorin broke, and tears ran down his cheeks and into his beard. Bilbo quickly moved so that Thorin was resting on his arm, and Bilbo’s gentle hand stroked through his hair. Thorin pressed his face into Bilbo’s chest.

They fell asleep pressed together, and though they did not speak much the next day, Bilbo clearly understood. From that day forth, their home was a calmer one. Bilbo defended Thorin with a new light in his eyes, a new tenseness to his stance. 

It was not necessary, but Thorin loved him for it all the same. 

What Bilbo did not know was that soon he would be defending Thorin from Dis. 

She came in swiftly and silently, which was odd. Dis was never one to hold back sharp words. But she had a calculating look that spoke of trouble, and Thorin left her silence alone. It wouldn't last long. 

She was cordial enough meeting Bilbo, if not somewhat terse. But Bilbo was married to Thorin. He could handle a little dwarf terseness. And by the end of the day he had more or less charmed her, and they got on well enough. 

Thorin did not have such luck. The minute she had a moment alone with him, she let out the words she had been saving for years. How unlucky of him that it happened to be in his chambers. 

“How-how dare you. I trusted you with them. You promised me that not a hair would be harmed on their heads and I would have them back safe in my arms.” Dis spoke evenly, each word getting louder than the next. She looked as graceful as ever, only the tight curl of her fists as any indication of her mood. 

Thorin just listened with tired eyes. 

“And now I come back to find my boys- my dear, lovely, *hale* boys, damaged. Kili cannot see out of one eye. Fili has a limp that will never go away.” She circled Thorin like a hawk. Always the predator, never the prey. She would never let herself be preyed on again, and those defences did not go down easily, Thorin knew well enough. 

“YOU WERE SUPPOSE TO PROTECT THEM.” She roared at him, and he felt relief. Because once she started yelling, she would soon stop and leave him alone.  He was guilty enough over his nephews, no lecture of hers would have effect. Not now, not after so much has changed. There was a time where a sharp word from her could bring him crashing down. Back when they were almost siblings, when they could've been a true family.

“Dis-” He tried to speak, but her sharp gaze shut him up. He felt a sharp pang. She should be coming to him for comfort or or, *anything* other than scolding him like a child.  Had he not cared for her, clothed her, raised her, when no one else could? Where did she come from demanding he move the world, when he had already moved mountains for her?

But for once in his life he bit his tongue and was silent. 

Her voice was quiet now, jagged at the edges and raw. 

“I have nothing in this world but my sons. I’ve lost too much, seen too much. I will not lose them too.”

Thorin winced. He should be in her list. But in her line up of all that mattered in the world, he had a begrudging spot at the end of the line. Her dead husband came before him. Friends even came before him. 

Thorin loved her. He did. It was cold, and it was distant, but it was love. They had never been close, not even as children, before the world fell to their feet. She and Frerin had been close, while Thorin took up the heavy mantle of the Heir apparent. Where she had a childhood, Thorin had work. Frerin had been their common bond. 

But Smaug destroyed any hope of what they could have had. They were children, but that did not matter. Only Dis was able to avoid work, as she could barely walk let alone take orders. Thorin was left to raise his siblings. And Thorin did his best to protect them. He covered for Frerin when the younger boy snuck out to play with friends, and Dis was given the best of the food and clothing. He was there for them when his father couldn't be. 

As soon as they could, they all took positions far above their skill levels and age. As soon as Dis was old enough to follow orders, she took to the healing tents, staying late into the night only to watch most of her patients die. Far from the watch of her family, her smile diminished. 

Frerin became the people’s prince, often found helping with everyday tasks, singing cheerfully with a different group every night, or telling stories to the children. He appeared eternally youthful, and nothing seemed to damper his spirits. Everyone loved him. 

 Thorin led where his father and grandfather could not, so blinded they were by their gold sicknesses. He did not hate them for it, but he knew Dis did. 

He also knew that when Dis found Frerin’s body amongst the dead, she had wished it had been Thorin instead. 

So instead of fighting, he gave in. He was tired, and what he wanted most in the world was to curl up with his husband and hide from the world. 

“I’m sorry.” He said softly. It felt odd on his tongue, the words garbled in his throat. 

Dis froze in her tirade, and spun to face him, finally circling in on her prey. 

“What did you say?” She asked, dangerously quiet. Her cold blue eyes burned into his own, and once again the unfamiliar words graced his lips.

“I’m sorry. I know I promised to protect them, and I couldn’t. You’re right. You can take whatever action you wish, as is allowed by our code.” He said. Bowing his head, he watched her through his curtain of hair. He flushed with fear. Her eyes widened and she backed up as if stung. Dis was never kind when applying the dwarven codes, and often overzealous. This they both knew.

But she did not take his offer. Instead, she turned on her heels and marched out of his quarters, slamming the heavy stone door behind her. 

Thorin stared at the door in shock. She never stopped her tirades, especially when they're justified. But then again, Thorin had never tried apologizing. They used to fight endlessly, and never once did he simply take it. He always yelled back. 

But he was not the same dwarf. No, he had nearly died, and everything became much more precious. And perhaps….perhaps Bilbo had changed him. Love cannot change a person. Fitting two lives together doesn't magically fix them. But sometimes they can meld into each other. 

No, Bilbo did not change him by the power of love or some other youthful nonsense. What he did was knock sense into an old fool's head. He showed him that being wrong was not the worst thing that could happen. Many other things were worse. 

But he and Dis didn't apologize. They waited each other out, simmered in silence until they both yelled and moved on. There was no place for weakness in those early days after the dragon, and they both were hardened from it. 

“Well, I’d say that went terribly.” Bilbo’s voice carried from their little kitchen, along with the clank of dishes. 

Thorin chuckled mirthlessly. Trust his burglar to be listening in. He didn't really blame him. Bilbo was protective of him, he knew that much, and could not stand for unfair words thrown Thorin’s way. 

“Would you be shocked to know that was the best conversation I’ve had with her in years?” Thorin called back, following the sounds of dinner into his kitchen. It was small and hodgepodge, as his rooms hadn’t originally had a kitchen, but it was theirs. A combination of Bilbo’s cooking supplies from the Shire and dwarven cookware made an odd look. But it was fitting, Thorin supposed. 

Bilbo was chopping some vegetables by the sink, and he paused and turned to greet his husband. Thorin leaned in for a soft kiss before sitting at the little table nearby. He snagged a scone from the basket in the middle. 

“I don’t know how to connect with her.” Thorin sighed, picking apart his scone. 

“You’re going to ruin your supper.” Bilbo replied, snagging a piece from Thorin’s pile of crumbs. He popped it into his mouth and raised an eyebrow, clearly waiting for Thorin to continue. 

“Bilbo, you knew Dis and I... all we had was each other. No one else saw the real me then, other than her..” Thorin trailed off and shrugged. Bilbo made a sympathetic noise as he put together their supper. 

“But we were never siblings. Especially after Fr- after my brother died. And we never had time to try.” He sighed. Thorin finished off his scone and rose to stand beside his husband. He helped carry the dishes back to the table, and set it up. It was simple. But in that little kitchen with a tiny table, it might as well have been fit for a king. 

“You have time now.” Bilbo said, handing a serving spoon to his husband. 

Thorin nodded slightly in acknowledgement, but did not speak. They mostly ate in silence. Bilbo knew that if Thorin needed to speak, he would, but no amount of trying would force him to share more than he wanted to. Thorin cleaned the dishes and Bilbo slipped off to get ready for bed. 

Thorin never thought he would enjoy simple tasks, like doing the dishes. But besides the occasional wet food that got stuck to his hand, he surprisingly enjoyed it. And his reward was Bilbo’s smile. 

He finished and followed after Bilbo, preparing his own way to bed. He often slept with only a light pair of shorts, so it wasn’t much work. What was work was his hair. He sat at their little vanity, which he had salvaged from his mother’s rooms. It was worn, and had scratches and marks in odd places. 

He began to unbraid his hair. First he removed his beads, then carefully unwrapped the braids they accompanied. Thorin had four braids in total. The two that hung on each side of his face, which were his braids of adulthood along with beads representing his family. The other two were more specific to him. One with 5 different beads that told of his tales proving him as king, necessary for any court meeting. And the last one was his most treasured of all. This one only Bilbo could unravel. 

“Are you ready for my help?” Bilbo asked softly, coming up behind Thorin. Bilbo’s gentle hands rested on his shoulders, and Thorin leaned back into the touch. He closed his eyes and began to hum as fingers began to take apart his wedding braid with practiced care.

One thing that he kept on for the night was his wedding band. In accordance with hobbit tradition, they had tied a ribbon and placed rings upon each other's fingers, promising long vows of companionship. Thorin had been rather flustered about the whole thing. Dwarves marry quietly and privately, as many consider it a moment to bare their soul to the one they love. 

Hobbits, Thorin quickly learned, were very open people. They invited everyone they knew to the wedding, and provided food and entertainment. Thorin had to dance, to his horror, in front of everyone. 

But it was worth it to see Bilbo so happy, and to meet all his relatives. Some of them were less pleased to meet Thorin, but nothing could’ve dampened his spirits that day. 

“All done.” Bilbo said, breaking into Thorin’s thoughts. He kissed the top of Thorin’s head before leaving him to go sit by the fire. Something Bilbo had said early shifted in his mind. 

“Do you think...it's possible to fix anything. After so many years of. Everything.” Thorin asked, his eyes trained on his beads, neatly placed on the dresser beside him. 

“If I can face a dragon, you can face your sister.” 

“We had to kill the dragon.” Thorin responded, a smile tugging at his lips.

“Bard killed the dragon. We just had to wake it up.” Bilbo replied tartly. 

Thorin watched Bilbo through the mirror. He knew that his husband had tenuous relationships with his family, and no siblings to speak off. But he was smart. Perhaps with Bilbo on his side, he could try. And hopefully it would go better than the last time they messed with  a dragon. 

[avaria-revallier]

A dragons wish - Chapter 5

Kindly read on AO3

Dwalin watched as his best friend awkwardly let go of their host. What was he witnessing here? First Thorin had held her longer than necessary as she was clearly able to look after herself and now the king looked lost.

Ruby turned around, looking up into Thorin's eyes. It was as if she was not completely sure how to react in this kind of situation. It was obvious that their host knew her way around the mountain and also knew how to survive, otherwise she wouldn’t have been able to live so long here all alone.

An awkward silence filled the air while Ruby stared up at Thorin, and Thorin, to Dwalins surprise, avoided her eyes, scratching his neck.

“You didn’t have to, but thank you though,” she grinned and hugged the startled king, rubbing her cheek over the fur of his coat.

For a moment all dwarrows froze in their movement. Dori was the first to react by snatching Ruby by her shoulders and dragging her away from Thorin and further down the hall. Dwalin shook his head to come back to his senses. Was Thorin’s hand following the small red-head just now? And did the ever frowning, grim expression of the king just turn into a fond absentminded smile?!

One after another they broke free from their frozen state, following Dori inside like little ducklings would their mother. The eldest of the Ri brothers gently guided their host by the shoulders back inside, sending deadly glares at the king and his brother. After a final look out into the dark night Dwalin turned around to follow the others. A warm presence on his left made him turn his head.

The young scribe had found his way right next to him in the very back. Without the never ending fussing of his oldest brother and the silent threatening glares of his second brother, Ori had grasped the chance and separated himself from them.

Warm fingers brushed lightly over the back of Dwalin's hand. He nearly flinched away, but his brain reminded him just in time, that he probably would never have a similar chance ever again. If Dori knew, they wouldn’t even have this chance at all. His fingers fidgeted, while his other hand fiddled with the edge of his shirt. Dwalin would have liked nothing better than to grab the young dwarrows hand, but he decided not to. There was already enough going on as is, he could wait.

Abrupt the warriors head flings to the side. Ori had grabbed his hand all on his own and gave it a light squeeze, as if to test out Dwalin’s reaction. His head spun back to stare blankly forward as he lightly squeezed back, but even the dimly lit hallway couldn’t hide the crimson blush down to Dwalin’s neck.

~

A loud gasp from Gloin made Dwalin and Ori instinctively jump away from each other, awkwardly coughing. The remark wasn’t for them, but rather what lay before them. The great forges of Erebor lit the hall and warmed the air, drawing strange shadows onto the walls. No, not shadows. There were actual paintings on the walls of tall buildings, strange looking skylines and unfamiliar sights.

Like most of the company Dwalin stared at the new sights those paintings were showing him. Ori on the other hand had made his way to the front where Dori and Ruby stood. At the base of the largest fire pit was something which looked like a castle of cushions, blankets and books, towers of books wherever one looked.

Ruby stopped in front of one of the book-towers and confidently grabbed one of the large leather bound books. It looked a bit worn out and the lather was bruised on the edges. Multiple bookmarks stook out of the tattered pages, marking the beginning of each new year. Their host wiped off some of the dust that had gathered on the golden ornaments on the back of the book.

“Here,” she handed it over to a surprised Balin, “these are all items in the treasury as well as the expenses I made over the years. Most of which was trade, but some of the gold I had to use as well. It should be alright though, cause some of the gold in the treasury was taken from Dale when the dragon came, so it is only right to give it back, don’t you think so?” she smiled up at him.

“Miss Ruby?” her attention as well as Dwalins shifted from the astonished king’s aide to the scribe of their group, “what exactly is all this? I have never seen anything similar in the slightest!”

Ori’s eyes beamed at her filled with curiosity for the unknown things he had just discovered. He had removed his shoes and was sitting on one of the cushions spread over the blankets on the floor. In his lap he held a book that had prior lay open on the small desk in the far back.

“That is my diary, master Ori,” she grinned down at him, before sitting in the place next to him.

The young dwarf blushed furiously, muttering something indistinguishable before closing the book and desperately searching for something else to talk about. His gaze stopped at Gloin, who was still admiring the large paintings of buildings on the walls.

“What are those then?” he asked, pointing at the painting on the wall nearest to them.

“That was my home.”

A heavy silence filled the halls, only interrupted by the crackling of the fires. Dwalin could see the longing and the sadness in her eyes.So she as well had lost her home and made a new home here in the mountain.

“I will tell you about it someday,” Ruby looked up, a sad smile on her lips.

Dwalin nearly moved towards her, to hug her and tell her she would be fine, that she no longer was alone any more, but something bumped against his shoulder, bringing him back to reality.

Looking to the side he could witness something rather unusual. Thorin Oakenshield, his friend and king showed open concern and worry. Thinking back Thorin had acted quite strangely ever since they had reached the mountain, somewhat out of character. He had been more open and not as on edge as he had been throughout the whole journey. His king was also more considerate towards their host than Dwalin would have ever considered possible.

Ruby was no dwarf, just a child with unknown background, living in their home as it seemed to be. Still, there was some strange aura around her which made it impossible to grasp the whole situation, or rather her whole being. There was definitely more to her than she would let on. He shouldn’t have let his guard down in the first place, only because she looked like a child and they were in the safety of their home.

A loud crashing sound made him shift his attention back onto the situation. Once again the forges were wrapped in a dead silence. On the ground next to Thorin he could spot a pile of books and in between those, small shards of what looked like some kind of teacup.

Even though it was shattered, Dwalin could see that it was rather poorly made, most likely by a child or a very untalented potter. The sharp inhale of air made him look in Ruby’s direction. The attention of the whole company lay on her. Thorin even slightly flinched back, a guilty grimace on his face.

Her eyes lit up like a golden flare, shining from the inside out. A slim line of smoke crept out of her mouth as she began to speak, her voice deep and menacing, “You! You come here, into my mountain. Eating my food, drinking my ale and enjoying the warmth~” she nearly hissed the last part, letting the sound slowly die out.

The sound, her flashing eyes and mannerism as well as the fact that there was literal smoke coming out of her mouth and nostrils made Dwalin shiver. The chill crept right through his flesh and into his bones. His hands automatically flinched to grab his weapons. The realisation hit his mind like fire. He, as well as the other dwarrows had left their weapons in the dining room.

In the meantime Ruby had started to circle around Thorin. Her presence had become dangerous, almost even more terrifying than the dragon that might still be somewhere in the mountain. What in Mahal's name was she?

“Thorin Oakenshield,” her hissing voice cut through the air like a sharp knife, “There is no King under the Mountain, just a fool!” tears welled up in her eyes as she stood in front of him, trembling terribly.

“I gave it to you, I gave it all to you! The Arkenstone, the gold… I thought about not giving it to you at all, to hide it where you may never find it, so I didn’t have to see you going mad like your grandfather did,” her last words were no more than a whisper.

With that she slipped away, leaving the dwarrows standing still as if they had been struck by lightning. Ruby hurried through the hallways. Now they felt cold and empty, almost hostile towards her. She needed to get out. She needed air, silence and some time to stretch her wings.

The dragon rampaged in her chest, desperately trying to get out once more, to get to the surface and burn whatever had hurt her. But that was no option, she would never be able again to sleep soundly if there were any harm coming to her dwarrows. No, she would need to vent her anger elsewhere.

Maybe she would even be able to kill two birds with one stone. To prevent any further harm coming to her drarrows she would just have to get rid of a small obstacle, and said obstacle would be a perfect target for her to vent her anger without further consequences.

Azog would die tonight. As if to agree her dragon roared as she changed forms, her clothes secure in her right claw.

She didn’t notice the hobbit, running out of the mountain shortly after she had shifted into Smaug, watching her as she glided through the air and into the dark. Neither did she see the horror on the small creature's face as he spotted the familiar clothings in the dragon's claw. Even to hear the shocked “What have we done?” whispered by Bilbo, she was already too far away.

@jumpingmanatee @tschrist1 @savvy-the-human @ayamenimthiriel @way-too-addicted-to-fandoms @animestuff123 @blankethalfling @all-seeing-storm @nightmarewalker @lunasnow20 @coolleviauchihadreamerlove @chocolateintolerant @givashel @shrimpsthings @swagbearfishturkey @angelic-kisses13 @nickangel13

[ladylouoflothlorien]

Hello! May I please request a Spirit! Thorin x Female! Human! Reader where Erebor is in the process of being rebuilt after the events of BOTFA. R, who is helping overlook the construction, often goes to Thorin's tomb at the end of the day and often just talks and falls asleep there. Thorin has always been present, and R discovers this when Thorin figures out a way to speak to R. Maybe a bit of fluff/comedy to help the bittersweet angst, if you can. Thank you so much! Sry if it is too specific!

I’m so sorry this took so long to get up!! But here it is!! It’s probably a little angstier than you were hoping for as I couldn’t really find a way to insert any comedy in it, but still I hope you like it anon :)

Lay Your Ghosts to Rest

word count: 2684

“Honestly I thought they wouldn’t actually let me come down here.”

It was the first thing Thoin heard when he woke up. A woman’s voice, too high to belong to any of his kin, but not irritating enough to belong to an elf. A human woman, then. Thorin sat up. When he saw his hands and - horrified - looked through them, everything came flooding back. Ravenhill, his nephews, Azog, himself…

“I thought dwarves were supposed to be secretive. Then again, I suppose you were a public figure. Still, the grave of a King…”

Thorin looked at the woman finally as her voice trailed off and saw she was kneeling beside a solid stone coffin that, after a moment, he realised was his own. The sick feeling in his gut was not at all alleviated by the two similar coffins on either side of him. As exalted as he knew the company would now be, the only two members who would ever be buried beside him would be his sister-sons.

“You’re probably wondering why I’m here.”

The woman laughed quietly, presumably at herself, and then slouched. Her whole body seemed to deflate. When she spoke again her voice was much quieter, and Thorin had to strain his ears to make out the words.

“This is stupid, I’m talking to a corpse.”

Well, it was the truth, but that didn’t make it any less difficult to hear. The woman pulled herself up off the floor and seemed to collect herself.

“Well, I hope you’re resting in peace.”

He wasn’t.

With that, the woman appeared to be done. She turned and left the room without a second thought, completely oblivious to the ghost of the King she left behind.

-

Thorin could not leave the burial chamber. He could walk right through the stone of his own coffin, but he could not walk through the carved stone archway despite the fact that the only thing in his way was air. So far his afterlife had been long periods of boredom interspersed with brief periods of intense guilt and self-loathing.

A week had passed since the woman had first appeared, and he had not seen her since, but he’d had other visitors. Balin and Dwalin had visited together, and whilst the older of the two brothers had barely stepped foot into the room, Dwalin had made it a little further before all but falling to his knees as his strength left him and his whole body was wracked with sobs. Thorin had done his best to comfort his bâheluh, but just as the woman before them neither Dwalin or his older brother had even known he was there.

Bilbo had come too, a visit that was particularly difficult for Thorin, as he knew that where the others might visit him from time to time he would likely never see his little friend again. Mahal knew he had a lot to make up for where the Hobbit was concerned, and now he’d never get the chance. The burglar had tearfully promised - though no doubt didn’t truly believe Thorin could hear - to plant the acorn in his garden, that it would have pride of place, and when it grew into a tree he would name it Oakenshield after him. Apparently Hobbits were in the habit of giving names to the more established and important plants in their gardens.

Perhaps the strangest visit of all was the elf who came and cried over Kili’s coffin for the better part of an hour, closely watched by none other than Thranduil himself who hovered at the entrance of the room. Thorin had been able to make out bits and pieces of their conversation, though it had been in Sindarin - he’d been forced to take lessons before the fall of Erebor - and it had been something of a surprise to him to learn that Elves, though immortal, could die of heartbreak. It seemed that this elf would soon be leaving the shores of Middle Earth to escape that same fate.

-

The woman came to see him again, eventually. He watched her enter. She seemed unsure of herself, as someone who had been given access to an area normally off limits and still felt like they shouldn’t be there. Thorin was left to wonder how many people had free access to his grave, and how many had to ask permission every time they wished to enter.

She came and settled beside his coffin in the same position she’d been in when Thorin had first awoken.

“I... uh... I’m back.”

Well that was one way of starting what would be a very one-sided conversation, though clearly she was more trying to psych herself up to actually talk out loud rather than keeping her thoughts hidden inside her head.

“You know, it seems unfair. You risked everything to get Erebor back for your people, and now you don’t even get to see it being restored.”

The pause that followed stretched out far longer than was comfortable, but she seemed lost in her thoughts all of a sudden. Thorin found himself genuinely curious as to what she had to say, and he wished he had some way of prompting her back to reality. As it was, he simply had to wait. Patience was never a trait he’d been known for.

“I don’t really know why I feel the need to do this but… I want to come and tell you about how the reconstruction is going.”

She paused and rested a delicate hand on the edge of Thorin’s coffin, seemingly drawing strength from the cold stone. Still, Thorin’s attention was caught. He couldn’t think of a reason why a human woman would be so involved in Erebor’s reconstruction that she would feel the need to seek out the kingdom’s dead monarch and tell his corpse how it was going. Then again, he wouldn’t have turned his nose up at information, even if he could communicate with her in some way.

“I’m helping to organise it, the reconstruction I mean… It’s a big job, and there aren’t enough dwarv- dwarrow here to do both the building and the organisational work. There are some humans who are helping with the menial labour, but for the most part, anyone actually doing the task of building is a ‘child of mahal’, as you say…”

That was highly unexpected. Thorin hadn’t thought his cousin Dain capable of letting anyone but a dwarf within a mile of the lonely mountain, and here he was allowing humans to aid in its reconstruction? He strongly suspected that Balin had been an influence on that decision, pragmatic as he was.

-

She came back often, multiple times a week after her tasks for the day were done, and there were some days where she would fall asleep beside his coffin in what looked to be the most uncomfortable of positions. It made Thorin wish - as had almost become a habit - that he could have some kind of physical impact on the world around him, if only to spare her neck. He supposed that, as a ghost, incorporealism came with the territory.

Less and less people visited him. He didn’t blame them, not really. He could see the pain and guilt in his friends eyes every time they came to look upon the stone coffin. Visiting his last place of ‘rest’ naturally opened up wounds his friends were trying to heal from. Besides, it wasn’t as if they expected him to actually know they were visiting. What it did mean was that he clung to the woman’s visits more than ever, and rather surprisingly she had actually kept up visiting rather regularly even when all his other visitors slowly slipped away from him.

Again she was at his side, and he had settled on top of his coffin - how exactly he could sit on top of the blasted thing and yet also pass through it when he chose to completely eluded him, but he chose not to think on it too hard. The dead King had grown very fond of her. She was his only link to the world outside the stone walls of his burial chamber, and hearing about how Erebor was progressing towards its former glory filled him with a sense of satisfaction that he’d rarely felt when he was alive and an exile from his own kingdom. Normally the woman came and left alone, but this time was different.

After she’d been down with him for a few hours, Balin suddenly appeared at the entrance to the chamber. Thorin was surprised; the advisor hadn’t been down more than a handful of times. Balin had known and been close to Thorin and Thorin’s family for practically his entire life, Thorin understood that he would take his death especially hard, though perhaps not as hard as Dwalin, who had only been to him once since the funeral.

“Lass…” Balin began, and Thorin felt like crying when he heard that voice again. He hadn’t realised how much he’d missed his company.

The woman sleepily turned and smiled at him.

“Hello Balin.”

Balin took a hesitant step into the chamber, and then paused to surreptitiously dab at his eyes.

“You should not speak to the dead, lass… they cannot hear you, and they cannot reply…”

It was clear that the words pained him to say, but that he believed them. The woman smiled sadly.

“Oh, I know that, dear advisor… but… I don’t know why, I just feel like this is something I need to do.”

Balin moved to where she was sitting on the floor and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder now that he had regained control of his own emotions once again.

“I was there, you know? I heard his speech to the people and the old master… he had so much passion. It doesn’t seem fair…”

The woman cut herself off and bit her lip, glancing furtively towards the snow-haired dwarf when she suddenly realised that her words could upset him, but he merely squeezed her shoulder and hung his head. It wasn’t as if he could disagree with her sentiment, after all.

“It’s not fair, lass, but Thorin… he knew the dangers this journey would bring. He was the best of us, and he died to give us back our home. Aye, I don’t think any dwarf could ask for a more honorable death.”

Thorin felt like crying to hear Balin say those words, to know that despite his spell of madness his friends still looked upon him with kindness and love, but though he truly wished to cry, the tears just would not come. Perhaps that was just another thing ghosts could not do.

“Perhaps you’re right Balin. Maybe this isn’t healthy… feeling like I have a friendship with a dead dwarf I never properly met…”

She did not visit him for two weeks.

The dead King thought she wasn’t going back, and he cursed his never-ending loneliness. Thorin raged in his burial chamber, trying beyond hope to have any impact on the physical world around him and failing. His muscles felt tense and ready to break anything he could get his hands on, but when he tried to ram himself against his coffin he merely stumbled right through it. Eventually, Thorin collapsed to the floor of the room and screamed till his lungs and throat hurt. When he finally stopped, panting, he noticed something wonderful.

With all the construction work happening around Erebor, the mountain had become rather dusty, and with no one other than the human woman coming to visit him, a layer of dust had slowly been settling on the floor without him noticing. As he sat crumpled on the floor, his eyes picked up on particles of dust dancing around him in the air before settling. Tentatively, Thorin reached out his finger and dragged it across the floor. The finger left a clean line behind it.

-

You knew you shouldn’t go back to Thorin’s chamber, but there was something inside you pulling you down towards the cold stone room. When you entered, you exhaled shakily and felt almost as if you were betraying Balin’s trust - he had spoken to you since finding you down there to kindly and sincerely ask that you not continue to visit Thorin’s chamber, not because he didn’t want you down there per se, but he was worried about your mental health. Despite your conversation with Balin, and a two week detox period, you hadn’t been able to get rid of your strange need to ‘talk’ to Thorin Oakenshield.

You settled beside the coffin once again, and for a moment you weren’t entirely sure what to say. It had been so long since you were down there… you almost felt like an apology was the first thing that needed to be said, even though that was ridiculous.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been visiting you lately…”

It really was such an odd compulsion to speak.

“Apparently people were getting worried about me…”

Having not done this for a while, the more you spoke, the more self conscious you began to feel. You felt stupid, like a child believing there was a monster under their bed or a fairy at the end of their garden. There was no need to speak; Balin was right, it wasn’t as if anyone was listening. You suddenly felt like crying. You had wasted so many evenings coming down to speak to a chunk of stone when you could have been spending time among your newly found dwarven friends. A tear rolled down your cheek and fell to the floor, but when you hung your head in shame at yourself, you froze. There on the floor you could see words drawn in the dust.

I am here, and I am listening.

-

The reconstruction of Erebor took many years, and with your strong work ethic combined with the obvious emotional attachment you had to seeing the mountain restored, you had been promoted several times and eventually reached a level of recognition in the mountain equal to that of the surviving members of the company. The dwarves of the Lonely Mountain had wholeheartedly embraced the human woman who seemed to care just as much about their home as they did, and your organisational expertise meant that the mountain’s restoration had proceeded at a pace even some of the more optimistic dwarves could not have anticipated.

However,  whilst work proceeded quickly in comparison to the lifespan of a dwarf, it was not so fast from a human perspective. Your joints ached as you climbed down to the burial chamber that you had come to know as well as your own home, for today was a very special journey. By rights you should have retired years ago, but you couldn’t. Not until today.

No longer did you kneel by the side of the coffin - Balin had seen to that once he’d discovered you’d started going there again - and there was a chair in the room permanently for your use. In recent years, it had become especially useful. You weren’t sure you could actually get up off the cold stone floor by yourself anymore.

Despite how your bones protested, there was a smile on your face when you finally reached the room and sat down, for today was a day to deliver a very special message to the ghost king. Erebor’s reconstruction was finally completed. The dragon’s wholesale destruction of his ancestral home had been completely erased. You closed your eyes as you delivered your message, and you as you did you could have sworn that, for the first time since you’d heard his speech in laketown, you heard the voice of Thorin Oakenshield himself saying thank you.

A chill settled on the room for a moment, and when it was gone, you no longer felt the pull to the room nor the compulsion to talk. Thorin Oakenshield would finally be allowed to rest in peace and go to the halls of mahal, and you knew you would not be coming back to his burial chamber again.

The end.

-

bâheluh – my friend of all friends

Forever Tags: @sweeticedtea @cd1242 @strongandfreedc @pixierox101 @jotink78 @luna-xial @underthemoon-n

[writingfromkitchenator]

Fili ~ A (Not) So Wonderful Idea

1,300 Followers Challenge!

Masterlist

Requested by @fantasticallytragical (Thank you Tumblr tags)

Words: 1,251

Warnings: Female Reader, fluff, slight sexual references, brief mention of fighting, threat of parental figure disappointment

“Fili and Kili, watch the ponies.  Make sure that you stay with them.”

You caught Fili’s slight sink in his shoulders, his gaze briefly meeting yours, even as you smiled empathetically.  The two of you knew it would be like this, that the time you could spend with each other would be limited, and you’d warned Fili multiple times of it.

It seemed though, that Fili hadn’t quiet been prepared for it to be this bad.

You refrained from giggling as Thorin doesn’t miss the look, grumbling under his breath as he shakes his head and steps away.  In his eyes, this had been a bad idea, and yet you still came along anyway, more than ready for whatever this journey was going to throw at you, whether it be grouchy future in-laws or dragons, you liked to think that you could handle yourself.

Fili’s reaction weighed on your mind, and you weren’t going to deny to yourself that you wanted some time alone with him too, so when, by chance, the opportunity came up to sneak away, you did so.

“Go on Fili,” Kili was saying as you approached quietly.  “I can watch the ponies, it doesn’t take two of us.  Go and find Y/N.”

“I can’t,” Fili said, exasperated.  “If I walk out there, Thorin will think something is wrong.”

“Then get her attention, get her to walk away.”

“Oh, like that isn’t going to be obvious.”  Fili grumbled.  “No, I’m just going to have to deal with it.”

Kili sighs.  “Fili, the two of you haven’t had any sort of break since all this started.  Things are quiet, take the chance and go and see her, spend some time together.”

“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea,” You said, making both brothers jump as you step out, grinning at them.  “Assuming you are more than capable of watching the ponies by yourself Kili?”

He snorts and grins. “Come on Y/N, give me some credit, I’m trying to set the two of you up again.”

You chuckle and then hold your hand to Fili.  “Come on, before he starts rubbing that in our faces again.”

Fili smiles, his shoulders relaxing, and takes your hand, letting you lead him deeper into the woods, away from the others, no matter how much some part of him told him this wasn’t the wisest decision.

After a little while, he got tired of walking and pulled you two him, causing you to giggle as he quickly captures your lips with his, firmly pressing you against the nearest tree, a smile on his lips.

“Anyone would think you’ve been wanting to do that?”  You teased as he broke away for a moment, making him chuckle softly.

“Oh, you have no idea,” Fili kisses you softly, letting his lips hover above yours.  “I thought it used to be difficult to get you alone at home, but this takes the cake.  Anyone would think that they don’t want us to be together.”

You rest your arms around his neck.  “I think it’s more that they don’t want any unexpected surprises before we’re wed. We can’t have a royal scandal after all.”

Fili holds your gaze, before the two of you broke into giggles, foreheads resting against each other. “You’re going to get us both into trouble, I hope you know that?”

“Good thing I like trouble then.”  You don’t let him answer that, instead pulling him back into a firmer kiss, one that quickly got away from the two of you.

It was as hands began to wonder towards the buckles of your armour, that a noise made the two of you stop and listen.  Whatever it was, was large and moving rather quickly through the forest, until the unmistakable sound of terrified ponies reached your ears.

Fili groaned.  “Oh no…do I even want to go and find out what happened?”

“And leave Kili to whatever that was?”  You asked, making his face pale.

The two of you moved quickly, but by the time the two of you found out what was going on, the rest of the company was there too, having been called over by Kili, Bilbo in trouble with three monstrous trolls.

There was no missing Thorin’s furious look at the two of you, making Fili wince, but it was all pushed aside as the company leapt into action.

It didn’t exactly go to plan.  While Bilbo was initially rescued, and he’d managed to rescue the several ponies the trolls had taken too, he then ended up recaptured, and all of you had to make the call on what to do about it.  There was no way that you could let the poor hobbit die in such a horrible manner, so everyone laid down their arms.

Then it was your turn to be worried, watching Fili be turned over and over on a spit.  Squirming in the bag did little, the knots tied far too well, and listening to the trolls discuss how they were going to exactly eat you all, wasn’t helping the anxiety levels.  You regretted not being more careful, of letting yourself wander away with Fili; you felt that if the two of you had been there, this could’ve been prevented, at least to this extreme.

Thankfully, Bilbo ended up saving them all, distracting the trolls enough until the sun came up and Gandalf returned, a quick round of cheers going around as they turned to stone.

Once freed though, there was no missing the look of Thorin’s, and several others, disapproval.

Fili braced himself with a sigh.  “Listen guys, listen, I wish I could make an excuse for myself, but I cannot.  Take it out on me though, leave Y/N out this.”

“Fili-”

“No Y/N, it’s only because of me that we left Kili-”

“After I came and found you-”

“And I still went with you,” His look at you was determined, and you knew he wanted to take the full fall of this.  “So this is my fault.”

“Or it could’ve happened anyway,” Kili piped up quickly, earning a look from Thorin.  “Honestly, I don’t think it would’ve helped even if all of us had been there.”

There was a tense moment, Fili almost thinking that his brother was going to cop a mouthful as well, before Thorin sighed and looked back at the two of you seriously.

“Just please be more careful,” he grumbled.  “There is a time and place for everything, just as there is a reason that we go on watch in pairs or groups.”

Fili nods slowly. “Yes Uncle, it won’t happen again.”

Thorin nods and walks away, dropping it, quickly making the several other unimpressed dwarfs huff and shake their heads, quickly following after him.

Fili lets out a slow sigh of relief.  “I thought we were done for.”

Kili grins at him.  “He wasn’t going to argue when he knew I was right.”

You can’t help but chuckle at this and the spark of mischief in Kili’s eyes.  “Careful what you say next Fili, his head might just grow a bit bigger.”

Fili grins.  “Like I don’t know my brother by now, I’m not going to give him that satisfaction.”

Kili pretends to look hurt. “You two are spoiling my fun.”

“Are we?  What a shame.”

“You can join the club of disappointment for the day.”

Fili looks at you and starts laughing, one which you quickly join in, Kili unable to help his grin, even as he shakes his head.

[sainamoonshine]

Bagginshield fic I will never write but have thought about a lot so I’ll share the idea here (long post)

So the hobbits have this... thing. 

They call it a curse. 

Most of Middle-Earth would probably disagree, but they honestly find it inconvenient and a little embarassing, so the hobbits don’t really want the rest of Middle-Earth to know.

Basically, when a hobbit dies with regrets, heart filled with woudve-couldve-shouldve, they tend to get a second chance. 

They wake up back in the past, in their younger body, the whole time-travel fix-it shebang

which would be fine, they suppose, except that everybody who was involved in the regret comes back with them

Imagine you live a long life and are at peace with your choices and are ready to go

but that fucker down the road still has his panties in a bunch over some love triange or some shit that happened thirty years ago so you have to COME BACK with him and everyone else who got involved

Imagine if that happened to everybody. all the time. Over every. single. family dispute. 

It would be un-tenable, that’s what it would be. 

So the hobbits, in general, do their best to go peacefully. To live un-eventful lives, and forgive others upon their deathbed, and not rock the boat. 

It doesn’t mean that they can’t have grudges! They do, and they,re good at them! You just have to not REGRET them when you die, and you’re good. 

All that said, it should really be no surprise that one Bilbo Baggins goes to his deathbed in a boat towards the immortal lands and wakes back up at the age of 40-something in Bag End. He had a lot of regrets, after all, and just couldn’t help but wish that maybe... maybe things could have been different. 

Now, at least Bilbo didn’t drag any other hobbits back with him. He would have never heard the end of it.

(Can you imagine? Mad Baggins, breaking the “100 years without anyone coming back” strike that the Shire managed to rack up. Lobelia would have had his head. No, it’s better if the other hobbits don’t know.)

So Bilbo goes to Rivendell in order to inform Gandalf and Elrond that there is a Ring about and that he intends to destroy it. 

Naturally, they don,t feel really great about letting him go alone, so Bilbo ends up travelling with young Ranger Aragorn and Elrond’s own lovely daughter, who was only allowed to go because she allowed herself and also because Bilbo knows for a fact that Sauron is in Mirkwood right now so it’s not like it’s gonna be dangerous (much).

It’s dangerous.

At some point Bilbo ends up getting up close and personnal with a Warg that tries to take off his face, but Arwen and Aragorn save his life and they trudge on to Mordor with impressive wounds that are certainly going to scar

Once in Mordor, the rings tries to get Bilbo to keep it and...

It’s hard. He’s never going to pretend otherwise

But Bilbo Baggins had two regrets that brought him here, and both of them involved letting the Ring near someone he loved. So the minute that this vile thing suggests that Bilbo should use it to save Thorin’s life, or made Frodo’s life easier...

Aragorn and Arwen basically see Bilbo yeet the Ring into the fire as if he’d just seen a spider crawling up his hand and was trying to get it off

(Nonsense, he says later. He’s fought spiders and none of them were ever as repulsive as the Ring)

In any case Bilbo now knows that his business is done, and his biggest regret taken care of. No matter what happens now, he has saved Frodo. He will not come back again, will not be given a second chance. 

So he goes back to Bag Ends, and waits for Gandalf to come and tell him that the time has come to join another adventure. (Even though Sauron is gone, he has made Gandalf promise to stay in Middle Earth long enough to see Thorin’s Quest through. And what was Gandalf to say to that? Bilbo had just gone back through time and saved them all a war. Of course he agreed.)

This time, Bilbo makes sure to have a feast ready for his friends. He missed them all so much, and a tiny, small, ridiculously hobbitish regret of his HAD been the lack of hospitality he had shown the first time around by not having food ready for his dwarven guests

Dwalin is the first to arrive, of course. But the minute Bilbo opens his door, things to off-script

BURGLAR! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE?!

Neither of them realize what this variation means, at first. Bilbo answers something about having had a disagreement with a warg, Dwalin comes in, and then...

It’s when Dwalin sees the feast that he finally puts two and two together

He remembers. Bilbo remembers!

So it turns out that all of the thirteen dwarves also came back to the past. Not all at once; they came back slowly, in the order of their death. Dwalin was among the first, then Gloin, then Nori and Dori... The only ones left to ‘wake up’ were Thorin, Kili and Fili, and they’re expecting it any day now

They’ve been quite confused, as nothing like this had ever happened in the history of the dwarves, not even to Durin. But they most certainly figured that it was a dwarf thing. None of them had ever expected Bilbo to be one of them too!

Bilbo is e x t r e m e l y embarassed to explain that it’s actually a hobbit thing. And a... [whispers] shameful one at that too

The dwarves don’t get it.

The others arrive, and all of them exclaim on Bilbo’s scars, but he doesn’t even mind because he is so, so happy to see them again. And be remembered!

Kili and Fili knock on the door, a bit late, and he can see in the way they look at him that they know, too. He can also see by the tears on their faces that it’s recent. He wastes no time in hugging them and welcoming them into his warm home. 

Eventually they all realize that Thorin is most definitely not here yet. Bilbo sends Fili and Kili outside to stand at the end of the street, ostensibly to help Thorin finds the way if he happens to be lost. 

(In actuality, Bilbo suspects that they’ll need a moment with their uncle.)

Outside, Fili and Kili do find Thorin, who’s doing something only slightly more dignified than loitering

He’s only just remembered, and it’s an emotional reunion all around

Until he tries to insist on cancelling the quest

Hold the fuck up they say. We are NOT cancelling the quest! Everybody’s already inside, and they all remember, so if anything we have an advantage we didn’t have the last time!!!

Well yeah but at least we shouldn’t trouble the-

BILBO KNOWS TOO UNCLE

he’s waiting for you

So Thorin is eventually convinced to come inside

Only to loudly exclaim over Bilbo’s warg scars on his face, who finds that this is starting to get a bit old but he’s crying and smiling too much to put up much fuss

After the meal, they both go outside for some quiet and a smoke, and Thorin strokes his cheek tenderly and laments how Bilbo almost died before their second chance. 

(It had taken Bilbo a long time, even after he’d returned from the quest, to put a name on his own feelings. He’d been grieving for a long time when he realized that it was love that he was grieving, and why the widows in town looked at him like one of their own. They’re recognized it inside of him long before he had. It had been a little easier, after that, to breathe through the pain, and to let time do its work. It was always easier to heal what you can name. It had never occured to him to wonder wether Thorin had loved him too.)

(But on that quiet night, with Thorin’s hand on his cheek and his sad gaze boring through his, he knows. and he’s not soon to forget.)

They go on the quest, knowing most of the dangers beforehand which is a plus. 

Thorin doesn’t want to go to Rivendell, to which Bilbo answers “alright then I’ll just go, have a nice meal and a nice bed, get an escort through the mountains, and I’ll meet up with you on the other side I guess, my king”

Thorin is flabbergasted and eventually relents

Dwalin finds it highly amusing.

Bilbo regrets bringing them to Rivendell the moment he steps foot inside the valley though

The elves are very happy to see him, they bow and wave at him, they sing songs about his courage

it’s all very embarassing

When the dwarves ask him why all that, he kind of has to fess up that he tossed a ring into a volcano, nbd

Very, very big deal, immediately contest Gloin and Dwalin, who remember the war of the Ring the best

So Bilbo ends up telling them the entire story, in bits and pieces

His description of the thrall the Ring once had on him makes everyone in the room go very, very quiet

Afterwards Thorin finds him alone and silent, gazing upon the gardens with fingers fidgeting with the pocket of his sweater-vest, and he just silently hugs him

No words needed

Then they cross the mountains and avoid the goblins and the wargs. They make good time, even visit Beorn again

But Mirkwood was always going to be a problem.

Gandalf decides to fuck off to visit Radagast, who has been trying to heal the forest, leaving them alone despite Bilbo telling that this is a very, very bad idea

(he secretly thinks that Gandalf just doesn’t want to deal with Thranduil, the ass)

The scene goes a lot like the one in the book, with the enchanted stream and everything else. They get captured, but not separated this time

Thranduil is an ass to Thorin, who honestly does try to not be an ass back but completely fails

So Bilbo just pushes his way to the front of the group and starts to sass try and do some emergency diplomacy

Hey Thranduil you know who I am? I defeated the shadow that turned your forest into a pile of shit. Yeah, you owe me one, give me my stuff back and let me and my pals through 

Thranduil does know about the Ring-Bearer, and so he agrees to let Bilbo through the forest with anything that he can carry upon his back

(yeah you know it you know what’s coming you all saw that movie)

So Bilbo goes oh yeah? I got your word for that?

and then just picks up Thorin and tries to leave the hall with him on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes

(Bilbo feels like he’s going to die after three steps but the look on Thranduil’s face is priceless and he has already won those negociations)

So Thandruil calls him back and agrees for the negociations to go to recess and let’s talk again when we’ve all cooled down a little

so they are served a nice meal by elves that are trying not to burst out laughing, and Bilbo glares his dwarves into not being too rude and fucking up what he’s trying to do here, particularly you, Thorin

Anyway then he talks to Thranduil again one on one and after assuring him that they have a plan for the dragon, and that he will get his white gems, they are let go

The company doesn’t wait until their elven escort is out of earshot before bursting out laughing about what just happened 

Kili and Fili inform Thorin that they’re voting for Bilbo to be their new King. Bilbo 2020

Thorin replies that perhaps Bilbo can have a job as their official diplomat if he wants it and as his consort

Bilbo tells them all that he sold his house in the Shire so he sure as HECk hopes that someone gives him employment in the mountain when they,re done

Thorin is very pleased to learn about this

They get to LakeTown, where they waste no time getting The Plan (tm) into motion

Basically Aragorn has pledged his rangers to come help them (Bilbo has so many people pledging their help to him after he destroyed the ring and he’s a little embarassed about it to be honest but not above using it to keep his dwarves safe), so all they need to do is convince Bard to go set up in the ruins of the old city with a big-ass bow and they’ll divert the dragon his way, and the rangers are there to have his back should orcs come uninvited to the party with an army.

(Bard does not like the idea of orcs showing up but Bilbo breezes quickly past that part and doesn’t give him time to ask questions)

Anyway so Bilbo goes into the mountain, wakes up the dragon, says incriminating stuff about coming here with friends through the ruins, and off is Smaug, trying to roast an old empty town with one (1) skilled archer in it

Smaug dies RIP smaug

The dwarves waste no time bringing in the people of Laketown inside the mountain and calling for allies, knowing the orcs are coming soon. Thorin doesn’t even take a look at the gold. Everyone else keeps him distracted anyway so it’s not like he even has the time to think about it

He does ask Nori to go and see if he couldn’t find the mithril shirt again though, and he does gift it to Bilbo again

This time, he tries to actually take the time to explain what it means for a dwarf to make a gift this precious to someone even more precious, but Bilbo lets him stutter his way through half a sentence before he tells him that he knows. He knows and he feels the same way.

Which is great and all but they do have a battle to get through.

The elves show up at the door, and Thranduil barely has time to open his mouth before Bilbo’s like Hi and Thanks for showing up for this siege and If you could just bring your archers over here on top of the wall that would be great thanks

Some elves from other parts of middle-earth show up, too, including Lorien which everyone finds weird except for Bilbo who had found the lady of Lorien quite lovely, the one time he’d seen her on his way to Mordor with Arwen and Aragorn

(She had given him a cloak that had turned out to be quite useful in hiding from Smaug’s gaze, even though it was no Ring)

anyway they have a lot of allies and support and the orcs and goblins are few, since Dol Guldur stands empty and all

so the battle goes very well, with few losses on their side

So everybody lives

And then Thorin and Bilbo go on and get married the end

[bluebellhairpin]

The Girl Who Knew The End {15}

Thorn Oakensheild X Fem!Reader I See Fire

Chapter Fourteen // The Attack of Smaug

Chapter Fifteen //  (You’re Here!)

Chapter Sixteen //  No King to Me

A/N: I’ve started putting the next chapter titles up (because I know what they are now), so now you get some ideas of what could be coming *wink* - Nemo

Song: ‘I See Fire’ by Ed Sheeran  

Warning(s): Thorin’s still a jerk but in lowercase lettering. 

Summary: You sing a song for the fallen Laketown. The Company gets put on edge, as this song seems to be exactly about what they’re watching. What does it mean? Are you finally telling them their future, or does it mean more than that?

Series Masterlist  

Masterlist  

Everything was burning. Homes, buildings and lives. People. 

It hurt that all you could do was watch, with the stone cold underneath you, and the wind making your tears feel like carving knives slicing a river of ice down your face. It as an ironic contrast, really. Especially since your chest burned and ached with every breath. 

You couldn’t tell if it was because of the trip up to your mountain-side viewing platform for destruction - something that wouldn’t normally be a problem (not considering everything you’d done to get to Erebor) - or the fact that you were feeling so close to being sick - like properly throwing-up your last meal sick - because of what was happening both to Laketown and Thorin, but your chest really hurt. 

It was too much, and you weren’t handling it well at all.

Dori - ever vigilant to these things - came forwards to you when the others stayed further behind. He didn’t say anything, he didn’t really need to, and you didn’t want him to. He just sat with you, and that was enough. 

Why couldn’t everything be that easy? 

Eventually the others came forward, joining you to watch destruction that - in reality - you all caused. Only if you let the dragon sleep. Together you watched a world burn, and together you watched the dragon fall. Alone you felt yourself fall, as if you were there with that worm, and you thought back to your dreams. But they were more like nightmares that haunted you even as you blinked. 

When you had your eyes open there was Laketown. Burning.

When you closed your eyes there were your friends, family. Burning. 

Everywhere you looked was fire. You didn’t know what to say.  So you started to sing.

“Oh, Misty eye of the mountain below.” 

You haven't sung for the others since before Beorn's house, and to them it sounded weary - like a ghost haunting and abandoned castle, lost and broken, only wanting something real to hang onto, something good to hang onto. 

“Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls - and should the sky be filled with fire and smoke,” you stopped, practically forcing yourself to sing the next words, “Keep watching over Durin's sons.”

“What is she doing?” Dwalin asked, standing further away and close to Thorin with Balin. The elder of the two shook his head. 

“Mourning would be my best guess.” 

“If this is to end in fire, then we should all burn together,” 

“But why in song, she’s not done that before.” Dwalin looked at you, concerned for both your well being and the fact Thorin didn’t seem to notice. “Maybe she hit her head when Thorin…”

“No, I don’t think it’s that Dwalin.”

“Watch the flames climb high into the night, calling out father oh, stand by and we will - Watch the flames burn on and on the mountain side.” 

Ori looked at you, and Dori - bless his ever working sixth-sense - started thinking something wasn’t right. 

“That song she’s singing,” Dori said to Balin, “That’s not one of ours.”

“And if the night is burning, I will cover my eyes,” your voice broke, and if you weren’t turned away from them all they would’ve seen your tears, “For if the dark returns then my brothers will die.”

Bilbo looked over at you, having been the only other person to hear Smaug’s declaration of darkness against you. He wondered how you knew this song, how your words seemed so fitting even though it seemed to come from nowhere.

You thought, what did Ed Sheeran's words mean? Did they have another meaning to you? Whatever Smaug said to you, whatever it meant, you weren’t going to let that dark kill those you loved, or yourself. 

“And as the sky's falling down, it crashed into this lonely town,”

Thorin turned to face you, finally mirroring the rest of his company to listen to your singing sound throughout the little spot you were all on. For a moment he looked at Laketown, wondering what had come over him, wondering why and how he’d let the dragon out of the mountain alive. 

For a moment he had clarity, he was himself.��

But it was only fleeting. He turned back, away from you and the others, and looked at Erebor. That was his home, and it had no dragon. 

“And with that shadow upon the ground I hear my people screaming out,”

Dwalin was uneasy, much like everyone else. 

They’d come to know how their king and future queen were together. A couple days ago, Thorin would have no qualms in being close to (y/n), to comfort her if she felt so deeply. But now he was turning his back on her. 

Dwalin knew (y/n) was headstrong and stubborn, once her sorrow passed he knew she wouldn’t take any of Thorin’s ignorance or haughtiness. He feared for what that meant for her - not a few hours ago having been slammed into a stone wall for not complying. 

He was more than readying himself to intervene in the future if something came close to that happening again. 

“I see fire, inside the mountain, I see fire, burning the trees,”

“I’ve never heard this song before.” Dori said quietly, shoving his hands in the flaps of his clothes, hiding his fingers from the oncoming chill of night. “It’s bugging me how I don’t know.”

“That’s because it’s one of hers.” Balin replied after a couple beats, looking over at you with pursed lips, unsure of what exactly your words meant. Whatever it was, your words rang true.  

Everyone was seeing fire. 

“And I see fire, hollowing souls, and I see fire, blood in the breeze,”

“She sounds so sad,” Ori said, wringing his fingers in his sleeves, placing  himself safely between Dori and Dwalin, “It’s such a sad song.” 

Dwalin looked down at the younger dwarf, nodding ever so slightly. 

“She’s been through more then we’ll all ever know.” 

“And I hope that you'll remember me.” 

Your last words were quiet, like a promise only spoken to those worthy to hear, and you’d deemed them all worthy. The others looked from the burnt Laketown to you, and then over to Thorin, who then turned away and started back to Erebor. The others followed, eventually leaving you with Balin, Dori, Ori, and Dwalin. 

“It’s not him.” you finally said, shaking your head and joining their little circle of dwarves once everyone else mostly left. “He’s so much more sick than I imagined.”

“He’s worse than what you’ve seen?” Balin asked carefully, looking over at you through bushy eyebrows. Dwalin crossed his arms as you meekly nodded.

“Surely there's something we can do to fix it. A medicine, or a book that can tell us something.” Ori said, now playing with the edge of his hood. You tugged on your braid, the one with Thorin's courting bead in it, remembering what the movies showed happening.

“No, Ori. He will get better, but he just -” you sighed, feeling for the first time slightly useless, “He’ll figure it out on his own.” 

“But, King Thror, he died from that sickness.” 

“Thorin isn’t his grandfather, Balin!” you defended, snapping wildly at the elder, before recomposing yourself and muttering an apology. “Thorin is good.” 

“And before, how he hurt you,” Dori said, almost reluctant to speak again, “Was he good then?” 

You thought back, how Thorin looked at you as if you were an enemy rather than an ally, as if you were Thranduil instead of (y/n), how his voice was harsh and eyes were hard and cold.

“Just tell me!” he’d said, pushing you into the wall, and even now you could feel the dull ache of a bruise forming somewhere on your back - however less than the fresh cut on your forehead.

“He’s not good.” you said, shaking your head, “He’s sick, and arrogant, and stubborn, and greedy. But deep down, he’s still Thorin. Deep down he’s still good.” 

“By the might of Erebor, (y/n),” Balin said, laying a comforting hand on your arm, “I hope you’re right.”

----------

Series Taglist: @thorins-queen-of-erebor​ @pigeonsbones @reignofglitter​ @theabandonedchocolate​ @violentmommabear42​ @jumpingmanatee @pixierox101​ @persassyismyspiritanimal @lilith15000 @yes-captainstark​ @foolish-fangirl​ @sukeraa​ @minniyoonji​ @marvelous-glims​ @inlaval​ @tumblinglringlring​ @mystery-5-5​ @apploosa84​ 

[centuryofdean]

When Lightning Strikes - Chapter 16

Author Disclaimer:: The Hobbit, Middle Earth and its characters are not mine. I take no credit. The story line and even some dialogue–also not mine. Instead I claim my Original Character Laurel and the adjustments to the story line.

Summary:: From when Laurel Took was small she dreamed of a man. Every time she dreamed of him, he could not see or hear her. Over time they are able to communicate–but he’s been dreaming about her too. Finally after years of anticipation Laurel takes the leap and kisses him. Only for her to wake up and dread the real world. Then lightning strikes and she finds herself in a familiar place, with a familiar face.

Rated:: M for Mature. Please do not read this story unless you are 18+. NSFW.

Warnings:: Language, Violence and Scenes of Sexual Nature.

Pairing:: Kili x OC (Laurel)

Laurel

The bottom of the stairs led to the cellar very quickly, where I found Legolas talking with two other elves. Those must be the guards, who were not too far away from the cells. With Legolas there watching my movements, there wasn't much I could do except to hope that Bilbo was watching from afar. In one of the corners I could see numerous packs and weapons, mine all sitting atop.

"Here are your things," he motioned. Quickly I searched my pack, trying to see what was salvageable. Inside most of my watered bulbs were broken. The only two still intact was the Kings-Foil and California Poppies. The poppies were already used one night, but I kept the water for whatever reason. Now more than ever I thank myself. If I was sly enough I could pour the poppy water into the wine the guards were drinking and knock them out. Maybe get Legolas to drink some if I had enough.

As I turned I noticed two glasses in Legolas' hand. Excellent. I palmed the light yellow poppy water and smiled softly.

He eyed my hands and motioned to what I was holding, "What is that?"

"Oh this is something from home. It is a special wine sweetener," the lie slid easily off my tongue. "By itself it tastes bitter, but mix it and any wine will taste outstanding."

Stomping down the stairs led Tauriel to our mists. "Legolas, your father wishes to see us about the spiders that keep invading our lands," she addressed him formally.

"Save me some of the wine sweetener," he replied softly. One of the glasses he was holding was pushed into my hands, each of his fingers caressing my own as he gave it to me. "I will be back shortly to show you around, we can celebrate your freedom."

Blushing I accepted the glass, it seemed he was very forward.

The guards watched as he left, turning to me and almost waiting for something. I held up the bulb and shook it, "Would you two like to try some as well?"

Eager nods and grins met my offer. It surprised me how confident my hand poured infused water in each wine glass. I watched as they each grasped a glass and raised their hands in an effort of 'cheers'. Silently, I waited as they sipped.

One mentioned how it didn't taste all that different, if anything it tasted watered down and like grass. The other shrugged and downed the glass he was given and poured another. Eventually the first finished his glass as well as I sipped on my own, poppy water excluded. Almost as if a switch was flipped, they dropped to the table unconscious.

"Thought they'd never fall asleep."

A scream started in my throat at the sound of Bilbo, and the sight of him appearing just feet to my left as he removed the ring. "Shit," I muttered holding my beating heart, "don't do that! Could have at least given me a warning or something."

Quickly I grabbed the keys from the hook on the wall, tossing them to Bilbo. "Go get the others. I will look for a way out."

"No! I found a way, just stay here," Bilbo urged before scampering away.

While he was gone I started to gear up with my weapons. It was difficult to try and get my sword and scabbard on, seeing as I had no trousers with loops to slip it into. Instead I slipped it into my quiver, trying not to ruin my remaining arrows. With my bow across my shoulders I waited, trying to sort the weapons as best I could. There was a small barrel dedicated to Fili's knives alone.

Feet started to descend the stairs once more, and just to be cautious I drew my dagger. When Thorin's face came into view, I released a breath and lowered the blade. The others trailed in behind him, muttering about 'going deeper into the fortress instead of out'. I directed everyone to their things, watching and waiting for further instruction. Bilbo hushed all the voices as we followed him to the back part of the cellar. Barrels were stacked in a particular way; all empty.

"Into the barrels," he ushered.

"This was your plan," I hissed shrilly, "they are going to find us in here hiding!"

"Just get in!"

I wasn't the only one upset at the idea. Each of us were inside a barrel, and my bow was close to sticking out the end of my own. After a while Bofur stuck his head out below me and hissed, "Well what do we do now?"

Bilbo walked across the room and pointed to a leaver, and then pulled it. Instantly the world turned as I rolled over and over again, screaming the whole way. Water splashed everywhere drenching me after a short drop. Gasping for air I looked around, seeing that we were in a cave stream, leading into the woods and sunlight. Brilliant Bilbo!

We all held, counting heads to make sure no one was missing. The ceiling above us opened again, Bilbo falling through. He came up gasping, trying to grasp onto something to hold onto. I used all my strength to pull him into my barrel with me. We were both small enough we fit just fine.

"Well done Master Baggins and Lady Laurel," Thorin chortled excitedly. With a few pushes we were into the current again.

Behind me Kili laughed as if he was having the time of his life. We all were bouncing around on rocks and being pushed towards the entrance of the cave, finally hitting the sunlight. When I turned to see him, my heart caught in my throat at the sight. Just one barrel behind me he was soaking in his clothes. Dark brown hair was somewhat wet and matted to his face. The smile that adorned it was full of excitement, eyes alight with mirth. He was actually having fun. Not that I didn't blame him, it was like lazy river tubing, with the river being a little more urgent and forceful.

Just as we were getting closer to the outer wall built around their fortress a horn sounded. Shit. They knew we had escaped.

Elvin guards started to come out of the woodwork, weapons pointed at as. One in particular ran to the top of the wall, pulling a leaver that closed the gates to our waterway exit.

"Damn it," I muttered, building up behind Fili and Dwalin, the only barrel behind me being Kili. I was pushed up against the edge, watching as a smirking guard approached me.

Suddenly an arrow went through his chest and he choked, falling to the ground. On the horizon behind him stood a large disgusting looking orc.

"Orcs!" Kili's voice tore through the air.

We watched as the guard that pulled the lever was also shot through the chest with an arrow. Suddenly a battle took out between orcs and elves alike, all the while we were sitting like ducks. With every muscle I possessed I jumped, pushing myself out of the barrel and onto the land. Kili called out to me, but I kept pushing. I ran to the top of the wall and pulled the lever, watching as the rest of the company started to fall through the opening and into the more rushing river.

Just as I was about to turn around and jump back into my barrel I heard a grunt.

At my feet was Kili, eyes closed in pain.

Everything seemed to slow to a halt, my heart stopping where breath was knocked out of me. Sticking out of his thigh was an arrow. My heart clenched tightly in my chest, seizing and thrashing with worry and ache at the thought of it being his heart rather than his thigh. "I'm sorry," I muttered as I pulled the arrow out—wincing at the hiss Kili emitted—and strung it to my bow and shot it at the direction it came from. The orc was hit in the chest, he shuddered as he took a step back. It wasn't a lethal shot unfortunately.

Another orc laughed evilly as he approached us. Kili tried to stand, falling to his knee when he couldn't hold his weight due to the pain. The orc raised its sword to Kili, ready to behead him. "Fuck no you don't," I hissed, digging into my chest and grabbed my knife, flicking it open with a swift wrist movement. I gave my own battle cry as I lunged, knife plunging down into the eye of the beast. The next few moments seemed to go on forever. The monster thrashed, screaming in pain as it tried to push me off of it. I did my best to stay on, grunting here and there at the hits that landed on my face and sides. Slowly it went limp beneath me. It's body falling to the ground, me riding atop of it.

Not wasting time I turned and grabbed Kili, dragging him to the ledge of the wall and lining him up with his idle barrel as I urged him to jump.

In moments I jumped into the water, seeing as Bilbo took my barrel and went with the rest of the company.

Everything seemed to blur and blend together after that. I swam with my life depended on it, keeping my head above the raging water and holding onto Kili's barrel for dear life. He fell unconscious at one point, eyes closed as his face screwed up in pain. I knew he wasn't dead, there was no way he would die from a hit to the thigh, especially since his artery wasn't nicked. The rest of the company was killing orcs and fending off elves. I was amazed watching them work so easily from barrels, taking out enemies with ease.

We finally escaped their reach, carried ahead swifter with the water. As we neared a large lake the current died. Each of us were pushing our way to shore with our hands. Kili awoke, trying to pull me with him in the barrel.

"I think we outran them," Bofur mumbled.

Thorin shook his head as he crawled to land, "Not quite. They will be following surely. Hurry now, on your feet."

The rocks started to scratch at my skin, completely soaked as I crawled on my hands and knees to land. My stomach heaved, expelling half of the lake that I had swallowed trying to stay alive. I flung off my bow, laying on my back and starring up at the sky. Kili collapsed next to me, also heaving for breath. He was hurt. Scrambling up to my knees, I looked at his thigh. The arrow pierced the fabric of his pants easily enough, but the gaping bloody black hole that met my vision brought tears to my eyes. I tore a piece of the dress off, quickly tying it around his thigh so that it would at least slow the bleeding. He rose to his elbows, watching me. Once I was finished I threw myself into his chest and cried.

"Don't you ever take a shot for me. I will strangle you myself," I heaved as my fingers worked into his hair. "I thought you were killed."

Our lips met softly as I kissed him. Everything that I could muster was thrown into the kiss, all the energy I had left. He was right. I don't think I could continue on without him, but I was glad to know that we were in it together, rather me fighting him all the way. Everything made sense of what he was saying. It felt empowering and brilliant to accept him, not deny everything every step of the way. A weight was lifted off my shoulders. I was so dizzy and lucid at once I felt as though I was floating.

It didn't come to a shock when I finally admitted to myself that I love him. I tried so hard for a long time to try to tell myself I didn't. All that time was wasted and useless.

The familiar sound of an arrow notching from behind Kili had my back go ridged. With what strength I had left I flung myself over him and placed his chest to my back as I came face to face with the metal tip of arrow. At the bow was a man.

Many things happened at once. Nearly everyone in the company grabbed something to raise to our aid. The man was quick to shoot the things out of their hands. Then coming back to rest his aim on me again. "Put down your weapons," he hissed, "or I shoot her and him."

Balin hesitantly approached the man, hands up in surrender. "Excuse me," he sounded polite, like I didn't have an arrow pointed at my heart, "but, are you from Laketown by chance? That barge just over there, can it be available for hire?"

"I am Bard from Laketown, and perhaps the barge is for hire."

At his words the arrow was lowered. Everything in me relaxed as I slumped against Kili. His arm were wrapped tightly around me, flipping us so that if the man rose his bow again he would be hit before me.

Sadly to say my consciousness flickered in and out as the rest of them spoke about bargaining. Only did I wake fully and pay attention when I was hoisted up.

"Do not worry little sister," Fili murmured softly in my ear, "Kili gave me permission to carry you. I do not want to strain him with his injury."

We were settled into a smaller boat, every one of us cold and shivering. Bilbo handed me my mostly dry pack, sitting next to me where I was curled into Kili's lap. "Thank you Bilbo," I smiled. Silence fell between those of us that were not talking to the man, Bard, or Balin. Most of them were bickering rather than talking.

Slowly the mountain in question we were in search for came into view. Each of the dwarves looked as if God himself were standing before them. The brothers next to and beneath me were sharing small smiles. "This is it brother," Kili murmured, holding me closer, "our home. We are close to taking what is ours."

"Hurry, give me the money. There are guards ahead, get into the barrels," Bard urged.

We were quick to do as he said, myself crouching into the barrel with Bilbo. After much fighting with Kili about it. ("Kili we both won't fit in there. Bilbo and I are small enough to fit in one! Quit acting like a jealous baby!")

A gasp left me when cold wet fish were poured over our heads. My teeth chattered as much as I would allow.

Now I wished I had shared the barrel with Kili, if only to snuggle him for warmth.

Tag List

@ruthoakenshield​

Previous Chapter << Chapter 15: Mirror Reflections within Sickness

Next Chapter >> Chapter 17: Across the Chasm, Beasts Lie

[jj-scottsbee]

Loyal

Imagine: Your Thorin's wife, after Smaug took the mountain you were taken by the Orc's. At the Battle of Azanulbizar, you were given a choice, to either bow before Azog or die for your kin.

Thorin stood at the edge of the cliff, watching the sky. It was lit up by the full moon and the dazzling stars, the air was light and cool. Nights like these were always the hardest for Thorin, these had been your favorite kind of nights. You would drag Thorin out to the gardens with a soft blanket and lay down, looking up the stars discussing your future. As childish as it seemed, he loved those nights with you, holding you close, because you always got cold so easily. His heart hurt as your beautiful, smiling face popped into his mind once again.

"What he doing?" Bilbo asked he had noticed Thorin isolating himself from the Company, more than usual. He had watched him sulk off into the trees and was able to see him on the other side watching the sky. The Company fell silent, all of them knowing the pain their king was feeling.

"He is mourning," Fili said looking towards his uncle in sadness, his head fell as the thought of you entered his mind.

"She would be our queen," Ori said sadly as sorrow fell into the air and Bilbo regretted asking his question. He did not wish to bring up bad memories.

"A  pretty lass she was," Bofur commented, a small smile falling on his lips.

"Stop saying was," Kili snapped, "Auntie is still beautiful, you know she's watching over us as she pesters Mahal about sending her back to us." His attitude wavered as he began making jokes. Bilbo sat watching the company as happy memories played through their heads he wished to know more about you, but did not want to disrespect anyone by asking.

"Y/n, she was Thorin's wife," Balin gave Kili a sympathetic look, "She could be the kindest friend or the worst enemy, though she had few enemies. She knew her way around the battlefield and the kitchen. She was a match made by Mahal for Thorin, sadly he took her back a little quicker than we would have liked."

"May I ask what happened to her?" Bilbo asked gently, he did not wish to upset the company. Everyone once again lowered their heads in sadness, everyone but Dwalin.

"She was lo-" Balin began to answer but was quickly interrupted by his younger brother.

"She was stupid and got herself killed. You all know it's true, she could have escaped that bastards clutch had she just played his game." Dwalin let the words fall out his mouth than once realizing what he had said he swiftly walked away from the Company. He was angry at you. You and Thorin had been Dwalin's closest friends and when he lost you, it broke a piece of him. It broke all of the company to some extent, but you were also one of the reasons they kept fighting.

"Don't mind his anger lad, he lost a lot. We all have." Baling comforted a frightened and guilt-stricken Bilbo. "It was after we were forced from our homes, there were many battles with the orc armies. Y/n was captured during one of the night raids, there was nothing we could do. She was used as ransom and when Thror refused, Azog decided to use her at the battle of Azanulbizar instead. Hoping to break our spirits..."

Flashback

 The army made up over 70,000 dwarves watch from across the empty battlefield as the army of orcs slowly parted. Thorin and the soon to be company of dwarves sat on one side, as you were stuck on the other. They watched, terror filling their hearts as you were matched to the front of the orc armies. They growled and hissed at you as you passed, but you would show no fear. You refused to give them the satisfaction.

Thorin watched, as you were brought to the battle line, Azog by your side. You had what could only dwarf blood smeared on your face. Thorin's heart broke as he saw you,  you were beaten. Your usually silky hair was matted with blood and your smile had was replaced by a hard, emotionless face.

"Father, we must do something!" Thorin yelled as his father, but Thror only shook his head in sadness. There was nothing that could be down for you and everyone knew it. Thorin knew it, but his heart did not want to believe it. He remembered your wedding vows, through battle and agony, nothing would stop the two of you from getting to each other.

Thorin swung away from his father and tried to rush towards the opposing army ready to fight like hell to get to you, but Dwalin knew him better than he thought. He quickly grabbed Thorin and yanked him back.

"Are you trying to get us all killed!" Dwalin yelled, "I know how much love you have for her, but remember who your wife is. She will come back to you." The two dwarves locked eyes, Thorin trusted Dwalin, he knew he would not lie to him. Dwalin's comment did little to settle Thorin's nerves. How could he stay calm, his beloved was at the mercy of his enemy.

You watched from across the battle as Thorin tried desperately to get through Dwalin, but he could not. Your heart had quickened, but then calmed once Thorin did. You gave him a soft smile, catching him off guard. How could you be smiling in such a time, he wandered.

"You see those dwarf scum, they will watch you die," Azog whispered in your ear, in black speech. You quickly turned your head and spit at him, a hard glare plastered on your face. He quickly wiped the spit from his cheek and roughly grabbed a hand full of your hair and dragged you out into the open. You yelped in pain and tried to break free from his hard grasp, tears brimming your eyes as you felt hair being ripped from your head. Azog dragged you towards the middle, keeping hold of a chunk of your hair in one hand and a sword in the other. As he reached the middle of the battlefield he threw you into the dirt. You stayed, still lying on the ground. You had been beaten many times since you had been captured and the pain from the beatings shot through your entire body as you hit the cold ground.

Thorin watched as you lay still, his mind begging you to get up. "Get up, Y/n get up!" He whispered to himself,  wishing you could hear. He longed to be by your side holding you, aiding to your wounds.  

As if you could hear him, you pushed yourself off the ground. Once again you were standing tall, you faced the dwarves this time. Your eyes met Thorins and you gave him a weak smile, you saw hope in his eyes. You weren't sure you'd ever see him again after you were taken, seeing his face was reassuring. You still had a chance.  

 "You will bow! All of you, starting with the bitch." Azog screeched, as he swung his arm hitting you in the face with the back his hand. The slap was heard by both armies. You fell once again, and you fell hard. You cheek burned and ached at the same time, painful tears brimmed the edged of your eyes, but you refused to let this monster make you cry.

 Thorin flinched as he watched you fall to the ground, holding your cheek. It took every ounce of restraint and Dwalin's hand on his chest to keep him from sprinting to your aid. If he did the battle would begin and you would be lost for good.

Memories of life before Smaug and Azog flashed through your mind. Your marriage to Thorin, the nights of drinking and laughing with Dwalin, the days spent reading with Balin, the games you would play with Fili and Kili. Dis and you having girls days out in the city and going to the market. You could not stay down, you had so many needing you to get back up.

"Stay down," Azog growled, he faced the dwarf army but his head was turned towards you.

You slowly and painfully pushed yourself back off the cold, ground. You sat up, leaning on both your arms, your matted hair falling in your face. You slowly looked up to meet Thorin's eyes, giving him a mischevious smile, which broke his heart. He knew if you kept your defiance up your life would be lost, deep in his heart, he knew your life was already lost. You had promised each other that you two would die on your feet in a battle.

"Stay down," Thorin said aloud, though you could not hear him, you could read his lips. You gave a slight shake of your head as you pushed yourself to your feet. You held your head high, your posture, strong. Azog narrowed his gaze at you, you held your ground and glared right back into his beady eyes.

"I bow to the king across the battlefield, I do not stand alone." You growled proudly.

"If you will not bow, you will die." Azog pointed the tip of his sword at the base of your throat, you did not flinch, you did not beg for mercy. You stood proud and gave him no pleasure in seeing you weep. "They will watch you die." Azog wrapped his arm around your shoulders and put the blade of his sword to your throat. You were held in place by his large arm, your back being pressed against his hip.

"I love you" You mouthed staring at Thorin, you gave him a small smile. You closed your eyes, so Thorin would not have to watch the life leave your eyes. He always talked about how much he loved the color of your eyes.

"If you will not give me Moria, then I WILL HAVE BLOOD!" Azog screamed, running his blade across your throat. Thorin stood there is disbelief, your blood spew from your throat and your body went limp. Your head fell, your hair covering your face. Thorin screamed in agony and rage, he raised his sword and sprinted into battle. His army following bravely behind their future king.

End of Flashback

"She died with honor." Balin finished his story, "Her name will never be forgotten."

"She died so I would keep fighting," came Thorin's voice from the woods. "My beloved was loyal to me and my kin."

[cassowariess]

The Things We Want

Pairing(s): Bofur x Bilbo

Rating: T

Warnings: None (that I know of?)

Words: 2,049

His mother had taught him that what someone wanted did not always align with what a loved one needed.

When he had been a dwarfling he had caught a shiny, green beetle in a jar and excitedly brought it into the kitchen where his mother was preparing the evening meal.

“Look, amad! I found him in the grass!”

She had knelt down to look, smiled and patted him on the head.

“Just make sure you let it go when you're done looking at it.”

“Why?”

“Because it'll die if you don't.”

“I don't want it to die, but I want to keep it. I can feed it!”

“Sometimes the best way to care for something is to let it go.”

“I don't want to let it go!”

“Bofur, it's not about wanting. It's about caring and doing the right thing. That insect needs to be outside in the grass. That is where it belongs.”

Bofur sniffled, the tears threatening to spill. His mother softened and knelt next to him.

“Sometimes if we love something we have to give it what it needs, not what we want. And who knows? You might see it again in the grass. It might be the very same bug.”

Bofur clung to the jar. After a moment of sullenly looking down at his shoes, he said: “Can I keep it for tonight and let it go in the morning?”

“Yes, I think that would be okay.”

The beetle did not survive the night.

Bofur had wailed loudly and his mother never scolded him, never said “I told you so” or anything of the sort, but he learnt a lesson anyway.

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Bofur enjoys being around the hobbit. A small, fussy thing that seems to become riled up easily, and oh how glorious it is when the halfling sputters and fusses and becomes flustered and his face turns red. Though he's wonderful to tease, Bofur tones it back a bit when he sees Bilbo become visibly distressed.

“I'm only joshing, ye know,” he says. “I don't mean it. I do it to Bombur all the time too and he's me brother.”

Bilbo is beginning to calm down from his latest bout of irritated, flustered stammering.

“I only tease people because I think they'll get a laugh out of it too. It's no fun if the teasing starts to hurt people I care about.”

“That's more than the rest of this lot do.”

“They care! It'll just take a while for them to warm t'ya.”

Bilbo looks as though he might cry.

“Bilbo, I really didn't mean it. Truth be told, you've been a bâheluh ta me on this quest.”

“What does that mean?”

Bofur looks up at him.“It means friend of all friends.”

“Like a best friend?”

“Aye.”

Bofur had very much enjoyed the evenings when he and Bilbo would sit and swap stories and songs. They'd even come up with a tune they'd entitled: “The Man in the Moon stayed up Too Late.” But it was clear Bofur's abrasive humour wasn't always what a tired, grumpy hobbit would find amusing.

Bombur elbows Bofur in the side. “Bofur,” he scolds. “We aren't supposed to speak the secret language to people who aren't dwarves.”

“We can trust Bilbo,” says Bofur confidently, and turns to Bilbo with a wink. “Ye won't tell anyone, will ye Bilbo?”

A soft smile appears on the halfling's face. “I won't,” he says brightly, pleased to have been privy to something that was meant to be kept secret.

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Bofur clings to the hobbit, dragging him as far from the cliff face and against the wall as he possibly can. His heart is beating wildly in his chest. If Thorin hadn't gotten there in time the hobbit would have fallen. He's glad the rain hides his tears of relief. He and Ori continue to fuss over the burglar while Dwalin pulls up their king, who admonishes Bilbo.

Bofur knows the look on Bilbo's face. All the work he'd done to try to get the hobbit to feel accepted was coming undone. He hopes Bilbo doesn't decide to leave them. Yes, he has Bifur and Bombur to keep him company, among a crowd of high born dwarves but neither of them are very talkative, or at least, don't talk as much about things that interest Bofur, like songs and stories. The hobbit likes to talk about comforting things, and Bofur also feels less alone when Bilbo confides his fears in him. For Bofur is sometimes afraid of what they might encounter on this mad adventure too, and it makes him feel safer to know that he isn't the only one that is afraid, and safer still when he can protect Bilbo from things that might hurt him.

But he's not been very good at it so far. He'd not been able to reach the hobbit on the cliff face, and he'd not been able to protect him from the king's words.

So when he asks where Bilbo thinks he's going when the halfling tries to sneak past him on his watch, deep down he already knows.

“Back to Rivendell.”

Bofur pleads with him not to leave and Bilbo ends up hitting a tender spot within Bofur when he says they don't belong anywhere.

“I am sorry!” Bilbo looks all flustered and embarrassed and this time it isn't amusing.

“No, you're right. We don't belong anywhere” whispers Bofur.

But Bilbo does. He has his green Shire to go back to, where he'll be safe and happy and healthy. It's what the hobbit needs. Bofur pats his friend on the shoulder.

“I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do.”

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Thorin is pacing within the walls of Erebor and Bofur feels like he is trapped in a cage with a panther that could lash out at any moment. Or maybe it's more like being around a dragon.

The king is hoarding Bilbo. Bofur is as sure that the king is trying to hoard him as he is the huge mountain of gold they are all sitting on. Thorin rarely leaves Bilbo's side, whispers to Bilbo in dark corners. Shoots glares at everyone.

The halfling weathers it but he often looks uncomfortable.

They are all uncomfortable. Thorin's flaws have been completely magnified until they are distorted, twisted versions of what they once were—simply flaws, as any dwarf would have. Now they are dangerous things and Bofur isn't sure that one of them wouldn't die if they opposed him.

He can never get near enough to Bilbo to speak to him. He fears for all of them, but he fears for the little burglar the most.

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He catches Bilbo trying to escape.

“You should be inside, out of the wind,” he says, thinking he doesn't want the burglar to catch a cold. The thought seems incredibly silly given they are on the brink of war, but he can't help but voice it.

“No, I'm just...getting some air,” says Bilbo, looking rather nervous. “The place stinks of dragon.”

Bofur gives him a knowing look and the corners of his moustache twitch in an involuntary smile.

“No one could blame a soul for wishing themselves elsewhere,” says the dwarf.

Bilbo does a double take at him and Bofur looks up at the stars. “Must be near midnight! Bombur's got the next watch. It'll take a bit to wake him.”

He starts walking down the stairs to the hall.

“Bofur!”

He turns and looks at Bilbo.

“I will see you in the morning,” says the hobbit, who looks as if he's beating back tears.

“Goodbye, Bilbo,” Bofur manages to say with the steadiest voice he can muster.

He turns away again, giving the burglar his chance to escape, and he realizes in that sharp, clear moment that he has freed something he wanted to keep so very badly.

He reaches the room he shares with his brother and nudges him awake. When Bombur leaves to take up his post, Bofur curls up in bed, still covered in armour. There's no point in taking it off. They all might die tomorrow. At least Bilbo would be safe though. At least he will have gotten away. Bofur falls into a restless sleep. He dreams of shiny beetles that melt away into gold coins.

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On any other morning, Bofur would have been delighted to see the hobbit. Instead he feels terrified as Thorin threatens to throw the halfling onto the rocks below. He's about to rush towards the king when Gandalf's thundering voice saves the day.

Bofur quickly bundles up the hobbit as Thorin shoves him to one side. He feels too much at once. Fear, elation that Bilbo is alive, anger that he didn't stay away, and the crushing knowledge that this is going to be the third time he has to say goodbye to the hobbit, for there is no other option.

Instead all he manages is “I'm sorry...go.” The words feel inadequate but there all he can manage. He wishes he could nurse his heartache, but war has been declared and there is no time.

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The fourth time he says goodbye to Bilbo, he feels he has no right to say anything to the halfling. Bilbo has watched three of his friends die on the battlefield. The rest of them were lucky enough to come out physically unscathed. He feels guilty that the hobbit came on this quest in the first place. He feels guilty that Bilbo has been through so much for them. He now owns 1/14th of a share of the treasure in the mountain. He's now one of the richest dwarves in Middle Earth and it feels like none of it was worth it because of what it put Bilbo through. None of it was worth the deaths of a king and his sister sons either. He doesn't even want it.

Of course he wants to beg the hobbit not to leave. He wants to hug him, tell him everything that he feels. But he can't. It isn't right. It's not what Bilbo needs. He needs to go home to his cozy hobbit hole and garden and lush green fields. And what Bofur wants isn't as important as what Bilbo needs.

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It is a year later when a letter arrives via raven.

Bofur, now a wealthy dwarf, has used a miniscule portion of his fortune to hire a tutor. While he's now not as literate as he'd like to be, he's making good progress. So are Bifur and Bombur. He'd been reluctant to learn to read, but once he realized he was going to be surrounded by upper class dwarves with better education, he made sure he'd taken steps to ensure he and his family weren't out of their depth.

So he's still unfamiliar with some of the words on paper, but there are some that leap out at him on the page.

Miss you

Need

Lonely

Bâheluh

Bofur's eyes grow wet as he reads the last word.

He rushes off to find Bifur and Bombur. He'll need to tell them why he's leaving.

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It's raining, and the daylight has faded, but Bofur can still make out the shape of Bilbo lying next to him in the dark. Having dwarvish eyesight certainly helps, and he is glad of it.

He runs a thick finger gently over the slope of the sleeping hobbit's back, revelling in the feel of soft skin. Then he gently touches the hobbit's face, carefully rubbing his thumb over Bilbo's cheek. The calming sound of the rain thudding on the roof of the smial and the soft breathing of the little creature next to him make Bofur feel a thousand times more contented than being in a mountain filled with gold and elite dwarrow.

Bilbo shifts in the dim light. “Mmm...Bofur?” he says. “What time is it?”

“Not sure,” says the dwarf truthfully. His eyes never leave Bilbo's face, his hand carefully showing Bilbo how much he adores him by roaming over soft curls and the curve of his ear.

Bilbo giggles, and even in the dark Bofur can tell his face is red and flustered.

“What are you staring at?” Bilbo laughs.

“You,” says Bofur.

And as the former burglar's lips meet his, he laughs happily into Bilbo's mouth in the knowledge that finally, he has found something he wants that he can keep.

[littlebitoffanfic]

Lost and Found

Fandom: The Hobbit Characters: Kili, Fili, Bofur, Nori Relationship: Kili/reader Request: I just found your blog and LOVE IT! I was wondering if you could write a Kili x reader where during battle of the five armies reader is fighting in dale and thinks that Kili, Thorin and Fili are dead so she goes MIA only to be found near where Kili “died” a few months later drunk or just in a bad place and is brought back to Erebor where she is reunited with the company and finds out that Fili and Thorin are fine but Kili is in a coma but eventually wakes up? Just angsty and fluffy You didn’t dare go back to the damn mountains. None of this would have happened if you didn’t set foot in that mountain. The battle was won but you couldn’t celebrate. Not many could. You had lost too much. The orc you had been fighting had cried out in victory, declaring the entire line of Durin dead. He taunted you, snarling how Fili had been the first to die, followed by his brother. Thorin and the pale orc had fallen at each others hands. He told you how he had stuck his sword right through Filis chest before slicing Kilis neck open. There had been so much blood on his sword. In angst, you had only just managed to defeat the orc before dropping to the ground and screaming in pain. You couldn’t bring yourself to go back. Murmurs echoed through the ruins of Dale, confirming what you had heard. You tried to breath, to calm yourself down, but you couldn’t. You were lost and alone. The only person who could have offered you comfort at this moment was dead. You thought of how Kili would run to you, take your tear stained cheeks in his hands and press his forehead against yours. He would have whispered sweet nothings to you, confessions of love and promises to stay by your side till the end. But it was the end. How much time had you wasted? You thought of all the moments you took for granted on this god forsaken trip. When you had slept by his side, ate with him, danced with him, all moments you let fly by you. He had promised you a life after this. You remembered how he had declared his love for you, and that he intended to marry you once this was over. The top of the ruins was rumoured where Kili had fallen. You never went up the top, too scared that the blood might still be there. For days, you couldn’t breath properly, you couldn’t sleep or eat. The locals were getting worried about the girl who was wondering around like a lost ghost. You couldn’t get the battle out of your head. The images of severed heads and bodies without limbs circled your mind. You had seen a horror which you could never un-see. You now understood why Dwalin had been so protective over you. he never wanted you to see such things. Things that haunted your ever waking moment and then tormented your dreams. You also understood why some warriors were driven crazy. Eventually, you turned to alcohol. You just wanted to be numb for a while. Not happy, or content, or even okay, just numb. Within the space of a few hours, you consumed enough alcohol to sustain the company. But it wasn’t enough. You kept drinking until you blacked out. ------------time skip ---------------- Nori and Bofur walked around the ruins on guard. It was late and night had fallen, but many of them stayed up for a while. They were still waiting for all the dwarfs to return to the mountain where they could finally be at home once again. But it was a long journey for the relatively small company, it would be longer for the dwarven people. The people of Lake Town had settled in Dale, but gravitated more towards the side closest to their old home. It meant fishermen and merchants could set up and continue their work with little effect outside the extra distance to travel. Plus, they had lost plenty of their own people during the battle. As a result, about half of Dale was left empty. they were about to circle back when they heard a hiccup and clink and froze. Soft sobs where heard in the air faintly, making the two dwarves look at each other. Nori was relieved that Ori had declined to come on this patrol, because he would have probably cried out in fear. Not that anyone would blame him. This area had seen a lot of blood in a short amount of time. The possibility that a ghost had decided to stay wasn’t to be scoff at. another whimper and sob made their eyes widen. “[y/n]?” Bofur breathed, looking to Nori as if to confirm who he thought it might be. You had been missing for months. At first, they feared you had died in battle, but your body was never found. A few days after, Dori had heard some of the humans speaking about a girl who looked like you. But they never found you. Nori listened again and, upon hearing another sob, nodded. It had to be you. he had only heard you cry like this once in the entire time he had known you, and that was when you had cut yourself badly and were whimpering while Oin and Gloin had seen to your wound. It was a defeated cry, one which reminded him of someone who knew there was no point in crying but is unable to stop. “Where?” Nori twisted on the spot, his eyes darting for where the sound was coming from. The ruins were dark with barley any light outside of their torches which flickered because of the wind that ran around the broken walls and made soft whistling noises. Another sob, and both their attentions turned towards an upper part. The sound of a glass bottle rolling on stone floors was more of a guide that the intermittent sobs. Bofur was quick to go to the stairs, thankful they still seemed intact. The top area was dark, but the sobs guided them to a corner where you were. Huddled up, cold and alone, you were so far gone you didn’t even notice the light illuminate the area around you. you were lost in yourself, buried under layers and layers of binge drinking and blacking out. One thing Bofur and Nori knew immediately was that this wasn’t you. Not in the normal sense. but that didn’t stop them from feeling overwhelming relief. Whatever was wrong, or had caused you to get in this state, they could help. The entire company had been sick with worry. Bilbo had refused to return to the Shire until you were found. He didn’t like a kind soul like you being lost like this. Lost, it was really the only word to describe you right now. Bofur handed Nori is torch without question before crouching down beside you. “[y/n]?” He spoke in a gentle voice, not wanting to startle you. “Bofur?” you replied, in complete confusion. You knew Bofurs voice, of course, but how long had it been since you had heard it? You couldn’t tell? Maybe only a couple of days, or a week at most. Nori ventured forward, crouching in front of you so they could see you properly. Both dwarves felt sick to their stomachs. You were ill. Very ill. Your eyes were red with dark circles underneath. Your cheeks were hollowed and lacked any colour just like your lips. It was only now that they saw how frail you looked, your body showing signs of weakness. You were shaking from the cold night and your teeth were chattering slightly. “What are you doing here?” Nori asked, knowing you must have only come to this area in the last day or so. He had been up here with Ori the day before to map out the area around Dale. “I cant. I cant.” You shook your head, fresh tears streaming down your face. “Cant go or leave.” You tried to explain but failed. “Come on, we’ll help you.” Bofur moved forward, scooping you into his arms with no issue at all. You were too tired to fight him. “I don’t want to go back into the mountain.” You whimpered, shaking your head. “Why?” Nori walked in front of Bofur as they descended the stairs. “I don’t want to. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for the damn mountain.” You grit your teeth, trying to stop them from chattering so badly. “but we won.” Bofur tried to sooth you, thinking you might be confused. “At what cost?” you breath, drifting in and out of sleep on his shoulder. This sentence made the two stop and look at you before looking to each other. “We need to get her to Gloin for now.” Nori tells Bofur something he already knows but Bofur nods nonetheless. ------------time skip --------------- When you woke, for the first time in god knows how long, you woke in a bed. A proper one, with four posts and curtains drawn as if you were a queen of some sort. The covers and pillow were of the highest quality and they smelt fresh and clean. For a moment, you wondered if you had died curled up in the corner on the roof where Kili must have died. Instantly, that deep pain ripped through your body and you had nothing to stop it. You had hidden from it with alcohol but now you had none. Sitting up, you felt your head spin and your body ache. When you felt that pain, you knew you couldn’t be dead. but, being sober did bring some amount of happiness. Because you could remember who had come and got you. Bofur and Nori. You couldn’t bring yourself to return after your binges and took to wondering the outskirts of the area in a pitiful state. Even thought you knew where you were, you couldn’t be angry at them for bring you here. It was to be their home. In fact, it might already be. You hadn’t seen the dwarven community returning yet, so it hadn’t been long you were missing. Or lost. Lost at the bottom of a bottle, desperately seeking some kind of relief. Perhaps the others would be here. Slipping out from the bed and past the curtains, you were met with a lovely room. It was large and grand, something you weren’t use to at all. A dresser with a vanity stood at one side and the other had various bits of furniture like an armchair and table and chairs. It reminded you of a little cottage. You saw some of your things were lying around the room. Possessions of yours which you had left in with the others things when you went to fight. They had moved them all here. You noticed some of your clothes were outside the wardrobe. Looking around, you made sure no one was around before changing. You were still wearing the same clothes from last night and wanted to feel clean. once changed, you ventured outside of the room. You were more sure than not that Nori and Bofur would tell you off for doing so, but you didn’t recognise this area and you were curious. The high ceilings might have meant Elves, but the dwarven carving in the walls told you otherwise. When the company had first arrived here, you had mainly stayed in the front of the mountain, nearest to the entrance. A few of the older members who remembered their way around these great halls had ventured in but you didn’t want to. as you turned the corner, a voice caught your ear. One that you hadn’t heard in a long, long time. Fili? your breath caught in your throat as you turned towards the voice. It was coming from your right down a corridor. You heard but didn’t listen to what he was saying as you followed it like a child in a trance. He couldn’t be. Then the voice stopped and you heard footsteps coming closer. You froze on the stop as Fili turned the corner, his eyes on the floor. “Fili?” you breathed, your voice higher than normal and breaking. This made him stop as his head snapped up to you. A smile dawned his features when he met your eyes and it broke you. You ran at him, throwing your body against his own and half expecting you to go through him. But he wrapped his arms around you. “we’ve been so worried.” He breathed as he hugged you. you couldn’t speak, instead becoming a blubbering mess. You and Fili were close, and you considered him a brother. He looked out for you and stepped up to protecting you when Kili wasn’t around. “I thought you were dead.” You sobbed onto his shoulder, shaking your head a little. “Dead? Why-?” He pulled back as you pulled away to wipe your tears. “The orc. He said he killed you and Kili. And that the pale orc and Thorin had killed each other.” You voice what had been hissed at you during battle for the first time. “Orcs fight dirty, [y/n]. I thought that would have been the first thing Dwalin taught you.” Fili smiled, wiping your tears away as you stared at him. “Uncle would never let the pale orc win.” “And Kili?” you breath, unable to believe what you were hearing. “He is alive, but he wont wake.” Fili drops your eye contact, showing that ths wasn’t as simple as when you had had to throw water of Kili because he was snoring. “Wont wake?” You repeat the words, not really understand what they meant. “Oin says its nothing to worry about right now. He got hurt and hit his head. Oin says that when his body is ready, he’ll wake.” Fili tries to calm you down again, seeing your eyes watering. “Can I see him?” you ask, understand what Fili meant. Fili nodded and guided you through the halls. He didn’t ask what had happened to you during your absents. He took you to a room which you realised was just along from your own. Inside, lying in the bed, was Kili. He looked peaceful, and healthy. You almost rushed to him for fear he had passed but then you saw his chest rise and fall. you walked past Fili to the chair which was by the bed. Sitting down, since your knees felt like they were about to give in, you reached out and took his hand in your own. His palm was warm, and you could feel his pulse. He was very much alive. “Im sorry.” You breathe to him as tears run down your cheeks again. “I wont leave again.” For the next few weeks, you stayed by Kilis side. You only left when Thorin had come to see you. you had cried when he walked in the room and he comforted you with open arms. The others all came to see you, and it was apparent that your absents had caused them so much worry. but they never questioned you about it. It would seem that they had put two and two together based on what you had told Fili, Bofur and Nori. They didn’t even question your refusal to leave Kilis side, despite a few of them mentioning it might be good for you to look around. but you stayed by his side. One day, you were sitting reading when you saw Kili start to stir. His head moved from side ot side a little and his fingers flexed. Closing the book over, you dropped it to the ground and sat up. Leaning forward, you took his hand in your own. “Kili?” you spoke his name gently, like Bofur had done to you when he had found you. “[y/n]?” He breathed, his eyes fluttering open but wincing at the light. “I had the strangest dream.” “Really? What about?” You moved to sit on the side of the bed, smiling as you had to stop yourself from throwing yourself on him. “I was looking for you but couldn’t find you. we were in a wood somewhere and I could hear you, but couldn’t see you.” He frowns a little. “I think we’ve both been lost for a little while.” You nod, speaking more to yourself than to him. He tries to sit up but you place a hand on his chest. “Oin will need to look you over.” his other hand comes up to rest on top of your own. before you could stop him, he sits up. You were about to scold him when he presses his lips to yours in a soft kiss. One which you hadn’t felt in months. It made your heart jump and your pulse quicken. He reached up and cupped your cheek as you moaned against his lips. You knew you should have ran and told Oin and Gloin, but you couldn’t bring yourself to tear away from the kiss. “When Mother arrives, and everyone is settled, I will marry you.” Kili breathed as he pulled away from the kiss to press his forehead against your own. You couldn’t help but smile. It made everything better. Everything that had been wrong over the last few months came back together. You felt like you had been lost for so long and now you were found again.

[koalas-koalas-everywhere]

Live blogging the Hobbit pt.7

Flies And Spiders

I’ve been looking forward to this one.

“There were black squirrels in the wood. As Bilbo’s sharp inquisitive eyes got used to seeing things he could catch glimpses of them whisking off the path and scuttling behinf tree-trunks.” I should write a fic about this myself, but I think it would be a funny scene to have Bilbo, with his sharper eyesight, mention the squirrels and the dwarves just. Have absolutely no idea what he’s talking about? What squirrels?? Bilbo: … the squirrels. Dwarves: wut. B:The squirrels that run around every once in a while. And him trying to point them out but being unable to because of their speed and their black colour. Eventually, after they’ve been in the woods a while, becoming irritable and kinda muddled and just really freaked out, Bilbo snaps and out of nowhere throws a rock at one of them, only stunning it, but effectively bringing it down. The dwarves are all like, Bilbo wtf, both because it was very sudden and because they didn’t know he had that good of an aim, but he just goes “you see it? you see it? oh thank heavens I was starting to think I was going crazy and just imagining it.” That’s when they decide to try to shoot them and eat them and when they realise… well, I’ll keep it for that bulletpoint.

“Even the dwarves felt it, who were used to tunneling, and lived at times for long whiles without the light of the sun; but the hobbit, who liked holes to make a house in but not to spend summer days in, felt that he was being slowly suffocated.”

Lmao why does he always get the worst of it? Tolkien, I’ll see you in hell.

“They tried shooting the squirrels, and they wasted many arrows before they managed to bring one down on the path. But when they roasted it, it proved horrible to taste, and they shot no more squirrels.”

Here it is, back to the story, they hunt the squirrels, realise they’re gross, and are like, “Bilbo, you’re the most weirdly skillful yet useless person we’ve ever met.”

‘Dori is the strongest, but Fili is the youngest and still has the best sight.” Fili is the what

“All the time he was wondering whether there were spiders in the tree, and how he was going to get down again (except by falling).”

why not

“They did not care tuppence about the butterflies, and ere only made more angry when he told them of the beautiful breeze, which they were too heavy to climb up and feel.” It is kind of tacky, Bilbo

Double fuck, my bookmark fell off and the spine got cracked. This has literally never happened to me before D:<

In theory, leaving a mark that something’s been used and loved is a concept I like. In practice? This is bothering me.

“That night they ate the last scraps and crumbs of food; and next morning when they woke the first thing they noticed was that they were still gnawingly hungry, and the nest thing was that it was raining and that here and there the drip of it was dropping heavily on the forest floor.” I mean, they’ve eaten the last of the food and they’re still hungry — chances are that even if they’d known they were almost out of the woods, they wouldn’t have made it anyway. (So certain authors can stow it.)

“There were many people there, elvish-looking folk, all dressed in green and brown and sitting on sawn rings of the felled trees in a great circle.” Why elvish-looking and not just elves?

“They were lost in a completely lightless dark and they could not even find one another, not for a long time at any rate. After blundering frantically in the gloom, falling over logs, bumping crash into trees, and shouting and calling till they must have waked everything in the forest for miles, at last they managed to gather themselves in a bundle and count themselves by touch.” First off, I want to serve this as an example of and proof that Tolkien, while not going quite so low as to make scatological and fart jokes, used plenty of slapstick comedy. Second, oh my god you guys, that is not the way to find each other in the dark!

“Thorin said: ‘No rushing forward this time! No one is to stir from hiding till I say. I shall send Mr. Baggins alone first to talk to them. They won’t be frightened of him--(‘What about me of them?’ thought Bilbo)-- and any way I hope they won’t do anything nasty to him.’” All praise the fearless and generous leader! 

It reminds me of a fanfic I really like, still in progress, where the fanon dynamic for Bagginshield (and indeed, most common tropes of romance) gets subverted by having Thorin trust and rely on Bilbo to protect him instead of being overprotective. It was started after the first movie but before the others, and I can really see it in the book. (Of course, that probably has something to do with the fact that Tolkien didn’t write it to be romantic.)

“‘They are the best I am likely to get in this beastly place,’ he mutteres, ad he lay down beside the dwarves and tried to go back to sleep and find his dream again.” Dwarf(and hobbit)pile!

“He was deep in thoughts of bacon and eggs and toast and butter when he felt something touch him. Something like a strong sticky string was against his left hand, and when he tried to move he found that his legs were already wrapped in the same stuff, so that when he got up he fell over. 

Then the great spider, who had been busy tying him up while he dozed, came from behind him and came at him.” Almost executed for daydreaming about breakfast in the middle of Mirkwood at night crimes.

“He beat the creature off with his hands--it was trying to poison him to keep him quiet, as small spiders do to flies--until he remembered his sword and drew it out.”

Bilbo: *balls up fists and swings them like cartoon boxer* Let’s do this Shire style!

But also, I want to point out that it says he beat it off not tried to beat it off. That implies success.

Also, I’m kind of freaked out at the implication that that’s a small spider.

“Then it went mad and leaped and danced and flung out its legs in horrible jerks, until he killed it with another stroke; and then he fell down and remembered nothing more for a long while.

There was the usual dim grey light of the forest-day about him when he came to his senses.” Fair.

“Bilbo was a pretty fair shot with a stone, and it did not take him long to find a nice smooth egg-shaped one that fitted his hand cosily. As a boy he used to practise throwing stones at things, until rabbits and squirrels, and even birds, got out of his was as quick as lightning if they saw him stoop; and even grow--up he had still spent a deal of his time at quoits, dart-throwing, shooting at the wand, bowls, ninepins and other quiet games of the aiming and throwing sort--indeed he could do lots of things, besides blowing smoke-rings, asking riddles and cooking, that I haven’t had time to tell you about. There is no time now.” There are so many levels of hilarity here, like

1- Bilbo used to be a fucking menace. And he didn’t quite get over it either!

2- They only ran away when he stooped? This just makes me think that he might have done nice things to make them at least tolerate him otherwise, instead of outright avoiding him or attacking him. Like, “ah, it’s that little boy, who’ll either feed us, he’s so nice and- uh oh he stooped, time to go boys.” Alternatively, it’s genetic memory warning them away from Bilbo. I was thinking maybe it was about all hobbits, but it does say “until they got out of his way”, meaning there was a time when they didn’t.

3- That’s such a hilariously late time in the story to introduce us to the fact that the main character has not only good aim but a strong enough arm to throw a stone right through a giant spider’s web, which would be thicker and probably more durable than the normal variety, already stronger than steel. And then kill the spider on the other side.

4- “Other quiet games of the aiming and throwing sort.” Idk man, other games of the sort, figure it out yourself.

5- I want to know about the other stuff Bilbo can do.

“This is what he sang:

Old fat spider spinning in a tree!

Old fat spider can’t see me!

Attercop! Attercop!

Won’t you stop,

Stop your spinning and look for me?

Old Tomnoddy, all big body.

Old Tomnoddy can’t spy me!

Attercop! Attercop!

Down you drop!

You’ll never catch me up your tree!

Not very good perhaps, but then you must remember that he had to make it up himself, on the spur of a very awkward moment.” Tolkien, shut up, it’s beautiful.

Also, lol, about to be eaten by spiders, how awks.

“Standing now in the middle of the hunting and spinning insects Bilbo plucked up his courage and began a new song.” Bilbo: If I’m gonna die, it’s gonna be as annoyingly as possible.

Honestly, though, this is my favourite song in the book.

“Bilbo’s next job was to loose a dwarf.” Very different from losing a dwarf, which he’s already done x14 (Thorin counts twice, especially considering he hasn’t even realized he’s lost him yet).

“Suddenly Bilbo noticed that some of the spiders had gathered round old Bombur on the floor, and had tied him up again and were dragging him away. He gave a shout and slashed at the spiders in front of him. They quickly gave way, and he scrambled and fell down the tree right into the middle of those on the ground. His little sword was something new in the way of stings for them. How it darted to and fro! It shone with delight as he stabbed at them. Half a dozen were killed before the rest drew off and left Bombur to Bilbo.” Bilbo’s gone berserk.

Also, Sting shone with delight? What a bloodthirsty blade.

“Away behind them now the shouting and singing suddenly stopped.” DUN DUN DUUUUUN

“Things were looking pretty bad again, when suddenly Bilbo reappeared, and charged into the astonished spiders unexpectedly from the side.

‘Go on! Go on!” he shouted. “I will do the stinging!”

And he did. He darted backwards and forwards, slashing at spider-threads, hacking at their legs, and stabbing at their fat bodies if they came too near. The spiders swelled with rage, and spluttered and frothed, and hissed out horrible curses; but they had become mortally afraid of Sting, and dared not come very near, now that it had come back. So curse as they would, their prey moved slowly but steadily away. It was a most terrible business, and seemed to take hours.” Love this part. All very heroic.

“They knew only too well that they would soon all have been dead if it had not been for the hobbit; and they thanked him many times. Some of them even got up and bowed right to the ground before him, though they fell over with the effort, and could not get on their legs again for some time.” I can imagine Bilbo all flustered, going “good. Hope you’ve learned your lesson and won’t be doing that again. Limit yourself to fawning.”

“All of a sudden Dwalin opened an eye, and looked round at them. ‘Where is Thorin?’ he asked.”Lmao, finally!

“They differed from the High Elves of the West, and were more dangerous and less wise.” Feral.

“All this was well known to every dwarf, though Thorin’s family had had nothing to do with the old quarrel I have spoken of. Consequently Thorin was angry at their treatment of him, when they took their spell off and he came to his senses.” Another change done for the movie: Thorin’s family wasn’t involved in the feud.

Also lmao this weapon, a prisoner and all “how dare you”.

I’m not going to talk about the conversation between Thorin and Thranduil bc it’s probably been done to death.

Definitely my favourite chapter this far. Main character’s skills and learned courage begins to show? Check. He uses them in a fight that gives him extra confidence? Check. Heroics mixed with witty commentary and one-liners? Check. Team begins to see them in a new, more positive light? Check. Elves being made fun of and painted as kinda ridiculous? Check. (This one’s very subjective ig.)