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rainydaymiddleearthimagines · 4 years ago

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Destiny Calling: Chapter Six

You watched Boromir with Merry and Pippin, him teaching them to fight. You bit into the Lembas bread smiling. "Two, Three, Four, Five. Good, very good." Boromir instructed the two spirited hobbits. "Move your feet." Aragorn said making you chuckle. "That’s good, Merry." You said, Merry slightly out of breath. "Thanks!" Merry said. You smiled at Pippin as he picked up his blade. Pippin seemed to be the hobbit closest to you, for whatever reason. Sam though, seemed to enjoy your company as well. Well actually, all of the hobbits seemed to like you and Boromir. Gimli though, was about the only one in the fellowship who disliked having you, for whatever reason. "Faster" Boromir instructed.

"Anyone was to ask for my opinion, which I note they’re not, I’d say we were taking the long way round. Gandalf, we could pass through the Mines of Moria. My cousin Balin would give us a royal welcome." Gimli suggested. You tensed up, being aware that the mines of Moria were no longer safe... It was a very dangerous passage. "No Gimli, I would not take the roads through Moria unless I had no other choice." Gandalf said. "Come on. Good." Boromir said to Pippin. He accidentally hit his hand, halting his action. "Are you alright?" you asked. "GET HIM!" Merry yelled. "FOR THE SHIRE!" Pippin yelled before the two hobbits tackled Boromir. You laughed and Aragorn smiled, looking at you.

You felt something, Legolas feeling that same sensation. The feeling of being watched. You stood up, walking over to the edge of the mountain and looking. "What is that?" Sam asked. "Nothing, just a whiff of cloud." Gimli dismissed. "It’s moving fast…against the wind." Boromir observed. "Crebain from Dunland!" You gasped. "HIDE." Aragorn said. "Merry! Frodo!" Boromir called, them hiding with him. You all took cover, out of sight of the spies.

"Spies of Saruman! The passage south is being watched. We must take the Pass of Caradhras." Gandalf said after you all came out from your hiding spots. And so you did, taking the treacherous mountain path. You walked through the snow, having trouble fighting the winds. Frodo fell, rolling back and you turned. "Frodo!" you yelled, rushing over. You helped him lean up, Frodo patting his chest down, looking for the ring. You looked around before seeing Boromir lifted the chain and held it up. He looked at the ring, seeming very mesmerized by it. "Boromir." Aragorn called. "It is a strange fate we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing… such a little thing." he muttered, looking at it. "Boromir, give the ring to Frodo." Aragorn said, watching him. He seemed to snap out of his gaze, looking at Frodo and handing it to him. "As you wish. I care not." He said.

He seemed to not notice how intensely he seemed to be so fixated on the ring or how you and Aragorn both were about to reach for your swords. He ruffled Frodo's hair before walking with the group. You and Aragorn exchanged a look before walking. You all attempted to walk through the pass, everyone with the exception of you and Legolas struggling to walk in the snow. You and Legolas both stopped, hearing a voice. "There is a fell voice on the air." Legolas said. "Its Saruman!" Gandalf yelled. Snow fell, barely missing the group by inches. "He’s trying to bring down the mountain! Gandalf, we must turn back!" Aragorn yelled. "No!" Gandalf responded, trying to press on. "We must get off the mountain! Make for the Gap of Rohan and take the west road to my city!" Boromir suggested. "The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard!" Aragorn yelled, trying to be heard over the winds. "If we cannot pass over a mountain, let us go under it. Let us go through the mines of Moria." Gimli said. You looked to Gandalf, exchanging a look. "Let the Ring Bearer decide." Gandalf said. You looked over at Frodo. "We will go through the mines.." He said. That was the last place you wanted to go.

You kept your thoughts to yourself, walking with the group before stopping. Boromir turned and you stumbled, gripping your head as you fell. Boromir ran over, kneeling to you. "Are you alright Y/n?" He asked. You kept seeing flashes, flashes of a battle. Gandalf falling, some creature made of fire falling with him. "Y/n, are you alright?" Boromir repeated. You looked over at Gandalf. You cannot stop destiny. You knew that. There were plenty of stories that existed that proved that. You slowly stood up. "Yes... I'm fine, sorry for worrying you." you whispered. "What was your vision?" Legolas asked. "I'm not entirely sure." You admitted.

Frodo accidentally slid his foot in the water, you pulling him back. He nodded as a thank you before you both walked over. "Now, let’s see. Ithildin -- it mirrors only starlight and moonlight." Gandalf said, standing in front of the doors. "It reads 'The doors of Durin - Lord of Moria. Speak friend and enter.'" Gandalf read aloud. You rose a brow, looking at it. "Edhellen edro hi ammen! (Gate of the Elves open now for me!)" Gandalf said. Silence. No doors opening. Nothing. You looked at Gandalf confused. "Eldarinwa a lasta quettanya, Fenda Casarinwa! (Gate of Elves listen to my word, Threshold of Dwarves!)" He said. Again... Nothing. You sighed and walked over to Sam and Aragorn." The mines are no place for a pony, even one so brave as Bill." Aragorn said to Sam, taking his reins off. The horse walked off and Sam seemed sad to let it go. "Don't worry Sam, he knows the way home." You said, putting a hand on his shoulder as reassurance. Sam smiled at you. "Can you speak with animals too or is it just nature?" Sam asked curiously. You chuckled. "Very few of us can communicate with animals but there are some who can. I sadly am not one of them." You said. "Interesting." Sam said, waiting for you to say more. You chuckled, sitting on a rock and patting it to indicate he should sit with you as you discussed your abilities. Aragorn smiled before hearing splashes.

Merry and Pippin were skipping stones, Aragorn stopping them. "Do not disturb the water." He said. "Oh, it’s useless!" Gandalf grunted in frustration. Frodo stood up, walking to the door and looking at it. "It’s a riddle. Speak 'friend' and enter. What’s the Elvish word for friend?" Frodo asked you. "Mellon." You answered. The doors opened and you jumped before smiling. "Your mind is nearly as sharp as your blade Frodo." you said with a chuckle. He smiled before Gimli spoke. "Soon master elf you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the dwarves. Roaring fires, malt beer, ripe meat off the bone. This, my friend, is the home of my cousin Balin. And they call it a mine. A mine!" Gimli walked into the area and you kept close to Aragorn, listening to the stones within the walls. You frowned and looked at the area. "What's wrong?" Boromir asked. "This is no mine... This is a tomb." you said, everyone looking at you. Gimli looked down, seeing skeletal remains of dwarves. "NO!" Gimli gasped. Legolas picked up an arrow from one of the corpses before tossing it. "Goblins." He said. "We make for the Gap of Rohan, we never should've come here." Boromir said, turning back. The four hobbits stepped back, something in the water behind you stirring. "Get out of here, now!" Boromir said.

Something snatched Frodo's foot, dragging him towards the water. You drew your two swords, Aragorn standing next to you. Sam slammed his sword into the Watcher, forcing it to drop Frodo. It seemed to sink back into the water before the Watcher slammed the other hobbits back, grabbing Frodo again. You leapt forward, holding your blades close to you as you dodged strategically through the Watcher's attacks. Aragorn kept close, countering any attacks directed at you. You and Boromir struck, the main tentacle, forcing it to drop Frodo. You caught him, running to shore with Aragorn, Frodo and Boromir. "Into the Mines!" Gandalf yelled. "Legolas! Aim for his eye! Come on!" Boromir called. Legolas shot an arrow into the Watcher's eye, all of you ran into the mines, slamming the door before a tentacle could grab you. You fell, Aragorn kneeling and holding you close. "Are you alright?" He asked. "Yes, I'm fine. Tripped trying to run from that thing." you breathed. Gandalf lit up his staff, everyone looked up.

"We now have but one choice. We must face the long dark of Moria. Be on your guard. There are older and fouler things than orcs in the deep places of the world." Gandalf warned. You got up, sheathing your swords. "Quietly now. It’s a four-day journey to the other side. Let us hope that our presence may go unnoticed." Gandalf said as you all walked.

The journey seemed very dangerous, Aragorn watching you carefully. He was definitely anxious about any visions you may have considering you had a tendency to fall or stumble. You were on a cliffside, one slip and you could die. Anxiety left him though, when you all stepped out into what appeared to be a room. "I have no memory of this place." Gandalf muttered staring at three different passages. You all ended up sitting around, waiting for Gandalf to remember the way. You felt the sensation of feeling watched again. You paused before turning. Two large eyes watched you. You whispered a question. "What watches us?" So quiet even Aragorn didn't hear. "Gollum" was the answer. You recognized the name.

"Aragorn... The prisoner you took to Mirkwood for questioning. What was its name again?" You asked. He looked at you as you seemed to stare at something. "Gollum. Why?" He asked. "Its here." you said, looking at the creature on a rock. He was watching Frodo with wide eyes. Aragorn stood up, ready to fight but you stopped him. "Do not attack anything here, unless it attacks first." you muttered. He nodded, sitting back down but watching the creature with caution.

You all sat around again once Gollum went out of sight, speaking amongst the group. Aragorn smoked his pipe and you rolled your eyes. "That cannot be good for you." You muttered. "Trying to keep me healthy?" He asked, a grin on his face. You chuckled. "Excuse me if I want you to live a long prosperous life." you said. Gimli rose a brow but said nothing. "If you can speak to nature, why haven't you asked for a way forward?" Boromir asked curiously. "I don't know any routes through here or what's on the other side. I have to be able to ask a question like 'Where is the way to Gondor'. I cannot ask questions like 'Where's the quickest way out' that would probably put us in a dangerous place. Nature is very literal." you explained. Boromir nodded. Your logic seemed very sound and Boromir decided not to press you any further.

"What good are your abilities if you can't provide basic information?" Gimli asked. You looked over. "I can sense danger master Gimli." You said. "As can the other elf." He muttered. You rose a brow looking at him. "I'm sorry, do you have a problem with my presence?" You asked. "what good have you done for this group? You've just been standing next to master Aragorn or with Gandalf." Gimli huffed. "I've been trying to map a safe route for us master Gimli." You said, keeping your cool. Aragorn looked at the dwarf, his eyes warning him that he was treading on thin ice. Gimli sighed. "I just don't see the point in two elves being here." He huffed. "Yet you don't seem to have as strong of an opinion over master Legolas." Pippin noted. "Oh that's ridiculous, I hate them both!" He huffed. You blinked, as did Legolas. "So that's it then? You hate us?" You asked. "Yes." He huffed. "so you know nothing of me yet you choose to hate me?" You asked. "It doesn't matter, you elves all think the same. You're bound to look down on everything anyway!" He said. "All have you know, I don't! I actually agree with some of your opinions." You said. "I have already heard your tale of being raised by that so called 'King Thranduil'! You probably support him-" "He's an ass." You said with no hesitation. Everyone turned to you. "We're no longer in Rivendell so I will speak freely. Thranduil rules with the ego the size of mount doom itself. When I lived in Mirkwood I did not do so willingly and I often felt like a prisoner" you huffed. Boromir rose a brow. "Why were you sent to Mirkwood?" He asked.

You sighed, looking down. "When I was ten I had an experience that should've killed me. It was a troll. Wandered off its path I suppose but I nearly died. My mother was so... Tired... She was exposed to torture years after I was born and she never recovered... She sailed off to the undying lands after me being sent away to Mirkwood." You muttered. Legolas put a soothing hand on your shoulder. He knew you blamed yourself for your mother's choosing to die. It wasn't true, she had made her mind up a long time before you but she stayed because of you. When Elrond wanted to move you away to somewhere safer that was her sign. Her moment to leave. Did it pain Celebrián to leave? By the Valar, yes. Leaving her sons, her daughters and her husband was painful. But living with mental and physical scars that wouldn't leave, staying in a forest that once provided comfort but now provided nightmares was too much.

Gimli felt a ting of guilt. He opened his mouth but closed it. "Was your mother a good woman?" Gimli finally asked. You looked up at him. "She was the kindest woman I knew." You admitted, recalling the gentleness of your mother. You may have been merely ten when she left but she certainly would be something you wouldn't forget. Aragorn had heard you speak of her on occasion, knowing that the necklace you wore was actually your mother's rather than your own. You would fidget with it when you were deep in thought, it being a habit you picked up from your mother as well. Gimli looked at you with a sigh. "I seemed to have misjudged the lass. But I'm still uneasy around the lad." Gimli said. You looked at Legolas confused. "Why?" You asked. "The man steps too quiet, it's not natural." Gimli said. Sam smiled and you laughed, Pippin chuckling with you.

"Oh! It’s that way." Gandalf said, getting up. You stood up, stretching as you did. "He’s remembered!" Merry said happily. "No, but the air doesn’t smell so foul down here. If in doubt, Meriadoc, always follow your nose." Gandalf said making you smile.

You all went through the passage, it being more open than the last. You were surrounded by stone, you could feel it, hear it even. You just couldn't see it. "Let me risk a little more light." Gandalf again, used his staff to light the way, revealing a large hall with stone pillars. You stared in awe at your surroundings. "I take it this is what you meant as a 'royal welcome'?" You asked Gimli. He grunted in response making you sigh. "Behold the great realm and dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf." Gandalf said. "Now there’s an eye opener and no mistake." Sam said. More walking ensued as you stepped forward.

Gimli saw a ray of sunlight in a room, running to it. He expected a warm welcome, perhaps a surprise from one of his relatives. Instead, he was met with a crypt. "No." He whispered. He dropped his axe, falling to his knees in front of the crypt. You ran in stopping at the sight of the dead scattered through the room. "'Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria.' He is dead then. Its as I feared." Gandalf muttered as Gimli grieved. Gandalf handed you his staff, you taking it as he kneeled to one of the corpses and lifted a book. Pippin stepped out of his way, looking at a cobweb filled skeleton. "They have taken the bridge, and the second hall. We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums, drums in the deep." Gandalf read. He turned the page. "We cannot get out. A Shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out…They are coming." He read aloud. Pippin, in a moment of dumb curiosity, poked the skull of the skeleton, knocking it into the well along with a bucket.

Everyone froze, not daring to make a single sound as the skeleton and bucket clattered, echoing through the caverns. Pippin winced and you swallowed, Aragorn pulling you closer to him. After a few moments of silence you all relaxed. "Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!" Gandalf snapped. You frowned, hearing drums and noticing Frodo's sword. "Frodo!" Sam gasped. "Orcs." you breathed. Boromir looked out, arrows missing his face by mere inches. "Get back! Stay close to Gandalf!" Aragorn told the hobbits. He dropped the torch he was holding, assisting Boromir in closing the doors. You heard something that made your heart drop. "They have a cave troll." Boromir said, exasperated by the forces to come. Legolas scrambled for weapons to help blockade the door, you helping him. "Aarrgghhh!!! Let them come! There is one dwarf yet in Moria that still draws breath!" Gimli shouted. They began to break through, Aragorn and Legolas armed with bows, ready to fire.

You lifted a bow from one of the corpses, finding arrows and aiming. "You can use a bow too?" Sam asked. "I had a great trainer." you muttered. "Thank you." Legolas said as you fired at one of the orcs attempting to break through. It clearly hit your target seeing as it howled in pain. "Beautiful face and a good shot, by the valor do you get any better?" Aragorn muttered making you smirk. You fired another arrow before they broke through, tossing the old bow aside and drawing your blades.

Boromir fought, seeing Aragorn protect you. He noticed what everyone seemed to ignore. You were Aragorn's sword, he was your shield. You cut down an orc next to Boromir before hearing the cave troll. "shit." you breathed, Aragorn standing near you. Legolas fired an arrow at it, provoking it even more. Sam narrowly dodged an attack, sliding under it and running out behind it. "THE CHAIN!" You said, the men grabbing the troll's chain and yanking it back before it could attack Sam. It swung, hitting Boromir and slamming him against a wall. Boromir looked up to see an orc ready to kill but watched as someone decapated it from behind. He looked up to see you, pulling him up. "Are you alright?" you asked. He nodded before you ran back into battle. Gimli threw an axe at the troll, jumping off of the tomb before it geared up to strike again, this time Legolas being the one to intervene. The troll swung its chain at Legolas, him ducking and narrowly missing it before it got caught around a column. He ran up the chain, firing an arrow through its head before jumping back down.

Sam slammed a frying pan into the side of an orc's head before three of the hobbits shouted, dodging an attack from the troll. "Frodo!" Aragorn yelled, his eyes surveying the battlegrounds for the young hobbit. You sprinted, seeing him cornered by the troll. Aragorn was slammed into the side of a wall, him watching as Frodo struggled. "ARAGORN!" Frodo called. Well, Aragorn was the saving grace Frodo was expecting. You were the saving grace he got, stabbing the troll with a spear. You noticed the anger in the troll's eyes. "...Fuck." you gasped before you were launched, hitting a wall and being knocked into a stunned state. You could hear the battles raging around you, yet you could not bring yourself to open your eyes.

Aragorn sprinted, trying to make it to you. Frodo defended you, best he could before the troll stabbed a spear through his chest. Frodo froze, letting out a pained gasp before Merry and Pippin tag teamed the troll, jumping on its back and stabbing it. Gimli and Gandalf both attacked, Legolas dealing the final blow. It finally fell, knocking Pippin off as you leaned up. You winced, looking over to see Frodo lying down. No...

You crawled over, the group rushing over as Aragorn sprinted past them, kneeling next to you. You pulled up Frodo, raising a brow as he was still alive. You felt Aragorn put a hand on your shoulder as he watched Frodo take a breath. He coughed and Sam felt instant relief. "He's alive." Sam said, everyone relaxing. "I'm alright. I'm not hurt." He said, looking at you who had blood dripping down your face. "You should be dead! That spear would have skewered a wild boar." Aragorn said. "I think there’s more to this hobbit than meets the eye." Gandalf said. Frodo moved his shirt revealing his mithril armor. You sighed with relief. "Mithril! You are full of surprises Master Baggins." Gimli chuckled. You all heard orcs, everyone exchanging looks of anxiety. "To the bridge of Khazad-dum!" Gandalf said.

You all ran, having very little light. You couldn't tell if the thing dripping down your face was blood from the blunt hit of the troll or if it was sweat from all the running. The answer was scaring Aragorn to no end as he saw a cut on the side of your head, blood trickling down your cheek. He wasn't even aware of the wound on your shoulder that was also bleeding. You all were brought to a screeching halt, the orcs surrounding you all. You all had your weapons drawn, fear coursing through you. Was this it? the vision you had where Boromir met his end? Was this to be your fate as well?

A fiery light appeared, sending the orcs in different directions as they all ran. "What is this new devilry?" Boromir asked. "A Balrog-- a demon of the ancient world. This foe is beyond any of you. Run!" Gandalf yelled. All of you took off again, entering a passageway before stopping at a set of steps. You gripped the back of Pippin's cloak as he narrowly missed falling into a chasm below. Gandalf looked at Aragorn. "Gandalf." He said, confused on what to do. "Lead them on Aragorn. The bridge is near." Gandalf instructed. Aragorn halted. "Do as I say! Swords are no more use here." Gandalf warned. Aragorn nodded, rushing to the group. You all encountered a gap in the stairs. Legolas leapt, landing on the other side. "Gandalf." He beckoned. Gandalf jumped, landing successfully. Aragorn ushered you forward, you jumping to the other side. Boromir took Merry and Pippin, jumping to the other side as Aragorn and Legolas fired arrows at the orcs. Aragorn threw Sam across, Boromir catching him. Aragorn made an attempt to throw Gimli but he stopped him. "Nobody tosses a dwarf." He said before jumping. He nearly fell back but Legolas gripped his beard, yanking him forward. Your heart pounded as the stairs behind Aragorn and Frodo collapsed, making the very small area they had unstable. "Stay there. Hold on. Hang on! Lean forward!" He instructed, Frodo and Aragorn both shifting the balance so they could make the jump.

They both made it, all of you resuming in your run. "Over the bridge! Fly!" Gandalf yelled. Aragorn sprinted with you and the group across a bridge. You ran to the other side, you turning back to see Gandalf standing with his staff. A flash of a vison sparked before your eyes, you gripping Aragorn's arm. The vision was clearer. The fate of this event was very clear to you. Gandalf was going to die.

"You cannot pass!" Gandalf yelled. "GANDALF!" Frodo called. A light came from Gandalf's staff. "I am the servant of the secret fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you! Flame of Udun!" Gandalf yelled. The Balrog geared up, striking its sword down. It shattered, Gandalf standing there. "Go back to the shadow!" He commanded. You put a hand to your mouth, watching in horror the events playing out in front of you. "YOU…SHALL NOT...PASS!!!" He yelled, his voice booming. Gandalf brought his staff down, the Balrog attempting to walk forward but the bridge collapsed, bringing it down. Everyone but you seemed relieved. You knew there was more. You knew there was something about to happen.

The whip of the Balrog wrapped around Gandalf's ankle, bringing him to the edge as he looked at the group. He looked at you, your heart pounding in your ears. "GANDALF!" Frodo screamed, Boromir holding him back from running.

"Fly you fools." Was the last thing any of you heard him say before falling.

#aragorn #aragorn imagine #aragorn x reader #gimli

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editoress · 3 years ago

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5. I’VE GOT RED IN MY LEDGER betrayal | misunderstanding | broken nose Aragorn and Boromir requested by @corellianflyboy

In which I make two very painful Fellowship scenes worse.

Boromir lost his patience. Home was too far away and the Ring was too close to ignore. He had traveled all this way for his country, not for clandestine missions. He was thoroughly caught in thoughts of how much longer he would have to stay away if they kept to their plan, how much Gondor might suffer in his absence, and how much easier and quicker it all could be. But he was denied; Frodo refused him again and again, scrambling stubbornly away. So, Boromir drew his sword.

Perhaps he didn’t mean to hurt the little fellow. Perhaps he would have stopped at menacing him, meaning to frighten him into giving him the Ring. It was a hope Boromir held, that he didn’t then entirely lose himself to greed. He was not thinking of that at the time.

Another sword was drawn. It was a distinctive, metallic sound that no one who had been in battle would soon forget. A voice said, very softly, “That’s enough.” Boromir turned.

Aragorn had never seemed more the true king of Gondor than he did now. His anger had a quiet, piercing quality that cut through even the need for the Ring. His sword was leveled at Boromir, but what struck fear in Boromir was the clear-minded realization that he himself was standing over one of the hobbits with his blade drawn. Frodo was pressed against the trunk of a tree, wide-eyed and clutching the Ring.

With a cry, Boromir flung his sword to the side. It slid over the leaves and came to rest against a root. Boromir watched it rather than face either Aragorn or Frodo. Even so, he saw the fearful slowness with which Frodo stood and the way he clasped his hands near his chest.

“Are you well?” Aragorn asked.

“Yes,” Frodo answered. He did not sound at all relieved, only deeply troubled.

“Go, then.”

He did, and Aragorn remained. Boromir bowed his head, but tattered pride kept his back unbent. That pride repelled him as it never had before.

Aragorn said, “You would even draw your sword against one of us? You agreed to our course. Will you turn against us now?”

“No,” Boromir insisted. He raised a hand to cover his eyes. “Yes, I have. But—I think only of defending Gondor.”

“Frodo does not threaten Gondor,” Aragorn replied with a note of sympathy in his voice.

It struck a cleaner blow than any blade, and Boromir recoiled from it. “This plan threatens Gondor. With the Ring—!” Yet meeting Aragorn’s eyes again was all it took to halt his protest. The idea of the Ring had consumed him, but it was now less present than Aragorn’s weighing judgment. Pride gave way to shame. Boromir fell silent.

“Boromir. Speak. Please.”

“Forgive me,” Boromir said with difficulty. “It… it has tempted me to this. To betray my companions.”

There was movement in the distance. It landed too heavy and came from the wrong direction to be their own. They had faced the noise already, seeing nothing through the thick undergrowth, but a faraway cry froze them both. It was not the cry of one accustomed to combat.

Boromir turned back to Aragorn, hearing hope in that approach. “Let me take up my sword,” he said fervently. “Let me prove now that I can be trusted.” Aragorn did not answer at once, but looked at Boromir and listened to the enemy forces with a pained expression. At the delay, Boromir urged, “My king!”

Aragorn was grim when he said, “Take it, then. I will circle to the camp and join you.” Boromir hastened to obey. Aragorn caught his arm as he passed and said gravely, “Boromir, take care.”

“Do not fear,” said Boromir. “I will make it right.”

#whumptober2021 #yes I'm posting some of these a day early as if it gives me more writing time later #small craftings #lotr

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warrioreowynofrohan · 4 years ago

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Today in Tolkien - January 17th

On the Fellowship’s second full day in Lothlórien, they finally get to take off the blindfolds, reach Cerin Amroth, arrive at Caras Galadhon in the evening, and meet Galadriel and Celeborn.

In the morning they went on again, walking without haste. At noon they halted, and Frodo was aware that they had passed out under the shining Sun. Suddenly he heard the sound of many voices all about him. A marching host of Elves had come up silently.

Yes, even a small army of elves can move so silent that Frodo doesn’t notice them - even with his intendified senses post-Weathertop, and even with the fact of being blindfolded increasing his focus on his hearing. Even hobbits’ move silently ability has nothing on elves.

The elven army report that the orcs pursuing the Fellowship have been largely destroyed and the remainder have retreated towards Moria and are being pursued; that they had seen a strange creature along the banks of the Silverlode [Gollum]; and that Galadriel and Celeborn have said that the Fellowship do not need to be blindfolded.

Also, I may need to correct my earlier statement that Haldir saying, “We have not had dealing with dwarves since the Dark Days,” referred to the Fall of Doriath in the First Age. That’s still a possibility, but not the only one.

[Haldir] removed the bandage first from Gimli’s eyes. “Your pardon!” he said, bowing low. “Look on us now with friendly eyes! Look and be glad, for you are the first dwarf to behold the trees of the Naith of Lórien since Durin’s Day!”

Durin the Deathless (Durin I) was King of Khazad-dûm in the First Age. But Durin VI - the one for which the balrog is named Durin’s Bane - was King of Khazad-dûm in the Third Age 1731-1980, and Appendix B says that in T.A. 1980, the year after the balrog kills Durin: The Dwarves flee from Moria. Many of the Silvan Elves of Lórien flee south. Amroth and Nimrodel are lost. So that, rather than a First Age grievance against an entirely different group of dwarves, may have been what Haldir meant by the Dark Days, and it’s a possibility (though it doesn’t seem likely, given that Celeborn in the Second Age - during the War of the Elves and Sauron - was unwilling to pass through Khazad-dûm even under imminent threat of Sauron) that there was sone friendship between the Elves of Lórien and the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm prior to the awakening of the Balrog.

The Fellowship are beside the mound of Cerin Amroth, covered in yellow elanor and white niphredil, and crowed with the two rings of trees, the outer with white bark and the inner the golden mallorn. In the centre is a high tree that was once the dwelling of Amroth.

Here Aragorn goes into a reverie:

The grim years were removed from the face of Aragorn, and he seemed clothed in white, a young lord tall and fair; and he spoke words in the Elvish tongue to one whom Frodo could not see. Arwen vanimelda, namarië! he said, and then he drew a breath, and returning out his thought he looked at Frodo and smiled. “Here is the heart of Elvendom on earth,” he said, “and here my heart dwells ever, unless there be a light beyond the dark roads that we still must tread, you and I.”

This is where Aragorn and Arwen became engaged 38 years ago (when Aragorn was 49 years old); and it is where, many years later, after Aragorn’s death, Arwen will come to die.

The Fellowship rest all afternoon at Cerin Amroth, and arrive at Caras Galadhon a little after sunset. We can conclude that the elves of Lothlórien are a little bit nocturnal, since typically lazing around all afternoon and then showing up at night isn’t how one goes about meeting monarchs.

The sun was sinking behind the mountains, and the shadows were deepening in the woods, when they went on again...Night came beneath the trees as they walked, and the Elves uncovered their silver lamps. Suddenly they came into the open again and found themselves under a pale evening sky pricked by a few early stars.

The Fellowship come to the hall of Celeborn and Galadriel and speak with them, including of the fall of Gandalf. Gandalf is in fact not dead at this point; he is still fighting the balrog deep beneath Moria.

Galadriel tests the Fellowship to understand whether they are still all determined to go on, even if by turning back they might gain something they greatly desired. Sam tells what he thought of - “a nice little hole with - with a bit of garden of my own,” and the dash in there is indicating that he just stopped himself from saying “Rosie Cotton” alound. We know in retrospect that Boromir wanted the Ring. Aragorn likely thought of a peaceful life with Arwen, Frodo of going back to Bag-end and living in peace. I would like to know what Merry and Pippin wanted, as they’re young ‘uns still and don’t seem to have had any concrete plans for their lives.

#tolkien #the lord of the rings #aragorn #aragorn x arwen #arwen #galadriel #gandalf #samwise gamgee #gimli #lothlorien #today in tolkien

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wheres-everyone-going-bingo · 5 years ago

Note

Alright imma just throw a concept out there, good sexy orc/uruk hai reader tops Legolas. I'm just saying, if there were good boi versions 👀

Night Watch

Pairing: Legolas x Uruk Hai Male Reader

Warnings: smut

——————-

The campsite smelt foul, not only did it have the stench of orcs but it was accompanied by the smell of burning flesh of an orc who stood out of place. We had been on the trail of the fellowship for a few weeks now, finally catching up to them when they rested in a clearing in the woods. The party had split up, trying to escape, but our numbers had overpowered them. Now they sat tied to an old oak tree. I wasn’t a stranger to killing, I had done it many times. However I had done it in self defense, I didn’t see the honor in tracking down, and killing a group of people trying to better the world. I wasn’t on board with Sauron’s rule, it sounded like hell.

I stood from my seat on the ground, heading towards where we kept our food. Opening the sack I was greeted with various pieces of bread, and a few stashes of rabbit. I picked out my rations, turning to glance at the fellowship, I tried to remember the last time they had eaten. My mind came up blank. I grabbed a few extra pieces of food, making sure no other orcs saw me.

The elf noticed my approach first, he tensed up, warning the others of my presence. I gave them a smile, trying to be as comforting as possible, but judging by the smallest hobbits reaction, it didn't work.

“What do you want, orc?” The dwarf spat at me, I grimaced at the harshness in his words.

“I uh, just noticed that my tribe hasn’t fed you since your capture” I replied, revealing the food in my hands. They all eyed me with suspicion as I placed the food next to their hands.

“It’s poisoned isn’t it?” The dirtiest looking human asked, obviously not seeing my good intent.

“Look, I know that I’m an orc, it’s obvious. However I would appreciate it if you thought to yourself that maybe all of us aren’t bad. It’s impossible to have an entire race with rational thought, and for all of them to be evil, some of us think for ourselves” I spoke to them, desperately trying to get my point across. They stared at me, watching my every move with caution. I sighed, noticing their stubborn distrust in me. “Fine, I see you don’t trust me, but you either die of ‘poison’ or starvation” I muttered, walking away from the group.

“He does have a fair point” Boromir offered, picking up his food to examine it.

“I’ll try it” Legolas spoke up, willing to put his life on the line for his friends. Legolas brought the bread to his mouth, taking a small bite. Everyone looked at him intently, waiting for him to drop dead or something. He then took another bite, not realising how hungry he was until now.

“It is settled then, we shall eat” Aragorn said, taking a bite of his food. The fellowship watched the strange orc intently for the rest of the night, noting how he kept to himself.

The sun rose along with the orc warriors. However this morning was more chaotic than usual, a fight had broken out among the tribes. The Snaga had gotten out of line and questioned my people, resulting in a massive fight. I made sure to stay hidden, not wanting to get involved in the bloodshed. I noticed a gangly Snaga creeping towards two of the hobbits, licking his lips as he drew his knife.

“Please don’t eat us!” Pippin pleaded, eyes wide at the rusty blade in the orc’s hand

“Yeah! We’re only skin and bone!” Merry added, as the rest of the party struggled against their restraints, trying to save the pair. The orc raised his knife, ready to stab Merry. He let out a horrible squeal as blood rushed from a stump where his hand used to be. Everyone’s eyes turned to me as I held my sword, now stained with the Snaga’s blood.

“You! You cut off my hand!” He snarled in fury, clutching the stump close to his chest.

“Yes, now run away before you lose your head too” I warned, pointing my sword at him, he took the hint and scurried off in fear. “Are you okay?” I asked the hobbit, scanning him with my eyes to make sure he wasn’t wounded.

“I, uh, yes, I think so” He responded, mouth agape. I nodded, kneeling down, bringing out my knife to cut the rope that was tying them to the tree. The rope gave up, falling to the ground in pieces.

“You should go, while everyone is distracted” I advised them, handing them their stuff. The group got to their feet, taking all of their stuff and equipping it. They started to walk away quietly until one of them stopped, turning to me.

“What about you? Surely they’ll kill you” Legolas questioned, worried about my well being

“They most likely will, yes, but I’m okay with that” I smiled at him, walking back towards camp.

“Wait!” I felt a hand on my arm “Come with us? We could use someone of your strength and you know the enemies plan” Legolas pleaded with me, not letting go of my arm

“We are not allowing him to come with us!” Boromir exclaimed, looking shocked at the very idea

“Are you daft, elf? He’s an orc! He’ll kill us” Gimli tried to reason, not forgetting what terrible things orcs had done to his bloodline.

“They don’t want me to come, majority rules” I smiled at the elf, grateful for his concern, however his grip only tightened.

“You do not have to come with us all the way, but please, come with us, come with me” He begged, I sighed, nodding my head, knowing that he was too stubborn and every second more we spent at the camp, would put them in even more danger.

--------------------

It had been a few weeks since that day at the camp. The group, especially the dwarf, did not trust me at all at first but had slowly begun to warm up to me. The hobbits had shown their thankfulness of my rescue by putting together a cheerful song about ‘the orc with a heart of gold’. Although Legolas was not like the other party members. He did not engage in friendly sparring but instead rested his head on my lap when he found it hard to sleep, something about him was different.

I was supposed to be on watch tonight, but the others, besides Legolas and the hobbits, didn’t trust me to watch over their sleeping bodies, so they had Legolas stay up with me. We were discussing beautiful landscapes that we had come across in our travels, he had a lot more examples as Mirkwood was a lot prettier than Mordor.

“I love hearing you talk” I told him “You just have so many good stories, sounds much better than being an orc in Mordor”

“You know when this is all over, you can come live with me in Mirkwood” He offered, I scoffed at the idea

“An orc? In Mirkwood? I’d be killed on the spot”

“I won’t let that happen, I don’t care if my father disowns me and I’m banned from Mirkwood, I’m not going to let you go back to that life” He turned to me, his face dead serious. I grinned to myself, glad that he cared for me. “It’d be great, we could get a house together, I’d introduce you to elven traditions and foods, and we could even share a bed” He said the last bit quieter than the rest.

“You want to share a bed?” I asked, meeting his gaze.

“If you, uh, I mean, if you wanted to” He tumbled over his words, his face heating up.

“I’d like that” I told him, finding his embarrassed state very cute.

“What else would you like?” Legolas pried, leaning closer to my body

“A nice meal, to not be so cold, and avo have ukex wiavh lat” I admitted, saying the last part in orcish. Legolas tilted his head, not understanding orcish.

“What’s that last part mean?”

“avo have ukex wiavh lat translates to ‘to have sex with you’” I looked away, my turn to be embarassed. I heard Legolas chuckle next to me

“You’re not very subtle” He joked “But as long as we’re quiet we don’t have to wait for that” He whispered to me. I smirked, iking where this was going. Legolas crawled onto my lap, steadying himself by putting his hands on my shoulders. He rolled his hips, pressing down on me. I let out a primal snarl as I grabbed onto Legolas’ hips.

I pressed my lips against Legolas’ my tusks getting in the way slightly. I trailed my mouth down Legolas’ neck, biting at his smooth skin with my teeth. He gasped as I found his sensitive spot, quickly biting down on his knuckle, trying to keep quiet. My hands tugged at his pants, desperate to remove them. Legolas lifted himself off of me slightly, pulling his pants down.

I wrapped my rough hand around Legolas’ cock, giving it a few pumps as he bit down on his knuckles harder.

“Oh, please, take your pants off” Legolas breathed in my ear, clawing at my garment. I obeyed his request and tugged my pants down to my ankles.

Legolas put his fingers in his mouth, coating them in saliva. He started to push them in and out of his ass, putting on a show for me.

“I’m ready for you now” He purred in my ear, as he lined himself up with me. I let out a low guttural sound as he pushed himself down on me. He started to move, pushing himself up and down on me over and over. I couldn’t hold in my urge anymore and threw him to the ground, me on top of him.

I growled in his ear, roughly thrusting in and out of Legolas. The biting of his lips and concentration to be quiet displayed his pleasure. I started to growl and make animalistic sounds as I pounded the elf into the dirt. He started to swear in elvish nearing his release.

“Y/N, oh, I’m going to cu-“ he stuttered, losing control of his body’s movements. The feeling of Legolas’ body clenching around me was enough to push me to my orgasm. I came inside him, we pulled away from each other, looking around to make sure we woke no one up.

“Looks like we got away with it” Legolas whispered as we clothed ourselves.

“I’m glad, maybe we could do it again some time?” I offered, leading him back to the rock that we were sitting on.

“Yeah, let's do that” he smiled at me.

#legolas #lotr #lord of the rings #the hobbit #hobbit #x male reader #male reader #fanfic #smut #orc #reader #uruk hai

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dalleyan · 4 years ago

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Storms/Silver Lining (Ch 1 of new LoTR story posted, 10-3-20)

A summer storm triggers unexpected consequences for Eomer. [Complete in total of 4 chapters (0-3).]

This story began as a short one-shot (Storms), but then I ended up writing ‘more’. So, the three chapters of Silver Lining continue the story begun in Storms.

Silver Lining

Chapter 1 (15 August, 3019 III)

His esquire brought Firefoot, and Eomer automatically began his usual routine of checking over horse and saddlery. He knew it had been done already, but it settled him to know for himself that all was well. As he moved around Firefoot to check the girth, he glanced up and caught a glimpse of Lady Lothiriel, standing in front of her tent and brushing out her long, ebony hair.

Though his fingers continued working, without conscious thought on his part, his eyes were fixed on the young woman. She was unaware of his gaze and her movements were unstudied as she finished the brushing, and began to braid the hair in a long single plait down her back. Almost of their own will, his hands twitched with a desire to bury themselves in that lovely silky fall, and the action brought him to himself with a jolt.

He should not be having such thoughts about his friend’s daughter, and certainly not since he knew her so little. True, their conversation at Meduseld on that rainy night after the funeral had almost seemed intimate, but there had been no time to further acquaint himself with her. Guests and pressing matters of the kingdom kept him much occupied, and he very much suspected that it was not just the reasons he had given for joining this expedition, but also a certain lady that caused him to be standing here now. Yes, he did wish to visit the Westfold, and see for himself the situation and what needed doing for his people, and yes he did want to spend just a little more time with his friends before they each departed to their homes, not to be seen again until who knew when. His reasons were perfectly valid, yet…his eyes glanced again in the direction of Lothiriel’s tent, but she had returned inside it. Swallowing hard, he firmly drew his mind back to the present. This was not the time nor place for such things.

Within a half hour, camp was struck and the large party was on their way once more, headed first to Helm’s Deep. How different was this trek to the one made in haste several months before. While the danger of orcs and wargs was not entirely absent, it was greatly diminished, and they were able to move at a more leisurely pace. Much as it had during the funeral march for Theoden, placement on the road conformed to a person’s importance, for the most part. Aragorn led the way, and Eomer rode beside him, along with Gandalf and Imrahil. The Elves tended to keep to themselves, traveling along beside the group of Men, Dwarves and Hobbits, close but not interacting a great deal. Though the Hobbits had been welcome to take a place of honor at the front also, they had preferred to align themselves farther back. Merry and Pippin were animatedly engaged in conversation with various friends they had formed, but Frodo rode in silence, keeping his thoughts to himself. Ever watchful, Sam rode alongside his master, casting concerned looks from the corner of his eye.

Originally, Eomer had intended to invite Imrahil and his family to remain longer at Edoras, but when they voiced their intent to accompany Aragorn to Isengard, and his parting with the Fellowship, Eomer had impulsively chosen to join them. Conversation was minimal among the men leading the way, though Eomer found his thoughts drifting far from his current surroundings. Two things seemed to vie for his attention: where they were headed, and those behind him in the procession.

He could not entirely keep at bay concern over what lay ahead, and his responsibility to contend with it going forward. Most of his life had been spent fighting to defend these lands, but he had never given much thought to the rebuilding process after a battle. As king, he now needed to consider such things, and make wise decisions on behalf of the Eorlingas.

Of a more pleasant nature were his thoughts about Imrahil’s family. That was how he tried to categorize the random notions running through his head – that he was thinking of the entire Dol Amroth group. In truth, his mind lingered longest on the lone female in their midst. He rubbed a weary hand over his face. He was tired. The past months, even the past years, had taken a toll, and he very much wanted nothing more than to go somewhere quiet, and relax under a sunny sky with the company of a beautiful woman. There! He was doing it again – thinking of her. Surely it was only loneliness creeping in because of his tiredness. He had gotten far more rest since the end of the War, but still was not rested, and while Rohan’s woes persisted, he did not think he would be for some time. The company of ladies could not, should not, be a priority in his thoughts.

continue reading on AO3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26741269/chapters/65371375

#Eomer #Lothiriel #eothiriel #Lord of the Rings #LOTR #Aragorn #Legolas #Gimli

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captainkurosolaire · 5 years ago

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Serenade Horizon

[If your destination always brings you to Crescent. Then, I proclaim, to be your Horizon... Every broken ambition, dream, goal held. All the shade you left undiscovered May I represent.]

The perched Throne ridden villainy was confused why this was taking so dreadfully long. The ghost crew surrounding him he'd point a ravishing glinting ringed digit towards the corpse, "Force it out." As his henchmen barked back to the orders. And surrounded the lifeless Captain to claim his new inductee. He'd suddenly, call out, "Halt." As the Captain began twitching in response slowly standing up, lowly. In his own pool of black-blood.

The Treasure King believed this was standard. That it was used to souls not leaving their vessels but becoming enslaved to these plane-lands for Sinners.

He wouldn't be prepared to what came next. Unknowing that the Pithos Box and 'something else' already held entirely over the ownership of the Captain's existence that was overdue this payment.

Painted over the Captain's soul-vessel was his own coal blood it was dried like finery ink. His head hung low, a hand slowly wept over to rub against where former tears fell and left black mascara of sorts.

His eyelids remained closed. The long-hair that stretched over the Captain a few loose unnecessary jet-black strands fell as it shortened each resembling stems of rose-thorns. As the hair became dampened and like shadowy pitch. His pale complexion, his depleted aether seeming voided beyond detection like a faded-phantom.

"Well... stop lollygagging, get over here, now my slave! Or does my crew need to remind ye a place, futile?"

The enforcing swarmed.

A step was taken in the puddle below before stopping in a zombified holding.

Meticulous the head of the feigned Captain rose and with it loosely the lids opened up. To ghoulish moonlit pupils. The pool started to rise like tides and started morphing into a casing of woven, clothing full-bodied chained armor-like sorcery emerged. As a ritualistic metamorphosis had transpired.

The last of the alone.

The Mighty took notice of this sudden change the atmosphere felt more intense. More looming. Around the Island it felt deprived like gloom spores enveloped the area, the air felt heavy and humid.

Hairs stuck up on possessed arms of the gallanted pirate. He didn't voice it but he watched intently and commanded to convincingly persuade the other Sinner's who perished on the Island, to beckon over the Captain to take heed.

Using Stein and Hamachi vindictively to tug at former attachments and emotions to drift a soul to soul.

But the moment they came in range and attempted to touch the shoulders of the Captain to soothe or sway and charm. They'd all shriek out loudly in high-pitched screams as a strange runic summoned an aetherial but physical externally appearing two-handed claymore, in one hand an unfathomable swing slashed across indomitably in a quick-spin and split the Sinners corporal ghastly presences reaping the lower-untrained spirits.

It happened cold, mercilessly. Without a thought, the emotion was meaningless to this entity.

"....Who are you? What are you?" As he stood from his Throne suddenly dumbfounded his eyes propped open.

"..." The dubbed, 'Horizon' Captain. Drew head-first. Not even paying attention in gaze. "I am a choice." "I am the ends of the begins." "I lay restless until rise." "That which is ran from, and ran to, a solution, a crime, a sin, freedom, a release." "Absolutely... nothing."

It spoke in gravel-pitched riddles. Before disappearing and reappearing without even effort an advanced ghost-step something the former Captain did with modifying Shukuchi however, this was more impractical to achieve, supernatural.

It drew directly in-front of the rivaled-king past all his fellowship. And delivered a force-kick that saw the crown drop and fall while the man of the title fell back on his throne clashing with such vibrancy. In the same unrecoverable conjunction, the same claymore from earlier was thrown like a lance piercing him before propelled landing directly in the breasts with execution in mind. As he fell and slumped back and was on his arse.

The new Horizon drew back his attached claymore that held ghostly tethered chains that were nearly unseen.

A half-mask surrounded the mouth as it went silent. The remaining crew still coexisted and ran towards catching up on the events of the exchange. As a slow-turn was drawn to them as they came for their sworn pledge.

A peal of maniacal laughter echoed out into boom. From the prone hollowed-king. Who stood with the wound cleanly through to the other-side with flesh organs showing but a clear-through slit cavity there. As it stitched together and repaired, in regeneration. "How exhilarating! Hold men! This could be fun. However enticing. Finally a flesh-wound but, pity. You lac---"

Enough monologue went on as the harbinger utilizing the former Captain once again closed the gap with his length's blade with the dimension of width ever in favor. Taking to an unavoidable swing again cleanly striking the head of the King but it only draped back to his spine and didn't cut fully off.

The gush of sanguine spilled now in ceremonial payback. Sadistically the King gripped his hanging head and placed it back to correct alignment. "I was going to say, I'm invincible, you have no hope. But, fine be rude and ruin excellence."

The unamused phantom Captain looked with a low-drawn gleam that searched to be calling out, 'Let's test that...'

As now Roger-like 'King' drew a hoisted curved blade with decorative gems installed into sockets of the hilt.

A parley, officially started on the spectrum. An Ultimate Freedom against an Unparalleled Jailer.

Began. [Previous]

#The Stranding Saga #'Horizon Death'#The Supernatural of Piracy #Tales of the Goldbrand #Final Fantasy XIV #Goodbye #Rest to your Peace until I Reclaim #tw: violence #tw:blood #tw: fantasy death #creative writing

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mayansmcx · 5 years ago

Text

Hell Hath No Fury

Hi all! I’ve literally never done creative writing but I’ve been so fixated on finding Mayans fan fic. As an obsessive fan and reader, I’ve read pretty much all of them. So that led me to trying to write my own to try and fill some of the need for more! Deciding whether or not to make this an Angel/Nestor love triangle thing or not. I like messy relationships. Let me know that you think!

————————————————

Working in the Mayors office wasn’t my lifelong aspiration but after working for a Congressman who embodied all that was bad in politics, I couldn’t get away fast enough. That’s what led me here, to Santo Padre. I always knew I wanted to work in politics, but leaving so abruptly from the office in DC, and under the circumstances, it was difficult to find a job in any level of the field where my old boss wouldn’t immediately try and sabotage. Luckily, Santo Padre doesn’t even qualify as a dot on a map and so my former boss had no damn idea I was applying here or the connection I had to get into this office.

Mayor Antonia Pena needed a new Chief of Staff after hers went ghost and never showed up for work again - they still don’t know why he bailed or why he never came to get the stuff from his desk, but apparently his last few months there he started to spiral: drinking all the time, jumpy, bursts of anger... the works. No one was entirely surprised he left, by what I’ve been told.

Its a pretty mundane gig. The town is, for the most part, quiet. The outlaw biker gang, the Mayans, have some weird unspoken arrangement with the cops where they help keep the town as safe as they can on their respective sides of the law.

We never see much of the outlaws, which is why it is weird as shit that the head of the motorcycle gang just walked into our office and requested an urgent meeting with the mayor. Usually I try and field these requests and take the meeting for her, but in this case she wants to meet directly.

“Come on back, the mayor is ready for you Mr.....” I trail off, as I realize I never actually caught his name.

“Just call me Bishop. And this is Taza.” He says, gesturing to the man next to him.

“Nice to meet you Bishop and Taza. My name is Lennon. I’ll be staffing the meeting.” I reply politely.

“Lennon, we were kind of hoping for a private meeting with the Mayor, no offense.” Bishop says, running his hand through his hair, seeming a little tense.

“As the Mayors Chief, it’s my job to staff her. If it makes you feel better, whatever you say in there, I’m going to find out anyway. I’m the cogs that make everything run for this office. I take on the grunt work so she can focus on the big picture. It’s usually easier for me to hear things directly than getting the recap later.” I explain, hoping they understand what it is that I do.

“Ah, so you’re the one who makes shit happen” Taza lets off a quick chuckle.

“More or less.” I give a light laugh, “she makes the decisions, I coordinate it to make it reality. Makes her life easier, and gives me a job.”

I open the door the Mayor’s office and invite them in. Mayor Pena is reviewing paperwork for the newest city council proposal for repairing the sidewalks by the school.

“Hey boss, our drop in is here” I alert her.

She sees our visitors and promptly puts the papers back into their folder before standing up to greet them.

“Bishop it’s so nice to see you again. Or at least I believe it is for now, it depends on what you’re about to discuss” Antonia states, trying to sound relaxed, but the rigidness in her body language is hard to ignore.

Bishop smirks, “Well, you know us, always trying to stay out of your hair. That’s why we feel bad about coming to you. We need a favor.”

Antonia relaxes a little, which I find odd (all things considered). “Well, tell me what I can do for you” she replied confidently.

“One of our guys is locked up in Indio right now. Nothing bad, just a little drunk and disorderly charge after a bar fight. Given the fact that he’s wearing his kutte, they seem to be going a little harder on him.” Bishop explains.

“Ah yes, those damn biker stereotypes foil a nice evening once again!” Antonia says as she plet off a genuine laugh which Taza and Bishop joined in on as well. “We’ll see what we can do. Lennon, I’m going to need you to work this today.” Antonia said as her eyes met mine.

“You got it, boss.” I nodded quickly. “Now gentleman, why don’t we go grab some coffee and you can tell me what it is that we’re working with.” They both stood up and followed me out of the building and across the street to Tino’s Café.

We place get our orders and grab a seat in the back corner.

“Alright Mr. Leader of a motorcycle gang, what’s the situation” I say playfully. Humor and playful banter is my go-to for alleviating any tension. People tend to ease up with a fun-loving approach.

“It’s not a gang, it’s a club. And my official title is president”, Bishop says as firmly as he points to the patch on his chest before he lets off a quick laugh. “Anyways, like I told the Mayor, one of our guys is in lock up in Indio. He drank a little too much and some hedge fund lookin’ kid got mouthy. Shit escalated, a fight broke out. Hedge fund kid cried about the big bad biker and got off, said he wanted to press charges, and then our guy was hauled away.” He states matter-of-factly.

“Ok, that’s not too bad.” I say as I mull over the facts. “What’s his name?” I ask.

“Reyes. Angel Reyes.” Taza, who I now see has a Vice-President patch, answers. “Two of our guys, Coco and EZ were with him. They made it back this morning.”

“Alright, give me a second and I’ll make a call to up there and see what magic I can work” I tell them as I get up and walk outside, not waiting for them to okay my decision.

I google the number to their police department and dial. It rings three times before someone answers.

“Indio Police Department, this is Officer McMann” a monotone voice comes on the line.

“Hi, my name is Lennon Parker and I’m the Chief of Staff for Mayor Antonia Pena here in Santo Padre. I hear you have one of our constituents. Who do I need to speak to about the charges and possible release.” I say in my ‘official and authoritative’ voice.

“No one. He’s staying here. He’s not getting bail given the fact that he’s a member of a known criminal group.” He finishes his statement and immediately hangs up the phone.

I walk back into the coffee shop not bothering to hide my annoyance.

“That idiot hung up on me. Looks like I’m talking a trip to Indio. Can’t hang up on me to my face.” I snap as I grab my purse.

Both men raise their eyebrows and look at each other.

“I like your attitude, kid” Taza tells me. “We’ll send some of our guys with you.”

“It’s fine, I should be okay getting there and back.” I express, a little confused as to why they’d want someone to accompany me.

“Nah, he’s one of ours. And after last night, if Coco and EZ aren’t there to talk shit when he gets out, they’re gonna feel real sad” Taza laughs.

“Can’t deny you guys these simple joys in life. Have them meet me at the office in 20 minutes and we’ll go from there.” I concede.

I stroll back to the Mayor’s office and let Antonia know what’s going on.

“Be smart, Len.” She tells me, “I know how your mouth can get you in trouble.” She tries to laugh it off, but deep down we both know she’s serious.

I’ve only been working for her for six months, but we met each other about a decade ago when I was in a fellowship program and she was working for the City Planner. She was a good bit older than me, but somehow our friendship still clicked. She took on the roll as friend, and surrogate big sister. It’s why I didn’t want the Chief job the first time around. Mixing professional with personal can get messy.

“Oh c’mon Toni, there’s no fun in this if I can’t ruffle some feathers.” I winked at her as I walk out of her office at sound of motorcycles fast approaching.

I walk out to the parking lot and see two men hop off their bikes. One is shorter and lean with long hair and eyes that scream “don’t fuck with me”. His black and white plaid jacket was under his kutte. The other is tall, well built with short hair and a cut off shirt that drew attention to his muscular arms. His kutte wasn’t like the rest, it was less adorned and had a simple “PROSPECT” patch.

Without any pause, I introduce myself. “Hi I’m Lennon, you must be EZ and Coco. Now who is who?”

“Im EZ” the tall one raises his hand. I reach out to shake his hand, which he meets.

“So that makes you Coco.” I say as I move my hand to shake his. He looks at my hand for a second before giving it a quick shake as he nods.

“I assume you all don’t want to ride in my car, so if you want, follow me or meet me there. Whatever you want.” I tell them as I turn around and walk to my car.

“Alright, catch you there” one of them says, I don’t look back to see which one.

I turn the music up in my Audi A4 and start my drive. Getting lost in my thoughts as I strategize every possible path to getting this stranger out of jail.

Almost two hours later, I arrive at the jail. The two bikers are already sitting in the parking lot smoking their cigarettes.

“Took you long enough.” Coco says, not even bothering to make eye contact.

“Well you know, if I try and split lanes like you guys get to, it becomes a car accident.” I retort with no hesitation or care about his coldness. “Let’s go do this thing. Let me do the talking, they’re already holding the whole ‘biker’ thing against him.”

EZ opens his mouth to say something, before realizing there is no logical point he can make to find flaw in what I have just said.

I turn around, and walk up the steps. Throwing my shoulders back, I open the door and walk to the front desk. Quickly checking the name tag of the officer at the desk, I note it’s the same ass I spoke to on the phone. My annoyance from earlier reemerges.

“Hi Officer McMann. My name is Lennon, we spoke earlier. I need you to go get your superior.” I smile sweetly, but my tone reads more menacingly.

“No, he’s busy. If it’s about that biker, I already told you, he’s staying put.” He tells me, completely unphased.

“Oh no, officer. You seem to be mistaken. I did not request to speak to your superior. It was an order.” I say, losing all pretense of fake politeness.

I immediately see someone come out of the office in the back.

“Officer McMann, what seems to be the problem?” The older officer asks.

“This woman would like to speak with you, Chief, regarding the release of biker from their po-dunk down. She works for the Mayor” McMann tells his boss.

“Well it seems like you’ve wasted your time coming down here if you’re trying to get him out” the Chief tells me, the air of superiority he has immediately gets under my skin.

“Well, Chief… Ryan, is it? Chief Ryan, you seem to think this is an exercise in futility because our city is, what did this inept officer say? Po-dunk? I didn’t come down here to try and get Mr. Reyes released, I came here to do it.” My sickly sweet smile now dissipates. “You see, you might think I’m a nobody from a nothing-to-do town, but before I worked for our Mayor, I worked in DC, for a Congressman. You know what’s nice about being a Chief of Staff for a Congressman? All of the connections I made.” The Chiefs face falters and fear starts to creep into his eyes as he realizes he doesn’t have the upper hand in this discussion anymore. “In fact, I have your Senator and Assemblymember here in my contacts. I’m sure you know what they do, right? They help secure your funding. Senator Monroe and Assemblywoman Ruiz are quite fond of me after a bill our offices all worked together, I’m sure they’d love to hear about your prejudicial treatment of one of the Mayor’s constituents. So now, before I have to escalate this - which based on the look of your face is something you don’t want – go release Mr. Reyes and see to it that no charges are filed.” I finish, the confidence and ferocity of my voice is lost on no one.

“But… you see, we’ve already started the paperwork for the case…” the Chief states, clearly rattled.

The falsely sweet smile returns to my face, “I’m sorry, did I stutter?” The smile drops again, “I said release him. Any paperwork you’ve filed sounds like a personal problem. One that you can fix once you release Mr. Reyes.”

Chief Ryan is quiet for a few seconds. “McMann, go get Mr. Reyes and apologize for our mistake” he tells the young officer

“Good call” I tell him as he sulks back to his office.

“Damn girl” Cocos voice calls from behind me, the previous coldness in his tone was gone “that was some good shit. Old boy looked like he saw fuckin’ Jesus for a second.”

“I don’t like being talked down to. Especially not by some old white dude with an ego.” I shrugged.

“You didn’t knock him down a peg, you kicked his ass down the stairs” Coco is replied.

“Look here he comes Angel” EZ says as we look up and see an extremely tall, well built man with a beard getting uncuffed at the end of the hall.

He walks out rubbing his wrists which bear indentations from the handcuffs and are lightly red.

Before they can start to talk shit to him, I jump in.

“Hi Angel. I’m Lennon. The Mayor sent me here as a favor to your president. I wanted to introduce myself before these two start giving you shit” I say as I shake his hand.

“Nice to meet you. And thanks” he says casually.

I walk out of precinct, the three men close behind me.

“Nice job there, genius. You can’t go around punching rich blonde pretty boys and not catch shit.” I hear Coco tell him.

I tune out the rest of their friendly bashing as we get to where we parked.

“So, we have two bikes and a car. Is Angel going to be riding bitch or will his gargantuan ass need to ride with me?” I say, clearly comfortable with the situation at hand which catches them off guard.

“Uh, yeah. That’s good. Still a little hungover from last night so I appreciate it.” Angel tells me as looks back at his friends.

“Alright then Sasquatch, get in.” I jokingly command. “But don’t expect too much quiet.”

“Whatever you say, lady.” He shrugs.

“I’ll see you guys wherever I drop off Floyd Mayweather here.” I tell the two men on their bikes.

“Mayweather? I can read.” Angel tells me, obviously a little taken back by my personality.

“For some reason, I doubt that.” I tell him deadpan before smirking.

I laugh as I slide behind the wheel of my car, “Let’s go Angel. You have two hours with me. Let’s see how much you can handle.”

“Damn little girl. If i would have known they were gonna send a comedian, I might have stayed in jail.” Angel says as he keeps the banter going.

“I like her!” EZ yells to the other guys before he starts up his bike.

“Fuckin’ great” he rolls his eyes, the sarcasm in his voice immediately followed by him shaking his head with a smile. “Lets go!” he chirps as he slides into the passenger seat.

This will be fun.

#mayans #mayans fic #mayans fan fic #mayans fx #ez reyes #angel reyes #coco cruz #nestor oceteva #miguel galindo #soa #sons of anarchy

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thewestmeetingroom · 4 years ago

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The West Meeting Room - Thinking Forward: A Hip Hop History Lesson with Dr. Francesca D’Amico-Cuthbert Transcript

SPEAKERS: Francesca, Jessica, Zoe, Braeden

Jessica: Hello and welcome to The West Meeting Room. We are broadcasting from Hart House and you're listening to CiUT 89.5 FM and we're grateful to be taking up space on Dish With One Spoon Territory. I'm Jessica Rayne, Program Associate at Hart House and I'll be your host for today's show along with my colleague Zoe Dille. Today we'll be discussing all things Hip-hop and social justice with Hip-hop Historian Dr. Francesca D’Amico-Cuthbert. Dr. D'Amico-Cuthbert is currently doing a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Jackman Humanities Institute at U of T. Expanding on her previous research which focused on Hip-hop culture, identity and Anti-Black practices and systems of power. Her current project will explore the history of the music industry, and how it shaped the collective agency of people who are part of the Hip-hop community in Toronto. We are so delighted to engage with Dr. D'Amico-Cuthbert again as part of the Hart House Hip-hop Education program. So please check out harthouse.ca to learn more about the many Hip-hop Education programs and events that we have for this year. You can also follow us on social media @harthouseuoft.

Zoe: Alright, so I want to thank Dr. Francesca D'Amico Cuthbert and I wanted to start out with a few introductory questions and get us all up to speed. So my first question for you is tell us a little bit about what does it mean to be a Jackman Humanities Fellow? And what's your sort of area of research and a little bit about the work that you'll be doing as a Fellow this year at U of T?

Francesca: Sure. So the Jackman Humanities Institute, I was invited for the 2020-2021 cohort to look at their general theme which focuses on collectives. And so a lot of people are thinking about collectives in a variety of ways. But in terms of my work, I was invited as part of a role where we're engaged with the community. And so the community of my choice was the Toronto Hip-hop community. And so I guess a little bit about the research that I'm doing there - At the end, close to the end, of my doctoral project, I started thinking about, you know, how I would like to kind of shift the focus of my research, and where my new interests lied. And I found that I was increasingly interested in the nature of systems of power, and how systemic inequalities have taken shape across various historical periods, particularly in relation to Anti-Black practices in various systems of power. And so my current Postdoctoral project at the institute expands on research that I had already been doing about the Toronto Hip-hop community, which to date had really been focused on the role of Canadian rappers in articulating a very specific set of ways of thinking through Black Canadian-ness, and particularly how rappers engaged complex dialogues about the politics of nationhood, citizenship, and what it meant to belong to Canada and what it meant to be Canadian. And so when I started thinking about how to shift my research interests, I decided that I wanted to explore, in greater depth, the history of the racial economy of Toronto’s music industry, and in particular, how it's shaped the collective agency of people who are part of the Hip-hop community in Toronto. And in particular, what it meant to be a practitioner and to have access to resources and revenue streams and also exposure in the marketplace, which historically, for people who are Hip-hop practitioners in Toronto, it has been a very uneven infrastructural support system for the homegrown set of artists here. And so I'm really interested in thinking through why it is the market looks the way it does and why, in some ways, you know, when we look south of the border, there's a really deep and elaborate and profitable American music industry in relation to Hip-hop. And so you know, some of my major questions are Why does the Canadian market not look the same way when we have great talent, and we've had a long history in Toronto Hip-hop culture dating back to the 70s and 80s.

Zoe: Wow. So that is a whole lot to unpack.

[laughter]

Francesca: Sure, yes.

Zoe: And actually, luckily enough for us, we do have, throughout the course of this interview, we do have a few questions that kind of circle back to some of the themes you brought up, particularly around this kind of dynamics of power, Canadian national identity. And, and just kind of unpacking a little bit this kind of critical, social and racial justice moment that we're at. But to bring it back to the beginning, let's say, you touched on your PhD research... I want to just flip it over to Jessica to kind of sort of ask you to get into a bit of your early years, like maybe pre or during your PhD years,

Jessica: Yeah, Francesca - So I think, you know, we're really so interested in the work that you're doing. Especially as we look at Hip-hop Education, as you know, a way to engage students at Hart House and at U of T. But I wanted to ask you really about that journey, because I think it's very unique and very interesting. So I want to bring it to the beginning and kind of ask you about what was that first introduction to Hip-hop? What was that connection that kind of led you to now pursuing an entire career, an academic career at that? So going through your PhD, getting that PhD, and then also making that career of research around Hip-hop. So you can take it back just to share your journey. What was it that connected you to Hip-hop to make it, you know, kind of like your career calling?

Francesca: Sure. I think there's a couple of things. So interestingly enough, though I consider myself a scholar of Hip-hop, my interest in Black music, and Black music that’s oriented towards social justice, actually began with Janet Jackson. For those of us, you know, not to date myself, but it's my most favorite album,

[laughter]

Zoe: I'm laughing.

Jessica: Yes! My sister’s obsessed with Janet Jackson.

Francesca: I'm obsessed. I think the first time I really got into social justice music by Black artists was with Janet Jackson's 1989 album Rhythm Nation 1814. And at the time I was - so I have an artist background, I think is the first thing that really drew me towards culture. Period. So at the time, I was taking dance lessons. And I remember our dance teacher for the year decided that we were, our end, you know, our final piece for the year would be choreographed to Rhythm Nation. And I remember seeing Janet, you know, on television, on Much Music. And I was enthralled, you know, by her talent, but especially by the lyrics in that album. And I know, I wouldn't learn until much later that Janet was inspired by a lot of the news cycle on CNN, you know, when she was writing that album. Things like school shootings across the country that were happening, but also like a lot of R&B Artists at the time, they were looking at the power of Hip-hop culture. You know, ‘89 is also the same year that Public Enemy released Fight the Power. So there was a lot of social consciousness stirring in Black music in the United States as a whole. But Hip-hop was really a source of interest for artists outside of the genre. And so I think my love of Janet and the social consciousness that was a huge part of that album was also paired with the fact that I remember, you know, watching much music as a child and seeing Maestro Fresh Wes on television. And it, you know, at first I didn't realize he was Canadian. And I think, you know, part of what made him so interesting is that within the Hip-hop aesthetic, he really set himself apart in the way that he was dressed. You know, he was dressed as an orchestra conductor, which I think, again, you know, as a young person, you don't always think about how powerful these images are until you begin to deconstruct them in your older years. But even seeing Maestro in that aesthetic was really powerful because it challenged the aesthetics, the Eurocentric aesthetics I should say, of what we imagined an orchestra director to look like - Or sorry, conductor. And so beyond those early years of being a dancer, I also eventually would become a musician and I would go to art school as a high school student. And so I was really immersed in music and dance and theater. And so once I went to university, I also paired that with a love for history, because I'm a trained historian. And so, once, I had dreams of also being a lawyer. I mean, like every young person, you know, what you hope to be shifts and transforms over time. So I was always interested in social justice and culture. And when I decided to apply for my graduate degree, I really wanted to find a way to marry those passions together. And of course, loving Hip-hop as being a part of the Hip-hop generation. I initially did my master's degree, with a focus on the music that came out of the Civil Rights and Black Power movement. So soul and funk in particular. And once I decided to pursue a PhD, I decided that I wanted my years to be focused on Hip-hop, both in the United States, and I've done some work, obviously, on Canada. And then I increasingly became an interested in Hip-hop Education. So I mean, I think that over time, my interests have shifted ever so slightly, but I've always been consistently interested in thinking about the role of culture in social justice movements.

Zoe: So I have to say, you've made me rethink Janet Jackson in all new ways. And I'll have to go back to Rhythm Nation. I mean, it was great. I remember that video was just killing it back when, you know, Much Music was the thing and MTV and all of that. And, you know, from a choreographical standpoint, like she's amazing and stuff. But I have never really looked at her as a continuum of a kind of social justice movement, you know. So that's interesting. But the other piece I, and this is kind of what you've just said, kind of leads into the next few questions that we have... So you mentioned you're a trained historian and I feel, and I just kind of wrote this, I wrote down that phrase “trained historian” because I feel, in some ways, that is kind of the role and purpose of Hip-hop as well. Like it's a repository of histories and voices and narratives. And so I just thought that was an interesting, parallel. But to go back to a bit about what you just said about Maestro and seeing him and what he challenged for you visually and not even knowing or kind of immediately assuming, or not assuming that he was Canadian. It kind of leads into this question that I have for you, which is how do you feel that Canadian Hip-hop is both part of the overall Hip-hop narrative? And more specifically, how does it inform the Canadian identity? Specifically, if you feel that it does - well, I think you do - but in what ways do you see, you know, those relationships?

Francesca: I think being part of a larger Hip-hop canon - of course, the early pioneers in Toronto were looking south of the border to places like New York City, and thinking about how they were going to contribute to the culture and construct also a unique narrative. If we look at the early generation, the you know, the architects of Toronto Hip-hop, I think that they were trying in their own way to contribute to the culture. So as to be accepted inside of that Hip-hop narrative. And it's not really until we get to, in some ways, the what was called the second generation, you know, of Hip-hop practitioners in Toronto, where we start to see musicians in particular carving out a very unique narrative. So we think about artists like Kardinal Offishall, who on his song Bacardi slang really tries to set apart Toronto, and into some degrees, Canada more broadly - but Toronto specifically from their American counterparts. So as to just suggest that there's something unique happening in Toronto and Hip-hop being very much a trans local art form, meaning that it's connected, you know, these very various local spaces, you know, Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta - all of these places are connected through Hip-hop culture and the pillars of Hip-hop. But they also have very unique stories to tell based on the places that these artists come from. And so, I think that in a lot of ways, while Toronto artists were trying to be a part of that culture by practicing the forms within Hip-hop, whether it be breakdancing or emceeing, or graffiti writing, or DJing, I think they were also trying to find ways where they could represent themselves and their city. You know, claim their city, first off. First, we know Toronto, of course as the Tdot or the T dot O, and later, you know, become “the six” through Hip-hop culture. And so trying to claim that local space, but also trying to articulate their own identity. So within a larger framework of multiculturalism, I think Hip-hop, which in its early days in Toronto had an incredible amount of Caribbean inflections, whether it be the use of instrumentals, or the vocabulary, you know, used in Hip-hop, a Toronto Hip-hop, or the vernacular even.

Zoe: Which is common, sorry to interject but you're just - On that point, I mean, that is really going strong today, because those cultures, Hip-hop and Dancehall have blended. So, almost you know, seamlessly in a lot of ways, right? And you hear, as you say, those particular inflections, or you hear specific words, or you see a lot in here, a lot of patois. You see in here, a lot of Dancehall kind of beats, and it's really interesting to have seen how that has just strengthened, you know, from the early stages that you just referenced up to now where it's completely normalized to have somebody who is not of any kind of Caribbean descent or anything, have some kind of word, some kind of rhythm or be participating or partnering with someone who is from the Dancehall world. It’s completely acceptable now.

Francesca: Right. And I think, of course, you know, it's interesting how so many people who, let's say are the younger generation, or who are not familiar with Toronto, imagine that to be the way Toronto speaks. And I think that's an interesting phenomenon. I think, too, for those of us who teach the history of Hip-hop, or engage in Hip-hop education, there's also a potential danger in that because it tends to erase the contributions of Caribbean Canadian artists and to identify the fact that the inflections are in fact, from, you know, routed through the Caribbean. And it's not - it has come to be known as the way Toronto identifies or, you know, speaks, for example. But I think that if we don't do the work to continually remind people that this is a Caribbean contribution to Canadian Hip-hop identity, I think there's a danger of erasing that unique element of, you know, what really sets us apart from other places in the Hip-hop, you know, globally to say, right? Even though places like New York City have comparable, you know, demographics in terms of having large communities from the Caribbean who have migrated to New York City, there's something unique that's happened here in Toronto, where it becomes the forefront of our Hip-hop culture in a way that I think has not necessarily come to be in the same way in New York City. Even though certainly, you know, we could think about a number of Caribbean American artists. You know, whether they be Phife Dawg, you know, from A Tribe Called Quest or Busta Rhymes. They certainly are, they're, you know, they're in that Hip-hop community, but it hasn't been as much as in the forefront as the collective Toronto community.

Zoe: Interesting. So Jessica, hope you're taking note of that with Drake because...

Francesca: He’s certainly, you know, a controversial character for some folks.

Zoe: Well, yeah, he definitely does exactly what you just said. I mean, he goes to Jamaica a lot, as many artists do and he's collaborated with various artists. And he also has that inflection, he uses that vernacular, etc, etc. Right? And so for the biggest selling artists, not just Canadian, but like worldwide like that, What is that? What does that say? Just to your point, Francesca. So when you meet up with him, Jess, you need to have that conversation.

[laughter]

Jessica: Definitely. I have a lot of questions myself for him.

Zoe: Yeah, I know. But just so so much there again. And you know, just trying to make sure we do justice to all these points that you've brought up - you were you were speaking about Michie Mee earlier and about Maestro and I know you have a lot of love for Eternia as it were. And I wondered if you wanted to just kind of say a few words about who she is? And how, why do you think she's important? How she kind of fits in with the narrative of those, those other artists that you've referenced?

Francesca: I think, you know, one of the reasons, one of the things I find so incredible about Toronto, is the way that female talent has been not just at the onset of Hip-hop culture - you know, we think about artists like Michie Mee, right? You know, she in a lot of ways represents that, you know, the famous Hip-hop recording, Ladies First. You know, the first of our talent is female. Which I think is a unique attribute of our Hip-hop story in Toronto. The fact that the first artists to really gain traction, it was a woman. And that sets us apart from many other Hip-hop spaces. And I think, you know, whether we think about, you know, artists like Michie Mee or Eternia, or you know, more recently, the ladies of The Sorority - Toronto has always been a city where female rappers in particular have been incredibly strong in terms of their contributions, lyrical or otherwise. And they've always been supported. You know, one of the things that I've loved watching as I've interviewed a lot of architects of the Toronto sound has been the way that male rappers really support female rappers in this city. And just watching that camaraderie is a beautiful thing. And, you know, very specifically when I think about an artist like Eternia, I - one of the things that I really appreciate about her and I certainly tried to model in my work as an academic who's a guest, you know, in Black studies and Hip-hop Studies. In particular, is the way she shows a deeper appreciation for the culture. You know, she always gives artists who set the template, Black artists in particular who set the template, she always gives them their respect and their due and I think she's a great representation of what it means to be a guest in the house of Hip-hop. And it's certainly one of the, she's one of the people that I certainly look to in the culture and try to replicate that way of being.

Zoe: Definitely. And, you know, we have to respect people like her and many others and, you know, recognize that we have this incredible talent pool and these incredible voices right in our own backyard, so to speak. And so, given, you know, what you just said there, and all the work that you've done, both your kind of personal journey and now being a fellow at Jackman, why is it you feel that it's important to bring Hip-hop and to bring the areas of research that you're currently involved in into the academic environment? And how do you think that reframes Hip-hop as a culture? Or does it reframe Hip-hop as a culture within the academy?

Francesca: I think, yeah, I absolutely do think that it reframes Hip-hop, both in the academy, but in in the broader cultural conversation. I think, for me, studying Hip-hop is important for a variety of reasons. I think, you know, first and foremost, it's important to think through the way that artists experience systems of power. You know, because oftentimes, when we think about musicians or you know, celebrities more broadly, we see them as people of privilege. In particular, the way that we imagine celebrities. And I think it's important to remember that they too are experiencing systems of power, particularly when they're so visible in the public eye. And so for me, it's been really important to look at Hip-hop culture and think through the ways in which they, the practitioners I should say, have engaged with the culture industry, and how the structures and mechanisms of power within culture industries, whether we're talking about the US or Canada, have supported the art that these practitioners have put forward or fail to support, and have even challenged these artists in terms of their politics and their identities and what that looks like. Because that's often being done in the public eye for us to see. I think in particular, in the Canadian context - and one of the reasons you know, that I've been driven to focus on my upcoming work on the music industry, in particular I think historically, when we think about the academic work about the Black music tradition in Canada, so much of the attention in the literature, whether we're thinking about a discipline like history or other fields, such as you know, communications, or music studies even, there has tended to be a focus on rock music in particular. And I think one of the reasons for that is because it tends to be considered a trope of Canadian-ness in a way that other forms of culture have not. And so, you know, one of the things that I'm interested in, is thinking about Hip-hop culture. And how studying this community and their contributions to Canadian culture more broadly, can tell us a lot more about the history of broadcasting in this country and the protection strategies that have been used to protect a you know, “Canadian culture”, you know, what exactly does that look like? Especially in the strategies that have been implemented by institutions like the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission, which is also known to us as the CRTC. And in particular, strategies, like CanCon, you know. So I'm really trying to think through what CanCon means to the nation. And I think when we look at Black music, in particular in Hip-hop, and Hip-hop especially, what we see is that these protectionist strategies have have failed really to incorporate that important contribution to the country. And they have, those strategies have uniquely affected the work of Black artists and their ability to generate a thriving platform that showcases their artistic contributions.

Zoe: I, I feel like what you said, it just struck a nerve there so much, because we do look at - we are kind of told in many different ways through you know, dominant culture that classical and rock n’ roll are the things that, you know, define what Canadian culture is. And yet, you're so right about Black voices. I would also add Indigenous voices, obviously, to that, and a really interesting and informative, you know, Hip-hop cultural scene within the Indigenous communities. But that both of those communities, what they're talking about is actually, you know, the alternate or the underlying kind of history of all of Canada, right?

Francesca: Absolutely.

Zoe: And the one that you don't get in the textbook. And the one that now at this particular moment in time, there's a lot of push back on like, whose stories are being told? What truths and you know? And just yeah, it's just really interesting to look at it through the prism of like, Ken Coleman, and through the prism of like CanCon and what culture is promoted and what isn't and what's excluded.

Francesca: And I think too, you know, what we also need to remember, that’s not specific necessarily to any type of geography, but it's that Hip-hop culture as a whole - and, you know, I look primarily at Rap music - but Hip-hop as a whole is a way to create and project forward a counter narrative. And so, you know, in my early dissertation work, when I was completing my doctorate, I was very interested in thinking through what is the story that Hip-hop tells us about the United States, because my early work was on the US. And when we look at Hip-hop, we start to see the nation in very different ways. We start to see systems of power in different ways because Hip-hop is a story of people who are disempowered at very many intersections, whether we're talking about race, class, gender, sexuality, you know, different geographical spaces. And so I think if we incorporate the stories of Hip-hop into larger narratives about broadcasting history, or the Canadian culture industry, what we are going to see are these stories that are exacerbated by different forms of oppression. You know, it's one of the reasons why, you know, in the last month or so we've seen the introduction of groups such as Advance, which is a Black music collective that is trying to address a number of Anti-Black, systemic issues that are in the music industry. And so when we archive the stories of Hip-hop in the broader Canadian culture industry, we will be able to see that this isn't just part of the present or the contemporary moment. This has a historical trajectory dating back, you know, in the Canadian culture industry for many decades. And so I think it's important to do that work because so often when we're talking about systems of power in particular relation to Anti-Blackness, there seems to be this continuing narrative that circulates that these are new instances. When in fact those of us who have been studying and for people who have experienced systemic oppression, they will tell you that this is not new at all. And so doing that archival work is really important, too. Educating the public about the long history of Anti-Black racism in Canada. And the way of course it appears with anti-Indigenous racism in the settler colonial context.

Jessica: I'm just here listening to both you and Zoe go at it.

[laughter]

And I think it's a great conversation. Sorry, but I have all these questions to ask. It all sounds just so amazing. And like, the way you're articulating this. It's just bringing it all to, like home. So, Francesca, the question that I have, in particular is around when you mentioned Eternia and you know, we really respect Eternia as well and love working with her. But you talked about how she, you know, recognizes that she's a guest in the space. And I wanted to talk about the kind of the research that you do and entering a space that you necessarily, you know, are not affiliated with, in a sense of being a musician, or you are a musician, but I mean, Hip-hop artists, or being a part of that kind of experience. So I wanted to ask around, like, how that is for you and your position, and the powers that you hold as an academic and being, you know, visibly white, highly educated? How is it for you to navigate these spaces, build trust, and negotiate these relationships to tell the stories of the people that you are interacting with?

Francesca: That's a great question. I think - so when I began doing my doctoral research, which was primarily focused on the ways in which rappers articulated their identities. So not just being musicians, of course, but also, you know, my full focus of my research was really on Black rappers in particular, and those who identified with urban spaces and working class identities in particular, and working poor identities. And so one of the ways in which I try to address, you know, the fact of course that I am not American, you know, first and foremost - I, as a visibly white person, I do not share the Black experience, you know, certainly not the Black American experience. And so, I think one of the most important things to do as a researcher who may be an insider, in some ways - you know, the fact that I'm a musician - but you know, I am an outsider in a lot of other ways. And so one of the important ways to rectify or address this head on for me was to always center the voices of the artist. And so their voices, whether it was in interviews, whether it was in the music, whether it was in various other archival sources, was to put their voices front and center and to recognize that as an academic, you are also always collaborating. You, as a historian, I should say, you're always collaborating with those in your study. And so I wanted to center their voices. But I also wanted to do a lot of listening. And I think in general, that's how we can move beyond, you know, outside of the Academy. I think that's one of the important elements of being part of any social movement. You know you have to know when to speak, and you have to know when to sit down and listen. And so a lot of my work, of course, centers around recordings, and I had to do a lot of listening. I spent a year and a half just doing archival work, listening to records between you know, the mid 1970s through to the mid 1990s. And just listening to what the artists were saying, what were their central concerns? How are they articulating themselves? What exactly were they articulating? You know, what were the social and political ideologies that emerged from that work? And what I found was that through their voices, rappers were using culture and Hip-hop culture, in particular, as a politically useful battleground to unmask persistent forms of coloniality in the afterlife of American slavery. And so I wanted to think about Hip-hop culture, not just in the moment of the late 20th century, but I wanted to think about how these artists were part of a long Black music tradition that connected back to the period of enslavement because I saw that there were patterns that were beginning to emerge, in terms of what they were saying, and how their commentary was connected to the commentary of their musical predecessors. And what I found was that as rappers began to embolden their consciousness in a variety of formats, whether it was about class and capitalism, or gender representation, or the life that they were experiencing as a racialized person in the United States - I found that Rap became a place where they were able as artists to transform dispositions of power by narrating to the American public through Rap music, in particular, that Blackness in the United States had been continuously framed in discourse as terrifying. Even while at the same time, Black people and Black communities broadly, were continuously subjected to not just racism, I, you know, in my work, I call it Anti-Black terrorism in the form of things such as police brutality, or vigilante violence that is enacted, you know, in communities, for example, between neighbors, as you know, as an example. And so in my work, I looked at how Rap music became a form of expression where Black artists who, you know, were not politicians, and you know, capital P politics, but where they can vocalize their demands about any number of issues, but also rupture dehumanizing discourses that had existed of Blackness prior to the late 20th century. And not just in that contemporary moment. And also, in doing so, reveal abuse of systems of power, and ultimately undermine prevalent myths that existed in the late 20th century about America being a nation that is colorblind - which, of course, you know, being that we're in the 21st century we know has continued, in terms of a practice. And so in my work, I begin by looking at how Hip-hop culture was initially constituted in terms of race, gender, and class identities. And then I proceed to think about how Hip-hop fared once local, state and federal governments responded to the various critiques that were coming out of Hip-hop culture, whether it was their reflections on mass incarceration and the war on drugs, or other issues, such as Anti-Black policing practices, strategies used in electoral politics, the way that the education system is shaped and how it impacts young Black people. And of course, capitalism and what impact it has in terms of the way that urban spaces are constituted, and the experiences of being poor in particular.

Jessica: Wow. So what what I'm hearing is like, yeah, it's really a collaborative and reflective process with researching and working with the artists that are included in this research, and what comes out of it. I wanted to also just ask, and, you know, when you're doing this, what is the hope out of the research? Is that like established at the beginning with those that you collaborate with, or those who are part of doing this research what the hope of whatever is being created, what it's for, or what will come out of it?

Francesca: I think that changes over the course of your research. You certainly have ideas about what you're hoping to achieve. But I think you know, primarily as a historian, we use the archive, you know, the power of the archive. And for me, part of my work also challenges the notion of the archives. Because in a lot of ways, the archive is shaped by colonial thinking and practices. And I wanted to think beyond the archive, beyond these institutional spaces that I think a lot of times, don't properly capture the voices of everyone in any given society. And so for me, I was using items that have yet to be archived, in part, because I'm doing a living history. So whether it was interviewing the actual artists, listening to their music, watching recorded performances, you know, reading their liner notes. I watched a lot of congressional hearings, you know, because I was thinking about the way that Rap was taken up at different levels of government. I think that over the course of my research, my hopes for the project changed in important ways. But I think once I reached the end point of the doctoral process, for me, there were really three things that I hoped people would take away from the research, I think. First, it was really important for me to highlight, through my work, the role of culture in the lives of young people because I think oftentimes, we forget that Hip-hop, the architects of Hip-hop, were teenagers. They were kids. And so one of the takeaway points is that Hip-hop became a powerful tool for young people who often in society, we tend not to listen to young people. We tend to discount their thinking, their observations, the way that they're taking the world in. And so for me, I wanted to really respect the knowledge of young people and the ways in which they use Hip-hop to critically analyze and in effect respond to systems of power that were really crushing them in the late 20th century. I think the second thing for me was that I really wanted to create a piece of work that presented nuanced readings of Hip-hop beyond what tends to happen in public discourse - which is that Hip-hop is often characterized as an art form that promotes violence and substance abuse and narrow representations of gender and sexuality. And I really wanted to create a piece that helps readers understand the nuances of Hip-hop. And not just the nuances but to treat the form with respect because I think Hip-hop culture has contributed a tremendous amount, not just to the United States, or to North America, but globally as well. And I think the third and perhaps for me, the most important point that I wanted to come across in my work was that I wanted people who are reading to understand is that rappers are knowledge producers. They are public intellectuals and they are entrepreneurs. And I think throughout the history of Hip-hop culture, whether we're talking about in the United States or elsewhere, these young people have time and time again demonstrated to the public their acute ability to think critically about the world that they inhabit. They have the ability to contextualize their experiences within much longer histories of race and power in particular. And I think in a lot of ways, Hip-hop offers us, not of course in all forms of Hip-hop, but certainly in a number of forms of Hip-hop or sub genres, it offers us a way to think forward about the societies that we live in and strategies that we can use to unravel, and when Hip-hop is at its very best, strategies to decolonize our current conditions. And I think that certainly applies to the U.S. as well as in other places across the globe.

Zoe: I think um, that is such a, as we pretty much near the top of the hour here, that is such a kind of beautiful and hopeful message because that was kind of going to be my closing comments, last question to you about what is kind of like the - where is the hope in Hip-hop? And how, what do you think it can aspire to, particularly in this really challenging, you know, moment and when there's a lot of community trauma that is coming up and death and injustice and all kinds of stuff. So I think looking and positioning Canadian Hip-hop, Hip-hop writ large, and the people that are producing it as kind of knowledge keepers and cultural producers, as you just said, is really - it's not something that we often think about. We think about what those kind of, you know, high artistic practices that are from a European perspective that we've been told, like, these are the only things that are of value, right. And so as you said, sort of time and time again, I think Hip-hop has shown that it can produce a more informed and a more true reflection of what is going on and a true a count of history. So there's that kind of counter narrative, but it's also the best teacher about how to continue this decolonizing work.

Francesca: Absolutely. I think especially in the contemporary moment, in terms of a number of our social justice concerns, I think Hip-hop is as much, you know, political commentator, as it is historian and that's why I find it such an interesting form. I think, in the current moment, with all that we're facing, Hip-hop, at least as I've seen, you know, when I've been looking at some of the musical contributions across 20, you know, the year 2020 – I've really been thinking about, you know, what are the benefits that we can draw from Hip-hop? You know, what does it teach us? What can we draw from it, whether we're in the academy or not? Because I think it teaches everyone in unique ways. But for me, you know, some of the things I've been thinking about is that I think one of the things that Hip-hop does is it continuously throughout its history has always connected the contemporary to the historical. You know, this is the way it is, a historian. So if I think about, you know, and I'm going to use some examples in hopes that also it will draw people to listen to these great recordings. But if I think about songs like 8:46 by Mr. Lif, who's associated with Eternia, but Mr. Lif and Stu Bangas - I think about how, you know, obviously, when you look at the title of the song, it's gesturing to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police. But I think what the song also does for listeners is that it historicizes for listeners the ongoing dehumanization, incarceration, and brutalization of Black people in the United States at the hands of police and people in power, and contextualize it within a much longer history of enslavement and segregation. I think also in its function, as a historian, Hip-hop also helps young people who are on the ground, you know, as activists or wherever they find themselves being socially engaged. It also teaches young people and society more broadly, about its connection to a much longer Black liberation struggle. So if we think about a song like Black Thought’s recent release, Thought vs Everybody - he helps listeners think about the different ideologies in Hip-hop and how they're connected to a much longer Black freedom movement, and more broadly, the Black radical tradition. So you know, the song has interspersed speech recordings from people like Marcus Garvey, who led the Pan Africanist movement, Black Panther Huey Newton, other folks like Amiri Baraka of the Black Arts Movement, Khalid Muhammad of the Nation of Islam, or, you know, literary giant, James Baldwin, and even prison abolitionist, Angela Davis, who, of course, has been in the news talking about abolishing the police or certainly cutting back their funding. But also, I think one of the things that Hip-hop has done in this particular moment is contextualize the uniqueness of 2020. So I think about, you know, because there have been many historical moments where we have seen similar instances of police brutality, but society has not always reacted in the way that they have reacted in 2020. So I think about songs like Lockdown by Anderson .Paak. And in that recording he talks a lot about the response of people, you know, protesters who are reacting, of course, to instances of police brutality. But what it means to do that in this unique moment of COVID-19. And I think, you know, one of the things that comes across in the song is that he's saying this is a moment of pause. And it's made people reflect on the brutality of policing in a way probably that they have not done for a long period of time, in terms of different cross sections of people. And they've done so in a way that thinks about Anti-Black policing alongside existing issues such as poverty, unemployment, and health disparities. You know, all of which have been exacerbated by the pandemic. But I think perhaps one of the most hopeful and yet still, you know, classic Hip-hop styles, critical ways of thinking that Hip-hop has continued to introduce to us in 2020 is to think critically about electoral politics and the role that that can play in transforming society, especially as the U.S. moves towards their upcoming federal elections. So I think about, you know, one of my favorite artists at the moment is Locksmith, who some people may not know, but he comes out of California. And so I think about a song like his recent release called Black Holocaust, or even, you know, one of my favorite groups, Public Enemy, who recently released a song called State of the Union. And when I think about these two songs in conversation, I think about how Hip-hop can also help us bring about a call to action to take electoral politics seriously and to consider the role that citizens can play in overturning structures of power. I think so often people think that their voices are not heard, and that there are avenues where their voices can be heard. And so songs like these help us think about the power of the vote, in particular, in the United States to cast out the current occupier, who, you know, who I will not name of the White House. You know, who I think Public Enemy, rightly, you know, frames him as a dictator and a fascist who should be feared in terms of what he has done in the US during the course of his presidency, but also the potentials of what he could do if re-elected to a second term. But what I think about the Locksmith song in particular, I also find it fascinating, you know, that while they're talking about electoral politics and what voting can do, Locksmith also articulates a very real and long standing distrust that racialized communities, not just the United States, but in other places as well, have had in terms of the relationship to the political system. Which he argues have continually failed to respond to the needs and demands of Black people. And so while he's certainly talking about electoral politics, he's also asking the public to consider the complexities of voting. And to be critical of both sides, you know, if especially in the United States where you know, so much of the conversation is about Republicans and Democrats, or Liberals and Conservatives. And he's certainly asking people to be critical, even of the Liberals, and especially Neo-liberals, who in a political campaign all tend to mobilize race in the conversation, in part to generate or recruit voters to the fold. And so he asks people to even think critically about whether those intentions are genuine or disingenuous. And to use that knowledge to press the candidates to speak to them in a genuine way. And ask them about what they need, and then to mobilize in that way to do that work for the communities that are putting them in office. So I think in 2020, Hip-hop is doing a lot of things for us. It's not just helping us learn about the contemporary. But it's also reminding us that this is a cyclical and continuous pattern, you know. The things that we're seeing before us, and that we need to always be critical, we need to question the society we're living in. And a lot of that involves taking pause and being reflective, which I think happens so often in the context of Hip-hop culture. And one of the reasons that as someone who loves Hip-hop and Rap music in particular, I'm so grateful for the artists that do that work.

Zoe: I know in our last, one of our last conversations, you and I and Jessica had, we were talking a bit about basketball and the Vince Carter effect and Hip-hop and what the kind of convergence of like his rise and basketball and many of the Canadian Hip-hop artists as well as some U.S. artists that all of a sudden started to kind of take note of Toronto at that time. And I'm reminded of that, again, with the work that the NBA is doing around electoral reform, and how vocal they're being about that, the players, not the NBA as an association. But really important that that's one thing that bubbled up and then just another quick thing was just I love how this is obviously a moment for reflection and a moment for pause for all of us. And you're right in that the racial injustices and the murders and police brutality and all of that that has come to light is also being now looked at through the lens of all these other disparities, as you pointed out. You know, class and race and and ethnicity and everything else is being looked at. So it's a, I think, quite a unique moment. And my last comment to what you said was just kind of recognizing that for whatever reason, you know, at this moment, I feel like there is, a lot of people are drawing for a lot of the elder statesman voices of the Black Power movement. And you went through a few like Marcus Garvey. Recently, Angela Davis. Amiri Baraka, et cetera, and James Baldwin, and I think it's great that there is this both in education and a renaissance of those voices for new and like up and coming generations of people that are just kind of trying to understand this space that we’re in. That throw in a Langston Hughes and all kinds of other people that, you know, we could spend all day on those. So but I think it's great that they, they are getting kind of a second look. And it's hard. It's hard. You know, I feel hopeful when I see that, but I also feel very frustrated, because a lot of them are talking about things that were happening in their time, and we're talking about the same things, but on that note, I'll just ask Jess if you have any closing comments, before we wrap up?

Jessica: Francesca, it's always great speaking with you. I think, you know, especially when you were talking about the power of Hip-hop in education, I think there's still a lot more that needs to be done in that regard as legitimising Hip-hop as a, you know, as something in the classroom, as a tool for engagement and self expression. And I think we see that in the work that we're trying to do here, but across the board I know even as a Hip-hop scholar, for yourself, I could assume that there, there's also barriers within that. Just the study of Hip-hop at the academic level in the PhD program, and some of the resistance and barriers there. So I think overall, like just Hip-hop in education is still something to continue to kind of - it's almost like you have to prove it and legitimize it because there's a lot of pushback against it. Thank you for sharing all of these songs that some of them I've never heard of. Yeah, so great conversation. So -

Braeden: Could I ask a question? Is there time? Um, I think when a lot of us think of a historian, we just think of someone who exclusively deals in the past, but who better to look forward than someone who's well versed in the past. And so I'm curious, what are some things that you're seeing or noticing about, or like shifts or trends that are emerging in Hip-hop specifically in Canada?

Francesca: Well, I think one of the songs actually that I was recently listening to is a song by an artist named TOBi, who I believe comes out of Brampton, if I'm correct. And it is a song called 24 Toronto Remix. And it features a number of Canadian artists - Shad, Jazz Cartier, and Haviah Mighty, who I think is one of the most powerful Toronto artists that we have right now. And I think one of the things that this song for me highlights is the shift, not just in Hip-hop, but in the general cultural conversation that we're having in Canada, is that these artists, and of course, you know, Hip-hop has been talking about structural oppression in relation to policing for a very long time, even when we're thinking about our Canadian artists, right? But this song in particular, I think what it does is it reminds the Canadian public, that Anti-Black policing is not merely an American issue. And I think this is a really important shift, especially as we're hearing you know, calls to defund the Toronto Police Services. Because I think so often when we tend to talk about race and oppression, and, you know, various disparities that are impacted, or are an outcome of racial disparities, I think so often we tend to think of that as an American problem, you know, and that we're the good neighbors to the north. That tends to be the prevalent master narrative or discourse. And through recordings like this, I think, Rap artists in particular, challenge the public again to think very critically about the way that Canada constitutes itself, both inside of its borders and projects itself internationally as a country that apparently does not have racial problems. Which, you know, is not true whether we study the history of Canada, or not. So we know this has certainly not been been the case, historically. The fact of the matter is, is that race continues to trouble Canada into the present day. And so these artists, I think, really put that conversation back on the table and force the Canadian public to treat this conversation seriously. And I think, in the Canadian context, this is a really important shift in the cultural conversation, because so often, you know, whether we're talking about in Canadian classrooms or in political discourse, there is a failure to really think critically about the ways that Canada treats racialized populations, whether we're talking about Black communities across the country, or in Indigenous communities as well. And to really think about Canada as a settler colonial nation. And this is the work I think that Canadian Hip-hop artists continue to do so powerfully. And in the larger context of Hip-hop, I think, really presses us to think about how all of these moments are connected to historical practices that continue to cycle moving forward. That said, I think that one of the things that has been so interesting to watch is to see the cross section of people who are coming into the fold. Who are deciding for themselves that they are committed to learning and understanding the issues and to doing something about that. And I think, you know, as an educator, one of the things that I often say to my students is that I don't like to punish people for not being in the conversation. But I do, once they are part of the conversation, I think it's important to honor the stage where every, you know, the stage in which everybody is at. Whether it's taking a class, reading a book, walking in the streets, you know, being part of an organization. However you find yourself involved and committed to the various social justice issues that are of concern to you. I think that as a society, we all have to work in our different lanes. And our contributions as a result will be different. But the more pressure that we collectively put on these systems that have power, the closer we'll get. And of course, it's incremental. That's one of the things that history teaches us - that change is always happening. Sometimes it's at a slower pace than we would like. But these incremental changes are going to move us closer to the world that we want to inhabit, if we're lucky to see that world. And, you know, some days, I'm a little, I'm a little less sure if that will happen in my lifetime. But I certainly know that with continuous work, I hope to leave this world in a better condition than which I arrived in it. And I think that's a goal that we should all be collectively striving towards. Thank you for the question. It was - thank you for all these questions. I'm so happy to spend time with you all. Really. I think that Hart House is doing a lot of great work around Hip-hop in particular and Hip-hop education. And, you know, kind of off of some of the comments, the closing comments that you all made, even though it has for so many people who do Hip-hop studies, it's been a struggle for us to legitimize our work in the academy, I think that we stand on the shoulders of a lot of academics before us. I think about people like Tricia Rose, Mark Anthony Neal, for example, all of whom have done, you know - and even here in Canada, Mark Campbell, Rinaldo Walcott - all of whom have done really important work, to create a space for those of us in these current generations of scholars who are committed to Hip-hop and legitimizing it as the source of knowledge. And you know, and we continue to do the same for people who will follow after us. So I think the path for hip, the path for Hip-hop cities is great. We just have to keep going. And I think the work that you all are doing it at Hart House is really important to legitimizing the study of Hip-hop and the role that it plays in the lives of the students that were committed to the role that it plays in their lives. And what it can teach us in the academy, because I think we can glean so much from Hip-hop, you know, whether it's talking about Rap music, or breakdancing, whatever the form is, there's so much that it gives us and so there's so much more to do. So thank you all for speaking with me today. I appreciate you.

Jessica: Thank you to our guests, Dr. Francesca D'Amico-Cuthbert. Thank you to my co-host Zoe Dille. Thank you Braeden and Day for helping produce the show. And most of all, thanks to you, our listeners. We'd love to hear from you. You can find us on Instagram @harthousestories. You can also find more information around the Hip-hop Education events for the academic year at harthouse.ca or on social media @harthouseuoft. We're here every Saturday at 7am on CiUT 89.5 FM and we post all of our episodes under Hart House Stories on SoundCloud. Our intro outro music was composed by Dan Driscoll. I’m Jessica Rayne signing off as your host for today. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next week.

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birdiethebibliophile · 6 years ago

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{fic} That Old Sweet Feeling (part 22)

Fandom: The Adventure Zone: Commitment Rating: M Chapter Warnings: Mentions of non-consensual medical procedures Relationship: Nadiya Jones/Mary Word Count: 1,448

Here on AO3. Read the rest: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21

Tagging @someone-called-f1nch, @voidfishkid, @mellowstarscape, and @jumpboy-rembrandt!

I’m going to be moving basically this whole week, so I figured I’d post this chapter early. (Also, I wanted to.)

Also, @voidfishkid drew the ABSOLUTE CUTEST picture of Mary Sage winking at Nadiya from last chapter! Go check it out!!!

Chapter Summary: Jonesy breaks some rules. Mary Sage learns the truth. Nadiya makes a decision.

__________________

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Grace said softly. “Why you?”

In the silence that followed, Jonesy clicked to a new slide. Then another, and another. Each showed a photo of a personnel file.

Jamie Meadows.

Addison Parker.

Flanagan Kirmani.

Joe Carbinner.

Grace Perkins.

Scully Vanderbilt.

Paul Potts.

All of the members of the Do-Good Fellowship, their secrets and details and ways to manipulate them laid out on a tidy page in Times New Roman.

“I already told you,” Grace said. “She wanted the best and the brightest.”

Christopher Rembrandt.

“An Olympic athlete she needed to keep close, the son of the people she worked with and who knew what she was up to,” Jonesy paraphrased from the file, leaning over the counter on her forearms. “IT specialist. Ideal for a fighting-type stimplant. Desperate to save his brother’s failing gym.”

Remy looked like he was going to be sick. “Does it say anything about my parents?”

Grace shook her head. “Just that they disappeared right before your Olympic run.”

Remy nodded, tight-lipped, his fingers twitching as they gripped the edge of the table.

Nadiya Jones.

“The brightest scientist of her age, lonely and desperate for validation in the thankless world of academia,” Jonesy continued. Nadiya shifted uncomfortably in her seat, looking at her hands. “The scientist who developed the original stimplant technology. She couldn’t let you walk free – you could’ve developed an antidote, or patented your tech before she had a chance to get her hands on it.”

“She doesn’t own it,” Nadiya snarled. Grace gave her a pitying look.

Irene Baker.

“I know you’ve wondered before why you were hired, Irene,” Grace said. “Jonesy?”

“An overlooked professional brimming with untapped power and an ability to connect with others that would bond Martine’s little group together irrevocably,” Jonesy said quietly. “She may not have known about Kardala, but she knew there was something special about you, Irene. Your bonds are off the chart. Trust me – I had to adjust the blockers this morning to account for it.”

Irene’s face was blank. “Right,” she murmured.

Jonesy hesitated, then clicked to the last slide.

Mary Elizabeth Sage.

Nadiya could feel Mary Sage stiffen beside her.

“Mary, you were the most dangerous of them all,” Grace said. “The one on whom Richard’s plan hinged.” She paused, as if wondering whether she should continue. “The one whose psyche Martine deliberately tampered with. The one who was getting too close with your investigations into parents.”

“What do you mean?” Mary Sage whispered.

“You were right, Mary,” Grace said. “I found this all out after the Fellowship fell… I never would’ve kept it from you. None of us would have.”

“Richard needed you for his broadcast,” Jonesy said. “Everyone has hints of what powers they’ll manifest. They figured out early on what you would be able to do if you were augmented. So… Martine used her influence to get your parents arrested.” She glanced towards the table, then away again. “Just like she presumably made Remy’s disappear.”

Mary Sage let out a small, choked sound like a sob. Without thinking, Nadiya reached out and put an arm around her waist, and Mary Sage leaned into her. She was shaking slightly.

“Martine knew you would do anything for revenge,” Jonesy said, still half-reading off the file displayed on the screen. “She offered you powers to fill that gap, and… there it was.”

“How’re you doing?” Grace asked gently.

“Mary’s okay,” Mary Sage said softly. Nadiya tilted her head to look Mary in the eyes. They weren’t completely clear, but they weren’t glazed, either.

“Good,” Grace said. “Because there’s more.”

“She tried to put a failsafe in your head,” Jonesy said, and closed her eyes for a moment.

“Do you need me to –” Grace started, but Jonesy shook her head.

“Tried?” Mary Sage prompted.

“Tried,” Jonesy repeated, opening her eyes. “From the info Grace and I gathered, she didn’t count on… well, on your already unstable brain chemistry. Instead of making you compliant, the tampering caused your seizures, heightened your depersonalization disorder.”

“This… explains a lot,” Mary Sage said. She took a deep breath and straightened slightly, a determined look on her face. “That was the failsafe, then?”

“More or less.” Jonesy took a breath. “It’s… possible that Martine managed to… code in a way to… stop you, if it came to that.”

“You’re sayin’ it’s possible she can instakill me, then,” Mary Sage said flatly. Nadiya took in a sharp breath. “Well, that just fuckin’ figures, doesn’t it. Ya got a plan?”

“Actually, yes,” Grace said. “Listen. This all may sound… dire. But Martine isn’t perfect. You’ve already thrown her off once. She wasn’t planning on having to go along with Richard’s idea to send the three of you – Irene, Nadiya, and Remy – after you, Mary. Hell, she wasn’t planning on Kardala at all. According to her notes, Irene, it seems like she thought you would just gain power over the weather.” Grace tapped one fingernail, French manicure chipped, against the counter. “What I’m saying is that it isn’t hopeless. A week from tomorrow, according to the news, Martine will be holding a press-conference-cum-gala here in San Francisco.”

“I suspect she’s using the government data bank and archives downtown, which would be a reason she’d be here in San Francisco,” Jonesy puts in.

“In simple terms, I want to infiltrate the party,” Grace said calmly, “and take Martine down by any means possible. Without her, Richard has nothing, and the government will drop the entire thing. They’ll still have the stimplant technology, which, I admit, isn’t great, but they won’t be controlled by Martine. Additionally – and we’ll go into the details of this later – with the help of you, Mary, and you, Remy, we should be able to interrupt the broadcast of the press conference and get our own on there instead, reveal Martine’s plans and completely undermine her credibility. There’s nothing that scares the government more than an inside job. I think we can all agree that’s better than nothing.”

“We have to act quickly,” Jonesy explained, shutting her laptop. “Your story just solidifies that. It’s clear she’s already putting the stimplants into action – look at what happened in Nevada, with the augmented soldier who attacked you. I also can’t keep us hidden forever – we can’t just stay in the building all the time, and someone’s going to figure it out sooner or later, we were on the broadcast. The faster we move, the less likely it is that Martine will figure out our plan.”

“Martine may have Richard and Sylvane with her,” Grace said, starting to sweep plates off the table and pile them in the sink. “Sylvane’s definitely augmented and very dangerous, though I’m sure you all can take him like you did at the ‘Berg. Richard may still be in bad shape. Martine may also have other augmented individuals or soldiers with her, and there’s always the addition of regular police or Secret Service. It’ll be tricky – I’m not denying that.”

“Wait.” Remy looked even sicker than before. “Are you saying we’re gonna kill Martine?”

“If that’s what it takes,” Grace said, and made eye contact with him, holding it for an awkward few seconds before Remy’s eyes dropped. “I need you all to tell me if you’re not in. I know I’m asking a lot. It’ll be dangerous, and I have no way of knowing what the outcome will be, even if we succeed.”

“I’m in,” Mary Sage said instantly. “I wanna make Martine pay, an’ I don’t wanna take the chance of her flippin’ that kill switch, or gettin’ in my head again an’ fucking me up more than I already am.” She paused, and caught a quivering breath. “And I want my parents back,” she added viciously.

“I’m in too,” Pridmore said nervously, then looked to Abbey, who nodded and signed something even Nadiya could recognize as me too.

“You know I’m with you, Gracie,” Jonesy said.

“I’ll help,” Irene said quietly. “I think… I don’t have a choice. If I want to live with myself.”

“I will too. I guess,” Remy said. “But I don’t like it.” He swallowed. “I don’t like any of it, okay?”

“Nadiya?” Grace said.

Nadiya closed her eyes, trying to think. She hated rushing into things, but it didn’t seem like they had much of a choice. She wanted her life back. She wanted her lab, and she wanted ordinariness, and she wanted her dad to drop by and ask about her research, and she wanted her mom to call on the first of the month like she usually did.

And she wanted to stop running.

She opened her eyes.

“I’m in.”

#taz #taz commitment #taz fanfiction #nadiya jones #irene baker #kardala #mary sage #space cadet #christopher rembrandt #remy #the adventure zone #the adventure zone commitment #taz: c #that old sweet feeling #tosf #mine #HERE... TAKE THIS

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middleearth2asgard · 7 years ago

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Burning it Down: Smaug x Reader (New Chapters Only)

The minutes felt like hours and the hours felt like days as you paced back and forth on the balcony, with one eye always fixed towards the east. You and Smaug had watched the army ride away, and eventually you would watch an army return. Whether it would be the one lead by the new King of Gondor, victorious in spite of insurmountable odds, or the one lead by the Lord of Mordor, coming to establish himself as the supreme ruler of Middle-Earth, only time would tell. And time was currently standing still, holding onto its secrets for as long as it could.

The two of you remained silent. Smaug sat, his now dark gray eyes watching you pace, wearing an expression that appeared unnaturally collected, given the circumstances. But inside his mind raced, calculating the odds of success for the various strategies he was concocting. The city was emptied except for women, children, injured soldiers, and old men. If Aragorn's army failed, there was no chance of stopping Sauron's path of destruction. Evacuating would be the only option, but that was a short term solution, buying only a few months at most. If the race of Men failed, there was no one else to defend Middle-Earth. The dwarves would fight, of course, but were they scattered across the earth, unprepared to make one large final stand against Mordor's armies. They would be whittled away, one small fight after another, until the blood of their people was totally spent. His impression of Hobbits, from the few he had encountered, was that they were a hardy breed capable of more than meets the eye. But they were also untrained and wouldn't be a match for Sauron's vicious forces. And the elves...they were leaving Middle-Earth. With the exception of Legolas, Helms Deep had been the last battle the Elves would fight on this land. As for his own species, even if they did not immediately reject him in his now permanent form, they would never offer aid. The dragons would rejoice and openly embrace the new age of darkness, as he himself would have almost a century ago.

For the first time, Smaug wondered if the jewel he had bestowed upon you in Erebor that day had not indeed been a curse in disguise. He had always told himself that he gifted you with unnaturally long life out of pure love, but perhaps it had really been born of his own selfish need. He had always been selfish. If not for him, you could have grown old and perhaps died peacefully in your sleep beside the husband you loved so dearly, as opposed to waiting to be slaughtered.

Yes, Smaug knew how much you still loved Bilbo. Lately he had been understanding your feelings far better than you yourself had. When you told Smaug you loved him, when you kissed him, when you had worried over his injured body, he had never doubted the sincerity of it. You truly loved him, and not as a pet or even as a very dear friend, but as a partner and a mate. But he also knew that it was a love formed in the midst of conflict. In the face of war and death, there had been no planning for the future or dwelling on the past. There had only been the moment. If by some miracle Sauron was defeated, he knew reality would rear its ugly head and the emotional fallout that followed would have to be dealt with.

Smaug's thoughts were interrupted by you bolting past him without saying a word. Quickly looking out to where you had previously been watching, he saw the reason for your hasty departure. An army was approaching, and even from that distance it was obvious that it was no orc army.

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"Excuse me! Please let me through!" you yelled while trying to weave your way through the swarms of people. Apparently all of Minis Tirith's remaining occupants had witnessed the army's return over the horizon. Every parent, wife, sibling, and child of each and every soldier that rode off to battle must have been crowded around the smashed gates of the city, waiting to see if their loved ones were coming back to them alive or dead. Making your way out into the open fields that had been a war zone only mere days ago, you spotted your friends near the front of the column. You counted them off one at a time...Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Gandalf, Merry, Pippin, Eomer...and swelled with joy upon realizing that all of them had survived. As they drew closer, you could see it had been a hard won fight (Legolas had dirt and what appeared to be actual sweat on his face, which in and of itself said it all). It suddenly occurred to you that nowhere among the familiar faces did you see Frodo's piercing blue eyes or Sam's gentle features. They had been gone on their own for so long that at first you hadn't really even thought to look for them among what remained of the fellowship, but if they had survived, why would they not be here now?

Quickly closing what distance remained between you and Gandalf, you ran up and, without greeting any of the victors, yelled out "What about Frodo? And Sam?"

Gandalf replied by simply pointing to the sky. Looking up, you saw two massive eagles, much like the ones you had encountered decades ago, flying to the uppermost level of the city. Without another word, or bothering to wait for the others, you turned and ran back towards the city gates.

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You couldn't take your eyes off his face. He had lost weight since last you saw him, and he seemed older somehow. It wasn't really possible because your time apart had only added up to weeks, not years. Perhaps more mature was the better word for it. The kind of maturity that only comes with carrying such a great responsibility. Even as he lay there unconscious, you knew in your heart that he'd never again be the Frodo that had left the Shire.

Cradling his uninjured hand in yours, you reached up with the other to push his dark curls away from his closed eyes with a mother's touch. You had rushed in to check on both of them, of course, with the healers holding you at bay as long as possible. Dehydrated, malnourished, and physically exhausted had been their official diagnosis. As much as you hated for them to take Sam off alone, you couldn't tear yourself away from Frodo.

So now you sat, all alone on the edge of his bed, watching him closely for any sign of him waking up. In the back of your mind, you were conscious of the fact that you hadn't seen Smaug since you left him behind on the balcony. It was unusual for him to not be close by.

Oh how would you ever explain all of this to Frodo? While he was making his way through the worst land on Middle-Earth in his effort to save the entire world, and his uncle, your husband, had been waiting for you both in Rivendell, growing older with each passing moment, if he hadn't already...you shook your head, banishing those thoughts. Bilbo couldn't be...dead. You couldn't stand to think of it. How could you ever tarnish their honor with what you had done? They had been selfless and pure of heart, while you got all lovey with someone who was practically a stranger.

And Bilbo, how would you ever tell him? All the years you had been married you had always been faithful. Never once tempted...alright, so you hadn't been blind to the fact that other attractive males existed. That's normal in a sixty year relationship.

The fact still remained that you had never wanted or loved anyone but him...until now. And that was the most painful part of all.

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In the hallway outside of Frodo's room sat one lonely chair occupied by one equally lonely former dragon. Smaug had not been derelict in his duty to you. He had positioned himself in a place where he would be close by, if needed, without stepping over the boundary he had drawn for himself. Frodo was a part of your life he had not yet been invited into, and he swore that he would not intrude upon it, especially in a moment such as this.

Resting the back of his head against the wall, with his eyes tightly shut, he desperately tried to make sense of the emotional hurricane taking place in the room behind him. It was a strange mixture of relief, fear, confusion, guilt, and something else he could not quite place. The feeling in question was not an unfamiliar one; he had sensed it within you before. He was just never able to find its meaning.

"I do not envy you your task."

Smaug opened his eyes to see Gandalf standing in front of him, leaning against his staff, wearing a small smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

"Understanding a woman's emotions," the wizard continued, "can be a difficult endeavor. Experiencing them along with her requires a courage beyond that of a mortal man."

"She is conflicted," Smaug said. "I anticipated as much, given recent developments, but there is something present I do not understand." Lowering his voice, he softly added, "I do not know how to help her."

Minutes of complete silence passed between them before Gandalf asked his critical question, the answer to which would determine his course of action.

"Do you ever blame y/n for Bilbo?"

Smaug looked up at Gandalf in surprise.

"It is a reasonable question," Gandalf said. "You gave up your mountain for her, and instead of falling madly in love with you, she married another. Do you resent her for that?"

Smaug dwelled upon the wizard's question. He had always envied Bilbo. And there were times, as illogical as it might sound, that he hated himself for being a dragon, as if that had even been remotely his to control. But he had only ever felt love for you.

"No," he answered. "Y/n deserved happiness with someone who was capable of giving it to her. I would not have kept her from it for anything in this world."

Gandalf watched Smaug for any sign of insincerity while he spoke, and when he found none, let out a small sigh of relief and said, "Neither would Bilbo. That is why I know he will not stand in your way now. Life has not been easy for y/n since I convinced Bilbo to give up the Ring. She knows she will lose him soon, but she will not be able to let go. She will need you more than ever when that time comes. But most importantly, she needs to know that finding hope and love in a new life will not tarnish the past one."

"How do I help her realize that?" Smaug asked.

Crossing the hallway and placing his hand on the doorknob to Frodo's room, Gandalf replied "It is not in your power to do so. There is only one who can." With that, he entered the room, leaving Smaug once again all alone.

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The moment you first saw him start to stir, uncontrollable tears of joy began streaming down your face.

"Frodo? Can you hear me? Please answer me."

He opened those piercing blue eyes you knew so well and smiled faintly up at you before replying, "Just couldn't let me sleep in peace, could you? Is this payback for all those mornings I came in jumping on the bed at daybreak?"

You snatched him up into a hug and squeezed him much harder than you probably should have, given his weak condition.

Behind you, Gandalf chuckled before saying, "If you keep that up the healers will have to come repair a broken rib."

You pulled back and watched the look of shock on Frodo's face when he saw that Gandalf was indeed alive. That is when you remembered that the last Frodo had seen of him was when he fell fighting the beast in Moria.

One by one, the remaining members of the fellowship entered the room to be reunited with their friend. Merry and Pippin quickly launched into telling Frodo all of the grand, exciting things they had seen and done in his absence.

The happy moment, however, was interrupted when Gimli said, "Y/n, you know that fire-breathing boyfriend of yours is-Ow!"

Gimli had been cut short by Legolas elbowing him hard in the shoulder and giving him a harsh enough look to silence even the boldest of dwarves.

"Boyfriend?" Frodo asked, clearly confused.

The laughter and joyful conversation was replaced with a heavy silence that seemed to lay on everyone in the room. All around you, you became aware of the awkward shuffling of feet and darting glances of your companions.

"Come," Gandalf said, his voice suddenly cutting through the painstaking quietness. "They have much to discuss."

As Gandalf walked by you, he placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder and whispered, "Do not forget what I told you that first night in Gondor."

Then you watched as your friends left the room as quickly as they had entered it.

Turning your attention to Frodo and taking a deep breath, you said "Where do I begin?"

You proceeded to tell him everything that had transpired since he left the company, glossing over some of the more private details. He did not need to know exactly what had been said between you and Smaug. By the end of your tale, you sat, head down, looking much like a child waiting for her punishment.

Frodo reached over and took both of your hands in his before saying, "If there is one thing I have learned through this ordeal, it is that life does not always turn out the way we would wish it to. The years the three of us had together in the Shire had to have been some of the happiest anyone has ever experienced. But in a great many ways, that life has already ended, for all of us."

His eyes took on a distant, pained expression that confirmed what you had already suspected in your heart: he would never be the same as he once was.

"I have always loved you like you were my own mother," he continued. "And I know better than anyone how much you mean to Uncle. But your part in this story is obviously far from being over, and neither of us would want you to spend those years alone."

With fresh tears forming in your eyes, you leaned forward and gave him a soft peck on the cheek. Then you stood up and made your way over to open the door. Stepping out into the hallway, you saw your ever loyal guardian keeping watch, just as you had expected to find him.

"Smaug," you began, "there is someone I would like for you to meet."

#burning it down #Smaug x reader #Bilbo x reader #the hobbit #lord of the rings #smaug #legolas #aragorn #gimli #frodo baggins #bilbo baggins #gandalf #reader insert #the hobbit fanfic #the hobbit fic #the hobbit x reader #the hobbit fanfiction #lotr fanfic

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nerddface · 7 years ago

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What You Wish For

Characters: Legolas Thranduilion, female!reader

Warnings: Éowyn's just-for-a-second-fake-death is menitoned for, like, a second.

Word Count: 983

Notes: Does this ending suck? Yes it does. I am the worst at endings.

Other note: My Christmas present to myself all of you lovies is this! Or, more like it, more of this. Hopefully tons (but you know me). I’ve been hoarding all my Haldir stuff to myself, but that’ll be coming soon because I just… I can’t even.

(Loosely) based off of this (or these) (x)

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If someone had mentioned to Y/N that by that time next year she would be standing on a battlefield, sword in hand, breathless in impossible victory, she’d have laughed. I wish.

They say reality is stranger than fiction, but what happens when fiction becomes reality?

They also say to be careful what you wish for.

Y/N always thought she was a cautious woman; she always looked both ways before crossing the street, she never posted too much on social media, and she kept her dreams sweet, but realistic. In retrospect, it was funny how it all went to shit.

Her mind always seemed to come to these moments of introspection indiscriminately. The elegantly carved wooden hilt of her weapon slipped from her sticky palm and the razor-sharp length of metal hit the dust with a muffled ring. She swiped her other palm against her thigh and lifted it to brush her brow free of sweat. Her sword arm quivered when she brushed her hair from the back of her neck.

It was strange how sudden the fields came to a standstill. She felt as though something with the fury of a thousand runaway trains should have some other kind of conclusion aside from… swift, absolute halt. Not a minute ago, deafening shouts, shrieking metal, and thundering footfalls threatened to tear her head in half. Now, the pounding of her pulse beat at her skull and ribs, her adrenaline still a surging beast at the bars, filling her ears with only the sound of intense life.

She was relieved, if not utterly exhausted. Every tremble of her overexerted muscles, every pulse that vibrated her vision, every heaving breath she drew into her lungs was a sign she had survived, that she would survive, that despite every odd against them, she could look—look—at the dust, a safe distance from her face, and only spotted with her blood, instead of drenched.

The gym was never this intense, she thought with a wry smile, and the machines never sliced her leg open.

The calm broke as the living fell from the trance of battle, and Y/N’s neck protested as she turned her head to see the source of a pained cry nearby. The sight and sound of Éomer falling to his knees by who Y/N assumed could only be his fallen family brought forth the manifestation of the emotional trauma she knew would be an eventuality, though it was much more sudden and passionate than she expected, and within a single pounding heartbeat there were tears falling down her flushed cheeks.

She was reminded how easily she could have been in the same position, and thought for a moment that perhaps she should have been more careful with what she wished for.

“Y/N!”

She couldn’t see through her tears, but she knew the voice as the very thing she had to thank for the breath she drew.

Travelling with the Fellowship, which was almost half human, had turned Legolas’s elven habits on their head. Their romance had come as something of a surprise a couple months ago, but it surely had done absolutely nothing for the matter either. As far as she knew, touch was reserved, generally not doled out in the same manner as Men did, but with how much fervor the blond tightly embraced her, no one ever could have guessed.

Good thing, too, as her legs came to the end of their endurance and buckled beneath her, leaving her entirely in his arms. Her arms managed to come around his chest, though she couldn’t hold him back with nearly as much strength. Another crushing wave of relief washed her in warmth as she felt Legolas’s pounding heart under her ear and his ragged breath on the crown of her head.

He murmured something in Sindarin, though she wasn’t nearly fluent enough to translate it, let alone in a place to think straight, even if she could. Her eyes fluttered shut as his lips pressed to her hairline. Her legs managed to hold her again as his arms left her, but they soon braced her head as his lips blazed a tingling path down her forehead and cheek to her own. Her heart skipped a beat before it kicked back up into a racing pace, and the tears that had stopped for but a moment returned.

“Oh, mela,” her elf sighed, “tears do not suit you.” He pulled her close once more, his long arms steadily bracing her back and shoulders, face tucked into the crook of her neck and shoulder. “I am well, our friends are well, and you are well. We have won.”

“I have your teaching to thank for that,” she laughed breathlessly.

“Instruction does nothing if it is not received by the student,” he countered gently, pressing another kiss to her head. “You owe your survival to yourself.”

They fell into a moment of appreciative silence before Legolas spoke up again.

“This night, I will see you properly honored for your bravery.” He inhaled deeply, a thick tendril of his silky blond hair falling to brush Y/N’s face. “The only complication is I shan’t allow you out of my sight.”

This prompted a short laugh, and he retreated to brush the tears from her cheeks. “I hope you know that you are causing me a great deal of worry, my starlight. It has only truly been once I thought I might have lost you, and I do not know how I should ever handle it again.”

His mouth found hers once more, and then his hand grasped her own as he bent to retrieve her sword. “Come,” he beckoned. “Let us forget this death for a moment, and celebrate our life.”

And in this moment, disregarding every superstitious warning, she wished with all her heart that no matter what may come, she may stay by his side.

#legolas greenleaf #legolas x reader #legolas

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dailyaudiobible · 7 years ago

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8/04/2017 DAB Transcript

2 Chronicles 35:1-36:23 ~ 1 Corinthians 1:1-17 ~ Psalm 27:1-6 ~ Proverbs 20:20-21

Today is August 4th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you today as we move forward with the next step in our adventure through the scriptures this year. We will be concluding Second Chronicles today and beginning First Corinthians in the New Testament. But first we’re reading from the Names of God bible this week. Second Chronicles chapter 35 verse 1 through 36 verse 23 today.

Ok, so, we have arrived at the doorstep of Paul's first epistle or his first letter to the church at Corinth, also known as first Corinthians. And Corinth was a was a pretty big hotspot. It was a city of trade and commerce. It was a destination place to go in the Roman Empire. It was the fourth largest city in the entire Roman Empire at the time of Paul's writing. And, so, being a trendy city, it had all of the things that go along with a trendy city, even today. It was a melting pot of spiritual ideas, idolatries, sexual exploration and immorality - all of the things to go with a large secularized society. And Paul writes this letter as a response to some of the things that he’s hearing that are going on in the church. So, its central theme is unity, church unity. And, so, that makes it no less poignant now that it was then. Paul talks about a lot of topics, from the way that we should behave toward one another, to the way husbands and wives should behave, to the way you should behave in church. And some the most quoted portions of the New Testament will be found in this letter, this first Letter to the Corinthians. Things like - through a glass darkly, or when I was a child I spoke as a child, and then, of course, the thirteenth chapter of first Corinthians, which has been known for a long time as the love chapter - beautiful, beautiful, beautiful work on what love is, what it looks like, and what it does. So, Paul’s first letter to the church at Corinth echoes through time all the way to us today. It’s like we just received it in the mail and we’re going to open this letter. And it has just as much meaning now as it did then. And, so, we begin. First Corinthians chapter 1 verses 1 through 17.

Prayer:

Father, we, like king David, share the same desire, that we can remain in Your presence all the days of our lives, that we might gaze upon Your beauty. And we realize that when this is the posture of our heart, when this is what we are seeking primarily - to be in your presence, to feel your presence wrap itself around us like a warm hug, to feel your intimate awareness of us, that You want to be in fellowship with us, in friendship with us, in collaboration with us, in union with us - we seek this. This is what we want. And, so, when we seek Your beauty and Your presence everything else in our lives is automatically put into its proper perspective and we realize that some of the things that have been so deeply consuming to us shouldn't even have a hold over us, perhaps shouldn't even be a part of our lives. So, Holy Spirit, we invite you to lead us deeper into Jesus, to lead us on the pathway that leads to life, the narrow path, deeper and deeper. And as the world recedes into its proper alignment, we ask You to reorder our lives so that we can consistently and continually, for all of the days of our lives, walk with You in Your presence, in Your will, following Your ways on the narrow path that leads to life, guided by Your word that illuminates our paths before us. This is our prayer. This is our desire. Come, Holy Spirit. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website to base was going on around here.

Well yeah, we had a blast last night at the Sneezing Jesus live, Facebook Live, that we did. You guys are awesome. I’ve just been very, very inspired by some of the stories that I've heard and it's just really beautiful. So, we had a good time with that last night.

I remind you that, if you haven't had the chance, Sneezing Jesus is available wherever you can get books. I invite you to take that journey because I think that journey will bring you close. It’s a kind of presence that we were just praying about, found in the book of psalms, this sort of desire for union and intimacy in all things at all times. This is available. And looking at Jesus up close and personal, it just opens up that doorway. It’s always been there for us to walk through. So, check that out.

So, we’ll be taking a Sneezing Jesus on the road for a few months of traveling around and just hanging out with the family and seeing everybody. If you’d like to see that come to your city, here’s how you get that ball rolling. Go to sneezingjesus.com, scroll all the way to the bottom, and you’ll see this little tiny form. Just fill out that form. We’ll be in touch and see if it can happen.

The other thing about Sneezing Jesus is the reviews at Amazon and stuff. If you have gotten your copy from Amazon or Barnes & Noble or wherever, if you would be willing to take five minutes out of your day and leave a little review for that, wherever you got it…that…I mean…that’s certainly something that we’re told to do by the publishing companies…but I see that as a seed…I see it as a seed. Those things get planted. And then somebody, somewhere, along the way, maybe many years from now even, comes across this, sees what you had to say, and that convinces them that this is what they’ve been seeking, this is what they’re looking for - a clear picture of Jesus. And then that seed gets watered and comes to fruition and becomes a harvest. So, if you could take a few minutes, that will be helpful. Thank you for that.

If you want a partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that it dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link. It’s on the homepage. If you are using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the More button in the lower right hand corner, or if you prefer the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill TN 37174.

And of course, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports:

Hi my DAB family. This is your sister Julie. My heart is full of gratitude for all of you and I love you. Brian, my brother, to God be the glory, the great things He has done through your family and your ministry. Thank you for making your faithfulness in making the word of God come to life for me again. This family has helped to resurrect my soul from a shipwrecked life. I felt the need to call and reach out to all my DAB family members who are silent and empty. I know that there are lots who call on a regular basis to encourage us and I’m very grateful to them. But to the silent loved ones, your situations and circumstances are not silent to God. I pray that the river of living waters wash over you and give you peace in the middle of the storm and may you have strength to look up into the face of our Father and know that you are dearly and wonderfully loved by your brothers and sisters in this family and you are a part of it. And I just want you to know that I love you and I think about you all every day because I’ve been a silent one too. And I’m reaching out to you and letting you know that you are prayed for every day. Even though we may not know your name, you are still our brothers and sisters in Christ. So, keep sneezing everyone. And I love you. Bye-bye.

Hi family. Drew from the bay area. Listen, I’m just calling in today because the Holy Spirit wants me to. I only have a second because I’m going to be late to work. But this call is for Asia and for David and for Rebecca and for Daniel J. Jr. and for Blind Tony and for sinners and for many that are struggling. The Holy Spirit wants you to know that He has you. Did Sarah doubt that she was going to have a child in the wilderness when she was an old lady? Yes, she did. Did Elijah doubt that God was going to protect him and take care of him when he was running away from Ahab and Jezebel? Yes, he did. Where is Elijah now? Did Jonah run away from God and did God take care of Jonah and bring him back? Yes, he did. Did God come through on all the promises that He made to Hannah? Yes, He did. Did he come through for Elizabeth? Yes, He did. Did he do all the things that he promised to? Yes, He did. Yes, He will. He loves you. So, take your eyes off yourself and realize God's plans are bigger than all of us. But together we can have strength. And our lives are like a flower that just wilted this past spring and died. But the seeds that spring up the next year will even better than before, even more numerous. So, don’t doubt what God’s plans are. Just pray and worship Him. That’s all He wants from us. I love you family.

Yes. My name is Mark N. I live in Davie, FL. I’ve been a listener for about nine years. I would desire everybody’s prayers right now. I’m going through a lot and my family. My mother is in the hospice. I just got a call. She’s got 73 hours left. She’s going downhill quickly. So, please keep us in prayer. We’re losing my mother. There’s five of us. And I’ll be flying back home in the north. So, I would desire everybody’s prayer. Again my name is Mark N. Just pray for the N. family. And I thank you for your prayers.

Hi. Brian, I wanted to say thank you so much for your readings, always, but especially Romans. I appreciate how you emphasize, slowly, things in Romans. And it’s just beautiful and so important for us to understand Jesus’ love through all of this with us. And these are the tenants of our faith being read to us. It’s so exciting. And I just wanted to also say hi Pastor Gene. I just love you. And I just think of you, not only as a prayer warrior but a warrior as a testament of Jesus Christ. You know, when you're dealing with all you're dealing with, with kids, and you’re on that brink of dealing with depression because it’s something that you just have and it’s a thorn in your side, like Paul. And you’re such…you’re strong through it all and you are so able to help other people through that. And I just so appreciate you. And I just want to give you a quick update on my daughter. She's healing well from the C-section. The baby is just amazing and beautiful, nursing well. And my daughter-in-law, she’s the one that lost the baby, she's doing well. She loves God and she understands His sovereignty. And Asia, I just want to say I am praying for you and praying for the God of comfort to bless and keep you. I'm running out of time, so I just want to say I love you all and praying for you all. We all have similar…while I pray for Asia…I know there’s other people with that exact same thing. So, I'm praying for you all, in Jesus’ name I pray all these things. Amen.

Hi family. This is Charles in Ohio. It’s been a while since I’ve called. I just...I was calling with both a prayer request and a praise report. My wife and I are still not together. She’s still with this other man. But today my wife and I were able to go together with our kids to the beach today. It was the first time we were able to spend time together without arguing since we separated. And while we were at the beach we found out that her father was found dead yesterday. And on the drive back from the beach, for me to take her to her grandmother’s house, God used me in the situation to minister to her and I feel that a good part of the drive was just Jesus speaking through me directly to her. But I just want to ask that everyone would keep her in prayer, that she’d be comforted in this difficult time, and also for our family as a whole, just that we would figure out some sort of new normal out of all this.

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