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moony-artnstuff · 4 years

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Kintsugi

Pairing: Thranduil x Fem!Reader

Note: This is my very first fanfic ever and I am really excited to post it here. I’ve been on tumblr for a while now and there are some really talented writers on here who with some I have become friends with and who have inspired me to write my own fanfiction (I will tag them below). I know this still needs a lot of work but I look forward to writing and improving at it here on tumblr!

Summary: The reader gets lost in Mirwood during one of her travels and is taken to the palace to meet king Thranduil. When Thranduil notices she has a big scar on her face, resembling his own, he feels drawn to her, and a friendship start to form.

This was not how you expected your journey to go. When the people of Laketown warned you of the dangers of Mirkwood, they spoke of big spiders and misleading paths, which, in all honesty, should not be that big of a problem seeing you had dealt with orcs many a time and had come out fine. What you did not expect, however, was the fact that the forest seemed to literally try to get you of the path. You don’t know how long it has been since you entered the woods, but it felt like you had been going around in cirkels for days, and the further you walked the thicker the air seemed to become. It made you feel tired, and dizzy.

Crack.

A noise. Right above your head. And as you looked up you saw a spider the size of a horse crawling down from the trees and coming right at you, but right when you went to grab your sword three arrows where shot from behind you, hitting the eight-legged beast in the face. Before you could even blink a group of elves jumped out of the trees, killing the spider within seconds, and then turning to you, bows aimed at your throat. You carefully raised your hands, eyeing a silver-haired ellon who was approaching you.

‘‘Human’‘ he spoke.

‘‘Elf’‘ you answered. His eyes narrowed slightly, they were a beautiful shade of blue. Then he continued;

‘‘You are trespassing our lands, what business do you have here?’‘

‘‘I was only passing through,’‘ slowly you lowered your arms, ‘‘I mean no harm, I just need to get to the other side of the forest.’‘

‘‘Not before you meet with the king.’‘ Turning to the other guards, he ordered, ‘‘Take her weapons.’‘

You furrowed your brow. ‘’Take my-? Hey-!’’ you sputtered, as two guards grabbed your arms and took your sword and dagger.

They took you to the castle, and you couldn’t help but gasp when you entered the caves. Beautiful archways and pillars where carved into wood and stone, and when you looked up you saw that the ceiling was covered in gemstones, reflecting the light of the many torches on the walls. Legolas watched you from the corner of his eyes, and a small smile appeared on his face as he saw you look around in wonder, but it was quickly replace by a look of concern when he noticed the big scar on the right side of your face. Whatever had caused it had blinded you in your right eye, and by the looks of it it had hurt a lot. He wondered how you had gotten a scar like that, but he wasn’t about to ask.

Your eyes were still glued to the ceiling when you were suddenly brought to a halt. A few steps in front of you stood Legolas speaking elvish with someone sitting on a throne. That must be king Thranduil, you thought. You couldn’t understand a word from what they were saying, but you guessed it was about you. Then Legolas turned and left the throne room together with the two guards who were holding you, leaving you in an awkward silence with the king. You took this moment to study his features. He wore a silver and crimson robe, and on his head was a crown adorned with red leaves and berries. On his slender fingers he wore many rings, and his long, pale-blond hair cascaded down his shoulders. He had high cheekbones and a strong jaw, and his eyes were a beautiful icy-blue color. That’s when you realized you were staring at him, and that he too was looking at you, so you look away.

‘‘It is not often a human comes into my realm,’‘ you heard his deep, velvety voice say, and in a teasing tone he continued, ‘‘I’m suprised you haven’t been eaten by any spider yet. Tell me, exactly what business do you have here?’‘

You frowned at his comment. What, did he think you were weak because you were human?

‘‘I was only trying to pass through, your highness,’‘ you watched as he gracefully walked down the stairs, ‘‘I am but a simple traveler. All I tried to do was get to the other side of the forest.’‘ Thranduil only hummed in response. He was now standing in front of you, and his eyes were fixated on your face. You knew he was looking at your scar, and it made you feel uneasy.

‘‘Is there something to look at?’‘ you snapped. You didn’t mean for it to sound as angry as you it did, but you had had a long day and you weren’t in the mood to be stared at. You understood that a scar like your own would attract attention, but you wished the elvenking would at least be more subtle about it. Thranduil however didn’t seem fazed by your little outburst, and simply turned his gaze back to your eyes.

‘‘I apologize. If you don’t mind me asking, how did you come by such a scar?’‘ At this you raised your eyebrow. Why would he be interested?

‘‘When I was younger a pack of orcs attacked my village,’‘ you explained, ‘‘They had set the house on fire, and when I finally managed to escape, after already being burned, one appeared out of nowhere and swung his sword at me, cutting me in the face.’‘ A shiver crawled down your back. You didn’t exactly enjoy recalling this specific memory.

The elvenking simply nodded before he turned and walked back up the stairs to his throne. When he finally sat down he turned back to you and spoke;

‘‘I will send a maid to prepare a room for you. You can stay here for a few days to rest up and eat. After that you are free to leave whenever you please.’‘

That evening Thranduil sat in his room in his armchair, a glass of wine in his hand. He was recalling the events of that day and his thoughts drifted back to you. A human woman lost in his forest. Although rare, it was not uncommon. What was uncommon, however, was his hospitality to you. Of course, Thranduil would never wrongfully mistreat someone, but to give a trespasser a bath, a room and food? That was unheard of, so why did he offer it to you? Deep down he knew why. He felt drawn to you, drawn to your scar. The way it was so much like his own yet you carried it so differently, like it was barely a burden at all. Subconsciously he raised his hand to touch his cheek, where he would’ve felt burned flesh had he not concealed it with his magic. He wanted to know how you did it. How you managed to go through your day without crumbling under the stares and judgement of others. How you didn’t seem fazed when the wind caressed your skinless cheek, or when you felt numbness instead of the warmth of the sun. And he wondered, if you were able to see yourself in the mirror. Did you look away like he did, or couldn’t you care less for the way you looked?

Putting down his now empty wine glass, Thranduil walked over to his bed, his mind still on you. You’d be here for at least a few more days, plenty enough time for him to find out more about you and your scar. Maybe you would tell him how you were so comfortable with it. And the maybe, just maybe, he too could find peace.

In the following days Thranduil and you spend a lot of time together. He showed you around the castle, lead you through the gardens, and occasionally had dinner with you. And the whole time he tried to find any sign of of discomfort caused by the mark on your face, but he found none. What he did notice was the twinkle in your eyes you had whenever you talked about your travels, or how you always wanted to sit underneath the magnolia tree in the royal gardens, and the way you would occasionally bite your lip when the two of you were reading. And the longer you stayed the more he found himself wanting to be around you just for the sake of your company. After a month he had forgotten all about wanting to know about your scar, and Thranduil saw you as a friends, maybe even more.

Right now he was walking through the gardens. He did not have to attend to any duties this afternoon, and he wanted to enjoy his free time. He hadn’t seen you a lot in the past few days, and he was just about to look for you when he heard you humming. Following the melody, he found you sitting cross-legged in the grass, a mirror in front of you and a small jar in your hand. It contained a golden liquid, with which you seemed to... paint your face?

‘‘Y/n?’‘

You turned your head at the sound of your name and your e/c orbs met ice-blue ones.

‘‘Thranduil! So good to see you. How are you doing this lovely afternoon?’‘

‘‘I am quite alright, thank you. What are you doing?’‘ he asked as he sat down next to you.

‘‘Make-up! What do you think?’‘ You pointed to your face, and Thranduil took the time to study it. You had used the gold as eye-liner and as a highlighter for your upper lip, which made it hard for him to look away. Along your jawline where your scar covered your face where small flowers drawn, and a bit about that were small stars covering your scar like freckles.

‘‘It’s beautiful.’‘ he said softly. And when you asked if you could paint on him too, he let you. You carefully applied the golden liquid onto his fair skin, holding two fingers underneath his chin to tilt his head sideways. Through half-lidded eyes Thranduil watched how your eyes followed the brush. It tickled, and he tried not to smile as you poked your tongue out and furrowed your brow in concentration.

You were beautiful. And with the way your h/c framed your face, and the sunlight made it seem as if your s/c glowed, Thranduil felt like he could look at you forever.

‘‘All done!’‘ you said, grabbing the mirror so he could see. You had made sure his eyes and cheekbones stood out, and you had painted all kinds of flowers to cover most of the left side of his face. Thranduil brought his hand up and carefully touched the delicate dranw lines.

‘‘It looks lovely. What is ii called?’‘

‘‘Kintsugi.’‘ you answered, and he raised his brow at you.

‘‘It’s the Japanese art of putting broken pottery pieces back together with gold,’‘ you explained to him, ‘‘It’s build on the idea that in embracing flaws and imperfections, you can create an even stronger more beautiful piece of art.’‘

‘‘Are you comparing me to broken pottery?’‘ Thranduil teased.

You chuckled. ‘’I wouldn’t dare, but I do think it works the same for people,’’ you stared into the mirror, a distant look in your eyes, ‘’Too often people let themselves be defined by their scars, and although it can sometimes be hard to face them, they do not make someone less.’’ You turned your gaze back to the ellon next to you, a knowing look in your eyes as you continued;

‘‘Scars do not define you, nor do they make you weak, if anything they show how strong you are. Just because somebody is ‘broken’ does not mean the cannon be heal again, nor does it mean they are less beautiful.’‘

You closed the small jar and handed it to Thranduil, who still seemed to be entranced by your words.

‘‘For you.’‘ you said.

‘‘What for?’‘ he asked, taking the jar from you.

‘‘In case you ever think your scars make you less than what you are.’‘

His eyes widened. How did you know? But you simply smiled, turning to look out over the garden, breathing in the summer air.

‘‘Say, I know i have already been in Greenwood far longer than we originally planned, but,’‘ and you leaned closer to the elvenking beside you, ‘‘I was wondering if I could stay a while longer? I do not wish to leave yet.’‘

‘‘Is that so?’‘ Thranduil mused, slowly taking your hand in his. ‘‘And what would be the reason for that?’‘

‘‘I met someone who has captured my heart.’‘

‘‘Truly,’‘ he whispered, his lips only a breath away from yours, ‘‘and who might this lucky ellon be?’‘

‘‘I think you already know.’‘ you said, before closing the distance between you. And as your lips met, Thranduil felt something shift inside him. He felt lighter, as if a burden had been shifted from his heart. And with you in his arms and his hin upon your head, he finally knew, he had found peace.

@ceinelee @tolkien-fantasy @daisy-picking-lady @ladylouoflothlorien @luna-xial @beautifultypewriter @writer-inwonderland @long-cosmos-overhead @fizzyxcustard @dabisburnedbutt @lotr-hobbit-imagines @lotrfics @the0maddest0hatter @asraime and so many more! You and your amazing work have inspired me to start writing on tumblr and I am so happy I get to call some of you my friend!

#thranduil x reader #thranduil x you #lord of the rings #the hobbit #lotr #th #reader insert #fanfiction #thranduil #king thranduil #mirkwood

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snowflake-of-destruction · 4 years

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This isn’t something I normally participate in, but, since I didn’t write much in June and shared hardly anything(something I plan to change in July if I can), I thought I should give some proof of (creative) life if anyone wants it.

Under the cut, a series of tiny excerpts, most more than six sentences, of different Kingdom Hearts pieces to be rescued from the limbo of “half finished chunk of something in a google doc.” Some of them belong to WIPs and some are from various other things started and then interrupted or....we’ll say set to a back burner.

All excerpts headed by a bolded header in the style of

Title of Piece This Belongs To (Brief description of what kind of fic that is in between parenthesis)

Advantage Rule (Isalea Modern AU. First Chapter Up On AO3. More Info There.)

"You lost or are you the new caulk?" The speaker didn't fit the typical profile of a tech professional, especially one that worked behind the scenes with the coders. Mid-fifties judging by the lines on his face with thinning blond hair so light you could hardly tell where some parts had gone silver combed to stick up as a compensation for where it threatened to recede and leather skin that said he'd worked outside in some decade past, paired with a southern accent that seemed stronger than it was with the effect added by the toothpick precariously balanced in the corner of his mouth. He'd rejected business attire in favor of cargo pants and a dark blue flight jacket that looked like they'd been bought in the last century, and the look in his eye was so fierce without prompting that Axel had to wonder if he was a failsafe for the air conditioning breaking down.

"Am I the what?"

"Caulk." The toothpick switched sides of the man's mouth with a roll of his bottom lip. "Fixing the leaks? The cybersecurity specialist? Axel Lea?" His impatience mounted by the moment. Working on the fourth floor would certainly be interesting.

"Yes, sir. That would be me." Axel tried to smooth the way with deference and the easy smile that rarely steered him wrong. "Does that make you...?"

"Cid Highwind. I'll be showing you the ropes. Now that you've seen fit to grace us with your presence." Cid continued to stare him down and Axel wasn't sure if he was supposed to apologize or bare his teeth and smack his chest like a gorilla to challenge the alpha.

Without False Hope ( First Chapter Up On AO3. More Info There. Akuroku KH/FFX crossover)

Axel was waiting for them, or it seemed that way at least and Roxas didn’t think himself vain for thinking so, when Roxas spotted the lanky redhead not jogging himself but leaning against a pole until he saw the Crusaders approaching and then falling in next to Roxas just behind Xion as she bellowed, "Young Crusaders gather 'round," the beginning of a call and response chant that the rest of them would answer with a promise to knock enemies back and stand their ground or an alternate about beating Sin beneath the ground if they were feeling

Axel finished the line a beat before the Crusaders would have, substituting his own words. "...Eager for Sin to put you in the ground." Roxas's heart, which had soared for a moment when Axel had come up beside him and dared to hope that Axel's first words would be a version of sorry or an invitation out somewhere without other people, took a sharp plummet to his toes then returned to his chest angry at being mocked.

Assorted grumbles and shouts showed many others felt the same way, but Xion seemed to take it in stride, sing-songing her own improvised lines that continued the cadence of the original chant without missing a beat, "Young civilian come to heckle and stare. What would you do if a fiend attacked and we weren't there?"

Axel near stumbled but recovered and let out a short bark that might have been a laugh he wasn't sure he was allowed without inviting training Crusaders to make him pay for it, afterward rumbling in an impressed tone, "You, I like,."

"You should. " Xion shot back and her casual tone alone was enough that everyone else in the formation knew Axel was an acceptable stranger even if he was rude, and that they should ignore the intrusion. "I'm not sure I like you back. Roxas has been mooning and it makes him impossible."

Guardian Force (Akuroku. Axel and Roxas in the next life, living as NPCs in the world of/during the story of FFVIII. Part of my eventual plan to show Axel and Roxas living out every Final Fantasy game. Unpublished/First chapter never completed because I decided on Without False Hope/a FFX crossover instead)

"You often talk to yourself?" an insolent lazy drawl came from somewhere to Axel's left and he turned, eyes narrowing to see a boy in a rumpled Balamb cadet uniform lying across the second highest step, book in hand, vibrant blue eyes, ice eyes like he'd junctioned Shiva right to his vision, trained on him over the spine.

"To my Guardian Force," Axel explained, though that seemed worse. Over six foot of height and lean muscle and the SeeD uniform Axel wore at least enough parts of for it to be vaguely recognizable that he belonged to the elite unit, all usually worked together enough that there was usually no reason to be embarrassed by anything he let slip out. Nobody would laugh even if Axel welcomed it.

"Thought you didn't like using Guardian Forces," the lounging student's voice was just as nonchalant as it was before, but his gaze was sharp, interested, and he spoke as if he knew Axel.

"Have we met?" Axel knocked the sole of his left boot against the side of his right as if scraping mud off the bottom. It wasn't odd for him to shift constantly even when mostly still, unless he was specifically called to stand at attention. There was an air of discomfort about the present action though, when taken with how jade eyes known for constant analysis on and off the battlefield, seemed attracted to the handrail of the steps rather than searching the face of the boy that had just spoken to him with familiarity. Axel's normally iron stomach soured immediately at the idea they had met and he'd forgotten, to the point he couldn't even bring himself to try and jog his recollection. All he could do was force out his least favorite question next to 'when did that happen?'

Lollipop (Soriku and Akuroku. College AU/Modern AU. Unpublished. Sora and Roxas in an acapella group because that was the only way I could work out how to get them to sing and do choreo for songs that get stuck in Shaky’s head, which was the Goal of the Day one day before I got distracted)

When Sora said he had a new idea for a piece for the CrescenDudes' next performance, Roxas had been more than happy to volunteer to work on the arrangement with him. Sora was great for ideas, large picture and little flourishes that made a song a show, and he was, hands down, who you wanted doing choreography, even if he tended to get carried away and not realize there weren't many others with the dance and movement background he had in their group, but he wasn't suited for the musical side of sculpting a piece. He'd sing what he was given and he'd stay on pitch doing it, but he had no idea to weave songs together to form a mashup that sounded natural and created the right feeling in a crowd, and he'd forget to accommodate for everyone's voices or go the opposite direction and try to highlight everyone and have twenty solos. So it was up to Roxas to take his vision from neat idea to reality, and he jumped at the chance. He'd do anything at this point to distract Sora from dragging him into wedding planning for a few days when that should be Riku’s job as the other groom.

Hourglass (Unpublished. Self-indulgent BBS Era--at least for this excerpt-- story about KH Squall/Leon and Seifer growing up in Radiant Garden and explaining how they got to be on separate planets and separate ages by the time KH1 rolls around. May be competed and posted to AO3 or just used as a base/record of headcanon for sprinkling backstory references in other pieces.)

Seifer challenged Lea and Isa to break back into the castle and come back with proof this time. He would have just called Lea a liar, but that would lead to Lea trying to fight him, which would lead to Isa trying to fight him, which would lead to Squall getting in the way, thinking Seifer couldn't handle a two on one fight with some chicken wusses. Then Squall would still try to sneak into the castle himself to see Ellone anyway--and she wasn’t in the castle in the first place...probably. Seifer would have to drag Squall’s ass out of there, and, if they got caught by the Royal Guard, then they’d be the next rumored prisoners in the basement. It was safer to make it be Lea and Isa's challenge.

Lea took the bait. Isa, surprisingly, added they were planning a return trip anyway. Squall shot Seifer a questioning look, which he ignored in favor of taunting Lea and sealing the deal, "I can't wait to see you two hobble in tomorrow after getting your asses beat by the Guard. Try not to hit your thick skulls on the flagstones when you get thrown out."

Drowning (Unfinished/unpublished. Placeholder name. Sorikai. Supposed to be for the Sorikai Summer Event. Prompt: Drowning. Long one shot about eight times one of the Destiny Trio has nearly drowned and then been saved by the others)

Their first prototype of a raft had fallen apart underneath them in open water, the ties that lashed the planks together having not been as securely tied as they could have been--the book on sailor's knots Sora had provided was a lot more obtuse than it had seemed at first, descriptions dense and picture demonstrations too sparse. Kairi and Sora each fared well, each grabbing onto a floating plank to drift a minute and orient themselves after being plunged into the water. Riku was less successful, being fixated on saving as many of the supplies Kairi and Sora had gathered (coconuts, mushrooms, and bottles of water mostly, though there had been a tackle box that Riku's father would kill him for losing if he had to go back and face him, and that was what Riku was primarily focused on) and exhausting his breath on too many dives in a row without recovery in between until he was lightheaded from not taking in enough air in his hasty gulps when he broke the surface and increasingly imprecise in where he chose to come out of the water until he hit his head on the bottom of the plank he was loading the recovered supplies onto and went down without resurfacing.

No Set Recipe (Unfinished/unpublished. Sorikai. Supposed to be for the Sorikai Summer Event. Prompt: Ice Cream. Kidfic. Sora’s mom is left with the job of explaining polyamory while making homemade ice cream with a group of five and six year olds.)

It was all Selphie's fault to start with, though if she was going to be ascribed the blame for the hurt feelings, she would have to be given credit for all that happened after, which Riku and Sora both agreed she did not deserve, even if Kairi was more magnanimous, so it became habit just to talk of the ice cream and the impact it had on their future. Still, the most accurate account begins with: one day when they were all young-- too young to even be allowed to swim in the water surrounding play island without an adult in the surf with them, if that gives perspective--Selphie, to everyone's surprise, scored the winning goal in the game of land-blitzball the group of them were playing in order to decide what game they would really spend the day playing, and chose, to absolutely nobody's surprise, house.

Everyone accepted their fate and divided into family units with minimal grumbling, phrasing which means that Wakka threw the blitzball into the sea and lost it forever when Jecht--the parent chaperone on play island that day who was five minutes away from falling asleep on the sand and typically didn't care what they did, unlike most parents who at least had restrictions about not hitting each other in the head with wooden swords or throwing sand, and was the favorite of the children for that attitude of freedom to make mistakes being a better teacher than rules--refused to go into the water after it.

Selphie, however, found a problem with Sora, Riku, and Kairi's family. Specifically, she didn't like that the family was Riku, Kairi, and Sora all together parenting a yellow coconut Kairi was trying to rock to sleep while Riku built him a bed out of sand and palm fronds and Sora cooked dinner for the household--a savoury stew of sticks, sand, and mushroom. She stood with pursed lips and hands on hips, and declared that their proud coconut son, Rekka, couldn't have all three of them for parents because that wasn't how things worked.

"Why not?" Sora asked with all the curiosity and innocence of a child.

Riku tried a more practical, solution based approach with, "Can we change the rules?"

Kairi was more direct and firm, her, "It does if I say so," leaving very little room to argue.

#snippets #not clogging tags with this though

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tifamex · 6 years

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. –Succession of Witches. [KH.]

Radiant Garden was, as many would say, a paradise on earth. A beautiful place where people could live a peaceful life, or so was it as much as Squall could remember.

No one could have expected that disaster, not the cadets, nor his parents or anyone he knew, but the destruction around them was impossible to ignore, and the beauty of his home was lost in the fire and those dark creatures that spawned out of nowhere. The air smelled as ashes, and it hurted his lungs as much as the injuries on his body, but stopping wasn’t an option when he had to keep going.

Aerith and Yuffie were safe with Cid, but his family was nowhere to be seen; Laguna wasn’t weak, he was, after all, a retired soldier, but against those creatures he wasn’t sure if his father could do anything. Ellone’s magic had a time limit too, so did his mother’s, and with that in mind, his injuries and blood couldn’t stop his desperation to find his family.

He could barely recognize where he was, the castle was on fire and the gardens were surrounded by darkness, several yellow eyes staring at him while he called his parents’ names as loud as he could, but the voice of Laguna or Raine were never heard, instead those creatures reacted to his as if he’d flipped a switch.

Blocking as many attacks as he could, the monsters didn't seem to react to his fallen comrades, slicing several of the dark creatures just to get slashed by their claws. A sharp pain suddenly made him fall, his vision blurred by something dripping from his forehead. Trying to stand up, his dizziness stopped him and kept him on the ground, cursing under his breath. The sound was muffled on his ears, but there was no more pain than what he feel. Opening his eyes slowly, he found himself inside a thick barrier which shielded him of those dark monsters.

“Ell–!” he got his words cut when, instead of his sister, a blond guy was the one casting that barrier. Squall had seen him a couple of times, he was the cadet who followed Zack around the garden along another girl. He couldn’t remember even speaking to him, which made more confusing the help he was giving.

Trying to speak once again, he just could mumble when his energy dissipated and he felt heavier than before, the last he saw was the aqua of his eyes and seeing him pronounce something lost to him.

When Squall opened his eyes, Traverse Town was his new home, and Leon was his new name.

#strifehart #strifehartweek2k18 #squall leonhart #cloud strife #tifart #should i be tagging him as león? idk #im not as convinced of this one but its a nice practice #no beta reader we die like pendejos #that's gonna be my fic tag at this point lmao

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sunigyrl · 6 years

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Anqualë: Travel to Another Time

Series Summary: The Queen of Mirkwood was lost to her kingdom almost two centuries ago after a battle with orc marauders. King Thranduil and Prince Legolas have worked to move on, but the past still shrouds their lives. Try as they might, the agony of loss still dogs their steps. Yet things are not always what they seem...

Series Pairings: Thranduil x Wife!OFC, Legolas x Mother!OFC

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2007

A/N: Here’s chapter 3 kids. Originally this was going to be longer but it felt right to split it into two chapters so everything didn’t seem rushed. This chapter we’re actually leaving Angmar and taking a trip to Mirkwood and spending some time with Legolas. Elrond is also here, and Thranduil makes a brief appearance. We’ll be in Mirkwood for one more chapter before going back to our girl.

Elvish Words Ellon/Elleth- male elf/female elf Adar- father Naneth- mother Muindor- dear brother (not necessarily by blood) Súyon- nephew Tôrana- uncle

Part 2 | Part 4

“Ah, Legolas, it is good to see you young one. How was training this morning?”, Elrond asked as he approached the younger ellon in greeting.

“It is good to see you as well Lord Elrond”, Legolas said with a slight bow and a smile at the nickname Elrond had given him long ago. “Training was well. The young recruits seem to be coming along. They should be ready to join the established ranks soon. I am on my way to bring the daily update to the king.”

“No need for formalities Legolas. Especially in one’s own home amongst one’s friends; one’s family. I believe your adar is in the private garden at the moment. The council meeting was quite tense this morning and he appeared distracted. Come, I will accompany you there”, Elrond said with a small grin as he gave a swift pat to Legolas’ arm before falling in step with him.

“Forgive me. It is so long between our visits that I forget that formalities are not needed between us away from court”, Legolas said with another small smile. Even as a small child he adored visits from Elrond, as it afforded him a chance to spend time with the wise ellon who was very much like family. Always an inquisitive child, Legolas enjoyed the opportunity to question his “uncle” Elrond on different matters of the world and the race of Men. It was no secret that Legolas wanted to venture into the world when he came of age. Ever his mother’s son, he was desired to learn as much about Middle Earth as he could firsthand. Being too young to go off and explore, speaking with Elrond was the next best thing.

“It has been too long since we were last with one another. At times I find I must recall to mind that you were like a muindor to my naneth”, Legolas said thoughtfully. A small frown now appearing on his face as the mention of his mother. The frown not lost on Elrond.

“Do not worry súyon, at times we all forget such things. It has been almost a century since we last spent time as we are now. As long as you have not forgotten your naneth and the love she had for you; that is what matters most”.

The men continued to walk in silence for several moments, lost in their own thoughts of days long ago.

Breaking the silence Legolas looked to Elrond and uttered, “Tôrana, may I tell you something private?”

Taking a moment to glance at Legolas with a softened expression in response to the ellon’s tone, Elrond gave a curt nod of affirmation for him to continue.

“I have few memories of her that I can recall”, Legolas said barely above a whisper. “The older I become, the further she seems from me. When I was still small I could go to her study or sit in the garden and the memories would flood my mind. Yet with each passing year that has ceased to remain. I can still hear her laugh and at times I can smell the fragrance she wore on the air, but the rest is becoming less vivid outside of the occasional dream. She is slowly slipping from me and I do not know how to stop it.”

It was not very often that Legolas spoke of his mother as he had always been quite private with his thoughts. A trait he had received from his father. If Legolas was openly speaking of her now to Elrond, something must be troubling him. The older ellon casting a sidelong glance at the younger next to him, Elrond saw that Legolas’ posture had changed to match the solemn tone in his voice. The usually proud elf seemed to have folded in on himself so that he appeared shorter. Shoulders slumped forward, head hanging low, eyes cast toward the ground as his steps became slower.

Elrond knew that the loss of Arahaelil had been especially difficult for Legolas, as he was still quite young at the time of her lose. It was never easy to lose someone that you loved; even more so one’s own mother. Young Legolas was especially distraught when he first learned that his mother was gone. They had been on a ride deep in the forest after finishing their daily archery lesson. Legolas had been eager to ride the new horse he had received as a present only days before during his begetting day celebration. After much pleading, Arahaelil conceded and had their remaining schedules cleared so they could go for a leisurely ride. While on their outing the pair, along with Legolas’ steward and their two royal guards, were surprised by a band of orcs. Ever the mother and warrior, Arahaelil joined the guards in battle to hold off the orcs so the steward could escape with her son back to the castle to raise the alarm. A contingent of soldiers was dispatched quickly to help their queen. It was later that evening that the news came: the bodies of the guards had been found amongst a dozen and a half dead orcs. Yet there had was no sign of the queen. Believing her to be captured and not dead, Thranduil mounted an offensive and followed the trail all the way to Gundabad in hopes of rescuing his queen. But it would be to no avail. Upon arrival at the dead fortress, the troop found signs that a struggle had taken place as orc bodies littered the courtyard. From the arrows that littered the bodies and the wounds obviously made by an elvish blade, Thranduil knew that this was her work. He nervously began to hope that she was somewhere nearby as he searched for her. Until he came upon something that stopped him in his tracks and made his blood run cold.

Amongst the bodies Thranduil spotted Arahaelil’s cloak and marriage band trampled into the ground. The items were soiled with so much elvish-looking blood that there was no way she could have survived the injuries he imagined she sustained. Clearly distraught and broken, Thranduil hurriedly gathered up Arahaelil’s sullied belongings and rushed back to his palace in Mirkwood. He swiftly had the borders of the forest closed, sealed them with an enchantment and forbid any visitors for a time. Upon reaching the palace he ordered Legolas’ room moved next to his before withdrawing to his chambers for an entire month. Thranduil refused to leave his chambers or entertain any visitors except his son. Legolas was the only one to see his father in such a state. Many had been afraid that Thranduil would begin to fade. Yet Thranduil refused to let himself succumb to the searing pain he felt at the loss of his soul’s other half. He had to be strong and remain for their son.

For many days father and young son simply sat and held each other as Thranduil tried to whisper encouragements to Legolas and convince the boy that he was not to blame for his mother disappearing. Thranduil focused on calming his son in this fragile state. He would share stories with Legolas about Arahaelil and how much she loved her son, and after a few weeks, the boy seemed to finally calm. It was only in a few quiet moments late at night that Thranduil would attend to his own grief. Though nowhere near enough to fully sate it, those moments were enough to prevent Thranduil from fading.

At the end of his self appointed exile to mourn, Thranduil emerged from his chambers a different man. Colder, less vibrant, and more stern and aloof than before. The very air about him was tainted with the grief of his loss so that his aura was frigid enough to chill the room. Any item that held a memory of the queen was moved to a separate wing that could only be accessed by Thranduil, and he forbid the entire kingdom from speaking of her. The only remaining visual memory of the lost queen was an onyx and marble statue of her likeness Thranduil commissioned and had placed in her favorite garden that was only accessible to a select few.

Elrond understood why Thranduil had become so withdrawn based on his own experiences with losing his wife. Arahaelil was not only Thranduil’s wife and the mother of his son, she was his soulmate; his other half. The institution of marriage for elves was different than it was for the other races. For elves, marriage was a complete bonding of two souls into one. During the joining that followed the exchanging of vows, the ellon and elleth became one body, one heart and one soul pledged together for eternity. This was a bond that not even death could break. It was common knowledge that a joined paired separated by a tragic event could, and almost certainly would, lead to the death of both partners in a short period of time via fading. It was no small miracle that Thranduil was still alive given the depth of the soul bond that he and Arahaelil shared. Elrond long suspected that it was the presence of Legolas that had allowed Thranduil to survive. Though he sensed there was something else present that he could no ascertain. Once or twice in the past Thranduil mentioned that he would dream of Arahaelil as if she were there with him. Elrond had experienced a similar event on a handful of occasions after the loss of is own wife, yet not at the frequency that Thranduil mentioned. Though he could not comprehend how or why it occurred so frequently, Elrond knew that the dreams along with the other steps Thranduil had taken were what kept him alive. However, those same measures that prevented Thranduil from fading had also deprived Legolas of fostered memories of his mother.

Placing a hand on the younger ellon’s shoulder, Elrond gave it a slight squeeze to gain Legolas’ attention and draw him out of his brooding. “I know that it may seem that every day you remember her less and less, but that is not entirely true. It is the pain you still feel from her loss that blocks the memories that you have. It is the mind’s way of helping you cope with her loss without feeling the full devastation at once. You still blame yourself for what happened, and your mind is trying to protect you from memories that you are afraid to relive. The memories are still there, of this I am sure. You will remember her again, once you fully realize that her disappearance was not of your doing”, Elrond spoke surely as he stood face to face with Legolas. The pair no standing just before the entrance to the garden.

“My mind knows that the blame is not my own, yet it is my heart that still bears the weight. The grief has grown through the years and I do not know how to stop it”, Legolas breathed out in a slight plea as his eyes searched Elrond’s. So it was absolution the younger ellon was searching for. Only one person could give this to him.

“Talk to him”, Elrond whispered as he placed his hands on Legolas’ shoulders to provide steadiness and strength as he tilted his head in Thranduil’s direction. The king standing fifty yards from them planted in front of the statue of the lost queen. His eyes seemingly locked on the stone face as its countenance stared off into the distance. “Talk to him and find the peace that your heart requires”.

With a firm pat to his shoulders, Legolas took a deep breath and composed himself. Giving a swift nod of understanding and appreciation to Elrond, he turned and slowly made his way to his father. Watching the son finally stand beside his father in reverence of the lost queen, Elrond turned and left to give the duo some much needed privacy for the long overdue discussion ahead.

Tag List: @daytimeheroicsonly @killmongersaidheyauntie @captain-ariel-barnes @onyour-right @lamorenareina

Tag list is always open so DM me if you want to be added or removed.

#lord of the rings #the hobbit #thranduil #legolas #thranduil x oc #thranduil x black oc #elves #master list #suni writes

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eastsidephotographysco · 3 years

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I really can't wait to be back out photographing beautiful wedding days again, my photography passion is candid captures like this, just little moments that help tell the story of the special day #weddingday #weddingphotography #wedding #bride #groom #aberdeenweddingphotographer #aberdeenwedding #love #life #aberdeenshirephotographer #aberdeenphoto #aberdeenphotographer #aberdeenphotography #aberdeenshirephotography #bestofthebest #eastsidephotography (at Ellon Castle Gardens) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ19WRQnLOB/?igshid=3q1j1huuls9w

#weddingday #weddingphotography #wedding #bride #groom #aberdeenweddingphotographer #aberdeenwedding #love #life #aberdeenshirephotographer #aberdeenphoto #aberdeenphotographer #aberdeenphotography #aberdeenshirephotography #bestofthebest #eastsidephotography

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weavingthetapestry · 7 years

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Places to Go: Tolquhon Castle, Aberdeenshire

Tolquhon Castle is rather different to the types of 'castle’ which usually appear on this blog- improved hugely in the late sixteenth century it was not really meant to be defensible, and was instead a stately residence, for the laird to demonstrate his cultured and sophisticated lifestyle to his peers. Situated a few miles from Ellon and Pitmedden, in the midst of rolling Aberdeenshire countryside, and probably once surrounded by gardens, it is still very possible to imagine how Tolquhon would have looked in its heyday, a comfortable country house in a distinctively Scottish style, with both historical and aesthetic appeal.

Tolquhon Castle is first mentioned in 1536, as a tower house with surrounding buildings but the oldest parts of the building seem to date back to the first half of the fifteenth century. Preston’s Tower- the hulking square tower to the right in the top picture- is the remains of what was very much an average Scottish tower house of that period, and may have been built either by Sir Henry Preston (d. 1420) or Sir John Forbes, who had married Henry’s daughter Marjorie Preston and thus acquired Tolquhon for a branch of the Forbes family (a very proliferate family- you will find Forbes castles all over Aberdeenshire and Buchan). The tower house would have been the main feature of the residence for the next century or so, until the time of William Forbes, the seventh laird, who opted for a much more comfortable residence. Sir William’s father had been killed at Pinkie Cleugh, and earlier his elder brother had been executed for treason by King James V but William it seems was made of different stuff and, having served for a while at James V’s court, when he became laird he turned his attentions to local charitable work and cultural interests, having a hospital constucted adjoining the kirk in Tarves, among other things. In his old age, he decided Tolquhon Castle was to be a symbol of his status and sophistication, and the new building work was begun in 1584 under the eye of local architect Thomas Leiper, whose family had already worked on several other castles in the area. It progressed quickly and in only five years the new residence was complete, with the laird proudly having an inscription detailing the achievement placed on the wall, and taking an inventory of his possessions there only a few weeks afterwards. For a relatively minor lord, Tolquhon was a pretty respectable manor and Forbes would have been even prouder when he got the opportunity to show off his new castle to King James VI, who visited soon after its completion. Forbes died only seven years later in 1596, having also had a tomb built for himself and his wife Elizabeth Gordon in the parish kirk at nearby Tarves, which may still be seen. Though his son had originally intended to continue the work at Tolquhon this never materialised and the castle remained much the same until its forfeiture during the Jacobite rising of 1715, after which it passed into the hands of the crown and then the earl of Aberdeen, before being used, like so many old castles during this period, as extra housing for farm workers. It passed into the hands of the state in 1929 and is now preserved for the nation by Historic Scotland and is open to the public.

The castle has many interesting features, not least the gateway at the northern entrance, which would once have been turreted and is adorned with carvings, including the royal arms and a statue of Sir William Forbes in full period dress. In the southern range meanwhile were the family rooms, including the great hall with its hexagonal paving and the laird’s bedroom and other private rooms off it. On the west side of the castle was a long gallery, which would have housed books and portraits of the family, as well as providing an indoor entertainment space in case of bad weather. This probably overlooked gardens and traces of landscaping have been found in the grounds. In the long wall surrounding the forecourt there are also large holes which would have housed beehives, while the remains of a doocot may also be found. Despite all this apparent comfort, defensible and administrative features were not entirely neglected- there is a secret hiding spot in the family rooms on the south range, while next to the bakehouse is a pit for imprisoning wrongdoers which could only be accessed via a trapdoor in the room above. Nonetheless, Tolquhon’s main purpose was as a residence, not a fortress, and even today you can still get a sense of how it must have looked when it was a bustling lordly manor.

The pictures are mostly mine except the painting obviously, which is by an artist James William Giles. It dates from 1857 and shows Tolquhon with some of the roofs still intact.

#Tolquhon Castle #Scottish history #Scotland #British history #Aberdeenshire #Places to go #William Forbes 7th Laird of Tolquhon #Tarves #CASTLES #sixteenth century #James VI #Clan Forbes #Living in medieval Scotland #Domestic life #architecture

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rinoaheartillyy · 7 years

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Time Compression goes all screwy (well, screwier) and drops a character from VIII into the XV world of Eos and after they go back to the VIII world, the opposite happens for a brief moment before time fully corrects itself. What is the first things out of the displaced characters' mouths?

Firstly I just wanna apologise for the extremely late reply to this! It’s a really great question that made me think a lot, so thank you ^^ I hope I’ve read it in the correct way, I’m so sorry if I’ve misunderstood it! I couldn’t think of what character from each ff I’d like to write about so instead I’m gonna give you most of the main characters from each game. I’ve thought about different stories and interactions that these characters would have and because I also couldn’t decide on what location to use in both worlds, I’ve switched up time compression a lil’ bit so that when each character travels to their opposing world, they end up in a location in that world that relates to their personality. I hope that makes sense lmao. Okay, so here goes. VIII → XVSquall: naturally ends up in one of the most gloomiest places on Eos, the Vesperpool. It’s dark and damp and after looking around for a minute, he realises what’s happened he’s used to it by now. Squall’s first words is (you guessed it) “…Whatever.” Most likely, he’s shrugging off the feeling of being alone. He sees blue sky in the distance and starts heading in that direction because he knows that’s where he’ll find Rinoa.Rinoa: finds herself in beautiful Galdin Quay on the sand watching the waves. She’d be scared if it wasn’t for the tranquil scenery, it feels just like home. Her gaze wanders and lands on the back of a guy dressed in all black who appears to be fishing. “Squall..?” It’s more of an inaudible question to herself rather than getting ‘Squall’s’ attention.Selphie: Wiz’s chocobo post (where else?) Doesn’t hesitate for a second. Squeals at the sight of so many cute animals and immediately starts customising her very own chocobo. “You’re even cuter than the ones back home! AND YOU COME IN PINK!!!”Zell: is the first one to interact with someone from this world. He’s at a campfire and across from him, Gladio is sat eating some cup noodles. “WHERE ARE THE HOTDOGS?!” Of course hotdogs are the first thing on Zell’s mind no matter where he is in time or space. Gladio invites Zell to sit down and the pair have a pleasant conversation, discussing the worlds they’re from, the different books they like and who their friends are. Zell even compliments Gladio on his tattoos but the chat suddenly turns sour when Zell has a taste of cup noodles and spits them out yelling “UGH, GROSS!” Quistis: feels tiny as she stands before the Rock of Ravatogh. The first words to escape her mouth are “well this puts the Fire Cavern to shame” as she starts heading up the mountain. Nothing like a bit of adventure in a foreign world during time compression when you’re waiting to be sent back home, right?Irvine: ends up in the Weaverwilds (to him it’s the middle of no where). A blonde-haired guy is fighting some sabertusks and Irvine helps out by shooting them down from afar. Prompto runs over and thanks him. Irvine tips his hat, “Nice guns you got there. Hey, uh, any hot women around these parts?” Prompto looks confused but nevertheless shows Irvine photos of Cindy and Aranea before the two start an in-depth conversation about guns and women. Irvine also lets Prompto wear his cowboy hat for a while and Prompto takes many selfies.Laguna: wakes up in a bed at the Leville Hotel in Lestallum. “Raine?! Ellone?!” Confusion overtakes him for a while as the hotel room looks so familiar, almost like Raine’s bedroom. When he walks out of the hotel, he realises he’s trapped in time compression and sighs, holding on to the thought of Raine still being alive. He takes a deep breath and takes pleasure in how similar Lestallum looks to Winhill with its narrow paths and flower shops. With a feeling of nostalgia, Laguna walks to the market to buy some things that he can take back with him to give to Ellone. Seifer: fishing at the Forgotten Pool. It’s peaceful until “TURN THE ROD TOWARDS THE FISH!”Seifer turns around to see Ignis staring at him, arms crossed. He holds his head in his hands and mutters to himself, “I can’t believe I managed to find someone more annoying than chicken-wuss. I actually miss that little shit.” He tries to return to his fishing, it lasts a couple of minutes before Seifer gets so annoyed, he threatens Ignis with his gunblade. A fight is about to ensue when Ravus appears out of no-where. He and Seifer start arguing about whose coat is better whilst Ignis quietly disappears. XV → VIIINoctis: Ultimecia’s Castle. Noct is completely freaked BEFORE he sees Ultimecia so when she appears on the stairs he muffles a scream and hides hoping she didn’t see him. He hears her leave the room but continues to tense up in hiding. He whispers aloud, “If anyone is listening, please dear Six, I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this but please please PLEASE send me back to Ardyn.”Prompto: finds himself flying on board the Ragnarok with Selphie in the driver’s seat. “Oh my god, THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE REGALIA!” Starts taking photos without a second thought. Selphie teaches Prompto how to fly the Ragnarok and they swap every now and then with one flying and the other jumping up and down and yelling “WHOO-HOO!” Gladio: admiring Balamb Garden’s library. Spends ages looking through all of the collections. He finally settles on what looks like a good read when he sees a familiar looking blonde spiky haired kid in the corner of his eye. “HEY! CUP NOODLES ARE THE ULTIMATE FLAVOUR EXPERIENCE!!” Gladio then gives Zell a lecture on why cup noodles are better than hotdogs for the next few hours.Ignis: also ends up in Garden but in the cafeteria. He smells something delicious and the cafeteria lady gives him a plate with two hotdogs on. Ignis takes a bite and- “THAT’S IT! I’VE COME UP WITH A NEW RECIPEH!” Everyone in the room looks at him like he has three heads and Ignis suddenly feels extremely out of place and starts longing for his friends.Luna: Trabia Garden in the aftermath of the missile attack. At first she’s worried about where she is and why she’s ended up here but as soon as she sees there are people hurt and in pain, those thoughts are forgotten as she immediately proceeds to help the injured. Her first words are “I need some cloth to make bandages, STAT!” or some other statement that involves more professional medical terminology lmao.Aranea: appears to be in Galbadia, sitting on Edea/Ultimecia’s throne. “That’s it, I’m staying.” Aranea’s first words are before bossing Seifer around like a servant, getting him to fetch her cocktails and kneel on all fours before her so he can be her footstool. Cindy: in Dollet by the car that was crushed by X-ATM092. She’s almost heartbroken by the sight of it and knocks on the door closest to the car. When a couple answer it, Cindy’s first words escape her. “This might sound weird to y’all but… can I fix y’alls car?” Cindy has the door slammed in her face but doesn’t let it phase her. She proceeds to fix the car anyway and even gives it an upgrade.Bonus → XV chocobros after time compression stops and everyone is back home.At camp, Ignis is cooking dinner. Noctis and Prompto are salivating already. Gladio returns to camp a little later after doing a couple of more hunts and breathes in the aroma. “Mmm, Iggy, whatcha cookin’?” Ignis stares down at his grill and Noctis and Prompto look at each other with worried expressions. “Umm…” Ignis mumbles. Gladio walks over to Ignis and sees eight hot dogs on the grill. He frowns at Ignis and refuses to speak to him for the rest of the night. Safe to say, Gladio is extremely unimpressed.

#emeraldlatias #ahhh thank you so much for this ask!!#this was sooo fun to write #i'm really sorry again if it's not what you were expecting!#final fantasy #ffviii #ffxv #i'm aware that this seems to revolve around hotdogs lmao

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timexgoddess-blog · 6 years

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Story

Ultimecia's castle dominates the landscape in the era where she lives. It is implied she is the sole ruler of her world, although besides fallen White SeeD no other inhabitants of her world are introduced, their fate unknown. According to the Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania, Ultimecia's actions are driven by a means to escape her destined defeat at the hands of the "Legendary SeeD". Ultimecia's knowledge of this fate could be the main instigation for her desire of bringing about time compression, by which Ultimecia could absorb all time, space and existence, and become "a living god" and thus escape her fate.

With the Junction Machine Ellone Ultimecia sends her consciousness back in time to take possession of Edea Kramer, a sorceress living on the White SeeD Ship. Ultimecia's plan is to send her mind far enough back in time to cast the time compression spell, but the Junction Machine has a limit; to get even further back in time, she needs to find a girl called Ellone with a natural gift to send people's consciousnesses through time, upon whose powers the junction machine was originally built. Ultimecia uses Edea as a host to infiltrate the government of Galbadia, and is appointed ambassador of Galbadia by President Vinzer Deling.

Ultimecia manipulates Seifer.

President Deling announces her appointment in the first worldwide televised broadcast in 17 years. The broadcast is interrupted when Deling is taken hostage on-air by Seifer Almasy, a renegade SeeD cadet. Ultimecia (within Edea's body) surfaces from a teleportation spell and offers to save him from his "predicament". When Squall's SeeD party approaches her, they are paralyzed by her magic and Seifer allows Ultimecia to teleport him away to Galbadia.

Although Seifer is announced executed, Ultimecia turns him into her sorceress' knight and makes him her personal guardian. Nonetheless, Deling continues to publicize his new ambassador and plans a parade in Deling City to honor her appointment. Unbeknown to Ultimecia, General Caraway of Galbadia and SeeD mercenaries from Balamb Garden formulate a plan to assassinate her at the parade to prevent her from usurping power across the world.

General Caraway's daughter, Rinoa Heartilly, attempts to trick Ultimecia into taking a bangle created by Dr. Odine to seal away her sorceress power. Ultimecia recognizes the bangle, telekinetically disables Rinoa and takes control of her body, leading her to the balcony of the Presidential Palace. Ultimecia ascends the podium to give her acceptance speech to the people of Galbadia with Rinoa in tow, but it is a speech of hatred.

Ultimecia's parade in Deling City.

According to the Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania guide, Ultimecia casts a fascination spell that drives the crowd into a frenzy of reverence. Ultimecia impales President Deling through his chest with her hand in front of the city and throws his corpse aside. Ultimecia declares herself the ruler of Galbadia, assuring the beginning of a "new reign of terror", and brings two Iguion statues on the side of the Arch of Triumph to life and orders them to devour Rinoa as a sacrifice. Leaving Rinoa to her fate, Ultimecia boards her float which glides out into the street parade.

As Ultimecia passes underneath the Arch of Triumph the gates trap her inside. The sniper working with the SeeDs, Irvine Kinneas, takes a shot at her from atop the clock tower, but she blocks the bullet with a protection spell. Ultimecia is confronted by Squall, Irvine, and Rinoa (who had been rescued from the Iguions), and is disgusted upon discovering Squall is a SeeD. Ultimecia uses Edea's Ice Strike Limit Break to stab Squall through the shoulder.

Instead of killing Squall and his friends Ultimecia has them imprisoned in D-District Prison and orders Seifer to extract information from them via torture, namely, the reason SeeD persecute sorceresses. The interrogation yields no results as the SeeD themselves have not been informed of their organization's true goal. As Galbadia's new dictator, she declares Garden to be her enemy, and orders missiles aimed at both Balamb and Trabia Gardens. Balamb Garden avoids the missile attacks thanks to Squall and the others (who had escaped from prison) making the Garden mobile, but Trabia Garden is annihilated.

Ultimecia's true form seen for the first time.

Ultimecia takes control of the remaining Galbadia Garden and sets out to find Ellone. Galbadia occupies the towns of Balamb and Fishermans Horizon at her order to search every house, but comes up unsuccessful. Ultimecia attacks Balamb Garden directly, but the Battle of the Gardens ends with Squall leading his allies into Galbadia Garden where she is confronted in the Garden Auditorium.

Ultimecia orders Seifer to dispatch the SeeD, and when he fails, Ultimecia is forced to do battle. The encounter ends with Ultimecia being bested inside Edea's body and Edea inadvertently relinquishing her powers to Rinoa, transferring Ultimecia from within Edea to Rinoa's body. Ultimecia uses Rinoa to revive Seifer, orders him to salvage the Estharian weapon of mass destruction Lunatic Pandora from beneath the ocean, and Rinoa falls into a coma; whether Ultimecia forces this upon Rinoa, or if she collapses due to the strain of having received Edea's sorceress power, is unknown.

Edea, no longer a sorceress, divulges to the SeeD Ultimecia is a sorceress from the future who wants to destroy the world with time compression. Searching for a means to awaken Rinoa, Squall takes her to the Lunar Base—the Estharian space station—to see Ellone, hoping she could cure Rinoa with her powers over time. Ellone had come to the base to meet with the president of Esthar, but Ultimecia appears unaware of her presence and uses Rinoa to unlock Sorceress Adel's tomb, kept in space orbiting the planet overseen by the president of Esthar himself. With a more powerful sorceress in reach, Ultimecia abandons Rinoa in space to die.

Meanwhile, Seifer and the G-Army have taken control of the Lunatic Pandora and triggered the Lunar Cry, which brings monsters down to the planet from the Moon. Adel's unlocked tomb comes down with the monsters. Seifer captures Ellone, who had escaped the Lunar Base on an escape pod, and brings her to the Lunatic Pandora for Ultimecia's use.

Squall and his comrades have saved the now recovered Rinoa from space and figured out Ultimecia's goal. They concoct a plan to halt Ultimecia's scheme with the Esthar scientist Dr. Odine, who explains Ultimecia exists many generations in the future and the only way to reach her is via time travel. Their plan is to defeat Adel, leaving Rinoa the only sorceress in the present era whom Ultimecia could control. After she would take over Rinoa, Ellone would send both of their consciousnesses into the past, allowing Ultimecia to initiate time compression. Ellone would then send both of their minds back to their original bodies. To survive the time compression Squall and his friends would have to keep their bonds strong and wade through the compressing timelines and reach Ultimecia's era.

Ultimecia is confronted in her Master Room.

Ultimecia possesses Adel as she awakes from the frozen state she had been kept in the tomb, and orders Seifer to capture Rinoa. Ultimecia junctions Rinoa to Adel's body, but after engaging Squall and his friends in battle, Adel is defeated and passes on her powers to Rinoa. Ultimecia possesses Rinoa, allowing Ellone to send both of their minds to the past, where Ultimecia casts time compression only to have it temporarily halted when Ellone sends their consciousnesses back to their respective eras. Squall uses the partial time compression to enter Ultimecia's future.

Squall and his allies enter Ultimecia Castle, and after getting past the various traps and puzzles, confront Ultimecia in the Master Room. The SeeD battle Ultimecia who reaches into Squall's mind to find a power he values most. Using this information she summons Griever, the strongest Guardian Force in Squall's mind. In the Japanese version of Final Fantasy VIII, Ultimecia unveils the party's fears of memory loss, but claims it is not what they should fear, but the power of Griever, and orders the GF to unleash its ultimate attack, Shockwave Pulsar. After Griever's defeat, Ultimecia junctions herself to him, amplifying her power.

After Griever's body is destroyed, Ultimecia transforms and begins absorbing time, space and existence into her new body. She speaks of the futility of fighting against time and her final speech is distinctly different from her pre-battle lines, and she seems to be warning the party of something.

Ultimecia at Edea's Orphanage.

Despite her extensive powers, Ultimecia is unable to overcome her fate as the links that bind Squall and his friends protect them from time compression, and she falls in a massive explosion as time begins to decompress. As Ultimecia cannot die until she passes on her sorceress power, she ends up in Edea's Orphanage of the past where she passes on her power to the Edea Kramer of that time. In doing so Ultimecia ultimately perpetuates her predestined defeat, while fading away in a cloud of purple smoke.

#timegoddess;;headcanon

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williamemcknight · 7 years

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APL Awards 2018 – The finalists

The finalists for the APL Awards 2018 have been announced! The standard of entries exceeded expectations and yet again there were a record breaking number of entries for the judges to deliberate over.

On the judging panel were industry experts: Richard Barnard as chief judge, Bob Sweet, Steve Smith, Robin Templar-Williams, and APL General Manager, Phil Tremayne.

The annual awards ceremony, sponsored by Bradstone, takes place on Friday 16 March 2018 at The Brewery, London, to celebrate and recognise the outstanding landscaping carried out by members of the APL. Book your place at – www.aplawards.co.uk/book-your-seat

The finalists are:

PROJECT VALUE UNDER £20,000 • Agentsgreen, Backenbury Village Garden • Conquest Hard Landscaping, Pocket Garden • Green Rooms Landscapes & Gardens Ltd, Modern Courtyard Central Brighton • Lanwarne Landscapes Ltd, Chelveston • Mango Paving & Landscaping Ltd, Garden re-Vamp • Original Landscapes Ltd, Pickwick Road • Thorburn Landscapes Ltd, Clonmore St

PROJECT VALUE £20,000 – £35,000 • Agentsgreen, West Ealing Outdoor Room • Ayegardening Ltd, Lyndhurst • Conquest Hard Landscaping, Koi Garden • Creative Landscape Co, Paradise in a Berkshire Town • InsideOut Home and Garden Improvements Ltd, Castle on the Hill • Lanwarne Landscapes Ltd, Georgian Close • Timotay Landscapes, The Village Garden • Thorburn Landscapes Ltd, Berrymede Road

PROJECT VALUE £35,000 – £60,000 Sponsored by ICL • Agentsgreen, West London Garden Design and Rebuild • Chester Gardener, West Heath Drive • Habitat Landscapes Ltd, The Guest Room • J B Landscapes Ltd,Tranquil Terraced Garden • Landscape Associates Ltd, Teddington Garden • Papillon Designs and Landscaping Ltd, Creating more interest in a town garden • RG Landscape & Construction Ltd, Ipswich/Stride – Contemporary Garden

PROJECT VALUE £60,000 – £100,000 • Bowood Landscapes Ltd, Porters Garden • Frogheath Landscapes, Mayfield • Frosts Landscape Construction Ltd, Distillery Wharf • Langdale Landscapes Ltd, Plaxtol Garden • Langdale Landscapes Ltd, Redlands Road Project • Timotay Landscapes, The Social Garden

PROJECT VALUE £100,000 – £200,000 • Creative Landscape Co, Windrush – A riverside Garden • Lanwarne Landscapes Ltd, East View • Landscape Associates Ltd, Town Garden – Kensington, London • Timotay Landscapes, Contemporary Cheshire Garden • Wheelbarrow, Mulberry house, Mawgan Porth

PROJECT VALUE OVER £200,000 • Langdale Landscapes Ltd, Coldrum house • Living Landscapes UK, Private Residence Surrey • Outdoor Creations, Betchworth garden • Ryan Alexander Associates Ltd, Dean Grange • Waratah Gardens, The Woodland Garden

HARD LANDSCAPING Sponsored by Bradstone • Habitat Landscape Ltd, The Guest Room • InsideOut Home and Garden Improvements Ltd, Castle on the Hill • J B Landscapes, Caledonian Road • Landscape Associates Ltd, Town Garden – Kensington, London • Lanwarne Landscapes Ltd, Georgian Close • Lanwarne Landscapes Ltd, East View • Papillon Designs and Landscaping Ltd, Ebonyvale, Hayhillock, Ellon • Susan Young Garden Design, Slope to Stage • Urban Landscape Design Ltd, Urban HQ

SOFT LANDSCAPING Sponsored by Classiflora Zelari • Creative Landscape Co, New Garden • Creative Landscape Co, Paradise in Berkshire Town • Landscape Associates Ltd, Teddington Garden • Langdale Landscapes Ltd, Plaxtol Garden • Rococo Landscaping & Building Ltd, Terraced Garden

OVERALL DESIGN AND BUILD Sponsored by Green-Tech • Creative Landscape Co, Windrush – a riverside garden • Green Rooms Landscapes & Gardens Ltd, Modern Courtyard Brighton • J B Landscapes Ltd, Tranquil Terraced Garden • Landscape Associates Ltd, Town Garden – Kensington, London • RG Landscape & Construction Ltd, Ipswich/Stride – Contemporary Garden

GARDEN FEATURE Sponsored by Easigrass • J B Landscapes, Caledonian Road, Gabion Walls • Lanwarne Landscapes Ltd, East View – walling • Living Landscapes UK, Private Residence Surrey • RG Landscape & Construction Ltd, Chelmondiston – Brick Wisteria Walk way • Rococo Landscaping & Building Ltd, Terraced Garden – water feature

COMMERCIAL GARDEN • Frogheath landscapes, Hydro Hotel • Frogheath landscapes, English Woodlands Carpark • Kingston Landscape Group Ltd, Dickens Yard • Mango Paving & Landscaping Ltd, Kiddi Caru Day Nursery • Urban Landscape Design Ltd, FED – Care Home Seaside Garden

COMMUNITY GARDEN • Kingston Landscape Group Ltd, Tubs Hill • Landform Consultants Ltd, Coniston Court • Oakley landscapes Ltd, Greening Grey Britain • Timotay Landscapes, Cherry Lane Adventure Playground

APL DESIGNER OF THE YEAR • Aralia Garden Design, Essex Country Garden • Wardop Designs, Barbican Roof Terrace • Wardrop Designs, Hampstead

Additional awards on the day will be the APL Rising Star Award sponsored by Anders Plus, APL Newcomer of the Year sponsored by Makita and Supplier of the Year sponsored by Pro Landscaper.

To book and for more information about the finalists visit www.aplawards.co.uk

The APL Awards are sponsored by: Headline Partner – Bradstone Category Sponsors – Classiflora, Easigrass, Fresh Horticultural Careers, Green-tech, ICL and Makita Media Partner – Pro Landscaper Awards Partner – CED

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