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#all are OC’s except thranduil and Legolas
sotwk · 2 months
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Who of the children of Thranduil is:
The most noble.
most mischievous.
most wise.
most dangerous.
Why do you pick them for that trait?
What an AWESOME question--thank you! I'm not sure if you're new to my blog but if you are, Welcome to the SotWK AU! <3 I love how the qualities you asked about easily falls in perfect and honest assignment, one to each of my OC Princes! I guess it's cool that each Thranduilion is quite distinct from the other.
Superlatives with the Thranduilions
Most Noble: Crown Prince Mirion
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SotWK Fancast: Henry Cavill as Mirion Thranduilion
Mirion was such a paragon of honor and virtue that his own father looked up to him. Thranduil would sometimes even tell people that the Crown Prince would make a better king than him one day. Despite the pressure of such high praise, Mirion worked hard to live up to those expectations, and he found joy in that life of service to his people and his family. His kindness and humility made him beloved by everyone... except for the Necromancer in Dol Guldur, who aimed to see him dead and out of the way. The Necromancer used Mirion's sense of duty against him and tricked the prince into sacrificing himself in an ill-fated attempt to bring down Dol Guldur.
Most Mischievous: Prince Gelir
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SotWK Fancast: Sam Claflin as Gelir Thranduilion
Gelir exhibited the same rebellious, free-spirited personality that Thranduil possessed in his youth, but had to curb when he took on the responsibility of kingship. The fourth-born prince challenged and skirted protocol every chance he got, and often complained about feeling stifled by the rules attached to his royal station. He always enjoyed making jokes and pulling pranks and initiating spontaneous adventures, even when it caused (harmless) trouble and chaos. Fortunately, he was also charming and likeable enough to soothe the nerves of people who might otherwise have taken offense at his shenanigans.
Most Wise: Prince Arvellas
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SotWK Fancast: Rupert Friend as Arvellas Thranduilion
Arvellas's superior intelligence was evident from infancy, and he was the only prince to devote himself almost entirely to academics in lieu of martial arts and other physical pursuits preferred by the Silvans. As a result, Arvellas caused the number of scholars in the realm to rise and rival that of the other great kingdoms in Middle-earth. He became the Woodland Realm's most skilled healer, most accomplished linguist, and best diplomat. He was responsible for the realm's alliances with the Longbeard dwarves who came to live in the Grey Mountains and Erebor, but those friendships were greatly damaged in the tragedy of his death. More than his innate intelligence, Arvellas's wisdom came from his sense of justice and goodness, and his ability to remain calm and act prudently under stress or in dire situations.
Most Dangerous: Prince Turhir
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SotWK Fancast: Sam Heughan as Turhir Thranduilion
If Mirion was hated by the Dark Lord, Turhir was coveted by him. Only his younger age and lesser experience prevented Turhir from completely surpassing Thranduil as the greatest warrior of the realm. He excelled almost supernaturally in all physical challenges, and had flawless combat instincts. Like Thranduil, he never shied away from violence and killing when deemed necessary. Turhir's heart was just as golden as the rest of his family, but a lifetime as a soldier (not properly balanced with other pursuits) took its toll differently on his mind and spirit as the Darkness spread in Mirkwood. He also had the misfortune of being the only one to witness the deaths of his brothers Mirion and Arvellas, and that damaged him in ways that would never heal. From there his emotional state deteriorated so badly that his parents began to fear that he was prone to corruption by the Darkness--which may be what the Necromancer had intended.
But what about Prince Legolas?
As I have mentioned in past headcanon posts, what makes Legolas so impressively multi-faceted (especially as he appears in the movies) is his wide range of skills. He is the jack-of-all traits that carries pieces of his family's best qualities in him. The youngest Thranduilion is naturally gifted on his own right, but his greatest asset (in my HC at least) is his ability to adapt, mimic, and learn. And he had not only both parents, but also four older brothers to help raise him and pass their knowledge onto him. Having older siblings to look up to as role models, to train with and to motivate him to do better, helped Legolas to grow into an incredible warrior and excellent friend and companion to the Fellowship.
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For more Thranduil/Mirkwood headcanons: SotWK HC Masterlist
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Elves HC Tag List: @a-world-of-whimsy-5 @achromaticerebus @acornsandoaktrees @aduialel @asianbutnotjapanese @auttumnsayshi @blueberryrock @conversacomsmaug @elan-ho-detto-elan-15 @entishramblings @fizzyxcustard @friendofthefellowshipsnerdblog @glassgulls @heilith @heranintomyknife23times @ladyweaslette @laneynoir @lathalea @lemonivall @quickslvxrr @spacecluster @stormchaser819 @talkdifferently6 @tamryniel @tamurilofrivendell
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Other useful links:
Introduction to SotWK
Fanfiction Masterlist
Fanfiction Request Guidelines
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elithilanor · 2 years
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BLOG RULES
Minors, TERFs, Racists, Homo and Transphobes DNI
Love asks and comments! I’m happy to have you here! Love requests and prompts!
All consent, all the time! Only consensual non-con and even then I’m unlikely to write it without a lot of discussion
No minors/underage. I will block ageless/blank blogs that follow me.
No incest (parent/child, siblings, etc); half of them are cousins somehow that’s just the silmarilion for ya
Preferred queer/LGBTQ+ pairings and fic asks
Currently not accepting OFC or fem reader insert fics. Gender neutral or masc OC and insert fics (or just gen) are great!
No extreme violence, gore, or sa
No Haladriel (Halbrand/Galadriel)
I’m not super well-versed in RoP except Elrond, so that’s a factor. I’ll let you know if that changes
The blog names meaning if anyones curious: El Ithil Anor are the Sindarin words for star, moon, and sun.
FIC MASTERLIST
Sapphic Tolkien Creator List
LoTr Tolkien Author List
You can find me on ao3 at tazangelofdeath!
Haldir:
NSFW Alphabet
Tattoo Imagine
NSFW Haldir’s Return Home
Rescue Imagine
Holding Each Other Imagine
Non-Sexual Kneeling HC
Meadow Minor Expansion on Non-Sexual Kneeling
Some Haldir Baking HCs
Injured Partner HCs
Submissive! Haldir:
Sub! Haldir with Domme OFC HCs
Comforted by your Elvish Partner During Sensory Overwhelm Series:
Elrond, Haldir, Arwen
Tauriel, Arondir, Thranduil
Legolas, Glorfindel, Lindir, Erestor
Celeborn and Galadriel
Elrond:
Fem! Elrond & Reader with Broken Glass
Tauriel:
Exiled Imagine
Sapphic Arwen:
NSFW Basics - Short Imagine
NSFW Full Alphabet
Delayed Gratification -Smut
Rúmil:
NSFW Alphabet
Rúmil x Trans Masc Smut Drabble
Glorfindel:
NSFW Alphabet
Erestor x Reader x Glorfindel:
Triad Soft Summer Sun Imagine
@sotwk Haldir Requests:
Typically featuring more masc Haldir, fem reader, straight relationship, less/no nsfw, Haldir in line with her Haldir hcs vs my own
Pregnancy Reveal - Eleniel - Daughter of the Stars
A Warden’s Love, A Healer’s Kindness to be updated with the newest version until it’s finished
Other Headcanons/Meta/Asks
Helcaraxë and Trauma Response Humor
Elves Painting Their Nails / Gender Discussion
Elvish Braiding Customs Ask
Favorite Middle Earth Characters Ask
Lórien Bois HCs
Elves with a Visually Impaired/Blind Partner
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This is my LOTR OC, Amber Greenleaf for my upcoming fanfic A Light in the Dark. Below is her character profile.
Name: Amber Greenleaf Aliases: Amber, Thranduil calls her “ithildin” (means “starlight” in Elvish) Gender/Pronouns: she/her Sexual/Romantic Orientation: straight Age: 3458 years old Birthdate: she was born in the Second Age Occupation: assassin Height: 5′5″ ft Build: curvy but thin, wide hips, huge breasts, fat ass, long legs Skin Tone: tan Hair: long (reaches her ass), blonde, and wavy Eyes: one blue, one brown (represents her duality) Identifying Marks: has a long scar on her back (will be discussed in her background...) Appearance: stunningly beautiful, she seems to glow in the moonlight (which is why Thranduil calls her “ithildin”), beings of all realms are captivated by her. Many love her, but no one truly knows her... except for Thranduil. Personality: Motivations: is sent by the guild of assassins to kill Thranduil, she had been brainwashed from birth to follow her leader (Sauron)’s orders, however meeting Thranduil changed everything. She left the league of assassins and Sauron sent assassins after her, but Thranduil saved her life. When she became pregnant with his child (Legolas), she vowed to take down the assassin syndicate so that her child would be safe.  Current Goal: kill Suaron and protect her unborn child Life Goal: Amber wants to live a happy life with Thranduil in Mirkwood, and have lots of his babies. Motto: “In the darkness, we found a light many never see...” Best Quality: her beauty Worst Quality: None. Fears: losing Thranduil Hobbies: fighting, assassinating, killing, maiming, torture, sex. Talents: sex, killing, singing Skills: sex, killing Alignment: grey, neutral. Group/Organizational Affiliations: Brotherhood of Assassins, Thranduil Family: marries Thranduil and has Legolas, and then some more kids too. Best Friends: Thranduil Relationship Status: Married to Thranduil Significant Other: Thranduil Other Relationships: none Secret: Is part of assassin group (Thranduil doesn’t know at first) then pregnant (she doesn’t tell him for a while - elf pregnancies can last for up to 4 years) Influential Memory: being tortured by Sauron, it’s how she got her scar on her back Role Model: at first she admires Sauron but then she sees the error of his ways Crush: Thranduil Source of Embarrassment: her scar Source of Pride: her big happy family with Thranduil
Backstory: Amer grew up in an orphanage, she was abandonded as an elf baby, and was found by Sauron who raised her. However he was abusive and mistreated her. He taught her to fight, and then she joined his Assassin League, and he gave her a task to prove her loyalty: Kill Thranduil. Amber left for Mirkwood where she met Thranduil in the woods one night. She gripped her dagger tight, its tip laced with poison, but before she could strike him down, he spoke. Instantly, she was captivated by him. Fate had brought them together. Theirs was a love that would change Middle Earth irrevocably. 
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headcannonballs · 2 years
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Also something I posted on another platform before, but with every viewing of the Hobbit, it just bugs me more and more...
Of course, I'm talking about Tauriel. *facepalm*
So I really hated a certain OC elf on first viewing, and I had thought it was her being OC that was the main cause. But now having watched it again, I realised what was my real beef with her: That she made all other characters OOC when interacting with her.
See Alfrid was really slimy and annoying and an OC as well. But I'm actually okay with him, because the characters he interacts with remain consistent and in character. The master showers favour on him because he is a buttkisser, and hates Bard because Bard doesn't. Bard forgives his nonsense and betrayals because he is a merciful person - he takes in Kili and company despite being insulted by Thorin just moments before. The characters are not changed just to accommodate Alfrid's presence in the story, instead their personalities are built up through these snippets.
This is not the case for the elf. Firstly, Kili's loyalty to Thorin becomes compromised. He is previously shown to be fiercely loyal to Thorin, and yet his death - defending Thorin right till the end in the book - becomes a love sacrifice which serves no purpose: it has no impact on the story except for an OC who should not have been there in the first place.
Next, Legolas is affected as well: throughout the movie he is seen to be obedient to his father and loyal to his king up until she opposes it. Then he immediately does a 180 and is willing to even commit treason for her. And at the end of the movies this serves no purpose as well: he has the exact same opinion of dwarves as he had right from the start (refer to his comment on meeting Gimli in FotR).
Finally, Thranduil is the most schizophrenic when interacting with her. He is supposed to be racist and elitist, but makes her Captain of the Guard and is stated to openly show her favour. He is portrayed to be petty and unreasonable, yet has let her throw tantrums at him without much consequence. He is said to be cold and without love, but shows concern for her. It almost reads like it is Thranduil, not Legolas, who was part of the love triangle.
The inclusion of this OC was handled so badly that all the characters who interacted with her for any length of time had to be out of character for her story arc to come through. Instead of building up personalities, her presence tore them down by having others do actions that did not make sense to their character.
I think that was what annoyed me the most.
The way I see it is that the OC could have been a very good addition and served a different love story: to develop Thranduil as a foil to both Thorin and Bard, and highlight the love that Thranduil had for his wife and consequently his son - Legolas.
Consider the following plot points they added:
1. Thranduil has lost his wife at some point and only has the White Gems and Legolas as memory of her.
2. Thranduil had been hurt by dragon fire (implied).
3. Thranduil is isolationist and does not like to lead his people into danger.
4. An unrelated female elf serves as his Captain of Guard, instead of his son.
5. Thranduil had not spoken of his wife ever since her death, and relations with Legolas is cold.
What they could have done is this:
We are introduced to Legolas and OC, OC is the captain but it is obvious that Legolas leads better. They return to Mirkwood and it is OC who reports to Thranduil, not Legolas. Have OC say that Legolas performed well, not the opposite. Have Thranduil scold her for encouraging him (to do battle) and not because of some perceived crush Legolas has on her.
In the jail scene Legolas is jealous, not because of some romance, but because of OC's position as Captain. He is the Prince of Mirkwood, but Thranduil favours OC and makes her captain instead. He is chaffing at the bit to show what he can do. After discovering the dwarves are gone, they chase them down and fight orcs. Again Legolas performs better, and he nets a prisoner. But after some interrogation, Thranduil kills the orc when the One is mentioned and Legolas doesn't understand why. Thranduil then orders Mirkwood to be locked down.
Give Legolas agency and make him the one to break the curfew on his own: he wants to find more orcs and find out what Thranduil is hiding from him. OC goes with him to protect him. They find the link to Gundabud, and Legolas recalls his mother was killed there. They take a day trip, and instead of just listening to Legolas rant, OC subtly indicates that Thranduil's isolationist attitudes may have something to do with Legolas' mother's death.
They return to find that Mirkwood is deserted - the army has left to fight Thorin at Erebor. Legolas is worried because he knows the orcs are going there as well and leaves immediately to inform his father. Thranduil is furious to find Legolas at the battlefield, but when he sees Legolas' worry he finally does not dismiss him. They ride together into Dale where Thranduil's elk is killed (and Legolas worries for a moment) but father and son soon dispatch many orcs. Then the death toll rises and Thranduil wants to retreat.
Legolas defies him, but not by threatening to kill Thranduil; instead he simply states he won't leave and he'll fight himself if he has to. This attacks Thranduil at his weakest point: all his isolationist policies, not appointing Legolas captain, etc was to protect Legolas by keeping him safe. And now Legolas is putting himself in danger.
Thranduil recalls perhaps a conversation, or just an image of Bain staying by Bard's side and helping him out. He sees Kili and Fili following Thorin into danger. And he realizes he is all wrong. By isolating himself, his son and his country, he is not protecting them - he is not letting them grow. So he decides to continue to fight. And right at the end of the battle Legolas says he will not return (to being protected), and Thranduil accepts that. He tells Legolas to look for Aragorn, thereby giving consent for Legolas to go into danger, but also to grow.
And after all that I realized that what I really wanted was a complete rewrite of Legolas' character in the Hobbit movies because *damn*, they did him nasty.
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entishramblings · 3 years
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The Last Light of the Star Characters: Arryin, Legolas, Belanor, Beyla, Rowan, Faelynor, Razela, Edyrm, Miliel Aredhel, Thranduil, Halafarin, Fraeya, Ristala (left to right)
made with artbreeder.com
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unnamedelement · 3 years
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Please enjoy this promo for our 2021 @tolkienrsb collab, with art moodboard by @stormxpadme and fic by @unnamedelement. You can find the fic and art in the TRSB 2021 collection on AO3 (link to fic HERE). You can see the art on Stormxpadme’s page here. 
Summary, warnings, characters, and video credits listed below the cut.
Rating: Teen Words: 11k Characters: Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, Arwen, Eowyn, Faramir, Elladan, Elrohir, Elboron, Eldarion, Thranduil, OCs Ithildim & Gloreg Warnings:  Implied, non-graphic sexual content in one chapter (PG-13), blood in Ch 3, grief and mourning, canonical major character death(s) off-screen, OC character death Summary:  After the war, the stories say that Legolas son of Thranduil restored Ithilien to the "fairest country in all the westlands." But what was lost in its making, and what was gained? For Legolas, those things that haunt him are the very ones he holds closest. Those things that drain also sustain. These are the moments of beauty and despair that pinprick the patchwork quilt of Legolas' life in the Fourth Age: a handful of stories that, woven together, paint a picture, frozen in a moment of time: a world in a grain of sand. Vid credits: Video made on Canva with images provided by their Free Media License Agreement. (Except for the Tolkien map and images from Stormxpadme’s art.)
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inwiste · 3 years
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Thranduil for the game pls <3
How I feel about this character
Absolutely love Thranduil and cannot get enough. I like most iterations of the character, except for ones that are like "he's terrible" without really exploring why Thranduil may act the way he does, like the grief he must feel after losing many of his people, his wife, and his father to the ongoing war in middle earth and just the complexity of his family. He is hands-down one of my all-time favorite characters and I think he's really great!
All the people I ship romantically with this character
Honestly I really only ship Thranduil and his wife? I can get into Thranduil/Elrond but that's more of a mild interest/I really like their dynamic more than a true interest in seeing them romantically.
My non-romantic OTP for this character
Okay I have a brotp with him for several of my OCs but with canon characters I LOVE him and Erestor being besties. I cannot get enough of them being really good friends and I love seeing content like that with them.
My unpopular opinion about this character
It genuinely pisses me off when I see people say Thranduil doesn't love his son. He most definitely loves his son. Thranduil having an dysfunctional relationship with his son and not being on the best terms with him at times does not mean that he does not love his son!! Love is complicated, and just because a relationship is not perfect or it has issues does not mean that love does not exist. I really like people exploring Thranduil in relation to grief, especially surrounding Legolas, but some people just completely ignore any nuance and just try to say he's a bad dad without paying any attention to his character.
One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.
I really wish we saw more about the Battle Underneath the Trees. In general, I would like more info about Eryn Lasgalen in the Fourth Age since it was clearly thriving. It would be really interesting to learn about the only elven kingdom left in the age of men, especially since it was the only major elven realm in the 3rd age to lack the protection of a ring of power.
Thanks for the ask <3
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Which is your story with the fireflies?
Hi, thank you for asking! ☀️ It comes from my main Legolas x OC story, which is currently being rewritten on Ao3 here.
It was previously on another site (Quotev), and the chapters are going up one by one after being rewritten, so you can’t find the firefly scene online yet, except for here down below 👇🏻
The scene in question is the first time Bonnie and Legolas fully let their guard down around each other. This is after getting drunk their first night being forced to travel with one another to reach Lake-town, where they’re aiming to complete individual goals regarding Thorin’s Company.
The entire scene can be found below the cut :)
(also, I might make an actual post introducing the story with the cover art and synopsis, etc? I feel like others have done that, and I should too?)
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Now giggling and completely drunk on Oin’s moonshine, Bonnie and Legolas fell onto their backs against the green grass and moss.
Dancing had tired them out, as breaths racked their chests—more believable for the human girl than it was for the elf, but her modern music had a different beat, of which he was entirely unfamiliar with.
Regarding said music, the soft tunes of “Southern Nights” by Glen Campbell filled the air, providing a cosy ambience for them both. Bonnie was certainly glad her Sony Walkman had made it with her to Middle-earth, now more than ever.
She briefly wondered how they handled such silence otherwise.
It was intimate underneath the stars and beside the river, perhaps a little too intimate for the two reluctant travel companions. However, at certain points in their impulsive dance, they couldn’t help but secretly thank the orcs for ruining their previous plans.
The constellations above them glittered, like a million diamonds. Their heads were spinning from both the dizzying dance and alcohol, but even then, they couldn’t fight the stupid grins off their faces.
They felt as though they had just spun on the spot for five minutes-straight, as if they were no more than children again. Things felt, for the first time in a long time, easy.
Considering a dragon and war between their two sides was on the near horizon, that was a feat in itself.
Bonnie glanced to her left discreetly, stealing a peek at the happy prince. He was certainly odd, but in an even odder way, he made her feel safe.
Before he could catch her, she looked up at the stars again—listening in closely to his inhales and exhales, the running river, swaying leaves, howling wolves, chirping crickets and Sony Walkman.
Legolas, too, stole a glance at her, considering her greatly. He now knew her secret, and though that answered some questions about her, many more were left.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Bonnie remarked after a moment of silence, referencing the stars. “We didn’t have views like this back in Chicago—and if we did, they were usually just helicopters tricking you into thinking they’re God or some shit.”
Bonnie laughed to herself slightly in disbelief over the memory from that Chicago alleyway, nearly a whole year prior. Where had the time gone?
Legolas giggled with her, even if he didn’t quite understand what was so funny. He liked to laugh with Bonnie, and he couldn’t yet explain why.
Lifting a lazy hand, Legolas dragged it along the sparkling canvas above. “They tell stories. Did you know that?”
“No,” Bonnie replied, sincerely. She folded her hands and rested them on her stomach. “Can you tell me one?”
Legolas pursed his lips to one side in thought, and ran a drunken gaze along the sky. His eyesight, for the first time in his life, wasn’t perfect. He almost revelled in the feeling of the complete and utter lack of control.
“Hmm…” he hummed, and from the close proximity he was laying next to her, Bonnie could feel the vibration of his voice. “Ah, straight above—it is the story of a little elf losing his way from home, but ultimately returning.”
“Pfft,” Bonnie disagreed, waving her own hand. “That ain’t nothin’ but a bunch of tiny little dots, Blondie.”
“No, I’m being quite serious,” Legolas beamed, looking to his side and at her. “Look closer—you can see his little body surrounded by the trees, and over to the right, you can see him walking through them.”
Bonnie complied and followed his hand, smiling the whole while. However, her smile soon steadily ran away, upon catching sight of something else.
Legolas noticed this, and questioned her in a concerned voice, coming up onto his elbows.
“Bonnie? Are you all right?”
Instead of replying, she slowly sat up, and stared at the crowns of leaves above them in unbridled wonder.
There, floating above the city girl, were many fireflies—something she had wished to see her whole life, but never had.
“They’re…they’re—” she had gone to say.
“Fireflies,” Legolas grinned, looking up at the trees now as well.
Parting her lips, and gaping in shock, Bonnie stood upright. The fireflies came down to meet their woodland prince and worldly guest, gently floating by.
She held both hands together, and pressed them in close to her chest, as she turned on the spot slowly. There were so many of them, and more amazing than she ever could have imagined.
“They’re…beautiful,” the usually cocky girl slipped, for once speaking with her guard completely down.
Still only sat up on his elbows, Legolas watched Bonnie move around with studious eyes, a soft smile on his lips. Fireflies all around the prince basked him in a golden glow, as he watched the girl in quite literally a new light.
She grinned at the floating bugs, and reached her fingers out to touch them. He could’ve sworn he saw tears welling up behind her eyes.
Standing up behind Bonnie, he walked forwards, so that he now stood by her side.
“Beautiful is right,” he said, looking down at her with an expression no one had ever seen on him before.
And, for now, it was an expression no one else would see, for Bonnie missed his gentle voice—too caught up in the marvel that was glowing around her.
Understanding that she wanted to interact closer with them, Legolas lifted up a hand, so that one landed on his finger.
She gasped slightly, and responsively moved her eyes in closer, for Legolas had brought it up for her to view.
“Wait! Blondie! You’re an elven prince!” Bonnie suddenly recalled, beaming up at Legolas.
“Last time I checked,” he smirked, almost returning to his bickering ways in Rivendell with her.
Rolling her eyes, but still grinning brightly, Bonnie pressed on—Chicago accent thick. “You can talk to them! Oh, God, ask them something! Or, I don’t know! Talk about whatever you talk to animals about!”
Legolas smiled back in an eye-crinkling manner, and nodded, chuckling slightly. He brought the firefly in close to his nose, and spoke soft Sindarin words to the bug.
Soon, it seemed as though he was caught up in conversation with said firefly, for he responded a few times with warm words she didn’t at all understand.
At one point, he giggled shyly and blushed—looking away from the firefly and down at his feet instead, where he gently tumbled blades of grass over one another.
Noticing this, Bonnie knitted her brows and questioned him with a curious smile. “What did he say?”
As he lifted his eyes and met hers, Bonnie swallowed deeply, for there was a certain glow within them unmatched by the golden bugs all around.
“He said, and I quote,” Legolas began, in almost a whisper, “that ‘despite them all glowing brightly tonight’ and ‘despite the stars beaming down for us’ you, Bonnie, are ‘still the most radiant of all things’, and then I said…”
Bonnie sucked on her lower lip, and tilted her head slightly, trying to catch Legolas’ averting eyes.
“You said…what, Blondie?” Bonnie asked, feeling a slither of hope over something she didn’t quite understand.
Meeting her eyes again, Legolas smiled warmly, and concluded his words.
“I said that I agree.”
The smile steadily ran away from Bonnie’s face, as his words rang around within her mind, like melodic bells.
“Wedding bells,” she knew Bilbo would have said, for once glad he wasn’t around.
However, irregardless, whether it be the alcohol driving her forward, or something more genuine, Bonnie beamed brighter in response to the frog-loving archer.
With a blush creeping along his features, Legolas shyly returned her smile.
And there, as Bonnie’s Sony Walkman played many old songs into the golden air that night by the river and fire, the two previous rivals grew a little bit closer—praying that morning would never come, for they knew what lay ahead in Lake-town.
Everything they felt tonight, alcohol-induced or not, would have to be forgotten by morn, for Thranduil and Thorin would surely forbid what had barely even begun from blooming further.
However, there, amongst the fireflies, they decided that that was their future selves’ problem.
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Healing Hands
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After having left Thranduil eons ago, OC receives word that he was grievously wounded in the Battle of the Five Armies and still has not healed.  She drops everything to go and heal him.
MASTERLIST
OC Used:  Enyalie
Word Count: 1,686
Translation(s): Naneth:  Mother
Ceven dhaer, anno vellas lin enin 'raw hen:  Great Earth, may you give your strength to this body
Ion nin:  My son
Athae:  Heal(ing)
~~~
I reclined on my daise, staring off into the distance as I daydreamed of the times of old.  Of the days when I filled a different position.  One of mother, Queen, and beloved spouse.  Not a runaway, a deserter.
Then my Naneth appeared, Lady Galadriel of Lothlorien.  Her sudden presence removed me from the daydream, and I glanced up at her.  She looked grim and worried, which was never a good sign.
"There has been a messenger from Mirkwood."  She said, and I nodded, wondering what significance this held.  "Thranduil was injured in the Battle of the Five Armies."  She continued, and I frowned.
"But that was weeks ago!"  I said, puzzled over why we would be receiving this news now.  But my mother spoke again, a strange look passing over her face.  I thought I recognized it as pity.  But why?
"Yes, but the wound did not heal.  He lies on the delicate line of life and death as we speak, Enyalie."  She said softly, and I bolted upright, a cold, numbing feeling rushing through me at the thought of Thranduil lying on Mandos' door.
"I must go to him."  I whispered, and my mother nodded solemnly, the smallest of smiles decorating her face.  
"You must."  She murmured, and I rose to my feet, hurrying past her and grabbing a passing servant.
"Saddle my horse.  I ride for Mirkwood."  I said, and the servant sped away, leaving me alone to gather my things.
My horse and I flew through the trees, my cloak flapping in the wind.  I had no time to waste in reaching Mirkwood if I wished to save Thranduil.  If he still lived.
At the morbid thought, I urged my mare faster, firmly telling myself that it wouldn't be so, that he would be alright.  I would reach him in time.
The hooves of my mare clattered across the cobblestone of the bridge into the palace.  The
doors opened wide and I was greeted by a pair of guards, who crossed their spears to prevent my entering.
"Halt, and state your business!"  One called, and I slid off the horse, striding up to the guards and throwing back my silver hood.  
"Do you not recognize your Queen?"  I asked, my tone commanding.  The guards paled and quickly knelt before me, a hurried apology for not recognizing me leaving their lips.
I didn't stick around to hear it, and breezed past them, hurrying through the deathly silent hallways of the palace I used to call home.  
Nothing had changed since I'd left, several thousand years ago, except for the noises.  It used to be filled with laughter and talk.  But now it was like the grave of a forgotten warrior, buried in the mists of time.
In my frantic journey through the halls to Thranduil's bedchamber, I turned a corner and almost ran into a tall, blonde-haired ellon.  I didn't stop to chat and continued on my way.  But unbeknownst to me, the ellon stopped still, looking as if he'd seen a ghost.
Staring at my retreating figure, his blue eyes narrowed.  "Naneth?"  He whispered.
Finally I reached a familiar oak door, decorated with Thranduil and I's royal seal.  I pushed it open, striding quickly into the room, which was filled with several Healers.
Upon hearing my entry, they turned and began to tell me to leave.  Then they recognized me, and fell back, astonished.
"My Queen!"  One cried, but I ignored them all, focused only on the still form lying languidly on the bed.
"Thranduil!"  The words left my throat in a whisper, and I stood over him, eyes scanning his body, which was now frail and thin.  But his chest still rose and fell in an unsteady rhythm.  There was not much time left.
"My Lady, I'm sorry you have to see the King in this state.  We have tried everything, but nothing has worked."  A Healer said quietly, and I turned to look at them.
"What about Kingsfoil?  Have you tried that?"  I asked, and the Healer shook his head.  
"No, My Lady.  We have only just located a plant in the far off regions of Fangorn Forest."  He said, making me frown.
"Then why have you not tried it?"  I asked, before fear struck me again.  "My son, Legolas.  He is still...?"  My voice trailed off.
The Healer shook his head.  "No, Prince Legolas is alive, My Lady.  We just have not had the time to train him in the healing properties and usage of Kingsfoil."  He said, and I nodded.
"Well, prepare the Kingsfoil.  Quickly!"  I ordered, and the Healers whirled into action.  I turned my attentions back to Thranduil, who had begun to thrash on the bed in his delirium.
I caressed his cheek with my hand, shushing him softly, and murmuring a gentle Elven lullaby I had sung to Legolas when he was a young elfling.  Slowly, Thranduil calmed and lay still.  I continued to stroke his gaunt cheek that burned with fever.
"My Lady, the Kingsfoil is ready."  The Healer said, and I accepted the poultice he gave me.  He pulled the sheets back to reveal a gaping wound spanning across my husband's abdomen.  It had begun to heal, but was taking far longer than it should have, causing complications.
I grimaced at the awful sight, but nodded to the other Healers to hold Thranduil down.  He would fight against the sensation of something being held onto his injury.  Once the Healers were ready, I took a deep breath, closing my eyes as I began to murmur an Elven healing chant under my breath as I pressed the poultice firmly against Thranduil's abdomen.
Almost instantaneously, Thranduil convulsed, but remained silent.  His body shuddered beneath my hands as I kept a continuous pressure on the poultice.  I concentrated on the chant, my voice rising slightly as I neared the end.  
"Ceven dhaerm anno vellas li(')n nin 'raw hen.  Athae!"  I whispered, stumbling backwards as I became aware of my surroundings again.  The Healers guided me to sit down next to Thranduil, who lay still.  Laying a hand on his forehead, I was relieved to feel that it was cool.  "The fever has broken."  I murmured, a smile appearing on my face.
Slowly, crystal blue eyes opened, glancing about the room until they landed on me.  I stared back in silence, realizing just how much I'd missed that gaze on me.
"Thranduil?"  I called softly, tilting my head to the side slightly as I smiled.  He watched me, a hint of sadness creasing his face.
"She speaks.  But she does not walk the same pathways as me.  She has gone on to a different life.  A journey within the lands of the West, of the stars."  He murmured, and I realized the full extent of how much I had hurt him in leaving.  He dreamed of me, I could tell.  But they weren't happy dreams, they were dreams of days gone by, dreams of my shadow, a being he could never catch.
But that was changing.  I had come home for good.  "Thranduil, it's me.  Enyalie."  I whispered, reaching my hand out and gently laying it on his cheek.  His eyes widened as he felt my touch.
"It is you.  Enyalie?"  He called almost in a whimper as tears filled his eyes.  I nodded, overcome with emotion myself.
Thranduil tried to sit up, but winced at the pain from his healing wound.  I pressed my hands to his shoulders, concerned.  "Take it easy, My love.  You are healing still."  I said, waiting for the Healers to help me ease him into an upright position.
He gazed at me for a moment, almost as if he still couldn't believe that I was sitting beside him after so many centuries.  Then he reached out, pulling me close to him as he stared at me.  "I missed you, so much."  He murmured as his lips met mine in a long overdue embrace.  Pulling away, I rested my forehead on his, eyes still closed.  "Don't you ever leave me again."  Thranduil pleaded softly, and I smiled, opening my eyes.
"I have no plans to do so, my love."  I said, gazing fondly at him, and only looking away when the doors slowly opened, and a blonde-haired ellon stuck his head in.
"How is he?"  He asked quietly, before noticing that Thranduil was alert and upright.  Then he saw me, and shock crossed his features as he stepped into the room.
Thranduil smiled beside me, and I wondered who this tall, handsome ellon was.  He seemed familiar though, and I looked at him more closely, beginning to notice similarities between him and Thranduil.  
"Legolas."  Thranduil called softly, just as I'd come to the conclusion that this ellon was my son.  Legolas stepped forward, eyes only on me.
I rose slowly, feeling like I was in a daze.  "Thranduil, this cannot be the little elfling I left behind that day.  He has grown so tall and handsome!"  I said, laughing slightly in disbelief.  Legolas watched me closely, his expression unreadable.  Then he spoke in a whisper.
"Naneth?  Is it you?"  
I nodded, and opened my arms wide as he stepped forward to pull me into a hug.  He'd grown so tall that my chin brushed his shoulder.    "I should never have left you behind."  I murmured, squeezing Legolas tight.  
"Naneth, you're going to squeeze me to death."  He called softly, and I let go, releasing him from my hug.  I studied him again, still unable to believe that this was my son.  Legolas looked me over as well.  "You are not leaving again?"  He asked, eyes betraying his fear at the thought.  
I shook my head, smiling.  "No, Ion nin.  I am here to stay.  Forever."  I murmured, and Legolas' face broke into a smile.
The Healers slowly began to trickle out of the room, leaving our trio in privacy.  I resumed my seat beside Thranduil on the bed as they both began to fill me in on what had happened in my 2,791 year absence.  
Which happened to be quite a lot.
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fortuitousraven · 3 years
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My WIPs
Update: Everything, including the wiki project, is going on indefinite hiatus.
Alrighty, I thought to be a bit organized about this and make a masterlist.
Listed in order of priority for each category:
Posted
Course Correction (Akallabêth/Silmarillion)
Finally got a chapter out again! The next one is mostly written, but is waiting for me to have energy to edit it into shape.
The Tar-Míriel intrigue fanfic, because she needs some in-depth exploration.
Short summary: Ar-Pharazôn conveniently dies, leaving Queen Tar-Míriel and Evil Chancellor Sauron in an awkward stand-off. Plotting ensues.
Everyone is Finally Working Together (Silmarillion/LOTR/ASOIF)
Progressed pretty far, but on hiatus for now. I have an outline for finishing and intend to return to it, but with how long it’s been and how rough the writing is in the start, I’m planning to reboot it.
The Sauron dark humour fanfic, because I think I’m funny.
Short summary: Sauron "fixes" Westeros. This debatably counts as an improvement.
Unposted (Needs more editing to be publishable, or is still in the planning phase)
Untitled Finrod/Andreth in Arda Remade fic. (Athrabeth/Silmarillion)
Being planned, and should hopefully get posted relatively soon.
Because actuallymiriel makes good prompts and I’m a nerd who enjoyed Athrabeth XD
Short summary: Men don’t end up with the elves after all in Arda Remade, Finrod is Very Unhappy and gets his pontificating on to address it. Philosophy debating, and angst with a happy ending.
Untitled Tyelpe in Numenor fic
The Sauron/Tar-Miriel/Celebrimbor fic, because I am going to self-indulgently smush my favourites together :p
Short summary: Sauron kept Celebrimbor around instead of killing him, and he gets dragged along to Numenor. Miriel and Tyelpe bond other having the same kind of evil boyfriend troubles, which then get complicated when they also start having the same evil boyfriend troubles.
Enemy of My Enemy (Akallabêth/Silmarillion)
Several chapters written, and general direction is planned. Should get posted some time in the future.
Because you can never have enough Númenor, and I want flat-earth atheist Gimilzôr dealing with Sauron. Plus young Míriel, Pharazôn and Elendil shenanigans.
Short summary: Divergence fic where Númenor’s confrontation with Sauron happens a century earlier, during Ar-Gimilzôr’s reign. Luckily for Sauron, Gimilzôr’s sons were already on the verge of a powder-keg of a civil war.
Untitled Persuasion/LOTR fusion
Planned, but not written yet.
Because Austen and Tolkien are my fave authors, and I will find a way to combine them :p
Short summary: The characters and plot from Persuasion (with some tweaks to put a spin on the fun new circumstances) used as a frame to fill in some worldbuilding of what kin-strife era Gondor was like on the ground level.
Hindsight (Harry Potter)
Some written for it, but put on indefinite hiatus. I still like the idea, but I have more plot bunnies than I have writing time and this one got bumped down.
The Hermione time-travel fanfic, because she needs proper character development.
Short summary: Old Hermione tries some fixing by sending info to her past self. Except knowledge without context doesn’t go entirely smoothly.
Untitled origin fic for Thranduil’s golden locks (LOTR/Silmarillion)
I thought the idea has potential, but haven’t been able to attend to it.
The Oropher fic, because I think I’m funny and we need a good OC for his wife.
Short summary: My somewhat facetious explanation countering the ‘Legolas can’t be blond’ debate. Aka, how Oropher met and fell in love with a Vanya warrior lady.
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yellow-faerie · 3 years
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For Leggy's sister:
What's her name? Is she older or younger than him? What's their relationship like? Does she wind up married, and if so to who? What does she look like?
Legolas’ sister! I think she was the first OC I ever created for all the assorted Tolkien fandoms and it makes me really happy that you’re curious!
What’s her name?
This is a wonderful question. In all my various unfinished fics I have with her in, she’s referred to as Navril except I cannot for the life of me work out what this translates to? The ‘ril’ part translates to brilliance but I can’t work out where I got the ‘Nav’ bit from?
Through some very vague and bad etymology work, I can kind of say that it’s a Silvanised version of the name Nawril (meaning Hollow Brilliance) and I think that that might have been what I was going for.
14-year-old me is a mystery. However, I really like this name so I’m sticking with it to the bitter end.
Is she older or younger than him [Legolas]?
Older but not by much. They both have a sister and brother who were born in the mid-second age and Legolas and Navril were both born in the mid to late early third age about 5ish years apart. Subsequently, they are very close to each other.
What’s their relationship like?
Very chaotic siblings. They communicate almost exclusively through rather cryptic conversations and are ready to fight anyone who so much as looks at the other funny.
Navril is a middle child and Legolas is the youngest. They are each other’s best friend, pretty much, as they are so close in age.
Does she wind up married and, if so, who?
Does she? I’m still trying to decide this one. I know she’s very close to Haldir but it doesn’t end in a relationship at any time in Middle Earth - it might do in Valinor however, I’m still not 100% sure.
She also has a sort of fling thing with this historian OC I have but that is very short and isn’t serious.
What does she look like?
She takes after her mother a lot with dark bushy hair she usually keeps in a ponytail or a half ponytail (I have been informed people call this a Katy??) and green eyes like her brother but she definitely has her fathers height and facial expressions.
(If you want an idea of how I envision Thranduil and Legolas, @ibrithir-was-here did this drawing of them and it is very, very similar (although my version of Thranduil’s wife is a bit different)).
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sotwk · 1 year
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Thranduilion: Sons of the Woodland King
SotWK commission by super-talented artist hffhifjou
(Please click image to enlarge and appreciate the beautiful details! XD)
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I am pleased to present the first artwork I've commissioned for my OCs, the Princes of Mirkwood, Legolas's older brothers and elder sons of Thranduil Oropherion and his wife, Elvenqueen Maereth (also my OC).
I know many fans aren't on board with Legolas having brothers, but I invite you to enjoy the concept with me for a bit: an entire lineup of brother ellons, all as gorgeous and amazing as Thranduil and Legolas are?? Surely it's a fun imagine to indulge in, even as an AU.
I will gradually start posting more HCs about each Prince of Mirkwood, but here are some headcanons to accompany and explain this artwork:
Legolas is not only the youngest son, but he is actually the smallest of the group--if you could even call 6 feet, 8 inches "small"! But in comparison, Thranduil is 7 feet, 3 inches, while the tallest son, Turhir is a whopping 7 feet, 6 inches.
Turhir is the tank of the family--the tallest one and the best fighter (not counting Thranduil). He is virtually tireless and very difficult to take down or injure.
The eldest brother, Crown Prince Mirion, is physically the strongest, with raw muscle power even greater than Thranduil's. You can see that he is simply built broader and more muscular than the usual elven "slender" physique.
The five princes have varying degrees of fighting ability and different skill sets, but all of them are adept warriors. In this sketch, they are each carrying the weapons they specialize in.
The princes have trained alongside the Greenwood soldiers since they were very young, and they eventually earned places in leadership positions--except for Arvellas, who is more scholar than soldier.
The princes don't wear circlets most of the time; only during formal functions. Wildman Gelir in particular hates having to do this, and dislikes formal "stuffy" clothing in general. The Crown Prince is the only one who wears his crown as regularly as the Elvenking does, to signify his status as heir to the throne.
During warm summers in the Woodland Realm, soldiers do occasionally train shirtless, especially when they do drills around or in bodies of water. In some winters, they also undergo exercises with very little clothing on, to hone their bodies' tolerance for the harshest cold-weather conditions.
One of my HCs about Mirkwood/Silvan elves is that they are much more comfortable with showing skin than their Noldor and Sindar brethren in the west (or even the other races), which can occasionally scandalize and draw criticisms from outside visitors.
I specifically asked for the artist to draw these elves shirtless because a) you know we all enjoy that; b) we rarely get to see it; and c) I did want to highlight the differences in physique between the brothers, and promote my belief that Elves do not have all the same body type.
For anyone interested, I made a separate post about my fancast/face claim choices for these OCs HERE.
I am 100% willing to answer any Asks about any of my OC Thranduilions, including headcanons of Legolas. My OC-loving heart will thank you for your interest!
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Tagging some friends who have been so kind in encouraging me to create more content for my OCs. Thank you so much, and I hope you don't mind this superfluous tag. (It won't be a regular thing, I promise!) @laneynoir @legoriel-fan @quickslvxr @achromaticerebus @tamryniel @friendofthefellowshipsnerdblog @blueberryrock @aduialel @glassgulls @ladyweaslette @tamurilofrivendell @delicatebreadtyphoon @laurfilijames @i-am-pinkie @lathalea @fizzyxcustard @sleepyamygdala @jezzibee @firelightinferno @coopsgirl @heilith
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dialux · 3 years
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Feel free to completely ignore me, but I need to yell into the void and this particular void is nicer than the others.
You know how they completely destroyed Percy Jackson as a character when they made the movies? Like they just changed him ‘til he was a different person from the books and the fans hated it? This is how I feel about Tauriel.
Except with Percy Jackson they ruined already established characters and if you read the books then the “real” characters shine through. With Tauriel it’s like they set up something with great potential and then just let it fall and I feel fucking robbed. I think @actuallyfeanor talked about it once but having her openness and willingness to cooperate is a great juxtaposition to Thranduils more isonalist politics, and more power to PJ for adding some semi-realistic oc’s ya know? Plus it’s fun to have more ladies in the Movie!verse who actually take part in the fighting and just more elves who aren’t ancient and wise and all-knowing.
But then all her political opinions (and just opinions in general) turned out to be because she was in love with Kili, and they added a forced and contrived love triangle for ‘drama’ (also it felt like a way to ‘prove’ that Legolas was straight after all the gay ships in the lotr movies??? and that’s just gross all around) AND they completely butchered canon in the process?!??!
Like Thranduil was explicitly said to have embraced the ways of the woodelves in the books (I think his wife is Nandor?) but then he disapproves of Tauriel because she’s Sylvan and therefore lesser???? Thranduil is a lot of things, but bigoted against other elves isn’t one of them. And then! She goes and points an arrow at her own king because Girl Power I guess? But in context that just would not happen???? Like PJ that isn’t some power move that’s Kinslaying and elves just don’t do that casually! (Tauriel would absolutely get exiled if not outright executed for that seriously PJ what the Hell??!!?)
Sorry this is super long and probably incoherent but I’m just so fucking Tired of great concept characters getting butchered by people who don’t really seem to care about good storytelling and keeping to already established canon.
Alright, so I didn’t want to make this into a defense of the Hobbit movies- I still haven’t watched AUJ, so I’m... not the person for this, maybe- but I am nothing if not contrary, so here we go:
1. I actually liked the PJ film (I, again, have only watched one of them) (the only thing I remember from the movie is the scene with all the gods and goddesses at the very end- and, my god, was that a revelation of a scene)
2. I don’t, actually, think there’s much use in looking for similar themes and overarching plot devices from a movie than from a book. And the Hobbit films were handicapped from the very beginning with the desire to make them into multiple movies; there’s no room for character development as in a tv show but not enough material, really, for two films much less the third they ended up making. It was the worst possible decision they could’ve made.
3. I don’t think that Tauriel’s political opinions are motivated solely by Kili. I think he may have been a catalyst- by giving her that stone, by talking to her as less of an ancestral enemy and more as the dwarf that he is- but there are wider and more far-reaching implications to her politics. Not to mention that she has few compunctions about challenging Thranduil before she ever really has any relationship with Kili. The narrative tries its best to reduce Tauriel to a love interest, but it doesn’t achieve it.
4. When one of my aunts brought home a friend from college, my grandmother looked at his tall figure, looked at my 5′2″ aunt, brought her to the kitchen, and told her that she could study however she wanted so long as she didn’t fall in love with him, all because he was too tall for the wedding photos to be good. No, my grandmother did not- and does not- understand the point of height differences. And I’m not saying that Thranduil is like my grandmother, but I’m not not saying it, you know?
5. It is the Power Of Love that drove Tauriel to aiming that bow at Thranduil. Have you had your ancestral enemy to quasi-lover (that you couldn’t even bang to release some of that overwhelming tension) die in front of your eyes after trying to save you? No? Don’t judge then!!!!!!!!!
6. (On a more.... serious note: I don’t think threatening someone would lead to outright execution; there needs to be some, you know, follow-through on that threat.)
7. I do get your anger! There are numerous (SO MANY) times when I’ve just given up on media because the actual storytelling felt lacking, or weak, or- well, I don’t want to use the word exploitative, because I don’t think it’s meant that way and there needs to be motive for it to be that- but it certainly feels like it, doesn’t it? Like liking a character/looking for a meaningful ending/interacting with the source is being actively discouraged, over and over and over again. And I don’t have an answer for you on how to keep digging for those sparks of joy or meaning in a piece of work that feels increasingly meaningless: none except to say that there are 18929 works in the Hobbit films tag on AO3, and 6559 works in the LOTR films tag- and those 12000 more works are a product of the heartbreak and sadness and untapped potential that people like you and me saw in the Hobbit. The Hobbit ended: AO3 picked it up from there. That matters, because if nothing else, you’re in a community of other gremlins digging for bright things out of a morass of sludge.
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The Art of Being an Eldar: Legolas x Reader Chapter 5
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Summary: After discovering that you were stuck in Middle-Earth, Thranduil summoned a council of powerful Elves and wizards to see what should be done with you, expressing his wishes of wanting you out of his kingdom. The council decides to send you with Legolas on an orc-hunting mission, and if the Elves of the company that he deems trustworthy-- one of them being his own wife-- say that you've proven yourself worthy of staying among the Mirkwood Elves, then you can stay. The problem is actually managing to succeed...
Chapter No.: Chapter 5
Key: [Y/N]=Your Name [F/N]= Friend's Name [B/N]= Bro's Name [S/N]= Sis's Name [M/N]= Mom's Name [e/c]= eye color [h/c]= hair color [s/c]= skin color [lad/lass/y-o]= lad/laddie, lass/lassie, young one
Notes:  I know I've been trying to keep this story gender-nuetral, but dwarves have a habit of referring to people (Even Gimli to Legolas, though he's a lot younger than our golden boy) as "lad/laddie" "lass/lassie." Or even "young one," I've heard Balin call Bilbo. So for this story, I'll just put [lad/lass/y-o] in parenthesese, and you can just hear whichever one you choose. :)
Warnings: Fluff, angst, graphic depictions of gore and violence (Cuz of orc battles y'know?), more angst, slow burn, some light depression in the first few chapters, some amnesia about Middle-Earth because the Valar say you're not supposed to have foresight, hard-core language, feels, lots and lots of feels, mentions of NSFW content, maybe some eventual NSFW content, LGTBQ+ characters, Thranduil being a jackass at first because he's fabulous, Legolas being a hot edgy prince that nobody can handle, Kili being an innocent bean, Hobbits being smol innocent beans, except for Bilbo 'cause he's been through some tough shit, Bard being dad of the year, Thorin being one dumbass boi, awesome dragons, awesome Nazgul, awesome scenery, awesome stuff in general, Elrond isn't listened to by anybody, confused Aragorn is confused,  Denethor's a bitch as always, brace yourself for creepy as fuck Cream of Wormtongue Grima Wormtongue, Boromir LIVES, Gandalf. (yes these are all legit warnings don't judge me.)
Pairings/Ships: Legolas x Reader, Legolas x you, Aragorn x Arwen, Faramir x Eowyn, Thranduil x Elvenqueen, Galadriel x Celery Celeborn, Boromir x OC, Thorin x OC maybe Bilbo you won't know for awhile, Fili x OC, etc. general LoTR standard shippings plus some of my own cuz I can't stand my boys being lonely
Word Count: I try to keep my chapters short, under 2000 words.
Rating: Teen (14+) for now
The Elves stopped just outside the northern border of the Mirkwood, to the west, to wait for the dwarves. But apparently the little guys just didn't give a shit.
The whole group camped for three days, then three more days, and by the end of it, you were even growing impatient. It was mainly the younger Elves that shared your impatience, but Elves like Elvenqueen and Erestor and Haldir seemed to think that they had all the time in the world, la la fucking la...
Legolas seemed in-between, irritated at the dwarves for being so late but not really caring in the long run. You tried several times to approach him and apologize, but he always seemed to disappear at the most inconvenient times imaginable.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity-- you were getting sick and tired of frolicking-- the sign of a camp on a distant ridge, a couple of days away, gave the Elves hope that the dwarves finally got their heads out of their asses and decided to show up. A couple of Elves seemed to puff some horses out of thin air, and galloped off to meet them.
"We get horses?!" You'd screeched, and wheeled on your friends-- Tauriel hadn't come, so Lindir, Elros, and pissy Blue-Eyes were the only actual friends here you had, even though all the other Elves were very nice to you. "Why the fuck didn't anybody tell me we got horses?!" You could've been riding to pass this time. Not that you knew how to ride a horse, but that wasn't the point.
Elros blinked at you in disbelief. "Those Elves awaited us on the border with horses enough for all. You have not seen them before?"
"No, dammit, or I would've been riding to pass the time!" You hadn't noticed them, because a certain Rivendell Elf had forced you to learn Elvish... You rounded on him. "Lindir! If you hadn't made me sit here and learn Elvish, I could've been riding!"
Lindir stared at you, then slowly raised an eyebrow challengingly. "You do not know how to ride, do you?"
You frowned. "That's not the point!"
Both Elros and Lindir chuckled amongst themselves. You huffed theatrically. "Fine, jackasses. I'm off to pet one of those sweet animals. You can teach me Elvish later."
Before either of them could stop you, you all but ran off, hoping not to slam into anybody or trip or cause something to fall that'd cause a huge mess. You were prone to all of them. And there were horses, enough for everybody there, and three very fat ponies that you almost started squealing over. Those, you guessed, were for the dwarves.
But one horse, out of all of them, caught your eye.
A sleek, gorgeous black, with a bright white star on his forehead. He was built for speed, like a racehorse, but he was sturdy, too. You looked for something to mark him as belonging to a certain Elf-- because you knew Elves loved horses, and that like all horse people, even look at their horse wrong and you make it on their kill list-- but they all seemed randomly selected out of somebody's stables, dressed in the same dark leather tack and saddlebags.
"Oooooh," You approached him quietly, and he nickered softly at you, his dark eyes scanning you and the Elves and the other horses warily. He seemed only recently tamed. "You, fine sir, are gorgeous."
"I beg your pardon?"
You promptly fell backward. Shit! Talking horses, too?! "What the fuck?!"
Legolas, with a smug smirk plastered onto his absurdly perfect face, sailed into existence from around a dapple gray mare. "Valar tell me you were talking to the horse."
"No, I can tell you I was talking to the horse," You sighed in relief, shaking your head as you stood. "But don't worry your platinum head, Goldie, all Elves are equally beautiful creatures."
Legolas rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, mellon."
You stroked the black's face gently. "No seriously though, he's beautiful. Does he have a name?"
Blue-Eyes didn't look up from brushing his mare's mane. "Most of the horses came from Rivendell and Rohan, which they bought on the journey. The rest came from the Woodland stables. I doubt you will find his name, if he has one."
You felt a little disappointed that you couldn't ask if you could have the horse. You'd always wanted one, but for... Personal reasons that had to do with your biological father, you never got one. "Well... I'll just refer to him as The Black, then."
Blue-Eyes turned around, and started inspecting his tack. "Hm... He seems to have come from our own stables." He stroked behind the stallion's ears, and the horse snuffed appreciatively.
"Legolas," You said quickly, realizing you should catch him when you have the chance. "I'm sorry for not telling you about me leaving if this didn't go well. It wasn't my choice; Thranduil wanted me to go with Elrond that day, but I asked if I could stay. He sent me on this mission to see if I was worthy enough to stay in his Palace of Fabulous. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but... I didn't think anyone would care if I left."
Blue-Eyes got a confused look. "Why... Why would you think that?"
You gave him a sad, lopsided smile. "No one has before."
Recognition, then regret, flashed across Blue-Eyes's face. "Oh, Sairen... I am truly sorry, mellon nin, I should not have been angry with you. I didn't realize... I should have, and I should not have been upset with you. I just... I do care if you leave, and, if I'm honest, I do not want you to go."
You patted his shoulder. "Just so long as you forgive me."
Blue-Eyes smiled at you. "Of course, mellon, if you can forgive me."
You grinned. "Forgiven." You nudged him with your shoulder. "I'm just glad we're friends again. I've never had so many people be nice to me, but only a handful of you I consider my friends."
"And who among us hold that honor?" He asked teasingly.
Oh shit... You'd seen movies where somebody's asked this question, and if the askee shows even the slightest bit of hesitation or interest in any of the friends, asker became pissed and/or jealous. Wait... Why do I care about that? You turned to him with a huge smile. "Well you and Tauriel, DUH, and then there's Lindir and Elros now. Just wait, I'll be friends with Haldir and Erestor too, and then your mom-- by the time I'm finished I'll even make your dad like me!"
Legolas chuckled. "I hope so, mellon."
"By the way," You said, and reached down to grab a handful of grass to give to the Black. "Lindir and Elros are trying-- and failing-- to teach me Elvish. I'm a horrible student, namely because I'm Elvish-challenged. Still, I'm learning, and I want you to teach me something very specific."
He looked confused. "What?"
You smiled. "Teach me the history of Middle-Earth! Everything you can! I can't read Elvish, but you can, and you know the stories pretty well, I'm guessing. So start with how the world began and continue on from there."
Legolas smiled. "Very well, Sairen." In one quick movement, he mounted his mare, then reached down for your hand. "Come. We will ride, and I will tell you all that I know."
You took his hand, feeling a spark from static you'd built up from petting the horse. He hefted you effortlessly up behind him, then urged his horse into a canter as you rode away from camp.
***
Needless to say, you fell off twice.
Once, you let go of Legolas for just a second as his mare jumped a small log, and whoops, there you go. After, still not learning your lesson, you let go of him while trotting beside a river and the horse's gait made you slide right off before you even realized what was happening.
Then you learned not to let go of Blue-Eyes, mostly because he laughed his Elvish ass off every time you fell, after making sure you were okay.
As for world history, it was all very confusing. There were like six different versions of somebody and a hundred different other guys shared the same name and places and descendants and confusing time periods and just ugh. That was one thing you remembered from Earth: Tolkien's works had always been confusing.
Long story short, though, there was a guy called Eru, or Illuvatar, and he created a bunch of friends through thought. These friends of his became the Valar, and Illuvatar created the whole universe-- Ea-- through more thought. Then he had all his friends-- fourteen of them-- sing, and they created the vision of Valinor, then Arda, and the mischief-maker was Melkor, brother of god-king Manwe.
Now, after a long bout of building and making and stuff they created Valinor and Tirion and Mandos and all that, and they created birds and beasts, but Melkor got jealous and tried to ruin it at every fucking turn. Seriously, the guy didn't give them a break.
Then, Aule, another Valar, who made a lot of shit, wanted to have a bunch of kids so created the little guys known as dwarves, and made them to be especially tough and hardy and stuff because they were supposed to be around during the time of Melkor. But, Illuvatar appeared in his living room one night and said "I think the fuck not my kids come first" which made Aule reeeaaaaaallly upset, so he tried to kill the dwarves (Supreme parenting 2.0!), but then Illuvatar said "wait idiot they can still live" so Aule put them in stasis-mode for like several million years, until somebody "accidentally" unleashed some new Elves into Middle-Earth-- which had no moon or sun.
So duh Orome shows up, says "hi" and everybody runs for their lives except for a few brave souls, who round everybody back up. So three particular Elves, Finwe, Lenwe, and Ingwe, who you're pretty sure were brothers, went to Valinor with Orome to see if it was suitable for Elves-- and it was pretty much Elven paradise, or Vegas or something.
THUS CAME THE FIRST SUNDERING OF THE ELVES, or, that's how dramatically Leggy told it; the Teleri came to rest on the shores of Aman instead of going still further (Who earlier had split further and some became the Sindar, who had stayed in Beleriand, and the Silvan Elves, who'd stayed in the forests of Beleriand or something, of which Blue-Eyes was the first.), the Nandor who got scared of mountains and refused to go further, and the Noldor, who came all the way to Valinor.
Once actually in Aman, the Elves loved it there. They were in paradise. Water. Books. Flowers. Sparkles. Everything an Elf dreamed of. They built a city on a huge hill called Tirion upon Tuna (No you refrained from laughing.), made of silver and gold and more sparkles, and there was lots of peace, until Melkor was finally caught and chained.
Peace, lots of peace, boring shit, more peace, then BAM, the idiot Valar let the bastard go, like dumbasses. Melkor hadn't changed of course, no one does. He started rumors like some crazy gossiper and started up a whole bunch of shit. At that time, this guy called Feanor was around. He was like, the Elf of Elves, but he had some breathtaking anger management issues because after his mom died, his dad waited like a couple thousand years then got married again, and he definitely did not like his stepmom.
Or his two half-brothers.
They were pretty cool guys, Fingolfin and Finarfin, and each brother had like a dozen kids each, one of Finarfin's, get this, was Galadriel. One of Thingol's kin? Celeborn. Elrond? Yeah, he's the grandson of Beren and Luthien, the son of Earendil, raised by Maglor, related to Turin, and his grandparents were Tuor and Idril, the latter of which was the daughter of Turgon, who was the son of Fingolfin, who was the brother of Feanor, so yeah.
Holy fucking shit. Their god stories were kinda hard not to believe when people still existed who could vouch for them.
So this Feanor guy created a trio of sparklies beyond all sparklies, called, the Silmarils. He got a mild case of dragonsickness, boasting and hoarding and showing off and gloating, but Melkor made him think his brothers were trying to steal his sparkles, which, fuck no, how dare they, and he made his brothers think that Feanor was trying to usurp their father Finwe's throne.
Damn that guy knew how to stir up some shit.
One of Melkor's chief servants? Sauron, the Dark Lord, previously known as Sauron the Sparkly Maiar Who Wouldn't Hurt A Butterfly. Balrogs? Yup, Melkor made them, too.
Basically, Feanor started a revolution against the Valar and Melkor, who he called Morgoth, because Melkor was just too pretty of a name for such a bad guy, who stole every single light with the help of a hideously large spider called Ungoliant, killed Finwe, then took the Silmarils.
Feanor was piiiiiiissed.
So the Noldor left Tirion, killed some guys that tried to reason with them that turned out to be Elves, the Teleri, got cursed by Mandos, then Feanor, his sons, and a couple hundred who he knew didn't question him set off on stolen boats and burned them when they reached shore, leaving everybody else-- Galadriel included-- to walk the fucking Helcaraxe, a snowy strait wasteland, to get to Beleriand, which was filled with sparkling twinkle-toes Elves and much-less-serious dwarves-- who were friends.
There was also a good portion of the story dedicated to Turin, Beren and Luthien, and the couple known as Maedhros and Fingon, who you instantly adored: Maedhros, chained to a jagged cliffside for who-knows-how-long, and Fingon, who wanted so badly to save him, and eventually carried up to the cliffside by an eagle; he had to cut off Maedhros's hand, but the story was so heartfelt you were still internally squealing about it.
Yeah so that happened, and then a bunch of war and slaying and something about a Fall of Gondolin and the Children of Hurin and Beren and Luthien leading up to a whole lot of human-caused shit with Numenor, and then Illuvatar blew everything up and restarted, essentially. Toward the end of the second age, Sauron (The fucker had somehow lived through all that evil-cleansing shit.), in the form of a fancy-prancy Elf named Annatar, suggested the making of the Rings of Power. Three, a smart guy who hadn't fallen for any of Annatar's shit, Celebrimbor, hid for the Elves, while Sauron/Annator helped forge the rest in order to control them, making one ring, above all.
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the dwarf  lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for mortal men doomed to die,
And one for the Dark Lord on his Dark Throne,
In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie,
One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them,
In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.
That was totally cool and stuff, and a handful of well-known Elves-- Gil-Galad, Glorfindel (Who'd uh, previously died due to a balrog trying to touch his hair.), Elrond-- and you're betting Galadriel, Celeborn, and Thranduil-- plus a bunch of well-known humans, lead by Isildur's dad, Elendil, and probably some dwarves, all came together with their armies and formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, totally discounting every dwarf that was there.
The nine kings who'd been given rings? Yeah, those were cursed, and because Men are greedy, they became shadows of their former selves, black-clad servants of Sauron, known as the Ringwraiths-- or, even cooler, Nazgul.
So there was a huge battle. Gil-Galad fell. Isildur's dad fell. Isildur cut off the One Ring from Sauron's hand, Sauron faded away, and Elrond took Isildur into Mount Doom to destroy the Ring. But he was weak, and was seduced by its power, and Elrond just stood there screaming his name apparently.
So there'd been roughly a couple thousand years of peace, and nobody knew where the Ring was. You doubted it was anywhere safe or secure, and much less that Sauron was actually dead.
Also, the Elves were fading. That scared you.
"What?! Great, I got sucked into a world where I'm just gonna die!"
Legolas laughed. "No, mellon nin, we are fading. Not dying. We just long for home, and our kind is slowly leaving Middle-Earth. This world becomes gray to us after so long of living here. We go across the sea, to the Undying Lands of Aman and Valinor."
"Okay," You leaned around him to see his face. "What is it with you Elves and the sea?! What's so important about it, if even you've never seen it yourself?! I certainly haven't seen any kind of ocean or sea."
Blue-Eyes smiled at you. "The first sound ever heard by the Elves was flowing water. It calls us home, in a way. It is said by my people that in water there yet lives the echo of the Music of the Ainur that first created this world."
"Huh," You said, tilting your head. "Guess that does make it really interesting..."
The sound of another pair of hoofbeats, coming up from behind, nearly made you fall off of the horse again. "Orcs?!"
Blue-Eyes grinned smugly. "Orcs do not ride horses, Sairen."
"Duh. I knew that. Fuck you."
"I'd rather you not without my consent."
"That's not always what it means!" You hid your blush by moving so your head was behind his back. Damn Elves...
It was Erestor, riding a gorgeous flaxen stallion. "Legolas, Elvenqueen calls upon the company of [Y/N]."
Nervously, you peered around Blue-Eyes's side. "Is that bad?"
Legolas spurred his own mare into a canter as he followed after Erestor. "Not in the least, mellon."
When you returned to camp, Erestor and Legolas took care of the horses, while they sent you on ahead-- by yourself, to a scary yet badass Elvenqueen you might glare you out of existence if you breathed wrong, like the wonderful friends they were-- to the Elvenqueen.
She sat by one of the center campfires, surrounded by a drove of Elves eagerly listening to whatever she was saying. Even in the firelight, she looked really young, but really regal and noble and even though she didn't have a wrinkle on her body you could tell she'd been around for eons.
All went silent when you approached. Nervously, you bowed. "Y-you wished to see me, your majesty?"
"Yes," She said, and waved to a place on a log across from her. "Sit."
You weren't terrified or anything. Just 'cause she decided not to skin you alive a couple days ago didn't mean she couldn't change her mind. You caught a glimpse of Elros in the crowd, and he gave you a reassuring nod: Don't worry, you won't die yet.
Comforting.
"Tell something of your world," She said.
You balked. Hadn't Thranduil told her everything you'd said? They seemed like the type of couple to do just that. Hadn't Legolas at least given her some information? They seemed close. You swallowed hard, readjusting yourself on the log. "What uh... What do you want to know?"
She thought for a second. "A tale."
You shifted. Sure, that was specific. You'd read billions of books (Well, maybe not quite that much...), but you couldn't remember any that Elves would want to hear aside from series’, like Temeraire, or The Gospel of Loki, or Eon the Last Dragoneye. Maybe you could use a movie, but Marvel and Transformers were too long and in-depth. You thought for a minute. You didn't even know how to give a much-shortened version of Eragon.
But out of everything, it was your best bet to tell a story and be safe from explaining your world's past, or things of your world, or cultures, mythology, or the concept of giant robots from another planet that hide by transforming into cars. Eragon was the closest thing you had to Lord of the Rings that you could remember right off the top of your head that was most similar; it had some of the same beasts, like dragons and werewolves, it was set in the same genre and had dwarves and Elves and Men, even if urgals were a new one... Then again, you weren't sure how they'd take dragons being good instead of hoarding assholes.
So, you got started.
As a hobby, you wrote a lot of fanfiction, which had mainly been for Lord of the Rings; you couldn't remember any of it now, of course, but you'd also started your own fantasy stories that had never been published. You were good with storytelling.
There were points where you had to pause and remember what happened next, or try to find words that explained the guilt or sadness or general feels of the story, but you did pretty good. By the time you were finished, the sun had came up and it was already noon, and the Elves that'd gone off to see if that camp was for dwarves were coming back, with a couple of pony-sized rams with shaggy coats carrying three tiny buff hairy guys.
Elvenqueen regally stood. "My thanks, [Y/N]. That was a wonderful story." She sailed through the ranks of the Elves, which parted before her like reeds to a boat.
"Is that a true story?" Lindir asked you, eyes wide.
You scoffed. "If it were true, I'd've had a dragon named Saphira or Shruikan. I have no dragon." You clapped your hands together. "So! When do I get to meet the dwarves?"
Blue-Eyes-- who'd joined later in the story, and another Elf caught him up on what was going on while he half-listened to what else was going on-- mockingly rolled his eyes. "Patience, mellon. I cannot think of any Eldar whom would willingly want to make the acquaintance of a dwarf."
You gave him a pointed look. "What about Thingol's people?"
Silence. Finally, Elros busted out laughing, and clapped the now-stunned Legolas on the back. "They have a point, mellon!"
But Blue-Eyes was right. It was only a couple hours before you were sought out by a Lothlorien Elf, who told you Thorin wanted to meet "the one who hailed from far." Apparently, nobody here felt like saying "the person that came from another planet." Not as mysterious, apparently.
So you followed the Elf to a tent, much smaller than those of the Elves, and a lot less colorful and, dare you say it, fashionable. Literally, it just looked like a bunch of old dark-colored blankets had been stitched together haphazardly. But, if you looked at the tools and tack of the rams, they were just doing it in spite of the Elves, because they had really good craftsmanship.
You weren't sure what to do. "Uhhh... Knock knock?"
You belatedly remembered one of the dwarves was royalty. "Sirs?"
The flap of the tent opened, and you got your first look at a dwarf.
He was an older dwarf, with a long graying beard and frizzy hair, and huge round ears. He looked you up and down in a brief but kind inspection, and, came to the very educated conclusion of, yup, not your normal Elf.
The dwarf smiled. "Ah, you must be [Y/N]." He sounded more Scottish than anything, and you were instantly relaxed. "The one from a far place. Not a normal Elf, then?"
You shook your head. "No sir. Just got here about a month and a half ago, actually."
He raised a hand. "Now now, we are all a part of this expedition, and I don't like being referred to as 'sir.' I am Balin to you."
You couldn't help but smile. He was a lovable little guy, a very sweet old dwarf. "Okay then. But, uh... Should I call Thorin or Dwalin 'sir'?"
Balin thought about that. "Ehhh... Thorin, yes. Dwalin? No."
You nodded, and Balin lead you inside the tent. It was pretty cozy, with three logs covered in roughish furs for makeshift beds. A small cooking fire was set up in the middle, and two other dwarves sat by it, halting their dwarvish conversation when they seen you and Balin. "This is they," Said Balin, in an introductory way. "[Y/N], child of [M/N], from far places."
The dwarf who you assumed was Dwalin-- buff, sleeveless, and with viscious muttonchops that made him look like Wolverine-- scoffed. "Tell me," Holy shit, he sounds like Leonidas from 300! "[Y/N], do you perhaps come from the Iron Hills?"
"Iron... What?" You were confused. Hadn't any of the Elves talked about you being from Earth? "N...No. I come from a place called Earth."
"Dwalin," Said the other guy, who radiated kingship, authority, and regal dwarfish-ness. He didn't take his eyes off you, like you were a predator ready to strike that he was wary of. He had a beard, but braided neatly down, and long dark hair. He wore dark navy blue and brown fur armor, and his voice was like, super deep. "They are not of the Iron Hills."
"Uh... Thank you?"
Thorin stood, and you bowed. "I'd uh, use some really respectful greeting, but I don't know any in dwarvish yet, so, it's an honor to meet you, Thorin, son of Thrain."
Thorin nodded. "I would say the same, if I knew you deserved any honor," He replied. Ouch.
You didn't know what to say. He obviously had no love for Elves. "What uh... What made you think I was from the Iron Hills, wherever that is?"
"To the east of Erebor, [lad/lass/y-o]," Balin informed you, and Dwalin whacked him so hard upside the head you could've swore they broke something.
"Oh. What made you think--"
Thorin looked at you with a look that said stfu so you did. "The dwarves of Erebor think little of Elven magic, or wizards. We did not believe a portal strong enough to pull someone from another world could exist. And as I have discovered, it does not."
You were confused. "What do you mean? You mean the ears? Those were latex, I swear, but suddenly they weren't. You can ask Thranduil, I'm not from these parts."
Thorin glared at you. "I would rather not converse with the Elvenking. He does not hear the word of others. As for you... It is clear you are merely an Elf of strange upbringing, who lost themselves in the wrong woods."
"Okay," You were starting to get irritated. You loved Middle-Earth, but you weren't from Middle-Earth. You didn't belong, like always, and you were ready to defend your position. In Game of Thrones--you'd never gotten far in that series, and had only started the books-- Tyrion Lannister told Jon Snow to armor himself in what people thought his weakness was, so that it would no longer be his weakness. That's exactly what you'd done over the course of your life, and you weren't about to lose that now. "Listen, I can show you the damn portal. It wasn't made by Elves, or wizards, or any of that other shit. The inscription on the portal came from the time of Gondolin, if that means anything to you. Do I talk like an Elf, to you? Do I act like one? The Elves were ready to kill me, just because I breathed wrong near their damn trees after being chased by orcs on oversized dogs. If I weren't from another world, do you honestly think I'd have such elaborate stories?"
Behind Thorin, Balin patted his hands down, giving you the silent signal to shut up. Glacing at Thorin's pissed off face made you listen. "How am I to believe you?"
You made a face. "Don't you dwarves have any kind of lie-detecting abilites?"
Balin sighed. "None that we can think of, [lad/lass/y-o]."
You huffed in defeat. "Okay, okay, you know what? You dwarves are beyond stubborn, so I'll just tell you once: I come from another world. If you don't believe me, fine, but I'd actually like to make friends with dwarves, thank you very much."
"Oh!" Dwalin chuckled deeply. "Then they must not be an Elf, Thorin! None in their right mind would go cavorting with a dwarf!"
Thorin frowned. "Perhaps a spy... But wait... You are not of the Woodland Elves. I see that now."
You looked down at yourself. "Gee, what gave it away?"
"You carry yourself differently," He began to circle you, and you felt like you were being circled by a vulture. An angry vulture... "Most unlike them, or any Elf I have heard tale of. Whom were you raised by?"
"Uh, my mother," You quipped with a cocked eyebrow. "Her name is [M/N]."
"And where do your kin reside? With the Rangers of Dúnadain?"
"With the what? Is that some kind of club?"
"Club?" Thorin repeated. "You believe that to be a weapon?" He gave you a disbelieving look, and you sighed.
"No, no. Where I come from, a club is a group of people that gather together and talk about stuff they like, or try to run the schools or shit like that," You were trying to explain with excessive hand movements, but you only seemed to be freaking him out.
He narrowed his eyes. In a rough and rusty language that sounded like it could be dwarvish, he said something; you didn't even catch any of the words.
You stared at him blankly for a second. "Mae g'ovannen...?" You tried, wincing at your hopeless pronunciation of the words.
Thorin regarded you with a newfound look of awe. Behind him, Dwalin chuckled. "That, was his attempt at Elvish. And you did not understand what he said?"
You stared. "...No? Was I supposed to? Did you just say something important? Or insult me? Hey, I'm only just starting to learn Sindarin!"
Thorin's look of awe shifted to a scowl and a bitter smirk. "It was not Sindarin, I can assure you. It was Quendi, that of the Noldor, the only Elvish my people know."
"Quen-- Oh, I get it now. Different Elves, different languages, it's all coming together..." You swung your arms casually. "Ok, so, what'd you say?"
"I told you that you are an imposter, and no better than Orc-filth" Said Thorin absentmindedly, "Which would send any Elf into a fit of well-groomed rage."
You couldn't help yourself. You burst into a fit of giggles, making all three dwarves look at you weirdly. "I-I'm sorry," You wheezed, "'Well-groomed rage'; yeah, that's pretty much what they do!"
"What of this quest, then?" Challenged Thorin as he took a seat. He gestured for you to do the same. "If you are not of the Wood Elves, yet you are indeed Elven, why are you on this journey? What purpose do you have here?" He poured you a drink; you'd never really tasted ale or mead of any kind, and recoiled from the smell.
"In order for you to understand, I'd have to tell you the story," You told him, and he gestured for you to continue. So you did. "I fell from the highest branches of an oak tree playing a game with my family. It was a standard day. Standard, pointless life. A life in a dying world that was way too fucking overpopulated, in the wrong damn places. It was a twisted kind of home. I didn't like it, and did what I wanted, so people hated me. I was dressed as an Elf--hence the ears.
"I wake up in the middle of the night, still in the forest, and am suddenly being chased by orcs on the backs of oversized dogs with six-packs on their faces."
Thorin grew confused. "Six-pack? What is that?"
You patted your stomach. "Those rows of six square tight muscles you get on you stomach if you work out. Now lemme finish!
"I get caught up in a river, shot by an arrow, and am half-dead by the time the Elves arrive lead by Blue-Eyes-- uh, Legolas-- and they're ready to kill me, but because I'm pretty much dead and in their forest, I'm some kind of threat. Because they're real nice like that. Thranduil-- who I kindly refer to as, Lord Fabulous-- wanted Leggy to kill me on the spot. Blade to my neck and everything. Until I pointed out that I could go home if we found the portal and would never return by pain of death. Ouch, but whatever.
"So we look, find it, and surprise! Can't get through. Can never see my family again. Can never go home. Suddenly I'm a real Elf. I go into a kind of depression before I realize that this place was a fictional world from where I'm from, which I'd loved, but for some reason can't remember shit now." You pointed to him. "Your name is important. Very. I know that much. You do something really cool, probably.
"But the Council of Wisdomy Guys was summoned, and they decided that it would be best if I proved my worthiness to stay among the Wood Elves on this mission. No pressure!" You grinned maniacally. "What brings you here? I hear a certain gray-robed wizard?"
"Ah, yes," He sighed. "Gandalf. My father met with him whilst I was in the depths of Erebor, so I heard no word of it and could make no protest against it until my father told me that I was to travel with two of my choice to assist the Elves. I only tolerate this for my father's sake, and he claims this will be a good lesson for kingship one day. But when I heard word of someone from foreign lands, I feared it was the dwarves of the Iron Hills attempting some form of scheme. Never have they liked us, and they never shall."
You scoffed. "Yeah, well... Most of the Elves may not like you either, but some of them aren't so bad."
Dwalin choked on his bread. Balin gave you a sad look. "But they tried to kill you!"
You shrugged. "I'm used to getting awful treatment. And besides, now that they know me, I've made some friends. Tauríel, the Captain of the Guard; Lindir of Rivendell, and Elros son of Elrond... And then there's Blue-- Legolas."
"Why d'ya refer to him that way?" Dwalin demanded with a disgusted look.
You shrugged. "A nickname. Where I come from, it's a gesture of friendship. I call Lindir 'Lindy' and he hates it, I can tell."
Thorin snorted. "Well, [Y/N] of Earth... Should the Wood Elves refuse your company, Dale might make a nice, temporary placement until you find elsewhere."
You smirked, nodding slowly. "I heard that emphasis on temporary. Don't worry; I thank you for your hospitality, but Lord Elrond is staying at the palace until I return. If I fail, he'll take me back to Rivendell with him."
"Good. One less Elf on our borders to deal with."
"Oh screw off."
Thorin grinned bitterly, but waved a hand. "Begone, I am done with questioning you."
You scoffed, and Dwalin took your drink and guzzled it. to your shock and amazement. Out of the three of them, only Balin wished you a goodnight.
But you weren't tired, which you realized as you found yourself heading back toward the horses. "[Y/N]," Said a familiar voice, and you turned to see Haldir striding toward you.
You bowed, suddenly recognizing him as somebody of high rank. "Mae l'ovannen, Haldir of Lothlorien. What's up?"
He blinked in confusion. "I..." He slowly looked up. "Believe the stars..."
You chuckled. "No, no; that's an expression, where I come from. It means how are you doing, what is it you need, nice to see you, etcetera etcetera."
He stared at you. "...'Et... Cetera...?'"
You slumped over. "Oi... It means a general list of similar meanings that're implied but nobody feels like saying."
Haldir smiled. "Oh, I see. Lindir wished for you to return, so that you could continue your lessons in Sindarin." He didn't miss your look of disappointment. He smirked. "Perhaps, when you are finished with Sindarin, and already know Common, Quenyan would be best for you to learn."
"Pfft," You waved a hand. "I'll live forever. Might as well. I'll toss some dwarvish in there while I'm at it."
Haldir made a face. "I suppose that is up to you, but every dwarf speaks Common, so it would not pose any form of language barrier for that to be avoided..."
*** You were woken up no later than the crack of fucking dawn, by an elaborate blowing of horns that probably alerted ninety-seven percent of the orcs of the northern borders to your presence, but oh what the hell.
What else you woke up to?
"Galu, mellon nin," Said Legolas with a shit-eating grin. "Ci maer?"
Slowly, your groggy eyes went from wide to thin, angry slits. "...I swear to the Valar, Blue-Eyes... I just fucking woke up. What are you saying? Speak in Common, or I'll tear you limb from limb because I am not a morning person."
He gave you a look, but couldn't wipe the smile off his face. "Le leich, Sairen. But if you are going to learn Elvish, then you must actually try to do so. Tell me, what did I say?"
You shrugged and slumped over onto a log. "Grapefruit, melons win, kid mobster."
Blue-Eyes chuckled, but internally, you busted out laughing after realizing what you said. "No, [Y/N], you have to do this. Concentrate. What did I say?"
With a sigh, you thought about Lindir's grueling lessons with you yesterday. "...You said, 'A blessing,' which is basically 'hi,' first; Galu. Then you said 'my friend,' and, 'are you well.'"
Blue-Eyes nodded, looking excited that you were getting the hang of Elvish. "Excellent. Now respond to me in Sindarin."
You resisted the urge to roll your eyes. In the most unenthusiastic tone you could muster, you said, "Galu, Legolas, ni maer. A gin?" Blessings, Legolas, I am well. And you?
"Ni maer," He replied, then began polishing his bow. "Worry not, Sairen, soon Sindarin will come to you thoughtlessly. You already swear to our gods, instead of your own."
You did roll your eyes this time. An idea hit you. "Hey..." You looked at him with a huge smirk. "What's fuck you in Elvish?"
Legolas paled, then blushed. "You will learn how to speak intimately to another later--"
You huffed. "NO! What's your most offensive insult?!"
Blue-Eyes thought for a minute. "...Ego, which is the equivalent to what you mean when you proclaim that Common phrase of yours... Hopefully, most of the time."
You bit back a laugh. "...Eggo? As in, L'eggo my eggo?"
Blue-Eyes gave you a concerned look. "I... I am not sure what you mean, and it is not pronounced as you say it."
Commotion started up, and you spun around in your seat wildly to try and see why everybody was suddenly moving and packing up. "What's goin' on?"
Legolas smiled. "Well, Sairen, we are off to track the orcs."
You looked at him in a panic, pointing futilely to an Elf packing up the cooking supplies. "B-but... What about breakfast?" That sentence reminded you of someone... Someone small and innocent and prone to causing disasters... But who? Blue-Eyes didn't give you time to figure it out.
"You will not starve, mellon nin," He told you gently, and stood. "You are an Eldar now; you'd best learn what your body can do now rather than later." He smiled down at you. "Dadwenithon."
As if you understood what that meant, he practically skipped away. "...Dad marathon?" You repeated in disbelief. You got up and went to find somebody you knew, preferably not the Elvenqueen, Erestor, Haldir, or Thorin, because they'd just find you childish, or annoying. Elros was quick to find, and you approached him and his palomino steed with a very confused expression.
"Hey Elros?"
Elros looked up from brushing his horse's mane and smiled. "Ai, len suilon, mellon nin. Ci maer?"
You rolled your eyes. Stupid Elves and their five hundred different ways to say 'hi...' "Galu, Elros. Ni maer, a gin?"
"Ni maer eithro. What brings you to my company?"
"What the hell does dad marathon mean?"
Elros froze and looked at you like you were crazy. "I beg your pardon?"
You gestured wildly over your shoulder. "Legolas got up, walked away, and said dad marathon! And I've got no idea what he said!"
Elros grinned knowingly. "Ai,Legolas said dadwenithon. It means, roughly, I will return." He gave you a disgusted look. "And that is not how it is pronounced at all."
"Oh. Dadwenithon?"
Elros smiled proudly. "Yes! Precisely! Well done! But if Legolas told you he would return to you, evidently he meant for you to stay where you were."
Your eyes bugged out of your head. "Oh. I'll be going, then. Novaer." You didn't realize you'd said an Elvish farewell until you'd reached where you'd originally been seated, but that jumped out of your head when you seen Legolas waiting with his dappled mare and the black stallion (Heh heh...) from yesterday.
"Ooh! What's this all about?"
"I decided you should have your own mount throughout the course of this journey," He replied with a smile. "He is yours for now. Name him as you will, and by the end of this journey, I shall see if you may keep him."
You stared at him like he'd just grown a second head. "Wh... What? Keep him?"
Legolas smiled. "Surely you would wish to ride at will throughout the northern parts of Mirkwood?"
A huge smile spread across your face, and you excitedly spread your hands. "Well, duh! Gin hannon, Legolas! I'll call him..." You took the reins and looked him in the eye. "Starlight. I've always wanted a black horse called Starlight."
Blue-Eyes patted your back. "Well done, mellon. Already, Elvish is beginning to seep into your speech."
You looked at him in surprise. "I did that on purpose you dumb blond."
Legolas's eyes widened slightly. "Man?" Which you understood as, What?
You stuck your tongue out at him and crossed your eyes. "Blehlehleh!"
He recoiled. "What are you doing?"
With a laugh, you stroked Starlight's muzzle. "Messing with you. So you get up from the left side, right?"
Blue-Eyes just looked at you like you were crazy, then shook his head. "Yes, I suppose."
You went around to the left flank of the steed, which snorted suspiciously at you, like it wanted to know what the fuck you were doing. You peered at Blue-Eyes over the stallion's back. "Gimme a leg up?"
Legolas flushed and stared at you blankly. "If that is one of your vulgar insults, I swear to Illuvatar..."
A laugh escaped your throat. "No! Hell no! It means help me up, you moron!"
A sweet smile crossed Blue-Eye's features. "Well, then, come here, mellon nin, and I will aid you." He interlaced his fingers together as he bent down, allowing you to grip both ends of the saddle, step into his hand, and haul yourself up. You nearly fell off the other side, but just managed to catch yourself before you made yourself look like a complete idiot in front of Blue-Eyes, who noticed your struggle but said nothing, to your sweet relief.
Elros trotted through camp on his palomino, saying "Und wendo'hein!"
Legolas mounted his dapple-gray, and looked you up and down. "You are not sitting correctly." He told you, and reached over to pull your shoulders back. "Your shoulders need to make a line to your ankles in the stirrups."
You rolled your eyes sarcastically. "Great, now you sound like my collection of Young Rider magazines."
"Your what?" Legolas looked almost offended.
"It's basically a book only about twenty pages long made of cheap paper and filled with random tidbits of information. This series I started collecting when I was eight or nine, then continued until I was about twelve, thirteen... I had a lot of them. I loved horses."
Blue-Eyes furrowed his brow. "Did you have one?"
You scoffed. "In my world, you either have to be rich like Saddle Club or own a farm like Racing Stripes. Or, by some miracle get saved by a badass black Arabian stallion on a desert island." You smiled cheekily at him. "Which, by the way, your facial structure really reminds me of an Arabian horse's. Dished, kinda. And perfect and majestic and all that shit."
Blue-Eyes just looked like he was suddenly being attacked by a pack of savage wargs and he wasn't quite sure what to do. You grinned, and did the first thing all of the books and movies you'd read as a kid had taught you: gently tap your heels into the horse's flanks, and carefully guide their head with the reins. Starlight tossed his head, eager to get moving at a faster pace, and nickered softly as he started off at a walk. Legolas beamed at you as he rode beside you. "Well well, Sairen, it seems you are a natural at riding a horse. Perhaps the blood of the Eldar is finally starting to take a hold of you."
"Not quite," Said a new voice, and Lindir rode up on a sleek bay with a mischievous smile. "Suilad, Legolas! [Y/N]! Your Elvish is improving, but you still need to learn more."
You slumped in the saddle. "Augh, man, do I have to?"
Legolas and Lindir grinned wickedly at each other. "Ai, Lindir, man í lú?"
"Ú, Legolas. Eithro, ci maer?"
"Ni maer, mellon nin, ni maer."
So for a whole five or six hours on the trip, you got bombarded on either side by Blue-Eyes and Lindir trying to teach you Sindarin. At the end of the day, the Elvenqueen asked you for another story, so you told her the first one that popped into your head that you could honestly remember most of: Alladin's Lamp. It had been your favorite fairytail as a child, and while it was meant for younger audiences, the Elves enjoyed it just as much.
Then, Thorin asked to see you again. He asked about your world, and what it was like, and you were happy to get to know them, even if you were an Elf now.
And that's how it went, for the next few weeks. Unfortunately, at some point you'd run out of memorized storybooks, so you focused on myths from various mythologies, and then, even movies. 300 seemed to be a favorite of Thorin's, who overheard, but the Elves were especially interested in Gods of Egypt and The Hunger Games, and the Jedi from Star Wars. When you ran out of that material (It was a long trip with long nights, because apparently Elves didn't really get the concept of sleep.), you even switched to games; Darksiders and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim got their attention, as did The Legend of Zelda.
But of all the damned stories you told them, they seemed most interested in Shakespeare, of all things. You only barely remembered reading Midsummer Night's Dream out of curiosity, but Romeo and Juliet, thankfully, everybody knew the gist of. Thanks to a certain Tom Hiddleston, you knew Coriolanus by heart, so that one wasn't too hard of a story to tell, and neither was (Onc you finally got them off of Shakespeare.) Pirates of the Caribbean, a classic for you, which, one of the characters, now that you thought of it... Will Turner... You couldn't quite remember his face, or Balian's from Kingdom of Heaven, which they all really liked, especially Legolas.
Eventually, the queen dubbed you Taleweaver, which you thought sounded pretty cool, but also a little nerve-wracking, because what if you ran out of stories to tell? You forced yourself to be casual. No worries. You were a writer, after all, just... Now your audience consisted of fantasy people instead of Tumblr bloggers.
No pressure.
One day, Legolas approached you alone as you groomed Starlight. "Yo," You said, s'upping him. "S'up?"
Blue-Eyes looked like you'd just thrown something at him. "Man?" You rolled your eyes. "Galu, mellon, galu. What is it?"
Legolas scoffed. "My mother has declared only a small party of us, including the dwarves, shall scout ahead and see if we can find their trail. Of the party is myself, Elros, Erestor, Haldir, and... you."
You pointed to yourself. "M...Me? The queen specifically requested me to go with you?" You narrowed your eyes suspiciously. "Whhhhhhyyyyyyy???"
Blue-Eyes glared at you as he stroked Starlight's muzzle. "It is nothing out of the ordinary. You wish to prove yourself to my father, do you not? I would like for you to stay in the Mirkwood as well, Sairen, so do not disappoint me."
"Well," You looked up at Starlight's face. "No pressure, right?"
Legolas smiled cheekily. "Not at all." He patted your back. "We begin at dawn tomorrow. Meet me by Starlight once you've woken, and we shall begin." He walked away, but half-turned to call out, "Do not be late!"
You nodded in exasperation, but as soon as he was gone, sighed and placed your face on Starlight's neck. "Mission," You hissed under your breath, just really wishing Lord Fabulous didn't have to be such a jackass. "Impossible."
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Le leich= You’re sweet
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coralstories · 3 years
Text
Chapter Eleven
Word count: 2341
It’s another “main character shows up in Mirkwood and has to figure out how to survive”, but this time with my OC Aurelia Castillo and she freaks out first. Have fun laughing at her!
A/N: the bolded text is a different language, text in italics are thoughts
Warnings: lots of cursing, orcs, wounds, mentions of gross men. If there’s anything else you’d like me to put please lmk.
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“Uncle, what of the girl?” Fíli asked Thorin, leaning close to the soon-to-be King.  
“What girl?” Thorin raised his goblet for a passing servant to refill. 
“Aurelia, the one who followed us from Mirkwood.”
“She is with her own people now. There is no need to worry about her.”
Fíli frowned, thoughtful. Aurelia had seemed eager to go with them, but he did not know why. Thorin still did not trust her intentions. They all felt like she was holding something back from them. Bilbo had thought that, on the boat, she was going to tell Fíli something, reveal something. As soon as they saw the Lonely Mountain he had forgotten about her anguished expression. When they arrived in Lake-town there was no sign of the turmoil that had been on her face. 
She passed through each of their minds at least once that night, but none of them thought to check on her, except for Fíli. Soon, though, she slipped even from his mind as his brother occupied all his attention. Kili’s condition was worsening. The next morning, Thorin ordered him to stay behind when they left for Erebor. Fíli did everything he could think of to try to make his brother feel better. He followed Oin’s instructions and retrieved supplies with Bofur. Even Bard’s children were trying to help, but nothing seemed to be working. The most they could do was try to keep Kili comfortable as they tried to kill his fever. 
Then the orcs attacked. It was Sigrid’s scream that alerted them, and then everything erupted into chaos. Fíli fought to keep them away from his brother. Tauriel and the elf prince arrived and made quick work of the orcs. Legolas left to chase after them. Tauriel stared at Kili in agony as she hesitated by the doorway, but then someone else pushed past her. Tauriel gave a sigh of relief. The dwarves stared, shocked, as Aurelia knelt by Kili. She was dripping wet, her cloak was gone, her tunic was torn, and she looked exhausted. Fíli and Oin knelt next to her as she unwrapped Kili’s bandage, concern evident on her face.
“Lass, what are you doing?” Oin asked .
Aurelia didn’t answer. She turned to look at Tauriel as the elleth gasped and took the kingsfoil from Bofur. Tauriel saw the determined look in Aurelia’s eye.
“Put him on the table,” Tauriel said. 
They all moved, clearing space and bringing a screaming Kili up to rest on the table.
“Can you heal him?” Tauriel asked Aurelia under her breath.
In her many months in Mirkwood, Aurelia had begun to learn the elves’ language. Aurelia nodded as she dried her hands with a rag.
“It will take much of my energy,” she responded. Her accent showed that she was not quite fluent in the language. “But you can save your athelas.”
“Tauriel,” Kili groaned. “Tauriel, it hurts.”
“I know.” She took his free hand; Fíli was holding onto his right. “I know, but it will be over soon.”
“What do you mean?” Oin demanded. “What do you intend to do to him?”
“Me? Nothing.”
“I, on the other hand--,” Aurelia started. She moved next to Fíli to place her hands over Kili’s thigh. “--am going to save him.”
Before anyone could say anything else, Aurelia’s palms lit up with a warm glow. Tauriel began whispering a chant, or a prayer, Aurelia did not know. She couldn’t focus on Tauriel, she had to focus all her energy on Kili. She took deep, even breaths, feeling the tissue and muscle knit back together. She moved her hands up, reaching to place a hand on Kili’s forehead. She had to urge the poison out of his bloodstream. 
“Turn-turn him on his side,” Aurelia said, panting with effort.
She stepped back to give them room to do so. Fíli watched her with concern and amazement written across his features. Aurelia leaned over Kili. She closed her eyes and ran her hands over his body one last time, trying to make sure she didn’t miss anything.
He will live, the feathered serpent hissed.
“He will live,” Aurelia repeated. “He’ll still need to sweat out the toxin, and he’s probably going to be vomiting for the next few hours after he’s conscious, but--”
Her explanation ceased when her legs gave out. Fíli caught her, and Tauriel rushed to help him with her.
“Lay her down, she needs rest,” Tauriel said.
Sigrid and Tilda hurried to create a makeshift bed for Aurelia. Meanwhile, Bain and Oin put Kili back on Bard’s bed, being careful to keep him laying on his side. Once Aurelia was settled, Tauriel wet some rags and placed them on Kili and Aurelia’s foreheads.
“Tauriel, I’m fine,” Aurelia protested, still struggling to catch her breath. “I’ve just never brought someone back from the brink of death before.”
Fíli stood and made his way over to Aurelia. He stood before her, his whole frame shaking. 
“How did you do that?” he asked. “And why didn’t you do it earlier?”
He yelled the last few words, causing Aurelia to flinch and clutch her head.
“I tried to bring it up on the boat,” Aurelia said. “But the others were already staring at me like I was a steaming pile of shit. I tried to tell Kili when we were sitting alone, but…”
“But what?”
“I still wasn’t sure if I should. And then he got distracted and you all started talking about the mountain and then we were here and then we got separated and then they kept me tied up…”
Fíli’s indignant expression slowly faded and his jaw unclenched as he listened to her. He sighed and knelt in front of her, pulling her to a sitting position. Aurelia blinked rapidly as dark spots swam through her vision. The wet rag fell into her lap, but then her eyes focused on Fíli’s somber face and wide eyes.
“Thank you,” he said, and hugged her.
Aurelia stiffened at first, but then relaxed. She patted Fíli’s back softly.
“You don’t have to thank me,” she said quietly. “But you’re welcome.”
The sound of retching made everyone jump into action. Kili was leaning over the edge of the bed, his face still pale. Tauriel grabbed an empty bin and placed it under his face, rubbing his back. Oin and Fíli returned their attention to their kinsman. Aurelia fell back onto her makeshift bed, and the girls knelt beside her to tend to her. Sigrid replaced the cloth on Aurelia’s forehead, and Tilda put another on her neck and chest. Bain and Bofur were left to start cleaning up the room. No one said another word until Aurelia and Kili fell asleep. They whispered about Aurelia’s strange power, and Tauriel explained her story. She explained about the tattoo, and the magic that ran through her blood from ancestors of old. She also told them that Aurelia did not belong to any of the tribes of men in Middle Earth. It was the most specific thing she said about her origin. Bain and his sisters asked endless questions. They were excited to discover that someone from their race held magic. The dwarves were slightly suspicious, but also intrigued. Tauriel saw the mistrust in their eyes. She told them about Lúthon, and that Aurelia had said she felt it her duty as a healer to heal whoever she could. Oin nodded respectfully at that, and the suspicion faded from his eyes. She was simply a fellow healer, he realized. How she did it, he did not know, but he could understand why she did it. Tauriel admired the girl's positive outlook despite having been through so much.
“How old is she?” Fíli asked.
Tauriel frowned. “I do not know. She is obviously young, but then, most humans are to us. I never thought to ask her exact age.”
“She looks to be a little older than I am,” Sigrid said. 
“She looks like an adult,” Tilda confirmed. 
“She looks very pretty,” Bain added. 
He blushed when they all looked at him with raised eyebrows. 
“Well, you’re not wrong,” Sigrid said. “She’s beautiful, even with that tattoo.”
“Is that why the guards kept touching me?” Aurelia mumbled. 
They all looked at her, frozen in shock, as she sat up. 
“I knew men could be disgusting, but those men—“ She shivered. “They were pigs.”
“I’m so sorry,” Sigrid whispered, taking Aurelia’s hand. 
Aurelia clasped her hand between both of hers. “Don’t be. It’s not the first time I’ve had to deal with men like that. It’s why I told Thranduil I wouldn’t leave Mirkwood.”
She sighed and got up, arm outstretched to the wall for balance as she shakily made her way over to the bed Kili was on. 
“Now, how is my patient?” she said. 
Tauriel smiled as she heard the familiar cheery tone. They all watched as Aurelia lowered herself to the floor next to the bed and took Kili’s hand. With her free hand, she pushed his hair back from his face and lifted one eyelid. 
“Aren’t you going to check his pulse?” Oin grumbled. 
“I have, but you can check for yourself if you would like, Oin,” Aurelia said. 
She shifted out of his way as Oin took Kili’s other hand and pressed two fingers to his wrist. She ignored the puzzled glance he sent her, and closed her eyes as she checked Kili. Once she was satisfied, her hands glowed again as she tried to help ease the already dulling pain. When the light faded, she got up and took Tilda’s hand. 
“What are you doing?” Tilda asked. 
“Checking to see if you’re alright, too,” Aurelia said. 
“And you can tell that just by holding her hand?” Oin asked. 
“As long as I am in direct contact with a person, I can sense everything that’s going on in their body,” Aurelia said. 
She moved onto Bain, who blushed again when she took his hand. Then she checked Sigrid, Bofur, Fíli, Oin, and finally Tauriel. Tauriel pulled her near the window. 
“I think it’s time you explain why you left us,” Tauriel said in a low voice.
“Who’s to say I haven’t simply been longing to see another human? That I’d finally gained enough courage to think about what was outside the forest, and took the first opportunity I saw?”
Tauriel frowned at this. 
“Besides, why did you leave?” Aurelia continued before Tauriel could say anything. “Those are your people. I don’t believe you left them just for me.”
Aurelia glanced pointedly at Kili. 
“He’s rather tall for a dwarf, isn’t he?” Tauriel said, her tone casual. 
Aurelia’s smile quickly fell as Tauriel’s words reminded her of her newfound purpose. She sighed, and sat in the stool by the window. She leaned her head against Tauriel’s arm as they both gazed out over the town. 
“Tauriel, I’m sorry,” she said. 
Tauriel looked down at her in surprise. “What are you sorry for?”
“Well, I’m just hoping you don’t get into too much trouble with Thranduil and Legolas because I ran away.”
Tauriel sighed and put an arm around Aurelia. “If I do get in trouble with the King, it will be because of my actions, not yours.”
Aurelia nodded in understanding. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
She squeezed Tauriel’s hand and got up. She moved to help Bain and Bofur, who had returned to their self-appointed task of tidying up the house. She struck up a conversation with them. Soon enough the three of them were laughing and joking like old friends. Tauriel, who had moved to sit next to Kili and his kin, smiled fondly at the girl. 
“I envy her,” Tauriel said softly. 
“What’s that, elf?” Oin said. 
“Aurelia is such a gentle spirit and a kind soul, she makes friends wherever she goes,” Tauriel said. “I envy that ability. Even among my kin, I am known to be quite… withdrawn,” the elf woman confessed shyly. 
Fíli looked from Tauriel’s face to Aurelia’s thoughtfully. 
“You’re right,” he said. “She seems mature for her young age.”
Tauriel glanced at the prince and smirked slightly. Then they were all distracted from the strange girl by Kili’s groan. 
“What day is it?” Kili said. 
“Durin’s day,” Fíli replied. 
Kili stared up at his brother, shocked. 
“Then we have to go!” Kili exclaimed. 
“Calm down, lad,” Oin said. 
“You’re not going anywhere!” Aurelia said, coming over to them with a bowl. The dwarves quieted at her approach. “Besides, I’m pretty sure the others already left for the mountain. Now, you just eat.”
Kili took the bowl automatically as they all just stared up at her. She crossed her arms, focusing her stare on Kili. She only relaxed when he slowly brought a spoonful of stew to his mouth and sipped cautiously. After he got a taste, his eyes lit up and he started to tuck in. Oin and Fíli watched him as Aurelia came back with four more bowls for the older dwarves and Tauriel. Then she gathered Sigrid, Tilda, and Bain at the table and served them. Aurelia went back to the window and stared at the sky anxiously. She tried not to let her apprehension show. She knew that at any moment now, Smaug would appear. 
And he did. Aurelia made her escape with Tauriel, the dwarves, and Bard’s children. As they fled, she healed the minor burns and cuts they sustained immediately. None of them noticed among the chaos. She bit her lip until it bled, but that too healed immediately. She knew that soon, she would have to make a choice. The group was separating, and she had to decide who she would follow, with or without their knowledge. Sigrid, Tilda, and Bain would go with their father and the other humans. Tauriel would go with Legolas to chase after the orcs. Oin, Bofur, Fíli, and Kili would go to the mountain to join their kin and Bilbo.
Aurelia sighed. She hoped that something would happen in the morning that would tell her what to do.
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growingingreenwood · 5 years
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What’s your honest opinion about Tauriel? Because I have severely mixed feelings about her. I liked the whole idea about her character, but I was horribly disappointed with how the screenwriters utilised her, it was infuriating. I would’ve been more onboard if they’d removed the ‘lowly silvan elf’ thing, the awful Tauriel/Kíli love story, and Tauriel’s disrespect towards Thranduil. Your depiction of Ava is how Tauriel should have been. In my opinion they wasted a perfectly good character.
I have a really mixed relationship with her, and it's definitely evolved and changed significantly between when the movies first came out and now. I mean…. I don't hate her??? But overall… I think she's rather pointless at best, and harmful to the Middle Earth Narrative at worst. 
The two biggest issues I have with her are: 
1) I HATE the ‘lowly silvan elf’ thing. I hate it. HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT. Because Tolkien goes to lengths to ensure that all the readers know how much Thranduil & Oropher loved, respected, admired, and COMPLETELY ADOPTED the Silvan Elves culture and way of life. Thranduil LOVES his people and everything about them. He would throw hands with anybody who even dare to call them ‘lowly silvans’ in front of him, doesn't matter who the hell it was. Would probably throw hands with Manwe himself if he decided to say something too snarky. 
It makes the line all the worse when you understand the deep racial issues that have always steeped harshly between the elves, with the Silvans always on the end of the scale right next to the words 'Barbaric’, surpassed only perhaps by the Avari, but I don't think the Noldor would even count them as Elves anymore by this point. 
So for her to say something like that out of spite an anger, when Thranduil (as it was started and hinted to in the movies) all but raised her & favored her deeply, and HAVE HIM AGREE WITH THE STATEMENT??????? No. Absolutely not. 
2) Her weird crush/love thing with Kili (in my opinion) completely devalues and undermines the wonderful and absolutely shocking friendship between Gimli and Legolas. Like…. Elves and Dwarves hated each other basically since the entire ordeal in Menegroth when they kill Thingol and ransacked the city (probably even before that, when that was the TINY misunderstanding when Elves didn't realize Dwarfs were sentient creatures and hunted them.. awks) But Thranduil was alive for the ransacking. Thranduil probably remembers that day very, very vividly. Thranduil probably held his father for hours as he sobbed over the loss of his dearest friend, hoping his father would not fade from the grief and the shock. Thranduil also probably lost an incredible amount of friends that day (as well as his Uncle Thingol,) and Legoals grew up knowing this information. He can still see and feel the heartbreak and pain that Thranduil experiences each time the memory is brought up.
Gimli and Legolas arrive in Rivendell so wrapped up in their own cultural points of veiw that they can barely move their arms. And then somehow, they manage to form one of the deepest and most loyal friendships known to both elf and dwarf kind alike. Leoglas takes him to the freakin undying lands with the spare HOPE that nobody will stop him. And Gimli goes, because he loves his friends and would never want to be parted from him before it was absolutely necessary. Like???? THESE TWO IDIOTS OWN MY ENTIRE HEART. Their friends out of essuantly sheer stubbornness alone. 
And then the hobbit movies come out and all of a sudden Taruiel is head over heels in love with Kili after an entire ten (10) minutes of COLLECTIVE conversation???? SO MUCH SO that she would literally threaten to harm her own king???????????? Who basically raised her??? In front of all her own army and soldiers???? Surrounded by her slaughtered people???? When she’s supposed to be captain of the guard???? I don't?? Understand????? 
Like…. It took Legolas and Gimli months of being literally forced to spend time with one another before they even stopped squabbling over every little thing and YET Tauriel apparently has ABSOLUTELY none of the same prejudices Legolas would have. I just ……  I just… I just want Peter to sit me down and explain the logistics of this entire ‘love story situation’ to me because I don't understand. 
ALSO: Legolas spend so much of the books referring to the other members of the fellowship as ‘children’ regardless that they are all considered adults by their own people (With the exception of Pippin,) and Kili the equivalent of a 17 - 18 years old to the dwarves and Taruiel who is at least 600 years old is just like YUP. 18 YEARS IS OLD ENOUGH FOR ME, AS LONG AS HE ISN'T IN DIAPERS WHO CARES. 
In short: I think we have very similar opinions on her. I was so excited about her character when the movies were being made. I was SO READY to have a badass female running around Middle Earth kicking ass and taking names. And like, she is kickass, I’ll give her that. And I do like some aspects about her personality… but I find that the writers just made her ….. Very, very flat and undeveloped. They seem to have only created her with the specific desieir to put her in that weird ‘romance’ and you can really REALLY tell that's the case. She’s hardly even a person. Take away her weird infatuation with Kili and all of her motives, personality, actions, etc, melt away. She’s literally nothing without Kili. Which bothers me. 
I feel like the writers completely and totally robbed us of someone that could have been one of the best and most memorable characters in The Hobbit films, and I’m still salty about it. 
One last addition: I created Ava in a sort of rabid anger fueled midnight writing session when I expressed these thoughts about Tauriel and my friend said, “Well, it's not like anyone else could create a better female elf OC extra, especially not you. So lay off.”   So I’m screenshotting that part about how “Ava is how Tauriel should have been” and sending it to him. 
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