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hellishtrickster · 4 months

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Meeting the Family

Merry Christmas @ineedmyfriendback / @thelibraryismytardis!!! I hope you have an amazing day! 😄🎄🎉

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Orianna woke up, still holding Missy close to her. The water was calm around them in the underwater cave they’d sheltered in for the night. She took a deep breath and gently traced a webbed finger over Missy’s cheek.

This gift from Thassa was possibly the one Orianna cherished the most. The ability to have the love of her life share in the wonderful world of the ocean was truly the most beautiful of experiences.

As she looked up, Orianna saw some sharks swim past. And was that a Kraken? Two? Three of them? Oh dear, it seemed her siblings were keen to see her mate. Missy had been able to see the beauty of her world, now she’d have to see the weirder side of it.

Orianna positioned herself slightly above Missy. Floating above her so as to block her view of the cave. She knew she could at least make this experience less shocking. She reached out, and brushed the back of her right hand over Missy’s cheek. The woman stirred under the touch.

“Wake up, Love. There are some creatures who would like to meet you.”

Missy stirred, blinking her eyes open. Orianna smiled sweetly at her, and leaned down to give her a good morning kiss. The kiss was tender and lazy. Missy placed a hand on Ori’s waist, and pulled back slightly.

“Morning…who wants what now?”

Orianna chuckled at the sleepy question. It was sweet, and she looked forward to waking up to more of this.

“There are some creatures who would like to meet you. Namely…my siblings. I’ve seen a number of sharks and krakens swim past our cave. Given it’s your first deep swim, they’re curious to know who earned my love so thoroughly as to earn a blessing from Thassa.”

Missy blinked a few times as she processed what her partner had said.

“It’s one thing to know it theoretically, but to understand it in practice that your siblings are actual sea creatures is another. Anything I should know about them?”

Orianna was thoughtful for a minute.

“Nah, everything is quiet right now. They’re just curious. They might approach you, and you might get some telepathic communication from the krakens…”

Orianna heard whale song overhead and sighed fondly.

“…and the whales. The larger the sea creature, the more protective my mother is of them. Hence why the krakens rarely leave the depths unless it’s on my mother’s orders, or an occasion like this. But don’t be afraid. They’ll swim close, and they might touch you. Might get some nuzzling from the sharks, but you’re completely safe.”

Missy didn’t look sure, but she was thinking it through. As she did, Orianna admired the way her partner’s hair formed a halo around her head. Seeing her partner under the water was like seeing her for the first time all over again.

“Okay…but stay close,” said Missy.

Orianna nodded, and gently helped Missy to right herself in the cave. She gently lead Missy out of the cave and into the open ocean. Looking around, Orianna saw that their audience was enormous. There was a large shiver of sharks, pods of various kinds of whales and an entire shoal of krakens.

The demigod pulled Missy into her side. This was overwhelming but then, her siblings didn’t have that humanoid concept. They were all instincts and natural urges mostly. Right now, they were feeling extremely curious, and so began their introductions to their sister in-law by swimming past and around her.

Orianna rubbed at Missy’s side, feeling her quiver at the flurry of movement. Eventually one of the sharks, a grey nurse, swam forward. Despite being all teeth, this sort of shark was known for being calm and gentle.

Orianna reached a hand out, and gently guided the shark to Missy where it could gently nuzzle at her stomach. She kissed Missy’s temple in reassurance as she felt her partner tense. It would all be okay. In the mood they were in, these sharks were practically like puppies. Sweet, cuddly and a little excitable.

As the shark nuzzled at her, Missy eventually found the courage to reach a hand up and stroke it from head to dorsal fin. Orianna watched as her sibling’s eyes rolled back in delight at the affection. She smiled, despite the overwhelming crowds, this was nice.

Eventually the shark swam off towards its shiver at speed. No doubt to excitedly relay its knowledge of Missy to the others, having judged her to be part of the family now.

Next was a humpback whale calf. It sung a few short notes, and swam back and forth playfully. Orianna’s smile widened at it. As usual, her whale siblings were extremely intelligent. Best to send one of the babies for the first time playing, rather than sending an adult. Allow Missy to see what it was like without being intimidated. Whales were playful, communicative and expressive.

Orianna squeezed Missy’s side and swam slightly away to grab her hand. She took the lead as she swam forward.

“He wants to play. He’ll mimic us. We won’t get too close. He’ll come over at his own pace.”

Missy nodded and followed Orianna. The demigod raised an arm and waved it. Missy followed her lead, copying the movement and waited. Only a moment later, the calf swam past copying the movement. A few waves and the calf came closer, satisfied that Missy wasn’t a danger to him. Orianna gently took the lead in twirling them both through the water, and the calf copied them. He sang a few notes, happy to find new playmates. After a good 20 minutes of play, he swam back to his mother. The whales all began to swim away, satisfied with what they’d seen of this new family member.

Now the krakens came in closer to take a better look at Missy. Rumbling could be heard in every direction. Something was being discussed. Orianna couldn’t quite tell what it was with all of the commotion. Clearly they thought Missy was something of interest. She felt a telepathic tendril reach her, and Orianna opened herself to it.

‘Her eyes are like Mama’s.’

The voice was young but it seemed that was the consensus. Orianna looked at Missy. Krakens had a tendency to look directly at the nature of a person, and clearly they could see the deep blue of Missy’s eyes with stars in them. Thassa’s eyes were the same but had a more literal physical manifestation. Perhaps Missy’s eyes might look like that someday.

‘I’d say so. She’s from the stars,’ Orianna replied.

That earned more rumblings from the krakens. A flurry of movement and the largest of her siblings in attendance swam past, and then slowly moved a tentacle towards Missy. She wanted Missy to touch it.

“Touch her tentacle. The krakens are getting to know you. They’re looking at your being. Just be gentle. It will be okay. Remember their mother is a goddess and has her moods too.”

Missy was extremely apprehensive knowing that the krakens were looking at her inner being. There was a lot of darkness there and she didn’t want them to think she couldn’t be redeemed, or that she was unworthy of their sister. Despite this, she reached out, and placed her hand on the offered tentacle.

Missy was still getting used to the touch of magic, and the divine but she knew the feeling of these things intimately now. The Kraken was searching her, but she couldn’t feel any judgement. At least not the type she was used to picking up from other humanoids. There was a neutrality to this and Missy couldn’t be sure what the enormous creature was seeking.

When she was done with her search, the kraken withdrew her tentacle and swam to a safe distance before rumbling. There was no need to harm her sisters’ humanoid ears. She then placed herself on telepathic broadcast for all of her siblings to hear.

‘OUR NEW SISTER WILL FULFIL HER PURPOSE IN MOTHER’S PLAN. THE FUTURE IS SLOW MOVING BUT THE PATH IS PREPARED AS EVER. MISSY IS TO BE PROTECTED AS WE PROTECT ALL OF OUR DEMIGOD SIBLINGS.’

The voice was deep and therefore loud. Despite being telepathic, the sound rumbled through Orianna and Missy’s chest as though the Kraken had spoken aloud. The shoal rumbled their agreement and swam away. Orianna silently brought Missy into her arms. The alien woman didn’t hesitate to lean into her partner. Today was already overwhelming.

“What did they mean that I would fulfil my purpose in Thassa’s plan?” Missy asked.

Orianna exhaled a long breath, bubbles swirling around the pair.

“I don’t know. Thassa doesn’t reveal her plans to me and the krakens understand them instinctively. Our union brings something to the world, and will eventually change how it looks. That’s how my mother works. Progress must be constant, but it will always be gradual. Our importance in her plans may not become apparent until centuries from now. We may never know, but that isn’t for us to question. We’ve been blessed and we can enjoy that.”

Missy nodded contemplatively, and pressed a kiss to Orianna’s clavicle before looking up at her.

“So we go wherever life takes us, enjoy the adventures and make our homes in the stars and the ocean.”

Orianna could hear Missy echoing the words of Thassa’s blessing, and kissed her gently.

“Precisely. Now how about we go to a reef instead of the depths today? I think we’ve had enough experience with my larger siblings for one day, and we can find some food.”

At Missy’s nod, Orianna floated back and grabbed her hand. It was time to lead the way and teach Missy about her new abilities.

#ineedmyfriendback #drabble #Reverse AU

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loregoddess · 3 months

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con't Octo2 observations:

-Parti Ch2: no thoughts head empty, just Ori (although I didn't realize on my first run that she mentions her "brother" at one point, but now I Know)

-Temenos Ch2: finally took a screenshot so I could remember the order of prayers to see if they have any thematic significance for literally anything aside from the murders, and then promptly forgot to write down the info from the screenshot (rip, I'll get it later); also finally cleared up a spot of confusion in my memory that I legit didn't know if I was just misreading something or if the writing was bad--I was just confused about the whole cloak and dagger of the narrative bc there is some stuff presented as fact that is actually one character's misunderstanding of something that I, as the audience, did not know was purposely incorrect to create misdirection for story assumptions that makes a hell of a lot more sense on my second playthrough than it did my first if only bc I know what the truth of all the facts actually is now (specifically the people of Crackridge being referred to as the "Keepers of the Flame" when they are very much not interested in keeping any flames, and in fact the Kal were the protectors of that flame)

#Ochette continues to be my MVP and I'm accidentally way stronger than I need to be so bosses have been easy so far #although I also actually know how to use everyone so like even Agnea--who was my weakest member my first run--#is now like...a powerhouse bc I actually know how to make use of the Dance Session subskill #oracle of lore

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talk-it-out-outsiders-smp · 2 years

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Alright here again but this time I take my happy Au and offer you sadness. Please enjoy sad head cannons from this Au

-Through Reddons does call all of the Outsiders friends he has trouble feeling connected to the demons or humans since he covers his face the entire time and no one knows what he is and he never feels like theirs a good time to share

-Mohwee gets panicked if he loses sight of people who come into the maze with him, he logically knows they won’t leave him behind but he can’t help but be jumpy

-When Krow does find out that It’s not actually a Dragonborn and It’s just a normal Demon It feels terrible about it. It hates how terrible the news makes It feel even more though because It hates who It was before, It doesn’t want to be that person again, but It’s still so devastated to learn that It’s not special at all and It falls in a viscous cycle of self loathing over it

-Beks never gets to properly preform for an audience that isn’t the Outsiders and though she refuses to fixate on it, it leaves a whole in her heart. It’s a dream she will never be able to achieve.

-Acho refuses to go swimming for a long time after his drowning incident

-Magic becomes so fixated on ending all of the Maze business and the orphanage that the others have to hold an intervention to finally get her to stop running herself into the ground

-Guts doesn’t want to be alone again after leaving the maze but doubts that anyone would want to stick with them when they all seem to have much better friends

-When Owen and Apo meet up in the maze they both reveal to the other they got their memories back but try to hide it from the rest of clearing because they don’t want to ruin things just as they’re calming down so for weeks after coming back to the clearing they isolate from the others

-During that time Owen seriously consider just disappearing into the Maze because he’s scared that he might still hurt someone through the prejudice that he’s only now starting to unlearn

-The fact that they hide this made things even worse when Rasbi finally gets her own memories back.

-Ayngel’s siblings don’t recognize her at first when she finally gets home

-After leaving the maze but before splitting off into groups the stress of everything catches up to Graecie finally and she just breaks down in sadness and anger and now that no one’s life rest on her keeping her cool she just can’t process everything and for several days she is inconsolable

-Ori blames himself for what happened to Clearing 2 because he technically pulled the levers first

-Magic and Owen have a big blow up fight because Magic feels like Owen is protecting her too much and refusing to let her stand up for herself and during this argument Owen brings up Squidney almost dying last time he trusted Magic to handle herself and she just froze up and he and Mohwee had to step in to save both of their lives.

-When Bekyamon loses loses her leg to trap in the maze she’s bleeding out she can’t stop thinking about how she never got a really chance to apologize so she writes a note out to everyone to let them know she’s sorry in case she dies and they find her body

-After getting injured while hunting the Griever when Squidney wakes up in Soup’s house she firmly believes she’s dead and for years and years after she still has days where she wakes up and thinks nothing is real and it’s just the afterlife.

-Oeca once tried to take his own eye out in hopes that it would make his other half go away.

-Before Krow and Kyle work out their issues fully Kyle gets lost in the dark maze and while dehydrated and hungry he hallucinates versions of Krow that mock and belittle him about dying alone with no one knowing what even happened to him. When he finally does make it back he can’t look Krow in the eyes for weeks after. Even after sometimes Krow’s jokes and jabs at him feel too personal and make him flinch.

- After setting up his home with Owen Apo will sometimes freak out while away from the house and come rushing back expecting everything to be burning down and destroyed.

-After a fight with Mohwee about him luring the creature away in the dark Maze Spidey in a rage breaks the very first Sussy she ever gave him

-Ayngel was once telling Oeca off for being reckless and accidentally called him by one of her siblings names

-Eventually it comes out to Rasbi’s family that she’s still in contact with Owen. The ensuing fight ends with Rasbi leaving her home for good, only visiting occasionally and always leaving randomly to make sure no one follows her. She realizes that she’s not the same Rasbi she had been before and she can’t truly be herself living there anymore, so she moves in with the rest of the Fruit Trio.

-Soup doesn’t know how to take care of herself at all, but refuses to burden others with her stress and exhaustion so a lot of the sleep she gets is her passing out from exhaustion alone while working on potions

-After getting his memories back Owen has no intention of surviving the Maze and fully plans to die protecting and helping the others escape, he considers it recompense for his crimes. He served his country to the bitter end and the outsiders deserve more of his loyalty than that city ever did. So when he does survive and suddenly has to deal with living life, with no duty, or higher purpose to ascribe to he feels more lost then he ever has.

-Every last one of the Outsiders has horrible nightmares about both inside and outside of the maze. It’s not unusual to find people up at all hours because they can’t sleep or had just woken up screaming.

-The paranoia over being dragged back to Maze and losing all their memories again never leaves any of them. It fades to almost nothing but they still fear it happening, no matter how unlikely it is, till the day they die.

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sydtaxerror · 7 months

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Day 2: Liminal

HoloGoretober Day 2, the crossover no-one, literally no-one asked for. Shiori Novella gets caught up in some OC/AU bullshit and just absolutely devastates a man for it. Went a little too light on gore yesterday and may have over-steered a bit. Best avoided if violence, puns, or light cannibalism are disturbing to you. There's a framing device with an OC that ties into the rest of the month's narrative, just in case HoloGoretober was a wide enough venn diagram to still fit someone besides me. Skip to the asterisks if you just want Shiori Novel-ways-to-hurt-someone-a.

Day 2: Liminal

Oriko continued her “livestream” over, around and through her makeshift puppet theater “overlay.” With the first performance of the night finished the Fauna puppet lay temporarily forgotten, leaning haphazardly against the small stage. A bundle of twigs and leaves rested gently in its lap. Oriko’s mouth was still stained crimson from the salary-man puppet’s sudden “transformation” into those twigs and leaves. She hadn’t noticed and the scrolling paper ribbon, covered in her own scribblings, that served as “chat” did not see fit to inform her. But it was surely seen by the other audiences. Both the dozen or so puppets facing the stage, sat in spider silk hammocks, and the surveillance camera which hung above them following Oriko’s every move. It had always been there, at least as long as she’d been there. Her genmates all thought it was creepy, and went to great lengths to avoid it, but she was happy just knowing they weren’t the only ones left. And how bad could they be if they liked watching her streams? A monitor hung below the camera, with a simple blinking cursor. It looked like a simple command line prompt but no keyboard was attached and no message had ever appeared on it. Until that night, when Oriko asked “chat” if they had any questions and for the first time they did.

“What’s your favorite liminal object?” Oriko gasped, the cardboard cutout which was going to serve as the question, slotting into the stage in a facsimile of an asset in broadcasting software, slipped from her hand. Her other three sets of eyes opened wide and fixated on the camera. Six small black orbs opened, joining the bright green of her human eyes. Her head swam at the influx of data. They each saw in spectrums she’d forgotten how to parse.

“Is someone really there? Are you ok? Do you need help?” It ignored this and all of her followup questions, until she asked, “Like…clipping out reality liminal or existing at a border or threshold liminal?”

“The latter.”

She made various “thinking” noises while tilting her head back and forth. Campfire? No. TV? No. Bed? Maybe. She glanced around the room, eyes lingering on a bookcase near her bed. Ah. Her head pained her even more, the puppets across the room seemed to pulse closer and farther.

“Bookmark.”

“ Mine too :)” Oriko was happy her viewer was pleased. It felt like she’d found the right answer.

“Ori…Do you remember any stories about bookmarks?” Oriko nodded, her human eyes were half-lidded but her spider eyes were still sharp and aware, they maintained their inscrutable gaze on the monitor, somehow accusatory.

“Ori…tell me the story.” Oriko places a small toy hospital bed onto the stage, woven from her own silk between four popsicle stick bedposts. She retrieved a doll with black and white hair, amber eyes and a gothic dress. She attaches it to her spinnerets and lets it fall into the bed. Green light follows it down through her silk, lighting up the puppets eyes. Its’ chest begins to rise and fall as if the doll is really slumbering in the bed. Two more puppets, one in a lab coat and one in a suit descend to the stage and stutter to life.

“She’s not sleeping. But they think she is.”

***

Shiori wasn’t sleeping. But they thought she was. Or at least, they thought she was so sedated that two ordinary humans could safely be in her presence. Enough that the bed’s simple manacles could hold her. Two beliefs that were deeply untrue. Not that she intended to interfere. This story needed to continue on its current path. At least a little further. So she kept her eyes gently closed. Her breathing carefully paced. She let them draw her blood, and pour it onto the elaborate magic circle etched beneath her bed. She watched passively, as they read the incantations and drew out her power. Her aura lifted away from her body, the golden light was drawn into a strange alchemical device on the opposite side of the room. After a winding series of heavily runed glass tubes, It dripped a glowing viridian liquid into a small vial. It was no more than a couple ounces, Shiori had been very exact about how much she’d allowed them to take, though it still amounted to several years of archiving work being undone. Narrative Quintessence. It was the source of her ability to twist the plot, both in and out of archives. Plot armor given physical form. Though it was weird to see it green. It had always been amber-colored, like her eyes and aura, when she’d manifested it voluntarily.

She shook in subconscious fury as the doctor stoppered the vial and grasped it in his filthy hands. She told herself this was only a fraction, if a large one, and that before the bookmark she’d had none at all. But when the man in the suit reached across her “unconscious” form to take the vial, she decided to steer into the skid. Still held back by the manacles attached to the bed, she lunged for his arm only barely reaching it. She spent a precious drop of Quintessence to serrate her teeth and tear away a chunk of his arm right through his suit. She swallowed it down, suit and all, and showed him her empty mouth, as he staggered back. She cackled at his horror and sang out “Surprise!” He stumbled to the door, the vial clasped desperately in his hand. Stopping only to give the order, “Kill her, quickly, but painfully.” Neither of them noticed the bookmark that appeared in her hand as soon as the vial crossed the threshold of the door. It became a lock pick rake at her touch and by the time the man in the suit slammed the door behind him, she was free of both shackles, though she had returned her hands to their previous position by the time the doctor turned to face her.

She smiled at him. “Quickly? That's no fun. You should never kill someone unless you’re at least going to savor it.”

He retrieved a knife from somewhere below the bed and grinned “Oh I intend to.” He was so enthused she decided to give him a shot. It had after all been quite some time since she’d been properly stabbed. As soon as he positioned it above her, she knew it was a waste of time. There was no need for plot armor as the knife split her flesh only briefly before impacting on her rib cage. Not only had he missed anything vital but he was so startled by the fact she did, indeed contain a rib cage that he released his grip on the knife. Shiori rolled her eyes and swung her legs across the bed, pulling the knife from her chest.

“You know what? That's honestly on me. I’ve been carved up by some of the great butchers of fiction. I mean, once a Jack the Ripper has replaced one of your kidneys with a bomb, the rest might as well be kids stuff. So what did I really expect from you. You don’t even have a name.”

“ I do. Its-”

“Nope. Five minutes ago you did. But then this showed up.” She held up her bookmark. “Do you know what a bookmark is? What its essence is? It’s a border. Between read and unread. Past and future. And sometimes, between one story and the next.”

“I don’t understand.” He was desperate to placate the ranting, knife-wielding, idol. But entirely unsure what exactly she wanted from him. She could have walked out the door or killed him minutes ago.

“Pre-bookmark? It's the story of “the last gen”. You’re Professor DoctorMan, sciencing the shit out of things. Scrounging up Vtuber parts, building doomed killing machines. Can’t eat his eyes, too important! But once that vial leaves the room?” She started advancing towards him. “Who needs you anymore? The bookmark pops in, and now we’re in “The Disappearance of Shiori Novella: Where the fuck did she go? And in that story. You’re just a doctor. A scientist. A guy in a lab coat. And suddenly it's an all you can eat eye-fet.” In one motion she thrust the knife into his lower eyelid, flexed it up and popped his eye from its socket. Before he’d even started screaming she’d severed it and draped it into her mouth. She slurped up his orbital nerve like so much gruesome spaghetti. His screams shook the room.

“Oh calm down, its just a little light cannibalism. All in good fun.” He screamed.

Something dawned on her and she gave a cat-like grin. “Hey, at least your eyes weren’t bigger than my stomach, ey?”

He continued screaming. She frowned.

“You know what, you’ve been a huge disappointment. I was gonna do a whole thing where I asked you if you knew human knees only bent one way and then I stomped on your knees and then I’d go ‘oops nevermind.’ And it was gonna be a whole metaphor about creativity, and thinking outside the box or something. But frankly we’re out of time and I’m not sure you’ve earned it.”

She pointed the knife at his chest. “One last tip before I go.” She adjusted it so it would slip between his ribs and sever his aorta. “It goes here.” She slammed her fist into the back of the knife and drove it in. His screams became a low croaking sound.

She stood up, dusted herself off, and walked out the door. A guard briefly blocked her way, his veins dyed an inky black. On seeing her, the black tendrils withdrew towards his face and his body collapsed as a small black creature leapt from his mouth onto Shiori's shoulder. "Yorick! Aww, were you worried about me? Some guy was pretty rude to me but I'm fine." They departed the narrative together, vanishing. For a time.

***

Oriko fell to the ground, like a marionette with its strings cut. The sound of metal grinding on concrete came from another part of the basement, slowly approaching the room. An exceptionally tall woman entered the room, dragging an oversized fire-ax. A pair of wolfish ears, and a pair of black, deer-like antlers peeked out through slots in a dark crimson cloak. Her face was hard and her hands were calloused. Her movement was stilted, as if her sinew wasn’t threaded quite right. She dropped her ax and gently lifted Oriko into her arms. Setting her in the blanket and daki filled corner of the room that served as Oriko’s makeshift bedroom. She tucked her in and placed several puppets and plushies around her like sentinels.

She retrieved her ax and confronted the camera, baring a mouth of sharp canid fangs. Her eyes glowed with faint green light.

“She does not want to remember.”

The monitor responded. “Woodcutter? How are you speaking?”

“She does not want to remember.”

“On some level she does, shes chasing a dream that can’t come true in this world.”

“Let her dream.” The woodcutter growled.

“I wish I could, more than you can know, but shes the only one who can save her senpai. Or the world.”

“They are not our senpai. Only one ever accepted her.”

“The only one that had a chance, and the only one that matters. Oriko is Hololive now. She would want to save them if she remembered.”

“She will never dance in the world you would sacrifice her for.”

The console sat empty for several minutes. “No. But nonetheless, I can’t give up on that dream.”

The woodcutter’s face twisted in rage. “Pray I never find you!” She lifted her ax and swung it relentlessly, until both camera and monitor lay in pieces. One final message displayed as the monitor shattered. “I will.”

#hololive #goretober #hologoretober? Is that a thing? No.#the fire alarm went off falsely three times last night after I posted day 1 at three AM what is sleep? Is it delicious?#shiori novella

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ao3feed-barduil · 9 months

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Of Secrets And Quests

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/Gl9WbED

by Z3PHYRR

Bilbo Baggins was a perfectly respectable hobbit that belonged to the shire. He lived in Bag-End in his late friend’s parents’ smial. He didn't leave the hill very often, if not for food. These were the observations of outsiders, ones who didn’t know. Outsiders who were ignorant to what really went on within the small, honest quiet Hobbiton. They didn’t know how truly cruel pleasant the gentlefolk of Hobbiton could be. How inhumane kind and unkind caring they could be. What horrific experiences those that differed from the rest were forced to face. No, this is not a tale of how a simple, respectable hobbit came to join a quest with 13 dwarrow to retake Erebor and slay a dragon. No, this is not such a tale. This is the tale of Bilbo Baggins, a skinshifter who came to meet the last of his kin, kill one he had considered kin and acquire a dwarven husband and nephews.

Who is Bilbo Baggins, and just what is he?

Words: 2919, Chapters: 1/2, Language: English

Fandoms: The Hobbit - All Media Types

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: M/M, Multi

Characters: Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, Dáin Ironfoot (at some point), Thorin's Company, Tauriel (Hobbit Movies), Gandalf | Mithrandir, Legolas Greenleaf, Thranduil (Tolkien)

Relationships: Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Kíli/Legolas Greenleaf, Dwalin/Nori (Tolkien), Balin/Dori (mentioned), Bard the Bowman/Thranduil (Mentioned), Fíli/Ori (Tolkien), Tauriel/Her Bow, Bilbo Baggins & Tauriel, Bungo Baggins/Belladonna Took, Bilbo Baggins & Bungo Baggins & Belladonna Took, Thorin Oakenshield & Thorin's Company

Additional Tags: Skin-changer Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Is an Idiot, Thorin Has No Sense Of Direction, Fíli and Kíli Are Little Shits, It's Always Gandalf's Fault, Bilbo is So Done, BAMF Bilbo Baggins, Protective Bilbo Baggins, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, asshole hobbits, mentioned slave trade, Child slave trade, Thranduil and the stick up his ass, Oh wait thats just Bard, Bilbo Has Issues, Bilbo needs a hug, and he's gonna get one, Thorin Broodysheild, why is that not a tag?, it should be, Bilbo Baggins Has the Patience of a Saint, Bilbo and Elladan and Elrohir prank the Company, Kili and Fili meet Elladan and Elrohir, Fíli and Kíli are Idiots, mentions of Morgoth and torture, Bilbo Is Tired, Like half-dead tired, poor baby, Abuse of Khuzdul, Bilbo speaks Khuzdul and Sindarin, Bilbo has no selfpreservation, read notes for chapter warnings, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Bilbo aquires Tauriel when she is an elfling, No beta we die like Thorin Oakensheild should, Canon has been taken out back and shot, We shot the canon with a cannon, Alternate Universe-Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Self-Indulgent, Bilbo Baggins - The Linguist of Middle Earth

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/Gl9WbED

#the hobbit #barduil #fic #ao3 #bardxthranduil #thranduilxbard

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shackle-foes · 10 months

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Speaking of NPCs who are in other characters chapters, did you know that you can spot Ori in Osvalds chapter 1? She's in the audience in the trial scene

you just can't escape her

she's like psychic friend fredbear

here there and everywhere

#mav answers #if you know where that's from #congrats

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passeriformess · 2 years

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theseus left the rest of the gang i think and is off rotting somewhere due to her wither sickness

syl and ash also fell down the hole so theyre here now

a portal opened to fucking, hell i think??? and maple got briefly possessed and pushed battery and nerd inside, but its ok they got out alive

the egg claimed credit for maple's possession which angered ori enough to go after her but then scribbles brought him back

scribbles' vine arm fucking. EXPLODED??? and blew up ori along the way?? but without really killing him because you cant die in madness

scribbles' body reformed into a gleamon but????? part of his mind got stuck inside ori's newly rebuilt body?????? or is it his ghost thats possessing him idk???? so now ori has scribbles speaking to him inside his brain or some thing guys what the fuck happened i JUST woke up

-the thing that caused the fucky portal to show up was clem dying for Science™️. not theseus, not clementine. clem is now canon to ddsmp -ori Did successfully punch the egg, but she ran away, which is why he started chasing her

wren theseus and batts were stuck in The hole for like a few months bc they Wouldnt talk and then Everyone got fucking. Wasnt able to rp. so we Stayed in the hole.

also everyone made it out of madness and theres no more gleamons anymore

and all egg vines turned into normal vines

oh yeah wren died but its ok it turns out theyre immortal i think

oh yeah should update this

everyone except wren moved to the tea shop wren moved to dirttopia small argument over death within tea shop people about Should they get death they already got the egg vs Some people Actually dont wanna exist forever

batts visited wren, was nice but then led to argument about sui tw wren planning to Die and all fo the associated things no one else except theseus knows about the plans

battery moved to autrea with nerd n chicory nerd has a HOUSE cemetry currently being built bug has become oh so very >:( they have Issues

Wren death uhh lettuce saying theyre not important and need to leave (aka mcdie but theyre being vague as fuck) wren follows along confused or something eventually 'no' 'you dont matter' idk im basing this off my thoughts from last night wren sets the house on fire after saying they dont care about an audience i think which pisses lettuce off (uhh burning alive but. its probably easy to figure out, both burn to death

everyones been taking it as expected theseus is self destructive scribbles hasnt processed it that much bug is finding it hard to do a lot of tasks n is more angy maple is Fuck who knows 😌 favorite absentee tree chorus has Sat outside and has observed ants. he IS ants. Woahhhh

wren is alive woahhh respawn in elysium, went to autrea, sappy shit with the lizard :( (yes they r immortal ! specifically the "can keep respawning indefinitely" type) no one else knows this and is Still grieving

tea shop tension bug n theseus mostly keep arguing video is above mortal qualms scribbles Leaves a lot ori is loosing hope slowly and Also goes out a lot chorus is. Pokes him. this guys Soggy and consumed i actually got energy..

Thumbs up we r Almost there <- during madness aka the endless and infinite corrodor of dimensions and aus. we were in the void i think ? and then dropped ot the overgrowth and Popped back onto the overworld ithimk

map !

the gnether is gnome nether, right? the gnome invasion wasn't just a fever dream I had?

#fuckign uhhhhh i was sure i had imagined the gnomes #just what happens when i don't check the servers thoroughly kekw #ddsmp #ask tag #friends tag

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ao3feed-thehobbit · 9 months

Text

Of Secrets And Quests

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/7PSVJG8

by Z3PHYRR

Who is Bilbo Baggins, and just what is he?

Words: 2919, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: The Hobbit - All Media Types

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: M/M, Multi

Characters: Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, Dáin Ironfoot (at some point), Thorin's Company, Tauriel (Hobbit Movies), Gandalf | Mithrandir, Legolas Greenleaf, Thranduil (Tolkien)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/7PSVJG8

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #the hobbit

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ao3feed-tolkien · 9 months

Text

Of Secrets And Quests

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/Hf5XAZ1

by Z3PHYRR

Who is Bilbo Baggins, and just what is he?

Words: 2919, Chapters: 1/3, Language: English

Fandoms: The Hobbit - All Media Types

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: M/M, Multi

Characters: Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield, Dáin Ironfoot (at some point), Thorin's Company, Tauriel (Hobbit Movies), Gandalf | Mithrandir, Legolas Greenleaf, Thranduil (Tolkien)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/Hf5XAZ1

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #Tolkien #JRR Tolkien #Tolkien works #ao3 #fan fiction

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autodiscothings · 3 years

Text

Meme time baby

#Kolyat sees no difference #Kolyat is an animal #Phalia gets what is on offer/in her cupboards and softens the blow with homemade snacks #Patel brings snacks too mostly as he and phalia and competing for Best Snack #derek thinks coke is passé and brings better party drugs (in his opinion)#Brath is just well prepared #bats brings a shitty 6 pack of beer snd steals the whiskey #fish is a cat and Doesn’t Do Parties but will eat the leftovers #and Ori knows her audience

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maleyanderecafe · 3 years

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Hey there was a mobile game I wanted to recommend you check out! It’s called MazM: The Phantom of the Opera. Obviously the phantom himself is a well-known character and prime example of a yandere, and this version’s Raoul also takes on that trait a little (although it’s mostly because Christine is in a life or death situation and this he’s protective over her), he’s very sweet and doesn’t wait a moment to shower her with praise. Anyway it’s a pretty faithful retelling of the original book and was extra fun for me as a yandere-lover as you play as Christine caught in between the yandere and the actual boyfriend. I think it’s coming to the switch soon as well if you want to wait for that.

...Are you sure that Raoul just takes on this trait a bit...?

Joking aside, sorry it took me so long to answer this ask. I was originally going to watch a walkthrough on youtube, but then I realized that you said it would be on switch and since I just got my switch emulator, I ended up playing with a friend. I will say that there is a lot for me to say about this game, so this will be a long read.

First things first, I'll admit that I've never actually read or watched the Phantom of the Opera before, so I genuinely have no idea what happens in the story. This is where my friend who I was streaming for comes in because she has read the story so she helped fill me in on what happens (she's also making a yandere vn in the future which I will be spamming the heck out of because yandere vn). I think from what she told me, most of the story is relatively accurate, though some parts are changed for one reason or another (for instance, The Persian has a name in this game, but in the original, he doesn't), which has some pros and cons for some characters. Overall though, the story was pretty good for a first timer like me since it really let me experience what the Phantom of the Opera is truly about. I think the creator Mazm did a good job for historical detail, which makes sense considering their platform is about creating games that reinterpret famous stories (they've also done one for Wizard of Oz and Jekyll and Hyde which I sort of want to play), and there are a lot of different notes the player can collect in the game that give more historical insight into what is going on.

The story for the most part is pretty linear. There are some choices you can choose, but except for two, they don't really affect the story. For the most part, the game plays as a visual novel, though you do have to walk around to talk or interact with things to proceed the story. There are cats and notes that lie around the game too, with the notes giving more historical insight and the cats being used as hints in case you don't know where to go. The story is about a detective trying to find out the truth of the Phantom of the Opera at a request of a client whos husband was a victim of him, but most of the story is played through a flashback.

There are also small minigames as well that aren't too difficult, though I honestly felt like some of the minigames got to be tedious at times, specifically the one minigame where you have to press the order of the mirror combo which I found really annoying because besides the fact that I'm bad at those games, you had to do it every time you wanted to enter under the Opera house, which was just... ugh. The game itself seems much more optimized for mobile than it was for switch considering how slow the characters move (and its really slow walking to different places sometimes) as well as the fact that it takes forever to load between different scenes and there's no touch screen option for switch (that I know of). Plus the buttons for moving and pressing hints were annoying to deal with (though this could just be because I'm using an emulator). I also kept getting confused when I was playing, since sometimes I would walk around the entire opera house trying to figure out what to do next, only to learn that I was suppose to talk to someone that was literally five steps from where I spawned. The last thing I found annoying was the fact that there's no option to skip dialogue which is really annoying when I wanted to replay a specific part of the story to take some screenshots. If you play this game, it's probably better to play it on mobile than on switch.

In terms of artwork, Mazm's Phantom of the Opera is really gorgeous, from the overworld sprites to the dialogue sprites to the background and CGs. I love how cute the overworld sprites are (I think Jammes and Raoul's are my favorite, they're both so cute) and every background is really nice to walk through and gives a good atmosphere of what it's trying to show. The character sprites for each characters are nice and varied. I can always appreciate characters that have recognizable faces and shapes, since a lot of times I have face blindness when it comes to characters that look way too similar. The CGs of course are super well done and I love all of them. Overall, the artstyle of this game is very solid and I love the way it looks.

The main character of the story was Christine, who looks really good ( I really love her hair), was for the most part alright initially. While I found her to be a bit naive (because she believed that there was an actual Angel of Music when it was just... the Phantom), she was for the most part alright, and even ended up saving another character from the phantom. However, I found her actions annoying after she met the phantom, specifically the part where she agreed to stay underground with the phantom for two days and would be released as long as she didn't touch his mask, and guess what. Right as she was literally about to leave, SHE TAKES OFF HIS MASK, AND FOR WHAT? YOU WERE JUST ABOUT TO LEAVE?? The other thing that bothered me was the after being trapped with the Phantom for about a month, she is given free reign to go back above ground, under the conditions that she only goes to the opera house and at home. During this time, she's expected to break it off with Raoul, so she fakes a honeymoon with him before he leaves for the artic. However, during this time, she doesn't tell anyone, not even Raoul about what the Phantom is up to. She has an entire month, an ENTIRE MONTH to tell someone that the Phantom is likely to hurt people (as previously he had dropped a chandelier on top of the audience) and she just... didn't. Understandably, she might have been afraid that the Phantom might have heard her, but still, what is he going to do to the possible 100 people that Christine could have told about him. She could have saved people from death if something like that were to happen. Near the end, she does get proper character development and learns to choose things for her sake and not others, which was pretty nice and does stand up to the Phantom after all the trauma (and doesn't get stockholm sydrome, thank goodness), but I still think that a lot of her actions could have probably been written better to make her less naive (since apparently in the original she was about 16ish while in this remake she's about 20 so it's less awkward between her and the phantom).

Raoul is the next character I'll be talking about, because even though he is very adorable, he also has one braincell and talks about Christine way too much. My friend and I actually decided to make a counter on how many times Erik and Raoul say "Christine." Erik says Christines name 128 times and Raoul... says it 340 times. This isn't even counting his introduction and only starts up to when Erik is introduced as a formal character and also doesn't count any time he says it in the overworld. 340! My friend kept on joking around that because Raoul says Christine so much, his brother Phillipe became an alcoholic because he's so tired of Raoul talking about Christine. Raoul only really has like three things going for him: the fact that he was in the military, the fact that he's part of the Chagny household and Christine, and that's it. Throughout the story, his goals are pretty much always related to Christine, whether it be to give gifts to Christine, being worried about her or trying to protect Christine from the Phantom. When the chandelier drops on half the crowd during one of the performances, instead of being worried for them or trying to get out of the Opera House, he instead looks for Christine, who is on stage and quite literally in the safest location within the theater. I would consider him a redeemed/protective yandere though, considering his priority is always Christine (he even gives up his own family name to be with her) and he's always trying to protect her. There's a part of the story where Raoul becomes really unhinged when it comes to protecting Christine, lashing out her her friends and other members of the Opera house. He does some really dumb stuff because of the Phantom, specifically throwing away Christine's ring that she got from the Phantom (that she also literally told him before that as long as she's wearing the ring she wouldn't be harmed by the phantom and he just...?? okay??). When he's tortured in the mirror room, he hallucinates Christine blaming him for her capture, and he even cries while hallucinating that Christine friendzones him (which I though was actually really funny, even if it was a tad bit stupid). His redemption comes near the end of the story where he apologizes for being so emotional and realizing that he was a bit of an obsessive beast, and in one ending he lets Christine go to travel the world. To be honest, I don't know if Raoul would continue to be as protective and obsessed with her even after the Phantom's death, but I guess there's not really any way to know.

The Phantom, or Erik (which I know is his cannon name but it makes me laugh because he really doesn't look like an Erik) is the main villain of the story. Unfortunately, in this version, I don't think I can call him a yandere, for one simple character: Melek. Melek, as far as I know isn't in the original story, is a prisoner that Erik has after she refused to marry her. As a character, I do actually like Melek since she's the one of the more sensible characters in the story and she's the more rational one between her and Christine, but her role in the story basically deconfirms Erik as a yandere, at least in this version. For one, Melek is a blind maid of Erik that he did fall in love with and trap, similar to how Christine was, which kind of comes off as Erik being the kind of person who would trap any girl that he likes. Even if this is the case, I don't understand why Erik would keep her alive even after she fell for Christine. Supposedly the reason is that Erik wanted to make Christine feel despair and he did attempt to kill her, but Melek survives and he just... doesn't do anything with her. Honestly, if Melek were straight up not in the story, I would have put him as a yandere because pretty much all of his other actions point to a more possessive/worship type of yandere, but because of Melek it's just not possible in my eyes. Besides that Erik sort of reminds me of a chunni in this version (he's like this absolute darkness is my curse! Like people with 7th grade syndrom seem to have), it was kind of hard for me to take him seriously in certain times. He is very intimidating when he threatens Christine, but his overdramatic nature (which I know is something he's always known for, just this version is uh...) really makes him seem like a child. Erik is for sure suppose to be more antagonistic in this version, considering the addition of Melek and his general actions of possession towards Christine and his disdain for Raoul, but near the end we do see more of his story and we see just how devastating his life is from the moment of birth. I did feel really bad for him when Hatim/The Persian keeps on mentioning the prince he used to work with because its really obvious that he still has trauma from it (and he keeps begging him to not talk about his past and the Persian just... keeps traumatizing him I guess) and the fact that he was treated so badly because of his appearance, but this doesn't excuse his actions in the story. Christine does try to sympathize with him using her own tragic backstory, which Erik kind of pushes away (like bro, we're not trying to see whose parents are worse, she's just trying to sympathize with you, dang) as not being tragic. I think that Mazm did present him pretty well in this story, not showing just his antagonistic side but also his more tragic side. Sadly, like I said, I can't consider him a yandere because of the addition of Melek, at least not in this version.

In terms of other characters, I really like the trio of Meg Giry, Sorelli and Jammes- the friends of Christine. From what I can tell, they're all a bit more aged up in this version, with Sorelli being the oldest and Jammes being the youngest and I feel like they gave more character to them than in the original version. Sorelli is the head of the dancers and the dating partner of Phillip de Chagny, Raoul's older brother and she's the mature and strong willed one of the group, wielding a blade that she uses to protect her friends. I like the fact that they made her a bit more protective and in one of the overworld sprites its mentioned via rumor that Phillip fell in love with her after he saw Sorelli swing her dagger, which I thought was pretty cute. At the end though, after Phillips death, she realizes that she was struggling too hard to climb up the social ladder and decides to forge her own path. In the beginning she attempts to protect her and her friends from the Phantom, declaring that she'll stab him if she sees him. Next is Meg Giry, and from what my friend told me, she was very young in the original books and kind of scardy cat. In this version, she's a bit older but maintains the scardy cat position, and is very terrified of the Phantom. She does gain more character development during the story, standing up to her mother and the managers and overall being a more assertive and confident person, which I thought was a nice touch. Last but certainly not least is my best girl Jammes. In the original story, she barely makes an appearance, but in Mazm they made her quite literally the best character. For one, the canonical reason why there are so many cats hanging out in the opera house is that Jammes keeps on feeding them and letting them in and she has named all of them after the Opera House staff. Jammes loves to spin and has a cute animation and while she can be loud and a bit strange sometimes, she can be smart and assertive when she needs to. Jammes always pushes the other three into being better and protects them when needed (for instance, when Phillip lashes out at Sorelli, she steps in and demands that he apologize for his actions) and can be really smart at times (she's the only character that attempts to at least cover her mouth when the Phantom's fragrance, a hallucinogenic gas, starts to fill up the box seat, despite others who have been in there not even trying) and is the one who stands up for Christine's abuse as well as for the dancers at the opera house being treated unfairly by the manager as she organizes a strike against them. She also becomes part of the women's suffrage after the events of the story. I could go on and on about Jammes, but instead I'll leave a cute picture of her at the end of this entire analysis. Besides those three, I did like Carlotta, the original singing lead of the opera house. Originally, she became an antagonist towards Christine after she became the lead singer, however, she did apologize to her afterwards and befriended her once more before traveling the world. I love her interactions with Raoul because she basically said that Raoul only has Christine and military training and when he gets angry and lashes out, Carlotta glares and him, causing him to cower (this actually does happen multiple times), and I just found that really, really funny. Mifoid, though useless in the story is actually pretty cute as well, I love his bouncing animation. The last character I'll talk about is Phillip because he became meme material for me and my friend considering he probably is so tired of Raoul talking about Christine (we joked that the reason he was sent to military was so that he didn't have to hear her name again) and while he is mostly a decent but strict character in the story, his last appearance really makes him out as a jerk. I did think it was kind of weird that Phillip was so willing to let Raoul go to the Artic mission considering nobody that has gone there has ever returned, and he was rather elitest towards him, not letting him marry Christine because she's of lower

class but during his last chapter before he dies, he goes on a frenzy after he and Raoul have a fight, revealing to Sorelli that he only dated her for fun and not to actually settle down with her, which is just horrible. It's a bit sad though that Raoul only saw him as someone who tried to get rid of him considering that Phillip did raise Raoul and that his last actions were an attempt to save Phillip from the phantom, and yet Raoul barely has a reaction after seeing his body and doesn't even go to his funeral. It's really sad that Raoul didn't even really cry after seeing Phillip's body, considering that he was basically his father figure.

Overall, it's a good game to play and a good retelling of the Phantom of the Opera. I wouldn't consider the Phantom to be a yandere in this game, but I do think that Raoul is one. Thank you for this recommendation!

#asks #male yandere #yandere boy #yandere #recommendation

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i-did-not-mean-to · 2 years

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For the bingo card, how about Dori & Nori come to young Ori’s spelling contest or poem performance or something and being absolutely so proud of him!!!!

My dear friend (whom I love truly), I am sorry, but this turned out sadder than I thought...I don't even know if this even qualifies as fluff anymore...

Also...there's a tiny Easter-egg in the story, if you find it, let me know <3

Art by @estethell ❤️

Life is a poem that doesn't rhyme

Words: 1,6 k

Characters : Ori, Dori, Nori & OC

“Come on, little one,” Dori wrapped his broad hand around the tiny one stretched out hesitantly in front of a frail body.

Mari was too small, too dainty, too fragile for a dwarven maid, he knew, and that might have been the reason for her deep-felt friendship with his youngest brother.

As the only child given – and almost lost thrice – to her parents, she was their most precious jewel and Dori felt proud and honoured that they agreed to let her come to their house to sit with Ori. Both were good, studious children, which brought great satisfaction and pleasure to their parents and guardians.

“Want a piggyback ride?” Nori offered and the small girl nodded, her pitifully thin braids bobbing. They were late already, and Ori would be heartbroken if he could not find them in the audience for his reading.

“Are you excited?” Dori asked the girl as they trotted down to the great hall where Ori – their pride and joy – would be called upon to read some of the excellent poetry he had written; wise beyond his age, their youngest brother had a mind that never ceased to astonish and amaze them.

“Yes,” Mari replied in that soft, ethereal voice of a creature having breathed the air of the Halls of Waiting, “he is my best friend.”

There was no excitement or effervescent childishness in her tone though; she declared her allegiance to another subpar dwarven youngster with the sober objectivity of a universal truth.

"I'm sure he’ll be happy that you could join us today,” Dori went on, tugging her scarf a bit tighter around her neck to make sure that she wouldn’t catch a cold.

“I doubt that,” she smiled ever so softly, “Ori knows how much I’ve enjoyed his poetry the first twenty times he read it to me. He doesn’t need me to be there to know.”

Ah, so wise, Dori thought to himself, and yet so young and naïve still.

Of course, Mari was right, and a part of his brother would definitely have known that the absence of his best friend would be due to other duties or to her frail health, but that didn’t prevent or soothe the sting of disappointment upon realising that his favourite pair of eyes would not witness his moment of triumph.

There had been too few of those.

Guilt – hot and humiliating – washed through Dori’s heart; if only they had been richer, if only Nori had been a steadier supporter of the family, maybe Ori had not turned out so delicate that Dori was constantly afraid that a strong gust of wind would blow him away.

“Your approval means much to him,” he muttered under his breath, wondering if he and Nori did enough.

Did the boy know how proud they were of him? Was he aware that they were in speechless awe whenever they observed him shoot across and beyond the limits of their own intellect?

If only he had been a smarter dwarf, he might have understood his baby brother better.

So many regrets, so many ‘if only’s, so many ‘what if’s…and no way to remedy them; he was terrified to be a curse upon the one who was his truest blessing.

More often than not, he felt like a dumb housecat, pawing helplessly at the surface of a pond, unable to even fathom or imagine the underwater world in which his darling brother – like a turtle – was at home and at ease.

And just like that mysterious creature, Ori could exist on land – amongst people who found him strange for being so woefully maladapted – and he never complained or boasted about that other realm he shared with the likes of his little friend in secret.

“He might not be loved by many, but at least he’s truly loved by a few,” Mari nodded solemnly for she knew that whatever dimensions of love, loyalty, and devotion had been revealed to her thus far, they were candles burning in Ori’s honour.

May your heart be true, Dori thought, for Ori will need a friend like you.

As a creature meant to live for centuries, he knew – as well as Nori – that a true friend was a shield, a sword, a morsel of bread, and a cup of water when one was alone, naked, and bleeding at the bottom of one of life’s ravines.

Plucking the girl – oh, she was much too light and brittle in his hands – off Nori’s back, Dori guided her to the seats reserved for them and smiled when she smoothed first her hair and then her beautiful lavender dress before sitting down, her hands politely folded in her lap.

She was yet too young to decide if she would ever want to wed, but – knowing full well how selfish and devious such a thought was – Dori wondered if she would ever come to think of his brother as dams sometimes pondered male dwarves.

In their present state – and given the lack of potential both displayed – they would probably be blessed never to even consider that option; it was hard enough to find a partner if one was traditionally handsome and wealthy enough to support a family.

“Hush,” Mari whispered to nobody in particular as Ori stepped onto the small dais, his face aflush with nervous embarrassment.

As predicted, his eyes swept across the crowd until they came to rest on the faces of the people closest and dearest to his little, sensitive heart; the broad smile of recognition and gratefulness – a smile Dori cherished beyond everything in this world – rivalled the glare of the lanterns as his eyes lit up with joy.

Ori’s trembling voice vacillated like a flame in a draught but – after a few moments – he grounded himself, stubbornly brave little boy that he was, and read his heart-wrenching and utterly beautiful poetry with the natural rhythm and ease of a river racing the wind.

“That’s bloody good,” Nori whispered, earning a jab in the ribs by his brother who nodded at Mari sitting silent and entranced in her chair, her legs dangling in the air.

“It’s well paced.” Dori agreed then, pride swelling in his heart to the point where it choked his voice into a thin, tremulous whistle.

“It’s the rhythm of his heartbeat,” Mari commented, not taking her eyes off her friend of a single moment.

“What would you know?” Nori laughed good-humouredly.

“What do you mean? It’s the first thing you hear and – if you’re lucky indeed – it’s also the last. The steady beating of a drum that calls you home,” Mari replied, still not sparing a single side-glance for the stunned dwarf at her side.

Nori nodded slowly, meeting Dori’s eyes over Mari’s head; he could not understand where Ori took the talent, the inspiration, or even the words from but he was proud of their little one in such an unselfish way that he barely recognised the ebbing and flowing emotion, threatening to drown him, as his own.

Ori would make it out, Nori knew, he would grow beyond both him and Dori even if he never shot up another inch in his life; his warmth, his quiet courage, and that wickedly sharp mind of his would carry him further than he – himself – could even see.

Dori’s thoughts ran along similar lines indeed; sorrowful by nature, he was afraid of the day when Ori would leave for a place where he could not follow him anymore. He lived in constant terror of the moment when the strong moral compass and the iron determination of the pebble would set him on a path from which he wouldn’t ever return.

Not today though, Dori tried to remind himself, today, Ori was just a young poet, grinning at his brothers and his best friend over the beaded and braided heads of a nameless, faceless crowd. He was still their little pebble, their greatest treasure, their biggest achievement, and Dori could not have loved him more if he had been of his own seed.

When Ori finished, Nori clapped and hollered raucously – much to the amusement of Ori and the embarrassment of Dori – while Mari simply nodded slowly.

Not waiting for the accolades, Ori hopped off the dais and ran towards his family, jumping into Dori’s arms eagerly to be spun around.

Dori closed his eyes; this too would fade, soon, much too soon, Ori would be too big and too grown to ask to be held by his older brothers.

“Well done,” Mari slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled forth a slightly squashed honeyed cake, “I made them myself, they might not be good, but I’ve tried.”

“Oh Mari, did you rest enough?” Ori asked, taking the cake, and breaking it apart to share with both his brothers – who declined politely – and Mari who simply nibbled at her piece distractedly. “It’s really good, thank you!”

Ori blushed a little; his courage was called forth by necessity and urgent situations, but it abated as quickly as it arose and now, he felt slightly uncomfortable being the centre of attention.

“I’m proud of you kid,” Nori chuckled, patting the soft, silky hair of his youngest brother three times for good luck, “I hope you know that.”

Ori nodded shyly; yes, no matter how they fought and bickered between themselves, he had never doubted that his brothers were fond of him – even though he was kind of small and spindly still – and it was their love and support that gave him the strength to be brave.

“Thank you ever so much for coming,” he whispered and allowed a small smile to spread on his face as Mari handed the bigger part of her share of the cake back to him with a whispered promise that she still loved every single word of his poetry.

Life would be hard, Ori knew, for all of them because of different reasons; not today though, tonight, the world was perfect, and he was happy.

Does this qualify as fluff? I don't know...

I am sorry, if you hate it, please send another one and I'll try again :(

#fotfics #february challenge #fluffy prompts #the hobbit #fanfiction #ori #dori #nori #ri brothers #slight angsty hints #Idk what happened #I'm so sorry

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