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arwenkenobi48 · 4 years

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Forgiven

Talion gazed up into the infinite night sky. A dark void with only the sparse light of distant stars, so much larger than him. He felt small, vulnerable, helpless. ‘I thought I was supposed to bring light into Mordor,’ he thought. ‘But now I’ve made it even worse,’

Tears began to well in the corners of his icy blue eyes, but he quickly blinked them back when he heard footsteps approaching. It was probably Akoth, Gulnaz or one of the other Orc captains who worked for him. But to his surprise, it wasn’t any Orc he had branded. It was an Orc who had assisted and accompanied Talion of his own free will; Ratbag the Coward. “‘Ello, ranger,” said Ratbag with a smile that would be sweet if it didn’t expose such crooked teeth and wasn’t framed by such thin, pallid lips. “Long time no see, eh?”

“Ratbag?” Talion was amazed. He hadn’t seen his old ally in weeks now. Or was it months? He was beginning to lose track of time. He was losing track of everything. Everything seemed to be happening at once. And yet, it felt like nothing was happening at the same time. How did he go from simply being Talion, to the Gravewalker, to the Bright Lord? And why did Ratbag, of all people, keep coming back to him?

“Yeah, that’s me name, don’t wear it out,” Ratbag chuckled. “Ratbag knows we haven’t seen each other since the whole, ahem, abduction incident, but I, well, I wanted to see you,” “Why?” Talion instinctively said. “Because, if I’m bein’ honest with meself, you and Ranger are the closest things to friends I’ve got,” Ratbag replied. Talion’s dark heart was touched with pity. The tears came cascading down his face before he could stop them. He quickly buried his face in his hands and turned away. “Talion, are you alright?” Ratbag quickly rushed to his side, afraid that he had somehow said the wrong thing.

“Hey, look, if something’s wrong you can talk to me about it,” His broad shoulders heaving with sobs, Talion looked at Ratbag from between his fingers. “How on Earth could you consider me a friend?” He asked. “I’ve done terrible things, Ratbag. I’ve enslaved Orcs, I’ve terrorised Ologs, I...I frightened you away, after you risked so much to help me. I’m a monster.” Ratbag gently removed Talion’s hands from his face and, cupping his cheeks, gently wiped his tears away with his thumbs. “The fact that you’re sayin’ that right now proves you’re not a monster.” He said quietly. “If you was a bad person you’d be proud of it. But you ain’t, so you ain’t, if you see what I mean,”

“I can’t repair what I’ve done,” Talion whispered tearfully. “Can I?” “Maybe you can. As long as you put in the effort. Recognising what you’ve done wrong is already half of the progress completed. If it helps you in any way, I forgive you,” “Ratbag?” Talion smiled in spite of himself. “Are you sure you’re not an Elf or a Halfling or something, disguised as an Orc?” Ratbag shrugged. “You certainly have a golden heart, and a large one at that,” Talion continued. He was somehow feeling happy and sad at the same time, but with a new feeling; the feeling of a void inside of him slowly being filled with love.

“Ranger?” “Yes?” Ratbag wrapped his arms around Talion in a tight hug. The man was caught completely off-guard and almost began crying again in surprise. After a second or so of stunned silence, he reciprocated the hug, holding the lanky Orc close. He could swear their heartbeats were in sync or something. The sense of a close bond forming between them was incredible. As they stood there, enveloped in each other’s embrace beneath a peaceful night sky lit up by a thousand twinkling stars, Ratbag whispered a few words that Talion had previously lost faith in, but regained faith in now. “Everything’s gonna be ok,”

—————————

Sooo, I’ve been absent for a while, but that’s due to a combination of uni work piling up and mental health issues. But I am getting the necessary help for that and doing my best to hold on to who I am. I felt like I just needed to write this mini fic as a form of catharsis/relief (plus I was listening to Prayer by Secret Garden which is basically my muse in the form of a song). I hope you all like it, and I can’t wait to see The Rise of Skywalker.

I love you all so much ✌️💕

#talion #ratbag the coward #shadow of war #talbag #angst #fluff #fanfic #catharsis #i love my boys so much #they sweet

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cohobbitation · 7 years

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Say, you wouldn't happen to have any Ratbag headcanons sitting around, would you? ( '•w•')

GOOD GOOGLY MOOGLY WHO IS THIS

1) Ratbag is rubbish at hunting. Well, most orcs are, to be honest - being mass-produced in breeding pits and fed on necromantically-grown beef and mealworm hardtack does not lend to one developing survival skills. Talion has missed this memo entirely, having come up on tales of orcs as raiders of cattle and daughters. He has no idea why every time he releases Ratbag back into the wild, Ratbag shows back up within six to eighteen hours. He’s like a bloody homing pigeon. A lewd, crass, ingratiating homing pigeon. Who will tell any number of ridiculous yarns to get some of that rabbit stew Talion has on the fire.

2) Ratbag has lice. Ratbag is not allowed to nap on Talion’s baggage, but he does it anyway, much as a dog is drawn to The Forbidden Sofa. Talion now has lice. Ratbag has a death wish.

3) The first time Talion threw Ratbag into a lake to bathe him, Ratbag legitimately thought Talion was going to drown him, so that was a more fraught endeavor than it needed to be all around.

4) So was pinning Ratbag down so he could be shaved and slathered in herbal Lice-B-Gone, but that whole incident got weird and heavily charged with…. something. In a hurry. Talion doesn’t want to talk about it. Talion doesn’t want to think about it.

5) Talion’s thinking about it.

6) Ratbag actually got a bowl of rabbit soup of his own tonight, rather than being allowed to lick up Talion’s scraps, to make up for all the trouble. He also got to lie on Talion’s actual bedroll, because they’ve both got lice now and what’s the point in quarantine.

7) …Ratbag’s blood is black, black as bramble berries. And when he’s wearing only a loincloth as he is now, one can see it pulsing beneath the tender spots on his pebbly skin. His inner thighs, for example, have the raw quality of skin under a scab pulled off too soon. In the moonlight, one can almost see his pulse in the vein which runs from knee to groin, clear enough to count. Talion reckons he must chafe something awful.

8) Talion puts his hand to the vein and presses, just firm enough to make sure he’s counting right. One, two, three, four….

9) Ratbag sighs in his sleep and closes his thighs over Talion’s hand. It’s warm.

#ratbag #ratbag the coward #talbag #Anonymous

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thrawvin · 6 years

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Talbag Feels <3

@cohobbitation I has another song for ‘em :)

I know how much you ship these two <3

#talbag #talion #ratbag the coward #this should've been written for them #those two are so perfect for each other #it's crazy but it's true #i'm pretty sure even ratbag ships it judging by some of his dialogue in SoW #'ratbag and gravewalker. we make quite a team'#bless this smol orc and his emo bf #*squees*

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teenagedirtstache · 4 years

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#talbags #leonardo maniscalchi #1981 #80s #leather jackets

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arwenkenobi48 · 6 years

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You Came Back For Me: A Talion/Ratbag Oneshot

Inspired by these songs <3 Every fandom needs fluff-fics :)

The day had started out as it usually did. Clans of Orcs from across Mordor were after Talion, every single one wanting to bask in the glory of killing him. This might sound like something that never happens, but for Talion, it was part of a grim routine. He was running, sprinting across open plains, the wind whipping through his short straight black hair. Only one companion ran by his side; a small, scrawny excuse for an Orc named Ratbag. "We can't outrun 'em, ranger!" Ratbag's voice rose a few octaves as he struggled to speak while hyperventilating from exertion. A group of archers were pursuing the two fugitives, bows and arrows at the ready. Every now and then, an arrow narrowly missed their heads, making Ratbag flinch in terror and Talion's heartbeat quicken. "For once, Ratbag, I agree with you!" said Talion. "We're sitting ducks out here in the open!" "We gotta find some cover!" Ratbag's yellow eyes darted this way and that, before settling on an outcrop which had once been a stone fortress. The unlikely allies headed towards it.

Dashing behind a stone wall, Ratbag was unable to stop himself from trembling. "What we gon' do, ranger? They're gonna kill us!" He squeaked in terror. "Ratbag, listen to me," said Talion calmly. "Stay out of sight and don't move. Those Uruks want me and that's who they'll get," He drew out his sword. Ratbag smirked, confident that Talion would slaughter their adversaries. "Splendid. You can count on me, ranger," "I hope so," said Talion thoughtfully. He emerged from behind the wall, sword in hand. "The Gravewalker!" Shouted one of the Uruks. Sword at the ready, Talion let out a roar as he charged at his opponents. As Ratbag crouched behind the wall, he waited in anticipation, listening to the sound of metal colliding with metal. He could hear the cries of Orcs as they gurgled their last breaths, before falling dead by Talion's sword. Then he heard the screams as the surviving Orcs retreated and emerged from his place of refuge, Ratbag saw Talion standing there, surrounded by corpses. The mysterious man sheathed his sword. "Well done, ranger!" Ratbag grinned. "You got 'em good, you did!" The small Orc could never have anticipated what came next.

All of a sudden, they both spotted a figure slip out of sight atop a stone platform. His weapon ready, Talion steathily climbed up to face the new foe. Ratbag watched from the ground, his heart pounding. As Talion raised his sword, his pale blue eyes scanned his surroundings, trying to detect something, anything. Ratbag saw it before Talion did. A lone archer fitting an arrow to his bow. "Ranger, look ou-!" It was too late. The arrow hit its target. With a gasp, Talion plummeted to the ground. "RANGER!" Almost fainting with terror, Ratbag ran to his companion's side. "Talion! Oh, shrakh! Can you hear me?" Ratbag desperately tried to lift Talion's body with his weak arms. The man's eyes were closed and he wasn't responding. Ratbag felt fury surge through his body. "Come on, ya bastard!" He shouted, tears springing to his eyes as he shook Talion's limp form. "Come on! Get up! Talion, wake up, you glob! Don't do this to me!" His anger gave way to despair. As tears poured down his sallow cheeks, Ratbag cradled Talion's body, whispering over and over again: "No, no, not you, ranger. Not you, of all people. Talion, please. Please don't leave me. Do something, say something, anything! Please, wake up!"

Through the eyes of the wraith that inhabited his body - Celebrimbor - Talion watched as Ratbag sobbed hysterically, begging the lifeless corpse beside him to move. "Do you think this was a wise decision?" He asked the wraith. "I should have informed him this was going to happen." "Keeping Ratbag on the outside was critical," Celebrimbor coldly replied. "It was his reaction that sold the archer. Now word will spread that the Gravewalker has been killed, the Orcs will let their guards down, giving us the perfect opportunity to defeat them." Talion glared at Celebrimor. "We shouldn't have done this!" He hissed. "It's one thing to use an Orc, but they're not mindless minions for us to control! Look at what this plan of yours has done to Ratbag! He's brokenhearted!" They both watched as Ratbag, exhausted from his own tears, lay down beside Talion's corpse and closed his eyes. "If you weren't the key to my survival, I would prefer not to see you again," Talion glared at his companion. "This plan will grant us great power," Celebrimbor tried to reason with him. "But at what cost?" Talion demanded.

"This war my cost us valuable alliances, but we will forge stronger ones," Celebrimor insisted. "Our goal is not to play a political game!" Talion pointed out. "If we lose the trust of what few allies we have, our goals will be harder to achieve. I'm going back. I can't stand to watch Ratbag suffer any longer." "Do what you must," Celebrimbor murmured. Talion inhaled deeply and felt his soul slowly entering his body again. He was so used to travelling between the Wraith world and the human world that he hardly noticed it anymore. He wasn't doing this for Celebrimor anymore. He was doing it for Ratbag.

Night had fallen and all was silent. Ratbag, who had cried himself to sleep, was awakened from a horrific nightmare - in which he was forced to watch Talion being executed in public while his fellow Orcs laughed - by a hand stroking his cheek. "Ratbag, it's alright," Ratbag opened one eye and look up at Talion, who was sitting upright beside him. "It's just a dream," he mumbled sadly, rubbing his eyes. "No, no, it isn't," said Talion gently. "I didn't die, Ratbag. That was only a nightmare," Ratbag sat up and pinched the back of his hand. Finally, he realised that he wasn't dreaming. "Talion!" He flung his arms around the ranger in a tight hug. Talion gasped as the breath was almost squeezed from his lungs. "Don't scare me like that, ya big glob!" Ratbag glared at Talion, then as his emotions shifted again, "You really had Ratbag there, ranger. Thought I'd lost you 'n' ev'rything," He scrubbed the tears from his eyes, desperately trying to conceal his emotion. "Shhh, it'll be alright," Talion murmured, stroking his cheek again. "You don't have to be scared,"

Shaking slightly, Ratbag asked "Talion, y-your death, was it really just a bad dream?" "Yes, yes it was," Talion replied, wrapping his arms around the small Orc in a warm hug. For a few minutes, silence fell over them both. Ratbag lay with his head pressed against Talion's chest, listening to the sound of his heartbeat. He'd never been so relieved to hear it; that sign that someone was alive. Physical affection wasn't something that Orcs were big on, to say the least. But all of his life, Ratbag had been starving for it. Just that feeling of being held by gentle hands whenever he felt small (which he often did). And now Talion, the closest thing he had to a friend, was holding him. He might not be the best at expressing his emotions, but Ratbag would lay down his life for Talion. The man was dearer to him than anything in Middle Earth. "You know something, Ratbag?" Talion's soft baritone voice broke the silence. "Yeah?" "That's the first time you've called me by my real name," Ratbag smirked. "Figured I had to," he muttered. "Bit confusing when there's other rangers in Mordor. But you, Talion, you aren't like the others," "How so?" Talion asked. Ratbag smiled. "Because you came back for me," he whispered.

~The End~

#shadow of mordor/war #talion #ratbag the coward #talbag #middle earth otp #celebrimbor #my first shadow of war fic #this fandom needs fluff #and some sweet angst #*laughs evilly*#no seriously tho #we need more fluff here #talion and celebrimbor are probs a bit ooc here #but idc

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