#'Are elves even alive if they can't die?'

[amethysttribble]

It occurs to me that I feel like I’ve spent a fair amount of time thinking about Elros’s motivations for why he chose Men but little and less on why Elrond chose Elves. Which is an oversight. 

But what metaphysical, philosophical reasons might one have to choose the fate of the Elves? The immortality and god paradise are enticing, sure, but that feels like its far to shallow for Elrond, especially considering he didn’t go to the god paradise until literally the curtain call. I also hesitate to say it was to have the time to help others over many years- which is what he ends up doing- because that’s so dismissive of the Elvish Condition

There has to be something worthwhile, philosophically speaking, to taking on Elvish metaphysical suffering and Elvish metaphysical joy.

I just don’t know what it is and I’ve never bothered to wonder and still’ve got few thoughts on the subject.

Which I think is funny, and far more telling about the Human Condition, because even in fantasy books, we bend over backwards to try and explain why one might want to be Human and never even question why one wouldn’t want to be one.

[book--brackets]

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (2012-2016)

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them--until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can't entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn't believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

Shades of Magic by V. E. Schwab (2015-2017)

Kell is one of the last Antari--magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.Kell was raised in Arnes--Red London--and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they'll never see. It's a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they'll first need to stay alive.

The Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski (1992-2013)

For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again. The only good elf, it seems, is a dead elf. 

Geralt of Rivia, the cunning assassin known as the Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world -- for good, or for evil. 

As the threat of war hangs over the land and the child is hunted for her extraordinary powers, it will become Geralt's responsibility to protect them all. And the Witcher never accepts defeat. 

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (1986-2008)

Sophie has the great misfortune of being the eldest of three daughters, destined to fail miserably should she ever leave home to seek her fate. But when she unwittingly attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie finds herself under a horrid spell that transforms her into an old lady. Her only chance at breaking it lies in the ever-moving castle in the hills: the Wizard Howl's castle.

To untangle the enchantment, Sophie must handle the heartless Howl, strike a bargain with a fire demon, and meet the Witch of the Waste head-on. Along the way, she discovers that there's far more to Howl--and herself--than first meets the eye.

In this giant jigsaw puzzle of a fantasy, people and things are never quite what they seem. Destinies are intertwined, identities exchanged, lovers confused. The Witch has placed a spell on Howl. Does the clue to breaking it lie in a famous poem? And what will happen to Sophie Hatter when she enters Howl's castle?

The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (2000-2020)

As a professional wizard, Harry Dresden knows firsthand that the “everyday” world is actually full of strange and magical things—and most of them don’t play well with humans. And those that do enjoy playing with humans far too much. He also knows he’s the best at what he does. Technically, he’s the only at what he does. But even though Harry is the only game in town, business—to put it mildly—stinks.

So when the Chicago P.D. bring him in to consult on a double homicide committed with black magic, Harry’s seeing dollar signs. But where there’s black magic, there’s a black mage behind it. And now that mage knows Harry’s name…

Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (1911)

Peter Pan, the book based on J. M. Barrie's famous play, is filled with unforgettable characters: Peter Pan, the boy who would not grow up; the fairy, Tinker Bell; the evil pirate, Captain Hook; and the three children-Wendy, John, and Michael-who fly off with Peter Pan to Neverland, where they meet Indians and pirates and a crocodile that ticks.

The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (1966)

One hot spring, the devil arrives in Moscow, accompanied by a retinue that includes a beautiful naked witch and an immense talking black cat with a fondness for chess and vodka. The visitors quickly wreak havoc in a city that refuses to believe in either God or Satan. But they also bring peace to two unhappy Muscovites: one is the Master, a writer pilloried for daring to write a novel about Christ and Pontius Pilate; the other is Margarita, who loves the Master so deeply that she is willing literally to go to hell for him. What ensues is a novel of in exhaustible energy, humor, and philosophical depth.

Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples (2012-present)

When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults.

The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb (1995-1997)

Young Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, raised in the shadow of the royal court by his father's gruff stableman. He is treated as an outcast by all the royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has him secretly tutored in the arts of the assassin. For in Fitz's blood runs the magic Skill--and the darker knowledge of a child raised with the stable hounds and rejected by his family. 

 As barbarous raiders ravage the coasts, Fitz is growing to manhood. Soon he will face his first dangerous, soul-shattering mission. And though some regard him as a threat to the throne, he may just be the key to the survival of the kingdom.

Earthsea Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin (1968-2001)

Ged was the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, but in his youth he was the reckless Sparrowhawk. In his hunger for power and knowledge, he tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world.

This is the tumultuous tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.

[powdermelonkeg]

Worldbuilding

Made a new fantasy world in my spare time today, populated it with fantasy races.

Premise of the story: An elf chef who runs the best restaurant in the area gets his ingredients by diving into the local dungeon. His restaurant is the best not only because of his fantastic cooking skills and quality ingredients, but also because he can serve anybody that comes through his doors; each of the races has different dietary needs and finds different things poisonous, and he can cook for anyone.

One day, he's in the dungeon, and he falls down into a lower level nobody's been to in AGES. Thing is, though, there's a human living there, a biologist who's been studying the dungeon ecology for centuries, and the last human alive—all others were wiped out centuries ago due to a plague, and she's only alive because she's been living in the dungeon.

Main story arc is this guy trying to figure out not just what she can eat, but what she'd LIKE to eat, without killing her in the process.

Yes this is inspired by Dunmeshi. What of it.

Races are:

Humans (extinct)

Elves

Faunlings

Halflings

Orcs

Dwarves

Brounies

Gnomes

Elves

A camouflage species, their colors depend on the environment they're in. A snow elf would be pale white, a wood elf shades of green and brown, a dark elf (as in, lives underground) stone gray with jet black hair, and so on. Knife-point ears. Average height: 5'8"

Diet: Vegetarian, can't process meat at all, regardless of source.

Faunlings

Deer-like people, ranging visually from elves with horns to satyr-like. They're all one species, despite individual variation.

Diet: Opportunistic carnivores, they CAN eat meat, but mostly eat plants; can't process milk or most sugars past infancy. Average height: 4'10"

Halflings

NOT hobbits. They're small people, deathly pale and young-looking in their base form, with nub horns on their heads. Their appearance changes depending on who they live nearest, from their build to their coloration—a halfling living near wood elves might get taller and coppery with pointed ears, while a halfling near faunlings might have furrier legs, dappled shoulders, and longer horns, etc. Average height: varies wildly

Diet: Obligate ovivores, eat almost exclusively eggs when young and need lots of protein. Depending on who they live near, they'll eventually adapt to local cuisine and build up poison tolerance, but forcing that adaptation to go too quickly can send them into shock.

Orcs

Cat eyes and feline fangs, big and muscular. Like elves, they camouflage based on location, but they tend to be more colorful overall. Average height: 6'10"

Diet: Heavily meat-based diet, they eat most meat raw. Highly lactose intolerant, may occasionally eat plants, but can't process grains.

Dwarves

Short and stocky. Dark blueberry purple-blue by default, will temporarily turn pale on parts of their bodies that are exposed to light for a few hours. Sunlight sends them into temporary hibernation and petrification, making them statue-like. On cloudy days, they're lethargic, and on moonlit nights, their skin gets a little harder, with white patches depending on the strength of the moonlight. Average height: 3'9"

Diet: They have a tolerance for poisons that most races would die over, but they can't stand most acids. Citric acid in particular is poisonous to them. Cavern-based diet.

Brounies

THESE are the hobbits. Short and humanlike, with long, fur-tipped tails. Usually monochrome in color scheme, leaf-point ears. Average height: 3'2"

Diet: Can't process plant fibers properly, all plant matter must be cooked to break it down. Mostly raw pescatarian.

Gnomes

Even smaller than brounies, humanlike, with round-edged pointed ears and generally plump bodies. Average height: 2'4"

Diet: Vegan, with HIGH poison tolerance, they actually need some poisons to live. Mushrooms and fruit make up much more of their diet than leaves do.

[autistichalsin]

You know what the saddest thing in the world is though?

When you raid the grove, but leave Halsin alive, allowing him to show up at your campsite later for revenge.

This is a man with an entire life of trauma and more to the point, survivor guilt. He lost his entire family. He has been kidnapped and enslaved before- and during that enslavement, he saw the trophified bodies of other elves as a reminder of what would happen to him if he misbehaved. He witnessed the start of the Shadow Curse and in turn watched almost all his friends die. He spent 100 years trying to fix it, so desperate that he jumped on the chance the first time an untrustworthy adventurer said he was going near. His companions then abandoned him and allowed him to be captured, where he was tortured.

So imagine you're Halsin, right, desperate to see your home and loved ones again, fighting to hold on as the goblins do all kinds of awful shit to you. You meet another stranger who breaks you out of the cage and agrees to help you kill the leadership so your Grove, which you know is in danger, will be safe. They even tell you to stay back and rest while they do it, how nice! Man, you got lucky. You really owe this stranger so much. You can't wait to talk to them and repay the debt by imparting your knowledge of their condition on them.

The leaders leave, which worries you, so you wildshape and go as fast as you can to your home. And then you find the bodies of everyone you care for strewn around, not even given the dignity of a grave or cremation, and the entire place sacked. Your place of worship desecrated and turned into the site of a massacre. And you can't even give them a burial because you don't know if the leaders are coming back, if you're next.

Once again you're the only survivor and you don't even know why it's you and not one of them. Once again you're left with the crushing guilt of surviving when those you love did not. You weep for them and steel yourself- the murderers must die. Painfully.

So you run and you gather up some animal friends who you grew close to here, asking them to help you avenge the Grove. They're devastated and angered and agree to it at once.

You show up at the murderer's campsite, enraged, and they're awfully dismissive about the whole thing, even trying to talk you down, as though that could be possible. You bluntly tell them that there's nothing left to say as your mercy died when you saw that bloodbath. You're going to avenge your loved ones and your home, their murderers are going to die to right the wrongs, and that's that.

And then you fail. You aren't strong enough to overcome the sheer numbers advantage they have over you and your animal companions. The animals die, and then so do you. As you die, you hear one of them mocking you, "first Druid, and now last Druid, thanks to us."

That's your legacy. Last Druid of the Emerald Grove.

There's a lot of sad, sad fates that can befall the characters in this game, but that's easily got to be one of the most tragic and least deserved in the entire game.

[viktoriaashleyyx]

My thoughts during different points in ACOTAR.

(It been like 2 months since I read it so these aren't direct quotes but I remember my reactions)

*Feyre contemplating killing the wolf. I remember her thinking "it could be a fae, I'm pretty sure it's a fae but realistically it's probably just a wolf and I am an emaciated teenager so I better use the element of surprise to kill it before it kills me."

Fair. Fair judgment. Can't argue with that tbh I do the same with yellow jackets (I'm surprised I don't see this take that often)

Lucien being mad at her for killing what she has now confirmed was Andres

Bro, she was a starving human and Tamlin did a good job at making him look like a wolf. Also, isn't that what you wanted her to do? Be mad at Amarantha, not some 19 yr old. (First and last time I disagreed with Lucy baby). At least Andres didn't die in vain like the others did now you have a shot.

"You can tell us your name, you can eat the food and we are not affected by iron. We can lie. We are affected by ash though."

Elves. You're elves. Why write Faerie if you're just gonna shit on everything that makes a Faerie, a Faerie?

Explaining the masks nonsense:

Bro you ever seen a man in a hat? Covering parts of a man's face makes them hotter. That's why they can grow beards

Hybern comes up and I am listening to the Audio books so sjm can't hide behind the spelling change.

Okay so we are just taking a shit on the Irish with this shit huh? (Hibernia is the original Latin name for Ireland)

"Dance Feyre"

Awwwe 😍

Tamlin writing her limericks and and then was super chill about her not knowing how to read even though she was pretty confrontational about it. He kept his cool, and reassured her and tried to teach her a little bit.

Awwwwwwwe 😍 they're getting along. Not mad at anyone here tbh. I can see why feyre would be ashamed and scared, but tam handled it well.

Rhysand shows up at the manor and Lucien stands in front of Feyre to shield her

Ugh go away RhySAnd you asshat. But also: Damn Lucy 😍.

RhySAnd makes Tamlin and Lucien beg to not tell Amarantha

I know this is a power play and I am supposed to think RhySAnd is the hot one, but.. to humble yourselves like that. To do anything in your power to protect her even if it's embarrassing. Damn. Tamtam and Lucy you have my heart.

Tamlin sending her away

Say it. Say it. Say it. Please feyre say you love him.

RhySAnd twisting her broken arm to get her to agree to a deal.

(By this point I had spoiled it for myself and knew that RhySAnd was the fan favorite) Bro what the fuck did he do to make up for this?

RhySAnd having her painted and drugging her to dance for him until she vomited.

Babygirl I am glad no penetration happened but like WHAT THE FUCK DID HE DO TO MAKE UP FOR THIS??

Feyre contemplating "he's a fae and I am a human, I'm fighting to have maybe a few decades with him at best"

First off babygirl you haven't even been alive for 2 decades yet, calm down. Second, they're gonna turn her fae. Please don't "turn" her fae that's not how that works these aren't vampires.

Tamlin crawls to Feyre still bleeding, kills Amarantha when the other High Lords couldn't, and then holds her the way she had told him she wanted to be held when she dies.

Tam, baby, how did you fumble so hard? What tf do you do in the next book that makes people like RhySAnd more?? It makes me not want to keep reading but also want to keep reading cause what the fuck.

She dies and is revived by the high lords and turned fae.

They fucking turned her fae. This isn't how this works. Holly black did it better with the "hey I know you think you're a human but really you're a changeling." (Tithe, I haven't finished her other stuff yet idk what goes on with Jude)

[spacebarbarianweird]

I can't wait to read about Astarion and sweet Tiri adventuring together but in the meantime... could you please treat us with a drabble when they see each other for the first time after Tiri is old enough to show her personality? A little girl who would love unicorns being left alone with her sarcastic vampire grandpa for a moment, the only grandparent she has.

You've sent me so many requests and I barely wrote any of them. So here is a treat and a sneak into the future where Astarion finds himself in a company of his granddaughter Tiri (Tiriel) Goldenroot and her pet dragon Aurix!

Astarion's Little Fire

Summary: This story is set 25 years after the events of the Mortal Bounds Series (which I haven't finished yet) and this drabble will be part of the final chapter. Alethaine Ancunin defeats the demons, avenges her dhampir cousins, marries her thiramin Elren Goldenroot, and together they become the first High King and High Queen of the Elves. They name their only daughter Tiriel in honor of Alethaine’s mother - and the red-headed ranger is ready to see the world on her own

Tags: dadstarion, dhampirs, fluff, Astarion's granddaughter

Alethaine's age: 325 Baby Tiri's age: 23

Thanks @themadlu for beta-reading!

Read on AO3

Masterlist

Headcanons

Astarion watches the night skies. The sea is stormy and the relentless winds howl through Darknest, home of the Blood guild, the unlikely alliance between the few dhampirs left and vampires. Hopefully, none of them are Cazador's spawns. 

Astarion loves being in charge. He loves being in control. He is the oldest of all of them and they watch him with respect.

Astarion opens his arm embracing the cold wind.

340 years of being free. Cazador tortures are left in the past. The years of freedom that followed the Netherbrain’s defeat eventually wiped away the torture of the previous decades.

Astarion was married. He loved his wife with all his selfish, undead heart. Tiriel died. Yes, she did die almost two centuries ago yet Astarion keeps seeing her whenever he trances. It’s always painful to come back to the reality where Tiriel doesn’t even have a grave.

She had red hair.

Freckles.

She was loud and funny. Kind. Loving. Fierce and brave. 

Alethaine, their daughter, is nothing like her. Astairon smiles. He rarely sees his daughter anymore. The cursed elven kingdom separated them. Alethaine followed her husband and her people, and the strong magic of the Isle of Evermeet doesn't tolerate the presence of the undead like himself. 

Actually, Astarion has seen her only once in the last twenty-five years. Alethaine came to Darknest as a Queen, with guardians, obedient to her will. She didn’t need them, but oh, did she love having them around to highlight her new position.

Astaron raised his princess right.

And even his biggest fear didn’t come true! He was afraid his daughter would be alone. That he doomed his princess to a lifetime of loneliness and misery.  But it seems like all elves are created in pairs. For Alethaine the necromancer there is Elren the monster slayer. 

Astarion doesn't like admitting it, but he adores his son-in-law. And he knows Tiriel would have loved him too, should half-elves have been blessed with longer life spans. 

Besides, Elren deserves respect for not being afraid to be around a vampire. 

Suddenly, Astarion's undead feelings stir.

There is someone alive in the castle. Some unfortunate soul has decided to hide from the storm in Darknest. 

The presence of warm blood is like a drug to an addict. Astarion is already sensing the other vampires moving through the halls.

Astarion crawls up the ceiling. None of the vampires would dare attack a visitor (Astarion has standards and the guild has rules), but whoever has come better not tease the dead.

He quickly moves to the main hall.

Yes, the prey is there.

The fireplace casts shadows on the walls. And there are two living creatures.

A small dragon, the size of a cat, sleeps peacefully on the burning wood, snoring like a kitten.

“Oh…” Astarion hears a girlish voice. “Hi!”

The intruder is a young elven girl barely adult enough to leave her home. She is five feet tall and her red hair is loose. A pair of green eyes study Astarion without fear. 

She wears traveling clothes made of the finest elven fabric; her cloak is adorned with elven symbols. The only odd thing about her is a macabre head circlet with a small skull.

The girl’s ears twitch as she puts her bow behind her back. The dragon stretches and jumps out from the fireplace. It crawls up the girl's shoulder and watches Astarion with curiosity.

“Hi,” the girl repeats. Her heart races faster. She starts getting scared. 

The heart…

Astarion jumps on the floor and moves closer to the girl. 

He recognizes this heartbeat though he heard it only once, twenty-five years ago.

When he was carrying a weak and wounded Alethaine back from the battlefield.

The second heartbeat in his daughter’s belly. 

“Well, I suppose only my granddaughter, Tiriel Goldenroot, could break into a vampire castle,” he chuckles.

“It's your castle and your guild and technically I can come without an invitation,” Tiri says.

Atsarion gives out a laugh. All these years he was imagining the first time he would meet his baby granddaughter. What he would tell her, what she would look like.

Tiri opens her arms and hugs him.

She is warm like a fireplace and her heart is loud like a dragon’s roar.

Little Fire, Astarion remembers. Alethaine and Elren call her Little Fire.

The small dragon finally gets bored of sitting in the fireplace and crawls to Tiri.

“Oh, and this is Aurix.” She grabs the dragon as if it were a kitten and pushes it into the Astarion's arms. The dragon seems made of warm stones. “I can stay here with you, right?”

… They spend the next day talking. Tiri listens to all his stories with her eyes wide open, and by the time the storm ends, Astarion has promised her that he will leave the castle and guild to some of his subordinates and would follow her to the mainland. 

Astarion is amused by how much of a vampire Tiri ISN’T. She is mortal, she is scared of the dark and of cursed places. Spiders, skeletons, and skulls disgust her, and Tiri even admits she has never been to her mother’s dungeon. 

“I like the woods,” Tiri says. “O’Su taught me how to survive there if I am on my own. O’si tried to teach me how to identify the undead and the ghouls but… well it didn’t end well,” she adds.

When Tiri gets tired and falls into a trance curled by the fireplace in Astarion’s room, the vampire returns to the main hall where a few of the guild members are already hiding from the sun.

In all honesty, it would be fun to become an adventurer once again.

“Anyone scares her,” Astarion says, “and I will make sure your limbs won’t regenerate. Also,  I am also leaving. Who wants to be in charge?”

**

Tiri thinks she hears the sounds of а bloodbath from below.

Darknest is creepy, but what did she expect by deciding to visit her grandfather? 

What really surprises her is how warm it is inside. 

Of course, the undead and dhampirs are always freezing. Vampires can’t warm themselves up and are attracted to fireplaces like moths to lights. And dhampirs have cold hands. 

Tiri’s mother, High Queen Alethaine, wraps herself in thick black fabric even on the hottest days and she actually enjoyed looking after Aurix’s egg in the fire when he was hatching – meanwhile, Tiri would feel dizzy after a minute spent there. 

Tiri hears Astaron’s voice – he’s encouraging his subordinates to fight. 

The voice causes a memory to materialize – Tiri has started reliving real events only recently and the experience bewilders her.

In this memory, Tiri is only 5 and she’s just had the biggest revelation in her short life.

“O’si,” she whispers to her mother who sits in a chair and is engrossed in some ancient book. 

“What is it, Little Fire?” Alethaine asks, closing the book as if its contents weren’t meant for the child’s eyes. 

Tiri doesn’t answer and crawls onto her mother's lap. Then, she presses her ear to Alethaine’s chest. 

“Why don’t you breathe?” Tiri asks. 

Alethaine caresses her ears. “Well, because I am a dhampir. Do you know what vampires are?”

Tiri gives an answer. Scary creatures, dead slaves to their hunger, cursed spawns of the darkness. That’s what they say in stories.

And then another revelation happens.

“My dad, your grandpa, can’t come here because he is a vampire. He died many centuries ago and ever since he has to drink blood and hide from the sun. My mum, Tiriel, I named you after her. She saved him from his master and they lived together. I am half-undead. That’s why I don’t breathe and can bring you down the tree when you get stuck.”

“But you are an elf!”

“I am. As is your grandpa. You will meet him when you grow up. He is a menace,” she laughs, baring her fangs.

@tugoslovenka  

@herstxrgirl 

@herdarkestnightelegance  

@vixstarria 

@not-so-lost-after-all  

@marcynomercy  

@theearthsfinalconfession 

@starlight-ipomoea    

@micropoe10 

@astarion-imagine-archive  

@veillsar

@elora-the-slutty-songstress  

@fayeriess  

@lumienyx  

@tallymonster    

@caitlincat-95  

@tragedybunny  

@valeprati  

@lynnlovesthestars   

@marina-and-the-memes  

@waking-eyes   

@ayselluna  

@connorsui  

@asterordinary  

@darkarchangel96  

@locallegume  

@brainfullofhotsauce   

@coffeeanddonutscafe  

@my-queen-rhaenyra-targaryen 

@queenofthespacesquids  

@ednaaa-04  

@dajeong

@wilteddreamsofbaldursgate

@nyx-knox

@jessaryss

@sillybillylia

[whereserpentswalk]

There's a plane that exists just for people passing through to other dimensions. It's this sort of liminal zone. Most people don't stay there for long, but almost every planner traveler has, for some amount of time, stayed there.

It's shaped like places that people only stay for a short amount of time. Most of it looks like a giant hotel, pale walled and well cleaned, with rooms and pools and the like. Though other places look more like a massive airport of train station, with all those little shops and news stands. It's nice, a place where you can spend time for a little while, but only for a little while. The entire dimension is mabye at best the size of a small city, and entirely indoors. Beyond its walls there's only Astral Choas, the doom between all planes.

The host is something ancient and powerful, older than most planes even are. Few mortals have seen him. He's mostly known by his staff, these androgynous humanoids that don't eat or sleep, sown into their uniforms. The staff are alive and sentient, but they aren't born, just created. Those who project their spirits beyond planes but not their bodies are often given similar forms to the staff when they come here. Those who attempt to harm the staff will end up seeing security, beings who are far less freindly, and far less humanoid.

There's something strange to having so many dimensional travelers in one place. Especially with no base culture to speak of amoung them. You'll see an advanced group of human scientists, walking by an adventuring party containing elves and orcs. A mysterious gentlemen from the fae in a suit and top hat, may be making conversation with a lost starship captain who just escaped a warp storm, as a horror beyond mortal comprehension plays a game of chess with a group of sentient mice. Everyone sees it differently, it's technologically advanced to some, primitive to others, familiar to some, and inhuman to others.

And you only ever pass through. Even the exiles and refugees can't stay forever. It's nice, perhaps nicer than your world, and comfortable, a place to rest without war and horrors around you. But it can never be forever. You have a plane to go to, and it isn't this one. Nomatter how comfortable the bed is you must someday awaken from it.

And not to mention the way people interact with those who they'll never meet again. The paladin who befriended an astronaut who was lost there, and who wept when he found out she didn't know if she had a soul or not. The brass armed steampunk professor, considered young for his mission at forty, who became horrified to talk to a team of superheros whose oldest member was sixteen. The cloned soldier, born to die, too afraid to take off it's gas mask, who met an elven warroir, and let her tell it there was more to life then war and pain, and tell it of beautiful things throughout the multiverse, and let her touch it's breasts, and see it's naked body and face, and both of them knew they'd both be gone when the morning came, but they'd remember eachother, and the soldier for the first time yearned for something beyond death.

[beautifulterriblequeen]

hi and welcome, it's new theory time wunce agayne, with I, your host, BTQ, stitching things together that maybe fit perfectly or maybe have no business touching at all: you decide!

Today's post inspo began several days ago when I started playing the Xadia game and discovered some cool lore that I just could not stop thinking about, so here, below the cut for all the spoiler reasons, is a screenshot of what you can find in the game, and what I would love for it to mean!

Topic: How Aaravos was tricked into that mirror prison

Context: We all wonder what happened to Luna Tenebris, how she died, where she went, all that good stuff. This isn't about answering those questions. This is about what she did before she died, and why. If she died at all (yeah that's always the question with Moon beings innit)

If you've played the game you'll know the context for this screenshot:

Ethari says, "Someone with the power to influence the Blood Moon itself used blood magic to become... something else."

and, well,

Luna seems to have disappeared during a Blood Moon. But she might not have died, despite what everyone thinks- she might have just become something else.

Why would she do this?

I'm guessing it wasn't for fun. Something desperate must've been happening. Luna disappeared 300 years ago, hmm, what in the world could've been happening at that moment...?

No, we all know.

You remember the Jailer. She's a human. No arcanum at all. She may be a dark mage, or she may just be a trickster magician. Either way, her whole deal is that she thinks outside the Cosmic Order box - she thinks in ways even Aaravos can't. And human ideas in times of desperation can break a lot of conventions and even taboos - just look at the things Viren, Claudia, and Callum have done when they had to.

So if the Jailer is thinking about dark creative solutions as the only way to trick a godlike Star Touch elf, maybe one of those ways was to get the Archdragon of the Moon to turn into something else, with magic that worked outside the laws of the Moon Arcanum.

We've all seen what Kim'dael can do - her Moonshadow powers and her forbidden magics are available to her at any time, not just during a full moon. Now imagine that ability for a blood magic archdragon.

Yeah.

Why the Queen of the Dragons, though?

I think they needed that much power to combat Aaravos. No one else could've done it with the confidence to succeed. And then there's the whole Moon theme of sacrifice, which all the Moonshadow elves keep demonstrating so determinedly. Surely their dragon queen has the same sentiment, deep down.

This still doesn't tell us what she did. But if she could use her massive illusion/deception powers at any time, they could trap Aaravos in any instant of their choosing instead of luring him to the predictable full moon. And seeing what sort of shenanigans are possible in the game when Moon creatures step outside their boundaries, well, there is certainly a lot of room for surprise there. In several directions. And they'd only have to surprise Aaravos once.

(side note: I can see now why Amaya says Moonshadow elves are the worst kind lmfaooo PLAY THE GAME IT'S SO FUN)

This whole theory feels very Moonshadow because even though I have this central nugget that feels plausible, I still wonder about so much more. For instance, what happened to Luna after this? Where is she now? Did she willingly die to keep from turning into a monster? Is she stuck in the spinning water that bears her name on the map? Is she alive somewhere still, lurking? Is she- NO SPOIL ME I JUST STARTED THE GAME. Idk if she's in there or not, shh.

Anyway. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this lore since I saw it in the game. And there's so much more than this even in the small bits I've played so far! If you're into the lore of The Dragon Prince, you'll wanna get this game!

But, serious lore enjoyer face. This one's extremely fun to think about.

[randomuser678]

Death in Dungeon

How characters see death in Dungeon Meshi is so interesting because when you first learn that people can be revived you can think that death is meaningless on this show but that is so not true.

First reviving has limitations:

Can only be done by a skilled healer

Can only be done when inside the dungeon

Can only be done with a relatively intact body

These limitations make the world feel more alive but also makes it so characters will work around the limitations in a variety of ways!

Healers go to the dungeons to revive people and charge for it

Grifters wait for adventurers to die, or trick them into dying so they can retrieve the bodies, take them to healers and make money off of it

These two things show death as a commodity, people make money out of this, so the characters see death as something that can be changed, making them more reckless, but some actively profit off of death, death is incentivized by the conditions of the dungeon, the economy is actively moved around by death.

There is a torture device where you kill someone, leave them halfway out the dungeon and revive them over and over so they can feel half death over and over

This shows how death can work as a commodity again, it can be manipulated by anyone and exploited on a way that can only happen thanks to the world's lore.

Some bodies are too far gone to be revived

So they can only be revived by forbidden magic. Needless to say that is a major plot development

But even outside of the dungeon death is perceived uniquely by the characters because of:

Each species has a different life span

That means no two characters will have the same views and experiences with death, most elves are probably not familiar with it or even know grief because they're long lived and closed off from other species, half foots have a really strong work ethic because they're seen as lesser than others and have shorter lives than those they work with. Longer lived species see the shorter lived ones as helpless children, they can shape society and history on a way others can't!

Some characters who live in more diverse towns have to see people dying of old age on different rates, if a character is half human and half elf have to deal with losing their human parent to old age before they even reach adulthood bc of the different life spans and development rates!!!!!

Dungeon Meshi created a world that has an unique relationship with death and absolutely committed to it!!!! It made it's setting so vital to the story and I love it so much

[yandere-fics]

♡ Dark AU Kassien ♡

Dark AU Explanation

Everywhere you went you received looks of pity, you were the one who's first ever dream of their soulmate was of her breaking your legs. Everyone knew, how could they not, when it had happened you had shrieked wildly and run off into the woods almost in an attempt to die before the search party found you and forced you to return and since then you'd been forced to just accept your fate. Of course you wouldn't just be able to die to avoid this, you were marked as a soulmate to a demon, death would not come easy for you and while you had heard of other villages that slaughtered humans marked as soulmates to spare them the horrific fate, or to prevent the supernatural from wrecking havoc while looking for your mate, the people of your village weren't that kind of people, they would leave you alive, perhaps hoping that your soulmate would grant them a boon for taking such good care of you, you were a sacrificial lamb for the sake of all the other villagers there, there were worse fates you could have but there were certainly better fates to have than everyone you knew and cared for handing you over to a mad demon who the only hing you knew about her is that upon first meeting she would break your legs.

Every night you felt the agony of your bones crunching, waking up in a cold sweat and remembering your legs were still okay, they weren't broken yet despite how real the dream had felt, the demon whispering in your ear and reassuring you this is for your own safety, there's monsters in these woods, she can't afford to have you moving a single step from where she last placed you, she didn't want you to feel pain but this was for your own safety, you'll understand why she was doing this eventually lovely. She always called you affectionate nicknames in you dreams but it just felt like mockery, that had to be what it was truly, what other reason would she have for hurting you so badly while claiming to love you, there was no way she was sincere in your feelings towards you, you were simply something she owned, something she had to damage to ensure it couldn't leave her.

In the early days having a demon for a mate was almost a positive thing, they weren't as vicious as werewolves, far less flesh eating, less demeaning than the elves who always considered themselves smarter than any human they encountered, and they were solitary meaning you would only have to deal with one supernatural around you instead of multiple of those monsters, but since people had begun actually discussing their dreams instead of hiding them, it had become clear demons were not at all what people thought of them, your dream was considered tame compared to the dreams some people had of their demon mates, their dreams had their demon mates killing everyone they held dear, bathing in the blood of the humans they used to live with to ensure they had no one left in the world but their demon, people with those dreams usually begged to be put down before their demon could come to them and kill everyone they lived with. At least you were lucky enough to have one who would only harm you when the both of you met, was somewhat cold comfort though.

Demons visited your town quite often, snatching their soulmate away in the dead of night, no warning, no signs, but everyone knew what happened anyways when a human soulmate just suddenly didn't show up to work the next day, sometimes a few monsters would be found dead near the village, almost as if slain in gratitude for your village keeping their mate alive all these years, and then they were gone just like that, and one day that would be your fate too. Demons really didn't like dealing with people when it came to fetching their mates, they were far too jealous to let their mates say goodbye one last time, your mate would likely be the same. That was fine with you though, it wasn't like you would even have anyone you could say goodbye to, as far as they were concerned you were practically a walking corpse.

"Lovely, if you had just stayed put, this wouldn't be happening to you." You jolted up, a searing pain coursing through your legs, the worst dream you had by far, you could feel the pain so excruciatingly, it was as if she had turned your bones into little tiny shards, you could feel every time another part of your bone cracked and popped, you knew if you let that happen your legs would never be able to heal properly, you'd never ever be able to walk, a life where you were just a sack that she carried around from place to place and sat up in a tree, a rope tying you to it when she needed to fight monsters, completely at her whims, you couldn't handle it. Monsters never seemed scary when you pictured them compared to your soulmate who you had just felt brutalize your legs in the dream. You'd take your chance with the monsters, perhaps death wouldn't be so bad.

You liked the woods, the feeling of the monsters so close, just a step away from ending your torment excited you, at any moment it could end though it never did, the woods these days had far less monsters the came out at night, the only real danger being the blood moons when the monsters became desperate for human flesh and made their way towards any human village that was closest to them, whole villages had been wiped out that way, too bad tonight wasn't a blood moon, you likely wouldn't die tonight, sad. There would be other nights though, perhaps tomorrow night. Just as you were about to stat the trek out of the forest you heard a snarl, a large wolf like creature, and the flapping of wings, so similar to a sound you had heard in your dream before. You squeaked as she landed in front of you, defending you from the monster, it was over, you could kiss your legs goodbye.

"Stay there lovely, it's too dangerous for you to move." You fell backwards, horrified from actually hearing her voice in real life, it was just as frightening as it had been in your dreams and you yelped remembering the dream you had just woken up from an hour ago, you started to crawl away from her on instinct, not even bothering to pay attention to her words, you just needed to be out of there. It only took five seconds for her to kill the monster before she turned her attention back to you, her foot coming down on one of your legs and crunching it. "Lovely, if you had just stayed put, this wouldn't be happening to you."

[umbraastaff]

There are two figures silhouetted against the iceberg's eerie glow. Both humanoids. The first is curled over the second protectively, and the second seems to be reaching back, trying to do the same.

Barry contemplates this for a minute. He's for sure not powerful enough to bend the ice apart, and even if he was, there's no guarantee he could do it without hurting them. Assuming they're alive, anyway, which is a long shot in itself.

But he's out here alone, and this floating mass of ice might float away if he leaves it alone to go get help. So, feeling a bit like an idiot, he starts whacking at it with his club.

A few hits later and he's being blasted in the face by pressurized air. Oh, shit, the ice was hollow. With that knowledge, he smashes through more of it, to where the two figures have now fallen limp to the ground.

They're nearly identical, and they've both got long ears, like… elves. Like air nomads.

He hovers awkwardly over both of them, trying to figure out what the fuck to do. They are both comically underdressed for the weather, in elven wear designed for the light, free movements of airbenders, not for the warmth needed by earthbound (icebound) peoples. But he can see their breathing, so shallow and fragile; they're both going to die if he doesn't do anything.

Barry pulls his coat off; adrenaline lets him ignore the frozen air for now as he starts shifting them so he can get it underneath, keep their backs from lying flat against the icy ground. But as he lifts the first one, she groans, and he startles, jostling her slightly.

Her eyes fly open, and she punches him in the gut. It's definitely not at full power, being in an awkward position and half-frozen, but she clearly knows where to aim: the breath is knocked out of him, letting her shove him away and scramble to her knees.

Then she sees her twin, and she grabs his shoulders. "Taako! Taako, wake up," she hisses desperately. Her eyes only flick over to Barry once more, making sure he's staying back. Slowly, Taako comes to.

"Five more minutes," he says faintly.

"No! Get up! We're at the fucking– what pole is this?" She asks Barry sharply, pupils in slits.

"The– We're– South pole," he says, wide-eyed.

"We're at the south pole!"

That seems to wake Taako up more; he sits up of his own volition, at least. Then he twists and stretches a little, and hops to his feet with unnatural dexterity: the grace of someone being lifted by the air itself. A staff flies into his hand from the ground. "Who's this clown?"

"I don't know, I literally woke up five seconds before you. Where's my staff?"

She climbs back into the broken iceberg to look around, and Taako looks at Barry. "So what's your deal, Bluejeans?"

"Barry– I'm Barry," he says. "I'm, like, I live here. What were you doing in a fuckin' iceberg?"

Taako shrugs flippantly. Lup stands triumphantly, a bright red umbrella held up above her head. "Fuck yes!" It's in impressively good condition for apparently being frozen in this iceberg for however long. As are both of the elves.

Lup looks down to see Barry gathering his outer coat up from the ground, and her gaze softens a little in realization of what he must've been doing with it. "You should put that back on, dude, it's cold."

"I mean– I've still got thicker clothes than you without it, s-so–" Barry starts, clearly shivering. He tries to hold it out towards either one of them, but she shakes her head and nudges it back to him.

"We're good, but thanks. You should get that on before you get pneumonia."

He clearly doesn't find that a satisfactory explanation, but he can't find the words to object in the moment, either. He awkwardly starts pulling his coat back on.

"Barry, yeah? I'm Lup," says the one that isn't Taako.

"You're elves, right?"

"Uh, yeah," says Taako, ears a-twitch. "What, you can't tell?"

"Uh, how… How long were you guys in there?"

Lup frowns, turning to Taako with a furrowed brow. "Uh, like… a few days? However long it takes to float here from the Southern Air Temple? Speaking of, they're probably suuuper worried, so as cute as you are, we should probably be getting back–"

Barry's too shocked to even react to being called cute. "There's people there?"

"Yes?" Taako says; even he's letting concern color his voice now, though his ridiculously large hat covers most of his expression.

"Why wouldn't there be?" Lup asks, rounding on Barry as her expression hardens.

Barry covers his mouth with a hand.

[medievildead]

Freyr's story in God of War hurts me. Like immensely. The Lost Pages of Norse Myth (2018) as well as the retelling by Mimir and Freya just reveal the most upsetting story I've heard about him.

I'll never be over the Aesir trying to burn him alive, just for seeking to aide them in achieving a bountiful harvest. Freyr's burn scars are still so visible on his fucking arms bro. Which means he was still sporting those when he attended Freyas wedding into the very family that tried to kill him.

Freyr was a GUEST in Asgard. He, out KINDNESS, attempted to show them the Vanir magic of the Harvest, to help their crops flourish. No record of him even wanting shit in return. He was just being the naturally kind serenity god that he is.

And then, because the Aesir couldn't get the hang of it, and, being who they are, accused Freyr of bad witchcraft, and claimed he was tricking them.

So what do they do to punish him for and assumed attempt at fooling them? They ripped up out of the ground all the crops Freyr had just generously enchanted, threw them down as kindle and lit them, and Freyr, ablaze. They left him in the flames of his own gifts. Fully intending for him to burn alive and die.

Like of fucking course he didnt want Freya to marry Odin. Of fucking course he thought Freya was dead. He knows what the Aesir are capable of. His permanently marked skin is a grim reminder.

Its just. Freyr is so fucking kind. And sweet and silly and generous. There isn't any story in GoW canon (Or even really in myth) of him being horrible. He's genuinley the serenity god for a reason. He is such a sweetheart.

And the Aesir tried to burn him alive.

I understand Freya's perspective though. What she tried to do was noble and- to be fair, she had to be convinced into that choice my Mimir. She wanted to keep Vanaheim safe, and if Marriage to Odin was the only choice she had, I was stuck in position I'd be going with the easy way out too.

But Freyr of all people would fully believe that the Aesir, under Odin's rule, have no understanding of peace. The man is the patron of that stuff. United the elves for fucks sake. He tried to teach the Aesir something to help their realm flourish and they spit on him when they can't understand it, because they can't comprehend being unable to do something So Simple that a Vanir Could Do It so Clearly He Must Be Tricking Us. Then they proceed to burn him alive. If I were Freyr, I'd certainly believe whatever promises made by the Aesir were complete bullshit.

We never get told the words Freyr said to Freya at her wedding, but.. it probably had a lot to do with the fact Freyr couldn't stand to see Freya make such a choice. Like, "Freya I love you. But I can't in sound mind be part of this union no matter what. Look at me. LOOK AT ME. What they've done to me, to us, to our people. Is this truly what you want? For us? For Vanaheim? Is this the legacy you want to be remembered for?? I won't- I CAN'T stop you from making your own choice. But I'll warn you now that that choice decides wether or not you see me again"

And she made her choice. And he kept his word. And sure enough, as he likely predicted, the peace was not kept, and he assumed his sister was lost forever, thinking that the last words he had ever said to his beloved sister were basically "I never want to see you again".

This. Fucking. Guy... ):

[thelovelymachinery]

Small unimportant bits on each of my species!

Witches

Not an actual living species

Last species to be created

They don't die, they dissipate

Anadis

Created by Cordelia, Original water

Made of water

Royalty Blessed by Creation

Kahmia

Children of James, War God

Have two torsos

Don't have an afterlife

Elves

Children of the original health

Only 20 left alive

Healers of Eozuspea and it's People

Aryds

Peaceful Tree Spirits

Connected to plants

Muscular and Deadly

Pheonix

Fire with humanoid forms

World's best doctors

Occasionally blow up

Fairies

Creatures of all elements

Connected heavily to love and death

Beautiful, tiny winged humaniods

Wolves

Half wolf half fae, winged creatures

Created by less than pleasant means

Connected to the skies and Eozuspea

Humans

The original humaniods

Incredibly intelligent and creative

Creatures of Gold Birds

Atfal A'lard

Children of the ground

People made from gold, silver and other precious gems

Molded from the Earth and blessed with souls

Ekstraness

Psychics

Peaceful, kind, naturally anti war

Pink hair caused by their diet

Evōns

Wind spirits made of hot air

Created by Alizeh, the Original Wind

They don't die or live

Fae

Originally dolls made to please gods

Blessed with intellect and choice by Creation

Absolutely weightless

Oracle (fae)

Receive visions and prophecies of past, future and present events

Some so powerful they faint and hallucinate

Most can not lie

Ravenear (fae)

Hear, see, and speak with the dead

Does not enjoy life, can't enjoy it

Most can not lie

Illusionist (fae)

Create Illusions, some so strong they become temporarily real

Magic so powerful some experience things close to hallucinations

Can lie

Wind (fae/elves)

Create such dangerous winds accidentally, kingdom uninhabitable to all other species

Only fae unafraid of wind

Most can't lie

Vampires

Survive off blood

Made of Fae turned bad

Turn blood into any type

Royal

Can transform into any blood sucker

When severely injured loose control of self and abilities, kill anyone in room

Have naturally blue tint to their eyes

Blue Eyed

Most powerful and intelligent

Impulsive

Kill even gods

White haired

Healers, exact opposite of blue eyed

Wanted, only one alive at all times

Incapable of killing

Dragons

Winged

Transform into any reptile

Elemental

South Arkanians

Ice dragons

Incredibly peaceful, almost harmless

Despise Oracle fae and Ekstraness

North Arkanian

Fire dragons

War hungry

Despise Elves and Aryds

Tagging the list!

@an-indecisive-nerd @wyked-ao3 @thecomfywriter @the-letterbox-archives @mysticstarlightduck

@bookwormclover @illarian-rambling @leahnardo-da-veggie @bio-blegh

Interact here to be added!

[blazemourn]

My headcanon on what men of Arda can do with their gift that's given by Eru :

Shift realities :

Men's fëar are completely unbound to the world of Arda so I have this idea where when they die and exit the cycles of that world then they can try and live in new realities and timelines because of the fact that their fëa isn't imprisoned just like how the elves and their fëa are. I believe that they can enter a plane of never ending existence where there are billions and billions of alternative timelines and multiverses that they can enter into and even live there for as much as they want, some even being alternative versions of Arda itself.

Astral projection :

Again, this is because of their free fëa. I personally like to think that they are capable of transferring their fëa into another plane or space even if they're still alive but maybe in a little more strict way than compared to the men who have already died and exited Arda. Elves are extremely spiritual but I think their spirituality just means them thinking they are meaningful and being blissful and loving Arda. Not being able to actually enter another realm with their spirit. I also headcanon that when men are astral projecting their fëa freely starts to float and goes higher and higher but when elves try to do that their fëar get hit by an invisible wall and fall back to their hröar.

Control over their dreams :

Just like how everything goes back to men's different and interesting type of fëa I have this headcanon that because their fëa is completely free then they can control their dreams or travel to different places in their dreams if they are trained enough and know what to do. They can't be controlled by the Valar or anyone so I highly doubt that Irmo Lórien would be able to stop them from doing such a thing. I also believe that if they're trained, men can even enter each other's dreams and talk to each other or deliver messages when they feel the need to.

High emotional pain tolerance :

We all know that elves never forget anything and when it comes to emotional pain they overthink a lot because of it and suffer a lot, maybe even for thousands of years. Men on the other hand are extremely chill and easy going when it comes to emotional pain and it doesn't affect them as much and they may feel sad for maybe a decade if very deep, at least in Arda. I like to think that just like how elves are physically stronger, men are emotionally stronger and grief and sorrow doesn't kill them like it how it does the elves.

High level of inner peace :

Men are very chill and forgetful when it comes to emotional pain as I said. Because of this, I believe that they also have a great inner peace inside of them unlike elves who are still mourning for the sorrows of their last ages. This however doesn't mean that men are peaceful as we know that they're very ambitious and may even try to attack each other's territories. But inner peace and peace aren't the same and when talking about inner peace I mean the fact that men are usually unaffected by grief and regret and they forget it after a few years and their hearts aren't heavy like the hearts of the elves.

Hope you enjoyed!

[rey-jake-therapist]

Folks: forget about Celeborn for the time being. The Polish reviewer already confirmed he’s not in S2.

I doubt he’ll make an appearance any time soon, my bet is he’ll return to Middle-earth alongside Glorfindel, because that’s the only logical option. The man has been missing for thousands of years, and it’s pretty much confirmed he’s not a Orc prisoner, let alone a prisoner of Sauron (who was goo for centuries). He has to be dead, and in the Halls of Mandos. Like all Elves, he’ll be re-embodied and ask to return to Middle-earth, instead of remaining on Valinor. So, yes, even Finrod, Galadriel’s brother, is alive in Valinor because Elves are immortal (they die, go to the Hall of Mandos for a time, and are rebirthed in Valinor). Don’t know why RoP is making such a big deal out of the First Age Elves deaths, probably for drama purposes, or to add this twist later.

I think we’ll know when Celeborn will show up, when they include the scene from S1 (when Galadriel talks about him to Theo) on the season recap. And other characters might also mention him, too, because the general audience probably doesn’t know who this character is. The show has to build up his return. He won’t materialize out of thin air.

Hey, sorry for answering so late ! It was two crazy days spent speculating, watching and rewatching episodes, and oh, working and parenting in my free time ;) Wait, it's the other way around.

Your last paragraph: YES !! Anybody who believes that Celeborn will appear to save day in episode 8, or that Mirdania is Celebrian seems totally unaware that many in the audience have no clue who these people are. Many TROP fans didn't read the books and just watched the Peter Jackson movies ; for movies only viewers, Galadriel's husband is this boring looking guy :

He shows up for 10 sec, says something more or less relevant and disappears until the ending of Return of the king, where he says nothing at all. I don't even remember if they say his name in the movies? And as for Celebrian, well... She was of course nowhere to be seen, and never mentioned.

And guess what, ROP was made for everyone, including people who didn't even watch the movies. If they wanted to make a big deal out of Celeborn's return in season 2, they would have reminded the audience that Galadriel used to have a husband and that he's been missing early in the season. They can't just take the man out of a hat like a rabbit in episode 8, and expect the audience to undersand what's happening. Same for Celebrian !

[freyasigtryggrsdottir]

I See Fire chapter 7. (Thorin x reader)

Summary: Reader is the Princess of Goldar. She almost killed by Vlad, the biggest orc, but Dis saved and raised her in safe. But what if the revenge is the most important thing? The reader wants her throne and she will fight until her last breath.

Thorin is a single dwarf without Queen and he knows this is not good. He always grumpy and the gossips speak about, he is a weak dwarf, who don’t have enough power.

Fili fell in love in the reader.He knows, one day, he will be a king. And he hopes the reader will be his queen.

But Dis have an another goal.

An arranged marriage between the reader and Thorin, which changed everything. Broken hearts. Hopes. Dreams. Pain. Everything will burn.

Pairing: Fili x Reader (one sided), Thorin x Reader

__________________________________________

I didn't know how much time I spent in the abandoned floors. I walked a lot and I thought about a lot of things. I missed my mother, but she lied to me in my whole life. And Thrun....did he knew or at least expected the truth, before his life ended? His brother and his wife were traitors. I was sad, I felt the pain in my heart. Thranduil... why did he didn't told me earlier? He saw when my home fell, he knew that I'm alive and yet he kept that secret away from me for years. He didn't even came to see me. But if I'm the princess of Mirkwood, it ment I have an army, probably, and the help with those elves, I can retake Goldar and my people will be free again.

I felt again that harsh pain in my stomach, but it was worser. I hissed and I leaned to the cold wall with my back. I wanted to cry. I heard soft footsteps, but the pain became unbearable and I fell to the floor. My last memory was Legolas, who lifted me up from the floor and carefully took me into his arms. My brother is strong and brave. When I was young we played a lot and he won almost every time.

I felt a warm body beside me. I slowly opened my eyes. Thorin lied next to me with concerned eyes. "Finally, you are here with me, Amralime" he hugged me thigthly.

At that moment, the door opened, and Thranduil stepped into our room like a wildfire. He was furious. I don't wanted to talk with him, but I felt the pain again. I whinced.

"You need to change your form" dad words were command "This is your only chance to survive"

I sighed and nodded. I almost forgot how to change between my forms. This human skin were not the real me. It was a shelter, where I hid. A shelter, which was weaker. The last time, when I was in my, real, elf form was when I lost my parents. Since that day, I was afraid to use this power, because I was afraid, If I use again, my loved ones will die, just like on that day. "Don't be afraid, I'm here with you" whispered Thorin with a voice full of love "But you need to do that, your body is weaker in this form"

I nodded again and closed my eyes. I imagined myself in a bright, white cocoon, like a caterpillar, before they become beautiful butterfly. I felt something hot, who flow through my veins. Power. I hearc loud cracks, there were my bones and my body. It didn't hurt, but it was strange and familiar at the same time. I murmured those ancient words again and aiagn. My mother thaught me them. They helped me to change my form.

When I opened my eyes, the whole world changed. My skin became lighter, my hair longer and my senses better. But the pain in my stomach gone. A took a deep breath and sat up. Curious eyes watched me. Thranduil, Dis, Legolas, Fili and Thorin. They were with me and I was alive, like really, when a door open again and you see and sense everything clearlier. Dis gave me some water and I drink with one gulp. She smiled.

"Everyone go out, except my sister" growled Thorin and hugged me. Their arms never left my body.

Some of them didn't liked what the King said, but they did, because in Erebor, his word were everything.

"I thought you can't be more gorgeous, but I was wrong" he whispered to my lips while he gave me a gently kiss. I blushed and hid my face in his chest.

"How are you feeling, my little child?" asked Dis with a proud smile and sat down on the bed, close to us.

"A little strange, but it will go away with time. Finally I don't feel that pain" I replied. I bit my lips "Thorin, I know, we need a big wedding, because its a porotocol, but I want to be your wife, so maybe, we can make a little ceremony today"

A lot of ting changed, while I was in my elf form, and my mind too, my feelings. I felt so much stuff deeper.