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blankdblank · 5 years

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Empty Pt 2

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…

Again and again you read the note naming that you were the latest of the Feanoreans to bear their crest coated armor, though the first since the ban, and the first female to do so. The vague note barely answering anything at all but a single tap of your finger on the metal suit made it morph its way around your body making your brows drop as you mumbled, “Of course.” A glance at the now mirror back to the space formerly holding your suit was exposed making you gasp at your fully coated figure in the surprisingly comfortable suit. A light from behind you made you turn and nearly jump into the suit case as Feanor, or rather a recording of him appeared in the center of the room surrounded by the seven men, one including the one you recognized as Maglor. The seven repeating the oath Feanor gave before it flickered out shifting to Maglor and a young girl you had seen growing up in the mirror, only having a small mole above her right eyebrow.

Slowly you sat down on the built in platform for your suit watching the clip of your Mother’s childhood playtime as Maglor recited an oath of his own to always protect her. The clip mentioned his naming her after his Grandmother, whom he’d never met, Miriel, one whom your middle name had come from, and his promise to always keep her safe until it cut off revealing Maglor again with you in his arms this time.

“Jaqiearae,

for all my strengths, I have failed. To all I’ve given my word to defend, I have lost. So this is my promise to you. You will flourish, safe, apart from me. I can only promise you safety in my absence. There will always be those searching for me as long as Melkor and his kin draw breath. When you are ready I will leave you our home, with more than enough to aid you in remaining safe and I will do all I can to draw the forces away from you. Until my mission is complete you will never be safe, I will not rest until that day comes. I pray you take this message from my heart, I love you, you will never be far from my heart or my thoughts, what life I have left will serve your safety and happiness.

Perhaps one day we will meet again. Please never doubt that I love you.”

Over your mask tears rolled and dropped to your knees. The raising of your hand brought the glove to your attention, making you wonder how you would remove it until you jolted upright as the suit folded into a single anklet and bracelet making your eyes narrow before you wiped your cheeks and eyed the room then decided to clean the dishes then head to bed.

…

Work found you again in Erebor after teleporting to an alley behind a string of businesses’ back alleys you passed through to the nearest bus stop where you waited for the bus to take you the rest of the way. Silently you walked inside feeling the Durins gather around you as Bofur asked, “So, what’s it like and when’s the party?”

You turned waving your fingers to lower and close the blinds before you stated, “Oh if you mean the giant mansion complete with a super hero’s secret hide out, perfectly lovely.”

All around you they asked, “What?!”

You nodded and flicked your fingers out after saying, “Oh ya, and Gramps made me a super suit.” The suit encased you making them circle you and tap it curiously commenting on it between your coating yourself with flames and ice.

A loud laugh came from Frerin who said, “Gramps is gonna love your new suit. It even shifts to white when you light up too. Just have to add the boots and gloves to the icon.”

A sigh came from you as you flicked your fingers and it slunk back again after the alarm sounded for a fire. All day you camped out in the nearby set of schools at their bake sales that the on sight ovens were over used to heat up the desserts needed to be served warm setting off the alarms.

The shift ended peacefully at least allowing you a simple trip through the bus back to that alley only to get a private message to your email messenger halfway through the trip, from an [email protected], “I have been wondering all day about the answer to the question of if your emails would continue or not?”

Without anything else available in your mind you simply wrote back, “Since the last time it landed me being interrogated by a King I doubt it will.”

It seemed without pause he wrote back, “Pity. I enjoyed being your shoulder to vent on.”

With a smirk you exited the bus, passing through the alley and zapping into your kitchen again headed to your fridge for some juice, “I think you have enough people venting to you to add my troubles to the mix.”

“Your troubles are not an issue for me. Besides, my Son won’t stop talking about you, asking when you can visit again. What are your days off?”

“Next two days I’m working at the Oblong Museum in Erebor.”

“You’re going to commute each day?”

“I enjoy the commute.”

“What part of the museum do you work in?”

“The hands on science exhibits for children, I’m one of the supervisors, part of my college credits a couple years back, kept it up when they asked.”

“How young can the children be? Legolas is adamant on seeing you, he never takes to people.”

“He’s old enough.” Your simple response made the King smirk as he went to type his response only to catch his aid arrive with a message for him for his upcoming meeting.

“Listen, I have to go. But I will be calling you later, and I will secure permission from King Thror for us to cross his borders for the trip.”

“You don’t have to call if you’re busy. And I’m at the exhibit wed-fri each week, to make planning simpler.”

In a playful narrowing of his eyes he stood as he typed back, “I do have a meeting, I will see which day Thror will allow for our visit, and, if I am lucky you will accept my dinner offer for after you get off work. Have to go, think it over, I will talk to you later.”

A disbelieving grumble left you as you finished your juice and cleaned up your glass then went to go try out your new shower. The enjoyment was short lived as your doorbell kept ringing. After an irritated grunt you wrapped yourself in a towel then went to answer it. Again two Elves bearing the Royal Crest were at the door, only they didn’t wait for anything they simply barged past you leaving you to stammer. You stood clutching your towel in place as the crowd of suit clad Elves after them entered each room while you were nudged onto your front porch eyeing the helicopter in the distance growing closer. Dripping still you turned your head holding your towel in place as it landed then opened to let out the next pair of suit clad Elves with large bags on their shoulders.

With a sigh you stood watching their approach before they paused looking at you as you asked, “Is there a rough estimate on how long it will be till I can get dressed?”

After a glance inside they heard a voice call out, “It’s all clear.”

Their eyes turned to you as they stated, “You can go back in now. We’re here to install the phone line.”

“I have a phone.”

One of them nodded replying, “Yes, but if the King is going to be handling any business from here he will need a secure line.”

With an irritated grumble you fired back, “If the King imagines himself doing anything here he will ask first. You are not installing anything here. Have a nice flight back.”

You stepped inside as the last in the line of stunned first wave of Elves filed onto your porch watching as you closed and locked the door after saying, “Oh and I don’t care who sends you, don’t ever step foot in my home again without my permission.”

Angrily you trotted up the steps hearing them all leaving in debate on who would tell the King about your answer. Mumbling to yourself you heard the storm shutters closing on the windows downstairs as metal sheets slid through the center of the doors securing them as they had the nights prior as if the house knew you weren’t going to leave your bed any time soon.

But once your hair was finally dried and you were snuggled safely under your open sleeping bag on the bare mattress. You laid face down grumbling in a withheld one sided argument on all you should have said when those Elves had barged in through your door leaving you on your own porch dripping wet, where the first set he sent had been so polite.

Without fail not even half an hour later your phone rang from a blocked number and taking a chance you answered it sternly, “I was in the shower.”

In a faltering tone the King stammered, “I, I can call back.”

“When they showed up, I was in the shower. They made me stand outside in a towel.”

With parted lips he smoothed his hand over his closed eyes, withholding the shouts he would be unleashing on his council later, “For the record it was one of my Council members who got over eager hearing of my contacting you again and sent out the tech team. I owe you more apologies than I could count.”

“I suppose it was their way of making it even.”

“You sent me emails, you didn’t put me out in my towel without permission or warning. I do swear it will never happen again.”

After a sigh you asked, “Why would you need a phone line at my house?”

Again he covered his eyes with his hand, “I mentioned a dinner for the two of us, assumptions were made.”

“Assumptions. Hmm.”

Curiously he shifted in his seat, “Why say I like that?”

“Don’t you have a meeting?”

“My Council can wait.”

“Consider the matter forgiven with a warning.”

“Consider me warned.” He replied in a purr.

You rolled your eyes adding, “You haven’t heard what the warning is for.”

Continuing his purr he asked, “And what would that warning be?”

“For every thing you add to my home I get to add something just as, invasive, to yours.” He let out a weak chuckle and you said, “Be nice to the over eager council and enjoy your meeting Your Majesty.” Before he could answer you hung up and sighed rolling over to bury your face in your pillow while he smirked pocketing his phone chuckling at his feeling so out of the lead position in this possible relationship.

He stood and let out a deep breath dropping his expression to return to his meeting he was torn from ignoring the worried stares of the freshly informed council in his struggle not to show his mind lingering on the imagined sight of you dripping wet in nothing but a towel.

Pt 3

#Thorin x Reader OC x Dwalin #Hobbit #lotr

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tornbetween2loves · 5 years

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Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

This fic is based on prompts #8 and #21 from the February prompts. It was given to me by my good friend @innerpostmentality The prompts are: Long-distance relationship and “It’s 3 in the morning.” “I know but I miss you.”

Pairing: Liam x Riley x Drake poly

This fic stands alone and is not a part of my poly series MHTA. You can read that series on my masterlist.

Word count: approximately 2,500

Warnings: this fic contains erotica and should be read by adults only.

Disclaimer: all characters belong to Pixelberry. I am simply borrowing them.

Taglist: @kennaxval @indiacater @carabeth @bella-ca @boneandfur @bobasheebaby @stopforamoment @alesana45 @debramcg1106 @speedyoperarascalparty @drakewalkerwhipped @femmeshep @hhiggs @lizeboredom @pb-boeboe @klaudiana-beaumontkkreal @tmarie82 @writtenbycandy @katurrade @lodberg @hopefulmoonobject @missevabean @walkerismychoice @eileendannie @museofbooks @jared2612 @h3llostrang3r @ooo-barff-ooo @cora-nova @jovialyouthmusic @gardeningourmet @innerpostmentality @furryperfectionlover

Riley groaned internally as she glanced at the clock on the wall across from her. She had been presiding over council meetings all week while King Liam was out of town. Of course the Norwegian Economic Summit would be at the same time the council was scheduled to hear bids on future energy contracts. She had been listening to presentations all week and her mind was numb. She had heard enough about solar power, tidal power and hydroelectricity to last the rest of her life. And next week the council would begin to vote on the contracts, which of course would mean lots of debates that could get quite heated. The queen preferred to stick to issues involving education and literacy, but Liam’s presence was required in Norway. She remembers the conversation they had just before he left.

“My love, future energy is important. Cordonia must be on the cutting edge of developing future sources of energy. A lot of these bids have been in the works for several months. Please just reside over the meetings and email me the minutes in the evenings for review. No final decision has to be made until I return.” Riley pouted as she wrapped her arms around her king’s neck. “I just wish I could go with you. The timing of this summit is awful. With Drake being gone to help his mother, I’m going to be awful lonely.” Liam smiled and kissed her softly. “I know, my love. But we can’t expect the summit to be rescheduled simply because the timing is inconvenient for us.” A light knock at the door signaled it was time to go. Riley pulled him into a passionate kiss. “I will miss you so much, my king.” He smiled at her as he pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “As will I, my queen. But remember, absence makes the heart grow fonder.” He kissed her on the cheek one more time and headed out the door.

The polite clapping of the council members brought Riley’s thoughts back to the present. The presentation had finished. She joined in the clapping and stood to walk to the podium. She shook the hand of the presenter as he handed her a copy of the report. She smiled and glanced quickly at the cover, relieved to see that the title provided her with the information she needed. “Thank you so much for your bid on harnessing tidal energy for Cordonia’s future energy needs. We will review the contract and be in touch soon.” He bowed and exited. Riley checked the clock once more. It was almost 11am. “I think now is a good time to adjourn for the morning session. Unless anyone has something else they wish to address at this time.” She looked around the room as everyone murmured and shook their heads. “Okay then, we will commence with the afternoon session at 1pm where we will hear a bid about harnessing hydroelectricity from Energy Solutions of the Future. Meeting is adjourned.” The council members waited for the queen to leave the room before they began to trickle out the door.

Riley walked down the hall a few paces, stopping in front of the door to her study. She turned to Mara, who was standing guard outside the door. “Mara, could you please inform the kitchen staff that I’d like to take lunch in my study at noon.” “Of course, your majesty.” She nodded at Mara as she opened the door. “Thank you.” She closed the door and locked it, leaning back against it with her eyes closed. She felt so empty. The palace was a cold and impersonal place as it was, but it was ten times worse knowing that her loves were not there. There was a hole in the pit of her belly and she just couldn’t shake her feelings of loneliness. She opened her eyes with a sigh, and walked over behind her desk to sit down. She opened her laptop and smiled at her screensaver, a picture of her with Liam and Drake on the beach. Her smile faded as her heart ached. She missed them so much. She clicked on the FaceTime icon and checked the time. She knew Liam would still be in meetings for at least another hour, so she clicked on Drake’s name.

**************************

Drake opened one eye and peered at his phone ringing on the nightstand. He raised his head and looked at the screen with a groan. He knew it was Riley. He reached over and turned on the bedside lamp as he grabbed the phone. He laid back on his pillows and pressed the button to answer and a few seconds later her face appeared on his screen. Despite how tired he was, he couldn’t help but smile at her beauty. He missed her terribly. “Hey, I’m sorry, did I wake you?” Drake sat up and ran a hand through his disheveled hair. “Of course you woke me. It’s 3 in the morning.” Riley stuck out her lower lip in a pout. “I know, but I miss you. How’s your mom?” Drake yawned and nodded his head. “She’s slowly getting better. Her shoulder still hurts but the doctor said it was ok to stop wearing the sling. She’s slowly been resuming work around the ranch.” Riley smiled. “That’s good. Did you talk to her about my suggestion?” Drake sighed as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “I mentioned it briefly. I don’t think she’s gonna go for it.” Riley’s face fell as she muttered, “oh.” He closed his eyes. Shit. He should’ve just kept his mouth shut and said he didn’t mention it.

“Look, I miss you and Liam so much. Being so far away from you is killing me. But there is no way my mom is gonna let anyone but me run this place while she’s recuperating. And she certainly won’t agree to travel to Cordonia and recuperate there. She’s a control freak and needs to make sure things are taken care of properly.” Riley smiled at him. “Like mother, like son.” Drake grinned sheepishly as he ran a hand through his hair. She knew the question was coming. It always did. “So how’s everything at the stables? Are the horses being tended too? Was the feed order placed in time?” Riley laughed and shook her head. “Of course. I stop by there every afternoon after council adjourns for the day. The horses are happy and well-fed and I checked on the feed order myself.” Drake smiled warmly. “Thanks, Reynolds. You’re awesome for holding down the fort.”

“Ok, I’ll let you get back to sleep love. I’m sorry for waking you. I just had to see your face and hear your voice.” Drake smiled. “There’s no one I’d rather wake up to in the middle of the night. I love you Riley.” He blew her a kiss. “I love you too. Talk to you this evening?” Drake nodded. “You mean later this morning? Sure.” Everyday they had a private conference call in the evening after Liam and Riley were done with their meetings for the day. It was typically around lunchtime for Drake. They hung up and Drake threw back the covers. He had started to get used to getting up at 3am. The call from Riley had become a regular thing. But it was ok, talking to her was a great way to start his day. And it gave him a good excuse for a “nap” at lunch time.

****************************

Liam felt his phone vibrate in the breast pocket of his jacket. It only vibrated once, so he knew it was a text. He pulled the phone out of his pocket to discreetly check the message. It was from Riley. After checking to make sure no one had noticed, he dropped the phone into his lap so it would be shielded by the table in front of him. He then pulled his suit jacket around his legs to create a small tent for his phone. He already knew what to expect when he looked at the message. He glanced down at the screen, pushing on Riley’s name to check the message. His throat went dry and his cock twitched at the picture of his queen. It was a selfie of her at the desk in her study, her skirt hiked up exposing her core and her blouse unbuttoned showing her lacy bra, cups pulled down to expose her breasts. She had a vibrator in one hand and the other on her nipple, her eyes gazing lustily into the camera.

My god, she is sexy.

Liam crossed his legs to hide his growing erection. Beads of sweat formed on his upper lip and suddenly the room felt quite warm. He looked around for a way to discreetly exit, but could find none. The selfie stick he had gotten her for Christmas turned out to be both a blessing and a curse. These photos got him through some lonely nights here in Norway, however, being caught like this was embarrassing. He took one last glance at the picture then closed it and put his phone back in his pocket. Then he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to control his raging hard-on. He focused on the speaker, who was talking about boring tax codes. It worked. There was nothing at all sexy about taxes. He breathed a sigh of relief as they took a break for lunch. Liam headed straight for the bathroom before anyone could intercept him. He locked himself in a stall and closed his eyes as he rubbed his still semi-hard cock through his pants. There was no way around this. He needed release.

He unzipped his pants and pulled out his hard length, stroking slowly. He grasped his phone in the other hand, opening his camera roll, scrolling through pictures of Riley and Drake. Most of them were screenshots taken during their video conferences, but there was also some sexy pictures such as the one he’d just received from Riley. His pace quickened as he flipped through the photos, feeling his need for his loves building inside as he began to pant. He tried to remain quiet, but he let out a deep, guttural moan as he climaxed.

Relief immediately washed over him as he cleaned himself up and regained his composure. This was hard. Liam had never done anything like this before and he vowed right then to never have a scheduling conflict like this again. He checked his reflection in the mirror and headed out the door.

****************************

Riley rushed back to the royal apartment as soon as the afternoon council session was adjourned. She had to get ready. Sure, it seemed silly for her to go through such lengths just for videoconferencing, but she wanted to make sure she looked her absolute best. She always showered, shaved and did her hair and make up each evening before their “date.” And she wore different lingerie each night. Tonight it was black back-seam stockings with garters and a lacy black thong with matching bra. She liked to put on a show for her men. She walked over to the nightstand and opened the drawer where they kept their toys. She took out her favorite vibrator and tossed it on the bed. Then she set up her computer on a chair at the foot of the bed, angling it to give them the best view. She opened up her email and found the link to connect to the conference. She clicked on the link and spread out on the bed, lying on her stomach facing the computer screen. A few moments later Liam and Drake’s faces appeared on her screen. She smiled wide at her loves.

“Hello my love.” Liam blew her a kiss, his eyes already dark with the desire that had been building inside him all day. “You have been very naughty today.” Drake smiled and nodded in agreement. “Yes you have. Do you have any idea what looking at a picture like that does to a man?” Riley’s face took on a look of innocence as she shrugged. “I have no idea. Please enlighten me.” She switched positions, turning over on her back and leaning back against her pillows. Liam’s face turned red as he mumbled, “I had to jerk off in a bathroom stall at lunchtime.” Drake’s mouth dropped open. “Oh man, that’s rough. In a public restroom? Ugh.” Riley smiled as she ran her hands along her collarbone and down to her breasts, slipping them inside to fondle her nipples. The thought of her king pleasuring himself in the middle of the day caused desire to pool at her core. Both men were mesmerized as they watched her slowly remove her bra and slip her hand through the waistband of her thong. Her breath hitched as she grazed her fingers across her swollen nub.

“My god, you are so beautiful, my love.” Liam was breathless with desire and already stroking himself. Drake grunted as he began to touch himself too. “Take those panties off Reynolds. I wanna see how wet you are.”

Riley smiled at the screen seductively as she lifted her hips off the bed to pull down her thong. She kicked it off and spread her legs wide, giving the men quite a view of her glistening core. Liam groaned at the sight, his need almost becoming too much to bear. “My love, I would give up everything to be with you right now. To be able to sink my hard length deep inside you would be like heaven on earth.” Riley gasped as she inserted two fingers inside herself, pumping them in and out slowly. Drake moaned softly as he watched them both touching themselves. “I want to wrap my mouth around your cock, my king.” The words came out raspy and deep. “And sink my tongue deep into your wet folds.” They were all quiet for a moment, simply watching the screen and imagining they were together. Then their moans got louder and they all panted as they began to reach their climax.

Riley finished first, her back arching off the bed as her orgasm ripped through her. Liam and Drake both followed right after, pushed over the edge by the sight of their woman writhing on the screen in front of them. They all smiled at each other, sated but sad. “I miss you both so very much,” Riley said softly as she kissed the tips of her fingers then touched each of their faces on the screen. “Please hurry home. This palace is so cold and lonely without you.” She fought to hold back tears. “My love, I will be home next week I promise. And I vow to never have us scheduled to be apart for this length of time again.” Drake nodded. “Mom is on the mend, so hopefully I can come home next week as well.” Riley smiled. “I sure hope so. I love you both so very much.”

They chatted for a few more minutes, then ended the conference. Riley pulled the covers up over her and turned off the light. Thoughts of her men filled her head as she slowly drifted off to sleep

#choices fandom #long post #i cant choose #liam x drake x mc #the royal romance #absence makes the heart grow fonder #ns*w #february prompts

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garden-ghoul · 7 years

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appendix blog, part 3

“working out... is.... good?”

Hey so I’m skipping Eorl, I already blogged him, or at least I read him. I don’t conceptually separate those processes any more, thanks fiends. I, uh, I meant to type friends there but let’s call it a Freudian typo.

Ah fuck yes after the list of Rohirrim kings it’s time for DURIN’S FOLK

So “Durin is the name that the Dwarves used for the eldest of the Seven Fathers of their race.” Are we ever going to hear about the other six fathers, or is it one of those things where dwarves are extremely close-mouthed about it and only Durin, who they cannot ever shut up about, is ever mentioned near other races?

Durin “slept alone” until the awakening of his people. Did all dwarves sleep alone? Is this a gem kindergarten situation? Please say yes. Please say there is a Durin-shaped hole somewhere that is only known to dwarves and they like, sometimes try to fit themselves into it. The one who is the same size and shape as the original Durin becomes Durin the N+1th. “This hole was made for me,” he declares, and fits himself into it. Everyone cheers, and then they fish him out with a hook before he can slide too far into the mountain. Anyway during the time of Durin VI the dwarves, who are in an absolutely defensible position but are too bored to stop mining, wake up a balrog and have to flee. Durin VI’s son Nain goes to Erebor and finds a very nice rock; most of the Khazad-dum dwarves go to the Grey Mountains in the north, because exploring is fun and profitable! Unfortunately north of the mountain everything is full of dragons. “At last Dáin I, together with Frór his second son, was slain at the door of his hall by a great cold-drake.” I really like the implication I just made up, that the north is full of dragons because they migrated from Angband.

BTW Dain’s other sons are Thror and Gror. Apparently there’s something absolutely essential about the fabric of Ea that makes all peoples independently name their kids dumb themed names. Someone during the Song of Songs or w/e they’re calling it these days accidentally kept repeating one of their trills and it became a line of code essential to the nature of life. Fuck this.

Thror goes to Erebor again, and he makes lots of friendly alliances with other dwarf clans and the humans who live near Erebor (’northmen’). UNFORTUNATELY you cannot have a great and extremely wealthy time around here without a dragon hearing about it, so Smaug the Golden comes to say hi. Thrain II and his dad Thror (original flavor) flee in secret, and then Thror goes into Khazad-dum (possibly it was a suggestion of his Ring). Thror’s bff creeps over to the doors of Khazad-dum and a bunch of orcs are hiding behind the doorframe with Thror’s corpse, presumably working his jaw like a puppet, and laughing their asses off. Written on Thror’s face is the word AZOG. He is king of Khazad-dum now. Thror’s bff tries to take his body for burial, but the orcs throw a sack of small change at his head. It sounds pretty funny to me, but for Nar it’s probably a horrifying parody of a weregild, and an insult. When he looks back, the orcs are hacking up Thror’s body to feed to the local crows. Omg I hope orcs and crows are friends.

Thrain and Nar muster a ton of dwarves to fight, because this will not be borne. They cut through most of the orc strongholds like butter BUT Azog has been saving his strength in Khazad-dum. “So began the Battle of Azanulbizar, at the memory of which the Orcs still shudder and the Dwarves weep.” I LOVE. The fact that absolutely everyone who was involved with this battle in any way has inherited trauma about it. War is no good for anyone at all! Azog has a jolly old time doing murders, until he realizes that HIS guys are actually getting more murdered! He kills Nain and laughs at him, but Nain’s son Dain unexpectedly kills him. It’s accounted extremely heroic, because Dain is like, 16 in dwarf years. It says that “long life and many battles lay before him, until old but unbowed he fell at last in the War of the Ring.” Wait um. Do you mean... the one that takes place in Lord of the Rings? Were dwarves fighting in that?? This is taking place WAY after the Last Alliance isn’t it?? No okay I looked at the end and found the answer, which is that the War of the Ring actually was like 100 years long but relatively low-intensity for most of it.

Anyway,

When at last the battle was won the Dwarves that were left gathered in Azanulbizar. They took the head of Azog and thrust into its mouth the purse of small money, and then they set it on a stake. But no feast nor song was there that night; for their dead were beyond the count of grief. Barely half of their number, it is said, could still stand or had hope of healing.

Half of everyone is dead or dying, and the dwarf alliance still uses their last bit of energy to be petty. Iconic.

Thrain wants to claim Khazad-dum and live there, but everyone else flat-out refuses. Still a balrog in there, dude! I mean, it didn’t bother the orcs, though. I don’t think balrogs really discriminate between orcs and other sorts of dudes, so maybe they could sneak up and kill it in its sleep! But Dain says that the world must change and some other power come before Durin’s folk will live again in Moria. That was Gandalf, right? He did slay the balrog. I hope the dwarves can come back now in the fourth age!! It’s going to take so much fixing up but like... it still exists, mostly intact. A chance to reclaim their heritage.

Thrain and his son Thorin go into exile with the few people who will still follow him--almost everyone is pissed that he got their entire families killed and they can’t even go get treasure in Khazad-dum. So Thrain and co settle in the east of Ered Luin. There’s a bit here about how the Seven Rings turned out to be totally pointless for Sauron because you simply Cannot enslave dwarves. “They were made from their beginning of a kind to resist most steadfastly any domination. Though they could be slain or broken, they could not be reduced to shadows enslaved to another will.” I love the implication that because dwarves were sculpted--note that we never hear AFAIK what elves or humans are made of!--they are more substantial and solid. Mmm I think they have a super solid connection to Arda, and just as even Arda Marred is still largely influenced by the Valar dwarves cannot be wholly corrupted. IDK it’s just the,,, shadow vs stone thing. Sauron enslaves people and it destroys their substance. Dwarves are too substantial? Someone help me out here.

Thrain is still influenced by the Ring, though, driven to go in search of Erebor and its treasure again.

As soon as he was abroad with few companions he was hunted by the emissaries of Sauron. Wolves pursued him, Orcs waylaid him, evil birds shadowed his path, and the more he strove to go north the more misfortunes opposed him. There came a dark night when he and his companions were wandering in the land beyond Anduin, and they were driven by a black rain to take shelter under the eaves of Mirkwood. In the morning he was gone from the camp, and his companions called him in vain...

I love how fairy-tale-ish this passage is. Wolves pursued him! Evil birds shadowed his path! He vanished utterly into air! Sauron was the boojum all along! I’m jazzed about this. Less jazzed about the following explanation: he was kidnapped and tortured in Dol Guldur. Whatever, I guess.

Meanwhile Thorin, who is now king, hammers away on his anvil. It will keep his arm strong. Hella.

Thorin meets Gandalf by accident in an inn in Bree and is like “hey I have been having dreams about you, that’s pretty weird right?” “No no,” says Gandalf, “actually I have been dreaming about you too.” And THAT is how The Hobbit happened.

Wait omg it says here Fili and Kili are Thorin’s “sister-sons.” THIS IMPLIES THE EXISTENCE OF A SECOND DWARF GENDER... WTF... don’t fucking toy with my heart like this Johnald. AH--

Dís was the daughter of Thráin II. She is the only dwarf-woman named in these histories. It was said by Gimli that there are few dwarf-women, probably no more than a third of the whole people. They seldom walk abroad except at great need. They are in voice and appearance, and in garb if they must go on a journey, so like to the dwarf-men that the eyes and ears of other peoples cannot tell them apart. This has given rise to the foolish opinion among Men that there are no dwarf-women, and that the Dwarves 'grow out of stone'.

It is because of the fewness of women among them that the kind of the Dwarves increases slowly, and is in peril when they have no secure dwellings. For Dwarves take only one wife or husband each in their lives, and are jealous, as in all matters of their rights. The number of dwarf-men that marry is actually less than one-third. For not all the women take husbands: some desire none; some desire one that they cannot get, and so will have no other.

Why did they even mention Dis? She doesn’t do anything. I’m retconning, this, obviously. Dwarves just have a super low fertility rate, and woman gender is one of those things that like... doesn’t translate well. There’s no woman gender, because dwarves haven’t invented gender. There’s just dwarves who are currently capable of bearing children. I can’t remember if I got this from Pratchett or not, but it’s a good chance. I just really like the idea that dwarves kind of nod and smile uncertainly when asked to understand a culture that has genders. “Humans really do have an exceptionally high fertility rate,” murmurs one to another. “A lot of ‘women.’” “One just can’t keep track of them,” sighs the other. This is kind of incoherent because Tolkien is actively trying to ruin it, but whatever. Moving on.

After the fall of Sauron, Gimli brought south a part of the Dwarf-folk of Erebor, and he became Lord of the Glittering Caves. He and his people did great works in Gondor and Rohan. For Minas Tirith they forged gates of mithril and steel to replace those broken by the Witch-king. Legolas his friend also brought south Elves out of Greenwood, and they dwelt in Ithilien, and it became once again the fairest country in all the westlands.

Nice! Gay! Also holy shit, mithril gates. Where the hell did they get all that. Hey maybe Sauron had a huge stockpile of mithril and some people went to sift thru the wreckage of Mordor and reclaim it. Radical.

We have heard tell that Legolas took Gimli Glóin's son with him because of their great friendship, greater than any that has been between Elf and Dwarf. If this is true, then it is strange indeed: that a Dwarf should be willing to leave Middle-earth for any love, or that the Eldar should receive him, or that the Lords of the West should permit it.

Hey. Hey. That’s gay.

#blog of the rings

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marshmallow-the-vampire-slayer · 7 years

Text

MTVS Epic Rewatch #161

BTVS 6x11 Gone

Stray thoughts

1) “Gone” is the trademark “Sarah takes a week off and she’s only in a few scenes” episode. Some of these may be memorable, albeit not necessarily good, mostly because they’re other-characters-centric (like Triangle, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered or The Zeppo) Others are unquestionably bad, like season 4′s Where the Wild Things Are. And yet others fall somewhere in the middle on the quality scale, like The Killer in Me or Gone. As is the case with any Buffy episode, there are some memorable scenes and lines in this episode, and it does advance the plot, especially regarding Buffy’s and Willow’s season arcs. But as a whole, the episode kind of falls flat.

2) Hm, what could the writers be possibly implying by this? Do they mean that magic... is like... I don’t know... a drug, or something? The underlying message is so difficult to read! Why won’t they spell it out for us?

DAWN: But they're just candles! BUFFY: Well, yeah, you know, to you and me they're just candles, but to... witches they're... like bongs.

3) I’m usually a hardcore Dawn defender, but she was acting really childish in the opening scene, throwing a tantrum because Buffy was getting rid of all the magic-related stuff in the house. She was 15 years old, and therefore old enough to understand the gravity of the situation. For Christ’s sake, she had almost died two nights ago because of Willow’s addiction, how could she not get it? I blame the writers for this, though. It was an OOC choice for Dawn, in my opinion. Moreover, they wrote her quite inconsistently in this episode: she’s complaining to Buffy in this first scene, but she’s talking to her normally as sisters do. It doesn’t look like she’s angry at Buffy, you know? And then the next morning she’s all silence-treatment and sullen and sassy?

4) So... the trio actually built an invisibility ray, and we’re supposed to believe they would stay in Sunnydale to become supervillains instead of making millions off their inventions?

5) #buffyswiggivesmethewiggins

6) Buffy was definitely partly responsible for the events that led to Dawn’s getting hurt. She shouldn’t bear the brunt of the blame, though. Yet she does, because that’s who she is. She talks about being too wrapped in her own “dumb life” to notice Willow was going off the rails or to pay Dawn enough attention, but the thing is, there’s nothing dumb about what she was going through. There’s nothing dumb about suffering from depression and PTSD and needing to focus on yourself. How could she take care of anyone when she couldn’t/didn’t want to take care of herself?

7) So, this is what Xander walked into...

If you think Buffy was being harassed, you’re not reading the room right, dude

Also, I need to comment on something and I hope I get my message across right. And I ask you to bear with me. At least twice so far (the “footsie under the rubble” scene, and this one) Buffy had told Spike “no” or to “stop” while her body language suggested otherwise. That’s going to be their dynamics going forward. Buffy says no, but then Spike pushes her a little bit, and she gives in. Time and again, we’ll see different variations of this dynamic. It’s definitely an unhealthy dynamic, one I wouldn’t foster in any relationship. And the right thing to do each time Buffy had said “No” - even if she eventually didn’t really mean it - would have been to back off. But Spike was no gentleman. He might make us forget it sometimes, he might forget it himself quite frequently, but he was a vampire, evil by definition and lacking a moral compass. What happens in Seeing Red is in no way justified by this or their established dynamic, of course. It can’t be justified by anything. But what I’m trying to get to is how Spike’s psyche works and what led him to believe that if he just pushed a little bit more, she would eventually give in as she had done so many times before. The difference between the scene in Seeing Red and all the previous instances before it, a difference that Spike failed to notice because he’s not wired that way and which makes ALL the difference in the world, is that both Buffy’s words and her body language were screaming “No.” There weren’t any half-assed attempts at pushing him away, there weren’t any come-hither “stops” or “nos”. She meant it that time, and that’s all that matters.

8) Spike is ticked when Buffy won’t introduce him even as a friend, but the moment Buffy tells him the lady was from Social Services, he immediately tries to put in a good word for her, and it’s kinda sweet. Although he ends up mucking it up, but at least he tried.

BUFFY: Spike... this nice woman is from Social Services? SPIKE: Oh, right! Uh... hey! Buffy's a great mom. She takes good care of her little sis. Like, when Dawn was hanging out too much in my crypt, Buffy put a right stop to it. MS. KROGER: I'm sorry, did you say- BUFFY: Crib! He said crib. You know kids today and their buggin' street slang.

And he calls her “mom”, which I love.

9) ICONIC I

MS. KROGER: Oh, so you live with another woman. BUFFY: Oh! Oh, it's not a, a gay thing, you know, I mean, well... she's gay, but, but we don't... gay.

10) ICONIC II

Although, isn’t all weed magic weed by definition?

11) Basically, the social service lady’s visit is an everything-than-can-wrong-will-go-wrong nightmare come true.

12) See 7) above...

BUFFY: Why won't you go? SPIKE: I just thought you'd want... BUFFY: Get out of here!

And not only has she kept his lighter, but she’s carrying it around on her...

13) And then Buffy goes all Felicity on her hair (damn I really want to rewatch Felicity! Felicity and Ben forever!)

14) I do love the season 1 reference!

XANDER: Buffy, how did this hap... wait a sec, have you been feeling... ignored lately? INVISIBLE BUFFY: Yeah, ignored. I wish. No, this isn't a Marcie deal.

15) Oh, after talking about this, this scene really feels like the writers were writing the on-set drama into the story! Like Anya wanting to get a haircut just like Buffy’s mirrors Emma wanting to get a haircut just like Sarah’s...

ANYA: You cut your hair? INVISIBLE BUFFY: Oh, yeah! ANYA: Really? How short? INVISIBLE BUFFY: Um, about up to here... well, if you could see my hand, it's kind of above my shoulders. ANYA: Ahh, that sounds so adorable! I was thinking about getting my hair cut before the wed...

16) Buffy basically uses her invisibility to do the silliest, pettiest things, for real. On the one hand, one would think that’s very un-Buffy-like. On the other hand, that’s what any human being would do in her shoes, at least in the moments right after gaining this superpower. Plus, she needed some mindless fun. And it’s pretty much what she did in Earshot, so it’s definitely in-character.

So, here’s a recount of what she did as Invisible Buffy...

1. Channel Lilly Kane as a fashion ghost...

2. Stealing a police cart while crying “ So long, copper!”, therefore channeling Spike, Ripper or both.

3. Fucking with the social services lady in the most annoying ways.

17) I appreciate the reversal of roles the writers did with Buffy/Willow. During the last episode, we’d seen Willow crash and burn and Buffy trying to be the mature one (emphasis on “trying”.) Now, Buffy’s out of control and Willow’s the one trying to rise above the situation by going back to basics. I’ve given Willow a lot of flack for her behavior up until now, but I really love her in this episode. She’s honestly trying, she gets shit done the old-fashioned way, and she overcomes the temptation to use magic. That’s the Willow I love.

18) And then, there’s this scene...

...let’s call it for what it is: dubious consent. Okay?

19) Oh, this statement is going to become a lie so soon...

WARREN: The Slayer got slammed with a big-ass dose of radiation when the gun overloaded. Her cells are mutating at an accelerated rate. Eventually her molecular makeup will start losing its integrity and then ... pfft. ANDREW: But, wouldn't that kill her? WARREN: Well, lemme think. Yeah! JONATHAN: Wait a minute! We're not killing anybody. Especially not Buffy! WARREN: You guys are so immature! We're villains! When are you gonna get that through your thick skulls? JONATHAN: We're not killers, we're crime lords!

20) ICONIC III

So... Xander has just told Spike Buffy’s invisible, and he’s caught Spike having invisible sex, and yet he can’t put two and two together? Plus, she was gasping and moaning and the freaking ear was moving all on its own!! How thick can you be?!

21) I mean, magic withdrawal aside, we can all relate to this moment...

22) It’s only after Buffy meets Dawn and she freaks out about her sister being invisible that Buffy understands this shouldn’t be a laughing matter...

DAWN: Buffy? Where are you? INVISIBLE BUFFY: I'm invisible. Check this out. Wooo, wooo! Unidentified flying pizza, comin' in for a landing.

DAWN: W-what are you talking- INVISIBLE BUFFY: Okay, not the most clever ad lib, but come on! Points for spontaneity. DAWN: Stop it! Just... stop. INVISIBLE BUFFY: Sorry Dawn. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out. DAWN: Well, what did you think would happen? You're freaking invisible, Buffy. INVISIBLE BUFFY: I know. Xander and Anya are working on it. Muldering out what happened. DAWN: Well, what about you? Shouldn't you be working on it? INVISIBLE BUFFY: Of course I- DAWN: Do you even care about, about who did this to you, or, or if you're gonna be stuck this way? You're making jokes and flying pizzas. INVISIBLE BUFFY: I don't think that's- DAWN: I can't talk to you like this. I can't see you! How can I talk to you if I can't see you?

23) And Willow solves the case with some good old-fashioned sleuthing and I love her for it!

Of course, she gets kidnapped in the process, but what can you do? You win some, you lose some.

24) And yet again, she figures out they’re trying to kill Buffy with some good old-fashioned science knowledge!

25) Tucker’s brother :)

BUFFY: Who are you?

ANDREW: Andrew. I summoned the flying monkeys that attacked the high school? During the school play, you know?

WARREN: It's Tucker's brother. JONATHAN: Yeah, it's Tucker's brother.

26) This might be my favorite moment in the episode.

BUFFY: Pretty neat, you finding the van. So... how did you manage to... do it exactly? I mean, to locate it? WILLOW: The hard way. The spell-free way. The oh-my-god-my-head's-gonna-fall-off, my-feet-are-killing-me way. I don't know how I got through this day.

BUFFY: Well, the important thing is that you did. It's a... good first step. WILLOW: How are you doing, post-invisibleness? BUFFY: Okay. I still have to do some damage control from my giddy-fest. Dawn was pretty freaked out. The whole taking-a-vacation-from-me thing didn't work out so well. WILLOW: Tell me about it. BUFFY: Except... when I got Xander's message... you know, that I was... fading away... I actually got scared. WILLOW: Well, yeah. Who wouldn't? BUFFY: Me. I wouldn't. Not too long ago I probably would have welcomed it. But I realized... I'm not saying that I'm doing back-flips about my life, but... I didn't... I don't... wanna die. That's something, right? WILLOW: It's something.

I love the fact that they’re there for each other and that they’re the ones pulling each other through their shit. And they’re quite honest about where they’re at - even if they still have secrets. Both of the made it through the day, and sometimes that’s the biggest accomplishment of them all.

#Buffy the Vampire Slayer #BTVS #Buffy Summers #Willow Rosenberg #Spike #Spuffy #MTVSepicrewatch #BTVSrewatch2015 #Gone #mine #recap #btvsrecap

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