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kil-g · 8 months

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sweet like a flower in blue

a/n: my contribution to gaz fest 2023 <3 hehe. thank u very much @glitterypirateduck for planning this !! <333

university!gaz with prompt 10 ("just like that")

kyle "gaz" garrick x gn!reader (as always mwah <3)

word count: 2.1k

warnings: none

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You’re late.

It wasn’t even your fault that you were late, which made your morning all the more irritating. Because, despite the fact that you left your place an hour earlier than usual, somehow everything fell into its exact place to create some fabrication of errors against you. Your key got stuck in the door (one out of many perks of having to pay slightly less than average on rent than others). The street you usually take your walk on was closed off for maintenance, forcing you to detour. And, when you finally got to the station, every ticket station decided not to cooperate (it’s not like the city wants you to pay the fee. Because, why would it want that?) So, when you finally gave up on paying for a ticket at all, some bright-eyed freak thought you were the perfect candidate to heckle for jumping the gate.

You very politely told them to fuck off. You told them so about four times before they got the message.

And, if none of that was enough, by the time you got to the actual platform, your train was already pulling out of the station. The next one wasn’t coming for another twelve minutes.

So, it was a bad morning. You were seriously considering skipping class all together to salvage whatever good you could out of the day. You could wander the city and loiter in a bookstore. You could take the next train all the way down to its last line and see what happens. You could go back to your apartment and go back to sleep.

But, then a distance away all the way down the platform, someone calls your name. Your full name.

And, through the morning haze, you catch the sight of someone breaking into a jog. They soon come into focus and it’s Kyle Garrick. Kyle who you haven’t seen since high school. Who you assumed you’d seen for the last time since graduation.

He jogs up to you with a wide smile.

“I thought it was you.”

“I’m surprised that you even remembered me.”

“Are you kidding? How could I forget you?” He says. Despite the fact that you haven’t seen him since high school, he still has the same boyish smile he’s always had.

It felt like forever ago. Kyle was the only foreign student in your high school. You were friends on the most casual level. Certainly not close enough to justify maintaining contact with him. But, now in retrospect, you almost regret it.

“I thought you were going to school in the UK. What are you doing here?”

“What? Not happy to see me?”

“No, of course I am.” You laugh, your irritation from the hour before melting away, little by little. “Just surprised.”

“To answer your question, I moved back. I guess you could say that I just got homesick.”

You tilt your head to the side. “By yourself? What about John?”

As far as you knew, John was the only real family he had. Though, you couldn’t be sure of what the exact relation was. When Kyle got accepted by a university in the UK, the two of them had decidedly packed their things and left. You thought that you’d seen the last of them.

“John’s still there. But, he was planning to visit soon.”

“Intriguing."

“You still doing art?”

“I hope so. That’s what I’m going to school for.”

“That’s right.” He says, all too pleased to hear it.

There’s a moment that passes where nothing is said. But, you’re desperate to get him to keep talking.

“Speaking of…” You say, “Seeing as you’re not going anywhere any time soon, could I ask you for a favor?”

“Uh oh. Shoot.”

“It’s nothing serious. It’s just that you’re kind of my only friend in the area anymore and I need to build my portfolio for my art class.” A train going the opposite way pushes the air around, nearly whipping your coat open. “I was wondering if you could pose for a portrait. It would only take about fifteen minutes. I’ll even give you like twenty dollars… for your trouble.”

“Would I be taking my clothes off?”

“Of course not. I said portrait. As in I’m only doing a bust. Also, we have actual models for that.”

“I don’t know what those words mean.” He says, “Besides, would it really be so bad if I did take my clothes off?”

“You know, I could ask someone else.”

“No, don’t! I’m just kidding.” Kyle’s mouth forms into a lopsided, goofy smile. One that you remember quite well. One that washes you in relief to see. “I’ll do it.”

“You will?” You say, a little more excited than you should’ve been. He nods and hums. “How can I contact you?”

“Right, give me your phone.” He says. Another train pulls into the station. Quickly, he begins making his own contact. “Just text me whatever time and place works for you. I’ll be there.”

“Is your schedule really so open?”

The train settles into a full stop. There’s a reluctant sink in your stomach when you realize it’s his train. The doors slide open. He puts your phone back in your hands and makes a step closer to the doors. “Whatever works for you, you know?”

You roll your eyes again even though the flattery is kind of working. “Then, I’ll see you soon.”

Just before the doors slide back closed, he says through that same lopsided smile, “I look forward to it.”

His eyes stay on you for a second too long through the window. The train goes further and further away, his face gets harder to make out. Nonetheless, you’ve forgotten all about keys getting stuck in locks, or detours, or public transportation fees, or public transportation fee hecklers. You look down at his contact, then tuck your phone back into your pocket.

The two of you agree to meet the following week. You walk him through your campus until eventually, you reach the art building. It’s a brick building. Old with bad plumbing. All the trappings of a typical art building on any college campus.

You set up a spot with just the right lighting and begin. For the first few minutes it’s almost completely silent. You look up from your sketch only to find Kyle sitting stiffly and awkwardly.

You chuckle, “You look like you’re gonna shit yourself.”

“This is my first time doing something like this.” He says, laughing to himself.

“Just loosen up, breathe. I’m not gonna bite your head off.” You look back down at your half-portrait, and he inhales, then exhales. He relaxes slowly. “Just like that.”

“Is it cool to talk?”

“Of course.” You smile, you continue on the portrait. Sometimes when you look up from it to see him, his eyes are already on you.

“Okay, how long have you been making art?”

“Since, I could even pick up a pencil.”

“Oh, yeah? Did you always know you wanted to do this?”

You erase a little bit of the sketch, carefully brushing shavings off and blowing at them. “No, for a while it was just a hobby I visited on and off.”

“Then, what made you decide on it?”

You shrug. “Nothing in particular. Just don’t think I’d be happy doing anything else.”

“I get that.” He says.

A beat passes. Then, curiosity gets the better of you. “Why did you come back?”

He shrugs, then remembers himself and relaxes again.“I don’t know. Back home just didn’t feel like… back home. Not to say that it was bad. I like it there. But, I missed being out here.”

You hum, briefly stealing a glance at him.

It goes quiet again. Though, this time it’s a much more comfortable silence. You study his face and the way it interacts with the light. You put the shapes his face makes down on paper. Like, how his cheeks have slight roundness. The angle of his nose, the shadows just under his brows.

You banter back and forth a few times to little consequence. And, the portrait is complete in the blink of an eye. You’re almost nervous to flip the canvas and show him.

You stand up, and position yourself slightly behind him to present him the portrait.

“What do you think?” You ask, only slightly nervous.

Kyle stares down at the portrait. His smile returns slowly, and he says, “It’s fantastic.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I love it. It’s really nice.” He pulls out his phone to take a quick picture of it.

“Nice enough that I don’t have to pay you?”

“Not quite, I’d still appreciate the twenty bucks.” His smile doesn’t go away. “Besides, look at my eyes. You didn’t get them exactly right.”

You stand up and lift the paper to be side-by-side with Kyle’s face. You’re only slightly embarrassed and maybe only kind of a fraud, perhaps. “I did my best. The semester just started. I’m out of practice and I practically had to beg the professor to get into this class—“

He sputters more laughter. “I’m joking. You don’t owe me anything. I wouldn’t just take your money.”

“Oh, haha.” You reply, dryly.

“I’m serious. It fucking looks exactly like me. I really like it.”

You look for a sign of some kind of joke in his face and surprisingly find none.

“You mean it?”

“Oh, yeah.” He nods. “Though, I think you’ve made me more handsome than usual.”

“I think it looks about right, actually.”

“Who am I to argue?” He leans back slightly, forgetting in the moment that his stool has no back and catching himself at the last second.

You don’t know how long you’ve been smiling but at this point it’s making your cheeks ache. Kyle looks back at you and for a moment you’re stunned at how you’d even gotten here. It’s been years since you had last seen him. You were quite certain that you would never see him again.

“I’m really glad you called out to me at the station last week.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“I am, too.” He’s disgustingly sweet. To have his attention like this was thrilling. “Can I tell you something?”

“Anything.” You say, half joking.

“Back in school, I kind of had this huge crush on you but I was too shy to do anything about it.“

“Kyle Garrick? Shy?”

He nods, “Felt like an idiot when we graduated.”

“Bullshit.”

“I’m serious.”

“Whatever, dude.”

“You had this cool kind of thing going on. Like, this artsy mysterious kind of thing–”

You laugh, “That’s what you’re calling it?--”

“–too cool for me!” He says.

“We had like how many classes together. We were in the same group for our final project in bio.” You say in disbelief.

“That was for school, though. I was a workmate. Not like an actual… mate.”

“Well, I thought you were cool.” You reply.

“Now I just feel even sillier.” He laughs.

“Okay, then why did you call out to me at the station if you’re so shy?”

“Um, because how could I live with myself if I let it happen a second time?”

You laugh. “I guess I should take you on a date then, huh?”

A scandalized look comes across Kyle’s face, “No, I’d be taking you on a date.” His brows wrinkle, making lines on his forehead. It’s cute.

“Is this a competition? You haven’t lived here for like… since high school. A lot of stuff changed.” The words come out a little more smug than you mean for them to be.

“I’m determined.” He nods.

“Well, so am I.”

You cross your arms over your chest and he sits up.

“No, but seriously, I wanna take you out”.

“Fine.” You say. “But, next time I’ll take you out.”

“Wow, are things going so well we’ve already got a second date?”

“If you’re nice enough, then why not?”

“I guess I’ll be on my best behavior, then.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

“Next Thursday?” He says. There’s a hopeful little twinkle in his eye that coaxes another bit of laughter out of you.

“That works for me.”

“Perfect.” He stands up from his stool. “I gotta go. But, let’s figure out the details later. I’ll text you.”

“Okay.” You say, your smile quickly becomes bashful as the reality sets in the further he walks backwards away from you.

“See you.”

“Bye.”

Kyle turns around so that he’s walking forward. You watch as he gets further away. Just before he hits the door he turns to give you one last look and suddenly, you’re shy in the fact that he’d caught you staring. He smiles widely, waves and leans his weight onto the crash bar. Then, he steps over the threshold out of sight.

The giddiness of what had just occurred doesn’t leave you as you clean up and pack your things. Your chest feels as light as feathers the whole way back to your apartment.

#kyle gaz garrick x reader #kyle garrick x reader #kyle gaze garrick reader insert #GAZFEST #gaz x you #gaz x reader #kyle gaz garrick x you #cod reader insert #hai :3c

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sotwk · 9 months

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Legolas & Tauriel in the SotWK AU

I recently received a Anon Ask asking me about my opinion/views regarding Legolas and Tauriel's relationship, but apparently Tumblr is screwing up a few things for me (including eating up the notifications for some Mutuals that I've tagged in my posts... grrrr!) and that Anon Ask somehow disappeared.

Note: This is how closely I track and value the Asks/Requests I receive. My inbox is pretty full, but I remember them all. Pending Asks burn a hole in the back of my head until they're answered. I never delete Asks, unless they're duplicates or (god-forbid), hate mail.

Anyway! I am determined to answer that deleted/missing Anon Ask because I'm stubborn that way. ;) So before I forget, here are some headcanons about Legolas and Tauriel as their relationship exists in the SotWK Universe:

10 SotWK Facts About Legolas and Tauriel's Friendship:

A Short Answer to the Big Question: Is there a romance between them? In the SotWK AU? NO. Legolas and Tauriel's relationship is mutually and entirely platonic.

However, they have something better than the unrequited pining Legolas had for her in The Hobbit series. They are BEST FRIENDS. In SotWK, these two are even closer and more bonded than they were portrayed in the films.

Legolas and Tauriel are "birthmates": a concept and term I created that refers to a Silvan tradition where Elf children born in the same year are believed to share a special bond akin to that of blood siblings. Elven "birthmates" become best friends literally forever--because it starts from birth and remains endless for as long as their immortal lives endure.

Legolas and Tauriel are devoted to each other, but as best friends, which is love powerful enough that they would give their lives for each other. If anything, Legolas is fiercely protective of Tauriel, so he would be wary of any foreign admirers that may approach her (e.g. Kili).

I gave a brief glimpse into the childhood of Legolas and Tauriel in Chapter 4 of my young Legolas fanfic, "Greenleaf's Day Out".

When they were children, Tauriel was the smart, studious, rule-abiding, well-behaved child while Legolas was the restless, rambunctious, cannot-sit-still mischief maker. But despite their personality clashes and constant bickering, they were great friends, school mates, and playmates.

Tauriel once aspired to be a healer and in fact began training to be one when she reached adulthood. However, her plans changed when the Woodland Realm grew dark and dangerous from the filth of Dol Guldur. Her parents were among those killed in the early attacks of the spiders, and so Tauriel then joined the Mirkwood Spiderhunters before eventually becoming a Captain of the Guard.

Unlike in the movies, Tauriel had known the Elvenqueen, Legolas's mother very well since she was just a child, and so she didn't need to have her death explained; neither would she have ever dreamt of accusing Thranduil of being heartless or unloving. She was well-aware of the family's history and therefore very loyal to the Elvenking and his rule, and rightfully so.

In her youth, Tauriel had a giant not-so-secret crush on Legolas's older brother, Prince Arvellas (who was her teacher/mentor for a time), but she eventually outgrew it. She also had strong relationships with all the Thranduilion princes, who were very fond of her.

Tauriel's fate and actual role in the events of BotFA (SotWK version) actually remains undecided in my head! Does she fall in love with Kili? I honestly don't know, and I will have to cross that bridge when I get there with my Durins Live fanfics.

For more Thranduil/Mirkwood headcanons: SotWK HC Masterlist

Tolkien Headcanon tag list: @quickslvxrr @laneynoir @auttumnsayshi @achromaticerebus @tamryniel @friendofthefellowshipsnerdblog @blueberryrock @aduialel @glassgulls @ladyweaslette @klytemnestra13 @creativity-of-death @heilith @fizzyxcustard @absentmindeduniverse @lathalea @tamurilofrivendell @jordie-your-local-halfling @ladyk8tie @scyllas-revenge @asianbutnotjapanese @conversacomsmaug @lemonivall @ratsys @a-world-of-whimsy-5 @entishramblings @stormchaser819 @freshalmondpandadonut @beekieboo @jezzibee

Interested in SotWK content?

Introduction to SotWK

My Headcanon Masterlist

My Fanfiction Masterlist

#sotwk headcanon #thranduil #thranduil headcanon #tauriel #legolas #mirkwood #mirkwood elves #the elvenking #lord of the rings #tolkien #tolkien headcanons #tolkien elves #sotwk ocs #thranduilion #arvellas thranduilion

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phoenixrisesoncemore · 5 months

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Why Eru Didn’t Trip Gollum: Providence, Free Will, and Con-creation in The Lord of the Rings—Part 5 of 5

[Go back to PART 4: Examining the Threads]

Part 5: Re-weaving The Tapestry

Threads of Fate

Peter Jackson was not wrong to be concerned that the implication (true or not) that the Ring was destroyed by accident would not sit well with some portion of his viewers. We yearn for some sense or meaning in the apparent chaos and happenstance of life; that storytelling exists at all may be sufficient evidence of this. Yet it is also true that we shrink in terror at the idea that our actions are not our own, that fate has us in a deterministic grasp. It is such a deterministic force that Plato in his Timaeus called ananke or “material necessity,” a force innate to matter which even his demiurgic God could not overcome.

The characters in The Lord of the Rings seem interested in and aware of some form of mysterious order at work in the world. “Chance,” “luck,” and “happenstance” are repeatedly invoked in the text and often with a wink and a smile: whether it be in Bilbo’s “chance” encounter with the Ring just before the Necromancer is driven from Dol Guldur, “if chance it was” (250), Gandalf’s “chance” meeting with Thorin in Bree which leads to the events of The Hobbit, the “chance” encounter of the three traveling hobbits with Gildor’s elves in the Shire at just such a moment as to save the hobbits from the Black Riders, Tom Bombadil’s fortuitous and life-saving “chance” encounter with the same hobbits in the Old Forest, their “lucky” meeting with Strider in Bree, Boromir and Legolas’s “fortuitous” arrival to Rivendell at just the right time, or the “good fortune” of Gollum’s faulty footing. Yet, amid all this talk of fate and chance and luck we are given constant references to the fate-altering power of free will.

Choice absolutely does have a real effect on the world of Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Bilbo’s choice to extend pity to Gollum may “rule the fate of many” (59); Frodo realizes that he is “free to choose” (401) on the seat of Amon Hen; Faramir chooses not to follow the summons to Rivendell he hears in his dreams, leaving his brother Boromir to do so instead; most importantly, Frodo’s acts of pity enable the destruction of the Ring. This is no deterministic universe. In Middle-earth free will is absolutely real. So how can forces like “fate” and “choice” interact in a coherent way?

In her paper “Providence, Fate, and Chance: Boethian Philosophy in The Lord of the Rings” Kathleen E. Dubs recalls the words of Galadriel in Lothlorien after she has refused Frodo’s offer of the Ring:

They stood for a long while in silence. At length the Lady spoke again. ‘Let us return!’ she said. ‘In the morning you must depart, for now we have chosen, and the tides of fate are flowing.’” These ideas (free will and fate) are not incompatible if we view them in Boethian terms, for free will operates within the order of the universe, fate being merely the earthly manifestation of that order. And here we can see more clearly than before that free will sets that order in motion; Frodo’s and the Lady’s choices have determined the direction of that order, have set the tides flowing. It has not worked in the reverse direction. For ‘determinism’ to be applicable here, it would have to be defined anew. (40)

Perhaps we might say that in Middle-earth when you choose, you are set on a course to your “doom.” These threads of fate, chosen and redirected by acts of free will, are heading towards something, some destination, some “doom,” and if you’ve been paying attention at all, you’ve likely noticed “doom” appearing a lot among these last several thousand words. It is surely no coincidence that the geographical goal of the quest—the setting for the climax of the action of the plot—is a place called The Cracks of Doom inside a mountain called Mount Doom over a magma pool called The Fire of Doom. It is here that many choices shall finally join together to “produce the situation” that ultimately allows the threat of Sauron to be overcome.

All Rivers Lead to Doom

Perhaps we can also conclude that the climax of The Lord of the Rings is described in passive terms by Tolkien because we are meant to view it as the setting of the revelation and working-out of a long-developing pattern, the outcome of which was clear all along. Tolkien says he “did not ‘arrange’ the deliverance in this case: it again follows the logic of the story” (Letters 251) and that “following the logic of the plot, it was clearly inevitable, as an event” (252).

The actions that take place when Frodo, Sam, and Gollum finally meet their “Doom” are merely the last in a long row of dominoes: most of the necessary actions that would lead to the overthrow of Sauron are in the past, and most of the consequential choices have already been made. We could speculate about where that line of dominoes started. A reasonable place to point to is the moment when Bilbo puts his hand on the Ring “blindly in the dark” (Tolkien, Lord of the Rings 55). However, we could also push it back further to Gandalf’s meeting with Thorin in Bree, or even further still: there’s a lot of “setting up” that Sauron does to himself. The choice to partly incarnate himself in a destructible object made him far more vulnerable, especially as it is an object that engenders in people such overpowering lust for it that they’d do something as unwise as dancing on the edge of a precipice above boiling magma.

As we can see, an important part of this pattern is evil’s propensity towards creating the circumstances of its own self-destruction, a theme so important that Tolkien includes it in his Legendarium’s creation myth. In “Ainulindale,” the first chapter of The Silmarillion, the Ainur are asked to compose and perform a Great Music together, improvising on Themes supplied by Eru. This Music will later become a blueprint of sorts for the universe. When Melkor, Tolkien’s analog to the Christian Lucifer, attempts to disrupt the Music by overpowering the other Ainur with his own repetitive and loud improvisations, Eru admonishes him and warns him that for all he tries to disrupt the Music and make it solely his own, his Discord shall ultimately work against him: “For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined” (17).

Gandalf’s proverb “oft Evil will shall evil mar” (Tolkien, Lord of the Rings 594) expresses a reality that is part of the metaphysical foundation of Tolkien’s Secondary World. It is, therefore, metaphysically and thematically appropriate that Gollum’s lust for the Ring and glee at its return leads to his literal fall. The necessary conscious act of good intent—throwing the Ring in the Fire—was one no one was capable of. As Paul Kocher explains in his early piece of literary criticism of Tolkien’s work, Master of Middle-earth, “The irony of evil is consummated by its doing the good which good could not do” (45).

The sudden revelation of a salvific pattern—created via the weaving together of a fate derived from choices both good and bad—at the moment when all hope seems lost, represents perhaps the perfected mode of eucatastrophe. “Eucatastrophe” is a term Tolkien coined to describe “the happy turn” in fairy-stories (as he defines them), and it first appears in his essay, appropriately titled, On Fairy-stories. On Fairy-stories was written during the early years of Tolkien’s work on The Lord of the Rings and may be considered the conceptual background to the kind of narrative story-telling at work in his epic (Tolkien On Fairy-stories 15). In his description of eucatastrophe Tolkien says “[Eucatastrophe] depends on the whole story which is the setting of the turn, and yet it reflects a glory backwards” (76). This glory is the sudden realization, whether in the mind of the reader or the characters, that those events which had seemed to be chance or luck—especially bad luck—when experienced within the flow of the story, have in fact worked together for their deliverance.

In light of the above, I would argue that the “Eru tripping” interpretation contradicts both the dramatic intention of the scene and the very notion of this “backwards reflecting” eucatastrophe by adding a singular, direct, and unilateral cause for the Ring’s destruction in the very moment before this destruction happens—a cause which, because it is performed directly by Eru in the manner of a miracle, needs have no regard to the long line of causes which precedes it. This same undermining of dramatic intention applies to the interpretation that claims a curse tripped Gollum. Would a curse need a long line of causes behind it to function? In both cases, these other causes are superseded and become unnecessary. Additionally, the passive approach sounds much more like using Discord itself to bring the Music back into accord with the Theme. But if Gollum’s fall is passive in this sense—the end result of many, many choices woven together into fate—then what does Tolkien mean by his comments about the “Writer of the Story?”

Perpetual Production

Just because the cause of Gollum’s fall is passive, just because Eru didn’t “trip” Gollum, does not mean his fall is truly “accidental,” because Eä—the universe and the entire playing out of the events within in it—is conceived, in-text, as a Story or Drama[8]. In his essay “Over the Chasm of Fire,” Stanford Caldecott notes that Sam’s comments after the climax of The Lord of the Rings have a much more literal meaning than Sam may even realize: “‘What a tale we have been in, Mr Frodo, haven’t we? I wish I could hear it told!’ (…) Sam has bridged the gap, and seen their own lives as part of a great tale full of wonder and meaning, that stretches from the beginning of time to its mysterious end” (32).

When Tolkien uses the words “Writer of the Story” he makes it clear he is not referring to himself (though the humorous comparison may well be on his mind[9]). In this aspect I think the “tripped” interpretation is absolutely correct: “the Writer of the Story” is a reference to Eru. My disagreement comes in what it means for Eru to “take over” the story.

The world of Middle-earth is a pre-Christian one, far more like the fading pagan backdrop of the world in Beowulf than the Christian allegory of Narnia, but Tolkien was also quite devoutly Catholic, his faith a potent and foundational part of his worldview (though it should be noted that to say this is not the same as to say it was the entirety of his worldview or that he was always of one mind on matters of faith and theology). Just as the characters in The Lord of the Rings appear to be aware of some sense of fate at work in the world, many also attribute to that fate a kind of rational intention outside the bounds of mere determinism. As Gandalf says to Frodo regarding Bilbo’s discovery of the Ring: “Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker” (56). This guiding or shepherding—but not controlling—of people and events is Providence. Tolkien repeatedly refers to Providence when describing the events of the climax of The Lord of the Rings.

No account is here taken of ‘grace’ or the enhancement of our powers as instruments of Providence. Frodo was given ‘grace’: first to answer the call (…) and in his endurance of fear and suffering. But grace is not infinite, and for the most part seems in the Divine economy limited to what is sufficient for the accomplishment of the task appointed to one instrument in a pattern of circumstances and other instruments. (454)

Frodo had done what he could and spent himself completely (as an instrument of Providence) and had produced a situation in which the object of his quest could be achieved. (325)

What form Providence takes within Eä is less clear. What or who was “guided” such that Bilbo found the Ring? And in what way? Did Eru “cause” Gandalf to reach Bree at just such a time as to meet Thorin, setting in motion Gandalf’s hunt for a burglar? Or did he “cause” the same for Thorin? Did he make the floor of the goblin tunnels below the mountain crumble under Bilbo, landing him directly in the Ring’s path? Or did he guide Bilbo’s hand “blindly in the dark” until it brushed against cold metal? We cannot say with any certainty. These providential interventions are such that, if they do in fact exist, we do not or cannot see them. We cannot verify them, and in the moment they seem easily attributable to a variety of other causes or merely to “accident.” Unlike The Silmarillion’s explicitly stated and miraculous interventions—the awakening of the Elves or the Drowning of Numenor—we are never told what these providential interventions are or when they take place. We can only, like Gandalf, suspect them, in the way a particularly sharp movie goer might suspect a certain event or turn of phrase was an instance of foreshadowing: we recognize them as making “story-sense.” Thomas Hibbs describes the Eä we are presented with in The Lord of the Rings as a universe in which “individuals can have confidence that there is an order for them to discern and tasks for them to fulfill, since a providential world is one in which human history has the structure of a plot, an intelligible dramatic unity” (178).

Tolkien even wrote an in-universe debate about the very topic of the nature of Eru’s involvement (or lack thereof) in the events of Arda where he makes the nature of Eä as Drama explicit and diegetic. Called “Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth” and appearing in Morgoth’s Ring (the tenth volume of The History of Middle-earth series) this debate between the elven king Finrod and the wise woman Andreth centers around what Tolkien calls “Oinekarmë Eruo (The One’s perpetual production), which might be rendered by ‘God’s management of the Drama’” (329). While nothing in The Lord of the Rings approaches the explicit and diegetic nature of this debate, the early exchange between Gandalf and Frodo mentioned above—Gandalf’s voicing of his suspicion that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring—reproduces to some degree the same opposition of viewpoints. Gandalf ends with the statement “and that may be an encouraging thought,” to which Frodo replies “it is not” (56). Frodo shares Andreth’s cynicism and does not find in the idea the comfort that Gandalf does.[10]

Providence (for Tolkien) is not Miracle

As we have already discussed, some of Eru’s involvements in the Story—the awakening of Elves and Men and the Downfall of Numenor—appear to describe a mode of involvement that is singular, direct, and unilateral and which we might define as “miracle.” In his essay “Conflict and Convergence on Fundamental Matters in C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien,” Ralph Wood notes the attributes of Tolkien’s idea of miracles:

But for Tolkien as not for Lewis, miracles are unique acts of God; they are not special demonstrations of what God always does through the operations of nature. There is, in fact, an implicit Thomism at work in Tolkien’s understanding of miracles. As Brian Davies observes, Aquinas “thinks that miracles come about by virtue of the creative activity of God and nothing else. The whole point about them is that nothing subject to God’s providence, i.e. no cause other than God (no secondary cause), is at work in their occurrence” This is not to say that God does violence to the created order, or that he “intervenes” to disrupt its natural processes. On the contrary, St. Thomas insists that God is totally present to every existing thing, so that all events are always the effect of God’s will. Yet miracles are not worked through secondary causes, not even through their divine compression, as Lewis argues: they are brought about by God alone. (325)

This description of miracles as those events which work through no secondary causes is echoed by Purtill in J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality, and Religion:

By definition miracles are an intervention from outside of ordinary life that cannot be expected, counted on, or prepared for. Unless you take on the impossible task of writing a story from God’s point of view, there is no way in which you can show a miracle as an event following from the characters and circumstances of the story…. (154)

A “miracle” then is not an event that we could say “follows the logic of the plot,” as Tolkien describes the events of the climax of The Lord of the Rings. For Tolkien, miracles are fundamentally unlike the actions of Providence, which holds free choice among rational creatures as sacrosanct and seems to work within Eä almost as an undetectable force of nature. Christin Ivey uses the image of an “underlying current” to describe this force:

With Providence’s active involvement in guiding Frodo’s free will, Tolkien presents Providence not as stoic ‘clock-work God’ but as an underlying current, flowing together the free will choices that determine the earthy derived plan of fate; ultimately leading into compliance with the thematically cohesive divine design. Helen Lasseter concludes: ‘While guiding all events and actions to an ultimate good, Providence never denies creatures their freedom… [Tolkien] shows that the person is integral to a providential world order; yet the person’s inherent limitations, exposed through personal failure and defeat, reveal the constant presence of a higher and greater authority within the world.’ (196)

For Eru to use a miracle rather than the actions of providence it must be necessary to use a miracle rather than the actions of providence. If Gollum was so near to falling, why not let it be that he fell? What does Eru tripping Gollum say that isn’t better said by allowing Gollum’s own glee to destroy the Ring? Gollum’s madness and lust is a better cause dramatically, thematically, and theologically. And if it were as simple as tripping someone into the Fire, why didn’t Eru do so with Sauron just after he made the Ring? There is no reason for it to happen now rather than then. Alternatively, he could have torn the Ring off Frodo’s finger. He could have prevented Sauron’s fall into evil entirely. Or he could have prevented Melkor from singing at the very start, ending evil before it began. But he doesn’t.

The events in the Cracks of Doom constitute a providential eucatastrophe, not a miraculous deus ex machina. Eru does not “enter” the story to intervene at the last moment—Eru has been present all along. This is consonant with what we know of how Eru deals with concentrated incarnate evils in the world. Eru does not often jump in with miracles, and when he does it is never to stop atrocities from happening. The destruction of Numenor, for example, does not kill Sauron and does not prevent all the harm the Numenoreans have already done.[11] Eru leaves the stopping of evil to others (and to evil itself).

Providence is not a “change of plan.” Providence is the plan. It is not Eru working alone. It is not “miracle.” Eru may not have tripped Gollum, but he gave Gollum, Frodo, Sam and every other rational being opportunities to make choices which, in concert, produced a situation that led to the Ring’s destruction.

Rending the Web of Story

There is one last important point. The universe of Tolkien’s Legendarium is a teleological one. Providence is leading towards… something, some meaningful end, though those who have never been outside of it are at an epistemological disadvantage when it comes to puzzling out what that end is. While Tolkien never completely formulated an entire eschatology for his Legendarium, he did note one important feature of what would come “after” Eä: a Second Music in which the Children of Eru (Elves and Men) would join the Ainur in song.

This Music, like the first, is not merely ornamental, or a work in and of and for itself. Like the First Music it is a pattern, a blueprint of things to come, things that will be made Real, and it is a work that humanity will participate in. This hopeful view of eternity—one that is echoed in Tolkien’s allegorical short story “Leaf by Niggle” when the protagonist sees his own creation given material reality after his death—is one that Tolkien appeared (at least at times) to believe was active in the real world. As Tolkien says at the end of On Fairy-stories: “All tales may come true…” (79).

Most importantly, however, is this: this communal art making shared among all the human beings in the world is not something that happens only at The End. The Children of Eru are fundamentally sub-creative beings, art-makers, who are made precisely in order to express the infinite variety of Eru’s infinite Being through their own unique creations. These creations are not limited to what we would traditionally call “art works.” As scriptless actors in the Drama, the very choices of the Children of Eru are their art, their sub-creations, and that makes their very choices infinitely important. In The Flame Imperishable, Jonathan McIntosh thoroughly situates the metaphysical underpinnings of Tolkien’s Secondary World in the metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas, including the notion that all human action represents a kind of shared creative activity with the Creator:

In our acts of sub-creation, God has chosen to create through us, as it were, not in the sense that we are made the intermediate agents or instruments of his creation, but in the sense of our sub-creative activity becoming the locus at which God carries on or continues his own work of creation. (…) Human praxis, as it were, is a kind of human poesis, human doing a form of human making, inasmuch as every human action seeks to bring about an alternative state of affairs, and therefore to realize a “secondary world” or reality that is alternative to the one currently realized. (181)

These choices, all adding up to join together as the threads of fate—and more importantly these choices made in fellowship—reflect the Music as it was meant to be: a pluralistic effort of infinite variety. The pity shown to Gollum, for instance, the salvific force which, while not functioning alone, is given special attention in Tolkien’s commentary, is not just pity, but many acts of pity by many different players: pity in fellowship.

So who was responsible for the Ring’s destruction?

In a very real sense, they all were. Everyone whose choices interlocked in order to produce the circumstances at work at the Cracks of Doom, even Sauron, even the Ring, itself, is responsible, to varying degrees, for the Ring’s destruction. It may not be out of line to include in this group even every rational being who had ever lived up to that point. Because that is how The Music, the blueprint of Providence, is meant to work.

The stories of Tolkien’s Legendarium are conceived as a kind of mythological history of our own world. Tolkien, in fact, introduces himself to us in the prologue to The Lord of the Rings not as author, but as translator of long lost documents recording the events of pre-history. Tolkien wants us to know that we are living in Eä in an Age long after the fall of Sauron and the fading of the Elves, that we are reading a story about a world that is itself a story—and that story happens to be our own. It’s story all the way down. Which means our choices are inviolable, too; Frodo’s agency is also our agency. The web of story is torn asunder, and suddenly we, like hobbits, are forces that shape the universe. It is our choice-making—our art-making!—that expresses the infinite variety of God just as much as Frodo’s does.

If we allow ourselves to step into Tolkien’s Secondary World we may stop for a moment and take him seriously: one day we will sing the Second Music, but even here and even now we are all—already—con-creators with The One.

And that (may be) an encouraging thought.

Notes in Part 5

8. It should be noted that my intention here is not to explore the moral and ethical questions present in this interpretation of divine beings and their moral duty, or lack thereof, to intervene in the world for the sake of Good, including whether or not this is consonant with the operations of a loving creator, or produces a satisfying or comforting theology. Whether such a “way of things” is Good is its own worthy question (and has been debated for millennia). It may, however, also be a question for which there is no truly satisfying answer.

9. Tolkien is paralleling himself with the Other Writer when he says that he did not “arrange” the action. Perhaps he’s being cheeky: the Other Writer didn’t “arrange” the action either: it “follows the logic of the Other Writer’s story.”

10. In their debate Andreth is of the mind that Eru, if he exists, has little to do with his Children, since Men have no encounters with him or with his regents (the Valar) as the Elves claim they do. Finrod, on the other hand, argues not only for his continual presence but for the goodness of his plans and intentions, a perspective which Andreth, a mortal woman “doomed to die” points out is molded by Finrod’s privileged position as an immortal Elf. It is tempting to see Tolkien in this debate providing a fictional outlet for his own lifelong struggle with the reality of evil and death and the question of how this reality can coexist with a benevolent Creator—that is, his struggle with the Problem of Evil. One wonders if Tolkien is both Finrod and Andreth in this instance, just as one wonders if he is both Gandalf and Frodo.

11. Eru imposes to stop the armada not because they were evil, but because allowing Men access to Valinor was a catastrophic failure of their nature and future purpose.

Works Cited is listed in [PART 1]

#Why Eru Didn't Trip Gollum #tolkien #lord of the rings #the silmarillion #Con-creation #tolkien metaphysics #eucatastrophe #athrabeth finrod ah andreth #providence #free will #miracle #Eru #Gollum #Frodo

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anneangel · 5 months

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Hobbit???

Have you ever thought about how The Hobbit not only introduced Tolkien's world to the literary universe, since it was the first to be released, but also how from it the Hobbits were created as a creature concept? It's not that they were "neglected in the history" of that world, it's that they didn't exist in Tolkien's plans for that universe. That is, until Bilbo infiltrated Tolkien's mind disguised as the creature protagonist of bedtime stories.

And that Gandalf was just a mere wizard, no an Maiar/Istari or anything like that, so much so that the name Gandalf was actually the name of the dwarve who would later be called Thorin (Gandalf's name in the drafts was Bladorthin, something that meant "gray" + other thing. While Gandalf was a name coming from Norse and meant something like "elf with a staff", why would he give a name like that to a dwarve? That's the question. He must have realized the meaning and changed his mind, making the name of all the Dwarves derive from the Edda/Old Norse). And transforming Gandalf into the gray wizard, who had nothing to do with a dwarve.

Or even if the Ring was just a magical ring that made the user invisible, without there being anything evil about it. And that the White Council and the Necromancer was just a convenient excuse for the wizard to leave the company and for the Dwarves and Hobbit to stop depending on him to solve everything. And that's why the plot doesn't follow Gandalf to Dol Guldur, because there was no plot! At least, not YET.

And only after others asked and insisted that Tolkien write "more Hobbit stories", and even after he denied the idea for a while claiming that The Hobbit was a book without a sequel and that "there was nothing left to talk about Hobbits". But then his prototype of The Silmarillion was denied and…

Then Tolkien changed his mind, because then he decided there was more about Hobbits to tell.

So Tolkien deliberated with himself and outlined that the Ring would be the plot of the new narrative. Turning it into a target (MacGuffin) and evil object to be destroyed. To the point where had to EDIT the entire "Riddles in the Dark" chapter of The Hobbit just so that his new LotR story would be more believable (since in the 1937 edition Gollum intended to give the Ring to Bilbo, which wouldn't make sense with the plot of LotR, forcing Tolkien to edit and direct the plot towards Gollum being sneakier, willing to kill Bilbo if he could. Apart from the fact that, for everyone who remembered or had the first edition, Tolkien invented something like "forget that, that was Bilbo's lie, Gollum would never give him the Ring"). And then, in LotR, he had to expand Gollum's story.

And then Tolkien had to outline the entire Second Era (and the forging the rings) and outline the Third Age from there. Inventing Sauron, making him the Necromancer of The Hobbit, associate him with the Ring, and associate him with Melkor/Morgoth (from the first era).

It is always surprising when I remember that The Hobbit was just a story for Tolkien's children, which at the time he never understood why he set the story of little hobbit Bilbo to the same universe of his beloved narratives of "ancient tales" (who were only outlined in a "First Era", which ended when "Melkor's banned in the Void").

This is why The Hobbit clearly establishes that there are different types of elven lineage. And mentions Gondolin. Because Tolkien had his First Era clearly outlined as an idea. But nothing afterwards!

So basically, without The Hobbit there would only be the First Age. The second and third appeared after the book (The Hobbit) became famous enough to call for a sequel, and Tolkien had to turn that sequel (LotR) into the background of everything, and of all Eras, making everything work together and in harmony, in a coherent way.

And that's why LotR seems so exhaustive and long, like a "nostalgic" that needs to mention facts from previous eras, attach The Hobbit, and outline the third era. And more, it also had to include appendices to consolidate matters not addressed or that required further clarification, which did not arise throughout the plot.

In the end, the book that began as a bedtime story (The Hobbit) turned into a spark of ideas that linked the events of the first, second, and third Eras.

It is significant that Tolkien, in an attempt to attach the events of The Hobbit to the events of the "whole" world of Old Tales, ended up creating his "mythological whole" as we know it today. In the end, it was the release of The Hobbit that brought light to everything, from LotR (which didn't exist without The Hobbit), as much as it highlighted The Silmarillion (which would just be imprecise ideas from a First Age, in drafts, that without The Hobbit there would be no continuity. Well, drafts, still is, given that Tolkien never released it in his lifetime). But do you understand my?

The hobbit was the essential link between The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings.

I already love The Hobbit, but even if I didn't like it, I'd have to respect it for the outpouring of ideas it unleashed.

#the hobbit #bilbo baggins #hobbits #LotR #lord of the rings #jrr tolkien #tolkien books #bilbo my beloved

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user16121215 · 20 hours

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Guilty Wank - DoL

With all my DoL stories, I will be changing school to university, and the orphanage will just be an apartment complex with Bailey being your landlord instead of caretaker.

All characters in this one have he/him pronouns and male genitalia.

Reader characteristics not specified

TW - I mean, you read the title what do you expect?

Bailey The Landlord:

God fucking damnit how dare you try that shit again! It's not the first time you'd come into his office in the early hours of the morning asking for an extension on your rent. He couldn't tell if you were faking your innocence as part of an act to get him to lower his guard or if you really were that fucking naïve. whatever it was, it was really pissing him off. Especially that little sway of your hips as you left, and just how well your outfit clung to you showing off your body just right. Yeah.. it was on purpose he decided, and he wasn't going to let you get the better of him. He wouldn't succumb to your little tricks. At least not sober anyway.. Bailey wasn't one to lose himself under the influence but it had been a long and tiresome day, and after a few shots of whiskey he found himself pulling his cock out with thoughts of you on his mind.

Darryl:

God he felt just awful about the thoughts invading his mind. He wanted to stop, he really did, but the relief that came from his groin after releasing it told him he was much too far gone now. Darryl thought he'd never feel this way given his experiences and that the feelings he had for you were only temporary, but seeing you all dressed up in your work gear had him crumbling. He knew you had to wear what you did to make a living in this line of work but part of him hoped you wore what you did just for him. He finished up rather quickly once his mind turned to how you would look at him when he was having trouble. Full of care and sympathy he'd never seen from anyone in this hellhole of a town. Ironic that the one person who didn't seem to want to cause him any harm was the one he wanted to hurt him the most.

Eden The Hunter

Eden didn't really jack off anymore after he kidnapped/ found you, and if he did, he certainly didn't feel guilty about it. You were his after all. But there was one memory he had of you that made his whole body shiver whenever it popped into his mind.

He'd found you one day lying almost cold out in the woods, your clothes had all been torn up and you were in such a horrendous state, unable to move or even speak.

He loved it.

He loved the vulnerability, how pathetic you looked and how you were at his complete mercy. It took him months to nurse you back to full health and you were never quite the same after.

You never told him what happened to you, just saying it was one of the worst experiences you've ever had to live through, and that is saying something. That's where the guilt came in. He loved you so much that it hurt him, and knowing that you had suffered at the mercy of this city set him ablaze, but deep down, a horrid little part of him couldn't deny how much he enjoyed it and almost hoped it would happen again.

Kylar The Loner

On some level he knew he was in the wrong but on the other he couldn't bring himself to care enough to stop. With one hand grasped around his cock, your panties providing a delightful friction, and the other holding your sheets to his nose, Kylar was lost to the world and could only focus on how perfect you'd look on his cock instead of your used underwear.

Sydney The Faithful

Darn you. Hand holding? In public!? And you did it so casually too. Like you had no shame, unlike him who refused to even acknowledge the growing strain between his legs. He was grateful the library was so quiet and no one was around to hear his soft moans and whimpers every time he moved and readjusted his increasingly tight pants. Every so often he'd rock back and forth to provide some relief but evidently that only made it worse given how good it felt. Poor Sydney just has to deal with it trying to think of anything else besides how soft your hands felt and how perfectly they fit into his own… hopefully class won't start anytime soon and he can calm himself down before he has to go anywhere..

Whitney The Bully

Whitney didn't feel guilty for anything so he sure as shit won't feel guilty when you come to mind as he's taking care of himself.

No it's not guilt he feels when he thinks of how perfect your face scrunches up at his rude comments, or how pathetic you look groveling at his heels.

It's not guilt he feels when he thinks of how cute you look standing under his umbrella shivering from the cold rain that sticks to your clothes.

It's not guilt he feels when he thinks how nice it would be to see you again.

It's not guilt.. but he does feel something.. he just doesn't know what it is.

The wank session comes to a stop as he realizes he's not in the mood anymore and he just lays there thinking of you. That makes him angry. Angry at you for having interrupted his personal time and leaving him frustrated. A crime that he will not allow to go unpunished. Next time he sees you he's going to make you suffer and take out all his pent up frustration.

#dol x reader #degrees of lewdity #bailey x reader #eden the hunter x reader #kylar the loner x reader #whitney the bully x reader #sydney the faithful x reader #darryl x reader

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cadaverdolls · 4 months

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Plushie gun time!!!

This person is who got me interested in Kylar. I chose to do Gore, an oc of @yogurtpop

Oc or pc it’s all fair game to be hit with a plushie gun! As long it’s the DOL universe.

Gore covers up almost his entire body. Long bangs, face mask, gloves, hoodie, and sweat pants. I decided that to take some cute hair clips and pin that hair up so I could see that little face!

Version with and without clips.

I chose Gore because he has the same little top hair shape that I like giving my OCs. I just can’t resist the heart shape. It’s alway fun making shapes with the top hair piece! Ahoga? Apogee? I can’t remember the name of it. I’ll look it up later!

Now!

☁️ Poof! ☁️

Reason why there is no shoes? I’m be honest I started this one like a week ago and kept dropping it because I got angry. Why angry? I couldn’t get the teeth right for the life of me. So in the end the shoes never got added. Took away the shoe privileges 😤

Now for the doll break down!!

Hair won’t be an issue but the face embroidery will be. Hair can be just fabric (front hair would be separate piece from the face) using medium to long fur fabric, if you want the ability to pin the hair then doll hair would be better (unfortunately doll hair is usually very straight so it need styling to give it some fluffy feel). The scars and asymmetrical mouth would pose a problem. Too much embroidery can cause the face to become stiff. Not an issue if you don’t mind that but it can be an issue if you want a squish-able face. Second issue with it, companies from what I’ve seen want the mouth and eyes to be mostly symmetrical. Different colored eyes or the mouth being a smirk aren’t a huge deal but this is a different case. For something like this you’d probably need to ask a couple different makers. Unless you’re luck and find someone who can do this on your first look.

Body embroidery to give Gore the rest of his scars is possible but the scars would probably need to be simplified. Embroidered over seems is something I’m unsure of so you’d have to limit it to basically front and back (no wrap around).

Drawing wise I gave the corners of the mouth a slight up turn. Not an all out smile. Wanted him to seem inconspicuous? Like he large muscle and covered head to toe. That should be intimidating right? But I feel like it more makes him blend in. Idk if blend in is the right word. You’d turn around and he’d suddenly just be there. That’s the vibe a get. Light footed?

I need to improve with deep scars and wounds. Maybe I’ll try picking more PCs and OCs with scars to practice?

#plushie gun

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echo-bleu · 9 months

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I want to hear more about your autistic Faramir WIP.

Thank you!

So it's in the same series as Painted Stars, although it will stand on its own just fine. I have two one-shots that I've actually started on (plus the Queer things in Dol Amroth one, and most of my canon verse Faramir things are in this universe actually). It's essentially canon verse, but Faramir is autistic, and also he doesn't physically recover fully from his arrow wound.

The first is a closer look at Faramir's recovery in the Houses of Healing, where somewhat more happens than just his falling in love with Éowyn. Among other things, it develops his friendship with my OC Nîlohil, who is a healer and Faramir's best friend and was Boromir's boyfriend. There's also Imahil and Aragorn until they leave for the Morannon, the rest of the Dol Amroth family at various points, Merry of course, Beregond, and a few more OCs.

The second takes place a little later, shortly after Faramir and Éowyn's wedding. Éowyn just moved full-time to Minas Tirith, and learns more about her new husband, including some of his quirks. Here's a snippet (this is set at some Minas Tirith function):

“Well, you’re his wife now, so I can let you in on his little secret.” “Whatever do you mean?” Erchirion’s gaze sweeps the room, and he nods discreetly in a completely different direction. “Watch my father.” Éowyn shifts around to Erchirion’s side to look, trying not to be too obvious. Prince Imrahil is animatedly explaining something to a small court of entranced ladies, punctuated by sweeping gestures and blinding smiles. He’s the consummate charmer, effortlessly holding his audience’s attention. He seems to feel Éowyn’s eyes on him, and he meets her gaze briefly, his smile widening. Then he looks away again to answer and question, and Éowyn has little doubt that every single one of the noble ladies feels like they hold his entire attention. “Now observe Faramir,” Erchirion says in her ear. Éowyn obeys, still bemused. A bit of a crowd has gathered around her husband as well, but she can still see him clearly from her vantage point. He has that smile on his face that Éowyn knows for his court smile: nothing like the unrestrained, crooked grin he reserves for her. And there – she can see it, now. His gestures are less expensive than his uncle’s, probably in part because he has to compensate for his weaker right arm, but their manners are eerily similar. The way his fingers twirl at a turn of phrase, the crinkle of his eyes when he crosses his audience’s gazes, the tilt of his head to show he’s listening intently – it’s all Imrahil. And sure enough, Faramir is positioned just so he can keep his uncle in his line of sight. “He’s emulating the Prince,” Éowyn says in wonder.

(note: Erchirion is also autistic, but for the most part doesn't try to mask it. He's not actually revealing a secret here, as Faramir isn't trying to keep anything from Éowyn, she just hasn't had a chance to see it before.)

#echo's fanfiction #eowyn #faramir #farawyn #erchirion of dol amroth #imrahil of dol amroth #ask game #lotr #lotr fic #tolkien

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findroleplay · 1 year

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Hihiiii!! You can call me sob, im 19, I use she/her and they/them pronouns! Either of them are fine with me! Ive got years of roleplay experience and im looking for new partners! But the kind of partner im looking for is someone who can handle mature themes (angst, smut, ect)

I absolutely love love love creating characters/reusing the same characters but ‘changing’ them to fit into a roleplay plot! I love to brainstorm plot ideas with my partners, but more than anything i like to be friends and getting to know my partners before jumping into an rp! That way we can make jokes, share hcs of characters, vent to one another if needed, ask questions, and be friends outside of rp!

Some rules before you get any ideas

*Please be 18+ as ill most likely have mature themes!

*Please let me know your triggers/if anything makes you uncomfortable!

*Be lgbt friendly, dont be racist, homophobic, ect

*I only do double ups!

*I only do fandom-based rps, sorry!

*please dont blow my phone up if i can’t respond right away!

*Dont make your character TOO self centered. Having plot points where everyones affected by your oc at times is fine! But dont make the rp about nothing about your oc and their love interest and give me the scraps for my oc and their interest! If this happens ill give you the same kind of response but vise versa

*please have a oc that ties into the fandom, even if its just a few small details!

Fandoms im currently interested in (most to least)

*Degrees of Lewdity (dol) (game)

*Stardew Valley (game)

*One piece

*Soul eater

*Demon slayer

*Tf2 (game)

*Steven universe

*Mob Phsycho

*Osomatsu-san

*Hxh

I love to make oc x cc jokes, im gonna make jokes about balls or something and send funny images teehee.

Like this post, and ill reach out to you! <33

#roleplay #rp #oc rp #hxh rp #degrees of lewdity rp #dol rp #stardew valley rp #one piece rp #soul eater rp #demon slayer rp #tf2 rp #Steven Universe rp #mob phsycho rp #osomatsu-chan rp

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sunnyrosewritesstuff · 7 months

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Hobbit Teasers and Future Works

FUTURE WIPS

Beneath the Oak Tree

Summary: Bilbo found Thorin when they were both quite young beneath an oak tree in the Shire, and it became a promise to meet there every year. One year, Thorin confesses that he won't make his next appointment because he was going off to war. However, when he's gone for the next five years, Bilbo takes matters into his own hands and goes off to find his dwarf.

Teasers: Teaser 1

Bonded

Summary: The Naming Ceremony where a hobbit bonds with his dragon for the first time is supposed to be a blessing, Bilbo’s came as more of a curse when he was chosen as the Alpha-Bond. Bilbo and Smaug have never gotten along, but after a Naming Ceremony goes wrong and Smaug is fleeing the Shire, Bilbo knows he will stop at nothing until he sees their Alpha safely home.

Teasers: Teaser 1

Chasing Dragons and Bedding Burglars

Summary: When Thorin Oakenshield transferred to Ered Luin PD, there was really only one thing on his mind: finally catch the monster that destroyed his family. However, he quickly learns Ered Luin lives under the rule of the local mafia and figures the only way to catch Smaug is to pretend to be a dirty cop and make nice with the supposed crime boss known only as “The Burglar”.

Teasers: (I have changed Thorin and Bilbo's positions since these teasers, but they still somewhat apply.) Birthday Plot Bunnies | Fictober | January Roulette

From the Pieces of Your Shattered Memories

Summary: Bilbo was just checking on a coma patient that he might have a teensy little crush on. Now, he’s on the run with said man who can’t even remember who he is as they escape assassins and potentially uncover a plot that will destroy Erebor.

Teasers: Modern May | Birthday Plot Bunnies

I Married an Assassin

Summary: Twelve years ago, Bilbo fell for a charming man who saved his life in his university library. While he loves his husband and their son, he finds his life to be a bit…dull. So when he comes across the adventure of a lifetime, he has to take it! Only this particular adventure has the potential to crash his life around him considering his boring accountant husband might actually be an assassin who’s been doing his best to keep him out of the eyes of a terrorist organization due to a clue left behind by his mother.

Teasers: Modern May

Oakenshield's Fourteen

Summary: After being framed and imprisoned for embezzlement, Thorin is out for revenge. He's going to need a crew if he's going to pull off this heist though, and he's not so sure about Gandalf's fourteenth man.

Teasers: Teaser 1

BIRTHDAY PLOT BUNNIES

2020

Journey to You- Bilbo made his peace with returning back to the Shire, but starts to become bored and finds himself longing for Thorin. (Post-BOFTA AU)

A Hobbit's Tale: Reclaiming One's Home- Prince Bilbo is willing to do whatever it takes to reclaim the Shire, even team up with a band of dwarven blacksmiths disguised as warriors. (Role Reversal AU)

Second Chance at a Happy Ending- Bilbo and Thorin have no business existing in the same universe as each other, and yet they dream of each other from a time long ago. (Reincarnation AU)

T'was Wit That Slew the Dragon- Bilbo's dream to be a screenwriter quickly changes into a nightmare when they land on Dol Guldur and a handful of cannibalistic locals sacrifice him to a red dragon. (King Kong AU)

2021

Heart of the Mountain- What if Thror wasn’t mad like everyone thought? What if the Arkenstone was truly at fault? Questions Bilbo and Thorin will have to answer together after Bilbo is swallowed by the gem. (Evil Arkenstone AU)

One Last Adventure- When a new group of dwarves appear on his doorstep for his services at the suggestion of their king, Bilbo hopes against hope that means Thorin is out there waiting for him. (Canon Compliant)

The Hoardless Dragon- Thorin has been waiting his whole life for something interesting to happen in Erebor, and when Tharkun arrives with a “dragon expert” to warn of Smaug’s survival he thinks he may have gotten his wish. (Dragon Bilbo AU)

For the Love of My Husband- Bilbo is a thief and a conman who has tricked Thorin, Crown Prince of Erebor, to marry him as an escape from a tight spot. (Thief Bilbo)

2022

Fighting for a Dragon's Wish- Bilbo finds himself traversing the galaxy in search of the Silmarils which may have the power to restore the Arkenstone, and along the way learn that he actually has more in common with the Ereborians than he realizes. (Dragonball Z AU)

Together in Erebor- The Fall of Erebor was a tragic tale where all of the line of Durin was wiped out by Azog the Defiler, save for the young Princess Dis...and the rumors of Prince Thorin surviving as well. (Anastasia AU)

Erebor's Monster- Bilbo is investigating ‘Erebor’s Monster’ in secret trying to discovery the nature of all the mysterious disappearances the town has suffered. (Loch Ness AU)

Cheat Code- Fiddling with one of Frodo’s games one night, Bilbo found that every night at 2:17am he is sucked into the video game world of: Quest for Erebor. (Video Game AU)

Another Chance to Fly- Bilbo and Thorin had a chance to show the world of figure skating how a hobbit and dwarf can be the greatest, when a tragic accident lost them a world title and subsequently their careers. (Ice Skating AU)

2023

Oakenshield: Prince or Thief?- There are actually two beings claiming to be ‘Oakenshield’, and then there’s the small problem of them not being aware of the other until Bilbo comes across a Company of dwarves in Mirkwood. (Robin Hood AU)

To Spoon Feed You Comfort- Bilbo was already displeased by his unexpected house guests but when the newest arrival used his Love Spoon to eat from…well none could blame the hobbit for fainting if they knew the circumstances. (Accidental Marriage)

#sunny's wips #teasers #my masterlist #the hobbit #bagginshield

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stormyoceans · 2 months

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hi Monica! is it okay to ask for an little more (maybe indepth) explaining on how puentalay and tesstun switch back to the og universes? So tun dreamt of place and the location ended up been in his film site the next day. So did puen dream too or was their respective switch happen due to tun. And we saw that talay say he dreamt of a place as soon as he wake up but it wasn't some place near by or easy to to reach. Does this have some symbolism or meaning and do u think tess also dreamed the same night too. So did the switch happen cuz of talay and tun

hello, dear anon!!!!

of course that’s okay!!!! as a general rule, please feel free to ask me anything, im always up to help if i can or even just to chat a little!!! tho it might take me a while to reply, as you can see ;;;;;;;

before getting into this, however, i think i should point out that the show doesn't really give a full in depth explanation on how the switching back to the original universe works (probably because the novel itself does not give much of an explanation either), and while i do think the show tried to make sense of it by giving us a few more hints to help us connect the dots (which is one of the many reasons why i think the show is far more superior than the novel btw), the truth is that a lot of it is still up to interpretation. so what i can do is give you my own personal view on the matter, which doesn't necessarily mean it's the right one. im aware i tend to read too much into things and that maybe i've come up with an explanation that it's more complicated than it actually is, but im still gonna try to illustrate it as best as i can and let you decide if it works or not!!!!!

SO. right from episode 1, dol and joob introduce us to the two main rules that are known about traveling back to your universe, which are:

"to return to the old universe, you must first find someone who has traveled between universes like us. there will be something of that person that matches you. once you find that person, you will dream.”

“it will be a place. when you dream about a place, you must go there as soon as you wake up. there's a chance for you to return home."

if we go by these, things seem to be fairly straightforward: talay met puen, he eventually dreamed about the secret island, he went there, he switched back; tun met tess, he eventually dreamed about the pool where they were filming a movie in, he went there, he switched back. simple, right?

however, the more you look at it, the more i think it’s natural to come up with a whole lot of questions like if you dream after you find your portkey, why didn't puen and talay dream right away? did they have to reach a certain level of connection to 'unlock' the ability of being each other's portkey? but then what caused talay and tun to finally dream? did puen and tess dream too? and if talay/puen and tess/tun are portkeys, why didn’t they switch together?

as i said before, all these questions remain unanswered in the novel, but the show adds a layer to the universal travelling that i personally think it helps explain a lot. in episode 6, joob says

"i do believe universal traveling happens for a reason. maybe it's a lesson for us to learn something we're missing."

this idea is brought up again by talay at the end of episode 12, when during his voice over he says

"p'joobjang once told us we travel between universes to learn something. for me, i learned about love."

if we look at universal traveling under this point of view, i think a lot of things start to make more sense, and we can also answer a few of the questions we previously had. after you die, you travel between universes because you need to learn a lesson. for puen, it was about accepting himself and the life he was given. for talay, it was about love. only once you've learned your lesson you're gonna switch back. in this scenario, your portkey isn't what 'unlocks' your ability to go home, but rather it's the person that can help you learn said lesson. and if we look at it this way, puen and talay WANTING and CHOOSING to be each other's portkeys gets a whole new meaning too: puen loves talay, talay accepts puen for who he really is, and by wanting and choosing each other they also accept the lesson they were supposed to learn

here's when things get a little bit messy (and i probably read too much into things ;;;;;;). so you have to learn a lesson. but to go back to your original universe we know you also have to dream about a place and go there. so you learn your lesson, and once you do you finally dream about a place, you go there, you switch back. following these rules, it indeed seems like the switch has been due to talay and tun since they're the ones who dreamed, even if you don't know what tun's lesson was. i definitely think this is perfectly reasonable, and we could stop here and call it a day, however to me it's not so simple, mainly for two reasons: 1) the switch between puen and tun literally happens at the peak of puen's character development, once he's fully learned his lesson and shows it by finally being ready to tell talay his name, so it's hard for me to see it as a simple coincidence, and 2) maybe it's gonna sound harsh, but to simply put it, this is not tun's (and tess') story, it's puen's (and talay's), so on a narrative point of view it's just weird to have someone else be responsible for the switch

so here's what i think (hopefully i can explain it in a way that make sense ;;;;;;): usually, when you're taught a lesson, you will also have to take a test to show that you've really learned it. puen's test is to face his worst nightmare: being back in his original universe with no one waiting for him. talay's test is to be willing to give up everything for love: losing time and energy by having to wait day after day for the tide to get lower. and while i do think dreaming and going to a certain place is necessary to switch back after learning your lesson, the reason i think puen didn't dream is because that would have defeated the point of his test (if he had dreamed he would have known he was gonna go back and he could have prepared himself for it), so tun dreamed (and went to the designated place) for him

im aware it's a reach, but it makes sense to me, especially because of the place tun dreamed of: a pool. this is already long as hell so im not gonna into it as much as i could, but let's just say that in vice versa water is a recurring theme that carries a lot of different meanings. one of those is that it represents puen and talay's relationship as a whole (in episode 7, the tide at the secret island is low because they haven't cleared up their feelings for each other yet; in episode 9, the tide is getting higher because they confessed to each other but there are still things left unsaid; in episode 11, the tide is at its highest point because puen and talay fully love each other with no secrets left between them [and talay has to dive in the ocean, in their love, to get to the secret island and be able to go back]). but water also represents talay and puen separately, with natural bodies of water being related to talay and artificial man-made ones (like a swimming pool) to puen

ANYWAY. there are still some holes in this theory and there's so much more that i could say about it, especially about the water symbolism and how i personally think 'the Universe' is a sort of sentient force in vice versa, but we would be here for ages so im just gonna shut up. if you, anon, or anyone else, even got to this point after reading though this mess you honestly deserve a prize ;;;;;; (i can offer cookies and all my love?)

but yeah, i hope this was at least interesting, if not coherent, and i'll let you decide if this is a somewhat reasonable explanation that could actually make sense!!!!!!

#I REALLY SHOULD HAVE REREAD THIS BEFORE POSTING IT AND YET. I DID NOT #hope it still makes sense ;;;;;;#and i do hope you're still around to see this anon!!!!!#even if it is. what it is ;;;;;;#LOOK I KNOW IM READING TOO MUCH INTO THINGS AND COMPLICATING SOMETHING THAT IT'S PROBABLY WAY MORE SIMPLE #OR THAT COULD JUST BE EXPLAINED WITH 'THERE ARE PLOT HOLES IN THE SHOW' BUT IT MAKES SENSE TO ME OKAY #the orderlies coming to get me like sure grandma let's get you to your padded room #anyway sorry this took me so long and i hope you're having a wonderful day anon!!!!! 💜#vice versa #long post #m: txt

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