Garnet's Drabbles - Updated 09/27/2015 - (Various Fandoms)

[Spoo]

WHELP. I suppose it was only a matter of time before our feels took over and forced our creative juices to flow in the direction of writing. Now that you've broken the seal, allow me to comment (you know, in between sobbing over these tragic babies). Right. Enough of this inane, precursory babbling. Let's get to the goods:

x

1. UghughUGHHHH. I have seriously gone from I HATE ARTHUR WHAT A JERK to oh nO THE POOR BABY. Because guhhh, he's a huge, skittish pile of nerves that doesn't want to make a scene but ends up making one anyway because nightmares and panic attacks and---*SOBS*
   
2. ART. ARTTT. NICKNAMES ARE NOT ALLOWED IT'S TOO CUTE.
   
3. Hair scruffs, I just--no. I can't. It's sweet and affectionate, but also comforting in that 'close friend' way. *knucklebite*
   
4. Omg. OMG. Arthur getting all worked up again trying to talk about his [don't call it a] nightmare. That's heartbreaking??? D:
   
5. Dude. Small thing, but Arthur is like all knees and elbows and I'm giggling like a fiend imagining him noodling over the seats to get into the back with Lewis and Vivi.
   
6. I love how you explained Arthur's preferences when he's feeling panicky. How he's unlike others in the sense that he's not like OMG GET AWAY and is instead more along the lines of OMG PLEASE HIDE ME FROM THE WORLD GUYS I'M SCARED.
   
7. Arthur sandwich. And b'aww, Mystery gets to cuddle too~ THE GANG BEING A GANG AND STUFF.
   
8. The aura of calmness you established here was perfect. Like, I was totally calming down with Arthur. Major kudos with dat tone, bro.
   
9. But what's THIS? A wild disruption appears! And hot diggity dog, it's the BEST disruption possible. Poor Arthur is like 'what the frick frack diddly dack patty wack, I thought it was cuddle time, why are you--oH F#$@!"
   
10. …I need Lewis' sneeze sound on a t-shirt pronto. :| That is all.
    
11. Germaphobe!Arthur gives me life, because of COURSE he freaks out over that. I mean, he's already a wackadoo, right? It makes sense he's not about that pathogen life.
    
12. Aaaand now Arthur is majorly sketched out. Side-eyeing Lewis SO HARD after that sneeze. Well, at least it was only the one--nnnnO IT WASN'T OH GOD OH GOD.
    
13. Um. ExCUSE you, Garnet, but: 'Lewis's chest expanded beneath him so abruptly that it shifted Arthur's whole body' & 'His head tipped back with an open-mouthed grimace, eyes shadowed under a fringe of forelock, before finishing off the itch with a sharply declarative [insert explosion of a sneeze here]'. Huge sneezes are my weakness (I'm sure you've noticed that pattern with me, HURRHURR) so those descriptions were extremely unacceptable and offensive (hhhnnnghnnn) and I am going to sue you for everything you're worth (gimme your reets).
    
14. lewis woke up vivi omfg
    
15. Noooo Lewis isn't allowed to be apologetic over his monstrous sneezes. It's too precioussssss. ;______;
    
16. All the NOPE indeed. Arthur is like LOLBYE. No germs for him, kthx.
    
17. …Artie? ARTIE?! See number 2 on this list plz.
    
18. Noooo, Arthurrrrr, don't be a burrito of sadness. Go back and cuddle with your frans. They love youuuu.
    
19. Pffft. Mystery snorting because screw you, Lewis, don't blame this on MY fur.
    
20. Kicked puppy Lewis sends me into a spiral of despair and whale noises.
    
21. Implying that Arthur won't go back to sleep and is waiting until sunrise is the cruelest thing in the world, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it bECAUSE I EAT ANGST WITH A SPOON OMNOMNOM.
    

. . . *cough*

I realize how obnoxious I was ^up there^ but you've killed me with this drabble, and I only hope I can do the same when I take on these dorks myself. *AGGRESSIVELY OPENS UP WORD DOCUMENT* Heh. At least Arthur already knew that Lewis was getting sick…

[AngelEyes]

ave no idea what this fandom is, but like usual your writing makes that a moot point. I love this story. It's so expressive. And descriptive. The ratio between angst/humor is perfect. You are wonderful.

Noooo, Arthurrrrr, don't be a burrito of sadness.

Spoo, you crack me up!!!

[March Hare]

It's excellent. I second Spoo all the way. I have to check this Mystery Skulls out! Where can I find it??

[Spoo]

It's excellent. I second Spoo all the way. I have to check this Mystery Skulls out! Where can I find it??

[SterlingSilver]

My comment is going to be crappy and small because I'm exhausted, but I read this latest drabble and just had to say something about it <33. Can I just say that you and Spoo are AMAZING at writing Arthur, first of all~? Both of you manage to give him such a loveable, yet eccentric personality, and it's SO believable <33

Also, Lewis's sneezes are just-.. unfff~ they have just the right amount of "z's" in them~ And I love how he's like, "Ah, jeez-.." before he gears up for the fit~! I don't know why, but it was just beautiful <33. And then him being all like, "I do? What? Who even notices?!" when Arthur says he sneezes more when he's sick xDDDD Just glorious <33 THANK YOU GARNET FOR YOUR DEPENDABLY LOVELY DRABBLES~

[A-Place-To-Be-Me]

Unffgdydajfblhkgcjvykhfbhtilg gak you make me want to hug him so bad. Actually, all of them. Just, hnng *crawls through screen* It's hug time, g'bye.

Ican'thandlethismuchperfection,m-kay

[Garnet]

Oh dang I never got comment responses up here. You guys are beautiful and I love you. And now, following my recent stint of Tolkien-writing, I present the closest thing to an actual hundred word drabble I'll ever produce.

Fandom: Lord of the Rings

Words: 280

"You're drowsing, my friend."

"Shut your great, smirking gob," Gimli mumbled against his back, though his arms tightened as he made a faithful effort at stirring from the lull. It was a difficult morass to escape, in fact, between the creak of the saddle and Arod's rock-steady pace. If Legolas had found himself hypnotized once or twice by the rhythm, he would not say.

"A Dwarf can go a week without sleep."

"Is that all?" Legolas hummed, needling him with purpose. Conversation helped ease the monotony of the ride and the tension of greater tasks that loomed ever closer before them all.

"Hmffh," Gimli grumbled, no fool, and apparently having learned not to rise to the Elf's bait. Too bad.

Legolas was prepared to let him be for a bit, dozing or not, when at once an errant scent or tiny particle put a spark of irritation in his nose. It struck just so, in fact, that he barely had time to register the sensation before he was tipping with a razor-sharp inhale and sneezing it right back out.

"heh-CHSHHHH!"

His body wrenched into it with enough inherent grace, and Arod seemed unperturbed by the fine mist across his mane, but Gimli nearly toppled from the saddle.

"Blast it! Give a Dwarrow some bloody warning," he huffed, and though he did not turn his head, Legolas imagined he'd gone a bit red in the face. He smiled.

"Forgive me, I had none myself."

"Well and good," Gimli muttered, and grumbled, and probably growled some other things in Khuzdul, but somewhere in that boorish mess of syllables there was a dutiful, "Bless," and a brief squeeze of the Dwarf's hand at his hip.

[Spoo]

It's been an age since I've read anything with these two dorks, and I gotta say: I almost forgot how hilarious and hopeless they are. You totally nailed both of their voices/mannerisms - Gimli's BLARGHGHaksjdfklsjdfksf-ness and, of course, Legolas' endless amusement.

"A Dwarf can go a week without sleep."

"Is that all?" Legolas hummed, needling him with purpose.

Lego, plz. Be nice to your boyfriend.

[RiversD]

Aaah, Garnet, you're spoiling us! Short, but very sweet.

Lovely description of that surprise-sneeze. I particularly liked "razor-sharp inhale".

Also:

"Forgive me, I had none myself."

I'm not sure why it's so adorable, but it is.

[Subtly Clashing Wishes]

Legolas and Gimli, the original odd couple! Thank you for the drabble. It made me smile.

[TaurielRiver]

Gah, as if I didn't love this to absolute pieces!! Totally adorable and downright hilarious, with Gimli's grumblings and their teasing/affectionate banter...

The Legolas-Gimli comradery was always one of my favourite character developments in LOTR and you just reminded me how much I STILL love it!

[Garnet]

Spoo - BLARGHGHaksjdfklsjdfksf is Gimli in a nutshell, I'm still cracking up over this. I'm glad their voices turned out okay, though! Legolas is a weird one to pin down, he's such a stern grump in The Hobbit but is a flippant dork in LotR.

RiversD - Thank you, dear! I always aim to spoil you (and myself) with dumb elfsnezz.

scw - Haha they are, aren't they? I enjoy their banter and teasing camaraderie. Thank you!

TaurielRiver - You are so sweet! I actually never paid them a whole lot of attention when LotR first came out, but going back and rewatching and immersing myself more deeply in the fandom makes me super fond of these dweebs.

Thus, I had to write another little thing :| I love them.

Fandom: Lord of the Rings

Words: 646

"You'll need to sleep sometime, Elf," Gimli grumbled from beneath the sling of a short, powerful arm across his eyes as he listened to the archer roam close. "Let me take a watch."

He drew a small breath of surprise to feel Legolas fold himself down at his back. There was closeness born of necessity, long hours logged rocking against one another as they sat the same horse, and then there was a closeness born of affection. There was little dissemblance to the type Legolas had in mind, with his legs tucking up against the Dwarf and a hand settling on his shoulder. Gimli shifted his arm to blink into the darkness, where his vision was for once better suited.

"I have given my watch to one of the Men," Legolas admitted.

"Just as well -- ach, you're a great pussycat, do you know that?" Gimli grumbled as the Elf nosed against the tight, interlocking plaits of his hair and made a sound of self-satisfied contentment. "Aloof one moment and draping about boneless the next."

"Scratch me behind the ears, I may purr," Legolas said wryly, then breathed deeply close to the nape of his neck. "You smell of pipeweed."

"And sweat and horse, I imagine," Gimli remarked, even as something warm and puddley-feeling settled in the space under his ribs. "You hate pipeweed."

"I do not hate it," Legolas corrected. "The greater part of my friends partake of its charms, it is strangely comforting by proxy." His nose wrinkled. "Only the scent makes me want to sneeze."

"Go sleep in your own bedroll, then."

"I wish to be close to you."

"And I've no wish to be sneezed on. Get."

Legolas was quiet for a long, long moment before at last loosening his hand, unfurling his legs. He made to draw away, which tugged at Gimli in a tide of guilt. Nicked his feelings, then. That was poorly done. He twisted about to catch his arm, a frown knotting his brow.

"Lad, I was only teasing."

"Gimli," Legolas protested with a grimace in the darkness. He tugged against the grip, though even a Dwarf's gentlest touch was at times like iron.

"Here then, you ridiculous twitterpated Elf," Gimli gruffed, ignoring Legolas as he drew a sharp breath, "You know I'm always happy to cozy up with y--..."

"--CHSSHH!" With no room to turn away, held up tight against his friend, the sneeze flashed wetly against the Dwarf's collar and a warm band of bare, tattooed skin. Gimli blinked. Legolas crinkled his nose, breath trembling, and buried himself against one shoulder with characteristic force. "--ah'CHHSSHHhh!"

A brief beat of silence stretched between them, frozen thus, before Gimli slowly released his grip on the Elf, and Legolas gave a bleary sniffle.

"That was nearly entirely your doing," he pointed out, chagrined as he picked his head up and ran a forefinger beneath the twitch of his nostrils. "But I am sorry nonetheless."

Gimli sighed ruefully but reached to wipe the damp away with the side of his glove. A smirk lingered under his beard. "Aye, I'll take the blame," he admitted. A handkerchief was fished up from his beltpouch and passed back, still in its crisp fold. Legolas took it readily.

The moment he had it to his nose, however, his eyes were glinting with unshed tears, and he nearly choked on a seesawing inhale. "--ah'CHSSSHH! Oh, gweriad! You are cruel," he gasped as he lowered the hanky and sneezed instead to one side, twice, then thrice in an effort to cleanse an irritating odor from his nose. "You kept this next to... to..." His head tipped back, handsome features dissolved into a quivering mess. "--ahd'CHSSHHiew! Ah. Next to the pipeweed."

Gimli rolled onto his back and pillowed his head on one folded arm. He grinned up at the stars. "Did I, then? Must've slipped my mind."

[TaurielRiver]

Wheeeee, my heart did an excited flippy-flop when I scrolled down and saw… you’ve done another one!!

Man, everything in this piece just works. Legolas being all wry-sensitive-dorky and Gimili being all gruff-teasing-dorky… and yikes, I am SO onboard with this sudden forceful sneezing (in situations where you kind of have to just… make the best of it) business! It added an interesting (suspenseful, even) appeal for me that Gimli maaay not have been all that pleased… but had plenty of tricks up his sleeve to even the score with the young elf.

There is just something about your elf voice-mannerisms too… like… "That was nearly entirely your doing," (hehehe) and “Oh, gweriad! You are cruel” (I’m enjoying the misery a little too much here!!), that is just utterly, utterly delightful.

[bangbang]

Oh maaaaan. This almost killed me. Gimli and Legolas are the original bros, and seeing them in this odd sort of tender affection is really, really nice. I love their snarky coating and your dialogue is always spot on; I can HEAR Gimli's rumbly voice as he pulls Legolas back down.

And the sneezing is great. Obviously. Ack. The handkerchief cracked me up. Legolas overcome by something so mundane is unnnnfff. Yup. I LIKE THIS A LOT.

[RiversD]

More cuteness! I like your (not so dumb) elfsnezz.

"Aloof one moment and draping about boneless the next."

Elves are indeed cats. It's just such a natural metaphor, and one you can't ever quite shake once someone points it out. Also, that's a lovely little sentence. I have adopted it as Legolas' personal epithet, and bound them together as one.

I really like the pipeweed idea- it's so endearing to see Legolas being all: "this is comforting, but on the other hand *nose wriggle*

And the two of them teasing one another.

I did smile at "That was nearly entirely your doing."- Like TaurielRiver said, very... elf.

And Gimli... that was perhaps a little cruel, but no harm done, and I enjoyed it very much . I'll give him a pass.

[Subtly Clashing Wishes]

3 cheers for pipeweed and dwarves with a wicked sense of humor!! Had to laugh when Gimli called Legolas "Lad". Who remembers which of that company of dwarves from "The Hobbit" was Gimli's father? I remember the scene in the last movie when Legolas is shown a picture of young Gimli and his mother, but not which dwarf.

[March Hare]

Ooo ooo ooo

DFJKGJHKJSSJFLKJRLKGJKHFKGJJSDKFJK incredibly sexy. RAWR.

[sweethoney]

everything you do with lord of the rings is so spot on it KILLS ME

you've singlehandedly made me start shipping bard and thranduil and now you've got me hooked on gimi and legolas so tHANKS A LOT FOR RUINING MY LIFE

no really, thanks

these are all my greatest dreams come true

no one writes an elf sneeze like you do

/worships your everything

[Garnet]

TaurielRiver - I'm so in it for heart flippy-flops! It helps that I love these two dweebs so very much, I would write a billion little snapshot scenarios of their relationship and all the fun they make of each other.

bangbang - YES GOOD I am glad. Tender affection in a snarky coating is their relationship all over, I love it haha. THANK YOU.

RiversD - I am cackling at "*nose wriggle*" because yes, exactly. I'm glad you like the idea, it's something I wanted to play with a few times since Elves seem to be one of the few races that don't indulge in it (fancy sots!).

No worries, Legolas will get him back later on down the line, and so on and so on.

scw - Hah, thank you! And yes, I imagine Legolas is always "lad" to him no matter how much he protests that he's, seriously, ten times your age, Gimli.

(Gloin was Gimli's father! The red-headed one.)

Maru-chan - OH YOU, thank you darling!

sweethoney - THIS THRILLS ME because I am seriously just winging the hell out of this, here. I mean, I've read all the source text but that was a hundred million years ago so thank god for Tolkien wiki's, is all I'm saying.

GOOD I'M GLAD. You take your interracial elfships and you like them! Thaaa-aaank you for this lovely comment

Okay and now, something that's been sitting in my drafts for like a month that I finally dug out and connected the dots for. More elf sneeze. Are you surprised? I'm not. I have a thing with a dwarf and a thing with an original character also sitting in my drafts, but did I finish those first?

NAH.

Fandom: Lord of the Rings

Words: 1734

He'd felt the beginnings of a sneeze since some time that morning, when his breath had caught half a dozen times over breakfast, once more in the baths, and then again at Erestor's desk while the elder Elf looked on, eyes seamed at their corners with amusement.

"That was very close," the Chief Councillor observed, when Lindir finally relaxed with a sigh. He shot a look back that was laden with wryness born of familiarity.

"I've given up on it entirely. Stop smirking and give me those reports," he scolded, fond, as Erestor's mouth curved tellingly and he gave up a stack of parchments.

Indeed, if the little pinprick sensation was going to linger at the back of his nose all day and never make anything of it, Lindir would pay it no mind. He had better tasks to occupy himself, and with a few sharp sniffs and a thorough itch against one knuckle, he quelled it enough to forget the tiny impulse.

A messenger arrived from Lorien some time in late morning, with news she apologetically would not reveal to Lindir.

"Is it urgent?" He inquired with the smooth arch of one brow.

"Not very, but I would see his lordship at his earliest convenience."

"Rest first, then."

His reception was cooler, more guarded for her tight lips, but he nonetheless made arrangements for both she and her horse to be fed and watered while he went to fetch the Lord of Rivendell.

He found Elrond already engaged with one of the other counselors, presiding over Imladris from one of its dozen-strong open air balconies that let in the wind, rain, and sun all just as surely. This morning, it was cool but bright. Lindir was content to catch Elrond's attention with a brief glance, then wait just outside the archway to the covered halls beyond. The sun warmed his skin, burned red against the insides of his eyelids, but it felt good, as though he were a cat basking in its heat.

His left nostril itched faintly, to which he paid little mind. Unchecked, however, it advanced in short order from an itch to a definite prickle, needling faintly just behind and between his eyes. Oh, for pity's sake...

Glancing to ensure that Elrond was still pre-occupied with wrapping up his present conversation, Lindir ducked his head aside for a single, discreet swipe against the tip of his nose, crushing it neatly into submission. At any other time of the day, and in different company, he might have had the patience to finally indulge in a good, relieving sneeze. Doing in so in front of Erestor, however, was... very different than in front of the Lord of Rivendell. His throat constricted unhappily as the pass of his knuckle only seemed to sow the irritant deeper. Why now?

"Speak, Lindir."

His attention broke like the crack of a whip, as he looked up to find the counselor brushing politely past him and the table newly unoccupied. Elrond sat with head minutely inclined, awaiting him.

Some day, his heart would stop quickening at the sight, but not this day.

Lindir did not sit, but he did step out from the archway with wrists crossing immediately, demurely at the small of his back. The notion occurred to him, in a brief moment of panic, that he might not manage to get through this without his voice trembling and nose wrinkling up at the tickle still kiting through his sinus.

"A rider from Lorien." Fortunately, his composure remained intact.

"A courier?"

"She would not..." Never mind. He swallowed against a sudden upsurge that made his eyes water. That had lasted not long at all. "... she would not say." He contemplated apologizing, decided it would only bring unnecessary attention, and hastily vetoed the idea.

It did not stay Elrond from fixing him with a thoughtful look. "Are you alright?"

Lindir tightened the muscle in his jaw, and stood very stiff. "Quite, my lord," he dismissed hastily. "I've had her h-... horse stabled for the time be-- hh! ... the time -- hh-hh!"

No good. His expression of weak dismay betrayed him, as did the hasty tuck of a digit beneath his nose, struggling to at least finish his sentence before it all crumbled apart.

"Lindir," Elrond said in the form of a sigh, but with all the tolerance of millenia. "Even you are permitted to sneeze on occasion."

Which was fortunate, because he couldn't take another moment of this.

"--hd'ishoo!" He dipped helplessly against the length of his forefinger, still pressed against the pronounced arch of both nostrils in a last ditch attempt to suppress their quivering. "--hd'isshoo! ... hd'isshoo!"

To Lindir's horror, he still couldn't quite manage to get it, and trembled with another involuntary inhale as the irritation crept higher into his sinuses and his nose twitched beyond his control. If anything, each sneeze worsened the sensation until his eyes were blurred with tears and he had to search blindly through his robes for a handkerchief. He wasn't sure he even had one on his person, so infrequently did he require its use, but...

"hd'isshoo! ... --hd'iszshhoo!"

Giving up, and mortified by the sneeze that had ducked his head to one side with an uncovered spray, Lindir steepled both long, fine-boned hands to his face and made to back away from the room. It was indelicate, perhaps, but not so rude as continuing to waste Elrond's time as he sorted out his own disobedient senses. He felt like a young Elfling, barely sixty and unaccustomed to meting out the baser impulses, rather than the one of centuries he was. The shame of it would have been overwhelming were he not so distracted by a more immediate urge.

"My lord," he begged, and could not meet Elrond's eyes even if he'd wanted to. "If you wou--... hud-ISHHoo! ...hud-ISHHoo! ...would excuse me a moment."

He ducked from the chambers before Elrond could respond, his breath already catching high in his throat and sinuses stinging with desperation. "--hud'IHSSHHoo!"

In the relative privacy of the cloistered hallway, his back fell to an arch of carved stone and the lashings of his composure came wholly, miserably undone. His hair had fallen into a disarray of dark braids across his shoulders, and his eyes and nose were flooding. Perhaps in an effort to hasten the unseen irritant along, but it just had the unwanted consequence of making his sneeze a soaking one as he bent hard at the waist. "--hhd'IHSZSSHoo!" There was barely a moment of relief, just enough for a single hopeful breath, before his nostrils were right back to tickling powerfully. They wrinkled so wide as he fought the approach of another that he could feel the fluttering edges against his palms. This was absurd.

"Hh-...hh... !"

He was unaware of Elrond's presence until the Lord of Rivendell was at once beside him, a hand to his shoulder.

"Lindir."

Slivering both eyes open and blinking past the film of tears, the steward was abashed to find the other Elf standing close, with a thick, cream-colored handkerchief in one hand. Elrond's own, it seemed. Lindir wanted more than anything to accept the gesture, flattered, though the book fold of long fingers over his nose was the only thing keeping his dignity intact at the moment. He blinked wetly and -- "hd'ISHoo!" -- flinched with the irrepressible twinge.

Inferring his predicament with a sigh, Elrond shifted his weight to unfurl the cloth and touch it to the backs of Lindir's hands. He dropped them away in surprise, creased his brow, and suddenly a muffled an equally startled, "-hd'IHFSSHoo!" into the cloth held briefly in place. A fresh, hot tide of guilt tugged at him. Elrond had not batted an eye, however, and fixed him with the most patient of looks as the steward scrambled to take over and turn himself away.

"Blow," the Elf-lord recommended, "Gently."

Lindir complied with heat high in his cheeks and the points of his ears. It was a wet, ugly sound, and he made his slender shape as small as he could as he emptied his tender sinuses, but then... oh, oh that was so much better. The sustained force of the exhale seemed to work out what the reflexive urge to sneeze could not, and within moments the relentless itch had been scratched, and he was loose with too much relief to be embarrassed.

Well. Nearly.

"Please forgive me," he said, fighting a groan as he lifted his head, finally, and crinkled his nose for a moment of satisfied reprieve. No doubt it was an unwelcome shade of pink, but that would recover before his pride did. "I do not know what came over me."

Elrond arched one dramatic brow. "There is no need for contrition."

Lindir dabbed his nostrils uncertainly. He pressed a little harder than perhaps necessary, a well-disguised rub. "I sneezed into your hand," he pointed out, grim, and allowed himself the tiniest of follow-up sniffles. No matter if there had been a barrier of cloth between them, the idea was as humbling as it was intimate. "At least indulge me and accept an apology for that much."

Elrond glanced down into his palm. He seemed amused, in his stately fashion. "I am a healer, and I have four children. Suffice to say that it was not the first time. But if it pleases you, your apology is accepted."

Of course. The Lord of Rivendell had ever been a dignified and commanding presence in Lindir's life, occasionally he forgot that it more often than not came packaged with a paternal sort of kindness. His eyes dropped again.

"Thank you. Although I... hope you do not consider me as a child," he admitted more candidly than he'd meant to.

Elrond looked a trifle surprised. "Only when you are being particularly stubborn," he said, dry, then amended it. "Otherwise no, you are ever a friend."

That, Lindir could bear. He swallowed, nodded, blotted his nose a final time, and squared his shoulders up into something resembling professionalism. He was well ready to put the rest of that incident entirely behind him. Right up until the very end bits. Those had been nice.

"Then...the messenger?"

Elrond sighed his resignation through a smile, tired. "Send her up, I will receive her."

Bending slightly at the waist, Lindir swept from the room with the Elf-lord's handkerchief still folded tight to his nose.

[VoOs]

...

Now, that's how you write a Fit.

I... need a moment.

[TaurielRiver]

So, for some bizarre reason, I was all like “oooh, time to chill out and relax... I’m gonna read me some new Garnet fiction!” Well. Relax indeed. Let me tell you, the effect of this story on me could not be more devastatingly opposite! And that’s putting it mildly!

And, I don’t usually get much chance to rave about this, but I am actually super, super fond of Elrond. His calm wisdom and undercurrent of wry humour was a continual point of legitimacy for me in the films, every small line and expression of his spoke volumes about Elvish values and dealings with immortality.

So, I appreciated this story immensely even just on that level, you capture his composure and deep-seated kindness so delicately… like… “in the form of a sigh, but with all the tolerance of millenia.” Beautiful. And set against young, slightly-insecure Lindir, oh my heart!

But this predicament. So very teasing at first, and then, my goodness, evolved into straight-out-guns-blazing-fantasy-lands-style-NGGGHHH! And…. you used the ‘z’ sound… GAH... WITH the ‘d’ sound… *involuntary shivers*...

His understandable distress… backing from the room behind his hands… and then… Elrond coming to his rescue, oh, oh, it’s too sweet! As much as I’m so totally "oh, the poor thing!” right now, I’m also like, man, if all my ‘getting almost too messy to contain’ buttons were in an elevator, we’d be taking a veeeeeeery long time to reach the top floor right now!!

And, I can barely even bring myself to talk about Elrond holding the handkerchief at this point. And then being so paternal and unfussed about it. Oh Elrond… :3

...I'll never stop saying it, you are wonderful!!

[KickingUpTheDust]

*flails about and squeALS* LINDIR OMG!! i love him so much! he's such a cutie!

[RiversD]

... What VoOs said.

Welp. I thought I felt relatively neutral towards this particular elf, but now I have hopped, skipped, and jumped aboard the Everybody Loves Lindir train to Wheredidmyovariesgo. This is your fault.

"That was very close," the Chief Councillor observed

*sniggers because elfsnark*

Some day, his heart would stop quickening at the sight, but not this day.

Must you smush my heart with everything you write? I am but a weak woman...

Those spellings are glorious, by the way.

his breath already catching high in his throat and sinuses stinging with desperation

ooh... I'm going to need a moment.

his back fell to an arch of carved stone and the lashings of his composure came wholly, miserably undone. His hair had fallen into a disarray of dark braids across his shoulders, and his eyes and nose were flooding.

Oh, sweetheart. I think this is where I decided to love him forever.

"irrepressible twinge" is a good one. I may steal it, one of these days.

"Blow," the Elf-lord recommended, "Gently."

I don't even know why this is so good. It just is. Possibly it's something to do with the implication that Elrond needs to make certain that Lindir will go easy on himself. Daft boy.

loose with too much relief to be embarrassed.

Oh, the darling. I'm pretty sure I relaxed with him here. So nicely done.

"I am a healer, and I have four children. Suffice to say that it was not the first time.

This was a lovely touch. I need to go bring additional Elrond into my life now.

[AngelEyes]

You are turning me into a huge elf whore. And I regret nothing.

[Garnet]

VoOs - Take all the time you need I'll just... over here. Writing snippets of stupid until I die.

TaurielRiver - Oh my gosh, this whole comment! I read it and reread it. I agree with you wholly, Elrond has always been a favorite of mine, although I haven't ever taken a shot at writing him. He's a bit intimidating.

Hnngh, my "almost too messy to contain" button must be on par with yours because that is a very delicate balance that I nonetheless like very much, when done right. Do I even do it right? Who knows! But still.

Also, "paternal and unfussed" might be my favorite description of Elrond ever. He's so used to everyone ever being a walking, bad-decision-making disaster, he must be used to it!

NO YOU WONDERFUL.

KickingUpTheDust - HE IS SO FUSSY AND PRECIOUS I love him.

RiversD - You know, I was pretty neutral too? He's a little too "conventionally" attractive for me, but he made for a kind of cute, convenient victim for the sound I wanted to use. And then it just snowballed from there and now I'm really into fussy young elf having a harmless but discreet crush on his boss and. Yes.

Possibly it's something to do with the implication that Elrond needs to make certain that Lindir will go easy on himself. Daft boy.

I imagine that younger Elves (not that Lindir is SUPER young, but relative to Elrond, yes) are a bit more like this. You flailing baby, settle down.

Aaaand speaking of additional Elrond...

AngelEyes - Dude, I am turning into an elf whore. I don't know where this is coming from. I love monsters? And ugly dudes? And pirates and rogues and all things NOT Elvish? But I think it's just also really fun to see super composed, tightly-buttoned characters come undone.

And with that in mind...

I CANNOT BE STOPPED (or these just take me almost no time to bang out when I have a couple free hours, lol!)

---

Fandom: Lord of the Rings

Word Count: 1140

"While I have your attention," Bilbo said, in the soft grey and blue of gloaming as it settled over Imladris. "I wonder if you might look over a translation I've been working at. A bit outside my usual comfort zone, but..."

"Of course," the Lord of Rivendell said, as an Elf at their perimeter passed by, lighting the evening lamps, and Bilbo produced a bit of folded parchment. He passed it across the table.

"This is elegantly done," Elrond approved, after a long few moments of appraising Bilbo's small, neat hand. The Hobbit, ever-humble but liking the praise nonetheless, sat back with his fingers dipped into his waistcoat pockets and smiled.

He hardly noticed the emptiness under his left hand anymore, where once the ring would have settled snug beneath his ribs. His whole heart had felt lighter as of late, in fact, stretching out the cricks in its wings even as his shoulders and back developed new ones. Perhaps Rivendell could not cure the onward march of old age that seemed to finally, steadily be catching up with him, but the fresh air and quiet were good for the spirit.

"It's only the rough draft, of course. There were a few tricky bits I had to look up."

"It is an older dialect," Elrond agreed as he folded the parchment carefully and slid it back across the table. "But I am impressed by your fluency nevertheless."

"Good, good," Bilbo said, warm with flattery as he smoothed the parchment out between his hands. "I actually meant to work on some of the longer tales, if you think my command is up to the challenge. The Valaquenta, and the Ainulindalë. Oh, thank you," he added, aside, to a young Elf that dipped in from the wings to refill his cup of mulled wine. "Potent stuff, isn't it? Puts a little color in your cheeks!" He wagged a finger that made her fight down a smile and fail before dipping, endeared, to grant her lord the same service.

Occasionally -- well... often, Bilbo still missed the Dwarves in all of their uproarious fervor for life and love. The Tookish part of him loved them well. In his longer years, the Baggins bits found the Elves only too charming: both for their expansive libraries and their manner. It was at once timeless and dignified and yet wrought with so many little moments of revealing emotion, and he rather liked poking his fingers beneath those airs of aloof calm and earning a reflexive smile or exasperated huff, depending on his mood.

Once Elrond had nodded the Elf on, in fact, and Bilbo's attention had returned to his friend's face, he found an expression heavy with discontent, brows furrowed and the hint of a sneer beginning to pull at his kind mouth. He tapped the parchment against the table nervously. He hadn't meant to incite that reaction. Perhaps a translation of the old texts had been a poor idea after all. Elves gave their knowledge so freely to any who sought it, compared to the guarded secrecy of the Dwarves, yet there were no doubt some manifestations that even they were unwilling to share.

"With your permission, of course," he added, uncertain, as Elrond sat back from the table and slipped a distracted hand into the furl of his outer robes. "I needn't choose those texts specifically, only I thought it useful to--..." He trailed off as Elrond held up a hand to stay him, lost for the appropriate words.

Then he was lost for words altogether as the Lord of Rivendell produced a neatly folded handkerchief from his person, opened it in both hands, and tucked it to his nose and mouth just as the latter wrenched open. With a quick twist away from the table, he took a breath and muffled a sneeze equal parts polite and powerful.

"H-WHFFH!"

Bilbo blinked. Well, there it was. More than a year comfortably settled in Imladris and he could still be surprised by its occupants. Of course he knew that Elves sneezed, he'd heard it from time to time -- especially in the dustier sections of the libraries where great motes of it bloomed into the air from spines that had not been cracked for a century. Just the day before, in fact, Laergulon had quite had to excuse himself for a bit of fresh air, before his nose got the better of him. Bilbo couldn't recall ever seeing the lord of the Last Homely House so affected, however.

"Bless you," he tutted. Elrond nodded his thanks mildly, though his eyes remained creased shut and his brow tightly ridged. His shoulders rose with a great breath, then angled away as he issued another "H-WHFFH!" strongly into the handkerchief.

"Dear me. And again!"

Elrond hesitated a moment, turned deeply from his company, but not so far that Bilbo couldn't see the caution in his expression. He lowered the thick fold of the handkerchief with a careful breath, perhaps thinking himself finished. It gave Bilbo an unintentionally clear view as the irritation abruptly returned and Elrond's gaunt, patient features crumpled into a grimace, mouth curled torturously open and nostrils seized with a dramatic flare. He hid himself quickly into the handkerchief, before--...

"H-WRFFHHH!"

The table seemed to shake with the effort, and Bilbo reached automatically to steady his cup, quite aghast.

"Bless you! Goodness, but that must have tickled!"

Elrond blinked several times in the aftermath, his expression colored now only by a little surprise and a great amount of relief. His sigh was calm as he lowered the handkerchief, folded it over, and dabbed briefly at the corners of his eyes and edges of his nose.

"Unbearably so, but it has passed now. I beg your pardon," he said, as Bilbo waved him dismissively off. It happened to the best of them, well and truly. Elrond collected himself with a brief sniff and tucked the handkerchief away. "I think your idea a very good one."

Bilbo had nearly forgotten, but he came back to it with brightness returning to his seamed expression. "Oh, wonderful! There are so many in the archives that have never quite made it to the common tongue. I rather hope someone might some day benefit from it."

"Will it not take time away from your memoirs?" Elrond inquired, with a slow sip of wine. He seemed quite alright again, and Bilbo was willing to pass of that momentary loss of composure as some misfired nerve or something transient in the air.

"I have a great deal of nothing but time now, haven't I?" Bilbo said, chuckling.

"Until your wanderlust strikes you next," Elrond teased gently, his eyes crimped at their corners.

"Oh no," Bilbo said as he drank of his own cup, though his eyes glinted bright in turn. "I am well done with adventures."