katajainen

Summary:

The whole idea was preposterous. Preposterous.

To sum it up, reading this made me so happy that the mere thought has me grinning stupidly all over again.

I mean… there’s Erestor: high-strung, over-worked, and too alone in his lovely little stone cottage -- though you won’t catch him admitting to any of it. And there’s Glorfindel: lost and lonely and broken; uncertain of why the Valar would send him back in the first place -- and all he wants is peace and quiet and somewhere to garden.

Enter the matchmaking agency. Now, the very notion should be ridiculous, but it works like a charm. (All right, I may be biased, because this is one of my favourite tropes.) Because there’s an instant, audible ‘click’ of chemistry -- followed by much awkwardness, a swift descent to sweet domesticity, and increasingly desperate pining. (Should I mention that There Is Only One Bed?)

Honourable mention for best prop goes to one (1) rose-coloured velveteen ribbon that does a lot of (hot and) heavy lifting ;-p

A soft and spicy springtime treat, with a perfect length to devour in one go -- just sit back and enjoy!

Summary:

The time of the Enemy is ended at last, but Legolas still knows this season in his blood. The sun is setting, the snow is melting, and he is alive and free – and hungry.

Now this is, to put it plainly, a masterpiece.

A powerful ode to love and life and springtime, to that hunger as pure and raw as the growing light that pulls every breathing thing to reach out towards the sun.

Now, replace "sun” with the name of a certain dwarf, and you'll make it sound like a heavy-handed metaphor for sex, but trust me when I say there's nothing so crass in the story itself. Instead, it flows like snowmelt through soil and root, sometimes cold, sometimes muddy, yet easily condensing into an intensely sensual encounter that blazes warmly against the backdrop of awakening nature, joyful like a breath of moist living earth after long months of darkness and cold.

TLDR: This is very beautiful and very hot, and I’ve read it multiple times already, so you should too!

Summary:

It's a Saturday night at the A&E, and Gimli only wants to get to the triage nurse and be done with this whole stupid business.

That is, until he meets a tall, dark stranger (a ridiculously pretty one).

So I read an article about all the strange things people had had removed from various orifices last year... and it gave me a meet-cute setting XD

This thing is short, silly, and kind of fluffy - and also my first proper Modern AU story for these two, I hope you like it!

Summary:

It’s a stupid, selfish thing to do, to wonder if your own cowardice brought about the end of the world when you are nothing but a small hobbit too frail to contain a vast love, but still. Sam wonders if things could have turned out differently, if only he’d said all he wanted to say that night.

Now, I came to this story with the promise of “soft rural gays”. But don’t be fooled. You’ll get there in the end, but not before having to contend with an entire sackful of Feels with a capital F, all bundled up in the most beautiful prose I’ve had the pleasure to read in a long time, but sneaky, like six goblins in a flowery trenchcoat.

And like any decent goblins, the Feels want to punch you into your metaphorical emotional gut. Repeatedly. With gusto.

Because all the deep, unassuming yearning translates into such achingly careful intimacy and infinite tenderness that it almost entirely offsets the thread of darkness that runs throughout the story, the nightmare moments of soul-breaking doubt and pain and grief. Almost, I say, but it is more than enough.

For, to quote Sam’s wisdom: it’s always, always worth it to stick out the brambles in favor of the blossoms at the end. And here, blossoms mean no magic fix-all, but a rightfully earned measure of happiness, no less and no more, as it should be.

TL:DNR: written like a love-poem, will give you all the feels and run over your heart with a bulldozer, but in a good way.

Summary:

There is little Legolas would not do to ensure Gimli’s safety - and when his husband’s life is threatened, he proves it beyond a doubt. But even as he recovers afterwards, Gimli must remind Legolas to take care of himself as well.

So this one ticks all the right little boxes:

#1: BAMF Legolas and Gimli as a damsel-in-distress. But although blood-soaked and half-feral battle god Legolas very much rocks my boat, the daring rescue is less relevant than what comes after.

Because in essence, this is a Hurt/Comfort story (box #2). And in spite of what the initial setup might imply, it’s a two-way street. So instead of charting a smooth if grumpy recovery for Gimli, the situation is used to wind up the tension until something must break.

And break it will. But perhaps not quite the way you’d think.

Without giving too much away, the resolution is as emotionally intense as the art is gorgeous, but the brittle edges of fear and worry and relief will make ribbons of your heart. (What I’m trying to say with many fancy words is that it’s top-notch tender loving comfort that turned me into a blubbering mess. Aka: little box #3.)

Just read the thing and love it already!

Gimli and Legolas have a cunning plan to win their fathers' approval of their marriage. Short crack!fic fill for a prompt on the hobbitkink meme.

A warm and precious little thing where Gimli and Legolas out-scheme their respective fathers (for good purpose and with excellent results). Recommended for insightful, character-driven humour that’s good for multiple rereads.

Summary:

Gimli son of Glóin has been living with an aggravating secret – a bed-partner who no longer wants to share his bed. At an annual diplomatic council, he decides that things have gone far enough and initiates a confrontation – but takes a wrong turn and storms into someone else’s tent instead. Legolas, on the other hand, is taken aback when a strange dwarf surprises him in his tent and berates him for toying with him. But the more time they spend together, the more overwhelmed he becomes by his feelings for this startling new friend . . .

No War AU, written for the Unconventional Courtship challenge.

So, somehow, by some writerly magic, this piece manages to combine a whirlwind romance with genuine flustered and uncertain slow-burn pining in spite of the fact that the story literally takes place in the space of a week. And that’s quite something.

Also the AU is an interesting take, as in it’s fun to see the familiar personalities and character dynamics play out in a setting very different from the canon.

If you’re looking for something nice and fluffy that will make you laugh and go ‘awwww’ and occasionally bite your fingernails (the ‘oh no!’ and ‘will they or won’t they’ scenarios - we’re talking about a romcom, after all), this might just be your ticket!

things that go bump in the night

(3551 words)

by DeHeerKonijn

Summary:

Mûth snorted. “Mahal, but he’s really giving it to him.”

Kharzul couldn’t decide if he sounded judgemental, amused, disgusted— or maybe even a little impressed.

Or, the one where politics are foregone because our resident dingbats are making up for lost time.

As I feel like some cheerful escapism would be in order, I’ll bump this one to the front of the queue.

It’s fresh-from-the-press and gleefully silly, has all the right comedic elements and offers them up from a wonderfully executed outsider’s POV.

I especially enjoyed the gradual build-up to the Moment Of Peak Awkward (read the thing to see what I mean), and the glimpses of Gimli and Legolas being a disgustingly adorable pair of besotted idiots (I love them, but I still wouldn’t want to share a wall with them, if you know what I mean).

Read on, and I hope your day is less awful for getting a good laugh!

Summary:

The story of Gimli and Legolas' relationship told through the misunderstandings of hobbits.

While the hobbits recover after their adventures in Minas Tirith, Pippin reveals something about two members of their fellowship that the other three hobbits disbelieve. At which point bets are placed on the veracity of Pippin's claims. When Gimli and Legolas find out they themselves are the subject of the bets, they have a great deal of fun stringing the hobbits along. Serves them right, after all.

A piece of sweet love and warm humour, spiced with some friendly mischief - a perennial favourite I reread for the laughs, but also for the friendship dynamics at work - and the flashback scenes are a balm to my poor little romantic’s heart ♥♥♥

Also available as a lovely multi-voice podfic!

Have a smile, have a laugh, and have a good Midsummer’s Eve!

Legolas has not slept in over a month; has not even so much as dreamed in days. The horrors of their travel through Moria feel like a hallucination – or a nightmare – and now that they have arrived in Lothlórien, he knows there is nothing else for it but to slip away to rest.

Grief-stricken by the loss of his kin and the ruin of Khazad-dûm, Gimli too excuses himself from the Fellowship as soon as he can manage, seeking solitude. But when he stumbles upon one of his companions fast asleep in the forest, he cannot justify leaving him without a guard.

There’s always room for one more story about what pushed these two from barely civil to bosom friends under the eaves of Lothlórien.

This particular gap-filler is an engaging, atmospheric little tale built on an intriguing piece of headcanon - or imaginative interpretation - that’s been floating around the fandom for a while, layered with solid character insight and sprinkled with moments of unexpected humour.

Here, shared grief and shared trust are laid out as the cornerstones of a great friendship, and that is no small comfort in any sort of dark times.