Headcanon Daddy 👅

Tolkien Blog, centered around Thranduil and Legolas and their Silvan Elves because I love them just a little bit too much. Sideblog for: SpaceAsthmatic Follow my Ao3: SpaceAsthmatic My Fanfic: CheveronChick FEEL FREE TO INTERACT!

[growingingreenwood]

Heyyy!!! Me again 😁

I think I was reading Visit and I noticed that Elrond didn’t seem to like Thranduil all that much and Thranduil didn’t seem to like Elrond much either. I was wondering why and if they’d ever come to like each other. Stay safe out there and have a great day!!💛

Hellloooooooo!!  Welcoem Back <3 

One of the ways that I describe Thranduil is, “Not Unkind, but definitely unfriendly,” and I think that Thranduil from Elrond’s POV in ‘Visit’ is a perfect example of this. He does not really participate in small-talk, he does not go our of his way to force a conversation he see’s no reason to have, he does not feel obligated to sooth the social discomfort of Elrond. Thranduil does not dislike Elrond, but he is indifferent to him, and thus puts zero effort to soften his increidlby Sharp Edges and that can look the same to many as being activly disliked. Thranduil was in Rinvendell to see Celebrian, exclusively. Elrond was not Celebrian. 

Likewise, I do not think that Elrond dislikes Thranduil as a person …. He just dones’t know what to DO with him. Up until ‘Visit’ the only context that Elrond had ever really seen Thranduil in was the War of Wrath and then the War of the Last Alliance. So his imiage of Thranduil is very ….. Aggressive and Bloodsoaked. So he was very wary of the Woodland King, for good reason, and Thranduil did literally nothing to make him more comfrotable. Elrond is trapped under the weight of being ‘A Good Host’ unitl Celebrian returns, but has not idea how to do that. He hates that feeling. PLUS seeing Thranduil the way that he is around those he loves and trusts created a very speficed kind of Congnitive Dissoncine for Elrond lol 

Overtime Elrond becomes more comfortable around Thranduil, and finds him a little more prediactable. He witnesses more and more glimpses of the Thranduil that his friends and family get to see, and gets better at understadning when he’s making a joke and when he isn’t. For his part, Thranduil eventually does put more effort into softening his edges and being a more helpful conversation partner. Perhaps at the behest of Celebrian. 

When Celebrian is kidnapped by the Orcs, Thranduil was surprinsgly supportive, protective, and caring of Elrond both before and after her sailing west. In his own weird way. It was during this time that the two of them finally formed their own (somewhat odd) friendship. 

Thranduil was still not overly ‘friendly’ but Elrond did know that the Elvenking cared enough about him to leave his forest and travel across the mountains to do what he could to help. 

Nearing the end of the Third Age, when Greenwood was in its most angry and desperate of times, King Thranduil would not often accept or respond to official requests from Lord Elrond… but Thranduil would almost always respond to letters from his friend Elrond. The response was usually short and as to the point as possible, but he did respond. (see “Two Letters” lol)

Thanks for the ask and for reading my fics <3

[growingingreenwood]

What was the last peice of dialgoe you wrote? :)

Our sassy boys having a sassy farwell.

-------------------

The ‘goodbye’ between Ferdan and Galion had been shockingly simple, even for them. “Do not die, alright?” “I will do my best not to.” “Do not do your best, do my best.” Galion had said, already moving back towards the stairwell, “It’s better than your best.”

-----------------

[growingingreenwood]

Hii! how are you? hope everything's fine over there!! thinking about all of your fics cause they randomly came to my mind (as they often do honestly lol), and forgive me if you've already answered this here but i just forgot, but did Mereneth see thranduil's dragon burn scar before they started courting? if no, how deep into their relationship thranduil felt safe enough to drop the charm and show it to her? is there ever a moment when he just lets his face be with the scar visible? and has legolas seen it before? or is he just aware that his father has a matching scar with ferdan but he only heard of the story but never the actual physical scar? lots of questions marks here, sorry but it all appeared randomly in my mind lol

Forgive me, I’m going to put these asks together because they’re on the same topic <3 

Hellooooooooo!! Omg what a blessing to hear that my writing continues to lurk in somebodys subconscious mind. I honestly have nooooo idea what has or hasn’t been asked or written about at this point tbh but I’m always reay for questions SOOOOOO

No, she did not see his scar before they started courting. She knew it existed because basically everyone in Greenwood knew it existed, as Thranduil got his burns pretty early into Orpher Kingship. News had spread far, wide, and swiftly before Oropher had even gotten him back to Amon Lanc that their new Prince had already almost died to try and protect them. 

Because of how well known the exsistancne of the scars were, he showed her surprsingly quickly. Probably within the first year or less. Since she would have undoubtably heard doznes of conflicintg storys about how gruesome they were, he wanted her to be able to judge its severity for herself. That and Mereneth not seeing the scar felt like he was lying or missleading her in some way. These fresher scars seemed less personal to share somewhow. 

Thranduil rarely, if ever, lets the scar manifest physically. It’s not necessarily painful persay… but it’s extremely sensitive to every minor distrubance to it. Every breeze and change in tempreture or even his hair brushing against is impossible to ignore and borderline overwhelming, depending how long it lasts. Kind of like when you sit weird and put your leg to sleep and then try to walk on it when it had pins and needles, and its not painful but BOY HOWDY IS IT FEELING SOMEHING ALOT. yaknow? 

There are very very very very few things (if any) that Thranduil has purposefully and permamnintly kept from Legolas. The burn scar included. So while Legolas always knew that ‘something’ happened that gave his Ada and his ‘Uncle’ Ferdan injurys badly enough that their eyes never healed, he did not find out that it was Dragon Fire until he was close to or just past his majoarity. He did not see Thranduil’s manifested scars until a few hundred years after learning the real story. 

Seeing his fathers scars mostly just makes Legolas sad. Sad to think about the pain Thranduil would have expecined for so long. Sad that the wounds never fully healed. Sad that he was just trying to protect his new people. Sad to think about how Oropher must have reacted to finding Thranduil half charcoled and still smoldering in the grass. Sad to see his father look half-dead while still being alive. Its just .... sad.

So yes. Legoals has seen the burn scars a handful of times. Its just a rare occurrence with large spans of time between each one because its not really comfortalbe or enjoyable for either of them. 

Thank you for the asks!!

[growingingreenwood]

wait ... did u get beaten up by an old lady? (in reference to your last post about a 76 year old lady having the strongest grip ever)

Excuse u, she's 96 & I'll have you know I've been beaten up by PLENTY OF OLD LAIDIES, SHE AINT SPECIAL

[growingingreenwood]

I said nothing about fist fighting old ladies, i said ive been beaten up by plenty of old ladies. They can do that with or without my equal participation

[growingingreenwood]

wait ... did u get beaten up by an old lady? (in reference to your last post about a 76 year old lady having the strongest grip ever)

Excuse u, she's 96 & I'll have you know I've been beaten up by PLENTY OF OLD LAIDIES, SHE AINT SPECIAL

[growingingreenwood]

how do you imagine the first time mereneth saw thranduils scars? did she know beforehand they were there or was it a surprise? and what about legolas same question?

Tbh I am not sure if you’re referring to the first time she EVER saw any of his scars, or if you’re asking about seeing them in Valinor specifically. So I’ll do my best to answer both. 

By the time that Thranduil and Mereneth met, he’d already survived the attacks on Doraith twice, the War of Wrath, plus lord knows how many smaller battles over his lifetime. Mereneth knew about all of that; Thranduil had told her about it. Maybe not in great detail … but he'd told her. The thing is, most of the Silvans didn't really experience or participate in ‘Organized War’ the way the other elves did with eachother & with the forces of darkness. So it was difficult for her to really comprehend the scope of what he had already stubbornly survived through. Mereneth KNEW about the scars, but they were still a surprise. 

 The first time she saw most of Thranduils scars was…. Very emotional. For both of them. 

For Mereneth her poor brain basically short circuited. To know and love Thranduil in one of the most lighthearted periods of his life, and then to see the evidence of what it had taken for him to get there was extremely difficult to fit together into one cohesive image. Especially because she worked with the Healers as a scribe and had a better idea than the average population about what kind of wounds would leave each type of scar. 

He didn't need to tell her that he had been stabbed so deeply in the side, the hilt had almost been flush with his skin. He didn't need to explain the horrible infection he had gotten on his leg that could only be treated by cutting away the affected tissue. Or the slash wounds to his stomach that made it impossible to sit up on his own for weeks. 

He didn't need to tell her because she could read it in the scars. It was (understandably) A LOT to take in all at once. 

For Thranduil, Mereneth seeing his scars felt extremely vulnerable in a way it usually didn't. Usually, scars were scars. Things happened; warriors got hurt. The good or the lucky ones lived to get hurt another day & kept the evidence to remind them not to be stupid that way again. They were a sign that he had protected those he loved and stood up for things he believed in. 

But when Mereneth looked upon them, he was not a warrior with scars. He was just Thranduil, with every worst day of his life written out on his skin for her to examine. He worried that it would be evidence of too much cruelty for Mereneth to still love him, because how could anybody live through such cruel things without being equally horrific? He worried that she would finally realize how broken he still was. That she would finally understand and come to agree that he was not worth her time. 

It took a LOT of convincing on Mereneth’s behalf for Thranduil to beleive that if anyting, it only made her love him more. 

The first time that she saw all of Legolas’ scars was (initially and externally) less emotional than when she saw Thranduil's. She had a MUCH better idea of what to expect and had done her best to brace herself to not react in any way that might make Legoals feel subconscious or judged or prevent him from sharing things with her in the future.

 However, the longer she knew about them, the more she learned about some of the stuff that Legolas had lived through, the more it ‘haunted’ her in a way. She started having nightmares where she was forced to witness horrible things being done to Legolas but was unable to help or otherwise intervene in any way. Mereneth already felt guilty for dying and ‘abandoning’ her family, but that guilt would sometimes become almost crushing. The elfling she had been forced to leave behind had been so tiny and perfect and innocent… The elf before her now was a War Hero in a way even legends struggled to convey. 

The scars were reminders of the thousands of things in his life she had missed. The thousands of times he could have used the comfort of his mother, and did not have it. The thousands of things she would never know about him. It was so …. Lonely.

 While Thranduil, Ferdan, and Galion did their best to understand and help her through all her feelings, it was hard for them to really ‘get’ waht she was feeling since they were there the entire time. They got to witness Legolas slowly transfomr into the Elf that appeared on the shores of Valinor. I headcanon that Thranduils mother died when the dwarves attacked Thingol over the jewels, and so she also missed ………………. A Lot when it came to Thranduil’s life. The two of them I think would bond very deeply over this, and be important sources of support and comfort for eachother.

[growingingreenwood]

The two strongest grips in the known universe:

1 - A baby

2- A 96 year old lady with a raging UTI who thinks you stole the shoes shes currently wearing

[growingingreenwood]

Sometimes Im reminded about the difference in how Thranduil and Oropher started their Kingships and suddeny im sobbing on the floor

How Oropher Became King:

How Thranduil Became King:

[growingingreenwood]

Why is Ava always sitting on tables?? idk it just seems like something that would bother Ferdan

And Ferdan has bigger, more important fights to pick with his Elflings. Like them using most windows as doors & scaling walls like gecko's instead of using stairs.

[growingingreenwood]

Was Oropher upset that Thranduil made Ava queen when he sailed west? Did he think she was capable, or would he have rathered Thranduil gave the Throne to a male as is tradition?

Thranduil had nothing to do with Avaleina becoming Queen when he left. While the leader of the Greenwood Elves uses the title of a Monarch, power is not gained or passed in the same way as a traditional monarchy.

Their leaders are elected by the Silvan people; Avaleina becoming Queen was entirely the decision of the Greenwood Elves.

So no, Oropher has no negative opinions about Avaleina being elected queen after Thranduil sailed west.

[growingingreenwood]

do you have any fics you haven’t published yet? like ones you’re unsure about but want to?

I have a borderline unfathomable amount of stuff that has never been published, but none are full fics. I simply do not have the dedication to write something long-ish and not post it anywhere. There is a fic or two that I borderline regret posting, but will most likely never ever take them down. Perhaps one day I'll re-write and re-post them. Most of the stuff that I have that isn't published are pieces written mostly or entirely about OC's as a kind of character study situation for them, and they arnt published mostly because I don't think anybody would care to read them.

[growingingreenwood]

🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

@lusseeldalion Thats the nicest thing anybody could have possibly said 😭😭😭

[growingingreenwood]

what do you think would actually happen is galion DID have to kill something? especially since he’s like No Thank You, won’t carry a weapon, and main strategy is “Run Away Fast While Screaming Like a Banshee”

When it comes to the actual physical part of doing the killing, Galion would at least be OKAY at it. He’d be hysterical the entire time probably, and even more so after, but both Oropher and Ferdan individually made sure that he was ‘good enough’ with a blade to defend himself if he ever really needed to. So like, he’d be hurting and probably bleeding quite a bit because he really would have to be in a Kill or Be Killed situation. The entire ordeal would look ridiculous as fuck, but he’d be able to accomplish the task. 

 Mentally………………………. Galion would be Deeply Unwell…… for a W H I L E 

It would feel like the very very very last personal boundary he had in this world was ripped away from him, which would cause him to really deeply struggle with feelings of helplessness, powerlessness, and uselessness. It would reframe a lot of things about the world and about himself in a not very favorable light. 

He would also probably have a Guilt Spiral for the record books, thinking about how all of his elflings have been killing things for practically their entire goddamn lives -- How are they handling this better than him? ARE they handling it better, or is it an act? Are they just so numb, and he did not notice? Should he be ashamed of being this troubled by it? Should he be troubled that the others don’t seem to be having a hard time? How does he get this feeling to go away? How can he have a good night sleep again? Are these the dreams Thranduil & Ferdan & the others have been waking with for decades? Are there’s somehow even worse than this? Is everyone he loves doing more and suffering more than he’s ever even tried to do on their behalf? Does this feeling ever go away? Can somebody rewind time so that he can just die instead and not have to know he took a life? 

Does the blood ever wash off of his hands?

Can somebody hold him, for just a little while?

[growingingreenwood]

Not really, no. A way to MITIGATE the reaction would be if he killed something in order to protect somebody else that he loves very much. Like if he had to kill some Orcs to protect Legolas or something. But …… he would still feel the same hopelessness, powerlessness and uselessness. The guilt that ate him alive would still be around but just in a different font. He would also probably try a lot harder to hide how much he was falling apart over it, because he would not want whoever he saved to feel reasonable for his reactions and guilt.

Galion does not want to kill anything. Any scenario that forces him to kill, will negatively affect him. Regardless of how necessary it is. I don’t think that he would even be able to kill a fish for food unless somebody was very very close to starving to death, and even then, he’d be a little messed up about it.

[growingingreenwood]

Hi!!! How are you? I hope you're well! I asked this a couple of weeks ago and idk if it got swallowed into the dark depths of your inbox or if you're still thinking and haven't gotten back yet (if you are then I am SO sorry for sending this twice!!!) but...

When do you think was the exact moment Thranduil realised Sauron was back and how do you think he reacted? Was it more of sitting in silence for a few centuries and contemplating all life decisions, or was it crashing out for five minutes followed by an exhausted sigh? (Sorry again if I'm spamming you)

Have an amazing day!! 💛💛💛

Helloooo!! Im doing well thank you 💛

I didn’t take Thranduil very long to suspect it was Sauron behind the sudden darkness in his forest for many reasons… the timing of the arrival, the inelegance behind it, the ruthlessness, the strength. No other answer really made any logical sense to him. He told the other Elven Realms about his worries that Sauron had not been fully destroyed and was already working on building his strength back up again.  But the other realms were too desperate to finally have some peace, and didn't believe him. Kept insisting it wasn't possible. 

After Sauron learns that the other realms don't believe Thranduil's warnings, he sent him some sort of sign or message that made it EXPLICITLY CLEAR Sauron was the one in Thranduils forest, but was careful not to do it in a way that Thranduil could use as proof for the others. Literally just because Sauron is an Asshole that likes to play with his food

(Same vibes as the joke-story that goes vaguely like:   “One day your dog that you’ve had for years and years turns to you, and begins a conversation with you in perfect English. After a while, you ask him why he decided to speak now after all of this time, and the dogs says ‘Because nobody will ever believe you.’ and then never speaks again.” )

Anyways. After it was officially confirmed it was Sauron, Thranduil crashed tf out (somewhat) privately for a few days and then was like “Well. Knowing for certain that its Sauron does not change the fact that we have already been locked in this stalemate war. It does not change the fact that we will not leave our forest. IT PISSES ME THE FUCK OFF, ESPECIALLY BECUASE NOW I    K N O W    I’M RIGHT BUT I WILL STILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH EVERYONE ELSE NOT BELIEVING ME ABOUT IT but other than that it does not change anything. We have already been doing the impossible, and will simply have to continue.” 

To be honest, the rage of being 100000000000000000% CERTAIN that it was Sauron in his backyard was probably, like, half the reason Greenwood survived the Third Age. “I’m right, and the rest of the world WILL KNOW, and I WILL LIVE SO THAT THEY HAVE TO APOLOGIZE TO ME ABOUT IT.” 

Sorry it took so long to reply!! It was a mixture of pondering the response and seeing if i could finish the fic I started writing literally 6 months ago on this topic and the answer is: No - and I will continue to wrestle the Demons Inside Of Me that say I should just post it as two chapters.

(You arnt spamming, and even if you did I wouldn't care 💛💛💛💛)

Thank you! Stay safe 🥰

[growingingreenwood]

do you have any fics you haven’t published yet? like ones you’re unsure about but want to?

I have a borderline unfathomable amount of stuff that has never been published, but none are full fics. I simply do not have the dedication to write something long-ish and not post it anywhere. There is a fic or two that I borderline regret posting, but will most likely never ever take them down. Perhaps one day I'll re-write and re-post them. Most of the stuff that I have that isn't published are pieces written mostly or entirely about OC's as a kind of character study situation for them, and they arnt published mostly because I don't think anybody would care to read them.

[growingingreenwood]

is snip snap the turtle the trio rescued in your fic invitation?

Yessss she is!! A souvenir from their first official group hang that stayed around forever <3

[growingingreenwood]

LOVE the dichotomy of

Legolas "Could not successfully lie to his father or really anyone for that matter even if my very life depended on it"

and

Avaleina "If anyone is going to successfully keep a secret from us, it'll be her FOR SURE"

Being the love of each other lives. IT'S CALLED BALANCE, THRANDUIL OKAY.

LISTEN ........ she heard Ferdan say "Id rather ask for forgiveness than for permission" ONE TIME and it permanently altered her brain chemistry.

[growingingreenwood]

what do you think would actually happen is galion DID have to kill something? especially since he’s like No Thank You, won’t carry a weapon, and main strategy is “Run Away Fast While Screaming Like a Banshee”

When it comes to the actual physical part of doing the killing, Galion would at least be OKAY at it. He’d be hysterical the entire time probably, and even more so after, but both Oropher and Ferdan individually made sure that he was ‘good enough’ with a blade to defend himself if he ever really needed to. So like, he’d be hurting and probably bleeding quite a bit because he really would have to be in a Kill or Be Killed situation. The entire ordeal would look ridiculous as fuck, but he’d be able to accomplish the task. 

 Mentally………………………. Galion would be Deeply Unwell…… for a W H I L E 

It would feel like the very very very last personal boundary he had in this world was ripped away from him, which would cause him to really deeply struggle with feelings of helplessness, powerlessness, and uselessness. It would reframe a lot of things about the world and about himself in a not very favorable light. 

He would also probably have a Guilt Spiral for the record books, thinking about how all of his elflings have been killing things for practically their entire goddamn lives -- How are they handling this better than him? ARE they handling it better, or is it an act? Are they just so numb, and he did not notice? Should he be ashamed of being this troubled by it? Should he be troubled that the others don’t seem to be having a hard time? How does he get this feeling to go away? How can he have a good night sleep again? Are these the dreams Thranduil & Ferdan & the others have been waking with for decades? Are there’s somehow even worse than this? Is everyone he loves doing more and suffering more than he’s ever even tried to do on their behalf? Does this feeling ever go away? Can somebody rewind time so that he can just die instead and not have to know he took a life? 

Does the blood ever wash off of his hands?

Can somebody hold him, for just a little while?