Summary : After a hard-won victory at Helm's Deep and a joyful reunion with the two hobbits, a celebration was held that night. A lively drinking contest soon erupted between the three : Gimli, Legolas and f!reader. Sobering up , Merry and Pippin pulled you to the center asking you to perform a song. (f!reader is not from middle earth series.)
𐙚⋆.˚ A/n : sooo I'm making this into a series! No worries, you can also read this as a one-shot, it wouldnt hurt ya. Heres a snippet~
𐙚⋆.˚ Wc : 2.7k
➽──────────────────────────────❥
After the long and brutal battle at Helm's Deep, you were finally reunited with Merry and Pippin amid the ruins of Isengard.
That night, celebration followed victory.
You stood off to the side of the hall, half-shadowed, quietly taking in the scene before you. Warm, dim light filled the room, casting flickering gold across stone walls and tired faces. The scent of ale and wine hung thick in the air, mingling with laughter and low conversation, sounds of relief and joy.
Your thoughts drifted as the night unfolded, the memory of battle still heavy in your chest.
Beyond the hall, the plains of Rohan stretched wide, riders moving steadily toward Edoras. The image shifted in your mind to the Golden Hall itself, where Éowyn stood upon the parapet, her figure outlined against the firelight.
She knelt before King Théoden, offering him a goblet of wine. Once he took it, she stepped back, silent and respectful, retreating to stand behind him.
Théoden rose.
"Tonight," he said, his voice carrying through the hall, "we remember those who gave their blood to defend this country."
He lifted the goblet high above his head.
"Hail the victorious dead!"
"Hail!" the people echoed, raising their cups in return.
The hall soon filled with chatter once more with laughter rising, mugs clinking, voices overlapping as the weight of survival slowly loosened its grip.
You turned, intending to slip away quietly before anyone noticed your absence. It was a tiring night, all you wanted was some rest before the sunrise, after all you did just went through war not too long ago.
Sadly, You didn't get far as a tap landed against your back. You turned just as Gimli stepped into view, a wide grin stretching beneath his beard. He raised a full pint of ale toward you before firmly pressing it into your hands.
"Oh no, you don't," he said with a sheepish chuckle. "You can't just back down now! Your lad's competing."
He jerked his thumb toward the center of the hall, where the noise had grown louder with boisterous laughter, mugs slamming against the table, voices rising in excited shouts.
Confused, you turned in that direction he pointed, only to freeze at the sight before you.
There Legolas sat at the long table, framed by firelight as a neat line of pints and goblets spread out before him. Some stood full, others half-empty, and more than a few lay abandoned, their contents already claimed. The air around him buzzed with energy as warriors and riders crowded close, cheering loudly each time another cup was lifted.
Your mouth parted slightly as you scoffed, disbelief slipping out before you could stop it.
"A drinking game?" you muttered, disbelief clear as day.
A small smirk tugged at your lips as you turned back to Gimli, who stood beside you wearing a look of pure satisfaction.
"What?" he teased, raising his brows. "Afraid of a drinking game?" His eyes gleamed mischievously beneath his helmet, letting out a short laugh. "Well… you are a lady, after all."
The comment made you pause.
Your brows drew together, a faint frown forming as you looked at him. "Me?" You let out a laugh, shaking your head in disbelief. "Afraid of a drinking game?"
Straightening slightly, a confident smile curved at the corners of your lips. "Please, I was crowned the best at beer pong."
You shrugged casually, shooting Gimli a confident look as a grin spread across your face.
He only stared back at you in return, head tilting slowly to the side, his expression shifted into one of pure confusion. His mouth opened, clearly ready to ask what kind of battle beer pong might be, then snapped shut again, as though he thought better of it.
Catching his dumbfounded look, you laughed softly to yourself, shaking your head. "It means," you said simply, "I'm going to win."
For a moment, Gimli only blinked as he took in your words, processing your awnser with much thought. Then he burst into booming laughter, the sound carrying across the hall. Without warning, he grabbed your wrist and began dragging you forward, his grip firm but playful as you stumbled along behind him.
"She's competing lads!" Gimli roared.
Cheers erupted from every direction, hands clapping, mugs raised high as the crowd parted to make room for you.
Making your way through the crowd , your gaze lifted instinctively, locking onto Legolas.
He had turned fully towards you now, blue eyes wide with surprise, his cup frozen halfway to his lips.
"You're drinking?" he asked, disbelief laced clearly in his voice.
Firelight flickered across his face as his expression shifted, caught somewhere between concern and curiosity upon your participation.
You met his gaze with unwavering confidence, lips curling into a grin as you dropped into the seat beside him.
Legolas leaned closer towards you at once, concern filled clear in his eyes. "You do not need to do this," he said quietly, lowering his voice as if the noise around you might somehow swallow his words. "You're not good with-"
You waved him off before he could finish, already reaching for the nearest cup in front of you. "Oh please," you scoffed lightly. "You're just scared I'll win."
His brows lifted at your crazy assumptions. "That is not-"
And yet before he could finish his word, Gimli plopped back down beside you with a heavy thud, sloshing ale dangerously close to the table's edge. The crowd roared louder, voices merging into one excited chant.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
Right on beat, cups were lifted as the cheers erupted from the crowd. Laughter rang out as drinks vanished one after another.
Minutes slipped by. Then more. Somewhere along the way, minutes turned into hours.
By the time you realized it, warmth had crept into your limbs, your thoughts growing pleasantly fuzzy around the edges. The hall spun just slightly, not enough to alarm you, but enough to make everything feel lighter, looser.
You leaned without thinking, your arms sliding up and around Legolas' neck as if it were the most natural thing in the world. The crowd howled with laughter, but you barely noticed.
"Youuuu are cheating!" you accused, your words stretching as you squinted at him. You muttered something under your breath, utterly incoherent, before snapping your head back up to glare at him properly.
With your eyes upon him , Legolas could only blink in return, startled by your actions.
Holding onto his last pint , he calmly lifted his final cup and finished it in one smooth motion before setting it back down. Slowly, deliberately, he turned his attention back towards you.
Your faces were suddenly far too close. You could feel his hot breath on your face as you moved away slightly.
Across the table, Gimli swayed where he sat, eyes unfocused. He let out a low, satisfied grunt before promptly tipping backwards, his body hitting the wooden floor with a solid thump. And just like that, a victor was crowned.
With cheers errupted once more for the winning elven prince, Legolas glanced briefly at the fallen dwarf before turning back to you, his expression softening. "You are… fuddled," he said gently, his eyes scanning your reddened and flushed cheeks with concern.
He opened his mouth to say more, but you reached up, pressing a finger lightly against his lips just in time.
"Shhhh," you whispered, shaking your head solemnly. "I'm not drunk." You shot back, your eyes lit up as you giggled at your own insistence.
"I'm soberrrr."
Legolas' gaze lingered on you, blue eyes warm and impossibly patient. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips beneath your finger as he carefully lowered your hand in one steady movement.
"I'll fetch you something else to drink…" Legolas said softly, carefully reaching to untangle your arms from around his neck.
The moment his hold loosened, you reacted at once.
"Nooooo!" you whined, wrapping your arms right back around him, tightening your grip as if you were afraid he might disappear. Your voice rose in protest before trailing off into a low, sulky mumble. "You can't leave me…"
Feeling your arms wrapped around him once again, he froze in shock.
For a brief moment, he seemed utterly unsure of what to do, caught between reason and the warmth pressed so closely against him. With no real way out of your grasp, he let out a quiet breath and gave in, settling back against the bench.
You stayed there, clinging to him, your breath warm against his neck as the heat of wine and ale continued to cloud your senses. You shifted restlessly, nuzzling closer, the world around you fading into noise and flickering light.
Time passed longer than you realized. Slowly, the fog began to lift ever so slightly. Awareness returned in pieces. The weight of your limbs, the steady presence beneath your hands. You stirred, lifting your head slightly.
Legolas was already watching you. Worry lingered in his blue eyes, though it softened when he saw you fully awake. A small, almost sheepish smile followed.
"I won," he admitted quietly.
You squinted at him, confused, before the realization hit. Your gaze dropped, you were still latched onto him, arms wrapped tight, clinging shamelessly.
Heat rushed to your face, a small blush flushed on your cheeks. You quickly pulled back, glancing around the hall in embarrassment. The celebration carried on as if nothing had happened. Laughter echoed. Somewhere nearby, Merry and Pippin were finishing their song, voices loud and cheerful.
Still feeling a little light-headed, you smiled sheepishly and joined in with the applause, clapping along with genuine enthusiasm.
Somehow, Merry and Pippin noticed immediately.
Their eyes met across the room, matching grins spreading across their faces as if they'd shared the same thought without a word. A moment later, they hopped down from the table and made their way towards you.
Before you could react, they grabbed your wrists, tugging you up and pulling you through the crowd gathered around the table.
"Come on!" Merry cheered. "Sing us a song!"
Pippin nodded eagerly beside him. "Yes! Your turn!"
You blinked, confused at their request, stumbling slightly as you were dragged along. "Me? No," you scoffed, trying weakly to pull free. "Absolutely not-"
But it was no use. The crowd had already caught on.
"Sing a song!" "Sing a song!"
The chant grew louder, echoing through the hall. The warmth still lingering in your veins gave you more confidence than you'd ever normally allow yourself. Laughing breathlessly, you let them guide you as you climbed up onto the table.
You wobbled slightly, arms spreading for balance before you held up a hand.
"Shhh-!" you laughed, shushing the crowd as silence slowly fell.
"A song I shall sing!" you declared proudly. Cheers roared once more at your descision. There you stood head held up high before you fell back into your thoughts.
Searching for a song in your head, a familiar melody soon flooded your head. A gentle hum then slipped past your lips, the melody echoed around the quiet room.
"There will come a soldier
Who carries a mighty sword
He will tear your city down
Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord
He will tear your city down
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord"
You sang, your voice steady despite the sway in your stance. Stomping your foot once against the wooden table, the dull thud echoed through the hall as you found the rhythm. Lifting your hands, you clapped along, the sound sharp and confident, setting the pace for the room.
"There will come a poet
Whose weapon is His word
He will slay you with His tongue
Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord"
You continued, your feet skipping along to the beat, the rhythm carrying through every movement of your body. Not long after, Merry and Pippin seemed to catch onto your melody, stomping and clapping in time, their laughter bubbling over as they circled each other in playful loops.
"He will slay you with His tongue
Oh lei , oh lai , oh lord!"
The two sang along with you, voices harmonizing with yours as the crowd slowly picked up, joining in alongside. The hall was alive with energy, mugs clinking as the crowd stomped in sync.
"There will come a ruler
Whose brow is laid in thorn
Smeared with oil like David's boy
Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord
Smeared with oil like David's boy
Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord
He will tear your city down, oh lei, oh lai, ohhh!"
You sang loud and clear, letting the music created guide you, twirling in circles atop the table, your arms raised, letting your body move freely to the rhythm. The crowd followed, stomping and clapping along, swept up in the infectious excitement of the song.
Then, briefly, you paused, catching your breath as your gaze met his across the room. There he stood, leaning casually against the wall, eyes shining as they watched you. A small, knowing smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
Your heart stuttered, the beat of the song matching the frantic rhythm in your chest. For yet another fleeting moment, the world seemed to stop, as it always did whenever he looked your way.
Before you realized it, a grin broke across your flushed cheeks, and instinctively, you jumped down from the table, spinning into the crowd and continued the song along your way.
"Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh"
You grabbed his hands mid-verse, spinning yourself around, laughter spilling freely from your lips. Your eyes locked with his yet for another brief, almost electric second, a big grin spreading across your face before you bounded back onto the table.
Taking back control, you stomped once more, reclaiming the rhythm and leading the hall in the final stretch of the song. Voices rose in unison, claps and stomps echoing, the melody filling the room until your voice carried the last triumphant note.
"Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lai, oh"
As the final words left your lips, the hall erupted into cheers, mugs raised high, clanging against each other in celebration.
Amidst the crowd, unbeknownst to you, two figures watched with quiet admiration.
Beneath the hall's rafters, there the young prince of Rohan stood, eyes fixed on your lively performance. A wide smile spread across his face as he watched you move, clapping along with the rhythm in his own private way.
Unbeknownst to him, another observer had noticed that smile, the easy, unguarded expression of someone caught entirely by admiration.
Legolas, standing near you, furrowed his brows slightly, his gaze lingering upon the other prince longer than he intended. A subtle tension tugged at the edge of his composure, though he tried to mask it.
Behind the spectacle, Gandalf leaned lightly against a pillar, his long fingers tapping against his staff as he watched with quiet amusement. A low chuckle escaped him. "It is almost as if I am watching the past of their parents," he murmured to himself, eyes twinkling as he observed the scene.
Aragorn, standing beside him, raised an inquisitive brow. "Parents?" he asked, curiosity sharpening his tone.
Gandalf only chuckled in return, the sound soft but knowing. He began to recount what he knew, his voice weaving through memory and history. "Nothing has changed along the centuries. The Elven prince-" he glanced toward Legolas, "was much like his father. Though I must admit, he was never so friendly with your ancestors either." A dry laugh followed, a hint of mischief in his tone.
Aragorn tilted his head slightly, confusion flickering across his features, but Gandalf continued, eyes drifting back toward the hall where the song still carried.
"She resembles her mother perfectly... It does bring back lots of memories..." Gandalf's voice softened, a sigh slipping past him, heavy with nostalgia as the night soon came into an end.
A Lord of the Rings, Middle-Earth Strategy Battle Game diorama/game board
Going off the dates in my camera roll, this project took a total of about 4 months. There were many periods of inactivity, so I cannot say for certain how many man hours went into it, or how many materials were used (I deliberately did not keep track so I wouldn't know how much money I put into this) It technically isn't complete, the caves and stables are not done, but I've just run out of steam and all the parts left to do aren't very interesting works of art or crafts.
The body of the structure is all 3D printed. Everything was designed very poorly by me in TinkerCAD, which took a lot of time because I don't know how to use a computer (so please don't ask for the stl files because just getting this far was a big enough struggle and there are like 70 different files because I don't know how to do 3D design. Maybe one day I will have enough time to sit down and sort them out🥲 ).
I went with a sort of skeleton of struts and plates and then covered those pieces with either styrene or printed stone work. I found out I could print these pieces face down on the build plate and they would take on the plate texture and look kinda like stone. All the major pieces were joined together using magnets or pin/slot pieces I printed. The support structure is a series of cardboard tubes and wooden posts that have printed caps to provide stability and slots for other wooden pieces to hold the upper parts of the castle. It's not that sturdy, but it's sturdy enough for small plastic models.
The terrain pieces are all XPS foam and plaster rocks on bits of foamboard that are shaped around the walls. The ground panels are foam board covered in a mixture of plaster and modge podge to try and strengthen them. The creek/river/ditch is UV resin. There are also a few fake grass tufts in there to add some green.
Originally, the plan was to create ALL of the castle, including the extensive stables and caves as seen in the Weta diorama, this would require the structure to be placed on the floor, and after setting up the in progress version, my knees decided this was a foolish idea, and I cut the scope of the project back to fit on my 4ft x 6ft table space (and into my storage bins), prioritizing gameplay and ease of accessibility over nerd wish fulfillment. I still have the files for the full stables and throne room, so maybe one day I shall have my complete castle...
This was a long and tiring project, but I consider it one of, if not the best thing I have ever made. I learned a lot of new skills and frequently had to apply myself to some very satisfying problem solving, and really that's what it's all about.
if you watch the legolas and aragorn helms deep returning evenstar scene and don't think theres something there I think you need to get your eyes checked
