Veni. Vidi. Scripsi.

Boromir/OC • Secret Identity • Slow Burn

The Fellowship meets a strange boy named Kai. But some things don’t add up — the way he talks, the way he fights…

What if he’s not who he says he is?

What if he’s not a “he” at all?

A story of trust, tension, and the growing bond between warriors — with a secret that could change everything.

📖 Read on AO3 | 🇷🇺 Читать на Фикбук

Just wrapped up the second scene for the bonus chapter of “The Warrior’s Trial” — this one written for @lucifers-legions and @bravequester , my fearless AO3 readers who keep tossing ideas that practically write themselves.

The scene turned out longer than expected, but fun and full of energy. Now it needs a round of proofreading from me, my husband, and my beta — then it’s ready to go.

A small taste:

“In Minas Tirith, women only get wounded with table knives,” he muttered. “And they think before speaking.”

“What clumsy ladies you’ve got there!” she shot back. “It’s only a day and a half — I’ll get there just fine without your high-ranking babysitting. Just return the sword.”

Reminder: bonus chapters are built entirely from your comments and theories. Technically, you’re the writers — I’m just the scribe ✍️

Last time the story ended with me ripping literally everything out and starting over.

After sitting with my mistakes for a bit, I came back to the project much more serious. I realised the most important thing is a clean, symmetrical pattern — actually two of them, one for each sleeve. So I scanned the leather bracer, traced the design in a Photoshop-like app, kept only the outline layer and printed it on water-soluble stabiliser.

Then I glued this whole fancy setup onto the sweater, basted it down by hand for extra security and only after that started embroidering. The main outlines were pretty easy to stitch; the only problem was that my hands were sweaty and the stabiliser started dissolving right in my fingers. At some point I had to put on silicone gloves — it looked absolutely ridiculous, but hey, it worked.

The White Tree part was trickier: the pre-wound embroidery floss is pure chaos, it tangles and refuses to lie where you want it. Luckily the area itself wasn’t huge, so I managed to wrestle it into place fairly quickly.

After I washed the sweater again and dissolved the remaining stabiliser, I realised I was actually happy with how it turned out. The wings and the tree sit exactly where I wanted them, and now I have a sweater with bracers embroidered straight onto the sleeves.

I’m honestly blown away by how much love this little DIY got! Thank you all so much for the reactions, comments, and questions!

So many creative and talented people showed up in the notes, it’s amazing to see.

Part 2 is coming as soon as I finish the first sleeve!

There’s a small update involving leather and buckles… but more on that later.

So, let’s call this Step 1 — planning, prep, and the very first stitches.

I’ve already mentioned that I wanted to embroider Boromir’s bracers onto a sweater for my husband as a New Year’s gift.

At first, I thought about doing a leather appliqué, but that felt a bit too much, and honestly, I worried it would be too pompous for him to actually wear. In my head, the pattern should look subtle: just a nice ornament for most people, but a quiet “ah, I see what you did there” for anyone familiar with The Lord of the Rings.

So embroidery it was (even though I had no idea how yet). We went to the store together, because picking the right sweater without him would be impossible, especially now that he’s suddenly gotten really fit and slim.

I was torn between brown (like Boromir’s bracers) and grey (like chainmail). In the end, I went with grey — it made more sense. The one we found was grey-black, and its texture looked so much like chainmail that it felt meant to be.

Then came the magic.

I needed a pattern, so I bought a pair of Boromir bracers to trace. I actually found them secondhand from a lovely woman who was selling her husband’s Aragorn costume (he’s now more into playing with their baby than wielding Narsil 💛). I thought that was adorable, and it felt like a nice little nod to the movies: Aragorn “looting” Boromir’s bracers, but this time, it happened the other way around!

Next challenge: making a stencil. I first tried tracing on paper (like we did as kids)

But it didn’t quite work out, so I just traced directly onto stabilizer. Then I ironed it on and started embroidering.

Of course, two problems appeared right away:

a) I used non-water-soluble stabilizer because I was too impatient to wait a day for the proper one to arrive (spoiler: bad idea).

b) I had no clue how to make the pattern symmetrical for the second sleeve.

Both problems eventually made me rip everything out — but that’s for the next post.

At least the first part went smoothly: I finished the outline in two days (thanks to long meetings and free hands 😅).

Then came the chaos of removing the stabilizer — my floor was covered in a million tiny white bits, but I made it through.

I tried filling the outline but quickly realized it looked better (and much cleaner) as just a contour. Then I moved on to the White Tree embroidery. By that time, my printable water-soluble stabilizer had arrived, and life became somuch easier.

A few days later, I finished the first sleeve… and realized it looked kind of terrible.

Also, I still had no idea how to mirror the pattern perfectly for the other side.

Luckily, I checked the calendar and saw I still had two months — so I took a deep breath… and ripped it all out.

End of Part One.

P.S. I tried writing this in lowercase like all the cool kids, but gave up halfway through... Duh, I’m 31, I’ve earned my capital letters 😤

ohhh i love the covers you make and it just hit me that i’ve never actually mirrored them on AO3, even though i did share them on my native Ficbook 😅

i honestly can’t choose a favorite because they all feel so different, but this one especially reminds me of the old books i had as a kid. they had that particular atmosphere and that smell (oh gods, that smell of old paper!!! i adore it!!!)

i’m just so, so happy to have you as a reader. i love everything!!! your comments, your covers, you. truly. bows deeply

P.S. sorry if i sometimes don’t reply right away... i always see what you write or send, i just… get caught up in the idea that i can’t respond in a way that feels “worthy” of how much thought you put into it. (working on that with my therapist, actually progress is being made! 😂)

i’ve been kinda stuck for the past week (or more?) and it’s not because i have too much time, but because i forgot how to write. or maybe i’m just scared of the blank page again. either way, it’s been weird.

i miss sharing things, though. and for some reason, doing it in my native language feels too serious lately. like i start typing and suddenly it turns into a manifesto. so maybe english is my “soft mode.”

so yeah. i thought maybe i could try writing here again.

not sure what exactly 🤷🏻‍♀️ maybe a mix of small life updates, writing struggles, random thoughts.

life’s been pretty full recently: new projects, new people, new hobbies.

i’ve been doing embroidery (my bracer project is a mess but i love it), trying fancy coffee like a wannabe barista, noticing how strange and beautiful everyday things look in another country… and maybe, slowly, finding my way back to writing.

idk if tumblr still likes lifestyle posts, but maybe that’s what this will be.

I can’t even! Love that 🥹✨

BUT! Attention please! I’m on a mission, and I really need your help. I officially pestered my husband with the question: “what do you want for New Year’s?” (because, as you may know, he’s not exactly quick on making decisions: by the time he figures it out, New Year’s will be over and we’ll be celebrating the Old New Year instead 😅). And me? I’m a detail-obsessed person, I need time to plan every little thing, box and ribbon included.

So here’s what I managed to pull out of him: he really liked the horn, and said !and I quote ! “well… you mentioned there’s a shop with more of that kind of stuff… maybe something from there… the horn was just really good.” A sword he doesn’t want (or hasn’t figured out what to do with 🤔), but as for what else to give him… I’m drawing a complete blank.

I had this idea: maybe bracers with the White Tree of Gondor, or something similar? I mean, if the horn worked, why not stay on theme, right? But I’m not sure. What do you all think?

Thank you so much for your question — and for reading Secret of Rohan! It really means a lot to me. 💛

Oh, this is going to be a long one :)

I feel like I keep repeating myself everywhere, but since I write Boromir based on my husband, imagining him in a modern AU is actually not that hard. He’d be just as stubborn, just as honest, and just as… solid (though sometimes a little slow, let’s be real). Fun fact: my husband even has a horn in his office.

In Secret of Rohan and the rest of the cycle I make a small reference to parallel worlds — it’s both my personal headcanon and a little tribute to my husband. I honestly don’t think modern Boromir would go into the military directly (unless circumstances forced him). In canon, he fights because he has to and because he can — but his real drive is protecting his family and people. In a modern setting, I see him choosing something that still carries responsibility, freedom, and a sense of power, but without the constant bloodshed. One fanon idea I love is that he could be a commercial pilot (started from this) — and I even started a modern AU fic with that premise (never finished it though).

As for Éodred: yes, I definitely build her relationship with Boromir on my own experience, because honestly, that’s the only relationship I know from the inside. But I don’t think modern Éodred would simply be me. She’s bolder, sharper, and freer than I am. In a modern world, I can easily imagine her as someone who’s already made a career for herself by 28 — maybe in sales, management, or something equally intense. She’d be witty, daring, more outspoken than ever, and I could totally see her running a feminism or sex-ed blog (considering her background and her personality).

So yes — I think their personalities would stay very close to what you see in Secret of Rohan: Boromir the stubborn, noble protector, and Éodred the sharp-tongued, independent free spirit. Just instead of swords and horses, they’d have different tools. But the core dynamic, the sparks, the push and pull between them — that would remain exactly the same.

OH. MY. GOD.

There’s a sling. There’s an actual SLING on it 😭

I’ll be catching up on messages, comments, and all your amazing reactions over the next few days — thank you so much for being here while I was away!

In the meantime, here are some photos if you’d like a peek at the adventure 🌿

So… I haven’t posted in three days. And there’s a reason for that:

I was ridiculously busy because I decided to redo everything.

I didn’t like the color.

The lid wasn’t opening smoothly.

The whole box felt too rough to the touch.

And then… chaos.

I disassembled the entire box and started sanding it down.

Dust everywhere. Not chips, not shavings — fine wood powder that got absolutely everywhere.

I even had to create a makeshift breathing shield because, of course, my respirator was nowhere to be found.

Then I realized sanding could also help me even out the boards, so… back to the store for more sanding discs.

Sand. Smooth. Sand. Smooth. Stain.

This time I used the same Palisander shade but from a different brand — and WOW. Just look at the difference!

✨ Next: decoration time.

I burned the White Tree onto both a keychain and the lid of the box (video of the process included — it’s so satisfying to watch).

At first, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to add metal leaf or not. But once I burned the full tree and reassembled the box with all the hardware — corner brackets, bronze fittings, leather straps — I realized gilding would clash. Neither gold nor silver looked right with the warm bronze tones.

So… no metal leaf. And honestly? I don’t regret it.

I carefully aligned the hinges this time, added the lock, tightened the leather straps and… voilà. The box is done.

If you’re worried this feels like an abrupt finale — don’t worry.

There will be one last post: the grand unboxing. (It’s coming after July 19th.)

Our anniversary is actually August 1st, but I’m planning for him to open it earlier — during our nature getaway.

I’m still in awe every time I see my scenes and characters brought to life like this. 🖤