Headcanon Daddy 👅

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.

1 - A baby

How Oropher Became King:

How Thranduil Became King:

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.

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 💛💛💛💛)

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.

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?

How are you? Just a quick question, how old do you reckon Legolas was (in the equivalent human years) when his mum died? Cause I've read a few of your fics and in some he seems to be around 4/5 and in others it sounds like he's 2.

Thanks and stay safe out there :)

Hello!! Im good thank you, i hope you are too 💛 Yes; a few of my fics have him at different ages when it happens either because

A) it was written before i decided what age i wanted him to be when happened.

B) Somtimes its fun to write things ""outside"" of my "designated timeline."

-😎

Ferdan

He's the only one that isnt JUST as embarrassed as the elflings during the entire ordeal. I feel like initially, Ferdan and Thranduil were going to do it together, but then Thranduil turned a fabulous shade of scarlett and Ferdan threw him out and refuses to let it go now.