what is a hero?

Elrond and Elros hanging out with Great Grandad Annael ♡

He considered the stranger. Why did he want Eöl's name before giving his own? Was this a trick?

He blinked in surprise, uncertain about the dark and rather odd stranger.

The hood of his cloak fell back as he took a single step forward. Eöl scowled.

arranged marriage themed starters based on this, only revamped and with many added lines! change pronouns, names, or make any other adaptations as needed!

UNHAPPY MATCHES

❝ I would rather die than marry the likes of you. ❞

❝ I will run away! I won’t accept this marriage! ❞

❝ I cannot accept this. I will not marry them – my heart belongs to someone else. ❞

❝ Please – please do not make me wed them! ❞

❝ Anyone else would be better! Please, I know you can find me a better match! ❞

❝ I will never love you! ❞

❝ It isn’t fair! I don’t even know them! ❞

❝ Why him? Can't I marry [name] instead? ❞

❝ He doesn't want me, nor I him. Why force us to marry? ❞

❝ Find me another bride. Any other bride. ❞

❝ I don't want to marry him and go to the other side of the realm, away from everything and everyone I have ever known. ❞

❝ She is not the bride I want. You know that. ❞

❝ She is as pretty as a painting, and lovely in every sense, I'm sure. So give her to a husband who will love her, and let me have the one my heart desires. ❞

❝ I agreed to it for an alliance, and her family failed to deliver. I will not marry her. ❞

❝ I'm a prince of the realm, even if I'm not heir to the throne. This match is beneath me. ❞

❝ I will not accept a bride that is not of our lineage. Our ancient blood is not to be mixed with the blood of other men. ❞

❝ Why must I marry the enemy for the sake of an alliance? Why am I the adequate sacrifice to make? ❞

❝ She hates me, she hates all of our family, and for good reason. Don't make me marry her. ❞

❝ My entire family is dead because of his. His entire family is dead because of mine. Do you truly believe marrying us will be enough? ❞

❝ Joining our two bloodlines solves nothing. There is no undoing the bloodshed between us. ❞

❝ He loved her. He will never love me. ❞

❝ Go through with it and you're sentencing him to death. I do not jest when I say I will rid myself of him sooner or later. ❞

DUTY

❝ Do not touch me! I only married you for duty, stay away from me! ❞

❝ I shall fulfill my duty, but that is all. Please do not touch me unless you must. ❞

❝ I do not care what you want, we did not marry out of love. ❞

❝ We are only marrying because I need an heir. What you do and with who beyond that does not matter to me. ❞

❝ Even though I have been told this would be my duty my entire life, I still can’t quite accept it. ❞

❝ You knew this day would come. People like us only marry for duty, dear. ❞

❝ Love is not the priority for the likes of us. ❞

❝ Marrying for love is a delusion. ❞

❝ Ours is a union of duty. You would do well to remember that. ❞

❝ Every good child knows: duty before your heart’s desire. ❞

❝ I shall marry you only because I must. ❞

❝ Even if we married for duty, our union can still become one of true love. ❞

❝ Duty brought us together, but it is love that will make this bearable. ❞

❝ I do not have to like it, only to fulfill my duty. ❞

❝ I know you wouldn't have chosen me, as I wouldn't have chosen you. But it's our duty to see this through. ❞

❝ I have to place duty first. It's what is expected of me. ❞

❝ I have been betrothed to him for years. I have to do my duty, even if I yearn to be with you instead. ❞

❝ This will be more bearable if we both fulfill our duties. ❞

❝ I am not what you wanted, but I swear to you I shall fulfill my duties as your husband as well as I can — and leave you alone as much as you wish, should that be your preference. ❞

LOVE

❝ Love can be built, too. And if you’re willing, I would like to try and learn to love you. ❞

❝ I do not care about power and wealth. I want to marry for love. ❞

❝ A marriage is a marriage – love or arranged. Both require the same level of commitment. ❞

❝ My father used to say the strongest loves are built by choice, not by chance. ❞

❝ Do you believe in love at first sight? I think I’m already in love with you. ❞

❝ You will learn to love. You have to be determined to grow a love that will sustain your marriage for a lifetime.  ❞

❝ We were friends once, do you remember? I know much has happened since, but there was fondness between us before. Perhaps there may yet be love, one day. ❞

❝ I know there is blood and war between us, that we have both lost much, but I do not wish for either of us to feel like this union is a prison. I wish for love — or respect, at the very least. ❞

❝ We are the last ones alive after years of war. This match was meant to unify our enemy bloodlines and end the conflict, no more — so why is it I find myself caring for you? ❞

❝ Your mother and I married for love, but we are the exception, not the rule. ❞

❝ I want to elope, like mother and father did. ❞

❝ We are already betrothed — why not marry right now? ❞

❝ We were meant for each other from the moment we were born. I would make you my wife right this instant, should that be your wish. ❞

❝ I hadn't dared dream an arranged match would find me a wife I now love more than life itself. ❞

❝ If I believed such things, I would say we were always meant to be. ❞

❝ My betrothed is sweet — but I long for deep, passionate, all-consuming love, not sweet. ❞

❝ If you want my love, show me your devotion. ❞

❝ Is it evil that I'm unsure I can love him? He is perfectly suitable, but... ❞

❝ I do not think he can love me. We get along well enough, but something is missing. ❞

❝ We have fire in our blood. There will never be love between us if he fears the flames. ❞

❝ The sea is in our blood. He can only love me if he is brave enough to navigate the waves. ❞

❝ We are rulers of the skies. How could he ever love someone who lacks her own wings? ❞

STRIFE

❝ You refuse me to give yourself to a peasant?! ❞

❝ I understand not wanting me, but favoring a commoner instead? I should kill him for daring to get close to you. ❞

❝ You are mine now. Act properly. ❞

❝ Who you loved before is meaningless. We are married now, and your lover will remain in the past. ❞

❝ I am your wife! I will not be humiliated like this. ❞

❝ Do not forget who I am, my lord. Married though we may be, I'm a crown princess still — and my family shall not take kindly to you mistreating me. ❞

❝ Am I so inadequate as your wife that you need to seek another's bed? ❞

❝ I know peace and politics dictated our marriage, but must you avoid me so? ❞

❝ Leave me be. I fulfill my marital duties as required, but I am not bound to give anything more. ❞

❝ You did not want me, and I did not want you. We agreed on that. So why are you so offended I enjoy the company of another when you yourself do the same? ❞

❝ What do you wish of me, husband? Is it not enough to have the last of my living kin locked in her chambers? To sit the throne you have taken from my father? What more can you desire from me? ❞

❝ I hate this place. It will never be home, and I will never love you. ❞

❝ You are my wife. I would not see my lady wife looking miserable for all court to see. ❞

❝ You are my queen. Do you realize how many other maidens would kill to be in your place, even as you sulk about it? ❞

❝ My own brother, taking my wife to bed? I did not expect such a betrayal from the two of you. ❞

❝ My sister was the better option, I know. You would have preferred she was the one given to you, but alas, we cannot always have what we want. ❞

❝ The man I most despise in this world, and you see it fit to spend time in his company?! I cannot accept it from my betrothed. ❞

❝ You are my betrothed. I would know what you were doing with him. ❞

❝ My lord should know I will not take kindly to mistresses once we are wedded. ❞

❝ You are mine — or will be, soon enough. Do not dare even look at another. ❞

❝ This was my home once, and you ruined it. ❞

ARRANGEMENTS

❝ You will not give my only child to that monster! ❞

❝ It's insulting that you would even suggest a match so beneath my daughter. ❞

❝ She is a princess. She won’t be wed to someone lesser. ❞

❝ You marry our daughter to whomever you desire, when my corpse is cold in my grave, husband. ❞

❝ He will marry the one we chose, not that peasant! ❞

❝ Wed your son to my daughter, or my daughter to your son — better yet, both. Our bloodlines should be joined as one. ❞

❝ Our daughters and your sons. Wouldn't it be lovely to have them wedded? ❞

❝ My granddaughter should sooner slit that man's throat than share his bed. I should advise her to do just that. ❞

❝ My daughter will marry him, for the good of the realm. I do not care how old he is. ❞

❝ You will do as you’re told and marry them! ❞

❝ We picked the best match available for you. ❞

❝ It is the best we managed. I am sorry you don’t like them, but there was no other way. ❞

❝ You are a princess. You will have to agree to a match eventually. ❞

❝ There are so many good proposals! How come none is to your tastes? ❞

❝ Our bloodline must continue, and for that, you need to marry and have heirs. ❞

❝ I will never let them ship you off to a stranger. ❞

❝ You will not be sold for power like I was. ❞

❝ I won’t let them trade you for their alliance! ❞

❝ The arrangement was made when you were both still children. It is much too late to go back on it. ❞

❝ Only kings would be worthy of you. We will accept no less on your behalf. ❞

❝ It is a good match, better than expected. You will marry her. ❞

❝ My daughter will not marry him. I do not care that he's a prince, nor that it could aid in building peace. That boy will not have her. ❞

❝ I do not care if you would go through with it. I would die before letting that boy have you — better yet, I would rather kill him. ❞

❝ They did not honor their word. I know that for years you expected to marry him, but we are calling off the betrothal. ❞

❝ She will make a fine queen and a fine mother. And she is the only adequate match for you besides, whether you like it or not. ❞

❝ We need to find a suitable match for her, before she brings dishonor upon herself. ❞

❝ They have been betrothed for years. It is time we marry them, I should think. ❞

❝ You shall be wedded soon. His claim will be more secure with suitable heirs of his own. ❞

BEGINNINGS

❝ You are not at all what I imagined. ❞

❝ I know you hold no love for me. How could you when we are practically strangers? And I know we may never come to love each other, but we can at least be friends. ❞

❝ The descriptions I heard did not do justice to your beauty. ❞

❝ You are lovely. I am lucky you are to be wed to me. ❞

❝ I must admit I expected far worse from an arranged marriage. ❞

❝ I want to know you better if we are to be wed. Tell me about the things you like. ❞

❝ Am I not what you expected? ❞

❝ You seem disappointed… I may not be as handsome as you expected, but I shall never treat you unkindly. ❞

❝ This is your home too, now. You are free to go wherever you wish. ❞

❝ How odd we have been betrothed for so long but never saw each other before our wedding day. ❞

❝ It's good, to finally put a face to the name I heard spoken so often. ❞

❝ What can I possibly do to thaw the ice surrounding my lovely bride? ❞

❝ I have not seen you smile since we met, princess. What grave sin have I committed to be met with such derision? ❞

❝ I loathe to admit that even your traitor's blood cannot diminish how beautiful you are. ❞

❝ Beautiful, as well as clever. Were you not the usurper's daughter, I may have come to love you. ❞

❝ So very charming. Were you not sitting my father's throne, I may have taken some liking to you. ❞

❝ We've met before, I know, I know. But can we not make this a new beginning? ❞

❝ I should like to put our differences behind us, difficult though it may be. We are to be wedded, after all. Let this be a new beginning. ❞

❝ I hope, in time, this will be your home. ❞

❝ Know that I shall fulfill every duty to you, as your wife. ❞

❝ I know there are prettier brides, but I'll do all that is expected of me most dutifully. ❞

THE MATCHED

❝ In just a few days I will be wed to someone I never met. ❞

❝ It's so odd to think my entire life will change so fast. A person I don’t even know, bound to me for life. ❞

❝ I know they plan to marry me off to someone soon, even if no one said a thing yet. ❞

❝ How could you agree to this without even asking me what I want? ❞

❝ I do not wish to leave home. My betrothed lives in such a different place… ❞

❝ We have been promised to each other for years, and yet we have never met. ❞

❝ They are deciding your life for you! How can you simply accept it?! ❞

❝ There is no reason to make a fuss. I have known for years that someday I would be married to some stranger my family found suitable. ❞

❝ What do you think your betrothed will be like? ❞

❝ Who do you think they'll marry us to? ❞

❝ What do you think of your betrothed so far? You two seemed to get along. ❞

❝ He is so gallant! I hope they choose him for me. ❞

❝ Wouldn't she make a lovely bride? I would not mind marrying her. ❞

❝ I begged mother to marry [name] instead, but she didn't do anything to change my fate. ❞

❝ I begged them to marry you instead. I know we could have been happy together. ❞

❝ I'm glad you are the one they chose for me. ❞

❝ Were it anyone else, I might rebel. You, I shall gladly marry. ❞

❝ We have been promised for years. Shouldn't we be married already? ❞

❝ I know it is the way of things, but to have a betrothal announced like that... I wasn't expecting it. ❞

❝ He was wedded once before. How can I ever live up to the wife he had before? ❞

❝ What is my betrothed like? ❞

❝ Do I have any say on it? At least give me options and allow me to choose. ❞

FOR THE FAMILIES

❝ Through them, we shall finally join our bloodlines! ❞

❝ Our children make quite the pair. I am glad they seem to get along so easily. ❞

❝ It's a bitter thing, to join hands after everything. More bitter still that it is at the cost of my child's happiness. ❞

❝ Pray your child treats mine well. I will not abide anything less. ❞

❝ He is kind, brave, gentle, strong. Your daughter will be in good hands. ❞

❝ She makes a lovely bride. Lovelier than he deserves. ❞

❝ Poison would be best, but hard to come by. Slit his throat in his sleep and rid yourself of the filth they forced you to marry. ❞

❝ I cannot do as you wish, my love. That decision is beyond me. ❞

❝ As women, we control so little of our fate. ❞

❝ You will one day be his lady, and occupy my place as head of the house alongside your lord husband. A great responsibility, but one I know you shall bear well. ❞

❝ My daughter is what I have of most precious. I pray you cherish her as she deserves. ❞

❝ No alliance will make me accept you as family. You are undeserving of my child. ❞

❝ The king may have ruled in favor of this match, but I have half a mind to slay you where you stand before you can get anywhere near my daughter. ❞

❝ I don't care for peace, I will not give my daughter to the likes of you. ❞

❝ My son will have a fitting queen. Nothing less will suffice. ❞

❝ Sweetling, there's no need for tears. We may not marry for love, but we learn to bear it. ❞

❝ My gentle boy. Would that you could live the romance your heart yearns for. ❞

❝ This will be hard, but if anyone can make it work, I know you can, my child. ❞

❝ None of us could hope to be half as charming as you. If you wish to gain your husband's affection, I'm certain you will succeed. ❞

❝ Do you truly think I'd let my child be married to a monster? Of course I got rid of him. ❞

❝ There is bad blood between our families, but I promise you shall never be treated unkindly here. ❞

❝ Now that you two are wedded, I am hoping for grandchildren soon. ❞

AMBITION AND ALLIANCES

❝ A title is all I am to you. Don't pretend otherwise. ❞

❝ You married me for my claim, I know that! I just thought, given time, we could grow to be fond of each other. ❞

❝ Remember what is at stake. Peace relies on our union. ❞

❝ Both our lands benefit from our match – and I know you will be a good queen. ❞

❝ We were wed for an alliance, but this doesn’t need to be terrible. We can at least be friends. ❞

❝ I married you for your title. I do not care for love. ❞

❝ It would be naive to think a single union will end decades of conflict. This is just the beginning. ❞

❝ They found me someone rich to marry! I will finally have everything I want. ❞

❝ I do not care my betrothed is not handsome – I only care that he is rich. ❞

❝ With this match, I will be queen. ❞

❝ Our marriage strengthens your claim. They cannot quest your heirs, undoubtedly of pure, old blood. ❞

❝ I would marry anyone to become royalty. ❞

❝ This will save our house from doom. ❞

❝ Our son remains unmarried. We may yet use this to form a valuable alliance. ❞

❝ What we decide here is the future of the realm. It needs to be a carefully considered match. ❞

❝ You gained a bride of undisputed lineage for your son. We gained a crown for our daughter. A superb arrangement for all involved, I dare say. ❞

IMPOSSIBLE LOVES

❝ My heart is yours, but we cannot be together. My family would never agree to a match like this. ❞

❝ I too am in love with someone else, but they will never allow me to marry my beloved. Why don’t we make an agreement? ❞

❝ The match is already made but I cannot accept it. I love you! ❞

❝ It is you I love! I could not bear to be with them instead. ❞

❝ Marrying them will give the realm peace. I have to agree to the match, even if you are the one I truly love. ❞

❝ I will never love him as much as I love you. ❞

❝ You would be my choice — but you know the choice is not mine to make. ❞

❝ I'm the heir to the throne. I cannot give up on everything for love. ❞

❝ My father wrote. He said... he said — I am to be married. To — oh gods, he wants to marry me to your brother. ❞

❝ Marry me. I care not if you are beneath my station, I want you. ❞

❝ Would you still have me? I love you, but I know the match made for you would be better. ❞

❝ If you do love me as I love you, marry me. Now. ❞

❝ They cannot make me marry him if we are married already. ❞

❝ You're a prince. We can surely find someone who will agree to wed us if you ask. ❞

❝ Marry me. Your betrothed can do nothing if I've already taken you to wife. ❞

❝ I'll duel him for your hand. ❞

❝ They already whisper about us. Why deny ourselves the pleasure when we're already condemned for the sin? ❞

❝ Only a [family name] can love a [family name]. ❞

❝ As much as I love you, I have nothing. I could give you nothing but my love. ❞

❝ If I can't have you, I shall love only the gods. ❞

❝ If I cannot have her, I shall take no wife and father no children. ❞

❝ Do you have any idea of how torturous that would be? To see you every day, knowing you can never be mine? ❞

❝ I'll make you mine. I won't let you be given to anyone else. ❞

❝ Take no wife. Refuse it. Even if we cannot marry, stay with me. ❞

like mother like daughter

Indeed this strangeness [the Naugrim] have that no Man nor Elf has ever seen a beardless Dwarf […]. For the Naugrim have beards from the beginning of their lives, male and female alike; nor indeed can their womenkind be discerned by those of other race, be it in feature or in gait or in voice

*NOTE: Anyone has a right to answer these as clearly or as vaguely as they'd like. Or, not at all! Whatever makes everyone most comfortable. <3 This meme is for nothing but fun and or character-building purposes. It's perfectly fine not to want to talk about some of these things, and everyone around you should accept and respect your boundaries IC or OOC.

How "open" are you to generally discussing the fact that you are transgender, or have gone through transitions? Are you casual about it, or are you a little more guarded with discussion?

What pronouns do you currently use? Have you ever considered trying any others?

What 'gendered' terms are you okay with? Which ones aren't you okay with? (Ex. King, Queen, dude, bro, etc...)

How old were you when you discovered that you were transgender, or wanted to transition? What lead to said discovery?

If you changed your name/alias, is there a meaning behind why you chose it?

Who was the first person you came out to? Did they accept it?

Have you gone through any transition procedures, or do you plan on it? What was it like if you have?

Have you been through any sort of voice therapy? What was that like?

Do you wear binders, or other undergarments regularly?

Do you actively take testosterone/estrogen? How do you prefer to take it if so?

What are some things you didn't quite expect with your transition? Maybe some things that didn't work out like you thought, or things that surprised you about the process?

Do you have a preferred "style" of clothing? Or do you just go with whatever you feel like wearing at the time?

Do you know anyone else who happens to be transgender or went through a transition process? Or perhaps someone who wants to?

Have your romantic orientation or your sexuality changed since you transitioned?

What would you tell someone who wants to transition? Maybe you would have some warnings, or general thoughts you'd like to share with them?

nsfw gif prompt

There was a better sight than the sea before him. Watching her for a moment, he smiled to himself – for as much as the sea called to him, here before him stood the dearest treasure of all his heart.

“Good fortune for us,” he answered in a low voice at last, leaning over her until he covered her body with his. He pressed a single kiss to her shoulder. “But what, then, shall we do with ourselves?”

“What I have collected is none of your concern. If you fail to see its value, that is a deficiency of your own imagination, not mine.”

Just to emphasize her point, Auriel plucked a second piece of ore from his crate and dropped it into her own collection with zero hesitation. Well, just because she could. Her gaze swept over the other elf once more, slow and openly critical. There was nothing remarkable about him that she could discern; nothing that justified his attitude.

“Skills?” she echoed with a scoff. “I see nothing upon your person that suggests any particular talent.”

Lifting a hand, she gestured toward the jewelry adorning her wrists, throat, and fingers. Gold filigree glimmered in the lamplight of the street, gemstones catching the flicker of flame under the moonlight with every subtle movement. Some pieces had been gifts from her friends or family, but most were her own work, each one painstakingly crafted by her hands.

“Now these,” she said, a note of pride creeping into her voice, “are examples of true craftsmanship.”

Her golden eyes returned to him, unimpressed and well, a little disdainful.

“Though I suppose I should not expect someone like you to recognize the difference.”

“I need not prance around with all my skills on display for every fool to see.” His gaze flickered over her jewellery – fine work, he would admit, but he would expect nothing less from a Noldo, and there were more useful skills in the forge than crafting pretty trinkets. The making of tools and weapons was his expertise, and the secret of working with galvorn.