For all of her dislike and animosity towards dwarves, does Yavanna try and comfort Mahal whenever something terrible (like Smaug, the Battle of Five Armies, the battles and siege during the War of the Ring, etc.) happens to them? She knows how much he loves them, and how he feels when they’re hurt, so would she try?

Well, she doesn’t HATE hate them. It’s more like how a gardener feels about greenfly or cabbage moths. You don’t HATE them for doing as their nature dictates – but holy heck you wish to FUCK they would stop. Lots of growling and grumbling. Little hairy pests. 

But Yavanna does love her husband, and what hurts him makes her sad for him. She will comfort and care for him, no matter what – and she will even find a seed of pity in her wild thorny heart for those little bearded infestations. They do suffer so.

Since we have no idea what Groin was doing during Azanulbizar, I posit that he was with the combat healers, as was Oin (if Dain and Dwalin and Gloin were there). It was one of Groin’s greatest regrets that he was on the opposite side of the field when his wife, brother and sister-in-law died, even though he knows he couldn’t have saved them. Groin then found himself with four dwarflings (his sons and nephews) to take care of by himself, while stopping his cousin Thrain from doing anything stupid

AUGH NO

Dwalin’s kids seem to be appropriately named, even if they were named in honor of his friends and family. Wee Thorin and his Thorin II worthy scowls, Frerinith is cheerful like Frerin himself is, and Balinith has Balin’s focus on a project, admittedly amplified. I’m not saying that they’re carbon copies, but it’s kind of neat that they each have traits similar to their namesake.

They do! I love that you like that about them! Yes, I deliberately injected a couple of similarities. 😉

Though Wee Thorin is the exasperated, put-upon, voice-of-reason friend (I think if he were on tumblr his most-used tag would be ‘GIMIZH NO’ – and Gimizh would answer gleefully ‘GIMIZH YES’), he does have a very mighty scowl!

Balinith is nowhere near as silver-tongued or diplomatic or even as gregarious as his namesake…. but he is very very good at getting to the bottom of things. 

And Frerinith is a bubbly, sunny little fellow, yes – but he is also a bossy little boots and very imperious. He loves to get his own way!