Wasn’t there also mention of her having dandled King Brand on her knees, too? So maybe she just gloms onto any kid that spends sufficient time in her vicinity?
Yes, she knew Brand when he was a little bubba. But no, Dis isn’t the one who gloms onto kids, actually – she’s a bit too wounded for that, her heart is just a bit too sore.
The reason Gimli (and by extension Gimris) wormed their way into her nearer affections? Gimli is a stubborn lil so and so, who is 300% Gloin’s AND Mizim’s son. He does Mizim-things in a Gloin way, lmao He refused to leave without letting her know she was cared for, and that she was not alone.
It’s more that kids (such as Gimizh and Wee Thorin etc) want to be more affectionate with Dis… but she won’t really allow them to be. She’s not warm with them. She’s a bit distant and chilly. Oh, she cares, but she won’t let them grow too close. It’s an unconscious form of self protection.
Gloin’s and Mizim’s kids are the only ones she’s really let into her heart since the day her sons died.
(she barely lets Dwalin, Thira, Orla and Dain, her best friends, get too affectionate with her. This is one of the reasons why Vili cannot ever relax his vigil… he can’t let Dis be all alone, he simply CAN’T.)
(holy shit, when do I develop these instincts, all I have is the SW-esque ‘i got a bad feeling about this’ and the ‘it’s quiet. TOO quiet’ instincts so far…)
Also – ARGRGHRBSFKSLGJKSFS no wonder she latched onto gloin’s kids so hard, when you put it like that. Ouuuuuch.
loves, I am working as fast as my stubby lil fingers will allow me to get this next chapter happening. It’s at 3.5K now, and I hope to have the bare bones of it sorted by this afternoon.
I know it might be a bit… uh, famine-then-feast, but I really want to show my appreciation to everyone for their kindness, non-pressuring understanding, and patience during a rough time.
So, anyways. Have a snippet of the draft of 48!
(*gif is totally unrelated to the chapter – I’ve been watching #GBBO lately and saw this and thought it was hilarious SORRY my sense of humour is borked as per usual)
…
“Show me,” were Dís’
first words after Frerin had finished his halting description of the pool of Gimlîn-zâram
and its purpose. Frerin flinched, sinking deeper into his chair by Thráin’s
hearth.
Dáin pursed his
lips. His current pig oinked disapprovingly from its place by his feet (Thorin
had long since stopped trying to tell them apart). “Warning you now: The first
time is a shocker,” he said.
“You went in too
soon,” Thorin said to him. Dáin shrugged.
“Probably, but
there’s no good time to see what you left behind you. It would have hurt either
way.”
“My whole life has
been a litany of ‘too soon’,” Dís said, her eyes hard as she raised them to her
family. “I am not afraid of loss. Show me.”
Frerin winced, but
took her hand anyway. “Seems to be my usual job,” he said apologetically.
“I’ll come get you
in a couple of hours,” Frís offered, and Dís nodded absently. She towered over
her brother as she followed him from the room. Víli’s worried gaze followed
her.
“You all right?”
Thorin murmured to him, and he glanced back, startled.
“I’m…” he began,
but broke off with a conflicted look and a huff.
“Aye,” said Thráin,
as though he knew exactly what Víli was trying to say. “She’ll be back in a few
hours, lad. She won’t disappear in a puff of smoke the moment you turn your
back!”
“I know,” Víli
said, and his head bent, ever so slightly.
“Dad,” Fíli said,
softly. Víli nodded, wordless, before he reached out with both hands and gave
both Thorin and Fíli a rough, affectionate pat on the arm.
“I’m all right.
It’s just – well,” he said, and then he stood. His smile was wry. “I don’t need
to say it, do I? I’m off to see Lóni and Frár, I guess. I want to see if Frár’s
working on anything new. Busy hands and busy mind and all that.”
“Good idea,” Thráin
said.
“I’ll go with you,”
said Fíli, still looking a little worried. “Uncle?”
Thorin shook his
head. “I want to stop in on Gimli. I won’t disturb your mother and little
uncle. I haven’t heard any report on the journey since the departure, and that
was some weeks ago.”
“They’re well into
Mirkwood by now then,” said Thráin.
“Greenwood,” said Kíli, looking faintly
injured.
“I’ll go pop in on
my lad, and then I’ll stop in on that trio of idiots going East,” said Dáin,
giving his pig a scratch beneath its bristly chin. It gave him a limpid-eyed
look of bliss.
“You just want to
coo at the babies again,” accused Víli. “Not foolin’ anyone.”
Dáin shrugged
again, grinning freely. “Who can blame me?”
“Nobody,” Thráin
laughed, and pushed Dáin’s shoulder a little. “Nobody at all. Get on with you,
then. Stop hogging all the heat from my fire.”
“Want company?”
Kíli offered as Thorin stood and stretched a little.
“It will likely be
very dull,” he warned Kíli, but he nevertheless fell into step at his side as
they left Thráin’s rooms. Custard was stretched out before the hearth, boneless
and loose with her tongue slightly protruding. She didn’t even stir at the
sound of so many booted feet passing at once.
“I can do dull,”
Kíli said, affronted. Thorin sent him a sidelong look as they began the walk, and
the lad gave an offended little grunt. “I can!”
“If you wish to
come along, then I’m glad to have you. My usual companion is busy,” Thorin
said, and didn’t allow a hint of a smile to cross his lips. “Your little uncle
is doing a far more important task right now.”
“And I’m not going
to get underfoot either, no matter how much I want to,” Kíli said, and his jaw
firmed. “He and Mum are fine. So let’s go see Gimmers and tease him a bit.”
“Unkind, nidoyel.”
“Pfft, he’s a grown
lad now, he can take it,” Kíli dismissed.
“He’s one hundred
and forty, nearly twice your age,” Thorin said, amused.
“My age when I died,” protested Kili. “I’m still
older than him!”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Thorin said, and the shining
door of the Chamber of Sansukhûl rose before them as they turned the corner. Dís,
Frerin and Frís were already crowded around the far end, their eyes glowing in
the radiance of the pool.
“Well, don’t you
still consider yourself older than Dáin and Mum?” Kíli challenged, and Thorin
paused in the act of taking his bench.
“Right. Fair point. Let’s not speak of it again,” he said, and threw himself into
Middle-Earth as quickly as he was able.
With a burst of pride that nearly exploded his chest, Fíli’s eyes landed on his mother, seated to the right of the throne in the place of the First Advisor. Her grey hair was caught up in a jewelled net, and her back was straight and proud. She leaned over and whispered to Dáin as Víli came up to stand by Fíli.
“Ah, she looks like a mine full o’ diamonds, don’t she?” he murmured.
“That she does,” Fíli answered, his heart in his throat.
Reread #8749328427… This time with a Dís appreciation post! Such an incredible dwarrowdam, and I absolutely loved drawing her in her silver years (with silver jewelry)
AHHHHH!
She is glorious – thank you, oh my GOSH, thank you just so so much! I WANT HER NECKLACE WOWZAS – and her hair is utterly, utterly gorgeous! I am in awe of your detail and lines and colours, just looking at the parting of the braids is making me go *garbles*
i wanted to redraw one my fav scenes from sansukh however i wasn’t able to finish it
the quality is bad bc manga studio crashed but i managed to somewhat salvage it @determamfidd
SQUEALING AND ALSO WEEPING
oh FISHY THAT IS BRILLIANT – holy heck, i am amazed you did such incredible detailed work with a program that was borking on you! oh god THEIR HANDS, watch me weep hot tears now arrrrgh
YOU ARE AMAZING, lsakjdfhlsdjhsa *blubbers all over you* THANK YOU OMFG THANK YOU SO SO MUCHHHHH
The full group!
“Ugh, Amad, my hair is fine!”
Bomfris and Bani check the quality of an arrow
Mizim and Gimris comfort the grieving Dis
Mom and daughter hugs!
Baris and Bomfris have a sisterly chat
Dets told us that Mizim was the one who taught Bomfris to shoot a bow!
Gimris pushes Baris to finally go tell Bani her feelings.
at Dragoncon! We had an absolutely incredible time wearing these and shooting together, and we were very lucky to have @richandstrangephotography as our photographer! The response we got from people thrilled to see a troop of bearded and beautiful dwarf women walking around was amazing, even though we weren’t characters they knew. ❤
(Captions are on each photo if you click on them! Individual shots to come later.)
Dis held up the clasp and eyed it critically. “It’s… decorated.”
Thorin looked slightly – only slightly, mind you – mulish. “I can do decoration, despite all your scoffing to the contrary.”
“But you usually don’t.” She allowed her thumb to run over the cool, smoothed steel, the tiny bright bumps of opal winking back at her like fiery eyes. “And you’ve never used flowers before.”
“Flowers? Did I…” Thorin was taken aback for a moment, and then to her astonishment he began to clear his throat and shuffle his papers about on his drafting table. His neck was rather flushed. “Uh. An inadvertent mistake, I assure you.”
“Oh really.” She glanced up. “And the pen there, that was a mistake also, I assume. And the stove with ivy around the door. And the-”
“All right! All right, enough, yes, they’re thyme flowers, for courage and strength and also shut up.”
“I don’t think so, nadad,” she said, grinning at him. “That’s rather sweet, you know.”
“Don’t tease your brother, dear,” said Fris absently, entering the room with a preoccupied air. “Thorin, I’ve broken a petal on my lamp, could you…”
Thorin seemed to shake himself out of his embarrassment. “Right… of course, if you would leave it on…”
“A petal?” Dis interrupted, her eyebrows high.
“On my reading lamp, yes, it was Thorin’s present for my nameday,” Fris said. “It’s not urgent, so if you’re working on something important it can wait.”
“No, it won’t take a moment.” Thorin was already tugging his leather apron over his head. “If you wait, I can have it finished for you in five minutes. Just a petal off, you say?”
“Aye.”
“A petal,” Dis said. “A petal.”
“Oh, everything is flowers with Thorin these days, Dis dear,” Fris said, taking a stool and tucking her feet neatly upon the rung. “Ever since the Hobbit, really.”
Dis’ head whipped back to her eldest brother, who was studying a (suspiciously flower-shaped) reading lamp with all evidence of extreme concentration – save for the violent colour of his ears. “Well, now. Isn’t that interesting.”
“I told you not to tease him, sweetheart,” Fris said mildly.
Aw Yiss 