Dwalin/Nori
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| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Dwalin/Nori |
| Alternative name(s): | Nwalin |
| Gender category: | Slash |
| Fandom: | The Hobbit |
| Canonical?: | No |
| Prevalence: | Low but not rare[1] |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Dwalin/Nori is a non-canonical ship from The Hobbit fandom, most often found in movieverse works. It is a ship between two dwarves of Thorin's Company: Dwalin, a guard, and Nori, a thief. These characterizations are found in the Jackson movies, not the book.
Origins
The Dwalin/Nori ship began shortly after the release of An Unexpected Journey.[2][3] Jon's On the Backs of Eagles and Greenkangaroo's Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap) encouraged Thorinsmut to write Axes and Knives, which brought the ship to widespread attention.[4]
There was some minor canon interaction in the first movie, as one anonymous prompt pointed out on hobbit_kink:
Am I the only one, but did anyone else notice that after Gandalf and the Dwarves escape the goblins and the dead body of the Goblin King falls on them. Dwalin helps and supports/holds a dazed Nori as they and the others dig themselves out of the wreckage before running again.[2]
However, most of the ship's development has been fanon based on the opposing roles the characters take in the extra material and on the actors' comments about how their characters view each other.[4]
Fannish Tropes
- Guard/Thief - This is the core fanon interpretation of Dwalin and Nori's relationship before the quest. In many works, Dwalin has been trying to catch Nori for years; others show their first encounter. In almost all cases, they're on opposite sides of the law, and the most common theme is Dwalin trying to put Nori in jail.
- The Chase - Generally, Nori steals something and Dwalin chases him for it; a chase scene occurs the vast majority of pre-quest Dwalin/Nori works.[5] Indeed, the trope is so common that scenes of Dwalin chasing Nori occur in several pre-quest works that don't ship them at all, such as papermachette's comic, which focuses on a love triangle between Dís, Dwalin, and Dís's husband.
- Guard Captain/Spymaster - In post-quest works, Nori often becomes the Spymaster for Erebor, while Dwalin usually becomes Captain of the Guard. They often act as two sides of the royal family's protection detail: the official one and the very unofficial one. As a result, in works set post-quest they usually have a much closer working relationship or are already romantically involved.
- The Odd Couple - Outside point of view characters often remark on how unexpected a relationship between Dwalin and Nori is. Not only are their professions and appearances quite different, but their morality and daily lives are as well. This often leads to conflict between them; in many works, there's hardly a point at which they're not in conflict over something, small or large.
- Racebending - A common trope in fanart for the ship, most likely due to Thorinsmut racebending Dwalin in several well-known works.
- Gender Changes - Usually Nori, but sometimes Dwalin. The entire Ri family has a high tendency to be gender changed in fanworks, and Nori is often the one changed in Dwalin/Nori works. Other characteristics (such as profession) are usually kept the same.
- Pre-Canon - Most works for this ship at least establish an adversarial relationship pre-quest. Many take place entirely beforehand, often as a way to set up why Nori's family is on the quest at all.
- Post-Canon - After the release of Desolation of Smaug, it has become increasingly common to see post-canon works, whether canon-compliant or everyone lives, where Dwalin and Nori finally put aside their differences and get together. In many such works, they share the task of protecting the royal family from various threats.
Fanworks
Archives and Communities
- Nori+Dwalin at Fanfiction.net
- Nwalin at deviantArt
- Dwalin/Nori at AO3
- Nwalin tag at Tumblr
- nwalinstuff blog at Tumblr
- pairing:dwalin/nori, pairing:dwalin/fem!nori, and pairing:fem!dwalin/nori on hobbit-kink's Pinboard
Example Fanart
- Axes and Knives by Mad-Hattie
- No officer I aint seen no gold around here by IamAllyBallyBee
- What Led Me Here by nowitsaparty
- Freesia by nerdeeart
- Saltwater and Smoke by mariejacquelyn (NSFW)
- A night in the cells... by Paperflower86
Example Fanfiction
- Pretty Bird by Thorinsmut
- Foxes and Geese by garafthel
- Impressive Proof by ornategrip
- Sandstorm by Thorinsmut
References
- ^ By December 15, 2013, Dwalin/Nori had about 150 works at AO3. By December 15, 2014, it had about 315 works. By March 6, 2015, it had 368 works, making it about 2% of the total Hobbit works and the seventh largest Hobbit ship on that site, after Bilbo/Bofur and just above Bard/Thranduil.
- ^ a b The first Dwalin/Nori prompt was posted to hobbit_kink on December 20, 2012.
- ^ The first Dwalin/Nori work on AO3 was On the Backs of Eagles by Jon, posted to AO3 on December 31, 2012 and to fanfiction.net on January 8, 2013.
- ^ a b Hi, sorry to bother you, but I was really curious, ask answered by asparklethatisblue on January 31, 2015.
- ^ IamAllyBallyBee noted on her art No officer I aint seen no gold around here that, "80% of the time, fics with Dwalin and Nori will start out like this."