History Fanfic / Splint

** Of course, if you look at some of the artwork helenamarkos has drawn of Rukhash and a few other female orcs, they honestly are't that hard to look at.

* NonHumanHumanoidHybrid}}: Rukhash is mentioned as being part Uruk, part goblin. [[spoiler: She later gets pregnant with a [[HalfHumanHybrid half human, half orc hybrid]], fathered by Cadoc]].

* EternalSexualFreedom: Orcish views on sex is portrayed as such.

* AdaptationalVillainy: Saruman. Technically, he's [[DownplayedTrope still the same treacherous and evil]] SorcerousOverlord he's always been, but he's been made even worse than he is in ''The Lord of the Rings'' with the confirmation that he had orcs [[RapeIsAsSpecialKindOfEvil rape and impregnate human women]] he'd enslaved to breed an army of orc hybrids. Heck, it might not even ''be'' AdaptationalVillainy, as in the original book Saruman also mixed human and orc blood (it's just not mentioned ''how'' exactly he did it).

* {{Hybrid}}: Rukhash is mentioned as being part Uruk, part goblin. [[spoiler: She later gets pregnant with a half human, half orc hybrid, fathered by Cadoc]].

* MalignedMixedMarriage: Rukhash and Cadoc. The fact that a human would love an Orc is seen by other humans as strange at best, abhorrent at worst. Dellon mentions having killed another orc-human couple a few years back. In contrast, most Orcs don't have an issue with it, though some are less than impressed to find out Cadoc is Ranger.

First published in 2011, the fanfic is currently ongoing. It can be read at fanfiction.net [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7501884/1/Splint here]].

** Of course, if you look at some of the artwork helenamarkos has drawn of Rukhash and a few other female orcs, they honestly are't that hard to look.

* DistressedDude: Cadoc. He spends several months recuperating at the start of the fic after falling and breaking his leg. He later gets taken captive and tortured by [[spoiler: Rukhash's brother]].
* DisappearedDad: Being a Ranger, Cadoc didn't have much time to spend with his son Holgar, which led to them becoming increasingly distant. By the start of the story, Holgar has essentially cut his dad out of his life, to the point that he's completely apathetic about whether Cadoc is still alive or died on one of his outings.

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Deconstructed for Orcs. Although they can be violent and brutish, in this fic they are depicted as being far more complex than most people give them credit for. Most only served the Dark Lord because they had nowhere else go and now just want to live in peace. Although their culture can seem strange to humans, they also do have a sense of morality and values, and they are capable of love and loyalty.

* DefectingForLove: [[spoiler: Cadoc quits his job as a Ranger to be with Rukhash]].

* ElsewhereFic: Takes place in Middle-Earth and even features appearances or mentions of canon characters such as Eowyn, Faramir, Aragorn, Saruman and Sauron, but otherwise follows the story of OC's not directly relevant to the main story of ''The Lord of the Rings'' - mainly the orcs that served the Dark Lord or Sauruman and the ordinary humans who fought in the War of the Ring.

* HotGuyUglyWife: Played with. Cadoc is considered a reasonably attractive guy, whilst Rukhash is considered pretty ugly. However, by Orc standards, [[UglyGuyHotWife ''Cadoc'' is the ugly one, whilst Rukhash is attractive]]. Interestingly, after a while, Rukhash and Cadoc both start to rather like how the other looks.

* SoleSurvivor: Rukhash is the only member of her old clan who escaped a massacre lead by Rangers. She initially believes she is the only member of her family who survived the destruction of Barad-dûr [[spoiler: but it later turns out this isn't the case]].

* OneTrueLove: This seems to be the closest interpretation of the orcish term ''shaûk'', described as being "someone's who's always got your back, someone's who's with you until the bitter end" and your "heart's companion". [[spoiler: Rukhash eventually informs Cadoc she believes he's her ''shaûk'']].

* SirSwearsALot: ''All'' the orc characters.

* OneTrueLove: This seems to be the closest interpretation of the orcish term ''shaûk'', described "someone's who's always got your back, someone's who's with you until the bitter end" and your "heart's companion". [[spoiler: Rukhash eventually informs Cadoc she believes he's her ''shaûk'']].

* OneTrueLove: This seems to be the closest interpretation of the orcish term '''shaûk''', described "someone's who's always got your back, someone's who's with you until the bitter end" and your "heart's companion". [[spoiler: Rukhash eventually informs Cadoc she believes he's her ''shaûk'']].

* OneTrueLove: This seems to be the closest interpretation of the orcish term 'shaûk', described "someone's who's always got your back, someone's who's with you until the bitter end" and your "heart's companion". [[spoiler: Rukhash eventually informs Cadoc she believes he's her shaûk]].

* FreudianExcuse: Rukhash and Cadoc both have pretty good reasons to hate each other's species (especially the former, as her mate and children were slaughtered by Rangers). Dellon, as it turns out, used to be more lenient towards orcs. Then two particularly bloodthirsty ones got their hands on him...

* CoolOldLady: Grazad, the elderly, potty-mouthed Orc healer who mentored Rukhash.

* AdultFear: Your children being hunted down and murdered, which many Orc characters, including Rukhash, experience.

* TheLostLenore: Rukhash's mate and children, who were killed by Rangers.

* SirSwearsALot: ''All'' the orc characters.
* StarcrossedLovers: Rukhash and Cadoc is many ways. The fact that a human would love an Orc is seen by other humans as strange at best, abhorrent at worst. Most Orcs don't have an issue with it, though some are less than impressed to find out Cadoc is Ranger.

'''Splint''' is a ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' fanfiction by helenamarkos. Set several years after the events of the War of the Ring, it follows the story of a Ranger named Cadoc whose life is changed forever when he is rescued from a wolf pack by an Orc named Rukhash, with the pair forming an unexpectedly close bond. However, with on-going mistrust and hostility between Men and Orcs, the pair must face many challenges to their relationship and enemies on both sides. The fic is notable for it's more complex and sympathetic portrayal of Orcs, though it does not downplay or whitewash their brutal nature either.

* OddCouple: The OfficialCouple of Cadoc, an aging Ranger, and Rukhash, an Orc once enslaved in Isengard and Barad-dûr.

''''Splint'''' is a ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' fanfiction by helenamarkos. Set several years after the events of the War of the Ring, it follows the story of a Ranger named Cadoc whose life is changed forever when he is rescued from a wolf pack by an Orc named Rukhash, with the pair forming an unexpectedly close bond. However, with on-going mistrust and hostility between Men and Orcs, the pair must face many challenges to their relationship and enemies on both sides. The fic is notable for it's more complex and sympathetic portrayal of Orcs, though it does not downplay or whitewash their brutal nature either.