#“where is tom bombadil”

[ink-stains-and-constellations]

Rewatched The Hobbit and LOTR and the whole time I was torn between 'heck yeah this is fun' and 'but that didn't happen in the book!'

[rings-of-power-realm]

Episode 6 preview

[marahsfandomloves]

All the single songs for the Lord of the Rings Franchise (That are not sung by characters in the series, I know Golden Leaves, Wandering Day, Misty Mountains and Edge of Night could all be considered singles, but I wanted to list non-cast songs) . (I know the Ballad of Damrod is one but I don't think it fits this genre 😅)

In order of release and films-

1.May it Be

2.Gollum's Song

3. Into the West

4. Song of the Lonely Mountain

5. I See Fire

6. The Last Goodbye

7. Where the Shadow Lies

8. Old Tom Bombadil

9. The Rider.

[recurring-polynya]

i want the boots rukia is wearing in this color spread more than anything

[solmarillion]

and this is why lord of the rings should be in the public domain

Bugs Bunny could have simply walked into Mordor. He would have shown up at the gates of Mordor in a disguise and been like "Evil volcano inspection unit" and flashed a fake ID badge to the confused orc.

[afanofmanyhats]

One of my favorite things about Tolkien's writing is that he has a very specific, recurring trope. For lack of a better term, I'm dubbing this the Tolkien Wife-Guy.

This is mainly obvious in the Silmarillion, but Tolkien loves to write couples where the man is a notable individual- nobility, commits a great deed, or both- but the wife is at least equally notable, if not more beloved or powerful. Manwe is the king of the Valar and Eru's main representative in Arda? Everyone loves Varda more, and Melkor fears her more than his own brother. Elu Thingol is the king of the Silvan Elves? His wife is Melian, whose Girdle is the magic that keeps Morgoth's forces at bay. Beren is a chief among the Edain, who befriends animals and survives one of the most nightmarish places in Beleriand? His wife is Luthien.

Even in Lord of the Rings we see this occur, though the couples are on more even footing. Tom Bombadil is... Tom Bombadil, but Goldberry is the River-daughter, and Tom adores her above everything else, and the hobbits are completely taken in with her when she's their host. Similarly, while Celeborn is a mighty lord among Elves, Galadriel is one of the only Noldor in Middle-earth who saw the Two Trees, and her hair inspired Feanor to make the Silmarils, not to mention her own accomplishments in the war against Morgoth. Aragorn is the king of Gondor and Arnor, but Arwen is the Evenstar of the Elves, the descendant of three(?) different royal Elven lines. And Faramir becomes the Steward of Gondor and is one of the noblest men alive, but Eowyn killed the Witch-king, so you know. She got the grander moment for the saga.

But with (most) of these couples, we never get the impression that the man views his wife as Less-Than, or as a junior partner. Thingol is the main exception to this in how he dismisses Melian's counsel, and that's made out to be his foolishness within the text. Otherwise, Manwe treats Varda as his co-ruler, Beren never tries to downplay Luthien's achievements, and I'm pretty sure most of Tom Bombadil's dialogue is about how gorgeous Goldberry is. It's really sweet.

All of these examples really testify to how much Tolkien loved his wife. People rightly point to Beren and Luthien as the prime example of that, but I think you can find it in these other couples too. Even though Edith is mainly known to history as Mrs. Tolkien, it's evident to me that Jirt saw her as a whole person worthy of admiration outside of being his wife.

[lesbiansforboromir]

So, apparently,

And I am already seeing takes like... THIS

And all I have to say is if there is one thing in the whole entire world of media we do not need, it is yet another of Peter Jackson's takes on middle earth. Did you all just forget The Hobbit. Do you want another 10 minute scene of dwarves running through the glen pursued by the slowest wargs known to man or elf. WHERE has all the energy gone for the hatred of 'the LotR cinematic universe', WHERE is that meme with 'tom bombadil 2: the revenge' or whatever. I am going insane.

[proustianrevelry]

"First of all orcs are filthy Asians inhuman creatures, stop wanting carnal knowledge of them >:(

Second of all, Saruman made the uruk-hai smooth like ken dolls down there bc he has rejected the beautiful nature-loving past for the evil age of industry and its unfeeling mechanical reproduction.

Thirdly--no! Bad! How did that get you perverts hornier?! Step away from Middle-Earth or I shall be forced to use this rolled-up newspaper despite my pacifist beiefs!"

I wonder what JRR Tolkien would think if he was alive today and found out people were salivating over and sexually craving the Orcs he created.

[ringsofpowerdaily]

THE STRANGER & TOM BOMBADIL in THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER (2022-) S2E02: Where the Stars are Strange & S2E04: Eldest

[mushroomates]

gandalf headcanons

hides spare pipe weed under his hat . pippin saw him do it one time. no one believes pippin.

even when he’s like- let me access my emergency stash- and pulls out a doobie from his hat. everyone’s like “woah such wizardry”

it drives pippin bonkers.

will cheat at cards, chess, checkers- has been known to enchant dice to make them weighted. again, denies

just a reminder that he canonically sleeps with eyes open. i’d also like to add that he can sleep standing up. he also does do both during long meetings sometimes.

the sleeping w eyes open particularly messes with legolas. he can’t handle prolonged eyecontact on a good day and now this wizard is staring into his soul and is only maybe conscious

sleeps on his back, stiff as a board. occasionally sits up, pauses, has a brief moment of lucidity and then goes back to bed

also sometimes talks in his sleep. in various languages. sometimes legolas is certain these languages are made up, but they’re spoken with such vigor it seems hard to believe that

you can have full conversations with him. they’re not particularly intelligent or understandable conversations but still very interesting dialogues that he does not recall in the morning. a favored topic is the inflated price of everything.

this is particularly amazing because gandalf does not pay for most things.

often things are gifted. sometimes he finds them, and keeps them as his own. more often than not he mooches off of others, and at times, has been known to take things

not steal. if you stopped him he’d give it back. but no one really has.

he just kind of. picks up something. looks at you. and walks away with it

sometimes will leave small tokens in return,, like rocks with strange runes on them or a single feather

sometimes will return the item after days, months, or years (decades, centuries)

oh i meant to give it back but then the civilization collapsed so-

he tends to favor things shaped like other things- a tea pot that is a boot, a spoon that’s shaped like a flower (evil evil EVIL) salt and pepper shakers that are little houses

also has a fascination with garden gnomes. will often take them ‘home’ as well. where do they go? who knows but they’re his now

no one knows where they go or what he does with what he acquires. a running theory is he has a secret house that no one is allowed in that’s full of weird knick-knacks

in actuality, he gives most of these things away. the garden gnomes are for tom bombadill, the weird spoons are for thranduil because he gives them to legolas and legolas HATES spoons that aren’t *spoons*

arwen is charmed by crossstich, galadriel likes weird soaps and candles, (gandalf the cheese wizard doubles as gandalf the bed bath and beyond wizard.)

saruman does not like novelty salt shakers but gandalf is convinced he does and keeps giving them to him.

on that note gandalf thinks towers are gaudy and would never have one

is very tempted to set up shop in the shire. everyone is against this idea which is why he really wants to.

Disturber Of The Peace- literally loves to uproot unsuspecting hobbits for fun

most known being the baggins, but like, he’s not above standing outside the proudfoots home with a ~mysterious~ envelope until he’s batted away with a broom or very passive aggressively dismissed

he’s like a stray cat that they need to stop feeding with adventures

there’s a list written by the thain of the shire “appropriate times to set off fireworks” . “never” and “when given explicit permission” are the only two things written. unfortunately gandalf is selectively literate

he does not, ever, know what time it is. if he does he won’t tell you-at least in a way that’s understandable to normal people

what’s the time? “it’s today” okay and when is that? “now” thanks buddy.

what times sunset? “when the moon is rising.” when’s that? “at the end of the day”

yk island time? that’s wizard time. just. no sense of any sort of time passing at all. it could be an hour or five days and he will refer to it as a minute. or vise versa. you invite him for tea on tuesday and he shows up on sunday, in the dead of night, with a hand full of seashells and covered in ash. no explanations. he leaves just as suddenly as he came, with a hermit crab in your kettle and dishes in the sink. but yeah, technically, he was there for tea on tuesday.

or arrives four weeks later because you didn’t say what tuesday.

it’s anyone’s guess, including him, what he has in his pockets. four twigs, each exactly 17 centimeters long? sure. half ball of twine wrapped around a chunk of moss? why not. three tea bags, clearly used, tied together and soaking wet. a small glass bottle with strange dust labeled “numbers”. a single tooth. reading glasses, cracked, missing a lense with a shoelace tied around the bridge. he doesn’t even wear glasses.

don’t. ever. ask him for directions. he can give you them, just. in a way that’s so alien that they’re impossible to follow

he kinda just. goes off of vibes? like if it feels like the right distance he will do with it. it’s not miles away but that sounds right

in his heart it is.

is always right. no amount of reason can convince him otherwise

at best, you’re both wrong but still. he knew it all along

rarely knows the right lyrics to things. if he’s called out he’ll just say “well in this version..” because he’s been everywhere and is ancient so no one can really argue

picks fights with a shocking large number of birds.

randomly and for seemingly no reason, in a multitude of languages most long forgotten.

[velvet4510]

Y’all, I love Samwise Gamgee. He is loyalty incarnate, stout-heartedness incarnate, purity incarnate, love incarnate. I would die for Sam. I would do anything for Sam. Just as any of you would. Please bear this in mind before you read on.

Y’all need to stop claiming that Sam is “immune to the Ring.” He’s not. Besides Tom Bombadil (who is an entirely different kind of being), NOBODY is immune to the Ring. Not even the purest of heart are immune.

Gollum and Boromir are the most obvious examples of this, but it applies to everyone.

Gandalf isn’t immune to it. That’s why he refuses to take it from Frodo; he knows what it would do to him.

Galadriel isn’t immune to it. She gives the same reason.

Faramir isn’t immune to it. He gives the same reason.

Yes, some people are able to resist it better than others can.

Look at Bilbo managing to give it up.

Look at Frodo, one of the most pure-hearted characters in the book, winning the battle against it until the LAST possible moment, holding out ALL the way to Mordor until he reaches the one place where he has no chance, where the Ring’s victory over his exhausted mortal will is inevitable.

But they’re not immune.

And Tolkien makes it quite clear that Sam isn’t immune either.

He devotes whole passages to Sam’s temptation by the Ring, his visions of power and glory, of turning Mordor into a garden. But it’s not just that.

Between Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam, it’s quite clear that the Ring’s first course of action in preying on its bearer is making them want to put it on. Reaching into their mind so that their first direct course of action to handle a situation is to put it on. This is what Sam does not once, but twice. The second time is after the Orcs have already gone, and nobody can see him anyway. He has no need to put the Ring back on, but he does.

Then, multiple times, he offers to carry it for Frodo. Yes, this is born from concern for Frodo’s burden, but this is exactly what the Ring is using. The Ring is whispering to him, “save him from the burden, save him from the burden, take me for yourself, take me for yourself.” And Sam falls for it. The Ring uses the bearer’s greatest fears and desires to carve a path in their mind that leads them toward the thought of claiming it. It uses the same tactic on Frodo. By the time they’re in Mordor, Frodo is fully aware of what the Ring is doing to him and doesn’t want it to destroy Sam like it’s destroying him. This is his heart’s reason for demanding the Ring back from Sam and refusing to give it up again. Then the Ring twists this in Frodo’s mind to make him think it’s because he wants it for himself. This is exactly what it would’ve ultimately done to Sam if their roles were reversed.

I do think the fact that Sam’s time as Ring-bearer is so brief does cause it to have a lesser impact on him overall, especially compared to Frodo. But, my dear friends, he’s not immune. And there’s nothing wrong with admitting that. Loving Sam as a character should not be equivalent to putting him on a pedestal and thinking he’s somehow above the canonically-indomitable will of the Ring. Tolkien wrote a lore and created stakes that are quite unique in that there’s no “exception” among our mortal protagonists. None of them are immune to the power of a Dark Lord. That doesn’t make Sam any less pure, or Frodo any less pure. It’s just a canon fact.

And it makes me love both of them even more. They both are vulnerable to its power, but both resist it as far as anyone possibly could because of the power of their love.

[sillylotrpolls]

What's lovely about the results of this poll is it emphasizes how very brave Frodo, Sam, and the rest of the Fellowship were. They didn't have the foreknowledge we do, they were scared, they were constantly in danger, but they did what they had to do anyway, because someone needed to do it. It's easy to forget that when you're reading a book; of course the hero will do the heroic thing, because otherwise we'd be reading some other story. But even in the safe confines of a tumblr poll, so many of us immediately nope out at the thought of going so far as Gondor. Anyway, I just think that's nice.

If more than one applies or you'd choose something not on the list, obviously reblog and put your elaborate fantasy in the notes on Ao3.

[cottoncandiescupcakes]

I'll be honest to TROP haters that say it changed too much of the material I mean YES you are right but so did Peter Jackson

I mean Arwen's fate being tied to the ring? Arwen saving Frodo instead of Glorfindel, a very important elf who actually slayed a Balrog, who wasn't in the movie at all. Tom Bombadil, Goldberry and Old Man Willow also weren't in it

Also Tolkien would not be happy with Gimli's fairly undignified treatment at times and also, Legolas' 'orc counter',

Legolas would never happily kill he'd do it to save his friends and for Middle Earth obviously but he's not going around treating killing orcs like a kind of action game having fun doing it

Also for some reason he made Thranduil almost a kind of villainous character though he does redeem himself(and looks fabulous doing it) and I do love this character but it's not very accurate to Tolkien's thoughts on this character which was literally just a typical elf king who mistrusted dwarves and rightfully imprisoned a bunch of dwarves sneaking into his woods

Other things Peter Jackson did he made Denethor WAY more evil than in the books. In the books he's basically a broken, grieving very old man who has lost it versus a 50-60 or something year old man just ranting and raving on everyone going crazy

Another thing Peter Jackson did was make the evil characters like Saruman and Grima way more obviously evil than the book ones so you could instantly tell they were evil, which, the point was they decieved people. That Grima decieves no one lol.

So he changed a LOT of things about the characters, for example Aragorn looks like, you know he's going to be heroic from the start just because of Viggo's bearing but he's meant to be almost unattractive and scary looking at first, then slowly becomes like a king and noble and handsome looking. Like, Pippin literally says he looks foul LMAO I am serious. Boromir is meant to be the perfect gallant hero looking one who almost falls to temptation where Aragorn is meant to look very rough but have a noble heart, they are like foils

I love those movies but he also did change a lot but especially, PJ's work glorifies war too much for Tolkien's standpoint, not always but there are scenes he's making it too action-y while other scenes, like Boromir and Theoden's deaths, are perfect

Also BOTH these works make the elves too serious, like, the books have the elves singing, playing tricks and carrying harps and flutes around and acting more like Medieval fairy ring style elves at times along with being more serious also, they had both sides to them while adaptations just make them very dignified

I know Gil-Galad misses his harp guys HE WAS ALREADY SINGING. Free him

[frodolover]

this is something i have seen surprisingly little about, but sea-longing is a fascinating concept to me and frodo is my favorite character so i want to examine it.

sea-longing aka the unquiet of ulmo is of course what is experienced by elves when they are being called back over the sea to valinor. legolas experiences this in lotr. and sea-longing is not so much about the sea itself than it is about what awaits across it: valinor.

this obviously affects elves because they're the only ones permitted in valinor. however as we know, frodo sails there at the end of lotr, though he's not an elf, but a mortal. however i think it's very clear that frodo experiences sea-longing despite this.

in valaquenta, it's stated that ulmo loves both elves and men (of which hobbits are a branch of) and that from his horns music plays and "those to whom that music comes hear it ever after in their hearts, and longing for the sea never leaves them again." additionally, these horns are "wrought of white shell," and in "the sea-bell/frodos dreme," it states: "i walked by the sea, and there came to me, / as a star-beam on the wet sand, / a white shell like a sea-bell; / trembling it lay in my wet hand". the connection between the white shells stands out to me, as these white shells are from where ulmo's music and source of sea-longing come from. (and whether or not frodo is the author of the poem, it's undeniably about him)

now here we come to the text in lotr. in book i, chapter v, frodo's journey has barely begun, but he has a dream about the sea, and a "great desire" to see it. it's also mentioned that the sound of the sea "often" troubles his dreams, so this likely started even before this.

the second time frodo dreams is when he is in the house of tom bombadil, in book i, chapter viii (first pic). while it doesn't directly mention the sea, we know the sea and valinor are connected. this is especially notable because the dream frodo has here is shown to have come true, almost word for word, at the very end of rotk when he sails to valinor (second pic, from book vi, chapter xi).

i don't have much to say about this one, but in book ii, chapter vii, frodo actually sees the sea, rather than hearing it, for the first time in galadriel's mirror:

much later, when frodo believes the ring is lost and the quest has failed, he says this (book vi, chapter i):

"only elves can escape. away, away out of middle-earth, far away over the sea"-- i love this line especially with the knowledge that frodo does get to "escape" over the sea, like the elves. and like the elves, he is experiencing this sea-longing, this call to the undying lands already.

i think this is all very, very interesting, because it seems that frodo's fate is sealed as someone who can't exist in middle-earth anymore rather early on in his journey. the idea that elves are the only ones permitted in valinor is also interesting because, while frodo is a mortal, he is described as having an "elvish beauty" and "elvish air," he is named an elf-friend, and he has a lifelong interest and love for elves, and knows a bit of elvish. also, arwen gives frodo the evenstar as this symbol of him being able to take her place on the ship to valinor that she forfeits. his connection to the elves, and therefore to valinor, is there from the beginning.

[sun-snatcher]

You know those ANCIENT fics back then where the Reader opens a LOTR book and gets transported to Middle-Earth? Yeah. I want a realistic version.

Sure it’s a cringe trope but it’s a historical classic (and my guilty pleasure), so imagine it done realistic.

I want the reader to understand FUCK ALL because they speak English but the common tongue of M.E. is Westron. Tell me the process of the reader having to LEARN an entire language from scratch. How they have to respect the cultures and traditions and customs so different from their world— all while trying to figure out a way back home.

Depending on when the Reader drops in also raises the stakes. Year of the Trees? First Age? Second Age? Third? Which begs the question on whether everything is even set in stone.

Would stopping Fëanor from taking that Oath prevent an entire kinslaying— or would it have happened one way or another? If the Reader managed to stop Sauron’s reign long before the Third Age, would there be any consequences?

What would the Elves think in general? Would they see into their mind and realise/believe the truth of their fictional existence? Would they exploit the Reader’s knowledge of the entire LOTR history/future for their own gain? What would Gandalf do? Hell what would Tom Bombadil say?

[warrioreowynofrohan]

LOTR Newsletter - September 27

Who is Tom Bombadil?

Frodo asks this question twice, first to Goldberry and then to Tom himself and it – or the related question of, what is Tom Bombadil? – remains a topic of discussion in the fandom.

Looking at the answers Frodo recieves, the idea that I’ve been playing with is: Tom Bombadil is an anarchist. Or, perhaps, the anarchist. In both Golberry’s response and Tom’s, the emphasis is this: that Tom is a being who is not controlled or ruled by anyone, and fears no one and nothing and neither controls or rules anyone (though he will ocasionally call out his neighbours if they’re being unkind to travellers). His power over himself is absolute – is in danger from nothing and, as he see with the Ring, is influenced by no external force, however powerful – without becoming power over others.

When Frodo first asks who Tom is, the first thing Goldberry says is simply, “He is.” While the Biblical connection of this to the Name of God has led some to speculate that Tom is some kind of avatar of Eru, what’s occurring to me now is the relationship of this to the name of Tolkien’s universe: Eä, The World That Is. Tom’s way of life is simply to be, and to be as he is, and rejoice in being, not to achieve or to gain.

And when Tom tells stories and histories to the hobbits, he is showing them the world the way he sees it – where every living thing, even the ones hostile to them like Old Man Willow, is a protagonist in its own story, not a tool or side character in someone else’s, where everything’s being has worth in and of itself.

Tom Bombadil is a vision of an ideal world – perhaps Tolkien’s ideal world – where Power has no sway; hence he is carefree and joyous and odd and funny and the concept of dignity has no place with him. Gandalf’s role in the Third Age ultimately is (as he later says) the Enemy of Sauron; but Tom Bombadil is the antithesis of Sauron.