#I really like the idea of a son named Boromir

[beautifultypewriter]

So… major hypothetical here because it’s me and I just can’t right now, but if I wrote a thing about Boromir going to Rivendell and the Council of Elrond and everything and obviously his pregnant wife stays in Minas Tirith… Should she have a daughter because let’s be honest, Boromir was born to be a girl dad or should she have a son that she names after him (and we get some kind of legacy component/follows in his father’s footsteps though a daughter could be his legacy too). I can’t decide.

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

It’s Tolkien Meta Week, and today is LOTR Day. I’d never really describe any of my own random musings as formal “meta” (and certainly not like the brilliant stuff other people think up!). Nevertheless, I do muse away, and so I’ll just blather it all out here informally. Read below, if you are so inclined, for more of my obsession with incredibly obscure characters and Tolkien’s obsession with forcing Gondorian supremacy on everyone!

We know Tolkien loved to set up really distinct narrative parallels between pairs of Gondorians and Rohirrim (think Denethor/Théoden, Boromir/Théodred, Háma/Beregond) so that the ways that they are both similar and different can teach us specific things about the characters as individuals and about their kingdoms and cultures as a whole. And I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the life experiences of a much older pair — Valacar of Gondor and Thengel of Rohan — and what Tolkien was trying to communicate with the undeniable connections he drew between these two very different characters who were separated by ~ 1,500 years of history.

First, since these are lesser known characters who exist largely in the appendices, let’s start with the basics:

Valacar was the heir to the throne of Gondor when he was sent to live as an ambassador of sorts among the Northmen of Rhovanion (the people who would go on to become the éothéod and then the Rohirrim). He was meant to learn their language, manners and customs, but he did more than that — he fell in love with the culture, married a local woman (a princess of the Northmen named Vidumavi) and had a son, Vinitharya. Eventually, his time in Rhovanion came to an end and he went back to Gondor, where he met almost nothing but grief. A substantial part of the Gondorian ruling class rejected his wife as being of lesser blood than the Númenórean lines of Gondor, and they certainly rejected his half-Northman son, who they did not want as king when his time came. Despite the fact that Valacar and his family showed only loyalty to Gondor and, in fact, tried repeatedly to bend in the direction of the Gondorian hardliners (for example, they changed Vinitharya’s name to Eldacar to make him sound less “foreign” to the Gondorians), those same hardliners staged a coup against Eldacar, killed his own son, and started a civil war that only ended after much death and destruction.

Thengel was the heir to the throne of Rohan when he left to live in Gondor, by implication because he wanted out from under the rule of his father, Fengel, who was described as greedy, difficult, and often at odds with everyone around him. Thengel threw himself into Gondorian life, learning their languages, joining the military, and serving their steward. He also married a local woman, Morwen, with whom he had 5 children, 3 of which were born in Gondor, including his son. When Fengel finally died, Thengel returned to Rohan and took the throne, where he had a successful reign despite the fact that he had been very resistant to the idea of returning and spent the rest of his life still clinging to elements of Gondorian culture (like holding onto Sindarin as the language of his rule rather than using Rohirric as one would expect). Still, he ruled well and passed the throne on seamlessly to his son, Théoden. 

So. BIG SAME on major elements of their stories — a prince of Gondor who went to live in proto-Rohan and a prince of Rohan who went to live in Gondor. They each embraced those foreign lands, married locally and had sons of mixed heritage before returning to their kingdoms to rule and pass on the throne to those sons. But the paths couldn’t be more different once they got home again. Valacar, who left Gondor as part of a duty to his land and returned willingly, had his wife and son met only with discrimination, resistance and eventually full-on insurrection despite repeated attempts to ingratiate themselves with the Gondorians. Thengel, who left Rohan of his own accord and only came back against his will, had his wife and son welcomed and honored by the Rohirrim despite the fact that Thengel himself continued to show some, shall we say, divided loyalty when he was there.

In terms of outcomes, the text of the appendices seems to come down hard on the people who opposed Valacar, Vidumavi and Vinitharya/Eldacar, because their effort backfired spectacularly. The civil war so thoroughly depleted the ranks of the Gondorian nobility that Eldacar, once he’d won the throne back, had to encourage significant immigration from Rhovanion to replenish Gondorian society. Plus, that depletion and the lingering fear of *another* civil war prevented the Gondorians from resolving a thorny succession crisis years later — lacking any heir whose claim to the kingship would be accepted by everyone, the line of kings in Gondor just came to an abrupt end instead. It’s hard to imagine a bigger karmic smackdown than to have your coup, which was meant to protect the alleged sanctity of the Gondorian monarchy from “lesser” influences, instead result in an influx of those “lesser” influences into your society and eventually the total loss of the monarchy itself! 

On the opposite side of the ledger, the Rohirrim were narratively rewarded for their more open minded approach. Thengel proved to be a decent king and gave them the line that produced Théoden (another good king, one small period of manipulation aside) as well as Théodred, Éomer, and Éowyn, all of whom had critical roles to play in the fight against Sauron, the preservation of freedom in Middle Earth and the survival of Rohan as an independent kingdom. All good things!

So this seems like a clear situation where Gondor did wrong and was punished, and Rohan did right and was rewarded. And so the moral of the story would be to Be Like Rohan, at least in this respect. AND YET,  I’m not entirely sure that’s what Tolkien is really saying because the Gondorians don’t actually seem to have learned their lesson. And that’s fine — what are humans if not bad at learning the lessons of history? — except that the meta narrative of LOTR itself seems to agree with them. 

For starters, the carping of the Gondorian hardliners about the tainting of pure Gondorian blood turns out to be true. Introducing “lesser” bloodlines into Gondor *does* eventually shorten their unusually long lifespans, which had always been the sign of the divine favor that was bestowed on them as a people. So the book buys into the notion that there are real and significant differences of quality between the high Men of Gondor and those from other parts of Middle Earth that have nothing to do with their actions and intentions but come only from genetics. That’s a big ick, but the book definitely validates the hardliners’ position.

For that reason, it’s unsurprising, I guess, that the Gondorians are still invested in these ideas of blood purity — they can see the proof of its effects in their own bodies. Yes, they are more accepting of outsiders marrying into the upper echelons of their society by the late Third Age, but I don’t think their embrace of either Éowyn (who has some Gondorian heritage and, anyway, was not marrying the king!) or Arwen (who is from a race that is fetishized as higher and nobler than the others and that has been present in the Gondorian royal line as far back as the very first king of Númenor) can be offered as proof that they would have similarly accepted a queen from a “lesser” community of Men. Indeed, they still explicitly endorse the same beliefs about the inherent inferiority of other humans, with no less than Faramir himself repeating the idea that there is a hierarchy of Men in high, middle and low tiers (with the Rohirrim only qualifying as “middle”) based on their perceived difference from the gold standard of a descendant of Númenor.

I think it’s significant that it’s Faramir who says this, because he is Tolkien’s self-described Author Insert, and he’s also someone who is established as the very pinnacle of wisdom and judgment. If Faramir believes something to be true, we, as readers, are generally meant to believe that it IS true, as pretty much every other thing he says in any other context is proven out by the narrative. So, again, the book is telling us that not all Men are equal in Middle Earth.

So what are we to make of this? If Tolkien truly meant the Valacar/Thengel parallel to be a cautionary tale that would warn against a mindset of looking down on other Men as inherently inferior — and I really don’t know how else you can read it given how sympathetic the text is to Valacar and his family, how catastrophic the kinstrife in Gondor proves to be, and how Thengel shows us what it looks like to handle a similar situation very differently — why does the story still seem to want us to embrace the very same ideas that nearly brought down Valacar’s family and caused untold suffering in Gondor and elsewhere? Why does the introduction of Northmen heritage into the royal line cause its degradation? Why does The Author’s Favored Character still espouse the Gondorian insurrectionists’ rhetoric about lesser Men? Why is it that the whole world can only be saved by the return to Gondor of a king who has that pure “blood of Westernesse” that the Gondorian nobles of Valacar’s day cared so much about? They were wrong to hold Eldacar’s mixed heritage against him and yet it’s also true that the world can only be set right when someone of “pure” heritage like Aragorn is put back in charge? It seems like a mixed message for sure.

Personally, I think Tolkien got trapped by the allure of a particular religious/moral idea, namely that you can earn divine favor through service to god. That might have been a very appealing concept to someone looking at the world through his particular religious lens, but when he allowed that divine favor to pass down through generations such that people were benefitting from it purely through inheritance and not from independent effort, it becomes a real problem. The Gondorians have to be better than everyone else because they come from the Númenóreans, and the Númenóreans have to be better because they come from the houses of the edain that fought alongside the Valar in the war of wrath and received that divine blessing in the form of longer life *for them and their ancestors.* And now you’ve got to square the implications of that with the otherwise obvious truth that no Man is inherently better or more ennobled than another simply because of where/when they’re born. And you really can’t. It forces you to have Men — in the form of the Rohirrim, most notably — who are acting only in good and noble ways but still have to be subordinated to the glory of Gondor for reasons that have fuck all to do with the behavior or intentions of either group. I think Tolkien recognized this problem, which is why the story feints at the idea that Gondor is wrong, but ultimately he couldn’t let it go and the story ends up bearing out their beliefs. And so here I am, all these years later, finding it infuriating!

[greers]

rory greer 

“and i ended a friendship on the day that i left, and though i really meant it, it still makes me upset am i losin' my family every minute i’m gone? what if my little brother thinks my leaving was wrong?” right now, gracie abarams. 

full name — rory greer nickname(s) — none  name meaning — red king age — twenty-nine date of birth — march 31st place of birth — thistleberry valley  star sign — aries sun, sagittarius moon, scorpio rising  current location — thistleberry valley  gender — non-binary pronouns — they/them sexual orientation — bisexual, demisexual  religion — atheist  occupation — owner of greer carpentry  education level — photography journalism    family — richard ‘richie’ greer ( older brother, unknown ), joseph greer ( grandpa ) finances — struggle bus   spoken languages — english, spanish 

character inspos: john bender ( the breakfast club ), selina kyle ( batman ), steven hyde ( that 70’s show ), patrick verona ( 10 things i hate about you ), boromir ( lord of the rings ), alex karev ( greys anatomy ), steve harrington ( stranger things ), eleanor shellstrop ( the good place ), ferris bueller ( ferris buellers day off ) 

tw: brother goes missing, dysfunctional family 

rory’s parents were never meant to be parents, that’s what their grandpa joe used to say as he watched his grandchildren at the back of the shop whenever rory asked too many questions. they were a curious child and lacked something that many kids their age seemed to have. it didn’t feel like a loss, not in the way that it did for richie. but rory wouldn’t realize this until much later. 

it’s easy being in a constant state of survival if you don’t realize that you’re in it in the first place. grandpa joe gave them the best life that he could, it’s not easy tailing after a rambunctious child and their gloomy older brother who’s got a permanent eyebrow raised to the sky as they look down at their younger sibling. whenever rory got hurt their brother was always there to pick them up off of the ground. 

their grandpa joe had the greery carpentry business for as long as he’s been in town ( so must of his life, rory would say with an eyeroll to anyone that asked ). there was a time when he thought that he would pass it on to his son but his son skipped out right when rory was born but richie never had the kind of dreams that rory did and was prepped to take over the company when their grandpa couldn't. 

when rory graduated they left to new york city and climbed the social latter and met the right people, they got their degree and traveled across the world with their camera by their side. they had a natural charm of listening to people and getting them to open up about things, it’s what made them superb at their job. whenever they came back home richie hardly talked to them until they had their big fallout when rory turned twenty-six. 

richie called them selfish and cruel. rory called him a pushover and people pleaser. for two siblings that relied solely on each other growing up this was the kind of fight that wasn't easy to forgive. despite their grandpa trying his best, rory left back to new york, and they stopped talking to each other until about a year ago when their grandpa joe asked if richie was with rory. he wasn’t. 

rory moved back and took their brother’s place at the shop, they have no idea what they’re doing. they have their grandfather’s help from time to time but it’s hard to ask your grandpa for help when it feels like you’re the reason that your brother is gone. 

other things: 

look it looks like they don’t know what they’re doing and like... partially but they have grown up in the shop for all their life so they are not useless it’s just... they haven’t been around much to get to know their customers but they do their best 

grandpa joe is a grandpa to all as far as im concerned 

honestly... rory doesn’t mean to be cruel or selfish it’s just a defense mechanism and i don’t even think they’re cruel or selfish just sometimes a little flighty -- richie hit a low blow in the fight and rory has been spiralling about it ever since 

they probably do some freelance with their major. but they’ve probably given up on their actual career by the time they came back 

they’re a good photographer tho.. just it’s now a hobby than it is a job  , they used to travel all over the world to work on journalistic pieces so coming back home to a slower life is... kind of terrifying 

they’re annoying bc they’re naturally talented and p much are able to pick up anything easily 

looking for old best friends , etc 

[rivendell-poet]

*･༓˚✧❝𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐣𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬 (𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐑)❞‧͙⁺˚༓˚✧ « scenarios »

○ Aragorn ○ Legolas ○ Frodo ○ Sam ○ Merry ○ Pippin ○ Boromir ○ Faramir ○ Éowyn ○ Éomer ○ Bard ○ Thranduil ○ Tauriel ○ Lindir ○ Haldir ○ Elladan ○ Elrohir ○

GN!Reader | Wordcount : 3.7k (each individual around 220~ words) | Read on Ao3

TWS : Faramir's self esteem issues (Faramir)

Notice : This is a scenario set before they have confessed to you.

« 1, 6, 7, 8, masterlist »

𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐧

✧ Overall, Aragorn still thinks it’s a good idea not to tell anyone about his feelings for you - but that doesn’t stop him from getting irritated when others try to flirt with you.

✧ Especially when his older brother decides to flirt with you.

✧ Realistically, Aragorn knows the two of you are joking around - but the idea of you two smiling over something he cannot do (or at least does not come as naturally to him) is unnerving.

✧ Aragorn tries not to hover over you when this happens and instead focuses on something more productive, like trying to teach the hobbits how to spar.

✧ It isn’t until you and Elrohir come to the training ground, clearly looking to train together, that he finally does something about his jealousy.

✧ “Brother! I have sparred with the hobbits for so long I worry they are growing used to me, would you care to make sure they are prepared against more enemies than just the Dúnedain.”

✧ By the smile that suddenly shows on Elrohir’s face, his sibling can see through him, but the son of Elrond doesn’t complain as he goes to the hobbits. Instead he steps aside to allow you and Aragorn to spar.

✧ It’s only after the spar that Elrohir makes a comment. “Jealous of me, Estel? That really isn’t very noble of you.”

✧ (It’s also probably not noble when Aragorn kicks him in the shin after, although it is satisfying).

𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬

✧ Realistically, Legolas knows that you don’t have any interest in Boromir. You’ve been around him long enough that the two of you would already have formed a romantic bond, and the two of you haven’t.

✧ But you also share bonds that he hasn’t got. The two of you are both from Gondor, and there’s a light in your eyes when you talk about your home that he will never fully get. And the two of you are both human.

✧ It never gets too bad, mostly manifesting in anxious looks between the two of you from far away and when no-one is watching.

✧ The only time it ever gets bad is when you and Boromir are both on the archery course together, attempting to outscore each other.

✧ Because that’s the thing that you two do together.

✧ He watches for a while, and eventually his feet take him to the archery course subconsciously. Announcing his presence by shooting an arrow from behind into your target, hitting a perfect bullseye.

✧ It’s petty, but he still lights up when you turn around and greet him - almost as if it’s just the two of you there.

✧ (Until you invite him to join yourself and Boromir.)

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐨

✧ Frodo isn’t a very jealous person naturally, and it’s this lack of jealousy is only reinforced when he’s one of the only people you talk to in the Shire.

✧ As you visit more often you eventually interact more with other hobbits, even if it’s just a dipped head or a few words, but everyone knows you're just here for the Baggins' family.

✧ (Although Frodo is very happy when you immediately bond with Sam, and that Pippin and Merry can make you laugh easily.)

✧ The only issue arises when a fellow ranger greets you, showing up on one of your walks together and immediately trying to hijack the conversation.

✧ It’s a little intimidating, more because of the height than anything else, and Frodo is reduced to stewing in the corner of the Green Dragon as you two catch up.

✧ When you step away to get a new drink, it’s just Frodo and the ranger there as he tries to channel Bilbo’s inner pettiness.

✧ “I’m very sorry, but I fear I’ve forgotten your name. Hobbits meet so many people, you see, and I don’t think (y/n)’s ever mentioned you.”

✧ You come back before anything else is said, and this time Frodo launches into conversation with you. He feels a little bad about the incident afterwards, but not enough to try and apologise.

𝐒𝐚𝐦

✧ Sam also isn’t a very jealous person, at least not when it comes to the people that he’s close with and them being around you.

✧ He’s glad when you can smile and laugh with his friends or with yours, because it shows you have people who care about you - and that’s what he really wants for you. People who care (like him).

✧ What he takes issue with is flirting and messing around from strangers who neither of you know.

✧ Because they don’t have your best interests at heart.

✧ They’re looking at you and only seeing looks, they’re not seeing the smile you make when you see the first flowers bloom or Sam’s found a recipe for just the right amount of sweetness and you’re tasting it for the first time. They don’t actually like you.

✧ He’s still generally confined to glaring from across the room, but every now and then - when someone gets too rowdy - he’ll come over to you and place his arm around your shoulders.

✧ It’s more a show of protection to support you than it is being jealous, but a small part of his heart is happy when they stop trying to get with you because of him.

✧ Always apologises for it and asks if you’re ok after.

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲

✧ Everyone in the Shire could tell that something was going on between the two of you - everyone.

✧ (In fact, it had been a lot of people’s rumour of choice yesterday. Which Pippin certainly made sure he heard about.)

✧ Which made it even more egregious when someone had started flirting with you the second Merry had gone to get you drinks.

✧ In about twenty seconds, someone had managed to weasel their way to your side and was very badly attempting to flirt with you.

✧ The second you saw Merry re-appear, you had looked from him to the random guy in an obvious ask for reinforcements.

✧ Coming over with a smile, Merry puts on his biggest grin and holds up the drink for you before taking a look at the person next to you.

✧ “I’m sorry, are you the one who’s been guiding them around all day and is paying for their drink?”

✧ He leaves it at that, although he could go on, and is quite satisfied to see them immediately go back to the corner of the bar.

✧ You thank him for helping you, and he only feels a little guilty about the selfish reasons he’s done it.

𝐏𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧

✧ Doesn’t get jealous about the Fellowship being around you. You’re all going on a quest to save Middle Earth together and it would be childish of him to be upset about you hanging out with the people you’re going to be travelling with for months.

✧ However, he does get a bit jealous when some of the elves of Rivendell speak to you, such as one of the tall dark haired ones whisking you away to discuss something.

✧ Not that he does anything or complains - because they’re all slightly terrifying. He just waits, patiently, then insists it was no bother to wait before cursing hobbit-politeness that doesn’t allow him to complain about his hosts.

✧ Merry notices his stewing, it’s very obvious when Pippin is just standing outside a doorway and impatiently tapping his foot.

✧ Pippin only actually stands up for himself once. The dark-haired approaches you two, twice in the same day, and this time he puts himself in front of you.

✧ “Actually, we were about to train together…. If you don’t mind of course, only this is a prior engagement and-”

✧ He ends up going on a bit of a tangent, unseeing of the fond smile on your face as you watch him, before he finishes awkwardly.

✧ Erestor lets you two go in peace, and the two of you quickly head out to train - you pretending not to notice Pippin’s blush.

𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐫

✧ As custom with the rangers first day back in Minas Tirith, the taverns are soon filled with soldier’s of the White Tower - swordsmen and bowmen alike.

✧ You and him both end up in the same one, along with recruits from both sides. It’s tradition for the captain to cover the first round, and Boromir has deep enough pockets to fund it, so he gladly puts the coin down and takes drinks out himself.

✧ Looking around, he tries to spot you as a second ranger suddenly comes out with two drinks, one for you and one for him.

✧ It’s a small gesture, but one that he wanted to make for you. A gesture that he wanted to make you smile with, not for a random soldier to brighten your day.

✧ Taking the drink you smile before seeing Boromir, raising your glass to him and mouthing he can’t quite make out.

✧ He gives the drinks away as quickly as possible, going up to you - his heart skipping a beat as you immediately move up for him, gesturing to a spot by your side.

✧ The gesture instantly warms his heart, almost enough for him to forget about the perceived slight, and the warm atmosphere that soon takes over everything is more than enough to keep the rest of the negativity at bay.

✧ (Him being close to you for the rest of the night certainly helps, too.)

𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐫

✧ In all honesty, there’s such a small period between you knowing each other and you starting to court that there really isn’t that much for him to be jealous over.

✧ Except when he learns of your potential betrothal to his brother.

✧ It’s never been a tradition his fond of, Gondor’s hopefuls giving away their children to the stewards, but it’s something he’s endured. Faramir knows his brother will never find someone this way.

✧ Until you are a candidate. Because who would not choose you, if they had a chance for your hand?

✧ He certainly would, and he expects Boromir too as well. He watches as, for another time in his life, he is forced to be on the sidelines even as his new love is a few feet from him.

✧ When Boromir greets you, it takes Faramir biting down on the inside of his cheek - only enough to distract - so that his disappointment and jealousy will not show.

✧ Faramir now envies little for his brother, but when your heart is involved it becomes fiercer than ever.

✧ (The insecurity of him being almost convinced that people will always choose Boromir over him does not help with these emotions either.)

𝐄𝐨𝐰𝐲𝐧

✧ As the dawn has finally risen on Helm’s Deep, and the noises of war no longer echo in the gorge, Éowyn is finally allowed to leave the cave and search for her loved ones. She is delighted to see all her loved ones alive, and Éomer’s return, and it is even better when the Golden Hall is decorated for celebration.

✧ When you all return from Isengard she is the first to greet you, and you gladly keep to her company once you dismount.

✧ It is not you leaving her that makes her jealous, but rather the large amount of Rohirrim who suddenly seem interested in one of the heroes of Helm’s Deep.

✧ She supposes a potential future ruler of Gondor must have good diplomacy, but she wishes you wouldn’t extend it to practically everyone in this hall who’s only looking for a quick flirt.

✧ Eventually, as yet another person fills the gap she takes their place, offering you a drink from the Cup of Kings. You take it, drinking a sip before meeting her eyes and whispering for her to not go and to protect you from yet another person.

✧ Éowyn gladly agrees, intervening when other people try to speak as soon as you glance her way, and the rest of the night is spent with you.

✧ (Also supports whatever decision you make when Éomer asks if you’ll join the drinking game. Either a loyal defender of your right not to drink, or the best support-woman you ask for.)

𝐄𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫

✧ Even when pining for you, when in some ways it hurts him to be near you - reminding him of his love - he still goes to your training sessions, cheering just as loudly.

✧ He can more easily recognise the way his heart flutters in joy when you look for him in the corner of the room, and how quickly he smiles when all you do is acknowledge him.

✧ And then one day, he can feel your eyes on him, the smile you get when you notice him, before your eyes slip away and search for someone else.

✧ Éomer knows he should expect this, that there are other people you care for, but it’s like being plunged into cold water.

✧ Following your line of sight, he sees when your eyes light up again and immediately tries to determine who’s making you smile like that.

✧ It’s his sister, of course.

✧ The worry leaves him immediately, replaced by embarrassment. Even more so when Éowyn notices him staring before looking between you and him, a knowing smile on her face.

𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐝

✧ He understands it’s your job to be decently polite to people, when they aren’t actively breaking the law, so doesn’t mind when you're nice and friendly with people. In fact, he quite likes it and it helps reassure him you’re the right person for him.

✧ However, he’s been on one to many night shifts where some of the residents have gotten too drunk.

✧ Knows you can handle it, but doesn’t think that you should have to handle it.

✧ Tries to let you deal with them but is certainly hovering there ominously in the background, ready to be backup should you need any backup.

✧ However, as he can see a man try to approach you during the festival, Bard decides he’s finally had enough for tonight. Tonight was supposed to be the two of you.

✧ As he gets closer, Bard simply puts a hand on his shoulder - firm enough to stop him in his tracks.

✧ He can feel the man tense up but just speaks quietly to him, a tone of forced politeness.

✧ “I assure you, they're busy.”

✧ You turn in time to see the man take hasty steps backward while Bard looks a little too pleased to be innocent, but when you tilt your head in question he just grins.

✧ Deciding to run with the string of luck, you don’t chase him further; you simply accept what’s happened and spend practically the rest of the night with him.

𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐢𝐥

✧ Thranduil does not see it as jealousy, because jealousy implies that he is unstable. Jealousy implies he has a genuine belief that you would be interested in any of the elves that give a passing smile to you.

✧ If he had to pick a word, he would choose protective. In actuality it’s closer to ‘possessive’ but you aren’t his - not yet at least - and therefore he has nothing to possess.

✧ He does, however, have plenty to protect.

✧ Making sure never to abuse his powers, he understands that you make your own choices, he will occasionally keep an eye on things.

✧ It’s only ever subtle shifts, like the overly flirty elf you were complaining about in your talks being transferred from his doors and into a regular guard patrol. He sees your slightly lighter step, and hears no words of complaints from you.

✧ Is fine with you having relationships (such as friendships) that you’d appear to be closer to - simply because they are your friend and he is your king. Until he can truly bridge that gap, there will always be some level of formality between you two.

✧ (That doesn’t stop him from wishing you could be that comfortable around him, however. The fact he wishes for the friendly touch or wider grin you give to others.)

𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥

✧ Becoming part of the royal guard is, for the most part, exactly what Tauriel had dreamed of for both herself and for you.

✧ There are a few things she would change, of course, like the two of you being able to spend more time together - but these are minor things.

✧ Then there’s the minor thing of Caraitur, an elf that you patrol with. Tauriel knows that he doesn’t actually mean anything with his flirting, but he still annoys her. The way he tries to hold the door open for you, or smiles at you.

✧ Doesn’t confront him but is actively petty. If she’s on any duty regarding taking care of helmets or weapons his are always not quite shiny. Perfectly functional, but something looks off about them.

✧ Always enjoys being very affectionate with you afterwards, hugs and lots of smiles. (Sitting right next to you while sending a smirk at him.)

✧ ✧ She’s careful to make sure none of what she does can be traced back to her, but that doesn’t mean she can’t still reap her reward.

✧ You’ll ask her why she’s smiling and she comes up with either the most nonsensical answers you’ve ever heard or just say ‘you’.

𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐫

✧ Lindir had always been very grateful for his elven qualities, and never considered the fact he was an elf to be anything less than a gift.

✧ Except for certain aspects when it comes to you. There are the more unpleasant aspects, of course, but also simpler ones that in some ways annoy him more.

✧ Like the fact he will never be able to bond with you over certain things that are small to some people (like the crunching of snow effortlessly beneath your feet), and deeper meanings.

✧ To him, you seem to light up more when around the race of men. Like how you are doing with Aragorn, the king’s heir, back to briefly visit Imladris.

✧ He’s not naturally a confrontational person, so prefers to try and ignore his envy while stealing glances from the two of you from afar. Trying to convince himself he isn’t seeing you laughing with so much mirth, or smiling so widely.

✧ Eventually, he can’t take it any more. Spying the two of you in the gardens, Lindir also moves to go there - running into the two of you with a deep bow.

✧ Careful not to stutter with his words, or allow his blush to show, he asks if he may walk with you soon as the two of you have been more distant lately.

✧ His heart is lifted almost immeasurably when he asks you to walk with him now, leaving the human behind to be with him. And seeing you smile and laugh with him, it alleviates his worries very well indeed.

𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐫

✧ To be entirely honest, there isn’t anyone he truly feels jealous of - at any point in time when you aren’t courting.

✧ He understands that you are travelling with the Fellowship because of your duty to protect Middle Earth, and he’s glad you get along well with your companions.

✧ When the two of you are out on patrol he gets to know you more as you speak of them to him, and tell him about your thoughts.

✧ That you speak fondly of the hobbits, but in a familial way - as though they were younger siblings, or at the least ones to be protected (and not romantically interested in).

✧ Although you are more tolerant of the dwarf than he may have liked, Haldir recognises the annoyed-but-affectionate tone you employ about him to be one of friendship.

✧ He fears not for either of the men, as one is in love with an elf already and one is in love with his city.

✧ Haldir is still protective of you, trying to spend as much time with you as he can while you are in his realm, but he is assured enough to never be jealous of anyone - only the time you spend with them.

✧ Even that he can understand, and he combats these feelings by simply asking you to join him on patrol.

𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐧

✧ Elladan knows he should not be jealous of his own brother, especially when his own brother is doing this very deliberately to make him jealous.

✧ But, now that Elladan has finally come to a realisation about his feelings, he knows that he wants to be the one with his arms around you.

✧ He knows that he wants to be the one to make you smile. He knows that he wants to be the one who makes you laugh. He knows that he wants to be the one for you.

✧ And he certainly does not need his brother to give him a ‘helpful nudge’, thank you very much.

✧ Elrohir gets slightly closer to you, and Elladan finally comes out of his hiding place and coughs to announce his presence.

✧ Trying not to smile too obviously when you brighten, he pretends to be entirely innocent before asking if he can join the two of you.

✧ You agree quickly, and Elrohir feigns annoyance before suddenly remembering something important to leave the two of you alone.

✧ As Elrohir leaves Elladan can see him mouth ‘good luck’ before winking.

✧ Unfortunately, you don’t see that part. You just see Elladan mouthing ‘bastard’ back. It still makes you laugh.

𝐄𝐥𝐫𝐨𝐡𝐢𝐫

✧ Of all the elven figures, Elrohir is by far the most jealous. And also the most irrational with his jealousy.

✧ For him, it isn’t about who or even what you’re spending your time with, just that it’s so much more than him. And that he wants you to look at him with love in your eyes, of any kind.

✧ As you pour over more paperwork regarding Gondor for the fifth hour that night, he lets out a despairing groan that matches the look in your eyes.

✧ “Oh come on darling, will Gondor truly collapse if you take a little break? I’m going to break if you keep ignoring me.”

✧ Looking up, you give him a small smile before going back to… Gondor’s agricultural imports regarding fruits of Rohan.

✧ With a grin, he makes sure to be gentle before whisking the paperwork away from you. “We can make someone else do it. Faramir would be happy to help his twin out, or we can bully my brother-”

✧ You make a swipe for the paperwork, but he can tell your heart isn’t in it which only increases his grin. Pulling you up, he instantly begins to get you out of the door and into your city.

✧ He reasons it might be nice to see what your city looks like again after only seeing it in official documents, but both of you know it’s simply a poor excuse to spend time with you.

A/N : Hope you enjoyed! Next update is the confessions, so we're finally getting completely romantic. Also, if the writing is different then it's because this was written at 8am, 2pm, and 9pm respectively... so. Also - I now have a taglist! (feel free to fill out the form if you want to be tagged)

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[shantismurf]

I've often wondered why Tolkien felt he needed to kill off all three Durins and no one else. I'm sure there are all kinds of scholarly papers out there on it. I even thought it might have been tragically poetic for Fili to be left to rule after losing his family just as Thorin had been, but nope.

They all lived in the first drafts. What changed so drastically in moving the battle from Dimrill Dale to Erebor that Tolkien felt he had to kill off this whole family and leave the one female Dwarf he ever named all alone in the world?? I really wonder if he ever thought about how horribly he treated Dis. I'm thinking probably not.

So I did some (very minimal) research, and I'm pretty sure the answer all comes down to Dain.

I just got a shiny new copy of The History of the Hobbit for my birthday, so of course I have to look this up. In the chapter with the aftermath of the battle all that's mentioned is that

In the original story neither Fili nor Kili died fighting alongside their uncle but survived to the end of the tale. The idea that the two most likeable of all Bilbo's companions should also die in battle ... first appears in the continuation of the typescript ... 'Of the twelve companions of Thorin ten remained. Fili and Kili had fallen defending him with shield and body, for he was their mother's eldest brother...'

But in the version where Fili and Kili live, Dain still becomes king...wtf? In a later section titled *Dain son of Nain* I found:

That Thorin was to die was a late development, not present at all in the Second Phase: there is no hint of it in any of the Plot Notes, and clear indication to the contrary as late as Bilbo's discussion with Thorin after the battle ... Even when Tolkien concluded that Bilbo would be unable to resolve the crisis and lift the siege without a battle ... the idea of bringing a dwarven army to the scene was one of the last plot-points to emerge ...

Dain himself nowhere appears until the Third Phase. Like Bard (or, later, Arwen in The Lord of the Rings), Dain is a character Tolkien introduces abruptly to fill a specific plot-function, in this case to bring a dwarven army to the fight at the Mountain, but with his usual keen eye to potentialities, once the character is present Tolkien makes good use of him. Nothing in fact anticipates Thorin's death scene in the original manuscript until Gandalf actually ushers Bilbo into the dying dwarvenking's tent, but once Tolkien had made the surprising decision to drive home the cost of victory with the tragic but heroic death of the second most important character in the book, he needed someone else to fill Thorin's role as the new King under the Mountain, dealing out treasure and restoring the lost realm so that the prophecies could come true.

Dain is a Mary Sue. No wonder we hate him so much. Don't get me wrong, I love a good Dain as a solid supporter of Thorin and the proper Line of Durin, but man he is easy to make into a slimy usurper for a good reason.

In a sense, Dain is to Thorin as Faramir is to Boromir in The Lord of the Rings: the close kinsman who avoids the fall from grace of his elder ... It is easy, in retrospect, to forget Thorin's or Boromir's virtues even after their heroic deaths ... but an unprejudiced reading ... shows Thorin as a capable leader, fair in his judgements, determined to leave none behind, and courageous ... Dain is all this and more: Thorin as he is meant to be, who either because of the example of Thorin's fall ... or more likely because of an unshakeable bedrock of good sense ... is able to resist the dragon-sickness. Dain deals out the treasure fairly, keeps his bargains, and establishes good relations with his neighbors - all the things Thorin should have done and that we, like Bilbo, expected him to do based on our experience of him prior to his glimpsing the dragon-gold.

That Thorin's heir proves to be a new character, Dain ... might have surprised some readers among whom Tolkien circulated the original version of the story ... But the two young dwarves' descent is through the female line, being the sons of Thorin's sister, whereas the patriarchal dwarves obviously trace the kingship through the male line; it is indeed possible that the deaths of Fili and Kili were added to the story during the typescript stage precisely to avoid such confusion. ... in the 'heroic' cultures that preceded feudalism a closely-related capable adult male (brother, uncle, nephew) often succeeded instead of a son. As Thorin's first cousin, the battle-hardened Dain, who proved himself a loyal kinsman by coming at once to Thorin's aid and who had already accomplished heroic deeds in killing Bolg's father in the goblin war, is obviously an eminently suitable candidate to re-establish the Kingdom under the Mountain.

There's a lot more Dain fawning in that section that I don't even want to bother with. He also says something rather nasty about the fact that Dain had an army but Thorin could only raise a group of 12 🤮

"Patriarchal Dwarves obviously" 🖕...Yes, it's probably right, but still, 🖕

Oh and I think this is kind of bullshit, imo:

At first Thorin's sudden death – shocking within the traditions of classic British children's fantasy – would seem to reverse Tolkien's theory of eucatastrophe, the sudden unexpected happy ending to the tale, but in fact the eagles' arrival that turns the tide serves as the eucatastrophe that makes The Hobbit a successful fairy-story within Tolkien's own conception of the genre. Thorin's death, and the later addition of those of Fili and Kili, serve rather to ground the eucatastrophe and prevent the book from being 'escapist' in a negative sense: in Tolkien's terms they confirm 'the existence of dyscatastrophe, of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance; [eucatastrophe] denies (in the face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat'.

TL;DR - Did Tolkien really need to abruptly kill off a primary character just to give the story the proper gravitas, then invent the perfect character simply to fit the hole he made, then kill off a couple more to avoid any confusion about the new character's legitimacy!? 🙄 I guess so, because that appears to be what he did? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Yeah sorry this turned into another Ted Talk. Thanks for sticking it out to the end lol 🥰

Just reread The Hobbit 😩 and I stand by my opinion:

📣 Bilbo would have stayed in Erebor if Thorin didn’t die 📣

[tolkien-feels]

Ooooh hold on! Eomer reminding Faramir of Boromir is not a take I had considered before, and now I can’t unsee it!

And it’s giving me emotions!!!

Because Eomer is not Faramir’s Boromir, he’s Eowyn’s Boromir, but somehow having a connection to a relationship/person so similar to the one he lost helps heal his grief, just a little bit.

On the flip side, Eowyn doesn’t see Eomer as her Boromir. She sees Theodred as her Boromir, and so understands perfectly why Faramir sees Eomer the way he does because she wishes she could find someone who could help her heal like that from her own loss.

Imrahil helping fill the role left behind by Theoden helps a little bit, but I wonder if deep in her heart, during times when the loss of Theodred hits her especially strongly, she wishes that Faramir also had a brother who lived that she could look at and find the same healing that Faramir was able to through Eomer.

Also canon does not say otherwise, so I have decided that Lothiriel and Eowyn were pregnant with Elfwine and Elboron at the same time and one day when the hormones were especially bad they got into a fight,even though normally they adore each other, because they both wanted to name their child after Theodred. They compromised with neither of them using that name, but Elfwine’s first brother is named Theoden and Elboron’s first brother is named Boromir.

Right, isn't this a great headcanon? I'm always so surprised it's not a huge fanon assumption, because Eomer and Boromir are not too different from each other! I think it's in large part because Boromir is a lot like Earnur, who has huge Anglo-Saxon literature energy, as do, of course, the Rohirrim.

I dearly love the idea of Theodred having been the person who taught Eomer how to have off the charts big brother energy (although Eomer has a natural talent for that), so I really love the idea of Eomer feeling like he's doing what Theodred would have wanted him to do whenever he is #family to Faramir.

Also, because the -red element in Theodred comes from the same root that gives us the word rede (as in "counsel, advice") my headcanons tend to lean towards Theodred being wise (which is, I'd argued, backed up by whatever little we know of him.) So I really enjoy imagining Faramir, wise beyond his years and fiercely loyal (loyalty being like 90% of Theodred's canon characterization), occasionally saying things that make Eomer go "! Theodred would have said exactly that" in an eerie way not even Aragorn can quite pull off.

So like, Eomer doesn't look at Faramir and sees Theodred, not by any means, and if you suggest to Faramir that he's replacing Boromir with someone else, you'll manage the impossible and piss him off enough that you'll see he's Denethor's son. But they're just... remarkably comfortable with each other even putting aside their relationship with Eowyn. As in, I like to imagine if Eowyn and Faramir had not fallen in love, just being around each other a lot in the Fourth Age would have eventually made Eomer and Faramir close friends.

....this is already too long so I'll shut up now but yeah. FAMILIES

[dragonsbone]

Okay I’m back because I love her! Faramir being an older brother is not something I knew I needed but I love it. I love that Boromir immediately helped her train!

I don’t know if you’ve read the books, but I feel like she’d get along well with the sons of Elrond!

(Does she die??)

I’d also liked to ask if you’d be open to discussing crossovers. I have an LOTR oc that I think Rinen would get along with really well! (I think I spelled her name wrong sorry…)

hi and welcome back !!

i’m so glad you like everything so far !! i love boromir and faramir so much so i knew i had to create something that would involve them. then, the idea of rínien came to mind ehehehehe. though she is a bit closer to boromir, rínien and faramir have a strong dynamic as well that i’m so excited to share.

i have not read the books yet, but i do plan on it! so far, my ideas are based off the films and what i’ve read on the book!canon wiki. i admit i do not know much about the sons of elrond, but i’ll definitely look into it !! any ideas and recommendations for my ocs are always appreciated !!

i’ve considered it ( plus there’s a good amount of content of millie’s characters dying lol ), but i don’t believe i will. her story already involves so much death, but i don’t think it will end in a tragedy. unlike some of my other tolkienverse ideas 👀

i am ALWAYS open to discussing crossovers !! please tell me everything and we can brainstorm some ideas and headcanons <3

send me an ask

[warrioreowynofrohan]

On Gondor and Nationalism

Gondor, and particularly Denethor and Boromir, is characterized more than any other realm in The Lord of the Rings by nationalism, and there is a sharp contrast between its actual role in the war and the way Denethor and Boromir percieve its role. Two quotes in The Return of the King form the core of Tolkien’s discussion of nationalism, and both are conversations between Denethor and Gandalf.

The first:

Denethor: Yet the Lord of Gondor is not to be made the tool of other men’s purposes, however worthy. And to him there is no purpose higher in the world as it now stands than the good of Gondor; and the rule of Gondor, my lord, is mine and no other man’s, unless the king should come again.

Gandalf: ...I will say this: the rule of no realm is mine, neither of Gondor nor any other, great or small. But all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care. And for my part, I should not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit or flower again in days to come. For I also am a steward. Did you not know?

And the second, discussing Denethor’s views on what should have been done with the Ring:

Denethor: It should have been kept, hidden, hidden dark and deep. Not used, I say, unless at the uttermost end of need, but set beyond his grasp, save by a victory so final that what then befell would not trouble us, being dead.

Gandalf: You think, as is your wont, my lord, of Gondor only. Yet there are other men and other lives, and time still to be. And for me, I pity even his slaves.

Denethor: And where will other men look for help if Gondor falls?

Both of these conversations point to the fundamental flaw in Denethor’s worldview, and it is a nuanced one. He is not the weak, selfish old man presented in the films; he is intelligent, pragmatic, and realistic, and his strategy and tactics are thoughtful. Again unlike the movies, the mission he sends Faramir on - to prevent the armies of Mordor from crossing Anduin, and cause them heavy losses if they do cross - is not a pointless suicide mission but a crucial and tactically necessary battle. He is wrong in his attitude towards and treatment of Faramir, not in sending him into danger.

Denethor represents (as, in another way, does Saruman) the wisdom of the world. His statement that, as the steward of Gondor, his highest purpose must be the good of Gondor, would be approved by many political theorists. But in the wider vision of the story of The Lord of the Rings, expressed by Gandalf, it is critically flawed in its narrowness and arrogance. The war against Sauron is not about the victory or preservation of one realm alone; it is about saving anything and everything good in Middle-earth, in the present or the future. This is the moment when Gandalf comes closest, of any point in the story, to stating outright who he is and what his purpose is; he doesn’t say outright that he was sent by the Valar to preserve the world against Sauron, but he comes near enough to it that Denethor, an intelligent and learned man, could pick up on it if he wanted to. It is important to Gandalf to at least try to get Denethor to understand the importance of what he’s saying.

In the second conversation, though, Denethor has fallen still farther from the truth. In the first one, he only said that Gondor’s good had to be his highest priority, as its ruler; now he says that if Minas Tirith falls, Sauron’s conquered the world anyway and it doesn’t matter if he gets the Ring. In his eyes, Minas Tirith is the only thing standing against Sauron, and the only thing that matters; its defeat is to him synonymous with the destruction of the world. People across Middle-earth are fighting against Sauron: on the very day of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the elves of Lothlórien are fighting off an assault by Sauron’s forces, as are the wood-elves in Mirkwood; the Battle of Dale in which the kings of both Dale and the Lonely Mountain fall will be two days later. Gondor is not alone in this war; it is not the only realm fighting and not the only one whose battles matter. It is not the bulwark sheltering the peaceful rest of the world from war; the rest of the world is fighting. But Denethor chooses to regard it as the only place of importance.

These are perspectives that he passed on, in part, to his eldest son, as seen in some of Boromir’s deeds at the Council of Elrond as well as in his later temptation by the Ring. At the Council, he takes the tone that Gondor is unacknowledged and unappreciated and is doing all the work of fighting Sauron: “Few, I deem, know of our deeds, and therefore guess little of their peril, if we should fail at last...By our valour the wild folk of the East are still restrained, and the terror of Morgul kept at bay; and thus alone are peace and freedom maintained in the lands behind us, bulwark of the West...those who shelter behind us give us praise, if ever they hear our name: much praise but little help.” He also - very importantly - instantly conflates “Doom” in the prophecy he hears with “the Doom of Minas Tirith”: the same thing Denethor is doing when he says that, if Minas Tirith falls, the world has already fallen and there’s no point in keeping the Ring away from Sauron. When he is told that the Ring cannot be wielded to defeat Sauron by force of arms, he acts as though the other members of the Council are abandoning Gondor. And so the Ring tempts him with the power to save Minas Tirith, because that’s the only way he can concieve of for the world to be saved.

Aragorn’s response to Boromir, in speaking of the Rangers, is not a counter-boast but an attempt (like Gandalf’s with Denethor) to give Boromir a broader perspective: many people are fighting and resisting Sauron and other evil things, in their own ways (“the servants of the Enemy...are found in many places, not in Mordor only”). Gondor is not alone; it is playing one particular role, while others play other roles.

This attitude, that its battles are the only ones that matter, is quite unique to Gondor. Legolas and Gimli, fighting in the wars of Rohan and Gondor, recognize that their kin cannot come to them: “They have no need to march to war...war already marches on their own lands”. The hobbits continually think little of themselves and their actions, even while achieving great things. (One example that amuses me is the contrast at the Council of Elrond between Boromir, who thinks his comparatively uneventful journey quite heroic - “since the way was full of doubt and danger, I took the journey upon myself” - and Frodo, who regards his achievement of escaping to Rivendell while pursued by all nine of the Nazgûl, and surviving a wound that would have been worse-than-fatal to most other mortals, with an attitude of ‘well, I rather muffed that up’.) The Ents very much have their own priorites - Treebeard says “I am not really on anyone’s side, as no one is really on my side - no one cares for the woods these days” - but they involve themselves in the war beyond merely defending Fangorn, by destroying the orcs who invade Rohan from the north. Théoden likewise keeps the big picture, not just the narrow ‘good of Rohan’ in mind, continuing with his army to the relief of Gondor even as news comes of Rohan being invaded from the north and east (the aforementioned orcs whom the Ents deal with).

Frodo comes closest to understanding what Gandalf is saying in the first-quoted conversation with Denethor. After seeing the Witch-king’s army march out from Minas Morgul, Frodo is tempted to despair: “Even if my errand is performed, no one will ever know. There will be no one I can tell. It will be in vain.” But he resists this: what he had to do, he had to do, if he could, and whether Faramir or Aragorn or Elrond or Gandalf or Galadriel or anyone else ever knew about it was beside the purpose. Aragorn, too, understands it: the march on the Black Gate is the antithesis of Denethor’s perspective: sacrifice of the armies of Gondor and Rohan without even knowing what may happen after they are defeated, in the hope that they may enable someone else to win the victory. They have no way of guessing that Frodo and Sam will reach Mount Doom at the same time as the armies clash at the Black Gate; their hope is founded on the idea of distracting Sauron long enough that Frodo and Sam can destroy the Ring days later, after the armies are all dead.

And Denethor and Boromir’s attitudes are all the more ironic because, in the end, Gondor doesn’t hold up very well. They fall apart and stop even trying to man the walls of Minas Tirith after a mere two days of siege, when food supplies haven’t even begun to be an issue. For a fortified city, especially one as well-designed for defense as Minas Tirith, that’s a very short amount of time to hold out against a siege! During the march on the Black Gate, even the sight of the Plains of Gorgoroth is too much for some of the men of Gondor and Rohan, and they can’t keep going. Yes, they’re just regular people and have never seen anything this horrible before, but Frodo and Sam and now Pippin are also just regular people used to peaceful lives, and they keep going. The purpose of this comparison isn’t to run down the Men of Gondor, but to point out how deeply wrong the idea is of them being the only ones whose fight matters, the only ones with the nerve and determination to protect the rest of the world. The hobbits, who don’t think of themselves as anything special or important or strong, are the ones who save the world, and they do it through hope, endurance, self-sacrifice, love, and compassion, not through military might.

[scyllas-revenge]

Ahhh I don't know where to start!! Where can I find a place that teaches me to ride horses and shoot arrows at the same time?? Also Boromir thinking of Eowyn as "properly savage" made me cackle like a goat. And people mistaking Faramir for Boromir's son because of how he talks about him?? Are you trying to kill me :')

I also just really like the idea of Boromir going from a military man to a civilian who doesn't really know how to be a civilian. He's become the surly mysteriously handsome man sitting alone at the end of a bar and I love it

And oh my god- Aub. Bo. Lulu. Boromir sitting there trying to figure out what her real name is like

This might be my favorite modern Boromir yet! This fic was so cute and sweet and I’m still in awe of you writing a whole coherent fic in a single evening. I’m sending you lots of virtual hugs!!

Fuck Valentine's Day

Dear @scyllas-revenge...Despite my block and the general funk I was recently in, I have managed to get this one done...

It's 01:30 here, so not really Vday anymore, but I hope it finds you in time.

Lots of love from me!

Words: 1.5 k

Characters: Boromir x OC (Modern!AU)

Warnings: Silliness...rain...sexual innuendo?

“Make it a double!”

Boromir drew himself up to his full height, refusing to look as lonely and pathetic as he felt; his hair was sticking messily to his skull and his clothes were drenched.

Having lent his sturdy car to his younger brother so he could take his girlfriend to a special workshop where they’d learn to shoot arrows while riding horses at full speed, Boromir had walked to the only bar in town devoid of distasteful �� and honestly depressing – heart-shaped decorations and, of course, it had started raining the very moment he had set foot outside.

He had been too stubborn to turn back home and had trudged sullenly all the way to this deplorably neglected tavern in obstinate determination.

Everything about this day – the absence of his brother and the resulting sensation of isolation – made his guts churn; he was still not entirely convinced that it was a good idea for Faramir – a studious perfectionist in all things – to climb on a horse and try to handle lethal weapons at the same time.

Éowyn, on the other hand, would have the time of her life; she was a proper savage and delighted in all things wild and forbidden.

When his phone chimed, Boromir merely patted his pocket and pushed the device down grumpily for he cared neither for the well-meant encouragements of his friends nor for Faramir’s breathless account of all the fun he was undoubtedly having despite Boromir’s own ungenerous skepticism.

It was not that he resented his younger brother for his happiness; usually, he would talk about Faramir so much to anyone who was willing to listen that people mistakenly believed the excellent scholar and charming young man to be Boromir’s son rather than his brother, but – on Valentine’s Day – he had to admit that he envied his blessed, accomplished sibling just a little bit.

Since he had left the army after sustaining a serious injury, Boromir had not settled into civilian life with quite as much diligence or devotion as he maybe should have, and his present state of petulant solitude was a direct consequence of these undeniable and regrettable shortcomings.

Downing his drink, he lifted his finger to get the barkeeper to fill up his glass again; it was still raining hard outside, and he was bracing himself for a long, lonely night.

Bo’ frowned at the seedy pub; the blurry yellow glare pouring out of the dirty windows was inviting and she was too cold and too wet to care much about the disreputable impression it made.

After spending most of her afternoon on the couch, she had decided that the Valentine’s Day funk would not get the better of her and had dressed neatly to go out for a breath of fresh air.

The sudden onslaught of icy rain – it was February after all – and the fact that neither her usual tearoom nor her upscale cocktail bar was an eligible spot tonight on account of the exaggerated decorations and the overabundance of soppy couples had further soured her mood and, by now, she only wanted to get somewhere dry and warm to wait out the worst of the sudden gale.

As idling undecidedly in front of the bar only made more rain drip past the collar of her beautiful wool coat and run down her spine, Bo’ pushed open the door resolutely and went in.

Immediately, comforting warmth and the smell of hot stew enveloped her.

The main taproom was full of men of all ages, who all turned around in their chairs to look at her in astonishment, which made her stomach drop uncomfortably.

Neither the idea of them considering her easy prey nor the thought that she must have been the only woman in town who had not been invited on a date on this night was edifying, and so Bo’ forced her legs to work and found herself pressed against the sticky bar like a drowning woman holding on to a piece of driftwood.

“Not the moment for Titanic-references,” she chided herself and lifted her eyes towards the barkeeper.

“Do you have cocktails?” she asked hopefully while trying to slide sideways onto the barstool closest to her.

“Sure we do, sweetheart,” the greasy-looking fellow replied with a crooked smile.

“Have a beer,” a gruff voice resounded right beside her, “it’s safer.”

“Do you have any nice teas?” she tried again in a faltering voice.

“Peppermint,” the barkeep replied mockingly.

“Take something that has a cap or a cork,” the same deep, melodious voice interjected warningly.

Annoyed, Bo’ threw back her damp hair and turned to the source of the sound; instantly, her impatience was replaced with a sense of awe and curiosity for, on the next stool, sat a gorgeous middle-aged man who – judging by his bedraggled hair and his water-stained clothes – had also been caught in the unexpected rain shower.

“I’ll have a glass of red wine,” she said without turning back to the bartender this comment was addressed to.

“Good choice,” the handsome stranger praised and Bo’ felt heat rise into her sullen cheeks. “I’m Boromir. Sorry for barging in like that, but I’d not trust the cocktails in this dump.”

The little rueful smile he gave her made her stomach flutter and Bo’ was relieved that she was already sitting comfortably because, otherwise, her tired, half-frozen knees might well have buckled.

“Bo’,” she replied.

“Bo’?” He cocked his head inquisitively.

“My friends abbreviated my name to Aub’ and, from there, Bo’ was not that much of a leap…I’m sorry, I am rambling.” Bo’ grabbed her glass eagerly as soon as it was set down before her and took a deep, calming sip.

“No, not at all,” the man said hastily, “it’s just that I now wonder why nobody ever calls me that. It is literally the first syllable of my name. I guess that I am just not the kind of man to get pet names.”

Inexplicably, he sounded positively saddened by that realisation.

“Well, nobody calls me anything much these days,” she muttered, “I can go by Lulu and you can have Bo. How about that?”

“That sounds like a fair offer,” he agreed after a second of silent pondering. “I shall inform my brother for this makes him Fa.”

“Fa-what?”

“Fa-away,” Boromir chuckled, “he’s off riding horses and shooting arrows with his girlfriend while I am sitting here, having drinks on my own.”

“That makes two of us,” Lulu, formerly known as Bo’, said, “and if there’s two of us, we are hardly drinking alone.”

Boromir stared at the woman grinning at him in amazement; despite having struck him as slightly dispirited upon entering the bar, she was radiating with witty humour now and he couldn’t help leaning in a bit closer to bask in her light.

The corona of dark golden hair having dried much better than his own and the sparkle in her hazel eyes soon made him forget his own previous misgivings about this evening as well as they talked about their families, their hobbies, and their inveterate hatred of Valentine’s Day.

“It’s a scam to make half of us spend money on absurd things nobody needs and to shame and depress all the others,” Boromir declared decisively with a winning mix of just distaste and terse self-awareness.

“I gave my brother my car,” Boromir confessed as he set down his empty beer bottle; he had taken his own advice and – no longer feeling like devolving into a sad drunk within record time – he had switched to a locally brewed craft beer soon after having struck up a conversation with the pretty lady who had appeared as if called hence by some miracle. “I live on the other side of town and it’s still raining. May I invite you for a last drink before I must brave the elements?”

Truth be told, he didn’t want to go home and sit in his empty living room, watching the rerun of some mediocre blockbuster. This was the best conversation he had had in a long time, and he simply couldn’t bear for it to end.

“My cat is alone at home, and I have to get back,” she said with a hint of regret tinging her voice and turning her handsome, vivacious features into an angelic mien of dignified sadness.

“Of course,” Boromir immediately answered, feeling a bit sheepish for even having asked.

“But,” she grinned invitingly, “I live not too far from here. I have the supplies for both a proper cocktail and a more interesting tea than peppermint if that would interest you?”

“Lead the way,” he said enthusiastically, holding his coat up over the two of them as they stepped out into the rain that was still coming down in a relentless, vengeful downpour.

“Come on, Bo’,” she laughed, “it’s not far and I’ll have you warmed up in no time.”

There we have it...

I love you tons and tons and tons!!! I hope this made you smile and feel how much you are indeed loved.

[roqueamadi]

Planning for a LotR Regency AU (Boromir/OFC)

I'm not going to tag this because it's going to make me look completely insane, but I thought @scyllas-revenge and @trenko-heart you guys might be interested... I have spent way too much time on this (ngl it was fun though xD )

The challenge: How to convert the LotR characters into Jane Austen-style regency characters? I've watched the entire Ellie Dashwood YouTube series to try to ensure I correctly understand how titles and lineages work. Here were my problems and the ways I've decided to tackle them as I plan this fic - some of this may change once I actually start writing, but this is my thought process!

Problem 1: In the regency, people (ie peers/gentry) didn't refer to others by their first names. I had to choose between either: ignoring this historical fact and letting my characters use other characters' first names; making their 'known names' into their titles (eg Lord Boromir is the 'Duke of Boromir'); or, assigning them surnames and having characters refer to each other by names unfamiliar to readers.

I decided to go with the last option which is more historically accurate, principally because if I tried the second option, I would still run into trouble with siblings and parent-children relationships (Faramir is the brother of the Duke of Boromir?? No) - therefore, I'll need to accept that it might be hard for readers to follow who is who in this fic, at first. Eg (as explained below) most other characters will call Boromir 'Lord Ithilien', 'the Lord of Ithilien' or 'Coloniel Hurin'. And to be honest, now that I've stared at this for a few hours I'm actually starting to not mind it that much. I also think it feels more 'Jane Austen-y' for characters to have lots of confusing titles :p However, I think I'll at least let my protagonist 'think of people' by their first names in the narrative, which will assist with clarity.

Problem 2: Most of the characters don't have last names.

Problem 1 leads to this. My answer: I made them up. I tried to pick names from their lineage or alternative names that sounded right. For Denethor's line, I picked 'Hurin'; Aragorn's = 'Telcontar'; Elrond's = 'Peredhel'; Theoden's = 'Eorl' and Eomer+Eowyn's = 'Steelsheen'. I also gave Sauron a first name ('Mairon') and picked a random surname for my protag Cin ('Eradan').

Problem 3: It's extremely unlikely a Steward would be ruling in place of a King.

The more likely scenario (as seen in the regency period itself) is that a Prince Regent rules in place of a King because of illness, absence or minority. I decided to go with the latter - so my idea is that Aragorn's parents died when he was not yet of age and so a Prince Regent took over. This would most likely be his closest living relative - so I decided to make Denethor related to him (I've ended up making Denethor Aragorn's first cousin once removed - any closer and Aragorn would share a surname with Boromir and Faramir, which I didn't want).

Problem 4: Leading on from problem 3... I don't want Boromir to be too closely related to my protag Cin (for obvious reasons!)

I was originally going to make her Aragorn's younger sister, but that would make her and Boromir second cousins. That's a bit too close! So I made her Aragorn's first cousin on his mother's side - so Cin and Boromir are both cousins to Aragorn but have no blood connection to each other. Whew!

Problem 5: I wanted to somehow convert the main conflict of Sauron versus the West into the 'Jane Austen' realm - ie the 'battles' occur mostly during conversations.

I decided to include a plot point like this: Denethor has done something to disgrace himself and get kicked out of the role of Prince Regent (this feeds into Boromir's feelings of inadequacy regarding his line). The next closest relative steps into the role - Sauron! Oh no! This will be the main world conflict of the fic and is the prompt for Aragorn, who is now of age, to return and take up his role, and save his people from the ravages of this unqualified leader. I squeezed Sauron into the family tree as Aragorn's first cousin twice removed.

Problem 6: But, I still want some battles, if not 'on screen' then at least referenced.

This is straight from Sharpe, but my idea is that there is a war going on and many peers' sons have commissions in the Army. Boromir is a Colonel (the highest rank you could purchase), Faramir is a Major (because there's no way in hell Denethor would fork out for a higher rank than that), Theodred was also a Major before he died, Eomer and Legolas are both Captains. And they all go off to fight together, mainly so that Boromir can get injured and give us the opportunity for some h/c xD

Problem 7: So, what happened to Aragorn (and Cin) after his parents died, then? How come Sauron is able to step in and take over?

Sticking reasonably closely to the canon storyline, I decided to make it that Elrond (ALSO a distant relation of Aragorn - second cousin once removed, making Arwen Aragorn's third cousin, which is far enough removed to be okay, I think) stepped in to take care of Aragorn. My idea is that his parents were killed in the same 'accident' as Cin's, so Elrond takes both in as wards. He hides them from society in order to protect them both.

Problem 8: If Aragorn is the Prince, Denethor must be a sufficiently senior peer in order to hold the Prince Regent position (for a time, at least) - even though in Jane Austen most characters are not this senior in rank.

I mean, there's Lady Catherine de Bourgh and a few other mentions of Knights and Earls, etc. But I'm okay with adding peerage titles into this fic because it's fun and I think it fits - the various families must be sufficiently senior otherwise it's not realistic that they're all hanging out together. So I've made Denethor a Duke, which is the most senior rank in the peerage without being actually royal (I went with 'Duke of Osgiliath'). Dukes normally have secondary titles which they lend to their son and heir, so for Boromir I picked 'Earl of Ithilien' (as I mentioned above). I made Elrond a Marquess, and his heir Elladan a Baron, and I made Theoden a Viscount. So all those characters get to be referred to by weird titles!

So, this is becoming a crazy long post, but here's the result of my work:

I think this is going to be too small to see in one image, so I've broken it down. Here is the key and a helpful 'cousin chart', because this gets complex:

And here are the segments.

Here is the line of kings, including Aragorn and Cin (my protag) plus Sauron:

Here is Denethor's line, with our main love interest:

Here is Elrond's line - things are getting a bit awkward for anyone who really deeply knows the canon family trees, but I'm saying that Dior was the younger brother of Argonui (who was Aragorn's great grandfather):

And finally, here is Theoden's line, separate from the rest at the start of the fic, but obviously they ultimately join up in two places (Eowyn = Faramir and later Eomer = Lothiriel:

So that's it. Let me know what you think guys, I had fun thinking through all this. Now I just need to actually write it :p

[dolce-peach]

Aragorn x reader. Aragorn meets reader when he randomly finds reader fighting orcs in the forest or something. Asks her to join them. Mutual pining. IDK just some cute awkward Aragorn please

just a feeling

pairing: aragorn x reader

warnings: fluff, slight mentions of blood

a/n: a bit short but i had a lotta fun while writing this 🥺 hope you guys enjoy!

permanent taglist: @kaitlynmalikisnotonfire​ @just-another-loki-fanblog​

** TO MAKE A REQUEST -- please check the status in my bio **

masterlist

----

To say the entire Fellowship was uneasy was an understatement.  As time slowly passed, every member grew weary by the end of each day, crawling to sleep with no more than a grunt or murmur of “goodnight”.

Aragorn watched as Frodo’s usually gentle demeanor waned, revealing uneasy glances and the occasional look of distaste and suspicion.  The ranger couldn’t deny he felt the Ring calling to him, but he knew he couldn’t succumb if the fate of Middle Earth was in their hands.  Instead he kept watch over the Halfling, providing small conversations of relief every now and then.

Frodo loved to talk about the forests surrounding his home.  He would swing from the branches of the trees as a young child and read against the trunk in the shade as life began to lose its innocent glow.

Perhaps it made Aragorn think of his distant past.  He never knew, as those forbidden memories were kept locked away somewhere deep in his heart.  He turned away from that part of himself long ago, and now with the endless confirmations of his lineage...

A roar echoed through the woods nearby, shooting Aragorn to his feet.  His sword was already drawn, the rest of the company barely getting to their feet.

“What was that?” Frodo whispered.

“I’ll find out,” Aragorn promised him.  He placed a hand on the hobbit’s shoulder.  “Stay here with the others.  It’ll be alright.”

With a nod to Legolas, the ranger stode out into the wood, taking in the air as he walked.

Everything reeked of the foul stench of orc blood.  There were dark drops splattered on the trunks of trees and fallen leaves.  Aragorn gripped his sword tighter.  Whoever had done this was a likely to be a greater foe, if that was possible.

Before he could react, a sword crossed his, pushing past the blade to point threateningly at Aragorn’s throat.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t slay you where you stand,” you said.  “Who are you?”

To say you were beautiful was an understatement.  You did not carry the ethereal beauty of an elf nor the poise of a princess.  Yet as you stood in front of him with your messily tied hair, blood-stained robes, and a smirk of victory, Aragorn was sure there was nothing in all of Middle Earth that could compete.

Legolas lowered his bow, studying the large pile of orcs in your wake.  “You did this?”

You scoffed.  “Who else?”  The tip of your sword was dangerously close to Aragorn’s Adam’s apple.  “You never anwered my question.”  You sized him up quickly.  “Ranger.”

“You answered your own question,” Aragorn chuckled, sheathing his sword.  “Now my question is, who are you?”

“Someone passing through,” you said nonchalantly while lowering your blade.  “I’ve been tracking this pack from Isengard for a few days.  It was when they began speaking about conquering Middle Earth for Sauron that I decided to act.”

Aragorn’s brow furrowed.  “So the rumors are true. ��Saruman has become Sauron’s puppet.”

“What do you know of this?” you questioned while cleaning your sword.

Aragorn exchanged a quick look with Legolas, the elf giving him a slight raise of an eyebrow.  “We are trying to destroy the One Ring, Sauron’s ring, and put an end to this once and for all.”

“Sounds like a brave thing to do,” you mused, sheathing your sword.  You whistled your horse over.  

“You don’t care?” he concluded quietly.

“I do care,” you said, stroking your horse’s mane.  “I do not care for the Ring.  That is all.”  You sighed heavily.  “It has turned many hearts astray and destroyed too many lands.”

“Then help us,” the words left Aragorn’s lips easily.  

You laughed.  “I’m sure your companions will be safe, given that you were sent to protect them.”  Seeing his puzzled look, you pursed your lips in a knowing smile.  “Do not think I don’t know who you are, Aragorn, son of Arathorn.  Word of your actions has travelled fast throughout Middle Earth.”

Aragorn blinked before looking away.  He knew in his mind it would be valuable to have you included in the Fellowship, but was he doing it for the right reasons?

You clearly had no problem protecting yourself.  It was obvious you were strong and good-willed.  He had no idea about your background nor where you came from, but he had a feeling about you, something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

And it was bothering him.

He lay a hand on the hilt of his sword.  “We...we could really use your help.”

“I’m sure you could,” you chuckled.  “I’m just waiting for you to ask me properly.”

You were definitely not like any woman Aragorn had ever met.  He never thought he’d succumb to such an odd request, but you had him under your spell.

Aragorn scoffed before gazing at you curiously.  “What is your name, milady?”

“Y/N,” you said.  “And call me ‘milady’ again, and you will not live to see another day.”

He nodded with a small laugh.  “Will you help us, Y/N?”

You smiled.  “I’ll do my best, Aragorn.”

As the three of you exited the forest, Legolas pulled Aragorn aside.  They watched as you walked up to introduce yourself to Gimli, Boromir, and the four hobbits.

“In all the years I have known you...” Legolas trailed off, seeing Aragorn’s eyes on you.  “You truly are hopeless, my friend.”

Aragorn cleared his throat, adjusting his cloak.  “When was the last time you saw anyone take on a squadron of Isengard orcs by themselves and live to tell the tale?”

“You know I don’t mean that,” Legolas groaned.  “Never mind.  You always have a reason for everything you do.”

“I do,” he replied.  

The elf sighed as his gaze turned towards your direction.  “You think she is beautiful.”

There was a long moment before Aragorn exhaled.  “Yes.”

Legolas sighed, rolling his eyes.  “This is going to be quite frustrating to watch, then,” he said as he walked towards the camp.

Aragorn furrowed his brow.  “Wait, what do you mean?”

“If anything I’ve heard about men pining after unreachable women is true, then we’re all doomed,” the elf said.  “Why don’t you just confess your feelings now, rather than later?”

“Legolas!”

“I’m not wrong, and you know it.”

[anghraine]

Aranorverse stuff: Gondor edition

Although I use ‘Aranorverse’ for the f!Aragorn/f!Faramir fic, since Aranor (f!Aragorn) is the main point of it ... it definitionally also extends beyond her. The original premise is that the Númenórean throwbacks in LOTR are genderbent: Denethor, Aragorn, Imrahil, and Faramir.

To make it work, though, I had to consider Imrahil’s siblings, and Finduilas definitely reads as a Númenórean/Elvish type, so she became a man and f!Denethor’s husband. For simplicity’s sake, I assumed that Ivriniel is also a throwback, making m!Ivriniel the prince and leaving f!Imrahil free to be a full-time lady knight.

(Canon Imrahil’s shock at finding a woman among the Rohirrim makes this funnier to me, ngl.)

OTOH, f!Denethor really needed to be the Steward for multiple reasons, and I was thinking of how it would happen, since Denethor canonically has older sisters and is maybe-implied to have a younger brother. I ultimately decided that Denethor’s older sisters went off and made suitable marriages, but the brother (here the only son) was unable to ascend / completely opposed to ascending to the Ruling Stewardship.

Denethor says in LOTR that he and Faramir are the last of the House of the Stewards, so it doesn’t seem like there would be undisputed contenders to succeed Ecthelion apart from his children. I imagined that Denethor’s brother, along with f!Denethor herself, was able and willing to fight tooth and nail for one of his sisters to take on the mantle rather than opening the gates to a new Kinstrife, and while the two eldest were “lol no,” lady Denethor agreed. She might even have canon Denethor’s feeling (according to UT) of having been appointed by destiny to lead Gondor through this bleak hour.

Anyway: for names, I was thinking mainly of the Stewards’ propensity for naming children after major First Age figures and/or previous members of their family. I provisionally went with Andreth for Denethor and Belecthor for the younger brother. (I always headcanon the older sisters as Emeldir and Rían.)

Oh, and another idea is that Andreth’s unprecedented ascension to the Stewardship didn’t immediately overhaul the lot and expectations of women in Gondor, but it did blaze a path that some women are able to follow, most notably f!Imrahil (leader of the knights of Dol Amroth) and, ironically enough, f!Aragorn. Aranor might have been able to become queen anyway, but it would have been much more of an uphill battle without the precedent that Andreth set.

(Andreth would hate this if she knew about it.)

Back to Dol Amroth, I’d originally tried to come up with approximations of the canon names (Ivrinion? Fingon?). But it entertained me more to do something different. Since canon Ivriniel and Finduilas seem to have both been named for Finduilas of Nargothrond, I decided to name m!Ivriniel and m!Finduilas after her love interests—Túrin (already attested as a Gondorian name) and Gwindor. I did go for a direct conversion for Imrahil, who becomes Imraphel (mostly bc I like it).

Last of all, there’s f!Faramir, who here is Míriel. That’s partly because I wanted to distinguish her from my other f!Faramir fic (/whistles), and partly because it’s a royal name (like Faramir) that retains the -mir- connection with Boromir.

In the other fic, Faramir was the only genderbent character, and male Denethor had no expectation of a daughter being a warrior. This actually smoothed their relationship in a lot of ways. But while female Denethor doesn’t expect it, either, it’s at least a possibility in their timeline. So Míriel turning out as a gentle, gracious lady is more of a disappointment than in the other ’verse, esp after Boromir’s death, though it’s still far short of the strain between canon Denethor and Faramir.

Míriel, I think, is (reluctantly) evacuated with the other women and children before Gandalf and Pippin ever show up; her argument with Andreth about it is the last time they ever speak to each other. Andreth dies in the retreat across the Pelennor, Imraphel takes command, and Aranor arrives to turn the tide of battle while Míriel is basically stuck doing what Éowyn rejected—leading the civilians while others fight in the battle.

It’s an important task, and Míriel is a charismatic, strong-willed leader who is loved and respected by her people, but it’s still a difficult position to be in. By the time she receives news of Andreth’s death and Aranor’s existence, events have already rushed on. By the time Míriel returns to Minas Tirith, Sauron is defeated (wonderful!) and Aranor, whom Míriel has never met, is Queen of Gondor in all but name (maybe good, maybe bad). Míriel’s own place in the new world is extremely unclear. And then she actually meets Aranor and is, while not quite as swept away as canon without the mystical healing, still very powerfully struck by her and willing to step aside.

And then ... stuff.

[strangeradventuresofp]

second thoughts (legolas x reader)

The Fellowship of the Ring - Part 3

masterlist

warnings: fighting, character death

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

a/n : part 3!!! i have so much fun writing this story and im so glad that i get to continue writing these chapters for you guys. thank you so much to everyone who is reading and showing support, it honestly means so much to me you have no idea. anyway, without further ado, here’s chapter 3! i hope you enjoy<3

“Are we lost?”

“No.”

“I think we are.”

“Shh! Gandalf’s thinking.”

“Merry?”

“What?”

“I’m hungry.” Pippin and Merry whispered between each other. They were sat opposite each other, their voices flowing through the space. Sam was sat up against one of the rocks near Frodo. Gandalf had perched himself upon a rock. He lifted a pipe to and from his lips, blowing out smoke when necessary. You were sat beside Boromir, who was beside Aragorn. Legolas was stood, his back leaned against rock, close to Aragorn.

“I miss home.” You mentioned. Boromir smiled, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you gently into his side.

“After the journey, we will return. We will drink and feast and celebrate. And everything will go back to normal.” He assured and you gave a small smile. Though, you were unsure of whether you wanted that to be your reality when you were to finish the journey. You had quite enjoyed the thought of travelling with Aragorn and then when his time had come… Well, you had not thought that far just yet. Anyway, this was all hypothetical, of course, as it had much started to dawn on you that you might not get the chance to return. Luck had been on your side thus far but for how long would it continue to come to your aid?

Legolas noticed the worried look that fell over your features and his brows drew together, wishing that he could read your mind to know what troubled you. He was about to pull you to the side to ask how you were when Gandalf let out a loud noise.

“It’s that way.” He pointed with his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips as he looked at Frodo who was sat beside him.

“He’s remembered!” Merry said with a grin, pulling the pipe from his lips. He pushed himself to his feet.

Gandalf stood with the aid of his staff. “No, but the air doesn’t smell so foul down here. If in doubt, young Meriadoc, always follow your nose.” He led the way, holding his staff up so that the light exuding from it would reveal more of the path. Legolas held back to walk with you. You smiled at him and he returned it. Each member of the Fellowship stepped down the decreasing concrete.

“Let me risk a little more light.” Gandalf muttered. His staff brightened the way. “Behold, the great realm, the dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf.”

Your lips parted almost immediately in awe, breath drawing from your throat. There were pillars hundreds of feet tall, all so intricately designed and decorated. Somehow amongst the darkness all of the stone seemed to turn from a dull grey to a shimmering silver. Dips and grooves were so perfectly sculpted that it seemed surreal.

“Well, there’s an eyeopener, make no mistake.” Sam said. His eyes were glistening with wonder as well as everyone else’s.

“It’s beautiful.” You whispered. It seemed as if the words were forced from your mouth. There was so much beauty and brilliance in the world that you had yet to see; the sort of the thing that excited you.

It did not excite you for long, however. Once you had been walking for a while again, Gimli paused. His eyes quickly scanned over skeletons leading to a room. He took an audible breath, running into the room. Your eyes widened and you quickly followed him. Your heart ached at the sight of him. His face was stained with more tears, his eyes flooded. His wails were unforgettable. A series of sobs left his lips, his chest heaving up and down as you gently placed a hand on his shoulder. You could feel tears begin to pool in yours eyes. You had not noticed that the others had joined you until the sound of extra footsteps echoed off of the walls.

“Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria.” The wizard took a breath. You moved away from Gimli, standing beside Legolas with a small sniffle. “He is dead, then. It is as I feared.” He handed his things to Pippin, delicately moving a skeleton to pick up a dusty book that it had been holding, once. A shiver ran all the way up your spine, your skin prickling in goosebumps. You snapped your head around to look through the door behind you, anxiety growing within your frame.

“I have a bad feeling about this place.” You hissed into the elf’s ear and he nodded, leaning into Aragorn’s ear slightly.

“We must move on. We cannot linger.”

Gandalf turned the page. “They have taken the bridge, and the second hall. We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums. Drums in the deep.” He turned the page. “We cannot get out. Shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out. They are coming—”

Suddenly a loud noise captivated the attention of everybody. The noise came from beside Pippin, who was stood looking extremely guilty beside a headless body. Before you knew it, the body fell flimsily down the hole beside it and the weight that it was attached to quickly followed. If you wanted not to be noticed then perhaps bringing Pippin along was not the right idea, for the noises echoed loudly around the space. After a little while of silence, Boromir let out an audible breath of relief.

“Fool of a took!” Gandalf snapped, tossing the book to the floor. “Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity.” He snatched back his staff and hat and Pippin looked to the floor.

There was a faint bang in the distance. If anyone’s eyes had wondered, they were now firmly back on the hobbit. Breathing was audible from everyone in the room. You looked worriedly at Boromir, he, too, looked anxious. Your breath quickened, turning around to face the door but turning back when Sam spoke.

“Mister Frodo…” At his words, Frodo pulled out his sword which was glowing blue. Your eyes widened at the sight. He had told you before that his Uncle Bilbo had gifted it to him before he left Rivendell. It glowed blue if there were—

“Orcs.” Legolas confirmed at the overwhelming sound of energetic screams and shouts. Boromir turned, running to the door.

“Boromir!” You warned, gasping sharply when two arrows landed not even an inch away from his face, protruding out from the door. Sprinting to him, you helped him shove the door closed. You could make out Aragorn saying something to the hobbits over the vicious pumping of your heart. Instinctively you turned your back to the door, holding it shut whilst Legolas threw an axe to you. It threaded through the handle of the door kindly and you stepped away from the door slowly, pulling out your knives. The door began to wave outwards and inwards, like it was victim to an angry storm. Weapons were cutting through the wood at speed and soon enough the doors caved to the Orcs’ will. They came flooding through the space like they were on a water current. Legolas and Aragorn shot their arrows but there were too many. They continued to pour through until they reached you.

With a roar, you brought your knife up to counter a sword, plunging your other into the face of your attacker. You dodged an oncoming axe, dropping the floor to swipe its legs before heaving its own weapon into its chest. Swiftly you sliced through the flesh of one’s neck, spinning to punch another before you stabbed it in the heart; if they had hearts, that is, you did not really know. Your fingers tightened around the hilts of your knives, searching around. You quickly sheathed your knives, picking up an axe from one of those that you just killed. As you made for one about to attack Boromir from behind, you swung the axe over your head, burying it deep inside its skull. The body fell to its knees and you struggled to pull the weapon out, forcefully kicking the body to release the axe. Shouting, swinging at one’s knees before slicing its head clean from its body.

You shielded your face as rocks came flying from where the door was once. Sheer horror smacked you in the face at the sight of a cave troll. It had chains around its neck and a huge mallet in its hand. It came bounding right up to Sam after Legolas shot an arrow into the centre of its chest.

“Sam!” You cried, breathing as he managed to crawl out of the way. When you turned around, an Orc landed a punch straight to your nose. You fell, startled, wincing slightly at the pain. Your eyes widened as it swung its axe towards your head. With barely inches between you and the blade, you managed to roll out of the way. Suddenly the Orc let out a cry of pain, and you used the opportunity to ram your knives into each of its legs before pulling one out and driving it into its chest. When it fell to the floor, you managed to take a quick glance at the body. There was an arrow sticking out of the fleshy part of the side. A small smile tugged on your lips amongst the madness, your eyes searching.

Your smile faded when your gaze landed on Legolas. The troll swung its chain at him with ferocity, causing rocks to fall from the pillars and the walls.

“Legolas!” You screamed his name, tears in your eyes. He managed to swerve from all of the troll’s attacks. You did not see much of what happened next, for the number of Orcs seemed to increase again, but you cut down all of the Orcs that came your way with much frustration, the tears of worry in your eyes turning to those of anger.

When you next got a chance to look at the troll, it was attacking Frodo, Merry and Pippin. You began to make your way towards them, lunging at each creature that came to attack you, carving into their skin as if they were meat for dinner. The cave troll grabbed Frodo by his foot, and you called to him, raising the aggressiveness of your attacks unintentionally, frustration consuming your entire body. Frodo managed to slice something from the hand of the troll, giving Aragorn the chance to stick a spear just under its breast. It smacked Aragorn to the side and he hit a rock before his body tumbled lifelessly to the floor. Frodo desperately tried to run around the troll but to no avail. The troll pushed the spear into the hobbits chest.

A sob was forced from your throat, your chest heaving for breath. Merry and Pippin jumped on the troll, stabbing at its neck relentlessly. It managed to shake Merry off, dropping him to the floor from a height. Gimli ran at it, attempting to smack it with his axe but got kicked to the side. As you screamed, your knives tore and shredded through its thick skin. You swung an axe from the ground up to land firmly in the back of it. Legolas drew an arrow, aiming carefully before shooting it. The arrow buried itself in its mouth. It let out a noise. Then it fell to the ground, spreading the dust over the other bodies that lay there.

It took you no time at all to run to where Frodo’s and Aragorn’s bodies were. A few tears fell down your cheeks while you sprinted. You sighed in relief to see Aragorn crawling toward the hobbits body, but you frowned, noticing that Frodo still had not moved. The lump in your throat grew. Your breathing felt restricted, a small sob falling from your lips. Aragorn rolled Frodo’s body over into his lap.

A series of groans came from the mouth of the hobbit and your eyes widened, thinking that your ears had deceived you. The hobbit was stabbed, surely, he was dead! But Sam ran to your side, taking a deep breath before he looked to the rest of the Fellowship.

“He’s alive.” He confirmed. Everyone seemed to breathe at that.

“I’m alright. I’m not hurt.” Said Frodo, clutching his chest.

You smiled. “But how?”

“I think there is more to this hobbit than meets the eye,” Gandalf suggested with a knowing look. When you looked back towards Frodo, he pulled the fabric of his undershirt down, revealing a glimmering white chainmail material.

“Mithril.” Gimli whispered, a smile on his face. “You are full of surprises, Master Baggins.” Y stood, laughing breathily before turning to those behind you. Your gaze landed on Boromir and you smiled, wiping a bit of blood from his cheek comically. He chuckled, engulfing you in a hug. He gently pressed his lips to your to the top of your head and you smiled. Boromir left you to check on Merry and Pippin and you turned to Legolas, smiling.

“I was worried for you, mellon nin.” You avoided his gaze.

“And I for you.” He said. You could hear the smile on his face when he spoke, and your smile widened. You were about to say something else when more manic screams and shouts were heard, identical to the ones that were heard before the Orcs attacked you. Your eyes widened, turning to Gandalf.

“To the bridge of Khazad-Dum.”

And with that the Fellowship took off down the stony halls of Moria. You were all sprinting at full speed. It was a little surprising that the hobbits could keep up, but they had proven many times by now that they could hold their own and should never be underestimated. Screams echoed behind you and you turned to look, slowing when you noticed how many Orcs there were. This was a battle you were destined to lose. Fingers wrapped firmly around your wrist and you snapped your head forward again to see Boromir holding to you with one of his arms, pulling you along. Orcs started to pop up out of the floor and crawl down from the ceiling and quite quickly it was easy to see that there were way too many of them to even fathom fighting. The Fellowship slowed to a stop and you created a circle, pulling your knives from their sheaths and staring down the Orcs that surrounded you. The circle seemed to get smaller and smaller and soon you were shoulder to shoulder with Legolas and Boromir. The Orcs smiled maniacally at you. You took a sharp breath, ready to lunge at them when a very loud rumbling noise came from the end of the corridor.

Immediately, the Orcs turned frail, squeaking with fear and soon they scattered off just as quickly as they had appeared. You were alone again. The noise reverberated through the halls.

“What is that?” Somehow you had the nerve to ask the question.

“A Balrog. A demon of the ancient world.” You watched Legolas’ eyes widen slightly at the wizard’s words and you swallowed dryly. “This foe is beyond any of you. Run!”

Gandalf made for the opening that you had all meant to go down originally, the rest of you darting to the end of the hall to keep up with him. He stopped at the open archway, allowing the others in front of him. You ran just behind Legolas and Boromir was now leading the way. He moved down the newly presented set of stairs, not noticing the empty chasm that lay before his feet. He wobbled on the very edge, dropping his torch down the space as Legolas lunged forward, wrapped his arms around his chest and pulled him back.

Behind you, Gandalf clutched hold of Aragorn’s shoulder. “Lead them on, Aragorn. The bridge is near.” When Aragorn tried to help him, he pushed on his shoulder, forcing him away. “Do as I say! Swords are no more use here.” You raced down the numerous flights of stone stairs until you came to a halt. A part of the staircase was missing. Legolas jumped over it carelessly, landing perfectly on the other side. He held his hand out to you. You took a breath before leaping over the disparity, grabbing his hand tightly as he safely pulled you into his chest.

“Gandalf.” He gestured for the wizard to come next. Gandalf jumped and you gasped as an arrow missed your face by just a few inches. Legolas frowned, aiming and shooting, his arrow hitting the Orc archer right between the eyes. You ushered Boromir down and he nodded, grabbing Merry and Pippin before diving over the gaping chasm. You caught Merry in your arms, setting him down with a head pat before Aragorn tossed Sam to you. Catching him, you gently set him down beside Merry whilst Legolas dealt with Gimli. Once Gimli joined you, however, the rock that Frodo and Aragorn were still perched on began to crumble. You gasped, squeezing Boromir’s hand in anxiety as you watched. A huge roar echoed from where you had just come from, causing the archway to shake and break. A large piece of stone plunged from the ceiling, crashing down onto the very staircase that the man and the hobbit were situated on. Your heart stuttered as the rock destroyed what was in its way, falling into the abyss below. The stem of the staircase broke.

“Be careful!” You cried, biting your lip so hard it pooled with blood. Aragorn pulled a very terrified Frodo into his chest. You watched with complete anxiety yet confusion; you could see that the man was calculating something.

“Lean forward!” He instructed to the Ring-Bearer and as the two did so, the faulty staircase began to lean under their weight. Slowly, it moved towards the stable one, crashing into it and you let out a breath with Frodo in your arms. All you wanted was to sit and hug him and make sure that he knew everything was going to be alright – even though you weren’t entirely sure it would be – but you knew that could not happen. Legolas had safely caught Aragorn and the next thing you knew, the ten of you were rapidly rushing down the numerous flights of trembling stairs.

Eventually you got to flat ground but none of you stopped running. Your thoughts wandered to Gandalf, wondering if it was wise that he should be running like this, for it seemed he was far too tired even earlier.

The bridge was near. “Over the bridge! Fly!” Little attention was paid to the roaring fires acting as gates toward it. Whilst everyone ran, Gandalf made sure to lack behind and just as he turned around, slowly, a giant creature emerged from the fire. It had black tattered skin and horns, terrible teeth and bright white eyes. Its mouth opened, and it created sound unlike any other on Middle-Earth, its mouth mirroring hot embers. Gandalf turned once it had taken a step, fleeing towards the group of you who also began to scurry away from the creature. You sprinted, heart jolting each time you heard – and felt – the Balrog take a step. In single file, ushering the hobbits in front of you, you crossed the bridge. Boromir held you for a moment once you had crossed, making sure that you were alright before he let go, eyes widening at the sight of Gandalf still in the centre of the bridge.

“You cannot pass.” Gandalf yelled, facing the beast with his staff out in front of him, his long sword settled in his other hand.

“Gandalf!” Frodo screamed. You inhaled sharply, eyes filling with tears in worry. Aragorn squeezed your hand gently as the beast stood tall, erupting into a ball of flame.

“I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun!” A great light emitted from Gandalf’s staff when he held it up, but the Balrog created a weapon of his own. A flash of lightning spewed from the connection of Gandalf’s staff and the Balrog’s sword of flame. You grasped Aragorn’s hand tighter, feeling all of the moisture from your mouth dissipate. The sword melted down into the abyss and the creature moaned ferociously at the wizard once again. “Go back to the shadow.” He said behind hooded eyes. It stepped toward him, creating a fiery whip which he cracked against the stone.

“You shall not pass!” As his voice echoed, Gandalf thrust his staff into the stone, white sparks flying from the collision. The beast raised his arm, stepping mightily towards to wizard, but the stone crumbled under its weight. He plummeted into the abyss. You let out a breath you did not know you were holding. Gandalf turned to step towards you.

However, as he did so, an orange-yellow string secured itself around his ankle, pulling him across the stone until he barely hung from the edge.

You gasped, shaking your head incredulously. “No…” Frodo ran for him. Boromir grabbed him, holding him close before he could reach. Your eyes were wide with anguish, Frodo’s screams painfully ringing in your ears.

“Gandalf!”

He looked amongst you. “Fly, you fools.” Was all he said before he spread his fingers out, giving in, and he fell. Tears pooled in your eyes, an aching sensation pounding in your chest, throughout your entire body. A few choked sobs escaped you whilst Aragorn, still latched to your hand, pulled you along, shielding you from the many arrows that were being shot your way. The final set of steps lay in front of you, and as Aragorn gently dragged you along, you found yourself looking back, filled with a sorrow that everyone was experiencing.

Upon exiting Moria, you found that Boromir was holding back Gimli, from going in there and no doubt trying to murder the Balrog that had taken Gandalf. Sam was sat on his own, crying into his hand. Pippin was sprawled out on the floor in pain, Merry holding onto him, both of them with tears gushing down their faces. If your heart was not already broken from the loss, it certainly was shattered now from the melancholy faces that lay before you. Slowly, you made your way over to Sam, resting a gentle hand on his shoulder as you knelt beside him. He looked up and threw his arms around your body, sobbing silently into your shoulder. You closed your eyes, tears streaming, hugging him as tightly while he clung to you.

Legolas looked around, it seemed as if for the first time that he was unsure of what to do. His chest ached, even harder when his eyes landed upon you, and how you quickly swiped your tears away before talking to Sam, wanting to be strong for him and the other hobbits.

Aragorn cleaned his sword with his clothes. “Legolas, get them up.” He came close to you and Sam and you shook your head gently.

“Leave them.” You sniffed.

“Give them a moment, for pity’s sake!”

“By nightfall, these hills will be swarming with Orcs. We must reach the Woods of Lothlorien. Come Boromir. Y/N, Legolas, Gimli, get them up.” Aragorn pulled Sam up from the floor. “On your feet.” Boromir made his over to you, wrapping a comforting arm around your shoulder. You smiled weakly at him, and he kissed your temple softly. “Frodo?” You heard Aragorn call, your eyes wandering to try to find the hobbit. Once you had found him, you sighed.

“It is hardly fair, that they do not get a chance to lament.”

“I know, but Aragorn is right. We must hurry to avoid the Orcs and another potential loss.” You nodded and Boromir’s words, hugging into his side, your eyes never leaving Frodo.

~~~

You had all been walking for a long while, but it was still light. You had been walking beside Aragorn, listening to him talk away about where we going and then after that and after that. It was not until he mentioned again where you were going now, that a faint memory flooded into your head. Your brows furrowed together whilst you tried to remember the details of the memory.

“What is it, Y/N?” Aragorn asked, concerned.

“Lothlorien. It sounds familiar.” You gave him a knowing look and his eyes widened, only slightly, in surprise. You both knew what that could mean. Legolas, however, did not, but he wanted to. He felt awful for eavesdropping yet again, but you intrigued him more than one ever had before, and his curiousness was getting the better of him.

Aragorn started to jog toward the forest, and you joined him, stopping once you were inside. Your eyes widened when you looked around, your breathing staggering only slightly, your heart thumping in your chest.

“Aragorn,” you whispered. “I have been here before.”

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[morwensteelsheen]

If Faramir went to Rivendell, how would the whole ttt/rohan plot be different?

A good question that I have spent an unreasonable time thinking about! My first LOTR fic was going to be an attempt to answer this, but then I got so wrapped up in not having the answers that I sidelined it and wrote WC instead. So I think instead of giving you one definitive answer I’ll give you a couple scenarios I think are plausible? If that’s not too much of a cop out lmao? Apologies in advance for the inevitable spelling errors, I did this on my phone and my dyslexia is off the charts today.

I think it’s basically unavoidable that he goes via Rohan first, geographically he’s sort of left without an option there. When he’s there, we get into this issue of whether and how he and Éowyn interact. Worth noting, I think, that the Unfinished Tales has Éomer living in Aldburg by the War, but Éomer does seem to imply he’s around for Boromir passing through. Is this because he knows and already is a fan of Boromir? Maybe! Or maybe Éomer goes to Aldburg after.

But I digress. We have to ask the question of whether Faramir falls in love with Éowyn because he was always going to fall in love with Éowyn, or if it’s because the things he’s gone through immediately preceding it primed him for it. I — perhaps quite cheaply — come down on the side of Faramir always having it bad for her on first sight. And contextually I think that comes from his, rather sweet, enunciation of the way his regard/love changes for her. He says that at first he pities her, and then he gets to know her and he doesn’t pity her anymore, he respects and admires her. That’s an interesting dynamic to bring into play in basically every AU, because you get this double barrel characterisation of his attitude to her changing, and his own character maturing/sharp edges softening.

I think he off the bat he sees that she’s beautiful, and immediately is drawn to her for that. Shallow? Maybe! But, to badly paraphrase my ol fav Victor Hugo quote — love always begins with a glance.

I imagine he stays for a short while, maybe a week, two at most. At this point I think that Éowyn’s basically viewing him as an official guest that she has to entertain, and I think Faramir is, in his own, slightly stilted, slightly wanky way, putting the moves on her. This can go, imo, one of two ways. She can either be receptive to it (which is a nice thought!) or she can be aware of it but mostly ignore it because, really, she’s got lots of shit on her plate.

Either way, he leaves Edoras at some point. The big question is where does his go from there?

One thing I toy around with is that, given his pre-existing relationship to Gandalf, maybe he’s willing to trust the Istari a bit more and goes straight for Isengard? Which, and I think I did the math on this once a few months ago, would have him arriving at Isengard around the time Gandalf’s getting his shit kicked in by Saruman lol. I think this could be a really compelling plot point, but I’ll be very honest with you, I 100% don’t have the imagination or writing skills to figure out how it proceeds from there, so I’m not going to try to.

If he goes the normal Boromir route, he still loses his horse at Tharbad and walks (lmao jesus???) to Rivendell. When he gets there, I think he’s immediately going to have everything he knows put to the test in quite jarring ways. First off, he’s going to be infinitely more deferential to Elrond, Aragorn &c when they’re trashing Gondor. He’ll push back a bit, no doubt on that, but he’s going to be starstruck by Aragorn in a way that Boromir just wasn’t.

No real difference I imagine between Rivendell and Lothlórien, except that he’d definitely be laser focused on palling about with Aragorn, and he’d probably spend more of his time being friendly with Frodo than with Merry and Pippin tbh (not in a douchey way, I just think he and Frodo vibe a little better. Though I bet he and Merry had some interesting chats about pipe weed history).

The underlying question here is what sort of relationship does he have to the ring? I don’t buy this idea that he’s not tempted by it, I just think that what the ring offers him is a bit shit. We don’t know what the ring tempts him with, he’s not clear on that in TTT. I can’t really see the ring being like ‘oh I’ll give you a king to follow’ because that is some intensely nerdy shit, but is somehow the one thing I could see Faramir actually being tempted by. Regardless of what it offers him in this AU, he resists it on the basis that he’s got this mythical king he’s been desperate for, and he’s not gonna risk that for anything.

Lothlórien comes next, and oh my god when I tell you this is the part I genuinely have no answer for. I stopped writing my first fic at Lothlórien because I couldn’t cope. Tbh it probably lowkey fries Faramir’s brain, and for so many reasons. The whole godmoding Númenórean stuff he’s got going on probably interests Galadriel a bit, and so that whole conversation is going to be wildly different than it was for Boromir. But what does she say to Faramir? I have no idea. I really don’t. There’s also probably a million and one things also going on psychologically for him at that point, which makes dealing with this bit difficult. Really difficult. So I’m gonna, uh, conveniently smash cut away.

Parth Galen! Again, another two potential splits here. The first, (from here on out I’ll refer to as Plot A) which I find rather endearing, is that he goes off with Frodo and Sam when Frodo makes the decision to split. I don’t know that I believe he’d do it, but it proves for a very delightful interpretation of his character.

Plot B is that when the Orcs show up, Faramir survives not by virtue of his being a ~ better warrior ~ or whatever than Boromir, but by the terrain surrounding Parth Galen being something he’s far more in the habit of dealing with, and by virtue of his having a bow at his disposal. I know there’s room for an interpretation of Faramir as not primarily an archer, but narratively I think that’s less interesting. So he’s an archer. He’s an archer and also his priority is on Aragorn first and foremost, so Merry and Pip still get taken, and Frodo and Sam use the hubbub to GTFO, which is actually slightly more in line with the movie’s chronology, funnily enough. The three hunters become four, and then go on Merry & Pippin’s trails.

In Plot A, they’re hauling ass across the Emyn Muil, bolstered in some ways by Faramir’s experience as a Ranger. The problem is the issue of getting into Mordor and whether or not they pick up Gollum. I think, in a way that frustrates me immensely, they do end up taking Gollum, not because they need a guide, but because Gollum fulfils this deep psychological need for Frodo, and I think he would have argued for keeping Gollum regardless. Faramir is going to be fucked off about this, but will ultimately, I think, be deferential to the ringbearer.

So they go across the Dead Marshes, but they do NOT attempt the Black Gate first because Faramir’s not a fool. Do they go to Henneth Annûn? I say yes, but with the caveat that in all likelihood Boromir is gonna be there, which is gonna complicate stuff tremendously.

Over to Plot B!

The four hunters go to the Mark! They meet Éomer! Hey! Éomer recognises Faramir! (And he’s probably a little fucked off that he lost his horse lol). But whatever, he knows this guy, so he’s probably gonna be like, uhhh, everything you saw before in Edoras is much worse now. Also my cousin's dead and everything is bad. Here’s some horses, sorry for maybe accidentally killing your pals, see ya! And at this point I think Faramir’s probably having a, hmmm, g e n t l e  p s y c h i c  c r i s i s, because if he’s still very 👅 for Éowyn (which he is, sorry, he has to be) then he’s going to want to go there ASAP. Obviously though that’s not gonna happen, so: Merry and Pip chasing, Gandalf finding, Edoras arriving.

Which means Éowyn. If, at this point, she and Faramir already have something of an arrangement going on (nudge nudge) then she’s really not gonna give a shit about Aragorn. You know how in TTT it’s not even clear that she actually sees Legolas and Gimli? 100% that vibe with Aragorn too. Théoden’s gonna get his house in order, they’re going to head to Helm’s Deep, and Éowyn’s gonna get named head of house. (Faramir, if he starts off just thinking she’s beautiful, is going to have quite the paradigm shift here, because he’s going to have to start reckoning with her as not just a beautiful woman, but as a very, very intense person. This is how his love for her starts to mature.)

Sometimes I dream about him being like, ‘hey! I have some first hand experience of ruling a kingdom, how about I stay and…….. lend you a hand……..’ to Éowyn while she’s keeping watch on Edoras. This is wildly unlikely, but a delightful thought nonetheless. In the more likely case, which is that he goes to the Hornburg, she’s going to start feeling some strain about this whole war shebang, and it’s going to lead to some difficult conversations. Chief among them is that Faramir, as second son, actually has basically nothing to give her, which is not exactly a great position to be in when you’re in love with the niece of a king. I’m of the opinion that Éowyn’s not fussed by that stuff (she agrees to marry him when he’s prepping to give up a shit ton of power anyways), so she’s probably like, 'no, fuck you, we’re getting married.' And then he leaves, and it starts to emotionally unsettle her more and more.

If they don’t already have a thing, then it either begins at this point OR he gets overshadowed by Aragorn. In either case, off to Helm’s Deep he goes.

Helm’s Deep happens, I think Faramir ends up extraordinarily impressed by how the Rohirrim handle the Dunlenders afterwards, which also begins to soften his harsh opinion of them more generally.

They go to Isengard, Pippin looks in the Palantír, and away Pippin and Gandalf go. Both Gandalf and Faramir here would recognise that it would be batshit insane for Faramir to go back to MT now, because Denethor would read him like a picture book and he’d have to admit to the entire mission of the Fellowship.

Over in Plot A, I think we’re going to have some real emotional complexity vis a vis Faramir showing up at Henneth Annûn with two hobbits, a ring, and Boromir in control there. God, it would just be a disaster. My incredibly generous interpretation of this is that Faramir keeps the plan vague enough that Boromir lets them pass unhindered. My less generous interpretation is… yeah I don’t wanna do it tbh. It’s not pretty. It's also, to be clear: not an indictment of Boromir as a character. His response is entirely rational for someone expected to lead a kingdom and for someone put up against the unbelievable power of the One Ring. The reason Faramir continuously gets to pass largely untempted by the ring is because he's a guy with no actual responsibilities once you take the Rangers away. His understanding of his duty to Gondor is almost entirely conceptual in nature. He can think and talk about defending Gondor as it once was because there are several people above him in the hierarchy defending Gondor for what it is. This is also not an indictment of Faramir. He and Boromir just have wildly different realities to contend with.

They are going to go through Cirith Ungol even though Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumbass both speak Sindarin and don’t cotton on to what its name implies lol. This whole scene is much shorter because Faramir’s significantly more cautious, so there is no Orc capture and Sam doesn't take the Ring. This is where things get a bit complex, and where I don’t think I have the imagination to say much more. Sorry!

Back in Plot B, the lads catch up with Éowyn as they prep to go down the Paths of the Dead. If she and Faramir are a thing, this is where the real emotional distress kicks in for her. All of the men in her life have, at one point or another, functionally abandoned her, and here’s Faramir, love of her life, about to do the exact same thing. Faramir inevitably goes with the Grey Company even though she begs him not to. When she tries to convince them not to go down the Paths at all, he is in the fortunate enough position to throw up his hands and say 'not my call, actually. King’s in charge,' which lessens the emotional conflict there somewhat.

No part of me doubts that Éowyn wouldn’t then immediately go over his head to Aragorn. She would, she absolutely does not give a fuck. And she’s going to get knocked back re: joining them in exactly the same way as in the book, because Aragorn’s take here isn’t actually dependent on her personally, it’s dependent on the duty she’s been charged with, which is taking care of her people. (Also going to be an interesting narrative parallel to a later conversation between Faramir and Aragorn after the Pelennor, which I’ll explain in more detail later.)

Faramir will, perhaps somewhat less dismissively, say this to her. He learns much more obviously the way to talk to her on her own terms, and he’s not gonna fall into the trap of letting her be like ‘you just want me to wait and die after all the men are dead.’ He’s going to probably give her some line about her being the last organised line of defence, and he might even invoke Haleth! It’s not going to work, because Éowyn’s very aware of the apocalyptic nature of all of this, but it’s not going to cause such abject hatred and fury as it otherwise would.

If she and Faramir are not a thing, her emotional distress is as it is in the book, except now Faramir’s trying not to pout in the background. He might even step in to try and soften the blow.

Regardless, she ends up as Dernhelm, she rides to the Pelennor.

Boromir is the one responsible for the Osgiliath retreat, and because it’s heavily implied that Faramir only keeps his seat because he’s got this dumbass Númenor garbage going on ('master of man and beast' — king Beregond), Boromir’s going to get killed by the Witch king here.

This is going to send shockwaves through not just Denethor, but Minas Tirith more generally, because Boromir is fucking adored. Denethor’s going to go high holy crackers much quicker, mostly because Gandalf is a shit stirrer and is going to waste no time at all in announcing that Aragorn, The Rightful King, is on his way, and Denethor will — correctly — surmise that Faramir has chosen Aragorn over returning with whatever Isildur’s Bane is to Gondor. This is the end for Denethor.

Éowyn rides from Dunharrow, slays the Witch king. Faramir and Aragorn show up with the Army of Dead, Faramir does not end up injured, but does end up as the Steward (obviously) and (obviously) aware that Éowyn is in the HOH. And also that everybody else he loves is dead. Yeehaw.

Here’s where I think things get really interesting. I think, counter to the way this is portrayed a lot of the time, Faramir doesn’t go to the Black Gate at all. I think he stays in Minas Tirith, not just to organise the wider range defences (esp the Rohirrim dealing w the Druadan) but in this very grim preparation to lead the retreat from Minas Tirith if/when Frodo & Sam fail. I think he's kind of fine with this for two reasons. The first is that him being conscious to process the death of his father, and it coming hours after the death of his brother means that he's going to have a personal-political crisis, and he's going to have to take the defence of Gondor more seriously than he did before. Second, Aragorn's going to tell him to fucking stay put, and he's going to be fine with it because it means he's going to get to spend the last few days of his life with Éowyn.

He and Éowyn reunite in the HOH, there’s still a lot of deeply emotional stuff going on, but, at least now Faramir’s conscience is clear re: marrying her because, well, he’s the Steward now. Also their reunion is going to take on greater significance because she’ll have killed the thing that killed his brother. So, that’s a lot.

If they are not a thing before the Pelennor, she's still going to drag his ass over to the HOH so she can bitch about being stuck there. But this time he's not a fellow hospital-prisoner, he's having to actually do things, and he's going to use that to his advantage in terms of keeping her from doing stupid shit. I think he's going to try to involve her in some of the strategic questions re: the retreat if the Morannon feint fails. I think he's going to make a point of talking to her to get her help on dealing with the Rohir forces that are in and around the City. I think that's going to go a huge way to helping to ease her misery, and it's going to be such a significant vote of trust in her (even after she's done the unthinkable and deserted her people) that she's going to fall in love with him here, as per. And the contrast between him and Aragorn is going to be all the stronger for it.

So yes. Those are just some of the possibilities I think! Sorry for the word dump!!

[idjitlili]

Oh let’s just be together then.

F aramir x reader.

Summary: imagine being faramir training you when you were young , and now you were co -captains of Gondor with him. You both deeply in love with eachother yet neither of you knew of each other's feelings.

Warning: making out, boner city.

Word count:1555

I hope this is what you wanted I tried , my best ,lovely.xx

This is a request from Wattpad.

You had been friends with Faramir as a child , your mother and father didn't agree with you being friends with a boy. But they never knew he was Denethors son, otherwise their opinion for your friend would be very different. As a teenager he taught you to fight , with swords , bows, and barehanded.

His older brother boromir would tease him , about his crush on you, he would even practise sparing with you. In which when you got good , it would end with the two on the floor you straddling boromir. This made Faramir angry at his brother because he knew his brother did it on purpose. Boromir would push you off so he was laying on top of you, reaching for his 'sword ' ending the spare by placing it to your neck. Before releasing , standing up helping you up by the hand.

"Miss y/n, you are getting almost as good as me." Boromir complimented to you, making you smile widely.

Boromir telling you that you were almost good as him was the highest compliment as he captain of the white tower and Faramir was captain of the rangers of ithilien. Faramir had been trying to convince you not to join the rangers nor any other part of the guard that could cause you harm.

You did not give up , you had went passed him straight to his father to join the rangers. He had laughed at you , you had got angry and demanded he saw you fight one of his men. Let's just say he was in shock , and quickly allowed you in. That had surprised you to say the least , when you had shown up as part of the rangers the next day. Faramir had been very much pissed off at you for going to his father to get in.

"Y/n , I CANNOT allow you to be apart of this." He had spoke at you in a stern tone, in your room, pacing around.

"Well that's good because you don't have to allow it , because your father is in charge." You had growled at Faramir.

His face laced with sadness, at you words. "I do not want you to get hurt, y/n/n." You smiled shyly at the slightly taller man.

"I don't want you get hurt too, exactly why I joined." He had pulled you into an embrace for a good five minutes , just stroking your hair. He had forgiven you, as he would do the same if the roles were reversed and he was a women and you were a man.

You would comfort him when his father would lash out on him , you would sneak out at these times riding to a small river. On a horse with Faramir mounted behind you, sometimes he would sob into your shoulder , while holding you tight, as you took him to the river. The river was surrounded with big green trees and boulders, at the waterfall.

Once you had arrived , you would jump off  of the house removing your outer clothes, Faramir doing the same. Before you jumped into the shallow river , you would do this often even at night. Splashing Faramir , then him coming over and attacking you dunking you into the water. You really did cheer him up, maybe not just because your under clothes became see through. No that he would perv on you but he did admire you , he would often compliment you calling you beautiful.

You would sometimes bring  shampoo and shower in the waterfall, well but wash your hair. You would even shampoo Faramirs hair , he found it very much comforting, he would do the same for you. Once you were done in the water, the two of you would take the blanket from your horse, into the field directly next to the river . Laying down upon the blanket, he would pull you into him , laying on his chest, head in his neck, his arms around your waist.

For hours you would stay like his, your parents would be so angry when you arrived home but you didn't care at all.  Denethor didn't give a shot to where Faramir was boromir would smirk at his brother.  Eventually your parents had found out about Faramir and demanded that he was to come over for dinner despite our telling them you weren't together.

You had told Faramir he had laughed, and said he would come , you had told him "but my parents would think we were courting?" He had smirked at you finally getting courage to shoot his shot. "Would you not want to be with me?" He had questioned , frowning slightly. A large blush had appeared upon your face , “ uh..no I would I just th—“ you had stuttered out before he had interrupted by silencing you when pressing his lips upon yours in a swift motion. He had pulled away “then it’s settled we are together, only been waiting since I was 11” he had smiled grabbing your hand , walking. “Really? Me too?” He had laughed.

Let’s just say your parents, well your mother loved him, even before he had told them about his father. Your father he didn’t like that you would sneak out with a boy, but you had told him it’s none of his business anymore you had grown up , and before he knew it you would be moved out. He quickly shut up, he didn’t want his daughter moving out so quickly and get pregnant, no way.

Your relationship was going slow to savour every moment, you had been out with Faramir had been shot. You had lifted him upon your horse raising back to his father, who kicked you out and tried lighting him on fire with himself. If it wasn’t for pippin and Gandalf your love would be dead and for that you were more than grateful.

Faramir was talking to his room , and laid upon his bed, you sat next to his bed in a chair. You hadn’t been with Faramir in that way yet, infact you hadn’t even been in his room. He had only been in yours , he didn’t want you near his father, you both spent the most time together at the river. You had comforted him since boromir had died he had cried in your arms many nights, you swore that if you was to have a son, you would name him Boromir.

Faramir had woken up a couple of hours after almost being burnt alive, once he was he had pulled you into his lap holding you into a deep embrace. You had informed him about his fathers death, he simply nodded , it had hurt him but after what his father had done his heart was broken. All he ever wanted from his father was love but he had never gotten that only from you and his brother.

Soon it had turnt from just hugging to short kiss then into deep meaningful kisses. You straddling his lap , like you had on his brother as you grew up. Grinding your hips into his as his tongue was dancing into your mouth, your hands pulling at his dirty blond locks. His hands sat upon your bottom, squeezing gently. Before he had ripped off your shirt, to leave you in a vest. His hands now touching at the bare skin on your hips , where the vest had risen up. His thumbs rubbing gently on your hips.

A bulge in his pants rubbing against your clothed private’s, as you grind harshly against him , making him whimper slightly. That was until the door was opened harshly , and you were thrown into his chest , minding his wound in his lower abdomen. Hiding your slightly exposed chest, turning your head to see pippin smirking. “Hey pippin.” You had smiled , him waving slightly. you still sat upon faramirs member , That pulsed against you , as the blood flowed.

“Oh I just came into say I hope you ar e naming your child after me, as I will with my own some day.” He had giggled smirking, your face lit up red.

“Second son yes , first will be named boromir. (Mhmmm) Whatcha say?” You looked back at Faramir who’s lip trembled slightly , smiling brightly as his eyes watered and nodded hugging you tighter.

“Hey I know what a great idea would be! A sleepover!” Pippin had yelled , he had not know completely what the two of you were about to do, but he knew he was being annoying he smirked.

“Uhh don’t you have to go see merry? Since the ring has been destroyed?” Faramir had questioned , he did like pippin but he just really wanted to be with you right now.

“OH yeah, thanks guys, I guess I’ll see you at Aragorns uhhh crowning thang?” He rushed you the door waving goodbye.

“The hobbits Aragorn, again.” You had smirked at your pun, making Faramir chuckle.

“Well let’s get back to it then?” He had smirked down at you, you simple nodded.

[astriiformes]

The fact that Legolas’ Ao3 character tag is “Legolas Greenleaf” says a lot about how Ao3 tags come into being, I feel like, since it’s one of the more obvious examples I’ve seen where the tags being user-generated means they end up reflecting fan culture as much as they do canon. 

The only times he’s referred to as such in the books are pretty clearly poetic (see Galadriel’s warning to him, which is even in rhyme -- he clearly gets the epithet for the sake of meter), since “Greenleaf” is not an additional title but a translation of his name from Sindarin into English. A character tag more based in some of Tolkien’s in-universe ideas, if the goal was to append Legolas’ name at all, might be “Legolas Thranduilion” or even just “Legolas (son of Thranduil),” which would match the patronymics that a lot of other LotR characters -- like “Gimli (son of Glóin)” and “Boromir (son of Denethor II)” -- get on Ao3. Or, you could go the route of FF.net (where I read a lot of LotR fic back in the day) and just make his tag “Legolas,” since it’s distinct enough that it wouldn’t overlap with other fandoms and is how he’s almost always referred to in canon.

However. As someone who has read a lot of LotR fic. “Legolas Greenleaf” is a VERY fanfiction tag. You see it so much more in fic than in canon, for a diversity of reasons, but one is that it just plain became pretty established. And so it does track, that Ao3, with its fan-generated tagging system, would end up picking up that tag above all others.

There’s a similar phenomenon with Aragorn, whose tag is “Aragorn | Estel,” since the guy has so many names you could include. If you were just picking one, why isn’t it “Aragorn | Strider,” the other name of his we hear most in the books (and the tag I would make)? Well, because a lot of fans like to write fic about a much younger Aragorn, prior to canon, and so use of his childhood name in fandom proliferated. I guarantee you that’s how his tag came about. Legolas is still a funnier example to me though, since “Estel” is still at least one of the names Aragorn went by at one point in his life. “Greenleaf” is even more of a fanon adoption (inspired by canon, but still).

All that to say, it’s really interesting to see the things that make Ao3 different because of its sort of crowd-sourced model of creating tagging systems. I bet there’s funny examples from other fandoms, too, but of all the ones that I’ve written for LotR has some of the most notable ones. If you ever want to do a fun exercise, look at some of the tags for the works you write for and see if you can do some similar archaeology.