#Sauron appreciation society

[helenvader]

My dream Episode 1 of ROP S2: It's all just Sauron's backstory.

*mad cackle*

A girl can be unhinged, right?

[queenmeriadoc]

For the Sauron Appreciation Society

[damnyoubishop]

👀

‘Obsessive’ relationship eh….i don’t see any shock about a gay kiss 😭but I guess I’ll settle for Sauron and Brimby being obsessed with each other (and writing fan fic)

[pursuitseternal]

Once Upon a Time…

There was a “Dark Wolf of the Woods:” A expansion of @meohme-thedorklord ‘s AU artwork, a reenvisioning of Haladriel as Little Red and the Big Bad Wolf…

Damned to wander Middle Earth in his wolf-form until freed, Sauron curses his fate: the Dark Wolf forever doomed by Huan to remain trapped until one of the Light comes to love him.

Unwilling to return to Angband to utter shame and disgrace at his failure at Tol- in -Gaurhoth, he waits, festering in his malice, until one She-elf wanders in his path…

I am delivering on a promise to develop on my one-shot cutesy bedtime story version: “Stuff of Fairytales.” But this will be darker, angstier, and spicier 🐺⚔️❤️

Thoughts, comments, insights, help, appreciation all sought on this! Thank you, dear readers🖤

Tagging because they loved the cutesy version: @marimosalad @iamstartraveller776 @eowyn7023 @penelopeisshipping @jhalya

[adapembroke]

Pluto in Scorpio and Sedna in Taurus: The Scouring of the Shire

One of the major differences between Peter Jackson's film version of The Lord of the Rings and the book is the question of what happens to the hobbits after Sauron is defeated. 

In the movies, the Shire is pure and innocent, never touched by the larger battle for Middle Earth. The hobbits return to the Shire, and everything is as it was before. Part of the tragedy of Frodo's story is that he isn't able to participate in the idyllic life of the Shire anymore. He stands on the outside of hobbit society, watching all of his friends having fun and not being able to enjoy it.

In the book, the forces of Saruman invade the Shire, enslave the hobbits, and convert the farms into factories. This is called the scouring of the Shire, and there is a last battle required to overthrow Saruman for good. No one gets through the conflict unscathed. It is a loss of innocence. The hobbits will never again have the luxury of hiding behind their smallness and obscurity when evil arises. They know that the Shire can be reached. They cannot rely on others to fight the battles for Middle Earth for them.

The Lord of the Rings movies came out when I was a teenager, and I've come to see the differences between the stories of the films and the books as a metaphor for what it's like to grow up with Pluto in Scorpio and Sedna in Taurus.

Taurus is the sign of hobbitish things.

It is the sign of farming, pleasure gardens, the wholesome pleasures of food, ale, and "pipe weed." 

If it was possible for a person to have every planet in Taurus, they would be a lot like a hobbit. They would find Taurus delightful. Its biggest downside would be that things don't change very much. And why would you want things to change when things are so wonderful as they are? 

The Taurus person would be puzzled by "outsiders" who aren’t content to appreciate the simple things in life, like curious hobbits who are tempted to wander from the safe walled garden of the Shire, and wizards who don't find much use for their power in the Shire aside from a nice display of fireworks. 

Of course, it is impossible for a person to have every planet in Taurus, so even the most hobbitish person always has a planet or two pushing them to expand their horizons and pursue complexity. Even if they adamantly deny it.

This is good. It makes us more complicated people. Unfortunately, it also means that we don't have the luxury of experiencing the pure, idyllic world of Taurus. We have needs that can't be met within the walled garden of the Shire. We are pulled on adventures that expose us to the wider world. Like the Buddha discovered, the wider world contains suffering and pain.

Adventures can be especially painful for our inner hobbit selves if they involve experiences ruled by Leo, Scorpio, or Aquarius. Having Pluto in Scorpio in your natal chart makes Taurus experiences especially difficult. 

Taurus is challenging with Pluto in Scorpio.

Depending on what else you have in your chart, Pluto in Scorpio people can have an almost supernatural ability to sniff out evil in everything and the inability to look away once they see it. 

Going out for ice cream? Pluto in Scorpio person can't stop thinking about the calves that were separated from their mothers to support the dairy industry. 

Going out for drinks? Pluto in Scorpio can't stop thinking about that time they were smacked across the face by an alcoholic.

Just being a member of the Pluto in Scorpio generation doesn’t mean that you’re condemned to enjoy nothing. Some have easier charts. Some have an easier time pushing plutonian thoughts aside. Some have the ability to do the healing work necessary to allow them to choose to find pleasure in innocent things. That healing comes with the meta bonus of being able to consciously enjoy the pleasure of being able to enjoy things.

Still, the difficulty relaxing and enjoying the simple things can feel like being condemned to be Frodo at the end of the movies. Whether or not it’s actually true, it can seem like you’re a perpetual outsider, watching everyone around you enjoy things that you’re incapable of enjoying. 

Pluto in Scorpio + Sedna in Taurus

I think that the complexity of being a Pluto in Scorpio outsider is part of the Pluto in Scorpio archetype, just because of how it experiences Taurus, but that’s currently impossible to confirm because of a complication with Sedna.

The currently living Pluto in Scorpio generation is the first generation humanity has encountered with Pluto in Scorpio since the discovery of Pluto, and the currently living Pluto in Scorpio generation is (almost definitely) the only Pluto in Scorpio generation any who reads this will ever know.  

And everyone born with Pluto in Scorpio in the 1980s and 90s has Sedna in Taurus.

The dwarf planet Senda is named for the Inuit goddess who rules the underworld and lives on the bottom of the sea. She is the rejected child whose wounds never heal and whose severed fingers give life to the community in the form of the sea mammals they hunt for food. 

The myth and the astronomy of Sedna both seem to indicate that the Exile is one of the planet’s core archetypes, which means that it is difficult to tell how much of the exile-feeling of the Pluto in Scorpio generation comes from Pluto and how much comes from Sedna.

Sedna in Taurus: Generations in Exile

As a member of the Pluto in Scorpio generation, I’ve focused my attention on the experience of my generation, but Sedna’s passage through Taurus has interesting ramifications for all of the Pluto generations that were alive when Sedna was in Taurus (1965-2024). 

I say that it has implications for all generations that were alive, and not just the ones that have been born since 1965, purposefully. The people who were born after 1965 will carry Sedna in Taurus with them forever, but people who were born with Sedna in Aries had to live through the Sedna in Taurus, too. When a person experiences a transiting planet in a sign, it is like they are an honorary person with that planet in that chart while the transit is happening. A transit that lasts as long as Sedna in Taurus makes a serious mark on a person, too.  

What do we do with this? Nearly 60 years of a whole world wandering in exile? 

Someone asked me that, and I was reminded of a quote by Ram Dass. He said, “We’re all just walking each other home.”

In many of the stories of Sedna, the story ends by talking about her relationship with the community. She gives the sea mammals that give life, but she can also take them away when she feels humans are being too cruel. When that happens, the hunts fail, and an Inuk shaman journeys to the bottom of the sea to comb out Sedna’s hair, to do for her the things she can’t do herself because she doesn’t have fingers, to comfort her, to promise that the shaman will help humanity do better. 

Maybe, that’s the best thing we can do with astrological Sedna, too. Take turns diving to the depths for each other, to be each other’s hands, and promise to try to do better.

Related Articles

[urwendii]

So, for the Tolkien asks, what about 7, 11, 12 and 18. I know the takes will be hot and correct. Also wishing all the best :D

7. If you could download a Tolkien language into your brain and speak it fluently, which one would you pick and why?

BLACK SPEECH >:] just because Sauron put a lot of effort in it and the Orcs were not appreciative of his efforts. and me likes a linguistic nerd.

Or Quenya because it is pretty and banned so I must speak it if only just to piss off Thingol

11. You can have four Tolkien characters over for dinner. Who do you choose and why?

oh my Eru...

Mairon, Pippin & Merry and Luthien ... to keep Mairon in check in case he feels like melting the dinner table. I'll have so much to talk with Mairon because I too am a sexy fire sign (who shares the same sense of humility...) and I hope he'd bring me gifts, I just want to see Pippin and Merry and they'll provide the singing and entertainment. Luthien I will have questions for her... and as I said, she's also here to yell Mairon into submission if he goes too Dark Lordish. There's a high chance Arda explodes that evening but it would have been totally worth it. Especially after Pippin mentions Gandalf is the best at fireworks and Mairon, a fire Maia, cannot let this happen.

12. Tolkien's work contains a lot of interesting themes: devastation of war, things lost that cannot be restored, rebirth/renewal, holding true to one's companions even when it is darkest, and others. Which is the most important to you?

The devastation of war and Things lost that cannot be restored, especially since we live in a society that is tainted by war culture (one of the reasons i dislike anything marvel related) I grew up places that are littered with ww2 scars, german blockhaus built in the mountainside that we drive by everytime i go up there to our place, on the beach near our summer house where i spent my childhood climbing and playing around because it's part of the landscape, this territory is so scarred with ww 1&2. It's natural to hate war but hollywood movies or games are overflowing with this.

Tolkien works are there to remind people that there is an absolute tragedy and horror in this and that scars remain forever, you look at what the Wars did to Arda in general, it's forever marred by Morgoth even after he is gone, entire continents sunk, the literal shape of the world was changed.

I know Tolkien hated for people to call his work an allegory of real life war but there is still a component to it. Almaren, The 2 Lamps, the 2 Trees, Gondolin, Doriath, Numenor etc…those things can never come back. Even paradise was defiled.

The fact that even after peace comes back, the lands are scarred forevermore and the only way to undo this is ...well the Changing of the World which is that legendary event that's supposed to happen in a distant future. Idk it's a theme that always spoke to me.

Fighting for peace but at what price...and to wrap this into a little moral ambiguity of a conclusion, I guess I can understand Sauron's wish for order and peace and watching people fight and fight and destroy again and again, even destruction coming from the gods that were supposed to care about Arda and going to the conclusion that enforcing peace by Dominion and removal of Free Will might be the only desperate answer to his plight. It's twisted and obviously corrupted by his time with Morgoth but if you had the opportunity to prevent so much carnage and loss by forcing people into a peaceful state, would you take it ? (that's a large debate and it'd one I love but I'm slightly morally grey so :) )

18. The magic of Middle Earth is barely ever explained. If you could gain just one of the barely-explained talents or magic abilities of a person in Arda, what ability would you choose? Would you hide it or use it openly IRL?

fire sign sagittarius = 100% would be a fire Maia. That or, shapeshifting is very practical for mischief >:] Also the ability to communicate telepathically is helpful on days you do not want to say words outloud. The question is asking only one ability but I'd cheat and say that if I choose to be a Maia then I get the whole package so here's my answer.

Plus, i'd befriend Ossë because I like him (every fire individual needs a water counterpart for balance), I'd also love to talk to Arien (i mean she's a literal sunshine...) and I'd be there to cause mischief in Valimar and probably drive Manwë and Námo crazy >:]

[naruthandir]

I know it's kinda basic but oh my god you don't understand how much I love the Lay of Leithian. It fills me with pure unadulterated joy. They mean the world to me. They are basically canon samfro and I can't help but love them both so much. Is about the unwavering loyalty its about finding hope in hopelessness its about a nightingale that sings in the dead of night and brings spring with it. It's about being saved by someone who is often under appreciated by society (a woman, a servant) but that is actually so much more powerful and great and you kinda feel ashamed of how much they love you because you don't deserve it. They are so much better than you. It's about loving someone so much you bring them back from death. It's about Sauron getting defeated by the power of love hell yeah. It's about both of them living together, singing sorrowless, until the end of their days. Do you understand what I'm saying. Beren and Luthien are so so wonderful. They are a beacon of light in a story of tragedy and despair and betrayal. And even though they died, even though that happiness and beauty came to an end, it was so wonderful while it lasted. And I can only think of them raising Dior and living a completely uneventful life from then on somewhere in the forest. And it's so wonderful and it warms my heart. And there should be more fanfic about them doing just that. I need it.

[verecunda]

Not even close to a hot take, but I’ve never actually appreciated before how the very title “Lord of the Rings” echoes the Old English poetic term “giver of rings” for a ruler or overlord. The basic set-up in Norse and Saxon societies: the lord led the warriors in battle, then afterwards demonstrated his generosity by doling out the booty according to each warrior’s merit. In particular, rings (ie., arm-rings) were ostentatious marks of a warrior’s standing and allegiance to his chief.

So in distributing the Rings of Power to his vassals, especially to the Nine, Sauron is pretty much acting as a lord in the Old English heroic tradition - only evil. He gives out rings, they wear them, and are bound to him - to death and beyond. Thinking of Sauron and the Nazgûl in terms of an early medieval lord and his warband is definitely interesting.

Not really sure I’ve got a point here, since it’s late and I’m sleepy; it was just one of those moments where you go “...oh, of course!” I dare say someone better versed in Old English/Norse poetry could point out other ways in which Sauron fits the heroic mould, but in an evil way.

There’s also irony in the fact that the Norse would swear oaths on their rings (I don’t know if the Anglo-Saxons went in for that), but Sauron is the epitome of all that is slippery and faith-breaking. See also Gollum swearing on the Precious”, etc.

[mllemaenad]

I decided to give Elden Ring a go, because everybody and their dog keeps going on about it. But I have to say, several mildly frustrating hours later, I think I must be playing this wrong.

I can do this, and I daresay if I persist I’ll get better at it and spend less time dashing back to the site of my last gruesome defeat to retrieve my runes. What I’m missing is any incentive to actually do that.

Admittedly the first hour or so was fun: my poor girl (Tarnished?) blundered out of a starter ruin in her underwear, armed with nothing but a club. Some Guy I can only assume they pay to greet new arrivals said a bunch of cryptic things to me, and I wandered off into the wilderness. I found a merchant in an old chapel almost immediately, and my first goal was obvious: buy pants. Thus I had an enjoyable period of just being a general menace to society until I could afford a full set of chain mail and picked up a sword from a fallen soldier (I want a bow, so I can give up all this melee combat, but no luck on that).

But ... then what? Apparently there’s no town to head to. I’ve found only a tiny number of NPCs that don’t immediately try to stab me in the face. I Googled a bit, in search of inspiration, and found starter guides pointing me to various tombs and caverns. They would have a boss fight in them, I was told. I could get a different weapon, or the means to summon different spirits.

And ... okay, but, why? Weapons aren’t inherently interesting. A better weapon just improves my ability to complete more interesting quests. I like a cool set of armour on my character as much as the next person, but I’m not going to trek through a bunch of caves just for that. A boss fight is a boss fight, as I understand it, because they are the boss of something. Something bad, or at least something inimical to your character’s interests in the game. The fight is hard to give a sense of narrative satisfaction when you deal with whatever the damn problem is.

If it’s just a strong being hanging out in a cave not bothering anybody, why am I bothering it? I could just not do that and save both of us the time and misery.

I don’t feel like I’m bettering anybody’s existence here, or even furthering my own ambitions (Admittedly my ambitions ended at “pants”. The opening narrative made the whole Elden Ring situation sound like I might end up as Sauron if I pursued it, and I’m not seeing why that would be a positive). So what the hell am I supposed to be doing?

This must be a me problem. I appreciate that. All I hear about is how good this thing is, and I’m bored to tears. The problem could just be that I’m hopelessly lost (I’m always lost in games, even with quest markers), but I hoped the starter guides would help with that and they did not. Not a one of them said “Go here and talk to this guy. He’ll set you up with a fun faction and an interesting quest chain. The people who will talk to you instead of stabbing you are this way“.

So what on earth am I missing here?

[helenvader]

Another entry for Characters. This time dedicated to Halbrand/Sauron.

Three animated logos, for Human Halbrand Defense Squad, Poor Little Meow Meow Appreciation Sisterhood and Sauron Appreciation Society. The last one appeared in one of my vids, but I added sound and made it longer.

[undercat-overdog]

Elwing and/or Lúthien please?

Elwing! (Lúthien is very intimidating!)

How I feel about this character

I love her! I have since the first time I read the Silm as a wee thing. Her story is so cinematic, and her casting herself into the water with a star at her breast and her arms creaking into wings was an image that stuck with me.

I think there are so many parallels between her and Earendil and Sam and Frodo. Frodo and Sam were the capstone of the Age of the Rings, the heroes instrumental in defeating Sauron. Earendil and Elwing were the capstone of the Age of the Silmarils, the heroes instrumental in defeating Morgoth. And not for nothing are all four characters not quite human, and not Elven. (Elwing as a Peredhel is very important to me.)

And Elwing herself - what is she but the Quenta Silmarillion made manifest? The Oath, the Silmaril, defiance in the face of evil and certain defeat. A woman who is Elda and Adan and Maia and none of those, a woman who refuses to be conquered, a woman with nothing but her self and her spine and her spite. And then grace unexpected, a turn towards salvation against all hope, the eucatastrophe.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Earendil! Their story is so romantic and sad. They are so very clearly in love: Elwing follows Earendil onto the soil of Aman knowing that it's a death sentence because she would have them share the same fate, while Earendil tells Elwing to make the Choice for both of them because he won't have them parted. And then they're parted anyways T_T

The world was saved, but not for them.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Tuor, as a father figure for her. I headcanon Elwing as very much aware of her human heritage, and proud of it, but also needing to learning about Edainic culture, not being acculturated into it from birth, like she was on the Elvish side. Tuor is likewise distanced from his heritage: an Adan raised by Elves whose only experience in human society was an enslaved person specifically targeted for abuse; he's culturally Elvish too. They're also distantly related and both of them were orphaned at early ages and had very difficult childhoods. I think Tuor was a good rolemodel for her (and Earendil!) and I think he saw her yearning to understand her human heritage and made sure that she was exposed to it. Elwing and Earendil both spoke Taliska - I think Tuor was the person who arranged for them to be taught. (And Earendil at the least must have been taught. Elwing might have learned from Dior, but Quenya was Earendil’s native language and he would have learned Sindarin naturally from his culture and setting, but Taliska would have needed to be learned; it’s possible Tuor didn’t speak it. And yet Earendil pleaded to the Valar in the language of the people of Beor and Hador.) On that note, language is so interesting with Elwing? Elros might have a Mannish element, and she clearly had no issue with Quenya, considering how her husband named his ship after her in Quenya. She likely spoke it, given that she was able to communicate with the Teleri.

I am also very charmed by the idea of her and Bilbo interacting. Or her and Sam! Elwing and Earendil have a ton of parallels to the Hobbit Ringbearers, and as three members of the "gave up an Item of Power" club, I'm curious about what they have to say.

My unpopular opinion about this character

Elwing is more hopeful than Earendil, and considering that she attempts suicide out of heroic despair, that's saying a lot.

To venture into the discourse, I appreciate that her being a mother (and Earendil being a father) is not terribly important to her story.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I want a happy ending for her and Earendil! Sadly, I'm not sure how terribly well supported that is: they are very much people who saved the world, but the world was not saved for them.

More prosaically, I'd like to see her visit Numenor and get to know Elros as an adult and be a grandbirdy.

Thank you for the ask!

[youwearfinethingswellwriter]

In any other situation, Halbrand would have stayed himself. But something from the depths of his stomach tugged at him. What if he wasn’t enough? What if he needed more strength, more speed to fight off the orcs?

This wasn’t just about Galadriel anymore – he knew she could defend herself.

But Celebrían was part of the equation too.

Let me help you, Sauron said.

Halbrand knew it was a bad idea, but as he crashed into the first orc, it was like the lines between him and Sauron blurred. The world around him began to fade, even as he brought down his sword with one swift attack after the other. He was too focused on the fighting to notice the way reality was slipping from his grasp.

When Sauron was back in full force, the fighting went much quicker. He had the first orc down in no time and two others followed quickly thereafter, no matter how eager they were to kill him. They did not even come close to grazing him, let alone catching him off guard. He delighted in hearing them curse and cry out as he slashed into their flesh with all the violence he had held back for so long. The sight of the gushing blood only spurred him on as he grunted and laughed his way through them.

As soon as he was done with the batch that had attempted to attack him, Sauron sensed his surroundings beyond the bloodied bodies lying about on the ground.

There was one more.

His heart skipped a beat. This monster was further off. Near Galadriel and Celebrían. He sheathed his sword and prepared a throwing knife as he sprinted towards him. At last, the back of the orc came into view. Sauron pulled back his arm, aimed at the creature and-

The orc fell to his knees and collapsed before he had even thrown his knife.

Galadriel stood there, child in her arm, staring at him.

They stood in silence for a moment.

“I beat you to it,” she mumbled then.

He sensed the beat of her heart, the hair standing on the back of her neck. She was afraid. Not of the orcs. But of him.

She hadn’t been like this with him for a while. She had even reassured him at night, held him, no matter how many times he had told her that he didn’t need it.

Even if her touch felt right. But he would never admit that.

Now, she was hostile once more, and it started a fire of rage inside of him.

He watched her hold Celebrían tighter.

That stupid elf. What did she think was going to happen? That he would kidnap their daughter? Kill her?

Did she not remember the promise he had made? Did she not remember what Halbrand had told her about him?

Slowly, he strode forwards, keeping his eyes on them as he walked around the orc’s body.

He felt her hand graze a knife on her belt.

Foolish elf.

Stupidity did not suit Galadriel. Perhaps these were all just instincts she could not help but cave in to. But that made him even angrier. He stopped short in front of them, interested in seeing what Galadriel would do.

The raging storm of fury in his heart halted in its tracks the moment Celebrían turned to look up to him.

He stared back at her.

Hello Celebrían, he said.

Her frowning eyes moved over him, analyzing his face. His cheeks, his mouth, his nose. She was trying decipher him, to figure out whether he was friend or foe, even if he had her father's face. Sauron might have laughed. She was smart, there was no denying that.

A worthy heir.

Sauron felt the way Galadriel heart fell when Celebrían slowly lifted her arms towards him.

Yes. Good little being. You recognize greatness when you see it.

“Celebrían-” Galadriel choked. Gods, the distress of the elf was palpable.

When Galadriel’s eyes began to water, he took pity on her. “I will not hurt her.”

She was still frozen, her hold on Celebrían tight.

“Galadriel.”

She tightened the hold on her knife, but he did not care, for she stepped closer. Slowly and carefully, Sauron took up the child, returning Celebrían's curious gaze until he slowly pulled her in to his chest.

A chest that swelled with pride at the touch of her warm little body. He had conceived an heir. And Sauron knew she would be exceptional. Powerful and strong, the light of her mother and the power of her father coursing through her veins. She would move mountains.

He felt something else too, besides pride. But he pushed that feeling away.

“Dada?” Celebrían mumbled.

Sauron laughed. The child knew he bore the face of Halbrand, yet she also knew he was not quite him.

Her question was genuine. She was trying to make sense of this uncanny situation.

“Celebrían,” he said, the name rolling off his tongue like honey. It filled his body with newfound vigor just saying it.

Celebrían.

He gazed down at her, watching her tiny palm lift to his cheek.

The moment her hand touched him, he was pulled into a whirlwind, feeling Halbrand resurface with more force than ever before. Halbrand was furious with him for taking over, he knew that. But even his anger dwindled the moment he regained full consciousness and Celebrían's face was the first thing he saw. Halbrand’s heart slowed and a smile spread on his face.

Is she not beautiful? he even dared to ask him.

Sauron did not reply.

[pursuitseternal]

Am I laying awake looking for mood board art and sketching out scenes for “Touch the Darkness” instead of sleeping??

Guilty, officer.

Latest inspirations : Hades and Persephone, also King Henry and Lizzy (of York) from White Princess.

Nothing like starting a new chapter in some sleepless fever dream.

[dalleyan]

Shattered (1st chapter of new LoTR story posted, 1-20-21)

Eomer thought that his life would be less complicated after the War, but loving a woman he could never have made that unlikely.  Then unexpected circumstances altered everything. Complete in 5 chapters.

 Chapter 1

(Cormallen, late April, 3019 III)

Hearty laughter rent the night.  “Oh, Eomer, I can scarce wait to have you meet the rest of my family.  I am sure they will love you as I do. Already you are like a son to me,” Imrahil warmly told the king of Rohan.

“I am honored!” Eomer responded, humbled by the man’s approbation.

“You know, my friend, now you are king, you will need to think about beginning a family of your own.  I doubt a queen and a few heirs would go amiss in Rohan’s eyes!” Imrahil urged.

Eomer chuckled.  His friends had already been goading him in the direction of matrimony.  It seemed marriage and children were on everyone’s mind in the wake of their victory, and he could not truly deny that the thought had occurred to him how pleasing a family would be.  He would gladly see the hall of Meduseld filled with laughing children, driving back the long shadows of the past.

With a glint in his eyes, he teased, “How may I even consider marriage when you have told me that your only daughter is already betrothed?  Shall I seek solace in some lesser maiden?”

Imrahil laughed appreciatively.  “Had I known I would meet you, I might have required Lothiriel to wait instead of approving her betrothal.”  He sighed, and shook his head before shrugging.  “We live in a new world, one that none of us thought would ever exist.  There are many worthy ladies who will eagerly seek your suit, Eomer.  Choose wisely.  The right woman beside a man, especially a ruler, makes all the difference. Do not let your advisers press you to marry someone in whose company you cannot be perfectly at ease.  Many noble marriages in Gondor are made for alliance rather than love.  I know it is so, but I was fortunate enough to achieve both, and I believe I would not have done half so well with anyone else united to me.  She has given me four beautiful children and a lifetime of joy.”

Eomer nodded silently at the counsel, taking another swallow of ale. Wise counsel, indeed, he was sure, but privately he knew that a wife would likely have to wait a while.  First the Mark needed his full attention in being rebuilt.

xx

Over the next few days, Eomer gave little further thought to his conversation with Imrahil their last night at Cormallen.  The company traveled to Osgiliath and then on to Minas Tirith, where Aragorn was crowned king on May first.  Consequently, he had not given much thought to Imrahil’s daughter, Lothiriel, or that they would soon meet.  Had he done so, he supposed he would have expected her to be tall and dark like the other members of her family. 

The reality, when they came face to face, was far more than that. All of the men in the Prince’s family would be considered handsome, and Eomer had noted appreciative looks cast at them from the ladies.  Not only did the family have Numenorean blood, but it was also rumored that they had Elvish ancestry.  In Lothiriel of Dol Amroth there was every reason to believe the rumors.  Eomer had come to admire the dark looks of Gondorian women, but he thought Imrahil’s youngest child might well be the handsomest woman he had ever seen.  He noted that he was not the only man, upon first meeting her, who took a moment to recover his composure in the presence of such beauty.

More than her looks, though, he found her a pleasant and charming woman, as he would have expected.  While yet young, at only twenty years, she carried herself with grace and dignity that reflected well upon her father and his house.  Eomer was not at all surprised to note her parents beaming proudly as they watched their daughter move about in noble society.

During the sennight Eomer tarried at Minas Tirith before returning home, he came to realize that he could very much regret that he had not met the lady sooner, before she was betrothed.  There had been little time in his life for the pursuit of ladies and romance; now that he had time, even needed to make time, the one that most caught his eye was unavailable to him.

Despite that, Eomer formed as warm a friendship with the lady as he had with the others in her family.  With the defeat of Sauron, Imrahil’s wife and daughter, heir and his family, and Lothiriel’s betrothed had all journeyed to Minas Tirith for the celebrations and the coronation of their new king.

Imrahil’s wife, Sirrin, was a gracious woman, tall and regal, with little gray dusting her hair despite her many years.  Apparently, in her eyes, friends of her husband’s were friends of hers, and she welcomed Eomer cordially into their home.  With the affection that had developed between Eomer’s sister and Imrahil’s nephew adding an extra tie uniting their families, the king found himself a frequent guest there.

Elphir and his family were equally appealing, and the toddler heir was an active boy that kept amused smiles on many faces as they surveyed his antics.

The last member of the party, Lord Gaerost of Edhellond, was a bit of a mystery, not so easily assessed as the others.  Well-spoken and tactful, Eomer watched him socialize with practiced ease.  Amrothos had told him that the man held shipping interests along the coast at the various ports, and was quite wealthy.  His fleet of ships had been employed in protecting the coastline, and thus he had remained in the south during the war.  He and Elphir had long been acquainted, and it was through that connection that he had met and offered suit to Lothiriel.

Perhaps it was just Eomer’s predisposition to dislike the man, but he found something pompous and pretentious about him.  Indeed he was a handsome man, but bordered on being ‘pretty’, and seemed to pay an inordinate amount of attention to his appearance. Eomer had never seen any male preen so much as this man, but at the same time, in comparison, the king felt almost unkempt and rough-hewn.  It was unlikely Eomer’s manners would ever be that refined or particular.

Though Eomer met Imrahil’s family during the course of the day when they first arrived, he spent the majority of his time with Eowyn and had little interaction with them.  Not until the feast that night, did he have an opportunity to speak with them more and get a better sense of them than what casual observation allowed.

The first thing to catch his eye was that Lothiriel was now moving with the aid of a cane.  As she had been perfectly healthy when they met earlier, he could only presume something had happened in the interim.  His eyes narrowed with consternation at how little attention her betrothed seemed to be displaying toward her, particularly given her ailment, but as Lothiriel did not appear bothered by it, he supposed it was none of his business.

 continue reading on AO3:

           https://archiveofourown.org/works/28886217/chapters/70864245

[proprhettcies]

Season 5 Episodes 51-60 (405-414)

S5 Ep 51 (405)- Phrases that will save your life

L

- Please don’t shoot me

- Please don’t stab me

- I’m allergic to peanuts and bee stings (Please don’t punch me in the face)

R

- Where’s the bathroom?

- Where’s the McDonalds?

- I’m just listening to the voices in my head.

Bacon good- bacon flavored stuff not good

S5 Ep 52 (406)- Weird Conventions

Reddit

Miranda Sings/ Colleen Balinger

DieCon 08- Alka Seltzer Road Trip

Costco Convention

-Lego Con real

- The Sean Con-nery fake

- Bone- Con fake

- Mer-con real

- Redhead Day real

- Cloud Appreciation Society Annual Con fake

-Celebrity Impersonator Convention real

- Yawn City fake

-International UFO Congress real

- Lick Fest fake

S5 Ep 53 (407)- Playlist Live Episode

amusement parks

roller coasters

state fair

creating their own amusement park

Link’s speech for student council

Q & A- “Thoughts on writing an autobiography style book?”- Link- Yes we have thought about it.”- 2014

S5 Ep 54 (408)- Space Jobs

NASA

Link’s List

- Chief Sniffer

- Space Psychologist

-Visual Coordinator

Rhett’s List

- Space Suit Design Engineer

-General Helper

-Space Tour Guide- made this one up

Laugh attacks as kids

Space Facts

-530 km/sec is how fast we are moving through space

- the moon is drifting away from Earth 3.8 cm every year because of tidal effects

- The light hitting the Earth is 30,000 years old

- if 2 pieces of metal touch in space they become permanently stuck together

S5 Ep 55 (409)- Confronting Jerks

Christy’s supermarket jerk perfume story

their time at Sundance

S5 Ep 56 (410)- Vivid Dreams

B6 & High Tryphonane Meal

Playlist of sound effects

Disney Season Passes

Yelp

Rhett’s horrible trip to Disneyland

S5 Ep 57 (411)- Bug War Challenge #1

Link psyching himself up to eat bugs

R1- Small Crickets

R2- Weaver Ants

R3- Female Katydids

R4- Squash Bugs

R5- Silkworm Pupae

R6- Grasshopper

-Rhett: These will be on the menu 25 years into the future

R7- Dung Beetles

Final- Black Scorpion

Herb the Tarantula

Giant Centipede

S5 Ep 58 (412)- Losing Keys

3 Products that help

Link loses his keys a lot

Janitor key ring

More- Theory on why we lose our keys

S5 Ep 59 (413)- Internet April Fool Pranks

2012- Google Maps in 8bit

2012- Virgin Airlines Glass Bottom Plane

2011- ADBlock Sunglasses

2010- Google Translate for Animals

2011- Google Motion

2011- Kodak- Relationshiffft

2010- Starbucks adding 2 cup sizes

2013- Netflix- Adding crazy categories ie Nic Cage Meltdowns

2013- Twitter- announced pay service version but get a free version with no vowels get y for free

Google Nose Beta- smells out of your computer- Rhett wants smellovision

App called Simple- Prank to deposit your cash by photo

Eye of Sauron Lamp

S5 Ep 60 (414)- Top 5 questions 5yr kids ask

Rhett giving the joke answers to his kids

-Why is water wet?

-Where does the sky end?

-What are shadows made of?

-Why is the sky blue?

-How do fish breathe underwater?

More- Rodeo Clown Car Salesman

Retiring the Bronco

Car with off road capabilities- FJ Cruiser