#anti aragorn and eowyn

[silalcarin]

The many parallels between Aragorn/Arwen and Cloti

(Preface: before I start, I want to point out that I've already touched upon the first two paragraphs of this post, in more detail, in my previous post from last week.)

So, my bestie and I were watching The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Edition), and it got to the part where Aragorn rejected Eowyn because she wasn't actually in love with him. My bestie is more well-versed in LOTR Lore than I am, so she surprised me when she said that if you look at the book's timeline, Eowyn "knew" Aragorn for only 6 days at most before she confessed that she "loves" him, then he rejected her because she was actually Loving a Shadow.

I had to look this up for myself, because I haven't read The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit in years. Sure enough, Eowyn meets Aragorn in Third Age 3019, March 2nd, and on March 8th, literally 6 days later, before Aragorn departs for the Paths of the Dead, Eowyn confesses that she "loves" him, and he rejects her. Also in the book's timeline, by the time Aragorn met Eowyn, he and Arwen had been betrothed for 39 years. And Aragorn and Arwen have known each other for 44 years before Eowyn was even born. Heck, Aragorn and Arwen have known each other for 10 years before even Eowyn's father was born.

This is almost exactly like Final Fantasy VII. Cloud and Tifa grew up together and were very close as young children, as confirmed in Trace of Two Pasts. They've known each other for literally their whole lives (20 years, due to the 1-year age difference), and they've been in love with each other for over 7 years by the time they met Aerith, whom they knew for only 3 weeks at most before:

Aerith literally trapped Cloud in her dream world where Zack and Tifa don't exist and she manipulated Cloud into going on one last "date" with her (a.k.a. the infamous nightmare date/funeral date) — which was actually a recreation of Aerith's date with Zack in Crisis Core and which, like literally every other "date" Aerith has claimed to go on with Cloud, Cloud never actually agreed to go on this one last "date" with Aerith because Aerith physically stopped Cloud from angrily protesting against her; in other words, Aerith forced Cloud to go on one last "date" with her without his consent — and Cloud was visibly miserable and uncomfortable throughout its entire duration, and Aerith struggled to confess that she didn't know what type of "like" she feels for Cloud, only for Cloud to respond to Aerith's confession by calling her weird (twice in Japanese) with zero hesitation — per Trace of Two Pasts, after Elmyra adopted Aerith, Aerith's ability as a Cetra to talk to people through the Lifestream led to a lot of misunderstandings with the people around her and, as a result, she assumed that people thought she was weird, so she hated being seen or thought of as weird and wanted to be normal, but in Crisis Core, Zack made Aerith feel better about her thinking of herself as weird by telling her "normal is overrated" — thus Aerith realizes that, by calling her weird, Cloud rejected her and she finally understands that Cloud does NOT like nor love her, and

Aerith was killed later on the exact same day as the infamous nightmare date/funeral date.

I honestly wonder if Kazushige Nojima, the head writer of FFVII, took some inspiration from LOTR, because there are many parallels between Aragorn/Arwen and Cloud/Tifa:

(1) Aragorn is the hero (with Frodo and Sam) of LOTR.

Cloud is the hero of FFVII.

(2) Aragorn grew up in Arwen's home, Rivendell.

Cloud and Tifa grew up together in Nibelheim.

(3) Aragorn was very young when his father, Arathorn, was killed by Orcs. He was raised by his mother, Gilraen, until he left her in Rivendell to become a Ranger in the wild. During his time as a Ranger, Aragorn concealed his name and identity. Gilraen didn't hear much from Aragorn after his departure. They were reunited when he returned to Rivendell several years later, shortly before her death.

Cloud was very young when his father was possibly killed by a monster. He was raised by his mother, Claudia, until he left her in Nibelheim to become a SOLDIER. During his time as a Shinra infantryman, Cloud concealed his name and identity. Claudia didn't hear much from Cloud after his departure. They were reunited when he returned to Nibelheim several years later, shortly before her murder.

(4) Arwen lost her mother, Celebrian, after she was tormented by Orcs and her poisoned wound never healed, so she departed to the Undying Lands.

Tifa lost her mother, Thea, after she became struck with an unknown illness and she was never healed of it, so she died sometime afterwards.

(5) Arwen is Aragorn's beautiful light-skinned dark-haired future wife whom he's known for several decades.

Tifa is Cloud's beautiful light-skinned dark-haired future life partner whom he's known since they were toddlers.

[Side Note: per a discussion I had with one of my friends, Tifa is physically based on her Japanese voice actress, Ayumi Ito (as confirmed in the Advent Children Reunion Files), and Tetsuya Nomura stated that Tifa has Asian features and cuteness in this 2019 Famitsu article. However, in the actual games, Tifa is just as fair-skinned as Aerith, and there's no visible difference between their skin tones. Per my friend, who suggested either "fair" or "light", I decided to go with "light".]

(6) Lord Elrond, Arwen's father, disapproved of her and Aragorn's relationship, but that never deterred their love for each other.

Brian Lockhart, Tifa's father, disapproved of her and Cloud's relationship, but that never deterred their love for each other.

(7) Arwen is the sole source of inspiration and motivation for Aragorn, who must become King of Arnor and Gondor before Elrond allows her to marry him.

Tifa is the sole source of inspiration and motivation for Cloud, who felt that he must become a SOLDIER and a hero before he becomes special to her.

(8) Aragorn fell in love with Arwen first. Many years later, Arwen reciprocated Aragorn's love.

Cloud fell in love with Tifa first. Many years later, Tifa reciprocated Cloud's love.

(9) Aragorn/Arwen became betrothed on Cerin Amroth in Lothlorien (her second home), many years before Eowyn briefly came into his life and tried to come in between them, despite her knowing full well that Aragorn is in love with another woman, before Aragorn rejected Eowyn 6 days after meeting her and she was Loving a Shadow.

Cloud/Tifa made their promise on the water tower, a popular date spot in Nibelheim, where Tifa realizes she's in love with Cloud and wants to spend the rest of her life with him (as confirmed in Trace of Two Pasts), and Cloud holds on to that promise several months later as he travels to Midgar to become a SOLDIER for Tifa (as confirmed in 2000 Gil to Becoming a Hero), many years before Aerith briefly came into their lives and tried to come in between them, despite her knowing full well that Cloud and Tifa are in love with each other, before Cloud rejected Aerith 3 weeks after meeting her and she was Loving a Shadow.

(10) Aragorn is loyal to Arwen. Aragorn is deeply in love with Arwen, his only love interest. Due to his deep love for Arwen and his loyalty to her, Aragorn is never tempted by Eowyn, whom he knew for only 6 days.

Cloud is loyal to Tifa (as confirmed in a 2022 video on FFVII's official TikTok account**). Cloud is deeply in love with Tifa, his only love interest. Due to his deep love for Tifa and his loyalty to her, Cloud is never tempted by Aerith, whom he knew for only 3 weeks.

(11) During their marriage, Aragorn and Arwen have a son, Eldarion, and also at least two daughters, who are younger than their son.

During their relationship, Cloud and Tifa have an adopted son, Denzel, and also take care of Marlene, who is younger than their son.

I'm aware that the similarities between Aragorn/Arwen and Cloud/Tifa aren't perfect, but there's still enough there that I just can't help but have a feeling about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Link to the official TikTok video: https://www.tiktok.com/@finalfantasyvii/video/7137687150564314374

** Here's an alternate link: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTYpmaB8a/

** Here's another alternate link: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT21236Gy/

Here's a screenshot of it, in case you still can't view the TikTok video for some reason:

[darkwing-ramblings]

Elrond and Haldir! They have to have fascinating thoughts on birdlife in middle earth, not to mention knowledge of plants! Plus Elrond is spoken of glowingly as a host and haldir I found charmingly earnest when reading the books! Ecology from an immortal perspective sounds grand. Also I'm always fascinated by Rivendell and Lothlorien.

Sam and Frodo sounded interesting too and possibly a tad more approachable but there's just less opportunity in life to talk to immortals so I must pass on their company, also I don't do partying like hobbits do which is a significant consideration.

Legolas and Gimli would have neat things to talk of I'm sure but I cannot match Gimli's poetry and dwarven secrecy with less known people is a thing etc. Not to mention Legolas is a bit hard to understand talking about trees to those around him in the books even if trees are great. So it doesn't sound unpleasant but also doesn't sound like how I'd want to spend my birthday.

Aragorn and Arwen I only briefly considered as I don't think I'd have much to actually say? Aragorn must have bird thoughts and Arwen must have some kind of craft etc I'd want to actually hear about in terms of what she's up to as the books limit our knowledge there... but those reasons are less compelling for selecting them as birthday company.

Eowyn and Eomer I just don't know enough about horses about to feel I could enjoy conversations with without feeling woefully underprepared (plus my memory in conversations just won't compare to theirs from a primarily oral culture so... I'm passing).

Merry and Pippin are great but I don't think I could match their energy when it comes birthday celebration potential (I am still not a hobbit or very outgoing).

I don't think I'd stand a chance getting a word in edgewise if Bilbo and Gandalf were talking and I'm not that keen on fireworks so not them even if they surely have the ability to just talk and keep going. They're also renowned for not giving straight answers and having a sense of humour- cryptic humour that's a little clever to unravel is not something I understand easily.

Galadriel makes intense eye contact and Celeborn appears rather disinterested in mortals on the whole so that's absolutely not worth it. Sounds like an uncomfortable time at least in part.

Boromir and Faramir tempted me because Boromir's notable lack of marriage pleases me as common ground and Faramir's own taking it slow on relationship levels is neat. Their company allowing for learning about Gondor as a place sounds fascinating! It'd be neat actually getting to see them in one place while alive and interacting too. But still sounds like a little bit of an awkward time given my own conversational tendencies.

Saruman and Grima sound like horrible company and I would, reasonably I think, fear for my wellbeing if I someone registered as more than a random nobody to them. Absolutely not, thank you, it would be a horrible birthday. There are points in the timeline they were probably (?) decent company but... just no, particularly the implied at once duo timings of either sabotaging rohan or, you know, scouring the shire...

in honour of turning 22 today i of course have to make it about lord of the rings

[artbecome]

I finished watching The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers for the first time

2 themes really stood out to me: The Anti-War sentiment and Nature vs. Industry. I just love that this movie visually demonstrates that through visual contrast!

The green lush Fangorn Forest and Cold Metallic Mordor. Even the colour palettes signify that: green, earthy tones and sunlight vs. cloudy gloomy industrial war machines

This theme is best emphasised by this shot of Saruman looking out the tower in Isengard. Two forces opposing each other: Cold calculated industrialisation vs. incontrollable irregular free- spirited nature

This really helps support the Anti-War sentiment that is emphasized when Eowyn demands to fight alongside Aragorn because staying behind has no re-known for her.

I look at the soldiers that are going to fight at Helms’ Deep and I see are frightened little boys and old men. What reknown is there to fight a war like that? It brings nothing but Death and Destruction, making monsters out of people

Also I LOVE EOWYN AS A CHARACTER

I empathised with her so much in her grief towards her brother and her hopelessness when she thought she would marry Grima. She’s a go-getter who loves her family deeply and is amazing with a sword too!

This makes me feel that her dynamic with Aragorn is way more way more interesting than Arwen and Aragorn. (Cue the shipping wars lol)

[spinningalbinoturtle]

Clash of the hyperfixations

Favorite T Swift Albums/Songs of LOTR characters

Sam-as stated before on this blog I firmly believe Sam to be a Fearless stan-he loves Fearless and Love Story and Breathe. Folklore is also a favorite - his favorite songs on there are the betty/cardigan/august trio but also the lakes, my tears ricochet and illicit affairs hit him real hard. He also loves Daylight and the Archer. Him and Frodo dance to Paper Rings at their wedding because they wouldn’t want golden rings

Frodo- Frodo got into Taylor Swift via Sam he also loves Folklore and relates a little too much to this is me trying and epiphany. He also loves Speak Now (especially TV) and him and Sam will dance to Long Live on the anniversary of the ring’s destruction. His third favorite is Midnights cause he relates so much to the Great War

Pippin- Pippin loves debut and also 1989. This is because his aesthetic is pop and country boi but he is a huge Taylor stan and continually advocates for debut being underrated. He loves Picture to Burn and Tim McGraw. His favorite 1989 song is Shake it Off and I wish you would. He also loves Welcome to New York even though he doesn’t know where that is

Merry- Merry likes Fearless, debut, and Red. He’s bad at picking favorites but those have most of his favorite songs-Our Song, Mary’s Song, Change, You Belong with Me, Forever and Always, State of Grace, Stay Stay Stay, and All too well (which he listens to when he thinks about Eowyn marrying Faramir) also loves all the bonus tracks on Red TV

Boromir- Boromir originally wasn’t that into Taylor but he likes Midnights a lot especially Anti-Hero, he also likes Rep his favorites are Don’t Blame Me and Getaway Car

Aragorn- Aragorn likes Lover oddly enough. He likes the Archer and Cornelia Street. He likes Rep as well and also is a big evermore stan. Loves tis the damn season and champagne problems and willow. Sometimes cries alone to evermore

Legolas- man loves it all. His favorites are Lover and evermore. His favorite songs are Death by a Thousand Cuts, Cruel Summer, gold rush and ivy.

Gimli- Gimli loves 1989 his favorite songs are Blank Space, Bad Blood, and surprisingly Wildest Dreams (it makes him think of Legolas)

Faramir- RED there is no other answer Faramir loves the whole album Treacherous, All Too Well, Everything has Changed but also loves You’re On Your Own Kid from Midnights

Eowyn- Eowyn is a Lover and Reputation girlie which is an unusual combo. Loves the Man, Death by a Thousand Cuts, I forgot that you existed, and Delicate and Gorgeous.

[sniperct]

I'd argue that in the lord of the rings they didn't come back either. At least not the same as they were when they left. I think, for Tolkien, he may have been searching for some reason to justify the horrors he saw. To find something that mattered in it.

Frodo is very much haunted by his journey, by the things he faced and the weight he carried to the point of disability, to the point that he had to leave the world as it was to go to the world more perfect just to heal from his PTSD and his wounds. Tolkien lost so many friends, saw so many men broken. How many did he witness choose to go to that next world by their own hand?

And so many other characters, even the big heroes and mighty wizards were not unaffected. We see it in Eowyn come face to face with the harsh realities of war. That there is no glory here, no honor, only horror and blood and death. We see it in Boromir, adrift in the river, broken shield broken horn broken body never to return to his family or his city. We see it in the lament of the elves for a world that once was and will never come again. We see it in the dead marshes, that no man's land of bloated corpses. We see it in the silmarillion, in broken heros and shattered lands.

I've said it before, but LOTR is anti-war. A common refrain in battle after battle after battle in his work is the toll it took, the blood that soaked the earth, the people who never come home. Unnumbered tears, shed for all those who have been lost.

But we also see the peace, the little joys, the reasons for hope, that there is light at the end of that long dark tunnel. Eowyn chooses to heal, not only others but herself. Faramir chooses to heal as well. And Sam, steady Sam, always a memory of what was left behind and what could await them at the end of the shadow.

What proves Aragorn the king is not his deeds in war, his strategy and tactics and prowess in combat; its his hands of healing. His ability to heal the wounds of others and see them through.

The heroes won, the world was saved, but the cost, oh the cost was so high. It would be nice, maybe if the war had actually been worth the price, and even then, the price was too high.

i think all quiet on the western front and the lord of the rings are in direct conversation with each other, as in theyre the retelling of the same war with one saying here’s what happened, we all died, and it did not matter at all and another going hush little boy, of course we won, of course your friends came back

[gi-nathlam-hi]

piggybacking off of my last post, I’m just having Thoughts, but I also fully understand the backlash against how the writers have said over and over that they want to carry on Tolkien’s legacy and further his work, staying true to his work, when they have made so many changes already and also when Tolkien himself made it very clear that he didn’t approve of his work being adapted to film.

But guess what? Jackson’s trilogy did it.

And also, when the writers say that, I don’t think they really mean Tolkien’s legacy, as in the legacy of the man himself, but I think they mean the legacy of Tolkien’s work. Which is SO much bigger than the professor. 

And that legacy, in my opinion, is a fantasy world and narrative that is built around light and hope, around the good and the beautiful things in the world, around saying, unironically, that friendship and love can save the world.

And right now after having so many years of grimdark fantasy fiction (which in my opinion is not aging well at all), it’s really refreshing to have positive, hopeful fantasy be in a mainstream show again. Like, for me the legacy of Tolkien’s work is his themes. And I know we’re only a few episodes in but they already seem to understand the themes of Tolkien’s work: of friendship, and family, and love, and light, and good against evil. I’m honestly so tired of the edgelord gray morality and grimdark fiction. I don’t think the theme of the good and the just prevailing over the evil and the unjust is childish. I’m really over the edgelord anti hero stuff right now. Give me something full of light and hope and friendship, even if it’s not the best scripted show in the world, it IS stuffed full of friendship and love, and the desire for light to prevail over darkness.

And to me that’s Tolkien’s work, y’know? That’s his legacy. He gave us a grown-up fairytale that is real and sincere and full of hope. And full of heroism: of characters who do the right thing not because they believe they will win, but often in the face of overwhelming odds and inevitable defeat. But still they do the good and the right and the noble thing. Maedhros goes to treat with Morgoth. Earendil slams Vingilote into a giant dragon and sinks half of Beleriand. Fingon rescues Maedhros even if it means cutting off a hand to do it. Finrod gets into a song battle with Sauron and loses, but boy what an epic battle! Maglor raises two children who he’s responsible for orphaning, and grows to cherish them. Aragorn stops running and takes up his responsibility, his birthright. Arwen and Luthien choose love and doom. Elrond chooses to endure, to stay, to guide, to help, to preserve--- even when he has lost so much. He chooses to be kind. Celembrimbor takes the secret of the Three to his grave under unimaginable torture because he believes that there is a chance they might prevail. Theoden and Eomer and Eowyn and the whole company of Rohan ride ‘for death’, Aragorn runs a suicide mission to help Frodo. Frodo carries the ring. Frodo carries the ring. Frodo carries the ring. Maedhros & Fingon and Frodo & Sam find each other in the dark by singing.

That’s Tolkien’s legacy for me. And to be honest I get those vibes from the show so far. Granted, we’re not even close to even being done with the season yet. But so far it’s full of that very specific Tolkien light, and I love that about it. 

[silalcarin]

My bestie and I have been on a The Lord of the Rings / The Hobbit movie marathon this month. And we got to this scene in The Return of the King (Extended Edition).

I'm not sorry to say this, but I don't sympathize with Eowyn, neither here nor in the book.

In the films, Eowyn already knew that Aragorn was in love with another woman, when she asked him in The Two Towers "Who is she? The woman who gave you that jewel?" (This is when she sees Arwen's Evenstar pendant around Aragorn's neck.) Eowyn knew that Aragorn was already with another woman — and, per the film timeline, which was drastically condensed, he and Arwen have been betrothed for 5 months by the time Gandalf and the Three Hunters get to Edoras and meet Eowyn — and yet Eowyn continued to "love" a man she didn't know jack-squat about, and whom she found out was, in fact, way too old for her in the Extended Edition of the film (he's 87 compared to her 24).

In the book, Aragorn and Arwen have already been betrothed since Third Age 2980, a whole 15 years before Eowyn was even born (Third Age 2995). By the time Aragorn met Eowyn in Third Age 3019, he and Arwen have been bethrothed for 39 years.

And guess what. In the book, Aragorn and Arwen have known each other since Third Age 2951, a whole 44 years before Eowyn was even born. Hell, they've known each other for a whole 10 years before even Eowyn's father was born (Third Age 2961).

Take a good look at the book timeline (if you need to, look it up on The Lord of the Rings Wiki or Tolkien Gateway):

Aragorn was born in Third Age 2931.

Aragorn and Arwen meet for the first time in Third Age 2951.

Aragorn and Arwen become betrothed in Third Age 2980.

Eowyn was born in Third Age 2995.

Gandalf heals Theoden in Third Age 3019, March 2nd, and Aragorn meets Eowyn that same day.

They all depart to Helm's Deep, and then the Battle of Helm's Deep takes place, the next day, March 3rd. Both the departure and the battle take place in one day.

Aragorn reaches Dunharrow on March 7th, and then goes to the Paths of the Dead the next day, March 8th.

That same day, March 8th, before Aragorn departs, Eowyn confesses that she "loves" him, and he rejects her because she was Loving a Shadow.

That's right. In the book, Eowyn knew Aragorn for literally only 6 days at best before declaring that she "loves" him.

In the book, in Third Age 3019, when a large portion of the main narrative of The Lord of the Rings takes place, Aragorn and Arwen have known each other for 68 years, since Third Age 2951, and have been betrothed for 39 of those years, since Third Age 2980.

In the book, in Third Age 3019, when a large portion of the main narrative of The Lord of the Rings takes place, Aragorn and Eowyn have known each other for literally only 6 days at best — from March 2nd to March 8th — before she confesses her "love" to him.

In both the book and Extended Edition of The Two Towers, during the main narrative, Aragorn is 87 and Eowyn is 24.

There is no way that an 87-year-old Aragorn was going to throw away his betrothal of 39 years to the woman he's known for 68 years and instead go after a 24-year-old woman he's known for literally only 6 days.

Tolkien himself must have realized this, and that's one reason why he decided that Aragorn was "too old and lordly and grim" for Eowyn — because, as shown in the book timeline, it's true.

[buffyfan145]

I realized with seeing that theory about if Galadriel’s daughter Celebrian ends up being Halbrand/Suaron’s that I actually saw this type of storyline play out on “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”. :) Some major spoilers here but in Netflix’s take on “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” there was a massive change to her backstory when she found out her dad was Lucifer and she’s the anti-Christ. Her parents couldn’t have children and her mortal mother Diana got involved with him because at the time the Spellman family of witches were subjects of The Dark Lord. Then after Sabrina was born her parents were killed and she was raised by her aunts. Then Lucifer revealed himself as her father when she came of age and that she was destined to take over after him and be the Queen the Hell and take over Earth. Meanwhile her mom Diana and aunt Hilda actually sabotaged it by having her baptized by a Christian church as a baby so she’s actually protected by both God and the real witch goddess Hecate that the witches finally break free of Lucifer and join to defeat him with Sabrina leading them along her aunt Zelda (who was played by Miranda Otto aka Eowyn in the LOTR movies) as well as Diana’s spirit who guides her daughter. Sabrina also looked almost identical to Diana with white blonde hair but had Lucifer’s dark eyes, and it did take awhile to resist giving in to her dark side and choosing the light. So it got me thinking about that theory and if anyone writes a fic on it we do have a similar story, though with what sadly happened to Celebrian it’s more her daughter Arwen that gets the happy ending and chooses a mortal life to be with her love Aragorn who happens to be an actual lost king Halbrand/Sauron pretended to be.

[whiskawaybelf]

Sorry to hijack but I have so. many. thoughts on this rhetoric of 'well they clearly didn't care about Eowyn that much'/ 'How are the Rohirrim so dumb'

This is a showcase of Imrahil being noble and wise. It wasn't like any single man in Gondor would have looked and been like 'you idiots, she's breathing' We need him to be those things for multiple reasons! When he hails Aragorn as the king and gives Gandalf command of the city we need to understand that's a really well respected guy and he's making good decisions that the Gondorian people would follow. He's of the same lineage that makes Faramir so noble. With a lot of our Gondorian characters out of commission, he is one of our main points about Gondor being full of noble people who are still fighting their asses off and haven't given up. We have to realise that he's almost the anti-Denethor, wise, learned, etc but instead of a Palantir, he's there in battle, with people, he's not hearing whispers, he's seeing first hand what is happening. AND *he's taking the time to look closer, instead of panicking and taking things at face value* Which leads us to:

We need someone we know is wise and noble to help the Rohirrim when they get trapped, we need someone we like to come help them so we see that Gondor and Rohan are working together. They're helping each other! They are looking out for each other and reciprocating kindness (bad word, like great acts of sacrifice, maybe?) which is a thing that Sauron really. does. not. want. So we need Imrahil's empathy and strength as a plot-point. A connection to the Rohirrim and as a character building moments. And then he rides to help Eomer. He saves his life! And his sisters! And then!

It's not a mark of Rohan being stupid that they need Gondor and vice versa. Rohan is in active battle and then in active mourning and Eowyn looks dead, they didn't bring any doctors because they were riding so fast and they barely made it in time. Eowyn is so ill that her breath is only obvious when he takes out a mirror to show it. He's also there as a mark of respect to the dead of Rohan. He is taking the time to do the right thing and support the people who came to help them. The Rohirrim work quickly and instinctively. Imrahil (and therefore his command) work more slowly and more methodically. They balance each other out. It's a fundamental part of how the Horse-lords are described, brash and generous. They turn the battle because they are brash and generous. They also almost lose Eowyn for that same reason. A flaw and a blessing.

This idea that Rohan are cold and heartless or stupid for fundamentally adhering to their cultural norms and/ focusing on the active battle that they're fighting (There's still Nazgul! They're still under attack!) is inherently a bad faith argument. Rohan balances Gondor and vice versa, this is fundamentally a moment of connection between cultures and establishes that Gondor is not only grateful that Rohan came to help them, they are going to reciprocate and help Rohan in the ways they can right now. It's so much more than a scene about a dying woman. It's establishing that Gondor is not inherently selfish and that they're worth saving and that there is genuine care and respect for their fellow man and that is going to win the battle.

May I take a moment to be utterly predictable and give my defense of the Rohirrim for failing to understand that Éowyn was not yet dead on the Pelennor Fields?

I know everyone likes to poke fun at my guys. “Oh, if Éowyn was so important, how is it that they didn’t even think to check whether she was really dead? Why did they need Imrahil to set them straight? What a bunch of goofs!”

But, really, I think this was entirely understandable. Éowyn’s critical injury wasn’t (just) some common battlefield wound. She was suffering from the Black Breath, a malady brought on by the Witch King and which puts someone into a “deadly cold” sleep until they pass in silence to death. And she had it BAD — it lays on her “heavily,” and given her one-on-one direct contact with the Witch King, she may very well have had a bigger dose of it than anyone else ever did. 

The Black Breath was well known in Gondor. There were “many” sick with it in Minas Tirith’s Houses of Healing, as the forces of Gondor had been tangling with the Nazgûl since the taking of Osgiliath nine months earlier and who knows how often in other instances. They didn’t have a cure for it, but they certainly recognized it. Imrahil would have known about it and even seen it himself in Faramir and perhaps in others in the Houses of Healing when he brought Faramir in.

But you know who had never seen a case of Black Breath before? The Rohirrim! They weren’t used to having Nazgûl up in their business. There’s no long established history of the Fell Riders parading around in Rohan, fighting with the Rohirrim. The few Nazgûl that are sighted there in the lead up to the War of the Ring are in the sky, not landing and engaging directly with the people. So how should the Rohirrim be able to easily spot the difference between the (death-like) effects of the Black Breath and actual death? How should they even know that the Black Breath is a thing that exists? They shouldn’t!

Did they screw up by not taking the time to do a comprehensive check of Éowyn’s various vital signs? Yes. But is it ridiculous that their cursory check of her didn’t clue them in to her unique and previously-unknown-to-them sickness that had all the appearance of death? I don’t think it is. Éomer and his men aren’t dummies. They were just non-healers with no relevant expertise who were experiencing massive emotional distress while in the middle of an active battlefield. Imrahil, by contrast, knew what to look for, had no emotional investment in Éowyn to cloud his judgment, and came upon her much closer to the city, where things were quieter and less chaotic. OF COURSE he did better! The Rohirrim made mistakes, but they were understandable mistakes! So let’s all cut Éomer some well deserved slack, yes?

[strawwritesfic]

Aragorn x Female!Reader: And Whither Then?

Summary: Here, at the end of all things, you just might find a new beginning.

Requested Prompt: N/A; requester just asked for the character

Rating/Warnings: All (Tenth Walker; Legolas & Gimli Friendship; No Arwen; No Eowyn; not anti-Arwen; not anti-Eowyn; human!reader; reader of undefined heritage; set after the Ring is destroyed)

Tag List: @imaginesfire​

And Wither Then?

Fair indeed was the land of Ithilien. Long had you heard tales of the splendor of these places of the West, and, as you trod through them yourself there at the end of what had felt an endless journey, you thought none of those tales had been exaggerated.

Never had you felt more at peace anywhere on Arda. Merely breathing deeply in of the fresh air seemed to give your tired body some much-needed vigor—or perhaps that sensation had more to do when your recently acquired freedom from fear and anxiety. The reason hardly mattered. All you needed to know was that the scent on the breeze, the shimmering leaves, and the babble of water seemed now more than ever to cocoon you in serenity.

It was the growing roar of that water that confirmed for you at last that you were headed in the correct direction. Encouraged by this, you moved all the more swiftly along the hidden path described for you earlier that day. Hours of aiding the Captains of the West to round up the last battling men of Rhûn and Harad left you with little energy remaining, but the thought of what (or rather who) waited ahead kept you going far beyond what you normally could.

Soon the river you followed led you to the most magnificent waterfall you had ever laid eyes upon in all your wanderings: the Window-Curtain, right where you had been told that it would be. The rushing water thundered in your ears as you followed along the path as instructed.

Several times you thought you might be pressed down by the weight of that water to your doom, but soon enough you found yourself in Henneth Annûn. Though the outposts of the Men of the West were largely unknown to you, you could not have been mistaken as to what the structure was, for a familiar bearded man in white robes came to greet you before you had much chance to take stock of your surroundings.

“Ah, [Name]. Back so soon?” he asked.

“It is believed all the forces of Mordor have either surrendered or fled home, save those now in our custody,” you answered. “Legolas and Gimli should be here shortly. I did not want to tarry.”

Gandalf hummed, a knowing sound that nearly made you blush. So the Wizard remained in high spirits. That was a good sign. His obvious cheer indicated this moment of victory would not be snatched away as quickly as all the others. Still, you had to ask before you could celebrate any further:

“How are they? Sam and Frodo? Are they—”

“Aragorn has done tending to them. He believes they will both recover, inasmuch as any that have been through the ordeal they have can recover.”

You let out a breath of relief. Losing those two at Parth Galen remained one of your greatest failures in this affair. Their well-being confirmed, you went on timidly, “And Aragorn?”

“Has himself retired,” Gandalf said, and there was a flutter of amusement in his tone. “He is in the Captain’s quarters. Go on. I am certain Gimli and Legolas will not miss you overmuch once they arrive.”

Now you did blush, or felt you did. You rather hoped that your time with the Fellowship had taught you to suppress such signals to some degree. Clearly no degree could fool Gandalf, so you did not attempt to dissuade him of his implication. Instead, you bobbed your head once in silent acknowledgement of his suggestion, then turned to walk quickly up the nearest corridor.

Unfortunately, your unfamiliarity with fortifications like this one meant your chances of finding Aragorn on your own were slim. Too bad you could no longer reverse course and ask for assistance. You did not doubt Gandalf was having a good chuckle about your stiff neck and pride now that neither threatened the safety of Men and Halflings alike—not that you were about to risk a look over your shoulder to check.

He could laugh all he liked; you yourself were well aware that your behavior was not becoming of your station. It would be best if no one else saw you until you’d calmed down a little, so what choice did you have but to keep walking to the end of the hall?

“Do you search for something, my lady?” a new voice called from somewhere to your right.

Instinctively, you looked over. There on the cot inside the nearest room sat the exact man you sought. Tall, grizzled, and lean as ever, just the mere sight of Aragorn brought you to an abrupt halt mid-stride.

He stood as your eyes met, and then he approached the open entrance to his quarters. “Perhaps I could be of some help to you.”

“I’ve no need for further assistance,” you answered, “for in your calling out to me, I have found the object of my hunt.”

Aragorn smiled in that subtle way he had: Though his lips hardly moved, a warmth crept into his dark eyes that made you want to stand there staring into them for the rest of your natural life. He bid you enter with a motion of his hand as he moved deeper into the room. You hesitated, knowing well Gandalf might be watching, and perhaps others who had not come to greet you.

“Will you not join me?” Aragorn asked.

“If that is what you ask of me,” you said with quick step over the threshold, “my lord.”

This sudden addition caused his eyebrows to lift. Once he saw you enter, however, he did not say anything more on the matter. There were more important matters to attend to in that moment—namely, a steaming bowl of water and a wet cloth waiting on a low table for him to pick them up. Only as he wiped the towel across his forehead did you realize he remained covered head to foot in the dust and blood of Mordor. So great had been his concern for Sam and Frodo that Aragorn had not paused in his efforts to heal them even to get himself clean.

How like him. How like him to bow to the needs of others; how like him to forget his own wants in the face of an ailing friend. You did not know what you had expected to find here in Aragorn’s place upon your return. A king like Théoden? A leader like Denethor? Neither truly were bad men, but neither of them could compare to man that stood before you. Not even the events of a day like that day could transform someone like him.

Aragorn then broke into your thoughts with a simple observation:

“I take it that your arrival heralds an announcement the task of clearing out Mordor is complete?”

You snapped to attention. “Oh. Yes, sir. As much as can be done so quickly. I know there was some talk among the captains of returning for more thorough work once our current prisoners are secured in Gondor.”

“Good. The immediate area is clear for certain, then?”

“For certain, my lord.”

“And I suppose that Legolas and Gimli joined you on your trek here?”

“For most of the way, my lord. They should get here soon.”

A frown pressed wrinkles into the weathered skin of Aragorn’s brow. Slowly he put aside his blackened cloth to look at you. Such an expression crossed his face that you were forced to cast your gaze at the wall rather than endure continuing to look at him.

“Why do you call me that?” he asked quietly.

“Call you what, pray tell?”

“You have never called me by any title before today.”

“Before today I had very little cause to do so.”

You knew very well that Aragorn could make himself silent whenever he wished. He must not have wished it then. Every step of his approach told you plainly that you ought to turn your head to greet him, but you did not, not even when his voice issued very close to you to ask:

"What further cause do you have now?”

The softness of his tone made your eyes burn. Your throat felt tight as well, as though an Uruk-hai had its hands around your neck. A rough swallow rid you of much of this sensation, but being able to speak was not enough. Had you not spent all this journey ensuring none of your companions could read so easily what was in your heart? You could not betray yourself by letting them see your emotions now! Only after some effort on your part could you finally force yourself to look up at him.

“You are a king,” you said.

“I have always been a king.”

“Yes, this I realize. It is only now that it—well, it feels more real now, however little sense that might make. There has always been some chance our quest would fail and you would never take the throne. Against all odds, our company did not just live. It won.”

“And you believe this to be a bad thing?”

“No, but it is something. Your coronation is to be held as soon as the Halflings wake, is it not?”

He bowed his head a little. “It is.”

So that was that. You had not the heart to hope that Sam and Frodo would remain asleep for an age or more. It would be better, in fact, if they awoke at once. Such joy would serve as a much-needed distraction. Celebrating with them would not allow you to linger on the wicked thoughts that now plagued you—all of them centered on the handsome face only inches away from your own.

Aragorn himself caused those thoughts to sharpen next. His hand brushed against your forearm, slid all the way down to your palm, and intertwined its fingers with your own.

“Tell me what you are thinking of,” he murmured. “Tell me what you plan to do after I am crowned.”

Admittedly you had given that as little thought as could be allowed. To say goodbye to Aragorn—even after so many goodbyes throughout your long life—felt unthinkable now. He had given you an order, though, and his were those you were accustomed to following.

“I hope to accompany Legolas and Gimli for a time. They would not desire to be with me all the way, but perhaps they will allow me to join them until I reach my own home.”

“And after that? What then?”

“After that, I shall…” Shaking your head, you tried to pull away from him and toward the door. “I do not know. Forgive me my intrusion. I only wished to give you my report. You’ll want rest after aiding Frodo in his, and I ought not—”

“[Name].”

Not only did Aragorn refuse to release your straining arm. Not only did he close the tiny gap you’d managed to put between your bodies. Not only did he stand in such a way that you had no hope of breaking for the exit. None of that together was enough. No. He also had to say your name in a way you’d heard only a handful of times, so few you thought you’d imagined an echo from your dreams. Your heart thundered in your chest as he gently shifted a lock of filthy hair from your sticky forehead.

“[Name], I do not wish you to leave my side. If that is truly your desire, I will do nothing to stop you. What I will ask is that you reconsider if you only plan to leave because I am to be made King of the Reunited Kingdom in the near future. My position will change nothing.”

Could he feel the way you trembled in his grasp? Did he understand how terribly his words affected you? “How can you say such a thing?” you burst out, utterly annihilating any chance you had of deceiving him of your true feelings.

“I speak only the truth.”

“You speak pretty lies. As we both agreed, you are a king. The hour Frodo wakes, it will not just be our company that knows but all the West—perhaps even beyond! Everything will change after that.”

“Only if we allow it to.”

His tone was so firm that you stopped your quavering at last. To your everlasting shame, hot tears spilled over the edges of your eyelids. The tracks left a burning sensation as the water coursed down your cheeks. Not once had you cried during the hardships your Fellowship faced. Only when Boromir died and that Fellowship broke had you allowed yourself to grieve. All the time seemed to have left you incapable of stemming the flow of tears in the now.

“I am a fool,” you said bitterly, and gave your arm another futile tug. “I will miss you. That is all I hoped to say before we leave again.”

“Then stay with me,” Aragorn said.

“I do not belong in Gondor.”

Surely he understood the deeper meaning of those words: You did not belong with him. No great pedigree graced your lineage. No greater acts than any of his other friends could be attached to your name. Whatever moments you and Aragorn might have shared throughout that journey—the night in Lothlórien after Gandalf died; that hour in the depths of Helm’s Deep before the battle began; any of the other wordless tensions there had been—none of them mattered any longer. Each of you had different paths to trod from then on.

Further pressure around your hand pulled you roughly back to the present day.

“I regret to hear you say that,” Aragorn told you. “Things will change. On that point I cannot and will not argue with you. I believe all our lives will change now that the Ring is gone and I am to take my crown at last—but I believe our lives will change for the better. We have now been through the fire. What else remains except for better?”

You opened your mouth to remind him of all the sadness that remained in Arda. The elves were still to leave in droves; what good could come from that? But before you could speak a single word, Aragorn bent his head and pressed his lips against yours. They were warm and cracked and gentle. Only the latter truly surprised you. Fear that this was only a dream prevented you from responding much to the kiss, for as quickly as his mouth had come upon you, it also withdrew.

“Yes. Better,” he continued as he moved back—but not by much. You could still feel his breath against your face as he went on to say, “Before we could be certain of our victory, I could not tell you of my love for you. I could not ask you to bear such a burden. As you said, we might have neither succeeded nor lived. Yet we did both. [Name].”

Speechless, all you could do was stare up at him while your shock did the work of drying your cheeks. One of his rough thumbs brushed away a stubborn tear still clinging there.

“If you will miss me, you must believe I will miss you ten thousand times as much as that. Do not leave. Do not let things change in the way you fear. Stay with me, and let our lives together be the richer for it.”

His request was beyond any that some dark part of you might have wished for in the longest nights of war. Never, not if you had somehow grown to be as old as Gandalf, would you have ever believed any of this situation possible. How could Aragorn love you? You could think of nothing that could drive him to lie about his feelings for you, which meant that he could only be telling the truth exactly as he had earlier claimed.

You could find neither the words nor the voice to answer him. Given no other options, you leaned forward until your head nestled in the crook of his neck. His familiar scent—sweat and all—steadied you so that you felt strong enough to face him once more.

“I already told Legolas and Gimli that would join them,” you said hoarsely.

“Then I will see to it that they forgive your departure.” A new smile graced his face, a brighter one that shone through even the several layers of grime coating his skin. “Will they refuse me? I am to be a king.”

Laughing at last, you lifted your head to kiss him yourself. He allowed you to linger this time, so linger you did. The open door (as well as your dignity) prevented anything more than that.

Soon the sounds of your two missing friends entering the outpost themselves interrupted you. You could not help but smile as you followed Aragorn out of the room to greet them. Little time remained before he would be crowned King of the Reunited Kingdom, but that was of consequence to you no longer. Ever after you would remain at his side, until one or both of you passed from this life.

And whither then? You could not say.

[fedonciadale]

I have seen people saying that Eowyn renouncing to be a warrior and becoming a healer as anti female empowerment, anti feminismo, a step back... Like seriously? Do they understand Tolkien stance on war? Faramir is a big nerd who would rather spent his days reading about the past eras rather than fight. Aragorn is acknowledged as the king by the people of Gondor not because he carries Elendil's sword or his warrior prowess but because he spent the night after the Pelennor's battle healing the injured. Gandalf love the Shire and the Hobbits for his quiet and peace.

So no, Eowyn renouncing to fight is a step forward by a character written by a WWI veteran.

Hi there!

this is so strange and is rooted in the idea that women need to be like men to be empowered or that only male coded jobs are good jobs - which is not what feminism is about.

And as you said it completely ignores the fact that Tolkien thought that even a war fought for good reasons - like the war against Sauron - still has its bad sides and that war per se is bad. We should not forget that it was Morgoth who taught elves how to make weapons and how to kill each other.

It is also quite interesting to see the situation in which Eowyn states her intent that she wants to become a healer, because this is not what Faramir wants her to do:

Eowyn tells him that she had wished to be loved by another (Aragorn) and that she does not want his pity.

Faramir then explains to her that she should not scorn pity, but that he does not offer her pity but his love. And that he would love her no matter what. Even if she were queen at Aragorn's side he would love her. He offer his unconditional love.

The keyword here being "unconditional".

And then he asks her if she does not love him and if she could never love him.

And it is then that she voices her intent to give up war and become a healer. Faramir, who as you said is not a warrior, did not pressure her in any way. He accepts her whatever she decides. He just told her he'll love her whatever she does.

It's her own wish: "I will" she says.

And at the same time, she also embraces her past as shield-maiden because she asks Faramir if he wants to marry a shield-maiden. So it is not as if she denies this phase of her life. It's character growth.

And Eowyn is not the only person who learned about the inherent evil of war. Just look at Frodo during the scouring of the Shire. Merry and Pippin persuade him that it is necessary to fight, but he is deeply unhappy about it.

So, yes, it's not about Eowyn being reduced to "womanly" activities. It is her own decision, it is her embracing life instead of death, it is her choosing her own way, away from what her society perceives as valid (for men and for women). And Faramir supports her.

I honestly don't know how you can twist that to suddenly become a moment of anti feminism.

Thanks for the ask!

[ent-admirer]

Speaking as a former mentally-ill teenage girl: mentally-ill teenage girls love and understand book!Eowyn (and even her ending) the best of anyone.

Not that movie!Eowyn isn’t great, but she was always less relatable to me. She was a softer, healthier person, who hadn’t been driven from kindness to coldness by the years of loss, loneliness, and powerlessness. She was sad, but not despairing. She only wanted to fight to prove her strength and protect her people; book!Eowyn wanted glory too, but also pain and death, and these ideas were intertwined for her.

Movie!Eowyn loves Aragorn and then Faramir, but you don’t see the same subtext you see in the book. Book!Eowyn loves (her idea of) Aragorn because she sees him stern and warlike, and she wants to go with him on the Paths of the Dead (in every sense of that phrase); she loves Faramir when her philosophy changes, when she comes to the conclusion that wanting to live and be happy isn’t cowardly self-indulgence, nor is it futile, because wounds can be healed and not all loss is irreparable.

Eowyn’s ending threw me for a loop when I first read it as a mentally-ill young Catholic girl who’d been conditioned to read the warfare in The Lord of the Rings as an allegory for spiritual warfare. (Note: I’m still Catholic, and nowadays I know Catholicism isn’t anti-joy, but my mental illness teamed up with the fear of damnation - and the even worse fear of being a damnable person - to create obsessions and compulsions that ruled my life and affected my view of my own religion for several years.) If you didn’t choose to fight and die, you were surrendering to Satan; if you didn’t take every chance you got to suffer and offer it up, you were a coward and forfeiting the glory of Heaven. Yet Aragorn healed her, and Eomer finally understood her, and Faramir joined her in a way of life that loves life. Tolkien let Eowyn experience healing, respect, love, and joy in this life, and didn’t condemn her for it.

[a-world-of-whimsy-5]

Ahem....

A Tale of Legolas Greenleaf is over, and I have some time to kill till the 1st for my June Uploads.

So... I have decided to challenge myself a little and take on some reader requests on everyone's favourite elves, well, my favourite elves, Thranduil, Legolas, Haldir and Elrond.  Over the course of next week and next month, I will be taking in six requests for the time being. 

Other than the elves I have mentioned, I will be happy to write on Tauriel, Aragorn, and Eowyn.

For Dwarves: Thorin, Fili, Kili

Non-LOTR/Hobbit characters x reader: Morticia or Gomez Addams, Daenerys Targaryen, Viktor Krum, Diana/any of the other amazons/Themyscira.

Themes : Smut with a happy ending, Someone being a cinnamon roll with a happy ending, angst with a happy ending, friends/siblings behaving like they have one shared brain-cell between them. 

My limits: Master/Mistress, light BDSM, jealousy (within reasonable limits).

Any pros or antis that start toxic rumbles on these posts will get shut down, booted and blocked faster than they can say Quidditch. 

Until then,

Namárië

[ageless-aislynn]

“You Belong With Me” (Eowyn/Aragorn/Arwen, Lord of the Rings)

Okay, so this works REALLY well, IMO! :D An old favorite of mine that I recently stumbled across again so wanted to share. :D

[mercurygray]

Hey Merc! Went down (and still tumbling down) the Tolkien rabbit hole and I have a little plot bunny I wanna run by you: the Fellowship set in WWI or WWII? I can't decide which period would work better, they're such different wars. I like the former for the potential class conflict it could present between the officers ("Big Folk") and the drafted/voluntary recruits ("Little Folk/Hobbits") as they struggle to survive the trenches and find unexpected friendship in each other--and connection between Tolkien's works and his personal experiences in WWI--, but, the latter has our heroes punching Nazis, a more obvious espionage/secret mission plot orchestrated by Gandalf, the Three Hunters busting Merry and Pippin out of a POW camp (though they could do that in the former, too), Frodo and Sam blowing up an ammunitions factory to prevent German victory, maybe the Elves running French Resistance spy rings in which Arwen has to make the hard choice of getting the hell out of France with Elrond as the enemy draws near or keeping the lines open in case Aragorn and his company manage to come back, risking discovery and certain death...and Eowyn cross-dressing in there somewhere...

Oh, I forgot about the Jewish-Dwarf connection that Tolkien commented on! Shit, now I'm thinking of Scottish-Jewish soldier Gimli discovering the remains of other Jews at a concentration camp when it's liberated and comparing it to the scene in Moira...

Idk, what do you think? I would love to hear your thoughts!

A PROJECT!

Well, for starters, I've done Great War LOTR here, and something that could be WWII LOTR here, if you squint and make the Ring the Manhattan Project. (And for variety I ALSO have WWII LOTR AU, like the heathen I am.)

Of the two, World War One is my favorite, for reasons similar to what you mentioned - it's Tolkien's war, right, and LOTR is a Great War novel, as many noted literary historians have said.

World War Two, however, has the advantage of being the second - there's the idea there that there was something terrible before, and that there is now something terrible again. And that's a theme in LOTR as well - that Sauron was defeated once before, but is rising once more.

Under a cut, for brevity:

(Remind me to tell you about my idea for The Hobbit + Great Depression + Thorin's company as a group of rail-riding hobos trying to save the family business from a greedy banker sometime.)

I like your idea for a top secret insertion into occupied Europe, as that's...pretty much what the Fellowship does, though I feel like Elrond might be better served as an SOE spymaster sending this oddjob company across the Channel. What might their destination be? Berlin? To what end? The idea of going to meet former friends (Saruman, Galadriel, Theoden) who may now be enemies works well in spy stories.

I suppose Denethor can have Paris, if he must, though the parallel isn't great. Here history and the story verge - but an ancient family, in close collaboration with the occupiers on their doorstep, its patriarch mourning the death of his firstborn and leaning, ever closer, to succumbing to the wiles of their ways, while an idealistic second son dreams of better times? I could dig it. Its got a kind of Vichy-Petain sensibility.

I need to note, with your last idea, that Tolkien's connections with the Dwarves and the Jews is not a happy one, and takes advantage of several common anti-Semitic tropes - the wandering Jew, the greedy hoarder. The parallel between a man returning home to the town of his childhood to find it in ruins, his holy places demolished, and desecrated, and occupied by monsters intent on the complete destruction of his people, perhaps could be attempted, but would require a cautious and mindful hand. I wouldn't trust myself with it.

[victoriousscarf]

Bringing this back since Magic the Gathering is releasing its Middle Earth inspired decks this month and we’ve been seeing the exact same racism rearing its head every single comment thread I’ve seen since the cards revealed multiple characters have been re-imagined as black (Aragorn, Eowyn, Galadriel) or Asian (Legolas). And that’s just from the few cards I’ve seen, I haven’t sat down and really looked into it.

Point is, I can’t see a single thread talking about this set that isn’t about how dare they do this, how dare they take Tolkien and give us a black Aragorn (*Stares at the 1970s animated movie with Aragorn looking like an indigenous man*... did we... not watch this one?)

Anyway. It was ALWAYS about the racism, and it’s still about the racism. I saw so many people who I usually respect parroting the anti-ROP campaign and the whole time it felt a lot like you know you’re doing the racists work for them? You remember how Russia infiltrated tumblr by using our own language against us? That’s what it felt like. 

I’ve seen that post about amazon deleting rings of power reviews a dozen plus time now, and not once have I seen any one add that the reason they did that was because thousands of deranged racists fucking review bombed the show cause they’re mad it has black people in it.