#boromir immediately decides he likes the rangers

[darlingandmreames]

I'm having trans Faramir Feels(tm) again, and I'm just imagining Denethor assigning Faramir as Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien with the intention of setting him up to fail and teach his """daughter""" to mind his proper place. Faramir's acceptance within the ranks is tenuous as is and is mostly bolstered by Boromir's unwavering support of his brother. A command position among the rangers is bound to be a failure.

Except...it isn't.

Faramir was never the bright, loud, speeches on the ramparts soldier Boromir was, but it turns out he is a cunning strategist. He's sharp and observant and the guerilla fighting tactics of the rangers highlights those skills. And it also allows for his leadership skills to flourish. His leadership is quieter than Boromir's but no less steadfast, and the loyalty it commands is no less true.

And the rangers, rather than rejecting Faramir, fully embrace him. There's less of the social pressure of Denethor in the wilds of Ithilien. What matters is being quick and quiet and cunning. What matters is survival. Faramir quickly proves himself as an effective leader and the men under his command respond to him as such, to the point of becoming protective of him in the face of others. Because how dare you disrespect their captain??? Captain Faramir is an excellent leader who cares about his men and if he says he's a man, then he's a man dammit! Transgenderism be damned, that boy knows how to command a guerilla warfare unit!

Denethor's all smug the first time Faramir comes back from his posting until he realizes that instead of failing, Faramir's thriving and coming into his own as a respected commander. Denethor is pissed his plan backfired. Boromir, on the other hand, is absolutely delighted

[rivendell-poet]

Hello! Can you do a headcanon on how the fellowship reacts to the 10th member being so oblivious to flirting?

Thanks so much anon! Sorry it's taken me a bit to answer, but hopefully you enjoy these <3

*･༓˚✧❝𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬-𝐭𝐨-𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐡-𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐞𝐫❞‧͙⁺˚༓˚✧ « headcanons »

○ Aragorn ○ Legolas ○ Gimli ○ Boromir ○ Pippin○ Merry ○ Frodo ○ Sam ○

GN!Reader | No TWs | Wordcount : 1k

𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐧

✧ His main ways of showing affection/romance isn’t flirting, so if you pick up on him being more caring/his eyes constantly drifting to you/wanting to listen to you speak then you’re good.

✧ However, if you miss all of those queues as well, eventually he does realise he needs to be more obvious.

✧ Aragorn is pretty good at flirting, the voice definitely puts it from good to pretty good, although a lot of his lines are still done when he’s close to you.

✧ The two of you will be leaning against a wall and he’ll come closer before saying something.

✧ And then you still don’t figure it out.

✧ Confesses pretty quickly after realising it isn’t going to happen any other way.

✧ Will still flirt with you, especially after a fight. Grins when you just look at him like ‘???’

✧ Eventually you understand when he’s doing it, although that’s more because he’ll always come very close to you before saying something. (Comes up behind and hugs before whispering in your ear.)

𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬

✧ Also a more traditional romantic, except whenever he takes you on long walks with him it always ends up with one of you infodumping about some flora/fauna you’ve seen.

✧ Still loves you for it, but decides to try a different approach.

✧ Merry and Pippin decide to step in and help their good friend Legolas, and give him some of the worst flirting lines anyone has ever heard (made most of them up).

✧ Says them to you in his softest voice, before staring deep into your eyes and trying to see if you liked it.

✧ You just end up in weird staring contests until he looks away, or you ask him what he said and he repeats it (you still don’t get it).

✧ Isn’t sure what he’s doing wrong.

✧ Asks Aragorn to help, and does spend a night trying to flirt with the ranger as though he were you.

✧ Aragorn has far too much fun during this, and Legolas takes it far too seriously.

𝐆𝐢𝐦𝐥𝐢

✧ Is also so confused as to how you’re not getting it, and what he’s doing wrong.

✧ But he is a great smooth-talker, genuinely 10/10 lines. Has one for most occasions, and in most tones.

✧ Does experiment to try and find which ones you like and is just so confused as to why none make you blush.

✧ Eventually realises it’s because you’re being oblivious and not because his lines are bad (which is a big relief for him).

✧ Finally, after saying a great line to you, he gets exasperated and asks if you even know he’s flirting with you.

✧ You immediately go red, and he takes that as a ‘no’.

✧ Grins and asks if you’d like to hear any for a second time.

𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐫

✧ Mainly shows affection by physical touch and acts of service. His loving words to you and generally acts of praise, or asking you to continue talking - he’s better at listening.

✧ Is also given advice by Merry and Pippin to flirt with you, although he recognises how bad their lines are and genuinely asks them if any of these have ever worked before.

✧ Does not believe them if they say yes.

✧ He has experience with flirting, although it’s generally over ale and with people flirting at him - not the other way around.

✧ At first is more subtle with his flirting. Then, when you aren’t getting it, it eventually devolves into much more obvious flirting - the kind used at slightly seedy bars.

✧ Knows from experience (himself) about people being oblivious to flirting so eventually just confesses.

✧ Still flirts to see the ‘???’ face and laughs before hugging you, telling you he loves you if you ask what he meant.

𝐏𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧

✧ Good at flirting, but not in a serious or romantic way. He’s better at getting a smile from his lines, and getting his feelings across, than he is actually starting something intimate.

✧ Flirts quite often from the day he meets you, and doesn’t realise you’re not understanding them.

✧ Slowly gets more dejected until Merry is like, ‘you know they haven’t picked up on you flirting with them?’

✧ Instantly brightens.

✧ Flirts quickly get more and more obnoxious. Gandalf audibly sighs at quite a few.

✧ Eventually tells a very obvious one while looking directly into your eyes and winking.

✧ Takes a lot of pleasure in your embarrassment, will take advantage of you finally realising he’s been flirting with you and tell you almost every line.

✧ Occasionally comes up to you and says something random but with a wink - you then have to guess if it’s a genuine pick-up line or nonsense.

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲

✧ Quite similar to Pippin, although his pick-up lines are slightly better.

✧ Uses them as a way to subtly show his feelings to people, as a way of confessing without the harshness of rejection.

✧ Catches on fairly quickly that you’re pretty oblivious. Has a small amount of fun with it.

✧ Makes some small bets about if you’re going to notice him flirting (mainly with Merry, very occasionally Aragorn, Boromir, Gimli, and Gandalf join in. Legolas could, but just bets with Aragorn).

✧ Confesses normally to you.

✧ Attempts to rig the gambling ring by telling you how you should act ahead of time - this is quickly discovered.

𝐒𝐚𝐦

✧ Sweet, little Sam.

✧ Cannot flirt for the life of him. He truly is trying.

✧ Even gets coaching from Merry and Pippin (and a pep talk from Frodo) to try.

✧ Doesn’t realise you’re oblivious because he’s also so bad at it.

𝐅𝐫𝐨���𝐨

✧ Frodo is surprisingly good at flirting, he just never uses them.

✧ And whenever he does there’s always a slight aura of him being uncomfortable about them. It’s subtle, but it’s there.

✧ Wouldn’t use them as a way to show you his feelings, and would confess before flirting with you.

✧ Does it very occasionally, and when you don’t realise he grins a little.

✧ Tries flirting a bit more, you don’t pick up on any of it, and lets you know at the end of the night.

✧ Very occasionally would flirt with you - but if he’s going to talk to you with romance in mind, he rather be vulnerable and open than flirt.

Hopefully you enjoyed! In any case, I'm thankful you stuck around until the end <3

« 𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 » « masterlist of my works »

thank you for reading *･༓˚✧ wish to be tagged?

[butterflyslinky]

It's worth noting that all of this reverence, all of this honor, is being given to Isildur and, by extension, Aragorn by the elves.

The elves have the sword displayed as a museum piece--not to actually *do* anything, but to just sit there and be looked at, held up as a symbol of past glory. The elves raised Aragorn with this big destiny in mind. An elf stands up and publicly chastises Boromir, saying that he owes Aragorn his allegiance, which is what prompts Boromir to say that Gondor does not have a king.

And Boromir is right! What allegiance does he owe Aragorn? Until that moment, he didn't know that was his so-called king, he just knew there was some Ranger there who was friends with Gandalf. Someone Boromir should respect as a fellow guest in Elrond's house, sure, but not someone he should immediately fall to his knees in worship of. Aragorn has done jack shit for Gondor; he hasn't earned any allegiance.

But the elves treat him like he's already a king. The elves decided that Aragorn would lead the Age of Men while they fucked off to the Undying Lands. They decided he would lead all of the humans in Middle-Earth because...one of his ancestors did something important 2000 years ago, before most of the people in the story were even alive. Maybe to the immortal elves, 2000 years isn't a long time and Aragorn might as well be Isilidur, but to Boromir, the Line of Kings is basically just a fairy tale, and a bad one at that.

(And Boromir isn't alone in his resentment toward the elves! Later on, Theoden says he can't count on help from them, because he's not as lucky as Aragorn to just have them follow him around and do his bidding. Up until Helm's Deep in the movie, the elves have done very little to help the struggling humans fight the darkness. (In the books, the elves of the Greenwood were fighting their own battle, but the Lothlorien elves certainly didn't show up to help at Helm's Deep.))

Boromir doesn't just resent Aragorn for not taking up the mantle of king--he also resents all of these other outsiders telling him how he should feel about the situation when they've done nothing to help, either.

Fellowship of the ring is by far the best of the three films, but I absolutely hate that scene of Boromir dropping the hilt-shard of Narsil. It's such a clumsy and poorly executed metaphor, that Boromir doesn't respect Gondor's history or the Dúnedain, but Aragorn does and will restore them. But Boromir is the one actually fighting and trying to preserve his people, whereas Aragorn seems actively ashamed to be one of Isildur's descendants (and possibly of being a human in general).

[rainydaymiddleearthimagines]

hiiii, i love your writing so much! could you maybe do a aragornxfem!reader fic where aragorn mistakes boromir’s “brotherly love” towards y/n for “romantic love” and gets jealous. then everything gets resolved and the fellowship makes fun of him :D thank you for all of you writing!

You had grown up next to Boromir in the beautiful kingdom of Gordor. However when you were about the age of twenty you decided to venture out and explore, leading you to Rivendell. There you met him.

He was a man who immediately caught your eye, making your heart practically jump from your chest. At first, the two of you ignored each other's presence. However you were quite the busy one, always helping whoever you could out. This wouldn't be an issue if it weren't for the fact that this man typically profited from the same thing. It seemed you were always one step ahead of him, taking bounties off boards, fetching items from caves, even assisting farmers. You were that strange girl from Gondor. It seemed the only thing keeping the man from being completely questless was Gandalf.

Finally though, you officially crossed paths one night in the Prancing Pony. You were sitting at a table with your nose in a book, feeling someone staring at you. Your eyes wandered up to the closed figure smoking from a pipe, making you curious. Why he was there confused you, what confused you even further was the interest he had in the hobbits that walked in. You kept to your book seeing as once they had walked in, the man's interest fell to them. You read, confused further as you heard the hobbit ask for Gandalf, a wizard who hadn't set foot in the inn for months. Still the hobbits sat, two being amazed at the size of pints.

You got up, prepared to go as the crowds got louder before a strange thing happened. First, there was the debunking of one of the hobbit's name. Underhill was proven to be an alias by the brunette hobbit's friend at the bar who was clearly unable to hold a pint. The second thing that perplexed you was the hobbit flat out disappearing. You blinked, staring at the spot the hobbit was in confused, looking up to see that the cloaked man was now gone.

You quickly adjourned to your room, chalking this up for lack of sleep. What could turn anyone invisible after all? You laid down, allowing silence to fall over the room. You did drift off to sleep before another unusual combination of things woke you up. The smell of blood seemed to fill the air, along with a loud screaming like noise. You leaned up, slightly alarmed. Was that a dream? You slowly got up and jumped at the sound of knocking.

You opened the door to see the man. "May we come in?" He asked. "...We?" You asked. He motioned down, you seeing the hobbits behind him. You opened the door and he walked in with the hobbits. "I know you do not know me, not officially at least. I am Strider, a ranger." That title was something that gained immediate trust in you. "I need your assistance, Gandalf, should we find him can provide you with a payment." He said. You shook your head. "I need no payment, only details. What do you need assistance with?" You asked, grabbing your armor. "We need to make way to Rivendell, Frodo possesses the ring of power." He said. You halted, slowly turning to him. "The... the ring? The one ring?" You asked. "Yes." "The ring to rule them all?" "Yes." "That noise that woke me.... tell me those weren't..." "Ringwraiths" you sucked in a breath and put on your armor. "Rivendell will be a challenge, but one I know well." You said, grabbing your pack. "We stay off the roads and none of us go anywhere alone." You said sternly. Everyone nodded and you grabbed your blade, sheathing it.

You traveled for days, you often letting yourself look at Strider while he wasn't aware. You sat next to him on a rock as the hobbits slept. "Couldn't sleep?" You asked. "I'm typically awake during the night." He said. "I have that same problem." You chuckled. He smiled slightly at the sound of your laugh. He had noticed you long ago in Rivendell, unsure if you had even seen him. You typically found yourself with Arwen each time you stayed with the elves. She enjoyed spending time with you, listening to you speak of your home.

Strider though remembered the day you came into Rivendell. Your hair was braided back, certain strands sticking to your face from the rain. He was wearing regular clothing, standing next to Elrond. You were very respectful and official the entire time asking for shelter but something was off. You were shaking and pale, seemingly ill. You actually were very sick. This was made clear by Elrond granting permission and then you trying to follow him to your accommodations but collapsing before more was said.

Quite the impression you made on everyone that day. But Strider noticed you. From then on, it was difficult to not not know who you were. As annoyed as he was with you taking most jobs that provided him with income, Strider took notice in your typical refusal in payment. You were humble, you were kind. The people of Bree knew that, repaying you with free food and bedding.

"May I ask you something, Master Strider?" You asked. He nodded for you to speak. "How long have you been watching me?" You asked. He chuckled to himself. "I have not been subtle, have I?" He asked. You smiled, his heart beating faster as you did. "Well it's hard to ignore when we keep crossing paths coincidentally." You said. He chuckled, looking down. "I have been shadowing you for quite some time, though I'm not sure why." He admitted. "If I didn't know you as friend to the elves, my blade would be well acquainted with your chest at this moment." You said making him look over. "A fearsome one you are." He teased. You rolled your eyes. "I feared for your safety, truth be told. I knew the black riders were coming." He said. "How long have you known?" You asked.

He debated on what to tell you, struggling silently. "Gandalf sent me on a quest. I wasn't told much, but I could see what was coming." He admitted. You nodded. "it's odd to me that most of middle earth knows Gandalf." You said making him chuckle. You looked over at Strider. "Thank you. For... For looking out for me." You said softly. Strider smiled at you. "anytime."

From then on, the two of you seemed to be closer, always muttering subtle jokes to one another, making each other laugh. The hobbits were confused by the change in both of you but didn't question anything out loud. The group finally settled on a place for camp on a mountain, a few days from Rivendell. "does it bother you that Pippin is treating this like a camping trip?" Strider asked as you picked berries. Fire would be a bad choice in such a location. "yep." You breathed. "I can't fault them though... I mean... Hobbits, they're typically very introverted compared to the rest of the world. This is new to them." You said softly. "...New as in they're doing specifically what we told them not to do." Strider said nodding to the fire. You sighed, standing up.

Then you felt it. Your blood ran cold as the smell of blood intensified. You heard that shriek and took off, Strider following not far behind. The hobbits found themselves cornered as you and Strider rushed forward, Strider using fire to steer the enemy away. You however saw Frodo in danger. You bolted forward as the Nazgûl swing it's blade, taking the hit meant for the hobbit. Time seemed to move slower, voices fading as Strider forced the enemy back. The ringwraiths disappeared as you stumbled, falling forward onto the ground. "It appears we've won" Pippin said relieved. "Master Y/n!?" Frodo yelped panicked. Your eyes seemed white as you struggled to even speak. Strider kneeled. "no no no no" he whispered looking at you. You were shivering, making Strider pull off his cloak and wrapping it around you. "We need to move, she needs elvish medicine." Strider said, lifting you up.

You all trekked for days, Strider never leaving your side. However now it seemed you were getting even worse. You struggled to move, hell, breathing hurt. If you could speak, you were going to ask Sam to put you out of your misery. The group stopped in the woods, looking for medicinal herbs when Strider emerged with something odd.

An elf. She rushed over to your side, you looking at Arwen as sweat beaded on your face. "Ni've túl ana help tye. Lar- mime óma, túl at- ana i kal (I've come to help you. Hear my voice, come back to the light.)" She said softly. Your eyes flooded with tears from the pain coursing through you. Arwen shook her head. "She needs my father. I will take her." Arwen said. "Arwen no." Strider said. "I will be faster on my own. My brothers are nearby, we will be fine." She assured. "...Keep her safe." He said. "Ni indóme keep her varna. Yare se na- better, nimeár- her manen tye feel. (I will keep her safe. When she is better, tell her how you feel.)"

He watched as Arwen rode off with you in his arms. "What are we to do now?" Frodo asked Strider. "We continue to Rivendell, faster, all of you." He said, rushing as they walked. "should I not have given her the ring?" Frodo asked. Aragon paused. "You... Did what?" "I heard the elf ask for it when she looked at me, she told me she was bringing to to Rivendell." Frodo said. "then that means.... SHIT!"

Arwen rode as the ring was clenched in her hand, the black riders all galloping behind her. They knew somehow that the ring had been switched. Your eyes watched hazily as Arwen held you close, bobbing and weaving through the trees, hoping to lose them. She approached the river. "Give us the mortal, She-elf." One of the black riders hissed. "You want her, come and claim her." She said, drawing her blade in front of you. The Nazgûl prepared to cross but Arwen chanted, summoning the waters to wash them out.

Relief washed over Arwen before you cringed, yelping with pain. "No, Y/n, don't give in, not now!" She whimpered, lowering you. Your eyes closed as you accepted death, feeling every breath you took. Light seemed to blind you as you blinked a few times to reawaken in a room. "...Where am I?" You whispered. "You're in Rivendell." A voice answered. You slowly leaned up to see Boromir in a chair. Your eyes widened and he smiled. "you gave us a fright you know. Faramir nearly fought me to come instead." He said. You smiled as Boromir hugged you. You smiled, looking at him before you noticed a pair of eyes staring at you.

"Strider." You said relieved. He entered, feeling hesitant towards even speaking. "the hobbits, are they alright?" You asked. "Yes. All of them are fine." He assured. "are you fine?" You asked concerned. Damn it, he couldn't stay upset with that face. "I am fine." Strider said softly. "well if Strider ran off in here I'm sure it's her room!" A voice said. "what if you're wrong Pippin?" "Then we'll apologize and leave!" Pippin said walking in. You snorted and he looked at you triumphantly. "see I told you it was right-" the others pushed past him, including one extra human. "There you are!" "I thought I told you not to come Faramir." "Nonsense, my sister needed me, I was going to be here." The man snapped. "Are you alright? Is everything fine?" Frodo asked as the brothers bickered. "I'm fine Master Frodo. I think this belongs to you." You said quietly, handing him the ring. He took it, looking at you. "you look tired." Sam noticed, making the men hush. "I am. Of this bed." You said, slowly letting your feet touch the ground. You stumbled forward, Strider holding your arms so you wouldn't fall. Boromir rose a brow and Faramir looked at his brother with a questioning look, earning a confused shrug.

You looked into Strider's eyes and he looked into yours, almost seeming sad. Why was he sad? You opened your mouth but was interrupted. "I see everyone has found you." Elrond said, making Strider drop his hands. "Indeed it seems so." You chuckled. "Perhaps you need food?" Elrond asked. "Food sounds nice." You said softly. You took a step, legs still stiff and Boromir put a helping arm around you. "thank you" you said.

You soon sat in the food hall, Arwen looking relieved to see you. "Thank you Arwen." You said softly as she sat next to you. "I was worried I wasn't going to make it." She said. "oh no, I had faith you'd pull through. Well... Sort of, it was pretty touch and go there before I passed out" you admitted earning laughs from everyone. Strider through, seemed quiet. He'd look at the man sitting next to you and then you, before looking back at his plate. After a few minutes, he excused himself. "...Any idea what's bothering Strider?" You asked. "might be the two men you have with you." Arwen said, sipping wine from her goblet. "why's he got a problem with Faramir and Boromir?" You asked. "Probably because it seems like you and Boromir are together." Arwen said. You dropped your fork and Boromir gagged. "by the Valar- NO." you cringed. "What is the relationship amongst you all?" Frodo asked. "These two are practically my brothers, nothing would ever happen between any of us even if you paid us." You gagged. "agreed." Both men said.

"Even if it does appear differently though, why would Strider be bothered by that?" You asked. Everyone looked at you. "....Tell me you are not this dense." Faramir sighed. "What?" You asked confused. "She doesn't know? I thought from the look the two gave each other, that she knew?" Boromir said. "Know what?" You asked. Everyone exchanged glances before speaking in unison "Strider loves you"

You paused, looking at them "No, there's no way-" "Y/n... Talk to him." Arwen said. "But-" "Go!" Faramir ushered. You sighed, getting up and walking outside. Your legs finally felt better, though you still limped a little. Strider was not in sight, so you walked, wandering until you found him with the shards of Narsil. You stood next to him and he looked over. "I've heard the story of this when I was a child. How Isildur's sword broke during the war..." You said softly. Strider though, stared at this sword with an unfamiliar expression. It seemed... Heavy to him to even be in the same room as the object. "Strider?" You asked. He looked up and then at you. "I have not been honest about my identity Y/n." He said. You rose a brow, confused. "I am no simple ranger I am..." He stared at the sword and sighed. Your eyes widened, you putting everything together. "You're Isildur's heir?" You whispered. He nodded grimly. You looked at him surprised. "My real name is Aragon." He admitted. "I imagine this is quite the burden on you." You admitted. He looked at you slightly taken aback by you handling this so well. He stared at you confused.

You stared at the shards, them now having a new weight to them. "Boromir wanted so badly for himself to be the heir." You said. Aragorn clenched his jaw. You took no notice to that, continuing. " He wanted to be a hero to his people, ending the cursed line..." You said softly. You looked at Aragorn. "He's a good man Aragorn, and he means well. He's like my brother." You said. Aragorn finally looked over. "Brother?" He asked, slightly relieved. "You didn't think we were together did you? Because if so... Ugh." You grimaced making Aragorn smile. You looked at him and squinted slightly. "Why do you care?" You asked. He seemed to freeze up. "Wowww you reveal your identity and NOW is the time you choose to freeze up." You said making him chuckle slightly. He shook his head. "I do not feel it is wise to say." He said, walking. You followed. "Aragorn." You sighed. "I should see if Elrond needs-" "Ni am -esse mel as tye (I am in love with you.)" You said making him stop. His eyes went wide looking at you astonished. He didn't move, he didn't dare to as the two of you stood there in silence. Finally though, he moved, kissing you.

Even in his spontaneous decision he was gentle, holding your face as if you were the most precious thing to him. He loved you. He cherished you. You smiled as he rested his forehead on yours. "You are a gift to the world." He said softly. Your thumb ran over his wrist. "I love you." You whispered. "I love you too... And it seems we have an audience" he said noticing the group of people watching you. "Oh by all means, don't stop on my account." Arwen teased. Boromir snorted. You sighed, looking at Aragorn. "...Shall we adjourn to another location?" He asked. You smiled. "yep."

[morwensteelsheen]

WIP wednesday thoughts:

willow cabin is utterly fucked because i changed my intended ~moral~ halfway through and now im stuck trying to integrate this shitty political intrigue plot into what should’ve been a more interesting story about éowyn adapting to life in gondor. hugely fucking annoyed by it and just totally unsure how to proceed. i could significantly increase the chapter count, but im worried that because the initial framing device was this bandits shit that closing out that plot and then still going for ages afterwards would be really shitty? i honestly don’t know, it’s so difficult. really i just need someone to read my outline and tell me if im being a dumb twat about it lol

meanwhile I know exactly where I want to go with AFTA but for some unaccountable reason im stressed that my ass is gonna get roasted for the direction i want to take it in. it’s all based in both tolkien’s personal politics and (some) historical precedent, but im worried people are gonna see it as a marysue-ification? but also im hoping to do sthg of a sequel to afta to practice the political intrigue writing so i don’t make the same mistakes i did in wc, and to do that it would require this specific set up in AFTA. im gonna put my AFTA thing under the cut so don’t click read more unless you’re gucci with potential AFTA spoilers!!

this royal affair au is definitely gonna get published at some point but im trying to decide if i want to do ~tasteful~ smut that drives a longer narrative or if im really just gonna do a whole 3,000 word build up to some run of the mill, old fashioned PWP lmao

okay so i have spent a Lot of time thinking about what impact i think éowyn and faramir would have on each other in a pre-ring war setting, and the honest to god conclusion ive come to is that they would somewhat inadvertently egg on each other’s (wildly divergent) idealism.

faramir’s an idealist politically in ways that, as Big D rightly points out, are not super productive in a wartime scenario. but so far as im concerned, the war doesn’t feel as warlike until they have to blow the bridge at osgiliath. until that point, there’s not really anything to say that faramir’s whole throwback optimism isn’t a perfectly justifiable position to have.

but what that idealism is and how it manifests are two really important considerations. the crux of his idealistic politics is that he looks at númenor and sees something valuable in it, and looks at gondor and sees a lot that he thinks is fucked up. outside of articulating a general angst towards the glory hunting, it’s not like he’s spending time talking about his specific policy prescriptions. however, we do know a few things that can guide us to a more coherent reconstruction of his politics:

he’s pretty rigidly hierarchical (when it’s convenient for him). as seen in: him basically telling sam to fuck off and stay in his lane in WOTW, and in how and when he chooses to refer to his father as ‘father’ vs ‘my lord’ or ‘lord of the city’ in the aftermath of the osgiliath retreat and then before he gets his ass sent back there. i don’t want to go into too much detail here but if i go with this i’ll definitely justify it more thoroughly in the footnotes.

so we’ve got faramir’s emphasis on hierarchy and his occasional (when convenient) belief that the upper echelons of a hierarchy are there because they’re intellectually and/or morally better. or, maybe to remove the causation from that instance, because they are in those upper echelons, they have an obligation to be more morally/intellectually upstanding, and the people in the structure below them have an obligation to show deference. unless you’re faramir and you’re dealing with denethor in which case that all goes out the window. classic.

we know there is some sort of nascent pseudo-democratic tradition of popular sovereignty in gondor. we know this because faramir asks the masses at aragorn’s coronation if they’ll accept him as king. faramir is a lot of things, but he is certainly not a progressive political radical, and i cannot imagine any situation in which he cooked up that rigmarole himself. that then implies to me that it’s building on some sort of political/cultural expectation in gondor. so: some sort of relationship to popular legitimacy. the people of gondor are subjects, but perhaps not as totally passive and unconsidered in the power structure as we might assume given the comparability to feudal europe/asia.

given those two things, i want to use AFTA to argue:

that faramir, in looking to assign blame for the faults he sees in gondor, would not directly assign blame to the lower classes, but rather to the aristocracy, because he will have seen them as failing in their moral obligations to the people they rule over. this is not to say that he isn’t fucked off about The People™ valorising war, but i think he’d take the position that they couldn’t possibly be expected to form those values and opinions of their own volition, and the fault lies in their rules. faramir: not gramscian.

faramir lacks any power that is non-military, and even that is of questionable worth because the rangers seem to be fairly distinct to the general structure of the army, and are not exactly a huge force.

faramir lacking any political power isn’t necessarily a huge concern for him (as in, he’s not actively trying to change that), because he knows he’s not going to lead a moral revolution and isn’t interested in taking up the responsibilities having political capital would engender because he’s stuck dealing with this war, that he fucking hates btw has he mentioned that he hates it?

however, given that he is apparently eminently versed in lore and scholarship, he is probably keenly aware that there is this incipient notion of popular legitimacy somewhere in gondor’s culture. it’s not, for most of his life, knowledge that actually does anything for him, but it is there.

éowyn, meanwhile, doesn’t really have many strong political convictions (yet). not because she’s a dumbass or whatever, but because she looks at court politics as kind of a farce, and doesn’t believe that power legitimately emanates from anywhere that isn’t a Big Fucking Army. and why, strictly speaking, would she not think that? the event that brought about the creation of her kingdom was not careful, soft spoken negotiation, it was her ancestors being in the right place at the right time with a Big Fucking Army.

and the internal politics of the Riddermark actually seem to be fairly stable, all things considered. i sincerely doubt that Théoden or Théodred are having to negotiate complex politicking in the way Denethor and Boromir are. so where, then, would éowyn see that kind of political behaviour outside gondor? with gríma.

éowyn, then, will see the immediate contrast between gríma (backroom dealer, manipulator extraordinaire) and théoden (owner of Big Fucking Army). and gríma goes and fucking wins that fight. that forces éowyn to confront the fact that, jesus christ, maybe there are different types of power.

at the same time, she’s going to be in minas tirith and needing to cover for théoden letting his shit get wrecked. not just because she’s prideful, which of course she is, but because if denethor/gondor think that théoden is too weak to hold up his end of the bargain, why would they ever go help the Mark? éowyn, seeing that théoden’s f-f-fucked, knows that there’s a very very good chance the Mark will need help.

against her feelings about courtly politics, she starts to accept that she’s going to need to do something to get power in gondor. not anything substantial, it’s not like she’s trying to overthrow anybody, but enough that when push comes to shove she can force denethor to help out the Mark (if he doesn’t do so willingly).

but, as ive sort of already shown in AFTA, she’s a bit of a dogshit diplomat. good for a little big-brawny-enforcer stuff, but not exactly brimming with cultural sensitivity. by the time she realises théoden + the Mark are fucked, she’ll have burnt quite a few bridges with the gondorrim nobles, and it’s not like she’s the sort of person to go running cap-in-hand begging for mercy.

so: she has to look elsewhere. and wow! a chance for faramir to do his favourite thing — talk about his opinions! and by god, his weird idealistic politics are… actually kind of helpful? because he’s like, look, you’re never gonna be a diplomat, but there are other ways of consolidating power. and one of those ways is by appealing to The People™. so why not work that angle?

and actually, we know that this is a viable route for éowyn because hama, in arguing for her to take up the mantle of théoden’s heir when théoden and éomer fuck off to helm’s deep, basically says that The People™ love her and would have willingly chosen her to lead them.

we also know, based on faramir’s middle men speech, that the people of gondor and the mark have grown alike in nature. not totally unreasonable to then think that the people of gondor would take to her like the people of the mark did.

éowyn, then, in various ways begins to try to win over the people of minas tirith. i need to do a little more research on this bc what ive got on the practicalities of that so far are a bit, uhhh, sketchy, but the least jargony way to describe this is to point to when natalie dormer’s character in GOT gets out of the carriage to go hug and kiss some babies. (marc bloch, eat your heart out)

this would later segue into a potential sequel where, while trying to secure the way for aragorn’s coronation, éowyn actually plays an interesting role because she’s fallen into this incidental Diana, People’s Princess™ role and so is better positioned than almost anyone to go advocate on his behalf. wow! cool! éowyn getting to be politically useful in more ways than just getting hitched!

so yeah. that’s how i am thinking it might play out. this would obviously have a rolling impact on the remainder of AFTA and how certain (🔥) events pan out later, but i think that building up part has to begin pretty much now, narratively. also this lets me get in a reference to “and then her heart changed, or else at last she understood it” and have it not be almost entirely about wanting to shag faramir, but actually about her gradual evolution from valorising war above all else to being like, hmm, maybe there are other ways of being powerful. which i think still largely captures the “no longer I will vie with the great riders” stuff, but more subtly and without feeling quite so… deferential, I guess? Like it’s not that she’s swapping one form of power (violence) for nothing (gardening?? healing?? tolkien accidental articulation of necropolitics??) but swapping violence for a different type of more sustainable power.

yeah. that’s the take, basically. who fucking knows.

[im-lad-ris]

The Fall: Haldir X Female! Reader

Prompt: "I’m so happy you’re back!! 😌❤️ I missed you tbh haha. Could you do a Haldir x reader? Maybe where reader is from our world? 👀"

Submitted by: Anonymous

Words: 1626

A/N: Hey guys! First story posted since the end of my hiatus, and it's for my main mans Haldir. For the anon, I wasnt sure how old you wanted to reader to be, but I took some creative liberty! I also havent edited yet but will go through it and do so soon.

--------------

The day you had fallen into Middle Earth you had been a mere child, only ten in human years, unaware of the dangers of the new world you now found yourself living in.

You only remembered falling, and hitting the ground so hard your skull rattled and your teeth gnashed together. Your ears were ringing, and when you had gone to cover them you had realized that they were pointed, which was definitely not how they were shaped yesterday. You had panicked, screamed, cried for your parents, but you would realize that they were not coming for you here, wherever the "here" was.

You would be found within 3 days, having wandered through forests and over plains, by a group of elven rangers.

The leader had dismounted his horse and had kneeled next to you, offering you kind words and compassion. He introduced himself as Lord Elrond, an elf lord who looked over a place called Imladris.

He had asked you why an elven child was wandering the wilderness. When you admitted that you didnt know where you were, and argued that you weren't an elf, Elrond wasnt sure what to make of you.

After this first encounter, you would be invited to stay at Lord Elronds home. It was beautiful, and you were stunned that such a place could have possibly existed.

After several weeks had passed, Elrond would take you to a place called Lothlórien. The sky was blocked out by canopies, and the trees sprawled into the sky above you, a forest of skyscrapers.

You would meet a woman named Galadriel and a wizard named Gandalf, although everyone called him Mithrandir instead. After hours of discussion, it was decided that you were not of Middle-Earth and that you would be placed under Elronds care. Despite this, nobody was quite sure why you were an elf or how you had fallen, but it appeared you were here to stay.

It was in Lothlorien that you met Haldir. He was older than you, but he had an aura about him that drew you to him. You became fast friends, and you began to harbor a small crush towards him. Before you left for Imladris once more, he had smiled and gifted you your first bow.

After returning home with your now adoptive father Elrond, Haldir and you continued to exchange letters and gifts, all the while you grew up under your new siblings. You loved Arwen, and the twins, Elrohir and Elladan, and they made sure you grew up as happy as you could be.

Besides this, you eventually realized that time for elves was strange. Although you had now spent almost a millennium and a half with you new family, you barely looked a day over twenty. Throughout your time with your adoptive father and siblings, you took pride in learning archery and sword fighting, although you yearned to return to Earth, and your birth parents, once more. However, as you aged you learned to appreciate the family you now had, and the skills and lessons they had taught to you.

Of course, your letters with Haldir had never stopped. He was your pen pal and confidant, and although the years had turned him stoic and somewhat harsh, he was still the man you remembered when you were little. After a millennium of letters you had finally gotten the nerve to tell him your true feelings for him, that you loved him more than than the sun loves the moon.

After a month of no returned letter, you became melancholic, embarrassed that you had even said anything in the first place. However, the next day Haldir had appeared at the gates of Imladris. When he found you in the gardens, he had simply caressed your cheek and vowed he would protect you even if it cost his life. Thus began your courtship. One that spanned between hundreds of miles and still meant everything. Your father had approved almost immediately, and was more than willing to create opportunities for you two to see each other.

-----

You were currently sat in the Council of Elrond and were on the verge of ripping someones head off. These buffoons would not stop arguing, and it was making you angrier by the second. Did they not see that the longer they sat here and hurled insults, the more danger Middle-Earth would be in?

"I will take it" a small voice said. Your head snapped up and looked upon the hobbit, Frodo, who had brought that accursed ring here. Frodo tried to speak out once more, but the noise from the others did not die down and you gritted your teeth before standing up.

"QUIET!" you yelled into the crowd, which surprisingly cause the group of arguing council members to all shut their mouths. You gestured to Frodo, who proceeded to walk towards the group.

 "I will take the Ring to Mordor. Though-- I do not know the way." The hobbit said, his eyes passing over every face in the room.

Mithrandir smiled before he passed behind Frodo, "l will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, so long as it is yours to bear."

"Ada.." You started as you glanced behind you towards your father, who simply nodded, his way of telling you he approved. You nodded back at him, a smile on your face, before you turned back to face Frodo.

"As will I, Frodo" you said as you walked behind him, placing your hand on his shoulder.

After you stepped forward, the heir of Gondor, Aragorn, the woodland prince Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, and three other hobbits, who appeared out of bushes, all joined your group.

"Ten companions... So be it! You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!" Your father proclaimed as you all stood together, you looked at those around you and had the distinct feeling only some would make it out of this adventure alive.

-----

"By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs! We must reach the Woods of Lothlórien. Come Y/N, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, get them up." Aragorns voice caused you to jump before you scrambled to lift Merry and Pippin off the floor.

Mithrandir had fallen to a Balrog, but you had no time to mourn. You felt as if water was in your lungs, but you had no time to empty them, you had to move.

By the time the Fellowship reached the outskirts of Lothlórien, you could breathe again but the gloom you felt would not dissipate. You heard Gimli mentioning something about a sorceress, but you couldnt bring yourself to chuckle at his reference to Galadriel. However, you saw movement out of the corner of your eye, and decided to silently move to the back of the group, your hand slowly moving to the hilt of your blade.

"Well, here is one dwarf she won't ensnare so easily. I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox!" Gimli said, prideful as always, before a notched arrow appeared in front on his face. You barely resisted the urge to chuckle.

"The dwarf breathes so loud we could have shot him in the dark." A voice said, and you couldnt help the way your breath hitched. Of course Haldir was patrolling, he was the Marchwarden.

How long had it been since you had held him? How long since you had last heard his voice? Surely not long, but it felt like it had been a lifetime. You couldnt resist the urge to walk forwards him, stepping around Aragorn towards a grumpy looking Gimli. You placed your fingers upon Haldirs arrow, pushing it towards the ground before you dared to meet his eyes.

"I would appreciate if you did not shoot the dwarf, Haldir o Lórien... Meleth nin" your hand came up to caress his cheek as you pushed a lock of his hair behind his ear. Without warning, you found yourself pulled into a kiss. You recovered from the shock and smiled against his lips, slowly wrapping your arms around his neck.

When you finally pulled away, your heart felt lighter and your lips were still tingly. You smiled you again before you embraced Haldir in a hug, your face buried in the crook of his neck.

"What just happened?" You heard Pippin ask, and you chuckled as you pulled away from Haldir, turning to face the Fellowship as you intertwined your fingers with his.

"Meet my betrothed, the Marchwarden of Lothlórien, Haldir" you chimed in, a smile on your face.

"You have interesting traveling companions, meleth nin" Haldir said, his hand squeezing yours as he looked over the ragtag group you had been traveling with.

"Haldir, as much as I'd love to stay here and enjoy this moment, we must see Galadriel... we have.. we lost Gandalf, but we must push on" you said, your voice almost cracking as you recounted what had happened in the mines for your betrothed. You held back the tears that threatened to leak from your eyes, you had to be strong.

When you were finished with your tale, Haldir nodded before he spoke, "Follow me"

As the group moved through the trees further into Lothlórien, Haldir squeezed your hand once more before leaning to whisper in your ear, "Galadriel has agreed to see us married before you continue... you know how much I love you, and even as you go on this journey, I want you to be mine, now and always."

You smiled and nodded at him. Although you were sad at the loss of Gandalf, you loved Haldir, and you would gladly marry him no matter the circumstances. He was yours, and you were his, and soon you would belong to each other for the rest of your days.

-----

Ada - Father

Meleth Nin (Or Nin Meleth) - My love

Haldir o Lórien - Haldir of Lòrien

[soyeahitsmiddleearth]

Dimension Jumping pt. 1

The Fellowship of the Ring x Reader

But a lot of the stories are about the reader falling into Middle Earth…. what about the other way around? If you wanted to do all the characters, you could do a point after they left Rivendell, before they split up?

Like for example, after Gandalf ‘dies’, and it could be something sweet and cute or whatnot where the reader helps them grieve a bit, give them a bit of a rest before continuing on their journey?

—

Weekends have always been your favorite time of the week. 

No responsibilities, sleeping in, more time, freedom, the list goes on and on. 

Your weekends are usually spent idly doing things you enjoy, like sleeping, and lot’s of stress free activities. 

Not this weekend though, for when you got home after a grocery run, you were met with quite the surprise. 

A total of 8… people? lay strewn about in your living room seemingly unconscious. They are dressed in odd clothes, holding medieval looking weapons, and they look rather raggedy and dirty. Four of them are extremely small, and if it weren’t for their older looking faces, you would’ve thought them to be children. There’s also a handsome blond with pointy ears, a short red headed, bearded… man, and two semi-regular looking tall dudes.

Your groceries fall from your arms and land on your carpeted floor, but you barely pay that any mind since you can’t seem to tear your eyes away from the pile of people in the middle of your damn living room.

Your floofy white dog Penny is sniffing around them, but she doesn’t seem to be alarmed nor agitated by their presence, so that’s good at least. She’s an excellent judge of character after all. Eventually she settles down next to the tall guy with dark brown hair, and though you don’t like that she’s next to these strangers, you allow it.

The sound of your things falling to the ground seems to rouse them, and you watch as the man wearing dark clothing with dark hair opens his eyes and groans quietly. At first his eyes scan around the room, then they fall upon you. 

He sits up slowly, still eyeing you as he glances down at his small child-looking friends. A look of relief passes his expression before he looks at you once more, saying nothing while the rest of his merry band of crazies begin to sit up.

This is supposed to be your fucking day off, and this shit happens? A bunch of renaissance weirdos laying in your house, making your clean carpet dirty. 

“You know what, no.” You state loudly, successfully startling the dark haired man, “This is my weekend off, and I am not dealing with this. Whatever this is." 

You turn on your heel and begin picking up your groceries, though you remain vigilant incase one of them intends to try something. 

Once you’ve gathered all your discarded things you stand again and look behind you, seeing that most of them are on their feet and looking at you and your home as if you’re some alien in a structure unknown to them. You quickly look forward again and go to your kitchen, placing everything on your counters while you try to decide how the hell you’re going to deal with this. 

You look over your counter at the still staring people and ask slowly, "Does… anyone want a snack?”

Two of the small blonde men perk up when you say ‘snack’, so you take that as a yes and begin preparing apples, celery, and peanut butter for everyone to eat. 

By the time you’re done cutting up the apples you’ve only got two left, but you just sigh and bring out a tray with the snack and place it on the coffee table. 

The two blond… boys? run over to it immediately, but are halted by a sharp “No.” from the brown-haired guy. 

Said brown-haired guy is looking at you distrustfully, and you feel your blood begin to boil with his distrust (even though HE is in YOU home). 

“Okay dude, I get you don’t know me or whatever but you guys literally broke into my house, so if anyone is supposed to be cautious here it’s me. M. E. Me. I’m offering your… children…? Adult babies? Boys? Food, and damnit if they want it then they’re gonna eat it.” Your little outburst gets you several shocked looks, but you’re so FUCKING tired, you’ve just got no energy to deal with this. 

“We 'broke into your house’?” He repeats slowly, “I have no recollection of our relocation to your… house, and I’ve never seen someone of your caliber, nor a place so… odd, before. So forgive me if I am skeptical of our suspiciously willing host.” His voice is dripping with sarcasm, and it successfully ruffles your self control. 

“Now you listen here Mr. Broody, I’m not about to get sass in my own home. By god if Penny didn’t seem to love you so much I would vaporize you where you stand!” Big talk for such a small person, yes, but you stand by your statement. 

Only you don’t get the reaction you were expecting, because suddenly everyone looks horrified. 

“You can do that?” One of the small blond boys(?) gasps, scooting closer to his look-alike. 

The guy you were mouthing off to grabs the hilt of his -is that a fucking sword?!- weapon and steps in front of the small guys. The tall blond dude, other actual human, and short ginger haired man do the same, and suddenly you feel a lot less satisfied. 

“Woah there fellas, It’s a figure of speech!” You say quickly, raising your hands in a surrender motion. 

Penny senses your sudden distress, so she bounds over to you and presses her nose against your knee in a way meant to gather your attention. You glance down at her and visibly relax before looking back up at the still tense men in front of you. 

“Tough crowd…” You reach down slowly and pat Penny’s head, watching as their eyes follow your movements. “Okay, look. I’m not going to like, poison you or whatever you’re afraid of. How about we start with introductions, hm?" 

The same guy from before nods his head slowly (it seems he’s the leader here) and tells you a little hesitantly, "I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn. A Ranger, also known as Strider by most." 

What in the ever loving hell did he just say?

You can’t even stop the laughter from bellowing out of you, because this is just so god damn ridiculous and completely baffling. You grasp your stomach and double over with laughter while everyone else just watches silently and confusedly.

Eventually your laughter begins to subside when your sides start to hurt, so you stand up a bit straighter and wipe a tear from the corner of your eye, "Ahaha, ah… wow that’s good. But really though, I’m not looking for stage names bud, I’m being serious here.”

This 'Aragorn’ doesn’t seem to find it as funny as you do. “Stage names? No, I believe you are misunderstanding.”

The smile on your face drops and you suddenly don’t find it as funny either. “So… your name is actually Aragorn then?” Well, maybe not all of them have weird names, “Right, then what about the rest of you?" 

The other guy who looks like an actual human speaks up next, "I am Boromir, son of Denethor and Captain of Gondor.” Oh heck. 

Blondie comes up next, “I am Legolas from the woodland realm.”

Shortie #1, “Gimli Son of Gloin." 

The small dark haired man child comes forward, "I am Frodo Baggins, and these are my friends Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck." 

"What the-” you pause and cover Penny’s ears, “Fuck is all of this?" 

It seems your actions amuse the taller dudes because their stand-offish demeanors diminish as they seem to deem you harmless (I mean who covers their dogs ears when cursing? Clearly you’re pathetic).

"I’m afraid I don’t know what to tell you.” Mr. Aragorn states. 

“Well, start with where you come from, maybe?”

They all share a look before 'Legolas’ states, “We come from Middle Earth and have just traveled through the Mines of Moria." 

You literally don’t know what any of that means.

"Well, alright. Right now, I can tell you that you’re on Regular Earth and in my living room.” You don’t mean to be so sarcastic, but both the functional and rational parts of your brain are failing you big time, “Do you know how you got here?" 

You get 8 respective no’s, and while you expected that, it’s no less frustrating. "Shoulda seen that one coming, I guess." 

The Gimli character looks you up and down and asks in his gruff voice, "And what about you, you’ve not told us who you are." 

"Oh, right, my bad. I’m Y/N, and this cutie,” you reach down and pick up Penny’s front paws from the ground and wave them at the group, “Is Penny. She is the softest, sweetest, and cutest doggo you will ever have the pleasure of meeting. Disrespect her and there will be consequences." 

You stand back up and pat Penny’s head, watching as they all nod their understanding and appear rather nervous suddenly.

"That was also a joke.”

Most of them relax.

You tap your foot a few times and seem to think over your options, looking away from them and out the window. 

Clearly there is something very wrong going on here, so you can’t just throw them out, but at the same time you don’t have enough energy to deal with this today. And there’s the very real possibility that they could be psychos. But there’s also the fact that they seem to be a little worse for wear, some of them have puffy eyes, and is that blood?  Their disheveled and tired appearances tug at your heart strings, and you find yourself wanting to help them. 

“Okay, against my better judgement I have decided that I’m going to welcome the lot of you into my house until we can figure out what the hell is going on here.” This seems to surprise Aragorn and his two tall besties. “I don’t know why… but something is telling me that I should help you out, so I guess that’s what I’m going to do.”

Two of the small blond ones smile brightly, but you haven’t finished yet. 

“But!” Their smiles drop and everyone seems rather serious again, “If any of you try anything funny or start any trouble, I will kick all of you out. I don’t know any of you, and you all have weapons. So if I’m gonna let you stay then you’re going to have to behave.”

“Miss Y/N, you do not have to-” Aragorn begins, but you put up your hand and shake your head. 

“It’s fine. Just please don’t break anything, and if Penny wants head pats you had better give them to her." 

It seems your rules are fair enough, because you get 8 more head nods.

The two small people attack the snack you made finally, and you find that you can’t help but to laugh a bit. 

A thought then strikes you, "Oh!" 

Everything pauses and every looks at you again, more alert, but you just roll your eyes at how on edge they are.

"I was just going to say that I have two bathrooms is anyone wants to wash up.”

[eternallysmaug]

legolas and aragorn: an epic, wordless friendship - part 1, FOTR

warning: super long text post ahead.

so, this relates to the movies and in no way at all to the books. or perhaps the books do matter, but only as a contrast.

well, the issue i want to discuss why people - myself included - walked away from the movies feeling like aragorn and legolas were the best of friends. you can also see this from the proliferation of aragorn and legolas fics right after the movies, whereas fics based on the books tend to focus on legolas and gimli. 

i recognise that it is not a sentiment shared by everyone, but certainly - especially if one watched the movies before reading the books - aragorn and legolas seem have a far more moving friendship than legolas and gimli.

in the books, there is no direct reference to aragorn and legolas meeting before the council of elrond. what is written is that aragorn captured gollum and gave him to the elves of mirkwood to imprison. it is entirely open to interpretation whether he met legolas at this juncture or whether his dealings were with thranduil or any other elf of mirkwood.

but in the movies, what happens is that legolas is the one to defend aragorn against boromir’s accusation that as ‘a mere ranger’ he doesn't know anything about the ring. this shows that he knows who aragorn is and gives the impression that there is a friendship between them. this impression is strengthened when aragorn says ‘havo dad, legolas,’ because it is said without honorifics. later on, legolas immediately volunteers for the quest after aragorn does, though this can also be put down to the fact that he recognises that the ring must be destroyed.

the rest of the movie doesn’t make their friendship quite so blatant as the council, but it’s still there for the audience to pick up on subconsciously. let’s look at some of them: 

Hollin

aragorn and boromir are shown interacting with the merry and pippin by teaching them how to fight. frodo and sam are watching and laughing. in the same scene, gimli is trying to convince gandalf to go through moria. legolas is the only one by himself and his warning about crebain from dunland is given to the fellowship as whole. this has the effect of creating a gap between him and the rest of the fellowship in the mind of the audience, because we do not see him interact with anyone else and so cannot gauge his reaction to them or their reaction to him.

Cadharas

aragorn and boromir are toiling away carrying the hobbits through the snow and gandalf is walking in front of them digging a trench with his staff. in the beginning of the scene, legolas walks at the rear of the fellowship, but passes by the men and wizard to get to the front, where he again makes a statement to everyone that there is a fell voice in the air. in comparison to the books, book-legolas makes a joke about gandalf melting a path for everyone by using his staff as some sort of torch, and when gandalf rebukes him, he makes a second joke about going to find the sun. there’s so much the audience gets from this scene without any of it being spelled out: 

- again, legolas isn’t shown interacting with any member of the fellowship the way the other characters are. aragorn and boromir are interacting with the hobbits. it cements boromir’s closeness with merry and pippin because he’s the one carrying them. legolas isn’t helping anyone, he’s just walking with them. this is marked contrast with the book, where he does interact with gandalf at least, and his cheeky comments are meant for the rest of the fellowship. 

- then, after saruman has dumped a fuckton of snow on them, gandalf has to decide whether to turn back. aragorn, gimli and frodo contribute to the discussion. we also get a shot of sam to cement how fraught the situation is. legolas is not even in the shot. the effect of this composition, again, is to distance legolas from the rest of the fellowship. 

Moria

this is where we see a break in the pattern of legolas being distanced from the members of the fellowship. 

when the fellowship is at balin’s tomb, legolas stands next to aragorn and says to him that they cannot linger. the comment is made solely to aragorn and it is legolas’ first words that aren’t spoken to the fellowship as a whole, but to one person. his body language is also in contrast with his other scenes. here, he is almost shoulder to shoulder with aragorn whereas in the previous scenes, he’s always on the edges of the shot and physically distanced from the members of the fellowship. 

we do see legolas physically close to boromir (when he saves him from falling down the stairs) and gandalf (when he catches him on the stairs), but these moments are moments of need - if he doesn’t get close to them, he can’t save them. in contrast, the only moments the movie shows us of legolas choosing physical closeness is with aragorn. 

this is repeated at the banks of the anduin, where legolas again warns only aragorn of approaching danger whilst standing shoulder to shoulder with him. 

Lothlorien

here, we get legolas interacting with other members of the fellowship. first, he tells merry and pippin that the elves are singing a lament for gandalf. in the extended editions, he helps gimli into his boat and smiles when gimli tells him about galadriel’s gift. 

Amon Hen

when aragorn faces the uruk hai to allow frodo to escape, the first person to come running to his aid is legolas (with gimli close behind). his words are ‘aragorn, go!’ indicating that legolas made a choice go to aragorn’s aid instead of protecting the ringbearer. in the extended edition, he also helps kill an uruk-hai who aragorn is struggling with.    

Summation: 

over the course of FOTR, we see legolas interact once with frodo, once with merry and pippin and once with gimli, apart from situations where he’s saving someone. the only person he is shown interacting with multiple times is aragorn, and in both situations the interaction is both verbal and physical, compared to just verbal interaction in the other examples. and although he interacts with boromir at the council, the point of that interaction was to defend aragorn. it is this difference in the type and frequency of interaction between legolas and aragorn and legolas and the other members of the fellowship that gives audiences the impression that, as far as legolas is concerned at least, aragorn is a dear friend. 

[lancelot2point0]

Two Conies and a Fight

“Trap.”

“No. Shoot.” 

Pippin was the first to abandon his pack in favor of gaping at the two who were bickering.

“Why would you want to shoot it?” The man was annoyed and it showed. 

Merry turned to ask his cousin what had happened, and was immediately shushed by the younger hobbit. 

The man’s frown deepened as his companion spoke again. 

“Shooting is quicker and does not rely on chance, Ranger,” the blonde elf resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It was at times like this that he wondered how the man had survived for so long travelling throughout the vast and wild lands. 

Frodo and Sam noticed the lack of movement from Merry and Pippin and looked up to find them staring at the pair standing barely a stone’s toss away. 

“I am a better hunter than you, that’s how.”

The elf started, realising he had spoken aloud. “You wish you were Aragorn,” he sighed, exasperated, “maybe then you would not have to rely on traps to provide your next meal.” 

Gandalf seemed un-bothered as he proceeded to rummage in his pockets for his pipe and pipeweed. He had known the Ranger and the Elf for many a year now, and had been treated to such a display before. 

Locating the desired items he made himself comfortable,leaning back against a large boulder. 

“Ai, Legolas! “ Aragorn briefly considered strangling the Prince,”We are going to trap it, and that is final!” 

Now the elf did roll his eyes, “I thought I made it clear. We. Are. Not. Trapping. It.”

Aragorn glared at his friend for a moment before passionately beginning to list the advantages of using traps rather than a bow and arrow to procure an animal for food. 

Boromir and Gimli were greeted with the sight of a very irritated Legolas glancing from the hunting knife in his hand to Aragorn, and back again. 

Boromir nearly dropped the wood he had gathered and received a stern glare from Merry and Pippin who were now betting on who would win the argument. 

Gimli had turned to find the wizard, and seeing him smoking decided that there was nothing to be concerned about for the time being. So he busied himself with neatly arranging the wood to make the fire. 

Sam and Frodo had returned to setting up camp as they had realised that the pair was likely to be there once they had finished their necessary duties. 

“Look, Aragorn,” Legolas interrupted the ranger, not sure of how much longer he could listen without resorting to murder, “I am sure that traps have their time and place in procuring dinner, but that place is not here and the time is not now.” 

“I would have you know that traps are timeless aids in the quest for sustenance,” Aragorn’s eyes were harder than steel. 

“I think the word you were looking for is time wasting,” the elf smirked as the man sputtered for a moment, taken aback.

Unnoticed by the seasoned hunters two rabbits poked their noses out of the long grass that surrounded the clearing. They flicked their ears and twitched thier noses before making their way back to wherever they had come from. 

This little intrusion had been noticed by the Dwarf, who now sat with the wizard enjoying a pipe of his own to add to the enjoyment of the spectacle before them. He looked over to Boromir who was betting on Aragorn winning the argument, much to the disappointment of Sam and Merry who believed that Legolas would win. Shaking his head, mumbling something about ‘young folk these days’ he rose, carefully knocking the ashes from his pipe into the designated place for the fire. Catching Boromir’s attention he motioned for him to follow him, and the two disappeared into the trees. 

Bereft of his partner, Pippin decided that he should seek the guidance of the wizard, as Merry went to sort out his share of the duties. 

Sam went to sit with Frodo who had been watching them all, an amused smile on his face. His question of who Frodo thought would win was answered with a gentle, neither Sam, and why do you think Legolas would win. 

“Elbereth, give me strength!” Legolas pinched the bridge of his nose, “Traps are inefficient, therefore we will not be using them.”

“Perhaps you should ask Elbereth for common sense,” Aragorn shot back, glad to have an opportunity for revenge after the elf’s earlier comment, “and Eärendil too, just for good measure! Then you might see that there is no sense in wasting valuable arrows shooting what can be caught using traps.” 

Legolas groaned, shooting the man a glare that Thranduil would have been proud to witness. 

“I shall take that as consent then,” Aragorn grinned, “we shall be trapping dinner tonight.”

“Are you perhaps,” Legolas laid his hands on the man’s shoulders, “Out of your mind?” he shook Aragorn none too gently.

Gimli jumped as he entered the clearing upon hearing the undignified shriek that came from the Prince of Mirkwood as the ranger dug his fingers into the elf’s sides. Snickering slightly to himself, the dwarf began to light a fire. 

Noticing this Sam perked up and wondered if this meant he should get out the pot and pans. Frodo thought he should as there was Boromir carrying a pair of conies, already prepared for cooking. 

Gandalf was relieved at the sight as Pippin, who had started complaining of hunger, quieted down and went to see what he could of the preparation of dinner. He would have liked to help, however Sam had, unfairly he thought, banned him from any food related business unless it was eating following an unfortunate accident involving some very interesting berries. Frodo very kindly reminded him that there was still some setting up to do, and that he best get to it while there was still enough light. 

“Does your father know you’re this stubborn?” 

Legolas scoffed, “Of course he does, where do you think I get it from.” 

“Valar help me,” Aragorn sighed, “The sheer ignorance of this elf might be the end of me.”

“If I am ignorant, Edain, then what might your father and brothers be, considering they shoot their prey?” 

Gimli thought that both the man and elf were being ridiculous. He kept his thoughts to himself however as he settled once again with his pipe, leaving the cooking of the rabbit to the rather talented hobbits. 

Gandalf had fallen asleep where he sat, at least that is what it seemed to Pippin who was wondering if he could ask the wizard to conjure him an apple to at least take the edge off his hunger. 

Boromir was keeping watch and sharpening his sword as Merry and Frodo allowed themselves to be ordered around by Sam, who was by far the best cook of the three. 

“So you would be perfectly happy to eat something that you killed with an arrow ripped from an orc?” Aragorn let his disdain for the idea seep into every word.

“You ignorant man, of course not,” Legolas took a deep breath,” Unlike you, we elves have standards. These standards include cleaning all our weapons at least once a day. This would ensure that no rotting flesh, orc or otherwise,” he glared intently at the man, “remains on our arrows.” 

“How am I to be sure that you are not merely creating some story to make me relent?” 

“You were raised among elves!” Legolas broke off into a stream of elvish that caused Sam, with a limited understanding of the language to turn a very bright shade of red. 

Thankfully the meat was done cooking and he busied himself with dishing out portions, along with some potatoes to seven members of the company. They settled around the fire as Arien began dipping below the horizon to give way to Tillion, her eternal love and Eärendil, who would have been rendered speechless to see his descendant, now engaged in restraining himself from pulling the elf into a headlock.

“Did you get that from your father as well?” 

When Legolas did not answer Aragorn opened his mouth again only to have the elf put his hand over it. Irate, he shoved the blonde’s hand away.

“What do yo-”

“Shhh”

“Don’t shhh me Lego-” Aragorn was cut off again by Legolas’ hand. 

“Can you not smell that?” the elf slowly removed his hand.

“Smell what?” the man looked around for anything that might give off a smell. 

They caught sight of the fire first and looked at each other in confusion. Returning their gaze to the fire they realised that the rest of the company were seated around it, watching them with great interest. 

Finally Gimli broke the stunned silence. “If you two are done, Sam and Frodo insisted that we save some dinner for you.”

________________________________________________________________

yes, pure crack I know. 

This was inspired by my dear RangeroftheSouth on FF.net.  If you’re a LOTR/TH fan you should definitely go and read her work

[ladyideal]

This is Us Part 1

Pairing: Legolas x OC!Reader

Word Count: 2057

Warnings: Um arguing 

Summary: When the One Ring was found, it becomes a journey across Middle Earth to destroy it. Watch as the Fellowship is formed, and crossed the continent, where loyalty will be tested, and love blossomed. 

A/n: I decided to actually go forth with a series, and see how well I can write one. I will apologize ahead of time if any of the Elvish are wrong. I know it’s not exactly canon for the Valars to have kids, but where’s the fun if we follow canon? None, exactly. So here we are. I’ll eventually rewrite this one day lol.

Chapter 1 ~ Chapter 2 ~ Chapter 3

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

You grumbled as you lowered your bow, letting it fall slightly. The arrows had found their marks, but were nowhere close to the bullseye. With a sigh, you retrieved another arrow from your back, ready to resume practicing. 

"Mellon nin, what brings you here?" A familiar voice spoke from behind. 

You huffed, lowering your bow once more and pouting at him. "You're the one that said practice makes perfect. Plus, you know that I just started learning how to use one. Don't start telling me that I have to be good at it immediately."

It wasn't like you were forbidden to use your powers, but it was done out of necessity, for secrecy. As a child of both the Valar, Manwë and Varda, you were undoubtedly powerful. You'd watch the creation of Arda for some time, from watching the fight against Melkor to the peace where the elves were invited to live amongst the Valinor. Now under Sauron's reign of terror after so long, you had enough of the pain and suffering of Middle Earth dwellers, and came in favor of guiding them.

Legolas took a few steps forward, until his hands were wrapped around yours. You blushed as he righted your position. "Stand like this, and your bow up higher."

He had been the second elf to befriend you. You had made a home at Rivendell, and soon became the source of many rumors. You were fair, beautiful, even more breathtaking than other elves, but as clumsy as mankind. The elves there assumed you were a halfling, yet for the most part, you ignored the whispers and talks behind your back. Eventually, the rumors had reached Lord Elrond's ears. Knowing better than to dismiss them, he had made a visit. 

It was then that you admitted your true identity to the half elf, the first of Middle Earth's people. It didn't take long for the Lord of Rivendell to understand the meaning of why you were here, and swore that he would never let your name be known. Soon, he'd mentioned in his parting words before he left your home, Sauron would feel the shift of power.

Two weeks went by uneventfully until you met the prince of elves, son of Thranduil. It was a coincidental meeting down by the waterfall. There, you became friends with him. And as time passed, he became the second elf to have learned of who you were. It was him that suggested that you learned how to use weapons to better protect yourself. 

"This way?" You asked once he let go, turning away from him in an effort to hide the growing blush.

"Just like that," Legolas nodded, watching you train for a moment. "Y/N."

"Yes?" Your eyes still trained on the tree trunk that acted as your bullseye.

"Hir Elrond maquen-o cin." (Lord Elrond asks of you.)

"Mana ceri- cin foeg?" You frowned, turning to glance at him. (What do you mean?)

"Ho anír- cin na n- in i govanneth," Legolas stepped forward, placing a hand on your shoulder. "híril nín" (He wants you in the meeting, m'lady.)

"Am man." (For what? Why?)

He leveled a pointed gaze at you. 

You heaved a sigh, and nodded, understanding the underlying meaning in his words. "Where to?"

As Legolas entered the place where the council was going to be held, you lingered behind, tentatively taking slow steps in. You could see the dwarves, the Captain of Gondor, Boromir, Isildur's heir and Ranger of the North, Aragorn, a Ranger lady standing close to him, a hobbit, Lord Elrond, Glorfindel, and finally Gandalf all sitting in a circle. 

Instantly, both elves and the wizard snapped their heads to you, two in surprise. For a moment, the sun brightened warmly from behind you. You smiled at Elrond, nodded at Glorfindel, but grinned shyly at your parents' Maiar. You slid closer to Legolas anyways, turning your head back to Elrond when the half elf cleared his throat.

"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor. Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom."

He paused, turning to one of the Hobbits. "Bring forth the ring, Frodo."

The Hobbit that sat beside Gandalf stood up, and took even steps to the pedestal. With a shaking hand, the ring was set upon the pedestal for all to see.

"So it's true," Boromir spoke, while everyone within the Council gazed upon it. Your features screwed into one of upset, and even scowled upon the small piece of jewelry. Sauron, was a follower of your uncle, Morgoth. The power in the ring was overshadowed by your own, yet the evil within it, repulsed you.

"In a dream, I saw the eastern sky grow dark. But in the West a pale light lingered. A voice was crying, 'Your doom is near at hand.'" The Captain of the White tower paced. "Isildur's Bane is found."

Without a second thought, he reached for the cursed ring. Gandalf, Elrond, and you exchanged concerned glances. 

"Boromir!" The half elf leapt out of his seat. 

Even the wizard himself was affected by the ring's power. Standing up and beginning to chant in the Black Speech, the ring echoed the harsh words. Thunder crackled loudly as the sky darkened. The Council stared around themselves in fear and confusion.

"Fárea!" You roared into the commotion, having had enough. (Enough!)

Cowed by your authority, the voice of the Ring eventually died away. People resumed their seats, horrified, Boromir amongst them. A few curious glances were thrown your way, but you ignored them.

"The Ring is altogether evil!" Gandalf spoke after a pointed silence. Giving the Captain of the White Tower a scathing look, he too took his seat again. 

"It is a gift. A gift to the foes of Mordor," Boromir resumed, looking unperturbed. "Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe! Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him!"

"You cannot wield it! None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master," The Ranger spoke for the first time, the other one holding him back.

"And what would a ranger know of this matter?" Boromir almost snorted.

You watched in surprise as Legolas stepped forward this time, briefly brushing his shoulder over yours. "This is no mere ranger. He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."

"Aragorn? This… is Isildur's heir?"

"And heir to the throne of Gondor."

Members of the Council widened their eyes at the realization, and turned to observe the Rangers. 

"Havo dad, Legolas," The mentioned Ranger replied in Elvish. (Sit down, Legolas.)

"Gondor has no king. Gondor needs no king." Boromir responded, almost childishly, but resumed his seat. 

Aragorn briefly frowned, but only relaxed when his companion placed a hand on his shoulder. 

"Aragorn is right. We cannot use it," The wizard spoke in the awkward silence.

"You have only one choice. The Ring must be destroyed," The half elven agreed with a nod.

"Then what are we waiting for?" A dwarf spoke out. Grabbing his axe, he approached the pedestal. In one fell swoop, the axe clang against the metal and splintered apart, much to the surprise of many. In response, whispers in the black tongue issued forth from the Ring.

After watching Frodo wincing in pain, Elrond shook his head. "The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Glóin, by any craft that we here possess. The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came."

"One of you must do this."

"One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its black gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. And the great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland. Riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly!" Boromir exclaimed from his seat. 

Standing indignantly, Legolas shouted, "Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said? The Ring must be destroyed!"

"And I suppose you think you're the one to do it?!" Gimli returned in kind. 

"And if we fail, what then?! What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?!" Boromir continued, adding to the fuel.

"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!" Gimli roared. "Never trust an Elf!"

With a shake of your head, you, Gandalf, and Elrond watched as the Council erupted into madness, each fighting the other to be the ring bearer. Through it all, you turned your gaze on the young hobbit as he gazed forlornly at it.

As the commotion continued, Gandalf thumped his staff on the ground, demanding silence. "Do you not understand that while we bicker amongst ourselves, Sauron's power grows?! None can escape it! You'll all be destroyed!"

Suddenly, flames encircled the ring, engulfing the surface. 

"I will take it!" Frodo yelled, hoping to gain attention from the other Council members. "I will take it!"

You raised an eyebrow at the hobbit, then caught Gandalf's gaze on you. You nodded in turn, and turned away as the wizard's eyes briefly closed shut before opening again. 

Making up his mind, he got to his feet and approached Frodo. "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, as long as it is yours to bear," He placed a reassuring hand on the hobbit's shoulder. 

"If by my life or death, I can protect you, I will," Aragorn knelt in front of the hobbit. "You have my sword."

Before you could stop Legolas, the prince of elves joined the center. "And you have my bow."

"And my axe!" Gimli glanced grimly at the elf in the front. 

Striding forward, Boromir joined the growing group. "You carry the fate of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done."

You smiled to yourself, proud that everyone was coming together to fight the dark lord. 

"Heh!" Another hobbit jumped out from the bushes. "Mister Frodo is not goin' anywhere without me!"

"No indeed, it is hardly possible to separate you even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not," Elrond smiled, sounding more amused than annoyed."

"Wait! We are coming too!" A pair of hobbits emerged from the pillars they were hiding from. 

"Lord Elrond. I want to join," The second Ranger stepped forward, sounding more like a lady. "Someone will have to watch the company as much as possible, and watch Aragorn's back."

As the half elf agreed to each of the demands, you pushed to your feet and stood up nervously. As all eyes turned to you, you cleared your throat unnecessarily.

"I too would like to join," You spoke in determination. Your parents' Maiar locked eyes with yours, and soon became a stare off. However, he soon acquiesced with a nod. You turned to Elrond next, who only watched you for a moment. 

"Eleven companions. So be it! You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!" The Lord of Rivendell announced. 

"Great! Where are we going?" One of the newer hobbits asked.

For a brief moment, you wondered if you joining the Fellowship would even be a good idea. It was a secret mission to Mordor, any wrongly placed action could end into disaster. However, it was too late. Turning to the West, you were assured as a warm wind blew through each strand of your hair, and for a brief moment, gently caressed your cheek.

Your father, Manwë would never admit that he was soft at heart. Your mother would though. For a moment, you were excited to be a part of the journey, knowing that both your parents would be watching over this endeavor.

Looks like you were now officially part of the Fellowship of the Ring. 

Permanent Tags: @asraime @mournthewicked Taglist is open!

[rivendell-poet]

*･༓˚✧❝𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐭 (𝐋𝐨𝐭𝐑)❞‧͙⁺˚༓˚✧ « scenarios »

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

GN!Reader | Wordcount : 4k (each individual around 230~ words) | Read on Ao3

TWS : Drinking, implied arranged marriage that doesn't happen & isn't between reader and Faramir (Faramir), nothing else

« 1, 2, masterlist »

𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐧

✧ As one of the Dúnedain rangers who looked after the Shire, you had instantly gone to Frodo's side once Gandalf showed up. Although you didn't know the full details of the plan (they hadn't yet trusted you with the secrets of the ring) you agreed to escort them to Bree so they could meet with Gandalf there.

✧ Aragorn noticed you first when you entered The Prancing Pony, carefully herding the hobbits in and making sure that they didn't run off, or get into trouble.

✧ When you look around to try and spot Gandalf he begins to slip into the shadows out of habit, but stops himself and stays easily seen. Aragorn doesn’t know why he lets you see him, but the tension even slightly leaving your eyes seems to make it worth it. Even in the light, you both recognise each other as Dúnedain. 

✧ After Aragorn takes Frodo to a separate room, he barely has time to begin his greetings before you swing open the door with the other hobbits and a sword to his neck demanding you release him.

✧ Normally he’d be intimidated, perhaps on guard with you, but even with a sword to his neck the first feeling he gets is admiration - it’s rare to catch him off guard like you have.

✧ The two of you work well together, even though you're slightly suspicious of him, and when Frodo decides to place his trust in the ranger you give it to him as well.

✧ While setting up the fake hobbits together there's some debate over who will keep watch and eventually both of you stay up together (sitting in a comfortable silence).

𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐬

✧ Even if Denethor hadn’t approved of Faramir going to Rivendell, he did allow you to accompany Boromir to the valley. (You had gone because Faramir asked you, saying your job - a ranger who often scouted Mordor - would be valuable, even if he didn’t know why).

✧ When you had finally arrived in Rivendell you didn’t immediately admire the scenery, instead focusing on finally being (truly) clean after over a hundred days of travel.

✧ Once you were happy with yourself you thought it only right to look at the beauty of Rivendell, wandering aimlessly.

✧ It was then, after taking the same turn for the third time, that an elf suddenly appeared with a pitying look and asked if you had ever been to Rivendell before.

✧ Legolas is delighted when you take him up on his offer to show you around (Mirkwood is not exactly the best place to roam) and takes great pleasure in showing you different places.

✧ At almost every turn he asks you which places you’d prefer to see, taking you on a rather haphazard tour (although he doesn’t seem phased by it).

✧ He doesn’t recognise your Gondorian accent at first, but once he does he’s eager to ask more about it and your opinions.

✧ Eventually, as the stars and moon begin to light your walk, you apologise and explain you must be up early in the morning for an important meeting.

✧ Realising you’ll also be at the Council of Elrond, Legolas wishes you a good night’s rest and that he will see you soon.

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐨

✧ Gandalf, over the years, employed many people to subtly watch over the Shire - and you were one of them.

✧ Traditionally based in Bree, you had been honoured to be chosen by the grey wizard and kept a close eye on the Baggins family.

✧ Eventually, after being slightly careless the day before, Bilbo manages to find and confront you about your intentions (albeit aided by the one ring).

✧ After learning you're a friend of Gandalf, he quickly invites you in to talk about it over luncheon.

✧ Frodo is surprised when you suddenly appear with his uncle for food, but he accepts it.

✧ The two of you are quick to bond when you talk about your travels - even if most are only a few days away from the Shire.

✧ He's completely enamoured by you - and Bilbo eats quickly to excuse himself and let you two be alone.

✧ You reinforce his ideas of going on one of Bilbo’s grand adventures, and after luncheon is over Frodo asks you to stay so that you may talk some more.

✧ The two of you spend the rest of the day pouring over old maps as you tell him the facts you’ve learnt about those places from the wild, while he shares the facts that his beloved books tell him.

✧ When you realise the time you try to excuse yourself, but Bilbo insists you spend the night in a guest room.

𝐒𝐚𝐦

✧ Like most of the Shire, you were out in the summer festival - enjoying the field that had been cleared to make way for food, dancing, tents, hobbits sitting about, and more food.

✧ Predictably, your friends had dragged you into dancing, they wanted to as well but were too scared to go alone, and then had left you without partners you knew.

✧ The first few spins had been fun, but eventually you needed to take a break and actually enjoy what else the festival had to offer.

✧ As you stand close to the dancers, a hobbit with darker curly hair (the younger Baggins) comes up to.

✧ You ready yourself to say no to dancing, but instead he asks if you’ll dance with his friend.

✧ The words ‘no’ die in your mouth as you see the hobbit next to him, shy but looking on hopefully at the dancing before casting a glance to you.

✧ “Gladly.”

✧ To your pleasant surprise, he’s a decent dancer, and when you both run out of energy to go again Sam rushes to get you both food and seats.

✧ It’s a small gesture, in the scheme of things, but over the food he’s collected and the cheer in the air you can’t help thinking of just how sweet Samwise already is to you.

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐲

✧ Being a hobbit from Bree meant you didn’t often travel to the Shire - it was a rather long distance after all - but it was always nice when you did.

✧ Like travelling to the harvest festival for when the crops started to become bountiful, and everything would be freshly picked and perfectly cooked. You could celebrate in Bree, but food based festivals are always better when done by hobbits.

✧ You’re stuck on what stall to eat from first, overwhelmed at all the options, when a young hobbit suddenly taps you on the shoulder and asks if you need help in choosing something.

✧ Deciding to trust the locals you say yes, and it’s rewarded by a large smile from the hobbit before Merry introduces himself then instantly begins to drag you to a further away stall - talking about all the different options, before trying to guess what flavour you’d like.

✧ He gets above five flavours in before stopping, and saying you should choose what you want - not what he thinks.

✧ When you decide, his eyes seem to light up even more as he tells you that’s his favourite too.

✧ The two of you spend the rest of the night together, and he eventually asks if you’re from Bree.

✧ You say yes but that you’re staying for a while, to which Merry immediately offers to show you around the Shire - offering a date for tomorrow.

𝐏𝐢𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧

✧ As one of Elrond’s advisors, you’re aware that something big is going to happen soon. Any elf in Rivendell can feel it, especially when you’re privy to whispers of information such as ‘Sauron’ and ‘the one ring’.

✧ What you aren’t expecting is for this ‘something’ to be in the form of hobbits, one brought by Arwen - and the other three to be brought by Aragorn.

✧ Knowing the Nazgul’s attack on them, you wait on the borders of Rivendell for Isildur’s heir and his company.

✧ When Pippin sees you, almost silhouetted by the falling sun, he believes for a second you might be an angel.

✧ Even when you move to where he can see you (and begin admonishing Aragorn in Elvish) he still can’t shake the feeling that someone like you is too good for him and the hobbits.

✧ He doesn’t realise he’s staring, or blushing, until you come in front of him and gently kneel to check his forehead, asking if he’s ok.

✧ It takes him a second to respond - which probably doesn’t give too much confidence - but you accept his answering, welcoming him to Rivendell.

✧ The place is beautiful, but when you leave them to inform Lord Elrond of their arrival he can’t help thinking the place is already not quite as good.

𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐫

✧ It was at times like this, when you’d been called away from the crucial stronghold of Osgiliath because of ‘important meetings’, that you wished the rangers didn’t have to listen to Boromir, Captain of the White Tower, and could instead listen to his younger brother, your actual commander.

✧ This thought was probably shared among a lot of the rangers, but you were the only one brave enough to say it, which is why you were currently in what reminded you suspiciously of a school’s detention room.

✧ Apparently this was a good deterrent, seeing as only you were in here, holding a small slip of paper that says ‘Disrespectful to the Captain of the White Tower’.

✧ The door opens, finally, and you’re just about to express your thanks to them for actually showing up when you realise who it is.

✧ Boromir, Captain of the White Tower, stares back at you just as you realise you’re going to have to tell this man what you did.

✧ Trying to master the art of vanishing from Middle Earth, you can feel yourself blushing when you hand him your write-up slip.

✧ There’s a second of silence before a small laugh escapes him, and he looks at you more directly before asking what you said.

✧ You’re honest about it, and to your surprise he asks you for clarification and follow-ups, actually listening to your suggestions.

✧ In the end, it’s a bell chiming that snaps you out of your discussions and when the two of you get up to leave he opens the door with a smile, wishing you a good day.

𝐅𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐫

✧ For the last three years, the Lord Steward had tried to find a betrothed for his eldest son, Boromir. For the last three years you had consistently refused to go. This year, however, your parents had finally put their foot down and made you attend the ceremony.

✧ It was a very small chance he’d choose you, and a (hopefully) even smaller chance the engagement would become anything.

✧ But on the chance it would, you decide to do what anyone would do, and get slightly drunk in a tavern to try and hook up with someone.

✧ With incredible wisdom, you had taken up a spot in a dark corner where literally no-one was approaching you.

✧ And then someone does.

✧ You’re shocked he hasn’t already found someone; not many people would turn down the man in front of you.

✧ In the tavern light his grey eyes seem to shine, his hair a gorgeous colour that reminds you of sweet caramel and looks incredibly soft.

✧ Moved, not entirely by the drink, you find yourself going over - saying a comment and trying to smile, laughing at his response.

✧ There’s a second of silence between the two of you and you realise how close you are.

✧ You close the gap, and the two of you are kissing - you’re going back against the wall and your hands reach out to pull him closer - then it stops.

✧ A muttered apology is all you get before he leaves.

✧ And in the morning you’re left with the vague memory of a kiss, a memory of a semi-familiar man, and a hangover.

𝐄𝐨𝐰𝐲𝐧

✧ As Aragorn’s younger sibling, you’re no stranger to people fawning over your brother. That does not mean, however, it doesn’t amuse you and you don’t tease him incredibly.

✧ You watch Aragorn leave the stables, having just enough time to congratulate him on his new horse, and his new admirer, before said admirer appears.

✧ Although you tease your brother you’re still good to the people who fall for him, and you give a respectful nod to the girl - Éowyn.

✧ She smiles back at you, before her eyes flicker between you and your brother. It’s a tale as old as time, and you sit up slightly straighter.

✧ What you don't expect, however, is for her to compare you in terms of spirit - how both of you seem elven, and noble.

✧ Normally people make a shallower comparison, or just go to you to confirm facts, and it’s refreshing and nice to hear that instead.

✧ You confirm your relation to him, before focusing your attention back on her. That her nature seems noble as well, and that it seems like her uncles.

✧ When she glows at the compliment you smile, and the next few minutes of small talk are pleasant before you’re pulled away.

𝐄𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫

✧ You first see Éomer while waiting for his sister to arrive, humming to yourself in the great wooden halls.

✧ To your credit you only jump a little when he appears out of no-where, and on his part he is most apologetic.

✧ From his perspective, he came because he heard the sound of your humming - better than the songs sung over festivals in this hall - and wishes to know from whom it came.

✧ He’s silent at first, scared to move in case he startles you too badly - and not wanting to be loud and disrupt the song.

✧ Hesitantly, he asks who you are - and if you are the friend his sister has spoken so highly of.

✧ When you confirm that is you, he says it’s an honour to meet you and he’s glad you’ve been such a good friend to his sister.

✧ There’s a pause again, and just when you’re about to speak Éowyn appears by your side and ready to go.

✧ As happy as you are to go with her, something in you is regretful you could not spend more time getting to know Éomer.

𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐝

✧ In jail for assaulting a counsellor, especially as a guard of Laketown, is not exactly how you expected your Friday shift to go. Still, when you stare at the girl next to you (Sigrid) you can’t find it in yourself to feel bad about doing what you did.

✧ You had simply seen Alfrid towering over her, her being clearly uncomfortable - and you had pulled him off when things got physical. It was bad luck Sigrid had punched him at the same time, landing you both in jail.

✧ The girl seems more apologetic around you being here than her actions, to be honest, and she keeps reassuring you that her dad will come soon to sort things out.

✧ On Bard’s part, the news that his daughter is in jail for punching a counsellor is not what he wanted to hear but he goes out immediately. He’s about to head off when Sigrid tells him about you, and of course Bard realises he needs to get you out as well.

✧ When a drop-dead gorgeous man appears outside your cell, your mind begins to debate the merits of flirting your way out before he introduces himself as Sigrid’s father.

✧ Once you get out he thanks you profusely, as well as apologising for his daughter, but you wave him off with a smile.

✧ Bard can barely believe someone with this much honour still exists in this place, and makes a small note to thank whatever’s out there for having you look after his daughter.

✧ Eventually, you manage to convince him to stop thanking you and to let you go home - although when the man gives you one more piece of sincere praise you can’t find yourself annoyed.

𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐢𝐥

✧ As you sit at a beautifully carved, uncomfortable desk you realise you’re not as nervous as you probably should be to meet the king.

✧ You’ve seen him before, of course, looking at him when all the elves of Mirkwood are out - or gossiping with the other single elves about what are decidedly fantasies. But you’ve never spoken.

✧ As a private tutor, in written work and fighting, you had jumped at the opportunity to mentor Prince Legolas.

✧ The door opens and you rise to your feet immediately, going into a deep bow.

✧ As Thranduil bids you to rise, you can feel his eyes sweeping over you and looking for any imperfections.

✧ Instead of cowering you meet his gaze, and you swear you see the ghost of a smile on his face before it becomes more serious.

✧ The interview, one of many, is surprisingly pleasant and you find it easy to talk to him.

✧ When you are made to leave, he watches you exit, thinking about saying something before thanking you for your performance and interest in the role.

✧ It’s a small gesture, but to be thanked by the king? It puts a bounce in your step for the rest of the day.

𝐓𝐚𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥

✧ As the tenth shot in as many minutes hits the target perfectly, you can’t help but wish to use your sword, and against something that isn’t a training dummy.

✧ Elves are known for being archers, and although you’re skilled with a bow it’s easier to stand out with exceptional sword-mastery than exceptional marksmanship.

✧ Then, a voice behind you asks if you want to spar together - an offer almost too good to be true.

✧ Turning around you vaguely recognise the elf in front of you, her hair is distinctive, and you ask if she too is trying to join the royal guard.

✧ Tauriel confirms it, and then the two of you get into position.

✧ There’s something incredibly satisfying about a good match-up and the two of you fight well together.

✧ You’re mostly evenly matched, and it takes a lot of effort to push on the offensive and get her closer to the wall.

✧ Eventually, she wins the first fight. But as you both stand there, catching your breath and smiling at each other, you bear no grudge.

✧ You only ask if she wants a re-match.

𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐫

✧ Anyone wanting to become a healer knows that the halls of the elves are the best places to go, if you wish to learn, so here you are. Three weeks travel deep into your route to Rivendell.

✧ Whilst riding you can’t help feeling something is off about the place - almost as if you’re being watched - but you chalk it up to elven magic.

✧ Then you see an elf, near the borders and picking some kind of flower. He has long, dark hair and you’re reminded just how ethereal the elves are compared to the race of men.

✧ And then all hell breaks loose.

✧ Just as you’re about to call out in greeting, a small band of orcs come out of the trees - you recognize the monster as what they are, instantly drawing your bow.

✧ Lindir sees the orcs approaching, quickly getting out his dagger while cursing his luck.

✧ As an orcish blade pierces him, blood instantly spilling from his side, he begins to wonder if this could be the end before an arrow suddenly goes though the orcs head.

✧ There’s barely time to react as a horse with a rider gallops past him, holding their hand out and pulling him up before wheeling back around to finish off the last orc.

✧ You barely have time to celebrate your victory when you feel the elf beside you slump into unconsciousness, clearly from the bloodloss.

✧ You wish you could say you entered Rivendell in a better way, rather than with a highly wounded elf at your side, but enter Rivendell like that you do.

𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐫

✧ Haldir had been alerted of people in the woods of Lothlórien by the Lady as soon as they had arrived, and had found them quickly.

✧ He was rather disappointed in how easily his troops went undetected, not even by Isildur’s heir or the elves from a distance.

✧ You had been uneasy as soon as you walked into the woods, convinced something was watching you. As an elf you of course knew of Galadriel’s powers, but whatever you could sense was more imminent.

✧ Then, with the quietest of sounds, you hear bows being drawn and arrows knocked into place.

✧ On instinct you draw your bow at the same time as your prince does, except you're quick enough to fire the arrow.

✧ The second the arrow leaves your bow you recognise the elves, and instantly you attempt to bat the arrow down again - wincing as you knock it just enough off target to miss the lead elf.

✧ As Haldir feels the arrow whistle past him, his first thought is that of admiration - the intensity in your eyes to protect this band of people.

✧ Opening your mouth to apologise, he holds a hand to stop you and congratulate you on your shot before turning to the more serious matters of the Fellowship.

𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐧

✧ As one of only a handful of elves still in their first century, it’s no wonder that you were eventually introduced to the Sons of Elrond.

✧ It had been in one of Rivendell’s great libraries, and although both looked interested to meet you there was one you were more interested in meeting.

✧ Elrohir had been the one to make introductions first, declaring their names before politely asking yours.

✧ Elladan on the other hand hung back slightly. You were beautiful, a full elf, and something about that made him slightly intimidated.

✧ It wasn’t until you had all sat down and you were looking around the library he realised just how compatible you were.

✧ “What books would you recommend?”

✧ The question is simple, but Elladan immediately latches onto it and begins to ask questions - what genre are you looking for, would you like something sad? Would you like a story or a historical account - and if so from which time period?

✧ He speaks fast enough that his elvish begins to flow together, but you keep up with him just as well.

✧ In almost no time the two of you are off the chairs, and he eagerly leads you to the section you're looking for.

✧ Your eyes widen as you gaze upon the piles of stacked books, neatly organised and in shelves.

✧ From the sidelines Elladan watches eagerly, and for the first time since his brother he feels he has finally found a kindred spirit.

𝐄𝐥𝐫𝐨𝐡𝐢𝐫

✧ When Elrohir rides into the Battle of Pelennor Fields with the army of the dead he can practically feel the relief of the soldiers, and wonders if there are many greater feelings in life that this.

✧ Almost two hours later, as the fighting dies down and he begins to look for the wounded he decides there probably aren’t.

✧ He doesn’t realise someone is calling, or at least calling specifically him, until the person yells for the ‘half-elf with the horse’

✧ Elrohir has no idea who the person is, but the fact they don’t refer to him as an elf already makes him love them.

✧ Going over, he sees you crouching beside a clearly wounded soldier - one of their legs incredibly damaged.

✧ Looking up you ask if he can transport them to the Houses of Healing, as not to aggrevate the wound further.

✧ He instantly agrees before hesitantly asking where they are.

✧ Upon seeing the slight despair in your eyes, he holds out the reins of his horse to you.

✧ “Fly swift with him. I’ll keep searching for wounded and sending more up. Return him to me when he’s no longer needed.”

✧ You can hardly believe your luck - but it isn’t for you to question, instead thanking him on behalf of Gondor before going as quickly as you can to the Houses.

Hope you enjoyed! Here are the details about requests, and again thanks for reading!

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[introvertguide]

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001); AFI #50

The current movie for review from the AFI top 100 is the most recent of the films, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). This was the introduction of director Peter Jackson to much of the mainstream American audience despite him having a 20 year history of film making in New Zealand. The film is beautiful in so many aspects, from the special effects to the cinematography to the sets creating the world of Middle Earth. The film received 12 nominations at the Academy Awards and received 4 of them, a feat unheard of for an epic fantasy film. This is also the only “incomplete” film on the AFI list because there are no other “too be continued” stories. There are some films that are first and second parts (specifically The Godfather 1 and 2), but this is the only one that intentionally stopped with intent for the story to pick in the next film. With that being said, the sheer number of characters and the intended incomplete nature of the film makes it almost impossible to summarize without just going scene by scene. There are 100 movies on this list and I am not going to set any precedence that I will be doing that, so here is a very brief synopsis of what happens in this film without diving into too much of the lore concerning the rest of the trilogy or The Hobbit:

SPOILER WARNING!! I DON’T KNOW WHY IT IS NECESSARY ON THIS ONE, BUT I DO IT EVERY TIME AND I WANT TO BE CONSISTANT!! IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THIS BY NOW OR ARE UNFAMILIAR WITH THE STORY, THEN YOU ARE LIKELY VERY YOUNG, LIVE UNDER A ROCK, OR PURPOSEFULLY AVOIDING IT!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED SO I DON’T WANT TO GET ANY NOTES ON THIS ONE!!!

So here is the general outline, there was an evil guy named Sauron that gave out rings of power to the Elves, Dwarves, and Humans in a realm called Middle Earth. This land is a fantasy realm that has a mix of Dark Age castles mixed with monsters and human like races. It looks strangely like New Zealand through a lot of the country side. Coincidence I am sure. Anyway, Sauron tricked the different races because he kept for himself one ring to rule them all and bind the ones wearing the rings to him. This did not go over well so the humans, elves, and dwarves rose up and fought Sauron and his armies and were able to get the master ring during battle. There was a chance for them to destroy the ring but human corruption prevented this and the ring was eventually lost. It eventually ended up in the hands of a man that kept it close and allowed it to suck away his life until it was stolen by a small human-like creature named Bilbo Baggins. The ring was taken on many adventures (see The Hobbit films for this story) and it gave this little hobbit prolonged life, but it also became an addictive burden. Bilbo decided to go off and leave the ring for his nephew and this is where the story begins. I know, it’s a lot.

A wizard named Gandalf (Ian McKellen) comes to the hobbit village as Bilbo is leaving and makes sure the ring is left in the hands of the nephew Frodo (Elijah Wood). The wizard confirms the ring is the one that rules them all and reveals that Sauron is regaining power and wants the ring. For the safety of the shire, Frodo must take the ring to Rivendell, home of the Elves, to figure out what must be done. Gandalf has to take care of some business so some other hobbits - Sam (Sean Astin), Merry (Dominic Monaghan), and Pippin (Billy Boyd)  - get wrangled into the journey and the group of four go off to a local human town to meet Gandalf and continue forward. This short trip proves treacherous as the 9 humans that were given rings of power had been corrupted and turned into Nazgul that are attempting to track down the little group of hobbits. Gandalf does not show up, but the group run into a ranger named Strider at the human tavern and he helps fight off the ring wraiths. With the help of his elf girlfriend, Arwen, the group are able to make it to Rivendell where they are presumably safe for the time being.

A meeting is held at Rivendell and representatives of the different races all show up to decide what must be done. The ring must be destroyed so a fellowship to transfer the ring to Mount Doom is formed. It is made up of the four hobbits, Gandalf the wizard, an elf named Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Strider the Ranger who is actually a human king named Aragorn (Viggo Mortenson), a dwarf named Gimli (John Rhys-Davies), and another human named Boromir (Sean Bean). I have seen enough movies with Sean Bean as a side character to know that he is for sure going to die. It is only a matter of when.

So the group heads off toward Mount Doom and initially start by taking a path through snowy mountains but have to turn back and instead decide to go under the mountains. The dwarf is excited because he can visit his cousin who is king under the mountain. Alas, all they find is skeletons and an evil race created by Sauron called orcs. This race also seems to have other evil creatures enslaved including a cave troll. The Fellowship is chased through the bowels of the mountain until the orcs suddenly back off and the group finds something even worse, an ancient evil called a Balrog. Gandalf takes on the creature at a stone bridge and screams the now memed words “You shall not pass!” The Balrog falls into a pit but drags Gandalf down as well, reducing the number in the group by one wizard.

The group mourns the loss very briefly (and dramatically) before traveling to an elven forest where Frodo is told by a queen that he will have to take on the quest alone and that one of the fellowship will betray him. They continue on and it turns out that a wizard named Saruman that was corrupted by Sauron (confusingly close in name, I know), has created super buff orcs called Uruk-hai (pronounced “Orick Eye” all blended together) to hunt down the party. Boromir tries to take the ring from Frodo but immediately makes up for it by sacrificing himself to protect the hobbits from the super orcs. Sean Bean was kind of a bad guy and was killed. What a surprise. That actor really needs to find different roles or he is going to spend his entire career being type cast. 

Anyway, Frodo and Sam break away from the group to go off on their own, the other two hobbits are captured and taken by the orcs, and then Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli decide to track everybody down. To be continued.

This probably seems like quite a short synopsis for a 3 hour movie...but legitimately the movie is a visual spectacle in which not a lot happens. Most of the movie is traveling, fighting, introducing the lore of the world, and introducing characters. Not a whole lot of plot progression in this particular movie, but it sets the stage for the second film to be nothing but battle and progression (an hour long battle of Helm’s Deep which is amazing), while the last one is nothing but battles and resolution of every story line. It is an incredible trilogy and this is only the beginning and it had audiences drooling for more.

In fact, Peter Jackson films set the standard for special effects for the early 21st century. His team took home the Oscar for best visual effects in 2001 for Fellowship of the Ring, in 2002 for The Two Towers, in 2003 for The Return of the King, and in 2005 for King Kong. No film series with consecutive releases has done this except Lord of the Rings (not even with Star Wars, Marvel, and DC universe films coming out constantly).  The series really is something special. Attempts had been made to tell the trilogy as an animated movie, but no drawings could do the world justice. It took advanced computer graphics, motion capture technology, an expansive New Zealand countryside, a quirky director that had envisioned this world his whole life, and a dedicated cast and crew that was fully committed to the project. It is an amazing piece of filming.

If I have any complaints, it is that there is some really corny drama. The amount of times that Elijah Wood overacts in pain or despair is more digits than I have. Especially when the group is mourning the loss of Gandalf...it is kind of embarrassing. It is that “inconsolable parent who lost a child” acting with scream crying and shouts of “Noooooo!” It is all the hobbits, too, which doesn’t help that they are the size of children and are having a despair tantrum. Luckily they keep going and that is a one minute scene, but still it is embarrassing. Also, Frodo is stabbed and presumed dead twice. I can see why there were no nominations for best actor because it was not the best acting.

It is all made up for by the incredible battles. For me, it is the chase under the mountain with the orcs and the cave troll and the balrog. That is about 30 minutes of constant fight or flight that left me short of breath. I realized I kept forgetting to breath I was so mesmerized by the constant intensity. There is also a good amount of comedy since the hobbits are generally peaceful farmers and they don’t know how to (or want to) have adventures and keep messing things up. Pippin and Merry keep touching things that they shouldn’t and it brings all kinds of trouble. I think it is one of them that knocks some armor into a well that catches the attention of the orcs under the mountain.

Two specific scenes that I found memorable in that they are burned into my brain forever were the Nazgul fight and the appearance of the cave troll. The Nazgul are absolutely terrifying in that they have no face and have only one intent: kill whatever they are hunting. A good comparison would be to Dementors in the Harry Potter universe. The Nazgul are like Dementors with swords and armor. What is worse, Frodo can use the one ring to make him invisible, but it puts a target on him for the Nazgul and they come straight for him. They idea that you can’t hide from this evil and attempting to will make you stand out more is kind of horrific. I found the Nazgul truly disturbing. The cave troll is just awesome and huge. At no point was I worried for the team on this occasion because the wizard, elf, dwarf, and humans seemed undefeatable. It was more of curiosity about how they were going to handle this challenge. The detail of filming all the actors and sets so they were affected by the troll made the huge beast and the threat it posed in an enclosed space seamless. 

There was some question why this movie was on the AFI list and the other movies in the trilogy were not, especially with the third film winning 10 Oscars including best picture. It is because this was the watershed film that made the others possible. I got to see the film in the theatre and it was an experience like no other. I cannot think of a movie that had created such a complete fantasy world like LOTR and it made for a truly cinematic experience. I generally do not like movie theatres because people around me whom I have no control over can affect my experience and I am not normally willing to pay for that. However, the theatre I was in had tiered level seating that was graded enough so that nobody blocked my view and ample leg room that also prevented kicking from behind. It was a thing of beauty and I went and saw the other two films in the theatre as well. It was amazing.

So does this film deserve to be on the AFI 100? My goodness, I would think less of the AFI if it wasn’t. It changed audience expectations of what a movie could be and set the tone for the new millennium as far a big budget cinema. Would I recommend it? Please, I own it. If you come by my place and you haven’t seen it, then I will be happy to put aside 3 hours and watch it again with you. It is the easiest epic film to get through, in my opinion, and I don’t think you will be sorry to give up the time. Just a fantastic movie.

[a-simple-lee]

A game of stealth

Legolas, reader, Pippin, Merry, Aragorn

Description: you make a bet with Pippin that you simply have to win, though this comes at a cost for Legolas that he isn’t entirely happy with.

A/n: oof this is the first non-marvel fic I’ve written in literal months and it feels so weird lmao

________________________

“Do you think it’s possible to sneak up on the Elf?” You ponder out loud, bored after the long hours of walking through thankfully safe yet plain country. Fields and sparse woods stretch ahead of your party as far as the eye can see, and whilst you’re grateful for the respite from the violence and danger, trudging for days without a change in scenery is starting to dampen your spirits. There are no orcs or goblins (nor trolls) in these lands, so the Fellowship is taking advantage of the easier terrain by travelling for shorter periods and setting up camp earlier each night.

“For you? No,” Pippin snorts, highly entertained by the concept of a human trying to be sneaky.

“I think I could,” you respond, glancing at your elven companion; he’s slightly ahead of everyone, talking with Aragorn.

Merry sidles up from behind you. “Don’t be ridiculous, it’s hard enough to do so as a hobbit.”

“Then I shall remind you how easy it was once I’ve accomplished it,” you grin, feeling rather confident. “I’ll show you.”

Over the course of five or so minutes, you make your way swiftly through the party’s marching order, taking advantage of a couple trees for cover every now and then. Gimli gives you an odd look, but you press a finger to your lips in warning, and he returns to his conversation with Sam.

The weather’s working in your favour; you stand downwind of the party’s trackers, and the breeze is enough to rustle the local flora into a distracting white noise. Perhaps, you think, there’s a chance you could pull this off. There’s only a few feet between you and the Elf now, who seems rather unaware. You move to place a hand on his shoulder from behind. He reaches up and grabs your wrist before you can touch him.

“Yes, little one?”

You frown. His lips quirk in an almost-smile.

“…why do you call me that? I’m no Shirefolk.”

“You spend long hours with them,” he counters.

“I suppose,” you admit; the Hobbits hold a special place in your heart as simply good people. They only ever wish to help others, and you admire their willpower. That, and Merry and Pippin tell excellent jokes.

“Do you require something?” Legolas is looking at you curiously.

“He is a wood-elf,” Pippin smiles as you return, casting a pointed glance towards the trees.

“Alright, I suppose it’s difficult.” The atmosphere turns quiet for a period after that, your trio remaining silent save for a few jibes from your halfling friends.

Later in the day, when the afternoon approaches sunset, you set up camp, sheltered in a sort of valley with large boulders scattered about.

“This should be safe,” Gandalf advises. “There’s no life here for miles.”

As time progresses, the Fellowship sits in small groups, exchanging stories and preparing for the night.

“What were you talking about earlier?” Frodo asks. “I saw you acting suspicious with Pippin, and that’s never a good sign.”

“Why,” you start, not sure whether to be honoured or offended by the accusation. “We were just discussing a bet.”

“A bet?”

“Yes-” you cast a cursory glance around the camp; the Elf is preoccupied speaking with Gimli.

“Merry and Pippin think I can’t sneak up on Legolas.” At this, Frodo narrows his eyes. “Oh, do have some faith in me!”

“-He shouldn’t, little one.” A voice from close behind you catches you off guard. You yelp, flinching and turning around to face your sylvan companion, who has drifted noiselessly over whilst you were talking.

“Legolas, I-” Merry and Pippin are laughing, but you ignore them. “I have committed to a goal, and I intend to reach it.”

“You make more noise than our halflings, little one - you’d do well to spend more time with them, and then perhaps you’ll learn to step quieter.”

“I can step quietly!” You protest. “I’ll get better!”

Several failed attempts follow this conversation, the most notable one being by your campfire in the evening, where Legolas turns to face you before you’ve gotten within 5 feet of him. The rest of your party is finding the debacle rather entertaining, much to your dismay.

“Very well,” you huff, sitting down next to Aragorn & Boromir. “If I need to learn, teach me. You’re a ranger, Aragorn - surely you have some advice.” He lets out a chuckle, and places a hand on your shoulder.

“Do not step on twigs; they make a great deal of noise.” You roll your eyes. “And stop being so careless in your movements; they’re clumsy.”

Despite the slightly patronising tone, Aragorn appears somewhat sincere.

“Thank you,” Rising from the campfire, you move to unpack your bed roll.

Morning greets you with a golden sunrise and birdsong - a luxury on your adventure. It appears you’re the last one to wake; everyone else is sat eating a breakfast of Lembas bread and dried fruits. The idea to practise your sneaking skills occurs to you - nobody’s noticed you’re awake yet, so you take the opportunity to clamber from your bed roll and cautiously tiptoe behind the rock Legolas is sitting on. Your breath is suspended, hanging in your lungs as you will no one to see you.

Nobody does, it seems, as you draw closer to your elf. The unexpected success feels suspicious. You haven’t thought about what you’ll do if you managed to sneak up on Legolas, so you spend about half a second pondering your next steps. It’s probably best to make your victory known to the party, hence a loud noise will suit the situation, you decide. In the relative quiet of the countryside, any sudden commotion will quickly gain attention, and then you shall have proved everyone wrong.

So you find yourself reaching forwards and fluttering your fingers over the elf’s neck.

What sounds like a genuine yelp of surprise escapes from Legolas, and he twitches away from your hands. The feeling of 8 pairs of eyes on the both of you reassures you of your victory. Though when the yelp dissolves into a giggle, your glee turns to curiosity.

“Good morning!” You laugh, giddy with the knowledge you’ve finally proved the hobbits incorrect.

“Good morning,” Legolas blinks, seeming taken aback by your ambush.

“Ticklish?” you tease, poking him in the side. The elf takes your hand, smiling calmly.

“Be careful,” he warns. “I’m happy to leave you this victory, though if you try that again, I can’t promise I won’t take my revenge.”

“I’m not ticklish,” you bluff, sneaking an arm behind your friend to tweak his ribs. He yelps again, this time attracting the attention of Merry and Pippin. The pair of them are overjoyed at this turn of events; or, more importantly, the mischief that will result from it. Legolas gives you a look of betrayal, but you ignore it and trot off to pack up your things, a victorious human. It isn’t long before you hear laughter and shouting from behind you.

You don’t remember Legolas’ words until the evening, since the rest of the day passes rather uneventfully. Whilst the terrain has become rockier, there’s still no sign of the peace ending, which is both reassuring and infuriating. You spar with the Aragorn whilst the others set down their belongings, but it isn’t long before he’s called away by Frodo. You sit down and begin unpacking your things, making yourself comfortable for the night. Sunset is fast approaching, and Gimli has taken Sam to look for food.

There’s not much for you to do, so you sit weaving some long blades of grass into a pattern. The activity distracts you from the clattering of equipment around you, and for a moment it’s as if you’re not even travelling, but sitting in a garden somewhere. Thoughts of danger and the trauma of the past few weeks slip away as your muscle memory takes over, repeating the same knots over and over, your little craft project growing increasingly elaborate. Flowers dot the ground next to the rock you’re sitting on, so you pick a few and weave them in, eventually tying off the braid and examining it. Not bad.

Somebody tackles you from behind, the woven bracelet falling from your grip and hands try to grab your wrists; you fight them off. You’re about to call for help when you finally stop to look up at your attacker; it’s the elf.

“Legolas, what are you-”

“I did warn you,” He states simply, trying to gain the upper hand in your impromptu wrestling match. The pieces fall into place inside your head, and suddenly this fight has higher stakes. You scramble out from under him and sprint as fast as you can, accidentally bumping into Merry on the way and yelling a rushed apology in his direction as you flee.

Behind this boulder, around this corner, down this ledge- oh no. A hand grabs your arm, and down you fall, Legolas immediately skittering his fingers over your sides.

“Ah- don’t!”

“I thought you weren’t ticklish, little one.” He smiles, and you bat at his hands in frustration.

“I’m- I’m nohohot!” To your misfortune, Legolas appears to be a deft tickler, and when he tweaks your ribs, your resolve breaks. It’s only downhill from there, the elf quickly figuring out your weak spots and using them to his advantage.

“Ahahaha-okahahahay, I yihihield! Ihihihi’m sorry!” You cry, scrunching up your neck when one hand moves to spider over the sensitive skin there.

“I didn’t ask for an apology,” he responds, squeezing your side with his other hand. By the time Legolas takes pity on you and lets you up, there are tears of mirth forming in your eyes.

You can sneak up on an elf, but you can’t outrun one, it seems.

[thatfanficstuff]

You Don’t Say - Aragorn

Pairing: Aragorn x Reader

Warning: None

***

You hadn't intended to become part of the Fellowship when you followed your brother Boromir to Rivendell. It had just sort of happened. You couldn't very well let a hobbit volunteer to make such a treacherous journey and not offer to help him. Your brother had been most displeased by your decision to join though he couldn't argue that you would not be useful. 

Your brothers had trained you with a sword themselves. And you'd had your nose stuck in a book almost from the moment you could read. You were knowledgeable about many things Boromir was not even remotely interested in. And that knowledge just might help on your journey. 

The day had been relatively quiet and you were all enjoying the break. Gandalf had wandered off somewhere as was his habit. Legolas and Aragorn took the lead while you were in the middle with the hobbits. Boromir and Gimli were in the rear. Normally you would be chatting with your little friends, hearing tales of the shire but today you were quiet. Truth be told, you were eavesdropping on Aragorn and Legolas's conversation. Not that it was hard. They were speaking at a normal volume. It wasn't your fault they assumed no one else could speak the language of the Sindarin Elves. 

"We should take advantage of the calm day and stop soon, my friend. Everyone could use a night of good rest," Aragorn said with a glance at Legolas.

Legolas nodded once as he continued to look for threats around them. "I agree. It may get cold this evening. You should set your bedding close to Y/N's so you can offer to keep her warm." There was a teasing lilt to the elf's tone and you had to bite back a bark of surprised laughter. 

You were careful not to meet Aragorn's eyes when he glanced quickly in your direction. 

"Hush, Legolas. Y/N is not for me. And I'm fairly certain Boromir would skin me should I even consider it," Aragorn commented.

You couldn't deny the disappointment you felt when he said you weren't for him. He wasn't entirely wrong about Boromir either. If your brothers had their way you'd probably never marry. They were entirely too overprotective. Part of it was them attempting to compensate for your neglectful father, which you appreciated, but more often than not all they accomplished was annoying you. 

Legolas laughed. "I am certain the lady could protect you. She is a formidable warrior."

You could see the edge of Aragorn's smile as he contemplated his friend's words. "That she is. I hope her future spouse gives her the appreciation she deserves."

"You could be sure of that if you were the one to court her," the elf responded.

"Enough, Legolas."

***

It wasn't long until the Fellowship stopped and set up an early camp. Legolas managed to shoot a couple of rabbits that you all shared for dinner along with food from your packs. You sat near the fire, watching the flames dance as you finished eating. Your eyes darted up when you heard Legolas speak in his native tongue once more. 

"You're staring," he said to Aragorn. 

You shifted your gaze back to the fire and bit your lip to keep from smiling. 

Aragorn sighed. "You are being very persistent today, my friend." When Legolas didn't respond, Aragorn continued. "Besides, there is no harm in enjoying the view."

The elf laughed. "So you do like her?"

"Apparently that's fairly obvious if your teasing today is anything to go by." Aragorn puffed on his pipe. 

"Are you planning on saying anything to her?" 

"I'm not certain that is a good idea," Aragorn said softly.

Legolas tried to argue with his friend, but you tuned the two of them out. Of course he didn't want to say anything to you. He was to be king and you were far from a princess. And then there was Boromir. The few suitors you had were all chased off by your brothers or they were more worried about paying courtesy to them than to you. 

You glanced over as your brother sat beside you. He leaned toward you as he talked so no one would overhear the two of you. "You care for him." It was a statement not a question.

Heat flared through your cheeks and you ducked your head. Boromir chuckled. "Worry not, sister. Even I would have difficulty finding fault with him. Do as you will."

Your head jerked up in surprise. "I am no princess, Boromir. He deserves better than me."

He tilted his head as he gave you a small smile. "There is no one better than you, Y/N. No one more worthy. If he does not see that he is a fool." You threw your arms around your brother and hugged him, his kind words restoring some of your confidence. "Besides, I assure you, sister," he said near your ear, "your affections are returned." 

He pulled away and stood. You stared after him as he moved over to sit with the hobbits.

***

It was now late. You laid beside the dwindling fire as you stared at the stars. Boromir's words ran through your head and you considered whether you should speak with Aragorn or not. You sighed, knowing you would not find sleep this night. A glance at your companions showed everyone in their spot save Aragorn who was currently on watch. 

You pushed your blanket aside and got to your feet. Being careful not to disturb anyone, you wove through your companions until you were outside the circle around the fire. It didn't take long to spot Aragorn perched on a rock outcropping that overlooked the whole clearing and the area around. It was the same spot you'd already decided on should they wake you for watch. Not that they ever did. 

You shook your head at the foolishness of men when it came to protecting women in their midst and headed toward Aragorn. "Don't stab me," you said in a quiet tone as you approached. 

A low chuckle answered letting you know you'd been heard.

As you emerged from the bushes, Aragorn slid over and patted the rock beside him. You took the invitation and settled in beside him. 

"Why are you awake, my friend?" Aragorn asked when you didn't immediately say anything.

You shook your head, thankful for the darkness so he wouldn't see the blush that colored your cheeks. "I'm tired, however my mind is not."

He hummed in understanding. "Unfortunately, that is a state with which I am most familiar. Is there anything I might assist with?"

You shrugged. It wasn't as easy to confess your feelings as you thought it would be now that you knew he felt the same and you had your brother's blessing. After a bit longer of sitting in silence, just enjoying the company, you sighed. 

"That was a sorrowful sound. Are you certain you are all right, Y/N?" 

You glanced over to find him looking at you with a furrowed brow. His eyes searched your face in the moonlight. Turning away from him, you took a deep breath. 

"Did Boromir ever tell you why he did not object when I offered to come on the quest?" you asked.

There was a stretch of silence and you turned to find him still studying you. As if the motion snapped him from his trance, he shifted his gaze to the clearing below. "I never asked. You proved your skill with the sword fairly quickly so I never questioned it."

You gave a brief nod. "Allow me to tell you a story, Strider. My father cherishes Boromir. He loves my brother and is proud of everything he does. Faramir and myself could never hope to live up to him. In fact, my father only employed a governess for me until he deemed me old enough to fend for myself with the help of a handmaiden. After all, I only needed to be pretty enough to marry a young lord. Education was unnecessary."

You felt the ranger's eyes on you but didn't turn to meet his gaze. Instead you continued your tale. "My brothers took it upon themselves to raise me. I was always underfoot of one or the other. They taught me proper manners and how to run a home. When I tired of that they taught me how to fight. Beyond that they taught me battle tactics and how to rule an army." You smiled as you thought of some of those lessons. "And when they weren't teaching me, I hid away in the library and read. Book upon book. I came to know some of the most obscure things."

"Boromir seems very proud of you," Aragorn said after a moment.

That made your smile widen. "They both are. And most importantly, they have never dismissed me or my opinions simply because I was a woman. They value my input. Boromir did not complain about my joining because he knew I could contribute."

"I think I know you well enough by now to know you have a reason for telling me this. So what is it, Y/N?"

You leaned forward, resting your elbows on your knees as you looked over the land below. "It's funny the things you can learn in books. A lot of it's not very practical. But then other times you can learn a whole new language. You never know when something like that will come in handy."

You turned to look at Aragorn and saw the moment he realized you had slipped into Sindarin. Fluent Sindarin. 

His lips pressed together and he cleared his throat. "I assume that was your way of telling me that you know what Legolas was teasing me about today."

"I just wanted you to know that your feelings are not one sided. That is if what Legolas hinted at was true. But do not worry, Aragorn. I am fully capable of pretending I heard nothing if that is what you wish." You figured the man had enough poking and prodding for one day so you got to your feet and brushed the dirt from your clothes. "I warn you that Boromir is likely to join in the teasing soon. I doubt he will give leave to either of us."

His fingers wrapped around your wrist to hold you in place as he looked up at you. "What does your brother know of this?"

"He has given us his blessing. Not that I asked for it, but he gave it just the same," you explained. "Apparently I stare." Your face heated but you figured you could survive a little embarrassment if it made him feel better. 

He chuckled and pulled you back down. "As do I."

You settled next to him and leaned against his side as he looped an arm around your shoulders. It didn't take long for sleep to find you and Aragorn pressed a kiss to your head. He didn't wake you until it was time for Boromir to take his shift at watch. 

Your brother smiled at the two of you and kissed your cheek as he walked by. Aragorn quickly moved his bedding to lay next to yours and settled beside you. The two of you fell asleep in each other's arms much to the delight of the rest of the Fellowship.

Tag List:  @evyiione @violentmommabear42  @thorins-queen-of-Erebor 

[mairi-mia1]

FARAMIR

Faramir was the second son of Denethor II and the younger brother of Boromir. He was the Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien and Captain of the White Tower upon his brother's death.

Faramir was born in the year TA 2983 to Denethor II and Finduilas, daughter of Adrahil of Dol Amroth. The following year, his grandfather Ecthelion II died and his father, Denethor, succeeded him as the Ruling Steward of Gondor.

When Faramir was five years old, Finduilas died. Her death caused Denethor to become detached from his family. The relationship between Faramir and Boromir, who was five years elder of the brothers, grew much closer and greater in love. Despite the obvious way that Denethor favored Boromir over Faramir, there was no jealousy or rivalry between them. Boromir protected and helped him, and Faramir looked up to his older brother. Although the siblings were very similar in appearance with their dark hair and grey eyes, it was not so in personality. Boromir was defined to be the more daring one, as well as the more fearless and strong warrior. Faramir’s boldness was incorrectly judged less due to his gentle nature and love of lore and music.

It was this interest that formed a friendship between Faramir and Gandalf the Grey. The youngest son of Denethor learned of what he could from Gandalf’s wisdom and mentoring. Denethor did not approve of Faramir as the "Wizard's pupil", for he neither trusted nor liked the Istar.

Faramir's leadership, skill-in-arms, and swift but hardy judgment proved to be handy on the battlefield. During the War of the Ring, he was the Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien, who often skirmished with the allies of Sauron in that province. Faramir valiantly defended Gondor from the Enemy, but did not enjoy fighting for war’s sake.

In June of 3018, Sauron's forces attacked Osgiliath, under the command of the Witch-king, whose presence caused the soldiers to draw back across the Anduin. When the last bridge was destroyed, in which Boromir’s and Faramir's companies remained, the two brothers, along with two others, swam to shore and managed to hold all of the west shores of the Anduin.

The night before the assault, Faramir had a prophetic dream of a voice speaking the following riddle:

‟Seek for the Sword that was broken:

In Imladris it dwells;

There shall be counsels taken

Stronger than Morgul-spells.

There shall be shown a token

That Doom is near at hand,

For Isildur's Bane shall waken,

And the Halfling forth shall stand”

—Faramir's dream

It came to Faramir twice more and once to his brother, and the brothers told of their dream to Denethor, who only told them that Imladris was an Elvish name for Rivendell, home of Elrond. Although Faramir had wanted to go for Gondor’s sake and was originally chosen by the Council of Elders in Gondor, Boromir, with the urging of his father, stepped forward and claimed the right to the errand, deeming it to be dangerous and doubtful. The Gondorian traveled nearly four months to Rivendell, losing his horse in the process near Tharbad, and arrived just before the Council of Elrond.

On February 29, 3019 at midnight, Faramir, who was on guard duty on the western shore in Osgiliath, waded down to a boat floating down the Anduin River. To his grief, it contained the dead body of his brother, which was pierced with many wounds. In it lay his sword, broken, but there was no sign of the Great Horn, which he and his father had heard being blown far across the distance in the North three days prior.

(I’m not sure if it’s stated in the books if this was a vision or not, let me know guys if you know the answer!)

During a battle with Southrons, Faramir, who took over his brother's position as the Captain of the White Tower, encountered the Hobbits Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, recognizing them to be the Halflings his dream spoke of. After the skirmish, Faramir took the pair to Henneth Annûn and questioned them further.

Through intelligent questioning and intuition, Faramir determined that Frodo was carrying some great evil weapon of the Dark Lord of the Enemy. At this point, he showed the crucial difference between him and his proud brother:

“But fear no more! I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway. Not were Minas Tirith falling in ruin and I alone could save her, so, using the weapon of the Dark Lord for her good and my glory. No, I do not wish for such triumphs, Frodo son of Drogo.”

This is obviously a lot more different than how he was in the movies.

Sam accidentally revealed Boromir's desire for the Enemy’s Ring, Isildur's Bane. Despite the hobbits’ fears, Faramir remained true to his vow that he would not take it even if it lay on the highway, for he was wise enough to realize that such a weapon could not be used for good. With this knowledge, he also realized the peril his brother had faced.

On the very same night, Gollum was spotted fishing in the Forbidden Pool next to Henneth Annûn -- an act punishable by death. Faramir listened to Frodo’s pleas to spare Gollum’s life though, and after interrogating the creature he decided that Frodo and Sam would be free in the Lands of Gondor and Gollum under Frodo's protection. Giving them provisions, he sent them on their way to continue their quest. At their parting, Faramir warned Frodo of Gollum's treacherous nature and that the path Gollum had proposed (Cirith Ungol) had an evil reputation of old.

Faramir and his company retreated to Cair Andros, an island in the River Anduin that guarded the northern approaches to Minas Tirith. After noting that the sky was now covered in complete darkness, Faramir sent his company south to reinforce the garrison at Osgiliath while he and three others of his men rode to Minas Tirith directly. Along the way, they were pursued by the Nazgûl, riding fell beasts. The men, except Faramir, were unhorsed and it was the Captain, a master of both beasts and men, who was still horsed and rode back to aid the fallen. If Gandalf had not intervened, they would have surely perished.

Arriving at Minas Tirith, Faramir reported to Denethor and Gandalf of his encounter with Frodo and Sam. Denethor became angry that Faramir had not brought the ring to Gondor, wishing that he and his brother’s places were reversed, since Denethor believed that Boromir would bring the Enemy’s weapon to him.

Denethor sent his remaining son to hold Western Osgiliath against the hosts of the Enemy that outnumbered their own greatly. Although Faramir disagreed with his father’s strategy, he agreed to go.

The Witch-king overwhelmed the men of Gondor and won Osgiliath. Faramir drew back to the Causeway Forts, in which many of the men were wounded or killed. Faramir decided to stay with the rearguard in order to make sure that the retreat over Pelennor Fields would not turn into a disaster.

Faramir was gravely wounded by a poisonous arrow during the retreat. Fortunately, Gandalf and Faramir's uncle, Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth, rode to the aid of Faramir and the troops with hosts of cavalry. Imrahil bore Faramir back to Denethor, telling him that his son had done great deeds.

Regretting that he had thanklessly sent his son off in needless peril without his blessing, Denethor, after looking in the Palantir, believing that the Ring was captured and the end was near, ordered his servants to build a funeral pyre for him and his son, who was believed to be poisoned by the Witch-king’s dart. Despite the protests of the Hobbit, Pippin Took (serving the steward in payment of Boromir's death) that Faramir was still alive, Denethor continued with this madness and released him from his service.

Horrified, Pippin went to alert Gandalf and Beregond, one of the Tower Guards. Beregond, who loved his captain enough to abandon his post and risk his life protecting him, stopped the servants from lighting the pyre. Pippin returned with Gandalf, who intervened by taking Faramir off the pyre as Faramir moaned out to his father in his dreams. Denethor took out a knife, trying to take Faramir back, but Beregond placed himself in front of Faramir. Seeing that he could not win, Denethor lit the pyre and laid himself down upon it, burning himself alive.

Then, Faramir was laid in the Houses of Healing until Aragorn came and revived Faramir with athelas. It was not a poisoned dart of the Witch-king that wounded him in a state near death as it was with Snowmane, but the arrow of a Haradrim, along with Faramir’s weariness and grief concerning his constantly strained relationship with his father and the Black Breath of the Nazgul, who, under Sauron's orders, hunted Faramir ever since he had left Ithilien. When he awoke, Faramir immediately recognized Aragorn as his rightful King, therefore realizing that no proof was needed after all.

Before Aragorn left to lead the soldiers to the Black gate, he commanded the Warden of the Houses of Healing to have Faramir and Éowyn to remain resting for at least ten days. After Éowyn demanded that the Warden take her to the Steward of the City to have her released so she could ride out in battle, Faramir, whose heart was moved with pity and pierced by her beauty, told Éowyn that he too, had to heed the advice of the Warden. He fulfilled her request to have her room look east to Mordor and asked her to talk with him at times.

Faramir and Éowyn walked together in the gardens nearly every day, and he learned from Merry Brandybuck of Éowyn's despair of feeling trapped, waiting on the waning of Théoden, and of Aragorn's rejection of her love.

On March 25, Faramir gave Éowyn a dark blue mantle sewn with silver stars that had once belonged to his mother, as they stood at the wall that looked towards Mordor. There, they saw a threatening darkness towering over and seeing this, Faramir told her of his dream of the Downfall of Númenor that the darkness threatening to overtake Middle-earth reminded him of the great wave that swallowed the land of Númenor. Somehow, to Faramir and the people of the city, a hope and joy welled in their hearts and he kissed Éowyn’s brow.

Éowyn, however, still felt languished and unfulfilled. Several days after he gave her the mantle, Faramir told her that he understood that she desired to be lifted in greatness and out of the cage she had felt trapped in, and when Aragorn only gave her understanding and pity, instead of love (which she later realized was a shadow of love), she had wanted to die valiantly and gloriously in battle. He told her that though he had first pitied her, he now loved her. There, Éowyn’s grief was fully healed, and no longer did she desire glory or greatness and realized that she had come to love Faramir in return.

Faramir briefly served as the Ruling Steward of Gondor, and began preparing the city for the King's arrival. On the day of the King’s official coronation on May 1st, Faramir surrendered his office, which was represented by the white rod of the Steward, kneeling as he did so. Aragorn however, gave the rod back, announcing that as long as his line would last, Faramir and his descendants would be Stewards of Gondor. After Faramir had asked the people of Gondor if they accepted Aragorn as their King (which they did), Faramir took the crown out and Aragorn was crowned King Elessar.

King Elessar appointed Faramir as the Prince of Ithilien, and Beregond to be the Captain of his guard, the White Company. As Prince of Ithilien, he and the Prince of Dol Amroth, Gondor's two highest-ranking nobles, became King Elessar's chief commanders. His duties also included acting as resident march-warden of Gondor's main eastward outpost, rehabilitating the lost territories, as well as clearing it of outlaws and orcs and cleansing Minas Morgul of evil remnants. Faramir also fulfilled the traditional role as Steward, acting as the King’s chief counselor as well as ruling Gondor in the King's absence.

After marrying Éowyn, the two settled in Emyn Arnen, where they had at least one son (named Elboron). Elboron would succeed Faramir as Steward of Gondor, Prince of Ithilien, and Lord of Emyn Arnen, after Faramir's death in FO 82. Faramir lived to be 120 years old, due to the large percentage of pure Dúnedain ancestry he possessed as a member of the nobility of Gondor. One of his descendants was Barahir, who may have been the son of Elboron.

Other names and Titles -

Captain of the Rangers of lthilien

Captain of the White Tower

Steward to the King of Gondor

Lord of Emyn Arnen

Prince of Ithilien

[imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul]

Don’t Go Back - Boromir

Part of the Hamilton Prompts. Song: You’ll Be Back AU where Boromir doesn’t die and returns to Gondor with the crew.

Your eyes were on the broad soldier as he walked up the stone steps of Gondor, his home. Boromir had talked of little else the entire trip, but now that you were here, he didn’t say a thing. You walked with Pippin behind him. Boromir had offered to help Gandalf bring Pippin to the safe white halls of Gondor, and Aragorn had suggested you come along. 

You and Boromir had been the closest during your adventure, and Aragorn must have sensed that there would be some turmoil that you would need to be here for. Pippin looked at you, expressing the same look of worry. Deciding that the silence was suffocating, you picked up your pace until you were in step with Boromir.

“How long has it been since you’ve been back, my lord?” you asked.

“Nearly a year,” he said. 

“You must be excited to see your family.”

“Yes,” he said strangely. You looked back at Pippin who didn’t look at all relieved. You fell back in step with the young hobbit, following behind Boromir. The white walls that led up to the city were long and winding. It was nearly midday by the time you reached the castle. Boromir took a deep breath as he stood in front of the doors. You put your hand on his shoulder. He smiled back at you before pushing them open.

A man was sitting at the throne, and you knew immediately that this must be Boromir’s father, Denethor. You didn’t know this because he looked like the handsome man to your right, but because Gandalf had told you about the man pretending to be king. 

“Welcome! Welcome!” Denethor shouted, descending his throne and walking towards his son. He clapped him in a warm embrace, and Boromir introduced the group. 

“Where is Faramir?” Boromir asked, finally smiling a bit. Denethor’s face barely fell as he told his elder son what had befell his brother. You watched as Boromir’s smile was slapped off his face, and tried to hold onto him as he rushed towards the hospital.

Gandalf let you go, and insisted that Pippin stay with him. You tried to get Boromir to slow down, especially considering that you had no idea where you were going. But he wouldn’t, and he didn’t. Not until he found his brother.

Faramir was handsome like his brother, but with hair of bright red than Boromir. He looked more peaceful, too, as he lay on the bed. Boromir fell to his knees next to his brother, and watched him. Denethor told the tale of how Faramir was injured, protecting a pair of hobbits from orcs. 

You sat down next to Boromir, awaiting in silence as he watched his brother. You sat there as long as he did, only leaving when he did. Boromir walked just as fast as he did when he went to see his brother, this time fueled by rage. He came storming into the throne room again.

“What have you done?” he bellowed, looking at his father. Denethor smiled smugly, and you watched as Boromir puffed out his chest, ready to face his father.

“What do you mean? I am taking care of your brother.”

“You’re the one who put him there! You put him in danger!”

“Because you were gone.” Denethor spoke softly, but his words cut deep into Boromir. You touched his elbow, hoping to pull him away from this, but he pulled away from you. “Remember we made an arrangement when you went away. Now you’re making me mad.”

“I’m making you mad? You care so little for Faramir that you would put his life at risk for nothing!”

“I did what I had to!”

“No, you did what you wanted. Like you always do. It’s time you stepped down. You are not the rightful king.”

“And who is? That ranger? He’ll get himself killed.”

“No one will live under your tyranny anymore!”

“You’ll be back, like before,” Denethor said, again ignoring his son. “I will fight the fight, and win the war. For your love, for your prais-”

“You’ll never deserve my praise,” Boromir scolded. He stormed out of the throne room, barely leaving time for you to catch up with him.

You woke up in the night to get some water, and found Boromir sitting out by the fire. His hair glowing in the firelight. You made your way over to him, and sat across from him.

“Are you now my shadow?” he asked with a smirk.

“I have been for the last few months,” you answered immediately. He smiled and nodded softly. “Don’t go back to your father.” Boromir looked up in confusion.

“What?”

“Don’t go back to him. You’re right. He doesn’t deserve your praise.”

“Who does?” he asked. 

“Your brother. Aragorn.”

“You.” You looked up at him and blushed.

“I’m not sure-”

“I am. I’m grateful that you’ve become my shadow.”

“You deserve praise, too, you know. You fought against the power of the ring. You made it home.”

“What’s left of it.” You touched his hand softly. “This doesn’t feel like my home anymore.”

“It will. Give it time. Nothing feels like usual in these dark times.” He smiled and nodded appreciatively.

“Thank you, Y/N.” You nodded and stood to walk away. Boromir stood, too, and before you could leave the warmth of the fire, he pulled you close. Boromir’s chest was as warm as the fire as his lips touched yours softly. He pulled away and rested his head against yours.

“Don’t go back,” you said again.

“I won’t.”