#definitely ship frodo/sam btw

[thequestionisalwaysmangoes]

Just saw Return of the King for the first time, and goddamn did i make a fantastic decision to wait to watch it in a theater 10/10. Anyway, I got unreasonably attatched to Merry and couldn’t stop thinking about this little scene on the drive home. Picture a meeting of hobbit leaders preparing for another Fell Winter situation or something. Enjoy<3

“And who are you to order us around?” Asked a hobbit in the crowd.

Merry stared at him for a moment.

“I’m Meriadoc Brandybuck,” he began, voice harder than most had ever heard from the usually fun-loving, mischievous hobbit, “And in a few years I am in line to be the Master of Buckland. But more than that…“

Then he drew his sword.

Immediately the hobbits nearest to him took several large steps backward, chittering nervously. They had all seen it on him, over the years, but after a while had thought nothing of it. That certainly wasn’t the case anymore.

“I was one of the Fellowship of the Ring, traveling South with Frodo Baggins on the quest to destroy the One Ring of Sauron. On that journey, I was gifted this blade by the Elven Lady Galadriel of Lorien, and have kept it by my side ever since.

“I rode into the Battle of Minas Tirith with the Shield-Lady Eowyn of Rohan and was one of the first to follow King Aragorn of Arnor into the Battle at the Black gate. With this blade I have slain more orcs than there are Tooks.”

Merry sheathed the blade.

“Now, are we going to get on with this or sit around flapping our gums until the Wargs come calling?”

[dukeofdelirium]

Let’s talk about something more positive: what are your top 10 gay ships?

Oh god idk if I have 10 but let’s see!

1) lawlight. 1000000000% LAWLIGHT lmao! I’m obsessed. OBSESSED with them. I’ve been obsessed with this ship for over 14 years. They make me actually rabid and crazy like nothing else. Everything about this ship and their dynamic drives me nutty. They are the only real “enemies to lovers” ship I’ve ever gaf about or probably ever will. There’s something sooooo Shakespearean tragedy coded about this pairing and they are genuinely so fun to analyze to me. I’ll never get bored of them!

2) byler! Definitely byler!!! I love this ship so much. Best friends to lovers is always gonna be my favorite overall trope (despite the lawlight obsession) because I just think it’s gahhhh so sweet!! Mike and Will being together will be the perfect conclusion to stranger things imo and I’m so excited for the final season!!

3) korrasami! I remember when they went canon. I was so shocked I didn’t even believe we actually WON with a gay ship. This pairing was groundbreaking for cartoons and is the reason we have gay rep in kids shows now too

4) zukaang! I am a multi shipper so I ship Aang with Katara and Zuko too. I love Zuko and Aang’s dynamic and I think there is a ton of canonical support for this ship, too. I guess they’re technically an “enemies to lovers” but I don’t rlly think of them that way. Anyway, I think they’re cute!

credit to Noquelle for the fanart!

5) patrochilles, obviously there’s the Iliad but there’s also a novel called The Song of Achilles which I highly recommend if you’ve never read it and want gay rep. It’s a beautifully written novel that is about Achilles and Patroclus and makes an argument for the interpretation of them being lovers (which was common in ancient times)

credit to awanqi on Twitter for the fanart

6) frowise??? Samfro???? Sam and Frodo from The Lord of the Rings! I’ve always loved these two. And if you think the films are gay, the books are gayer. They cuddle, hold hands, kiss and tell each other they love each other in the novels. They are precious and I love them soooo much

7) this one’s gonna sound silly but me and my friends ship quimbry (Quil and Embry) from Twilight lmao. We wanted gay rep and then it just kind of snowballed. I have like 7 fanfics on my ao3 written for them …. 😂😂😂 idgaf that they’re fanon either cuz they’re real to me and I’m obsessed with them. My ao3 is the same as my tumblr btw if you wanted to read my fics! it’s dukeofdelirium

8) (edit I can’t believe I forgot them!) WILMON from Young Royals! Such a sweet pairing and I was so obsessed with them when I watched this show. Such a good show too. Highly recommend and the actors had amazing chemistry

9) REDDIE? I remember this one breaking my heart a bit. I’m not a hugely active shipper of it but it’s cute and really sad

10) Jack and Ennis from Brokeback Mountain:(((( this movie really and truly ruined my life and did something to me when I watched it as a 10 yr old. Somethin about growing up in the south as a closeted gay boy…. Heath and Jake were insane in this film their chemistry was nuts

Hmmm I can’t think of anything else at the moment! I’m very particular about the stuff I ship, it rlly has to scratch a niche itch in my brain for me to be really and truly obsessed with it.

Thanks for bringing something positive to the ask box! :) what are your favorite gay ships, anon?

[enamouredless]

(I sent this yesterday after my first ask but I don't think you got it, my wifi was bad.) No I get it, I agree that just because actors speak positively or lightheartedly about it, doesn't mean byler is endgame / Will gets a perfect happy ending. I know everyone always says "Don't compare them to other shows/ships" but. It really truly would not be the first time something like this happened and I would be extremely disappointed but not that surprised. Imo, giving a tragic character a tragic (or just meh) ending is bad, but the duffers might think it's peak television. Or maybe they are the kind of people who think Will not getting the guy is "just realistic". And actors could just say what they're told to, what fits the current vibe or whatever. Idk. I won't know until I have seen s5 myself. Byler and happy Will make narrative sense to me but that doesn't really mean much. I'm v curious about all your predictions now, what do you think is most likely gonna happen to everyone?

I honestly can't be certain about anything, tbh I try not to think too much abt S5 bc if I do I'll set expectations for myself that'll never end up happening lmao but if I'm talking in a positive the best I can see realistically go down is some sort of weird ambiguous gay ending? think something like Sam and Frodo.. in a more negative way I feel like all the events of these season do matter whether we like them or not, the lie abt the painting is going to be revealed and just like will said at rinkomania when mike finds out abt it he's gonna be mad and they'll def argue (the only good thing I can hope out of this is will getting the last word in an argument for once lol) like.. I'm not sure how big of a storyline this will be, I can definitely see vecna trying to use this all for his advantage to try to get will on his side, and honestly? If he's in a bad state emotionally I can see him being persuaded, ''my life started the day we find you in the woods'' remember? Vecna is definitely bringing that back lmao

I feel like this whole season was just building up ammunition to try to get will to break or snap or something next season(and I'm soooo not looking forward to seeing this tbh this season was already enough angst to last me a lifetime) but like despite all of this, Im like 100% that henry and will are meant to be character foils of each other, so whatever happens I think will end up going against him bc at the end of the day o don't think the duffers spent 4 seasons showing how selfless and kind will is to just end up straight up turning him into a villain, also how homophobic that would be....

Also m*leven side note I have no idea what's in store for them, idk how a love confession led by a lie is meant to be a good thing for them (and not any lie btw, wills feelings disguised as elevens) in my head this is something that should doom the entire relationship + the fact that max died during the monologue (just like Nancy and barb) but in reality the only thing this will do is just something to set up some conflict for them for the season just so they have something to argue about before they end up getting back together towards the end of the season like they always do... there's also the weird looming idea of marriage that makes my skin crawl but as much as I hate it I feel like it might be an actual possibility 😐 like I'm soooo serious if this happens I'm not watching S5 at all

There's more stuff that I think that might happen in s5 especially with all the time references they have been making throughout the show but if I get into that this answer will be 500 pages long so I'll also expect to be something time related, maybe even time manipulation especially related to will, I can also see vecna try to give him the opportunity to go back so none of this would've happened and he could've been able to live a normal life but will like the angel he is would tell him no and to fuck off, but this is more leaning into a full on theory based on nothing so idk what's the likelihood of it happening lol, thanks for the ask btw!!

[wonderingboat]

One idea that I got when writing this fic (The light ) is that maybe Eärendil does guide and lead every single white ship that sailing to the West by himself.

In The Silmarillion, we have the below description:

And they taught that, while the new world fell away, the old road and the path of the memory of the West still went on, as it were a mighty bridge invisible that passed through the air of breath and of flight (which were bent now as the world was bent), and traversed Ilmen which flesh unaided cannot endure, until it came to Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle, and maybe even beyond, to Valinor,

So these ships will actually fly into the sky and cross specifically the air Ilmen, and Ilmen is “the region of airs where the stars are”, and also the level of the Sun, the Moon. So there is where Eärendil sails every day and keeps watch the Door of Night I suppose.

In the Lord of the Ring, the last chapter: 

Then Frodo kissed Merry and Pippin, and last of all Sam, and went aboard; and the sails were drawn up, and the wind blew, and slowly the ship slipped away down the long grey firth; and the light of the glass of Galadriel that Frodo bore glimmered and was lost.……

But to Sam the evening deepened to darkness as he stood at the Haven

The ship that Frodo and Elrond went aboard set sail just at the time of sunset, when the star is about to rise; and though this is very likely to be over-interpreting, but the light of the glass is from the star of Eärendil……so I think it is somehow reasonable to take this as an interpretation that they will be guided by Gil-Estel.

Additionally, Eärendil did have done this kind of “guider of voyage” business before —  that is why Númenor is also known as Elenna, 'Starwards'. 

Btw, did anyone on that ship actually know the way? None of them have sailed to the west before… I think? So they will definitely need a good guide, or a guard as well, for this kind of unfamiliar traveling. 

And I can not think of anyone else to be more suitable for this task (maybe except Ulmo), for this will be a voyage that crosses the ocean & the sky, that will require a lot of skills, knowledge of both navigation and aviation, and a good sense of direction as well, and Eärendil has been doing this kind of sailing twice a day since, like, at least 3000 years ago? Surly capable of this task, and without extra effort as long as they keep setting sail at the right timing ( sunrise or sunset I can not decided maybe both ok)

So it will be super fun to think that all the Falathrim sailor might be quite a fan of the most well-known mariner in history, they will be like  “YEAHHHHH” to see Eärendil coming down to greet them ( with “ Eärendil the Mariner, at your service” or sth else) , they could cry out with “ this is the most worth seeing thing for the whole voyage don't you agree”, and Elrond will be like, “yeah, en, maybe, but that is my dad.”

[lovely-v]

idk if you read fanfiction but in case you do, have you got any you specially enjoy?? i'd like to read some good ones. btw I love your blog 💚

Hey! Thanks for the ask you're so sweet <3

I absolutely do read fanfiction but very...sporadically? Like I'll go through periods where I don't read anything for months and months and then I'll get super into something and read like...everything I can find.

I'm assuming you're (maybe??) asking me for lord of the rings fanfic recs because at the moment I'm ostensibly a lotr blog. I read a lot of Sam/Frodo so I'll recommend a few of my favorites. If that's not what you're looking for, then I'm not going to be much help. sorry ahahaha it's basically all I can provide :)

So:

- Harvest and Home by Illegible_Scribble (Rated G). This one I'd really recommend if you're not looking for something that focuses too heavily on romance/relationships. Like it does near the end but it's more of a heartwarming found-family type deal. Also this author has done a lot of other great stuff, I'd highly recommend their fic Instead of Celebrations or Grand Reunions as well (it's also rated G and it's a very sweet alternate version of the part of RotK where Sam and Frodo wake up in Minas Tirith)

- Flesh Spread Thin Over Aching Bones (A Song in the Wind) by ohmygoshwhatascream (Rated T - i think mostly for violence?). The author's tags describe this fic as "basically your typical cirith ungol angst" but it is in fact some of the best cirith ungol angst i've ever set eyes upon. I am not immune to hurt/comfort.

- I Don't Care by OpportunityRover (Rated G). This is one of my favorite mid-quest type stories. Everything about it is wonderful. It's heart-wrenching in all my favorite ways.

- Sunlight and Sugar by bri_notthecheese (Rated G). Some quality post-quest comfort. I won't give too much away about this one except I will say that I've read it mayyybe five times.

I think that's plenty of recs for now. I was referencing my ao3 bookmarks for this, but I've definitely read a lot of quality content that I've forgotten to bookmark, so there's a lot more out there. (and if anyone else wants to add on feel free!)

Again, if this wasn't what you were asking me for I'm sorry lmaooo I just really enjoy this ship

[unopenablebox]

hm. being reminded about the frodo and sam actors thing nearly killed me. what year is it. ok to be clear this is someone who hung around f_w at the time and not someone who shipped lotr actors although maybe this would be a more entertaining anon message if i was?

so in fairness to @feferi and others who remembered this, & who i accused of being old, i actually also remembered it was called “domlijah” but then thought “no, because.... dominic something was definitely pippin’s actor.....” 

so i was wrong on two counts because first of all dominic monaghan played merry and second of all it was domlijah so i guess people believed it was the frodo and merry actors who were secretly gay and using their shirt colors to signal that they were being suppressed by management. (i love that shirt color is apparently a classic, recurring signal adopted by tinhats thruout history btw.) i know i could go find extensive lj tinhat histories of these events if i chose but it kind of feels better for there to be at least one prominent fandom lj controversy that happened when i was in kindergarten that i just don’t really know anything about

[faustandfurious]

Hello! I just saw your post about Boromir being Asexual, and I absolutely adore it! I coincidentally just came out to my family as Aromantic/Asexual, and I wanted to get your thoughts on something. I'm considering writing a couple imagines about bonding over being Aromantic/Asexual with various Tolkien characters that I headcanon as Aroace, like Fili and Boromir. Do you think anyone would read that? And what do you think that scenario would be like? Thanks so much, I love your blog btw!

Wahoo, congratulations on coming out, first of all! And I’m so glad you liked that post. A note about that: I wrote it when I was much less familiar with the precise terminology around the aromantic and asexual spectrum orientations and accidentally used “ace” as a sort of catchall term for what should of course have been “aroace” since that’s what I essentially describe in the post.

What’s really amazing about Tolkien is how one doesn’t even need to deviate from canon to view various characters as aroace; canonically there are so many of them who simply find so many other things a whole lot more important than romantic relationships. Notable examples, in addition to Boromir, would be Frodo and Bilbo, who form deep bonds of friendship with their quest companions but never marry or show any kind of obvious romantic attraction. I can definitely see the appeal of shipping them romantically with other people, and there are moments between Frodo and Sam that definitely can be interpreted in a romantic light, but going purely by what’s explicity written in canon, the two MAIN CHARACTERS of The Hobbit and LotR are pretty much the epitome of aroace.

A good number of aro/ace people I have spoken to love Tolkien’s works for precisely this reason: the plot is not overshadowed by romance, and so many people have fulfilling lives that do not involve a romantic partner. That is so incredibly liberating in a society where a lot of fantasy literature absolutely has to have everyone coupled up in a standard hetero romance by the end of the book. What I’m saying is that there is definitely a community of people who will love to see that implied canon aroace representation that they find so relatable, expanded upon, so please go ahead and write this!

[agent-jaselin]

B D G K O

B: A pairing you initially didn’t consider but someone changed your mind. I could cop out here and say, “all of them” because most ships I find I only really ship them until I see some brilliant writing that shows me how good it could be. ha, I often first come to fandoms for platonic stuff so that’s how it generally lands.Hmm,  I suppose Riddlebat would land here, because I first saw it and was like. “what really?” Not cause I had a problem but because I just never really considered Batman dating one of the rogues, but I’ve seen some really good stuff for it, and found it is quite nice.D: A pairing you wished you like but just can’tHa, another case of my chill demeanor making it hard for me to think of one I guess! I can’t think of any for the rogues at the moment? but for other fandoms hmm. probably Frodo/Sam or Watson/Sherlock. I can see why people ship them but for me it’s like, I’m ace and they were my first examples of really deep and meaningful platonic love that wasn’t anything more. So even though theoretically I’d ship it I just can’t cause like, they are my platonic ships for life yeah?G: Do you remember your first OTP, if so who was it.Secret of NIHM, Mrs. Brisby and Justin. I was eight and I never drew or wrote anything for it, but I saw them and was instantly like. “Oh these guys are meant to be. K: How do you feel about other people in your current fandom.They all seem like pretty fun, friendly, and chill people. As usual I just have my little corner I roam around in, but everyone in that corner seems pretty cool.O: Choose a song at random, which OTP does it remind you of.“Ode to the Underdog” JD Eicher and the GoodnightsThis immediately just makes me think of Stan Pines and not an OTP. But, I’d say otp wise it makes me think of Jonathan/Eddie in @pocketyoursnotrags‘s 80′s au, though I’ve only just started getting into it. IT definitely seems like it might fit though? (Listen to his music btw very uplifting when your depressed ha.)