#denethor deserves worse.

[friendship-ditch]

Whumptober Day 13 - Multiple Whumpees

Platonic Boromir and Faramir x Fem!Reader ✼

Summary: Faramir thinks he's cursed, Boromir blames himself for it, you comfort them both.

Warnings/Notes: Just some family trauma. Also the prompt "family curse"

Word Count: 1279

 “Am I a curse?”

  Boromir winced at his brother's heartbreaking words, shaking his head.

  “No, you’re not.”

  “I do not believe father would agree.” Faramir mumbled quietly in response.

  “No… he probably wouldn’t.”

  After Faramir got… let’s just say he got beat pretty good in training with his brother, Boromir realized the consequences that would soon follow. If Denethor even saw the tiniest splatter of blood on Faramir’s skin, the poor man would be verbally harassed and beaten down once more for being weak.

  In reality Faramir’s nose only began to bleed after a striking hit took Boromir out but the handle of his sword bounced back and hit him right in the face. Boromir would never willingly hurt his brother and would feel awful afterwards if it were an accident, but this was worrying too.

  “Stop staring.” Faramir muttered, a rag still held to his nose. The blood was slowing down from its pour but the bruise was incredibly purple and blue. Anybody could see it. “It doesn’t hurt. I’ll be fine.”

  “Father will have your head.”

  “Then he may have it. I’m sick of trying to fight him, Boromir. No matter what I do, the blame will always be on me. I’m the lesser–”

  “Don’t say that.” Boromir stopped him, smacking his leg in warning. “Stop. Just stop. We’ll figure this out.”

  With a huff, Faramir’s shoulders sank. His head dipped forward but more blood came gushing out so he picked it back up. “There’s nothing to figure out. Just let me accept the ridiculing and get it over with.”

  Boromir’s brow creased with worry. There was nothing more he hated seeing than the way his brother thought of himself after so many days of abuse from their father. He fought against it but whenever he stood up for Faramir things only seemed to get worse.

  “Maybe I’m the curse.” Boromir wondered aloud. When he felt Faramir’s eyes flick to him, he turned his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m the one you’re always compared to… the only one father sees, and I hate it because of how it makes you feel. It’s my fault father treats you this way.”

  “Now you’re the one rambling.”

  “It is true. Is it not?”

  “Well… you needn’t word it that way. It makes you sound like a monster.” Faramir took his turn to punch his brother gently in the arm. “Maybe we’re both cursed.”

  “Maybe…”

  The brothers offered each other a sad smile, one shared often in times like this.

  “I have a plan but you won’t like it.”

  “Always the mischievous one.” Faramir’s little grin was happier now, earning a tilt of his head. “What is it?”

  “Punch me. Then we’ll both be hurt and it’ll look like you got me good.”

  “You’re kidding right?”

  “No.”

  “I’m not doing that.”

  “Faramir…”

  “No! I’m not going to bruise your face up just to save me from a scolding.” Faramir crossed his arms and stood up. His nose finally stopped bleeding, the rag discarded on the bench he was once sat on. He began to pace. “There has to be another way.”

  “Another way for what?”

  Both of the brothers looked up as you entered the training hall, sleeves pushed up and hair tied back from a busy day of… who knows what. Then they exchanged a glance.

  “How willing would you be to punch me?” Boromir asked.

  A small smirk tugged at your lips. You’d been friends with the brothers for as long as you could remember. You were all practically siblings at this point. Punching Boromir was something you often warned about but never actually did because he didn’t deserve it. But if you were being offered…?

  “What’s the reason?” You asked, sitting where Faramir had been. 

  “I got hurt. Boromir thinks that if he’s hurt as well then our father won’t scold me.” The standing man explained. Disapproval was written clearly on his face, but also the slightest bit of hope.

  “Wouldn’t you just get in trouble for hurting Boromir then?”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  Boromir joined it. “Would he really think that?”

  You and Faramir exchanged a glance. “Yes.”

  So, the idea was dropped. Although you were not at all opposed to it, you didn’t want to risk Faramir getting into any more trouble than he already would be.

  Eventually you all did head back into the main halls of Gondor and with one look at his wounded son, Denethor took him aside and wouldn’t let you or Boromir follow.

  You practically had to drag Boromir away from the locked doors. You brought him to Faramir’s chambers so the two of you could be there to comfort him after the inevitable… whatever would come from his father.

  You spent the time tidying Faramir’s things, though the room was incredibly neat, so your job mostly consisted of picking up the tiniest dust bunnies by hand and dumping them into the trash bin. Boromir made quick work of an old blanket he sat on, nails digging into the fabric like the claws of a kneading cat. He spoke not a word, eyes angled firmly on the ground as he silently took it out on himself.

  The silence was deafening. 

  When even humming didn’t help, you finally tried to strike a conversation with the suddenly reserved man.

  “What are you thinking about?”

  Boromir didn’t lift his head, staring at a speck on the floor with such ferocity it should have melted by now. His fingers continued their rhythmic clawing at the blanket beneath him. “My whole family is cursed.” He muttered. “And it’s my fault.”

  “Elaborate.” You sat beside him, hand on his knee.

  “My mother was cursed with sickness… my father with madness. My brother is cursed with an unlovable father and it’s because of me. If I wasn’t here… there would be nothing for him to take out on Faramir. And when I stand up for him… it only gets worse.” Boromir whispered softly, voice cracking under the weight of his emotions. He’d clearly been thinking about this for a long time. The words began to spill out against his will. “There’s nothing I can do but sit back and watch my father destroy my brother and it destroys me too.”

  “It isn’t your fault.”

  “It is.”

  “It’s not.” You shook your head, squeezing his knee and then shaking it a little. “You’re not the one being cruel to your brother. You’re the opposite, you’re one of the reasons he’s still okay despite your fathers actions. If you were as evil as you seem to think, you would feel the same about Faramir as Denethor does.”

  Boromir looked at you, reading your eyes as though he was searching for any deception. When he found none, the anger in his gaze faded and he sighed, leaning his head against your shoulder.

  The two of you shared a few moments of peace when the door opened and Faramir entered.

  He was surprised to see the two of you in his chambers, eyes already red and lips tight from the encounter with Denethor. He hesitated at the doorway.

  You beckoned him over, patting the spot beside you.

  Faramir did as you said, settling at your side in the same position as Boromir. 

  “Neither of you two are cursed.” You murmured as you slipped your arms around their sides and pulled them into a gentle hug. “I promise. You just have an awfully shitty father.”

  This drew a chuckle from Boromir, and some sort of approving grunt from Faramir who didn’t trust himself to speak yet. You just squeezed them tighter and held them as close as you could. 

[torchwood-99]

In-Law Headcanons

Eowyn and Denethor have a fractious relationship. They can barely be in each other's company for five minutes without getting into a snark fest, which makes their bi-weekly family dinners something of a trial. To outlookers, their relationship is strained and unloving. In truth, Denethor and Eowyn get a kick at having someone to snark at and let their sharp tongues loose on.

People express sympathy for Faramir but actually it suits him well, because it means they can direct that bluntness at each other and he doesn't have to get involved (unless he suspects one of them is going to say something they're going to regret). That Denethor actually approves of Eowyn, and they all act as buffers for each other, goes a long way to improving his and Denethor's relationship (especially as Eowyn is so quick to tell Denethor when she thinks he's not doing right by Faramir.)

By way of comparison, Faramir's relationship with Theoden never moves past polite civility. While the distance between them contributes to this, even when they spend extended periods of time together, any concern or loyalty Faramir feels towards Theoden is for Eowyn's sake, and for Eowyn's sake he can never really warm to Theoden.

When they're together, neither Theoden nor Eowyn can really help but slip back into old habits, which Faramir finds deeply frustrating, and it takes a fair deal of self-control for Faramir to supress his quiet but simmering rage at Theoden's instinctive expectation that Eowyn would just pick up where she left off and wait on him, and to gently divert the burden of service away from Eowyn (Eowyn's gratitude for this is unspoken but deeply felt.)

The main difference is that for all their squabbling, Eowyn and Denethor get each other. Both know what it is to crumble under the burden of having to be the one to keep everything together, both of them have had their deepest fears and insecurities used against them by a thing/person speaking with the voice of Sauron. Both of them have reached a moment when it seemed nothing was worse living for anymore, except to have a death that defied everything demanded of them in life.

Even Denethor's attempted murder-suicide with Faramir, Eowyn came to understand as being an act of love from someone who had just been pushed to the brink, and wanted to spare Faramir a "shameful" death at the hands of the enemy.

This is in now way how Eowyn feels about Denethor at the beginning of their relationship, at the beginning Eowyn outright despises Denethor for his treatment of Faramir, and Denethor's pride puts him at odds with her own, but over time, and after Denethor and Faramir's own relationship warms and Denethor himself heals from the ordeal he had been through, neither one can deny the similarities between themselves, and Denethor especially comes to love Eowyn, for loving Faramir so much, and giving him the affection and happiness Faramir deserves, (which even after healing, Denethor doubts he is capable of giving him.)

With Theoden and Faramir, however, Faramir just cannot understand Theoden at all. For years Theoden had had Eowyn in his house, raised her, knew her nearly all her life. He had been cared by her and tended by her since she was little more than a teenager, and his entire court respects her and holds her in high regard, yet he never seems to appreciate Eowyn as anything more than his "obedient little niece who (for the most part) does her uncle's bidding in respectful silence."

Sometimes Faramir just wants to take Theoden by the shoulders and shake him, and scream some sense into him (not that dissimilar to how Eowyn dealt with Denethor in early days, to be honest) but he knows Eowyn wouldn't thank him for that, especially as her uncle isn't around long enough for them to work through any arguments or fall outs, so he forces himself to be civil, but damn it, it requires a lot of force.

A less critical headcanon of Theoden is that he gets a similar speech from Gandalf that Eomer gets, and that combined with Eowyn's great deed on the Pelennor, it does wake him up a bit and knocks into his head what sort of person his niece is. He recognises his own faults as a "father figure" and can sense that Faramir recognises them as well and beneath his civil manner, judges him for it hard, and while their relationship doesn't begin on as sour a note as Denethor and Eowyn's, perhaps rather less so, they don't have enough in common, nor do they spend enough time together, for them to build up a rapport between them, and that sense of Faramir's judgement always lies between them, unspoken but felt nonetheless.

[maeofthenoldor]

I am god and now am giving out sexualities to lotr charachters because no one can stop me. And I have insomnia and sleep deprived.

Frodo: A gay trans man and on the ace spectrum

Samwise: Bisexual and there's a reason I nickname him transwise gamgee. (samfro is t4t)

Pippin: Just a feral nonbinary guy (They/he) and is pansexual. he falls in love easily. Probalbly had a crush on everyone they met throughout the journey. (he even had a crush on tom bombadil because he liked his little gay songs)

Merry: Token straight out of the hobbits and is in love with eowyn, which is now his sexuality.... (I mean i dont blame him)

Boromir: Definitely not straight. I mean have you seen him? gay, absolutely gay

Aragorn: Straight but has questioned his gender many times.

Gandalf: The most aro/ace icon out there. Uses all pronouns. Will trans your gender and turn homophobes, transphobes and general bigots into toads. Move out of her way or you will be crushed by her heels.

Legolas: pretty fluid when it comes to gender, mostly uses he/they pronouns however he really doesn't mind anything else. He identifies as queer.

Gimli: he's a bear bisexual and will kill anyone who purposely misgenders another. He is dating his partner Legolas and has a lot of fun with them when they hunt down bigots.

Eowyn: She is bisexual and also loved merry (except they are both too scared to make the first move)

Faramir: Gandalf helped him transition when he was a child. All he wants is to be accepted by his father. Boromir loves that he has a brother. He is also unlabled.

Denethor: Repressed bisexual.

Arwen: I cant tell if shes straight or bi, but I’m leaning towards the latter

Elrond: The best dad in the world, but otherwise he is also straight.

Bilbo: The gay traumatized fun uncle. Obviously had a dwarf husband, but sadly is widowed. Now he sings his gay little songs and everyone adores him. mood tbh

Eomer: Straight but is extremely supportive of Gimli and Legolas that he cries whenever they do something sweet to one another. It gets worse when he's drunk.

Theodred: Hes not even really in the book but I need to spread my Boromir/Theodred rare pair ship. Hes bisexual obviously. 

Galadriel: Intersex, nonbinary (they/she) and has a hot trophy husband.

Celeborn: the trophy husband, a trans man and is queer. 

Saruman: He is the definition of the queer-coded villain. I mean his name is saurman of all colours and he literally transforms into a gay pride flag.

Tom Bombadil & Goldberry: They deserve to be grouped as one because they are the best representation of a queer platonic couple out there. Goals.

Rosie Cotton: Bi but doe sent really know it, but if she ever met Goldberry, she might then have her awakening.

last and not least we have Sauron himself, and anyone whose read the Silmarillion know exactly what his sexuality is. so go read it.

Anyway tell me your hcs if you have any, I would love to hear them.

[sonxofxgondor]

Anonymous asked: Since you are the Boromir Blog, I’d humbly like to offer you my Boromir headcanon.

So, we all know that Faramir is the forgotten child. Nothing is ever good enough and Denethor doesn’t bat an eye at him unless he has something to complain about. Boromir is the absolute favorite. I have concluded that this means that Boromir is most definitely saddled with sky high expectations for everything he does. Faramir can’t do anything right, Boromir isn’t allowed to do anything wrong.

And this entire situation is worse since Boromir grew up in a period of heavy societal unrest. His country is falling apart at the seams and he is the one supposed to keep it together. This expectation has been put upon him since he was little too, so he probably has an extreme fear of failure. With their mother passing away and Denethor rather ignoring Faramir’s existence, a lot of the bonding and comfort tasks were probably shoved onto Boromir too.

Boromir has to be perfect at everything he does; the perfect brother, the perfect son, the perfect noble, the perfect soldier, the perfect protector, the perfect everything. Boromir is this (/\) close to burning out, but if he were to do that, countless of people would die. This man is ten minutes and some bad news away from collapsing on a good day, but nobody other than Faramir gets to notice because he has to keep everything up. If he doesn’t live up to Father’s expectations, he also can’t keep his ire away from Faramir. If he doesn’t live up to expectation, his people will lose their lives.

TLDR: I hc that Boromir was raised to be the ‘perfect older sibling’ type on steroids + the looming threat of his country collapsing. I think not enough people account for the fact that Denethor wouldn’t be good for his other son either, it just goes in the opposite direction than Faramir. I am so sorry for the rant, I just need someone to yap to.

Anonymous Messages!

AH! OKAY! Firstly, thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to message me, Nonnie! I know it might seem silly to say, but truly, it means the world to me that you feel comfortable to do so. Never apologize for sending something to me - I LOVE hearing your thoughts and opinions on things, whether it be of my own work or just the wonderfulness that is our beloved Steward-Prince. My inbox is ALWAYS open; I value your time and friendship beyond what words could express. I also want to say thank you for the lovely compliment! I only hope and pray that I do Boromir justice! Our dashing boy deserves nothing but the best - and I do hope that my writing continues to provide that for him and you.

Secondly, that headcanon SHOULD be solid canon, and no, I won't hear otherwise. More so seen in the movies than in the books, it's clear that Boromir feels to be under constant stress and pressure. Not solely from his position as steward-prince or as captain, but as brother and son, like you mentioned. Look, Denethor was obviously devastated after the death of his dear wife. He went mad with grief. He lost part of himself when she was gone; he'd never come to love again. HOWEVER. That doesn't make what he's done to his children alright or appropriate. Bouncing off of what you've said, I find that Boromir had to be more than just a brother-figure to Faramir. Both father and mother when he was only a boy, a protector and provider. Not that he would've minded much, though, for it's very obvious that he adores little brother and loves him more than, well, literally anything. I mean, heck, JRR makes a point about this in his OFFICIAL works.

But back to your point, 100% yes! It isn't that Boromir can't mess up, he isn't allowed to. No mistakes may be made. No time for accidents or imperfections - its the demands of both his father and his kingdom. Boromir, as you beautifully wrote, must be PERFECT in all ways. Naturally, I find him to be a people pleaser, too. He hates to see others upset. He'd do whatever he had to in order to make things better - even at the cost of his own happiness. Personally, I believe, Denethor trained him for such a role. Almost too good, Boromir, now as an adult, is unable to overcome this intense sense of perfectionism. It's why the ONE RING was able to manipulate him and drive him to near MURDER. Boromir fears to be imperfect, worries so greatly about letting others down. Sauron understood this and used this against our dearest man! Really, had it not been because of the Ring's influence, I do think that, eventually, we would have seen Boromir completely snap. Not violently, of course, but just be so overpowered by exhaustion and defeat. There's only so much a man can bear before he crumbles.

In all honesty, Boromir is someone who needs soft attention and kind words. He's carried an entire kingdom upon his shoulders, never been allowed to rest and actually take time to himself. Sure, Denethor favors him over Faramir, but have we ever seen Denethor actually be gentle to his eldest son? Least, when the years of boyhood were replaced by man? Congratulating your child over a victory against Orcish invaders is awesome and all, but sometimes, your child would like to be told that they are loved, also. I would NEVER say that Faramir deserved his treatment, but, consider Boromir for a moment. He's only seen as a soldier in his father's eyes, a physical pawn, someone who looks great and does well at his job. Do I think Denethor loves Boromir? Yes, I do. Do I think that he has said as much to him face-to-face, especially in recent? No, I don't. Much like we saw in the ROTK movie, Denethor loves Faramir but didn't say so, not even at the END. By the powers of his depression or the palantir regardless, Denethor doesn't see either of his sons as his babies, his little boys, the treasures born of his beloved wife.

Boromir and Faramir are means to an end for Denethor, though those ends fork onto two very different paths. Faramir is the son who can do all but right; Boromir can do all but wrong.

And no matter how you look at it, it's beyond heartbreaking!

[sonxofxgondor]

Alone in the world did it feel for Boromir as he stood with Thera, hands joined together and their eyes only casted upon each other. As if there were none else in all the lands - even the winds quiet and polite to their bliss - two souls bonded exclusively. Heart made light, no person in the whole of Gondor could have had such an effect on Boromir. Under the trance of some sort of wizard spell. A Man blinded by the beauty of the flowers, the sweetness in the air, the desire to share in passionate kisses. Lovers were not taken, undressed in the bed of Boromir and pleasured until sun warmed the skies, but there was truth in that tenderness had come from he onto others. Innocent trade of gentleness and tastes of wine; unable to compare to the face that Boromir always thought of. Pictured within the vail of his dreams, blue eyes and brown hair that flowed onto shoulders like waterfall to rocks, the smell of healer's potions and medicine. Committed to the safekeeping of Gondor and its people, defeating evils that threatened goodness and love, Boromir, too, was already committed to someone else. A declaration that he was not so ready to confess. Hidden behind the touch of his fingertips, how they danced and admired the hands born of womankind, the need to be near her.

Snores beyond the space taken by he and Thera, soldiers who found their peace slept comfortably in their beds. Blankets made by the softest of wool, tucked around the feet and into their sides, heads cushioned by pillows of duck feathers. Treated with the honor and respect that was deserved, no better care could they have had in all of Middle Earth. It was what the Steward family so commanded. From the house of Denethor onto formal decree, drawn from pen and sealed with royal stamp. Just as would be done for the noble family, no soldier subjected to cruel and unusual punishment. Care nor treatment that would have themself be undone and made worse. Pride to be found in their work, Boromir did not worry over the men in Thera and her ladies' Hall. Was reassured each and every time that he stepped foot into the House; beneath the entrance way, hope as notable as the smiles that greeted visitors.

"And a visit from he, they shall have!" Boromir promised. "But there is something that I would like to ask of you first, Thera. I am sure that you are well aware of the occasion already, for the entirety of Minas Tirith has spoken about it since my father's bellman made the announcement, so it seems. But the court is hosting a ball in honor of the Midwinter festival. Food and drink and music will be plentiful, and I happened to catch rumor that there will be a performance by the actor's guild, too. If you have not yet been promised to another, I would be honored if you would accompany me. We could dance together until our feet grow sore! It'll be wonderful, you and I."

'My father does not know!'

Ah, this was meant to reassure her, then? It did not. Thera had spoken the words in jest, a lightness of heart that teased, made play that she was not pleased to see him. Exactly how pleased. and why ... those were matters still under debate behind the blue of her eyes.

Few were the ladies of Minas Tirith who would be averse to the attentions of the elder son, the Captain of the White Tower. But she pondered upon why such a thing had been turned toward her - a stranger not so very long arrived, a thing of trail dust and many miles, who in time would venture from the City the same way she had ventured in. No fine lady, she, no noble or princess. By birth she was common as the dirt in the fields, and by nature as fierce as the warriors she tended in the Halls.

And so birthed the truth layered over with jest. She was far from immune to Boromir's charms, even through the armour of decent age and wisdom of life, but as he stood there before her she did not understand why. His father would be horrified, to see his son clasping the hand of a wandering Healer, fingers that had seen as much grime, filth and blood as his own. There was no future in this dalliance, for either of them.

But ... there was now.

"I am always busy, you know this." Not untrue, but even more clearly humourous than what had gone before. "Unless you've fallen from your horse or dropped a hammer on your foot," Again, the curve of her lips added but did not say, "I have no patients right now." Those she did have were tended and resting, and she let the thumb of her captured hand graze his knuckles in return. "None are gravely ill anymore, but I'm sure it would lift their spirits to have a visit from their Captain."

And produce an alibi for why said Captain lingered in the Halls at all.

[imjusta-girls-things]

i want to talk about how the first time "a chance for Faramir, captain of Gondor, to show his quality" was said to Faramir, it was with intent to mock him, to put him down and humiliate him. his father wanted to show him just how useless and unworthy he thought Faramir to be, that he needed to prove his 'quality' and that he's not good enough to call himself his son and never will be.

When Faramir gets a hold of Sam and Frodo, he immediately thinks that bringing them to his father will prove his 'quality' and that he may become worth something in his eyes. that maybe denethor will be proud of him for doing this one thing right.

In the end, he realises the importance of their journey and does not what his father would think is right, but what he thinks is right. Sam says those words as the highest compliment and with biggest respect. He helped Faramir see that the word 'quality' means much more than what his father says. He's done good by them and it meant so much to both Frodo and Sam. I can't imagine what he felt hearing that he finally finally did something right, something good and that he's shown the very highest quality.

His face shows just how much those words meant to him.

[middle-earth-mythopoeia]

On Fingon rescuing Maedhros and why it’s so touching 

Long before, in the bliss of Valinor, before Melkor was unchained, or lies came between them, Fingon had been close in friendship with Maedhros; and though he knew not yet that Maedhros had not forgotten him at the burning of the ships, the thought of their ancient friendship stung his heart.

I cannot stop thinking about this scene even though I read it for the first time about 15 years ago. It’s one of the most moving scenes in the Silmarillion, and that’s saying a lot. I know it’s been talked to death, but there’s a reason for that; I think it stands out among other similar stories in the history of Middle-earth. There are many rescues in Tolkien’s works, and all of them are examples of selflessness and bravery, but there are key differences that make Fingon’s rescue of Maedhros unlike anything else.

Most of the time, when one character rescues another, it’s because their relationship is already strong, and the goodness of the person being saved is not in question: Finrod fighting the werewolf to save Beren, and Lúthien freeing Beren from Tol-in-Gaurhoth; Beleg rescuing Túrin from the Orcs; Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli setting out to save Merry and Pippin from the Uruk-hai; Sam rescuing Frodo from the tower of Cirith Ungol; Gandalf and Pippin saving Faramir from Denethor; Gandalf and the Eagles rescuing Frodo and Sam from Mount Doom. Of course, I’m sure that Gandalf would have saved Sméagol too, had he lived—which is important. There are probably other examples I’m not thinking of.

In other cases, such as Glorfindel saving Frodo, the characters don’t know each other before the rescue, but there is no doubt of the goodness of the person being saved and the necessity of saving them. 

Fingon and Maedhros are different. 

“The thought of their ancient friendship” implies that Fingon’s friendship with Maedhros is a thing of the past when he sets out to rescue him from Thangorodrim. Fingon almost certainly believes that Maedhros deserted him and his family, forcing them to either turn back to Valinor (to beg the Valar to pardon them despite the Doom of Mandos), or cross the seemingly impassable Helcaraxë—and cross it they do, with many deaths. Just the memory of their friendship hurt because Fingon believed that Maedhros betrayed him. But what does he do as soon as he finds out Maedhros has been captured? He goes to rescue him, alone. “Justly renowned” indeed.

Even before the burning of the ships, Fingon’s friendship with Maedhros was strained by the rift between their fathers, and “lies came between them.” Fëanor drew his sword and threatened Fingolfin, and then Maedhros sided with him by following him into exile, which must have hurt Fingon. It’s not clear if they had a chance to speak to each other face to face until after the Darkening of Valinor. They were both present in Tirion during the Oath and the debate that followed, but I think there was too much happening for them to resolve anything, if they spoke at all. And then the Kinslaying was unfolding, and Fëanor deserted Fingolfin’s host in Araman. So, even if Fingon and Maedhros had a chance to speak during Fëanor’s exile or the flight of the Noldor, there were years of estrangement that they did not have a chance to fully heal before the burning of the ships.

After all of this, the rescue really says something about both their characters: Fingon’s selflessness, steadfastness, bravery, and refusal to condemn others, and Maedhros’ ability to inspire that loyalty, even when their friendship was at the breaking point. Maedhros had more in common with Nerdanel than with Fëanor, more of her gentleness and patience, and I think Fingon knew him for who he really was. He saw the good in Maedhros when Maedhros probably didn’t even see it himself. Despite everything that had happened, despite their estrangement, Fingon decided without a moment’s hesitation that Maedhros was worth risking his own life for. And it’s impossible to overstate the sheer bravery of going to Angband alone to rescue someone.

From Maedhros’ perspective, everything has been going from bad to worse. There is a seemingly unsolvable rift among his family, he becomes estranged from his best friend (partly due to his own actions), the Two Trees are killed, Finwë is murdered (both a personal loss and a major complication for the political situation), the Silmarils are stolen (symbolizing everything the Noldor have lost), he swears the Oath—believing it is righteous—and then he sees how destructive and wrong the path is that Fëanor is leading him down, both through the Kinslaying and the burning of the ships. I think that by the time Maedhros is watching the ships burn he regrets many of his actions, but it’s too late. And then it gets worse: he loses his father (complicated though their relationship must be at this point, I don’t think Maedhros wanted Fëanor to die), and then he is captured and tortured. How did Maedhros feel, when he heard Fingon’s song? Because after such terrible things had happened, in which he himself took part, the fact that a former friend came to his rescue had to seem nearly unbelievable.

But Fingon is also a Kinslayer; he joined the battle without knowing how it started, but he still has innocent blood on his hands. That Fingon, a Kinslayer, begs for mercy for another Kinslayer, is just another thing that makes the rescue so touching. Fingon doesn’t pray to Manwë to save Maedhros: he prays to Manwë to give Maedhros a painless death. And the result is eucatastrophe: the rescue is possible after all.

And Fingon’s refusal to condemn Maedhros—instead, his decision to march into Morgoth’s domain to rescue him—allows for things still greater to unfold, like the healing of the strife among the Noldor. It’s significant that Fingon’s rescue—and Maedhros’ abdication of the crown to Fingolfin—heals the rift between their houses, and that would not have happened if Fingon had not cared about his former friend so much. It says that when you show others mercy, whether they deserve it or not, good things will come of it. And ultimately, it’s not just the people who are unequivocally good who deserve saving. 

I’ve encountered a point of view (which I consider both abhorrent and antithetical to the themes of Tolkien’s writing) that Fingon should have killed Maedhros to somehow prevent the Second and Third Kinslayings. It’s true that Maedhros went on to do truly terrible deeds. But Fingon could not have foreseen them, and it’s not right to punish someone for something they have not yet done. Maedhros, as a result of being saved, did many good deeds as well: relinquishing the crown to Fingolfin, holding and defending one of the most dangerous areas in Eastern Beleriand, and creating the Union of Maedhros, among other things. I think Gandalf’s words about Sméagol are relevant:

Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. 

Like Frodo’s mercy towards Sméagol, I think that Fingon’s mercy towards Maedhros was the right thing. Frodo’s pity towards Sméagol probably came, in part, from his ability to see how much they had in common as Ringbearers. And likewise I think that Fingon, regretting his actions at Alqualondë, still felt pity for Maedhros because he understood that they were not so different.

[southfarthing]

i really enjoy reading your thoughts on lotr!! esp what you've said/reblogged about the films' characterisations of faramir, denethor and gimli. that made me really curious so i wanted to ask along the same lines, what do you think the films did well in adapting the books vs what do you think they did badly?

thank you so much! that really means a lot 🥺 I'll start with things I think they could've done better and then do things they did well to end it on a more positive note <3

things the lotr films didn't do so well when adapting the book

as already mentioned, several characters were changed for the worse

faramir was portrayed as much more downtrodden and useless than he is in the book

denethor was made stupid and selfish and incompetent

gimli was stripped of his wonder and passion and played for comic relief

there are also things to be said for the adaptations of legolas, boromir, frodo (the way the film has him distrust sam and send him away?), and others

the pacing of the two towers. fotr is brilliant, rotk is great, but the two towers feels bloated, which makes sense seeing as they crammed in the whole shelob plot into rotk instead. this then meant they made the battle of helm's deep a lot bigger than it needed to be (which I feel detracted a bit from the battle of the pelennor fields - like some things were repeated e.g. motivational theoden speech, and mounted rohirrim charging in at dawn to save the day). and they also added a load of other side plots like aragorn flying off a cliff? and elves of lothlorien - of lothlorien! - coming to help men of rohan?! when the films could have been focusing on eomer (gimli and eomer! aragorn and eomer!), faramir, and frodo and sam in shelob's lair

cut out some very valuable plots and characters. I understand some things, like getting rid of tom bombadil and gildor, and the way they absorbed beregond's character into faramir's and halarad's into haldir's (though I would've done anything to have the grey company my BELOVED). but some should not have been cut.

the scouring of the shire

the nazgul attack at crickhollow and fatty bolger raising the alarm (sorry this is one of my absolute favourite scenes in the book and it would've been so easy to include it alongside the scene of the nazgul at the prancing pony)

they could have kept at least one out of the old forest and the barrow downs

more scenes from the houses of healing!!!!!!!!!! faramir and eowyn get a whole chapter in the book! we deserved to see a nice, healing end to both their arcs!

and it would've been nice to see gondorian reinforcements arriving at minas tirith, both to show a little more diversity and to show that gondor hadn't just completely given up?

and on the topic of diversity... yeah. sam is described as having brown skin, and some of the other hobbits may well have been less white than they were shown to be. gondorians are meant to have black hair, not brown/blond. many gondorians not of numenorian descent would have been darker skinned (so showing the reinforcements from lossarnach would've been great). like it's not much, but what little positive diversity tolkien did give was removed by the films, and that stuck in people's heads, and now we have people claiming that middle earth was all white or whatever.......

things the lotr films did well when adapting the book

brought middle earth to life with so much love. you can tell this was a passion project, and not just for the actors. the score, the cinematograpy, the costumes, the architecture - all of it. it all has such a genuine quality to it, and it shows onscreen. so much meticulous planning and crafting in all areas. the authenticity of the armour and weapons, the elvish in the music, the grainy & rugged aesthetic... any screenshot from those films will fill me with such yearning. it all just feels both so magical and so real.

some characters were changed for the better! book aragorn starts off great and then disappoints me more and more as the story progresses. film aragorn is incredible, and they definitely gave him more of an arc

did a wonderful job of helping us visualise this new world. I grew up watching the films and only read lotr when I was older. I read the hobbit when I was 8, and then immediately went on to lotr but found it tricky. I kept trying every year or so, and I'd usually get through fotr, but I'd run out of steam in ttt. I was 16 when I finally read the whole thing + appendices, and I loved it so much. and having the films playing in the back of my mind really helped me bring middle earth to life in my head as I read. the locations in particular - rivendell, khazad-dum, minas tirith, minas morgul, the shire...

the way they switched between all the different characters and plots. in each volume of the novel, there's one book for frodo and sam, and then one book for all the others. the way the films seamlessly transition between these is great storytelling

I know this seems like a much shorter list but the first point in this section could have been twenty points. I am SO grateful they went into making these films heart first. the current climate of fantasy and film/tv is... dark. yes of course there are wonderful exceptions, but what seems to sell these days is cynicism and sex and gratuitous violence and suave, cool characters. I'm so grateful to have these films passionately made to uphold earnestness, compassion, friendship and courage (even when it's lonely and doesn't look stereotypically cool or impressive). yes there are silly moments of humour (and I wish these wouldn't all have come from gimli and pippin), but there's no laughing at the story itself. that is adapted with full heart and soul

and thanks to the films, there's so much more to be enjoyed! video games and board games and fan films and more! and they have given us a way to create more fan content! without the lotr films we wouldn't be sitting around here on tumblr making and reblogging gifsets and edits! and there would be much less fanfiction and meta! the films further popularised the novel and brought it even more into mainstream knowledge, and I cannot be thankful enough <3

[draquus]

I've seen some posts going around questioning why Zuko gets the world's greatest redemption arc, while Azula (who arguably suffered just as much abuse, from the same person, at the same impressionable age), doesn't. Specifically, why does Zuko deserve redemption, but Azula doesn't?

Here's the thing: he doesn't deserve redemption, either. Anyone who deserves redemption, doesn't need redemption, because that would mean they hadn't done anything wrong. Zuko's suffering, his age, the fact that his abuser is so despicable and has so much power over him, none of that changes the fact that his choices matter. In fact, we get to see him reject his redemption the first time it's offered to him. If he hadn't repented later, his inevitable defeat would have been (like Azula's) tragic but just.

That's also why (at least some of us) can't be happy with Azula's downfall. Couldn't she have been redeemed as well? The answer, of course, is yes. But we don't get to see (in this story) the moment when she is offered redemption, and ultimately accepts or rejects it. Most moments like that are too subtle to happen on screen.

Tolkien absolutely loves writing parallel characters who are split by their choices. Gandalf and Sarumon. Denethor and Theoden. Frodo and Gollum. Galadriel and Feanor. The list goes on. Some, like Gandalf and Sarumon, we get to see long after their choices have put them on their separate paths--and yet (in the books, at least), we still see Gandalf tempted by the ring, and Sarumon tempted by repentance. Other times, we see the whole final battle playing out, as with Frodo and Gollum. Sometimes, we see the choice made the same way, but at different times, like (in the books) with Faramir, who chooses his path long before we meet him, and Boromir, whose redemption is not obvious until long after he is dead.

Back to Avatar, I'd argue that even Ozai could have a redemption arc. The fact that he absolutely does not deserve one would not make it less satisfying, but more. Is he really any worse than Darth Vader, the classic example of Worst Dad (it's practically his name), and the redemption story that sets Star Wars apart, even from its own sequels and prequels?

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

Chapters: 15/? Fandom: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types Rating: Mature Relationships: Aragorn | Estel/Boromir (Son of Denethor II), Gimli (Son of Glóin)/Legolas Greenleaf, but that's more in the background/subtle, Denethor/His Palantir Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Boromir Lives, Fix-It, everyone has their issues but it's nothing worse than in My Land is Bare, Boromir pOV, Grima POV, Grima lives, Family Issues, (it's Denethor guys), Grima is a little more grounded, Boromir is ready to set everything on fire Series: Part 3 of swimming through fire Summary:

The latest installment of the Boromir-Lives LOTR rewrite. Helm's Deep has concluded and we are on to the Return of the King.

Boromir and Gandalf are off to Gondor to see what they can do to help. Aragorn, because he likes to take the most whack routes possible, is to drag the remainder Fellowship through the paths of the dead. No one signed up for this.

With our Rohan compatriots: Grima continues to be a hot wreck who is actually managing himself not half-bad, all things considered. Eowyn just wants to really, really fight the baddies. Theoden thinks everyone needs to cool it for ten seconds. Eomer has never heard the word "chill" in his life.

--

Obligatory Excerpt: 

‘I heard a story of an old god once,’ Denethor says during his second pass around the room. ‘There was a woman out east who was supposedly possessed by one. She was a keeper of a holy shrine to a local land spirit and an old god took possession of her body.’

‘Oh yes,’ Boromir nods. ‘I know of that story. It was told to me by Strider. The ranger I mentioned.’

‘Yes. Strider. The ranger from the north. The northern ranger. Strider the ranger.’

‘Yes. That one.’ Boromir wonders how it is they both knew the same story. But, if it was something well known at the time, then it would make sense his father would have come to hear of it. ‘What happened to the woman, do you know?’

‘I was told that she was purged of the being. A relative of hers, a niece or distant cousin, came in and did something to ensure the old god would leave.’

‘Like what happened with Théoden,’ Boromir muses. ‘Though, that was wizard purging wizard.’

Bemusement suffuses across Denethor’s face. ‘I would have been most interested in witnessing that particular battle.’

Denethor as a fly on the wall at the arrival of Gandalf et al to Edoras would have been HILARIOUS. 

Denethor: Have we thought about not giving up the traitor who knows a lot of information about Rohan and how Rohan’s army works on a silver platter to the enemy? 

Boromir: And also everyone deserves a second chance. 

Denethor: 

Denethor: Do they, though? 

[senadimell]

Boromir for the character ask?

send me a character and i’ll list:

favorite thing about them: Honestly? His focus. He's a problem-solver. He focuses on whatever task is in front of him, and while he's the golden child, I honestly don't know if he'd be the best fit for Steward because he seems to be at his best when he's thinking about concrete solutions to discrete problems.

Oh! The other thing is that he evaluates the advice given to him for what it is, not based on the authority of the advisor. He’s not going to accept bad advice just because it comes from a trustworthy source, and he’s going to be honest about his thoughts. So he’ll trust and respect the advice of the council of Elrond, but not to the point where he doesn’t ask questions or question things that don’t make sense (I’m thinking about Caradhras here) It’s a good skill to have as the de-facto heir to Gondor, and it makes sense that he’s not in awe of elves or Gandalf and acts among them as a guest but also as an equal at least in political status, though his experience is vastly more limited.

At the same time, he’s not arrogant or haughty. He's a team player. He’s supportive of decisions for the most part, though where the ring is concerned, things get skewy. He’s not the kind of person to rub mistakes back in your face. He’s compassionate and understanding (which we see even in the way he treats Frodo as he strives for the Ring).

least favorite thing about them: Honestly Boromir doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I suppose his positive traits are also double-edged swords. Focusing more on the advice than the giver sort of has Feanor vibes? And you can see where his focus leads him when he talks to Frodo about why he wants the ring and how he would use it. He can see his corner of the world (Gondor) and his place in saving it (political, but primarily military leadership), and it’s his practicality, drive, and focus that the Ring exploits. He’s too busy thinking about what he must do to save the day that he misses the grander scheme (yet he’s doing it because he cares! he cares!).

brOTP: Um, Faramir, I guess. Though I guess it’d be kinda sweet if he’s got a brotherly relationship with Bergil. I can easily imagine Bergil hero-worshipping Boromir, and so I think it’d be sweet if Boromir did acknowledge him and know him by name.

OTP: none? look, I rarely ship and even more rarely out of canon.

nOTP: also none? Shelob? The Ring?

random headcanon: I dunno...

unpopular opinion: boromir has dark hair Sean Bean is an actor he’s not the only face

So I feel like there’s a bit of a structural problem with the LotR fandom. Characters are often written in pairs or as foils, and inevitably the comparison starts to turn towards “who’s better?” Then, if you don’t ship them, there’s a tendency to aggrandize one character’s virtues and minimize their flaws (which tends to happen everywhere), but then the comparison game starts. Because they have a paired character, the natural next step is to lionize your favorite by de-emphasizing the other character’s strengths and virtues (and sometimes also highlighting their flaws). (I’m not immune to this by far, btw, and am possibly about to engage in it.)

This happen the most with Frodo and Sam, but I think you also see it in Boromir and Faramir. Because obviously, in the books, Faramir is the golden child. Not in his father’s eyes, of course, but narratively speaking. And I have mad respect for him.

Most people don’t try and diss Faramir (because frankly. it’s hard. like, what are you going to say?), but there’s a tendency to downplay the fact that Boromir is his culture’s golden child, and Faramir...isn’t. Which isn’t to say Faramir isn’t beloved by those who know him, but his strengths are not valued in the same way that Boromir’s are. Faramir knows this. And given Boromir’s attitudes discussed above (how confidently he assumes his position in the world), I can’t believe he’s the 100% supportive, loving, sensitive, protective brother that fanon depicts him as. I don’t see how he can be.

Don’t get me wrong, I do believe the brothers love each other deeply. But growing up with siblings has taught me that it’s possible to love someone and yet be deeply wounded by them due to the casual and inescapable intimacy of your relationship? You can share more inside jokes and weird stories than anyone, yet you can never get away from how deeply they know you--not your thoughts, but who you are at home and who you were when you were seven and how you acted when someone broke up with you or what you did when your parents were furious.

You also know exactly how you match up against them, because you will always exist as a unit. And because your relationship is as natural as the lens  in your eye (you can’t imagine viewing the world without it), you forget about the other as a person and just say something and don’t think about how it hurts them. You can joke about this one thing and your sibling can carry around the hurt for years and you didn’t even know. And maybe the hurt isn’t even your fault--maybe they were just sensitive and you had no way of knowing, but the hurt doesn’t go away for the lack of malice. And even best-friend siblings are capable of malice towards each other at times.

So Boromir is good at things that Faramir isn’t, and Boromir knows it. He’s probably ribbed his brother in what he thinks is a playful way about when you’re going to shape up, or do X, or do Y, or why do you do that, anyways, or do you realize that’s a little unbecoming? maybe you should stop that. You know Father’s going to think that you’re... And he doesn’t realize how those slights can add up over the years. I do think he’s said things to his peers about his brother that have ended up hurting him. No matter how pure and nice he is, that sort of thing is unavoidable, and due to his cultural upbringing I don’t actually think he’d question the appropriateness of his attitude/acceptance and glorification of martial prowess at the expense of those who don’t have it in the same degree.

I think this passage is really telling:

For on the eve of the sudden assault a dream came to my brother in a troubled sleep; and afterwards a like dream came oft to him again, and once to me. 'In that dream I thought the eastern sky grew dark and there was a growing thunder, but in the West a pale light lingered, and out of it I heard a voice, remote but clear, crying:          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. Of these words we could understand little, and we spoke to our father, Denethor, Lord of Minas Tirith, wise in the lore of Gondor. This only would he say, that Imladris was of old the name among the Elves of a far northern dale, where Elrond the Halfelven dwelt, greatest of lore-masters. Therefore my brother, seeing how desperate was our need, was eager to heed  the  dream and seek for  Imladris; but since the way was full of doubt and danger, I took the journey upon myself. Loth was my father to  give  me leave, and long have I wandered by roads forgotten, seeking the house of Elrond, of which many had heard, but few knew where it lay.' 

There’s so much you can read into this. Faramir has this dream, and he has it many times. We know he’s a lover of lore and no less devoted to his kingdom than Boromir, though his love is expressed differently. He is “eager” to heed the dream. So would I if I was having prophecy dreams all the time.

But is Faramir a member of the fellowship? No. Why? Because Boromir “took it upon himself.” He wanted to do it, he thought himself the better candidate (and Faramir the worse), and he argued his way into doing it against his father’s wishes. Coupled with Denethor’s later attitude towards Boromir, I’m inclined to believe Boromir was uniquely able to obtain this quest for himself because Denethor has a soft spot for him.

I find myself inclined to disregard Boromir’s account of Faramir’s motive (”how desparate was our need”), because it sounds like he’s justifying the appropriateness of his actions.  If it’s just about the great need of the kingdom, it’s nothing personal that one brother goes and the other stays. That view implies  that Faramir’s interest in this mission is primarily utilitarian in purpose, with a little academic curiosity--that is, it’s nothing personal. Doesn’t matter who goes! Not as long as we protect the kingdom! Which...just doesn’t square with his description of Faramir having repeatedly cryptic dreams that he wants to understand. I can almost guarantee that Faramir wants to know what those dreams meant more than Boromir.

It’s a bit tragic, because ultimately Faramir was more suited for the quest than Boromir (tramping about in the wilderness doesn’t seem to be a problem, he’s also a team player, and he’s much more willing to accept the power of the Ring/not downplay its personal danger, and would be able to see it in a bigger picture beyond just Gondor). Ultimately, though, if Boromir was the one to catch Frodo in Ithillien, the story would have a veeeeeeery different ending. (Gollum would likely be dead, and I can’t imagine he’d be inclined to just. let Frodo and Sam go free.)

I kind of view their relationship as a much less antagonistic version of Agravain and Gwalchmai from Gillian Bradshaw. (Agravain is more of a jerk than I can ever imagine Boromir being, and has a wicked temper). 

Also none of this is to say that I don’t think he’s not protective of his brother.

So a lot of words to say: I don’t think the Boromir and Faramir relationship is as uwu cinnamon roll as it seems in fandom. I think they loved each other, but I think Boromir did have a tendency to take what he wanted when he thought he deserved it and not give it a second thought, even when it was at the expense of his brother. Sure, he’d defend his brother night and day, but I expect him to be a bit of a jerk, be unaware of the extent of his behavior, and also see little wrong with it (the ring quest seems to have crossed a line, by the way he justifies it).

Still, they do love each other deeply and genuinely. It’s just a little more conflicted.

song i associate with them: Requiem, from Dear Evan Hanson. Not a particularly creative association (and I don’t associate him with Connor at all), but his death comes as such a shock at the beginning of TTT and brings with it so many mixed feelings due to both their relationship and the circumstances of his death. Nobody’s mourning is straightforward: not Frodo, or Denethor, or Faramir, or Aragorn, or Merry, or Pippin. His absense is woven throughout TTT and even RotK, in plot and in emotion and in theme.

favorite picture of them:

Don’t really have a favorite, but this one is nice.

The Sean Bean runners-up: one, two

[lathalea]

The Hobbit: DOS: The Appendices, Part 9 (1/4)

30 seconds into the BTS: Thorin happens *FAINTS* RA LAUGHED! SQUEAL!

All the dwarves are being assaulted with tons of real fish. So much fish! Oh my Dorsch! :D So much fish lake town is fishy XD

Which fish are better - the hobbit ones or lake town ones? The plastic ones or the real ones?

Ori gets a fish avalanche. And the fish as monstrously big. Omg ori and his new lover the shark have alone time in the barrel!

Dori can’t stop laughing at Ori’s misery. Sweet Ori so mad he tells people to fuck off

Thorin tenderly puts a fish on Dwalin’s head How gentle RA is o_o Now I know why Dwalin is so grumpy XD

Dwalin hates fish. [Protein] Dwalin just eating a raw fish as statement It is for the protein. Gym instructor Dwalin cares about the protein!

Orlando Bloom does his own stunts and gets hit in a very private part of his body. Ooooo no kids for Legolas

Orlando keeps doing his own stunts. orlando stop breaking the set! legolas: how dare you make me bleed my own blood! Not the face! Legolas being a pretty boy, never bleeding once until now legolas: .... blood is red? Legolas: ... this isn't supposed to come out of my nose... And kids that was the time legolas decided he never ever bleed again ..... red isent his color Makes sense in canon too because Legolas wouldn't have as much experience as he does in lotr Headcanon accepted!

PJ: Thorin gets to plead his case in Laketown... Thorin gets to plead? THE KING DOES NOT PLEAD

Bard walks among dwarves and he is not tall at all Bard is a dwarf after all they could put luke in high heels lol Bard: I AM NOT A DWARF! Dwarves: ONE OF US... ONE OF US... RA explains the details of a scene Oh yes, RA let’s listen to that deep voice of yours

Lots of scenes a re made in green screen. It wasn't the dragon sickness, it was green sickness! I feel like green room is a place naughty actors go to think about their behaviour Ian McKellen and RA were naughty boys then 13 men in a tiny green room Yeah sounds naughty alright

Dori flirts and does naughty stuff with a tall man dressed as a woman Dori the womanizer! :o

Stephen Colbert's cameo with family and a cute kitty He freaks out geek style THE TOLKIEN FANBOY Imagine Stephen and Richard in a nerd trivia fight

Stephen Colbert gets the replica of Sting I can feel RA's jealousy in this RA: Now he is just showing off... there can be only one... RA like I’m gonna steal that when no one is looking He got orcrist lol RA: *angry* mine is bigger

Denethor === Master of Laketown (being disgusting) Grima === Alfrid (ew)

PJ has a cameo of a man hiding in a basket The Basketman. The hero laketown needs, not the one it deserves 

  Stephen Fry eating a fake testicle Everyone tries not to puke. This is worse than the tomato scene...

James Nesbitt's wife and daughters acting in TH as well. Saint Bofur's family taking over the movie! We approve of that! Beautiful female Orc appears on the screen We Stan the female orc Someone write fic about her I envy her... those eyebrows! Ori and Tauriel fighting over who is sexier - goblins or orcs

Laketown toilet scene. How about some toilet humor? Dwalin, pissed: emerges from a toilet The engineering that went into a simple toilet ;) Dwarves are disgusted  Lake Town gave the dwarves more PTSD than the whole quest

Time for Mirkwood extras Time for King Bitchface Fabulous Thranduil vs Majestic Thorin Celebrity deathmatch!

It’s not easy to walk in long, flowing robes. Thrandy: tries to be fabulous, falls down the stairs cuz of his dress

Angry Thorin speaking Khuzdul I need a cold shower here!

Thranduil and Thorin scene Oof the sexual tension is so strong!

Tauriel: the greatest dagger-spinning badass elf!

Alan Lee does his ASMR each time he appears on the screen. He needs to record an album with his voice.

Saint Bofur shouting in a barrel:

And then RA tries to recreate his epic line:

Dori is an opera singer:

Time for The Kiliel Scene...

... with Legolas.

Thorin randomly appears on the screen excuse me faint ok im good

Mirkwood. Everyone got so stoned that even Gandalf forgot his bike.

No, wait, they didn’t really get stoned. RA said so himself!

We believe you, RA. Totally. Ian/Gandalf is a bit lost at the gate to Mirkwood: What am I doing here? What am I supposed to do or say or...? That's Gandalf through the entire saga really.

Bombur falls asleep and the Company needs to carry him. Unfortunately Thorin has a small mishap: 

... and that's how Thorin died. THE END. Saint Bofur smoked too much weed!

Thorin. Thorin is majestic. Thorin is fighting. The Hair. *fainting Elmo style*

The crew is handling the spiderweb-wrapped dwarves like pieces of dead meat (and we’re overprotective) That's the line of Durin you're touching!

Dwarves are wrapped in the cocoons. Someone calls Dean. lol the closed captioning said Dain instead of Dean DAIN WERENT YOU SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE IRON HILLS RA speaks. It’s enough. “I'm not a RA fan but dear god his voice”

The dwarves are a tiny bit cranky.

There is no Fili for like 1,5h of extras :((( Finally! He appears They heard us complaining

The dwarves are trying to get inside Beorn’s house before the beast attacks them. no dwarves but thorin know how doors work That's why he's the king Thorin has the brain cell

Mikael Persbrandt (Beorn) has to play with sticks ending with tennis balls instead of real actors. Luckily, Thorin’s stick is (of course) the most majestic. Thorin the Oakenstick And Beorn grabs this Oakenstick and beat the shit out of Azog. THE END.

Work with greenscreen can be frustrating. Gandalf: I did not become an actor for this

Meanwhile Beorn:

Beorn loves his mice <3 Bombur is the most badass dwarf in this movie. Proof:

And that’s all for today! ---

Missed The Appendices part 7 & 8? Here they are: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Want to see how silly we were when watching The Hobbit? See here.

Thank you everyone, we had so much fun :D

@avaria-revallier​ @way-too-addicted-to-fandoms​ @bananzer​ @guardianofrivendell​ @bigsmallworld​ @oreo-cookies-fan​​ @theresonlyzuul​​ @shrimpsthings​​ @ahshithherewegoagain​​

[laurelindebear]

Under the cut, don’t wanna make things worse.

This might be where I leave you, US friends. I don’t know if I can fight for you anymore. There are so many people here who need help too, and I don’t...

I don’t have spoons today I guess. I’m tired of donating and donating and donating, voting and voting and voting, e-mailing and phoning and petitioning and watching it have apparently no effect. I’m tired of patient conversations and rational explanations and appeals to good-faith and basic human decency and meeting brick walls. I could empty our whole bank account to whoever, whatever fund or charity and I don’t feel like it would change anything. For all the privilege I have, I have no real influence. I can’t buy any politicians or sway any votes. I can’t get my own family to get vaccinated when it’s in their best interest and that of the people around them, even when my nephew was hospitalised for over a week with post-Covid Kawasaki heart problems. I can’t convince my husband to vote. These are the people who, in theory anyway, care about me, value my thoughts, give a shit what I have to say. It’s not enough. It’s never enough. I am trying to drink the sea and I am not Thor.

I know this is what they want, the powers that be. I know this is learned helplessness and despair. I know am Denethor looking into the Palantir and being a self-absorbed shitheel who doesn’t know how to eat a goddamned tomato. But I am so very tired. I am tired of the Catholic misery cult fetishising suffering for a political power that doesn’t value them. I am tired of my voice and the voices of millions of others not mattering. I am tired of the people closest to me, the people who love me telling me to ‘wait and see’, to not be a doomsayer, that nothing is ‘that bad’, that it’s ‘just the depression talking’ (and ‘when’s your period due?’). What the fuck else can I do from over here? I can’t even hold a steady job because I’m kind of a mess. Maybe I would if I had to to survive. Could I still do it? Am I just indulging my mental illness by letting it affect me and my life? That’s what my dad thinks, anyway.

I want to be better than this. All I have right now are exhaustion and violence. I am so angry. I want the people who are causing all this pain in the world to hurt. I want them to suffer the same terror and hopelessness the rest of us do, and then I want them to die. I’m tired of being civil. Right now I’m ready to become a monster if that’s the only way to fight a monster. I don’t know who I am. It’s not who I want to be. Maybe the world doesn’t deserve that person.

Going to sleep now.

[stedefaest]

Denethor sucks* and puts a geis on his eldest son and Boromir deserves better, the meta

* Denethor II was actually a fantastic steward (this is noted!! “He was proud, tall, wise, far-sighted, and valiant; "more kingly" than any of his predecessors for a long time. He proved a masterful lord and a great ruler, seeing to all things large and small under his command”), and the movies skew this, but the fact still stands that all of the below facts still exist and I don’t have the time to do a full analysis of Why Denethor Is the Way He Is, but know that the movies sure did a number on his character and then subsequently on Boromir and Faramir, and you can be a great ruler but a horrible parent, and there were Some Fundamental Things about Raising Children that Denethor just did not understand and that is VERY obvious

hOGh so Boromir does have problems with his father, and a lot because Denethor is the worst* lmao, while only about 10% of Boromir's list of problems (in his mind) with his father are related to things that have happened to him (the other 90% being Denethor's neglect of Faramir), the things that Denethor did to his eldesst son are, perhaps unintentional, but REALLY AWFUL. 

Boromir knows that so much of his mentality is because of his father pushing him, and his father wanted him to be a certain way and surpRISE!!! Psychology works in a way that rewarded behaviors will be repeated it’s called classical conditioning, but it doesn’t mean that Boromir doesn’t realize that being the way he is and acting the way he does has also denied him a lot of other life experiences, 

I’d like to point out that Boromir's 41 years of life were basically uh. well, what he did was “save people and be a hero,” but in many ways, he wasn’t living. He wasn’t doing things for himself, he was doing them for others — out of a deep love for others, but also out of a deep fear of what would happen if he DIDN’T do those things. Boromir had built his entire self-concept around his successes. And yes, unfortunately, people do have the mentality when looking at someone who does seem so talented and arguably so perfect and think that person can never fail unless it’s for the lols. On that note, when Boromir does struggle, everyone thinks “he just isn’t trying” and this is so toxic and painful? And more to explore than I’m capable of unpacking in a single post.

What I’m getting at here is Denethor II is the main perpetrator of EVERYONE FAILING TO PERCEIVE BOROMIR AS JUST A HUMAN BEING. Denethor calls Boromir the one who will never fail him. Boromir doesn’t want to disappoint his father, but that went very quickly from “I want my dad to be proud of me” to “this behavior is second nature but I fear the isolation of falling to my own humanity and must now avoid situations in which that could cause me to fail because the respect and love of others that I have garnered is conditional on my continued lack of failures” — which is absolutely why he says no at first when asked to go to the council of Elrond. 

Boromir isn’t stupid. He knows himself more than anyone else because no one takes the time to know him. Because his father essentially said that he would never fail and now people believe that and what’s worse is. ok, Denethor also has the ability to read the thoughts of others, he ALSO had a Palantir and Sauron couldn’t take control of him like he did to Saruman, Denethor just got really bitter and aged quickly. Denethor has a massive aptitude for magic with that logic and incredibly strong willpower. those two things combined are a dangerous combination, especially considering how magic works in Tolkien's world. 

Denethor, with his massive magical aptitude, says that Boromir is “the one who will not fail me”. While maybe he didn’t see it, he placed a geis on his own son, and when Boromir does fail, when he falls to the temptation of the one ring (which is, undoubtedly, a massive moment of weakness, of all the moments of weakness, it just had to be that, huh?), guESS WHAT!!! HE DIES!!! HE’S KILLED!!! Guess what happens when you break a geis??? YOU DIE. Now, Denethor didn’t specify a type of death ( and Boromir isn’t the only character who can be said to have been under a geis in Tolkien's legendarium, there’s a brilliant post about how Frodo places a geis on Gollum and that’s why Gollum dies in the method he does ), but to break a geis is to die.  

In conclusion, because Denethor couldn’t see Boromir as anything but this unfailing, everlasting pillar of strength, Boromir ended up dead and people couldn’t see him as what he was, a strong human, but also only human until it was too late thanks for coming to my tedtalk

[simplyirenic]

10, 14, 20 :3ccc and bonus 21. favorite fandom(s) to use for crossovers/fusions!!

10. characters that deserved worse? >:] sdlkfhsdfkl skipping this one again because my garbage brain still cannot come up with anyone in my fandoms!! i’m sure there’s plenty of characters outside my fandoms but i’m limiting myself here

14. name a fandom, ship, or character that you love that others would send you hate mail for liking. none i am morally pure (it’s crozier/jopson but i am also so much of a multishipper that it seems to have slipped under the radar for now. am i also problematic for multishipping? isn’t that like. cheating on your f/os now. what is the discourse)

oh wait lmao i also love book denethor. that’s the big one. whoops!!!!

20. name a song that reminds you heavily of a specific fandom or character. abloobloobloo pink light by laura veirs has been my soma peries song for. over a literal decade now. jesus. when will gundam stop circlejerking over UC and release a new original universe with a new child soldier for me to adopt

21.  favorite fandom(s) to use for crossovers/fusions 1. his dark materials!! (ireny isn’t this just fursonas) (yeah it is but like. different. u know) 2. football but you knew that already 3. pokemon...just wanna give everyone teams 4. PACIFIC RIM

[dimdiamond]

9 and 23, whichever you wanna answer for lotr/hobbit doesn’t matter, go wild!!

9- Most disliked character(s)? Why?

OH BOY 😅

From Hobbit don't really have any strong hate feelings for anyone, even for Thranduil or Alfrid. Not that they're comparable of course! They're just interesting in their flaws, that's what makes them recognizable and, for me, characters that I'm intrigued to watch. That's why I don't like boring characters, like Azog, Bolg and Laketown's lord. They're just so one dimensional and let's not start with Azog and Bolg, the bastards (at least Goblin king had a catchy song)!

From LOTR I hate Denethor, like obviously! This man has no redeeming qualities and I'm sure his behaviour towards his sons was bad from the start and it just became worse and worse. The first time I saw the movies I found Aragorn very boring, to be honest, and I didn't see what's the big deal with him but later on I saw the worth of his character and how important he's for the story. Orcs are boring and therefore unlikeable.

23- Unpopular character you love?

From Hobbit I love the less popular dwarves, like Dori, Bifur and Bombur (generally I love all the company) and Tauriel. Well Tauriel is not unpopular but she has gotten so much hate all these years. I find Tauriel a very interesting and well made character. I'm not glorifying her because she's the only female we see in the last two movies. She's the captain of the elves, close to the royal family and therefore full of responsibilities and duties. However we saw a glimpse of her heart that desires freedom and how she has her own values and beliefs, never wanting to hurt anyone or her homeland. I don't think she deserves all that hate, honestly, she's a fine character without even associating her with Kili or Legolas.

From LOTR I love Eomer and Theoden, they're both characters with personality and they're not talked that often. Even Grima is an interesting character that he's not that one dimensional as he looks.