#love is not only romantic
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
camille-lachenille · 2 years ago
Text
There is a thing that I noticed reading The Lord of the Rings and other works by Tolkien. And that thing is how diverse and beautiful love is, and how much it speaks to me.
True Love at first sight exists in Tolkien’s universe, and from it came some of the grandest deeds; think Beren and Lúthien braving Morgoth and then Mandos to be together, think Arwen renouncing immortality and Aragorn reclaiming his throne in order to marry her. But these grand tales of love at first sight are that; tales. It’s not for normal people.
There is also another aspect of romantic love that is present, one slower to take root and much more domestic. It is Sam missing Rosie when he is halfway trough the world and barely daring to ask her out even after facing Mordor. It is the blooming love between Éowyn and Faramir, a relationship based on shared grief, mutual understanding, respect and comfort sought in each other.
Sometimes it ends badly, like Nerdanel leaving Fëanor despite centuries of marriage and having had seven sons together because they don’t get along anymore. It’s Erendis and Aldarion falling apart because they are too different to work as a couple. It’s Elrond mourning for his wife who had to sail West in order to heal her broken soul and body. But it’s much more realistic than the grand tales, this is something relatable for a human heart and mind.
And what I like above everything else is how these romantic relationships, no matter how epic the love is, are never sexualised. How they are not even the more important kind of relationships and love in Tolkien’s universe. For someone Ace and arospec as well, seeing familial relationships and platonic love having such a major role in the story makes my heart soar in joy because I can relate.
I can relate to Sam, brave little Sam who walked to Mordor and back out of love and loyalty for Frodo despite missing his home a little more each day. And my heart warms each time I read about Merry, Pippin and Sam plotting to follow Frodo and hammering in his head that they are in this together until the end, and only the direst circumstances managed to separate them.
I laughed at the bantering and teasing between Gimli and Legolas, who managed to bridge the gap of centuries of dislike between their folks, and I admire their relationship no matter if one interpret it as platonic or romantic.
I can relate to the brotherly love between Boromir and Faramir because I too would do anything to spare pain to my sister. I love the friendship between Maedhros and Fingon for I am so close to my cousins too, and I would do about anything for my family no matter the circumstances just like the line of Finwë followed Fëanor in the first place (the outcome was… not good but that’s not the point).
I can relate, to some extent, to Elrond’s grief at Arwen’s Choice, because sometimes, loving someone means accepting to let them go no matter how we feel.
I cried at the end of the Hobbit, when Fíli and Kíli died defending their uncle, because this unwavering loyalty and love for family is something I can understand better than giving up everything for a romantic partner.
I cried reading the Tale of Beren and Lúthien, but I cried more when Sam sails West after Rosie dies and is reunited with Frodo, when Merry and Pippin are buried with the old kings of Gondor once Aragorn dies too, or when Legolas builds a boat and sails to the Undying Lands with Gimli because he can’t bear to be parted from his dearest friend. I cried when Bilbo returns to the Shire alone after the quest for Erebor, having lost dear friends, and wishing to see the Lonely Mountain again decades later. I cried when Maglor, last of his brothers, wanders endlessly on the shores in eternal sorrow.
But I also smiled a lot; be it when Faramir kisses Éowyn, or when the Three Hunters are welcomed to the ruins of Isengard by Merry and Pippin whole and safe and they share a moment of carefree joy in the midst of darkness. I laughed at the foolishness of a Took and his Brandybuck cousin, I smiled fondly when Sam mutters to himself when he worries for Frodo. I grinned when Gandalf returns after his fight against the Balrog and takes time to catch up with his friends despite the war raging around them. I laughed when Gimli and Legolas plan a vacation and sightseeing after a gruesome battle, and then when they comment on how to redecorate Minas Tirith. These are small moments that make the friendship between the characters authentic and relatable, and I am certainly forgetting so much more passages that made me smile or cry along the characters.
There is also the love one has for a place, this powerful motivation that makes Frodo leave the Shire in the first place to protect it against the Ring. Faramir’s love for his country that makes war bearable for him, because despite how much he hates violence and weapons he won’t let his beloved home be destroyed without fighting with his life. The love Sam has for his garden and the green hills of the Shire that gives him hope until the very end when all seems lost. This is also a kind of love I understand.
Love in Tolkien’s universe is what makes the events go as they go, and more precisely platonic and familial love. And I rejoice in seeing how friendship old and new, how bonds forged in shared danger or in peaceful days, saved the world at the end of the day. I won’t say I don’t like love stories, because that’s not true, but I love to see platonic relationships so strong being so important in The Lord of the Rings and other Tolkien’s works. Romantic relationships are not a superior form of relationship. True, unwavering love is not always romantic, and I love how Tolkien managed to capture this in his writing.
179 notes · View notes
traumszenario · 2 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
14K notes · View notes
phantom-of-the-501st · 1 year ago
Text
Remember that this is not the proof that they love each other
Tumblr media
That was a last-ditch attempt from Crowley to get Aziraphale to stay
This is the proof that they love each other
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Their love wasn't just made real because they kissed
It always existed
72K notes · View notes
amalgamezz · 11 months ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
ALT
19K notes · View notes
demigods-posts · 4 months ago
Text
i'm one hundred percent certain that after percy and annabeth made out underwater. and he wanted to make their relationship official. the question was not "will you be my girlfriend?" but "can i be your boyfriend?" i don't care what the canon says. percy gave annabeth the space to take the lead in the relationship. because after a lifetime of being abandoned by everyone she dared to care for. and then watching her on the brink of a panic attack at the thought of losing him the last four years. he wanted to honor a new beginning between them by follow her lead and moving at her pace.
3K notes · View notes
yardsards · 7 months ago
Text
"i don't ship laios and marcille-" oh yeah same, their relationship is so much more compelling to me viewed through a platonic lens than a romantic one
"-like, marcille clearly hates laios" are we reading/watching the same series??? did you just stop after the first couple chapters??? look at their relationship development, that's her friend! her bestie, even!!!
3K notes · View notes
knifearo · 1 year ago
Text
being aromantic is like. hey btw you're going to live a life that is the culmination of most of society's worst nightmares. sorry lol ✌️ but then you turn around and take a really good hard look at it and it turns out that living in that nightmare is fucking awesome and you get to wake up every day and take that fear that other people have and laugh and hold it close until it's a great joy for you instead. and being happy is a radical act that you define instead of someone else. and you're sexy as fuck that's just a fact of life i don't make the rules on that one
#aromantic people are just sexy i'm not making the decisions here it's just facts#course ur hot as fuck. it came free with the aromanticism#being sexy is just default settings for aromantic people 👍#hope this all helps. anyway i'm on my 'i hope i die alone <3 i can't wait to die alone <3' kick rn#i think the existential fear that people have of Not Partnering specifically is so. well.#obviously that shit is strong and it is SO awesome to be free of it.#realizing you're aro and you don't Want a partner can be such a hit to the solar plexus#cause society says that's the only thing that'll make you happy. so either you go without that thing or you force yourself#into doing something you don't want which would make you unhappy anyway.#so you think it's a lose lose situation and you have to come to terms with what amatonormativity presents as the worst possible situation#but then! whoa! turns out personhood is inherently valuable in and of itself and romantic partnering is just a construct!#and that nightmare is now your life to do with as you please... define as you will... structure as you want...#best case scenario. is what i'm saying.#every day i wake up ready to spit all that amatonormative rhetoric back in life's teeth by being alone and being happy#and it's so fucking satisfying. every day.#fucking JUBILANT being by myself. and i love being a living breathing 'fuck you' to the romantic system#you need a partner to be happy? oh that's sooo fucking crazy guess i'll go be miserable then. in my perfect fucking dream life lmao#yeah obviously it's the worst possible outcome on earth to die without a partner. so terrible. can't wait for it :)#aromantic#aromanticism#aro positivity#aroace#arospec#sorry to bitches who are sad about not having a partner. i could not give a fuck though get better soon#you couldn't EVER pay me enough to go back to a mindset in which my inherent value wasn't enough by myself.#FUCK that shit. absolutely miserable and a bad life outlook in general. like genuinely do the work w/ amatonormativity and get better#life is something that can be so fulfilling whether someone wants to kiss you or whatever or not#i'm on antidepressants and i have people i care deeply about. what the fuck would i need a partner for lmao
8K notes · View notes
sgt-tombstone · 5 months ago
Text
the comedic potential of Simon Riley’s middle name being John is unparalleled
He doesn’t tell anyone at first, but it’s definitely why he calls Soap “Johnny” and Price by his last name or rank only, because it’s weird that two of his teammates have the same name as his middle name
When Gaz finds out, he’s livid. The 141 is 75% John; he can’t fucking get away from them. Price points out that his name is actually Jonathan, thinking he’s being helpful (he’s not) and Johnny thinks it’s the funniest thing in the world
Simon seriously considers a legal name change just to keep the peace; he’s always loved the way John Riley sounds, but the ring in his dresser will make sure he hears that particular combination for the rest of his life
2K notes · View notes
iwoulddieforienzo · 1 year ago
Text
Personally I think percabeth is at its best when Grover is in it. I don’t necessarily mean in a polycule way I just think it’s great when he’s around
4K notes · View notes
dumblr · 1 year ago
Text
What I have with you, I don't want with anyone else.
3K notes · View notes
traumszenario · 2 months ago
Text
Tumblr media
11K notes · View notes
skateboardtotheheart · 6 months ago
Text
there is just something about the difference between edwin's love interests and having the cat king's reaction to edwin in hell being "i'll be waiting when he gets back" vs charles "no version of this where i don't come get you" rowland convincing a powerful trans-dimensional being to open a door to hell just so he could get him back
i am insane
1K notes · View notes
gldnstrngs · 2 months ago
Text
merthur screencaps that did in fact change the trajectory of my entire life
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
782 notes · View notes
chironeis · 4 months ago
Text
the thing is that martin thinks it took "two years of crisis and trauma" just to make him and jon compatible and the reason jon doesn't know how to rebut that wildly incorrect fact is because he's barely aware that he had a stick so far up his ass in season one that it grew roots in his brain before he stubbornly and meticulously and with gritted teeth plucked them all out. jon could've plucked those roots out before all the trauma and crises if he simply chose to. and he would. in so many universes. because martin (and friendship and love and connection) is worth it. mic drop
904 notes · View notes
livelovecaliforniadreams · 26 days ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
505 notes · View notes
jeeaark · 2 months ago
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
After successfully romancing all the lovely ladies, was looking forward to what Bachelor Romance Drama would ensue during the Durge run.
Apparently, my Durge's love life was uh- very straightforward.
911 notes · View notes