#thats why my tauriel is canon divergent

[foulrests]

watching stuff from the hobbit makes me sad because e.l only agreed to play tauriel and go against the hate for playing an original character in a tolkien adaptation because they told her there would be no romance and love triangle, and yet...

[et-impiis-lethalis]

What are your thoughts of Legolas? And on Thranduil? Since she is Canon Divergent

Buckle up Nonnie. This got hella long so under a cut. 

I’m going to start with Thranduil, because he is pseudo daddy. 

For movie purposes, Thranduil plays a good/bad very well. HOWEVER, he is nothing like this in the books. I’ve written about it before, but he is drastically different. Evie incorrectly states Tauriel’s age, so going off what of P.J said, we can assume she is around 1300-1400 years old. That is not terribly young or old, but in comparison to Legolas and Thranduil it is. We know that Thraduil has been taking care of her for about, 600 years. On the younger end of things, that means he was taking care of her when she was around 700~. They aren’t full grown till about 50. So I think the math is wonky, but lets roll with it. 

Tauriel would VERY much look up to Thranduil. He not only ‘adopted’ her, but favored her. I have no doubt that he helped ensure she got an education, and had her trained. We know her parents were killed in an orc raid, so I’m assuming Tauriel had to have fought back to survive. This is reason enough to believe that Thranduil knew that she was a bit different. It also gave Legolas a ‘companion’ of sorts, considering that he probably was left alone much of the time. Thranduil also is very understanding of Silvan elf culture and traditions. When he took the throne, it is stated that he did not try to force or change their customs but adapt to it. Which is why Mirkwood was such a unique place. He is a Sindarian elf, ruling over Silvan elves. I think overall, they have a very high mutual respect over one another. Tauriel trusts him, she has no reason not to do so. Thranduil has given her many opportunities to prove herself worthy, and was promoted Captain because of her abilities that HE helped get. I think the whole issue in DOS is that they are similar to one another. They are both stubborn, and both believe what they are doing is right. I think afterwards, while maybe it takes time for him to un-banish her; it would be like losing another child if Tauriel left. 

You can’t take care of someone for 600 years and then say a big ‘fkkk you’. I don’t think it is anywhere near in how much he loves Legolas, but I don’t think that Thranduil doesn’t love her at all. I think it also made Tauriel upset too, because he was her King. She respected him, but when she was doing what she absolutely thought was right and to have him try to just pull out of battle like, that obviously upset her. I think they have a whole big conversation on love and what it means to be in love, because they both were in the wrong at the end. I think overall that Thranduil and Tauriel get into this disagreement because they are so similar, and that causes conflict. I don’t think they’d ever actually apologize, but have this understanding of one another that lets them forgive. I think deep down Tauriel really does look at him as a father figure in her life, so of course she’s a little salty when he isn’t completely okay with her and Legolas’s feelings. (Thats a whole ‘nother thing, nonnie.) 

My Tauriel has a lot of complicated feelings for Thranduil, because she wants to make him proud but at a certain point in your adult life, you realize that you cannot  live to please your parents. You have to eventually figure out what is important to you and follow through with it. (something I have personally done and relate a lot in Tauriel) Tauriel didn’t agree with him so she decided to do what SHE believed to be the right path for herself. I think in the end Thranduil found that out the hard way. 

PHEW. Ready for Legolas?

So if you didn’t know this, I actually was the first person in the Legriel tag. I started the ship name, lol. 

For me personally, there is a lot of potential and wasted chemistry. I think Tauriel is one of the first elves that doesn’t immediately treat Legolas like a royal. We know wood elves are a bit less refined, but he isn’t a true wood-elf like Tauriel, so he’d be raised in a mixture of the two cultures. Tauriel already experienced something traumatic at this point, so I feel like she’s kinda got a ‘nothing to lose’ type look on things. I think that is why they become such good friends at first, because not only are they kinda stuck together because of Thranduil but because they are opposites that compliment each other. While we don’t know a lot about them from the time when they meet to DOS, we know that they are closer than what would normally be expected of a Captain and Prince. 

So going from that and some rp experiences I’ve had, I almost always say that they had legitimate feelings for one another.  When Tauriel is told do not give him hope (Nonnie, I have like 6 posts about this), that is NOT the face of a woman who is not in love. That is the face of someone who is being told “Shove your feelings away because it will never happen”. How heart breaking is that? By Elf standards, Legolas and Tauriel should both be in the realm of finding someone to be with, so it is very logical that it could be one another. Also, elves generally are betrothed in youth but do not marry until later. I think Thranduil was waiting to see if things were really genuine, but also worried that because Legolas is heir to the throne. I don’t personally think it had much to do with Tauriel being Silvan but more so Legolas being Sindarian. I think I read somewhere that Thanduil did not want it to seem like they favored one race more than another. 

Anyway, my Tauriel (C.D) loves Legolas. They’ve spent at LEAST 600 years together, side by side. They’ve fought together, protected , and comforted one another. I honestly cannot see how they wouldn’t have developed feelings for one another. Actually, I think Tauriel would be very surprised and endeared that Legolas would be interested in her, because I believe by elf standards she isn’t considered overly attractive. My Tauriel is very aware that she isn’t as ‘petite’ or ‘womanly’ as others her race. I think that it kinda puts her down a bit, and I think Legolas has probably spoken up a bit about how she is indeed fair and such, which is a casual way for them to flirt without drawing a lot of attention to it. 

I think their friendship is very private, and that they really don’t have secrets between each other (aside from how they feel.) Getting back to DOS, there is a post about how Tauriel was falling out of love and into love with Kili and the outside world. I also frame her like that, I think she was heartbroken about the situation she was dealing with and Kili and the issues outside were a good distraction. Not only that, but once they escaped and Tauriel really found out about what was going on; she wanted to help. Then we see her on the shores near Dale. Remember, Tauriel is young. This is her first time dealing with mortal death and war. I think she’s a bit of shock, and suddenly she has Kili confessing his feelings, Legolas saying his father does not command his will ( the heart part is not a literal translation. He literally says “Does not command my will) and finds herself facing REAL war. So of course she chooses Legolas at this point. He’s her safe place, she won’t let him go into danger alone and he doesn’t either. After all he followed her.  I think the real moment of missed chances is when Legolas stands up to father face to face. We see here that Legolas was willing to put himself between his father and her, and that hits home hard. There’s already so much going on at this point, I think Tauriel isn’t sure what she’s feeling. I have always thought that at the end of BOFA, she does mourn Legolas’s leaving as well because they never got  a chance to tell one another how they feel because he mis-understood her feelings for Kili. I think if they were to reunite, that Tauriel would be able to tell him how she finally feels. In my mind, there is little doubt that they did not love one another.