#to Eowyn saved him

[torchwood-99]

I feel like the moral of Eowyn's and Pearl Took's story is that it is inadvisable for one family member to be singularly responsible for the caretaking of another.

[cottoncandiescupcakes]

Celeborn being upheld by incels as controlling Galadriel is so stupid

He NEVER controlled her

His duties are riding the swan boat and playing the harp and sometimes she sends his ass off to war to help her and Elrond like are you serious. I think he has a soothing and calm effect on her but that's not control

In the BOOKS she literally chides him in front of everyone for giving Gimli shit for suggesting The Mines of Moria and indirectly killing Gandalf. This woman is humiliating her husband, who is an ancient prince nearly as old as her, for insulting a dwarf in his own realm and he just TAKES IT because he knows his wife is right

They love each other but she is fully in charge of everything and people can just deal with it

The book also says they are the same height and that her voice is deep. In her youth she was a warrior. She's not this feminine trad wife just because she's pale and wears a white dress lmao just because these dudes find her attractive

Book Arwen is closer to a traditional female role but she, also, is adored and treated as an equal by Aragorn. Sorry but Tolkien respects women even if you don't

Don't hate on Celeborn or other characters uphold by these dudes, it's not their fault they built this controlling man fantasy that's simply not there

The valar are also a lot of couples where man and woman are equally powerful in different ways. Eowyn is a shield maiden who saves the day BECAUSE no man can kill the Witch King like???

Tolkien is not the one when it comes to hating on women

[shirefantasies]

hii! love your writings, I was wondering if you could do a reader x fellowship (plus eowyn and arwen) where reader is usually seen in armor and unkempt garments + dirty hair but then one day they show up (probably for an event) in beautiful fancy clothes, hair did and everything? Thanks!!!!

scREAMS I LOVE THIS YES. Warning: minor blood mention in two

LoTR Characters Seeing You Dressed Up For the First Time

Aragorn

Both of you had only borne witness to the other in times of battle and survival, not exactly the most formal of circumstances, but such had never even occurred to you until the night of celebration in Rohan. King Theoden invited you to the company of his family, offering his niece or nephew to take you to a bathhouse and present you with a new outfit. Aragorn turned your way the moment you stepped out, eyes positively glowing with reverent awe focused entirely on your form, your smile as your gazes met. He said nothing, simply drew closer until you could feel his warmth upon you. "The people of Rohan have been good to us," he said. "Yes," you agreed with a nod, "I wish we can give as much back. But perhaps we should start by enjoying their hospitality, hm?” “Indeed. Let us keep this night for ourselves. I fear if I stray too far, though, I may get lost in you.” “Don’t worry,” you whispered, lips quirking upward as you pulled Aragorn into the fray of dancers, “I’ll be here to pull you back, too.”

Legolas

Legolas managed to seem dressed up in nearly anything he wore, a feat you certainly envied! Your travels left you feeling like a drowned rat half the time or else just dirty and bedraggled. When the elves of Lothlórien offered you housing, bathing, even food and dancing for two nights, no had fled your vocabulary entirely. Taking their hands, you were swept off into a river of luxury, emerging clean and smiling and draped in the finest fabrics. An elf on either side, you made your way down to the lower flet upon which your hospitality lie, the way Legolas turned his head not once but twice unable to escape your notice. "What?" You teased, aware at least of his shock to see you clad so differently. "You didn't know what I looked like beneath my helmet?" "I didn't know you looked so nice beneath it," He conceded with a smile, stepping closer, "Perhaps we ought not to return it after this night."

Boromir

Had someone asked him, Boromir would never have said he wanted someone with blood under their nails and sword in hand. That was him, that was his job. And yet he felt something different when he clapped a hand to your shoulder after you saved him in combat. When you emerged at the party dressed up, though? His heart swelled five sizes. He should have known- you could do anything. “Putting everyone to shame here, aren’t we?” “What do you mean?” You asked, gaze flitting deliciously down to the hand Boromir laud upon your shoulder, all but challenging him. Accepting it, he rested the other on your hip, urging you out into a dance. “Looking better than them in both mail and finery.” “I suppose I’m just lucky.” “No, I am,” Boromir shot back, “For I am the one who gets to have you in my arms.”

Gimli

To use Gimli's words, around each other you two tend to remain "fully armed and filthy". It is Lord Elrond, of course, who offers an alternative state upon your entry to his homely-house, granting you the reprieve of your first bath in far too many days and even a new outfit. Elvish craftsmanship was like nothing else, delicately embroidered and soft and light unlike anything that has ever graced your skin. Reactions were something you hadn’t considered in the slightest, but as soon as you emerged you found yourself giggling at Gimli’s parted lips and removal of his helmet as if in some reverence you had not earned. “Now this,” he nodded with a smile of approval as he swept an arm over your entire form, “This is the one thing the elves have gotten right.”

Frodo

The tailors’ shop was busy this morning. Bilbo needed a new set of threads to replace some tugged-off buttons, but every working hobbit was rushing around before Frodo could even ask if they had a spool of forest green to spare. What were they- “Frodo!” He would recognize that voice anywhere. Turning, he caught sight of you in the middle of a fitting, the tailors having been flitting about your form as they worked on quite a fine outfit for you. “What do you think?” Spinning around and then striking a joking pose, you fixed him right in the eyes, and it was like an arrow struck him, taking the very breath from his lungs. Finally Frodo’s sense and words returned to him, bringing a smile to his lips. “It’s perfect.”

Sam

You had worked with Sam plenty of times in the gardens, so he had seen you countless times in things like overalls or pinafores or aprons and thought you looked fit for any king and castle. But then came Fatty Bolger’s birthday party, a bash all his friends were invited to…and plenty of other hobbits would find themselves at anyway. One such was you, and knowing you’d be dancing you got cleaned up quite nice, standing at the edges of the lantern-hung floor hoping you might be noticed. And noticed you were, for you caught Samwise Gamgee as he controlled his gaping expression and shook his head out before he approached you, asking if you’d honor him with a dance.

Merry

Gimli was teasing you as Merry entered the room, feeling his heart shoot into his throat at a mere glimpse. He caught a few spare words from the dwarf, including him asking you if you had someone you’d like to impress. “Hush,” you chastised him, “What if he hears you?” At that, Merry couldn’t resist stepping forward. “I don’t know who you’re trying to impress,” he told you, eyes full of wonder, “But he’s an absolute fool if it doesn’t work.” “You really think so?” Your tone, your hopeful look, those beautiful eyes Merry could drown in. “I know so.” “Well,” you glanced away, “That’s good. Very good, since it was you.”

Pippin

Tired and bedraggled, you all but fell into the arms of the elves of Lothlórien, blissfully bathing and shyly accepting the fine garb they offered you. Tugging it into place, you emerged through the doorway, unaware the rest of your fellowship waited beyond the threshold. Soon as his eyes fell upon you, Pippin's jaw dropped, his lips slowly curling upward into a wide smile that had you mirroring it, gaze dropping from his. “Wow," Pippin breathed as you drew closer still, hands hovering in front of him in the space between your bodies, "You- you look- Wow. They’ve certainly given you a fine…wow.”

Faramir

On the battlefield you had fought side by side, faces obscured by steel and focus. Soldiers from two armies melded as one. Yet here you were simply citizens, representatives of your people. Diplomats even on the dance floor. All thoughts of such relations fled from Faramir’s mind, though, as your form filled his vision. “Never did I think I would be granted such a moment as this,” he confessed as you took his hand and gripped about his neck, body swaying against his.

Eomer

Theoden, Rohan's king, was giving a celebration all were to attend. Something of a victory revel, but you must confess that you just looked forward to the dancing. Stuffy as it may have been, it was also quite fun donning a nice outfit, your reflection beaming back at you. The expression carried on all the way into the great hall, shining into the hanging lights. You caught sight of a head turning the moment you emerged. A golden head. Eomer. With a wave, he dismissed the man he spoke to- a fellow soldier, you presumed- and strode before you. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" "To the same thing everyone else does, I suppose," you teased in response, "This revel." "Well, remind me to thank my uncle later," Eomer replied with a wide smile, extending a hand in a clear invitation to dance as his eyes traveled up and down over your form, "Shall we?"

Eowyn

She had worn a smile of surprise when you even removed your helmet for the first time in her presence, let alone donning your finest. When it came time for a celebration with her people, a far different garb hung from your body, all in gorgeous fabrics and colors perfectly complimenting your own hues. As soon as you stepped into the light of Rohan's hall, Eowyn positively grinned, her eyes of soft blue alight. Taking up a cup from the table by which she stood, she crossed over to stand before you and offer you a drink, which you accepted. "The garb of Rohan suits you perfectly," she complimented, "Do you plan on dancing?" It was worth seeing the progression of shock and speechlessness melting back into a grin when you extended a hand and replied, "If you will have me."

Haldir

Working side by side meant seeing each other in some of the worst moments, sleeves slashed and blood seeping from wounds. Armor caked with dirt and quivering devoid of arrows. Body carried to healers with reddening bandages hastily tied around limbs. And yet this, this is what shocks him. Haldir’s breath is utterly stolen, not of concern or fear this time, but in the manner of one first seeing the falling stars. “Stay still,” he breathes, almost pleading, “Let me take you in for a moment.”

Galadriel

You were a warrior by profession. In a way, at least. One such that mail was your garb far more often than any dress or robe. Thus, when you made to visit the elves of Lothlórien, you were shocked to see the fine things they'd lain out for you, pulled gently onto your body as if you deserved servants. In fact you had tried to protest, but they had simply smiled and shook their heads as fine jewels were hung about your neck. That you had earned an audience with the Lady Galadriel, was a testament to your service you would not soon take for granted. Thus, as you stood before them, you made first to lower yourself in reverence. Before you could fully adopt your posture, though, you felt the grip of a soft hand beneath your chin gently pulling you back up. Soon you were raised to meet Galadriel's eyes. "You need not bow to me. I confess I wished very much to see you like this. Come with me, if you please."

Elrond

Some might say the Lord of Rivendell should not look upon a soldier such as he did. Some of those same voices might have spoken up of the love of man and elf that had brought forth his ancestors. Not that he would not have understood. Yet as it was every time you removed your helmet something stirred in Elrond that had not done so for some years. And then one night came the celebration, a festival to which all in his counsel were invited, you included. It was that very night, in fact, that he realized how little he had seen of you outside the patrols you took together, and the same in which he would confess to you how he felt beneath the moonlight, finally spilling forth every word of your beauty you deserved.

Arwen

Had you asked her, she would have thought not at all of your dress. Your heart was what she loved, the way you cared and the way you smiled whenever you looked upon someone dear to you. Yet the day of her birthday, you draped yourself in your very finest, emerging in the view of an Arwen who could not bear tearing her eyes off of you. Grinning her beautiful grin, the elf took your hand and immediately twirled you, viewing you from every angle with her expression never faltering. “You look amazing,” she told you, "For a moment, I thought I was dreaming."

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[velvet4510]

Just think of how many times Faramir must’ve drawn attention to the fact that it was his wife who took down the Witch-king of Angmar. He never left a room until he was certain that its occupants knew and respected his wife for what she did. He was just the proudest husband in all of Middle-Earth.

He heard someone on the street telling the story of the great siege of Gondor. He stayed silent through all the parts with him in it. But when it got to the part where the Witch-king was finally killed, he interrupted the story to say to the listeners, “That was my wife. My wife did that. She did that and then she chose me, of all men.”

He told the story himself to their children and made sure they knew and remembered, “That was your mother. Your mother did that.”

He heard his adult children tell the story to their own children in his later years and called out from his lounge chair in front of the fireplace, “Your grandmother did that.”

He read Pippin’s copy of the Red Book that he brought to Gondor, skipped ahead to that part, pointed at the page, and said, no matter if he was with someone or alone in the room, “I’m married to that woman.”

And every time this happened, when they were in their prime, and when they were old and wrinkled, Eowyn always blushed the same blush and said “will you ever shut up about that and let me brag about how my husband resisted the Ring and saved the world?” And Faramir always kissed her and replied, “Never.” It was the only request he ever denied her.

[i-wear-sunglasses-inside]

I have had one (1) Meriadoc Brandybuck on my brain since finishing the lotr trilogy weeks ago.

Merry, who was always watching after his fellow hobbits and who embodied the comfort of home for soldiers who were jaded and scared to death as they rode across the country to a near-hopeless battle

Merry, who was told time and again to stay back, go home, leave the horrors of war to the big people, but who stubbornly went forth into danger not because he felt up to the challenge or believed he was cornered into the choice, but because he knew he couldn’t live with himself if he let his friends go to their deaths or glories without him

Merry, who stabbed the witch king of Angmar to save Eowyn even as he was near-paralyzed with fear and despair

Merry, who came back to the Shire and took the lead in the removal of Saruman’s men but still listened to Frodo’s counsel and was never unnecessarily cruel or violent, only protective of his people

His character arc is just so good and I don’t understand how anyone could read these books and not love him to absolute pieces.

[southfarthing]

Eowyn tells Faramir it isn't necessary to write all of Rohan's songs and legends in a book lest they be forgotten. The Rohirrim do not read and write: they are oral storytellers, and they have great respect for their minstrels and their history. They will not forget anything.

She says it to reassure him and save him the trouble, but it does not seem to soothe his mind.

He smiles quickly at her before turning to the window. He looks out at the hills of Emyn Arnen as though watching for a storm on the horizon, and then Eowyn understands.

She grasps his hand.

At his touch, an image rushes through her mind: a grey, mutinous sea; and among the froth and the fury – sodden books, orphaned heirlooms, and a tapestry that will never again be seen or re-made, with both story and skill lost to the devouring waters.

The water washes over them both before slowly receding, leaving only a mist that she blinks away, and the distant glint of the Anduin to the west as it flows down to the Sea.

'Have I ever told you of Eorl the Young?' she says. Her voice is rough; she clears her throat.

'We know much about Eorl in Gondor,' Faramir says softly. 'His friendship with Cirion and his aid in our time of need was great.'

'And what about after?' she asks. 'What does Gondor know about that?'

Faramir turns to her with a wry smile. 'Very little.'

'Would that you had someone to teach you a little history.'

The mirth in Faramir's eyes mirrors her own.

'Would that I did.'

[suzannahnatters]

So as I've been re-reading LOTR, I got to the "Many Meetings" chapter where Arwen takes a good long look at Frodo; and I started thinking this character over.

I have always interpreted this as her summing him up for the task she knows lies ahead for him; if he can't save the known world then she doesn't get to marry the man she loves. But is Arwen's desire to marry Aragorn the only thing that is driving her? This is someone, after all, who was raised and taught by Galadriel herself, the wielder of Nenya, ruler of Lorien, and enemy of Sauron.

Arwen is very much wisdom-coded in this book, as opposed to, say, Eowyn, who is firmly warrior-coded. In the rabid days of my teen Tolkien era I used to have a lot of arguments about Arwen and about how little she appears in the book: and I always used to argue that it was a valid storytelling choice to give us only brief glimpses of her, because LOTR is simply not her story. In Letter 181 Tolkien himself confirms this, saying that the main reason Arwen isn't more prominent in the plot is that it's written from a hobbitish perspective. The tale of Aragorn and Arwen, he says:

"is part of the essential story, and is only placed so [in the Appendices], because it could not be worked into the main narrative without destroying its structure: which is planned to be 'hobbito-centric', that is, primarily a study of the ennoblement (or sanctification) of the humble."

I also used to argue that the fact that Arwen doesn't appear to have agency doesn't mean she wasn't actually involved. Tolkien says at one point in the book that she "watched over" Aragorn in thought, and fresh off my re-read of the Silmarillion, in which the Elves are said to have some kind of telepathic power, I think that this is what she's been doing this whole time. While I'm sorry her contributions aren't highlighted a bit more, she's not limited to embroidering banners for Aragorn; she has an agency that we simply cannot see because we are so firmly in the hobbitish perspective.

Bear in mind, too, that Arwen is supposed to be a kind of second Luthien. Unlike Luthien, she has far more family support from her father and brothers who do everything they can to help with the Quest, thus removing the motivation Luthien had to run away and have adventures. Presumably Arwen could have made a magic cloak and snuck into Mordor with the Ring, except that Frodo was chosen for that task. Plus, maybe she's just too powerful for Sauron to miss - Tolkien hints as much in that passage I quoted above, from Letter 181.

Still, the question remains, and it's a valid one: WHY does Tolkien choose not to bring Arwen more strongly into the story? WHY doesn't he give her a role closer to Luthien's? Why didn't he have her, and not Glorfindel, ride out to bring help during the Flight to the Ford?

You know me - I don't think it's because Tolkien didn't think a woman couldn't make this kind of contribution. He pretty demonstrably did. Rather, I think it's because he made the valid and indeed deeply thematic choice to code Arwen as a woman of peace rather than a woman of war.

Remember that at the end of LOTR, the entire world undergoes a process of renewal and healing. Those who have been warriors - Faramir, Eowyn, Samwise, Gandalf, and so on - put their swords away and become gardeners and healers. Even before the war ends, Aragorn confirms his claim to the kingship of Gondor, not by helping to win the battle of the Pelennor Fields, but by healing those who are lying at the brink of death in the Houses of Healing, under the Nazgul's influence. For Tolkien, who lived through not one but two world wars, peace was not something lesser to be assigned to women. War was not an end in itself ("I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness...") but a means to a just peace, the ultimate goal for men and women alike.

Just as, say, Fatty Bolger, or Galadriel, choose not to go on the Quest of the Ring and aren't shamed for it by the narrative, so too does Arwen choose not to go on the Quest. Yet, just like everyone else who chooses not to join, Arwen DOES make a pivotal contribution to the story. And it's one the fandom is not super aware of. Tolkien explained it like this in Letter 246, after mentioning that Frodo expected to die very soon after completing the Quest.

"But he did not, and one can observe the disquiet growing in him. Arwen was the first to observe the signs, and gave him her jewel for comfort, and thought of a way of healing him."

The footnote to this sentence reads:

"It is not made explicit how she could arrange this. She could not of course just transfer her ticket on the boat like that! For any except those of Elvish race 'sailing West' was not permitted, and any exception required 'authority,' and she was not in direct communication with the Valar, especially not since her choice to become 'mortal'. What is meant is that it was Arwen who first thought of sending Frodo into the West, and put in a plea for him to Gandalf (direct or through Galadriel, or both), and she used her own renunciation of the right to go West as an argument. Her renunciation and suffering were related to and enmeshed with Frodo's: both were parts of a plan for the regeneration of the state of Men. Her prayer might therefore be specially effective, and her plan have a certain equity of exchange. No doubt it was Gandalf who was the authority that accepted her plea."

All through my re-read I've been pointing out how very important it is to the story that Frodo gets a hope of healing at the end - far more important than the horrors that intervene. Arwen is the one who is able to get him that healing. Not only that, but in choosing mortality, she doesn't just marry Aragorn and start a new line of kings in Gondor - anyone could have done that. There's something special about Arwen, specifically - the pupil of Galadriel the pupil of Melian the Maia - that brings about a regeneration of the entire race of Men. Perhaps she helps to transmit to all of humanity the wisdom and lore of the Elves and the Maiar. Perhaps this includes much in the way of healing and craftsmanship.

Speculating on this, I'm also led to think about Arwen's relationship with Galadriel. In "The Council of Elrond", Elrond mentions that opinion is divided on what will happen with the Three elven Rings once the One Ring is destroyed. Some hope the Three will continue to be effective, healing Middle Earth and undoing the works of the Enemy. But when we get to Lorien, we find that Galadriel is not among them. Everything she says demonstrates that she expects the Ringbearer to destroy not only the One Ring, but also the works of the Three. So, Galadriel has always known that SHE will never be able to do the work of healing Middle Earth from Sauron's shadow. Was this a mission that she saw herself entrusting to Arwen?

Sure - as far as I'm aware, Tolkien never got around to writing this down in detail. It's a very subtle part of the story and maybe we would have preferred him to make his point more overtly...but it very much is there. Arwen didn't just give up her mortality; she also gave it away of her own free will, in order to help heal and regenerate the world from the Shadow, and not only did she do this for the man she loved, but for as many others as she could, notably Frodo.

The reason Arwen doesn't get a lot of agency in LOTR is because her hour hasn't yet come. As Tolkien writes in "Many Meetings," few mortals had YET seen her.

But they would.

[just-an-elf-with-the-socks]

Not that long ago the LotR trilogy was rereleased in theaters for a limited time and I saw them multiple times, three of those being with @ath3alin who watched me take all of these Aralas notes throughout the movies (there’s nothing wrong with canon, it’s just really gay). So I’m gifting them to the internet, you’re welcome.

Fotr:

The scene where Aragorn is singing like a weirdo into space = it was a song that Legolas would sing to him when they were children, and then they would sing it together once Aragorn learned Elvish better. When Frodo asks what woman he sings of, it’s really Legolas, because he misses him

TT:

When the riders of Rohan surround them, the first thing Legolas does is reach for Aragorn so that’s going in a fic at some point

Legolas really just wanted his crush to look cool in literally every moment Aragorn did something he could have done in like two seconds

At least Legolas’ first instinct is to look at Aragorn every time something happens or every time he says something. Like,,this man might as well never be looking anywhere else

“Nobody cares for the woods anymore (That’ll probably be a Thranduil fic somehow, we’ll figure it out)”

I will say, it would be a fun headcanon to have Legolas feel the things the forest does; i.e. their pain, their joy, their sadness. And instead of being weird it’s actually really sweet and Aragorn does find it a bit adorable once he develops feelings for Legolas

Forest scene: Those fuckers are standing ridiculously close to each other. Honestly, I’d like to headcanon that Legolas specifically speaks to Aragorn in Elvish when he’s afraid or nervous

Honestly, Aragorn would be lowkey attracted to the way Legolas absolutely just knocks that guy out with his arm and he doesn’t understand it until later

Let’s be real, Legolas would be so offended when Snake Man smacks Aragorn like that, like “hello, that’s my boyfriend, you’re not my president”

Legolas standing next to Aragorn count: 18

Legolas lowkey being sad not being able to ride beside Aragorn on the way to Helm’s Deep

I genuinely wonder what it would be like if I rewrote the dream sequence. Like, if it was Legolas even though he’s there with him and Aragorn wakes up wishing that the dream were true and, once again, not understanding exactly why he feels that way. Although it does make for a bit of an awkward moment between the two of them in the morning and Legolas is extremely confused

Not sure what to do about the Evenstar, probably just forget about it in the second AU (whatever that would be honestly i have no idea)

Honestly in this second AU i would love to explore whatever the fuck is going on in Mirkwood that Legolas has to deal with and Aragorn realizing that something is fucking with him. Perhaps instead of the Undying Lands scene with Eowyn it’s instead similar to that since we’re speaking about Aragorn staring into the distance

Lowkey Aragorn looking terrified when Legolas just runs off to take out that scout and he’s like “fuck where are you going, don’t go where I can’t follow”

Legolas getting minorly injured in that battle (of the cliff I guess, his face is BROKEN by the way) and doesn’t address it until they find Aragorn and then it genuinely starts to affect him to the point where he finally passes out and everyone is like “FUCK what happened, oh my god he’s hurt”

God Eowyn’s face is nothing compared to Legolas’ when they think Aragorn is dead

Someone would gladly say, I think, “the guy was fucking heartbroken, he wouldn’t rest one fucking second because he knew that’s exactly what you would do and he figured that since he couldn’t save you, this was the least he could do”

The look Legolas gives him when he refuses to rest literally screams “sit the fuck down, I swear to the Valar I’ll kill you myself”

Aragorn: “Why do you hurt? What is your pain? Please, tell me!”

Legolas: “The trees. The Woodland Realm. My…My home. They are dying.”

That whole argument scene, the expressions goddamn

Legolas was definitely helping Aragorn get dressed in his armor what do you mean

Aragorn calling for his husband in the middle of a fight count: 3

Perhaps I’ll headcanon that Legolas does some of the shit he does just to impress Aragorn

RoTK

I imagine Legolas participating in the drinking game with half a desire to impress Aragorn, half a desire to screw with Gimli, and perhaps a hope to attempt to drown his sorrows of unrequited love depending on the story

The scene where Aragorn leaves the others while they sleep, what if he were to speak to Legolas instead of Eowyn

The way they look at each other at exactly the same time is crazy holy shit

It’s a common fandom thought (the one for this ship at least) that Legolas drags Aragorn away from holding the Palantir because he doesn’t want it to hurt him more than it already has (also that Legolas held him in his arms across his chest, that’s fun)

[shifa-kazi]

This is the exact moment where I fell in love with Aragorn. This man first shows up out of nowhere, offers help in reaching rivendell, makes sure they reach there safe.. and then "asks" to be on another quest with Frodo and friends. And that smile. Oh. That smile. It holds so much. He's being a bit cocky in asking, of course he's coming but also there's so much gentleness and also humbleness and friendship.

He trudged on ruthlessly to make sure they reached Rivendell safe- He sang the song luthien- knowing Arwen would make the same choice. He was missing her then but he didn't let any of that cloud his head or mar his judgement. At that time I hadn't realised it. I shipped him with Eowyn because she had such an obvious crush on him. I mistook his respect for Eowyn (or women in general) as affection because that's the world we live in- disrespected/ disregarded by the vast majority of men that respect starts looking like affection. But Aragorn was loyal to Arwen. Its clear when he heals Eowyn after she killed the nazgúl. He knew from the start that whatever Eowyn felt for him- it was an illusion, a faint hope, something she is holding onto to stop herself from succumbing to her own dark thoughts. And when she and Faramir end up together- it makes so much sense because those two were on the same page. Aragorn was leagues apart from Eowyn. I know movie Aragorn looked like he was running away from his destiny but book Aragorn knew exactly who he was and what he was supposed to do. The heir of isildur who if need be will die in hopes of saving mankind.

I also love how his kingly qualities aren't limited to bravery and being good at warfare, his compassion makes him a great king. His ability to heal was the real testament to his throne. He is kind and humble even in the midst of a war he may very well lose. He may seem distant and aloof but he's very quick to make friends and has many of them. I'm so tired of male characters that need someone to explore their emotional warehouses, of men who need a push from here or there to do the right thing,of men who put up walls instead of throwing everything they have into everything they believe in. That's why Aragorn and Arwen just make sense to me- she's a fae and is years older than him but he has gone through some very tough times on his own that they both know how painful and full of beauty life truly is. And for that I loved this man even before I knew how great his destiny was going to be.

[blooferlady86]

It occurs to me how funny it is that guys are mad that The War of the Rohirrim is focused on a woman. They must have skipped the paragraphs in Lord of the Rings that featured Eowyn because she's the most interesting Rohirrim in the book.

Theoden gets un-brainwashed, has Gandalf save him a few times, leads two great cavalry charges, then his horse lands on him and he dies. The movies seriously expand on his inner conflict. Once Wormtongue is gone, Theoden mostly just kind of follows Gandalf's advice.

Eomer is there too. Fights a bit at Helm's Deep. He gets super emotional at the battle of Pelennor Fields, overextends himself and has to be rescued by Aragorn.

Eowyn is told repeatedly (even by Aragorn) she can't help in battle, gets leered at and lechered at by Wormtongue, fails to get Aragorn to give her the time of day, defies the king, disguises herself and helps fight anyways, kills the freaking Witch King (with Merry's help) and his mount, gets mortally wounded, heals up and lands the best guy in the series in a lovely character arc that emphasizes the importance of hope.

WHY are you shocked that a story of a woman of Rohan would be compelling?

[novelmonger]

Some highlights from the Director/Writer Commentary of The Return of the King with Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, and Fran Walsh:

As they mentioned in TTT, they were originally going to put the Smeagol vs. Deagol fight as a flashback during the Dead Marshes. Before they decided to use it to open RotK, their placeholder idea for a scene to open RotK was to do a sped-up helicopter shot from the Paths of the Dead, across the plains of Edoras, to the Golden Hall where Aragorn wakes up from a nightmare (and then goes and talks to Eowyn). Very glad they went the direction they did!

In the final shot they used when Smeagol takes the Ring out of Deagol's hand, the actor playing Deagol actually blinked, but they liked Andy Serkis' performance so much, they had Weta go in and freeze Deagol's eyes so they could use the shot XD

You know, I forget sometimes that they didn't even have Saruman in the theatrical cut at all. Boggles the mind.

In the scene where Aragorn comes out of the Golden Hall and goes to stand next to Legolas, who's looking out at the night...Viggo and Orlando weren't in the country at the same time, so they shot them separately and then put them together @_@

You know, I never thought about this before, but when Gandalf touches Pippin's face, they had to make sure his hands looked extra big! So they used an actor called Big Paul, who had the biggest hands they could find, and Ian McKellen directed him for how to move his hands in the shot XD And Big Paul is the Rohan guard who gets shoved aside when Merry and Aragorn rush up to the top of the wall to watch Gandalf and Pippin leave!

THEY SHOT A SCENE OF LEGOLAS TALKING TO TREEBEARD ABOUT THE ELVES LEAVING MIDDLE-EARTH?!?!?!?!?!?! :O Originally, it was going to link the Isengard scenes to the scene of Arwen and the other Rivendell Elves going through the forest, but then because of all the Edoras stuff in between, the connection was lost. They also said something about Legolas reciting a poem! And joked again about putting it into the 25th anniversary edition. THAT TIME IS COMING UP, PETER JACKSON!!!! I WANNA SEE THIS SCENE!!!!!!

a;lkdsjs;kdfljds;fjl NOW THEY'RE JUST TEASING US. They talked about a "library scene" during the whole sequence where Arwen goes back to Rivendell and confronts Elrond about how he saw her son, etc. They wouldn't say what happened in the "library scene," but talked about how they should include that in the 25th anniversary edition too. a;ldkfjs;dkfljsd;kfljdslfk

The people on set who had a crush on Sean Bean were called "Beanstalkers"! XD That's the best; every fan to this day ought to call themselves that!

Similarly to the scene with Legolas and Aragorn, the little bit with Legolas and Gimli as everyone's getting ready to leave Edoras was filmed separately because Orlando and John weren't in the country at the same time. So they filmed Legolas' shots with Brett, John's scale double, then filmed John's shots later, filming both of them against greenscreen. Then they took some unused footage from the Edoras set and put it in the background. It just boggles my mind how many of these cobbled-together scenes there are, because it feels so much like all the characters are together in the real location!

RED ALERT RED ALERT THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!! They mentioned Beregond!!!! 8D When talking about why they put in the scene where Pippin and Faramir talk (when Faramir says the uniform Pippin's wearing was made for him when he was a child), in order to forge the connection between them that will ultimately lead to Pippin saving Faramir's life, they talked briefly about Beregond! They describe him taking Pippin under his wing, showing him about the city, and called the relationship between them "quite sweet" :3

Another little connection between Pippin and Faramir I don't think I've ever thought about before, that apparently Billy Boyd thought about when doing these scenes, is that Pippin is the only son of the Thain of the Shire, so there may have been a certain amount of pressure and expectation on him. Obviously, he's so young and probably didn't spend too much time worrying about that while scampering about the Shire, but maybe that's something he thinks about while watching the way Faramir and Denethor interact. Maybe a contrast to the way he would interact with his own father, maybe a reminder of the way he would be scolded? Hard to say, but it's interesting to think about.

Uuuuuuughghghg, so frustrating to listen to them talking about the scene on the steps where Frodo sends Sam away DX No matter how many times and how many different ways they explain why they did it, the explanations never quite make sense to me. "We needed there to be more tension." WHY WAS IT NOT TENSE ENOUGH THAT THEY WERE GOING INTO THE LAIR OF A HUGE EVIL SPIDER?! "There wasn't really anything happening on the steps otherwise." YEAH, BECAUSE YOU PUT THE WHOLE CONVERSATION ABOUT STORIES IN THE PREVIOUS MOVIE! Also, why not just cut from one or two shots of them climbing this awful staircase to a shot of them entering the cave? "There needed to be a payoff for Gollum's scheming." WHY WAS GOLLUM BETRAYING THEM TO SHELOB NOT ENOUGH OF A PAYOFF?! "We knew InStInCtIvElY that Frodo needed to enter the cave alone." WHY? WHY?! I've never understood that. They get separated eventually in the book, so why not just ramp up the tension of that in the movie, instead of making the characters so OOC? "We knew it would shock readers of the book, and if we'd changed that, what else might we have changed?" You know...I really, really love these movies, and I appreciate what these three were able to accomplish so much...but sometimes I kind of hate them too -_-

The horses didn't want to walk down the hill on the cobbled streets of Minas Tirith, because their steel shoes were so slippery on the stones. So they all had to be re-shod with rubber shoes. What were horseshoes made of back in ye olden days, though? Iron? Did people run into the same problems back then?

I never really noticed this before, but Aragorn never wears Anduril on his belt! He straps it to his horse, and every time you see him with it, he's just holding the naked blade. This is because they made Anduril so long it was really hard for him to wear it from his belt or to pull it out of the scabbard in a natural way XD

The aerial shot of all the Rohirrim leaving Dunharrow was originally shot to show Gandalf's cart heading into the Shire, but since they didn't use it for that, they repurposed it for RotK!

To get Elijah Wood to foam at the mouth when he's stung by Shelob, they gave him two Alka-Seltzer tablets to put in his mouth and work up some foam with his saliva. I've always wondered how they do that sort of thing in movies, but no one's bothered to explain until now....

Sean Astin's audition scene was holding Frodo after Shelob ;A; Apparently, they (or at least Philippa Boyens) were a little skeptical that an American actor would be able to do Sam's character right, but actually a lot of the English actors who auditioned for the role had a hard time with the Shelob aftermath scene, but Sean nailed it :')

Other than the close-ups, they used a dummy for Faramir on the pyre most of the time. Now I'm just imagining John Noble crouching on top of the pyre, cradling a dummy XD

The first Orc that Aragorn kills on Pelennor fields is played by his son Henry! XD

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME. They actually filmed Sam pushing past the sort of psychic barrier of the Watchers at the gate of Cirith Ungol, but they didn't put it into the extended edition! I love that part. Like...I'm not even sure why, but I've always thought that was such a cool little detail, and I've always been a bit bummed it wasn't in the movie, though I was thrilled to see the actual Watchers at least there as a sort of homage. And all along, they'd actually filmed something for that after all and I never knew! :O

You know, I never thought about it before, but it makes sense that they had to replace the sky digitally in a lot of scenes in Mordor, because of course when they filmed it, the sky wasn't always completely cloudy, but Mordor needs to have a complete cloud cover at all times.

When Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens first saw the footage of Sam carrying Frodo up Mt. Doom, they sent a fax (lolol 1999/2000 technology) to Sean and Elijah. They made the first page look all formal and official, and then on the second page it just said, "You made us cry." :')

Andy Serkis refused to have Gollum stand on two feet until the scene in the Crack of Doom. There were a few times that PJ directed him to lurch onto his feet or something, but Andy wouldn't do it. He wanted to show the difference in Gollum physically when he has the Ring again. What a cool detail!

Originally, the whole part where Frodo's hanging off the ledge and Sam is begging him to reach for him happens after the Ring is destroyed. It's really interesting to consider the slight nuances of how different that would be. The final version makes it almost seem like the Ring is still calling to Frodo, like he wants to fall into the lava and join it, whereas originally it was more like "I've lost the Ring and now I have nothing left to live for."

PJ made a sweet comment in the scene where everyone bows to the four hobbits: "This is a moment where there's always a huge sniffle in the audience when the movie's going, and it's usually me." XD

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?! They shot scenes of what happens to the other characters when the hobbits return to the Shire! There is footage out there somewhere of what Legolas and Gimli do, what happens with Faramir and Eowyn!!!! ;aldkfjsd;fkldslfkjd 25th anniversary edition LET'S GOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

[torchwood-99]

There's a bit of a role reversal with Faramir and Eowyn, in terms of how their narratives include tropes and plot points that are often traditionally applied to characters of the other sex.

Eowyn goes to war because she refuses to be left behind to be burned inside the house when the battle is done, as is often the fate of women.

Faramir actually is nearly burned alive at the hands of the patriarch of his family when said patriarch believes the battle is over and hope is lost. While Eowyn is out on the battlefield, fighting, Faramir is stuck inside the home, burning.

Between the two, Eowyn is the one we see go on more of an inner journey. She changes more over the narrative, and has to deal more with her own flaws and personal demons, as well as the injustices inflicted upon her. The climax of her story comes with a great moment of heroism and courage in battle. She is rescued by a hobbit, but as an ally in battle, not as a damsel in distress.

Faramir in the books doesn't feel tempted by the ring, and is almost a paragon of virtue. About as much as a Man in Middle Earth can be. He's closer to Arwen and Galadriel than Eowyn is, in his near perfection, in how he inspires and guides others. He is also rescued by a hobbit, but in that moment he is helpless, a damsel in distress. He is rescued because others love him for his virtue and goodness.

So often it's the other way round. Not only is the woman usually the one trapped inside, in need of rescue, while the man is out there fighting, the woman's heroism traditionally comes from the list of virtues she possesses, while the man's heroism comes from his deeds and the things he accomplishes. The man fights, the woman inspires.

But during the Battle of Pelennor fields, it is Eowyn who fights, and while she does inspire Merry, she inspires him not as a paragorn, but as an example of courage that Merry finds himself compelled to live up to. He is inspired to fight by her side, instead of fighting for her.

Faramir is sick and unconscious. His agency is denied him by his father, who decides on his behalf there's nothing left for him to live for. And it is a rush for the heroes; Pippin and Beregond, to save Faramir, and it is explicitly stated that Beregond only broke the law because he was inspired to do so out of his great love for Faramir, which is shared by all. In that moment, Faramir's role is closer to the traditional fairy tale princess, whose goodness inspires the heroes into fighting for her during her peril.

And afterwards, it is Eowyn who has to fight to find meaning in life again, to choose joy and hope over despair, which Faramir, with his loving kindness, wisdom, and gentleness, inspires her to do.

I love that, and love thinking on how that affected their relationship going forward.

Eowyn must have liked that with Faramir, she's not being married to someone who will require her to take on every aspect of the so called "woman's role" (necessary, but limiting) which has been inflicted on her at her own expense by the men in her life, so they can be free to partake in the "man's role". Perhaps in turn, Eowyn's predisposition for more martial pursuits; even if she has embraced healing and gardening and no longer lives for battle, would also mean she can take on some of the certain necessary duties that Faramir finds taxing.

Between the two, there must have been a more equal division of labour and responsibilities, and therefore more freedom on both sides. Neither one of them fully suits the roles that society has assigned to them due to their gender, and in marrying each other, they no longer have to.

[lesbiansforboromir]

Why you don't like Galadriel?

WELL. I mean this would need a complex answer, for one thing because you could say I don't actually dislike Galadriel as a character really. She's interesting, she has layers, her position in the story creates intriguing mysteries and insights into elven realities and her actions are always percieved in multiple different ways by different characters. She is both an object of world building and a lense to view it through, she had only contempt for Feanor but is the character MOST like him in the end, there's lots going on!

So as usual what I'd say I dislike is more fandom's perception of Galadriel than Galadriel herself, although don't get me wrong in terms of sympathy for her I have none to spare. But to the fandom she's like... well she's whatever anyone wants her to be, so long as that's pretty much perfect and always more right than anyone else around her. Idk if this question came because of my RoP Galadriel tirade post of a week ago, but the fact that people seem to believe Galadriel's right to the 'good guy' role is so irrefutible that it makes any negative portrayal of her 'bad' and 'tolkien's rolling in his grave' etc etc- it's just flabbergasting to me and is a symptom of this problem.

Like Galadriel's entire motive for coming to middle earth, declared and narrated, is to rule over people. She wants to be a Queen of a land that she controls with people inside it whom she has power over. That's it. Now, far be it from me to be on the Valar's side, lord knows I don't support their right to unquestioned rule either and the Eldar's urge to rule themselves is completely valid and Galadriel's no worse than any of her male counterparts who were also looking for the same thing. (In fact, given this is something she is apparently required to 'overcome' when none of those male elves must do the same, I'm inclined to believe this is another of those 'eowyn must reject violence for peace because war is bad except when men do it and for sure the men do continue to do it that's fine' misogynist tolkien moments.)

BUT STILL.. that's not like... a GOOD motive is it? It's neutral at best, right? And Galadriel never actually does anything that could be called more than polite for the rest of the time we know her. She never risks anything for the good of middle earth, she never solves any problems, she goes from place to place to avoid any conflict that threatens her until she and her husband finally decide to usurp a Silvan kingdom and magically isolate it from the rest of the world. They change Lindórinand's name to Lothlorien, thereby overwriting the language of it's native population and Galadriel then uses the power of her ring (that was given to her she didn't make it heself) to EMBALM (tolkien's words) the forest in time just so that she could make it appear as much like Valinor (her home, not the silvan's) as possible. Like!! This is not some paragon of virtue character!

Honestly RoP's portrayal of Galadriel is actually vastly more sympathetic than her actual character. PTSD, survivor's guilt and the maladaptive cope of needing to hunt down evil fanatically for all eternity is, to my mind, 100% more understandable than just... staying in Middle-Earth because she still wanted to rule over people and never believed she did anything wrong in the first place. Which is the canonical reason she's still in middle-earth post the first age, technically a sin by the Valar's standards! Galadriel is rebelling against the will of the west in doing this, but apparently SHE gets all the grace and chances to 'reform' in the world, unlike some other characters I could name >:|

... Maybe she aggravates me a little, but she does so IN COMPARISON to the criticisms other characters must bear as 'the reason they had to die to redeem themselves'. Like if Boromir wanted to take the ring once in order to save his people, is death really the only way to atone for that when Galadriel has been power hungry for 7000 goddamn years nonstop, acquired and used her own ring of power to satisfy that power hunger and then managed to 'overcome it' at the very last minute JUST before middle-earth became 'less elven' (and therefore her position there would be less prestigeous) to demurely sail off home to a gilded cage paradise where literally all her family are alive and waiting for her. Like is 'power hunger' really the sin Boromir comitted here that he needs to die for. Is Tolkien really criticising the desire for power. Is the narrative of lotr really so cohesive and consistent as to allow you to put all the characters into good and bad little boxes and declare those categorisations infallible?

Am I making sense, is this coherent. Does it make more sense if I say like... I do not dislike Galadriel as a character, I dislike what her fandom-reputation reveals about the way the story is engaged with by and large? When I am getting heated about this or that misconception or aspect of her character, it is not because I hate she has that aspect, I like a lot of morally questionable characters, what I am railing against is the double standard that her having that trait reveals. (And I'm not even really angry about it I'm more just very activated by what it reveals about the story, like it makes me feral) The narrative loves Galadriel, Tolkien loves Galadriel, characters regularly threaten violence in order to defend Galadriel from even mild verbal criticism and no one appears to see this as a kind of ominous aspect of her when she's done very little to deserve it. Other than, of course, be ontologically 'pure' and 'divine' due entirely to the circumstances of her birth. I'm a bit manic right now so I hope literally any of that made sense.

Actually addendum example just to further affirm my point. So catholic tolkien scholars will tell you that Denethor's use of the Palantir was a sin, apparently even using a tool you have 'the right' to use to observe reality as it actually exists and then extrapolating that observation into a prediction of the future (ie seeing frodo is captured and the ring gone and extrapolating that the enemy has it and you're all doomed) is a sin. Because only god is allowed to see into the future. And this is somewhat backed up by the way characters treat Denethor's use of the Palantir, it was apparently foolhardy and bad and reckless and nebulously wrong etc. Remember, the Palantir is not a mystical artifact, it is like a satallite imaging tool + a one way video only skype.

.

Galadriel's mirror literally sees the future 😂LIKE? WHY DOES SHE HAVE IT? WHY IS SHE ALLOWED TO USE IT? WHY CAN SHE JUST SHOW IT TO OTHER PEOPLE? It's because she's holy!! But that doesn't mean anything about her actual character, it's just an attribute she inherited from her family and her place of birth that actively changes what her existence means entirely by it's own virtue. Imagine living in this world for a second, imagine if it was ontologically true that you (an unblessed child of eru) would never be as right or as good as Galadriel, no matter what the reality of both your actions were. LIKE. !! WOULD YOU LIKE GALADRIEL?

[blurbfics]

There'd Better Be a Mirrorball | Azriel x OFC [part six]

Summary: Azriel is notoriously feared throughout the Courts of Prythian for a reason. The longest living Shadowsinger and Spymaster is no one to meddle with. A bratty little priestesses's challenge should be nothing to him, right?

Word Count: 1.9k

Warnings: none

a/n: short one but it was so fun to write from Azriel's pov. hope ya like it! (can you tell im a lana stan)

part five

Masterlist

"I'm the board, the lightning, the thunder

Kind of girl who's gonna make you wonder

Who you are and who you've been."

Lana Del Rey, Mariners Apartment Complex

Master, the shadows hiss, swirling around his ear at dinner time, there was little the Darkness could share regarding the acolyte.

A tinge of irritation filtered through the words spoken to only him, a rarity for his shadows who usually echoed the spymaster's own emotions, or lack thereof. Seldom did they express opinions or emotions that weren’t an extension of his own.

Well? he encouraged

She was brought to the keep within the mountain a little over half a century ago by the Morrigan, they supplied. 

The use of Mor’s full name didn’t surprise him, nor did it cause his heart to skip a beat as it had for the past five centuries. He had long given up on convincing the shadows to call her by her nickname, as they remained firm on referring to her by her epithet. It wasn’t that his shadows disliked Mor. They considered her family the same way they did his brothers, he knew, but despite their lack of explicit opinion on the matter, they had never fully understood his affection for the female.

Mor saved her, he mused, mostly to himself. Where did she find her?

There was a brief pause. The Darkness would not say.

Azriel’s eyebrow twitched imperceptibly at that. It was the second time the shadows mentioned the Darkness, an entity of its own accord that the shadows seldom turned to, more comfortable obtaining their information from the net of shadows that united them all. Azriel knew the shadows only appealed to the Darkness when in dire need and it was rare to obtain something from it that it didn’t want known, including the whereabouts and doings of their enemies like the King of Hybern and Briallyn while they were still a threat.

What did it say?

Only what can be known. The Morrigan brought her to the Keep with the High Lord’s permission and within a decade, became one of Priestess Clotho’s closest apprentices.

At that, Azriel couldn’t contain the surprise from raising his eyebrows slightly, perhaps briefly perceptible only if someone was watching him, which they weren’t, as his family spoke amongst each other at the River House (Mor excluded, still in Vallahan). The shadow’s information was vastly more entertaining than the banter shot back and forth between Nesta and Amren, however.

He could admit he was no expert on the administration within the Library— always aware of its importance to the fae held inside, of why they embraced it as a safe haven away from the outside world, as he mostly did not feel it right to intrude upon their privacy— he was privy to the general comings and goings of the place, if only to fulfill his duty to the Night Court in maintaining the safety of its fae population. Thus, he was aware that while the priestesses held no strict guides of hierarchy, there was a system that was typically followed, which allowed the females with more experience and seniority to obtain higher statuses, not only within the temples of the priestesses, but within the chain of command in the library, as well. For Eowyn, someone so young– or at least he assumed she was– to have climbed that social ladder within a decade and become Clotho’s pupil was highly impressive.

And what else? He pushed, suddenly intrigued in knowing everything he could. He thought back to the interactions he’d seen Eowyn have with the other priestesses. He had noted how a few weeks ago she had walked in after everyone else had piled in, not late enough for him to feel the need to say anything, only that she filed in last. Almost in unison, the priestesses inclined their heads in greeting only for her to respond with a single curt nod, but had only assumed it was a normal practice of theirs. Now, he wondered if it was a particular demonstration of respect.

Nothing. The shadows hissed.

His stoic face didn’t reveal his clear disappointment. She said she’s from the Dawn Court. Is that where Mor found her?

Silence. It was as such when the shadows had no response. At that, he couldn’t hold back his frown.

“Are the potatoes not to your liking?” Feyre’s voice cut into his thoughts from his left, his High Lady observing his face gently as he pushed his food around his plate.

He hummed lightly, shaking his head, “they’re fine.”

“Are… you okay?” Someone else spoke up, a voice he had tried hard to forget for almost an entire year now, ever since the Winter Solstice. 

Only, when he turned his eyes to Elain, who had come to visit Feyre and Nyx with Lucien in tow, the empty ache in the pit of his stomach was simply… not there. He hadn’t realized quite how long it had been since he’d last dwelled on it. On her. Easily over two months now. Probably around the time he’d gotten busier with the Valkyrie training, as more priestesses joined.

He brushed away a rogue thought that crossed his mind as soon as it came, not daring to linger on it.

“Yes,” he replied evenly, although by her flinch perhaps a bit too curtly. “I’m okay,” he assured, softer this time. She held his gaze for a second longer than she usually dared to, eyes searching his. Once she found whatever it was she was looking for, she offered him a shy side smile and turned her attention back to her sister, hand squeezing gently where it was placed over Lucien’s larger and smooth one. The male didn’t so much as glance at him, not that Azriel cared all too much.

Conversation turned back to something else he had no interest in, leaving him at peace with his thoughts.

Only, his thoughts brought him no peace and much less any reprieve that night as he attempted to sleep. Eowyn had permitted him— no, challenged him to find what he could about her the morning before, and while he had sent out his shadows to figure out what they could, only to come up short (which wasn’t entirely unheard of), he figured one more day to give the shadows more leniency to spread their net of information further, would be enough to find what he needed to face her tomorrow afternoon during their training session.

He wasn’t all too sure why it was eating at him that he couldn’t find anything of substance about her. Who was she before she came to the library? He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know what had happened to her to be driven there, as that was her story to tell, but to find absolutely nothing on her, not her family name, birthday, or precisely where she was from, was bothering him much more than it should.

With a frustrated sigh, he kicked the sheets away and stood up, dressing quickly in his usual leathers before slipping outside of his room and out into the front balcony.

Mind set on taking to the skies to clear his head and tire himself out, he didn’t notice Rhys sitting outside immediately until his shadows brought it to his attention, hidden amidst the dark in what was a slightly jarring vision of himself.

“Wha-“ he didn’t even finish his word, mouth slipping shut as he noticed the bundle sleeping peacefully in Rhys’ arms.

“He’s been colicky this past week,” Rhys explained in a soft murmur, rocking back and forth gently, rubbing the tiny back up and down.

“Why are you out here?” 

“He likes it out here, believe it or not,” Rhys smiled adoringly down at the babe, eyes glinting with the spark that had been ignited in his eyes the moment Nyx was born and hadn’t left for a second. It was the look of a father who loved his child and would do anything to keep him safe, even staying up all night in the brisk night air to offer any sort of relief for his discomfort. “Besides, Feyre has barely slept a wink this week. Letting her sleep is the least I could do.”

Judging from the dark circles under Rhys’ eyes, Azriel doubted his brother had gotten any more sleep than his mate. Sagely, he decided not to comment on it.

“And you?”

“The usual,” Azriel shrugged, not bothering to elaborate. Rhys didn’t press further, either. Azriel had always had trouble sleeping, despite his family’s insistence that he was safe and needed his rest. 

“Any news on Koschei?”

“You’d be the first to know if there was,” it took everything not to snap at the High Lord in annoyance. It wasn’t his fault, the shadowsinger reminded himself. Hell, he wasn’t sure what was keeping him up at the moment, all he knew was that he had plans for tomorrow. Had a training drills set in mind he wanted to run by Cassian before the priestesses arrived, had a whole lecture on daggers to go through with Eowyn after the morning session, before she could even think about waving one around the way he’d seen her mess with the arrows during their archery lessons and-

Why did his stomach churn so suddenly at the thought of her?

The High Lord sighed. “Is it… Elain?”

His head snapped towards his brother, suddenly stunned as he spoke words that suddenly made no sense to Azriel.

Surprising even himself when something completely different left his mouth, “what do you know about Eowyn? One of the priestesses from the library,” he was quick to add.

Rhys blinked.

“Az, you know I can’t-“

“She gave me permission,” he added immediately, slightly affronted his brother would think he’d go behind a priestesses’s back and invade her privacy so thoughtlessly. 

But his brother only observed him with that infuriating knowing look.

“What’s this about?”

“Is it a crime to want to know more about the fae I’m spending time out of my day training? I'd look into anyone I had to spend time with, priestess or not.” Female or not, is what he meant, but Rhys knew that.

And despite his annoyance at his brother, Azriel allowed his mental walls to drop only enough for Rhys to get a glance at the one-on-one training held the morning before— just a snippet of Eowyn standing in front of him, head tilted slightly and staff held solidly at her side. Pushed him out before he could see the way she’d prowled around him, however, as she sought a weak point in his stance to attack. She hadn’t found one. 

(He refused to admit, even to himself, the exhilaration he felt at being observed under her preying eyes.)

The quick reference was enough for the High Lord to consider his words, eyebrows furrowing slightly in thought. “I have to admit I don’t know much about her. We’ve been corresponding quite a bit recently regarding a greenhouse project that seems rather promising, but before that… I faintly recall Mor asking me to bring in Madja… she’d been injured, but I never got to see the extent of her injuries or to even talk to her. She didn’t want me near her, much less dig around her head to find who had done what to her.”

Azriel nodded. None of that had surprised him. He was once again at square one and with even more to consider before he could even think about sleeping.

“You know,” his brother spoke up after a moment of silence. “If training the Valkyries is becoming too much for you, you don’t have to keep at it. It started with Cass training Nesta and it’s taken on a life of its own, but you’re not expected to stay if you don’t want to. You can let Cass and Nesta do their passion project-”

“No.” Was all Azriel said, before taking off to the skies. It was all Rhys needed to hear to confirm his theory. He sighed, wishing his brother the best in what was surely going to be a thunderstorm of emotions.

part seven

taglist: @lilah-asteria , @a-courtof-azriel, @honk4emoboyz , @feyretopia , @mrsjna , @buttermilktea11 , @bravo-delta-eccho , @kylieinwonderland

[aishnico]

#𝘿𝘼𝙑𝙀 𝙂𝙍𝙊𝙃𝙇: 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦

» summary: after an exhausting day, you felt like all heavy lifts were leaving your body when you saw your husband and daughter together playing

» word count: 1.3k

» warnings: none, just pure fluff, a little bit of nsfw content, lord of the rings content, grammar issues

there's nothing like coming home to your beloved ones after an exhausting day. and your heart melted when you saw your husband and your daughter playing one of the most iconic scenes of 'return of the king', where eowyn kills the lord of the nazgul.

when dave came back from the tour, your daughter clung to him like there was no tomorrow, and she refused to let him move at the moment. she was kind of offended by him because according to her, he was gone for too long. he promised to spend a lot of time both with her and you. so here we are, watching their little play. and you decided to watch them silently.

dave was approaching a toy horse with a large dragon plush between his legs. you couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. he was wearing a silver colored helmet which was made from cardboard with thorns. at the area where his eyes and mouth were colored in black. meanwhile, your daughter was wearing a simple silver helmet, only her eyes could be seen. which is also made from cardboard. your daughter then stood in front of her horse with her sword. "i will kill you if you touch him!" she hissed at him.

"do not come between a nazgul and his prey..." he spoke with a deep raspy voice. he then shoved his dragon quickly towards her. but she was fast enough to hit its head with her sword. he then fell to the ground, and she grabbed her cardboard shield. after he shot a glance at her he got up. swinging his morning star it was a plastic black ball with little thorns on it, and was tied with a rope while walking towards her. he quickly started to swing it towards her carefully, he didn't want to harm her, even slightly and make squeak noises. he hit her shield and it fell on the floor.

she was on the ground now, looking frightened. "you fool, no man could kill me." he said before holding her throat, not squeezing it. suddenly, you found a little sword on floor and after grabbing it you slightly hit your husband's back.

Your daughter (completely unbothered when you joined them) got up and took out her helmet, revealing her long, brown hair. "i am no man." she said before hitting his head slightly. he let out a squeak again and fell to the floor. she then approached you. "mommy, you saved me!" she ran up to you and hugged you tightly. you couldn't help but smile and kiss her cheek. "and you, saved thousands of soldiers by killing him!"

"i want a kiss too!" you heard your husband's whine when he took off his helmet. looking at him sweetly while he gets behind you and hugs you two, squeezing tightly. "daddy, can't breathe!" she whined.

"i'll let you go if you'll draw the little play of ours." "fine!" she replied and rushed to upstairs.

"careful there!" you shouted at her. you were now trapped between your husband's arms. tucking your hair strands behind your ear, kissing your forehead. "welcome home, sweetheart." you felt him smile on your head.

"even if i saw you just this morning, i already missed you all." you murmured while burying your head in his chest.

"i prepared a bath for you, go and relax there. after that, we can eat the meal together. she got hungry so she couldn't wait for you. i cooked your favourite, she helped me too!"

"oh dave..." you swore your eyes teared up. "i... love you so much. thank you."

"shh, no need to thank. go and relax now." he gently pushed you before giving you a peck.

you went upstairs and before you entered the bathroom, you peeked in your daughter's room. she was lying on her stomach and drawing what dave had asked her while swinging her legs. you were sure you were all going to watch a cartoon in the living room all night.

you entered the bathroom. after stripping, you entered in hot water. a relaxed sound leaving your mouth. soon you felt like your eyes were going to shut and you couldn't resist anymore.

you heard a knock on the door. you sat properly and waiting for a voice.

"babe? are you alright there?" you heard your husband's worried voice.

"uh, yeah." you responded, but you knew it didn't convince him. "if you don't mind, can you open the door?" he asked. you got up and unlocked the door, not minding to cover your body. not like he hasn't ever seen it.

"let me wash your hair and back." you smiled at him. "thank you babe, but you've already done such things. i'll be at the kitchen after like 10 minutes."

"babe, if you think you're acting like a child or a burden to me, just know you absolutely aren't. i'm willing to help you even in the simplest things." he stated. smiling to you genuinely.

"well then, i wouldn't mind if someone washed my hair." you answered to him while entering the tub again. he sat behind you. grabbing your shampoo and pouring a little on his palm. then rubbing and massaging slowly around your head. You swore a heavy lift was leaving your body. You just enjoyed the moment by relaxing under his touch.

"feeling good honey?" he asked you. you hummed at his question. "you're so good with your hands, baby." "oh yeah? what else i'm good at with my hands?" he chuckled. "hm, playing guitar, cooking?" you answered. "hm, what else ?" you suddenly understood what he meant. "david!" you raised your voice to him and he just laughed. "i'm joking babe!"

soon after you got clean and after drying yourself you were eating the food that was made by your husband and daughter. (you were sure your daughter insisted on adding more salt because she thought it was better) he wanted to talk about your day. but you said it was tough and not even worth talking about. so he was talking about funny memories that he hasn't told you yet from tour. you held yourself from not laughing while the food was inside your mouth. but your eyes got filled because of it.

after finishing the food, he helped you to wash the dishes. he sang you a new song he wrote a couple of days ago. you shared your opinions about it, telling him it would be better if he changed couple of words. but you didn't forget to praise his voice.

you three were lying on the couch now, watching some cartoon you'd find on TV. you were lying your head in your husband's chest while he laid his on yours. whispering sweet nothings to him quietly while he rubs his hand on your waist. his other hand was around your daughter's waist. she already fell asleep. also forgot to show you the drawing she made.

you carefully sat on his lap, wrapping your arms between his neck. and smooching his face with kisses. he couldn't stop giggling. he looked at his peacefully sleeping daughter. he gently pushed her away a little. wrapping both of his hands on your waist.

"you know, i'm so lucky to have both of you." you started. finally resting your head on his shoulder. "i don't, no... i can't even imagine my life without you. you both are my strength, you both are the reason i want to wake up every day. i love you, you can't even imagine it. thank you dave, for everything."

he looked at you confused. "why are you talking like you're leaving or dying? we are not going anywhere." he paused. "well, i may go often but i still come back home to you. you two are my home, and i don't want it to change even if a little bit. i'm willing to do everything to make you both happy. i love you sweetheart." he paused again to pat his daughter's head gently. "i love you too, my little heroine."

soon after, you two fell asleep in each other's embrace.

[brujitaadinbo]

I've been picking up some Tolkien reading again; I am a fan of his writing and I remembered some verses from the most beautiful love story for me in the entire Tolkien universe; after Faramir and Eowyn, the story of Luthien and Beren; a story that crosses all barriers for love.

So when I go back to the story of both characters; How Luthien's love for Beren is so strong (and it's a two-way connection) When Beren falls into the clutches of her captors, Luthien fights with all her might, against everyone who held her and was against her love for Beren, even her father.

How to reach your loved one to save him.

Somehow it made me remember this point and relate it to another universe that I love (and I don't care what other people say) star wars

SW has a lot of Tolkien and it is evident that its female characters exude strength, especially if the fight is for someone or something they love.

When this universe begins with episodes 4, 5 and 6 Leia develops this complicated relationship with Han, but love somehow unites them, thanks to strength and destiny.

She ends up rescuing him even when she is also captured, but her feelings make her throw herself into danger for him

Later, on another SW bridge, one of my favorite couples in this universe develops within the conflict. Kanan and Hera; a couple that I believe is one of the healthiest and best developed. Love was always his hook and compass

When he ends up being captured, Hera does not hesitate at any time to go to his rescue, convincing the entire gang that "just because they are family"

Actually; You could see Hera's need to go rescue her boy. And when she is captured, Kanan does not hesitate to find her and save her.

After; My favorite shipment appears and what I love most recently. A pair of stubborn and deluded Mandalorians, who don't know how to interact in this matter of feelings, but who unconsciously help and support each other. Bo Katan no longer wanted to know anything about this man with silver beskar, he was already resigned, but love seems to have other plans for them.

The force moved its pieces and destiny helped in this play. Din Djarin almost ended up saying goodbye to this universe but Grogu went in search of the most trustworthy person and the one he knew would help them, because Bo has a special affection for that green boy and a stronger feeling for his Mandalorian father.

And he throws himself against the danger and pain of memories and seeing Mandalore fallen. And it continues like this on constant occasions when she is able to save him and keep him safe. This is how they show affection to each other and this is how he swears that he will be close to her.

And finally; the couple that no one understands and that many do not support (but I don't give a damn, the fandom of this shipment exists and we agree that they are very good at being together) Separated by conflict and circumstance; The force has different ways of acting, but that does not mean that mutual feelings disappear, especially if destiny brings them closer again. Sabine and Ezra are in a constant struggle, even with their own feelings, but even when he is far away, she never stops thinking about him.

When the promises made are there, she sets out to fulfill them and see him again, make him come home. Leaving aside everything and sacrificing the safety of an entire galaxy; a selfish impulse but that can only be done out of desperation to have it close, love sometimes makes you act unconsciously.

The only thing you can do is let yourself go. Being captured is the only way to get to him. And that's how they find each other, they manage to see each other, even when they have to separate again.

Luthien and Beren's story is similar to many of these stories of the couples I love in SW We can agree that light, love, strength and destiny are always there to cross your paths. And they will manage to love each other (or already did) or be together in their own way.

This is the way.