frodo-with-glasses - Tumblr blog

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No, you do not get context X-D But yes, you can buy it as a t-shirt in my Redbubble store.

A specimen of prime Tuesday content on the Fig Tree Server:

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And for my next trick, I’ll make Frodo disappear!

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Movie Moment Mondays:

“I’m glad you’re with me, Samwise Gamgee… here at the end of all things.”

😭💖

At the end of the world with a friend.

MOVIE MOMENT MONDAYS!

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Dreams in the House of Tom Bombadil (and the Four Elements of Trauma)

Now that we've gotten to the point where the hobbits spend the night in Tom Bombadil's house, I'd like to expand on this bullet point from my chapter review:

Much apologies to my girlies on the server who headcanon the hobbits with phobias corresponding to the four elements; sadly, Tolkien is not on the same page as us this time.

For context, I present to you these screenshots of messages sent on the Fig Tree Discord Server back in January:

This started as a half-joke, but it's since evolved into something of a shared headcanon for some of us. Pippin has a Thing about fire, because of the Pyre of Denethor. Frodo has a Thing about water, because his parents drowned. Bri has since told me that she headcanons Merry has a Thing about air, specifically cold air, after his encounters with the Black Breath. And that leaves Earth to Sam.

The good news is that this is a really fun headcanon; and when you look at LotR through this lens, it's actually kind of staggering how well it fits with the events of the book.

The bad news is that Tolkien did not write LotR with this idea in mind; and the whole thing with Old Man Willow, and the subsequent nightmares that the hobbits have in Tom Bombadil's house, make that abundantly clear.

After all, what does Old Man Willow do to Frodo? Lulls him to sleep and then tips him face-first into the water. He almost drowns. He almost drowns. Sam finds him face-down in the water, unconscious, held down by a root and not struggling; there's water in his nose and his mouth and his eyes and ears and he can't breathe, he can't breathe, he nearly goes out the same way his parents did, in a river that connects to the one where they died. If Tolkien was writing Frodo with hydrophobia, this probably would've gotten a bit more attention than it did. But no; in Tom's house, Frodo dreams of Gandalf and Black Riders, because he's the protagonist and Tolkien needed an efficient way to foreshadow things a bit.

What does Old Man Willow do to Merry? Closes its roots over him, so that only his legs are sticking out; and when Frodo and Sam set fire to the tree, Merry screams, and begs them to put it out. "He'll squeeze me in two, if you don't. He says so!" He could feel the roots of the tree clamping like a vice under his ribs, squeezing, crushing, bruising; he could hear the voice of the tree in his head, demanding he communicate the ransom message. And as our beloved former anon, Meg, pointed out: Could he breathe in there? Was it dry and stuffy and stifling inside the tree? How much air could he even draw in, when his lungs were being crushed and had no space to expand? He screams with what little breath he has left, but can they hear him? He's going to die. He can't breathe. He's going to die.

But, ironically, he's the one who dreams about nearly drowning, and his dream-brain convinces him he's lying in a "soft slimy bog" before he wakes up and finds himself in Tom's house again. He's not the one who got tipped into the water, but go off Tolkien I guess.

What does Old Man Willow do to Pippin? Closes its roots over him completely, with a click like a lock snapping into place; and when Frodo and Sam set fire to the bark, and Old Man Willow gets angry, they can hear Pippin's "muffled yell" from deep inside the tree. Fire. Smoke and ash and anger. Could Pippin smell the burning wood around him? Could he feel any heat or sting? Did he hear Old Man Willow's voice, the same way Merry did, cursing the flames and threatening to smother him if it wasn't put out?

His nightmare, out of the three of them, is the only one that makes sense to me; he dreams that he is again inside the willow, hearing the wood creak as it sways in the breeze over him, and hearing the voice of the tree laughing at him again. But, sadly, no mention of fire.

All of that to say, if I wrote Lord of the Rings—which I realize is a terribly presumptuous thing to say given that I am, unlike Tolkien, Not A Genius, but hear me out—I definitely would have Frodo's nightmare be about drowning, Merry's be about suffocation, and Pippin's be about burning alive. This would then be foreshadowing for the later horrific stuff they're going to encounter concerning water, air, and fire respectively.

I dunno. It just seems like a missed opportunity is all. Which is probably why, despite how much I adore the “nightmares revealing inner turmoil and then characters waking up in safety and comfort” trope, I never really liked this sequence in the book all that much.

Sam, meanwhile, is welcome to continue sleeping “in deep content, if logs are contented". Good for him. 10/10, no notes.

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Geez, Frodo, too soon!

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For Movie Moment Mondays: “It comes in pints?!”

I’m sure nothing can go wrong here!

MOVIE MOMENT MONDAYS!

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Everybody go read these thoughts my smort friend has!

Sam/Rosie (Book vs Movie)

There's a post going 'round with a lot of notes about the difference between Sam and Rosie's relationship in the book vs the movie, and I wanted to share my own thoughts.

It's undeniable that Sam and Rosie's relationship in the movie is different from in the books...but is it actually worse? Let's discuss!

Facts.

In the book, we know that Sam and Rosie are friends; we know she's willing to wait for him; we know that after he comes back, they then get married.

In the movies, we know that Sam and Rosie admire each other but from a distance; we know it's only when Sam returns that he has the courage to ask her out himself; they then get married.

These two scenarios are different, yes, but which one is better?

I actually think the second is better, and here's why.

Shallow vs Deep

The original post suggests that Sam and Rosie's relationship is more "shallow" in the movies, but this is an assumption. An understandable assumption, but nonetheless only an assumption.

Consider this: what if Sam and Rosie's years of friendship was based on only what we see in the books: they hung out with her brothers in a mutual group and enjoyed splashing around the rivers together?

That's...fine. But there's no depth to this. They were just hanging out and eventually developed a mutual crush - maybe due to nothing more than proximity and familiarity.

Alternatively, consider all the possible reasons why Sam and Rosie could admire each other, even from a distance. Maybe she admires him for his steadfastness in caring for Bilbo and Frodo and for refusing to care about the gossip of other hobbits. Maybe he admires her for her determination to create a safe and hospitable place for hobbits to rest and for her ability as a barmaid to listen well to other people.

There actually would be quite a bit of depth in that scenario.

The reality is, we just don't know which scenario has more depth. Either could have quite a bit of depth; either could be shallow. It's really up to us to fill in the gaps as we like.

Impact

So if neither is objectively more shallow or deep, why do I prefer the movie's ending? Simple: because of what it adds to the story - the significance, the impact.

In the books, Rosie's steadfastness adds because the Shire has been torn apart. The Shire is heartbreakingly upside-down, yet Tolkien gives us Rosie to hold onto: she is still the same, and she and Sam are able to get married at the end even after everything, giving readers much-needed comfort.

But in the movies, the Shire is tranquil. We already have the comfort of everything being the same back home (though with an additional discomfort of no longer fitting in). To have Rosie and Sam already basically established wouldn't add anything.

Instead, we see it is Sam's adventure that gives him the courage to finally pursue her, and this adds so much to Sam's character. Sam, who is so self-deprecating, who doesn't get fancy titles like the rest of his friends, who generally does not see himself as a hero.

What does it tell us if, prior to the adventure he felt unworthy of her, but now after the adventure he feels worthy of her? It tells us that Sam finally sees himself as heroic.

And that is a wonderful, wonderful thing.

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Hellooo I saw mention of a discord server and to ask for a fresh invite? ❤️❤️❤️

Sure thing! Here ya go!

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Yessssss you put it into WORDS

They wouldn’t even be here if not for you.

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I've seen your lovely LOTR readthrough art, and I'm curious - do you draw in a sketchbook, or in the actual novel?? (If you do it in the novel, to be honest that's actually really cool since it adds a personal touch to the books!)

Oh my goodness, thank you so much! I draw in a sketchbook, haha; there’s not enough room in the margins of my copy of LotR to make any proper drawings, and even if there were, I wouldn’t dare draw in the book anyway. My art is gonna have to be waaaay better before I even think about doing that 🤣

With that being said, though, I did personalize my book a little bit, once…

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They wouldn’t even be here if not for you.

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Where did THAT come from?

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Nothing passes door and window here save moonlight and starlight and the wind off the hill-top!

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Long live the Halflings! Praise them with great praise!

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More Reading Thoughts: In the House of Tom Bombadil

BEHOLD! ANOTHER CHAPTER! We’re making it at a magnificent clip nowadays

Eyyyy it’s Goldberry!

Frodo surprising himself with the poem that springs out of his mouth when he sees Goldberry will never not be hilarious and adorable

It does beg the question of where the heck that came from. Does Goldberry just have that effect on people? Does it have serving to do with Elf magic, like she implies? Does Frodo just have that accidental rizz?? Who knows!

Frodo: “Who is Tom Bombadil?” Goldberry: “Well, he is, of course, silly :-D”

Mighty convenient that Tom has exactly four beds for the four travelers

They DO take a bath before supper >8-D (Don’t mind me, just a comic idea percolating in my head. Some of you know what I’m talking about.)

Tom was waiting for them. Tom was waiting for them. He’d heard word that the hobbits were coming. He wasn’t actively trying to find them, but he wasn’t surprised when he did. I don’t know why that enchants me so much.

Merry and Pippin like “AAAHH NO DON’T TALK ABOUT THE WILLOW TREE” is simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking depending on how you look at it

Heeheehee nightmare time

Frodo has a dream about Gandalf and Black Riders. Hmm, pity. You’d think he’d have a nightmare about water, given his near-drowning and the way his parents died…but I guess this is important for foreshadowing purposes.

Pippin has a dream about being inside the tree. He feels surrounded and afraid. Understandable.

MERRY has the dream about water and drowning?? Shut up!! If I were him, I’d be way more disturbed that a freaking tree was IN MY HEAD and threatening to kill me!!

“Sam slept through the night in deep content, if logs are contented.” Hilarious 🤣

Much apologies to my girlies on the server who headcanon the hobbits with phobias corresponding to the four elements; sadly, Tolkien is not on the same page as us this time.

Tom: “You’d better not be late to breakfast, or you’ll get nothing but grass and water!”

See, Frodo gets it. Rainy days are awesome. They are beautiful and force you to slow down and admire the world.

“The trees were here before you, mind, and they don’t much care for your shenanigans!”

Ooh, so the Barrow-wights are the ghosts of dead kings that the Nazgul woke up. Fascinating.

Nothing makes the world of Middle Earth feel old and rich in history more than Tom’s stories

Goldberry’s hand being partly translucent is such a vibe

WAIT. Tom and Goldberry. Differences. Tall and short. Blonde and brown. One graceful and ethereal, the other down to earth and joyful. Working together, not in competition. Frodo and Sam. SHUT UP GUYS I’VE CRACKED THE CODE—

Tom is friends with Farmer Maggot!!

FARMER MAGGOT HAS SPOKEN TO GILDOR

Dang where’s my fantasy epic about Farmer Maggot you guys

And this is the part where Tom puts the Ring on his finger and doesn’t disappear, and if they’d ever included this in the movies it would’ve destroyed the gravity and mystique of the Ring altogether

Merry having to bite back a yell like “HOLY CRAP FRODO’S GONE” 🤣

WAIT I CAN MAKE THAT ANGSTY TOO aw heck the brainrot is setting in

“Frodo laughed (trying to feel pleased)…” Relatable, Frodo, relatable

Tom: “And remember, DON’T GO NEAR THE BARROW-DOWNS!” Meanwhile, the hobbits, in the very next chapter:

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“And screw THIS hobbit in particular!!”

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Drawing suggestion— the scene in FOTR where Frodo gets thrown in a river by a tree, Merry and Pippin are eaten by trees, Sam tries to burn the trees down and makes them angry, and Frodo runs around uselessly screaming “Help! Help!”

This part is pretty funny in hindsight, isn’t it? (Here’s an old doodle of the aftermath, too.)

SEND IN YOUR SUGGESTIONS!