#frodo baggings

[blinday]

[angry-neverland]

If I have to hear "Sam was the real hero" another damned time I might just summon the spirit of Samwise Gamgee himself so that he could smack you in the face with a frying pan

[ironmandeficiency]

modern lotr character headcanons

characters included: aragorn, boromir, gimli, legolas, pippin, merry, frodo, sam, arwen, eomer, eowyn

word count: 745

summary: random thoughts abt lotr characters if they lived in modern times

a/n: this is literally just silly shit, enjoy

boromir listens to old country (conway twitty, george jones, loretta lynn, etc.) and does not tolerate anyone insulting the opry legends

he also listens to divorced dad rock (hinder, nickelback, theory of a dead man, etc.) which gimli will sometimes jam to as well

gimli lovingly maintains an old-as-dirt bench seat ford truck despite there almost constantly being something wrong with it. ignores legolas’s badgering about him getting something more reliable

obviously legolas drives a hybrid and he almost acts as if this fact makes him better than gimli (not in a dickish way, though)

horse girl aragorn.

frodo is the epitome of shy emo boy with the black skinny jeans & death cab for cutie playing in his air pods

merry is the golden retriever in the “golden retriever in love with the black cat” trope 

aragorn and arwen host game nights and various other parties for their friends, but neither of them can cook so they just order delivery (or sam hijacks their kitchen for the hours before)

pippin has a large follower base on social media bc of his drinking songs and other inebriated antics that are usually recorded by whoever happens to be with him that night. usually it’s eowyn & merry, and the three of them will shake some major ass to megan thee stallion

sam goes to open mic nights at local coffee shops to people watch. he will never perform himself, but it’s nice to watch people he knows do their thing

eomer accidentally goes viral on tiktok when eowyn records him doing some dumb shit. never lives it down

the amount of joy gimli gets from going to rage rooms is almost alarming

arwen has a very thorough skin care regimen that she introduces to aragorn, and it becomes a sweet nightly routine for the two of them

eowyn & eomer don’t allow anyone to talk shit about or annoy the other bc that’s their job fuck you very much

frodo has a shitty immune system but sam’s homemade soups seem to always heal from the soul outward

sam is the little spoon favored by the resident neurodivergent

frodo is the resident neurodivergent

yes they’re dating

arwen is always the dd

when it comes to birthdays, don’t ask boromir to remember anyone but faramir’s. hell, he forgets his own birthday sometimes

legolas is the best at remembering the birthdays of his friends but forgets his own

they have to remind each other of their own birthdays when that time of year comes around

merry is always the favorite audience member at a drag show

arwen & eowyn never dress like they’re going to the same place when they hang out

gimli says southern grandpa idioms unironically — “as useless as a screen door on a submarine”, “higher than eagle titties”, “busier than a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest”, you get the idea. merry keeps a running tab of said quotes

boromir is the “we’re not getting a dog” dad. said dog ends up being his best friend & the sole inheritor in his will, fuck them kids

aragorn & gimli have their own moonshine still they think is perfectly hidden from everyone

that does not include merry & pippin, who are booze bloodhounds and immediately knew where to find it but swore to secrecy as long as they got more than everyone else

frodo sips fruity little drinks because he can’t shoot whiskey

sam can drink in the way only a divorced middle-age man can despite not being a divorced middle-aged man

eowyn cannot drive for shit & the several dents on her car prove it. the only reason her insurance hasn’t gone up astronomically is because she just. doesn’t report any of it

said car has a fuck ton of bumper stickers with all sorts of silly things

gimli can’t ride a bike AT ALL but has a motorcycle, make it make sense

he goes on bike rides with eomer when they have the time & the weather is nice

merry & pippin are two halves of a whole idiot at every given moment

eomer LOVES 90s and 00s country music but is kinda picky about newer country (he is a massive fan of cody johnson but will throw you through a wall if you talk about morgan wallen in his presence)

arwen dances in the rain & literally never gets sick from it. merry is insanely jealous of this fact

frodo’s favorite video game is animal crossing: new horizons & has very sound opinions on what villagers are the best (fuck you, rodney)

[streets-in-paradise]

Please, can you spare some headcanons of the Fellowship and mate?

Sure! I would love to :)

This is going to get long, because i have a lot of ideas about this, but here i go:

First of all, i'm going to share the possible place i'm imagining for yerba mate in the cultures of Middle Earth

In real life, the plant was discovered by south american indigenous people ( in particular, the guarani tribe). Traditions about mate can variate from country to country, so for this i'm using what i know about mine.

From the start of colonial times the drink was associated with rural life. Iconografical traditions link it to gauchos, errant people of the time. Gauchos were social outcasts in the colonial system, often suspected, and their habits seen as barbaric. Often compared to american cowboys, they had a similar bad reputation attributing them a fame of being bandits.

In Middle Earth, Rangers are their closest equivalent. When we see Aragorn as Strider in The Prancing Poney, the negative reactions to his presence in Bree show his fame falling under a similar stereotype. The critics to the errant habits of rangers resemble the opinions on gauchos in colonial times. For so, i like to imagine mate exists as a drink associated with rangers.

How they adopted its consumption is another issue. I have two possible theories about that:

1- They just happen to know of the plant's existence and usefull propieties, as it happens with many other plants some of them know and other populations of men don't ( for example, aragorn knowing of athelas)

2 - They get it on the borders of some distant lands on their areas of patrolling.

I like second one better because that allows me to imagine a fictional indigenous population living somewhere in Middle Earth, inspired on the original discoverers of the plant.

About its name, " yerba mate" is a post colonization spanish term. Guaranies call the herb " Caà" and the bebreage " Caà-mate". The word mate comes from quechua (mati) and it is the name of the container filled with herbs and water to consumption. Instead of imagining a translation to an existent Tolkien language ( i have no idea of how to translate it), i would like to keep the Indigenous name.

So, the herb would be called Caà. Since most of the time only rangers are seen drinking the infusion from its leaves, in the other populations of Middle Earth it could be called" Herb of the Rangers" ( a good, equivalent translation to the spanish "yerba mate", since yerba means herb on spanish)

Now i can finally get into the topic of the Fellowship and Mate:

Following my contextual explanation, it's most likely Aragorn introduces everyone else to it. Prior to the journey of the Fellowship Legolas and Gandalf surely have drank it with him as well.

I can imagine Legolas not only enjoying it, but experimenting with it. He would do the middle earth version of what we call " mate con yuyos", that pretty much consists in creating herbal mixes with a base of the original herb. Given that he comes from a woodland realm, i bet he would come up with unique mixes using elvish herbs.

Gandalf got used to it in the same way he adopted the uses of many other populations he has interacted with. Unlike the pipeweed smoking, he wouldn't seek to also do it alone. Mostly drinks if Aragorn is drinking it.

This drink is an excelent appetite supresor, specially for when you crave food but you shouldn't be eating.

I think that, in the context of the travel with the fellowship, Aragorn would offer it to the hobbits for the first time in a desperate attempt to help them control their constant food cravings.

He got enough of how annoying a hungry Pippin can be during the travel from Bree to Rivendel. At the first chance to make a fire he heated some water and started a round, knowing the hobbits would get curious and approach.

Expert drinkers know that the first sips don't taste as good, ( the taste gets balanced after a few) but not them. Aragorn told them this and then Merry tried to challenge Pippin into taking the first sip.

I imagine the drink would get good acceptance on the hobbits.

Frodo would prefer it when water is warmer, Merry would be the brave one wanting to try the strange mixes of Legolas. Pippin would prefer it sweetened and Sam has the " it may not be tea, but is not that bad" opinion. He was the most hesitant of the hobbits about trying it, but ended up asking Aragorn tons of details about the curious plant.

When offered to him for the first time, Gimli felt as if he was holding wet grass in a pot. Knowing the elf of the group likes that drink didn't inspired him much trust either, but he was greatly surprised. He loved it, prefers it strong and bitter when the leaves have an intense flavor.

Boromir has a neutral opinion. He may have heard of the drink before because Faramir has tried it from the pouring of one of his men in one of his ranger patrolling trips. However, his little brother would never drink it on Minas Tirith fearing Denethor may consider it a wild habit.

What he does enjoy peraphs a bit more than the drink itself is the ambient that the sharing on rounds creates, the social aspect. Talking about anything, sharing stories and stuff. The drinking environment cheers the spirits.

The best pourers in the Fellowship are Aragorn ( of course, lol) and Gandalf. One does it most of the time, the other agrees ocassionally

I like to imagine that whenever Gandalf pours the water, the drink tastes to each one of them according to their favorite preferences.

He is not wasting magic in that, of course, it's just that he is Gandalf. Everything he does turns out cooler.

Drinking paces are also an aspect of the sharing situation.

There is always someone who gets teased for talking too much and taking too long between sips while the water gets cold and the other drinkers are waiting. In each drinking group, it always happens. ( and most of the time i tend to be this person lol)

In the Fellowship, i guess this one would be Pippin. I think they have this hilariously contradictory situation where Pip sometimes gets teased for it, but when it happens to other for other reason ( like, for example, Frodo gets caught too focused on his thoughts with the thing half filled) no one says anything and he looks at everyone like " hey! Now someone else is taking too long"

In long travels where resourses are scarce the best option for them would be drying the wet leaves after finishing and save it for a new use. Usually Sam is the one who remembers to do this.

When the leaves are no longer usefull they can't just throw those because it could be a lead for enemies.

It occured to the hobbits that they could start burying the evidence. Merry and Pippin did it first, but Sam and Frodo found it a good idea.

I like to imagine that, somewhere in the way ( specially the warmer places) maybe a few plants grew with time to remember the Fellowship was there.

[hugh-lauries-bald-spot]

im having excessive samfrodo/lotr brainrot at the moment

[wanderer-clarisse]

early morning sunlight at Bag End

[gildedmagnolias]

Watercolor of Bag End

[formenos]

bag end in the snow

[blinday]

[frodo-with-glasses]

In which Pippin puts his cousin on blast.

Not SamFro!

[fourdogsinatrenchcoat]

Another short LOTR comic I made, adapted from the chapter “Journey in the Dark” in Fellowship of the Ring.

I really felt Frodo’s homesickness in this passage, and the beginnings of his deep regret for how things are unfolding as well as what will never be again. Also love getting a glimpse of the friendship/allyship of Elves and Dwarves of old because of mithril, and of course had to sneak in Celebrimbor and Narvi. My favorite part of Rings of Power has been Khazad-dûm and the dwarves thriving (for ONCE!!)

[ihobbit]

Late evening. Bilbo sits by the fireplace and reads a newspaper. Suddenly baby Frodo, who should have been asleep, runs out of his room. 

Bilbo: What happened?

Frodo: *in tears* There is a huge spider in my room, I'm scared!

Bilbo: *rolls up the newspaper* You're a big boy, go deal with him yourself, here's a weapon for you.   

Frodo: No! Please help me! 

Bilbo: *sighs* Ok, let's go see your very big and scary spider.

In Frodo's room, the window is broken, and Shelob hangs above the ceiling, occupying almost the entire space.

Frodo: *huddles close to Bilbo and trembles*.

Bilbo: *swallows nervously* Well, newspaper won't be enough here.

[mushroomates]

frodo headcanons:

has a picking cabinet. sam knows of this. merry and pippin do not. frodo is very paranoid and worries about them finding out.

reads multiple books at the same time and sometimes combines elements or characters when referencing them and creates a new, better story

enjoys embroidery. likes to do little plants and animals over small holes, makes patches for friends.

tries to coerce nearby cats to come to him for pets. he is mostly successful.

feeds the strays of the shire (they’re not strays, mr. frodo, and the proudfoots kindly ask that you refrain from fattening up their cat)

has a old quilt that he’s very fond of and guards with his life. it’s made by some great aunt or another, and is terribly comfy.

horrible sleep schedule. almost non existent. will wander around the shire in the dead of night for “a breath of fresh air”

has scared many families while doing this and has been threatened several times

used to call gandalf grandpa. actually did on the fellowships journey. was mocked relentlessly for it.

falls asleep to the rain rather quickly. any bodies of water make him sleepy. he enjoys ocean waves, rushing rivers, babbling brooks and the quiet patter on his windowsill.

loves the beach. collects sea shells.

can not keep plants alive. does not bother, as sam steps in anyways.

has nicknames for people, mostly in his head. sometimes will let them slip. sam is sammy-boy, pippin is pipper or pippy, gandalf is gander. always refers to merry as Meridoc in his head as it’s somehow funnier.

he gets this from bilbo, who also gave his friends/relatives nicknames behind their back. they’d giggle and gossip together using said names.

used to call bilbo “bibbo”. uncle bibbo was all the shire referred to him for a while before the threat of no more bag-end parties was made.

he likes oranges and nuts, but in the summer he likes a good plum.

favorite seasons are winter and the beginings of spring when it’s still rainy. hates the heat.

might be allergic to pollen and/or lavender. still keeps flowers by his bedside and eats lavender tarts.

all couches, chairs and daybeds are piled high with throw pillows and blankets. it’s hard to sit down without being swamped by them.

used to pretend to be an elf as a kid. was horrified to learn bilbo spread this information to the rivendell elves.

sings songs frequently and in public. no one minds this.

likes the idea of hats, looks horrible in them and they mess up his hair anyhow.

cannot wrap presents well

[whatareyoureallyafraidof]

[velvet4510]

NOTE: I said “LESS famous changes” - which means the more famous ones (Tom Bombadil, Faramir, Gimli, etc) do not apply here.

[glorfindelridesagain]

Dwalin: Bilbo, Gandalf’s here with the cart. Where’s Frodo?

Bilbo: He’s asleep, it’s still nap time.

Dwalin: Then where’s Thorin?

Bilbo: I said it’s still nap time.