#had more to say but that's the end of tags. It was about Aragorn's character journey in ttt being absolutely amazing which I never noticed

[runawaymun]

Ask me about my not-yet-written-fics from this list

thanks, @eowyn7023 also tagging: @polutrope because you sent me an ask about this a while ago and I just haven't had the spoons to respond until now, sorry! <3

Elrond in Valinor + Second Flight of the Noldor

so this stems from three possibly spicy Opinions I have about LOTR: 1) The Valar kind of suck, actually, and it was wrong of them to bring Elves to Valinor in the first place and it went directly against Eru's plan. 2) Valinor is kind of liminal and bad for you if you were born in Middle Earth 3) Elrond sailing (and staying) in Valinor is makes very little sense for him as a character, and is more about Jirt's wish fulfillment than it is good writing.

Obviously, unfortunately, due to the narrative, Elrond must sail at the end of LOTR. He needs to recuperate from the absolute havoc Vilya wreaked on his system, and he also needs to reunite with Cel and get some closure about a few things, like Celebrimbor's death, Gil-Galad's death, and his relationship with Elwing.

So Elrond sails, as he does. He reunites with Celebrian. He spends some time meeting his various family members and spends quite a lot of time with Gil-Galad and Celebrimbor. He has exactly one (1) talk with Elwing to ask her some questions and explain what became of Elros, but in my head he is not really interested in pursuing much of a relationship with her. Elwing respects that.

He and Celebrian work on healing their relationship and re-establishing intimacy.

Elrond slowly recovers from the damage Vilya did to him.

He might need to spend some time in Lorien actually. He is very good friends with Este and Nienna.

After a while though, things just don't feel right. Valinor feels very static and strange to him, and he doesn't really feel like he Fits. And that hurts because everyone is so glad to have him there and they expect that he's just as glad to be here as they are.

Also he really misses his kids, and wonders about his grandkids, and the Dunedain.

Eventually he starts connecting with more and more people who feel like they don't Fit. Mostly Noldor and the few Sindar that sailed. Many of them are still dealing with PTSD from Middle Earth and Beleriand, or with scars that refuse to heal. Many of them are just Restless. Most Vanyar do not understand this, and it's hard to talk about.

He and Cel begin work on a second Rivendell, and this keeps them both busy for a short time. He still doesn't feel Right though.

Eventually he starts experiencing like a reverse sea-longing and it gets more, and more, and more painful.

Finally, he talks it over with Celebrian. And they petition the Valar, who are not very happy to be petitioned. And then Elrond starts preparing to sail East.

Listen listen listen. Everything that Elrond has ever built, worked for, or loved is back in Middle Earth. It makes zero sense for him to be happy in Valinor. He aligns overwhelmingly with the Sindar and with the Dunedain in the books, and the Dunedain also consider him as one of them. Rivendell is there (he left it in the care of the Dunedain). Arwen and Aragorn are there. Gondor, and what is left of Elros are there. His grandchildren are there. Elladan and Elrohir are still there. The people left for him in Valinor are all people he has already mourned and found closure with.

He's not really made for Valinor anyway. He's made to watch over Middle Earth, to keep its lore and secrets, and to caretake Elros' line. He made a vow, once, and sure Aragorn and his descendants are doing just fine but he still feels half-whole without them.

And he's not the only person who doesn't feel Right in Valinor, who miss the mold and the rot and the fungi and the sheer diversity of life, and the Men!!! The humans!!! The normalcy of pain and suffering and scars and disabilities!

And so Elrond sails with Celebrian, and many of the Noldor say 'fuck it' and they go with him. They're tired and restless and have misgivings about the Valar anyway. A remnant returns to Middle Earth, and this time they go for love.

Elrond retakes his seat in Rivendell and the Dunedain rejoice that the eldest of their race, their most beloved uncle has come home. Celebrian reunites with Arwen, and meets a long line of adopted children that she never got to see, and meets Aragorn and her grandchildren.

They live through the ages, quietly doing what they have always done: living as watchers and caretakers, carefully preserving memories and lore and history.

Rivendell becomes a place that is both mythologized and startlingly real, where it is rumored that anyone who needs it will find help and sanctuary.

Many of the Noldor live in Rivendell, but some set up their own small kingdoms or simply live alongside the men and dwarves. They're finally there to guide and watch over the Secondborn, just as was intended in the Theme.

Eventually, of course, Elrond must grieve Arwen and Aragorn, but he's there for his grandchildren, and his great grandchildren, and his great grandchildren, and all of his family thereafter -- and in Arwen and Aragorn and their line, it almost feels like he is reunited with Elros again.

Elrond is there to help.

[hobbitsesoftheshire]

This is the first part to my different Disney AUs. Requests are open. You can ask to be added to my tag list, either by messaging me or sending it in a request. Follow me if you want more and all of my other fandoms are listed in my bio so check there. I also have a character list, the link is on my masterlist, which is pinned on my page! Hope you like this and enjoy!

Pairing: Aragorn x female!reader

Warnings: hitting someone in the head with a pan.

Word count: 606

He was running away from some men he got in trouble with. They didn't like his words at the tavern and now he was on the run. In his 87 years on Middle-Earth he should've already learned to not speak to drunken strangers.

The men were right behind him and almost catched him, but he happened to notice a cave or a tunnel that had some weird vines covering it. He carefully moved some of the leaves on the vines to the side and decided to step into the tunnel. Right after the vines settled back, the men passed by confused on where he had gone.

He sighed in relief and chose to go see what was on the other side of the tunnel he was in. It seemed to be pretty short and there was bright light on the other side. He walked to the end and was shocked to see a tower in the middle of the little field that had trees surrounding it.

It seemed like there was no one in the tower. He had either the option of turning back and possibly getting caught, or trying to climb to the tower to see what was in it.

Getting caught was not an option. He walked closer and saw that the tower was made of cobblestone. He could get arrowheads in between the stones and could climb up like that. Aragorn reached into his bag and took out some arrows he had hidden there in case of a battle. He found a good spot to start climbing and looked to the open window almost all the way up.

He started climbing and about halfway up Aragorn realized he had estimated the height of the tower wrong. He was starting to get tired, but he was already closer to the window than the ground.

Aragorn finally reached the window and got into the tower. "Finally alone" he said before someone hit his head with a pan.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He didn’t know how long he had been unconscious for. All he knew was that he had climbed to some mystery tower and got hit in the head. Hard. When he gained consciousness again he was tied to a chair. He looked down to see that his restraints resembled someone's hair. 

“Is this.. hair?” he asked confusedly. “Struggling… struggling is pointless” a female voice connected to the hair asked. She suddenly jumped down to the floor. He noticed she was holding a pan. 

“I know why you’re here and I'm not afraid of you” she said, trying to sound confident. “What?” he asked, still confused. She walked into the light and he thought he hadn’t ever seen a woman as beautiful as her.

“Who are you, and how did you find me?” she asked. He didn’t know how to answer and just remained silent. When he didn’t answer she repeated her question more powerfully. 

He cleared his throat and said “I know not who you are, nor how i came to find you. But may I just say. Hello. How’re you doing. My name’s Strider. How’s your day going?”

“Ugh, who else knows my location?” she asked, pointing the pan at Aragorn.

“All right, girlie”

“Y/n”

“Here’s the deal. I was in a situation, gallivanting across the forest. I came across your tower and…”

“Oh, oh no! Where’s my satchel?!” he panicked.

“I’ve hidden it. Somewhere you’ll never find it” she stated proudly, crossing her arms. 

He looked around a little and said “It’s in that pot isn’t it?”

And then she hit him in the head with the pan, again.

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

Not-Yet-Written Fics Game

Thank you to the people who have tagged me for this: @niennawept and @emmanuellececchi and maybe @erathene (my notifications say I’m tagged there but the post itself doesn’t seem to say that so perhaps my app is just being weird again 😂)! Either way, I really enjoyed getting to see what ideas people have sitting around in their brains or on their devices.

My process (such as it is) usually starts with a character I want to spend more time with and then I figure out the concept/plot later. So most of my to-dos are just people I want to write for — (mostly obscure) Rohirrim like Elfhelm, Grimbold, Erkenbrand, Théodwyn, Éothain or Elfhild — and when I have time, I pick one from the list and work something up.

In terms of plots, there is only one in my mind right now with real specificity and it’s about Baldor and the Paths of the Dead. We know from LOTR that Baldor, an early Prince of Rohan, died a horrific death in the Paths of the Dead (where his body is found by Aragorn hundreds of years later) but we don’t know what the hell he was doing there. I have some ideas about what would drive him to do such a wild thing, but I’d have to figure out how not to make that story just unrelentingly bleak given how it ends canonically.

Otherwise, I know I’d like to write some stuff further back in Rohan’s national history. Maybe something about what it was like to follow Eorl and leave behind life in Rhovanion to help settle what became Rohan. Definitely something about the old Northman King Vidugavia, whose daughter Vidumavi married a king of Gondor and then the Gondorians fought a civil war rather than accept Vidumavi’s half-Northman son as a valid heir to the throne. I imagine Vidugavia and Vidumavi had some FEELINGS about all of that even as they ultimately decided to continue their alliance with Gondor.

Anywho. I do legitimately love to hear what other people are up to. No pressure tags (and ignore me if you’ve already done this or been tagged elsewhere): @meluiloth @hobbitwrangler @sluttyseacadet

[rebelrebelwrites]

Fic Friday! ❤️ Rebel’s Weekly Fic Recs

This week’s recs are…

As always, please mind the tags on any recommended story for your own personal preferences.

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The Classic You’ve Heard Of But Somehow Haven’t Read Yet: Perilous Wanderings by Wolftales

What you need to know going in:

The OG Sauron impersonates Celeborn in Gal’s dream fic! Or, at least for me—fairly certain I came across this one first, so forgive me if I’m mistaken, this may have just been my experience. Regardless, SUCH a great, dark entry into the Sauron impersonates Celeborn camp. A quick, 2-chapter read that will stir your emotions and is definitely steamy, to say the least. 🔥 I love how much Galadriel won’t give into Sauron in this, as well as how much she knows how to push his buttons… he’s delightfully greedy and definitely a little unhinged in trying to get her to submit to him. Sidenote: there are so many great one-shots and short fics I’ve read or bookmarked that I almost think I need to do a special short fic edition of this series… thoughts? 👀

Complete, Explicit

Read the story.

Follow the author on AO3.

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The AU You Need to Immerse Yourself In Because, Well, Wow: Rainbow of Chaos by @yletylyf

What you need to know going in:

Another AU from the amazing @yletylyf! Two weeks in a row, I know, but this AU is so unique and their writing is so great I feel justified. The premise alone had me clicking immediately: a LOTR-era AU in which Sauron still has access to a fair form, and sets out to retake the One Ring himself. Spoiler alert: he succeeds, and the story truly kicks off from there with a repentant (maybe) Sauron and a Galadriel who’s tempted to believe him. Featuring a smattering of favorite LOTR characters so far, including Gollum, Gandalf, Aragorn, Frodo and more, it feels like early stages for this fic, but I’m so intrigued to see where it goes. One thing I love about @yletylyf’s work is their characterization—like Through Peril and Fire, there’s this unique frankness to every interaction; every piece of dialogue, but each one is so potent. It creates this really rare effect and cadence that resonates.

WIP, Teen

Read the story.

Follow the author on Tumblr and AO3.

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The Complete But Never Forgotten Masterpiece: On the Twelfth Night, or, Epiphany: How Galadriel Seduced a Priest and Discovered the True Meaning of Christmas by @thrillofhope

What you need to know going in:

Okay, I know I’ve now put two authors from last week again this week and I promise I’m not TRYING to do that, my faves are just my faves, and this fic stole my whole goddamn soul this past weekend so I HAD to. I HAD to. (Promise, I will spread more of the love next week. I have all the plans. I have LISTS. Promise.) But seriously, I had this fic open in my tabs for weeks and held off starting it because I somehow knew it was going to crawl into my brain and blow me away and when I finally gave in and started reading it last weekend, I could. Not. Stop. In other words, I wasn’t disappointed. One of my first few modern AUs, this story sees Galadriel attempting to seduce Halbrand, a priest, after a bet with one of her brothers. It’s very Fleabag-inspired in plot and tone and @thrillofhope NAILS it. Hilarious, gut-wrenchingly romantic, and so goddamn sexy it kills, I’m genuinely not convinced the author isn’t Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Like my watch of Fleabag, I'm so glad I got to binge it because waiting for each chapter would’ve been torture.

Complete, Explicit

Read the story.

Follow the author on Tumblr and AO3.

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The WIP That Will Wreck You (In the Best Way): The Chain {Series} by @hazelmaines

What you need to know going in:

-insert me groaning- This fic, the ANGST. The sublime tenderness. It’s so damn good, guys, so damn good. Originally a collection of one-shots, @hazelmaines recently consolidated into a multi-chapter fic plus a bonus alternate ending story in the series called Negotiation. I recommend gobbling ALL of it up and subscribing. Onto the premise: The Chain starts during RoP and diverges from canon somewhere around episode 5, and sees our lovebirds forming a bond in the Unseen world… and they’re not the only ones paying attention. Without revealing too much, some highlights include everything we missed on the ride to Eregion (👀👀👀) and a ton of lovely backstory from Valinor threaded throughout. The additional context, the missing histories, and the dreamlike quality to all of it paints an incredibly rich history for both Sauron and Galadriel and really contextualizes their building bond. Again, don’t want to reveal too much… but I’m super excited to see where this goes and how it grows. Definitely get caught up if you’re not already reading!

WIP, Mature

Read the story.

Follow the author on Tumblr and AO3.

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The Can’t Stop Consuming No Matter What Time It Is Fic: Shadow-Bride by eye_of_a_cat

What you need to know going in:

Another favorite from eye_of_a_cat and for great reason—as always, every word shines. A post-S1 epic with a distinct fairytale vibe, as it’s framed as a story told by Sauron and Galadriel to each other many, many years later. The story starts in earnest after Galadriel discovers the truth about Sauron, and then proceeds with Sauron negotiating saving the elves from fading in exchange for Galadriel as his bride. You can guess how she might feel about that… 🤣 From there, they journey to Pelargir, and much ensues—animosity, simmering tension, exchanges of power, and so much more, including a well-rounded cast of characters. Without spoiling anything, I’ll say that this fic constantly has me on the edge of my seat, and the last few chapters had me spinning out a little bit from the surprises. It’s a delicious, tantalizing slow burner and every second is 🙌.

WIP, Explicit

Read the story.

Follow the author on Twitter and AO3.

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🤩🤩🤩

Me at all these fics:

Don’t see your story on this list yet? Keyword: yet. Please don’t fret! I can only recommend so many each week, but I am always looking for more stuff to read, share, and generally shower with love, so please feel free to reply with your own fics or your personal faves. I have plenty more to recommend… ❤️

Until next week!

[mistergandalf]

ULTIMATE TOLKIEN BLORBO ROUND FIVE: SECOND CHANCE BRACKET IS COMPLETE!

Here’s who won:

Aragorn vs. Bilbo Baggins

Éowyn vs. Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck

Boromir vs. Elrond Peredhel

Peregrin “Pippin” Took vs. Fëanor

Truly a gripping round. Check the tags on the races because they are an absolute riot. The fact that so many of you cried SO MUCH about having to choose between Merry and Éowyn, only for her to stay in the lead the entire time, is killing me. It sounds like it was SO difficult for you. Sooooo difficult.

AND NOW, we’ve created a 🔔REMAAAAAATCH 🔔 between Aragorn and Éowyn! They last met ten days ago in Round One. Will people vote the same, or will they switch their vote? Will it be a close match yet again? Will the increased popularity of this bracket create drastically different results? Guess we’ll find out tomorrow…

And now we must say our last goodbye to some of our beloved blorbos. Eliminated this round were the following:

Bilbo Baggins

Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck

Elrond Peredhel

Fëanor

I’m a little heartbroken, not gonna lie. We’ve lost all our Silmarillion characters now—even Elrond, which hurts. AND, finally, some of our Hobbits! I can’t believe it. You guys eliminated Blorbo Baggins.

Round Six (Second Chance Bracket) will start at 12PM EDT (GMT -4)! Once that bracket is complete, we’ll need the results from the main bracket to continue. So Round Four on the primary bracket will start Friday, May 5th, at 12PM EDT (GMT -4).

And now, for some analytics...

Who got the most votes?

ONCE AGAIN, Pippin smashed the competition with 1,909 votes. That’s insane. But also it’s not—I get it. He’s been my blorbo for 20 years. You’re all valid. For reference, though, the person who received the second-most votes this round was Éowyn, and she had 1,117 votes. Pippin had 732 more votes than she did—but of course, her match was more evenly split.

On the losing side, Elrond gave the bracket over to the race of Men with 962 votes. This seems to keep happening to him.

Who got the least votes?

Fëanor has been eliminated with 347 votes this round. I mean, hey. When you’re up against Pippin, there’s only so much you can do. And besides, as many of you pointed out, he’s more of a poor little meow meow than a blorbo.

Which races were the most contentious?

I genuinely didn’t know who was going to win between Boromir and Elrond until the very end. It went back and forth SO many times. But after a very contentious battle, Boromir emerged with a 4% lead.

Aragorn vs. Bilbo was close, with Aragorn winning by 10%... but also, that race had like. Half the number of votes as all the other races. What’s up with that? Every other race had over 2,000 votes total, but this one didn’t even break a thousand.

The race between Éowyn and Merry was close the entire time, but Éowyn managed to hold onto her 12% lead from pretty early on. Did you like the pictures I chose? I thought that was a stroke of evil genius. 😈

Which races were the least contentious?

There were only four races this round, and I’ve already mentioned three of them. The only race that wasn’t a question mark at all was Pippin vs. Fëanor. The creator of the Silmarils, shaper of the First Age of Middle-earth, got absolutely bodied by a four-foot-tall 28-year-old. Great job, Pip.

That’s all for today. Enjoy your rematch. See you tomorrow!

[cornerful]

March 1st

'There is no malice near us; but there is watchfulness, and anger.'

'Well, it has no cause to be angry with me,' said Gimli. 'I have done it no harm.'

'That is just as well,' said Legolas. 'But nonetheless it has suffered harm.'

Love some real underlying awareness of how emotions work with my lord of the rings 🍻 lasting pain is inevitably shared with the people around you who had nothing to do with it, and sensitivity without culpability is important to practice.

'A treacherous weapon is ever a danger to the hand.'

Gandalf says this of Saruman but I should really start saying it about blunt kitchen knives 😒

'Dangerous!' cried Gandalf. 'And so am I, very dangerous: more dangerous than anything you will ever meet, unless you are brought alive before the seat of the Dark Lord.'

Go flex, girl 💗💯💥💫

The others looked at him. A gleam of sun through fleeting clouds fell on his hands, which lay now upturned on his lap: they seemed to be filled with light as a cup is with water. At last he looked up and gazed straight at the sun.

*_* I'm so beguiled by this. Hm. Hm. *shuffles it away for later* Thoughts, anyone, about this part?

'It is a long way for a man to walk, young or old,' said Aragorn. 'I fear the battle will be over long ere I come there.'

'We shall see, we shall see,' said Gandalf. 'Will you come now with me?'

Just like earlier when Gandalf did not reveal his identity for a hot minute, here again is the theme of characters taking leaps of faith. Gandalf could have told them that the return of their horses was likely, but he didn't. It's important that they agree to go even without knowing.

Far, far below the deepest delvings of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things. Even Sauron knows them not. They are older than he. Now I have walked there, but I will bring no report to darken the light of day. In that despair my enemy was my only hope, and I pursued him, clutching at his heel.

If there's some epic fanfic out there about the nameless things and/or Gandalf's harrowing time among them I'd love to read it.

Also, --I know this is probably very un-tolkienian-- I wonder if Gandalf was stuck down there how he would get out of it. Could he...to put it delicately, abandon his body by his own hand? What would then happen to him? The story would be different I guess, I mean it would never have been written that way. The idea of Gandalf having video game respawn skills through suicide is I think not a concept jirt would have entertained and I agree that's way too lazy for a story like this--nevermind the way it would undermine the Sacredness of Life and Importance of Noble Choices stuff going on all the time...I just wonder though, within the rules of lotr, what would have happened if Gandalf missed his chance of escape from the deep places. And say he did expire alone in the dark and desperate, what would then be? Anyway. Just a rambling thought...

'"A burden you have been," he answered, "but not so now. Light as a swan's feather in my claw you are. The Sun shines through you. Indeed I do not think you need me any more: were I to let you fall, you would float upon the wind."

I love this i love it i love it. And it reminds me of what Gandalf thought about Frodo that morning in Rivendell after the danger of the morgul shard had passed.

Which is double interesting, thinking of Gandalf's story from the Balrog to Lothlórien, and the end of the tale. Hm.

'What then?' said Legolas. 'Would you have her speak openly to you of your death?'

'Yes, if she had naught else to say.'

Sgdjhfkhfk 💚

It was dreary and wearisome. Cold clammy winter still held sway in this forsaken country. The only green was the scum of livid weed on the dark greasy surfaces of the sullen waters. Dead grasses and rotting reeds loomed up in the mists like ragged shadows of long-forgotten summers.

Going in the imagery tag, the way with words extends to unpleasantness, too 😔

Often the grass was so high that it reached above the knees of the riders, and their steeds seemed to be swimming in a grey-green sea.

This too!

[marimosalad]

8 TV shows can say a lot about a person!

Certainly for me, I think! I’m listing here many of my personal recs which (as this is a Haladriel blog) I will be talking about them in relation to Haladriel, if applicable.

Thanks for the tag @pursuitseternal 🌟

Without further ado:

———

1. Needless to say, The Rings of Power.

I’m a total sucker for Hot Bad Men™️ so I never stood a chance against Saubrand.

Blorbo aside, my attachment to this show far preceded my Saurondriel obsession — I was completely enamored with it since Episode 1, the first big scenic shot of Valinor; the Two Trees; the epic soundtrack; stunning costumes. I had tears in my eyes during the boat sailing into the light of Valinor. The scale of storytelling far exceeded my admittedly meager expectations.

Let me be clear: I did not want to like this show and was set on dismissing it as an inferior fan service following The Hobbit franchise. Next thing I knew my inner child had been awakened and my love for Tolkien universe rekindled. Add to this concoction my weakness for complex villains and the epic reveal of Hot Sauron — boom, I was done. I’ll never recover from this.

2. FRINGE.

This show has such a special place in my heart. It’s sci-fi, mystery, time travel, alternate timelines, quantum physics mumbo jumbo, love story, and a father/son story all rolled into one amazing series that ended abruptly and went under the radar for so long.

In this universe, Denethor II has reincarnated into a much more gentle, sweeter Dr. Walter Bishop who actually loves his son and will put his life at risk for his son over, and over, and over again.

I also have an undying admiration for Anna Torv’s Olivia Dunham (I’m planning a separate post of all my fictional female crushes over the years). I was so giddy to see her in The Last of Us — she’s an underrated actress who deserves to be in the spotlight.

3. LOST.

Probably the first TV show that I actually got seriously invested in as a young adult and since then I’ve watched it so many times in every phase of my life. I’ve named our new puppy after Penelope Widmore. My computer name is Not-Pennys-Boat. I’ve been thirsting after stranded-at-sea disheveled ruffians since Sawyer, who is my favorite character who was the antagonist at the beginning (I’ve been saying that Halbrand is the perfect mix of Sawyer and Aragorn).

Sawyer/Juliet is my absolute favorite onscreen couple, pre-Haladriel. Their chemistry is fire. They just work. (Hated him with Kate.) Just tell me this doesn’t scream Haladriel (aesthetically):

Bonus: scene look familiar? Desmond did it first 🔥

4. Outlander.

Ok, believe it or not, I wasn’t quite watching this for the copious amount of steamy sex just because I was watching with my husband AND my mom over the pandemic when we lived together, and needless to say it was quite awkward 😂 I have a particular inexplicable love for Scotland (despite having only gone there twice), so when I discovered the series I went head over heels in love with the landscape, costumes, historic details, music (Bear McCreary), mythology, etc. Oh, and the hot Scotsman too 🫠

Jamie and Claire are the epitome of cosmically connected soulmates, their love transcending across lifetimes. Their early sex scenes are 🔥🔥🔥.

Bonus fact: Sam Heughan was named after Samwise Gamgee by his Tolkien hippie parents. He’s been casually broadcasting that he wants a role in TROP. Could we help him? If enough of us use the tag #SamHeughanForCeleborn, will they give Galadriel the husband she deserves?

5. DARK.

Did I mention I’m a big fan of quantum physics, philosophy, time travel, and parallel universes? No? Well, this brooding German show just about represents everything I love. The perfectly planned 3-season show is everything you could ever hope for in a good TV series. It’s moody, intelligent, mind-bending, and heart-wrenching. Watch the first episode, and by the end of it, you’ll be hooked, I promise you. Oh and for the love of god, do not watch it dubbed.

6. Norsemen.

Ok, I don’t typically watch too much comedy. But I do like The Office. I also like medieval movies/shows. What if I said Norsemen was basically a medieval version of The Office? Oh, it’s so dumb. It’s so dumb I almost didn’t finish the first episode. But once you get in the groove, it’s hilarious as fuck. On Netflix.

7. True Detective.

I don’t know how many times I’ve rewatched this show — it’s my comfort show I watch by myself on my laptop on rainy evenings. I don’t know what that says about me, and I don’t want to know 😂

Aside from the intrigue of the creepy Southern Gothic and unsettling cult themes, I mainly attribute my obsession with the show to Matthew McConaughey’s brooding Rust Cohle. He’s tall and lanky, a total weirdo, a lone wolf, has commitment issues, single-minded about his job, and (a bit more than) slightly unhinged. Also known as my kind of dude.

8. Better Call Saul.

Greatest of all spin-offs, who knew that the show about the sleazy lawyer who represented the world’s greatest meth kingpin was actually a love story in disguise?

Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn as Jimmy and Kim are the perfect embodiment of a modern couple who are equals and opposites, bring out each other’s best and worst, and have an undying respect for one another which serves as the backbone for their relationship. They even take turns towing on opposite sides of the law, pushing and pulling each other’s inclinations towards Good & Bad, only to find each other drowning in the dense grey area that is all too real. They are the *could have beens* for Galadriel and Sauron in the best case scenario (I could go on with the similarities but I don’t want to spoil the show).

Bonus fact: Gennifer Hutchison was the writer for both BCS and TROP. This fact should speak volumes about the kinds of discussions that would have occurred in the writer’s room regarding the nature of Galadriel and Sauron’s relationship. Watch the show and you’ll understand.

I’ve got many more recommended shows, but I think these 8 have been my primary emotional support shows over the past few years. I debated including Raised By Wolves, but as it was prematurely canceled there isn’t a whole lot I could say about it, despite having a fantastic premise (and which I still recommend people watch).

No pressure tags (but also curious to know): @starlady66 @maironiiel @demonscantgothere @scriberated @wyrd-syster @formerlyir @nenyabusiness @thegreatzombieartisan and any others who want to join.

[zenaidamacrouras1]

20 Questions For Fic Writers

@somanywords Helloooooo friend always lovely to be tagged in these games!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

18!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

554,942

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Marvel, mainly Stucky

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

(all Stucky) Plastered (59,379 words) Monoclonius (62,000 words) Unpredictable Synchronicity (114,239 words) A Climb of Passion (32,666 words) Tension and Tonic (78,978 words)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I'm chatty so it's easy for me, most of the time. Sometimes I just do little emojis. I know it stresses some writers out which is fair, but I like it, so I do it.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't really do angsty endings, but I guess Manpain Spiral of Solitude, which in fairness I do think the title warns properly that there might be angst. :)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

They are all doopy and happy but Backhoe maybe? Honestly, they are all so cheesy. Sometimes I am hard on myself like, "This fanfiction I'm writing is not esoteric or high brow or relentlessly grim at all" and then have to slap myself around. There's nothing wrong with happiness.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really, though I have a few where the characters make particularly unimpressive decisions and those get some borderline negative comments, but most of my stuff is like, aggressively pleasing and my comments range from polite and supportive to deliriously charming.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Oh yes. The cheesy schmoopy kind full of yearning and feelings and lots of consent. I do like a sex scene where someone is a bit insecure or inexperienced, and their partner is like, "But I like you for you" and they communicate about their feelings and wants and then they are all more confident at their sex stuff, because, look, I'm a simple person with simple pleasures.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I keep threatening to do a Lord of the Rings / MCU-All the Avengers Live in the Tower Crossover and somewhere I have some notes about it. Bucky is VERY jealous of Aragorn, who keeps throwing looks at Steve, even more so when he realizes how jealous it makes Bucky. Natasha and Gimli get along very well and then Legolas is jealous of Natasha, so Legolas and Bucky end up sulking in the corner.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Dunno!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Podficced! But not translated

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, though I love collaborating with people via beta-ing each other's fics

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

I mean, yanno. Stucky.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I don't want to say never. My Magic AU is going to be a long term thing. I don't want to give up on it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, and jokes, I think. I like writing kids.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Probably like, clarity of thought, consistency of voice. I re-read my shit and dear god, my adhd is so bad y'all. Particularly my one fic Tension and Tonic which is the only one I didn't have an outside beta spend literally hours making me sound comprehensible and it's really kind of embarrassing. I spend a lot of time trimming down and re-arranging to try and make it comprehensible, and then after like 6 edits, someone else looks at it and immediately points out 9500 places for improvement and then I have like 3 more people look at it. I think it's a double edged sword because the adhd helps me quickly come up with ideas but then a lot of the ideas need to be removed or re-arranged. I don't necessarily mind editing and re-editing, but it's a thing. Also my fight scenes could be better, and I am working on getting better at plot.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I enjoy it. I tend to look at reddit or other forums where native speakers are coming up with phrases they use to try for authenticity. I love dropping in what I hope will be little Easter Egg hugs for people of whatever background. Recently I worked with a graphic designer to add in some super wonky dialog and I hope it makes another graphic designer out there somewhere smile and feel seen.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Well, if we're going in the way-back time machine, I really liked Star Wars, in particular, the novels, in particular, the witch planet where all the babe-witches rode rancors. I wrote some fanfiction in early high school about them. Also Mara Jade, binches, fucking MARA JADE. She was like my first Bucky. So tragic, so sexy, so brainwashed, so competent.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Oh it always changes. I'm actually pretty into the shrinkiclinks I'm working on right now which is kind of a spy thriller but also very cutesy and mundane. Monoclonius I think is my happiest, easiest to read fic? So maybe that one.

I'm leaving your tags @somanywords because I love peer pressure.

No pressure tags for any writers who see this, and also @turtle-steverogers @hipsterdiva @tessabennet @voylitscope @greyhavensking @t4tstevebucky and anyone else who writes and wants to share!

[fipindustries]

Far away from everything

well, here we are at last.

i worked tirelessly as i read this story for 7 consecutive years every other month, going over it again and again, peering through its dense words and paragraphs, in order to share every thought i could muster about it as i read it because i knew my maind was probably not going to be able to observe it all in one grasp once i reached the end.

consequently i lavished praised over it, because this masterpiece is praise worthy. i concocted evermore exultant flattery, reaching paroxisms of fervent fanaticism scarcely seen outside of evangelist circles and fanfic spaces.

the result of this is that i might have ran out a bit of good things to say about this book and was left only with the things that i didnt like as much, which is a pity because is going to make it seem as if my final tally of this story is a negative one and it very much is not. you can pour all over the 14 pages in my blog under the almost nowhere tag, to see how highly i think of this work.

but, as ratleak dogmatizes, one must follow the straight and narrow path wherever it may take. so, with that said

the third section of this book is the weakest, im sad to say. you might have noticed if you follow my blog closely that as we neared the end i started to fall more and more behaind with the publication rythm of this story. you might have even noticed how long it took since it officially ended and the time i actually bothered to sit down and read it all.

i would say is too much of a good thing. that it hit the maximum it could reach in my scale of greateness and then after a while it became repetitive. i would go back to it every time and, oh surprise, here it is, the greatest work of fiction i've ever came across, still as great as ever.

rob said how he found the last section of this book the most tiresome to get through, how he had to push himself through a massive sense of anhedonia in order to get through it, how the only thing that motivated him was sheer responsability to his audience and his own desire to have a finished work. i was able to tell this.

the last section gets a bit repetitive and it drags. it became saturating in fact, emotions did not let go for 60k words, alarm bells and claxons constatly screaming "THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MOMENT, THIS IS THE CLIMAX, THIS IS THE MOMENT EVERYTHING GOES DOWN" for the length of what would be a standard novel. it wears thin. i can only sit though so many scenes of Sylvester loosing all hope and doing some ultimate gesture of final doom and then grant or lucifer say something moving or touching or inspiring or naive and then sylvie whiplashes again into benevolent omnipotent mania.

i can read the word love only so many times before it kind of loses its impact a bit, before it starts to sound robotic and rote. i see, eleven, yeah you truly love everyone, i get it, and you too animals, and silvye too, anyone else feeling omnibenevolent today? please make a line so we can reach the ending in orderly fashion.

the stakes got a little lost for a while, and the scale and the mundanity under which this world operates felt flimsy. i dont want this to sound like the typical "aragorn's tax policy" critique but i was wondering a lot of the times "where do these people live? how do they get food? or supplies? does sylvie just wills it all from thin air? how is the world outside? where are the other humans? what are they doing? are there still cities out there? has there been disasters with all of humanity contained in crash pods somewhere in asia? what of the worlds infrastructure? its ecology? how much work are the shades doing or not doing as it were the case to maintain it all?"

it also felt all a bit too stagey, like the entire world was revolving around our small cast of characters in its own little stage and the rest of humanity and the shades and the everywhere heraver is loosely sketched out at best just so we know it exists but they are merely suggestions, just a nod to the idea that, yes there is a world outside of whatever the camera is immediatly watching, and there are people out there doing their own things. but in this it was rather similar to homestuck and i dont think im going to hold it too hard against it, even though it did bother me a bit in homestuck as well.

overall i would need to read some guide or some deconstruction or some analisis to fully appreaciate what really happened it the end, i think i managed to follow well enough to frankly it was a struggle at times and by the very end i was just nodding along in a "sure, whatever you say buddy" way just to get it over with.

many have said that, much like floornight is rob's evangelion and arguably northern caves is rob's house of leaves, this is definetly rob's homestuck and i guess it feels appropiate that it final stretch reflects hoemstuck's final stretch as well.

i would have liked a final epilogue where we get a well established final shot of our beloved characters doing their own thing for us to know that once this is done they will be fine enough. we sort of had that here but it sneaked up on me frankly. it was missing the classic nostalgebraist final chapter where its just dialog with no description where things take a more relaxed sensual tone and the atmosphere is that of an orgy about to begin or just having finished. (although such a thing might be redundant, one of these days im going to draft a graph depicting the insane polycule these people form, 27 sleeping with azad who slept with grant, who slept with cordelia who slept with 27, who slept with azad, who slept with 25, who slept with hector, and so on and so forth).

ultimatly these are all the kinds of things to be expected of a first draft, the masterpiece is still very much here, and regardless of what my opnions are on the final stretch, much like with worth the candle, everything that came before is made no less of a masterpiece for it.

this, out of everything ive read online, is the thing that i will move heaven and earth for in order to have a physical copy of, even if i have to print one myself.

still very much on the top 5 best books ive ever read in my entire life. still a show of what true great prose can be like, still the thing that did the things it did like no other thing did before. i can rest assured that in the oncoming years and i percolate more and more on it its flaws will receede into the realm of the irrelevant and its strengths will shine stronger than ever. cant wait to re read it all someday, this time all in one sitting.

a true 9/10

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

If you're still doing the character opinion bingo - Eowyn?

I am *always* doing Character Opinion Bingo

Previously asked: Elrond, Gimli

Ok so.

I love Eowyn, obviously. I have eyes and a brain. Of course I love Eowyn.

However. My opinions on her story arc would be received by most of fandom as akin to hitting a wasps nest with a baseball bat due to:

a) my general dislike of Faramir. Guy can go suck an egg.

a pt II) my general dislike of fandom's tendency to jack off about how UWU Faramir is when he's just a bit of a wet blanket and a tit

b) my view that her ending is sad and sucks and she deserves better because

c) you can have healing and all that nice shit and still be a warrior and ride into battle and bop around on horseback annoying the living shit out of your brother who is now king by giving him 500 aneurisms

This is also why I only half-crossed out "I'm obsessed with their character arc" because I like it but also I'm mad about it because I wanted so much more for her and her ending. She becomes a fucking housewife in Gondor. This is Eowyn "so you're saying my role is in the house while men get glory then I can burn in it once the men don't need it anymore" daughter of Eomund, Shield-maiden of Rohan, child of the House of Eorl. She's not here for your cottagecore fantasies with wetblanket Faramir. (this includes you, too, tolkien)

--

A fandom thing that bugs me is that in the Eowyn tag I'm inevitably dumped into the part of fandom that has internalized western approach to information preservation and share Tolkien's belief that the Rohirrim, due to being an oral based culture, are somehow inferior to Gondor who are a writing based culture. I don't think they're conscious of this fact, but it's there and I dislike it. There's this occasional infantilization of Eowyn where people are like "oh it's so sweet Faramir will teach her how to read and write and all the nice CiViLiZeD things of Gondor and she'll idk I guess teach him something of her people's culture but only so they can write it down" and alksdjhgakghdkjlgdfgj

both are equal! both are equal!

also maybe rohan doesn't want to write down their stories! maybe they have reasons for that!

--

ok also, love that bit when Eowyn tells Aragorn "bitch if you say the word 'duty' to me I will not be held responsible for my actions".

'You are a stern lord and resolute,' she said; 'and thus do men win renown.' She paused. 'Lord,' she said, 'if you must go, then let me ride in your following. For I am weary of skulking in the hills, and wish to face peril and battle.'

'Your duty is with your people,' he [Aragorn] answered.

'Too often have I heard of duty,' she cried. 'But am I not of the House of Eorl, a shieldmaiden and not a dry-nurse? I have waited on faltering feet long enough. Since they falter no longer, it seems, may I not now spend my life as I will?'

'Few may do tht with honour,' he answered. 'But as for you, lady: did you not accept the charge to govern the people until their lord's return? If you had not been chosen, then some marshal or captain would have been set in the same place, and he could not ride away from his charge, were he weary of it or no.'

'Shall I always be chosen?' she said bitterly. 'Shall I always be left behind when the Riders depart, to mind the house while they win renown, and find food and beds when they return?'

'A time may come soon,' said he, 'when none will return. Then there will be need of valour without renown, for none shall remember the deeds that are done in the last defense of your homes. Yet the deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised.'

And she answered: 'All your words are but to say: you are a woman, and your part is in the house. But when the men have died in battle and honour, you have leave to be burned in the house, for the men will need it no more. But I am of the House of Eorl and not a serving-woman. I can ride and wield blade, and I do not fear either pain or death.'

'What do you fear, lady?' he asked.

'A cage,' she said. 'To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.'

then they talk about the paths of the dead. There's no bit where he’s like “I don’t see a cage in your future” like in the move. 

And aside from Aragorn's valid point of "you took this charge on you to rule Edoras in your uncle's sted you can't, exactly, just uh...abandon that" - I just love their entire exchange in this scene. It's so much more complicated and nuanced than what the movies show and also far more true to the world Tolkien was creating.

It also continues to highlight how Grima and Eowyn are foils for each other - aside from the subversion of gender norms (Eowyn is obvious in this, Grima's subversion is more subtle in the book), they both have strong desires and a sense of what they are owed and they go about getting it in ways that run contrary to their culture: oathbreaking.

Grima oathbroke when he took up with Saruman, obviously. Eowyn oathbroke when she left her post as Edoras' ruler and guardian - which she swore to the king she would maintain. They both did it to gain things they wanted. Eowyn just, you know, has morals and a spine. Grima has neither.

--

I just. Love Eowyn. And want more for her than was given in the books, or even in fandom.

I also love Dernhelm and wish we saw hell of a lot more of him. More screen and page time for Eowyn-Dernhelm and Dernhelm-Eowyn! We deserve it!

[ellrond]

I posted 2,100 times in 2022

That's 1,284 more posts than 2021!

230 posts created (11%)

1,870 posts reblogged (89%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@frodo-baggins

@alethiometry

@klngfili

@westenra

@haleths

I tagged 2,089 of my posts in 2022

Only 1% of my posts had no tags

#rings of power - 352 posts

#elrond - 282 posts

#lotr - 208 posts

#fanart - 186 posts

#ask - 132 posts

#house of the dragon - 97 posts

#bridgerton - 93 posts

#silm - 92 posts

#anon - 92 posts

#galadriel - 83 posts

Longest Tag: 133 characters

#‘bilbo this is fingon felagund you may have heard of-‘ ‘love what you did with the caves i used to live in somewhat of a cave myself’

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

In early notes by Tolkien the marriage of Elrond and Celebrian was 2500 Third Age and he originally planned to have Celebrian travel to Lothlorien in 2600 Third Age when she was actually killed, a mere hundred years after her marriage to Elrond so anyway thanks Tolkien for revising that but also fuck him for giving her that fate anyway when it adds nothing to the story and she could have been the ruling lady of Rivendell during LotR 😭😭😭

188 notes - Posted November 21, 2022

#4

The fact that they didn't even give new Elrond the sexy long locks he deserves we really are getting robbed 🤧

Literally not to be a bitch but who the fuck is that skinny twink, Hugo didn’t put his whole Weavussy into 5 films as Elrond for this wisp of a tween to come in and not even give us 22” of lace front

288 notes - Posted February 10, 2022

#3

Galadriel and Elrond in Vanity Fair’s First Look at the Rings of Power

344 notes - Posted February 10, 2022

#2

Is Halbrand Sauron? Probably.

Spoilers ahead!

TL;DR: it’s too lazy for him to be Aragorn 2.0- they want us so badly to come to the conclusion that he’s a lost king, it is too easy for that to be the truth. He’s in the right place at the right time to fill the role of Sauron in Numenor and he is of the right, charming, slippery, calculating disposition.

My main reason is they’re laying on this idea of him being Aragorn 2.0 way too thick and it’s the biggest red herring out there. We’ve seen the ‘lost king fulfilling his fate’ story already in the Lord of the Rings and in the Hobbit and it’s tired and lazy and boring.

So what does Sauron want to do in the books? He wants to infiltrate Numenor and recruit the people there to his side and he successfully does that over years of lies and manipulation when the majority of Numenoreans are poisoned against elves, Valar, and each other because of him. Sauron’s end goal in Numenor is ultimate control.

Now let’s look at the evidence in the first three episodes.

Episode 1:

Gil Galad says that he and Elrond foresaw that if Galadriel had continued trying to stop Sauron, she would inadvertently help him

Episode 2:

When the sea monster comes towards the raft, Halbrand advises to stand still to avoid detection when no one else suggests it and it initially works as it doesnt attack them - how would someone from a landlocked region have any knowledge of an ancient sea monster?

Galadriel asked why he separated his raft from the main one to save himself and he said ‘why be part of the larger target?’ - this could be alluding to the fact that Sauron’s forces are in central middle earth while he’s in the middle of the ocean

He talks about suffering and losing his home - Sauron served Morgoth in the First Age and their home was in Angband which was destroyed by the Valar in the War of Wrath. Sauron lost his home and he lost his master

Galadriel tells Halbrand to bind himself to her which is pretty loaded language when she could have just told him to tie himself to her. It’s at this point that he could have let Galadriel die, but he may already know that she could provide him with leverage in the future.

Episode 3 is where it gets way more obvious

Sauron is a charmer - in the books, Celebrimbor is all but in love with him when he’s in disguise. Halbrand flirts with Galadriel and charms her and goes above and beyond for her, like taking Finrod’s dagger from Elendil to give back to her

The moment he gets a bit of freedom, Halbrand goes to a blacksmith and asks for work and says his work is the best the blacksmith will have ever seen. Sauron is a mighty smith who learned under Aule, the god of smithery. Why’s he so set on having access to a smithy? He goes so far as theft to enable his pathway to work

Sauron took the name of Lord of Gifts when he was disguised with the elves, and what does he do in the tavern? Orders rounds of drinks for everyone

When he’s cornered in the alleyway he fights off 5 strong Numenorians with barely a scratch - Sauron was skilled in hand-to-hand combat

He’s eager to appease Tar-Miriel the queen and be seen as trustworthy. Yes, he is captive at the moment, but he has an easy charm even with great lords and ladies that do not befit his station

The figure at the end of the episode is another red herring - it’s not Sauron himself, but a commander of his, perhaps even the Witch-King of Angmar?

It makes sense that Sauron himself would be far away from the Southlands and the centre of his power when he knows that the elves keep watch - whether that be Gil-Galad from afar, or the Silvan elves who are now withdrawing.

His current location of Numenor where Sauron wants to be, and he is developing his relationship with Galadriel who is key to the entire race of elves. If he can manipulate her, he has an easy journey ahead of him. Remember, she ends up being a ring-bearer herself and although her ring is not made by Sauron, her fate is tied to the One Ring and to Sauron.

He’s also wanting to start crafting whatever and promises his work will be the best. He’s already privy to the two factions in Numenor - those who follow the old king and those who follow the queen - and is beginning to learn more about them.

As already said, he’s a charmer, he’s likeable, he has some sense of destiny about him, and he’s good-looking to boot. That’s Sauron’s go-to disguise. To many people familiar with the lore, it seems obvious that Halbrand is not the good guy Galadriel wants him to be. I think this will also lead into conflict between Gil Galad, Elrond, and Galadriel and a decline in her confidence and place in the world over the coming seasons, along with her rising from the ashes.

376 notes - Posted September 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

obsessed with how tidy he keeps his hair around Gil Galad versus the floppy hair in Khazad Dum. look at this

Gil Galad is like that grandmother who pulls kids close and combs their hair until they yell

690 notes - Posted September 28, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[maglorslostsilmaril]

I posted 6,819 times in 2022

That's 6,688 more posts than 2021!

341 posts created (5%)

6,478 posts reblogged (95%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@i-did-not-mean-to

@when-wax-wings-melt

@thedragonemperess

@tolkien-feels

@camelspit

I tagged 2,624 of my posts in 2022

#the sillymarilly - 717 posts

#tolkien - 642 posts

#lotr - 267 posts

#the silmarillion - 266 posts

#maglor - 210 posts

#lord of the rings - 179 posts

#maedhros - 153 posts

#silmarillion - 117 posts

#!!! - 111 posts

#elrond - 106 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#so they inherited ouranous’s himbo energy but unlike him did not call their kids ugly and throw them into the pits of hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

So some of my family members decided to watch rings of power and here is my review based on the snippets I saw:

first of all: the production quality is great, seeing as they poured millions of dollars into this

however they made some extremely questionable choices with a number of things that make it really hard to enjoy the show

(apart from the fact that amazon is massively benefiting from this already has my disdain)

NUMBER ONE: the character dynamics: galadriel, celebrimbor, gil galad and elrond treat each other as acquaintances at best. they’re literally cousins?? why are they described as nothing except friends???

NUMBER TWO: “elf lords only” wtf. elrond is literally heir to all three houses of finwe and all the great lines of men and he’s not important enough to be at a meeting for elf lords?? he’s literally the most qualified one there is.

NUMBER THREE: galadriel is treated as younger than everybody. gil-galad and elrond almost act like authority figures to her, and celebrimbor literally looks like he could be her father when in reality she probably has at least a century on him, and even more on elrond and gil galad.

NUMBER FOUR: aka issues surrounding galadriel. why did finrod call her galadriel in valinor. they don’t even speak sindarin in valinor yet. also, why is she sailing back to valinor in the middle of the second age. she’s literally exiled.

NUMBER FIVE: “there have only been two man/elf couples and they all ended in tragedy” sorry what?? beren and luthien: ended happily. idril and tuor: ended happily. aegnor and andreth and nimloth and dior ended sadly but that’s still 4 man/elf couples.

NUMBER SIX: celebrimbor in general. why does he look like a grandpa 😑

also, why do so many elves have short hair?? i get that that’s just a stylistic choice, so i’m not gonna add it to the list bc it’s just my opinion but really?

apart from those things, the show is…honestly just not that interesting to me. i love disa and nori, and the scenery is great, but honestly overall the show is pretty mid. i feel like it had a lot to live up to, and just didn’t really get there.

of course, i didn’t really have high expectations, and it’s amazon so i’m not really all that upset about it…

412 notes - Posted September 3, 2022

#4

Gimli: So… I’ve seen you’ve been spending a lot of time with Aragorn recently.

Legolas: No, Gimli, it's not what it looks like, I swear.

Gimli: Oh really? So no reason for me to be jealous?

Legolas: No! You’re the only one for me.

Gimli: Is that so?

Legolas: I promise! Aragorn and I are just dating, okay? They’re my partner.

Gimli: So there are no best-friends-feelings involved?

Legolas: You are still my one and only best friend! They’re just the love of my life, nothing more!

Gimli: But I’m still the platonic love of your life, right?

Legolas: Of course bro!

Gimli: Bro...

Aragorn: What the-

478 notes - Posted January 1, 2022

#3

barduil and aralas? no no no. i think you mean “redneck elf and his feral dirt man” and “redneck elf and his feral dirt man: the sequel.”

522 notes - Posted July 7, 2022

#2

The room is dark. My face is hidden in shadow as a sit on the couch across from me.

"I'm a sexual..." I say. Your face goes white.

"A sexual what?" You ask nervously.

The lights blink on to reveal that the shadow across my face is cast by the hood of my fuzzy sweatshirt. I look at you in confusion.

"No no no," I tell you. "I'm asexual. I'd rather watch a movie and cuddle than hook up."

You relax, and follow me into the kitchen to bake some cookies to eat while we watch the Lord of the Rings. (The extended editions, obviously.)

628 notes - Posted January 19, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

me: yeah, i feel like i’ve kind of overcome my musical theatre phase-

*literally anything musical theatre related starts to play*

me:

1,897 notes - Posted January 30, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[blossom-adventures]

10 characters, 10 fandoms, 10 tags

Sorry for the delay, I was at work when I was tagged by @bougainvillea-and-saltwater to do this, thank you, it’s about time I post something on here (and not just hide behind a like button) and this is actually a good opportunity to show some of the fandoms I have interest in so here we go…

1. Ulfric Stormcloak, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Honestly… I could put a whole list of 10 of my favourite characters from Skyrim alone, but I put Ulfric, I’m currently writing an OC backstory which will end up in a relationship with him so I have him on my mind a lot at the moment 😅 (also I’m reading an amazing story about him at the moment by @thequeenofthewinter)

2. Guzma, Pokemon Sun/Moon. I don’t think I would have cared as much for this character if I hadn’t read the comics done by @elbdot also his theme music in game is incredible, I like the concept of his character being incredibly powerful despite being a bug type specialist (a notoriously weak typing)

3. Percy, Critical Role (Campaign 1 & Legend of Vox Machina). I started to watch Critical Role when it was on episode 50 of Campaign 1 and managed to catch up by their first live show, and Percy was always my favourite (with Grog a close second) Campaign 1 will always have a special place in my heart as it’s the one I always go back to when I’m feeling down. Percys natural smugness and amazing one liners just works so well, I love it

4. Loghain, Dragon Age. Ok this might be a surprise, most people go for people like Alistair, Anders etc. But my favourite character is Loghain, why? The Novel wrote by David Gaider, “The Stolen Throne” which focuses on the friendship between Loghain, Maric and Rowan during the Orlesian Occupation of Ferelden (sorry if you have no idea what that meant 😅) it’s an amazing book that I read a least once a year

5. Krasus (Korialstrasz), World of Warcraft. Ok, little confession… I’ve never played WoW, but I’ve read a lot of the books and whenever Krasus turns up in one of the novels I can’t help but smile, I’m a massive fan of the “War of the Ancients” Trilogy by Richard A. Knaak (I’d highly recommend them if you’ve not read them, I’ve read them twice since I got them in 2020)

6. Thorin, The Hobbit. I watched the first film of The Hobbit and instantly had Thorin as my favourite character, in the time between the release of the first and second films I read the book (having never read it before) and I won’t lie, I cried at the end, never cried at a book before then (have since… several times) Richard Armitage did such a good job as Thorin

7. Aragorn, Lord of the Rings. I’m that person who will remind you that Viggo broke his toe in that one scene 😆 I tried reading the books but I didn’t even get as far as Moria, but I adore the films and it’s soundtrack (my favourite used to be Legolas, but as I’ve got older it’s shifted to Aragorn) Viggo was perfect for the role

8. Link, Legend of Zelda. I know this is a little vague so I’ll narrow it down, I’ve played “Twilight Princess” & “Breath of the Wild” and I have started several others, I think it’s just the fact that I really enjoy the games so I’ve naturally got the PC as my favourite character

9. Obi-Wan, Star Wars. “Hello there” Finally a Sci-fi character 🤔😆 I grew up watching the original trilogy so Alec Guinness was always Obi Wan…. Then the prequel trilogy came out and Ewan McGregor was amazing, he played the part so well and he is BY FAR my favourite Star Wars character of all time, adding even more with his original series on Disney+ I quote Obi-Wan a lot too, and me and my brother get carried away and end up reciting most of his dialogue for fun. It’s one of the few Sci-fi things I watch (along with Star Trek) and I always watch them at least once a year

10. Mr Darcy, Pride and Prejudice. I never thought I’d say that one of my favourite characters would be from a Period Drama, I never used to like them, then my mum read the book and asked if we could watch it one day, that was the end of 2020, we seem to watch it once a month now 😆, Darcy is brilliant in the film (I haven’t seen the TV series) and played by a great actor (Matthew Macfadyen) the moment he walks through the fog, when the music picks up 💕🥰💕 (if you know, you know)

Honourable Mention: Lupin, Harry Potter. I love this character in both book and film and I was torn between him a Mr Darcy to put in my top 10

I don’t know enough people to tag 10 so I will invite people who see this to do one themselves as well as the previously tagged @thequeenofthewinter and @elbdot

[imperialmadam]

I posted 68 times in 2022

That's 30 more posts than 2021!

10 posts created (15%)

58 posts reblogged (85%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@foxindarkness

@bluestaratsunrise

@saurons-pr-department

@udunuruk

@bilbo-babe

I tagged 63 of my posts in 2022

Only 7% of my posts had no tags

#rings of power - 31 posts

#sauron - 23 posts

#adar - 17 posts

#mairon - 13 posts

#halbrand - 11 posts

#melkor - 10 posts

#silmarillion - 9 posts

#tolkien - 8 posts

#lotr rop - 7 posts

#fanart - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 29 characters

#incorrect silmarillion quotes

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

When Halbrand showed up on the horse at the end of the last Rings of Power episode, he looked so much like Aragorn that I thought Viggo Mortensen had a cameo for a moment.

28 notes - Posted September 27, 2022

#4

“Do you know how the orcs first came into being? They were elves once. Taken by the dark powers. Tortured and mutilated. A ruined, terrible form of life.” - Saruman, The Fellowship of the Ring

So Adar went through that? I want to hug him.

63 notes - Posted October 2, 2022

#3

How the Villains of Rings of Power Won Me Over

I wasn’t excited about either of the main villains of Rings of Power (Adar and Halbrand-as-Sauron) until I saw them.

1. Adar. When I first heard about him, my reaction was kind of eh, okay. I didn’t have a problem with an evil elf, but I thought he would be just a lesser version of Sauron. The poster of a spiky black gauntlet holding a sword didn’t help that impression.

But it quickly became clear how much care went into creating this character. He’s no Sauron Lite. We see ruthlessness, but we also see kindness, especially in his first scene where he puts a dying orc out of his misery. Then we get his backstory. Giving a face and a name to one of the elves corrupted by Morgoth was an excellent idea. He also sees orcs (sorry, Uruk) as people, which we don’t see very much in Tolkien, although Tolkien apparently struggled with that.

The writers also gave Adar heroic traits, such as the fact he got to give an inspiring speech before the battle. And it wasn’t really that evil. Aside from the last sentence (close our fist around these lands), he talked about endurance and freedom, not conquest.

It also helps that Joseph Mawle has incredible charisma and screen presence. I can’t take my eyes off him when he’s on screen.

2. Sauron. I was concerned about Sauron’s depiction. This was the first time we’d truly get Sauron as a character on screen. (I don’t really count The Hobbit, he just shows up as a shadow or armoured figure, says and does evil stuff, and is defeated.) I hoped the RoP writers would get his charm, manipulation and desire for order.

As someone following speculation about the show, it was hard to avoid the idea that Halbrand was Sauron. Even before the show started, people were saying that. And he was showing many Sauronish traits - being a blacksmith, his burst of violence, his advice to Galadriel about mastering people, the fact he’s done evil things. One on its own, fine, but all of them together? The H=S theory seemed more likely each episode. And I didn’t like it. Halbrand just didn’t catch my attention enough. Hot, charming and snarky, sure. A decent character in his own right, but too ordinary to be Sauron. Before, I was worried Adar would be a lesser Sauron, and now I was worried Halbrand-as-Sauron would seem dull after the complex and intriguing villain that is Adar.

But I knew the execution would make or break the reveal, and it worked! I could see Halbrand as the Dark Lord. I can see why the finale was Charlie Vickers’ favourite - he truly shone in that episode. The way he went from charming to terrifying when Galadriel rejected him was incredible, and felt very Sauron-like. They also got the idea that Sauron does want to help Middle Earth - but he thinks that means ruling over it. And that final shot of Sauron walking into Mordor with his cloak blowing around him was breathtaking. Halbrand was not the Sauron I imagined, but he is Sauron.

I should rewatch the season. I will probably enjoy Halbrand more now I know he pulled off the Sauron reveal.

(I have to say I expected a more dramatic Sauron transformation than Halbrand dyeing his hair and putting on a black cloak - but I suppose he had to stay recognisable as Halbrand.)

89 notes - Posted October 22, 2022

#2

(Sauron returning to Mordor after drowning in the Fall of Numenor)

Galadriel: Halbrand...

Sauron: Don’t start.

125 notes - Posted November 8, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Gandalf: Morgoth? After all this time?

Sauron: Always.

136 notes - Posted March 25, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[loquaciousquark]

4-Sided Dive Highlights - Critical Role C3E1 - E18 (April 5, 2022)

Oh my gosh, it’s been almost a year since the last one. Here at last is the erstwhile replacement for Talks Machina, 4-Sided Dive! I’ll likely continue appending #talks machina as a tag for internal consistency. 4-Sided Dive will air the first Tuesday of every month, and VODs will be available on Youtube the following Wednesday. Podcasts will be on a one-week delay.

Tonight’s guests: Marisha, Travis, Robbie, and Matt. Tonight’s Tavern Keeper host, as determined by the die roll: Marisha. (Matt: “Thank God. I have no idea what the show is.”) Marisha NAILS the heretofore unseen prompter cold open, which includes a rap-like intro for Matt and finishes with: “...or is Chetney Pock O’Pea just another fair-weather wise wanderer with a weakness for Werther’s waiting to wantonly ride away with a whimsical wave goodbye?” Cheers offscreen.

What the Fuck is Up With That? Our first new segment! The new set is really nice with plush green armchairs, a big wooden coffee table, and a tavern-esque background with a stocked bar and a big stone fireplace. We start by discussing GrapeNuts, which I unironically love and which Robbie immediately poisons by talking about microwaving them into a hot milk slurry with a honey drizzle before eating it in the morning. “Almost like oatmeal,” he says. Heretic.

Travis didn’t want to play an old character, he wanted to play Chetney. When he and Matt discussed starting with a character who would immediately disappear, he initially thought about a wizard & even had art made for him, but they ended up not liking the idea. Then Travis suggested 30-years-later Bertrand, and Travis didn’t realize how much fun playing an older gentleman would be until he was doing it. Matt: “’Ahh, my character died last night.’ ‘Oh, what were you fighting?’ ‘Inevitability...?’” Chetney is a little younger (in spirit) than Bertrand. “He’s coming alive in the 4th quarter.”

For Robbie, the hardest and most fun aspect was jumping Dorian from one world to another, ExU to CR then back to ExU: Kymal. He really enjoyed the fresh, new feelings, especially since he never had a strong vision for the character to start with. It made it much easier to go with the flow. Robbie had written a quite expansive background for Dorian, and the moment Cyrus “came to life” as a real flesh-and-blood character made him genuinely gasp. “That’s the guy I wrote about in pretend, and now he’s here for real!” Robbie has always loved the reluctant noble trope (he cites Aragorn/Strider). He imagined Cyrus as the stalwart, capable first son, so when Cyrus turned into a lovable himbo who wanted to follow Dorian, he had no idea what to do. “Oh shit! What do we do now? We’re both morons!” He liked Matt’s interpretation more than his original ideas.

Marisha points out that the bounty for Cyrus was 20k gold, but by the time they made it to Kymal it was 40k gold. Robbie says it feels like when Matt’s “nickel-and-diming us for $5 silver rides;” the amount is insurmountable, so the exact number doesn’t matter. Kymal is by far the most confident Robbie has felt as a player.

Marisha charmingly asks herself her own next question: what’s up with the Briarwoods? She and Matt talked a LOT about it to make sure they didn’t break canon. Marisha had a nightmare one night about a flower girl with no jaw (which she later repurposed as the vision used to break into the Moon Tower in Jrusar); she dreamed she couldn’t find Matt & ran out in front of her house, and that flower girl was standing at the end of her road. The girl rushed Marisha, who woke up, gasped, and said, “I wanna be spooky for Campaign 3.” She toyed with various iterations, including actually being a young girl, before landing on Vex’s Sun Tree double. When she initially suggested Delilah as the patron, Matt was very hesitant. She envisioned Laudna’s patronage came from the big blast Delilah did at the ziggurat; it combined with Laudna’s innate magical spark, and now Delilah talks in her head sometimes. That’s all she knows as a player.

Robbie asks how they balance tying into past campaigns without falling into hokey. “I feel like the little seeds you’re planting are so cool; you’ve planted the seeds and now you’re sort of just gently harvesting them throughout this universe.” Matt is always careful to make sure each new character/world facet/fact can fully stand on its own without being overshadowed by VM tie-ins. Travis is laughing that Matt is so careful with every little thing, but Travis brings in “this asshole who tried to kill Santa. But he’s a WEREWOLF.” When Travis initially brought it up at Matt’s house, Matt discussed very seriously that they had to be careful not to break the world “because there’s no Christmas in Exandria.”

Werther’s are discussed at length. Coffee Werther’s are touted. I personally really like the soft caramel-filled ones. Werther’s sent them all a bunch of Werther’s after that episode, which is completely charming.

The Tower of Inquiries! Second segment start! Evergreen questions from fans have been collected and assembled in a Jenga tower. Each block has been marked with a number associated with a question. Apparently the paint has made the blocks quite sticky...

Robbie is our first pull, and draws Question 32: similarities between your character and yourself! Travis wanted to join the Boy Scouts in 4th grade and the magazine had ads for fingerless gloves, pocket magnifiers, and whittling tools. Travis was obsessed with whittling for ages until he actually tried to whittle a stick with a pocketknife, so he’s making up for it now. Keyleth was Marisha’s insecurities, Beau was her arrogance, and Laudna is “just her weird side. Weird as fuck.” For Matt & Dariax, they’re both a little flighty in social settings & have a love of spontaneity. Dorian was actively created to be very different from Robbie; he wanted to play someone who didn’t enjoy being around people or had to struggle to be charming despite insecurity. However, he’s always felt like he’s been on the outside looking in, so that line from Dorian in 13/14 about being let into the group was straight from Robbie. He was surprised by how much he found himself lying as Dorian all the time, when in reality Robbie NEVER lies. “If you’re participating in roleplaying in order to open up aspects of your personality and find out things and bond with your friends, new and old, it’s such a great way to get a new perspective on yourself.”

The Deep Dive! Third segment. Dani brings out huge individualized tankards for everyone, which are full of question slips to be answered succinctly. Yeah, right.

Laudna is enjoying having friends for the first time in 30 years. She’s glad she hasn’t driven them away.

Flight of the Navigator is discussed at length because Marisha is too young for a reference. Apparently a great movie??

Matt wanted to explore a new Marquesian city rather than an established one to show off how different Exandria could be. Again, he never wants new worlds to be tied too heavily to past campaigns.

The most depressing part of Bertrand’s death was the chat insisting he died with his dick out. Travis reminds us all he designed Bertrand to die during the Search for Grog; he was always doomed. He never expected to bond with the group or serve as a catalyst for the group the way he did; he loved his relationship moments with Imogen & Dorian.

Dorian learned to take spa days and trust himself with other people. “It was a really supportive group, even in their dickery. Dick-outtery.”

Robbie mentions something about romantic vibes and Marisha FLINGS herself from her chair in excitement. Me too, argh! “I was wondering! Spill the tea!” She asks if Robbie had a crush on Imogen. Robbie: “On Imogen? That’s interesting. I’m glad I know your ships.” He immediately deflects to Matt for another question. Marisha scream-groans from off-screen. Ditto, ahhh.

Matt likes being in the city, but enjoys the jungle as well. He likes not having to have nine pages of spires, NPCs, and places at the ready for the players’ whims. Travis is excited to get on the road so he can transform without concern.

Omar appears with a bowtie! He is upside down and so floofy. Just so, so floofy.

Travis on transforming into a werewolf: “IT WAS AMAZING.” He laughed so hard internally when Liam needled him a few episodes prior about losing his chance to become a gnome werewolf. He’s been doing research by watching a bunch of werewolf movies. Travis has loved werewolves since he was tiny in the 80s: he always watched Godzilla movies and werewolf movies. (Great choices!) There was a Teen Wolf cartoon in the 80s; Travis’s mom once found him after an episode one morning with brown marker all over his arms and hair and cardboard triangles taped to his fingers. He brought a tiny Lon Chaney werewolf figurine to church as a kid. This is so stinking cute. Matt has been waiting for him to play a werewolf since Ukurat in C1. Travis regretted not getting Grog bitten by him for the rest of the campaign.

Marisha asks again who Dorian’s crush is; Robbie goes deaf and tells us instead he left the toy skyship behind for two reasons: one, toys are for kids and Dorian wanted to give it to a kid, and the second was that Robbie wanted to leave a lasting image behind as he knew he was leaving that episode.

Pâté de Rolo came from the character design stage for Laudna. She initially had scissors and string, but it’s “like when Taliesin dresses you for a ren faire. ‘You need more dead things hanging off of you.’“ The artist came back with the rat, and Marisha suggested the raven skull to make it more craftsy. She named Pâté de Rolo well before she knew what Laudna’s name was, ha! She felt out the puppetting in the moment. Robbie: “The real question is what was the moment you decided they should be horny.” Marisha: “I don’t know where that came from!” Travis laughs at the memory of Matt’s face. 

Travis has been seriously considering multiclassing into rogue for Expertise & multi-attack. However, “I want to get up into the higher classes of Blood Hunter because...well, somebody needs to do it. IloveyouTaliesinI’msorry!” He has to top the leaderboard by reaching level 6 and then will hop in and get some “roguey-rogue. He’s gonna kill me.”

Matt pulls from the Tower. #34: what kind of book would your character write? Laudna: composting techniques, sustainable foraging. Chetney: a Whittler’s Quarterly magazine. Dorian: Shel Silverstein-esque poetry.

Marisha takes a turn at the Tower. #24: how do you like flavoring your combat? Travis likes describing stuff, but C1 Grog was so graphically violent he couldn’t expand on it. Matt loves how Liam describes Orym giving a flair to everything. (There’s a moment when they describe how “Liam played a full wizard in a previous campaign” to Robbie and the disconnect is hilarious.) It took Robbie a minute to figure out if Liam was just being extra in ExU before he realized he could paint his own pictures himself. Marisha likes mixing up the canon descriptions with her own flavor, but thinks it’s important to keep it to bigger moments when it feels special rather than taking over every single spell.

Matt talks about reflavoring skin and function to move, for example, Laura’s Imogen away from the tentacley canon of Aberrant Mind. She liked the spells but didn’t want to be quite so cosmic horror. Robbie talks about a new player thinking about the idea of the archetypal barbarian and loving the realization that these things can be reflavored.

Post-Break Shenanigans: Mario Kart on the...Switch, I think? Robbie asks where the gas button is as they start. Travis: Wario; Robbie: Link; Marisha: Dry Bones; Matt: Waluigi. Travis the utter neophyte wins the first race (and the eventual prix outright), and Matt & Marisha’s outrage is hilarious. Bumpers were on though, I’m pretty sure.

And that’s that; our first new talk show is a wrap! Is it Thursday yet? :)

[arrantsnowdrop]

Informalities - Éomer x reader

Request:  “Eomer x reader fic where the reader is from our world and Eomer listens to the stories the reader says of our world and he thinks that it is a grand place and so when they are finally getting together, Eomer feels kind of insecure cuz he feels he'll never live up to the reader's "standards" and the reader says that they are insecure because he is a prince and she has nothing"

Tags: @thewhiteladyofrohan

Warnings: mention of battles and death, about 2,200 words

A/N: Hoppy Easter lads and lasses, we are back from a many month writing hiatus. Hope y’all enjoy, I’m glad to be here :)

You genuinely had no idea how you’d ended up in Middle Earth.

It was one of those fever dream situations - one moment you were falling asleep in your own bed, and the next you were waking up at the bottom of a tree, surrounded by many bearded and concerned looking men.

Of course you’d been startled and so, so confused, but it had only taken you a few moments to recognize the characters from one of your favorite stories, and then you’d fully accepted your new reality.

By the time you first encountered the fellowship, they had already lost Gandalf at Moria and passed through the realm of Lothlorien. They were traveling in their fancy elvish boats when they’d spotted you from the river. You were extremely grateful for that - who knows what would’ve happened if the Uruk-hai tracking them had found you first.

Boromir and Gimli were quite intimidated by your presence, having been brought up in traditions that designated men for warrior roles. Aragorn and Legolas were much more accepting (female elves were just as badass as any male elf or man, and both of them knew that). The hobbits had all taken an immediate liking to you, and you’d been devastated to lose them during the Uruk ambush. Of course, this only gave you a stronger drive to track them into Rohan with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli.

It was there that you met Éomer for the first time, after his riders surrounded your small group of assumed invaders.

He was handsome, there was no denying that, and you found his decision to protect Rohan even in exile extremely brave. He’d been startled by your presence (a group including a dwarf, an elf, AND a woman must’ve been an oddity for him), and thus had talked primarily with Aragorn, but you could not shake the way his eyes locked with yours as he offered you his condolences about Merry and Pippin.

You figured you’d never see the handsome blonde again, glumly complaining to Gimli about it several times throughout Rohan.

Thus, you’d been overjoyed when he arrived at the Battle of Helm’s Deep - half because he was saving your asses from almost certain death, and half because you’d get to see his face and hear his voice again.

You followed Aragorn after the battle, searching for Gandalf in the celebrating crowd. It did not take long, with his bright white robes being quite easy to pick out.

“Gandalf!” you screamed gleefully, weaving between the people around you to get to the smiling wizard.

“It is good to see you, (Y/n),” he said as you embraced him.

“Oh, it’s even better to see you,” you said.

“I have to agree with (Y/n),” Aragorn said from behind you. You pulled back, allowing Gandalf time to greet your friend, and quickly caught sight of a familiar face.

He had been laughing with some other men when his gaze fell on you, eyes locking with yours for the second time. You smiled a bit and offered an awkward wave, face flushing as he flashed you a smile.

“Ah, (Y/n), this is Lord Éomer, current heir to the throne of Rohan,” Gandalf said, noticing the two of you staring at each other.

“We’ve met before,” he said, walking towards you

“Indeed we have,” you replied as he stopped just in front of you. “It is a pleasure to meet you, oh-future-king,” you said, bowing a bit.

You could hear Aragorn slap his forehead from behind you and grinned.

“She’s not from around here, so do forgive her manners,” Aragorn said.

“Or lack thereof,” you added, straightening yourself once more and looking at Éomer’s amused face.

“I appreciate the informality,” Éomer grinned. You spun around and pointed at Aragorn.

“See? Someone appreciates me,” you accused.

You were extremely happy to meet Éomer. It’s not that you didn’t adore Aragorn and Legolas and Gimli, but they were also the only people you’d been around for quite a while. It was exciting to make a new friend, especially one so handsome and charismatic.

The two of you spent the entire ride to Isengard delving into each other’s lives, from childhoods to secret fears to favorite foods. Obviously, the two of you had led quite different lives, and he was fascinated by the world you had come from.

“These cars you speak of, are they like horses?” he asked.

“No, they’re much faster,” you replied. “They’re more like a carriage, since they have space for several people inside.”

“But it moves without a horse?”

“Yup!”

“Who steers in then?”

You were grinning ear to ear at the look of bewilderment on his face.

“One of the people inside,” you answered. “There’s a wheel to control which direction you go and pedals on the floor to control the speed.”

“That sounds terribly complicated,” Éomer said, brows furrowing.

“It’s not too bad,” you said, “I was even pretty good at it.”

Éomer shot you an alarmed look.

“You used to steer these...these things?” he asked incredulously. You laughed and nodded. “You have to be taught how to do it,” you explained. “It’s not like they throw you into it without any preparation.”

“It still sounds extremely dangerous,” he decided.

“I did break my arm in a crash once,” you said thoughtfully. He gasped.

“You can crash them?”

Éomer had quickly become one of your favorite people, which only made the continuous battles over the fate of Middle Earth even more stressful. You were terrified he would ride into a fight and never return, and even more terrified of what that meant.

You’d searched for him for hours after the Battle for Minas Tirith, heart growing more and more heavy as you continued. Every person you asked had no idea where he was, and by the time you returned to the White City, your hands were shaking with anxiety. Finding him outside of the makeshift infirmary that had been set up was the most relieving moment of your entire life.

You had gasped the moment you caught sight of his all too familiar golden hair, letting out a desperate sob as his eyes met yours, him rushing over to you and wrapping you in his arms. Your embrace was filled with all the emotions both of you were too terrified to say aloud.

“I thought you were dead,” you murmured into his chest, eyes wet and lips trembling.

“It will take far more than a few Oliphaunts to kill me,” he whispered, pressing his lips to the top of your head.

You wanted nothing more than to tell him in that moment how much you loved him, but decided against it. You knew the fighting was not over, the last thing you needed was for him to be distracted by you during battle and find himself impaled with some pointy object. If you both lived to the end of this, you would tell him then.

But then you were too scared to do it.

Of course you had won - the ring had been destroyed, Aragorn had led the crusade against the forces of Mordor, and Gondor was preparing to crown its long lost king. Everyone was staying in Minas Tirith until the coronation, but then everyone was leaving. All your friends would be heading home, but you did not have one of those here in Middle Earth.

Aragorn had already offered you a place in Gondor’s leadership, and thus a permanent residence with him, and the hobbits were more than happy to escort you back to the Shire with them, but you knew both of these options would separate you from the one person you wanted to be with.

All you wanted was to follow Éomer back to Edoras, but you were unsure if that would be best for him. He was about to be crowned king of Rohan, and probably had many ladies of Rohan’s nobility lined up to rule with him. It was selfish for you to think you had any right to his heart, especially when his duties and responsibilities were so much more important than an outspoken, title-less woman.

So you distanced yourself from him. You avoided him whenever possible, taking the longest routes you could to dinners and meetings. You tried not to be affected by his desperate gaze, or the way he called for you as you rushed out of a room. It hurt you more than anything, but you knew it would be better for him in the long run. You succeeded with your plan until the night before Aragorn’s coronation.

You’d been walking home from dinner (a huge, pre-celebration feast that qualified as a celebration itself) through an old, twisty corridor. You opened the door to your room only to see Eomer sitting on your bed, a worried look on his face.

You jumped slightly, startled by his presence.

“What are you doing in here?” you said breathlessly. “This is totally an invasion of my privacy and absolutely uncalled for at such a late hour, you almost gave me a heart attack-”

“Forgive me,” he interrupted, standing up from the bed, eyes fixated on you. You both stood there in silence for some time, the closest you’d been to each other for the first time in days.

“I missed you,” he murmured finally. “You’ve been avoiding me.”

You looked down at your feet and nodded. You did not want to see the look of betrayal that he was undoubtedly wearing.

“Why?” he whispered. You winced at the sound of hurt in his voice.

“You would not understand Éomer, but I promise it was in your best interest,” you replied.

“You are my best friend, (Y/n), how could ignoring me benefit me?” he asked incredulously. You looked up at him, trying to ignore the tears beginning to form in your eyes.

“Éomer-”

“Please,” he cut you off desperately, slowly walking towards you. “I have missed you more than you could possibly imagine.” “That is the issue,” you whispered, closing your eyes to avoid looking at him.

“How is that an issue?” he begged.

“Because you are about to be a king,” you shouted, eyes still closed. “And you will leave after tomorrow with everyone else, back to Edoras, where new responsibilities will be awaiting you and demanding your attention.”

“How does that have anything to do with you?” he asked, voice sounding a lot closer than before. You gulped, sensing him right in front of you.

“I would be a distraction,” you replied meekly. Éomer did not reply, but instead reached to grab your hands with his own, you gasping as he pulled you into his chest.

“(Y/n), you are not a distraction, how could you-”

“I do not want you to leave me here,” you interrupted, resting your forehead against him. “I am so scared I’ll never see you again, but your life is about to be so much more important than me.”

“I do not want to leave you here,” he said, wrapping his arms around your back. “I want you to come with me. You’re my best friend, how could I abandon you?”

“That’s exactly the problem,” you whispered, “even if I were physically with you, that would not stop me from...from…”

You stopped and bit your lip, terrified of the confession about to pour out of you. Éomer moved his hand below your chin, tilting your head up to face him.

“Stop you from what?” he whispered intensely, eyes searching your face desperately. You exhaled breathily.

“I love you, Éomer,” you said softly, watching as his expression softened. “So, so much.”

He blinked once, twice, registering what you had just said, and smiled, leaning down to rest his forehead against yours.

“I love you more than anyone, (Y/n),” he murmured.

“But, surely there are women back in Rohan who are far more suitable for-”

“(Y/n),” Éomer said seriously, pulling away to look you in the eyes once more. “I have the power to be with whomever I choose.”

“But why would you choose me?” you asked meekly. Éomer chuckled, brushing a stray bit of hair out of your face and tucking it behind your ear tenderly. You leaned into his hand slightly, relishing in the way he cupped your face.

“I was more nervous that you wouldn’t choose me,” he admitted. You look at him in confusion.

“How could I not choose you?” you asked.

“You’re much more interesting than I am,” he shrugged. “You come from a world that is so much more exciting than mine, and the last thing I want is for you to settle for me.”

“Éomer, you stab people with swords and ride horses all day. And live in a castle. That is insanely cool,” you grinned, wrapping your arms around his midsection. “Of course I choose you.”

“And I choose you,” he murmured, pulling you closer to him. “Please come home with me.”

“Yes,” you whispered, nodding fervently. “Yes, please.”

Éomer grinned, tilting your face up to his once more and leaning down to kiss you. Your heart leaped, hand reaching up to grab the back of his head to intensify the kiss. He moaned softly, bending down to pick you up and twirling you around. You giggled and pressed your nose against his.

“I’m thinking we make my coronation far less formal than Aragorn’s,” Éomer said, “as much as I’ve been loving these dinners, I don’t think I could stand hosting them.”

“You know I’m fantastic at informalities,” you replied.