#LOTR saved my life | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tanoraqui · 2 years

Text

ficlet scrap of Song:

After three children of his own blood, dozens more fostered or at least uncled, and two Ages of ruling or helping rule a great many elves who veered sharply between utmost and absolutely no respect at all for things like “the privilege of rank”, Elrond was no stranger to having his door unexpectedly slammed open by someone fervently shouting his name.

He hadn’t quite expected it of the just-appointed, still-healing Steward of Gondor, who’d thus far seemed to be notably circumspect for his young age. But here Faramir son of Denethor stood, wide-eyed and several hairs flying out of place, panting as though he’d just sprinted up the stairs. (Elrond frowned. That wasn’t healthy yet—the effects of the Black Breath lingered; Faramir was pale, sweat beading on his brow.)

“You’re taking your library?” Faramir cried, loudly enough to echo throughout the Tower of Guard’s royal guest quarters. “The Library of Imladris, legendary greatest, most comprehensive collection in the world of the history of Middle Earth and all its people?! Is it true— Ar— The Queen said, Lord Elrond, is it true that not only do you mean to sail West soon, but when you do, you will take the whole Library with you?! Ai, why did I let Boromir take my place!”

He was distraught in the utmost, betrayed, alarmed, disappointed and aggrieved as though the Black Tower had risen again overnight and resumed belching fumes.

“I had planned to,” Elrond admitted, as he took the pale, panting young man by the arm and led him to a seat. “It has long been my thought that I collected the records of Middle Earth for my kin across the sea as much as for any in these mortal lands, that they might know what had passed here, deeds great and small alike. Copies have been made and shared over the years of many of the tomes, but usually just of the more exciting ones—the histories of wars and such. I will not say I have not grieved that, say, the farming records of Imladris or a traveller’s account of Umbar from the reign of Eärnur are less requested by scholars—though I myself have grown weary of the farming records at times! But this is a new Age—”

“Not so new!” Faramir interrupted him with a shout (though he did let himself be seated). “Forgive me, but not so new that we need not care for the past—indeed, now we need its wisdom more than ever! If that is the sort of scholars you have in the north, alas that you didn’t come south sooner!”

“I see that now!” Elrond said, and tried not to laugh in either amusement or affectionate academic fellowship, lest he cause offense. “Well, I assure you that I don’t mean to sail tomorrow, nor this next year—though I cannot say how long I will tarry beyond that. But I will gladly pack Imladris’s library last, and until the last scroll is gone, it shall be open to all those who wish to learn, or to copy what they can. Perhaps even after I’ve left—there are those who will sail later still, whom I’m sure can be borne upon to ferry a few last books.”

“My lord, I myself—augh, but there is so much to do here!”

Faramir rubbed his face, then gripped Elrond’s arm and swore with such intensity that there might’ve been the light of ancient Trees in his grey eyes.

“I will have 20 of Minas Tirith’s finest scribes at your doorstep as quickly as horses can bear them, and 30 more the week after that, if you will house them all. Or if you won’t—I know people, I’ve studied with them, from Minas Tirith, Dol Amroth, Lebennin and Lamedon and all the fiefs. For this, the scholars of Gondor will camp in the woods!”

[also on AO3]

#lotr #lord of the rings #faramir #elrond #ficlet #my fic #hot take faramir’s true ideal life is like…college professor #the cool kind who does a lot of work in the local community and really helps people in office hours #edain #peredhil #also may I propose: elrond arriving in valinor with like an entire extra ship of just records of middle earth #dry accounts of season after season of grain and collected stories of distant lands and personal journals of himself and every other person #he could ever find #and sharing them and saying ‘this is why I stayed; this is what you missed #this is what many of you helped save’

68 notes · View notes

dragonjadearts · 2 years

Text

the fellowship takes a much needed break for supper at the end of a long day of traveling

23 notes · View notes

gossip-girl-of-middleearth · 2 years

Text

Wanna know how my day’s going? No you don’t, but I’m gonna tell you anyways

Woke up early to go help the creepy hostel owner I’m staying at with said hostel (unpaid) to earn my keep

A cute British boy with black hair and blue eyes is checking out. I’m chatting him up and creepy guy notices and drags the guy away to offer him something pointless and then when the cute guy gets back to keep talking to me creepy hostel owner sends me off to work so I can’t chat with him

I call up the guy supposedly selling me a car I want which will allow me to get out of here, only to find out his friend sold it to someone else for him

I’m angry and hungry at this point so decide to put the last of my favourite casserole in the oven (I’m all out of money so have to make food last)

It’s ready so I take it out of said oven and drop the whole entire thing all over the floor I just mopped

Soooo, yeah, starting to understand that Bad Day song really well

#sometimes I feel like my life really is a side character in the Witcher or lotr #orphan travelling around fantasy land with cat #singing for supper #staying at inns for free by working for free in exchange #trying to save every bit of coin for a horse but can’t #making bread last #man #I don’t know why we envy them #this kinda lifestyle sucks lmao #but it won’t last forever #just a rough couple months ahead

15 notes · View notes

tom-bombadil-is-transgender · 2 years

Text

thrilled to announce that I will no longer be wearing normal shoes, only the hobbit feet from the 2007 lord of the rings musical

#its a lifestyle #hobbit feet will save my life i think #lotr musical #hobbits

18 notes · View notes

filthy-lil-bugger · 2 years

Text

lord of the rings has touched me so deeply it’s honestly kind of scary. like it literally saved my life. it let me know it was gonna be okay and gave me hope where other stories just couldn’t. i don’t know if it’s just a me thing or what but something about it brings out so much emotion, but it’s the type of emotion that makes the world look a lil brighter

#lotr #lord of the rings #sorry for being rambly i am unfortunately having thoughts again #i just like #love lord of the rings #so much #i am not kidding when i said it saved my life #like it carried me through the hardest year of my life #idk its just #mr tolkien idk what u put in yhere but it was good shit

7 notes · View notes

kcrossvine-art · 6 months

Text

Hiiii friendssss! What the FUCK is up. What the fuck is up. What the Fuck is up. On todays cute little cookin excursion we are going to be deep frying things and using a wok. If you dont feel comfortable deep frying, and dont have a wok, im sure theres other ways to do it silly :DDD

I believe in you.

From LotR online we're gonna be making Fried Beetroot Sticks!!

(As always you can find the cooking instructions and full ingredient list under the break-)

MY NAMES CROSS NOW LETS COOK LIKE ANIMALS

SO, “what goes into Fried Beetroot Sticks?” YOU MIGHT ASKSlices of sweet little beated root dipped into a batter with, watch out, special flavors too.

2 Beetroots

Corn flour

Salt

Red Chilli Powder

Garlic Paste

Baking Soda

Water

Peanut oil

And we'll also be making some horseradish sour cream dip to go along with it;

Sour cream

Prepared horseradish

1 Green onion

Few splashes of lemon juice

Salt to taste

Ground pepper to taste

"Cooked, tender beetroot sticks are dredged in a light batter and fried to give a crispy exterior and a soft, sweet interior. Served with a bracing horseradish sour cream, this snack is both filling and delicious."- LotRO Tooltip

AND, “what does Fried Beetroot Sticks taste like?” YOU MIGHT ASKThis is like homemade fair-food and it sounds like a contradiction but its not

But maybe its just because its fried food? American brained, sorry.

Retains the inherit sweetness to beetroot

And similar to pickled beetroot the sweetness contrasts the spicey of the batter

(which i encourage you to amp up if youd like more spice)

The horseradish sourcream dip is to die for

Measure with your heart for that one, and save some green onion to top it with when you serve

This would pair very well with a lime italian soda or with shaved ice cones

Im always very anxious about deep-frying things, or working with oils at high temperatures, but i didnt run into any complications with this dish. Just make sure to keep best practices and safety precaution in mind, especially with a wok as it can tilt!

. If you dont have corn flour, you can substitute all-purpose flour . If you dont have peanut oil, look up oils with the same smokepoint to decide what else to use

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

The recipe stuck out to me, as i was assembling a list of foodstuffs from tolkiens work, for being such a "regular" named food. Also its worth 19 silver 69 copper in the LotR MMO and im immature.

I think the dip has the most room for improvement and tinkering. I've never made horseradish sourcream before, so more practiced tastebuds could perfect a simple thing like this. In the future id also like to try adding red pepper flakes along with the the powder and garlic paste, to give more visual variety and spice. I think cumin in the batter would be a nice midtone flavor too.

I give this recipe a solid 8/10 (with 1 being food that makes one physically sick and 10 being food that gives one a lust for life again.) for its relative simplicity and modularity with things you could add.

🐁 ORIGINAL RESIPPY TEXT BELOW 🐁

Beetroot Sticks Ingredients:

2 Beetroots

130 grams corn flour

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp Red Chilli Powder

1 tsp Garlic Paste

1/4 tsp Baking Soda

178 grams Water

432 grams peanut oil

Horseradish Sour Cream Ingredients:

225 grams Sour cream

200 grams Prepared horseradish

1 whole green onion (green and white parts VERY finely chopped)

1 tspn lemon juice

Salt to taste

ground pepper to taste

Beetroot Method:

Peel all beetroots and cut them length-wise into rectangles.

Combine flour, salt, chilli powder, garlic paste, baking soda, and water in a bowl.

Mix well into a smooth batter.

Heat peanut oil to medium in a wok and dip beet roots into batter. Deep fry until golden brown in color.

Stack beetroots on paper-towel lined plates to cool and dry as you go.

Serve with horseradish sour cream!

Dip Method:

Mix all ingredients

Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour for the flavors to blend.

#cross cooks lotr #lord of the rings #middle earth #food recipes #digital art

587 notes · View notes

howtofightwrite · 1 year

Note

Sorry if you’ve already answered this, I’m having trouble finding different posts in your blog.

I know a lot of your asks are more practical-related, but how do you suggest fully encapsulating the horror and tragedy of war in a (fantasy) battle scene? I really need that emotional and gory impact but it also to seem reasonably realistic.

My favourite references are Battle of the Bastards in GoT and scenes from Lord of the Rings.

Thanks!!

Martin and Tolkien are not two authors I’d ever expect to find together when discussing thematic and abstract concepts like the horrors of war in their writing. One of them is extremely deep, and the other is a puddle. Neither of them are particularly “realistic” but only one of them claims that pretense while drawing from real history. If you’re wanting horrors of war, you’re much better off moving away from Martin and taking a gander at the actual War of the Roses.

Let me explain.

Tolkien served as an officer during World War I. By sheer body count, The Great War was one of the most bloody and brutal wars in human history. As a point of reference, over a million soldiers died during the Battle of Somme. Perhaps as importantly, World War I killed the cultural concept of the Summer War. Before World War I, the British upper class viewed war as a game. War was an adventure, something young men did between reaching manhood and getting married. Watson from Sherlock Holmes is an excellent example of the end result for this particular outlook. They figured they’d go off, have some jolly good fun, get a few scars, and be back in a few weeks in time for tea. What they got was a meat grinder. Two of Tolkien’s close friends died during the war. He also lived through the bombings during World War II while working as a professor at Oxford, he experienced the devastating effects that war had on the civilian population first hand, and, likely, saw a few of his students die. Despite his hatred of allegory, the man was working through some shit in The Lord of the Rings.

If you’re interested in learning more about World War I or even about effectively demonstrating the horrors of war, I do recommend reading All Quiet on the Western Front. I read it once in high school (more years ago than I’d like to admit here) and, much like Elie Wiesel, it has stuck with me. It was also such an effective anti-war novel the Nazis banned it and it was one of the first books they publicly burnt, so you know it’s good.

Back to Tolkien.

What they don’t tell you about fantasy is that it’s real life, just with elves and dwarves and magic. The real world forms the foundation of fantasy and it’s the humanity of the emotional experience in war, the good and the bad, with both ends cranked all the way to eleven that really makes Tolkien’s work so impactful. LOTR is operatic by design, but what keeps the narrative from falling into melodrama is the core thematic message underneath the pageantry. One of the major themes is hope, which gets symbolized in light, and hope’s interplay with despair, symbolized in darkness. Not just a rosy view of it either, but the genuine struggle to keep the light burning against all the overwhelming reasons to give up or give in. Tolkien allows his characters to be corrupted and redeemed, their struggle with temptation before ultimately choosing the better path or failing and falling into darkness. He commits to the idea that hope can be restored in the unlikeliest of places.

Boromir’s death is, perhaps, one of the best examples of Tolkien’s philosophy in action. Boromir is a character we’re not sure of, he wants the one ring from the outset, he’s the only one advocating that it shouldn’t be destroyed. The hearts of men are easily corrupted. When he tries to take the ring from Frodo, he falls into his worst instincts and breaks the Fellowship. But then, against the overwhelming flood of Uruk-hai, Boromir tries to save Merry and Pippin. He fights wounded, shot again, and again, until he’s felled by twenty arrows and he fails. Yet, in his failure he restores Aragorn’s hope in his people, gives him a reason to fight for Gondor, and inspires the audience to believe in Man’s potential for greatness.

Tolkien could have left Boromir in the dark, but he didn’t. He could’ve given into cynicism, but he didn’t. In every adaptation, Boromir’s death never fails to get me bawling. Boromir is both good and bad, both dark and light, his best and worst instincts are driven by the same underlying, sympathetic reason—his desire to save his people and fulfill his duty to his father.

On the whole, I find Tolkien’s presentation of the human condition and war to be more compelling and realistic than Martin’s. Tolkien’s underlying themes have more in common with All Quiet on the Western Front, Saving Private Ryan, and HBO’s Band of Brothers. For all that his characters often feel larger than life (by design, he’s telling an epic) there’s always a grounding quality that allows the audience to connect with them. Whether we agree with Tolkien’s core thematic message or not, Tolkien genuinely has something to say about warfare and its effect, both on personal and world changing levels, and he communicates that message very well.

The irony about the “horrors of war” isn’t about the horrors of war. Thematically, the “horrors of war” is about who we choose to become in the face of them when trapped in the crucible. Do we rise to our best selves? Do we fall to our worst? When every illusion about who we believe we are is stripped away, what’s left? It’s an existential question, not a “realistic” one.

You can’t write about the horrors of war in fiction if you have nothing to say about war, humanity, and its effects. All you’ll end up with is gore for shock value. The world becomes hopelessly depressing, and, in the end, all the blood turns brown before it’s finally shat out.

Hi, Martin.

Don’t get me wrong, Martin is a very skilled writer. His prose is genuinely beautiful and his first book in ASOF, A Game of Thrones is actually a pretty decent deconstruction in the traditional fantasy narrative and a fairly realistic treatment of how events would go for the standard well-meaning fantasy protagonist. And that’s… the deepest we get.

Martin comes out of the 24/Joss Whedon death for shock value school of writing and the land of Iron Age comics that doesn’t have anything to really say beyond, “people suck.” Underneath it all is a level of cynicism in the human condition that would make Garth Ennis blush. The deaths are just shock value. There’s nothing more to it than that. Once you’ve acclimated to the gore, there’s nowhere else to go and nothing else to think about. Ironically, out of his contemporaries, Robert Jordan is better at giving both war and death in his narrative lasting effect, driving character growth, and real meaning.

Martin and Tolkien are opposite ends of the spectrum in their approach to war and their outlooks are utterly incompatible. One of them is a complete cynic and the other is facing himself honestly, openly, fearlessly, and without a smidgen of irony. (The true irony here is that the latter is the Englishman.) Following Martin’s blueprint won’t bring you to a Tolkien outcome. Tolkien’s genuine emotion is the subject of mockery in Martin’s world. Season 8 may’ve been clumsy and infuriating, but it was the natural end of Comic Book Iron Age cynicism. There are no good people, people with power can never be trusted, and all heroes, no matter how noble, reveal their true colors as villains in the end. As Christopher Nolan said, “You either die a hero or live long enough to become a villain.” This philosophical outlook may be sold as realistic but it’s really just Political Both Sidesism, Fantasy Edition.

The irony is that the real history Martin draws from, The War of the Roses, is simultaneously crueler, kinder, more noble, more horrific, more impactful, and ultimately more hopeful than Martin’s own work. And this was post the Hundred Years War and all the wars that preceded it.

I bring you, the Duality of Man.

If you want to write a realistic battle scene, start with real war. If you want to write about the horrors of war, start with real war. Pick a war, any war, and dig in. Reading the experiences of others is a way to gain insight into experiences you yourself don’t share and start to process the different philosophies born out of those experiences. The horror of war is a human one.

The most important lesson is that you won’t get there by focusing on the battle itself. To truly feel the impact, every character needs to be carefully built from the very beginning with a through line to every horrific event that happens to them. If you want to learn how to do that, then you need to go study every single war movie from good to bad (including the jingoistic rah-rah ones) like Apocalypse Now, Saving Private Ryan, Battle for Iwo Jima, etc, to really start internalizing the underlying storytelling structure and character design formula that makes those films tick. There’s no one better at portraying the horror and humanity of war than the war film industry. Part of what makes the best of these films really good is their willingness to allow their characters to be emotional and vulnerable. Which you won’t find in a lot of fantasy novels that run on machismo, but is the secret sauce that gives Tolkien his impact.

Having the confidence to allow your characters to struggle, be vulnerable, experience humiliating circumstances, and appear weak is an aspect of writing that a lot of men and women struggle with. Cynicism is a form of self-protection to keep those emotions away, to keep one from being emotionally invested, and is a means by which we protect ourselves from being hurt. We may portray cynicism as the more realistic reality but it’s just a cloak we hide behind. Martin’s approach to warfare is less realistic than Tolkien’s. Tolkien’s characters approach warfare with an eye toward protecting their civilians, safeguarding their future, or, in the case of his villains, focus on genocide. War for Tolkien is the eradication of civilization and the destruction of the future. Characters from experienced combatants to innocent civilians are willing to risk their lives for a world and for the people who matter to them. Martin has the Summer War. It’s there in the title, A Game of Thrones. An entertaining charade of musical chairs. And while all of his characters are chasing power, almost none of them have any sort of vision or goal for the future beyond the accumulation of more. In Martin’s world, the only way to truly win is not to play, but in the real world playing is the only way to create the world you want. Cynicism ends with no seats at the table and no means to change or save anything.

It’s funny because England during the War of the Roses had been in a state of near constant warfare for hundreds of years with their own domestic powers and France prior to the War of the Roses kicking off. The concept of a Summer War didn’t really exist for the medieval nobility. Much as we joke today about war being a game for medieval nobles due to their ransom protections, it really wasn’t. The peasantry was also much, much more dangerous en masse than they are in ASOF. They drove traveling monarchs to hide in monasteries plenty of times and, while that’s funny, it’s not actually a joke.

Now, picture Joffrey dragged off his horse in the middle of a riot and having his skull crushed by a local fishwife right before being trampled into a bloody, unrecognizable pulp by sharp hooves.

Or enjoying the Agincourt bathing route.

You’re welcome.

-Michi

This blog is supported through Patreon. Patrons get early access to new posts, and direct access to us through Discord. If you’d like to support us, please consider becoming a Patron.

#how to fight write #Michi answers #writing advice #writing reference #writing tips

1K notes · View notes

thewulf · 4 months

Text

With You? Always || Legolas

Summary: This was supposed to be a request but I took it in a very fluffy direction. Like no angst. Just teasing and reuniting with Legolas after the events of LOTR. Hope you guys enjoy!

A/N: Thank you for the cutest request anon even tho I didn't follow it! I had too much fun writing this one. It's so much fun to write these LOTR imagines. Thank you guys for sending them in!

Pairing: Legolas x Reader

Word Count: 3.4k +

TW: Insecurity, angsty, fluffy

“King Thranduil suspects he will be back by nightfall.” Your father spoke breaking you from the trance you had seemed to be in. Your eyes were scanning the emptying kingdom among you. Just like the Elves of Rivendell the Elves of Mirkwood took to the sea’s too, many more than you suspected would leave so quickly. You were yet to get the calling. You were sure your father had felt it just as your mother did so long ago. But he had a duty to the king as his head guard, and he wanted to be around for you and your life milestones, “His elk can sense Legolas but a few hours away.”

You let out a small gasp with glee, “The Elvenking is hardly ever wrong.” Your eyes upturned into the smile that had now graced your usually withdrawn face since he had left here almost two years ago. You hardly lived your thousands of years without Legolas in tow. It’d been well over a year since he set off to destroy the ring. Being that you had lived thousands it should have been quick, but it felt like more than a century since you had spotted Legolas’s nearly silver, blonde hair.

“Indeed, my daughter. It is unwise to not listen to the king.” He gave you a knowing smile before retreating from your room and heading to his chambers to get ready for dinner. Leaving you to be with your thoughts. Quickly you got ready making sure to take extra care of you appearance just in case he had arrived early enough for it. It would be rather obvious of your intentions for you had been rather careless since he had been gone. You found no point to go above and beyond since you knew your eyes only landed on Legolas. No one else stood a chance even if they tried.

Sliding on your finest evening attire that wasn’t too over the top you set off for dinner. You scanned the castles dining hall for any sight of him but only slumped when you came up short not finding his normally intricately braided blonde hair.

It wasn’t often Elves could be snuck up on but when your eyes were desperately searching for the one that had been on your mind nonstop it was rather easy to sneak up on you, “He has yet to arrive my lady.”

You jumped turning to the elf standing beside you, “Galion! Where did you come from?” You placed a hand over your rapidly beating and rather startled heart that felt like it got caught doing something it shouldn’t have been.

“From across the room.” He smiled giving you a bow, “I was hardly being quiet.” He gave you an answer you weren’t really looking for.

You nodded quickly looking away, “Right. Thank you Galion. I was searching for my father.” It was an obvious lie and even he knew that for he knew of the feelings between the two elves. It had been painfully obvious for centuries. Even King Thrandruil was growing tired of son not courting you. He had long since accepted you as an extended member of his family. He had practically raised you alongside Legolas. He was eager to see the two of you together before he set sail. He had wanted to rejoin his wife and was growing impatient to Legolas’s growing timidness to asking you the question.

Galion nodded knowing you were lying through your teeth. Being the kings longtime advisor, he had known you just as well as the king and your father did. He knew all your little quirks. One being that you couldn’t lie to save your life, “Right my lady. He’s in the corner with the king.” Galion pointed to the two elves sitting there snickering about something.

Ever since the Kingdom of Mirkwood received word from Legolas that he was safe, and the ring had been destroyed the usually stoic king that hid away made himself more present and smiled far more often than you remembered. You were excited to catch glimpses of the old king you’d grown to see as a second father. Ever since Legolas’s mom and his wife has passed the king has grown cold. But now that there was finally some good news and hope he was becoming more of his old self.

Your thanked Galion before making your way your father. You weren’t planning on eating with him especially not that you learned that he was eating with the king. It’s not that you didn’t like them. No, you loved your king. It’s that he seemed to know of your longing feelings of his son no matter how well you tried to hide it. He always found a way to bring Legolas up and embarrass you in the process. Surely he would show no mercy due to your father sitting next to him.

“King Thranduil, Father.” You bowed before the two elves with utmost reverence. You knew how precious your spot in the Kingdom of Mirkwood was. If your father wasn’t who he was you would be nothing but a peasant elf the king could care less about. You tried your hardest not to take it for granted.

Before your father could speak the king did instead, “You look rather put together tonight Y/N. Special occasion?” He asked with a hint of smirk on his face. And that was why you were trying your hardest to avoid said king who was beginning to antagonize your efforts.

“None that I am aware of.” You spoke another obvious lie. Your father watched in amusement as your usually cool demeanor crumbled over the look the king was giving you. He too was not dumb. All of Mirkwood would have to be blind had they not known you and Legolas were to be bound together. It was just the two of you who seemed to lack the awareness.

His eyes looked over your outfit before replying, “My son’s favorite color is red. It is most uncommon to wear that color here, no?” He waved his hands before him showing that nearly elf was either in green, gray, or beige.

“Is it?” You tried to play dumb feeling utterly nervous under his looming gaze. How had he managed to make you feel so silly was beyond even you. Because he was right. Red wasn’t so common for greens were usually the chosen Mirkwood shades.

His stoic expression broke with an innocent smile, “Indeed it is. He will like this dress on you Lady Y/N.” Your father cracked a grin from beside the king seeing your dumb expression. He too was tired of watching you pine from afar and wanted to see you happy and in good hands before he departed.

You coughed trying to think of anything to say to him. You eyed your father for help, but he simply shrugged leaving you high and dry. He was enjoying this interrogation far too much, “Oh, my king, this is not meant for Legolas…”

He held a hand up to you letting you know to quiet, “Be that as it may. Which is a lie. He will be most happy to see you even more so in that dress.” You dared not disagree with the elf as he was in a chipper mood. Surely his sons return had something to do with it.

“Aye.” Your father agreed which earned a laugh from the normally stoic king. Were they drunk? They had to be. But you didn’t see any wine on the table nor smelled any alcohol on their breath. So, they were just enjoying seeing you squirm? You’d have a word with your father after it was all set and done.

The kings gaze softened seeing you truly so dumbfounded at his conclusion, “He will be here within the hour Lady Y/N. Take a stroll in my private garden after dinner. Galion will escort you after supper. I will see to it that he meets you out there after his arrival.”

You gulped. Was King Thranduil trying to get the two of you together? It seemed as if you were not as sneaky as you thought yourself to be, “Oh, I would not want to impose my king.”

“I insist.” And that was that. He had you escorted through his chambers to the garden even you had yet to see. It was small but truly, one of them most beautiful spaces you’d ever had the pleasure of stepping into. You walked around admiring the roses and flowers that seemed endless as they tangled with the grass and trees. You had sensed why he had kept it to himself after all of these years.

“My father was right. You are a vision Lady Y/N.” The familiar voice of the man you loved snapped you out of the trance the dancing roses captured you in. For the second time that night you had been snuck up on. Most unlike you.

Your face broke into a smile seeing the blonde elf in person finally, “Is red really your favorite color?” You asked not fully believing the king.

He bowed to you, “It’s been over a year, almost two and that’s the first thing you ask me?”

“It is. Is that an issue my prince?” You gave him a dramatic bow in return. That was just one of the many things he had grown to adore about you. You never really gave care in the world of his title. To you he was always just Legolas your friend. For he hadn’t a clue of how you felt about him.

“Hardly. Indeed, red is my most cherished color. This color precisely.” He stepped closer to you grabbing at the extra fabric on your arm. If your heart could simultaneously stop and explode all at once that was what was occurring. He was so close so suddenly. Was Legolas flirting with you?

“Well,” You cleared your throat trying your best to respond to him as your brain tried its best to keep up with him, “Hopefully I wear it all right.” You joked around trying to shift the growing tension between the two of you.

His hands did not drop from your arm as his eyes snapped up to yours, “My lady, you wear it finer than any elf in this kingdom and all kingdoms beyond.”

What was he doing? Your face paled before your cheeks exploded with color. You were usually so good at hiding emotion such as this but his outright honestly instead of the joking he would normally play in had taken you off your guard.

He smirked now knowing his father’s push was really all he needed. You would not blush so had you no feelings for him. He did not wish to ruin the grand friendship he had with you for it was the most cherished thing in his life. For in his mind, you had no feelings for him.

“Oh, thank you Legolas.” He noticed you flexing your hands. He had long since learned that was your tell for being unsettled. He’d often caught you doing the same before an attack would commence or when you had a terrible feeling of something.

“There is no need to be nervous Y/N. It is just me, Legolas.” He hid his smirk away for a softer smile. He held his hands out for you to take.

Slowly you placed your much smaller hands in his, “Indeed. That is what’s making me nervous.” You admitted out loud before your brain could stop you.

“What do you mean?” He turned his head to the side just so as his eyes scanned over your face searching for something, anything.

“You have occupied my thoughts every day since you left.” You spoke quickly before you could decide it would be a bad idea letting him know you had feelings too, “Are you being sincere?”

He stepped forward placing a tentative hand on your hip, “Aye, my lady. I would not lie to you. You look beautiful tonight.”

You placed your hand on his face making sure he really was back, “I missed you Legolas. This had been the longest year of my life. For I did not know years could take so long.”

He tested the waters by bring you closer to him. He fully wrapped an arm around your waist. You thought your heart was going to leap out of his chest as he leaned down to whisper in your ear, “I survived out there because of you.” His hair tickled your neck, but you could hardly care as you processed this information he had just told you.

“Pardon?” You had asked him to expand on that ever so bold statement.

He brushed your hair behind you ears, “When we wanted to give up, when all hope was lost, when I surely thought this life was over…” He paused seeing the horror in your expression. You must not have known how dangerous the quest truly was. But he continued trying to get to the point, “I thought of you. Coming home to you in Mirkwood kept me going.”

He surely heard how fast your heart was beating now, “I am glad I could provide you the strength to come home to me. For I do not know how I would fare middle earth without you.” This moment in the garden was the most intimate the two of you had ever been with the other. The most truthful too. You would have to thank his father later for the push the both of you needed. He must have been planning to leave soon as he never meddled so obviously before.

“I could not let that happen. I have made sure of that.” He smiled, eyes gazing down lovingly at you. You’d seen the gaze before but told yourself he meant something else. You were mistaken clearly.

“Legolas.” His name slipped out of your mouth so effortlessly. By Eru were you thrilled you could speak his name out loud because he was actually in front of you.

Ignoring your soft plea he asked you, “May I ask you a very important question?”

Your eyes piqued in curiosity as you nodded, “You may.” Wondering whatever he may ask you.

He took your hands in his gently rubbing his thumb along your much softer skin, “I wish to court you. I want to spend the rest of this life together, meleth nin. Would you do me the honor?”

You repeated his words slowly, “Meleth nin…” You repeated back to him before continuing in your disbelief, “For am I dreaming right now Legolas?” You asked not sure if you were truly in reality any longer. For as long as you pined for the blonde elf from afar this was happening faster than you had imagined.

“I certainly hope not, it took me far too long to work up the courage to ask you.” He grinned feeling like he could do anything in the world. His love, you, had said yes to him. He was going to have you as a partner, lover and more for the rest of his life. He could not wait to start the next part of his life with you. A youthful pang of excitement went off in his heart as he felt a new sense of adventure in the near future with you.

You laughed giving his hands a squeeze, “Then it is my greatest honor to accept. May I ask for how long?”

This time it was his turned to blush. It was a rare sight to see the kings son so squirmy in any sense, “Give or take a few hundred years?”

You smiled, “I have you beat then my prince. I had a growing crush nearly a thousand years ago. I thought it would go away so I just buried it deep down. See what good that got me.”

“Half our lives?” His eyes went wide as if he was finally seeing you for the first time.

You nodded you head trying to hide the embarrassment of hiding yourself away, “I suppose it is then half our lives so far. It was when you got back from Minas Tirith with your father. I had missed you far too much for the feelings to be simply friendly.” It wasn’t so bad admitting it to him for it felt more of a relief. He was going to know your truest feelings finally.

He placed his hands on your uppers arms, “I am nothing but a fool. I did not notice.”

You half laughed, half groaned, “I did not give you a chance my prince.”

“Why did you hide away from me?” He asked sincerely as he took a handful of your long straight hair in his hands. He was certainly more comfortable getting more handsy with you after you had accepted his proposal. It was no question to you. He was the only one you would say yes to.

“I am nothing but a Silvan Elf.” You spoke as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. When Legolas’s face turned to nothing but confusion you continued, “I heard the king talking, years ago now, about how lowly he view the Silvan elves he presided over. I would never have the approval.”

“What are you talking about meleth nin?” He sounded genuinely confused, “How long ago was that?”

You shrugged, “A long time ago.” You didn’t want to admit it was nearly two thousand years ago you heard his decree. Even by elf standards that was some time ago.

“You know even stubborn kings can change their minds given some time.” He pinched your side lightly letting you know your thoughts were mistaken for the king had all but forced him to tell you this evening.

He held his hand out after he admired you for a moment longer than needed. He could not help it though for he couldn’t believe that you were his, “Come with me.”

“Where are we going?” You asked curiosity getting the better of you as you placed your hand in his.

He sighed turning back to you with that glimmer in his eye, “We may have an audience on the other side of the door waiting to see if you said yes.”

You let out a hearty laugh, “Unbelievable! Who is there then?” You followed him as he began walking.

“Your father and mine… and Galion” He smiled sheepishly almost afraid to see your reaction.

But your laugh let him know you didn’t mind, “Those meddling older elves. They need to mind their own business.”

He rubbed the back of his neck, that adorable blush forming over his cheeks, “I am thankful for their meddling for I never would have had the courage to ask you my lady.”

You gave his hand a squeeze before you walked through the thick wooden door, “I would have waited another two thousand years for you Legolas.”

He looked down suddenly bashful. You were beginning to adore the far more emotional side of the man you had grown to love truly throughout the centuries. It had made falling even further in love with him a less daunting task. You were more than excited to explore life as a courting couple. You’d make big decisions in this stage of life. How many children did he want? Where did he want to live? Was Thranduil going to give the crown to his son? Would he accept?

“You have always had such a way with words meleth nin.” He brushed the side of your face breaking you away from your thoughts.

You grinned at his kind words, “Meleth nin.” You whispered back to him for the first time. You could get used to calling him that. Your love. Your lover. Your everything.

He put his hand on the door before turning back to you, “Are you ready to deal with them?”

A smile broke out on your face in consideration of his actions, “With you? Always.”

He gave your hand a squeeze before opening the door before both of you. Sure enough not a second later both King Thranduil and your father pounced on the both of you with questions while Galion stood back with a relieved expression on his face. You laughed with utmost glee as Legolas pulled you into his chest shielding you from the questions and answering them all. If this is what it meant to be loved by him then you could surely get used to this.

Permanent Taglist (Message me or comment below if you want to be added!) : @loving-and-dreaming @kmc1989 @memeorydotcom @matisse556 @buckylov3r @taygrls @ah-blossom @hardballoonlove @rosiahills22 @djs8891

315 notes · View notes

burningvelvet · 7 months

Text

more rambling thoughts about wuthering heights now that i've finished my re-read

1 wuthering heights is basically the looney tunes if the looney tunes were goth. 90% of the novel is people arguing, dying, and running around threatening to kill each other, and often all three of those at once.

2 love how it's filled with dark humor. "he's such a cobweb, a pinch would annihilate him" is such a camp thing to say about the terminally ill child you abhor and who you spend weeks trying to set up on dates with your dead lover's child so you can steal her property when your son finally dies. heathcliff lecturing his son on Seduction 101 right in front of cathy 2.0, trying ridiculously to play cupid and compel them to fall in love with each other before giving up and just kidnapping her instead... surely he's the most insane brontë man?

3 i can't remember what i had for dinner last night but nelly dean can remember what the weather was like on any given friday twenty years ago (love her and her snarky comments)

4 love how after nelly finishes telling the story to lockwood she's like "any way. so you know cathy 2.0 is single right ;)))" and then cathy 2.0 shows zero interest in him. so then he's like "oh i just remembered i have somewhere to be :/" then fucks off to london for nearly a year then when he comes back nelly is like "nvm as it turns out cathy and hareton are actually soulmates lol who knew! gee, it's a good thing she didn't like you!" and he's just silently suffering. emily was just fucking around here. hindley was the only linton/earnshaw/heathcliff who was wild enough to marry someone who didn't share either his gene pool or his neighborhood.

5 i imagine joseph to look like smeagol from the lotr films but taller

6 [heathcliff, after stabbing his alcoholic arch nemesis and then pushing his servant into the puddle of the blood] "Wash that stuff away; and mind the sparks of your candle—it is more than half brandy!” LMAO

7 this opinion list is just turning out to be a list of the most insane heathcliff moments but truly the novel should've just been called "heathcliff"

8 heathcliff's weird paternal feelings for hareton, saving hareton's life, him saying he would truly love him if only he wasn't hindley's child, basically giving hareton his blessing to love cathy 2.0 toward the end... so oddly endearing

9 heathcliff walking out just before the "i am heathcliff" part of her speech. why WHY

10 hindley protecting isabella from heathcliff before she flees was nice and i wish we saw more of their dynamic around the heights. honestly aside from the child neglect (which is par for the course in wuthering heights) hindley is a pretty sympathetic character; his rivalry with heathcliff was fueled by both sides and truly the fault of their father for pitting them against each other by letting heathcliff usurp hindley's place of favoritism as a boy. hindley's gambling and drinking, his general dissipation and failure to secure his son's future, are all tragic.

11 i think hindley/edgar/heathcliff are all interesting foils for each other; they each lose the women they love and are left to be single fathers, and each responds to the task totally differently. if we include mr. earnshaw, all the fathers in the story essentially fail their children after all the mothers die. hindley and heathcliff have a special parallel through their lifelong brotherly competition, the women they love both dying in childbirth, and in their own deaths. hindley slowly kills himself while ignoring everyone around him; heathcliff also kills himself, but only after trying to systematically ruin the lives of everyone around him. they also say that they want to kill each other but fail when they try; heathcliff nearly kills hindley but ends up saving his life at the last minute.

12 heathcliff jr. is so terrified of heathcliff sr. and so traumatized and petrified by fear and he doesn't deserve the hate he gets for being annoying. he's been sheltered his whole life, his mother just died, he was sent to his uncle/cousin only to be immediately torn away from them to be abused by a stranger who treats him horribly, he's terminally ill, he's still a kid, he's threatened into marrying someone he barely knows, etc.

13 if any of you have seen the british comedy show "the young ones" that's literally hindley's household in wuthering heights when joseph/hareton/hindley/heathcliff/isabella all live together. the filth, the slop for dinner, the petty games, the violence, the fierce hatred yet weird loyalty to each other, etc.

14 i really wonder how cathy would have reacted to heathcliff's treatment of everyone else if only she had known the full details (ie his harsh abuse of isabella, his son, cathy 2.0, etc.)

15 heights was my first brontë novel but i think i like jane eyre and tenant better now that i've read them all back to back! next on the list is likely agnes gray. anne, my underrated queen!

#literature #english literature #wuthering heights #emily brontë #book opinions #bookblr #bronte sisters #heathcliff #books #book thoughts #book review #classic literature #lit #litblr

202 notes · View notes