#lotr newsletter spoilers

[wanderer-clarisse]

I've reached the Helm's Deep chapter :>>

'Where is Gimli?'

'I do not know,' said Aragorn. 'I last saw him fighting on the ground behind the wall, but the enemy swept us apart.'

'Alas! That is evil news,' said Legolas.

'He is stout and strong,' said Aragorn. 'Let us hope that he will escape back to the caves. There he would be safe for a while. Safer than we. Such a refuge would be to the liking of a dwarf.'

'That must be my hope,' said Legolas. 'But I wish that he had come this way. I desired to tell Master Gimli that my tale is now thirty-nine.'

---

'Forty-two, Master Legolas!' he cried. 'Alas! My axe is notched: the forty-second had an iron collar on his neck. How is it with you?'

'You have passed my score by one,' answered Legolas. 'But I do not grudge you the game, so glad am I to see you on your legs!'

#there are two ways to read that first scene #one. aragorn thinks legolas is worried about gimli but he really just wants to brag #two. aragorn thinks legolas is worried and he is right (legolas cries out 'alas!' to his news) & legolas is like #what! haha no i'm not worried i'm sure he's fine. he has to be fine!! i still have to brag about winning our silly game! #and aragorn just rolls with it tocomfort both of them #the first one is funnier but whenever I read it I can't help but envision the second one #it's more reading between the lines but ashjdbjkdjdjk my heart!! #I have thought about this too much. maybe. #but I am enjoying the two towers very much #lotr doodles #clarisse doodles #sketch #lotr #the two towers #aragorn #gimli #legolas #lotr newsletter spoilers #legolas & gimli!

[sindar-princeling]

#i come back with graphic design is my passion kind of edits #lotr newsletter #lotr newsletter spoilers #kind of #at least he had something hopeful and nice happen to him on his birthday :') #aragorn #it's mine my own my precious

[carlandrea]

Why Legolas Greenleaf was Chosen for the Fellowship of the Ring

First, Why Not Glorfindel, (with Glorfindel standing in for, in general, any ancient heroes who might be hanging around Rivendell)

This is a stealth mission. The first priority should not be Heroics, which, if anything goes well, should not be necessary. It would have been useful to have Glorfindel when they encountered, for example, the Balrog, but ideally, they would not have encountered a balrog

So then, if you're not expecting to use Heroics, than having someone that much more powerful than the rest of the party is actually a massive liability. If Legolas fell victim to the ring, then Aragorn and Boromir could take him out. If Glorfindel was sent on the mission and tried to take the ring, then everyone else is kind of just fucked. He's Glorfindel. It's the same reason none of the people Frodo offers the ring to takes it. (Gandalf is mildly a complication for this point but like Gandalf just really needs to be here. We need Gandalf.)

Could Gandalf fight Glorfindel? idk. I feel like a redditor just asking the question. it wouldn't be good for anyone if he did, that's for fucking sure

Why Legolas Specifically

He's good at stealth. He's a good scout. He's cheerful and not prone to despair. He's a good fit for this kind of mission

As a Mirkwood elf, he does not have the same vested personal interest in the Three surviving that a Rivendell or Lothlorien elf might have. He is not going on a specific quest to destroy his own home, which would be the kind of thing the Ring would love to latch on to.

Also, as a Silvan elf, his people mildly have a much better track record with the cursed shinies than like. the high elves. the wise. et fucking cetera (I am not open to corrections as to whether Legolas is a silvan elf <3)

But also—specifically—Legolas is someone who is very used to creeping dread and despair, and he's still Like That. He's still Legolas. He's still weird and cheerful and excited about trees. My first point is that he's not prone to despair, and I just want to stress that he has been under this kind of pressure—under the creeping shadow—for his entire life.

he's not tired in the way that so many elves are

Also—

I made another short post about this, and I got this response:

#personally I've always thought it's because #he's actually from one of the places right now #where Men Dwarves and Elves all talk to each other#whereas an elf from Rivendell or Loth Lorien may be very wise and learn'd in what you need to know to be considered learn'd #but have they spoken to someone who isn't of their kin in the last thousand years? #have they experience traveling paths unknown to them and finding their way? #can they hear an insult and try to reach through cultural differences? #would they be able to walk into a texmex restuarant for the first time and go 'oh it's spelled t-a-c-o gotcha CHOMP mmm' #(I suspect not)

(tags by @fairy-anon-godmother)

Which I really agree with!!

In Conclusion:

My boy was perfect for this quest :) He's cheerful, he's young, and he's exactly what the fellowship needs in their elf

#lotr #Legolas #lotr newsletter spoilers

[tolkien-feels]

Okay this here is quite possibly my favorite Elrond scene so let me ramble about it a little bit, because I don't think I did it when I liveblogged the book last time

Elrond, at this time in his life, is pretty much defined by his wisdom. He's the person people go to for advice. Even among the Wise his wisdom seems to be valued

And like, his assessment of the future here is right. Pippin spends pretty much the entire Quest terrified as the realities of it all set in. And the Shire is in danger, and Merry and Pippin are key in the efforts of the hobbits to save it. But they arrive too late, and possibly (?) they could have prevented a lot of the worst parts of the Scouring if they had been there

This isn't Elrond being afraid and imagining perils that aren't there or that are being exaggerated by Sauron to freak him out. This is Elrond quite literally accurately predicting the rest of the book!!!!

But Gandalf says "Yes, that is true, but nevertheless, you should trust love even above wisdom." And so Elrond does.

I... really don't know that I could do what Elrond does here. The amount of estel required to simply trust that there are maybe powers even Elrond, in all his wisdom and foresight, cannot reliably predict would be quite beyond me, even knowing he's in Arda, a place where estel tends to be rewarded by the narrative

Like, I'm nodding along as Elrond speaks of how strength of arms won't beat Sauron, and how the Fellowship should be chosen in part symbolically. That tracks with how I know Arda works.

But "the power of love is stronger than even accurate foresight wisely interpreted"? It makes me want to say "No!!!! Nothing can beat accurate foresight wisely interpreted!!!!!!!!" but even without having read LotR, I should know this is true; I have read the Silm too many times!!

"Love not too well the work of thy hands and the devices of thy heart."

It doesn't surprise me that Elrond wouldn't fall prey to loving too well the work of his hands, but that he doesn't love too well the devices of his heart surprises me, because frankly? If I were Elrond, I think I would!!!!! But he does not! You can see his temptation, but he turns away from it, and chooses true hope instead!!!

So yeah I really can't help but stop every time I read this and just feel the full force of Elrond's sigh while knowing full well I would never have chosen as he does here - even knowing how the story ends, which he does not. Just. Elrond is such an amazing character

#lotr newsletter spoilers

[whitehorsevale]

#lotr newsletter spoilers #lotr newsletter #so following this now though

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Will you, Aragorn, take the Orthanc-stone and guard it? It is a dangerous charge.'

'Dangerous indeed, but not to all,' said Aragorn. 'There is one who may claim it by right. For this assuredly is the palantír of Orthanc from the treasury of Elendil, set here by the Kings of Gondor. Now my hour draws near. I will take it.'

Gandalf looked at Aragorn, and then, to the surprise of the others, he lifted the covered Stone, and bowed as he presented it.

'Receive it, lord!' he said: 'in earnest of other things that shall be given back. But if I may counsel you in the use of your own, do not use it – yet! Be wary!'

'When have I been hasty or unwary, who have waited and prepared for so many long years?' said Aragorn.

'Never yet. Do not then stumble at the end of the road.'

I’ve seen posts in the past saying Aragorn is being arrogant or strangely touchy in his response to Gandalf here, when Gandalf is being unusually formal and courteous. But I don’t read it that way; I think that Aragorn and Gandalf know each other well enough that Gandalf can read between the lines of what Aragorn says, and Aragorn is saying something that he doesn’t want to make clear to everyone else.

Gandalf tells him not to use the palantír and to be wary. Aragorn responds with: in all the years you’ve known me, when have I been hasty or unwary? He does not promise not to use the palantír. I think he already knows that he might need to use it (though it’s Arwen’s message that finally convinces him of what he needs to do), and he is saying: if I don’t follow your advice, I need you to trust me that I have good reason and trust that I’m not being reckless.

(Gandalf’s rather ceremonial words are to indicate that he’s reaching the end of his purpose in Middle-earth, and that the Age of Men is near to beginning. Placed here, after the controntation with Saruman, it forms a good counterpoint/contradiction to some of Saruman’s first words in LOTR, which appear in Gandalf’s account to the Council of Elrond: ‘the world of men, which we must rule’.)

#lotr newsletter #tolkien #the lord of the rings #aragorn #gandalf #palantir #lotr newsletter spoilers

[cycas]

Gimli wept openly.   'I have looked the last upon that which was fairest,' he said to Legolas his companion. 'Henceforward I will call nothing fair, unless it be her gift.' He put his hand to his breast.   'Tell me, Legolas, why did I come on this Quest? Little did I know where the chief peril lay! Truly Elrond spoke, saying that we could not foresee what we might meet upon our road. Torment in the dark was the danger that I feared, and it did not hold me back. But I would not have come, had I known the danger of light and joy. Now I have taken my worst wound in this parting, even if I were to go this night straight to the Dark Lord. Alas for Gimli son of Glóin!'   'Nay!' said Legolas. 'Alas for us all! And for all that walk the world in these after-days. For such is the way of it: to find and lose, as it seems to those whose boat is on the running stream. But I count you blessed, Gimli son of Glóin: for your loss you suffer of your own free will, and you might have chosen otherwise. But you have not forsaken your companions, and the least reward that you shall have is that the memory of Lothlórien shall remain ever clear and unstained in your heart, and shall neither fade nor grow stale.'   'Maybe,' said Gimli; 'and I thank you for your words. True words doubtless; yet all such comfort is cold. Memory is not what the heart desires. That is only a mirror, be it clear as Kheled-zâram. Or so says the heart of Gimli the Dwarf. Elves may see things otherwise. Indeed I have heard that for them memory is more like to the waking world than to a dream. Not so for Dwarves.

Aaaaah I love Gimli so much. He's so openly emotional, so utterly in love with the weird land of Elves that he entered in such an unpromising manner, blindfolded and considered a danger entirely because of his species, that he weeps to leave the land and its Lady.

And this contrast of how Legolas sees the loss and how Gimli sees it! Gimli is devastated! He knows Lorien is doomed, whether the quest succeeds or fails, and there is no making up for that. He'll live with the loss, but it hurts him.

And Legolas... I don't think he quite knows how to cope with that grief. He's on the other side of the divide, after all.

But I think this is the very beginning of Gimli's decision not to spend the rest of his life in Middle-earth: to make the impossible, incredible leap and leave all his kin behind to go away to the land of the Elves.

#gimli #legolas #lotr newsletter #lotr newsletter spoilers

[is-it-mungojerry-or-rumpelteazer]

For the oldies here:

I just realized, whenever Aragorn makes a choice as the leader of a group and it’s a bad choice, the single first thing he does is talk about how bad of a decision-maker he has been. He does it in Weathertop

Strider was greatly interested in these discoveries. 'I wish I had waited and explored the ground down here myself,'[...]

'I was too careless on the hill-top,' answered Strider. 'I was very anxious to find some sign of Gandalf; but it was a mistake for three of us to go up and stand there so long.’

And he will do it again when they’re chasing the orcs in Rohan

‘Let me think!’ said Aragorn. ‘And now may I make a right choice, and change the evil fate of this unhappy day!’ [...]

‘You give the choice to an ill chooser,’ said Aragorn. ‘Since we passed through the Argonath my choices have gone amiss.’

I don’t really have a point here, I just wanted to say. I feel like there is a character beat there, but I can’t put my finger on it, so I’ll just throw it into the void and hope someone more awake than I am will pick it up.

#lotr newsletter #lord of the rings #text posts #quotes #lotr newsletter spoilers #Strider #aragorn

[the-timelord-a-tardis-stole]

I find it very interesting that when the hobbits were like "tell us one of the Old Tales" and Aragorn chooses a comforting one in the form of the Tale of Beren and Luthien. In isolation, it's a good choice. There's hope amid hardship and people achieving impossible tasks with the power of love. It's very comforting if you're about to be attacked by evil creatures.

However, with the context of Aragorn and Arwen, you have to ask how many times has that been Aragorn's comfort to himself? How many cold nights in the wilderness has Aragorn spent imagining Beren doing the same thing? Does the successful taking of a Silmaril turn Aragorn's task of becoming King of Gondor and Arnor from "Impossible" to only "Very Difficult"? Or does it turn it into a sort of destiny that can and will be fulfilled? That he won't be stuck roaming the world alone for all his long life?

#i like thinking about how aragorn must interact and relate to the Old Tales #also i could definitely make another post like this about arwen #or about how aware the two of them must be about how closely their story mirrors beren and luthien #lotr spoilers #lotr newsletter spoilers #lotr newsletter #lotr #my stuff

[emyn-arnens]

‘But now I think you need not fear: you will find your house to welcome your return.’   ‘And glad shall I be to see it again,’ said Théoden, ‘though brief now, I doubt not, shall be my abiding there.’

'As a father you shall be to me,' said Merry.   'For a little while,' said Théoden.

Hey Tolkien, lay off the foreshadowing.

#i never realized until reading lotr chronologically just how short theoden's time is ;-; #lotr newsletter #lotr newsletter spoilers #theoden #.txt

[wanderer-clarisse]

I am back with the lotr doodles! The Last Debate:

and there they found their friends in the garden, and their meeting was a merry one. For a while they walked and talked, rejoicing for a brief space in peace and rest under the morning high up in the windy circles of the City. Then when Merry became weary, they went and sat upon the wall with the greensward of the Houses of Healing behind them...

#I LOVE THEM #i love how they became such good friends #and the progression in these books #of HOW they became friends #the little moments scattered throughout #of them caring for one another and missing one another #makes me very invested #;-; #lotr doodles #clarisse doodles #lotr newsletter spoilers #tolkien #lotr #the return of the king #legolas #merry brandybuck #pippin took #gimli

[sindar-princeling]

of course I do think it's a shame peter jackson made the decision to not include the scouring of the shire in the movies, but it's one I can forgive pretty easily, because it's not done thoughtlessly. in the book it's shown that both the shire changed, and the hobbits, too; meanwhile the movies abandon one of those things but through that they underline the other more heavily - it results in a different emotional tone of the ending, but it's still strong and still very bittersweet and sad. we get the books' story about the ruthlessness of war, the fact that it doesn't spare anything and nothing can be REALLY saved from it vs the movies' story of a more personal trauma, of not being able to come back because while your home is still right where it was, YOU aren't, not really. either way, Frodo doesn't really come home, and I'd say this is the most important thing that needed to be preserved in the ending of the story

#lotr newsletter #frodo #it's mine my own my precious #lotr newsletter spoilers #sort of?

[carlandrea]

omg legolas and gimli tomorrow

#lotr newsletter #lotr newsletter spoilers

[tolkien-feels]

A theory based on Aragorn immediately going 🥺 the instant he sees Glorfindel:

Glorfindel meeting Estel: Oh god he's Elendil's heir which means he's Elros's heir which means he's Earendil's heir which means he's Idril's heir which means he's Turgon's heir WHICH MEANS HE'S MINE TO PROTECC I LOVE HIM SO MUCH I WILL TEACH HIM SO MANY THINGS HE'S MINE NOW*

*Joint custody with Elrond. Who is also Turgon's heir and Glorfindel's to protecc, so it all works out fine. Glorfindel has many babies by virtue of being a) Very Old and b) originally devoted to a king who has many heirs running around Middle-earth

#lotr newsletter spoilers #but this blog is nothing but spoilers so i don't know the point of this tag lol

[weberina]

'Have you often been to Rivendell?' said Frodo. 'I have,' said Strider. 'I dwelt there once, and still I return when I may. There my heart is; but it is not my fate to sit in peace, even in the fair house of Elrond.'

"...but it is not my fate to sit in peace, even in the fair house of Elrond."

I'm not sure why this line haunts me. Why can't he sit in peace? Is it due to the duty of protecting the Eriador region that the Rangers/Dunedain feel they ought to fulfill? Or does he feel like by being in Rivendell, he's shadowed by his predecessors, his past and his supposed destiny, so he feels like he can't stay there. Or because of the uncertainty of his love affair with Arwen? Probably all three. I just like how loaded his words are, and how much is left unspoken.

#lotr newsletter #lotr #aragorn #he's got a Past ok #lotr newsletter spoilers

[warrioreowynofrohan]

I love the contrast between the horror of the Barrow-downs and the hobbits’ cavalierness in today’s LOTR newsletter. It really shows that they haven’t at all grasped the seriousness and danger of their journey.

Here are the instructions Tom Bombadil gave them last evening:

'Keep to the green grass. Don't you go a-meddling with old stone or cold Wights or prying in their houses, unless you be strong folk with hearts that never falter!' He said this more than once; and he advised them to pass barrows by on the west-side, if they chanced to stray near one.

And here’s what they do at lunchtime today:

About mid-day they came to a hill whose top was wide and flattened, like a shallow saucer with a green mounded rim….[they] went down into the hollow circle. In the midst of it there stood a single stone, standing tall under the sun above, and at this hour casting no shadow. It was shapeless and yet significant: like a landmark, or a guarding finger, or more like a warning. But they were now hungry, and the sun was still at the fearless noon; so they set their backs against the east side of the stone. It was cool, as if the sun had had no power to warm it; but at that time this seemed pleasant. There they took food and drink, and made as good a noon-meal under the open sky as anyone could wish.

And from there it transitions into some of Tolkien’s most effective horror-writing with the Barrow-wight.

Out of the east the biting wind was blowing. To his right there loomed against the westward stars a dark black shape. A great barrow stood there.

'Where are you?' he cried again, both angry and afraid.

'Here!' said a voice, deep and cold, that seemed to come out of the ground. 'I am waiting for you!'

'No!' said Frodo; but he did not run away. His knees gave, and he fell on the ground. Nothing happened, and there was no sound. Trembling he looked up, in time to see a tall dark figure like a shadow against the stars. It leaned over him. He thought there were two eyes, very cold though lit with a pale light that seemed to come from some remote distance. Then a grip stronger and colder than iron seized him. The icy touch froze his bones, and he remembered no more.

They’ve run into Black Riders and two days ago they almost got eaten by a tree, but they’re all still used to the default state of their daily lives up until about five days ago, which was an experience of complete safety. They may know, in their minds, that they are “fleeing from deadly peril into deadly peril”, as Frodo said in Crickhollow, but they don’t yet know it in their hearts; they are still very innocent of danger.

It’s hobbits’ remarkable faculty - mentioned many times in the books - to recover quickly from fear and trauma and hardship, and to appreciate the good things of life in any circumstances, but this chapter shows the flip side of that quality: it can make them heedless and careless. And the danger that puts them in gives an additional sense of why Aragorn is so stern with them when he first meets them. They’re pursued by some of the deadliest beings in the world, but their instinct in the absence of clear and self-evidence danger is still to treat this as a “hobbit walking-party”.

#tolkien #the lord of the rings #frodo baggins #sam gamgee #pippin took #merry brandybuck #tom bombadil #lotr newsletter #lotr newsletter spoilers