justalotrgeek

[justalotrgeek]

Let’s talk about Boromir...

So... Boromir... everyone kind of hates him at one point or another. But as you grow older, you start to realize... Boromir deserved better. And he’s pretty awesome. And pretty relatable.

Like, yeah, he comes across as this high-and-mighty-”Gondor-needs-no-King” buddy, but he’s, like, so pure?

His whole motivation for trying to take the Ring from Frodo (big mistake, one that could have cost the entire world) was not greed, but something more along the lines of why Sam DID take the Ring, or wanted to in the first place. Both of them wanted to be heros, yes, but the root of that was love for their people, for their plants, for what they know and love.

And let’s be honest, the Ring wasn’t helping one bit. Boromir felt alone the whole time he was with the Fellowship, let’s be real. He’s the one on the front lines of a war. He’s the one that’s a Captain-General (correct me if I’m wrong there). He has a little brother to worry about, a father who is giving into despair, and his mother died when he was little. He is looked up to by commoners and soldiers alike, a beacon of hope in a rapidly darkening world. He is in line for a Stewardship that he probably doesn’t want. He’s seen so much in his short 41 years.

Boromir journeys alone for 110 days, most on foot because he loses his horse, from Gondor to Rivendell. Upon arriving, he finds himself alone in the knowledge of the horrors of war. Rivendell is the last safe haven, and is filled with immortal elves who are wearying from the woes of the world. Mirkwood could not care less (except for Legolas, I guess) about the fate of the world as they are more worried about themselves. The hobbits, bless their hearts, do not know fear or pain or sorrow quite like Men do. The dwarves are stubborn and slow to trust those they do not know, let alone elves. Gandalf is mysterious and makes little sense most of the time, as he is also immortal and wise beyond the understanding of many. And Aragorn...

Well, having Aragorn introduced second-hand as the King of Gondor -- Gondor, who has not seen a King since TA 2050 (968 years is a long time, guys); Gondor, who had struggled alone; Gondor, who was losing hope, Gondor, who had only Steward-kings to look to since the line of Anárion and Isildur -- did not help in the slightest. Here is this rugged, silent man, and he is the supposed heir of Isildur, the one who will lead them to victory? All Boromir knows is that he was not there when they needed him. Boromir believes he has no knowledge of politics (which is more of his brother’s strong suit than his own, but he knows enough).

The Ring of Power is filled with malice, hate, and distrust. Every. Single. One. Of the Fellowship was struggling with the Ring weighing down on their minds. Every. One. Even the hobbits, whose connection with the power of Yavanna and nature protects them and warns them against evil, even the elves, the Eldar, the First Children of Eru, who flinch at evil, even the dwarves, who are firm and steadfast in truth as is their right because of Aüle, even Gandalf, who is Old, who is a servant of the Valar -- all of them feel it. And Men are the most susceptible.

The Ring sees their hearts, knows their situations, their love, their fear, and it does what it does best. It twists and turns and warps the truth until the Ring is the only solution. In our own lives, we grapple with good and evil, and sometimes the evil makes the good look bad. Boromir is no different than the rest of us. In his love for Gondor, his fear for Gondor, the Ring finds hold. And it grows and grows because Boromir is human. He does not see until it is too late what power the Ring has over him.

But Boromir does something few of us ever would. Even in his despair, his grief, his feelings of worthlessness and helplessness because he let the Ringbearer go, he attacked Frodo, he does not know, does not know, and it hurts; his guilt weighs him down, but he gets up and goes after the hobbits. He gets up and fights and fights and fights. And when Aragorn finds him, surrounded by dead orcs, barely breathing, Boromir apologizes once more, he tells Aragorn what happened to Merry and Pippin (saving their lives, I might add, and giving the broken Fellowship a reminder and a purpose), and apologizes again, saying he has failed.

Most of us would have given up hope because we made such an astronomical mistake. We would have believed, like Boromir, that there would be no redemption for us. Yet Boromir still keeps trying.

He knows in his heart that what he has done is unforgivable, that he if the quest fails it is his fault. But he gets up and tries to do what little he can to make it right. And in his eyes, it is not enough.

But Boromir’s actions redeem him, though he does not live to see it. Merry and Pippin live. Sam, Frodo, and Gollum destroy the Ring (and they all fail). Aragorn is crowned King, and the three remaining hunters are bonded for life. Middle Earth, Gondor, his home, his people, are all saved because of Boromir. And Pippin’s life, saved by Boromir’s actions, goes on to save Faramir, his little brother, who he loved more than the world.

Boromir should have lived. He should have been able to see the fulfillment of his redemption, a chance to see that it is okay, that he didn’t need feel guilty for so long, that he is loved worth every tear we shed for him. He, like us, fails. Really, each one of the characters in The Lord of the Rings fails. Some are redeemed at long last, some are redeemed through death, and some never find redemption or closure in their life time, or even at all.

But the lesson Boromir teaches us is to keep trying. Even when hope seems to be gone, even when you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, even when life does not make sense and what you have been asked to do seems impossible, you keep trying.

And in the end, though you may not live to see it, hope blossoms and blooms and light returns.

Your efforts are worth it. They are always worth it.

#LOTR #lord of the rings #boromir #hope #lifelessons #redemption

[justalotrgeek]

It’s quite interesting...

All of the races of Middle Earth have a concept of a soulmate.

The Dwarves have their ‘One’ that they are destined to love or never fully love anyone else.

The Elves only marry once and often only because of deep, intense love.

Humans have, of course, the notion of ‘soulmates,’ and some lucky few do find them.

And hobbits... well, I suppose food can be a soulmate, can’t it?

Here’s Merry sneaking some food (and fireworks) at Bilbo’s 111th birthday party for your enjoyment.

[justalotrgeek]

The Races of Middle-Earth as students during the first week of college (Freshmen)

Elves:

All-nighters all the time.

Probably running on an energy drink of some sort.

But somehow still awake?

Ignoring G.E. classes in favor of their major.

Dwarves:

Occasional all-nighters because of procrastination. (Seriously? First week of school, buddy!)

May or may not remember when their classes are.

Probably had a breakdown already, honestly.

Men:

Taking a good amount of classes, enough that they still have to work hard but can have fun and do other stuff.

Got an on-campus job.

Focused on education. Can only occasionally be bothered by other things.

Still deciding on a major.

Hobbits:

Still not used to the differences between high school and college.

Misses home.

Probably has a bunch of sugar and is regularly buying discounted food and ice cream from campus locations.

Feel free to add on or comment.

Here’s Arwen racing on Asfolth for your enjoyment. Or stress. How you feel when you’re late for class. But cooler than everyone. But running for your literal life.

#hobbits #lotr elves #lord of the rings #dwarves #the hobbit #college #freshmen #first week of school

[justalotrgeek]

The races of Middle-Earth as theatre kids.

(Feel free to add on.)

Elves:

The kids who have been doing theatre since... forever.

Talented and they know it and make sure you know it.

Always gets the lead and brags about it without bragging about it.

Monologuing 24/7.

Really, their acting is awful, but their singing and their looks are great, so...

Dwarves:

Let’s be honest, they’re the real drama queens of this place.

Always making suggestions to the director of how to make it more dramatic.

Really loud backstage or singing along with the leads.

Constantly hears “if you can see the audience, they can see you!”

Touches other people’s props.

Hobbits:

Tech crew. Fight me.

Shows up to rehearsal to watch their friends.

Sneaks food into rehearsal even though “there’s no food in the theater!!!”

Literally tech crew because they hold the show together out of sheer stubbornness and a whole lot of duct tape.

Or always cast as a child.

Men:

The kids who are pretty good, but usually end up in ensemble.

Most range of ability, ‘cuz have you met humans?

Look up to the Elves even though they aren’t really that great.

Work hard the whole time. Get no recognition.

Probably also helping behind the scenes.

Orcs:

The jocks who decide to try musical theatre to be like Troy Bolton (or make fun of the Elves) and are not good. At all.

Probably forced into it by their friends or parents.

Never sings what they’re supposed to.

Or goofs off on stage to draw attention to themselves and make everyone else break character.

Maiar:

The student director/assistant.

Always annoyed with the orcs and the Dwarves.

Probably only running on two hours of sleep and a whole bunch of energy drinks.

Only shows up to like... two rehearsals. Even though they’re supposed to be there all the time.

This has been a slight compilation of the potential of the races of Middle-Earth as theatre kids. Feel free to add on.

Here’s pretty little Thranduil being an elven drama queen. Though, if you want a real drama queen, look at Dain.

#lotr #theatre #theater kid #lotr elves #hobbits #orcs #dwarves

[justalotrgeek]

My dad and I have been watching the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings. Just finished.

One thing that always makes me cry is the end of Aragorn’s coronation: “My friends, you bow to no one.”

These characters are truly bound by love, and knowing that they all get happy endings makes me so happy that I just... cry.

But more than that, it is knowing that the smallest creatures — who no one thought would be able to do much good on a quest to save the world — are the ones who matter most. Even the smallest choice, the smallest person can make a big difference.

And that is an encouraging thought indeed.

Here is Frodo saying goodbye for you all.

#lotr #lord of the rings #lotr movies #aragorn #lotr frodo #eternally bound by friendship and love

[justalotrgeek]

Elvish hugs are weird.

Okay, don’t get me wrong, I’m absolutely in love with elves, but like, as someone who’s love language is physical touch, that would be so hard for me.

Like, I am such a hugger. And elves do the whole “hand to heart, so good to see you” thing. I totally relate to Aragorn in the scene in the Two Towers movie where Haldir arrives and they elvish hug, but then he just goes in for the human hug.

Anyways, that’s just my thoughts. Here’s Aragorn and Haldir hugging for ya’ll.

#tolkien #haldir #aragorn #lord of the rings #lotr elves #i like hugs #elvish

[justalotrgeek]

One of the things I love most about Tolkien’s works is how important music is.

Like, have you read The Silmarillion?

The entirety of the Ainulindalë was a whole bunch of SONG.

Luthien (AKA our QUEEN, gosh she’s pretty awesome (including the “pretty” literally)) had an epic SING OFF with Sauron and told him to give the castle, basically. She won, of course.

Come to think of it, there are a bunch of epic Sing Offs in The Silm.

All the stories told in The Silm are pretty much prefaced by “as told in this song, which is probably more than twelve hours long.”

And let’s not forget another iconic moment: Luthien singing herself and her boyfriend back to life. Like, Mandos, the one being who never shows emotion, actually cries? And let’s her go? And a HUMAN? Wow. What a QUEEN.

And then there’s The Hobbit.

The dwarves sing.

The elves sing.

Basically, everywhere you go, there’s a song that goes with it. (And a party, but who’s counting?)

And then The Lord of the Rings, itself.

Bilbo, Sam, Aragorn, and Frodo (to name four, there are tons more) write a bunch of poems and turn them into songs.

I mean, I’ve only talked about the books so far, but man, the soundtrack gives me chills!

Basically, Tolkien values music, which is awesome. I’m probably missing a few things here and I might be slightly inaccurate ‘cuz I’m still learning, but MUSIC.

It’s just so cool. Tolkien rocks. (Pun not intended)

Here’s Éowyn singing for your enjoyment.

#tolkien #music #the silmarillion #the hobbit #lord of the rings

[justalotrgeek]

I read Lord of the Rings for the first time (at least that I remember) in ninth grade. I remember our teacher would quiz us almost every other day we had English about the smallest things in the book, like: “What is the name of the plant Strider used to help Frodo after the encounter at Weathertop?” I remember as a little ninth grader being so confused, but still utterly fascinated.

Fast-forward a few years. By now, my past self has read The Hobbit at least twice. The movies come out, and I go to watch them. I keep thinking: “This isn’t that close to the books at all!”

Now, I’ve read The Silmarillion, and boy, have I found myself thrust head-first back into the world of Tolkien. I think it’s okay to enjoy the books and the movies. Both are a ton of fun.

My adventures in Middle-earth haven’t even come close to close yet. I’m borrowing eleven additional books from a friend, three of which include The Children of Húrin, Beren and Lúthien, and The Fall of Gondolin. I have a lot to learn, but I look forward to my slightly unexpected journey with enthusiasm.

Here’s Gandalf (or Mithrandir or Olórin) for your enjoyment.

#tolkien #lotr fandom #lord of the rings #the silmarillion #silmarillion #the hobbit #an unexpected journey