#Boromir Lives

[emilybeemartin]

Boromir Lives AU: Panic! At the Ballroom

Got some new soup for you.

CW! PTSD, panic attack, crowds, physical violence, blood, smoking

It's, uh, less cute soup than some of the others.

The last panel is a nod to when I was having regular panic attacks a few years ago, and the only thing that helped was lying on the floor, the colder and harder the better. At night I would lie in bed and feel like I was drowning in the blankets, until finally I'd move to the bare floor, sometimes with weight on my back, until I eventually fell asleep.

Anyway! Surprisingly this actually came from a very happy and lovely fic in which Boromir has a delightful time; in writing a crowd scene, though, I figured having spent 40+ years training to die in battle, he'd never shake the PTSD. It's okay, Aragorn can spot it coming a mile away. Hard to prep for a crushed windpipe delivered by 250 pounds of war trauma, though. Happy Thursday!

Boromir Lives: Helm's Deep

Boromir Lives: Whump-Time After Pelennor

Boromir Lives: GO TO SLEEP

Boromir Lives: Aragorn's Coronation

Boromir Lives: Faramir and Eowyn's Wedding

Boromir Lives: It's a BABY

Boromir Lives: High Uncle of the White Tower

Boromir Lives: We Didn't Have a Choice

Boromir Lives: The Haircuts

#boromir lives #boromir #aragorn #lord of the rings #tolkien #cw ptsd #cw panic attack #cw violence #cw smoking

[coolnerdyrn]

@emilybeemartin Look what just arrived!! I am so excited!!

#boromir #emilybeemartin #boromir lives

[mimilind]

Stranger of the Falls (Complete)

Summary: You gather healing supplies below the Falls of Rauros when a boat with a dying man drops at your feet. As you take the stranger home, you resolve to achieve the impossible: to heal him, find out who he is, and figure out why he is so determined to die.

For @scyllas-revenge

※※※

Pairing: Boromir x Reader (no specified gender)

Tumblr Links: [ 1. The Stranger ] [ 2. Lord Främling ] [ 3. Healing ] [ 4. Convalescence ] [ 5. Boromir ] [ 6. Defense ] [ 7. Free ] [ Bonus: Love (E-rated) ]

AO3 Link: Stranger of the Falls

Rating: T (apart from the bonus chapter)

Complete Word Count: 18 400

Tags: Hurt/comfort, Injury Recovery, Healing, Boromir Lives, Only One Bed, Falling in Love, Orc Attack, Kissing, Wholesome, Sex (bonus chapter).

Warnings: Injuries, Blood, Suicidal Character

#boromir #boromir x reader #boromir x oc #lotr #boromir fanfiction #lotr fanfiction #lotr fanfic #lotr x reader #hurt/comfort #boromir lives au #lord of the rings #boromir x you #boromir lives #only one bed #bed sharing #Stranger of the Falls #mimi lind

[janeeyreofmanderley]

“Do you know to whom your uniform originally belonged?” Pippin looked up and saw Boromir stare at him, eyes red rimmed and disturbingly vacant. He wanted to reply, wanted to tell Boromir of his talk with his brother just before Faramir left for that doomed mission but his voice failed him. So he only nodded then quickly averted his gaze, staring at his feet again.

“I remember the day it was given to him.” Boromir went on, voice tight and yet wistful. “He was so proud. Though it was much too big for him then. I badly wanted to tease him that it was more of a lady’s ballgown than a knight’s armour, but I didn’t dare. For weeks he made me join in in reenacting every single story about knights in that darn book he had. Obviously Faramir always was the knight, I had a hell of a time figuring out how to be dragon, troll, Necromancer, Nazgûl, fell beast, wolf and evil stepmother, but was well worth it.”

Pippin smiled hearing that. The image of Boromir as evil stepmother and Faramir as gallant knight precious and at every other time he’d laughed out loud and would have hurried to share the story with Merry and preferably Aragorn. But not right now.

He heard Boromir draw a shuddering breath and stifle a sob. He wanted to offer the man some comfort but wasn’t sure if it’d be welcome. Still, he placed a hand on the soldier’s arm, a sign of silent support.

If he did notice it, Boromir didn’t show. Instead he continued woodenly “then father found out about our games. He was disappointed. Told Faramir off for dishonouring the uniform of Gondor. That it was not a toy to be trifled with but a tool to be used to prepare him for his service for his country. He was just eight. He was just eight, Pippin! A scrawny, funny, curious little eight year old boy who liked books, ducks, cinnamon rolls and hide and seek. He was just eight and told to be a soldier, and now, and now” Boromir’s voice broke in a howl and he buried his face in his hands, finally giving in to the grief he’d tried to push down for so long. Giving in to his own guilt, the pain of his father’s end, the worry about his people and the despair when the old Master healer told him there was nothing he could do for Faramir, except wait and pray his end would be peaceful. Even Ioreth had been silent with horror which struck Boromir as terribly poignant. Now he just couldn’t stand it anymore.

Awkwardly Pippin started stroking the man’s shoulder feeling the sobs wrecking him and started crying silently himself.

Both were so wrapped in their grief it was not till they felt a gentle hand on each of their shoulders’ that they noticed they were not alone anymore.

And ere they had a chance to look up a calm and well known voice said “Don’t despair, I promise I will do all I can to help!”

And Pippin made the decision to hope and firmly grasped Boromir’s hand as both followed Aragorn back into Faramir’s sickroom.

#Boromir lives #what else? #lotr #Boromir #Pippin Took #Aragon #Faramir

[middleearthpixie]

This is the artwork I commissioned done by the amazing @crowrelli for the @tolkienpinupcalendar's 2024 event organized by @frosticenow and @the-girl-with-the-algebra-book!

And here is the fic—Second Time Around—I wrote to accompany it!

Second Time Around

Summary: For Brynne, Minas Tirith is the last place she wishes to be, as every corner holds bittersweet memories of the love of her life, the Captain of the White Guard, Boromir. Determined to keep her distance from him, she nonetheless cannot stop thinking about him, and those very memories torment her on ever level.

But when he asks for a second chance with her… old feelings are rekindled and passion proves too much to ignore, leaving Brynne has to decide if the pleasure they share is worth risking her heart once more. 

Fandom: Lord of the Rings - Post war of the Ring, AU, Everybody Lives 

Pairing: Boromir x ofc Brynne 

Warning: unprotectedintercourse 

Rating: M

Word Count: 4.3k

***

He watched her. Brynne refused to look up and give him the satisfaction of knowing she knew he watched her, but he did. Just as he had for the last four days she’d been in Minas Tirith, buried in the subterranean archives that housed the city—and Gondor’s—history. His expression remained the same—sober and unsmiling, but she didn't think he was exactly unhappy that she was there. Then again, she had the King’s blessing and since the King outranked the Captain of the White Tower, whether or not Boromir was happy did not exactly matter. Of course, that didn't mean his gaze didn't make her uncomfortable or uneasy. Because it did. Well, it made her uncomfortable more than anything else. Not uneasy, because she didn't feel as if she was in any danger. No, she just felt that if a ceiling beam dropped onto her, he wouldn’t be all that unhappy about it.  She tried to put it from her mind as she pored over the somewhat-ragged, very dusty ledge she’d found and picked up her quill to make a note in her own journal.  Boots sounded against stone and as a shadow fell over her, a low voice broke the silence. “How much longer do you need?” She set down her pen and looked up. “I have no way of knowing that. Does my presence here trouble you? And if so, why? I need no babysitter, you know. I’m perfectly capable of asking the archivist for help, should I require it.” His eyes—those beautiful green eyes—narrowed slightly. “I’m still not entirely certainly why you’re here. And I think you know exactly why your presence here would trouble me.”

Now Live on AO3

#boromir #Boromir x OFC #romance #reunited lovers #second chances #steamy #tolkien pin-up calendar 2024 #TPC2024 #TPC24 #LOTR #LOTR AU #Boromir lives

[wickswham]

imo there are not nearly enough Boromir lives au's out there.

which is why I'm 10k into writing one whoops

#boromir #lord of the rings #lotr fanfic #boromir lives #wickswords

[sotwk]

Dear Besties and Fellow "Boromir Lives" Truthers:

I'm not sure how many of you have discussed this in any of your ongoing fanworks, but what kind of future did you craft for Boromir post-War of the Ring?

Did he become Steward of Gondor, or did that still fall to Faramir? Did he retire from political life? Was he given a Princehood, like his brother?

Any and all ideas and takes would be appreciated! If I choose to borrow any headcanons/ ideas, I will surely ask permission first! 😉

@scyllas-revenge @ass-deep-in-demons @hippodameia @middleearthpixie @esta-elavaris (if you know anyone else, please tag them this in a reblog!)

#lotr #boromir #boromir headcanon #boromir lives #boromir fanfiction

[katjaschmitt]

"Suddenly Boromir’s breath caught, reminding him of his aching chest. Relief, pride, affection overwhelmed him. They had won! Pippin lay sleeping curled about Boromir’s horn, his chin resting on its rim, its curved end about his waist, and his arm tucked over it." ['Rapid Peril' by Carolyn Golledge. 2008]

#pippin #peregrin took #the horn of gondor #boromir's horn #alternate universe #boromir lives #fanart #lotr #lotr fanart #lotr fanzine #lotr art #tolkien #lord of the rings #my art #traditional illustration #FanQ Award

[tathrin]

Been doing some world-building for the Gimli Dark Lord of Erebor AU, and I think I have the general background events figured out at last. Anyone want to read way too many sloppily-written words of backstory for this unhinged canon-divergence nightmare fic? Boy are you in luck if so!

Note that any of this is subject to change until and unless actually directly referenced in the fic itself. This is very much proto-rough-draft stuff right now, just sort of brainstorming-via-prose. (Also obviously potential spoilers abound, in the sense of “things that have already happened but haven’t been revealed or discussed by the characters,” although it does stop some considerable amount of time before the day the story actually opens.) But I know there are a few folks who’ve expressed interest in knowing more about this AU, and I would love to know people’s thoughts on what I’ve come up with so far. Especially if you see a logistical issue or plot-hole that needs to be paved!

Also it’s probably less than wholly coherent (this was largely typed on my phone at work, shhh), but do let me know if you hit any part that’s just completely unfathomable and I’ll try to clarify it.

Anyway...

We start with Boromir taking the One Ring from Frodo on Amon Hen. He runs off in something of a panic (at this point in his own mind he sees himself as too far gone to do anything else, and the Ring runs with that—they'd never forgive you now!—and he goes racing off pell-mell), unaware that the others are about twenty minutes away from being ambushed by uruk-hai—although it is that fight which will give him the necessary lead-time to escape.

Frodo was injured (hand broken, knocked out) in the struggle over the Ring. The others find him after the orc fight just waking up, having been hidden by his cloak from the battle. Aragorn tends his wounds while Legolas and Gimli search for Merry and Pippin; can't find them. The others join the search: nothing. Too much ground, too many footprints, too few clues. They search for hours, but—but the Ring gets farther away with every minute. They must pursue it, must pursue Boromir. But to do so means abandoning Merry and Pippin who may or may not even be alive. What do they do?

Sam of course wants to keep looking, but will defer to Frodo. Frodo would like to search more, but his duty (and the Ring) tug at him to chase Boromir, even though all he wants to do is find his friends and make sure they're all right. Loyal Gimli of course is aghast at the idea of abandoning his friends until he knows for sure that they are dead; Legolas, warrior of Mirkwood, understands both the stakes and the bitterness of such sacrifice all too well, and votes to do what they must and chase the Ring. Aragorn is torn…but duty to the Quest wins in the end, at least in part because he is sure that they must be dead already and their hacked bodies lying somewhere in the brush of Amon Hen. (They are not: they are being carried into Rohan on the backs of uruk-hai. They will escape to Fangorn, and the Ents, and join the march to Isengard. But their friends will not come there to find them. They will not see the Fellowship again.) 

The rest chase Boromir, but they are too far behind. They will not catch him. The Ring will go to Gondor, and to Denethor, and hope will not come again to the White City.

Gandalf will go to Edoras alone. He will meet Merry and Pippin in Fangorn, but the rest of the Fellowship will not know that he returned until the moment when he leaves again. In Meduseld, he will pull Théoden out from Saruman's spell, and at the Hornberg he will bring Erkenbrand to save the survivors of Helm's Deep as they huddle in the keep beneath the unflinching assault of the White Hand. Éomer is dead, with no dwarf there to save him. Théoden lives, but as a broken man: he lost his son and he lost his nephew, and he could not save his people, but rather had to be pulled from the trap of his walls by saviors led by the White Wizard. It does not matter: his death will find him on the plains outside the White City regardless.

But before that: Boromir arrives in Minas Tirith on March 2nd. Théoden has just been healed; the Entmoot has not yet concluded. The rest of the Fellowship are at most two days behind Boromir. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas could ostensibly travel faster than him, but they have two Hobbits to bring with them, one of whom was injured, and they lingered long in search of Merry and Pippin; also the Ring, far from being a burden that drags at his feet as it does with Frodo, speeds his steps and strengthens him when he might otherwise seek rest, because he is doing what it wants. They have made good time, but not good enough to overtake him; not good enough to stop him.

Gandalf, as a Ringbearer, senses the moment that Denethor claims the One Ring…and so does Frodo.

"Wait," he cries, staggering to a halt. He drops to his knees clutching his head, his heart; trying to clutch his very soul. His shoulder burns like ice. "Wait," he says, "it's too late."

Aragorn stares at him in horror. "Sauron has the Ring?"

"No," Frodo says. "Someone else…a Man, I think. A tall Man, he looks old. He feels very old. I don't think he is, though. I think he…I think he is someone very important. Not a king, but something like a king, I think," he says, and Aragorn sinks to the ground beside the Hobbit. His face is gray and grim. Frodo tries to offer him a reassuring smile out of instinct, but he cannot quite manage it; instead his face curls in a thoughtful frown. "He reminds me of you, a little, Strider," Frodo continues, "but…but not, also. Very much not like you, in some ways, I think. But I saw a White City, and a dead tree, and the Ring was on his hand, and…and it is his. Aragorn, the Ring is his."

"Denethor, " Aragorn says, and his voice is a lament. He bows his head. "Alas for Gondor, then, for Denethor has claimed the One Ring."

"What does that mean?" Legolas asks. "What do we do next?"

"What can we do?" Aragorn shrugs, and stands, and he looks older than he ever has as he turns his face south towards Minas Tirith. "The choice has been taken from us. Now all that is left is to stand with Gondor in the war that will come, or flee before Sauron's victory."

"But Gondor cannot defeat him," Gimli says.

"No," says Aragorn. "They cannot. But I will pledge them my sword nonetheless."

In the end, they all decide to go on with heavy hearts to Minas Tirith. Denethor welcomes them with smiles and poorly-concealed suspicion. (He does not want them here, but it is better to have them under his eye, where he is the one in control.) Boromir swaggers to cover his feelings of shame. (He does not want them here; he does not manage quite to meet their eyes.) Faramir is fascinated by the Halflings especially, and it is he who manages to coax the truth out of Frodo and Sam about exactly how Boromir really got his hands on the One Ring. (He is grieved, but less surprised than he wishes he was; Faramir knows his brother, and he knows furthermore that he has been acting strangely since he returned from Rivendell. This truth explains much.) 

The Beacons have now been lit, although it will be some days before Rohan arrives, if they can come at all; if they had come sooner, perhaps Gandalf would have stopped Aragorn and Frodo from passing the gates of the White City and placing themselves in Denethor's power. But Gandalf was not there, and his friends still think him dead. So Aragorn and Frodo enter Minas Tirith, but they do not bring hope with them when they do. Denethor is already lost to the Ring, and to the visions of glory and dominion that it feeds him.

Sauron, of course, also knew the moment someone claimed his Ring. So Mordor marches to war against Minas Tirith…but Sauron is not committed to this war. He knows where the real battle is being fought, and he has already decided that he will win it by agreeing to lose. This is merely the necessary process to make his surrender convincing. So he sends an army, and Minas Tirith fights, and the Maker of the One Ring strives in his mind against the Master of the One Ring, and Aragorn can do nothing to stop Denethor from dooming them all.

Boromir rides at the head of Gondor's army, and Aragorn rides beside him with Andúril in hand, and the people whisper; but Aragorn makes no move to claim the kingship. Gondor's army stands against Mordor, but slowly they are pushed back to the gates of the White City. Their lines are beginning to falter on the third day of battle when dawn finally breaks to show the Riders of Rohan coming up over the grass, the Grey Company (who came to Rohan seeking Aragorn, and found Théoden instead, and were persuaded by Gandalf that the most likely place to find Aragorn will be Gondor) with them—but there are many orcs yet, and the Corsairs of Umbar are coming up the river, too, and there are Nazgûl flying out of the east towards the battlefield. Three of them converge on Théoden—but it is not the king they seek, but rather the counselor riding beside him: Gandalf Greyhame, wielder of the Ring of Fire.

Gandalf yells for Rohan's forces to flee from these foes which are beyond their strength. Many do; Théoden stays. He masters the bitter fear the Nazgûl bring and defends Gandalf from their blades, until one pierces his shoulder. He goes down to his knees with a cry, and still he raises his blade one last time…and so he dies beside the wizard when Gandalf uses all the power within him to destroy the three Nazgûl Lords and a goodly portion of the armies around him, too.

The surviving Rohirrim are rallied by a young soldier they knew as Dernhelm, who throws off her helmet and reveals herself to be Éowyn of the House of Eorl. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she leads her people back into battle. They follow her with a roar and the strength of their spears and shields sends many orcs of Mordor running.

Then Denethor stands on the battlements and holds his hand aloft in a blaze of fiery light, and he commands the forces of Mordor to cower before him. And they do.

It is in that moment that Aragorn knows hope is lost. 

The battle ends with most of the orcs slain, the rest fleeing either back to Mordor or into the wild. The Easterlings and Corsairs are taken prisoner, or strike out on a desperate flight for their distant homes. (Denethor will deal with them, he decides, once his business with Sauron is finished; for now, let them flee.) Aragorn walks alone through the ashes of the Wizard's fall, which none other will dare brave. He retrieves the Rings left behind by Gandalf's inferno and takes Narya for his own: not because he wants to, but because he trusts no other there to wield it, and he does not believe that it will be left unclaimed if he does not. He means to bring it to Rivendell, and to give it to Elrond to bestow upon one of his advisors (most likely Glorfindel, he thinks; Glorfindel would be a good choice for that Ring, if he can brace himself to face fire on such close terms once again)…

But Denethor does not approve. He demands all the Rings; Aragorn refuses to give him any. He says that those of the Ringwraiths were born by Kings of Men once, and while they do not know which kings Gandalf burned, still Aragorn has thus the closest claim to those Rings than anyone there, for he is descended from Kings of Men, including some who once ruled Númenor and were lured into becoming Ringwraiths by Sauron's words. He will not give up those Rings; and as for Narya, he will return it to the elves, for it was an elvish ring before it was gifted to the Wizard.

Denethor declares that he is the Master of all the Rings now, and Aragorn will hand them over; Aragorn refuses. They match wills, and for a moment seem almost evenly matched: Denethor has the One Ring, which was built to command all the others, but Aragorn is mightier than Denethor, and he has not worn his spirit low contending with Sauron, and the Three were never fully dominated by the Dark Lord. They are evenly matched, for a moment… Then while they strive, on Denethor's quiet command, Boromir murders Aragorn. (He is horrified, later, to realize that he struck from behind; horrified to realize that he slew a friend. But in the moment, all he could feel was the compulsion of the Ring and the bloodlust of his own fury that Aragorn would dare defy his father, the Steward who ruled the land which the descendants of the kings abandoned.) Denethor takes the four Rings in triumph, and he gives to Boromir the Ring of Fire still wet with Aragorn's blood.

The secret of Aragorn's death is one they will not keep for long, but for now, none know what happened in the great hall between the Steward and the man who might have been his king.

Meanwhile, Merry and Pippin are back at Edoras; they left Isengard with Gandalf and the Rohirrim, but were not carried to battle with the rest of their forces. Frodo and Sam have decided to go there to seek their friends, since they will be of little use in the battle at the Black Gates, they figure—but Denethor has something else in mind for the Hobbit who once carried the Ring. He asks Frodo to stay at his side while the end of the war is fought, and Frodo cannot find a polite way to decline and Sam will not leave Frodo's side. So they stay in Gondor, while the survivors of the army ride out to break the Black Gate and throw Sauron down from his Dark Tower.

Boromir, with Narya on his hand, leads their forces; Faramir, now wearing one of the Nine, rides with him. Legolas and Gimli notice that Aragorn is not with the army, and the Ring he briefly claimed is now worn by Boromir, and they are distressed—but what can they do? The war is here at hand, and there is no time for questions now (just as Denethor arranged, of course). The army rides to the Black Gates, and Sauron's forces pour forth to battle…

And then Sauron himself strides onto the field. Terror grips the forces of Gondor and Rohan…and then Sauron kneels. His Nazgûl kneel beside him. He surrenders his forces and offers himself a prisoner to Gondor; a prisoner to the Lord of the Rings.

No one wants to go near him, to touch him. Even bold Boromir quails, the Ring in his mind shrieking in terror of the maia who would have mastered it. Eventually it is Faramir who walks forward, and the sight of his little brother showing such bravery stirs Boromir's courage and he follows, and together the two Captains of Gondor take Sauron prisoner.

The army rides back to Minas Tirith in escort, while Faramir and a smaller force stay to claim and investigate Barad-dûr. One of the Nazgûl stays with them to play (terrifying) guide; the other three go back with Sauron as prisoners, although no one wants to bind them or go near them, and in the end they march back under their own power and by their own will, or at least that of their master, rather than under guard or bindings (three Nazgûl died to Gandalf and there are two currently stationed in Dol Guldur leading the war against Mirkwood, Dale, Erebor, and Lórien, so there were only four left in Mordor). Sauron is brought to Minas Tirith as a prisoner, but he walks in with a faint smirk on his face and his head unbowed, with three Nazgûl framing him in escort, and there are some who cannot help but think he looks more like a conqueror than a captive when he crosses through the white stone gates that once held back his Shadow and kneels politely before the Steward.

Sauron is no longer fair to look at, no; he lost that seeming in the wreckage of Númenor. But there is a grim beauty to his fell features nonetheless, the sort of cruel and regal beauty of hatred and power. He does not look fair, he does not look good—but he looks strong, to be sure. In a way, he even looks faintly kingly standing there before the unclaimed throne of the king. A tyrant of a king, yes; but a king, to be sure. It will be Sauron, in fact, who eventually convinces Denethor to claim that throne, since the kings will never be coming home now, and does not the Lord of the Rings merit a throne, even if he is not (never will be) a king?

It will also be Sauron who, having flattered the story out of Denethor, spreads the truth of what happened to their would-be king through the White City…although it will not be he who tells Faramir. That will be Boromir himself, in the cold hours one night, wracked with guilt and trying to invent excuses to lift the weight of it from his mind. Faramir will be horrified, but he will not speak out against his brother's actions then; he will have already learned, by then, when to keep silent under the weight of Denethor's dominion. There is a reason his father gave him a Ring, after all, and it was not because he thought Faramir deserved its power.

But that is later; for now, there are the few remaining members of the Fellowship to consider.

Frodo, having carried the Ring so far, has fallen under Denethor's sway. He will fall farther, soon: Denethor will gift him with the second of the three Nine Rings taken from the charnel of the battlefield, and will send him back west to rule the Shire and all its surrounding lands in Gondor's name. Sam will go with him, of course, because Sam is loyal and will remain loyal; even as Frodo falls deeper and deeper under the sway of the Ring, and becomes more and more of a wraith—more and more of a monster—at Denethor's hand, heartbroken Sam will always be loyal. Even as he grieves for what the Shire becomes under Frodo's increasingly merciless rule, and for the ever-growing distance and cruelty of his corrupted master, he cannot help but stay loyal.

Aragorn's friends and kinsmen do not know exactly what happened to him, but they know that some foul play must have been involved; they know, too, that their own lives are under threat in Gondor. They know too much, and their loyalty is not and has never been to Denethor. He is busy now with Sauron and with Frodo, but he will not stay busy forever. They need to go now, while they still can—but none of their attempts to politely take their leave are accepted, for while Denethor has more important things to deal with right now he also does mean to deal with them eventually, and intends to keep them cooling their heels in his city until he can spare them the proper attention. So he plans victory feasts, and pretends great grief at the notion of their parting, and says that they must stay until after Aragorn is laid in state in a great funeral as befits Isildur's Heir, and so on and so forth; one excuse after another after another, all fairly-couched and on the surface far too noble and justified to balk at. But they know it is a pretense, and they know they are running out of time.

(And Sauron is in the city, too. And if he is in chains…well, he has been in chains before. It did not stop him working evil then, and the Dúnedain know those stories well. They need to leave.)

So one night the survivors of the Grey Company leave Minas Tirith under cover of darkness. They go on foot for all that it pains the Dúnedain to abandon their loyal steeds, because they know they would not be able to sneak out with the horses. Legolas and Gimli go with them—or at least, Gimli was supposed to be with them. But Gimli stayed, because he feared that he would slow them down. Worse, he feared that he would slow Legolas down. He remembers how tireless the elf was during the pursuit of Boromir; remembers thinking that if Legolas had been unfettered by mortal limitations, he would have been able to outpace him, and perhaps all this would have gone differently. He thinks about the fact that Mirkwood is not so far to the north, and how Legolas could probably cover that distance in a little more than a week if he were alone; he thinks of how much slower he would go, if he had a dwarf in tow, and how likely that delay would get him killed, and so Gimli stays.

The rest of them disappear into the night in their grey cloaks, fading into the wilds as only those who walk with the light tread of Rangers or elven-kind might do.

Gimli begs the sons of Elrond to lie for him, and so it is not until they are many miles from the White City that Legolas discovers his friend did not come with them, and by then it is too late to go back—and even if he did, what would he do? Drag Gimli away with him? The dwarf chose to stay, and chose not even to say farewell. Well, that was his choice to make; Legolas cannot unmake it for him.

So Legolas returns to Mirkwood, bereft and bewildered by Gimli's betrayal, and throws himself into the doomed fight against the Shadow there. Galadriel did not throw down the walls of Dol Guldur, after all; she, too, knew the moment that Denethor claimed the One Ring for his own, and she knew what that would mean for Lothlórien. She and Celeborn did not lead their forces across the river to aid Thranduil; they stayed in their forest, and prepared for the end.

Without Lórien and Nenya to dwindle the forces of the Enemy, Erebor fared poorly in the war. The dwarves nonetheless held out long in the siege against the orcs and goblins of Mordor, but when Denethor sent forces from Gondor to aid the armies that had once been Sauron's and were now his, the dwarves thought that the Men were coming to their assistance. They sallied forth from the mountain, meaning to trap the orcs and goblins between the two armies…and were instead subjected to a vicious slaughter, as Mordor and Gondor fought side-by-side against them.

Denethor told Gimli, who had stayed in Minas Tirith with the thought that he would act as a delay on whatever pursuit would inevitable follow Legolas and the Grey Company, that his people's army has been decimated and the surviving dwarves are trapped in their mountain under a siege they have no hopes of either outlasting or escaping. He tells him that Dain is dead, and all the line of Durin, and every person living in the Lonely Mountain will be slaughtered if they continue to defy Gondor…or he can claim lordship of the mountain, and make peace with Gondor on Erebor's behalf, and so save them from destruction.

Gimli accepts the terms, because he sees no other choice. He accepts the Ring that Denethor insists he take (the Ring that once belonged to Durin, and which was reclaimed from Barad-dûr by Faramir's scouts, and brought to Denethor as Master of the Rings), if he is to be a vassal-lord of Gondor, for the same reason: he has not choice. He does what must be done, and he goes to Erebor, and he saves his people by damning them to Gondor's rule.

Dale was sacked and devastated, and Denethor declares it to be a vassal state of Erebor now, under the dominion of the dwarves. The farms of Dale deliver their crops to the Lonely Mountain, which disperses a share of the harvest back to them according to Denethor's will. Mirkwood belongs to the Nazgûl in Dol Guldur, but still has bands of elves in its trees, fighting and dying.

(As for Lórien…that story is told elsewhere.)

Merry and Pippin were in Edoras, and do not learn of what happened to everyone else until Queen Éowyn returns with the few survivors of Rohan's army. She will not be bound by a Ring yet, but in less than a year Denethor will demand more obsequience than he thinks Rohan is offering. (Partly this will be due to his own paranoia, earned under long years of striving against the Shadow with the palantir; part of this will be due to the bold temperament of Rohan in general and Éowyn in specific, and their dislike of all things that reek of the Shadow; the last part will be due to Sauron whispering in his ear, sowing division between the realms of Men.) Éowyn will be forced to take a Ring, the third of the three Nine Rings that was found in the ashes of Gandalf's death, and Rohan will now fall fully under Gondor's domination.

But that is later; for now, there is Saruman to consider. He slips out of Isengard, when the Ents tire of watching him. Knowing that he cannot oppose Gondor now that Denethor has claimed the One Ring and a victory over Sauron as well, he slips away to his fallback position in the Shire. That goes well enough for him, at first—but then Frodo and Sam come back from Gondor with a Ring on Frodo's hand and no mercy in his heart. Saruman does not know what to make of this quasi-wraith of a Halfling, and he makes the mistake of treating him like an ordinary Hobbit. Frodo is no longer someone who can be cowed, at least not by anything less than the One Ring itself: in his wrath at what the wizard has done to the Shire, he destroys Saruman using the power of his Ring, and so tips his soul entirely into its domination.

Sam remains loyal, though. Sam will always remain loyal to his Frodo.

#gimli dark lord of erebor au #lotr au #my writing #my stuff #lotr #fanfiction #gimli #frodo #boromir #denethor #sauron #legolas #aragorn #faramir #eowyn #samwise #boromir lives

[emilybeemartin]

This started as a sketch and then I started painting on it halfway through, and then I merged a few layers I didn't mean to merge, and then it spiraled off the rails from there, stylistically. The color balance is burning my eyeballs and the levels are doing who even knows, but I took a leaf out of @nihilizzzm's book and added decorative stars and dots and it did, indeed, make it better.

ANYWAY, if lotr wiki is to be believed (referenced from Unfinished Tales, maybe?) the flag of the office of the Stewards is pure white with no device, and their symbol is a white rod and three white stars. I've been meaning to play around with this imagery (because I'm trash for symbolism), so I sketched up a concept of Boromir's formal uniform for Aragorn's coronation. I like the idea of Aragorn in dark blue, black, and silver and Boromir in white, silver, and gold.

#boromir lives #lord of the rings #lotr #boromir #stewards of gondor

[comradefinwych]

Hey guys, I've been thinking about an AraBoro AU where Aragorn is like Dr. Frankenstein and Boromir is the Creature. I mean, we all know that Aragorn is a healer, so he might know how to perform basic operations as well, so he tries to perform an operation on Boromir and something goes wrong, but he's just desperate because of his death.

I like thinking of such medical Aus in general, where Aragorn is a medic and he tries to save Boromir from certain death (either he does save him or he fails and lets him die or creates a dangerous creature).

#aragorn #boromir #aragorn x boromir #lotr #boromir lives #au

[janeeyreofmanderley]

Eowyn: So… your brother is your best man.

Faramir: Yes.

Eowyn: And he is organising your bachelor party.

Faramir: Again yes.

Eowyn: You are aware that his plans for your bachelor party look far more elaborate than the plans for our wedding? And it is kinda a royal wedding with a lot of fuss .

Faramir: Sadly yes.

Eowyn: Are you scared?

Faramir: Never been more terrified in my life.

Eowyn: You spent almost 20 years in combat!

Faramir: Hey, there at least was hope of an honourable death!

#Faramir #Eowyn #Boromir #Boromir lives #and goes overboard

[wanderingjedihistorian]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Lord of the Rings (Movies), The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Aragorn | Estel/Arwen Undómiel/Boromir (Son of Denethor II) Characters: Boromir (Son of Denethor II), Faramir (Son of Denethor II), Arwen Undómiel, Elrond Peredhel, Aragorn | Estel, Legolas Greenleaf, Gimli (Son of Glóin) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Boromir Lives, Post-War of the Ring, Wedding Fluff, Family Fluff, Family Feels, Friendship, Teasing, Banter, happiness, Love, Wedding Day Series: Part 14 of What Peace Brings Summary: “Ready for today?” Faramir asked. Boromir looked up into his younger brother’s eyes and smiled ruefully. He’d asked Faramir that the day he married Eowyn. He’d asked Aragorn the same when he married Arwen. “Twice I have been informed that any man who says he is ready is lying to himself,” he teased.

Featuring art commissioned from the wonderful @mysandwichranaway​!

#my writing #tolkien fanfiction #aragorn/arwen/boromir #boromir lives #what peace brings au

[middleearthpixie]

This is the artwork I commissioned, done by the amazing @ye3honk for the @tolkienpinupcalendar's 2024 event organized by @frosticenow and @the-girl-with-the-algebra-book!

And here is the fic—The Woods—I wrote to accompany it!

The Woods

Summary: For Boromir and Kaia, life with a new baby leaves precious little time for themselves. When Boromir surprises her with a romantic afternoon in the woods, Kaia is more than a little apprehensive of what Boromir will think when he sees her body for the first time since their daughter was born…

Fandom: Lord of the Rings - Post War of the Ring, AU where everybody lives 

Pairing: Boromir x ofc Kaia 

Warning: Oral sex (f receiving)

Rating: M

Word Count: 3.1k 

***

Kaia breathed a sigh of relief when with a gentle, airy sigh, Nora finally drifted off to sleep. She’d walked the floor for what seemed like hours with her six-week old daughter fighting her nap every step of the way. But now, the baby slept peacefully in the same cradle in which her father once slept, oblivious to everything around her. She looked over at the nursemaid. “Where is Boromir?” “He said he was going for a ride, my lady.” “Did he say where?” The nursemaid shook her head. “I’m afraid not. Do you need me to have someone fetch him?”

Now Live on AO3!

#Boromir #Boromir x OFC #TPC2024 #Tolkien Pinup Calendar 2024 #Tolkien Pin-Up Calendar 2024 #romance #Boromir lives #LOTR AU #LOTR #LOTR everyone lives #The Woods #steamy

[x-authorship-x]

New Fic Alert

The Red Istari

Fandom: Naruto, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Hobbit - All Media Types

Pairings: Shisui/Faramir

Tags: Alternative Universe - Canon Divergence, Everybody Lives/Nobody Dies, Shisui in Middle Earth, Sixth Istari, Based on Movie-verse with differences in World Building, Superstition, Legends, Magic, Alternative POV, Sunday Update Schedule

Chapters: 30

Chapter One: AWAKEN

Summary:

The sky was aglow, deepest crimson washing over the land and undimmed by the bruise-purple clouds that clutched at the edges of the horizon.

The sands shifted beneath him, deep and perfect as only a desert that has consumed everything within it can be.

A staff of inscribed steel stood proud where it was stabbed into the sand, radiating heat against the side of his neck.

Somehow, he knew in his bones that there was nothing out there but him, the staff, and the golden desert.

He was alive, bare, and unwounded despite the blood he could feel stuck to his flesh.

This was not death.

This was… something new.

#torship #new fic #shisui lives #writing shisui fanfic ofc #uchiha shisui #naruto #lotr #lord of the rings #the Hobbit #crossover #fanfiction #faramir #boromir lives #the fellowship #legolas/gimli #aragorn #arwen #frodo #sam #merry #pippin #gandalf #the istari #the council of elrond #middle earth #world building #fucking around with language #extremely dubiously #shisui x faramir

[sotwk]

Read Dandelions last night and i was wondering, is this going to be linked to the Boromir/OC fic you're working on? And if so does that mean Ioreth is going to show up? Because the idea of getting to hear her take on this is hilarious to me XD

I am so happy that Dandelions resonated so well with you! I wrote that one on a whim, just to give readers a nice imagine of what it's like to receive not just flowers, but flowers from someone like Boromir! Only THIS GUY can arrive with a handful of weeds and still make you swoon.

As for the fic's mention of Ioreth (Reader is Ioreth's apprentice), unfortunately Dandelions is one of my fics that is an absolute stand-alone one-shot reader insert, so there would be no exploration of Ioreth that way.

My planned Boromir long fic is going to spin off from my other one-shot, "Breathe", and the Reader love interest in that one is a humble market vendor (among other things). I look forward to sharing more about her as she develops into an OC very soon!

I'm also a fan of Ioreth's character (she reminds me of some of my favorite high school teachers, haha!), so I surely can find some excuse for her to participate/meddle in Boromir's love life!

#sotwk answers #boromir #boromir fanfiction #boromir headcanon #boromir x reader #boromir imagine #boromir lives #gondor #ioreth #sotwk headcanon #sotwk ocs #sotwk fanfiction