#faramir negative

[lesbiansforboromir]

I'm sick and in bed and that means I get to be mean to Faramir. SO! Whenever the topic of his character comes up (who he is as a person and what he values etc) the only quote from him people ever seem to use is the 'I love that which they defend' schpiel, despite Faramir having... A LOT MORE quotes about his worldviews than just that one. But fine! Let's talk about JUST THIS one quote and how it reflects on Faramir.

The quote (as used in gifsets, fanfic and artworks) is written thus; 'but I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory, I love only that which they defend.' The assumption being that ‘that which they defend’ is referencing the people of Gondor, thereby affirming Faramir as a pacifist who loves his people, yes?

But the thing is no one needs to make assumptions about what ‘they defend’ means, that quote is cut off mid sentence! It ACTUALLY continues; 'that which they defend: the city of the Men of Numenor; and I would have her loved for her memory, her ancientry, her beauty, and her present wisdom.'

See here, Faramir isn't talking about the PEOPLE he and his soldiers are defending. The population of Gondor and indeed Middle Earth at large that is being defended in Gondor’s perpetual war is a complicated mix of ancestries that include the middle men Faramir later despairs of emulating. They are certainly not all part of ‘the men of numenor’ nor are most at all invested in Gondor’s ancientry etc. He is talking about the political entity of Gondor as a remnant of the lost Numenor that he so idolises and the history it represents. It is a nationalist sentiment.

To Faramir, 'glorifying war' (as he perceives it) is an aspect of lower men, of lesser culture, not befitting high men. Not going to war mind you, it is just the glorification of such that he despises, the fact that it is a necessity of these times that warriors are lauded; “For as the Rohirrim do, we now love war and valour as things good in themselves, both a sport and an end; and though we still hold that a warrior should have more skills and knowledge than only the craft of weapons and slaying, we esteem a warrior, nonetheless, above men of other crafts. Such is the need of our days.” 

It is already dismissive and callous to ascribe a LOVE of war to the Rohirrim, who appear just as aggrieved by loss and suffering as anyone, but what Faramir calls ‘love of war’ is really just the preparedness for it and those who respect others for that preparation and practice. The Rohirrim have never gone to war as a sport. He means duelling, wrestling and encouraging people to learn to defend themselves because as he says! ‘Such is the need of our days’. 

But those things, to him, are uncivilised, the mark of “we too have become more like to them [the Rohirrim], and can scarce claim any longer the title High. We are become Middle Men, of the Twilight, but with memory of other things.” So Faramir, in his claim of not loving a sword for it’s sharpness etc, is distancing himself from those men, showing in fact a callousness for the people he protects, holding idealised concepts of racial superiority and nationalism over defence. 

Denethor accuses him of just this! 'your desire is to appear lordly and generous as a king of old, gracious, gentle. [-] but in desperate hours gentleness may be repaid with death [-] with the death of your father and of all your people whom it is your part to protect'. Notably, Faramir replies, 'So be it'.

Anti-war sentiment is fine! Yes war is bad in general and shouldn’t be entered into lightly. But the message in LotR is not so simple and specifically Faramir's reasons for being anti-war-GLORIFICATION are not so selfless or noble as people like to believe. The war in LotR is not some political mess organised by higher powers and forcing those lower than them to suffer for their inscrutible machinations, it is a war of necessity in defense against (as Faramir puts it) “a destroyer who would devour all.” The wars that were for self gain and expansionism were what enriched Gondor and allowed it to become the ‘Queen among Queens’ that Faramir is yearning for. How can one be anti-war and yet idolise the colonialist Gondor of history? You can't.

The Gondor of old that is 'feared only as men may fear the dignity of a man, old and wise' that Faramir wants to emulate does not exist and Gondor's beauty was always supported by its King-lead military conquests to the east and south. But Faramir still wishes 'the silver crown return', for the King to come again and for this to somehow return his country to it’s former glory. Only under the Steward’s rule were Gondor's borders receded by design, and under Aragorn it proceeds to 'subjugate the South' once more. Minas Tirith is certainly at peace in the future however, it does not see siege or desperate battle again, which is the peace Faramir is looking for, 'Minas Anor again as of old, full of light, high and fair.'

So! Faramir is not Anti-war, nor does he love his people. Faramir resents the loss of the illusion of a wise paternalistic Gondor 'queen among queens' that does not have to bother with such lowly pursuits as war for the sake of self preservation and the praise that comes with it. HE LOVES ONLY THAT WHICH THEY DEFEND! (The great history of passive and magnanimous Gondorian supremacy that he has made up in his own head) I am so dizzy and my heart is beating way too fast I hate being sick adieu

#faramir #erran vs tolkien #lotr meta #tolkien meta #gondor #text post #denethor #faramir negative #faramir critical #lord of the rings #tolkien #lotr

[cat-in-a-frogsuit]

“Kings made tombs more splendid than houses of the living, and counted old names in the rolls of their descent dearer than the names of sons. Childless lords sat in aged halls musing on heraldry; in secret chambers withered men compounded strong elixirs, or in high cold towers asked questions of the stars. And the last king of the line of Anárion had no heir.”

“For so we reckon Men in our lore, calling them the High, or Men of the West, which were Númenóreans; and the Middle Peoples, Men of the Twilight, such as are the Rohirrim and their kin that dwell still far in the North; and the Wild, the Men of Darkness.”

Ugh. So re-reading LOTR as an adult, passages like these really piss me off. How dare you rank people like that? Effing Númenórean supremacy.

In this viewpoint, the failing of the line of Anárion is not tragic, because the arrogance of the Gondorian Kings is deplorable. It is portrayed as tragic that Eärnur went and died horrifically without prioritizing to preserve the oh so important Númenórean BLOODLINE.

The bloodline that gives the Gondorians and Arnorians the right to govern “lesser” men. The right to give the fields of Calenardhon to their allies, the Rohirrim, without care for the “Wild Men” who already live there.

And that Faramir just subscribes to this hierarchization makes me angry and takes a lot away from my appreciation of him.

What became of “for were you ten times as wise you would have no right to rule me and mine for your own profit as you desired” when applied to the Númenóreans, Tolkien?

#lotr negativity #Faramir #numenor #Gondor #Arnor

[itstimeforstarwars]

I need to finish putting my vole pit fics on ao3 but the long ones take so much more work and also they're embarrassing because I wrote them when I was 13.

#chit chat #they're not embarrassing enough to stop me from archiving them but you'll notice that they're not getting archived on soft but gremlin #and that is because i do not want any of you reading the lotr fic i wrote between ages 11 and 14 #that's a negative ghostrider #if y'all read lotr fic from me it's gonna be the faramir and feemor fic and it will have 15 years of experience behind it

[wordbunch]

how the fellowship reacts to you singing...

a/n: this was requested - how the fellowship members react to you singing for the first time. It will include the fellowship boys + Faramir, because I adore him and he needs more love. let me know how you liked it! 💗💗💗 (it will be longer than you think lol)

+ tagging my beloved @entishramblings

ARAGORN

at first he wasn’t sure whether his ears were deceiving him

but he stopped and listened carefully, eventually realizing it was you

then all his attention went into listening to you

he very much enjoyed it, but waited for you to finish your little performance before saying anything (didn’t want to interrupt you, nor make you feel awkward)

he wouldn’t be giving you elaborate compliments and praise, just something short and to the point, but you’d see in his face that he genuinely loved it

he likes to listen to you sing, but also sometimes loves to join you and sing together!!!

wants to learn all the songs you know

💫

LEGOLAS

with his excellent hearing, he picked up on you humming tunes quietly as you walked, many times

and he found even that very pleasant

but when he heard you fully singing for the first time he had heart eyes, basically

he thought you have the most angelic, soothing yet powerful voice

he would never ask you to sing anything for him and wouldn’t want to push you, but he would enjoy it so much when you do

he wants to know where you picked up all the songs that you know

his absolute favorite thing is when you quietly sing while braiding his hair!!!!!

💫

GIMLI

an absolute fanboy of yours, openly

as soon as he hears you singing, he wouldn’t only divert his attention only to that...

but he’d make sure to point it out to everyone else as well

I diagnose him with singing off-key, butttt he still wants to share some dwarf songs with you, and you appreciate it

would be the kind of person to be like “now [Y/N] will sing something for all of us” skhssdhgsh

you know it’s all with the best intentions even if you feel self-conscious about your singing

but this guy right here would hype you up so much that eventually you wouldn’t even care how your voice sounds to others

💫

BOROMIR

he compliments the heck out of you (for singing and everything else)

however he would try not to openly praise you for it to everyone everywhere bc he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable

keyword: he would try not to

he cannot sing so he appreciates your talent all the more

can’t help smilingggg whenever he hears you!

very grateful that you’re comfortable with sharing that part of yourself with him

if you ever actually sang in front of a crowd at some celebration or special occasion, this man would combust of pride

💫

FRODO

can’t help smiling as soon as he hears you, and he immediately recognizes that it’s your singing voice, even from further away

will sneakily approach you so as not to startle you

but he definitely wants to hear more

very curious about where you learned to sing and how you picked up all the songs

it’s a safe haven when you sing something to him, he will literally be in seventh heaven

loves to write and he would be beyond thrilled if you sang some poem that he wrote, but he wouldn’t actually ask you to

enjoys singing together with you

💫

SAM

is generally easily captivated by beautiful and magical things, your voice absolutely being one of them

will ask you countless times to sing again (but he will be quite shy about it every time)

gives you ideas on what you could sing about

he gives you cute little compliments but wishes he could express all that in a much more elaborate way

it brings him incredible joy to hear you singing from somewhere while he’s gardening

he swear it makes everything grow bigger and more luscious

God forbid anyone makes even a slightly negative comment about your singing, he is ready to throw hands

💫

MERRY

jaw drops to the floor when he hears your singing voice

this boy is captivated

smooth compliments that make you blush

why can I see him dancing/trying to dance to whatever you’re singing

potentially he’s not THE best singer out there but oh my does he love singing with you

especially spontaneously, out of nowhere

yes actually he would totally dance around when you sing, and he would dance around with you and spin you around until you’re so out of breath that you can’t sing anymore but instead just laugh heartily

💫

PIPPIN

generally worships the ground that you walk on, and that also implies all your talents and abilities

absolute heart eyes as soon as he hears you singing

(he already loves just listening to you talk, let alone anything else)

ADORES when you two sing together, but initially just a bit shy to suggest it, or to just spontaneously join you

will he come up with songs for you? absolutely

songs for you two to sing together? ABSOLUTELY

would never, in any way, push you to sing in front of everyone else, he actually enjoys it being like a lil thing between the two of you

💫

+ bonus FARAMIR

he heard your voice echoing in the Gondorian halls as you were carrying out some tasks

he was almost convinced it was a sound from heaven

but he followed the sound of it and found you! 

you were a tiny bit embarrassed but he complimented you immediately

he finds it very relaxing when you sing to him and it’s so intimate to him

he will occasionally write poems and cautiously ask you whether you can make up some melody for them and turn them into songs

not the best singer, but loves to join you sometimes

💫

+ bonus bonus character GANDALF

“[Y/N], stop with the unnecessary noise, I am trying to think”

#i am so tired after writing this but i hope it was cute #pls tell me #lotr x reader #lotr headcanons #lord of the rings imagine #aragorn x reader #legolas x reader #faramir x reader #boromir x reader #frodo x reader #samwise x reader #merry x reader #Pippin x reader #gimli x reader #gandalf #sam gamgee #frodo baggins #merry brandybuck #pippin took #legolas #aragorn #gimli #lotr #faramir #boromir #Lotr fanfic #lord of the rings x reader #from my pocketses

[mirra-kan]

Hi Mirra!

Have you written any headcanon, metas, discussions, or fics about your concept of the "Faithful Haradrim"? If so, could you please tell me where to find them? If you haven't yet, would you mind sharing some info of your headcanons (anything at all) about their history and culture?

I'm a big fan of your Harad artwork and concepts (including the Blue Wizards), and it's all clearly founded on a rich, complex world you've created for them in your head. I would definitely love to learn more! :) I do also plan on including more about the Haradrim culture and history in my upcoming fanfics, so I would love to hear an expert's ideas on them.

Thank you for sharing your work with us!

@sotwk Was very happy to discover your message in my ask box!

Thank you for your interest and willingness to include more Haradrim content into your writing, but I'm afraid you might find my views rather... boring 😆

I also must apologise in advance if any of my phrases may not seem polite enough or turn out to be grammatically incorrect - English is not my first language.

Disclaimer! What is written below represents my personal view! It is in no way intended to hurt or discredit anyone’s head canons, views and ideas!

My Chinese calligraphy teacher once told me: "Do you want to assume or to learn? Decide on the approach before you make theories about anything."

And I follow the strategy of "to learn" before I "assume". So, first and foremost, I'm still in search of bits of information about the peoples who inhabited Harad and Rhun (South and East) of Middle-earth.

My goal is not so much to create head cannons as to draw the audience's attention to the canon and the Professor's own vision. Accordingly, in working through his letters, essays, and volumes of the History of Middle-earth, I am trying to draw parallels that someone as educated as Professor Tolkien might have drawn.

I also categorically disagree with the images created in the movies, where the conventional evil is more caricatured than frightening, and the motives and history of the conflict are not shown at all (Faramir’s saying about Haradrim’s fate is at least included, which is great, even if it wasn’t his in books). When my best friend dragged me into the Silmarillion story couple of years ago, I was amazed at how distorted the perception of these regions was in adaptations.

So, thinking about the existence and struggles of Faithful Haradrim, I rely on the history of the region and possible historical patterns. Such a vast region simply cannot have a common culture. It is the idea that can unite them. But, as in our reality, cultural features, symbolism and colours may differ. For example, we know that those who came with Sauron's army, performed under red flags with snakes. Does that mean that the entire vast region walked exclusively in the same colours? It seems unlikely to me.

As for the Blue Wizards, blue in general is a colour very 'inherent' to many cultures in the Global South. I suppose that's why the Professor dressed Alatar and Pallando in those colours. And accordingly, in my opinion, Faithful Haradrim could use these colours in their robes and on their banners, but not necessarily. It is not the colour that reflects the inner essence of a person.

Of course, when thinking about this or that image, I think about where exactly these people live, what the level of metallurgy development is present in different Ages, whether there is a sea or mountains nearby - all this affects how their armour\architecture\symbolism could have developed. In general, I draw parallels with real anthropology and the history of the development of civilisations. Books about the regional patterns, military and weapon history etc are of big help here too.

Sometimes, of course, I make things up. For example, when I first read the lines about the Blue Wizards not returning to Valinor, I didn't take it in a negative light. After all, they could have stayed in Middle-earth willingly, having become attached and imbued with the problems of the region, of the people. After all, Alatar and Curumo were the only ones who were not afraid to volunteer to fight Sauron.

I also like the later version, in which the Blue Wizards arrive in the Second Age. It makes more "sense" given the nightmare that the Númenorians had wrought in the region. But even among them, I'm sure there were some people who sympathised and helped the local population. I don't believe in black and white in principle. But I do believe in post-truth.

So, in essence, I'm a boring canonist who treats the author's writings and views with great respect. And the myth of the Haradrim and Easterlings being bad guys by all accounts is almost as well-established as the supposed lack of religion, holy Dunedain and cute glowing elves. Which is, in my opinion, in no way consistent with Tolkien's own philosophy and stance.

Perhaps what I came up with from scratch was a sign, a Faithful Haradrim symbol, that those could use to identify each other. People need symbols, faith and ideas. Especially in such trying times. That's the way we are.

Oh, I'm afraid if I go on, it'll be a whole essay. So I think I'll stop here. Thanks again for your question and your interest! I'm sorry if I disappointed you, haha.  Good luck with your writing - I'm so happy there're people out there, who're genuinely interested in the region! ❤

P.S. If everything goes well, I plan to release a zine about Harad at the end of the year. With quotes and the obligatory notes of personal theories not to confuse the reader.

#tolkien #lord of the rings #lotr #silmarillion #middle earth #haradrim #artmirka #harad #easterlings #rhun

[streets-in-paradise]

Secret Presents

Relationships: (platonic) Faramir x Sister!Reader, (platonic) Boromir x Sister!Reader.

Genre: family fic, sibling bonds, fluff, birthday fic.

Warnings: Denthor's terrible parenting, use of she/her pronoums. I am not sure if birthdays are culturally accurate for gondorians, but since in lotr we saw at least one hobbit birthday let's pretend they also could have birthday customs for the sake of this.

Summary: Boromir and Faramir surprise their sister on the morning of her birthday filling her with affection while furtively bringing her different sorts of gifts their father wouldn't approve.

Note: (Late) birthday gift for my bestie @beautifultypewriter, also inspired in her gondor girl concept. I hope the fluff will be good enough to compensate the delay <3

She didn't expected anyone to remember, there were allways more important things going on in such convoluted times.

Completely absent from her father's thoughts, only her brothers could possibly think about it. During the occassions in which Denethor do cared to celebrate her, he was always actually celebrating himself. Birthday parties that were generic social events for the nobiity, occassions for him to show off his might in decline and pretend for the public that he could resemble a father.

If he could possibly be thinking on doing something, she would rather hide far away from it for as long as possible. The only good reason the Steward of Gondor could have to remember that he had a daughter were the men arround him making the recall. He would only use it as an excuse to push yet even more insufferable nobles in her direction.

Feeling the call of the servant announcing her waking time that morning made her groan of frustration, wanting it to be over before it ever began. She emerged from the covers only caring to make sure to be in a visible state before opening the door, trying hard to remember not to share her mood with the servantfolk through terrible manners.

What she found instead were her two brothers hidding their presence on the usual call, ready to join forces as soon as they will find her. Their happy faces said it all, and she almost regretted her grumpyness.

" What are you doing here? "

To a gestural sign of Faramir, Boromir went ahead to lift her up from the ground. Almost like a father would do for his child, only with tons of chuckling in between.

" HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR SISTER!!"

In a matter of instants she was smiling again while being carried back inside her bedroom.

" Are you insane? What is this? "

Faramir calmed his own laughter to explain.

" Your birthday surprise! I bet you thought we would forget. "

She was perfectly aware of how strongly they loved her, but war kept them always bussy and she was perfectly ready to forgive them if that was the case.

" Orcs are constantly pushing the limits of our borders, of course you could forget! "

" But we would never. " Boromir cheerfully insisted, releasing her on her bed. " Have we ever failed you? "

She giggled and nodded negatively.

" ... Then why did you seem so upset looking at us from you doorframe ? " Faramir inquired. " It think somone really needs to get their spirits lifted. "

With a mischievous look he approached for a strong hug ending only when he sneaked one hand to her already known ticklish point. Her loud laughing comforted them all, so Boromir encouraged Faramir to keep going untill she started fighting back and the situation could escalate into an actual tickle fight unleashed right in front of the servants.

She was red from laughing and playfully smacked them in return, when her eldest brother gave premission for the maidservant to enter. She was carrying a curiously long chest with the help of one lad and presented it to the lady by command before retiring.

" See, if we would have waited untill you would come down for breakfast, we wouldn't be able to bring your presents. " Faramir continued. " These are of the kind our father will not wish to see. "

A sparkle of excitement lighted her eyes.

" Certainly not fitting for a lady, by his expressed opinion. " Boromir added. " He would be very dissapointed of me if he would find out I'm letting Faramir present you with this."

" Not as much as when he will see what you got her. " He commented in response. " ... And yours can't be hidden easily, as one can do with mine. "

Curiosity was growing with each of their teasing recalls and she rushed to open the mysterious casket used to hide such secret present from the world untill reaching her.

It revealed a bow, perfectly new and with its matching quiver following the style of the one that was her brother's favorite.

" Nurturing your passions is important to me, and being honest i'm slightly jealous you have gained more practice with Boromir's weapon of choice. "

He was joking and she could perfectly tell. Her brothers never had to compete for her love the way their father intended them to.

Here eyes were roaming the weapon with increasing surprise, then inmediately directed to look at her brother with the happiest adoration.

" It's perfect!! Just, ... perfect!! Beloved brother, I would love to practice with you. " She thanked, hugging him from up front and practically jumping from the joy. " I can't wait to try it!! "

" We will tell father is an harp." Faramir joked, sharing her excitement. " I doubt he would ever ask you to play music for him, so he will never discover it."

You chuckled together seeing that Boromir was allowing you the mean spirited commentary.

" My gift will also work as a distractive strategy: he will never get a moment to wonder about anything else. "

She questioned Faramir with her glance, but he provided no clues.

" Boromir ... what have you exactly done?? "

Their eldest brother began to chuckle, assuming the mysterious guilt for some possibly memorable mischief.

" Come down with us and you will find out. "

She smiled and quickly followed the instruction, begging them to leave her proper space to at least dress decently before being publicly perceived for the first time in the day. Neither of her brothers wanted to miss what was about to come, so they awaited outside only to find themselves going after her later because excitement made her run her way down.

Hardly catching his breath, Boromir indicated her to go outside. Her cluelessness made her even more desperate for finding the surprise, but she inmediately stumbled with it once the final instruction was correctly followed.

A magnificent horse, one that she never recalled to have seen before.

" It was almost impossible to import, but your dear brother planned things with time and sent clever merchants on the quest for it. " Boromir recalled, pridefully. " They wouldn't have sold this easily for a mighty lord of the city, but couldn't refuse when told it would dissapoint a young lady. "

She looked at him in disbelief, unsure of the guess she was about to make.

" No,no, no ... There is no way. You couldn't ... "

" Send men to Rohan despite the uncertain danger it implies just to get you a horse? " Faramir followed, finishing her sentence in a wondering tone. " Don't worry, your present also worked as harmless excuse to obtain trustable testimonies about the state of our old allies. Something we have been wanting to find out for a long time, but father kept refusing to investigate. "

The clarification amused her more than the explanation itself.

" You are unbelievable!! How are we going to hide this? "

Boromir wasn't troubled by her very logical reasoning.

" We won't, and I will assume all guilt. Wait to see how fast he will find a reason to excuse me. "

He made her laugh through that lighthearted mock of his unwanted privilege, aspect he manipulated in contructive ways when it could bring a side benefict to his siblings.

Looking at her smiling brothers awaiting her final verdict made her feel the luckiest girl in Middle Earth.

" I have the best brothers in the world. "

#lotr #lord of the rings #faramir x reader #boromir x reader #gondor girl

[elvenwhovian]

Thoughts on the criticisms for The Rings of Power

The negativity around ROP has been so disheartening and I need to rant/have my say. Below are the most common criticisms I've seen and my responses to them. 

1. "They butchered/desecrated Tolkien's story! They changed the story too much so I won't watch/ will only hate-watch." 

Some of you are too young to remember, but I was there 3000 20 years ago when PJ's films came out. He changed A LOT. And I was surrounded by homeschooler book purists who had a lot to say, both good and bad. Here's my thing ... if you don't like ROP because they changed things, fine. You do you.  But don't tell me that PJ's films are perfection if you say you can't handle major changes to Tolkien’s works. 

Arwen didn't rescue Frodo. The elves never came to Helms Deep. Faramir didn't take Frodo and Sam captive. And Frodo never sent Sam away before Cirith Ungol, just to name a few. These were SIGNIFICANT changes that PJ made. But they didn't ruin the story ... dare I say, they made things more interesting. 

2. "The story moves too slowly." 

Bro ... have you read LOTR? Its a slow burn at the start. And then half of TTT is just Frodo and Sam simply walking into Mordor. Just like Tolkien, I feel like the show runners are laying a foundation and then in season 2 things will pick up. Also they have 5 seasons planned. Also its television. Its meant to be in installments to keep you coming back. Honestly, compared to some modern TV, it is refreshing to have a show that is taking its time and not beating you over the head with info dumping and action set pieces every single week. We are back in Middle-earth. Enjoy the ride, my dudes. 

3. "The Harfoots are annoying/cheesy/unnecessary." 

I'll admit that I was leery about them including proto-hobbits in the show, but I think they are delightful. They have their flaws, but Hobbits always have. They are quirky; the refreshing contrast to the darkness of war just beyond their borders. Yeah, Nori royally screws up A LOT. Reminds me of another hobbit who Gandalf used to berate for his stupidity. 

I also saw one comment complaining about "Wandering Day" and that the montage/song was too much like a Disney movie. First of all, how dare you? Do you even Tolkien, good sir? His books were full of songs. The hobbits had walking songs in the book. Tolkien loved songs and poetry. It is very VERY in character for Hobbits to have a song with their storyline. And honestly, that song is perfection. I've been singing it as a lullaby to my 6 month old son and he loves it. 

4. "Galadriel is too manly/angry/vengeful ... Also the men are weak." 

Perfect people are not interesting. Flaws make characters realistic, engaging, and worth watching. Galadriel is a flawed character in ROP and I LOVE IT. She is prideful, ambitious, and strong-willed ... all stuff Tolkien wrote about her. She is also very athletic/physically skilled. Tolkien also wrote this ... I have references. And yeah ... if you believed the evil who killed your brother was out there and no one believed you, you would be miffed too. 

And as I predicted, she is undergoing character development that is helping to temper her vengeance. She literally gives up her sword. 

The symbolism is spot on. 

Also, those saying she is too manly... bro, what the heck? Her costumes and armor are so beautiful and well done! My two favorite looks are the dress she wears in Numenor and her armor design.

I think they did a fantastic job making her a strong yet flawed female character. 

And the men are weak? Elrond and Durin have a rock breaking contest. Arondir fights for his girl ... doesn't get more manly than that. Also, Elendil is just fantastically done and oozes that stable yet compassionate masculine energy Tolkien's male characters are known for. 

5."I don’t like that they cast people of color." 

Don't be racist. Its 2022.

6. "The elves aren't done right/have short hair/ aren't like PJ's elves." 

Ok first of all, while many of the elves in the legendarium are described with long hair, its never defined as a standard for elvish culture. Second, if you are going to expect any and all Tolkien adaptations to conform to PJ's films, then I guess we can toss out all the cartoons that are beloved by so many people. Also, I don't see anyone beating up the legendary painter and Tolkien illustrator Ted Nasmith for his depictions of elves with shorter hair. 

Also, let's be real ... Elrond was described as "kind as summer" in The Hobbit. I love Hugo Weaving's portrayal, but he's never seemed particularly warm or kind to me. I adore Elrond's portrayal in ROP! I even like his floppy hair. He's a young whipper-snapper of an elf and he seems like the kind of person who would create a place like Rivendell. I mean ... look at this precious cinnamon roll:

Also Celebrimbor has that wise old British dude energy that reminds me of Bilbo or even the professor himself. Tolkien's elves were complex people with varying personalities and passions. They weren't the stoic, almost vulcan-ish, people PJ made them out to be. I love the PJ films, but if we are going to make them the standard, then I guess the room for creativity is gone(?) 

7. "The writing sucks/ is fan fiction." 

I'll admit, the writing is rough in a few places. Galadriel jumping ship was kinda dumb. But its not Rise of Skywalker level dumb. And I'll fully admit that this is fan fiction. All television writing based on an IP is fan fiction. Its fiction written by fans/writers based on already established characters/worlds. 

And frankly, the term "its fan fiction" is not an insult to me, because I've read some darn good fan fiction.  Next argument please. 

8. "Its a cash grab from Amazon so we should hate it." 

It’s not. Read the article by The Hollywood Reporter. Also, let's remember that lots of passionate people worked on this series and it shows. Punishing them because Amazon's name is on it is unfair. I know, I know ... Amazon is not squeaky clean. But if we boycotted every company who had stains on their record, we would be living in cabins in the woods eating squirrels. 

7. “Galadriel couldn’t have survived the volcano/ she does dumb over the top stuff ... this show is not realistic.”

You guys do realize this is a fantasy series, right? Also the way she stood their was so bad@$$. 

And yeah, she did this:

You do know that horse acrobatics is a real thing right? 

Also, need I remind you this over the top elf:

He did dumber stuff and we loved it. It was cool. If we are going to take the time to pick apart the “unrealistic” story full of wizards, elves, and magic, then we are gonna be here awhile.

In conclusion, there is only one episode left and I can’t wait! Even if the finale is “just ok”, it’s been a blast to be back in Middle-earth and that means a lot to me. If you are not a fan of ROP, that’s fine. You don’t have to watch it. But some of us are really enjoying it and I can’t wait for the next 4 seasons. Be nice.

Rant over :P Thank you for listening.

#rings of power #lord of the rings #rant #this show is dope #and no one can convince me otherwise

[readinginithilien]

Of the history of Galadriel and her relationship with Celeborn

I love Galadriel and Celeborn and their relationship, and especially what little can be gleaned from Galadriels history. I recently read that Tolkien later in his life wanted to change Galadriels past and intended to have her sail to Middle-earth independently from the hosts of the Noldor. I don't like that at all. It deprives her of the wonderful character arc we get glimpses at in the Silmarillion and the Lord of the Rings.

In the age of the trees, Galadriel was proud and head-strong, independent, in manners like a man, intelligent, far-sighted and ambitious. After Alqualondë she is driven by her desire for revenge and to rule.

Then she enters Doriath. And instead of taking the chance to rule somewhere like all her cousins, she stays there quite a while. When she emerges again in the second age (allthough she left earlier, only that's when we learn from her next), she is changed. She is still proud, intelligent, far-sighted and head-strong (look at her behaviour in LotR), independent (she spent quite some time separated from her husband in the second age) and ambitious. However, she is not driven by a desire for revenge (don't talk to me about that series) or to rule anymore. She doesn't take any of the chances to rule in the chaotic beginnings of the second age, and when she becomes the Lady of Lothlorien, she doesn't rule, just lead. She doesn't take the title of a queen. In fact she tells us that the ring tempted her, that it would have made her a queen - but she resisted. She has overcome that desire. Similarly there is no sign of her still looking for revenge, just to defend her people and free middle-earth. She has become wiser, more powerful, and she has overcome the negative motivations while still maintaining the important traits of her personality. She has gone through quite the character development.

And all this has happened in Doriath, coinciding with her meeting Celeborn. That could be coincidental, but I like to believe that he helped quite a lot. He helped her realise that she didn't need to rule, that she could lead and help without that power, and that thirst for revenge was unhealthy. But he also supported her wisdom, search for power and independence (there is no sign their relationship suffered under the long spells of separation in the second age).

She found a husband who helped her do some character development, but who still supported her dreams, personality and strength. She found a husband and did not become a meek little housewife. She did not become co-dependent, or submissive, or even saw the need to stay with him all the time. He supported her and helped her get over the negative traits while getting stronger. And I think that is beautiful.

As an aside, this gives me a lot of hope for Tolkiens idea of what became of Eowyn after she marries Faramir.

As a second aside, we don't know what Celeborn was like before he met her, but LotR gave me the feeling that he could definitely still do some character development. Galadriel has to tell him to cool down with regards to dwarves when thousands of years have passed since they did his people (not unprovoked) wrong, and he probably ate dwarves in his past,the hypocrite. It makes me wonder what would have happened to him if he'd had a little more time with Galadriel and Gimli and maybe some more dwarves in the fourth age. Maybe he would have had some character development, too. Maybe it would have even been enough to close the chapter of middle earth and sail. Maybe that will still happen. Who knows

#lord of the rings #the silmarillion #tolkien #tolkien meta #galadriel #celeborn

[whiteladyofithilien]

Man of Quality and Integrity

I'm going through the trilogy again and I think I've misunderstood Faramir's reaction to discovering he has the Ring within his grasp. We like to say Faramir wasn't even tempted by the Ring. But he does have a moment where he's considering the matter his whole "and the ring of rings at hand" speech that frightens Frodo and Sam to the point they draw swords against him.

Faramir doesn't tell them he wasn't tempted. He explains that his integrity as a man or Gondor demands that he keep his word even if it was made in ignorance of what it was he was speaking of when he said "I wouldn't take it even if it was lying on the roadside and Minas Tirith was in ruins". Faramir is governed by wisdom, integrity and empathy (I feel when he uses the word pity empathy is more the sense he means rather than how we tend to use pity as a word with an almost negative connotation)

His integrity demands that he holds his word even to the death. His wisdom tells him that (much like Gandalf) he shouldn't even be shown the thing. He knows some things are left well enough alone. And his empathy/pity moves him to promise help to Frodo. He perceives that Frodo is in fact a mighty hero in his own way because he's come so far without falling to the lure of the Ring. The Ring he won't even trust himself to see or hear mentioned again.

I do NOT think that moment of consideration was feigned to frighten Frodo and Sam and play a joke on them as Faramir's men took the exchange (they couldn't hear what was spoken). He is a Man. But he is a just and kind man. He's not the kind to play a cruel joke on weary travelers bearing a burden beyond mortal strength. That's not in his character. He has a sense of humor, but psychological twists isn't it.

#faramir #lord of the rings #ithilien #prince of ithilien #captain of gondor #gondor #frodo baggins #frodo #samwise gamgee #samwise the brave #lotr #tolkien #jrrt #jrr tolkien #rings of power #the one ring #the ring #lotr sam #integrity #man of quality #show your quality #i do not desire the speech of living men

[lowcountry-gothic]

Other Minds and Hands

fI strongly feel that anyone with an opinion (positive or negative) on The Rings of Power and/or Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films should listen to Other Minds and Hands, a subseries of the Tolkien Professor podcast specifically aimed at studying adaptations. There’s a lot of undeserved vitriol recently around The Rings of Power, and a lot of unreflective, purely positive nostalgia about the Jackson films as the ideal form of adapting Tolkien, and these two scholars do a great job of covering the nuances between the extreme poles of opinion.

The podcast is hosted by Dr. Corey Olsen of Signum University, formerly of Washington College, a professor who’s spent decades of academic work on Tolkien studies and medieval studies; and Dr. Maggie Parke, who did her doctorate on adaptations and the many challenges of translating a story from one medium to another. Together, they’re striving to create a new set of criteria and terminology for effectively and critically evaluating and classifying adaptations, since the way people discuss them is often reflexive and unthoughtful, based primarily on nostalgia.

(In case you don’t get the reference the title is making, it’s to one of Tolkien’s letters in which he imagines describes Middle-earth and its stories in their ideal finished state, “and yet [leaving] scope for other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama.” In other words, Tolkien expressed hope that other people would add to the legendarium in other ways and in other mediums.)

Together, these two have been discussing adaptations of various works, from The Rings of Power to A Christmas Carol, from Dune to the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings trilogy. They have future plans to cover other adaptations as well, like the new Dungeons & Dragons and Barbie films, among others. But the episodes I think Tolkien fans should listen to in particular are the ones about Peter Jackson’s trilogy. In the hands of these two very thoughtful scholars, they discuss how Jackson actually took quite a few significant liberties with the story, and not just the ones everyone always talks about (Faramir and Treebeard, for example).

To show how fairly and unbiased they are, there have been moments when they’ve made disclaimers of “We’re not saying the Peter Jackson films suck!” and moments when they’ve had to say “We’re not saying the Peter Jackson films are flawless!”

Below are the episodes I’ve found particularly relevant (I’ll try to update this list as new episodes are released):

#34: The adaptation of Elrond in the Peter Jackson films.

#36: The adaptation of Galadriel in the Peter Jackson films.

#37: The adaptation of Aragorn in the Peter Jackson films.

#39: The adaptation of Legolas and Gimli in the Peter Jackson films.

#44: Tolkien’s own continually changing ideas about dwarves.

#45: The adaptation of Sauron and the Nazgul in the Peter Jackson films.

#46: The adaptation of Saruman and Orcs in the Peter Jackson films.

#text #mine #tolkien #the rings of power #lotr #peter jackson #elrond #galadriel #aragorn #legolas greenleaf #gimli gloin's son #corey olsen #maggie parke #adaptations #podcasts #other minds and hands

[lesbiansforboromir]

Categorically the most galling part of this universal perception that Boromir is a 'poor out-of-his-depth himbo whose completely ignorant of politics' is how it is blindingly canonically apparent that he put massive effort into being a political entity, to the point that his political opinions follow him even into the Council of Elrond.

Without the Council of Elrond, one could interpret his narrative positioning as a more 'Middle Man' and less 'high' as something forced upon him, a (narratively framed) negative aspect of his character that Faramir is critisising and lamenting as just 'part of his nature'. He is being associated with the Rohirrim and other 'lesser' men because he is also a 'lesser' man inspite of his heritage, due to his 'flawed' and 'weak-willed' personality.

Although that is still a bit of a stilted and awkward interpretation in my opinion, Eomer explicitely differentiates Boromir's treatment and manner around the Rohirrim from other men of Gondor he has known. He is 'less grim' etc etc, Eomer felt more at ease in his company, which implies to me more that Boromir interacted with the Rohirrim as equals, unlike most of this kin. Which seems more likely to be an active effort on his part.

But interpretations based off of that are entirely unnecessary, because the Council of Elrond exists! Where Boromir, when confronted with Aragorn's mistrust of the Rohirrim and Gwaihir's accusation that they pay a tribute of horses to Sauron, immediately and comfortably comes to their staunch defense. 'It is a lie that comes from the Enemy' he declares, literally pointing out propeganda that all these elves and dunadain are primed to believe given their own investment in the racial divide between them and these 'middle men'. A primer that also belongs to Boromir, whose place amongst the 'high men' is a right bestowed on him from birth, yet one he is actively discarding here in favour of defending the Rohir perspective.

And not only that! He even goes so far as to place the rohirrim's ethnic and cultural heritage as a reason for their trustworthiness, inspite of the fact that they cannot claim any relation to any so called 'blessed' lineage. They come from 'the free days of old', a statement that is similar to one of Faramir's but that, tellingly, Faramir uses as a method of infantilising the rohirrim 'they remind us of the youth of Men'.

These are all inherently and radically political statements for the heir of the Stewardship, the man next in line to be chieftain of the southern dunadain, to declare, especially when acting as emissary as he is now.

So now, all those moments when Boromir is linked directly with middle men, when his right to his 'high' heritage is questioned, when he is critisised with the same racially charged language as the rohirrim are (too warlike, "we are become Middle Men, of the Twilight, but with memory of other things" [-] "So even was my brother, Boromir") - all of that is now on purpose, on Boromir's part. He is the one distancing himself from the title of 'high' and questioning it's validity in the process, something Faramir clearly disapproved of and was a part of the breakdown in his respect for him. (Understandable, considering Faramir's equal and opposite effort to reclaim the title of 'high' for himself and his people.) Boromir is, essentially, engaging in some kind of racial-hierarchy criticism/abolishionism and activism.

That is not to say that his political opinions all entirely pass muster, he does still engage in racist rhetoric at least once, calling Gondor's eastern enemies 'the wild folk of the east'. But within the context of his own country and it's ethnic diversity, his position is maverick in comparison to pretty much everyone else.

And before anyone says it, let me head off comments like 'Boromir was just being himself, he didn't even know it was political he was just that stupid but I love him for it' No. Boromir's reputation in Gondor was complex and multifacetted but a great many people loved and supported him, clearly we see that there was a divide in political opinion between the two brother's stances on war and society. What you are essentially saying here is that Faramir is such a dull-witted statesman that he was incapable of swaying opinion his way against someone who didn't even know he was a part of the discussion, who wasnt even involved in the debates, against a high society that based their cultural identity on being descended from racially superior Numenoreans. The historical perspective is heavily weighted in Faramir's favour.

The much more likely state of affairs is that Boromir and Faramir have both been working towards their own social change and against each other, causing an opinion divide within the country. And apparently Boromir has not been losing that fight, even if he hasn't been definitively winning it either. Some people call him reckless where Faramir is measured, others say Faramir is not bold enough, Denethor himself claims Faramir is placing his desire for nobility and 'high-ness' over the safety of himself and his people. Culturally Gondor is going in for more pursuits of war-sports (wrestling perhaps) and the adulation of the soldiers that defend them, above the men of lore if Faramir is to be believed.

Society is changing around this debate and Boromir is actively, purposefully and directly involved in that debate! Hells bells, he even describes a part of how he works in the political sphere to Frodo! 'Where there are so many, all speech becomes a debate without end. But two together may perhaps find wisdom.' Boromir is!!! A politician!! On purpose!!

The neutral political position of 'Heir to the Stewardship' given to him by his birth is so ludicrously weighted towards faithful that the effort it must have taken to push the needle and associate with the middle men as such a divisive yet loved figure is MASSIVE. Boromir believed the Rohirrim and middle men of Gondor were his social equals and counted them amongst his people and that was a stance he upheld in PARLIMENT! Stop!! Acting like he's just a blockheaded soldier who cares about nothing else- he cares!! He cares a lot!! Professionally in fact!!

#text post #boromir #erran vs tolkien #tolkien meta #gondor #faramir #gondor meta

[aeide-thea]

this tolkien meta points out some parallels i'd never particularly considered before, but the main thing it made me realize, which is tangential (and also negative) so i'm sticking it in its own post, is—why is tolkien so obsessed with niblings?

thorin has nephews. bilbo has a nephew. théoden has niblings. and with both thorin and théoden we know they're the children of a sister who gets no screentime. (denethor's sons via a long-dead wife get an honorable mention in this category also.) and part of me thinks: isn't this basically, conscious or not, a strategy that lets tolkien write about dynasties while effectively eliding the sex and marriages—and women!—that produce them?

which is easy to shrug off with the argument that those things aren't the stuff of Adventure, but rather of the society the adventurers leave behind them; but at the same time, it's all of a piece with the deeply sexist, deeply catholic ('sex must occur only within the confines of marriage, which becomes a euphemistic container for it') sensibilities that permeate tolkien's work more generally. like—look at homer. look at vergil. the domestic and familial can absolutely appear in epic. women can appear in epic.*

and of course you can say, well, tolkien's work is really more in dialogue with anglo-saxon and germanic traditions, and i'd have to admit i haven't read those stories since i was a preteen (watch me now get really into the nibelungenlied/völsunga saga/eddas…); but iirc even those featured fewer women who were always-already-dead!

⸻ * obviously éowyn does in fact get significant screentime in lotr! and even in a way where she's involved in Actual Affairs and not, like goldberry and galadriel, just a pretty symbol of the adventurers' temporary reentry into a settled sphere. but you notice that she both has to take on a male role in order to take part—she can't just fight, she has to become 'dernhelm' to do it—and that she's restored tidily to proper wedded femininity by the end of the story (hoo boy can we talk abt faramir literally wrapping her in his dead mother's mantle). anyway. loved éowyn growing up and also very vehemently think people (often women!) who claim her narrative isn't in fact sexist because it's about tolkien ~valuing healing~ are closing their eyes to how that narrative functions when it's applied to a woman specifically.

#anyway this is absolutely not a Proper Post abt this‚ that would require more rereading #of both tolkien and the germanic sagas #this is just an off-the-cuff reaction to some meta someone reblogged that Got Me Thinking #but like. strategies of sexless reproduction whose sexlessness is achieved by killing off the mothers before the story ever gets started… #anyway stay tuned for my eventual paper on the nibling-lied lmao #the matter of arda #bookblogging

[hopeless-eccentric]

so eowyn huh.

my blistering take is that her ending sucks a hell of a lot less than a lot of people think it does, especially when you peel back some of the layers

first and foremost, eowyn was raised in rohan, a staunch warrior culture which, while explored with a certain amount of open mindedness, does not go uncriticized for that! never forget that lotr is incredibly anti-war for a war book. tolkien’s “wisdom mouthpiece characters” such as gandalf and faramir often treat societal emphasis on war as a lamentable (if not slightly necessary due to the whole Mordor issue) “fall” from a former golden age of wisdom and emphasis on arts and culture. this kind of cultural mindset (which is also somewhat established in gondor) is often associated with barrenness and decay/decline (fun fact, this is why a lot of powerful warrior characters such as boromir and earnur never marry or have children). basically, the audience is supposed to see these patriarchal, warlike societies as byproducts of the war with Mordor, but nasty ones nonetheless

so back to eowyn!

what she wants more than anything else is to be treated with basic human respect and decency. in a society that 1) views war as masculine and 2) values war above anything else, there is basically no way to get that respect and decency while being a woman. the fact that she feels the need to ride to war and die for her country just to be treated like a person is fully intended to be a tragedy and an indication of the flaws of rohirric society. (caveat: this isn’t the only reason she rides to war. but even if there are multiple reasons, it shouldnt be any of them!)

there’s also the whole issue with gender and heroism. in the foundational tolkien studies paper “the feminine principle in tolkien” by melanie rawls (please check it out my god it’s fascinating, if you can’t find a copy dm me!) suggests that ultimate heroism/wholeness in lotr and adjacent works is often androgynous, and that heroic characters who lean masculine or feminine will seek balance by either 1) taking on the other gender’s traits/roles or 2) surrounding themselves with an opposing influencing person (think legolas and gimli becoming more heroic as they become better friends and balance each other out)

in eowyn’s case, she’s naturally a little on the masculine side, which means the strictly gendered roles of society aren’t just illogical and unfair, but uncomfortable and limiting. she isn’t fully masculine, so her time as dernhelm feels false and incomplete, but the roles designated to women are also limiting and treated without respect

this is all a big part of why she ends up with someone very feminine. in a lot of ways, faramir provides the balance she’s lacked both within herself and her society

another thing faramir brings to the table is an outside cultural perspective, especially with his negative opinions of war and warrior culture. that balance he brings is a lot more than symbolic. he suggests that while her feats of arms are respectable, she still deserved respect before she killed the witch king. she always has! 

and it’s this idea and their few weeks of conversation that begin to break down the patriarchal warrior culture stuff she had ingrained. she doesn’t have to be masculine to be treated well, but she can be if she wants. she also can be feminine in a way where she isn’t treated poorly for it, which is, in my opinion, why she opts to become a healer. not only does healing symbolically oppose rohan’s warrior culture, but it’s a specifically feminine trait (according to Rawls). however, what’s important is that she chooses it as a way of purposefully finding balance and wholeness in her life (cycling back to the androgynous balance theory) by evening out her “naturally masculine” nature with CHOSEN feminine influences and pastimes

long story short, eowyn wants to be feminine, she just also wants to be respected and treated with decency. choosing to marry faramir and become a healer is indicative of her finally getting a chance to do that in a way that she wants without being treated poorly, disrespected, or reducing herself as a person, and i think that’s pretty baller

#that being said it's still bullshit that she barely gets recognized for killing the witch king #like i think they recognize faramir who slept through the whole goddamn battle #i like him too but piss off #lotr #lotr meta #eowyn #faramir #lord of the rings

[necrobratz]

gonna drop my thoughts here bc im thinkin abt it a lot but my transmasc ass cannot help but project SO HARD onto faramir

hes second borne of denethor, obvi, and denethor views his place as a woman absolutely useless in succession. he favors boromir bc he believes boromir will actually amount to something, whereas faramir will not. faramir grows up watching his elder brother train and be taken around by their father, meanwhile he must sit and be a pretty face in the background.

eventually, he asks boromir to train him. Boromir, being the beloved elder brother he is, does so. faramir is absolutely ecstatic. he wants everything boromir has and more, but it is not out of pure jealousy. he cannot place the feeling he has in his gut every time hes seen not as a young boy, but as a young woman. he’s miserable, and he wishes above all else to be seen exactly as his brother is.

he voices these thoughts to boromir, who responds with something along the lines of “then if you wish to be, you are as much a brother to me as any other man in this city, if not more-so.” they discuss many things, such as names and if to tell their father. boromir says to do so, and faramir agrees on the basis of more than just boromir acknowledging his true self. when they do, denethor is.. not pleasant! he only agrees to these “ridiculous terms” because boromir refuses to listen otherwise.

faramir proceeds to spend the rest of his childhood as a boy would, with the shadow of his father constantly looming over than him. he looks down upon everything he does, using every small mistake as an opportunity to point out his sex. no matter what he does, denethor will find anything and everything to berate and belittle him for. he must do everything boromir does and 10x more in order for denethor to even acknowledge his existence in a way that isnt entirely negative.

once boromir is dead, it doesnt get any better. denethor has no reason to respect faramir now, and just resorts back as if boromir had never told him. most people dont even know who the hell denethor is talking about because everyone just knows faramir as faramir, but he doesnt care. faramirs given up on ever trying to gain that level of respect from his father.

he meets eowyn, who is ALSO TRANS!!!!! they understand each other on a level no one else anywhere in their lives could. he finds so much comfort in her he gets weak fucking knee’d. they talk for hours and hours and by the end of it faramir is so enamored with her he cannot imagine a life without her. t4t farawyn is literally everything to me rn

this is barely coherent bc im watching two towers at the same time im writing this but heyy projection love it so much

#lotr #faramir #eowyn #eowyn of rohan #faramir of gondor #lord of the rings #trans tolkien #trans faramir #trans hcs #trans eowyn #eros speaks #i have more trans hcs btw #bilbo. bofur. frodo. pippin. dwalin. the list goes on

[xihe1874]

AO3 First Lines Tag Game

tagged by @pollyna (thank you so much for tagging me love!!)

Rules: Share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written fewer than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

Here we go----

Hangman's Good Plan (complete, Top Gun, icemav, hangster)

Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin never feels nervous. No, negative, not in a million years. So when he stands out of the office of Admiral Kazansky - the COMPACFLT - in his best suit, his forehead sweaty, he regards his crazy heartbeat as…positively wound up, yeah.

2. Icarus (complete, Top Gun, icemav)

Ice has known the story of Icarus since he was eight. He still remembers the day when his father told him the myth in his stern way.

3. The Black cat (complete, Top Gun, icemav)

After they moved in together, Maverick found a little stray black cat in their backyard and immediately decided to adopt it. Ice just rolled his eyes and said he had no interest in fluffy animals, refusing to pet its head when the cat rubbed against his leg.

4. Plans (complete, Top Gun, icemav)

Maverick never makes plans. He bases his judgment entirely on intuition. He didn't plan anything, excited at the randomness and freedom. He is flying both in the sky and on the ground.

5. Where Past and Future are Gathered (WIP, Top Gun, icemav, goosecarole, hangster)

Rooster leans forward on his chair and keeps his eyes firmly ahead.  Cyclone is going on and on about tomorrow’s mission, some shit like patriotism or sacred duty, maybe. He lost concentration a long time ago but still fixes his gaze on the sturdy admiral, even when his mind is blurred by the tedious speech and meaningless lip movement.

6. Then I Open my eyes and see you (WIP, Top Gun, icemav, goosecarole)

“Wallpaper?”Pete Mitchell, endearingly called by his close friends (or friend, honestly, who is walking beside him right now) as “Maverick”, takes the cup of iced black coffee from Nick Bradshow, or “Goose”, co-founder of M+G Design Ltd. 

7. 轮廓 (complete, Top Gun, icemav, Chinese)

Iceman非常讨厌派对和聚会，特别是那些需要他和上级们社交的活动——他很不情愿。虽然，他是个年轻的雄心勃勃、前途无量的海军中校，但他还是憎恨这些互动。

8. Moonlight, Sunshine, and Baby you are Mine (WIP, Top Gun, Brooklyn-Nine-Nine, icemav, peraltiago, background goosecarole)

“Room 99, 99…” Pete Mitchell - or, as he prefers, Maverick - walks down the hallway, murmuring to himself, his blue rucksack hanging off one shoulder. He peeks at the door beside him and shakes his head. “Come on, Goose. We are not there yet.”

9. Be my Love in the Rain (complete, Top Gun, icemav, goosecarole)

It was raining outside. Or, more accurately, it was raining buckets, and the said buckets had the same capacity as the Amazon. Ice glanced at his watch again, surprised that it had only been five minutes since he last checked the time - feeling like a century already. The world was blurred and hazy out of the windshield, all the objects blending together like watercolours. 

10. Season of joy, Season of Love (WIP, Lord of the Ring, Faramir/Eowyn)

My dearest Faramir, Winter is approaching - I can feel it from the chill in the air and the water. This morning I woke up and found my feet freezing. I have to ask Holdwyn to add logs in the fireplace - can you believe it, my dear? I never feared coldness before.

No pressure tag: @abliafina-18782 @derpinathebrave (and anyone who is interested!!! Sorry my brain has abandoned me and I can't even think properly right now...)

#❤️ #icemav #iceman x maverick #tom iceman kazansky #pete maverick mitchell #hangster #jake hangman seresin #bradley rooster bradshaw #top gun #top gun 1986 #top gun: maverick #tagging game #first lines tagging game

[altschmerzes]

also- deeply like. moved and emotionally shredded by the very brief but incredibly telling flashback scene in two towers of boromir and faramir and the way they interact with each other and with their father. because it’s like - boromir it seems to me could have made things much easier and simpler on himself by just… being the good son. it would be so easy to sit back and be the favoured child, the favoured son, but he didn’t. when denethor showed up - to heap praise on him! to shine glory on him! - boromir’s response is immediately negative, and he says can we not have a moment’s peace. can he not give us that.

we. us. he could’ve taken the pride, the love, the good favour, and that would’ve been that. but he loved his brother. and that interaction hurt faramir, always did, and so it hurt him too. because he aligned himself with his brother even though it obviously made his life much harder. which like- it’s a very short scene but there’s an enormous amount packed into it and it’s one that flays me every time i think about it.

#GD SORRY FOR LIKE. BABBLING ABOUT LOTR AT UH ONE AM BUG #*BUT #that just sticks in me! so hard! #from everything we saw their father had no issue with him - the OPPOSITE in fact #but his reaction when denethor showed up said everything #can WE not have a moment’s peace. can he not give US that. #we. us. because there was no joy when it came with his brother’s suffering #no warmth in his father’s love when it came with his brother’s pain #and that my dear friends will gut me time and again #lord of the rings #cant handle it. gd.