#i try to make faramir less pretty i promise

[eliounora]

tiny sketchy eowyn and faramir designs

#made the picture super tiny so that no one sees my sketchy lineart on it #puts them in doll house #i try to make faramir less pretty i promise #but i think i did finally come up with nice clothes for him #his face needs some work HAHA BUT YOU CAN'T SEE IT UP CLOSE IT'S TINY #my art

[morwensteelsheen]

farawyn and borodred for the ship ask game thing?

thank you so much!! :)

okay i’ll start with borodred because for some unfathomable reason i actually got there first —

1. What made you ship it?

One of my favourite Types of ships is the Elder Statesmen Of War-type set-ups, where it’s less about people brought together through theatrical romantic gestures and more about the steadiness of people who are going through similar (immensely difficult) circumstances, who know that in their hearts they’re always going to put their duty to that cause first, but still seek out human comfort in other people who will understand what their priorities are and why.

I think there’s also a lot of similarities about the kind of helplessness they both face despite having this tremendous innate strength. Both of them still have to deal with family dynamics that are complex (made more complex by the war) and that can’t be fixed just by their own sheer will power; both of them die these utterly unnecessary deaths (not that death makes a ship but I think in this instance it actually points to the constant tragedy these guys face); and both of them are meant to be the principal figures of their families and people and are ultimately sidelined by the cruel mechanisations of war and the forward march of history or whatever wanky term there is for it — my apologies to ep thompson's ghost, dont haunt me bro.

Plus there’s obviously the interesting thread raised when Faramir starts bitching about Gondor and likens Gondor (and by very explicit extension, Boromir) to Rohan. That always made me go ‘Hmmmmmm, wonder what else Boromir liked about Rohan,’ lmao.

Anyways for me the ship is the equivalent of Star Wars’ Kanan and Hera or (my OTP to end all others) Luke and Wedge, just people getting by on love and duty and without big ol fancy romance.

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

The fanon, I think, really makes it, as with so many other LOTR ships. battlefield manners, by themightypen is essentially the definitive take for me on them — these two guys who are just so fucking exhausted, man, but still overcome by defensive love for their families, even if their (foster-)siblings are naïve fools. That I just love, love, love. Plus I think they’re unique for their ability to pretty comfortable explore the relationship between Gondor & Rohan in advance of the Ring War without having to stray too far into AU, which I always appreciate.

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Not really, tbh, except in that I don’t think Boromir is necessarily as laddy as people like to portray him. I’m happy to play into it in, say, my modern AUs because I think that’s a fun and sweet niche for him, but I am a bit 🤪 about Boromir as this kind of reckless, drunken playboy (not least because I think that’s a much funnier niche for Faramir to fill, at least when he’s younger). Chapter Four of Swaddledog’s Hearts and Minds gets my preferred Boromir characterisation absolutely spot on, I think.

And now, sigh, the ultimate OTP, Farawyn —

1. What made you ship it?

For starters, I think I am obsessed with Éowyn in a way I’ve never quite been obsessed with any other fictional character. I came to reading LOTR at this moment in my life where I was intensely frustrated about everything — trapped inside permanently (helplessly!) because of the pandemic, just starting a new political organisation that I truly believed in but that was still making me feel like shit, facing down an untenable about of work, and, fundamentally, really, really hating being a woman and what that means. And along comes Éowyn, who is bitter, who is cold, who is ANGRY, and who doesn’t perform joy or softness or gentleness just because people expect her to. She’s this seminal Woman Of War in so many ways, I think the kind of person a lot of us wish we could be. She’s got her emotional taps cut off at the source, she holds her head high and faces down unimaginable personal and political terrors, and at the end of it all still has this abiding love for her family that, I would argue, is almost unparalleled by anyone else in the book.

After all that, she gets this incredible moment of emotional catharsis (or what we expect to be emotional catharsis): “no living man am I!” She undertakes THE greatest martial act of the Ring War, and in that moment there’s this unbelievably sophisticated dialogue happening about gender (“Éowyn it was, and Dernhelm also”), and leadership (Merry finding his courage not because of the immediate scenario of the Witch-king, but because he’s spurred into it by Éowyn’s presence), and love and care.

And then we learn that no, actually, this glorious act of violence wasn’t the emotional catharsis we thought it would be. She gets to ride to war, she gets to throw herself headlong at death, and in the end that hopeless act of individualism isn’t really what does it for her. She’s still left desolate and despairing, and actually all of her problems haven’t gone away.

And then we need to rewind a bit, because along comes Faramir, who is gentle, and is kind, and does seem to believe in joy, but not because people expect it — actually it's made abundantly clear nobody expects it — but because it’s something quite innate to how he figures the world. And he’s a huge fucking nerd too. I have a lot of thoughts on Faramir’s flaws and why I find them endearing, which I won’t put here, but almost immediately you get this sense of a guy who’s quite melodramatic, good humoured, and very much not made to live in a time of war.

But he’s also clear-headed about war and what it requires (tactically, if not strategically, though that’s a post for another day), but who is kind of cynical and weary of it in his own unique way. And it’s a unique cynicism given his personal circumstances because he’s the second son of The great family of Gondor, he’s apparently — though with some big ol’ question marks hanging about the extent — very able to command some of the elite units in the realm, and what’s more than that, he’s got all these fantastical powers (the light mind reading to start, to say nothing of this apparently magical ability to command animals too. bruh.). By all accounts he should be this brazen hot mess, but he’s not. He’s desperate to claw his way out of this war-torn cage of expectation his people have for how a man should comport himself in time of war. Is it a little naïve? Sure. A little fussy? Absolutely. But does it point to that same desperation that Éowyn has? Yes! But also the practicality, like, neither of them are really enjoying the circumstances they live under, but good fucking god are they both able to Make It Work.

So finally we get to the Houses of Healing and what is the finest and most aggressively romantic writing of LOTR. Seriously, it’s so fucking much. It’s breathtaking. It reminds me quite viscerally of this fabulous quote from Les Mis:

The power of a glance has been so much abused in love stories, that it has come to be disbelieved in. Few people dare now to say that two beings have fallen in love because they have looked at each other. Yet it is in this way that love begins, and in this way only.

At some point I will devote more time to talking about the two reasons line, and the blissful Queen of Gondor speech, but I think to me that big, important line is: “And then her heart changed, or at least she understood it; and the winter passed, and the sun shone upon her.”

It’s not about Éowyn changing herself entirely (though, I think, it really does bear mentioning that she does change, and that’s every bit as important to understanding that scene as it is romantic), it’s about Éowyn coming to terms with how to live with herself as herself, and how to live in communion with someone else. She can’t just cut people out anymore, and she can’t just treat them as objects of infatuation as she did with Aragorn, she has to reckon with people as they are. And that’s sort of the moment where I knew I was about to plunge fully off the deep end with these two and never know a moments’ peace again, lmao.

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

Someone on here once called Farawyn a love letter to women and, by god, yes, exactly that. I love the capacity for emotional intimacy, that is beautiful in ways I can’t express. To me, though, my favourite thing is the promise of life they speak of. Not as in oh they shag loads and have babies (though not opposed to that, obviously), but in the sense that unlike Aragorn and Arwen, who are always going to be buried under/burdened with the crushing weight of history and tradition, Éowyn and Faramir are going out yonder those hills and they’re going to do some real cottagecore farming shit. Obviously with all the trappings of rank and nobility and whatnot, but they, unique to anybody else in the books, get to sow this new idea of what life should be. They are, outside of Aragorn, the single most powerful people in Gondor. Éowyn’s got the ear of a king, a steward (which is essentially a prime-ministerial deal here), and functionally her own prince (if the hobbits are to be believed when they refer to it as essentially hers). I suspect that, in life, there were remarkably few arguments she wasn’t winning, and that Ithilien probably trended towards the jumped up noble hippie camp Tolkien so desperately wanted Oxford to be (or, in other words — Cambridge, lol).

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Yeah, man, everybody stop treating Faramir like he’s a big fucking crybaby and Éowyn like she’s some kind of shrieking 2010-era tumblr girl.

One of the single most important lines defining Faramir’s character is when Denethor roasts his ass for always trying to appear noble and lordly, if you ignore every other piece of textual evidence we have about him, what part of that line makes you think Faramir’s some simpering daisy? And why would you want to link tremendous emotional intelligence and care with being too limp-wristed to function, lol??? Like I struggle loads with writing Faramir, because I have never once in my life tried to be noble or self-restrained, so find it hard to get into that mindset, but better, I think, to imagine him too closed off than to do this wilting flower song and dance lmao.

And stop making Éowyn out to be this over-emotional angst machine. She’s got problems, yes, and she’s sure as shit got a lot of angst, but at almost every point in the book where we’re overtly dealing with her emotions, she’s sublimating them into something else. One of the most serious times we see her cry is when she’s fighting with Aragorn about riding out, and after that moment she literally tries to kill herself. Those tears aren’t standard, man, that’s a real watershed (lol) moment for her. You have to read around what the text is saying to get a better feel why everybody’s constantly calling her cold and distant.

#god this is probably obnoxiously long because i can't do cuts on my phone #but refuse to open the tumblr website on my laptop lmao #faramir #éowyn #boromir #théodred #farawyn #borodred #god sorry for these fucking tags man im just trying to make my blog slightly more organised #i just have a lot of thoughts #i should really write more metas it would probably help my writing out quite a bit #asks #meta

[foralwaysandforever]

If it isn't to much trouble may I have (male) lotr matchup please. My pronouns are she/her. Im a Capricorn, my Mbti type is infj-a/infj-t. I tend to be shy around new people but I can be somewhat loud with people who im close to. My height is 5'0. My aesthetic would be cottegecore mixed with oversized sweaters. Im not very athletic and im not a big fan of sports but I love to go roller and ice skating. I also love to read books and to also cook and bake food. I also like to garden. I've been playing the violin for 6-ish years. I love animals and im planing on becoming a wildlife veterinarian. I like to Watch nature/animal documentaries. I also like sweets. Somethings I dislike are people who bend or ruin my books and people who speak over me when im trying to talk. sorry if i spelt anything wrong. Hope im not bothering you:)

(If it isn't to much trouble may I not be match up with any of the hobbits, they give best friends vibes lmao)

It's no trouble at all <3 I promise you, none of it is a bother!

♡°♡°♡

I match you with Faramir!

•Faramir loves the violin, so he's astounded when he hears you playing one day. He soon learns that not only was the music appealing and beautiful, but so was the person playing it. He would sit for hours while you practiced, listening but also encouraging you when you looked frustrated at any mistakes you made. He truly loves the way your eyes light up when you play a particularly beautiful piece.

•Despite what some may think, Faramir has a big sweet tooth. Yes, he’s a battle hardened hero, but man’s is always down for some sugary snacks. When he learned that you loved sweet stuff too, he made a mental note to get you something every time he had the chance. He also liked to bake with you, especially cakes and treats. He has some family recipes that he shares with you, and he attempts to make your recipes as well. Sometimes he’ll add things to your recipes in an attempt to “spice it up,” apparently. Normally it backfires but it’s pretty funny. Sometimes you two get into food fights over the smallest things, to be fair Faramir instigates most of them. Maybe he cracks an egg and a bit of shell falls into the batter, you smack him playfully, he puts flour on your nose, and so on until you’ve both made a monumental mess.

•Faramir hates being talked over as well, he was always the less brazen and loud brother. He makes sure you’re heard whenever you have a point to bring up, you always have something insightful to say and he loves to know what you think about, even if it’s something silly. You both have each others back when you’re being interrupted, people can’t help but admire the high level of mutual love and respect you guys have for one another.

♡°♡°♡

#faramir #lord of the rings matchup #lord of the rings #asked and answered <3

[extremelyblackandwhite]

a new beginning - 06

Pairing: LOTR! James “Bucky” Barnes x Reader

Warnings: bucky constantly being hit by gimli

A/N: gimli playing matchmaker again. he ships it. 

Main Masterlist

   - Are you sweet on my girl, ranger? - Gimli placed a pint of beer in front of the ranger who was sat down at the table staring at the wood and wondering how he’d gotten himself into this situation. He barely knew the girl, he had known her for less than a month but he was certain love was there. Maybe it was because she had been the one to find him at the doors of death and save him from it or maybe it was because she was a princess, the one he knew he’d never have. - The princess, are you sweet on her?

  - I think she’s a lovely woman. - Gimli huffed at James answer but he was too busy locked in his mind still trying to understand his feelings. He’d meet many women in his travels, even slept with some but feelings never seemed to arise yet there he was.

  - Go ask her to dance. - he almost pushed him on the floor trying to cause him to do anything but James was expecting that and remained sat on the bench like a stone person. The dwarf mumbled something before hitting his pint against the table calling the attention of everyone including the King who was happily speaking with some friends. - Faramir, get your daughter here. 

 - Last time I checked Faramir was King of Rohan not Gimli. - Faramir mumbled in his breathe as he approached his daughter who was still being congratulated and being handed gifts from people that she didn’t really remember. He touched her on the shoulder before pointing roughly in the direction of Gimli and James. She nodded and excused herself from her guests before starting to walk towards them. 

  - Now, Y/N, why is no one dancing here? Isn’t this supposed to be a party? Looks dead to me. - the dwarf chuckled heartily at the woman he had grown to see as part of his family. 

  - Well no one has decided to take the leap yet. - she sat next to them, pushing her dress to the side as not to get it stepped on. - Why? Would you and Legolas like to open the dance grounds?

  - I have a better idea. Why don’t you and Mr. Beautiful over here open the dance grounds? Pretty much the only young blood we have here. - he patted James’ back who started to panic. He couldn’t dance, he never learned how to dance, it wasn’t like dancing was gonna save him from trouble whenever Sauron’s rebels tried to attack him. Dancing was not something he could do yet the dwarf seemed determined in cornering both the two of them into an opening dance which meant all eyes on them. - I’m sure you’re a great dancer, Y/N.

  - Alright, I’ll open the dance floor as long as you find someone to dance with you at the same time. - the princess was a negotiator. She got that from her father for sure as both of them would either have it their way or their way in disguise. Fit to be a Queen, James thought. - And if Mister Barnes wants to dance. We can’t force him to dance, Gimli. 

  - I’m sure he’ll love to dance with you, won’t you boy? - he hit him in the back again and god were the rumours about dwarves strength real. He felt like his heart was about to come out of his mouth with the strength of that hit. 

  - I wouldn’t deny you a dance, Princess Y/N. - he got up and offered her his hand which she gladly took it. Maybe he could pretend to be a good dancer, how hard could it be? Couldn’t be very hard. 

The band noticing that someone had entered the dance grounds started to place a soft song and in that moment James realised that was happening. He would have to wing a full dance with a woman that probably had been taught how to dance ever since she was a child. 

She took a bow in front of him and he mirrored her bow before getting close to her, placing his hand on her wait as the other one went to hold her hand. 

  - I should probably tell you I can’t dance. - he whispered against her ear which made her giggle. - Are you laughing at my misery?

  - I’ve never had to lead a dance partner but follow my lead. - she took a step backwards and he took a step towards her and started to do the same thing in circles and around the dance grounds. - You’re not bad, Mr. Barnes. 

 - I’m afraid my parents didn’t teach me how to dance when I was younger. 

 - If you don’t mind my questioning, why do you not stick with your family? 

 - I don’t know who my family is, Princess. Or even where I come from. My oldest memory is being fourteen and being alone. - he replied and it broke her heart to hear it. Sure she longed to go outside the walls of Rohan but she couldn’t imagine being alone for so long or not knowing her parents. - Is that sadness I see in your eyes?

 - It’s heartache for your loss , milord. - she replied and he felt bad. James had never meant to make her upset or even to unload his past trauma on her, she was too naive to know what he lived like.

- Don’t be sad for me, princess. I’ve lived well and I’m happy despite all of it. I promise you.

- I don’t believe you, sir. - she cocked an eyebrow at him before stepping away from him as the music stopped and everyone clapped. - My offer is still up, you know?

- Doll, I don’t belong here. - he commented as both of them left the dance grounds, walking side by side. Many people commented at the princess and the rugged man by her, it didn’t fit, it didn’t look right. - I don’t think anyone wants me here.

- Nonsense, I want you here. 

- Princess, I’m afraid that If I stay ...

- There’s rebels approaching the walls of Rohan! - one of the watch guards screamed as he burst through the wood doors making everyone including the Queen and King to pay attention. - I’ve seen them, your highness. 

- Get the army ready and the women and children in the dungeons of the palace. - Faramir told one of the servants who immediately sounded the alarm which sent almost every single guard in the palace into the dancing area. Legolas rushed over to Y/N, grabbing her hand away from James.

- C’mon, we must get high ground.

#sebastian stan x reader #bucky barnes x reader #sebastian stan #bucky barnes #bucky imagine #sebastian stan imagine

[theemightypen]

12) We were pretending to be lovers but I’m not pretending anymore and I have to know if you feel the same way. + 13) This wasn’t meant to be a date, but we’ve had such a good time and now it’s 2 A.M. and I should really go home…

as requested by a super sweet anon, who also asked for 11, which can be found here

The first time it happens, it’s because Lothiriel can feel the waves of discomfort rolling off of him. After two months on tour, she likes to think she knows Eomer Eomundson pretty well, or at least well enough to know that the three women that currently have him cornered against a nearby speaker are making him distinctly uncomfortable.

(Honestly, though, what did he expect? The Marshals were the biggest up-and-coming band in rock-country, or whatever genre it was the label had stuck them with, and none of its members were remotely bad looking.)

“Hey, honey,” she finds herself saying, slipping around one of the girls to bump her hip against his. “I hate to interrupt, but they need you to run through another warm-up on vocals.”

To his credit, Eomer only looks mildly alarmed for approximately three seconds before he realizes her interference for what it is: a life preserver to save him from over-eager groupie-wannabes.

“Thanks, sweetheart,” he says, dropping an arm around her shoulders for a quick squeeze. “Ladies, if you’ll excuse us.”

Lothiriel can feel the daggers the other women are staring at her as they walk away, and is weirdly glad for the sense of safety Eomer’s arm gives her. “You know, you couldn’t have picked a worse industry to get into if you don’t like talking to pretty women.”

Eomer snorts. “Those weren’t women, those were sharks.”

“All hungry for Grade A Rohirric beefcake?”

“You swore you wouldn’t repeat that,” he groans. “You promised, Lothiriel--”

“Where’s the fun in that?” She retorts. “I could go on about how the article talked about your rippling pectorals and brooding good-looks--”

The brusque ruffle of her hair is decidedly uncouple-like, but luckily they’re out of sight of the ladies by then.

The second time it happens, it’s him coming to her rescue, much to her chagrin. She and Faramir’s tiny singer-songwriter duo isn’t anywhere near as popular as The Marshals, but since their label had stuck them together for this tour, they were beginning to gain a little more traction in terms of fans and recognition.

Which was great, except for the fact that amongst all of the sweet, hopeful teenage songwriters and the starry-eyed middle age women who were “warm for Faramir’s form” (something Lothiriel desperately wishes she could unhear), there were also a few loons who had declared her their dream girl. Most of them were harmless, sending weird-but-strangely-flattering letters or asking her to sign their biceps, but a few...well. They pushed the limit.

One such guy had found her at the bar they’d all gone to after a particularly successful show--Faramir is usually around to fend them off, but Eowyn’s taking up the majority of his attention nowadays. (Lothiriel’s not complaining; they’re tooth-rottingly sweet, and there’s nothing so amusing to the rest of them as the idea of soft, poetic Faramir with guitar-goddess supreme Eowyn.)

Still. She wishes they weren’t so wrapped up in each other when the guy boxes her in against the bar. Theodred and Eothain are off playing pool, she thinks, and Merry and Pippin, their tech duo, appear to be dancing on a table--thus taking four more potential outs out of the running. Perfect.

“Listen, beautiful, let me just get you one drink,” Skeezy is saying, “all that time singing, you must need something to wet your whistle--”

“She has already has a drink, thanks,” comes Eomer’s voice to her left, followed by said drink being placed into her hand. “Sorry it took so long, sweetheart.”

“That’s alright,” she answers, torn between annoyance and sheer unadulterated relief when Skeezy backs off, leaving her with Eomer, the drink, and a wobbly barstool. “I could have handled that myself, you know.”

“I owed you one,” he says, clinking his glass against hers. “Drink up, Swaan, I paid good money for that.”

It’s a Dark and Stormy, with exactly the right amount of rum. Her favorite. Huh.

After that, well, it becomes a pattern.

Eomer’s worried uncle calls, concerned that he needs a calming influence in his life? Lothiriel finds herself suddenly elevated to girlfriend status, at least as long as the Skype call lasts.

The record label wants her to bring a date to some award ceremony, and Faramir’s already asked Eowyn? Eomer already has a tux.

And so on and so forth.

One night, still in the same city as last night’s show but with nothing else to do, she drags him out to the local boardwalk. It’s got carnival games, rickety old rides--Eomer tries to refuse to go on the “death-traps”, as he puts it, but she can be persuasive when she wants to be, and wheedles him into going with promises of beer and fried food after.

They find a hole-in-the-wall bar that claims to have the coldest beer and best chicken tenders in town.

“Thank you,” he says, abruptly, after the fifth--maybe sixth? She’s lost count--beer.

“For what?” Lothiriel asks, leaning her chin on her hand. She’s suddenly hyper-aware that their legs are tangled together under the table, and that she’s failed to give him his jacket back after she’d started shivering on the last go-round on the roller coaster.

Date date date date echoes in her head, but instead of feeling panicked, or weirded-out it just feels...well, normal.

“For this,” Eomer answers, as if it’s obvious. “I don’t think I’ve taken a night off in weeks.”

“Can’t have you working yourself into the ground, Eomundson,” she fires back, hoping the sudden revelation that she wouldn’t-mind-maybe-dating her fake boyfriend isn’t obvious on her face, “who else would protect me from stalkers and halfway-rotting carnival rides?”

Eomer smiles, something fond and, well, hot in his expression. “Someone else could. But not as well as me, sweetheart.”

“Whatever you say, honey,” Lothiriel says.

(They stay out until 2 A.M., and if Lothiriel almost tells him to just stay in her room instead of his that’s less than 10 feet away--well, that’s her business, isn’t it?)

It comes to a head on the last night of the tour. The Marshals have been nominated for a Grammy, of all things, and Faramir and Lothiriel--recently dubbed Swan and Ranger, with a brand-new five year contract--well, to say everyone’s in high spirits is an understatement.

After the show, both bands gather to celebrate each other, the tour, Faramir and Eowyn’s recent engagement, the general good will of the world.

Eomer has his arm slung around her shoulders, hers is around his waist, and Valar she’s going to miss this.

He must read some of the sadness in her expression, because suddenly he’s pressing his lips against her temple. It’s a sweet gesture, one of comfort, but she shivers all the same, because now she can’t stop imagining what those lips would feel like pressed to less innocent places--

“Hey, there’s no paps around, Eomer,” says Eothain, smirking as he twirls a glass of champagne around with nimble fingers, “no need to fake for our lowly eyes.”

Eomer stiffens. Lothiriel finds herself suddenly overwhelmed with--with--well, anger, irritation, because it’s not a joke, it stopped being a joke so long ago--

“Who’s faking?” She hears herself asking, as if from far away. And then Lothiriel turns, reaching up to wind her arms around his neck, and pulls him down to her height so she can press her mouth to his.

She’s vaguely aware of the deafening silence of the bus around them, but Eomer proves much more than a little distraction--he’s somehow lifted her off her feet, and is kissing her back with such fervor that her heart aches, just a little, when it’s not trying to beat its way out of her chest in happiness.

They eventually break apart, Eomer’s arms still around her waist and her feet still dangling helplessly as they grin at each other like the apparent idiots they’ve become--

“Told you!” Crows Pippin, breaking the silence. “Pay up, pay up--”

Lothiriel hides her smile against Eomer’s neck.

#eomer x lothiriel #eothiriel #my writing #prompt response

[wanderingthroughwickford]

Thank you! My responses are super long (especially for M asdflkasdfjkasdf) so most of them will be under a cut.

A – How did you come up with the title to [insert fic]?

Since no fic was specified, I think I’ll just go back through some of the ones I’ve got up on FFN. Most of them are pretty self-explanatory, to be honest. ‘Eternity’ is so named because Myrtle is stuck at Hogwarts, in her teenage form and mindset, for, well, eternity. ‘And Then There Was One’ (a probably discontinued Hunger Games/Nancy Drew crossover) is also fairly obvious; it’s the Hunger Games so it’s inevitably going to come down to one person, and I also couldn’t resist shoehorning in a completely unnecessary reference to And Then There Were None since it’s also based off a mystery series. ‘Unstained’ refers to Wiress’ promise in the game to not ‘stain’ herself by committing murder in the games, and if I ever write its sequels they’ll follow the ‘Un’ formula – I’ve always intended the final fic in the prospective trilogy to be called ‘Unchained,’ but we’ll see if I ever get there.

I think the one that actually gave me the most trouble coming up with a title was ‘Goodbye,’ a Pirates of the Caribbean one-shot I wrote way back in 2009. I couldn’t seem to come up with a clever enough title for the fic, until I asked my mom for help and she suggested simply ‘Goodbye.’ I decided that in this case, less was more, and so the title stuck.

C – What character do you identify with most?

The ones that I’ve written for, I guess this means? I suppose I’ll have to go with Myrtle and Wiress. Although they definitely both have more tragic lives than I do, I still put a lot of myself into them – I outright headcanon Wiress as having Asperger’s Syndrome and being uninterested in romance, so I find her quite easy to write in that way, and a lot of her moralistic, somewhat self-righteous attitude at the beginning of Unstained (which she’ll eventually grow out of, fortunately) draws a lot from how I now see myself as having acted as a young teenager. Her somewhat morbid obsession with past Hunger Games and their victims has roots in my own (sometimes borderline depressing) fascination with shipwrecks such as the Titanic and Lusitania. 

Myrtle I headcanon with some sort of unspecified mental illness, or at least deep insecurities and oversensitivity, and having trouble making and keeping friends. Her friendship with Murcia draws on some of the tentative friendships I had with girls in older grades, and – though this didn’t come through in the story for various reasons that would take a whole other ask to explain, and which I’m not entirely satisfied with but anyway – I definitely see Myrtle as having had a complicated crush on her, but never fully recognizing or accepting it for what it was because she wasn’t raised in a time or a society where girls loving other girls was normalized. Which, again, big part of my teenage years. Plus, the social awkwardness, introversion, and anxiety that both girls have is something I definitely relate to in general.

F – Care to share a favourite hurt/comfort fic?

Oh boy, that’s a tall order as there are so many, but the two that jump to mind immediately are Intersection by yadon/Copernicus Jones/Jake-Marshall and Pity the Child by Tanglepelt/Bookworm555. Intersection holds a very special place in my heart as it was written by my friend Leanne, featuring one of her favorite Ace Attorney characters, Jake Marshall, interacting with my OC Denise Swallow. Pity the Child was written by my friend Becca and involves two more of my faves – America and Latvia from Hetalia – having heartwarming interactions. Both are very good fics.

M – Got any premises on the back burner that you’d like to share?

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaha

Well

It’d be easier to list fics I’ve actually completed than fics that are in various stages of planning

But if you insist

(This is the super LONG part and gets a little emotional towards the end) 

The fic that I’d most like to complete within the foreseeable future is ‘Unstained,’ my story about Wiress’ Hunger Games. I’d say it’s about half-finished now, and I haven’t updated it in almost 4 years. That might change in the future; I’d like to get at least a few more chapters done this summer, but I don’t think it’s humanly possible to get it finished before I leave for Ontario, and then I’ll be so busy for a solid year that I doubt I’ll be able to write anything. And that’s not even counting the two prospective sequels I’d like to write. But even finishing this fic would be a major life accomplishment for me, as it’s one of those that I’m proudest of.

Then I have at least three fics about my Ace Attorney OC, Denise Swallow, which I’d like to write, though they’ll probably all be one-shots. Two of them are partially written, one isn’t even started yet. One of them would be a brief overview of the few times she met Dahlia Hawthorne, the infamous culprit who ended up murdering her brother. Another one, the longest and weightiest of the three, would involve her meeting Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey, who channels the spirit of her brother so that she can properly say good-bye. The last one would involve her meeting up with Dahlia’s sister, Iris, and coming to some sort of closure there.

A lot of my fic-writing is taking a backseat to a much more personal fic-universe-of-sorts that I’m working on, involving practically all of my favorite fandoms thrown together into an incredibly complicated storyline. It’s completely self-indulgent and not something I’d really want to share a lot about here, but one of the major plotlines I’m constructing in it would involve a villain-to-anti-hero redemption arc for Lucy Bauer from Agents of Shield. I’ll admit that I have toyed, very briefly, with the idea of converting this into proper FanFiction if and when I ever complete it, but that’s honestly very unlikely because 1) I’d have to remove it from its crossover context, 2) I’d have to insert it into either AoS season 5 canon, which hasn’t even been filmed yet, or an alternate version of season 5, and 3) it seems completely implausible within the story’s canon. Plus, there’s the inevitable ‘no one would read it’ problem. 

In the past couple months I’ve considered writing an And Then There Were None Hunger Games AU, as well as a brief oneshot about Soldier Island being haunted by the ghosts of the ATTWN victims, but I’m very unlikely to do anything with those. There’s still my Nancy Drew Hunger Games AU left unfinished, but if I get back to that, it’ll be entirely as a way to blow off steam, rather than to try and write anything especially good. Just today I was attacked by the idea of writing a Lord of the Rings fic about Aragorn returning Boromir’s arm braces to Faramir and telling him how his brother died, but again, just a passing fancy that I’m very unlikely to write.

And that’s just the tip of it. There are so many FanFiction ideas I’ve considered writing and abandoned. The 8 fics I have up on FFN are the few lucky ideas that actually came to fruition, even though a good deal of them are unfinished as well. I’m honestly amazed that I was even able to finish ‘Eternity,’ or get as far as I have on ‘Unstained.’ I have an X-Men Evolution fic up that was originally supposed to be a multichap of 10-15 chapters, and it hasn’t been updated since 2011. When I was in high school I planned out a whole series of Pirates of the Caribbean fics chronicling James Norrington’s life, from childhood until his death, but I only ever got the first chapter of one written and never posted it. (Partially because I sort of balked at the HUGE amount of research I’d planned to do on 18th-century naval life for that fic). I’d like to go back to this one idea I had for a Hetalia fic, a series of one-shots about times in which the characters have wished they were humans rather than nations, but again, research would be necessary and it’s so draining.

That’s the problem. I love thinking up ideas and planning stories and having them finished, but at the end of the day, the act of writing itself is such a chore for me. And I hate that. I wish I could write effortlessly, like I used to as a kid, but I haven’t been able to do so since I was 12 or so. Which, coincidentally, is the time my depression started to majorly set in. I don’t know if the two are connected, but I can’t help but wonder if mental illness robbed me of a pastime that I dearly loved, and of countless fics I could have written by now.

(I know this is long and cheesy and overemotional, but cut me some slack, it’s almost 1 am) 

O – How do you begin a story – with the plot, or the characters?

You know, this is strange, because when I first saw this question I thought, of course I start with the plot, who would just say “I want to write a story about [character]” without even having any idea of what the plot would be yet? And then I realized that that’s exactly what I do – start with a character I want to write about and come up with a plot based off that. In fact, most of my stories aren’t even plot-driven much as just general looks into the lives of certain characters.

Y – A character you want to protect

Hah, it seems like the characters I want to protect and the characters I end up putting through torture are exactly the same. The two that jump to mind right away are – my sun and my stars and everything, the one and only APH Latvia, and my precious ghostly daughter, Myrtle Warren (Moaning Myrtle). And yet I endlessly read fics in which the former, and wrote a fic in which the latter, suffers. Whoops.

#FanFiction #FanFic #ask meme #writing ask

[doctorwer]

Quick and Dirty History of Middle-Earth Part 26 Part C

Part 26 Or So Let’s Play “What Were They Up To Before They Were Famous, Part C”

Names

Aragorn II (Revered King)

Thorongil (Eagle of the Star)

Elessar (Elfstone, given to him in reference to Arwen giving him her Elfstone)

Edhelharn (Sindarin equivalent of Elessar)

Estel (Hope)

Strider (Name used in Bree)

The Dúnadan (Name used by Bilbo)

Longshanks (Another Bree name. Reference to the fact that Bree humans had shorter legs than Aragorn with his Dúnadan heritage).

Arakorno (Quenya form of Aragorn)

Born: Third Age 2931

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 88

He has too many names. Also, his birthday is March 1st! Anyway, his father was the Chief of the Dúnadan, the Rangers. As was traditional, Aragorn, the future Chef, grew up as a foster child of Elrond. But when he was only 2, his dad, Arathorn, was shot through the eye by an orc. Yikes. Elrond didn’t want it to get out that Aragorn was heir to Gondor and Arnor, so he changed his name to Estel and didn’t tell Aragorn who he really was. Growing up, he would go ranging with Elrohir and Elladan, so he had a good relationship with his future brother-in-laws! That’s good! When Aragorn turned 21, Elrond told him all about Gondor and the throne and his legacy. Normally, books like this would have us see the part where the freak out because they found out they’re royal, but we are able to skip that and pick up at the point where he was cool with it.

Leaving his mom in Rivendell (Oh, yeah. His mom’s still around), Aragorn started going all over the place. Rohan and Gondor and just everywhere. When he was 49, he met Arwen for the 2nd time in Lothlórien on the hill Cerin Amroth and they got engaged. So he’s been engaged since he was 49... and he’s 88 now... So 20 years later, Aragorn helps Gandalf track Gollum down. He does take a brief stop by Rivendell to visit his mother on her death bed. He was 70 at the time she died. After that, he caught Gollum, took him to Mirkwood, and caught up with Frodo!

Names

Théoden (King)

Horsemaster

Ednew

Born: Third Age 2948

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 70

Théoden was the oldest son of King Thengel of Rohan. He had four sisters. Three have no names, but we learn the name of his favorite, Théodwyn. We only know her because she was also the mother of Éomer and Éowyn. Théoden didn’t speak any Rohirric, since he had been born in Gondor and spent his childhood there. Théoden spoke Common and elvish. Tsk. The elite coming in to rule; he doesn’t even know the language his people speak. After Théodwyn and his brother-in-law died, he adopted Éomer and Éowyn.

Théoden married Elfhild, who got pregnant and had a son, Théodred (they love to name the sons a name that sounds close to the dads. It’s all over the place). Elfhild died giving birth to Théodred. Théoden ruled Rohan for 40 years before Gríma really started to mess Théoden up. Little dick.

Before Gandalf joined the Fellowship, he went to Edoras to warn Théoden about Saruman and to ask for a horse so that he could catch up with the Fellowship. Of course, Théoden was still under Saruman’s control. Théoden told Gandalf to take any horse and GTFO.  Gandalf picked Shadowfax, the bestest best horse in all of Rohan. Shadowfax was descended from legendary horses who could run really fast and really far without stopping. Of course, since Théoden told Gandalf he could take any horse, he couldn’t really say anything.

Names

Gríma (Mask, Visor, Helmet)

Wormtongue 

Born: Whoooooo knoooowwwsssss

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: Probably old. He sounds old.

Gríma is a bit if a mystery. He was the son of Gálmód and a native of Rohan. Pretty simple after that. He became a spy for Saruman because he was promised he could “marry” Éowyn. He used his lies and literal poison and shit to keep Théoden under Saruman’s spell. Gollum had tricked the Ringwraiths into going to the wrong place to find the Shire, but they passed by Wormtounge. The Witch-king questioned Gríma, who was all scared and told the Nazgûl where they could find The Shire and that Gandalf had been through Rohan recently. With Saruman, Gríma’s fate is changed the most from book to film. But we’ll get to that later.

Names

Frodo Baggins (Wise by Experience)

Frodo of the Nine Fingers

Nine-fingered Frodo (What is with named people based on horrible maimings they suffered?)

Frodo Elf-friend

Ring-bearer

Born: Third Age 2968

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 51 in the book/33-ish in the movie

OK, his age is one of the few things the movies changed that don’t fit well with the rest of cannon. In the books, Gandalf was gone for several years after the party, but Frodo stayed young because of the ring. Not so in the movies, where it looks like Gandalf has been gone a few months. Anyway, Frodo was the only child of Drogo Baggins and Primula Brandybuck. When Frodo was 12, his parents died. They went out boating and some say Drogo’s massive weight sunk the boat, and for some reason they couldn’t swim. Like, why go boating, then? SO, they both drowned. For a long time, Frodo lived with his uncle, Rorimac Brandybuck, Master of Buckland (Remember, that’s one of the three leaders of The Shire). Frodo was a trouble maker. Aw. Adorable. Bilbo adopted Frodo when he was 21. Frodo was 21. Bilbo was 99.

All the hobbits inter-marry to no end, so it’s hard to pin down the exact relationship between Bilbo and Frodo, but it was closer to cousin than uncle. But since Bilbo made Frodo his heir, it probably just seemed proper to call him Uncle Bilbo. Bilbo taught Frodo elvish and a lot of the history of Middle-Earth. The two even had the same birthday. Hobbits came of age at 33. I don’t know why, since they have the same average life spans as humans, 90-100. It seems like they don’t have very long time in the ‘adult’ age bracket. But since their entire lives just seem devoted to eating, drinking, and smoking, I guess they don’t need to be an adult for all that much. It’s not like they can’t drive a car until they come of age or they go away to college when they come of age or something. Anyway, when Frodo turned 33, Bilbo turned 111. Which is the birthday we see in the movie.

Name

Boromir (Steadfast Jewel)

Born: Third Age 2978

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 41

The oldest son of Denethor II and Finduilas. When Boromir was 10, his mother died. After that, his father was a lot more unpleasant. Even though their father clearly liked Boromir better, Boromir and his brother, Faramir, were very close. Boromir looked after his little brother. So cute. He spent most of his time keeping Team Evil from crossing over into Gondor through Osgiliath. Boromir never cared to marry (make of that what you will). He preferred to fight in battles and shit. And he didn’t care about history, expect the tales of the great battles of old. He was a jock. Faramir and Boromir started having freaking dreams, so Denethor ordered Boromir to go to Rivendell for advice. Faramir really wanted to go. Sad thing is, since Faramir passes on the Ring in the book, if Faramir was the one who went, both brothers might have lived. Boromir lost his horse along the way and had to go the rest of the way on foot, which took 110 days. Ouch.

Name

Théodred

Born: Third Age 2978

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 41

The only son of Théoden. His mom, Elfhild, died giving birth to him. Théodred was an officer type deal. Second Marshal of the Riddermark. Gríma tried to get Théoden and Éomer in trouble with the king, but they were just too loyal. They always followed Théoden, even if his orders were total crazy balls. Just before we first meet Éomer, Saruman assassinates Théodred. He had his orcs attack with clear orders to definitely kill the prince. There was a huge battle around the river and Saruman’s army that would latter attack Helm’s Deep were trying to get over the river. All this complicated military stuff happened and the strongest orcs charged Théodred at once, which is yesh. He died pretty soon after, but Team Good pushed the orcs back. If you watched the extended movie, you saw Éomer finding his cousin by a river. The regular movie just had Éomer riding up with some guy and then Théodred lying in bed, dying from poison, with Éowyn taking care of him. And then he’s dead. It’s very confusing without that river scene! Like, wait, he’s poisoned??? Why???? Who is he?????

Name

Samwise Gamgee (Simple Minded)

Born: Third Age 2980

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 39

Ah, Sam. We all know and love Sam. Fun Fact: Tolkien has said that Sam was always intended to be the hero of this piece. Yeah, Frodo carried the Ring. But Sam was the one who saved us all. Mentioned because my sister was all “Blah, Frodo was a horrible hero” and I was all “…No, duh…Kinda the point…” In a letter, Tolkien wrote that Sam was the “chief hero” and he’s the only Ring-bearer to give it up with his own free will, and he ends up saving Frodo over and over again. I almost wonder if it was commentary on typical English ideas at the time? Like, I don’t know what they thought back then in England, but it almost seems like the English expected their heroes to be rich and smart? Like, look at C.S. Lewis’ work? But Sam is even called simple minded, and every character overlooks him and acts like he is less than them. Not in a mean way, but a “I’m from a well-to-do family and you’re a blue collar worker” way. Literally everyone in the Fellowship are nobles in some way except Sam. But, throughout the book, he:

was all sly and did recon re:Frodo to report to Merry

pretended to be asleep so he could listen in on Frodo when he was talking with an elf

was the only one not tricked by Old Man Willow.

he surprises everyone by reciting a poem about Gil-galad from memory

he invents his own song, on the spot

he’s arguably the most level-headed of the hobbits. Nothing much spooks him.

It’s a constant theme that people misjudge him only to be shown up later.

Anyway, Sam is the son of Hamfast “The Gaffer” Gamgee and Bell Goodchild. Sam is the only one of the four hobbits in the Fellowship not even remotely related to them. The rest are all cousins several times over and shit. Like I said. They inter-married out the wazoo. They were all upper class and Sam was lower class. Sam had five brothers and sisters and he lived on Bagshot Row, which was very close to Bag End. Bilbo taught Sam about elves and about the world out there and encouraged Sam’s love of poetry. He also taught Sam to read, which is treated like a big deal, so most of his family probably couldn't. Sam was a gardener, like his father. His father had been the gardener at Bag End, but was retiring and Sam was training to take his place around the time the movie started.

Name

Fredegar “Fatty” Bolger

Born: Third Age 2980

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 39

Cut from the movie completely. He has a younger sister named Estella who one day marries Merry. He was in on the mission Frodo was on. He helped Marry, Sam, and Pippen secret Frodo out of the Shire. He didn’t want to leave the Shire, which is why he didn’t join them. His job was to stay at Frodo’s new house as a decoy for the Ringwraiths. Eventually, the Ringwraiths showed up, Fatty ran for help, and all of Buckland was woken by the Horn-call of Buckland, which chased the Ringwraiths out.

Names

Meriadoc “Merry” Brandybuck (Great Lord)

Merry the Magnificent

Born: Third Age 2982

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 37

Merry was the only child of Saradoc Brandybuck and Esmeralda Took. He and Pippin were first cousins. Merry knew something was weird about Bilbo since he was 18, a tween (tween = hobbit culture teenagers. They stay tweens from teen years until they come of age at 33). He saw Bilbo going down the road, when the Sackville-Bagginses came up it. The wife of in this couple would be the hobbit lady that Bilbo mentions in the beginning of The Hobbit and is all “Damn bitch stole all my spoons”. Anyway, Merry saw Bilbo disappear, then reappear on the other side of a hedge. He also saw a glint of gold as Bilbo put something in his pocket. So Merry was pretty suspicious. Little snoop also stole a look in Bilbo’s private journal. Merry didn’t tell anyone what he had seen or learned, though.

He had an important role at the beginning of the book, but that’s cut from the movie. It doesn’t make a huge difference, just made Merry clearly the brightest in the bunch. In the book, Sam, Merry, and Pippin knew that something was wrong with Frodo. Sam was indeed eavesdropping under Frodo’s window that night. It was they were worried about him and Merry came up with a plan to have the three of them go with Frodo. Frodo was planning to move from Bag End to Crickhollow, a house much closer to the edge of The Shire. Frodo, Sam, and Pippen went to Crickhollow where Merry met them. Frodo was all “Dear friends, I cannot stay” and the other hobbits were all “Surprise, Motherfucker! We’re going with you!” Merry was the one who got all their necessary gear and bought their ponies. Then the story continued like normal. We can pretend that Merry did have that plan, but Sam getting caught threw everything off and they had to start before they planned to. Which is why Merry and Pippin were stealing from the field instead of waiting…Just go with it…

Name

Faramir

Born: Third Age 2983

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 36

My poor baby Faramir. He was the second son of Denethor II and Finduilas. Faramir’s mother died when he was 5. Part of the issue was because she got weak after giving birth to Faramir and never really recovered. That and the fact that Faramir was pretty much a carbon copy of his mom, personality wise, led to Denethor disliking Faramir. Boromir was like their dad, proud and liked to fight. Faramir was more gentle and loved history and music, like their mother. Faramir also became friends with Gandalf, who Denethor hated and was sure was trying to take away his rule of Gondor. Which led to Denethor disliking Faramir even more. He became the Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien, who capture Frodo and Sam. His weird dream is what leads to Boromir going to Rivendell.

Name

Peregrin “Pippin” Took (People who Wandered)

Born: Third Age 2990

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 29 (omg he’s older than Éomer and Éowyn)

Pippin was the youngest child and only son of Paladin Took II, Thain of the Shire, and Eglantine Banks. Remember that the Thain is the second of three main leaders in The Shire. Pippin and Merry were first cousins. He was also Frodo’s second-cousin, once removed and Bilbo’s first-cousin, twice-removed. Hobbits loved family trees, which is how they can say such detailed relations like this. His older sisters were named Pearl, Pimpernel, and Pervinca. I sense a theme, here. Keep in mind, a hobbit doesn’t come of age until 33, so Pippin was the only minor in the group. That justifies some of his more stupid actions, I guess.

Name

Éomer (Grand War-horse)

Born: Third Age 2991

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 28

Another one of my babies. Éomer was the son of Éomund and Théodwyn, Théoden’s sister. When Éomer was 11, Éomund was killed chasing a bunch of orcs. After that, Théodwyn became sick and died. Théoden adopted Éomer and his sister and they went to live with their uncle at Meduseld, the Golden Hall. Éomer became good friend with his cousin, Théodred, and the two loved each other like brothers. After that, Éomer became the Third Marshal of Rohan. This means he led the group of defenders of east Rohan. So Éomer lived in Aldburg, a town in east Rohan. He was meeting with his uncle in Edoras when Gríma banished him.

Name

Éowyn (Horse-joy)

Born: Third Age 2995

Age at time of Lord of the Rings: 24

This is my girl, Éowyn. Éowyn’s a BAMF. How many of you can say you’ve killed an unspeakable evil at the tender age of 24. Hell, I’m 22 and the most I’ve done is graduate college. Gotta get my shit together in the next two years. Anyway, this would be the daughter of Éomund and Théodwyn, Théoden’s sister. She was only 7 when her parents died. When Théoden started to fall under Saruman’s spell, Éowyn had to take care of him. What she really wanted to do, of course, was prove herself on the field of battle. 

Part 27 Or So Now Let’s Play ‘Where Are They Now!?’ (FINAL)

Quick and Dirty History of Middle-Earth Pt. 1

Note: Sources for all artwork can be found on the linked pages.

#lord of the rings #J.R.R. Tolkien #tolkien #eowyn #eomer #Frodo #Pippin #aragorn #merry #sam gamgee #faramir #boromir