#minas anor is the white lady!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ass-deep-in-demons · 6 months

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✦ Seeing White ✦

Fandom: Lord of the Rings Genre: slice of life, comedy, romance Characters: Faramir, Eomer, Boromir, Eowyn, Lothiriel, Legolas, Merry Rated: G Length: 3119 words, one-shot

This work is dedicated to @emilybeemartin and directly inspired by her art, and also these recent posts circulating in the Boromir fandom: [slutty white shirt] and [rain soaked Boromir].

I am tagging the folks who got tangled in the Wet Shirts Shenanigans: @sotwk, @scyllas-revenge, @thetempleofthemasaigoddess, @konartiste, @emyn-arnens, @nihilizzzm, @emmanuellececchi. If you didn't want to be tagged I'm sorry, pls ignore :)

✦✦✦

Minas Tirith, 1st of Lótessë 3019 TA

Yes, thought Faramir. This is a great idea. The Ladies will be thrilled.

The day was perfect, too. From the windows of his chambers in the Citadel, all across the White City Faramir could spot the many signs of the long awaited Spring. Together with the verdant Gondorian flora awakening to life after the months of darkness and cold, so, too, were the people of Minas Tirith rising from their knees past the indignity of War. Just as the trees were dressing themselves up in colourful bloom, so were the inhabitants of the old Minas Anor decorating the streets for the impending coronation of their new King Elessar. The merchants, like wandering birds, were returning from distant lands to their abandoned shops and stalls, striving to make up for the losses sustained recently by the Gondorian economy.

It was, for Faramir, self-evident that such a day would be best spent in the Archives of the Grand Library. Granted, if it were for Faramir to decide, all days would be library days; this day, however, was especially well-suited to that purpose. Having the confidence of the palace wait-staff, through careful intelligence he had ascertained that Lady Eowyn, the bold and beautiful sister to the King of Rohan, had today off. It would be delightful to guide her through the collection of scrolls depicting the Fall of Numenor - Faramir could not imagine more romantic circumstances. If not his humble person, then the priceless works of illuminatory art would certainly impress the White Lady.

There remained the question of propriety, naturally. Here, too, he had both luck and days of prior careful planning on his side. Out of all of the birds flocking to Minas Tirith after the thaw, perhaps the most colourful (and certainly the loudest) was his little cousin Lothiriel. The lass was come from Dol Amroth with her brothers to join the upcoming celebrations. This was her debut among the Minas Tirith nobility and so Boromir and Faramir were expected to escort her on occasion, as a courtesy to their uncle the Prince.

What a splendid opportunity to marry duty with pleasure: give his young cousin a lesson in history and spend time in the company of the White Lady. The White Lady in the White City - such an occasion called for the whitest, most pristine of his shirts, and also his best doublet. On this day he was allowed a bit of vanity and he was quite pleased with the results, when he checked himself in the mirror one last time.

Faramir left his chambers and descended to the Courtyard, where he was met with the view that had never failed to cause a pang in his heart, ever since the tender years of his boyhood. In the centre of the sun-bathed plaza, on an islet on the Fountain grew the White Tree of Gondor. In the past, its name referenced its lush white bloom, the beauty of which, if the legends could be trusted, was an echo of the mythical Trees of Valinor. For centuries now the name had only been associated with the Tree’s dry and dead white wood, from which the bark had long been peeled off by the weather. Nary a bud had been spotted since the long gone days of Steward Belecthor.

On that day, though bare as ever, the Tree did not stand there all alone. Under its branches, seemingly caught up in his thoughts, the young King of Rohan was strolling and admiring the Fountain. Faramir, who himself had never been to Rohan, had met Eomer King only recently, in non-too-happy circumstances. All the Lords of Gondor had had the honour of attending a vigil around the bier of the old Theoden King, who had fallen in the Battle of Pelennor Fields. Even though several weeks had passed already since that ceremony, the shadows of the battle past could still be spotted lurking on the noble face of the Horse Lord Eomer. Still, his good humour seemed to be gradually returning to him, if the sharpness of his gaze and the healthy colour on his cheeks were anything to judge by.

The young King of the Rohirrim was, coincidentally, just who Faramir needed at that moment, as without his blessing Faramir’s plans would all be for naught. The matter needed to be carefully broached. Luckily, Faramir was nothing if not subtle.

“Eomer King!” he hailed and politely inclined his head in greeting.

“Just Eomer would suffice,” said the Man of Rohan. “My brother Theodred bore great love for your own brother and always hosted him gladly at the Golden Hall. For all the stories I’ve heard about you growing up, I feel as if we were best friends already, Lord Faramir.”

“And who am I to spurn the friendship of a King?” said Faramir and smiled. “Eomer, then, and you must call me by my name as well.”

“Do you think it will sprout leaves again?” asked Eomer, and Faramir understood that he was talking about the Tree. “You know, after Aragorn’s Enthronement?” This did seem too good to come true. Even though from under the Tree’s roots water continued to spring and feed the Fountain, it was difficult to believe that the dry branches held even one drop of sap.

“That, I would want to know myself,” said Faramir wistfully. He felt gooseflesh erupt on his arms at the thought that he might yet witness the Tree blossom in his lifetime. “I would very much like to see the face of my brother, when that happens,” he added quietly.

“And how fares your brother?” asked Eomer. “I’ve heard he’s been through an ordeal during the War of the Ring.”

Faramir hesitated. An ordeal would be an understatement, he thought. Boromir was not himself ever since he’d returned from the War. Faramir could see right through his brother’s facade. He had been pushing himself to the limits, working day and night like a madman. But Faramir was loath to share his worries with Eomer just yet, so he opted for a diplomatic answer.

“My brother is dedicating his every effort to the betterment of Gondor, as was always his way,” he carefully admitted. “I don’t think he’ll allow himself a moment’s respite until Aragorn is seated on that throne, at last. Thank you for your concern, thought. The sentiment is much appreciated. In fact,” Faramir grimaced, “it is rather I who ought to be enquiring about the wellbeing of your Lady sister.” He looked at Eomer and saw the man’s features soften at the mention of Lady Eowyn.

“She is better than I could have hoped for,” said Eomer with a tentative smile, “in part thanks to your patient encouragement, back in the Houses of Healing… for which I am much obliged, by the by. Of late, she’s been out more. I deem it a good sign.”

“That’s wonderful!” exclaimed Faramir, and then he quickly checked himself. “Erm… I mean, I’m glad to hear her spirits have improved…” He gathered his courage. “In fact, I am grateful for the opportunity to talk to you on this very matter. You see, I’ve devised a plan, which needs but your approval…”

“A… plan?” Eomer echoed, visibly apprehensive.

“Indeed. I’ve been meaning to take my little cousin Lothiriel to the Archives of Minas Tirith today, to show her our priceless collection of painted scrolls. Perhaps the Lady Eowyn could be persuaded to join us. It would be good… for her moods, I mean!”

Eomer raised his brow at that.

“Now that is a peculiar coincidence. You see, I had planned to take my sister out for a horse ride today, and I was meaning to propose that your cousin Lothiriel would join us in this entertainment. The other day, during dinner, she mentioned her interest in the steeds of Rohan…”

Faramir frowned. His carefully devised plan was now falling apart for this new development. Though he had started his riding lessons as soon as he had learned to walk, aware of his strengths Faramir knew: he had a far better chance at impressing the Lady with his wits than with his equestrian prowess. This matter with Eomer King required a subtle approach. He decided to try dissuasion.

“Curious, indeed. Last time I witnessed my cousin in the saddle, she fell off and broke her ankle. She has been wary of horses ever since…” Faramir mentioned casually. Granted, Lothiriel had been seven when that happened, however Eomer did not need to know that.

This was, apparently, the wrong thing to say. A vein on the Horse Lord’s temple started pulsing, Faramir noticed.

“And you, my good man, do not know mine sister, if you think a day among old parchment could ever improve her mood,” Eomer bit back.

Faramir felt a wave of hot anger roll through him. Eomer’s comment stung. Was it possible that Lady Eowyn, so eager to listen to his tales of Gondor’s history back in the Houses of Healing, could indeed reject his offer of a good time in the Archives? Reluctant though he was, he had to admit: where she was concerned, his usually clear mind became clouded. For the first time in his life, emotions made him doubt his better judgement. Eomer, however, seemed to be faring no better, judging from his face, which was getting visibly… flushed?

“Hold on, Eomer…” Faramir put two and two together. “You mean to… spend time with Lothiriel? You do!” Now this sat ill with Faramir, who was used to thinking of his cousin as a little girl, and not a woman grown, ready to be courted. “Have you any idea how young she is? Barely seventeen, I’d wager!”

Eomer levelled Faramir with a deeply unimpressed look.

“You’d loose, too, for she is twenty, and I am eight and twenty! Which is perfectly respectable, and also none of your business. The Lady’s father, the Prince of Dol Amroth, has already consented to my courting her,” siad Eomer icily.

Faramir felt momentarily mortified about his outburst. Ah, this was bad. Of course the most pressing matter for Eomer right now would be to marry well, and of course the noble, beautiful and now decidedly of age Princess Lothiriel would be his intended. And if that were so, then Faramir might have just offended his prospective brother-in-law. Still, he was convinced he could use this unfortunate situation to his advantage.

“He has? Oh, that is well then. I wish you all the luck with securing the Lady’s favour. Unfortunately, my uncle Imrahil has also already approved of my plans to take Lothiriel for a history lesson to the Archives today. You are most welcome to join us, if you will. As is the Lady your sister, with your approval,” he added hastily, hoping to repair some of the damage caused by his ill-advised words.

“Denied! I am taking my sister for a ride today, and that is that,” said Eomer, who seemed to have taken offence from Faramir’s questioning of his motives regarding Lothiriel.

“I beg, Eomer, reconsider…” Faramir began, but then something strange happened. He felt a firm shove upon his shoulder and the ground was abruptly swept from under his feet. He flailed his arms, but that did not avail him - he toppled over the edge of the Fountain and…

SPLASH!

Next he knew, he was taking in a lungful of its fresh water. When he emerged to the surface, sputtering and coughing, he was met with the sight of his brother, who took his place next to Eomer at the water’s edge. Boromir was fresh past his training, already out of his plate, only sporting an unbuttoned surcote over his shift. He was flashing his teeth in a wide grin, his arms crossed cockily over his broad chest.

“Of course it is you, brother,” said Faramir somewhat bitterly. “I see your signature subtlety has not left you over the course of the War.” He could not stay mad at Boromir for long though. Not when his moments of good-natured mischief and levity, so frequent before the Ring, were now so few and far between.

“Forgive me, little brother,” said Boromir, affecting solemnity, “but only you could have thought taking a Lady to the library would serve you well. As your elder it is my duty to tutor you in the ways of women.”

“Hold on, he wanted to woo my sister with books? Hahaha!” Eomer was in stitches about the concept. “Oh, that is rich indeed! Wait ‘till she…”

SPLASH!

Eomer landed in the Fountain right beside Faramir, giving out a most undignified squeak. This did serve to improve Faramir’s mood a great deal.

“Only I get to make fun of my brother,” said Boromir, putting his hands on his hips. “King or no king, you’d do well to mark that, young Eomer! And you will not be telling your sister about any of this. She would…”

Faramir rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding being crushed under Boromir’s bulk, as the elder brother, too, inevitably hit the water with a great -

SPLASH!

“Do not presume to speak for me, Boromir of Gondor!” warned Eowyn, towering over the three of them. “And you too, brother! I am perfectly capable of managing my own affairs, thank you very much.” She had pushed Boromir into the Fountain with such effortless grace, and told both of Faramir’s tormentors off without a hint of hesitation! She was perfection, Faramir knew. Had he not been in love with her already, he would have fallen head over heels for her at that moment. “I would be glad to join you for a tour about the Archives, Lord Faramir,” said Eowyn, and honestly, it all seemed too good to be true.

“I have never seen you pick up a book in your life, sister,” said Eomer, “save to throw it at our tutor.” He pushed his wet hair back from his face and attempted to stand up, only to slip and plop down once again.

“Slander!” cried Eowyn, and the most beautiful blush crept onto her face. “I love books! I definitely have read a lot of books in my time! And I happen to take a great interest in the history of Gondor, of late,” she fumbled visibly, which only added to her charm in Faramir’s eyes.

He stood up and shivered. His elegant brocade doublet, which he had picked especially for this occasion, was now entirely ruined. He hastily shook it off, not wanting the richly coloured fabric to stain his white shirt underneath. He wiped off the water from his face, and finally deeming himself presentable (for a given definition of the word) addressed the Lady.

“I would be delighted to personally recommend to you the best historical monographs from our Library, my fair Lady Eowyn,” said Faramir and bowed, smiling widely. “Going through them will of a certainty take some time, but I wholeheartedly offer all the assistance I could give in your studies.”

“You know not what you have signed up for, Lady,” said Boromir, who was still sitting in the water up to his chest, and not in any rush to get up.

“Oh, I think the Lady knows perfectly well what she has signed up for,” the merry voice of Prince Legolas of Mirkwood sounded from behind Eowyn, and it was only in this moment that Faramir realised the White Lady had not come here alone. Distracted by her radiant presence, he had failed to notice the Elf, who was standing a little way off with Meriadoc Brandybuck, one of the Perians, and a furiously blushing, uncharacteristically quiet cousin Lothiriel. The three of them appeared to be carrying… hammers and chisels? Although the girl seemed to have dropped hers and focused on fanning her beet-red face instead.

“We were just off to the City, to help with the renovations of the houses on the Third Level. Master Gimli means to teach us stonemasonry!” Meriadoc supplied, excitement brimming on his features.

“Though I have noticed the Ladies are acting somewhat distracted,” said Legolas. “I wonder if they are up for the task after all, or maybe they would rather stay here and admire the views that the Citadel offers on this fine day.”

Faramir suddenly felt very self-aware. He suspected he was blushing at least as strongly as Lothiriel. Luckily, Lady Eowyn did not seem to mind, or even notice. She appeared to have forgotten his face was up here and not down there. Ah, well. A gentleman must make allowances for the sake of ladies.

Boromir looked suspiciously pleased with himself. He stood up, took off his wet surcote and shook the water off like a giant dog might, splashing on both Faramir and Eomer.

“Pardon our indecent state, Ladies,” Boromir said then, jovially. “I think we should all go and help with the renovations today. Many houses have suffered during the siege and I, for one, am impatient to start rebuilding.”

“A worthy cause! One I’d be glad to join once I get the chance to change into something dry,” said Eomer, who had just managed to get up, after a few mishaps. He put his mighty arms to use and wrung out his soaked shirt. Faramir was sure he heard Lothiriel actually squeal.

“I don’t know that you should,” said the Perian, who seemed bent on making the situation as awkward as possible. “We would get more crowd engagement with you three coming as you are.”

To this, Legolas snickered with malicious glee.

“It could do wonders for the population’s morale, true,” the Elf mused. “Alas! We’d get plenty of volunteers, but very little actual work done, I expect.”

✦ BONUS: ✦

“Gondor is beautiful at this time of the year, is it not, my Queen?” said Aragorn.

He was meant to be reviewing the list of guests for his Coronation, but got distracted by Arwen’s movements about his new office. Something outside had caught her attention, apparently, for she’d spent a good while gawking through the window. And his beautiful Undomiel, ever graceful and unperturbed, could only very rarely be caught gawking, and only in private. He had to assume she was not immune to the splendour of the White City, and he was well pleased that she approved of her new domain.

“Pardon?” she startled, and a faint blush tinged her alabaster cheek. “Oh, yes. The nature is in full bloom. But, I am not your Queen. Not yet, at least,” she said, and smiled a very secretive, private smile.

Aragorn suspected a hundred years would pass before he’d learn to decipher all the subtleties of her expression. He was content to just admire them, for now.

[MY WRITING MASTERPOST]

#lord of the rings fanfiction #faramir #boromir #eomer #farawyn #lothiriel #eowyn #lotr fanfiction #ass deep in demons #[arda]

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riding-with-the-wild-hunt · 10 months

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"And again she looked at Faramir. 'No longer do I desire to be a queen,' she said. Then Faramir laughed merrily. 'That is well,' he said; 'for I am not a king. Yet I will wed with the White Lady of Rohan, if it be her will. And if she will, then let us cross the River and in happier days let us dwell in fair Ithilien and there make a garden. All things will grow with joy there, if the White Lady comes.'" - J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King, "The Steward and the King"

@lotrladiessource's lotr ladies week || day 2: women of the north + love || éowyn of rohan

[ID: a picspam comprised of 18 images in desaturated reds, browns, and greens.

1: A close-up of Khulan Chuluun, a mongolian actor, looking straight ahead. She has black hair in two braids, one with red ribbon, and is wearing a red jacket / 2: An antique parchment written over with mantras in mongolian script / 3: Reddish-brown text on a black background reading "I stand in Minas Anor, the Tower of the sun; and behold! the Shadow has departed!" / 4: folded and stacked clothes woven in a traditional central asian style / 5: A field full of wildflowers / 6: The roof of a mongolian ger / 7: The interior of a woven shield / 8: Three przewalski’s horses in a field / 9: Khulan Chuluun, this time in profile. She is wearing a red coat with a furry hood and standing beside a horse / 10: Same format as Image 3, but the text reads "I will be a shield-maiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying." / 11: Grassy fields / 12: A person, shown from the back, wearing a red leather coat and carrying a sheathed knife. Their hair is in a long braid / 13: The entrance to a mongolian ger / 14: Khulan Chuluun wearing a white shirt and embracing someone who holds her tenderly / 15: Same format as Images 3 and 10, but the text reads "I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren." / 16: Cloth with a detailed pattern traditionally from central asia / 17: Grassy green hills / 18: A person looking out of a window. They are wearing a brown coat and furry hat, again in a central asian style /End ID]

#lotrladiesweek #lotrladiessource #edits with the wild hunt #brought to you by me #the professor's world #éowyn #lord of the rings #lotredit #tolkienedit #mepoc #described #fc: khulan chuluun #lotr #oneringnet

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songofthesibyl · 24 days

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Whenever I see people saying it’s not enough that Elain gardens and bakes, that she has to be a warrior or “useful” in some way, I always think of this section of The Lord of the Rings (from Book 6, Chapter 5, “The Steward and the King”):

“‘I wished to be loved by another,’ she answered. 'But I desire no man’s pity.’

'That I know,’ he said. 'You desired to have the love of the Lord Aragorn. Because he was high and puissant, and you wished to have renown and glory and to be lifted far above the mean things that crawl on the earth. And as a great captain may to a young soldier he seemed to you admirable. For so he is, a lord among men, the greatest that now is. But when he gave you only understanding and pity, then you desired to have nothing, unless a brave death in battle. Look at me, Éowyn!’

And Éowyn looked at Faramir long and steadily; and Faramir said: 'Do not scorn pity that is the gift of a gentle heart, Éowyn! But I do not offer you my pity. For you are a lady high and valiant and have yourself won renown that shall not be forgotten; and you are a lady beautiful, I deem, beyond even the words of the Elven-tongue to tell. And I love you. Once I pitied your sorrow. But now, were you sorrowless, without fear or any lack, were you the blissful Queen of Gondor, still I would love you. Éowyn, do you not love me?’

Then the heart of Éowyn changed, or else at last she understood it. And suddenly her winter passed, and the sun shone on her.

‘I stand in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun,’ she said; ‘and behold the Shadow has departed! I will be a shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren.’ And again she looked at Faramir. 'No longer do I desire to be a queen,’ she said.

Then Faramir laughed merrily. 'That is well,’ he said; 'for I am not a king. Yet I will wed with the White Lady of Rohan, if it be her will. And if she will, then let us cross the River and in happier days let us dwell in fair Ithilien and there make a garden. All things will grow with joy there, if the White Lady comes.’

'Then must I leave my own people, man of Gondor?’ she said. 'And would you have your proud folk say of you: "There goes a lord who tamed a wild shieldmaiden of the North! Was there no woman of the race of Númenor to choose?”’

'I would,’ said Faramir. And he took her in his arms and kissed her under the sunlit sky, and he cared not that they stood high upon the walls in the sight of many. And many indeed saw them and the light that shone about them as they came down from the walls and went hand in hand to the Houses of Healing.“

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bretwalda-lamnguin · 1 year

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I was thinking about the amount of similarities between Éowyn's story in LOTR and the Children of Húrin, relevant quotes under cut:

Aragorn to Éowyn, with Éowyn’s reply:

“Therefore I say to you lady: Stay! For you have no errand to the South.” “Neither have those others who go with thee. They go only because they would not be parted from thee – because they love thee.” Then she turned and vanished into the night.

Nienor to Morwen:

“If the wife of Húrin can go forth against all counsel at the call of kindred,” said Nienor, “then so also can Húrin’s daughter. Mourning you named me, but I will not mourn alone, for father, brother and mother. But of these you only have I known, and above all do I love. And nothing that you fear not do I fear.”

Éowyn:

“Then call me Dernhelm”

Túrin:

For Túrin now gave the name of Dor-Cúarthol to all the land between Teiglin and the west march of Doriath; and claiming lordship of it he named himself anew, Gorthol, the Dread Helm;

Éomer finds Éowyn after she kills the Witch King:

Then suddenly he beheld his sister Éowyn as she lay, and he knew her. He stood a moment as a man who is pierced in the midst of a cry by an arrow through the heart; and then his face went deathly white, and a cold fury rose in him, so that all speech failed him for a while. A fey mood took him. “Éowyn, Éowyn!” he cried at last. “Éowyn, how come you here? What madness or devilry is this? Death, death, death! Death take us all!”

Nienor finds Túrin after he kills Glaurung:

Then forgetting her fear she ran on amid the smouldering wrack and so came to Turambar. He was fallen on his side, and his sword lay beneath him, but his face was wan as death in the white light. Then she threw herself down by him weeping, and kissed him; and it seemed to her that he breathed faintly, but she thought it but a trickery of false hope, for he was cold, and did not move, not did he answer her. And as she caressed him she found that his hand was blackened as if it had been scorched, and she washed it with her tears, and tearing a strip from her raiment, she bound it about. But still he did not move at her touch, and she kissed him again, and cried aloud: “Turambar, Turambar, come back! Hear me! Awake! For it is Níniel. The Dragon is dead, dead, and I alone am here by you.” But he answered nothing.

Faramir and Éowyn:

“For you and I have both passed under the same wings of the Shadow, and the same hand drew us back.” “Alas not for me lord!” she said. “Shadow lies on me still.”

Éowyn, later:

“I stand in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun,” she said; “and behold! The Shadow had departed!”

Túrin and Nienor:

when her glance fell on Turambar a light came in her face and she put out a hand towards him, for it seemed to her that she had found at last something that she had sought in the darkness, and she was comforted.

“For I also, Níniel, had my darkness, in which dear things were lost; but now I have overcome it, I deem.”

“For it was dark when you came, Níniel, but ever since it has been light. And it seems to me what I long sought in vain has come to me.”

“There was a shadow,” said Níniel, “for so he told me. But he has escaped from it, even as I.”

Like Nienor she disobeys family, disguises herself as a warrior and goes into peril. Like Túrin she takes a new name, using a war-helm to hid her identity. Like Túrin she defeats a great evil, only to immediately fall unconscious and be found by their sibling who assumes them dead. Like both Túrin and Nienor her courtship with Faramir involves a lot of imagery of escaping darkness/shadow (though thankfully for her it proves a lot more true...)

#LOTR #children of húrin #Éowyn #Túrin #Nienor #Faramir #túrin turambar #nienor níniel

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morwensteelsheen · 3 years

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`For myself,' said Faramir, 'I would see the White Tree in flower again in the courts of the kings, and the Silver Crown return, and Minas Tirith in peace: Minas Anor again as of old, full of light, high and fair, beautiful as a queen among other queens: not a mistress of many slaves, nay, not even a kind mistress of willing slaves.

And Éowyn looked at Faramir long and steadily; and Faramir said: ‘Do not scorn pity that is the gift of a gentle heart, Éowyn! But I do not offer you my pity. For you are a lady high and valiant and have yourself won renown that shall not be forgotten; and you are a lady beautiful, I deem, beyond even the words of the Elven-tongue to tell. And I love you. Once I pitied your sorrow. But now, were you sorrowless, without fear or any lack, were you the blissful Queen of Gondor, still I would love you. Éowyn, do you not love me?’

sob

#eowyn is minas anor #eowyn is minas anor!#eowyn is minas anor!!!!!!!!!!#eowyn is the white lady!!!!!!!!!!!!!#minas anor is the white lady!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!#hello!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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stiltonbasket · 2 years

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Mdzs couples as lotr couples?

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji - I can't think of these two as anything but Eowyn and Faramir, especially in the TMAAF verse where Wei Wuxian decides to spend his post-canon life inventing healing talismans and raising plants and children. Consider:

"Then the heart of Éowyn changed, or else at last she understood it. And suddenly her winter passed, and the sun shone on her. 'I stand in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun,' she said; 'and behold! the Shadow has departed! I will be a shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren.'

And again she looked at Faramir. 'No longer do I desire to be a queen,' she said.

Then Faramir laughed merrily. 'That is well,' he said; 'for I am not a king. Yet I will wed with the White Lady of Rohan, if it be her will. And if she will, then let us cross the River and in happier days let us dwell in fair Ithilien and there make a garden. All things will grow with joy there, if the White Lady comes.'”

Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen - I've been prompted for these two as Beren and Luthien before, but in my opinion it fits! There's a more melancholy vibe to their fanon relationship than Wangxian's:

"Again she fled, but swift he came.

Tinúviel! Tinúviel!

He called her by her elvish name;

And there she halted listening.

One moment stood she, and a spell

His voice laid on her: Beren came,

And doom fell on Tinúviel

That in his arms lay glistening."

Since Nie Mingjue dies and leaves Lan Xichen grieving, their friendship only results in heartbreak later on; but almost no one headcanons Lan Xichen choosing immortality after Nie Mingjue’s death, so Luthien he is. 😭

Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli - Sam Gamgee and Rosie Cotton. Xuanli just lived for being married after they finally got together, and they deserved to have all the children and cottagecore bliss they wanted.

Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing - Celeborn and Galadriel. I can’t explain why at the moment, but that’s the impression I have. 😂

Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen - Aragorn and Arwen. Xiao Xingchen dying for love of Song Lan is sadly canon 😭😭😭

#wangxian #nielan #xuanli #chengqing #mdzs meta #asks #wen qing = queen and so she is galadriel #jiang cheng is celeborn #ultimate wife guy #lotr au #songxiao

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shadesofbluevelveteen · 2 years

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Some beautiful Elvish words/names I have found during my research.

Alalminórë: Lord Of the Elms

Aldëa: Tree-Shadowed

Aldëon: Avenue Of Trees

Eriol: One Who Dreams Alone

Fumellar: Flowers Of Sleep

Gar Lossion: Place Of Flowers

Ilinsor: Helmsman Of The Moon

Ilsaluntë: The Moon

Gil: The Star Sirius

Iska: Light Snow

Laurelin: Golden Tree of Aman, the female mate of Telperion, and the younger of the Two Trees of Valinor. She had gold-trimmed leaves and her dew was collected by Varda in her Wells.

Telperion: Elder of the Two Trees of Valinor, called the White Tree, which shed silver light on the domain of the Valar. His leaves were of dark green, shining silver beneath, and his boughs were decked with brilliant flowers that shed a rain of silver dew, which was collected as a source of water and of light.

Nūme: West

Pronto: East

Sil: Moon

Ûr: Sun

Luvier: Clouds

Uilos – ever-white snow

Nîn-in-Eilph – waters of swans

Nimloth – white flower

Mallos – golden-white (flower, plant)

Minas Anor – the tower of the sun minas (“tower, fort”), Anor (“the sun”)

Minas Ithil – the tower of the moon; minas (“tower, fort”), Ithil (“the moon”)

Minas Morgul– tower of black magic; minas (“tower, fort”), morn (“dark, black”) + (n-)gûl (“magic, necromancy”) As for the lenition inside the second word, in L:427, Tolkien explains that “…the triconsonantal group (rng) then being reduced to rg”.

Minas Tirith – tower watch; minas (“tower, fort”), tirith (“watch, guard, vigilance”)

Imloth Melui – sweet flower valley

Gwingloth – foam-flower

Gladhwen – laughing maiden

Hírilorn – lady-tree

Fimbrethil – slim birch

Elwing – star foam

Eregion – land of holly trees

Elanor – star-sun

Dorthonion – land of pines

Cabed-en-Aras – the deer’s leap

Brethiliand – beech forest

Amon Uilos– mount of ever-white snow

Amon Dîn – silent hill

Amloth – high flower

Aeluin — pale

Aeglos – snowthorn

#tolkien #the lord of the rings #elvish #lotr elves #sindar #Words and meanings #My love for Tolkien's work is borderline obsessive #not sorry in the slightest

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arofili · 3 years

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@oneringnet yearbook awards ☆ one ship to rule them all ☆ éowyn x faramir

Then the heart of Éowyn changed, or else at last she understood it. And suddenly her winter passed, and the sun shone on her.

Then Faramir laughed merrily. ‘That is well,’ he said; ‘for I am not a king. Yet I will wed with the White Lady of Rohan, if it be her will. And if she will, then let us cross the River and in happier days let us dwell in fair Ithilien and there make a garden. All things will grow with joy there, if the White Lady comes.’

#tolkienedit #oneringnet #lotredit #faramir #eowyn #eowynedit #faramiredit #farawyn #lotr #lord of the rings #my edit #tefain nin #my moodboards #events

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littlewoodenworld · 3 years

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This chapter DESTROYED me — I am sitting in my parked car crying my eyes out. Joy? Longing? Envy? Relief? I don’t even know. All of it together, maybe. My heart….

—————————————————————

Then Faramir came and sought her, and once more they stood on the walls together; and he said to her: 'Éowyn, why do you tarry here, and do not go to the rejoicing in Cormallen beyond Cair Andros, where you brother awaits you?'

And she said: 'Do you not know?'

But he answered: 'Two reasons there may be, but which is true, I do not know.'

And she said: 'I do not wish to play at riddles. Speak plainer!'

'Then if you will have it so, lady,' he said: 'you do not go, because only your brother called for you, and to look on the Lord Aragorn, Elendil's heir, in his triumph would now bring you no joy. Or because I do not go, and you desire still to be near me. And maybe for both these reasons, and you yourself cannot choose between them. Éowyn, do you not love me, or will you not?'

'I wished to be loved by another,' she answered. 'But I desire no man's pity.'

'That I know,' he said. 'You desired to have the love of the Lord Aragorn. Because he was high and puissant, and you wished to have renown and glory and to be lifted far above the mean things that crawl on the earth. And as a great captain may to a young soldier he seemed to you admirable. For so he is, a lord among men, the greatest that now is. But when he gave you only understanding and pity, then you desired to have nothing, unless a brave death in battle. Look at me, Éowyn!'

Then the heart of Éowyn changed, or else at last she understood it. And suddenly her winter passed, and the sun shone on her.

'I stand in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun,' she said; 'and behold! the Shadow has departed! I will be a shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren.' And again she looked at Faramir. 'No longer do I desire to be a queen,' she said.

'Then must I leave my own people, man of Gondor?' she said. 'And would you have your proud folk say of you: "There goes a lord who tamed a wild shieldmaiden of the North! Was there no woman of the race of Númenor to choose?"'

'I would,' said Faramir. And he took her in his arms and kissed her under the sunlit sky, and he cared not that they stood high upon the walls in the sight of many. And many indeed saw them and the light that shone about them as they came down from the walls and went hand in hand to the Houses of Healing.

#return of the king #tolkien #lotr: rotk #rotk #jrr tolkien #faramir #eowyn #faramir/eowyn #first read

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lesbiansforboromir · 4 years

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Family tree of all Boromir’s large extended family including names for unnamed woman and filler characters that I just made up for flavour.

This has a little extra than the timeline like the Steward’s connection to Pinnath Gelin and some more of Rohan’s royal line.

Timeline pertaining to Boromir and his extended family and Gondor and Rohan as a whole below the cut.

Begins with Turin II becoming the ruling Steward of Gondor. If you see inaccuracies then please give me a bell.

2882 Death of Thorondir, Turin II becomes ruling Steward of Gondor. 2883 Birth of Lord Faelon the Fisher, Lord of Pelargir. 2886 Birth of Ecthelion II, son of Steward Turgon. 2899 Death of the unnamed eighteenth Prince of Dol Amroth. The eighteenth Prince's son, Aglahad, becomes the nineteenth Prince of Dol Amroth. 2901 Most of the remaining inhabitants of Ithilien desert it, owing to the attacks of Uruks of the Morgul Vale. The secret refuge of Henneth Annûn is built. 2903 Birth of Mesgiel of Pelargir, Wife of Ecthelion II, sister to Faelon. Death of Folcwine, Fengel takes the sceptre of Rohan. 2905 Birth of Thengel, son of King Fengel of Rohan. 2907 Birth of Gilraen, mother of Aragorn. 2911 The Fell Winter, Wolves invade Eriador. 2912 Devastating floods in Minhiriath and Enedwaith, death of Argonui, Arador becomes Chieftain of the Dúnedain, Tharbad deserted. Saruman discovers Sauron is searching the Gladden Fields. 2914 Death of Túrin II, Turgon becomes Ruling Steward of Gondor. 2917 Birth of Prince Adrahil of Dol Amroth. Birth of Cardir, Seneschal of Tumladen. 2920 Prince Thengel leaves Rohan’s court due to a break with his father and is welcomed in Gondor. 2921 Lord Faelon the Fisher weds Tinnoril of Pelargir. Birth of Sirgon, son of Faelon. 2922 Birth of Morwen Steelsheen. 2924 Birth of Lady Arasser of Lamedon. Mesgiel of Pelargir weds Steward Ecthelion II. 2925 Birth of Lady Terenis, eldest daughter of Steward Ecthelion. Birth of Laegeth of Cair Andros. 2927 Birth of Lady Vanyalos, youngest daughter of Steward Ecthelion. 2929 Arathorn II weds Gilraen. 2930 Death of Arador, Arathorn II becomes Chieftain of the Dúnedain. Birth of Denethor II 2931 Birth of Aragorn. 2932 Death of Prince Aglahad, Angelimir becomes Prince of Dol Amroth. 2933 Death of Arathorn II, Aragorn becomes Chieftain of the Dúnedain. 2935 Birth of Forlong, Lord of Lossenarch. 2939 Saruman discovers that Sauron's servants are searching the Anduin near Gladden Fields, and that Sauron therefore has learned of Isildur's end. He is alarmed, but says nothing to the White Council. 2941 Sauron driven from Dol Guldur, Battle of Five Armies. Dáin II becomes King of Erebor. 2942 Sauron returns in secret to Mordor. 2943 Prince Thengel of Rohan weds Morwen Steelsheen. 2944 Birth of Princess Eadoina, eldest daughter of Prince Thengel. 2945 Birth of Princess Éadwara, second eldest daughter of Prince Thengel. Prince Adrahil weds Lady Arasser of Lamedon. 2946 Birth of Princess Aldwyn, third eldest daughter of Prince Thengel. 2947 Death of Faeron, Sirgon becomes Lord of Lebennin. Birth of Ivriniel, first daughter of Prince Adrahil. 2948 Birth of Théoden, Son of Thengel. 2950 Birth of Finduilas, second daughter of Prince Adrahil. 2951 Sauron declares himself openly and gathers power in Mordor. He begins the rebuilding of Barad-dûr and sends three Nazgûl to reoccupy Dol Guldur. Gondor. 2952 Aragorn discovers his true name from Elrond and goes into the Wild. 2953 The Dark Tower rises again. Last meeting of the White Council. They debate the Rings of Power. Saruman feigns that he has discovered that the One Ring has passed down Anduin to the Sea. Saruman withdraws to Isengard, which he takes as his own, and fortifies it. Being jealous and afraid of Gandalf he sets spies to watch all his movements; and notes his interest in the Shire. He soon begins to keep agents in Bree and the Southfarthing.. Death of Steward Turgon, Ecthelion II becomes Ruling Steward of Gondor, Saruman begins to fortify Isengard, death of King Fengel, Thengel returns from Gondor to take the throne of Rohan, Theoden accompanies him. 2954 Mount Doom bursts into flame again. The last inhabitants of Ithilien flee over Anduin. 2955 Birth of Imrahil, son of Prince Adrahil. 2957 Sirgon weds Laegeth of Cair Andros Aragorn begins his great journeys as Thorongil. 2960 Birth of Siriel, daughter of Lord Sirgon. 2961 Birth of Lorvegil, eldest son of Lord Sirgon. 2963 Birth of Théodwyn, youngest daughter of Thengel. 2964 Birth of Falathran, youngest son of Sirgon. Lady Vanyalos weds Lord Forlong of Lossenarch. 2967 Birth of Tathrenes, eldest daughter of Lord Forlong. 2969 Birth of Lothuial, second eldest daughter of Lord Forlong. 2970 Lady Terenis weds Cardir of Tumladen. 2973 Prince Theoden weds Elfhild of Rohan. 2974 Birth of Collas, youngest daughter of Lord Forlong. Birth of Eradan II, eldest son of Lady Terenis and Cardir of Tumladen. 2976 Denethor II weds Finduilas 2977 Birth of Halas II, youngest son of Lady Terenis and Cardir of Tumladen. Death of Angelimir, Adrahil II becomes Prince of Dol Amroth. 2978 Births of Boromir and Théodred. Death of Elfhild in childbirth. 2979 Death of Falathran in the sudden increase in Corsair hostilities. 2980 Attack on Umbar. Death of Thengel, Theoden takes the Throne of Rohan. Adventures of Thorongil end and Aragorn and Arwen are betrothed. About this time Gollum reaches the confines of Mordor and becomes acquainted with Shelob. 2983 Siriel weds Beinor of Minas Tirith. Birth of Faramir. 2984 Deaths of Ecthelion II, Denethor becomes Ruling Steward of Gondor. Denethor II begins to use the Anor-stone. 2985 Birth of Hirgon, son of Siriel. 2988 Death of Finduilas after a period of illness. 2989 Éomund weds Théodwyn. 2990 Saruman begins breeding Orcs. Birth of Erchirion son of Prince Imrahil. Birth of Belegorn, son of Tathrenes out of wedlock. 2991 Birth of Éomer, son of Eomund. Lady Tathrenes weds a Knight Barahon of Imloth Melui. 2992 Death of Cardir, Seneschal of Tumladen, killed defending the fords of the river Sirith. Eradan II becomes lord of Tumladen. 2993 Birth of Cúlalf, second son of Lady Tathrenes. 2994 Destruction of Balin's colony, birth of Amrothos, son of Prince Imrahil. 2995 Births of Falasser, son of Lorvegil. Birth of Eowyn, daughter of Eomund. Birth of Cordover, third son of Tathrenes. Lothuial weds Lord Rondil of Arnach. 2998 Siriel killed whilst helping evacuate the city, Beinor leaves Pelargir and raises Hirgon in Minas Tirith. 2999 Birth of Lothíriel, daughter of Prince Imrahil. Birth of Cúdulus, youngest son of Lady Tathrenes. 3000 The shadow of Mordor lengthens. Saruman dares to use the palantír of Orthanc, but becomes ensnared by Sauron, who has the Ithil-stone. He becomes a traitor to the White Council. His spies report that the Shire is being closely guarded by the Rangers. Birth of Celebros, daughter of Lorvegil. (79) Birth of Rhossolas, daughter of Lady Lothuial. 3001 Bilbo's birthday feast. 3002 Easterlings attack the Eastemnet of Rohan aided by the orcs of the White mountains. Death of Éomund battling Orcs at Emyn Muil. Death of Théodwyn, Eomer and Eowyn are adopted into King Theoden’s house. Bilbo comes to Imladris. 3006 Birth of Pelilas, youngest daughter of Lady Lothuial. Death of Rondil of Arnach during a corsair siege. Death of Collas, daughter of Vanyalos, killed in an ambush whilst tending to the wounded refugees. 3007 Death of Lorvegil in ship combat, Sirgon takes in Celebros and Falasser. 3009 Gandalf and Aragorn renew their hunt for Gollum at intervals during the next eight years, searching in the vales of Anduin, Mirkwood, and Rhovanion to the confines of Mordor. At some time during these years Gollum himself ventured into Mordor, and was captured by Sauron. 3010 Death of Adrahil II, Imrahil becomes Prince of Dol Amroth. 3012 Eradan II weds Gladhriel of Lamedon. Death of Arasser, mother of Prince Imrahil, at the age of 88. 3014 Théoden begins to fall ill after a wound and his counselor, Gríma Wormtongue, begins to gain power over the King. Birth of Faeleth, daughter of Eradan II. Death of Mesgiel, mother of Denethor II, at the age of 111. 3015 Prince Elphir weds Síloril of Dol Amroth. Death of Morwen Steelsheen at the age of 93. 3017 Birth of Lenneth, Falasser’s daughter out of wedlock. Her father claims her. Birth of Thorondir II, son of Eradan II. Birth of Alphros son of Prince Elphir. Gollum is released from Mordor. Aragorn captures Gollum in the Dead Marshes. On his way to Mirkwood, Aragorn crosses the Anduin assisted by the Beornings. Gandalf visits Minas Tirith and reads the scroll of Isildur. He then leaves for the Shire. On his way northwards, Gandalf gets word from Lothlórien that Aragorn passed by with captured Gollum, and changes his course to meet him. Aragorn brings Gollum to Thranduil in Mirkwood. Gandalf comes to Thranduil and questions Gollum. Gandalf leaves Mirkwood and resumes his course west for Hobbiton. 3018 Boromir and Faramir receive the riddle in their sleep. Sauron attacks Osgiliath. Death of Eradan II and Cúlalf, killed defending the bridge of Osgiliath beside their cousins Boromir and Faramir. Thorondir II becomes lord of Tumladen with his mother acting as his regent. About the same time Thranduil is attacked, and Gollum escapes. Boromir sets out from Minas Tirith for Rivendell. Gandalf imprisoned in Orthanc. Sauron learns of the treachery of Saruman, Frodo reaches Rivendell, the Council of Elrond is held and the Fellowship of the Ring formed. Belegorn, son of Tathrenes, engaged to a healer of Arnach. Birth of Alwed, son of Rhossolas out of wedlock. 3019 Deaths of Gollum, Boromir, Denethor II, Dáin II, Brand, Lotho Sackville-Baggins, Saruman, Théoden, Nazgûl destroyed, One Ring destroyed, End of Sauron, Bard II becomes King of Dale, Thorin III Stonehelm becomes King of Erebor, Aragorn takes the name Elessar, Aragorn takes the Sceptre of the Reunited Kingdom, Mirkwood renamed Eryn Lasgalen, East Lórien founded. 3020 Drúedain destroy remnant of Saruman's Orcs, Faramir and Éowyn wed. 3021 Éomer and Lothíriel wed. Elrond, Galadriel, Gandalf, Bilbo and Frodo pass over the Sea.

#gondor #lotr #lord of the rings #tolkien #boromir #denethor #erran vs tolkien #soap operas in mannish sindarin #text post #timeline

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anghraine · 4 years

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“the gift of men” - fic

The fic is three pages long and has taken yeaaaars to write. Anyway: some cheerful Eldarion fic!

He did not choose the marriage. He did not choose the bride; he did not even choose the day. He assented to everything, decided nothing. Yet though he wed not of his own desire, he never regretted his marriage, nor his fair and laughing princess.

Eldarion had no queen.

His folk knew better than to press him on this. For one, the traditions of Gondor discouraged him from seeking marriage now, however much they might have wished it. The matter might have been different, and indeed alarming, had he no heirs; but he had many of them, son and daughter, sister-sons and sister-daughters under the law, their children and his own grandchildren, all beloved.

For another—though he now reigned alone, king without queen, he had not always lived so. Once, he had been a prince; and once, long ago, there had been a princess.

She died of old age almost a century before the kingship fell to him.

Certainly, none of Eldarion’s people could say he had neglected his duty. At their will, and his father’s, he took a wife before his thirtieth year.

But then, he knew her well, long before the wedding-day.

Eldarion always expected that he would marry Morwen of Ithilien or Gilanor of Dol Amroth.

Both, eldest daughters of princes, came from the greatest houses in Gondor; he could not say so of himself. His father might be heir to Isildur and Elendil, his mother a peredhel of the blood of Elros Tar-Minyatur and the Lady of Lórien, the two of them sprung from the highest lineages still remaining—but not from Gondor. And coming as they did on the heels of nigh on a millennium of the Stewards’ rule, Lord Denethor and his sons beloved of the people—

Well, by then the handful of plots had long since subsided, but he knew he must marry a lady of Gondor; ideally, a kinswoman of the Prince of Ithilien. As Morwen and Gilanor were near Eldarion in age (a more pressing concern for him than anyone else), he supposed his wife would be one or the other.

And yet she was not.

In his more fanciful moments, well before his actual marriage, Eldarion cherished vague hopes of Aravain.

It was not a great love-story, nor even a great tragedy; at that age, he did not wish to marry—but he would have rather married Aravain than anyone else. By then, she was a great knight, a faithful protector, a dear friend, indeed dearer than any woman but his mother and favourite sister. But she was not at all what Gondor expected of a princess.

Always a creature of contradictions, she was, in fact, a princess: at once the most Dúnadan of Queen Lothíriel’s daughters—she had been fostered in Dol Amroth for that reason—and very much the Lady Éowyn’s niece. But after years in Gondor, she regarded herself as more Aravain than Athelflaed, more akin to Morwen, Glóredhel, and Gilanor than her own sisters, more Dúnadan warrior than Rohirren princess; after the first shocks, so did Gondor regard her.

He knew she would not have accepted him even had he dared offer, yet no man could have asked for a more faithful captain or friend; she remained at his side for nigh on a century—until old age took her, and then, she too died.

Throughout Eldarion’s childhood and youth, he knew his father best as a victor of distant triumphs, the great Elessar who brought glory and riches to Gondor, an occasional towering presence. In his early years, it was very occasional; Gondor had many enemies, eager to try her battered armies, and from the first, Elessar declared himself determined to recover all that the Dúnedain had ever lost, but for Rohan and drowned Númenor.

The Queen, Eldarion’s mother, did not reign in these absences; the Steward Faramir did, by law and—though Eldarion did not understand it at the time—policy. Gondor knew and loved Faramir, and found so many changes easier to bear with the Steward ruling from Minas Tirith.

But by good fortune, Faramir and Arwen held each other in the highest regard; he always requested her counsel, she accorded him every honour, and Eldarion only ever knew them as close allies and friends.

Indeed, he thought it perfectly natural that the Steward and the Queen should rule Gondor together, for he remembered little else. And as a boy, he thought it perfectly natural that they should rule over him, too.

As a young man, he did not think so quite as much, but he had a mild temper, and appreciated that his mother simply asked him about Glóredhel.

Eldarion had never thought much about Glóredhel one way or another, though he had seen her many times. She was several years his junior, of an age with his sister Telperiën; indeed, Glóredhel and Telperiën used to laugh and whisper together when they were in company in either Minas Anor or Emyn Arnen, and remained faithful friends. She had a lighter temper than her sister Morwen and her various cousins, including Aravain; she enjoyed songs, and dancing, and tales of victory; she had a pleasant voice and a fair face. Eldarion, without ever imagining her as a bride, had always liked her well enough.

He said as much to Arwen, who nodded thoughtfully, and said nothing more; but Eldarion understood what went unsaid, and soon found himself easily assenting to a marriage.

So did Glóredhel; she listened as he stumbled through an explanation, then laughed and said yes, of course.

Over the year of their betrothal, Eldarion took pains to acquaint himself better with Glóredhel, finding her as fearless, frank, and curious as he remembered her.

“It will be an adventure,” she said once, and he could not help but smile—a weakness, if weakness it was, that often beset him around her. He could not quite say that he loved her on their wedding-day, not as he did later, but he was happy to take her hand in his; happy to hear the King call her daughter; happy to bury his fingers in her golden hair.

It turned white with a terrible quickness, yet not before her time. Their son and daughter were grown with children of their own, and Glóredhel’s sister-son, taken into their household in his youth, had become a renowned loremaster, and Éomer of Rohan had come to grieve over his sister with them. Yet it all seemed impossibly fast to Eldarion, each moment passing instantly onto the next, until he stood weeping between Faramir and Elessar as Glóredhel was borne into Rath Dínen.

She had lived over seventy years, and Eldarion had lifetimes ahead of him.

#eldarion #anghraine's fic #faramir #chaucer meme #arwen undómiel #legendarium fic #legendarium blogging #glóredhel of ithilien #there's so much i had to keep cutting out bc it wasn't relevant enough #which is for the Best but ;_;#like #glóredhel has a super good relationship with aragorn and will just listen to him by the hour #and tiny glóredhel would try to trail after him and climb his robes #(when he was around)#glóredhel's sister-son is the barahir who writes the tale of aragorn and arwen (he's morwen's son)#telperiën is named for celebrían more than the queen of númenor (and glóredhel is named for the hadorian rather than elves)#telperiën is the favourite sister he mentions in passing #aravain is basically gondorian alanna of trebond #faramir is basically the earl of southampton #he dies shortly after glóredhel does #anywayyyyy #aragorn #the southampton au #ugh still need a better name. given that it's not an au!

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tolkiensource · 7 years

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middle-earth meme | [1/3] couples → éowyn and faramir

Then the heart of Eowyn changed, or else at last she understood it. And suddenly her winter passed, and the sun shone on her. 'I stand in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Sun,' she said; 'and behold! the Shadow has departed! I will be a shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren.' And again she looked at Faramir. 'No longer do I desire to be a queen,' she said. Then Faramir laughed merrily. 'That is well,' he said; 'for I am not a king. Yet I will wed with the White Lady of Rohan, if it be her will. And if she will, then let us cross the River and in happier days let us dwell in fair Ithilien and there make a garden. All things will grow with joy there, if the White Lady comes.' 'Then must I leave my own people, man of Gondor?' she said. 'And would you have you proud folk say to you: "There goes a lord who tamed a wild shieldmaiden of the North! Was there no woman of the race of Numenor to choose?" 'I would,' said Faramir. And he took her in his arms and kissed her under the sunlit sky, and he cared not that they stood high upon the walls in the sight of many. And many indeed saw them and the light that shone about them as they came down from the walls and went hand in hand to the Houses of Healing. And to the Warden of the Houses Faramir said: 'Here is the Lady Eowyn of Rohan, and now she is healed.'

#lotredit #tolkienedit #middle earth meme #lord of the rings #lotr #eowyn #faramir #eowyn x faramir #trotk #gif #*#by pam

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arofili · 3 years

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@tolkienocweek day five | worldbuilding | queen haldanárië and her sister lady vistamírë

Haldanárië, wife of Ostoher, was the seventh Queen of Gondor. She was a citizen of Minas Anor and dearly loved her home, and for her sake her husband undertook vast renovations of the citadel, enlarging it and restoring it to its former glory as it had been in the days of his ancestor Anárion. Minas Anor became the royal family’s summer residence, where Haldanárië ruled in her element, though the seat of Ostoher’s power remained in the capital of Osgiliath.

Haldanárië’s son Tarostar was dear friends with his cousin Astorion, the son of his mother’s sister Vistamírë. This friendship mirrored that of their mothers, who were close throughout their long lives and were buried together when at last they passed on to receive the Gift of Men. Indeed, when Tarostar was crowned King Rómendacil I and established the position of Steward, it was Astorion he selected for this great honor, for there was no one he trusted more.

Vistamírë and Haldanárië’s famous sisterhood eventually passed into legend in the form of children’s stories, told by Tarostar and Astorion to their young offspring, and from the royal family spread throughout all Gondor. The legend of the “sister queens,” while not entirely accurate to history, remains a pillar of young girls’ games of make-believe in the white streets of Minas Tirith, the same city where those queens grew into their own so many generations before.

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arofili · 3 years

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the line of elros ❖ stewards of gondor ❖ headcanon disclaimer

Denethor II was the son of Ecthelion II, and was the twenty-sixth and penultimate Ruling Steward of Gondor. In his youth he was the rival of Thorongil, an outsider who quickly became a trusted general and advisor to Ecthelion; Denethor was jealous of Thorongil’s closeness to his father and trusted him even less when he spoke favorably of the wizard Mithrandir whom he trusted not at all. When Thorongil vanished after a military victory, Denethor was not at all sorry to see him go. When Finduilas, daughter of the Prince of Dol Amroth, came to Minas Tirith to visit her elder sister Ivriniel, Denethor swiftly fell deeply in love with her. Though she yearned always for the sea, Finduilas agreed to marry him and bore him two sons: Boromir, named for the son of Denethor’s own namesake, and Faramir, named for one of the last ill-fated Princes of Gondor. Denethor adored his elder son, but cared little for the younger; Finduilas did her best to raise Faramir on her own despite her own dwindling health, which she believed to be caused by her confinement in the stone city of Minas Tirith so far from the sea. Denethor refused to believe his wife’s ailment was his own doing, and as the Shadow of Mordor lengthened she grew only more ill until she died at the age of only 38, incredibly young for one of the Dúnedain. After Finduilas’ death, Denethor grew grim and silent. He focused on preparing Gondor for the coming war against Sauron, and desperate for knowledge he turned to the palantír of Anor, overconfident in his willpower to resist the contamination of the Shadow. He learned much from the stone, but the stress of contending against the mighty will of Sauron aged him before his time. Denethor was motivated by a need to surpass Thorongil, in whose shadow he still lived, and even the wizards Mithrandir and Curunír. Though he was ever-vigilant in his watch against Mordor, he became blind to all struggles save those between him and Sauron. When his ill-favored son Faramir began to have dreams of Imladris and Isildur’s Bane, Denethor at first dismissed him, but when Boromir came to his brother’s defense and revealed he also had received these dreams, Denethor eventually agreed to send the elder of his sons on a quest to discover their meaning. Boromir was a man of great strength and valour, taking after King Eärnur of old in all ways. He was a valiant captain, defending Osgiliath from Sauron’s first assault, and undertook this quest with determination. He traveled the dangerous road from Minas Tirith to Imladris, facing many hardships but at last reaching Rivendell in time to attend the Council of Elrond. Boromir spoke of Gondor’s struggle against the forces of Mordor, and when the One Ring was revealed he was eager to use its power to defend Gondor. Though his request was denied due to the Ring’s corrupting power, Boromir joined the Fellowship of the Ring on his way back to Minas Tirith. On this journey he came to know Aragorn, the true name of his father’s rival Thorongil, and though there was some conflict of will between them Aragorn earned Boromir’s respect and loyalty. The two men were both bound for Gondor, and above personal pride Boromir desired the protection of his home, which he believed Aragorn could provide as King. Boromir grew close in friendship to the hobbits Merry and Pippin, but developed an obsession with the Ringbearer Frodo Baggins. The Ring preyed ever on his mind, and not even the counsel of the Lady of Lothlórien could free him from its influence. This culminated in Boromir demanding Frodo give him the Ring so he might overthrow Gondor, and when Frodo refused he attempted to take the Ring by force. When Frodo vanished using the Ring’s power, Boromir was overwhelmed with guilt and regret and called for Frodo to return. At last he returned to the Fellowship, and when Frodo’s disappearance was revealed, Merry and Pippin ran off looking for him. Aragorn told Boromir to follow and guard the young hobbits, but when he caught up to them they were surrounded by orcs. Boromir leapt to their defense, slaying many and driving off the rest, but soon more orcs attacked and they were overrun. Boromir sounded the Horn of Gondor and fought valiantly to save Merry and Pippin, but at last he was laid low, pierced by many arrows, and the hobbits were captured. Aragorn found Boromir as he lay dying, holding his broken sword and the cloven Horn. Boromir confessed his ill deeds regarding Frodo, and Aragorn assured him that he was forgiven and had redeemed himself. Thus Boromir died, and was laid in a boat with his weapons and Horn and sent out into the River Anduin he had fought his whole life to defend, his body falling over the Falls of Rauros. Aragorn and his remaining companions Legolas the elf and Gimli the dwarf vowed to rescue Merry and Pippin, and eventually reunited with them after a bitter campaign against the forces of Saruman in Rohan. Both Faramir and Denethor heard the sounding of the Great Horn and were deeply troubled by what it might mean, but it was Faramir who saw a vision of Boromir’s body in the boat and later found the two halves of the Horn of Gondor. Denethor was driven to gaze into the palantír ever more, his anger and despair growing deeper with the loss of his beloved son. When Mithrandir arrived in Minas Tirith with Pippin, whom Boromir had died to protect, Denethor was at first enraged, but he quickly became fascinated by the hobbit and accepted Pippin’s offer to enter his service. Taking counsel with Mithrandir and Faramir, neither of whom he fully trusted, Denethor sent his son to defend Osgiliath, an act that resulted in a great defeat and Faramir’s wounding nearly to the death. As the Battle of the Pelennor Fields raged outside Minas Tirith, Denethor gave into despair and cared only for the life of his only surviving son. His last look into the palantír revealed to him a bleak and hopeless situation, and at last his will broke entirely. He abandoned leadership of Minas Tirith and built a pyre for himself and Faramir, intending to burn them both alive, but he was stopped by Mithrandir and Beregond, one of his guards. Faced with the loss of all he had tried to defend, Denethor broke the white rod of the Steward over his knee and cast it into the flames. Faramir was rescued from the pyre and would later recover, but Denethor II laid himself down upon it and perished with the palantír clutched tight to his breast.

#tolkienedit #oneringnet #lotr #lotredit #lord of the rings #gondor #denethor ii #finduilas of dol amroth #boromir #faramir #my edit #my writing #edit writing #headcanons #tefain nin #stewards of gondor #line of elros #long post

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morwensteelsheen · 3 years

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Do you have any advice for someone who wants to write Éowyn x Faramir fanfic in a way that remains authentic to who they are/how Tolkien envisioned them? Of all the fics I’ve read on this pairing, yours just stands out to me as being most in character, whether you’re writing them in Middle Earth or a modern!au. I agree with you about Faramir being gentle but NOT a crybaby and Éowyn not a loose cannon and actually somewhat frosty! Any advice you have would be appreciated. Cheers!

bro... 🥺❤️ that is so kind of you, thank you so much!!!! Like holy moly I am going to be riding high on that compliment all week hahaha, i’m giddy thinking about it.

i’ve been fretting about how to answer this question because i think i still struggle quite a bit with their characterisations. also i’m terrible at framing advice, so i’m going to try and answer this by giving my interpretations of certain things and how that effects how i write about them, and hopefully that will be helpful? also i’m so sorry, this is literally 6,000 words, this totally got away from me.

To start quite generally, i think it’s super helpful to realise that almost all of the characters in LOTR are devoid of any significant internal life because the book is structured as a retelling of historical events to frodo, which are later written down and then “translated” by tolkien. unless a character is explicitly telling frodo/someone else what they’re thinking, we don’t really know what’s going on in there (except éowyn and i’ll come back to this later). But the other reason we don’t really get a sense of most characters’ internal lives is because they function as, essentially, heroic/fantastical archetypes and responses to other elements of literature. People tend to shy away from this because of this weird postmodern backlash against tropes, but it’s, i feel, extremely important to remember that these characters aren’t in the books because they’re fully-fleshed out human beings, they’re there because tolkien needed characters to fulfil certain narrative roles. this is not a value judgement, but acknowledging that’s what’s going on here is helpful for us as we try to figure out what these characters would be doing when canon doesn’t explicitly tell us what they’d be doing (or what they’d be doing in an au/a rewrite/whatever).

All this to say: all of these characters are born out of a specific literary and historical context, and i think in the first instance its suuuuuuuupa helpful to go back and figure out what that context is, because it helps you to build out a character profile in your head that feels true to character even when you’re operating in the great canon unknown.

Okay so for some general thoughts on each of the kiddos:

Éowyn

I’ll start with éowyn because i think i’ve spent the most time thinking about her lately and i feel like i’m finally starting to get in her head a little better. I’m not super confident in my take yet, but it’s getting there, i feel.

éowyn’s metatextual character history is really fascinating and really important for understanding who she is. éowyn is, essentially, a direct response to the character of lady macbeth and what tolkien saw as a massive disservice to her character at the end of the play. I had a much better pull quote from tolkien talking specifically about that, but i can’t seem to find it right now so you’ll have to use this really brief overview instead — sorry! I will update this if i come across the quote again.

understanding that foundation in lady macbeth, we can start to ask certain questions about éowyn vis a vis lady macbeth. What are the things that we know — in text — make lady macbeth and éowyn similar? Quite a lot, actually. They’re both ‘fully realised’ women (and i’ll come back to this in a sec), they’re both not naive about the mechanics of power — lady macbeth is a conniver, éowyn is left in control of a whole ass kingdom while the menfolk are away etc —, they’re both hindered by their gender (this is obvious for éowyn, but i HELLA recommend reading lady macbeth’s come you spirits/unsex me here speech and thinking about the relationship between womanhood and violence, especially in light of éowyn’s experience of battlefield violence and later decision to give it up to go be a hippie in ithilien), and they both have to deal with men being frustrating. I love and will defend théoden quite explicitly, but it’s important to realise that he did, in essence, fuck éowyn over entirely and abdiate on his familial responsibilities to her, before you even get to his abdication of duty to the crown etc.

The other big — very big, i feel — similarity between éowyn and lady macbeth is that they are both tremendously emotionally distant and restrained. But éowyn, unlike lady macbeth, is capable of camouflaging her emotional distance when necessary. Here, from ROTK, is a passage of crucial important to understanding éowyn:

‘Alas! For she was pitted against a foe beyond the strength of her mind or body. And those who will take a weapon to such an enemy must be sterner than steel, if the very shock shall not destroy them. It was an evil doom that set her in his path. For she is a fair maiden, fairest lady of a house of queens. And yet I know not how I should speak of her. When I first looked on her and perceived her unhappiness, it seemed to me that I saw a white flower standing straight and proud, shapely as a lily, and yet knew that it was hard, as if wrought by elf-wrights out of steel. Or was it, maybe, a frost that had turned its sap to ice, and so it stood, bitter-sweet, still fair to see, but stricken, soon to fall and die? Her malady begins far back before this day, does it not, Éomer?’

‘I marvel that you should ask me, lord,’ he answered. ‘For I hold you blameless in this matter, as in all else; yet I knew not that Éowyn, my sister, was touched by any frost, until she first looked on you. Care and dread she had, and shared with me, in the days of Wormtongue and the king’s bewitchment; and she tended the king in growing fear. But that did not bring her to this pass!’

‘My friend,’ said Gandalf, ‘you had horses, and deeds of arms, and the free fields; but she, born in the body of a maid, had a spirit and courage at least the match of yours. Yet she was doomed to wait upon an old man, whom she loved as a father, and watch him falling into a mean dishonoured dotage; and her part seemed to her more ignoble than that of the staff he leaned on.

‘Think you that Wormtongue had poison only for Théoden’s ears? Dotard! What is the house of Eorl but a thatched barn where brigands drink in the reek, and their brats roll on the floor among their dogs? Have you not heard those words before? Saruman spoke them, the teacher of Wormtongue. Though I do not doubt that Wormtongue at home wrapped their meaning in terms more cunning. My lord, if your sister’s love for you, and her will still bent to her duty, had not restrained her lips; you might have heard even such things as these escape them. But who knows what she spoke to the darkness, alone, in the bitter watches of the night, when all her life seemed shrinking, and the walls of her bower closing in about her, a hutch to trammel some wild thing in?’

Emphasis my own.

there’s a whole hell of a lot going on here, but i’m going to try and boil it down to a couple main things:

1. gandalf and aragorn immediately see misery in éowyn, but they are both very good at reading people. faramir (later, in the steward and the king) also senses the misery, but he is explicitly talented at reading people, and even he takes a while to fully understand what’s going on in her head

2. Éomer, who éowyn feels obligation and duty to (both as her brother, but also her superior in rank) has no idea that éowyn is suicidal. he knows she’s not happy, but he thinks it’s not until aragorn shows up that she finally becomes despondent and is amazed to hear that that’s not the case, to which gandalf responds, essentially: you weren’t meant to know, she was working with a will of steel to hide her emotions from you because she wanted to protect you from it. So éowyn is well versed at controlling her emotions when she needs to, and is not prone to showing them where she doesn’t want to.

3. Gandalf describes éowyn first as wrought from steel (which, short of an incredibly hot fire, is not easy to break), and then amends it to say that she is made of ice. Ice, compared to steel, is far easier to melt. Maybe inadvertently on tolkien’s behalf, i think this speaks to the nature of éowyn and faramir’s relationship — first she is melted by fire (battle, the witch-king, etc) and the she is warmed by the sun (faramir! Minas anor! The winter has passed, etc).

4. Earlier i said the characters in lotr don’t really have a huge internal life, except for éowyn. This is where that comes in: éowyn, we are supposed to understand, has a really intense internal life, because her mind is really all she has. We are meant to understand that she’s got a lot going on internally, but there is a very specific reason we’re not privy to it. That’s important to think about.

what this does is widen the gulf between what éowyn’s thinking and feeling, and what she’s actually saying and doing. If you’re writing (as i tend to prefer) in a way that deals with her inner life quite intensely, building that gap up is much easier to do. She’s going to have a lot of thoughts, and almost all of them are going to be hindered by either other people’s expectations of her, or her own expectations of herself. And that’s going to cause problems for her — maybe not always throwing-herself-at-death level problems, but certainly problems.

so there’s that. Then i think there’s a lot to be said for widening the net on éowyn inspirations. I’ve looked to joan of arc (which i kind of hinted at here) quite a bit. I feel like the joan of arc comparison is easy to understand so i wont waste too much time on it, though i will say i’d actually recommend reading catholic interpretations of joan of arc, not later protestant Girlboss interpretations because i think those miss the point of joan of arc entirely.

I was going to try to comment more on the gender element but i feel like i’m not on great footing with that yet so i will leave that to the side for now.

Faramir

tbh i was kind of dreading getting to this because i still find it exceptionally hard to get into his head, so wish me luck lol

I’m going to be a total bore and recommend you check out this article. Bear in mind that that was written by a dude at the citadel so it’s going to stray into the realm of Military Brain at points, but i think it’s a worthwhile read anyways.

ah christ, faramir. okay. cowabunga.

faramir, more so than aragorn, is the platonic ideal of a romantic hero. Both in the genre sense (as in, romance novels) and in the sense of the artistic movement of romanticism, i know i’ve said exactly this before but it’s worth reiterating. I’ll start with the romantic influence and then go onto the romance.

So the romantic movement is a really important intellectual, cultural and political movement, and you will have to forgive me because i am only loosely a modernist and more a contemporary historian, and not at all an expert in literature or art history, so this is going to be, like, a 101 level understanding of what was going on.

The romantic movement is kicked off as a reaction to both the emphasis on rationality and quantifiability promoted during the enlightenment, and the bourgeois economic revolutions (this is the french revolution, mostly, but the later revolutions across the european continent in 1848 and the kickstarting of the industrial revolution in england). Romanticism was, essentially, a return to intense emotionality, reverence for nature, and appreciation of that which is, ultimately indefinable. Not necessary for writing a fanfic, but reading about the idea of the sublime is kind of a fun rabbit hole to go down if you’ve got time to spare.

A lot of present day writers will talk about the romantic movement as a break with the past, which is, i guess, kind of true, but is also not really true. The romantic movement — as much as the enlightenment — took its inspiration and logical from classic art and thought. But it interpreted the classics differently to the enlightenment. Whereas the enlightenment era thinkers were fascinated by the rationality and mathematical precision of the greeks and romans, the romantics were more interested in their emotional liberty, and the epic (in the truest sense of the word) shows of emotion and experiences of human life.

but what does this mean for faramir? A lot!

The first time we’re introduced to faramir (if not in name) is in fotr, when boromir talks about the destruction of the bridge at osgiliath, when he describes an epic story of war and heroism, wherein only four total people survive swimming from the bridge: two unnamed others, boromir, and faramir. right from the off we know that, if nothing else, he’s not a limp-wristed little lordling, he has the fortitude to survive what few others can.

Then, barely half a breath later, we get a description of faramir’s premonition, the fact that it came to him repeatedly, and that he immediately volunteered to go blues clues his way through it. We get the sense that he’s a guy who doesn’t back down from a challenge. And then faramir goes away for a while, until two towers, when we meet him again in the brilliance that is ithilien. And here i’m going to go back to our friend from the citadel for some interesting character insight:

the rangers under the command of Faramir are armed with long bows, giving them the capability to wage war over distances greater than most of their foes. This is the same type of warfare deemed cowardly and dishonorable by the chivalric knights, but is far more effective and less perilous than the face-to-face [...] This tactic also reveals Faramir to be a conscientious leader, minimizing the risk to his subordinates while maximizing their effectiveness in battle. Faramir was considerate of the risk he put his men to and sacrificed the idea of glorious face-to-face combat in favor of a weapon system that would be less desirable in the eyes of men such as Boromir, but also much more efficient. [...] Using camouflage and stealth, the warriors un d er Faramir's command set themselves apart from all other military units besides the elves in The Lord of the Rings and ultimately align themselves more closely with the soldiers of modern warfare than with the ancient heroes prevalent in the work of Tolkien.

Okay enough of the military history because it’s soul-crushingly boring, but the gist is that faramir is, (whatever else he is) a very unique figure. Taking this as a value neutral statement, we get the sense, before we even hear him own to it himself, that he’s a man apart from the rest. I think it’s important also to think about the extent to which he is situated as a part of nature when we first meet him, even if we later know that he is from this big, awful stone city, we are meant to immediately associate him with nature. And not nature in a primitive sense, i’d argue, but nature in the romantic sense, where it speaks to the beauty of creation etc etc etc

Then there’s the bright sword speech, which im not going to say anything on because cleverer people than me have dealt with it much more efficiently, but i would say that the takeaway from that, besides that he loves peace yada yada yada, is that he likes talking about peace. He has opinions on the war, perhaps even a controversial opinion, and by god, he wants people to know it. So thinking about what that level of immediate and almost impolitic honesty says about him is worth thinking about as you try to write him.

Later, we get to see faramir in the white city, and what we see is that he’s kind of a drama queen! I say this lovingly, but it does correspond to him going off on one immediately about how the war sucks ass and how he’s above it and how all the other people of middle earth are shit, including his own, and how much better life was In Númenor (which is, essentially, the crux of a lot of romantic poetry. And my headcanon of faramir’s connection to romantic poetry is here).

The other thing we learn in the white city is that faramir is very aware of himself as a person, and is actively altering whatever his base inclinations are to fit his desired personality. Here’s what i said in a comment on swaddledog’s excellent hearts and minds:

When Denethor hits him with the "ever your desire is to appear lordly and generous as a king of old, gracious, gentle," he's not saying it because he thinks that sort of behaviour comes naturally to Faramir but because he knows he has to work really, really hard at it. I think inherent in that desire is also the failure — he tries, but sometimes he comes up short (often, even — that kiss on the wall wasn't exactly gracious and gentle!), and it's because he sometimes comes up short that Denethor knows it doesn't come naturally to him. And you get that perfectly, just so, so perfectly.

That gap between what faramir thinks he is and whats to be versus what he actually is is very important for understanding him. Though, as i say, i really struggle with writing faramir, so it’s definitely not an easy thing to work into a fanfic.

I realise i’m probably not articulating this as well as i should, but that’s because dealing with faramir is a tremendous arseache for me, lol. I think basically my advice here is to familiarise yourself with a lot of these romantic figures and try to bear them in mind as you write. pierre bezukhov from war & peace actually fits quite closely to what i imagine young (as in, pre-ring war) faramir is like, with some necessary alterations for canon, and the fact that faramir seems like he’d be slightly more responsible than pierre. And certainly far, far, FAR more confident.

So that’s the romantic, and then there’s the romance. I saw a post a few months ago that identified faramir as, essentially, a love letter to women. And he totally is: he’s this fucking baller guerrilla warrior who quotes poetry and reads widely and falls in love deeply and sweeps a woman off her feet because he finds her beautiful and incredible and worthwhile even when she’s at her absolute worst. emotional intimacy is real, hallelujah! And so i think any time you’re writing faramir you’re going to have to keep that in mind, because he is this sort of breathless romantic. He’s a character that exists (inadvertently because tolkien couldn’t predict the future) to act, outwardly, as an antidote to the All Men Are Shit mindset. How much you actually keep him on that pedestal is up to you. I like to nuance his character with a bit more chaos, let him be a bit of a shameless flirt in his younger years, let him be so high and mighty in his romantic behaviour that he doesn’t realise that sometime éowyn just wants to fucking chill, that sort of thing.

There are lots of other character moments that stick out to me that i dont want to say a huge amount about, but will instead link to this incredible meta about faramir’s númenóreaness, with the disclaimer that dealing with that sort of capability in any serious way scares the shit out of me, so i have mostly just Pretended I Can’t Read every time i think about it, except for a super brief reference at the end of this fic.

Okay onto the meat of this (oh my god, i’m so sorry for how long this is)

Faramir + Éowyn = true love

Before i start, i just want to point out that in terms of seeing their relationship, we only really get it in the steward and the king, which is significant for a lot of reasons. For one because tolkien got a huge amount of shit for how quickly they fell in love (people accused it of being war-bride stuff, which typically was not a great arrangement for those involved) — tolkien himself said ‘shut the fuck up dude’ to that, and this is probably because tolkien married his wife, edith, right before he went off to war. I’ll come back to that in a sec because it’s important.

The other reason it’s important is because the steward and the king features some of the most consistent lofty and high-fantasy prose of the entire series. Tolkien does this magical thing where he weaves high brow purple prose in with deeply casual, familiar (for the early 20th century) vernacular, and to great effect. And he does this for a reason, he wants to create the sense of this deeply developed, fantastical world that extends well outside the bounds of what we are allowed to see in text while also allowing us the rhetorical space to relate to the characters we see. It is, then, significant that there is almost none of the “low-brow” vernacular speech in the steward and the king. It means tolkien’s got all thrusters on full, so to speak, in terms of the romance. He wants to evoke arthurian romances, courtly/chivalric love, the sort of fated-by-the-stars love that nobody would think to deny because of the time constraints because it seems so abundantly obvious that this love is Meant To Be.

But that’s just what he’s doing tonally. In terms of content, he’s weaving a more complex picture.

We’ll start with the obvious. Emotionally, both éowyn and faramir are at their worst. Sort of. éowyn’s worst might have been when she did her suicide run on the pelennor in terms of self-destructiveness, but i think her real low point is actually when she wakes up in the HoH, basically immobilized, prevented from dying, and now aware she’s going to have to do the One Thing she refused to do, which is watch everybody she loves go off to die, and then sit about and wait for her own death. faramir, meanwhile, went off to a hopeless battle (expecting to die) after mouthing off at his father, then wakes up to find out he’s not only alive, but the only surviving member of his family (for some reason! because don’t forget gandalf is very clear that he shouldn’t find out about denethor’s death until Later), is now the fucking steward of gondor, and also this mythical king is Back. also he too has to sit around and wait for death. So emotionally neither of them are doing too great.

Their first impressions of one another are very important.

faramir, of éowyn: “and he turned and saw the Lady Éowyn of Rohan; and he was moved with pity, for he saw that she was hurt, and his clear sight perceived her sorrow and unrest.”; “He looked at her, and being a man whom pity deeply stirred, it seemed to him that her loveliness amid her grief would pierce his heart.”

So he knows who she is, and he can see that she’s physically hurt, but also can see she’s feeling all kinds of fucked up. And the first emotion he feels is pity. He’s assessing her in terms of pain and sorrow, and all of these sorts of emotions éowyn seems desperate to divorce herself from. And he offers her pity. That’s significant.

éowyn, of faramir: “she looked at him and saw the grave tenderness in his eyes, and yet knew, for she was bred among men of war, that here was one whom no Rider of the Mark would outmatch in battle.”

She doesn’t know who he is, not really, but she does immediately think he could kick ass. And that’s her first and only real assessment of him. That’s also significant.

And éowyn is miserable, and she’s so miserable she’s actually willing to openly talk about if (if only to a limited extent) and faramir does what is, I think, one of the most incredible things in the entire book. He functionally disarms her, lets her down gently, and places them on equal footing with a single joke:

‘What would you have me do, lady?’ said Faramir. ‘I also am a prisoner of the healers.’

There’s merit in interpreting this straight, but I actually think it's quite funny to relate the safety and security of a hospital in wartime to a prison, to a cage. And I think tolkien’s aware of this, and not really intending us to read it straight. What this does is soften éowyn up enough that she asks for what she wants, but also seems to make her more interested in dealing with him, even if she reacts badly to his compliment of her.

And then they fall in love, and whatever. The chapter’s there, there’s a million fanfics out there about it, whatever.

But faramir’s proposal is Big, and deserves thought for what it says about their relationship. People like to bitch about it because they take it to mean that éowyn has had to change all this stuff about herself, give up her desire to be a firebrand or whatever to go off and be a lovely prince’s wife in this noble hippie commune over those hills yonder. I think that’s totally wrong.

I think what’s going on in faramir’s proposal and éowyn’s response is a really fascinating illumination of the accord they’ve reached with one another through their (admittedly brief) courtship. Here’s why:

First, faramir tries to approach the conversation with a bit of subterfuge. Not in the weird negative way, just in that he’s not hitting it head on at the start. He obviously still doesn’t understand what’s going on inside her head fully, so tries to ask around the question (‘why aren’t you at the cormallen?’) instead of asking the question he’s obviously interested in. éowyn has no time for this, and tells him to nut up or shut up. And he does!

But then there’s this line:

But I do not offer you my pity. For you are a lady high and valiant and have yourself won renown that shall not be forgotten.

Two things going on here: one, faramir’s rescinding his initial emotional reaction. He felt pity for her, but has now come to know her well enough that he realises she doesn’t need pity, and isn’t dumb enough to try and force it on her. But the second thing, almost more important, is that he assesses her in the terms that she prefers, which is that she has won herself renown and has shown her valour. These are not the things Faramir values, we know this, that’s the whole point of the bright sword speech. But they are the things éowyn values, and he loves her, and is willing to acknowledge what her desired self image is. That’s a huge concession she’s won off him, that’s big.

And then éowyn responds:

I will be a shieldmaiden no longer, nor vie with the great Riders, nor take joy only in the songs of slaying. I will be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren.

here’s my potentially controversial take. I don’t think she’s giving up on her desire to be a fighter of some sort, but she’s giving up on some specific traditions, which is that of the mythical (but, let’s be clear, functionally nonexistent, save for éowyn) shieldmaidens, and of the riders of the Mark, who, as we have been told throughout the books, are given to valorising warfare and martial acts above all. This is supported by her saying “nor take joy only in the songs of slaying.” she’s not saying she won't take any joy in it, or that she won’t still praise it when it earns her admiration, but that’s not going to be her only raison d’etre anymore. Her life is going to move beyond the realm of death and killing and battlefield survival to growth and life and the future. That’s also a concession on her behalf.

And then there’s this hella romantic kiss on the walls, which is fucking brazen behaviour, but is also i think representative more of the unique situation than setting a trend for them. It is, i think, the positive equivalent of éowyn’s slaying of the witch king in terms of its uniqueness. In the same way that she’s not going to keep going around throwing herself headlong into fights she’s not meant to win, she’s also not going to be publicly playing tonsil hockey. This is the big moment, and then it’s back to the reserve from there.

Really, their entire relationship is, to me, about a series of negotiations. One culture and another, wives and husbands, old and new, war and peace, life and death, etc. they are similar in a lot of ways — both are intensely headstrong — but they’re similar primarily in character, not necessarily in belief, and so much of what they’re going to have to do as a pair is work to find their harmonious accord, if that makes sense. Sometimes they’ll do it peaceably, sometimes they’ll have blow up fights, but their entire relationship is going to be predicated on negotiating the space between, if that makes sense?

Okay i said i’d say some stuff on the relationship of tolkien and his wife edith to faramir and éowyn. Tolkien was adamant that they were beren and lúthien (that’s on their tombstones), and i’m full willing to grant him that. But i think it’s complicated by the fact that faramir is, in some senses, tolkien’s self-insert. Obviously authors can have stand-ins for their opinions without the character having to be them exactly (and i think there’s more merit certainly to saying that tolkien’s 100% self-insert is tom bombadil) but i think there’s something worth exploring to the connections between beren and lúthien and faramir and éowyn. I know the morality issue makes B+L more closely comparable to arwen and aragorn, but, as I argue for here, the mortality issue (or lifespan issue) isn’t totally alien to faramir and éowyn.

As i write them, there are some core themes i’m pretty consistently thinking about, so i’ll just list em here in case that’s any help to you.

Family

This would be: life after orphanhood, life as the last of a family, what your obligation to your family is, how you go on and have your own family after having had a less than ideal childhood, etc.

Duty

Here’s what I said about their differing approaches to duty in a now-abandoned draft chapter from willow cabin:

Faramir has said, not in as many words, that she should not begrudge him for following orders. This, she knows, is a crucial difference between them. They each hold duty above all other charges, but their interpretation of what exactly that means is different. It comes from the differences in power they wield: he has ever been empowered to change the course of decisions before they are made, while she is forced to react to them after. To him, then, it would be unreasonable to disobey direct orders, given that a failure to change them in advance is a reflection upon his skills, not the legitimacy of the command. She, however, has rarely had control over how and when orders are given, and so sees no inherent legitimacy to them, and thus no reason not to disobey orders that are unjustly given.

Time

As I alluded to above, éowyn is going to live a significantly shorter life than Faramir, and she is no doubt very aware of this. But this also means that they’re going to experience time differently, and that will have an impact on their behaviour. What might seem like foot-dragging to éowyn seems like impatience to faramir, etc

Healing

We never actually see faramir’s reaction to finding out denethor tried to burn him alive. That’s a lot. We have no idea if he knows when he proposes to éowyn. When does he find out? What does that do to his mood? Etc. but also, éowyn says she’ll become a healer — what does that really mean? Is she going to be nurse/doctor éowyn from now on? Will she broaden the definition of healing (for my part, i say yes, which is what i’ve been trying to do in willow cabin, though a little less successfully than i’d hoped)

Gender

This is a slightly less popular theme in the bookverse fics, but i think as part of éowyn and faramir’s relationship of negotiation, they’re going to have to deal with éowyn not feeling one hundo thrilled about being a woman. And i think that raises some interesting questions about what faramir’s response to that will be. men/manhood is often treated as the historical default — so what happens when someone like, say, éowyn, starts challenging the notion of gender and gender roles around faramir? How does he react? What does that do to his own self-image? Etc.

Okay. yes. That’s all i can think of right now. I am so, so sorry this is so long, i just totally brain dumped there. If you have any questions at all though please please do hit me up and i’m super happy to read whatever you’re writing (literally gagging for farawyn content rn lmao), if you’re comfortable sharing etc.

#oh my god this is ridiculously long i am SO sorry #asks #faramir #Éowyn

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morwensteelsheen · 3 years

Text

lmao just saying the words “royal affair AU” scratched such an itch in my brain that

In the year 3018 of the Third Aga, Arwen Undomiel, the Evenstar of her people, sailed to the Undying Lands. In the year 3019, the One Ring was destroyed, Aragorn, son of Arathorn was crowned King Elessar Telcontar outside the gates of Minas Tirith, reuniting the great kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor. In the year 3020, he wed Lady Éowyn, the Wraithslayer, younger sister of King Éomer of Rohan. Faramir, son of Denethor II, was made Prince of Ithilien and retained the Stewardship of Gondor, becoming an invaluable ally to Elessar as he worked to establish himself as ruler.

The early years of the reign of King Elessar were glorious. The receding of the Shadow in the East brought brightness into lands untouched by light for centuries. The people of Gondor, who had for so long cried out for the return of their King, were blessed with a good and decent man to rule them. He worked hard to restore the Kingdom to a level of glory befitting such an ancient and beloved land, and was aided in his efforts by his Steward, loved by all, and his Queen, loved by the people.

Soon, Elessar’s ambitions turned to the East and to the South. The lands that had once been Gondor’s by right had been stolen by tribes of barbarous men, men who had allied themselves with the Enemy in the War of the Ring. Desiring to give Gondor all that it deserved, the good King elected to ride forth to these lands and reclaim them for their rightful owners.

The King was beloved and trusted for his acts of valour in the struggle against the Enemy, and so was unopposed in his imperial ambitions. Unopposed by all except one.

The Lord Steward, Prince Faramir of Ithilien, was a man for whom war had little allure. In his past life, he had fought not for a love of war but for a love of Gondor, and saw that Gondor’s problems — lessened though they were by the labours of the King — would not be improved by the expansion of her territory. Privately, he expressed his concerns to the King, but privately he stood alone. In the first year of the Fourth Age, King Elessar and the Army of Gondor rode forth to Harondor, intending not to return until the desert land was reclaimed in full.

Prince Faramir, whose flaws laid in his imprudent idealism and a predilection for self-enforced isolation, harboured a terrible secret. Since the moment Lady Éowyn of Rohan had stood before him in those uncertain days after the Pelennor, her arm bound in a sling and her face bruised and battered, demanding a room that faced Eastwards, he had been hopelessly, desperately in love with her. She had, for however unaware of it she may have been, been crucial to his healing. When he had learned the truth of his father’s betrayal, it had been by her stern and unwavering hand that he was pulled back from the brink. Thereafter, it was by her grace and her grace alone that he had maintained his connection to the world around him.

When she wed King Elessar, he swore that he would never marry. He was the last, broken son of a broken house, and he would not prolong his ancestral misery by postponing the end of his line. He would fulfil his duty to the King until the end of his days, and then he would pass to the Halls of Mandos hoping that he had restored some dignity to his kin.

In Minas Tirith, now Minas Anor, the Queen of Gondor (who did not hold power in her husband’s absence, for it passed instead to the Lord Steward) began her long months of solitude. Éowyn of Rohan was a woman not unaccustomed to the pain of loneliness and had, in her youth, been condemned to the miserable fate of watching her King uncle and country fall into a mean dotage at the hands of a servant of the fallen wizard. Éowyn of Gondor, older and more powerful, was no less a stranger to loneliness than her past self.

Her love for then-Lord Aragorn had been an earnest love, and it was her desolation at his rejection that sent her forth to the Pelennor Fields where she slew the Lord of the Nazgûl, and the promise of his love that had drawn her from her sickbed in the Houses of Healing and into the light of the new day. Their wedding had been a joyous occasion, a moment of triumphant happiness among many others at the end of the War. But Éowyn soon found that she had desired the love of Aragorn, not King Elessar, and that the life of a Queen was not the life she desired.

She was well loved by her people, who saw her courage and her strength and took comfort in it. In turn, she took comfort in them and became their champion, which was well for she lacked friends and allies elsewhere. The court of Minas Tirith did not take well to the young Rohir interloper, seeing her slaying of the Black Captain not as the single greatest martial act of the Ring War, but as an unwomanly and unseemly abdication of her duty to her people. They could not shun her, for she was the Queen, but they did not elect to make her as welcome among them as they did her husband. Her drawing rooms, when they were filled, were filled not by friends but by those who sought to curry political favour with her husband by appeasing her. She, who had grown up in the shadow of the fell manipulations of a snake, knew all too well what it was they aimed to do, but could do naught to prevent it, so weak was her power.

Her sole friend, the first friend she had made upon waking from her cry for death in the War, was Prince Faramir. When Elessar ruled from the White City, the fair Prince resided at the seat of his house in Emyn Arnen, across the Anduin in wild Ithilien. In those days, she dwelt in seclusion in the Palace of Kings. When Elessar rode out to Harondor, the Prince returned by law to Minas Tirith, taking up the white rod and ruling on behalf of his King. Upon his arrival, the Queen’s life became, however briefly, less desolate.

Their friendship was based, beyond having a shared healer, on mutual admiration and respect. It was not in the ways of those of Gondor to argue with those who outranked them (and oftentimes those who did not) but Queen Éowyn had had little time for such mores, even when she had been simply Lady Éowyn. For Prince Faramir, who was little impressed by simpering acquiescence, the Queen was company unparalleled by any in the Kingdom, particularly since the death of his beloved elder brother.

They found many things to argue about: she, a true daughter of the Rohirrim, saw little of concern in what the Prince labelled the King’s ‘reckless expansionism’, while he, a son of Númenor, was slow to recognise the merits of the simpler lives led in Rohan. In the first few months of Elessar’s reign, their arguments were just that: arguments. As the months passed into years, their arguments, though rarely changed in topic, became something more. When the Queen argued for the single bed-chamber arrangements of the Royal Apartments in Meduseld, her words were not about efficiency or aesthetics, but a confession that it had been many months since the King had last visited her bed. When Prince Faramir complained about the valorisation of war, he was admitting that he wished that his character had stood up in her eyes to the character of the King.

King Elessar remained in Harondor for half a year. During those six months, the Queen and the Steward forged a harmonious accord in the White City. She told him she had grown bored with the indolence of a Queen’s duties, and he had taken it upon himself to show her how to manage the running of the City. It was, they both reasoned when challenged on it, just good sense. The Steward could hardly be expected to maintain the affairs of the City, the Kingdom, and his own princedom to a high standard of excellence if he could not accept assistance. The Queen took well to her new portfolio, enjoying it all the more for the opportunity it gave her to escape the oppressive walls of the Citadel and be amongst people who loved her for her bravery, not hated her for her foreignness. When, in the evenings, she returned to the uppermost echelons of the City, she was greeted with good conversation by the Lord Steward, who, with each passing day, pursued her counsel with greater and greater frequency.

In time, their conversations turned from the political to the personal. Both had been raised in homes where candour had been a liability, and so were equally restrained in what they revealed. At first, their speech lingered in the shallow: complaints about especially egregious lords, jibes about their pernicious wives. One month before the return of the King, when the Queen had been subjected to a particularly nasty castigation for her failure to yet produce an heir, she had sought out Prince Faramir to bear witness to her righteous and desolate anger.

The King returned and all was well. The City and realm had been well maintained in his absence, and Prince Faramir once again crossed the Anduin to his home in Emyn Arnen. In the daytime, the Queen returned to her solar, and in the nighttime, to her empty bed.

For a year, the King remained in Minas Anor, the southern border having been secured with some success. For a year, Queen Éowyn foundered, alone yet again but now haunted by the memory of the days when she had felt not quite so lonely and inert. The whispers in the court worsened. She was barren, they said, because she had been touched by the Black Captain. A suitable punishment for a deserter, but not a punishment deserved by the people of Gondor, and not at the hands of the northern barbarian.

For months she endured the gossip with the silent temerity that had kept her alive under the tyranny of the Worm. Then the news came, at the second Mettarë of the Fourth Age, that conflict had broken out in Harondor once more. The Haradrim had pushed through to the River Poros and now threatened the south of Ithilien. The King, eager to establish the might of his crown, prepared to ride to war once more.

The Queen, who had been told enough times that she was nearing the end of her child-bearing years to believe it, but not enough to pin her self-worth to it, swallowed her pride for her duty to her country. She sought out a private audience with her husband, and spoke the words to him that she had hoped she would never need speak aloud. She did not ask for his love, she did not ask him to turn away from Undomiel, but she did ask him to give her the life she deserved. She could be his Queen and his wife without having his love — that, she had made her peace with long ago — but she could not bear to live a life marked out as a failure.

King Elessar, who was ever a good and honourable man, and who loved his Queen as he loved his people, saw sense in her logic. In the warm spring evening, he took her to bed, and did so every night until, a fortnight later, he marched through the gates of Minas Anor to the far south.

The Prince returned, and with unpracticed elegance they fell into their old routine, she managing the City and he managing the realm. She listened with pleasure of the progress of the rebuilding of Ithilien, imagining (for she had never seen it) the great green glades and verdant fens, the cool, clear burns and the ancient, soaring trees. The house at Emyn Arnen, finally completed, now had a guest house fit for the Queen and King, should they ever desire to pass through. With her hand on her belly — a belly that had not grown or curved since the King’s departure — she teased Prince Faramir about the emptiness of his house, how he ought to fill such a magnificent place with a doting wife and lively children. He demurred, dodging the question with an artful grace whose implication she knew well.

The war persisted, and Steward and Queen did their duty to their King. In spite of the acute demands of yet another extended conflict, Queen Éowyn found herself happy. She rose early and well rested, spent her day among her people, making tangible impacts on the lives of those who she had sworn herself to protect, and returned each evening to the care and company of Prince Faramir. They had made a habit of meeting on neutral ground, taking their dinner and their late night conversation within the state rooms of the Tower of Ecthelion to safeguard against any accusations of impropriety. As the weeks passed and the strength of their working relationship was reestablished, they met instead in the Queen’s apartments, which were both more comfortable and more private.

There, as a levee breaking after a terrible storm, the personal flooded out. She admitted her desperation to fulfil her duty and bear the King’s heir; he confessed his indignant anger that the King had provoked a war with the Harardrim it now seemed they could not win. She spoke of missing her brother, of her guilt at her actions in the war, he spoke of the night terrors that plagued him, of the knife and the blaze.

In the third month of the King’s campaign in the south, when Éowyn could deny no longer that she had not yet fallen pregnant, and found that the thought filled her with relief, not desolation as she expected, she knew there was something more she needed to admit to herself. It had been a long time since she desired to be a Queen, but now she desired another man’s love.

#e writes #farawyn #trying to not make Aragorn look like a douche despite What I Want To Do #incomplete draft

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