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torchwood-99 · 7 months

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"her part seemed to her more ignoble than that of the staff he leaned on"

I love you Gandalf. He just gets it.

The sexism that blighted Eowyn's life, that came from the hands not from enemies but loved ones, reduced her and cut her down to fit her into a box, until Eowyn didn't even feel like a person anymore. And Eomer, when it's spelled out to him, goes back and looks at their life together differently, and realises the wrong that's been done to her.

She was a tool, something to be leant on and used, to provide support for the men's desires and the men's ambitions and the men's glory, with no will of her own.

Her family loved her, but they saw her as what they would have her be, viewing her through the lens of what they believe women to be instead of seeing Eowyn (and women as a whole) for herself, instead of recognising her as her own being with own merit and skills.

It's that thing of sexism not only making women less equal, but less human.

They are a tool, a service. They are a monolith, a group assigned to perform certain roles, valued for performing those roles (to an extent) but not actually individuals, with individuals thoughts and hopes and skills and dreams. Not to the same extent as men.

And because these are the roles they're meant to serve, there's no injustice, no tragedy of lost potential and missed opportunities, because as women they don't have that potential and they don't need those opportunities.

It's no wonder Eowyn wanted to die in battle. Going to battle, riding out against the orders of all those who caged her in, that was her regaining control of her life, a life that seemed to be no life, because she was no real living person. Just a staff to be leant on. And in going to battle, when she has been told not to, in making a choice for herself, she reclaims her humanity. But she's been so broken down that she thinks the only way to avoid going back to being an object is to die in battle.

Faramir doesn't treat her like an object. He treats her like a person, one similar to him. He sees her worth and merit and he admires her strength and her deeds while also feeling compassion for her suffering. After Faramir meets her, he seeks out Merry, to try and find out about her, instead of making presumptions about her based on her sex.

Faramir bothers, he takes the effort to find out who Eowyn is, instead of deciding for her.

And Merry, who rode to war with her and also sees her who she is, helps. No wonder he and Eowyn, though parted by distance, remain great friends and Eowyn adores him.

But Eowyn doesn't just get a happy ending from having a man in her life who treats her decently.

Tolkien makes a point to have Eowyn not just declare herself as choosing to live to be Faramir's wife, it's not a case of unhappy feminist who wants to be like a boy but is finally happy when she "accepts femininity" and finds a good man to protect her.

She says she will be a healer. Faramir has spoken nothing of that. It's not a role he has chosen for her or he's taking on and she's going to do to help him. They will be married and support each other and share a life, but she will also be her own seperate person.

It's a role that she's chosen for herself, without orders or pressure from anybody else. A role that will put her strength and her wits and her stomach iron to good use, and means she won't have to wait until battle to feel alive. A role that is seen as a mark of leadership, for the greatest leaders in Middle Earth, men and women, are also healers.

This such an important arc, and it really is incredible of Tolkien to write it.

A woman who has had her own goals and skills overlooked in favour of how she can serve men, who has been kept locked in the home to tend to her family's needs with no relief or chance to go out and live life on her terms.

Who is beloved by her family, who are good people, yet still mistreated because sexism is just part and parcel of her world and even well meaning people take part in it.

A woman whose humanity has been diminished at the hands of her loved ones because of sexism and gender roles.

A woman who proves the naysayers wrong by riding out to battle, bringing along Merry who has also been left behind, and proving herself pivotal to the victory.

A woman who only finds hope for the future when she is ceased to be treated as a useful object, when she forges bonds with Merry and Faramir who don't see her as a staff for the men to walk on, nor a faulty one who keeps trying to run off on its own and needs to be brought back, but as an individual with her own hopes and failings and dreams and skills, not defined by what the patriarchy says a woman's role is.

A when she does find hope for life again, she does so not only in finding love and friendship and camaraderie, but in a vocation that will be her own, in a career that will give her own her role in the world, a role that is associated with leadership, and leadership in her own right, not as an adjunct of her husband's.

And this is how she gets her happy ending. From love (Faramir), friendship (Merry), understanding (Eomer, looking at Eowyn anew in the House of Healing) and through independence (becoming a Healer). This is how she gets a happy ending, because this is how she reclaims her personhood.

#Lord of the Rings #LOTR #Eowyn #Faramir #Farawyn #Faramir x Eowym #Merry Brandybuck #Gandalf #Eomer #meta #Merry & Eowyn

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a-dauntless-daffodil · 2 months

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never have i ever been so ???? as when someone was talking about merry, eowyn, the witch king and the whole "no living man" thing, and they loved the books very much were quoting them and everything... and they got hung up on the man thing.

as in, they were sure it was actually the burrow downs blade merry was carrying that made the witch king vulnerable to killing, with eowyn being the one to step up and K.O. him despite her shattered shield arm- which yes yes I am following along perfectly fine so far, tom bombadil strikes again, ok-

and the person was frustrated bc if the "no living man may hinder me" thing was true then what about merry isn't merry a man didn't merry hinder-

And I swear I sat there for a full ten minutes, staring.

the thing about the middle earth books is, almost everyone is a dude. it's the default. i couldn't even remember when characters referred to each other by gender specifically (outside of eowyn's arc) beyond polite titles like lord or king, because it'd be so weird. the default is always male. it's assumed. im still trying to remember if any of the hobbits were called men- halflings, shire folk, little ones, i remember them being described by the things that set them apart from the people around them, and that was always WHAT they were. short, mainly. or presumed rich and important, for pipin the halfling prince while in gondor

in the lord of the rings and the hobbit the gender norm is so universal the word "man" almost always means... humans. as opposed to, elves, dwarves, orcs, blah blah blah, hobbits yadda yadda

So it was just, shocking to hear someone talking about the "man" in the witch king's context as a gender thing

eowyn answers it like it is, but i always thought that was her being cheeky. her whole thing there is defiance so i just figured, well, she expects to die and wants to piss him off while she goes. sure she'd make a joke of his boast. no living man. well no living MAN am I. like a pun?

then a hobbit, not a man, stabs the dude with a blade made to hurt and weaken him, and a woman, not a man, gets him in the head with her sword right after

which subversion of the "man" thing killed him in the end?

"not by the hand of man will he fall"

teen me thought the prophecy had been man vs hobbit, originally, but eowyn herself ALSO made it woman vs man, because only she- a woman, alone of all the men who rode to battle- only she understood merry and thought it right to bring a hobbit into war,

(something something, the theme of the books about different people coming together to save their world, those long overlooked shaking the towers of them who never thought to fear them)

but prophecy aside, she eowyn- as a woman- also served up this witch king with his own arrogance and superiority, because this whole battle WAS mankind HINDERING him, wasn't it now? she IS standing in his way, hindering him as well. one of mankind killed him, and the woman who sent him packing made a mockery of his pride right before she did it.

"no living man" pssh. begone if you be not deathless. eowyn daughter of eomund is gonna hit you with her fucking sword even if it kills her

and isn't that what the mankind of middle earth were all about?

(glorfindel you were either slightly wrong or being a pest) (i'd almost bet pest tbh)

man, mankind, fought that battle on the pelennor fields against the witch king's might, though it took a woman specifically to bring together all the pieces that would finally make him fall (herself) (1 hobbit + dagger) (love for her family) (friendship) (urge to KILL)

but still humans are the lays potato chips of middle earth

no dwarven unbending will, no longevity or wisdom of elves, no magic, not even that hardiness of the heart that hobbits can push through on

boromir, eowyn, eomer, theoden- humans other than aragorn the elvish or faramir the wizardly- hell even grima... kinda...

they might fail and die and falter, but when the end comes, they throw their whole selves into it. they'll at least be a hindrance on their way out

what was i saying

oh whatever. eowyn killed the witch king with snark and he died mad about it or something

#lotr #eowyn of rohan #merry brandybuck #the witch king of angmar #just thinking and mulling #looking back on kid me reading it #people have so many different ways of reading the same book #its like getting to reread it yourself for the first time again

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apinkheartinmiddle-earth · 1 year

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Many people talk about found family in different media, but I hear next to no one talking about Faramir and HIS found family. It plays out so beautifully for me because it’s a bit nuanced and requires some reflection on the reader/viewer’s part.

Think about it: Faramir has never had a stable family life since his mother became ill. His older brother was highly favored and his dad treated him like a liability of sorts, even though Faramir has shown time and time again how capable he was. Fortunately, he was greatly loved by his older brother, was able to become very learned with the guidance of Gandalf, and had the respect of his fellow rangers.

He still did crave Denethor’s approval and love, as any child would (even if the parent is so obviously despicable) but luckily Boromir’s love was there. Until it wasn’t. That just left him and Denethor. Until it didn’t. Not that they had any kind of good relationship, but essentially, every piece of family Faramir had was ripped away from him.

Given the context above, how did Faramir find his new family? It began with one Peregrin Took, a kind and gentle hobbit who saw the good in Faramir. Pippin, by the way— did not even once compare him to Boromir even if he knew that they were brothers. He saw Faramir as his own unique and wonderful person. I’d also like to think that Pippin thought that he would do Boromir a great honor if he were to look after Faramir in any way he could.

Next, we have the love of his life— Eowyn. I could do a whole post praising their love, but I’ll just try to do a shorter version for the time being. They have similar backgrounds: they are both skilled warriors, both are the younger siblings who are overlooked, and both seek a sort of validation they cannot have. Already, they would form a bond from those shared experiences. What is truly wonderful for me is that Faramir effortlessly loved every part of Eowyn, even the parts she was not proud of. On the other hand, Eowyn saw and loved Faramir for the great man that he was and helped him see that for himself. Eowyn became his family and eventually, it grew once they had their son.

Faramir’s found family doesn’t just stop with Pippin and Eowyn. You have to give credit to his other interactions. Many are just heavy implications on my part, but still. His chance encounter with Frodo and Sam would shape a lot of his character in the series and I’d like to consider that an important bond. Then we have Merry, the greatest wingman in Middle-earth. He was kind enough to tell Faramir all about Eowyn and I’m almost certain that a brotherly bond formed because of their love for her (and possibly for Pippin too). Lastly, there’s the king himself, Aragorn. I love reading headcanons and fanfiction that depict them as just being the best of friends. Faramir is the Steward of Gondor and he has definitely spent a lot of time with Aragorn enough to be one of his dearest friends.

I just find Faramir’s entire story arc so compelling because of how much you can draw from it. He is such an amazing character and he deserves all the happiness in the world after going through the worst things imaginable. His found family is his greatest reward in life, by far.

#text #long post #lord of the rings #lotr #tolkien #faramir #eowyn #boromir #denethor #pippin #pippin took #peregrin took #aragorn #i can’t believe this came about while i was trying to write farawyn fanfic #this was all written on a whim #found family

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frodo-with-glasses · 2 years

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More Reading Thoughts: “The Houses of Healing”

And now, the “comfort” segment of our hurt/comfort story, because Tolkien just Gets Me.

Oh, oh, Merry, my poor boi. I remember that his nightmarish walk through the City made me so mad when I was a kid. Poor thing just helped to slay the Witch King and here he is, passing out on someone’s doorstep.

PIPPIN!! AAAAAHHH! Boy am I glad to see you!

“It’s not always a misfortune being overlooked.” Yeah, no kidding…

Just thinking of the Witch King makes Merry swoon again. Holy cow. The thing is dead, and yet just the thought of it is still so powerful. 😨

“Are you going to bury me?” Aaaaahhhh Merry nooo 😭😭😭

BERGIL!! BERGIL I LOVE YOU! Bergil help a hobbit out!

Pippin holding Merry’s hands and letting him sleep in his lap. I am soft, but my heart hurts.

Gandalf restates exactly what I’ve been saying all along. If either Merry or Pippin hadn’t joined the Fellowship…well, the world might still have been saved, but there would have been far more grievous casualties in the meantime.

It’s interesting that those who are wounded by Ringwraiths in any way tend to sleep-talk. Frodo did it after his wound at Weathertop, and now Faramir, Eowyn, and Merry are doing it too.

Hey hey, it’s Ioreth! I’ve heard about this lady. I’ve been told she’s hilarious.

“The hands of a king are the hands of a healer.” FOOOOORESHADOWINGGGG!

It’s good of Aragorn to show his humility and political savvy by not riding into Minas Tirith as a conquering king—at least, not without having the support of its people first. But it’s nice that he has Eomer and Imrahil to back him up.

“Not a beggar. Say a captain of the Rangers, who are unused to cities and houses of stone.” And that is why I think Aragorn as king would be prone to hecking off into the wilderness on regular occasion.

It’s nice how lovingly Theoden’s funeral bed is described. Makes this part seem all the more like a historical epic…and also shows a great deal of love and respect for a good man and a great king.

I love the budding friendship that’s happening between Eomer and Imrahil here!

Imrahil: “Dude, your sister isn’t dead. You didn’t know that?” Eomer: “0.0 She’s ALIVE?? I gotta go see her—” Imrahil: “Hang on a sec bro I’ll go with you”

In which Aragorn gets a DRAMATIC ENTRANCE!!

I love how they stand around negotiating who’s in change before moving forward. This is why Imrahil is important in the books, so that Gondor isn’t without a leader while Faramir is convalescing.

Gandalf to Aragorn like “dude there are people to save here, and also it would be a great political move for you to heal some people and fulfill the old prophecies, so crack at it bro”

“And there at the door were two guards in the livery of the Citadel: one tall, but the other scarce the height of a boy; and when he saw them he cried aloud in surprise and joy.” EYYYYY PIPPINNNNNNNN

Imrahil like “dude isn’t it rude to talk to a king like he’s your bro?” And Aragorn like “nah man it’s cool, he’s my homie”

Eomer looking out for Aragorn. Such a good bro.

I love the hilarious annoyance of all the various people coming to Aragorn like “ah yes, athelas, we know all about it and here’s some useless information but no we do not have any” and finally Gandalf just snaps and voices everyone’s collective frustration with “THEN IN THE NAME OF THE KING, GO FIND SOME OLD MAN OF LESS LORE AND MORE WISDOM WHO KEEPS SOME IN HIS HOUSE!!”

BERGILLLLL

“Then looking at Faramir [Bergil] burst into tears.” Aww bby noooo don’t cryyyy 😭😭😭

Aragorn smiling at Bergil!! And telling him he did a good job and he can stay and watch!! I just! Aaahh! Good Dad Aragorn!

Faramir wakes up and immediately knows Aragorn!! And calls him his king!! DUUUUUUUDE!

“And [Aragorn] left the chamber with Gandalf and Imrahil, but Beregond and his son remained behind, unable to contain their joy.” Dude this is so cute 🥹😭💚 I can’t wait to draw this ahahaha—

Dude why are y’all standing around Eowyn’s bed talking instead of healing her

Eomer is learning a lot of things about his sister today

Aragorn pointing out that Eowyn loves her brother the most 🥺

EOMER IS THE ONE TO CALL EOWYN BACK FROM THE DARKNESS!!! AAAAAHHHH!!

Eowyn wakes up and immediately starts talking about battle again to the point that Gandalf has to tell her “yo sis chill out for a bit”, LOL

“But to hope? I do not know.” Oh, Eowyn, hon… 😭

Merry!! Poor Merry!

I love Tolkien doing his best to describe the scent of athelas each time. “You don’t get it, guys, this plant smells AMAZING, I have to emphasize again how good this frickin’ plant smells bro”

“I am hungry. What is the time?” YAAAAAAAAYYYY ROFLOLOL 🤣🤣

CLASSIC HOBBITS

This is why Tolkien put Merry last of the three. He’s the punch line. Everyone else has these beautiful speeches when they wake up and the second Merry’s eyes pop open he’s like “ey yo you got snacks?”

Aragorn roasting Ioreth AND the Herbmaster AND Merry all in the same breath is PEAK

And then he leaves after giving Merry a thorough verbal thrashing and then acting all sweet and Pippin’s like “DUDE. D**K. He’s the worst. Your bag is right here, stupid.” 🤣🤣🤣

Friendship goals: if you can’t call your friends “my dear ass” then what are you even doing

Merry getting all poetic and then going “LOL where did that come from??”

And at the end of it all, Aragorn still goes and sleeps in his tent, even as the people of the City are whispering that the King has returned. Good stuff.

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fedonciadale · 5 years

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There is this missconception about Tolkien and females. Now an actress wants a female version of Gandalf on the upcoming series because Tolkien works is about the patriarchy heroes heroes? Excuse me? What was Galadriel? You want a female Gandalf? There is this female maia called Melian who created a magic barrier around her husband realm so powerfull that neither Morgoth or his servants can enter Doriath lands.

(2) And her daughter, called Luthien is constantly saving the male hero Beren ass. She even humiliates Sauron and plays Morgoth himself like an utter fool. Yeah I guess Tolkien works lacks empowered females. Luthien did it all whithout wielding a single weapon and using feminine traits and arts. Sometimes I want to shout to people to read Tolkien works before talking about lack of strong females.

(3) Beren and Lúthien Ballad is basically a self insert fic where Tolkien writes his wife saving his ass over and over.

Hi there!

If I remember correctly, the actress wanted a poc actress as a sort of female Gandalf, but I come to that in a moment.

You are quite right, that many people underestimate Tolkien, and they accuse him of having happy endings (where, bitch, where?), having no grey characters (haha, the guy invented Feanor!), presenting heroes etc.

But if you really look at Tolkien, hie is not basic at all. His world is about how the evil Vala Morgoth and the Maia Sauron affect the world and lure people to their downfall. And humans in Tolkien’s world are prone to be seduced, most of all the Numenoreans.

And while Tolkien is a child of his time, he is in some ways ahead, and while there are only four prominent women in LotR (Galadriel, Eowyn, Arwen and Goldberry, and seven, if you count Ioreth, Rosie Cotton and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins), these women are very different and back when Tolkien wrote Eowyn, that was something really, really groundbreaking. We have many fantasy figures now, who wield a sword, but we tend to overlook that Eowyn was a fresh idea in Tolkien’s time - and it is still good: I still get shudders when I read “I am no man”.

Tolkien is a white man though, he has shortcomings to put it mildly when he talks about the Southern poc who stand against Gondor. But to give him his due as well: He explicitly states that a) the Haradrim have reason to hate Gondor (because Gondor used to try to subjugate them) and b) that they are not evil per se. They are not Orcs, they are humans with pride who did not choose Sauron because they are evil but because they hate Gondor so much. In the Silmarillion there are poc as well who fight at the side of the Elves. There are also the men who live in the forests in Rohan, a people of hunters and collectors. We see them through Merry’s eyes and after Ghan-buri-Ghan, their chieftain has helped the Rohirim, Merry acknowledges that their look is quite different, but that they are nice and honourable people. In the Unfinished tales there is a story, where one of these Druedain, as they are called, helps his friend with a kind of magic which seems to be not as ethereal as Elven magic, but more robust and earth-bound.

Also, there is the whole subject of the hubris of the Numenorians: Long before Sauron is even brought as a prisoner to Numenor, the Numenorians began to subjugate the people of Middle Earth, they stopped being benevolent helpers and became imperialists until the ‘lesser people’ of Middle Earth groan under their yoke. Under Sauron’s influence they become really evil, ‘convert’ to a Morgoth cult and do not even stop at human sacrifice. Elendil and his family helplessly watch as Numenor falls into the Dark. Dark Numenorians are very creepy and I do think that they are reflection of white imperialism in Tolkien’s world. It really makes you wonder who are the good guys.... I would argue that this is because Tolkien knows that the temptation of power will never end. And the temptation of the Numenorians to become Dark and fall into the trap of worrying about death is always there. Let’s not forget that Tolkien began writing a sequel to LotR where Gondor is in danger because there are secret worshippers of Morgoth and Sauron around! Yes, Tolkien is a white man, but his ideas are not just basic: White people good, other people bad. That does not mean that he is not prejudiced, but it is more complicated than that and there is place in his canon for a lot of things.

Now, I have to expand the scope somewhat, before I get to the “female” Gandalf. When I was a girl there were no children’s books with good representation for girls - with a few exceptions. I was unhappy about it and although my family told me, that I could live the adventures through the boys’ eyes, I found that very dissatisfying. I used to make my own headcanons about the stories I read with female heroes. I just say this, so that you can see, that I absolutely understand the hunger for representation. In a way, even after all these years, my hunger is still not satisfied, and I still want more representation, even though the situation is admittedly far better than in the 70s and 80s. This is why I understand that there are other minorities who had it worse and their hunger must be huge compared to mine.

The funny thing is, what really made me appreciate Tolkien in that regard wasn’t even Eowyn or Galadriel. It was something else. When Frodo is hunted by the Nazgul and is almost caught, he encounters some elves in the woods, and the Nazgul flee the Elves, among other things, they are driven back, because the Elves sing about Elbereth. In LotR it is not really explained who Elbereth is, but to me as a girl it left me astonished with wonder: There was an awesome female lady who had made the stars, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Middle Earth is a land of exile (which somehow means that she can’t interfere), Elbereth would absolutely kick Sauron’s ass and defeat him with a flick of her finger. I pictured her as a lady with night blue skin, and stars shone through her as if they were settled deep into her. When I read the Silmarillion I was actually a bit disappointed, when I realised that Elbereth who is Varda is only the second Vala after Manwe (or the third if you count the fact that Morgoth canonically is the mightiest), but to me she was always the most important, if only because the Elves loved her the most. To me a universe with a female coded Vala at the top was the best possible universe. And to my mind she still has night blue translucent skin with stars shining through her skin....

So, what I am trying to say it that there is place for so many things in Tolkien’s world! And you don’t even have to bend canon out of shape, you can use what is there! Think for example about the Valar choosing female or male forms. Think about the fact, that there are many Maiar on earth and that some of them stayed in Middle Earth. Think about the fact that Tolkien’s humans can be many-layered, that he himself wrote some stories about people other than the Numenorians.

This leads me to a “female Gandalf.” I am enough of a Tolkien nerd to want to keep Gandalf, but there are so many possibilities? The new series is supposedly about the second age, and the fall of Numenor. Now, I can easily picture a series that describes their descent into imperialism, maybe we’ll see this through Elendil’s eyes and watch his horror as the country he loves becomes tyrannical and evil. There could be other protagonists as well, enemies of the Numenorians, in the South of Middle Earth, poc who try to get rid of the Numenorian rule. And with them you could have one of the minor Maia who interacts with them. Since Maia can choose any form they want, this Maia could be a poc and it would not hurt Tolkien canon in the slightest. I would be very happy about this.

I must admit that I doubt the producers will do that though.

As for Beren and Luthien: This is the best love story ever! And what makes it so good is that Luthien is doing all this and is so decidedly and very obviously female. I even wrote a meta on the parallels of Beren and Luthien and Jon and Sansa, check it out!

Thanks for the ask!

#ask box #LotR #Silmarillion #Tolkien #Beren and Luthien #Dark Numenorians #New LotR series #Second age #Numenor's fall #Maiar and Valar #Elbereth #Tolkien and women #Cut him some slack #For his time that was extraordinary #And he has awesome women

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bibliophileiz · 6 years

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The Three Fandoms Asks

I keep seeing this around tumblr, and it looks fun.

3 fandoms (I chose three important ones from my childhood)

1. Harry Potter - The Original Fandom. I mean, not the original original obviously, but probably the original for my generation. It was a huge part of my childhood and the story itself formed a lot of my opinions about how to tell good stories. I also have fond memories associated with this series -- Harry Potter was the first reason I ever had for Googling anything. “Harry Potter Book 5 news” and “Harry Potter Book 6 rumors” became frequent searches of mine. (The rumors took me to a lot of chat rooms where I read up on the wildest theories. It was a blast.) And then there were the midnight visits to Barnes and Noble and, in one memorable case, Walmart the nights of the book releases. Harry Potter was my childhood.

2. Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit - Like Harry Potter, these books (and movies) taught me a lot about storytelling. Tolkien’s works have become more complex to me as I’ve gotten older, and I’ve found there are plots and characters I like more now than I did as a kid (as opposed to Harry Potter, which my opinions about have mostly stayed the same). I also love Tolkien’s writing and world building. I’m one of the few people I know who enjoys reading all the poetry, and I read “The Council of Elrond” chapter three or four times before I got tired of it on Fellowship rereads. Lord of the Rings is a fantastic example of a really good book being adapted into really good movies. Both the book and the movies are each their own thing while also complementing each other. Just -- Lord of the Rings, man. I love it.

3. Charmed - Not as good, quality-wise, as the other two I’ll admit, but damn do I love this show. Before Charmed, I kind of watched whatever my family or friends watched -- my brother was a TV hog, and while I liked his cartoons ok, I didn’t like them nearly as much as I did Charmed when I discovered it. I got my dad watching it and it kind of became our thing. The Charmed Ones were kind of role models in a way. I can remember thinking, This is what being in my 20s will be like. Not the magic, but dating and clothes and deciding whether to go corporate or pursue your dream job or go back to school. People accuse the Charmed Ones of being boy crazy, but what I remember most about them is their work ethic. I thought, Prue prioritizes work, and I want to be like Prue. I love this show.

First character I loved:

1. Professor McGonagall is, has been and will always be my favorite character in anything ever. I also remember being small and redheaded and really liking Ginny Weasley before many other people did.

2. Arwen was the first, but that was only because she appears in the movies before Eowyn.

3. Prue. Although I like all four sisters.

The character I never expected to love so much:

1. Sirius Black is obviously introduced as this terrifying villain, so when I started reading Prisoner of Azkaban, I didn’t expect him to become one of my favorites. To be honest, my fan girl love of him has waned since I was a teenager, but I still appreciate him.

2. Sam Gamgee. Another of my favorite characters in all of literature, though I had to mature a bit before I felt that way. But Sam is so small and overlooked, yet he’s so loyal, brave, determined, sassy and just all around good. He’s a gardener, which is a profession Tolkien holds in high esteem. Also in the books he doesn’t have that awkward break-up with Frodo that he does in the movie, plus he’s less whiny. (To be clear, I’m criticizing the movie’s writing, not Sean Astin’s performance. He did great especially considering the material he had to work with, and he feels the same way about the character I do. Also, his book about making the movies, There and Back Again, is the first nonfiction book I ever read for fun.)

3. Cole Turner. I came into the show in Season 4 right as his baby was turning Phoebe evil, so I was like, “Ah, ruler of Hell, not good.” My dad and I had to start the show over and watch Season 3 to realize he’s one of Charmed’s most complex characters.

The character I relate to the most:

1. Probably Ginny, especially as a kid. We’re physically similar, but there’s also the temper and the fact that people always end up being surprised she’s as tough as she is. She and I also had to both grow out of self-esteem issues, though hers were more severe since they came from Chamber of Secrets-related trauma.

2. Pippin. He’s not sure if he’s actually qualified to be on that adventure, but hell if he’s being left behind. Also he’s small, like Ginny and me.

3. Prue. Sort of opposite of the Ginny stuff, she’s got the older sister syndrome of being responsible, in charge, bossy and often feeling like the only person who can get a job done right.(I don’t like having help with dishes or laundry, nor do I like assigning other reporters crime stories at work, as a couple of examples.) I am pretty protective of my younger brother and my mom always quoted It’s a Wonderful Life with the “you were born older” line when talking about me. Also like Prue, I tend to over-focus on work and not enough on my social life.

The character I’d slap:

1. Percy. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a fabulously complex and underrated character, but I would still slap him silly.

2. Denethor. I used language I’d never used before in the theater when he sent Faramir off to fight in Return of the King and I started laughing a few minutes later when Gandalf knocked him out with his staff.

3. Ugh. Leo. (Also Sam.)

Three favorite characters in order of preference:

1. McGonagall, Harry, Ginny. (That last one was insanely difficult as I also considered Snape, Lupin, Regulus and Luna.)

2. Sam, Eowyn then Aragorn (movies) and Bilbo (books).

3. Prue, Piper, Phoebe (Sorry Paige.)

Character I liked at first but don’t anymore:

1. I mean, I’m not going to say I don’t like Hermione, because I definitely do, but the movies wore me out by over-glamming her to the detriment of Ron Ginny other characters.

2. I like all the characters except Denethor, who I never liked. Ditto Grima Wormtongue.

3. Believe it or not, I liked Leo when I was a kid. (*shakes head at how naive 13-year-old Iz was*)

Character I did not like at first but do now:

1. Narcissa and Snape. This is not to say their views or the pro-Death Eater actions are ok, but they were both smart, they surprised me (always a plus) and they helped defeat Voldemort.

2. Didn’t like Boromir or Faramir at first, but now I love them.

3. Paige.

Three OTPs:

1. Harry/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Lily/James

2. Arwen/Aragorn (in a doomed, tragic way. Seriously, read the Appendices.) Eowyn/Faramir and Linsdey Ellis got me liking Eowyn/Merry

3. Piper/Mark Chau (I will never be over it!), Paige/Henry, Phoebe/pretty much anyone, including but not limited to: Cole, baby Misha Collins (Eric Bragg) and Aviva from Season 1 (#Phoebeisbisexual).*

* I really just think that everyone Phoebe interacted with before Season 3 should have come back as a love interest after she and Cole divorced. Aviva would have been old enough for that by then, and we could have gotten great sub plots of Eric Bragg’s little conspiracy theory brain trying to figure out which secret organization the sisters work for before Phoebe tells him they’re witches. (Then he and Henry could meet for beers after work and talk about how goddamn weird their lives are.) Any of that would have been better than the post-Cole love interests Phoebe got. (One of them was named Leslie?? And he took her job?? Fuck Brad Kern, honestly.)

I’m going to break the rules by not tagging people, but whoever wants to play should go for it.

#harry potter #lord of the rings #charmed #professor minerva fucking mcgonagall #sam gamgee #prue halliwell #Ginny Weasley #anti-Leo Wyatt #also anti-Denethor in case he has any fans

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torchwood-99 · 5 months

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How Eowyn Was Rewarded And What She Was Rewarded For

So there's this trend to treat Eowyn's decision to go to battle as an entirely wrong thing, a choice completely defined by her despair and wish for death, the sort of thing she will look back on and regret as she heals and grows.

However, this interpretation isn't fully supported by the text.

If Eowyn was meant to be wrong for going to war, Tolkien would not have granted her such a decisive victory against the Nazgul. He would not have made a point of her being able to do so because of the very thing that was meant to keep her off the battle field. He would not have given her a happy ending that was only achieved through going to battle, instead of staying behind in her cage, stuck in the rut she wanted to die in order to escape.

And he wouldn't have had everyone praise Eowyn to high heavens afterwards for her valour and the great deeds she performed, nor would he have had Gandalf point out to Eomer it was the denial of a chance for deeds that drove Eowyn to despair in the first place.

Eowyn was rewarded for her actions in the field. She was rewarded with a great victory, fame and renown, and the chance to forge bonds with Faramir and Merry and start a new life for herself. Her victory came at a cost, she suffered in the aftermath, but it was a victory, and a victory only won because she disobeyed. Her happy ending wouldn't have been achieved if she had done what was ordered.

Eowyn was rewarded for disobeying.

So, how do we reconcile that with the fact that Eowyn disobeyed in part because of a death wish?

First, Eowyn had a death wish because of the role she was caught in. She was trapped in a cycle, and had she stayed in it, she would never have recovered from her depression, as that was the cause. And at some point, she was going to snap.

Going to war was an act of desperation, but it was an act that broke that cycle and signified the start of Eowyn taking charge of her own life. It was her point of no return. She had hoped for Aragorn to save her, but in the end she realised that she had to save herself from her cage, and that's what she did.

So, she was rewarded for that.

Then, her defeat of the Witch King. That was her reward for her courage, her loyalty to her king and her love for uncle, and for her skill and all the hard work and training that would have gone into gaining those skills.

She was brave, she was skilled, and she was rewarded for that. As she had every right to be.

But, that does not mean Eowyn was rewarded for having a death wish. If Eowyn had been completely without hope, completely without faith in the world, she would have perished. She and her uncle corpses would have been devoured by the fell beast, and all the lives that were spared because Eowyn destroyed the With King would have died, and Eowyn's life would have ended in tragedy in and violence.

But Eowyn did have hope, she did have faith, even if she didn't know it herself. How do we know this?

Because she had faith in Merry.

Eowyn's heroism, her defeat of the Nazgul, is part of an overriding theme in LOTR where the greatest heroes, the greatest deeds, are often performed by those who often go overlooked, or are underrated and misjudged. We see this with all the hobbits, who prove so crucial for the final victory.

Merry, a hobbit, is left behind, but Eowyn alone has faith in him, and chooses to bring him along with her.

As a hobbit, Merry represents goodness, he represents growth and friendship and cheerfulness and simple pleasures. By having faith in Merry, Eowyn shows that a part of her still has faith in what Merry represents. At the very least, she has faith in the courage of his heart.

And it is for this that Eowyn is rewarded most of all.

Had Eowyn stayed, she would have been trapped in a cage, the Witch King would have lived, and she would have given into despair. Had Eowyn gone but left Merry, she would have died, the Witch King would have lived, and Eowyn's ending would be one of hopelessness.

But Eowyn went, and she took Merry with her, and Merry, inspired by Eowyn, saved her life and provided her with the means to destroy the Witch King and score that great victory.

It wasn't Eowyn's death wish that she was rewarded for, it was that last lingering bit of faith within her that saved her and proved her salvation. The last bit of hope she didn't know she had left. It was the faith she put in Merry.

The Power of Friendship guys, it's a hell of a thing.

#Lotr #Lord of the Rings #Merry Brandybuck #Eowyn #meta

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