#suspicious of Arwen and all these elves when they first showed up

[theartofbeinganeldar]

The Art of Being an Eldar: Legolas x Reader Chapter 2

Summary: You're a fantasy-loving, LARPing human from this world, who's the black sheep of society because of your obsession for the unreal and alienation of what's real. When you're in the middle of a LARP battle with some pretty phony boars, you fall out of a tree and bust your head. You wake up, alone, and are suddenly attacked by some very pissed-off, very real wargs. Without any idea of how you got there, you got dropped into Middle-Earth, with only bits and pieces of memories of Tolkien's masterpiece, though your recollection of everything else is perfectly clear. And of all places in Middle-Earth, you got dropped into Mirkwood, with some suspicious, potentially hostile, Woodland Elves...

Chapter No.: Chapter 1

Key: [Y/N]=Your Name [F/N]= Friend's Name [B/N]= Bro's Name [S/N]= Sis's Name [M/N]= Mom's Name [e/c]= eye color [h/c]= hair color [s/c]= skin color

Notes: Listen to Medieval Pagan Music, Runestones when reading this chapter.

Warnings: Fluff, angst, graphic depictions of gore and violence (Cuz of orc battles y'know?), more angst, slow burn, some light depression in the first few chapters, some amnesia about Middle-Earth because the Valar say you're not supposed to have foresight, hard-core language, feels, lots and lots of feels, mentions of NSFW content, maybe some eventual NSFW content, LGTBQ+ characters, Thranduil being a jackass at first because he's fabulous, Legolas being a hot edgy prince that nobody can handle, Kili being an innocent bean, Hobbits being smol innocent beans, except for Bilbo 'cause he's been through some tough shit, Bard being dad of the year, Thorin being one dumbass boi, awesome dragons, awesome Nazgul, awesome scenery, awesome stuff in general, Elrond isn't listened to by anybody, confused Aragorn is confused,  Denethor's a bitch as always, Boromir lives, brace yourself for creepy as fuck Cream of Worm Tongue Grima Wormtongue, Gandalf. (yes these are all legit warnings don't judge me)

Pairings/Ships: Legolas x Reader, Legolas x you, Aragorn x Arwen, Faramir x Eowyn, Thranduil x Elvenqueen, Galadriel x Celery Celeborn, Boromir x OC, Thorin x OC, Fili x OC, etc. general LoTR standard shippings plus some of my own cuz I can't stand my boys being lonely

Word Count: I try to keep my chapters short, under 2000 words.

Rating: Teen (14+) for now

When I said I hated reality, I didn't mean I wanted to be ripped from it without my family.

How they'd healed you so efficiently was beyond your comprehension, and nobody came to visit you. You couldn't bring yourself to eat much of what they brought you. To think you'd finally gotten your wish, you'd finally, somehow gotten sucked into some alternate reality where fiction was fact and what you'd known and lived in for your entire life was nonexistent... It was amazing. Surreal.

But you couldn't stay here. Not without your family. Not without your mom, not without [B/N], not without [S/N]. [F/N]... You wished you could've at least said goodbye to him. Life without the only people you'd ever had seemed unreal, incomprehensible, and too nightmarish. Too... Alone. You couldn't lose them.

For hours, you waited, pacing the ten-by-ten cell furiously. You had to find some way to get out, some way to find whatever portal you'd triggered... A sound at the barred door made you freeze in place, whipping around like a meerkat. It was Blue-Eyes, and some of his guards, one of which was unlocking the door. "Are you letting me go?"

Blue-Eyes stared at you as if trying to figure out whether or not you were desperate or stupid. Finally, he shook his head, probably deciding it was most likely both in your case. Well, screw him. "My father wishes to see you."

You glanced to each of the guards that came to grip either of your arms. "Is that... Bad?"

Blue-Eyes smirked. "It depends on his mood."

You glared at him as the other two Elves ushered you out of the door, onto the precariously thin ledge just outside of the cell. "You're trying to freak me out, aren't you?"

Blue-Eyes didn't answer, but took up the rear of the procession. They lead you to a platform overlooking all of the mazelike bridge-sets of the dungeons, and opened a pair of elaborately crafted doors. You balked, your jaw fell, your eyes widened as far as they'd go, stunned by the view.

The building you'd thought was surrounded by trees? It was a palace-city, which stretched back from the front wall as far as you could see. And it was made entirely of trees. Bridges of wood, twisting trunks, curling pillars of wood holding up a vaultrf ceiling which opened up to the orange-gold canopy, and beyond, the cloudless blue sky. Huge, arched windows with stained glass of amber filled the front wall, framed in wood, every few dozen feet, letting in a golden light that made the entire place seem more surreal than it already was. Leaves fell too slowly here, as if afraid that touching the ground would destroy their fabulousness. Elves inhabited every floor, sailing gracefully around like gorgeous swans that glared down at the sudden ugly duckling in their midst.

You felt tiny.

"This is your home?" You breathed in amazement, going where the guards took you on autopilot as you drank in the magnificent sight. "It's bigger than the town I live in!"

"This is just a small portion of it," Blue-Eyes had a hint of pride in his voice. You glanced over your shoulder to see him taking in the view with a faint smile on his face. "This part is my father's palace. Only nobles and militia reside here."

"It's beautiful..." You surveyed the palace in awe. I'm here. I'm really here! This is where I'm supposed to be! "Do you all have different floors? Is it flameproof? What happens if there's a forest fire? Can you even get forest fires here?"

"Why would you like to know?" Blue-Eyes demanded sharply, all kindness gone just as suddenly as it'd arrived, replaced with obvious suspicion and disdain.

You sighed, and dropped the subject. You wouldn't be finding anything out about this place today. The guards lead you up a short flight of stairs, which stopped at a huge circular pavilion, lined with a different type of guard in silver armor and navy-blue masks covering their lower faces. They stood almost impossibly still, and each carried a deadly spear.

More stairs, curving upward from each side of the pavilion, lead to a massive throne of carved wood. A regal Elf lounged on it, holding a curled wooden staff. He wore silver robes lined on the inside with a deep crimson, and a crown of thin branches styled like an elk's antlers --or maybe a thornbush-- sat atop his head of snow-white hair. Piercing blue eyes watched you from underneath strangely dark (And thick.) brows, but his catlike face was drawn into an unreadable expression.

Blue-Eyes stepped before you and the guards, and put his right arm over his chest, fist resting over his heart, as he bowed at the waist. "My king, we have brought the prisoner."

Inwardly, you winced. What kind of father forced his son to call him 'my king'?

The Elvenking flicked his fingers toward the guards on either side of you. "Leave us."

As they left with barely a clink of armor, Blue-Eyes grabbed you roughly by the shoulder, forcing you to your knees. His grip was like iron. He leaned down to snarl in your ear, "Show respect. His majesty has shown you a great kindness in allowing you to live."

Aw, fuck. You forgot that these guys had healed you. If Lord Fabulous over there had decided that by even so much as breathing near his lands you didn't deserve for your wounds to be healed, you'd be dead right now. "O-oh..." You quickly fixed your position, and even bowed your head with an arm over your chest, like Blue-Eyes had done. "Sorry..."

"My son tells me he found you trying to escape from warg-bound orcs on our northern border," Elvenking drawled slowly. Wargs... Those big dogs... Why does that sound familiar? Were they in a book? Mythology? A game? You couldn't remember, and Elvenking didn't give you time to. "You were found near-death, and without any apparent recollection of how you came to be there. Is that correct?"

You weren't sure how to adress him. "Yes, sir. My lord. Your majesty. I'm sorry."

Elvenking continued. "Would you like to elaborate on what you do remember?"

His tone wasn't kind. It was "Tell me bitch or I will throw you off into the chasms below."

And there were lots of chasms.

"You won't believe me," You started, and risked a glance; Blue-Eyes and Elvenking watched you warily. You could easily say you were from this world, but you didn't know anything about it. You couldn't lie believably. And even if you could, Elves can sense lies. You figured you'd get some extra points if you were totally honest. "But I'll tell you anyway." So you started out with your explanation of coming from a place called Earth, and that you'd been having a battle against some pretty fake boars played by unconvincing actors in Live Action Roleplay, when you'd fallen out of a tree, banged yourself up, and knocked yourself out. You then proceeded to explain about the big dogs and the orcs.

Elvenking lifted his chin slightly for the sole purpose of glowering at you. "Tell me more of this... Earth." You told him all you could. About cars and trains and jets and phones, then on to TVs and movies, and the huge skyscrapers, and how modern slang was different from what it had been, and how where you came from, Elves and orcs and dragons were all part of a genre known as fantasy. You even tried, for a brief period of time, to explain the subject of eMail and social sites like Tumblr and Twitter, but you gave up at their odd looks as they tried to comprehend the concept. You told them about all seven continents, presidents, world leaders, endless wars, hunger, trashing the planet and all other shit that was wrong with Earth.

You could've been there for hours explaining it all. When you were finished, Elvenking regarded you like he'd just came to the conclusion that you just weren't normal. "It seems, [Y/N], that your world is poisoned."

"It is!" You agreed excitedly. "Nobody cares about it anymore! It's why I grew up to be so... Un-normal, by my world's standards."

"I see..." Elvenking blinked slowly. "Then you are, since you are a spawn of this Earth, equal poison to this world, are you not?"

All the blood drained from your face. "What?"

He looked to Blue-Eyes. "Kill them."

Blue-Eyes gripped you by the back of the head, and your hands flew to his wrist as he yanked your head back. With a flourish, he drew one of his ivory-handled knives and pressed it to your throat. "Wait!" You screamed, and Elvenking raised a hand.

"Last words?" Blue-Eyes sneered.

"I don't know where I am," You choked out quickly; the cool steel of the blade was digging into your neck, cutting a fine line. "I don't know how I got here, but usually when stuff like this happens in movies, there's always a portal. Let me find it-- send an escort if you want! Take me back to where you found me, and I'll find the portal and go home. You'll never see me again!"

Elvenking dropped his hand, and your heart jumped, expecting your head to go with it. "Do you really think that is wise? I sense no dishonesty from you, but you could very well be a spy from your world, which seems so intent on conquering and destroying peace. I will not let this world, much less my own land, fall prey to yours."

"I won't tell anyone about you, or this place, I promise! I don't even know where this is!" Tears of frustration pricked the corners of your eyes. "I'm not a damn spy! I don't even know how I got here! Give me a couple of days to find the portal. Then I'll leave. What if there was a way for you to know I'll keep my word? Like a blood-oath, or something!"

"And if asked where you had gone?" Blue-Eyes countered, cocking an eyebrow.

"I'll tell them I went to Narnia, dammit! They never take me seriously anyway!" Your eyes widened. "This isn't Narnia, is it? Narnia didn't have Elves!"

"No, this is not... Narnia." Elvenking replied. "And you will not know the name of this land. You have three days to find your portal. You will be accompanied by a small assembly of my best warriors. If you do not find the door to your world within the given three days... I will give the order to kill you."

You swallowed hard. The steel dragged across your throat painfully. "Th-that sounds fair." It didn't, but, you just rolled with it.

"Legolas, you will go with them," Elvenking said; something clicked in your mind. You knew that name... You knew that name. But... Why?

Blue-Eyes-- Legolas-- nodded and finally removed the blade from your throat. Lord Fabulous inclined his head once, and you vaguely thanked him, too concerned with how you knew Blue-Eyes's name. He kept a tight, painful grip on your arm, actually digging his fingers in until you were pretty sure he cut off most of your circulation.

When you reached your cell, he thrust you in roughly, making you stumble forward. You whipped around to glare at him. "Could you be careful, Blue-Eyes?"

He paused in locking the door. Confused, he brought his sapphire eyes to meet your [e/c] ones. "What did you just call me?"

"Blue-Eyes," You suddenly felt a little embarassed about picking a nickname for him. Shit, you'd never let that bother you before. He could screw off. "I didn't know your name until a few minutes ago, so... I just picked something to call you."

He raised an eyebrow incredulously. "And you chose to call me after my eyes." It wasn't a question; it was a statement.

You flushed a little, glancing to the side with only your eyes nervously, then back to him. "Uh... Yeah. That's pretty much it."

He rolled his eyes and walked away. Before you even realized what you were doing, you'd ran to the bars and grabbed hold of them, pressing your cheek up against them to watch him walk away. "Blue-Eyes!" He stopped, but didn't turn around. "Your name... Legolas. I think I've heard it before."

He turned his head slightly, like he might be interested, but your hopes fell through the floor when he just continued walking. You immediately wished you'd've said something to get his attention, so he'd come talk to you. Like, Hey, I'm really a spy for Earth, MWAHAHAHAHAHA.

Ok, maybe not that drastic...

But you did wish he'd stayed to talk to you. Even if he'd tried to kill you. Legolas... You slid down the bars, sitting on the floor. Your knees came up to your chest of their own accord. Legolas... What do your Elf eyes see? You knew that you knew his name, but where did you know it from?

They're taking...

Aw, damn. It was right on the tip of your brain. Lord Fabulous looked really familiar, too. He reminded you of Ronan the Accuser from Marvel. Why couldn't you remember? Was it a side-effect of being tossed to another reality? What else did you not remember...?

You sat there for hours, until one of the guards brought you some food. You picked at the meal, as a tune got stuck in your head that you couldn't quite place...

Home is behind...

The world ahead...

Here, the song fizzed out like a radio signal, then you got another bit of it...

All shall fade..

All shall...

...Fade...

~ominous time skip~

You, Blue-Eyes, and a team of Elvish warriors like the ones who'd helped you escape the dogs and orcs set out at dawn, which was way too early for someone used to getting up at noon most of the time. All the Elves showed off their glowy perfect selves by leaping gracefully to pebble to pebble like the regal shits they were, including Blue-Eyes.

Actually, scratch that. Blue-Eyes was the fucking king of being a show-off.

They moved fast, and you were surprisingly able to keep up with them. Not one of the Elves wanted to speak to you; they seemed to consider you an abomination.

You kinda seen what they were getting at, though. You were still in your bright white, blue, and black sci-fi Elf outfit from yesterday, complete with the latex ears and bright blue faux-hawk, which had become much less faux-hawk-y after sleep. You were covered in dried blood, dirt, and parts of your outfit were ripped. You'd tried to clean up as best as you could when you were woken up by using the water from the cup you'd been given to scrub your face and arms with the stunningly clean sheets on your cot.

In other words, you stuck out like a bright blue flower in a field of dark grass. You didn't know the way back to the river, so most of the Elves surrounded you discreetly while Blue-Eyes took the lead. Every one of them had a bow or sword or knife out and ready, so one wrong sniff and you were dead.

You traveled for about an hour before anyone spoke. It was Blue-Eyes, to your surprise. "Why is your hair blue?"

"Huh?" Of all possible questions, that one hadn't been expected. Though, that was kind of dumb of you, to just assume they wouldn't eventually wonder if everybody from your world had crazy hair colors.

"Your hair," Blue-Eyes specified, sounding condescending, like his hair was much better than yours because it was long and perfect and almost white. "Why is it blue?"

"Oh," You cleared your throat. "It's dye. My real color is [h/c]. Lots of people do it where I come from. You can dye it a natural color, or an unnatural color, like so. Some keep their natural color and just add streaks that aren't their natural colors. Some dye their full hair, like me, for the sole purpose of cosplay--uh, dressing up as made-up characters for events--and others dye it just for fun. Or to stand out, I guess. But I wouldn't advise it. It ruins your hair. I just don't care, though."

"Why would anyone want to do that?" One Elf asked in horror, then sneered at you. "I suppose those of your world simply do not appreciate the naturalities of the body."

You shrugged. You should see the LGTBQ+ community... But you didn't feel like explaining any of that to these people right now. Especially when they obviously looked down on stuff like that.

"And what character are you meant to be?" Blue-Eyes asked in a challenging tone.

You flushed. "... A sci-fi Elf."

"...Sci-Fi?" A different Elf asked. "What is that?"

"Science fiction," You specified. "Basically, I'm supposed to be an Elf from another planet. It seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Is that why you have pointed ears?" Blue-Eyes questioned, and you nodded.

"Yeah. They're latex-- a kind of rubber. Wait, do you even have rubber here?" You waved a hand. "Nevermind. They can come off pretty easily, though. Speaking of which, I'd better take them off before they cause damage..." You reached up to one of your ears, despite the looks the Elves gave you.

Blue-Eyes stopped for a minute, halting the whole group. He looked at you like you were crazy. "Whyever would you put something on your body that could cause damage?"

You blinked. "That is a very good question, Blue-Eyes, and one I don't exactly have an answer for. Almost everybody does it at some point." You felt for the flap of latex, but you couldn't find it. Hell, you couldn't even find the edge of the prosthetic. "Oh shit..." You breathed.

"What is it?" Legolas huffed, and turned around impatiently.

Your eyes widened; you couldn't let them think you were panicking, but, well, you were, and shortly after, you did. "I-I can't get it off."

Blue-Eyes's brow furrowed. "Will it cause permanent damage if they are not removed?"

"Maybe? Yes? My skin goes red and itchy and starts to swell up if I touch latex for too long, so, I'm gonna go with a definitely on this one. Just keep walking. I should have them off by the time we get to the river."

But you didn't. There was no flap, no edge of the latex. If it weren't for the fact that you did put latex ears on, you wouldn't have known you had latex ears on. A suspicion grew in your core, so you grabbed hold of the pointed tip, and pinched down with your nails hard and fast. "Ow!"

Every Elf turned to look at you as you pulled your hand away. Some blood was on the tips of your fingers. "Why, in the name of the Valar, would you hurt yourself?" Legolas sighed like a parent lecturing a child, but you were staring at your fingertips in shock. Valar...

"I'm an Elf..."

"I beg your pardon?" Apparently the mere thought of being the same race as you was too much for Blue-Eyes to handle. It was fucking offensive.

"I'm an Elf!" You shouted, and snatched your hand to your chest. "The ears won't come off! They bled and hurt when I pinched them! I'm a damn Elf! When I fell through that portal, I was a normal human! Now I'm an Elf! I don't know whether I should be freaking out or excited!"

Legolas rolled his eyes. "It won't be permanent. Obviously, here you're an Elf. There, you're not. When we get you through the portal, you'll be a human again."

"But..." I don't want to be human... Yet, you were also trying desperately to get back to your family, on pain of death and loss of cool fantasy land. If only you'd wake up to learn you were in some kind of damn coma...

You waved your hands. "Ok. Alright, fine. Is this where you found me?"

Legolas gestured to a particular rock. "The exact spot. Do you think you could find your way from here?"

You smirked; you'd always been good at knowing your way. "Please. I was born with an innate sense of direction. Now how the fuck do we get over this damn river?"

Legolas grinned. "You're an eldar now, aren't you? See if you can get across it yourself." Eldar... That had to mean an Elf of some sort, right?

You stared him down for a second, hands on your hips. He smirked cockily back, pure smugness on his expression. "Ok. Sure. What's life without risk?"

So you took a deep breath, and headed for the opposite bank.

You and your siblings had this special hiking trail in a park, and on this trail was a creek slash pond area. Several of them. You'd always cross the creek carefully, each step placed just so, and quietly, too, so that you could see the frogs-- it was a frog hunt without actually killing said frogs. The exercise gave you all good balance and a know-how for shit not that rock.

But this river was much different than the creek back home. It was clear, and clean, and strong as fuck, so one wrong move and you'd be whooshed away, with Blue-Eyes giving Lord Fabulous the excuse of "Oh they died in the river tragically oops..."

The rocks were unstable. The river swelled over them every so often to make them slippery. Your rubber boots were less than zero help. But you were an Elf now, right? So that had to make you unfairly agile. You took another deep inhale, then took what you hoped was a graceful leaping step, only for you to slip and nearly bust your ass. Elvish powers have to be learned. Noted.

When you finally got to the other side of the bank, you were stiff, and your heart was pounding. Behind you, the Elves sneered and jeered and all kinds of other "eers". You whipped around, and flipped them off. They looked somewhere between shocked, offended, and terrified. You realized they might not know the symbolism of it, and might think you were cursing them. When they reached you, Blue-Eyes was the first to demand what that was all about. "What was that all about?!"

You panicked under pressure. "U-uh... I-it's a minor insult where I come from. Very minor. We use it frequently as a joke among close friends. A friendly insult. Yeah. Sorry. Won't happen again." He totally didn't believe you. So you quickly changed the subject. "O-oh, uh, this way!"

Scenery seen at night was harder to recognize during the day, and vise versa, but you knew you hadn't gone too far up the river when you came across some massive paw prints and scrape marks from where you'd skidded down the bank. Another bonus clue was the scrap of bright blue fabric, from your skirt/tunic thing, hanging precariously from a branch.

It took you the better part of an hour to find the tree you'd woken up at. "Okay, this it it."

"Are you certain?" Blue-Eyes asked you.

"Wait." You laid down, and yep, everything was the same, except in daylight. Legolas frowned at you as you stood, probably ashamed to even breathe the same air as you. "Yeah, this is it."

Blue-Eyes ordered something in Elvish, jerking his head. The Elves immediately set about making camp. "So, in your world, you fell from the highest branches of an oak, yes?"

"Yep, breaking several things in the process."

"And you lost consciousness after you hit the forest floor?"

"Yep."

Legolas hummed and looked up into the canopy. "Then by all means... The portal should be where you laid."

You glanced down at your feet before bouncing up and down a little. "Nope. Nothing."

Legolas huffed. "You may have to try climbing this tree and falling into this spot."

A deranged laugh escaped your throat, which you quickly stifled. "I'm sorry, but are you crazy? What if I die? We don't have the same healing stuff as you guys unless you can pay for it up front, and I'm very poor. So is all of my family. We can't afford that shit. So if I die, what's the point in going back?"

Legolas glared at you. "I didn't mean from very high. Just high enough to hopefully send you through, but not high enough to kill you. Your healers will mend broken bones, will they not?"

You scoffed dejectedly. "Yeah, but for a pretty hefty bill..." You threw your hands up. "Whatever. I'll die anyway if I don't try. Might as well." With Legolas watching you carefully to make sure you didn't try to jump from tree to tree, you started to climb.

Was it really only yesterday that you'd been having a fun, standard LARPing day with your family and [F/N]? The real world seemed like fantasy, now. This felt real. This felt like where you should be. But if your family weren't here, you wouldn't be able to enjoy it. You'd always feel as if you abandoned them. You wondered, did time pass differently? Did it go faster there, and slower here? Or was it the other way around? Would you find the portal, and return to the real world to find your family long gone and the year a thousand into the future? Then you'd wish you'd never left this place. Or would you find not a moment had passed, and to them, it was still the terrifying moment of not knowing if you were dead or alive, to find you unharmed? Would you then be able to convince them to fall through, even on the chance that the portal could only be used a handful of times, and if it did work, would a millenia had passed here? Even Blue-Eyes would've aged by that point, however slightly.

Once you'd reached a suitable height, you braced yourself against the trunk. "How's this?"

Legolas nodded. "Fine. Jump when you're ready.”

You took a minute... Ah... Better get this over with. One does not simply... Damn, what was that meme? "Ok, ready when you are."

Legolas stepped back, and waited; you hesitated, then jumped, and you felt deja vu as you barreled toward the ground, landing flat on your back. The impact knocked the wind out of you, and you felt a painful snap in your right ribcage. You kept your eyes closed; you heard nothing aside from the birds in the trees. You hoped, then hoped some more, expecting at any moment to hear the frantic footfalls of your family rushing to help you...

"Well, I see I was entirely wrong on the matter," Blue-Eyes stated simply, and you frowned. Fuck...

"Ya think? I'm still seeing priss-ass Elves in a goddamn forest that isn't the one I fell in. Fuck you, Blue-Eyes, for having me break a rib for no good damned reason." You glared at him as you tried to sit up, barely making it halfway before Legolas helped you, albeit roughly.

"Watch your tongue," Blue-Eyes snapped. "If it were not for us, you would be dead."

You pursed your lips. "You're gonna kill me anyway just for breathing on your trees, so why didn't you just let me die?"

For a second, Legolas seemed to feel pity for you. "I am sorry. Truly, I am. Perhaps if we fail to locate your way home, I could convince my father to refrain from executing you."

You huffed, wincing as the action hurt your broken-on-some-level ribs. "Why? So I can live the rest of my suddenly immortal life in a dark cell, underground, just for existing? Hell no. I'd rather die."

"Perhaps you could have another use," Legolas offered, and you shook your head.

"Never in my life have I been considered useful." You eyed Blue-Eyes disdainfully. "Ever. By anybody. If you can find a place for somebody like me that doesn't involve imprisonment, fine. But I won't be able to live with myself if I can't find a way back to Earth. I need my family. They're all I ever had."

Legolas knelt beside you. "You... Seem to be very close with them. You love this..." He looked off into the trees, searching for the word. "...Life, so much, and have wished for it for so long, but you'd give it up, to be with them in a world that does not want you... You have a brave heart."

You took the compliment. "Thanks. Now let's find this damn portal, shall we? I've got a couple more ribs to bust."

Tag List: @tesserphantom​ @thedragonghostofmordor​

@taurlel​ @hauntedsiriel​

#legolas x reader #legolas x you #au #LARP #LoTR #the hobbit #legolas greenleaf #orlando bloom #orcs #wargs #elves #eldar #chapter 1 #theartofbenganeldar #fanfiction #romance #angst #fluff #gender-nuetral #wild #misfit #reader-insert #forest #mirkwood #middle-earth #lots of blue in this chapter #and lots of apparent apparentness apparently #ronanstolkienfam

[nancywheelxr]

If I haven't missed a request window?: Something where Elrond is an A+ dad (with Estel, &/or the twins, or Arwen? your call there) + also somewhere included there's an adorably disgruntled bird (like maybe a pigeon or a duck, idk? — I seriously just tried to look up what kinds of birds might actually live around Rivendell but I got nothing bc I suck)?

Hey! I wasn’t sure which bird to use, either, but I hope you like how this turned out!

*

There is a commotion in the hallway outside.

To be completely fair, they sound as if they are trying not to make a disturbance, but experience shows his children have never been very successful at that. True, it’s been far too many centuries since these halls have held a child’s laughter, but Elrond remembers. Most elves do, he’s sure, considering the fair amount of antics the twins have gotten up to over the centuries. Somehow, adulthood has yet to change that.

Another crash sounds just east of his door. 

He should probably make sure nothing dangerous is going on.

The door swings open carefully and he steps out to find a suspiciously empty hallway– which is not to say there isn’t plenty to be worried about here since the only thing lacking are the culprits of the mess left behind. At his feet, one of his once priceless vases is in pieces, ceramic dull in the sunlight, and more concerningly, mud stains the carpets, the walls, the– ceiling?

“How on–” Elrond murmurs, frowning as it drips lazily on the carpet. 

Well. That settles it. “Elrohir,” he calls, following the trail of dirt along the halls, “Elladan!”

Silence is all that answers him, as it was expected, and Elrond sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. Briefly, he considers leaving it be, but it would only be a matter of time until someone came to him about this, undoubtedly aggrieved. 

Outside the sun is shining warmly over the grass, a truly lovely day if he says so himself, and the creek in the woods is babbling gently, softer in this spring, and he wonders if he should expand his search to the nearby clearings.

As it turns out, there’s no need for that.

While Elrond is looking for his sons, the culprit for the mud trail skids around the corner and dashes right into his robe with a graceless flail of skinny limbs.

“Estel,” he half asks, more startled than anything, and helps the child up, taking the opportunity to check him for injuries. Not that he would be able to tell at first glance, considering he is covered in mud from head to toe as if he’d spent his afternoon rolling in a puddle. Still, first things first, he supposes, “are you alright?”

Realization dawns on him and his eyes grow large, likely guessing he’s in a fair amount of trouble. “Oh, Ada?” Estel fidgets, blinking up in an effort of making himself look as innocent as possible, “I can explain.”

“I’m sure you can,” Elrond says, allowing a touch of his amusement to show, “but I would rather be certain you are not injured in any way before listening to what I’m guessing is a quite long story?”

“Erm,” he shuffles, wiping watery mud from his eyes, “no, not hurt, no. I mean, yes, it is a long story but I don’t think– I’ll explain, I swear! I just need to do something first, so, uh.”

Elrond frowns as Estel’s eyes dart around quickly, but before he could inquire further on what could be oh-so-urgent, two sets of footsteps round the same corner Estel had sprinted from. 

“We found her!” Elrohir is announcing loudly only to stumble to a stop once he catches sight of Elrond, his face falling into guilt. “Oh, Ada, you are… here,” he finishes weakly.

Never too far from his twin, Elladan appears soon after and– is that a duck?

“Well,” Estel says, shrugging, “I guess I don’t have anything to do anymore.”

The duck still in Elladan’s arms squawks indignantly, ruffling its feathers, and Elrond finally takes in his sons’ appearances. They both have mud up to their chests and splattered over their faces, he’s guessing courtesy of the equally dirty duck, and Elrohir has a scrape on his cheekbone. 

Apparently, all three of the boys seemed to have thought today was, indeed, quite a lovely day outside.

“We can explain,” Elrohir tries, squirming under Elrond’s raised eyebrow, “I mean, Elladan certainly can.”

His brother coughs, startled, where he had been in the middle of passing the aggravated creature to Estel. Surprisingly, the duck takes to him without a fuss, shuffling in his arms. “I–” he glares at Elrohir, dusting feathers off himself, before turning sheepishly to Elrond, “see, Ada, the first thing you must know is that this is in no way our fault.”

“Nope,” Estel nods, his young face schooled in an overly serious expression that is almost entirely obscured by his duck, “not at all.”

Elrond crosses his arms. “Is that so? And which one of you would like to explain why you have a duck?”

“She’s mine!” Estel pipes up, grinning toothly and holding up the bird like a particularly treasured gift, “her name is Bain ‘cause she is pretty! I found her in the pond and she followed me home!”

Oh, dear. He decides to tackle an easier route for the time. “And how do you two add into this?”

“Hm,” Elladan stalls, kicking his twin unsubtly in the ankles, “we were in the kitchen?”

“When Estel came in,” Elrohir supplies, “with the duck under his arm.”

“And already covered in mud,” Elladan hurries to add, “but then the duck escaped–”

“Her name is Bain!” 

“And of course we offered to help–”

“ – and we went after her–”

“She is faster than expected–”

“ – and we found her in the pond again–”

“ – but she went loose in the house–”

“ – it was an accident, Ada–”

They all talk over each other, finishing and overlapping sentences, and Elrond has to admit it’s been a very long time since Elladan and Elrohir have looked quite this excited about something. After Celebrían– it hurts to simply think about it, truly, and it’s no secret the whole ordeal has been rather harder on the twins, having found her in that state and never quite getting their mother back wholly despite it, not until she was standing in the docks, backlit by the sunset and the promise of a better place waiting for all of them should they choose it.

In any case, things have never been the same ever since.

And while he can’t say it has now, it is unquestionably better. Since taking Estel in, the hunting trips have been further and further apart, shorter, few and far between. The human boy has his brothers wrapped around his little fingers, really, and Elrond cannot deny even shenanigans like this are welcomed after centuries of somber silence.

If he’s being honest, he’d say he almost missed this sort of thing.

“That’s quite enough,” he cuts in before they worked themselves into an argument, “the lot of you will help to clean the mess the duck has wrecked, yes?”

They nod in surprising synchrony. Elrond spares a moment to thank Eru that Legolas is not visiting at the moment. He doesn’t think the house would stay standing for very long with a fourth menace up and about.

“And Estel,” he crouches in front of the child. Not even ten years have passed and he’s grown so much– much too fast, in his opinion. Elrond fears he’s too used to the slow drag of time for elves. Humans, he knows, don’t have centuries to grow into adulthood; too soon, Estel will be leaving him for his own adventures and a fate he doesn’t dare think about. Now, though, Elrond softens. “I’m afraid you will have to let her back into the pond.”

Predictably, that upsets him greatly. “But, Ada– can’t she stay? Please?”

“She is a wild animal,” Elrond explains gently, “and she needs her freedom. Birds are meant to fly free, not live caged within walls.”

“But, but,” he hiccups, eyes growing watery bright, and Elrond notices the twins shuffling restlessly, “she’s a stray, like me, see? Why can’t you take her in, too?”

“You are no stray, Estel,” Elrond rests a hand on his shoulder, smiling as kindly as he can, “you are a part of this family and this is your home. Would you not miss us, were you to be away?”

He nods miserably. 

“I’m sure Bain has a family she would miss as well,” he wipes a bit of the mud from his cheeks, his nose, his chin. “She wouldn’t be as happy here as she is in her home.”

Estel looks at the duck, then at Elrond, then at his brothers, before sagging in defeat. “Alright.”

“You can still visit her, though,” Elrohir suggests, taking the duck from him, “I’m sure she would like that.”

That seems to cheer him up quite a bit, even if he still looks a tick away from bursting into tears. “Bye, Bain,” he whispers to the duck and the bird quacks at him in response. Remarkably intelligent animal, that one is.

“Make sure to ask for bread in the kitchen before you go,” Elrond tells them and Elladan shouts his agreement as they hurry away like that would get them out of cleaning up the mess. He snorts quietly, straightening up and holding out a hand for Estel, “now come along, we should get you in a shower before Erestor catches sight of all this mud.”

He makes a face. The concept of showering is still not to his liking, or at least until he’s actually in the water. “Ada, ‘Ro said Legolas is visiting soon. Can I show him Bain?”

Elrond counts to ten. This is news to him. “If he agrees, I don’t see why not,” he answers calmly, carefully keeping his resignation out of his voice, “did Elrohir have a specific date?”

“No,” then, “oh. He did say not to mention that to you. Erm, oops.”

Well. This can’t be good. He’ll have to have a talk with his sons. And possibly King Thranduil, although he’s not looking forward to that particular headache. “Don’t worry,” he ruffles his hair, ushering him into the bathroom, “do you want your boat?”

Estel nods and reaches for his little toy boat, happily forgetting about their conversation, and Elrond makes a mental note to have a guest bedroom opened before the end of the week. With a sigh, he settles to wrestle the child out of his dirty clothes and prepare himself for what is undoubtedly going to be a very long week.

#lord of the rings #elves #elrond #lotr #elrohir #elladan #estel #aragorn #lotr fanfic #look an ask #lotr tag #imladris tag

[mirkwoodshewolf]

All you need is someone to guide you; Legolas x teen reader

Here is yet another Legolas request I got from wattpad, this one was actually my first Legolas Greenleaf request that I got to do. Now be WARNED there are hints of suicide through starvation as well as extreme self-hate so if you are uncomfortable reading about this then just skip over it or don’t read it at all. Other than that I hope u all enjoy this ;)

________________________________________________________

I'm led through the halls of Rivendell by two guards towards the council room of Lord Elrond. The Guards and I stop and sitting on his high chair was the Lord of Imladris himself.

"What is this about this time?"

"My Lord Elrond, we caught (y/n) causing a havoc among the other soldiers which in turned up injuring Lady Arwen".  

"Is she alright?"

"She's fine my Lord, minor scrapes because her horse was startled in the chaos but Lady Arwen is fine". Another guard stated.

"Leave us now". The guards released me leaving me and Lord Elrond alone. "Care to explain what the ruckus was about this time?"  

"What do you usually think? The new soldiers getting on my back of me being half human. You know if I may say Lord Elrond you should really—" 

"SILENCE!" I stopped talking and lowered my head down hoping that I would get another warning for this by showing my submissive behavior.  

He took a deep heavy sigh before stating.  

"(Y/n), you know I took you in for your mother was a dear old friend of mine, but I will not tolerate anymore behavior like this, especially when it comes to the safety of my own children. Therefore you are hereby banished from the Valley of Imladris, you are to never set foot within it's borders, or ever try to contact any Elves here".  

I stared at him in shock.  

Banishment? No It—it can't be.  

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no My Lord please I—I promise I'll try to never cause havoc among your guards again! Please there—there has to be another way".

"There's not. I've protected you one to many times than I should have. Now that you've caused a threat to my own children this time it's made clear to me that you are too dangerous to keep around. I expect you out of here immediately and if you're still here by daybreak I'll have no choice but to sentence you to death". He stated with his back turned.  

I couldn't believe what I was hearing from Lord Elrond, the man who raised me ever since my mother died when I was just 6 years old.  

But I had no choice but to accept my fate.  

"Yes Lord Elrond". I left his council room but looked back to see if he'd turn and look at me.  

He didn't.  

I packed very light since I was given very little (mostly because I think the other Rivendell Elves wanted me dead in three days time). I wasn't given a horse so I had no choice but to walk wherever the wind took me.  

As I walked up the mountains edge I took one last look at my home with tears in my eyes but refused to shed them. I turned my back and continued to walk out of the Valley, over the Misty Mountains and beyond to wherever I was heading (which I still had no clue of).  

Months passed since I left Rivendell and I tried my best to survive in anyway I could. I fished in the river, set up camp wherever I could, and ever since my tenth village incident of causing chaos when I'm not meaning to, I've tried to avoid travelers or their villages but I would steal supplies to hopefully get me through at least a month's worth.  

But not one day goes by when I don't think of home.  

I felt betrayed, heartbroken, and angry beyond belief. Now there seemed like I could trust no one because of my parents. Truthfully my father only met my mother at a mortal's pub and had a one night stand with my mother, when she came to tell him she was pregnant with me he turned her away making me fatherless and a bastard's child, not only that but I'm a half breed.  

While I look very much like a mortal woman, I was only gifted with longer life thanks to my mother's Elvish bloodline. In times I'm sorta grateful for the longer life span but it's gotten me into so much trouble that I've become sensitive about my heritage thanks to my stubbornness human side from my bastard father (probably where I get my temper from). 

I feel like now maybe I'll never belong anywhere if I keep causing havoc. I don't mean too it's just— 

No! No! No tears! Don't you cry (y/n) crying is weakness! Don't show them you're weak!  I was so caught up in my depression that I didn't take notice that I had walked into the forest of the Woodland realm.  

Mirkwood.  

When I finally snapped out of my state it was already too late, I had trailed far off into the woods that I had no idea how to get back, nor could I now that I've entered into the belly of the beast.  

As I'm sure you know the Wood elves aren't like their kin, they are less wise, and more dangerous. And after the fall of his Queen some years ago, King Thranduil of the Woodland realm had become cold hearted, cruel and bitter to anyone who enters his domain without notice.  

So in a way I'm screwed.  

I took out my dagger for I had been told that this was not the Greenwood of Old like in the stories I've read, foul creatures lurk within these borders like Spiders, and a sickness lies upon the forest that can empty anyone's mind who enters it's borders but I guess because of my Elvish heritage I'm not being effected by it as I stuck to the Elvish path that would lead me to safety out of the forest and hopefully undetected by the Wood Elves.  

But of course I always jinx everything.  

Suddenly out of nowhere one of the spiders came hissing at me with it's fangs dripping out it's dreadful poison.  I fought as best I could against this foul creature but soon more started coming down from the trees outnumbering me like a pack of wargs against a stag. I twirled my sword from one spider to the next slaying them as best I could but my strength was weighing fast and I was starting to get tired. Just as one knocked me down and was about to sink it's fangs into my body, a dagger pierced through it's eyes as it roared and collapsed dead.  

I soon heard more spiders falling down then before I knew it I was surrounded by an even bigger threat.  

The Wood Elves.  

They all had their arrows hitched and ready to fire at me if I made any sudden movements.  

"Stand up!" Commanded a red haired She-Elf as she pulled her arrow back even further as her arrow stood right at my face. I slowly raised my arms up and stood up cautiously as to tell them I meant no harm. "Who are you? Why are you here?"  

"Just passing through. I didn't even know I was even walking towards the Woodland realm until my reasoning finally caught up with my thoughts". The red she-elf looked at me suspiciously with an arched eyebrow when another voice stated.  

"Tauriel, leave her!" The two of us turned and I was surprised to see who had defended me.  It was the Prince of Mirkwood, Legolas Greenleaf.  

"Hîr lim Legolas" she bowed her head and as did I because even thought I was being interrogated now, I should at least show some respect especially when a Prince saves my life. He came up to me and gently lifted my chin up and we locked eyes for a bit. 

"Enwenno he!" He commanded.  

Now I know I'm screwed.  

I was soon lead through the forest, across the bridge that stood over a rushing river and at the other side of the bridge was the gate to the Woodland realm, the Kingdom of Thranduil. I was lead inside as I was kept by the Prince's side at all times with the guards behind us and they guided me towards the throne room.  

And there sitting on his high throne with a crown of berries and Autumn leaves holding his staff was the King of the Woodland realm himself.  Thranduil.  

"Who do we have here?" Asked Thranduil.  

"We found her in the forest fighting against the spiders my Lord, she won't tell us of where she comes from or her name". The Elf king walked down from his throne and appeared in front of me and lifted my chin to look into my eyes.  

"The half breed of Rivendell, the exiled troublemaker of Lord Elrond's kingdom. Surprised that you're even still alive" I narrowed my eyes at him ready to punch to smug look off his face for naming who I am to all of his kin. "The half breed who only causes chaos and wreckage in her wake, destroys everything that she touches and turns kinsman against one another among the Elves of Imladris and in the villages of Man".  

Oh God did I want to punch this Elf King and not stop what so ever, I don't care if I end up being executed because no one wants me around since I've been labeled as an outcast now because of my reputation for causing trouble.  

But it's not my fault.  

I didn't ask to be born to father who abandoned me, I didn't ask to be born a half breed, I didn't ask to become sensitive about my heritage.  

I didn't even ask to be born!  

WHY DOES EVERYONE BLAME ME FOR EVERYTHING!? WHY!?!?  

"In order to not cause any trouble you'll spend the rest of your life in the deepest, isolated dungeon we have. So that you won't cause trouble for any other of our prisoners we bring in". It was then I was dragged away by two armored guards down to the depths of Mirkwood thrown into a tight cell that was indeed the only cell beneath the palace with hardly any light shining through from the lamps that hung a few floors above.  

As the guards left me locked in the cell, I huddled myself into a tight ball whimpering and wishing that I was dead instead of living like this for the rest of my life.  

I no longer want to live anymore, I think the world would be better off if I was dead.  

I don't know how long it's been since I've been sentenced down here, maybe a few days? Weeks? Months? It's hard to tell whether it's day or night in these dungeons. Even if I receive food, I refused to eat trying to starve myself hoping that if I didn't eat long enough I could die of starvation and dehydration. Sometimes for some unknown reason, the Prince himself would come down to the dungeons just to talk with me, to comfort me but I remained silent because I don't want his sympathy for what his father has done to me or for all the things that he's heard from his kinsmen or the rumors that have flied from village to village ever since my banishment. 

It wasn't until I heard my cell door being unlocked and I heard a soft voice say.  

"(Y/n), (y/n) wake up. Come with me". I slowly opened my weak eyes to see a figure kneeling over me. He gently helped me sit upwards as he asked me, "can you walk?"  

"Too weak" I panted weakly. The lack of food and water had seriously drained my energy and I haven't moved from my curled up position ever since I had been banished down here. I was soon carried in his arms like a baby as he left the dungeons and took a look around for any guards nearby and snuck me outside and placed me on the back of a horse. He leaped up gracefully behind me and wrapped an arm securely around my waist so I wouldn't fall off and urged the horse onward.  

Next thing I knew I passed out against the man's chest.  

When I woke up, I shielded my eyes from the sudden sunlight I was exposed to and I saw a stash of fruits and a bowl of water sitting right next to me.  

"You'll need your strength back, you've been down in the dungeons for almost a month; but luckily I called the guards away so I could get you out". I turned around to see Prince Legolas standing just a couple feet away looking outward to make sure no one was coming. "This spot here was once my mother's favorite grounds to walk across beyond the borders of Mirkwood, when I was an Elfling she would always bring me here to escape the pressures of the palace, I figured my father won't send any of the guards to come look for you here, you should be safe here" he stated.  

I was now beyond confused as I looked at him with pained eyes.  

"The food is freshly picked from the fruit trees I managed to find, so nothing is poisoned, not even the water, make sure you take little sips, don't want you choking". He stated again as he walked closer to me gesturing towards the fruit he had picked.  

He was acting so kind to me, even though his father said all of those things, and I'm sure he's already heard for himself and didn't need to be persuaded by his father to turn away from me.  

So why was he being so kind to me?  

I grabbed one of the apples and when I took a bite, it was like tasting heaven for the first time in almost a month since my last meal. I ate all the apples I could right down to the core, then I ate some of the bananas, grapes, and berries while taking small sips of the water inbetween the foods I kept eating.  

Finally I was content with my now full stomach.  

"Better?" I nodded but still kept looking at him confused as to why he was being so kind to me.  

"Are you going to kill me now? I'd be alright if you did, rather be better if you'd just end my life now so that I won't cause you any trouble".  

"Why do you speak like that? You are young you have a full life ahead of you. Why would you want me to take your life?" I took a deep sigh as Legolas sat down close by my side.  

"I thought—that you'd be exactly like everyone else. That you'd be just like your father and want me to rot in your dungeons. But you're just—this real person. And you're so freakin open and it kills me!" "Why does that kill you? I don't understand please tell me". Legolas urged me to continue as I began shuddering both physically and as I spoke. Tears formed in my eyes as I recalled everything.  "Because you want a relationship! A future! And anyone whose ever wanted that with me I just—It's never worked out. I've always let them down. I destroy everything that I touch! Because of who my parents were, they treat me like I'm a child of Mordor!" I choked out as I looked at him with tears dying to come out as all the memories came back to me.  

"Then those people are wrong about a child who had no control over what happened to her". He said.  

The Prince softly smiled and stroked a tear that slipped away from my eyes and brought me close to him. His arms wrapped around me and rubbed my back soothingly as he buried his other hand in my hair gently petting it.  

My first hug ever since my mother died.  

I shut my eyes tightly as I finally let go and sobbed into the Prince's shoulder. He didn't flinch, cringe or turn away from me but held me tighter and closer to him as he gently whispered soft coos in Elvish to comfort me.  

After what felt like forever, I finally managed to calm down and Legolas said to me.  

"Listen," we separated from our hug and continued, "why don't I stay here with you for a week? And I can keep away any Elf or man that tries to come here near you". I smiled softly and nodded.  

"Okay. One week, and—promise you'll stay with me?"  

"I won't leave your side for a minute, nîth". He wrapped an arm around me and gently kissed my forehead gingerly as I smiled and hearing him call me "sister" made my heart and stomach leap for joy knowing that someone had cared for me.  

And even after 60 years, Legolas still remained by my side and I even joined him on a special quest to destroy a certain ring because he was there for me, now it was my turn to be there for him.

#the hobbit #hobbit fandom #hobbit fanfiction #hobbit oneshot #legolas greenleaf #legolas x reader #legolas x teen reader

[the-dan-in-high-castle]

The Lord of the Rings: Were some film changes justified?

Hi there, peeps. So this is the first time I’ve done something like this, but I thought I’d dig into something a little juicy and which often provokes a lot of debate in the literary sphere: whether or not the changes made from the original LOTR books to the film trilogy by Peter Jackson were justified or not.

Every book-to-movie translation features changes, and I mean every single one. We see it all over, with movies like the Harry Potter franchise, The Golden Compass, Alice in Wonderland, The Chronicles of Narnia, and perhaps most famously with Lord of the Rings. 

The reasons for these changes vary greatly. Some directors choose to erase aspects of the source material to shorten the overall length of a film, or to stop a film becoming clustered with too many plotlines or characters. Others may change a certain scene, location or character to better suit their vision of the adaptation, and some go as far as re-writing the plot to end differently altogether. For this post, I’m going to split LOTR changes into three categories:

The erasure of characters included in the novels

The change of characters included in both the novels and the films, either in actions, context or personality

The alteration of certain plot-lines and stories

Character removal

Yes, we will be talking about Tom Bombadil here to start with. The singing, dancing forest-lurker introduced in Chapter VI of Fellowship of the Ring, Tom acts as a seemingly random inclusion into the story, guiding the four Hobbits through the Barrow-downs and saving them from the undead Barrow-wights, while gifting the Hobbits the Númenorean daggers, one of which Merry uses to help kill the Witch-King in Return of the King. Bombadil has become the butt of many jokes among fans for his spontaneous appearance in the storyline, his apparent lack of significance in the plot as a whole, and simply because all he does is sing to trees and dance around his house. With this in mind, it makes sense entirely that Tom isn’t included in the films. He doesn’t appear for the rest of the films, he has minimal impact in the overall story, and he’s a bit of a joke character.

One more aggravating removal is that of Elladan and Elrohir, the sons of Elrond, as well as the Grey Company. The Grey Company, a group of elite Dúnedain soldiers led by Aragorn’s close friend, Halbarad, appear first in Return of the King, following Aragorn through the Paths of the Dead and helping him reclaim Pelargir and then the Pelenoor Fields. Elladan and Elrohir accompany the Grey Company, though also appear earlier in Rivendell in Fellowship of the Ring, and are also responsible for re-forging Anduril for Aragorn. The characters did not diminish at all from the overall story, with the Grey Company allowing Aragorn to show his leadership and control before his eventual succession to the throne, while Elladan and Elrohir gave more representation to the Elves, while also furthering the family of Elrond further, as in the books. Erasing them not only removes the Dúnedain from any mention save a conversation between Aragorn and Eowyn, but also erodes Elrond’s two eldest children from existence. 

There are other exclusions which do make some sense, in my opinion. Quickbeam, an Ent that befriends Merry and Pippin, is quite a humorous character in the books, but also does little to the story and would simply take up time and budget. There is also no mention of Bill Ferny, the corrupt Northmen who tells the Nazgul of the Hobbits being in Bree, though he wasn’t necessary in this regard either. Finally, there is the absence of Glorfindel, though I’ll explore that one when we look at the next section.

The alteration of characters

Faramir. Good grief, how they annoyed me with the depiction of Faramir in the films. Book-Faramir is genuinely one of the most noble and generous characters in the entire trilogy. He shows care and attention to Frodo and Sam, and while he is suspicious of Gollum, he never abuses him as is shown in the movies. More importantly, Faramir never attempts to take the Ring from Frodo, identifying it immediately as a source of evil. However, most significant is that Faramir aids Frodo in his journey by giving him food, as well as advising him not to trust Gollum nor to pass through Cirith Ungol. The contrast with Movie-Faramir, who at first acts out of greed and desperation to bring the Ring to Gondor, while also mistreating and abusing the trio travelling to Mordor, is a crude corruption of the noble Captain seen in the novels. Faramir’s actions seemed only to justify the scenes in Osgiliath, though these would much eagerly be replaced by the scenes involving the Window of the West in my opinion, which featured some of the best settings and dialogue in the entire trilogy.

Next, we move to Arwen. Arwen is one of the few characters to actually receive a greatly expanded role in the movies. Not only do we see her far earlier in Fellowship of the Ring, bearing Frodo to Rivendell, but we also see her struggles with journeying to Valinor and her romance with Aragorn, which is only ever mentioned in the books. Arwen’s expansion does help give some depth to one of the few female characters in the series, but also comes at the expense of other characters. Not only do the scenes detailing her inner turmoil and her relationship lead to the removal or cutting down of some characters, but her inclusion in some parts usurps the role of other characters, such as when Glorfindel rescues Frodo in the novel. Arwen’s changes are 50/50, as while the exploration of a character we know little about is somewhat appreciated, part of her appeal in the novels was her mystique, if Frodo’s perspective tells us anything, and her expansion comes at the cost of many other side characters.

Other character changes are somewhat minimal. The age of the Hobbits is greatly reduced, with Frodo being shown as a young adult, even though he is middle-aged in the books, though this comes down to a narrative change. Denethor is slightly differed also: while the books present him first with cunning and wit, which gradually descends as the story progresses, the movie presents him from the start of Return of the King as a man already lost to grief and madness, denying the audience the chance to see why he became the twisted and desperate man we see in the novels.

Alteration of the plot

In respect to Jackson, he did a far better job than most book-to-film directors in keeping to the plot of the trilogy (more than I can say for the Hobbit cough cough) but he is not without his blunders.

Remember the Scouring of the Shire? Peter Jackson doesn’t. One of the final chapters of Return of the King, the Scouring of the Shire was the takeover of the Shire by brigands loyal to Saruman (no, he didn’t fall off Orthanc at the start of RotK) and their subsequent defeat by the rebellious Hobbits, with Saruman being murdered by Wormtongue in the aftermath. The Scouring is definitely an usual addition, seemingly placed in the novel to close out Saruman after his escape from Orthanc. It did make some sense to cut out the Scouring, since it would have taken up time in an otherwise lengthy movie, and Jackson does well to allude to it with the Mirror of Galadriel in Fellowship, but getting to see an army of Hobbits beat up a bunch of bandits and thugs to round out the trilogy would have certainly been entertaining. Still, it makes sense to cut it.

What doesn’t make sense is the inclusion of Frodo, Sam and Gollum in the Battle of Osgiliath in Two Towers. Why were they there? The inclusion was practically nonsensical, since not only did it draw out the scenes where the audience was met with an (unsuitably) arrogant Faramir who they weren’t growing to like, but the battle scene never even included the other three characters fighting. If you want to add in a battle, go ahead, but don’t add a battle that nobody takes part in except extras. The battle wasn’t even that special, with the battle scenes themselves being clunky and the inclusion of the Nazgul being completely unnecessary, since we had not only seen them not long before over the Dead Marshes, but would later see them rip everything up in Minas Tirith. It’s a clunky addition that also deprives us of the scenes of respite that the novel chapters with Faramir provide. The last thing we really need at this point is turmoil and battle, and it only adds to the cluster of action going on at the end of the film.

Some smaller changes connect to the past two categories, such as the Grey Company coming to aid Aragorn and the complete removal of the Old Forest or the Barrow-downs, as well as the scenes in Buckland we see in the book where the reader learns that the Hobbits are being spied on. One of the more egregious changes in my personal opinion is the removal of the meeting between the Elves, led by Gildor, and the three Hobbits; Frodo, Sam and Pippin. The meeting is diminished to the passing of a group of Elves by Frodo and Sam in the film, and takes away from the mystique of the Elves that Jackson later tries to build in Rivendell. The meeting is one of the lighter-hearted portrayals of the Elves in the series, and the absence of the meeting does nothing but maintain the presentation of Elves as sullen, miserable warriors without any cheer or heart. 

Conclusion

So which changes are justified from book to film?

Definitely the removal of Tom Bombadil. While I enjoyed the Bombadil chapters in the book, they wouldn’t have done much good for the movies. 

The Scouring of the Shire. An interesting little storyline, but not significant enough to add to the films meaningfully, especially not a movie as long as Return of the King

The expansion of Arwen’s character. Tolkien admittedly included very few significant female characters, and so it is good of Jackson to expand on Arwen as a strong female figure.

Which changes weren’t justified?

Faramir. Changing Faramir into a near-antagonist for the entirety of Two Towers did nothing but give the audience a character to hate other than Gollum, which wasn’t necessary, since Gollum acts perfectly as a troubled, two-faced villain for the audience to be indecisive on. Faramir should have stayed as the strong source of hope in an otherwise troubled kingdom. 

The removal of various Elf characters. This includes Glorfindel, Elladan, Elrohir and Gildor. Four Elf characters that show far more heart and charisma than other Elves, yet are left out. Their inclusion could have added another dimension to the Elf race, but this is unfortunately avoided by Jackson.

How Denethor is presented. Denethor in the books started as witty and cunning, if not also paranoid, and over the course of Return of the King the reader sees the paranoia slowly take over his more respectable aspects. From the start of the movie, however, Denethor is depicted as broken and shallow, and so the audience misses out on that immersive transition.

Did Jackson mess up some stuff? Yeah, absolutely. If you’re of the belief that the books are absolutely perfect, you’re never gonna think a film adaptation will be as good since things will definitely change. However, as far as film adaptations of novels go, Jackson did a respectable job. He contained all the vital plot aspects, maintained the personalities of most characters while expanding on others, and gave us some absolutely gorgeous settings and art designs. Not bad, PJ. Not bad.

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