#denethor is a shitty dad

[nihilizzzm]

AND I HAVE ANOTHER THING FOR YOU!

It’s a deep dive into Boromir and Faramir’s relationship!

No trigger warnings (only Denethor II being a bitch and a shitty dad to Faramir), no romantic relationships, just two brothers being stupid, sad and happy together.

#lotr fanfiction #lord of the rings #the lord of the rings #lotr #boromir #faramir #boromir and faramir #lotr fanfic #denethor is a shitty dad

[hopeless-eccentric]

i think we talk a lot about how frodo’s long-term reaction to the ring is a discussion of trauma, but i think there’s a really interesting conversation to be had about the intergenerational effects of the palantir on the house of stewards

so right out of the gate as a caveat, the palantir has a much less obvious impact on denethor than saruman. yes, it ages him, shows him the most hopeless version of the truth, etc (very alike to what we see with Hurin), but in some of tolkien’s non-lotr writing, it’s implied denethor had more of a handle on it than saruman because as acting ruler of minas tirith, he had a claim to use its palantir, whereas saruman didn’t have that magical right and his own stone rejects him. my point here is that until denethor essentially used the palantir to stare straight into the sun, its effects didn’t rob him of anything but hope and strength. i wanted that on the table because it’s a book detail that tends to get glossed over in adaptation/analysis

that being said, the palantir sits in the background of all the familial trauma going on in the house of stewards in a way that i think is fascinating

so the most obvious root of a lot of the familial trauma going on there is denethor, but it wouldn’t be wholly correct to suggest that the palantir “made” him miserable. we know from the appendices that he spent years jealous and suspicious of those who received his father’s approval (ironically including aragorn), used the palantir for a large amount of his stewardship out of a similar paranoia, and is generally characterized as unhappy throughout his life. it’s also implied a lot of his insecurities, jealousness, etc stems from his issues with his own father, Ecthelion II (tolkien leaves it up to the reader whether he was mistreated or just inherently jealous and insecure). denethor is also characterized as unkind to his family members long before he becomes a father. given the generally feudal social standards expressed for kings in the books, his choice not to remarry after the death of finduilas suggests she meant a great deal to him, but at the same time, some of tolkien’s non-lotr writings suggest his use of the palantir exacerbated (and may have even directly caused) her death,* so even if she made him happy, he wasn’t exactly the world’s most caring or attentive partner 

another important implication there is that while yes, denethor’s misery and paranoia already existed (and, importantly, had roots in his family), the palantir fed on it and made it worse to the point of actively harming those around him: his wife and children. the roots of denethor’s own issues don’t have much to do with the palantir, but it explicitly exacerbates the side-effects of these issues to a deadly extent. his problems are already present, but his use of the palantir forcibly pays them forward

one of the things that really ties this all back to intergenerational trauma for me though is that so often, the issues in the house of stewards that tie back to the palantir are SPECIFICALLY familial. it’s not really shown in any of the movies, but until the very end, denethor isn’t an entirely shitty ruler. his one inarguably terrible strategic move is trying to kill faramir, which would rob gondor of any kind of leadership. even when the palantir screws up his brain to the point of actually hurting his people, the primary objective still has to do with family

the final thing that really nails this down as a stand in for intergenerational trauma is the way we see these cycles break. in the pyre of denethor scene, denethor renders the palantir unusable, and only then do we see faramir get a chance to get the hell out of dodge and do better than his dad. immediately after getting engaged, he promises to build eowyn a garden, whereas finduilas’s fatal despair was worsened by the lack of natural beauty in minas tirith. while i do  recognize that gardens are symbolic of growth/rebirth/healing at large, they’re not the only symbol in the book with that meaning, and its use seems to be a purposeful juxtaposition against what denethor did wrong for their family

at the end of the day, the palantir of minas tirith symbolizes despair, and some of the horrible ways hopelessness can snowball into genuine harm. i think there are a lot of metaphors you could draw from this. on my first read through the books, i remember texting a friend something along the lines of “the house of stewards are living proof that depression is genetic,” which. i mean. yeah, palantir or no. but the point is, i think the palantir serves as a fantasy vessel for exploring trauma much like the ring does with frodo, and it’s a bit of an under-looked at side of the text that im glad i got to share with you guys. so hope that was interesting

*this detail isn’t mentioned in every retelling of the story, which is one of the unfortunate drawbacks on writing metas on an incredibly vast and incredibly incomplete universe like this one. however, the accounts that include the palantir detail don’t necessarily contradict the ones that don’t. they merely suggest that, while her despair was caused by the shadow over mordor, the palantir brought it to her front door in a particularly traumatizing way. i personally think it makes more sense than the alternative, otherwise citizens of minas tirith would be dropping like flies every time they tried to watch a sunrise

#forgive my lack of proper accents throughout this entire post #also theres the question of to what extent is his use of the palantir even a choice anymore #but thats another question for another day #lotr #denethor #boromir #faramir #lotr meta

[manulpika]

I’m so obsessed with Denethor calling Faramir a wizard’s pupil because it sounds exactly like what a fantasy universe shitty dad calls his gay son. Faramir might be straight but Denethor is bullying him homophobically anyway

If Shakespeare wrote lord of the rings Denethor would also have seen Faramir falling in love with Eowyn in the palantir, but she’s still dressed as Dernhelm, because she brought a hobbit instead of spare clothes, and now in a comedy of errors Denethor thinks Gandalf turned Faramir gay

Is he, you know, a wizard’s pupil? Maybe you discern from far away the air of Numenor?

#I don’t know why but I can’t stop thinking about this #I love faramir so much #the whole city of Minas Tirith is VERY supportive of him #faramir #denethor #lotr

[legolas-fan-blog]

A Denethor and fire based moodboard also by request of my girlfriend. Or "the shitty dad moodboard" as they called it. Sorry for the poor image quality, I had a hard time finding images for this.

#denethor #denethor lotr #denethor lord of the rings #lotr #lord of the rings #the lord of the rings #lotr moodboards #lord of the rings moodboards #moodboards #moodboard #mood boards

[anghraine]

firinnish replied to this post [a poll about headcanons for the in-story reasons that the Stewards were not in Gondor's line of succession despite being descendants of Elendil]:

for practical reasons. Gondor's late kings were BAD KINGS. That is a vital part of the text. There is even a part of the history where a 100% legitimate claimant comes along and Gondor is just like "nah". These are people who hold kings to a high fucking standard because they want their noble fantasy kings of old back & don't want to risk another shitty king It is explicit in the text that Aragorn is the rightful heir to everything, like, five ways from Sunday, but he does NOT just stroll in and be like "what's up yall take orders from me now". He first wins a battle for Gondor, goes among them as a stranger with healing hands (fulfilling a prophecy/legend), and rides to battle against Sauron before he dares actually assert that these people should ACCEPT HIM AS ABSOLUTE DICTATOR. His lineage isn't the thing that matters [...]

You left a ... lot of replies on my poll, so for the convenience of my dash, I'm putting the rest of your response below my reply, in italics, so people can see it and/or respond if they want.

I disagree at some level with almost everything you said. I'm not going to go into exhaustive detail about every point of disagreement, but Arvedui is very much not a 100% legitimate claimant in my view.

His argument that his wife Fíriel's birthright would make him king of Gondor under Númenórean law is simply false (Fíriel herself would have been ruling queen under Númenórean law and Arvedui no more than her consort; the only men who ruled Númenor through the birthrights of their wives were usurpers of those wives and/or of their children). The claim of the heirs of Isildur is debatable, in-story—the characters cannot know Isildur's intentions when "he forsook the South Kingdom", as The Silmarillion describes it—but Arvedui was not even heir of Isildur at the time that he made the claim. His father was still alive; Arvedui made the claim at the time he did simply because his wife's father and brothers had just died and he saw the chance (if a low chance) to seize power in Gondor.

Gondor's late kings made significant mistakes (as did many of the kings in Arnor and Arthedain) but were not, IMO, as bad as you're representing them. Eärnil especially seems to have been quite a solid character. In any case, I'm unsure what this, or your personal willingness to accept Aragorn over Denethor as absolute dictator has to do with my poll. I do prefer Denethor to Aragorn in general and think the Stewards historically have been better rulers than the kings of either Arnor/Arthedain or Gondor, so we're basically at "I would kneel to Aragorn and not Denethor" "well I wouldn't", which leads nowhere. But again, I actually don't know what Aragorn has to do with my post.

I also don't know why you're quoting movie Boromir in the course of lecturing me about Tolkien. This is all just kind of puzzling on my end.

The rest of the replies:

His lineage is what makes HIM certain that that is his destiny & causes people around him to react to him but they are also reacting to the obvious training/care/investment that has been made in him by people like FUCKING ELROND, his NOT SIGNIFICANT foster father, and to his deeds. any time he claims his lineage Tolkien writes about how he almost shines with confidence and the glory of the old days. He is the myth of a good king reawakened

You could be a completely legit ancestor of the most legit proven heritage & the people of Gondor could STILL JUST SAY NO. Heck Boromir reacts like that at first - "Gondor doesn't need a king". The people do not WANT a shitty king with a famous dad, they want to believe again, they want to be made to hope again, they want someone who inspires them to believe in the IDEA of a king again. Otherwise they could literally just say no lol

And this ties in a vitally important way into Tolkien's politics. Man was a monarchist and an anarchist at the same time. You can't put him in either box. The hereditary kingship in Tolkien's politics is only acceptable BECAUSE it is the freely chosen will of the people to be ruled by an absolute dictator who, for the most part, leaves them alone. The king gets his hereditary power from familiarity & belonging, just as much as from tradition

*not insignificant. Elrond is very significant

It really hinges on this idea that a good king can exist - like, a good family can raise some good kids and everyone in the area will be happy to accept them as the new rulers because they've known that family for generations and they know they're a good family and they are happy with the way things are and don't want to rock the boat & they really believe in these ideals of nobility and loyalty. That's part of the fantasy. The idea that that can work if you're good.

The return of the king isn't "the return of the guy with the right genes", it's "the return of the guy who can make us believe again in the idea that a good king can work, that the world can be as noble and loyal as it was in the elder days of myth and glory, that we could swear loyalty to someone who is absolutely worth it"

You cannot extricate the inability of the Stewards to be Kings from the decline of Gondor's self-image, the crumbling ruins of Tolkien's world, the rising threat of Mordor and the end of the Third Age. The stewards cannot be kings because Gondor cannot be a kingdom. Aragorn can be King because he is the man that made Gondor a Kingdom again. He freaking REUNITED THE KINGDOM AND USHERED IN THE AGE OF MEN.

I'd kneel before Aragorn. I'd fucking walk away if Denethor asked me to kneel before him. It has nothing to do with these strict legalistic ideas of who inherited what and much more to do with who actually has power. Same as in the real world - people got overthrown all the time by others who could command more troops/money. But in Tolkien's world it's about who deserves it more, rather than about who has money/force, and that's the fantasy he is selling us

The part of this fantasy that is deeply problematic is that Tolkien just doesn't really reflect on his ideas about how coming from a noble lineage and a good family makes you better, more deserving, or more honourable. It's a natural idea to him, and it isn't to us and that's why it's harder to understand. He thinks goodness is heritable, like height or intelligence or sporting ability is heritable, because he can't disconnect those things

To him, "Aragorn is descended from xyz" is saying the same things as "well Aragorn just deserves the crown more because he's a better person". Aragorn inherited more strength, grace, wisdom etc. And the modern world does NOT like talking about the idea that any of those things could be heritable because, well, that's usually used to defend racism and horrible inexcusable shit

But I think you CANNOT engage with Tolkien without grappling with that (except on a very shallow level)

I may have written too much in the replies but I got carried away. Sorry I like over analysing Aragorn

If Tolkien was ever actually asked "do you believe some races are better than others" he would have told you to fuck off. He was vehemently against the Nazis. But then he writes this book in which elves are very clearly better than orcs. ie. you cannot simplify him to a liberal icon or to an evil racist. He's fucking complicated. I think on some level he WANTS there to be this fantasy world in which race is that simple but he understands that in the real world it isn't

In Tolkien's head, it's NEITHER "Aragorn was entitled to the kingship due to his descent and didn't need to do good deeds" NOR "Aragorn earned the kingship thru good deeds and his lineage didn't matter". He proved his heritage through good deeds because only someone who INHERITED tons of awesome qualities would be able to do the stuff Aragorn did

The modern reader simply does not consider the idea that awesomeness is heritable so we don't engage with the idea that you could prove you're descended from kings simply by being really really awesome

He uses the ideas of the blood of old kings running strong in some people and being weaker in others to talk about the amount of awesomeness you inherited. The technical legality of the stewards' family tree does not matter. The stewards did not inherit enough awesomeness and are therefore insufficiently awesome to defeat Mordor and restore the kingdom

It is not a simple or a coherent ideology either. Compare how Tolkien's hobbits are "small unimportant people who can become heroes" yet we do NOT see small unimportant Men becoming kings. It's like a special exemption is carved out for hobbits, for a modern "anyone can achieve anything" philosophy, and the rest of the world runs on the older rules of "you can't rise above your destined station"

It's very comparable to works in the 90s which were trying to be feminist by showing a super awesome badass female heroine…. yet every background character beyond Token Badass Woman was still running on the old rules of "men are default characters, women only exist to be wives or damsels in distress" because they had not actually gotten to the point of questioning that underlying background ideology yet

like the half elves. He's trying to be a progressive person by being like "oh biracial characters exist and are awesome" but everyone ELSE in his world still fits neatly into the boxes of "you're either x or y". We have heroic half elves. We do not have masses of half dwarf quarter orc quarter elf characters chilling in diverse multiracial cities.

someday people will see us this way btw. at least I hope so. they will see our bravest progressive statements as the stumbling half steps towards truths that have become obvious to them, while in the background of our stories they can still see our limiting old ideologies showing through. I am not yelling at Tolkien I have so much empathy for this man who tried so hard in such a darker world

#firinnish #respuestas #legendarium fanwank #legendarium blogging #arvedui critical #húrinionath #aragorn critical #poll nonsense #long post

[buckybarnesss]

So, I'm rewatching LotR a lot these days and during The Two Towers, Denethor (Boromir's dad) is super dismissive of Faramir, insults him and his abilities, and pushes Boromir to go and try to bring the Ring back to Gondor. It's clear he's abusive, in the way that they avoid looking him directly in the eyes and how neither want him around. They're visibly uncomfortable and upset, even though they do try to tell him to fuck off.

And I'm like, wow, if these movies came out today, there would be too many people on this website who see this behaviour and say "You know, Denethor's not actively hitting them, so he's clearly not abusive!!"

I was expecting racists to come crawling out of the woodwork. I was not expecting people to see blatantly abusive behaviour and say "That's not that bad, let's see Sally's bruises."

all my homies hate denethor. how he treats his sons is a very clear golden-child and scapegoat dynamic. such blatant favoritism is abusive too.

it's been, uh, interesting to see the reaction to the changes to gabe. in the books i found him to be an over the top abusive step dad trope. he's like a greasy car sales man. i was always reminded of danny devito's mr wormwood from the 1996 adaptation of matilda.

i read the percy jackson books when i was 20 and was always personally deeply uncomfortable with the underlying "stay with your abuser for your kid" that was simmering under the sally and gabe relationship in the books.

it made me uncomfortable because i had lived it. my parents separated mere weeks after i had turned 18 and my mother has explicitly told me one of the reasons she hadn't divorced my father sooner was because of me.

that shit does stuff to you as a person. kids are smart but they also internalize things and it's not always the right things.

sally doesn't need to suffer to keep percy safe. suffering for righteousness or martyrdom smacks of puritanical ideology that's very pervasive in the america consciousness.

what i saw on screen with gabe and sally was an intimately familiar abusive and dysfunctional relationship. i appreciated the changes as to me it appeared that in the 20 years since rick had written the lightening thief he had reflected on what he wanted to polish and change from the book.

i think the changes to gabe's storyline also might be connected into how medusa seems to be getting a more sympathetic storyline.

gabe is still an abusive shitty person and he doesn't have to physically harm sally to be that way and who knows maybe he still is. physical abuse doesn't have to happen all the time. it can be infrequent too.

some of the comments i've read online have felt very "sally isn't beat enough and cowering so gabe isn't abusive." or "sally was able to stand up to him so he's not abusive" but off the top of my head:

gabe was shown as being a lay about with unreliable income leeching off sally financially yet still refers to the apartment as "his" house. this says he sees her money and assets as his.

he answers sally's phone which indicates a lack of boundaries and privacy for sally. he even indicates that he answers "whatever" is ringing in "his" house.

he's aggressively argumentative with the super, sally and percy.

he insults percy's intelligence and applauds the idea that percy physically assaulted another child.

sally has to negotiate use of the car to have time away from the home.

i'm sorry if this isn't abusive enough to some people i guess.

#my blog #pjo series spoilers #i'm not putting this in the main tag because i don't want ~discourse~ #financial abuse is abuse too!

[mmmthornton]

Listen, i'm about to make a statement here.

underrated lotr ship? Pippin/Faramir. I actually really love Eowyn and their relationship based on mutual healing, but tell me that sensitive jock with a shitty dad and high expectations couldn't use a fat happy stoner hobbit boyfriend. There's also the really fun dynamic that Pippin works for Denethor; nothing says "romance" like getting back at your shitty boss by woo-ing his son with how many pizza rolls you can eat.

#lord of the rings #faramir #pippin #peregrin took #Farapip? #PipFa? #idek #big fan of fat happy gay stoner hobbits #mainly because i am one LOL #lotr

[onceandalwaysenglishmajor]

A+ Parenting

Y'know, Denethor is right up there with Odin and Endeavor for his A+ parenting.

#shitty dads #Odin #Endeavor #Denethor #mcu #bnha #lotr #i hate them all tbh

[wolfsskull-moved]

..

#buckle up i'm going to tell you more about this family #the oldest is caelan‚ then callinan & calandria‚ carisa‚ and the youngest is ciara #(those are all pronounced with a hard c) #caelan is very serious & business-minded; he's driven to make his father proud & is very similar to him; he's a strong & fair leader #secretly harbors a lot of insecurity & worries he won't live up to his father's legacy/expectations #he's very traditional & struggles with change #callinan is just as ambitious which is the root of their hostility towards each other #since callinan is so rebellious & prioritizes freedom & flexibility #he's brilliant but gets impatient when people can't just take him on faith that he knows what he's doing #feels that he has to prove he can succeed despite others' lack of faith in him #calandria is more like callinan in that she thinks challenging rules/traditions is incredibly important #but she doesn't share her brothers' desire to be in charge of things; she'd rather be left alone with the freedom to learn & study #& she tries to avoid conflict & emotionally-charged situations so she's not as actively openly rebellious as callinan #carisa just wants everyone to get along #she's really diplomatic but prioritizes peace over justice #ciara (pronounced kee-ra) is curious & adventurous #caelan is really protective of her to the point of being controlling #she knows he has good intentions but struggles to make him understand that she's capable of making her own decisions/living her own life #their dad sucks btw; he's like...denethor level of shittiness at least #caelan has a lot of traits in common with him but is a much better person overall #callinan #wolfscharacters

[longitud-de-onda]

Okay you said you don't really know the characters, but for back story, I promise I wasn't gonna let him die! So what happens in LotR is that he does come back injured and barely alive and his father Denethor like glances at him, assumes he's dead and starts freaking out about how his line has ended and there is no hope and Gondor will fall and Pippin is like "he's alive, he needs medicine my lord!" but the asshat doesn't listen and then tries to burn Faramir alive 🙃 I hate Denethor

oooh okay, i didn’t really pay too much attention to the movies and i read the first book but never made it past that (i have been planning to start them? maybe next month) and i was totally only paying attention to orlando bloom and sean astin? and in the hobbit i was mostly watching for aidan turner... so the plot kind of slipped my grasp. 

but damn denethor sounds like an asshole, i already don’t like him. shitty dads are the worst. 

#1-800-fandomtrashqueen #ask camila

[nihilizzzm]

university modern au aragorn x boromir & legolas x gimli headcanons

mostly bc i can and i rly need to

Aragorn and Boromir are renting together a small and kinda shitty flat

Faramir lives with them like 5 out of 7 days a week or more, sometimes at Theoden’s place as well with Eomer and Eowyn

Let’s just say the brothers don’t like Denethor and it’s a shitty life but at least they love each other right?

Boromir works at a coffee shop after classes, and sometimes does nights at Gimli’s bar

Btw Gimli is a drop out who opened a bar and is dating Aragorn’s uni friend Legolas

Elrond is the one renting them the shitty flat

So it’s not rly shitty, it’s nice they are just broke

Elrond is still Aragorn’s foster dad, and Arwen lives near them and is absolutely purest best soul alive

Aragorn smokes weed

Boromir doesn’t

Until he does one time, he says it was weird but also would do it again with Aragorn

He smokes regular cigarettes tho, like a lot

Boromir is a whiskey person, Aragorn is a wine person

Gimli is a beer person

Legolas just likes to drink (also wine person)

Legolas and Aragorn like to do sleepovers with a lot of wine and gossips, they paint each others nails and watch stupid shit on tv

And Gimli and Boromir drink together after the bar is close

The bar has a name and it’s Moria

I am gonna definitely do more of those bc this is my fav modern au i’ve ever made and i don’t have time to write it properly but if u do PLS SEND IT TO ME I RLY WANT TO READ IT😭

I am a whore for boromir and aragorn so let me just enjoy this little world in my mind in which all of them live and are just uni students like me and have struggles like me and shit

#lotr #aragorn #boromir #lord of the rings #the lord of the rings #aragorn x boromir #aramir #faramir #legolas #lotr incorrect quotes #legolas greenleaf #gimli #gimli son of gloin #legolas x gimli #gigolas #borogorn #modern au

[justdenethorthings]

LOTR Movie fans: Denethor sucks, he’s a bonkers corrupt leader who can’t even protect his own country, he’s a shitty dad, hates his own kid, he’s soooooooo mean to Faramir and-

Me:

#LOTR #denethor

[modernlotrhobbitthoughts]

Aragorn, Son of Arathorn - Day One

Happy December everyone! As I’ve said earlier, this is going to a 31-part series spanning the entirety of this month, ultimately counting down the new year. These posts are going to be pretty long, as they include many of my thoughts on the character as well as pictures! I hope you enjoy!

To start, we have everyone’s unproblematic dad: Aragorn! Basically, Aragorn is kind of everyone’s favourite, regardless of whether you think so or not, as he’s more or less just a perfect human man. 

Elessar, by alicexz (on deviantart)

Yes, he did kind of run from his fate as the ruler of Gondor, but you can’t really hold that against him, seeing as there were people in charge (*cough* fucking Denethor *cough*), and he’d grown up most of his life as though he was an elf, not a king. I honestly thumbed through all the books, looking for a scene where you could say that Aragorn is a shitty character, but I couldn’t really find one. He’s really nice to the hobbits, as well as very respectful to the women throughout the series. He’s also kind to Boromir, despite the feelings not seeming to be reciprocated, and the fact that Boromir currently stands in succession to Aragorn’s rightful position. Also, he’s HIGH-KEY in love with Arwen, and devotes much of his energy and life to her.

Lord of the Rings: Aragorn and Arwen - by Christopher Clark

Speaking of fanart, I’ve found that it’s really hard for me to find fanart of Aragorn that I actually like. I’m not sure why, but I think that it’s incredibly hard to capture Aragorn in most forms of art. I spent the better part of two hours trying to find pieces of art that I actually really like of Aragorn, but I did find them, and included them below!

Strider, by Jerry Vanderstelt

Old Aragorn, by Adam Middleton

Aragorn Samurai, by mycks (on deviantart)

Aragorn by Sakimichan

Let’s talk more about Aragorn’s personality. He charges into battle, not because he has a deathwish, but because the very thought of saving the lives of others, and protecting his friends and his people, far outweighs the perils of war. He never once in the series (book or movies) backs out of battle simply for being afraid. Some may mistake this for foolhardiness, or need to prove or impress, but when has Aragorn’s actions ever stated that that was true? He has nothing to prove to Legolas, who has known him for a long time, yet it’s still to Legolas that he talks before the Battle of Helm’s Deep. He still goes into battle with the people of Rohan, even if he believes they have no chance of winning.

In addition, and I already mentioned this, but he has a great respect for women. As I’ve mentioned, Aragorn loves Arwen greatly. However, his love to her is not the extent of his respect. When Éowyn begs to travel with him into the Paths of the Dead, he is still kind, and responsive to her feelings towards, even though he doesn’t reciprocate them. He honors Galadriel, acknowledging that they are in her home, as well as following the customs of Lothlorien. This could be chalked up to his upbringing in an elven land, but nevertheless, he clearly shows himself to be a gentlemen.

Modern AU - personal thoughts time: In the modern AU, Aragorn grew up poor. Not necessarily starving-on-the-streets poor, but definitely with no vast amount of money. In school, he was naturally very popular, not only for being a sports star, but for being incredibly smart and kind as well. He seemed to have endless spare time on his hands, despite his wealth of classes, sports, and job at a local equine therapy facility, and he spent that time helping to tutor other students. He went to a small business school, mainly on scholarships. The school was very near to a school that Arwen was attending, and they met on a joint campus event, getting along wonderfully. He started dating Arwen after he got out of school (perhaps she was still in school), and they moved in happily together, and ran what seems to be a perfect household on the outside. On the inside, however, it was also a perfect household. He started his own small business (I’m not sure what for), which grew rapidly. He never let the money or popularity get to his head, however. He eventually leaves his business, after leaving it in someone else’s capable hands, and joins the military (perhaps at a time of war, perhaps because he was just a little bit bored, I’m not sure). Of course, he quickly moves up the ranks, eventually leading an army into battle. After the war is one, he returns home and settles down again. He and Arwen have three kids, and Aragorn devotes a vast amount of his time to making sure that they get through school, as well as coaching their sports teams.

I don’t know if that seems in character, but I personally can picture it very easily. Honestly, what a good character. He’s basically the perfect male hero, without seeming TOO perfect or TOO goody-goody. He’s portrayed in the novels as a noble and courageous man, and Viggo Mortensen displayed him as such in a way that simultaneously made him heroic and human. Honestly, I just really love Aragorn a lot. He deserves a lot of love, because he’s a really great character and an even better man.

Sketchbook Aragorn, by teradiam (on deviantart)

#ARAGORN SON OF ARATHORN #aragorn #character appreciation #character appreciation post #aragorn appreciation #character love #lord of the rings #the hobbit #lotr #lotr love #modern lotr #modern hobbit #modern aragorn #i love this character #favorite character #fanart shoutout #fanart #i love aragorn #favourite character #aragorn fanart #lotr fanart #lotr appreciation

[gurguliare]

that nirvana in fire guy whose name i forget who is a motherfucker who doesn't deserve love + childhood. or faramir + parents.

I DELETED THE HEADCANON MEME IN A PANIC but far be it from me to refuse faramir + parents

idk I think Faramir’s relationship with Denethor was definitely shitty in the specific way where they were allies! in some contexts, and had similar instincts about a lot of things, even if not say “what to do with superweapons.” I’m thinking especially of the bit where they both use their evident love of Boromir to kind of acceptably mask/assist their investigation of What The Fuck Is Going On With The Surviving Fellowship, sincerity as well being available for their use; which goes too for their interactions with each other. That is, it’s a bad relationship that’s extremely visible to everyone around them, and it also acts as a convenient shorthand for … um … I don’t know. The gravity of the actual argument they’re having? “whose fault is it that Boromir died” but also “whose fault is it going to be that Gondor fell (ours or the enemy’s),” the same argument that everyone but Faramir is always having with Denethor. But even if home life in Minas Ithil were healthy they would still have completely incompatible approaches to the war, so in Faramir’s head past a certain point it’s probably just, “does it really MATTER that he’s also a bad dad????” [suicidal rearguard action] and meanwhile Denethor is like, “ha ha my son is such a handy bellwether for dissent and weakness among my allies.”

Also, let’s not forget, they can read each other’s minds, not that either of them ever bothers

I don’t have any settled headcanons about Faramir and his mom. Given the extent to which she’s a casualty of The Dread of Mordor or whatnot, he probably thinks about her quite a bit toward the end, when he’s also consumed by a fear that barely touches down. I feel like Denethor in Finduilas’ presence probably had a terrible sense of humor grossly overextended, like, dad jokes if dad jokes were also sweet nothings, which Finduilas did nothing but gently encourage. and both Faramir and Boromir therefore maybe very much loved their parents and treasured time spent with each parent INDIVIDUALLY but, faced by lovebirds, would have preferred to be Somewhere Else

#vardasvapors #no one expects the fannish inquisition #faramir #denethor #lotr

[queenelvendork]

I am 3 minutes away from fighting denethor. He's such a shitty dad.

#I know he's fictional. don't ruin my dreams

[ithinkthiswasabadidea]

Denethor vs. John Winchester for title of Worst Dad They have a face off in a boxing ring and call each other out on shitty parenting

#LOTR #SPN #John Winchester #Denethor