#muster the rohirrim

[spacebronco]

dude i CANT come later theyre mustering the Rohirrim and i have to go fight for king and country or whatever. yeah its gonna be all night

#y'eEgh #every time i hear the word 'muster' im like. oh the rohirrim?

[janeyre]

AND ROHAN WILL ANSWER!!!!!!!!!

#return of the king best movie of all time #MUSTER THE ROHIRRIM!!!!!!!! #lotr #musings

[lesbiansforboromir]

Categorically the most galling part of this universal perception that Boromir is a 'poor out-of-his-depth himbo whose completely ignorant of politics' is how it is blindingly canonically apparent that he put massive effort into being a political entity, to the point that his political opinions follow him even into the Council of Elrond.

Without the Council of Elrond, one could interpret his narrative positioning as a more 'Middle Man' and less 'high' as something forced upon him, a (narratively framed) negative aspect of his character that Faramir is critisising and lamenting as just 'part of his nature'. He is being associated with the Rohirrim and other 'lesser' men because he is also a 'lesser' man inspite of his heritage, due to his 'flawed' and 'weak-willed' personality.

Although that is still a bit of a stilted and awkward interpretation in my opinion, Eomer explicitely differentiates Boromir's treatment and manner around the Rohirrim from other men of Gondor he has known. He is 'less grim' etc etc, Eomer felt more at ease in his company, which implies to me more that Boromir interacted with the Rohirrim as equals, unlike most of this kin. Which seems more likely to be an active effort on his part.

But interpretations based off of that are entirely unnecessary, because the Council of Elrond exists! Where Boromir, when confronted with Aragorn's mistrust of the Rohirrim and Gwaihir's accusation that they pay a tribute of horses to Sauron, immediately and comfortably comes to their staunch defense. 'It is a lie that comes from the Enemy' he declares, literally pointing out propeganda that all these elves and dunadain are primed to believe given their own investment in the racial divide between them and these 'middle men'. A primer that also belongs to Boromir, whose place amongst the 'high men' is a right bestowed on him from birth, yet one he is actively discarding here in favour of defending the Rohir perspective.

And not only that! He even goes so far as to place the rohirrim's ethnic and cultural heritage as a reason for their trustworthiness, inspite of the fact that they cannot claim any relation to any so called 'blessed' lineage. They come from 'the free days of old', a statement that is similar to one of Faramir's but that, tellingly, Faramir uses as a method of infantilising the rohirrim 'they remind us of the youth of Men'.

These are all inherently and radically political statements for the heir of the Stewardship, the man next in line to be chieftain of the southern dunadain, to declare, especially when acting as emissary as he is now.

So now, all those moments when Boromir is linked directly with middle men, when his right to his 'high' heritage is questioned, when he is critisised with the same racially charged language as the rohirrim are (too warlike, "we are become Middle Men, of the Twilight, but with memory of other things" [-] "So even was my brother, Boromir") - all of that is now on purpose, on Boromir's part. He is the one distancing himself from the title of 'high' and questioning it's validity in the process, something Faramir clearly disapproved of and was a part of the breakdown in his respect for him. (Understandable, considering Faramir's equal and opposite effort to reclaim the title of 'high' for himself and his people.) Boromir is, essentially, engaging in some kind of racial-hierarchy criticism/abolishionism and activism.

That is not to say that his political opinions all entirely pass muster, he does still engage in racist rhetoric at least once, calling Gondor's eastern enemies 'the wild folk of the east'. But within the context of his own country and it's ethnic diversity, his position is maverick in comparison to pretty much everyone else.

And before anyone says it, let me head off comments like 'Boromir was just being himself, he didn't even know it was political he was just that stupid but I love him for it' No. Boromir's reputation in Gondor was complex and multifacetted but a great many people loved and supported him, clearly we see that there was a divide in political opinion between the two brother's stances on war and society. What you are essentially saying here is that Faramir is such a dull-witted statesman that he was incapable of swaying opinion his way against someone who didn't even know he was a part of the discussion, who wasnt even involved in the debates, against a high society that based their cultural identity on being descended from racially superior Numenoreans. The historical perspective is heavily weighted in Faramir's favour.

The much more likely state of affairs is that Boromir and Faramir have both been working towards their own social change and against each other, causing an opinion divide within the country. And apparently Boromir has not been losing that fight, even if he hasn't been definitively winning it either. Some people call him reckless where Faramir is measured, others say Faramir is not bold enough, Denethor himself claims Faramir is placing his desire for nobility and 'high-ness' over the safety of himself and his people. Culturally Gondor is going in for more pursuits of war-sports (wrestling perhaps) and the adulation of the soldiers that defend them, above the men of lore if Faramir is to be believed.

Society is changing around this debate and Boromir is actively, purposefully and directly involved in that debate! Hells bells, he even describes a part of how he works in the political sphere to Frodo! 'Where there are so many, all speech becomes a debate without end. But two together may perhaps find wisdom.' Boromir is!!! A politician!! On purpose!!

The neutral political position of 'Heir to the Stewardship' given to him by his birth is so ludicrously weighted towards faithful that the effort it must have taken to push the needle and associate with the middle men as such a divisive yet loved figure is MASSIVE. Boromir believed the Rohirrim and middle men of Gondor were his social equals and counted them amongst his people and that was a stance he upheld in PARLIMENT! Stop!! Acting like he's just a blockheaded soldier who cares about nothing else- he cares!! He cares a lot!! Professionally in fact!!

#text post #boromir #erran vs tolkien #tolkien meta #gondor #faramir #gondor meta

[iamnotshazam]

i saw the LotR films before ever reading the books and i love both. i turn now more to the books than the movies for enjoyment.

but i also feel like the three movies just. fucken. cracked it out of the park with some important things and i had NO idea how good i had it as a little nerd delving into the extended edition dvd extras. if i were a fan in the gritty-obsessed 90's hearing rumors of these movies, i would have expected at best stuff like: B-list acting that occasionally broke through with honest emotions. some skilled costuming and weaponry popping up in important scenes but mostly just knock-off viking opera aesthetic. homebrew DND imagery that made it painfully obvious by contrast which scenes they actually spent money on the set design and dressing.

and WETA and New Line and everyone on this!!! they did NOT accept lower standards cause it was fantasy! everyone else would have. This was genre filmmaking, this would have been perceived at the time as more like How the Grinch Stole Christmas than a Cecil B Demille-level epic movie. And the costuming department, composer, propsmaster and set designer all said "NO" and put their whole pussies behind it!

Jesus Christ the quality in those movies! Ian McKellan has undershirts like Gandalf the White might have! Bernard Hill has realistic quilted padding underlayers all made in the style a Rohirrim tailor and armorer would have made! Minas Tirith has a rat catcher because someone took a doodle and decided that would make sense in the lived reality of a massive city! Movie makers do not usually do this. It is NEVER about what isnt seen or necessary for the shot. You are judged professionally not by if you can cut corners in order to help production and still seem good, but by HOW MUCH.

I cannot blame anyone who worked on the Amazon series in the hands-on creative roles because the results are what they have been trained to do. Blame executives. Blame executives! Of course chainmail is going to be, i dunno, plastic or sewn into the edges of costumes if you dont have the money or time for real chain mail! And because it cannot be overstated how unusual the LotR trilogy filmmaking process must have been. It's like being given an average lower middle class family grocery budget and told to make a fancy Christmas dinner for 20 all by yourself with no help versus having a trained staff, a blank check, and Martha Stewart on retainer. That's not an exaggeration. That's the rhetorical gulf that someone (Valar BLESS them) in the bureaucracy had to wade across to convince execs to buy into the details. The Lord of the Rings movies are WEIRD.

And it shows. Bookfans bitch about the story changes, the balrog wings, the characterization differences. (Denethor was a reasonable person and even outsider Pippin could see he was very admirable to the people of Gondor, which made it sooooo much creepier when he suddenly snapped but i digress) but NEVER about the music. the filming locations. the set designs. the costumes. the props. the things that i really think count the most to help invest people in a different world!

No one ever complains about taking out the scene where Rohan is summoned to Gondor's aid with the Red Arrow, because yeah they could have made it work, they made the importance of other props like Anduríl and, oh yeah, the One Ring very clear, but they had a better idea.

The beacons.

The beacons were not in the book.

Not in the same way, really, because while incredible to think about the narrative style was close third person, and you cannot follow beacons to rhapsodize about them when you're a tired hobbit getting saddle sore crossing national borders with a grumpy old wizard. Pippin sees the Beacons of Gondor at a distance when he's falling asleep and Gandalf tells him they're a mustering signal within Gondor. Which makes sense, really, they require some upkeep and would be awkward for two nations to negotiate how to handle - nevermind. That's it. That's all the beacons are in the text.

Someone adapting the script saw a moment that was ho-hum in the book but realized ! 💡⚡️That would look really great on camera! And it is now routinely listed as one of the most important cinematic moments of anything, ever.

There are so many things I still want to ask Peter Jackson, "Why???" but the original trilogy movies overall? Work. They work and they do more than work, they helped elevate an entire artform that I don't honestly know that much about and oh god i usually dont ramble about them like this im embarassed is this already acknowledged in tumblr tolkien circles? or are we just split into different little fandoms in order to keep the peace?

#tolkien #peter jackson #weta workshop #gondor #rohan #gandalf #pippin #theoden #the lord of the rings #lotr #denethor #the movies . . . is good? the movies is good!!! #jrrt

[coopsgirl]

This day in Middle Earth history: March 10, TA 3019

The Dawnless Day. The Muster of Rohan: the Rohirrim ride from Harrowdale. Faramir rescued by Gandalf outside the gates of the City. Aragorn crosses Ringlo. An army from the Morannon take Cair Andros and passes into Anorien. Frodo passes the Cross-roads, and sees the Morgul-host set forth.

#lotr #lord of the rings #tolkien #middle earth #gandalf #minas morgul #war of the ring

[themoonlily]

saunas in Rohan, is that anything?

Rohirrim did originally live much further north, before they settled in Calenardhon, so it bears thinking that saunas could have been a part of surviving the presumably longer and harsher winters of their earlier home region. Maybe saunas could be a specifically Northman thing to do (Laketown and Dale might also have saunas). If so, they might have brought the sauna tradition with them to their new home country.

The famous turf saunas of Edoras. The ongoing debate about the traditional saunas against the smoke saunas of East-Mark, or the more experimental cave saunas at the Hornburg.

The Riders of the Muster of Rohan building a makeshift sauna somewhere near the walls of Minas Tirith after the most debris of battle has been cleared out. Locals come and boggle at it (and the sweaty but happy Rohirrim coming in and out of the sauna).

The incredulity of Gondorians at the face of this tradition - and their astonishment when their revered King Elessar himself is heard praising the virtues of bathing in a sauna after a long windy day on the plains.

Éomer spending at least a year after their marriage persuading Lothíriel to try it, which she eventually does, and is an instant convert. Her adding to the sauna culture by developing the Middle-earth equivalent of spa experience.

Éowyn building a sauna at Emyn Arnen and causing a sensation, but on the other hand, she's the Slayer of the Witch-king and can do whatever she wants.

#lotr crack #kind of because I'm at least half-serious #:D #Rohirrim #Rohan #text

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Favourite Chapter of The Lord of the Rings (Part 5 of 8)

The favourites from The Fellowship of the Ring were “Strider” (where the hobbits meet Aragorn) and “The Council of Elrond” (where Frodo and Sam meet lots of new people, including Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir), and the favourites from The Two Towers were “Treebeard” (where Merry and Pippin meet Treebeard) and “The Window on the West” (where Frodo and Sam meet Faramir). So I guess we can say we love chapters where the hobbits meet new friends!

#tolkien #the lord of the rings #gandalf #aragorn #legolas #gimli #pippin took #merry brandybuck #thoden #eowyn #faramir #denethor #gondor #tolkien polls #rohirrim

[centrally-unplanned]

Rings of Power episode 6 absolutely eviscerated some of the tepid goodwill the show had slowly been building in 4 and 5, the chickens of the show’s slapdash worldbuilding have come home to roost.

The cavalry charge is the worst of it - poor townsfolk of the southlands losing to the orc army, All Hope Is Lost, and then at the last minute Galadriel & Numenorians ride in to save the day! Its just like the Rohirrim in ROTK, right? But none of the work has been put in to have it make a lick of sense. The townsfolk *never communicated with any outside party* about the orc raids. Galadriel has never been to the Southlands, has never met any of these people. She knows, and convinces the Numenorians, that ~something~ involving Sauron is happening down there. They know orcs are there and killed people in the past, but not, like, actively, right now. Where they would be? Who knows? What are they up to now? Who knows!

Yet the Numenorean expeditionary force of only 300-500 men lands in the Southlands somewhere (which btw is Gondor & Mordor combined, to get how large it is), and immediately hard ride, stampede tempo, off to save this town they have never heard of and have no contact with.  Absolutely ludicrous, there is never even an attempt to justify this. 

Its just one of many baffling decisions too - Halbrand, the exiled Southlands royalty, arrives as part of that army and everyone in the town goes All Hail Our Lost King and...they have literally never mentioned a king before. No “ah in the old days the kings would have stopped this” or “if only we had a true leader”, no nothing, they are an anarcho-syndicalist commune and always have been until discount Aragorn shows up and suddenly they are fookin kneelers. 

The show is obviously unconcerned with the idea of things making sense, but i’ll take a stab at why its so bad on this front. Certainly the “surprise” factor plays in here - the show is obsessed with the idea of ‘twists’, thinking that if you know something is coming its not exciting. Its ironic that they tried to play that card for a cavalry charge, because their predecessor LOTR is the shining example of the opposite being true. The Ride of the Rohirrim is painstakingly built to, the mustering, the tactical planning, the personal emotional stakes, pre-battle speech, all of that builds up impact. They have learned every lesson wrong here.

But it does go deeper, to the ‘structure’ of a fantasy epic Rings of Power believes it has to align to, in particular having a “common folk” perspective. One of the really shoddy worldbuilding choices was for the Southlands to have no political organization whatsoever - no lord mayor, no council, no standing army, nothing. It makes no sense, until you realize the rules: the show must have some working-class folk who rise to power. Bronwyn the human villager and her guard elf lover Arondir serve that role, nobodies who lead peasants against the orcs. But them leading the peasants never made any sense; why didn’t they have existing leaders? Bronwyn in particular has absolutely no qualifications for the role whatsoever, besides inexplicably being the only townsperson to own dyed fabric and a dress with spaghetti straps, but she double-plus has to lead because Girlbosses Slay and her and Miriel needed to fistbump over their diversity wins. However, if the Southlands had an existing political structure, that would be hard to swing in six episodes...so it just doesn’t. Bronwyn leads by sheer inertia.

Which means the Southlands has no political org, which means it has no political ties, no connections, no infrastructure, no ambassadors. It can’t send out word to neighboring kingdoms requesting aid, Bronwyn doesn’t even know what those are. It can’t have a real strategy as its borders and assets don’t exist. Its an extremely foolish decision, its writing a political story (war is politics) without any political actors, to hit a storytelling quota, and it really really shows.

...also the black sword artifact, which Adar and everyone is fighting over due to its mystical properties, turns out to be a key for a dam lock that refloods a river leading to a volcano. Writers of this show, I don’t know how to tell you this, but dams? Are not magic? If you wanted to unlock a dam, you can just *do that with the dam unlocking mechanism*, you don’t need a magic black sword that sucks the blood of its wielder. Its completely useless, a total non sequitur, I cannot believe they wasted our time with that. Such a dropped ball. 

#rings of power

[is-today-a-lotr-newsletter-day]

today's a reading day!

chapters we're reading from: merry and the rohirrim - book five chapter 3. the muster of rohan, pippin and gandalf - book five chapter 4. the siege of gondor, frodo, sam and gollum - book four chapter 7. journey to the cross-roads and chapter 8. the stairs of cirith ungol

#lotr newsletter

[sindar-princeling]

today's a reading day!

chapters we're reading from today: aragorn et al - book five chapter 2. the passing of the grey company, pippin and gandalf - book five chapter 1. minas tirith, frodo, sam and gollum - book four chapter 7. journey to the cross-roads, merry and the rohirrim - book five chapter 3. the muster of rohan

#lotr newsletter #it's mine my own my precious

[hallothere]

37 with Lothrandir?

37. Scars/Lasting Marks (this one does, naturally, contain implications of torture)

Here Halbarad ordered him, so here Lothrandir sat.

Dark overhead and underfoot, he took steady breaths in the shadows of the borrowed tent. The Rohirrim had provisioned them as richly as they were able, for theirs was the most imminent errand, and their aid in the form of Aragorn had been great. Mithrandir was already gone with Peregrin Took, and there were many tents that would stand empty tomorrow.

With shaking hands he had put back his own hair in preparation. Idhrien and Mandan would need to see to him. He knew full well the back and sides of his neck would need attention, knew and trusted both healers, but had long been his own healer. He had seen to his own wounds in Forochel, and on patrol. He had no aversion to healers, and would gladly--

Lothrandir pressed a hand to his face. Not gladly. With much reluctance. It is not easy to ask, less so to sit still.

The Wizard could not surprise him with things he himself already admitted, fears he already named. It was one less weapon in Saruman's sheath. Quite easier to scoff and say it was old news once he'd been forced to face it in the quiet. In the dark.

"I know them," he whispered to himself, "I don't fear them. I love them both dearly. ...I swore to Halbarad I'd behave." This last did little to lighten the heavy air, but he felt something better for it. He ought to be fine. They had seen other injured- other tortured- Rangers before him. Dealt with wounds and skittish patients every day. He would be brave, and in bravery still heed those who cared for him.

It was a few minutes more until Idhrien and Mandan came. Idhrien held a lantern aloft and- minus a bruise across her nose almost healed and almost just like his own- looked the same as he'd last seen her. Mandan looked as he always did: as if he'd just crawled out of a thornbush.

"Lothrandir." Idhrien greeted him warmly. He could see her face well enough and she smiled. Well, it was much more a Ranger's grimace than anything else. That put him more at ease than he thought possible.

"You haven't aggravated anything, have you?" And Mandan was as prickly as ever.

Lothrandir shook his head. Idhrien didn't bother to shoot her colleague a dark look but simply carried on. She brought the lantern to the cot and lifted up the spare board from underneath it. This she laid across the slats and set her lantern on. It would service in want of a table.

"Mandan has your salves, and I will hold the needle tonight." She explained it to him calmly, without any appeasement or parental overtones which healers sometimes took. Not coddled, not patronized. It was going better than expected, though with the worst yet to come.

Mandan started removing his own cloak. "You'll need to shed that tunic. I can already see blood through it."

Lothrandir hesitated. The blood betrayed the story he did not want to tell. Mandan didn't seem to notice, and came around in front of him with the cloak outstretched.

"Shivering does make it worse, for you and for us. You can wrap this around anything but your back." Lothrandir looked up. Mandan's normally hooded and placid eyes were alight with something that scared and comforted him. "But if Halbarad's measure is right, we won't be too long in our work."

He took the cloak and set it on his lap before taking a breath. In as quick a motion as he could muster, he pulled the tunic over his head and let it drop to the cot beside him. The wounds on his torso were fewer, and he made no attempt to hide the hasty bandaging from Mandan before he curled his arms into the borrowed cloak. It was still warm.

"Thank you." He said softly. Mandan nodded and returned to Idhrien's side.

Idhrien, for her part, hadn't begun her work without warning. Now that Lothrandir had been made as comfortable as he might, she began to look him over.

"I don't have to tell you how bad it is." There was no gentle rise in her tone to indicate any kind of contradiction or inclination to do so anyway. Lothrandir did not know her well, but he had always liked Idhrien. They had met- and Mandan as well, he recalled- the last time he ventured this southern road. They were both odd, and both sensible in their work.

He could hear the rustling of bottles and fabric and a quiet lament of Mandan's. The words were low, but part of it was a curse on the Falcon clan. He knew now Mandan had not been victim of the caves but part of Saeradan's scouting party. It seemed his stores suffered now. Whether from plunder or need, Lothrandir wasn't so sure.

"We'll clean everything first." Idhrien spoke up again. "We brought clean water and Aragorn has his own supply of athelas we might call upon." In a smaller voice she continued, "I am glad you are back with us as much as him."

None of them gave color to those darker possibilities which almost were. Lothrandir simply nodded. His heart was in his throat, and he brought his cloaked hands up near to his chin. He made to lean on them, but something pulled in his side. Wincing, Lothrandir sat up straighter.

"If the cot is disagreeable, the floor is not much better an option." Mandan, having seen his discomfort, interjected. Lothrandir heard something like a cough, and the dour healer amended. "It is workable. Better, though not much, if that would soothe you at all."

"They are not so fresh." Lothrandir said. He leaned forward again, resting his chin on his hands, and tried to find the least painful posture. "The lash-master did not waver in his work, but the wounding is worse than the mending."

He could practically hear them exchange a glance.

"Even so, our job is to heal you and not wound further." Idhrien sounded a little closer now. "We're going to start on your mending now, in fact." She placed a slightly wet hand on his shoulder, presumably soaked with water. The salve would come after, and it would sting.

"And we will prove this lash-master's 'work' poorer than our own." Mandan uncorked something loudly, and Lothrandir wondered what sort of spirits the Rohirrim offered their patients.

Idhrien actually chuckled at his antics. Long-used to them, she would know his moods better than Lothrandir. It seemed both healers were in good humor, and that as much as anything else lifted a weight from his shoulders. They were not treating him like a thing of glass, like an ornament or delicately threaded lace. No finery, but still, somehow, a precious thing.

"Will they scar?" It was out of his mouth before he gave it thought. Lothrandir pressed his lips tightly together and listened to the silence that descended on the tent. He wasn't sure if it was extended by reticence on Mandan's part, or a smothering glare on Idhrien's.

"They can try."

Something in his chest uncoiled. Melted, even, right off his ribcage and down his sides. Such a small declaration.

Lothrandir nodded. His voice was tight, but with new reason. "Very well. I am ready."

#fic tag #ask games #writing tag #lothrandir #idhrien #mandan #healer duo!!!! #why were they not given interaction devs i beg #apparently i love making up coping mechanisms for lothrandir they just spring from?????? half baked analysis

[velvet4510]

#lotr #jrr tolkien #lotr books #lord of the rings #the return of the king #chapters #book five #lotr poll #minas tirith #gondor #rohan #rohirrim #the black gate #denethor #lotr rotk

[laurfilijames]

So I have always been curious about something, but I didn't want to overstep, so if this is personal or you don't want to share, please delete this Ask. XD

You mention that you're an equestrian and a horsegirl--can you please tell us more about that? About your horse(s), your experience riding, all or any of that stuff. :) I love horses but have never lived anywhere you can access them easily, so lucky people with horses fascinate me!

Me getting this ask.

Ohhhhh you're so nice for asking!! I am indeed an equestrian and proud Horse Girl and am more than happy to talk about my passion and number one hobby!

I've always loved horses, and first rode one when I was 2. My aunt (who is like my mother, who also never had kids ((we say every time we're together that were each other's favourite family member ☺️)) has always had horses and introduced me to the lovely beasts. Her first horse that she owned was the first one I rode; her name was Chardonnay (yes I know...) and we sadly lost her two years ago at the age of 25. We still have her two babies, a 20 yo gelding named Hooligan (again, I know...) and a 18 year old mare Izzy (aka The Red Devil) and yes they live up to their names.

I've ridden at various stables throughout my childhood and teenage years, with some breaks in between being a boy-crazy teen and working/school, but have always consistently ridden my Aunts horses.

I've never competed, had zero desire and it would've taken the joy out of it for me, as showing is a whole different ball game. I ride purely for the love of it and bonding with my horse.

I ride "English" and do hunter/jumper (jumping over fences through courses) but really just love going out and spending time with them by grooming them and maybe going for a hack through the fields after doing some walk/trot/canter exercises.

I was part-boarding two different horses over the last few years but sadly my coach sold one and then the other became severely lame so I actually haven't ridden since December 😭. I think I needed the break, and now that spring is here I will get back in the saddle and working my aunts horses as they've fattened up heaps over the winter.

It's a dangerous sport, and sometimes I get in my own head over it and am becoming less "risky" with riding in general (ie not terribly fussed if I jump or not). Now that I'm in my thirties, falling off hurts a f*ck of a lot more and takes longer to heal/recover and I have a job and a house and a cottage to pay for.

I don't know if I'll ever own a horse myself, they're bloody expensive, finicky beasts who have insane, head-scratching illnesses and injuries, but I know I will always have them be a part of my life.

Horses are truly magical creatures. They're like dogs, but bigger, and usually forget their size. They know when you have a bad day, are sad or happy, and have the amazing ability to feel every emotion you do. When you're on one, you can literally think what you're going to do next and lo and behold, they're doing it. They feed off of our emotions and even though they are prey animals and are completely reliant on us for their love and care, they give so much.

I really hope you have the opportunity to be around them one day, because it will change you forever.

Thank you SO MUCH for this ask and please please please feel free to chat with me about them any and all the time!! 💗💗💗

Here's some photos because obviously...

Hooligan

Izzy

Hooligan and Izzy

Chardonnay

(Let it be known that I say "MUSTER THE ROHIRRIM" whenever I bring them in from the field because how can you not?)

#sorry my horse girl is really showing #horses #equestrian #hunter/jumper

[lesbiansforboromir]

So (I’m a fan) your Eowyn/Denethor parallels have me thinking – who on earth is Elfhelm? The books mention an “understanding” between he and Eowyn/Dernhelm and that has always fascinated me. Were they old friends? Lovers? Did Eowyn/Dernhelm command him? I know Tolkien is guilty of papering over gaps in his writing that fans work to fill but damn, this to me is one of the book’s great unsolved mysteries. He fascinates me. What’s your take?

Oh I have a very specific take on this, because Elfhelm is one of the older lords riding to the defense of Minas Tirith and is one of the Marshalls of the Rohirrim, the King's Lieutenant (not the First Marshall, since Grima ensures that no one holds that title by the War of the Ring, but functionally Elfhelm operates as First Marshall in that he orders the soldiers surrounding Edoras even if he does not have the authority to call a full muster) alongside Theodred and Eomer as second and third Marshalls. So he is a very important and powerful figure and personally trusted by Theoden. And yes he does appear to have some previous relationship with Eowyn doesn't he? I think that is because she's his niece, at least by adoption. Because Theoden's wife's name was Elfhild and, considering Rohir naming conventions (Theoden, Theodred, Eomer, Eowyn, siblings often sharing the same first particle etc) I would say Elfhelm was Elfhild's brother and so Theoden's brother in law, making him Theodred's uncle and likely very present in Eowyn's life since she was adopted by Theoden. Perhaps he was more supportive of her, perhaps he wished he'd been more able to defend her from Grima's obsession with her, perhaps after failing to save Theodred at the fords he wants to support his surviving family as much as he can? But at the very least, by this point, Elfhelm is happy to keep Eowyn's secret and allow her this last freedom of choice.

#elfhelm #eowyn #chats #erran vs tolkien #bighologramsandwich

[freetheshit-outofyou]

Muster The Rohirrim!

[plounce]

[techno beat] break the dam. release the rivah. break the dam. release the rivah. the rivah. [sick ass guitar solo] muster the rohirrim. ...we ride for gondor. (and war. and war. and war and war and war.) muster the rohirrim. we ride for gondor. spears shall be shaken. shields shall be splintered! a sword day! a red day! spears shall be shaken. shields shall be splintered! ride now! YOU... SHALL NOT... PAAAAAAASS!!!!! (PASS) (PASS) (PASS) YOU... SHALL NOT... PAAAAAAASS!!!!! (PASS) (PASS) (PASS)

#chirps