anghraine | Entries tagged with ch: legolas

While I’m at it, some thoughts on Faramir at Rivendell:

- All my thoughts are underpinned by my firm belief that Faramir was, rightly, the preferred choice of whoever sent the dreams (Irmo?) and things would have worked out better if he had gone. So I’m not here for things like “Faramir would have died on the journey because Boromir is tougher and ultimately all fallen into ruin”

- In fact, I think it’s possible that Faramir would have made the journey more easily, because although Boromir is tougher than he is, it’s entirely believable that Faramir (who is repeatedly described as a master of beasts and, in canon, can keep his horse under control in the face of five Ringwraiths) is the better horseman and wouldn’t have lost his horse on the way—

- allowing for the possibility that Faramir is already at Rivendell when the others arrive (it’s also possible, for convenience, that these things basically cancel out and he gets there at the same time as Boromir, but I think it’s more interesting if we look for differences).

- If the former, there’s time for significant interactions with Elrond, Bilbo, random Elves … how does that go? Especially since Faramir canonically thinks it’s dangerous to have too much to do with Elves these days.

- Pippin registers Faramir as vaguely Elvish in canon, and also in canon, Legolas later recognizes and respects that Faramir’s uncle is partially Elvish. Does that hold for Faramir or is he more associated with Númenor/Aragorn/Gandalf(!) like Denethor?

- Specifically, how does the “the blood of Númenor is spent in Gondor and the country is in decay” stuff work with a Gondorian Dúnadan right there in whom the blood of Númenor is clearly not spent and who believes that the integration of non-Númenóreans strengthened his people, but also believes that the Dúnedain are permanently fading? Does it come up?

- Gandalf is eager to consult with Faramir in ROTK and stressed about him not being in Minas Tirith yet. How does he react to reaching Rivendell and finding Faramir, of all people, just … there? And brought by a prophetic dream? How does Faramir react to Mithrandir showing up?

- Really curious how the psychic powers possessed by quite a few characters here, including Faramir, play out generally.

- Pippin’s first impression of Faramir is affected by a) Faramir having just risen above a harrowing experience and b) reminding him of Aragorn in his (A’s) ‘high’ moments; at this point, unless I’m misremembering, Pippin would have little/no experience of either, so I’m also curious about how much of his canon first impression would be present in the AU.

- Similarly, I’m curious if Sam would associate Faramir with wizards without the trial of the Ring. What does he think of Faramir’s ‘quality’? And vice-versa?

- Really curious about how Faramir and Aragorn interact without Faramir being unconscious and dying and the whole mystical kingly … everything going on, especially given Faramir’s canonical skepticism in TTT. I tend to assume that Imrahil gave Aragorn some background on Faramir’s situation in ROTK, but with no Imrahil present and no or very few preconceptions, what do they think of each other?

That’s not even getting into, uh, most of the plot, just Faramir literally being in Rivendell. But, obviously, there are plenty of things to think about through the rest of LOTR, too!

Tagged: #faramir #elrond #bilbo baggins #(i mean. faramir and bilbo interacting is just... amazing) #(though i think i'm most interested in faramir+elrond and faramir+aragorn) #i think one of the things that makes the au so interesting #is that lotr is so tightly plotted that any change creates major effects #but it's also really clear that there's some happier alternate scenario with faramir that was supposed to happen #but it takes some doing to figure out how to make it end up there without adding in a bunch of changes that don't follow from it #...none of which this post was about but anyway

Current Location: Washington
Current Music: Fire and Ice (Pat Benatar)

There’s a line in LOTR about how the people in Minas Tirith stare at Legolas because they’ve never seen anyone so beautiful, and—

Well, it presumably predates Tolkien’s later idea that Númenóreans are barely distinguishable from Elves in appearance; modern Gondorians might look different these days, but at least some of them are said to look like ancient Númenóreans.

And, after all, some of the Edain also were virtually indistinguishable from Elves. Tolkien’s later work tends to treat the human-Elvish difference of appearance as more of a spectrum than a hard line. It seems a little continuity break, if a very minor one.

… But “Elvish” there is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Elves don’t all look alike! And the Edain who look like Elves specifically look like Eldar, so perhaps when Tolkien says Númenóreans looked like Elves, he means Eldarin Elves in particular.

Headcanon conclusion: Legolas looks Silvan, and Gondorians just think Silvan Elves are super hot.

Tagged: #i'm really entertained by the idea that gondorians think noldor et al look 'like us but More' but silvan elves are where it's really at #deep blogging #truly the deepest #also i appreciate that this is apparently reciprocal to some extent? at least legolas thought boromir was notably pretty

Current Location: Washington
Current Music: Waiting For a Girl Like You (Foreigner)

I’m thinking about the moment when Pippin first sees Faramir in person and is struck by his raw charisma, thinking that it’s less “high” than Aragorn’s can be at odd moments, but also more immediate.

It’s such an odd moment—charming! but kind of odd. And I was thinking about a Faramir-at-Rivendell AU, and how Pippin would first react to Faramir there. It’d be without the context of Faramir’s extraordinary heroism vs the Ringwraiths, and also without the context of Aragorn’s moments of high but (by comparison) incalculably remote Presence, which iirc Pippin wouldn’t have really seen yet.

And, in canon, however their relationship develops after, it results in Pippin naming his son for Faramir. This is a big deal!!! But I’m wondering how it would register and develop in a scenario where he initially doesn’t even know who Faramir is and doesn’t have an easy metric for comparison.

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Current Location: Washington
Current Music: Lost Empire (Audiomachine)

The lament for Boromir, condensed:

Aragorn: he was big and brave and his death is a terrible loss to his people and us all

Legolas: he was also super hot. rip :(

Tagged:

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Current Location: Washington
Current Music: Still Within the Sound of My Voice (Linda Ronstadt)

Lebennin is very important.

Legolas paused and sighed, and turning his eyes southward softly he sang:

Silver flow the streams from Celos to Erui
In the green fields of Lebennin!
Tall grows the grass there. In the wind from the Sea
The white lilies sway,
And the golden bells are shaken of mallos and alfirin
In the green fields of Lebennin,
In the wind from the Sea!

Green are those fields in the songs of my people.

[The] most part of the people of Gondor lived in the seven circles of the City, or in the high vales of the mountain-borders, in Lossarnach, or further south in fair Lebennin with its five swift streams. There dwelt a hardy folk between the mountains and the sea. They were reckoned men of Gondor, yet their blood was mingled, and there were short and swarthy folk among them whose sires came more from the forgotten men who housed in the shadow of the hills in the Dark Years ere the coming of the kings.

For this attack will draw off much of the help that we looked to have from Lebennin and Belfalas, where folk are hardy and numerous.

And the City was filled again with women and fair children that returned to their homes laden with flowers; and from Dol Amroth came the harpers that harped most skilfully in all the land; and there were players upon viols and upon flutes and upon horns of silver, and clear-voiced singers from the vales of Lebennin.

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L E B E N N I N

Current Location: Washington
Current Music: All This and Heaven Too (Florence + The Machine)

Apparently I wrote this in 2013?

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Current Location: Washington
Current Music: Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F Major (Johann Sebastian Bach)

I'll probably post some May posts separately, since I swerved pretty hard back into LOTR fandom last month, but the first chunk of run-of-the-mill ones:

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Current Location: Washington
Current Music: The Time Has Come (Epic Score)

...in quotes!

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Current Music: Last Ship Theme (Mount Royal Orchestra)

Tumblr user erunyauve made this post, which argued that Tolkien's insistence that Elves are "immensely strong" isn't supported by the suggestion in LOTR that Aragorn and Boromir are the muscle of the Fellowship, or a line in the Silmarillion about the distinction between Sindar and Noldor.

I responded:

Hm, I read the evidence rather differently.

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Current Mood: cheerful
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Current Music: Radio (Lana Del Rey)