Middle Earth Asks
🥔 po-tay-toes: one of the hobbits invited you for a meal; who are dining with? Which of the seven meals are you enjoying?
🍞 lembas bread: what's the best road trip snack?
🌾farmer maggot's field: what is your favourite plant? Do you enjoying gardening?
🌼 simbelmynë: You've got the opportunity to bring one character back to life, who is it?
🍃 leaves of lórien: what gift would you most like to receive?
📽 action!: rank all six of the films (or three if you're a hater)
🚲 bicycle basket: what is your favourite middle earth meme?
🌟starlight: you're allowed to live in one of the Elf Kingdoms of Middle Earth, which one are you picking?
💀 Hey, did you know-: What is your favourite piece of behind the scenes trivia?
🌙 moon runes: which of Tolkien's languages would you most like to speak?
🧂 best salt in all the shire: which small joys do you most look forward to? (particular tea, using a perfume, rereading a book, etc.)
✂ cutting room floor: of all of the things that didn't quite make it into the movies, what would you have most liked to see?
☕ may I tempt you with a cup of chamomile?: What is your favourite hot beverage?
🐎 bill the pony: who is the best mount in all of middle earth?
🌳 fangorn forest: Which of Tolkien's creechurs is your favourite?
🔮 palantír: you've found a palantir! Who are you hitting up in middle earth? What are you telling them?
⏳ time and age: which poorly aged scene from LOTR is your favourite?
✨ evenstar: Who is your favourite middle earth couple?
🎆 fireworks: you're invited to Bilbo's 111th, what present do you think you'd receive?
🕷 creepy crawlies: which of tolkien's creatures do you think is the most frightening?
💍 my precious: what role do you think you'd play in the fate of the ring?
📜the company of Throin II Oakenshield: who is your favourite dwarf from the company?
🕶 i care not: what common complaint about the movies or novels doesn't bother you?
📢 motivational speech: which film speech do you find most invigorating?
🔥 barbecue: who is the worst antagonist?
🍿 popcorn: list your top 5 supporting characters
🎇 firefly: which (known) deleted scene would you most like to see?
⛏ expedition to Moria: which side character's adventures would you watch a spin-off movie about?
🎞 extra film: is there an extended scene that should have absolutely made it into the theatrical cut? which one and why?
🎵 can you sing, master hobbit?: Which song (from books or movies) is your favourite?
🖋 quill and ink: which of tolkien's themes resonates most strongly with you?
🗝 lost heirloom: which heirloom/object in the films or novels would you like to learn more about?
💿 leitmotifs and orchestras: which of the films songs (Howard Shore or singer) is your favourite?
🍲eowyn's home cooking: which other way could the ring be destroyed? (funny answers only)
🧙♂️precisely when he means to: what is your favourite gandalf moment?
⚔ you have my sword: what is your favourite aragorn moment?
🏹 and my bow: what is your favourite legolas moment?
🪓and my axe: what is your favourite gimli moment?
🍄 MUSHROOMS!: what is your favourite moment from the hobbits?
💎 the arkenstone: favourite Thorin and/or company moment?
🧵 spool: list your top five favourite costumes from any of the films.
📕 the red book of westmarch : what is your favourite quote(s)?
💛 family: what is your favourite family moment throughout the novels/films?
👀 the eye of sauron: who are you looking at disrespectfully?
🗺 arda: if you could travel anywhere in middle earth, where would you go?
👑the silver crown: the war is won, the world is saved, the king has been crowned. Who are you partying with at the coronation?
✏ rewrites: here's a pencil, which ONE thing in the novels/films are you changing?
🐺 GROND GROND GROND: which of the battles is your favourite to watch? is there a combat scene in particular that you enjoy?
⚠ fucking buckleberry ferry: from the clip of Dom and Billy discussing the one swear word they could theoretically get by censors, which line would you change?
📚 boxset: how were you first introduced to Middle Earth?
🏔 the misty mountains: the pass is treacherous, which two characters are you taking with you to make it over the mountains?
🌄 the rolling hills of the shire: what is your favourite outdoor activity?
🌋 mount doom: what middle earth take are you throwing into the fire?
⚙ technology: everything is exactly the same but you can give one character a modern invention. Who is it and what are you giving them?
⛵valinor: we're approaching the end of this game, is there a take/opinion you absolutely want to share?
🦅 the eagles: What thing or thought saves the day when it's not going so well?
🦗 weta: you're allowed to take one prop (or the canon useful version) home with you from the set, what are you taking?
☀ when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer: either share a piece of good news or something you're looking forward to.
📖 final chapter: what unanswered questions do you have middle earth?
277 notes
·
View notes
I see you very much as an expert on all things Rohirrim, so I bring to you this question, hoping I can pick your brain for info to use in my own fics (full disclosure). 😅
It seems to be a popular fanon that the Rohirrim/Riders of Rohan have tattoos, and that body art is a part of their culture. Do you have any thoughts or personal HCs about this that you're willing to share?
Thank you in advance! I appreciate you and your blog so much (if you didn't already know that).
Oh my goodness!!! I am so very honored to be thought of as a person who is knowledgeable about my beloved Rohirrim, and I hope very much that I can live up to that reputation. Thank you!!!
I’m not aware of any real textual evidence for body art among the Rohirrim, and the historical record in the medieval Anglo Saxon and Norse societies that Tolkien used as a reference for them seems to be disputed. But I absolutely understand and agree with the conventional wisdom that tattoos are a thing in Rohan. It just fits well with a warrior culture that has a wilder, dare-I-say more pagan aesthetic as compared to the smooth solemnity of Gondor or the formal elegance of the elves. And since they’re a culture that doesn’t document things in written words, pictorial representations such as tattoos and body art would be one way to fill that gap (along with their songs and oral traditions).
In my mind, tattoos in Rohan are common but basic—they’ve really only got the technology for the “stick and poke” method so the designs are kept simple because anything too elaborate is difficult to pull off well. They’re mostly in black line (using soot) but some have color using powder made from grinding up certain dried roots and plants.
Each village/community has its own distinctive tattoo motif that is worn by all of that community’s members. So you can tell just by looking at someone whether they’re from Upbourn (a fish because it’s a river town) or Dunharrow (mountain peaks since they’re in the White Mountains) or Everholt (a boar in honor of the wild boar that live in this part of the Firien Wood), etc. And soldiers also tend to share tattoo designs specific to their éored—getting your éored’s mark is a formal rite of passage for the younger members when they first get assigned to their company. These shared tattoo designs are important both for group cohesion and as a means of identifying fallen Rohirrim even if the deceased isn’t known to whoever finds the body.
Beyond these ritualized and practical functions, I do also like to think that there are some purely decorative tattoos among them as a means of personal expression and/or to help cover small scars that so many Rohirrim have from battle, riding accidents or other mishaps. Obviously horse-based designs would be very popular, as well as other flora and fauna of Rohan. But they’re a very sentimental people and so I think little emotional signifiers would also be very common (again, especially because they generally don’t have a means to pay tribute to beloved people/things in written form, this sort of symbol would serve the purpose of making some kind of record of those tributes).
In terms of specific people in my head canon: Éomer has a little simbelmynë blossom for each of the major figures in his life that he’s lost (forearm). Háma had a sun to remind him of his wife, who brought warmth and light to his life (shoulder). Théodred had stars in the shape of a particular constellation that is visible every year on his mother’s birthday (chest). Éowyn has a representation of her father’s sword (left wrist) and gets a quill (right wrist) to represent Faramir after they get married. (Faramir got a little running horse in her honor on his first trip to Rohan. He was glad he did it, but he never wants to sit through that again.)
Merry brought tattooing back to the Shire when he showed up with a tobacco pipe on his bicep (both for its association with Buckland and in tribute to Théoden, whose last words to Merry were about smoking together someday when peace was restored). Unsurprisingly, tattoos did not catch on with the other hobbits, but Merry remains very proud of it.
Anywayyyy…I hope that was in any way helpful! Thanks so much for asking!! I remain a huge fan and am so grateful to you for helping convince me to put some of my thoughts and stories out there vs keeping them all in the confines of my own Google drive!
50 notes
·
View notes
LotR Week - Day 3 (13th Dec)
fear | courage | adventure
Word count: 2,303
Hooves and clattering armour joined into a symphony, accompanied by the fluttering of banners high above the soldiers’ heads. Warriors on horseback, others on foot, all formed what many would see as a rather impressive crowd but what Éomer perceived as a critical lack of men. After suffering so many losses at the hands of the enemy on the Pelennor Fields, their numbers had dwindled to a worrying extent.
They had been at a disadvantage from the start, as much as it pained him to admit it. Yet, he had allowed himself to believe that their victory would not taste so bittersweet. Nearly a quarter of their forces were slain, among which his own uncle, and he had nearly counted his sister among them. Now, only half of the company rode to yet another bloody confrontation. The strain of it all burdened his shoulders, upon which the responsibility of kingship was now bestowed.
Ever since the horn had heralded the battle’s end and he and his men had searched the masses of bodies to search for survivors, Éomer had grown rather quiet. Hardly had he spoken to anybody. At first, he had excused it on the exhaustion he suffered from combat, his dishevelled hair sticking to his sweaty forehead and neck, his muscles sore and his limbs bruised. But as soon as he had recognised Éowyn among the fallen, something within him shifted. Despite the relief of her survival, few were the words that left his mouth.
Kingship. What he had so long kept at bay, unwilling to assume this role, had caught up with him at breakneck speed. What was he to do now? He did not feel qualified for this task in the slightest. Leading troops was no challenge to him any longer, but ruling a kingdom was a much different ordeal.
If only Théodred had lived. If only his cousin, his sister and himself had been fortunate enough to return to Rohan together. They could have rebuilt the land with one another’s help, mourned and buried Théoden as a family, and watched the simbelmynë grow and adorn the fallen king’s burial mound.
Éomer was now left on his own. Éowyn was alive, but it seemed that her growing affection for the younger son of Gondor’s Steward would soon tear her away from his side. And he would gladly let her go, for it was just as well. If she could survive the war a fulfilled woman, then he would pay the price of her loss to a loving husband without hesitation. She deserved all the joy of it.
The Rohir’s eyes were drawn to two small silhouettes ahead of him. It would have been easy to miss them, for they were much shorter than the rest of their army, but a gap between two soldiers enabled him to notice them. He caught himself staring at the older one of the pair, clad in Rohan’s armour.
Merry advanced with the rest of his peers with a decided step, although the toll of war greatly affected his demeanour and his posture. At times, when the path grew rockier, Pippin would wrap an arm around him and help him over sharper stones. No word was exchanged between the inseparable Hobbits.
At the sight of the struggling squire, Éomer’s heart tightened. He sharply turned to his second-in-command, riding by his side.
‘Déor, lead our men in my stead for a moment,’ he ordered sternly.
As his commander nodded and steered his horse to take his place, Éomer broke his rank and called for the foot soldiers in front of him to make way for Firefoot. They parted without question, and the king of Rohan rode forward until he was within the two Hobbits’ earshot.
‘Merry!’
Merry weakly looked up, holding his helm in place so it would not slip right off his skull and crush his follower’s toes.
‘Your Majesty,’ he greeted him with a faint smile and a bow of the head.
‘Oh, none of that, please,’ Éomer said through gritted teeth, before nodding towards his legs. ‘Your body has hardly recovered from battle. Please, let me carry you on my horse.’
The Hobbit’s eyebrows curved upwards in sheer surprise. It was unlike Éomer to show him even a hint of kindness, and even the king was aware of it.
‘It is very kind of you, but no, thank you,’ Merry responded with a gentle smile.
‘Merry,’ Pippin interjected with obvious concern in his voice, ‘perhaps that wouldn’t be such a bad idea. You said you felt tired.’
‘I’ll be alright, Pip, don’t worry. I’m regaining strength by the minute, I promise.’
Éomer eyed his squire with suspicion, yet did not insist.
‘Could I speak with you alone?’
The two halflings shot up their heads at him, taken aback by the question. Within a heartbeat, Pippin wrapped both of his arms around Merry’s.
‘Whatever you need to say, I can hear too,’ he spoke fervently. ‘I am not leaving his side, even for a minute.’
The king, rather bemused and admirative by Pippin’s protectiveness, showed a slight smile and bowed his head.
‘Very well. I believe that you should hear it too.’
Heat rose to his cheeks. He did not know how he would come to utter and phrase the words filling his heart, but he knew that pronouncing them was the right thing to do. For once, he forced himself to weigh them. A first ordeal as king.
‘Merry, when you visited the smithy on our march to Gondor, I said things to Éowyn that have been gnawing at me for the past two days,’ he started, staring ahead of him, not finding the courage within him to face the Hobbit. ‘I ridiculed your efficiency in battle, questioned your courage and your usefulness in this war. I was certain that you would run away in fear comes the first obstacle.’
He pretended to have his attention distracted by something on his right side, only to conceal the tears welling up in his eyes.
‘I could never have been more wrong,’ he gurgled, before shaking his head and looking back at Merry. ‘So, if we are to die today, I want to apologise for the harshness of my words before it is too late. I am sorry.’
Merry’s smile widened and his eyes bubbled with a certain fondness. It was not the sort of gaze that Éomer was accustomed to coming from the Hobbits, but in such trying times, it was a most welcomed one.
‘My apology extends to Pippin,’ he continued. ‘I was curt and harsh towards you, too, and it was uncalled for. I have been a poor judge of character.’
‘Do not fret over it, Éomer,’ Merry replied, his tone comforting. ‘I would’ve doubted me, too. But I appreciate and accept your apology.’
Pippin nodded enthusiastically and Éomer emitted a sharp sigh of relief. He would not have wanted to enter combat and risk dying with a burdened heart. Neither would he have wanted Merry and Pippin to leave this world without receiving some form of credit for their loyal service and assistance despite their inexperience.
‘There is something else,’ Éomer sighed, trying to keep his emotions under control. ‘Thank you for protecting Éowyn. In Rohan and in battle.’
‘She could protect herself just fine,’ Merry retorted bluntly, his brow now creased in a frown. ‘I only stabbed a leg.’
‘You are selling yourself short, my friend.’
‘Oh, yes,’ Pippin intervened with a cheeky grin, ‘we Hobbits have a tendency to do that. Because we’re small, you see.’
‘Pip, not now.’
Merry groaned and elbowed Pippin in the ribs, before looking up at Éomer again, staring straight into his astounded eyes.
‘If you return to Minas Tirith today and to Rohan, I beg you to change the way that you perceive Éowyn. If you think that you underestimate us, what you do to her is much worse.’
Speechless, Éomer furrowed his brow and tilted his head. In normal circumstances, this statement would have angered him and damaged his pride, but in the pain that he was in, this was merely a scrape.
‘Do enlighten me, my friend,’ he said with absolute calmness. ‘I do have much to learn, it seems.’
Merry squinted his eyes but took it as a genuine invitation to speak. Pippin placed a hand on his shoulder, widening his eyes and shaking his head, urging him to keep his mouth shut. But his cousin stood up to the new king of Rohan, daring to speak his mind in the face of death.
‘Éowyn was gripped by fear like we all were,’ he blurted out, ‘yet she never yielded. Not even for a second. When I flinched, she held me steady and kept me grounded. Had it not been for the Black Breath, I’m quite certain that she would’ve kept fighting even with her broken arm. And you know what? I’m pretty sure that she would’ve crushed the enemy with the power of her will alone.’
The Hobbit’s words struck Éomer in an eye-opening way. A smile played on his lips for one of the first times since Pelennor Fields, and he bowed his head with gratitude. Pippin instinctively braced for impact, expecting the Rohir’s reaction to be a mere facade, but when he realised that his satisfaction was sincere.
Merry had struck a chord within him. He could not deny any of it. If his sister had made it to the battlefield while escaping his notice, then she was much tougher than he had given her credit for.
‘You are right,’ he simply admitted. ‘I have a cruel tendency to underestimate her, it seems. Perhaps we were truly cut from the same cloth. For so long I believed her softer than I.’
‘There’s nothing wrong with that,’ Pippin shrugged. ‘That’s what makes people kind. Besides, I think you have it in you too.’
The king raised an eyebrow.
‘Do I?’
‘Oh, yes,’ Merry agreed. ‘That’s what will make you a righteous king once you return to Edoras.’
Éomer’s smile faded. Bringing his attention back to the road ahead, he caught a glimpse of Aragorn in the lead. If only he could possess half the skills that he already showed as Isildur’s heir, Rohan would be in good hands. But now that they rode to certain death, he wondered what would come of his realm once he was gone. Who would succeed him? Should he have named somebody to be safe? How could he have neglected such a thing?
Not yet crowned, he was already a poor excuse for a king.
‘I do not believe that I shall see Edoras again, I am afraid,’ he muttered. ‘It would be a miracle to make it out of here alive.’
‘Don’t say this, Éomer,’ Pippin attempted to console him. ‘There is no reason for you not to return. You are a brilliant fighter.’
‘That is not always enough, young Hobbit. With our limited numbers, I fear that we are marching right to our deaths.’
‘You know, I only trust three men in the ways of combat. Aragorn, Faramir, and you.’
‘Pip,’ Merry said with a roll of his eyes, ‘what about Gimli? Legolas? Gandalf?’
‘Ah, but you see, Merry, I said Men!’
Éomer laughed and loosened his grip around the reins, sensing that some of his tension was alleviated by Pippin’s antics. At last, there was the balm to soothe his aching heart, even for a short moment before standing before the Black Gate.
‘Well, I do appreciate the compliment, Pippin. Thank you.’
‘How does it feel to be the new king, by the way?’ the Hobbit responded, eager in his curiosity. ‘You are leading the Rohirrim as their ruler for the first time, surely that must be quite impressive.’
He shrugged and nibbled on the inside of his cheek.
‘I never meant to become king.’
Merry frowned and studied the king with an intrigued eye.
‘Why not?’
‘Well, I was once heir, when I was a child. Then, my parents both lost their lives, and Théoden King adopted Éowyn and myself as his own children. But Théodred came first. I received a military education for the most part, because I was not expected to receive a higher position than this of Third Marshal. But then, my cousin passed, and now my uncle…’
He shook his head pensively, feeling the iciness of the horse-shaped nosepiece of his helmet rubbing against his skin.
‘I am not fit to rule. In all honesty, I criticised Merry for his fear, but I have come to realise that I am absolutely frightened.’
Merry patted Éomer’s calf, gently pressed against Firefoot’s side.
‘You will do just well, I promise. I have no doubt that Rohan has gained a valuable ruler in these dark times.’
Pippin nodded in agreement, and Éomer’s expression softened at the faith they seemed to put in him. He felt unworthy of it all, but for a moment, however brief, he needed to hear it and to believe it. Perhaps then he would end up embracing his capacities at last.
‘Besides,’ Merry continued, ‘you will not stand alone. The Rohirrim are rallied under your banner, and you can be sure that Pippin and me will be right by your side.’
‘Exactly,’ Pippin acquiesced.
‘I would say that we’ve got your back, but we are much too short for it. I suppose we could be excellent ankle guards for your horse.’
The three of them laughed, disturbing the solemn yet gloomy peace of the company around them. Aragorn peered over his shoulder at them and offered them an unnoticed yet warm smile. After such ordeals and on the verge of facing more horrors, they all deserved distraction from it all.
‘Well,’ Éomer uttered, his smile still perceivable in his voice, ‘thank you, Holdwine.’
25 notes
·
View notes