Constant As The Stars Above

Sleep deprived Frodo sketch idk

Can’t stop sketching these two staring at each other and blushing

The courage of Hobbits

Yes, I know Sean Astin’s eyes are hazel. And yet. Is this not them? (Inspired by this post!)

Yesterday I attended a local Tolkien fan club and one of the guys had bought this LOTR comic in the early 80s, look at the intricate design in Elrond‘s house. Loved this panel!

rewatching lotr and here is my fanart of frodo

@lotr20 | Day 3 → fear | courage

Hey OP? What the FUCK does this mean?

decay exists as an extant form of life

That’s a terrifying answer, have a nice day

ain't this the place where Bilbo and Frodo live

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), dir. Peter Jackson Sean Bean as Boromir, Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins

Touching grass is not enough; I need to travel far over the misty mountains cold.

girls (gender neutral)

It never fails to make me squeal with delight every time I think about how Sam starts off dreaming of a chance to see Elves and then ends up being granted entry to an actual Elven paradise to live happily ever after with his soulmate, after a long full life in his beloved Shire homeland with the other love of his life … Tolkien literally said “I’m gonna create a character who deserves not one but two happily ever afters, and then give him both of them.”

obsessed with the gay little fall frodo does in return of the king. elijah wood serving cunt

Ok this is the most random Frodo/Sam thing to be talking about but I must say it.

In the book, two of Frodo’s lines “it did not sound like the old Sam Gamgee he thought he knew” and “[Sam] was a conspirator, and now he’s a jester!” are among my absolute favorites, yet I’ve read a few interpretations of these moments that are so bizarre I feel I must defend and point out their real meaning.

A few chapter-by-chapter analyses/reviews of LOTR that I’ve read, including some on this site, seem to think that Frodo is being condescending here, that because Sam is his servant, he’s surprised to find out that Sam has “actual opinions about things and actual talents other than gardening.”

Clearly these people don’t understand Frodo. Frodo is not condescending towards anyone! That’s one of his best qualities - he treats everyone with respect. Sam and his father both point out how Frodo, like Bilbo, has always treated them with kindness and thoughtfulness.

These lines certainly have a lot to do with the social barrier between Frodo and Sam, but it’s not because of any biases on Frodo’s part. It’s because Frodo & Sam are not close friends. Frodo’s besties are Merry and Pippin, and Sam’s besties are the Cottons. They’re not buddies who hang out and chat all the time at this point. Until now, Sam has always worked outside while Frodo is either inside or lost in thought in a book outside. They’re quite friendly with each other, but they’re not close. At this point there is still a LOT they don’t know about each other. Another reason for this is that Shire life is practically routine. Things are always the same, day by day, and there’s not much opportunity for hobbits to discuss things that are unusual or uncommon to them.

Tolkien wrote these moments to show how Shire simplicity plus the class system has prevented Frodo and Sam from being able to fully know each other. And it’s when they leave the Shire and its class system behind that Frodo learns more about Sam.

Plus don’t forget that most hobbits don’t like things that are different. At all. They dismiss anything they don’t understand. Sam has been wondering about Elves for a long time, but when they actually meet Elves, Frodo is naturally assuming/worrying that Sam will change his mind and be like everyone else. He’s thinking “now that he sees just how different they are from what we’re used to, he’ll stop liking them.” And why wouldn’t he believe this? 98% of hobbits think this way about things that are different. This is why Frodo has never fit in and has been outcast and considered “odd.” He feels like there’s nobody besides Merry & Pippin who share his curiosity about new things. And Sam’s father is so set in his ways and indifferent toward what he doesn’t understand, so why wouldn’t Sam feel the same? Frodo doesn’t know Sam well enough at this point to assume any differently.

This is why I just cannot get enough of that “it did not sound like the old Sam Gamgee he thought he knew” line. It’s just like that classic moment in love stories where one realizes they didn’t really know the other at all but is now discovering they have something special in common. Frodo worries that Sam will dismiss the Elves… but instead, Sam says something very insightful and deep about them. Sam struggles to word what he means, but Frodo gets it. And he’s amazed. It hits him that Sam is different too, like him. Sam is actually interested in foreign things and thinks deeply and critically about them, just like Frodo. Sam is a kindred spirit, and Frodo is amazed. IMO, THIS is the moment where Frodo develops deeper feelings for Sam. He discovers that Sam thinks on the same wavelength that he does.

The same thing happens when Frodo says the “jester” line. He says this after Sam spontaneously invents and sings the song about trolls. Improvising an entire song on the spot, with perfect rhymes and all, isn’t exactly something that everyone can do. I certainly couldn’t do that. That takes a certain gift. Sam’s place in the class system has nothing to do with it. There are plenty of rich snobs in the Shire who could never improvise a troll song if their lives depended on it. Trolls are foreign to the Shire and yet another thing hobbits don’t really understand, but not only that, rhyming is just plain HARD. And here Sam does it like a pro. Of course Frodo is impressed. Don’t tell me you weren’t impressed when you first read this part in the book, and I bet you weren’t looking down on Sam for being the servant. Actually this scene shows Frodo giving Sam more respect than Pippin does. Pippin asks “where did you hear that?” assuming Sam heard the song from someone else. Only Frodo can tell that Sam made it up himself. (Side note: there’s another similar moment with Pippin earlier. Pippin orders Sam to make breakfast like one would order a servant; Frodo punishes Pippin for this rudeness by yanking Pippin’s blanket away and rolling him over. Of course Sam doesn’t mind cooking at all and would’ve done it even if Pippin hadn’t asked, but that scene, though subtle, shows Frodo doesn’t like anyone talking to Sam that way. Frodo himself never orders Sam to do anything. My point holds up.)

And it goes both ways. The horrors of the Quest cause Sam to see new depths to Frodo that he never saw before. He sees Frodo’s incredible endurance against both the Wraith wound and the Ring. He sees Frodo’s incredible nobleness and bravery, choosing to take on the burden of the Ring himself. Normal life in the Shire could never have brought out these qualities in Frodo for Sam to see. Sam, too, has a lot to learn about Frodo, and the Quest lets him see Frodo at his best and at his worst. And everything Sam learns just makes him love Frodo more.

great analysis, the first scene mentioned is one i think about often. i also think it’s worth noting that even though frodo and bilbo have always been ones to dismiss certain class boundaries, and are in no ways bigoted, sam is “simple” and hobbits in general tend to be “simple” and i think frodo realizing sam’s sudden thoughtfulness is again, to reiterate op’s point, him realizing they are more similar. maybe some of it deep down has something to do with class because of their separation! but sam’s appreciation of the finer things that most hobbits don’t care for, but also appreciation that turns into true thoughtfulness that he never had time to see from sam… there’s just a lot of good stuff here.

next i want to talk about how i once saw someone say frodo’s biggest trait can’t be kindness because of the jokes he made at sam/whenever sam puts his life at risk for frodo frodo goes off on him… which to say is to misunderstand tolkien & british humor and to ignore context. kindness has always been frodo’s biggest character trait to me!!

grumpy baggins -.-

He is my live, il him so much i could die.

Yeah the sex was good but did it have themes and motifs

they were writing yaoi poetry in the trenches in ww1

What do you mean Frodo didn’t have a septum in the books