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GOD I just remembered that canonically Gondorians use a version of westron with respectful and familiar pronouns and honourifics whilst the Hobbits do NOT and I need to find a way to somehow make up and integrate that into Boromir’s dialogue. Really do LOVE that, to Boromir, all the hobbits treat him like their best mate from day one, Pippin waltzes up to Denethor like BRO I am deeply effected by your son’s sacrifice bud :(
;;OOC You all need to know... Boromir was the roundest of babies. He was the MOST spherical child. He was so loveably round he rolled before he crawled. It was as though he was built to give the most heartbreak possible when trying to imagine this baby going to war in but sixteen years. Did you know grown men were once babies? A terrifying fact.
IN GONDOR! It is not acceptable to speak with the dead. Culturally and practically, if you are speaking to the dead and they can hear you, then something has gone very wrong. There is something that is holding them there, perhaps it is you, perhaps if you try to call back to the dead then you will make a wraith out of them. Unacceptable, dangerous. It brings a lot of stigma. When people come to see where their loved ones are buried they must be silent, often wearing veils over their mouths. Poets speak about grief as, ‘I cover my lips and would cut out my tongue, for if I can have no words for you then they should be for no one else’.
In fact it is more common for people to speak to the dead in insult, after grievous harm and bitter hatred. People will call to the dead who did great evil, to disturb them and try to tie them back here, deny them peace, make them witness their own villainy.
Radical psychologists have a line of thought that this is detrimental as a practice. There is actually a known psychological phenomenon in Gondor, of people who miss their loved ones so dearly that they can’t help speaking to them in secret, but who feel such guilt for it that it brings all manner of harm to them. Debate surrounding the thought that it’s not possible for someone to create a wraith with just words alone was rising in prominence before the war started sixty years ago, but Ecthelion dismantled a great deal of the institutions for psychological help to fund the war effort and the hiring of mercenaries. After the war and during the painful grieving stage of Gondor, the discussion is begun once again.
That being said I am once again thinking about how Boromir was nearly universally loved and accepted in Rohan. I’m thinking about Eomer’s shock at news of his death, I’m thinking about how Theoden grieved him, I’m thinking about Boromir vehemently defending the Rohir at the Council of Elrond. I’m thinking about how Boromir did not just blankly accept Rohan’s allyship, I’m thinking about how he included them in his mind as ALSO his people, that he was able to shift his manners to suit both Rohan and Gondorian society seamlessly. I’m thinking about!! Boromir’s heart!!!
I think Boromir should be allowed to take Aragorn’s legs and hammer-toss him into the Anduin, as a treat.
Although this reminds me, it’s still canon on this blog that Faramir has been thrown into every fountain Minas Tirith has for all his little brother crimes. Every single one of them. He’s not so noble when he’s looking like a wet rat.
HERE is finally at least the outline of Boromir and Theodred’s life after Sauron’s defeat. @melnchly and @talesspin may have opinions on marriage and birth dates of children and if you two have daughter OC’s to throw me 👀👀 I shall eagerly add them to the list.
3019 Third Age (Age 41) March 25th: One Ring destroyed, End of Sauron. May 1st: Aragorn takes the Sceptre of the Reunited Kingdom. Aragorn allows Boromir to retain his title of Captain-General for the extent of the initial war but no longer. Midyear’s day: Aragorn and Arwen wed. July 22nd: Theoden’s funeral procession lead by Theodred leaves Minas Tirith. August 10th: Funeral of Theoden. September 21st: Minas Morgul is finally subdued and it’s evil remnants are destroyed. Boromir steps down from the Captain-General seat and takes up his full duties as Steward. November 3rd: Battle of the Bywater.
3020 Third Age (Age 42) March 14th: Drúedain destroy remnant of Saruman's Orcs May 1st: Faramir and Éowyn wed. Last time Theodred and Boromir see each other for a year.
3021 Third Age (Age 43) March 24th: Last day of the third age by Gondor’s reckoning. First day (Yestarë G.R): Éomer and Lothíriel wed. First time Boromir and Theodred see each other since last year. September 29th (S.R) Midyear’s day (G.R): Frodo passes over the Sea. End of Shire reckoning of the Third Age.
1 Fourth Age (Age 44) October 6th: Elboron born.
2 Fourth Age (Age 45) Feburary 10th: Elfwine born. June 17th: Death of Lord Sirgon of Lebennin. His grandson, Falasser, becomes the Lord of Lebennin.
3 Fourth Age (Age 46) August 3rd: Theodred decides to cede the crown of Rohan to Eomer after failing to restore his reputation to a level acceptable for a King. Rumours also abound after, despite all urging both public and private, Theodred does not wed.
4 Fourth Age (Age 47) Feburary 10th: Theodred officially cedes the throne to Eomer after spending time helping with the transition. He remains for a while afterwards, but soon leaves for Minas Tirith and is welcomed into Merethond as the new liason between Gondor and Rohan. There he lives for some time and is allowed dual citizenship. November 6th: Death of Lady Vanyalos.
6 Fourth Age (Age 49) Febuary 18th: King Elessar issues an edict that Men are not to enter either Drúadan Forest or the Shire. Elesssar makes the Shire a Free Land under the protection of the Northern Sceptre. March 1st: Peregrin Took marries Diamond of Long Cleeve.
7 Fourth Age (Age 50) Janurary 28th: Theodred and Boromir cease withholding their relationship from the public. The uproar is somewhat mitigated by the slow dissemination of information about it, due to their not truly announcing it in any way. However eventually, with the necessity of confirming it to a few shocked acquaintances, a significant social controversy surrounding it grows. A great many call for Boromir to cede his seat as Steward.
8 Fourth Age (Age 51) Yestarë: Boromir does cede the Stewardship to Faramir and departs Minas Tirith to live on the island of Cair Andros alongside Theodred. They are welcomed there by the somewhat insular community, most of whom knew and remembered them both with honour and familiarity. With the war taking such a toll on Cair Andros, their presence and help is welcomed as well.
9 Fourth Age (Age 52) September 8th: Birth of Faramir Took, son of Peregrin Took and Diamond of Long Cleeve. October 10th: After realising that the orphaned sons of Boromir’s old friend from the war, Pedir and Tollon, are living alone, the men ask them to stay with them. Pedir, fourteen, agrees, and eventually they formally adopt the two boys.
11 Fourth Age (Age 54) April 3rd: Meriadoc Brandybuck, son of Saradoc and Esmeralda Took, becomes the Master of Buckland. Great gifts are sent to him by King Éomer and the Lady Éowyn of Ithilien. Theodred sends some of the pipeweed he has taken to growing and the two hobbits grudgingly admit it is quite good. October 2nd: Death of Lady Terenis.
13 Fourth Age (Age 56) January 8th: Peregrin Took, son of Paladin and Eglantine Banks, becomes the thirty-second Thain of the Shire. King Elessar makes the Thain, the Master, and the Mayor Counsellors of the North-Kingdom. Boromir is the one who journeys to bring them this news, after being asked yet again to visit the Shire. He stays for some months and agrees to return when he can. Mid-year's Day: Samwise Gamgee is elected Mayor of Michel Delving for the second time.
14 Fourth Age (Age 57) December 9th: Boromir and Theodred adopt the newborn daughter of one of Lothiriel’s oldest friends after her life became suddenly difficult and on shakey foundations. She is named Arasser.
15 Fourth Age (Age 58) March 25th: King Elessar rides north and dwells for a while in Annúminas by Lake Evendim. He comes to the Brandywine Bridge, and there greets his friends. He gives the Star of the Dúnedain to Master Samwise, and Elanor is made a maid of honour to Queen Arwen. November 15th: Death of Glóin.
19 Fourth Age (Age 62) August 28th: Death of Farmer Cotton
20 Fourth Age (Age 63) April 7th: Legolas brought south Elves out of Greenwood, and they dwelt in Ithilien, and it became once again the "fairest country in all the westlands." Midyear’s Day: Sam Gamgee elected mayor for the third time.
21 Fourth Age (Age 64) January 4th: Samwise, Rose and Elanor ride to Gondor and stay there for a year. During this period, Master Tolman Cotton acts as deputy Mayor. December 19th: Birth of Tolman Gardner, thirteenth child and seventh son of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton.
27 Fourth Age (Age 70) Mid-year’s Day: Sam Gamgee elected mayor for the fourth time
31 Fourth Age (Age 74) October 1st: The Westmarch becomes a part of the Shire by the gift of the King. Many Hobbits remove to it.
34 Fourth Age (Age 77) Mid-year's Day: Samwise Gamgee is elected Mayor of Michel Delving for the fifth time. November 14th: Death of Imrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth. Elphir, son of Imrahil, becomes the twenty-third Prince of Dol Amroth.
39 Fourth Age (Age 82) June 1st: Death of Theodred after a protracted illness.
41 Fourth Age (Age 84) Mid-year's Day: Samwise Gamgee is elected Mayor of Michel Delving for the sixth time. At Samwise's request, Thain Peregrin Took makes Fastred the Warden of Westmarch. Fastred and Elanor make their dwelling at Undertowers on the Tower Hills, where their descendants, the Fairbairns of the Towers, dwelt for many generations.
42 Fourth Age (Age 85) May 11th: Boromir returns to the Shire for the last time.
48 Fourth Age (Age 91) Mid-year's Day: Samwise Gamgee is elected as Mayor of Michel Delving for his seventh and final term. June 2nd: Boromir is welcomed to Edoras once again. He remains there for a few months, but dies quietly toward the end of the visit.
I think it’s important to recognise that, as painful as a lot of things were for Boromir surrounding his queer identity, he did not have to be that careful with concealing it. In fact, the thing that kept his life so secret for so many years was that, if someone accused him of being ill-fated, it would likely be more damaging to the accuser than to Boromir. His reputation, his position and the respect he commanded from society (both earned and born into) were such that it simply was not worth anyone’s time or effort to tell people what they might have seen or heard, because how could you! The Warden of the White Tower? Boromir II? Our noble defender? The heir to the Stewardship? Why would you fabricate such things so scandalously! (Scandal being a thoroughly dishonourable thing in Gondor and eagerly avoided where possible.) So, despite the fact that quite a few people were generally aware of Boromir’s relationship with Theodred before, they were never much of a risk to him. This is a privilege that Boromir grew increasingly aware of as he grew older, as well as aware that very few other people possessed it. Which was something else that drove his general respect and championing of middle men causes and valiance.
HC - Boromir’s outing and his road to ceding the Steward’s Sceptre
From an outsider’s perspective, or even initially the perspectives of their own families, Theodred and Boromir had been simply living in the same city for three years until, suddenly, rumours about them began to stir. Of course with Theodred’s ceding of his crown unmarried, there had been some manner of ‘ill-fated’ rumours following him already. But he had always dismissed them and Boromir had refused to discuss the topic when asked about it, something that most people judged in good taste.
However the point when they simply stopped hiding their relationship was confusing for all. They are both naturally withdrawn people, so even as a few began to see them together about the place more intimately, they were not many and their testimony was often disregarded or changed in the telling. Boromir and Theodred did, belatedly, send short letters simply informing their various extended family members of the situation. But, what with the delay, it’s likely those family members had at least heard some version of the rumour before receiving those letters.
After that, it became more and more public and the discussion changed from ‘is this true?’ to ‘what should be done about it’. Majority of public opinion tended towards worry, pity, a concern for the state of the Stewards line as a whole, a concern for the office itself, a concern about the King and his family and Boromir’s acquaintances and a concern for Boromir and his mental state. Opinion turned quite quickly against Theodred, labelling him as the mastermind for this situation. A not insignificant minority of people quickly began calling for Boromir’s removal from his station and that end goal became more and more widely accepted.
However, it also sparked the beginning of a general upsurge in the queer Gondorian communities becoming more vocal. And Boromir was clear in his support of their voices, though he also urged caution and not to take risks with their safety or anonymity. He submitted himself to various discussions both in chambers and out in society, as did Theodred though he was not called as much after his manner was found to be a great deal more blunt than most Gondorians could weather. But whilst some people began to make progress, others could not.
A great deal of Boromir’s friends and family found it hard to take, hard to marry Boromir with this new aspect of him. Elphir and Erchirion became distant for a long time, even Imrahil had some reservations, though they were mostly political and simply required some time to plan. In Lossarnach, his aunt Vanyalos had good intentions but was too steeped in Imloth Melui’s medicalised academic culture to offer positive help, as did many of her surviving daughters. However he still found support in his aunt Terenis and many of his more distant family within Pelargir.
And yet! It was not a rift in the eyes of the public that could be mended well enough and quickly enough to allow Boromir to continue his duties without significant hampering. This was something Boromir had expected, but it was still a shock for many when Boromir ceded the Steward’s sceptre to Faramir a year later. It was something that a Steward had never done in recorded memory and created a strange ripple of feeling amongst Gondor at large, not least because Boromir had been so loved before all of this. He remained present and active within politics, his and Theodred’s home on Cair Andros a very comfortable distance from Minas Tirith.
I’ve never discussed this with any of the Aragorn’s I’ve written with, so until I have some manner of synced canon with one I’ll be assuming Aragorn is essentially unwilling to add his voice in support or criticism on the subject. He is reluctant, however, to allow Boromir to cede the Stewardship simply due to tradition and principle. Though he allows it once Boromir makes it clear he will not be distancing himself from Theodred again.
