Oooooh I Have The Little Fan Thing For March

ooooh I love numbers

If you recall, a little while ago I manually scraped data regarding popular LotR ships from Ao3 using an extremely rough methodology. I had a request for the data, so what the heck, here you go.

Now, these numbers are ridiculously rough. In fact, you might even say they're bad. The first 10 are approximately correct. But, as explained in that link, every group of 10 after that is undercounted by more and more because I excluded fics from my search that contained the ships already on the list. Also, anything tagged in the Hobbit movies/book but not LotR was really, really undercounted.

Let this be a lesson in data sources! In fact, the best use of this data is to use it as a starting point for getting good data. Instead of checking every permutation of ships (like idk, Merry/Elrond) for proper numbers, you would start by checking the top 50 on this list. This is of course assuming you didn't have a better method of getting data out of Ao3 than using the work and tag searches like I've done here.

(The second-best use of this data is to go "lol, really?" which is what I assume/hope you're here for, because otherwise you're probably gonna be disappointed.)

(The third-best use of this data is to note that because the Hobbit movies came out 2012-14, right when Ao3 had achieved critical mass, it is much, much easier to find Hobbit-related fic on Ao3 than LotR, the films of which came out in 2001-03.)

For ships that intrigued me I've included the "actual" results in purple. But even those numbers are probably undercounting because some people don't use tags that map to the canonical tags.

Anyway, the top 140 ships for "Lord of the Rings - All Media Types" on Archive of Our Own using a Very Bad counting method are:

1 Frodo/Sam (2207) (2,250) 2 Gimli/Legolas (1918) (2,121) 3 Aragorn/Arwen (1509) 4 Aragorn/Legolas (1492) 5 Éowyn/Faramir (1055) 6 Bilbo/Thorin (996) (12,085!!!) 7 Erestor/Glorfindel (955) (1,158) 8 Aragorn/Boromir (766) 9 Celebrían/Elrond (752) 10 Galadriel/Halbrand (688) (691) 11 Legolas & Thranduil (439) 12 Legolas/Original Female Character (347) (539) 13 Legolas/Thranduil (308) 14 Merry Brandybuck/Pippin Took (305) (488) 15 Thranduil/Original Female Character (294) (653) 16 Legolas/Reader (269) (328) 17 Gimli & Legolas (248) 18 Elrond/Lindir (244) 19 Éomer Éadig/Lothíriel (233) 20 Thranduil/Thranduil's Wife (232) (512) (this tag cracks me up) 21 Celeborn/Galadriel (216) 22 Frodo & Sam (196) 23 Boromir/Faramir (157) 24 Aragorn/Frodo (155) 25 Boromir & Faramir (153) 26 Rose Cotton/Sam (147) (331) 27 Morgoth Bauglir | Melkor/Sauron (145) 28 No Romantic Relationship (128) 29 Elrond/Thranduil (123) (325) 30 Thranduil/Reader (114) (620) 31 Elrohir/Legolas (122) 32 Aragorn & Legolas (119) 33 Original Female Character/Original Male Character (117) 34 Aragorn/Faramir (99) 35 Aragorn/Reader (89) 36 Kíli/Tauriel (80) (2,604!!!) 37 Elrond/Reader (78) 38 Elrond & Maglor | Makalaurë (75) 39 Haldir of Lothlórien/Legolas (71) 40 Thorin/Original Female Character (68) 41 Merry Brandybuck & Pippin Took (82) 42 Denethor II/Finduilas of Dol Amroth (80) 43 Elladan/Elrohir (78) 44 Haldir of Lothlórien/Original Female Character (77) 45 Boromir/Original Female Character (70) 46 Bard the Bowman/Thranduil (67) (1,727) 47 Bilbo & Frodo (64) 48 Minor or Background Relationship (60) 49 Elladan & Elrohir (58) 50 Éomer Éadig/Faramir (57) 51 Elrond/Ereinion Gil-galad (72) 52 Éomer Éadig/Reader (59) 53 Celebrimbor/Sauron (55) (783!!!!) 54 Fingon | Findekáno/Maedhros | Maitimo (51) 55 Éowyn/Gríma Wormtongue (48) 56 Other Relationship Tags to Be Added (48) 57 Celebrimbor/Talion (Shadow of Mordor) (47) 58 Frodo/Faramir (46) 59 Arondir/Bronwyn (46) 60 Elrond/Legolas (45) 61 Arwen/Éowyn (52) 62 Aragorn/Éowyn (49) 63 Glorfindel/Original Female Character (48) 64 Legolas/Original Character (43) 65 Aragorn & Elrond (39) 66 Thorin/Reader (37) 67 Elendil the Tall/Tar-Míriel (34) 68 Legolas/Original Male Character (33) 69 Aragorn & Boromir (33) 70 Elrond & Elros Tar-Minyatur (32) 71 Durin IV & Elrond (37) 72 Ecthelion of the Fountain/Glorfindel (32) 73 Legolas/Harry Potter (30) 74 Original Character/Original Character (29) 75 Haldir of Lothlórien/Reader (29) 76 Glorfindel/Legolas (27) 77 Boromir/Reader (27) (85) 78 Legolas/Tauriel (26) 79 Elrond/Erestor (26) 80 Boromir/Legolas (26) 81 Frodo/Rose Cotton/Sam(25) 82 Diamond Took/Pippin Took (23) 83 Thorin/Thranduil (23) (723) 84 Sherlock Holmes/John Watson (22) (48) lol 85 Thranduil/Original Character (21) 86 Boromir/Théodred (21) 87 Éomer Éadig/Legolas (21) 88 Merry Brandybuck/Éowyn (20) 89 Aragorn/Original Female Character (20) 90 James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers (19) 91 Éomer Éadig & Éowyn (25) 92 Elrond & Glorfindel (22) 93 Éomer Éadig/Original Female Character (20) 94 Sean Bean/Orlando Bloom (18) 95 Éowyn/Legolas (18) 96 Erestor & Glorfindel (18) 97 Sean Bean/Viggo Mortensen (17) 98 Frodo/Merry Brandybuck (17) 99 Fëanor | Curufinwë/Nerdanel (17) 100 Elladan/Glorfindel (17)

101 Éowyn/Tauriel (20) 102 Frodo/Boromir (17) 103 Isildur/Valandil (17) 104 Elrond/Glorfindel (16) 105 Aragorn/Elrond (15) 106 Legolas & Original Female Character (14) 107 Lindir/Reader (14) 108 Elrond/Original Female Character (14) 109 Arwen & Elrond (14) 110 Elladan/Legolas (13) 111 Arathorn II/Gilraen (16) 112 Aragorn/Haldir of Lothlórien (16) 113 Galadriel/Sauron (16) 114 Elrond & Ereinion Gil-galad (14) 115 Human/Orc (13) 116 Sauron/Original Female Character (13) 117 Aragorn & Gimli & Legolas (13) 118 Witch-King of Angmar/Reader (13) 119 Bungo/Belladonna Took (12) 120 Frodo/Original Female Character (12) 121 Elendil the Tall/Reader (17) 122 Fíli/Kíli (15) 123 Frodo/Legolas (14) 124 Fíli/Original Female Character (13) 125 Ratbag the Coward/Talion (Shadow of Mordor) (13) 126 Estella Bolger/Merry Brandybuck (12) 127 Elladan/Elrohir/Legolas (12) 128 Celebrimbor & Talion (Shadow of Mordor) (12) 129 Loki (Marvel)/Thranduil (12) 130 Imrahil/Legolas (12) 131 Orlando Bloom/Viggo Mortensen (15) 132 Tom Bombadil/Goldberry (12) 133 Halbarad/Maglor | Makalaurë (12) 134 Frodo/Merry Brandybuck/Pippin Took (11) 135 Goldberry/Lady of the Blue Brooch (11) 136 Celebrimbor/Narvi (11) 137 Sauron/Reader (11) 138 Beren Erchamion/Lúthien Tinúviel (10) 139 Erestor/Reader (10) 140 Aragorn/Arwen/Boromir (10)

yea

Men with hair past their shoulders

That's it that's the post

Reblog if you agree

brother i’m going to be honest with you. i don’t give a fuck if he’s “redeemable” or not. what is this, the checkout counter? he’s not a fucking COUPON!!!!!

on my way to rewatch lotr bc I have once again experienced a minor inconvenience

My toxic trait is rewatching lord of the rings whenever there’s a minor inconvenience in life

all RIGHT:

Why You're Writing Medieval (and Medieval-Coded) Women Wrong: A RANT

(Or, For the Love of God, People, Stop Pretending Victorian Style Gender Roles Applied to All of History)

This is a problem I see alllll over the place - I'll be reading a medieval-coded book and the women will be told they aren't allowed to fight or learn or work, that they are only supposed to get married, keep house and have babies, &c &c.

If I point this out ppl will be like "yes but there was misogyny back then! women were treated terribly!" and OK. Stop right there.

By & large, what we as a culture think of as misogyny & patriarchy is the expression prevalent in Victorian times - not medieval. (And NO, this is not me blaming Victorians for their theme park version of "medieval history". This is me blaming 21st century people for being ignorant & refusing to do their homework).

Yes, there was misogyny in medieval times, but 1) in many ways it was actually markedly less severe than Victorian misogyny, tyvm - and 2) it was of a quite different type. (Disclaimer: I am speaking specifically of Frankish, Western European medieval women rather than those in other parts of the world. This applies to a lesser extent in Byzantium and I am still learning about women in the medieval Islamic world.)

So, here are the 2 vital things to remember about women when writing medieval or medieval-coded societies

FIRST. Where in Victorian times the primary axes of prejudice were gender and race - so that a male labourer had more rights than a female of the higher classes, and a middle class white man would be treated with more respect than an African or Indian dignitary - In medieval times, the primary axis of prejudice was, overwhelmingly, class. Thus, Frankish crusader knights arguably felt more solidarity with their Muslim opponents of knightly status, than they did their own peasants. Faith and age were also medieval axes of prejudice - children and young people were exploited ruthlessly, sent into war or marriage at 15 (boys) or 12 (girls). Gender was less important.

What this meant was that a medieval woman could expect - indeed demand - to be treated more or less the same way the men of her class were. Where no ancient legal obstacle existed, such as Salic law, a king's daughter could and did expect to rule, even after marriage.

Women of the knightly class could & did arm & fight - something that required a MASSIVE outlay of money, which was obviously at their discretion & disposal. See: Sichelgaita, Isabel de Conches, the unnamed women fighting in armour as knights during the Third Crusade, as recorded by Muslim chroniclers.

Tolkien's Eowyn is a great example of this medieval attitude to class trumping race: complaining that she's being told not to fight, she stresses her class: "I am of the house of Eorl & not a serving woman". She claims her rights, not as a woman, but as a member of the warrior class and the ruling family. Similarly in Renaissance Venice a doge protested the practice which saw 80% of noble women locked into convents for life: if these had been men they would have been "born to command & govern the world". Their class ought to have exempted them from discrimination on the basis of sex.

So, tip #1 for writing medieval women: remember that their class always outweighed their gender. They might be subordinate to the men within their own class, but not to those below.

SECOND. Whereas Victorians saw women's highest calling as marriage & children - the "angel in the house" ennobling & improving their men on a spiritual but rarely practical level - Medievals by contrast prized virginity/celibacy above marriage, seeing it as a way for women to transcend their sex. Often as nuns, saints, mystics; sometimes as warriors, queens, & ladies; always as businesswomen & merchants, women could & did forge their own paths in life

When Elizabeth I claimed to have "the heart & stomach of a king" & adopted the persona of the virgin queen, this was the norm she appealed to. Women could do things; they just had to prove they were Not Like Other Girls. By Elizabeth's time things were already changing: it was the Reformation that switched the ideal to marriage, & the Enlightenment that divorced femininity from reason, aggression & public life.

For more on this topic, read Katherine Hager's article "Endowed With Manly Courage: Medieval Perceptions of Women in Combat" on women who transcended gender to occupy a liminal space as warrior/virgin/saint.

So, tip #2: remember that for medieval women, wife and mother wasn't the ideal, virgin saint was the ideal. By proving yourself "not like other girls" you could gain significant autonomy & freedom.

Finally a bonus tip: if writing about medieval women, be sure to read writing on women's issues from the time so as to understand the terms in which these women spoke about & defended their ambitions. Start with Christine de Pisan.

I learned all this doing the reading for WATCHERS OF OUTREMER, my series of historical fantasy novels set in the medieval crusader states, which were dominated by strong medieval women! Book 5, THE HOUSE OF MOURNING (forthcoming 2023) will focus, to a greater extent than any other novel I've ever yet read or written, on the experience of women during the crusades - as warriors, captives, and political leaders. I can't wait to share it with you all!

i just love pippin so much

Who is your party partner on this Hobbit Day? 😄🎉

love the idea !! my account is very new so here is the little team: @hippodameia @diet-cokette (bc second account) @destinyeternity1 and you @thewitchkingiscool-ace ^^

🖤🖤🖤

Omg guys the LotR tag is trending :DDD

New tag game: tag all of the lotr/the hobbit mutuals you have

LOTR FANS I SUMMON YOU

@bilbo-baggins-is-a-fcking-vibe @unethicallypleistocene @hobbitwrangler @horsewithaface @local-pirate-king @solidorange69 @kylobith @am0o5 @frodothefair @raccooninmycabbages @lowopacityelrondpussy @friendofthefellowship @bookworm-with-coffee @deadlymistletoe @unicornslayerofd000m @spookylolbit @mairon-the-admirable @goblincoreinfp @melkor-the-first-dark-lord @mrfrodosstuff @bambino1294 @brigwife

I try not to cry too but it never works (love thorin too much)

ps : sinning too! I'm actually restarting it because last time I began the books i was in the middle of classes and I ended up not focusing on either ^^

Tag who you want to catch up with / get to know better !

Tagged by @hippodameia thank you so much!!

Last song: Champagne & Sunshine by PLVTINUM, Tarro (i love the singing of approximately the second verse but i don't like the end so i always replay the beginning) [ps: yours is sooo good]

Last film: was interrupted in the middle of The Two Towers

Currently reading: I was in between books! I just finished The Spears Of Jerusalem by George Bordonove (about the Crusades and King Baldwin IV, which i did like but some parts were seriously weird -women written by men stereotype, no need to elaborate-, ps: wondering if historical romance, even if published, if about a real person, counts as xOC fanfic, bc i've read all of the romance ao3 has to offer about this king already so how is this book any different?), and was planning to read A Splendid Ruin next, by Megan Chance, but lotr is also ever-ongoing

Currently Watching: Outlander, i like it! but the violence made me cover my eyes

Current Obsession: my ao3 WIP, i'm knee-deep in the outline doc (Witch-King fanfic)

Tagging without pressure: @konartiste @eyredragneel @diet-cokette @thewitchkingiscool-ace @destinyeternity1 @burgerkingpiccolo @horsewithaface @uvanym

if you ended up on my tumblr, you might like this :

i found the shop on insta (@ / silverdragontees) but they don't have a tumblr (is this proper tumblr etiquette to screen it like this????) either way it's cursed so obviously I ordered one

Tag who you want to catch up with / get to know better !

Tagged by @hippodameia thank you so much!!

Last song: Champagne & Sunshine by PLVTINUM, Tarro (i love the singing of approximately the second verse but i don't like the end so i always replay the beginning) [ps: yours is sooo good]

Last film: was interrupted in the middle of The Two Towers

Currently reading: I was in between books! I just finished The Spears Of Jerusalem by George Bordonove (about the Crusades and King Baldwin IV, which i did like but some parts were seriously weird -women written by men stereotype, no need to elaborate-, ps: wondering if historical romance, even if published, if about a real person, counts as xOC fanfic, bc i've read all of the romance ao3 has to offer about this king already so how is this book any different?), and was planning to read A Splendid Ruin next, by Megan Chance, but lotr is also ever-ongoing

Currently Watching: Outlander, i like it! but the violence made me cover my eyes

Current Obsession: my ao3 WIP, i'm knee-deep in the outline doc (Witch-King fanfic)

Tagging without pressure: @konartiste @eyredragneel @diet-cokette @thewitchkingiscool-ace @destinyeternity1 @burgerkingpiccolo @horsewithaface @uvanym