P/N: This document was published by OneSizeFitsAll. The sentiments expressed in this document are solely those of the author (Denethor) and are not necessarily held by OneSizeFitsAll. If you wish to ask questions, voice objections, give encouragement, etc. You may leave a review at the bottom of the page or PM OneSizeFitsAll, and he will contact the author, eventually returning with the author's reply, if a reply is necessary or desired. Thank you.
Thanks to Miriel Tolkien, Dragonsire13, Melkor'sOnlyLieutenant, LuthienThranduillion, TimeyWimeyGirl, and CloveClove for reviewing. Miriel Tolkien, Faramir says thanks, you're are so encouraging, mate. In this story though, it's too late. (If you want to read a story where there still is hope for those some, try The Witch King of Angmar by me.) Dragonsire13, Sauron says that he had some VERY good points there, as he hopes you noticed. And the Nazgul say that they can't help their accents, but they agree with you, that's probably what made them have so few lines, and that now that they've written out what they say so people can understand them, hopefully their fan base will increase. Thank you for your concern. Melkor'sOnlyLieutenant, (and everyone else who PMed me to say that they like Boromir) Boromir says...Well, here's his message, word for word. "Hi guys, you're awesome! I'm so glad to hear you like me better! And, yeah, it's pretty rough to inherit insanity. And thanks for the comment about the nine year olds. Sometimes I dream that I'll walk down the street and see little kids pretending to be me. It's my highest ambition, to be some kid's hero and to inspire him to be great." (Sorry if there are wet spots on the page, the publisher has been crying for the past few seconds. Sniff sniff.) LuthienThranduillion, Boromir says thanks for understanding, and see above. TimeyWimeyGirl, Boromir sends a smiley face. Here it is. :) CloveClove, yes, Aragorn just gets more and more unpopular. Maybe I should get him to write a Defense. What do you guys think? And you're completely welcome. I plan to keep doing this as long as I can find people who will write for me...And after I'm done I may switch to a different movie. Maybe Avengers or Star Wars. So expect me around for a good long while.
Note: You have to have read the book to understand some of these references, such as the part about the Palantir.
Another Note: I just revised this chapter, acting on suggestions from time2read, and a few family members. I'll tell you what belongs to the former at the end of the chapter. But I would like to recognize them here.
Denethor
Hi, I'm Denethor. I want you to know that I'm really not that bad of a guy...really!
First things first, you have to understand I have huge emotional and mental problems. I've been battling depression ever since my wife died, and it's not like we had any meds back then to cure it. How would you feel if you wife died and you had a country to rule and two sons to raise on top of it all? It's no wonder I was depressed. And I had to live with it and try to overcome it all by myself. And the fact that Boromir died, Osgiliath fell, and Faramir was injured didn't lighten my mood any.
Still, I think I could have dealt with it, only I looked into that Palantir. When I looked into the Palantir I had what you might call a front row seat on the misery of the world around me. I saw all the bad things that were sure to happen, and I got even more depressed.
Why did I look into the Palantir? Well, everybody else had their little magic tool. Gandalf had his staff, Galadriel had her mirror, and they expected me to battle the armies of Mordor all by myself! Besides, nobody warned me they were addictive! Once I looked in once, the temptation was far too great for mortal man to resist! (And I don't believe an immortal elf could have resisted it either.) Aragorn looked in a Palantir and no one got mad at him. But he wasn't any better than I was...he couldn't see anything but what the Eye wanted him to see either. It's completely unfair.
Another thing...I really loved Faramir. He reminded me of his mother, before she died. The reason I was so hard on him was that I really wanted to see him succeed. Criticism made him want to succeed, as well. You see how much time he spent, just trying to prove his quality. So I had to be mean to him, to get him to do something.
It worked because he was a pushover. Anyone could make him do anything. As I said, I really do love him...but he was annoying sometimes, just because he would just do whatever. Like when he was told to draw the troops out of Osgiliath. He didn't question, he didn't think it through. He just said "Okay...I'll do whatever you say..." I bet if he had been Steward he would have just handed Gondor over to that no-good ranger...just so that he wouldn't have to make the decisions. He was always like that. Leaving the burden of decision making to someone else...usually Boromir. Once Boromir died and he had to make the decisions, he always made bad ones because he didn't know how.
That was why I didn't send him to Rivendell instead of Boromir in the first place. I was afraid he would get hurt by making a bad decision, and I was afraid he would just do whatever Elrond told him to and let them destroy the Ring. I knew Boromir could deal with any difficulties he might meet. Of course, I didn't expect him to join up with some fellowship and try to steal the Ring. We needed the Ring of course; it shouldn't have been destroyed...but theft? That was going a bit far. I was thinking more along the lines of negotiation.
I didn't really want him to go kill himself retaking Osgiliath. I never dreamed he would actually do it. I wanted to force him into defying me. He was such a milksop...I wanted him to learn he could control his own life and make his own decisions. But when he gave in and did what I told him to, it wasn't as though I could back out and say 'Never mind, I don't want you to go after all.'
Okay, so I did try to burn up Faramir. Well, parents are only human! You show me a parent who hasn't thought of burning up his child and I'll show you a liar. It was just that I loved him so much that I couldn't bear to be parted from him...even by death. If I was going to die, he was going to die too, and I was so depressed, I just couldn't live any longer. I already talked for quite some time about my depression. At any rate, it's devotion, not cruelty.
Besides, I thought that everyone was going to die anyways. I was afraid the city would be taken and the orcs would torture him. I couldn't leave him to undergo such pain!
So now you know that I'm really a pretty nice guy. At least I didn't do anything mean or wicked. Please say you like me now...please?
-Denethor
A/N (by Denethor): Certain of the lines ("nobody warned me those palantir things were addictive" and "parents are only human! You show me a parent who hasn't thought of burning up his child and I'll show you a liar.") in the above Defense do not belong to me. They were suggested by TommyGinger, and were used by permission. Thank you TG! They completely summed it up!
P/N: Hey guys! I put together a list of things for you to do today! Here it is:
Review this story. Tell me what you liked about it, what you didn't like, and what (and who) you want to see in the future. I'm always desperate for suggestions.
Follow/Fav this story (optional). Way more of you have reviewed this story than have favourite or followed it. Really, don't you want to be able to remember where it is?
Read and review some of my other stories. I have 8 stories up right now. If you like what I've written here, you should check into them.
Take my poll. Before I post the next chapter of this story, I will have taken down my present poll (Which Lord of the Rings character are you most like? A parody of all my favourite and least favourite characters). So if you haven't taken it...take it. Now! Please?
Okay, so here are some things you should never do under ANY condition:
Review Middle Earth: Its Mental Condition by Lily lindsey-aubery. You can read it if you want, but DON'T review it. Please. She and I are having a contest on which story can get more reviews...this one and the one I already named. Obviously, I'm going for my own.
Okay, and here is an unofficial poll. Respond via reviews and PMs.
Whose defenses do you want to see in future?
Saruman
Grima Wormtongue
Gollum
Frodo
Sam
Shelob
Aragorn
Other (you name him)
Please get back to me, and thanks for reading!
Yet Another Note: This is what belongs to time2read:
The idea that Denethor has been battling depression since his wife died. (Notably the line 'I've been battling depression ever since my wife died, and it's not like we had any meds back then to cure it. How would you feel if you wife died and you had a country to rule and two sons to raise on top of it all?')
The Palantir made him depressed. (Notably the line 'When I looked into the Palantir I had what you might call a front row seat on the misery of the world around me.')
Everybody else had their little magic tool.
He wanted Faramir to defy him.
He wanted to protect Faramir from being tortured from orcs (and so tried to kill him).
Thanks, time2read...great ideas!