#lights of valinor

[whiteladyofithilien]

I truly think that the greatest of all of Samwise Gamgee's great deeds is the mortal blows to Shelob. Shelob the spawn of Ungoliant. Ungoliant who destroyed the trees in Valinor at Morgoth's bidding. This deed ranks above even Gandalf's slaying of the Balrog as far as sheer badassery goes.

Here is this little Hobbit who's spent his life gardening and just admiring elves as a thing in songs and far above him doing a deed so great that any elf lord in all the history of Arda would bow to him for it. The orcs thought there was a mighty elf warrior in the passage and they weren't too far off. Any ancient hero of elven lore would have ranked slaying the spawn of Ungoliant as one if not the greatest of his achievements.

There may be no more amazing deed of heroism in all the trilogy than this. Shelob the last descendant of the most foul of all creatures brought down by Samwise Gamgee. It's even more epic than Eowyn and Merry slaying the Witch-King for this is a remnant of a far more ancient evil. An evil that never was anything but evil. No tragic seduction by the Dark Lord here. Just the spawn of the light eating wholly evil giant spider who terrified even Morgoth.

#samwise gamgee #samwise the brave #lotr #lord of the rings #shelob #ungoliant #cirith ungol #morgoth #two trees of valinor #valinor #trees of light #lights of valinor #silmarils #Silmarillion #sauron #witch king #witch king of angmar #eowyn #merry brandybuck #gandalf #Balrog #earendil #light of earendil #elves #tolkien #tolkien elves #i do not desire the speech of living men

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

Faramir, elf enthusiest: so, Legolas! I have some questions about elven culture if i can ask them!

Legolas, silvan (dark elf), has a vague idea of how the noldor/sindar (light elf) realms in middle earth function but not really that knowledgeable about it, which is presumably what faramir does know. Also, certified little shit: sure, lay it on me.

——————————————————————-

Idk, i hink it’s be funny if faramir was fanboying about being able to ask an actual elven prince about elven things, only for legolas to have like 5% knowledge of the elven realms under noldor/sindar rule, which is what faramir has learned about. And then deciding to mess with him anyway.

Don’t worry, legolas eventually tells the truth and offers faramir volumes worth of knowledge about the silvan and avari elves that have faramir vibrating with excitement.

#lord of the rings #lotr #silmarillion #the hobbit #lotr elves #legolas #mirkwood #silvans #incorrect tolkien quotes #incorrect lotr quotes #silm incorrect quotes #avari and silvans are referred to as ‘dark elves’ bc they refuse the light of valinor and the ainur #the noldor/vanyar/teleri/sindar elves are referred to as‘light elves’ bc they accepted the ainur #faramir #legolas tells faramir about all the different silvan and avari things and he is extatic #they bond over this #faramir becomes one of the most knowledgeable humans of the silvan/avari elven cultures #meanwhile epwyn bonds with legolas’s sisters as fellow warriors #legolas and faramir sitting on the sideline discussing silvan dances while eowyn kleoyia and lasgen are sparring in front of them

[nighttimepatrons]

You should draw a drunk tyelko LOL

Tyelko partied too close to the sun Trees 😔

I spent way too much time on this holy fuck!! anyway happy new years!!!

#my art #happy new year #celegorm #tyelkormo #tolkien #the banishment is not going well #middle earth #the silm #valinor #the silmarillion #silmarillion #elves #i have wanted to do this meme for literal years #animation #kinda #flashing lights #i asked but then i couldn't stop asking #curufiin #Formenos is traced off of Castello Aragonese #i was not going to make it from scrach tf

[sesamenom]

Finarfin in the War of Wrath

inspired by @actual-bill-potts' amazing writing

#silm #silmarillion #finarfin #the part where he wanted to cut his hair really jumped out to me with the symbolism #his hair is a reflection of the Trees long gone #a symbol of hope and light from a simpler time #and the blood and grime of war is so different from the diamond streets and pearl shores of valinor #and how the sindar were the ones to convince him to keep it #as living memory of the times when beleriand too was calm #or at least as much as possible #and as the embodiment of the hope that they could return it to that state

[hwestalas]

Here's a drawing that I did of Beleg, best friend in the Silmarillion, chilling in a tree on a summer's day with the little birdies (not shown)!

(If anyone wishes to dispute this, I can only point you to the line that broke my heart: "Thus ended Beleg Strongbow, truest of friends..." Tolkien himself said that in the Silmarillion! So there.)

(LIES. I can also admit that reasonable arguments could be made for the Best Friend Ever status of several other Silm characters)

(Notice that I very carefully said "in the Silmarillion," not "in the Tolkien legendarium." The historographer would not have been familiar with Samwise Gamgee.)

(Good thing - I have no idea which one is a better friend.)

(And who cares? I like good friends better than competition!)

(Oh, wait that quote said "truest" not "best." My logic resembles Swiss cheese.)

Fun/heartrending fact: On Holy Saturday a couple years ago, I thought I'd get in the mourning mood by reading the longest and saddest chapter in the Silmarillion... for the first time. Thus I first learned of Beleg and his shocking non-sequitur death. I cry over books all the time (okay, so only when they're sad or otherwise moving) but this was the only time I feared I would faint or throw up because of something in a book.

Anyway, this is my only fan art of him so far (no doubt there will be more, as he is now not only my second-favorite character in the Tolkien legendarium, but #2-3 of fictional characters from anywhere), and it's happy because he's such a happy guy, and I want to be happy thinking about him. :)

#fanart #my art #silmarillion #beleg #beleg cuthalion #beleg strongbow #trees and forests #Planner 10 #I was experimenting with light effects using brush pens on this one #OH maybe the historographer met Sam later in Valinor! #I'm happy for the historographer #Even if he makes a decision on whether Beleg or Sam is the best friend #If anyone wanted to dispute the fact that little birdies are not shown #I'd be thrilled to have them pointed out! #I'm sure they're cute!

[maglorslostsilmaril]

hc that as a side effect of the oath, the sons of feanor, as they became more and more silmaril-obsessed and oath-driven, start to become more and more like the things they swore the oath to.

like, they begin to look faded and washed out, aside from their eyes, which turn blindingly bright.

despite all the evil they’ve done, the silmarils are hallowed by varda, and so their skin burns to the touch of those who have also done wrong.

(also i think they should glow in the dark a little bit. as a treat.)

by the end of it they’re more wraiths than anything else, halfway between elf and those oathbreakers in RotK; the oath not only mentally but physically consumes them.

#of course this means that by the end maglor and maedhros are almost straight up see-through aside from their eyes #maybe over the centuries maglor slowly become solid again and his eyes begin to lose that brightness #ending up an only slightly brighter than normal version of the tree light #(happy ending) so if he ever ends up in rivendell elrond gets to see him more whole than he ever did before #(sad ending) he’s finally recovered from the effects of the oath but there’s nothing he can do to make up for his actions #anyways #tolkien #the silmarillion #tolkien headcanons #silmarillion headcanons #the sons of feanor #should i tag them all?? #maedhros #maglor #celegorm #caranthir #curufin #amrod #amras #OHHH I HAVE ANOTHER THOUGHT what if maglor ends up back in valinor and he HASNT healed all the way but his reborn brothers HAVE

[silmarillion-ways-to-die]

#kuno's classics #valinor #tree-based lighting system #ungoliant #Ungoliant defense league #tolkien #lord of the rings #silmarillion #lotr #lotr rop #lotr trop #fantasy #jrr tolkien #lotr memes #tolkien memes

[tene324]

trying to cook up a varda design im happy with

#varda elentari #the silmarillion #valar #lord of the rings #her face is a mask #and the light of valinor shines out from her eyes and stuff #and the back of her hair and cloak have stars on it #and shes 7ft tall

[gardensofthemoon]

i’m on my first silm reread since highschool i think (so more than eight years), and it’s the first time i read it in english — and i JUST finished the flight of the noldor and i’m an emotional wreck, my hands tremble, i cried so much, i didn’t expect to be so angry at the valar. look how they massacred my boy

after so much introduction and infodumping (affectionate) there is SO MUCH happening here, i thought i could handle it since i’ve been in the fandom for a few months already and i’m familiar with the plotline but DAMN i had such a gut-punch, i’m sobbing

#silm reread #elio rambles #feanor #silmarillion #the valar #feanorian stan #like i get it he did a bunch of shitty stuff kinslaying aside #but mandos is so shady #‘not the first’ said mandos #that slayed me #and the doom of the noldor!!!! whatttt that’s a curse #that’s literally a curse #oh my fucking god #and that line about how feanor loved his dad more than the light of valinor #im crying again fuck #he loved his dad more than the silmarils #not to mention that we were robbed of the text of the Oath #why isn’t that shit in the silmarillion #i had to look it up #then feanor laughed as one fey #i just have so many emotions about this chapter

[erotetica]

Thinkin abt Laurelin’s fruits being chinese lantern fruit, and Telperion’s flowers being pitcher plants…

#tolkien #two trees of valinor #headcanon #yes this is abt the russingon illustration. there’s a window. #something something the leaves are very shiny and they reflect the light sourced in the fruits/flowers #maybe also reflective sap veins running thru the bark…..

[whiteladyofithilien]

The Joy of Mortality and the Beauty of Sorrow as Tolkien tells it

"Human stories are practically always about one thing, really, aren't they? Death. The inevitability of death. (quoting an obituary) 'There is no such thing as a natural death. Nothing that ever happens to man is natural, since his presence calls the whole world into question. All men must die, but for every man his death is an accident, and even if he knows it he would sense to it an unjustifiable violation.' Well, you may agree with the words or not, but those are the key spring of The Lord Of The Rings"

- J R R Tolkien

And it's true. The Lord of the Rings and really all the tales of Arda are centered around the idea that marred things can still be beautiful. That mortality was a gift to Men. That all things are working towards a purpose and that the end result will after all the trials be a good one.

"Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker. In which case, you also were meant to have it. And that may be an encouraging thought"

One of the many reasons why Lord of the Rings is so enduring I believe is its depictions of grief and hope. It's both very sad but the kind of sad that makes you feel good. Like the relief that comes after a much needed cry.

The Death of Theoden perfectly captures this as do many other moments like the departure and fading of the elves. Frodo leaving Middle-Earth or Arwen forsaking her place on the ships to Valinor or even just the beauty of Eowyn who is described as sad and fair and no less fair for being sad, Galadriel also gets painted as an embodiment of similar "contradictions" that the mind says are not akin but the heart knows they are

#lord of the rings #tolkien #lotr #jrr tolkien #eowyn #galadriel #lothlorien #silmarillion #hobbit #theoden #Rohan #arwen #arwen undomiel #elrond #lights of valinor #valinor #ships to valinor #frodo #sorrow #beauty of sorrow #frodo baggins #the great tales #i do not desire the speech of living men #tell it like tolkien

[silvantransthranduiltrash]

Me: *jerks awake at 3am in bed* what if I seperate the Noldor/vanyar/teleri/sindar elves from the silvan and avari elves by referring to the Ainur touched elves (aka the Noldor/vanyar/teleri/sindar) as “light elves”, and the elves who refused the ruling of the Ainur (aka the silvans and avari) are called “dark elves”?

This could further be compounded by the “light elves” preferring to work and function during the day, while the “dark elves” prefer the night!

And, and, and by separating the two groups into “light” and “dark” elves, in-text it would perfectly encapsulate not only the distinction between the two opposite perspectives of the 2 groups, but also the way the Ainur touched elves view themselves as superior because they had direct contact with the Ainur by referring to themselves as “light” elves (but now in reference to being better than dark elves, not just as a description)!

#lord of the rings #lotr #silmarillion #the hobbit #lotr elves #mirkwood #silvans #greenwood the great #avari #noldor #vanya #teleri #sindar #avari and silvans are referred to as ‘dark elves’ bc they refuse the light of valinor and the Ainur #the noldor/vanyar/teleri/sindar elves are referred to as‘light elves’ bc they accepted the Ainur #lotr elves lore I just made up bc cannon is a sandbox #legolas

[ach-sss-no]

Prompt: sailor

I don’t think he sails, so here is Gollum on a paddle log. 

Sometimes I get around the ‘only night and underground lighting!’ thing by putting him outside at dawn or dusk where there’s some natural light... I think he was sometimes out with the hobbits in the early morning in LOTR and only starts freaking out when the sun is over the horizon. 

This here is probably evening, because his attitude is more of someone who’s lazily eyeing a candidate for second breakfast than someone who’s going to be panicking and fleeing the Yellow Face in the next few minutes. 

That bird is something called a ‘bar-tailed godwit’. I looked up UK-region marsh birds, saw that name, and decided that was the bird I wanted to use.

I want to finish this challenge up tomorrow so that on the 25th I can post a collection of the prompt art, so tomorrow two prompts will go up, and on the 25th two posts collecting the highlights of this challenge will go up. Tschuss!

#smaygol #gollum mermay 2023 #he has a frog in his mouth/hand #the filthy cannibal #animal death/ #I find it a little disappointing when adaptations just quietly drop Gollum's limitations on being in the light #because it's a big part of the character and how his corruption has affected his quality of life #but from a visual and logistic perspective i get it lol #Did u know that when he's in the dark #u can't see him????? #imagine if he paddled that log to valinor somehow #elf: frodo there is some little scavenger creature living on our beach and it screamed something about you when- #frodo: He Is Not My Problem Anymore Good Luck (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

[theoppositeofprofound]

7th Age Valinor Concept: devaluation of the Silmaril. Some brilliant baby or simply the combined effort of years of knowledge cracks the code on Silmaril technology and suddenly they can be made en masse. Because the Two Trees are dead and Varda isn’t handing out blessings anymore, the new Silmarils aren’t quite as stunning as the ogs, the same way mass produced tech is never as fancy as the prototypes. Less psychically devastating hope beam and more sexy SAD lamp. Those bright white beams they put on new cars. Every elf under 3000 has a hi wattage ultra diamond or three on them and their elders can’t decide if it’s horrifically disrespectful or so voiddamned funny.

#the silmarillion #baby elf with a silmaril knockoff around their neck ‘yeah I don’t see the point why did those old guys go to war anyway?’ #‘mine are actually a little bigger :)’ #their grandfather about to launch into one of Peepaw’s Special Little Rants #anyway Elwing commissions them just to use them as doorstops #someone in Valinor invents LED lights and a religious schism ensues #rip Tolkien elves! you would have liked light pollution so much #until you realized it made it harder to see the stars #seventh age Valinor a glittering neon metropolis with the equivalent of a year round Christmas light display #but everything has to be turned OFF after two hours so we can appreciate varda’s good work #blackout curtains in every house timers on every street lamp

[simajart]

Instagram: simajart

#simajart #woman #art #lothlorien #lotr on prime #lotr movies #lotr #rings of power #galadriel #lady of light #elven #elf #noldor #tolkien #valinor

[tanoraqui]

the truest form of vacation is acting completely on a whim, which is why here on my day off, instead of catching up writing the various fics I do yearn to write, and DEFINITELY instead of doing any unpacking, I am making scatter graphs and excel tables to try to pin down a mathematically sound headcanon of LotR/Silmarillion Elf aging rates (mostly ignoring Tolkien, who personally admitted that he couldn’t do math and had written things into the “official” timeline that made no sense)

#the silmarillion #fandom #eldar #i'll share it eventually #ft. birth years of all feanor's grandchildren #a key element of my theorizing is that time moves differently in valinor regardless of the present light source #note to self: maeglin was 80 when aredhel fled with him and 190 when gondolin fell