#gil-estel

[orions-mistletoe-arrow]

Celebrimbor, trying desperately to get out of his family's shadow: "And here's my forge! It's more powerful than any ever built. Able to birth a flame as hot as a dragon's tongue, and as pure as starlight!"

Elrond, mildly: "Ah, it reminds me of my father."

Celebrimbor: "..........elrond can you let me have one FUCKING THING?!??!"

[rana-temporaria]

Thinking so much about Earendil defeating Ancalagon

Like imagine you're a soldier in War of Wrath, you've been fighting for 50 years, you've endured unspeakable horrors and violence and bloodshed

You think it's over finally with this final battle to take Angband

And then. Ancalagon

The dragon is the size of a mountain range, the sun is setting, the black breath is powerful and kills the front line

You are going to die and all of the horror and war has been for nothing

Then, shining with a living light on his brow, Earendil

Gil Estel

Earendil is fighting the dragon, night has fallen, you still think you'll die but you HAVE to fight, after seeing Earendil in the air fighting the greatest horror you've ever seen

It's a horrible night, many of your friends and comrades die

Earendil fights the whole night with you

The dawn comes just as Earendil defeats Ancalagon, day has come again

The dragon's body destroys thangorodrim where Morgoth once tortured Maedhros

The gates of Angband are broken down, those who were imprisoned there, some of them for 1000s of years, are freed

It's over

The Enemy is defeated and chained

And above you, the star of hope, Earendil, Ardamirë as Idril named him, the jewel of the world

Day has come again

[hobbitinnumenor]

"Now when first Vingilot was set to sail in the seas of heaven, it rose unlooked for, glittering and bright; and the people of Middle Earth beheld it from afar and wondered, and they took it for a sign, and called it Gil-Estel, the Star of High Hope." ✨️ J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Silmarillion", "Of The Voyage of Eärendil", pg 239 (my edition!) ✨️

Hope is the thing. Always. It is holding trust when things are dark, trust that whatever needs to happen will...and that there *will* be light again. Because there always will be, present darkness notwithstanding 🙏🏻🫶🏻✨️

Anywho, obsessed with my new necklace holding Eärendil's heraldry, thank you so much PookaWorksStudio (Etsy) 🙏🏻🫶🏻✨️🧝🏻‍♂️🧝🏻‍♀️🐦🌊✨️

[sophiadatomato]

Does anyone else think Elrond had issues "performing in the bedroom" at night with Eärendil always watching and being visible? I'm just saying it could be kind of weird, like just imagine you're doing the deed and the brightest light visible is your dad

[berensreverie]

Tolkientober day 27 : hope

[eri-pl]

I realized something about the Silmarils again and now I am sad again.

So, Gil-Estel, Star of (high) Hope. The one that wasn't reclaimed/stolen* and lost by the Feanorians.

And there are three of them. You know what else comes in a set of three and contains Hope? Faith, Hope, and Love, the... Whatever it's called in English. Anyway we could have three stars, for three beautiful things.

Even more sad: the one that got away was Elwing's. She originally had two brothers. We could have a star per each of them. Somehow. (Yes, someone would have to steal them, but let's ignore this so I can blame everything on Celegorm, because I don't like the guy)

*your opinion may vary

Ok, this post seems not very interesting so let's add a poll

the Silmarils were ___ by Maglor and Maedhros

stolen

reclaimed

Voting ended onJun 7, 2024

[novemberthecatadmirer]

Me spreading rumor:

I think Angband produced air pollution and you cannot see blue sky in day or stars at night in areas around Angband

Imagine over the years the air quality in Beleriand just got worse and worse

I mean, Morgoth hated Manwe and Varda did he

(I think he had separate specific ways to destroy/twist/mock each Valar’s artwork

How did the dark creatures who born and grew up in Angband react when they saw stars for the first time in their life, likely when they marched away from Angband to conquer and kill and spread terror

Did they fear the stars because the stars looked like those lights on the dark king’s crown

Or did they still got attracted by them, the light faraway that did not make them hurt? The sun burnt them but the stars, the stars were friendly and the stars were just there

If some of them wanted to run away and hide away and away from the terror of their master, did the friendly lights guide their ways?

When Gil-Estel appeared in the sky it was a star that you could even see in Angband through the thick smog and gray clouds

When thralls looked up they could see a star

A reminder

There was the star that was once stolen and trapped and enslaved by evil but the star broke loose and now was high above the sky

And that was not the only star out there over the clouds, maybe their sights got blocked by the dark and horror of Angband but over the clouds there were all the stars and they were bright and never touched by the self-claimed king

And the stars had always been there and would always be there, away from the land away from the hands of the Evil

The thralls knew the Evil could take them kill them use them or even twist them but the Evil could not have the stars

Was that a relief was that enough

Or that was not enough but it was good and the stars would always be there even after the land falling beneath the sea

[demos-oneiroi]

Eärendil, the Star of high hope.