#helms Deep

[gandalf-the-fool]

[beardedmrbean]

[bedroomdoorclosed]

[emilybeemartin]

Boromir Lives AU: Helm's Deep

This is going to make more sense if you read my illustrated dissertation on Boromir's hair length and emotional stability across the trilogy.

There's a reason Boromir had to die in canon and it's because there's too much opportunity for CHARACTER DEVELOPMENNTT

Also

Temporary crisis

Gimli's pissed

Legolas makes a shirt that says I slapped Boromir at Helm's Deep and all I got was a blunted arrow.

Hey, it worked, though. Bad luck for the uruks who happened to be first through the breach of the Deeping Wall.

"GONDORRRRRR"

Boromir Lives: Whump-Time After Pelennor

Boromir Lives: GO TO SLEEP

Boromir Lives: Aragorn's Coronation

Boromir Lives: Faramir and Eowyn's Wedding

[autistook]

The Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers

[elladanns]

I'll never forget what we lost 😞

Helms Deep Arwen forever in our hearts ❤️🥲

[laedevolta]

[thranduilofsmirkwood]

Backgound LEGOLAS can really multi-task.

This is one of my favorite scenes. Legolas is trying to eavesdrop on Aragorn and Éowyns conversation while guiding scared civilians with a gentle hand.

Fucking legend.

[mosseater1973]

have you, like many others, ever wondered how gimli managed to overtake legolas’ kill count during the battle of helms deep? well wonder no longer!

two factors go into this: one, arrows. in the movies, it seems like legolas has a never ending supply (i wont fault them too much for this because he does take the time to scavenge for arrows, though not during the heat of battle). in the books, though, he very quickly has to resort to using his knives once the orcs breach the wall.

two, in the books, when theoden calls for his forces to fall back behind the second wall, gimli is left fighting with a few other soldiers while legolas manages to retreat, giving gimli an opportunity to up his kill count.

now, i don’t know whether these numbers (42 and 43) are realistic for a battle of this scale, but they are the same numbers tolkien used in the books. i always think about how those kills are only a drop in the bucket against a force of 10,000, but i digress.

**edit: that scene in the movie where legolas and gimli share their kill counts is actually the first time they’re seeing each other after the battle- it’s the first time they find out that they’re both alive and well after being separated and it makes me so emotional lol

[black-sapphire57]

Saruman sending his entire legion to helms deep and leaving Isengard unprotected-

An angry tree whose upset cause he cut down his homies:

[dancingbluelight]

source!!

[whiteladyofithilien]

Legolas' Cave Trauma

So it occurred to me that it seemed a bit weird that Legolas, who arguably has spent hundreds of years in a freaking cave palace, would be as anti-cave as he is in the books when Gimli goes off about the wonder of the Glittering Caves in Helm's Deep. So I had to reconcile these two facts. I consulted with the council of Elrond (aka my Tolkien friends) and one of them was like "just cause he lived in the caves doesn't mean he liked it. Thranduil had made the cave palace as a stronghold against the evils of the world outside his realm" while my thoughts was just "Legolas has cave trauma after Moria".

Because as we all know Legolas absolutely loses his shit when he sees the Balrog, like full on screaming Elvish meltdown.

So I combined the two theories to run along this line... Legolas was never a fan of caves, growing up on stories of the evil things that dwelt under the mountains he probably was not a huge fan when that's where his dad decided to repair to as the world grew more perilous. I picture little Leggy being especially scared of the Balrogs in stories told to him as a child. We gotta remember Balrogs are an extremely ancient and distant myth for even a lot of the elves, especially the "less wise" elves of Thranduil's folk. Most peoples are convinced that the last of the Balrogs perished in the War of Wrath, heck even people like Elrond may think this. So for Legolas this is his childhood monster under the bed, the Elvish Boogeyman. Balrogs shouldn't exist. They're just a scary story you tell kids to make them behave or to exemplify the valor of the elves of old who slew them. Some legends may say that some survived in deep places of the world but no one believes them any more, except maybe for little elven princelings but they grow up and grow out of it and after hundreds of years living in their dad's cave palace they're just an embarrassing memory of childhood fears.

But then Moria happens and it's his nightmares coming and standing before him more terrifying than he even imagined as a child and then striking down the most powerful being he's ever known. And it's just terrorizing and traumatizing and while the time in Lorien helps to settle his nerves he's none too eager to ever step foot underground again.

Especially to unknown caves.

Especially to a place underground that Gimli is a excited about.

The last time this happened he saw the terror of tales of long ago come to living reality in front of his eyes.

This may even be part of the reason why Legolas won't repeat the laments for Gandalf. "The grief is too near" and so is the terror. He doesn't wanna think about his living nightmare again, especially so soon. Of course he heals somewhat from his Cave Trauma and his friendship with Gimli helps I'm sure, after all they probably talked about it while they were hanging in Lorien becoming besties. And in turn seeing Legolas willingly go underground to take the Paths of the Dead encourages him to follow. He's just seen his bestie face his fears and now he must do the same.

[autistook]

March 3rd: The Battle of Helm's Deep begins

Where now are the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?

[theworldsoftolkein]

The Lord of the Rings Sign Post - by C.L.V Moore

[lovebeatriceplz]

My favorite thing about the lotr franchise might be how everyone gets dirty, has eye bags, bruises, blood and grime everywhere, mangled hair, torn clothing. And then Legolas just looks flawless, everytime he pops up careless whisper starts to play in the background i swear.