#nienna

[thetiredprometheus]

Who's your favourite silmarillion rarepair?

I want to participate in the 2025 silmarillion rarepair bingo but I don't actually have that many ships for this fandom, so ideas would be appreciated

(I especially would love wlw because I feel this fandom lacks it)

[eri-pl]

Yes. I ship them romantically in AUs where Melkor gets better early and doesn't wreck the Trees. No, I don't know why this changes it, but in my head it does. I firend-ship them in AUs where he gets better later. But yea, in my head if he didn't do many of his bad choices, they'd be happily married. They are probably the most shipping I do to any couple. (There is post-reembodiment Finduilas x Maeglin, but it's more "it rhymes thematically so it's a thing" and not emotional investment. anso Morwen x Eol but again it's "their names and aesthetics fit + he doesn't marry Aredhel in this AU and based on vibes he wouldn't be awful to Morwen, idk why, the vibes told me so + we combo Maeglin and Turin into a one disaster half-elf". OK I think I generally like Turin-Maeglin parallels a lot.) I'm bored by romantic plots, ok?

To me, "according to the early writings" ≠ "we know" (iirc it's not in the Silm) but yes, I can see that working. Not my HC really; I have more than one HC about what happens late in the timeline and they all are at the same time strange, vague, complex, probably not very well thought out…. and some other things. I can see them growing weary, yes, even grief over Melkor being a part of it but I have no idea how to satisfyingly tie that AUline to any variant of DD or generally "what do we do with Melkor in particular"

Do you think that since Melkor is trapped in the void, Manwë misses his brother? The King of Arda, on top of Valinor, staring into the Void, but without a glimpse of his brothers... 😭

[iingezo]

Nienna for @bepph !

[sempermoi]

Nienna

It’s been a while again since I drew the lady with the eternal tears ^^ I wanted to draw her in a more tarot card style this time

[sugurugetos]

Mightier than Este is NIENNA, sister of the Feanturi; she dwells alone. She is acquainted with grief, and mourns for every wound that Arda has suffered in the marring of Melkor. So great was her sorrow, as the Music unfolded, that her song turned to lamentation long before its end, and the sound of mourning was woven into the themes of the World before it began. But she does not weep for herself; and those who hearken to her learn pity, and endurance in hope. All those who wait in Mandos cry to her, for she brings strength to the spirit and turns sorrow to wisdom.

The KING'S MEN were those among the Númenóreans who were hostile to the Eldar and will of the Valar throughout the history of Númenor during the later half of the Second Age.

THE RINGS OF POWER — 2.05

[celebrimborium]

the rings of power + references to the first age (and earlier)

[part i]

[lucigianart]

Enamel pin designs featuring heraldic devices for (some, but not all) the valar, important characters from Tolkien's legendarium. I will be creating heraldic devices for all the valar (eventually). Which ones speak out to you? Do you have a favorite vala? If I'm honest, I really can't decide, but I do really love Mando's, Ulmo's, and Manwë's devices!

I’m making these via. Kickstarter and will be released as a three-part series. The first campaign is live! 🙌 Here’s a link. 🔗

[rhinocio]

reality: What Song shitposts in my mind: high art

[eccentricmya]

The Valar's mistake did not lie in seeing a possibility of good in Melkor. Rather, their mistake lay in not seeing the equal possibility of him remaining evil.

[tolkien-povs]

Okay, the only proof of Námo being an awkward introvert is him saying, "Not the first" when Fëanáro was having a breakdown as to how he would be the first elf killed in Aman.

Like, just read that passage. He doesn't talk at all, except those three words, and revels in the side-eyes everyone gives him. But of course, no one thinks of it until Finwë is declared dead.

But still. Námo, the Doomsayer of The Valar, The Lord of The Dead, Lord of The Halls of Mandos, One of The Kings of Arda, is definitely an awkward introvert.

[aureentuluva70]

How heartbreakingly jarring is it that in a shrine dedicated to Nienna, the Vala of Sorrow, Mercy and Compassion, we see a numenorean spitefully destroy a relic of her, mock those who are there to honor "those for whom she weeps", and then murder another numenorean for the first time in the show, and one of the Faithful at that. And not just any faithful, but Valandil-whose very name means friend of the valar-who chose to show the kingsman mercy, which Kemen instantly proves himself undeserving of by literally and metaphorically stabbing Valandil in the back.

Kemen then washes his sword, now stained with the blood of one of the Faithful, in the waters of the shrine of Nienna the Compassionate as if bathing the blade in her tears, defiling them. I've heard that as a kind of ritual, swords were once dipped into water in order to receive the blessing of a deity, so with that point of view it feels very much like a deliberate inversion of a divine ritual, a mockery of that which is sacred, the complete desecration of a holy space.

And then Kemen has the gall to lie straight through his teeth, saying that Elendil-the one who convinced Valandil to grant Kemen mercy in the first place-"was the one who started the uprising."

If Kemen is supposed to be a kind of representation of the Kingsman alike to his father, he has sent one message and one message only: that mercy for the Faithful is dead in Numenor.

How incredibly tragic and yet how fitting that in the defiling of a temple dedicated to the Vala of Mercy we see the fruit of violence and the beginning of a kingdom's end sprout. With Nienna's love and compassion gone, it's only inevitable that Morgoth's shadow of terror and of hate is soon to come, and Numenor's doom with it.

[thelien-art]

Lady of Pity & Lord of All Evil

Black Dahlia: A Black Dahlia usually symbolizes betrayal, doom, and other negative emotions, although their darkest symbolism is of evil and dishonesty

Lily: Lilies symbolizes purity, goodness, mercy, innocence, humility, faith, and hope

Thank you @melkors-defense-attorney for helping me with the clothes and @cuarthol for ideas for the glass <3<3<3

[thetiredprometheus]

Maglor is Nienna's favourite elf btw

[hailturinturambar]

“Mightier than Estë is Nienna, sister of the Fëanturi; she dwells alone. She is acquainted with grief, and mourns for every wound that Arda has suffered in the marring of Melkor.”

The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien

[nighttimepatrons]

@chthonion I decided to start my reread from when Elrond shows up and honestly it is so delightful to see Elrond be a hater for once in his life. anyway Elrond saying he'd rather have Annatar sit somewhere else after they find Maglor inspired the first part of this silly video and the rest sort of turned up on their own.

[gracefallingart]

The Valar at Creation

This work in progress has been beating me up. I know that this is a pretty (non-supernatural) version of them but I wanted to make the whole group looking out upon the vision of Arda.

Staging all of them has been a struggle so far and I will think very hard before attempting a large detailed group piece like this again. There is still so much to add and do… but basic line work is finished.

Left to Right: (Melkor, Oromë, Yavanna, Vána, Aulë, Nessa, Tulkas, Ulmo, Manwë, Varda, Nienna, Vairë, Námo, Estë, Irmo).