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#what ship would bear me ever back across so wide a sea
radiantcrown · 2 years
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        tag  drop.
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aureentuluva70 · 5 months
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Reading the song of Eldamar by Galadriel and the very last line "what ship would bear me ever back across so wide a sea?" sounds a LOT like something Maglor would say.
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venexus · 1 year
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notes/warnings: n x reader, gn!reader, fluff, discussions about the passage of time & aging, reader takes the place of the b&w mc but is not touya/touka
word count: 1.6k
listen i said i was gonna do it and i did it, the most self-indulgent thing i have finished writing in ages KASJHDKJFH also i have decided i'm ignoring the ages on the wiki, u were both teenagers during the events of bw and now like mid-20s in this fic okay thank u <3 @monocaelia my beloved here is ur food xox (if the layout's fudged on mobile bear with me i'll fix it asap)
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The Castelia City docks are a wonderful place to go and think when you need to clear your head.
Easy enough to fly to with the help of one of your beloved friends (your pokémon, but someone you once knew had once referred to them with the kinder moniker and it has stuck with you since), and the fresh sea air always does you good. It’s not as open and free as the beach towns near the outer edges of the region, but it provides a strange sense of comfort to be in such a bustling place and still manage to catch a moment of tranquility. 
Behind you, the clamouring hustle and bustle of the afternoon cityscape fades to white noise. In front, the caws and crows of overhead flying-type pokémon direct your attention out to the waters. To a familiar sense of freedom that you find so very comforting. 
A few small boats pull in across the docks, mostly private civilian vessels where people choose to come and go from the region at their own leisure. But there are some larger passenger cruisers that make their way to shore on occasion as you stand out there, looking across the crest and fall of the water below you. 
You can’t help but direct your attention to the boats as people filter their way out from the boarding decks to the dock platforms, bumbling along into the city to disperse across the entirety of Unova. Can’t help but think that, just maybe, you’ll catch a glimpse of a familiar face. 
The only people you know that are off-island at the moment are your dear friend Cheren, who has taken a trip to Kanto for a course related to his teaching position, and the sweet old couple from the daycare center who are visiting their nieces and nephews in Sinnoh. 
Well, and him, you suppose. 
Though it has been years since he’s shown up, and likely will be years before he ever does. That is, at least, if he ever does show up again. 
And yet life has a funny way of doing the most unexpected of things at times. 
You recognise one of the figures that departs the passenger ship which bobs gently in its mooring at the dock. But it is not the familiar face of your best friend, nor the narrow aged faces of the lovely daycare couple. 
No, this face is one that you have not seen for a very long time now, the very same one you had wondered if you ever would again. 
That very same face is pointed in your direction as he stops in his tracks and the rest of the passengers weave their way around him, some more disgruntled about the diversion than others. His lips are parted in acute surprise, round wide eyes blinking as if he can’t believe what he is seeing. 
The sentiment is shared, you think to yourself, as you find yourself frozen in place, staring across at him as though you’re observing a ghost. 
Your feet move on their own, carrying you towards him at a pace you don’t think you’ve managed before. And you are stopping, right in front of him, inches away as you look him up and down (admittedly, looking more up than down), still entirely in disbelief that he is even here before you right now. 
N was always tall for his age, but it is such a palpable difference now as you look at him. Though he remains ephemeral, showing up out of nowhere like a phantom– just like the way he would back then. But now, it feels as though he's finally grown into the lanky body that he was gifted, filled out the edges and settled into a corporeal form.
"It's been a while," you offer slowly, words dragging through a viscous mess on your tongue as they struggle to escape. "How've you been?"
“You’ve never been one for small talk,” N comments plainly, and for the second time today you’re stunned in your tracks.
His voice is deeper than you recall, though of course the last time he spoke to you it was barely even cracking under the turbulent changes of early teenhood. Yet it still carries that light undertone, that symphonic hum that wraps around each syllable as it leaves his lips and delights the air with its melody. He is as fast a speaker as ever, but either he’s made an active effort to slow it down just a little, or you are so utterly enthralled by his appearance before you now that you have clung on tight to each and every word and refused to detach.
“Okay, you got me. I’m just surprised to see you,” you admit. “Why are you here?”
‘Why now?’ is the unspoken addition that hangs heavy in the air between you, clogging your lungs.
N has been gone for a decade now, ten whole years since everything that had happened between the two of you during your journey through Unova. You had heard at one point, from Cheren and Bianca, that he was back just two years later and had even stuck around for a while after that. But you were out of the region at that time, taking a trip to the islands of Alola to expand your experience as a trainer.
And he hadn’t come back even once in the eight years since.
(He hadn’t come to see you, is what you really mean, but you can’t even find it in your heart to entertain that notion after just how long it has been.)
It’s strange to see him now as an adult, after so many sleepless nights wondering if you had dreamed up the strange green-haired boy who seemed so fascinated by you. The boy who sat you down in a ferris wheel and changed the course of your entire life with a few short words, who pushed you, consciously or otherwise, to fight your way to saving an entire nation and befriending a legendary beast. 
Things like that only happen in dreams. Not even the cheerful addition of champion before people call your name is enough to remind you that everything is real.
But here, now, tangible and right in front of you, stands your proof.
“I wanted to come home.”
“The castle was destroyed… wasn’t it?” you ask, as if you don’t already know. As if you didn’t stand there at his side as it rose and as it fell. 
“That wasn’t home,” he says. Such a steadfast declaration as he looks at you, steeled gaze pinning you with an emotion that you haven’t felt for so long.
He looks at you as though he’s waiting for you to catch on to what he means, as though the truth is so painfully obvious that it’s a miracle you’ve not realised it yet. 
But ten years without someone leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to understanding them. You’ve changed enough in this past decade yourself, to the point where you wouldn’t recognise your teenage self even if they were blatantly introduced to you. He’s changed, very obviously so, and you can’t be blamed for not knowing what he’s thinking as he looks at you now. 
The only thing you know, the only thing running on loop through your mind as he watches you, is how pretty he looks right now. 
His hair looks as unkempt as ever, wild pastel green strands barely contained under his cap and the loose ponytail he holds them back with. The type of hair that looks rough at first glance but you just know it would be soft to the touch if you gave in to the temptation to thread your fingers through it. 
Two small silver beads hang from his ears now, catching the sunlight and winking at you. They match quite nicely with the spherical necklace that now sits far higher up against his chest than you remember, and the little cube puzzle that remains ever hooked to the loops of his belt. 
It is the only major change he seems to have consciously made to his appearance, still decked in the very same white-shirt-beige-trouser combination with that thin black turtleneck underneath. He has, however, finally changed out of those awful little bulbous green shoes you teased him for so often, replaced instead by a similar coloured pair of trainers. They’re not the greatest improvement, you chuckle to yourself, but they’ll do. 
One thing you notice most prominently about him, past the height and the shoes and the accessories, is the tiniest bit of light stubble poking through across his jaw. The strongest evidence that he is in fact older, an adult just like you now are as well. 
You have both grown so very much, and neither one of you had been around to see it. The thought is enough to make your chest ache, a feeling building up in the confines of your ribcage that swells until it is heavy enough to drop to your stomach. 
And then it hits you. 
What he means now, as he’s talking about home. The look in his eyes as he waits so patiently for it to sink in for you. 
And all there is left for you to do is to open your arms out wide, to accept him into a loving embrace, as you whisper out two words you never thought you’d be able to say to him. 
“Welcome home.”
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marietheran · 7 days
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LotR reread - book 2, chapter 8 - Farewell to Lórien
Oh, you can see Tolkien fought in a war and now makes sure his heroes need not eat army crackers...
Galadriel's song...
The geography of Aman seems a bit weirdly squeezed together if I was to analyze it though? "by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden Tree"... strand is shore, Ilmarin is the palace of Manwë and Varda, the golden Tree can only be one thing, and then it is said to shine "beside the walls of elven Tirion"... And Galadriel knows how all of it fits together. Hmm, I suppose it's best ignored. But the poem is beautiful.
"But if of ships I now should sing, what ship should come to me/ What shop would ever bear me back across so wide a Sea."
"Hythe" - new word. Apparently means "small port, landing place"
"Drink, Lord of the Galadhrim! And let not your heart be sad, though night must follow noon, and already our evening draweth nigh."
Aragorn/Arwen Allusions Counter at 3.875
All this talk of ending and fading is :(
This is really interesting, but, while it is properly the domain of elves, it seems that dwarves also care for the stars -- as much as Men, I suppose. Or Gimli at least.
"Then I say to you, Gimli son of Gloin, that your hands shall flow with gold and yet over you gold shall have no dominion."
"Ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen, yéni únòtimë ve rámar aldaron!" is the part that I can both recite from memory and understand. Or at least, I understand almost every single word on itself, not bothering about grammar, and know how they fit together.
Quenya is pretty...
"Varda is the name of that Lady whom the elves in these lands of exile name Elbereth" <- here, and only here, upon my first reread of LotR after the Silm did I finally realise that Elbereth = Varda.
"I do not wish to drown my grief in cold water."
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If you look at the timeline in the appendices, the irony of it all is that Gandalf (now, Gandalf the White) arrives in Lothlorien exactly one day after the Fellowship leaves...
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tolkienmatters · 2 years
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I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew: Of wind I sang, a wind there came, and in the branches blew. Beyond the Sun, beyond the Moon, the foam was on the Sea, And by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden Tree. Beneath the stars of Ever-eve in Eldamar it shone, In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion. There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years, And here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven-tears. O Lórien! The Winter comes, the bare and leafless Day; The leaves are falling in the stream, the river flows away. O Lórien! Too long I have dwelt upon this Hither Shore And in a fading crown have twined the golden elanor. But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me, What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?
- Galadriel’s goodbye song as the Fellowship leave Lórien. It references Eldamar (Quenya for “home of the elves”), A region of Valinor. It draws from the goodbye many Elves take when leaving Middle Earth to go across the Sea. Fellowship Of The Ring, Farewell to Lórien
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tiredemomama · 5 months
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More Than Treasure
Chapter 17
Poor Elena and Buggy just can't catch a break 😅 there's a little time skip after the last chapter mainly because I don't know where the live action is taking Buggy other than the Alvida alliance so I took some liberties. I think maybe one or two more chapters, depends how things play out, and I'll be wrapping it up with this series. I want to see if I can make an A03 account and upload it all there, but I work from a busted tablet and this site doesn't even work properly😂
Warnings: language
I don't own anything but my characters and story.
MINORS DO NOT INTERACT 18+
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Chapter 17
A coughing fit racked through Elena's body, Buggy sitting up in his chair as he watched her struggle to breath. Her amber eyes found him, looking duller than he had ever seen them as she gasped for air.
"Water?" She asked weakly, Buggy quick to hand her a canteen, Elena drinking it slowly as the pain in her chest subsided.
The ship doctor had ruled the infection wasn't from delivery, but from staying in the moldy cell at Arlong park, her lungs struggling to heal after inhaling some spores. The bleeding had stopped as Garp predicted, much to Buggy's relief, but his once energetic and vibrant wife was still fighting just to walk across the deck most days.
"It's not getting better." Buggy said, Elena giving him a grim smile as she shook her head. "No, it feels like there's a sea cow sitting on my chest. I thought the medicine was supposed to help?" She asked, Buggy scowling as he sat next to her on the deck.
"It was, when paired with a dry climate. Don't think this counts." He grumbled, eyes fixed on the calm ocean around them. Elena gave him a dry laugh, Buggy wincing at the rattle he could hear in her chest.
"No, Bugs, I don't think it does. What am I supposed to do? Go live in the desert?" She coughed, Buggy rubbing her back as he waited for Elena to catch her breath. "I've been thinking..." He said slowly, Elena's face falling seeing his grim expression.
"What? No I was just joking Buggy, I'm not going anywhere." She said quickly, Buggy gripping her hand sensing the panic in her voice. "Not foever, just so your lungs could heal. I have money, we can set you up in a little cabin or house, give your body time to rest." Buggy told her, his sea blue eyes watching her carefully.
Elena shook her head, trying to pull her hand away as she wrapped Her arms around herself. "Buggy... What are you saying? You make it sound like you're going to just dump me on the next island. Did I...do something wrong?" She demanded, her bottom lip trembling as he turned her head to look at him.
"No, no baby cakes that's not what I'm saying. You're not getting better, you're not getting worse but you're not getting better. If a break from sea will help you, then why not? Things have been so crazy lately, I can't bear to see you so miserable, not if there's something we can do to fix it." Buggy spoke softly, cradling her face in his hands as he kneeled beside her on the deck.
Elena tried to avoid his eyes, he could see the hurt in her honey hues as she thought about what he was saying. "You're still making it sound like you're going to dump me on an island. Are just going to leave me and the kids somewhere and run off with her?" Elena whispered, Buggy's eyes going wide before he scowled.
Of course she would bring up Alvida, his wife had made it clear she didn't trust the female pirate captain Buggy had joined in an alliance with.
"This has nothing to do with Alvida. I'm worried about you Elena, do you even realize how bad your condition is? I sit up at night listening to you cough, struggling to breath in your sleep. Some nights your lips turn blue! All I'm suggesting is taking a break so I don't have to watch you die!" Buggy growled, Elena flinching away from his harsh words, Buggy sighing in frustration as he rubbed a hand over his face.
"So it's easier to leave me somewhere with three kids while you go chasing after the one piece?" Elena muttered, Buggy resisting the urge to growl again. "I never said I was leaving you with three kids." He said, Elena glaring up at him.
"You're not taking my kids from me." She snapped, Buggy raising a hand to cut her off. "Our kids. If you would please let me finish woman. I'm not suggesting taking all of the kids, the girls are much too young, they need you more. Lucas... Lucas is growing up babe, I think he would really benefit from starting a apprenticeship under me or Cabaji." Buggy said, Elena frowning as she pulled her knees up to her chest.
"You want to turn our son into a pirate?" She muttered, Buggy rolling his eyes making her scowl. "Lets face it toots, that kid is a pirate. He's a natural, he was born to be a pirate. Besides, you love pirates." He said with a smirk, nudging his nose against her cheek, Elena giving him a small smile as her hand came up to caress his jaw.
"Not Cabaji, I will not have my son riding a fucking unicycle." Elena conceded, Buggy laughing as he wrapped her in his arms. "Oh absolutely not, over my dead body." Buggy agreed, Elena giving a weak chuckle.
"How long?" Elena sighed, Buggy frowning as he rubbed her sides, letting his thumbs graze over her breasts. "I don't know toots. I'll stay with you for a month or so, see if you improve enough to maybe at least get through the Grand line and we can find a more permanent place for you there. I want to spend time with the girls, they're so small, I didn't get this with Lucas. I want them to know who I am, but I can't sit back while someone else might actually find the One Piece." Buggy admitted, Elena leaning her head against his cheek.
She knew he had been putting it off, ever since they first started dating, thats all he would talk about. She knew how much finding the One Piece meant to him, and the idea of someone else finding it had finally set in, Buggy was more determined than ever to make his dream come true.
"That straw hat really got in your head, didn't he baby?" She muttered, Buggy barking out a laugh as he grinned. "If that little runt thinks he can beat me to it, he's more delusional than I thought." Elena sighed, leaning her weight into him, Buggy adjusting so she was sitting between his legs.
"They're not bad kids, babe. Well maybe the cook, but Nami got me out of Arlong park and helped deliver the girls. Zoro reminds me of you, tough outside but really he's a big softie. And Luffy has your crazy energy, like it or not they're going to be some fierce competition." She laughed s he grumbled, tilting her head to kiss his stubble.
"But," she continued, Buggy humming as he waited for Elena to catch her breath. "I know I married the man who will be King of the pirates, and I know he'll make me proud." She muttered against his jaw, Buggy holding her tightly to his chest.
They settled on an island not far from LougeTown, Buggy had sent Cabaji ahead to scout for a potential home they could use for the next month. He ended up finding a farm house that wasn't too desperate for repairs, the crew quick to make it livable under their captain's supervision.
"You don't have to make such a big fuss, babe. I'm sure the girls won't care if its a little crooked." Elena said with a smirk, watching from a rocking chair in the nursery as Buggy was painting a circus tent on the wall, red and white stripes matching the Big Top.
Buggy scowled over his shoulder at her, "Of course it needs to be perfect! They need to know what my ship looks like." He grumbled, eyeing his work before adding a few more touches.
"You're being silly, we'll be back on the ship in a few weeks." Elena sighed, adjusting her hold on Clementine as the babe nursed, little fists balled under her chin.
"Hopefully. I told you, if you're not improved enough to sail, I want you to at least be comfortable here with the girls." Buggy grumbled, Elena's smile slipping away at the reminder.
"A month isn't a long time, Bugs." Elena muttered, Buggy setting the paint brush and palette down on a table. He crossed the room slowly, kneeling down in front of her so she was forced to meet his eyes.
"I know, baby cakes, but we need to be realistic. I don't want to risk your health, I need you strong enough to make the journey through the Grand Line. Lets face it, the way you are now, you wouldn't even make it to LougeTown." Buggy said sadly, Elena pouting as she removed Clementine from her chest, covering herself quickly as she rocked, brushing the little scar on her daughters cheek.
"I just... I don't know what I'm supposed to do Buggy. How am I supposed to take care of the girls on my own? What if... what if something happens? What if you don't come back?" Elena whispered, Buggy sighing as he saw the fear in her eyes.
"I'll always come home to you baby. No matter how long it takes, I will come home, I promise. You're worth more than any treasure doll face, and you gave me two more beautiful reasons to make sure that I make it home." Buggy said, rubbing his hand over Clementine's curly blue hair.
As if on cue, Cherry babbled from her crib, sitting up and giving a one tooth grin at her dad as he scooped her out. Buggy sat crossed legged on the floor in front of Elena, Cherry babbling as she tugged at his long blue hair free for once of any hair ties or bandanas.
The girls were nearing six months, and while Cherry was quick to sit up and explore her ever evolving world, Clementine was content to be in her parents arms, watching everything with sharp blue eyes.
"You better, and keep Lucas safe. He's too cocky, he thinks he's grown I don't want him to get hurt." Elena huffed, Sitting Clementine up against her chest, the chubby baby pouting as she reached for Buggy. With a chuckle he plucked the girl from Elena's lap, setting her beside her sister the girls tangling their chubby fingers in his hair.
"Lucas will be fine, toots. That kid has a good head on his shoulders, we did a good job with him. He's excited, and it'll be good for him to have some time away." Buggy reassured her, Elena biting her thumb nervously.
"He's my baby, he's always going to be my baby. And have you thought about what we talked about?" Elena asked, Buggy frowning down at the twins in his lap.
Ever since coming back from Arlong park, Lucas had been distant, quiet, spending most days hiding in the crows nest or tucked under Cabaji's wing. He would look at the twins with apprehension, and Elena often caught him staring at his reflection with a strange sense that he was beginning question why he didn't look more like Buggy.
"You two couldn't have taken more after your mother." Buggy grumbled, staring down at the carbon copies in his lap. "We need to tell him, I can tell it's bothering him." Elena muttered, Buggy nodding as he leaned back on one hand, the other supporting Clementine so she wouldn't topple over. "We can put the girls to bed and talk with him tonight." Buggy agreed, Elena running a hand through her pink curls.
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bluehourskyeli · 1 month
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I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew:
Of wind I sang, a wind there came and in the branches blew.
Beyond the Sun, beyond the Moon, the foam was on the Sea,
And by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden Tree.
Beneath the stars of Ever-eve in Eldamar it shone,
In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion.
There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years,
While here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven-tears.
O Lórien! The Winter comes, the bare and leafless Day;
The leaves are falling in the stream, the River flows away.
O Lórien! Too long I have dwelt upon this Hither Shore
And in a fading crown have twined the golden elanor.
But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me,
What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?
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penmeetspage · 8 months
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LotR Ladies Week (@lotrladiessource) - Day 5 - Prompts: Elves | Pastels | Grief | Portraits | Archetypes
What's in Galadriel's cup?
I don't have any leaves of gold, exactly, but white tea brews up to a lovely pale golden color, and perhaps we can pretend elanor petals dry as bright as the marigold petals up there. I have tended to associate peach teas - this is a white tea with peach pieces - with setting out or taking leave when already very tired, for no particularly logical or symbolic reason; that's just me.
I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew: Of wind I sang, a wind there came and in the branches blew. Beyond the Sun, beyond the Moon, the foam was on the Sea, And by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden Tree. Beneath the stars of Ever-eve in Eldamar it shone, In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion. There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years, While here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven-tears. O Lórien! The Winter comes, the bare and leafless Day; The leaves are falling in the stream, the river flows away. O Lórien! Too long I have dwelt upon this Hither Shore And in a fading crown have twined the golden elanor. But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me, What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?
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ebaeschnbliah · 1 year
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On the bank of the Silverlode ...
... at some distance up from the meeting of the streams, there was a hythe of white stones and white wood. By it were moored many boats and barges. Some were brightly painted, and shone with silver and gold and green, but most were either white or grey. Three small grey boats had been made ready for the travellers, and in these the Elves stowed their goods. And they added also coils of rope, three to each boat. Slender they looked, but strong, silken to the touch, grey of hue like the elven-cloaks.
`What are these? ' asked Sam, handling one that lay upon the greensward.
`Ropes indeed! ' answered an Elf from the boats. 'Never travel far without a rope! And one that is long and strong and light. Such are these. They may be a help in many needs.'
'You don't need to tell me that! ' said Sam. `I came without any and I've been worried ever since. But I was wondering what these were made of, knowing a bit about rope-making: it's in the family as you might say.'
`They are made of hithlain,' said the Elf, `but there is no time now to instruct you in the art of their making. Had we known that this craft delighted you, we could have taught you much. But now alas! unless you should at some time return hither, you must be content with our gift. May it serve you well! '
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The Company was arranged in this way: Aragorn, Frodo, and Sam were in one boat; Boromir, Merry, and Pippin in another; and in the third were Legolas and Gimli, who had now become fast friends. In this last boat most of the goods and packs were stowed. The boats were moved and steered with short-handled paddles that had broad leaf-shaped blades. When all was ready Aragorn led them on a trial up the Silverlode. The current was swift and they went forward slowly. Sam sat in the bows, clutching the sides, and looking back wistfully to the shore. The sunlight glittering on the water dazzled his eyes. As they passed beyond the green field of the Tongue, the trees drew down to the river's brink. Here and there golden leaves tossed and floated on the rippling stream. The air was very bright and still, and there was a silence, except for the high distant song of larks.
They turned a sharp bend in the river, and there, sailing proudly down the stream toward them, they saw a swan of great size. The water rippled on either side of the white breast beneath its curving neck. Its beak shone like burnished gold, and its eyes glinted like jet set in yellow stones; its huge white wings were half lifted. A music came down the river as it drew nearer; and suddenly they perceived that it was a ship, wrought and carved with elven-skill in the likeness of a bird. Two elves clad in white steered it with black paddles. In the midst of the vessel sat Celeborn, and behind him stood Galadriel, tall and white; a circlet of golden flowers was in her hair, and in her hand she held a harp, and she sang. Sad and sweet was the sound of her voice in the cool clear air:
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I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew: Of wind I sang, a wind there came and in the branches blew. Beyond the Sun, beyond the Moon, the foam was on the Sea, And by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden Tree. Beneath the stars of Ever-eve in Eldamar it shone, In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion. There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years, While here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven-tears. O Lórien! The Winter comes, the bare and leafless Day; The leaves are falling in the stream, the river flows away. O Lórien! Too long I have dwelt upon this Hither Shore And in a fading crown have twined the golden elanor. But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me, What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?
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Aragorn stayed his boat as the Swan-ship drew alongside. The Lady ended her song and greeted them. `We have come to bid you our last farewell,' she said, `and to speed you with blessings from our land.'
`Though you have been our guests,' said Celeborn, `you have not yet eaten with us, and we bid you, therefore, to a parting feast, here between the flowing waters that will bear you far from Lórien.'
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The Swan passed on slowly to the hythe, and they turned their boats and followed it. There in the last end of Egladil upon the green grass the parting feast was held; but Frodo ate and drank little, heeding only the beauty of the Lady and her voice. She seemed no longer perilous or terrible, nor filled with hidden power. Already she seemed to him, as by men of later days Elves still at times are seen: present and yet remote, a living vision of that which has already been left far behind by the flowing streams of Time.
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JRR Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Farewell to Lórien  
Galadriel’s Song of Eldamar:
Performed by Yolanda Mott:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT57A5-lELE
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Performed by The Tolkien Ensemble
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“What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?”
Why Galadriel can't just sail into the West
Galadriel's history is one of the most difficult of Tolkie's stories to figure out, because Tolkien experimented with a few different versions of her story later in his life. But I will appraoch this topic with the desire to see some overall working narrative and characterisation, and therefore only consider texts that work with the published canon.
Galadriel is a fascinating character – in the texts she is both a promintend figure and neglected at the same time. In Tolkien's world, she is both the most powerful Elf that we meet in The Lord of the Rings, and at the same time she is an outcast until, banned from sailing to Valinor when the Hobbits meet her.
Galadriel doen't get as much characterisation as someone like Frodo or Gandalf, yet we learn of a few defining traits that are central to her story in Middle-earth.
“Here I am mightier”
“I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired to ask what you offer. For many long years I had pondered what I might do, should the Great Ring come into my hands, and behold! it was brought within my grasp.”
Amibition is one of the these central traits, and it is mentioned in almost every text related to Galadriel's departure from Valinor. Galadriel wants to rule lands on her own and has desired the One Ring by her own admition. Whenever I think of Frodo offering her the One Ring I fall in love with this moment again because of how honest it is and how clear we can see Galadriel here.
She has been like that since she first left Valinor, and it is an integral part of her story that only ends at the end of the Third Age.
“After the overthrow of Morgoth at the end of the First Age a ban was set upon her return, and she had replied proudly that she had no wish to do so.”
Together with her ambition, pride is also essential to her character. Galadriel as one of the leaders of the rebellion against the Valar has to ask for pardon of the Valar, or at least accept it in order to be allowed back into Valinor.
That is consistant with what Finarfin did when he turned around, and it fits with the idea that the Noldor, manipulated by Melkor's lies, resented the sovereignty of Manwë in Valinor. The kingship of the Valar in Arda is another issue altogether, but nonetheless it exists and if Galadriel would want to return to the West, she Galadriel would have to accept a certain degree of "tutelage" by the Valar.
But it's not the only reason why Galadriel is held back by pride: she also resents that she may have to live on Tol Eressëa instead of Aman, since she originally lived there and Tol Eressëa “seemed only a ‘second best’”.
“But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me, What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?”
All ambition and all pride did not change the fact that over time her desire to return increased and that she seemed to have regretted either leaving at all, or refusing the pardon when it was offered.
I can imagine that in the Second Age Celeborn and a new born Celebrían were also very good reasons not to sail West (since Celeborn did not wish to go), but at the end of the Third Age Valinor seems to be on Galadriel's mind a lot: in The Lord of the Rings she sings not one but two songs about it.
“Wise the Lady Galadriel may be”
“‘I pass the test,’ she said. ‘I will diminish, and go into the West, and remain Galadriel.’”
Galadriel's ambition has lead her to a dangerous temptation, but throughout her history her wisdom has always proven stronger: while her cousins and brothers have built realms in Beleriand, Galadriel's focus has been on learning from Melian. In the Second Age, Annatar tries to manipulate Galadriel as well – and is rejected by her. But it's not hard to imagine that there was a huge temptation: if she had accepted, maybe the rule of Eregion would have fallen to her instead of Celebrimbor. In the Third Age, she gets as close as she'll ever be to the title of a queen when she and Celeborn become the Lord and Lady of Lothlórien. But even here, wisdom holds them back from calling themselves King and Queen of a mostly Sindarin and Nandorin population.
The end of the Third Age brings the final and the most important test: Galadriel's rejection of the One Ring is essential for the ban to be lifted. It is Galadriel realising that this kind of power that she desires would come at a price that she is not willing to pay. It must have lead to the consequent realisation that she could have had the power she desired and that she has rejected it – and that if she is not willing to do everything for her ambition she might as well let go of it altogether.
Giving up her ambition for power and her dreams of ruling realms then opens the door for her return into the West. It allows her to accept to "diminish" (she still has to work on her attitude) and to ask for and accept the pardon of the Valar.
This is the core of Galadriel's character journey. Sailing West is the fullfilment of a long held dream that Galadriel out of ambition and pride did not allow herself to have for a long time. Rejecting the temptation of power once and for all opened the doors for her to fullfil her long held desire to finally go home.
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edinburgh-by-the-sea · 3 months
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what ship would bear me ever back across so wide a sea
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nelayn · 1 year
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How does Arafinwë pick up the pieces of his fractured life, after the world turns upside down? Even after he and Eärwen find their way back to each other, there is still so much healing left to do. How does he start to repair his relationship with his Telerin family, and at the same time, as the King of the Noldor, start to bring healing between the two peoples, and prepare for a future that he wishes, waits for, knows- will come? By building a boat. One that will bear another King of the Noldor across the sea, when the time comes- because he cannot ask for one, not anymore.
Α gift for @squirrelwrangler. Now complete.
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I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew:
Of wind I sang, a wind there came and in the branches blew.
Beyond the Sun, beyond the Moon, the foam was on the Sea,
And by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden Tree.
Beneath the stars of Ever-eve in Eldamar it shone,
In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion.
There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years,
While here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven-tears.
O Lórien! The Winter comes, the bare and leafless Day;
The leaves are falling in the stream, the River flows away.
O Lórien! Too long I have dwelt upon this Hither Shore
And in a fading crown have twined the golden elanor.
But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me,
What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?
"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" - J.R.R. Tolkien
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rivalsforlife · 2 years
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the part in many partings where they come across saruman and he makes a comment to galadriel about the ban is sooooo good. I love how we get like the very last bit of galadriel’s character arc in lotr. and we don’t really see the rest of it. “yeah galadriel was a key part of this rebellion against the gods and was very prideful back in the day but that wasn’t relevant to frodo’s journey or whatever so we ignore it. anyways here’s the silmarillion,”
Also saruman directly quotes her lament that she sings when saying farewell to the company, implying that either a) saruman somehow heard her singing this, possibly through the palantir (though I would assume galadriel’s ring power would have blocked it) or b) she sings this all the time. galadriel ignoring saruman during the white council: “what ship would bear me ever back across so wide a sea...”
This moment of me appreciating all the little silm references then going to saruman cursing out merry and saying “may your land forever be short of leaf” or whatever and merry responding with “thank you!” is also so funny. what is a minor god to a hobbit
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Galadriel’s song has me CRYING…. esp this part
There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years, While here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven-tears. O Lórien! The Winter comes, the bare and leafless Day; The leaves are falling in the stream, the River flows away. O Lórien! Too long I have dwelt upon this Hither Shore And in a fading crown have twined the golden elanor. But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me, What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?
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finarfiniel · 4 years
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WHEN ELROND VAULTS OVER THE SIDE OF THE SHIP INTO GENTLE WAVES,  she knows that celebrían has called him,  and she would join his mad dash to the shore,  truly,  but her children deserve their own reunion  —  she will wait her turn,  even as her heart beats wildly inside of her chest in anticipation.  there will no doubt be many who await her on the shore  ( even despite her own fears,  she knows that her parents have never held grudges in their hearts,  least of all against their children, )  but her heart yearns to see her daughter’s sweet face above any other’s.
had she not been stopped by the familiar,  unexpected form of finrod,  perhaps she would have interrupted them sooner,  but it takes her a moment to find the will to extricate herself from his grip,  and when she does it’s only because she catches sight of them,  coming in from the sea dripping wet and clinging to each other.
she has eyes for no one but celebrían,  then,  speeding across the glittering sands of her childhood to meet them,  and gathers her daughter into her arms as soon as she’s near enough.  she had thought,  once,  that they would never be reunited.
“  oh,  my hónairë.  ”
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@aeternitie​​​ ♡.
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