#At least he knows Annatar is evil
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Elrond: *Looming in the corner*
Gil-Galad: Ignore him. He does that.
Celebrimbor: How often does he do that?
#Celebrimbor refuses to visit because Elrond creeps him out more than Annatar does#At least he knows Annatar is evil#Elrond's just plain creepy#lotr#lord of the rings#incorrect lord of the rings quotes#silmarillion#incorrect silmarillion quotes#incorrect quotes#elrond#lotr elrond#elrond peredhel#gilgalad#erenion gilgalad#high king gilgalad#celebrimbor#lotr celebrimbor
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okay so this is actually @aragornsrockcollection‘s fault for suggesting that Sauron/Mairon/whatever is the Maiar of math, because I like math, I really unironically like math. Now I have to like Sauron a little, or at least mourn Mairon and Annatar a little more, and daydream about What Could Have Been. So here’s how my “the Gwaith-y-Mirdain sink Númenor, Leverage-style” AU would happen 2k of silvergifting AU building up to, but not actually including the Gwaith-y-Mirdain sinking Númenor, Leverage-style:
Backround:
The turning point was, Annatar went to Mount Doom to forge his One Ring and he found that it was...lonely. Control, yes, he needed control, and power, yes, he needed power, because without these he couldn’t create the ordered world he dreamed of. But it was just...it’d been pleasant, working with the Mirdain these last 400 years. It’d been a memory of the glorious company in creation that he had once upon a time in Aulë’s forges, before he found greater purpose. It’d been disordered, yes, but now and then the hammers struck in time and the ideas shouted across trestle tables clicked together, and a butterfly flapped its wings and the world changed...
And at the center of it was Celebrimbor, who was, well...
His One could wait, he decided, turning away. At least until they’d made Three for the Elves - and why was he risking upsetting a power base he already had? This was Fëanor’s grandson and a city of Noldorin crafters. A dwarf had convinced Celebrimbor to include stylized Silmarils in the city’s ornate front gate! He - Gorthaur, Mairon, Sauron, Annatar - had spent so long building trust and power in Eregion…it’d be easy to point it in a more useful direction. (And maybe, at the center of the pattern he was building, instead of One there could be Two rings, in perfect synchronous orbit?)
He got back to Ost-in-Edhil and sought Celebrimbor out first thing, as had become his habit. He found him in the large jewelsmithing workroom, and he couldn’t help but smile as he walked in, because it was pleasant indeed: the strike of hammers and the tested tensile strength of wires, the rhythmic rise and fall of voices, the flash of lights on faceted gems. There was order in a well-practiced group as much as in a hierarchy - though there was a strongest chord in this symphony, for there in the middle of it was Celebrimbor, just where he ought to be (that’s a beautiful thing about math, and where it can easily be twisted into evil: that every single part has a specific place it belongs in a greater order). Annatar (as he was here) couldn’t help but smile with the perfect satisfaction of homecoming.
That evening, Celebrimbor invited Annatar to his rooms and said, “I should tell you- I’m sorry, I should’ve told you earlier - well, I barely could have! But I could have been less paranoid, and waited...”
“Tyelpe,” Annatar said, amused, “what are you talking about?”
(Tyelperinquar was usually an insult, because Celebrimbor chose in Nargothrond how he wanted to be called, and anyone who did otherwise was now throwing an epithet of kinslayers in his face. His childhood nickname was used affectionately by maybe five people in Middle Earth.)
Celebrimbor said, “You’ve been stranger than usual recently, and you’ve never been honest about why you are here. So I did not trust you - maybe I still shouldn’t! But I saw your face when you came into the workshop today, so it’s really only fair that you know, that while you were gone, I...”
He reached into his pocket and drew out three rings of power, clearly Celebrimbor’s own work and his alone, and Annatar didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed them before because, revealed, they blazed.
Annatar (Sauron, Mairon) burst out laughing. He put his hand over the rings in Celebrimbor’s open palm, because how could he not reach for such beautiful, powerful, marvelous things? and kissed the most beautiful, clever, alarmingly insightful, astonishingly (divinely) creative, blindingly bright-burning thing in the room on the lips.
.
The most beautiful, clever, alarmingly insightful, astonishingly (divinely) creative, blindingly bright-burning, allergic to the concept of conquest, or even some LIGHT coercion and usurpation, thing in the room. In all of Arda, possibly. The most he could convince these stubborn elves to do was share their arts and crafts more freely with neighboring kingdoms, earning respect and winning some power in the others’ dependence on trade!
.
Maybe there were points where he could have tried harder... But trade was no petty thing, to those who understood it, and being the center of invention only enhanced that power, and that translated easily into the spread of culture, an even subtler but arguably greater power... The building of empires is one of history’s great patterns, and it need not always be done with force.
Though force certainly helps - as the Númenoreans increasingly proved, over the years. But even the Númenoreans used lamps and compasses and medicines from Ost-in-Edhil, fashioned jewelry in this style or that...including a particularly precious Ring or two, functioning just as intended: enabling great works and easy communication between far-flung peoples. War was so messy anyway. Without it, neat fields and orchards grew where there once had been wilderness - there was finer, minuter order in Yavanna’s and Oromë’s domains, too, but Annatar didn’t have enough time for such refinement yet. Any sort of growing thing was wild enough. Then some of the Mirdain started taming lightning on a large, mechanically useful scale, using a combination of magnetism and Fëanorian techniques of light-collection, modified to transmute between different forms of energy...
Celebrimbor remained uninterested, from a combination of natural inclination and determined principle, in open seizure or even expressions of power, and out of what was definitely just raw stubbornness he continued to defer to Gil-galad in matters of governance. But he also helped Annatar rearrange Ost-in-Edhil’s entire street pattern, and roads across Eriador, into something more satisfyingly geometric and facilitating of trade, including adjusting the watercourse of the Gwathló and all its tributaries. So Annatar was content enough with their progress.
.
“Would you like to marry me?” Celebrimbor asked, exactly one millennia after Annatar’s first arrival in Ost-in-Edhil.
YES! screamed approximately 95% of Annatar’s being - greedily, triumphantly, in glory. He had long-since decided that two central, entwined Rings was the optimal way to rule - he wouldn’t be able to fully master the Three without Celebrimbor, as Celebrimbor alone had wrought them! Annatar hadn’t been the one to propose - he just wasn’t sure Celebrimbor was ready yet, ready to embrace the destiny that was clearly theirs for the taking. But if Celebrimbor was the one asking, was the one offering himself to Annatar’s glorious vision... So much was already in place, they just had to reach out - together! - and take it -
The other 5% knew that Celebrimbor had a natural apathy toward power enhanced by a fear of holding it inflicted by his traumatic early life, even if the end goal was obviously good. And that he still mourned Finrod Felagund and felt guilt over his own small part in that universally embarrassing affair. And that, above all, while Celebrimbor had long-since guessed that Annatar was no true messenger of the Valar, and in fact that he’d had...a hand in Melkor’s glorious conquest of Beleriand...(the resident Maia of the Bruinen had shouted several arguably complimentary things about the “despoiler of my brother Sirion” before Annatar managed to discorporate her)... Ost-in-Edhil was a city of second chances, thrice-kinslayers carved stone alongside survivors of Doriath and Sirion. But Celebrimbor was as proud as his forefathers and only a little less prone to temper, though he controlled both far better, and he trusted by choice rather than by instinct, and he was going to be so angry if Annatar didn’t tell him the truth at LEAST of his plans, before their spirits were welded together in eternal harmony. Celebrimbor didn’t crave control, but nor did he like to be drawn into situations that were out of his. Worse, if anyone would react to intimate connection to an Ainu by immediately prying at their entire knowledge of reality, including personal history, it was Celebrimbor. And if anyone could then, in fury at perceived betrayal, invent a way to defy Eru Illuvatar himself and divorce said Ainu, it would also be Celebrimbor.
100% of Annatar loved him so, almost inconveniently, much. An equal 100% of Annatar refused to chance either losing or fumbling this chance.
“Yes,” he said immediately. “But we’ll have to go out of the city to do it, somewhere with nobody else around - Melian’s technique wasn’t just chance.” (True, even! Fixing himself into a permanent(ish) body to marry an incarnate was going to be...interesting.)
.
“There’s something I should tell you,” he said, alone together in a starlit glade in the southern Misty Mountains. He thought about the Rings and clarified, “Two things.” He thought about the discreet realm of orcs still tucked into Mordor, kept carefully in stasis except for weaponry advances for the past several hundred years. “Three things.”
.
“WHAT?”
.
When Melian stole her Elvish would-be-husband away to a secluded glade, she got to spend 200 years making slow love him, Annatar thought sourly. He got alternately yelled at and violently ignored for a whole year, and nearly stabbed several times, and only enormous persuasive arts kept Celebrimbor from storming back to Ost-in-Edhil before they’d finished this completely unnecessary argument.
.
Celebrimbor still liked him, though.
“Fuck,” Celebrimbor said aloud, which really failed to express the depth of his feelings about this.
.
“...You did stay, though.”
Annatar blinked at him (he’d gotten so accustomed to incarnate expressions already). “Of course I stayed.”
“You could’ve left at any time these last six hundred years since I made the Three; forged your One and started your monstrous empire.”
“My goal isn’t empire,” Annatar snapped, not for the first time. “And I am older than the concept of time. I can spare a few centuries to achieve my ends. And as I have explained to you at length now, Tyelperinquar, I don’t want One central Ring - I want Two. I want you, at my side.”
“Well, I...don’t.” Celebrimbor looked tired, yet as mithril-hard self-determined as he ever did. “Annatar, I’m never going to want that.”
“Well, I’m not going to do it without you!”
“...”
“Fuck.”
.
Annatar spent three years wandering. He went back to Mordor, and it was so unspeakably dull without the infinitely elaborate, naturally developing patterns of sparking electricity and brightly curious minds.
.
“If you really don’t mind taking the longer path, you won’t mind continuing as we have been, until this world is as blissful as that which we left behind - and better! Like we always said! Is that nor ordered enough?”
.
“Also, we are recalling all of the Rings, and destroying them. I will not be party to this - I will not even be party to this temptation. Including the Three.”
“I will not let you harm yourself like that, Celebrimbor.”
“I thought you, of all people, wouldn’t take me for my grandfather! I will be fine.”
“You will not.”
“...I will hurt but I will be fine. What would’ve happened if your precious planned One was destroyed, anyway? Or your ‘Two’? Did you ever think of that?”
.
“I still plan to change your mind,” Annatar informed him.
Celebrimbor said tenderly, “I can honestly think of no way I’d rather spend eternity than trying to change yours.”
Annatar kissed him.
.
“....we’ll tell Galadriel after Gil-galad,” Celebrimbor conceded.
.
About a year later, Celebrimbor and Annatar, missing from Eregion for five years now, arrived without warning in Lindon, and requested a private meeting with the king immediately.
“First,” Celebrimbor said, “I would like to formally announce to my king, and also personally announce to my cousin, that we got married. No, don’t congratulate us - you’d only regret it in a moment. But please note, however it may matter, that I married Annatar after hearing what he’s about to tell you.”
He turned to his new husband and said pointedly, “Annatar?”
#the silmarillion#celebrimbor#sauron#annatar#silvergifting#fanfiction#my fic#shut up shut up shut up i'm INDULGING
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What the literal HELL happened in Rings of Power?!
I’ve just seen spoilers and I....
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Sauron is masquerading as some cheap Northern Aragon wannabe and he has some Dark Proposal with Galadriel??!!! I literally cannot take this guy seriously, I could see him down in my local pub circa 1999. Not to diss his acting but he’s nothing on Annatar and all Sauron could be.,
Tell me where is Celeborn? For I much desire to have him back in the timeline...
Okay I admit in a completely different story/scenario, I’m almost always down for enemies to lovers/villain shipping/dark proposal but really? Galadriel and Sauron? I....And to riff on the iconic scene from Fellowship...It’s meant to be about her temptation by power - by wanting to rule a realm of her own away from the Valar (valid to be honest, esp after their f*ckups in the Silmarillion) not about hooking up with the second most evil being in Ea, esp when she is already married!
I know, I know people just want to enjoy this and I want to say fair play and you do you, but this is such an awful mangling of the lore and characters, it isn’t even worthy of Morgoth (although props where it’s due for them mentioning Sauron feeling the light of the One again - almost had me, not gonna lie), and it’s the potential that hurts all the more. The Second Age and the ability to shed some light on the literal Lord of the Rings - the OG Dark Lord and one of the most mysterious figures in popular fiction - is such a missed opportunity.
The Second Age is Sauron’s time where you see him ‘in person’ in Eregion and Numenor and the opportunities to reveal facets of his character are so enticing. His relationship for decades with Celebrimbor - the master smith and sole remainder of Feanor’s line (the mortal enemy and rival of his master), how they could reflect on the nature and marring of Middle Earth and whether Sauron’s motivations were truly evil or whether he really wanted to redeem himself at first before ‘Morgoth’s bonds’ (ie his hatred and sadism) became too strong. It would be so fascinating to explore Sauron/Mairon’s nature as a Maia of Order and his tuition under Aule and Melkor and what that could reveal to us about the mechanics of Tolkien’s world and his magic. It would be so emotional to see how the fallout happened, the betrayal both Celebrimbor and Sauron felt about each other, the sheer brutality of what happened and the decadence and fall of Numenor after.
I don’t want to spoil anyone’s enjoyment, but it beggars belief to me that the showrunners had the audacity to adapt the Second Age when they obviously do not have the rights to it and despite the cast and crew trying and a few gems, it simply does not compare with what Tolkien wrote or what the show could have become as an adaptation if it had the skill, vision and rights to become what it sets itself up as. And that is a heartbreaking shame, not least because a whole host of new fans may be misled or put off the Second Age because of this.
#anti rings of power#anti rop#sauron#galadriel#each to their own#I could almost enjoy it in small bits but then remember what it is distorting or replacing and I think no#antis don't interact#spoilers#I have tagged appropriately
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Of "The Rings of Power" and its many problems
so, so many trailers had been released and all of them are centered around Galadriel & not even one of them had mentioned her canonical ambition of becoming a queen.
I understand that she’s now a military commander and military commanders are and do raise in positions of power. but if she does, it’s not because she was actively seeking it.
what they’ve kept telling us about Galadriel so far is that apparently, only now after thousands of years she has been informed that her brother is dead. (*sarcasm*) & is seeking revenge and for that, "Galadriel has been on a quest for over a thousand years. Scouring Middle-earth."
& if you don't show that she was trying to gain political power, then you're not showing that she desired power, then she's not fulfilling the very wish that brought her to Middle-earth. She wanted to rule her own land, you’re not showing that she left everything she had in Valinor to come to Middle earth to spend years seeking that power, & if you're not showing that she desired power, then there will be no weight to the scene where Frodo offers her the ring & she refuses for the sake of Middle-earth, even if the destruction of the one ring results in the destruction of her own ring & her power. She "will diminish, go into the west, and remain Galadriel."
So, you know WHERE the character will end up & you have a whole series to get her to that point, but you don't, & you make a whole other bullshit not-arc cuz you believe that the only way to write a strong female character™️ is to give her a sword & make it her whole character. I've talked about that problem here. & "the authentic observer" explained the problem in depth in her video essay "the Desecration of feminity" way better than I.(go watch it! It's fantastic!)
and I thought I was being nitpicky when I said that I felt like I just witnessed a student walk up to their Professor & call them by their first name (in our country it’s very disrespectful) when Elrond called Galadriel by her first name instead of “Lady Galadriel”. but really, no, it’s not. It’s even more testimony to how they keep insisting on reducing Galadriel’s position, age, wisdom, caliber, magnitude, and power. one sure way to show such things in a character is by showing others’ reverence towards them. Elrond & Galadriel are not peers to be on first-name terms. they’re not the same age and not on the same level. Galadriel is 4 generations Elrond’s senior on his father’s side, and three Generations older on his mother’s side, she’ll become his mother-in-law, She’s seen the light of the trees, she’s been taught by Aule, by Melian the Maia, she’s seen Elrond’s legendary ancestors, and their land, she’s survived the first age! living with Maedhros & Maglor, Elrond has seen firsthand what the war did to people, and he would respect Galadriel immensely for surviving that. he wouldn’t try to advise her to PuT uP HeR SwoRd, which by the way was a very cringe line, that whole conversation was very cringe, like every other dialogue we’ve heard so far of the show. It sounds like George Lucas is trying his hand at writing like Tolkien, but I digress, Elrond wouldn’t do that because aside from him living through the first age and many personal adversaries and being a loremaster & very wise & having the gift of foresight & canonically always perceiving evil before it reveals itself & suspecting Annatar from the get-go, he would immensely respect Galadriel, he would listen to what she had to say and take her advise & in cases such as this, doubt himself first before doubting her. she knew she’s much wiser. and he would call her “Lady Galadriel”.(these aside, even Maeglin & Aragorn called their mothers “Lady”, and Aragorn called Arwen “lady Undomiel”, and Arwen & Idril called their husbands “lord” & Maedhros called his uncle “lord”. that was just how they talked back then. at least that’s how the “royalties” talked, and by showing them talking like that, you capture the era you’re trying to show. and also the class of the characters you’re showing. GoT understood that. but I wouldn’t nitpick this if It wasn’t for Elrond calling Galadriel by her first name alone, and it wasn’t after many attempts at assassinating Galadriel’s character.)
& then there was that scene of her companion throwing her like a baseball ball. That aside from that being SO FUCKING STUPID OH MY GOD WTF WHAT WERE THEY THINKING! could you imagine someone throwing book!Galadriel, Fingolfin, or Elrond or Feanor like that?! No! ‘cause they great lords & ladies! like second age Galadriel is! even in the show, she’s the COMMANDER of the army!
& she's apparently, as morfydd Clarke said "on a quest for revenge". When has ever revenge worked out for any Tolkien character? Fëanor was after revenge, his sons were, Thorin Oakenshield was, Turgon took revenge when he pushed Eol to his death. Even Eowyn was not after revenge when she killed the witch king of Angmar. She was just protecting her uncle's body.
all their anger was justified! But the story is against revenge. Revenge is answering violence with violence. & the story, written by a war Veteran, is against violence.
& also she's described as "brash & angry". "Angry" is never a positive feeling in Tolkien's writings. Fëanor was angry, three of the sons of Fëanor were angry (even his "better" sons are never described as angry), Fingolfin was angry moments before his death, Melkor was angry, and Turin was angry. Anger was people's downfall. & yes, Book!Galadriel when she decided to "pursue Fëanor in anger"! But what happened? They crossed the frozen Hell in anger and lost people dear to them (& probably blamed themselves cuz they were the ones leading the rebels.) just to find out that Fëanor was dead. & what reunited the Noldor & made them strong & triumphant & resulted in the long peace was Fingon's kindness that made him let go of his anger & forgive the Fëanorians even though he had every reason to hate them when the burning of the ships resulted in his brother's & his sister-in-law's death. Then Galadriel was taught for years by Melian the Maia. She must have learned her anti-anger lessons by now.
"Good" people or "good' warriors are like Finrod the beloved, Fingon who "troth and justice he loved and bore goodwill to all, both Elves and Men, hating Morgoth only; he sought not his own, neither power nor glory", Faramir who did not "love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. only that which they defend.", Elrond "as kind as summer" Peredhel (notice how Tolkien does use "as strong as a warrior but ends the description with "as kind as summer" as though this was the most important & impressive part.) Or BOOK!GALADRIEL!
because being gentle, mild-mannered, nice & kind is not weakness! (Just coincidentally traditionally feminine qualities...hmmm. telling.)
Actually, when you don't give into anger it shows that you're a master of your emotions and behavior. Things cannot easily provoke you. You're in control. & since anger is usually due to other emotions, it also shows that you can process your own emotions. It’s a lot more powerful.
I've also talked here about why her motivation sounds like Fëanor & how they could make it actually meaningful. But I highly doubt that they would end it like this. I'm not saying that she should never be angry. Just that the moral of the story should be anti-giving-in-to-anger as per Tolkien. Yes, make her go after revenge & be angry. But then make her realize that she's becoming the very thing she hated & anger is burning her life away (& maybe make her do sth horrible like unleash all her power without control & hurt some innocents) and let her let go of her revenge. But judging by the route they took, and what they did until now to her character, I don't think it's going to end like this. "Anger" is cool & badass for women in the eyes of Hollywood. You know all these things that are contributed to toxic masculinity like acting on anger, forcing yourself to be stoic & emotionless, not showing vulnerability, acting rudely towards your subalterns & peers, that are condemned, you know, "toxic"? Yeah, it's toxic for men. But women? Nah, it's badass. Do it.
As I've said before I don't have any problem with Galadriel wielding a sword & going to battles, there are parts in the books that indicated that she did.
What I do have problems with, is turning this
To this
'cause apparently, the first one (the canonical one) is not powerful enough. Probably because it's ladylike 'cause with it being said & shown multiple times in the book that Galadriel is very powerful, I don't see what else would be the problem.
& again, could you imagine book!Galadriel, Fingolfin, or Fëanor in this pose?
No, 'cause it's not "genteel" behavior! Being "noble" is a huge factor in Tolkien's writings & noble people act like the court-appropriate upbringing they had!
and I think we all know why there is no word of Celeborn and Celebrian so far at least in the marketing: strong women don’t give in to patriarchy by marrying a man and becoming mothers.
(also you know that you don’t have to make your male characters weak so your female characters can be strong. right? you know it’s very offensive and patronizing like putting an adult in a competition among children to win? right? and besides that, every male character telling Galadriel to “put up your sword” and “why do you fight” so Galadriel can say that she will always fight and “there is a tempest in me” is very cringe you know?)
but enough about Galadriel.
not only they don’t understand the themes of the book but they also went for Tolkien’s worldbuilding!
you know how Tolkien invented some languages & then realized that he needed a world for those languages & then wrote his stories?
well, Amazon went for the languages & the worldbuilding.
there is a hobbit named Elanor. which is a Sindarin name. the name of a flower that the Eldar brought from Tol eressa to Numenor. both lands that the hobbits never set foot into. they also never met any elves. the elves didn’t know that they existed.
let alone that no hobbits should have any important roles in the second age & Harfoots ARE hobbits!
And the calm & quiet & anti-adventurous nature of the hobbits except the Tooks was part of the world-building. So our heroes could be unremarkable persons of an unremarkable community that left their peaceful lives behind so they could change the world without actually having such responsibility so that the moral of the story could be that "Such is of the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere." & "even the smallest person can change the future."
& ELANOR was significant for Sam, a gardener who travelled through Lorien & saw the flowers & brought the gift of Galadriel with him & revived the Shire after the war. & FRODO was the one who suggested it! It was a big, beautiful moment! Elanor, Keeper of the Red Book of Westmarch must be the first hobbit to be named Elanor!
also, there are two Durin at the same time. they’re father and son. the showrunners said that it’s because of the time compression. but that’s not a convincing reason. the time compression itself doesn’t sound good. how are you going to compress a whole age? not only it will destroy how powerful Sauron was to gain and hold power over Middle-earth for so many years, but it also ruins the rich history of Numenor and its slow, tragic demise. (fast corruption arcs are either like Anakin’s and show! Daenerys’, or look like the character or characters were evil from the beginning.)
also, OC Pharazon’s son is named Kemen. a Quenya name. you know, the Pharazon who hated anything elvish & so firmly believed in only using Aduniac that he even changed Tar-Miriel’s name to aduniac Ar-Zimraphel?
unless they address it in the series (like, say that Kemen’s mother was the one who named him, & that’s why she’s not married to Pharazon anymore cuz they had widely different beliefs, & the name shows how different Kemen is to his father or something like that) it’s just another testimony to their ignorance, with what I’ve seen so far, I don’t have much hope.
& yes, the long hair of the elves, & the beard of the dwarves was unique & proper for their races & suit them & made the elves graceful & ethereal & the dwarves rough. & changing them was breaking the lore & also in the case of female dwarves, once again, trying to appease wider audiences by eliminating creative elements of the fantasy world.
but it was part of the worldbuilding! different communities have different beauty standards & different clothes & hairstyles & different everything!
like in the real world, Chinese people all had long hair 'cause they believed that all parts of their bodies, including their hair, were a gift from their parents & cutting their hair was an offense to their parents. cutting them was for nuns or criminals. native Americans kept their hair long 'cause they believed that long hair shows a connection to nature & power. It’s like if GoT cut the hair of the Dothrakis & or ATLA cut the topknots of the fire nation! it’s not just about appearances, but culture, beliefs, and history, too! like, family is important for the Chinese & nature for the native Americans, etc...
so the long hair of the elves, & beard of the dwarvendams showed their culture, beliefs, history & in the case of the dwarves, genetics,
& It’s funny how some rightists are screaming about how the show is woke while the show is here like, God forbid, traditionally feminine women are strong & powerful & women have facial hair & men have long hair?! not in this house!
& I wouldn’t have this much problem with it had the showrunners not LIED ABOUT ALL THESE!
and well, I think all of these, whether it’s changing a rich, beloved character to the point that it’s unrecognizable from the original because they don’t understand and appreciate the original character because they don’t give enough time to thinking about it, or not understanding or appreciating the themes & the worldbuilding, & or coloring fabrics like metal or scale to look like armor & not even bother to edit out the folds of the fabric, and not bother to use more creativity in the designs of the character, or find a more beautiful wig for Galadriel, or bother to use any accessory for any character, I think it just speaks of lack of love.
and lack of love & appreciation results in a lack of dedication & half-hearted products,
nobody forces fan artists or pays them to draw their favorite characters in the most beautiful way they can imagine. they do it because they love them. nobody forces fanfiction writers to write about their favorite character in the most in-character way they can think of. It’s because they appreciate them.
I don’t think you should make any adaptation of any book unless you love that book. & I don’t see any love in Amazon’s LOTR.
#I think the image of the LOTR!Galadriel is from the amazing ifallelseperished#lotr on prime#the rings of power#rings of power#trop#rop#lotr trop#tolkien#amazon lotr#rop critic#galadriel#elrond#long post#very very long post#tolkien meta
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Headcanon based on a letter by Tolkien that suggest that Sauron was not entirely evil when he appeared as Annatar in the same way that most revolutionaries who end up doing terrible things didn't start out evil (can't find the letter now, might search for it another day):
Sauron originally didn't plan to forge the One Ring when he teamed up with Celebrimbor.
He thought that together with Celebrimbor he could really fix Middle Earth by giving artifacts that grant special powers to the right people and that they could all work together. Problem: Those people didn't all behave in the way Sauron wanted them to behave. So he thought, if he really wanted to fix Middle Earth, he would need to take power over the people with the Rings. He created the One Ring to do that.
And then, even with that power, people didn't submit to his guidance. The elves took off the Rings. The leaders of men who had the Rings followed him, but their subjects didn't all obey them. The dwarves did their own thing. (I know the Silmarillion says he only gave the men and dwarves the Rings after conquering them from the elves in war, but I don't buy it. The Ring poem was IIRC said by Sauron when he put on the One Ring for the first time and it mentions men and dwarves.)
After that he thought: well, if dominating the Rings isn't enough, military might will have to do. Tried to conquer Middle Earth. The Numenorians defeated him.
So he decided to use deceit as well. (I don't get the feeling that he was honest with Ar-Pharazon, while I do at least see the possibility that he was honest with Celebrimbor.)
By the time of the Lord of the Rings he still has the plans to fix Middle Earth in the back of his mind, but he thinks these plans will have to wait until he has total control.
The irony of the whole thing is that he thinks to fix Middle Earth everyone should submit to his guidence, but he himself doesn't want to submit to the Valar's guidance.
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Okay, okay, okay. I LIKE how they've done this.
Heaps of foreshadowing. ✔
One red-herring to make things more interesting. ✔
So many excellent references to LOTR. ✔
Nori goes on an adventure with Gandalf. ✔ ❤️
The three rings made of mithril and Felagund's gold and silver dagger, very fucking appropriate! ✔ *chef's kiss*
Adar is going to have one very bad no-good day/week/month/year/etc. etc. (Poor fella, I kinda feel sorry for him and his 'fam'.)
Elendil and Miriel clearly stating their allegiances. ✔ (Although they're coming into hard times, yikes.)
Elendil not blaming Galadriel (or himself) for what happened (or what he thinks happened), good, good. (Look, I have my priorities.)
Something, something about small things making a difference between good and evil – and we will never know if they really would have.
Also, Gandalf's statement about no thing ever being purely evil from the start, not even Sauron (even if only due to the the fact that he first only served Morgoth and wasn't his own master) comes to mind very forcefully.
Would Sauron have remained satisfied with staying in Numenor, had he been not convinced to leave? Could Galadriel have helped keep his darkness at bay? (The mutual pulling each other back?)
Hmm. Except, if you reason that saving M-E is the same as ruling it – well, power corrupts.
(Though the saving part is very much in line with Tolkien’s Annatar seemingly genuinely wanting to heal the earth while working with the Eregion elves, at least for a while. Before succumbing to the corruption of power again. Uh, there’s so much to unpack here, I have to think about it some more.)
Anyway, these are great things to ponder and/or fic.
And now I need all the fic. For all the ships. (You know me, I ship almost everything. :P)
I think this show really found its footing by the end of the season (despite the first couple of episodes being so-so.)
Is it a good representation of The Silmarillion etc.? Of course not, but even Tolkien wasn’t decided on many things in his own canon (let alone the fact that they don’t have the rights to all of it anyway.)
It is, however, a freaking great AU and I am looking forward to see S2.
In which, I guess, we’ll see Pharazon usurping the throne in Numenor, the wars between Sauron and the elves of Eregion, Nori and Gandalf’s travels, and I also wouldn’t mind seeing more of other Harfoots.
Now, I might really gonna have to write some fic myself while waiting. Or I’ll just daydream it. 🤣 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
#The Rings of Power#trop meta#my meta: trop#trop spoilers#spoilers#do not read if you haven't seen s1 finale yet#i just had to get my feels out#however incomprehensively#;)
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I've been thinking a lot about Elrond/Sauron as a pairing. Now this seems random, but I ship both w/celebrimbor so it is only logical to try to experiment with Annatar being in Eregion on the 2nd age.
They'd be introduced by Tyelpe, and inmediately something clics. Maybe it's because of their Maiar connection, but Annatar is a bit more flirty than usual and Elrond doesn't really mind. He has his doubts at first, but lets himself be led by Annatar (because impending war is making him miserable and he reasons he deserves at least one nice thing, and what's the worst that could happen?) And eventually the two fall in love. And it's sweet, they both learn and complete each other in weird ways. Even when Elrond learns he used to be one of Morgoth's pawns, he figures he's trying to get better, leave that life behind. The charming blonde man who speaks up whenever someone tries to make him feel bad about being peredhel cannot possibly be evil, he reasons.
But he is, and as the story goes, he tortures and kills Celebrimbor and Elrond's whole life falls apart. Everyone he's loved and been loved by is gone now, one way or another.
In my head, it goes down as a 1 on 1 Elrond & Annatar fight by the end of the 2nd age in which they're the bitterest of exes but then… Elrond has the updo annatar told him he loved on him and the gold armor he told Elrond was perfect with his skintone. And Annatar, having gotten rid of his headband has his eye fixed on Elrond and can't help but think about the times Elrond told him he should show his third eye more, and he's wearing the outfit he wore on their first "date" and they both hate the other, and they'd do anything to destroy him and they've taken everything they can from them, but they know deep down that they still love the other and they can't stop thinking abt him, even with how things are between them. And it's awful, but they can't stop loving each other.
AND THEN after the 3rd age starts and sauron starts rebuilding his forces he "harasses" elrond through osanwë but they both know hes holding back and they can feel the tenderness underlying the connection and there's love but it's just the remains of what once was. It is love that can no longer grow, to ask them to rebuild their love is to ask a wet log to burn, but they still mourn for it's brief existence.
It's even worse if they have the LaCE soulmate bond because then, when they're using it, they know there's been something there and that is the evidence of its existence; their bond was made out of love that has long died but its ashes stain both of their hands and they can't wash it off. And Sauron may say he'll murder every last of Elrond's family but it does not work when he's used the same bond to say sweet little nothings, a few hundreds of years ago. Things that were once thought in the dark now echo through that bond and it haunts them.
And maybe, when Celebrian is released and Elrond sees what Sauron has done to her, Sauron feels how he feels through the bond and maybe, just for a millisecond, he feels pity. It vanishes quickly but it was there and it was there because of Elrond, because as always he has managed to make something grow out of barren land.
#Elrond#Annatar#silmarillion#Lotr#Elrond/annatar#Rhys rants#I'm deeply sorry besties but this has been HAUNTING ME and it needs to be seen#headcanons#silm headcanons
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Comments on the first episode of the rings of power
(Going into this very dubious)
((Spoilers ahead))
- short haired elves oh my god Jesus why are there so many
- aww a swan ship
- ok idk if this is just so people know who she is but why is Galadriel not being called artanis or nerwen if she’s a kid? you know, seeing as you’ve included quenya maybe you could try doing that, huh?
- WHERE IS FINRODS LONG FLOWING HAIR. DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A GUY WHO WOULD FIGHT WEREWOLVES WITH HIS BARE TEETH. NO IT DOES NOT. I BET THIS GUY WOULDNT EVEN FIGHT A NORMAL WOLF
- the trees look cool but they’re not like… awe inspiring? that might just me being picky but they aren’t epic
- ok so finrod gave his life hunting sauron. right. not helping beren? no mention of that? you’d think werewolves would be a cool thing to mention
- harfoots seem cool I guess tho idk why they’re here
- glad to have the moose people explained (not.)
- seriously why do they have antlers on their backs??
- for a woman that can destroy a dude with her mind Galadriel is doing a lot of warrior-ing
- what’s up with that symbol
- does Sauron have a calling card now that’s fun
- ok we’re going for mutiny now?
- can’t get over these short haired elves dear god Elrond
- Elrond is heir to the crown of the Noldor in like 5 different ways why is he not counted as an elf lord
- GIL GALAD YES YOU DONT HAVE SHORT HAIR I LOVE YOU
- awww elrond wrote his buddy’s speech
- is celebrian gonna turn up? WHERE IS CELEBORN AT LEAST
- Galadriel is weirdly antsy about everything
- “you have not seen what I have seen” I mean sure but also Elrond saw his mother turn into a bird so idk who’s winning there
- i mean she’s right Sauron is out there but why is GALADRIEL hunting him down
- she’s only refusing to go to valinor now? what about at the end of the first age?
- What’s this whole thing about Galadriel being dependent on her sword she can DESTROY STUFF WITH ELF TELEPATHY
- an elf with a buzz cut? Ok then
- another elf-human romance
- again
- really you’d think they’d be bored of this by now
- “Only two” BITCH ANDRETH AND AEGNOR WOULD BE OFFENDED
- wait nvm they weren’t well known
- Aight Theo’s gonna be evil then
- there’s no way Galadriel went to the west
- Elrond and gil galad 👀
- OMG CELEBRIMBOR
- why is he older than Galadriel
- Elrond working with celebrimbor???
- Ew more short hair
- ok does that mean annatar is here if celebrimbor is working on a ‘special project’
- still confused about Galadriel going into the west
- Lovely montage with the meteor
- Ah ok that’s why Galadriel is damp in the trailer. She decides TO SWIM BACK ACROSS THE ENTIRE OCEAN. very logical good job.
- Meteor has touchdown. still don’t know why this is relevant. who is the guy there. betting that meteor man’s gonna be a wizard or Maiar of some kind. if he’s a wizard he’s early.
#it’s honestly meh#kind of irritating in the scenes based off canon characters because there’s a sense of wrong-ness#have no strong feelings about the trop ocs#just… ugh#probably wouldn’t recommend#anti trop#the rings of power show
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I never actually made a lotrop ep 5 opinions post did I. here is one rapid fire based on a half-feverish memory that I’m not even going to hide from you underneath a readmore, sorry:
- the silmamithril thing is still extremely stupid and this will only be salvaged for me somewhat if it all turns out to be a lie behind the scenes by annatar. that’s really what I’m counting on. if they’re going to play this completely straight it’s going to be awful. I had a fever the night I was watching this from 2020′s favorite illness, and I was half-convinced at 2am that I’d just imagined it, but sadly, no. I need to move on from this point
- stranger healed by ice was actually a red flag for me since I generally associate ice more on the “morgoth” spectrum of fun additions in the ainulindale. may skew back to secretly evil after all after I was convinced of wizard. or I may be reading into it so much
- “I hope one day you find something you would sacrifice anything for” @ isildur was actually really funny. isildur finally takes advice and commits to something and it’s the one ring that keeps sauron “alive”
- sorry back to elves gil-galad I need you to come through for me bud I need to be able to look you in the eye and accept you as a potential son of fingon but right now you are so on the orodreth end of the spectrum it isn’t even funny buddy. take a fucking guess man and don’t pressure any oath breaking.
- celebrimbor voice I was there elrond. I was there the night that you were conceived. and do you know what your father said? he said that one day his children would shape the future of middle-earth elrond voice gil-galad come pick me up I’m scared
- actually back to the silmaril I think the treemaril is plausible if maglor threw that thing so fucking hard like the ted nasmith painting it just went in a straight line hit the pelori and ricocheted with such power (unbreakable object + unbreakable object) it flew back over and embedded in a random tree in the misty mountains. the rest is still bullshit though
- (pelori had to stop the silmaril from entering valinor because at the angle it was at it would have hit the heads of several elves in alqualonde in a long distance 10x combo kinslaying which would have been impressive but bad.)
- (I was going to draw this out but it would take me like three hours to do stick figures so you just have to imagine it in your head)
- speaking of kinslayings. kemen honorary feanorian though not nearly as cool
- trying really hard to remember anything else that happened this episode. still don’t care for halbrand. think he’s dragging galadriel’s whole story down with him. but at least this episode was better than some of the other ones in regards to him because he didn’t have as many awful sarcastic comments
- yeah can’t remember anything else I’m sure there was something important but the treemaril turning into mithril was such a headache I think it made me even more sick. anyways let’s hope this next episode in <10 minutes improves on that
#lotrop#at least I am still having fun. still have things I can make myself laugh about#and that is the most important thing#ramblings
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I don't know who the fuck Sauron is but I kinda wanna hear the tea
Ok so (briar if you see this I want you to look AWAY because I WILL make you watch trop at some point)
Sauron is the villain in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but he also appears in the Silmarillion. This will be important later. It’s also helpful to know the Ring Verse:
Three rings for the elven-kings, under the sky,
Seven for the dwarf-lords in their halls of stone.
Nine for mortal men, doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the land of Mordor, where the shadows lie.
One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all, and in the shadows bind them
In the land of Mordor, where the shadows lie.
Essentially Tolkien was a cishet catholic man living and writing in the first half of the 20th century. Despite this, his works are consistently interpreted as queer, because he wrote very non-toxic male characters that show a ton of affection for each other, especially physically! they have very queer undertones, there’s a reason why Sam and Frodo & Legolas and Gimli are a couple of the most popular Lord of the Rings ships!!! I ship them too! That’s great, but it’s important to understand that Tolkien was definitely not writing canonically queer couples.
So in the silmarillion, Tolkien’s epic mythology of the history of Middle Earth, most of the main characters are men, so there are a ton of gay ships in the fandom! Towards the end of the book, Sauron is known to be evil, but he infiltrates the elves’ civilization in disguise, under the name “Annatar,” which means “Lord of Gifts.” He establishes himself as a generous giver of gifts and befriends a famous craftsman and smith, Celebrimbor, and teaches him the art of magical ringmaking - except the methods Annatar teaches will magically bind the rings to him, and to his power, and if he had a hand in making them they would allow him to corrupt the bearers.
Luckily, Celebrimbor forges three rings for the elves secretly, without Annatar, so though the rings are still bound to him, he has no knowledge of the rings or where they are, and was not involved in the making process, and all this allows keeps the elves safe from Sauron’s corruption and lets them make their realms stronger, protected, and long-lasting, bad for Sauron considering the elves are his biggest enemies (the humans were not so lucky, and became the nine terrifying Nazgûl, Ringwraiths, neither living nor dead, once kings and lords of men, but now existing solely to serve Sauron and his all-powerful One Ring) So all in all, a major L for Sauron/Annatar, and he takes it out on Celebrimbor later by kebabing him and marching his body impaled on a flagpole as a banner in front of his army.
A lot of silm fans ship Annatar and Celebrimbor, they see a lot of queer undertones (again, typical for Tolkien) in it, and that’s great! Except that didn’t happen in The Rings of Power, the new LOTR tv show that came out this past September to a lot of controversy (because a certain side of the Tolkien fandom, aka white cishet men who idolize Tolkien, is notoriously racist, and apparently black elves and black dwarves are “destroying Tolkien’s legacy”, and the Silmarillion side of the Tolkien fandom are notorious lore purists, which means they aren’t satisfied with anything short of perfection, preferably directed by Tolkien himself 🙄).
The Rings of Power is set in the Second Age, thousands of years before Lord of the Rings, but during the tail end of the Silmarillion, when Sauron is starting to become a big threat to Middle Earth again, and everyone expected there to be at least a season devoted to the forging of the eponymous rings of power. This… did not happen. Instead, in the season finale, Sauron was revealed to have been disguised as a character called Halbrand, who had been at Galadriel’s (the protagonist, absolute girlboss) side the entire time, developing insane sexual and romantic tension with her. In the season finale, he teaches Celebrimbor ringmaking, but there isn’t much time, buildup, or feeling between them, unlike with him and Galadriel.
This led to the Silmarillion fans of Tolkien getting super mad because Sauron x Celebrimbor was one of their favorite ships, and even though it wasn’t canon (again, cishet very catholic author) they wrote whole essays about how the homophobic the showrunners were, how they “intentionally dequeered Tolkien,” etc. It was a whole mess. (Btw I was mistaken the person I was talking about hadn’t said anything about rings of power Sauron, they just don’t like the show and they’re friends with a bunch of people who have said that stuff, but I was not mistaken in that they had blocked me because they did. Wanna know what for? Because I don’t like shipping incest, and they do. Very much. Even though it’s literally condemned in Tolkien canon.)
Anyways there is a Lot of Drama in the Tolkien fandom, and the Rings of Power, though I love it, is the source of a TON of it.
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What part of mairon's story/life would you want more information on if Jrrt still lived and you could ask him?
Oh, so many, the poor man wouldn't be able to keep up with all the questions I have! The main ones are:
1) His time as an Maia of Aule.
I would love to know how long he was one of Aule's Maiar and what was it about his life there that made him decide to change sides and when. What was he like then, as a person? He was known as The Admirable, was that because his work was so good or because he was so good? Was he always an insufferable perfectionist? And which kind of perfectionist? The kind that is really anxious and insecure and only feels like they've vaguely succeeded if they've aimed for perfection? Or he arrogant kind who was all too aware of his own skills and looked down on those who couldn't keep up with him? We're also told in the Valaquenta that he "remained mighty in the lore of that [Aule's] people", which to me doesn't automatically sound like a negative thing. Was his loss mourned? Did the other Maiar go on to tell the Elves of their lost sibling? 'Sauron' is so on point as a pun on his older name that I'd find it odd if it was just coincidence. Speaking of names, is 'Mairon' an Elvish translation of what he was known as in Valarin? When he left, did he leave immediately, or was he convinced to become one of Melkor's spies in Almaren before he actually finally left Aule's halls?
2) After the War of Wrath
Okay, I don't have the book in front of me so I don't have exact quotes, but there's a hint that Mairon's repentance to Eonwe was not completely false and that when he ran away again, he viewed Middle Earth as needing help and that it was over time that he slipped back into his old evil habits. I'd love to know what he was up to, if he really felt sorry for what he had done/helped Melkor to do, or if he at least began to maybe question some of their methods? Did he actually plan to turn over a new leaf and help? Or did he just like to think that he was helping even though what he was doing was just as awful as always. There's also a mention of "bonds" that Melkor had put on him and that these were why he returned to evil. What are the nature of these bonds? Is this just a dramatic way of saying 'old habits die hard'? Or did Melkor actually have some kind of...eh...magical (for lack of a better word) hold over Mairon that he wasn't strong enough to break free of? Or maybe, it's referring to his responsibilities as lieutenant? He tried to leave but then he heard that the Orcs were in a leaderless mess so he returned to sort that and it all went back downhill from there?
3)Eregion
What was Annatar like day to day? What was it that made everyone else scream "bad vibes!" while Celebrimbor was like "friend shaped :)"?
4)Númenor
Has...has this Maia lost it a bit? Is he okay?
5) Barad-dur, Third Age
What is his life actually like now? He's way less actively involved in things, relying more and more on his servants to go out and act as his hands in Middle Earth. Does he know just how like Melkor he's become? Obsessed with a trinket and not willing to set foot outside his own front door. Does he regret the Ring or is he too perfect in his own mind to have regrets?
6) Post Ring
Where does his angry little dust mote of a spirit go after the destruction of the Ring? Where is he? Could I possibly scoop him up into a jar and take him home with me??
#mairon#sauron#silmarillion#lotr#anonymous#answered asks#basically just: can i have some information? can i please have some information??
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You don't think that Joseph Mawle will play Sauron? I sort of assumed, because he was one of the first actors brought on and was cast to play a major villain who was being called "Oren." "Oren" appears to have been a fake place-holder name they were using to avoid spoilers, but it sounds a lot like "Sauron," and we do know he's going to be a main villain.
I actually do not think the ‘major’ like... villain we will see a lot is going to be Sauron. As far as I can tell, the story will be entirely uniquely written and I would say that they would want to introduce as many original characters as possible, only including canonical characters as supporting characters to the plot. I agree that that would be... DIFFICULT? Considering Sauron’s whole MO being ‘be the most evil bastard in the whole wide world’ but I do think the main characters we will follow will likely have a more personal villain than Sauron can be to them. Although having said that, I would not be unhappy with Joseph Mawle as Sauron since he’s got a unique face that is at least interesting to see as Annatar.
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Au where Melkor just... stops.
He's just thrown the biggest temper tantrum in the observable universe by marring a song that would create existence itself, yet there's still no explanation for his existence- no Eru Illuvatar to punish him or to give him a purpose after the biggest and most defiant 'fuck you' he could give. He can't do the one thing he wants to do the most which is to create life and find purpose, yet everyone else is already finding their callings faster than he could imagine. Varda and Manwë live on in a continuous state of marital bliss as does everyone else, and the Maiar don't dare touch Melkor with a five foot pole.
Alone and inconsolable, Melkor wanders. He observes his brothers and sisters' creations with envy that rather than fan the embers of his anger, drown his last dregs of motivation. He's not corporeal- not yet, and maybe not ever- but he has enough sense of self as to lay down on the soft dirt Yavanna uses to grow her plants on, and Aulë hides his metals under. He closes his eyes, feeling Manwë's winds against his not-skin and ruffling his not-hair and waits. For what he doesn’t know, but waiting feels good and he’d rather do that than look at all the things he can’t have.
No one comes for him and that in itself is proof enough of how much he doesn't fit in Eru Illuvatar's creation. Eventually he falls asleep, as much as an angel can fall into slumber. He sleeps and sleeps, for ages on end unaware of the passing of time. The world changes around him as it ought to do, and eventually like a moss on a fallen trunk, a snow-capped mountain covers Melkor like a blanket and hides his form from prying eyes, least his shame is made evident.
Melkor disappears, but not the memory of him. Manwë doesn't mean to lose track of his brother, he doesn't truthfully, but ruling is a grueling task and he's not perfect. The sudden jolt of worry comes to him under the light of the trees of Aman, for they were whole and bright as ever. The others don’t have a clue either and the Valar have to gather and discuss Melkor’s unnoticed disappearance while worried beyond belief, were they so preoccupied with themselves as to forget their brother? Some are heartbroken to near tears, Melkor didn’t do any greater evil than to sing some notes incorrectly and they love him dearly still, so the realization that they haven't seen him since the first song is frightening.
Perhaps Illuvatar has seen fit to seek justice, proposed Ulmo. Some nod, it is possible, yet Manwë shakes his head, worry weighing on his shoulders. In the end, they can’t find an explanation, and they might have lost their chance to do so forever. They search, but their efforts are futile. They only succeed in alerting the Maiar and the firstborn that a Vala is missing and has been gone for a long, long time.
Another one? The children of Illuvatar ask. The Valar don't answer. He must be powerful, then. Maybe chosen by Eru himself to serve a higher purpose. Some suggest. Or maybe he got lost. The majority concludes. Word travels across all of Arda through myths and tales, all untrue, but more mysterious and close to the heart of Maiar, Men, Elves, Dwarves, Ents and Hobbits alike with each retelling. Some Maiar even pledge their services to the Vala who never asked for them, and deep down in their hearts they know that he exists and accepts them as his own despite the other Vala’s stubborn silence.
The Lost Vala, while not the lord of great seas or the creator of all things green becomes a symbol of hope for those who don’t fit and feel unwanted. He is present, yet hidden. He doesn't boast of great deeds, for his purpose is quiet but nonetheless important. Mothers pray that their lost children are under the Lost Vala's care and warriors offer sacrifice as payment to the one who'll lead them to the halls of Mandos, least they be lost until the end of Arda.
The Lost Vala is a crone, old and of the race of men, yet wise enough to give advice to the brightest of Elven Lords. The Lost Vala is a guide that will show the way to Valinor to the last elves on Middle Earth. The Last Vala is a treasure to be found, a true fortune to the one in its possession. The Lost Vala is a gurdian, a loyal warrior that protects all creations of Eru from the Void. The Lost Vala is the luck that comes to the unlucky, the yearning for past history that'll lead to great discovery, the stranger that will show kindness in the direst situations, the one that will give directions to all those who wander and are lost, the annotations made on the margins of a book with queer handwriting yet full of enlightening thoughts, the perfect timing of an urgent messenger, the one who announces the battles on the birthing bed as won, the accurate sword swing against a foe, the perfectly baked pie and the satisfaction of a job well done. Always there but never seen or found.
:::
So... surprise.
Sadly, I couldn’t write more, but the premise continues on with the idea that:
Melkor is eventually found, either by dwarves that ‘delve in too deep’ or mountain elves, idk I love me some mountain elves just as much as I love dwarves uncovering age old mysteries between rocks and such.
A lot of the canon conflicts don’t actually happen (because the main villain is gone lol) which would leave Middle Earth and Arda in general as nigh unrecognizable and mostly peaceful (or even more war-torn).
Even with Melkor gone, Arda is still Marred which could be a conflict just for the sake of having a story.
Maybe Mairon/Sauron/Annatar becomes the main villain in this, beginning with the creations of the Ring of Power and with Celebrimbor as the ‘died for our sins’ character. Or perhaps someone entirely different creates and entirely different cursed jewelry that will cause entirely different types of endless pain.
The Finwean dynasty of my dreams (Yes, it is I, the Noldor loyalist) is thriving and flourishing with it’s continent spawning empire.
In any case the Feanorians are alive and almost functional as they should be.
#silmarillion#au#melkor#morgoth#middle earth#arda#the valar#mairon#hobbits#elves#maiar#lotr#feanorians#eldar#noldor#valar#dwarves
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I have lots of thoughts on characters’ time in the Halls of Mandos. I see Mandos as a sort of combination of spiritual rehab and spiritual hospital.
I think there are several factors in how long an elf spends in the Halls - what the character did in life, how they died, whether they’re genuinely sorry for the things they did wrong and willing to change, and whether they’re willing/ready to leave. (I’m not going to get into the question of staying in the Halls because someone you love is there, because it gets circular very quickly and turns into a less interesting question of “Which characters care about each other the most?” If no one left the Halls until all the people they loved were out, no one would ever leave.) For several of the Finwëans I think choosing to stay in the Halls is a larger factor than anything else in how long they’re there.
I think the circumstances of Finrod’s death - laying down his throne, realm, and life to save another person, in the face of rejection by almost everyone he knows - are a major factor in why he’s revived so quickly.
Orodreth, I think would be revived relatively early in the Second Age. He has a lot of failures, but there’s nothing morally culpable in being a poor ruler or a poor warrior (provided you don’t seek out a position of rule, which he didn’t), any more than there is in being bad at knitting or math or any other type of skill. Orodreth pretty clearly didn’t want to be in Middle-earth at all - he was the only one of the Finwëan grandkids to be on Finarfin’s side during the debate in Tirion. He had a job he wasn’t suited to dropped on him, and he did his best with it, even if his best wasn’t very good. And unlike many other dead Finwëans, he has a plenty of family outside the Halls that he’d want to see again - his father, his mother, and Finrod are all alive.
Fingolfin’s kids are a much more interesting case. Fingon has the more obvious reason to be longer in the Halls - namely, kinslaying - but I think Fingon would ultimately end up being revived sooner. There’s little question that he’s sorry for his actions, and the events of the Rescue from Thangorodrim suggest he was already forgiven for them, by Manwë at least, mere years after setting foot in Beleriand. The kinslaying would have an impact on how long he spent in the Halls, but not as much as one might think.
Turgon, on the other hand, hasn’t done anything evil but has done something monumentally foolish in disregarding Ulmo’s warning. I think he would stay in the Halls for quite a while, not because he has to, but because leaving would involve the idea of facing both Ulmo and all the people of Gondolin, who he would regard himself as having failed. (I don’t think he would be entirely right on that account - “let’s leave the one remaining place of security in Beleriand and wander into a region controlled entirely by Morgoth” is not an appealing proposition, and I think a lot of people in Gondolin felt the same as Turgon, would have resisted leaving even if he’d proposed it, and wouldn’t hold him responsible for the city’s destruction. But he would have felt responsible all the same.) And on top of that, his daughter has disappeared to who-knows-where and his nephew is worse than dead, so he’s going to be dealing with some serious grief.
I have a mental image of Turgon, immediately after being revived, heading to the coast, wading chest-deep in the ocean, and calling himself a dozen different types of idiot at the top of his voice until Ulmo shows up and says, in effect, “Yes, you are, but it’s okay.”
Aegnor, I think, remains in the Halls a relatively long time due to grief/remorse about how he ended things with Andreth, but sometime in the mid-Third-Age he accepts revival based on the realization that, in the event that Men and Elves ever do reunite after world’s end (he and Finrod would have discussed that theory), Andreth will not be terribly impressed with an explanation like “I realized we shouldn’t have broken up, so I spent the rest of Time sulking and doing nothing”.
Maedhros I can see getting out sometime in the Fourth or Fifth Age after lots of quality time spent with Nienna. The rest of the Fëanorians (aside from Celebrimbor) I don’t see getting out at all, because I don’t see anything in their personalities that indicates the willingness to accept that they were wrong. Celebrimbor I vary on - I think he’d feel bad enough about the consequences of his cooperation with Annatar (especially given everything that came of it later - the Nazgul! the Downfall of Númenor!) that he’d want to stay in the Halls until Sauron was defeated, but whether he would have considered that to be the end of the Second Age or the end of the Third Age I don’t know. I like the idea of him being revived after the end of the Second Age because then he can spend some time supporting Celebrian when she comes to Aman and develop a friendship with her.
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Who is the Villain Teased in The Lord of the Rings TV Series Synopsis?
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Amazon’s billion-budgeted television series for The Lord of the Rings has clarified things—albeit ever so slightly—with the release of its first official synopsis. While we’ve known for some time that the show will take place during Middle Earth’s Second Age—thousands of years before the story of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings novels or the iconic Peter Jackson-directed films—the description doesn’t exactly narrow things down, seeing as said age lasted for 3,441 years. However, its teasing of an unnamed villain has sparked some intrigue.
The synopsis, arriving via Tolkien fan site TheOneRing.net, affirms the earlier-confirmed idea of the series taking place during the Second Age, a time in which Middle Earth’s political—and geographic—infrastructure was different, starting with the statement, “Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-Earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.”
The synopsis continues, “Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.”
Interestingly, the ambiguous phrasing of the “greatest villain” and “the long-feared re-emergence of evil” has yielded a speculative debate over the identity of said character. Yet, there are only two candidates who feasibly fill that spot: Morgoth and Sauron. The former may not have had a presence in Tolkien’s main stories, but he is an integral figure in the elaborate, quasi-Biblical backstory mythology that the author crafted, as depicted in the 1977 posthumously-published chronicle, The Silmarillion. The text reveals that Morgoth—who began life as Melkor, an archangel-esque Valar and one of the earliest creations of deity Eru Ilúvatar—would eventually fall from grace into evil to became the mythology’s equivalent of Lucifer.
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Lord of the Rings Amazon TV Series: Cast, Release Date and Everything to Know
By Joseph Baxter
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Amazon Prime Video New Releases: January 2021
By Alec Bojalad
Indeed, Tolkien’s main novel appendices and array of non-novel stories—many of which were published posthumously under the editorial stewardship of his recently-passed son, Christopher Tolkien—depict Morgoth (as the character came to be known upon his evil turn,) as the original big bad of Middle Earth. Morgoth waged wars against the races of Elves, Men and Dwarves on an unfathomable scale, using the might of Orc armies and monstrous allies like Balrogs, Dragons, Trolls and Giant Spiders for many millennia until his final defeat and exile into the Great Void, which marked the end of Middle Earths First Age. That would be the last time Morgoth would ever inhabit Middle Earth, although ominous prophecies foretold his return, which never ultimately happened.
Consequently, barring an anachronistic direction from the series, Morgoth has to be eliminated from being the villain of The Lord of the Rings series. That’s where Sauron comes in, since the character—originally called Mairon, a Maia (primordial spirits who serve the Valar)—succumbed to a desire for more power, and was thusly influenced by Morgoth’s evil, serving as one of his lieutenants throughout the malevolent lord’s epoch-spanning wars. However, after Morgoth’s final defeat, Sauron’s subsequent millennia of misdeeds would be—unlike his former master’s adherence to raw power—rooted in deceit. Yet, Tolkien left some of Sauron’s exploits open to interpretation about whether he was even truly evil—at least during certain eras—and there is room for the character to manifest in a nuanced manner on the Amazon series as a Loki of sorts for Second Age Middle Earth.
Yet, while Sauron’s own trickery in Middle Earth spans multiple millennia, his most infamous act was, of course, the ruse that inveigled the leaders of Middle Earth’s races to forge and utilize the Rings of Power, which he secretly controlled with the One Ring; a story that was famously told onscreen with powerfully pithy dialogue from Cate Blanchett’s narrating Galadriel in The Fellowship of the Rings’ prologue. However, said prologue doesn’t reveal that Sauron’s initial entreaty with the Rings came about by way of an insidious, slow-burn plot to befriend the high Elves of Middle Earth while disguised in a fair Elven-like form under the identity of “Annatar” the “Lord of Gifts.” Promising to teach forms of magic that would save the world—in case Morgoth would ever return—Sauron manipulated master Elven craftsman Celebrimbor into forging the secretly-tainted Rings of Power: three for the Elven rulers, seven for the Dwarf lords and nine for the kings of Men—you all know how that ended.
New Line Cinema
This seems the likely initial storyline for the series, especially since the show’s official Twitter account started early hype for the series by teasing Tolkien’s lines about the Rings of Power. Adding fuel to that notion is the fact that Peter Jackson originally had designs to utilize Sauron in his “Annatar” form for Return of the King’s climactic Battle at the Black Gate. Indeed, as you can see in the image immediately above (from a behind-the-scenes documentary), the original context of the scene—set after Aragorn appears entranced after seeing the Eye of Sauron—was that Sauron had become powerful enough to physically manifest onto the battlefield, first in his old fair form, after which he transforms into the armored figure we saw in the prologue, and starts directly attacking. However, Jackson eventually had to digitally replace Argorn’s opponent with a towering armored troll.
The other viable Sauron story would be the fall of the island kingdom of Númenor, which occurred a few hundred years after the Elves, joined by the Númenoreans, waged a first war against Sauron. After the initial defeat of his armies, Sauron was taken as a hostage to the island kingdom, which was inhabited by a race of long-lived men (of which Aragorn is a descendant). There, Sauron, again under the disguise of a fair form, insidiously ingratiated himself to the corruptible King Ar-Pharazôn, eventually leading to the rise of Morgoth worshippers promised eternal life. This culminated in an attempted invasion of the Undying Lands that angered the Valar, resulting in the island being swallowed by the sea—and Sauron retreating back to Mordor, eventually setting up the culminating War of the Last Alliance, as depicted in the movie prologue.
With all that established, it’s probably safe to conclude that Sauron—presumably depicted as an anthropomorphic character with lines and not as a giant flaming eye—will be a prominent part of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings series, and might even be portrayed by one of the announced cast members (Maxim Baldry seems like a good candidate). With a backstory mythology as rich as Tolkien’s, there should be plenty of fodder for compelling stories, with stakes high enough to exist independently of the massive literary and cinematic franchise from which they were spun.
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Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings television series is set to commence production this month in New Zealand, picking things up from the pilot, which—upon a recent return from last year’s COVID-caused hiatus—was completed by director J.A. Bayona.
The post Who is the Villain Teased in The Lord of the Rings TV Series Synopsis? appeared first on Den of Geek.
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Because I Walked Away from Death
Happy Halloween everyone!
Sadly, this isn’t particularly spooky, though it does start out very depressing. Maedhros is not a happy camper. Please keep that in mind.
He means to die. He steps to the very edge of the crack, looks into the magma below, and means to jump. It cannot possibly hurt worse than the Silmaril burning through his hand.
But Maglor sees him, and Maglor runs forward, and Maglor shoves him to safety -
And then Maglor - Maglor -
It is not, it turns out, a very stable piece of land, that edge.
Maedhros springs forward with a cry, but his last living brother slips through his fingers, and the last he hears of his brother’s beautiful voice is a scream as bad as any in Angband.
Maedhros stares down at the magma and there is no reason in the world not to join him.
No reason save that Maglor has just - just -
Maglor is gone because he didn’t want Maedhros to do that. All of his other brothers have died for nothing. He cannot let Maglor do the same.
That’s what he reasons out later.
The moment it happens he just stands there and can’t move, can’t breathe, can’t -
Can’t.
He wanders. He doesn’t care where he goes. It doesn’t matter.
He puts the Silmaril in a pouch at his waist.
In his dreams, it still burns.
He hears scraps of news sometimes. Tyelpe still lives and is building a city. Elros is mortal and sailing to build a new kingdom. Elrond is serving under Gil-Galad.
There is other news too, but it falls out of his head like water through a sieve, like hope from the Noldor, like Maglor from his outstretched hand.
It’s hard to survive on his own with just one badly scarred hand.
When the Silmaril falls from its pouch and he reaches out unthinkingly to catch it, hard becomes impossible. The fresh burn on top of the scar makes nearly everything unmanageable.
In a hand curled like a claw, he manages to scoop the Silmaril back into its pouch. He doesn’t bother looking for water to soak his hand in.
He just turns his face to Tyelpe’s city. Possibly he will be cut down at the gates, but it doesn’t matter.
All that matters is getting the Silmaril somewhere safe. He cannot just hold onto it until some poor traveler pries it from his corpse and accidentally starts another war. Tyelpe will know what to do with it.
And then Maedhros can go back to the wilderness and walk until he cannot walk anymore, and it will not be his fault when he falls.
Or at least no more his fault than everything is.
He has a dozen stories planned to get through the gates. He doesn’t end up using any of them because absolutely no one tries to stop him from strolling right in.
Maedhros frowns and thinks that perhaps before he goes he should talk to Tyelpe about his security.
He is not sure where to find his nephew, and he doesn’t dare draw attention to himself by asking, so he just heads toward the forges and hopes for the best.
It works. He hears a familiar voice ranting passionately inside the largest one, and he slips inside. Tyelpe is there, project momentarily set aside to debate some point with his companion.
“Tyelpe,” Maedhros calls, and his voice breaks. “Celebrimbor,” he corrects because that’s what his nephew prefers now, isn’t it?
Celebrimbor turns, eyes going wide. His companion turns too, and Maedhros stumbles back when he sees those eyes.
“Gorthaur,” he chokes out in horror. A thousand remembered pains return.
Celebrimbor tenses, but the monster just frowns in concern. “I am called Annatar, my friend. Are you quite well?”
“Do not try your tricks on me,” Maedhros spits. “I learned to see through them all by the end.”
“By the - Then you were a thrall! I assure you, you are safe here. Perhaps a healer - “ He stops when Celebrimbor draws back towards Maedhros. “Surely you are not taking these ravings seriously!”
Celebrimbor says nothing, just looks grimly between them, and Maedhros -
Maedhros is desperate and has nothing left to lose save his nephew, so he puts his ruined hand into the pouch and draws forth the Silmaril with its condemning light.
It does not burn.
In the amazement over that, he almost misses Sauron’s flinch.
Celebrimbor does not, and Sauron knows it. He immediately changes tactics.
“I did warn you that not all in my past was to the good,” he says mournfully. “I have changed, Celebrimbor. I desire a new start. Surely you of all people can understand that?”
Celebrimbor hesitates.
Sauron presses. “Think of all the good we could still do together, the things we could build, the power we could share - “
Celebrimbor’s face shuts down instantly. “As my grandfather once said: Get thee gone from my gate, thou jail-crow of Mandos.”
Sauron’s face becomes terrible in its wrath. “And how will you make me, least and weakest of a failed line?” he hisses. “Your mightiest elders could not vanquish me, and you think you will? With what? The sword you leave carelessly in your room? The Silmaril you know not how to wield? The aid of an uncle who can no longer even grasp a weapon?”
He’s not entirely wrong. Maedhros does the only thing he can think of.
He is already far beyond his father’s forgiveness in any case for letting his brothers die, and the Oath is given up for lost.
He throws the Silmaril directly at Sauron’s face.
Only Feanor and the Valar may know how to properly wield its magic, but its burning properties are straightforward enough.
Sauron screams.
And Celebrimbor reaches into his pocket, and when he pulls his hand out, he’s wearing three blindingly bright rings. He clenches his hand into a fist and repeats, “Get. Thee. Gone.”
The wave of power is so immense that Maedhros stumbles back.
Sauron howls in wounded fury and vanishes.
“He’ll be back,” Maedhros says wearily and plods his way towards the Silmaril. He probably ought to scoop it up again. He’s not sure if the non-burning trend will continue when he’s not in direct opposition to the greatest evil remaining in this world.
“Of course he will be,” Celebrimbor says and sits down rather hard on the nearest available surface in order to better laugh rather hysterically. “Sauron. In my city.”
“You dismissed him well,” Maedhros offers. “Though I don’t think he was technically ever a prisoner of Mandos.”
“Yes. Well. You try thinking of something nicely witty in the moment. I don’t know how Grandfather did it.”
Maedhros squints at the rings still on Celebrimbor’s hand. Their glow is dimming now. “Speaking of Father,” he says cautiously, “I thought you were foreswearing our mistakes, not reliving them.”
Celebrimbor looks down at them ruefully. “I’m not a complete fool,” he says. “I knew something was off. These were just . . . a backup plan of sorts. Although I don’t think I’d admitted that even to myself.”
“Right,” Maedhros says, still more tired than anything. And who is he to lecture Celebrimbor? “While we’re on the topic of our family’s mistakes, I want you to have that one.” He nods to the Silmaril still on the floor. “It’s why I came, actually.”
“And I’m very glad you did,” Celebrimbor says. Maedhros tries not to dwell on the undeserved warmth the words summon. “But are your sure? The Oath won’t . . . “
“Won’t matter in a few months,” Maedhros says dismissively. “I can hold it for that long even if the Oath doesn’t recognize you as a legitimate holder of it.”
Celebrimbor freezes.
Maedhros holds up his ruined hand. “He was wrong about many things,” he says, “but not when he said I couldn’t hold a sword.”
Celebrimbor is by his side in an instant. “You need to see a healer for this. Elrond is coming for a visit soon, I’m sure he can help, and until then there are many talented healers in the city - “
“I did not come to impose upon your hospitality,” Maedhros interrupts.
Celebrimbor glares at him. “No, you came so you could die in peace. Surely you don’t still mean to do that after what we’ve just discovered.”
He ought to stay, Maedhros realizes. Celebrimbor never fought on the front lines of the war. Maedhros could help.
“I’m very tired,” he says quietly.
“Please, uncle,” Tyelpe begs.
Maedhros’s shoulders slump in defeat. “We keep my identity quiet for as long as we can.”
“If you like,” his nephew agrees instantly. “Although some of your old followers would be very glad to see you.”
Maedhros ignores this. “If my being here starts to cause trouble, I leave immediately.”
Celebrimbor begins to steer him towards the door, probably with the intention of getting him to a healer. “I’m sure we can resolve it peacefully.”
“And we are not bothering Elrond with my hand.”
“Whatever you say, Uncle Maedhros. Whatever you say.”
Maedhros doesn’t trust that tone, but he’s tired.
If this is the outcome, perhaps for just a moment it will be alright not to fight.
#alternate universe#canon divergence#maedhros#celebrimbor#sauron#maglor#character death#suicidal thoughts#fic#happy ending#hopeful ending at least
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