princessfantaghiro

[princessfantaghiro]

[princessfantaghiro]

I love being a wild card in this fandom.  

What I love about Sauron/Mairon x Galadriel is that their dynamic isn’t some basic Light vs. Dark nonsense. Because this is Tolkien, not some Hollywood digested cr*p, as the professor says himself:

Some reviewers have called the whole thing simple-minded, just a plain fight between Good and Evil, with all the good just good, and the bad just bad. Pardonable, perhaps (though at least Boromir has been overlooked) in people in a hurry, and with only a fragment to read, and, of course, without the earlier written but unpublished Elvish histories. But the Elves are not wholly good or in the right. Not so much because they had flirted with Sauron; as because with or without his assistance they were 'embalmers'. They wanted to have their cake and eat it: to live in the mortal historical Middle-earth because they had become fond of it (and perhaps because they there had the advantages of a superior caste), and so tried to stop its change and history, stop its growth, keep it as a pleasaunce, even largely a desert, where they could be 'artists' – and they were overburdened with sadness and nostalgic regret. Tolkien, Letter 154

This is what I've been telling you guys. The Elves are not hopeless victims of Sauron, nor are they the "heroes" of the story. Tolkien lore is complex, it's not "pure Good vs. pure Evil" like the "lorebros" or the Peter Jackson fanboys claim. Stop believing their nonsense, they don't know what they are talking about. The battle of “good vs. evil”, in Tolkien legendarium, ultimately, happens within each character.

When they first met, Mairon and Galadriel both turned their backs on literal heaven (Valinor) because of their pride: Galadriel wanted the glory of seeking and destroying Sauron for herself; Mairon couldn’t bring himself to face judgement from the Valar. Mairon was the repentant sinner, while Galadriel was on her way to become one.

Galadriel is a literal ticking bomb, ready to explode and turn Dark at any moment, in "Rings of Power". Mairon was drawn to the darkness within her, and not to her “light” (this is another way he self-deceives himself). Her “light” (= Two Trees of Valinor) is merely aesthetic. She doesn’t have that light, and that’s why she’ll use Nenya, and her Mirror and her Phial to harvest purest Light, and become the “Lady of Light”.

In “Rings of Power” there is a clue that Mairon might be blood bound to Morgoth, and, so, he’s always unconsciously seeking his former master, and that’s why he wanted to serve Galadriel. Because he's a Maia, he was created to be a servant to a Vala. The deal, wasn't her becoming his servant, but the other way around.

And we are talking about Sauron, here: his whole character arc is not one of redemption, so he the interest he believes he has on "Light" is not real, it's one of his self-deceptions. And for Sauron to never stop grouping Galadriel’s mind, thousands of years into the future, when he’s already officially the “shadow of Morgoth” it’s because he recognizes her potential for darkness, not her light.  

This doesn’t mean that he’s unredeemable, mind you. Tolkien’s work is infused with Christian doctrine (mainly Catholicism), and in this religion one can always find redemption and forgiveness if one actually repents for their sins, and makes amends for them (which will be Galadriel's case). And this is also present in Tolkien lore: no character is unredeemable on his world. But in the legendarium, after refusing to stand trial before the Valar, Sauron never truly repents, and becomes the "a reincarnation of Evil" aka Morgoth come again.

And there is Sauron. In the Silmarillion and Tales of the First Age Sauron was a being of Valinor perverted to the service of the Enemy and becoming his chief captain and servant. He repents in fear when the First Enemy is utterly defeated, but in the end does not do as was commanded, return to the judgement of the gods. He lingers in Middle-earth [Halbrand]. Very slowly, beginning with fair motives: the reorganising and rehabilitation of the ruin of Middle-earth, neglected by the gods', he becomes a reincarnation of Evil, and a thing lusting for Complete Power – and so consumed ever more fiercely with hate (especially of gods and Elves). All through the twilight of the Second Age the Shadow is growing in the East of Middle-earth, spreading its sway more and more over Men – who multiply as the Elves begin to fade. Tolkien Letter 131

Sauron was of course not 'evil' in origin. He was a 'spirit' corrupted by the Prime Dark Lord (the Prime sub-creative Rebel) Morgoth. He was given an opportunity of repentance, when Morgoth was overcome, but could not face the humiliation of recantation, and suing for pardon; and so his temporary turn to good and 'benevolence' ended in a greater relapse, until he became the main representative of Evil of later ages. But at the beginning of the Second Age he was still beautiful to look at, or could still assume a beautiful visible shape – and was not indeed wholly evil, not unless all 'reformers' who want to hurry up with 'reconstruction' and 'reorganization' are wholly evil, even before pride and the lust to exert their will eat them up. The particular branch of the High-Elves concerned, the Noldor or Loremasters, were always on the side of 'science and technology', as we should call it: they wanted to have the knowledge that Sauron genuinely had, and those of Eregion refused the warnings of Gil-galad and Elrond. Tolkien Letter 153

Halbrand was repentant Mairon. Annatar is Mairon falling back into evil.

Galadriel is not yet the “repentant sinner” Tolkien described her to be, in his legendarium, either. In Season 2, she doesn’t own up to her actions, and is still making excuses for them: “I was deceived”; “Sauron used me”; “Under his harp I was played to a melody not of my choosing”, bla bla bla.

She’s still in self-denial about her actions in Season 1: she’s the one who tempted Mairon with promises of power and, pretty much directly, caused him to choose deception over redemption, and condemned Middle-earth to Sauron’s tyranny (this is also somewhat compatible to what Tolkien wrote, because in the lore the Elves are also to blame).

And I’m almost certain she’ll have to f*ck up even harder in order to have a “eye opening” moment. Because one can’t really be a “penitent” (using Tolkien’s words) unless one takes ownership of one's actions, and makes the conscious decision to atone for them. 

[princessfantaghiro]

I LOVE IT

have some haladriel smut i wrote and posted like a month ago (>ᴗ•) these two live in my mind rent free and i need to let it out, i keep thinking about THAT scene in s01e06 and that it should’ve ended in them kissing AT LEAST

[princessfantaghiro]

The Rings of Power (2022 - ) | s02e05 | 14/?

[princessfantaghiro]

listen the fact that they hired a writer that worked on the great is such a BOON.

a TRUE enemies to lovers that is believable and done well with fantastic dialogue.

if we get a crumb of what the great had for haladriel i will cry and vomit from happiness.

also you should watch the great. shit's great.

[princessfantaghiro]

have some haladriel smut i wrote and posted like a month ago (>ᴗ•) these two live in my mind rent free and i need to let it out, i keep thinking about THAT scene in s01e06 and that it should’ve ended in them kissing AT LEAST

[princessfantaghiro]

(requested by anon)

[princessfantaghiro]

The funniest scene of the season so far has to be Galadriel waxing poetry on how Sauron so masterfully deceived her, played her like a puppet, and Elrond's in the back like "girl be so for real, you knew he was a red flag, you just thought you could fix him" like oop- 😶😶

[princessfantaghiro]

Taking a break from projects to draw this amazing elf

Short sketch of Cirdan the shipwright

[princessfantaghiro]

I love all the fits she wears in this show

[princessfantaghiro]

Galadriel is so much stronger than me because i would have folded so fast

[princessfantaghiro]

“Ilúvatar’s finest creation, it is a shame that Aulë touched you first,,

[princessfantaghiro]

"My heart is with the Sea, and I will dwell by the grey shores, guarding the Havens until the last ship sails."

[princessfantaghiro]

Some Annatar sketches from episode 6 of The Rings of Power.

[princessfantaghiro]

[princessfantaghiro]

Of course they are Sauron's! The 3 without Sauron's powers are nothing more than ordynary jewels! He shares his godly/Ainur powers in them, when he was in his repentant form: Halbrand, and touched everything in Celebrimbor's forge: mithril, Stones etc etc

And yeah. HE MADE NENYA FOR HIS QUEEN

#sorry not sorry

omg the "sauron created nenya for galadriel" discourse is so frustrating. the thing he said about making 2 was a manipulation -- that was never the "plan" by anyone for them to be a pair of rings for them.

ok lets break it down. celebrimbor is the one intending to make one crown for gilgalad. the purpose was to maintain elven magic in middle earth. this was not for galadriel or halbrand -- it is not intended to be about fighting sauron. halbrand helped with the alloy idea. sure. but he is just a human fangirl in a master's forge. he isn't celebrimbor's partner. yet.

but then we get to the moment galadriel has the scroll and sauron notices it and is going to go talk to her about the two rings idea when he noticed he was about to be found out.

when would he have has *time* to talk to celebrimbor? he didn't have time. he left lickety split when he noticed galadriel figuring it out. the most likely thing is that he made it up on the spot (he might have been toying with the idea before hand but i think its the first he told anyone) because it sounds super enticing-- we'll make two and you can have one. its the only thing that might entice galadriel, power equal to Gil Galad. power to have a kingdom.

but like, best case scenario, assume he *had* talked to celebrimbor earlier. do you honestly think celebrimbor intended for halbrand and galadriel to have the rings? he doesnt trust humans at all. the point is to give magic to the elven kingdoms. even galadriel would not have necessarily have been the obvious second choice after gil galad (before she gave up her dagger) because of her potential to be corrupted/ use it for war.

at the end of the day, celebrimbor made the three without sauron's designs. he just used his alloy idea. and he made three because of Galadriel (in trop), using materials from elrond and galadriel. and he intended none for humans.

sauron wants to control the people's of middle earth via the rings. the three being free of his influence is a flaw in his plan. he needs to get them back to fulfill his goal. yes, he desires nenya bc galadriel spurned him, but the point is *it was never his to begin with* and thus why he covets it -- not because it belonged to him or because it was his gift.

and that is why he needs to make the one ring, bc that is the only way to control *all* the rings, even those free of his influence. even though it was a huge risk to take.

(this is not take away from anyone shipping in whatever way they want -- its just whatever attraction galadriel and sauron have doesn't change who created nenya and for what)

[princessfantaghiro]

Herald to the High King of Lindon