#development to write sauron better

[thebitchkingofangmar]

@sauronism tagged my main, for the WIP of the week show and tell. Since it’s Tolkien related, I’m posting it here.

(Also because my other WIP of the week is literally about the cultural significance of Artichokes for One Specific City in my original work. No, you don’t get more context than this)

Anyway, genderevil jeweller and she/her witch-king to be be upon ye.

Tagging @elvain @hobbitwrangler @imakemywings and @woodlandrealm

[neyafromfrance95]

Do you agree that Sauron, who seems to love only himself, is truly in love with Galadriel? Why make her his queen? He doesn't need her unless one can say it's to have dominion over her. No, I think he's in love. It's the only love he will ever feel, forever.

i think the cast & crew pretty much confirmed that sauron indeed loves galadriel.

is he redeemable? no. he is basically that universe's satan. but that's what makes his love for galadriel even more fascinating! it almost defies his nature.

why does he love her? well, i love the writing of the show, specifically for sauron x galadriel bc the answers are sewed into their entire relationship, respective characterization/development. it's in text and subtext.

so the answer would be too long as we'd have to analyze the show throughly 😆

but in short, i'd say it's bc galadriel represents the light that sauron wants to have at his side (mild version) or have an absolute power over (extreme version). it's not exactly "human" kind of love, but rather dark and twisted one.

as we know, the light reflecting galadriel's hair inspired the creation of silmaris that bewitched morgoth.

and i think sauron recognized this light from the moment he met galadriel on that raft and that's why he lookd like he had a revelation.

we can see that sauron is already obsessed with galadriel. to the point of delusion. this lays a groundwork for his persistent groping for her in the 3rd age.

he knows that he is the dark, and there is this intrinsic connection between the dark and the light. they really are the twin flames. and they feel that.

and while at her very core galadriel is the light, she's gotten so familiar with the darkness that the other elves couldn't distinguish her from the evil that sauron represented! now, sauron believes he does good for the world but he himself lacks the light needed to balance the darkness. so i think he believes that just like galadriel can touch the darkness through him, he can touch the light through her.

and he already experienced that! as galadriel, the personification of the light in his eyes, gave him that link to her very being when she let him in!

he believes that galadriel would balance him out, and he wants her to be the ruler in her own right (in reality sauron would turn galadriel into a tyrant tho, imo).

the connection they have is the profoundly unique one that they are only able to establish with one another, so it's like he doesn't want to let go of the only one with whom he feels that.

and another reason why they managed to establish this link (other than the fate bc i do believe the show portrays their bond as the destined, rather mystical one), is bc they opened up to one another, feeling understood for the first time in their lives. yes, sauron didn't tell her who he was, but he still was vulnerable and real around her, not putting on an act. and it's not just that he related and empathized with the one who was hurt by his and morgoth's actions, she inadvertently gave him the forgiveness for that!

one could argue that sauron loves only himself. well, that's the thing, he saw himself in galadriel! it was as if she was his mirror, but maybe even better, more perfect version of him as she had the light he lacked. his mirror, yet the personification of the light itself.

[wordbunch]

Time to say a handful of things abt s02 finale!!!

under the cut so you can avoid it! :)

However I am very much looking forward to reading everyones comments opinions feelings etc ♡

Did I expect to cry over the death of freaking king durin in the first 0.3 minutes??? That scene was so incredibly well done and I was like omg am I glad to be witnessing this for the first time🥹😭 yes I'm still pissed I couldn't see LOTR in cinemas cause I was still in freaking diapers

NAAARSILLLLLLLL narsil our beloved, I was squealing, yes OUT LOUD. narsil bbygirl you will always be famous 💅���� elendil go slay

I know yall pay him dust but ISILDUR I always love to see him and I love him and theo being the resident trouble brothers duo (its giving merry and pippin but Doomed). Sorry not sorry but yall moved on too fast (I DIDNT!) from the fact he feels guilty for his moms death. pls i am HUGGING HIM! his doe eyes I am deceased. pls I just want to stare at his face for eternity. MY PERSONAL HEADCANON WAS CONFIRMED 😩💦 that boy kisses like he is STARVEDDDD

[Redacted thoughts here]

Stranger yes we knew he was gonna be gandalf but. I love a name drop. I love Tom and I love choosing friendship over power and I love the staff and I love everything . They're giving me my childhood dreamlike feeling and I am so grateful I get to see a glimpse of that story 🥹💛

So many SPEECHES foreshadowing SO MANY THINGS. I am obsessed. The absolute cruelty of celebrimbors death and the death of his works....the one SINGLE TEAR on annatars face....dare I say peak p o e t I c cinema.

Where do I even begin with HALADRIEL ✨️✨️✨️ charlie the lord of acting and just like. in his eyes you can see everything and more. I need to write a dissertation on their duel istg

The way he didnt hesitate to absolutely PURR "GALADRRRIEL" every. single. time. [Redacted thoughts]

I WOULD HAVE PLACED A CROWN ON YOUR HEAD.

do you want me to like die?????

I SEE YOU.

yes actually they do want me to die.

HUMAN HALBRAND???

And RIP to me indeed.

[Ultra redacted thoughts]

I audibly WHIMPERED. sweet lord i was like My poor babygirl has to endure this manipulation 😩😩😩😩 he stooped so low and I was so here for it but girl i would have F O L D E D 😔✊🏻

Then galadriel on galadriel violence??? The only thing better than galadriel TWO galadriels actually.

but then.

the elrond and rivendell of it all. rob aramayo has never looked more gorgeous than when he took nenya to heal Gal. WE GET TO SEE HEALER ELROND GROWING INTO HIMSELF WITH OUR OWN EYES!!!! you don't UNDERSTAND i spent 20 YEARS dreaming of rivendell and now I get to see it coming to be!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭💚💚💚💚 the way that you can see gears turning in his head as he takes the ring. the camerawork ate and devoured i fear - with your own eyes you can see him growing. developing. like yes I am feeling more ready to take charge of some things. what if I CAN do it. what if I CAN make so many things and people so much better????

and u will babyboy 🥹���🥹🥹

Do i even need to add i had full body chills at the scene of elrond,gil,galadriel and arondir!!!!!!! on the cliff!!!!!!

BITCH THE SUN STILL RISES!!!!! Pity CAN defeat sauron!!! friendship and light DO WIN over darkness!!!! The tolkienism of it all. i will rewatch a hundred times and then some.

[ceescedasticity]

Discussion: When hobbits in the Shire are taught to read and write, what script are they using?

My own impression is that it is something other than Tengwar or Cirth — I feel like calling things "elf-runes" implies the existence of one or more other kinds of runes/letters, possibly more familiar ones.

As for where this other alphabet came from, I see three major possibilities:

Hobbits developed it themselves.

It was developed by Men off in the East or South somewhere, and eventually was adopted in the northwest of Middle-earth.

It was invented by Númenóreans during their "elves suck!" period.

My own opinion: Some Men sufficiently far to the East and/or South undoubtedly have their own scripts that they're very happy with, but the script widely used in northwestern Middle-earth is a Númenórean invention.

Arguments for this:

It wouldn't have existed in the mid-Second Age when Sauron forged the One Ring and used Tengwar for the inscription even though he's said in the present time not to use elf-runes.

It would have been forcibly spread across a wide area to many peoples as the export of an empire, who might not have been so quick to adopt or invent a new script when they already had access to two perfectly functional alphabets.

It would likely have been the first writing system learned by even Faithful Númenóreans, and the only writing system learned by many of them, so it probably would have been the most common writing system in Gondor and Arnor. (Tengwar is around as a prestige writing system, but if people only learn one, it's the other one.)

However I'm somewhat torn on this because I like the "somewhere East/South" option better, mainly because one can imagine it being developed gradually over time like most real-world writing systems.

So—

[clockworkprism]

The Rings of Power discourse is the most frustrating thing ever. It might be more annoying than the Star Wars 8 discourse which is saying something.

No, the show is not accurate to the lore. Galadriel was not developing in the second age, she is older than the damn sun and moon. She was an ethereal being of wisdom before the events of rings of power started. Among other deviations well beyond the excuses of compressing the timeline or lack of rights. Also no, that in and of itself is not enough to write the show off as bad.

Yes, it's better than the Hobbit movies. The Hobbit trilogy was hot garbage why are people using that as a yard stick? That's like saying Star Wars episode 8 is better than episode 2. Filming yourself wiping your ass after explosive diarrhea is better than episode 2. The Hobbit movies are down there with the live action Avatar movie. It would be a remarkable achievement for RoP to have been worse than the Hobbit movies.

People now are hating on Frodo???? I don't like gate keeping fandom, you can and should criticize characters. But really?

Finally, the Galadriel Sauron shipping, which apparently was intentional by the show runners, is just beyond ridiculous. Galadriel was already basically a different character with the same name. But Sauron crushing after an elf? He's a demigod obsessed with order. He is completely aromantic. He did not need a love interest. This is Five Hargreaves all over again.

The show is not all bad. The dwarven women should have had beards because a lack of even basic sexual dimorphism is a big part of the legendarium but I love the actress they picked and their plotline is one of the better written. The orc perspective is something that is present even in the LOTR book.

Anyway, if you like the show good for you. But please stop trying to act like it's accurate to or somehow elevates the lore and definitely don't hate on Frodo to make some kind of point.

[letrune]

You know what annoys me in Harry Potter?

And let us imagine for a moment that the author is Hatsune Miku. That it is an adaptation of Neil Cicierega's Potter Puppet Pals. That Warner Bros is not holding the franchise with patents and trademarks well beyond the powers of even millionaires.

Ah, nice to imagine, isn't it? Still with me?

The books are wasted potential. Every new thing coming in helps to show how the magical world is as flawed and xenophobic as regular, mundane version of it. Slavery, segregation by "blood purity", racial segregation, magic supremacy and cishet white male magic supremacy, too.

And then a downtrotten guy shows up. He is a hero, has loads of cash and a fame beyond his age. You would think the dude from the literal closet would CHANGE THE SYSTEM. To push along a new, better, more liberated, more equal world. Maybe even prevent the next bad guy from rising by removing the key aspects that made him rise to power, like slavery, the segregations, the supremacist ideas, and so on. Even if just pushing it in a way.

You would think the main character would fix the system. You know why?

Because every fantasy story, even if by just getting the just and wise king or queen on the throne, does that. The Lord of the Rings does not end by blowing up Sauron. It goes on, the world has to be changed to prevent a new, different Sauron. We saw glimpes on how anyone, even the purest heart, could go down that path.

So why can't this boy who lives in a closet? It is WASTED POTENTIAL. Imagine the stories you can tell! Now that you got a better world coming, would the old jerks not hate it? Would some change? What new issues arise? It is a fantasy, so you can do whatever you want - and then go the Man in Black route and have the magical slowly dripped into the mundane. Or, again, as with the (comic book) Men in Black, we had shown how even the utopian parts get issues not seen before, all based on xenophobia, human folly, etc.

You make a status quo that sucks, and then GO AND CHANGE IT. The big bad in a bad system is not the guy with the biggest gun, but the system that fails.

Oh, sure, you can make a story about the cyclical nature of revolutions - and yes, a bloodless revolution is the best for the little people, but in fiction, we may have the bad guys represent issues. So, you can make a story where a revolution leads to another in the next cycle. But...

You have to change the bad systems. Say that some things may change. Even if it is just a new school being put forward in the end, with empathy, and two characters talking about how the world will change if they keep going on... You have to change. The utopian status quo is the only one what the audience may like to be returned to.

When Bilbo comes back to the Shire, it is almost the same, but Bilbo himself changed. It was a bit for the better, but not that much that new stories could not be told... and what he thought as the status quo is shown to have changed. He became more artistic. He wrote a book, inspired by his "miserable adventure"... and then, later, Tolkien slipped in the ring from the sequel. It was not in the original draft! The ending did not changed, but we had a plot hook.

Though, Tolkien already had given us all the potential in the story. He hinted at a bigger world.

So imagine Miku, writing a thing but then she does not develop the things. The potential goes wasted, and when it returns, it has this "stop nagging me, here, a stupid retcon for your stupid questions" thing. Potential squandered! Wasted! No wonder the fans would go to write their own, for better or worse.

I am so happy Hatsune Miku is a talented writer and not some woman slipping into right-wing hatred, akin to some dude who loves gold and the aesthetics of power, and having none of it in his tiny hands or something. That would be-

Oh. I just realised the intro to this rant. Well, now that the train is deralied, what is my point?

If you write a story with systemic issues, you should at least attempt to resolve some of them. You got slavery? Have the main character and their friends free slaves and ban slavery when they get the power to do so.

You got a sort of space cyborg wizard nazi movement? Your character has the potential to punch them in the face, alongside B. J. Blazkowicz and Captain America, WHILE ALSO breaking the systems the space cyborg wizard nazies rely on. In fact, it should be what you do, because while your heroes give the cool action scenes, they also show their intelligence and empathy by PREVENTING new space cyborg wizard nazies coming into existence and fixing the inequalities in the world.

Sure, it is not as cool to see Mr. Potter to write a new constitution about equal rights than seeing him in a wizard duel with wizard nazies, but you can have both. This is fantasy!

You can get the audience to believe that a man can fly, that a single guy can save the world by throwing a ring into a volcano, or that a boy living in a closet is a chosen one - letting them change the world for the better is not a stretch, it is catharsis! That is where the happy ending happens.

[katurdayss]

It’s been a full week since the finale of Rings of Power and every time I've sat down to try to write my S2 review I see a new take and start rethinking. I eventually circle back to the same ideas tho, so fuck it, here are my thoughts in no particular order.

Season 2 was a lot better than Season 1. This is true for most shows, as S1 is usually a 'lets find our footing' scenario, but also these seasons are SHORT. Which leads me to...

This show would benefit GREATLY from seasons longer than 8 episodes. The way they've structured it means they juggle a LOT of storylines at once. Sometimes this is great, other times it feels like storylines suffer because they're just planting seeds for the future and it doesn't really have an impact on the Main Storyline for the season. For me, Arondir was one of these. His started with this great potential for how an immortal would understand the concept of grieving the forever loss of a loved one. Unfortunately that was really watered down into tracking down Adar to kill him, full stop. Which brings us to...

What.the.fuck.is.the.timeline? How much time has passed? S1 and S2 feel like they happened in a month. I don’t care if the timeline is compressed, I still want to feel time passing other than noticing Annatar's/Sauron’s hair magically grew like 4 inches in one episode.

Speaking of Annatar, I feel like what the show did really well was creating original dialogue/moments (even with canon things) instead of what I would call fan/studio service. The parts that I have loved the most were the more original moments: like anything involving the dwarves, the development of Miriel and Elendil, the Ents, and Cirdan. The parts that I felt were weakest were when the show relied too heavily or used dialogue from the Jackson movies. I didn't want the Stranger to be Gandalf, not because it isn't canon, but because Peter Jackson already did that. I don't need multiple call backs to his movies (I love those movies too). I'm here for NEW STUFF. Expand my Tolkien universe, show me shit I've never seen before that will make my head explode. That weird nameless thing Arondir killed? Imagine the Cardi B 'What is that' meme and that was me. Fucking great. I don't want to be constantly reminded of the Jackson version of shit, I'm here to see Prime's version.

That brings me to the idea of consistency. I have yet to figure out what the methodology the showrunners/writers have when choosing to follow or not follow canon. Example, they included that little orc family but didn't make Elrond an elf lord? WHY? His lineage is like royal af. Even when not following canon, I feel like the writing can be really inconsistent. The Numenor storyline is a great example of this. Sometimes it's awesome, but the dialogue for the Kings Men characters are often really cringy, and not because what they're saying is fascist. Galadriel is another one for me. Do I need to like her, no, but her character is also used as a studio catch all for every woman character archetype possible. She's single-minded and driven, she's soft and caring, she's thoughtful and wise, every dude apparently is in love with her and it swings WILDLY from episode to episode. You need space to build in these changes to make them believable, which see points 2 & 3.

And finally, on the subject of romance/shipping, for the love of god a story can be great without all the fan service romantic tension editing and teasing. People can exist without romantic partners. People exist without romance. I literally do it every day. I'm not saying you need to make characters asxeual or anything either. Just you know, let people be people. Did The Kiss bother me? No, but you also could of written Elrond slipping Galadriel a lock pick numerous other ways. Is Sauron obsessed with Galadriel? Sure, but maybe its because her hair shines with the light of the west or something and not this tired trope of 'bE mY qUeeN'.

There are other things I would personally change, but I thoroughly enjoyed this season. It made me do a whole lot of reckoning with the ideas of canon representation vs just good storytelling for the audience, which is a really good thing. But it also showed me the folly in treating every media property the same, because Tolkien is not Marvel is not GOT is not The Witcher. You can't be like, 8 episodes works for X so it should work for this too, or x worked for GOT so we'll use that here as well. Maybe it's the Graphic Designer in me but just because Pepsi and Coca Cola are brand soda's doesn't mean the design language and marketing is the same, ya know?

[lesbiansforboromir]

(RoP ep 5 spoilers)

I was rlly down on rop after episode 4 w/ the flagrant racism and what felt like a real dip in writing quality after the first 3 eps - both the Rhûn and Southlander survivors plots could have been done so much better, Bombadil & Barrow Wights go back to the shadow pls...

But I just watched ep 5 & we're so back!!! Love the delicious deepening poison of the Eregion plot, the web that Celebrimbor has been spun in; every scene in Numenor pulling no punches, + 'our armies cannot defeat both Adar & Sauron. Not alone' 👀

Khazad Dum developing fascinatingly as always, the web beginning to be woven around Young Durin as well (though I miss that spark of threatening ambition from Disa in the 1st season)

And these little teases of Adar & Galadriel have built up the anticipation for that plot to come in the next eps so well, Sam Hazeldine killing it!!

Will be gutted not to see Alex Tarrant again. King 😔✌🏼

Did you have any thoughts? Always enjoy your insightful takes.

Sorry this took so long to reply too I've been enduring diverse horrors but yes! I experienced the last two episodes very similarly, ep 4 was extremely disappointing just for the genuinely shocking orientalism present and whilst it had some good scenes (really enjoyed the elaboration of Isildur's history with his mother and Theo identifying with it so viscerally, the ents were beautifully voice-acted and designed and, of course, big worm) in the majority it was just all the most superfulous plotlines in this show that really have no business being in this story bundled into one episode and none of them even justified themselves by being... good.

And again, cannot express enough how bad Tom's so called 'cornish accent' was, kind of compounding the show's clearly very unexamined and dismissive attitude towards culture, accents, ethnicities and employing any of them with skill or respect.

But with that in mind I wasn't very surprised that the next episode was just better to watch, it had all the plot-relevant plotlines in it 😂 AND was just in general better television. Like I've said this before, but they've clearly worked on and better'd their understanding of 'tolkienian dialogue' for this season, I'm fully convinced by every scene and especially Miriel and Elendil's dialogue, 'when the wolves are licking at the cradle' felt particularly good to me.

And!! Full commitment to the religious conflict! Like I know people will moan and gripe that Tolkien SAID Eru wasn't worshipped but I think he meant that in a completely different way to what most people think it means. Like the Meneltarma exists, the holidays for thanksgiving to Eru exist, hereticism exists and Numenor's story is one of religious oppression, resentment and rebellion. It is a no-brainer to make that clear to the audience through reverence, shrines and prayer. I was particularly won over by the use of 'Nasie' in the shrine desicration scene, which is the quenya version of 'Amen' from Tolkien's quenya translation of the Lord's Prayer (nerd).

I'm also genuinely enjoying the Eregion plotline! Which I did not expect. I think just purely for the acting actually, like it's not groundbreaking to say that Charles Edwards is a brilliant actor but still! It's worth mentioning! He's portraying Celebrimbor in this poignantly empathetic way, not flinching from the frailties but in a way that keeps me with him emotionally 100% of the time.

And I'm enjoying Charlie Vickers offering us, the audience, a clear understanding of exactly the tools he's using to try and manipulate the people around him whilst maintaining the idea that those tactics would work. I also like that there's an effort to make Celebrimbor appear as competent as he's supposed to be this season, even though it doesn't really make up for how little the forging of the elven rings was about him initially.

And in this episode I was REALLY taken with the scene where Mirdania puts on one of the rings, there was a gentleness to the way he found her hand to pull it off and a sort of immediate comprehension of the situation that made me go hell yeah! Thats a lord of elves! Thats a masterful person! Thats someone who is gentle at heart!

Everytime the balrog comes up I'm a little annoyed and concerned, I really do not want to see the destruction of Khazad-dum in the second age, but other than that the dwarf plot line also indeed continues to be excellent. I have lesbian blinkers on about Disa so it's hard to be unbiased, but god the WAY the relationship between the two Durins is progressing... UNBEARABLY heartbreaking, they are putting in work to make this complex and to preserve both characters as ultimately good and to keep the slow disaster inevitable anyway. My personal brand of narrative agony writ large. And! Really appreciated that they had Durin tell Celebrimbor that greed was never a part of his father's personality until the ring's influence, a small thing that helps nod to the larger antisemitism issue.

HOWEVER! Having said all that, the episode was more emotionally polarising for me than solely good.

Firstly, whilst I am enjoying Narvi's characterisation, I was enjoying it mainly because in every scene with him I was like 'wow! I love this guy, he's quiet and thoughtful and a little awkward but also knows his stuff, he and Celebrimbor will get along so well! can't wait to see their friendship progress! 🙂' And then... the doors of durin were already made and Celebrimbor made a joke about Narvi being a thief? And that's the last we saw of them together 😅 Like it really felt like a check box for the writers, and is one of these mirriad of little moments where you're immediately thinking about how much time the harfoot/gandalf plotline is taking up in this very time-constrained show and wish SO much that it could be used for THESE kinds of relational developments. And I mean I know ultimately Narvi and Celebrimbor's relationship is not important for the overall plotline of the show either, and it's not a crime to focus on the characters they're using to drive the story along, but it's still disappointing and sad to see it so relegated to the sideline.

AND THEN god, the scene with Pharazon and Kemen. Like I already feel so blindsided about how fast Pharazon became king, and with the use of the Eagle too. Like I appreciate the idea that Numenor's relationship to the west is complicated and that the eagle still holds weight when elves don't, ultimately like... the Eagle came to Miriel's coronation! The fact that this was apparently such a political blow to her that there was no rebuttal she could make seems a bit insane, does she really have no political allies to debate this for her in parliment? And I know I'm the 'lore doesn't matter' guy I know but... why didn't the eagle speak? We all know they can!

But that's not even my main issue with the Pharazon and Kemen scene, DELIGHTED to finally have the show acknowledge that Kemen had a mother and wasn't grown from Pharazon's own body or something, but... okay so RoP DOES AGREE that the dunedain can just HAVE the gift of prophecy.. so why have we slandered my poor benighted palantiri once again and given them powers they have never possessed? (I know why, the cool Miriel and Elendil vision misinterpretation couldn't have happened if they hadn't I know I know but it hurts it hurts okay!!)

BUT THAT'S STILL NOT EVEN MY MAIN ISSUE, my main issue is... this is the first time in the WHOLE SHOW we've heard anyone mention death as an issue between elves and mortals. Like Pharazon seems to have touched the sceptre and been imbued with the sudden realisation that is sucks elves get to live forever when humans can't. It's being portrayed in this like 'well clearly this is unreasonable, only a tyrant would think this' when this is one of the most emotionally relatable narratives in the whole canon! And multiple characters have MASSIVE motive to connect with this resentment. I mean, didn't Elendil literally lapse in faith BECAUSE his wife died??

It's made most gruelling by the fact that RoP got SO close to crafting a narrative that would have perfectly introduced and accelerated this resentment. Miriel went to war on the word of an elf who will live near-as-makes-no-difference forever and who HAS been alive for thousands of years already and that war killed a huge swathe of humans, many of whom were young with their whole lives ahead of them, but the thousands of years old elf still survived. Like that basic formula IS the catalyst for the first wave of faithless kings of numenor in the original canon! Minastir dragged Numenor to Gil-Galad's defense after Tar-Telperien spent so many years resisting that course of action and Minastir was the last faithful king of numenor for a millenia or more. So you would think! It would be EASY for the show to capitalise on that and show kingsmen associate the deaths of their loved ones with their resentment towards elves and the west who decreed it be so! But no! Somehow, the connection seems like... avoided almost!

Earien is angry at Miriel for taking her brother to war because of an elven artifact that she percieves as mystical and untrustworthy, and that sentiment is repeated by all the kingsmen we see (though many like Belzagar dont even seem that emotionally invested at all, it's more of a political ploy for them apparently). But literally none of them seem to have even considered the fact that dying at all sucks and apparently the option to NOT do it could be on the table, bizarre when their founding king's brother made that exact choice.

I don't know the cynic in me feels like it's an attempt to lead the viewer into an unthinking dichotomy of Faithful = Good and Kingsmen = Evil with no nuance or sympathy offered to the normal people of numenor who are reasonably asking why they have to die when elves don't! Which is would be a frankly crazy take in a show where sympathy for the villainous seems to be like... A HUGE PART of the overarching narrative they're constructing!!

And it's also clearly working if all the viciousness towards Earien is anything to go by, like my god the woman's just doing what she thinks to be the right choice with all the information she has at her disposal and since NO ONE ELSE (Elendil) seems to want to actually have a calm and respectful conversation with her about why she's mistaken and have decided just shouting and threats are the best way to go (Elendil) I do not blame her even one bit.

In general the Numenor plotline remains the MOST like... like it tears me fully in half. I am in love with the designs, the acting is great, even the FOUNDATIONS of these themes and relationships are immaculate (Elendil being initially a reluctant martyr and a disconnected unsympathetic father, Isildur survivor guilt, Elendil having a daughter who was wooed by kingsman ideology, Anarion's estrangement from his father over his revolutionist religious views etc) But they're just not handling it as well as the rest of the show's plots are. It feels rushed and muddy, and the whole 'elves coming over 'ere stealing our jobs' scene still haunts me at night. I can never get over it.

AND LAST THING I am not... content with Valandil's death. Like the scene itself was great, and my god is the music this season hitting right, but I feel like it was a waste to kill him off so early. The tragedy of it was certainly immense and it's going to drive the tension in Numenor up for sure, but Valandil was really carving a place out for himself as an interesting character in his own right and I would have liked to see him go a bit further into the story before we lost him. Though, of course, he always did have to die.

[thelandswemadeofpaper]

I can't hardly blame Tolkien for spending so much time creating names and cultures, its so fun!

I - finally - have courage to actuallly develop the crossovers and plots I have been writing and slowy creating in my head

And making up names and customs for my favorite Arda's people (my beloved Easterlings) is awesome. I need to be careful so I don't 'sanctify' them, for lack of better words, as much some people love to make them Feminism, Queer Accepting, Not-Racist, Unflawed just like some people do in real life with Native American Cultures.

I genuine thinking about men having more than one wife like some cultures had, not that I approve or fetish it, its just...historical? In some parts of Middle-East? I just don’t want to make Arda Eastern Culture...perfect?

What I can do to make them more 'feminist' is that, since so many men die in Sauron's army, and Easterlings are mostly trying to survive in a bad enviroment, its won't be historically incorrect for women to take men roles becaus of necessity

My Easterling names and words so far

Enni:

Kurma

Tenka

Vika

Viya

Kurko

Kurya

Naku

Rutta

Nysa

Wyla

Penthu:

Freggo

Briegga

Brinna

Adhina

Kuhina

Mharai

Inra

Runa

Welfa:

Oresha

Araya

Suriki

Yefa

Karuk:

Gretta

Dhurara

Kulthan

Valko

kheda (widow)

bri (beauty)

hina (bride)

ku (sea)

van (clan)

nel (woman)

nul (man)

Nelva (literally 'house of women', the place where widows and women whose husbands are away live with their younger children and orphans)

The tribes are deeply intertwined due to the constant exterminations of their people done in the past, both by Edain and Orcs alike, many parts of their cultures were lost, but those that remained were adapted among them

Although they can no longer say they have 'nobles', each tribe is divided into clans, each one proud eith their crafts and all following the same naming system. A single syllable added to the sufix '- van', while they don't have surnames, the firstborn naturally has the syllabe in their names (like the head of Tuivan could be named Tuikan or Tuimer), in daughter or a second son's name its optional

The Karuk and the Welfa are more present in the Sauron's army than the two others tribes, for their weapon and horse skils are more prized there and, with exception of Enni's boat-building and navigation skills, the sea tribe mostly contribute by farming and fishing. The Penthu are forced to give up their elaborate arts and gifts in exchange for more useful crafts produced in mass.

However they have an upper class, those who remain wealthy and powerful despite the ruin of their homeland and its inhabitants, allying themselves with the Dark Enemy in search of glory and participating in the terrorization of their own folk

This is my first time actually writing beyond just random making ideas like that post in 2022

I still starting and I want it to be a crossover, so still in making

Easterling, a simple term, often spoken with anger, fear and mockery, soon lost his original meaning. A vast word that embraced all the folks that lived beyond the Sea of Rhun. From the wild Karuk horsemasters, the skilled artesans of Penthu with their pottery, glasses and paint, the fierce warriors born in Welfa, and those that lived and died in the cold blue rivers of Enni.

[mustardyellowsunshine]

Tbh the recent trend of hating on redemption stories baffles me a bit. I get not wanting them to be shoehorned into stories where they don’t make thematic sense (e.g., Sauron having a redemption arc in LotR would not work for the story), or disliking it when writers use them to score cheap brownie points in lieu of actual, good development. But it seems like the mood shifted (quite awhile ago) from a reasonable "not every villain needs a redemption arc," to a more baffling "redemption arcs are cringe, actually, get them outta here." And I? Don't get it? We don't need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. We don't have to shy away from telling redemption stories just because we've seen a few told poorly. I get tired of seeing badly-written romances, but that doesn't mean I need to throw shade at all love stories or suggest writing them is passé. Romantic love stories will always be written because it's part of the human experience. Making selfish mistakes and struggling against our worst impulses to try to be better—and backsliding in the process—is also a fundamental part of the human experience that belongs in our stories. And the basic message that you are not just the sum total of the worst things you’ve ever done, and you are capable of profound change if you choose it—that's still a necessary message. Why are we shitting on it lately?

I’m not talking about appreciating or even loving villains btw. Appreciating villains and the roles they play in a narrative ≠ this weird new trend of hating on the concept of redemption arcs. It’s the latter that has turned me into an old lady yelling at clouds.

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

I mean, okay, I’m not sure this is actually a problem in the context of LOTR and the history we know from the Silmarillion and such. Because if the orcs are corrupted elves and their entire race has been enslaved to Morgoth/Sauron since their creation then they’ve never really had much of a chance to develop goodness. In ROTK, if I’m remembering correctly, when Sauron falls the orcs and the rest of his minions just disperse as if a spell on them had broken, so it stands to reason that there was probably some mind control involved here too and certainly manipulation.

My writing professor in college actually posed this question to us once and we discussed if there could be a good orc/goblin if it was raised by another race of Middle Earth and I would argue that yes, that seems possible. We just never see this happen in the books because they’re recounting wars and great events in history. There will always be that ONE human who would adopt a baby goblin/orc if they found one, at the very least.

As for why the other races of Middle Earth are allowed to kill the orcs indiscriminately- it’s a war! They’re enemies! The orcs are killing them indiscriminately too! That’s what happens in a war!

The only argument you can really make here is that there are instances of other humans being spared when the orcs are not and yeah that probably is racist tbh but to be fair it does go back to the fact that the orcs have been servants of the Dark Lord for as long as anyone can remember and they tend to keep to his strongholds when they aren’t out raiding, so how would they ever even have the chance to learn how to treat with orcs and discuss things and come to compromises with them? Are the orcs even able to do these things because of the mind control? Have people tried and died from doing this? We don’t know! Because the text doesn’t cover it! LOTR doesn’t really have room for anything like this, the Silmarillion would be a better place for it, since it takes place over such a long span of time. And the Sil is, technically, unfinished (Christopher Tolkien pieced it together but Tolkien never really finished writing it) so who knows? Maybe with these existential concerns Tolkien was having he would have wrote something of that nature for the Sil if he’d lived longer/thought of it.

If this is really bothering you though and you want an epic fantasy story that deals with whether a race can be totally evil and irredeemable or not, as well as racism from well meaning, heroic people that is called out and addressed in the story, I highly recommend The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson, who is, in fact, a big fan of Tolkien and even owns his fireplace.

Not posting this as a reblog because I don't want to screw with somebody else's notes, but the whole "theological implications of Tolkien's orcs" business has some interesting history behind it.

In brief, a big part of why the Lord of the Rings Extended Universe™ is so cagey about what orcs are and where they come from is that later in his life, Tolkien came to believe that orcs as he'd depicted them were problematic – albeit not because of, you know, all the grotesque racial caricature.

Rather, he'd come to the conclusion that the idea of an inherently evil sapient species – a species that's incapable of seeking salvation – was incompatible with Christian ethics. (Basically, it's one of those "used the wrong formula and got the right answer" situations.)

In his notes and letters, Tolkien played around with several potential solutions to this problem. (Though contrary to the assertions of certain self-proclaimed Tolkien scholars, there's no evidence that he ever seriously planned to re-write his previous works to incorporate these ideas.) In one proposal, orcs are incarnated demons, and "killing" them simply returns them to their naturally immaterial state; in another, orcs are a sort of fleshy automaton remotely operated by the will of Sauron, essentially anticipating the idea of drone warfare.

Of course, this is all just historical trivia; any criticism of The Lord of the Rings must be directed at the books that were actually published, not the books we imagine might have been published if Tolkien had spent a few more years thinking through the implications of what he was writing. However, the direction his thoughts on the matter are striking for two reasons:

Tolkien's orc conundrum is very nearly word for the word the problem that many contemporary fantasy authors are grappling with fifty years later. They want epic battles with morally clean heroes, and they're running up against exactly the same difficulty that Tolkien himself did – i.e., that describing a human-like species who are ontologically okay to kill is an impossible task.

After all the work he put into solving this impossible problem, one of Tolkien's proposals was literally just "what if they're not really killing the orcs, they're just sending them to the Shadow Realm?"

[neyafromfrance95]

I find it so interesting that even though Galadriel will “close the door” on Sauron, she never renounces ownership over Nenya and even takes it with her to Valinor, something that sort of was his idea, and even tho he never touched it, it’s a still a part of him, always with her. RoP is setting this nicely in S2, with her feud with Elrond. And Nenya is also known as “the Ring of Adamant”, and Sauron’s fortress in Mordor, Barad-dûr, is also called “Tower of Adamant”. And Galadriel is still tempted by the One Ring thousands of years later. I think Galadriel blocks Sauron because she’s aware she can’t resist him, she would eventually succumb and be at his side. I’m so excited to see the “the Last Temptation” scene, honestly. They better not disappoint, please

i think one of the most fascinating aspects about galadriel in tolkien canon is that back then no one dared or even wished to write female characters like that in a fantasy genre.

galadriel wants to lead, wants to rule, wants glory, and is tempted by power.

but in trop right now, while she is an ambitious leader who always does things her way, she is mainly motivated by revenge.

lorebros say she needs to become wiser and tamer to have an "accurate" development, but tolkien!galadriel has never been a pure virgin mary the lorebros claim her to be. she actually needs to become wiser, much stronger and even more thirsty for power than she is right now! so what will take galadriel's ambitions to the next level? doesn't it make sense for it to be an influence of the dark lord?

even if she is an unwilling companion or if it's a forced mind-palace shenanigans, sauron would slowly mold her into something alike himself, would give her a taste of true power that she won't ever be able to forget. she would close the doors on him after seeing for herself how real the possibility of her becoming a tyrant is.

but if she were to overcome his temptations as early as s2, trop and lotr contexts wouldn't fit together in a way that makes sense. her suddenly overpowering sauron would feel too premature and unearned.

and while in the future, she becomes so strong that sauron isn't able to access her mind, she still can't stop fighting him. besides gaining more power, her main goal is still fighting sauron.

i think it's truly fascinating that she takes nenya with her to valinor. it's as if she is unwilling to fully give up her deepest desire for power, as if she is still unable to let the fighter go. but with added trop context, it would also indicate that she just can not give up the only thing that connects her with sauron! nenya is the only reminder of him and of their fated connection so she can never take it off!

so just like sauron needs to still covet her in the end of trop, galadriel needs to still be consumed by her fight against him in order for their stories to make sense in regards to lotr.

[ichabodcranemills]

I’m not a fan of defending screenwriters, as someone who has been part of an audience baited and mocked by a production team who gave reason to the worst parts of the fandom (Loki) or was straight up racist (Sleepy Hollow), so I know writers can fuck up real bad. But also because I was hurt this bad, I’m also not willing to expect the worst when I still haven’t seen it displayed.

All that to say that I get real tired of reading takes like “the TROP showrunners are listening to the incels, cutting off Haladriel and sidelining Galadriel”

Not to say that this might not happen on the coming seasons, but for now, I think the audience has to acknowledge two things that are way more likely than this malicious approach:

1. This show has way too many characters and the writing isn’t the best balancing them all out.

You might think “I don’t like the Numenor (or whatever other) plot, why do we waste time with it”, but the story they want to tell is about THE SECOND AGE, there are many plots and people. Last season gave Galadriel the centre stage, this season focused more on Celebrimbor, that is just the nature of the show’s storytelling.

Could it be better done? Sure! Has Galadriel lost protagonism? No!

2. You guys might have lost focus on a few tolkenian things here.

That said, do I wish they sent Tolkien Estate guidelines out the window and gave us steamy steamy Saurondriel sex? sure. But Sauron is the enemy. It’s consistent with the story they’re telling that there’s a Saurondriel connection throughout all seasons, and it’s only decent of them that said connection remains full of tension and longing, but they WILL NOT end up together. I was pleased with what we’ve been given this season. If you weren’t, that’s okay, but you can’t say that this was due to “listening to incels”, when it’s a natural development of the story. Saurondriel is amazing, but it isn’t endgame material under any realistic light.

Now re: Galadriel, there’s a long way between being less angry and war prone, and becoming a tradwife, useful for nothing more than being pretty in Lothlorien. The first is what we’ve been walking towards this season, and it’s also a tolkien endgame for most of the heroes.

All that said, was I 100% pleased with their treatment of Galadriel this season? No, she should have had more space, a better dialogue on the last episode and all around more consistency, but that doesn’t mean they’re “sidelining her” or “making her into Cate’s Galadriel because this is what the incels want” or whatever is that twitter is saying.

Sometimes a writer is just not as good as you’d hope, not maliciously acting against you.

[proofofburden]

Spoilers and the Prestige Trap

It might be less obvious from my online presence, but I have a long and vitriolic campaign against the concept of a "spoiler"; if a story is ruined by knowing what happens, as a rule, it is not a very good story. There's a small number of a stories that rely on an unpredictable twist (usually with a genre or tone shift) to develop their themes. Bridge to Teribithia, The OA, and both Knives Out movies all come to mind. I am ambivalent about the mystery genre as a whole on this; the low re-consumablity of most mysteries is probably indicative of quality, though at the same time the audience participation in solving the mystery is both a one-off quality and a good feature of the genre. But in general, stories should be more than their reveals.

As an aside, both Season 1 of Game of Thrones and the book do not have a twist! Ned Stark's death is foreshadowed in the first episode with the dire wolf! Characters tell him he's marked for death! Both works establish the rules for deaths and Stark's death follow them! I know we all tired of GOT being called "subversive" but it was subversive because it subverted our genre expectation that the Aragorn stand-in would rise above! Half the modern prestige trap is built on not understanding the difference between narrative and genre expectations!

A lot of the conversation around these shows is not about what makes them satisfying, but about what makes them novel. Dripping out mystery, even when it makes sense for characters to be more direct, makes for more discussion of the show; 1899 fails because everyone is characterized in service of the mystery and not the other way around. I liked Rings of Power more than anyone, but the weakest part of the show was the "which one is Sauron" mystery, not least of all because Tolkien went in for telling you which one was Sauron and then reveling in the dramatic irony. Had they gone with the Stranger being Sauron and played with our Third Age expectations, I would have defended the departure from Tolkien's conventions because that is the heart of adaptation. I just don't understand what they were trying to say, but I do understand they were trying to power buzz about the show.

Fans, and especially fans on this exact site, ask for this kind of thing, if not deliberately. Marvel is basically unwatchable to me at this point because virtually every finale is a big, "Here's what is coming next from the comics!" teaser. Loki's emotional growth, rather than having time to breathe onscreen and give us catharsis, was shunted into revealing Kang. Without any meta-context, and I am not a comics reader, this was a new character monologuing over the catharsis I came for. It was a first act in a finale. But hey, he's in Quantumania, so I can pay movie ticket prices to go find out what teaser will come next and talk about it online. It's about generating buzz, speculation about how they are going to work Kang into future products, and reviewing the comics. It is not about the characters and the story they are experience in the present tense of the work.

I don't even hate these fan discussions! When these reveals sing with character beats they can totally enrich the show. Russel T. Davies is very good at getting his Doctor Who callbacks to have present tense resonance, and I look forward to his work on that again in coming years. I love how smoothly you can move between the story at hand and the deeper lore in Tolkien's works, and I think that's something the Amazon show captured a lot better than its given credit for, partially because some of the show is not harmonious with the wider lore, but partially because people were determined to hate every aspect of it. I'm a trash millennial, and I love a good callback and self-aware writing. Just, please, get your writing fundamentals down first.

Anyway, the prestige trap is writing for buzz. I am begging people to stop rewarding it.

[feanors-mom]

Since I’m new to Tumblr and have no clue how to use it, Im just going to have a personal diary where I gush about my favorite creators and my favorite ships and dynamics. Someone tell me if I’m doing this wrong.

Today I want to talk about Angbang!

Here’s another favorite author of mine (though I don’t believe they’re super active on A03 anymore, but with works like they’ve written, hell, they could have just mic-dropped their way into the Void).

“This Game We Play” just absolutely destroyed me, I read it twice in a row and it was hands down the filthiest story I have ever had the pleasure of cementing my place in hell with. The character development of Mairon and otherworldliness of Melkor is just top notch. The excessive usage of “puissance” eventually led me to realize it would make a great perfume name, and now my hc is its Mairons favorite fragrance. I don’t even know if this one has a plot in the traditional sense, but I could never find the will to care. Things happen, mostly bad things, some absolutely filthy things, then a few genuinely sad things.

I was going to write about my love of one of their other stories but I think I’ll just make this post about Angbang. I’ve found it intriguing that the “emergent canon” (for lack of a better term) is Mairon/Annatar/Sauron as a slim, tall, redheaded (occasionally blonde) beautiful effete gay man, often with eyes that are yellow, cat-like, or otherwise fey and otherworldly. Absolutely fascinating, considering how his physical description by Tolkien is basically just “fair.” Melkor seems to be consistently described as a larger man with grey skin and shiny black hair, like a hypoxic Peter Steele. Love this fandom.

Please recommend more Angbang, or even just more Melkor being the ancient inscrutable evil I imagine him to be and First Age self-loathing Mairon who is too smart and talented for his own good, and definitely smarter and more talented than Melkor deserves.

Tagged by @crackinthecup​ thanks :3

how many works do you have on AO3?

23 (but some are compilations of many short fics)

what’s your total AO3 word count?

524011

how many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Just the Tolkien fandom - predominantly Silm but sometimes with drift into LOTR

what are your top 5 fics by kudos?

This Game We Play (788 kudos) - this fandom loves to sin as much as Melkor and Mairon do. Is this fic infamous at this point? I want to say it is, for being unapologetically saucy and for the flagrant overuse of the word ‘puissance’

The Brave and The Valiant (732 kudos) - this fic is like my apology for all of the evil I have written over the years. Really sweet Sam Gamgee and Maedhros, and tbh half of the kudos are owed to then givenclarity for their fantastic bit of art accompanying this fic that sent the kudos count skyrocketing. 

Violent Delights (714 kudos) - did you read This Game We Play and/or An Evil Cradling and think, yes I need more of this in my life? Then this series of short fics is the one for you. Quick and dirty, for the most part, but gets the job done. 

Open Wounds (482 kudos) - my answer to Tolkien’s rather glossed over version of events of Maedhros’ recovery after Angband. You will learn about medicinal plants and shoulder anatomy, and you will experience Emotions.

An Evil Cradling (462 kudos) - if Open Wounds left you thinking ‘omg but what’s Maedhros’ real damage?’ It’s this. This is the damage. It’s slow, it’s brutal, it’s overly descriptive and kind of leaves you feeling crushed. But is it worth it? Absolutely. I should write ads for Loreal omg

do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Oh you’re going to put me on the spot with this one but the real answer is, kind of? If someone has left a long and detailed comment then I try my best to answer because real time and effort went into that. If a short comment is left, then know that to the depths of my heart I love your comment and it made me smile so much, but I might not give a reply. But your comment was still so so appreciated and I read every single one of them <3

what’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

It’s like the Angst Olympics up in my fic catalogue but I guess This Game We Play takes it for having the angstiest ending in a fic that was not wholly about angst in the first place.

do you write crossovers? if so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

No. 

have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not hate per se, more comments where I’m like ok you went out of your way to write to me about how you didn’t like some aspect of what I’d written, uhhh great what do you want me to do with that info exactly? Unless you’re a paying client then I will write whatever the f I feel like so your salty self can just simmer down. Nobody was forcing you to keep reading a la Clockwork-Orange-eyes-peeled-open style, so you were free to leave at any time before you worked yourself up into a lather… So all of that to say: I don’t have much time for the haters.

do you write smut? if so what kind?

Yes, plenty of it. Kink of many a flavour. Not much vanilla, not that I couldn’t but personally I find it dull. 

have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge. 

have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, a fair few of them. 

have you ever co-written a fic before?

Discussed ideas that later became a fic, yes. Full on writing and editing process, no. 

what’s your all time favorite ship?

Gotta be that classic Angbang <3 

what’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I have an idea for a Dagor Dagorath fic but I’m not sure if it will ever be written. Sadly I just don’t have much time to write these days, and certainly not anything of length as I used to. 

what are your writing strengths?

Description, world-building, rhythm and Tolkien-esque style 

what are your writing weaknesses?

>If you don’t like description, then you’re not going to like my writing all that much. > Overly complex sentence structures (I know full stops won’t kill me but sometimes it feels like they might)

what are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Not something I come across often, but I guess tread lightly unless you the author actually speak the other language fluently. Peppering in the odd widely-known greeting or phrase to set the language tone is fine, but much more than that is just awkward for all. 

what was the first fandom you wrote for?

I started out with the Silm and just never really left. 

what’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I love all of my children but I really like Sins of our Fathers - the worldbuilding I got to do throughout Eregion, Celebrimbor’s court, and the recipients of all of the Rings of Power were second to none in this fic, and it was so much fun to write. Also balancing an increasingly pissed off and manipulative Annatar with a sexually frustrated Celebrimbor desperately not trying to give into his Feanorian heritage was a delightful treat, and overall this fic does edge out the favourite spot for me. 

[chaucer-blackwood]

Yes, Cinder Is Degrading As A Villain — And That’s Good Writing: The Tolkienesque Influences Of RWBY

People complain that Cinder is badly written because she’s gotten progressively less competent and more power hungry, letting her obsession with power blind her and lead her to make stupid decisions.

All of those things are factually true statements about Cinder, but consider: That was intentional on the writer’s part.

Villains who are not static characters and mustache twirling cardboard cutouts are good, but just because a villain should have some degree of character development does not mean that development needs to be positive. There seems to be a massive misconception about what villains are supposed to be in this fandom: specifically, people seem to think villains need to be massive power fantasies; charming, cunning, powerful, alluring, and just generally better than the heroes in every way. But why don’t we take a look at a different view and see how it compares to what the CRWBY have been doing?

I, and others, have written before about the parallels between RWBY and the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, particularly The Lord Of The Rings. One of the major themes of his writing is this: Evil is self-destructive. Evil degrades, and becomes less and less. Someone who starts out cunning, brilliant, and charming, is turned by their obsession with power into some brutal, paranoid, and disgusting. It takes things that were admirable, including things like cunning, intelligence, or the ability to understand people, and makes them twist and rot and decay, until a brutal, self-absorbed, hungry creature is all that’s left.

Tolkien believed that Evil should not be “cool” or “sexy” or “seductive” or “brilliant.” Villains should not be admirable. Villains should be warnings about what the desire for power, or for revenge, or for control or wealth can do to a person.

You see it in Saruman’s descent from the lord of the White Tower to a two-bit gang leader bullying hobbits in the Shire. You see it in Mairon’s descent from an angel of craftsmanship to a withered spirit desperately clinging to existance as Sauron. You see it in Smeagol’s descent from a simple river man to a hideous, broken imp as Gollum. 

And we are seeing it in Cinder’s descent from the brilliant strategist who brought down Beacon to a power hungry, immature child, just like we saw it in Ironwood’s descent from a stalwart defender of humanity to a paranoid, emotionless shell. Just like we saw it in Salem’s fall from a princess who called her own rescuer from her tower to a bitter old witch who refuses to admit her mistakes.

None of these villains are supposed to be admirable.

Has Cinder been turning into a shell of the villain she was at the start of the series? Yes. Because that’s what lust for power, and the ruthless pursuit of it, does: it hollows you out, it robs you of every good and positive trait you had: intelligence, charm, and guile included.