#haladriel shippers

[gracepureautumn]

I made his eyes red 🔥

Anyone else gasp at this quick little shot of future armored Halbrand?

Illustration by me, drawn in Procreate

[anetherealpoetess]

you ever think about the fact that because female characters can never apologise to the viewers who are uncomfortable with her desires—with her wanting too much, with her wanting the villain, with her wanting anything at all—the burden of apology is transferred to us, the shippers, or is it just me?

[everlusts]

cannot believe i have to make this a point in the good year of 2024 but no i don’t think saurondriel represents affectionate, pure love. i think it’s toxic and all consuming and depraved and obsession and lust and hatred and baring the deepest parts of themselves to each other and yearning and lodged into their heart through sheer intensity

[mai-komagata]

when fandom doesn't resonate

So like, i know a lot of people are Rings of Power fans and don't know anything about book canon. That is fine, we accept all folks, and its awesome to see perspectives of new fans. But like, I loved haladriel in season 1, and I realized in season 2 the majority of the fans saw the ship COMPLETELY differently than I did. Like they were expecting more from the dynamic than we got. And I see them all being disappointed in how it turned out when this is like the best it was ever gonna be and exceeded what I expected. Galadriel isn't getting with a devil who lied and manipulated her. The most they will have is a metaphorical stabbing scene.

Like is this just not understanding who Sauron is, or projecting a different romance trope I'm unaware of onto this ship? Like i love a lot of dark enemy relationship tropes but this was never gonna be enemies to lovers. Because its *Sauron*. Like even if you never read the books he is an evil eye that is the representation of the devil in the movies. Surely that amount of cultural knowledge permeated popular culture?

Sauron ships are about how close you can get to evil without being corrupted. (well, except for angbang, that is the opposite of that) The sexiness is the evil and the violence, the gaslighting, the delusion and the what might be but won't be. It's the promise of getting everything you could ever want and getting absolutely none of it. That is the promise of the Ring and ultimately of Sauron, because that is who he is. To me, Haladriel is attractive because it is a tangible look into what it is to be tempted by the ring. Because the vague "you can conquer middle earth" "you can save your friends" "you can become king" don't mean anything. But I can relate to being mansplained and passed over despite my merit, and have someone be a perfect coworker/mentor/partner that will help you achieve everything you want. Someone that is a shortcut for that respect. Someone who lets you say *i told you so* to everyone. Someone who lets you get revenge and be bad without *being bad*. That is sexy but it's a lie.

But that part is also sexy. The being picked by someone supremely evil and powerful, of being special. And if you are masochistic, the pain and the powerplay is also sexy. The metaphors of fighting and penetration and whatnot, that is interesting. Not to mention the sheer hubris he displays, and self-delusion. But like, I knew Halbrand was Sauron like from the second scene we saw him. It was like "oh yep, that is what is going on". There was never any illusion to me that Galadriel can make him good. Or that he'd want to fix himself for her . He can definitely *see himself* in her or or *see things he wants of her*, and that is a thrill, but he is never gonna want that sweet life he is promising to her. That is so transparently a lie but it is amusing to see him have the absolute NERVE to be that shameless. Dunno, do dark ships need to be "enemies to *lovers*" or have promise of redemption to be attractive? Sometimes it's just dark sexy manipulation and violence. Also, Galadriel is still *good*. She is tempted because temptation is a theme of Tolkien. But the whole point is she resisted the darkness. She isn't gonna overpower Sauron's either, and keep him on a leash. That is literally what Morgoth did. (Sauron would be into that, though, but he'd be a brat about it). Anyway. Is it just because I knew who Sauron was all along? If you want a ship where you get to keep Sauron as a pet, maybe Angbang is for you? Maybe that is why I'm so glad for silvergifting in Season 2, we all seemed to be in the same page as to what is going on. This was gonna be so tragic and kinky we were all here for it. I just seem to keep getting burned by straight ship fandoms having a wildly different vibe than I expect from them.

[deus-sema]

The Battle Of The Five Armies (deleted scene):

Somewhere behind the walls of Dol Guldur -

Sauron: There she is. That's my girl. Do you see that Nazgûl #4?? She is wearing white!! She was wearing that the day we first met, you know.

Nazgûl #4: My Lord, actually we.....

Sauron: And she is wearing the ring I made her!!! It looks so good on her. I can't believe I ever wanted it back. It's always meant to be on her finger.

Nazgûl #7: Master, she blasted our guy away.

Sauron: I know right?! She is so cool.

Nazgûl #7: That was our guy...shouldn't we help him and stop her?

Sauron: And??? She looked good doing it. Melkor forbid a girl have hobbies.

Galadriel: I have come for M_________

Sauron: Did you hear that?! She said she's come for someone whose name starts with M. M is for Mairon. She has come for me!!

Nazgûl #6: I'm pretty sure I heard 'Mithrandir' which means the old man-

Nazgûl #2: Pssst. He didn't hear anything beyond the M.

Sauron: LA LA LA LA LA. How do I look? How is my hair? She likes it scruffy. But I've put on the crown especially for the occasion. Galadriel it's me -

Sauron: Wait a second. Why is she bridal carrying him? Him??? She never carried me like that even once.

Witch King: Noticed that real quick, didn't you?

Sauron: I hate everything and everyone. There is no such thing as love. Great. She is leaving with him now.

Nazgûl #7: It's alright, Master. It will get better with some ice cream. I'll recommend Rocky Road -

Sauron: Why tf are you idiots still standing here?! Go get them!

Galadriel: How much did you have to drink today?

Sauron: Me and drunk?! Pfttt. Did you think I was busy drowning myself in alcohol when you weren't returning my calls and blocked my numbers? I had far more important tasks......WAIT A SECOND. WHAT IS HIS HEAD DOING ON YOUR LAP? Get a job, Olórin. Get away from her right now

Sauron: I HAD a job. I had a great job in Numenor. You pulled me back to Middle Earth. You told me you felt it too. You told me to bind myself to you!! Do you hear that Bro Code Breaking Maia?? She told me to bind myself to her. Not you. Take that. WAIT A SEC -

Sauron: Are you both going to pretend I'm not here??? I am listening, you know.

Nazgûl #9: Is he always like that?

Witch King (sighs) : You'll get used to it.

[clarekirener]

It's hilarious to me to mock Sauron fans' headcanons if they're too romanticized when you can't even spare a moment to analyze judgy Nice Guy TM behavior from your fav that happened in canon. I'm tired of this disingenuous fandom.

What's the real issue that's not being verbalized?

Yeah some so-called villainfuckers don't actually want a villain and yes it IS annoying, but it's just headcanon. That doesn't actually hurt anyone so why does it need to stop. Not even the romanticizers want Sauron to exile Galadriel, become a Nice Guy and judge Galadriel if she doesn't live up to moral standards, call her out with sexual language over her dynamic with another man, or demote her sorry 🤷🏾‍♀️

Y'all are too much lmao. Calling people pussies for romanticized villain headcanons that exist only in fandom, meanwhile there's a fandom cone of silence around criticizing how good guys behave in canon, how they actually treated the female lead, how it affects her arc, and how it will look if it continues. This is what is truly insulting to me.

It will not age well. It never did with the Dawson's, the Xander Harris's, the Ted Mosby's et al.

Aight bet. We shouldn't let up on any man and allow him to be overly romanticized if that's not how things really are, not just villains.

[galadriel-blue]

Why do I feel like if I had to choose and enemies to lovers plot with Galadriel (Since Celeborn isn't here yet) I would choose Adar as the love interest over Sauron?

[hikarielizabethbloom]

How am I supposed to interpret this?

The dork lord's got a ring, he's on his knees, and he's talking about their future together.

He doesn't need her. He wants her to with him at the end of all things.

[yazthebookish]

Did I mention I started watching The Rings of Power S1? So far obsessed!!

I'm glad I decided to watch it now that season 2 ended and a lot of people were shitting on S1 when it first aired so I didn't want that to taint my experience with the show 🥹

[camelotisshining]

I love Haladriel/Saurondriel angst, but I would also LOVE to find a fic where there's just a bunch of fluff; you know, just a bunch of kissing and hand holding and mutual affection between them 🥰💖

[anetherealpoetess]

the knowledge that much of season two was written before the first ever graced our screens leaves me curious about season three--how might the writers find themselves influenced by fan reaction?

the showrunners were completely stunned when it was suggested, before the show even aired, that people were going to ship galadriel and sauron. season three will be the first time the show is written with true awareness of how popular the dynamic has become.

has the popularity of haladriel / saurondriel given the showrunners the freedom to delve deeper into the relationship? we've seen the show's willingness to push boundaries with the elrond kiss, transgressing a boundary that seemed to many distasteful. (she is his future mother-in-law after all.) my tinfoil theory is that the showrunners believed when writing seasons one and two that galadriel and elrond would be the dominant pairing fans latched onto--hence the kiss--but now, with the audience vocally drawn to haladriel, will the writers lean more into the intrigue of galadriel x sauron? because i am leaning towards a firm yes.

in my mind this is a good and accurate depiction of the dynamic between the showrunners and the fans:

the showrunners: galadriel and sauron are good and evil given form. the fans: and they kiss? the showrunners: and they kiss? the fans: .... the showrunners: ... the fans: ... charlie killing a balrog with his bare hands because he's australian: a little help anyone?? the fans: ... the showrunners: ... the fans: ... the showrunners: yeah. yeah! and they kiss.

[everlusts]

on my way to make every single minute of this elf show about haladriel like oh he smiled? for galadriel! oh he’s manipulating? for galadriel! oh he’s obsessed? yes with galadriel! oh he’s standing there w an evil smirk on his face as the close up lasts 30 seconds? that’s actually because he’s currently sending take me back 🥺 to her through the telepathy channel he’s unfortunately been blocked in. he’s going to destroy the world you say? well he’s doing it so they can sit on pointy chairs (definitely out of her own will) and rule evilly together awww

[saurongorthaur9]

Someone needs to draw Sauron and Dark!Galadriel in the pose of that last one, lordie.

[valar-did-me-wrong]

Guess who got multiple Hate anons the moment I tried to very respectfully chat with a Haladriel shipper in comments 😌

Some about me being Indian (we love racism in this feminist world) others about me being a "Purist"

So I hope this serves as PROOF enough to show why everyone is sick & tired of and speaking up about this ship's aggresive fanbase that violently wants to bully every other opinion into submission :))

Btw the anons are off my feminist fighters, come and show you blog names while being racist 🫶🏽

[saurongorthaur9]

Potentially unpopular opinion for the ROP fandom:

I really wish people/interviewers would stop pushing the Hot Sauron and Haladriel stuff directly into Charlie's face.

I woke up this morning to drama in the fandom about Charlie (yet again) very politely deflecting Haladriel questions, as if this is some sort of insult to the fandom and shippers. And I know it's not going to stop, but I wish it would.

To make it very explicitly clear, make all the stupid sexy Sauron and Hot Sauron memes and jokes you want within the fandom. Ship Haladriel to your heart's content and create glorious fanfiction and fanart of them making out as they ride into the sunset (or as they simultaneously attempt to kill each other, if that's your vibe). All great. All fantastic. Everyone knows I'm a huge fan of sexy Sauron both inside and outside the ROP fandom, and I am a thorough Haladriel enjoyer at this point.

But I really, really, really wish people would stop pushing it on Charlie himself.

It just makes me so sad and uncomfortable for him. I saw the interview yesterday that I'm pretty sure was what caused everyone to be up in arms where he was being shown Sauron memes and fan posts and a lot of them were very Haladriel/shippy. He is obviously SO uncomfortable with those and the "Hot Sauron" comments. You can see it in the difference between how he answers questions about Sauron's motives or psyche or his research into Tolkien and how his eyes light up and he gets so animated and he just starts gushing vs when he's asked for the millionth time if Sauron has feelings for Galadriel and he gets quiet and reserved and gives a short, diplomatic answer.

And he's been so gracious and polite to the shippers and about all the shipping questions that he keeps getting asked. Each time, he gives basically the same answer: that he doesn't personally see it as romantic but that he's happy people care enough about the characters and story to be passionate about what they see in it. He's not going to suddenly flip a switch and start passionately shipping Haladriel.

I personally like to view it as Sauron (particularly as Halbrand) having some genuine feelings for Galadriel: genuine sense of connection, genuine sense of shared purpose, genuine attraction on both a spiritual and physical level, and yes, even some genuine admiration and love, mixed in with the complex mess of other things Sauron feels, which is why he's a great, complicated villain. The fact that this doesn't 100% line up with everything Charlie has said that he feels about the character is fine with me. I respect Charlie's opinions and the clear thought he's put into portraying that character. But I can also have my own thoughts and perceptions of the character and story apart from that, without needing him to validate them.

I know this isn't the first time an attractive man playing a charming, sexy villain has been inundated by thirsty fans (I remember Loki's Army very clearly) and that some level of it is to be expected. But he's clearly put such thought into portraying Sauron and I'm so grateful to him for that, so I'm sad to see him having uncomfortable questions shoved at him that reduce everything he's done to "what do you think of being Hot Sauron?" and "Do you think Sauron and Galadriel should kiss?" And I'm even sadder to see fans reacting negatively to him simply because he won't validate a particular ship or perspective.

From everything I've heard of fans who have gotten the opportunity to meet him, he's an absolute sweetheart and very kind and appreciative towards his fans. I hope dearly that I can meet him some day and tell him how important it was to me to see Sauron portrayed on screen as such a wonderfully complicated character. But I truly hope that the constant barrage of nagging for him to openly endorse Haladriel and the backlash whenever he gives one of his reserved, diplomatic answers about shipping doesn't sour him to his fanbase. He's given us a gift that I wouldn't have even dared dream of only a few years ago; why can't we focus on that instead of whether or not he's enthusiastically pro-Haladriel or not?