#should i tag Sauron?

[eri-pl]

Back to "the Ainur but they're mandalas": Sauron through the ages. I should do Melkor in this way too.

Yes, some are difficult to see (zoom please), that's part of the point/of the problem/whatever. The "why he was so tempted to be evil" thing.

I wonder how many of those are understandable (as in: what period is this). Guessed would be appreciated.

[tar-thelien]

Look I´m a full believer that you should ship what you want and not harass others for their ships BUT

Lately on the Sauron/Mairon tag I´ve seen some people say he wouldn´t be interested in men!??!? Like I´m sorry to break it to you but he literally saw the most beautiful woman to ever exist and instead of thinking about his own desires he instantly thought "my boss would be so proud of me if I gave her to him."

WHAT´S NOT GAY ABOUT THAT CREATURE!?!??!?

Also on a smaller note the few posts that say Sauron could NEVER be gay are literally calling people weird for shipping him with men?? So, could we please just go back to shipping the mass murder with who we want to and stop bothering others with who they ship him with?? No?

So ship who you want and have fun, talk with those who ship the same and all that, but don´t go in and accuse others for having the wrong ship :)

EDIT: just to make sure everyone understands I DON´T IN ANY WAY SUPPORT PEOPLE WHO POLICE SHIPS OR SHAME PEOPLE FOR THEIR SHIP OR ACCUSING THEM OF NOT FOLLOWING CANON ETC ship who you want and don´t bother people who have another ship and try to "teach" them about your ship if they don´t ask for it.

[feyhatesapplepie]

"I don't know if I miss you or need you.."

I kinda vanished for a bit and I have nothing to say about it, but aye...I'm back! (?) But uhm if you want to keep up with me I have an Instagram (@Feyhatesapplepie) .

[nyarlathotep-thecrawlingchaos]

I desire to one day attain the level of joy and self-affirmation that Celebrimbor possesses at this precise moment:

I also desire to one day attain Sauron's responding levels of sarcastic pettiness:

gifs credited to halbrannatar, I just couldn't find a couple in the gif search

[dreamofbecoming]

i’m thinking about that one post that talks about how the ring doesn’t make the wearer invisible, but actually enhances whatever the wearer’s natural strengths already are- it multiplied sauron’s powers of control and raw destruction, hobbits are naturally sneaky, etc. basically how the reason the story tells us it’s an invisibility ring is because bilbo is the one telling the story, and he just assumed his experience was universal. isildur didn’t go into the river invisible and uninjured, only to get shot when the ring abandoned him and he became a target again, he already had multiple arrows in him when he went into the water, but only succumbed to his injuries when the ring stopped magnifying his numenorean longevity and damage resistance.

so i’m thinking about hobbits, right? like yeah, they’re small and quiet on their feet and invisibility totally tracks for them, but what if that’s not their most impressive skill set?

i’m thinking about how all five of the hobbits whose stories we hear in full traveled enormous distances on foot with minimal difficulty. they all managed extreme altitudes, rough terrain, heavy snowfall, almost lava???, swamps, trees, jagged rocks and gravel, and just about every other possible terrain, not to mention hundreds of miles, without seeming to flag heavily or (genuinely) complain overmuch. despite being used to at least seven meals a day, they were able to keep up their pace on minimal rations, on foot, without losing stamina until the very end, which arguably had more to do with the ring than the trip itself.

my point being that hobbits are almost unnaturally good at traveling massive distances on (bare!)foot, and what if the ring picked up on that instead?

what if instead of going invisible, bilbo could teleport?

[swordfright]

✨INTRODUCING THE ABRIDGED NECROMANCER COLLECTION✨

it’s not the tiered list i promised whoops

[edennill]

I'm aware this is a 'complaining about someone complaining about someone else complaining' kind of post, but... whether or not the 'twink sauron' characterisation contradicts canon per se... is not really the point — there will be people annoyed at its prevalence simply because it has become the only one in the fandom at this point. And while — I don't know if that was the case that prompted the exchange, but — things like venting at artists in comments are uselessly antagonising — that does give them the right to complain in situations where complaining is appropriate.

[buttered-toasty]

Fuck it we ball *posts a sketch*

Unsure if I will ever line this so if not. Here. Middle earth’s very own mother of dragons and his one billion toddler children who want shiny things

[conundrumoftime]

WIPWednesday

It feels like none of my fics are really going anywhere at the moment because my writing energy keeps fizzling out (and this is really, deeply frustrating to me but that's another and whinier post probably!) so the 'in progress' part of 'WIP' might be a bit generous here but technically! Technically, here's a thing I am working on.

This is a Rings of Power one-shot, Celeborn x Galadriel x Halbrand-still-trying-not-to-get-found out. I think this is going to wind up too short to really get into backstory but in my head: s1 volcano does not explode as badly(?), King Halbrand of the Southlands thinks yay success everything's great now I can live happily after with my beautiful elf queen -> Galadriel gradually gets more and more suspicious over the next few ?decades? about who he actually is, because he keeps doing things like 'not ageing' and 'talking to Wargs in Black Speech' and so on -> eventually Halbrand disappears for a while and comes back with Celeborn, like "well would Sauron bring you back your lost other husband, no I didn't think so, okay I have proved I'm good now you have to stop looking at me like that."

The third summer passes quietly, calm as a whisper.  Celeborn is better used to Pelargir’s heat now. Here, this afternoon, the city itself seems asleep; even Galadriel lies with her head in his lap here in the sun-drenched courtyard, half-dozing as he plays with her hair.  A lizard darts across the stone before them, a fast twist of green against the stone. It freezes when it sees Halbrand. “See,” Celeborn says, “even the lizards don’t trust you.” “I don’t put much faith in the judgement of lizards.” The lizard blinks, once, then again. Then it turns and sprints back into the shelter of the vines. “Anyway,” Halbrand says, settling down beside them, “I’m sure you have better reasons to trust me than the lizard does. I didn’t travel all the way to Rhûn to find the lizard and bring it home the way I did for you, did I?” “I’ll grant you that.” “I won’t,” Galadriel says. She doesn’t rise but she turns in Celeborn’s lap so that she’s lying looking up at both of them. Celeborn traces the curve of the fine braid that Halbrand had woven into her hair earlier; his are always these intricate detailed designs, better suited for embroidery or jewelsmithing and yet in their own way perfect for her. 

[shierak-inavva]

things unseen

instagram voted and here's. more of Them™. this is my favorite of elowen's outfits so far, her lindon & eregion gown, though minus her favorite circlet here

[winds-of-zephyr416]

Uuhuhhhhhh sooooo there's this thing I do when I'm writing and.... uhhhh......

Technically these bullet points are there to keep me on track between writing sessions. Technically. But you know what else they're really good for? MEMES. Memes and dumbassery.

Observe:

(The top one is from a doc of self-indulgent Angbang oneshots, the bottom is for another very self-indulgent au where Sauron becomes Smol. What can I say, I'm a simple man).

[eri-pl]

I managed to make myself sad about yet another awful character.

So… When Pharazôn was a kid (also: how do the kings' names work? He *was* called Pharazôn as a kid, right??? And his family on that one side would call him Callion but we'll get there) he was friends with Amandil. And we're talking real, actual friends. That is in the Fall of Numenor book, even if not fully in the Silm.

He was hanging out with the Faithful in Andunie, even as a young man (teenager at least) he and Miriel kinda fell for each other. He was a great guy, I suppose. Or at least a Boromir-like guy (brave, hot headed, but a great friend).

But his father messed him up and then he doubled down himself on "I'll make myself a great Numenorian who never listens to any of my good impulses because that's what being a Numenorean is".

Also, if he was named "the golden" as a child, I'm sure ha had gold hair. You know, like Earendil (and Tuor). Numenoreans were an ethnic mix, he could have had golden hair.

So, the list of idiots extends.

[celebrimborium]

Dropping 3 episodes at once is such an evil thing to do to gifmakers! Just saying!

(jk I love it)

[essenceofarda]

Had a rings of power dream last night 😳

Anyway, in it, Galadriel was pregnant when Celeborn went off to war (hence why she did not join him and was left behind). A few decades after she gave birth, she decided to take Celebrian (who was the equivalent of like... maybe a 2 or 3 year old?) to go visit the last place that Celeborn was known to be before he was 'killed'. Before they get there, they are attacked, and Celebrian and Galadriel are separated, and Galadriel thinks that Celebrian died, adding to her grief. Turns out Celebrian was captured by Halbrand/Sauron, who decided to raise her as a prodigy/daughter-figure. Anyway... Celebrian is Too Good to be a proper villain, however, and has a habit of running away. During one of these escapades she runs into Elrond and co, and pretends she is escaping the bad guys... I don't remember much after that, except that everyone is S h o o k when they find out she's The Dark Princess, daughter of Sauron 😳🤔😔

Anyway, it's JUST hokey enough to be plausible for RoP 😅 but it was kinda a fun dream regardless

[eri-pl]

Looking at the 3, he wasn't great at "to gather themn all" either.

Pretty ironic that it was “one ring to find them” when Sauron was never actually able to find the One Ring. 

[bamsywrites]

And Comes Dawn.

Pairing: sauron/halbrand x reader, more pairings in the future to be tagged

Summary: In all beings, there exists darkness. when the deciver finds one who seems to defy this, he becomes obsessed with finding it within her. and if he can't find it, he will ruin her himself.

Tags/Warnings: clichés abound, opposites attract, sauron being evil but also hot but also evil, no use of y/n. This is pretty barebones. There's not much to tag, I don't think.

Notes: there was a lot of interest in this when I made a post. This is not super duper long and a Lil choppy but I wanna see what people think. Lemme know if you like it. If I should continue it. I have a lot of ideas. It's all written and edited on my phone so I'm sorry if it looks bad or mistakes were made.

Series Masterlist

The wind from the sea felt nice on his face. After so many years spent as nothing more than mud and slime, it was nice to feel. Feel anything. Freedom, independence, revenge. His plan to create order and heal the world would come to fruition. Being stuck on a ship with these men was worth that price. They were like bugs. If he wanted to, he could squash them and feel nothing. Though there was one who spoke to him kindly as a mentor would, and there was the ever so slight stirring of emotions he presumed were long dead. The old man was enough to make him question what it was he desired. Did he want to be good? Did he want a fresh start? What about his plans? The desire for order was there, the want to heal the world and bring peace, but would he get that through evil, through deceit and violence? Or could that be obtained another way? He continued to stare over the vast ocean as the wheels in his head turned, and he waged a war inside himself.

"It's beautiful, is it not?" A voice broke through the silence of the night.

He turned sharply, greeted by the image of a young woman. You were beautiful. He noticed it right away. Never had he looked at a human and thought they were beautiful. The thought was usually reserved for elves, but you were different. He could tell just by looking. You were soft, gentle, pure. There was a light to you that permeated all of your features.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude. We have more food tonight than expected, and you had been on your own so long before finding us. I supposed you might be hungry." You held up a bowl for him, which he accepted with a nod.

"Thank you. I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Halbrand."

You smiled softly back at him, giving him your name and taking a few small steps towards him. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

He watched you. It was curious. Everyone here was gruff and rude, not wanting to help a stranger, yet you brought him a bowl of soup instead of keeping it for yourself. He watched as you looked up at the stars and how they were reflected back in your eyes. Humans didn't often intrigue him, but you did.

He leaned back against the railing of the boat with his arms crossed, but before he could speak to ask his question, you spoke.

"The stars are beautiful, aren't they? The light against the immense darkness. It reminds us that there is light in all things. Even in the darkest of times, there is hope."

"Your people were just slaughtered by orcs. You're on the run. Hope in the stars seems pretty useless." His eyes watched you with keen interest.

"Hope is never useless. Without it, all is lost." The earnestness in your voice further fueled his curiosity.

"And what do you hope for in times like this?"

"A new start. A place to start fresh..."

"Yes," he interrupted, "That is what all hope for, but what do you hope a new place or fresh start will do? What do you want from it?"

"I want a safe place to lay my head. I want to live without shame. I want fresh air and to grow my food and I want music and I want laughter. I want to drink tea with my friends. I want to love and feel the wind on my face. I want happiness. I want peace." You smiled and closed your eyes as you pictured this serene future.

He watched you, his brows furrowed. You were odd, but he wasn't sure if that was a bad thing as of yet.

"You have a lot of this hope. It's almost oozing out of you. I can almost taste it." He took a step towards you. "As if there is no evil out there."

"There is evil, yes, but there is good. Do we despair because there is evil or have hope because there is good? I do not think there is truly anything that is created evil. Evil is only when the good is taken from someone, and if you're able to take it, then it's able to be taken back." Your eyes had opened, and you looked up at him.

"I doubt you'd believe that if you knew the evil I'd done."

"Thousands of years ago, the people of the southlands sided with Morgoth. Our ancestors fought alongside the most evil being to ever exist. Most would say that the things our people did were deplorable and worthy of the worst shame. But I look upon my home, I look upon the people I have grown with, and I do not see evil. The people here, I am but a stranger to them. I have yet to meet most of them, but they took me in, as they did you. If my ancestors were evil, they could not have created such good."

“Whatever evil you did, it can be forgiven. You can do good, be good.” You moved closer to him, placing a gentle hand on his arm. The feeling brought a sense of warmth that he had not felt since before he joined Morgoth, when he went by a different name. His eyes traveled down to where your hand rested, and you dropped it back to your side. He'd found himself missing the feeling.

"Your ancestors did do evil, though. They did plenty of evil things. Just as I have."

"Did they do evil out of the desire to be evil? Or did they do evil to protect those they loved? Were they born that way, destined to be only evil? Were you made evil? Or was it thrust upon you in a moment of hopelessness? Does every being have the capability to do both good and evil?"

He was left stunned at what you said, it took longer than usual for him to come up with a response. He wet his lips, looking over the ocean for a moment before looking at you once more. Your hair was gently blowing in the breeze of the ocean and he found the sight captivating. His intuition told him you were telling the truth, that you believed the words you were saying with your whole being. How could that be? There had to be some darkness that motivated you, that tainted your soul.

Everyone had darkness.

His mind played over the interaction long after it had happened. He wanted to feel that warmth again. You were a puzzle, a mystery. He would not know peace until he figured out what darkness was inside you because surely there had to be something. It was one of the many things that plagued his mind late at night. He watched as you slept peacefully. You were rows and rows down from him, but he could zoom in on your form. He watched your chest rise and fall, the calm of your features. You were a mystery that he had to solve.

This was what was on his mind when the worm attacked. He needed to know you. Even now, he watched as you attempted to help an elderly woman stuck under a beam instead of rushing to safety yourself. He couldn't bring himself to save the old man, but his fingers wrapped around the relic, and as water rushed the ship, he lept over and shielded your body with his.

He couldn't let you die. He had to understand you, to know you, to find out what motivated you, he would find your inner darkness.

And if he couldn't, he'd ruin you instead.

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