fatcatlittlebox

[fatcatlittlebox]

CHARLIE VICKERS as SAURON as ANNATAR THE RINGS OF POWER 2.06 "Where Is He?"

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I’m new to Tumblr but I’ve been a lurker for a while, and @apoloadonisandnarcissus metas have always been my faves and inspired me to write some of my stories. Her dedication to put together such extensive and thoughtful posts was amazing. She gave so much to the Saurondriel fandom. I’m gutted to see her go.

I reached out to Apolo days ago because I want to write a fanfic about tentgate theory Sauron POV (I have two WIP so it hasn’t happened yet, but it will), She explained the theory to me, and how it could work. She was very nice and helpful. We both joined the fandom after s2, but I went straight to ao3 to write about my new OTP and interacted there, and only browsed the fandom on social media to shamelessly self-promote my fanfics lol

From our chat I got the idea Apolo might delete sooner or later, I didn’t think it would be this soon. She told me she often thought about leaving the fandom for good, she didn’t want to be a part of it anymore, and there was no joy in it. It sucks. She wished me good luck.

I don’t know if she’ll read this, but Apolo: I’ll write that fanfic, and I’ll dedicate it to you and your contributions to the Saurondriel fandom! 

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Well… I still dream of seeing this at the end of season two.

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When Sauron tells Galadriel he’d do anything to tie himself to the feeling he had when fighting on her side and she says she felt it to; was this both of them acknowledging mutual feelings to an extent? And what they both hoped would come from that moment on? Is this perhaps where Sauron allowed himself to consciously embrace and invest in her offer of joint forces? It’s not said explicitly but his focus on the rings as a creation of power also have romantic connotations to Galadriel so his latest ambition is ironically one fueled by his love and obsession for her.

Hi! I agree with you. I think up until that point, Sauron was wary of his own feelings. Given his history with the Ainur, including Aule, Melkor and then Adar, his relationships were previously marked with stark power imbalances and betrayal. And to have someone like Galadriel, his mirror, but also his counterpart offer herself completely. I think he didn't know what to do with it and the feelings it provoked. I think it is also a testament to how much he must have treasured and cared for their bond. Because Sauron's wheels are always turning, always trying to position and manipulate the people around him as pawns. But when Galadriel came into his life, he hesitates. He puts himself on pause. Part of it, I believe, is because he genuinely doesn't know what to do with someone like her and finds himself in an awkward, unfamiliar role -- friend, confidante, companion. I think the other part of it is he doesn't want to squander whatever this is. It feels good. "Good" feels good again. Ironically, in this moment of openness and honesty, he's probably never felt more in control. And that's because he thought he found his place. A fixed point at her side. And in that solidarity, he's never felt more powerful and emboldened at the possibilities of the future. Their future. He even says later, "You knew that our past meant nothing, weighed against our future." He's saying that all of his past efforts, bonds and imaginings pale in comparison to what he feels and sees when he's with her. An ocean of color.

And I agree that feeling is mirrored with Galadriel and she is acknowledging her mutual feelings. But in a mirrored way. Where Sauron felt peace in her presence by revisiting the good and honorable person he once was, Galadriel's turmoil and grief was allowed to find closure by her facing her darkness. Halbrand allowed her to do that. To not shun it or live in denial of her darker parts but to face it and in doing so, fully embrace herself. I think that's what she meant by saying "I felt it too." That they felt whole in each other's presence. Not trying to suppress their guilt, their weaknesses or their failures. And in doing so, they were fortifying the other.

And I agree that when all is said and done, the reasons for his forging of the One Ring will have its roots with that revelatory moment in the forest. We are all creatures of compulsion and ego. That is especially true for Sauron. He says, "At last I felt the light of The One again. And I knew that if ever I was to be forgiven, that I had to heal everything that I had helped ruin." He wants to feel the Light again. However and whatever he does, this is his ultimate goal. I think that's an underrated theme of this show. That all beings, all creatures, seek the Light. Even if many of us are lost, adrift, and misguided. Even as evil craves it and envies it. The desire for light burns in all of us.

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It’s the day we celebrate dear old dad, so have a heaping 11k dead dove chapter of stepdad Halbrand. Mind the tags because it really gets going this chapter. Even I’m a little inclined to clutch my pearls with this fic 😅

You Really Got a Hold On Me

Haladriel Modern AU, 17k, E, 2/3

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64935640

[fatcatlittlebox]

for the love of galadriel: 13/∞

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[fatcatlittlebox]

I like to consider myself a height difference aficionado. But also the Height Difference Patrol. The president of the Smol Bean Tol Bean Club and the mayor of Height Differenceburg.

[fatcatlittlebox]

*face mashed against the screen* HOW can I have missed this transcendent masterpiece?!

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I had an ask about Adar's message that he carved on the body and it turned into another meandering meta so I figured I'd just get into it in a separate post. The question was what do I think the message actually means. And I think the answer is both -- there's Sauron's message and Adar's message. Yeah. Like so many themes in TROP, there are different dialogues happening.

I think the real literal translation is from Black Speech, as I've analyzed before in previous metas, a gauntlet or missive from Adar about taking Galadriel hostage. I'll get into that in another long ass post, but what I found interesting is what Annatar claims it says: "Where is he?" It's also the title of the episode. This question is important. We can start by asking ourself, who is the "he" here? Annatar is talking about himself. No surprise there, but I think he is literally referring to a different self -- Sauron or Halbrand. He's dissociating. He did this notably, when he stood over Adar and is about to execute him saying "You don't know what he did!" Halbrand here is referring to Sauron. Another version of him. Past, present, or alternate persona.

One of the reasons I love this shot so much is it conveys so much. On either side, Halbrand is flanked by Galadriel and a horse. A calm horse. A non-galloping horse. This time she's urging Halbrand to stop and think. Galadriel is the mentor in this moment. And with Galadriel in the foreground she seems to overpower Halbrand here -- she is his master. But the context of this shot is super interesting for the purposes of this discussion. This scene is mostly intercut with closeups of every player's face and this is the only line that Halbrand utters that is not a close up. "You don't now what he did." Compare it to the shot below. The shot with him and Adar is quite a distance away from the action and that's symbolic of Halbrand dissociating from Sauron and the deeds he is referring to. These are separate personas. "He" did evil. "He" is abhorred. And in Halbrand killing Adar, he would be purging himself in effigy.

But before that, in the forge scene with Galadriel, Halbrand says, “You don’t know what I did.”

This switching between third person and first person is fluid with Sauron and Halbrand because I think he is splitting into different people. Here Sauron speaks for himself and his actions. You know that he is Sauron (perhaps even Mairon) in this moment because whenever he stares into the fire, this repentant Sauron emerges. He is taking ownership and he means it. And it tracks because he is contrite. He tells Galadriel, "I'm sorry." For her brother, for her pain. Furthermore, there are instances in this scene where his voice is a different register: deep, guttural and almost ancient.

And I believe there's a reason why Charlie has mentioned this analysis of his character more than once: to paraphrase, Sauron is a successful deceiver because he actually believes he is the persona he has created. Which begs the question, does this mean just psychological dissociating or actual splitting and compartmentalizing pieces of himself? We already know in the lore that Sauron poured "his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life" into the ring. If he can do that with the darkness in his soul, it stands to question -- can he do it with his goodness? He’s also not the only Tolkien character to do this. Later Smeagol does this as Gollum. I think the question "Where is he?" is a clue as to why Annatar seems so disconnected and empty in comparison to how Sauron was as "Halbrand." There's something missing in him, something absent. Where is he? Halbrand is lost- but not gone. Let's go back to the opening line of the show again, "Nothing is evil in the beginning." Interestingly, it leaves out the second part of the quote which is in the book -- "Even Sauron was not so." That is a glaring, purposeful omission. One that I think that the show is aiming to explore by showing his fractured evolution.

[fatcatlittlebox]

sauron: 10/∞

[fatcatlittlebox]

Love this masterwork. Just the characterization. I want to set a hammock in each one of these characters brains and live there like a mind palace hobo.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64768882/chapters/166431169

[fatcatlittlebox]

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - 1x07

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New chapter of Chains of Light and Shadow

Hahahahha *sobbing uncontrollably*

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I think his dream is definitely to be with her and rule together but more specifically, I think he wants to bear children with her, hence the sore spot about his "breeding" and Galadriel bringing up "redeeming their bloodlines." Like look at his face when she says that:

He can NOT believe she said that. Because his mind is already going there and she actually says it out loud. And Sauron literally and physiologically can tell what people's heart's deepest desires are. He alludes to it when he talks about Queen Miriel's pulse quickening. Sauron knows Galadriel means it. She's all in here.

Sauron is slick enough to know that his best methods of success are to find people with similar goals as his, even if their means of achieving it are completely different. He knows that people will eventually sacrifice those ethics in pursuit of a shared goal. Until his will and darkness overcomes it. Sauron wants children. That wasn't an empty promise he offered Adar. He finds a shared, common goal which is why his way is so seductive. He truly believes he's helping. I think he must have wanted children but what he created with Adar did not satisfy him so they became expendable. From the very beginning, in the opening sequence. We see children. There's the alfirin seeds. Growth. Rebirth. "Life in defiance of death." I think the show will come full circle to that idea.

I don't think Sauron likes being trapped in this cycle of failure, darkness, resentment and alienation. Perhaps in having a child, he sees himself breaking free of it.

When that guy mocked the idea of someone like Halbrand having a chance with Galadriel do you think that sort of made him more determined to have her?

Hi! Um, not really IMO. Sauron is petty but I don't think some lesser mortal's words would inspire him to want her more than he already did. I think at that point he was feeling extremely torn. I genuinely believe he was thrown by her presence, wary of how impulsive and emotional he became around her and how unpredictable it made him. I think that the tavern scene was actually meant as a parallel to the jail scene when Halbrand mentors Galadriel in the art of manipulation. In the tavern scene, where Tamar’s prodding Halbrand, trying to provoke his anger, Sauron’s weakness is exposed -- Galadriel

Later, when they are in the cell, the tavern fight becomes a reference point. Halbrand advises Galadriel to find her opponent's fears by recalling what specifically provoked Miriel's anger. The queen wasn't moved until Galadriel struck a nerve.

So, as we can recall, in the tavern scene, Tamar made several insults: he was a bigot, accused Halbrand of being a thief, asked distastefully about the "she-Elf." Worse yet, Tamar refused to even call him by his name, just "low man." Tamar was there in the room when Halbrand announced his name. And we know with Sauron, names are a touchy subject. But that's not what quickened his pulse. He was pretty jovial up until a certain point when he snaps -- at the suggestion that Galadriel would want someone with better "breeding." The idea that Galadriel would be repulsed at allying their lineages. So I would ask the same question Halbrand asked Galadriel:

Why was he so mad about that particular insult? Remember Galadriel had promised Sauron in that very same cell:

It's what he most dreams of in his black gooey heart of hearts. It's what he fears losing.

Furthermore, who else had Sauron probably mentored in the same tactics? Adar. They spent hundreds of years together. Most certainly, Sauron would have taught him the same lesson either in deed or word. And Adar figured out Sauron's greatest fear but mistakenly tried to exploit it when he took Galadriel. Perhaps that's why he failed to have the upper hand with Sauron. “Give them a means to master it.” I find it interesting that Sauron probably only told Galadriel the second half of that pearl of wisdom but withheld it from Adar.

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😏💋

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