councilofelrond reblogged
The Lord of the One Ring, and of all Rings
I have never played Elden Ring, but it has a nice aesthetic. Meanwhile the deyassification of Sauron is something I’ll never forgive Amazon for.
oh tar-míriel and sauron team up coup au that exists only in my head we’re really in it now-
councilofelrond reblogged
Second piece for Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang! You know I had to do Sad Silvergifting 😅
The fic’s going to be by @councilofelrond and I’m really excited for it!
councilofelrond reblogged
Sauron, climbing out of the sea following the Akallabêth, is both creepy and wet
councilofelrond reblogged
Every day I wonder why Sauron/Ar-Pharazon enemies to lovers slowburn isn't a fandom staple. It wouldn't be my thing, but given the popularity of silvergifting and angbang you'd think this would be very much a thing, and yet
The consensus seems to be "ew, Ar-Pharazon" and I'm just laughing at the irony. Sorry buddy I'm sure that's not what you wanted your legacy to be
yeah I think it's because of the Míriel thing: there isn't a lot of implied-dubcon/noncon in the Silm, actually (I mean it gets written in fanon) but in the Silm/accompanying materials I can only think of three instances:
- Aredhel's marriage to Eöl (not wholly unwilling?)
- Míriel's marriage to Ar-Pharazon
- some hints about Beleg possibly being assaulted in unwholesome ways that he won't speak about
So while it's entirely possible to read Sauron as the kind of person who would Do A Non-Con, it's also entirely possible to read him as I Have A Single Moral Standard And That's It
What this tends to lead to, I think, is people either write him as seducing Pharazon (bc fuck u Pharazon, Miriel didn't deserve you, you deserve this) OR as Pharazon actually assaulting him (which in fairness, if he's a prisoner of war, "seduction" becomes a little bit complicated because of the massive power differential, but it's not clear whether he's there of his own volition anyway, so.)
Neither of these is really conducive to Romance, I feel. Like, not that there'd be anything wrong with it if someone did write it; it would be interesting as heck, actually! I just suspect that Pharazon very strongly being cast in the role of person-who-has-definitely-committed-assault is what pushes the fandom as a whole away from it.
Caveat: I haven't read the Numenor section recently. But I don't feel there is a lot of attraction there? Sauron, IMO, is at his best when he's mentally/emotionally dueling with someone equally strong and intelligent. Ar-Pharazon is a weak pos and was easily out maneuvered. Eh...nothing exciting there.
@antares0606 Agreed. Angbang is great because you can explore Sauron’s fall to darkness, his own seduction by Melkor, the unique loyalty and faith he had for his master that echoed through his own rule as the Dark Lord, the trust that Melkor had for him in turn, a devotion so terrible and all-consuming that it nearly sent the whole world up in flames.
I’m not really into Silvergifting (and I have no idea why!!!), but with that, you have the seduction complicated by the growth of genuine love, that “what if...?” factor - what if that love had been enough to bring Sauron back from the brink, the ultimate devastating tragedy of him killing Tyelpë... and probably the last shred of goodness in his own soul along with it.
Those ships have so much delicious stuff going on. With Ar-Pharazôn... eh. He was already a jerk, and Sauron just took his jerky qualities and made them worse. There’s no complications, no profound emotional drama. If he did sleep with Pharazôn, he was probably lying back and thinking of Mordor the whole time. Yawn.
Also, yeah, ew Ar-Pharazôn.
(Sauron/Tar-Míriel, on the other hand...)
Though, that said, I love talking ships, so if anyone who does ship Sauron/Pharazôn sees this and wants to come and sell me on why it’s actually an awesome ship, I am genuinely willing to listen and be converted. :D
Honestly, my main problem with this ship (is it ship though. Is it. The entire tag on a ao3 is literally Ar-Pharazon just assaulting him. I checked.) is that it’s creepy. No matter what, ethically, Sauron cannot consent. Yes, Sauron is absolutely terrifyingly powerful, but ultimately, he is a prisoner. He can’t consent because he can’t safely refuse.
So yeah. Ethically speaking, this isn’t a ship I feel comfortable with. It’s just extremely gross.
Interest check: how would you guys feel about a potential second age musical week. Basically it's what a musical version of the Second Age would be--not like Hamilton or something, I mean like just an over-the-top old Broadway style thing.
If you're interested, just say so bc this idea has been In My Brain for a while now and I want to see other people's takes on it.
You know what if no one else is going to say it I will.
The Rings of Power show is extremely racist, Eurocentric, and xenophobic. And probably homophobic, too.
A brief list (there are probably more):
- British men cast to play main heroes in a nation (inaccurately) based off of Greece and Rome, instead of people from those areas or descended from people from those areas.
- Pharazôn being a villainous character and having an Irish accent, while all the “good” characters either have lighter Irish accents or are English
- The only black Elf being Silvan, a group famously called “more dangerous and less wise.” (The 19th century called. They want their “white man’s burden” propaganda back.)
- The fact that Sauron is probably going to be queercoded.
- The fact that all of the powerful characters save one are played by Northern Europeans/English people.
If I wanted to see various groups stereotyped and mischaracterized I’d just go outside. Also, side note: making Míriel (played by a woman of some African descent I think—please correct me if I’m wrong) the Ruling Queen does nothing progressive at all. It just assures she’ll be blamed for Sauron’s rise :). Yeah. The black woman takes the fall. Yayyyy progress.
Did it forge a love you might never have found
councilofelrond reblogged
Pov: you're a Numenorean citizen and you just want to ask the new high priest for advice
(or: five minutes into praising the dark lord and chill he gives you this look)
Bringing this back to say: if he doesn't look like this in the show I'm going quit my job and do a world tour cosplaying this look. I'll be everywhere. Even on your continent. And then it will sink into the ocean.
Just to be clear this is a threat.
councilofelrond reblogged
lemme me add sth cute to the tags
au where sauron shoots ar-pharazôn in the balls with a flaming arrow instead of surrendering and ar-pharazôn dies.
The idea of Ar-Pharazôn being a creep and assaulting Sauron also makes me wonder about xenophobia and fetishization in Númenor regarding Sauron/people they colonized, like the Umbarians.
councilofelrond reblogged
just. OBSESSED with the idea. that Elrond can evoke his ancestors whenever he wants. Braids his hair elaborately with a thousand diamonds? Turgon reborn. Lets his hair loose and river-ine down his spine? Luthien come again. Wears silver armor and Vilya gleaming on a finger? Fingolfin as he thundered across the ramparts of Barad Eithel. The flexible, leather-plate of the Sindar? Nimloth, defiant unto the end. A white robe and pearls? His mother, Elwing the Blessed.
Nobody left alive knows this or tells him, but Elrond, in his preferred daily fashion, with the sun streaming over his hair and turning it all gilt and gold: Elrond looks like nothing so much as he looks like his great-great-great grandmother, Indis the Bright.
councilofelrond reblogged
melkors-4th-silmaril-deactivate
Commission of Sauron done for me a while back by the wonderful @egobarriart
councilofelrond reblogged
On the one hand, the concept of rightful monarchs and true kings is ehhhhhh.
On the other, I will die believing that the last true king of Númenor was Tar-Palantir and Pharazôn was an illegitimate usurper of the rightful monarch, Tar-Míriel.
councilofelrond reblogged
Nothing gives me more life than imagining elven maidens in Second Age Valinor getting into hair-pulling fights over which man was more attractive and heroic- Túrin or Tuor.
(Vanyar youths posing for couples pictures dressed up as Glóredhel and Haldir, Galdor and Hareth. Shrines to Hador and books written in emulation of Dírhavel’s prose. Young elven lasses declaring their personal role model is Lady Haleth and wearing tiny amber ax-shaped earrings. Everyone attempts to grow beards and streaking the hair with white is the height of fashion. Relatives from Beleriand wince and try to explain that the Edain weren’t at all like this weird idealized version and loosing friends to old age and disease wasn’t romantically tragic.)
But yeah, Edain fangirls of Valinor. (☞ﾟ∀ﾟ)☞