What Darkness do the Dark Lords Embody?
Another one why I write the dark lords more neutral, and in an explorative manner:
This might be a bit of a hot take, because "dark" is such an imprecise word in my lexicon. It does not work as a shorthand for "horrible" in my *personal* books.
It can mean many things, and most are first and foremost neutral, before context is added.
For example: Dark things can be unseen, obscured, taboo, and also private. Also, darkness is mysterious, intriguing and causes surprises. So many fascinating ways to surprise that do not have to follow what's expected.
Many positive deeds go unnoticed because they cause no friction, or the "wrong" person is doing them, sonoting is "of note".
Also, negativity bias does a good job at obscuring good things in life right in front of our eyes.
On top of that, taboos are often attactched to marginalized experiences, no matter how benign, neutral, or horrible they may be.
And then there is Privacy, which is vital for personal freedom. So when privacy is dark, a lack of privacy is harsh light shone all over you.
Also, there is skin color and marginalization.
For me *personally*, instead of using the descriptor "dark", naming negative things for what they are works better because I get a more precise picture of what to imagine or expect.
So my dark lords revel in doing things that are not expected from the point of view of Tolkien's texts, because their darkness obscures all that potential for actions and decisions.
Also especially Melkor is dark enough for preferring underground living situations. But so do dwarves too. Their narrative role development from Lost Tales to the Lord of the Rings is very interesting.
