#halbrand rop

[queenmeriadoc]

I am trying something

[queenmeriadoc]

Halbrand edition - Celebrimbor/Louis Oakley

[queenmeriadoc]

Inspiring I know, I’m a poet

For the haters

[queenmeriadoc]

For your consideration, Human!Halbrand

[queenmeriadoc]

A Halbrand fanfic/blurb/whatever based on this song

“I don’t need your roses, I like men on their knees, praying up to their god seeing vision of me”

[clumsycopy]

[fvckinggvy]

He’s a 10 but he forged the One Ring

[wyrd-syster]

I loved your theory about Halbrand! I couldn’t understand why his arc was dovetailing with Adar’s if he isn’t Sauron, but I loved your ideas. I thought the scene where Adar offers to spare the villagers in exchange for the sword-key was interesting in that Arondir was wise not to fall for it, and when Theo did to save his mom, IMO the show made it clear Adar was about to kill them all anyway before Numenor arrived, which I think supports your first idea for Adar using and killing Halbrand’s loved ones to get him to kill the king. I also wondered if you’d thought at all about him being a repentant!Sauron, something I wasn’t familiar with since I supposed it’s from Tolkien’s letters? I agree if he’s supposed to have been playing some sort of long game this whole time, it makes no sense.

Oooh I hadn't even made the connection between the Adar/Arondir storyline, but you're totally right! Adar is clearly comfortable with using loved ones as leverage to get people to do his bidding. Also consider the scene in the tavern before Númenor arrived – not only was he willing to use the whole village as leverage, he followed up on his threats almost immediately. The orcs stabbed like what, four innocents before Theo relents and hands over the sword-key? And with Waldreg already loyal, I agree that there's little doubt Adar would've finished the job and killed all the Southlanders and Arondir anyways.

I am not familiar with Tolkien's repentant!Sauron theory, though I've seen the phrase thrown around quite a bit on Saurbrand theories here. Again, my problem with this (superficially, I admit, since I obviously need to read into this a bit more) is that we know how Sauron ends up. Even if he is repentant here and has taken on the form Halbrand presents as a way to separate himself from evil, we know this ends in failure because we know Sauron is the big bad of the Second and Third Ages.

And I am all for sympathetic villains (see: Adar) but I think the narrative of, "Welp, tried the whole 'good guy' thing and it didn't work so guess now I have to cover the world in a second darkness ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ " is just not as satisfying or compelling as one of a man who believes he has no choice but to do evil, goes through the acts of atonement, achieves self-actualization and goodness...and then stands up to the evil that first compelled him and is struck down by that foe.

To me, the latter is an arc of Tragedy of Fate, while the former is an arc of Tragedy by Choice. And I just think Tragedy of Fate is sadder. And I live for the pain.