The Wonderful Lord Of The Rings Portfolio By Frank Frazetta (1975)

I didn't post in so long and this idiotic idea came to me so I had to do it

might as well post this now

…. I have a proposition for you…..

Flower Blushies

Poor Ace. The boy never gets invited to sht outside of NRC.

my art blog -> @haeoflii

pleaseee post this time omg omg omg

so here is my melkor hot take of the day. i dont think melkor is more evil than sauron.

like yes, tolkien said sauron is less evil than melkor bc he is devoted and obedient to him, i.e. catholic theological legalese, since love and obedience are the catholic virtue things that dont originate from evil. cool. ASIDE FROM THAT.

and like, melkor is totally MORE POWERFUL than sauron by like orders of magnitude. sure. melkor is the evil soup that suffuses the world like original sin and the fall do in catholic theology.

but like if in looking at intent and what they do, i dont think you can say that for sauron's relative power, i hesitate to say he is more evil, but he is evil in a more insidious and dangerous way common to our age.

like i see melkor very much representing the evil of the natural world (and to some degree part of the universal plan of eru iluvatar). he is volcanoes. he is the blight of winter. he is disease and pestilence and decay. he is the coming of darkness, the destruction of creation. the entropy of the universe. he desires the spark or life but can only subdivide endlessly like bacteria.

but that is part of the fallen world in theological terms even if it shouldn't be part of a healed world of immortal quasi spiritual (or actually spiritual) beings. it is imperfection if the goal is deathlessness. but it is part of the world.

and to a degree i see valar as having this sort of impersonal force of nature quality about them. not just melkor. they all do. tolkien describes them like heavenly bureaucrats. they arent tied to the world and dont understand the world in a tangible personal way that even the maiar do.

sauron is different and i think there is a reason sauron is the villain in the books in the second and third age and specifically in the main book he published. he is the evil of our modern world.

because most mythologies dont have two dark lords. one representing chaos and destruction and one representing order and coercion and industry.

it represents a fundamental swing in how cultures started to conceptualize evil. we mastered science and thus a lot of the things that were a curse from the gods were being solved. and yet. the world wasn't becoming less evil. we still want to control each other, to subjugate others. we want to tame nature so much it kills her and makes her barren. we covet power because we are afraid of the lack of it.

so yeah. sauron and melkor are both evil. but sauron was subject to melkor (or natural evils) until we subdued and chained him. and then sauron's evils were dominant.

(is this character analysis or fictional theology? idk.)

i love these characters because they are symbolic of how we conceptualize evil in the world, as well as being stand-ins for a certain character archetype. i dont have to write them just as them being evil. but they are great for writing about difficult subjects because of their symbolic nature.

(and maybe like sauron i too love volcanoes and snow and mushrooms and thus am a bit enchanted with the force of nature that is melkor. i used to study a LOT of catholic theology, and now as an outsider looking in im like, maybe i can play with these myths and tropes. at the same time, the ultimate plan of eru iluvatar is meant to be a mystery.)

MER-LOVE! ft. isagi, bachira, chigiri, nagi

mermaid au! bllk boys with a researcher! reader

warnings: none

notes: can be read as platonic or romantic!! while sea monsters could 100% be cool and everything, i like the idea that they’re all sparkly pretty mermaids (and idk any sea monsters except maybe a kraken or something). hope you enjoy this dumb drabble because i sure do!! also, sorry it’s so long, i was just rambling for the majority of this :’)

ISAGI and BACHIRA were your first encounter of many, many, more mermaids to come.

while isagi needed some time to grow used to your presence, bachira embraced you with open arms, or fins you suppose, always having a toothy grin on his face as he happily assisted you in your endeavours. whether it was gathering rocks, fish, or sea plants for your studies, they eagerly lent their aid, making research so much easier for you. you truly believe you got lucky with them, who knows what they might’ve tried if their intentions were more sinister…

grateful for their assistance and touched by their gestures of friendship, it’s hard not to grow attached to the pair of them. luckily for you, it seemed that the affection was mutual or at the very least, they tolerated you and that was good enough!

isagi, in particular, welcomes your inquiries about mermaid culture and their species as a whole, answering them to the best of his ability. he’s so earnest and genuine that you begin to feel a little guilty not giving him anything in return, so you try to gift him random things he might like every now and then. though, your first attempt still haunts you to this day..!

isagi's reaction catches you off guard as you observe his face, his wide eyes fixed attentively on the trinket nestled in his palm. the longer the two of you remained in silence, the more panic built up inside of you. "d-do you not like it? i'm so sorry, uhm, I'll just take it back—" you fumble for the gift, regretting that you never researched more about mermaid gift-giving customs. what if gifting them things was disrespectful, or even worse, a sign of aggression!?

but before you can retrieve your gift, isagi's surprises you once more. he backs away from you, cradling the tiny object close to his chest protectively, his expression bordering on a pout as if he was offended that you’d dare try to take it back. "i want to keep it," he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

bachira's affectionate nature contrasts a lot with isagi's initial wariness. in the beginning when you remained safely aboard your boat (still debating on whether they’d try kill you or not), he whined that speaking to you while you were so far away was so difficult! just come a little closer, he doesn’t bite!

most of the time anyway…

but in the end, it was worth being patient because now the both of you are like two dolphins in a pod! the other merpeople often find him holding your hand in his or trying to drag you into the depths below…what? it’s not dangerous at all! can’t humans swim? he seems genuinely disappointed that you cannot stay underwater for more than a minute at best. the frown on his face is cute, but it tugs at your heartstrings any time you see it; maybe you should try to cheer him up?

the sudden weight on your shoulders startles you but the familiar voice that follows instantly calms your nerves. "it's really you! did you finally learn how to grow gills?" bachira's playful word is accompanied by a radiant smile, brimming with joy. he gestures towards your clothes with a quizzical expression.

unable to respond verbally with a snorkel pressed to your face, you opt to gently squeeze his cheek in affection. but you should be mindful of indulging him too much, knowing full well that his enthusiasm could easily lead to unrealistic expectations. after all, as much as you cherish your underwater adventures with him, staying in the water 24/7 is bound to come with a few side effects + your oxygen tank won’t last forever!

overall, 10/10 experience with these two. both are adorable, well-behaved (for you), and are one of the few duos that can actually be friends with eachother!

as CHIGIRI joins bachira and isagi on one of their daily excursions to visit you, you're immediately struck by his beauty, a sight that leaves you slightly speechless and captivated by his breathtaking appearance. however, your admiration is interrupted when you notice the scar marring one side of his tail. it’s only when he meets your eyes with an awkward yet understanding expression, that you realise you’re staring. even with the mountain of apologies that spill from your lips, he reassures you with a gentle smile that he knows you’re not trying to be rude.

because he looks like he’s in a mood on most days, you’re pleasantly surprised by his nonchalant personality and his sarcasm that was always delivered in a playful way (not him being a jerk), never failing to make you laugh. he’s just naturally charming, you think. once the initial awkwardness dissipates, befriending chigiri is pretty easy!

yet, despite your growing friendship, you hesitate to broach the topic of his scar, wary of going into potentially sensitive territory. there’s just some things you can be curious about but shouldn’t ask, y’know? it’s only when your concerns inadvertently slip to Isagi in passing that bachira thinks to take it upon himself to ease the tension, a.k.a he tells chigiri everything (“eh? well, you’re worried about him so that’s why you want to ask, right? why would he get mad?”).

you continue to apologise profusely for what seemed like the hundredth time, as chigiri’s attempts to reassure you fall on deaf ears. “it’s fine, really. the scar’s just an injury I got a year or so ago, i don’t even think about it that much anymore…” he says, patting you on the shoulder (which according to humans, should be comforting?)

however, your persistent apologies don’t seem to stop, much to his annoyance. with a swift flick of his tail, he splashes a wave of water in your direction, effectively stopping your stream of apologies mid-sentence. the sudden interruption serves as a clear message; he probably doesn’t care to hear another ‘sorry’ from your mouth.

he’s someone who is easy to get along with, knows when to snap you out of your thoughts if necessary, and all in all nice to be around. what’s not to like? (+he’s also pretty if that helps)

NAGI captured your attention once you saw him sleeping on the sun-warmed rock, which prompted you to call out to him. after a brief moment, he awakens, his metallic eyes flashing with annoyance that suggested your interruption was less than welcome.

sheepishly, you attempted to ask him a few questions, but he simply closes his eyes and settles back onto the rock. with a resigned sigh, you retreat to the safety of your boat, choosing to bide your time and observe the surroundings while making notes for your research. it’s only when nagi begins to get tired of the waves sometimes thrashing against his skin or other merfolk bothering him that he decides, enough was enough. he’s had an eye on the seemingly smooth surface that you often stand on, which could be a perfect spot for him to relax!

he proposes quite the enticing deal for you; in exchange for allowing him to nap on your water-house-thingy, he’ll help with some research. it’s just answering questions, right? excited at the thought of more information; you eagerly accept his offer, completely unaware to the fact that he just sleeps. like. all day. however you soon discover that in spite of this, he’s actually quite intelligent. hand him a puzzle, a memorisation game or even something like sudoku and he’ll probably solve it within a few seconds.

as nagi places the final puzzle piece onto the board, effortlessly completing the ‘task’ you set him, a sense of satisfaction washes over you even with his complaints. you’ve grown used to his nonchalant tone, even as he unintentionally insults your decision. “it’s just looking at the picture and making it, it’s not that hard.”

you smile, “i think you'll find that you're just quite a clever person.” the compliment seems to cheer him up, eliciting a warm, fuzzy feeling that nagi can't quite describe. "mhm…" he murmurs softly, content to bask in your presence and allowing his eyes to shut once more.

he doesn’t do much but at least he doesn’t cause much trouble for you either!