We Wants It, the most recently posted story, was one of the first stories I ever wrote, almost 14 years ago.
Every time I read LotR, the more I am affected by Gollum's story and by his role in the quest. This moment on the stairs of Cirith Ungol is, to my mind, is among the most tragic moments in the book. What if Frodo had woken, not Sam? What if Sam had held his tongue? Even more, what was Gollum thinking? What is it that he wants?
For a single, brief moment, Gollum is Sméagol, not merely calling himself that, but inhabiting what is left of his original Hobbit self. As I see it, there's not much left of what he once was. What does that sliver of being think? How would that look or sound?
If the Ring is the concentration of Sauron's will, and if that will is the will to possess all that is (dominate it, subjugate it), then what I see in Gollum is the inability anymore to do anything except want. That is what the Ring has irrevocably done to him. What Frodo (and Sam) do to Gollum - finally being among his own kind for the first time in hundreds of years - is make him want something for the sake of someone else. He still cannot view anything outside the prism of what he wants for himself, but he can want for Frodo. No spider, no orcs, no Eye. It is the only way left to Gollum to grasp what is around him.
And so, we wants it.
Anglachel