The Middle Distance

Apropos to nothing, I'm reminded of a story I read once, might have been a fanfic (I wish I could remember) that had a character going in depth into the exact extent of an item like the One Ring as far as invisibility went. It included experiments like - If I wrap my hand around a cup it stays visible, if I lift it it goes invisible. If I wear clothing they're invisible, if I touch someone else's clothing they remain visible. The ultimate conclusion was that if the individual was supporting an item off the ground, it was invisible (which brings up the interesting question of shoes, though not pertinent to Bilbo).

So if I were to give my somewhat scientific answer it is this - the One Ring is controlled by the will of a sentient, living being (who knows about animals, I really don't). Therefore, it can only effect 1 individual at a time who is wearing it, hence why it changes its own shape to match 1 individual. It takes in also any inanimate objects the individual is supporting from the ground, ie clothing and weapons. If an item is dropped, it becomes visible again. So Sting would have been visible when Frodo dropped it on Weathertop, but not when it was in his hand.**

We actually DO have an example of someone having a part of their body inside someone who is wearing the Ring. Get your mind out of the gutter - it was Gollum biting off Frodo's finger. Since he didn't go invisible with Frodo's finger in his mouth, I think we can assume it goes both ways. I can only imagine the good Professor's reaction to learning how that scene would be interpreted by our depraved little minds.

** A note on Sting. As noted above, Bilbo actually does cast a shadow while wearing the Ring in the Hobbit. Personal headcanon is that the Ring was relatively "dormant" during that period, and so didn't extend quite as much invisibility power as it did with Frodo. But that does mean light interacts with him somehow. Without going into all the problems of actually being blind if you were to ever be completely invisible (because light would pass through your eyes) I'd like to suggest that Sting is SOMETIMES visible, and sometimes not. Namely, when it is glowing, because then it is putting off light. I think the blade itself would still be invisible, but there would be a faint glow in the air unless it was sheathed. This could be problematic during the BoFA?

-Avelera