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stop showing me taylor swift lyrics that's scary

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ARAGORN in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) dir. Peter Jackson

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Httyd book vs movie is so funny because it’s like: Movie: a heartwarming tale about change and growth Books: yeah the chief of the bog-burgalar’s name is Big Boobied Bertha. yeah. she kills people with her boobs

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Eowyn and Gothic Horror

I've ranted about the interpretation that Eowyn's rejection of gender roles was a symptom of her sickness, caused only by Grima's manipulations. An interpretation that doesn't hold to either Gandalf's speech in the Houses of Healing, when he specifies how the liberties denied to Eowyn and allowed to Eomer and her male peers played a crucial role in her depression, or when we see how Eowyn was really vindicated in her decision to ride to battle by her victory over the Witch King. A victory that wins her incredible renown and respect.

I think this reading comes about because people see the significance of Grima's contribution to Eowyn's despair, and think he is the sole source of it.

But Eowyn was not dissatisfied with her role and her enforced position in the house because of Grima's manipulations. She didn't rail against sexism because Grima played with her head and "poisoned" her traditionally feminine role for her.

Grima was able to prey on Eowyn, manipulate her and drive her to despair, because of the sexism that forced Eowyn to remain stuck in the house.

Look at the speech Gandalf gives Eomer about Eowyn's sufferings. The very first thing he mentions is the fact that Eowyn was denied the freedoms and opportunities Eomer had. The suffering that follows stems from that first initial injustice.

Because of that first injustice, Eowyn was rendered vulnerable, and Grima was able to exploit that. That isolation, that limited freedom, that unhappiness about her lack of choices, left her free game for Grima to take an already bad situation, and make it far worse.

Thinking about Eowyn's experience in Meduseld, what the impact of being confined to the domestic sphere did to her, and what is left her vulnerable to, makes me think of Gothic horror, and the role of sexism and domesticity in that genre too.

Eowyn's situation before the novels is that of a classic Gothic heroine. A fair, beautiful woman, trapped inside a decaying house, and preyed on by an awful monster, who hungers after her beauty and longs to possess her. Or else, destroy her.

Domestic settings and isolation are pretty crucial themes in the gothic genre, and for that reason it has historically been seen as a woman's genre. It taps into a pretty universal fear of what happens when home ceases to be a safe space, a fear that historically, has a particularly great resonance for women.

Whereas traditionally home is a refuge and respite for men from the world, the home is the woman's only true acceptable sphere. And yet even there she is subordinate. Therefore, she is vulnerable. With no place in the outside world, she has no escape, no respite, no refuge. If home becomes an evil, she is trapped. And because she has no place in the social sphere, she has no voice either. She is invisible, she is overlooked, her sufferings and her contributions are passed over,

Eowyn is isolated. Eowyn is vulnerable. Eowyn is overlooked. And because Eowyn is isolated and vulnerable and overlooked, Grima is able to get his hooks into her and drive her to despair. She is a wild animal, trammelled and caught in a hutch, a predator's helpless prey. But Grima didn't put Eowyn in the hutch. Eowyn was already there. Grima just took advantage of that.

Even after Grima is gone, Meduseld is still a place Eowyn longs to escape, and while its evil is purged and she does return, it is only for a short while. Grima's defeat is not enough to make Meduseld a place where Eowyn can find real happiness or fulfilment. On its own, it still represents a role for Eowyn that she wishes to move beyond.

The healing counterpoint to Eowyn's gothic castle of horrors, the hutch she was caught in, is in escape, and in a return to nature.

Eowyn's entire romance with Faramir takes place within the gardens of the Houses of Healing, where we see Eowyn start to recover from her ordeal. It takes place on the open, in the garden, on the ramparts, with much notice given to the sky and the sun and the elements around them.

(Also, the Houses of Healing themselves are not a domestic setting, but a public one, and there we see women working alongside men and holding authority.)

Eowyn's happy ending, her great escape, climaxes with her decision to go with Faramir to Ithilien.

Ithilien is the exact opposite of a hutch. It's descriptions are filled with natural imagery, and is known as the Garden of Gondor. It is a place for growth and fresh starts. A place of freedom. A place for a wild thing.

When Faramir suggests that he and Eowyn live in Ithilien, he reasserts again and again that they will go there if it is Eowyn's will. Both Tolkien and Faramir put emphasis on the importance of Eowyn's will, and Eowyn's right to freedom of movement.

In his plans for their future, Faramir talks of "us" and "we", removing the separation between men (belonging to the social sphere) and women (belonging to the domestic), and speaks of Ithilien as a shared dwelling place for both of them. Faramir only distinguishes between himself and Eowyn when he puts importance on Eowyn's will, and at the end, on Eowyn's influence.

At the close of his speech, Faramir says all things will grow with joy in Ithilien, if Eowyn is there. Returning Ithilien to its former glory, allowing it to bloom once more, is to become Faramir's life's work, and still it is Eowyn's influence he puts centre stage. Far from being kept confined to the domestic sphere, relegated to being Faramir's home support while he dominates the rehabilitation of Ithilien, Faramir places Eowyn's work and Eowyn's significance at the heart of their future together.

Eowyn goes from being shut in the house, where everything around her was decaying and falling to ruin, to being freed to stand in the heart of nature, where there is a chance for influence, growth, and fresh starts.

[majestictolkienelves]

okay everyone reblog and tell me your favorite perfume. but if your favorite is glossier you… don’t bother

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charmed by the idea of, like, 19-year-old fingon out on the town with 11-year-old turgon like "hey! a column... is that the kind of column you like" and turgon like "ugh no that's corinthian 🙄 don't tell anyone you like those, those are lame"

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Robe sword and scabbard 1802-03

In 1799 a new system of government, led by three Consuls, was introduced in France.  Napoleon was elected First Consul. A sword of this pattern was provided to each of them, although this one is of a later date and must have been a replacement for the original. It was acquired by George IV with a certificate swearing that it had belonged to Napoleon himself.

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Thinking about ✨her✨ today

Remaking this Éowyn after 10 years of cosplay was so gratifying! The trim is all hand embroidered and I’m so proud of how well I was able to dye the matelassé to match the corset suede 😍

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💀

you know i'm thinking about how few teeth gollum has and like do you think frodo ever got a good sloppy bj from him

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you know i'm thinking about how few teeth gollum has and like do you think frodo ever got a good sloppy bj from him

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“What if Annatar resembled Finrod “

Celebrimbor who cared for Finrod deeply couldn’t help but see glimpses of Finrod in Annatar , in how he looks and how he acts sometimes.

Celebrimbor glimpsed in Annatar's form echoes of Finrod, the noble and beloved friend lost. The way Annatar moved, spoke, it all bore a resemblance to Finrod.

Sauron knew this, weaving his deceitful web. For he had watched how Finrod comforted his companions in the dark dungeons of Tol in Gaurhoth

So it was that Annatar's guise became a cruel mirror, reflecting back the memory of a cherished friend lost but never forgotten. And in that twisted reflection, Celebrimbor found himself drawn ever closer, his trust and loyalty given to the very source of this cruelty.

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I think the most fun part of monsters inc is boo calling sulley “kitty” and mike wazowski by full government name

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Another burning Feanor sketch, but with gouache :v

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every moment of every day i am thinking about this tiktok

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I do think “Maedhros is jealous of Elrond and Elros for taking up so much of Maglor’s attention” is a fun and crunchy take tbh. Give me a Maglor who’s found, in the twins, a reason for hope at last, and a Maedhros who’s determined to drag him back down into the darkness just because he can’t bear to be left alone… a Maedhros who loves his brother deeply, and ruins him for it.