snake-oil-and-roses - Tumblr blog

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Hmm.  Having thoughts about the Battle of Pelennor Fields in Jackson’s “Return of the King,” and the first time we see the two kings after the battle, Éomer as a new king, a fresh king anointed in sweat and blood by the scream of a Nazgûl as Théoden falls, and then Aragorn, leading an army to save the city of his forefathers, not yet crowned but more a king than the people have seen in a long time-

And the two kings, newly victorious in battle, only it’s Éomer on his knees, cradling the body of his sister and screaming raw grief to the heavens, and Aragorn, just having granted mercy to the Dead, chosen peace and forgiveness over vengeance and old wounds, watching in sadness and shock but not quite disbelief.  Then the hard cut to the Houses of Healing, Aragorn healing Éowyn as Éomer sits by her bedside, hardly daring to hope, and the hands of the king are the hands of a healer, and the visual poetry of those scenes, these kings who do not ride triumphant after battle into the city to the blaring of silver trumpets and the cries of the watchtower, whose first scenes as kings, whose first acts as kings, are humble and human and healing.  And the scene setting - the dull beige of the battle plain, all flat colours, no bright banners or gleaming swords, just dust and death and silence.  Then the silence is broken, Éomer’s grief fades into the haunting vocalist fades into the Houses of Healing, all dark blues and indistinct shapes in the background.  All there is is the lament of the singer and, cast in sharp relief against the dark, vague background, the figures of Éowyn and the two kings, one gentle as he wraps her wounds, the other just silently praying because it’s all he can do. 

What it says, that kingship begins in such a human and fragile way.  These will be kings of a new Middle Earth, kings at the start of a new age, great kings who will do great things for their people, and this is how it begins.  Not with shouts of victories but cries of grief.  Not elevated and dignified but kneeling and sobbing and helpless.  Not sat straight and proud on mighty horseback, against a cold throne, but hunched over the wounded, coaxing life back after so much death.  No confidence, no pride, no hope except for the vain and foolish hope that the Shadow will pass and what was once fair and good will be so once again.

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I need y'all to appreciate this masterpiece as much as I do

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@tolkienweek day 1 ~ favourite character 

I would have you smile again. Not grieve for those whose time has come. You shall live to see these days renewed. No more despair.

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i am in pain.

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We need jobs and industries in service of resilient, just, and sustainable futures. We say to these industries: commit to change, or stay closed for good! #nogoingback #peopleoverprofits #closedforgood #extinctionrebellion #rebel4life #XRCR (at A Greener Future) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_nh4P6pfBl/?igshid=cp3wqpx8o9hm

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"I will miss your lips and everything attached to them. "

~Claire Colburn

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We haven't met Life on other planets, we haven't even been able to detect traces of it in the observable Universe. Statisticians calculate it as so impossibly unlikely that it's numbers are hard to comprehend. For all we know, we are the only ones here, alone on this vessel traveling through Space.

We are gambling the rarest and most precious phenomenon in the Universe.

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the potc franchise is just undeniably disney’s horniest franchise and it isn’t even all jack. like elizabeth full on threatened to kill beckett over not getting to fuck will. iconic

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no wonder mommy has to march

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Every time I step out onto the trail, I am writing my love letter to the wilderness. As I walk over soft soil, trudge through mud, tread carefully on crunching snow and slippery ice, I am telling the outdoors: I will follow you wherever. When I stop to take in vast expansiveness of the valley below the mountains, or stopping on the side of the trail to watch how the light filters through birch leaves, I am telling the outdoors: Oh, you take my very breath away. While listening to the symphony of bird songs, the percussion of feet across the forest floor, and the hum of the bugs. I am telling the outdoors: Your music inspires the masses. In the midst of pick up trash from the side of the trail, packing out what I've packed in and during mud when I stay away from higher elevations, giving them the space to grow, I am telling the outdoors: You are loved and I will do everything in my power to protect you. . . . . . . . . #hiker #womenwhohike #girlswhohike #womenwhohikeny #girlswhohikeny #hikertrash #hikeny #wildernessculture #traillove #nynjtc #gogalavanting #findyourpark #naturewriting #minnewaskastate #hudsonvalleyhikes #exploremore #optoutside #choosenature #protectpubliclands (at Minnewaska State Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8ei5Z5JlcW/?igshid=1aenk9t4f43et

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Because I’ve added a new hiking partner to all my adventures I have changed my Instagram handle to: @boot_and_paw_prints. . . . . . . . . . . . #dogsthathike #dogsofinstagram #adoptdontshop #gogalavanting #shexplores #ruffwear #winterhiking #hikenewyork #wildwoman #rescuedog #pitbulls #pitbullsthathike #womenwhohike #traillove #nynjtc #leavenotrace (at Hang Gliders Cliff) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8FBQ5aAXS_/?igshid=1qyw7zcxri0x9

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It is the end of the year and social media floods with self-reflection. I am not one for New Year's resolutions. I have a feeling that change is possible at any time of year, but this year I feel myself getting caught up in all that I have accomplished. 2019 was hard and full of changes. Life-altering changes. Slowly (and sometimes painfully) laying down a new foundation on uncharted lands. 2020 will be a year of cultivating this new land and growing into a person I think I have always been too scared to become. . . . . . . . . #sheexplores #womenwhohike #wildwomen #choosemountains #hikertrash #gogalavanting #girlswhohike #adk #adirondackmountains #adk46er #thegreatrange #whyihike #wildernessculture #howiplayintheadk #adklife #adirondackstatepark #catskills #catskillsmountains #adkfiretowerchalleng #findyourpark #winterhiking #naturephotography #mountains #empireexplorer #ilovenewyork #newyearsresolutions #bestnine (at Somewhere on the Earth) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6tVgq6lt4O/?igshid=jwc7b8vtlc9b

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Broken boots are keeping me off the trail, but I’m enjoying seeing the city through the eyes of my dog. He’s helping me reevaluate my view of what it means to be “outdoors”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . #hiking #hiker #womenwhohike #sheexplores #optoutside #urbanhiking #dogsofinstagram #hikingdogs #whyihike #adoptdontshop #findyourpark #iloveny #empireexplorer #dogwalk #albanyny (at Jennings Landing) https://www.instagram.com/p/B50ZK4aFBGR/?igshid=14cvggnracyth

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Janis Joplin Brazil (1970)🔮🔮