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Two days ago my husband said "...and he was pissed" and I said "don't say that around the kids!" so he corrected himself to "and he was liquid angry" and I've been laughing since

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let's form structures with mamas

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Of all the redemption arcs in popular fantasy media, I feel like Theoden's in The Lord of the Rings is the most overlooked.

The movies emphasize the magical control that the evil powers exercise over Theoden, but in the books, it's more obviously a depiction of bad kingship, in the British medieval sense. Theoden takes bad advice; he neglects his family; he fails to reward his knights; and he leaves his people vulnerable to attack. He also does not honor his kingdom's promises to help nearby kingdoms, as we can tell from Boromir's account of what Gondor has been going through.

Gandalf doesn't just cast out the curse and magically fix everything. He encourages Theoden to free himself from his bad advisor, but Theoden has to take all the subsequent steps. And those choices are not easy; after so much neglect, his knights are scattered, and his only option for defending his people is to gather them at Helm's Deep. The siege does not go well. His people are afraid and despairing. But nevertheless, he holds firm and charges out to meet the enemy -- and Gandalf literally meets him halfway, bringing with him the lost knights, whom Theoden welcomes and rewards after the battle.

Theoden could have just gone home after that. But when Gondor calls for aid, Theoden proves his worth by honoring his promises. He keeps his oaths not only to his people but to his allies.

And the climax of his redemption in the book is not his death, but his leadership. The ride of the Rohirrim against Sauron's armies is described in lavish detail, with an uncharacteristically heated pace: Theoden leads the entire line of Rohan, his banner streaming behind him in the wind as they race toward their foe. And that's the end of the chapter.

I love Theoden's arc so much, and especially that moment so much, because the message is not that he has to win battles or seek power. He just has to keep fighting. Theoden's greatest enemy isn't really Sauron: it's despair. And over the course of the book, he keeps choosing hope and action over despair and hesitation, until finally he can lead his people with courage.

As someone who struggles a lot with despair, I really needed to hear that story.

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Since there's been another "Tumblr is gonna die!" scare, let's do a poll...

Rb for larger sample size appreciated :)

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Okay but can we talk about how when Parker was upset and was like can we kill that guy? Eliot, who strictly does not kill people anymore, locked eyes with nate and as like I mean yah I'll kill him gimme a hour

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foreshadowing done well makes me go feral like there’s NOTHING better than getting to the end a book or an important storyline moment and realising that the author laced information so intricately into their writing that weren’t noticeable upon first read but when you read back sections they’re light giant red flags like wow writing is amazing

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∞

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My favorite title for the new season of Leverage: Redemption has to be "The Swipe Right Job" and here's the completely made-up episode summary that just popped into my head:

Sophie's ready to love again, but she's having a weird time on the dating apps. Things get even stranger when she unexpectedly stumbles onto the mark's dating profile. The crew convinces her to swipe right and set up a date to infiltrate his inner circle. Quickly, she discovers his evil may stem from his loneliness, and there's a good chance he's only one meet-cute with the right woman away from changing his ways for good.

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Winter has arrived on Poob.

Start your 7 day free trial of Poob today, and watch smash hit Martin Scorcese's Goncharov.

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honestly kudos to Elementary for gender swapping John Watson in what we all thought was an attempt to make johnlock palatable to the masses and then proceeding to not only make them entirely platonic but also become the ONLY modern adaptation where i actually feel like them being platonic makes complete sense

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Folks, backup your Tumblrs, for real this time

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Beyblade heavyweight division

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Commentary for The Studio Job says they really wanted to bring back the butcher of Kiev for a scene where he sees a picture that his niece posted to myspace of her and Eliot and freaks out, but the actor wasn't available when they would've needed him, and personally I feel cheated that we didn't get that

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what do you mean this isn’t his job?

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Are Pinky and the Brain still trying to take over the world? Because at this point, I'm willing to hear the Brain's platform.

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have you guys done that “what kind of reader are you” quiz and if so what did you get