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and i use it for you, arthur. only for you

@dwarvishring / dwarvishring.tumblr.com

lotr/merlin blog. i make edits and cry often. i also make art sometimes to cope. 22. icon by @spidertams

In sibbe gerest

In Sibbe Gerest, the Old English spell from Diamond of the Day, means more than simply “Rest in Peace.” Sibbe has a variety of meanings, including one for kinship or familial relationships. Our modern word sibling descends from this. It can also mean “natural affection,” “love,” or “friendship.” Peace is actually one of the least commonly used meanings of this word. There are many other ways of saying peace in Old English, and one that might be most applicable to our modern way of saying Rest in Peace would be frið, which carries with it the connotation of stillness or tranquility. Sibbe, however, is used by Bede in his Ecclesiastical History and in Layamon’s Brut to refer to the peace that comes after war, when two sides have finally reconciled. The Old English verb sibbian actually means to reconcile. When Merlin is telling Arthur to rest in peace, he is not just saying “Have a tranquil thousand years or so,” he is telling him that the time of battle is finally over. That he will go on to a place with no more war, no more concerns for Camelot’s safety. The connotations of love and family associated with sibbe are also present in his words to Arthur. 

This is not just a request to Arthur. This is a command, a spell even. Merlin says, “In sibbe gereste.” He specifically says gereste (coming from gerestan). A similar verb exists in Old English: restan. By adding the “ge-” in front of the main verb, the meaning is exaggerated (for example, Biblical quotes will often use “ge-” verbs to demonstrate the importance of a specific moment).  Both verbs mean “to rest, remain, or repose;” however, gerestian carries with it a sense of greater importance. Arthur is not only commanded, enspelled, into resting in peace after long battles, but Merlin wishes to emphasize that he will remain there. That this death, while not permanent, seems so to Merlin.

- I am so sorry… that I have lead you to such peril… - No! I am glad to have shared in your perils, Thorin. Each and every one of them. It is far more than any Baggins deserves!

yeah we put your girl in the fandom and they villainized her beyond comprehension. yeah sorry they took out all the nuance and made the argument completely black and white. yeah my bad. we can’t reverse it. sorry.

We put your girl in the fandom and now she's just the "one who has the braincell". Sorry, they made her a "queen" so she can't be funny or vulnerable or do anything except sigh and wrangle the boy characters. Like a mother, yeah. Yeah, it's still better than it would have been fifteen years ago. Sorry.

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you are offered a choice:

  1. You get to open a video-game style character creation screen and customise your body at will, to anything within range of human variation (no cat ears, sorry). This includes letting you set a new biological age, get rid of any physical health issues, and so on. Your new appearance seems unremarkable to anyone who knows you, all government databases with your picture are adjusted, etc.
  2. You get 150 000 USD every year for the rest of your life without having to do anything for it. You don't pay taxes on this money, it adjusts with inflation automatically, it appears entirely legitimate to any authorities, etc.

what do you choose, and also, are you trans or cis (if you're tempted to answer 'it's complicated', round off to trans)?

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“In all the days of the Third Age, after the fall of Gil-galad, Master Elrond abode in Imladris, and he gathered there many Elves, and other folk of wisdom and power from among all the kindreds of Middle-earth, and he preserved through many lives of Men the memory of all that had been fair; and the house of Elrond was a refuge for the weary and the oppressed, and a treasury of good counsel and wise lore.“