I don’t think any movie will make me feel the same ethereal sense of otherworldly sorrow and disembodied awe as that scene in Lord of the Rings where the loyal son is sent off into a doomed battle to please his vindictive father while Pippin sings a mourning song of his people

I was like 12 and high off this shit

These movies CHANGED ME

This is one of my favourite parts of the whole trilogy. It’s haunting.

And that Pippin takes actually a happy walking song of his people, because Hobbit songs are generally happy and about food and drink and gifts and things, and *transforms* it into a mourning song.

The song is from Fellowship, before all the heavy plot hits and they’re still in the Shire. It’s about walking, and how eventually all the bad things that scare or sadden you will fade away and you’ll be home warm by the fire.

And Pippin takes it, changes the lines, the key, and sings a song that is truly fit for Denethor’s great hall.

Knowing Billy Boyd gave his own melody to it and everyone had chills after hearing him sing it. This is how you get actors involved with the story and character, this is how amazingly well these films were cast. Fans have been singing that haunting tune in echoing halls and caves and towers for 20 years now and it never loses its beauty.

And even better: Billy Boyd composed the tune to the song and then performed it for Peter Jackson and everyone else while filming. They only did one take! That very first take is the one that’s used in the film! He’s just that good!!

Every now and then I like to pull up this video of Billy Boyd being endearing and silly and choked up about Boromir’s death scene, and then performing this song upon request:

I sing it as a lullaby to my children but I use the original “away shall fade” to make it less sad because they’re just babies. uwu

Not even my fandom and I have chills.

You know what, I’m not done. Every aspiring writer should watch that scene and keep in mind the axiom “every person is the protagonist in their own mind,” because Denethor and Pippin are having TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT CONVERSATIONS.

Here’s the translation of how it goes.

WHAT DENETHOR SAYS: can you sing, Master Hobbit?

WHAT DENETHOR MEANS: I want entertainment and you’re from far lands. That’s a novelty here.

WHAT PIPPIN HEARS: I don’t care that I just sent my son to his death. Entertain me.

WHAT PIPPIN SAYS: yes. Well, well enough for my own people. But we have no songs fit for great halls.

WHAT PIPPIN MEANS: yes. But not for you. And our songs aren’t for people who engage in such cruelty.

WHAT DENETHOR HEARS: yes, but I’m embarrassed because mine are simple folk, and you’re very grand and regal. There’s no way I could be of any use to you.

WHAT DENETHOR SAYS: and why should your songs be unfit for my halls? Sing me a song.

WHAT DENETHOR MEANS: we’re all equals culturally. I’m a benevolent ruler, I don’t think your songs are inferior to those produced by my skilled musicians. Let me engage with your culture.

WHAT PIPPIN HEARS: I have literally already forgotten about my son. I’m more interested in entertainment and food, things you normally adore and which I’m making a mockery of by my actions. So sing to me songs of those things you love, entertainment and food. My son doesn’t matter to me and shouldn’t matter to you.

And then Pippin sings.

WHAT DENETHOR HEARS: what a pretty little song.

WHAT PIPPIN IS SAYING WITH THE SONG: fuck you for doing this to your son, who I love. Fuck you for doing this to me, as I mourn. Fuck you for making a mockery of the things I love, when it’s clear you don’t care for them any more than you do for YOUR SON. Your child, who you should want to protect. If you won’t mourn in these halls, by everything I hold dear I swear SOMEONE will.

Pippin can’t say any of this out loud. But his word choices are extremely deliberate. And so are Denethor’s! He does not see himself as a bad person! I don’t know enough LOTR to know if he’s a villain or just an asshole, but the important thing here is HE THINKS OF HIMSELF AS NEITHER. He’s a good guy who’s had to make some hard choices, that’s all. It’s the editing that tells you he’s not actually that at all.

This is a MASTERCLASS in “everyone is their own protagonist” and if this is the standard the movies rise to all the time I understand why y’all love them so much, because holy shit. That’s incredible.

@lotrheritageposts

LOTR Heritage Post

Elon was absolutely born through a C section, otherwise why say such silliness?

Most doctors agree that as long as the child is developed and full term, there is no real difference between a C section and a healthy live birth.

the state of the job search these days is something fucking else man

THIS IS A DIFFERENT LISTING?? WHATS HAPPENED TO ALL THE CORPORATE 'N' KEYS?????

These posts are cousins to me.

Taking the DIES key to the OMEN room

On my first day in Germany I got to my hotel and I couldn't get the lights to turn on. And I was like "Eh, fuck it, I'll just take a shower in the dark." And then the shower wouldn't get hot. I waited and waited and it stayed ice cold.

So I go down to the front desk and I'm like "My lights won't turn on and my shower won't get hot" so they send this guy up with me. We get into the room and I flick the switch and nothing happens so I'm like "See?"

And he goes "You must put your card in the slot."

"I... what? I have to put my room card in the light switch?"

"Of course!"

Now I have been in many hotels in the US and never encountered this concept, but apparently it was something most of their guests already knew. So I'm looking like a fool at this point. I feel like an idiot. The dude is fully grinning at me. I put the card in the slot and voila, the light turns on.

Then he's like "Ok, let's see if the shower works. You know you must wait for the hot water?" and I just know he's thinking I'm an idiot who also can't use a shower. This stupid American can't wait for the hot water! She can't even use a light switch or a shower!

And I guess he was distracted by these thoughts of my stupidity, because this dude fully stepped into the shower. In his nice dress shirt and slacks. He just. Gets into the shower.

And turns it on.

Have you ever seen a playing field get leveled instantaneously

He was as tall as he was tall, and his eyes were the color they were. To describe his hair one would say that he had some. His face had all the features you'd expect, and none of the ones you wouldn't. "There he is," people would often say of him, but only when he was there. And they were right.

Tam longus erat quam longus, et oculis coloris cuius erant. Ut comam narrares, diceres eum eam habere. Facies partes expectandas habebat, et nullas improvisas. "Ibi," de eo saepe inquiunt homines "est is," modo verum ubi erat. Et recte dicebant.

dipping a large body of bread into hot stew and tearing off a chunk with your bared teeth is respectful and good. it shows the Earth we want to be here, and will fight to remain. our ancestors understood

bonus points if you hunker down over your bowl to prevent spills, but the overall effect is one of a Beast growling over a fresh kill to remind other Beasts to wait their damn turn

IT IS THE SEASON FOR STEW!!! 🗣️📣

thinking about creatures.

look at this thing

Tumblr users will see some kind of animal or beast and just slam the reblog button

That is a banded linsang.

They sit very politely.

i hauve a cold

And they say there's nothing worthwhile on the Internet any more

Traffic Scotland has a tracker that lets you know which roads have been gritted lately, and by which gritter. Because they all have names.

Favorite one spotted so far: CHARLES RENNIE MACKENSLUSH.

If u want to write a story about a character that’s just you but hotter with a dark twisted backstory and magical powers and a pet falcon or something, I think u should just go ahead and do that. Who’s gonna stop you? The government?? Fuck the police.

What if someone barges in, points at said character and scream, “Mary Sue!”

Tell them to come back with a warrant

This post came across my dash again and now I am having an absolute blast with self insert hotter me that gets the girls and guys everywhere.

This is the Way

#everyday i remember i can write whateveer i want#and then get too embarrassed to do it😕#one day.. 

need a permission slip? have a permission slip

me in 50 years

I want to know what Miyuki did to piss off the fire nation the first time

Luigi Mangione's lawyer is SO good

like, she didn't miss a beat in the arraignment, calling out the police, the perp walk, the mayor...

I hope this trial is televised tbh. i will not miss a second of it if it is

ETA: ANNNNDDD calling out the mayor for not using the word "alleged".. YES!

I get SOO annoyed whenever people complain about the media using the word "alleged", especially when there is video footage of the crime happening... people complain that it's some sort of media bias, and not like... straight up a VIOLATION OF A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT if they don't say "alleged"

The presumption of innocence is a right. Luigi's rights have been violated repeatedly in this regard.

And possibly also his right to a fair trial, since they are creating SO MUCH bias against him

@arewestill

You're 100% right, and that's not even gaslighting. That's exactly the question everyone SHOULD be asking.

Do we know he did it? Absolutely not. And unless a jury reaches a guilty verdict, we are all supposed to assume he did not do it. That's exactly how the presumption of innocence works.

Everyone saying that we all know he did it is just doing the prosecution's job for them. We don't know that Luigi Mangione is the guy in the CCTV footage. The prosecution has to prove that he is, and if they can't, he gets acquitted.

And that's exactly why the media has to say "alleged". It wouldn't even matter if they had footage that clearly showed his face, because the media and the general public doesn't get to decide if someone is guilty or not.

And that's why it's so good that his lawyer has already called this out, because without the presumption of innocence, you can't have a fair trial.

In every court case, the burden of proof only falls on one side, and in criminal cases, it's always on the prosecution. So basically that means if you are on trial, you walk into a court where the assumption is that you are not guilty, and the prosecution has to convince the jury that you are guilty, while the defense just has to raise reasonable doubt.

Since the presumption is that you're innocent, if the defense can poke holes in the prosecution's case, enough that the jury isn't 100% convinced that you absolutely did it, they have to acquit.

But if you walk into a court where everyone already thinks you're guilty, it's going to be a lot harder for the defense to raise reasonable doubt, and the burden of proof is going to essentially be lifted from the prosecution, because they're just proving something that the jury already thinks is true.

So when the police and the Mayor of New York keep going out of their way to present Mangione as guilty in public (the perp walk, having 4 officers behind him at the arraignment, as though he's a danger to society, not saying "alleged"), they are convincing the public that he's guilty before a trial even starts, and it's going to be difficult to find an unbiased jury. If the jury is made up of people who think he's guilty before it starts, he doesn't get a fair trial.

So it's not gaslighting to ask if we actually know it's him... we don't know, and people very much need to keep remembering that.

None of us were eyewitnesses. The CCTV footage doesn't show his face. We didn't see the police find the alleged evidence on him. We haven't seen this evidence in person. We have not heard any sworn testimony. We have not heard a confession.

We very much do not know that he did it. People are literally only assuming he did it because they've been told that he did. They're accepting it without proof, and that's dangerous.

Maria Chepeleva "Cat on a Radiator" (2017)

If this is the same kind of radiator I've had personal close encounters with, it's definitely not running or A Hot Tin Roof would be comfy by comparison..

Somehow I'd assumed my cat was the only one weird enough to do this. It's her favorite warm spot.

Maria Chepeleva "Cat on a Radiator" (2017)

If this is the same kind of radiator I've had personal close encounters with, it's definitely not running or A Hot Tin Roof would be comfy by comparison..

Somehow I'd assumed my cat was the only one weird enough to do this. It's her favorite warm spot.

You own a sandwich shop in the heart of a superhero city. After gaining customers by making sandwiches based on heroes, you decided to try making some based on villains. Today, a villain stopped to review theirs.

The bell over the door rang and the second sound you hear was the overly dramatic swooshing of a cape.

"I have to say I'm moderately disappointed with my sandwich. Black garlic? What are you some kind of hispter sandwich shop that charges extra for fries? FRIES COME WITH THE SANDWICH!"

You look across the counter and see The Fearsome Night.

"Well I thought it was keeping on theme for you. And no, the fries come with the sandwich."

"Oh... Hmm... Well then I have more questions about these ingredients."

"The marinated artichoke hearts seemed appropriately villainous without actually using someone's heart. And I just thought that turkey and serrano ham would be good together with everything. The ham is a little spicy and gives it a nice little kick."

"That makes sense."

"Do you want me to make you one? First one for the super their named after is free."

"No! No. I'm not a big fan of all of that stuff, but I have to admit that I do enjoy the thought process. It does feel on brand. Unfortunately, I am a vegetarian."

"Do you want me to change the sandwich then?"

"Of course not! I would never ask an artist to change their art to suit me! But I will take the Equinox with chips instead of fries please and thank you."

"Sure thing. I'll have that up for you in a moment."

"What? No comment on the villain ordering the hero sandwich???"

You shrug. "Nah, it happens a lot actually. You guys like each other's flavors."

"Are you telling me that Equinox comes in all the time to get the Fearsome Night?"

"Yeah."

"TELL ME EVERYTHING!"

my kofi

[Behold! More! As requested by a lovely person on my kofi]

It had been a weird week if you're being perfectly honest.

Your usual bread guy was held hostage by one of the new weird upstart villain that has been bucking the trend of signing up with the Villain Union, so you didn't have the good sourdough for a few days. Which would have been fine if you had the time to make it yourself but you haven't had the time. And honestly your sourdough isn't nearly as good as Jesse's.

Fearsome Night has been coming in as something of a weird regular. He's... not subtle.

And you don't want to cast aspersions on anyone, especially a super villain. But like... he came in whatever he considers his non-villain persona to scout the place, and it was clear that he was a super villain.

He might as well have had the newspaper with the eyes cut out for as subtle as he was being in your shop.

Still ordered the Equinox and chips.