#and not during?

[middle-earth-mythopoeia]

I don't think you actually understood what I was saying. "While both armies were still fighting all around them and he had already gotten several hits in, no less." The fact that the battle is raging around them is not very relevant: no one is coming near them because they're all so afraid of the Witch-king, and no, he hasn't gotten several hits in. In the book they exchanged those lines before ever fighting each other. It's not pausing a fight to talk, it's issuing a challenge before a fight.

And if he can just "slice her to bits" then why didn't he do it in the movie? Because that's not how the character operates. He's so powerful that he doesn't see her as a threat until it's too late. "It would've undercut the seriousness of the threat he posed to just stand there while Eowyn monologued at him." Why? I don't see it that way at all. He sees her as so far beneath him that she's not even a threat, but of course she is, which is actually the whole point of the scene.

The movie dialogue could never measure up to this:

“But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.”

How could anyone cut this?! How?! How?!?!?!?! These lines are so incredibly stirring, so powerful, so moving. “I am no man” doesn’t even come close.

First of all, I like that the negative statement of “No living man am I” is followed by the positive statement of “You look upon a woman.” It’s direct and definitive. She’s been disguised as Dernhelm up until this point—another thing that was cut from the movie—but now she’s revealing who she really is.

Second, in a similar way, I like that she says, “Éowyn I am, Éomund’s daughter.” It’s like a challenge. It’s like announcing one’s identity before a duel—which is in effect what she is doing.

Third, “You stand between me and my lord and kin.” This reminds me of one of the most poignant quotes from the book: “I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.” It’s very important that Éowyn did this brave deed out of a desire to protect Théoden.

Finally, “Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.” THIS IS LITERALLY SO AMAZING! THIS IS SO COURAGEOUS! I CAN’T EVEN EXPRESS HOW THIS MAKES ME FEEL! I don’t know which part is better—the fact that she threatens him, or that she gives him the choice to forfeit and flee the battlefield.

There’s an incredible heroic resoluteness to the final line, “For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.” This, right here, is the essence of the courage of mortals in Tolkien’s books. It’s the acceptance of death, but the desire to go down fighting—the knowledge that death is inevitable, but the one thing we have control over is how we meet it.

Éowyn is facing Sauron’s most powerful servant, who is almost a personification of death itself, and she is declaring that no matter what he is, and no matter the outcome, she WILL fight him. When she says these lines, she doesn’t know that she and Merry will vanquish him. It’s sheer determination against impossible odds, it’s extraordinary courage in the face of death—and THAT is why this scene is so powerful.

[medievalthymes]

bro your whimsy. you forgot your fucking whimsy. your solemn and somber attitude is scaring the hoes

[insomniac-arrest]

over-psychoanalyzing blorbos is healthy and needed enrichment for the girlies in order to avoid over-psychoanalyzing themselves. like giving a dog a chew toy in order to redirect chewing on its hind legs

[morggo]

I Will Not Apologize

Happy Pride, ya'll.

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Prints: https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/mxmorgan/

Shirts: https://mxmorgan.threadless.com/mens/t-shirt/regular

[axepng]

[camilleflyingrotten]

[charlemane]

writing tip: searching "[place of origin]ish names" will get you a lot of stuff and nonsense made up by baby bloggers.

searching "[place] census [year]" will get you lists of real names of real people who lived in that place.

[dramatic-dolphin]

when we were studying the bible in literature class (so we have the context necessary for later works that reference the bible), i think we were at the book of jonah, and one of my classmates was studying the text very intently, and then looked up and earnestly said "professor, i don't understand the will of god"

the teacher was just like. well sadly i am a literature teacher and not a priest so i can't help you there. but if it helps, many people throughout history had the same problem.

[pakchoys]

our secret

[stealingpotatoes]

sure whatever i don't need to sleep

[isolabellz]

post coital science

[hiveswap]

my heavy smoker grandparents came over very briefly and the whole house smells like absolute shit now. So I (chronic tumblrina) got thinking.

[beaft]

i'm genuinely having so much fun writing a jock protagonist. can't believe i never tried this before. all these years i've been limiting myself needlessly

[zmpl]

If you don’t know your score, take the test here

[whyissupernaturaltrending]

a former US president gets shot at and rather than trend himself he causes supernatural to trend instead because everyone is sharing the news via the destiel meme. unparalleled