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I’m still listening to the ROTK audiobook and can I just say Aragorn has a nerve criticising Ioreth for talking a lot when he stopped outside the hospital to tell Im thingy from Dol Wherever his name in three different languages.

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Oh! Another Rohan culture idea!

Stable masters and stable hands! Not only would these positions be absolutely needed, but they would also be positions worthy of respect, especially that of the stable master. Being in charge of so many horses, the pride and joy of the Rohirrim, would mean that all those who work in the stables (who are not the owners / riders of the horses within) would have to be careful in their work. Failing in your duties would be a sign of disgrace that would surely follow ones' line for many generations, as being unable to properly take care of a horse would be a cause for concern amongst the Rohirrim.

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Downton Abbey Fashion 68 - evening dresses in 1924

Where Mary dropped the colors in her evening wardrobe toward the end of the season, Edith picked them right up. This statement will look nonsensical when the first dress I’m presenting is black, but altogether, she’s got a few real bangers in her ten new evening dresses.

This is basically a mourning dress; Edith wears it once she’s sure that her lover Michael Gregson is dead. Since they were not officially engaged, she cannot really go into socially accepted full-on mourning, but no one can forbid her to wear undecorated black dresses with a very plain design and only the smallest bit of (also black) jewelry.

Over to the colors. Edith marches up in this little coral number with endless silver zigzag embroidery that may or may not be a nod to orientalized feather paintings; I’m not quite sure. The drop waist is marked, but not structured, so we don’t get a baggy top, although we don’t get anything else construction-wise, either. Perhaps a strange little bit of gathers above the chest? I don’t know what makes those wrinkles there. What we do get is a couple big rust-colored flowers in beading and her spiral upper arm bracelet.

Yay, a beige champagne dress. Granted, this has some pretty green and grey beading flowers trailing up the sides from the drop waist, and I have to admit that the skirt drapes magnificently in the picture of Edith sitting down – the things you can do with a zigzag hem and layered chiffon! It’s repeated with something like a little capelet thingy on her left shoulder, draping over the back of her arm. And I like the headband she’s wearing; that’s cute.

A favorite above debate, Edith’s butterfly dress. Why am I calling the butterfly dress, you might ask? Look at the back. This is beautiful. 1920s fashion and their stunning back designs. This also is at least on one occasion one of her headscarf looks, which I am weak for, and this is the dusty purple that I can actually see is Edith’s color. Mauve leaning toward plum, not lavender. And it’s a lovely combination with all that silver beading. Want. It does come back in season 6, but it doesn’t get a lot of attention then.

I cannot see a whole lot of this dress because it’s apparently one of the “eh, good enough for the background” outfits. Seems pretty brown from here, and it does have some embroidery that could potentially be interesting because it’s coordinated with Edith’s headscarf. The scarf itself is a weirdly short, slim affair compared with her usually preferred long drapes, and I gotta admit that, despite the embroidery, it doesn’t look as elegant. And then there’s this curious crisscross choker configuration. Yay for alliteration, but I’m not fully on board with it. Looks like something from Daenerys’ costumes in Game of Thrones.

Coming back to salmon shades – and to orientalism; this embroidery seems to be playing at traditional Japanese architecture. Also at a plant theme, but my overall impression is that, without any funny neck construction or drapey skirts or glorious back design, this is a little boring.

Another dress that I cannot remember having ever seen from a better angle than the dinner table, this is a voided velvet, the dark grey pile forming flowers and circles on a light brown ground. It’s quite nice to look at, but I can’t see much beyond the beaded trim.

The blue dress that Rose was wearing as day wear under one of her coats earlier in the same season, reappearing in Edith’s evening wardrobe even though this is not usually her color (at least not this season; when it comes back for the next, light blue becomes one of her new staples). It’s not looking bad by any means, but her subdued mood makes me think they only put an untypical blue dress on her because she’s feeling blue. It has a strip of grey roses embroidery down one side and a V neckline, and that’s all I got.

Edith’s Christmas gown – sorry, but Mary in her bit of glittery beige pales next to this. The majority of this is a burnt orange velvet, draped at floor-length over a simpler mauve silk satin layer, and I’m in love with this draping, both down the front and the curve dipping low over her back. Edith is bringing back the halter top and bared shoulders that she introduced in season 4 and celebrated in her look for the Criterion date; seems like a good sign of her finding happiness and confidence once more now that she’s reunited with her daughter. The halter bit that spreads down over the back plus the belt that is curiously not sitting as deep as the typical drop waist height is made of golden ornaments and green gems, and Edith chose her headband and earrings accordingly. This is glorious. Only, why does Marigold look like she’s seen into the abyss?

The last look of the season isn’t quite as spectacular as the previous, but it’s definitely worth a look or two and thus allowed to come back for next season. Pretty standard dress cut with zero waist shaping, no sleeves, a V neckline, but Edith is wearing green again, reminding me once more of her Criterion date and how comfortable in her skin she felt then and possibly feels again now. This dress has a lot of embroidery, golden roses, squiggly beading lines, and more flowers down her skirt. Also, her golden spiral bracelet has a comeback.

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I know that Boromir is explicitly compared to King Eärnur and I know why, but my baseless personal headcanon is that he's not that much of a fan of a king who got himself killed in tactically asinine circumstances rather than prioritizing his people, particularly when the end result of Eärnur's life choices is Boromir himself carrying the weight of protecting Gondor. Boromir's true icon is Tar-Telperiën, the proud unmarried queen who firmly maintained Númenórean autonomy and priorities, but who was the actual ruler when Númenórean forces first showed up on the coast of Lindon to save the Elves and kick Sauron back to Mordor.

The line about Boromir only being interested in lore when it came to military things—well, kicking Sauron's ass out of all of Eriador and forcing him to desperately flee counts as military lore! I imagine that Boromir knows and loves that story down to the most granular tactical details recorded. Whenever some hidebound loremaster goes on about Tar-Telperiën's reign being a period of total disengagement from Middle-earth's problems while Númenor only interceded under Tar-Minastir, Boromir goes from zzzzzz to "well AKSHUALLY" in about a quarter second.

(This is also aro-ace leadership solidarity in my mind, but mostly because Boromir thinks Telperiën's successful navigation of bullshit politics without marrying, while finding time to orchestrate the defeat of Sauron's armies, is awesome.)

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“And so they stood on the walls of the City of Gondor, and a great wind rose and blew, and their hair, raven and golden, streamed out mingling in the air.” - LOTR: The Return of the King

Some book Eowyn x Faramir because they live rent free in my head

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Seeking Skin and Earth by autumnwind

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Wardrobe // Martha Jones (Freema Agyeman) // Doctor Who Seasons 3 & 4 (2007-2008) + Torchwood Season 2 (2008) + specials

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CNN suggested that Luigi Mangione stage a boycott instead of what he did. a boycott of the health care industry. exercising my right to protest by fucking dying.

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For those of you who never knew as it's a detail one can easily miss (especially depending on which aspect ratio you're viewing in) but a lovely detail at that: Pippin was in the hobbit band in the background!

He's the one playing the banjolele!

These shots I have of the scenes where he is most visible are from the Fullscreen edition (A DvD I own and often watch for the different viewing experience). I believe in the Widescreen edition their heads are cut off by the aspect ratio-- so it's easy to miss!

And for those of you who haven't put it together already, yes! That is our beloved Merry standing next to him as they both watch Frodo dance.

Mind you, Merry is not in the band. A few scenes prior he was actually along the precession line of bringing in Bilbo's Birthday cake. He probably came up to the platform to talk to Pippin, give him a mug of something to drink and inevitably snatch him away for some mischief. Because after this brief scene, Pippin is then absent from the stage-- he and Merry are going to go swipe some fireworks!

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If you could see the sky Turn from black to blue To pink to orange each Early morning as I do

Then you might also Believe there is a magic In the air or on the leaves In a web a spider weaves

I'll lend my eyes to you So you might glimpse Divinity on the horizon And never need any proof

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Temptresses

Charles Haigh-Wood

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I'm sorry sir but no a "shrimp" did not in fact fry this rice. you're lumping crustaceans together in a very unhelpful and bigoted manner. our chef is a giant freshwater crayfish.

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One thing I loved about War of the Rohirrim and it's adaptation is…taking a few lines and making it this big thing. Is so…damn accurate to the Anglo-Saxon records

I'm a historian as my job so I often have to consult the records. I have such a love/hate relationship to the Anglo-Saxon chronicles. You'll read about a massive viking raid or invasion from Scotland into England from an Irish or Norse record. I'm talking a massive battle, death of important people and everything.

You go to check the record and…maybe a line mentions it. It's something like "and a battle occurred at Durham on this date" no knowledge about who's in the battle, why there's a battle, just that there was one.

So to me the idea that the whole siege and war in general is so fucking real. It's no wonder the details get missed, the chroniclers were probably more interested in birds or something else that happened that year that the only way the story got preserved is through bards and minstrels memorising it.

I recognise I'm just making up for the fact that they took these few lines and expanded it into a full film. But honestly…it's so accurate to actual Anglo-Saxon chronicles and record keeping

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Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends.

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literally fuck companies that don't want their employees to act "unprofessional" in front of customers. I'm at a five guys rn and the employees here are joking around calling orders back and forth to each other and saying things in weird voices and laughing with each other while they work. Someone just came in for their shift while I was waiting for my food and was greeted by the whole kitchen with a secret handshake lookin thing. It was so silly and cute I love seeing ppl have fun at work and I know my food's gonna be bomb bc the ppl there are having fun with each other. Let employees be people and friends and have fun what is the issue!!!!