On A More Pride Themed Tolkien Note, I Would Like To Share The Fact That Legolas And Gimli Wound Up Such

On a more pride themed Tolkien note, I would like to share the fact that Legolas and Gimli wound up such good friends during the events of LotR that Legolas - whose heart was forever longing to travel across the sea from the moment he first laid eyes on it - stayed in Middle-earth until Aragorn died many years after the events of LotR, and then he took Gimli with him when he sailed to Valinor. To quote Tolkien's own words, "Legolas took Gimli Gloin's son with him because of their great friendship, greater than any that has been between Elf and Dwarf. If this is true, then it is strange indeed: that a Dwarf should be willing to leave Middle-earth for any love, or that the Eldar should receive him, or that the Lords of the West should permit it."

That last bit referring to the fact that literally no other Dwarf had ever sailed across the sea or ever sailed across the sea again. Just Gimli, who was taken to Valinor by his good pal Legolas, in the boat that Legolas built himself when he was finally ready to depart from Middle-earth and follow his heart's desire. Just two good pals in a boat sailing over the sea together. Two great friends from peoples who were historically Not Friends, leaving behind the mortal world side by side, heading out together in the boat that one of them built by hand for the two of them to travel in.

And anyways I've always kind of loved that Tolkien wrote one of the best romances in literature apparently without even realizing it.

Writing up Zuko meta about his character arc has really reminded me just how well written Zuko is.

It has also been serving as a good reminder that myself and/or fandom failing to recognize certain plot beats (foreshadowing, reliable vs. unreliable narration, etc) isn't always an indication that those plot beats aren't there.

I love her, my god

we only get snippets of what iroh was like “back when he was a different man.” we know that he joked about burning ba sing se to the ground in a goodnatured manner; that azula referred to him as “his royal tea-loving kookiness” before his change of heart; that he learned from the dragons and respected the sun warriors, but lied about it to protect them as well as his own image. we know that he was azulon’s uncontested favorite, that ozai resented him for it, that he was once a mighty general, but still a charming tea-enthusiast who kept a level head.

before the death of his son, he viewed war as a game to be won—like pai sho—rather than recognizing the brutal reality, the senseless violence and devastation war truly is. he had a reputation—as a mighty general, a fearsome firebender, the dragon of the west, next in line for the throne, a charming, affable, tea-loving ladies’ man.

we don’t see lu ten, but we can vaguely infer snippets of what he was like from the way iroh attempts to raise zuko as his surrogate son. he is endlessly supportive and yet he still makes assumptions about what zuko would want and would like, and perhaps this is based on both his own proclivities as well as those of his first son. lu ten was a soldier. he was the heroic older cousin of zuko and azula. he was raised by a loving father as a doted-on only child, destined to someday take the throne in a peaceful exchange of power and continue to promote the fire nation’s conquest, their greatness.

iroh, and by extension, lu ten, do not wholly align with the typical image of the fire nation disposition that we are shown as embodied by ozai. yes, iroh conforms perfectly to standards of fire nation masculinity. he is a powerful firebender. he is a confident chauvinist. but despite his imperialist outlook, he does not view his family as mere pawns in his game. he is so self-assured in his position that he could never be so insecure as to not love his family. he cares about his son, his nephew and niece (despite not actually being around enough to truly understand them), his father. azulon might be a powerful, intimidating figure, but he clearly cares for iroh, and iroh cheerfully conforms to his standards and expectations without breaking a sweat.

what must it have been like for the great dragon of the west to knock down your gates and raze your village to the ground with a calm yet mischievous twinkle in his eye, pouring himself a cup of ginseng tea while he oversees the abject destruction of your life, your family, your people? he laughs merrily as he summons lightning effortlessly. he is just doing his job. this is fun for him, just another game at which he excels.

ozai is heartless, power-hungry, and deeply insecure. he has something to prove, and he cares about nobody but himself. he is exceedingly easy to hate. but what about general iroh, the dragon of the west, who is completely confident in his position, who genuinely loves his family, who cultivates hobbies, who charms, who takes an interest in the arts, who approaches every conquest with a carefree cheer that chills you to the bone? what then?

I uhh redrew Zuko as the girl laying by the pool meme, someone help me find a funny caption

THE FOUR ELEMENTS