You Ever Think About How In The Headband, We're Introduced To A Side Of The Fire Nation That's Had Its

You ever think about how in The Headband, we're introduced to a side of the Fire Nation that's had its culture whittled away by a hundred years of imperial wartime propaganda. And how perhaps the most damning expression of this is that students are forbidden from dancing. And so Aang, maybe the only person on the planet who still truly remembers the Fire Nation of old, from before the war, brings it back to them.

And then we get to The Firebending Masters. Zuko's entire young adulthood has been spent using his anger towards the Fire Nation's enemies, his drive to capture the Avatar, as a crutch. And now he doesn't have that crutch anymore. So he and Aang set out on a pilgrimage, going to the birthplace of firebending itself, in search of answers. In search of a way to express the power of fire that isn't fueled by rage or smothered by fear. And they find a dance.

Let us no longer hold ill feelings in our hearts. The crown cannot stand strong if the House of the Dragon remains divided. Set aside your grievances, if not for the sake of the crown… then for the sake of this old man who loves you all so dearly. 

AKA Viserys just wanting his family to stop fighting and be happy and getting that as his last wish, if only for a little while. 

HOUSE OF THE DRAGON | S1E8 The Lord of the Tides

Dune Illustrations - Created by Anato Finnstark

Prints available for sale at the artist’s RedBubble shop. You can follow the artist on Twitter and Instagram.

Porcelain weight in the form of a plum branch, made in Japan in the 19th century (source).

the lord of the rings is so honest. so raw. so sincere. so unabashedly from the heart. no snide fourth wall jokes, no attempts to alleviate the heaviness. it is is wholeheartedly earnest in its dedication to portraying hope and love and faith and loyalty and courage, and that is what makes it feel like home to so many of us. it's true to itself. it doesn't pretend to be cool and care less. it cares, a lot, and that is a rare, beautiful thing. it warms our hearts to care for a piece of fiction that was made to care about and be cared about

and we know we aren't going to be punished or ridiculed by the work itself for loving it! no characters killed off cruelly, no plotlines abandoned, no shrugging of shoulders and "well real life is like that. get used to it." we have always needed escapism, and we always will. and middle earth will always be there to escape to

"Life is just a game we play together. You should try to enjoy it." - Queen of Hearts (Alice in borderland 2020– )