#its just so nice and its driving me nuts that i can't articulate it properly

[cornerful]

'It is true that if these hobbits understood the danger, they would not dare to go. But they would still wish to go, or wish that they dared, and be shamed and unhappy. I think, Elrond, that in this matter it would be well to trust rather to their friendship than to great wisdom.'

If I had a copy of lotr I was in the business of hilighting I would hilight and underline this a hundred times. This is it, this is the thesis statement of the whole dang story

Plus the first part of this gives me a whole lot of emotions about the nature of heroism in this story and about Gandalf especially, none of which i can properly put my finger on right now--

Something about how the way this quest gets started...Frodo is all "I am pretty sure this is gonna suck and we are gonna die" even Elrond basically admits he has No Clue how or if their goal is even achievable. But they go anyway. And from an internal-but-also-fabley-meta perspective, that is the right thing.

They let the baby hobbit tag along on the world's most Evil Recycling Run because whether he really is brave or just desperately wants to be doesn't really matter, he loves his cousin and he's going, damn it

I'm internally dissolving into a pile of tears and I can't explain why lol? Characters who try with no guarantee of success, in jirt-world, are met with such grace. It underpins every word and this is just one example.

#lotrn1218 #lotr newsletter #i have such love for all these characters i think ive been possessed by the spirit of gandalf in this chilis #lotr #idk idk i just can never imagine jirt looking at his own characters and going 'lol well THAT didnt work out #'what losers' you know? #its so evident in the way he talks abt frodo in letters and the way boromir is written #its just so nice and its driving me nuts that i can't articulate it properly #ah well