“A king is he that can hold his own, or else his title is vain”, yes, Maedhros?

I love it when Elrond is portrayed as someone who is a little bit incomprehensible to most of the elves at first. Not even just because he's a half-elf, but because he reminds them all of so many other people, and that layering can be kind of jarring.

He sings beautifully, with a voice that sounds like no elf or man, and it reminds many of the Sindar of Luthien. It reminds some of the Noldor of someone else, another singer with raven-dark hair and starry gray eyes.

The braids he does his hair in– and he always keeps it braided at first, because letting it run loose is another thing that makes people whisper of Luthien– are in the traditional Noldor style. The survivors of Gondolin love that; Turgon always wore his hair in classical styles too. The other part of the House of Finwe that clung to traditional braids goes unmentioned. But everyone knows.

And he was clearly taught about court manners; taught to be gracious and charming, and a very good listener. The elf who could have taught Elrond those things is usually skipped over entirely, in favor of those reminiscing about Idril's graceful poise or Melian's endless patience.

He looks very much like Luthien, but there is a particular Finwean sharpness in his facial structure; something that makes him look a lot like Fingolfin, as well. Fingolfin looked very much like his father. And his older brother.

His smile is just like Earendil's (whose smile is just like Tuor's), and his strange, birdlike laugh is from Elwing. He fights and writes with his left hand– but then, so did Earendil, because while all elves are right-handed, not all humans or half-elves are. He eats no meat– just like Beren, they say, but the way Elrond tells it the choice had nothing to do with that history. There is ainuric power in him and something very human in the set of his shoulders. The flowers grow around any place he stays long enough. He gets sick in a way no elf, and certainly no maia, ever would. His accent is odd, and archaic, and changes noticeably when he's too tired to obscure it. His mannerisms are a mixture of about twelve people, almost all of whom are dead, and several of whom are not spoken of by the time he shows up in Gil-Galad's camp.

And the reflections of Elrond unsettle a lot of people; because one moment they see a fallen hero or loved one, and the next they see the person that took them. Or perhaps someone else, that they never knew at all. There is reverence and fear and uncertainty. It's messy.

Elrond himself is coming to peace with this by the War of Wrath. There is love in carrying the parts of your ancestors with you, even when they aren't around any more. And he knows better than anyone that he is always himself, first and foremost. Still, it takes everyone else a while to stop seeing a ghost and start seeing Elrond.

🤨

Dbd is very Sandman crossed w Pushing Daisies in its vibe/pacing/dialogue styling which means, u know, very good for ME

DRAMAWEEN 2022 🧙‍ Day Four: Love’s A Game Of Russian Roulette

a favourite ship; hong ji ah/oh in beom

Dorian Storm is back so I am also bACK

hide and seek

LOSING MY DAMN MIND

finally some photos of my hobbit shirt!! my sis  painted it for me  as christmas gift :D

Heath Ledger - May 2000 - by Bruce Weber.

the silmarillion, "of beren and lúthien," j.r.r. tolkien // hadestown, "come home with me (reprise)," anaïs mitchell // to noise making (sing), hozier // the return of the king, j.r.r. tolkien // hadestown, "doubt comes in," anaïs mitchell // the svenborg poems, bertolt brecht // the silmarillion, "of the return of the noldor," j.r.r. tolkien

favorite character from any media BUT it has to be a woman. in the tags now go (pls talk to me about your favorite fictional women pls pls pls pls)

in reference to this post:

admittedly i'm not the right person to make this meme since i'm not really well-versed in the lore lol

I've been drawing just, so many dudes, so here are some Ladies of Gondor and Shieldmaidens of Rohan! Sometimes you just have to design a bunch of ren-faire gowns and accessories, you know?

First, Eowyn, the best excuse to draw split skirts. Her star-embroidered gloves were a gift from Faramir, but it wasn't until I drew Finduilas below that I realized her pendant was probably also a gift from him as well.

Lothiriel! I referenced her pose from my fave, @adorkastock. I don't have many headcanons about Lothiriel but I imagine she's the only person who can make Eomer trip over his own feet.

Theodwyn, Eowyn and Eomer's mother! Maybe she was born with a clubbed foot. We don't know. Tolkien only tells us she was pretty. A big thank-you to @hurricanek8art, @fruitbatvampiresociety, and @arrowpunk for giving me great feedback on her cane, including wrapping the base in leather and adding a skirt hike to her belt to keep her hem up.

Elfhild, Theoden's wife and Theodred's mother! No big headcanons here, either, but I think she'd bring Theoden a lot of joy and purpose and thus a lot of grief and aimlessness when she died.

And finally, Finduilas. There's the pendant Faramir gave Eowyn, and oh, her cape clasp looks familiar.

Tolkien gives us a few extra sentences about Finduilas, and so we know she had a difficult time in Minas Tirith. He writes that she was gentle and beautiful, but that "she withered in the guarded city... the shadow in the east filled her with horror, and she turned her eyes ever south to the sea that she missed." He also says Denethor "loved her, in his fashion," which I read as, "guy couldn't healthily express an emotion if it was written out for him." I imagine Finduilas was lonely and isolated, and, in pregnancy, afraid of the world she was bringing her babies into.

But maybe things weren't all bad! Maybe before she got too ill, she brought her boys to the seashore, where Faramir would babble and splash and Boromir would run all over creation and bring her treasures.

J.R.R. Tolkien writing Elvish, 1968.

Mizuho Kusanagi 20th Anniversary: Akatsuki no Yona Original Art Exhibition

A press preview for Mizuho Kusanagi 's 20th Anniversary, "Yona of the Dawn Original Art Exhibition'', was held on December 21st at Ikebukuro Sunshine City in Tokyo. The original art exhibition, the largest in the history of the series, will feature over 220 original drawings and color illustrations, as well as life-sized stands created through crowdfunding in advance.

The entrance features key visuals and messages from Kusanagi to the visitors, followed by a large introduction panel of the main characters, chronological chart of events in progress, and a continental map diorama set that takes place in "Yona of Dawn."

This was followed by a display of original drawings and color illustrations. The exhibition was divided into chapters in chronological order of the story, and a video introducing the chapters was played, and panels with Kusanagi's comments were displayed here and there. According to the event organizer, Kusanagi supervised not only the selection of the original paintings, but also almost everything from the color of the wall surfaces for each chapter to the interior design and framing of the original paintings. The lanterns and other items displayed in the exhibition hall were faithfully reproduced from the original works, and Kusanagi's attention to detail shone through in the exhibition of original drawings.

A life-size statue of the main characters created by crowdfunding appears in the center of the venue. Yona, Hak, Suwon, Yoon, Ki-ja, Shin-ah, Jae-ha and Zeno were three-dimensionalized in their respective costumes. The three-dimensional images can also be seen from each exhibition zone through a grid. Crowdfunding achieved a 389% achievement rate, and other impressive sub-characters in each chapter have also been made into acrylic stands. A total of 17 characters were made into acrylic stands, 15 of which were illustrated by Kusanagi.

There are also a variety of photo spots. The photo spots are modeled after the frequent encampments of Yona and her friends in the "Fire Tribe" story, the color illustration of Yona and Lili looking out over the water in the "Water Tribe" story, Hiryuu's mausoleum in the "Yonghi Memoirs" story, and the window of Suwon's office that appears on the manga cover. Visitors can sit on each of them and try to recreate scenes from the manga.

Then, visitors will go to a gallery of the anime's Blu-ray and DVD jackets and color illustrations posted on SNS. In the same zone, a diorama of Pukyu's forest, created through crowdfunding, is also on display. The diorama shows Pukyu relaxing in the water and eating acorns. Lastly, color illustrations of Kusanagi's past works and the art materials she usually uses are on display. The color illustrations included Kusanagi's debut work, "Yoiko no Kokoroe", "Mugen spiral", "NG life" and other works.

The original art exhibition will be held from tomorrow, December 22nd until January 9th, 2024. Advance tickets are available at Lawson Tickets and Loppi until today, December 21st.

Article and images: https://natalie.mu/comic/news/554154