Elrond be like: I am 4/8 human, 3/8 elf, and 1/8 angel. My mother is a bird and my father is the planet Venus. My twin brother was the first king of Atlantis but somehow I seem to be more famous than him. I am one of three ringbearers, the other two being the female version of Feanor and a guy who loves fireworks. My foster father is a crazy homeless guy who likes music and his whole family is dead. My many-greats grandnephew is in love with my daughter. No one can tell my sons apart. I like waterfalls and am both a glorified innkeeper and a top-notch doctor. I am the voice of reason no one listens to.

Concept: Elrond is, by Middle-Earth standards, a perfectly respectable level of fancy. You know, he's an elf-lord, he has plenty of robes with intricate embroidery or layers of flowing fabric, he wears finely-crafted jewelry, especially during formal occasions. He's elegant, but not gaudy– there are some tasteful references to his various ancestors in his outfits, he's got a whole image. He assumes that this is like, standard for the Noldor.

What Elrond failed to realize when he sailed to Valinor is that the expectations for "Middle-Earth elf lord with vaguely Noldorian implications" and "Noldor prince in the Blessed Realm" are two very different things. He goes to a feast and everyone is dressed like they'll die if they're not wearing four layers of skirts and at least 20 pounds of gems and precious metals. He shows up to Finarfin's court wearing more jewelry than he ever would've worn in Rivendell and people still flash him strange looks and ask him whether he wasn't feeling up to dressing up that night. He'll braid his hair in the half-up half-down style he often wore in Rivendell and it'll cause a scandal because– gasp– Elrond had part of his hair loose. In public. Noldor keep giving him jewelry because they've collectively decided that he's clearly been deprived in Middle Earth. He's confused and a little bit afraid, frankly.

Thankfully, most of the attention is taken off Elrond when Tirion is engulfed in drama the likes of which hasn't been seen for hundreds of years. The cause? Galadriel showing up in Tirion with her hair entirely loose, and no jewelry to speak of. Her robes are entirely plain. Her only adornment is her unbearably smug smirk.

Elrond and Celebrían

Elrond Peredhel; in Imladris

Elrond Peredhel, in the Second age, in the newly established Imladris which stood finished in S.A. 1700 Of the Sun (1697-1700)

types of holidays celebrated in Rivendell:

Noldor holidays, which initially made the Sindar and Silvan residents cranky until they realized Elrond was part of it

Sindar holidays, which initially made some of the Noldor residents cranky until they realized Elrond was part of it

Silvan holidays, because at this point they're going to take any excuse for a party

Tra-La-La-Lally Day, created when they realized they somehow had a month with zero holidays. The festival focuses on getting drunk, singing, and lightly bullying anyone within earshot

Holidays relevant to any visitors or foster children

Numenorian holidays, because they caught Elrond celebrating alone and crying about Elros one (1) time and refuse to let him do it alone anymore

The second one for six fanarts. Since we have Celebrian here is the birdy husband. Wanted capture something of his resemblance to Luthien here

@stacytea

So I had a thought.

Like we all know Elrond is a great healer, the best in middle earth but what if...

What if when someone said that Elrond is a healer, they meant he is a healer like Fëanor is a smith, like Maglor is a singer, like Earendil is a mainer, like Maedhros is a warlord, like Fingon is valiant, like Fingolfin is a warrior, like Celegrom is a hunter.

So let's then throw Elrond into Valinor and let everyone there discover that fact. Let everyone discover another genius among geniuses that the House of Finwë has spawned on them all.

I always loved twins, and Elrond and Elros have a special place in my heart - I wonder when Elros made his choice, and I like the take that it did so when both were still fairly young. I imagine it must not have been easy 💔

Soundtrack: Sigur Rós - Varðeld

Prints and other stuff on my RedBubble and Threadless

Theory: Elrond effectively wears headlamps like a Dad(TM)

Proof:

Elrond, at least on semi-formal occasions, wears “a star upon his forehead” (RotK book 6, ch.9)—that is, presumably, a pale glowing gem on some sort of coronet. This comes across as very classically Elvish (light, jewelry, star imagery), and a nigh-explicit reference to his father Eärendil. However…

Elrond’s children don’t see as well as Elves, as cited here. If his children don’t, then Elrond, even less Elvish by blood, certainly doesn’t. Now, I will admit that I forget if “Elves can see in the dark” is canon or very popular, D&D-enabled fanon, but it certainly makes sense considering that Elves flourished for centuries or millennia under just starlight, before daylight even existed…and it’s equally reasonable to assume that half-elven night vision is as relatively “weak” as their cited distance vision.

Elrond is the proud father of three, and exhibits traditional Dadly behaviors such as being a little bit of a nerd (loremaster) but also one of the most reliable guys you know, adopting any child left in his presence for a sufficient amount of time (Aragorn), and telling his daughter’s aspiring bf that he won’t be good enough for her until he has a steady job (also Aragorn).

My dad irl, who I promise is a pretty typical Dad, was positively delighted when he discovered casual-use head-mounted flashlights about a decade ago, and has self-satisfiedly worn them on every camping trip and nighttime dog walk ever since.

CONCLUSION: Elrond regularly wears glowing, star-evocative gems on his brow, especially while traveling or at fancy evening parties, and he looks great and it make people respectfully murmur Eärendilion (whether he likes it or not)… But really, it’s not a fashion statement or implicit political position or whatever; it’s because if he doesn’t have some sort of flashlight, he will trip on torchlit steps or walk into low-hanging tree branches in the dark. And it’s so much easier if it’s hands-free! (Especially when he’s spelunking for lost texts!)

His kids all go through a phase of thinking he’s mortifyingly dorky about this, then begrudgingly come to accept that it is really convenient to have a hands-free light for dark nights, caves, etc, and start wearing one themselves.

elrooooooond

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.

Uuff, nunca es suficiente, a veces quiero hacer explotar ese botón!

Elrond: Okay, so, Glorfindel can't join the Fellowship because he literally glows in the dark and would alert Sauron to everyone's location. Elves with such awesome power must stay behind. Legolas, you shall go.

Legolas: :)

Legolas: ...

Legolas: Wait >:(

Gil-galad Variations, featuring all the gil galad theories i've encountered.

I think Dior deserves a beard and almost completely round ears. Just some real human vibes coming off this guy if you ask me. Iconic how he told the Feanorians to fuck off (king shit) and forgot that the girdle was gone (less king shit).

Side bar, I think it would be very much the vibe if he wore golden ear caps sometimes for appearing more elven purposes. also I am so unwell about the Nauglamir getting the silmarillion glued into it.