#tdp ethari
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Ok I wanna talk about Ethari's clothing/design over all. His clothes and tattoos are different from every other Moonshadow elf we've seen, and he's one of the few that doesn't wear braids. Like:
The recurring elements are intricate patterning; over layers and under layers; multiple colors in the same garment (or at least same outfit); wraparound construction, color contrast between mediums, lights, and darks; and the dominant color is always the medium, never the lightest or darkest color (usually navy, true black is very rare outside of the assassins). Even arc 2 Rayla follows most of these rules and she's been away from her culture for two years!
But then we have Ethari:
He doesn't have an outer layer, he wears almost solid navy, none of those clothes are wraparound, he has no light color, there's not a lot of contrast, and his dark color is true black despite not being an assassin. He bends all the rules, though he only breaks one completely. He still has that patterning, but it's minimal compared to the others. He has plenty of accent colors, more than anyone else actually, but they show up on him far less. He does have light, medium, and dark colors, but his whole pallet is darker than everyone else's. The only rule he 100% breaks is the wraparound construction
A lot of this probably derives from the fact that he's a metalsmith:
For the most part his clothes quite are practical;
Black/navy hides coal dust/soot very well. It gets everywhere, on your pants and face especially, and is highly visible on just about every other color.
Forging is hot work & you do it next to a fire that needs to be at least 1000° celsius, I never wear more than one layer either.
those sleeves, while a bit looser than I'd be comfortable with, probably aren't going to get in the way. Plus I heard somewhere that they're spelled to repel heat (couldn't find if that's actually canon tho), so if that's true they're much better than my gloves.
The crop top isn't great but he's got that belt to stop most embers. Besides he's probably not the type to yelp every time one lands on him like I am.
if he pulls the scarf over his mouth & nose it'll help delay him getting lung cancer in the death trap of a smithy Wonderstorm designed for him (my problems with it are a post all on their own. I have nothing against the artists, its pretty, but by all rights he should be dead)
There might also be a cultural aspect to his clothing:
I think the navy blue, the arm bands, the boot decorations, and his belt & tabard could all be symbols that mean "I am a metalsmith" in Moonshadow culture. (Quick side note, he's not technically a blacksmith. historically blacksmith means specifically iron workers. If anything he's a whitesmith since he usually works with silver.) We see it with the assassins, why not metalsmiths too?
Plus if you take a look at his forge in the art book, there's a design carved on it that looks almost exactly like the one on his tabard. Elements of it also appear on other parts of his clothing:
I suspect that this is some sort of symbol for metal working or fire protection. If he's in a guild it could be their symbol, or it could just be a wider cultural symbol. Either way it has a meaning that relates to the forge specifically. I couldn't find it anywhere else in the room.
I just realized that I never even brought up the metal hems on his sleeves. Then again what is there to say? It's metal, he's a metalsmith. It's pretty, he likes pretty things.
But what about the rule he completely breaks?
As I said, every moonshadow garment has some sort of wrap-and-secure construction to it-- except Ethari's clothes. I seriously doubt this is a metalsmith thing. Basic garment construction isn't a sensible way to differentiate your group within one culture. I fully believe Ethari is doing this on purpose. But why? That why gets even bigger when you realize that no other moonshadow elves we've met have brown eyes or periwinkle blue tattoos.
Put a pin in all that, I need to explain my interpretation of Moonshadow culture for this to make sense.
"Moon Primal creatures can be private and secretive, and are keenly aware of the power of appearances." - from the official website
"Moonshadow Elves obey a rather rigid, honor-driven culture." - from the wiki
To me this paints a picture of a fairly collectivist culture. They place a heavy emphasis on community and duty, two things that are usually more peaceful/simpler when you have cohesion within the group. Cohesion creates less conflict, less conflict makes your community more peaceful and your duty to it easier to complete.
But they know that this cohesion is- to an extent- only an act, so each person has a sub community where they don't have to act. Your inner self is for family and friends close enough to be family. (I honestly think they might have some sort of ritual to formally adopt friends as family) To everyone else you're supposed to put up a front that makes you seem more like everyone else.
OK back to the pin
Even without his clothes, Ethari is already visually different from everyone else. No other Moonshadow elves we've seen have tattoos or eyes the same color as his. It's a subtle difference but it is noticeable, and in a culture so focused on appearances people would notice. Most people's instinct would be to try to hide or downplay it, to prop up that front as much as they can. Yet Ethari doesn't put up a front, not to the extent that most people seem to. He's even accentuating his differences by dressing in a different style than them- and he's respected.
In my comm class the other day we were talking about groups, and one of the things that came up was that cohesion fosters sameness and diversity fosters innovation. Ethari is an innovator, it's literally his job. He invents the wingalings in bloodmoon huntress, Runaan and Rayla's weapons, and probably a bunch more stuff we haven't seen. Maybe for all they value appearances and fitting in, moonshadow culture still recognizes that people like him are important and they aren't as effective when they have to fit in. They can't be too out there (remember, Ethari only bends the rules rather than breaking them) but as long as they stay within a certain radius of the norm they can gain a lot of respect. I think this is what Ethari has done. The fact that his family (Runaan, Tiadrin, Lain) are all pretty traditional probably helped a lot. They keep him from pushing too hard on the edge of the box and he keeps them flexible.
That they aren't there anymore has probably exacerbated the rift between him and the rest of the silvegrove caused by Rayla's ghosting and whatever news has reached them from the storm spire.
I am so excited to see him in S6. I thought about adding some speculation about what his new design might look like, but I honestly don't think he'll have changed that drastically aside from his hair. My biggest question is honestly whether or not he's still in The Silvergrove.
Bonus:
I bet that some of Ethari's relative weirdness rubbed off on Rayla. She didn't have many friends as a kid so, when she wasn't in school or with the assassins, it makes sense that hung out with Ethari a lot. Since he's less strict than Runaan she was probably only comfortable completely unmasking with him. He heard about all her crushes, fears, and insecurities that Runaan didn't. Which goes a long way to explaining why Ethari was the only one who could see she wouldn't be a good assassin; she was hiding those traits from everyone but him.
This also explains some of why he was so willing to believe that she ran away. Ethari saw all of her vulnerability, but he didn't see all of her strength. While she was out training and facing her fears with Runaan, Ethari was in the smithy and only heard about their exploits after the fact. Neither of them saw all of who Rayla is, but both of them thought they did and had to find out that they were wrong in just about the most heartbreaking way imaginable.
#this started as me going “how actually practical are Ethari's clothes?” while I was forging that touchmark stamp#and spiraled out of control from there#also we're ignoring Redfeather because a) she was ghosted b) I didn't remember she existed when I started this#ethari#tdp#the dragon prince#tdp ethari#tdp meta#character analysis#rayla#tdp rayla
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there's been no Ruthari sketches for a while, treat yourself😊
#the dragon prince#ruthari#ruthari fanart#runaan x ethari#ethari#runaan#tdp fanart#tdp#tdp art#tdp runaan#tdp ethari#sketch#inktober
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#the dragon prince#rayllum#tdp callum#tdp rayla#tdp ezran#tdp claudia#tdp soren#tdp kasef#tdp nyx#tdp amaya#tdp ethari#my edit
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RUNAAN and ETHARI in The Dragon Prince S03E03 "Ghost"
#the dragon prince#tdpedit#animationedit#tdp runaan#tdp ethari#runaari#runaan#ethari#I just love rayla's stepdads I guess :)#moonshadow elves my beloved#my gif#tdp s03 e03#ruthari
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i need to see this moment for them PLEASEE
#ruthari#runaan#ethari#tdp fanart#the dragon prince#tdp runaan#tdp ethari#digital art#digital illustration#procreate#digital drawing#fanart
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im here to make tdp fans sad
#the dragon prince#tdp#the dragon prince runaan#the dragon prince ethari#tdp spoilers#tdp season 5#tdp runnaan#tdp ethari#runethari#runaan#ethari#tdp fanart#tdp art#cosmicpoutine
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Well, this feels like foreshadowing now…
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Happy valentine's day!🫶
Rayllum & Ruthari 💗
#tdp#the dragon prince#rayllum#rayla tdp#callum tdp#rayla#callum#tdp rayla#tdp fanart#ethari tdp#tdp ethari#ofc he still loves him and miss him sm I just 😭#callum x rayla#I'm sure i didn't make that clear what Ethari is holding is a moon opal🥲
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For the record the knowledge of a two-year time skip is making me lose my mind the number of implications this has
New outfits
Late-teens Callum and Rayla
Darker tone
Twelve-year-old Aanya
Ezran has been king for two years
Zym is two years old
Soren and Claudia have been apart for two years
Amaya and Janai have had plenty of time to start dating
Runaan has been IN THAT FREAKING COIN FOR TWO YEARS
ETHARI STILL THINKS HE’S DEAD
#the dragon prince#tdp spoilers#tdp callum#tdp rayla#tdp ezran#tdp zym#tdp soren#tdp claudia#tdp amaya#tdp janai#tdp runaan#tdp ethari#ruthari#janaya#tdp#ray rambles#the dragon prince spoilers
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some ruthari to celebrate the season 5 announcement! i hope these two are able to meet again
#ruthari#tdp art#the dragon prince#the dragon prince art#tdp fanart#runaan#ethari#tdp runaan#tdp ethari#moonshadow elf#tdp
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Runaan is one of those people who CANNOT sleep in total silence. There had to be some form of noise, otherwise he won't sleep a wink.
Ethari snores like a lawnmower.
#built in white noise machine#truly the best couple dynamic#tdp#tdp memes#tdp runaan#tdp ethari#ruthari#the dragon prince#ruthari dynamics#tdp headcanons
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Ethari: So you like cats?
Runaan: Yeah.
Ethari: *tries to impress him by slowly pushing a glass off the table*
#I officially headcanon that runaan likes cats#tdp#the dragon prince#tdp incorrect quotes#runaan#ethari#tdp runaan#tdp ethari#ruthari#tdp memes
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Ruthari commission for Karne Jan (Insta)
always double happiness when you get commissioned for cool characters who also happen to be your favorite elves ☺️
#ruthari fanart#ruthari#tdp#the dragon prince fanart#the dragon prince#runaan#runaan x ethari#runaan tdp#tdp runaan#ethari#tdp ethari#tdp art#tdp ruthari#Ethari x Runaan#digital watercolor#fanart#dragon prince
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TDP couple, canon and uncanon (and in between): *looks at each other*
Me:
#I think I may have a problem#the dragon prince#tdp#dragon prince#tdp spoilers#tdp callum#tdp rayla#tdp soren#tdp corvus#sorvus#rayllum#tdp janai#tdp amaya#janaya#tdp ethari#tdp runaan#ruthari
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#tdp#dragon prince#the dragon prince#ethari#tdp ethari#nimona#eda clawthorne#eda the owl lady#toh eda#edalyn clawthorne#toh#the owl house#owl house#lillth#lilth clawthorne#toh lilith#brooklynn jwcc#Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous#catra#shera catra#shera#s5 catra#luz#luz toh#toh spoilers#Do we still have to tag toh spoilers?#So many tagsss
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so do we think that ethari has been watching rayla's flower over the years? yes yes we do. every time he passes that pond he's hit with the grief, but his heart flutters just a little at the sight of just one person he loves still breathing. trust me trust me guys i know these things. i also know that in TTM when she was in limbo or whatever the fuck her flower started sinking (like runaan's) and he noticed and it broke him and that he was crying tears of joy when it rose again. trust
#side note but like what do we think he thought when runaan's was still going for several days before it sank#like did he hthink he was like injured and then died or guessed that he was imprisoned orrrrrrrrr#idk that makes me think there would be different conclusions about rayla but whatever#they love jumping to conclusions#moon fam#ethari#ethari tdp#tdp ethari#ruthari#rayla#rayla tdp#tdp rayla#tdp#the dragon prince#ttm#through the moon
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