I cringe every time I set foot in a museum, either because - if it's a museum at home - most of the exhibits come from Lord ThoughtlessFuckerWithAGun and his best pal Sir AttackedATempleWithAChisel, or - if it's a museum abroad - there is always at least one exhibit about my country being filled with greedy, vicious, colonialist bastards and it sparks off some deep-seated cultural guilt. My formal education was very much along the lines of 'colonialism was good - we were rich and powerful and educated people' which, now that I'm considerably older and better educated (most of my historical knowledge comes from reading history books/essays for pleasure), is nothing short of the single-most horrific attitude anyone could have taken. *gives old school the side-eye*

And yet, it's an attitude that I find aligns very closely with that of the Elves in LotR - particularly the Ňoldor. Which, yeah. It speaks volumes.

Cat!Thranduil is adorable <3 I love his grumpy ears.