#i also know a smattering of others because im a huge history and mythology nerd

[oldladyblogs]

I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things

Confession: I saw the movies before I read the book. And on first view, I didn't like the movies--I was too young and the Moria troll scene scared me. But I got a bit older, watched the movies again, and LOVED them. Then I read the books, didn't understand them, and went back to the movies. Got a little older--I remember reading the books first in middle school and then in high school--and something just clicked.

Though Frodo and Sam aren't actually my favorite characters, their love for each other is really inspiring. However you see it (I personally view it as a deep platonic friendship), I've always wanted a love like that in my life. I hope I mean that much to someone one day, and that's the main reason I chose this quote above all others. It's simple yet meaningful and I think it's rather powerful, for all its plainness.

I had a bit of a rough time deciding how I wanted this panel to look. When I first started rereading the books for this project, I thought I'd pick a quote from Gimli, one of my favs, so I was thinking like. A square, dwarfish border with like, axes or something, and a big quote. But the more I read, the more I hated that idea. I finally chose a (slightly modified free pattern) mountain, since Sam and Frodo spend 90% of their time crossing them. Plus, coming from the Midwest, mountains very much represent the ultimate "adventure" for me (that and REALLY big trees. The oceans I couldn't care less about, I have the great lakes which are basically the same thing, especially Michigan). I did make the border a bit more elvish though, since LOTR is like, the epitome of elfness for me and a lot of other people, I assume.

Finished this panel the middle of May 2019, and it was fairly easy from start to finish. It's one of my favorites (the design, the font, and the quote all go together well, I think) and is also one of the few panels that DOESN'T have a mistake on it :)