[Formendacil]

See, here's what I'm trying to get at...

I do not deny any aspect of Elrond's Elvishness. I would agree that, in pretty much all respects, he is an Elf's Elf. He seems more Elven than Galadriel, Fëanor, and Finrod at times. Possibly, however, this is because as a Half-elf, he has, consciously or unconsciously, molded himself to be as Elven as possible, moreso than a full-blooded Elf, who would just BE an Elf, and not worry about being LIKE one.

I also have a mindset wherein the phrase "blood is thicker than water" holds some validity. Deny it or embrace it, your family history, where you come from, affects who and what you are.

A really good analogy is Spock, off of the original Star Trek-- the Vulcan of Vulcans, who nonetheless is half-human and cannot be anything but half-human. It's not an exact analogy, but it gets at where I'm coming from.

Or, look at it from the point of view of citizenship. Elrond can be said to be a citizen of both (using random countries for demonstrative effect) Uzbekistan and Uganda. Then the United Nations (ie. Valar) comes along and says that you can only be a citizen of one country. Elrond, born in Uganda, would be by default a Ugandian. However, the United Nations are not without their Niënna, and so all the dual citizens are given a choice of which nation they wanted to belong to. Elrond, raised Uzbeks and preferring that side of the family tree, chooses to be an Uzbek citizen.

Does this mean that Elrond is no longer a Ugandian at all? He may not be OFFICIALLY a Ugandian, but he still has Ugandian heritage, and he still has Ugandian family ties, and his genetic heritage is still part Ugandian (and as an aside, I would say that if Ugandians and Uzbeks can both be biologically human and reproduce, and yet have different typical characteristics it stands to reason that humans and Elves might have similar, though different, differences).