In which I am overindulgent and make a(n incomplete) list of MDZS+ characters and the Tolkien characters they would love if they read and enjoyed his books*
* This isn’t to say they would get along with these characters if they met, just that they would like them as readers
Yunmeng Jiang
JYL:I mean, hobbits as a group, just in general. Particularly loves Rosie Cotton as portrayed in the book. (Might have cried reading Beren and Luthien, but only because she was going through A Lot at the time)
JC: It’s Boromir, but he feels like that’s the wrong answer somehow so he chooses Fingolfin and that also backfires because now everybody thinks he’s broadcasting his daddy issues when he just wanted to be the guy who stabs Morgoth
WWX:Doesn’t have a favorite when he’s young, but the older he gets, the more he appreciates Maedhros, for philosophical reasons. Has a crush on Glorfindel and doesn’t realize his experiences aren’t universal, which makes for Interesting conversations with other fans
Gusu Lan
LXC:I know the common fandom opinion is Elrond, and I definitely agree, but I think he’d also like Finrod. Depends on which book he’s reading, really
LWJ:Will not admit to liking anyone because he won’t lie, and the true answer is Feanor and he finds that mortifying. Caveat that the same instinct that gives him his canon YLLZ kink doesmake him prone to overreacting to like 90% of thirsty Sauron fancontent, which is something WWX found fun back when they were teenagers
LSZ: Throughout canon, from toddler all the way to the last scene, it’s Bilbo. Post-canon he suddenly loves Elrond. For reasons.
LJY:Gandalf for his dialogue. Developed a sudden passion for Beren As The Best First Age Hero the instant he noticed JL is a Turin fan (His favorite scene is the starving in the forest interrogation from The Hobbit, though)
Lanling Jin
JZX: Thingol Has Done Nothing Wrong Ever In His Life
JGY:If anyone asks, Barahir. Secretly? Rian.
MXY:Also Maedhros but for very different reasons than WWX. Has read every h/c fic on AO3, but also every dead dove, and at this point doesn’t remember what’s canon and what’s fanon
JL:Turin. (“Because he’s cool!” he will say to LJY, but it’s actually because he misses his parents) Also a huge fan of Huan as a concept
QS because I can: Indis, but before she had read HoME it was Legolas. People tend to find that confusing.
Qinghe Nie
NMJ: Men as a group, Theoden and Hurin in particular - you’re gonna die, but do it right
NHS:He doesn’t know, he doesn’t know, he doesn’t know! If pressed, he’ll say Finarfin and it’s like, 75% true
Qishan Wen
WQ: Morwen, but she vibes with what Rivendell is trying to do
WN:Should be Sam, but he imprints on Fingon once he reads the Silm. WQ wishes he liked literally anyone else.
Bonus Yi City
XXC: Nienna, but he’s been known to Contemplate several characters
SL: Imrahil (Also: strict book purist, and a huge Gimli fan - these things are related)
XY: Doesn’t actually like Tolkien but ships silvergifting. Finds the fall of Numenor hilarious as a concept despite having only skimmed the Akallabeth
I had always known about The Lord of the Rings through my father, but it wasn’t until I was in my early teens that I started to show a real interest in Tolkien. I had seen all the films and soon decided that I wanted to give the books a try, starting with The Hobbit, of course. My initial concern was that perhaps I wouldn’t enjoy the books as much as I already knew the general sequence of events from seeing the films, but this wasn’t the case at all. I was quickly surprised by the amount of material which had been omitted by the filmmakers, particularly in regards to The Lord of the Rings. So from The HobbittoThe Lord of the RingstoThe Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien soon became one of my favourite authors and I’ve been reading his works ever since.
What is your favourite Middle-earth book?
As much as I love The Hobbit, I personally consider The Lord of the Rings to be Tolkien’s real magnum opus. It is storytelling at its finest.
What is your favourite movie?
The Fellowship of the Ring, though The Return of the King comes in at a close second. I love the exposition, and the prologue sequence is among my favourite scenes in the franchise.
Movies or books?
I like them both in their own right. I love the books for Tolkien’s beautiful prose and masterful storytelling, while at the same time the films will always have a special place in my heart for being my introduction to that world. As far as book-to-movie adaptions go, The Lord of the Rings films are definitely among the best out there. I love the amount of passion that was poured into them by the filmmakers.
Who are your favourite characters?
Frodo and Faramir. There is a kind of innocence to Frodo that draws me to him as a character. Even after all his torment, Frodo still holds on to the belief that Gollum may be cured. Faramir, on the other hand, is someone who inspires me. He’s not a warmonger nor does he seek glory in battle. He only strives to defend that which he loves.
What Middle-earth race would you be?
Can I say Half-elven like Elrond and his kin? Though I like the prospect of being an elf, the immortality aspect intimidates me. Being forced to walk the earth for as long as it remains … It would be a comfort to have a say in the matter.
Best actor/character casting match?
The Lord of the Rings film franchise is notorious for its top-notch casting, so it’s difficult to say … Ian McKellen as Gandalf is perhaps one that stands out to me, though Hugo Weaving as Elrond is pretty spot on as well.
What is your favourite place in Middle-earth?
Lothlórien, and not just in Middle-earth. It is probably among my favourite places in all of fantasy. When reading The Lord of the Rings for the first time, I was so captivated by Tolkien’s descriptions of this place. A calm and quiet sanctuary, full of light and beauty, where neither time nor toil exists.
What is your favourite quote from the books or movies?
“I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”
So there has been a bit of “what if humans were the weird ones?” going around tumblr at the moment and Earth Day got me thinking. Earth is a wonky place, the axis tilts, the orbit wobbles, and the ground spews molten rock for goodness sakes. What if what makes humans weird is just our capacity to survive? What if all the other life bearing planets are these mild, Mediterranean climates with no seasons, no tectonic plates, and no intense weather?
What if several species (including humans) land on a world and the humans are all “SCORE! Earth like world! Let’s get exploring before we get out competed!” And the planet starts offing the other aliens right and left, electric storms, hypothermia, tornadoes and the humans are just … there… counting seconds between flashes, having snowball fights, and just surviving.
To paraphrase one of my favorite bits of a ‘humans are awesome’ fiction megapost: “you don’t know you’re from a Death World until you leave it.” For a ton of reasons, I really like the idea of Earth being Space Australia.
Earth being Space Australia Words cannot express how much I love these posts
“What in the nine skies is that?” High Colonizer Blrp gestured its cilia at the funnel cloud that had formed on the horizon.
Seth peered out at it long enough to be sure it was headed their way. “On Earth, we call them tornadoes. We should really get underground now.”
Another of the alien colonizers approached. Seth couldn’t remember what they were called. They reminded him of chinchillas. “Underground? Why? What can it do?”
As if to answer the colonizer’s question, the tornado mowed over a tree, ripping it by its roots out of the dirt and tossing it aside on its way to the outpost.
“It can do that,” he said. “Now hurry up. Hawkins will take you to the basement. I’ll follow as soon as I’ve sent out the alert to the nearby colonies.” They didn’t need to be told again. Both colonizers took off to find Hawkins.
When Seth joined them in the shelter he found the colonizers all huddled in a corner together, watching the ceiling and whimpering every time the wind picked up. Hawkins had pulled out a portable gaming device and plopped down on one of the empty bunks. Seth stretched out on the one across from her and wished he had stashed some books down here.
“How can you be so calm with all this going on?” High Colonizer Blrp asked. “This whole world could be perishing as we speak. We need to evacuate.”
“Perishing?” Seth scoffed. “One little tornado isn’t going to take out a whole planet. Hawkins over there is from Kansas. They had tornadoes there once a week when she was growing up.”
Hawkins chucked her pillow at him. He caught it and tucked it behind his head, though he wished she would have thrown the gaming device. “Hey, screw you. It was three times a month at best.”
The chinchilla alien shuddered. “How did humans ever survive long enough to get off planet?”
Seth shrugged. “We just did our best, I guess. We found shelter, learned to figure out what to watch for, and we kept rebuilding after the damage was done.”
On the other bunk, Hawkins dropped her game onto the mattress next to her and dug her nails into the sides of her face. “Ugh, why did you have to remind me? I spent all week calibrating that satellite. Now I’m going to have to spend a month putting it back together and realigning it.”
Something overhead crunched, and then they were all deafened by the sound of shrieking, twisting metal. The chinchilla alien shrieked. High Colonizer Blrp paled and pulsated with fear. Seth ran his hands through his hair. It was so easy to forget that they came from planets that never had natural disasters.
“You know what I think we need? A good old fashioned Earth distraction. Does that thing have any books on it, Hawkins?”
“A few.” She tossed it over to him. “Knock yourself out.”
Seth flipped through the selection and picked one of his old favorites. “This one’s perfect. It’s about a guy who lives underground.”
“Is he a human historical figure?” the chinchilla asked.
High Colonizer Blrp brightened a shade. “Did he teach you the technique for hiding from tornadoes?”
“Well, no. He’s made up. But made up stories can serve an important purpose, too. They can teach us things about ourselves, or they can make a bad thing seem less bad. Here. Listen and decide for yourselves.”
He cleared his throat, tapped the book icon, and began to read.
