The one LoTR fic writer I did like was Eledhwen (http://www.dreamyaspirations.co.uk/hithlum.htm), because she's tried to write more in terms of fill-in-the-blank past historical fic... (I.E. - Travels of Aragorn in his younger days sort of stuff...)
LotR fans seem to be fixed on some characters, some because of these characters' portrayal in the movies, or because of the actual books as some people just can't interpret the text correctly. Hell, look what the Fanon did to Thranduil (who, I might add, I find a hell of a lot more appealing than Legolas.)
Yeah. As a reader, beyond some degree of personality shown in his interactions with Gimli, I've never found Legolas to be all that distinctive or interesting. Movie fans get captivated by him, and suddenly he's getting boilerplate romance novel plots and angsty backgrounds.
That said, I suppose my attitude about what Fanon has done to that character must mirror what many of the humans in Tolkien's world must have thought upon seeing elves -- like even the most average one seems like a Marty Stu.
Sigh, I'm not that big a fan of Appendix Lady myself
It's funny. In terms of LoTR, I always feel more like a scholar than a "fan". (Noting that, until BTVS, fandom for me was exclusively limited to Collegiate and Professional Sports Fandom, which is a very different place...)
So, it's hard for me to get too excited about Arwen, if for no other reason than that we see so little of her in the story. So, instead of not liking her, my thought is more along the lines of wondering what her story is... So "fill-in-the-blank" can work for me. As prolific and ambitious as JRRT was, he did leave tons of blanks...
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LotR fans seem to be fixed on some characters, some because of these characters' portrayal in the movies, or because of the actual books as some people just can't interpret the text correctly. Hell, look what the Fanon did to Thranduil (who, I might add, I find a hell of a lot more appealing than Legolas.)
Yeah. As a reader, beyond some degree of personality shown in his interactions with Gimli, I've never found Legolas to be all that distinctive or interesting. Movie fans get captivated by him, and suddenly he's getting boilerplate romance novel plots and angsty backgrounds.
That said, I suppose my attitude about what Fanon has done to that character must mirror what many of the humans in Tolkien's world must have thought upon seeing elves -- like even the most average one seems like a Marty Stu.
Sigh, I'm not that big a fan of Appendix Lady myself
It's funny. In terms of LoTR, I always feel more like a scholar than a "fan". (Noting that, until BTVS, fandom for me was exclusively limited to Collegiate and Professional Sports Fandom, which is a very different place...)
So, it's hard for me to get too excited about Arwen, if for no other reason than that we see so little of her in the story. So, instead of not liking her, my thought is more along the lines of wondering what her story is... So "fill-in-the-blank" can work for me. As prolific and ambitious as JRRT was, he did leave tons of blanks...