Nostalgic for Middle Earth
First proper non-VK post. Yay! XD
I used to be in love with all of Tolkien's work. The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The Book of Lost Tales, The Children of Hurin... Read those cover to cover, reread some, read parts of the rest of the History of Middle Earth series...
Yeah, I was obsessed. I even spent several years in the fandom (the first fandom I ever joined, and the longest one to be active in) and RPed in a huge forum. I became inactive in the fandom a little less than two years ago or so because the fandom was getting pretty stagnant and quiet. Probably because the movie-induced LotR high for some people wore off and they sought out new fandoms. Sometimes, I miss those good old days. I made my first internet friends there, of diverse ages and nationalities, and now am out of touch with most. RL has taken it's toll. I wonder how they're doing. Hope all is well. ^^
Anyway, I'm feeling a little nostalgic so here's a little reminiscing of the my beloved ME characters.
Elrond
I've yet to find a character I admire so much in fiction. He's suffered through so much over his long years (though Zero with his few years is quickly catching up to him in the tragedy department. Oops... must keep post non-VK! XD) and yet did not grow embittered. He became wise, and remains 'as kind as summer.' A healer (the best in ME, in the last of the Third Age), a warrior, a lore master, a ring bearer... Very admirable acheivements. For those typical 'if you could be anyone/be anywhere in Middle Earth, who/where would you be?' questions, my answer has always been 'an elven healer living in Imladris, taught by Elrond.'
Glorfindel
Another Imladrin elf (I love Imladris, even though I RP'd a Galadhel). He's a minor character, but I like the way he's described in FotR (and while understandable, I hated how he wasn't in the movie). Not to mention, he has the fans speculating on the question of rebirth. I've always been interested in that debate since not even the HoME gives a direct answer despite mentioning the issue. Gondolin is also fascinating, with it's various houses and seclusion. Its fall was a very poignant moment in the books and Glorfindel's death there is so sad. Even if the hair grabbing had me going 'wth?!' at first.
Nienna
My favorite among the Valar, though Ulmo's a close second. She doesn't play a great part in history but I like her compassion. It's been mentioned that Gandalf's compassion was learned through her. Her tears also helped cleanse the Two Trees. From a certain point of view, she could be seen as depressing but I like the idea of her sorrow for all the evil and hurts of Middle Earth.
Faramir
It's as Sam said. He has a 'wizard-like' quality about him, and he's of the highest quality. Despite his youth (compared to other 'wise' characters) and the discrimination he had to endure while growing up, he has great inner strength. He feels temptation but he has strength enough to turn away. Very noble, I believe.
I bought the Tales From The Periolous Realm some months ago, by the way, and have yet to read it. The story about Tom Bombadil seems interesting, at the very least. Once finals are over, that's definitely the first on my to-read list.