Things Lord of the Rings Fans Think Twilight Fans Ought to Know

Things Lord of the Rings Fans Think Twilight Fans Ought to Know
written by Sarah Wofford, a supporter of fandom diversity

In light of the recent cultural explosion of the Twilight Fandom, I thought that one of us already in the overly-enthusiastic –fan arena ought to fire up the welcome wagon and greet the newcomers. Unfortunately many of them seem to think that they are only ones around. Being a second-generation Tolkien fan, I felt that the Twilighters needed to be made aware of a few things. It’s all in good fun, of course. I’m sure in a few decades fans of Meyer’s work will be teaching the next batch of new kids a thing or two! But for now, here are a few things that we Lord of the Rings fans think Twilight fans ought to know.

 You may think you’re a fan. You may think you’re a fanatic. You may even think you’re obsessed. You have no idea.
 I call a truce. If you stop laughing at our elf costumes, we’ll stop laughing at the body glitter you made your boyfriend wear. If you *don’t* stop laughing at out elf costumes, one of us is liable to shoot you with an arrow.
 Be warned, our arrows tend to be handcrafted. And sharp.
 There is something inherently beautiful about a good death scene. We’re sorry that you’ll never get to experience it. That’s not because your characters are immortal. It’s because your author is kind of a wimp.
 In case you ever indulge in any form of cosplay or roleplaying with a Rings fan, be careful. There is a very good reason no member of the fellowship was described as being a “klutz.” Klutzes tend to die quite quickly when met with a blade.
 I can’t say that any of us feel sympathetic when people make fun of your fandom. We’ve been putting up with it for around 70 years. Suck it up and get used to it. Of course no one else understands. That’s what makes it a fandom.
 Elrond could see the future. The elves lived forever. Aragorn and Arwen were star-crossed lovers. Sound familiar? But that’s not the point. You may not see why but what keeps us coming back is that our hero, Frodo, was unremarkable. Unless of course you count the eventual missing finger.
 Be careful before you try testing our patience. We’re the people who have sat through 12 hours of Extended Edition DVDs. Often in one sitting.
 He may not look like much but we’re pretty certain that Samwise Gamgee could kill a vampire whilst armed with nothing but a cooking pot, relying just on the strength of his heart.
 I know you thought we were weird at the time but we were right about the magic of books, weren’t we?