There are different kind of opposites that you can explore in both persons and objects - properties and character traits, feelings and actions... The opposing forces of good and evil, light vs. darkness is the base on which the whole history of Middle-earth stands. It is the driving force of all great stories: without the sacrifice and sadness, there would be no greatness and nobility. Without light, there would be no shadow, and without the darkness, the brightness of light would not be appreciated. Some characters stand directly against each other in this struggle, like true opposites: Manwe and Melkor, for example. The relations of others are not that clear, but in certain aspects and decisions, they can be counterparts: like Aragorn and Ar-Pharazon in the acceptance of death or Frodo and Isildur in the decision about the Ring. Even Elrond created an opposite when sending Nine Walkers against the Nine Riders.

"Opposites attract" is an old saying, but not always true. It might be intriguing though to meet someone who is different from you in every aspect. You can take a look at the couples and friendships of Middle-earth, and see how much truth is there for them in this saying. It is certainly valid for Aule and Yavanna, but not that much for Aragorn and Arwen, it would seem. Or?... And the friendship of Legolas and Gimli would also fall into the cathegory of relations confirming this saying.

But the opposites are not always perfect: there can be shades of grey between black and white, and even the most evil and most good characters are not just one-dimensional. There can be points when light turns into darknes or hate turns into love, a warrior becomes a healer. (Or maybe something a bit less dramatic, like when you hated broccoli as a child, and suddenly find out you love it...) These points of one opposite turning into the other would be also interesting to explore in writing or art.

And the winners are:

Happy reading and congratulations to the winners!