2023 Tolkien Blog Party This or That Tag // I Test My Sanity Through Seeing Fire

Greetings friends I don't know half of you half as well as I should like!

Just kidding, I like all of you as much as Gollum likes his precious!

Happy birthday to both Bilbo and Frodo, as in the world of Tolkien, today is Hobbit Day! Hamlette is hosting her eleventh(ty-first?) blog party in honor of all things Middle Earth. 

Since my (academic) test for the day is done, I'm here to quickly fill out her tag while "I See Fire" - by Ed Sheeran is on repeat (I've never seen The Desolation of Smaug, but I discovered this song a few weeks ago and it's making me want to watch it.) I was going to link it for you guys, but my computer is being rude and not letting me. Sorry. But that means you should go look it up!

I am far from a Tolkien expert and am in the lower ranks of fans, among the people who are merely pleased by the professor's stories. So make sure you check out every one else's posts HERE!

This is a blanket statement of SPOILERS for The Hobbit (book and third movie) as well as Lord of the Rings (books and unextended versions of the movies.)

Which of each pair do you prefer, and why?

1. Rohan or Gondor?

Honestly, I can never remember the difference between these two! I know Rohan has Riders...but that's my only difference. Okay, Theoden King is in Rohan, right? Then Rohan because I love Theoden King. And I also have a soft spot for my boi Eomer.

2. Rivendell or Lothlorien?

Lothlorien all the way. Trees are all I need in life.

This is how I picture it.

3. Erebor or Moria?

*blinks* That is a huge assumption that I know what Erebor is. *quick internet search* Oh, the Lonely Mountain! I feel like I should say Moria because I knew what it was...but Imma say Erebor because it has dragon hoards inside it instead of orc hoards.

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4. Bilbo or Frodo?

Cruel. I feel like I talk about this all the time, but here it is for newcomers: I am Frodo. He's one of the fictional characters I relate to the most. The struggle between asking for help and doing something on my own is very real.

But after all that, I'm picking Bilbo. Because I love the adventure in his heart.

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5. Merry or Pippin?

Easiest question ever: Merry. Pippin is the kind of person who in real life I would want to strangle all the time and yell "FOOL OF A TOOK" every few minutes. Merry is overlooked because he just chills. Give him some credit for doing what he's told, okay? He's vibing.

6. Galadriel or Elrond?

So, before I watched Rings of Power (which I'm still working on. I was originally going to do a post on it for this party but I still haven't finished. It's taken me over a year, but one of the reasons is I love it too much and don't want it to be over) I would've chosen anyone over Elrond. Elrond could be paired with about anyone in all of Middle Earth and I would've picked the other person. I mean, I don't actively dislike him. In the trilogy, his actions make sense and are reasonable, I just don't have any reason to like him. I'm very neutral.

BUT THEN I WATCHED RINGS OF POWER.

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I love Elrond with all my heart in this show. His humor, his SMILE, his care, his diplomacy, his concern...I could go on. But I haven't finished the show, so I'm trying to remain calm until I see what made him turn into the character we know.

This isn't to say I didn't like Galadriel in Rings of Power; quite the opposite! I thought she was amazing. I just have always liked her, so I didn't do a 180 the way I did with Elrond.

7. Eomer or Faramir?

NO.

NO.

NO.

Don't make me choose! I already mentioned how much I love one of them this post. I feel like Eomer doesn't get enough credit for being a good brother. I mean, neither does Faramir, but Faramir is also dealing with parent problems, so my heart breaks for him more. But I relate to Eomer more. But I don't want to choose the person I relate to. But I don't want to NOT choose the person I relate to because I already did that this post.

I haven't read anyone else's answers yet, but I feel like everyone is going to choose Faramir. And he deserves it because he's probably in my top 5 favorite characters. Maybe top 3. But I want to let Eomer know he's loved, too.

8. Fili or Kili?

Do you guys know how long ago I had any experience with these characters? 8 years. I just know that they are darling together and I will not separate them. I just remember that it was THEIR FAULT that poor little me was crying over The Hobbit at midnight.

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I feel like I'd get more of the context of this if I'd seen the movies, but I still find it hilarious. And no, this doesn't mean I'm picking Kili. I'm picking both.

9. Bard or Beorn?

*pretends I know the difference*

I mean, I have stickers of Bard that I won from Hamlette a few years ago which usually generate the question "Is that Orlando Bloom?". So we'll go with Bard because I see him on a regular basis.

If anyone knows what he's saying, tell me. I just like the gif for his expression.

10. Gandalf the Grey or Gandalf the White?

This is not fair! You can't choose to like one character before and after an event because they are the same person! But we change every second of every day, so you would have to pinpoint a specific second. Anyway, I'm not deciding. Though the Grey has many more quotable lines. But that's all I'm saying.

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And you guys thought that I was joking, but in the hour it took for me to type this up, I listened to "I See Fire" without stopping. One reason was I was trying to block out my roommates playing Super Mario. The majority of the reason, though, is that it is INCREDIBLE and such a jam.

Thank you to Hamlette for hosting this year after year! Make sure to check out the other posts. Thank you to all of you for reading!

Which side would you pick for each of these characters or places? How do you feel about characters changing over time? And most importantly, have you listened to the song??

Chloe the MovieCritic