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++ Túrin.
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++Gimli
Neither of them is my special favourite but I like them both. However, Gimli is a dwarf. And he needs some love after being treated like that by PJ. As a matter of fact, I might well have voted Túrin, but reading through your posts and especially skip's statement that he had found some Gimli parts in the movies funny swayed my vote towards Gimli. |
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Fortunately, Turin did just enough to toss aside Gimli, despite stiff resistance from the little funny-man. It finished 8-8 but Nerwen's vote proved decisive in the end. |
Match 16 of round 1:
So for out final match of round one Beorn, the bulky, shape-shifting vegetarian will test his skills against Boromir's kid brother Faramir. Faramir vs. Beorn |
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http://fantasymenagerie.files.wordpr.../werebear2.jpg |
++Beorn
Unlike Faramir, who is a sensitive metrosexual, Beorn likes to hang out with talking sheep and horses, and turns into a bear when he's angry. The dude is a literal party animal! |
Wow. The saint-like character from LOTR and the ultimate orc-slayer duke it out. Heck, I like people who are honorable and selfless and all that sort of thing, but when it comes to being trapped in a small room with a squad of Uruk-hai closing around me...
++Beorn |
++Beorn
Don't really care for either character but it's hard not to vote for the big guy after that awesome picture. |
Beorn may be cool but he is not wise, learned, interesting and pleasant to read about. Faramir is all that Beorn isn't and more. Besides, if I remember correctly, Faramir was the character who Tolkien based himself on in the book.
++Faramir |
+ + Faramir
Of course Book Faramir, not PJ's silliness. |
++Beorn
I know this in my heart. Faramir rocks, but one of two shapeshifting Men in Tolkien's works? Nolo contendere. |
Honestly I met Beorn once and I couldn't stand all the sniffing he did, it creeped me out a bit if you know what I mean...if you don't think of dogs and when they meet:eek::rolleyes:
++Faramir The book Faramir is one of my favorite from the trilogy, not the favorite mind you, but up in the top 10. Anyway, despite having a wretched father and a glory hog of a brother, he turned out great. |
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Faramir rode into the jaws of certain death with his company to appease his father's will. Now that is devotion and courage. Faramir read the hearts of men as shrewdly as his father, but what he read moved him sooner to pity than to scorn. He was gentle in bearing, and a lover of lore and of music, and therefore by many in those days his courage was judged less than his brother's. But it was not so, except that he did not seek glory in danger without a purpose. |
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As far as the term 'sensitive metrosexual', it does not indicate someone who is gay; on the contrary, it is an exclusively heterosexual term. Study your neologisms before you make accusations and go overboard spouting your indignation. It is becoming tedious. |
Faramir is an adorable emo boy whom I love muchly, but Beorn is just awesome. Bears are awesome.
++Beorn People are forgetting that this is Middle-earth Mirth. :rolleyes: |
Book Faramir was awesome. His encounter with Frodo is one of my favorite bits in LotR. Great conversations...
++ Faramir |
Warning
I'm noticing some going a big overboard on their feelings on this thread. Please remember that this thread is on the mirth sub-forum and is by no means canon. It is light hearted and fun. Absurd reasons can be given to not vote or to vote for any candidate. Please lighten up or I will lighten you up a bit :)
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++Faramir.
Because... um... I don't like bears. (Not that I know any personally.) |
Once again two characters I like against each other... Hmph...
++Beorn Because, to use my new favourite word, he's cooler. ;) I like Faramir very much, but he's such a perfect hero that it annoys me a bit. I mean, for example, if I think of it reasonably, I should prefer him to Boromir by far, but I just don't. Because Boromir is less of a saint, and thus more interesting. Beorn is an interesting guy. I love his unpredictability and his sense of humour. I also like it that even though he's gruff and you could almost call him a brute, he has a warm heart and has hidden wisdom... Hmmm, actually, kind of the stereotypic Man of North... ;) And of course he has a fascinating relationship with nature and that shapeshifting is just incredible... |
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++Beorn I like bears. I like Beorn's relationship with nature, and his house, and his sense of humour, and also his openness (and the lack of it - just the way he decides if he trusts someone or not) and loyalty. |
This is momentarily quite hard as I love both characters, however I am going to come down on the side of Faramir as he's so much like Robin Hood (who is perhaps my favourite mythical hero of all time) that it's uncanny.
++Faramir |
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"The number one threat to America [and Middle-earth?], BEARS!" |
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I think that should be the next Mirth contest. :p |
Well, this is a similarly hard choice as what has been here before. I think in this, it would depend solely on my mood whom to vote for. Faramir is a fantastic character, I like him a lot. Beorn is just great character, I like him a lot. On Faramir, I like the most probably his behavior. On Beorn, I like the most probably his shapeshifting. The second thing I like on Beorn is that he is funny. The second thing I like about Faramir is that he is not such a (forgive me the strong word) mindless guardian and just the "tough soldier" as most of the Stout Men Of Gondor are. The third thing I like about Faramir is how he cares of Éowyn when it's really bad with her. Her part or her opinon aside, he does not force anything upon her, which I like. The third thing I like on Beorn is what he represents: the "wild man" from Wilderness... including all the things that he can speak with animals and how he treats them, which is nice too. And hey, he is a friend of Radagast's! But that is not as much of an evidence for me. Hmph.
Well, you know what - since I think Beorn has more votes now, I will vote for ++Faramir |
Well, that's it, Beorn has defeated Faramir by 8 votes to 6 (or 7 if I count Legate's vote which technically was late) and by that the first round is concluded.
If it's okay with you I'll hold the start of the second round matches until tomorrow. I'll probably post comments on the first round and some odds before that. |
The Second Round
After a suspenseful fortnight of ups, downs, thrills and frill, the first round of the Middle Earth Popularity Cup is concluded and 32 have become 16. We have seen plenty of heavily favoured heroes bask in glory after a job well done but also a few upsets leading to return trip much earlier than expected for some participants. Of the original nine walkers only five now remain and even Gollum, one of the pre-tournament favourites to win, has been eliminated, along with Merry, Pippin, Legolas and Gimli. So far, this Cup has not been for the vertically challenged: ten Hobbits and Dwarves entered the competition but now only three remain: Frodo, Sam and the unlikely figure of Mim. The yellow boots and questionable poetry of Tom Bombadil will no longer grace the audience, nor will the fiery temper of Fëanor or the wisdom of Faramir. But here, without further ado, are the second round match-ups:
Second Round: Frodo Baggins (7) vs. Beleg Strongbow (8) Mim the Petty Dwarf (5) vs. Sauron (10) Maedhros (10) vs. Glaurung (4) Boromir(8) vs. Saruman (7) Gandalf (14) vs. Elrond (1) Lúthien (4) vs. Galadriel (10) Aragorn (7) vs. Samwise Gamgee (9) Túrin Turambar (10) vs. Beorn (7) Odds for every match-up have also come in from The Betberry Bookmakers as well as odds on the winner of the whole tournament. At present Gandalf is the favourite at 11/2, closely followed by dynamic duo Frodo and Sam at 13/2. The odds on Gandalf’s old chum and fellow wizard Saruman have dropped dramatically after his emphatic first round win against Gollum and is down to 7/1. Aragorn and Boromir round out the top-favoured group and are both at 11/1. The rest: Turin 20/1; Maedhros 25/1; Galadriel 80/1; Glaurung, Sauron, Elrond 100/1; Beorn 200/1; Lúthien, Beleg 250/1; Mim 1000/1 |
Beleg Cuthalion is far more pro-active then the nice
hobbit, granted the Baggins had better luck in choice of human companions, but since the elf is one of the more attractive of FA elves and the chief theme here is popularity: + + The strongbow And look at those odds! |
Match 1 of Round 2
Frodo Baggins vs. Beleg Strongbow
Frodo had a fairly comfortable passage to the second round, showing The Gaffer who the Master is on Bag's End. Beleg had to work harder, just managing to overcome the stout Farmer Maggot by five votes to four. Frodo is heavily favoured ahead of this contest. Will he march on or can Beleg cause an upset? As usual the deadline is 12.00 Am tomorrow board-time. |
++ Beleg
No question. Frodo is nice and all, but for some reason he's never moved me to one way or another. He's somehow a trifle too basic a main character. I don't know what's this thing of mine about main characters, but they never interest me as much as the minor ones do. Beleg, on the other hand, is one of my all-time favourites and his death I think is one of the most tragic scenes in Tolkien's work. Granted, he's maybe a bit too perfect, but I just love him, his wisdom, his courage, his faithfulness, and the way he dies is so wrong it hurts. |
++Frodo
When I compare him to Beleg, it's Beleg who doesn't move me that much. I think that is because it can be seen so clearly in the story how Frodo grows up and learns to consider also other people's needs. It's easy to say that other hobbits might have done at least as well as he did, but I wouldn't bet on it. Frodo was both strong-willed enough and capable of adapting quickly to difficult situations. He started out with Sam as his servant, but can you talk about a servant and a master anymore in the end? Try to remain a good servant as Sam might, Frodo clearly considered him his equal on the later part of the journey. Think how Frodo treated Lobelia in the beginning. He spoke nastily of her and was mean to the Sackville-Bagginses - and he also left the dishes for Lobelia when setting out to Crickhollow! But in the end he felt pity for her (and Lotho). No wonder Lobelia left him what little property she had. That's something I call adorable. I'm quoting also my earlier post where I voted Frodo in order to convince those who might still be wavering to vote for him. :cool: Quote:
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Yes, no long pondering. ++Frodo |
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No question about it. We get to see Frodo grow on his journey and evolve into a more delightful character, and we share in his struggles that he deals with. One significant change I saw in Frodo at the end of the book was his almost pacifist nature. Frodo was ready to kill Gollum in Moria yet even at the cracks of Doom he does not feel any ill feelings towards Gollum. Same thing when he lets Saruman/Sharku go after he has defiled the Shire. Frodo has transformed into the very impitamy of mercy and is absolutely the strongest, most showing, and best side of Frodo's character.
++Frodo |
Bah! Frodo didn't actually do anything now did he? All he did was whine the whole way to Mordor, ride on Sam's back and basically take all the food and drink from the truly noble Samwise. How hard is it to make yourself look good when you and your uncle essentially write the narrative?
Beleg, on the other hand, is noble and brave. Plus anybody who gets a surname like Strongbow has got to be pretty cool. ++Beleg Frodo's foot hair is too long as well. |
++Frodo
I'll come back to reason later if I have time and this round is still going on. :) |
While I enjoyed reading Groin's thoughts on how Frodo became the epitome of mercy, I have mixed feelings on that sort of blanket pacifism. It's easy to show Frodo in a noble light for acting this way because, after all, he was the central character and Tolkien crafted the story the way he wanted. However, in real life, the luxury of embracing pacifism generally only works when it's done from behind the safety of a bulwark, which says something poignantly ironic about the nature of pacifism, itself.
I've also found through the years, both in real life and in studying history (at university and subsequently) that the old adage of "Mercy to the wolf is cruelty to the sheep" has a lot of truth in it. I suppose it depends on what you consider to be a wolf. My threshold for wolflike behavior is pretty low. In any event, I choose ++Beleg |
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I'm afraid Frodo will just walk away with victory from this so I have to try and help the other side. I've nothing against Frodo, quite on the contrary, but we need some believable opposition in the form of votes to make this more interesting. :)
++ Beleg Now I just have to come up with a reason... Well, Beleg is just cool, a Hero (with a capital H) and I really admired him when I read the Silm the first time. Then again the parts with Frodo and Sam wandering together in the LotR were the most boring pages in the book when I was younger - I was indeed always hoping the prof would have done away with them and the story would have gotten back to where the war was brewed and fought, where the pawns moved on the board, where the politics were gambled and wider views showed. ;) So let's say this is Nogrod, aged 14, voting here... :D |
++Frodo.
He is a more complete character than Beleg, who seems rather flat and one-dimensional. |
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