sillylotrpolls

[sillylotrpolls]

Excerpted from Gandalf's tale in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Book 2: Chapter 2: The Council of Elrond:

"How far can you bear me? " I said to Gwaihir. "Many leagues," said he, "but not to the ends of the earth. I was sent to bear tidings not burdens." "Then I must have a steed on land," I said, "and a steed surpassingly swift, for I have never had such need of haste before." But then I realized that horses are just Men extenders, and might extend a wizard equally as well. I said as much to my winged friend. "Then I will bear you to Edoras, where the Lord of Rohan sits in his Mojo Dojo Casa House," he said; "for that is not very far off."

Bonus:

#results #commentary

[sillylotrpolls]

"Name a bunch of characters" masterpost

Tolkien/Lord of the Rings (original poll/challenge)

Anne Rice

Doctor Who

Steven Universe

To add your post to this list, just tag me or drop a note and I'll get it added.

The concept is simple: given a blank sheet of paper (or a text document, or an excel file, or...), how many characters from the given source can you name?

Rules:

You can only list each character once, even if they go by multiple names (so, Bruce Wayne and Batman only count as one character)

If a character doesn't have a canon name or a widely accepted fandom name, they don't count. Sorry, "Gimli's mom."

You don't have to stop listing characters just because you repeated yourself, the repeat just doesn't count.

There's no time limit unless you want to personally challenge yourself (or limit how long you spend on this exciting exercise).

There's no pressure; this is just for fun and to be proud of your total no matter what it is. You're probably going to find you can name more characters than you thought. :)

For convenient list sharing, consider Pastebin.

#admin

[sillylotrpolls]

For your consideration via the talented @269-million.

According to Tolkien, Elves and Hobbits (mostly) don't have beards. Let's ignore that.

#commentary #reblog #long post #Bill the Pony looking fine

[sillylotrpolls]

According to Tolkien, Elves and Hobbits (mostly) don't have beards. Let's ignore that.

#lotr #lord of the rings #poll #polls

[sillylotrpolls]

I usually try to avoid too many reblogs (I am not personally fond of having my dash "flooded" with repetitive content), but when faced with the magnificence that is ::gestures:: ~this~, well...

[Un]conscionably, Tolkien's works have been severely underrepresented in the world of Tumblr sexymen. Now is[n't] the time to change that.

On a related note, did you know there is a Sexypedia Wiki? The research I do for these polls continues to surprise.

#reblog #commentary #this is why I don't want to run a bracket or tournament #but really hope someone else does for this very important question

[sillylotrpolls]

It has long been clear that Sam (usually) wins (almost) any poll he's in - unless Bill the Pony is an option. In fact, Bill the Pony is so popular that he was previously voted the "real" hero of Lord of the Rings!

So alright, fine. Let's see how they do head to head. Sam dispatched both Elrond and Pippin with ease, but will he find a more difficult opponent in the Battle of Bywater's most notable participant? Or will Bill "turn tail and dash away" as he did at the entrance to Moria, fleeing from the Watcher's tentacles? Only time (and the results of this poll) will tell!

#lotr #lord of the rings #poll #polls #samwise gamgee #bill the pony

[sillylotrpolls]

#the FIRST THING i did was check he WASN'T here#i was ready fucking to riot if i saw him#he is NOT tumblrsexyman material- gimli gloin's son is busy staring in awe at the natural beauty of caves and#preparing to fight duels over the awesomeness of his blorbo lady#then making a new friend instead#he's talking about the conservation of stalagmites#leave him out of this#good gods just thinking of him getting tumblrsexyman-ified..#i#would have to leave#that WOULD get me off this hellsite#the beauty of gimli in body and soul cannot be contained#he is very tired and grabbing little nappies during his adventures#HE IS THICK AND HAIRY AND HAS THE MOST GLORIOUS BEARD#tumblr can have grima#go wild with grima wormtongue#he's prime sad warcrime noodle mew mew

[Un]conscionably, Tolkien's works have been severely underrepresented in the world of Tumblr sexymen. Now is[n't] the time to change that.

On a related note, did you know there is a Sexypedia Wiki? The research I do for these polls continues to surprise.

#commentary #reblog

[sillylotrpolls]

My goodness. Y'all really took this poll into your hearts and had so much fun with it. That makes me really happy. ♥ Just check the notes for plenty of wholesome "nerds being nerds" fun.

As to the actual "results," I don't think they've mattered less in any poll I've run. Note after note said, "I guessed [number], but then I tried it and I got [much higher number]!" So the real takeaways here are all in the comments and reblogs.

Some general themes:

As mentioned, nearly everyone knew more names than they thought they did.

Almost everyone who tried the exercise was pleased with their results and themselves.

Even people with no LotR experience were able to name at least some characters thanks to cultural osmosis.

Multiple people could remember an actor's name but not the character's.

If you named 100+ characters, you probably also lamented your poor recollection of Númenorian kings.

LotRO players had a huge advantage in this non-competitive competition.

Quite a few people had trouble recalling if certain names were canon or from popular fanfic Sansûkh.

200+ was not at all unachievable, but I think there was only one claim of 300+.

Unless I missed it, somehow no one thought to list the Talking Purse, one of Tolkien Gateway's 637(!!) (still not over that) characters from the Third Age.

If you undertook the challenge, your internet points are available here. 🎊

If you want to test yourself (and your spelling) against a timer, quizzes for The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion can be found here.

And if you want to create your own version of this challenge/poll for another fandom, you don't need my permission but you have it anyway. :) So far I know of polls for Doctor Who and Steven Universe.

If you create your own, I suggest using text similar to that on the Doctor Who post explaining what counts as a character. And specify in advance that named animals count as characters, and that you don't have to stop working on your list just because you accidentally wrote down a repeat. :)

Bonus internet points will be awarded to anyone who actually tries this exercise before voting.

Assume you need to get the spelling at least somewhat close, and if a character has multiple names, only one counts. Also, if a character doesn't have a canonical name, I'm sorry, but "that guy's wife" doesn't count.

For reference, if you can name the 9 members of the Fellowship, the eponymous Hobbit and his 13 dwarf buddies, 3 prominent women, and the guy who runs the Rivendell B&B, that's 27 characters right there. And you probably also know the name of a dragon.

For further reference, Tolkien Gateway has 637 (!!) pages dedicated to Third Age characters. (Don't click that link until you've voted, of course)

Edit: Your humble pollmaker gave this a try, and got as far as 73 before deciding she was too tired to keep trying to remember dwarf and Silm names. If you also want to share (and don't mind people being incredulous at your having forgot ____), pastebin allows you to paste text and share it for free. :)

#results #commentary

[sillylotrpolls]

As promised, here are your internet points if you undertook the recent "list a bunch of Tolkien characters" challenge. Congratulations! 🎉🎊

I dearly wanted to properly tag everyone who reported giving the challenge a try, but (stop me if you've heard this before) I got as far as about 200 names before I had to throw in the towel. Since I don't want to leave anyone out, I'll hold off tagging anyone for now, but I hope to get back to it sometime in the future so everyone receives their proper due.

#commentary #admin

[sillylotrpolls]

Maybe I should have been a bit more explicit about the concept of "tumblr sexyman" than just linking the wiki...

According to Urban Dictionary:

A male character who goes viral on Tumblr for perceived attractiveness based on an established formula. Usually white, tall, dresses fancy and is evil or has a ‘dark side.’ Though the character can be non human or non human and anthrofied to fit the said formula. Most of the time, said character isn’t really as attractive as Tumblr weirdly makes him out to be. Ex: “Sans is literally just a magic skeleton, I have no idea how he turned into a Tumblr Sexyman.”

And the Sexypedia wiki maintains a list of common sexyman tropes.

[Un]conscionably, Tolkien's works have been severely underrepresented in the world of Tumblr sexymen. Now is[n't] the time to change that.

On a related note, did you know there is a Sexypedia Wiki? The research I do for these polls continues to surprise.

#commentary #on the one hand the complaints are objectively funny #on the other hand my poor pollmaker pride #just let me get through the five stages and I'll be fine #can't believe I didn't anticipate a 'sexyman' poll to be controversial #for a very certain definition thereof

[sillylotrpolls]

What I hear in my head when I edit a list down and one of the twelve options I kept fails to get any votes:

What I hear in my head when a joke option fails to get any votes:

#admin #commentary #worse of course is when TWO options fail to get any votes #taunting me with their 0% totals

[sillylotrpolls]

[Un]conscionably, Tolkien's works have been severely underrepresented in the world of Tumblr sexymen. Now is[n't] the time to change that.

On a related note, did you know there is a Sexypedia Wiki? The research I do for these polls continues to surprise.

#lotr #lord of the rings #poll #polls #tumblr sexymen

[sillylotrpolls]

For assorted reasons, we generally associate Tolkien-esque Dwarves with Scottish accents. But Middle-earth is loosely based on the British Isles as a whole (sorta, it was originally meant as a "mythology for England"). That brings us to an obvious question:

If you are unfamiliar with what a Welsh accent sounds like, a video of Michael Sheen has been provided below the cut.

#lotr #lord of the rings #poll #polls #welsh #Youtube

[sillylotrpolls]

More great comments and tags:

#i want jewelry that looks simple but elegant and won't get in the way or snag or scratch my clothes or bump against things#so the little ring will do nicely#just a simple band @the-journey-was-the-point

If I'm going to get jewelry from a flea market, I'm getting my money's worth and I'm going to get some for my family members. @davetheswat6

#I took Nenya cuz I too would love to be depressed in Lothlorien#and also so I can make nenya business jokes @penthesileas

I chose the pearl. What does it do?@samuel-the-blonde22 It probably makes the dwarven Lord of Belegost mad at you for keeping it from him 😁 @arcanetrivia

#You know what#I'll take a silmaril#this will cause no problems surely @knifegiver

#I'm buying the Silmaril for $5 and then re-selling it on ebay for millions @naugimmellon

#plops down $5 for the ring of barahir!#gets home and realizes it's actually a ring of bebarahir @rannadylin

#taking the silmaril and putting it inside a giant cat trap so i can catch maglor and take him to therapy @giantnerdsnake

#lmao it doesn't matter because we're all about to meet our untimely demise when the flea market gets sacked by the feanorians#(and it's going to) @grantairzee

#hey OP quick question why does it hurt to touch#anything you wanna share with the class @lesbienj

#lol i see my taste is basic again#well. basic for tumblr. which is probably worse @404computerhamstersnotfound

#ah so we're all going to fight over one ring that's not the one ring lol @timid-booklover-in-a-corner

#Narya#though now I think of it#I am a bit concerned about this one guy#who has all this priceless jewellery to nearly GIVE away#almost a lord of gifts you might say @cycas

Hey guys, I just got back from the flea market and this one jewelry table had some GREAT stuff! Anyone want anything? $5 each or best offer.

#commentary #this is only a sampling #definitely take some time to read the notes on this one #♥ to y'all

[sillylotrpolls]

#prevtags clued me in this is definitely a secret lotr post #edit: i didnt read op's url. it wasnt a secret

Hey guys, I just got back from the flea market and this one jewelry table had some GREAT stuff! Anyone want anything? $5 each or best offer.

#commentary #😉

[sillylotrpolls]

Hey guys, I just got back from the flea market and this one jewelry table had some GREAT stuff! Anyone want anything? $5 each or best offer.

#lotr #lord of the rings #poll #polls

[sillylotrpolls]

OP @gwaedhannen had it right, "Until the stars go out" never does lose its charm and takes first place with 32.2%. However, they failed to predict a small resurgence in popularity for "Unto world's end," which garnered a respectable 9.2% of the vote and thus can no longer be said to be very rarely used.

(Credit and context below the poll)

Today's poll and the first 10 options are based on this lovely post by @gwaedhannen. Particular thanks for writing options that largely already fit within 80 characters. ♥

#results #commentary