OctPoWriMo 17 - Lord of the Rings Online

Today's prompt asks us to think about games we have played or still play. My favourite game is Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO). It's a massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) based on Tolkien's worlds of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. I wrote an English sonnet on my experiences within the vast world of LotRO.

The Last Homely House in Rivendell

The Lord of the Rings Online

Through Michel Delving, on to Hobbiton,
And up the Hill to see the Party Tree—
Without a mount, it’s quite a way to run,
And rented horses certainly aren’t free.

Once I buy a horse, I ride to Bree;
Such a pretty town, though like a maze.
I play my lute outside the Prancing Pony
And wander through the twisted, winding ways.

And then, I find my way to Rivendell,
Riding through the Trollshaws’ red and gold.
My favourite place, for it is always Fall.
And then, over the Misty Mountains cold.

I speak to Gandalf, Aragorn, and Sam.
I ride with Hobbit, Elf, and Dwarf, and Man.

At the Party Tree in Hobbiton

Playing my lute in Breetown

What is a Tween?

You may have heard the word "tween" used lately--a lot. Most people who use it mean a preteen, "a person who is between the ages of 10 and 12 years old" (Wikipedia, Tween) and I've heard people say that it's a "new word." However, I first read this word years ago, in a little book series called The Lord of the Rings, which "was written in stages between 1937 and 1949" (Wikipedia, The Lord of the Rings). In Tolkien's novels, tween is used "  to refer to Hobbits in their twenties: "...tweens as Hobbits called the irresponsible twenties between childhood and the coming of age at thirty-three."[43] In this context, the word is really either a shortened version of between or a portmanteau of teen and twenty, and in either case has no connection to "teens," preteens or the American marketing niche" (Wikipedia, Preadolescence). I think from this it's quite clear that it isn't a new word.


Every time I hear the word, I think of these guys:

We were tweens before it was cool!

Merry and Pippin are the archetypal tweens in my mind: fun-loving young people who don't take life too seriously and offer some much-needed comic relief. 
Pippin: Anyways, you need people of intelligence on this sort of... mission... quest... thing. 
Merry: Well, that rules you out, Pip. 


And they're always thinking about food.
Pippin: What about breakfast? 
Aragorn: You've already had it. 
Pippin: We've had one, yes. What about second breakfast? 
[Aragorn turns and walks off in disgust] 
Merry: I don't think he knows about second breakfast, Pip. 
Pippin: What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper? He knows about them, doesn't he? 
Merry: I wouldn't count on it. 


I for one am going to continue using tween to refer to people like Merry and Pippin. What about you? What do you think?