#am i going to survive frodo's contagious depression?

[rai-jin-andro-jin]

Finally Reading LOTR.

will journal my thoughts accordingly in my now-semi-absorbed Tolkien narrative style + my own:

I just sat crosslegged on my bed crocheting for like 4 hours, listening to the audiobook for LOTR.

As the ATLA meme would suggest, age hasn't taken my bending away, but my unbending — my unfolding if you will. Ugh.

Idk why, maybe it's just me, but LOTR feels a lot more sad in tone in these first couple chapters than the Hobbit ever was. Maybe the Hobbit could be desolate at times, but it always seemed to have a destination and some kind of action (I've read the Hobbit like three (3) times now). But oh my good gods: Frodo, Sam and Pippin have been gone from the shire for not even a whole day and it feels like it's been an entire week. The prose is dragging on, and i just stopped listening after their breakfast, and now in my head, they're stuck in those clammy 10am woods. Tolkien has such a knack for describing exceedingly wonderful environments, and exceedingly less wonderful environments. So fucking depressing sometimes lol. And this is not even the most depressing part of any of this story at all.

I think the sadness comes a lot from Bilbo leaving and Frodo being constantly sad and longing about it too. Like, girl, i get it, u grew up w him as nearly a father and shit, but also, oh my god, pls you are killing me w this melancholy.

I swear to god there was definitely suffering and annoyance and misery and homesickness in the Hobbit (aka There and Back Again), but i swear, Frodo is being no bit fucking Tookish at all and is like, longingly waving bye to the shire at every point, dramatically thinking or saying, "I wonder if I'll ever see this place again." We know, Frodo; you're only on a massive three-book quest to destroy the One Ring that was forged by the great Sauron Himself, clearly that's a heavy backpack burden to carry and all, but could you lighten up a little bit? Just a little? Maybe? No? Cool.

Some Bonus Meme Content for those who have read this far:

Frodo: hey Gandalf it's been 9 years what's up

Gandalf: *drops the entire fucking backstory of the Ring and doom of the world on a relatively young hobbit*

Frodo: welp time to die ig

Sam: did somebody say "elves?"

Gandalf: absolutely i did, my boy