[Luthien_ Tinuviel]

I actually can't ever decide which I like more (my favorite hobbit is Sam, so I don't have any mixed-favorite issues or anything). I'm inclined to say Pippin, though, just because he's so cute. And I don't really mean physical cuteness, more of the way he acts and all that, and it's great how he matures and everything. As to him dying, I always took it to mean that Gimli <I>thought</I> he was dead. You see, it's a difference between modern American English and somewhat older British English (and LOTR just has that rather formal style, anyway). In American English, "made sure you were dead" would mean something along the lines of "was absolutely certain that you were dead" or "checked and discovered that you were dead", whereas in the formal British English style of LOTR, "made sure you were dead" would mean something more along the lines of: Gimli assumed that he was dead (maybe he coudn't feel a pulse or whatnot), but not that he actually was.