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A New Reckoning  by Dreamflower 6 Review(s)
Tallis KeetonReviewed Chapter: 42 on 10/4/2011
Hello :)
I have 2 questions about this text. Why Gandalf did not go with the envoys to the Shire? Well, I suspect that he was at this time in Rivendell or Gondor so whatever was for him more important than visiting his friends again? Rivendell was emptying, Gondor was safe and has got a king - so where was Gandalf all this time? Has he stayed with Tom? But I suspect that not all this time? I enjoy all this part with "Jewelery". :) I don't know the victorian literature very well - have just seen some movies, but in Hyacinth I'd like to see some connection to Miss Bennett - a mother hysterical about her doughters prospecs :) I know that in XIX c. that was very importand becouse a lot of women could not get any job or have any proprieties so they have to get into such frenzy about well marriage simply to not starve or living on the street. But of course Miss Bennett is imo a kind of satire about such society. Hyacinth seems so similar in her ambition and her way of educating her children. I know she is horrible I know she deserved her punishment for making the lasses so spoiled and being cruel for them as well for her husband and for Pippin but don't you think that banishing her before her daughter get well is too cruel? I did not expect such a thing from Than and Frodo. Esp. not from Frodo.
I like all kinds of fanfictions but mostly the ones with crosscultures topics cultures or societies making friends with one another, knowing each other better. I like the Shire fanfics and I like the Post-War or 4th Age fanfics.
And I like the Gondor or Rohan post-war. Anyway that story is all of those things so I love it :)



Author Reply: Hullo Tallis!

I've not written about what Gandalf was doing at this time much, but in my head he has some loose ends to tie up. I envision him making a visit to the east to see Radagast, Beorn, the Eagles, the Dwarves in Erebor and the Elves in Mirkwood and some other friends before he prepares to leave M-e. I did write one drabble about him seeing Radagast and realizing that the Brown Wizard was not going to return to the West just yet.

I find it interesting that you connect Hyacinth to Mrs. Bennet, a figure from Jane Austen's Regency literature because I rather envision the Shire as being sort of Regency in many ways (You may have noticed this from the description of some of the ballgowns-- the high-waisted dresses and so forth). But originally Hyacinth was meant to be a humorous character. I think I was as surprised as anyone else when I discovered that she was actually cruel and not funny at all! Sometimes our characters can surprise us!

She did not seem to care about her daughter's well-being, and was actually kind of making things worse with her self-centered hysteria. I have a feeling that Eglantine could not have borne to have her around much longer, which is why Paladin banished her-- Frodo did not have anything to do with that decision which was strictly Took family business. She would not have been good for Opal's recovery-- I can see Hyacinth sitting around and complaining to her injured daughter that she had brought it on herself by running away and so forth and making poor Opal feel worse instead of better.

I'm very fond of the cross-culture sorts of stories myself-- of course, I like hobbits best, but I enjoy showing them as they interact with the Big Folk of Gondor and Rohan. I love the Shire of course, and I enjoy the Post-war and 4th Age; but I also like the Third Age as well, especially during the times when Bilbo was there and when Frodo and the others were growing up.

Since you like the 4th Age Shire, have you read any of Celeritas' stories here? She tends to write mostly about a later time, long after the Travellers have all been gone. If you haven't, you might enjoy those!

Tallis KeetonReviewed Chapter: 42 on 10/2/2011
Hi :)
I want to thank you for your great beautiful elegant stories and just say that the New Reckoning is one of my "all time favourite" in fanfiction :) On my list you are at the same level as Larner, shirebound, Arathlitiel, FBoBE, Illyria, werecat99, jodancingtree, Mary Borselino, citrine, cuthalion, Primsong, Oselle.
THX :)
http://www.fanfiction.net/u/242280/Tallis_Keeton




Author Reply: Why thank you very much for your kind words, Tallis! Many of the writers you mention are ones I admire very much myself, and many of them I count as good friends! It's an honor to know you think I am good enough to be in such company.

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 42 on 9/28/2006
At least in your universe he CAN dance again, and that is heartening.

Author Reply: Yes, he can--at least at this point in time. My Frodo's physical debilitation was much slower than yours--he really did not begin to rapidly deteriorate until the spring illness of 1421. He remains emotionally fragile, and he *does* have some physical health issues--but they are not quite so bad as your Frodo's.

GamgeeFestReviewed Chapter: 42 on 6/17/2004
Yep, I missed this chapter. My apologies.

You handled the situation perfectly. It could have been very soppy and overly dramatic in less skilled hands, but you managed it in a way that got the facts out and the emotion without letting the sadness overwhelm it.

I never realized before that Frodo would be the last of the Bagginses. But I checked out the family tree and the last generations have produced either females or bachelors. I suppose Angelica could always hypenated her name when she marries, as the S-Bs did, and keep the name going that way. I'm sure if she hooked up with Freddy he'd be willing to do that.

It was very sweet of Pimmie to ask to name her future son after Frodo's father. That was just what he needed to lift his spirits for a little while.

Author Reply: Thank you. I tried to handle it subtly. I think that this is something Frodo came to terms with way back when he first volunteered to carry the Ring.

I came to realize this when I was doing When the King Comes Back (Brandy Hall). I was searching the family trees for characters, and it suddenly dawned on me. I think JRRT did it on purpose, so that Sam could be Frodo's heir. In that story, Merry realizes it for the first time. It certainly makes for a nice little plot point.

I'm thinking about that with Angelica. Haven't quite yet decided how that's going, but it's a distinct possibility.

Yes, I think Pimmie cheered him up a bit with that. Pimpernel has learned a few things since her brother came home, and one of them is a new apprciation for Frodo.

RogerGamgeeReviewed Chapter: 42 on 6/15/2004
Dreamflower,

I absolutely loved this chapter. Frodo truly seems to have come to terms with the fact that he will never marry and produce an heir. Being single myself, I can empathize with his situation...family members always wanting to know when you're going to settle down and have children of your own.

It was so touching how Pimmie wanted to name her own children after Frodo's late parents...a fitting tribute to him, I think. Well done!

Author Reply: Frodo came to terms with a lot of things in his life that he gave up to be Ringbearer,up to and including his life itself. Some of them he gained back, temporarily at least, such as Bag End. But never the chance to carry on the Baggins name.

Pimpernel has suddenly come to a fuller understanding of her cousin, and now she does wish to give him a tribute. Thank you.

PervincaReviewed Chapter: 42 on 6/14/2004
I am so glad that no one else is home at the moment, as this chapter made me cry! Despite knowing full well that Frodo never married, nor had any children (plus reading several stories that mention it), the way you wrote the end of the Bagginses was beautifully heartbreaking. At least you have given Angelica someone sweet to look after her (you seem to enjoy matchmaking as much as I do).

The ball has not been a disappointment! Did you come up with the dances yourself? Very clever if you did.

- Pervinca

Author Reply: I'm still finding it odd to realize that making someone cry is a compliment. I guess I sort of have an obsession with Frodo being the last of the Bagginses. It just seems to be a neglected area. It's just so *sad* to think of the Shire with no Bagginses in it.

I do like matchmaking for my hobbits. Of course, most of them were matched up already by JRRT, but there is a *little* leeway on those family trees.

Alas, I am not that clever. Those are all *oversimplified* versions of actual dances we do in the SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism) They are mostly historical or based on historical: the Maltese Bransle (pronounced "brawl"), John Tallow's Canon, the Earl of Salisbury Pavane, and the one I called "Exchanges" is actually named Hole-in-the-Wall. In the next chapter is one we call Tangle Bransle (for obvious reasons).

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