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Healing the Long Cleeve  by TopazTook 7 Review(s)
LarnerReviewed Chapter: 19 on 8/5/2005
Yes, the pain of the loss is there, and will remain for all of them.

Author Reply: Yes; it’s a sweet but lingering melancholy that suffuses all of them, I think.

ponypetterReviewed Chapter: 19 on 1/22/2005
I love the conversation Pippin has with Faramir about Denethor. It's a nice touch.

I also love the lines about Eowyn. I think she must have a very special relationship with Merry especially. It's nice to see Pippin teasing Faramir about it.

Author Reply: I'm glad you like Pippin and Faramir's conversation about Denethor. (It's also kind of about Paladin.)

And, while I'm not writing about Merry and Eowyn in this story, I think you are right about their relationship. Pippin and Faramir can both have fun teasing each other about such things.


Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 1/19/2005
You wrote: Author Reply: Um, thank *you*! This is very flattering. Wondering what you meant by "the type of story" you really enjoy reading. (Not fishing, just curious!) I'm hoping to get the next chapter up either late this weekend or early next week. Thank you so much again!

Type of story? Humm, well, I like all kinds [even slash occasionally], but I really like the way you tell stories in a romantic, loving, kind way and not in a slashy, overly sexual way. Not that those are bad, but it's not how I picture Pippin and Diamond. The way you talk about their relationship in your story pulls at the strings of my heart. I love that! I am so looking forward to the next chapter.

Jan



Author Reply: Thanks for the clarification. I was wondering because I have a hard time categorizing stories like this. (One reason I don’t want to post on fanfiction.net. By the time you’ve said it’s a drama/romance/angst/adventure (wait a couple of chapters;))/humor/etc. -- it becomes pretty meaningless.)Was hoping maybe you had more insight into the categorization than I did, LOL.

I’m glad you like the way I tell stories. I think the hobbits help in that manner -- it’s just how I see them, and a lot of the chapters are written after I’ve been mulling them over in my head for a few days, “seeing and hearing” what’s happening, so the characters themselves have a lot of influence. As for not telling things in an overly sexual way....well, I did start out trying to write this PG-13, and Chap. 17 is the first and only sex scene I’ve written, so that may have a lot to do with that style, too.:) So sweet for you to say this pulls at your heartstrings.:)

Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 1/19/2005
"Healing of Long Cleeve" by Topaz Took is by far my most favorite story on-line. All fan fics have their place, but this is the type of story I really enjoy reading. I can hardly wait for the next chapter. Thank you Topaz, it's sheer magic.

Author Reply: Um, thank *you*! This is very flattering. Wondering what you meant by "the type of story" you really enjoy reading. (Not fishing, just curious!) I'm hoping to get the next chapter up either late this weekend or early next week. Thank you so much again!

MarigoldReviewed Chapter: 19 on 1/13/2005
I think that this is the best chapter so far! I especially liked Pippin's thoughts about Gandalf as a substitute Grandda, and that he misses him so very much!

Author Reply: Thank you very much! I'm rather fond of this chapter myself.:)

Pippin missing Gandalf is a way for him and Faramir to acknowledge that loss, just as Merry and Aragorn do for Frodo earlier in the chapter. I think the substitute Grandda thing came out of my subconscious partly from looking at the family trees and noting "oh, Paladin's father died before Pippin or Pervinca were even born, so they couldn't have known him" and partly through the lingering subconscious effect's of Billy Boyd's DVD commentary on FOTR where he says Pippin thinks of Gandalf as a grandfather. It just kind of showed up in there, LOL, as did Pippin and Faramir's entire conversation. I think I was channeling when I wrote it.:)




DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 19 on 1/12/2005
What lovely interactions. Aragorn and Merry rang so true--I love Merry's realization that Pippin had the generosity of spirit needed to deal with the Ring. I have often thought that Pippin's personality was a lot like Frodo's would have been if he had never lost his parents.

Diamond and Estella going into the shop was also beautifully done. These two are getting their eyes opened to the magnitude of what their husbands, Frodo and Sam actually accomplished, and how greatly it affected the world. That kind of gratitude has got to be almost frightening.

And finally, Pippin and Faramir--just lovely, truly lovely! This is laying the grounds for a friendship deep enough that Pippin will one day name his son for the Prince of Ithilien.

Hoping for a chapter or so more in Gondor before they have to go back to the Shire. But of course, I always love them interacting with their Big Folk friends.

Author Reply: Thank you so much. I think the forgiveness aspect of LOTR is a huge part of its theme and its impact.

Glad you liked the Diamond and Estella scene, too. They are getting a bit overwhelmed at the greater world -- and learning not only about what the Traveller hobbits did, but also that Big people could have watched their loved ones suffer, too. Estella gets to feel empathy with Rachael in this chapter as she remembers Freddy after the Lockholes, instead of just fear of Big people masked with bravado.

And you are so right about the reasoning behind the Pippin and Faramir scene: it grew from my asking myself, "Why does Pippin name his son Faramir?" and this helps to answer that in the context of this story. And then my Pippin and Faramir characters just sort of took over and wrote their scene themselves -- I was surprised to find out that Faramir's personality was so hobbity, LOL. But I think I'll let them take over if they want to do so again (as did Merry and Aragorn, to an extent, as well as the lasses), because I think this chapter is one of my favorites in this fic so far.

And you will get your wish again: there is at least one more chapter in Gondor, because there was supposed to be other stuff that happened in this one, but the characters had other ideas about what happened and then it didn't fit in, LOL!






pipinheartReviewed Chapter: 19 on 1/12/2005
Nice story...I like how in the begining you don't know which hobbit it is...Mery knows it is Aragorn before he reaches the fence.He even tells him the cobbler needs to fix his boots better... Merry is upset about him fussing and arguing with pippin lately,and Aragorn talks to him about how easy pippin forgives...Yet he becomes sad as Frodo is mentioned..
pippin spends time with Faramir,and they end up talking about gandaf and pippins father is mentioned because of an illness...He is crying and both share the grief..

A real nice story..Keep up the good work...

Author Reply: I'm glad you like that you don't know what hobbit it is at first. I tried to just make it clear through the bits of personality that kept showing through: the horses, the little bit of a fear of heights when he goes to get down from the fence, the practicality and the boots thing -- after all, Brandybucks sometimes wear them when the river's high.

Thank you for your comments.

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