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It Takes a Took  by Dreamflower 7 Review(s)
PIppinfan1988Reviewed Chapter: 31 on 11/17/2005
Pippin is so funny chomping at the bit; Diamond is so close he can almost smell the fragrance in her hair! (joking) The eager lad has waited so paiently and for so long...I only hope he and Miss Diamond have a grand time at the Yule gathering.

Pippinfan

Author Reply: I like that "chomping at the bit". He's missed her a good deal, and he's ready to see her again.

Well, you will see what sort of time they have...

Pearl TookReviewed Chapter: 31 on 1/2/2005
Ah, young love :) :) :) Pip better keep that bad leg in mind lest he mess things up for himself. *sigh* A good read as always :)

Author Reply: 8-D Pip will be careful. He doesn't want Diamond to think of him as a "patient" again.
Thank you. I'm glad you're enjoying it. We are near the end: only one more chapter and an epilogue to go.

FantasyFanReviewed Chapter: 31 on 1/2/2005
LOL! What else would I expect Pippin to say when he sees Diamond!

I loved the talk between Paladin and Diamond. She's still a little shy and not quite sure of herself, but he's been through this before and knows just what to say. I love her realization that he could be a father to her.

Pippin's impatience is classic, as is Merry's management of him. For all that his da sees that Pip has grown up, some things probably never will change - and we love it that way.

Author Reply: 8-D What else, indeed?

Paladin is more comfortable now as a father since he and Pippin have mended their relationship, and he has a more realistic view of his son than he did a few years earlier. But nobody knows better that however mature and responsible Pippin has become, he is still very emotionally high-strung. He's glad that such a steady and responsible lass has caught Pippin's fancy, and after the spotted fever business, he has a great admiration for Diamond. He's certain that she will be an asset as a future Thain's Lady.

Yes, as Merry has observed in the past, Pippin will probably never *be* patient--though he may learn to curb his impatience (two entirely different things to my mind.) And of course we love our Pip--fidgets and all!

ArielReviewed Chapter: 31 on 1/2/2005
Ah! Two more chapters when I wasn't even looking!

YOu know, I really have to feel sorry for Rosamunda. I have a friend who is writing the most fantastic fic with her in it and she's so sympathetically portrayed in that that I have a hard time remembering these are two descriptions of the same character!

Thank you for being so prompt and getting these two back together. Six years? Oh, I could NEVER wait that long! LOL!

Author Reply: That's what happens when we blink! 8-D I've been updating pretty fast this week--I tend to do that as I draw near the end, and want to see the finish line myself.

Well, you could feel sorry for her; it's sad that she doesn't have her children's respect, though they do love her. Still, as I have taken pains to point out, just because her priorities are a little skewed doesn't make her one of the "bad guys". She does love both Estella and Freddy, even though she doesn't understand them. And she is beginning to be fond of Merry, although that is a much slower process. But she can't really help reverting to her younger, somewhat competitive and snobby behavior whenever she's around her Took relatives. She wants to show them up. (I would imagine she was very envious and possibly catty when it came to young Esme.) And she's always thought of Buckland as somewhat of a "provincial backwater", in spite of the eminent lineage of the Brandybucks.

I did need to get them back together to wrap up this particular story! But yes, first Pippin has to come of age, and Diamond has to, and finish her apprenticeship, before they can think of being wed. In *my* Shire, at least, tweenaged marriages are very rare, and only occur when the young people have been extremely naughty indeed. Not going to happen with *my* Pip and Diamond!
This *is* a G rated fic. *grin*

SharonBReviewed Chapter: 31 on 1/2/2005
Ah, I can finally get back to the stories. (We've been celebrating Christmas this weekend since the last weekend was snowed in!) I loved Pip's letter, so direct and to the point and not wastng a lot of words on other things. Just like him, so hasty (as Treebeard would say!)

Diamond is learning more and more about the other branch of her Took family. The Thain is wise in many ways .. making Diamond comfortable, looking after what the gossips will want to say and just managing things around them in general.

LOL, Rosamnunda is still up to her old tricks, putting on airs. With Brandy Hall ranked right behind The Great Smials does she really think she's gaining any points? Or is it just a habit too hard for her to break? The arrival of those Tooks will help Esme manage her better indeed. ;-)

Enjoyable as always. Thanks for the story.

Author Reply: That's our hasty Pip! 8-D

The Thain is much more relaxed now that he and Pippin have mended things between them; he appreciates Diamond, and is vastly relieved that she's the one who caught Pippin's eye.

It's mostly hard habit to break: she's reverting to her youth, when she felt competitive with her cousin Esmeralda (though Esme never was competing with *her*).

You are very welcome! Thanks for the review!

BodkinReviewed Chapter: 31 on 1/2/2005
Paladin is very wise - I'm glad he is welcoming Diamond. I like his perspective on how Pippin was a bit of a trial, but has grown up to be a great hobbit.

Merry is a good manager - years of working on Pippin will stand him in excellent stead as the future Master of Buckland. There surely won't be many more difficult hobbits around.

Rosamunda is not winning friends with her manner towards Esmeralda. I imagine she is definitely going to be out-manoeuvred once Eglantine and Pearl arrive to keep her out of the way.

Author Reply: Pippin's parents are very relieved that he has found such a steady and intelligent lass that they are bound to be welcoming to her. After some of the things Pip got into as a tweenager--(like taking foolish dares or running off with wandering minstrels) Paladin had to be afraid the lad would never learn responsibility. He's very glad to find himself proven wrong.

This is true--of course, he's been managing this particular Took since birth.

Well, really Esme didn't expect her to be much different. After all, she and Rosamunda are cousins, and she knew her ways pretty well before she married and moved off to Buckland. And I'm sure Merry and Estella had also had some warning for her. But yes, she will definitely be glad for reinforcements in the form of her sister-in-law and niece.

EruviluiethReviewed Chapter: 31 on 1/1/2005
Another lovely chapter. I love Pippin's impatience - and Merry's cleverness to help Pippin. Though I may wonder why Merry is still in Crickhollow when Estella is at the Hall. I guess Merry can't expect to be with her all the time :P Always eager for more!

Author Reply: Merry usually knows how to handle this particular Took, and really all it was, was a bit of compromise.
Well, Merry does live at Crickhollow now, and if he went to stay up at the Hall just because Estella's there, he'd be leaving Pippin there alone. Besides, Brandy Hall's such a crowded place, and Crickhollow only a short distance away--he'll see plenty of her, maybe more than if he were actually there.

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