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The Courtship of Peregrin Took  by PIppinfan1988 5 Review(s)
DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 23 on 9/20/2005
I've got tears in my eyes reviewing this. See, I just got a registered letter from you a couple of minutes ago--just as I was reading this story. I'll send you a private email shortly.

I just want to say how touched I am that you seemed to feel this story is bound up with me somehow, and amazed as well. It's somewhat humbling to realize how many people care about me.

I love the chapter. The explanations of Opal's behavior ring very true, and yes, they do indeed remind me of Hyacinth and *my* Opal. Mothers who are mercenary unfortunately *do* exist. But best of all is Pippin's determination to win his Diamond.

Opal now has to rue her hastiness in trying to ruin her daughter's life. If she had managed to be more congenial, she be set up with the Thain as her son-in-law: status and money as well. Now she's going to be thrown onto her own resources, and it's quite possible that the hobbit she was trying to force Diamond to marry may decide to take action against her for misrepresenting things.

What a pickle.

Couldn't happen to a better person.

On to the next chapter.

Author Reply: Well, it seemed from your last reviews that you were kind of looking forward to Pippin putting Opal in her place. :-) Even though by that time, we had heard you were doing fine, I still felt bad posting it thinking it would be weeks before you'd read it. Like a neverending cliff-hanger,lol! I do have to give you the credit, thought, for the Grubb, Grubb, and Burrowes, LTD. Information. Yeah, like you said, its there for all to read in The Hobbit, but I forgot about them until I was reading A New Reckoning. So I reasoned, why not have the Shire's Thain be instructed in it as well? Makes for nice drama anyway. ;-) Then what made it all the sweeter, is Grey Wonderer and I were doing what we do best: thinking alike.

Opal is just one seriously disturbed hobbit. As you said, mothers like her exist; sadly, her character is based on a real person. (lol, no, not me this time) You're right--some folks just don't think about the consequences of their actions. Old Otto may demand that *she* marry him and bear his children! If Opal is smart, and she has proven to be clever in a dark way, she'd mend her relationships--and fast. Whether her older daughters accept her love in the future is going to be up to Opal. I may expound upon that in another tale...in the foreseeable future, but not right away.

LOL, yep!

Thank you for taking the time to review!

Pippinfan
p.s. When you said "shortly", I was thinking, like, Saturday! Email is not necessary...lol, but won't refuse it, either. :-)

Pearl TookReviewed Chapter: 23 on 9/6/2005
Does she give up so easily? Mind, she knows with whom she is dealing! 'Tis indeed a pity when parents are so childish.

Well done as always :) :)

Author Reply: She has to; she may be greedy, but she ain't dumb. :-) I think I forgot a bit of an element in Pippin's argument, but I think the point was made in spite of my brain fart. Pippin threatened Opal with giving custody of her two younger children to relatives or to whomever Gemma was recieving apprenticeship training. Opal wasn't treating her children (through neglect and self-profiting arranged marriages) any better than "the lad's father" treated his son in the example case. I agree; 'tis a pity, indeed.

Thank you for the compliment--and thank you for reading Courtship! :-)

Pippinfan, et al.

Grey WondererReviewed Chapter: 23 on 9/5/2005
I absolutly love Pippin in this part. His "Shire Law" lessons have completely paid off. (makes Merry's arguement in my recent story hold more weight. LOL) I do love the way everthing came together in the end and Opal was left without a leg to stand on in her battle. Loved the title of this chapter too. This was excellent and I am very glad to have gotten to read these two chapters together. I got the build up and the battel together! Great writing and a wonderful story! More?

Author Reply: YES!! LOL--I didn't want to give anything away, but that's what I meant when I said in my review of If I Had A Hammer, 'hold that thought! (wink, wink)'! I thought that was too cool when I read that! We still think alike! I really have to thank Dreamflower for her unwitting inspiration when her life gets back to semi-normal. In New Reckoning, she wrote about Frodo's lawyers, Grub, Grub, and Burrowes. Without getting into deep discussion, I figured, why not have the Thain--or the Thain's heir be trained in Shire Law as well? It should be within his purview of office.

Well, Opal had no choice but to give up--she may be greedy, but she ain't dumb. She won't get the chance to rear her "ogre" head any more in *this* story, though. Oh, yeah--there's a bit more, but not too much. I am guessing perhaps two or three chapters--and I mean it this time, lol. This story is about his love life and subsequent courtship, so I'm winding things down to the "ending", even though it's not really an end, so to speak. ;-)

Thank you for all the sweet compliments--and thank you so much for reading Courtship! Have a great week. :-)

Pippinfan


Connie B.Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 9/5/2005
Go Pippin! That was well done. I can just see the look on Opal's face as Pippin announces his love for her daughter. I am afraid that she's still going to try to say that he's just using Diamond to further some sort of personal agenda. She'd think that way.

I'm glad to see the update. Nice to see things slowly coming back.

Thanks.

Connie B.

Author Reply: Thank you, Connie! She'd like to think that she can still "use" Diamond, I suppose, but I'm not giving her that chance in this story. I can't see her changing overnight, figuring she's pretty much set in her ways, but Opal ain't dumb. She knows who Pippin is from her visit to Great Smials a month previous, so I can't see her doing anything to trip that up...however, she might try to sneak something by Pippin. But I may put that in the wedding story. ;-)

Thank you for reading Courtship!

Pippinfan

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 23 on 9/5/2005
Very nice turn of events, citations of previous related cases, description of how Opal has dug her own hole to be forced to live in until she betters it through expressing love rather than discontent and resentment.

Well done indeed.

Author Reply: Thank you! I am glad you noticed all that--and enjoyed it. You always seem to pick up on the little nuances. Thank you so much for reading!

Pippinfan

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