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| Runaway by Lindelea | 79 Review(s) |
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| Erulissé | Reviewed Chapter: 35 on 5/28/2025 |
| Pheeew!!!!! This one left me breathless the first time I read it!!!! The suspense was unbearable, as I kept being called away and I was constantly in suspense all day for the better part of two days!!! My heart was in my throat. Poor Ferdi! After everything he suffered in his youth, everything he did in service to the Shire and the Thain. He was nearly irrevocably wronged and disgraced, far worse than being shunned... I was so excited when Farry came running! Good for Robin. He knew what to do! And the idea of a ‘truth-sifter’ is fascinating to me. The world needs more of those. Good thing the Bolgers were there to make sure Farry told the truth. Ferdi and Tolly both really are jewels among hobbits. The fact that they both so willingly forgave Pippin really testified to their characters, if their intentions in this scheme weren’t enough. And well done to Pip for his oath. He has shown that he will keep his promises indeed, if his own son doesn’t object when he makes that claim. My heart shattered when Ferdi told Pip that he never trusted him again. I suppose I didn’t quite realize that until he said it, but it made perfect sense. It seems wise, given what Pippin did to him, but at the same time, he needed to let it go. I loved that scene with Rosemary. She’s my favorite hobbit-lass! She’s got good sense on her and steadiness to be admired by all. A good sibling for Ferdi. They’re matched well as siblings, and Haldi is a wonderful husband. I love the stories that include them! I’ve been enjoying pulling out my copies of LotR to look at the maps of the Shire periodically, I love that you’ve included so much description of the places within the Shire and the landscape. I have a wonderful picture of it in my mind. Kudos x 100! Slán go fóil! Author Reply: Many thanks for this lovely long review! I love hearing your responses to various people and plot points. In this story, I must give JoDancingtree a great deal of credit for making the story work. (For example, in addition to helping me get past a serious case of writer's block at about the mid-point, she expanded on Tolly's character and family and built so skillfully on the character I'd created that all the extra little details she added worked perfectly with what I'd written about him before!) I'm glad you find the descriptions ring true. I learned a lot from perusing Tolkien's maps (and other people's maps based on his works), as well as combing the original story for details of the characters' surroundings as they travelled. I have to admit, though, that when we visited England in 2005 and drove through a lot of countryside that was said to have inspired Tolkien's description of the Shire, it expanded my understanding and inspiration and appreciation of the landscape. I agree about truth-sifters. That invention came out of a bit of wishful thinking of my own. It would have been very helpful to have that ability or at least know someone with that ability! Again, thanks so much for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts! I very much appreciate it. | |
| Eirinn Leigh | Reviewed Chapter: 27 on 6/12/2016 |
| At least someone is up in arms for Tolly and Ferdi. To bad Meadowsweet didn't go with to give the Thain and Master a taste of her tongue! Author Reply: Belated thanks for sharing your thoughts! I imagine Meadowsweet would have had a few choice words to say... | |
| Eirinn Leigh | Reviewed Chapter: 23 on 6/12/2016 |
| How could Pippin take their loyalty for granted when he jumps right off to the conclusion that they have none? I still do not believe Pippin deserves what he has, but perhaps he is beginning to at least realize that he has it and realize it's great worth. Author Reply: This was such a frustrating story in many ways... I am so thankful to JoDancingTree for her clarifying voice and thoughts; she helped me get from point A to point B and make it all make sense, along with achieving the character growth I was aiming for. Your insights are spot on... Pippin has taken a lot for granted, and he hasn't been held to account up to this point, but he got pulled up short here. And he will have a bigger price to pay, eventually, though going through this process has left him better prepared for it, curiously enough. Belated thanks for your taking the time to stop and leave your thoughts. I hope this finds you well. | |
| Eirinn Leigh | Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 6/12/2016 |
| Pippin runs away and Ferdi is put under the ban ad infinitum. Farry runs away and Ferdi is sentenced to banishment. I do not know where he finds his loyalty but it is sorely misplaced and certainly not returned. I know I would have left for the farthest corner of the Shire and be rid of these Faithless Thains long before. Author Reply: Ferdi was caught in the trap of filial responsibility. He didn't feel he could leave the Great Smials while his father was still alive, badly crippled as old Ferdinand was, and Ferdinand refused to leave the Great Smials to "be a burden" on his daughter and her family. Ferdi and Pippin arrived at an understanding of sorts before Ferdinand's death, though Pippin blasted it to pieces with this particular temper tantrum (but rather than making him totally unpredictable and therefore unworthy of his cousins' loyalty, I have only envisioned him losing control of his emotions and impulsivity when his family is directly threatened - or he thinks they are). His temper is only one facet of of a much more complex and overall bold, insightful, loving and generous personality, so hopefully all this is plausible. Many thanks (belatedly) for your thoughts. Blessings to you and yours, and I hope this message, if it finds you, finds you well in these uncertain times. | |
| Eirinn Leigh | Reviewed Chapter: 27 on 11/22/2015 |
| And how will restitution be paid to Tolly now?! Author Reply: You know, that is an excellent question! As they were two of his largest creditors, he's still somewhat in debt, though not as much in debt as he started out. Yet the restitution that comes out of this situation will become a significant issue, as you have pointed out. Belated thanks for leaving your thoughts. I'm sorry I didn't see your reviews until now. | |
| Eirinn Leigh | Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 11/22/2015 |
| I don't think Ferdi's buying it (Pip's oath) and I wouldn't either, not given their history. Author Reply: It will take some time (and an incident where Pippin saves Ferdi's life at considerable risk to his own) before Ferdi will learn that his cousin has grown up and learned how to be trustworthy. Belated thanks! Stay well. | |
| Eirinn Leigh | Reviewed Chapter: 21 on 11/22/2015 |
| at least some are seeing sense again though I'm still at loss as to how they lost it in the first place. Author Reply: Temporary insanity, at the very least. Blessings to you and yours. | |
| Eirinn Leigh | Reviewed Chapter: 19 on 11/22/2015 |
| So Merry and Pippin make up a story - worst case scenario - in their fear for Farry and then - despite being depicted by both Tolkien and yourself in other works as among the most honorable of hobbits and loyal to the death to their family and friends - despite Pippin *being* good friends with Ferdi from a young age - how is it that they seemingly lose their heads? lose their loyalty? lose their honor? and lose all they ever knew of two hobbits they've known for a *very* long time in the bargin? I fail to see how this is plausible... and if it somehow is why that reasoning is not worked into the story. Author Reply: Goodness! I am answering two reviews from you, separated by time, but both quite belatedly. All I can say is that Pippin is irrational when it comes to the safety of his immediate family. I think I've been consistent in portraying that, though this story might be too much of a stretch. And so, much-belated thanks for your stopping to share your thoughts, good food for thought, especially in working out characterization and character growth in future stories. | |
| Eirinn Leigh | Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 11/22/2015 |
| - Hilly an 'old friend' of Ferdi's? Since when? He's always been the first to believe ill of him all the way back to their childhood (in 'Thain') when Hilly took Ferdi as a halfwit and ridiculed and bullied him up one wall and down the other. -And tis Merry and Pip and Everigard who are acting like men with their thoughts of kidnap and ransom. Author Reply: Hilly and Ferdi became close during the Troubles, when Hilly lost his jealousy of Ferdi (for Ferdi's being besties with Hilly's much-revered older brother Tolly) and learned to appreciate Ferdi's ideas for keeping the ruffians out. He also came to respect Ferdi's courage at that time, venturing out into the outer Shire while Hilly stayed with those who were keeping the borders, not quite as dangerous a task. There is an unwritten scene (it is part of the "background" to the timeline that guides my story-crafting) where the two of them came to an understanding, which would have been about 20 years before Runaway is set. You are definitely right; Merry and Pippin might be worried about hobbits being influenced by the ways of Men, but they are (in a manner of speaking) Exhibit A in terms of evidence. Belated thanks for your thoughts. | |
| Eirinn Leigh | Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 11/22/2015 |
| I fail to the logic in not taking Ferdie's word at least into account. Running off is a common habit of young hobbits and especially of young Tooks. Ferdi has proven his loyalty over and over and over and over again... And wouldn't Pippin remember the last time a Thain's heir ran off 'for forever' and Ferdi took the blame? For that matter Merry should know better than to think that Ferdi would ever abandon Tookland under his own will. If he didn't do so after 9 years under the shunning he certaintly wouldn't when just under suspicion. This story is exciting and all but frankly unrealistic. Author Reply: LOL! You definitely have a glimmer of why the story ended on the scrap heap (or maybe I ought to say you've put your finger on the exact problem I ended up with in writing this). Luckily, JoDancingTree was able to perform resuscitation and make it work. At least, she made it work much better than I was able to manage. Yikes. However, be that as it may, it does serve as a cautionary tale for those who are prone to flying off the handle or making hasty leaps to conclusions... Belated thanks for sharing your thoughts. | |