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| Family Matters by Lindelea | 13 Review(s) |
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| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 4/28/2025 |
| I can see Sweetie deciding that Tolly is still alive, but it’s interesting how many of them have fallen into that mode. Perhaps it’s that they haven’t seen a body, or perhaps it’s just something about the Tooks… I do hope he makes it home to them soon, somehow! Author Reply: It could be as simple as not seeing the body, for the Tooks as I write them are quite pragmatic (though relatively inflexible) and concrete (rather than abstract) thinkers. Without a body, there's always hope that the hobbit might come back someday. (The north-Tooks also display that mindset in future chapters, as you'll see.) But there is that little hint JRRT gave about "fairy blood"... It's possible that Meadowsweet has some sort of non-physical connection to Tolly, something inexplicable yet real, that allows her to know he's still alive. Rosie Cotton wasn't even a Took, and yet somehow she knew Sam was alive and would be coming back months before he arrived back home in the Shire. Maybe it's a hobbity thing...? "soon" is a relative term (ask any child what "soon" means, and you'll probably get a different answer from the one an adult would give you), but rest assured that he will make it back to them (if only for the sake of continuity, since he appears in quite a few stories set later on the timeline!). I do have to admit that chapter 12 (almost halfway through the story and due to be posted a week from today) is one of my favorite chapters in the story and was one of the seeds from which the story grew. Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 4/25/2025 |
| What a heartbreaking end to this chapter…. Perhaps the Shiriff might have been less specific with his questions… but how was he to know. And even if he had been, there’s so much confusion around their patient’s identity that I’m not sure they still would have realized it. Complicated by Tolly’s condition… I eagerly await the next chapter - thx so much for sharing. Author Reply: I hated to end the chapter on this cliffhanger, but I couldn't seem to make it work any other way in having to switch back and forth between North and South (though "Middle" might be more accurate) while keeping the timeline straight. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! The next chapter is queued up to post on Monday morning. That's the plan, anyhow. I'm posting chapters to various WIPs on Fridays and Mondays right now, and since this one is written to the end, it should be easy to post two chapters a week to the end. (And that will hopefully leave room for me to start posting chapters of another WIP. Still chipping away at all of them, anyhow.) Thanks so much for your encouragement! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/25/2025 |
| Oh no…. This complicates things. And I hope the grandpa doesn’t have a heart attack while everyone’s trying to get this figured out! Prediction - Tolly and Meadowsweet will end up adopting these three… Author Reply: LOL, you figured out the ending! Now we just have to get through all the middle to get there... Old Gorbyl's "not dead yet!" I've grown quite fond of the hobbit over the course of the story. | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/25/2025 |
| Yes. Absolutely, better to hope. Well, the beginning of this chapter sounded terrifying. But I guess he’s not even conscious enough to be terrified. I hope they find him quickly! (Though the chapter heading make me think not quite yet…) Author Reply: Your observations are very astute, especially that the experience would be terrifying if he weren't in such terrible shape that he doesn't even know what terror might be... all he knows is blind determination. Perhaps that's a mercy. (And there's another mercy here that will hopefully come clear in a future chapter, but to say more would be a major spoiler.) | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/25/2025 |
| Well, this is not going to go over well. I assume Tolly wasn’t with the pony, or they’d be talking about him instead. So the pony ran off, or … someone did find him and carried him off? Poor Meadowsweet, what a difficult time she’s been having, and with a new little one on the way… Author Reply: It's meant to be a bit of a mystery at this point, but things will gradually grow clearer in time. Poor Meadowsweet. It's no wonder she gets a little short with Tolly at times. Nevertheless, they're joined at the heart. Thanks! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 4/25/2025 |
| He’s having no luck with the weather lately!! So - was I right in catching some St Elmo’s fire before The Incident, or was that all just lightening buildup? He did the best he could - I think I probably would have tried the forest too rather than staying out in the open. Didn’t seem to work out for him though. I hope someone finds him soon! Author Reply: You were right about the St Elmo's fire! Tolly's experience is based on a lot of anecdotal evidence, news reports, and articles about lightning. In some articles I read, I found descriptions of St Elmo's fire associated with lightning strikes. One source said, "While not inherently dangerous, St. Elmo's fire can be a warning that lightning might strike soon, so it's best to seek shelter if you see it." After correcting the "head of escort" errors earlier, I read through this chapter again and realised that it reflected an earlier version that got revised when the geography started getting complicated. So just know that Tolly's road went north along the eastern side of Bindbole Wood, not west through the Wood and then north up the western side of the Wood. (In case you pay attention to such things. I tend to do that because I form a mental movie when I read, including a mental map of characters' movements so I can keep track of what's going on and who's doing what and all that.) I hope Tolly's trajectory from this point onwards is plausible... (It was certainly fascinating to contemplate! But I don't know if I should LOL at myself or not...) Thanks so much for reading and taking time to share your thoughts! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 4/25/2025 |
| Cool! He’s going to meet Robin Hood! ;-P I’m sure they somehow feel that this will bolster his confidence. And I’m sure it will somehow go wrong… because there wouldn’t be a story otherwise! I look forward to it, and hope he’s feel a little better about himself at the end of it all… Author Reply: That's what my kids said when I first told them about Bolham the Red! Years ago, it was, but Bolham kept popping up in my imagination until I finally had to include him in a story. Speaking of characters doing unexpected things... Exactly that phenomenon happened during more than one chapter of this current story. (I remember thinking in a scene with Merry where Merry said something that seemed completely out of the blue, and yet seemed to fit somehow, "Where in the world did that come from? And how?" LOL.) I’m sure it will somehow go wrong Around here, we just call it "the luck of the Tooks". Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 4/25/2025 |
| It really is just amazing how characters do their own thing - it is one of the most fascinating things about writing, IMO. (And since I don't outline anything out ahead of time, it's easy to just let them go and become who they were meant to be.) Definitely on my mind at the moment, as I just finished another short chapter and Haladan went off on a whole spin I had no idea was a thing! But I'm sure it was good to get it out of his system... ;-) Author Reply: The writing process is so interesting to me. I have to outline a story before writing the draft. (Actually, all my stories start with a scene that pops up in my brain; if you're interested what the scene was in this story, I'll be happy to let you know when I post that particular chapter. I'll write the scene, then the first chapter, and then create a rough outline that will get me from "there" to "here", also thinking ahead from the scene to make sure I can arrive at an ending that feels satisfying to me. Whenever I've tried writing "by the seat of my pants", I've always written myself into a corner. I envy people who can just wing it.) I just read the latest chapter you posted! Wonderful interaction between Haladan and Faramir, and a nice glimpse into Faramir's character. Thanks! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 4/25/2025 |
| Oh - I meant to add. In chapter one it says Ferdi is the Thain’s special assistant, and in chapter two it says he’s still the head of the Thain’s escort. Or is he both…? Thx as always for writing, it’s good to get some follow up on this unfortunate adventure! Author Reply: Excellent catch! I didn't notice the discrepancy because of the time frame I'm writing in. If you're interested, the following background information explains how he's both. (However, it's too cumbersome to insert into the story, I think, so I'm going to change the mention in chapter 2.) In Greening Ferdi is still technically the head of escort. However, he was injured while riding Pippin's Socks in the annual Tookland pony races a month before the Lithedays' Fair in Michel Delving. The injury to his bow arm means he can shoot accurately for a limited period of time but doesn't have the stamina to shoot over a sustained period. The head of escort position is, by tradition, offered to the Took or Tooklander who comes closest to winning the archery tournament in the autumn. Ironically, it's a highly prestigious position. Maybe the powers that be (i.e. the Steward is in charge of the escort) trick people into serving on the escort by that means? Because, despite having the admiration of almost all the Shire-folk, the escorts are too likely to find that the job itself is certainly thankless. Thus, the winner of this autumn's Tournament will officially assume the position of Head. Better yet, now that the Treasury has been recovered, the job pays well – two or three times what a hunter might earn, probably. While the Treasury was still lost, everyone's wages were low, and the big reward for serving as an elite guard of sorts was in the form of prestige. Anyhow, in a nutshell... After Ferdi's injury, Pippin (knowing he could no longer work as an archer) created the position of "special assistant" for him. It's not just a sinecure; Ferdi's eidetic memory (remembering everything he hears) is an invaluable tool for an easily-distracted Thain. So during Greening and the immediate aftermath, he's still nominally the head of escort, but he's serving as the Thain's special assistant. But I had probably better change the mention in chapter 2 to avoid confusion, as I started out saying. Thanks for noticing that! Author Reply: Oops. I should have looked before I leaped. I see the matter is explained in chapter 2, so I will go back and adjust chapter 1 as needed: ...said Ferdi, head of the Thain’s escort – at least until the annual archery tournament should take place later in the summer. This year, Tolly was favoured to win, due to Ferdi’s recent fall while racing, resulting in injuries that threatened to permanently affect his shooting. Author Reply: And you were right! There was an error in chapter 1, where I mistakenly called Tolly the head of escort – which he won't be until after the autumn Tournament, which happens after this aftermath to the Greening story but before he goes missing in the North Farthing, which is the crux of this story. (I think I mean "crux"; it's been a long day and my brain is getting tired.) It's all fixed now, and thank you again for providing a second set of eyes! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 4/25/2025 |
| Can’t say too loud he’s exhausted, have to fend off gossip … this escort business is a rough gig! Glad they’re both home though and able to offer some reassurance (vicariously, on Tolly’s part) to their loved ones. Author Reply: The gossip of the Tooks is probably their worst character flaw in the way I write the Shire. Having seen the destructiveness of gossip IRL, I wouldn't be inclined to say the portrayal of the Tooks' gossip in my stories is exaggerated. Thanks for reading and pausing to share your thoughts! | |