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A Matter of Appearances by Lindelea	272 Review(s)
Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 43 on 9/9/2006
grin And a nine-days "wonder" it's going to be. All of this has certainly given the Tooks a very great deal to Talk about! "Wonder" I think is a perfectly lovely name, and Flora a very nice "love-name". Have you ever written the story of Pippin's Naming Day? If it was Frodo who gave his cousin the gift of wonder, it's no surprise that it stuck! I'd love to see that! And I'd like to know what Merry gave his little cousin... As to Tolly--well, seeing Ferdi alive and whole (if not quite well) should help, as should his wife's quickening. But I think the episode with the Ruffians is going to be on his mind for a good long while... Author Reply: Yes, Pippin's Naming Day is in "Healer's Tale"; the chapter has "family" in the title, something like "Family Matters". I had cut chapters with Naming Day ceremonies into the draft for this story, to compare notes, and actually accidentally left a piece of one of those old chapters hanging when I copied this into SoA. Hope nobody got jarred by the fact that Berilac was limping up the aisle, crippled by a bull attack that wouldn't take place for at least two years! (Excised it, and hopefully didn't miss any other "research" paragraphs.) And Merry's altogether too cute, I have to say, at his cousin's naming day. And poor Tolly... but then he tends towards melancholy in the dark part of the year, anyhow. Springtide is coming, and by the time spring arrives, he'll know of the new baby growing, and that will be very cheering, along with the return of the sun and longer days. They say time heals all ills, and so by the time the sun retreats again and the days grow shorter, hopefully his wounds will have scabbed over and he'll be able to cope. And of course he'll have the distraction of worrying about Pippin, whose coach accident (and the birth of Diamond's twins) is at this point on the timeline, only a couple of months away.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 42 on 9/9/2006
I like the way Merry keeps forking the food into Ferdi. The poor hobbit must be in desperate need of sustenance by now, even if he seems to be able to go without food longer than most hobbits. And the name ... just as well Nell can read Ferdi's mind. There's a lot of debate there it would appear. But if his wishes are truly out there, she can accidentally give the babe a more acceptable name - provided Ferdi doesn't get his voice back at the ceremony. Pippin only asks Sam to do things? I'm not surprised - although the Tooks might be! Their conversation was interesting. Maybe Tolly was right - he may be an innocent hobbit, but he's not as green as he's cabbage-looking - he's known ruffians - if he thought those intruders were harmless, they were probably harmless. I'm glad Tolly didn't hold to ruffian-torture - for his sake more than theirs. And a few hours of fear don't seem too harsh a recompense for a pair who regularly put innocent children through the torments of kidnapping. Their deaths came quickly in the end - and Tolly was left able to see that Strider's justice is swift. And as much for the victims as the criminals. Author Reply: I was sort of figuring that Ferdi must be absolutely hollow by this point. I'm surprised they weren't trying to feed him, earlier, rather than letting him seek healing sleep as much as possible. Thank you for your e-mail with the name--I managed to work it so that that name, from the other story, would still fit with the name that naturally emerged in the writing of this one. Whew. Bit of a stretch of the imagination, but it's done. And I think Pimpernel has a sense of humour, which is one of the things Ferdi loved about her from their earliest acquaintance. (She just doesn't get the chance to show it much, when the angst is running high.) "Not as green as cabbage-looking". I just love your turns of phrase. And you're right, the intruders were probably harmless, but if they had too much to drink and bragged about their narrow escape, and the wrong ears were listening (and maybe buying them drinks to spill more of the truth)... Just as well that Regi sent a messenger to the Rangers to plug that particular hole. Poor Tolly. I hope Meadowsweet's remedy was just as effective as Elessar's, and probably, so far as he was concerned, more fun. I don't usually write so close to "racy" but EF dared me, and I had too much coffee at the time, and things took their course. (I'm sure Sweetie's "cure" had a wondrous effect, coupled with the heartening news that Tolly's best friend was not cold and in the grave.) Anyhow, that "puts paid" to this story. Whew. Can hardly believe it's finished.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 9/9/2006
And who better to honour the ruffian than Ferdi? And, where he leads, who wouldn't follow? Couldn't be better than to see Farry - whole and healthy, even if shorn - to offer reassurance to the assemble gossipy Tooks. Ferdi seems surprised to hear that he gave his life ... but then it seems to take more than being killed to keep that Took down. I'm glad to see Elessar is watching to see that everything's OK before he heads off back to his wife. Author Reply: Clicked on reviews while thinking about Tolly's story, and saw this wasn't answered. Good for a chuckle! (Ferdi surprised, and "takes more than being killed", snork) Thanks! (Makes me wish I had a little more computer time today, to try and write something. The Muse has been gone for about a month now, and I hope she's thinking fondly of home and hearth and might be inclined to return...)

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 40 on 9/9/2006
Tolly needs to get home. I'm not surprised he and Sam are riding through the night. Or, really, that Ferdi gets up off his all-but-deathbed to complain about burying a ruffian among the Tooks. Or that Farry is more worried about his Mum seeing his haircut than he is about the rest. Sometimes things like that seem to take on a bigger importance than ... other things. Good to see Boromir remembered - and with pride and love, too.

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 42 on 9/9/2006
Poor Pippin! He was so stressed and exhausted when he handed the ruffians off to Tolly that he didn't remember what he ordered, did he? But even not quite remembering, Sam's put him straight. I love Sam in this whole story. He's just wonderful here, reminding Pippin of what needs reminding, when anger and horror and exhaustion have made him forget. But he's such a rock. Regi's cute, in his Tookishness wondering why Pippin doesn't "order" the Mayor. As if Pippin would even think of such a thing with his friend! And Merry was wonderful too! I loved seeing him feed Ferdi like a faunt, and his wondering about the swelling in the head was just so Merryish--no matter what the circumstances, he never stops wanting to know things. As to Little Lass' name--I must be obtuse, I know you've left clues, and though I think I should know what it's going to be, it is escaping me entirely... (And may I say, I'm glad there'll be another chapter?) Author Reply: I'm secretly glad, too. I hate it when a story comes to an end, whether reading or writing. I often rush to the ending because of it, or else I write slower and slower and procrastinate. Hopefully the last chapter of this one won't feel rushed. It's only the third part of a 9,000 word chapter! (But I hope that Tolly's trouble makes sense. It makes sense to me, but I'm perilously short of sleep.) I love hearing what you loved. I need to do more of that when I review, too. g And now you know that you guessed right, as to the name. Though she'll be known as "Flora" more often, amongst her relatives, a sort of love-name that's more hobbity than her real name. She has a lot in common with her cousin Faramir! Thanks so much for sticking with this story, uncomfortable parts and all.

harrowcat	Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 9/9/2006
Satisfied sigh GReat conclusions Lindelea and grand to come back to. Onward to the little tale of the naming and, perchance, the return of Ferdi's voice then? - a little like the naming of John the Baptist maybe? And of course Sam and Tolly are still out there somewhere.... And as I have been away for three days could someone cook me a Buckland breakfast? Pleese? Tea and toast don't quite fill the order! Author Reply: Glad it gave you something good to come back to. And your review just came in as I was posting the next chapter. Which was supposed to be the last chapter, but my Internet has been most uncooperative today, and I had to cut the chapter to 3,000 words to get it to post. More tomorrow, I hope, if the silly dial-up will just stop crashing on me. And welcome back! We'd be happy to cook you a Buckland breakfast! (As a matter of fact, I think it's on the menu for just a few hours from now.) Got to toddle off to bed now. Thanks!

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 9/7/2006
Rejoice with Pippin, Diamond, Farry, Ferdi, and Nell--in the end they have come to good, and the King has watched all of this from a distance and knows peace as he prepares to return to his own folk. Now, just the naming to deal with... Author Reply: Right, just the naming, though I think I figured out a way to have my cake and eat it too (are you familiar with Forget-me-not, known for short as "Ruby"?) and use both names. It was so lovely to spend an hour today. I wish it could have been longer, but wish you safe journey and soon returning. The little hobbits send their best.

Pearl Took	Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 9/7/2006
"Fighting to keep his voice from breaking, he continued. ‘Ferdibrand offered his life, in defence of my son, but the ruffians clubbed him to the ground, leaving him to die in his blood in the cold of night...’ Ferdi blinked again, astonished at the news. They had? Why had no one told him about this? Wouldn’t you think he’d be the first to know?" LOL That is so well done!! I love it :-) sigh Everyone all safe and sound. The poor young ruffian properly honored. Applause Applause Onward to the naming!! Author Reply: Thank you! Thank you! Onward to the Naming... can you believe this is almost done? (Whew, glad, although I could probably stretch this part out for chapters... this is the part I like.) And you quoted one of my favourite parts. Poor Ferdi, always the last to know!

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 41 on 9/7/2006
Thank you, Lin, for telling me of the end of the chapter! I'm so glad you did--that was charming. And Elessar most certainly deserved a Buckland Breakfast after all he'd done! Beautiful! Author Reply: You're welcome! We have Buckland breakfasts here at least once a month, with all the trimmings. Yum!

demeter d	Reviewed Chapter: 38 on 9/7/2006
So good of the Rangers to spare Tolly as much as possible. Still, it is good for him to know as much as he can about the realities of the world of men. After the War of the Rings, many more peoples, for good or ill, knew about Hobbits then ever had before. Even with Aragorn's Edict, the Shire was no longer the hidden haven it had once been. And Sam is just being Sam. He is my favorite character of all the good professor's world. He has lost his innocence, but if anything has deepened his compassion and heart. To help to deal out that kind of a cruel death, even if the Ruffians "deserved" it, would make him like them. And that he would never do. It is good of Merry to comfort Farry about the fate of the young man who saved him. It would be nice if one or more of the Hobbits who had a good look at him had had skill in drawing people. Perhaps then his picture could be taken back to Gondor. It might have comforted a family grieving over a lost son to know that in the end he had re-discovered his humanity and protected someone helpless. His sacrifice is indeed reminiscent of Boromir's. I hope they make it back for the burial. I like the way one fan-fic author has the Edict being amended so that invited quests can be escorted in by Shire officials or their representatives. I think the appearance of King Elessar at the young man's memorial would have made quite an impression. i also enjoyed the image of "Strider" still watching over his friends! Author Reply: You know, I don't think Sam expected Tolly to ask for the Easterlings' solution; he was merely giving the ruffians some food for thought on the journey to the Bounds, in attempt to make them as uncomfortable as possible. He let the punishment go forward, for Tolly was the Thain's representative after all, but I think he was turning over in his mind just how to extricate themselves (all of them, ruffians, Rangers, and Shire-folk) from the situation the whole time he and Tolly were sitting by the fireside. And finally there was nothing for it but to speak the truth, plain and unvarnished. And thankfully Tolly is not such a hard-headed Took as to stubbornly maintain the path he's chosen, all the way to the end, but can listen to reason. And as for the Edict--I keep finding ways to stretch that thing. It is a most inconvenient device. I have given three Men and their families passes to allow them entrance to the Shire, and made Bergil a hobbit (adopted by Sam's family), and even had Pippin extend permission to the King to visit, under special circumstances. O yes, and the King and his Men may enter the Shire on emergency. Um. Sounds like a leaky sieve to me. But for the most part, Elessar tries to honour the Edict. Whew.

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