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| Sharing Sam by Celeritas | 34 Review(s) |
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| Kara's Aunty | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/2/2008 |
| Hello Celeritas, I'm so glad that there was another chapter to this. I had thought Sharing Sam to be a oneshot, so it was delightful to see it top of the list on the home page of SoA again. This was a moving chapter. How like Sam to have nightmares that were concerned with him being unable to stop Frodo being hurt - and how like Frodo to try and play down his own dark dreams to Rosie. This is an excellent story that beautifully explores their tentative relationship. I hope there shall be many more chapters to it. Sorry I haven't read or reviewed for a while. Big changes at work and I've a bad head cold so reading is giving me headaches at the moment, but I will catch up on Kira and Co when I'm up to tackling more than one chapter at a time. I'm looking forward to catching up on all the chapters that have accrued since my last visit. All the best! Maureen :) Author Reply: Oh, believe me, I thought it was a oneshot, too, but sometimes those plotbunnies sneak up on you without your realizing it. The story's still set at "complete" because I can't think of anything else to add at the moment, but now that this one's been added there may be a few more. Nothing I can guarantee. I'm glad you found both Frodo and Sam (although the latter doesn't appear directly) in character with their dreams. There really is nothing more frightening for Sam than Frodo getting hurt! No need to apologize for any perceived neglect, by the way! Reality should always take precedence over the fanciful sub-sub-creations that reside here, and there is no such thing as a reader's obligation. Still, when you have the time I look forward to your commentary on the later developments in my tale, and I do hope that you will continue writing--and posting--when the fancy hits you! ~Celeritas | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/2/2008 |
| He will either be dead or have sailed when that one comes, I think. Not that sailing isn't akin to dying as far as all are concerned. I'm so glad she was so thoughtful for him, and that she thought of sleeping in Sam's room so as to be nearby. Poor fellow. But she'll make a perfect mistress of Bag End! Lovely details. Author Reply: Frodo knows deep inside, but can't quite seem to grasp, that in that vision they're grieving over him. I still don't think Rosie is at the point where she can think of Mr. Frodo as a friend, but she does pity him and she knows she needs to look out for him for Sam. It's a good start for her future role in life. Thanks for reviewing! | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/2/2008 |
| Oh, your Rose is so much as I've always thought of her: practical, steadfast and as loyal as Sam himself. It was a wonderful conversation, and I loved her shrewdness in picking forth what Frodo was leaving out about himself. And of course, there was the foreshadowing there at the end. We know. But it's not something Frodo is ready to admit to himself yet, not for a while, at any rate...that's why he can't quite grasp it. Author Reply: It's interesting, isn't it, how we know so little about Rose from canon but try to make the same conclusions? Aside from the fact that she must be a character worthy of Sam's affection, she obviously must have been an excellent mother so I tried to put forth some of those qualities in this chapter--the shrewdness being one of them. I don't know, of course, when Frodo made his decision to sail--I imagine he'd put it off as long as he feasibly could--but compounded with whatever visions he's started having it must have been very frustrating because all of the sights have one thing in common: he's not there. But you're right, he's not ready to realize that yet. | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/1/2008 |
| Ohhh, how heartbreaking. But it really is best if there are no secrets between Frodo and Rose, especially when it comes to preparing her for being Sam's wife, Mistress of the Hill, and one of Frodo's guardians for as much time as they have together. Author Reply: Yup. I did (suddenly, too; you never know when those plotbunnies will bite) want to show from the other side how difficult this would be for Frodo, to try and open up to someone he hardly knows simply on virtue of the fact that he knows Sam loves her, and that he will marry her. As in the previous bit, though, better now than later. | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/16/2008 |
| This was just lovely and so very true to life.Your Rosie feels very real. Author Reply: Thank you! I'm glad you thought this was realistic--I find it hard to believe that Rosie would sit passively by and let Sam have his extended adventure without getting angry with someone. | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/14/2008 |
| A delightful short story - I really like this take on Rosie. It would be natural for her to harbor some resentment towards Frodo for not only haring off with Sam for so long, while the Shire was in trouble, but then seeming to be the center of Sam's attention when they returned. But what I love about this story is that it shows Rosie's essential good nature as well; she does not hate or demean Frodo in her thoughts, she recognizes him as a kind, sincere hobbit. And I love how Frodo not only gives Rosie a glorious future as the mistress of Bag End; he also gives her Sam, at least a personal account of the heroic Sam who helped save them all, which Sam himself would probably never do. Author Reply: Well, of course she can't bring herself to hate Mr. Frodo--he's one of those gentry bachelor types who's probably a bit obtuse when it comes to treading on a lass's (especially a country lass's) feelings, so he really can't help it, etc., etc. The excuses come very easily to Rose, but I think a huge reason (aside from that essential good nature which must be inherent in any lass Sam fancies) is that she knows how dear he is to Sam and so there must be something to the fellow even if she can't quite see it yet. I often see in other hobbit-type shippy fics some sort of recognition of one of the Travellers and seeing how much and how drastically he's changed. But you rarely see that with Sam and Rosie, even though Sam was quite affected by his experiences as well. Frodo in his narrative is, on some level, trying to assure Rosie that if Sam has changed in anything, he's even greater than before--something which Rosie surely already knows but it's nice to get a bit of specific confirmation anyway. Thanks for reading! | |
| Yavanna | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/13/2008 |
| This is a wonderful story. I believe Rosie had indeed secound thoughts against Frodo and would not easily move into Bagend after marrying Sam. Frodo telling her about Sam's heroic deeds on the quest was not only a heartfelt desire of him, but also a clever move to open her heart, though Frodo did this out of love and not calculation. Author Reply: Thanks for reading! Frodo's a very clever sort of fellow, and I'm sure that he did have some secondary benefits in mind in this fic when starting to tell Rosie of Sam. Depending on how much you think Frodo's love for Sam grew over the Quest (basically dependent on how much class would have gotten in the way of pre-Quest friendship blossoming between them), he may have had a lot to prove to Rosie. And if Rosie can just realize the extent to which he loves Sam (which hearing him storytell about Sam's heroics certainly would--oh, to be a fly on the wall in that room!), that'll do a lot to raise Frodo in her mind. | |
| Kara's Aunty | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/13/2008 |
| Celeritas, Oh what a lovely story. I've never really taken time before to stop and think if Rose harboured any small resentment towards Frodo because Sam left with him - I just accepted that she was glad to have Sam back after their adventures- so this was a refreshing read! You fleshed out the heart-to-heart between the two most importanct people in Sam's life nicely. Rose's hesitancy to 'speak up to her betters' was so realistic and Frodo's reassurances are very characteristic of him. It was nice to see them reach a mutual understanding and begin forging the bonds of their own friendship. Great work! M :) Author Reply: Hurrah, glad I opened up a new possibility! I tend to think that Rosie really didn't know Frodo too well prior to marrying Sam, so it was pretty easy for her to get mad at him! Fortunately now that he's helped her put that behind her she'll be able to get to know him--and consequently, Sam, who came back changed--better. | |
| cookiefleck | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/12/2008 |
| I enjoyed this very much (I'm someone who likes Sam fic, in particular). I especially liked Frodo telling Rosie about Sam's heroic deeds. She (and the rest of the Shire) *should* know the sacrifices Sam and the others made for the sake of Middle-earth. Author Reply: Thanks, cookiefleck! I've always been amused by that one scene in the Scouring when Frodo starts heaping ridiculous amounts of praise on Sam and Sam doesn't quite know how to react because 1). he's really quite embarrassed, but 2). Rosie's over there staring at him. I figured Rosie would have to learn the full extent of his deeds at some point, but probably better to have that done with him not around! | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/10/2008 |
| *applause!* This is a wonderful and refreshingly different take on Rose and her relationship with Frodo! It makes a good deal of sense for her to bear a bit of resentment under the circumstances. And Frodo dealt with it perfectly--in keeping with his wisdom. I've used the scenario of Rose guessing that Sam was going off with Frodo (though not why), and giving him--well, not exactly her blessing, but her assurance that she'd wait for him. But, really your idea is a much more likely one. The dialogue was lovely, by the way--just perfect for the both of them. You have a good handle on the "working class hobbit voice" that JRRT used, and you don't try to use a dialect that doesn't quite ring true. It always bothers me a little bit when people write Sam or other working class hobbits and make them sound like a hillbilly. I'm always nervous of it myself, afraid I will slip into that without meaning to. Author Reply: Excellent! "Refreshingly different" is my aim for just about all of the fan fiction I write--I started lurking on this site years ago and quickly realized how much a lot of different authors wrote in common, making the same assumptions, describing the characters that Tolkien rarely or hardly describes in the same way (usually the way they appeared in the films!), giving their characters the same motivations, etc. But on returning to the books for a massive reread I quickly realized that these self-feeding loops actually made fanon as a whole diverge from canon; and that rather than making you think more about canon and look at it in a number of new (but not distorting) angles, they often limited the reader's views and perceptions. So oftentimes I consciously go against the norms of fanon, especially SoA hobbit fanon because I know it so well, in an attempt to be "refreshingly different" and make people think. In this case what I was going against was more or less your "scenario," coupled with the idea that Frodo and Rosie knew each other at least well enough to be considered acquaintances pre-Quest (when actually the first time you even hear of Rosie is in the Mordor chapters!). While I do believe that Rosie was smart enough to figure out that Sam was going to be gone, and for a while, and that he might not come back, I don't know if she'd have had a chance to communicate that with him! Nevertheless, I think it would have been a lot harder for Sam to go off if he hadn't known, even by virtue of Rosie's character, that she would wait for him. But all of that still doesn't mean that there wouldn't be any hard feelings toward Frodo after all of this was done--especially since Rosie was expecting Sam since spring! I share your dialect fears, actually, to the point that I'm almost positive that I overcorrect now (especially for Sam), and that it's not rusticified enough. So I'm very pleased to know I've succeeded (for you, at least) in this aspect as well. So on both points your review has been highly supportive, because it's always good to know that I'm doing what I wanted to do! | |