GamgeeFest's Keepsakes by GamgeeFest
Agape4Gondor · 13 August 2007 · Chapter 5: The Healer's Apprentice
Lovely. The healer was gifted with peace, wasn't she?
Author's reply
She does a gentle way about her, which I feel is essential to healers, though certainly not mandatory. And her fascination with the Elves will help her gain the trust of her reluctant and stubborn patient. ;) Thanks for reading!
Agape4Gondor · 13 August 2007 · Chapter 4: A Matter of Pervinca
ROTFL "Or maybe Gandalf would know an antidote!" Pippin called after him. "He's up at Bag End just now, I can be there and back again before the day is out. You can survive that long surely. ... Everard?" I just love this - I can truly understand where Pippin is coming from! Great job!
Author's reply
Pippin's long rivarly with Pervinca has just made it impossible for him to conceive that anyone might willingly fall in love with her! I felt the same way when my brother got married, I can't count how many times I almost asked my sister-in-law "Do you really want to do this?" LOL!
Agape4Gondor · 13 August 2007 · Chapter 2: Looking After
I want to kick myself for not continuing to read these. Very glad I put an author alert up! This is precious, priceless, and perfect! The boy faltered on his feet then, his toes getting tired of propping him up for so long... Loved this description... AND the Elves - what a remarkable interesting thing for Bilbo to have done to the lad... Oh dear *giggles* Thanks for sharing these - they are a delight!
Author's reply
Sam is such a dear, to want to look after Frodo even at such a young age. Though I image it would be concerning for him, being as he lives in a household where everyone is awake and out of bed before the sun. ;) Bilbo is quite mischievious here, to play such a trick on trusting Sam! Frodo's suggestion should put a stop to such teasing in the future though. ;) Thanks for reading!
harrowcat · 13 August 2007 · Chapter 27: Most Beautiful
Wields fluff-buster *sneezes loudly*!! Poor Sam - glad he has good advice at hand.
Author's reply
*throws more fluff* The last one was so angsty, it needed to be balanced out with some fluff. :D If Frodo hadn't been there, the Gaffer would have found Sam eventually and told him more or less the exact same thing. But Frodo was there, and so we see the beginnings of what will later become Sam's deep devotion and loyalty to Frodo and Frodo's equally strong impulse to protect Sam. Thanks for the review!
Dreamflower · 13 August 2007 · Chapter 27: Most Beautiful
I love this, for what it says about all three of the characters: about Sam, who even at that age felt tenderly for each little plant put in his care, and who could not bear it that they died in spite of all his care; about Frodo, who's observed his little friend closely, and knows this about him, and has figured out just the right way to encourage and cheer Sam, also his missing Merry and Brandy Hall--which was just right, by the way; and about the Gaffer, who allows his son to learn from the best teacher of all, experience, without hovering over him, and telling him how to do every little thing. (This last one is a very important thing to me, when I think of the little ones I had to teach crafts to, who had an interfering parent hanging over his or her shoulder saying "No, that's wrong! Use this color! You do it *this* way! Wait! You're messing up!" Grrr...haven't they ever heard of stifling creativity?) And there were other little touches that were so perfect: Frodo having remembered what grew there before; his story about the pony; Sam's stout conviction that the Gaffer had already taught him everything; and the Gaffer's muttering about Dwarf lilies, LOL! (And it makes me wonder if the Gaffer didn't give those lilies to Sam to plant with the secondary motive of teaching Mr. Bilbo a lesson...would he do that? Nawwwww... ;-) ) Absolutely wonderful vignette, GF!
Author's reply
Sam does indeed feel for the plants in his care, perhaps a little too much, but that's what makes him such a dear heart. He'll learn to handle the bumps and setbacks with more grace as time goes by, but for now, he can only think of how he failed the Gaffer, Frodo, Bilbo and those poor Dwarf lilies. It would never have occured to him that his father would set him this task *without* teaching him everything first! His Gaffer is the most wonderful and smartest gaffer in the Shire, after all, and he simply couldn't understand at this young age what his father was really doing: testing his skills to see where he needs further instruction. Frodo has come to know Sam rather well, though he is still uncertain of his ability to comfort the lad at the beginning here. Once he starts though, he does just seem to know what to say. He does have *some* experience with young children after all, and he would think of Merry at a time like this. He would naturally miss his cousin, but it does rather surprise him to realize he also misses Brandy Hall. His last couple years there weren't the happiest, after all, but it was still home. And the Gaffer - he's not one to hover or crowd or over-parent. It doesn't help the child in the least and it's just not practical. How is he supposed to do his job if he's spending all his time helping Sam? ;) (You know, I wondered that too while I was writing the story, would the Gaffer really have given Sam those seeds for that very reason? I think if he did it must have been subconscious, for of course, it would just be improper to do such a thing on purpose.) :D
cookiefleck · 13 August 2007 · Chapter 27: Most Beautiful
These kinds of stories are so heartwarming and sweet. It's fun to imagine Sam's early days in the garden and his interaction with others. Thanks.
Author's reply
Sam might be the master gardener by the time we meet him in LOTR, but he had to start somewhere. He might have failed his first assignment, but he'll learn from his mistakes, just as his Gaffer knew he would. :) Thanks for the review!
Larner · 7 August 2007 · Chapter 26: A Fool's Hope
Of course neither is a failure; but it's hard to believe differently as one watches one so well-beloved fail in spite of himself and all done for his comfort. I'd written another, more eloquent response, but Hughes ate it as it's been doing again. I am coming to detest my ISP more and more by the day.
Author's reply
Neither is a failure, and both will, with time, come to understand and accept that. Not knowing what else to do, and believing that ignoring the problem was the best way to forget it, Sam just did what he has always done - and for once that wasn't enough. I hate it when the computer eats my posts. I'm in the habit now to copy and save anything I don't want to retype - just in case.
cookiefleck · 6 August 2007 · Chapter 26: A Fool's Hope
Really enjoyed this. Heartbreaking to read Sam's thoughts as you envisioned them.
Author's reply
Sam loves his master dearly and he can't stand to see him suffer, yet he's lost as to what to do to help. It was bound to wear on him, stout-hearted though he was. Thanks for reading!
Queen Galadriel · 6 August 2007 · Chapter 26: A Fool's Hope
*cries* Oh, my word, that is the most touching Frodo-Sam ficlet I've read in a long time, GF. Oh, man, it's heartbreaking! I know why he keeps them a secret, these days that are so bleak for him. You see, I’m the one who helped him across Mordor, even carried him up the volcano some. I kept him alive in that black land when everything around us would see him dead, including himself. Somehow we survived and escaped, and if I thought my job done, I was wrong. I see that now. I brought him home to the Shire, expecting him to be safe as a kitten at his mother’s teat, but that isn’t what happened. Standing here on this peaceful spring night, looking down at the too-slim form of my master, it’s plain for all to see that’s he suffering here, drowning on dry land and there’s naught I can do to stop it. I kept him alive only to fail him in the end. And that’s the awful truth. It’s not anything either of us want to talk about. So when he finally shakes himself from his stupor and says everything’s all right, I agree with him and get him his tea and build up the fire while he pulls out the inkwell, dips a quill and starts dabbling nonsense on that blank page. It’s a sort of dance we’ve developed over the months since I moved here with Rose and every day we get a little better at performing it. Maybe if we get good enough, the memories won’t haunt him quite so much and he’ll start getting better. Maybe then, I won’t be such a failure. It’s a fool’s hope, but it’s the only one I have. I don't have the words; I can't seem to make my fingers do what I want them to anyway after I read something like this. Poor dear Sam! And as usual your portrayal is among the best. God bless, Galadriel
Author's reply
Thank you Queeny! I'm so touched that you were moved so much by this! It's an idea that's been slowly forming in my head for quite a while now. When I sat down, with an entirely different story in mind, this came out instead. I simply couldn't understand, when I first read LOTR, how Sam could seem so blind to his master's suffering. I was even quite angry with him. I see now that we, the readers, have the benefit of hindsight and the knowledge of psychology. We know what anniversary illnesses and PTSD are, but there's simply no way the hobbits could have. Also, this part of the story is still largely being told from Frodo's POV, and Frodo didn't want to believe that Sam noticed his suffering. It was easier for Frodo to bear it alone and think his friend unaffected by it - or so he believed. Once I realized that, it was much easier to figure out a story-internal explanation for Sam's seeming forgetfulness.
Periantari · 5 August 2007 · Chapter 26: A Fool's Hope
Thanks for remembering dear! I am still in China but SoA works here FORTUNATELY and i love this heart-wrenching ficlet. I love it a lot... it's so sad that Sam couldn't be the one to really ease Frodo of his suffering and to see him like that day by day is quite sad.. this was so delicately written i enjoyed reading it a lot. So poignant. :( :*( Thanks so much for this ficlet dear! (now i gotta make my mathom better fro you ;) ♥ :hugsyou:
Author's reply
You're welcome, dear! *hugs you* I'm glad your neck of the woods isn't completely without internet. I wanted to write something cute and fluffy, and I even had the perfect little story in mind when I sat down at the computer, but this came out instead. It's been on the back burner for quite some time now, I guess it finally decided it was done. :D There would have been good days and bad days, just as any other terminal illness. The bad days would have been difficult for both of them, for many reasons, but I do think guilt would have factored into it a great deal. Sam has always been able 'to do' for his master and had even performed with 'perfect satisfaction' during the darkest days of the Quest. Now they're home, where everything should be fine and normal again, and he can't seem to do anything to ease his master at all. Confusion, frustration, anger and yes, guilt, would have niggled at Sam a great deal during such days, but after some years pass and he's able to get some perspective on it all, he'll realize that there was very little more he could have done. Thanks for reading, dear! I'm glad you enjoyed your mathom! :D
RenaissanceGrrl · 5 August 2007 · Chapter 26: A Fool's Hope
Deliciously angsty.
Author's reply
:D Thanks!
Antane · 5 August 2007 · Chapter 26: A Fool's Hope
Oh, Sam, dear Sam. It was St. Teresa of Lisieux, the Little Flower, who said there is no greater suffering on earth than to watch a loved one suffer and be helpless to stop it. And I know you knew that suffering well. It was instead a foolish hope that your treasured brother thought he could hide anything from you. Thank you for being there for him. I love you for that, for being you. You did so much, just doing that. You are not a failure anymore than he thought he was. *hugs you both* Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Author's reply
Sam did indeed help to keep Frodo longer in the Shire than he otherwise would have been able to stay. His efforts weren't all in vain, and he will with time realize that there was little more he could have done. Just as Frodo will with time learn that he was not a failure. Thanks for reading!
Larner · 5 August 2007 · Chapter 26: A Fool's Hope
Oh, such a true description of the two different sides to dealing with PTSD! Poor Frodo, and poor Sam, both trying their best to see all put right, while Frodo cannot do so within Middle Earth.
Author's reply
Sam has always been the one to serve, to help, to anticipate his master's needs and meet them before he's asked, the giver of himself and his life to those around him. Now, it's no longer enough and this had to have stung. He would realize and accept the truth in time, but for now, they're both two rather miserable hobbits.
Grey Wonderer · 5 August 2007 · Chapter 26: A Fool's Hope
That was such an interesting look into Sam's mind. I do think he would have felt that he'd failed though nothing could have been further from the truth. I enjoyed this very much.
Author's reply
I've been mulling this over for a while - how Sam could possibly forget during Frodo's illnesses. It's taken me a while to piece it all out, but it's clear to me now: Sam just didn't know about anniversary illnesses. None of the hobbits would have been expecting any such thing, it would be completely unprecidented. Yet Sam *would* have noticed Frodo acting more drawn in and quiet than usual and would naturally have been concerned. But having learned from months of watching his master struggle to regain a foothold in the Shire, he wouldn't have spoken, knowing it would do little good. So he just does what he always does - offer tea, get food, fuss over him, bank the fire - and hope that it was enough. When he could see that it wasn't enough, he was at a loss of what to do and guilt wouldn't have been too far behind. He had protected his master during the Quest, got him through Mordor, only to watch him sink into despair upon returning home. Deep down, he knew it wasn't his fault but he just couldn't convince his heart of that. Thanks for reading! :)
Dreamflower · 5 August 2007 · Chapter 26: A Fool's Hope
He thinks I don’t see it, but I do. You don’t save a soul one day and forget how it suffered the next. So Sam goes along with Frodo's saying there's nothing wrong, because he hopes that it will thereby become true over time... And that, of course, is the story-internal explanation of why Sam, so devoted to Frodo throughout all the darkness of the Quest, seemingly forgets about it on his friend's dark days when they return: He has not truly forgotten, he is only going along with Frodo's own pretense of forgetfulness, for he doesn't know what else to do to help. We are getting Frodo's memories in the Red Book, and they are filtered through his denial. And story-externally, I think JRRT simply could not bear to deal with it himself--it struck too close to home, and his own memories of the foxholes of WWI.
Author's reply
I don't see how Sam could have missed Frodo's 'dark days', living in the same smial as him, but he would not have equated these with the anniversaries of Frodo's stabbing on Weathertop and stinging by Shelob. Anniversary illnesses would have been a rather foreign concept to them, completely unheard of, so it's not something Sam would have been looking for. But he would certainly have noticed Frodo being more quiet than usual, more drawn in on himself than was typical. Sam would have thought of it as more of the same that he's seen before, just more intense on that particular day(s) for whatever reason, and been just as much at a loss of how to handle it as he was on any other day that Frodo was 'under the weather'. And Frodo, dear Frodo, fooled himself into believing that Sam didn't notice, to both avoid having to have the conversation of him leaving until the last moment, and to avoid having to verbalize his own sense of guilt. It's a shame really - a good bit of venting on both sides would have done them a world of good.
Antane · 29 April 2007 · Chapter 25: Deconstructing the Red Book, Part II
And with that he went inside and slammed – SLAMMED! – the door in Khamûl’s non-existent face. Take that, you nasty wraith! Love it - LOL! It is good that Merry insisted on having the Red Book written as it came down to us instead of him knowing as he did in the movie. Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Author's reply
LOL! Poor Khamul! He had no idea what he was coming up against when he entered the Shire. Though you have to love his reasoning - the Gaffer looks old, so he must be Baggins. ;) Story externally, it was important that Tolkien write Dernhelm in the way he did, for it to be a surprise to the reader when he was finally revealed to actually be Eowyn. Story internally, it makes poor, underappreciated Merry look like a dolt. So I thought the best compromise would be if Merry knew but allowed himself to look like a dolt for the sake of the story. ;) I love playing 'what if' every now and then and these two ficlets proved to be a lot of fun. I'm glad you enjoyed them!
Antane · 29 April 2007 · Chapter 23: The Rose
Very interesting poems! I could see why Sam would find it dear to him, so dear that he would keep it one his person all along. And I could see why he could also leave it behind. His Rose had died and he was going toward the other half of his heart - there was no need to hold onto it any longer. I saw love and loss and longing and his gardener's heart would have liked those aspects to spoke about taking care of plants too. It must have been written by someone who knew him well or as happens a lot with me, it was written not at all with him in mind, but when he read it, he took it to his own heart and it had great meaning for him. Loved Frodo Gardener's intro also. Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Author's reply
Frodo Gardner is, to me, a mix of both Sam and his namefather. Had Frodo Baggins ever met him, he would have been duly impressed. As for the poem, I still haven't figured out who wrote it or why, and I'm not trying overly hard. I think some things are best left to the imagination. All those theories are just so intriguing, I would hate to disregard any of them in favor of another. Whatever the case, Sam found the poem endearing enough to keep all those years, and that's really the only thing that matters. Thanks so much for reading and for your lovely review! :)
RenaissanceGrrl · 8 March 2007 · Chapter 25: Deconstructing the Red Book, Part II
This, too, has left me in giggles. ^_^ Non-existant face indeed. (Are the Black Riders ever given names? I don't recall.)
Author's reply
Thank you! I'm so happy these both got a laugh out of you! :D Khamul is named in The Unfisihed Tales, "The Hunt for the Ring". He was the one-time ruler of Dol Goldor. I don't believe the other wraiths were ever named.
RenaissanceGrrl · 8 March 2007 · Chapter 23: The Rose
I suppose it would be cheating to ask what the actual explanation is, in your mind? ^_^ I can't intelligently review poetry, lol, but I do like these. The second one moreso than the first. It does seem quite likely that some bard knew of Sam's love of gardening and wrote the poem as a gift. (Though, then, why did he write on the back of it?)
Author's reply
It is cheating, but it doesn't matter, as I honestly have no clue. ;) I have theories, but they're really no better than the ones already given here. I do think it's very possible that Frodo opened the poem first and laid it down upside down. That would at least explain Sam's writing on it. Of course, it's also possible that it was Merry or Pippin who opened it first, and they simply don't remember it. Hey, they can't remember *everything* that happened all those years ago! ;)
RenaissanceGrrl · 8 March 2007 · Chapter 24: Deconstructing the Red Book
*sniggle* Express train, indeed. Nice.
Author's reply
Which is why I don't feel so bad when I goof on a metaphor or use a modern word or expression without thinking about it. ;) I'm glad this made you laugh.
Daynawayna · 3 March 2007 · Chapter 25: Deconstructing the Red Book, Part II
LOL! I liked it! Sam's good 'ole Gaffer! That was very clever, GF. Me likey. LOL. :)
Author's reply
This is the kid-friendly version of that conversation. :) The Gaffer certainly isn't a hobbit to be messing with, especially when he has dinner about to burn on the stove! ;) I'm glad you enjoyed this one too!
Daynawayna · 3 March 2007 · Chapter 24: Deconstructing the Red Book
ROFLOL!! RUNAWAY TRAIN?? PALANTIR AT MEDUSELD!?!? OMG too funny! Which Red Book are we deconstructing, anyways? Frodo's or PETER JACKSONS? ROFLOL!! On to the next one! :)
Author's reply
LOL! Well, Merry knowing about Dernhelm and the express train would be Frodo's Red Book, and the palantir would be a poke at the movies. I'm glad this gave you a laugh! :)
Bodkin · 3 March 2007 · Chapter 25: Deconstructing the Red Book, Part II
Poor Khamul! You could almost feel sorry for him - he is definitely having a bad day. I love his pondering whether pushing the runts with his finger was a permissible loophole. And the general grumpy unimpressed-ness of the Gaffer.
Author's reply
Khamul will continue to have bad days, I'm afraid. ;) About the only good day he'll have is Weathertop - it must have felt like quite an achievement for him when the WK finally succeeded in getting Frodo. If tipping hobbits over was not a permissible loophole, then at least Sauron was far enough away to never know about it! LOL The Gaffer was trying to enjoy his last night of freedom before Lobelia moved in. Let's face it, he has far scarier things to worry about than a Black Rider! ;)
Bodkin · 3 March 2007 · Chapter 24: Deconstructing the Red Book
The story is more important than the accuracy of the details? True, in a way - but a slippery slope!
Author's reply
And one that Frodo would never really go down! But it's fun to play 'what if?' every once in awhile. :)
Baggins Babe · 2 March 2007 · Chapter 25: Deconstructing the Red Book, Part II
Poor old Khamûl, didn't bring a proper map, or asprin. Dealing with a stubborn Gaffer must have given him a severe headache, especially when he had to listen to a recital about all the Bagginses. Probably returned to the Witch-King with a severe case of terminal bewilderment!
Author's reply
And a severe case of hobbit-phobia! LOL! He's yet to encounter Maggot, or the guards on the Buckland Gate or the Bucklanders. The Gaffer will seem like a walk in the park. ;) And I can imagine him having a long talk with that spy when they get to Bree about not making accurate maps!