Reviews (12)

Author's reply

It's amazing how much we can destroy without even meaning to, with just a careless word or one thoughtless action. Merry learned this lesson the hard way and it will never quite leave him. Sam is the forgiving sort, but this will take some time getting over.

Author's reply

Merry really messed things up here. Just one of many times that his competitive streak got the better of him. He learned his lesson - at least about thoughtless pranks - but he learned it too late. I wouldn't want the Gaffer angry with me either. He's cranky enough on a good day! Being confronted by first the fire and then Gaffer's reaction was enough to put Sam out of his depths. He's not used to his father yelling at him and he's certainly never known his father to raise a hand against him. This would have gone to Sam's core and it's no wonder that he avoided Merry after this and that it took so long for them to reconcile.

Author's reply

Thank you, FB!! This was an unusual writing style for me and I'm glad that it contributed to your enjoyment of the story. There really was no other way it could have been done. It just seemed to be one of those stories that required it's own special style. Thank you for reading and for the review! *hugs*

Author's reply

It was a hard lesson for everyone, both for Sam and Merry. Sam learned that not everyone can be trusted and Merry learned that acting in spite results in disaster. They have reconciled, but it will be awhile before Sam completely trusts Merry again. Thanks for reading!

Author's reply

Thank you so much! I'm most pleased you enjoyed it. I don't often do flashbacks in my fics and I found the only way I could really do it was to write the flashback story first and then go in and add in the present story. Sort of backward probably, but it worked. :) "Mid Year" will eventually see Sam and Merry patching things up. Thanks for reading!

Author's reply

You're welcome very much. I'm so pleased this made your day. :) That may well be the last spontaneous prank Merry ever attempts. He'll be thinking things through a little better from now on, even if not always thinking them through *clearly*. Sam was devoted to Frodo from day one, and it just grew from there. Thanks for reading!

Author's reply

I'd like to know what Sam put in the tea also, lol! Clearly nothing that would harm either of them, but when mixed with raspberries tastes pretty nasty. Pippin is nothing if not dedicated to the art of mischief. And considering he's probably been in such jams before, he would know how much to let fall on him so he wouldn't be hurt. ;) The resolution will be played out in my current fic "A Mid Year's Walking Trip." The main reason I wrote this fic was so the back story wouldn't completely overtake the other one and riddle it with angst, lol. Trust will be a very important factor in the future, that's for certain. They'll get it back, you can count on that. Thank you so much for the lovely review. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Author's reply

I don't even want to attempt thinking up a punishment for Merry. I'll leave that up to my lovely readers to imagine for themselves. This is one of those situations where a parent wouldn't really know what to do, I think. Merry is doing a pretty good job of berating himself and feeling guilty, but would his parents thinks that's enough, considering how severe this action was? I don't know. Thanks so much for reading! Glad you enjoyed it.

Author's reply

Merry didn't think this one through too well did he? But kids that age aren't always good about considering the consequences of their actions, especially when they're feeling ignored and frustrated as Merry was. Pippin will probably start asking more questions about Merry's intentions after this, though that will hardly stop him from going along with whatever Merry comes up with. ;) As for the tea, lol, Sam's still young enough to not think much of playing along or getting back at his betters. That would have changed after this of course, but I love it when Sam gets to be a bit mischievious himself. Yep, expect Merry and Sam to have a good long discussion about all this in the walking trip fic. Thanks for reading. So glad you enjoyed it! Author Reply: Also meant to say, that I'm sure there are other writers using "Pipsqueak" also, and I've even seen one or two other stories using that nickname, but yours was the first. I probably would have thought about it eventually, but since you brought it to my attention, I thought I'd give you props. :)

Author's reply

You're most welcome Dayna! Thank you so much for reading and enjoying the story. Our poor hobbits got put through the ringer in this one didn't they? Such angst! See you around! :)

Author's reply

Thank you! Sam's still at that age where, even though he's learning to address his betters properly, he still tends to treat them as equals. He'll very soon be out of that stage however. In a few more months, he wouldn't even fathom playing a trick on his so-called betters. The idea of the tradition just sort of came out of the blue as I was typing and I rather like it. Harvest is such an important time of the year for farmers, it makes sense that they have traditions surrounding it. Thank you for reading! Glad you enjoyed it. I have a few more fics here if you wish to peruse those. :)

Author's reply

I know. Poor everyone! I felt so horrible writing this. And if I had known that *this* was going to happen, I would have approached Merry's and Sam's relationship at little bit differently from the start, but this story just sort of popped up in my head. I did figure out a way to fit it in and still make it work with the rest of my stories though. This incident is one of those things that sort of got swept under the rug and was never really resolved in any way. Once their punishment was over, whatever *that* might have been (I don't even want to think), everyone rather conveniently "forgot" about it. As for Sam, well, it has been quite a long time since that event and he realizes that Merry isn't as reckless or spontaneous as he was before, especially when it comes to Frodo. He'll trust Merry with his master any day of the week. It gets a little more complicated when it comes to trusting Merry with himself though. Merry's now wanting to resolve this incident, but it's not going to be easy for him. So much time has passed and everyone has either "moved on" or blocked it from their memories completely. Sam especially has gotten into the habit of *acting* friendly with Merry (since he would never be mean or indifferent) but at the same time keeping Merry at a rather safe distance. This is no longer good enough for Merry though. He wants to actually be able to talk to Sam as a friend and confidant rather than just as Frodo's gardener. Unfortunately, it's become a bit of habit for Merry also, as was hinted at with Frodo's frustration of Merry and Pippin always treating Sam as "the help." They're both going to have to relearn their relationship with each other.