Reviews (217)

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Hobbit school is not for the faint of heart. lol I think Gandalf was exaggerating when he said you could learn all about their ways in a month. Sure, maybe if you're a wizard! ;) Thanks for reading!

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Aunt Dora taught him well! If he couldn't recite the Rules verbatim before moving to Bag End, she made sure that he could. lol Boromir will be getting reinforcements soon. Don't worry about him. He won't be the only one confused anymore! :D

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I said that Gimli would be getting more involved in things, and he's officially joined the fray, in more ways than one, with this chapter. He always speaks so poeticaly in the books, whether Tolkien meant it to sound that way or not, and I figured he would be the best one, next to Frodo and Bilbo, to help Sam out here. Gilmi's *already* wishing he had listened more to his father. He'll be wishing it even more when he finds himself headed south in a few more weeks! lol We've all been in silly arguments before that, when they're over, we think 'what the heck did I get so upset for?' This would be one of those arguments for Sam and Boromir. At least Frodo set the record straight - or as straight as all those Rules will allow. Very complicated. And that was just a portion of them! ;)

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They are now knighted Honorary Hobbits, may the Valar protect them. LOL Boromir will be able to recite the Rules himself if this goes on too much longer!

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Those rules would give anyone who isn't a hobbit a headache. I don't blame Boromir for being confused! Pippin was surprised by that first picture and throwing away the book was a reflex reaction. I mean, he was raised with 4 older sisters, so he more than the other cousins would have had it drilled into his head from an early age to never spy on lasses. It was a reflex that I'm sure he is now kicking himself over, lol. Gimli's a sensible dwarf, if nothing else. Now, if he can just get rid of this habit of getting entangled in hobbit business! lol ;) Pipeweed? I could do that, I've researched it for another story I have on the backburner and it would be nice to finally put that research to use. :D Thanks for reading!

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Holidays and birthdays are always the worst for missing someone. The guilt doesn't help. But Pippin will always have his friends there. Writing the letter would help to ease some of that homesickness at least, and he shows a lot of growth in that second letter when compared to the first.

Author's reply

I imagine that Boromir's and Sam's earlier conversation before Gimli showed up sounded very much like a "Who's on First" sketch. lol Boromir needs to learn that there are some things he just will never understand. I thought I'd mix things up a bit and have Frodo and Bilbo be the trouble-makers this time around. You know they have it in them to be really devious, they couldn't survive all those years with the S-Bs if they didn't. Sam can be saucy sometimes also. He's not the usual working class hobbit, even before the Quest as much as he was able to fool himself otherwise. If Boromir thought that Sam wasn't the stubborn type, he knows better now! Frodo gets this tingling sensastion at the nape of his neck whenever Merry is up to something. It's like a sixth sense! Plus, there's always peripheral vision. ;) And it's also just knowing Merry as well as he does. There *is* a reason that no Took could beat the curiosity of a Brandybuck; Merry had to at least *try* to sneak a peek. ;)

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But I was already so disoriented! lol It was a nice distraction though and once I got Frodo to explain it to me, all I had to do was write what he said. ;) Gimli is wise in one thing - he doesn't attempt to understand the hobbits' logic! He just accepts what they say and then moves on. Boromir could take some lessons from him. Thanks for reading! And for the well wishes!

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It did take a couple of days to get all my notes in order and figure out what exactly the Rules are. Then I had to write them! lol Hobbit logic is wonderful, isn't it. So long as it's the rule, and the rule is a practical one (to their way of seeing things) then it makes sense. At least Frodo was able to admit that it's complicated. Merry would likely have started the lesson with "It's really quite simple." :P In my Shire, there are very rarely any male healers. Healing was in olden days a woman's occupation, and while there are male healers among Men and Elves, I think that the hobbits are archaic enough to still hold onto that tradition. And, by their logic, it just makes sense for the women to be the healers as they have less demands on their time and one of the primary functions of their jobs would be to attend to expectant mothers. While lads could be healers if they wanted to, they were more likely to be working the fields, keeping accounts, doing craft-making and other such things. So on the rare occasion that a lad does chose to be a healer, the hobbits would use Rule 7. :D Merry would rib Pippin every now and then about his 'necromancer', being the good older cousin that he is. :D Those art books might not be considered improper to elves, but for hobbits they're a tad on the racy side! Pippin's learning all sorts of things on this trip!

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Thank you Shirebound! What high praise indeed! *blushes* I've had some vague notions on Mister and Master for awhile now. It was just a matter of sitting down with the books and scanning them over to see if those ideas panned out, or where exceptions had to be made. Then I had to try to sort it all out so it was at least somewhat coherent! Now *that* took a long time! lol Frodo may not like to take-charge, but when he does there's no getting in his way. Besides, Boromir was upsetting Sam, and that just isn't allowed. :D Those art books! And just when Pippin had finished being obsessed with the rum cake too! At least he'll have Merry's help on this one. It'll be their chief goal for the remainder of their time there - to find those art books. ;) Gimli's got a sensible head on his shoulders. He and Sam combined would make quite a team. Boromir will be getting reinforcements soon, now that the scouting parties are starting to return.

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And that's just *part* of the Rules! It really is a wonder they can remember all that, though I doubt there are many who could recite them verbatim like Frodo can. That would be the result of his Aunt Dora, I'm sure. ;) Dickens? Really? Thank you so much! I'll have to take your word on that. Sadly, the only thing I know about Dickens is Mickey's Christmas Carol. *blushes* I'm glad the characters ring true to you. I do tend to worry about that when I write anyone other than the hobbits, so the feedback is nice! If anyone can get Frodo to loosen up, it's Bilbo! He really can be a worse scoundrel than Frodo at times, and he proves it here. While they aren't the sole culprits (Merry and Pippin have had their share of fun too, you can be sure) those Baggins cousins know how to cause trouble also, and then they're bold enough to pretend it wasn't them! lol I love Sam to bits. His growing self-confidence and self-realization is such an integral part of the books for me. To go on and be the Mayor for so many years really shows the positive impact that the Quest had on him. I don't know if I'll be writing that poem or not. It's certainly on my to-write list, along with a few dozen other stories! lol Thanks so much for reading!

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Maybe Faramir will write it for him, with some help from Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn. :D Merry's always been too competitive for his own good. And can you believe, this is the *less* competitive Merry? Losing to a *man* of all people clearly insulted his inner contender. lol Gimli may not have much experience in hobbits, who wear their emotions so easily on their sleeves, but he did a good job of consoling Pippin. I can just imagine Pippin sitting in his room at home going through several drafts to come up with that first letter! Maybe it's a good thing he did forget to leave it, I don't think it would have been very much comfort. The elves can easily carry the letters with them, once the going is safer. I don't know if they would find getting into the Shire as easy as they once did, since Men would now be occupying it and controlling most of the border. But the letters, if they are delivered, would be some comfort. At least they would know that their sons aren't dead - though Pippin forgets to tell them that Pearl gets his rock collection! ;)

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Gimli may not have thought himself adequate for the job of comforting a distraught hobbit, but he managed it just fine. :D Gimli was desperate to think up some sort of a solution, anything to keep Pippin from crying again! Pippin's letters were fun to write. I can imagine him sitting at home writing that first one, trying several drafts to come up with just the perfect one, lol. Merry's often too competitive for his own good. The thought of losing a game of aim to a *man* would have just haunted him to no end, and then to only *narrowly* win... lol He'll get that rematch yet, just to prove that Boromir's success was a fluke. ;)

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Merry's so full of reassurance where Pippin's concerned! lol While it's true that he and Pippin together can cause quite a lot of mayhem, Pippin is still capable of getting into trouble on his own. It just doesn't often occur to him to do so; at least, he'd rather wait until Merry's around because it would be more fun. Sam is ever thoughtful of his master's needs and wants, and Frodo is smart enough not to take it for granted. Pippin's second letter is a vast improvement over his first one, but then he has grown up quite a bit since leaving home. He also better understands that he might be quite longer than 'shortly' in coming home, so he wants to pack as much into that letter as he can, on the slim chance that it might possibly be sent. Of course, we know that the letter being sent is not the only obstacle. They would then need to be delivered, and by the time any elf might reach the Shire, they will find much resistance in their entering since Men would be occupying it by then.

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Mud ball fight vs. snow ball fight. Both equally fun, and I'm sure Pip wouldn't mind the bath that would come at the end of a mud ball fight. lol But then Elrond really would not have been a happy camper! Thanks for reading!

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Merry is a tenacious hobbit. Mention any kind of contest around him and he'll be ready to flatten the competition before he even knows what the game is! The good news is, he's much less competitive than he used to be! lol Just as you're unsure about writing Sam, I tend to be unsure of writing Gimli or Legolas. I'm glad that Gimli rang true for you in this chapter.

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Poor Pippin is really feeling the distance between him and home and family. As the youngest, and still a child really, he would be the one more prone to homesickness and feeling in need of his family. Now at least he has *some* hope of getting word to his family. Merry will always know when something is bothering Pippin. He won't shield Pippin from the truth of things, and he knows there is no true comfort that he can give, other than holding onto the fact that being with Frodo is the right place for them to be. Whatever heartache comes from their decision to follow their cousin, it will have been worth it. Hobbits do have some good ideas about gift-giving but I tend to agree with Gimli - their rules are far too complicated for anyone other than a hobbit to keep track of!

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You know there were many times throughout the Quest when they wondered what their friends and family were doing back home. During special days such as birthdays and holidays, there was bound to be some guilt mingled with their homesickness. Just knowing that their families would be worried sick about them would be unbearable for them, especially Pippin. He's still just a child by all accounts and more in need of his family than Merry and Sam are. It's time for Gimli to start getting in the thick of things. So far, Boromir's been having all the fun. :D

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Boromir knows enough about hobbits by now to know that any explanation will be a long one. And Gimli, who was warned about this tendency by his father, has become accustomed to it as well. Thanks for the review!

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That's the idea - that writing the letters will help them to feel better about leaving. They can finally say what they really want to say, what they couldn't say before they left. Even annoying older sisters can make you homesick under the right circumstances. lol Thanks for reading!

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I don't know about book manners, but my hobbits are polite in their own way. That is, when they're not robbing other hobbits of their breeches. LOL Hobbits do have a lot of rules. They take something as simple as giving presents and make it an act of congress. If they have law books, this would take up an entire section! Their logic does not resemble our earth logic. ;) Though actually, I have to agree with them about not opening the gifts received in front of everyone. I always feel so insecure about the gifts I buy. Thanks for the review!

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LOL I'm glad they work even if they're read out of order. :) Poor Sam indeed. He's the least likely to hurt anyone and what does he do? Puts his drill sergeant out of commission! The hobbits are starting to think that they are superior to every other race there, aren't they, lol. Oh well, they're so adorable, we'll let them live in their delusions. ;)

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Just like something Pippin would say. I mean, a little amnesia never hurt anyone none, right? :P Merry and Pippin had quite a job ahead of them, helping Sam get over his guilt. They had to take their joking to the next level. Sam always cooks such wonderful food. I wish it was as easy to cook the food as it is to write about cooking the food - I'd cook much more often. :D

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Thank you QG! There's no one else like hobbits for stories and good times. Boromir learned all sorts of things about these particular hobbits, many of them probably being things he'd rather not know! lol *snerk* It makes sense that Sam and Pippin would be the ones to have the most knowledge about female problems, being raised around so many females. That's at least one area Pippin can say he knows more than Merry does. Riddles are hard! I have a hard enough time just guessing most of them. Coming up with them? Forget out it. Just be grateful Pippin figured out Boromir's so quickly because I had no idea how to end it! :D And if anyone can convince the Man of Gondor to lie down and fall asleep to a nursery story, it's hobbits! A nice little extra bonding moment between Boromir, Pippin and Merry. Laughter, joy and food - no wonder hobbits heal so quickly! ;)

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Oh my, the hobbits are going to be busy I see, coddling all my lovely readers. :D I'll send them right over with tea and cookies. Boromir really is a lucky guy. If he had to be put out of commission for a day, at least he had some hobbits around to make the day go faster.