Soledad · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 13: And So It Begins...
Of course, not even a Maia could pull the veil over the eyes of a Took!
Author's reply
No, not really, I think, or not for long, anyway...
Ancestress by Dreamflower
Reviews (505)
Soledad · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 12: Home Cooking
Mmm, yummy recipe. Must try when I've mushrooms in the house next time. But again, how could it be anything but delicious? It comes from a Took, after all.
Author's reply
It really is quite yummy and rich! Delicious! I need to make it again sometime soon...
Soledad · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 11: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
Frodo isn't easily fooled, is he? I'm curious what Adamanta has on her mind.
Author's reply
Well, you have learned by now, haven't you? *giggle*
Soledad · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 10: A Walk in the Garden
Well, if anyone can help, it will be certainly Adamanta.
Author's reply
She will do her best.
Soledad · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 8: Where Mercy, Love and Pity Dwell
Socializing with Hobbits can become addictive, even for the Lesser Powers, eh?
Author's reply
Absolutely! I mean, who wouldn't love them? Or want to be with them if they could?
Soledad · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 7: Putting Off the Widow's Weeds
Yeah, indeed, Melian at least could wait until Thingol got rehoused, but what hope did the poor Maia have? *sniff*
Author's reply
Not much, within the Circles of Arda..*sigh*
Soledad · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 6: Chip the Glasses and Smash the Plates!
My Bilbo! Such a tease... And shocking poor Frodo so much...
Author's reply
I wanted to make it clear early on in the story that Adamanta will not be a romantic interest for either of our heroes-- this seemed like the most fun way to do it, and to give Bilbo a chance to play a little prank on poor Frodo!
Soledad · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 5: The Wizard's Confession, part 2
Even Melian had but one child. Yeah, but she only married a pesky Elvenking, not a sturdy and most virile Hobbit, hehehe! It seems I've somehow lost track of this story. How terribly amiss of me. When I restarted reading it, I knew it was familiar somehow... then I discovered my own reviews and realized why. Gah, getting old and senile is so annoying.
Author's reply
*giggle* I seriously doubt you are old and senile!! Yes, well, hobbits can definitely be virile! Look at Gerontius and Sam, for example!
Soledad · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 0: Prologue: Behind the Rumour
Loved the solution of the "fairy wife" legend. Who would not be smitten by a Took, really? *g* Erm... I hope you don't mind a small nitpick, but I think you wanted to say their hröar were mortal, that being the word for the physcal body. The fea is the equivalent of what we call soul or spirit... Sorry, can't do the right accents on my laptop.
Author's reply
You are quite right! I thought I'd fixed that at some point, but clearly I forgot to hit "save"! I will try to fix it again!
Virtuella · 14 July 2010 · Chapter 24: The Truth Shall Set You Free
What a sweet comparison, of the Hobbits with the youngest children!
Author's reply
It occurred to me, often the youngest children are the most cherished of the family. (I don't mean by that that they are loved more, but that they often get all the benefits of being spoiled by their parents and older sibs, who know they are the last of the little ones to come along.) And of course, Hobbits were the youngest of Iluvatar's children!
Andrea · 14 July 2010 · Chapter 24: The Truth Shall Set You Free
“Is it not true among hobbits that the youngest children are the most delightful and the most cherished?” Wonderful! I like this comparison very much! I just saw that you already explained the difference between fate and destiny. That's what I would have asked, too. My dictionary simply translated both with the same German word, but said that "fate" has a negative character. I'm looking forward to reading more!
Author's reply
Yes, some people think of them as the same, but they are not quite; fate definitely has a negative connotation, while destiny seems to have a more positive one.
GamgeeFest · 13 July 2010 · Chapter 24: The Truth Shall Set You Free
Glad that Frodo's fears about the origins of hobbits, and ultimately his own fate, have been relieved (though he may start to wonder next what's wrong with Bagginses in general! lol!) I'm sure Frodo still has some questions for Mirime - and an apology.
Author's reply
Yes, he does still have questions for her, and an apology. And of course, she will be re-entering the story soon.
Larner · 13 July 2010 · Chapter 24: The Truth Shall Set You Free
And what difference might there be between destiny and fate? By not being married, neither Bilbo nor Frodo destroyed trust with a spouse by taking up their adventures; and Frodo was also free to seek the healing he so desperately needed afterwards. But the world is possibly a lesser place by losing their bloodline.... I am so glad he is finding comfort here.
Author's reply
I hope to address that question further in time. But basically, I think, "fate" implies one is being swept along willy-nilly to some sort of doom, while "destiny" implies a destination to be reached, and choices to be made along the way that will help to reach that goal. (And I am not speaking solely of the Fiery Mountain, either!) I think that Frodo's family would have felt exactly that; "my" Merry finds it unspeakably sad that Frodo will be the last of the Bagginses, for example, Esmeralda still held out hope he'd find someone, and old Ponto actually hoped he'd make a match with Angelica. "My" Frodo did feel a certain amount of sorrow about it-- but also, I do not believe he'd ever have wed anyway, Ring or no Ring. The problem of course, is that he could never be *sure* of that... He will definitely find comfort and healing...
Antane · 13 July 2010 · Chapter 24: The Truth Shall Set You Free
Another wonderful chapter! I can certainly attest to cherishing of young children being a proud aunt of 10 and loving it! What a neat thing for Gandalf to say to soothe Frodo's concerns. Interesting that Frodo wondered about why he and Bilbo never married. I know Larner has covered this also and I was wondering what you say and I like Gandalf's explanation. Another Frodoholic has written an interesting essay on this - http://www.frodolivesin.us/Catholicwork/id121.htm - that you may want to pursue. And I found Gandalf's quote in The Quest of Erebor about the matter of Bilbo's bachelorhood to be very intriguing. Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Author's reply
Well, I think of hobbits as Iluvatar's youngest, and most cherished of children! I think tha Frodo's experience with the Ring led him to question a lot of things about himself that he would not otherwise have questioned. Some people are natural bachelors and don't really have the inclination to marry-- but may worry about that because of other peoples' expectations. Frodo will think more about this later. Larner's explanations work very well within the structure of her fiction-universe. They do not work for me, because my Frodo shows the effects of his Quest more gradually than her Frodo does, and also because I have the Ring less powerful than she does. That's a very interesting website, BTW. Thank you for the link-- I think it is very true; it s good story-external explanation for why JRRT did not find it a problem that his two Bagginses were unwed. I think within the story itself it would have been slightly more problematical, if only because they would have had to deal with societal pressures. Something I don't think would have bothered Bilbo much, but would have concerned Frodo somewhat. Well, this has been a long-winded response! LOL!
GamgeeFest · 9 July 2010 · Chapter 23: Origin of the Species
LOL! I can *see* Bilbo trying to convince a dwarf that Hobbits come from rabbits! Would certainly explain all the large families. ;) Your music was part of theirs, for I remember your theme: sprightly and lively and altogether delightful A most apt description of Hobbits!
Author's reply
Remember Nuri, the curious and gullible young Dwarf from "Ho, Ho My Lads!" and my chapter of Gayalondiel's Yuletide Tales (http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterview.asp?sid=3163&cid=12238)? In "Looking Back" Merry tells us that Bilbo also tried to convince him that hobbits put their foot hair up in curling papers as well! It does fit them, doesn't it?
Virtuella · 9 July 2010 · Chapter 23: Origin of the Species
Oh, that would have been a fascinating conversation to listen to. And Frodo nodded off? Tsk, tsk, tsk. "sprightly and lively and altogether delightful" Now, that was perfectly put!
Author's reply
Well, he was quite a bit younger at the time! And I am sure that it was sleep-inducing to listen to his two old teachers blathering on... I'm so glad you liked that description.
Larner · 9 July 2010 · Chapter 23: Origin of the Species
And the truth begins to come out at last? Good! And of course its theme would be delightful!
Author's reply
Yes, we are getting to the meat of the matter. Of course! 8-)
Antane · 9 July 2010 · Chapter 23: Origin of the Species
I just love this story! And Gandalf's words at the end about the particular sound to hobbits and that Bilbo believed in the Great Music. Thank you for updating so quickly. Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Author's reply
I'm so glad you are enjoying it! Bilbo, I think, is a very accepting hobbit. He doesn't need a lot of convincing to believe, unlike Frodo who sadly learned to be a bit warier of life. Bilbo never had the trust scoured out of him the way Frodo did.
Andrea · 9 July 2010 · Chapter 23: Origin of the Species
Your music was part of theirs, for I remember your theme: sprightly and lively and altogether delightful. That was a wonderful answer! And I liked Bilbo's "rabbit" story :-)
Author's reply
Thank you! Bilbo has a rather rakish sense of humor, I think!
Lindelea · 9 July 2010 · Chapter 23: Origin of the Species
You left me grinning! Your music was part of theirs, for I remember your theme: sprightly and lively and altogether delightful.” Perfect!
Author's reply
Thank you! It does seem a good description of hobbits, does it not?
Celeritas · 9 July 2010 · Chapter 23: Origin of the Species
I enjoyed the little linguistic "rabbit" dig in there. And your take on hobbits in the Music is interesting!--I'd love to hear more, but that'll depend on your disposition and the constraints of the form.
Author's reply
LOL! It was a linguistic bit that JRRT played with-- remember how the Eagle called Bilbo a rabbit? Anyway, I had a story where Merry remembers some jokes Bilbo played on a rather gullible visiting dwarf, on one of them was convincing him that there was evidence that hobbits descended from rabbits, and the other was telling him that hobbits put their foot hair up in curling papers! *snerk* Seemed to me like the kind of joke Bilbo might find amusing. I am not sure how much more detail will be revealed in this story-- it really is much more of the constraints of the form than anything else, and I know where I am going with it. And part of that means getting back to Mirime's story soon. But we can always discuss it privately! *grin*
Celeritas · 9 July 2010 · Chapter 22: A Logical Conclusion
Logical, yes, but the workings of the world can't be reduced to mere logic--otherwise we'd all be Spocks! Looking forward to the conclusion of all this.
Author's reply
No, it can't. But the search for answers has to start somewhere and in the absence of direct revelation, logic seems one way to start. Unfortunately, it can never give the whole answer.
Virtuella · 8 July 2010 · Chapter 22: A Logical Conclusion
I wonder if Frodo will spot that the Ents are not mentioned in those histories, either? This is really intriguing!
Author's reply
So far the Ents have not come up in the conversation. Neither Frodo nor Gandalf seem interested in talking about them.
GamgeeFest · 7 July 2010 · Chapter 22: A Logical Conclusion
Ah yes, Frodo's thoughts would run in his direction, given his life so far. If he truly was meant to find the Ring, was he then also meant to be alone so that he would be free to carry the Ring, and what exactly does *that* imply? Can't wait for Gandalf's response!
Author's reply
Yes-- once you wrap your mind around the idea that Someone had a hand in your Destiny, you begin to wonder if everything that ever happened to you-- especially the bad things-- were not some form of manipulation.
Antane · 7 July 2010 · Chapter 22: A Logical Conclusion
Another delightful chapter! I am glad Frodo is inching his way to finding out how special and beloved hobbits in general, and he himself, are to the One. Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Author's reply
It's a gradual process. Frodo is thoughtful and intelligent, and he has a lot to work through. But he will eventually be able to find true joy.