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It Takes a Took by Dreamflower	10 Review(s)
PIppinfan1988	Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 11/14/2005
Wow. That is the Diamond that I know and love so well; the sort of lass who fully lends her ear to listen to Pippin and his journey. Never calls him a liar, even asks questions to get more details, or to put it all to memory. Estella is a bit older, so yes, while its just as wonderful that she gives Merry her undivided attention, Diamond is a much younger lass, not cosidered mature enough to handle such intenseness. But she is, and I'm proud of her! :-) Pippinfan Author Reply: Yes, she is young. But she has the maturity to become a healer, and a good deal of that involves being a good listener. I think this may be what Pippin had in mind when he told his father that he fancied apprentice healers. If you recall, he was paying some attention to Viola, Poppy's apprentice before she left. A lass who is concerned with life or death is going to listen, and not try to hijack the conversation to talk about her latest frock. But I think on this score, Diamond is exceptional. And she cares about Pippin on more than one level, though up to now she's done her best to deny it.

good_one_pip	Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 12/30/2004
It would be awful to have to retell these experiences again. But you were right in saying that their future wives needed to know. This will only make everyone's bonds stronger. I liked the way that you have them re-telling everything. It isn't at all boring, and I'm quite interested at everyone's reactions. Author Reply: It was very hard on them, but I think in some ways cathartic. You will notice that instead of having rough nights as they had expected to, they actually slept pretty well. But it is not something they want to go through over and over, which is why they did it together, and to both the lasses. I'm glad you thought the re-telling wasn't boring. It's always a bit difficult to know how much is too much.

pipinheart	Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 12/26/2004
Very nice... Merry and pippin sharing the pain of thier past with the ones that care about. A very moving piece,as it still disturbes them both... Great job..update soon... Author Reply: Thanks for the review. I'm glad you are liking it.

Pearl Took	Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 12/25/2004
Our brave lads, and their dear brave lasses. The recounting is hard on all of us. Well done as always. Author Reply: It is a hard story to be a part of. They lived through all the angst we get at second hand, yet still it's nerve-wracking.

GamgeeFest	Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 12/24/2004
As if telling the story isn't hard enough, now they get interrupted and have to drop it for a later time. It's not going to be easy getting back into the telling of it. But then, they all could use a break and the girls can use the time to absorb what they've heard so far. I hope Rosamunda is adequately distracted at tea so she doesn't notice how high strung everyone is. Author Reply: It's a long story. Even telling mostly only their own parts, and just hitting the high notes, it will take a long time. And you are right that they could use a break. Rosamunda has a little bit on her mind right now, so maybe she won't notice too much.

Beruthiel	Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 12/23/2004
Um, I think there's a typo somewhere. The chapter list goes straight from 24 to 26. I feel sorry for the poor hobbits here. Good thing they're telling it all to Diamond and Estella right away, so they won't have to go through this again (at least, not until their kids get old enough to want the full story). Keep up the excellent work, and have a merry Christmas! :) Author Reply: Fixed it, thanks! The cursor must have slipped before I clicked the mouse. I think that's one reason they are doing it: get it over with. They know the lasses won't give them any peace until they do. Maybe by the time the kids are old enough, they can just hand them the Red Book, and say "Have at it." You have a Merry Christmas, too!

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 12/23/2004
It is certainly not easy for Merry and Pippin to talk about their traumatic experiences. But I am glad they share this heavy burden with their future wives at last. It will help all of them, I think. And it is wise to tell both lasses together - so they have to do it only once, and Diamond and Estella are able to comfort each other, if necessary. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Author Reply: No, talking about it is never going to be easy, but it is sometimes necessary--face it, if they get married without telling them, what are their wives going to think when they wake up with screaming nightmares, or are felled by anniversary illnesses? And they might as well do it together. This, I think, is also going to help Diamond's and Estella's burgeoning friendship. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, to you as well!

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 12/23/2004
Very deftly done. Pippin smiled. Her mention of Frodo helped remind them that their cousin had* survived that danger.* Diamond has good instincts. There is cold, and there is Caradhras-cold. Nice turn of phrase. Very believable. I think they'll make excellent "couples", don't you? Author Reply: Thank you. It's always a fine line to walk when re-hashing the book. I think that Diamond does have pretty good instincts. She's going to be a healer after all. And she thought she would just help them over the bump a bit. Thank you. I can imagine every winter snow ever after would be compared in their minds to Caradhras. I think they will. Obviously JRRT thought so, at least according to the family trees.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 12/23/2004
It's a good thing Diamond has heard parts of the story before - it might turn out to be really helpful at those points when the two lads get stuck. Although maybe the telling will get easier as it goes on. Well - it probably will once they get back to Minas Tirith for the coronation. Their reactions must be pretty intense, though, to put them off their food. I should think tea and conversation will be pretty hard for them to sustain - and if the Rosamunda distraction team doesn't stay on the job, she'll notice that Estella is upset, and probably get the wrong end of the stick and blame Merry. (Although, as he is such a catch matrimonially, she'll probably overlook most things.) I'm sure that, between them, Pippin, Pearl and Eglantine will manage to inveigle Rosamunda out of the way to give the youngsters more time. Author Reply: She was able to help just a bit. And the story is liable to get a lot harder before it gets any easier. She may want to be cautious about helping out later on--Merry still doesn't know the healers interrogated Frodo, and Pip wasn't too happy about it. And they will have a few nice things to say about the White City. Rosamunda is going to be very distracted trying to figure out how to finagle an invitation to Brandy Hall, LOL!

SharonB	Reviewed Chapter: 25 on 12/23/2004
Well, we are snowed in today so it was great to see an update. Something to occupy my time, LOL and something that I like. Those poor boys really are having a time with this story. And it is going to take a few meetings to get the whole story out. It will be harder on them when it comes to the time of the trip that they separated. For then the onus will be only on one of them at a time to tell that part of the story So far the lasses seem to be taking it as well as can be. They shall have to enlist Tina a bit more to get all the way through this story unless they want Rosamunda sitting in and being truely horrified. I wonder how she would feel about the engagement and marriage if she heard the full impact of Merry's story? Author Reply: I don't know whether to commiserate or congratulate you on your snowed-in-ness. It's not something I've ever had to contend with, LOL! But I'm glad I can help you while away the time. They are having a rough time of it. This story is never going to be easy for them to tell, and as Merry said, it only gets worse. But the lasses are determined, and they know it is needed. Rosamunda will be dealt with, trust me.

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