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| The Brandy Hall Incident by Dreamflower | 16 Review(s) |
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| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 3/23/2007 |
| Re-read this, following the link from the "archives" story. Y'know, it gave me a shiver, at the end, Merry's anger, and Pippin's promise. Was thinking of the Palantir, of course. Author Reply: How lovely! It's nice to know that sometimes folks re-read! Well, so was I really--but at least the lad had the sense to say he'd *try* not to scare Merry anymore. And of course, he did, at least three more times--in "The Dare" and with the palantir, and after the troll. Still, over the course of a lifetime, not a bad track record--and at least that last time was unavoidable and not entirely his fault. | |
| Pendora | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/27/2005 |
| This was awesome, Dreamflower! I'm supposed to be working on my story for Tale Challenge 23, but I just couldn't stop reading! There were so many sweet moments, and a lot of clifflhangers, too. I was terrified right along with Merry for a while. Thanks so much for this wonderful story :) Author Reply: I'm so glad you enjoyed this; it's always a pleasure to get a review for a story that's been out a while. This one is one of the three incidents when Merry was angry with Pippin before the Conspiracy. Thank you so much for reading, and for stopping to comment! | |
| Gryffinjack | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 10/17/2005 |
| What a fantastic story! I really enjoyed reading it all over again. I made sure I had the time to read all of it today, as I knew I would not be able to put it down, it was that engaging. I did have one slight problem though, to nitpick: "Esmeralda and Frodo fussed over Pippin, and tucked him up. But the lad kept looking past them, seeking in vain for the beloved face and grey eyes. “Where’s Merry? I want my Merry!” His mother and Frodo exchanged a puzzled glance, wondering themselves at the absence of the usually solicitous Merry." This line confused me for a second, as it made it sound like Pippin's mother, not Merry's. "Merry lay awake for a very long time, trying to sort through his feelings of resentment and betrayal. He had never been this angry at Pippin before in his life, and the unaccustomed emotions twisted in his stomach and made him feel sick." This description of how Merry would have been feeling was spot on. Although he had been furious with Pippin before for going so high in the tree and scaring him so badly, he had not felt betrayed or like he couldn't trust Pippin that time. "He climbed out of his bed and padded into Merry’s room, and made his way into Merry’s bed. Merry woke up. He stiffened, but lay still, and didn’t say anything. As soon as Pippin was asleep, he got out of his own bed, and made his way to Frodo’s. Frodo didn’t wake up. He seldom did when Merry joined him, but would automatically turn in his sleep to put a protective arm over his younger cousin. Merry finally relaxed in Frodo’s presence." Yikes. For Merry to stiffen at Pippin's touch and then to voluntarily leave him - *shivers.* And, of course, Merry finds his comfort with Frodo. I am so glad you had Frodo in this story. Merry truly did need him in more ways than one. I'm sure Frodo slept well that night and took comfort in Merry's presence as well. “Merry, please don’t hate me! Please! I’m sorry! I didn’t *mean* to disobey you! Oh, please, please love me again!” He put out a trembling hand, but did not quite touch his cousin, afraid it would be rejected if he did. The tears rolled down his face. Who could remain angry at Pippin when he's like that and it comes from his heart? I couldn't and I'm glad that Merry couldn't either. “I still love you, Pip. But don’t scare me like that, ever again--please.” “Oh Merry, I’ll try ever so hard not to scare you again.” It's a good thing that Pippin didn't promise not to scare Merry like that ever again. Pippin knows his shortcomings and knows that he is likely to get into some sort of trouble again and frighten Merry. It's a good thing that Pippin leads such a charmed life! This was one of the stories of yours I was looking forward to reading again the most. Well done! Author Reply: You are right; I was referring back to the mention of Merry, but Merry was not the subject of the previous paragraph, even though he was mentioned last. Perhaps I will go and edit that to make it clearer. This was very much an issue of trust with Merry; he had never thought that Pippin would disobey him in that way before. Of course, before this Pippin had always simply accepted Merry's answers to his questions as the final word. It is a part of the growing up process that happens sooner or later with all children, especially bright ones. The bed shuffle: I thought that it might work that way, Pippin seeking Merry, and then Merry seeking Frodo, since he was too angry to be around Pippin. And of course Merry couldn't *stay* angry at his Pip, he loves him far too much. It will take a while though for him to trust him again the way he used to. And fortunately, Pippin does realize that he can't truly promise "never". (Poor Pippin wouldn't need such a charmed life if we writers weren't so fond of him, poor dear--we do like to put him in peril, don't we?) I'm glad you enjoyed it again! I'm having a blast with your reviews. | |
| Jess | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 8/16/2005 |
| Great job on this story. Loved the Merry-angst, and that last little bit, with Merry mad at Pippin, and Pippin trying to apologize, was so touching. Pip's line: "Oh, please, please love me again" actually brought tears to my eyes, it was so heart-wrenching--I could just picture little Pippin's tear-stained face, looking miserably at his cousin. Great interactions! Author Reply: Yes, poor Merry was very angry at Pippin. In fact, it was only the second time in his life that my Merry had actually been *angry* at my Pippin (the first is my mathom "A First Time for Everything" and the third time was "The Dare"; the fourth time was when Merry discovered Pippin was dealing himself into the Conspiracy, though Merry had been trying to protect him, and of course, the last time was with the palantir.) And poor little Pippin, only beginning to understand how much he frightened Merry, and hurt him. But they don't deal well with being angry at one another, and it doesn't last long, they love each other too much. | |
| Hai Took | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/31/2005 |
| Whew! That was something! I felt bad for Merry and Pippin! It was splendid that Frodo happened by, seems he was best able to help Merry. Poor Merry, feeling so angry but not sure why. Yet afraid because he felt he hadn't protected Pippin well enough. The story was tense and exciting, but I'm glad everything turned out all right! Thank you for the story! Author Reply: I'm so glad you liked the story! You know, everyone is so glad Frodo came, but it's funny that I had not planned that originally! Well, now everyone knows about the second time Merry got mad at Pippin! Thanks for the review! | |
| MaidenofValinor | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/25/2005 |
| Ah, what a wonderful chapter and ending to this story! Little Pippin was so adorable! Poor Merry; I know how feelings like that are. Well, I congratulate you on your awesome fic! Author Reply: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it--Pippin is just so adorable, isn't he? That's why Merry just can't stay mad at him. Thank you again for reading and reviewing! | |
| Hobbit Lass21 | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/19/2005 |
| *heavy sigh of releif* Yay! Finished! I admire the way you captured Merry's feelings, so angry and afraid that he couldn't stand to be around Pippin. 'Please love me again!' Oh yes! Wonderful story, with a happy ending for all! ^_^ Thanks so much! Author Reply: I thought that with anger at Pippin being so very rare, the unaccustomed feelings would make him confused, and were so intense that he just didn't *know* how to deal with Pippin at first. But there is no way that bond could be broken--it was just seriously bent for a short while. I always end with as happy an ending as is possible. I'm just a softy that way, LOL! | |
| good_one_pip | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/18/2005 |
| Good way to resolve the story. I love reading these hobbit stories. Keep it up! Author Reply: Thanks! I love writing and reading hobbit stories, so I don't imagine I will quit anytime soon! | |
| Auntiemeesh | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/15/2005 |
| Thanks for the heads up about the ending. I thought it was a rather abrupt way to end the story, lol. I really enjoyed the banter about who could best 'Rule the Shire' and I love that game - sort of a Shireopoly, I'm guessing. :) Author Reply: Oh, good! I'm *so* glad I thought to check on something this evening when responding to reviews, or I would never have realized I messed up. I'll be so glad when the desktop has got everything loaded back in. I'm just not used to this laptop. Yup, kind of Shire Monopoly, you could say. | |
| Saoirse | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 1/15/2005 |
| Oh, poor Pippin! I really understand Merry's feelings though... but poor little Pip thinking that Merry doesn't love him anymore! I can just hear his voice in my head, sobbing and begging... I'm glad that Pippin and Merry have reconciled... at least for now. I'm sure it is going to take Merry a while to regain the trust he once had in his little cousin, and it is so sweet that the "root of his anger lay" in the fact that he was afraid he wouldn't be able to protect him. What Author Reply: To a small child there is only love and hate--he doesn't really understand the anger brought on by love and fear. But there is no way Merry could hold his anger for very long once he saw how miserable Pip was. As for trust, that *has* been broken, and Pip is going to find Merry being much more strict with him for a while. I just wanted to tell you that a tiny bit of the end of the story was accidentally left off. I've fixed it now, if you want to know. | |