Stories of Arda - Lord of the Rings Fan-Fiction Archive


	About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search

Twice Twenty by Dreamflower	7 Review(s)
Queen Galadriel	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 2/24/2007
laughs along with Sam This was delightful, absolutely delightful! And the Baggins/Took/Brandybuck stubbornness won out this time! :) Author Reply: They simply were not going to allow Sam to turn their help down this time. They knew it was just pride that kept him from taking their offer of assistance.

Gryffinjack	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 10/24/2005
I'd like to thank Marigold for giving you the plot bunny that inspired such a delightful story. Our four hobbits caught in that awkward time between when they were childhood friends and when the Quest erased the differences between them to allow them to be true friends and hang propriety. Not that Frodo, Merry, or Pippin find anything wrong with being friends with Sam. It's just Sam's blasted sense of what would and would not be "proper" at work again. It's a good thing that Merry knows a practical way to get around Sam's insistence on things being "proper." That Brandybuck does know how to get something if he is determined to. "The three cousins watched the exhausted gardener leave, feeling more than a little guilty that nothing more than an accident of birth kept them sitting idle when a friend needed help. “This is ridiculous,” said Frodo. “There is no real reason we could not help him with this.” Merry looked thoughtful. “No, there isn’t.” He turned to Frodo with a speculative eye. “How many lanterns do you have around this hole, anyway?” Pippin grinned. Frodo raised one brow, and looked at Merry questioningly. Merry nodded. The night was clear and the Moon was bright as the three hobbits made their way down, each of them carrying two lanterns." Brilliant. One again, you've created a scene that I could visualise in my mind as easily as if it were happening right in front of me. All it took for the cousins to build that wall over Sam's sense of propriety was some Took stubbornness, a lot of Brandybuck practicality and determination, and some Baggins wisdom. Sam never stood a chance. Author Reply: Yes, I was rather stumped over this particular theme, and asked her what she thought, and she fired back about half a dozen bunnies, all of them quite good, but I liked this one the best. This is the awkward stage of their friendship. Sam has regretfully decided that now he is an adult, and it is time to put aside his childhood familiarity with these young gentlehobbits. Not that he would not consider them still friends, in the sense that they are people he would do anything for, but he is trying to be careful and not overstep the invisible boundaries that have been built by the Gaffer and by hobbit society. Yet the others are not so willing to give up their end of the friendship--for Sam is one that they would do anything for, if only he would let them. And in this case, even if he would not. In this particular skirmish, the combined wills of the cousins managed to prevail against Gamgee stubbornness. It's a struggle that never truly ends until after the Quest, really until after Frodo's departure, when poor Sam finds himself gentrified by being left Master of Bag End in his own right.

Anso the Hobbit	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 7/21/2005
Very nice! Those three cousins are not as gentlehobbity that they can`t work a bit and now they can manage to go to Tuckborough to celebrate Pippin`s birthday anyway. :) Author Reply: You'll notice it's only Sam that thinks they are "too good" to do that kind of work--the three of them have no qualms about it. Sam at this point still thinks he should put away his friendship with them as something no longer proper now that he has come of age. Problem is, you can't really do that with people. And this just shows him. And now they can go to Tuckborough, LOL, so that should make Pip happy!

Baggins Babe	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 7/18/2005
I love this! How typical that Frodo, Merry and Pip would wait until Sam's back was turned and then finish the wall. I could just imagine Sam's reaction, torn between delight and relief that the work was done, and horror that the three gentlehobbits had actually stayed up all night doind manual work. Brilliant! Author Reply: I have to give a lot of credit to Marigold, who gave me the bunny on this one. I was just a bit stumped with the theme, and asked her what she thought, and she sent me about a dozen bunnies for "wall". As soon as I saw this one, I said Of Course! Sam really never stood a chance of keeping those three at arm's length--at least not my Sam. He gave it a good try, but when they want to be friends they will not let a little thing like social status stand in their way.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 7/17/2005
Yes, some Buckland impropriety in there, making certain Hobbiton propriety didn't get in the way of a good time to come. Lovely! Author Reply: Not so much Buckland "impropriety" as Buckland determination and practicality. And of course they weren't going to let it get in the way of their good time if they could help it.

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 7/17/2005
Sam and being 'proper' again! I was grinning from ear to ear after reading this. How good the three cousins don't want to be only gentlehobbits but are able to do something useful, if Sam is approving or not! It was quite the fun they did it at night behind Sam's back because he doesn't allow his employer any work! (I would have absolutely no scruples to let my superiors do a lot more work than they mostly do ;-)) Author Reply: Those three are not going to sit by and do nothing if they can help it. grin (I know; most of us think it would be good if our bosses could walk in our shoes for a while.)

Andrea	Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 7/17/2005
No review so far? Impossible! I enjoyed reading this little story very much! Indeed, Frodo and Merry are Bucklanders. But from his experiences in Hobbiton Frodo knows, that it is nearly impossible to overcome the gap between common folk and the "gentry". Merry's idea is so very easy: Only wait, until Sam has left, and he will not complain any more. Brilliant! And I just loved Sam's reaction: "Torn between delight that the task was finished, and a bit of anger that they had disregarded his desires, all he could do was sit down on top of the wall and laugh." Author Reply: You were first! grin I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I do see the Bucklanders as having a kind of "frontier" mentality compared to the rest of the Shire. They seem to be proud of coping and doing what needs to be done and everyone pulling their own weight, no matter what their station. But you are right, Frodo's lived in Hobbiton long enough to understand how ingrained that gap is. Merry does tend to see straight through to a solution. I thought that might be his reaction. At this point in their lives, I see Sam as very much trying to keep to what he thinks is his station in life--he is very proud of his position as Bag End's gardener, and is unlikely to allow anything that would take away from that. The Quest has not yet taken place, so the firm and deep friendship of later has yet to be forged. He still recalls fondly the close friendship he had with the others as a child, but he is of age now, and thinks that it is "proper" to put that friendship away as a childish thing. But of course, he is still is very fond of the cousins underneath it all. This brought down one barrier between them, but it will take the Quest to wear it away.

Return to Chapter List