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Twice Twenty by Dreamflower	6 Review(s)
Queen Galadriel	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 2/24/2007
Awww! dabs at eyes You're going to make me cry. All too familiar--this puts me in mind of a time when I was maybe seven, and my brother and I found a tiny baby bird, knocked from the nest by a storm. It was so tiny; it didn't even have down yet. I wanted so much to love it back to life. I love these cousin-moments, and this one was especially poignant through Sam's eyes. Author Reply: Thank you! It was a bit sentimental, wasn't it? Sam, I think, would have a lot of observations on those three.

Gryffinjack	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 10/18/2005
How do you do it? How do you say so much in your stories in so few words? Thank you for pointing out what I've always thought, that Frodo and Pippin are very similar - both are very sensitive, thoughtful, and to use Sam's phrase, gentle-hearted. They both are more likely to ponder the deeper meaning of something and feel the full import of it and both find the good in most people. While Pippin is usually optimistic, I think that Frodo would have been had it not been for that sweet optimism and sunny outlook on life having been overshadowed by the death of his parents at such an early age, and then later by having the darkness of the ring with him all of the time. It took that extra spark, impulsiveness, and joy out of Frodo that Pippin still has. In many ways, Pippin is what Frodo would have been had he not sufferred such tragedy in his life at such an early age. This story also shows how alike Sam and Merry are - while still gentle and thoughtful, both are much more pragmatic, looking at things practically rather than the way things should be. This is why the pairings work the way that they do, Sam and Frodo as a team, Merry and Pippin as a team, and Merry and Frodo, each member completing the other. Yet, when it comes to really having a common understanding, to really knowing what that person is feeling, that's when Pippin turns to Frodo or when Sam and Merry are better for each other - two peas in a pod, as it were. Look, here I've used more words to review your story again than you used in the story itself! What a thought-provoking little story! Author Reply: That has been my exact perception of Pippin: that his personality was what Frodo's would have been like if not clouded over by his parents' deaths at such an early age. Both of them are sensitive and intuitive and tend to be very emotionally driven. You have captured the essence of the dynamic I see between the four of them and summed it up very well. There are a lot of subtleties which I see as well, which pay to be explored. Thanks so much for commenting, and sorry for the late reply, LOL!

Baggins Babe	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 9/27/2005
This is such a lovely little picture of our hobbits, and emphasises beautifully that Pippin is more like Frodo - impulsive and emotional, grieving over the death of a fledgling. Frodo would probably have been more like Pip but the deaths of his parents took away a lot of his impulsive Tookishness and forced him to grow up too fast. Love your hobbits! Author Reply: Exactly!!! That is exactly how I see it: Frodo as a young child a good deal like Pippin, but then he is tempered by sorrow and the loss of his parents, which makes him more thoughtful and introspective. But the great heart, filled with love, and the brilliant mind filled with curiousity remained.

Andrea	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 9/26/2005
It's always amazing what you can say with so few words! I think it's true. Pippin takes after Frodo in this respect. And Sam and Merry are the practical ones. That makes Frodo and Sam, and Merry and Pippin the perfect teams, because they complement each other. And the four of them are almost unstoppable :) However, when it comes to decisions, Frodo and Pippin are very different. Pippin is very impulsive, whereas Frodo always ponders the situation. And that's something he has in common with Merry, I think. Author Reply: You are very right on all counts. I think what makes Frodo more contemplative and less impulsive, aside of course, from the age difference, is his loss of his parents. That traumatic experience caused him to draw back and be less impulsive and open as a result. He ponders a situation because, unlike Pippin's sunny optimism, he knows that something can go horribly wrong, all at once and without any warning.

Pearl Took	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 9/26/2005
This is most precious! Pippin would cry for the wee dead bird and Frodo would understand. Author Reply: Yes, he would, and yes, he would. I'm so glad others see Pippin and Frodo as I do.

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 18 on 9/26/2005
What a sweet story, and very much how I see the hobbits. Funny how we take little clues out of the original and build on them. I like the way Sam and Merry share a practical bent, and Pippin somehow takes after Frodo. You know, I first wrote of a resemblance between Pippin and Frodo as a way of comforting myself after Frodo sailed away, but I really do like to think of them as sharing similar traits. Perhaps that's why Merry could be so close to each of them--their personalities complemented his. Welcome back! And thank you for your warm welcome as well. Am seriously jet-lagged--ready for an afternoon snooze and it's just past breakfast time. LOL. Author Reply: Somehow, I've always imagined that Pippin's personality--his generosity and loving nature and openness, his fun loving nature, and his non-stop curiousity were much like what Frodo's would have been if Frodo had not lost his parents so young. That tragedy tempered him, matured him early, and subdued some of the more outgoing parts of his personality. But his large heartedness and ability to forgive were very much still there, and called to Pippin's heart as well. Merry I think recognizes this similarity. Although he too, is loving and generous, he is not nearly so forgiving, especially of those who have hurt his loved ones. And I see this in Sam as well. (I think of his attitude towards Gollum for example--not nearly so charitable as his master's.) And of course he and Sam are eminently practical. (I think of how well prepared he was for their journey from Crickhollow, and how Sam always seems to remember everything they need, except rope, LOL!) I am so glad to be back!! Having to be away for so long was awful! I'm really looking forward now to more of "Healer's Tale". Have a nice nap!

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