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Dreamflower's Mathoms I by Dreamflower	9 Review(s)
Celeste Lucretia Black	Reviewed Chapter: 68 on 5/15/2021
sobbing

Queen Galadriel	Reviewed Chapter: 68 on 4/25/2006
So glad to see Pippin's side of this, though this is very sobering, considering how very close Merry came to death. But I can't say that Pippin drowning his sorrow would be a good thing, either; it's dangerous. God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: No, it wouldn't have been a good thing at all--something which he recognized. But both of them so clearly feel that the pact they made to one another was not just something for convenience, but an oath that would hold good for both of them forever.

Gryffinjack	Reviewed Chapter: 68 on 12/9/2005
As a follow-up and to stress the dangers of drinking too much alcohol not only at one time, but over the years, I am sad to inform everyone that my niece's father passed away last night. The sclerosis of his liver was too severe after years of drinking too heavily. I hope that this story and The Dare help bring home the all too real dangers to anyone thinking that alcohol is nothing serious. Author Reply: I am so sorry about your niece's father. Please give her hugs from me.

Gryffinjack	Reviewed Chapter: 68 on 12/8/2005
Wow - what a realisation for Pippin to make! "“Oh, Merry,” he sighed to himself, “if anything had happened to you, I could not have even drowned my sorrow.”" How awful for Pippin, or Merry, to have to contemplate the death of the other one and what it the impact it would have on their own life. There's no way that either one of them would have broken that promise, even because the other had died. If anything, it would have made the survivor more resolute than ever to keep the pact, no matter how painful it was. That pact is more than a promise, it is a bond of closeness that ties Merry and Pippin together, heart and soul. It says that not only do they want to protect the other from danger, but they also do not want to really celebrate without the other one being present. They are a part of each other. In a way, that Dare was one of the best things that ever happened to Pippin. As is often the case, it is often through life's trials and our errors that we learn the greatest lessons and grow the most. "But to be honest with you Beregond, as frightened as I am for what we are going to do tomorrow, I don’t dare have one, for fear that I might not stop. I have a promise to keep, you see.”" What a scary thought that is, for a couple of reasons. The first is obviously because Pippin would drink so much that he would break his promise not to get drunk without Merry. But perhaps even more significant than that is the cause of why he would get so drunk - that the circumstances are so dire and severe that there it would drive him to drink that much. It must have been unbearable to know that on the morrow, you were going to march out to what would probably be your death, and there was nothing, absolutely nothing, you oould, or would, do about it. Lastly, speaking of The Dare and what a powerfully important story it is - as you know, Saturdy was my birthday. As it turned out, it was not a good birthday, as we found out that my twelve year old niece's father was in trauma intensive care in the hospital for seizures and bleeding of the brain caused from too much alcohol over the years. Although he is now responding, he is not out of the woods yet. However, my niece started reading a couple of your stories while we were home and really enjoyed them (her favourite hobbit is Merry). I purposefully had her read your story, The Dare, and told her that you had done a lot of research on it and that what happened to Pippin is indeed what can happen from alcohol abuse. Being twelve years old, she should know. And with what was going on with her father in the hospital, now is the time when your story would make the most impact on her and be one that she would remember as a lesson in not to drink too much and not to accept dangerous dares. Your story was the like a spoonful of hobbity sugar to help the medicine go down so that she would be aware of the very real dangers of too much alcohol and be the wiser for it. Thank you for writing all of the stories dealing with The Dare. Author Reply: That pact is more than a promise, it is a bond of closeness that ties Merry and Pippin together, heart and soul. It says that not only do they want to protect the other from danger, but they also do not want to really celebrate without the other one being present. They are a part of each other. Thank you for seeing just what I meant in this story. The two of them are bound together in a profound way, and this pact means a good deal more than it seems on the surface. And you are quite right as to what it meant to Pippin. He knew precisely why he was afraid he'd break his promise--he really did think he was probably marching off to certain death. I am so humbled that you feel my stories are fit to share with your niece, and that you think the message of this story and of "The Dare" will have an impact on her life. I did intend the message to perhaps make young people think, but that it would have a real influence was more than I could hope; yet one young person has told me that it did have such an influence. My heart goes out to your niece and her circumstances. You give her a big hug from me, and tell I'm thinking of her.

Periantari	Reviewed Chapter: 68 on 9/25/2005
“Oh, Merry,” he sighed to himself, “if anything had happened to you, I could not have even drowned my sorrow.” awww this is such a sweet ficlet~ i love the part about Pippin's promise~ it sounds so realistic and it just made me so "aww"y for Pippin. lovely story~ i'm glad it got a review that had someone relate to it in RL. =) Author Reply: So am I. I never thought that "The Dare" would have that much impact. I know that the realization of what their pact would have meant if the worst had happened would have hit them like a ton of bricks. For Pippin that was this moment, when he has to turn down a chance to go with Beregond; for Merry it came in "The Pact". Still, I can't for the life of me, see either of them believing that it would be OK to break their promise just because the other one was no longer alive. A melancholy thought, though, indeed. Poor Pip.

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 68 on 9/25/2005
A brave decision to honor his promise and not to join Beregond and the others! “Oh, Merry,” he sighed to himself, “if anything had happened to you, I could not have even drowned my sorrow.” What a thing to say for an ale-loving hobbit! I don’t know if to weep or to laugh, so I will settle to being very touched! Author Reply: Well, you know, I don't think either of them would have much fun now one without the other anyway; if something had happened to either of them, without them deciding they would keep the promise anyway, that might have been enough to make an alcholic. But there wouldn't be any enjoyment in it--just an attempt as Pip said, to "drown sorrow".

good_one_pip	Reviewed Chapter: 68 on 9/24/2005
Again, I don't think you realize how much your stories impact me! I'm reminded of the first time I read The Dare. It was the first of your stories that I had read, and I was instantly hooked. Talk about being on the edge of my seat! Funny. I just realized that it was exactly a year ago that I read that. Two days before my birthday, 2004. (And two days after Frodo and Bilbo's birthday:) Coincidence or fate? Well, I'll tell you that my friends and I love to play truth or dare. And of course, it is a crime to pass down a dare. We've done some pretty crazy things(none of them dangerous:), and I'll do just about anything if dared. EXCEPT drink anything containing alcohol. after reading your story, i made a promise to myself that I would NEVER accept that kind of dare. Now, those kind of dares may not be an issue now, but if when I'm in college and am dared to do something like that, I'll remember your story and my favorite hobbit. Thank you. That may really make a difference on my future, even if you may never know. Author Reply: Oh my goodness, you have no idea how much that means to me to hear. It almost makes me cry, that one of my stories could have that much meaning to your life. I did a good deal of research on it, for I wanted it to be a bit of a cautionary tale about the dangers of binge drinking, but I never thought it would mean that much to someone. Thank you for telling me that. I'm just floating around above the ground after reading that!

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 68 on 9/24/2005
I think this is the most wonderful Pippin short story I've read yet. Yes, that's our Pippin indeed! Keeping the promise and the pact, and probably much better for it the following day. Author Reply: Oh my, what a compliment! It would never occur to either Pippin or Merry to break a promise, most especially one they had made to one another. And I'm quite sure it saved them many a sore head. Of course, they also have any number of times they can indulge themselves together, LOL!

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 68 on 9/24/2005
Perhaps they need to add a post mortem clause to their promise. Or even a when-we're-Master-and-Thain clause. Or maybe not. Keeping sober would probably be a good idea. Those dratted Bankses. How are they getting on on the road to Edoras? Has there been an escape bid yet? And is Bergil recovering from his bout of ill-health? Author Reply: I don't think it occurred to them at the time: it would have been pretty dreadful after Pippin's close brush, to have said "as long as we both live". And I think they'll need the pact even more as Master and Thain, when the temptation to blot out boring responsibilities would be so much more. But these two will still be able to have lots of "jolly times" and "morning afters" together, especially once they move into Crickhollow. Those dratted Bankses, they left their mark, didn't they? I've got to get back on the road to Edoras, but I have tons of these shorter stories I wrote out during the storm that I have to type in and post. But I haven't abandoned the story, I promise!!!

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