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Dreamflower's Mathoms I  by Dreamflower 12 Review(s)
Celeste Lucretia BlackReviewed Chapter: 85 on 5/15/2021
My dear little fool 😅

Queen GaladrielReviewed Chapter: 85 on 4/25/2006
Aww, poor Merry! I'd be worried sick myself, but it was good of the kings to do what they could. I imagine that healing sleep would be frightening to the Hobbits, especially after Frodo slept for such a long time after the wounding at Weathertop.

You know, Gandalf may be one of the Maiar, and he may have had a great task to do, but I can't help but feel that he was only really in his element when he was with his Hobbits; they gave him a chance to relax and enjoy life...and have fun! Sparklers-perfect! And so nice to see pleasant Hobbit gossip. :)

The scene with Merry talking to Frodo was so sad, but sweet. I think it's scenes like that, that so many of us can relate to, that make me really love Cormallen fics. Excellent story!
God bless,
Galadriel

Author Reply: Yes, in many ways, Merry had it hardest at Cormallen. The others were unconscious most of that time--he was awake and worried the whole time!

I think that the healing sleep would have appeared strange and unnatural to the hobbits--to sleep *that* deeply for *that* long must have been very scary to see.

And I think you are absolutely right about Gandalf. One of the things that they had in the movie that I really loved was when PJ showed Gandalf enjoying himself at The Party, dancing with the hobbits, and his undisguised glee at seeing their reactions to his fireworks!

I am glad that you liked that part. I could imagine Merry talking to Frodo as he slept, and confiding in his older cousin still, even though he couldn't hear.

ArielReviewed Chapter: 85 on 3/13/2006
Yes, I somehow had missed this one. Thank you for this short, sweet and true to the story and characters fic! I've been through a few of them tonight, and this is the best so far. You make the characters as I remember reading them, the way they were when I grew to love them. Thank you!

Author Reply: Well, I'm pleased you got to read it. This was a request from Marigold--I had already done "Kingly Gifts", which was my Cormallen fic, but she asked to hear more about Pippin's birthday while he was there, so you might say it was a gap-filler for a gap-filler, LOL!

And I thank you so much for the compliment. To say that my characters are *in character* is about the biggest compliment you could pay me!

Thank *you* for the kind words!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 85 on 1/10/2006
Quite the birthday, when the only gift all want from the birthday boy is for him to waken and heal. And they all received what they wanted!

Author Reply: Yes they did. How hard that time was on all those who were waiting. But just living--sometimes that can be the best present of all.

Anso the HobbitReviewed Chapter: 85 on 1/6/2006
This was lovely and a very nice gap-filler to your gap-filler, lol. I had to laugh at how Aragorn talks to Merry, but it is the only way to get him to do what he needs and not what he wants in this situation. They are the best gift to each other these four and I don't think any material gift could ever be any greater.

Author Reply: Yes, Aragorn had to be a bit firm with him, didn't he? Merry tends to neglect himself when he is worried about others.

They are the best gift to each other these four and I don't think any material gift could ever be any greater.

Spot on. They really are.

GryffinjackReviewed Chapter: 85 on 1/2/2006
That's got to be the saddest and hardest but best of Pippin's birthdays for Merry as well as for Pippin.

Merry had it the worst of all the hobbits at Cormallen. Gandalf had the full measure of it that waiting around is sometimes the hardest of all things to do, and Merry had to wait and worry about not just one of is most beloved cousins, but both Frodo and Pippin. For Pippin to finally be awake and on the mend is indeed the best gift he could ever give to Merry.

Not a fun birthday at all for Pippin, lying in his cot too weak and in too much pain to enjoy anything and worst of all, feeling as though he failed because he did not have a present to give to Merry. His thoughts probably also turned to the Shire and his family, and how he wished he could be there again to celebrate his birthday with them.

How like our dear unselfish Pippin to be worrying about Merry needing rest yet not wanting Aragorn to put him in that unnatural sleep like Frodo and Sam. And I loved the way that one of Pip's first thoughts was for Merry to leave his side and go watch over Frodo.

Of course, poor Merry had the worst of it, wanting to be at all three of his fellow hobbits' cots at the same time, especially those of his two cousins. Thankfully, Aragorn and Eomer knew how he would fret himself into becoming ill himself and found things for him to do. It was very thoughful of Eomer to invite Merry to dine with him. I really like how you show the beginnings of the lifelong friendship they must have developed - after all, I'm sure Eomer did not summon every single individual he ever knighted to his side before his death. He must have found Merry to be quite special.

And Gandalf! What a lovely way for him to bring a little bit of the Shire back for Merry, Pippin, and himself to enjoy. I just hope that Pippin especially held his arm out away from his cot with a flammable blanket on it! lol!

Cormallen stories always contain some of the most special sentiments, and this one rises to the occasion.

Author Reply: Yes, Merry definitely had the worst of it. The others were unconscious, and so were not experiencing all the anxiety, fear and worry that must have eaten away at Merry, sapping his hope, and exhausting him with the effort to maintain it.

And poor Pippin, yes, not a fun birthday at all, yet he could rejoice that he was alive, and so was Merry, and so were Frodo and Sam. Yet I am sure he was also homesick, and wondering how his family were faring on his birthday, what with not having any idea of what had become of him.

Pippin would know, for he'd know how he would hate it, just how Merry would feel about that, to lie helpless and unmoving for day after day, even if it *was* a healing sleep.

And Pippin, of course, is just as worried about Frodo and Sam as Merry is. Once he'd wakened, he'd want Merry to see to them for him.

I see this as the time in which the two begin to forge that lifelong friendship. Merry would come to learn respect for the young King, and Eomer would be filled with respect already, for the hobbit who had defended his uncle and saved his sister's life.

I think of all the things Gandalf did, he enjoyed himself the most as a conjurer of fireworks. All his other tasks were really rather a burden, but that one, using his natural talent with flame was a delight for him.

And I am quite sure that he would not have allowed that to happen, LOL!

Grey WondererReviewed Chapter: 85 on 1/2/2006
This makes twice for this one too. LOL I love finding fictions that I can read over and over and still enjoy. This one is one of those for me. I like the fact that it is filled with the joy of Pippin having survived it all and that touch of sorrow that he is spending his birthday so very injured. I enjoyed Merry in this one.

Author Reply: And thanks for commenting again on this one, as well!

I think those early days in Cormallen were definitely ones of mixed feelings; gratitude for merely being alive would also be shadowed by the pain of recovery.

I enjoy Merry. Of course, I have no favorites, but I do like to see each of them get to show his character, and Cormallen was one of Merry's chances.

PIppinfan1988Reviewed Chapter: 85 on 12/29/2005
This was especialy sweet!! What a sad birthday for young Pippin, though it was great that he had his Merry with him--three cheers for Merry! I do love both of our lads. :-) I thought Gandalf giving the sparklers at the end was tender touch. I enjoyed this wonderful treat from beginning to end...lol, don't I always? You are a brilliant lady with a beautiful gift of storytelling.

Pippinfan

Author Reply: A sad birthday, to spend it in pain and weakness. Yet, as you say, he had Merry, and he was alive, and so were Frodo and Sam, so there were still reasons to celebrate.

I just thought Gandalf might want to give them something a little special, that would somewhat remind them of home, without being overwhelming.

Pearl TookReviewed Chapter: 85 on 12/29/2005
Ah! *contented sigh* That was delightful!! I loved the description of Merry's time with Eomer, and the sparklers were a joy. Thank You, Dreamflower!

Author Reply: I think this must have been the time when Merry began to know his liege, and develop what became such a fast and firm friendship that Eomer sent for him at the end of his life.

And I just thought that the two of them deserved something a little special. Who better to provide it than Gandalf? And sparklers were a sort of quiet little celebration, just for them.

AndreaReviewed Chapter: 85 on 12/28/2005
Merry is right, Gandalf is much more cheerful, since he is "The White"!

There was a brief appreciative silence, and then Pippin said “Thank you, Gandalf.”

“Not at all, my dear little fool of a Took!”

And, if this is possible, he has become even wiser:

"Sometimes the hardest and heaviest task in the world is to simply wait."
How true! An acknowledgment for what was Merry's part for a long time and a reward for his endurance.

Great story, Dreamflower!

Author Reply: Well, Sam thought so, too. And it says he laughed a lot more.

Yes, Merry deserved some praise for having to endure such a long and sorrowful wait.

Thank you!

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