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Reconciliation by Larner	11 Review(s)
Antane	Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/22/2006
Samwise Gamgee has seen Frodo at his greatest and his worst, and he honors him for it all. I am reminded of various quotes from people when I read this. One is from a friend that is not even familiar with the love between these two but from what has been told to her by friends but she has still come up with the most beautiful, accurate description it in calling it "the purest kind of love, from soul to soul." Another quote is from a rabbi that I came across - "Love is not blind, it sees more, not less and because it sees more, it is willing to see less." I just read recently another from Archbishop Fulton Sheen about seeing the beautiful in the unbeautiful. All these explain how Sam was able to keep on loving, even with a sword pointed at his throat, even when the Ring claimed his dear one at the fire. Namarie, God bless, Antane :) Author Reply: The fact is that we do see the best and worst in those we truly love most; the trick is to accept the person as he or she is, and do our best with them from that poing on. The sword at the throat is strictly movie-verse, of course, but still book-Frodo stung Sam to the heart demanding the Ring back in the tower of Cirith Ungol, only realizing what he'd done once the foul thing was back in his possession. We do hurt those we love most deeply; but that kind of love does forgive and supports as we can. "How many times shall I forgive my brother?" "Not seven times seven, but seventy times seven...."

Andrea	Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/11/2006
And now we get a glimpse of Frodo's "Buckland years"! Those pranks were really ingenious! Once again I am fascinated with your OCs. Not so very long ago Bard was Frodo's rival, but when he got to know him better (and vice versa) it was the beginning of a friendship. But then Frodo left once again, never to return, and Bard remained with lots of unanswered questions. The conversation with Brendi helped him a lot, I think. Although the two of them are quite different, being a Brandybuck and a Took, I see the possibility of a growing friendship. You only have to look at Merry and Pippin to see that it works! Oh, and poor old Will, he loved Frodo like a son and the tragedy of losing Fenton is repeated all over again. No one realizes those two, for all their interest in outside the Shire, knew our land better than anyone else, knew and understood and loved our folk best of all. That is definitely true! Sadly, the "average hobbit" will only remember the words "outside the Shire" and will consider them cracked and disinterested in their homeland. Author Reply: It is, after all, great fun to imagine what kinds of things Frodo did to earn the title of the "rascal of Buckland." And I do think he'd have been very ingenious indeed. I believe that even in his leaving Frodo would somehow manage, by design or simply as a result of him being Frodo, to bring the proper folk together to support one another. And so Brendi eventually finds love with Narcissa, family through her, Fosco, Forsythia, and his children by Narcissa, and friendship with a Took lawyer who has a very different sort of practice. And I agree--friendship between Tooks and Brandybucks is possible--after all, there are marriages between them! It is so hard that in real life most people don't appear to look beyond appearances; Will has personally dealt with Frodo and Bilbo and realizes just how much they know and love the Shire and its folk; most others, as you've noted, don't look beyond the "outside the Shire." A very astute observation!

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/11/2006
It is good to know Bard is over his former jealousy and has developed so much respect for Frodo during their work together. I am glad he stayed to talk with Brendi. Frodo was certainly very intelligent and imaginative. I loved the story about the rats! grin You know, if Frodo had had children and they had teamed up with Pippin’s, that would’ve been quite a plague for the Shire, if they were anything like their fathers! Sadly Will is probably right about what others will think and say about Frodo. It is a consolation that at least some hobbits know enough to honour Frodo as much as he deserves. It may be good Will and the others signed the codicil as well to prevent arguments about validity, but if I had a sheet with the signatures of all the legendary elves, I would frame it and be very proud of it! But I know a bit more about the legends behind the names than most hobbits, of course. Author Reply: Seeing just what a former rival has come to is a wonderful antidote to jealousy, particularly when you realize he almost died, has ongoing physical issues as a result of his experiences, and has no intention of any sort of threatening your current happiness. And through Frodo a Took and a Brandybuck lawyer are coming to know one another and hopefully to respect and complement one another in the future. I've loved trying to think of the types of things Frodo might have done to earn his title of "the rascal of Buckland." Some of the stories I've seen have been so wonderful, and I thought this would be the perfect thing for the situation. Am so glad you appear to appreciate it. Will is all too right--Will himself is distinctly muddled as to what the four accomplished in leaving the Shire--about all he truly understands is that they are all heroes out there and the King loves and respects them all. What he knows is what they have accomplished HERE in the Shire--and that's been more than most will appreciate in decades. It was far easier to honor Merry and Pippin and their swordcraft and knowledge of tactics or Sam with his replanting and reconstruction than what Frodo did quietly behind the scenes in the Mayor's office. And so Frodo still receives the least recognition. As for framing the signature page for this codicil--I'd do the same!

Radbooks	Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/11/2006
It's interesting how working with someone you really get to know them, who they are and what they are truly like. Not always what you had supposed or what you had thought they might be like. That's what I thought when I read the part about Bard learning what Frodo was truly like and how he came to like him. I was glad that he had that chance considering how he had felt about him for so many years. I felt so for Brendi when he talked about Frodo being his best friend. Here he was saddled with all of this responsibility and duties that he had to perform and probably what he most wanted to do was have time to go off and grieve for the loss of his friend. Though there will be time for that, and sometimes work helps you get through things, but still I felt for him. Loved the signatures on the codicil! :) Author Reply: I know. I've found many I've been able to know far better when I work alongside them than when I just met them. And that Frodo and Bard would find a friendship as a result of their working together in the Mayor's office I find both logical and needful. It was past time for Bard to let go of the past. And for Brendi as you say, Frodo was his best friend, the one who always tried to see to it Brendi had what he truly wanted and needed. And being able to share that with Bard was, I think, important to his own healing. And those signatures will probably be sought after in later years by collectors from Gondor and Arnor--what do you want to bet? Heh! Back in school now, or is this your week off in Seattle?

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/10/2006
Will should start looking at who has been made Frodo's heir. Perhaps he should be heir to more than Bag End. A Lord of the Free Peoples. The largest landowner in Hobbiton. Sensible. The confidant of kings. I like Bard. Pearl chose well, even if she did throw Frodo over for him. To think of Frodo's last document sitting in the records with the signatures of nearly all the last of the Great Elves on it. Not that most hobbits would know who they were. Just as well they countersigned it. Author Reply: I think Will is starting to do just that, Bodkin. Frodo has gone out of his way to highlight the fact that Sam is extraordinary. After all, Sam in six more years will be the new Mayor of the Shire. I think Frodo has done all he can to rub Will's face in the fact Sam is all Will wants in a successor for the office and more. So glad you like Bard, for I find I do, too. And that codicil may well come to be enshrined in the Mathom House in time. Most Hobbits won't care a bit; but there will be the few who appreciate just what those names meant in Middle Earth for the first three ages of Arda. And so it ends up being countersigned with mundane Hobbit names right there alongside those of Elrond, Gildor, Erestor, and Galadriel. Thanks so much for the feedback.

harrowcat	Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/10/2006
To see these two professionals comparing notes at both personal and colleague levels is great Larner. “I’d just like—I’d like to understand a bit better, is all.” They are helping each other to do this I think although I am glad that just a few things are remaining private. And I agree that, while those closest to Frodo will treasure knowing as much of the truth as it is possible to piece together, those who are further away and less inclined to do more than listen to gossip will only see a partial picture that is coloured by their own prejudice. And so many famous signatures on that codicil!!! But it still needs more hobbit ones to satisfy present and future generations. This really highlight how isolated the Shire still is and will be for a great deal of time even though the events of the ring war and Frodo, in particular, have started the process of communication and change. Author Reply: Yes, and it appears that Frodo's leaving may have aided another friendship to grow. I like to think that even in leaving the Shire Frodo fostered growth of positive actions and relationships. But I doubt Brendi will ever tell folk about that picture he saw, recognizing this was highly personal to Frodo; and I don't know if Bard will ever learn why Pearl threw Frodo over, being content to accept that she did turn to him, and that she recognized he loved her as much as Frodo did. Yet most folk don't bother to dig deeper, and so rumors will take the place of fact in the minds of most folk in the Shire, just as it happens all too often in the real world. Bard may recognize at least two of those names, but Will probably has no idea who these are in spite of the stories he's heard Frodo tell his grandchildren. They still aren't real to him, for he's never experienced them. Even what he learns of the King doesn't truly become real until he meets Aragorn at the Brandywine Bridge--only then does he begin to take in the information given him and begin to integrate what he's retained of what he's heard before. Yes, the Shire has been isolated, and in many ways Aragorn's edict keeps it that way, which may or may not be a good thing in the long run. But at least some communication is going on.

Grey Wonderer	Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/10/2006
Poor Frodo's life was truly filled with lost love and sad events enough for three hobbits. It is indeed a wonder that he was able to carry on as well as he did. Between the death of his parents, worries about his health, and the Ring, he never had a chance, did he? Author Reply: All lives hold grief as well as joy; and Frodo's griefs were more obvious than those of many others. But the joy of Bilbo's acceptance and the friendship of Sam, Merry, Pippin, Freddy, Folco, and so on would have helped mitigate a good deal of the grief Frodo experienced, I think. And it's always fun to try to figure out ways Frodo earned the title of the "Rascal of Buckland." I think that considering what he accomplished he'd have done so with distinction, don't you? :-) In the end Frodo made the one choice that offered him a chance to reclaim some level of fulfillment in his life.

Linda Hoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/9/2006
It seems that Bard has learned a painful lesson.Frodo certainly had a lively youth ! Author Reply: Yes, Bard has learned; but we all learn as we mature. Tolkien indicates Frodo was considered quite a rascal while living in Buckland and Brandy Hall; and it's fun to figure out details of what made him that way.

Queen Galadriel	Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/9/2006
Ah, jealousy is one of the hardest things to overcome, and we can miss so much if we let it get a hold on us. It's such a pity that it wasn't let go sooner; Bard and Frodo might have had a longer friendship. But I'm so glad it was put away in the end. It's wonderful that these two could have this conversation; they needed it, and both gained something from it, I think. And Brendi's statement about accepting compassion is very true; it's so much easier when you know the other really, truly understands, but if they don't, at least to me, it's unbearable. Wow, I guess I've unwittingly been very unfair to poor Will. That's a side of him I never thought to see. "It's like losing Fenton all over again." Oh dear, Will, Mina, and the children and grandchildren will grieve as much as any of them. Have you read Tathar's "What Could Possibly Happen?" I saw the name Broadbelt here and found myself wondering if perhaps these are cousins of Farmer and Mrs. Broadbelt, and Daisy. :) God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: Oftentimes it takes simply being with others to appreciate what they are like inside and to fight the effects of envy. Bard at least had the chance to get to know Frodo and to appreciate him in the end, which enriched both their lives in the end. And now Brendi and Bard are coming to appreciate one another as well. I certainly understand just what you've expressed about accepting compassion. It's far easier to accept when you know it is indeed compassion and not patronization or pity based on stereotypes. Certainly Faramir appreciated Eowyn's wariness in accepting his compassion when he began prodding her to see what she felt toward him in return. His wasn't just pity in isolation of understanding, and so in the end she came to love him for his ability to express compassion. Will hasn't been as openly affectionate toward Frodo as Mina has been, but I think he, too, would in his heart begin identifying Frodo with his son. They don't appear to have been all that similar in personality, yet both were very compassionate and discerning. And now he's able to express this aloud. I've always seen Frodo as one who draws love and affection and fealty to himself. There had to be something to draw Sam to the point he would leave the Shire to support Frodo however he could; that would do the same for Merry and Pippin; that would move Strider in the Prancing Pony to swear to protect Frodo by his life or death. I see him as positively charismatic in this way. And for those who truly came to know him, this separation would cause great pain and grief, I believe. Yes, I read "What Could Possibly Happen?" Well, of course these are distant cousins, related through Timmin's father's father's brother's son, naturally! Heh!

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/9/2006
Poor Brendi and Bard, both of them losing a friend--Brendi, one of long standing, and Bard one he'd just come to know and love. It's really irritating to realize how many hobbits are never going to know and understand the truth--but at least those to whom he was dearest will know. Author Reply: That's the way it is in real life--a few discerning ones appreciate what's really happening while so many just believe about anything they hear and that they feel fits what they want to believe about the individual to begin with. At least in losing Frodo the two of them are coming to appreciate one another as friends now. Thanks so much for the feedback, Dreamflower.

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