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Dreamflower's Mathoms II by Dreamflower	7 Review(s)
KathyG	Reviewed Chapter: 54 on 12/2/2014
Pippin must have taken on the title of The Took later that year since, according to The Tale of Years, he became the Thain and the Took in 1434, the year this story is set in. (That was also the same year that Sam was elected to his second term as mayor, and when Aragorn made him, Merry, and Pippin Counsellors of the North kingdom. Hey, that'd be something to write a fanfiction story about! =))

KathyG	Reviewed Chapter: 54 on 11/6/2014
This is a delightful story! Nice idea to have it consist of letters. A great idea the ladies had, to get the two families together with the Gamgees at Bag End--they needed one other! Just one question. You typed as the year that those letters were written as S.R. 1334. Wouldn't the year have been 1434, S.R.? Back in 1334, Frodo, the oldest of the bunch, hadn't even been thought of yet! =) Author Reply: You are quite right! I shall edit that right away!

GamgeeFest	Reviewed Chapter: 54 on 11/18/2008
Heh! Good to see Merry and Pippin on the other side of a conspiracy. Though Sam always seems to end up being on the scheming side - an ironic position, for such a "proper" hobbit. Loved this series of letters and am glad the lads have realized that while duty is important, all work and no play make for some very crabby hobbits. Author Reply: Yes, Sam's always been an excellent conspirator! LOL! I think those first couple of years after their fathers died and they took on their responsibilities must have made for a very difficult time for them, and for their wives as well. Hobbits, and especially those hobbits, do need to have some play time as well!

TopazTook	Reviewed Chapter: 54 on 8/19/2008
Rose (and Eglantine and Esmerelda, but Rose takes the cake) is brilliant. So glad they all got to vacation together -- they sound much less tense by the end of this fic than at the beginning. And good for Pippin for putting his foot down as it were (hmm...a hobbity expression?) about no newbridge or oldbridge. I'm glad to see someone else thinking it's feasible that Pippin didn't immediately become The Thain and The Took, but that Eglantine took over the second office for a while, at least. Author Reply: giggle I'm sure that Rose knew how Merry and Pippin would react to the idea of "offending" her, LOL! Pippin knew that if Merry were allowed, he'd just keep on working. He does his best to keep his Brandybuck cousin from being a "workaholic". In Letters, JRRT says that it's customary for the widow to take over as family head. Yet we don't see much of that in LotR. My theory is that after Lalia abused the practice, it fell out of favor for a generation or two, but it was still "Shire law". After the Troubles, I imagine that there were several widows as heads of family, if they'd lost their husbands and sons to Ruffians. In Eglantine's case, I think Pippin wanted her to keep on with it for a while at least, as you say.

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 54 on 8/18/2008
Lovely letters, Dreamflower! You were able to put a lot into these few letters. Pippin is a intelligent lad - I think he has found a good way to keep his mother from brooding too much after his father's death. Eglantine is busy enough to keep going. But still, the women are much more devious grin The way they arranged the holiday from their responsibilities for Merry and Pippin was great. Though I am a bit sorry for Rose and Sam for having to watch so many children - that has to be nerve-wracking ;) Oh well, I am sure Merry and Pippin make up for it and take the Gamgee children for a while, too, to give Sam and Rosie a break, too. Author Reply: Thank you. Letters are such a fun way to write fic. You can show the characters' personalities in quite a different way in a letter than you can in just showing the story. Yes, he is very intelligent. And once he'd accomplished his aim, his mother returned the favor. I think Rose and Sam will do just fine with the children--This would have been sixteen--only three more than what they eventually end up with on their own, LOL! But yep. I bet they do too! I am quite sure that they will return the favor.

Baggins Babe	Reviewed Chapter: 54 on 8/17/2008
I loved everything about this! The delightfully hobbity letters, Sam sounding so Sam, and the thought of the children tumbling about until Took, Brandybucks and Gamgees are all one big happy family. How wonderful is that! What a nice idea to keep Eglantine involved after Paladin's death, and how lovely that she and Esme hatched a plan to give Merry and Pip some time together. I love it! Author Reply: I'm glad you thought "Sam sounded so Sam"! Thank you dear! I could just imagine all those kids--eight little Gamgees at that point, four little Tooks and two little Brandybucks! But I'm quite sure that Sam and Rose were up to the occasion! I think they were wise mums, who knew their sons had been under a lot of pressure, and who also knew how much the cousins relied on one another--Merry needs Pippin to keep him from being a "workaholic" and Pippin needs Merry to keep him from flying off in all directions at once. And I think the wives need one another as well--I've always imagined Estella and Diamond becoming as close as sisters.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 54 on 8/15/2008
Marvelous visit, and smart dowager mums there! And to enlist Sam in a conspiracy to get Merry and Pippin to relax is perfect! Bless Esme and Eglantine! Author Reply: Yes; the few years just prior to that had been rather difficult ones for Merry and Pippin: canonically, Merry lost not only his father, but his beloved Uncle Merimac, and Pippin lost his father, and both of them found themselves suddenly having to shoulder their responsibilities, and to leave their home at Crickhollow. And in "my" Shire, there was also the trauma of the flood. They really did NEED to relax!

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