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When the King Comes Back (the Great Smials) by Dreamflower	14 Review(s)
PSW	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/5/2016
Very nice! It's always interesting to think about their homecoming -- what people thought while they were gone, whether it made any difference for Pippin that he was still underage even when he returned. And, I loved Strider's letters -- seems like he can charm anyone (except for Sam). :-P This was very enjoyable, thanks for writing! Author Reply: Oh, he brought Sam alongside eventually! LOL! I'm so glad you like this story. It was my first one, so it has a special place in my heart, even though I can see its flaws after twelve years.

harrowcat	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/10/2016
Hi Dreamfloer, I can't believe that you posted this story twelve year,s ago. It is still fresh and exciting. I don't know whether you will see this review after all this time but I wanted to pop in and express my enjoyment on rereadiing an old friend. Author Reply: Thank you, dear! I just now found your comment--I'm glad that you still enjoy the story even after all this time.

shirebound	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/21/2009
This is wonderful, and I'm so thrilled to re-discover this story. I especially love the letters Aragorn sent to Paladin. What an incredible story teller you were... are... and always will be. Author Reply: Thank you dear! You've no idea what an inspiration you were to me at the time. Until I posted this, I could only dream of keeping company with you, Baylor, Budgielover, Marigold, Lulleny and many others whose fic I had read. I was so new to things that it took me a long time to discover how to leave reviews! Now I count you and others as dear friends! And thank you for your kind words about this story--there are some things I might have done differently if I were writing it now--but I did love making the letters from Aragorn, and wouldn't change a word of them. (((hugs)))

nancylea57	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/10/2008
adventuring has a way of becoming a way of life, good luck fellows. Author Reply: Yes, it does! They had no idea!

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/11/2007
I've read this one before, back when I was first looking at the SoA site. A marvelous first tale, and such a worthy story at that. That you, too, saw the willingness to believe Pippin I'd envisioned and the similar problems with the beds meant a good deal to me then. And now it seems to mean even more. Isn't it interesting how it was someone else's work that sparked us to writing ourselves? And the Master sparked us all! I can certainly appreciate why Frodo was fearful of even more flowery phrases from Faramir! Heh! (Alliteration purposeful there.) Anyway, I'll be trying to read even more as time allows it. You're my first MEFA for the day, I'll have you know. Author Reply: I think that some of what becomes fanon is brought about because there are so many logical hints in canon, that more than one person extrapolates from the same premise. I remember when first writing fic, coming up with something I thought was rather unique, only to come across it shortly after by someone else had the same idea before I did (going by the dates on the story.) So it made me feel validated in my conclusions. And I've found a number of people are also inspired by others' fics--perhaps some of us are timid about following directly in JRRT's footsteps--we prefer to let someone else "go first", LOL! I honestly don't know--I just know that this story opened up the floodgates for me and I've never looked back since! Yes, Faramir would have wanted to honor Frodo as much as possible. I am sure Frodo was apprehensive about that! Why thank you! I've just finalized several of my hiddens--I need to get busy with more if I'm to make my goal--I'm not quite halfway there! I'm way behind last year!!

vinca_b	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/17/2006
Hello again! :-) Well, to give you an idea as to my enthusiasm over this story, I did not hesitate to leave a review but went right over and read the "Brandy Hall version" beforehand, lol! I obviously enjoyed them both greatly. I was close to tears, I have to say, while 'listening' to Pippin's recounting of the Quest, and I was so angry at Paladin when he wondered how much of it was true! Pippin's gifts to his family were suitably magnificent (especially that lovely bracelet for Eglantine! and I'm completely out of sequence here but will continue anyway). I loved that Aragorn sent two letters, one kingly and one friend to friend. And Pippin's nightmares about Denethor and his own father were terrifying, but I'm glad they made up. Now I feel slightly less like socking Paladin for his mistrust. :-) Off to review the other one! Vinca Author Reply: Hello, as well! I'm very glad you enjoyed this--it was my very first fic ever, and I am always pleased when I get a new review of it, to realize it still stands up. Paladin's disbelief was based not so much on mistrust of poor Pippin as it was his shock and incredulity that such things could actually be. He'd had a rough year, what with thinking his son dead, ruffians, and quarreling with his brother-in-law. Granted, much of it was due to his own stiff-necked pride and Tookish stubbornness. But he loved his son underneath it all, and really wanted to have a reason to make up with him. Thank you so much for R&R-ing. I always love to see new people here!

Gryffinjack	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/21/2005
What an enthralling story! I wish you had been able to upload this in chapters, as you had intended, so I could leave a proper review for each part, but I guess I will have to review the story as a whole. Let's see... where to begin... I enjoyed seeing Frodo playing with Merry's and Pippin's minds a bit, since he knew the contents of the messages from the kings. We so seldom get to see Frodo having a good time, especially now, after the Ring has been destroyed. I'm glad everyone liked the gifts Pippin brought for them and especially like the way Pippin gets so shy about giving presents that he can't even look as they open them. It's such an adorable reaction and a reminder that in some ways, he still is a tweenager. Pippin's recitation of the events that happened on his journey was heartwrenching. The way he had to stop several times, gain his composure, turned white, and had to modulate his voice so it was completely flat in order to get through describing everything ... this was a masterful piece of writing, Dreamflower. Truly amazing, especially since this was your first fanfic. Pippin presented the king's letter to the Thain in just the right way, waiting in line with everyone else, dressed in the livery of Gondor, and as official business before the Thain. It must have come as quite a shock to Paladin to see his own son waiting there for an audience with him. Lovely personal letter from Aragorn. I'm glad that Pippin explained the rest of what had happened to his father so that Paladin can understand a bit better what his son has gone through. Likewise, I'm glad that Paladin knows about the injuries Pippin sustained. Thankfully, they were able to make up their differences and Paladin was able to give Pippin his love and care. Of course, there will still be some differences between them, but at least Paladin can now see that his son has indeed grown up and is a tweenager in name only. Saradoc and Merry have such an excellent relationship that I'm sure it was far easier for Merry to tell his father what had happened, since his father was right there, lending his love and support as Merry needed it. So Merry is going to receive an annual stipend, eh? I'm sure he's right, that Aragorn would be no less generous to Pippin than Eomer is to Merry. Nice set up for A New Reckoning. This was a brilliant story and I really am looking forward to reading it from Merry's POV in the companion piece. Author Reply: Yes, I wish I had too, but I was so new and green at this, and I'm not terribly competent with the computer, either, LOL! But I soon figured it out! I thought Frodo might have just a little fun with his cousins over the letters. He's still got a good deal to get through, but according to JRRT, when he first came home, for most of the first year, he thought he might be able to get back to a mostly normal life. And I don't think he had completely lost his sense of humor. This was just so clear in my head, this picture of Pippin bashfully hiding his face while the gifts were opened! And the gifts as well sprang into my mind full-blown. His recitation of the Quest did undergo a good deal of alteration from my first ideas of it. Lulleny herself beta'd the story for me, and she emphasized that I should concentrate more on the emotional reactions of Pippin as he told it, and the others--especially Paladin--as he listened. The one section that was not much changed was the death of Boromir. This was another part that played itself out for me in my mind, almost like a little movie--I still see it so clearly in my mind's eye, as Pippin touches himself where the arrows hit Boromir. One thing in which the movie definitely had an impact on my story--the visuals of that are so strong! Pippin wants very much for his role as Aragorn's knight to be taken seriously by his father, so conducting the business formally was a way he could do that. Paladin did need to hear the rest of the story. He needed to realize how his reactions were resonating with Pippin, after such a traumatic experience with Denethor and Faramir. Well, of course. I kind of imagine a humorous and gentle rivalry between the two Kings in how they can sneakily honor their young knights. And you are right about the set-up, although I did not at the time realize that was what I was doing. As you can see, I started the pattern of giving myself bunnies very early on. I'm so glad you like it. As my first piece, it has a special place in my heart--truly, I read Lulleny's "The Prodigal Took" one night, and could not get it out of my mind. I woke up about 3 or 4 in the morning, and the whole story was just there in my head. I was still fairly new even to reading fanfic, and had no idea how to get started. I just sat down at the computer, and wrote the story, and then emailed Lulleny, and asked her if she would like to see what her story had inspired. She was curious, so I sent it to her, and then she was kind enough and gracious enough to beta it for me, and encourage me to archive it. Originally, there were several scenes in the story that featured Merry (I mean more than I showed) but she convinced me to tighten it up and focus on Pippin, so then I took the deleted scenes, and expanded them into the companion piece. This story opened the floodgates for me--I've been writing hobbitfic ever since.

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/6/2005
Wonderful! Brava! Parts of this seem familiar, but as a whole the story sounds new to me. I don't know if this is one of those I skimmed in haste, meaning to come back to and read and review at leisure, or if I saw it elsewhere, or what... but I see no review from me, and I always try to review what I read (unless the computer crashes in the meantime). Very well done! Your characters are believable, your background and setting well-developed, the relationships not cliched but ringing true. Thanks for pointing me to this story! Author Reply: It's possible if it seem familiar, that you read the companion story, "When the King Comes Back (Brandy Hall)", which was my second story, and covered the same time frame from mostly Merry's POV. Also (following the lead of one of my favorite writers) I keep most of my stories connected, so some of the same stuff shows itself in other stories. (I wonder who I could have learned that little trick from? 8-D) I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was actually supposed to be in chapters, but I messed up when I posted it. I doubt if I ever correct it here, as I wouldn't like to lose my reviews. And thanks for reading it.

Hai Took	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 5/31/2004
Wow! You sure did a lot! Pippin telling about the Quest was very well done, you wrote it just the right way! The gifts that Pippin brought back with him for his family were wonderful! Now I understand some of the conversation better in New Reckoning! It was lots of fun! Author Reply: Thank you. Great Smials was my first fanfic, and I had a little trouble getting it posted ( It was supposed to have chapters!) I'm very glad you enjoyed it. Brandy Hall is a companion peice to this and has a lot more references that show up in Reckoning. Thanks for reviewing!

Grey Wonderer	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/22/2004
Enjoyed your story very much. I didn't find this one until I had started reading the other one which I am also enjoying. Thanks for a great read.

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