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| It Takes a Took by Dreamflower | 348 Review(s) |
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| Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 2/10/2023 | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 11/27/2016 |
| I have been having such a great time reading your stories, and this one is no exception. I loved your version of Diamond, and your Pippin. You have definitely shown him as someone any girl would want to marry... :-) Thanks for writing! | |
| pegueng | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 5/14/2013 |
| Awww.. outstanding .. fabulous.. I started reading yer Fantastic story on FF but just couldn't wait for yer updates there ;) so i took the liberty of finding the original posting of it to read it through. I didn't know of this site so now i have another grand library to weed from. But your's was the first here and will be in remembrance always. Yer story has the air of propability and well earned happiness for them unintentional heroes. As i mentioned on reviews on FF, you have a knack of descibing the lives and ongoings with much ardour. I salut you, Dreamflower. / Pegueng | |
| Queen Galadriel | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 4/7/2013 |
| Love this story! I really don't think I ever read it before, being kind of keen to avoid romance at the time. Now, of course, I can't get enough of it. ;) I absolutely love your characterization of Diamond, and Pippin's letters are adorable! They'd drive me crazy for being so short, but they are so charmingly Pippin. I actually had chills when he and Merry were telling their story to their ladies. What an agonizing process it must have been. Poor Estella, her mother really is quite the character! You captured the dread of feared illness very well, I thought, and Diamond's experience with it. I almost felt everything she did. In case I haven't said it lately, I love the way you flesh out all the hobbits' personalities in all your stories, not just our favorite five, but your own original characters (love Opal and her sisters and the transformations there) and people who have their names mentioned in Tolkien's work but get little or no more than that. Your Esmeralda is one of my favorites. Frodo's last letter is heart-rending. But the departure from the wedding is so sweet, and somehow, even though I read the words of "Upon the Hearth" at the end, I was hearing Pippin's special song for Diamond in my head. :) Author Reply: Yes, Pippin made up in quantity for what his letters lacked in volume, LOL! Telling their loved ones was very painful for them--but they were wise enough to realize that it had to be done if they wished to share their lives with the two lasses. Rosamunda is shallow, and a bit of a snob. But she does love her children and want what's best for them. It's just that her ideas of "what's best" can be a little skewed. Thanks for the kind words about my characterizations--I know you've seen me say it before, but that is one of the nicest compliments on my writing: characterization is key. I'm glad you were touched by Frodo's letter and also by the ending of the story! And again, thank you for reading, and for reviewing! It's always lovely to hear from you. | |
| Queen Galadriel | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 4/7/2013 |
| I wasn't going to review this until the end, as it's complete. But I have to pause here, for this. Sam lay awake. He wished he could cry, could weep, could mourn, but he did not. This was a pain that gripped him from the top of his head all the way down to his toes, and left no room for tears. In the Black Land, Sam had seen despair, agony, fear, even hatred for the Ring and for the Dark Lord, in Frodo’s eyes. But at least there had been feeling, emotion, there. Tonight, he had seen nothing but emptiness in those eyes, as though Frodo were too weary even for pain. But that’s all right, he thought. I have enough pain for the both of us. I've always identified very closely with Sam, and this is one of the best instances of his POV that I've ever read in fanfiction. Author Reply: Why thank you very much! *blushes* And thank you for all the lovely reviews over the last few days--it has been so nice to find them in my inbox! ((hugs)) | |
| FantasyFan | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 5/7/2007 |
| I've had a good time re-reading this story tonight. It is a lovely romantic story, and I just love the characterization of Pippin in this. He is pure Pippin - mischieveous, determned, honorable, brave, easily bored, and utterly charming. And also so innocent, despite all that he has gone through, despite all the evil he's seen and the terrible and hard times he's lived through. His goodness, his purity, are really apparent here. I originally started reading this tonight where you've been newly posting it at West of the Moon. Quickly realized I'd read it before, and remembered I'd liked it. When I got to chapter 2, the sentence about Diamond and Pip being 6th cousins immedediately caught my eye, and then when I got to the bottom and saw myself credited I just laughed. After chapter 7, I came over here to SoA to finish reading. By the time I got to the end I was in tears for the letter from Frodo, which I had forgotten. And I read my original review of that chapter, where I also cried, and I realized that the more things change, and time passes, the more that they really stay the same. Frodo having to leave his cousins will always make me cry. Pippin will always make me laugh, and Tolkien's world will always make me shake my head in wonder and awe, as will marvelous writers like you who expand the original and make it personal and present in so many ways. Thank you for a lovely story. Author Reply: Oh wow! You know, it does my heart good to find reviews for stories that have been up a while. I'm rather fond of this one myself, but I'm so glad that you see all those things in my Pippin, for that is just how I have always seen "book-Pippin", and to know that you think I got it right just makes me smile. And to know that you are re-reading it also makes me happy. I'm one for re-reading the things I enjoy, so it feels good to know you liked it that much. Thank you for taking the time to let me know! I appreciate it ever so much! Thank *you* for a lovely review! | |
| Queen Galadriel | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 8/19/2006 |
| Oh, Dreamflower! What a splendid tale! That's the best romance I've read in a while. I don't really know where to begin, there's so much to love and admire. Well, here goes; I'll try and cover everything that really stood out for me... How like our Pip to get himself hurt saving other lives...again! I can really see how his and Paladin's relationship has improved, just in the way they behave and react to one another. There's real closeness there, obviously, and it's wonderful to see. There are so many names in the books that Tolkien never got to give personality to, and I love how you and so many others can make them come alive. I have to say, though, that I'm very partial to your Took family, which, of course, includes the future Mistress Diamond and all the OCS, particularly the Jewels. Wow! Opal is doing so well! I'm really impressed with how well she accepted her disability, and seems so determined not to let it get her down. This summer I attended a program for youth at the Colorado Center for the Blind to gain some useful info and experience of all kinds (that's where I've been all this time), and while there I saw a lady who had just lost her sight and come to learn life skills all over again, but was waiting to go back to the airport because she thought she couldn't do it. Yes, it's challenging; yes, it can be frankly terrifying and almost overwhelming at times, even when one has never *had* sight in his/her life, but it takes *mindset* and *determination*, and it made me so sad to see her just give up like that, in such real despair, because she so deserved to live her life fully, and she could have, I know it. And then to see someone like Opal, who is suddenly robbed of a limb, which, to most (and I have to say to me) seems far, far more severe than the loss of sight, just get over the rough stuff and do her very best to learn to live fully and be the best she can...It's thought-provoking. Now that poor Hyacinth is out of the way, I am able to find Rosamunda rather amusing. Not that I'd want to be in Estella's place, but still...:) "Dragon Rosamunda" is a very appropriate if not altogether kind nickname. :) Eglantine and Pearl are wonderful, and I think the four young people ought to do something special for them when Rosamunda isn't around as a bit of repayment. It would be kind and much appreciated, don't you think? :) Mistress Lavender seems like a very kind and interesting person. Healers can be delightful to write, can't they? :) Diamond was fortunate to have her as a Mistress. You have the extraordinary gift, like Tolkien, of slipping those moments of genuine sweetness and pathos into just the right places in a longer tale. Wonderful to see others noticing that special bond between the four, especially during Merry's incident. Poor Hobbit, to feel it even then! And while I'm on anniversaries, I think the happenings at Bag End were done just perfectly! You didn't skim over (as seemed to have been done in the Red Book), and you didn't go way overboard. I can't say I'm never guilty of the latter, but it's not a good fault to have. It was very touching, and I truly felt for Sam. To see your brother of the spirit look at you with eyes utterly empty...*shudders* No wonder he didn't sleep much that night. I really felt for Merry when Frodo's letter came saying he wouldn't come for Yule. I guess it was the wisest thing, as he would have been overwhelmed, but it would be so crushing for his cousins, especially Merry. And 'Candles' sounds like a very beautiful dance! Loved the party of well-wishers at the end, and Frodo's last letter to Pippin made me cry, this section in particular: For some reason, you always loved me, your strange old cousin who was solitary and bookish. And no one who knows you can imagine doing anything but loving you, which I have done from the time you were the tiniest of babes. I know, of course, that Merry is your favorite cousin, but you did me the honor of making me a close second in your heart. Some of my fondest memories are of the wide green eyes looking up at me with a stream of endless questions, and the lad who could never seem to stop moving. Oh, he had no idea how very much he was loved. In such a huge epic, with so very many characters, Tolkien didn't get much time or space to really delve deeply into the thoughts of each individual; at any rate he couldn't stay with one POV for too long. I recall in FOTR his seeming almost constant switching from Frodo to Pippin and back again. Some of the time he left it to us to imagine their thoughts and feelings, judging them by their outward actions. I know I've said it before, but I truly think that your characterizations of the Hobbits are some of the truest in the fandom. Thank you for such a marvellous read! I sure missed just sitting back with a good story this summer, even with all I had to keep me on my toes! God bless, Galadriel | |
| Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 8/8/2006 | |
| What a lovely story- with such excellent characterisations! The little details, such as the Tookish dislike of wheeled chairs, added realism. The way you wrote of how the rest of the Shire viewed the Travelers was touching and heartbreaking, that so few understood their pain. Frodo's illnesses, and how others reacted, were just as I had imagined, only stronger. And I was crying from Frodo's letter. Thank you for writing this and being kind enough to share it! | |
| EstellaB | Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 4/18/2006 |
| "Merry looked up, and the book in his hands dropped to the floor with a thud. Pippin grinned at him. “Cousin, I ask you, is that any way to treat our illustrious ancestor?” Merry didn’t answer. He didn’t even hear him." I know that is a really long quote, but I *love* that whole section. This is a wonderful story so far and I'm really enjoying it. However, I must admit that I feel slightly cheated: I just read When The King Comes Back (Brandy Hall), and I assumed that this followed it. I feel slightly cheated that there are none of your stories of Merry's courtship of Estella when it initially started, Unless I missed them, of course. At any rate, this is a wonderful story and I love it :) Author Reply: I have to admit, that's one of my favorite bits as well, so I'm very happy to see it quoted back at me! *grin* Well, since you read WTKCB--Brandy Hall, you did see the very beginning, when Merry comes home to find Fredegar's sister is all grown up, and she rewards him for rescuing her brother with a kiss. He begins his courtship by telling her the romance of Faramir and Eowyn. There was a little more of it in the prologue and epilogue of "For Folco", and then, in "A New Reckoning" they become an acknowledged "courting couple", especially in the chapters having to do with the Ball. And in a lot of ways, this story is *almost* as much about Merry and Estella as it is about Pip and Diamond, LOL! | |
| PIppinfan1988 | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 11/17/2005 |
| I was almost in tears over Frodo's letter...so sad, having left for the Undying Lands years before. Was it a gift that Sam held onto and then gave it to Pippin on his wedding day as Frodo's gift? Sorry, somehow I missed that bit. What a sweet thought; Merry, Estella, and "the baby"! Is it lad or a lass? Or...should I wait until after the wedding tale that I hope you're planning...? Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful, incredible imagination. I absolutely love your world of hobbits! I have enjoyed, and delighted in this tale from the first word through to the end. :-) Is there a sequel coming anytime soon? ;-) LOL, one tale at a time, right? Thank you again, Pippinfan Author Reply: Yes, Frodo had left letters, sealed, with Sam. Directions to give them to his cousins on their wedding days. For of course, he had not planned to see them and say farewell. There are a few stories that might suit you if you haven't already read them: "Surprises" actually takes place the day after Chapter 32. "A Special Homecoming" deals with Merry's and Estella's first child, and "A Night to Remember" deals with their betrothal party. In addition there are "Wish You Were Here", double drabbles set on their wedding day, and "Wedding Night", also a drabble. All of those are in my mathoms. I probably will do a story on their wedding eventually, but so far I've written "around" it. And I would like to thank you! You've no idea how much I have enjoyed our almost daily exchanges over this story, nor how much I looked forward to the review notices in my inbox. It's been great fun! I hope we do it again sometime--so, when do we get a sequel to "Courtship"? *grin* | |