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| Pipes After Supper by Ariel | 4 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Mechtild | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/8/2005 |
| Ariel, what a beautifully imagined and finely crafted tale. You write so canon-faithfully; you are so sensitive to the nuances of your characters inner lives as portayed by Tolkien (implicitly or explicitly), you make the Harem premise seem as though it really were true. Ah, for Frodo's sake, I wish that it might be so. The setting, the mood, the content of the conversation were all so rich and carefully depicted. Thanks for a wonderful story I am sure to read again. ~ Mechtild Author Reply: Oh, thank you, friend! This is one of my dearly favorite fics. It's harem comfort food, LOL! At least for me. *grin* As I said to Larner in the previous reply, the Harem may not suit everyone, but it suits me to a 'T'. Thankfully, there are options for all of us who wish to give comfort and love to Frodo. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/29/2005 |
| Okay, this one I'd not read before, and it's definitely an interesting premise. Frodo the harem master? Hohohohohoho! Author Reply: The Frodo's Harem is an AU that I adore. It's sort of a girl's club (though we are hardly 'girls' anymore) made up of people who have loved Frodo, most of them for many years, and want to discuss, write about and swoon for him. LOL! There is a whole archive of harem fic (I maintain the database, 200+ stories) based on the AU and it has, IMHO, some of the finest fic anywhere. Many familiar names in fanfic started out there, too. I don't think the premise of Frodo's 'Purgatory' as being spent surrounded by the lasses (ie women all over the world) who love him is any more fantastic than any of the other commonly accepted AU's and it 'includes' me much more than some of the other options. I think most of the people who love Frodo ache with a need to make him happy, give him love, honour and respect, but the way the majority try to do it sadly doesn't work for me. I am not Sam, and I don't much like him as the competition. ;) I find it much easier to see 'myself' in a horde of nameless, faceless lasses than to try and put myself into any canon role. The harem has existed since before the films came out and though the interest is fading, there are still diehards and there are still fics being written. It may not suit everyone but it suited me very well and I love it dearly. | |
| Budgielover | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/20/2005 |
| How I love stories of Bag End West! Of Frodo, healthy and happy and at peace at last. This one was simply beautiful. It starts off so sweet and happy, then evolves into such weighty matters as to bring home to the reader what was taken from Frodo by the Ring. And restored to him over the Sea. It speaks of suffering and hope and finally, joy. Beyond the plot, though, is the mechanism of good writing that I so enjoy in your stories - descriptive phrases, authentic dialogue, character development and delivery. You have taken a moment in time and managed to run through the gambet of emotions, leaving the reader with the same warmth of spirit as Frodo and Sam experience in that moment. What a joyful, wonderful AU this is! Author Reply: Oh, Budgie - what a wonderful review! ((((HUGS her TIGHT!)))). I have to agree - the Frodo's Harem AU is a wonderful one. I share it with a handful of some of the most astonishing, brilliant and interesting women I know and I wouldn't change it for the world. We write stories, squee together, sometimes cry together and love each other. We are sisters. And while the RL relationships we share are fulfilling, the stories we've written (over 200 in the archive now!) detail what I find to be the MOST satisfying fanfic genre in the fandom. I mean, seriously! Who could find fault in stories where you have a healed and fulfilled Frodo in Paradise with YOU! Um... Pardon me, but I'll take a double helping of THAT fantasy, TYVM! As you may or may not know, the genre does have its detrators. Some find the unchaste characterization of Frodo too farfetched (whereas I say, for crying out loud, can't the poor boy get some nuggie even in the afterlife?!?!) and some who find slash more appealing have scorned us and ridiculed our AU as 'unbelievable' (and I really have to stop and shake my head at that one.) Some have even told me that they dislike it because it is an AU which threatens their own personal view of the story because works. All I know is that from the moment I read my first harem vignette, I was filled with a warmth and satisfaction that at last HERE was a way for ME to heal this character I loved with all my heart. Here was a place for ME to do it - and in a way that did not steal the character away from anyone, did not covet him, or change him from the character I saw in the book, and shared him with others who loved him too. The AU might not suit everyone, but it suited ME - to a 'T'. So, you see, when you praise the harem stories, whether they are my writing or ones some other of my sisters did, I am ecstatic, and when you 'get' the AU and see the pure, unadulterated joy we find in it, well, then I extend a hand and say 'welcome, sister'. :D | |
| niniel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/7/2004 |
| One thing I learned today. I shall never read one of your stories again before I go to work. What's that gonna look like when I come back after a two weeks vacation and my eyes are all swollen from tears? Anyway, what I'm trying to say is: wonderful story, very inspiring, extremely well written. It has brought me to tears again. Which doesn't surprise me. Two stories out of three did that to me and the third brought me quite close to tears anyway. Loved that part when Sam remembered the time shortly after Frodo had left. Especially when he remembers Frodo's scent. Truly great! Thanks for sharing. Author Reply: *still blushing* I have a very special place in my heart for this story too. It is the one harem AU story I have published outside of the AU's own archive and I chose it because I think it presents the AU best for those who might otherwise have looked askant at the premise. Many people write the Frodo - Sam relationship, and many people write it in a way that is far more demonstratively intimate than I do. There is obviously a great appeal for that take, but for my part, I see much more meaning in things unsaid... things that didn't need to be said, and in a closeness that does not need a physical touch. I try very hard to maintain the respectful distance I saw in the books, a respect that I rarely see portrayed in fics. I believe it gives the rarer hug or touch far more meaning. Again, thank you for your sweet comments. They make it all worthwhile. Ariel | |