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Reaping by Dreamflower	12 Review(s)
Speedy Hobbit	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/4/2007
Wow! This is without a doubt one of the most interesting stories I have perused in a while! I have also been recently rereading "A Conspiracy of Hobbits" and "For Folco" and am now getting started on "A New Reckoning." My goodness though... I am torn to shreds between my valuing justice and my more merciful tendencies! Part of me is ovn the verge of whooping for joy at the dire fate that befell Ted Sandyman- eye for eye, after all! The rest of me is grimacing and even almost wanting to hug him at the very end... after all, NOBODY deserves to be tortured thus, and truly Ted's downfall was naivete combined with his propensity for trying out various methods of social-climbing! He wanted to better his position and set upon a path to destruction in doing so, he sought the wrong way. He could have just as easily treaded the life path of Sam... it is very true, you do in the end reap what you sow. How dreadful though... he laughed as he watched Folco being brutalized to death, all on account of one thing he construed as a verbal slight? I doubt there's a person alive who has not been insulted! I could only imagine how Folco must have felt as he was being dealt the fateful blows, you did not use his point-of-view... looking through his dimming vision to see Ted laughing at him and not helping him, and those who were trying being unable to get through to his rescue... he probably knew his number was up and mourning that he would never see Freddy or the others again, all due to Lotho's reign of terror before Saruman's arrival... Honestly, he was walking on his merry way either to the market or back to Fatty and the girls, and then all of the sudden, without warning, found himself set upon by these thugs, never knowing why! I'm not sure how to construe Folco's spirit's appearance. Was it really there or simply an astounding revelation that Ted Sandyman.. gasp has a conscience? He HAS A CONSCIENCE? Amazing! All the more tragic for him, really... it seems he has been struck, too late, by the realization that Folco meant him no harm and indeed had a very kind heart. What a naive fool, that he never even realized anything was amiss with Lotho, that he thought those men had been on Lotho's side... the men outnumbered Saruman and Wormtongue by far, if they'd been on Lotho's side they obviously could have outnumbered the two with sheer numbers! Author Reply: It's been a while since I had a review for this. It was one of the most difficult stories I've ever written. I have come to realize that sometimes characters must die, for one reason or another. But though I knew--and had dealt with at second-hand--the manner of Sandyman's death, I had never planned to write it into a story. When Marigold gave me a Challenge prompt, dealing with Sandyman after the Scouring, I knew I would have to stretch myself beyond my usual comfort zone. It was very hard, and it is the only fic I've ever written with this level of violence. When I finished, I could only read silly fluff for several days! Sandyman was a hobbit who was very un-hobbity in his lack of compassion; and he was able to excuse his actions towards Folco by telling himself that he personally never laid a hand on him--overlooking his role in leading the Men directly to him, and egging them on. Of course, he did have a conscience, as do we all, but like many people, he had battered his into submission by completely ignoring it his whole life. It took literally being in the same position as his victim to wake it up. So horrible as it was, his painful death was of benefit to him in allowing him to be able to finally understand and repent. As for Folco's appearance, I deliberately made that ambivalent--I wanted each reader to bring her own beliefs to the scene, and decide for herself just what role Folco played: was he simply a hallucination of Ted's tortured mind, or had he truly come to lead Ted home? But yes, in spite of his loose lips, Folco was a sweet, kind and generous soul. Both Lotho and Sandyman were completely naive in regards to the Men. With their own puffed up opinion of themselves, it never occurred to either of them until too late, that the Men had been doing their bidding for their own ulterior motives--and not the simple ones of greed, as they had assumed. But the Men, in my own humble opinion, had come primed to feed that delusion. I believe that before he sent them off to do his bidding, Saruman had used his Voice on the Men, telling them to obey Lotho the way they obeyed him, until he came to tell them otherwise. Of course, then he showed up at the end in his true colors, and his death freed the Men from any restraints he had previously placed on them. And of course, many of those Men were the "half-Orcs" that Saruman had fashioned...

Anso the Hobbit	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/20/2006
Oh! takes deep breath That was different to come from your pen. Not in a bad way of course. :) I have been wondering what happened to Ted Sandyman, it's been too long since I read the Source so I need to do that again very soon, but I like your take on it. It is hard to feel pity with him and I think Frodo managed because he had learned how to pity Gollum. Sandyman could never have lived a life in the Shire after what happened but I am sad to see that even the traitors were molested like that by those Men. Author Reply: This is the darkest fic I have ever written. I am not sure that I could ever have done it without Marigold's prompt. But she has a way of getting authors to stretch themselves a bit. It was really very hard to write, and I won't be doing anything like it again, I think. We don't really know what became of him (anymore than we do Folco) but both of them simply drop out of the story, and it seemed to me that there could have been a sinister explanation. It has always seemed to me that the hobbits of the Shire needed to learn that banishment from the Shire was not necessarily a merciful punishment.

Citrine	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/8/2006
Folco!! Oh man, that hurt. I always had an uneasy feeling about Folco, that something really bad happened to him (maybe in Tolkien's unwritten backstory,)to make him fall out of sight-surely he would've have reappeared otherwise, even as just a casual mention. Poor, poor Folco:( And poor, poor Ted, too. I want to cry for him, but I just feel so horribly sad. I wouldn't have wished that on my worst enemy. Author Reply:* Yes, I tell of Folco's fate in "For Folco", one of my earliest stories. It was his murder that was the catalyst for his best friend Fatty Bolger to lead the rebels. And we learn more about it here and there in some of my other stories. No, it was a horrible fate, and the only positive thing about it, was that it enabled him to finally feel sorry for what he had done. But no one deserves to suffer like that. Yet, given his actions, it really was inevitable.

lovethosehobbits	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/8/2006
Wonderful, as usual. I especially liked the idea of Folco forgiving him and of Ted finally repenting, some what. Very well written, as is your norm, my dear. Author Reply: Folco was a forgiving and gentle soul in life, I don't think death would have changed that. Ted had to experience for himself what he had put others through, before he could come to understand how reprehensible his own actions had been--and then, yes, he did repent. And I thank you for the compliment. This story was far out of my comfort zone, so I really was not sure how good it was.

Baggins Babe	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/7/2006
shudder What a horrible fate for anyone, even Sandyman. No-one deserves that. You brought in so much - the way the Shire-folk turned against Ted, the other unfortunates who had been driven from the Shire, Ted's realisation that some of those Men have black blood, although I wonder if he understood what that meant. Poor Mallo and his family - their fate was particulalrly chilling. I think Folco was a much better character than Ted, and it might have been his spirit rather than a dream, but I liked the way you left this ambiguous. A very realistic portrayal of what might have happened, although I'm sure it was tough to write. I wonder if the Rangers ever do catch up with Ted's murderers in 'The Road to Edoras'? Author Reply: No, no one deserves such a fate, no matter how horrible they were--and Ted is far from the worst person, though he was by no means good. It was inevitable that with the chief instigator of the trouble--Lotho--dead, that the Shire hobbits would turn against his main collaborator among them. And the fate of the other banished is something I have also brought out before. Sadly, Mallo and his family were among those to suffer, proving that banishment is not nearly so merciful a fate as the Shirefolk think. I don't think Ted had a clue as to what the black blood meant, other than something truly horrible. Yet we know that some of those Southerners that Saruman sent to the Shire were, indeed, half-orcs, and that seemed the most logical way to show that the leader of this bunch was one. I'd like to think it was Folco's spirit being forgiving and helpful, but I did want to leave it open to question. This was extremely tough to write--especially as I began to realize how graphic the violence would be. And I don't know yet if the Rangers will catch up with them or not--we'll have to see...

GamgeeFest	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/6/2006
Wow. I can see why this was hard for you to write. I don't think I could have done that either. Letting Sam get beat up in "A Tale" was bad enough for me. Poor Ted. That was so much more than mere payback. No one deserves to go that way, not even Lotho himself. The recurring dream about Folco was touching as was Folco "saving" him in the end. Ted learned the hard way just why what he did, or helped to do, was so bad. Well done, Dreamflower! Author Reply: I think that this was probably the hardest thing I've ever written. I mean, when Marigold told me she wanted Sandyman after the Scouring of the Shire, I knew already what would happen. But I had no idea how it would take me in such a graphic direction. When I realized that it was taking me into "R" territory, I drew back; I emailed Marigold, and asked her if I might should tone it down, but she told me to go for it, so I did. But I don't think I want to do it again. No, no one deserves that sort of thing, and yes, it was far beyond payback--and yet that is often the way of things, that consequences for folly are so often worse than anticipated. Think of things like drinking and driving, for example--getting drunk is not good, but ending up killing yourself behind the wheel of a car is a whole lot worse. And the truth is, that bullies like Ted are fools because they lack the ability to understand the feelings of others. It took having to experience what someone else felt himself that finally enabled Ted to see past himself and realize what he had done.

Jay of Lasgalen	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/6/2006
Sigh Poor old Ted Sandyman. I didn't think I'd feel sorry for him, but I do - no-one deserves this :( Author Reply: No. No one deserves this, and, when his grave is later discovered and hobbits of the Shire realize his fate, they also realize that no one deserves this.

Indigo Bunting	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/6/2006
Oh, my. Poor Ted. What an end to meet! The only thing that made it bearable was Folco waiting for him at the end - seemingly not to wreak vengeance, but with an outstretched hand. Even that bit of closure was murky, though. It's not possible to know from Folco's words just how "forgiven" Ted was. He was simply stating the obvious - that Ted's life had ended. And the story closes on a very dark note with a shallow grave. Reading this story naturally evoked thoughts of my own WIP. The knife-work, both hot and cool, and the threat of the loss of sight sounded all too familiar. This is the sort of fate that "River" Sam has only just escaped. I don't know how you brought yourself to write this; I could never have done it. It gives me the shivers. Kudos for writing something so gutsy. Author Reply: I did want to leave a little ambiguity there--was that really Folco's spirit, or the hallucination of a dying hobbit? But really, finally understanding what he had done, being able to regret his part in causing another to suffer as he had, I think would have made his redemption possible. And the shallow grave was necessary, as that is how the Rangers discover his body in "Road to Edoras". I don't know how "gutsy" it was--this was way out of my comfort zone, and I don't think I want to go here again. But given the fate I had already decided on for Ted, though never had described so graphically, Marigold's starter made this story inevitable. And I'm glad, for it really gives some closure to this character.

harrowcat	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/6/2006
Wow now that was a dark read for a nice day! I have always felt sorry for Ted Sandyman but what an end! Shame that he couldn't bring himself to accept Frodo's generous pity. Author Reply: It's definitely dark--quite the darkest thing I've ever written, and I'm going to need to do some fluffy things for a while to get this taste out of my mouth. But it was kind of necessary to finally give Sandyman some closure. He could not have ever accepted anyone's pity until he found himself suffering the way he had caused others to suffer.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/6/2006
This is very good - and very horrible! Poor Ted Sandyman. Nasty, but naive. He didn't really have much of a grasp of what the world was like outside the Shire. But his learning curve was steep. It was a delightful touch to have kind-hearted Folco waiting for him. Author Reply: "Nasty, but naive." Exactly. None of the ones who helped Lotho really understood in the least what they were truly a part of. And, as often happens, he reaped a bitter harvest for his own stupidity. I had to have some little ray of brightness at the end, or I could not have stood it myself.

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