Stories of Arda Home Page
About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search

With Their Heads Full of Dreams  by GamgeeFest 6 Review(s)
Queen GaladrielReviewed Chapter: 4 on 4/18/2006
Wow. Very sad and melancholy, but I enjoyed it very much. Memories are strange things, indeed, and I love Bilbo's thoughts on journaling. This is somehow realistic and very dreamlike-the memories of his early years mingled with the scene changes of dreams. And that younger Frodo put up a fuss about learning to swim in the dream says a lot about the insecurity that maybe he doesn't even know he still has. But my very favourite part was the conversation with Sam. Who is Frodo's protector? He's talking to him.
God bless,
Galadriel

Author Reply: In the end, Frodo has many protectors, but Sam is the one who will be there through the darkest hours. His parents picked the perfect hobbit for the job.

I've had many memories that, upon closer analysis, I realized couldn't possibly be accurate. It's funny, the way the mind will remember things or even make up memories. Frodo received that message loud and clear here. He certainly has swept his insecurities under the rug, but they're coming to the foreground again and he now has to deal with them once and for all.

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 4 on 3/29/2006
At last! I finally got to read this start to finish without being interrupted!

This is an amazing chapter--so much meat to it! A lot of depth and foreshadowing, as well as the references to some of your other stories. It is so like Frodo to dream of reading, isn't it?

The images are haunting, and of course *we* know what they mean even if Frodo doesn't. This is really very well done!

Author Reply: Reading and writing - that's our Frodo! He reads and writes so much throughout the day that it's starting to seep into his dreams.

Almost too much meat to it! It was giving me such grief, until I figured out how to transfer the problems I was having onto Frodo. *grins* Bilbo book-ending the dream, much as he book ends Frodo's life in a way: when he came to live in Hobbiton and his true healing began there, and then after the Quest, going to Valinor to be healed again. The acorn/oak tree will be clarified in an upcoming chapter, so I won't say anything about that just yet. Sam, of course, is the key component to the dream: Sam brings Frodo out of his darkness before he can become too lost in it. His protection has literally been right under his nose this whole time, and he's just now beginning to understand that.

Thanks so much for reading! So glad you were able to catch up!

Elf FriendReviewed Chapter: 4 on 3/28/2006
This was great! But such a change from the other light-hearted, insane dreams! This really shows how burdened Frodo is, even if he tries to push those feelings away during the day.

Love the interactions with Sam, those were really important for what comes later, especially during the Quest.

Can't wait for Sam's dream! :)

Author Reply: Each dream is different from the rest, according to who the dreamer is. There is always an undercurrent of melancholy about Frodo and that comes out in his dreams more often than not. Even if his waking self is perfectly content and happy, there will always be that loss that he experienced when his parents died.

Sam always comes at just the right moment, when Frodo's most in danger of losing himself to the bad memories. Even in dreams, Sam is looking out for Frodo!

I can't wait to find out what Sam dreams about myself. I'm hoping it'll be fun. :) Thanks for reading!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 4 on 3/28/2006
And his protector is most likely right outside the window there, although in the end he had more protectors than he himself could protect back....

Lovely, sad dream.

Author Reply: Yes, that's exaclty where his protector is, going about his job and interrupting Frodo's memories just when they get most dire. He's always had more protectors than he realized: his parents, his guardians, Bilbo, Merry, Pippin, Fatty and Folco. But they are family and family is supposed to protect and take care of each other, and so we often times take that bond for granted. Frodo never suspected to find such fierce loyalty in the gardener's son and so it means a great deal to him.

One of these days, I'm going to have to give Frodo a happy dream. ^_^

Thanks for reading!

AndreaReviewed Chapter: 4 on 3/28/2006
"What kind of stupid dream is this anyway?”

LOL! That's not my thought, I'm only quoting ;-)
Well, Frodo is the first one to realise that he's actually dreaming.

Compared to the dreams of Bilbo and the Gaffer, this one seems realistic. It's a different sort of dream, which foreshadows coming events - like lots of Frodo's dreams may have been.
The tragic loss of his parents is still present in his dreams, a haunting memory that mingles with other memories and even destroys them. But when he finally holds the "real" book of memoirs in hands it shows him that time did not stand still. Life has gone on for him since then. Not all memoirs are pleasant, but most.

Bilbo goes away and gives Sam the task to hand that book to Frodo! Well, if that doesn't say everything!

I wonder if after this dream Frodo knows who his protector is.

Author Reply: LOL, I figured that of the four hobbits, Frodo would be the one to realize that he is indeed dreaming. He has had prophetic dreams before so he knows the signs!

The loss of his parents, no matter how much he comes to accept it and put it behind him, will forever shape him. He simply needs to remember that their deaths were not the *only* thing that happened to him in his young life. It's often easier to remember the bad things that happen to us and forget the good; Frodo needed to realize that both cannot only happen at the same time but that the good in his life far outweighs the bad.

It does say everything, doesn't it? Couldn't be clearer unless you put a big blinking neon sign over Sam's head that says "I'm you're protector!" *grins* Frodo will certainly be paying closer attention to Sam after this. He'll be content to suspect that it is Sam, and as the years go by, that suspicion will only grow stronger. He won't know for certain until the quest and Cirith Ungol.

Thanks for reading!!

Grey WondererReviewed Chapter: 4 on 3/28/2006
All of that advice about the Journal was interesting and I love how this all comes back to Sam and past fictions. You are very clever at this dream business. Still enjoying this very much.

Author Reply: Bilbo was kind enough to give me that little pointer and help organize my thoughts a bit, but Frodo was still being uncooperative. I really had no choice but to make it *his* problem that none of the memories were completing themselves and were constantly getting all jumbled up. *grins*

I knew all along that I wanted it to end with Frodo beginning to comprehend that Sam is in fact his protector. Originally, I had him telling Sam that he knew, but that was simply too forward for this point in time. This way works much better, with Frodo simply suspecting the truth, and I also wanted to book end the dream with Bilbo giving Frodo some last minute advice.

Thanks for the review! I'm glad you're enjoying the dreams!

Return to Chapter List