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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Hobbits  by GamgeeFest 12 Review(s)
Frodo BagginsReviewed Chapter: 7 on 2/20/2007
Well, I'm finally catching up. *hugging Pippin* This chapter was a tearjerker!! I would hate to see him cry. Maybe that's because he reminds me so much of my own Pipsqueak...er, my brother. I hate it when he cries. Anyway, this was a wonderful chapter. But wonderful chapters are normal for you, aren't they? Before you deny it, they are normal and I enjoy them very much. I had to smile at the part about Merry being so very competitive. Can't tell you how many times that has gotten my sister into trouble. *shaking head* I like to win, but I will take losing and having a good time over winning and everyone fighting. Well, I've written you a book. APologies.
Namarie!
God Bless,
Frodo Baggins

Author Reply: Pippin did need a hug in this one, poor lad. Thank goodness Gimli showed up when he did, even though he wasn't sure what to do once he got there. ;) Still, Gimli did an admirable job, thrown off guard as he was.

My Merry has a competitive streak and it comes out at the most inopportune times. But he's still very good-natured about it. If Boromir had own again, Merry would have accepted it with good grace and treated him to an ale.

Thank you so much for all your kind comments! I'm glad this reminds you so much of your own family. I always enjoy it when a story I read can recall my own experiences to me. And I very much enjoyed your 'book'. ;D

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 7 on 12/4/2006
Yes, it would be definitely a day to feel homesick. Poor lad! And love the letter.

Author Reply: Holidays and birthdays are always the worst for missing someone. The guilt doesn't help. But Pippin will always have his friends there. Writing the letter would help to ease some of that homesickness at least, and he shows a lot of growth in that second letter when compared to the first.

BodkinReviewed Chapter: 7 on 11/26/2006
Boromir could have written a book - All You Ever Wanted to Know about Hobbits. I'm sure it would have topped the bestseller list in Minas Tirith after Frodo's spectacular success in Mordor. Shame he never got the chance ...

I lovely Merry's competitiveness. And Gimli's kindness to Pippin. And Pippin's idea of an adequate letter - which he then forgot to leave! It's at moments like these that it is apparent that Pippin is still quite young.

Good idea to have the elven postal service drop off letters on their way through the Shire - I'm sure Pippin's letter would be a great consolation to his parents. And the Shire would be safer with his rock collection in Pearl's hands.

Author Reply: Maybe Faramir will write it for him, with some help from Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn. :D

Merry's always been too competitive for his own good. And can you believe, this is the *less* competitive Merry? Losing to a *man* of all people clearly insulted his inner contender. lol Gimli may not have much experience in hobbits, who wear their emotions so easily on their sleeves, but he did a good job of consoling Pippin. I can just imagine Pippin sitting in his room at home going through several drafts to come up with that first letter! Maybe it's a good thing he did forget to leave it, I don't think it would have been very much comfort.

The elves can easily carry the letters with them, once the going is safer. I don't know if they would find getting into the Shire as easy as they once did, since Men would now be occupying it and controlling most of the border. But the letters, if they are delivered, would be some comfort. At least they would know that their sons aren't dead - though Pippin forgets to tell them that Pearl gets his rock collection! ;)

AltheaReviewed Chapter: 7 on 11/25/2006
I enjoyed reading this so much. Gimli trying to comfort Pippin was very touching. I'm glad that Gimli came up with a solution to the letter problem. I loved Pippin's letters. The game with Boromir and Merry's competitiveness were fun as well.

Author Reply: Gimli may not have thought himself adequate for the job of comforting a distraught hobbit, but he managed it just fine. :D Gimli was desperate to think up some sort of a solution, anything to keep Pippin from crying again! Pippin's letters were fun to write. I can imagine him sitting at home writing that first one, trying several drafts to come up with just the perfect one, lol. Merry's often too competitive for his own good. The thought of losing a game of aim to a *man* would have just haunted him to no end, and then to only *narrowly* win... lol He'll get that rematch yet, just to prove that Boromir's success was a fluke. ;)

AntaneReviewed Chapter: 7 on 11/25/2006
I love Merry's comment about not worrying about Pippin getting into trouble on his own because he can get into much worse trouble if Merry's around and Frodo's smile to Sam about servants making their master's favorite meals on birthdays. So sweet. As is Pippin's letter - I hope it gets sent and reaches them.

Namarie, God bless, Antane :)

Author Reply: Merry's so full of reassurance where Pippin's concerned! lol While it's true that he and Pippin together can cause quite a lot of mayhem, Pippin is still capable of getting into trouble on his own. It just doesn't often occur to him to do so; at least, he'd rather wait until Merry's around because it would be more fun. Sam is ever thoughtful of his master's needs and wants, and Frodo is smart enough not to take it for granted.

Pippin's second letter is a vast improvement over his first one, but then he has grown up quite a bit since leaving home. He also better understands that he might be quite longer than 'shortly' in coming home, so he wants to pack as much into that letter as he can, on the slim chance that it might possibly be sent. Of course, we know that the letter being sent is not the only obstacle. They would then need to be delivered, and by the time any elf might reach the Shire, they will find much resistance in their entering since Men would be occupying it by then.

harrowcatReviewed Chapter: 7 on 11/22/2006
Oh *sniff* but loved the discussion.
Glad that nothing living got in the way of those mud balls. The same won't be said about the snow balls next day I am sure!

Author Reply: Mud ball fight vs. snow ball fight. Both equally fun, and I'm sure Pip wouldn't mind the bath that would come at the end of a mud ball fight. lol But then Elrond really would not have been a happy camper! Thanks for reading!

Grey WondererReviewed Chapter: 7 on 11/22/2006
I could just see Boromir and Merry in the thick of the competition. I love how very intense Merry gets about these things. Gimli was lovely in this! I really enjoyed the way that you wrote him. Another wonderful chapter!

Author Reply: Merry is a tenacious hobbit. Mention any kind of contest around him and he'll be ready to flatten the competition before he even knows what the game is! The good news is, he's much less competitive than he used to be! lol Just as you're unsure about writing Sam, I tend to be unsure of writing Gimli or Legolas. I'm glad that Gimli rang true for you in this chapter.

Queen GaladrielReviewed Chapter: 7 on 11/21/2006
Awww...*hugs Pippin* This was such a sweet chapter, GF, bittersweet, I should say. The homesickness comes through very well and is so real. It's terrible to be so far away on a loved one's birthday when you're used to celebrating together. And I just love Merry comforting Pippin and Pippin's sweet letter.

I had to laugh at Gimli's and Boromir's confusion over the gift-giving customs of the Shire! Frodo and Bilbo must have had a wonderful time, being able to actually exchange gifts on there birthdays. :)
God bless,
Galadriel

Author Reply: Poor Pippin is really feeling the distance between him and home and family. As the youngest, and still a child really, he would be the one more prone to homesickness and feeling in need of his family. Now at least he has *some* hope of getting word to his family. Merry will always know when something is bothering Pippin. He won't shield Pippin from the truth of things, and he knows there is no true comfort that he can give, other than holding onto the fact that being with Frodo is the right place for them to be. Whatever heartache comes from their decision to follow their cousin, it will have been worth it.

Hobbits do have some good ideas about gift-giving but I tend to agree with Gimli - their rules are far too complicated for anyone other than a hobbit to keep track of!


DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 7 on 11/21/2006
Aww...*sniffle* This was so sweet, and very funny as well, but mostly sweet. It had to be so hard on our lads, as important as family is to hobbits, to know what they had let their families in for. And especially Pippin, who was so young.

And I just adored Gimli comforting Pippin. Those two are wonderful together.

Author Reply: You know there were many times throughout the Quest when they wondered what their friends and family were doing back home. During special days such as birthdays and holidays, there was bound to be some guilt mingled with their homesickness. Just knowing that their families would be worried sick about them would be unbearable for them, especially Pippin. He's still just a child by all accounts and more in need of his family than Merry and Sam are.

It's time for Gimli to start getting in the thick of things. So far, Boromir's been having all the fun. :D

eilujReviewed Chapter: 7 on 11/21/2006
Boromir broke off immediately for the hobbits were looking at him with expressions of horror and shock. He wasn’t sure what he had said to upset them so but he had a feeling that it was going to be something complicated.

Poor Boromir!


"No host worth his mushrooms" -- a very appropriate Shire saying.

Author Reply: Boromir knows enough about hobbits by now to know that any explanation will be a long one. And Gimli, who was warned about this tendency by his father, has become accustomed to it as well. Thanks for the review!

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