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Keep Alive the Memory  by Celeritas 5 Review(s)
VirtuellaReviewed Chapter: 7 on 12/5/2008
Now I wonder - do the Buckland ponies have some Rohirric horse blood in them?
I love the way the clues are emerging so gently, like the piece of the elven cloak in the quilt.

Author Reply: Oho! Someone picked up on the Buckland ponies!!! XD XD XD Hmm... how do I answer this one? I guess it was just a logical conclusion on my part: that with Merry's ties to Rohan he'd at least know how to pick out the best lines for breeding--if he didn't actually receive any stock from Rohan itself!

The elven cloak was a bit unexpected when I wrote it (I had to come up with a bit of backstory as to why they would cut into one of them anyway), but it seemed to work at the time and just about everyone's agreed with me.

Glad you enjoyed the chapter!

~C

Kara's AuntyReviewed Chapter: 7 on 11/8/2008
Hello Celeritas,

another good chapter, although I was disappointed to see the disdain with which the honourable Dwarves were being spoken of by the Mayor. But then, I suppose, hobbits of this Age have not had as many dealings with them than in the past, which is a loss for them, indeed.

Tom is quite the scamp, isn't he? Betting on ponies! Wait 'til his parents find out...

Merina seems a nice lass, although it's an unusual name for a hobbit. I hope she and Kira become friends (and sisters-in-law. I'm still entertaining the wild fantasy thst, despite the age difference, Kira and Kerry fall in love and marry. Maybe he'll wait for her?)

Sorry, got a bit distracted there. Anyway, I enjoyed this. Keep up the good work!


Maureen :)

Author Reply: The Mayor is as stubbornly xenophobic as hobbits get, unfortunately--and there has been less Dwarf-traffic through the Shire as of late which does not help. Still, we do have this nice tradition, of which we will see more on Monday.

I imagine Tom's parents confronting him over his scampishness would go something along these lines:

Mother: Tom! How dare you...
Father: Ah, there's a good lad!

Ah, but Merina's a Brandybuck, which allows me to get away with unusual names... (Okay, not really; but the name's been there for Ages and I'm quite fond of it). She is a very nice lass, but her sociability can rather exhaust Kira. At any rate due to geographical constraints we won't get to hear from her in a while.

Goodness, Kerry's already of courting age and you want him to wait for someone almost half as old as he is? Scandalous! : )

Agape4GondorReviewed Chapter: 7 on 11/3/2008
I do so hope Kira has the courage, if she should chance upon a Dwarf, to say hi, but that is probably asking way too much of the girl.

I loved the idea of the mid-patch of the Gardner's quilts. Delightful idea... spreading the wealth, so to speak!

Author Reply: Good to know--I was a bit unsure how the quilt idea would go over, because while on the one hand that's a very hobbity thing to do, on the other hand cutting into something like a Lorien cloak feels almost sacrilegious!

Thanks for reading and the review!

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 7 on 11/3/2008
Interesting! So, the new Mayor wants to extend the ban to Dwarves, eh? And it seems that there is a slight rift between the Brandybucks and Tooks--or did I misread that hint?

And I am more curious than ever about why Kira's mother doesn't like her associating with the Brandybucks; there seems to be more to it than just living near the bounds!

As for Tom, he is a very unreliable friend, it seems. He expects Kira to wait attendance on *him*, but he seems to be very impatient if *he* has to wait for *her*! Kira would have had every right to be angry with him--"just two more races". Hah!

I love the descriptions of the Fair--you have really caught the rural hobbity feel of it!

Author Reply: The new(er; he's on his second term after all) Mayor would like to extend the ban, but he really can't do anything about it except prevent the Dwarves from coming to the Free Fair. As for the slight rift, I certainly didn't intend to show that there was one--the Thain and Master are, as stated in the fic, in agreement on this particular matter. But a divide does become apparent near the end of the story, though it exists more between family heads than actual families.

The Brandybucks Kira is associating with are closely related to that side of the family, which is bound to make Mother a little wary. Plus when she was over in Buckland associating with those Brandybucks, she learned how to read, which isn't bad in and of itself except that Kira's starting to act a little odd... So I don't find it surprising at all that Mother's trying to keep Kira reined in.

Tom has yet to grasp the notion that the world is not centered on him. Of this matter, no more can be said.

And I'm glad you thought the Fair descriptions hit home--I've had a lot of U.S. rural fairs to compare it to, but that doesn't necessarily make it hobbity!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 7 on 11/3/2008
Lovely! She's up to the end of FOTR, is learning that the Travelers kept their cloaks and apparently Sam's was left in the Shire when he sailed, and that others know the stories, too, and that the Mayor is afraid of outsiders, including Dwarves. Now to find out what comes of that knowledge!

Author Reply: I do need to write an explanation/apology fic for Sam's cloak getting torn up and put into quilts, but it hasn't quite happened yet.

Kira is really starting to catch on that there's a lot more out there, isn't she?

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