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Thain Peregrin I: the First Days  by Garnet Took 4 Review(s)
LindeleaReviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/6/2014
Alas, poor Paladin!

Your solution to the finances makes perfect sense, that Paladin was trying to make Tookland self-sufficient. The year of the Troubles must have scarred him and the rest of the Shire-folk, and if he'd been complacent before his son disappeared with the others, I'm sure it was a rude awakening, and a desperate scramble to keep the Tookland free even as the rest of the Shire fell all around them. When you think about what the hobbits were up against...

Ah, but Merry is such a good friend. He tells Pippin hard truths, but has confidence that his cousin will find the right path to tread.

(I love your Pippin and Diamond together. They're adorable. Diamond is not feeling all that well, eh? I hope that might have a happy interpretation...?)

Author Reply: Glad the situation with the finances and the self-sufficiency makes sense. I really think that if this were modern times, Paladin would have turned into one of those doomsday prepper people. He just didn't deal well with events. He had lost his son, or so he thought, and he had to think quickly to save the land he loved and, when all was resolved, he just never could get past it. He feared that there was nothing to stop it from happening again and he wanted to be a step ahead.

In the end, Merry and Pippin could say anything to each other. They might not take it well at first but they at least think about what the other has said. Having that kind of friendship is a very special thing.

Saddly, Diamond is not expecting. This is a story set in my universe where they have problems in that area. It will be almost four more years before their next little one comes, and it will push them almost to the breaking point. The two stories that cover this are on SOA and the third one is being worked on. I have a goal to have it done by May 25 of this year. (Fingers crossed)

Thanks for you insight. It is very helpful.

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/6/2014
Ah Pip! He does need the time to grieve, but he's also on the right path to start turning the Tooklands around and achieve prosperity for the whole Shire.

Merry's visit was good for him and he gave his younger cousin some great advice.

I'm really beginning to look forward to his encounter with the wool merchants...

Author Reply: It's looking like that meeting may be just about the last thing in the story. I'm guessing two or three chapters to go, plus an epilogue.

You're right, having Merry there to encourage and give some timely advice really helpe Pip. Now that he's gotten the real grieving process started, he can begin to move forward and make the Thainship his own.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. These reviews keep me focused and on the right track.

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/6/2014
I'm sure he needed that cry right then. It's been a roller coaster of a last few days as he takes in what he needs to know and do, and he realizes just how badly his father managed to mismanage things while trying to protect their people.

Author Reply: Thanks, Larner.

I'm hoping that didn't seem to girly or anything but Pippin always was the emotional one of the four. :)

He really needed that, I agree. It was a good cleansing cry that will get him over the a major bump in the grieving process. Plus, you're right, he's had a lot to deal with and the realization is hitting home. He knows now that he was kept in the dark even though he was supposed to be training to take his father's place.

I think now they can start down the road to putting things right and rejoining the Shire they never should have become cut off from.

Thanks for sticking around for the whole wide ride. :)

shireboundReviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/6/2014
“It will be all right,” Merry whispered to him. “It’s also all right to grieve your da. He loved you even if he’d forgot how to show it

What a compassionate, perfect thing to say to his dear cousin. They're so lucky to have one another. I think the best years the Tooklands have ever known are right around the corner.

Author Reply: Thanks, Shirebound.

They really are the best thing for each other, except for maybe their wives. :) And, yes, I believe you're right. The best years are just ahead.

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