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| Family Matters by Lindelea | 19 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 5/21/2025 |
| It’s a blessing, really, that Tolly is there during this time when Gorbyl is not feeling well. Although it has caused such heartache, perhaps it will all be for the best. And he hasn’t been formally mourned, so they won’t have to take it back when he shows up again! So glad the new baby is well. He really does have a lot in common with Wallas…. Thx so much for writing! Author Reply: Since I started out by trying to figure out how Tolly's older children ended up older than his marriage, I should say it'll eventually all be for the best, for sure! And it's a good thing that things worked out the way they did, with his loved ones not mourning him. I can't help imagining that it would be an odd feeling to know your boat had already sailed down the river to the Sea... Thanks so much for your heartening comments. I really appreciate them. | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 5/17/2025 |
| Ah, the winter sadness. It’s a rough season to get through, and they’re just starting out! But fortunately there are more chances for them to meet (and fewer chapters left, so it has to come sometime soon 😉)! Author Reply: After watching someone I know struggle with Seasonal Affective Disorder, I think "winter sadness" works well as a hobbity name to describe the malady. (The connection between mood and light also lends itself to being adopted for literary purposes as an aftereffect of being exposed to the Black Breath. It's even strangely fitting in light of JRRT's insistence that Frodo's malady – the reason he had to sail West and could not remain in the Shire – was not physical but emotional/spiritual/psychological. I think it was in one of his letters that I read that, but I haven't been able to find it again. It made a big impression on me because I had just finished writing a long story that explained Frodo's decline and decision to sail in terms of a physical illness, and what I read in that letter of JRRT's implied to me that the story should more accurately be labeled "AU" even though I had made an effort to write as close to "canon" and the spirit of the original text as possible. Sigh.) You're right about "sometime soon"! I do believe that the story takes a sudden turn after the next chapter! (Just peeked and yes, that's right. Things are about to get interesting.) Thanks so much for coming along for the ride and pausing long enough to share your thoughts! I do appreciate it. | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 5/17/2025 |
| So close yet again! They keep just missing him. That being said, he probably did have a better time where he was. Still, though, the stars have to align at some point! Author Reply: Oops, I almost missed seeing this review! Y'know, I think you're right about him having a better time where he was. And you're also right that the stars are going to have to align at some point, or all my Tookland stories set at a future point on the timeline (or alternatively this story) would have to be labelled "AU"! Thanks! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 13 on 5/11/2025 |
| “ D'you honestly think Tolly's followed suit?' Pippin challenged. 'Found a new life in the North-lands, and changed his name to "north-Took"?'” **facepalms** Ah, if only they’d been a little closer when the travelers rode past. Guess the reunion will have to wait for another time. In the meanwhile - even if Gorbyl notices differences, there’s no reason for him to necessarily think it’s not just changes after all this time. Especially with the Shirriff now in on it! Hopefully it won’t be too much longer … Author Reply: The irony is indeed strong with this one. Not to mention, sometimes I think Pippin himself is tempted to leave the Tookland and move in with his north-Tookish in-laws. Though he might joke about running away to Gondor, he knows Diamond would find the North-lands much more comfortable than the Southlands. (To explain the apparent inconsistency with hyphens: with a hyphen, the term is meant to refer to regions within the Shire, while without the hyphen, the term refers to greater Middle-earth as a whole. Nit-picky of me, I know, but it helps me keep track of the topic of conversation sometimes.) I was sorely tempted to title the chapter "so near and yet so far". Just a few chapters from now, things are going to get interesting... (and complicated. Whew. Here's hoping I managed to pull it off satisfactorily. It was difficult to get all the threads woven in just so, but after a few revisions, I think I got them all in place. Let me know if you notice anything hanging loose, if it's not too much trouble?) Thanks so much for reading and pausing to share your thoughts! I appreciate your feedback. | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 5/5/2025 |
| Of course he believes it. Gorbyl’s so sure, and he wants so much to have something solid to hold onto. And I’m so glad he saved Lark! But things just get more and more tangled… Author Reply: Incredibly tangled, especially inside Tolly's head, but healing is happening too (and will continue). Thanks so much for reading and pausing to share your thoughts! I appreciate hearing from you. | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 5/2/2025 |
| Yikes - they do seem to be getting deeper and deeper into this, and that’s going to make it harder once the truth is known. But I can completely understand wanting it so much that they just let themselves believe it….. Author Reply: I hope it's also plausible that Tolly wants some kind of identity so much that he just lets himself believe, along with his rescuers. The poor hobbit is lost in more ways than one. But at least he's not alone, and the north-Tooks are solid folks. Thanks so much for reading and for taking the time to share your thoughts! I very much appreciate it. | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 4/28/2025 |
| I can see Sweetie deciding that Tolly is still alive, but it’s interesting how many of them have fallen into that mode. Perhaps it’s that they haven’t seen a body, or perhaps it’s just something about the Tooks… I do hope he makes it home to them soon, somehow! Author Reply: It could be as simple as not seeing the body, for the Tooks as I write them are quite pragmatic (though relatively inflexible) and concrete (rather than abstract) thinkers. Without a body, there's always hope that the hobbit might come back someday. (The north-Tooks also display that mindset in future chapters, as you'll see.) But there is that little hint JRRT gave about "fairy blood"... It's possible that Meadowsweet has some sort of non-physical connection to Tolly, something inexplicable yet real, that allows her to know he's still alive. Rosie Cotton wasn't even a Took, and yet somehow she knew Sam was alive and would be coming back months before he arrived back home in the Shire. Maybe it's a hobbity thing...? "soon" is a relative term (ask any child what "soon" means, and you'll probably get a different answer from the one an adult would give you), but rest assured that he will make it back to them (if only for the sake of continuity, since he appears in quite a few stories set later on the timeline!). I do have to admit that chapter 12 (almost halfway through the story and due to be posted a week from today) is one of my favorite chapters in the story and was one of the seeds from which the story grew. Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 4/25/2025 |
| What a heartbreaking end to this chapter…. Perhaps the Shiriff might have been less specific with his questions… but how was he to know. And even if he had been, there’s so much confusion around their patient’s identity that I’m not sure they still would have realized it. Complicated by Tolly’s condition… I eagerly await the next chapter - thx so much for sharing. Author Reply: I hated to end the chapter on this cliffhanger, but I couldn't seem to make it work any other way in having to switch back and forth between North and South (though "Middle" might be more accurate) while keeping the timeline straight. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! The next chapter is queued up to post on Monday morning. That's the plan, anyhow. I'm posting chapters to various WIPs on Fridays and Mondays right now, and since this one is written to the end, it should be easy to post two chapters a week to the end. (And that will hopefully leave room for me to start posting chapters of another WIP. Still chipping away at all of them, anyhow.) Thanks so much for your encouragement! | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 4/25/2025 |
| Oh no…. This complicates things. And I hope the grandpa doesn’t have a heart attack while everyone’s trying to get this figured out! Prediction - Tolly and Meadowsweet will end up adopting these three… Author Reply: LOL, you figured out the ending! Now we just have to get through all the middle to get there... Old Gorbyl's "not dead yet!" I've grown quite fond of the hobbit over the course of the story. | |
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 4/25/2025 |
| Yes. Absolutely, better to hope. Well, the beginning of this chapter sounded terrifying. But I guess he’s not even conscious enough to be terrified. I hope they find him quickly! (Though the chapter heading make me think not quite yet…) Author Reply: Your observations are very astute, especially that the experience would be terrifying if he weren't in such terrible shape that he doesn't even know what terror might be... all he knows is blind determination. Perhaps that's a mercy. (And there's another mercy here that will hopefully come clear in a future chapter, but to say more would be a major spoiler.) | |