Stories of Arda - Lord of the Rings Fan-Fiction Archive


	About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search

Family Matters by Lindelea	39 Review(s)
PSW	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 4/25/2025
Well, this is not going to go over well. I assume Tolly wasn’t with the pony, or they’d be talking about him instead. So the pony ran off, or … someone did find him and carried him off? Poor Meadowsweet, what a difficult time she’s been having, and with a new little one on the way… Author Reply: It's meant to be a bit of a mystery at this point, but things will gradually grow clearer in time. Poor Meadowsweet. It's no wonder she gets a little short with Tolly at times. Nevertheless, they're joined at the heart. Thanks!

PSW	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 4/25/2025
He’s having no luck with the weather lately!! So - was I right in catching some St Elmo’s fire before The Incident, or was that all just lightening buildup? He did the best he could - I think I probably would have tried the forest too rather than staying out in the open. Didn’t seem to work out for him though. I hope someone finds him soon! Author Reply: You were right about the St Elmo's fire! Tolly's experience is based on a lot of anecdotal evidence, news reports, and articles about lightning. In some articles I read, I found descriptions of St Elmo's fire associated with lightning strikes. One source said, "While not inherently dangerous, St. Elmo's fire can be a warning that lightning might strike soon, so it's best to seek shelter if you see it." After correcting the "head of escort" errors earlier, I read through this chapter again and realised that it reflected an earlier version that got revised when the geography started getting complicated. So just know that Tolly's road went north along the eastern side of Bindbole Wood, not west through the Wood and then north up the western side of the Wood. (In case you pay attention to such things. I tend to do that because I form a mental movie when I read, including a mental map of characters' movements so I can keep track of what's going on and who's doing what and all that.) I hope Tolly's trajectory from this point onwards is plausible... (It was certainly fascinating to contemplate! But I don't know if I should LOL at myself or not...) Thanks so much for reading and taking time to share your thoughts!

PSW	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 4/25/2025
Cool! He’s going to meet Robin Hood! ;-P I’m sure they somehow feel that this will bolster his confidence. And I’m sure it will somehow go wrong… because there wouldn’t be a story otherwise! I look forward to it, and hope he’s feel a little better about himself at the end of it all… Author Reply: That's what my kids said when I first told them about Bolham the Red! Years ago, it was, but Bolham kept popping up in my imagination until I finally had to include him in a story. Speaking of characters doing unexpected things... Exactly that phenomenon happened during more than one chapter of this current story. (I remember thinking in a scene with Merry where Merry said something that seemed completely out of the blue, and yet seemed to fit somehow, "Where in the world did that come from? And how?" LOL.) I’m sure it will somehow go wrong Around here, we just call it "the luck of the Tooks". Thanks so much for reading and sharing your thoughts!

PSW	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 4/25/2025
It really is just amazing how characters do their own thing - it is one of the most fascinating things about writing, IMO. (And since I don't outline anything out ahead of time, it's easy to just let them go and become who they were meant to be.) Definitely on my mind at the moment, as I just finished another short chapter and Haladan went off on a whole spin I had no idea was a thing! But I'm sure it was good to get it out of his system... ;-) Author Reply: The writing process is so interesting to me. I have to outline a story before writing the draft. (Actually, all my stories start with a scene that pops up in my brain; if you're interested what the scene was in this story, I'll be happy to let you know when I post that particular chapter. I'll write the scene, then the first chapter, and then create a rough outline that will get me from "there" to "here", also thinking ahead from the scene to make sure I can arrive at an ending that feels satisfying to me. Whenever I've tried writing "by the seat of my pants", I've always written myself into a corner. I envy people who can just wing it.) I just read the latest chapter you posted! Wonderful interaction between Haladan and Faramir, and a nice glimpse into Faramir's character. Thanks!

PSW	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 4/25/2025
Oh - I meant to add. In chapter one it says Ferdi is the Thain’s special assistant, and in chapter two it says he’s still the head of the Thain’s escort. Or is he both…? Thx as always for writing, it’s good to get some follow up on this unfortunate adventure! Author Reply: Excellent catch! I didn't notice the discrepancy because of the time frame I'm writing in. If you're interested, the following background information explains how he's both. (However, it's too cumbersome to insert into the story, I think, so I'm going to change the mention in chapter 2.) In Greening Ferdi is still technically the head of escort. However, he was injured while riding Pippin's Socks in the annual Tookland pony races a month before the Lithedays' Fair in Michel Delving. The injury to his bow arm means he can shoot accurately for a limited period of time but doesn't have the stamina to shoot over a sustained period. The head of escort position is, by tradition, offered to the Took or Tooklander who comes closest to winning the archery tournament in the autumn. Ironically, it's a highly prestigious position. Maybe the powers that be (i.e. the Steward is in charge of the escort) trick people into serving on the escort by that means? Because, despite having the admiration of almost all the Shire-folk, the escorts are too likely to find that the job itself is certainly thankless. Thus, the winner of this autumn's Tournament will officially assume the position of Head. Better yet, now that the Treasury has been recovered, the job pays well – two or three times what a hunter might earn, probably. While the Treasury was still lost, everyone's wages were low, and the big reward for serving as an elite guard of sorts was in the form of prestige. Anyhow, in a nutshell... After Ferdi's injury, Pippin (knowing he could no longer work as an archer) created the position of "special assistant" for him. It's not just a sinecure; Ferdi's eidetic memory (remembering everything he hears) is an invaluable tool for an easily-distracted Thain. So during Greening and the immediate aftermath, he's still nominally the head of escort, but he's serving as the Thain's special assistant. But I had probably better change the mention in chapter 2 to avoid confusion, as I started out saying. Thanks for noticing that! Author Reply: Oops. I should have looked before I leaped. I see the matter is explained in chapter 2, so I will go back and adjust chapter 1 as needed: ...said Ferdi, head of the Thain’s escort – at least until the annual archery tournament should take place later in the summer. This year, Tolly was favoured to win, due to Ferdi’s recent fall while racing, resulting in injuries that threatened to permanently affect his shooting. Author Reply: And you were right! There was an error in chapter 1, where I mistakenly called Tolly the head of escort – which he won't be until after the autumn Tournament, which happens after this aftermath to the Greening story but before he goes missing in the North Farthing, which is the crux of this story. (I think I mean "crux"; it's been a long day and my brain is getting tired.) It's all fixed now, and thank you again for providing a second set of eyes!

PSW	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 4/25/2025
Can’t say too loud he’s exhausted, have to fend off gossip … this escort business is a rough gig! Glad they’re both home though and able to offer some reassurance (vicariously, on Tolly’s part) to their loved ones. Author Reply: The gossip of the Tooks is probably their worst character flaw in the way I write the Shire. Having seen the destructiveness of gossip IRL, I wouldn't be inclined to say the portrayal of the Tooks' gossip in my stories is exaggerated. Thanks for reading and pausing to share your thoughts!

PSW	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 4/25/2025
So … I feel like a good hard look needs to be taken at the mental health of the Thain (and family) escort - I keep seeing indications of depression and a tendency to blame themselves when there was really nothing else they could do. (There was no arguing with Eglantine, she was a force of nature all on her own.) I hope that once he’s feeling better Tolly will realize that … Author Reply: The escort, in general, really are in a no-win situation, which (unfortunately) reflects real-life circumstances I've seen. As far as making changes for the better, it can be difficult in a society built on tradition and taking pride in lack of change. I remember being so frustrated when I was younger and being told that things had to be "this way" because they had always been "this way". And then there were the situations where young, junior personnel were expected to endure terrible conditions and treatment just because the old-timers had lived through it! There's a certain mindset where people blame themselves when things go wrong even when they're not to blame, but it's really a control thing. Taking responsibility makes them feel as if they have control (and maybe they'll be able to make things work "next time"), even though they actually cannot control the other people in their sphere. I don't remember what the official term for this thinking is, but it is associated with trauma and connected to depression and anxiety. In many of my stories (depending on where they fall on the timeline), Pippin views the escort as impediments and spoil-sports rather than people just trying to do their job. He suffers from a certain amount of arrogance; look what he live through! He doesn't need a watchdog! People try to take him to task, but he's just too annoyed to hear them. And then, in StarFire, Isum (as a former head of escort) brings him up short with a simple statement. Though it takes a while for him to change his attitude, Isum plants a seed that continues to grow as the timeline continues. Tolly, in particular, is prone to depression. When I first started writing him, he reminded me a lot of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. That was the first characteristic I "knew" about him. Soon after followed hints about his competence, steadiness, archery skill, and honesty. And more characteristics emerged every time he played a part in a story. You mentioned in a recent review reply that Haladan didn't come out quite as you envisioned; isn't it fascinating how characters can take on a life of their own? I had already written about Tolly and Ferdi in numerous stories and had noticed that they seemed subject to depression, though I didn't set out to make them that way. While the job of an elite guard who is supposed to protect people who are difficult, demanding, and sometimes not cooperative must have a negative impact, in the cases of those two hobbits, in a later story, it worked out that they were overcome by the Black Breath when the Nazgûl were searching for Frodo in the Shire. Oddly enough, that encounter explained (in my mind, at least) their personality characteristics as I had been writing them! It's as if the creative impulse (what I call the Muse) knew them all along and fed me bits and pieces about them. The writing process (and the way the brain works, or doesn't) fascinates me. It's still a mystery to me how a minor detail in an early chapter, almost a throw-away thought, becomes a major plot device later in a story as I'm fleshing out the outline, and the connection (which never occurred to me before) suddenly becomes clear to me – and without prior planning. I'm going on too long, it feels like, and I'm not sure if I'm making sense at this point, so I will end this reply and go seek out some protein to eat, or something like that.

PSW	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/25/2025
I’m sure he’s ready to be home! ‘His own brother … Somehow it felt like a betrayal.’ I’m sure it probably does - and yet his brothers would be the most determined that he lived, and the ones (along with his wife) right alongside him through the aftermath if they had been forced to amputate. It’s the ones closest to us who may be most willing to make those difficult decisions… Author Reply: It’s the ones closest to us who may be most willing to make those difficult decisions… This is a fascinating insight! I hadn't looked at life-and-death situations in just that light before. Thank you for providing this food for thought! (And you're right about his brothers and his wife.)

PSW	Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 4/22/2025
I just finished StarFire, so thought I may have enough background to start this one. However, I see I should read The Greening of the Year first, so I will go do that! So many stories, so little time! :-D Author Reply: Oh, I'm so delighted to hear that! I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts on this one, for it is one of the more complex stories I've tackled. I've just finished writing the final chapter, and the plan is to continue posting two chapters a week until I reach the end. Thanks so much for reading and stopping to share your thoughts! The Greening was pretty much my introduction to Eglantine, or so I remember, and I quickly grew quite fond of that tough old biddy (as she might even have called herself) as we worked our way to the conclusion of that story. She plays rather a pivotal role in this story, as well, meaning you'll get to see more of her here. (I know what you mean! I've been procrastinating on finishing Beyond Imladris because I don't want to reach the end of that story! LOL. I will just have to check out your other stories, to help me with my withdrawal symptoms.)

First Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Last Page

Return to Chapter List