cookiefleck · 28 July 2010 · Chapter 44: Rosie's Day Off
Lucky, lucky Rosie.
Author's reply
Indeed. To have such a husband, who knows how to give massages... *sighs*
GamgeeFest's Keepsakes by GamgeeFest
Reviews (456)
Lindelea · 22 July 2010 · Chapter 4: A Matter of Pervinca
That's the problem with being a prankster... when you're serious, no one takes you seriously. Thanks for the nightcap!
Author's reply
heh! Only too true! It doesn't help that Pippin simply can't fathom why anyone would be interested in Pervinca. lol! Thanks for reading!
Lindelea · 22 July 2010 · Chapter 43: All Things Considered
LOL! I love this picture--I had pretty well figured out which speaker was which, even before you gave the identifying information. Pip sounds so... Pippish! The conversation smacks of long acquaintance and intimate (not that kind of "intimate" but the old-fashioned kind) understanding.
Author's reply
Pippish should be taught along with Tolkien studies - it's a highly advanced form of communication. ;D These two know each other as well as they know themselves. Thanks for reading!
Lindelea · 22 July 2010 · Chapter 42: A Very Important Question
LOL! I'd say they were made for each other!
Author's reply
They certainly were - and they were just as surprised by it as everyone else!
Lindelea · 22 July 2010 · Chapter 41: Selfless
The inner dialogue rings true, and the irony of the last words shines forth in a flash of skilful wordcraft. ...for nothing can destroy it.
Author's reply
I was just about to fall asleep when that last line came to me. I knew if I didn't type it then, I'd forget by morning. It does rather illustrate how evil, in the end, defeats itself.
Antane · 21 July 2010 · Chapter 43: All Things Considered
Cute! Those two are certainly prepared! I always overpack as far as books go, certainly don't want to be without them, but I'm not running for my life. Love that. Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Author's reply
It's always good to have a book or two at hand, but I can see Merry's point. They didn't exactly have much in the way of leisure time. :D Merry thought of (nearly) everything and Pippin was most thorough with his inventory check. :) Thanks for reading!
shirebound · 21 July 2010 · Chapter 43: All Things Considered
Love this dialogue, what a wonderful blend of solemn purpose and lighthearted hobbittry. :)
Author's reply
Only hobbits could make light of running for their lives, lol. Merry certainly is organized, though he forgot a couple of things from his list despite that. ;)
Antane · 20 July 2010 · Chapter 42: A Very Important Question
Yep, sounds like they were made for each other! :) Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Author's reply
Indeed they were. They are likely the only ones who can put up with the other! :D
Andrea · 20 July 2010 · Chapter 42: A Very Important Question
Those two were definitely meant for each other :-) Did she hear something or did she just *know* ?
Author's reply
Neither would have believed it, just a couple of years before. Well, she certainly heard Ferdi! lol! And putting two and two together, and knowing Everard as well as she does, it didn't take much to figure out what was going on. :D
Larner · 20 July 2010 · Chapter 42: A Very Important Question
Definitely a perfect match--who else could begin to understand either of them besides the other? Heh! Thanks so for the giggle!
Author's reply
Exactly! They've been tormenting each other for so long, they know each other in a way no one else could! Glad you got a laugh from this!
6336 · 19 July 2010 · Chapter 42: A Very Important Question
Sounds like a perfect match! Lynda
Author's reply
They at least understand each other, even if no one else does!
FantasyFan · 19 July 2010 · Chapter 41: Selfless
This is very good! What a horrible and horrifying conversation. Frodo is dissolving, and there is Nothing left behind. He's worn down, and the ring is sure that eventually it will win. But there is that last line. He's trying to create Nothing out of Frodo, but Nothing can (and will) destroy it in the end!
Author's reply
Frodo is indeed losing his sense of self, and will in fact never fully regain that while he remains in Middle-earth. But as the Ring did with Gollum It is creating the means for Its own destruction even as It seeks to destroy others. It must have been extremely surprised to find Itself suddenly in the lava pit!
Celeritas · 19 July 2010 · Chapter 41: Selfless
Dark, yes, but imaginative and original, and more creepy and intense than angsty, in my mind. What really stood out to me were the simple puns of the title and (especially) that last line.
Author's reply
Creepy yes. I was creeping myself out writing it! lol! Certainly the darkest thing I've written ever. Tolkien loved words that have double meanings, and I agree they certainly do make for interesting interpretations. Frodo is selfless, but he is also losing himself despite how hard he fights against the Ring. And the Ring doesn't seem to realize Its sealed Its own fate. Thanks for reading!
lbilover · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 41: Selfless
*weeps* This was beautifully done, but oh so painful to read. Poor Frodo. Poor, poor Frodo. Thank goodness he was able to keep that part of himself and know who he was.
Author's reply
It felt so wrong while writing it - which I assumed meant it was working. It was hard to write, but the Muses insisted. Poor Frodo indeed, to have to endure such torment day and night, and of course the Ring is partially right - Frodo is forgetting himself, his homeland and his years there. He cannot even remember things that happened just a few weeks before. It is no wonder that he ultimately had to sail.
Antane · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 41: Selfless
Scary while the Ring assaults him and beautiful in Frodo's defiance in terming himself by his given name. He is selfless indeed but not the way the Ring wants him to be. I love this glimpse into the torment of being violated yet still holding out against the final consumption because he is being selfless in the best way, something Sauron could never have understood. Three cheers for both selfless hobbits here! Namarie, God bless, Antane :)
Author's reply
The Ring is persistent in Its will to corrupt, but Frodo's stubbornness is equal to the match - if slowly giving way. He is indeed selfless, as in not selfish, but he is also becoming self-less - without self. He is losing all his memories of home and growing up and everything therefore that makes him who he is. He even forgot that Sam was there while he dreamt! So he is losing himself even as he tries to hold onto to that essential core of himself long enough to complete the task. So in that sense, the Ring is winning, even while It dictates Its own destruction. Thanks for reading, dear.
Dreamflower · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 41: Selfless
How sad and how chilling! And yet, of course, the Ring is being borne to its destruction by "Nothing". Wonderful use of a circular argument to show the emptiness of what the Ring is!
Author's reply
Thank you, DF! I got an icky feeling while writing this, which in this case I took to be a good sign. The Ring, much as it did with Gollum, is actually choosing the path of Its own destruction. Won't it be surprised! lol! heh, well, to give the Ring a bit of a break, being a ring, It can only go in circles. :P (Yay, yay, bad pun, I know.)
Larner · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 41: Selfless
Ah, the terrible, seemingly irrefutable logic of It, as It seeks to twist and turn all will to that of Its Master. And It thinks nothing can destroy It, but then names Frodo Nothing, and undoubtedly did much the same with Gollum in the past? So It hastens Its own destruction! Too, too well done, I fear, GamgeeFest. Thank you for this! And the reference from "In the House of Tom Bombadil" was perfect!
Author's reply
The Ring is twisting things around so much, It doesn't realize It signed Its own death warrant, and even named the one that would complete the deed, for Gollum will indeed succumb to treachery. Thank you, Larner! That is high praise indeed!
lovethosehobbits · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 41: Selfless
Very well done, my dear. Such a litany of madness...but logical. REally well done.
Author's reply
Thank you, dear! It makes one wonder if the Ring itself was somewhat mad - but logical and calculating - a dangerous combination.
shirebound · 18 July 2010 · Chapter 41: Selfless
Mr. Frodo. Nothing must cut the rock! Do it NOW! I am Frodo. This is brilliant. The Ring's persistent, cold 'logic' is more insidious than any dragon's tongue. But there's much more at work here than It ever realized.
Author's reply
The Ring will take the tiniest thing and twist it to Its own machinations, and just keep twisting until you give in. It truly does have a limited outlook - thank the Valar!
mews1945m · 6 July 2010 · Chapter 40: Tit for Tat
Oh, those rascals. That's a great revenge tale, that is, and Lotho deserved every bit of it.
Author's reply
Even Sam can be mischievous, when properly motivated, and his friends are used to following his lead. Lotho certainly deserved what he got, and he'll never even know he'd been pranked! Thanks for reading!
mews1945 · 6 July 2010 · Chapter 39: Flights of Fancy
I love all the different theories the children come up with, and how they bicker over them. It's so typical of a group of youngsters. And poor Sam, trying to come up with a final answer to a question that had more than one answer.
Author's reply
I imagine, as Sam has more children, this will be a conversation they will have multiple times, just as us fans do! Sam will have plenty of time to refine his answer to this one, though his initial attempt wasn't too far off the mark.
shirebound · 4 July 2010 · Chapter 40: Tit for Tat
as all such stories go, it was kept out of the ears of the gentry. I like the idea of Sam and his friends performing "legendary feats" years before the War, and of which "their betters" knew nothing. They certainly take care of things in their own way, and know how to keep secrets.
Author's reply
In my Shire, there are many such stories that are popular among the working class that the gentry do not know about. Some are intentional, such as this one, and some are just the result of the gentry not asking. (I'm sure Frodo has his suspicions, but he would never ask.) Merry likely had no idea what an expert conspirator he recruited in Sam! Sam was taught by the best and he paid far more attention than even they realized. :D
Larner · 3 July 2010 · Chapter 40: Tit for Tat
Hehehehe! Love seeing Lotho hoisted in his own petard! Sam did very well indeed! Most worthy of the beneficiary of the tutoring of both Frodo and Bilbo.
Author's reply
Sam certainly shows how well he learned from his masters! And he has willing conspirators of his own. :) Lotho did deserve all the discomfort he received for his slight on Goldie - and the best part is he never knew he'd been pranked.
lbilover · 3 July 2010 · Chapter 40: Tit for Tat
Wonderful, GF! I so enjoy stories where Sam and his friends get their own back on Ted and/or Lotho, and they certainly do here! Thanks for the laughs!!
Author's reply
You're welcome dear! So glad this story amused! Sam and his friends were more than willing to put Lotho in his place - at a safe distance, lol! Ted certainly caused trouble, but he'll never have the satisfaction of knowing it. Thanks for reading, dear!
cookiefleck · 3 July 2010 · Chapter 40: Tit for Tat
As usual from you, a lively and inventive story, filled with delightful details. I really enjoy stories that feature Sam and his friends, and you caught their tone just right, IMO.
Author's reply
There are too few stories with Sam and his friends. It's important to remember he didn't spend his spare time with his master and his master's cousins, as fond as he may have been of them. He did however learn far more about conspiracies and pranks than even Frodo ever suspected and he put it to good use here. Thanks for reading, dear!