Andrea
· 19 January 2006
· Chapter 88: Warm Welcome Home
“In addition, there is a sleeping chamber through *that* door--” Elrond indicated a small round door at the opposite side of the room.
A round door? This is marvellous! Elrond apparently has thought a lot about how to make Bilbo's rooms homely. And Bilbo is totally overwhelmed! It's just what he wished for.
“Oh, I do think I am going to *like* living in Rivendell!”
Rivendell is *not* Bag End. But he decided to leave Bag End, the Shire and The Ring behind to find his peace again. And Rivendell is the best place for that!
Author's reply
I think Elrond may have had a word or two with Gandalf after issuing his invitation, so that he would have an idea of what would make Bilbo comfortable.
No, Rivendell is *not* Bag End--but it is a place where he first felt the special sort of enchantment that being near Elves brings, and learned his love for Elven tales and lore and tongues. And it is a protected sheltered place, where as you say, he can find peace.
Bodkin
· 19 January 2006
· Chapter 88: Warm Welcome Home
Good for Elrond. He has made a serious effort here to give Bilbo an environment that will suit him and make him feel at home. And, of course, keeping the ex-Ringbearer safe in a sheltered elven haven isn't such a bad idea, either!
Author's reply
Well, of course he has. I think that there must have been more that one reason that Rivendell was known as "the Last Homely House". The description by Bilbo of Elrond and his home indicates to me someone to whom hospitality is of the utmost importance. I do not know how that would have been for Elves in general--Thranduil did not seem especially hospitable, but then he had different circumstances--but Elrond clearly had a reputation as a good host.
At this point in time, they only suspect his Ring was important--it will be another seventeen years before they truly understand what it is/was--but yes, even such a suspicion would be enough to keep Elrond and Gandalf wanting to protect Bilbo from "tottering around in the Wild", so to speak.
Gryffinjack
· 19 January 2006
· Chapter 88: Warm Welcome Home
Bless me but this is how it would be! I cannot imagine Bilbo going to live in Rivendell for so long without an invitation from Lord Elrond. He is a gentlehobbit and hobbits in general are well mannered and would do the proper thing. And I cannot imagine Elrond *not* extending an invitation to him, especially with his gift of foresight.
But what I like best about this story is Bilbo's reactions. You really have captured Bilbo perfectly! His exclamations, his sniffling and handkerchief... he's such a dear, sweet, adorable hobbit!
Author's reply
You are absolutely 100% right, and that was just how I saw it when I wrote this. I think that when Bilbo passed through right after leaving the Shire, on his way to Erebor, Elrond issued the invitation to him, and Bilbo thought it over until he came back. But I think Elrond had the foresight to know his small friend would accept.
I do think he is a dear, sweet, adorable hobbit, and I just love him to pieces!
Pearl Took
· 19 January 2006
· Chapter 88: Warm Welcome Home
I know I've never read a story about this :) Very Well Done!! Hobbits seem to find the soft spot in nearly everyone's heart.
Author's reply
*grin* I'm so glad you liked it!
Hobbits seem to find the soft spot in nearly everyone's heart.
Actually, I have a "crackpot theory" as to why that is, aside from the fact that they are adorable, charming and altogether delightful. Or perhaps it is *why* they are adorable, charming and altogether delightful, LOL! Just think of it as a hobbity defense mechanism, one of which they are completely unaware, but is automatic. LOL!
Queen Galadriel
· 19 January 2006
· Chapter 74: A Summer's Day Ramble
LOL! A stray baby! LOL! Oh, poor Folco!
But I must tell you, I'm in the middle of "A New Reckoning" and loving every minute of it, and this does make me sad for Freddy.
God bless,
Galadriel
Author's reply
Yes, a "stray baby". *grin* This was a bit that I had originally planned to include as a flashback in "Road to Edoras", but I decided it deserved to be a story of its own.
I am often sad for Freddy, and miss Folco. Which is why I sometimes like to write pre-Quest stories with him in them.
Queen Galadriel
· 19 January 2006
· Chapter 88: Warm Welcome Home
Awww! Yes, that's how I would imagine it. :) :) And poor Bilbo so overwhelmed! :)
“It was very pleasant to go the whole way upon the same pony, with no side-trips through goblin-mines
or up in the air with Eagles or down rivers atop barrels, and no dragon at the other end to singe my heels.”
LOL! Love it, love it! I can just hear Bilbo saying that!
God bless,
Galadriel
Author's reply
Yes, I know some people that seem to indicate Bilbo had just hung about uninvited for seventeen years, but I can't see that. Hobbits are a courteous folk for the most part, and I am sure Elrond had issued an invitation!
I'm glad you thought that sounded like him. I just thought that would make a nice succinct summary of his trip: nothing of note happened, LOL!
I'm so glad you liked it!
harrowcat
· 19 January 2006
· Chapter 88: Warm Welcome Home
Oh should think that he will love all the trouble Elrond has gone to, especially the round door(s). This is great Dreamflower.
Author's reply
I'm so glad you like it. I love to do Bilbo fics.
Kitty
· 18 January 2006
· Chapter 88: Warm Welcome Home
Oh, that was so sweet! It's not surprising Elrond knew Bilbo's answer before he has asked him, foresighted as he is, but it was very kind of Elrond to prepare the rooms for Bilbo with hobbit-sized furniture and all what Bilbo may need! That was so touching! No wonder Bilbo felt at home there.
Author's reply
I think perhaps a bit of foresight was involved, but Elrond, as Bilbo had observed, was "kind as summer", and I think he must have had a bit of a soft spot for the small stranger who had passed through his halls for the first time so many years ago.
I envision the main room as a kind of mix: some hobbit-sized peices and then some in regular sizes, so that Bilbo may have guests in his room. Then the round doors lead into the other areas--his kitchen, his bath and his bedroom, so that he may be comfortable that way.
He must have felt at home, I think, to have still been there and content seventeen years later.
Gryffinjack
· 12 January 2006
· Chapter 87: Eucatastrophe III: Yuletide in Minas Anor
I know I reviewed at Marigold's Challenge site, but I wanted to review here as well.
If only this were the way things actually happened! How I wish Frodo had been able to stay and enjoy life with the others. They really all seem like one big, happy family. The love and bond between all of them is very palpable.
Your Legolas is wonderful the way he is concerned that they might be too cold. Lessons learnt from Cahadhras, eh?
"“Here, cousin!” called Pippin, from near the fireplace, where he was using a hot poker to mull wine. “Merry!” he shouted, “grab Fam!” for little Faramir Took, who was well into faunthood had started to toddle over to the hearth, his tiny hands outstretched.
Merry moved quickly. “No! Fam, you mustn’t go near the fire. Come with Uncle Merry!” He jiggled the child and swung him high overhead, gaining ear-splitting squeals of laughter.
Pippin heaved a deep breath of relief ...“I think that child is going to be the death of me,” he sighed. “He doesn’t seem to know the meaning of the word ‘no’ when it comes to danger.” Then at the outburst of laughter that greeted these words he glared around at the others. “What?” he said crossly.
Frodo chuckled again. “Let’s just say that you are getting a taste of what it was like to watch *you* as a faunt.”
“I *can’t* have been all that bad!”
Merry and Frodo caught one another’s eye, and burst out with a guffaw."
Pippin walked right into that one! Faramir will make sure Pippin knows the *ahem* joys of raising a Took. I always like it when you have Frodo laughing after the Quest, even though this time it is in an AU. As for Pippin, I am sure that he was probably always sensitive to the dangers of a child or someone being burnt from going too close to roaring fire. That is probably a nightmare that both he and Faramir (Boromir's brother, not Pippin's son) unfortunately have in common.
I really enjoyed reading this.
Author's reply
I know that this is what many of us wish: a happily ever after, rather than a slow and painful fading for our beloved Middle-earth and those equally beloved characters who populate it. JRRT was wise, in that he knew how all would likely end--but some of us can't help but play with the idea that it could have been otherwise.
They *do* all love each other very much--an extended family, a very hobbity extended family, even though many of its members are not hobbits.
Yes, Legolas knows a bit more about mortals than he did a few years earlier, and is not likely to make the same mistake again, LOL!
He *did* walk into it, didn't he? *grin* I think he does that on purpose sometimes, though in this case, I think he was a bit flustered by his son.
I am quite sure he was wary of fire, as you say. And you are probably quite right about him and Faramir!
I'm glad you enjoyed it enough to come over here as well, thank you, dear!
Kitty
· 10 January 2006
· Chapter 87: Eucatastrophe III: Yuletide in Minas Anor
Ah yes! That’s something I can never get enough of: A happy, healed Frodo who remains in ME! And I love particularly the idea of the elves coming back from Valinor. I’d not mind if you’d write more of it!
Little Fam is very obviously the son of his father. Now our dear Pippin gets a taste what it was like for his family to keep him away from mischief and harm! *grin*
And Bilbo was still alive when Elrond and Celebrían returned? Passing the Old Took was seemingly not enough – maybe he aims now for 150? I doubt any hobbit will *ever* be able to beat this age! It’s surely very comforting for Frodo to hear about his beloved uncle.
So Galadriel’s daughter is born? You know, I can see their visit in Lothlórien on the way back to the Shire. Celeborn and Galadriel smothered with all the hobbit children and the adult hobbits fussing over little Indis! Nice image.
That was a lovely, cozy Yule, and even more wonderful because all the friends were together!
Author's reply
Well, I figured why not go for it. The Elves being allowed to return was a reward of the Valar for the Bearers of the Three breaking free of Saruman's lie at the last minute. And I can't get enough of a happy Frodo either.
Fam is going to keep Pippin on his toes, that's for sure.
As for Bilbo, clearly the air on the Blessed Isle agrees with him. I just didn't want Celebrian and Elrond to return with the news that he had already died--that would have put a damper on things.
That is a very nice image...
There is nothing like good friends reuniting to give a lovely cozy feeling.
Larner
· 10 January 2006
· Chapter 87: Eucatastrophe III: Yuletide in Minas Anor
Ah, an AU where Frodo stays and is healed. Nice.
Author's reply
Yes, for I think that if the Three had not lost, but gained in power, and if Saruman had not been able to spread his poison over the Shire, then it is possible that Frodo's healing might have been accomplished. And the Elves' being able to come and go from the West--well, that was just a bonus!
Larner
· 10 January 2006
· Chapter 86: Brandy Hall on First Yule, S.R. 1388
Lovely working all those titles into the story, Dreamflower. And I can see Frodo and Sara, thinking of how Frodo reminds them of his lost mother....
Author's reply
I had a good time with the titles. I was very pleased with GW's challenge.
Frodo, of course, misses his parents the most and was the most affected by their loss. But I think that Primula and Drogo were much beloved among their extended family, and I am sure that Frodo's resemblance to his mother would have given those who loved her a sharp pang from time to time.
Quite the birthday, when the only gift all want from the birthday boy is for him to waken and heal. And they all received what they wanted!
Author's reply
Yes they did. How hard that time was on all those who were waiting. But just living--sometimes that can be the best present of all.
Larner
· 10 January 2006
· Chapter 84: Determination
And trust Pippin to use the tarts as a distraction. Well, he DID try to protect them? But how does one protect those who are set on protecting first and harder?
Author's reply
*snicker* Pippin does know the right thing to distract a hobbit after all--especially himself, LOL!
Exactly. As stubborn as the Baggins was, in this particular matter, he had all three of them together to "out-stubborn" him. And those three had made their minds up all the way back in April to go with him, and had no plans to change them.
Bodkin
· 9 January 2006
· Chapter 87: Eucatastrophe III: Yuletide in Minas Anor
It's just lovely to have a situation where all and sundry can get together again and be happy.
Can Eucatastrophe universe avoid the death of Arwen, too? (Hopeful puppy look.) And preserve Aragorn with his elven family? Or perhaps its powers aren't quite that great.
They are all certainly having a happy Yule celebration anyway.
Author's reply
Yes, it's nice that they don't all have to be seperated for millenia.
I've not thought that far ahead, so I don't know about that part. I'd have to find a justification for it. But I don't think the seperation would be so dire in this universe, anyway.
They are. A happy Yule is just what they all need!
Baggins Babe
· 9 January 2006
· Chapter 87: Eucatastrophe III: Yuletide in Minas Anor
Ah, this was lovely! Delightful to see all the happy hobbits, including Frodo, and how delightful to see the King and Queen and all the friends in Minas Anor. I'm all warm and fuzzy now. And how cute that Faramir is seen as a hobbit hot-water bottle!
Author's reply
Yes, it is lovely to see a happy Frodo, as you well know, my dear!
I'm so glad you are warm and fuzzy--it's a nice state of being!
Andrea
· 9 January 2006
· Chapter 87: Eucatastrophe III: Yuletide in Minas Anor
Wow! How could I miss *that* universe?
The power of the Elven Rings has been restored and the Elves returned to ME, and Frodo with them! I'm going to correct that mistake as soon as possible ;-)
A wonderful Yuletide celebration in Minas Anor, with lots of happy children and friends! Of course, there was nothing wrong to come back!
Author's reply
I've only done two other "Eucatastrophe" stories. I woke up with the idea for the universe one night after reading one too many angsty Frodo fics, where he's just miserable, and can barely survive to get to the West. And I'd often wondered *where* the Bearers of the Three got the idea that the Three would fade if the One were destroyed. After all, it's not like they could experiment with it, was it?
And I am glad you liked the Yuletide celebration, thank you!
Anso the Hobbit
· 6 January 2006
· Chapter 86: Brandy Hall on First Yule, S.R. 1388
I did review this on LJ, didn't I? Anyway, I love it and I recognise several of the songs too. :D
Anso the Hobbit
· 6 January 2006
· Chapter 85: Happy Birthday, Pippin!
This was lovely and a very nice gap-filler to your gap-filler, lol. I had to laugh at how Aragorn talks to Merry, but it is the only way to get him to do what he needs and not what he wants in this situation. They are the best gift to each other these four and I don't think any material gift could ever be any greater.
Author's reply
Yes, Aragorn had to be a bit firm with him, didn't he? Merry tends to neglect himself when he is worried about others.
They are the best gift to each other these four and I don't think any material gift could ever be any greater.
Spot on. They really are.
Anso the Hobbit
· 6 January 2006
· Chapter 84: Determination
It will always be a two-sided feeling for Frodo to have his cousins with him. He understands his need to have them there but at the same time he wants to protect them. Good thing they were as stubborn as they are, or else things would have been very different. :)
Author's reply
Well, as we know, Bagginses are stubborn, but really with a Brandybuck, Took and Gamgee all lined up against him, he didn't stand much of a chance, did he?
Anso the Hobbit
· 6 January 2006
· Chapter 83: Tom Cotton
This was really nice, but sad too, in a bittersweet way. I always like seeing the other hobbits through minor characters eyes and you made a very good impression with this. Things have definitely changed and also for the ones standing our lads closest before they left.
Author's reply
Yes, a bit melancholy. Tom knows that Sam's grown just beyond him now; I am sure that you are right--others who were close to them before they left will find them hard to understand now.
Pearl Took
· 4 January 2006
· Chapter 86: Brandy Hall on First Yule, S.R. 1388
Had to use song and carol titles, eh? Hehehehe Well done, a warm and cheery story of the season :)
Author's reply
Yes. Grey Wonderer really came up with a fun challenge--she only required one, but I took it and ran with it, to see how many I could fit in, LOL!
Gryffinjack
· 2 January 2006
· Chapter 86: Brandy Hall on First Yule, S.R. 1388
I reviewed on your lj as well, but wanted to post here so everyone for those who look at reviews to help decide whether or not to read a story. The review is mostly the same, with very little added.
This was a lovely picture of the Yule celebration at Brandy Hall! I especially enjoy seeing the earlier stories, such as this one, where Frodo is happy, surrounded by all of his loved ones, and does not have the weight of the whole world on his shoulders. He is such a gentle soul and so richly deserves happiness.
Even back then, Merry was such a Merry, so stubborn and organised that all of his meals had to be out of his pony bowl. It's a good thing Frodo knows how to get around him! lol!
One of the things I like about your stories is how you populate them with the various aunts, uncles, and cousins found in canon. Not only do their names pop up, but they evolve and become full fledged characters with personalities and stories of their own. And your attention to detail is exquisite! All of those tiny little details about the bowl, the hearth, the Yule log, oh! and Frodo's new clothes! That was such a moving moment between Saradoc and Frodo.
"Bilbo smiled indulgently, and pointed with his chin at Frodo, who had lifted Merry up to hang a ball of mistletoe. Merry’s eyes were wide with alarm at being up so high, but there was a set of determination to his chin as he hooked the ribbon over the nail above the doorframe. “I did it, Fro!” he gasped. “Let me down now!”
“Good job, Merry!” Frodo said proudly, giving his small cousin a hug." ...
"The room was chill, for there was as yet no fire lit. All gathered about the huge fireplace, wide enough for a grown hobbit to stand in, though as Frodo had reason to know, with a chimney nowhere near wide enough for a teen to climb up."
LOL! I love when you include elements of some of your other stories! Merry being afraid of heights ... Frodo stuck in the chimney! I'm so glad "your Shire" is all interwoven between all of your stories!
"The little family spent awhile in quiet activity in the small sitting room, with a treat of chestnuts roasting on an open fire, while Bilbo sat with Merry on his lap, Frodo sat on the floor in front of his beloved older cousin, leaning against his knee. Saradoc and Esmeralda sat on the settee, and all listened to Frodo read from the new book that had been his gift from the new book that had been his gift from Bilbo. It was a long and complicated poem about a mariner, and the lilting words soon put Merry to sleep. When Frodo finished reading, he carefully took his little cousin in his arms, and carried him to his room and put him on the bed. “I think I shall take a little nap myself,” he thought, and next to Merry’s warm little body, he drifted off to the sounds of the adults’ quiet conversation."
Wow. This was quite a lesson in brevity for me. You had more impact in one paragraph about this type of subject than I did in many, many paragraphs about a similar circumstance. You truly are a master at it!
This was a pure delight to read!
Author's reply
I'm so very glad you posted here, for right now my LJ friends page is a bear to navigate. *sigh* I may have to unfriend a particular community, as it makes finding my regular friends and previous entries difficult.
I truly think, that except for those times of year when his depression hit him hardest, Frodo was generally a happy child. Once Merry was born, to anchor him and give him someone to hold on to, he was able for the most part to put his melancholy aside. It was never completely gone, but at times like this, when he had *both* Merry and Bilbo, he must have been truly joyful.
Little children, especially only or youngest children, can sometimes be a little obsessive about their things. I've seen it before. But of course, Frodo knew just the thing to say that would spare Merry a scolding from his father, LOL!
I'm glad you like the details. Those things are what I find to be the most fun to write, to imagine all the little things that would have made life in the Shire such a special joy. I am glad that you liked the moment with Saradoc and Frodo. I think that Frodo was not the only one who missed Primula and Drogo.
I really could not leave out these things. Once I have come up with them, then I see them there, and they are a part of it all. Of course, since my stories are not all in order, there are some omissions, as you have discovered.
*blushes* I am so glad that you liked that paragraph. I think that showing hobbits in cozy domesticity is one of my favorite things.
And I am very happy to have delighted you. *grin*
That's got to be the saddest and hardest but best of Pippin's birthdays for Merry as well as for Pippin.
Merry had it the worst of all the hobbits at Cormallen. Gandalf had the full measure of it that waiting around is sometimes the hardest of all things to do, and Merry had to wait and worry about not just one of is most beloved cousins, but both Frodo and Pippin. For Pippin to finally be awake and on the mend is indeed the best gift he could ever give to Merry.
Not a fun birthday at all for Pippin, lying in his cot too weak and in too much pain to enjoy anything and worst of all, feeling as though he failed because he did not have a present to give to Merry. His thoughts probably also turned to the Shire and his family, and how he wished he could be there again to celebrate his birthday with them.
How like our dear unselfish Pippin to be worrying about Merry needing rest yet not wanting Aragorn to put him in that unnatural sleep like Frodo and Sam. And I loved the way that one of Pip's first thoughts was for Merry to leave his side and go watch over Frodo.
Of course, poor Merry had the worst of it, wanting to be at all three of his fellow hobbits' cots at the same time, especially those of his two cousins. Thankfully, Aragorn and Eomer knew how he would fret himself into becoming ill himself and found things for him to do. It was very thoughful of Eomer to invite Merry to dine with him. I really like how you show the beginnings of the lifelong friendship they must have developed - after all, I'm sure Eomer did not summon every single individual he ever knighted to his side before his death. He must have found Merry to be quite special.
And Gandalf! What a lovely way for him to bring a little bit of the Shire back for Merry, Pippin, and himself to enjoy. I just hope that Pippin especially held his arm out away from his cot with a flammable blanket on it! lol!
Cormallen stories always contain some of the most special sentiments, and this one rises to the occasion.
Author's reply
Yes, Merry definitely had the worst of it. The others were unconscious, and so were not experiencing all the anxiety, fear and worry that must have eaten away at Merry, sapping his hope, and exhausting him with the effort to maintain it.
And poor Pippin, yes, not a fun birthday at all, yet he could rejoice that he was alive, and so was Merry, and so were Frodo and Sam. Yet I am sure he was also homesick, and wondering how his family were faring on his birthday, what with not having any idea of what had become of him.
Pippin would know, for he'd know how he would hate it, just how Merry would feel about that, to lie helpless and unmoving for day after day, even if it *was* a healing sleep.
And Pippin, of course, is just as worried about Frodo and Sam as Merry is. Once he'd wakened, he'd want Merry to see to them for him.
I see this as the time in which the two begin to forge that lifelong friendship. Merry would come to learn respect for the young King, and Eomer would be filled with respect already, for the hobbit who had defended his uncle and saved his sister's life.
I think of all the things Gandalf did, he enjoyed himself the most as a conjurer of fireworks. All his other tasks were really rather a burden, but that one, using his natural talent with flame was a delight for him.
And I am quite sure that he would not have allowed that to happen, LOL!
Bodkin
· 2 January 2006
· Chapter 86: Brandy Hall on First Yule, S.R. 1388
Merry poked with a doubtful finger at the sausage on his plate, as though it might taste differently if it were not served on his own plate.
Oh yes. I recognise this scenario only too well! Good management skills from Frodo, though! And good management skills on the part of whoever decided how to keep the youngsters busy and out of the way until everything was ready.
Buckland Yule sounds a good time - and the only reason Merry has any interest in the dancing is because he's too young to stay! Storytelling is much more fun. A good day had by all.
Author's reply
Merry's reaction to not having his own plate really struck a chord with readers. But as you note, it is a scenario only too common at that age, especially among only or youngest children. Frodo knows Merry as well or better than his parents, and the threat of having his sausage eaten by someone else was far more effective than a scolding from his da. And the children helping with the greenery is a long-cherished Brandy Hall tradition--probably thought up for the very reason you state, LOL!
Oh, I think that next year, Merry might enjoy some of the dances. My hobbits do a lot of circle and set dances that are almost like games, and any of the children who are old enough to learn the steps are welcome to join in. The more sedate and couple dances, however, probably would bore him. But those are later in the evening, so still plenty of time for him to join the story telling after all.
When I first began dancing in SCA revels, one of my favorite partners was eleven. He'd already been dancing for a few years when I came to know him, and his younger sister and brother usually joined in as well.