oh-my-GOD!

I avoided this story for months. I was determined not to read it. I finally capitulated today.

What was my reaction? Disgust, depression, but a great admiration for the writer to have taken an AU subject and treated it so well.

You are a powerful writer, and I am entranced by your tale. Had Merry been bewitched by the Ring, could circumstances have unfolded like this? Perhaps!

I commend your bravery in writing this, and thank you for bringing it to us. Now, if we could just see Merry beaten within an inch of his life! HA!!

Holy Frodo.
I've been reading this since Sunday, and now it's Saturday. And I read all of what's in the Redemption. Again, Holy Frodo.
I have a bit of comments.

First, this rocks. Because? Because Merry's psycho. I love it when people can make my least-thought-of character become a psycho. And that kind of psycho, too. Like, I don't even know what to call it. My vocabulary's failing me. But, damn!

Second, Pippin, before he got a hold on himself near the end, is perfectly what my version of him is. (I don't have any LotR fanfics, but I am more an artist than a writer, therefore have been drawing the hobbits in a spare notebook... That's next, though!) Great minds think alike, and your Pippin leads me into...

I wanna draw it. Not just a few scenes, I wanna draw it all. Comic it. That's what I do. I'm a shoddy author, as far as I know. But comic-authoring is my thing. You inspired me! Teriffic! I don't have the ability to show you it, though. I would draw it out, and scan it, if I could. But I can't. I saw it all as I read your fic, I saw my little hobbits doing each and every thing (yes, EVERY thing, slashy or no) that you wrote.
I want to, but I probably will not draw it. And if I do, it will most likely never get on the internet, nor will I tell my friends I came up with the story. I'll refer them, I will.

I might not be a good fic-author, but I'm a fantastic editor. I have spotted several many typos throughout your entire fic, and I don't mean to seem rude, sorry! I would love to do something for you, so if you ever have a mind to let me... I would enjoy to go through your works and fix every single misspelled word that was obviously not intended to be misspelled.

Last...
Aww, no slashy SamxFrodo? Pooey. Ah, well. All's godd, all's good. Now, I'm off to find some nice romantical Sam and Frodo relief. Toodles, and great fic!

Merry was mean for trying to drown frodo. I feel sorry for Frodo.

I am an idiot.

Chapter 55: Dies Irae

(day of wrath)
I haven't read the chapter yet (or any of this fic) but I have the original Crow comic and there is a pic of him and the caption reads Dies Irae, Dies Illa, I always wondered what it meant. Day of wrasth makes a lot of sense, but do you know what the other part means?

I can't see Merry being mean to Frodo.

hey ive been reading this story for the past couple days and am now on chapter 30 but it is truly excellent. you deserve everyone of those reviews. i seriosly enjoy this and its just awesome. i dont know how you did this but its seriosly great. like its i dont know how to explain it lol.

I have read this story several times, though often I would just flip from, lets say, chapter 15 to chapter 20 to chapter 3, whatever I wished to read about at that time, and I think I know why this story Has caught my intrest so.

It is a well written, unique story that, while Im sure others have tried, most can't make work. But you are a very capable and, seemingly, excellent writer, and so you have managed to put together you ideas for this whole plot and make it work.

But, as I was thinking it over just now on your website for this, I realised something. Now, I don't know how many people, If any, will agree with me on this, or if you even read these reviews anymore, but here it is anyway.

I find that, like the LOTR, I can relate this story to real life. Oh sure I know that something like this has never happened (not exactly like this anyway) nor like the LOTR, but still. I mean, how many of us can read this story and not relate it to someone we know, or have seen, or have heard about. Especially people in abusive families.

I mean theres Frodo, the one who is trying desperately to accomplish something nearly impossible with his own cousin standing against him, trying to bend him to his will. Theres Pippin, whom Merry has influenced in a way so horrible, yet so real, you can really understand how someone would manage to bend him against his cousin. Theres Sam, the friend, whos like family to Frodo, who has to stand by and watch it happen, not able to do something till he breaks free of his chains, and theres Merry. The abuser. The one who is destroying them all. And what would have happened if Sam hadn't been there?

Surely Merry would have nearly killed Frodo a dozen times over, but Frodo would not have survived, nor been able to escape. He would have been completely and unrecoverably lost without Sam. Pippin, The one whos mind has been torn apart and rebuilt to Merrys likeing, but wiht all his old thoughts and feelings still floating around looking for a place to settle. If Sam hadn't been there, they may likely have floated aruond forever, and he never would have rebelled.
And if Sam hadn't been there to defy Merry, to slow him down, who knows what measures he would have gone to to bend Frodo. And who knows how much sooner he might have taken the ring?

Now, Sam is not my favorite character, Frodo is (but thats just me), but I do happen to like him alot, and I'm glad that you managed to capture him so well on paper when I find many others can't (myself included).

All in all I am going on and on about this story, and you are probably (if you are eading this) wishing to go onto the next, so perhaps I should finish up here.

If you have not guessed it, which I'll be extremely alarmed and worried if you havn't, I really like your story, and am already enjoying the second part (the redemtion of Meriadoc I believe you called it, and rightly so), as I have stated in my reviews for that story, and I can hardly wait for your next updates.

well, I think I am done for now, and if not, I can always review in other chapters. If you wish to email me, my address is shieldmaiden8878@hotmail.com

Your captivated reader - Astron_Meares.

YAY! I finally finished it! That was great! You are a very talented author. :D Off to part two!

All I can say is wow...

WOW! I cannot believe you wrote this! This is great! I've been reading your story sense 10:30 this morning. It's now 7. I love this, even though in parts I wanted to cry. *sniff* You are going on my favorites list. I'm going to read more, so look for another review!

wow.. that was great. 2nd half of the story was much better then the 1st half.

I'm incredibly busy; I do apologise! Just a short note to say that this was wonderful, as par usual! You shall be getting a full review be email sometime in the next few days; sorry about the wait! And yes, I'm here to help at any time, just give me a shout!
*
Fab work, Flick-chan :)

Ah! ~thud!~ *falls to the floor in a faint*
..ahem, Athelia here, Breon won't be available for a while. She's fainted cuz she can't believe that after all Sam went through to protect and save his master, it's been for naught. I'll try to wake her in time for Part 2.