*Gasps, collapses from the effort of reading all 26 chapters in one sitting, then proceeds to crawl into Frodo’s bed and take a nap. Of course, she does this in Chapter 23, so she's right beside Hazel and Frodo. When she wakes up, she has a crowd of curious hobbits wondering why the heck this short big person is curled up in the blankets, so she gives them hugs, brownies, kisses, and Frodo some fluff to make himself more comfortable. Then she sits outside the bookstore, waiting for Tathar to write a best-selling novel so she can be first in line to get it. Of course, the salespeople wonder who in the name of noodles is this dirty person sitting in a tent for days on end is. When she tells them, they proceed to wonder who Tathar is, so they call the non-existent secret league of writers. They writers then become furious, for they think the caller is swearing because of the static, and a huge corporate war ensues.*

Ahem. If you excuse that little ramble, I'll introduce myself to y'all. I am Shakespirit, Aka the Hobbit named Waffle, and most of the stuff that comes from my brain makes naught a bit of sense. And as I seem to be madly in love with your writing, I have appointed myself your Stalker! And don't worry about the restraining order, I already filled it out, with the signatures I found in your garbage. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go hack into a spy satellite to take pictures of your house to save to my computer. ^.^

sorry if i have reviewed this chapter but it was ecellent. it has all the elements of suspense and danger. can't wait to read on

tiggi.x

What a wonderful surprise, on various levels. Finding your chapter unexpectedly, meeting up with old friends...

Gasp! I never did review the last chapter, did I?! Shame on me. Oh well, I'll just have to make this one exceptionally long and brainless to make up for it. ;)

*Tilda said that the Overhill Boffins were come to visit the Boffins 'ere," he said, keeping his pace slow with difficulty. "Seems one of 'em just got married, or started courtin' someone, or summat*

That is the line where my brainless giggling began, just for the record. =P

*"That's right!" roared Mr. Boffin, monocle finally falling off and swinging on its silver chain as he almost bruised Frodo's fingers in his enthusiastic grip. "By the Shire, never thought I'd be chatting with old Bilbo's heir on my own doorstep! Ha!" He replaced his monocle and released Frodo's hand. "Well, it's a pleasure, m'dear fellow, a pleasure!"*

Hee! I like this Mr. Boffin. What an excellent family for you to marry into, my dear!

*Hazel had already decided that he liked this friendly young gentlehobbit, and he bowed with a smile. "Hazel Gamgee, sir, at your service," he said correctly. Miss Willow returned his smile kindly, and he blushed.*

(brainless giggling escalates into WIMCLASC) Yay! Willow! Love her first appearance.

*she reminded Hazel a little bit both of his mother and his ever-cheerful Aunt Henna.*

Heh heh. Gee, I wonder why THAT would be?! I suspect OCs created by brainless creatures just have a lot of things in common... ;P

*Before Folco could make introductions, there was noise from the cart and they looked up to see a hobbitlady climbing down, a small child in her arms and another trailing behind her.*

That line marks the point where I started squealing with glee, and kept going until the end of the chapter. 0:-) I'm sure glad that Willow and Henna have so much more restraint than we do... ;)

*Three-year-old Andwise seemed very small compared to his older cousin, but he was sturdily built like his father and had the same mop of light brown curls. He looked up at Hazel and the hobbits behind him with round brown eyes. "'lo, Hazel," he said solemnly, inching a little closer to his mother.*

Andwise and Ivy are so cute! I love them! I swear I will never forget their names again! 0;-) And thanks for not relying on me to figure out how many children Ham and Henna should have at this point and how old they should be. I don't know if I could have managed it, in my brainlessness. ;P It's so nice to have junior officers around to figure out these things!

*Sam glanced at Frodo and whispered, "I might not be tall enough 'ta carry you, Mr. Frodo, but I think that Ham could, if you tried him!"

Frodo sighed. "I'm not about to try him, Sam, I assure you." He looked at Hamson who appeared to be expecting him to protest, and grinned. "Very well, Ham, I'm not going to argue, if that's what you're waiting for."*

ROTFL!! Oh, I rather wish Frodo had protested... *dreamy sigh and Daisy face* Hee!

*Folco clapped Frodo lightly on the shoulder. "We'll be here in town for a few more days," he said, "but don't you dare try coming all the way here to see us—you look like a stiff breeze would knock you flat as it is. Perhaps we'll call on the Gamgees tomorrow, if that's all right."

Sam turned. "I'm sure they'd like that."*

Yay! I can think of at least one other person who would also like that... ;)

Well, I think that was a sufficiently long and brainless review. Excellent chapter, as always, Lutnant. Now get cracking on the next one! :D

Commander Squishy

An update! Love it! My goodness, how do you keep all these characters straight? I can barely handle the usual lot. I'm so glad Frodo (and Sam) got an outing, and such a boisterous, happy one at that. Lovely party!
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Sam glanced at Frodo and whispered, "I might not be tall enough 'ta carry you, Mr. Frodo, but I think that Ham could, if you tried him!"
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Good old Sam. And I suspect that, in the future, he'll be more than strong enough to carry Frodo -- when it matters most.

Aww! I love the warmth and tenderness of this chapter. *content sigh* Sam is just wonderful, too; I love him more and more all the time. :D
I also have a Livejournal; my username is gwaith. Will have to come by and say hello to you sometime!

A lovely hobbity scene. And I like Jes.
It's good to hear Frodo laugh again too. And, the foreshadowing of Sam's promise is a lovely touch.

What a perfectly-named chapter! And what a delight to have everyone laughing and eating and enjoying themselves. I don't know how you do it, but your writing pulls me right into the room/forest/wherever with these folks, and I feel as if I'm standing right next to them. I can see and hear every bit of what's going on. You're a marvelous writer.

Ah, a nice, relaxing time, surrounded by people who love him. What more could a hobbit ask for? Very nice. And Sam's promise at the end. *sigh* I'm all verklempt now. *sniff*
I am Aratlithiel on lj and will be pleased to friend you the next time I log in. I'm a little more boring than most so don't expect much. ;)
Look forward to the next, as usual.

*stands up* *cracks knuckles* *stretches* *shakes out cramps*
*performs the interperative 'happy monkey' dance*
My first thought was, "How in the name of all that is good and decent could I have not read this story until now!", but my second was along the lines of "Well, more to read now! No cliffies, yay!" :D
Superb. Please do update soon, and while I'm belaboring, MORE FOTW! FASTER!

Ohh, thank you for another lovely chapter! This was sweet, even though goodbyes make me sad. :D
Happy holidays!

Surprise! I'm reviewing! :^O And on the eve of my going home, too. A taxi is coming to get me at 5:30 tomorrow morning. Blech. Hope I'll be awake enough to work on Anchored on the plane ... those ruffians are getting impatient. They keep threatening me with their daggers and grimy, grimy fingers! Oh yes, I'm supposed to be reviewing. Well, I loved this chapter, of course. Especially your opening paragraph:
"His next realization was that Hazel was still beside him: a small, warm little body pressed tightly against his side, one arm draped comfortably over his middle. The thought made him smile; Hazel was a Gamgee, through and through—he was as faithful as Sam. A moment later he became aware that there was a large hand resting on his forehead, the long fingers gently stroking back his tousled curls."
Aw! A lovely example of Tathar-induced cuteness. And rest assured, I paid careful attention to Faramond in this chapter, to help me write him into Anchored! (don't know if he'll make it into Ch. 33, but if not, you'll definitely see him in Ch. 34).
"Hazel raised his head and grinned, dashing the relieved tears from his eyes; he knew as well as Frodo did that he, in typical Gamgee-fashion, slept like a log through the night and scarcely moved at all."
LOL! I can easily picture Gamgees sleeping that way ... And Halfred is great, as always. Yes, it *is* a pity you had to go and marry him off! I loved his banter with Frodo here. And yes, I enjoyed Jessimine's authoritativeness very much! I think you're right, "Goodbody" does sound familiar. Jessimine Goodbody! Tell me, for future reference: how do you feel about Jessi possibly being a doctor's assistant in her youth? Dr. Hornblower's, say? Let me know. ;)
Yes, I suppose it is rather egotistical to have a crush on my own OC. Humph! Well, see if I invite *you* to our wedding!! *sticks nose in the air and flounces away*
Anyway, excellent chapter, and if you take longer than 5 months to give us the next one, I'm demoting you back to Midshipman! Or depending how much longer than 5 months, Powder Monkey!! :^P
*returns salute*
Your humble obedient servant,
Commander Obelia

WOW! amazing happy and joyful! glad you're on Christmas break and writing more! Maybe you could have Sam get a bit (or a lot) sick now! sorry It's kind of a bittersweet thing to "torture" hobbits!

Tathar,
Farewells are meant to be long and tearful :) Your hobbits and Rangers are a joy to read and I'm glad to hear there is more to come. Like most of your reviewers, I'm also a writer; we know what it's like trying to write when we all have "real life" to contend with. No matter the waiting time, we all welcome your new chapters!
A blessed Christmas to you!
Pearl Took

Yay! No being overly harsh to Frodo (well for now...) ! Liked the saying goodbye part. Love the Gamgee's and Frodo when he's not dying every other second (SHEESH!). I hope you get the next chapter up fast (hopefully faster than this one took). I almost forgot what the fic was about!
~Laura