crankyoldelf:
quote: when they first left the shire they were still very much children, running around stealing food (a hobbit lasses' hearts no doubt) and getting into all kinds of mischief; it is highly unlikely they were ever looked at with any amount of seriousness.
this statement is based more on the movies than on the books. granted, in the books pippin was still something of a child and mischief-maker, but merry was quite a serious chap from the very beginning. even when bilbo first left the shire after the party, merry was the one helping frodo settle down etc., at the tender age of 19.
quote: frodo had retired for a while and left his friend, merry brandybuck to keep an eye on things.
it was also merry who made the arrangements for frodo's move to crickhollow, and first learned of the ring and brought his friends into the "conspiracy."
pippin's growing and maturing is so much more apparent because he was so much younger and child-like than his older cousin.
tookishgirl:
oh i know that in the book merry, and even pippin, were less silly but the movie - if done properly in the end - shows their maturity far more clearly, especially pippin's!
palantir:
i can't wait to see what pj does with pippin in the third movie. we were already starting to see it in ttt with his realization after merry talked to him. "not this time" *chills* you go pip!
herald7:
actually, thanks i understand that scene a bit better now (though i already liked it hehe). merry and pippin were still very inexperienced and unprepared when they were captured by the orcs, but now in the tt, they've matured a bit and had more experiences and pippin's more confident that, this time, the orcs won't catch them. it actually is a decent tribute to how their characters are changing.
pipkin sweetgrass:
okay, the story is a bit of fluff, not serious at all, just a little something to amuse. it's here.
this is loosely based on the relationships i have with my own "fellowship," aka "the coasties." we jokingly call ourselves our own mafia. there is no end to the fun... and yes, the heartache, we have together.
again, this is for my family, jrrt, all the readers and of course the wonderful, beautiful and talented men who brought lotr to life... esp billy!
all hail the kilted one!
now i promised not to bring another character up, but let's face it, pip without merry?
so yes, we can also discuss merry here, if all y'all are chilly with that. but only if y'all are chilly with it. what say you, aye or nay?
uofjc1983:
what a cute and wonderful story! i am in awe of your story writing! thank you pipkin sweetgrass for sharing it! i'm an avid reader, and i love pippin, so don't be bashful if you have more stories...
i would love to read what you or anyone else may have to the character of merry as well-- i still go back to read about pippin; pippin is my first love-- merry is a close second.
lostsailors:
aye, aye! certainly we may discuss merry. goodness, where would pippin be without his stalwart cousin?
i always secretly related to merry, wasn't exactly certain how, just did.
he always struck me as very level headed- always thinking to himself. he's very quiet, not scintillating like pippin, but he's sweet and so very important, though never quite realizes so.
yes... always full of thought. merry is intelligent, constantly figuring things mentally.
i love it when he's apart from pippin and he daydreams about rescuing his cousin from the stone city.
glee! it's very endearing.
what do people think of the novel version of merry compared to the film version? film merry has been criticized for being too much like another pippin and i can see that being so, but he has his moments of seriousness and maturity (ie. he figures out frodo is leaving for mordor, whereas pippin can't and has to ask).
what does anyone else think?
hmm. i guess that question could be applied to film/novel pippin as well.
anyhow!
p.s. dear! grief! i'll have to check out your new writing at a later time pipkin.
* brie *:
merry and pippin undergo many experiences in the third installment... it will be interesting to see where the actors take their characters!
crankyoldelf:
i haven't posted to this thread but i have been reading and enjoying it thoroughly. merry and pippin (especially pip) have been my favorites since my first reading of lotr in the early 60s.
keep up the excellent observations! and i may look into your "older group" since i know i'm one of the senior forum members on this site.
pipkin sweetgrass:
why thank all y'all! i let my granddaughters read my little story and they were very impressed. i did one over at torc called peregrin victorious, a very light-hearted romp. it's in the scriptorium of imladris board. it's fluff, but it's fun. i do this to amuse myself and my family, and because i'm just so grateful to have such great heroes, even though they are fictional, they are somehow very real and familiar, even upon the first reading. mr. boyd is guilty in this, too, he's helped me find my muse. he just made pippin so much more real.
all hail the kilted one!
herald7:
at first viewing, i admit i had difficulty at first telling them apart, but that didn't last long. it was fairly obvious to me who was who after the moria well scene! hehe, i don't think merry is too much like pippin in the movie. he's still almost pippin's comedy straight man like he often is the book.
hobbit feet:
greetings all. i haven't replied to this thread yet but i have so enjoyed reading it! i love threads like this!
there is so much more to merry and pippin than has yet been shown on screen that i am hoping rotk redresses this serious inadequacy. i have always adored them for their unfailing loyalty to frodo and their unspoken courage in the darkest of times. they do grow and change so much throughout the story - i will delight in seeing this in the two of them in the next film. there is loss of innocence yes, but the greatest gains come from the greatest sacrifices. pippin goes on such a journey - physically, emotionally, mentally - i am exceedingly thankful to billy for bringing this to life on screen. no one else could have captured pippin's spirit so perfectly!
you all have basically said everything that i would want to add to this discussion - so i will keep this short and say that i wish we could see the scouring of the shire on screen if for no other reason than to see m&p transformed and returning triumphant to their home. of all the fellowship, they lose the least and what pippin gains in strength and confidence and maturity is worth reading the book to experience. i love that hobbit!
pipkin sweetgrass:
you know, i wonder if an entire movie couldn't be made about the scouring and all that follows, sam getting married and being made mayor and having all those little hobbit babies, pip becoming thain and getting married and having a son, merry is life as a bachelor,the king declaring that men are to keep out of the shire, and their subsequent eldest years being spent in rohan and finally in gondor, perhaps accompanied by their ghostly guardian, and the burial at the king's side... the last making me feel so sad, yet so proud that these two brothers were honored to have a final resting place by the very grave of the king himself! what a story... what a movie that would make! maybe they might even be escorted by said certain gondorian soldier who died to protect them, remaining the spiritual guardian of this charming shire! and eru save the fool who tries to muck with the shire and it's remaining fellowship...? perhaps this certain gondorian might make it into the great unknown along with his "little ones"?
i know this won't happen but it's a nice thought.
herald7:
that would be nice but the writing would have to be excellent to compete with tolkein's work.
pippin sweetgrass:
are all the "yea"s and "nays" in yet? i feel merry should be made most welcome here, myself.
others asked if i had written more. yes, i have, a boromir piece. i sort of see him as the third of my "terrible trio."
if you would like, here it is: it's a lament rather than a ballad, told from the third point of view, that of a poor girl who works in a tavern. read this, then vote on whether the son of gondor should have his own thread, or be a guest here in the smials.
it's here.
* brie *:
you cannot have pippin without merry... please, bring him in! *waves*
seriously, could anybody have been merry and pippin but dom and billy? they were a terrific team!
uofjc1983:
i, too, say "aye-aye!" to merry! pippin and merry are inseparable. perhaps one day in the future i can relate my own minor dissertation of pippin, though it will not equal any that have already been written here.