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frodo-with-glasses · 2 years

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Any questions you haven't yet answered for the Hobbit cousins‐ Frodo, Merry, and Pippin! Thank you!

Yesss, my bois! After a bit of discussion, we narrowed this one down to just a few questions, since I can’t recall anyone asking for these three as a trio before and I can’t answer all 15 in one go LOL

1. “When I think they became friends”

Well, I’ve already described how I think Frodo left a good impression on little Merry before he left to go live with Bilbo, setting the stage for their friendship later on; and I’ve also described how I think Merry and Pippin bonded over something stupid when they were young and have been inseparable ever since. I don’t think it’s hard to imagine that the three of them would’ve gotten to know each other over the course of several various family obligations—weddings, birthday parties, etc.—and hit it off, because of course you want to get along with family when you can, and Frodo just seems to jive perfectly well with kids who are a lot younger than him.

2. “My favorite scene of them”

Oh man, can I just say the whole Crickhollow chapter?? I mean we get Pippin splashing in the bath, Merry thoroughly schooling Frodo on how to keep secrets (and then everybody laughing at Frodo’s dumbfounded surprise), Merry and Pippin singing a song they prepared for the occasion—and that wonderful, heart-clenching line from Merry, “We are terribly afraid, but we are going with you, or following you like hounds.” The Crickhollow chapter is just one long fluff fic demonstrating the relationship dynamics of this trio—and Sam and Fatty Bolger!—and I just *clenches fist* love it so much

3. “A random headcanon I have of them”

Have I mentioned before that Pippin is incredibly ticklish? I feel like I must have. It just seems like too much of an obvious fact of the universe for me not to have said it sooner. Pippin is incredibly ticklish, and Merry and Frodo definitely know all of the worst tickle spots to get him thrashing on the floor within seconds.

Merry will sit back, cross his arms, and swear up and down he isn’t ticklish and you can’t make him laugh, no matter how hard you try, no sir, but that’s because he’s secretly protecting his armpits and the back of his neck. Frodo knows this. All he needs is a distraction, and a chance to lean over and brush the tip of a feather under Merry’s ear, and he’ll nearly jump out of his seat and start swinging fists at whoever’s nearby.

Frodo isn’t actually very ticklish, but the fact that anyone would try makes him laugh anyway, so he’s pretty easy to crack. Pippin finds this entertaining. Jury is still out on whether or not he realizes it’s basically cheating, and whether or not he cares.

4. “My favorite thing about them”

I think the beauty of the hobbits is that their friendships all start in very innocuous ways. “Ah yes, my second cousin once removed on his mother’s side, stand-up chap, gave me a gold coin for his birthday once”, etc, etc. And yet those mundane little relationships are so fierce and loyal when it comes down to the wire. Love doesn’t have to start dramatically to be real and true and ride-or-die. Merry and Pippin don’t decide to walk off into the possible jaws of death because Frodo is somebody extraordinary; honestly, aside from being a bit odd, Frodo is kinda just some dude. But they’re willing to risk everything for him, because Frodo is their odd dude, and they don’t want him to face this danger alone. I think that’s beautiful.

5. “A scene I wish we had of them”

Give me the Rivendell slumber parties and sleepy, giggly nighttime conversations or give me DEATH. Rivendell is lovely and homey, but you can’t tell me that the hobbits didn’t get a little lonely sleeping in those huge beds all by themselves for so long. I think there’s room enough on an elf-sized bed for all the hobbits to lie comfortably, lined up like sardines from the foot to the headboard; and I also think they wouldn’t get any sleep until very very late, because Pippin would keep waking everyone else up with some random thought that just popped into his head, and the giggle fits that ensue would take several minutes to calm down. And then another Pippin thought would come. Rinse, and repeat.

10. “A song that reminds me of them”

We’re back to Of Monsters and Men with “Your Bones”. No doubt this is one of the more obtuse of their songs, but I like it for a few reasons:

First, the contrast of the cheerful tune and melancholy lyrics fits the personalities of this trio. Pippin is the loud, cheerful face that you notice first, while Frodo and Merry are the quieter deep waters that you will only see if you take the time to look a little closer.

Second, I like that the song seems to describe a journey of some sort. “In the spring we made a boat/Out of feathers, out of bones/We set fire to our homes/Walking barefoot in the snow”; hobbits always walk barefoot, and the “snow” makes me think of Caradhras. Of course they didn’t literally set fire to their homes, but they did leave them behind, with full knowledge of the possibility that they might never return, and emotionally, those two things can feel much the same way. “Chasing leaves in the wind/Going where we’d never been/Said goodbye to you my friend/As the fire spread”; Merry and Pippin had to part ways from Frodo, and Pippin had to leave Merry (twice!!), and the trio is all separated by the time the final battle rolls around. But that just leads me into my next point—

Third, the chorus. The other lyrics in this song are strange and bewildering—like everything the hobbits encountered once they left the Shire—but the chorus is clear, simple, powerful, and rings out with clarity and purpose. “So hold on/Hold on to what we are/Hold on to your heart”.

Isn’t that the core of LotR? It’s in the relationships. No matter what strange and fantastical things the hobbits encountered on their Quest, what they needed to succeed was something they’d already had back in the Shire, something they’d always had all along. “Hold on to what we are; hold on to your heart.” When all hope is lost, remember your friendships. Remember you are not alone. Remember your purpose. Keep us close; even if we are not there with you, we will give you strength.

But on a less serious note, I also found THIS gem of a behind-the-scenes clip recently. It’s a song! It doesn’t have lyrics, but it’s a song! That counts, right?? 🤣🤣

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#ask game #frodo baggins #meriadoc brandybuck #merry #peregrin took #pippin #lord of the rings #lotr #my writing #featuring our boys elijah sean billy and dom being goofy on set—AGAIN

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