Buckland Headcanons
The Fallohide ancestry of the Brandybucks, plus their proximity to the wilds and the Old Forest, means that those of this background maintain a strong hunting tradition, more so than other high-born hobbit families. The Tooks are a close second, but in such different environments they are very different hunters, and Tooks might see a hunt with the Brandybucks as a way to measure their skills.
Bucklanders are highly adaptable and the least xenophobic, though they still have their prejudices about folk in other parts of the Shire. Brandybucks embraced Stoorish traditions and knowledge, which has made them the most comfortable with waterways than other regional hobbits. (This is a pretty likely supposition based on Tolkien's writing on the ancestral holbytla ethnic groups that would come together, so maybe less of a headcanon.)
Brandybucks, perhaps like aristocracy in rugged parts of northern England or Scotland, have a strong outdoorsman tradition generally for purely recreational purposes.
It's a Bucklander tween rite of passage to go into the Old Forest around dusk and then try to get back to safety before night falls. This is not sanctioned by the adults, and is something tweens dare one another to do to prove they've "got the stones".
Guards are set whenever the Hedge needs to be tended or mended from either side.
Headcanons about Merry in Buckland
Brandy Hall is a large, chaotic place due to the number of people living there at any given time. By the time Merry hits his twenties, he's dying for space, which is why he spends so much time either in Tookland or Hobbiton with his cousins.
Merry is among the eldest of a whole gaggle of cousins that live in Brandy Hall (Doderic, Ilberic, Celendine, Merimas, Mentha, and Merliot). As a result he has become old-headed and responsible.
Getting away with Pippin and Frodo allows him to act his age and let go of responsibility, which he does with zeal, unless called upon.
Merry is a natural flirt and he is looked upon with envy and admiration from his peers for this skill. It mostly comes down to the fact that he is not nervous about talking to lasses, who he's very comfortable around.
In a pinch, he can switch instantly from carefree, silly, and reckless to organized, quick, and practical.
Just thinking through ideas that might contribute to fic writing for before and after the quest. Might post some post-quest headcanons for Merry later!
