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Good Neighbors by daw the minstrel	241 Review(s)
elliska	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/2/2004
Daw, we'll never get tired of these stories! This will have to be short but--I was so suprised to see Mithrandir and the twins. I am very much looking forward to seeing how they will complicate things. And Thranduil and Ithilden's reaction to how to deal with the men was great. Poor Men. They don't stand a chance. But Legolas and his friends and this camping trip...I smell trouble. I'm very glad you have a new story going. I need the distraction right now. May it be very long. :) Author Reply: I thought the visitors might surprise readers a little. I was surprised to see the twins mentioned in HoMe at this point in time and then I immediately started thinking about how to get them to Thranduil and what would happen if they did turn up at the king's stronghold. Actually, I find the Tale of Years very generative for plot ideas. I liked the image of Ithilden marching off to Esgaroth to clear matters up. A bad guy with any sense would surrender immediately just to save himself the trouble. Ah yes. The camping trip. Coming soon to a chapter near you. :-)

Jay of Lasgalen	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/2/2004
The twins are here!! (cough. Sorry about that - I got carried away.) And kudos to Thranduil for getting them right! I couldn't remeber the date of this story, but guessed that the strain Thranduil could see was because of Celebrían - and of course it will bring back many memories for all of them. I somehow think he won't have much success in keeping Eilian away from E2 (E3 - can you imagine it?!) Turgon's home life was rather sad - a spoilt little brother, ineffectual mother, snappy father. It explains a lot about him. I hope the camping trip goes well, and that the mysterious sniper doesn't cause trouble! Jay Author Reply: I thought of you when I was writing this, Jay. :-) I was very excited when I found the reference to the twins in HoMe in the time period I was looking at for this story. All I had to do then was get them to Thranduil, and I decided Mithrandir would take care of that. He promised Elrond to keep an eye out for them and he was on his way to Thranduil anyway. I think that once Legolas is out of the palace, Eilian is going to be looking for some company! In planning this story, I decided it would be interesting to see inside Turgon's cottage. What made him the way he was? But writing about it made me sad too. His parents are just so busy with their own thoughts and interests that they don't even see him sometimes. His father will paint arrows with him and approve of Turgon's individualistic aesthetic, and that's good. But then he gets an idea for a poem and that's the end of the arrow making. The camping trip. Check. It's on my list. The sniper. Check. Also on my list. Together? Hm. We'll see!

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/1/2004
I don't think you have to worry about people not wanting to read what you write - I think the chances of that are non-existant. You catch the whole Mirkwood / family / outside dangers so wonderfully - and there isn't a hint of cardboard anywhere. Poor Sons of Elrond. Ithilden and Eilian barely coped with their mother's death in the middle of all the love and support of their family and friends - and Elladan and Elrohir have deliberately cut themselves off from that. I think that's why they didn't ever really recover - they always seem to have been a little cut off from others after that. Partly because they were twins, probably, so that they used each other for support - but that also meant that they didn't have anyone to draw them out from the spiral of grief into which they sank and wallowed. They also failed to provide support for Elrond - he could not help them through their sufferinng, so consequently he found it difficult to move on - he lost all his children here, too, because Arwen seemed to spend most of her time with Galadriel (understandably, but that was no help to poor Elrond). Thranduil should look at the twins and feel thankful that he and his sons have survived and are learning to move on from the trauma with each other's support. The different level of healing is probably what makes it possible for both Ithilden and Eilian to marry and have their own families, while Elladan and Elrohir remain frozen in their vengeful mindset, dependent on each other. (Not counting Legolas here, because as a small child, his responses and needs had to be dealt with differently. At least he could cry and demand attention.) (On pranks - the twins probably did get in more trouble as elflings - purely because there were two of them - and twice the children is four times the trouble, but they wouldn't have been the Coco the Clowns of Middle Earth as adults.) I love Mithrandir's concern for them - I hope he brought them along for a dose of Thranduil-parenting to talk to others who have endured the same kind of loss. Although it would be hard on Eilian, I think he might be the one who would be of most help to them now. (And damn pre-written stories for getting in the way of things it would be good to do now!) Turgon, Turgon, Turgon. The poor elfling - how could he possibly develop into a reasonable and responsible Wood Elf warrior with butterflies like his parents. They are not ill-natured - they are just insensitive and incompetent. Although I'll bet that his adar would be appalled to be thought of as insensitive - he's just such an artist, he needs his space. Poor Turgon scratches by with the help offered by those around him, but nobody really takes responsibility for him. His adar might have helped him with the artistic part of arrow-making - but even Mr Please-I-must-have-total-quiet is a Wood Elf - he must have learned how to make arrows for the hunt in the days before he aspired to be the Daeron-of-the-Woods. He could have done more to help had he wanted to. (And Amdir changed little over the years!) And Legolas finds arrow-making even more important than badgering to go to the feast and meet Mithrandir and the SoE. He is such a responsible elfling! Mind you, had he not discovered that Eilian had also been excluded from the feast and that he hadn't met them either, he might not have been so willing. I like thinking of reckless adventurous Eilian as too much of a homeboy to want to leave the forest. He's just full of contradictions. Why do I suspect that this innocent-elfling camp in the woods could have unexpected repercussions - involving Men? I cannot imagine. Author Reply: Thank you, Bodkin. Your analysis of the twins is acute, I think. Their tie to one another does seem to make it possible for them to isolate themselves from others, so there is no one to help them. I'm feeling my way along in portraying them. I don't want them to be demented Orc killers, but I do want them to be adult warriors who never cease hunting the creatures. Perhaps it's possible for them to achieve a certain amount of balance within that. Still, as I was writing this I was thinking about how hard that year before she sailed must have been. They saw her suffering daily for a long time. I also thought that same thing about Legolas when I was writing "Paths of Memory." His grief was so total because he had no perspective on loss -- his mother was gone; his world had ended. But he could cry and say what he felt, which made it easier for everyone to respond to him that they did to, say, Ithilden. Eilian seems to me to be the son of Thranduil who is most akin to the twins in his reaction. I think they need to spend some time together! I felt so bad for Turgon as I was writing this. His parents aren't bad people but they sure are bad parents. I kept trying to imagine what they would be like and drew on the inadequate parents I've seen over the years, including me at my worst moments. But it made me sad. It seemed to me that Eilian was someone who loves excitement but I wasn't sure that meant he was curious about other places. He's a wood elf through and through, his mother's child. You think the elflings are going to be doing more than toasting marshmallows in the woods? Why Bodkin! I think you might be right!

Melissa	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/1/2004
I could never grow tired of your stories. Ithilden and Eilian and your Thranduil are as real to me as Legolas, and I have a hard time reading other stories without them. Author Reply: Thank you so much, Melissa. They've become real to me too. I notice how comfortable I am with them when I introduce new characters like the twins (new for me to write about that is). I have to figure out how to portray them more or less from scratch, whereas Legolas's family comes easily now.

Rose Sared	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/1/2004
I just love all the detail you put into these tales - I swear I should be able to make and fletch an arrow just from your descriptions . LOL. How nice to have the twins and Mithrander in house - even thought the circumstances are so sad. Much enjoyed! Rose Author Reply: It's funny what we writers choose to describe in detail when you think about it. I don't do a lot of description usually. Rooms, clothes, landscape -- once is a while something strikes me as important enough to describe but I usually just don't care. But I do like to know what Legolas is actually doing with his time. This must have been important stuff to him. And besides, it was fun to look up! I got all excited when I found that reference to the twins in the time frame I was interested in. And Mithrandir has always seemed to me to be the one among the Wise whom Thranduil would be most likely to trust. But what a terrible time for Elladan and Elrohir.

finafyr	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/1/2004
This weekend I read every one of your stories in order..I found them a delight.. and I wanted to let you know that I think that you have such a delightful feel of the world of Middle Earth that Tolkien so delightfully as he said "rediscovered". I have had this wonderful Love affair going with Middle earth for over 30 years.. thank you for so filling in the blanks so. I think delightfully. the Professor I think would have enjoyed them also.. after all that was the whole reason that he started writing, as he said, and Though I do not make an exact quote I think it is close enough...(Smile)"If we cannot find the sort of stories that we like than we will write them for ourselves". I find that I crave reading more.. and the only stories I read are the ones that capture of flavor of my favorite place.. as your writing has done so well... Thank you Author Reply: Oh my. Thank you. The thought of reading all those stories at once makes me what to lie down! But I have to say that you have given me delight by telling me you did it. You are so right about Tolkien, I think. This fandom is such a rich one to write in because he left us with this complicated world with all kinds of nooks and crannies to explore on our own. And I am immensely flattered to have pleased a true Tolkien fan.

The Karenator	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/1/2004
Okay, I just reread this chapter and I had another thought or two. Really, I'm sorry. I forgot that Turgon's adar helped him with the designs on his arrows. I'm mildly less annoyed with him. The artistic portion was his gig, I guess. Still... And I'm rethinking my stand on Thranduil shielding his sons from the twins. I really do understand where he is in all this, but Mithrandir rarely does anything that does not have a purpose. I wonder if it's his hope that the twins, seeing that Thranduil's sons have managed to balance their grief, will help to lessen the twins almost obsession with revenge. He did say that Elrond wanted them home. Obviously, they're not there. They are not working through this with family, but are working off each other in rage and vengeance. Not healthy. I think it's a parent's first reaction to try and shelter their children, but that's not always the best course of action. Experience is often the best teacher. And like I said in my other windy review, the five young elves all share a common bond of grief. Now that I think about it, I think the twins would benefit from getting to know the Thranduilions. And the king's sons would benefit from sharing their experience. Hm.m.m. I'm still thinking... I'm done this time. Really...I am.... Author Reply: This is interesting stuff, Karen. I did think that Turgon's father would encourage him to express himself in the way best suited to him and would accept him as he was. And that's good. But Turgon needs attention and discipline too and so does his little brother. Mithrandir brought the twins with him partly to keep them from hunting Orcs on their own. He asked them to protect him on his journey, which is almost laughable. We'll see how the sons get along and what they have to learn from one another. And oh yeah apologize for reviewing again because authors just hate that. :-)

The Karenator	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/1/2004
OH! How unexpected. The twins and Mithrandir have come to the Woodland Realm. I'm like Legolas and want to meet them and hear all about Glorfindel and balrogs and whatever they might like to talk about. Shoot! They don't even have to say anything. I'll just look. You also took quite an emotional turn. My heart sank with Thranduil's when he had fleeting images of Lorellin's last moments. I can imagine that the grief is still so new to the twins that it is nearly contagious. No one can blame Thranduil from wanting to shield his sons from being reminded of the loss they suffered. That scene between Thranduil and Mithrandir was very well done. It's conveyed a lot of emotion and told us a lot about the fragile emotional state the Thranduilions are still in. Poor Turgon. I can't help but feel for the little scamp. The odds were against him from the beginning. He's really on his own. Legolas and Annael are the only constant support he seems to get and unfortunately, it's often misguided. His adar strikes me as a rather self-absorbed sort. The artsy-fartsy type. Nothing comes between him and his art. Kind of makes me want to slap him upside his head. Not even War and Peace was so important as to not notice your child. I realize he's no warrior and fletching arrows would probably be like asking him to sew a bridal gown, but he could have tried or found someone to help his son who did know what he was doing. Show an interest, you, Elf, you. Geez, I'm on a rant. Sorry. Eilian helping Legolas was nice. And they never even knew their adar's manipulation of the whole thing. It seems a reasonable way to deal with the whole thing. The arrows had to be done. Thranduil didn't want Legolas or Eilian alone or near the twins in their current state of grief. At least Thranduil knows he can't keep Ithilden and Eilian away from the Elrondions, but he can try to protect the vulnerable as best he can. I really like where this seems to be going. You know how I like to poke around in characters' heads and this is such a good start into looking at the common bond shared by the sons of Elrond and Thranduil. And we even get to see the places in Thranduil's heart that he never reveals to anyone...but us. I look forward to more. Great chapter, daw. Oh! And the men.... Inquiring minds want to know about them too. I believe Ithilden could find them with one hand tied behind his back too. Karen Author Reply: I was all excited when I found that bit in HoMe about the twins being in the battle against the Balchoth. They're challenging to write about though because there's so much fanfic about them. I have no intention of writing a prank fest and these guys just lost their mother in a horrible way that involved watching her suffer for a year. In some ways, a quick death would have been easier. I see the twins as sort of magical -- the Sons of Elrond. But how do I convey that? And would they look magical to another elf like Thranduil? So I'm still figuring them out. If I were Thranduil or his sons, the idea of Lorellin's terror and pain would send me into a frenzy. I can barely stand to write even the sentence I just wrote. I've spent some time in the last week or so trying to figure out Turgon's parents, and I'm afraid I decided that they were like me in my worst moments of selfishly desiring to be able to concentrate on my own interests. Only they're like that all the time. Once I concluded that, it was easier to see what was going wrong. Poor Turgon. If the men of Esgaroth saw Ithilden coming, I assume they'd surrender just to save themselves a lot of pain. :-)

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/1/2004
Uh-huh. Yeah, maybe I'll get tired of these stories. And maybe the sun and the moon will rise in the north hills, and I'll quit ethnomusicology and take up accounting. So Turgon's father is a minstrel. Hmm. Interesting. He reminds me a little of Robert Schumann, I think, or what Robert would have been like if he hadn't been married to Clara or friends with Brahms. That need to work in absolute silence and such utter self-absorbedness, that's so Schumann. And look what happened to him. He ended his days in an insane asylum. Of course, Turgon's mother is such a mousy little thing that she's no help at all in that family. Nothing like Clara Schumann, and more's the pity. I wonder what Penntalion thinks about all this. He can't have not noticed that something is up with Turgon. Right now, it seems like the only ones who notice are Legolas and Annael, who are neither one of them old enough or sophisticated enough to know what to do about it. And here come the Sons of Elrond, broadcasting fresh grief for all the world to see. Mithrandir has brought them to Mirkwood for a purpose, but it's hard to tell if it's a Bad Idea or if Thranduil is just thwarting that purpose for purposes of his own. There is a theory that companions help grief, especially companions who have suffered a similar loss -- it leads to support groups. Clearly, Thranduil does not subscribe to this theory. I have to wonder just who he is protecting here. He seems to be the one most upset by Celebrian's misfortune (which he hasn't heard of before -- communication on the eastern side of the mountains is not very good, I guess), and I wonder if he isn't projecting just a little when he thinks of Eilian and Legolas. Sometimes, kids who have lost parents just blossom when they meet other kids who have lost parents. And sometimes not. It's a tough call, and I guess Thranduil is the one who knows his boys best. There goes Turgon with his riot of colors again! He hasn't changed a bit from that little kid with the crayons. He shouldn't have been a warrior. He would have been the Jackson Pollack of Middle Earth. No one has any idea what it is, but it is beautiful! Legolas could not imagine what it would be like to be drawn inexorably away from the woods. Hint, hint. Hint, hint. He was curious about the far-away places of Middle-earth that he had read about with his tutor, and he hoped to see them someday, but he would never want to live where there were no trees. You just keep telling yourself that, Legolas. . . I snickered at the idea of punishing Eilian by making him draw up a chart of Elrond's family ties. They're really frightening if you look at them long enough and realize that he is related to every single character in the Silmarillion. Galadriel isn't just his mother-in-law; she's his first cousin thrice removed. As I keep telling my sister, the running gag of the Silmarillion is that everyone is related to everyone else in the end. Author Reply: Thank you, French Pony. And don't give up ethnomusicology! Someone has to do that because ... well, just because! When I planned this story, I thought I would take little closer look at Turgon's family and then I had to figure them out a little. Like what did his father do? What were his parents like to make him the way he was? And I decided they were like me on my worst days when I just wanted to think about my own stuff and wanted my kid to go away for a while. Only they would be like that all the time. They're not bad exactly, and his father can do stuff like paint a creative arrow (I thought of the drawing too--Turgon's aesthetic is different from that of most elves, I think), but they're sure not good for their kids who need discipline and attention. And Legolas and Annael are just not equipped to do anything about this. But most people would hesitate to interfere, I think. I thought that word of events would travel slowly. They have to travel with travelers after all, unless maybe birds are used as messengers as they are in The Hobbit. And Celebrian would have just recently sailed. We'll see how the sons get on together. I had a problem because in "Question of Duty" (and curses that I ever wrote that story), I have Legolas meeting the twins for the first time.

Nilmandra	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/1/2004
This look at Turgon's family was very telling - instead of feeling sorry for Legolas for having such a friend, I definitely felt for Turgon for having a dysfunctional family. He really needs some appropriate attention. I am still distrubed by Thranduil, but I'm going to withhold judgment and wait and see how this turns out. Author Reply: I felt bad for Turgon too. His parents have occasional good moments -- his father paints the arrows with him and makes it clear that if Turgon wants wild colors, that's okay too. But they're too absorbed in their own concerns to be good parents. Thranduil is disturbed by the twins. Their new and rather raw emotion upsets his balance and he fears it will upset the balance of his sons. One of the themes of this story is Thranduil's relations with others, especially men, so we'll see how all this works out.

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