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| Interrupted Journeys: Part 3 Journeys Begin by elliska | 110 Review(s) |
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| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/5/2005 |
| Thranduil has made Lindomiel wait ANOTHER THOUSAND YEARS!!!! in his angst not to bring an elfling into a marred world? And she hasn't attacked him with an axe? She has unbelievable patience. I would like to point out to him that he could now have several grown offspring up to twenty times the age his wife was when they married - how would he like it if Amglaur had decided the world was too dangerous to have elflings? It's odd to think of Aradunnon and Amoneth having a son half a millennium old - and I think it's probably time for them to move north to get away from the ever-encroaching danger. Besides, that way we get to see them again. I liked Dolgailon. He seems very driven and responsible. Must be a family characteristic. One that is concealed beneath the light-hearted surface in Aradunnon. Thranduil is wise to bring him away from the Shadow for a time. And Aradunnon was probably wise to insist that he thought his son should lose his captaincy. (Made it more likely that Thranduil would look for an alternative. And avoided charges of favouritism from the troop commander.) One thing that worries me is the suggestion that older mothers are more likely to fade. I am concerned that Lindomiel will barely get the chance to greet her son before the dramatic imperative disposes of her. Author Reply: I am chuckling away at your comments about poor Lindomiel. I definitely have credited her with far more patience than I have. Thranduil would have had the axe if it had been me. :) But a couple of your statement here are fairly prophetic. I will leave that there since I promised myself that I wouldn't give too much away in reviews in this one. Dolgailon is a good kid. :) I'm glad you liked him. I do think that being driven and responsible would be a family trait. I mean, obviously Legolas, who takes on the Quest for the greater good rather than returning home where he had to know there would be a battle, had to have a sense of responsibility to more than himself. And a bit of a sense of adventure too, it seems to me. (I really love the way Daw's story, A Question of Duty, handles that--I remember Beliond saying something like "We all have many motivations and some we are less proud of than others." That is so true.) And I think everyone in Legolas's family faced choices like this. Oropher decided to lead a group of Sindarin on his own Great Journey in the opposite direction. There had to be something really driving him to such a major undertaking and some sense of adventure there too. Thranduil must have faced a series of difficult decisions while trying to protect/preserve Mirkwood. It would take real drive and persistance to be able to lead under the circumstances the House of Oropher found themselves in, I think. Of course all the members of the Fellowship and those that aided it had those qualities and that is what makes them the heros we love. And I do think that older elven mothers would have a harder time. After all, LaCE does say that Elves can't just have children at anytime ("It might be thought that, since the Eldar do not (as Men deem) grow old in body, they may bring forth children at any time in the ages of their lives. But this is not so. For the Eldar do indeed grow older, even if slowly: the limit of their lives is the life of Arda, which though long beyond the reckoning of Men is not endless, and ages also.") And later on it kind of gives a reason for that by saying that the child's fea is nourished by the parents' ("Therefore they hold that the fea, though unbegotten, draws nourishment from the parents before the birth of the child: directly from the fea of the mother while she bears and nourishes the hroa, and mediately but equally from the father, whose fea is bound in union with the mother's and supports it.") That sounds tiring to me. :) So I think this is something that Thranduil and Lindomiel would be thinking about. Poor Lindomiel. Thanks for the review! I really love to see how people are reacting to new characters. | |
| French Pony | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/4/2005 |
| Well, we are certainly getting frisky in this chapter. I suppose spring must be in the air where you live. Come to think of it, according to my gamelan teacher, spring is in the air where I live, too. Unfortunately, there are no frisky Elves around to tell us that, just strangely warping drumheads. Welcome to Dolgalion! Of course such a brash and flighty couple like Aradunnon and Amoneth would produce Mister Serious. That's practically one of the first Laws of Narrative Comedy. The hippie parents always give birth to the yuppies. Thranduil had best listen to those around him (of course, we know he does, eventually): There will never be a perfect moment, but there are an infinite amount of nearly perfect moments. No one is ever prepared to have children, but most people tend to do a good job when the kids come anyway. Aradunnon seems to have got the hang of this discipline thing. Sending Dolgalion to the King with sealed orders, strongly hinting that they contain Dolgalion's fate. . . that's pure military evil genius, that is. No matter what Thranduil does with Dolgalion, Dolgalion will have sweated intensely. And that is Aradunnon's discipline. Subtle. I do hope we get to see Dolgalion meet his baby cousin. All of my cousins are either very much older or very much younger than I am, so that's a sort of interaction that interests me very much. And Lindomiel's biological clock is ticking. Just. . . very. . . slowly. . . Author Reply: I love your reviews 'cause I learn stuff from them. I had to pop over to my dictionary to find out what gamelan was. An Indonesion percussion orchestra is what it said. Is that what you were refering to? If so, you have to elaborate sometime. I live in Florida. Spring is always in the air here. I sat on my patio today by my pool (after calling in 'sick' from work--I'm sick of work, alright) and typed away at my First Age fic. :) Hippie elves. Now that was an image that made me laugh. If I talk about it, I won't be able to get the image it conjured out of my head and it's just wrong. So I'm shutting up. But yeah, when I wrote this, I felt a little bad sending poor Dolgailon on the long trek to the capital from the south sweating the sealed orders and meeting with the King. I despise the, "I need to meet with you tomorrow" thing. Just tell me now! Just...very...slowly...! That also made me laugh. True. LaCE says they have kids early in their marriage. Well I guess Thranduil blew that. He needs to get the show on the road. There are no perfect moments. Thanks so much for the review! | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/4/2005 |
| Great chapter. You introduced the new OC -- Thranduil's nephew whose name is hard to spell -- very well. I could see him as a person almost immediately. The battle that took him to the Northmen's town was also very realistically described. I can imagine that that might have happened. And he's so serious and upright in accepting the blame. He does need a nice wife! Author Reply: Daw I just cracked up when I read, "Thranduil's nephew whose name is hard to spell." That earned you a story: One of the characters in this little tale had a name so bad (but I liked its meaning so much) that I unconsciously wrote a whole chapter refering to him in every way imaginable except by name. When my beta saw that and called attention to it, I thought we would both pass out we laughed so hard. Needless to say, that name was changed. But I think I said before that I often wished that I picked easier names for some of these characters before I got attached to them. You made me laugh. :) I'm glad Dolgailon came off ok. I have so much fun playing with characterization and it's so nice when people comment on it. He is exactly that--serious and upright. I think something like that battle could have happened at this point in ME's history. We are just a few years away from the allegiance of the Wainriders and Haradrim against Gondor and the Battle of the Camp. I imagine there would have been some stirrings of the Wainriders around the southeast of Mirkwood at the time. I bet they would have regretted coming into Thranduil's forest if they tried. :) Thanks so much for the review! | |
| Jaylen | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/29/2005 |
| So glad you are back!! Loved the precocious Legolas, especially the "Sarcasm is not becoming, ada." Cute. Can't wait for the next chapter. Jaylen Author Reply: Hi Jaylen! I am very glad to be back. I like to write about little Legolas. It is a lot of fun to think about what he would have been like. When I was a little kid, I used to point out to my parents when they exhibited the behavior they punished me for--did it because it obviously enfuriated them but they couldn't argue with me. I was a complete brat. So I couldn't resist having Legolas do that. Thanks so much for the review. I know how hard it is to find the time for the things but I just love 'talking' with everyone in them. Really it helps me think as I post chapters about whether I am really doing what I mean to do with the story. And also, I'm a chatterbox. Can't help it. :) | |
| Elena Tiriel | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/29/2005 |
| Good to see you start a new story, Elliska! Look forward to reading the family adventures... - Barbara Author Reply: Hi Barbara! It is good to be starting the new story for me too! I am enjoying so much being back and hearing from everyone at SoA. I love the community here and I appreciate it so much. I hope you continue to enjoy! Thanks so much for the review. They mean a lot to me. :) | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/29/2005 |
| Oh! Oh! I am so happy to see this series continue. I've been waiting for it! Legolas is a little sweetie and I love how everyone around him treasures him and pets him. His grandmother is probably right that Thranduil will someday regret not having been a little firmer, but then, everyone has something to regret. Extra affection seems like a might small sin. Author Reply: Hi Daw! It is great to be continuing the series finally! I am so happy to come back and hear from everyone again. I do think Legolas is a sweetie, a little brat too :), but a sweet heart. I cannot help surrounding him with with family (even if it isn't super close family) to love him. Surely the wonderful person we saw in Legolas of the Fellowship must have been surrounded by loving family whether is was big brothers like Eilian and Ithilden or 'uncles.' :) Can't resist. I think Thranduil might wish he'd listened better to his mother one day indeed :) but I also think parents tend to over-indulge their first child a bit. It's natural. It is a small sin indeed. :) Thank you so much for the reviews! | |
| Brazgirl | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/29/2005 |
| I missed your stories so much! I was glad I received this alert! I am glad you updated!!! Curious about something: where is Lindomiel? Where is she??? What is this surprise? Cute elfling you gave Thranduil. Very real. Author Reply: Hi Brazgirl! I very much missed having more time to participate in the fan fiction realm over the last two months and I am very glad to be back and so glad to hear from everyone! I'm glad you liked Thranduil's elfling. :) I love writing children. But part of the reason I set this story up so that we see this little glimpse of the future (the next chapter goes back to Third Age 1938) is to make you wonder about certain family members, including Lindomiel. So I will leave you to wonder. :-) Thank you so much for the review! | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/29/2005 |
| What a gorgeous elfling! But I'm worried - there's no mention of Lindomiel or Amoneth. I hope their offspring haven't lost their mothers already. It's good to see the closeness between Legolas and his adar and the 'family'. Although, come to think of it, I don't remember Dier...., Thranduil's naneth being there either. Oh dear, oh dear. I hope the next chapter comes quickly! Author Reply: Hi Bodkin! Glad to see you in the new story! I'm glad you like Legolas. I find it hard to write children (though I love it), especially one's whose adult personality is so well known. It's fun and hard to explore how a child develops into the adult you know. One thing is certain for me though--I like to surround these people with lots of loving family since Tolkien didn't. I just can't help myself. So in addition to loving ada, Legolas is also going to have loving 'uncles' in Thranduil's councilors. Even Uncle Engwe. We will see a bit of each of their backstories in this story. Die...Dieneryn, Thranduil's naneth :-)(sometimes I look at the names I chose for these people and I think--'couldn't you have picked something easier, or at least eaiser to type!) is in this story. But to be honest, I set this up so that the prologue is set in the future of the rest of the story as a cheap trick to make you wonder what is going to happen to some of the characters that aren't mentioned yet. So I will say no more about Lindomiel and Amoneth's fates here. Or anyone's because, as usual, I have two versions of the last chapter written and I haven't chosen which to post yet. It is another of those places that turns the overall plot of the full story in one direction or another. We will all have to wait to see which way it decides to go. In the meantime, thanks so much for the reviews! I really appreciate them. In truth, the thoughts/reactions of reviewers are what help me decide which direction to take these plot turns when they come up. | |
| French Pony | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/28/2005 |
| Happy Begetting Day to Legolas! He is the very picture of five-year-old brattiness. Thranduil may be King, but Legolas is the Begetting Boy, and we all know who trumps who today. Good of Hallion to think of a way to keep the kid distracted so Thranduil can finish whatever it is that he's doing. Visits to ada's office are always special. My ada is a college professor, so there were always lots of writing and drawing supplies at his office. It's like going into this secret den, where your ada becomes something very different than what he is at home, and it's very exciting. Almost like your ada becomes a whole new person. Legolas will grow up to be a very clever Elf with a start like that. Secret passageways in the palace! Were those Nana's idea? Or are they put there as escape routes, following Idril's eminently sensible example? Seeing the secret passageway into the garden reminded me of that bit in Alice's Adventures In Wonderland where she finally gets to go through the door into the garden of the Queen of Hearts where the cards are painting the rosebushes red. I almost expected this to go off in a Victorian-hallucinatory style, but I suppose Legolas isn't quite as sophisticated yet as Alice was -- she was seven, and he's only five. But one does have to wonder what he's seen already that makes Thranduil so nervous. Or is it Thranduil's own paranoia? Whatever. The party is starting. Out with the party hats and tootle on the noisemakers! Yaay! Author Reply: Hi French Pony! I'm glad to hear from you in this new part. :) Legolas is a little brat isn't he? He has ada wrapped around his little finger. I think first kids can do that. For a while anyway. I used to love to visit my ada's office for exactly that same reason--whole reams of paper and pens of different colors and thicknesses and ink pads that you could put stamps into...this list of fun things goes on and on. And ada is a whole different and interesting person in the 'office.' I think that intrigues kids or at least it did me. The secret door in Thranduil's office is, in my mind, Nana's idea (though I didn't make it clear anywhere in the story because the description got too long). This door goes to her garden which she designed as Thranduil's refuge. And it is supposed to have a sort of magical element to a little child's mind. :) We get an look at what makes Thranduil so nervous (both current situations and his own childhood in flashbacks) in this story. I set up the story with this prologue showing a bit of the 'future' for several reasons and one of them was to make you wonder about Thranduil's nervousness. :) Thanks so much for your reviews! They make my day. | |
| lwarren | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/28/2005 |
| Yaaay!!!! Part 3!!! I feel like the little kid who says, "I've been looking and looking and looking for this!" I have thoroughly enjoyed the other parts of Interrupted Journeys, and one of these days I'm going to go back and review every single chapter. As things are at school, I haven't been able to, but I am going to review for this part, or else! (HA!) The first chapter is great...I love your Thranduil, and right off we have Legolas making an appearance! And on his Begetting Day too! The entrance of small children into places where they are not supposed to be is always so very entertaining! :-) Legolas' poor nanny - the long suffering expression for the willful child, who just happens to have his Ada on his side! lol I love Hallion, too! He's still the steadying influence, I see, and what he says, goes - even with elflings! Legolas practicing his writing while Thranduil completes his correspondence is great...I often have to do that with my grandkidlings when I'm grading papers! Legolas and his logic about the use of beech or oak was absolutely priceless, too! I mean, really, if part of Oropher's name meant "beech", it stands to reason he shouldn't use oak!!!! :-) Oooh, a secret door! Into a beloved garden! What a neat present for his father to give him...rather like the magic in those bedtime stories. The interlude in the tree was wonderful...I love the elves' connection to their trees, and the trees' connection to the elves. Let the party begin - I have only one question...where's Legolas' Naneth!???? (I'm almost scared to hear the answer....) Lovely beginning. linda Author Reply: Wow! It is so cool to hear from someone new in honor of a new part of the story. I understand all too well how difficult it is to find time to read, let alone put in such thoughtful reviews as this one. I appreciate it very much--it is nice to know who's reading. :) I am glad you enjoyed the first parts and I hope you continue to enjoy. I was excited to get this part started too. I postponed because I like to have time to give each chapter on last thought before I post and time to answer reviews very promptly but I see that won't happen for a while so I'll just have to do my best. :-) I'm glad you liked the first chapter. I arranged the story so that the first part is set in the 'future' and the rest fills in the plot for a number of reasons. One of them is that I wanted Legolas in there right away, as you said. Given Legolas's personality in the LotR, I love to imagine what sort of child he was. First children are so unique. I think they are probably a little over-indulged (at least initially) because the parents are so happy to have children. And in LotR we see almost no family for Legolas--I just feel the need to surround him with lots of loving family. I love Seidreth (the nanny). She is long suffering, I think. Elven childhood is long. :) I like Hallion too. We see a bit of each of the council members' backstories in Journeys Begin. I like the secret door too. It plays a role in later parts of the story and this was a fun way to introduce it. I kind of thought of it as a cool present since it went to such a special place. I hope you continue to enjoy. Thanks so much for the review! | |