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| Blizzard! by Nilmandra | 9 Review(s) |
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| lwarren | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/5/2005 |
| This is such a good story about the family life Legolas enjoys day to day as he's grown older. I love seeing Tathiel and Lathron and Thranduil and the way they have helped Legolas become such a sweet, loving child. It was inevitable the he discover the not-so-nice side of people...watching his pain and confusion when faced with it was not fun! I was ready to snatch up Abronwe and pin his ears back by the end of this chapter! Emlin is a seriously cute little elleth - I love her name. And Legolas' "tweet, tweet" in greeting was so cute! Fluffy indeed - but fluffy is good where little Legolas is concerned! :-) He has turned into a good older brother...I can remember when he was flying around talking to the baby in Tathiel's tummy and telling it to cooperate! Emlin twirling and watching how her skirt and cloak bell out is so typical - my daughter did it when she was small, and both my granddaughters do it now! LOL The guards are just one more part of Legolas' life that is loving and protective - I liked Magor the Magician! Tathiel had Legolas doing a great botany lesson - name it, describe it, and draw it...lovely! I minored in Biology in college and botany/plant taxonomy were favorites! Enter the new playmates...Narthan is a kind child, but Abronwe really put my back up (and I know about his issues, but he still made me mad! LOL) Legolas is so excited to be playing with kids his own age and a little friendly competition made it all the more fun...however, I got the feeling that Abronwe would have been nastier still if Legolas had shown any notion that he knew he had shown the older ellon up in their acorn game. But Legolas is so friendly - here, let me show you...and cheering for the boy when he did well. I love Lathron - he's still my favorite, and Thranduil is still the best Ada with his little blond whirlwind! The goodnight scene was so nice, but sad as the King thinks how perfect it would be if Narawen was there. *sniff* Of all the things Abronwe could have picked to throw at Legolas to hurt him, I guess he picked the worst. And Legolas' reaction - you described it so well, the tight feeling in his stomach and the knowledge that something was wrong - his thoughts of why was he saying those things? A terrible introduction to the cruelty of others... You know you have succeeded with a character when your readers want to spank him for being so mean! :-) Well done, Nilmandra. linda (Little Legolas Bunny Hutch, hmmm?) Author Reply: Ah, yes, Karri is the keeper of many bunny hutches, including one dedicated solely to children! Her ideas have led to many stories, so if you are ever in need, we'll point you to the hutches and tell you the visiting hours. Bunnies love to be adopted. Glad you liked this look at Legolas's life - he has adjusted well, doesn't even know his story makes him 'different' in any way. He is loved and he loves his family, and he gets to be a big brother to Tathiel's Emlin. Not a bad life at all for a child. But, at some point, reality introduces itself, and even poor Legolas finds that its not just the outside world that can be bad.... people right in his own realm can hurt him too. Welcome to the world, Legolas. :( | |
| perelleth | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/3/2005 |
| Well, my education proved more than enjoyable, although highly demanding in terms of tissues too!:-) I’m amazed at your ability to write such long stories, so full of emotion and feelings and so packed with unstopping action. Amazing. The best compliment I think I can make to that story (MTVPT) is that by the end of it I was able to recognize each and every OC, which is some kind of feat, as my attention span is becoming very diminished in my old age! ;-) Blizzard, now! It was great to find Legolas so fully immersed in his life. It is amazing how well he managed to adjust, and how lovely and caring a child he is. Undoubtedly thanks to the way he was cared for and loved even when the circumstances where so difficult!. So it’s doubly painful to see his confusion at the end of this chapter. That Abronwë seems trouble! I’ll better go and get my tissues! Author Reply: Oh, I should that to the warnings for MTVPT. I am glad you liked it. I hope little Legolas and his home life are believable given what the poor child went through! | |
| perelleth | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/29/2005 |
| As I've found that I'm grieviously illiterate about your Mirkwood, I thought I'd better go and get myself an education first! I'll be back here eventually!!! ;-) Author Reply: LOL! I hope youre education is enjoyable! | |
| Dot | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/28/2005 |
| What a thrill it was to see this there. I read it yesterday morning and it was just the perfect way to spend Easter Sunday. Apart from the fact that I love your world and get completely caught up in it, it was such a joy to have a whole story from you to read! Yay! I loved seeing Tathiel again. And Emlin is adorable! The relationship between her and Legolas is so sweet and it’s probably done him a lot of good to have someone younger than him to love and look after. So, two boys, eh? I had to laugh at the way they introduced themselves – name + status in relation to knife. It was awful to see Emlin’s tears when she was left behind but I can see why Tathiel thought it would be good for Legolas to have some playmates near his own age. One of my favourite things about this story were the glimpses of Legolas’ relationship with his family – like Bregolas teaching him the best way to throw a stone and Celebrinduil showing him how to spin them. I loved those images. Yay, Lathron! I love him! I really liked the part with Thranduil putting his son to bed too. They clearly adore each other and I feel so glad for Thranduil that he has these moments of happiness. “You forgot Alagos,” said Abronwë snidely.” Ouch. Well, that stopped me in my tracks! I like Narthan and the way he offers his sympathy but if I could have dragged Abronwë out of there by his pointy ear I would have! My heart went out to Legolas. It’s never easy to hear such cruel things but this is obviously the first time he has and it must have been devastating for him. The fact that he’s so young and didn’t even clearly understand made it even sadder to see. Author Reply: Writing a story to completion before posting was a new experience for me! I wanted to see if I wrote differently, and if I my writing was tighter or more concise or anything. I am glad you liked being able to read it all at once - I wasn't sure if people would like that or not. Don't think I'll do that with HLIII though! Legolas really didn't understand what was going on. I've had that experience lately, where I joined a community (non-fandom related) and learned about all this in-fighting and trolling and saw such discourtey and disrespect, that I felt a little bit like Legolas! Author Reply: | |
| meckinock | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/27/2005 |
| Is it OK if I put Abronwe over my knee now? What a terrible, cruel little brat. How could he deliberately make Legolas feel awful like that? Emlin is an adorable child, though. I really liked Thranduil's fatherly musings as he watched Legolas sleep. This is a wonderfully touching and warm story. Author Reply: Abronwe needs a spanking, doesn't he? Emlin just popped off the paper at me. I 'see' scenes in my head and write down what I see -and many of those images do not feel created by me, but somehow just show up. Emlin is one of those. I can just see her and hear her. I am just the transcriptionist. | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/27/2005 |
| You've done a nice job of characterizing Emlin. She's energetic and affectionate and cute as a button. How sad that she couldn't play with the big kids. My little sister used to go to my grandmother and mournfully say of my brother and me,"They shut the door. They won't let me in." I feel sad just thinking about it. I like the way you show the guards being charmed by the children too. I think elves must have treasured the young, even when they weren't their own children. In the meantime, of course, Legolas has this wonderful family that plays with him and shows him how to do things. No wonder Abronwe is jealous, especially under what turn out to be the circumstances. Author Reply: Writing how the adults interacted with the children was fun, also to consider how a society which truly valued and loved each child would relate to them. Its an ideal society, where there are no repeat sex offenders living in the next cottage over, or someone who wants to sell the little ones drugs. There is sadness though, and some emotions are natural, unfortunatley, like envy and jealousy. | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/27/2005 |
| Kids are so mean to each other. They just have no idea of tact. It's good to see little Legolas expanding his horizons to include friends, but I think it'll take a while for this trio to settle down together. Abronwe seems to be an elfling with issues. (Emlin is a seriously cute little elleth, though. Tathiel must have her hands full between the two of them.) Author Reply: Tathiel has two very rambunctious, cute as can be, elflings on her hands. Discipline must be hard! And yeah, kids can be terribly mean, unfortunately. Welcome to the real world, Legolas. | |
| The Karenator | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/26/2005 |
| Everything started out so well. Cute little Emlin. Sweet, loving Tathiel. Legolas finding new friends. What's Abronwë's problem anyway? I had a strong urge to turn him over my knee. Children can be so cruel. I can't remember all the details of MTVPT, but were warriors lost during the hunt for Legolas? Abronwë's father, brother, second cousin on his mother's side? Or is his mother just a nasty gossip? Now I'm going to have to go back and reread MTVPT. :>) I can think of worse things to do! Maybe if I'm patient, I'll find out in the following chapters. Very nice, Nilmandra. You've captured the world of a five year old (in human years) beautifully. I've been hoping we would see what you've been working on soon. I'm tickled pink to see this. On to the next chapter. Karen Author Reply: This is mostly fluffy stuff, but I guess more accurately a bit of a character study. Who are these people and how do they live and react to each other? How are they when something unexpected happens? But things are not as they seem, as in real life. | |
| Karri | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/26/2005 |
| Oi! Legolas is so sweet with Emlin! I knew he would make a good big brother. I like the way Tathiel incorporated the herb gathering into lessons – that is the sort of lessons I imagine when I think of education wee ones in those days. Thranduil is just wonderful, as always. But Abromwë! I knew he would be trouble, and sure enough… Ai, poor Legolas, what a terribly thing to be blind-sided with! Must continue reading now… :-D Author Reply: Little Legolas has no idea that he has had an unusual life - its normal to him, so why someone else would talk about him or be mean is absolutely beyond his comprehension. Poor thing. But he is a good big brother, isn't he? I had no idea ;D | |