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Twice Twenty by Dreamflower	6 Review(s)
Queen Galadriel	Reviewed Chapter: 21 on 3/11/2006
I can't believe I'm saying this about a (as I believe Baggins Babe puts it) "jumped-up piece of jewelry," but you've captured the escence of the Ring perfectly. God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: Thank you. I think the Ring was just as much a "character" as the members of the Fellowship. It really seemed to have a will and malice that operated on its own. Author Reply: Thank you. I think the Ring was just as much a "character" as the members of the Fellowship. It really seemed to have a will and malice that operated on its own.

Gryffinjack	Reviewed Chapter: 21 on 11/15/2005
This is spot on. My only question is as to Frodo's being able to act as a shield to shield Sam, Merry, and Pippin from the Ring. Unless you mean that their love for Frodo was their shield, I disagree. However, the depth of the love that all three of them had for Frodo and their desire to protect him from danger, now that would act to shield them from the Ring. " Try as it might, it had gained no quick hold on any of them, and was beginning to simply count on persistence to wear one of them down." Yep, in the end, that's what the Ring resorted to, the only thing that could work against Frodo. But even then, it was too late. "This Dwarf however, seemed to be all but deaf to the whispers…" This is but an example of your wonderful use of language, not only in describing the Ring's thoughts, but in the sound of the way you string your words together. It is like poetry, only in prose form. You have fantastic linguistic skills. "Ah, yes, the other Man. He could hear the whispers, loud and clear, and he did not seem to understand what they were. Pride was there, and despair, and anger… Ah, yes. Yes, indeed." sniff Poor Boromir. He deserved better. However, he did not let the Ring conquer him in the end. He stumbled and fell, but when he got up, the Ring had no more power over him and he regretted his actions. And then, Boromir did what was right and acted to protect the Company again by fighting and giving his very life to save Merry and Pippin. So in the end, the Ring lost and did not conquer any of them. You certainly do describe how sentient the Ring is as well as the thoughts it would have had. It is a cold, cruel, calculating thing that cares not about the tools it uses to gain its own end. Author Reply: I think their own love for Frodo protected them from the start; you will notice the Ring's frustrations with their varied reactions, never truly understanding the underlying commonality of their responses: love for Frodo. But I do think that when It contemplated an all-out assault on them, that Frodo used his own love, and will, to protect at least those three companions from any further blatant attempts. Whether he could have shielded them indefinitely from It's poisonous drip,drip,drip of insinuation is another matter. But It turned It's attentions away from Hobbits when larger prey became available, so we wouldn't really know about that. I do think, though, that ultimately it would have been Merry's, Pippin's and Sam's own love for Frodo that was the greatest shield, as I have someone else realize, a little further down the line... I'm so glad you think my language poetic! That's my worst self-doubt. I think I do well with characterization, and my plotting is plausible, but I have a lot of doubts about my style. It always makes me feel good when someone likes it. Yes, poor Boromir. Yet, as we both know, the Ring could not keep It's grip on him at all--it only took a stumble to loosen it, and danger to Merry and Pippin to drive it away altogether. I do think the Ring was sentient, although I am aware there's a bit of controversy on that particular subject.

lindahoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 21 on 9/23/2005
I enjoyed this very much, I love to imagine how the ring affected the members of the fellowship. Author Reply: Well, now you see how I imagined it. The poor Ring really never stood much chance with any of them save Boromir, and it actually couldn't even get it's hooks into him more deeply. Imagine how disappointed it must have been when he didn't chase after it, and a simple stumble was enough to tear its grip loose. Of course, with time enough, it could have snared them all, but Frodo outfoxed it by leaving them.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 21 on 7/17/2005
Yes, I see the Ring acting in this way. Author Reply: Me too. I know that some people don't agree that the Ring was sentient, but I think that there are a lot of hints to the contrary in the text. JRRT says over and over that it wanted to be found and taken to its Master, and that it corrupted people's wills. I think that definitely shows sentience.

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 21 on 7/4/2005
Very insightful! We all know the ring tried to seduce everyone, but I can't remember another story from this POV. The ring must have been quite frustrated before It got the hold on Boromir, the more because this was useless in the end when he was killed. Frodo and Sam were no easy prey, and when Frodo at last succumbed to the Ring, it was already too late. The Ring was too much filled with hatred and malice to understand love, I think. Poor Frodo, ist must have been very hard to fight this permanent whispering for so long. Author Reply: I think that the Ring probably did get frustrated. Not only was Its hold on Boromir useless because he got killed, but also because he threw that hold off. Think about it. If the Ring had truly got Its hooks into him, just tripping and falling would not have been enough to bring him out of it or make him remorseful. Frodo taking himself out of his presence would have made no difference, he would have tried to follow, he would not have just given up. The Ring never understood love, though It knew the word, it tended to confuse "love" with "desire to possess"--which of course is not at all the same thing. I am certain it was hard for him to continually be fighting it off, and holding it away from his loved ones.

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 21 on 7/4/2005
Poor Boromir. Isolated. Desperate. Of course he is most vulnerable to the siren call of the Ring. I like the solid resistance of the Dwarves. The Ring must have found that very frustrating. And it won't have begun to understand how love could shield people. Author Reply: Yes, his despair and anger has been fueled by Denethor, and he is yet isolated, for he has not yet had time to form firm ties of love and friendship with the rest of the Fellowship, and by the time that he has, the Ring already had its hooks in him. But I think that those ties were what made it possible for him to throw it off at the last--though too late to keep him from falling in the first place. Aule certainly did make the Dwarves solid, and that built-in resistance to domination had to have been frustrating to an entity whose sole purpose in existing was to dominate, LOL! No, the Ring never understood love. You will notice that the only time it even mentions the word is in relation to Arwen, where it makes the mistake of thinking that love=wish to possess.

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