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Midwinter by Bodkin	8 Review(s)
daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 1/8/2006
I always thought of Tolkien's world as a masculine one, but you bring all these women to life here. Author Reply: It is very masculine - but they had to have had wives and mothers. Mostly unnamed and unheralded, but definitely there. Doing what women do best. Good to have you back - even if you'd rather still be on the other side of the world!

elliska	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 12/29/2005
One good thing about going back to work in a few days will be that I will check my email more regularly and not miss updates. This was great, Bodkin! The sad ones are somehow the most interesting to me because I have trouble seeing snow as anything but delightful (primarily because I have always been warm and I only had to drive in it for a few years). The poor dwarf missing her stores of food over her stores of gold! And the whole paragraph that started The elf saw, of course.--I loved that. As sad as it was, I think I actually liked the orc one best. I was amazed by how much you showed about the poor orc's past in so few words. I don't think I often felt sorry for an orc, but I did here. I also loved Elwing and Eowyn's POVs; thier initial sadder memories of snow and their willingness to play in it now. Elrond and Elros were adorable. You need to write a young Elrond and Elros story (ok, I'll shut up now ;-) ) And the Ent was great. I wish Tolkien had broken down and told us the Entwives were safe someplace rather than saying he didn't know what happened to them. And I love the idea of their gardens, so I loved that mentioned the reason the Ents and the Entwives went their separate ways. And the image of the harvest was great. The snow it brought was a blanket that protected the forest’s sleep and slowed her deliberation. Great line. These were a wonderful idea, Bodkin! Author Reply: Thank you! I found the sadder ones easier in many ways - because there is really only so much fun you can have in the snow! It gets a bit repetitive - although I did enjoy seeing Elros go wild and Elrond patting piles of snow into walls! I found it - interesting - disconcerting, maybe, how little feel I have picked up of many of the females who must have been involved in the production of all these lines of ancestors, yet who do not even merit a simple name on the family trees. And I like to think that, in some ways, she was more of an individual to an elf who hadn't spoken to her than she was to her father-in-law. The orc - I enjoyed writing that one. Her fate seemed particularly horrible - I would like to think that when these orcs were killed their fear were released to Namo's Halls and that, eventually, they might be healed enough to return as the elves they were born to be. Ents - like elves - have time on their side, so they might wander back in each other's paths some time and the ages apart could be dismissed. Or perhaps not. I'm glad you liked them. I hope you are feeling lots better now.

Redheredh	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 12/28/2005
Oooh! You did them! :D Orc was fascinating. Was she once an elf or is she an orc 'trained-up and made docile' for slavery. Perhaps given as a reward to an ambitious captain. Perhaps an original Firstborn taken captive. Hers was a sad reflection about the deceiving comforts of dark and light. I could not help but think of Smeagol. Elwing was such a relieving contrast to the first. and yet knowing what was coming... I liked the distinct characterization of her two sons. Ent was totally amusing in the distracted way she experienced the seasons and how the thought of him took a year to complete. :) Exiled was a human reflection of Orc, imho. I suppose that sounds odd, but a warrior's wife often has a different feeling of self-worth than the wife of an adventurer such as Elwing and Ent-wife. Her world has drastically, deceptively changed too. Elrond :) kind as summer. Dwarf reminded me of Hobbit. It has that same 'down to basics' feeling; both are about living and not just surviving. To me, Eowyn was reminicent of Elwing. She had to let go of tragedy and chose happiness - the blizzard had passed. But, what I found most interesting in this set was an age-old theme. Until the last segement, when Eowyn joins her husband and children in the snow, these wives were defined not only by the men in their lives, but by their men's absence in their actual lives. In the first set, there were some supportive male kin and spouses in the segments with them. In this set, only for Eowyn. I was grateful for the happy ending segement in both sets. All are just wonderful and the writing all the more wonderful for being so creatively structured. Triple drabbles+ ;) Thanks so much for sharing these. Author Reply: I pictured the orc as a Firstborn, captured and twisted. I felt that allowing her some apparent freedom would appeal to the perverted - especially if any of the Firstborn who saw her might be in some way aware of what she was. I hadn't thought of Smeagol, but you're right. Elwing and Eowyn were the happiest here - although the dramatic irony of knowing that this was probably Elwing's last winter with her sons adds a certain sorrow. Although the Dwarf has survived and will survive and her small group of kin will find refuge - and, if an Ent has anything, it is time. I felt for Isildur's wife - women in much of the histories seem to be robbed of individuality, frequently not even being dignified with a name and existing merely to produce a list of sons. She had twice been robbed of the familiarity of home and is now about to be abandoned in a strange land among different people with only her youngest son - while the rest go off to a war from which none of her close family will return. The orc - very alone. Elwing - well, we all know about Earendil! The Entwife did the leaving, I think - but there is still some possibility of rapprochement(although not much). The dwarf isn't alone - she has her son and a few of her kin with her, but they are in shock. But Eowyn is the only real happy ending. Thank you. I am glad you liked these. They were fun to do.

perelleth	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 12/28/2005
Uh, you got me there... Which are the self-imposed rules in "Reflections?" (Apologies, but I´m a very very Aftercomer to that.. ;-) Author Reply: They're very boring rules, really. Each Reflection can be no more than two pages of Word and nobody can speak except Elladan, Elrohir or Legolas. Which is why any other characters who feature are usually asleep! I think Aewlin is sleeping on her adar's lap in one - and various babies have had non-speaking parts. They vary in word count - I think (since the word count feature arrived) the shortest is about 750 and the longest is about 1100. It depends how much they interrupt each other. There have been one or two that only had two of the three - the one after Elladan's wedding and, I think, when Elrohir's babies were being born. Though I'm not entirely sure without checking. I think Legolas has been in all of them.

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 12/27/2005
Oh these are just as brilliant as the first set! I think my two favorites here are Elwing, with her little sons, and the Dwarf, dealing with the displacement from the Dragon. Beautifully done! It's amazing how much can be done with a single word, and a single theme! Author Reply: Elwing's is quite happy - and yet I found I was being affected by knowing that she was unlikely ever to be able to play in the snow with her sons again! The Dwarf is a very determined female - and would happily surrender gold to protect her son - but she is in a totally alien environment and is finding it rather a culture shock. I'm glad you liked them. I find drabbles just too short for me - I'm too wordy - but this length works well. The theme is great as well, because snow is a dislocation even to those who are used to it and expect it. It makes you stop and look. We actually had about five minutes of snow yesterday - it's rare enough to be exciting! Thank you.

perelleth	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 12/27/2005
Of course, you made me go and do a random word count to check that wonder! 315! the magical number! Wonderful! I suppose that´s why I like drabbles. To impose onself a certain number of words and fitting into them is entertaining and kind of challenge... so congratulations there. I also like the beginnings, with that dry, reflective sentence that sets the mood for the piece. It is -to me- as it made snow-silence all around and called for attention. Even Eowyn´s, with its inner happines seems reflective and a bit melancholy. Cold has that effect, I think. I liked the dwarves´very much, the isolation and the shock and the memories... Don´t know why Isildur´s wife did not hit me the same way; maybe because this dwarven female seems to be alone, and at night, and in the middle of the forest with her little child... and they seem far more vulnerable to me. All in all, this has the air of a BBC´s wildlife documentary, Bodkin, full of hinted details, striking images and a good narrator! Thanks! Author Reply: I don't know why 315 turned out to be such an easy number to write! The count was never more than a few each way and it proved quite simple to trim or add a few words - I quite like self-imposed rules, really. Like the Reflections - I'm sure it's one of the reasons I'm still happily writing those. I read somewhere once that being protected from winter is what people enjoy - but that can be quite isolating. And snow is very sound-absorbing and it is different - it sort of cuts you off from normal life. The dwarf female appealed to me - she had a practical humour and a determination to survive. She is dealing with a world that is very strange to her - but she is indomitable. Isildur's wife - like so many females (moan, moan) she is pretty much a non-person. One who must have existed, since Isildur couldn't have cloned his four sons, but who doesn't even merit the dignity of a name, let alone a character. Yet she has been twice rent from her security and sent to seek a new home - and she is just about to lose her husband and three older sons to war. She is, I think, in shock - and I don't know how well she will cope with it. She is, I suspect, used to being looked after and conducting herself according to rules. I'm glad you liked them - they were a sudden seasonal temptation, but, as you can see, some of them are making me think far too much about certain characters! Thank you.

shirebound	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 12/27/2005
Yet now – even the bitter Edoras wind and the lingering drifts from the week-long blizzard could not freeze her. There was a warmth in her that nothing could chill: a warmth that had found its origins in Faramir’s eyes and deepened it hold on her with the touch of his hand and twined itself around her very being with his love. Pulling on her gloves, she ran briskly down the steps where once Wormtongue had been thrown. It might not be ladylike: it might not fit Gondor’s perception of suitable behaviour for the Princess of Ithilien, but she was going to play in the snow with her husband and children. Another fascinating series of points of view! And again, I so appreciate you ending them with hope and love. Author Reply: I was glad to be able to end them with a happy experience. It was harder to be fluffy with these few - there are only so many times that youngsters building snowmen can be interesting! - and so many of those thrust into experiencing snow would be under stress. These were such fun to write - I'm glad you liked them. Thank you.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 12/27/2005
Ah, more beautiful glimpses of snow from different perspectives. That of the orc is most chilling; that of the slow thought of the Entwife is very sad; that of Elwing somehow reassuring; that of Eowyn wonderfully warm for she who is no longer frozen by reserve and despair. So wonderful to see her run to play, and to perdition with protocol expected of a princess! Love that she and her family all were playing in the snow! Author Reply: I found it harder to come up with the fluffier ones here - there are only so many ways of having fun in the snow and yet, sadly, there are a lot of people who would have less joyful experiences. I felt very sorry for the orc - and was glad to end with Eowyn's happiness. Elwing's experience is actually quite happy, but coloured by the knowledge of how little time she had with her children. Thank you - I think this is now it for experiences of snowy winters! I'm glad you liked them.

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