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| Under My Wing by Edoraslass | 9 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Denise | Reviewed Chapter: 50 on 5/31/2007 |
| Oh, Edoraslass, this series was such a delightful read! I admit that I began paging through these casually, because I know you write a wonderful Imrahil (Fruition notwithstanding...) and I hoped to find a bit of him in here. But I was almost immediately drawn in by your stories of Nanny and Boromir, and soon found myself intensely reading and enjoying each one. You write children very well. Boromir and Faramir are both excellently portrayed here, and the influence of their down-to-earth Nanny is easy to see in the men they will become. I love your Nanny's character - practical, intelligent, sensible, honest, and sensitive to the relationship between her charge(s) and parents. I also loved the glimpses of Denethor and Finduilas's adoration of their children; I especially liked the tenderness that you showed in Denethor when Faramir was young. These and other sweet moments were just perfectly done - touching my heart, never saccharine. I lost count, too, of the many, many times I laughed aloud ("tavern witches", "not sea-oysters" and Faramir-the-cat jump immediately to mind *chortle*). I noted in one place where Nanny comments that Denethor is much more accommodating of Boromir's boyish whims (like not wanting to learn sewing) than he is of Faramir's. Why do you think that is? And the final ficlet, when Nanny learns of Boromir's death - oh, my. It brought home with a vengeance just how much these two were like her own sons. Does she end by marrying Dúrvain? How many children does she have (after her beloved charges)? Of course, since I came here looking for him, I would be terribly remiss if I didn't mention that I adored your Imrahil, as usual, and particularly loved this description (and the entire paragraph it started): "...truth be told, Lord Imrahil made me uncomfortably aware that I was female." Oh, my, yes! Thanks for such a wonderful series, and I'm looking forward to any new additions! Author Reply: Hiya, Denise! I've ignored Imrahil shamefully lately, but I'm glad the little ones were a satisfying diversion! Boromir and Faramir are both excellently portrayed here, and the influence of their down-to-earth Nanny is easy to see in the men they will become. Thank you! I think it's fun to look at the men they became, and try to somehow try to figure out how those characteristics would have manifested when they were children. It's interesting, sometimes, and for me, it often gives me insight into them as adults. I also loved the glimpses of Denethor and Finduilas's adoration of their children; I especially liked the tenderness that you showed in Denethor when Faramir was young. I have to admit that I have my issues with Denethor; he and I get on a LOT better before Finduilas dies. He's just much more accessible. When Nanny learns of Boromir's death - oh, my. It brought home with a vengeance just how much these two were like her own sons. And she was so young when she started taking care of them, they were something like little brothers, as well. Does she end by marrying Dúrvain? How many children does she have (after her beloved charges)? I actually have a co-written story addressing those questions, I just haven't managed to post it yet. Perhaps I'll do that very thing tonight. There should be some Imrahil in the post with all my almost-drabbles, and I'd thought I put up another thingie here which is exclusively bits about Imrahil or Theodred, but I don't seem to have ever gotten to it. Hmmm. Thank you so much for all your kind words! | |
| A. Meril | Reviewed Chapter: 50 on 3/18/2007 |
| This is what I get for posting here, and deciding to browse through the Nannystory after uploading First Meetings, and, and... *copious sniffles* I don't know how I missed this one, EL! It's beautiful and tragic and... Great "distancing" on Nanny after she's been told, as if it's not happening to her, as if she can't feel anything physical because she's so trapped in her thoughts. Author Reply: You're right, it is a bit like it's happening to someone else - she's tried to mentally prepare for this exact moment since she was 18 years old, and it still doesn't feel real to her at all. Thanks, Allie! | |
| Grumpy | Reviewed Chapter: 50 on 6/3/2006 |
| This is so sad, her being told of the death of Boramir,(her little duckling), Boramir was as good as a child of her own. Author Reply: Thank you! Yes, and since she was so young when she started caring for him, that makes it all the harder. | |
| harrowcat | Reviewed Chapter: 50 on 6/1/2006 |
| Is it only me Edoraslass or has this been posted without the new chapter? I got all excited and then.... Author Reply: OH! Since I write these waaaaay out of chronological order, I have to go back and adjust all the chapter numbers each time *groan*. SO I write "NEW" and the date next to the title of the latest chapter. This time four is the new one. Sorry! I didn't have any place to let you know how I work that! | |
| elliska | Reviewed Chapter: 50 on 5/28/2006 |
| I have read this on and off since you started it and thoroughly enjoyed it--sorry for being bad about reviews. But this chapter! Oh my goodness. This was so powerfully done! It made me bawl. Wonderful story. Author Reply: Thank you! Glad to know that you're enjoying the bitties. :) And it makes me all weepy, too, every time. | |
| Tigger | Reviewed Chapter: 50 on 5/28/2006 |
| It's taken me two days to catch up on reading all of these little vignettes of the Sons of the Steward and their Nanny. Oh my...Even though her duty was done once Faramir no longer required a Nanny, I feel certain she must have kept in contact w/"her" boys. In a Noble/Royal Household, it is the Nanny/Governess who mostly does the raising of the children. Even though they would have loved their parents, it would be Nanny who was the one who raised them and who tucked them in at night. This would come as a cruel shock to Nanny. Something she must have prepared herself for considering who her little ones were, but still a shock. I hope she has a chance somehow to somehow learn of/meet Eowyn and Aragorn/Elessar and I don't mean through gossip. She is wondering who comforting Faramir after all and since she would be considered someone important in Faramir's life, I can see him staying in contact w/her somehow. You are doing such an amazing job w/this little series. Looking forward to the next installment. :o) Author Reply: Thank you so much! Yes, I'm oddly intrigued by the fact that nobility basically handed the raising of their children over to someone else (often of much lower rank), and have been known to get irritated(privately) at people who assume that Finduilas was taking care of her boys 24/7. I'm sure she was "prepared" in that "they're soliders of Gondor, and are in danger defending the land" sort of way, but not in a conscious way every day, if that makes any sense. If one could ever be prepared for such news. And I certainly didn't expect to write this much on Nanny when I first started, but there's lots more to tell, I feel sure. They like to talk. :) | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 50 on 5/27/2006 |
| Awwwww. This is the most heartbreaking chapter of all. Nanny and Faramir both need hugs; but at least Nanny has her daughter; I don't think Denethor would be capable at this time of giving or getting hugs. And Faramir would be too busy protecting Gondor in his brother's place to allow himself much mourning time, what with the end of their world coming... Nanny's grief is almost a physical entity, and very well described. It's particularly real that, in remembering him, she lingers over the memories of the child she cared for rather than the young man and the Captain-General he became. At least Nanny isn't a lonely old lady sitting in the servants' quarters of Minas Tirith; she's got a family and home of her own. Author Reply: Thank you! To me it makes sense that she'd remember him as a boy; she doesn't really have a lot of other context for him, having not actually seen him in his position as High Big Shot Warrior of All Gondor. She'd have been scolding him for having wet feet and not eating right til the moment he left for Rivendell, had she still been in Minas Tirith at the time. | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 50 on 5/27/2006 |
| This breaks my heart. But what a fitting post for the Memorial Day weekend. Author Reply: Thank you. This has been sitting on my harddrive for a while, and that is indeed why I decided to post it this weekend. | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 50 on 5/27/2006 |
| Oh, poor Nanny. I'm glad she has her own family to offer her comfort - but nothing will ease the loss of her little duckling. I hope, once the crisis was past, she and Faramir got to spend time together to share their recollections and their love of poor Boromir. They probably need each other very much just now. Author Reply: Thank you. At some point, they will indeed be able to mourn together. | |