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| Brotherhood by Bodkin | 18 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| elliska | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 3/10/2007 |
| I love the holiday excitement here. So well done that I can feel it too. There is nothing better than having little ones in the house for holidays. Their excitement is infectious. Author Reply: It is, isn't it! In fact, celebrations without the wonder of young eyes pale rather in comparison. I'm sure the elves of Imladris are putting an extra effort into this - purely because Estel's delight is so refreshing. | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 1/5/2007 |
| I like the way you show how at home ARagorn is with the ELves,while Gilraen always has a feeling of distance. Another touching and enjoyable chapter. Author Reply: Thank you! I think there might well be the reverse effect for Aragorn when he goes into the world of the Dunedain, too! Imladris is his home - and he is completely familiar with it and the elves who inhabit it, and he would feel, possibly, more uneasy in the Angle than in the wild. Gilraen becomes at home in the end, I think. She has to go out and make friends and find her way - for her son's sake. But it's never really her home - but then, by the time she leaves, she's not at home among the Dunedain either. When Aragorn sets up his own home with Arwen and their kids in Gondor - that's when he probably next feels that he is at home. It's a long wait for him! | |
| Kitty | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 1/2/2007 |
| Gilraen may not think of Imladris as her home, but it is clear that she is feeling much more comfortable now. And even if it is actually more for Estel's sake - I doubt she could feel well at all if she had to live somewhere where she *hates* to be. So I think she may feel at least a bit at home, too. And one thing is very true - Gilraen and Estel have found a family. It seemed so natural that Elladan thought in advance about how to tire Estel out and to get him to take his nap. Estel was so cute here in his excitement and eagerness to help everyone. Though I'm not sure if Iavas is sharing his enthusiasm about the twins joining him in the kitchen, it is another sign of his love to them. And it is so good to know how much he is in turn brightening the life of the twins. Author Reply: Gilraen is more comfortable. Estel is looking outward into the world of Imladris - and she is right behind him. She has to be open and make alliances in order to care for her son properly - and that is her prime motivation. And through Estel she has found - in a way - sons and siblings and a co-parent. It will make it hard (if not impossible) for her to revert to normal Dunedain life and I don't think she ever really belongs anywhere again once her son is adult. Elladan - is definitely somewhere between brother and uncle at the moment. I think real brotherhood will come when Estel is older. Estel is wonderful - and I'll bet he is putting a whole new shine on the celebrations for the elves. They haven't had someone as young and excited as him around for centuries. And I'm sure Iavas will find a corner for Estel - and maybe even spare him some of her powdered sugar. They are all being really rather good for each other. | |
| Agape4Gondor | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 1/1/2007 |
| Very nice twist. I am glad for Gilraen. Author Reply: Thank you. When you have a child, it is easier to be dragged into a new life that revolves round him - so I think Gilraen was probably happier in Imladris than she would have been had Estel not been so young at the time. | |
| Selene Aduial | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 1/1/2007 |
| "But now – Estel’s excitement would ensure that she would be one of those taking part in the celebrations. She had not required Elrohir’s coaxing or Elrond’s carefully-worded invitation – not once Elladan had done his work in letting Estel know the delights in store for him as the youngest by far of those attending the night’s events. The look in her son’s eyes would have been more than enough." Gilrean thinks that the elves are just helping her raise Estel, but they are helping her with her own life too. She just doesn't realises that they are making an effort to coax her out of her gloominess. In the meantime they themselves are helping the elves to become more open. The twins have been pulled out off their endless fight and the rest of them can not resist the charms of a young child either. Author Reply: I reckon that the elves find it easier to accept Estel to their hearts - he is a child and children are good at winning affection - but they are probably more open to accepting Gilraen among them than she realises. But it is hard. Imladris is not the Angle - and she is having to find a place for herself in an alien world. And the end result, really, is that she is not at home anywhere - she isn't an elf and she isn't a normal Dunedain woman. In a way she is a victim - if a willing one - of making Estel into Aragorn and Elessar. I think Gilraen and Estel were good for the elves at this point - and vice versa. But it is a shame that Gilraen didn't survive to see her hopes fulfilled. | |
| lwarren | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 1/1/2007 |
| You do such a wonderful job of showing the gradual way Gilraen comes to accept her life at Imladris. It will never be her home and the elves will never be her people, but she is showing that a connection is growing within her to them. Even if only for her son's sake. I loved the way you show the excitement of the day through Estel's eyes and as usual, the conversation with Elladan about naps and such was so funny! A wonderful addition to these little glimpses of Estel's early life, Bodkin! Linda (I wish you and your family a happy and prosperous New Year!) Author Reply: It's like when anybody has kids, really - you find a life that relates to them. Gilraen must look out into making friends with the elves of Imladris, because Estel needs them - and he draws her out of herself to deal with his needs. And I think she does become at home - just not enough at home to stay there once her son is grown. And then she found that the home she went back to was no longer her home - and she was left alone until she gave up hope. Estel had a wonderful day. Full of every excitement that a kid his age could cope with! Happy New Year to you, Linda - and I hope to read more from your pen soon. And that the kids aren't being too stressful this year! | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 12/31/2006 |
| Heart-warming chapter; the Elves adore little Estel; and have made him part of a very old family, while his youth and innocence have invigorated them. And it's good for Elladan and Elrohir to have something young to nurture; gives them a necessary balance for the other, grim and brutal, side of their lives. I still feel sorry for Gilraen; but she can be happy as long as her son is happy, safe and loved. It's only later, when his life is grim and rather joyless, that she seems to lose the will to hang on. Author Reply: Estel has done wonders - completely inadvertently, just by being young and innocent and enthusiastic. The Elves find him enchanting - and in accepting him, they have extended their welcome to his mother. I think she is at home here while Estel is young - but that she is no longer at home anywhere after he has left to take up his destiny - and once he is committed to Arwen and doesn't need her any more, she didn't want to fight any more. Shame she didn't survive to see him win through, though. But neater, I suppose, to draw a line under the 'before' life. | |
| Dreamflower | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 12/31/2006 |
| Aww...this is just too sweet for words! I am so glad that Gilraen has finally realized that she still has family around her, though not in the conventional sense, or in any way that she once would have anticipated. It's amazing how much difference seeing things through a child's eyes can make! Author Reply: They do become her family - through their connection to Estel, I think. But she feels a bit more like a sister-in-law, one who has a place there while her child is a child, but needs to seek her own place once he has grown. A shame really - I think she ended up feeling out of place wherever she was. A child's eye view - it's doing wonders for the elves of Imladris! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 12/31/2006 |
| Oh, but I love the reminder that for her, too, this had become family indeed. Yes, she needs it as much as her beloved son. Author Reply: For her they are ... more like in-laws, I think. Family, but not blood. But she is welcome and that little live-wire that is Estel is binding her more deeply in the life of Imladris. And she does need to belong. | |
| grumpy | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 12/31/2006 |
| This suonds like fun. Ask Estel if I can come to. I am good at icing gingerbread, well I am good at eating gingerbread. But Estel does not have to know that. Great chapter. Author Reply: Estel is having a terrific day - with virtually every excitement a child of his age can deal with. And I'm sure he would happily share! Thank you. | |