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| With Hope and Without Hope by docmon | 7 Review(s) |
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| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 8/17/2008 |
| I loved the way you rescued Legolas. You have me wondering however Aragorn will win the respect of Eomer now.A gripping tale! Author Reply: Yes, the Ent did come in handy anyway, didn't he? Glad you liked it. Yes, Aragorn and Eomer have had quite a different introduction than in canon. You have me thinking about some things... (no! don't think!) Thank you, Linda! | |
| Thundera Tiger | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 7/21/2008 |
| You do like to put Legolas through the wringer, don't you? But the great thing about your writing is that you take consequences into consideration. Nobody who goes through what he just did is going to eagerly turn around and face it all over again. There are mental ramifications now coming into play, which is something that is so easy to forget. The physical wounds are obvious. The mental ones are much harder. And cheers for the Ents who finally decided to take matters into their own hands. Cheers for a fiesty Eomer, too, who would have probably preferred to meet Aragorn under canon circumstances rather than these circumstances. I doubt that this is the kind of first impression that the poor Ranger wanted to make. I love what you've done with him, too, by the way. He's twisted and torn inside, and it's difficult to tell if he's even still fighting against Saruman. The beautiful twist you've added is that in joining Saruman, he thinks he's fighting Mordor, and it's toward that fight that he's fueling most of his strength. Vicious cycle, all around. Awesome chapter! Author Reply: LOL >:-D oh, yes, well, it's that evil in me coming out. But I try to look at every character as a *full* character - and that means they have a psyche that will be affected by what happens. In fact, I'm much more likely to look too much at what happens to the psyche rather than forget it. It was fun writing the Ents coming to the rescue, and even writing the fiesty Eomer. But writing the tortured Aragorn has not been fun, I must admit. It's not how I would have him, either. It's how I see him reacting to these events, however. And he does think he's still on the right. The way Saruman posed it, he thinks he's fighting for Gondor, salvaging something of the people he loves. That's on a good day. Otherwise, he's more like a bowl of oatmeal. Mental torture will do that. Sorry! Electric shock? Never mind, I've got a palantir! Thanks for your comments, Thundera, and for your unending encouragement! | |
| Cairistiona | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 7/21/2008 |
| Boy, you really are turning canon topsy turvy ... now Legolas is the one rescued by the Ents! Very interesting how you're managing to rearrange the entire story, and yet somehow retain so much of the mood, feeling and suspense of the original version. And that can only be because the characterization is strong--they all "feel" right. Well, except that they're all battered and bruised and poor Aragorn has almost lost his mind ... I'm hoping that gets fixed before too long. Hmm, Gandalf, where are you?? Now would be a good time to show up .... Author Reply: I have tried to maintain a sense of the canon story while doing the AU shuffle. I'm glad you feel the characters feel right to you. I've aimed for that, and I've kept in mind canon events, while trying to think what would happen instead, considering what's happened differently... like the battering and the bruising. ;-) A good time for Gandalf to show up... ya think? I have an appointment scheduled with Eru himself, to see if he will yank Gandalf from his vacation spot, kicking and screaming if he must... (if he shows up with a tan, try to ignore it! I'll threaten him with a Balrog if he pulls out a bottle of sunscreen...) | |
| Naledi | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 7/21/2008 |
| Oh, poor Legolas! I knew he'd be in for a rough time with the orcs, but being gnawed upon...*shudders* I liked his resilience and determination here. I was nearly cheering when he managed to break free from the orcs and drag himself away, although he definitely needed Treebeard's help to get away in the state he was in. I'd like to think Legolas' previous contact with Treebeard during his first attempt to escape has something to do with the ents' presence at Isengard. I'm glad Treebeard is taking Legolas to Wellinghall. I think that will be the best place for him to recuperate. I'd be interested to see what effect ent draughts will have on him :) Author Reply: Oh, yes, shudder! I told readers they would be glad they had not seen too much of Legolas in the last few chapters. Now they know I wasn't kidding! You are right, Naledi! When Legolas passed through the forest in his attempt to escape, he woke Treebeard. His escape would not have been possible without that moment. And now he gets to visit Middle-earth's answer to the Spa! :-D Thanks so much for writing! | |
| Ithilien | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 7/21/2008 |
| I picked up on this story a week or two ago and have been very impressed with your quick turnaround on chapters. This is a great story! Thank you for writing it! Wow! Thank goodness Legolas got out of there! In my mind, prior to reading this chapter, I was hoping he could find a way to the Ents. The way he was left, I didn't think he would escape and I feared his friends were going to find him after the fact, mutilated and near dead if not dead. It was more a tribute to the Orcs stupidity than any mighty power he had that he was able to get out of there. Still, to be eaten alive... that's some big incentive. I would have fought too. Now he's in better company, though I do hope you'll give him a day or two to recover. Last count, his legs were broken, he'd been hanging for days and likely has a dislocated shoulder (you mention his right hand being useless), not a square inch of his body had been spared some physical torture, and he'd just been stabbed in both sides. He probably has a bite mark or two to show for his time as well. I'm not sure how he even managed to make it up the stairs let alone over the balcony rail. Plus he's been without food or water for Valar knows how long. But he did. Somehow he did. Hooray for the resilience of the elves! Still, I would think a week's healing sleep would not be enough to get him back to a semi-normal state. Thank goodness he has Treebeard helping him now. What ever possessed the Ents to take it upon themselves to act so hastily? Regardless, an army of Ents would be very powerful, especially in Edoras where Theoden's court is sadly being maneuvered. Will Legolas be able to convince the Ents to march? If not, Eomer and Eowyn both realize what is about and I suspect they'll put some action together as well. Those two are clever. Too bad Aragorn and Theoden have been made into such pawns. I'm wondering what it's going to take to snap Aragorn out of his stupor. I guess I'll just have to wait to see what you have planned. Author Reply: Thank you, Ithilien! I have enjoyed many of your stories, so I am thrilled to see a review from you! So, you suspected - or hoped - the Ents would come to the rescue, huh? Well, I certainly couldn't leave him with the Orcs! Yes, being eaten alive, big, BIG incentive to move. Those teeth provided lots of the motivation to keep his feet moving when he had nothing left. Plus, good old elvish resilience, as you said. I was mainly banking on that. It does happen with people, too (finding strength when you've got nothing left - not the elvish resilience). Yeah, he's not in too good a shape. Ya think he needs a day? ;-) It was actually his ankle that was broken, but there was also the arrow wound. And unmentionable torture, including being chewed on! (say 'ewww' everybody!) Yes, more than one or two bites from that. I DID forget that he'd likely have a dislocated shoulder from hanging around in the chains... meh, let's say that was that elvish resilience thing, shall we? :-D The Ents that have moved on Isengard are doing so out of exasperation with Orcs. That's what got them moving. They just finally had enough! Snap Aragorn out of his stupor? I'll think about it... >:-D Thank you for writing! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 7/20/2008 |
| Ah, so the Ents came on their own account, but now have Legolas to assist in raising their full ire and assistance, and Eowyn realizes just how they are being manipulated and the threat against their land that Saruman now poses. Good! Author Reply: Glad you liked it! Canon has gone through quite a bit of twisting here. It may start complaining. But I'm glad it for you worked anyway. thanks for writing! | |
| Ainu Laire | Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 7/20/2008 |
| *twitches slightly* I need one of the muses again. If this story continues as it has been (in other words, my favorite character being slowly turned into a mere shell of himself), one of them will be in these reviews for quite a while. And I have around a dozen muses, so I can cycle through them! This time it's muse!Aragorn. He's like Aragorn, only lacking the nobility, kindness, sense of honor- Aragorn: You are too kind. I know. But it's true. Otherwise you would be kinder to me. Aragorn: The canon Aragorn would have dumped you a long time ago. ... you're likely right. Let's move on to the story, shall we? Oh look, the orcses are hungry! You know, someone knawing on you is rather... unnerving, to say the least. Aragorn: How would you know? You don't want to know. Now, I do love how the orcs smell fear. I really don't know how that's possible, but it's a fascinating study, to say the least. It would make a great scientific research topic, trying to find out how exactly orcs can smell an emotion. Maybe fear comes out through the sweat glands? Aragorn: You're going off topic. Why don't you concentrate on how delighted you are that everyone is out of Orthanc? Oh. Right. I'm delighted. It's great that the elf met Treebeard. Now, one must wonder what in the world they're doing actually causing problems for Saruman when no hobbits stirred them? I mean, to take such action they already had to have an Entmoot, correct? Now who in the world could inspire such a thing? Aragorn: You couldn't possibly be thinking about a certain Maia that was reincarnated after a battle with a certain something from a dark underground city, could you? Oh no, I couldn't possibly think *that*... but in the end, it was the Hobbits that inspired them to act originally. Something- or someone- must have inspired them now. Oh, and this had to be noted- you depicted Treebeard perfectly! I love his manner of speech, and how he talks about blood, and how he is unsure if Legolas is an orc or not. Perfect, perfect. I look forward to meeting Quickbeam too, of course. No Gimli, Merry, or Nazgul, and little mention of Pippin... so let's move on to... Aragorn and Saruman. *starts crying* Aragorn: Not again... Aragorn! How could you agree with him? How could you go along with his plot? Aragorn: I explained this already. I- or he- is very confused from the Palantir and Saruman's slick talk. Though, granted, I would rather give him a piece of my mind and die rather than see this happen... A piece of your mind? Aragorn: The language one learns in LA traffic jams is fascinating. Ah. That would do it. May want to try NY as well, they can be worse, apparentally. Or, if you want to learn some new languages, many big cities in Asian countries have the worst traffic in the world. Aragorn: That would be amusing. *nod* Anyways. I am now more depressed at the end of this chapter than the end of the last chapter. It's all well and good that everyone is out of Orthanc, but here we have Mr. High-and-Mighty Heir of Isildur basically ruining everything he's worked for throughout the last few decades just because he is having issues with a glowing, see-through bowling ball! Aragorn: Palantir. Whatever. You know what, you deserve to be taken by the Nazgul, going with Saruman's plan like that and threatening Rohan with Uruk-hai.. and calling Rohan's army meager multiple times! Way to insult potential allies. Maybe the high wind speeds and cold air from the heights of a Fell Beast will snap you back to your normal self. Or I can just, you know, push you off the seventh level of Minas Tirith if you don't snap back to reality. At this point you're better off dead, really. Aragorn: You could also cut the death threats and hope Pippin will manage to tell someone about my plight? Eowyn or Eomer, perhaps? Yea! And maybe they can kidnap you from Saruman and give you extensive therapy so you revert back to your old self and stop being so, well, un-Aragorn. It's depressing. I miss the rebellious side of you... you're just too predictable and boring as Saruman's lackey. 'I don't know what's real so I'm just going to go along with Saruman and hope Sauron dies'. Bleh. Snap out of it please before I smash my head through the screen. Aragorn: You cannot smash your head through a laptop. Oh, I bet I could if I really tried... This review is getting too long and too off-topic. Aragorn: Brilliant observation there. I know. Oh, BTW. Go see "Dark Knight". Brilliant. The Joker gave me nightmares. But yes, it was a brilliant movie. And, naturally, continue soon. If Aragorn doesn't stop acting like a complete moron soon, though, I'm going to just pull him out, put him in expensive therapy, and replace him with the muse. Aragorn: I'm not going in there. Oh, I don't know, I'm sure you could liven things up... right. Ending the review now. Hope you don't think I'm completely insane! Aragorn: Much too late for that. Shush. Continue soon, Ms Authoress! (I assume every fan fic writer is female until proven wrong, so my apologies if I'm wrong). Continue soon! -Laire (and all the Muses that keep me sane) Author Reply: LOL!!! AL - you are too, too funny. I look forward to your reviews, esp. if your muses come along. Aragorn's even cheekier than your Staff Elf. Tell him NY traffic would indeed be educational - apparently CA drivers find it rude to use your horn - even for instances that a horn is made for! [eye roll from the new yorker] ;-) We NY drivers have _no issues_ with our car horns. ;-D But I wonder if there would also be a difference in "language"... I was afraid orcs having an elf for lunch would be too unnerving for readers - but I tried to warn you! Actually, I don't think I got to warn you here on this site. Sorry about that. And dogs can smell fear, I hear. Anyway, I knew this would be a depressing chapter for people, but everyone just kept asking for Legolas... Glad you enjoyed Treebeard! Thank you! But remember - AU! This is not the same stirring of all the Ents that happened in LotR. A few of them that Treebeard spoke to came along with him. He started it because he was sick of orcs cutting down the forest. That's their motivation here, not Saruman. Sorry to burst your bubble. Oh, and speaking of bursting, there'll be no Quickbeam. Sorry! Treebeard is the only Ent in this cast. Sorry you find Aragorn predictable and boring. But you'll have to listen to your muse on this one. After being weakened by the ...uh, glowing bowling ball, he was easily influenced by Saruman. You'll have to face facts. His will has been broken. Like to see how well you'd do! And you're not the noble, honorable Aragorn... (Plus he's right, you can't smash your head thru your laptop screen.) Hm, replace my AU!Aragorn with your muse!Aragorn... interesting concept. But then I might want to steal him. He's funny. In a smart-alecky kinda way. And yes, female, like most fanfic writers, lol! And this reply is almost as long as your review, so I'll end this! Thank you for writing! I promise to continue and post the next chapter soon! docmon | |