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On Being the Youngest by Bodkin	31 Review(s)
ShimmeringWater	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/18/2007
Nice job. This is a perspective I've never heard before. Author Reply: Thank you, ShimmeringWater - (what a nice name) - I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was fun putting Legolas and Pippin together.

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/21/2006
Although I myself have never thought of Legolas of being particularly young, as he remembers the search for the Entwives, nevertheless the thoughts here are marvelously presented from the point of view of one who is young yet more capable than others are likely to recognize--at least at first. And I love that the tree seeks to hide Pippin! Wonderful! Author Reply: Legolas seems young to me - at least in elven terms - open-minded and curious to experience life beyond the shadows of his home - and I like to think of him sharing those qualities with a young Took. Thank you!

Raksha The Demon	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/16/2006
I came across this gem at the MEFA 2006 Awards, finally got around to reading and reviewing it, and am very glad I did! The image of Pippin and Legolas sharing a tree-branch and a conversation in Rivendell is endearing enough, but their conversation, and the differences and kinships it reveals between the two future Walkers, is delightful. The writer characterizes Pippin beautifully, as a very young, optimistic, hobbit, but not an utter nitwit, frightened of the horrors that would await him if he is chosen for the Fellowship but also wanting to go to support Frodo, and also showing considerable native cunning in his assessment of the most desirable qualities for the dangerous adventure. Legolas is friendly, yet distant from the hobbit because of the gulfs that lie between hobbit and elf as well as the difference between the beloved heir of a provincial squire in a sunny, peaceful land and a warrior-prince raised in a land besieged by darkness and monsters. Yet there is respect and liking between the two future comrades. The speech patterns are perfectly appropriate to hobbit and elf, which is not an easy thing to write, let alone bring off so well. I loved Legolas' line: ‘And when you are talking to elves who remember the War of Wrath, you know you will never have a hope of being considered truly adult.’ It really brings home the otherness of the Elves, by noting that there are those among them who recall battles fought 6000 years before! Yet the sentiment of mild frustration by a person looked upon as youthful by older ones who have seen war a long time ago, is universal. A marvelous look at two beloved LOTR characters. Author Reply: Thank you, Raksha. I'm glad you liked it. Pippin will soon outgrow being the youngest - but Legolas won't! Not, at least, until he's in the Blessed Realm. I think they would have found they had something in common - and they are both open and curious enough to want to learn more about eath other. This was fun to write - they are interesting characters to play with.

Pearl Took	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/17/2006
Judging by the number of reviews this has, I don't "get out" enough! This is a wonderful story! I found out about it from Dreamflower's "The Three Hunters". I love how easily you have Legolas and Pippin relate to each other, and that Legolas senses the intelligence in Pippin. ******* ‘I am remarkably young for an elf, master hobbit. If you listen, you will hear me being reminded of it constantly.’ The look they exchanged contained a significant amount of fellow feeling. ‘Do they say ‘when you’re as old as I am’?’ Pippin asked. ‘And ‘of course, you’re too young to remember’ and ‘when you’ve had a bit of experience, then you’ll be able to talk’?’ ‘Pretty much,’ the elf admitted. ‘And when you are talking to elves who remember the War of Wrath, you know you will never have a hope of being considered truly adult.' ************** This passage is priceless!! Bravo, Bodkin :) :) :) Author Reply: Thank you - I'm glad you like it. Just think, too. Pippin will outgrow being the youngest - and have children and grandchildren and one day be an old gaffer. Legolas never will. Even if he marries in the Blessed Realm and has his own children he will always be thousands of years younger than most other elves. (I really don't envy them their immortality at all!)

AspenJules	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/17/2006
Oh, Bodkin, this was an absolute delightful read! I learned about it from a quote and a link in Dreamflower's The Three Hunters and came to see for myself and I'm so glad I did! There's so many parts I enjoyed, and many others have commented on them as well, but one thing in particular that I liked was that the beech was unwilling to give up its secret that Pip was hiding there, and that that was a bit surprising to Legolas. I'm sure he was used to being the one with the best relationship with the trees, and to find a tree torn in its loyalties between him and someone else must have made him even more interested in making Pippin's acquaintance. I love your Pip-voice. He's so sensible and matter-of-fact and yet you see why he feels free to be goofy and irresponsible at the same time. As you've said in some of your replies, he is supremely confident, in his relative ignorance of the evils out there, in his youth, and in his utmost determination to go with Frodo (because Frodo needs him and Merry) whether he's chosen or not by Elrond. Another aspect I found thought-provoking was the discussion of who was to go. Beyond the whole "noticeable vs. unobtrusive" debate, I was wondering if it wasn't also a "too many cooks" scenario. If you have a wizard/Maia, the future king of men, an elf-lord of Glorfindel's stature... would you have conflict with who leads? They ended up having difficulties with Boromir feeling in charge too. Not that Glorfindel couldn't have gotten along but... they had leaders enough... did he consider wanting others with a good range of skills but without delusions of leadership? Choosing a young elf, warrior none-the-less, but one more amenable to others leading, might have played a role as well. And just what did he tell Thranduil?!? Now there's a story to tell! Finally, it was a lovely bit where Legolas becomes aware of just how protected the Shire is. That must have been a little bittersweet for him, with how dangerous his own home and growing up was, to realize that Pip had been able to grow up the way he did. At the same time, I'm sure his respect for the hobbits grew as he realized how much of a leap it was for them to go out into the dangerous world, and his understanding of their love for Frodo because it was for him that they were doing it. And I imagine him beginning to feel protective for them because he's so much more knowledgeable than they are about just how dangerous it could get, even if he doesn't have as much knowledge of the world as others might - he has more than they do. Ok, sorry this turned into a novel, but it all just set me thinking.... Author Reply: Thank you! I can see Pippin having a good relationship with trees, somehow. Merry - not so much - though he is a water hobbit! Although Pippin is so young, he has spent most of his life associating with older hobbits and I think he has a good head under his apparent insouciance. I see what you mean about too many leaders! I like Boromir, but I think he was a bit uncomfortable in the Fellowship - Faramir, as a Ranger would have been a better fit ... except that, in the end, it was far more important for him to be in Ithilien that day. Boromir's not good at being shadowy - the rest of them are quite good at slipping through though. Even Gandalf. But I doubt Thranduil was pleased when Legolas didn't come back. In a way, it's rather nice to realise that not everybody lives in an environment as threatened as your own. It can also be rather embittering - but I think Legolas would appreciat it - and recognise the courage that brought these four out of the Shire. And he would want to protect them - it's part of his nature, I think. It's fun speculating on all these characters! I'm glad you enjoyed this.

elliska	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/19/2005
This is great. I so can see this conversation happening. This dialogue was just great--it is amazing to me how much depth you work into a fun/lively conversation. I love Pippin and Legolas having so much in common--right down to liking apples. And I think you captured Pippin's voice really well here. Wonderful! Author Reply: Thank you. Dreamflower said something about 'No Legolas and no hobbitses' and suddenly this picture just popped into my head - and they started to talk. It's funny to think, too, that little Pippin is much more likely to grow out of being the youngest soon than Legolas - who will have to wait until he gets to the Blessed Realm. It had me wondering if one of the reasons he really took to his mortal friends was because they were young and light-hearted. I'm glad you like Pippin - hobbits can be hard. They're both more mature and younger than you think. At the same time. Typical hobbits!

lwarren	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/17/2005
This is so refreshing - just the thought of these two 'up a tree' and engaging in some light-hearted (yet somehow serious) reflection is intriguing. I have always liked the thought of Legolas and Pippin becoming fast friends while on the quest (ever since reading "Fate and the High King's Falcon"). This is so enjoyable - I dearly love the way your dialogue just flows along, with little gems of insight and humor scattered along the way! "You can't not notice Glorfindel." Isn't that the truth, Pip? And I had to grin hugely at poor Legolas' observation that when talking to elves who had lived through the War of Wrath, you know you will never have a chance to be considered an adult! LOL Well, I guess if you look at it THAT way... :-) Anyway, this was great stuff, and somewhat of a surprise...but I loved it! Here's to surprises...may Bodkin bless us with many more...... linda Author Reply: Thank you! I think a tree would be a good place for Pippin and Legolas to get to know each other - and I reckon they would get on. Pippin has a mischievous streak a mile wide that seems to go with the light-heartedness of wood elves. Elrond must have been looking for a team to sneak through - and Glorfindel certainly isn't a good candidate for that. Far too golden. Legolas is a lot older than Pippin, for sure - but at least Pippin has a chance of growing out of being the youngest and making his mark on the Shire. Legolas, on the other hand, is going to remain the youngest until he settles in the Blessed Realm - and even then, he is still going to be surrounded by elves old enough to remember the Two Trees / living under starlight / waking at Cuivienen. Growing up must mean a whole different thing to elves. I'm glad you liked it. Not an area I've touched on before - but fun.

eliza61	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/15/2005
Bodkin, As usual you have written another great story. I can see Pippin & Legolas hiding in a Beech, chomping apples and chatting away the day. Isn't there a saying "out of the mouths of babes". Even after a run in with the Nazgul, Pippin still believes he can help out. I think maybe perhaps Elrond knew their worth after all (Hey, being son in law to Galadriel some thing must of rubbed off.) Anxiously awaiting your next post, Eliza Author Reply: Thank you. The Nazgul incident doubtless knocked Pippin's confidence for a bit - but he's young enough to bounce back - and he's not about to let Frodo dive into adventure without a Took by his side. Legolas's curiosity and openness to new experiences must have made him a good elf for the task - that and that, being young and having been mostly confined to Mirkwood, he was not on Sauron's equivalent of radar. Elrond was very wise to go with his instincts on this rather than more everyday common sense. (Son-in-law to Galadriel - a tough call, but no-one better than the descendant of Elwe, Melian, Finwe etc to take it on. He had toughness bred in his bones!) More - of something or other - soon!

Redheredh	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/14/2005
...been running on Ent-time lately... Too funny! Besides being enormously clever and insightful! "Remarkably young" seems right to me. ;) Author Reply: Thank you! Ent-time sounds a good sort of time. As long as everyone else is operating on it too. I can see elements of these two that would draw them towards each other - quite apart from being the youngest, although that is certainly a bond! And they are the best candidates for the job. I'm glad Elrond saw that!

perelleth	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/14/2005
Queen of dialogue is your other nick, isn't it? This was so refreshing, just before going home! I really liked the exchange between this two... the way they both knew ( and we ignored) what was going on, Pppin's unfathomable's pockets, Legolas amused reflections upon his own role and his home... Pippin's matter of factly comments about hobbits and how they must stick together... and he knowing about the search party. Lovely! And I can see Legolas musing about those sentences "When you're as old as I am..." LOL the gap age is way more aggravating, in his case! :-) You are doing a great job, Bodkin, at least in bringing smiles, and food for thought to me! thanks! :-) Author Reply: Poor Legolas. At least Pippin's life as the youngest has a likely end to it! But Legolas won't get to know younger elves until he sails - I wonder if that is some of the attraction of his mortal friends - and he will eternally be surrounded by those who are literally ages older than he is. This was fun. I can just picture Merry earnestly looking for his cousin as Pippin sits and chills out in a tree. (Hobbits have hints of the elven about them as far as I'm concerned - an empathy with the natural world and an ability to disappear in plain sight.) Thank you. I love these little stories that jump out full-grown and just ask to be written.

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