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To See A World  by Nightwing 13 Review(s)
ThilwenReviewed Chapter: 20 on 10/7/2004
Oh rats! I can't remember the password I used to register at Stories of Arda, so I can't leave one of those signed reviews that you can never delete. My plan to overrun your story's review sections is foiled! Here is a review for the past two chapters. I was going to save everything up and do a review after I caught up, but even blind people have the occasional memory lapse. Only in my case, it's more of a special occasion when I don't have a memory lapse.

Awwwwe! Poor Legolas is gettin mad. What a shame! He needed to be shaken up though. As a true friend, Aragorn is one of the safest people there is to nudge him out of his comfort zone. There are so many stories I could share about my friends doing something similar to me. Remind me to tell you about the caffeteria in college.

Aragorn is fortunate I was not the one with whom he was having the "I don't know how to take care of you" discussion. Had I been Legolas, I would have started shooting for that target right then and there. And as for trying to tell me what I could and could not do, I would have suggested he make a journey to a place with a much warmer climate and quite a bit of fire. My friends help me when I ask for it or when they know I'm too shy about asking for it, but I help them too. They don't take care of me. We care for one another because of our love for each other. They never tell me what to do. They might make a suggestions Legolas asked Aragorn to do, but I make my own decisions in the end. I'm glad Legolas asserted his need and his right to be independent.

Very ingenius, having Legolas blindfolded. I can't help but wonder if Tarnin will feel especially betrayed when and if he learns about the blindness. I hope Legolas loses the "I don't want anyone to know" complex very soon. It's not that I don't approve of the way you're writing it. It's just that he's going to get in trouble if he's not careful.

You said you thought being blind must be a very lonely thing. Yes, in many ways it is. People often treat me like I'm about five years old. They'll speak to those I'm with, but not to me directly. Others treat me like I'm a piece of very fragile glassware. They seem to be afraid I'll break into a thousand pieces physically or emotionally if they say or do the wrong thing. Not all people are like this of course. The people who have common sense, the ones I really enjoy being with are the ones who see me as an inteligent person. They are honest about what their feelings of uncertainty. They aren't afraid to ask questions, and they allow me to set my own boundaries.

Ok, I'm off the soapbox again, and I'll try to stop responding to your review responses. Time to see how Legolas does with snow and what the bread tastes like.

Author Reply: I hope you are willing to forgive Aragorn. This is very new territory for him, and he still feels responsible for what happened to Legolas. And since they are surrounded by unfriendly people (who will become more than unfriendly quite soon now), he is justified in his concerns. If either of them gets hurt, there is no where to go for help. And he is being honest about his own uncertainty in how to deal with Legolas. He's rather at a loss sometimes, so flip-flops back and forth.
Hang in there. Legolas is hiding his blindness due to a mistaken sense of pride or some silly thing, but it will matter greatly in the end. I'll say no more on this, as I do not want to give anything away!

fliewatuetReviewed Chapter: 20 on 5/5/2004
The blindfold was a neat trick to deal with Legolas' blindness and his fear of discovery. And it made his performance all the more impressive. That's what I love about Aragorn; I have always seen him as quite resourceful. Though I cannot really share his fears about Legolas' riding that horse. He is an Elf after all and, blind or not, is suppose to have a gentle way with all good beasts:)

fliewatuet

IthilienReviewed Chapter: 20 on 5/3/2004
Lamiel and I in cahoots? Well, yeah, on some things. But on how to review your story? No. No. Let's just say "great minds ...yada yada". As for the look ahead, well, it's one of my failings, I think. I tend to see potential plot bunnies and anticipate what is to come. Ask Thundera Tiger or Maggie sometime. They'll tell you how wacky some of my predictions have been.

I loved the insight into an archer's mind. I had no idea all that was going on up there. I guess I just thought, aim and shoot. Wrongo! Thanks for setting me straight.

What a great solution to an awkward situation! A blindfold, eh? But what is Legolas' thing about keeping his blindness a secret from the boy? Is he afraid of being pitied? Is he afraid the boy's respect will be compromised? He is probably right to all the above, but won't he incur distrust and hurt if (when) the boy finds out? Uh oh, I just had another one of those glimpses into the future. Will the boy have to battle with his trust because Legolas was deceptive? Augh, first the horse for the great escape, then rebuilding trust with the boy. Yep, that's me. If I'm anywhere near right, do I get a cookie?

Speaking of the horse, will you be giving us a peak at how that went? Even in flashback? And if so, could you have Legolas take his shirt off while he's doing so?

One track mind here. I guess it IS a hormone thing (Troy in how many days?), or maybe a certain preoccupation I've had lately with getting the elf naked. Anyway, do what you can. And if not, heh, I'll do something about it on my own. *snicker* Go me. Better yet, go you!

LossenchristalReviewed Chapter: 20 on 5/3/2004
Go Legolas! Champion Archer, sighted or blind!:) I really appreciate the way you make your story realistic, and not happily ever after. Sure, I would have loved to have Legolas hit every shot perfectly, but it is much more realistic to have him miss a few shots and have to concentrate hard. The blindfold was a stroke of genius! I loved it!:) I was thinking that Legolas was going to have to tell Tarnan, but when he walked out with the blindfold, I could only echo Alun in saying, "Clever!" A very good and happy chapter, now for the fiery stallion!;) I can't wait! Please update soon!:)
Namarië,
~Lossenchristal

grumpyReviewed Chapter: 20 on 5/2/2004
great chapter, the blindfold was a good idea, even if Legolas is getting better with the bow. I would have suggusted that Aragorn paint the arrows blue, but he most likely did not have any paint anyway. Looking forward to see how Legolas did with the horse

e_vrouwReviewed Chapter: 20 on 5/2/2004
Yes! I knew he could do it!
Legolas is an archer again. :D

I never would have thought of Legolas hiding his blindness by wearing a blindfold. That's just brilliant! Talk about hiding something in plain sight (metaphorically speaking). :)
You're really good at creating those kind of difficult situations for Legolas and then thinking up a trick or ruse. Like you did with Legolas following sound with his eyes so that he wouldn't appear blind. I absolutely love the scene where he greets his audience and you finally find out what's going on. Why Aragorn is so confident.
Did you think of the blindfold in advance (when you were writing the previous chapter) or did you just woke up one morning and thought: "A Blindfold! That's it!" ?

You know I noticed something. You didn't mention if the first arrow he shot, the one from the cliffhanger, if that hit anything. Did it?

Legolas really is taking those painmedicines a lot. I wonder if they have enough to last them the winter. You mentioned them looking for food and firewood but not medicinal herbs or something similar. It would be really bad if they ran out of medicine.


Still love your chapternames. Keep up the good work!

Hope you update soon!



No cat.... :.(

AlinaReviewed Chapter: 20 on 5/2/2004
Thanks for the cookie! *happily munching away* How could one not get nervous? Oh well... Thanks for yet another wonderful chapter. The idea with the blindfold was perfect, and Aragorn was not the only one happy to see Legolas as the archer he really is. Well done! I loved the descriptions of the archery practice, shooting with bow and arrow myself. You even picked up on the fact that Legolas is shooting without finger protection - note that the Elves at Helms Deep do in the movie. I thought that was a bit weird. Apparently Legolas had especially tough fingers. *smirk* And his arm protectors in the movie are downright dangerous, with the hooks on the INSIDE - but then, he seems so perfect he may never need them. Just as a sidenote, if he does hold the bow in the wrong way and the string hits him his arms will be bruised for days (well, less because he´s an elf)...But he won´t notice, I guess ;-)
Now I wonder whether he´s going to overestimate his abilities with that horse - I hope he doesn´t break an arm, bad for shooting!
Thanks again, this story is truly wonderful!!
Alina

Alisha BReviewed Chapter: 20 on 5/2/2004
As I said many chapters ago, I love your story and will continue reading till the end! Even though I don't review every chapter, know that I'm enjoying it. Well, I'm in a particularly happy mood tonight, and I know how much authors love reviews, so here you go! *G* Keep up the good work!!

OakWolfReviewed Chapter: 20 on 5/1/2004
Wonderful,just wonderful.'Love the blindfold idea,but have to wonder if Tarnan will find out...very nice about"a long stint of piecing together broken elven bones lay before him" Surely you wouldn't smash our darling elf??

.

French PonyReviewed Chapter: 20 on 5/1/2004
Picking up the bow after several months off and shooting for nine hours with no aching muscles to show for it? I suppose that's an Elf for ya. And Aragorn is most gracious about picking up the arrows. Too bad one got broken, though. Now Legolas has, what, three left? Maybe Aragorn might make him a replacement and complete his penance. Or it could be pre-penance for the disaster that the bread is sure to be.

Ah, so you, too, have experienced the weird property about aspirin, that it only works if you take it before the pain starts. That's a pain in the butt, that is. If you take it too soon, you'll wonder if you really needed it, and if you wait till you really need it, it does no good.

I'll bet the kid has figured out about Legolas's blindness. He seems like a smart kid, and most kids are pretty perceptive about things like that. But he is polite not to mention it until Legolas is comfortable. And he's still got the grownups fooled, too.

So far this chapter, we have a very happy state of affairs. This spells trouble. But at least Legolas can hit a large stationary target with something to make noise on it. It's a start. Interesting to hear how he calculates precise angles and variables. I'm sure that he doesn't think of it in the precisely measured way that you describe, what with yards and feet and degrees of angle, though. It must be, for him, more of an amorphous, "adjust to here," "stand far enough back so that the rustling leaves sound like this," "raise my hand so it feels like this," kind of thing. You know when you've gotten really good at something physical when you can feel in your body when you've got just the right form. It's all calculation, but it never seems like it at the time.

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