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Time's Turnings by daw the minstrel	31 Review(s)
Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/21/2005
The contrast with Galelas's bunch of losers makes the family Thranduil seem even better. They make mistakes - but they are mistakes made through love and with the intention of helping each other, whereas Tinar! and Gewiel!! and his mother !!! and father !!!! I'm really not sure which is the worst. I think Tinar is a victim of appalling parenting just as much as Turgon ever was. Poor Galelas. I hope he doesn't spend long in Mandos's Halls, and then finds himself a REALLY nice, kind, generous, strong-willed elleth to look after him and make up for his hideous parents. (And that his parents and Tinar decide to stay in Lasgalen indefinitely.) Ithilden is being soooo careful not to put a foot wrong with Sinnarn - it's so easy to blow that kind of meeting, but he did well. 'Parent-induced world weariness' is such a wonderful phrase. Recognised by all parents of teens and older. Though it will be a long time before Sinnarn realises that he doesn't know everything. The image of Lorellin kicking Thranduil under the table to get him to keep his mouth shut is absolutely delicious. Such a perfect method of king-control. I long to hear more about the pair of them! And Thranduil releasing the controlled information that it was Lorellin who wouldn't give in to Ithilden's desire to become a novice early. I just love seeing his long-held beliefs turned upside down. It's great seeing an approved-of-Eilian feel able to tease Ithilden and Thranduil. He is so rarely in that position! They're all at the point of noticing that Legolas is grown up, yet they all still tend to baby him - even Beliond! And they are forcing themselves to give him a bit more freedom, even to teaching him to pick locks. He is very self-effacing, though - I suspect Eilian forced the pace a bit more, but then he would. I think he should keep trying to coax more information about Lalorn, though. And not just because I want to know about it. And OF COURSE Thranduil will know that Beliond trained his son in house-breaking skills. Who else could have done it? And Thranduil's concern that Legolas is about to take Men under his protective wing - I think he's done that before. More than once. Great story. Don't leave it too long. You'll start hyperventilating from withdrawal. Author Reply: In some ways, Galelas has been saved as a person by the fact that his parents favored his brother. Tinar was ruined completely. One of my reviewers once said that being Tinar was both his crime and his punishment and I thought that really rang true. Ithilden is a wonderful father, although he makes mistakes too. I'm thinking of him trying to deal with Sinnarn after the dwarves escaped. But Sinnarn knows in his bones that he's loved. That's one reason he can be so obnoxious! I wish I had more chances to write about Lorellin. JastaElf suggested I write a story set just before her death. That would have baby Legolas and his nana too. And Eilian is basking in his father's approval. Not that he ever curbs his impulses much to get it. He only notices afterwards that there's going to be trouble. I've been trying to build up Legolas of the Fellowship here and he does come to the aid of men so you're seeing that. And that thing about hyperventilating? It's only too sadly true.

White Wolf	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/21/2005
Another fine layer added to the tapestry of your version of Legolas's life and family. I like the way Ithilden handled Sinnarn. I also like it when you write about Lorellin. I hate that Legolas didn't get the chance to grow up with her. There would have been a special bond between them, I think. I'm happy Beliond decided to teacht Legolas how to pick a lock. Nice scene, though a little sad because of the memory of Beliond‘s son. Do you know what age Legolas will be in your next story? Author Reply: I enjoyed the chance to write about Lorellin. I hardly ever get to do that. I wish I could write from her POV but since I'm writing from other people's memories, I can't. Sigh. The thought of Beliond's son makes me sad. Of course he wishes someone had been there to protect Lalorn. I assume he'd have died himself if he could do it to protect his child. That's one reason he's so tenacious with Legolas. I don't know what I'm going to write next yet. I have a bunch of ideas. I'll have to see what I feel like when I get through with some stuff at work and have time to write again.

Alison H	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/21/2005
"Do not talk like a halfwit"----I laughed out loud when I read that line! Beliond sure doesn't mince his words.I really enjoyed the ending to this most enjoyable story, especially Beliond teaching Legolas to pick locks and then speaking so wistfully of his son.I just wanted to hug him.You certainly have tremendous depth in your characters, Daw. Ithilden & Alfirin have their hands full with Sinnarn but he is a good kid at heart.He knows that he has the love of his entire family to help him through his formative years.He'll be all right. Once again you finish a wonderful story only yo leave your fans wanting more! Take some time and relax---but hurry with your next story.I'm addicted!! Ali. Author Reply: Beliond is the last person to ever mince words! He and Thranduil must have gotten along well. Neither one of them would hold back at all. I've gotten to know Beliond a lot better as I wrote this story. I wrote backstory for him to use in it and it just made him more real for me. And Sinnarn is a good kid. Except for that little problem with the dwarves, oh and the one with the dragon, he's done pretty well so far in my stories and Annael's daughter loves him. That's pretty idyllic, I think. He'll get to be part of Annael's family now and I love them. Thank you, Ali. I need to work for a while so I can keep getting paid to support my fanfic hobby, but then I'll be back.

Rose Sared	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/21/2005
Thank you daw, another most enjoyable story and a nice gap filler for family and other relationships. I am so impressed by your consistency of style and plot - one day I hope to get back to my own writing and you are a great role model. (awww shucks) Rose Author Reply: Thank you, Rose. I was thinking about you just the other day, wondering if you were still writing. Also wondering if we'd ever get to NZ. I still want to do that. One of these days maybe.

Brenda G.	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/21/2005
Ahhhh! That is the sound of satisfaction coming from one of your many fans. I applaud the perfect ending to all the aspects of this story and to each character's part in it. Well, the lump in my throat from the chapter before this one has turned into full-blown tears at this chapter's end. The exchange between Legolas and Beliond about Lalorn was wrenching at first, but you handed us a hanky and a smile through those tears to conclude this chapter, always a great way to finish just about anything worthwhile. I'm happy that humans and elves all come with the same kind of hearts - those that contract and expand with same experiences. Mortal and Immortal do not differ in the inward parts that much. I was sad for Galelas and his obvious discomfort within his own family, but happy for Sinnarn to see his discomfort dispelled. It was nice to see Ithilden off balance from his own father's confession about holding him becoming a novice, and then it was Thranduil's turn to totter a bit when Ithilden announced his decision to transfer Leglas to the Northern Border Patrol. You are full of surprises, Daw, but that just makes your stories more delightful. Another great tale from our resident master storyteller. Well done! Author Reply: Thank you, Brenda. I find endings hard to write so I'm glad you liked this one. When I started this story, I did a little more thinking about Beliond and what he'd been doing before he became Legolas's guard and also what his son was like. And then when I wanted something for Legolas to practice picking locks on, I thought of this box (there isn't much in a camp!). Poor Beliond. I'm glad I could comfort him and me both with thoughts of Valinor. I also feel bad for Galelas. Geez. All he wants is a little recognition from his family and they're too busy being idiots. He's a better person because his parents dote on his brother instead of him, but it still must be painful. And Thranduil and his various offspring all seem to be doing well for now. Thank goodness. They should enjoy it while it lasts.

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/21/2005
Okay, we've mastered key locks. Next up, deadbolts and combinations. Legolas is going to be quite the holy terror on his next leave, running around leaving all the locks open on everything. Ithilden and Alfirin may have to pack Sinnarn off on his gap year early so that he doesn't pick up questionable skills from his favorite uncle. And Eilian will be so jealous! It occurs to me that there aren't a whole lot of skills that Legolas can teach Eilian, so that would be some nice brother bonding time right there. And for extra good measure, it's the sort of thing that will have Thranduil just tearing out his long blond hair. Speaking of Thranduil, it looks like the second phase of Operation Beliond is working. The old crab is starting to open up a little and rejoin the Elvish race. This looks to be the very beginning of that wonderful relationship where Legolas looks after Beliond's heart as much as Beliond looks after Legolas's tuchus. Alfirin has a lot to learn about marketing. You don't go to the king and mention that the spit broke and dropped the meat into the fire. You invent a term like "char-broiled" and charge an extra $1.50 for the privilege. All that discussion about the wisdom of keeping kids back a year reminded me of something my mother said. We had asked her which she preferred, the 1960s or the 1990s. She said that she liked the 1990s because there was less rigidity in the social program of growing up. If you felt a kid needed it, you could keep them back a year or let them have a gap year, or noodle around with how you distributed four years of college. There's even grade schools now that have an extra year between kindergarten and first grade -- my cousins go to one of them. Sounds like the Elves are right about to hit that point in their notions of what constitutes acceptable child-rearing. Oh, what I wouldn't give to see the look on Thranduil's face when Lorellin kicked him under the table! He seems pretty well in control of things now, though. The kids are doing well and are able to take care of themselves, the grandkid is under control, the daughter-in-law is smoothly integrated into the family, there have been no elopements or suspicious runnings off to join the Fellowship. This must be a good time to be Thranduil Oropherion. Author Reply: You're right. Teaching Eilian to pick locks would be very entertaining for everyone concerned. It has to happen; it's just a question of when. Beliond is coming around a little. Thranduil was very clever about that. Beliond's loss makes him double careful about Legolas, but he needs to care for someone else again. And I figure he's forming attachments even to other warriors in the patrol without realizing it. Of course, he probably also finds it irritating to be around other people all the time and Legolas may bear the brunt of that sometimes. Alfirin probably runs a tight ship and she's going to want to know why that spit wasn't maintained. But these things happen. My sister's over once broke on Thanksgiving Day, but the broiler element still worked so she kind of broiled the turkey. It was very bizarre and everyone is lucky not to get food poisoning. Kids are unpredictable and need to be allowed to grow on their own. It's one of the problems in teaching and it gets compounded as they go along. They need to learn at their own pace and that will be different with different things and certainly different from other people's paces. My kid went to a wonderful grade school that allowed quite a bit of individualized learning. I've always been grateful for it. Thranduil is having a pretty good time just now. He should enjoy it.

Frodo3791	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/20/2005
A perfect ending. Did you have that planned or did it just kind of come out that way? It worked amazingly either way. You made me actually pause after Beliond remarked, “Is that so bad? I wish someone had been around to protect my son.” in response to Legolas wanting to be more independent. I had never thought about that before, and it really gave some more pain to the character of Beliond and showed the fortunate side Legolas and all of the Thrandulians get for being who they are, despite how annoying their keepers may be. It was really a powerful line. I enjoyed the story, and can't wait for another one. I hope you have a nice break between stories, though, because you deserve it. -Frodo Author Reply: You mean that thing about the growing? I confess I just thought of using it yesterday. Fortunately, I'd set it up ahead of time but that was pure luck! Poor Beliond. His wish that his son had had a bodyguard is so sad. I'm glad that he (and I) can take comfort in thinking of his son in Valinor. I need to work a little but then I look forward to writing again. I woke up this morning and wailed to my husband, "I have no story to write!" So I'll work fast!

meckinock	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/20/2005
So Sinnarn is pioneering the ME version of Gap Year. An elegant solution. It was fun to finally hear The Rest of The Story about Ithilden's attempted deception of Lomilad. Grandpa Thranduil is so funny - after the way he treats Eilian it's amusing to see him meekly take a backseat to Ithilden and Alfirin's discipline of Sinnarn. It's nice to see Eilian standing by Galelas. Poor guy. It's a messed up family, but it's the only family he's got. But the best part was Beliond teaching Legolas to pick locks. And how interesting that the only lock available for practice was the one holding his son's memorabilia. Brilliant. What a touching peek into Beliond's personal conflicts. It sounds like he's ready to give Legoalas a little leash now, which is probably healthy for both of them. Although not too much, or Thranduil would kill him, LOL! This story has been so enjoyable; I am really sorry to see it end. Author Reply: Grandpa Thranduil is funny. I think Alfirin must have put her foot down pretty firmly. But Eilian is about 600 years younger than Ithilden so he's still fair game. I was actually brought up short trying to think of what Beliond could use to teach Legolas to pick locks but then I thought of this keepsake box and it worked from a number of angles. I'm glad you liked it, Meckinock.

Nilmandra	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/20/2005
This was a big step for Legolas and Beliond, I think - they have a better understanding of each other, why the other thinks and acts the way he does at times. I really do like Beliond, the grouchy old nana. I can't wait for Tinar to be under Eilian's command. I think someone needs to rip all of his leggings so he is forced to learn to mend them! Author Reply: I'm sorry. The thought of Tinar with all his leggings ripped leads me to cover my eyes in horror. The guy eventually winds up with Ithilden breathing down his neck on a daily basis and that's the only thing that even half contains him. Yeah, Legolas and Beliond are figuring one another (and themselves) out. Thank you for all your help with this.

elliska	Reviewed Chapter: 12 on 2/20/2005
Oh hooray. Obviously I knew you were working on this given your question in the forum but I never expected to be so lucky as to see a chapter tonight. Poor Ithilden. This made me remember a similar incident between my father and I and I remember clearly how hurt he seemed that I did not respond to him as openly as I once did. I really felt for Ithilden here. But he handled that conversation well. Too right that when pushed, teenagers will revolt just because! Loved this line: He hoped Legolas was not about to add Men to the list of those he felt obligated to protect. That is so perfect. Indeed, he vividly remembered her kicking him under the table the first time Eilian had said he was going out after his coming-of-age ceremony. And I would have paid money to see this acted out. Too funny. The entire conversation ending here: Eilian laughed. “I suppose one needs some basic goals, and that one sounds pretty rock bottom. I will be on my way now, with your permission, Adar.” Thranduil nodded, and Eilian was gone. was great. I am very glad that I do not have any intentially 'provocative' sons like Eilian! I am so glad you told us (and Ithilden) what Lómilad said. That was great! And Ithilden's manipulation of that conversation to Legolas was very clever! I burst out laughing at Gewiel's reaction to Tinar's 'gift' for her entertainment. Good for her! How did Eilian contain himself hearing that! I really enjoyed the part with Beliond and the lock picking lesson. Legolas must have been pretty shocked to hear Beliond say he had been looking for excitement while criticizing him for the same thing. You did a good job with the lesson. Very believable. And the suggestion he should practice on leave was great! Yeah, I can see that happening. And Thranduil having a stroke!. But I loved the peek at the keepsakes in the box. And the conversation about Lalorn and Beliond backing off a bit. That was particularly well done. Very moving. I really like Beliond. The first two stories of yours that I read were Spring Awakenings and A Question of Duty and I loved him in those. And in this. Really well done. Hate to see it end. But thankfully, that only means you'll start another. :) See how good I am--I didn't even ask you for a hint of what's coming next. Hmm. Oh well, guess I did. Thanks for the entertainment Daw. Author Reply: I'm sad this is done. I'm always sad when a story is done. I don't know why I hurry to finish them. I am a sick, compulsive person! And I will write another story soon, but I promised myself to write some scholarly junk I have to do for work first. I'll finish fast so I can write about elves again! Anyway, I too felt sorry for Ithilden. He loves this kid and handles him carefully and Sinnarn is just surly. We know he turns out well, which he should, given his parents and grandfather, but in the meantime, he's difficult -- just because. My son was never as provocative as Eilian is, but then he's not a wood elf. Actually, he's a type you would recognize. He's a computer engineer and spent years doing stuff that left me terrified that the FBI would come to my house and take all the computers away. I've had a number of Beliond fans surface lately, which seems odd to me! He's such a grouch. Granted, he's an affectionate grouch, but, man, would he ever be hard to live with. I feel sorry for Legolas!

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