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In the West by Bodkin	34 Review(s)
Haleth	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/12/2006
This is simply brilliant. Elves do grieve but in a different way than humans and I think you've captured it beautifully. The sadness, anger and guilt are all there, as is hope. What I really enjoyed were the full descriptions of ordinary life; of feeding the chickens or working in the garden or dyeing cloth, and how all of this is woven into the emotions the characters are experiencing. Excellent story-telling. Author Reply: Thank you. I could not resist the wish to reunite Sinnarn and Emmelin - I was thinking about Sinnarn in the middle of the night! (How good is that, daw? Your characters taking over people's lives!) Grief and loss must be very difficult to deal with in immortal lives - especially if you know that at some apparently random time you may be reunited. Life in the Blessed Realm must have contained a lot of ordinary life - I have some difficulty with the concept of an Aman where nothing dies. It sounds as if life before the Noldor rebellion consisted of raising children and creating new things - and they had to eat and live somewhere and wear clothes - and all these things need to be grown or made. A particularly perfect Utopia perhaps - but it's not entirely spiritual. Not for me, anyway. And anywhere you get a bunch of elves together, you are bound to have complications - who is in charge, who does what, who lives where. I can't imagine that inter-kindred rivalries disappeared in stepping on the shores of the west. Must stop wittering. I'm glad you liked this. I really enjoyed writing it!

sofia	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/26/2006
very sweet story. I liked it a lot. Author Reply: Thank you, Sofia. It was great fun to write - and it made me happy to reunite Emmelin and Sinnarn!

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/15/2006
I just reread this, Bodkin. The reunion of Emmelin and Sinnarn moved me to tears. Thank you. Author Reply: Thank you - I really enjoyed writing this. And it made me feel much happier to see Emmelin and Sinnarn reunited! Such a lovely world and such great characters. Any chance of seeing more of them?

Idhreniel	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/28/2005
This was a beautiful trip throgh Daw the Minstrel's world. You captured the essence of her characters and gave us back some of the characters we love. Thank you for the pleasant reading. It was great to see many of them back, especially Sinnarn. Author Reply: Thank you. I started this because I was brooding about Sinnarn and poor Emmelin in the depths of the night and I thought it might make me feel better about his fate - and it did. Daw was kind enough to say she was happy to have it posted - although I reckon it must feel really weird to have people write in your world! I'm glad you felt it captured the essence of her characters.

Noor	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/18/2005
Of course............Tuilin! Having read all the reviews, I have now realised! I am glad that Daw loved this too. Thank you once again! Author Reply: I wouldn't have considered letting anyone else see this if Daw hadn't approved - it's her world. I wrote it for myself - because I was (on occasion) waking up about three in the morning brooding about Sinnarn. And Emmelin. And his poor parents . . . and grandfather . . . and guilt-bound Uncle Eilian. I thought that doing this would settle him in my own head - and it has, too. Then I showed Daw! Yes - Tuilinn, too. I would have shown more - but you can only have so many reunions without getting repetitive! Thank you for reading - I am glad you liked it.

Noor	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/18/2005
That was a beautiful tale - and so true to Daw's characterisations.........I loved it, you truly earned the right to use the characters...I was tearful when Emmelin was waiting and during the other reunions. What a marvellous "beginning of the end" story! Who came for Legolas?? What did Daw think of this? Thanks again! Noor Author Reply: Thank you. I really wanted to have some of these characters restored and happy - even if it had to be after a long period of separation! Daw was very kind and said she liked the story - and that I could post it for everyone to see. It must be truly bizarre to have people so fascinated by your characters and situations that you become the subject of your own fanfiction!

Dot	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/13/2005
I shouldn’t be popping back again and using this as a chatroom but I just couldn’t not let you know how much I appreciated the review reply. Bodkin! I would never expect anyone to go to so much trouble. I was completely astonished when I saw it. It’s fascinating to see your thoughts and what went into writing this piece – and I’m trying really hard not to answer the whole thing and turn it into a conversation because I could talk about these people forever :-) Although, I will say how interested I was in your thoughts about Alfirin talking to Thranduil about Sinnarn and the two of them becoming closer through that (even if he doesn’t fully know what she’s experiencing). And in addition to her own grief, she has to not add to her husband’s guilt – which yes, would be enormous but I’ve been trying for months now not to think about that because I can hardly bear it! – and at the same time not let him think that she blames him in any way. But she seemed to be doing that in ‘A Spring of Joy’ in the way she kept touching him and trying to take care of him. Hang on, I wasn’t going to talk any more… Besides, we’ll start to scare daw!! Anyway, I’m glad this has done for you what you set out to do, and I really just wanted to say thanks for such a wonderful and thoughtful reply :-) Author Reply: I think it's absolutely fascinating how these characters take on such a life that you can spend hours discussing their motivation and reactions to events. The sign of a good writer - thanks daw! I admit I find the whole Alfirin viewpoint intriguing - I wonder if Sinnarn's possible death was one of the things she had to absorb and come to terms with when he entered warrior training. She had known warriors die - Siondel, for one. Did she understand that, should he one day be killed, Ithilden would always blame himself - and that she might find it hard not to blame him, too? She must have seen Ithilden feel guilty when Eilian and Legolas were hurt - she certainly saw his anguish after Sinnarn was badly injured in Tangled Web. She is motherly - she would deal gently with Ithilden while he needed her and his care was her primary concern. But once he had begun to bury his emotions in his need to be troop commander - would she have been left secretly resenting that their own precious son had been sacrificed? More likely, perhaps, she would have placed most of the blame on Eilian for not looking after Sinnarn properly - (he, after all, returned without a scratch) - rather than blaming Ithilden for sending him in the first place. And how would Emmelin respond to Ithilden - or Eilian? In her first agony she might well have said some very hurtful things to both of them - and they would both have felt they deserved it. And I wonder if Eilian's failure to protect Sinnarn would have driven a wedge between him and Ithilden? Thranduil would, I think, have been very understanding of Eilian's pain - he does come good in a crisis - and his relationship with Eilian might well have strengthened as a result. Oh dear. Now I've started again. But how can you not? They are such interesting people. In such interesting situations.

Redheredh	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/11/2005
Wow. This was beautiful. Beautiful writing, beautiful storytelling, and so very touching. Thanks to Daw and you for sharing this. Author Reply: Thank you. I am glad you liked it. There were some reunions here I really wanted to see and I'm so pleased daw didn't mind me dipping my toes in her world to bring them about!

Dot	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/11/2005
So what do you call a fanfic of a fanfic?! I actually woke up this morning and thought I’d dreamt that you did this. LOL. Telling this from Emmelin’s point of view is interesting. It offers a moving insight into the loneliness and desperation-turning-to-bitterness that I’m sure others too must have felt. I suppose she decided more quickly than most to sail. I got the impression that Elowen had been mulling over the thought that she would go and when Sinnarn died, it seemed the best solution that she would take her granddaughter with her and they would at least have each other for company. But perhaps Emmelin would not have sailed otherwise and now she misses her parents and her home and is frustrated that it takes so long for people to be Sinnarn would be there soon. Like Elowen. I can’t blame her for thinking that Siondel would be there. It’s been so long. But how hard it is to see the two of them so alone and disappointed. I was so glad that you showed Siondel’s return. Emmelin’s reaction of uncertainty and guilt and questioning to the news is just perfect. It completely startled me to think that Annael is far older now than his father lived to be. Especially when Elowen’s grief and loneliness were still so strong. The reunion between her and Siondel was lovely. I particularly liked the way he seems a little unsure in the face of this new life and her old grief, but his love for her is stronger than ever. ‘So Sinnarn will return more swiftly because I long for him?’ I know Siondel was trying to reassure his granddaughter, but I wonder how true that actually is. To me, it would make sense for Námo to keep people in his Halls until there is someone waiting to greet them. You made me smile at the image of Sinnarn as an elfling, trailing after Legolas and Annael. Siondel’s insights into that family are a real reminder of how close they are to his own family. And one of my favourite lines of this piece? This: Alfirin was convinced they would forget him and leave him among the trees somewhere and she guarded him carefully – for he was her greatest treasure.’ That’s where my tears started! How strange it must be to hear of the events at home from those newly arrived the Blessed Realm. Somehow, your brief description of it makes it all the more horrifying. And Thranduil’s strength has never been clearer. Ah, and Legolas has arrived. There’s something really nice about the thought that Ithilden and Alfirin would write to Emmelin, that they still think of her as well as of Sinnarn. But oh my God, what have you done to Ithilden?!! It’s so frightening to think how close he came to dying. Of course, Legolas has heard all this afterwards. But it sounds so right that Ithilden and Alfirin would not let each other go. I know Thranduil is well able to tell people what to do but it’s a scary sign of just how bad Ithilden was if he didn’t let up on telling him he should sail. And Eilian escaped without a scratch! I’m relieved and amused. It also sounds right that he and Celuwen wouldn’t leave until the very end. So what do you think it would take to bribe daw into writing about Mirkwood around this time?? Interesting that Annael stayed even after his family and friends were gone. I would’ve thought his tie to his loved ones was stronger than to the forest but I suppose after living through all that, it would be harder to let it go now. And they’re wood-elves. It comes across as though those left in the Woodland Realm have grown closer to each other than ever and I think that’s a wonderful thought. I’m glad to see Legolas on the way to healing. It must have brought great joy to Elowen to have him there, even if her own son hasn’t yet come. It sounds like Gimli is settling in! And I get the impression that there were some colourful conversations between Legolas and Thranduil! How he must have worried about his youngest son, though. I’m shocked by Ithilden’s appearance. It’s been so long since he was injured. Not to have healed fully yet, to be so weak, to worry Gwaleniel so much… And he’s leaning on a stick?? I could hardly bear to read it, and yet I wanted to know everything. Ack. I’m welling up again. I love the idea of him wanting to live in a cottage amongst the trees. And despite the pain and suffering, he’s still loyal, loving Ithilden. The moment between him and Legolas when he asks about their naneth was lovely. And Alfirin seems the same, although worn thin by anxiety and who knows what else. A little bit of regret, perhaps. Alfirin’s face glowed. ‘He is healed – as he never thought to be,’ she said. Oh, thank you. I felt such relief when I read that sentence! I really feel for Alfirin, though, in her desire to speak of her son and finding that the one person she had hoped would join her in doing so seems unwilling. She made so many sacrifices once she joined this family but perhaps the most heartbreaking is not allowing herself to speak of Sinnarn. I wondered if Lorellin would appear! I love how you’ve written Legolas’ uncertainty and Ithilden’s excitement. I thought it was so moving the way Ithilden thinks that this should be Thranduil’s moment. But at the same time, I think that Thranduil deserved to have her there when he arrived, not have to spend yet more years waiting and with no-one to really comfort him after he finally made the most difficult choice he had to. Lorellin, by the way, is exactly how I imagined her. She made me laugh with her wicked amusement at the thought of Eilian and Thranduil being left together. And her reunion with her eldest and youngest sons was beautiful. And had me sniffling and reaching for the tissues again :-) I thought it was very believable that the elves from the Woodland Realm would naturally be drawn to Ithilden and his family in their need for some guidance. But I hope that Alfirin dragged Ithilden off for plenty of ‘picnics’ too. She had loved him for his mischief, for the serious side he concealed, for his need to serve the forest that was their home, his reckless courage, the tenderness he showed to so few, his strength in adversity – but most of all she had loved him simply for being Sinnarn. What a wonderful sentence. I think you’ve perfectly summed up why we all loved Sinnarn and why Emmelin wasn’t the only one devastated by his death! You did a truly, truly amazing job with the arrival of Thranduil and all those who travelled with him. I could really feel the excitement and anticipation, and the feeling that for most people, this is really the end of one part of their lives and the beginning of a whole new part. The roar of the crowd, Lorellin’s perfect comment, Eilian’s typical irreverence, and Thranduil’s impulsive leap onto the shore and into his wife’s arms… it was all so perfect, and an image I’ll remember for a long time. I’m glad that Thranduil and Eilian ended up with a project after all so that they won’t crack up as they try to readjust. But I’d actually almost forgotten about Tuilinn!! Emmelin’s struggle for acceptance and understanding is fascinating and painful to watch. Especially when she knows that all she can do is wait. I just love that moment when Elowen realises what Emmelin’s new restlessness means before Emmelin herself does, and then ensures that her granddaughter will be clean and fragrant when Sinnarn does arrive! I suppose Emmelin’s worry and despair and the fact that she thought almost constantly about this day meant that she was not as open as she could have been, where she might have felt and recognised his presence immediately. I laughed out loud from sheer happiness for her when she began to run until she found herself at the Fennas Arnediad. Sinnarn stood, his dark hair untidy, his grey eyes focused on her, and before she could bring herself to do more than stare, he smiled his sweetest smile and the ice that had frozen her to the spot melted. Oh, Bodkin. I haven’t words to describe how wonderful that moment is, nor my own relief and gratitude. Their love and their hunger for each other is a joy to witness and I couldn’t help but smile as all Emmelin’s worries and sadness faded away. When I first read the ending last night it was through a haze of tears but now I’m smiling. Sinnarn is healed! And he has all his family waiting for him when he’s ready to travel. Or sooner, because Ithilden and Alfirin will know too that he has been released. And Emmelin can be truly happy again. Well, after all that I still haven’t thought of something sensible to say! But I thank you for this moving and very fitting tribute to daw and her characters. This is your style, but you’ve stayed true to her characters and I thank her too for knowing how much you, like so many of us, love them and for recognising that you have the talent and respect to write in her world. I knew how sad I was when Sinnarn died but I didn’t realise how much I needed to know that he – and all of them – would find healing and happiness again. I love this. I really do. And I bow to your talent :-) Author Reply: How do you know you have made it as a writer? You attract fanfiction by people who love your world so much they want to play in it. Daw's Mirkwood is such a complete world - and her original characters are so great that they have a life of their own. I'm sorry to be so long answering this - but I decided in the end I had to print off the review so I could actually see it as I wrote. It's three pages long!!! Thank you, Dot. I am so impressed. Having written it first - I was brooding and started this just for my own satisfaction - I hadn't thought about the Emmelin point of view. But coming to think about it - she was the character most affected, of course, but also she is a character that daw has never got round to developing much (just a bit in Tangled Web, and then in Spring of Joy) so I felt more comfortable working with her. (Note that Eilian barely features!) I got the impression that Elowen had decided to sail and take Emmelin - and my interpretation is that Emmelin's despair was so great that she wouldn't have survived her loss. As to why Elowen lived on in Mirkwood and Emmelin couldn't - I put that down partly to children. Emmelin had none. Annael, although just grown, needed Elowen desperately and the mother in her responded to that. Then, in addition, Emmelin and Sinnarn had only been bonded a short while - and the intensity of their bond was probably at its height, so its termination would have been devastating. Once Emmelin had recovered enough that her life was in no danger, she would have begun to regret leaving her parents and home - perhaps even felt that she had betrayed the forest - but there wasn't a thing she could do about it. I love Siondel. (Legolas's words at his funeral were so moving.) And he was so young when he died. He was about the same age as Eilian, wasn't he? So only about 110 when he died. When Emmelin sailed, Annael would have been about 470. His return will have given Emmelin hope, and the opportunity to grow to know and love her adar's adar. Why people return when they do - is a very big question. I wonder if the fear can sense, in some way, the presence of family in the west - it would account for why some remain so long in the Halls of Waiting. Then, does the trauma of the death mean that some souls need longer? Or that the impurity of the soul delays rebirth? Or even guilt felt where there is no culpability? (The advantage is that the elves don't know either - so you can throw in questions and they will just shrug. I don't even know if Namo knows. They are just ready when they are ready.) Sinnarn was such a delightful elfling - and Siondel would have known him well. Because, thinking about it - wasn't Alfirin about the same age as Eilian? Which makes her about the same age as Elowen. I can see them being reasonably friendly. Alfirin's greatest treasure. Oh yes. To hear of the horrors of the war while sitting in a peaceful untouched wood - must have made Emmelin and Elowen cringe. They knew too much of the reality to be able to treat it like some Hollywood movie. Ithilden - he would have fought to the very last to save the forest. Obstinate, brave, loyal, loving - he would never have given in. And then, he would have refused Namo's call with exactly the same stubbornness. Alfirin had lost 'her greatest treasure' - he would know that without him she would simply fade. No matter what the pain, he would fight to remain for her. Elves may recover quickly, too, but some injuries need more than time. And if ever there was an elf obstinate to stand up to Thranduil, it is Ithilden! But, in the end, Thranduil managed to convince him. Eilian is just the elf who would escape from that mess without a scratch. (Thanks in part to Maltanaur, I have no doubt.) He and Celuwen would hang on to the last - and doubtless be reluctant to go then - but I think Thranduil would play the Lorellin card to convince this pair of wood-elves that they had to sail. (Bribing daw into writing about Mirkwood after the war . . . What do you think it would take? Actually I don't care when she writes about - just as long as she does.) I think Annael was wood elf enough to stay as long as he could. He would know that there was no going back once he chose to sail - and would want to leave the forest as healthy as possible. But I think he (unlike Eilian) would always have known that he would go - when the time was right. Elowen was always very fond of Legolas - I'll bet she still has that drawing - and would happily draw him into her family. And, because it would take that, at including Gimli, too. (I imagine Legolas got better at standing firm in front of his father. More Ithilden than Eilian, although notably different from either.) Ithilden and Alfirin sail about 200 years after the war. So, yes, it is a long time since Ithilden was injured - but I'm sort of imagining that his injuries have left the kind of damage that is hard even for an elf to repair - a badly damaged hip joint, perhaps, that is regularly inflamed - and painful, particularly when put under stress. And that pain wears on Ithilden - and Alfirin. Maybe a knock-on from internal injuries that mean that his digestion is uncertain and he finds it hard to eat enough. It's probably worse after the long journey, too. But elves do heal - physically and mentally - in the Undying Lands. Alfirin will have found it hard to talk much of Sinnarn to Ithilden - because you cannot tell me that Ithilden will not have felt desperately, self-flagellatingly guilty about allowing Sinnarn to go on that trip and never really have forgiven himself for causing his son's death. Every time he heard the word Sinnarn on Alfirin's lips it will have hurt him - and Alfirin will have known it. I think she will have spoken of him to Thranduil - probably at length - and they will have comforted each other, but in front of most people she will just have put a brave face on and appeared to move on with her life. Emmelin is behaving similarly in a way - she has built walls around the void and blocked off Sinnarn's absence. I think she is afraid to let him into her daily conversation for fear of thinning her defences. She can't face returning to the pain she knew at first. End of Part One. I'm sorry. I have to get ready to go to work now. I'll get back to you with Part Two later. Author Reply: Right. Twenty minutes free. I was so scared putting Lorellin in here - she is such a major, if rarely seen character - but she had to return, didn't she? And before Thranduil is so much kinder. It's not as if she didn't have the thrill of being with Ithilden and getting to know Alfirin - and then she had Legolas to come to know as an adult. And if I was an elf from the Woodland Realm, I would drift towards Ithilden to take charge in his father's absence. And maybe start off the process of - er - diplomatically suggesting that the Silvan elves needed plenty of space of their own. (I'm sure Alfirin is fitting in the 'picnics'. With the silent collaboration of Elowen and Emmelin. And the maybe not so silent connivance of baby brother.) I loved Sinnarn as a character - and took his death very hard. It must have been a desperate time, not just for Emmelin. Ithilden, I would think, would have been absolutely devastated and felt so, so guilty. He blames himself for things that are no fault of his - how would he have felt about this? I think I might have said this before, but I'm not going back to check. And Alfirin - she won't have known who to turn to. I think it might have increased the closeness between her and Thranduil - as he understands loss - but losing a child is different. He's sat next to enough sickbeds, but it's still not the same as living it. Ithilden might well take refuge in duty and just be eaten away underneath - but Alfirin - would have needed a support Celuwen won't have been able to give. Or, probably Gwaleniel. The surge of Silvan Elves toward the ship bearing their king just happened. They were so excited. And the picture was enough on its own without going into too much detail. Eilian will need a project - one involving trees and activity and a hint of danger if he is ever to settle. And his father's not so different!! I don't think Tuilinn ever gets mentioned by name. Legolas was so cagey about her and the few hours he had with the elleth who won his heart - but she had to return too. We can't have Legolas left nursing a broken heart! And then Emmelin's defensive walls hid from her that Sinnarn was coming - but her daernaneth had been there and made sure that her granddaughter was ready for the moment she knew was coming. Not, of course that Sinnarn would have notice if she had turned up in rags. Or her nightgown. Or nothing at all. I sooooo enjoyed that moment. I imagine Ithilden and Alfirin are already on their way. But are far enough away that Emmelin and Sinnarn can have enough time to renew their bond in the best possible way. I am so glad you liked this, Dot. And I really appreciate your massive review. I started this to ease my own sorrow about Sinnarn - which was still niggling months after the event - and it has made me feel better! I love daw's world and character and it has been a great privilege to be allowed to play with them - and I am truly thrilled how many people seem to have enjoyed the results.

Nilmandra	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/11/2005
You capture Emmelin's loneliness and sadness so well, Bodkin. She is the first to arrive in Valinor of the family, but the last to be reunited with the one she loves. Patience did not come easy, as apparently Sinnarn's healing did not either. The reunions were nicely done too - plus that feeling of those who had lived and sailed feeling old and worn next to the reborn elves. I have written that as well - the elves who never left Valinor and those reborn must have seemed so peaceful to those who had lived through the horrifying battles at the end of the Third Age. Those last ships had to be dearly waited for, as you showed. Its nice to think of Thranduil off leading his people again. I confess I don't have a clue what I would do with Oropher! I think he might need a very long period of healing! Author Reply: Emmelin was widowed - but unlike Elowen or Thranduil, she didn't have children who needed her or a forest that depended on her, which would, I think have made her very vulnerable. I'm not surprised that she and Elowen sailed, but, once the despair that might have led to her own death eased a little, it would have been difficult for her to wait, but inevitable that she would have to, for Sinnarn had only recently entered the Halls of Mandos. I don't get the impression that the elves' fear returned particularly swiftly - and it is very interesting to ponder why some took longer and whether the presence of those longing for them would make any difference. I did work out a rough time scale - Siondel returned after about 450 years, Sinnarn after 475 - and Lorellin took nearly 800, but then she only had to wait about 30 for Thranduil. It was tempting to make the years shorter - but they are elves and 30 years wouldn't be much if you were x thousand. Elves who had never left Valinor - peaceful or naive? Would those who have seen evil treasure their innocence, or resent it? Would those native to Aman value what the elves of Arda had done, or look down their noses at those who were shadowed by their experiences? I wonder if anyone ever decided that the last ship had arrived, or whether there was still hope in their hearts that those last elves would take ship. Still, perhaps. And Thranduil just wouldn't sit around playing his harp and singing - he needs to lead as much as others need to be led. Oropher. Now there's a thought. I think he might come and visit, but go off and establish his own realm - peopled, perhaps, with the families of those who died at Dagorlad. The world has moved on since his day, even among the elves - and he couldn't take on the rule of Thranduil's realm. Ruling requires the consent of those ruled, and I'm fairly sure that most of Thranduil's people wouldn't want the change. This was great fun. Done really to stop me brooding about certain characters. It's worked too. I don't feel nearly as bad about it now! And daw was very kind to let me post this meddling with her characters.

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