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| With Hope and Without Hope by docmon | 129 Review(s) |
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| Naledi | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 9/3/2008 |
| I love your portrayal of Eowyn here. I think the bit where she is persuaded to put Legolas through the pain of resetting his fingers by Legolas saying he will not give the orcs that vistory brings out her character perfectly. I'm so glad they're all together again. While I can completely see that Legolas would have felt abandoned when he learned how he had been left behind, I hope this will not ruin their friendship. Author Reply: Thank you, Naledi! I'm glad you enjoyed my portrayal of Eowyn. And that scene where she is convinced to go through with the resetting is one of my favorite parts too. We'll come back to the issues of forgiveness and friendship - just stayed tuned! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 9/3/2008 |
| Alas, I fear full healing for all of them will take more time than any had expected; but certainly Legolas suffered perhaps the worst. I'm only glad Saruman's where he can't hurt anyone else at the moment. Author Reply: You are so right, Larner. Full healing is much longer than getting back together and saying 'let's eat!' I did beat up Legolas quite a bit, huh? Perhaps I should keep an eye out for an avenging elf. He may have a bone to pick with me. | |
| Rhyselle | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 9/2/2008 |
| With every chapter read, I enjoy this more and more. While I do wish that Legolas could find it in his heart to forgive Gimli immediately, I do understand that the mental and emotional trauma of what happened to him is not something that will resolve simply and quickly. I think that Eowyn's needing to break his fingers again and his slipping back into thinking he was in Orthanc didn't help in this regard either. I admit that while I like your characterizations of every one of the Fellowship and the Rohirrim, I find myself yearning to know more of what Legolas is feeling and experiencing, and find those aspects of each chapter more vivid and compelling than the rest. And I'm normally not such a Legolas-centered reader! :) I like this Eowyn who is not mired in the despair that the canon and film Eowyn experienced. But the foreshadowings of something between her and Legolas do not bode well for a mortal woman and an elf destined to cross to Valinor. The tiny bits of humor that were sprinkled throughout the chapter (such as Eowyn's telling Legolas sarcastically that of course she won't realize that he'd been out of bed if he got back in right away) were great leavening to the great washes of more serious emotions that filled this chapter. It's an excellent AU and I very much look forward to seeing where you take it next. Well done! Author Reply: Thank you for your wonderful review, Rhyselle! I'm so glad you've enjoyed the story. My sarcasm, em, humor, refuses to be kept down for long, and so it shows its face on occasion. I just have to keep it from getting too snarky. ;-) I'm glad it helps the story rather than hurts it. I wished Legolas could have forgiven Gimli too. But often our own feelings color our reactions to others' behavior. It's really his own guilt over his "leaving" his friends behind that fueled his inability to forgive Gimli. But you're right, perhaps being temporarily thrown back into the experience worsened those feelings. I'm glad you like my Eowyn, as I haven't written her before. Perhaps your interest in Legolas's well being is because I've put him through the ringer! Thank you again for writing! | |
| Estel Greenleaf | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 9/2/2008 |
| It's been a long time since I last enjoyed such a delightful AU. -E.G. Author Reply: Well, I'm so glad I could provide such enjoyment! I myself hadn't been a fan of AUs before coming up with the idea for this story, so, I certainly understand (and as a writer, they're so much more *fun*). Thanks for writing! | |
| Fantasia | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 9/2/2008 |
| Great character! They are reunited at last, but not everything is OK between them. I can understand Legolas, he is not well and he is very emotional instead of reasonable. He too escape from Saruman without his friends, they need to talk, to forgive each other, Legoals was the most injured during the captivity, and now to know that he was left behind...I wonder if they ever will know that the orcs almost ate him alive, that is so disgusting and unexpected, that can emotionally change him. I’m sad for him, because he is linking Mirkwood with Orthanc, he doesn't believe that have a home anymore.. Love your Eowyn, strong, independent, and confident despite Grima and his plots. I don't see despair in her, so I don't know why she will be riding to Gondor, al least, no because her love to Aragorn...It is Legolas falling for her and viceversa? As long as she fall for Faramir in Gondor, they are my favorite couple, and the kiss in the wall my favorite scene. Thanks for this chapter and keep posting, you really surprise me every time with your story; it never happens what I'm expecting, so here I’m waiting and trying not to imagine what is next…. Thanks, Fantasia. Author Reply: Thanks! The aftermath of such ordeals is never pretty nor is it neat, so it wasn't all going to come together nicely! I imagine that Legolas's friends may in fact never learn the reality of his time in Orthanc, or if they do, it will be some time from now. The link between Mirkwood and Orthanc was a sort of nod to the awakening of his sea-longing, since I did not address that here as it had been in the books. A prelude to it, so to speak, to allow that to happen beyond the closing of this story. You are right, Eowyn has not fallen into so much despair in this story... yet. There's a little time left for some of that. But your observations are on target. Her frustration with the duty that always calls upon her is greater than her despair. Very thrilled to hear I'm still surprising you! | |
| Cairistiona | Reviewed Chapter: 17 on 9/2/2008 |
| So not all is well between Legolas and Gimli! It will be interesting to see how Legolas comes to terms with all this. It comes as the converse to the forgiveness Aragorn gave Pippin ... that was a lovely scene, my favorite of this chapter, followed closely by Gandalf finally providing release for Aragorn. Nicely done, both of those. But now to get Gimli and Legolas straightened out! Author Reply: Glad you liked it, Cairistiona! Yes, some things work out and some things don't. As in real life. I'll work on Gimli and Legolas. ;-) Thanks for writing! | |
| Naledi | Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 8/26/2008 |
| It's good to see Aragorn well on the road to recovery. He handled his encounter with Saruman very well. I liked the way that he simply refused to believe that Gandalf was there until Theoden confirmed that yes, he was actually in the room with them. It really pointed up how Aragorn feels unable to believe his senses after Saruman has messed around with his mind so much. Author Reply: Yes, you and many others are rather relieved to see Aragorn on the mend. I suppose I took it to the limit with him, hm? But if I did, there had to be consequences, and one of them was his doubting of his own mind. I'm trying to put him back together now, I promise! Thanks for writing! | |
| Cairistiona | Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 8/26/2008 |
| Ah, wonderful to have Strider back, and in a reckless mood at that! I really like how you worked in, very quietly, his reverence for the Valar, in that small thought that maybe he might be breaking some rule by touching a wizard's staff. That was a nice touch. I like all of this chapter, actually ... from the way Aragorn felt the mire starting to entrap him again to the final smile at Gandalf. Well done! Author Reply: Thank you, Cairistiona! Yes, Strider's back - well, mostly. Reckless, yes, so not entirely himself. I'm glad you liked the chapter, and thanks for writing! | |
| Cairistiona | Reviewed Chapter: 15 on 8/26/2008 |
| Wow. Go, Gandalf! The battle sequence was electrifying ... and wryly funny at the same time with Gandalf's wish that the Nazgul would stop screeching, as though it were merely annoying like fingernails on a chalkboard. And poor Legolas, hating to admit he's hungry. I guess he didn't want to seem like the Hobbits had rubbed off on him. ;) Excellent chapter. Author Reply: So glad you liked that scene! It was not the easiest for me. I did try to keep Gandalf in character, and that meant keeping up the grumpy complaining he so likes to do. Just like Legolas would try to keep his pride and dignity, as any elf would do, no matter what's befallen him. Thanks for writing! | |
| Thundera Tiger | Reviewed Chapter: 16 on 8/25/2008 |
| Hey Docmon! Ba-bye, Saruman! Ah, I like this chapter. I've got a thing for snappy dialogs, and this chapter has some doozies. The give-and-take of conversation is fast and witty, and you can see it ebb and flow. There's a real power to it, and the funny thing is that it seems to take the form of an action sequence. You claim that you're still honing your skills in writing those, but really, all you have to do is look at your conversations and you've got it. One thrusts, another parries, still another decides to hide behind a verbal shield for a while, someone else feints, there's a bit of a scuffle, then everybody regroups and tries again. Anyway, Aragorn and Theoden are my two favorites in this chapter, and I think a big part of that is just how much their characters evolve over such a short time period. Saruman is kind of already on his way out, and Gandalf is always Gandalf, but that's not the case with either Aragorn of Theoden. You start them off low, and though neither has fully recovered by the chapter's end, they've nevertheless made huge strides (pun partially intended). It's great to see them grow and shake off their enthrallment, especially in Aragorn's confrontation with Saruman on the stairs. Go future King of Gondor! And go Docmon! Awesome new chapter! Author Reply: LOL! Ba-bye indeed! Though not easy, it was rather fun to write this section. Although parts of the dialogue went through enormous change under infinite rewrites, there are parts that go all the way back to the original draft. It's gratifying to see that, despite the many evolutions, many of my original ideas survived! Those character evolutions needed a bit more care to develop, but they're also some of the most important to me. If they work so well, like the rest of this chapter, it's due to your help! Thanks! | |