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| Branwyn's Bijoux by Branwyn | 39 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/2/2007 |
| A funny, fitting ficlet for the season. I loved Faramir and Eowyn coming late with their makeup smudged; and Faramir's question about names. But Gandalf stole the show; and the last line was particularly great. An annoyed wizard, indeed! I hadn't heard of Beggars' Night though; sounds like a lot of fun. Author Reply: I can almost see Faramir and Eowyn doing this, especially if the hobbits told them it was an important local tradition, lol! Yes, Faramir is worried that the holiday was inspired by actual beggars. I am glad you like the portrayal of Gandalf. I am so naturally cranky that I can channel his personality. :-D As far I can tell, Beggars' Night is celebrated in Iowa and central Ohio and nowhere else. When I first heard of it, I thought it was just another name for Halloween, but it is supposed to be celebrated the night before Halloween. Anyway, since dressing up and begging for candy doesn't have any supernatural or religious connotations, Beggars' Night seemed like a good holiday for the hobbits to celebrate in lieu of Halloween. They would certainly like getting all that candy! Thanks for reviewing! | |
| annmarwalk | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 11/2/2007 |
| Suitably creepy, and a nicely subtle crossover. (Did you ever visit "Mystery Hill", in New Hampshire, when you were growing up? This story so reminded me of the legends about that site! Even if there was no lake involved. *shivers*) Author Reply: Tolkien says that Maglor's fate was unknown, and since elves are immortal, he could still be moping around somewhere. No, my sibs and I didn't get to "Mystery Hill," which sounds much better than the roadside attractions we did see. Like the amazing, bottomless "Blue Hole." Which actually wasn't bottomless or even blue. It is just an artesian well. And we also saw the world's biggest (at that time, anyway) steam shovel, "Big Muskie." Have you ever visited the "Roadside Attractions" website? I have been to an embarassing number of those places. Thanks so much for commenting! | |
| annmarwalk | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 11/2/2007 |
| How sad to think that not only Finduilas's ghost haunted the Steward's House, but the ghosts of her unborn (or even unconceived) children. This seems like such a companion piece to your story "The Household Accounts", where Eowyn and the housekeeper ponder the remnant of fabric just large enough for a little girl's dress. Such heartbreaking stories! Author Reply: I was thinking that the little jacket was intended for Faramir (because he was quite small when she died), but it could also have been for an expected child. She is such a sad figure, cut off so young, leaving so much undone (and the fates of her children and husband might have been happier if she had lived). Thanks for your kind comments! | |
| annmarwalk | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/2/2007 |
| Your descriptive skills are extraordinary here. Words like rough-hewn, moldering, upended convey both the spirit of labor hastily interrupted, and long years of abandonment of that labor. The imagery of the head-bowed masons put me in mind of monks ceaslessly praying for the souls of their departed brethren. I know that's not a Tolkienish image, but it's a powerful one that I'll carry with me. Author Reply: The dwarves reclaimed Moria after the end of the Ring War, but I couldn't imagine living there-if there was ever a place likely to be haunted! They would have been surrounded by evidence of work--and lives-cut short. Thanks so much for your kind comments. | |
| annmarwalk | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/2/2007 |
| This story just make me giggle like a crazy giggling woman every time I read it. I love the way you've described Legola's costume as completely over-the-top (it was the sequins that did it), and the image of Gimli in velveteen, setting his own alcohol-soaked breath afire -- just too, too funny! “I am going as a wizard, and if anyone else asks about my lack of a costume, I will go as a greatly annoyed wizard.” “Not much of a disguise,” one of the hobbits muttered as they stumbled down the lane to the nearest farm. HA! These have got to be some of the funniest lines I've read in ages. You are a wonder, woman! Author Reply: Hee! Legolas probably spent hundreds of hours making that costume (of course, when you are immortal and compulsive, you have time for that sort of thing). Glad you liked this and thanks for commenting! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 11/2/2007 |
| Ah, I, too, can see him wishing that.... Very sad. Author Reply: I think things would have gone very differently if she had lived. How he must have missed her. :-( Thanks for reviewing. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 11/2/2007 |
| Marvelous. So, he tried sailing, but couldn't find Valinor, perhaps? And now he faces the rising son rather than the setting sun? Alas for Maglor! Excellent mixing of traditions. Author Reply: I believe that the Valar summoned him, but he didn't want to go to Valinor (maybe he felt unworthy or maybe he decided he had too many enemies there?). You are right that he is on the wrong coast. Maybe he took ship on a freighter to the New World, earning his keep as a member of the crew. Glad you liked this! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 11/2/2007 |
| A fitting memorial, of course. Yes, very fitting. Nicely done. Author Reply: A memorial, and also a warning not to dig too deeply under the mountain (because who knows what else could be lurking down there besides the Balrog?). Thanks for your kind comments! | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/2/2007 |
| Okay. And I can guess what Faramir and Eomer have been doing (she sings out in an annoyingly sing-song voice). Heh! | |