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| Destiny's Child by Mirkwoodmaiden | 50 Review(s) |
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| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 3/17/2021 |
| Oh, dear. This obviously wasn't the way any of them wanted to do this. I love the hints at Rohirric wedding traditions that you've woven into the narrative. Okay, now, how is a wise and loving king (and brave warrior) going to manage to navigate his way through this one, I wonder? Author Reply: Lindelea! Yeah! It wasn't ideal for any of them. In the writing of this chapter I pondered various ways that this knowledge should become known. In the end this way just flowed as I was writing the story. How will Théoden navigate this...Very gently and with much groveling...to some respect. "I love the hints at Rohirric wedding traditions that you've woven into the narrative." You know me I love to create ceremonies and then write about them. There are some faint use of Viking imagery and ideas. I am so glad you liked it. Stay Safe, Mellon nin! ((hugs)) MM | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/11/2021 |
| Oh, Éowyn, how familiar is that odd-one-out feeling. I empathize. I have to say, Háldred made me chuckle a few times. And Théoden's brief thoughts of gelding (!). Hah. But more importantly, this: Théoden took a strand of his beloved niece’s reddish gold hair from behind her back and smoothly placed it on her shoulder. He could not have loved her more if she were his own child. She had such a kind heart, warm and intelligent. He was glad she was not an empty-headed ninny, cooing at every young Rider training at Edoras. “You will find your way, dearest daughter. I see it in your eyes.” You've done such a good job of showing her kind and warm heart and intelligence in this chapter. I can clearly see how she and Faramir are a match, where in the book, it didn't seem so obvious to me, so thank you for fleshing that out in a believable way. ((hugs)) Hope this finds you and yours well. Author Reply: Lindelea! Yeah! Sometimes I feel I have lived my whole life as the odd-one-out. So is Éowyn, so I can feel her pain. Did you see "Emma" done in 1996 with Gwynneth Paltrow as Emma. The reason I mention this is because there is a wonderful scene where Emma and Harriet are in a house of an elderly woman much like I imagine Holdlith's little home to be like. The scene where Éowyn and Cyneith is reminiscent of that scene in the movie. I definitely enjoyed writing about "Haldred and the Chicken" LOL! Yes! I imagine Théoden being VERY protective over Éowyn! I am glad you see through my writing why Éowyn and Faramir fit together so well! :-) Stay Safe! Mellon nin! MM | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 3/10/2021 |
| Alas, poor Éowyn. I know just how she feels. Looking forward to reading more. (((hugs))) Hope you and yours are staying safe. Still waiting until they get to my category for vaccine distribution. Author Reply: Lindelea! So happy you are enjoying this! Yeah I feel her pain as well, never quite fitting in and not really knowing why. To Date my mom is fully vaccinated!! Yeah!!! A huge weight off my mind. And here in California March 15 is the date for those with underlying conditions!! My underlying condition is Diabetes. I have my vaccination appointment March 17!! Hope yours is coming up very soon! Stay safe! Mellon nin! ((hugs)) MM | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 2/28/2021 |
| I have always found stables a soothing place, myself. I love the cousins' relationship. And the foreshadowing of Faramir. And it just struck me: Théodred has no idea how valuable his training will be in a battle that is still some years in the future. Why, he is honing a human weapon ("no man") that, together with a Halfling bearing a blade of Westernesse, will save his own father from a terrible fate. And the fate of Rohan, Gondor, even all of Middle Earth, might have been hanging in the balance when the two illicit warriors struck those fateful blows. I hope this makes sense. I am half asleep. But I enjoyed reading this as part of my Sunday respite. ((hugs)) Stay well. Author Reply: Lindelea! Hello! I have had friends who rode and they always liked being in the stables, unless they were the ones who had to muck out the stables! :-) And I thought it only stood to reason that the tomboy-ish niece to the King of the Horselords would be like hanging around the stables. I had fun dropping hints about Faramir. And actually the advice that Gamhelm gives Éowyn that fits Faramir perfectly was advice I was given about a husband. It has borne good fruit for me! I hadn't really thought about what effect Theodred was having on the future but yeah what you point out is true. Unwittingly they prepared Éowyn for her future. Éowyn has a very close and strong relationship with her cousin in my story. So it is really going to be very hard on her when Théodred is killed. I have yet to write that chapter but it is very soon in happening. Thanks so much for reading and commenting! I love hearing from you!! Stay Safe, mellon nin! ((hugs)) MM | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 2/21/2021 |
| “Indeed?” Théodred raised a dark blond eyebrow. “Curiosity abounds. At what time did the King say?” Ah, I begin to admire him from the start. What a wonderfully whimsical response. I do love the relationships you sketch here. And I find myself thinking... if they had known what the future held, perhaps they would even have considered throwing open Shieldmaiden training to any young woman, noble and commoner alike. Author Reply: Lindelea! Hello! So happy you have a few moments to keep reading. I have really been wanting to know what you think of this story! I am fleshing out Théodred's personality in this story! I am sure it was a close relationship between father and son. And I imagine he was close to his two cousins as well. If they had known maybe they would have opened the training for Shieldmaidens to the nobility. It would have made Éowyn's life a whole lot easier! Thanks for reviewing! Stay safe, Mellon nin! ((hugs)) MM | |
| Nurayy | Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 2/16/2021 |
| This was an excellent chapter, my dear! You show Éowyn's pain so vivid; about her lost dream, about her uncle drifting, this sense of loneliness she feels at being so different, against expectations, so well written here. And her great joy, that keeps her going is her closeness, her friendships with the simple people. And that makes her shine so much in my eyes. Loved the banter between Háláf's parents. I liked the ceremony. The excitement and the pride of them all comes through so very well. I loved how Háláf blushed at the excited and proud waving of his mother. So good :) Oh Éowyn, her emotions are touching. Háláf is living her dream, through him she can somehow keep close to it but it is also so painful to see what she is denied. I loved to see how close she and Théodred are, loved their banter. And I loved to see how deeply Théodred feels for Éowyn. And if I think that soon she will lose him, because we know it will happen, it gives a harsh sting to my heart. And in all the feelings of excitement, of pride, of joy for what the young rider(s) achieved, I can't help to think that this boy is going to be a warrior and I fear for the hearts of his now smiling and happy mother and father, that one day they might get shattered. I pray that won't be the case. But how many parents' hearts will break in this war... Maybe I just get too used to slip into a certain depressed elleth's mind... :) Stay well, my friend! And I can't wait for our three hunters to reach Edoras ;) Author Reply: Nurayy!! Thank you so much for the detailed review. You know how much it means to me! So happy about what you say about Eowyn. I have been trying to sketch and fill out her pain and loneliness slowly and I am so glad that is coming across. Theodred and Eowyn have a close relationship and it will be very hard on Eowyn when Theodred dies. She does somewhat live through Halaf. She wants his dreams to come true because hers cannot. Thanks so much for the review! Stay Safe, mellon nin! ((hugs)) MM | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 2/15/2021 |
| Sheathe your sword and be accepted as one of us How Éowyn must yearn to someday hear that said to her, poor girl. Author Reply: Shirebound! So true! It is the pain that resides in her heart that she tries to hide from everyone. She hides it from her uncle, cousin and brother because she doesn't want to hurt them with the reminder of their part in her pain and she hides it from others because she can't stand to dwell on it. Of course (and I keep reminding myself of this when I am having to write about these unhappy times) her pain will be assuaged when she meets Faramir! :-)) Thanks so much for writing! Stay Safe, mellon nin! ((hugs)) MM | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 2/4/2021 |
| Ooo ooo ooo (bouncing)! Lovely! And to hear you took my question and ran with it, and it blossomed into this! I have finally caught some slack time. (No, actually, I came down with a sinus infection and was forced to take some time off work this week to rest and recuperate.) And so I begin this very promising story... I love that you looked up some Old English words. I love the way you sketch people and relationships. It's not hard to see why Eowyn was so fiercely loyal to Theoden, even to braving the Nazgul on the battlefield. Her relationship with her cousin (at least, what is presented here) brings a lump to my throat as I think of her in the film, encumbered by those heavy skirts as her cousin lay dying, and her wish to protect those she loves (she reminds me so much of one of my own, who expressed such protective feelings from an early age). I'm in full agreement about needlework! I went through a crewel phase, and tried cross-stitch, but it hurts my eyes, so I laid it aside. At least my screen will read to me, and I can type with my eyes closed when my eyes are tired, not exactly something you can do with a needle! I love that she talks to her doll the way she does, and her brother's understanding nature. And Saelith is a "nasty little minx", for certain. Such a bully! But Cyneith seems like a good friend, though perhaps a bit young and lacking in judgement at the moment. Perhaps she's learned her lesson about keeping confidences. Author Reply: Lindelea!!! I cannot tell you how happy it makes me that you have found some time to read this story. I have been wondering what you would think about it as you inspired the first chapter. I definitely saw Eowyn as a feisty child with a lot of energy and spirit and others not knowing how to channel it. In the book it written to show that Theoden had deep feelings for both his orphaned niece and nephew. So I ran with that. As children process grief their feelings come out in a variety of ways. It doesn't matter that Eowyn is only a child she thinks only in a way that would have kept her papa with her and Theoden sees her heart and knows that she needs something, some way to channel her grief and energy. Training is an answer, the best one he can think of for now. Years on it will cause a problem but he is only thinking of how to make his ten year old niece smiling and happy. We decide with our emotions so often; we are human. About Eowara, I remember talking to my stuffed animals and dolls when I was a child. We had many good conversations. Eowyn has a close relationship with Eowara. She is a very good listener. :-) And Eomer has very protective feelings about Eowyn. That is also written in the book. After all Aragorn tell him in ROTK (book) that while he can heal Eowyn's body it is only Eomer that heal her spirit and bring her back to the world. Only a close bond could do that. So once again I ran with this idea. Saelith is a nasty piece of business. I think we've all known a "Saelith" growing up. Cyneith is a little cowed but she does speak up for Eowyn and in later chapters they do remain good friends. So happy you have started this story. If I could nudge you a little toward "Leaving home; Coming home" I have finished it and would really like to know what you think of it, time and health permitting of course! :-) Stay Safe, Mellon nin! So happy to hear from you. :-) (((hugs))) MM Author Reply: About the Old English. Tolkien used Old English as a kind of base for Rohirric and I wanted an endearment that didn't sound Elvish as would be understandable for the Dunedain,Imladris or anyone in Gondor. So I surfed some Anglo-Saxon language websites! Ahhh! the Internet can be a wonderful place! MM :-) | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 1/20/2021 |
| I just love Holdlith, she's such a good friend for Éowyn (or for anyone in need of compassion and wisdom). Author Reply: Shirebound! I do too! She was created to be someone outside of the Golden Hall that Eowyn could help. And she has ended up helping Eowyn in her life and future! A wise woman who has seen life. Thanks for writing! Stay Safe, mellon nin! ((hugs)) MM | |
| mystarlight | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 11/25/2020 |
| I really love your portrayal of Eowyn. Author Reply: Mystarlight! Lovely to hear from you! So happy you like my Eowyn. I have have really had a wonderful time writing her! Stay safe, Mellon nin! MM | |