Reviews (579)

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Visits from Gandalf? That's an idea . . . They might well, mightn't they. I wonder what he would think of the elflings? They come and go a bit - I think they live mainly in the new lands, but I think they would retain houses in the old, because much of the more important political/social stuff would go on there, so they would want to maintain a presence. And, of course, Legolas's in-laws live there, and so do Galadriel's family. I think the families of Miriwen and Sirithiel would probably choose to move to the new lands. Heights are OK, but I don't fancy climbing - hanging off cliffs is too scary. (Although part of me felt I ought to take the opportunity to do the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb when we were there. A bigger part said 'don't.) But these three are adrenaline-junkies after all those centuries of risking their lives.

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True. Perhaps their wives should have got some testimonials before consenting to marry them - they might have thought twice before producing children. Although, of course, one's own children are always going to be perfect, and one is never going to repeat the errors one's parents and friends made. Glad you liked the forest.

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Without Internet access! That sounds like cruel and unusual punishment. I hope the withdrawal symptoms aren't too bad. I'm usually one or two ahead on these - sometimes more - and I liked this one. I am glad you picked out that line - it sounded right when it when I read it back, but one is often not the best judge of what goes on paper. Gimli and Legolas arguing? I don't know if I have Gimli's voice really. Although I would like to see more dwarf stories.

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Legolas does miss Gimli. Well, they all miss people - Estel and Arwen not least. The hobbits. All those who were part of the Fellowship and Elessar's reigh. But loss, to a degree, must be part of what living as an elf teaches you to endure. Not, perhaps, Legolas so much - as he was young and isolated in Mirkwood until the Quest; but the twins, with the fostered heirs of Isildur and their riding with the Dunedain, must have been well-acquainted with the sorrow of growing fond of mortals only to have them age and die. The trouble with sharing memories (and this is from a family historian point of view) is that children aren't interested in the stories. They put on that 'here they go again' face and respond in the way that I call 'smile and nod', where there is no listening going on. It's one of the reasons, I think, that these three old friends love getting away together - they can refer to moments and people that are meaningless to their families, and they can share a world of memories in very few words. The time you really want to hear the stories is when there is no longer anyone there to tell them - which never really applies to elves. Though I agree - they really should take Celeborn off with them and get him to talk about all the things he has seen and done and all the legendary figures he has known. (And Galadriel, actually - she could tell them about the Grinding Ice - and Idril as a child - and Luthien. What a resource for knowledge.)

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Thank you. It is perhaps easier to see the beauty of the natural world above ground, but dwarves would respond very strongly to the beauty of these formations. Narvi / Celebrimbor - interesting to consider their mutual incomprehension being overborne by their fascination with each other's skill. I wonder how long it took them to realise the other's gender? And how they found out? Or, I suppose, if they did. In my reality (sounds a stupid way to put it) Legolas has probably had about 250 years since Gimli died - his feelings are now more of regret and fond remembrance than fresh grief.

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There is enough light coming into this part of the cave to take away the oppressive feeling of too much stone - and I think he can cope with the more open spaces (after his training from Gimli!) - it's the places where he has to squeeze through dark passages that make him cringe a bit. Yes - I think the absence of any real sense of family life with Dwarves makes the whole Dwarf woman thing fascinating - and I should think the tough-looking Dwarves did find Elves a bit girly. And unwashed Dunedain must have impinged unpleasantly on Elven nostrils. I can see Elves leaping happily in half-frozen streams to clean themselves, while the Men huddled in layers of dirty wool that didn't get changed until spring.

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So glad you liked it. It's great to hear from you. Painting the house can only be done for so many hours before you need the relief of a bit of fun reading and writing! It'll give you something to look forward to, so you will paint faster. Best wishes for a calmer time!

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It is a rather beautiful cavern. And once inside a cavern with some light and space, it's OK. It's confinement and the feeling of being trapped that Legolas doesn't care for. The twins, after all, knew what was at the other end of the passageway. It is a good reminder of Gimli and the happy times they shared.

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Don't. Caves are fine, but 1000 foot crawlways sound like torture. I often wonder who first thinks to go into a tiny hole in the ground, where you can't even turn round to get back. And why. And don't even start on the ones where you have to dive under water to get into the cave. It's always two against one when the twins take on anyone else - but there's nothing vindictive about their sense of humour. The teasing is a Sign of Affection, right! Although Legolas is a lot younger, they understand each other pretty well - being the sons of Arda's powerful Elf Lords has given them a long history of things in common. I think Legolas thinks of Gimli quite often. As they all think of those they have lost - not to dwell on loss, but to celebrate what they shared, really.

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Everything must provide reminders to elves, I should think. And relationships with mortals must leave scars - but I think they would learn to treasure what they had and hope they would cope with the loss. I haven't been in that many caves - and none that you had to squeeze into. And I would never even consider those you had to dive to get into. Although I regret that I never went to France in the days when it was possible to go to Lascaux. Men just seem to show affection through teasing - it's when they are unfailingly polite you know they can't stand someone. It is rather harder for Legolas to retaliate though - there's only one of him and he is quite a lot younger, but he is used to the twins teasing him.

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I would have thought that, even if he didn't mind caves before, Moria would have put him off a bit. And the feeling of confinement probably wouldn't be appealing to someone who likes to be in the trees singing to the stars. I'm not surprised your Legolas doesn't like caves after being squashed in one (what were the eyes? A foreshadowing? An illusion? Or something nasty in the caves?) Legolas here - can cope with more open caves, I think, but doesn't like having to squeeze through low, tight clefts in the rock to reach them.

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Open caves are fine - it's the duck and squeeze bits that make you too aware of the weight of stone above your head that turn me against the idea of going underground. The last line, huh? (The next reflection carries on from this one, you know!) When you live as long as elves, almost everything must remind you of something - do you think you would have to welcome that and relish the memories it brings? And where would these friends be without the pointy jabs!

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I don't much like the idea of tight places - big caves are OK, but when you see people squeezing through tiny little gaps and ducking underwater to get into them, I do tend to wonder who ever thought to go there in the first place. They all have so many mortals to remember - who all meant so much in their lives and contributed to the elves they are now. (I wonder if there might be elflings named Gimli and Estel and Frodo one day. Or maybe elvish translations of the names.) They take out the memories and shine them sometimes, but they treasure them always in their hearts.

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It's somehow even more entertaining when they try and get it wrong! Do they not have diaries? Can they not transcribe things from one year to the next? Or flag dates up on the computer? Legolas was very lucky - although had he been there to reward Elerrina for her devotion in other ways, maybe she would have overlooked the forgetting of a gift! His naneth helped him out, but note she didn't explain to him - female solidarity rules. Thank you! I love doing these - nothing ever has to be resolved and they can just moan and tease and throw out ideas. Such fun to do.

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They are happy, though - they have found the ellyth they never discovered in Arda and they are perfectly prepared to let them have their fun. But they still manage their lads' trips away and do pretty much as they like. Their wives pander to them, too. (Big tough warriors often seem to be putty in the hands of their womenfolk.) Legolas's mother put in a partial rescue. She made sure he wouldn't really upset Elerrina - but she didn't let him get away with it altogether, because it's the twins who let him know exactly what he's missing. The Freemasonry of Females versus Males can't be abandoned altogether!!

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The twins probably wouldn't be gleeful if they didn't know that Legolas is quite capable of getting round Elerrina. I think all three of them are very happily married at the moment - and at the stage where all the manoeuvring is fun. (Except possibly some of the wilder elfling moments - the ones that, once survived, have Elrond and Celebrian rejoicing in payback time.) Men and multi-tasking don't mix. (It's the reason secretaries were invented.) They haven't really grasped, I feel, that if you have to tell them it's your birthday/anniversary/etc, then it's not worth bothering. It's like expecting you to organise your own Christmas presents. . . . hang on a moment . . . ah!

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Legolas wouldn't say what it was! He wants it to be a surprise for Elerrina. It must be one of those reunions that makes you stop and marvel sometimes. Not a mother in the raising you sense - but in elven lifespans that would never take up more than a few years of a never-ending relationship and with the kind of spiritual union they seem to be capable of having - parent/child bonds, husband/wife bonds etc, they might be able to get over physical absence more easily than humans. It must be amazing, though, to look up and see, unchanged, one you remember only vaguely from childhood - and see your adar in a constant state of euphoric happiness. I don't think Legolas - or Elladan and Elrohir are going to be any better at taking hints than any other males. They probably need hitting over the head with a wet fish before they realise that their wives are trying to tell them something. And Legolas quite likes winding Elerrina up - especially when he knows that he can take the wind out of her sails so easily. They are all enjoying their relationships. The only one that makes poor Elrohir feel a bit helpless is the intransigence of Nimloth - but she will grow up - his daughter is just rather too like his brother as an elfling. Fun to be with, but less fun to parent!

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I don't know. He wouldn't say. But he's sure that it will make Elerrina very very happy - and putty in his hands! (He might not be right, of course. Males can make some Very Big Mistakes with gifts. Except that his naneth approved.) I never think about our anniversary. I can remember the date if asked, but it would never occur to either of us to do anything about it. If it were not for the card that invariably arrives from my mother, I'm sure it could pass without any comment at all.

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So many of Galadriel's relatives are - shall we say - strong! Actually, come to think of it, so are Celeborn's and Elrond's. It's no wonder the kids are so forceful - their adult role models are pretty tough. Talking of great grandparents - I wonder if Earendil and Elwing are available . . . and whether they might be interested in a 'Take the Grandkids to Work' day.

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Since the pieces are so short, they give a perfect opportunity for setting up thoughts, but without having to come to any resolution. Which is like life, I suppose. Thank you for your comments - I'm blushing.

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My husband keeps telling the offspring that when they get their own homes, he will come round and put his feet on the furniture! I'm sure Legolas will develop a close relationship with his naneth, but she never will be his nana - those early years cannot be recovered. It has probably made him closer to his adar, though, than he would have been otherwise, so they might all take consolation in that. And the grandchildren will be something that will draw them all closer together. The joy about these being so short, is that there is no need to try to answer any of the points that are made! (Which is good, for some of them are unanswerable.) Elrohir - a romantic elf, yes. . . .and yet, Elladan's more boisterous personality conceals a core of pure marshmallow. Just ask Miriwen.

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Yes - Tathiel was Legolas's Nana, whether he called her that or not - being a Nana is more than a biological relationship. It's a bit like when adopted children meet their birth mother - it works for some, but not for others and it's never really a parent / child relationship, because it is the feeding and changing and day to day care that makes a Nana. Yet elves have time to develop relationships and could learn, perhaps, an adult naneth / son relationship. Quite funny really, to have Elrohir as the bad influence! But his side of the family does have the powerful (and scary) female role models! Just think of them all: Luthien (run away from home and fight to get what you want, regardless of paternal advice), Elwing (refuse to give up that *** Silmaril, dive into the sea, become a bird and never see your sons again), Galadriel (stomp off across the ice, refuse to give in to overwhelming odds and prove that you can be the equal of any) - to name but three of them. Elrohir is probably lucky that Nimloth and Aewlin are as co-operative as they are.

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Plenty more of these to come. I've already got five more written! Though I'm not sure I like the next one much. Have to see. It must be very difficult to acquire a naneth as an adult - so much of being a mother is bound up in early experience; being there, soothing disputes, looking after hurt kids, feeding, clothing, loving, worrying, helping with schoolwork and so on. Legolas doesn't need that now - that care was provided by others. They have to learn their relationship as adults. It might even be hard to learn to be a grandmother under those circumstances. (Of course, it might be fun for Legolas to become a much older brother!) It is tempting at time to look on Legolas and the twins as kids - but they are thousands of years old and the descendants of very powerful ancestors. They would have the qualities of their kin, honed by their position in life. (It doesn't show much in these, because they are always off-duty and out with their mates, but sometimes there are hints of maturity and power.)

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I like doing these because their brevity means that I don't have to answer the points they raise! They can just talk and come up with ideas and move on to joking - just like people do. Elrohir seems quieter and more romantic than Elladan, but he has a core of steel and a well-developed sense of responsibility, I think.

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Elrohir is a gentle romantic at heart! It is interesting how your viewpoint changes depending on where you are at the time. You don't really think much about parents when you are a child - they are just there. It's not until you have your own children that you see their perspective. (I've already got five more of these stacked up, so there's no likelihood of them ending in the immediate future!)