Reviews (2,009)

Now I know why I'm so drawn to the Elves; I'm ambidextrous also.

Poor Alex, someday he will h ave his all of his mysteries solved, and then he will be bored. Glad Elladan understood that Alex was just trying to "save"Finrod. Soon all will be well and Derek will be home to help him sus this all out.

Oh, Shitake Mushrooms! Just what the hell is going on with Alex? Talk about split personality. They really do need to get to the bottom of this, Alex needs to take some time off and sit down and process all that has happened to him in the last six months, nearly getting killed, twice, Ratty, Elves, leaving the Agency, meeting Derek and all the others, he just has not had time to go over it all. He needs someone non-judgmental to talk to. I am beginning to wonder if Namo did him any favors when he sent him back! I know, I know, if he hadn't we wouldn't have a story but it does make you think. I wonder if there is some thing in the water that is setting Alex off, or is it subtle influence from the Dark Side. (You know what I mean.) Hm, Finrod really did pull rank if he is invoking Life Oaths, he doesn't often do that, I wonder just how much his shoulder is bothering him. Manwen is a big girl, she can look after herself. Very interesting chapter, need to find emery board and clean up bitten nails, adds them to list of things for Cliff House, along with all the other boring stuff like loo paper, hand soap and the like. Have a good weekend, Huggs, Lynda

"They are most interesting and even entertaining for being Mortal fare." This is because of these sentences that I don't understand how any mortal can stand being around elves... Nice chapter, as usual. I love it when Alex unnerves everyone with his weird genetics ;-)

Huh. Never a dull moment in Wiseman, it seems! So Alex managed to give Elladan a bloody noe, at least, even though he (from the Elves' perspective, at least) would probably considered barely half way trained in combat. Weird, that thing going on with Alex. I wouldn't have pegged you as one who is likely to put in reincarnation in one of your fics (if that is what this is.) (Um, I'm NOT including the Elves' way of recycling in this!) If this is some kind of side effect of Alex somehow having Bregdal's memories,stuffed into his skull, well. Bregdal is living happily somewhere in Aman with his family. And if he is Beren reincarnated, I'm sure Lúthien wouldn't have let him go anywhere without her, so where is she?? When it comes to fighting at a highr level, I wonder if some of the Maiar might be permitted to come and play with Glorfindel, once he is up to it? I'm sure they would have missed him and his antics!

Poor Alex. He never catches a break! I liked Finrod and Glorfindel's defense of mortal capabilities. Thank you.

Couldn't remember if I reviewed this chapter or not, but I didn't want to not review either. I have missed Zach, glad to see him in the front lines of the story. I am also glad he is making friends and learning lots. He will come in handy when this reaches the others. Glad the brother's are asking questions. History is normally written by the victorious. Guess there were no real winners in this one. :( Loved the interaction between Amroth and Nimrodel also. :) Great job as always.

The sword training is really cool. Are the Elves going to learn to use guns? I know from experience that they can be hard to aim correctly. Hmm, more psychological stuff with Alex. He's got a lot going on. ~Eruherdiriel

I bet Galadriel would get a kick out of reading Mortal history with regards to women's rights. I could see her in the fight for voting rights, reproductive freedom (though I suppose Elves would be unsupportive of abortion), equality in job choices and pay, etc etc. Couldn't you just see her in the 70s? The Dude abides.

"Boy and their toys" indeed, though I've found that the ladies tend to hit harder, at least in my area. I enjoyed the swordfighting, but I also want to know what that was all about. ~Eruherdiriel

Well, the mortals need to see the full capability of experienced fighters who have had more than a few years to perfect their art. Am glad Amroth did the two on one, and of course he'd beat Gwyn and Gareth!

Hi Fiondil, Just wanted to say I really loved how you explained the reason for Eldar in modern Arda! The news about Valinor is worrisome. But I guess theyre fighting their own "enemies within". Discord and resentment, misunderstanding and mistrust, forsaking hope. Like you said early on, this war will be fought on many levels and it's good everybody's getting practice. I know it'll be fun finally meeting G&G's parents. I think I like the boys' mother already! The Dude abides! Diana

Well that was an interesting work out, some how I don't think the Dargor Dagorath will hold off for the Super Bowl! I think Galadrial would have made a very good ruler, had she had the correct plumbing. If I have my genealogy right wouldn't Calebrian have been Gil Galad's heir had she had the correct pluming also? Makes you wonder how much of a love match Elrond's binding to her was. (Calebrian, not Galdrial!) Amroth doesn't seem to be too upset that they took over for him when he took off. Nothing wrong with pink and blue, at least you don't have to keep answering the questions about gender when out and about with them. I prefer, white, lemon yellow and pale green if I am knitting for unknown munchkins, it works for all varieties of plumbing. I like brighter colours when they are older. Opens up Cliff House and loads refrigerator with Iced Tea and Lemonade and a couple of six packs, also fills cookie jar. It's just a trifle warm and humid here. Huggs, Lynda

O dear, sounds like Amroth has not such much found memories of Galadriel. I have the feeling she gave Amroth quite a hard time back in the days when he ruled Lothlorien. And since I think he and Celeborn could actually get along quite well, the later must often have felt caught between those two! (Speaking of Galadriel, a few weeks ago, I managed to get my hands on a statue of her for a bargain price! It's all too lovely, even my housemate who knows nothing about LOTR seems to like her lol! ) So the brothers went on Crusade? I like that touch. “We always took care to follow the religious practices of the people with whom we lived so as to not arouse suspicion." Ah, the blending in tactic. Very wise in those days! During fighting practice Amroth really is going back and forward between the role of old and wise Elven king and over protective expecting dad, lol! Oh, I hope Zach will find a friend in Fridrich, he needs more than just being Glorfindel's sidekick. I think there's a bit of Sador in him, so that promises some growth. That sounds like a cool project Kevana! Have fun with it and I'm sure it will turn into something. It's great seeing some many people being working on some kind of fan-works in one way or another, I'm currently working on repainting some LOTR action figures into Silm characters and having great fun with it. I've covered the sons of Feänor so far and they've come along nicely! (at least in my eyes that is)

Ah, another good chapter. In it this time you have brought up another small mystery, who are the ap Hywel parents? I wonder if they will turn out to be someone that the Wiseman elves know and thought lost over time. You also got me thinking about hiding in plain sight. Gwyn and Garath were right in mentioning to Zach that most people did not travel far from their homes and it was easy for the elves to just move from are an to area. Nowadays in some ways it would be just as easy to hide in plain sight. How many people really know and pay attention to their coworkers and neighbors. Except for the necessity of having ID numbers (social security numbers for us Americans), moving from place to place is not impossible if you can speak or understand the language and customs. Elves look like mortals except for their ears and one could wonder in real life if more than angels dwell among us. LOL! I can't wait until the ap Hywel brothers get into training with Loren and Finrod. That would really be a good demonstration of fighting. Back to the Cliff house for iced lemonade and cookies. Our cooler weather has disappeared and the humidity and heat is back with a vengeance. Have a good week. Looking forward to the lesson that Amroth will give to the brothers about fighting with no holds barred in front of the mortals.

That mismatched information must have really had an impact on how the brothers reacted when Námo showed up the first time. It paints quite a different picture of events! Amroth, you're just jealous Galadriel took over your kingdom! ;) If she set out to prove her worth as a leader, she certainly did it. Would be very interesting to see those two face-to-face again, since he won't have seen her in literally Ages. Can't help but wonder what some of the Elves from Valinor are going to think of the brothers, who've "grown up native" so to speak. Maybe it's time they took Elven names, but then again, they seem satisfied with who and what they are. I think they have a lot to offer. Looks like Zach enjoyed his taste of fighting. Nothing like finding out you're good at something to boost your self-confidence! Love seeing the SCA folks back for another round, too. Elves watching the Super Bowl. Gotta love it. Really enjoyed this one, who'd turn down the chance to see Elves going at it with swords? Lucky Scadians! I'm (sort of) participating in a Silmarillion readalong and some of the fanart coming out of it is priceless. I'm also tentatively working on a Silmarillion crochet project that is either going to be completely awesome or a gigantic mess. Either way, it's good experience for a beginner! Thanks for the update and take care! -Kevana

I honestly hadn't picked up on Alex somehow enjoying all the chaos, but maybe it's so subconscious even he's not aware of it. Amroth knows him well, though. Maybe Alex is also sort of subconsciously enjoying being a bit of a drama queen about it, much as he would protest if it were brought up. I can only imagine what the folks back in Aman are going to think of ultrasound photos. But the Maiar better watch out, or they're going to end up as a courier service taking stuff between dimensions left and right. *grin* I'd personally be begging them to take weird and random Mortal things over just for the Elves' reactions to them. Or better yet, start an inter-dimensional penpal club! Anything to snap them out of their funk and prove they're not alone. Looks like family history got very edited, either on purpose or by a millennia-long game of telephone. Even beyond any reasons for their family's fibbing about earlier events, if that's what happened, it's always interesting how assumptions can create misconceptions down the line. My mom's generation assumed their grandfather's unusual (for an American) accent was Dutch, but some genealogy research I did proved he was from Argyll, Scotland. You never know what's lurking - and I can't wait to find out what happened with their family. Like other reviewers, you have my gears turning on that one! Anyway, interesting that the reason the Elves didn't fade was essentially because of Mortals, or so I gather from what's said here. Come to think of it, even in canon it's those Elves who held themselves apart who tended to start fading, and those who had lots of interaction with Men (i.e., Elrond, Legolas) didn't leave until everybody else did. Maybe gives credence to the idea that it was the time of Men and therefore those with ties to Men were sustained - though I'm sure the Valar had something to do with them not fading, too, beyond inspiring the EA Elves to stay. As for the Elves in Aman, it makes me wonder what other signs there are of their apparent civilization-wide depression. No more elflings, perhaps also no more new songs, no new innovations, no further building or exploring in that same time period. For some reason I get the most upsetting image of a grand city fallen near to silence. Námo's words here about being recognized as a friend really remind me of this beautiful bit of storytelling. Tons of stuff to ponder here, and you introduce a lot of great threads that I hope to see come together in the future! -Kevana

Good chapter. I nearly spit coffee when the brothers said they still liked to go to Methodist churches for the singing. As a lifelong Methodist, I am firmly convinced Charles Wesley did more for Christianity than John ever did. I actually heard a sermon on that once. Enjoyed the fighting at the end. I do want Zach to have a friend. Would you like me to email you about Leonard Nimoy's talk?

LOL! Nothing like a little inspiration... Is this canon or fanon? “She was hell bent on ruling us all,” Amroth finally said with a grin. “Kept insisting ellith were as capable if not more so than ellyn in ruling. I have to give Celeborn credit for putting up with her. I think he was the only person not in awe of her and was not shy in putting her in her place when she got too uppity, as Mortals might say.” If it's Tolkien's take, it brings me to a whole new appreciation of Galadriel's rejection of the Ruling Ring. Well done! Entertaining chapter, and a welcome break from the slowly building tension in the story. Back to the cliff house, now, with freshly brewed coffee.

Amroth's comment about Galadriel was quite amusing, but I admit I also sympathize with her. I wonder if Amroth's comment would have been as scathing if she had been equipped with the other kind of plumbing instead. Huh. Gareth seems rather worried that he might not get a wedding infitation, but I'm sure Elrohir and Serindë amended their list of invitees the moment they met the ap Hywel brothers, and that the two of them (and their parents) are definitely on the list! Seeing the Elves fighting with each other would definitely have been an eye-opener for the Mortals. And perhaps for some of the most talented and ambitious, an inspiration. ;-) Baby stuff in pink and blue? how ... traditional. (So, is the blue for the baby girl and the pink for the boy? Blue used to be considered a more delicate color, and so more suitable for girls, while pink was considered a "stronger" color, more suitable for boys.) (Oh well, last autumn, I did make some baby stuff for some friends, but I mostly avoided pastels, mainly because I don't care for pastels myself. I made an outfit in black and red, one in teal and a matching yarn in turquoises and blues, and a set in pink, charcoal grey and Fuchsia. Nice, un-boring colors! :-D)

It's been a while time since I wrote a review, so a lot to catch up, but I've been busy lately (aka where are Yavanna's Maiar when you need them) and much reading on my phone. Also, I had some fun painting some LOTR action figures into Silm characters. A major drawback however when do so is when you get some unpleasant e-mails, you suddenly feel the need to send your newly painted sons of Feänor after them lol! okay, this was a very interesting character. what intrigued me most was the following: "All of them should have faded a long time ago when they did not Sail, but they didn’t and you want to know why?” The thing with the concept of modern days elves is how by canon they should have faded a long time ago, and the story needs to come up with a reasonable explanation as why this did not happen. Now in EA1 we get a very brief explanation how the original 6 were always up to something new to try out and thought that was the reason they did not fade, and it worked nicely for the shorter story that originally was, but it's a very good thing for the story seeing this worked out a bit more into detail. Giving this by Námo adds authority to this. Well done! The ap Hywel brothers keep intriguing me and I kept asking myself "who are they, who are their ancestors?" Anyone we happen to know from your other stories by any chance? I'm not surprised how the history as the bothers know it has changed from how the stories originally went, that is after all how especially oral history goes, and justifying one's action is like the most common reason to adapt stories! Nimrodel wanting to give an ultrasound to the first Maiar that comes along cracks me up! And I can see some fights breaking out between Maiar to see who gets that honor too. And as for Nate: “Yes, the people of Wiseman know me as Nate and I usually appear to them in this guise. It’s less, shall we say, intimidating. They will eventually meet me in other circumstances, but hopefully, by then, they will be too familiar with me to feel any real trepidation.” Really deep. I think Námo will be truly happy when the people who will come to him will meet Death as an old friend.

Quite a chapter. Not much action, but lots of information. Alex needs to check his attitude. He sounds whiny and he needs to work on integrating his Grant and Meriweather personalities. He can't ignore his agency training just because he doesn't want to be an agent anymore. That is the second time that Finlay got the drop on him. I like Finlay more and more. I think he might be able to get through to Alex better than the elves. I admit their high-handedness is difficult to bear, but Alex is not making it easier on himself and them.

Hmmmm. Why would someone edit the story they told the brothers? What secrets to their parents hide? That particular group of elves really interests me. I'm also super excited about the baby elves. Names and developmental rates especially. ~Eruherdiriel

Another great chapter with a lot of meaty information. I especially liked Gwyn and Garath's talk with Nate. They are much more accepting of the Valiar than a lot of other elves. When one thinks about it, it is sad that elves are not having elflings. As young as Gwyn and Garath are there are few or no elves their age to meet. Hopefully as the future develops more elves will choose to start families. Amroth and Loren have also pegged Alex's reaction to Farrell. Keeping an eye on him is probably a good idea as Farrell could get the drop on Alex and he will need help. Amroth needs to be back home to Wiseman to work with Val and Alex. But I am sure that they have a plan in place. Have a great weekend. Looking forward to the next chapter on Monday.

Self-justification tends to lead to so many errors that tend to compound themselves. Glad that Gareth and Gwyn are open to communication and accepting that others do try to cover their own behinds and are willing to let it go.