Ok, wow that... was not something I expected. I can't wait to see how you go from here, how Haldir will find out and what he will do. And how her families will react to the news. I can already hear Juliette throwing a tantrum. xD

More please

I don't know how many widows and bereaved women Juliette and Lauren are personally acquainted with - very few I would imagine. The only reasons that would drive a pregnant woman to consider abortion are (a) she was raped, (b) the pregnancy was an unwanted accident following casual unprotected sex, (c) the child had died in the womb. If the Johnsons had bothered to actually get to know the elves and learn about their culture, those two silly women would have known that elves are not so dismissive about unborn children as women in the modern world are. The fact that Lauren casually said that "Ayla has decided to keep the child" says everything about the Johnsons' continued ignorance about their hosts' beliefs. There was never any doubt that Ayla would "keep the child". How many times would she need to repeat that her child was a gift from the Valar before it registered in Lauren and Juliette's thick skulls that elves consider babies more precious than humans ever could. I am glad that Galadriel confronted Lauren about her appalling family; that discussion was long overdue. Unfortunately, Galadriel's wise words probably went in one ear and out of the other, as Lauren still doesn't seem to accept that Juliette has done anything wrong, judging by her sarcastic response to Galadriel. You are trying to portray Juliette and Robert as caring individuals, but right now they just look like a pair of arrogant narcissists who have no empathy for anything save their precious family legacy.

I admire Haldir for telling Lauren that she should return with the Johnsons, but I can't help thinking that he should have told her why - because the orcs have targeted her and it is far too dangerous for her to stay in Lothlorien (not that the modern world is any less violent than middle earth); that he doesn't want her to suffer the same fate (or worse) as Celebrian. Personally, I think that once the Johnsons have exited through the portal, it should be closed down.

I am curious about the Johnson family being "thousands of years old". Just how far back do their archives go - ancient Romans, Greeks, Egyptians?

Oh no! Oh no, Haldir what are you doing?! D: I can't wait to see what you've planned. Especially now!

Ok I had to reread this chapter and the previous one because there’s something that seems pretty off to me (and it’s very rare that I’m wrong about these things; I don’t mind being proven wrong on occasion, but...well, here we go). Disclaimer regarding my first point: I don’t have siblings.

1. Robert is Lauren’s brother and Michael is Lauren’s childhood friend, right? I actually had to go back to the beginning to make sure I wasn’t misreading anything. If I’m right about that, why is it that Robert’s reaction/treatment of Haldir isn’t exactly the kind of thing I’ve known older brothers to have about their little sisters and guys? It would be one thing if Robert was being overprotective (you won’t believe some of the stories I’ve heard about overprotective brothers protecting their little sisters from guys), but here he’s just being possessive, a jerk...I’m honestly short on my list of English-language insults because I feel like I’m repeating myself (I’m bilingual). And again, while I don’t have siblings, I do have four older male cousins who treat me like a little sister (the age gap is there but we’re all so close that we don’t really notice it). My point: I’d expect to see all that coming from Michael, not Robert. And also, why have Robert go after Haldir AGAIN when Haldir has already proven that he is more experienced in combat and stronger (physically)?

2. I’m literally waiting for the day/hour/moment when Elrond and Galadriel will strip David of his gatekeeping duties and for Celeborn (or Glorfindel if he ever shows) to give him a good kick in the pants (ok that last bit would never happen, but you get my point). I will literally take back everything bad I ever said about this fic if you make all that happen AND have Elrond say that David is the WORST excuse for a father he ever saw in his...however many years old Elrond is (I forgot). I’d really love that and would probably get a huge laugh if Celeborn or Glorfindel gave David a kick in the...well, that area.

3. The thing about Juliette that really bugs me is that she reminds me of basically any antagonist from the anime, Jigoku Shoujo (not horrible, not great, but still decent). And that’s not a good sign. Most of the antagonists (not all, but most) were pretty formulaic and didn’t have good motive for making the lives of the protagonists living nightmares. Juliette is honestly the same as quite a few of the antagonists from that anime. And they didn’t really get any character development outside of “they do this thing and makes this other person’s life a living nightmare.”

4. You know what I realized after having gone back and read this? While it is true that both David and his wife wanted a child. it seems to me that his wife was the only one out of the two of them who was fully set on the idea of adopting Luthien. And why change Lauren’s name? There are TONS of people with not-super-common names! Heck, my real name (kanna is a pen/screen name) isn’t that common, and I wouldn’t change it for the world (ok, I have thought about it on occasion because I got fed up with people mispronouncing it, but never actually changed it).

I was literally starting to feel SOMEWHAT better about Lauren’s character by the end of this (I loved her going to the healer with Ayla and her family, then shopping, because that’s good bonding), but Lauren’s reaction (or lack thereof) to Juliette and Robert just rubbed me the wrong way. 44 chapters in, and I think I can say this: Lauren is a doormat (metaphorically). What that means: she’s letting other people control her, tell her what to do, how to live her life, etc. And one would think after 44 chapters, there would be SOME form of change or character development or SOMETHING.

I’ll keep reading (because I like the visuals and I really think the story will get better), but there are so many different directions you could have gone with this and I feel like you’re taking the easy way rather than the right way.

Great chapter as always! I can't wait what you have planed. I might "complain" every now and then, about the way of certain characters, but I truly love all the drama. xD

Your author's notes are interesting but I beg to disagree. It is not normal to expect a woman to terminate her pregnancy just because she has suddenly been bereaved of her partner. And I am astonished that such a view should be made by someone in the medical profession who are in the business of saving lives, not ending them. As for Robert, his very actions and opinions show that he is indeed over-possessive. Lauren is an adult, capable of making her own decisions and doesn't need Robert's interference. What seems to be clear to me from this chapter, is that the Johnsons are not people - they are board members, hence their unnatural coldness. They seem incapable of normal emotions except when it comes to thinking about money.

I see that Robert was silly enough to think that he could take on Haldir in a fight - good luck with that one. Not even George, who was a professional soldier, could have beaten Haldir, who is faster and stronger than Robert could imagine.

I see Juliette is still being vile. Really, isn't it time she grew up? She hated Ayla even before George died. Juliette can't keep using grief as an excuse for her nastiness - it is prejudice, pure and simple. I just hope she doesn't try to take the child away from Ayla - although hopefully the Johnsons will have returned to their own world before its birth.

Hmmm, a cast of some of the most unappealing, unsympathetic, not to say unpleasant, OCs I've ever seen. Repeated errors of canon, little real plot or character psychological development. Seems from your notes that you have no real objective for the story. Putting them all together I'm left wondering if this is meant as some form of fanfiction trolling.

Honestly, after hearing Lauren's ludicrous defence of Juliette's rudeness and appalling behaviour towards Ayla, plus her not seeing anything wrong in expecting a newly bereaved widow to have an abortion - even stating that is what she herself would do (really?), I don't know what else to say about her, except that she clearly has a long way to go before she could be considered a mature adult. Right now, she seems to possess the emotional thought processes of a 15 year old schoolgirl, not a woman in her twenties. Although, come to that, Juliette, a doctor, also sounds childish and immature, as does Robert.

The elves have shown a great deal of patience with their guests' ill-manners, but it will only stretch so far and sooner or later, they will retaliate. Ayla's brother has already shown his anger at Juliette.

I'm a bit uneasy about that confrontation between Robert and Haldir. How selfish of Robert to say "If you lover, you'll let her go". Lauren isn't a possession and doesn't belong to anyone. Not that Haldir would try and force her to stay in middle earth. Any decision whether to stay or leave is entirely up to Lauren and I honestly can't see her staying simply for Haldir's sake if she doesn't truly love him, and I'm not yet convinced that she does. If anyone is possessive it is Robert and I am wondering what his reaction will be if Haldir refuses (of course, Robert will refuse to believe that Haldir isn't interested in Lauren's wealth). Is Robert obsessive enough to try to hurt or even kill Haldir in order to get his own way?

I wonder what Lauren's elven family says about all this. I can't really imagine Galadriel and Celeborn letting anyone treat one of their people like this without saying anything. As for where to take the story: In the end it's up to you. If it's something you would like to write, then go head.

Ok, this could be because I’m overtired and can’t sleep, but WOW...I must say I am so disappointed in the lack of character development in this, not to mention where the story seems to be going.

1. Robert is being WAY too possessive. How do I know? Voice of experience, not saying more than that (seriously, you’re not getting any information out of me). To explain some characteristics, here’s what possessive guys are typically like: controlling, manipulative, unaccepting of other people whose opinions/beliefs differ from theirs...I don’t think I need to say more. You want him to be a possessive jerk? Fine, but make it so people actually STAND UP AGAINST HIM (or try to)!

2. For the love of...43. 43 chapters in, barely anyone or anything has changed (we don’t even know anything new about the Johnsons), and Lauren/Luthien seems to do COMPLETE 180s every other chapter (if not every chapter). I mean, I get that Juliette was part of Lauren’s foster family, but let me point something out: the only reason Juliette has any beef with Ayla is because Ayla is pregnant with George’s child, and George was killed in the line of duty. This makes Ayla an easy target, as her pregnancy hormones are all over the place and leaving her in an emotionally vulnerable state. Juliette needed to blame someone, but Ayla doesn’t deserve any of it. She didn’t FORCE George to go back to the real world; he CHOSE to go back. He knew the risks; he was aware he might not make it back. One would think that as the relatives of a soldier, his own family would understand this.

3. How can Lauren possibly be so nonchalant about an abortion? For the love of...Middle Earth is technically her home. Where the heck does she get off defending Juliette? Seriously, it ticks me off.

You know what I just realized? 43 chapters in, and no MAJOR conflict has happened. It would be one thing if this was a slow burn or something like that. But there’s literally NOTHING happening.

Just a further point about why the suggestion of terminating Ayla's pregnancy was so wrong. Elves do not become pregnant accidentally. They choose when to create a child and, as Ayla said, children are a gift from the Valar and they are viewed as precious. Abortions may be commonplace in the Johnsons' world, but would be unthinkable to the elves, who would consider it an act of murder, of kin-slaying in fact.

It is highly likely that miscarriages do happen if the mother is ill, has an accident, or is injured, or there is something wrong with the baby. Elves may be immortal but it doesn't mean they can't die.

The Johnsons just get worse and worse. David Johnson seems decent enough, but, like all wealthy men, he thinks that every problem can be resolved by throwing money at it. Surely he and his family have been in Lothlorien long enough to see that the elves are not like them, that they have a totally different society. And how absolutely vile of Juliette to suggest that Ayla should terminate her pregnancy now that she is a widow. She is a doctor for god's sake; is that how she counsels her patients when they are unfortunate enough to lose their husbands? And Lauren, who is half-elven and so should at least know something about how elves feel about children, saw nothing wrong with what her cousin said, even glaring at David when he quite rightly told Juliette off for her appalling behaviour. I don't care that Juliette is devastated at losing her brother. Ayla is equally devastated at losing her beloved husband and - unlike Juliette - may well fade from grief, along with her unborn child, especially after the hateful tirade she has just received. Thank goodness she has a loving family and close supportive friends.

I feel that the Johnsons have long out-stayed their welcome in Lothlorien. They are ridiculously foolish, thinking that money can buy everything (it can't) and the younger Johnsons are rude, arrogant and generally obnoxious. I personally do not see a future between Haldir and Lauren. She is very quick to turn her back on him; if she really loved him, he would be the first person she turned to. Also, I don't see her remaining in middle earth; when the Johnsons return to their own world, she will probably go with them and probably not argue about an arranged marriage with Michael - after all, hasn't she already said that he is everything she looks for in a man. I certainly don't see Haldir following her. He knows he would never survive in the Johnsons' world, where he would just be regarded as a freak, and I feel that shallow Lauren would soon tire of him, if she hasn't already.

Fun fun! I do understand how people from Earth would respond the way they did and be very materialistic, while still loving their family fully.
I think it is high time Lauren has some kind of revelation moment where she is like "omg, wtf... I've been acting a biatch." A "come to Jesus" moment if you will. Where she is thinking "wow, I really effed up."
I played politics and all high class in the horse show world... and then one day I thought "wow... I helped rig a youth group election so some lawyer's daughter would win, just so her daddy might buy her a horse. I'm a terrible person. I'm not doing this anymore." Turning point in my life. I'm really not a bad person, I just did what I had to in order to succeed... and sold my soul... until the price was just too high for me to pay and I reversed course like crazy because that wasnt who I really was. hated that I went through that for so long.

This is for chapters 41 and 42:

Ok, my LotR book knowledge is a TAD rusty, so if someone wants to correct me on this, feel free.

I didn’t think the elves could willingly have an abortion. Can babies die in the womb? Yes (I haven’t read about it happening much but I’m pretty sure miscarriages have happened). Even if an elf was given the opportunity to abort a baby, here’s my problem: elf children (elflings, whatever you want to call them) are viewed as GIFTS. I...it’s like Juliette is viewing the baby as a CURSE or something to be ashamed of. For the love of...I’m just going to go to my next point.

As for the others (the Johnsons; excluding Lauren because even though they raised her, she isn’t biologically related to them): sigh...you already know what I’m going to say, but I’m going to say it again. NO. CHANGE. PRESENT! There’s no character development or anything! I think the only one who changed the SLIGHTEST was George, and you went and killed him off!

Further more, are the Johnsons REALLY that stupid? Elves (generally) don’t care about material things like money, they want their children to be loved and cared for and to be treated with respect. Goodness...