I know my 'reviews' lack any reviewing, but I thought I should still say you did a good job... dealing with the trauma of a situation like what Fili went through, and the self defense issue is very well done. I liked that you had Kili say" I don't know, Fee, I can't say." which is completely true, no one can say until it happens to them.

This was so good! Definitely dark but your writing and characters were spot on and I loved every but of this! Great job, you're a fantastic writer! :)

That was amazing! I loved reading this.

Aww, that was heartbreaking!

Who the darn tootlin' pop gave you tHE RIGHT TO WRITE SOMETHING SO HEARTBREAKING SO WELL DANG YOU AND YOUR FLAWLESS WAYS GIVE ME ANOTHER CHAPTER PLEASE

Angst galore!
Poor, poor Fili!
Filthy orcs!

So beautifully gritty! That would tear at Fili's soul for a long time. The orcs certainly did their job, they're still torturing him, even after he'd been rescued. Poor Fee. Nicely done! I love your writing! 3

As always, a fantastic story!

Interesting fic! A little sad, but well written.
When Fili feels guilty I always want to hug him. And when I see the love between the brothers, and Kili's trust and respect for his big brother...
Well done! :)

Oh, Fíli! You are a good person. It's not like you wanted to kill those men... but what a tough spot! Ohh! If I were in those shoes, I don't know what I would've done either.

Great fic! You really get pulled into Fíli's situation and it makes you think. Of course, it's more angst to add to the collection... Our poor Prince Fíli, once again being hard on himself and Kíli being a caring little brother. Thanks for writing this!

Ps. If you ever have anymore dreams about the boys, feel free to expand and post them again! ;)

A sad story of the reality of life in middle earth. It could all have happened to anyone, yet our golden prince blames himself for the death of his fellow prisoners. They would have died anyway sooner or later for orcs let no one live for long. He is such a kind soul and Kili is so precious to him he could not have let himself be killed for that reason alone. I am so glad you ended it with Kili's eternal faith and love of his older brother. Thanks for sharing.

Oh, poor fili :(
This was a really good story! I really liked it!

Finally, I have a little bit of time to read this lovely fic. I have been looking forward to it all this time. Well, I guess now that the first hype is likely to slow down a little is as good a time as any to leave you my review.
Oh the eyes… dead eyes… they get me every time, even when it’s just a fish on the plate that’s looking at me. How much worse to look into the eyes of one that you killed, you described Fíli’s horror very well. As somebody who is not a visual person at all, I particularly like how all of the senses are involved. I love that in writing!
Oh Fíli’s impotent little fury, cursing at an orc in the middle of more and more orcs who force him to do things against his better judgement. Thinking of home, thinking of his mother… I wonder if that is what he was thinking in the Battle of the Five Armies as well, if he thought of her grief at the end. And then he thinks of Kíli… oh now that would be a truly heartbreaking scene, those two pitted against each other in a fight to the death. But that is for another time. Here I just really enjoy their reunion!
Ah, you have him fight a lion! People keep comparing him to a lion and I just wonder if Fíli would have ever met one, or even heard of them, a beast of legend, a murmur caught from traders from far away.
It all comes back to that core question about the worth of a life. As you might guess from my writing, it is one that keeps me up at night. I love the way Fíli despises his own decisions, wants to be punished for them but in the end knows he will always chose his own life over that of an anonymous other. And then a boy, a younger person with his entire life in front of him… now indeed, who is worth more… Oh yes, Fíli, I can see your dilemma. I love how Fíli alternates between “I’m the older, tougher, stronger one here, I can keep it together” and the little boy inside of him who is hurt and scared and really just wants his mama, just like the kid in front of him.
I had a little chuckle at Kíli’s “you’re a boy to me”. Such fun to be had with ages in Middle Earth!
I love that when he does meet his mother again it is not at all the way it should be… well, it is outwardly, everything is perfect, but Fíli himself is not and you bring that across very nicely. The shorn here is a nice symbol of the changed, incomplete Fíli that returns. Who could ever understand exactly what he went through and who could ever say what they would do in his stead… What’s right, what’s wrong in a situation like that? When is killing justified? A bunch of my favourite questions asked here in this fic. It’s great to see them addressed in this format!

Why did you have to make me cry? Why?
From what my tears would allow me to read, it was an excellently written piece of work. :)

Fili's guilt! Oh my gosh Fili's guilt! It is seriously one of my favorite things to explore in the whole world, even if it does tear at my heart to hurt my poor lion prince like that. But seriously, Fili's pain is so interesting. Poor Fili! I can't even imagine what a situation like this must be like:(((( I'd almost like to see more of this universe, but I also don't want to see any more of this universe, because Fili will never fully recover from this, and it would hurt so much to watch his family try to help him.
Awesome, awesome story!