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Sweet Woodbine by Bodkin	12 Review(s)
Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 11/30/2006
Ah--Gimli's house sounds so beautiful. He was elvellon, after all.... And the advice given Legolas is true; and now Elerrina's father is finding himself forced to be polite to that wood elf! Hee! Author Reply: Legolas had as much influence on Gimli as the reverse - and I think Gimli had a good eye for beauty (and a romantic heart) before he ever met the elf. Poor Taryatur. Like most fathers, all he wants is the best for his daughter - and like many fathers in similar situations, he remains to be convinced that this Wood elf merits her affections.

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 6/25/2006
It is intriguing to watch how the highest ranking Noldor are supporting Legolas, not to mention his love for Elerrina. Poor Taryatur, he doesn’t stand any chance – that much would be clear even if I didn’t knew the outcome. He can't even truly fight the couple in question, much less all the others who tend to approve of the match in spite of the problems. And it must be fascinating to be able to meet some of the Valar and talk to them. I can see why Aule is so insistent to see Legolas again and to ask him about the dwarves. And I think Yavanna said it quite well: ‘My Lord Aulë has spoken of you,’ she said. ‘He said that you had the song of the forest in you – tempered with a little steel and stone to give you resilience.’ The long friendship with Gimli must have been leaving a mark on Legolas. Well, maybe it is a certain comfort to Legolas to know they are taking an interest in him for an entirely other reason, as he is so frustrated with all the diplomacy and the whole situation. By the way, it was moving to know just why Gimli agreed to sail with Legolas, and I am glad to know he is not alone even after his dwarf friend died. Nathroniel seems to be a very nice elleth, and she knows Legolas obviously very well. stares disbelievingly at screen Now, that I had to read twice! Taryatur is defending Legolas?? If that is not a miracle! Well, he may not like Legolas – or maybe despise him is nearer the mark – but he has honour, that much is obvious. I enjoyed greatly how he dealt with this idiot! Author Reply: Well - Legolas has Galadriel on his side for a start, and I imagine her family will co-operate with her (if they know what's good for them) - and they are probably happy for her to be occupied with something other than worrying about whether Celeborn will sail. Taryatur loves Elerrina - he really does just want what is best for her - and that puts him onto a loser to start with as long as she remains determined that Legolas is what is best. Visiting the courts of the Valar must have been awe-inspiring! And disconcerting, too, to the elves of Middle-earth, I would think - they are used to being the 'superior' life form of ME - and now they are surrounded by Maiar and Valar. I think Aule would be interested in Legolas - there aren't that many elves who have been close to dwarves, and none of them came sailing west accompanied by one - and Yavanna might well appreciated the blending of some of Aule's favourite characteristics with one who is devoted to the forest. You made me laugh there! Taryatur hated doing standing up for Legolas - absolutely hated it! But he is an honest elf - painfully so - and he could do nothing else. It won't make him like the Wood Elf any better, though.

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 6/1/2006
Must have come as quite a shock to the Noldor of Aman when Galadriel came back. All those ages ago, she left as a fiery, hotheaded, ambitious princess. And then she came back all gracious and knowing and wise and pithy. Finarfin must hardly have recognized her. But I like seeing that she has such a wonderfully subtle sense of humor. For all that she is a complete and total yenta, at least she knows it and can laugh at herself about it. Actually, that's probably the biggest problem that Elves have, across the board. Very few of them know how to laugh at themselves, and more's the pity. Poor ol' Litheredh. He seems to have become a professional fall guy and target. I do hope Legolas pays him enough for the grief he has to take. And Taryatur is manipulated so elegantly here. It'll serve him right when the inevitable happens. Author Reply: Galadriel grew up a lot in Ennor, I think. She way - dare I accuse her - a bit shallow in her youth! But she had a lot of excellent qualities that time and suffering - and Celeborn - have refined to make her grow into someone to reckon with. To my mind, it is an ability to see and laugh at herself that turns her from someone scary to a truly great elf. (And her rock-solid bond with Celeborn.) You're right - if Feanor, or Maeglin (- or come to that the awful Turin ... not an elf, but someone who definitely took himself far too seriously) had a better sense of the ridiculous, Elven history would have been very different. Litheredh is growing, too. Legolas needs a sidekick - and Litheredh provides that. Together with a view that's a bit closer to the ground. Poor Taryatur. When he first appeared, he was just a pain in the neck. But the poor guy means well. He's blinkered, but he has his reasons for doubting Legolas - and he only wants his daughter to be happy. And, like many parents, he reckons he's a better judge of what will achieve that than she is.

wimsey	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 4/26/2006
I am so enjoying this story. I hope you take it up to the point of the marriage that is mentioned in Reflections from the Paradise of Elves. I also like the setting of Valinor. Since Tolkien wrote very little of what occured there, it is all open to interpretation. Your stories feel to me very close to what Tolkien’s vision may have been. Thank you for writing such enjoyable fiction. Author Reply: Thank you. I'm glad you feel that this is what Valinor should be liked. I do feel that elves are curious, exploring, involved, occasionally contentious sort of people and that they wouldn't change just because they were in Valinor. Before the Flight of the Noldor, they had a drive to learn and change things and discover more - and they still would! The new arrivals would have slightly different priorities, I think, and there would be trouble settling in - but, if there is one thing elves have in plenty, it is time. I am fairly sure that this story is likely to go up to the solution of certain difficulties! Which probably puts it sometime around the later stages of Ripe for Change and, naturally, before the beginning of Far Horizons. It is getting increasingly complicated fitting all these stories together! I'm glad you are enjoying reading these stories. They are great fun to write.

Redheredh	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 4/25/2006
...there is much pleasure to be had in introducing someone to something that is new to her. Such as marriage to one's opposite? Such as parental rebellion? Such as shedding cultural inhibitions? Yes, Galadriel just might be inculcating innocent little Elerrina... ;) Lovely allegory, shifting sands... ...could she not at least do it openly? You are a master of conversation as well as description. Galadriel and Elerrina, Galadriel and Linevende, Finrod and Camentur, Litheredh (whose name could easily be translated to Berry) and the innkeeper, idjeet and Taryatur, Legolas and Nathroniel, Legolas and Yavanna - Ah! Legolas and Yavanna! What a wonderful scene! You convey the magnificence of the Ainur so well! The sacred corn was her gift to the elves - and no doubt beer too. However, I cannot end any review for this story without saying something about Taryatur. His was a great scene too. I could just see his expression on exit. Oh, the exasperation! Poor guy. I truly believe Oropher will be the last straw - the summit of Taniquetil will go bald that day. ;) Another wonderfully entertaining chapter of a great story. Author Reply: I am sorry to be so long getting back to you - it's been a long week. Don't tell anyone, but the marriage of Elerrina and Legolas - her red-headedness - and all sorts of other things - just started out as throwaway jokes in Reflections! It's only as some of those elements swell into stories of their own that the enormous complications of this relationship become obvious. I reckon Galadriel knows what two fear calling to each other looks like. She doesn't even need foresight to know that Elerrina and Legolas are going to find it virtually impossible to deny their attraction, however inconvenient it might be. And, if she wants to ensure that the girl knows what she would be taking on, surely that is a sensible thing to do? Berry is a nice name! Simple. Rural. Fruitful. I can live with that. Names are so difficult - they can distract me for hours. I occasionally call people ... until I can get back to a dictionary, but I spend so much time on them! Yavanna would have taken an interest in Wood Elves, I'm sure. Her kind of elves. Living with and enhancing the world as it is rather than trying to make it something else. Taryatur is a well-meaning, upright elf. He doesn't want his daughter to have anything to do with Legolas for reasons he, from experience, considers quite valid and sensible. He is not going to indulge in dishonourable behaviour - that would be taking something from himself. Although the strain of behaving in support of the descendant of Oropher's house is painful, doing anything else would be worse. Poor chap. He's onto a loser, I'm afraid. Thank you. I'm glad you are enjoying it.

lwarren	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 4/25/2006
This one, too! A good, loooooong review...maybe tomorrow during specials...hmmmmmm. I CRIED when Legolas met Yavanna - I'm not sure why. Maybe he should enlist her aid in snaring the beauteous Elerrina! More later! bows to the author As the KB's say, "You so ROCK, Bodkin!" linda Author Reply: Yavanna would be the one of the Valar who took the Wood Elves under her special care, I would think. She and Orome seem the Valar most attuned to the forest and growing things. I'm glad you liked that! Legolas and Elerrina will overcome their problems in the end, I'm sure. Somehow or other. Possibly they'll even conquer curmudgeonly Taryatur - given enough time! Love to the KBs. And lots of nectar. Thank you.

Fire	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 4/25/2006
Galadriel is doing her sublte magic again isn't she? With Ellerina saying she loves the woods beter than the sea. Does she even realise what she is saying? On the other hand Finrod already has the wisdom of the ages with him, he just know where everything is going with Ellerina and Legolas. But he's leaving the meddling to his wife and sister, I'm sure he knows how good his sister is at that :) I just loved the way you wrote the scene of Legolas and Yavanna, she just had to take interest in him, after all he's very in tune with her world, always has been. But I can see he finds it a bit scary as well, after all she is a Valië. It is sad though to see just how his close friendship with Gimli is looked upon by some of the elves, they surely have never even really met a dwarf before so why don't they just keep their mouths shut instead of spreading rumours. I think Galadriels desciption of Thranduil's reaction is a very accurate one, after all he's quite an explosive character, I can't wait to acctualy seeing him hear about it :) I do feel somewhat sorry for Taryatur for being coaxed into supporting Legolas, but he is a good guy inside and he doesn't seem to like all the sceaming that goes around either. He's just got some problems left over from his participance in the war (not to mention a strong dislike of Oropher) he still has to get over those. I can understand Gimli's idea of never really reaching the Blessed Realm, but still taking ship to help Legolas stay sane enough to reach it. I just love that their friendship was that strong. So it's not so strange that Gimli's house seems like a peaceful haven to Legolas when he comes back there. It's funny to read Legolas's reaction to Nathroniel telling him to find someone to share the burden with, you can see he's getting bugged about people telling him that. So I loved it when she says she means a friend (though perhaps she knows those two could be one and the same person) and telling him that no elleth that is not from Lasgalen is good enough for him :) Eventough he clearly disagrees with that. He's just got his heart set on one, but there are to many obstacles in the way right now and he won't settle for another one. Author Reply: I think Galadriel has seen the Look in Legolas and Elerrina's faces and she is enough of a romantic to think it is a good thing. Enough of a stateself, too, to see that a bond between the Noldor and the Silvan might be a jolly good thing - but also experienced enough to know that certain behaviour will help such a relationship get accepted - and enough of a meddler to have no problem dipping her fingers in the pie to 'help'. Finrod is wise - and packed with charm, I think. He is certainly sensible enough to keep out of other people's emotional entanglements. (After all, look what happened when he got involved with Beren and Luthien! Although I think he's safe from werewolves in the Blessed Realm.) I was thinking about the Valar and their favourite groups of elves. After all - Aule likes the Noldor, Ulmo's preferred groups are the Teleri and Falathrim, the Vanyar seem to sit at Manwe's feet. Yavanna is a natural choice for the Wood Elves. Orome would like them, too, I think - or maybe he would be more interested in the Sindar. Or perhaps Elbereth would take interest in them... Elves are curious, contentious creatures. I think some, at least, would have been totally scandalised by Gimli and I'm sure that rumours of all kinds would have circulated among them. And Legolas has walked straight into the counsels of the great - that must have caused bitterness among those who have been striving for years to get that kind of access to power. Thranduil will not be impressed about a possible Noldor daughter-in-law. I'm hoping he'll be so pleased to see his son that he will forget to explode until he has had a chance to get to know her. Fingers crossed. Maybe Taryatur's outrage will help him. He will hardly want to react in the same way. Poor Taryatur - he's a very upright honourable elf, with just a few rather big hang-ups that go on to make things hard for him. Gimli would have known that he didn't have much time left, I suspect, and would have considered it well-spent in putting his elf in Galadriel's hands. Or Elrond's. But I think his romantic streak would have felt that the Lady would have been best able to help Legolas. Legolas really needs a few more of his own people about him - but I think he hasn't really made the full mental adjustment from warrior-travelling-light to head-of-state-with-an-entourage. His is a lonely path right now and he spends a lot of time with people who don't share any idea of his past. It's no wonder he's vulnerable to the appeal of a certain elleth! Thank you. More fairly soon, I hope.

thechevin	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 4/25/2006
First off apologies for not reviewing your work before I have been shamelessly lurking, reading and then selfishly not bothering to tell you how much I enjoy your writing. This story however has made me stand up and be counted I love the whole thing, and the wonderfully rich tapestry of characters that you have woven together to form the whole It is enchanting to watch this careful courtship as it develops, thank you so much for sharing your wonderful writing Judy Author Reply: Thank you - lovely to hear from you. I am so pleased you are enjoying this story. Legolas and Elerrina have a lot of obstacles to overcome along the way, poor things. Even in the Blessed Realm a Wood Elf and a Noldor elleth are not going to find everyone smiling on their budding interest. And these two have added difficulties, too. Not to mention the fact that every Wood Elf is coming out of the trees and expecting Legolas to wear his father's mantle. I hope you continue to find the story entertaining.

Ellie	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 4/24/2006
Loved this chapter! All of the scheming and coniving is so surprising to see in the natives of Aman. but it probably was there for at elast one of the reasons you gave inteh chapter. It was so great that Tar stuck up for Legolas. I love it! I also loved it that Finrod was trying to stay out of the romance intrigue and was leaving it to his wife and sister. That was funny as well. There were many small steps and many big ones taken in this chapter. Well done! Ellie Author Reply: Thank you. I tend to feel that elves are naturally curious, intelligent, active creatures, who would continue to be that way even in Aman - and gossip and scandal and petty rivalries are part of living with others. Legolas and the dwarf must have caused a lot of tongues to wag! And a lot of people will have been jealous of the way he just stepped into a position of power among the great and good. Taryatur doesn't like Legolas (although he would like him better if he found himself a wife elsewhere. Maybe. Until he realised how upset Elerrina would be and then he might dislike him even more.) but he is honest and honourable. He would never stand for underhanded sneakiness - and anybody who thought he might can't be all that bright! Finrod - well, he's male. Safer by far to leave that romantic malarkey to the ladies! And he is old enough - and wise enough - to have learned when to let them do their own thing. He probably doesn't even find it all that interesting, either.

Lianna	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 4/24/2006
Good chapter, but who the heck is Nathroniel? Author Reply: Thank you - glad you enjoyed it. Nathroniel - well, she used to make Legolas tidy his room and found tasks for him when he was bored. Told him stories if he woke in the night. And her presence is comforting to him - in an entirely non-sexual way ... She's not his mother - but probably when his mother was alive she was a nursemaid. She's got the sort of personality that reassures hurt children and I think she took on a bigger role when Laerwen was killed. He looks on her as part of his extended family and always visits her when on Tol Eressea. (Goodness the cast list gets complicated!) Sorry if I didn't put in enough clues to her identity.

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