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| One Who Sticks Closer than a Brother by Lindelea | 1 Review(s) |
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| Lady Forlong | Reviewed Chapter: Author's Notes on 3/16/2025 |
| Thanks for the links to your other stories -- I was having trouble finding them otherwise. After this one, I want to read more of your stuff. And I second Leithian's comment about the mention of Bilbo Baggins in the last sentence. Perfect way to end the story! But, of course, now I want to hear about Tolly's adventures in the Woodland Realm ;) Author Reply: You're welcome! Thank you! I appreciate your reading and taking the time to share your thoughts. I must admit I wrestled with how to end this story for a while until I got an inkling of Meadowsweet and her exasperation with her (sometimes too Tookish) husband! Some background info: I had several possible endings sketched out for this one. The current version is the one I chose to go with. Alternatively, I could have made it into one of the super-long stories in my collection, but those can be daunting to read (so much! happens along the way and during the visit, it could balloon to as many chapters as A Small and Passing Thing or even At the End of His Rope). Lastly, I might have added an epilogue chapter where Tolly returns and tells of some of the wonders he's seen, summarizing at least some of the events along the way and in the Wood of Greenleaves. Unfortunately, the "epilogue" idea (which I would have preferred, actually, because it would have been much faster to knock out) doesn't work because it would be heavily affected by events in an unpublished "Tolly" story on the list of WIPs I'm working on. (That one is the next one to be posted since it's only about 15 chapters, relatively short for me.) In other words, that story is set earlier on the timeline of Fourth Age life in the Shire, and the plot is life-altering, and the journey to see the Elves resonates with some of that energy. (Haha, maybe I'll add the epilogue to the end of *that* story, with the "benefit" of thoroughly confusing people, myself included. Sorry, feeling rather whimsical tonight.) I know, I ought to have posted that one *first*, but the idea and main plot point didn't occur to me until I was halfway through this one. I guess I had to get to know Tolly a little better first before I could work my way through that particular facet of his character formation. (Thanks for listening. I'm tired and more rambling than usual, sorry to say. I can be long-winded at the best of times, I know. I have missed the fanfic community so much, I can't seem to stop talking about stories, both my own and other people's.) So there might be the possibility of another Tolly story about the visit to the Elves. But it seems as if it would be difficult for an OC to carry an entire story. (Tolly and Eglantine's "Greening of the Year" worked because at least Eglantine is mentioned in the Family Trees and Pippin appeared in some scenes.) It might end up as a Legolas or Thranduil story instead, if only to make it attractive as fanfiction. The problem there is that I write Tolkien's Elves with trepidation for some reason. Hobbits, by contrast, just seem like long-lost relations, fun to sit down with and sip tea and gossip... Author Reply: (p.s. I suppose I could still add an epilogue here after the other Tolly story has been published to the end since it's the last chapter of that story that ties in with the ending of this story. So yet another option to consider! Thanks for listening. I often talk aloud to myself when I'm problem-solving to keep track and not get distracted.) | |