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| Let Sleeping Dogs Lie by Lindelea | 4 Review(s) |
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| Soledad | Reviewed Chapter: 20 on 4/15/2024 |
| Thank you for your detailed answer to my woefully short review. :) As to your question, my Harad-themed story is "The Face of the Enemy". I, too, diverted Harad into different realms, with various cultures that once existed and partially still exist. Should you want to discuss particular aspects of it - or indeed of Dwarves - I've got a LiveJournal community called edhellondawards that is for all things Tolkien... including fanfic. It is mostly dead in these days, serving as a personal archive for my stories, but you are welcome to join or just take a look. :) Author Reply: Oh! Wonderful! I just renewed my activity on LJ after more than a decade, so I will certainly check out that community! (And your story! I looked at your list of stories on SoA but didn't realise "The Face of the Enemy" was the Harad-themed one. At second glance, I ought to have been able to make the connection. Ah well. You've made it for me, and I've added it to my list, so all's well that ends well. Just as soon as I post the last chapter of this story, "Face of the Enemy" will go to the top of my list.) Okay, I managed to find elhellonawards on LJ and I think I friended it. I find LJ a bit confusing. But we'll see if it shows up on my friends feed. I don't know what the "Notification Center" is, but I checked that to notify me of new posts. I guess we shall see! (I don't know what they meant by "Inbox", either.) And you're welcome! One of the things I've treasured about SoA over the years have been the interactions between authors and readers (I've been both, and though I took a long hiatus, I'm glad to find it still here. It would be nice if more people would return and if new authors should start to post stories, especially now that I have time to devote to fanfic again. I'm still getting used to retirement, but reading and writing seem to be excellent and satisfying ways to fill the hours that were, up until a few weeks ago, filled with steady, heavily-focused work. Author Reply: (And hah! I see my old nemesis, the unfinished parenthetical thought [I keep forgetting the "close parenthesis" to end such a thought] continues to haunt me... Hopefully it bothers me more than it bothers other people, lol.) | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 20 on 4/15/2024 |
| I enjoyed that Cuillon realizes that Merry and Pippin will both relax and accept treatment better if they are allowed to lie together, that this is indeed Hobbit healing technique. And poor Mittens, needing his own rest after the horrendous doings of this day! And at last the injuries of the wounded aide to the general are recognized and will be given proper treatment as well, and Ambassador, General, and aide see the King himself as the great healer King his was born and bred to be. I look forward to seeing Mittens finding his proper place in Gondor's capitol, and the Haradrim accepting the friendship of their former foes. Thanks so for the time we spent together today, and may healing find us all as our own wounds and griefs are relieved. And thanks so for the bunny--it met its intended fate after I finished my dinner! Heh! Author Reply: It was lovely to see you! I have been avoiding angst or reading/writing light angst in recent days and emphasizing comfort food(-for-thought). Luckily, this story is in its last stages, where the comfort and healing kicks in, which makes it easier to work on than some of the other WIPs (like Bill's story, which is "Angst Personified" at the present stage of the journey and won't really reach the "comfort stage" for quite a few chapters yet. Whew. Well, at least it's outlined, for the most part - except for the gap I realized was there when I was musing aloud today. But I think I hit on a good solution. Thanks for listening). (and "Thain", which is stopped at an incredibly angsty part. Maybe I'll be able to write angst once more when we have a pup again. It was always so much easier to get through difficult scenes with a slumbering dog at my feet. Sadly, we were notified this evening that the puppy we were anticipating fell through. It would have been the same age as Panda when we brought her home, 4 months old, but much smaller than Panda, of course, who weighed 44 pounds at 4 months. *sigh* But the right one will come along, and the rescue organization now has us on their list and will let us know when another dog comes to their attention that needs a good forever home. Since they brought us Zoe, years ago, I trust they know what they are doing.) You're most welcome. I'm glad the bunny was a success! Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts. *hugs* Wishing you comfort and healing. | |
| Soledad | Reviewed Chapter: 20 on 4/14/2024 |
| Have just come around to read the story in its entirety. Love what you are doing with Haradric culture - so different from my own ideas and yet so interesting and convincing. Great job! Author Reply: Glad to see you here! I had to envision Haradric culture for an earlier story where Harad was a major plot point. I made it more interesting for myself by dividing Harad into the Hundred Kingdoms with varied cultures and landscapes but some common elements (like being conquered by the Dark Lord before He was thrown down). Lots of scope for the imagination! I also enjoy complicating the rather simple dichotomy of "good-bad" by showing that enemies can be noble and honorable (with good as well as evil people), even when their culture differs markedly from that of the West. In what story/stories do you write about Haradric culture? I'm intrigued! I will add them to my "Want to read" list. p.s. I find your Dwarves fascinating! I have a story in progress featuring Faramir Took as a tween visiting the Lonely Mountain; the outline is complete, along with draft chapters of the non-Dwarf scenes. But - obviously - a Fourth Age story about the Lonely Mountain is going to heavily feature Dwarves, isn't it? ...and the main part holding me up is trying to imagine Dwarf culture and society! Tolkien showed us homeless or travelling Dwarves. Who are they when they're at home? And the hints I've seen from other authors (like Dwarf women being hidden away, in at least one story I saw a few years ago) - would parts of their culture be off-limits to a visiting Hobbit? Or not? (And unless JRRT wrote about Dwarf women with beards, it's not something I can easily wrap my brain around unless, like your story mentions, fake beards are involved.) All that to say, I've barely scratched that surface. Hence, I'm so impressed by the amount of thought that has obviously gone into your "Balin" story. p.p.s. Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to leave a good word! Author Reply: p.p.p.s. Did you get my email? I was just wondering if I had the right address. | |
| shirebound | Reviewed Chapter: 20 on 4/14/2024 |
| it seemed to him as if Pippin settled deeper, safe now in the older cousin’s protective hold, and he sighed, though it hurt his head. I’ve got him, Frodo, he murmured. Well, you can imagine my joy in this scene. "Hobbit healing" indeed. *happy sigh* What a lovely chapter for everyone. Author Reply: I certainly can! Very similar to the joy I feel, I'm pretty sure. (I can see how Cuillon rose from apprentice to the Head of the Houses of Healing over the years. He's a good listener!) I love the last few chapters of a story, when the angst is resolving (dissolving?) and I can lay the comfort on thick and pile on the joy. I do love a happy ending. Thanks so much for reading and stopping to leave an encouraging word! *hugs* | |