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A chance meeting by perelleth	10 Review(s)
Anonymous	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/20/2014


Vana	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/3/2005
Thanks for directing me here, perelleth! I'd not seen this site before, and I think I may become a member. Lovely story, as always. I love your intense and still-angsty Maglor, Daeron the trickster-god (though perhaps a bit over the top, IMO? Still, I love him.), dignified, awe-inspiring Thranduil, and of course beloved Celeborn. Developing characters is one of your greatest strengths, and you manage to make each Elf here distinct and entirely seperate from one another. Wonderful work; beautiful writing. And your message/theme of environmentalism really strikes home through these displaced scions of a richer, deeper, more-alive world. Thank you! Author Reply: You're welcome Vana. You'll find that in this site reviews are as interesting as stories, which is something quite rewarding! :-) I'm glad that you find their characters convincing. Maybe Daeron is a bit overenthusiastic here, but then, he had to counteract MAglor's gloominess... and I liked to think that, despite his own anguish, with the years he managed to retrieve his woodelvish playful spirit.. :-) I had great fun picturing their different characters through their choices of drinks and their relationship with the waitress as well known patrons... and their environmentalism seemed a good job for them. THe whole tale came about as things I had been mulling over for a long time seemed to explode in my head. I'm glad that you enjoyed it, and am very thankful for your comments, as always! :-)

Redheredh	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/11/2005
What fun this was! But, no actual sightings? pashaw... I really liked the reference to Romulus and Remus. Excellent! Pointing out the false economy and ecology of most effete activists made me smile. Maglor was just wonderful as an antagonist. Well of course, Daeron would know the difference between a Tuscan and a Roman! And the juggling/panhandling thing was a funny throw-away. But, not as funny as the other comedic touches you threw in all through the conversation. You have a good feel for physical humor. Thank you for the early glimpse of Cyrus - with his family. Was that a little foresight on Celeborn's part about Cyrus getting the longevity treatments? Yet, as practical as ever, he would see it done. I can understand why they like to have their meals together if they entertain and support eachother like this. Heck, I wanted to have lunch with them. Some of us appreciate footnotes for just the reasons you included this one. ;) Once again, thank you for all the Hugs. Author Reply: Glad you found it fun! I was attacked by this gang on my way back home, but they didn't care to show up...just whispered things... :-/ Mmm.. I had to bang my head upon the table. This is me. NEver the easiest way. Now that I come to think of it, Romulus and remus would have been enough of a reference. Well, this was not about them, (although it could have perfectly been, and now that I come to think of it, most assuredly, everybody thought that...). Silly me. See, I chose the elf who would be attending the meeting, and the venue, one I particularly like. Then, the elf would come up the stairs and would look around. Now, that square is marvellous, for once you arrive you are confronted with three sides of sixteenth century palaces and an open fourth side from which you can see the Foro, the vatican , and the most beautiful hills of Rome. And there's a huge obelisk at the centre. And then I remembered that there are two statues flanking the obelisk: Castor and Pollux, sons of Leda and Thyndaerus,(and Jupiter) The legend has it that Jupiter begot Pollux and Thyndaerus fathered Castor, but they were twins and very fast friends, only one was mortal (Castor) and the other immortal. When Castor died in a fight, Pollux, distraught, asked his father to kill him, too. Jupiter turned them both into stars, the twin stars in Gemini constellation, as one of the myths has it. So, it brought Elros and Elrond to mind, because of the mortal-immortal twins, you see... ;-) I also had great fun writing this story. Maglor was aggresive and sarcastic, Daeron was taunting the waitress, and his friends, too, Thranduil trying to awaken the trees made me laugh, and Cleebron's knowing gaze, overseeing everything... I suppose he actually knows that Cyrus is on the short list for longevity treatment, but I'm sure he's been spreading the name... If ever I decide to sit down and write more of this four and their environmental fight, I'm sure Celeborn will turn out to be the great mind behind everything. To me he has this kind of hidden power that is stronger that politics or money. HE has a way to move wills, and that's how you get things done!!! ABout the effete environemtalism, quoting a colleague of mine, "At this point, even the silliest action counts, only why they can only come up with those terribly expensive sillinessessss?"(gollumishly pronounced..? So we gather together and whine in quite a creative way, and then laugh about it before a home made meal, and feel again ready to go out there and do our job, regardless of the silliness... and the fruitlessness... But I would have loved to be in that meal, too! :-) You're most welcome

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/9/2005
I really enjoyed this. I liked seeing Maglor stirring people up - Thranduil courting the trees - the atmosphere of the family restaurant. And poor Cyrus - like a salmon struggling upstream. Good to see him with his wife and son. Sorry not to comment earlier. Got distracted. Author Reply: Yes, MAglor was a bit unchained last week, I fear..;-) Thanks Daeron and the home beer and ravioli, he calmed down. It was fun to picture what each of them would be doing on a Roman summer sunday morning, before going to the airport in the evening...and Thranduil trying to awaken the trees made me laugh, :-) Glad that you liked seeing Cyrus. I like him very much, and he was so happy following his son around! :-/ Thanks for writing, Bodkin ! As I read your e-mail server could not help wonder if you're in LOndon area... hope everything was all right?

elliska	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/8/2005
Sorry...I'm behind in reviews... There are so many parts of this that I love, I know I'm going to forget something. As you already know, I love the topic in general--the speech and Maglor's contributions to it were wonderful! “I heard you threatened the audience with a striptease yesterday....” Hilarious. I loved what Maglor said! But I particularly loved the conversations between the elves. Poor Thranduil trying to wake up trees in Rome--he'd better make sure no one sees that or they'll put him in a nice safe, padded room with a warm white jacket. :-) But his conversation with Maglor was again great. And the atmosphere here is great--the details from Rome (beautiful place to set this), the restuarant where they are all known, and Daeron juggling for euros! I thought I would die! I loved this! Glad you posted it. PS. If you don't mind saying, I would really love to know what you do for a living. I was intrigued by your comment about the meeting you had been in in your review reply. Author Reply: Behind in reviews? That said to a woman who has just started reviewing your last year's story? ;-) I'm glad you enjoyed it, elliska, I feel I'm a bit reiterative with the subject, but it is important for me, too, and for these four elves!and anyway, they wouldn't let me escape! I enjoy wrting their pov in this world, as environmental savvy people who know there are many ways to keep the ecological balance, that are not set in motion due to many other non environmentally related reasons...sigh. The screne at the trattoria was fun to picture, figuring out what each of them would be drinking, and having them mourn the "old good wines", much as my own grandfather used to do... and the whole conversation about trees and stones is something that comes only too clearly to your mind in ROme, as you see how they get old together... IT's not easy to explain what I do, so let's say that I work as a consultant in rural developement projects for some international organizations, a job that has a very rewarding side when you're on the field, and a frustrating, depressing side when you're at technical or financial meetings, fighting to manage reality be heard and taken into account when drafting general policies... That was what I was doing last week end in ROme as 250.000 people jumped and sweated and smoked and cast away triliions of plastic bottles in LIVe 8 Aid concert not far away from our meeting place. SO, as you must have guessed by now, this all paranoid is my own way of purging frustrations, once collective and creative whinning with colleagues seems to lead us nowhere...;-) Thanks for asking, anyway, and, above all, thanks for reading!

Bejai	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/7/2005
Nice, perelleth. As always with your stories, I'm educated and entertained at the same time. Maglor's points were things I'd never thought about before. One of the things I like best about your stories is your ability to seamlessly weave together excellent writing, vast environmental knowledge, a marvelous grasp of Tolkien, and spot-on characterization, all in the same moment. Some of my favorite points: - The statutes mortal-immortal twins of Roman mythology. What a wonderful beat in this story! - "Give them an objective, cold, well-founded truth and sit back to watch them wander away in search of a more comfortable lie" Hmm, too true. - The restaurant. I love the idea that the elves would know the best little whole-the-the-wall in the city. - Thranduil and Maglor's argument about rocks and trees. That was brilliantlly well done. Wonderful story, as ever. Author Reply: Deep thanks for your kind words, Bejai, I'm blushing! You must blame many good authors and stories in this site for any merits you may find in my writing! :-) The mortal immortal twins are Castor and Pollux, sons of Leda and Zeus (only Pollux, as the myth has it..) and they came to be in this story in a very strange way. I had decided that it would be Maglor attending the experts' meeting, and that it would be held in that particular venue, which I'm quite fond of. And then, as I was picturing that particular square in my mind, I suddenly recalled that the huge obelisk in the middle of the piazza (Rome is full of obelisks...) was flanked by those imposing statues of the twins, one of whom was mortal and the other immortal.. it was too good to be true, and wholly casual, or at least unconscious, so I'm particularly glad that you noticed it. As I must travel a lot for job reasons, I enjoy having those particular havens in different places where you're always a customary patron, and where they know exactly the type of drink you like and which is your favourite dish, no matter how long it was since your last visit, so I amused myself creating this atmosphere for our elves. I'm sure they would be the kind of clients every place would love to have around... and the girl's individual relatiosnhip with each of them was signal of their long acquaintance... And I'm glad, too, that you singled out the argument between Maglor and Thranduil... Maglor was quite incensed but he was right, in my opinion. All elves were attuned to Arda, and the natural world is part of it, stones included. I love stone work as much as I love nature, so it was easy for me to make the connection... Thanks again for your kind words.. and for updating "deific flame"! ;-) I promise to give you a break until I start screaming for chapter 10! ;-)

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/7/2005
It's not that I'm not fond of Maglor's vision -- I like it fine. It's just that he seems to have a little trouble communicating it in terms that ordinary, non-Elvish people can use to put it into practice. But that's why he's got the other three, right? Author Reply: Uh, sorry if I sounded as if I was berating you, FP! See, I'm half spanish half italian, hot blooded and expansive, you know! so sorry again :-)! You are right in that he may have trouble explaining himself, but the fact is that he was in the midst of the most top of the line think tank on environemtnalism in the world, and people still were questioning the dire situation. People working in this field are supposed to know about these things, but I'm yet to find an organization which cares to offset their employees' carbon expenses when travelling to unnnecesary meetings or so....or this kind of meetings where plastic badges and plastic bottles of water are offered, and immense amounts of paper are wasted without chagrin... so that's what incenses Maglor... and ... me? Sorry again.... did you try your gourd, btw? ;-)

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/7/2005
This is an interesting look at Maglor's state of mind. He means well but really does need the other three around him, since he seems to be the least practical of all of them. He's very good at rhetoric, but he doesn't seem to have much to offer in the way of specific, useful suggestions. Discounting the ecological impact of travel sounds great -- how do you do that? He never says. His clothing is made from a sheep he knows by name and linen he personally planted -- surely he realizes that this is not, and never was, a practical way for everyone in the world to obtain clothing. I'd also be interested to know what impact his statement about his sandals being cow leather had on that crowd, since I'm sure there were radical vegans present, the kind who think that wearing cow leather is one step away from mass murder. I love the restaurant. Daeron, Celeborn and Thranduil clearly take so much pleasure in the place and the food that they get there, it's wonderful to see. I'm sure they found it by following the Little Old Man rule -- when in a strange European city, look for the restaurant where little wizened old local men have been sitting and smoking for hours. The ecologically sound underwear idea sounds great, and I am evilly amused by the thought of four male elves realizing that their major clientele for this project is likely to be female and then trying to design ecologically sound brassieres. Author Reply: Thanks for sharing your thoughts, FP! I can see that you're not very fond of Maglor's vision, ;-) Not that I fault you, since it's not a widespread view...Well, he asks me to tell you that you may calculate the Carbon impact of your travels and discount its impact in many ways and at many sites. The one that comes to mind now is www.climatecare.org. I'm not at my own computer presently, so I cannot give you more links... The government of the Netherlands, for instance, has a tax reduction for CO2 offsetting expenditure, as some communities in New Zealand... More information at greenwood's great website, though... ;-) Maglor has time enough for planting linen and woving it, and breeding his sheep, but you can ensure the low impact of much of your expenditures through buying fair-trade, ecologically produced certified items that warrant sustainable ways of production and ensure that a fair amount of money is paid to the producers, helping preserve traditional and natural environments... As for the vegs...well, being vegetarian is not the same as being environmental scientist...or environmentally friendly consumer...some of my colleagues, who are both things (vegs and the other) prefer hand made cow leather sandals to many other types of shoes made out of treated plastics, or artifically produced fabrics which undergo polluting dyeing or other processes...(even if they wear footwear made out of vegetal fibers when possible :-) And yes! I bet the underwear business would be a hit! Maglor's face as logo and the four of them weaving linen and sewing brassieres... mmm, you're good at mindreading, girl! Good to hear from you and thanks again!!!!

The Karenator	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/6/2005
I love these characters! Well...your take on a more modern version of Tolkien's characters and of course, your own original ones. The personalities of the four elves are so well done. We see the characteristics of who they were still rooted in who they have become in the modern world. Yes, Thranduil misses his Dorwinion and Maglor is still a firecracker already lit and looking for a place to explode. Again you've told us an interesting and very poignant tale about what will happen in the future if mankind doesn't take to heart the seriousness of our environmental stewardship. I enjoyed this prequel to your story and feel free to come up with anymore that strike you while walking the deserted streets of Rome or any other place where the mood hits. Just wonderful, Perelleth. I hope you'll tell us more about Dr. Feldman and the lives of the elves in the years after all others had sailed. Shoot! I'd even like to know what was happening in Valinor. Just pick something and write it. I'll be thrilled. Karen Author Reply: I'm glad that you liked them, Karen! I'm quite amused by their antics, too, although they kind of frighten me... they've just come alive and now they're stalking me! And now you're feeding the bunnies, good!!! thanks god I've discovered fanfiction, at least now I'm sure I'm not mad! ;-) I must have to podner all those suggestions, thanks! all this has been completely unplanned, but I believe I better get a hold upon them before they get our of control and bribe me into designing Greenwood Great's website!!! ;-) I had a great time writing the scene at the trattoria, wondering what each of them would drink and how would they behave... I'm sure they would remain faithful to their essence in modern times, despite their more or less normal appearances, and their individual characters were not all that easy to pin down... Thanks for your support!

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/6/2005
Your elves and their setting are so alive, Perelleth! I love these four and you've given them individual and believable personalities. And I want some of that ravioli. Author Reply: Mmm, I'm ready to wager they're alive indeed, and are playing tricks with my mind or something... being the strange pack they are, they seem to get along pretty well, don't they? A big bowl of home made ravioli is being sent to you! alongside with a bottle of the family's vintage... feel free to invite Legolas and his family to dinner.. and maybe they'll tell you another interesting piece of gossip, er, Mirkwood's history? ;-) Thanks, daw.

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