Reviews (94)

Author's reply

Yes, that what the epilogue will be. It is not grossly explicit (it is their wedding night, we have to have some respect :) ) but it is a little steamy so I have sent it to Nilmandra for her to determine if it fits the site guidleines. This my first story here so I don't know the rules too well. But you're right. I wrote it because I do feel like they deserve a little happy ending. :) Marti and Tulus are up to something. We will see. Thank you so much for the reviews!

Author's reply

That last little conversation made me laugh as I was writing. Brothers are for keeping each other grounded and wives are in charge of the household--that's all there is to it! My husband and I have had this conversation in the past. It is funny how we women can largely get what we want. And I do love Aradunnon. He is a most loyal and loving brother and real troublemaker. He did not have much of a part beyond introduction in this story but he has a much bigger role in the next two stories. :) I actually wrote but cut those songs about Lindomiel. That might have been a mistake. The poetry was horrible (the reason I cut them) but the content was funny. Poetry ain't my bag, baby. Love reading Renaissance poetry. Can't write it. No, no! Tulus is definitely the creator of his own problems and Marti is as well to a very large degree. Glílavan is not in a good place, unfortunately. Epilogue: Yes, wedding night. Not too graphic but steamy enough that I thought I'd better pass it by Nilmandra first since I don't know the rules here too well. If she says its too much, I will tone it down to post it here, I think. But its current version goes up at Open Scrolls tomorrow. It won't be too long until I start posting Journeys Perforce. I just want to read (and reread) some of my favorite stuff that I haven't given enough attention because I've been reading me own stuff. I don't see how you people that have two or three stories going at a time can do it. I find myself reading this thing and making little changes and then I have to look at other parts to make sure what I cut or added doesn't have too big an impact later and ... it's a lot of work. My husband thinks I'm nutz. He may be right but I'm a happy nutjob.

Author's reply

Weddings are a great excuse for a fun party, aren't they? :) And yes, I agree--party first and short ceremony after when everyone is relaxed and in a good mood. And don't laugh about fainting under pressure--my dad was dead when I got married and I had the bright idea that no one could take his place walking me up the aisle so I went myself. I was so nervous that I almost did pass out. (Not nervous to be married--I just don't do being the center of attention really well). I dearly wish I had known about the 'who will rule the marriage' games. My mind is just rolling with the possibilities for that ring game and the place it might have had in this story. I really wanted a game in this chapter but I couldn't come up with anything. My friend who reads this stuff before I post it is going to see this review and revolt. No more rewrites after chapters are posted! I can hear it now. Yes, Aradunnon has a much bigger role in the next story. I like that character. I love being a woman. We definitely have all the power in the marriage and the better you are at the art of delicate control the better it is. Poor Thranduil. Lindomiel is pretty good at it as you will see. Marti, Tulus and Glílavan do not go away. It's sad, really. I really like the Black Swan image. That has a lot of potential too. Hmmm.

Author's reply

Hmmm. True. Let me tell you a story. I have a Masters degree in Computer Forensics. In the program, one of the classes we took was kind of a case study where we each had a fake crime assigned to us that we had to solve throughout the semester. I remember the instructor saying to us (warning us) on the first day of class that he hated crime shows on TV because the all evidence the investigators found was always completely relevant to their case. They never found anything that turned out to be a false lead. My point? The plot line that involves Marti is very complex. The are lots of 'clues' along the way. Some are relevant. Some are not. Some relevant clues are very subtle. Some irrelevant clues are very 'unsubtle.' And vice versa. This one 'clue' about her speaking one line of Quenya? Is it relevant? You will eventually see. This is one area where I will play with you. Sorry. :)

Author's reply

Thanks :) I laughed a little myself at those. I think there must be a story behind the crown of flowers. It would be natural for a woodland king but it had to start somewhere. So this is how I fit it into my little world. Thanks for the review. PS. I am intrigued by your screen name. Picaresque literature was my original specialty when I taught lit. Is there a story behind why you chose that particular spanish word as a screen name? Next time you feel like reviewing, if you think of it, let me know.

Author's reply

Poor Thranduil. I hope he really loves her. I do this to my husband. We have a very playful relationship because we are both big tricksters (its so bad that the the title of my dissertation began 'The Trickster and the Tricked' and I taught a special seminar class of trickery in literature that the students loved). The wedding is all of the next chapter. And yes. I am sitting here answering this review fully half an hour after the time I should have left for W. But my little 19 year old [I can't print that word] of a boss has really gotten on my last nerve this week. All of us at work decided to show up an hour late today. I hope he sends us home as a punishment. Whatever, he is such a child.

Author's reply

Sparkly jewelry is fun. I never wear it though. My mom gave me a pretty silver bracelet when I was four and I lost it the very day she gave it to me. After going through that a few times, we decided jewelry just wasn't my bag. I even lost my engagement ring once. When we found it, we put it in the safety deposit box. I told my husband not to waste his money on one anyway. :) I like the ring best too. Yes, Dieneryn would definitely still be queen--as you said Dowager Queen (never liked the word Dowager. It has a sense of 'old and stuffy' in my mind for some reason). I think people will certainly love her as queen. Look at the late Queen Mum in England. People probably loved her more than anyone else in the Family. And I will go ahead and tell you--Dieneryn is not going to sail. I think she is as tied to Greenwood as Thranduil is and she continues to have a large role to play in my story. I just feel the need to give Thranduil a family, I suppose. I'm an only child with hardly any aunts or cousins and all four grandparents dead before I was born. It must be wish fulfillment on my part. Not a bucket of cold water, that is not enough. A bucket of cold mud. Now that is a great image :). Yeah, this would never happen in my family. Dieneryn actually started the conversation to tease Lindomiel a little bit (this part got cut). It was a pretty light conversation and Lindomiel is just teasing here. I thought this part was funny so I left it. Its a little silly. I love leis. And yes, of course the wedding gown is green--a woodland queen. Green is mentioned in the Hobbit as the color on the Elvenking's standard I think. But I like green so its green. I know in the middle ages, wedding gowns were most commonly green, blue or red. Anyway. Thanks for the review. I love reviews. They make me think and often with yours laugh.

Author's reply

Thanks Daw. I have seen a lot of stories that tell the origin of the crown of flowers and I liked all of them. It's kind of a neat topic so I threw my two cents in there. Lindomiel really let Thranduil have it. :) Yeah, talking about that with my mother-in-law and definitely my own mother would not happen. Not a chance. But Dieneryn started it to tease Lindomiel a bit. The dialogue that this conversation references got cut but I left this conversation. I guess I like teasing Thranduil. :) Thanks for the review!

Author's reply

Yeah, poor Conuion. There has to be times when he hates his job. I bet that describes pretty much every day. :) I think he does as well as he can here. Lindomiel does not. Going after Marti herself was not her best decision. But she has Amglaur's temper and she was hot and furious. She was also lucky. Not just that Marti didn't get her but also that her loved ones were so relieved to see her that they didn't kill her. :) As I said in the reply to French Pony (didn't story about her grandmother just kill you?!) obviously Thranduil et al know all about elves killing elves. They've been there and done that. I think maybe because they saw it, they are even more reluctant to allow themselves to believe it could be a possibility that Lindomiel is in that much danger. They can believe it could happen. They've seen it. They don't want to let themselves believe it will happen to Lindomiel. But regardless of what they want to believe, the reality of what Marti is has to be pretty undeniable now. Perhaps they should wonder where she has been for the last year. They should definitely wonder where she is now. Marti is definitely missing a marble or two. And she has shown she has a temper enough to make mistakes and a violent spirit enough to carve things up with knives. Not a good combo.

Author's reply

As I've said before, I would love to meet your family! So grandma caused an intercity incident did she? I bet she was pleased with herself. I see my husband and I doing that one day. We're just crazy enough! :) As for Lindomiel, I think two things were in action here. First, she was well and truly furious. You would be too if you saw one year's worth of work go down the tubes the day before it was supposed to be unveiled. Especially if that day is your wedding day. Second, she very likely has literally never seen violence outside of hunting in her entire life. She is only one hundred or so. She was born in the first years of the Third Age when there simply was no war in an elven city that is a protected, hidden place. Murders and breaking and entering and assault just wouldn't be something that I believe would be run of the mill in a society with only elves. I can see elves being very passionate and intense but I cannot see normal, healthy elves solving their problems with violent acts as a regualr course of life. As for the kinslayings, naturally Lindomiel would have been educated about them, but those were a very isolated incidents. It was as horrific as it was because such violence is so uncommon. The silvan elves that she was raised with may be 'more dangerous and less wise' but they had absolutely no history of intentionally killing other elves. Killing or injuring an elf would never occur to her. So she went rushing off to have some words (and as angry as she was possibly even something more) with Marti. I think that was a new feeling to her and one Thranduil and Amglaur would have preferred she never experience--the first time she saw real violence in herself and in others of her race. And the older elves--they did what they could with Marti. Thranduil spoke to her about her gossip. Dieneryn dismissed her for her nasty looks. But gossip and nasty looks are not something you can imprison people for. You can keep an eye on her but that would not be the king's job. It is the guards' job and Conuiön does know what Marti has been up to, down to when she left the city and what she took with her. After that, Mirkwood is a big place--tracking one elleth through it once she left the capital would be a tall order. Now they think her gone--surrendered. They have not seen her for a year. Since they thought she was gone, so it does not occur to them that she is to blame until Limmiel insists upon it. And I think the idea that an elf would commit really violent, destructive actions would be alien even to the older elves, though they actually saw the kinslayings. Something they would be reluctant to think at the very least. Violence is sometimes part of their lives, but it is most commonly brought to them from other races, not their own. For themselves, even when faced with danger, they don't always react with violence. In the Hobbit, even Thranduil while in full fury mode does nothing physical against the dwarves that he seems to fully believe are a threat to his kingdom. He just imprisons them and waits for their confession. Violence does not seem to be an automatic reaction to them. I think that since they don't automatically react with it, they would not automatially look for it, especially in their own kind. Even after seeing the kinslayings, I still do not think they would easily accept the idea that an elf would injure another elf for something like lovers rivalries. They are frightened by the idea. It certainly did occur to them that Lindomiel is in danger. But it is hard to accept. Not a conclusion they would automatically jump to. I think they would even want to resist that conclusion. That said, believing Marti did that to the tapestry, there is no way to avoid that she is violent. They completely get it now and they want to deal with her. The question is, can they find her? Greenwood is a very big forest and Middle Earth is a very big place. And Marti does not want to be found, obviously. Definitely not good.

Author's reply

Thanks Daw. I am glad tension came across. I definitely think people in general might snap in such a circumstance (and I certainly hope I never have an opportunity to find out) but particularly Amglaur and Thranduil. Yes, Lindomiel got off pretty easy--easier than I would have with my mother and husband and I'm almost 40 :). I think everyone is relieved to see her. Also she is an adult getting married that day so what can her parents really do? And I can't see Thranduil snapping too much at his wife. Glad it seemed tense. For some reason, this was the most difficult chap for me to write. I cannot imagine why but I never really got it the way I wanted it. Thanks for the review.

Author's reply

Marti and Tulus do make another appearance in this particular part of Interrupted Journeys (and plenty more throughout the series) and I will tell you that the walk will be an emotional strain for poor Thranduil. Other than that, you will have to wait until this afternoon when I post the next chap. But you could not be more correct when you say that Marti and Tulus will plague Thranduil and Legolas and others. In some instances, immortality for elves is not a good thing :) Thanks so much for the review.

Author's reply

Glad you liked it Bodkin. This was a difficult chapter for me to write. I never really got it as I wanted it. And BTW--I was still on the Internet when this review came in last night and I was on the Internet this morning when you posted to Reflections. You need more sleep and so do I :)

Author's reply

You are absolutely right! Thank you. That was going to drive me nutz. I never taught/took lit classes in english.

Author's reply

Cool, thanks for telling me because I would have been curious. Formatting thing are my bane. I can never figure them out and somebody always tells me this simple little fix. I am always happy when they do! I changed Chaps 1,13 and 18 FYI. I can tell by the dates so its easy for me to tell.

Author's reply

I'm glad you and others have liked this chapter ok. When my friend and I did the rewrite, one of the changes I resisted the most was cutting about four chapters out before this one that showed Lindomiel et al making some of the adaptations that are described in the first paragraphs here--you also saw Marti's first reaction to the betrothal (which I was loathe to cut because it was funny but I couldn't work it back in). My friend's comment was, "Get on with it" (in other words get the plot moving) and I think in the end she was right. You know, as I go to explain why I finally agreed with my friend I just realized I don't know the english terms for the words I want. The punto culminante and desenlace are closer together after the cuts and that makes a tighter story. Does anyone know the english equiv of those lit terms? Punto culminante is literally culminating point and desenlace is disentanglement but I'm sure that isn't how those words would be translated as literary terms. Sorry. English is going to fail me here. Anyway, I agree that Lindomiel is showing her quality (as movieverse Sam might put it) by learning her role from the get go. It is beneficial to her, to her relationship with Thranduil and his family and to her relationship with Greenwood. That's one of the reasons Thranduil loves her--she has a brain and uses it. I laughed myself at poor Lindomiel and Thranduil. This was how my wedding was. For a week before it, instead of being pampered as a bride should be, I was running around finishing the planning and driving my family around to tourist sights that they wanted to visit. I didn't see my hubbie for a week. It was mad. I wish I'd had an Elrond to provide me an escape. And as for Elrond, can you imagine courting Celeborn and Galadriel's daughter? There is just so much to that, it is great. Someone on Scribeoz is writing a challenge entry that also involves their courtship. It was for the LaCE challege posted in the forum there. Its called Alliance and its by SpaceWeavil. I like it so far and I think Elrond fans would too. Yes, I feel sorry for Conuion too. Life is going to be unpleasant for him for a while. In addition to keeping Thranduil and Amglaur (who might be worse than Balrogs at the moment) safe, he is going to answer to the fact that Lindomiel is missing--he's the captain of Thranduil's guard. That is a position I would not want. Ever and especially now. We will soon see what has happened to our missing bride. I'm not good at cliffhangers. I'm a very impatient person. But Marti's back is something we have not seen entirely yet and that is one tale that will be long in the telling. Her role has only just begun. And yes, I love French Pony's reviews. I love everyone's reviews but hers make me laugh everytime. I've learned some stuff from them too--like about Indian films.

Author's reply

As Bodkin says above--your reviews are priceless. I get up earlier than my hubbie because I have a longer drive than him and I read a little fic over breakfast. This morning, reading your review, I have my hands clamped over my mouth not to awaken hubbie. You would think I would learn. It is interesting what Marti focuses on to get angry about isn't it? Yes, Lindomiel is being very mature in her prep for marrying someone like Thranduil and smart too. If she doesn't want to sit alone in a tree somewhere while those around her work and build resentment over the fact that she is not helping, she had better find a place for herself. Being raised in court, she has some clue how to do that and Thranduil and Dieneryn are obviously willing to help. But Lindomiel has bit of her father in her too. I think some of the dialogue in the next chapter shows the royal guards, if not the family, have a little more clue about Marti's whereabouts. Question is, will that help them any? I am simply laughing too hard about the images created by the idea of the 'hen party' and elven excursion to the Middle Earth version of Vegas to make any comment. Thank you for the review and laugh!

Author's reply

Thank you sooo much for pointing out the typo. That was definitely an important one to fix--done. And also thanks for the clue about the asterisks. Bodkin had told me some chapters do that scrolling thing. I don't see it in my browser but I also have a really fancy video card because I do a lot of graphic editing so I wouldn't necessarily see the scrolling. I really hate it when stories are badly formated like that so I took out the asterisks and I will go back and do that in all the chapters that have them. Hopefully that will solve the mystery of the bad formatting. Thanks!! I'm glad you found the story and that you have enjoyed it so far. It is the first in a long series as you probably figured out already. The series covers a lot of ground so there are probably parts that will be more interesting than others to you. But I hope you keep checking back. I like to play with how these characters interact. My specialty when I taught literature was drama so interaction through dialogue is fun for me. I'm glad you liked them so far. They will develop as the story progresses. Marti will continue to outrage both you and the royal family of Greenwood. :) Thank you so much for the review. I love hearing anything that people want to comment on. It is so interesting to me to post stories like this and talk about them.

Author's reply

I'm glad you liked Elrond's family's little scheme. When I got married I had a small wedding but even still, once the family arrived in the house it was take this one to the race track and the kids to Disney and can we go to the beach...they had a vacation, I had a nervous breakdown. I wished someone like Elrond would have helped to seclude me and my betrothed away for a few hours. :) I had a lot of fun writing that. Thanks for the review.

Author's reply

I'm glad you came over to SoA. There is a lot of good stuff here and the review function is much better than any other site. Anyway...to answer your question: when I first wrote this, no I did not plan any parallel between chapter 2 and this chapter. But when I considered cutting chap 2 as something that was just too difficult to understand so early on, my friend, who is reading this story, pointed out to me that chap 2 does contrast with a lot of things--one of them is the immediately following chap that introduces Lindomiel. Another was this chapter. Both Marti and Lindomiel do set out to 'seduce' Thranduil in this flet, that is true. I think Lindomiel's actions are radically different though, obviously. At least she and Thranduil were actually courting, for example :) But I guess there is some contrast between the two relationships/ellyth there. But is was not originally intended.

Author's reply

All I can say is thank heavens I wasn't in public to read this one! Although I'm laughing to myself over here with the laptop in my lap and my husband is eyeing me very suspiciously. I would love to meet your family. Ouch! He said no. Can you imagine sitting there through the meal after that. Horror! Good advice about business meals--so noted! The Yiddish Mama's Curse is definitely universal! And it's so true, isn't it? I think all parents should live to be thusly vindicated. And the term 'clue stick'--I might never recover from that. Good thing Lindomiel had hers with her. This story is already 20 chapters long and they haven't even married yet. And yes, their wedding is quite an event. :) Marti. Probably not the news she was hoping to hear. I think you may be right that she will not take this well. Or even calmly. Thanks for the review!

Author's reply

It does seem so odd for Thranduil to have to ask permission of anyone for anything, doesn't it? :) I know, though, in many medieval countries a son had to ask his own father's permission before pursuing the lady's parents' permission and in LaCE it says the betrothal awaits the judgement of either of the parties' parents, so I made him do it. Poor Thranduil. I guess it's just a 'show respect for your parents' thing. (After thought--When ever I think of seeking consent to marry, I can't help but think of Eilian. I wonder if Eilian would have been so willing to bond without consent if it had been his own father that opposed the marriage? Knowing him, probably, but it would have been even less pretty than the scene he faced already. Spring Awakenings was the first of your stories that I discovered and read and I did sooo love it! I called in sick from work to sit down and read all the rest of them straight through the next day.) Anyway, I think Thranduil would want to keep his mother close and she would want to be close after Oropher's death--how else would she not fade? And she would have to have some interesting insights in governance after being Oropher's queen for three millennia. There is a lot of room to play with Thranduil's family since it is early in the Third Age and they are all still around. I think more than anything else I just feel sorry for poor Thranduil. I'd like to think he had some family around him. And families are such a treasure. I giggled a bit with that line myself because we have all been there many times. Amglaur will come around. Very slowly. I'm relieved the kissing scene came off ok. I have determined that I just cannot write that stuff. It is hard to get the atmosphere right. Thanks for the review!

Author's reply

Doesn't it make you wonder how people stayed betrothed yet virtuous for an entire year? I doubt they really did. Ok, so elves' spirits are the masters of their bodies and all that yeah, yeah--it still would have to be frustrating. :) But no, I'll go ahead and tell you that she's not going home. Poor Thranduil. This story is rated suitable for children, though, so we'll all be ok. :) Lindomiel's stay in Eryn Galen will not be perfect but there is no doubt she will have Thranduil's love and that is a powerful thing, I would think. I would not want to get between the Elvenking and one he loves. Do you really think Marti will be vexed? Surely not!

Author's reply

Yes, I agree. It definitely needed this. I posted it too soon on ScribeOz and as I did, gave it more thought again which led to the rewrite. I think this is tighter too and I like it better. It had been over a year since I had reread this early stuff and I hadn't realized how much work it needed. But the up side of the hurricanes was that I have been trapped in my house with nothing to do for a total of six days so that let me dedicate that time to rewriting the first three parts of the larger series. They are all much improved. I wondered if anyone would have read both and what they would think so I'm glad you mentioned it! 1/40 is a scary thought isn't it :) Hope you continue to enjoy it and thanks for the review!

Author's reply

Yes, I think Marti got exactly what she deserved. When I first wrote this, I just kind of wrote along thinking more about how I thought these people would react to these situations than anything else. Then, when it was written and I reread it I thought to myself how funny it was that Marti caused exactly what she wanted to prevent. But given these people's personalities, I can't see them reacting any differently. I agree that Thranduil did the right thing by 'fessing up. But I really cannot see him doing anything else. I'm not sure if I could really find solid, direct justification for it in cannon (never tried, think I will) but I just can't see Thranduil as anything but totally honest. And for something this important, I think he'd be way too smart than to mess around with it. Thanks for the review!