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A Case of Mistaken Identity by Conquistadora	45 Review(s)
Primsong	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 1/15/2006
Thank you for taking the time to research and write this all out - what a treasure of information you have assembled, and I wholeheartedly agree with you that he all too often gets the short end of the stick in many a fan-written tale. Well done! Author Reply: You're welcome! And thank you. ^_^

Levade	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 12/16/2005
I wish I had read this when I first became a fan. It would have cleared up so many things. I was introduced to the fandom by a friend who had been involved in it since she was a child and I naturally thought she had to know so much. She did, but she had a lot of biases that it's taken me a while to work out by going back to canon and sorting through it all myself. Thranduil was one of her "big bads". I don't know why, she won't be convinced otherwise, and argues about what is "canon". Ah well...I'll email her this essay but basically she plays fast and loose with canon. Thanks for so many sources, and being so logical. I admire people's passion, but when it comes to arguing a point, I'd rather be presented with fact rather than fervor. It goes a lot further to prove a point with me. I think of all the time I ignorantly thought wrongly of Thranduil and it makes me a little mad -- at her and myself for relying on another person. I've not bashed him myself, and never will now. The harder part will be learning to like a character I had first been told so many wrong things, but you've definitely helped in that. Too bad they couldn't have put him in the movie in an accurate role -- seeing is believing for many people. Author Reply: I don't know what it is, but poor Thranduil just seems to be set in a bad light for casual readers of The Hobbit, or at least those who don't care to know more about him. I know I suffered from it for a while before I bothered to take a second glance. And I'm sure glad I did! Have fun with our dear Elvenking now, and thanks for the thoughtful review. ^_^

phoenix23531	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 2/17/2005
Thank you Thank You Thank you Thank You Thank You!!! May I simply offer my sincere thanks for this piece. I love Tolkien's works and fanfiction as it extends Tolkien's realms. Yet I also have a long-held dislike of the growing Evil!Thranduil section of Tolkien fanfiction, and by extension the Evil!WithoutJustification genre. You essay so clearly and succinctly states the primary reasons against this terrible affront to one of Tolkien's (regrettably) more vague characters. Of your many points, I truly loved your arguments regarding the dwarves' sentancing, (which always smacked of a parent sending an errant child to their room). Hardly malevolent, if perhaps somewhat hotheaded (and understandably so). I had not considered the specific sentance of leaving Thorin and his band imprisoned for an hundred years, and am grateful you raised it. Besides, what is an hundred years to an elf? (Though I'm sure, Thranduil did not sentance them so either flippantly or without regard to their mortality.) As for the argument regarding the "cruelty" of their imprisonment: Your reasoning in this regard could not be more valid. Furthermore, the elves in Mirkwood lived in caves, albeit well light and airy ones. It would be only too prudent to have storerooms and cells (even as a deterrant) in the lowest levels, to keep upper levels (and thereby the more airy rooms closest to the trees and stars) for residence. Where else would these Evil!Thranduil authors have the dwarves sent? Thranduil's own chambers? (Though that would have given more credence to some of the more debased writings...shudder!) Finally, I love that you present these arguments with a tremendous mix of tongue-in-cheek and outright humour. I have seen too many essays that were either dry and academic, or else demeaning or excessively aggressive. With appreciation and another string of thanks! phoenix23531 Author Reply: You're welcome! You know, half of my purpose in writing this was just to probe the fandom and see if it was as far-gone as it seemed. So I was rather angry and depressed when I churned this out, and the positive outpouring of reviews has been absolutely awesome! So, that encouraged me considerably to go on with my long-term purpose of providing the internet with some more decent Thranduil fanfic. If you liked the guidelines here, you'll probably like the way I write, which would again make me just the happiest freshman in Front Royal. :) Welcome to Lasgalen!

Aerida	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 12/28/2004
Finnally someone had the guts to point out that he is not evil. Thank you so much. Really well written.

Autumn Wanderer	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 12/9/2004
Thank you! I am quite glad that someone is willing to stand up and denounce slash and smut, and can only hope more will do so. Your arguments are wonderful, and I particularly appreciate those which concern elven family life. They are a wonderful counter to all the assorted bad reputations tacked on various elves. I only discovered Lord of the Rings fanfic quite recently, and though I have thoroughly enjoyed much of what I have read, I must admit to being quite dismayed at the amount of slash and smut which goes on. I had expected more the elves-are-sissys attitude, which oddly enough I have encountered only once, but not this! Thank goodness for people like you. If it were not for slash-free sites like this one, I would be afraid to read fanfic. I could keep going, but I think everyone has already said it before in the reviews. Once again, thank you for a delightfully accurate portrayal of Thranduil and elves in general. Author Reply: You're welcome! You do sound like you're coming from the same side of the camp as I am. Unfortunatly the world of black and white absolutes is far from popular in most fandoms I've found. :( It's readers like you who provide some great backup support! And yes, SoA is the only major site I've been able to bring myself to voluntarily post at without an explicit invitation, and I've had to turn down lots of archive requests due to fatally flawed archives. So stick around now that you've found this little haven of mostly-good and clean and decent fanfic; I hope you have as much fun as I've had! ;)

Rochwen	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/14/2004
Madam Coriel, I must remark upon the surprising amount of research you have presented in this piece. Had you read all of those works previously, and happened to remember a sentence or two about Thranduil, or did you have to read each and every book, simply looking for information? Either way, you are deserving of my deep respect. I must admit; I am very much biased. Thranduil has long been one of my favorite characters, based solely upon the random sentences found throughout Tolkien. I love the combination of wisdom and humor found in any of his quotes. Tolkien presented him as a honorable and steadfast elf, and I am glad that someone (besides myself) remembers that. One question: Where did you find "Morgoth's Ring"? I've never heard of any such tale, and I thought that I had read most of his books. Even in "Unfinished Tales" or "Lost Tales" there has been no mention of any such thing. Keep up the magnificent writing, Your Humble Servant, Rochwen Author Reply: Thank you, Rochwen! I had indeed read most of my reference material previously, but certain lines stood out in my memory, and in the course of looking them up I stumbled over several more. I hadn't read "The Hobbit" in ages, but took it page by page again. :) "Morgoth's Ring" was a new find for me, and a welcome one. It's the Silmarillion chapter, so to speak, of the "History of Middle-earth" series which is basically the published versions of Tolkien's notes as he wrote. However, this volume includes a few gems, among them "Laws and Customs of the Eldar". As for writing, I will strive to continue so often as homework allows!

Amanalda	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 8/4/2004
Ok...now I'm amazed. That was an amazing piece of work that to be quite frank I don't think I'll ever get over...You're points were so increadiably well argued and all the different parts of the Evil!Thranduil that you addressed were just astounding. I think you just beat the Evil!Thranduil into the dust at a gillion miles an hour and I don't think that abomination will be getting up any time soon... You just wait till I get onto e-mail...I'm going to get my friends to read this if it's the last thing I do. I've been trying to convince them for forever that Thranduil really isn't a tyrant and an abusive father. That is just so wrong...like you just proved. hehe. They are going to eat those words faster than you can drink water when you're thirsty... Thranduil has always been one of my absolute favorite characters. I don't know why, but there's this depth to him and his character, as well as his situation, backround and realm that I just love. Like you said he was rather neglected in Tolkien's works, bit still at least we can know a little about him...if we can only RESPECT him for what he truly IS!! Erg it's irritating... But then again, so are mary-sue's, slash and the other abominations to Tolkien's Middle Earth. People can just be so sick sometimes and the world around me is really making me want to throw up...I liked the bit you stuck in there about religion though. hehe. I totally agree with you on that aspect and I'm very glad you brought it up. It really did play a part. Your theory on Thranduil's backround and the fact that he just kept moving and moving and moving really got me thinking. I mean, it really is possible, and if it is is it really does explain a lot. That poor elf has been through hell...moving around like mad, losing his father and two thirds of his army, having to deal with a realm that is slowly becoming overrun by shadow, and then losing his wife to the Sea.(that is my personal belief, I just don't know when...) Ouch. Poor Thranduil. Gotta love him. grin Man you are a deep thinker...I'm just really glad that you got into this and went for it. This must have been a big project but I bet it was fun. :) The ending part of your essay I thought was just wonderful. Thranduil did hang in there and they ended up surviving and reaping the benifits...oh man now I'm gonna cry. I just think that is so awesome because like you said, Thranduil had to survive without an Elven ring and he had Dul Guldor to deal with! Man...long live the Elven-king! I liked the arguement you put in with Legolas too. "Legolas greenleaf long under tree in joy thou hast lived...". Absolutely wonderful point and another piece of proof that he was not abused. And the part you stuck with the Aragorn/Legolas friendship thing was really a very good point and quite unexpected on my part. Oh my goodness and the point with the dwarves and that you can't necissarily trust what they say...HA!! What an amazing point. That one had me gaping at the screen for a few minutes. If that is actually true, Tolkien...man what a writer. But you are so right, and the part with Thingol actually being the Elvenking talked about not only shocked me out of my mind but made perfect sense. Go Coriel you rock! Ok, another one of the things that I never thought about that you brought up was the subject of Elladan and Elrohir being these little 'mischief-mongers' as you put them. I'm a little shaky as to my belief as I've never known them any other way, but if you really think about it...hm. I don't know. I'll have to think about it some more. I guess this whole thing with Harry Potter and the Weasley twins and the belief I've seen around a lot that twins are usually mischief makers fed that a lot in writers and that's why it was accepted so easily...along with several other things but that's a very interesting thing to think about... Homeschool graduate are you? Go homeschoolers! :) I'm also homeschooled and finishing highschool, oldest of eight. I salute you Coriel, you are an exeptional writer and are quite a genious from the sound of it...I can only imagine what you're like in college. Whoo! Keep it up, I look forward to reading the rest of your work. May the rest of the Evil!Thranduil followers and writers see the truth and the Evil!Thranduil bite the dust and the real Thranduil take his place. ~Amanalda~

Arandil13	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 5/12/2004
I always kind of liked Thranduil, and I was so pleased when I read your essay. I never pictured him as a warm, loving nurturer, but that would probably only have been in the best interest of his child (children?) and his realm. If you are in a kingdom at war, you don't want your boy (boys?) to grow up soft and coddled, and you need to be strong for your kingdom. I cannot list here the points you made that I agreed with, because I found myself nodding in agreement the whole time. I loved that you brought up Feanor. Everybody -loves- Feanor, and he was, in my opinion, the closest to Evil! that any of Tolkien's elves came. (Don't get me wrong, I adore Feanor - I think its that whole bad-boy thing he's got going on - but I agree with you. The stuff he did far surpasses anything Thranduil would probably even dream of doing.) I first heard of Evil!Thranduil in the OFUM by Camilla Sandman (a parody, if you haven't heard of it, and she was making some points similar to those that you have). I was shocked. Honestly, I never thought anything he had done would classify him as "evil." I mean, he -did- raise Legolas. I loved the point you made about "in joy thou hast lived," and that an Evil!Parent would not make your childhood all that joyous. I mean seriously people, abuse and incest? From an Elf? I, too, cannot stand slash, but I generally keep my mouth shut about it. I mean, who am I to talk in the first place? I dropped a girl into Middle Earth. hide (The only redeeming thing about my story is that she was 26 and I used spell-check and a beta reader.) So anyway, thank you so much for this essay. I am definitely going to recommend it to lots of people! -Arandil Author Reply: I see! Well, the worst I've ever done is to drag Elves into the present day, but most had nice elvish families, so it wasn't too bad. :) Recommend it to whomsoever you wish; they don't have to agree, but they can't say they've never been told. Feanor makes me nervous, being a Sinda at heart. But I can see Thranduil as a kind of loving and nurturing slave driver. ^_^ Reading about traditional royalty, you have to wonder, "didn't they do anything for themselves?" But a lot of Thranduil's attitude in that regard shines through in "I Return" if you've read that. By golly, his son is no stranger to a floormops and dishwater! And I don't think they'd see any use in a whole host of servants to dress them in the morning. :)

	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 5/7/2004
AMEN, Sistah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Your collection of essays should be required reading for ALL LOTR fanfic writers... including (in fact, I'd go so far as to say:"especially") those who have developed thier own fan fic following and seem to be able to do no wrong in the eyes of their readers. Writers, who, while eloquent and talented in thier own right, still seem to blatently ignore all that is truly canon about the descendents of Oropher. You know, I'm sure of what I speak.. Thranduil who ABHORES the very thought of Gimli. Thranduil who can't keep his paws off of the Dorwinion. Thranduil who can't relate enugh to his son to so much as pat him on the shoulder and say, "nice shot, son!" And those are the most innocent of these non-canon-"Thrandys"! So, needless to say, I have been reading your stories with delight! It is so refreshing to find a truly "ELVISH" Thranduil. Not a pretty "human" king with a silken cascade of golden hair and pointed ears, and about three thousand years of animosity under his oh-so-slim and trim belt...(or, my, my, is that his son?) but an elvish character, based on Tolkien's writings. The most troubling aspect of this "fan-on" is those writers who are too lazy to read the books, and treat EVIL!Thranduil (I love that) as canon (I just read an otherwise wonderful story that had Thranduil as a bit of a drunk, and the writer admidts to having only watched 2 of the movies... fan-on lives!) Enough of this.. but I do love this work and I'm sending the URL to every fanfic writer I know, or at least read! Thanks! Author Reply: Glad you found some use for it! It is disconcerting when off-color fanfic rumor is somehow accepted as fact because a well-read author adopts it. So spread it as far as you like. :D

Wren	Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 4/30/2004
Wow. That was incredible. I have read a number of anti Evil!Thranduil articles, but your's is by far the greatest. You have so much proof, write with such eloquence and confidence, and cover everything so well that there's not a hole in your argument. All of your points come straight from the book, in a way that cannot be argued. You have truly made great strides toward a greater LOTR fanfiction community. Author Reply: Thanks! I certainly hope I've done some good with this. So glad you enjoyed it!

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