Reviews of Starlight On Leaves

Stephanie · 18 March 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

I loved it! It is so well written. Poor Thranduil ...he had to be so sad. I am glad that he had somebody special to help him grieve and adapt to his new life as king.

Author's reply

Thank you! It would have been a difficult time for Thranduil - his father and two-thirds of his army dead. He wouldn't have felt much like celebrating. I may expand this story and look at the early days of Thranduil's reign, and let him spend some more time with his wife.

pipinheart · 4 March 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

Nicely done... Not many thranduil and wife stories out there...This is a nice a sweet one. Being gone seven years was trying but he had one to come home he loved.... He has a pest in Beraid.... You can feel the love they have for each other and in a way see how much they had.... Great job...

Author's reply

Thank you. I enjoyed writing this - I've done a few Thranduil and Legolas stories, but very little about Legolas's mother. It was nice to be able to show how happy they were here.

simplicity · 20 February 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

What a wonderful story,so bittersweet. Thranduil and his queen are so touchingly real here. I feel Thranduil's longing for her as the symbol of all he was fighting for, worth all that he lost. That they will begin again and bring new life into the Greenwood even after such tragedy says much of the strength of their love and faith in one another. Just enjoyed this so much. Thank you!

Author's reply

Welcome to SoA! Winterhawk's fic was supposed to be a one-shot like the other story exchanges, but Thranduil is urging me to let him have some more time with his wife, and I'd like to explore these early days back in the Greenwood a little more. I feel a series coming on ...

elliska · 18 February 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

This was wonderful. So many different emotions in it and I loved seeing Thranduil with his wife. I like the idea of him having someone to come home to after such an experience. He needed that night. And lovely new traditions. I like your Thranduil and I'd love to see more of this.

Author's reply

When I wrote this for Winterhawk it was intended to be a one-shot. I 've found that I really liked writing about Thranduil again, especially at this time - and I've done very little with Telparian. I can see this becoming a new series. I'm glad you liked the dichotomy of Thranduil creating a 'new tradition'. I think a few more elves might take to the celebration of Imbolc, too!

Kitty · 17 February 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

The return of the army must’ve been horrible for the people of Lasgalen. So many of their loved ones lost ... and it is surely a heavy burden for Thranduil. I’m so glad Telparian was there for him. She is much more understanding than Beraid. He seems not to have an overabundance of tact and thoughtfulness, and to think Thranduil first wants to talk about accounts and the like after seven years of absence is simply ridiculous! *shakes head*

Author's reply

Beraid asks: 'But what else would the King be doing? These are the accounts! They're important!' I think Thranduil might leave him out for the spiders ... To see only a third of their warriors return from battle must have been hard - and terrible for Thranduil to lead them. What a start to Kingship. Things will get better for him, though.

Lianna · 17 February 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

This is lovely. I could appreciate it even though I am not a winter lover myself. Thranduil's steward is an ass, and unfortunately, we all know plenty of people who are like that. I'm glad Thranduil gave the elves -- including himself -- time to kind of let the changes wash over them before having to cope with any kind of public event (or paperwork!). I hope that, after a good night's sleep (or reverie, whatever), it will occur to Thranduil that Telparian let his impulses and needs dictate everything they did on this first night. The second night should be her turn. ;-) These years haven't been easy for her, either. She was alone, too, and she had to run things in such a way that Mirkwood could support itself despite the absence of so many people. Also, she had to deal with that ass of a steward. The only thing diminishing my enjoyment of this story was the fact that in another timeline, you still have Elrohir stuck in a burning building! It must be getting a bit hot in there, after all this time. (This is a hint.)

Author's reply

There'll be a second night for Thranduil and Telparian - and a third, and a fourth - they have a lot of catching up to do :) I hate cold, dreary, wet winter days, but when there's a sharp frost, still air and the sun is shining, it can be lovely. That's the sort of day Thranduil and Telparian will wake to. I haven't forgotten Elrohir - in fact I was writing some more of the next chapter during my lunch break at work today (in longhand, on paper!) But 'Starlight' had to be finished by 14th February, so I was concentrating on that. I'll get Elrohir out of that stable as soon as possible.

Dot · 16 February 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

Oh wow. This is wonderful. There's something so sensual about all your descriptions. I love the title. And it’s great to see Thranduil and Telparian together. I thought you really captured the mix of joy and sadness at the return of Greenwood’s army and I like that Thranduil is very sensitive to the different emotions that his people are feeling. It’s a lovely moment too when Thranduil finally sees his wife after being apart from her for so long. I love that in addition to their passion, she offers him so much comfort and she tries to ease all his aches, even though she would have missed him too. And the way he moves from desperation to desire is very touching and believable. Actually, one of my favourite things about this chapter is Thranduil’s need to be out in the forest and the bond between him and the trees. It’s so elfy! And it’s a very poignant touch that the trees know that Oropher won’t be coming home. You did a great job incorporating Imbolc!! I love the idea that it’s an old tradition that has faded out until now. The passion and love between Thranduil and Telparian is just beautiful. And the ending made me smile :-) Lovely job, Jay. I really enjoyed it. I don’t much like Beraid, though, the insensitive sod…;-)

Author's reply

I knew nothing about Imbolc until I saw it in Winterhawk's request. Thank God for Google! It was how I knew it was linked to St Brigid. It seemed the sort of celebration the elves would enjoy, and I incorporated St Valentine's day in there as well. I see Thranduil very much as a woodland king, so it seemed right for him to need the trees as much as he needed his wife. I think both would have eased the strain and grief he still felt. 'I don’t much like Beraid, though, the insensitive sod' He is, isn't he? I rather like adding him (or Lanatus - they're the same person) to a scene, to see who he'll irritate next. He's in the process of a name change.

Nilmandra · 16 February 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

A lovely homecoming, yet realistic with the many many elves who would never hold their loved ones again on this side of the sea. And those first days are always for family and friends - celebrations and feasts come after children have relearned a parent and a spouse reclaimed one long missing. Beraid is clearly an idiot! I am not sure that the trees would win out over a warm bed for me on the first night home, but fitting for the forest king.

Author's reply

Personally, I'd rather have a hot bath and a warm bed too, but this is Thranduil - and Winterhawk requested an outdoor setting! He needed to renew the bonds with his wife and the trees. Beraid is an idiot - but so is Lanatus, his alter ego. He'll be around to annoy Thranduil for some time yet.

Noor · 16 February 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

Good to have a story from you.........very well written and you captured the bond between Thranduil and his queen beautifully. Thank you Noor

Author's reply

I love writing about Thranduil, but have rarely shown him with Telparian. I like the idea of the bond between elven married couples, and the way they can draw strength from one another.

Bodkin · 16 February 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

A return combining joy and grief. Thranduil is wise to put off celebrations - even if he does combine it with selfishly uxorial motives! Beraid seems a complete pain in the ... neck. Insensitive and demanding - he wants to talk over politics and administrative matters? Within ten minutes of the king's arrival? And is dumb enough to knock on the king's door during his reunion with his wife? He could do with a posting to some far-flung part of Arda perhaps. Being diplomatic with dwarves. Love the outdoor excursion - and the enhanced harmony with the forest that comes with being its king. And the enhanced harmony with his wife that comes with having endured so long a separation. A festival of love - combined with niphredil for the queen. What more could you want?

Author's reply

Beraid is Lanatus, but I'm in the process of changing his name. I love his totally blinkered approach to life - what could the new king possibly want to do more than discuss administrative affairs? (Hey - he'd get on well with Sir Humphrey!) I've always written Thranduil as having a deep bond with the forest, and Legolas a slightly lesser one. It made sense that Thranduil noticed the diference this time. It will probably grow stronger, too. Thanks for reviewing.

French Pony · 15 February 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

That was sweet. I liked most of all the idea of the beginning, of seeing Thranduil coming home and beginning to pick up the pieces of his life, slowly remembering how he fits into the world of the forest. Is Beraid a new character? I don't think I've met him before.

Author's reply

I think seven years in Mordor would be a long time even for an elf, and it will take Thranduil (and all his surviving warriors) some time to settle in again. Their experiences will have changed them. Beraid is actually Lanatus - it was pointed out that Lanatus didn't sound a very elf-like name, so I'm changing it in the other tales as well.

Idhreniel · 15 February 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

Lovely fic. Thranduil is one of my favorites and you portrait him nicely.

Author's reply

I love Thranduil as well, and I like to show him as a loving husband/father. I'm glad you like him here.

MaidenofValinor · 15 February 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

That was simply lovely. Beautiful, bittersweet, romantic, erotic. I love it. Very, very well done.

Author's reply

Thank you! I had fun writing this - it's a litte different to my usual style.

daw the minstrel · 15 February 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

Lovely, Jay. A return marked with losses and the fear it had all been in vain, but also a return to loved ones and the woods.

Author's reply

Thanks, Daw! The last alliance was such a tragedy for the wood elves, and they suffered such huge losses. I like that part in UT where Thranduil looks south to Mordor and knows it will rise again :( Thranduil is very much a woodland king, so I wanted him to feel the song of the trees again - more strongly now that he is king.

Ellie · 15 February 2006 · Chapter 1: Starlight On Leaves

Beautiful! The descriptions of the forest and the flowers and cold and the passion all appeal so strongly to the senses. Just beautiful. Nicely done. Nice.

Author's reply

Thank you! That was partly the effect I was trying for, as it's the first time I've written this type of scene. I'm glad you liked it. I see Thranduil very much as a king of the woodland, so it felt right for them to spend the night in the forest :)

Reviews (15)