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Comments for: King Stag

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10 Comments

King Stag

pandemonium_213 - 22 Jul 07 - 8:21 AM

General Comment

And now on to my second public comment here after a few months of lurking…This offering pulled me into the Greenwood where I ran alongside the stags. The pace, dialogue, and storyline are all well executed. Your depiction of the cultural differences between the more "advanced" Sindarin prince and his wife's family, the practically Neolithic Silvans, is fascinating. You adroitly graft North European shamanism and belief, e.g., stag as male fertility symbol as well as other tidbits which I'll leave for other readers to discover, onto Tolkien's world, and thus enhance it. As someone who at one time entertained the notion of becoming an ethnobotanist, I was really tickled by the use of fly agaric in the story!

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King Stag

Jael - 22 Jul 07 - 12:51 PM

General Comment

Ooh! An articulate reviewer -- just the thing to make my Sunday!

As someone who at one time entertained the notion of becoming an ethnobotanist, I was really tickled by the use of fly agaric in the story!

Here, I would like to publicly thank Greywing, Gwynnyd and Adaneth for their invaluable advice about halucinogens and tattooing methods. Greywing, in particular, set me onto Amanitas for the mushroom potion, which led to that 'fun' detail of how the ancients processed it.

Thank you for your kind review!

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King Stag

Jael - 03 Jan 08 - 11:21 PM

General Comment

Thank you so much, Oshun, for that wonderful comment! Yes, this is one of my favorite ones.

I normally thank reviewers privately, but this time I'd like to mention that with this story I had the input and assistance of some of the most talented and generous people in fandom -- Darth Fingon for the language, IgnobleBard for the beta work and a brilliant suggestion for the ending, and all the good people at Garden of Ithilien Writers Group. Special thanks to Greywing and Adaneth for giving me the courage to be candid about the means of processing Fly Agaric.

Thank you everyone!

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King Stag

ecthelion510 - 04 Jan 08 - 8:10 AM

General Comment

This was absolutely stunning. Every word of it was poetic, and compassed the entire spectrum of emotion, from joy to laughter to lust to despair. Absolutely wonderful!!

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King Stag

Beleth - 05 Jan 08 - 6:00 PM

General Comment

I really enjoyed this story, suprisingly. It's just that I don't read much about elves that aren't Calaquendi. It was a delight to see Thranduil accept the ritual to become a part of his wife's clan. The ritual was very complex but easy to understand in the way you wrote it. I like the way you include Thranduil's thoughts on the tasks. It's easy to tell that he is very much in love with his wife from the beginning to the end. the part where you mention she died in the process of giving birth to their child is so sad, especially after reading the previous chapters. Thanks for writing!

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King Stag

ecthelion510 - 04 Jan 08 - 7:34 AM

Ch. 1: Thoughts of a Dry Brain

"Huitho: The affirmative command for the marital act. Thranduil's favorite cuss-word."

Ha! I love it!

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King Stag

oshun - 02 Jan 08 - 12:25 PM

Ch. 4: Supple Confusions

So glad to see this story reviewed and posted. You are so productive, attentive to detail, and consistent that it could annoy lesser mortals like me, if your stories and characertization were not so absolutely engaging and charming. I love Thranduil in this story, adore your playing with cultural anthropology to make his world more detailed and intriguing. I love your use of Darth Fingon's skill in Elvish languages to add to the ambience. And, once again, you've pimped off my favorite poet, W.B. Yeats. What's not to love? Congrats on a great story.

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King Stag

ecthelion510 - 04 Jan 08 - 8:02 AM

Ch. 4: Supple Confusions

Oh, my! This is just wonderful! Must read on!

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King Stag

Gandalfs apprentice - 20 Jul 07 - 11:37 AM

Ch. 5: Epilogue: White Feathers in the Snow

Lovely story, Jael! You've truly expanded the legendarium with this one. I won't be able to walk in the woods again without wondering where the Avorren are. Thanks.

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King Stag

Silbereth - 14 May 10 - 1:41 PM

Ch. 5: Epilogue: White Feathers in the Snow

This was a truly fantastic story, especially in the last chapter. The underlying emotion was wonderful to read. Again, very very well written :)

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