Comments on Winterlights

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Excellent!  I have deep respect for those who can write a good drabble, and this is a splendid one.  In 100 words, you capture the shades of a northern winter.  The subtlety of the relationship between Arwen and Gilraen is nicely done.  I especially liked this: "...changing it into a colourless landscape where snow and chalk cliffs rival over the whiter shade."

*Takes deep breath*  SQUEEEEEEEEEE! 

OK, I am a pushover for all of this.  This short piece amplifies the brutality of the crossing of the Helcaraxë and that the civilized Firstborn must revert to their more ancient origings.  And muskoxen!  YES!  

"Írissë secures two, for Elenwë and for Itaril, wreathing them in the long furs, and the women sit, foreheads together, while the wind fails to rip away the little warmth between them."

The above leaps fully painted in my mind's eye.

Each of these short pieces is quite sensual, Elleth.  You make use of all the senses - sight, sound, sense of smell, subtle sexuality (subtext titillates me more than explicit :^)), and the sensation of bone-chilling cold, but thereis warmth amidst the chilly scenes of winter, too.

In short...

Fantastic!  Brava!

 

Having heard the howling winds of winter storms, I can relate, but I have always been in warmer quarters than Írissë and Elenwë are.  I definitely can relate to the chattering teeth!  The bone-chilling cold is so palpable here.

"the gates to Mandos swimming in her mind..."

Very effective way to show that these women are at the brink of dying.

Now let me appreciate my hot cup of coffee and my cuddly Ugg boots that are keeping my toes warm...



Thank you very much for the r/r marathon, Pandë! I'll lump everything in one comment, but the reviews are all very, very appreciated!

I'm especially glad the subtlety appeals - femslash isn't just about the smut, after all, and that's part of what I was trying to convey here - and I imagine explicitness would be much harder to write effectively without devolving into what a friend calls Ikea Erotica ("touch slot A to slot B now"), especially in the limited scope of a drabble... though I seem to have managed to succeed with vivid descriptions at the very least, which is a great relief - I missed drabbling after delving into longfic for a while, and it is fun to come back to and tinker with.

"Girithron" is a winter month, yes - it's the twelfth month of the Númenorean calendar, which clashes somewhat with Doriath, I know... but the Calendar of Imladris seems to be based on a Noldorin one, so the clash is even greater there, and a case could be made for a Doriathren ancestry of the Númenorean one, but that's merely a theory of mine. I'll be sure to add a note of clarification in the end notes of the chapter.

Baraneth is going to make another appearance; I have her and Tauriel listed again for the 13th, then hopefully with a glimpse at Dorwinion - it's much too tempting to play with, and you've just given me additional incentive with Fell Meats ch. 2. :^D

Astute observation on #5 - both Elemmírë as a minstrel/poet canonically and Findis as a budding scholar in my 'verse are very involved with words, perhaps even a little more than the Amanyar as a whole, so the dialogue seemed like a natural route to take here - I'm glad it worked!

Araman and Helcaraxë especially must have been utterly brutal, and the crossing of both equally so, with desperate measures and desperate moments both! I hope the Ugg boots and the coffee help drive the chill away! Thank you so much again, and I hope the next installments continue to tickle you.