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Ripe for Change by Bodkin	8 Review(s)
Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 3/15/2006
Ah, even in the Undying Lands there is still the need for the planning departments, and here we have a planning department of two, about to be interrupted by Finrod, who of course will get swept up with it all. Galadriel knows her daughter all too well, I think. Author Reply: Where there are people, there is a need for planners. Just as, where there are people, there is a need for intermediaries and organisers. And we wouldn't want elves to get bored in the Undying Lands. Would we?

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 8/9/2005
I just got back from visiting Karenator and found this update, Bodkin. It sounds as if Celeborn is going to have his hands full. I liked the glimpses of Celebrian. That made me laugh. Author Reply: I hope you had a good time! Celeborn is married to Galadriel. He is used to having his hands full! No-one is better trained in managing impossible tasks and complicated people. Lovely Celebrian. Glad she amused you. Welcome back.

perelleth	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 8/9/2005
Sorry I'm so late in r&r! I've just moved quite a distance, and settling down is proving a bit more difficult than expected, so now I'm soooooo short of spare time and of computer access and... truly I'm at the other end from Celeborn or Finrod in this Chapter! :-) I liked how you pictured the need of purpose for all of them. It was more poignant in the case of the twins, but Celeborn's restless ness is endearing. I like it how he simply let things come to pass, he's not hurrying the process but learning, listening, enjoying a glorious sunset and letting the soultion simply appear before his eyes. IT fits very well with how I picture him! And loved Bórdain and his longing. IT moved me. IT was fun to follow Elrond and Amarié's broadcasting Celebríana dn Finrod's discussion, adn Elrond recalling all the steps Galadriel had carefully trod before leaving... HA, it made me laugh how resigned they all are to the fact tht she is the most dangerous hazard looming out there! LOL! Author Reply: Being short of time and computer access is not good. It's the down side to being away as well - I took the computer, but missed the link to the wider world. Celeborn and Finrod - you could describe them as retired. Senior citizens. Wouldn't they just hate having to sit back and do nothing but watch the surf! Perhaps the Valar need to organise retraining programmes for superannuated elves. They all need to feel needed - the twins have got it bad at the moment, because they were more worn even than Celeborn, but once they start to take an interest, I think they will recover more quickly. Celeborn feels guilty for leaving - and I think that is holding him back from making a link with this new world. But the need of others will draw him in. I like Bordain. He is very old and in some ways very simple. But wise. Galadriel hates to be caught out by anything. You can't appear all-wise and all-knowing if you let things jump out at you. (Mind you, she was right - Celebrian couldn't just leave C and G to work through their problems on their own.) She is dangerous - but through love. With her family, at least. Good to hear from you. Hope your new place is good and starts to feel like home soon.

Kathy_SFF	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 8/7/2005
I really love this story. I especially enjoy how you write the relationship between Galandriel and Celebron. They seem an old married couple who love each other very much, but also know the other's faults and needs. The idea that Celeborn finds himself not "enjoying" the undying lands and feels he "needs" more adds to an already well written story. I look forward to your next chapter. Author Reply: I do like the relationship between Galadriel and Celeborn - I think that, to be together after so many centuries, there must be a bond so deep that it recognises each other's weaknesses and strengths and works with them. And they have just been reunited after a long time apart, so that their passion for each other is renewed. Celeborn, I think, needs to have a purpose - he doesn't want to sit back and admire the stars; he is an elf who has always worked for the benefit of his people - and their need will settle him more certainly than any self-interest. Thank you for reading - there will be more to come, although they will not find their new home in this tale.

Bejai	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 8/7/2005
Loved this chapter! A few things that caught my attention: -- the description of the sunrise first thing in the chapter. I read it two or three time, just in awe of the glory of the prose there. -- Celeborn, coming to life at last as he sees a mission before him. This is what he needed! Maybe it will help his grandsons too. That seemed to be a reoccuring theme in this chapter for Celeborn, E2, Finrod: the need to be needed. Couldn't agree more. -- Celeborn and Galadriel, enjoying one another's company. I simple adore how you write them. Passionate, teasing, with the richness that only years of faithfulness could bring. Wonderful. -- the discussion about trade and manufacture of goods and the like. So real, so true, even in paradise. Loved that touch. Also the discussion about the forest becoming overburdened. It all rings so true! I love that you have realistic, real life-concerns in this story. "-- ‘His wife will be grateful,’ Celeborn said dryly, ‘to know that you are marginally less dangerous than Morgoth.’" Bwah! Little gems like that make me laugh out loud. -- Bórdain and the horses. Wonderful! I'm really enjoying Bordain, with his insight and clarity. It is all just so good! I could mention every time, every nuance of this chapter. Suffice it to say, I enjoyed it very much, and always look forward to updates. Author Reply: I'm glad you liked the sunrise. I have to rein myself in on descriptive bits at times - I'm happy this worked for you. Yes, Celeborn isn't one to sit back by the pool and enjoy paradise. He wants to be active and purposeful. I think that's the thing about being a good lord - they need to serve as the other face to receiving all that respect. Celeborn would hate to be all celebrity and no substance. I love the depth of passion and understanding between C and G - and I reckon it must be there for them to have remained at each other's side through all the troubles they have faced. As soon as you start thinking about paradise, you start to wonder about sewage. Well, I do. And providing enough food. And how undying the Undying Lands must be if people still have to eat. And wear shoes. I like Bordain. He is a very straightforward elf - but very old and with his own wisdom. Unlike Goerfer, who would like to be an elf of authority. I am so glad you like it. I have a big smile on my face. More to come.

elliska	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 8/7/2005
Hi Bodkin! :-) There are a lot of things that I like about this chapter, but coincidentally, I just spent the weekend at a conference discussing increasing population, over-development and shrinking resources, so this line really caught my attention: ‘It is putting more of a strain on the ability of the forest to give – and the forest creatures are withdrawing from us in their need to protect themselves. It used to be that we could wander whichever paths took us for weeks without seeing any others among the trees, but now the wood is full of voices. If nothing is done, we will soon be driven to seek other homes. The balance is upset.’ A constant problem, even in Aman. But back to the beginning--G and C's discussion of the forest and the elves' needs was well done. I especially like their speculation about who would be sent after them and their playful 'fight.' Especially after I read this later: ‘Galadriel asked me to hold Celebrían off for a month – two, if possible,’ Elrond confessed. ‘She was perfectly well aware that – despite the distraction of our sons – her daughter would be too anxious to let her adar be for too long. And she suggested Finrod as the best candidate to follow them... Galadriel is too much! :-) And the poor twins--so soon after they have returned, like C, they are not entirely healed yet. Your prose is so poetic that the description of their emotions really comes to life. But, especially in the mood I'm in after my conference this weekend, I loved Celeborn's discussion with Bordain about leading them to a 'home.' Somehow this chapter seemed sad to me...probably more sad than you intended it. Very powerful. I like it. Glad you're back. Author Reply: The population in the BR must be increasing - especially if Namo decides to release more from his Halls. And I can see the Valar just not realising the impact - they need someone to point out to them that more people need more space if they are not to impact adversely on the environment. Galadriel can't help but be devious at times - it just comes naturally to her. But Celeborn can see right through her - I think she finds it a relief, really, to be with someone who can be amused by her and is not afraid to play dirty with her, too. Poor twins. They are very worn - but they will bounce back. As soon as they stop feeling guilty for being safe. And they, too, need a task to anchor them - until they find lurve, anyway. I like to think of Celeborn practically organising the exodus. He would be good at it. I'm glad to be back, too. Away is good, but I missed this.

Redheredh	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 8/6/2005
Gads, I enjoyed this chapter. I loved seeing the future unfolding from these many different viewpoints all revolving around the theme of belonging and home. I have always adored your clever conversation and patter. Also your talent for description. Bordain has taken on a wider representative role it seems. The very thing Finrod occassional seeks in himself and Galadriel admires is something Celeborn would protect from 'manicured perfection'. I am remined of putting endangered species in zoos to 'educate' the public to their beauty and the need for the proper habitat. "so irresistible it was unfair" Hah! They all are charmers in my book. Hmm, Finrod may not be prepared for the kind of trouble that could find him in this neighborhood. Hope some of his Sindarin subjects that think well of him live here. Logael sounds rather superstitious and ridiculously impatient at the moment. Is she just becoming too anxious for a solution to be practical? "This is not the moment to recall my cires of frustration" ROFLAO! Talking... talking... talking... ;) Great chapter! Author Reply: Thank you - I do too much conversation, but I just enjoy doing it! It must be really hard to be exiled to a 'heavenly' place, where you just don't feel you belong - finding their own place will make a difference to all these elves. Including the twins! (Although they need lurve, too!) Bordain is a very simple person - but in some ways they can be the most insightful, and he has been around since the very beginning. He doesn't want much, and he's unlikely to involve himself in politics, but he knows what he needs. The desire to find perfection and then change it to preserve it so it is even better - a very common desire that frequently backfires by not recognising environments as living and changing things. Even determined non-interference is interference in an inverted way. But the shine the Noldor like to add - no, that is something the new exiles will avoid. They are all charmers - and Finrod is among the most charming. I don't think he will have too much trouble with the Sindar or the Silvan - they might be bemused by him, but they will be charmed. And even Galadriel is quietly resigned to his appearance! Losgael is being worn down, I think. Her daughter has headed west, her son is likely to follow suit soon, Goerfer has a hankering for power - but not for responsibility - and the neighbourhood is going downhill. And Celeborn and Galadriel have turned up - but who knows how long they will stay or whether they can be persuaded to use their clout. 'What have I done to deserve you?' It can be taken so many ways!

Jay of Lasgalen	Reviewed Chapter: 4 on 8/6/2005
It's easy - too easy - to think of the Blessed Realm as paradise or heaven, and that 'they all lived happily ever after'. Yet they all had so many bitter memories, so much loss to bear, and to suddenly be in a place where others had no understanding of that must be more than difficult. And as beautiful as Valinor must be, it wasn't home. No wonder Celeborn goes off into the trees and forests, and they eventually find their 'New Horizons'. Celebrían is right to be worried - her description of E&E is desperately sad and lonely: '‘Hunched in middle of a black cloud of their own making and refusing to let the sun in.’ It's heartbreaking. Clearly their wives and children are a long way away yet. Jay Author Reply: Happy ever after just isn't a possibility, really - it smacks of stagnation, and I really can't imagine intelligent curious elves being able to tolerate fluffy clouds and harps. Or people like Elrond and Thranduil and E2L just throwing up their hands and going around with dippy smiles on their faces. Not unless chemically induced. And I don't think the Valar would go for doping the water. Valinor can be home to them, I think. But only in the way that Arda was home to Galadriel - they will always hanker after their vision of the lands of their birth. And not the Valinor of the Aman-born. They need to build their own havens. I don't know that the wives and children are that far off. But any relationships they got into at the moment wouldn't be too healthy. (Except Legolas. I think he has his eye on Elerrina. But then he's already been there for several hundred years.) Elrond is right to see Celebrian as the best person to get through to the twins at the moment. They are empty and they need comfort - and to let the song in.

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