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Reunion by Larner	12 Review(s)
Queen Galadriel	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 8/10/2006
Well, I'm back! And glad to be so, though I do feel as if I had three homes now-North Carolina, Colorado, and Heaven. It's just so odd not to rise at six, rush to get ready, and then literally run to catch the seven o'clock bus, and be packed in among people and canes till everyone is careful of their ankles, only the lucky ones get seats (the others have to stand and cling to poles or whatever), and everyone feels like sardines in a can. :) Oh dear, what ridiculous dramas can take place on an overcrowded bus or in a rush to catch a lightrail! We had one student-in the adult program, mind, and not a new one either-who was terrible at keeping a grip on his cane. He was one to whine and groan about every little thing, and he'd always drop the confounded thing on the way to catch the lightrail. And when he did, he'd just stop right in the middle of the sidewalk and yell, "Hey, I need twenty-twenty!" As if we could just give it to him! Honestly! Now that kind of behaviour, to me, might be pardonable if he'd just lost his sight, or if he was new, but neither applied to him, and he didn't have an excuse except what I call just plain being bratty. And at his age, too! I'd stop when I could and try to help him out of human kindness, but it was so hard not to laugh outright or say, "If you've dropped your cane, then stop wailing about it and get down on your own knees and look for it!" Now I can sit here and laugh all I want to without hurting his feelings, and it's such a relief, I must confess. The past eight weeks have been some of the most trying and--educational I've ever known, and also the happiest. It was marvellous. But it was so wonderful to sit down and relax and enjoy an excellent story as I haven't done in for ever. I almost had to bend the rules in order to get any internet time at the CCB. I love the sharing of memories, the loving messages and beautiful pictures and sculptures, the general happiness, the long-awaited revelation to Frodo and Sam of what might have been, and the peaceful depiction of life on the Lonely Isle. Marvellous, as always. And I feel that in this story we've come to know Livwen much better. I just love her. And I also enjoyed your descriptions of Aragorn's children. Each one is so individual, something I very much admire, as it's always been hard for me to achieve. We've had glimpses of Frodo and Sam's daily life on Tol Eressea before, but you've shown it more fully here, and it seems much more real and comprehensible, if you will. I'm still captivated and moved by Frodo's "Elvish mortality" and Sam's irresistible Hobbit sense, humour, and "mother henning". :) I have to agree with Frodo: the Creator does have an interesting sense of humour. I used to doubt it, but learned it the hard way very recently. You led up to the passing in what I thought was a realistic way-Frodo rubbing at his shoulder in the old way, not from pain but because he was being reminded that he was not immortal, and so on. And the end, with them joining the feast, and Saradoc's "Come now, or I'll have Esme and your mother come and have a word with you" left me laughing, just for the sheer joy in it. All the readjusting back to "normal" life, and fighting with "normality" to keep what I learned this summer is rather stressful, and this tale was so refreshing! Thank you for that. Hope you and Tribbals get things worked out, and I can't wait for the next one! :) God bless, Galadriel P.S. Can also say I've heard a computer speech synthasizer sing, beautifully, "A Bicycle Built for Two." :) Author Reply: Tribbals is caught on my Toshiba laptop, whose power intake has decided to go wonky. Am now writing on a Dell laptop, but it doesn't have a 3.5 inch disk drive, and I haven't yet figured out the R-W drive. Then the Dell desktop got hacked, as I indicated in Ernil i Pheriannath. So am borrowing the son-in-law's computer till I find the restore disk for the Dell desktop. For Frodo, Sam's coming must have felt like being allowed a piece of home again, for here is Hobbit love at its basic. The two of them would have so much to share--Sam from the Shire and the united realm; Frodo from Tol Eressea. Frodo has found the true reason for what he knew as the Shadow Realm and is now not trapped but instead fulfilled even more by his visits there (it's always wonderful to speculate on what had been meant by the processes and artifacts Sauron twisted to his own uses). Now we see more of the people who have come to mean the most to Frodo in his new life, and they get fleshed out a bit more. Thank you for your characterization of the realization the end is coming as realistic--as with Aragorn in Light on the Way, Frodo is being told by his body that the time has come and he may go when he wishes. As for the feast--I had to put Lindelea's feast in there, I had to! It begged for inclusion! And I know what you mean about how this reflects your own return to "normal" life. Anyway, again, glad to see you home! Hope to get some more stories posted soon. Have one multi-chapter story going, but it's caught also on the Toshiba. I hate when computers decide to die on one! I have to get these stories off of the hard disk for the laptop if I can.

Laurelin	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 8/7/2006
Aha, here you are :) . This would explain why you didn't update at fanfiction.net, I've been missing your writing. Very good story as always, I hope to read more from you soon. L. Author Reply: Curse the hackers! We hates them, we does! Curse them and let them have to deal with one another instead of us poor working writers having always to deal with them! When I can get the problems dealt with in the Dell, I can get back with the email and back on FanFiction.net, which unfortunately is the source of many of the trojans that conflict with my satellite modem system. I live in the back of beyond, and only the satellite system offers me any hope of broadband downloads out here. Am so very glad you like how the story ends. This one was a joy to write.

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 7/21/2006
After glancing over your author's notes I am very much looking forward to reading the story! (But it'll have to be next week; I'm out of time for today.) I had speculated on Frodo's time as well, and the possibilities of his being lonely, but I took a slightly different tack. I was remembering a conversation about heaven between an adult and a small child. I don't remember the context, but I remember this bit: The child asks if their mutual loved one will "be lonely there" and the adult answers, no, for there is no time there. And then there was something about "a few moments" in one place being like "an eternity" in another. Putting those together I had Faramir Took spending the time it took him to draw a few breaths, in conversation with Frodo, in Another place, while several days elapsed in Middle-earth. Don't know if it's a plausible solution, but it spared Frodo loneliness before Sam's arrival. (OTOH, I think I read a story where Bilbo "stayed" until Sam arrived. Something to do with what JRRT said, that mortals are not immortal There, but that they have the ability to lay down their lives when they are ready to move on. Anyhow, all this is just to say I'm looking forward to your take on the matter. Author Reply: As the Undying Lands are part of Arda in spite of physically being somewhat removed from the rest of the world since the breaking of it and the foundering of Numenor, I saw it as still being under the restrictions of Time somewhat, and so have Bilbo realizing his own time was come to go on early on, but remaining just long enough to be certain Frodo will remain on Tol Eressea until he is joined by Sam. But in all three cases they gave over their lives gladly enough when they felt it was indeed time to go on. I finally have the chance to add the small epilogue chapter. I hope others appreciate it, for you will find your own described scenario echoed in it, I think. Tenants are FINALLY out, although we will be cleaning up after them for months, I fear. I cannot believe what they have done to my property. Satellite dish is still out, also. Hopefully in another week or so....

cookiefleck	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 7/4/2006
Meant to stop by sooner to say thanks one last time for the story, and to let you know that I enjoyed the author's notes. I happened to be just finishing Tolkien's letters this week and it was interesting to run across the passage you alluded to in your notes. "Their sojourn was a 'purgatory,' but one of peace and healing and they would eventually pass away (die at their own desire and of free will) to destinations of which the Elves knew nothing." In my heart, I am sure that Sam, too, went over the sea, even if Tolkien didn't connect all the dots quite as neatly as some of us would have liked. Because when Sam sets out to do something, it gets done, after all. Author Reply: Am so glad you enjoyed it, Cookiefleck. Once again am having problems with the home system, for this time the satellite dish itself has gone wonky. It's such a comedy of errors; and once again I steal a few minutes at work to write replies. Am looking forward eventually to getting my own copy of the letters, but haven't had the money for some time. And I agree--what Sam sets out to do gets done. He's just that kind of person, isn't he? Thanks so much for the reviews, and the patience with the responses.

Andrea	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 7/2/2006
Thank you, Larner for this wonderful story! I’ve seen many depictions of Frodo’s death on Tol Eressëa.[...] In one I read Sam arrived only just in time to wish Frodo goodbye as he died a most painful death. I can’t see Frodo, after sixty-one years of blessed life on the island, being reduced to such straits. I totally agree with you! Since I have read Tolkien's letter about the "purgatory experience" I think, or better I believe that he was given time to find his peace again and to understand and accept the role the Creator had given him in the quest. After that he would be given the grace to die in peace. And that's exactly how you see it! I'm taken with your idea that the "shadowy realm" was only temporarily a frightening and dark place, but became again what it was originally intended to be, after Sauron's death - a place of light instead of darkness, creativity instead of standstill. (Is this the right word? I really hope so ;-)) I'm looking forward to reading new Larner stories :) Author Reply: Oh, I am so looking forward eventually to reading the entire Letters myself when I can afford to get a copy! It's fun to imagine just what kinds of things Sauron sought to twist to evil purposes. Am so glad you appear to have appreciated just what the Shadow Realm may have been intended to be originally. And for Frodo to be allowed to enter it properly and at will seems so right, somehow. Thanks so very much for the feedback. Am working on several stories at the moment, but when I'll actually be able to start posing one I'm not yet certain. The satellite dish itself is now out, so it'll be another week at the earliest before I can afford to get it fixed. I've been having to use all my spare cash lately trying to get my tenants evicted. It's been a real pain in the behind.

Linda Hoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 7/1/2006
This was most interesting.I think we have similiar ideas in weaving our stories into a connected whole.I think one gains far more that way.You stay true to Tolkien's world,while at the same time creating your own sub universe with some memorable OCs. Author Reply: Am so glad you appreciated it, Linda. And am so very glad you like my OCs as well as the disposition I give our favorites from Tolkien's own pen. Haven't been able to get back online at home, and must leave my office shortly, so won't be able to read any here, either. May not have time to respond to all the reviews. I hate technology when it is intent on not working.

Fiondil	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 6/30/2006
As always, Larner, you tell a great tale. It's actually interesting to read the same events from different viewpoints. I'm not sure what all the fuss about fireflies might be. Growing up in central New York, catching fireflies was the highlight of the summer as a child. Never stopped to think that other places in the world wouldn't have them. The last chapter sort of threw me because it took me a while to realize that this was some years later, because previously Aragorn was in the North when Frodo and Sam finally bid adieu to Arda. The fact that Aragorn was now whitehaired should have been a clue (duh!). Anyway, once I realized "when" it all fell into place. I look forward to reading more of your stories, but please, let's see more of the rest of the Fellowship besides Frodo and Sam, especially more about Aragorn and his family. Why do the Umbarians fear Eldarion? Enquiring minds want to know. Author Reply: Hopefully I'll have a new story started once the satellite dish is repaired. It's been a piece of technology at a time for months, it seems, and now it's the dish. Living in the wilderness has its drawbacks! I remember as a small child making firefly lanterns by imprisoning a number of the insects in a mason jar with holes in the lid, and how Mom would make us let them go. I truly missed them when we moved to the west coast, believe me. Sorry the last section threw you a bit, for I'd tried to make it clear that this was very near the end of Aragorn's reign, although for those who haven't read "Light on the Way" the fact that Valandil is attending audiences with his father and the arrival of Faramir Took to retire to Aragorn's court would perhaps not be as significant as if they had. And I just MIGHT go into why the Umbarians fear Eldarion one day. I love having such a culture that will do its best to seek to circumvent the best interests of Gondor and Arnor, after all. Thanks so much for the feedback.

harrowcat	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 6/30/2006
Masterly Larner. As always, Larner, I enjoy your notes almost as much as your tale. It is great to see some of your thought process and I am constantly in awe of how deeply you think about the Prof's work and keep to Canon with enough latitude for variation. Reading your tale always feels like slipping on a well-worn and familiar jacket. It isn't repetitive as you always vary and add detail. If you want an opinion then if you have an extra, one-off, chapter then I, personally, would like to see it on the end of this tale. P.S. I have seen fireflies down in Cornwell but never in the Shire Counties of England so I didn't 'bat an eyebrow' at their inclusion. I did once dare to raise them at the inclusion of Racoons in one Author's story and suggested squirrals instead. We are only just beginning to appreciate how much the Gulf Stream protects this country from a climate like Labrador. Author Reply: I'm very glad you appreciated the author's notes, although they strike me as a bit scattered this time. Maybe I'll eventually reedit them again. They have fireflies in Cornwall? (Or is it indeed Cornwell?) I've not been in Cornwall in the summer, although I've been there in the spring; but I've been through much of England proper in all months of the summer and hadn't seen fireflies anywhere there. We don't have them in Washington, Oregon, or California in my experience. But as a small child in Oklahoma and a teen visiting Arkansas and Kansas or a grad student in Michigan I certainly used to love them. I'll see about perhaps adding the last chapter into this story, then, once the satellite dish is repaired. I am SO tired of technical difficulties and having to borrow time at the office after work in order to get online. Happy Summer!

Raksha The Demon	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 6/29/2006
I've always felt no doubt that Sam really did sail to the Blessed Land, as the last of the Ringbearers, to reunite with Frodo. I concur that Frodo would have been somewhat lonely without him, after Bilbo's death. Excellent research, which has helped make this story readable. And thanx for the explanation of the elements common to your various stories. Author Reply: For Frodo to begin and end his time on Tol Eressea with someone who cared deeply for him and who shared his own mortality I feel would have been seen as a necessary part of his time there. And am so glad you appreciated seeing how this story fits into the others. Haven't done that before in my author's notes.

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 999999 on 6/29/2006
Interesting as always, Larner, to know more about how you see Tolkien's work and how you relate it to your own stories. There is not much to comment upon for me save that I agree wholeheartedly with you and the way you are seeing the original. And that I love the way you are filling the gaps or elaborating all the things Tolkien did only touch shortly. It seems very in keeping with Tolkien's ideas. Oh, and you don't need to apologize about your updating schedule. Even with the gaps due to your technical problems, you're updating much faster than most others. But I know very well how frustrating it must have been for you, even more so as I had problems myself for weeks, as you know. So I hope your computers now behave themselves as they should and people stop troubling you and you are soon able to write and post again as it pleases you. Thank you for another beautiful story, and - as always - I look forward to whatever you're writing next! Author Reply: The computers are now behaving--now it's the satellite dish itself. I can't believe it! And I find myself wondering if some of the problems aren't manmade. My current situation is pretty difficult, you see. Am so glad you feel that my work fits into Tolkien's own work so well. That is the greatest compliment of all, to be told you find it adds to his work. Once I get the satellite dish fixed, I'll start posting the next one. May take a couple weeks, though. I hate technical difficulties.

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