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| Ripe for Change by Bodkin | 77 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Redheredh | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/18/2005 |
| Just plain, flat-out, deeply, incredibly, wonderfully, perfectly, gorgeous. As are all your stories about these lovers. Author Reply: Glad you like it. I am enjoying the range of adjectives! They have chosen each other - and they have grown together in a relationship that does not hide behind illusion and has dealt with about every experience and emotion possible. | |
| Karri | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/18/2005 |
| This is a lovely look at Celeborn and Galadriel. I like your characterizations of them very much. :-) Author Reply: Thank you. I'm fond of them as a couple - I think they can manage each other with extraordinary skill. And they are comfortable in each other's company, in a way that you would be, I suppose, if you have had several thousand years of marriage and are able to visit each other's mind. | |
| Nilmandra | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/18/2005 |
| I need to admit something here: I have no problem at all seeing Galadriel at ease with Celeborn among the trees with little comforts! I may be the only one, but I consider that she picked up and left Valinor, crossed the grinding ice of the Helcaraxe, made her way to Menegroth, and eventually crossed the Blue mountains. She faced the unknown without fear. She undoubtedly could defend herself. She saw herself as powerful, and became lady of the Galadhrim a wood people. I can easily see this vision you show - I think she is very adaptable and that this trip for them will be pleasant and yet eye opening. And now I hope they make long passionate love in the long grass beneath the stars :D Author Reply: No, I quite agree. Galadriel will cope in the forest with considerable grace and panache. But those who are accustomed to seeing the soft-focus Lady, clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful - oh wait, that's the Lady of the Lake - have probably taken on the PR image of her as being delicate and extraordinary. And (a la Letters from Home) she found it difficult to deal with Celeborn's long delay in arriving, so that Celebrian was quite worried about her. She actually needs to spend time in the forest being an elf, just as much as Celeborn does. They enjoyed themselves earlier in the afternoon as they played in and by the water - and will doubtless continue to . . . take pleasure in each other's presence as the stars sing! | |
| Bejai | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/18/2005 |
| Yay, a new 'Celeborn and Galadriel in Valinor' story from Bodkin! I simply adore these stories. In fact, I was rereading your stuff last night, rather wistfully wishing that you'd write some more. And here it is! Some of my favorite bits: - Loved Galadriel scheming as she stiched. And men! They knew do know what goes into running a house, do they? Not necessarily interesting things, but necessary. - You've hit on one of the things I've wondered about Valinor: what would the great elves DO there? Could they really be happy without challenges to face? But I suppose they do face challenges, just of a different sort. - Elrond and Celebrian, both having difficulty picturing Galadriel wandering around in the wild. - Here's something I don't think I've mentioned to you before, but is one of my favorite things across your stories: I love the gentle physicality between them. Glorious. - You had me grinning several times with their dry humor, teasing each other. Things like this: 'I am in terror, my lord,’ Galadriel remarked tranquilly' Just cracks me up. - The description of the forest, and the elvish ability to feel and hear things in it that we mere mortals are only dimly aware of. I've been in forests where I just KNOW that the trees are talking to one another just beyond my hearing. - ‘After all those decades of patient waiting, too,’ she said ruefully. ‘What we did was not wise.’ Heh. But Galadriel is right. They never would have been able to get approval from everyone. Better just to present people with the facts later ;) Love your conception of this, and explanation of where they were when Elu and Dior died. Great story, as ever. Will there be more? Author Reply: I have a slight feeling of going to Valinor being a bit like emigrating to the New World in the days when there was no going back, (well, not unless you found gold or something) because it was too far and too expensive - and there was no communication with home because both you and they were illiterate. You're there - it's supposed to be great - but now what? And for the Lords of Arda - well, they're exiled monarchs. Titled, yes, but titles that no longer mean anything. Respected - nominally. But living in another's realm, by another's rules - and rich enough to have nothing to do. Can't take up Real Work because it's beneath your dignity. Elves could spend millennia trying to find a role - with idleness making them become less than themselves. Elrond and Celebrian know in their heads that Galadriel has done a lot of things more physically challenging than camping in the woods - but they just find it hard to imagine her getting her hands dirty. (They'd be surprised just what she'd do if she felt it was necessary.) I like suggesting a (h'mm) physicality between them that is implicit rather than explicit. (It's much more fun to let the imagination run!) And they are equals - they are so at ease with each other that they can do and say and be without worrying about what the reaction will be. No, there never would have been a right moment for Celeborn and Galadriel. They showed their mettle in deciding not to let politics and other people's demands divide them - and it does explain why they weren't around! Now, as for how Galadriel managed to (sort of) avoid the fate that polished off the rest of the leaders of the Noldor . . . There will be more. Probably not a lot more, but I'm trying to get them to put some clothes on at the moment! | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/18/2005 |
| The opening of this was fun, with the generations annoying one another, but I really loved the part in the woods. The opening paragraph of that section was gorgeous, and I don't usually like description! And this He had changed her, she knew, this silver blade of an elf. His patience had worn at her restlessness, his straightforwardness had confounded her guile, his obstinacy had taught her to bend – on occasion – and his enduring love had made it possible for her to bear burdens that could have broken her was wonderfully and poetically perceptive. Author Reply: Thank you. It can't be easy to suggest to Galadriel that you don't think her decisions are wise. Even Celeborn probably thinks carefully how he is going to put it. Or maybe not - I think she would take from him what she would not accept from anyone else - and he does enjoy winding her up. Endless description is like too much cheesecake - but a brief burst can be good. And fun to write. I'm not quite sure where this is going, but I'm looking forward to finding out. | |
| elliska | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/18/2005 |
| Oh now you know that I love your Celeborn and Galadriel so you can imagine how excited I was to see this. :) And it was great. I love ‘Sewing enables me to look industrious while I scheme,’ (sooo Galadriel) and her frustration at not simply being able to put her foot down to silence Celebrian. And Celeborn's ability to do just that to Elrond (I really like how you portray their relationship). And everyone's doubt that Galadriel can survive in the woods. I bet there are parts of that life that would take her time to grow accustomed to but I think she would like it too. But the scene with them in the woods was great. I was really interested in Celeborn's thoughts of how Galadriel might have felt out of place in Middle Earth and how he is having to adjust to Aman. That was very interesting to think about. As was the earlier discussion about what Elrond needed to adjust to his new life. You know me, I think those introspective things are just fascinating. I'm gald to see this is a WIP. I will definitely enjoy this one. Author Reply: I like introspection. (It's so much easier than plot - I tend to start feeling apologetic when I'm trying to get people to do things.) I suspect that most of those who have only known Galadriel for a couple of thousand years or so would think that she is some kind of soft-focus, white-robed, cosseted softie - good on foresight and commanding, but not one who could dig a latrine trench. But they are mistaken: she has a core of steel - only, as far as Celeborn is concerned, it's molten. Thank you - there will be more, but I'm not sure how much more. | |
| JastaElf | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 3/18/2005 |
| This is a beautiful piece of work! I really like the characterizations; your Celeborn and Galadriel are very believable, strong personalities in an interesting relationship and a challenging situation. I am really looking forward to seeing where you go with this! Thanks for sharing it with us all. Author Reply: Thank you. They have had a long time to grow together - so they must have a relationship that works for them. I don't think this will be a terribly complicated story, but I can't help but feel that settling into the Blessed Realm must be a lot harder than the romance of it would tend to suggest. What do you do when you arrive in a settled land, that has been run by and for others since before the sun rose? I suppose if your speciality is baking, there will still be a need for your talents - but does Valinor really need another warrior lord? (Dark Leaf?) | |