Subject: Hey, a fandom I read!
Author:
Posted on: 2014-02-26 14:31:00 UTC
It took a while for one to come up. ;)
Okay, confession: while tried to read The Impossible, I fell almost immediately to skimming. I'm not sure why, so I won't try to review it. I think I'm tired. Instead, I'll review Homecoming for you.
I liked this. It's... well, sweet, really. I like that you didn't use the obvious viewpoint (Elrond) to look at Celebrian, and that you didn't have Galadriel thinking overmuch about Celeborn (since he'll be with her in a little while - a paltry century or three), but focussed on the child who left broken, and the father she hasn't seen for three Ages.
You do have a few canon glitches - or, not glitches, but missed opportunities. You don't mention that Galadriel defended her mother's kin at Alqualonde, which I think would put an interesting spin on her conversation with Arafinwe. You also seem to conflate Alqualonde (the Kinslaying) with Araman (the Prophecy, where Arafinwe turned back); again, you could probably write a whole chaptered story about Arafinwe, Artanis, and the journey from Alqualonde to Araman. But, of course, that's not the story you're writing. ;)
I'm also unclear whether this takes place on Eressea - probably the canonical location, but it would have required Arafinwe to have known the Ship was coming - or the shores of Aman itself. In the latter case, you missed the very big point that they would probably have docked in Alqualonde itself - which could definitely have been used to great effect. However, if it's Eressea, that obviously doesn't apply.
But like I say, those are missed opportunities, not errors - and might well have detracted from the beautiful finish, where you contrast the emotions of Celebrian - who left her mother on good terms, and is simply happy to see everyone again - and Arafinwe - who, depending on your viewpoint, either betrayed or was betrayed by his children. It's a lovely little story, and I enjoyed reading it.
Oh, although, since Exilic Quenya had diverged from Old Valinorean Quenya, and since Valinorian Noldorin Quenya had a) been evolving as well, and b) probably been altered by exposure to Vanyarin Quenya when the Noldor moved to Valmar after the Numenorean invasion, they probably wouldn't actually understand each other any more. ;)
hS