Yahoo Forum Archive

Title: The Steward's Archives · Author: dancingkatz · Genres: Drama:
Incomplete · ID: 337
Reviewer: agape4gondor · 2007-07-01 04:35:02
Beautifully written and I loved the titles. I have the darndest time
with titles, but yours were perfect. Every little tale bore such
wondrous meaning and emotions and the last - of Finduilas meeting him,
holding him, kissing him to healing - was gorgeous!

Title: Snare · Author: Ruby Nye · Times: Late Third Age: 3018-3022 TA ·
ID: 539
Reviewer: annmarwalk · 2007-07-01 16:54:47
Oh! Oh! Oh! Here he is again, that very creepy Man from Ruby Nye's
drabble Never Lack. This ficlet was a revelation to me  I admit to
the slightly patriarchal, condescending Mannish viewpoint of hobbits,
that they are cute and jolly and childlike (Hobbit members of the
Fellowship excluded, of course  they must have been the only ones with
any gumption.) I believe there is a history here, a backstory that I
shall have to investigate to broaden and widen my understanding of The
Troubles, and how some hobbits fought back against their oppressors
before the Travellers even returned.


In this chilling scene, Pervinca Took is actually in the Ruffian's
grasp; she has orchestrated her own capture to distract him while her
compatriots escape. Being a Man, and somewhat stupid, he is gloatingly
examining her at his leisure, caressing her arms and cheeks and chin,
before moving further south. We see her fighting her disgust and fear
and more than a little bit of worry that something might go wrong with
the plan [Over his shoulder and twenty yards up she saw a hobbit's foot
vanish into the bushes. She could do this, she repeated in her thought,
as she swallowed against the heaving in her belly. She could.].

The tale ends abruptly, a deliberate (and masterful) choice by the
author. Somewhere in the back of my mind I'm still worrying about
Pervinca, and hoping that everything went as planned, and the Ruffian
got his just desserts. I 'm hoping they hurt him a lot.




Title: Letter to Frodo · Author: AmandaK · Genres: Alternate Universe:
Gondor or Rohan · ID: 540
Reviewer: annmarwalk · 2007-07-01 18:21:06
Although Boromir has spent many years seeking to expiate his guilt over
his actions at Amon Hen, there is still one person from whom he seeks
forgiveness. In this story, a missing scene from her novel The Long
Road Home, AmandaK shows us how Boromir is able to express his remorse
and attain a measure of absolution.

One of the outstanding strengths of AmandaK's writing is her ability to
elevate the slightest details of action, or description, or
characterization to such a mesmerizing level. She sets her scene her so
well that we can feel the summery white-heat of the City and the warm
dusty dark of the Pelennor at night. We can easily visualize Boromir as
he wipes away the sweat, both from the heat of the day and the
emotional tension of writing the letter. We can taste that [wicked
barley drink] Faramir offers him, to both soothe and hearten him. The
details lend a rich sense of immediacy to the events and conversations
unfolding around us.

AmandaK does not share the contents of Boromir's letter with us, and
this is wise, for the sacrament of confession should be a private
matter. She has already shown us his acts of penance, during the long
years depicted in her novel; now we are able to share in his
absolution, his sense of peace in letting go of the past and moving
with clear sight and purpose into the future.

Title: Multicultural Interactions · Author: annmarwalk · Races:
Cross-Cultural: Gondor · ID: 18
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-04 01:58:23
This is a sweet little double-sided vignette  the tale of an
encounter, told from two sides. Elboron, the perpetually tardy, vaguely
absent-minded, guard-in-training with an adolescent's speed and
corresponding lack of agility; and Elanor, who seems to have become a
self-possessed, down-to-earth young woman with a good sense of humor.
They don't know each other, but they know each other's fathers, and
unwittingly provide a measure for the truthfulness of the tales their
fathers have told of each other.

These matching vignettes each provide a nice glimpse into the world of
Fourth Age Middle-earth, and we find that the next generation is
growing very nicely into their more peaceful inheritance.

Title: Comes Now The Plaintiff, Frodo Baggins · Author: EdorasLass ·
Genres: Humor: Parody · ID: 17
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-04 01:58:58
Rather than take aim at fanfic writers, this time Frodo is going after
his erstwhile companions for damages inflicted during the course of the
Quest. And he's suing for change of venue, given the obviously high
possibility of an unfair trial in Gondor or Arnor. I'd like to see the
Haradric court take this one up without inciting Armageddon III in
Middle-earth. Cute  has all the style of a court document (in this
context, a compliment, rather than the usual curse), although I think
Plaintiff Baggins might want to make sure he's getting a movieverse
court for charges 19 and 20 at least, or the bookverse one may find him
guilty of PTSD-induced memory loss. ;-)

Title: Stopping by Woods · Author: Branwyn · Genres: Drama: Vignette ·
ID: 19
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-04 01:59:38
I was very glad to see a companion piece to Branwyn's lovely ["The Road
Not Taken"]. Both evoke the uncertainty and mystery of the unknown, and
in this one, suggest the heaviness of a past that remains alive for one
Lord Faramir, though his raven hair have turned white as the snow lying
mixed with the leaves on the side of the road.

Branwyn's language is, as always, precise, poetic, evocative  I always
have a clear image in my mind reading her stories, and it is inevitably
a beautifully drawn image at that. Here, I can see the milestone rising
out of a drift of golden leaves and snow, besides the pale, bare birch
trees  skeletal reminders of other and more cherished dead. Boromir's
journey, still riddled with gaps and perhaps haunted by the questions
of a brother who wonders still whether anything might have been done to
change the end of Boromir's tale, colors the entire emotional
landscape.

Yet Faramir is not overwhelmed by the loss  he is, despite his age,
still full of promises for the future  to go and follow his brother's
trail one day, and to make an end of the evening in more congenial
Yuletide company than the snowy woods can provide.

Well done, Branwyn! Very enjoyable!

Title: Bliss and Beauty · Author: Imhiriel · Genres: Romance: Drabble ·
ID: 20
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-04 02:00:12
Nice encapsulation of Tuor's relationship to Gondolin. The drabble
quite literally builds up to the final section, each new paragraph
begun by a number, climbing ever higher until we reach the climax, when
Tuor fully experiences the bliss of Gondolin in his marriage to Idril.
The reader can feel anticipation mounting, which works well for a love
story, even one so quickly told as this one.

Good use of a short space, Imhiriel.

Title: Escape · Author: Bodkin · Times: Mid Third Age: 2851 - 3017 TA ·
ID: 24
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-04 02:19:13
Every so often, the essentially anonymous character game works well 
it gives you just enough information to anchor the perspective, and
denies you the rest, forcing you to fill out the words and actions of
the character with general ideas, suspicions, hints  hoping that
perhaps at the end there will be a name revealed, and all the guesswork
you've invested in trying to tie the story and the nameless character
to an actual name or event will be vindicated.

Bodkin doesn't go in for vindication, not for her Ranger or for her
elven patrol leader: they remain merely "Ranger" and "patrol leader,"
although one could fill in a couple of names and there would be nothing
in the books to contradict the guesses. But part of the reason one
would want to do this is that these two nameless characters, dutifully
about their business and slightly irritated when said business
intersects with someone else's, are well-drawn. They have their own
personalities, and the reader wants them to have names.

The bit about the message being 'in' the Ranger's head was a classic
bit of literalism trumping the figurative and made for a good laugh
over the elf's hopes of learning its contents. Neat trick, that!

Readers who enjoy Rangers, Elves, Mirkwood, or a well- (if briefly)
written Radagast, should take a look at this story. Good job, Bodkin!

Title: Signs · Author: permilea · Races: Hobbits: Children · ID: 384
Reviewer: Dreamflower · 2007-07-04 02:24:29
A very cute little bit of mischievous wee Pippin, as an amused Frodo
tries to be stern. I liked Pippin's logic in this.

Title: Turned Earth · Author: Dana · Genres: Alternate Universe: The
Shire or Buckland · ID: 26
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-04 03:03:40
Once upon a time, I was far too squeamish to watch anything labeled
horror, but thanks to the intervention of friends with well-loved tapes
and entirely too much interest in finding bizarre B horror movies, I've
come to see the fascination of it. Plus, hobbit zombies. Even if I were
not friends with the bad horror night filmfest crowd out here, there's
no way not to read this story.

Dana's characteristic style, a lace-like structure that gets all the
important emotional strands together in a minimum of description, is
evident, and it works surprisingly well. Or rather, there's no surprise
that it works well, except one really REALLY does not expect hobbit
zombies to come wandering up the drive. And in daylight, at that. But
moving on&

The story exploits a canon occurrence I would never have thought of in
order to slot the appearance of hobbit undead into a believably
bookverse story. The curse of Saruman, overturning the bounty of
Galadriel's gift and poisoning the very earth of the Shire, sending
back the dead to destroy the living, was an inspired point of
departure, even if it doesn't come out 'til near the end of the story.
It turns an otherwise inexplicable occurrence into the last revenge of
a wizard gone bad, and a moral struggle for Frodo, who becomes once
more a sort of sacrificial figure who can, as it were, 'negotiate' with
the evil power at work.

Dana's Rose is a wonderful figure  I really like the voice she gave
her: sturdy, solid hobbit sense, and a lot of native guts, but
certainly able to be overwhelmed. Her Merry and Pippin are as they ever
are  splendid. And her hobbit zombies are creepy and disgusting and
make for some memorably understated gore.

The summary may suggest a strange tale  and it is that, but it is an
excellent story to read with the lights out. Give it a try!

Title: The Lesson · Author: Branwyn · Genres: Drama: Gondor Drabble ·
ID: 29
Reviewer: Marta · 2007-07-05 02:40:51
This drabble actually made me cry. I *know* that's not Branwyn's
intent, but it did. While I am something of a pacifist in my "real
world" life, I do recognize that our options for diplomacy would not
have been realistic in Tolkien's Middle-earth. This is how I reconcile
myself with the glamorization of heroics in war--within Middle-earth,
it truly was self-defense, no matter what I think about it outside of
fiction.

But the way Faramir is schooled in the ways of war in this drabble was
heart-breaking, because I know that it would be all too easy to fall
into this trap. While I think Faramir would very rarely have to hunt
for his dinner in Minas Tirith, certainly if he was ever expected to
travel in a reasonably small group (which seems like a real
possibility), it would be a useful skill to have. And arguably it's not
"wrong", at least not in the way that killing a human could be. And so,
step by step, Faramir is gently eased into the ways of killing until he
can aim his arrow at an enemy soldier (who is still a man). Truly this
is the captain who does not ["slay man or beast needlessly, and not
gladly even when it is needed"], yet he is not so over-ridden with
angst that it paralyzes him. It's a very nice, almost quiet, commentary
on how war might affect a sensitive soul like Faramir.


Title: A Middle-earth Mary Sue Tragedy · Author: Lily Baggins · Races:
Cross-Cultural: Incomplete · ID: 595
Reviewer: Baranduin · 2007-07-06 19:25:13
A modern girl drops into Middle-earth right in the middle of the Quest.
Think you've seen that tired old thing before?

Well, you haven't if you haven't read Lily Baggins' masterpiece of Mary
Sue comedy. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll ... well mostly you'll
laugh. I know I do every time I read this story!

Title: A Little Knowledge Can Be A Dangerous Thing · Author: Tanaqui ·
· ID: 616
Reviewer: Tiana Luthien · 2007-07-07 18:08:51
This is a delightful drabble series about the far-reaching effects of
Arwen's dowry. You've nailed the characters of Aragorn and Faramir, and
I love the way you've shown them dealing with some of the more
"irritating" facets of becoming King and Steward. Humourous and
well-written, I look forward to more in the series :) (ok, that was
shameless).

Title: A Little Knowledge Can Be A Dangerous Thing · Author: Tanaqui ·
Races: Men: Other Fixed-Length Ficlet · ID: 352
Reviewer: Tiana Luthien · 2007-07-07 18:08:51
This is a delightful drabble series about the far-reaching effects of
Arwen's dowry. You've nailed the characters of Aragorn and Faramir, and
I love the way you've shown them dealing with some of the more
"irritating" facets of becoming King and Steward. Humourous and
well-written, I look forward to more in the series :) (ok, that was
shameless).

Title: Lost in Translation · Author: sophinisba solis · Races:
Cross-Cultural: With Pippin · ID: 31
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-08 03:10:02
Language is such a difficult thing to present well in a story 
obviously, we all use and abuse and play with language when we write,
but making it a theme and attempting to write a drama around it is a
little more difficult. Sophinisba uses Pippin as her vehicle for
conveying how the failure of language to communicate anything (because
one party can't understand a word of it) requires a different approach
to language  a different way of understanding how one gets put in a
place and relationship with other speakers.

Pippin's perspective is such an excellent choice precisely because he
is a young and inquisitive hobbit, the youngest person going on the
quest, and when Frodo is being healed at Rivendell, and there is no one
who will speak to the hobbits in their own language or tell them
anything other than what seem like platitudes or put-offs, his
frustration and sense of being totally out of control with no one about
who cares even to try to help him regain his footing is visceral.
Imagine having a relative hospitalized in a foreign country where
people will only use your language to say "We're doing everything we
can. Surely your (insert relative here) will be fine." Sophinisba
portrays that sense of being deliberately shut out of something that
concerns you most intimately extremely well.

Even names become an issue: the fact that all the names Pippin has for
the people he knowseven himself!are different from the ones he is
familiar and comfortable with (Gandalf is Mithrandir, Aragorn has too
many names that aren't either Strider or Aragorn for him to keep track
of, and Rivendell, to his exasperation, isn't actually called Rivendell
in Imladris).

It takes a discussion with Frodo to help Pippin come to appreciate the
way in which the Elves (and other speakers of Elvish) enter essentially
into a different way of thinking and dealing with other people. Frodo's
advice to Pippin  don't try to learn the language  isn't meant to be
obscurantist or the like, but is essentially advice to stop trying to
be in control all the time. Stop insisting that others use your
language and enter into relationships with you on your own terms;
listen for how they say, not what is said, and that will do more to
keep frustration at bay than all the (fruitless) time Frodo spent
attempting to make sense of Sindarin declensions.

Pippin, being young and curious, and so essentially open to the world,
is able to absorb the lesson, which means he has overcome the first
hurdle to entering a more cosmopolitan perspective. Very well done,
Sophinisba! I quite liked this, and I suspect Pippin fans and those who
love the collision of cultures will enjoy it as well.

Title: Exploring the Wild · Author: EdorasLass · Genres: Adventure:
Pre-Ring War · ID: 30
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-08 03:10:33
Another in the Nanny series, and a delightful little tale. Boromir and
Faramir may live in wild and untamed lands by comparison to what most
readers of fanfic, decked out with computers in homes replete with
climate control and electronics, but by comparison to how most people
of less than noble rank live, they are quite sheltered from the weather
and the land. It is easy to forget this, given our own perspective, and
this story, about Boromir and Faramir camping out for the first time
with some off-duty Rangers in the gardens of Minas Tirith, does a good
job of bringing out what a difference class makes in Gondor's
stratified society.

The two Rangers are great characters  Halhigil seeking to escape
boring precautionary confinement in the Houses of Healing after an
illness, Elchim apparently just off-duty, and neither of them,
apparently, with children of their own  prove well able to handle the
two young boys, with only a minimum of warnings and coaching from
Nanny. Nevertheless, even they have to admit that looking after the
energetic brothers, who are eager and curious to know anything the
Rangers care to tell them about the art of Rangering and living off the
land, is a full time job and not an easy one at that.

The brotherly dynamic is well-portrayed: EdorasLass writes Boromir and
Faramir with voices that are appropriate to children of their age and
class, and she shows their closeness very well. Nanny's sense of the
quiet of her nursery, and her anticipation of 'empty nest syndrome',
provide a sobering counterpoint to an otherwise light-hearted story.

Well done!

Title: The Lesson · Author: Branwyn · Genres: Drama: Gondor Drabble ·
ID: 29
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-08 03:11:02
[How gently men are schooled in war.]

Faramir's reflections here give an insight into the way that the
slaying of one's fellow human beings forms a continuum: from the
playing at war that a child does, to the active hunting of
progressively larger, more dangerous animals, and there is never any
reason to think that one is doing wrong in any of those situations.
Whether or not any of them are wrong in themselves, the way in which
they are used, a training ground for the far more morally ambiguous (at
the very least) act of war is surely troubling. The steady wearing away
of horror at the thought and then the sight of death that you wreak all
comes to a head when you have an enemy soldier at the point of your
sword or in range of your bow.

Title: He Came To Meet Me · Author: sophinisba solis · Genres: Romance
· ID: 33
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-08 03:41:49
I've read a couple of Diamond-Pippin romances, and Diamond does seem to
get cast relatively often as a sort of spitfire wild child. I don't
mind that, but I do like the way Sophinisba's Diamond is simply very
much taking things on her own terms  she doesn't push unduly, but she
won't be moved if she isn't willing. She is a bit like her wayfarer
rock: she knows where she is, she stands out to herself in her own mind
as this sort of person, not another sort. She seems to know, more or
less, what she wants, and to do just that, without ostentatiousness.

The brief depiction of life on the moors and out in the stony,
treacherous lands of Long Cleeve during the Time of Troubles was very
well done. I loved the matter-of-factness of life as viewed through
Diamond's eyes  she doesn't trouble herself unduly with the fact of
desire, though she allows it to trouble her, which is to say she lets
others into her life and lets them go, too, and expects to feel the
sting and keep going.

Pippin respects that in her, it seems, and certainly his own
experiences of war suit him to understand her own contribution to the
resistance of her own folk. She is not a rebel in the full-fledged
sense, but more an opportunistic guerilla who tries to keep her own
business out of the way of dangers. He can appreciate that, and her
love of the land, and she appreciates his seriousness, and the way he
seems to fit so into her own dreams and fantasies  as if there has
always been a place prepared for him, though she did not realize for
whom she was preparing it until he showed up one day on the moors after
the Troubles.

A very understated, well-written romance  quite enjoyable!

Title: Thirst · Author: sophinisba solis · Races: Hobbits: Vignette ·
ID: 32
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-08 03:42:18
A lovely set of interlocking vignettes, all centered around water in
some way. They could as easily be centered around something else  it
is much more the character interactions that are being aimed at than
anything that has to do with a simple need for thirst.

The dynamics among the cousins in strange places like Bree, for
example, are at issue in the first vignette, as the strains of the day,
the need for caution, and the fear of pursuit lead to the brink of an
argument. Is this or isn't it home, and who gets to answer that
question, finally? gets fought out over the ostensible choice of ale in
quantities measured for Men versus water. The questions of what should
we do and expect on the quest gets covertly argued over with Boromir
around the idea that there simply isn't any drinkable water in Mordor
(and therefore everyone should really go to Minas Tirith). The
pre-festivities Cormallen scenes are scenes that are returned to again
and again by many writers, but Sophinisba made it fresh as Merry
dribbles water into injured friend's and cousins' mouths.

But I liked most the encounter between Merry and the nameless woman of
Minas Tirith. A woman who may likely become a war widow in the days to
come, she and Merry talk about pipes and the need to repair them for
water to flow, as a way of (not) talking about the agony of not knowing
whether their loved ones will live or die, of being so utterly
powerless to impact even the simple decisions of others as to who will
stay in Minas Tirith and who will go. Powerful writing in a very short
space.

Merry fans will most certainly appreciate these, but really, they are
recommended to anyone liking a good vignette.

Title: Irreverence · Author: Aratlithiel · Genres: Humor · ID: 619
Reviewer: Budgielover · 2007-07-08 04:54:36
This quiet moment between Frodo and Pippin perfectly captures their
relationship, their personalities, and their love and affection for
each other. It is a heart-warming story filled with quiet humor, and
makes the reader feel as if she has been given a gift, a momentary peek
into a loving relationship that we all cherish.

Title: Mettarë · Author: Galadriel · Races: Men · ID: 34
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-08 23:32:17
Much has been written of the innocence of hobbits in comparison to
other members of the Fellowship. Boromir in particular usually is a
marked contrast to them, as he is here. Here, he and Aragorn know very
well that ["War makes soldiers of us all" & "And widowers& and
orphans."] Aragorn, however, isn't only a soldier; Boromir seems caught
in a bit of a rut, that breaks only at the very end of the story,
suggesting how stifling the roles of soldier, orphan, and (potentially)
widower are.

Title: And We Will Travel North · Author: bewize · Times: Mid Third
Age: 2851 - 3017 TA: Drabble · ID: 39
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-09 00:31:33
The brother dynamic between Elladan, Elrohir, and Aragorn has been the
subject of numerous stories, but I do like this one for its unambiguous
'transformation' of the brothers. Their love for their human brother,
who will leave them in so short a space of time as Elvenkind count such
things, leads them to put off the Elf-lords for a time and to become
["for a short time that which we are not: Men of the North."] It has a
sort of House of Ruth flavor to it that I like. Fans of the twins,
Elrond's family, or those interested in mortal-immortal interactions
should like this one.

Title: The Archives Incident · Author: Dreamflower · Genres: Adventure:
Minas Tirith · ID: 38
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-09 00:32:11
For some reason, I can't think of many post-Quest Pippin-and-Frodo
stories, so this was a nice change of pace, and written with
Dreamflower's usual good style.

As someone who spends a lot of time in libraries, and who is not wholly
convinced that the universe's sense of humor would be beneath creating
an earthquake in Illinois just so I could get buried in the stacks, I
can appreciate the idea that libraries contain unknown and lurking
dangers. City-dweller that I am, rats are not something I'm used to
thinking of as a threat, but Dreamflower successfully made them
menacing, and who would want to be locked in a library without a light?

The story moves from a humorous discovery that Minas Tirith's library
keeps a fair share of godawful poetry on its shelves, some of it about
one Captain Thorongil, even, to the excitement of discovering
little-used passages and rooms and old scrolls, to the terror of
becoming locked into those little-used spaces with nothing but rats for
company. Frodo and Pippin work well together, and Frodo as caretaker
post-Quest is always a good thing.

Of course, they are finally rescued before the rats can get at them,
and fortunately they keep a hold of the bad poetry. While I regret not
seeing Aragorn's reaction to it, the last line was a perfect end to the
story.

Title: It's No Mystery, Really · Author: grey_wonderer · Races:
Hobbits: Merry and Pippin · ID: 36
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-09 00:33:04
Grey Wonderer can write a marvelous Merry and Pippin, and usually
there's humor aplenty. This story features the dreadful duo in a
domestic dispute  specifically, Pippin, having caught Merry's cold,
proceeds to be stubborn and foul-tempered about it.

The device of the book is cute and smoothly executed, allowing Merry
and Pippin, under the very thin guise of pretending to talk about the
plot of a book, to discuss their own slightly strained relationship at
this very moment, in all its predictability. Some harmless name-calling
is thereby able to be slipped in without further wounding pride, and
catharsis is achieved.

Nicely done!

Title: Three Turnings of the Year · Author: Ruby Nye · Races: Hobbits ·
ID: 37
Reviewer: Dwimordene · 2007-07-09 01:11:25
Given that I am a sad, sad angstbunny addict, the Occupation of the
Shire has to be one of my favorite Shire fic-themes ever. No
disappointments here!

I love Ruby Nye's casting of Pervinca  first, the tween-aged,
devil-may-care lass out to have a bit of fun where there's fun to be
had, even if it takes a bit of trickery and shadows to get it. Poor Sam
is classically confounded, but in the end, I liked his
mortified/dignified response to Pervinca's efforts at a second
seduction. And I liked that she respected that, that she knows there
are some things that "a little harmless fun" cannot answer to.

The transformation of Pervinca into wife and sentry, resenting the loss
of her freedom to roam, and yet taking up the responsibility of it is
also well done. She's been hurt badly by the disappearance of her
darling brother Pippin, and the losses and confinement to Tuckborough.
She and Everard struggle with their marriage and their fears for absent
loved ones, and in a warm, funny turn, decide that they will have a
child and name it after Pippin if he doesn't come back. And if it's a
girl, it'll be "Pippette," which makes both them and the reader laugh
hysterically for the little moments of defiant humor that break into
the grueling reality of resistance.

For the final turning of the year, after the Troubles, Pervinca heads
off to enjoy the pleasures denied her  disguising herself, pretending
to be somebody else, visiting old friends and lovers, enjoying the
party and the freedom. It's as if she's going to slide right back into
her pre-Troubles ways, when an unexpected meeting with a lass she never
knew before brings out the maturity she has gained, and which she
cannot simply divest herself of now that the Troubles are over. Lovely
and touching, sad and triumphant at once.

Well done, Ruby Nye!