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| Your Heart Will Be True by Write Sisters | 4 Review(s) |
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| Imbecamiel | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 1/22/2006 |
| LOL, well, I must say, you really couldn't have picked a better time to not be able to post, at least as far as I'm concerned. I just got a new job as an editor for a homeschool magazine, and it's been eating up almost all of my time the last few days. But now I've got a little better handle on things, so I'm back to review again - just barely on time, as usual :-) And what a wonderful chapter it is! I'm so glad I got time to review it. In this beginning, you've portrayed Eowyn just beautifully! And Faramir as well, of *course*, but I especially noticed Eowyn since she can be a particularly difficult balance to strike. Not only is she a woman (which, for some reason, tends to be terribly intimidating to write in fanfiction), but she's a very *strong* woman, to the point of having ridden out into battle (which can all too easily slip into the land of Mary Suedom). But you've handled her excellently! Oh, and Faramir and Eowyn's relationship is SO sweet! What a lovely scene between them. And Faramir's guess about what she's so happy about... "Your roses are in bloom" LOL! Aww, and isn't that just the way things go? Just as she gets ready to tell him the wonderful news - in walks a messenger. "Er... Hope I'm not... interrupting anything?" *screams* YES you're interrupting! LOL, poor guy, though, it's not like he exactly had a choice - and I rather suspect interrupting their nice loving scene embarassed him FAR more than it did them ;-) "I should have known when Legolas decided to go visit Aragorn that trouble would follow. I had not thought it would occur so quickly, though. This is unsettling." ROTFL! Oh dear... Looks like being lords of their own lands hasn't tempered our dear elf and ranger's trouble-seeking tendancies by much. Hehe, makes you wonder what's happened before, that Faramir is *so* familiar with it... *g* Boy, that's *got* to be a challenge for Aragorn - getting the country ready for him to suddenly be absent for *weeks*, and doing it without anyone else noticing anything's up. Heh, and that when his mind's already totally distracted by Arwen's sickness... Very lucky for him he's got someone like Faramir to leave behind! Hehe, sounds like Legolas is quite the babysitter! Oh, that was so sweet and funny. I especially like the little details of "Elenwen's crooked embroidery" and Gilraen falling into the fountain :-) Hmm, one has to wonder, though, just where he's acquired these incredible babysitting skills, having never had any young siblings himself... Though I suppose a younger Aragorn might count as practice of a sort, even though he was past childhood when they met. *g* Still doesn't explain the embroidery-admiring, though... Hehe... Dun dun DUN! Oh no Pippin, you'd better not give up on that "misplaced" brooch too soon there. *puts arm around hobbit's shoulders* Y'see, this is what is known as a MAJOR PLOT POINT, and if you ignore it now, YOU'RE GOING TO REGRET IT! Pippin: "Ehm, that's... nice..." *hobbit wanders off* Why the characters never listen to me, I'll never know... *shakes head* Ooo, and VERY good job, realizing that he probably wouldn't want to bring Narsil along, and providing a subsitute. It's easy to see that the two of you really put a lot of thought into this fic ;-) Awwwwwwwww! *melts into puddle of mush at picture of Aragorn and little Gilraen* That - is - SO - CUTE!!! Oh, I don't even know what to say, I can just *see* that part so well... Oh... Cute... *attempts to wipe happy grin off face* Ahem, yes, moving on... (Oh, and btw, again perfect balance between Eowyn's strength and capability, and her femininity and Faramir's protectiveness, in the note about him holding her horse, but letting her dismount on her own.) *squees* And Beregond even makes an appearence! Wow, you certainly manage to include a lot of different characters! And you still keep it so clear and uncluttered, too... *chakes head in admiration* And I love the side note about Aragorn wearing elven-style robes! So very like him... LOL! And Aragorn's comment on his children... "...*Elenwen* will cause you little trouble." He! Too funny! Mmm, I love Aragorn's words to Faramir - never saying anything but the truth, though the true meaning behind some of the words may not be revealed until later. *giggles* And his comment about Duurben - "I need him in the palace, glaring at anyone who shows signs of duplicity." LOL! Ah yes, let us hope indeed that their chances of returning unharmed are better than they were in Rivendell... Or not. THEY can hope so, at any rate. I, on the other hand...*eg* And I am VERY glad that Aragorn did not leave without telling his family, whoever else he did or did not choose to inform. Really, it just wouldn't have felt right for him to take off without letting them know first. *squees at Aragorn's new/old look* LOOK OUT BADGUYS, THE RANGER'S BACK! Hehe... Oh, and Arwen's reassuring him that he's NOT abandoning her, and that she'll be waiting for him when he gets back... *sighs happily* Beautiful! Ah, so they've got an unexpected follower now! Eh, and Tantur... with an as-yet-unnamed traitor on the loose, sounds like that are NEVER just your imagination. *smacks inexperienced soldier upside the head* This is not a very good start to your trip, young man. *shakes head sadly* And I will say it yet again... THE RANGER'S BACK! YAY! He gets into *way* more trouble than the king... Ehm. I mean... He should blend in with the crowds really well that way? *angelic smile* Looking forward to more! Imbecamiel P.S. Ah yes... That "pointless extra" would be Idhrin, maybe? Well, you see, that's just the consequence of writing too well - everyone likes your characters, even the ones they're supposed to ignore :-) P.P.S. Oh yes, I do think that your Vardnauth stands an excellent chance of getting on the list! Hehe, and I'm very much looking forward to his reaction... *g* P.P.P.S. *nods seriously* Oh yes, I'm most definitely crazier than I am. Or at least... My mind is, at any rate. Sometimes I really wonder about it. It's so strange, I begin to think it may actually be a seperate entity... (Mind yells: I am NOT!) *shakes head* I rest my case. *shrugs* Author Reply: Wow, editor for a homeschooling magazine? Sounds great!! And hard too... *whistles* Congratulations, both on the new job and on managing to regain enough time to review so soon afterwards! We are greatly appreciative. *grin* All praise to Eowyn is particularly wonderful! We have shared what seems to be your own aggravation with portrayals of Eowyn; too often her decision to settle down, enjoy peace, plant a garden, and favor healing over war is overlooked -- however, she wouldn't be at all likely to turn out like Arwen either... *grins* We tried very hard to get the right balance. Ah, yes, the poor messenger! Bet he's hating Hannah right now -- she's the one who put him in that embarrassing (albeit humorous) predicament. *grins* Faramir is in the interesting position of splitting his time between Aragorn's home (Minas Tirith) and Legolas' new home (Ithilien), so any recent occasions where they have gotten into trouble would have been right under his nose. Plus he's heard all the stories from one or the other of them... *grin* It was wonderful to have Faramir as Steward at this point; we hadn't realized until we set out to do it just how hard it was going to be to get King Aragorn away from his kingdom for a few weeks... *laughs* Well, Legolas would have had some experience with children from when Eldarion and Elenwen were really little, and in general it just seemed to us that he'd have an easy time getting on with children. Gilraen is, of course, a dervish all her own -- but there is where elven reflexes come in. Oh, and the fact that he's *admiring* Elenwen's embroidery just goes to show how little he knows about the craft. *grins* *watches Pippin wander off* You're right -- they ought to listen! But, then again, if they did then Hannah and I would sure be in a bind. What would be the fun in the characters actually knowing about upcoming plot twists? *smiles winningly* *blushes* Many thanks! We spent a lot of long nights staying up way too late batting details (like the sword) back and forth. Even after that, though, we feared that we had probably left a great deal unexplained, or full of holes. Many, many thanks! *hugs Imbecamiel* Oh, I'm SO glad you liked the Gilraen scene!! It was one of those times when I saw somthing REALLY vividly in my head and then I wanted so badly for the written scene to match the picture -- I'm pleased to hear it was vivid for you as well!! Uncluttered? Thank heavens; we were a little worried about all the characters in this story. A great many of them, though (such as Beregond), we felt we just couldn't remove. You'll be seeing more of him! *grins* We see Elenwen as a lot like Arwen; thus: the easy child. Glad you liked Aragorn's departure preparations -- especially his conversation with Faramir and his farewells to his family! Loads of rewriting went into those. *giggles* Duurben glaring was a favorite mental image; too bad the duplicitous party is planning on stalking off after Aragorn and Co. (they've got a regular parade going, don't they?). *watches Imbecamiel scolding Tantur* Lemme guess: he's not listening to you either? *sighs* *smiles broadly* The ranger is back indeed! Now comes the fun... Mwahahaha! It happened several times, actually, and yes: Idhrin was definitely one of the worst! Oh well. *grin* We should be happy that people get so involved in even the smallest of characters, I suppose. *raises glass* Here's to Vardnauth making the list! Split personality can be enjoyable, depending on the day! Don't worry, though: while YOU will always be crazier than you are, at least that way you will always be a little less crazy than YOU are as well! See how much fun you can have? More on the way! | |
| RS | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 1/21/2006 |
| This is, thus far, my favorite chapter. It is refreshing to see Eowyn so happy and full of love for her husband. I really liked that moment w/her and Faramir. They are so happy. What a lovely picture of Aragorn holding his look-alike daughter while singing an Elvish song. The little details that are described are so endearing and say so much.."her pink lips parted so that her breath whispered softly in and out..";.."Elenwen immediately slipped into his lap, her arm curling up around his neck"...;.."she looked so much like her mother". You can feel Aragorn's love for his family, and vice versa. The reader experiences just a glimpse of the life that ARagorn fought hard for and finally achieved and might end up losing. You can feel his desparation. Legolas observations,"..permanent current of strenth which ran between the husband and wife..perhaps it was their love", "..his long, burgundy robes were very elvish in appearance"...Those descriptions were poignant to me. "My Dunedan". What a moment!! Aragorn has transformed himself from a loving family man (King) to a Ranger again.."removed the binding from his hair, letting it fall loose about his face.." just gave me the chills. Forgive me for rambling. I can go on forever picking my favorite moments in this story. The tranquility in Minis Tirith has been disturbed and will affect everybody!!! Will wait for your posting Monday. Hope you had a great time at your friends'! Author Reply: Your favorite? Awesome! We have always loved the idea of Faramir and Eowyn's romance -- and frequently we have been let down by fanfiction seems to shortchange it by making Eowyn too much of a Xena-Warrior-Princess, or Faramir too much of Denethor -- so we greatly enjoyed spinning our own version. *grin* Glad you liked it! Noticing details is the most wonderful thing you can ever do for us! We're so pleased you enjoyed them, especially the Gilraen scene. Aragorn as a family man was a big part of the enjoyment we had in writing this story -- we always loved that scene in ROTK with him and Eldarion! On the flip side, we wanted to show him in his Ranger skin again; we liked the idea that Gondor would never really know what Aragorn used to be before he became king. *grins* Please, your ramblings bring sunshine to our days! Considering how much it's been raining here in our part of the world, that's a pretty impressive feat. And thank you for your well wishes -- we had a fantastic weekend! | |
| Sio | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 1/20/2006 |
| Oh wow its Friday AND theres a new chapter up! Now *that* is what i call a fun Friday - that and i get to wear jeans to work. hehehe Right, like you wanted to know. On with the review! Now THIS Is a cute Faramir. I admit, i found him cute in ROTK and this line just captures him perfectly. Its so easy to him reacting and acting like this. And NO i'm not converting, i'm still a ranger girl, but i loved this line: "Faramir clearly saw that there was something she wanted to tell him, but he seemed to have no idea just how wonderful it was; tilting his head to the side, his eyes sparkling with mischief, he tried to read her thoughts." The whole exchange between the two of them was really wonderful, it just makes the reader smile along with them. Now THIS. You guys have been watching too much LOST! LOL This is one of those times you cringe and say, 'way bad timing dude.' Oh man i so wanted her to finish her sentance! "The smile on Eowyn's lips grew full and she opened her mouth, resolved to say the first words that came to her mind— " And this made me laugh! Oh so true! If he only knew the full extent of that statement: "He tried to cover it with a jest. "I should have known when Legolas decided to go visit Aragorn that trouble would follow. I had not thought it would occur so quickly, though. This is unsettling." " "Legolas felt that there was a permanent current of strength which ran between the husband and wife. ...Perhaps it was their love; perhaps it was merely another facet of Aragorn's gift of healing. " This is a great line. So much information in this tiny paragraph about was is really happening behind the scenes and that people DONT get to see or arent privy too that Legolas notices and knows. Very nicely done. "There was a fixity to the human's mood that had less to do with having dealt with his own internal battles and more to do with the constant distractions that kept him separated from himself. " I loved the last part of this sentance, 'kept him separated from himself'. So true. SO easy to get loast in the tasks at hand and bury the emotions for a later date. Makes me wonder when and how it will all catch up to him. AND WOW, the Scene with Aragorn holding a sleeping Gilraen while Legolas watched from behind and the sunset!!! ACK such a sucker for those wonderful moments i am. Sounding like Yoda too. Wrong fanfic, sorry. That was a sweet perfect moment thrown in there in the midst of the stress and the chaos - so reflecting the way life really is. Perfect you guys. "His long, burgundy robes were, Legolas realized, very elvish in appearance. " COOOOL! He dresses like Elrond! That was a neat touch about how he dressed when going casual. This is a wonderful description of the person Faramir is becoming. "The valor and wisdom that had grown, unnoticed by his own father, was even greater now than it had been when Legolas had first met him after the battle of Pelenor. Had a king not appeared for Faramir to serve, he would have been a worthy steward. " Its too bad his father never saw in him what everyone else does, but maybe its just good that everyone else DOES. I just really loved the way you guys phrased that. hahahahahahahahah SOPERFECT SOAragorn! ""It seems the wilds of Middle Earth are calling to us again, my friend. Let us hope that our chances of returning to Minas Tirith uninjured are better than they were in Rivendell."" I swear i just broke out in this huge grin. Now how come me thinks that gleam in your eyes is saying it might not be as easy as he hopes. This just bodes a great adventure. So much foreshadowing and promise in that one tiny sentance! heheheh Oh cool! Is this THE seashell nightlight? heheheh "Then he turned, checked the seashell nightlight to make sure it had plenty of wick still to burn..." You know that thing did have a life of its own. I loved that. Forgive me if i have made associations that were not meant, that was just wonderful to see it there in the girl's room! Oh nice little add here, one of those Aragornthings that he always does so absentmindedly: "his fingers caressing, while not quite touching, the delicate points and curves of her ears. " He does love those ears! :D hehehehe And then when i shouted out loud 'YES!!!!' in the office, there was absolutely no way to explain myself out of it, not grinning like a fool like i was. This sentance is where the music starts out soft and builds triumphantly till it swells and you know the movie Just Really started. heheheh THIS is perfect!!! "He finished dressing, fastened his belt, and removed the binding from his hair, letting it fall loose about his face. Last of all he lifted his overcoat, the leather worn soft and supple with years of wear, the surface marred by the familiar places where he had repaired it. He held it at arm's length for a moment before sliding into it, and was somehow surprised to find that it still fit in exactly the same way." Oh yeah definitely my favorite line so far. Now that there is a ranger! hehehe Sorry about using all the same words over and over again, like perfect, and cool. hahahah Cassia and i have that problem repeatedly when we read fanfiction, we get so storybrained (totally into the story) that the faculty to express oneself in a more cognitive way is lost. hehehee Oh no and now Tantur is going to follow! That boy has no idea what he is getting himself into! Well i LOVED this chapter. It was so fun to see AragornKing, and AragornFather and then watch as he stepped back into Strider, Ranger of the North and set out on another adventure! The progression or regression, was wonderfully done and so fun to read! Have a great weekend wtih your friends! Coming back to work on Monday now has an all new excitement to it! Always, Sio Author Reply: Jeans at work? Cool! Jean days = good days. *grin* So pleased that you liked Faramir! Though we are stolid Aragorn/Legolas fans, we can't help loving Faramir's character as well -- he reminds us a lot of Aragorn, actually... We had so much fun in these first couple of scenes that Faramir's role in this fic pretty much tripled, so we hope you'll continue to enjoy him! *grin* And is the LOST responsible? We wondered. I guess we can use that excuse to explain the sudden appearance of a polar bear in Rohan as well, eh? Just kidding. *wink* Just so's ya know: that whole scene was Hannah's fault. Mm-hm. All of it. *grin* *laughs* In regards to Faramir's comment on our favorite duo: we found it funny that, though he would undoubtedly hit it off best with Aragorn (fellow rangers, humans, etc.), Faramir would actually have more interactions with Legolas because they now lived closer. Thus he would be able to see up close the amount of trouble they could get into together, whether in Minas Tirith or Ithilien. Don't worry, Aragorn's emotions will catch up with him eventually. *smiles* *bounces up and down* Ooh, you liked the Gilraen scene? That was so vivid in my mind... the colors, the view out the window, Aragorn's humming... I was crossing my fingers and hoping I'd actually managed to capture it as I saw it. You've thrilled my socks right off!! Aragorn's clothing choice was based on his dress when he comes into Frodo's room at the end of ROTK. It struck us as interesting that, as you said, he dressed so much like Elrond! SoMellonChronicles! *grins* More thanks regarding Faramir! Have we mentioned we love the way you mention your favorite bits? *eyes gleam tellingly* Us? Cliffies? Danger? Massive injuries? Heck, no. ...but just in case... *passes out coffee, thermal blankets, and folding chairs* That is THE nightlight, alright! Talk about vivid scenes -- there were so many containing that nightlight in MC that it seemed we couldn't imagine Aragorn's kids without it! I love the way Aragorn does that when he kisses Arwen! Best thing about their kiss in his 'dream'. *grins* Is it a dead give-away that we love Aragorn in ranger garb? That, like the 'when the world was simpler' line, represented our own feelings in writing it. Suddenly Aragorn was much more recognizable and we could see exactly where this story was going -- the relief was palpable and the words came easier. Hey, we don't mind 'perfect' and 'cool'! Not at all! *floats about in a dreamy haze* Nope, that's perfectly cool with us... Tantur's in for some surprises, alright! *grins* Very few people in Minas Tirith know much about Aragorn's past, or what kinds of mischief he and Legolas get into when they go off alone... More is on the way! Thank you SO much for your review! | |
| Elizabeth_Elindel | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 1/19/2006 |
| Ahh!!! I must hear more, I must, I must. This is a very good story. Well written. I doubt Aragorn leaving Arwen even for a short time, but that's okay. :) Very good work!!! :) Author Reply: You must, you must? Oh! Well, in *that* case... *grins* Enjoyment is the sincerest form of flattery -- thank you so much! And yes, it would take a great deal to drag Aragorn away from his Arwen, but we did our best to leave him no loop-holes. *laughs* No, we are not kind to the characters we love best. :-P | |