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Okay, NOW Panic! by Boz4PM	10 Review(s)
uptowngirl	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 7/12/2008
wonderful, wonderful chapter! Too bad there is a picture of Penny's dress or Arwens! Author Reply: Thank you! Well, if I had any artistic skill at all, I would be able to draw them. Alas I do what I can with words, but in my head they were stunning. Honest. ;D

AspenJules	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 5/31/2006
Oh, I'm SO glad that Minas Tirith is more civilized and to Penny's... well... liking? Or at least not terribly appalling. It wouldn't be such a bad place to live then, as long as she doesn't have to be a servant and empty other people's bedpans! Having been in a hospital I remember how humiliating that can be, even when you're sick and not up to handling anything your own self. Oooooh.... and Halladan..... hmmmmmm... how badly is he injured, I wonder? Poor guy... but do I sense something there? As much as I love Lindir, I just don't think that's at all a possible pairing, but Halladan? Oh, and poor Hirvell. I can't BELIEVE you killed off Hirvell!!! growls slightly, with a lump in the throat I have a feeling, am I right?, that he was killed protecting Halladan, or at least in the same skirmish where Halladan got injured. Lindir's reaction to realizing Hivell got killed was beautifully done, as was Penny's grieving over his death before she ever got to meet him. OH... and I LOVED the slightly un-gallant Aragorn insisting on knowing what new mischief Penny had gotten into in Rohan. Erestor trying to protect her, and Aragorn insisting on knowing, and then LAUGHING!! How totally terrible of him!! snickers Nice touch of reality to such a bigger-than-life character. Ok, one last thing I'll mention - the fact that nobody at the head table seems to think of Penny or even notice her when she leaves. Such a real touch - so non Mary-Sueish. Rather than overshadowing the King and Queen-to-be and people like Elrond, Galadriel and Celeborn, and Gandalf, she was just what she should have been - someone else who happened to be there. A lovely touch that the writers of Mary Sues could never understand or discipline themselves to write. Author Reply: Wow - you really are speeding through this, aren't you? lol Thank you for that, and I am glad you're still enjoying it all this far. And I'm sorry about Hirvell - it was touch and go as to whether I would or not, and in the end I decided it had to be done: both for realism as well as the fact that I already have a cast of thousands as it is! Thanks for the comment about Penny not being noticed particularly at the meal. In some ways it's hard with these Minas Tirith chapters because we have the Fellowship there and it's nice to have her interact with them, but at the end of the day she is surrounded by a lot of other people and people she knows better. Not only that but she is still struggling with her emotions - Minas Tirith has reawakened a lot of the trauma of what she went through. Otherwise she is, as you say, one of many and while of interest, no one particularly special either.

Levade	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 3/1/2006
The destruction on the Pelennor, in the city, the personal loss – the scarred men hiding in the shadows in the lower circles, Hirvell dead, the piled heaps of bodies in those mass pits outside the walls… Of all the horrors she's faced, and latrines definitely fare up there, this has to be the worst. Penny comes from a modern age where death is mostly unseen, and war is something most of us only see in movies, TV news or pictures. She's seeing the battlefield first-hand, cleaned up, yes but still... I have no idea where you're going with this, but I really look forward to the next parts! And suddenly I'm thinking I reviewed this already? Oy. Memory like a sieve. Poor Penny -- to have to worry if she'll be there tomorrow or even through today. How do you plan a future when everything is so uncertain? Here's hoping she gets a "and they lived happily ever after...to the end of their days" ending. :)

Pearl Took	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 2/24/2006
applause Wonderful as always :) I love your long chapters! I'm looking forward to your description of the wedding :)

Daynawayna	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 2/23/2006
Ai, poor Pen-ii! I take it you have not told her of what occurred? She would be deeply ashamed and embarrassed if she knew." He glanced at the expressions of 'Who do you think you are talking to? Do we look stupid?' that met his gaze and held up his hands with a muttered apology, chuckling. LOL!! 'do we look stupid?' ::laughs self silly:: good lord that was great! And I swear, if you apologize for a "long chapter" again, I'll take a swat at you myself! Too long indeed! Pshaw! Perfect in length and detail. I can't wait to read about the wedding, if I ever find time for it! :)

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 2/23/2006
Millennia of dressing hair apparently taught you a thing or two, she thought wryly. I imagine it would. It's one of those little thoughts on elven age that is surprisingly awe inspiring. Meeting Halbarad's sons - and discovering that one died at the Black Gate - must certainly bring the horrific reality of the battles home to Penny. It's one thing reading a book - but quite another living it. Author Reply: It's one thing reading a book - but quite another living it. Exactly so. I realise some people felt Penny wept too much in Don't Panic. Re-reading it after a break of 18 months I could see there were, perhaps, a few moments I could have toned it down a little, but not many and not by much. Living through such a thing for an ordinary young woman born in our fairly laid-back and comfortable Western middle-class is a traumatic experience, and I don't think that's unrealistic in any way. Indeed, one of the basic failings of the Mary-Sue 'bambf'-fic is that most of the OFCs show little or no psychological upset at what they are going through. Thank you for reading and taking the time to review. :) Always appreciated.

Kathy_SFF	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 2/20/2006
What a wonderful suprise after a weekend from hell to see ALL your updates. I love all the big "Wedding of the Century" build-up. I thought the way you managed to balance the joy of the up-comming wedding with the still obvious signs of a city that has recently been through a horrible war (burial mounds, blackened earth, crippled men hidding in shadows - excellent imagry). Penn-ii's interactions with Hallabard's (sp) sons. Hmm..maybe romance is in the air for Peniii, much better than a drunken singinf from the top level of Minas Tirth (although that would be good too - :-) ). Of course I could JUST SEE all the men in the room (some somking their Shire-weed) discussing Penn-ii. Can't wait for "THE WEDDING". Author Reply: Ah, well, I am not sure how much of the actual wedding will be shown. I am too scared to detail it too much - far too much like treading on the big man's toes, IMHO. Glad you liked. :)

Aurendil	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 2/20/2006
An ellyth named Firiel ??? Author Reply: Um, not really sure how to respond to this, since I am not sure what you are asking. Really, it's a 'yes' or 'no' question, to which the answer is 'yes, I used the name Firiel for an elleth in this chapter'. However, the triple question marks would seem to suggest you find this strange, bizarre or questionable for some reason. Perhaps you could enlighten me? :) I am always happy to change or correct something that is wrong. If you think this is not valid Sindarin, then please tell me so. If, however, you wish to point out that JRRT used the name himself for Sam's grandchild (I believe, though that's going on memory, and I could be incorrect) as well as for a maiden to whom the elves in the the last ship that sailed called out to (in the poem The Last Ship), then I do know that. Firiel was the first name that came to me and there are many instances of elves having names that mortals use elsewhere, so it is perfectly feasible that there could be an elleth named 'Firiel'. I'll be honest and say I misremembered and thought the maiden in the poem WAS an elleth, and only later double-checked and realised, at which point I felt it would not matter if it remained as it was. However, as I say, am not sure what your objection is, or quite what your question was. But I thank you for taking the time to read. I hope you enjoyed the rest of it. :)

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 2/20/2006
Poor Penny--having to face Halbarad's surviving sons, and learn that one of them had not survived, on top of a long day, and many gloomy thoughts of those lost in the War, and her inevitable wondering if she could have done anything differently that would have helped. I like the fact that those "responsible" for her (and, though really they aren't but I can't think of a better word) had not forgotten about her, though they had not spoken to her that evening. And her reunion with the hobbits is going to be clouded by her knowledge of the sorrow that is ahead of them, realizing what they will face on returning home. (As a side note, I appreciate that though you are using the "Westron" names for them in dialogue, you continue to use the English "translations" in the narrative. It makes things far simpler to keep track of.) I really appreciate the research you have done on the plumbing and so forth. While I have no problem with believing that Gondor, especially in Minas Tirith, would have such conveniences as holdovers from the old Numenorean technology, it's always nice to see an author who has done her homework and provided reasonable explanations of how it could have been done. Look forward to more soon! Author Reply: (As a side note, I appreciate that though you are using the "Westron" names for them in dialogue, you continue to use the English "translations" in the narrative. It makes things far simpler to keep track of.) Thank you. A deliberate plot on my part that I have used throughout both fics, though even with that attempt to keep things clear I know some have got confused. Thank you for reading and reviewing. Glad to know you are still enjoying it thus far. :)

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 22 on 2/20/2006
giggle You should be ashamed that you regret not being able to torture poor Penny more about latrines and all that! And your excuse about the length of the chapter is quite funny. As far as I am concerned, you can post thirty or more pages every chapter, and I will gladly read it! I certainly don't mind long chapters, on the contrary! What a day for Penny, all the emotions after seeing the Pelennor and the destruction there, then meeting Halbarad's sons and the shock that one of them died, too. After all she is not fully recovered after her illness. I am pleased Halladan seems quite interested in Penny. Well, I'm hopeless romantic ;-) "She could have done nothing to prevent it," Aragorn replied. "It would have been wrong of her to try." He spoke with complete conviction. I am glad Aragorn thinks so and I hope so very much he tells Penny, too. She need, I think, to see they don't held her responsible for anything or think some deaths could have been prevented if she had told them everything she knew. And coming from Aragorn, she may even believe it. I look forward to the next chapter! Author Reply: You should be ashamed that you regret not being able to torture poor Penny more about latrines and all that! I know I should be. I'm not, but I know I should be. ;P Glad you enjoyed the chapter, and thank you for your comments. :)

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