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Your Heart Will Be True  by Write Sisters 3 Review(s)
ImbecamielReviewed Chapter: 18 on 2/27/2006
I’m really sorry I didn’t review earlier. You see, I… I… I can’t seem to remember why I’m so late… *blinks* Oh. That would be because I’m not. *blinks again* Well what do you know… Wow. *wanders off in a daze*

*wanders back* Ahem. Let’s get on with the review then, before I *am* late… *g*

Poor, poor Faramir! He always takes things like this to heart so personally… It’s really what makes him the man we know and love, but I also think it’s the thing that kept soldiering from being his true career, as it was for Boromir. Though he’s *obviously* a *very* good captain, and wins not only his men’s trust, but their love and respect, he’s never really been able to develop the calluses that would keep constantly being in this position from getting to him so much. Not only does he feel the losses of his own people as deeply as if he were personally responsible, he feels for the enemy as well, and pities them. It’s why I love him so much, and yet, oh, it does make times like this hard for him… *huggles poor Faramir* Leaders like him always need someone like Beregond around to talk some sense into them - and to keep an eye on them when they’re too busy brooding to pay attention to their own safety!

ROTFL! That’s it, Gimli, just follow the path of mayhem and destruction, and you shouldn’t stray too far from the right path… Amazing how those kind of intuitions can be so uncannily accurate around those two, isn’t it? Hehe… BTW, have you heard the theory Nef and I have come up with about how exactly it is that Strider gets into so much trouble? (LOL, and no, evil authoresses, suicidal tendencies, and the Valar having a grudge against him are *not* involved.)

LOL! Poor Valihondo! As if arguing with any normal dwarf isn’t hard enough, he’s got to reason with *Kori* - and when he’s drunk, no less! //"Please just let me kill him." "Now, Rorin, how would we explain that to Lord Dorm?" "Tell him he ate a bad piece of meat. Happens all the time,"// LOL! Oh, too funny…

And obviously Valihondo *does* figure out a lot more than he usually lets on! Good thing for them he’s on their side! I do love, though, the way he never openly says anything about what he knows, or presses anyone for explanations of what’s going on. He just goes around quietly helping them any way he can.

He! Erynbenn certainly doesn’t miss much! He figured that one out pretty quickly. *snickers* And Bartho certainly wasn’t about to help him out at all… //It was so obvious, he wondered why he hadn't tried to orchestrate it!// LOL! Ah, that might be because you know your friend well enough to figure out that, while he might stand plenty of teasing on the subject, he’s most definitely *not* the sort to cooperate with any attempts to trick him into falling in love…

Oh, I’m so glad someone’s finally talked to Bartho about Lindamar, and his continuing fears! He may not have been able to totally accept it yet, but at least he’s heard it! And he DID admit to *wanting* to love her! LOL, I love his response to Erynbenn‘s delighted “there‘s hope!” - “Maybe.” So Bartho… *giggles* We’ve got a regular Puddleglum here…

//"Fidgety, maybe?" Bartho muttered. "Understatement, perhaps? Watch your feet." Bartho sidestepped a tent peg just in time.// Ok, I can’t say exactly why, but I just loved that little exchange! Something about it just felt so… *right*. LOL, now I’ve probably just confused you… But at any rate, I really liked it :-)

LOL! And I loved their exchange over Erynbenn’s little flying somersault trick, as well! Oh, those two are just so great together… *g*

As wonderful as always - and, also as always, looking forward to more!

Imbecamiel


P.S. Oh, but you do write female characters incredibly well! No need for you to worry there! LOL, I can see how someone, at first glace, *might* mistake some of your characters for a Mary Sue, because they’re often very strong women, who do wind up actually getting involved in the action (as Findel did). But you still keep them *so* feminine and *real*! You do a wonderful job of writing balanced female characters :-)

P.P.S. LOL! I’m glad you enjoyed the “Heroe’s Combat Handbook” so much. *g* Hehe, I’m beginning to think that if I were ever to write anything “real” it would have to be humor - it seems to be about the only thing I can pull off well ;-P

P.P.P.S. *blinks* The… “Great Lederhosen-Button-Sewing Incident of 2006”? *looks bewildered* And *what* is it exactly you do for a living? It sounds... hazardous... *g*

P.P.P.P.S. LOL, well, what do you know, my attempts actually did manage to come up with the basic idea of Vardnauth’s name, if not quite your exact translation! *is very proud of self* What dictionary are you using? I’ve got one book by… Ruth Noel, I believe it is, but since I’ve discovered that it isn’t actually very accurate, I now usualy stick with online sources, like COE.

P.P.P.P.P.S. Ah yes, unfortunately, Kirotis does indeed appear to be out to get Polly. Witness what happens whenever she does something to him: He has a bad shoulder, she slips and twists a muscle in her shoulder; she writes something about him accidentally breaking an important piece of equipment in astronomy class, she touches a telescope in astronomy class, and a piece falls right off and crashes to the floor… Be warned - take care when writing independent and highly spiteful characters! Hehe, poor Polly…

P.P.P.P.P.P.S. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHLOE! I hope she had a wonderful birthday :-) Whoa... *blinks* I just realized... I've never read all her stories... How on earth could I have missed doing that? *shakes head* But I guess that means... I've got a whole bunch of wonderful new stories to read now! Talk about hitting the jackpot! *grins like Smaug discovering a whole treasure vault he'd forgotten about*

Author Reply: *laughs* Well, so at least ONE of us was on time! That's encouraging! There is hope!!

I totally agree with every one of your Faramir sentiments! It's what makes him one of our favorite characters; especially his soft heart. I was actually just marveling over the fact that he was able to grow up as such a gentle man — what with Denethor as a father. Denethor may have had his good points, but they were pretty well buried by the time Faramir was born; but at least his parenting explains a lot of Faramir's self-blaming problems! Somehow that came out sounding like a good thing… I meant, he came by it honestly! *grin* It's funny how you meet people like Faramir sometimes — the ones who take the jobs that are totally unsuitable for their personalities, simply because it has to be done and they're in the best position to do it. And yes, it is very important for such people to have a Beregond around!

Gimli's a smart dwarf alright. *grin* A theory on how Strider always gets into trouble? No, I hadn't heard! This you've got to tell me. *bug-eyed avidity abounds*

Glad you enjoyed the expressions of dwarven dismay! Poor Nowin got assigned the FUN babysitting job. And I definitely wouldn't want Valihondo's job — or any government job, really. *grins* He's pretty closed-mouth, on the whole, isn't he? *admires Hannah's work* I gotta say, he's definitely one of my favorites of her creations. Him and Eression.

*laughs* You've got the measure of Bartho, I'd say. Nope, he wouldn't have taken kindly to overt match-making — and since Arien's got a big enough battle on her hands as it is, it's probably just as well that Erynbenn never considered trying anything. Now that it's started to happen, though, there's nothing saying he can't nudge a bit! *giggles* Golly, Bartho IS a lot like Puddleglum, isn't he? Sans reed-like hair and smelly pipe, of course, but otherwise… ha! :-D

*claps happily* Oh, I completely understand how certain phrases will sometimes just jump out and grab you, and if we have managed anything like that, it's worth a few solid hours of floating bliss!!

I really enjoyed writing Bartho and Erynbenn — that's probably pretty obvious… They play off each other without much help; maybe that's why. Glad you enjoyed the hedgehog maneuver!

*laughs* Many thanks for all your compliments on our females! I think the major red-light with Findel was that she was young and pretty and single; as soon as it became clear she was intended for Nethtalt (another OC) a lot of the fuss cleared right up. Ha!

Well, I must say, you're very well suited to a humor book! You have a clever knack with words, and a quick wit for it. Don't hesitate to try other things too while you're at it, though — I used to play only comedic roles in plays and thought that was all I could do (and all I would enjoy), until I actually landed a part that required drama, and then I found that I actually enjoyed that side of acting too! And being primarily good at comedy allows your stories to keep a lighter side, even when you're doing drama, which is very good too!

*laughs* I guess that does sound pretty odd if you don't know how I pay my bills! I wouldn't presume to call myself a seamstress — there's a lot implied in that title that I don't yet know how to do — but my job is close to that. I sew things! Mostly costumes for plays and renaissance faires and things. Currently I'm working with another lady on 'Sound of Music', hence the lederhosen. It's the biggest job I've ever tackled! Sailor suits, and play clothes made from draperies, and Austrian folk costumes, oh my! I'm almost done, though. Next I hope to start my own eBay business, fabricating medieval costumes and such. Fun, fun! …When I'm not making stupid mistakes and impaling my fingers, that is. :-P My true love is elven dresses!! *grin*

Ours came off a site called 'The Prancing Pony', or something… We copied it off onto a wordpad file before the site closed down, so I'm afraid I can't send you a link. If you'd like to have it, I could e-mail it to you!

*eyes go round* Yikes, poor Polly! That's freaky… *wonders if she ought to be more careful with her characters* Hm… this may bear some serious thought…

*laughs* I passed on your birthday wishes, and the birthday gal is most flattered! For the record: Chloe is a great writer! She's actually gotten a lot better since Iston — so much so that I think finishing the series is giving her fits — but I'm sure she'll manage it eventually! Her style is a very unique, rather sophisticated style, especially in the later installments of her series (i.e. she can freak you out and make you cry without half trying; mwahaha!). I'm sure you'll enjoy them!

Now I must go post! Heaven only knows how many pitchforks the readers will have amassed by now…

Lady SarumanReviewed Chapter: 18 on 2/26/2006
*Jumps all around in delight* You updated! You updated! When you bypassed your three days, I started wondering if you considered discontinuing your story. If you ever did, here's some comments on that. Don't EVER leave your story hanging! It's just too good, and if you break off in the middle of nowhere, then all of us readers will be left in anxiety and wondering what happened to you. But thank goodness that you guys aren't so busy as some authors whose last update was five months ago.

This chapter wasn't so dramatic at that, though it is true to its title--there are certainly many conversations. I don't remember if you ever mentioned who Erynbenn is in the earlier chapters, but if you did, then I certainly forgot who he is! He's a clever little thing, being able to determine who Bartho loves now. Sad to say, Lindamar may have been pretty, but she wasn't very smart, according to your other story at ff.net. I think it best that Bartho should now be more careful of who he loves. The first time he met Lindamar, he got brainwashed by her beauty, but she betrayed his love and himself. Probably Arien is the one for him if Erynbenn describes her as 'charming, though bested by Melima, of course, but everything you could possibly hope for in a life companion. She is intelligent, she is not flighty, she is skilled, loyal, humorous, graceful and beautiful.' And by the way, who is Melima?

Good job with the dwarves! It seems that Kori and the human have a tussle...LOL


Happy belated birthday to Chloe!

Hershey's hugs/kisses,
Lady Saruman ^_~


Author Reply: *grins and bounces with Lady Saruman* And here we come to update once more -- also past our three-day schedule...! *smacks forehead in embarrassment* Sorry that this keeps happening.

Never fear, however! We will NOT be discontinuing this story -- we've already finished writing it! To stop posting it would be a waste of 200+ pages, so we have all the motivation in the world to keep posting. *grin* No worries!

We hope to make up for the lack of action in Chapter 18 soon! *grin*

Yes, you met Erynbenn at the beginning of the story. He was one of Aragorn's Dunedain guards when Aragorn and Arwen arrive back in Minas Tirith, and then you briefly met his family (including his wife, Melima) when Bartho came over to his house for dinner, and then you saw him again when he said good-bye to Melima before setting out with Bartho for the southern border. Since he stayed behind with the troops when Bartho was injured, Bartho came back to Minas Tirith alone for a bit, and now that Bartho has returned to the south they're both together again.

Sorry if that was confusing! We were introducing a lot of characters at the beginning and we can understand if it was confusing. You might also want to know that there was a third Dunadan at the beginning named Eression, who will be coming up later. *sheepish grin*

Nope, Lindamar wasn't very smart at all. It says a little something about Bartho's youth that he fell for her in the first place -- fortunately he won't fall into the same trap again, unfortunately he may not fall for the right girl either... *ominous music* We shall see! *grin*

*laughs* Glad you liked the dwarves! We'll pass on your birthday wishes! Thanks for the review!!

VilwarinReviewed Chapter: 18 on 2/26/2006
Ah, you are back at posting, yeah!
I am very glad this chapter starts with good, dear Faramir, whom I respect and love above many.
Well, I can feel the pain of such a compassionate as Faramir, whose heart is filled with grief and pity rather than with loathing. A man who hates war but would do anything to potect those he loves.
I think that says a lot about him!
He carrys so much goodness within him and does not like to kill his foes and is now confronted with such a situation.
And of course, as he defender, he blames himself for everything. The poor man, he is just too good for this world.

Oh, what a lucky dwarf Gimli is! He would be happy to hear that Tantur was beaten, I think.
Good that there are still loyal people in the world. I only hope that Gimli can do something before it is too late.
The more I read, the more I appreciate my mobile phone. It really is a nuisance to walk over all of Middle-earth to warn some people who can never go without problems. I can imagine that Gimli curses his fate every so often.

Hm, the countryside could be dangerous as well, many places for many people to hide.

Ah, it seems that Erynbenn is being and eye-opener for Bartho, hehe. That migt well be what good friends are there for, no? Sometimes, others just see better than yourself.and now he is beginning to question himself. I hope so very much he can bring his heart, and his mind, to love Arien. He does so deserve it.

Tent pegs? bad things, those. Camping is fun, but some things are really evil!

A well, now let the boys eat before they starve. But...will it be mushrooms?

~Vil


Author Reply: *laughs sheepishly* Yes, 'back at posting'! Gah -- we cannot apologize enough for all these delays...

Faramir is truly a great guy, isn't he? He's one of our absolute favorite characters in the book -- probably why he appears a lot in this fic! And one of the most tremendous things about Faramir, really, is that compassion -- especially in light of the way his father treated him, which was not terribly loving. More easily traced back to his father is his sense of inadequacy; drat Denethor!

*laughs* We're sure you're right about Gimli! *ponders mobile phones in ME* Yup, that would sure have saved everyone a lot of hassle, alright. Tough luck for them! And a great mental picture for us... *grin*

Astute observation on the geography! That's all we're going to say for now.

Isn't it funny how often best friends are complete opposites of each other? And we completely agree about Bartho and Arien, but we have an astonishing lack of control over our characters... *gulp*

Thanks for the wonderful review! More on the way!

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