Stories of Arda - Lord of the Rings Fan-Fiction Archive


	About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search

Okay, NOW Panic! by Boz4PM	15 Review(s)
Nessa	Reviewed Chapter: 36 on 8/23/2006
I have been worried....are you okay? You usually post at least once a month, so I hope nothing is going wrong in RL. Love your stories and your compassion. Blessings your way. Nessa Author Reply: Aw, thanks for your concern, Nessa. I'm fine. Things have been a little hectic of late - tiredness and managed to hurt my back (not seriously, though, I hasten to add) - but a combination of things have meant writing has been slow or impossible of late. That said, the latest chapter is written and with my betas right now, and I hope to post it by the end of the week at the latest. I'm sorry for the delay, and sorry for alarming you, but thank you for thinking of me. :) hugs

Callie	Reviewed Chapter: 36 on 8/7/2006
Hello~~ I just finished reading through all that you've written, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next chapter. Once I started reading "Don't Panic" I couldn't stop, which is really surprising for me personally because I hardly ever read. The way you've handled the challenge of a realistic "falling into Middle-earth" story is amazing, and I find myself relating to Penny on so many levels. Your characterization is also very well done, and I've laughed out loud more than once while reading this, a few times in the middle of class when I was supposed to be silently listening to a lecture on Islamic history. I'm not a huge Tolkien nut - to be perfectly blunt, I never even finished reading the trilogy because it was too wordy and, well, I don't really like reading - but I still found this story enjoyable without having much extended knowledge about the Middle-earth universe. I think that's really it's best aspect - one doesn't have to know a detailed history of everyone and everything in the stories in order to still understand what's going on. My only selfish critique would be, MORE ROMANCE! XD But my fingers are still crossed that it's coming. Please continue writing! You have an amazing talent, and I think I might have to attempt to read the actual books again. Maybe in an abridged version. I blame television. ahem Author Reply: Thank you for your review! For some reason I didn't get the alert for it, so my apologies in not replying sooner. glares at Hotmail - it does this sometimes, just randomly loses e-mail, the darn thing I'm so very glad you've enjoyed it all, especially given you have not finished the books and were not baffled or foxed by any book-related details I've included. Do try and read them again some time - they are fab (but then I would say that, wouldn't I? ;D) And there has been some romance, of sorts - I mean Mireth and Celebdor hooked up in the course of it all, and we've had reference to angsty romance with Eleniel and Lindir. Heck, we had a wedding! ;P But, there may be yet more to come, you never know - I'm saying nothing, cos it's the one big question everyone is still asking, so just watch this space and there may or may not be romance to come.

sarasrati	Reviewed Chapter: 36 on 7/27/2006
A couple days ago I started reading "Don't Panic!" mostly on a whim, and since then I haven't been able to stop reading it whenever I can spare a moment! Thank you for writing something so amazing! This is seriously one of the most incredible fanfics I've ever read. I find myself empathizing with Penny a good deal--I've had a few unfortunate experiences with letting my own temper get the better of me, although perhaps not quite with so much depth attached. One thing about your stories did strike me particularly, though... I've read a lot of the reviews, and maybe I missed it if someone brought it up, but it seems like there should be some question in Penny's mind regarding just HOW accurate Tolkien managed to get in his books and notes, especially when, as she admits from time to time, it's thought of as a made-up story. Have you thought about it at all? With the debate about the number of orcs in the battle of Dagorlad, it seems like Penny should have at least wondered how Tolkien managed to get so much of it right... The reason I am asking is that this issue really caught my attention when Gandalf talks about returning to Valinor, saying that he does not know whether he will be allowed to stay there or be sent on somewhere else. Maybe our good Professor was more than just a normal human, and that's how he knew so much of the detail? I'm probably reading too much into that, but in any case I would like to hear your thoughts on how so much of the story managed to pass through the ages so well, if you have the time to reply. And I will definitely be anxiously awaiting the next chapter! Author Reply: Hello there sarasrati - thanks for taking the time out to read the huge epic that this story has now become and for letting me know your thoughts so far. :) The reason I am asking is that this issue really caught my attention when Gandalf talks about returning to Valinor, saying that he does not know whether he will be allowed to stay there or be sent on somewhere else. Maybe our good Professor was more than just a normal human, and that's how he knew so much of the detail? Ah, I see - so Tolkien = Olorin? ;D I like it! grins Seriously, though, the debate with Olorin is whether he stays in Valinor or moves on to outside the realsm of Arda, so 'dies' (as much as a Maia can die). That said, I suppose if he stays in Valinor he could always come back to Arda again... Hm, interesting thought. lol Seriously, though, the whole issue of how and where our modern life fits in in relation to M-E is a tricky one. I have taken as my cue the whole 'back history' and 'provenence' that Tolkien himself created for the tales themselves. This is stuff that is dealt with in HoME and is discussed and explained by Christopher Tolkien. I do know from some reviews I've had in the past that some are unaware of this aspect of the tale, since they found it bizarre that Penny was claiming she was from the future rather than an alternate reality, and yet the whole concept of what Tolkien was trying to do was to write a mythology, a history for Britain. Thus he had ideas of an Anglo-Saxon (Aelfwine) meeting an elf or someone who knew the elves (I forget which at the moment - forgive me, but his name is Rumil, but not the Rumil of Lothlorien), who then tells the tales/hands over the manuscripts. What Tolkien then suggests in his invented provenence is that the tales have come to us translated from the Anglo-Saxon, much like Dream of the Rood or Beowulf or whatever. Thus I see it in my story, where the invented is actually real, as this: the manuscripts were very carefully kept, preserved and faithfully copied over the years until such time as Rumil gave them to Aeflwine/Aeflwine copied and translated them. Tolkien then translated them from the Anglo-Saxon. Thus there has been little room for adaptation or missing information. I will admit I have been tempted on occasion to say 'actually the texts were inaccurate, it did not happen like that but like this' - the most extreme example being in the debate I had over whether to kill off Halbarad or not. In the end, though, I made a decision as an author that to randomly change bits of the story to suit me, the author, would be too easy - something of a cop-out - for all it would make sense historically (since texts of historical happenings will have inaccuracies in them - heck, just look at the difference in the story of The Hobbit as related by Bilbo himself, and then as related by Gandalf [see Unfinished Tales]). That said, all we have of LOTR is what the hobbits saw and experienced. So there is much that is unsaid that gives me some freedom of invention - such as the orc attack in the mountains as Arwen travelled south. I don't know if that fully answers your question, but I hope it goes some way towards it. I would like to have Penny consider the whole Tolkien/history issue at some point, but then at the same time - the one thing Penny and I share is our level of Tolkien knowledge, simply because it makes it easier to write for me that way. Thus she is ignorant in areas I am ignorant in, and remembers details that I remember, and has read the same books I have read. Thus, I think she would have long ago reached the same conclusion I have just explained to you: that the whole Aelfwine/Rumil back history actually happened. :) Author Reply: This came up on my LJ a little while ago, and I'll copy my explanation from there to here since it may be better phrased: "Admittedly there's a lot of HoME I've not yet read, but what I have read (as well as reading round into the few letters and canon discussions, etc) I had always understood that intention of it all was to provide myth - as the Greeks and the Italians have their ancient tales, indeed how most cultures have ancient tales lost in the mists of time and the English, well, just don't. Probably because we're such a mongrel breed. The Celts, of course, have their myths and legends but the closest we come to it is stuff like Beowulf which is a direct rip-off from the Scandinavians. Thus it's not meant to be 'absolute history', but is myth - made up stories of what happened long, long, long ago. If Penny lands in it and finds it to be real then it has to be history - just as when they found that Troy existed and thus half of the Grecian tales HAD to be true when previously they had assumed they were entirely fictional. Of course it can't actually be history, since the archeological record is pretty accurate on this things, and obviously we know the entire thing is pure invention by Tolkien. But in the 'suspension of disbelief' then the whole point, so I understood, of Aelfwine meetin Rumil (not that Rumil, another one) who lived on Tol Eressa (I think?) was that the tales were true, but long forgotten and long lost in the mists of time. The world and moved and changed, but it happened." and "I would be the first to say it is not history. Of course it's not - it's pure invention on one man's part. However, in terms of 'fantasy', i.e. a made up story of pure imagination such as the one I am writing, then it is a reasonable plot line to say the myth is history for the reasons I pointed out - namely myths are often based on something (Troy is a classic example of exactly that). Aelfwine, an Anglo-Saxon, meets an elf (I think it's an elf, otherwise it's someone from a people who once knew elves) and is told the stories and handed the books - this is where the whole 'concocting this as myth' takes off. We also have the history of the Red Book and similar threads - so as to make it all look like history or look like real myths would (such as the history of the texts of Greek myths, for example). Thus it is much more than 'just a story about elves and stuff' - Tolkien deliberately added in all this other stuff and had an entire background concept to it all that would make it 'mirror' actual historical myth in terms of provenance, etc. So, no, it is not real. Of course it isn't real. It's no more 'real' than Alice in Wonderland or Pooh Bear or Sherlock Holmes or any other 'world' that's come from an author's imagination, but it does have a backstory that is that 'this is myth and a place back in time', thus in a purely fantasy story one could 'fall back in time umpteen millenia' and land in the middle of it all, just as one could 'fall back in time a couple of millenia' and land on the same ship Oedysseus sailed in and face the Cyclops - which is not to say Cyclops existed or everything Odysseus faced was true in the slightest. The only difference is that the Greek myths are based on germs of truth (there very likely WAS an actual man called Odysseus who fought at Troy), whereas the 'germs of truth' for Tolkienverse are pure invention by Tolkien himself. If that makes any sense." :)

miss	Reviewed Chapter: 36 on 7/26/2006
once again a good chapter! full of emtions. i really liked the dialog between halladan and arvain. i also felt relieved that elrond did talked to penny. i think its sad that penny seems to think that she can not live in imlardis anymore. i hope she changes her mind..... thx for the fast update Author Reply: Thanks - glad you enjoyed, and thanks for taking time out to review. :)

Eruvyweth	Reviewed Chapter: 36 on 7/26/2006
So...she's not staying in Gondor, then? WOO-HOO!!! Always stick with the Elves, Penny! You can't go far wrong with their folk! I knew you'd make the right decision! Imladris is the only place conceivable for you to live! Right on, girl, you ride north! ...She's not staying in Gondor, right? Author Reply: Ah, well, she has not decided as yet and with the way things stand - how she feels after the Elrond incident, she is thinking Imladris is no longer an option. In this chapter she admitted to herself she had better start getting used to the idea of staying in Gondor. Everyone is leaving to journey with the Rohirrim when they take Theoden back to Rohan to be buried. Faramir, Aragorn, Arwen - they will be all be going. It's why Prince Imrahil has arrived. Faramir, Arwen and Imrahil will then stay in Rohan while the elves and Dunedain and Aragorn go on to Orthanc and then the Gap of Rohan. Aragorn will leave them at the Gap of Rohan. Thus Penny does not have to decide until Arwen stays behind in Rohan, and she could conceivably leave it until the Gap of Rohan and then travel back to Gondor with the King, though really I think the former would be more likely if she is to stay in Gondor. It will take them 19 days to travel to Rohan and they will stay a couple of days there. So that's the time she has to make her decision. Possibly longer if they allow her to wait until the Gap of Rohan. :)

Pearl Took	Reviewed Chapter: 36 on 7/26/2006
Once again, you have me in tears. Poor Penny. sigh I've the feeling all will work itself out in the end, but getting to the end is often rough. An absolutely fantastic story, Boz :) Author Reply: Thanks, Pearl Took. I am glad you are still enjoying it. :)

Blackadder	Reviewed Chapter: 36 on 7/25/2006
Have been following this story from the very beginning. Noticed that Penny seems to have a problem controlling her temper. While this is understandable on rare occasions it seems to occur with alarming frequency and is beginning to make her seem as a petulent child at times, to me. Is it a good idea to portray an adult in such a light? I suppose there are many who act this way but would hope they could restrain themselves in the presence of nobility. Will keep reading no matter what though. Author Reply: Thank you so much for reading and taking time out to review. :) While this is understandable on rare occasions it seems to occur with alarming frequency and is beginning to make her seem as a petulent child at times, to me. I am sorry if that is your impression. If you stop to consider it, though, she has not actually lost her temper at all in Okay, NOW Panic until recently and then only twice. Personally I would not call that 'alarming frequency', unless of course you call the brief one line with Aragorn, but then I would not have said she really lost her temper at that point. I am struggling to think of moments outside of her explosion with Elrond and with Sidhwen that could be considered as times when she lost her temper. Both those moments, I was at great pains to point out, came as a result of a lot of factors that built towards them. Her explosion at Sidhwen I hoped people would see as entirely justified, if perhaps the manner was not wholly appropriate, but even those around her did not condemn her wholly - far from it. As for Elrond, then yes she was out of line, but to describe her action as that of a 'petulant child' is a little harsh, I think, though of course if that is how you saw it, then fair enough. :) She has had a very traumatic few days that have come at the end of a fairly unsettled (to say the least) couple of weeks. The shock of what Halladan told her was like the straw that broke the camel's back. If she had truly behaved like a spoilt child she would have had no grounds or reason for her anger (when she in fact had seemingly good reason, the only problem being it was based on incomplete information), and likely as not would have been sullen, stubborn and refused to see herself in the wrong for a good time afterwards - none of which apply. Similarly, while most adults would, one would hope, be able to restrain themselves in the company of such nobility, I wonder how many would not crack under the strain of Penny's particular situation? She is lost in a place she had always assumed was pure fantasy; she is faced with the horrors and aftermath of war which would be stressful enough for someone of her background and upbringing but in addition to that she carries (rightly or wrongly) a lot of guilt about and feels herself in some ways culpable; she is stuck in a city she does not like and with people attacking her personally (Sidhwen et al); she was recently mugged; she is continually under pressure to keep events of future destruction to herself, feels she cannot share that burden or get advice on what to do or if she's making the right decision; she is constantly worrying if she will disappear in a puff of blue smoke and end up back in her own time at any minute; and all the while she is trying desperately to conform, change and adapt to social mores that are utterly alien to her. She has also been dealing with grief and loss on a personal level - both for her own family as well as Halbarad, and to some extent Hirvell (though she never knew him), let alone the distress Halladan's situation will have caused her. She had just had a stressful interview about what may or may not happen in the North followed by an emotional and distressing conversation with Halladan about his father's dying words. If she then reacts not wholly as a the most sane, rational person at the end of it, then I think that only shows her to be human and is entirely understandable, for all she was in the wrong. Not only that but she was not wholly at fault - Halladan should have chosen a better moment to tell her, and Elrond should not have pushed her. Personally, I think someone who was immature would have started ranting a long time ago, or else would have behaved completely outrageously in much the same manner as Penny did with Halbarad way back at the beginning of Don't Panic - she has changed much since then, or I have tried to show her as doing so. Of course, if you don't see that she has, well, then I suppose I have failed a little as a reader and I apologise - I can only explain what I was trying to do and show, even if you feel I did not manage it. :) You are right, though: she should have restrained herself. She knows that, Halladan and Arvain have told her that, and Elrond has also made that very clear. I would argue, though, that she had strong reasons and motivations for acting as she did (and Elrond himself said he understood them), and it was far from being petulent. Just imho, of course, and equally your honest and genuine impression is just as valid: a text is as much a creation of the reader by virtue of their response to it as it is a work of the author, and thus, it is argued, every reading of a text is unique both to the reader and to the time in their lives when they read. Thank you for taking time out to let me know your thoughts, and thanks for continuing to read in spite of how you think Penny has been portrayed in these two recent outbursts of hers. I hope my (rather long - apologies!) explanation has helped to provide some insight into my process and what I was trying to achieve. :) Author Reply: '..failed a little as a writer', I meant - sorry! :)

Lindelea	Reviewed Chapter: 36 on 7/25/2006
Wait, I am confused by Beregond's implied farewell to Pippin. Faramir rode to Edoras with Imrahil and the rest, for it is stated that he and Imrahil would remain at Edoras when the others departed; would not Beregond be at his side, or at least in his train? If that were the case his farewell to Pippin would take place at Edoras (see "Many Partings"). I'm pretty sure of this as I researched it thoroughly at one time, tearing "Many Partings" apart for every nuance I could gather in the writing of the last chapter of "Choices" where I imagined Beregond's and Pippin's parting. But other than that, a very subdued chapter, suited to Penny's mood and uncertainty. Somehow, however, I cannot imagine her staying in Gondor. I love Arvain's manner/attitude towards her BTW. And the hint in Halladan's “Do you not? What are friends for if not to advise each other even if the other does not wish to hear it?” Something else entirely, I'd think, to answer Penny's musings. Author Reply: You're right! slaps forehead Yes indeed Faramir rides to Edoras, because it is there, at the 'wake' for Theoden that he and Eowyn plight their troth with Eomer's blessing. I had thought of Beregond staying in Osgilith, but you're right, I think he would travel with Faramir. Consider that paragraph cut. Thank you! Author Reply: Done! Thanks again. :)

AspenJules	Reviewed Chapter: 36 on 7/25/2006
Thank you for updating this so soon. It is pathetic, perhaps, but poor Penny's plight has been haunting me ever since I read the last chapter. Of course, this chapter certainly didn't solve all her troubles, but at least the apology isn't hanging over her head anymore. But.... ow. And whoa. Elrond's hurt that she neglected what she knew and had learned firsthand about his character... his disappointment in her... even his pointing out that the situation with Celebrian didn't apply and therefore was doubly out of line to mention. Ouch. I'm so sad that their relationship has been damaged. I hope that he remembers that she is still quite young comparatively, being what? only 23? Of course the damage, as you've pointed out, could be all on her part in terms of her own shame affecting her. We have a scripture that says, in effect, that after a needed, timely reproof, which this certainly was, one needs to "show forth afterwards an increase in love, let [s]he esteem thee an enemy." Don't know if Elrond is quite up to that, though his kind smile and comments about breakfast show he's definitely trying. I did love him "telling her off" at the end, very much like a father, telling her that she needs to learn to control her temper. Perhaps now she'll finally learn that lesson, (if some evil twisted author will let her!) OH OH OH, and I LOVED the talk that Halladan and Arvain had with her at the beginning of the chapter. It was just so brotherly/friend-ly. Discussing how even in the midst of anger we must not let it control us or we "make mistakes". Such good advice that, like that given at the end by Elrond, is much needed by those of us still in this world, and not just by Penny. And then Halladan alluding to the advice given to him by Penny, that he might not have wanted to hear, but that needed to be said. I was thrilled to see that little glimpse of his feelings about what she'd said to him. Anyway, I am loving more and more the two brothers with Penny, and though I wouldn't mind seeing her and Halladan end up together, I love the relationship as it's developing already. Ok, well, I've rambled on enough. Once again, thanks for posting again so soon, though I see you made no promise on my other request, lol... that you let up on poor Penny a bit. Oh well... pats Penny on the back a bit... I tried. Still loving it, Boz... keep 'em coming! Author Reply: Time will tell in regard to Elrond. I made it clear that things were unclear in this chapter (grin) - in that whatever impression Penny may have had that he was still a little reserved could be entirely her own imagination. Then again, what is said cannot be unsaid. This is a situation that will clarify itself as they journey to and through Rohan. I'm so glad you saw Elrond's response as fatherly - which is exactly how I've seen him in some ways in terms of his relationship to her: patriachal and the one responsible for her. I'm am pleased also that you liked the conversation with the brothers. They have taken to her and she has good strong friends in them - and not just because they feel they owe it to their father.

Fire	Reviewed Chapter: 36 on 7/25/2006
I'm glad that Penny and Elrond were able to have a talk. I think that because of the fact that Elrond has already a lot of experience in dealing with humans he is able to see more clearly about what happend. He knows Penny better than she probably knows herself and is still trying to help her find her way. Author Reply: I think that because of the fact that Elrond has already a lot of experience in dealing with humans he is able to see more clearly about what happend. He knows Penny better than she probably knows herself and is still trying to help her find her way. I think that is a very fair and valid point. Elrond is nothing if not wise and he has a lot of years' experience behind him. Thanks for reading and reviewing. :)

First Page | Previous Page | Next Page | Last Page

Return to Chapter List