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During a journey in the dark... by Thundera Tiger	14 Review(s)
songfire	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 6/1/2004
As it is with all of your stories I've read so far, I greatly enjoy it - you have a rare gift for capturing the characters with all their endearing quirks! My thoughts are with you and I hope you will recover fully soon! Author Reply: I thank you very kindly for your concern. I'm doing much better, which is a relief to almost everyone around me. Exhaustion was getting tiring. (Pun partially intended. Feel free to throw things at the computer screen.) And thank you so much for your compliments about characterization. With this story in particular, that's my primary goal. It's difficult to do much else with missing scenes unless you go AU, so I'm glad the characterization is coming across.

Elentari	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 4/4/2004
Two hobbit point of views are indeed preciousssss =)...perhaps the hobbits are relunctant to think of anything too overly pessimistic that will happen... I really like this line: "And perhaps my old Gaffer will grow himself a pair of wings and learn to fly, a small and disturbingly cynical voice in the back of Sam’s mind replied." lol :D very good job Thundera! i hope you feel better! i don't mind the long updates (since you give us sooo much in one chapter) =) I can't wait till how you deal with the Watcher in the Water... can that be in Frodo's point of view? pretty please? yep.. your hobbit point of views aren't bad at all... thanks a lot~ Author Reply: Frodo just barely had a POV. Back-to-back POV's are generally something I avoid doing when there are so many characters in the scene, though it has happened upon occasion. The current outline calls for the Watcher scene to have a Gandalf perspective. But don't worry. When the next Frodo POV comes up, he'll probably relive his little adventure with the tentacles. It's not exactly something that you forget. And I'm glad you understand the long updates. I do try for more frequent ones, but these stories sometimes burn me out, so I have to take breaks. Or I get sick. One or the other.

Kitt of Lindon	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 4/3/2004
I am so, so sorry to hear you were sick. But it certainly made my day seeing this updated! Everyone is still kept beautifuly in canon. Boromir's thoughts on offending the Valor had me chuckling. I like how you lightened Legolas and Gimli's proposal of 'going as far as the mountains'. It seems in fan fiction, people forget about that. I'm greatful for your Tolkien wisdom in writing this. I'm really looking forward to your take on the next parts. Book or movie, by the gate of Moria is one of my favorite parts. I hope you feel better! Author Reply: I've got this plot bunny nibbling at my heals that deals with the possibility of what might have happened had Gimli and Legolas only gone as far as the mountains and no further. There would have been serious ramifications as far as Rohan was concerned, and had they not been there to kill Orcs at Amon Hen, it's possible that Aragorn, Frodo, and Sam might not have escaped unscathed. Strange and random plot bunny, but still interesting. Anyway, I figured I'd remind everyone that some members of this Fellowship weren't in it for the long haul when they first started out. And kudos to you for remember this!

LKK	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 4/2/2004
I'm so sorry to read that you've been sick, Thundera. :-( I hope that writing this chapter didn't put too much strain on your health. Hopefully, it was theraputic in some way. Your illness certainly wasn't evident in the quality of your writing. This chapter was very good. Filled with highs and lows, humor and worry. I laughed out loud at least twice. (Especially after Boromir's comment about offended Valar!) And I was filled with dread several times. There is a lot to comment on regarding the excellence of your writing. But to keep from boring you by droning on and on, I'll only talk about one thing that impresses me. I'm awed at your control of POV. You shift narrators throughout the chapter. But once you've picked a new narrator, you keep a very tight reign on that narrator. Not only in what the narrator can see, hear, and do. But also in he thinks, what he knows, and how he vocalizes the narration. This sounds like such a simple task. But I know from many years of reading that while many authors try, not nearly as many authors succeed. You do. And you succeed amazingly well. :-) I hope you continue to recover, Thundera! Author Reply: Writing was very therapeutic, actually. And thanks for your condolences. I'm getting better, so I'm going to be happy with that for now. Anyway, thanks so much for your compliments about POV. It's one of my favorite tools to use while writing, and I spend a lot of time going back over sections trying to determine if this is really how a character thinks or not. The problem is that sometimes I become so swept up in these characters that I can't tell where my own voice ends and theirs begins, so I have to put the entire thing on hold once in a while just so I can step back and figure out who they are and who I am. It's tedious, but I think it impacts the writing. Thank you so much for picking up on it!

Imrahoil	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 4/1/2004
5 weeks, that's a bit extreme. I hope you're really better now, not only for selfish reasons. :) Wonderful chapter - as always, but it seems no fanfiction writer complains about hearing it more than once -. You do your Tolkien so well that I had to reread the book chapter to be sure what was yours and what was his. That doesn't happen very often. I do so like your hobbits ("I don’t suppose we could stop for a bit of food," Merry said casually. ... "Soon, Master Meriadoc," Gandalf answered, his pace quickening slightly."), Aragorn trying to delude himself and the others was delightful, obviously a first the way he hashed it up, and I love the way you depict Boromir, he is just the way I always imagined him. Well, Gimli is still not in the mines, Eomer still addle brained, Legolas still rotting in a cave, but it is a start after all. Author Reply: I am feeling much better now, thanks for asking. Theoretically I should be at the end of my convalesence, but recovering completely from it might actually take a few more months. Grrr. Ah well. And you are very right. Every fanfiction writer loves to hear the words "wonderful chapter," so thanks for indulging my ego. And thanks for the compliments on blending this with Tolkien. It's part of what makes this such a difficult story to write, because I need to have my own voice but I don't want to interrupt Tolkien. Balance is a tricky thing, and I'm never sure if I've achieved it or not. So thanks for those words!

Hai	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 3/31/2004
It was great to see an update! But I'm sorry you were so sick! I hope you are feeling better and do not have another relapse! This chapter was well worth the wait! You have such a grand way of writing that I just can't wait for more! That was weird all the wargs disappearing. Is there ever a reason for that? I guess it is just suppose to be a weapon of the enemy's. Nasty to have to wade through the slimy water! I know I wouldn't relish and to then have to continue in the same clothes, yuck! I can't wait to read about the Watcher in the Water! Thank you! Author Reply: Thanks for the healthy wishes. I'm being very gentle with myself, so hopefully I'll recover this time. As for all the wargs disappearing...Tolkien never gave us a reason for it and I've always preferred it that way. Which is strange, I guess, but I like the element of mystery and uncertainty that it gives to the story. We're really not sure what kind of forces we're dealing with, and it makes it all the more ominous because of that. The Watcher will be making his/her grand appearance next chapter, so stay tuned.

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 3/31/2004
Okey doke, between the eyeball inflammation, the new minion and my fencing class, I have finally managed to find some time to sit down and write you a little note. I am very glad that you chose to continue this story, and especially that you continued it in the way you did. It's been so long since chapter two that the little bit of recap disguised as recall worked well to ease us back into the setting. I especially enjoyed that it was Boromir. I know you like working with the Three Hunters most, but when you write through Boromir's eyes, the result is enchantingly grumpy and dour. I like your Boromir. The other part of the chapter that really stood out was when you had it be Sam who was especially happy that Legolas would be staying with them. Sam always was so taken with Elves, it's a wonder that so few people (Tolkien included) write about the way he must have felt dealing with Legolas, having "an Elf of his very own" 24-7 for over a month. It's so very Sam to be thinking of his chances to see Elves in the middle of a long journey, and probably one of the few rewards he gets from traipsing along looking after Mr. Frodo. 'Tis all for now. I'm sleepy, and I must get to bed. Author Reply: Ugh. The eyeball inflammation doesn't sound fun. I hope it gets better for you! My many thanks for your comments about Boromir. I do like the Three Hunters, but I've discovered something incredibly endearing about Boromir and he's rapidly becoming one of my favorite characters as far as writing goes. I guess it's because I see him as so different from the rest of the Fellowship, though they're all different in their own ways. But with Boromir, it's easier to make the differences more pronounced. I've often wondered if I'm going too far with him, but no one has objected much yet. So I guess I'm good for now. Take care of that eye! It's all fun and games until you lose it.

fadagaski	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 3/31/2004
Aww! I'm sorry to hear you weren't well, and extraordinarily gleeful to know that you're back on your own two feet once more. And this chapter is surely more than enough to placate any enraged readers! I think you managed to nail the hobbits' POVs, and I really love your Boromir/Aragorn/Legolas dynamic - very ... real, for lack of a better word. claps Looking forward to more. Author Reply: Thanks for your compliments on the hobbits' POVs. I find that out of all the characters, Gandalf and the hobbits are the most difficult for me to write. This is why you'll only rarely see a Gandalf POV paired up with more than one hobbit POV. It takes too much out of me when I try to write them. As for the dynamic between Boromir, Aragorn, and Legolas, I think that had circumstances been otherwise, those three could have done some serious male bonding. Add Gimli into the mix and you've got a foursome that's nearly unstoppable. Unfortunately, fate just wouldn't deal them the right cards, and the friendship that should have existed between Aragorn and Boromir never developed. It's one of the more tragic notes in LotR, but it's something that no one ever really thinks about because Boromir's not around for very long. Anyway, thanks for the review, and I'm glad you've been placated for the moment!

Anso the Hobbit	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 3/31/2004
This is a really great story! So much detail and insight into the thoughts and actions of all the Fellowship members! Thank you for sharing this wonderful gap filler with us! I hope you feel better soon! Author Reply: I hope I feel better soon, and thanks for your wishes. And thank you again for your reviewer. Once in a while, people will stumble upon these stories and forget that they're supposed to be gap-fillers rather than works that stand on their own. They're really just long charater studies, if anything, and that's why I try to put all that detail and insight into it. And when people like you point this out and tell me that it's been noticed and appreciated, it makes me feel as though it's all been worthwhile. Thanks again!

Mysterious Jedi	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 3/30/2004
Good story. I hope you recover. Getting mildly sick so one can miss school for a day or two is not bad, but five weeks of flat-on-your-back sickness is a bit extreme. Author Reply: Yes, five weeks is definitely extreme, and I'm afraid I'm not quite finished with this thing yet. But I'm working on it and I'm taking good care of myself, so that should count for something.

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