Reviews (182)

Bodkin · 30 October 2005 · Chapter 28: The Gulf Widens

Well. I suppose one must Be Patient with suffering males. Massage their tender little egos. Allow them time to heal. Kick their self-centred little behinds. Oh no, sorry. Arwen and Eowyn are nurturing them. For now. How much misunderstanding could be avoided in the world, one wonders, if only people acquired not only the skills of talking, but of listening. Of course, there would be fewer stories. Which would be a bad thing. So maybe this current angst is a good thing!

French Pony · 29 October 2005 · Chapter 28: The Gulf Widens

The women have the right idea here. They're practical and honest, telling the truth about what happened with Popsicle Aragorn and demanding that he rest and not take on more than he can handle. If only their men would wise up. Éomer we can sort of forgive, since head injury tends to come with a side order of personality problems, but Aragorn and Faramir are Not Helping. Especially Faramir's woe-is-me attitude, which must be irritating Éomer even more. Listen to the ladies, for they are wise.

Lady Jaina · 26 October 2005 · Chapter 27: A Sad Awakening

You are very diligent about updating. I love angst and remorse, so this chapter was a FEAST!! Keep up the amazing work! I cannot wait to find out what happens next!

Bodkin · 26 October 2005 · Chapter 27: A Sad Awakening

Men! They're both agonising over matters that could be resolved if only either would say one or two of the things on their mind! Aragorn could have done the brotherly kiss thing - and delicately told him that his obvious injuries were the worst of it. And Faramir could have commented on how he felt he had betrayed his king - and then wham!!!! all the agony could have been released. But no! Too easy. Still - where would authors be without misunderstandings!

French Pony · 25 October 2005 · Chapter 27: A Sad Awakening

Faramir has certainly been through quite an ordeal, and it is completely understandable that he's still feeling fragile and depressed. I have the feeling that Aragorn is not the person he needs right now. Aragorn is too close to him and wants nothing more than to spare him any further pain. Faramir needs another healer, someone who will tell him the complete, unvarnished truth and not treat him like a china doll. I think Faramir does have a tendency to slip into a certain amount of self-pity, and having Aragorn fussing over him and backing off at the slightest provocation isn't going to help that any.

Stefania · 24 October 2005 · Chapter 12: A Dangerous Procedure

Gak, Linda. That procedure is gruesome. And good job for making the scene in Aragorn's surgery very believable. You did a great job of ramping up the tension. It's interesting that the Anglo Saxons were performing brain surgeries. I know that the Ancient Romans and Ancient Egyptians had this knowledge, but I thought it was lost to European healers after the fall of Rome. - Steff

Bodkin · 24 October 2005 · Chapter 26: A Crisis and Divers Conversations

Eomer does need a good slapping. And Eowyn is just the sister to do it. He is not showing himself or the Rohirrim at their best. Faramir is a bit better - but there's a long way to go yet. And everyone who is conscious is wallowing in guilt a bit. Well, except Eomer, who is busy blaming others. I'm glad Arwen knows all about it now. She has sense!

harrowcat · 24 October 2005 · Chapter 26: A Crisis and Divers Conversations

Am still following and enjoying this Linda but positivly can't wait for each update of your story on the other site. Am so glad that we have finally got to see that Aragorn is really alive. I wanted to conk Faramir on the head to make him believe Arwen.

French Pony · 23 October 2005 · Chapter 26: A Crisis and Divers Conversations

Go Aedred! Talk some sense into Aragorn! This crisis appears to be passing, if Aragorn can find it in him to be bothered by a load of paperwork. It's a good thing that he finally told Arwen the full truth. Too much blood has been shed on account of people not knowing the full truth. I still maintain that Éowyn is not at fault in this incident, since she chose not to send the letter, which was the sensible choice. That secretary will need to pay. I sense that there is a long and complex backstory here that I do not know.

Lady Jaina · 23 October 2005 · Chapter 25: The Fateful Letter

AH!! Another wonderful chapter...you do have such a knack for writing...

Bodkin · 23 October 2005 · Chapter 25: The Fateful Letter

Poor Aragorn. I'm not surprised he's at the edge. It's about time some of these people learned a bit about the value of talking to each other. They're good with their swords - but they haven't learned anything about more subtle communications. Arwen needs to get training them - once she's recovered from the birth.

Raksha The Demon · 22 October 2005 · Chapter 25: The Fateful Letter

What Aragorn should have done was grab Eomer and put him over his knee and spank him like the vicious brat Eomer had become. Though it was a major milestone of Human Stupidity for Aragorn not to specify that he wanted Faramir taken to his waiting room, not the City jail. I do feel sorry for Aragorn, sitting by his badly injured friend when he should be with Arwen and allowed to enjoy his newborn son.

French Pony · 21 October 2005 · Chapter 25: The Fateful Letter

What is Éowyn blaming herself for? She did nothing worse than to write a pissy letter that she thought better of later and didn't send. She's not to blame for this. Éomer is to blame for flying off the handle. Aragorn is to blame for abandoning Faramir. And the secretary is to blame for sending a six-month-old letter bomb like that in the first place without checking with Faramir and Éowyn first. I don't notice anyone blaming the secretary.

Bodkin · 20 October 2005 · Chapter 24: The Best of Times,the Worst of Times

If Eomer and Faramir were slightly less unwell, I'd be tempted to lock them in a room with a seriously irate Eowyn and let her bring them to a sense of their own male stupidity. But they are both in a bad way - and so the situation will be bound to take much longer to sort out. Only I think they all - all - need to learn the value of talking before they act.

Raksha The Demon · 18 October 2005 · Chapter 23: A Child is Born

A good, realistic look at childbirth that is neither too graphic nor too sugary. With such rules as a King's child not being allowed to be suckled or properly clothed until acknowledged by its father, it's no wonder that Anarion's male line died out - some babies could take fatal chills, or other damage from being denied nourishment, especially if the babies arrived unexpectedly early and the father was away...

French Pony · 18 October 2005 · Chapter 24: The Best of Times,the Worst of Times

Go Éowyn! Give Aragorn what he deserves! And “Can I not leave you and Faramir for less than a day without some disaster occurring?” was a wonderful line. Our King is starting to lose it here. Fortunately, he has realized that today is Arwen's special day, so points to him for that. But he really handled Éowyn poorly. Interrupting that rather important conversation with Éomer about her honor was a mistake. Éomer doesn't really need drugs to calm him down; he needs to have a rational talk with his sister, who could probably do just as good a job. And, of course, the misunderstanding will continue. "Incandescent with rage" is a great description of Éowyn. I can so see her glowing bright red. I really like her in this story. She takes no guff from nobody.

Bodkin · 17 October 2005 · Chapter 23: A Child is Born

Yay, Eldarion has arrived! And the lords and councillors have inspected him and announced him to be a baby. And Arwen has almost forgiven Aragorn already! Though not enough to announce an intention of having ten children. Nice to focus on something less harrowing for a moment. But hopefully Faramir's heart rate is settling down and he is stabilising.

French Pony · 16 October 2005 · Chapter 23: A Child is Born

All these traditions, rules, and regulations. . . it's a wonder any ruler of Gondor ever got any reproducing done at all. It's always weird to think of formalities and babies. They just don't belong in the same dimension. Arwen has done well, so mazel tov to her. “My love, he is so beautiful, thank you!” he whispered. “Was the pain very bad?” I think Aragorn is lucky to have escaped with his family jewels still intact after that remark. Fortunately, Arwen loves him.

Lady Jaina · 15 October 2005 · Chapter 22: Behold the Man !

great job...I'm looking forward to reading more!

French Pony · 15 October 2005 · Chapter 22: Behold the Man !

I have a feeling that those Rohirrim who tried to storm Faramir's room will be in deep trouble once everyone is awake and healing. They had absolutely no right to do that, and they could well have caused an international incident. It's a good thing Aragorn is still on his feet at this point. That was a close call with Eomer. (By the way, I caught one typo -- it's "skull fracture," not "scull fracture.") It's beginning to look more and more like Aragorn is completely indispensable to the healers of Gondor. After this is over, he'll have a hard time returning to actually running the country, since the healers will be begging for his attention constantly.

Bodkin · 15 October 2005 · Chapter 22: Behold the Man !

Booting the Rohirric attackers back across the border could be on the one hand quite a gentle response to the fact that they have accosted the king in his own palace and hurt his guard, but on the other hand hasten the arrival of an army baying for blood. I'm glad Eomer is looking a bit better - he really ought to learn to speak to people before using his sword. I hope Eowyn, when free, manages to beat some sense into him. And Arwen'll be pretty glad to have this baby - eighteen hours! If Eowyn wasn't already pregnant, she might end up choosing to remain childless. The day will end eventually, Aragorn. It just feels endless.

Bodkin · 12 October 2005 · Chapter 21: Labour and Strife

Gondor is clearly too hidebound a society. They need a King who was a ranger and a Queen who is an elf to jar them up a bit. And a Lady of Ithilien with a large and very sharp sword mightn't be a bad thing either. I hope Arwen has the confidence to change all the rules by the time she has number two. And the Rohirrim are being exceedingly over-excitable and a pain in the neck - with the only one who can slap them back (apart from Eomer) locked up in attendance on the queen. Poor Aragorn. I'm surprised he's still standing.

French Pony · 10 October 2005 · Chapter 21: Labour and Strife

Oh, good. I wondered when we'd be getting back to Arwen. Scandalized Ioreth aside, she seems to be doing just fine. Back to the boys. Clearly, the Rohirrim are bereft without their leader. They're listening to rumors and refusing to consider alternative explanations. This sort of thing usually leads to somebody being sklonked over the head sooner or later. Sigh. Occasionally, people like this make you just want to hit them with a very large stick with "revenge is a dish best served cold" written on it in large letters.

Stefania · 10 October 2005 · Chapter 3: Sackcloth and Ashes

Hey Linda, I know that you have posted this tale elsewhere earlier, so I'm not the first to tell you this, but here goes ... Your story so far is a riot. I'm forewarned that it's going to get dark, but for right now I'm really enjoying the comedy. - Steff (aka StefaniaB)

Jay of Lasgalen · 9 October 2005 · Chapter 20: Pain and Confusion

Aragorn's not at his best, is he? He's so distracted by all that's happened he forgets the athelas until it's nearly too late, and neglects to reassure Faramir about what's happening. Has anyone thought to tell Éowyn that her husband and brother are both at death's door? I think she might appreciate it. Blow Arwen - she's needed elsewhere right now.