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Your Heart Will Be True  by Write Sisters 2 Review(s)
ImbecamielReviewed Chapter: 24 on 4/11/2006
*sniffs* This is a wonderful chapter… Explains a lot of things… But… YOU KILLLED TIRIN! Why must you do that to me? It’s not fair! You manage to create such wonderful characters that I love them in less than one chapter, AND THEN YOU KILL THEM! *sobs* I suppose telling you he’s too cool to die wouldn’t help? *sniffles* Fine then, I’ll just… Um… go on with the review, I guess.

*clears throat* Ahem, yeah… Well then, in case you hadn’t gathered it already, I absolutely love Tirin. Though how you managed to make me love him before I’d reached the tenth paragraph is beyond me. *shakes head* Let me know when your first original pieces are published, will you? I’m gonna be first in line. If you don’t conspire to kill me by cliffy before then, that is.

It’s just so sad, so terribly hard to see… Tindu is so sweet and straightforward herself that she just can’t imagine anyone else being less so. It reminds me a lot of a quote from one of Baroness Orczy’s ’Scarlet Pimpernel’ books: “Blakeney was one of those men who are so absolutely loyal and straight, that they simply cannot conceive treachery in a friend.”

*gulps* Oh… And all of this with Vardnauth is going on at the same time as Celebrian got captured by orcs?! Talk about heaping one trouble on top of another… Just one or the other situation is a huge emotional strain, and potentially catastrophic crisis. And they get both at the same time!

Oh I do love Haldir, and Tirin, and Rumil, and Orophin together! Wah, why did you have to split them up by killing him? Isn’t it sad enough knowing Haldir dies?! *tries very hard not to burst into tears* You’ve managed to make me like Rumil, Haldir, and Orophin even more than I did before! And yes, Rumil and Orophin most certainly do have a fan base! Though... I rather suspect it's not very big, considering I know... three people who are really big fans. And one of those is me. And the other is my sister. Sad, really... *g*

You have done *so* well with Galadriel! LOL, she’s one of those characters that just the *thought* of trying to write is enough to intimidate me. And you haven’t even stayed within the relatively “safe” realm of her normal behavior where you’ve got the books and what’s been done before to draw on. You’ve shown her at one of the very hardest moments of her life, and made her - and her pain - very real, without compromising the regal dignity that we see in LOTR. She is so beautiful, and you've done such an incredible job showing her vulnerability at this point!

And I still can't believe you killed Tirin. If you *have* to write something like this, the least you could do is not write it QUITE so well. It’s just too sad! And Orophin’s almost childlike disbelief that his father could have actually been *defeated* like that… I think I’m going to cry. Again...

Oh man. That - was - stupid. It certainly says a lot about just how arrogant Vardnauth is, that he would even think of attempting to hurt Galadriel. And when he’d just barely got his power, much less really figured out what he had or how to handle it! Galadriel was so awesome, though. I just wish she could’ve killed him! *clobbers Tirin-killing Vardnauth*

//"Keep it," he hissed over her sobs as she sank to the ground. Her tears fell between her ink stained fingers and spattered the floor. "Study it. Mayhap you'll fade faster than the memories."// He is just… just… *shivers* He is CREEPY! Man… Ok, he had *got* to die. *clobbers him again* Heh... *surveys limp villain* Um, you aren't going to need him for a while, are you? Hmm... I guess my lovely visit to the dentist's put me in a rather violent mood. *Vardnauth: You don't say.* Yes, actually, I do. *smacks Vardnauth again for good measure*

Wow. Poor *everyone*! Haldir's line, though... //Haldir's voice was quiet. "Aye. For with all that, what I would mete out to him would be vengeance, not justice. If he stood in front of me at this moment, I would gladly cut him into pieces for the carrion birds— Thus I cannot trust myself on such a hunt."// Oh, I just love that reaction! That is just beautiful - perfect.

Wonderful, wonderful chapter, as always! Very much looking forward to more!

-Cami


P.S. Whoops… Sorry about the double posting of my last review. Heh, I thought I’d stopped it in time to keep it from doing that, but apparently not :-P

P.P.S. I’m curious… How do you and Hannah write together? When you're writing together, are there certain parts that one or the other of you tend to do? Or is it mostly just a matter of which one of you feels like doing a part at the moment? LOL, or both? Are there some parts that you both sit down and write together, or does one of you always write it out first, and then get input and adjustments? *is very nosy and curious* *g*

Author Reply: *hugs Cami so hard, both of their glasses fall off* No, really, that isn't half of how pleased I was to get your review! Never mind that I really wasn't sure how well this particular chapter would go over (no Aragorn or Legolas in it, and so many new characters all at once), and never mind that I was feeling swamped and rather like I wished we were already done posting, but the fact was: it was just about the best review I've ever had. So now I'm floating six inches off the ground, and feeling relieved, and perky, and not so tired anymore. Thanks! *hugs Cami again and gives her back her glasses*

Okay, firstly: our sincere apologies for Tirin's demise! This is the third time this has happened, and I suppose we should have seen it coming, but every time we create a character — knowing from the beginning that he/she is not going to live long — it pretty much guarantees that everyone will fall in love with him/her, and thus hate us when he/she perishes! Bother and confusticate it all! Still, it is a very sincere compliment that they (you) got attached so fast, and thus I cannot help but thank you for liking Tirin… even while I look uncommonly guilty…

*blushes to the roots of her hair* I don't know if I have the skill to ever actually be published, but the compliment is a high one indeed! *bounces a little* Huh… I wonder if we get inspired by characters when we know we won't be able to keep them long. That could explain a lot… *grins* And I would hate to kill you by cliffy! *bestows Cami with grappling hooks and emergency rations*

You might find this funny: Tindu was, as I mentioned in that one authors' note, originally based on myself. When her role was expanded, she began to look less and less like me, but a few of her personality traits are still exaggerated forms of my own, and it is a running joke between Hannah and I that I tend to gloss over peoples' faults too much. If you have ever seen the A&E version of 'Pride and Prejudice', you will understand the humor of the following: I had experienced some difficult run-ins with some people at our local theater and, anxious as I was not to cause a stir, I had been too much of a push-over. Later in our bedroom I was in the middle of rationalizing the behavior of all concerned when Hannah said briskly, "You suppose wrongly, Jane." *grins* Hannah doesn't let herself get pushed around, it is obvious to say, and she keeps an eye on me too (thankfully).

Anyhow, I remember that line from Scarlet Pimpernel, and you're right! On the one hand it is a good trait — overlooking people's faults — but it wasn't wise of her to ignore Tirin's advice either, as this situation all-too-aptly showed.

Hey, there are worse characters you could love! Personally, I've always liked the three brothers too — hence my alter-ego being their aunt — though I don't think I would have ever classed myself a true fan, mostly because (unfortunately) there simply wasn't much known about them. It was great fun writing them, and if that enjoyment showed through at all, then I'm glad!

Oh, believe me, the thought of writing Galadriel terrified me as well! She was always so much larger than life, and a girl besides…. *rueful grin* Fortunately, Hannah and I had spent so much time concocting the details of this flashback, I was really keen to finally write out all the things we had discussed. It put me in the right mood, I suppose — at any rate, I steamed straight through and then sat back on the other end and realized, wide-eyed, that I'd just tackled a whole bunch of Lady of the Wood scenes I never thought I'd have the gumption to try. I altered very little of my first draft, so I'm pleased beyond words that it all fit her character!

*looks guilty again* Like I said, I'm sorry about making so many people sad over Tirin! Naturally, we were trying for that on a certain level. We needed to make it clear what kind of a creature Vardnauth was, and this was the only way we could think to explain where he goes from here (see Chapter 25 for details). In a way we surprised ourselves by how nice Tirin turned out, and suddenly in our own eyes, his death was a lot worse than it had been. Perhaps that explains Orophin's reaction…

That's an important point about Vardnauth: for all his cunning, he has a bad habit of underestimating people. Hmmm. *pensive face* That was my favorite part of Galadriel's to write! I had this exact picture in my head of what that scene looked like, and I really wanted to force it into black lines on white paper.

*grins at Vardnauth-clobbering Cami* So long as he's still alive when you're done, we don't have a problem with a black eye or two. Or a bloody nose… Or bruised shins, actually. *smiles*

And a final 'thank you' regarding Haldir's line! I'm going to post more tonight if it kills me! *grin* And if it does, I guess Hannah will post the rest — the beauty of there being two of us!

And speaking of which: No worries, we love questions! Let's see, first of all we talk. A LOT. Before anything goes onto paper, we gab about the characters we want to include, how long we want it to be, and especially: what's the main difficulty they are overcoming, what is the motivation of the villain, and how much can we stress Aragorn and Legolas out? *innocent look* Once we've hammered down the basics of the plot, we write out a summary and rough draft a timeline. We talk more — usually late at night when we're both in our beds with the lights off. We flesh out the timeline, change things, make sure our beginning, middle, and end are reasonably solid, and there aren't any major holes in need of filling. Then we divide it up. Our timeline entries are based around events, so we'll pick and choose which events we want to write. Hannah usually writes most of the major angst and torture scenes, I usually write most of the romance and major battle scenes — but in the end we each take turns at everything. We start writing. Hannah likes to write in a linear fashion, I like to write whatever I'm in the mood for, and happily both our styles work with the timeline as our main reference. As we write, we toss around more ideas, flesh things out completely, and frequently add whole plot twists (usually the job of Hannah), or discover holes in character motivation that need fixing (usually my job). One rule is that we only *read* each other's stuff in a linear fashion, so that we can keep the flow of the story straight in our heads. Sometimes my habit of writing ahead gets me into trouble here and I have to edit what I've written to account for changes in earlier chapters (example: I've written the ending chapters for all of our stories to date, and almost every time I've written them when we had only finished writing the first six or seven chapters). We give each other feedback as we go — which is one of the best parts of the co-writing deal, because it keeps us interested and eager to write more for the sake of the other person (even if, for our own part, we'd just assume quit). We offer suggestions, we add characters, we tweak the plot in little ways to surprise each other… *evil grin* Thus the story is finished, and I get to edit it up! Ta-Da!

Hmmm… Okay, that may have been more than you wanted to know! But like I said: we like to talk a lot. *grins*

Thanks for a fantastic review!!

RSReviewed Chapter: 24 on 4/8/2006
This has got to be the saddest and the most frustrating chapter I have read thus far!

I did not want Tirin to die! He's only been introduced in this chapter and I've already grown to like him! And then he dies! AARRGGHH! By that monster Vardnauth! I got emotional reading this chapter--I don't know why! I am angry and Tindu for doubting her brother and now she has to live the rest of her life knowing that the last words they had with each other was an argument about the person who killed him!!! "Mayhap you'll fade faster than the memories"?? OOHHH! That vicious, cocky SOB!! Orophin is in shock at finding his dead father that he cannot do anything but stare and let Varnauth go and here I am thinking "STOP HIM!! KILL HIM!!"

Poor Galadriel! I cannot fathom what she's going through! Seeing this vision and not being able to stop it. Vardnauth was getting a little too confident to think that he was able to overpower Galadriel. There was at least satisfaction for me there.

I guess I'm a little bit irritated that Haldir did not let his emotions go and that he kept them in check! His ADA died! There was no time for sorrow; he took over his Ada's position and had to be in control of everything...including his emotions! My insides were all twisted reading this. I want revenge for Tirin!..and for Arwen! I'm sure the list will grow!

Author Reply: *ponders what correct opening response would suit here* Erm... Sorry? Thank you? *gives in to gut response and hugs RS* Involved outrage on an OCs part is high praise indeed! *grins*

Okay, so we really are sorry about Tirin! This is another one of those dreadful occasions where we created a character, knowing from the beginning what was going to happen to him, and we just sort of figured that there wouldn't be time in one chapter for people to get attached to him. Oops... And yes, Tindu made one whopper of a misjudgment there, with some really awful results.

If we did nothing else with this, we removed all chance that people will retain fondness for Vardnauth (as if anyone liked him in the first place). In fact, I get the feeling that we may not even get a chance to kill off our villain -- the mob may beat us to him.

Glad you enjoyed Galadriel standing up to him, at least! Talk about underestimating his opponent -- it's a problem that may cause him trouble yet.

You're right, it's sad that Haldir had to put aside his feelings and go right back to work. This was sort of our explanation for why Haldir (at least in the movies) is rather a tough nut to crack -- friendly enough to people he knows, but not very relaxed around strangers. His point, though, was that taking revenge and killing Vardnauth would feel satisfying in the moment, but would put a burden on his conscience which would ultimately consume him. He couldn't trust himself to find a middle ground and capture Vardnauth without giving in and executing him.

Not to worry, though! Evil beings never escape -- not really.

Thanks for the review!! More on the way...

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