Tag: Anonymous

I just realized that Bombur and Alris’s fourth child, Bomfur (Bomfa), has the same name as Bombur’s father. Did he choose it to remember his father? Or did Alris pull an Orla (although since Bomfur is older than Frerinith and Balinith, Orla would have technically been pulling an Alris) and name Bomfur because she knew how much her husband missed his parents?

Bomfur is the name given to them at birth – and Bombur actually chose it. He wanted at least one of his kids to be named for his parents.

(aaaaaand that’s because Bombur had been brought up and had lived in Longbeard society his whole life, with their hereditary family names passed down through the lines, etc. It didn’t seem so out of the norm, though it wasn’t strictly a Broadbeam tradition…)

Oh, I should mention… For the confused – Bomfa is genderfluid! She will accept he/she/they pronouns, and generally braids their beard to show if it is a Bomfa day, or a Bomfur day. They have dyed their moustache a deep emerald green, to show that they are outside the binary. On Bomfa days she braids it full and thick streaming down her chest, with little feminine ringlets and plenty of ringing bells, and paints her eyes and lips in whatever colours she pleases. On Bomfur days it gets coiled in a massive thick plait around his neck, and he wears his Broadbeam-patterned ear-cuffs. And when it’s a day that feels like neither (or both!) Bomf just braids that green moustache in a loop under their nose, and that’s that.

They are also one hell of a silversmith, and to have a piece made by Bomf is to commission a real work of art. Every single thing she makes is totally a reflection of their client’s taste and style and personality. She has a knack for always getting it spot on 😉

May I ask a question about your writing? I’ve noticed that you post your word count for the new chapters, and usually when you hit a certain number you will talk about being close to ready to post. Does the word count have anything to do with when you end a chapter, or is it just about where you think it would be the best place to stop that particular chapter?

Hi Nonnie! Absolutely you may, and thank you for asking so nicely!! *hugs*

Well, mostly I finish the chapter where it feels like it wants to end.

I generally have a shortlist of events that should get finished in the chapter, but on occasion a scene may get so long that one or two events get bumped back to the next chapter.

My chapters have grown in size so much since I began this behemoth! They have at least doubled in length. Whoops.

I aim (ish? It’s not set in stone!) for around 13-15K per chapter these days, including my glossary and endnotes (lol Chapter One was around 4.5K hahahaha). Both Ch29 & Ch30 are around 16K long.

(SORRY fuckthisimgoingtoerebor​ and heuristicdevice​ I AM SO SORRY BOUT THAT SORRYYYYYY) 

Bomris having really nice furniture for the first time ever. Sitting down in a chair that isn’t more sigh and squeak than support. A bed that isn’t far to hard from lack of padding, waking up without a big crick in her back. Having her clothes made new, just for her, instead of buying things second hand or remaking or repairing old things again and again and again.

Ohhhhh :’)

That’s lovely, and very very heartbreaking Nonnie. 

Happy headcanon: Dwalin totally writes back and forth with Bilbo, has done so for years. He lets his kids put in a bit of stuff as well. Frerin scribbles, maybe puts an “F,” Balinith goes on about his newest project (currently growing beans), and Wee Thorin talked about his pie heist for half a page.

I like to think that Dori, Dwalin, Gloin and Bofur & Bombur write to Bilbo on the regular 🙂

(Bombur and Bofur write theirs together!)

Bilbo would giggle at Dwalin’s letters, particularly at Wee Thorin’s descriptions. He knows a young Took who would get on with this Gimizh like a house on fire. Screaming, smoke, people running away – that sort of thing. 

(He’d absolutely write back with a few pointers for Balinith, possibly after a little chat with Hamfast.)

Now I’m imagining Bifur cooking for his mom, and making sure that she gets to enjoy things made with fresh ingredients. Because real, fresh food is such a luxury for many people with limited means. Also giving her all sorts of rarer/more exotic foods. And just. the idea of food safety. It would be such a big deal. No more worrying about where your next meal is coming from. Ori endears himself by getting a bunch of really nice fabric from his parents to give to his mother-in-law.

AUGH NONNIE

Fresh food! Real fresh vegetables, not stored or dried, not last winter’s apples all shrunken and withered, but fresh ones. Soup bones with plenty of meat on them – and you don’t have to reuse them three or four times until they are bleached and dry and bare! Because there are more. There’s more! 

Bomris trying an apricot or a cherry for the first time in her life. Bomris’ eyes widening as she bites into a luxurious pastry covered in jam and cream. “It’s so light,” she would say in astonishment, and Bifur would smile and nod and hand her a glass of real, honest-to-Mahal fruit juice, squeezed that very day.

“Eat up, Amadith, there’s more to follow,” he would say gently.

I just wanted to drop you a note to thank you for the ray of light Sansukh has become in my day to day life, particularly in regards to your parent-child relationships. My mum was recently diagnosed with early onset dementia, and it has turned our worlds upside down. She is my best friend in the whole world, we tell each other everything, and the thought that I am going to slowly lose her over the next few years destroys me. I can’t describe how much Sansukh helps. Thank you so much.

Oh Nonnie. That is so sad, and I feel for you so much. Thank you for telling me.

I hope you and your mum have a wonderful Mother’s Day together, full of love and laughter. 

Once he reached the Halls, Bifur (like many children of poorer parents) did his best to make sure his mom was more appreciated. She got lots of pretty things and stuff to make her more comfortable. Her favorite, however, is having a very large and full pantry – if she is having what she calls a “worrying day” (a reminder of so many years doing without) – she will often go and sit in the pantry and remind herself that she has more than enough.

YES YES YES YES YES *affixes seal of approval*

Being poor is something that affects you for the rest of your life, and you catch yourself making allowances and compromises even when the need for them has been eliminated. 

I love the idea that Bomris would have to develop reminders for herself – there is enough now, there is sufficient, nobody is going to go hungry.

And Bifur would absolutely make sure that his little mother had pretty little things they couldn’t have dreamed of having before.