I’ve gotten a few really sweet comments on Of Iron that have really made me feel guilty for not updating in… months… so I thought I’d dedicate this Sunday Six to that fic (since, despite appearances, it will continue. Eventually.)
Anyways.
Have my first ever foray into writing Bagginshield. (Well, offscreen Carrock sex Bagginshield, buuut Bagginshield nonetheless.)
(this gif is fucking amazing. I could stare at it forever.)
I would read this forever, I don’t mind saying. THIS PREMISE SOUNDS INCREDIBLE. Fab culture-building, Dwarves being shit-hot and awesome (and esp Gimli in particular) – plus bonus dancing Dwalin and a terriflustered Legolas?
Definitely I think the lyrics would be changed around to fit whoever is approaching Rivendell. I mean, the words specifically reference Bilbo, Balin and Dwalin (in the first rendition, not the second one.)
O! What are you doing, And where are you going? Your ponies need shoeing! The river is flowing! O! tra-la-la-lally here down in the valley!
O! What are you seeking, And where are you making? The faggots are reeking, The bannocks are baking! O! tril-lil-lil-lolly the valley is jolly, ha! ha!
O! Where are you going With beards all a-wagging? No knowing, no knowing What brings Mister Baggins And Balin and Dwalin down into the valley in June ha! ha!
O! Will you be staying, Or will you be flying? Your ponies are straying! The daylight is dying! To fly would be folly, To stay would be jolly And listen and hark Till the end of the dark to our tune ha! ha!
The second time, it’s a bit more generic – no doubt the tune is nearly or exactly the same as the first, though? Tolkien’s exact words are ‘As they rode down the steep path, Bilbo heard the elves still singing in the trees, as if they had not stopped since he left; and as soon as the riders came down into the lower glades of the wood they burst into a song of much the same kind as before.’
The dragon is withered, His bones are now crumbled; His armour is shivered, His splendour is humbled! Though sword shall be rusted, And throne and crown perish With strength that men trusted And wealth that they cherish, Here grass is still growing, And leaves are yet swinging, The white water flowing, And elves are yet singing Come! Tra-la-la-lally! Come back to the valley!
The stars are far brighter Than gems without measure, The moon is far whiter Than silver in treasure; The fire is more shining On hearth in the gloaming Than gold won by mining, So why go a-roaming? O! Tra-la-la-lally Come back to the Valley.
O! Where are you going, So late in returning? The river is flowing, The stars are all burning! O! Whither so laden, So sad and so dreary? Here elf and elf-maiden Now welcome the weary With Tra-la-la-lally Come back to the Valley, Tra-la-la-lally Fa-la-la-lally Fa-la!
The metre is nearly the same, though the verses are of different lengths. That’s easy enough to adapt, though, particularly if it’s an already existing song.
((Nonnie, you do realise that this question has made me wonder: HOW DID THEY CHANGE IT FOR WHEN GIMLI AND GLOIN FIRST CAME TO RIVENDELL, were they nice to my bab or were they shady as a tree jkshdgfkja i may need to write this))
Sansukh, funnily enough. When I read a fic that’s REALLY GOOD, complete or not, it gets added to my “daydream fuel” pile. I always loved the accidental voyuerism trope – and not in a sexy way. I mean, character A learns something critical about character B because they witness it in action. (Maybe character B whips out a skill, or Character A overhears/sees character B getting bullied/picked on, or something like that). Point is, having Thorin’s commentary on the LOTR? Priceless.
ALSO, I had just read Through the Gloaming and had been binging gigolas stuff. SO, So.
So.
I started daydreaming. What if it was in reverse? What would Gimli say if he could see the Hobbit? Since time was working against me, death became TIme Travel, and for neatness’s sake, Old Gimli in Young Gimli.
Since Hobbit Big Bang is posting at last, I can finally reveal to all of you one of the few podfics I managed to complete during the last month of dissertation hell: a podfic of @determamfidd‘s beautiful Gigolas story From One Age to Another, which describes Gloin and Thranduil reacting to the discovery of their sons’ relationship. This podfic is made much more awesome than it would be otherwise by @hobbitystmarymorstan’s amazing cover art (sorry, tumblr is not letting me tag you properly here for some reason). Happy Hobbit Big Bang, folks!
Aw Yiss 