Inkling
· 26 October 2005
· Chapter 5: Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
Oh, hurrah—this is back! I’d was wondering if we’d ever see it again but didn’t like to, y’know, nag…
So funny to see Bilbo mortified by his uncle, little imagining his own future role as “Mad Baggins”!
I’m with Gandalf—my heart goes out to poor Isengar, though I still suspect he’s saner than everyone gives him credit for.
Soooo…how’s that Tenth Walker doing? (NOT nagging, just asking about his health! *grin*)
Author's reply
Yes, it's back, and it's okay to nudge on a story (nagging, now, that's another story--I have a contrary streak as wide as my back, sad to say). Tenth Walker had slipped my mind, and I hadn't looked at my list of unfinished stories in awhile to see what needed work. Working with a beta on "Healer's Tale" sort of put that one at the top of the priority list.
I wrote this chapter of "Winter" mainly to cool down from the angst in "Just Desserts"; I needed something a little lighter to avoid hitting a brick wall and leaving that awful cliffhanger... hanging, for want of a better word. (Hopefully it'll be resolved in a new chapter planned to be posted tonight. Oh, but we're not talking about *that* story! I forgot for a minute which reviews I was answering!)
I sort of got hijacked by a certain healer and the pressing demands of life and had to let this one simmer for a little while, to let the flavours blend. And it's easier to write about shivery weather when the weather is truly shivery! (I wrote the hothothot weather when it was... you guessed it... hot.)
Thanks!
Bodkin
· 26 October 2005
· Chapter 5: Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
Courtesy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary:-
pray
· v.
1 address a prayer to God or another deity.
2 wish or hope earnestly for a particular outcome.
· adv. formal or archaic used in polite requests or questions: pray continue.
– ORIGIN ME: from OFr. preier, from late L. precare, alt. of L. precari ‘entreat’.
Author's reply
Aha. That is what I thought.
I had someone earnestly tell me that the original phrase was "prey tell" and it had something to do with hunting in Medieval times. But I haven't been able to find any info to back that up.
Thanks!
Bodkin
· 26 October 2005
· Chapter 5: Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
I love seeing young Bilbo. I don't think I've ever read another young Bilbo story. He is really rather a sweetie. I like his good manners - he'll be the toast of the market traders. Unlike Siggy - who is a bit too much the Thain's grandson. Just a touch too cocky.
Poor Isengard. There's a lot of pain in his story, I'm sure. He needs to have a few affectionate young Tooks who are interested in his stories rather than embarrassed by him. It's one thing being a disreputable old relative - and quite another being a disreputable and despised old relative. Fingers crossed the old man in grey (Gandalf, I take it) is able to do something about it on his way to corrupting another generation of adventurous Tooks.
Oh and "prey tell" and "pray tell". Pray tell. Because you are using 'pray' in the sense of asking as you ask somebody to impart information.
Author's reply
I don't remember reading about young Bilbo, either, though there may be stories out there. (And I may even have read one or more of them. My brain is not working well at all at the moment, and it's a wonder I can write and keep track of story threads and continuity. Huh. Perhaps I can't, but only think I can, and I will read this a month or six from now, whenever it'll be that I can get the migraines under control again, and kick myself.)
I know the first I ever thought about him was in the first and last chapters of "Shire".
Somehow I see Bilbo as being raised with an emphasis on good manners. I don't know if it's from my first glimpse of him in "The Hobbit" or something else.
Poor Isengard. There is an awful lot of pain in his story, some of which will come out if I manage things properly. Things are about to get very rough, but after that I hope they'll get better. I think Gandalf feels partly responsible for what happened to Isengard, but he's been rather busy of late. He probably wouldn't be making this visit now, if he weren't bringing news.
Thanks!
Dreamflower
· 26 October 2005
· Chapter 5: Baa, Baa, Black Sheep
I love this glimpse of Bilbo at that stage of adolescence where he can't embarass himself, but anything someone who's with him does causes intense mortification. (I can remember my son being thoroughly embarassed in the library one day by my mild suggestion that it was time to leave, LOL!)
I see you've also paired Bilbo with Sigismond as good friends--makes sense with them so close in age (same year on the famiy tree, I think.)
And *whoo-hoo* looks like Gandalf is making an appearance!
What a treat to find this in the wee hours!
Author's reply
Glad to brighten your wee hours!
I am up much too early after being up so late, but my inner clock is set to arise before this time, so I am royally messing myself up it seems.
I figured Siggy and Bilbo would either be best friends or worst enemies, and chose to go the "friends" route. Although that doesn't preclude disagreements and even fisticuffs!
I am having the dickens of a time finding the difference between "prey tell" and "pray tell". I'm seeing both equally sprinkled throughout google. Haven't been able to pin down the etymology (that means "word origin", doesn't it?) of the phrase. Do you happen to know?
Yep, it's the Old Man in Grey himself. He is, after all, responsible for so many lads and lasses going off and having adventures. (Had to write a bit on a lighter topic to alleviate the angst in the Glisters sequel, whew.)
Anso the Hobbit
· 7 July 2005
· Chapter 4: From the journal of Fortinbras Took, S.R. 1158
It can be hard to remember winter`s chill on a very hot day. Those hobbits reminds me of us Norwegians, lol. Despite the hot day we stay outside because it`s sun and warm and how it`s supposed to be. And then we ask when it`s going to rain because the nice summer can`t possibly last (and rarely does either). :D
Author's reply
And now you're having very chilly weather, indeed...
*hugs and hot cider and warm snuggly blankets and a roaring fire on the hearth and a good book to read*
Bodkin
· 3 July 2005
· Chapter 4: From the journal of Fortinbras Took, S.R. 1158
If it is too hot to ride a pony, is it not too hot to send a grandson?
Answer: no. Ponies cost money. Grandsons come without direct payment.
Though the hot summer definitely augurs the bad winter.
Author's reply
Ah, that makes things very clear. I'll pass that on to Fortinbras.
Why is it that a hot summer augurs a bad winter? It was the same in Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Long Winter". Of course, we cannot have any old "Indians" walking into the scene, warning about the bad winter to come with sign language. Will have to figure out some other device.
Dreamflower
· 2 July 2005
· Chapter 4: From the journal of Fortinbras Took, S.R. 1158
Poor abused Fortinbras, having to run errands for his grandfather! What horrible fate will the old Thain deal out next? LOL! You've painted the perfect picture of aggrieved youth! *giggle*
Author's reply
Thanks for the quick review!
Poor abused, put-upon youth. There really ought to be a law...
Anso the Hobbit
· 21 June 2005
· Chapter 2: From the Frying Pan into the Fire
Not easy being a young hobbit when the Thain`s got his eyes on you! I laughed out loud at the journal entry though! :D
Author's reply
Yes, I'd say Bilbo took a page out of his ancestor's book!
Inkling
· 15 June 2005
· Chapter 2: From the Frying Pan into the Fire
So why am I reading this, and not the gazillion MEFA stories I should be reading? Well, it’s very quirky and appealing. And there aren’t many stories featuring young Bilbo and his parents (that I’ve seen, anyway). But it’s probably because I couldn’t resist the chance to get in on one of your tales at the beginning for a change, rather than having 30 or so chapters to catch up with! ;)
I really like Isengar…for a looney, he seems pretty sharp to me. I suspect he will get to be heroic during the Fell Winter…
p.s.—And *ahem* if I may just offer my own humble opinion, cuke sandwiches ROCK!
Author's reply
O I know, and I ought to be reading MEFA stories as well, but my eyes are tired, the past few days, and so I will go early to bed and hope for better tomorrow.
And I know that the "writing mood" will pass. It always does. And then, with the writing dried up for the moment, it'll be good to spend my computer time reading and commenting. One story, for sure, that I want to re-read and vote on is Thundera Tiger's "When the Ring Went South". That was one of the very first pieces of fanfic I ever read! I tried to vote on it last year, but it hadn't been nominated. LOL!
And is your story in the pool? I think it is, but I forget. There's another good reason to move it up on my want-to-read list, besides the poignant sound bite clipped from the second Epilogue that I read on an email loop.
My goodness, you have very good instincts. How did you know? Isengar is pretty sharp, even with his eccentricities. Or maybe he's eccentric because he's so bright?
Thanks!
Author Reply: p.s. I like cuke sandwiches if the cukes are very very fresh, the bread is sliced thin and the butter is unsalted.
Dreamflower
· 14 June 2005
· Chapter 2: From the Frying Pan into the Fire
I love the entry that we finally get from Bilbo. Of course it consisted of the most important thing: what he had for tea. And I like your Bungo very much. He sounds like a good father.
Author's reply
I figure that whatever else he may be, Bungo has got to be likeable. And I think he must love books. I'm still feeling my way, looking at Bilbo's character and position (What must it be like, for Bungo as a Baggins, to marry the daughter of the Thain of Tookland? The Thain could be just a farmer working in his field, bearing an honorary title, but not the way I've set up the Shire in my stories. Sometimes I want to go back and re-create it all over again, just for fun, without the elaborate society. Wonder what it would be like?), and trying to discern more about his parents through... what is it called, induction? or deduction? Something like that.
Thanks!
Bodkin
· 14 June 2005
· Chapter 2: From the Frying Pan into the Fire
I have a very strong hope that Bilbo gets over his fear of poor Uncle Isengar - who seems to me to be a very lonely hobbit, in great need of an affectionate nephew to listen to his tales and look on him as an interesting person in his own right.
Bilbo could have become an Isengar - except for a few lucky breaks. His own smial for one. Plenty of dragon gold for another. Good health for a third.
Bilbo is a smart hobbit, though. He managed to keep his secret - I liked the by-play about setting up a profitable trade in journals - and still get his tea before he had to write his journal entry. Unsurprisingly food based.
This is a fun story - although my heart is bleeding for Isengar.
Author's reply
I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I'm afraid Isengar is a tragic figure, though he will have his moments to shine, and he will have some comfort along the way, and at the last, in his ending. But that's a long time in coming, and there will be some very rough parts along the way, I'm sorry to say. I wish the story had written itself in a different direction. I have to look forward to the end, and certain bright spots that happen before the end, or my heart would break for the hobbit.
Still, Bilbo's mum loves her little brother very much, and Bungo is a practical hobbit with pity in his heart, and generosity of spirit. Things may be looking up for Isengar in the near future. You never know.
Elena Tiriel
· 14 June 2005
· Chapter 2: From the Frying Pan into the Fire
*Barbara checks her refrigerator:*
No bacon, nary a single mushroom, no scones, no strawberry preserves and *definitely* not any clotted cream (this being America), no salmon, no eggs, no seed cakes (whatever they are)...
Reading your stories makes me feel terribly deprived... though you can keep the cucumbers, thank-you-very-much...
- Barbara, with grumbling stomach... ;-)
Author's reply
*Lin pats the poor, bereft beast and hopes for better fortunes in future*
We can buy clotted cream at the nearest British market, or Cost Plus World Market, in little tiny jars at fiendish prices. (Or you can make your own approximation, I forget how, but I think the recipe involves sour cream and powdered sugar. Or you can buy raw milk, skim off the cream, let the raw cream sit on the counter overnight and then beat it up. Yum.) Perhaps our city boasts enough people from the UK to make those little jars worthwhile to carry on the store shelves. I know workplaces here that have afternoon tea, and a tea cart that comes around on breaks!
Cucumber sandwiches aren't too bad. I do try to include them where I may in deference to "The Importance of Being Ernest". *g*
Seedcake is disgusting stuff, unless you like caraway. But Bilbo seems to like it. And it has been fun to give Pippin a taste for the stuff. Makes him more contrary, in my mind, somehow.
Thanks!
Dreamflower
· 12 June 2005
· Chapter 1: From the journal of Fortinbras Took, S.R. 1158
Now *why* do these journal entries remind me of *another* Took? *giggle*
Author's reply
Chuckling along with you!
Thanks.
Bodkin
· 12 June 2005
· Chapter 1: From the journal of Fortinbras Took, S.R. 1158
I don't know, Grandfa! How to turn your Fortinbras against journal-writing: make him write out corrected spellings therein.
The sort of journal entries that are very amusing to read in later years, though.
I have a feeling Grandfa is going to win this battle of wills. He's been in training for longer.
Author's reply
Yes, have based these journal entries loosely on an actual journal I read once.
Have you ever seen that coffee cup that says "Age and treachery will overcome youth and skill"?
Inkling
· 11 June 2005
· Chapter 1: From the journal of Fortinbras Took, S.R. 1158
It seems that young Fortinbras and his Grandfa are well-matched opponents in this battle of wills: funny, stubborn and intelligent. I love how these first journal entries convey so much about them both, and I like them already!
Author's reply
O good, I was hoping that their similarities and the affection/exasperation between them would be evident.
Anso the Hobbit
· 10 June 2005
· Chapter 0: Maunderings of a Mad Uncle
Here we have the possible cause for Bilbo getting fond of books and reading and writing! I hope you`ll continue with this! :)
Author's reply
Could well be the possible cause, you're right!
Am hoping to continue with this one as well. Think good thoughts!
Inkling
· 6 June 2005
· Chapter 0: Maunderings of a Mad Uncle
Your synopsis sent me scurrying to the Appendices…I’d forgotten there were two bad winters: the Long and the Fell. And what’s more, I’d forgotten that Bilbo was even alive during the Fell Winter, let alone 21 years old! Herein lies the start of an interesting tale, methinks…or two tales (another Thain/Thorn parallel structure?). I’ve always wanted to read more about the Fell Winter and the White Wolves…
And Isengar…I’ve always wondered about that cryptic comment in the family-trees…just how does a hobbit “go to sea,” anyway? It’s not like he could join the Merchant Marine or something!
Tolkien certainly left us no lack of great material to work with!
Author's reply
something like Thain/Thorn or Healer's Tale, yes, with two stories going at the same time, though one will be told mostly through journal entries, I think, unless I feel too constrained and break out into omniscient narrator mode. Don't know yet. We'll see!
You're right about Tolkien; what a wonderful gift!
Author Reply: p.s. for years I thought Isengar went to sea and never returned, but then how would they have a death date for him? So finally worked out this scenario, where he went to sea in his youth, but returned, or was returned, to the Great Smials. Have figured out an entire "history" for him, now just to see if it works on paper as well as it does in my head.
I see you finished Frodo's story, and here I am with no time to read! (Computer going in the shop and so we are all feverishly completing what projects we can, while we can...)
Elena Tiriel
· 6 June 2005
· Chapter 0: Maunderings of a Mad Uncle
Well, this is a promising start... I like Bilbo's mad uncle already! (So, are you ever going to write what happened to him? Seems like an interesting plot thread... but your stories have so many already! LOL! You make the Shire an interesting and intriguing place!)
- Barbara
Author's reply
The way the outline looks, we'll learn something of what happened to him. Not sure how detailed it will be, or if the Muse will be moved to write his story...
His fate, however, is entwined with Gandalf's impressions of Bilbo, and so, I suppose, that will make all the difference in the future of Middle-earth.
But doesn't JRRT seem to like to work that way? Chance encounters turn out to be guided by a master "hand". Interesting perspective.
And thanks! Layers upon layers... JRRT certainly created a wonderful world to work with.
Bodkin
· 6 June 2005
· Chapter 0: Maunderings of a Mad Uncle
I like Mad Uncle Isengar. (Does his name change at the end?)
(It must be awful, really, to return home from your adventures, injured in body and treated as mad by your family. At least Bilbo has his own home after his trip with the dwarves, and doesn't have to put up with being patronised all the time.)
I think Bilbo is about to Learn A Lot. And get the writing habit, too.
Interesting start.
Author's reply
Thanks! Poor Mad Uncle Isengar, another tragic figure, and yet Bilbo will learn much from him. We'll be learning more about him as the story progresses.
It must be difficult for the Old Took, to see his youngest son, so changed. Wonder if he blames himself for the quarrel that resulted in his son running away?
FantasyFan
· 6 June 2005
· Chapter 0: Maunderings of a Mad Uncle
It seems so odd to think of Bibo as a rebellious youngster, uninterested in books and writing, and disdainful of his 'old' mad cousin. This is such an interesting concept, and I'm sure you have many fascinating places to go with this story besides just an accounting of the Fell Winter.
Good for rabidsamfan. But you know, you've now advertised that all it takes is asking, to get a story witten for you...
Author's reply
Ah, but rabidsamfan fueled the fire with her marvellous drabbles. The Muse actually looked up from the current stories and seemed interested, and when she's interested, one had better write while the writing flows...
And at the moment, it seems safer to "store" a story online than on the hard drive, at present. I typed this chapter in off the top of my head, but will be going back to yellow pads and pens for the next few days.
I figure Bilbo must have caught Gandalf's eye somehow, and if he was a quiet, bookish fellow that might not do the trick. So have given him room to grow.
But you are right, all it takes is asking. And the favour of the Muse. (How long ago sevenall asked for a story told from a female viewpoint, and only now is "Healer's Tale" being posted!) So if you ask for Bandobras, or Belladonna, or Marcho and Blanco, or Farry-and-Ferdi-Go-to-Gondor, or something else, well... anything's possible, within the constraints of mood, time, and energy. (Sounds like an equation from Physics, doesn't it?)
Nice to hear from you. Hope this finds you well.