drabbles

[sophinisba]

Well, we all have to start somewhere.

Here is a drouble for claudia603, in response this request for ficlets about Frodo in jail, because Claudia's been such a sweetie and helped welcome me to LJ.  This is for request number 1 and is more or less gen.  Sorry it's so short.  Thanks to lilybaggins for the beta!

Frodo lay on the hard stone floor, searching for sleep.

The Bree jail was a dark, cold cellar dug under the town hall, and Frodo was awake and alone.  He'd given up clutching at the bars of his cell, pleading with the tired, ill-tempered guard for an explanation.  No one here wanted to help the miserable hobbit.

Still, he clung to a faint hope.  At the inn, Strider had seen Frodo being dragged away.  From what little Frodo knew of the man, he believed Strider would defend justice, would come to rescue him.  He strained to hear the Ranger's footsteps.

***

"Strider!" Frodo said aloud, waking with a start in the dark of Moria.

"Mr. Frodo?"  At his side, Sam immediately grasped Frodo's hands.  "Are you all right?"

"I was just..." hoping, wishing.

"Having a nightmare?"  Not exactly.  "Strider -- Aragorn's just over there, sir, keeping watch."

Frodo looked in the direction Sam indicated.  After a moment he could discern that Aragorn was in fact silently watching Frodo.

"Thank you, Sam," Frodo whispered, settling back down and trying to ignore the warmth on his cheeks and the pounding in his chest.

He lay on the hard stone floor, searching for sleep.

Comments

[suzy-74.livejournal.com]

And what a great start it is.

A dream, how clever. This short little thing actually says a lot to me. Brilliant.

Have you written before?

[sophinisba]

Thanks, Suzy! I've only written a little bit. Mostly I enjoy reading, but sometimes people put out interesting requests and it's fun to attempt a response.

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

oooh, this is very, very clever indeed! I like it a lot! I want to keep prodding you until you do nothing BUT write for me, in fact. :-D Wow, great start...and by the way, I really did love that other fic that you did, the one you mentioned in email (wink, wink)...Lily, don't you think we need to whine and prod her day and night now?

[sophinisba]

Glad you liked it, dear. Poking me is probably a good idea, actually, since I have trouble coming up with ideas on my own. I did start a longer Frodo-in-jail fic but it was getting, well, long, and I was worried I wouldn't finish it, so I did this.

I should probably just own up to the other thing. Heck, it's not like I'm ever gonna be respectable. *grins*

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

oooh, I'd be very interested in seeing you continue the longer Frodo in jail fic, too!

Heck, it's not like I'm ever gonna be respectable. *grins*

Being respectable is overrated. We have more fun in the non-respectable realm...;-D

[sophinisba]

We have more fun in the non-respectable realm.

I've been noticing that. Mpreg definitely doesn't seem to be a genre for people who take themselves too seriously.

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

Well, put it this way... I can do both. I can sit down and write serious canon pieces, but I'm also not afraid to have fun and be outrageous. I suppose I've paid a bit of a price for that. Some people who are serious might not touch what I write, even the serious stuff, because of the outrageous stuff I sometimes write and am known for, like the mpreg. :-) But that's okay. I figure, I'm putting out the fan fic whether or not some people choose to read or not. I put warnings, ratings, summaries on everything, so it's everyone's choice whether to read or not.

[sophinisba]

Yes, I like that about fanfic generally, that you almost always know what you're getting into from the heading, and you can decide if that's your kind of thing or not. I think I need to e-mail you about something.

[lilybaggins.livejournal.com]

Mpreg definitely doesn't seem to be a genre for people who take themselves too seriously.

Claudia's right . . . being too serious about this is way overrated. I'm here to have fun, and if I ever want to try to make a name for myself with writing, I know it's not going to be in fanfic, no matter how serious I am! Fanfic is just that . . . fic for fans. And fans, on the whole, are not serious people (unless they're at Tolkienonline or something).

[sophinisba]

I'm all for serious fic, as well as silly fic. I like stories of true love, I like PWP, I like gen and slash, canon and AU. I like fic that's well written. And there's some that's well written but just doesn't appeal to me, but I don't see much point in snarking at people who don't do the kind of fic I'm into. But you two certainly don't need to be told that, so I'll shut up and go back to writing silly fic now.

[lilybaggins.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like serious fic a lot . . . in fact, more than I like silly fic. But I don't necessarily think that "trash" fic is silly, or has to be silly, or should be considered silly, so that doesn't fall into my definition of silly fic. Why should a story be considered silly by the masses just because it's AU? There are some extremely well-written AUs---lots of them.

I just don't really think writers should take themselves too seriously, regardless of what type of fic they write. That's just a recipe for making yourself unhappy, I think. At least, it makes me unhappy whenever I start feeling that way. I have to remind myself that this is strictly for fun.

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

Amen, sistah!!!! We all need to be reminded of that sometimes. After all, most of us write about short guys with furry feet having sex with rangers or other short guys with furry feet or elves with pointy ears...:-D I mean...why take ourselves so seriously?

[lilybaggins.livejournal.com]

Of course! But hey, she's gotta write some for me, too!!! No fair, no fair!!! :D

Actually, if she's writing for you, she's writing for me, and vice versa, I think!

Oh, and I'm very good at that... prodding, that is. And basically whining and whinging and well, you get the idea. And yes, I'd much love to have some other fic just like another fic I've read that she wrote (wink, wink). Methinks we need, er, a sequel, er, to the "other" fic. Or a prequel . . . or a whole universe! THAT'S IT!!!!

Sophie, love this again . . . and your title was perfect. :)

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

Well, yes...whatever she writes for you shall work for me...and vice versa. And if she writes about that other subject mixed with this subject...then we'd both be very happy indeed...;-D

[lilybaggins.livejournal.com]

... if she writes about that other subject mixed with this subject...

LOL... this is almost like speaking in code. If she writes about your favorite subject, which happens to be a favorite subject of mine, and my favorite subject, which happens to be a favorite subject of yours, then she's definitely writing about a subject that shall appeal to both of us. And then there's the lesser favorite subject, which is still a favorite of mine but may not yet be a favorite of yours. Nevertheless, usually, if it's a favorite of mine, you shall enjoy it, and vice versa.

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

Scarily enough...I understood this perfectly. 0_0 :-)

[sophinisba]

*hides*

[lilybaggins.livejournal.com]

We will find you . . .

[slipperieslope.livejournal.com]

Oh this is very nice! I especially loved the last bit, very apt word choice in the 'searching for sleep'. I adore how your turned the story to make it canon, very very clever! Loved it!

[sophinisba]

Thank you! I think AU is kind of hard to do in a very short piece, 'cause you have to spend time setting up a new context... So making it a dream made it easier to be vague about what was really going on.

[mariole.livejournal.com]

Embarrassed Frodo is one of the best there is. *hugs his blushing little face*

[sophinisba]

Nobody can see him blush in the dark, but we all know how utterly adorable he is.

[mariole.livejournal.com]

If a hobbit falls in the forest, does he make a sound? * rubs noses with him* :)

[sophinisba]

Ah, the many mysteries of Frodo. *orgy of snuggling in the Mines of Moria*

[mariole.livejournal.com]

Deep in the Mines of Moria....

-Oh, Frodo!
-Oh, Sam!
-Oh... Sophie?
-Mariole?
*female snickers*

[mews1945.livejournal.com]

Since you came to visit me and gave me such nice feedback, I thought I would visit your journal to see what you might be doing, and found this gem. Very very nice writing. Poor Frodo, hiding his feelings, but not from himself.

[sophinisba]

Hi, Julia, it's good to have you here. Most of what little I've written so far has been in response to other people's requests. It takes a little pressure off, 'cause I can tell myself "Well, at least Claudia will like it..." It's so nice to hear that other people enjoyed it too. Welcome!

[lithiumnature.livejournal.com]

I liked it even better than the last. You seem to have a way with darker, more tormented, side of Frodo. And I have to agree with some of the others...sooo cute when he's vulnerable.

[sophinisba]

Oh my, if you think this is dark, tormented, vulnerable Frodo, just wait! (The stuff I wrote in Poland is a good deal darker.)

By the way, I noticed the comments you've left on my LJ so far have all been posted as replies to other comments. This is not a big deal but it means that this comment you left today, and also this one I'm responding with, will probably both get e-mailed to mews1945 as an automatic notification. And if she's like me she'll be excited to have new messages in her inbox, and then disappointed to find out they're not actually written to her. So it's best to click on "Post a new comment" if you want to comment on the journal entry itself (say, the drabble). Does that make sense?