hobbits again

[sophinisba]

And, for old times' sake, a double drabble (yes, 200 words, not 110). And hello, I'm canon for once!


Before the Scouring

The view of Bywater as they ride down makes Merry catch his breath; valley, village, and pool are spread out below them like a body split open, bleeding, silently screaming. Merry sees smoke rising and thinks of Pellenor Fields, of all the men and orcs who fell before his eyes. He thinks of Pippin and Frodo and Sam at Cormallen, how he watched over them after the last battle, fearing every breath could be their last. It didn't seem possible then that their bodies could recover from such damage. It doesn't seem possible for the Shire to recover from this.

But here is Pippin beside him, and Frodo and Sam just behind. Frodo gasps at the sight, but they keep riding. Merry himself is tall and strong; he barely feels anymore the wound that threatened to finish him. With time and love, with effort, with some painful setbacks, they've all grown stronger in the last months, and the healing isn't over. So now they have work to do, and perhaps one more battle to fight. The ruffians will make trouble, but Merry is certain the hobbits will triumph. And after that, the land and the people can begin to heal.

Comments

[shirebound]

What a strong, hopeful hobbit is our Merry! Wonderful.

[sophinisba]

Thank you! I've always loved Frodo in the Scouring, but it was fun going back and looking at Merry here as well, so strong and determined and good.

[kitcat72.livejournal.com]

What a lovely drabble! So descriptive and heartfelt and full of emotion. You conveyed so much feeling in just a few words. Nicely written.

[sophinisba]

There's just so much emotional depth to every part of this book, it feels like every moment must be explored. I love fanfic. Thanks so much for reading.

[fictualities.livejournal.com]

What a lovely double drabble. The opening sentence is extremely effective: we think, oooh, pretty view of Bywater, and then we realize just where in canon we are and how shocking this once-pretty view has become. I love the comparisons throughout between the way bodies heal and the possibility that the land will heal as well: the analogy allows us to understand the reasoning behind Merry's optimism, but it also seems very hobbit-like. Hobbits do seem to think of the Shire as part of themselves; they love nature in a deep way that's diametrically opposed to the ruffian's cruel exploitation of it. The Shire is a body and it will heal; what a beautiful thought. :)

[sophinisba]

I'm glad the land/body thing worked for you. I sometimes get frustrated with a lot of writing that imagines the homeland as a woman, the dictator or conquerer as usurper or rapist, so I wanted to keep Merry's thoughts grounded in his friends' and his own real experiences, and also keep that hobbity hope and confidence running through it. I love the idea that the Shire will become more beautiful than ever before after all of this. It's lovely to hear from you, Teasel.

[slipperieslope.livejournal.com]

This is beautifully realized and I especially appreciate Merry's confidant realism and his belief that even the deepest wounds heal. Were it so.

[sophinisba]

Were it so. I know! Thinking that everybody's hopeful at this point and knowing how things are going to go for Frodo later on makes this bit extra sad for me. I really appreciate your comments, Bee.

[mariole.livejournal.com]

The view of Bywater as they ride down makes Merry catch his breath; valley, village, and pool are spread out below them like a body split open, bleeding, silently screaming.

That is NOT how I expected that sentence to end. Wow. Very effective portrayal of the hobbits' horror. I love Merry's POV in this.

[sophinisba]

Thank you so much, Mariole, your comment makes me really glad I took my time and fiddled with this. An earlier version started out with an unambiguously negative reaction, and I see now that this way works better, as I so love surprises in drabbles.

[absolutefiction.livejournal.com]

beautiful. lovely. thank you.

[sophinisba]

Thank you. (I have more Faculty stuff on the way.)

[baranduin.livejournal.com]

Gorgeous drouble. I especially liked the simplicity of this:

So now they have work to do, and perhaps one more battle to fight.

[sophinisba]

Thank you for taking the time to read and comment, Lora. Your opinion means a lot to me.

[danachan.livejournal.com]

How beautiful, and how simple. But that just makes it stronger, I think.

That said (little bit that it is), well done.

[sophinisba]

Thank you very much, Dana. See me branching out and writing about a hobbit who isn't Frodo? This means that someday I will attempt something about Pippin. Someday! :-D

[danachan.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome! The thought of you one day writing something about Pippin, well, I do like that thought :D You've a very nice style. I think, you'd do Pippin good. *grin*

And just so you know, I do plan on A Brief Adventure, but I only gave a one WIP limit, and it's currently all full. But I'll get to it when you're through -- I took a peek at the first chapter, and I'm looking forward to the day.

*/rambles

[sophinisba]

Wow, that's lovely to hear. I think it's wise of you not to get caught up in too many WIPs, as they can be very frustrating; and A Brief Adventure might not be done for quite a while (man, I hate that title). It's my first attempt at a longer fic and, I don't know, the muse is fickle. I'm glad I decided to put up chapters as I go though, because it's been so encouraging to get people's feedback. And again, first longer fic, lots of uncertainty.

[celandine-g.livejournal.com]

This is very moving from Merry's perspective since indeed he was there to watch the others survive what no hobbit should have survived. I also loved the analogy to their homeland situation. Only Merry could have seen the Shire with this in mind--which of course helps to explain his becoming a great military commander. He just knew that his fellow hobbits could rise to the occasion and that all it would take was some confident leadership. And he was right! :)

[sophinisba]

Yes. Much as I admire Frodo and his commitment to nonviolence in this chapter (and I don't think the campaign would have been successful without that), I'm also really impressed by Merry's realism and his leadership. I was just rereading it last night, and it made me ache all over when Merry says, "You won't rescue Lotho, or the Shire, just by being shocked and sad, my dear Frodo."

[celandine-g.livejournal.com]

Well, I think both Frodo and Merry are being true to their basic personalities here.

They have different gifts to offer the Shire and both are needed. I have always loved Merry's practical, no-nonsense, confident, and take-charge manner. I think he is a natural leader and that was definitely requisite for the Shire's salvation.

As for Frodo, well, sigh, only his courage and self-sacrifice could have saved Middle Earth and his non-violent stance during the scouring show that this too is needed, even during war. He refuses to kill Saruman, since he knows it is useless to meet revenge with revenge: it will heal nothing.

I was so moved by his wisdom. You may need to fight a war but revenge is the last thing you need at the end of it.

[sophinisba]

Ah, it's fun thinking through all of this. Whenever I think about healing the land after the troubles of course I think of Sam and all the work he has to do. And I know you're a mariole fan like me -- did you read her lovely fic about Pippin in the Scouring, An Army of Tooks? There's just so much to explore here. We need all our hobbits!

[celandine-g.livejournal.com]

Yes, it is fun to consider and of course I agree that all the hobbits contributed their special, hard-won talents to saving the Shire. I of course love them all (although Frodo and Merry are my favorites).

I find the Scouring of the Shire to be such an interesting part of the books since it shows how much each of the hobbits has grown and matured--quite beyond any of their fellow citizens. Although I understand why it wasn't in the movie, I would have loved to have seen that overwhelming change in them illustrated at the end. Oh, well.

And yes, I have read An Army of Tooks. It *is* a great story, like all of Mariole's offerings. We are so lucky to have her.

[sophinisba]

It's always so funny to me when people who aren't fans complain that the movie had too many endings, when you think of what a wonderful chapter they had to take out for the sake of pacing and wrapping up the film as quickly as they could. I still remember how disappointed I was when I found out the Scouring wasn't going to be included, even though I think it was probably the right decision.

It *is* a great story, like all of Mariole's offerings. We are so lucky to have her.

And that she's so nice on top of being so talented! This fandom is a wonderful place.

[aprilkat.livejournal.com]

I loved this - the way Merry sees the land as a wounded body, and his vision of the battlefields laid over his homeland.

Not enough attention in fanfic is given to Merry and his role in the scouring - but that's probably because so much of the fic is movie-based. Your Merry is strong and confident and up to the task!

[sophinisba]

I figure the Scouring is one place where you pretty much have to go with the book if you're going to do it at all, and that makes it a good place for me to explore. Honestly, for anything that's included in the movie, my tendency is to be ruled by the movie version of it, even if I try to keep the book version in mind. (Not that there's anything wrong with movie versions and AU, lol, just fun for me to try something different!)

[layne67.livejournal.com]

valley, village, and pool are spread out below them like a body split open, bleeding, silently screaming.

This line just took my breath away. Lovely metaphor, that :)

[sophinisba]

This is wonderful to hear. Thank you.

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

This was very nice! I do love a strong Merry. And anything with well written hobbits is bound to just rip at my heart if it's post-quest...;-)

[sophinisba]

Oh, man, post-quest angst is killer. I started a post-quest fic a long time ago but I barely get anywhere with it because I feel like crying every time I open up the files!