Stone of Erebor

Formerly burgling hobbits are never trusted...

Title:: Stone of Erebor
Characters: Bilbo, Bombur, Nori, Dori, Gloin, Gimli, Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Dain Ironfoot, and a cameo of sorts for Thorin Oakenshield.
Wordcount: 70,776 (in 25 chapters)
Summary: Having left the Shire for good, Bilbo finally visits Lonely Mountain and his old friends, but Dain is suspicious of a non dwarf among them and when something goes missing, Bilbo finds himself drawn into ensuring its return.

2nd Place, MEFA 2007, General Mystery category

A/N: This is a gap-filler - I couldn't find any fic exploring my favorite hobbit's retirement trip and finally decided I would have to write it myself. My first attempt at anything like a mystery, and a fun exploration of how I imagine the Dwarves and their world to be. It has a companion piece added later for those wanting more Dwarves, the lighthearted "Bombur's Diet".

It being 25 chapters, I'll merely link to it:

Here at Stories of Arda: http://storiesofarda.com/chapterlistview.asp?SID=3903

Here at Fanfiction.net: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2456490/1/Stone_of_Erebor

Bombur's Diet

What is life without taste?

Title: Bombur's Diet
Characters:: Bilbo, Bombur, Gloin, Dwalin, Bofur, Bifur, Nori, Dori
Wordcount: 9,075 (in 8 chapters)
Summary: A Bilbo & Bombur tale as a companion piece to my 'Stone of Erebor' and as such is also set at the Lonely Mountain during Bilbo's visit after he's left the Ring with Frodo and before he settled down in Rivendell. Just a light bit of fun with Dwarves, enjoy.

A/N: Warning, do not read while hungry! MEFA 2008 3rd Place, genre: Dwarves
--
At Fanfiction.net: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4304491/1/Bomburs_Diet

At Stories of Arda: http://storiesofarda.com/chapterlistview.asp?SID=5908

Rivendell International Airport

Aragorn was right, they should have taken the train.

Title: Rivendell International Airport
Characters: The entire Fellowship including Bill the Pony
Wordcount: 5,667
Summary: A bit of humor considering what might have happened if the Fellowship had decided to take a plane instead of walking all that ways - would Anduril make it through security?

A/N: MEFA 2008 First Place for Humor, genre Elven Lands. Anyone who has ever gone through a modern airport can relate to the events. This piece is one of those that wrote itself rather rapidly one night and has gone on to be one of my most popular writings.

It can also be found at ff.net here: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4106468/1/Rivendell_International_Airport (though "Stories of Arda" considered the setting to make it too AU to accept for their guidelines.)

( 'I still think we should have taken the train,' said Aragorn. )

Tolkien Drabbles, Collected

A small stack for Middle-earth

A/N: I seem to have left a scattering of drabbles wherever I've gone, like bread-crumbs on a trail through the forest. Here are a few with 'serious' intent rather than parody.

( The Calling Forth of the Dead )

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( The River )

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( Her Ring )

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( Lockholes )

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( Sweet Mithlond )

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( Gollum in the Lake )

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( Flame of the West )

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( Merry )

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( Under the Earth )

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Thanksgiving Drabbles

A/N: A small collection of Thanksgiving-themed drabbles for Middle-earth.

( Sam and Rosie )

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( Aragorn and Arwen )

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( Gloin )

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( Shelob )

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( The Travellers )

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( Barliman )

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( A Brace of Coney )

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( Faramir )

Drabbles: Silly Walks in Middle-earth

A/N: The drabbling continues! These are a few of the lighter ones I've come across in my digging through my archives. Some of these I really *can't* explain - I'm not even sure there could be a rational explanation for them, they're just cracky.

( Gollums )

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( True Love )

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( A Keg Dawn Rises )

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( Part the Second: Gondor Calls for Ade! )

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( Surfin' the Pelennor )

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( Cirdan's Beard )

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( The Last Ship Out (in three parts) )

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( Spider-spit )

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( Squibs )

Song Adaptations - Middle-earth Style

Too many songs to list here, but fear not!

Over the years I've ended up adapting the meter and rhyme of not only classical poetry, but many a light hearted song. While I think posting or listing them all here would be a bit much, I admit being somewhat proud of some of the results (Song for a Cute Fuzzy Moth is still a favorite, for instance)

I usually tried to use commonly known folksong or musicals tunes rather than 'pop' with the aim of the readers hopefully being able to relate. I am often annoyed by adaptations people post with tunes only a tiny pocket of their readers are likely to know.

You are welcome to take a look - four pages of my adapted songs have been collected and indexed over here at the Scrapbook site:

http://lotrscrapbook.bookloaf.net/songs/longer/primula.html

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Tolkien Haiku

I am contemplating the veritable mountain of poetry I have, trying to decide how best to present the portions worth presenting. Haiku is a bit like potato chips, really, tiny bites that can either be savored or crunched down quickly according to mood.

( A pile of Tolkien-themed haiku )

Double Dactyls - Fiendish little Poems for Middle-earth

Easy to read but fiendishly difficult to write. I know of what I speak - this form is very arguably the most difficult poetic form I've attempted so far. A small number of these are 'not quite pure' double-dactyls taking license with syllable count rather than properly multisyllabic singular words.

For an explanation of what a double-dactyl is, here's an intro:
http://lotrscrapbook.bookloaf.net/poetry/haiku/dactyl.html

And here we go - ( 15 Character Double-Dactyls, Higgledy-Piggledy )

( And three double-dactyl drinks for the Road -! )

The Pants - A Poetic Twist

Not quite the same as getting your knickers in a twist, but darn close.

Anyone who has spent much time knocking about the 'net in just about any fandom has run across that infamous game in which random nouns in popular quotes are changed to "pants" thus providing hours of non-intellectual amusement for sleep-deprived people.

Which brings me to this - a set of parodies patterned on Tolkien's verses all run through a 'pants' filter. *snert*
( O! Long, long pants are a noble thing! )

Christmas carols in Middle-earth...sort of...

O come two Boffins, Bolger and Proudfoot,
And excavate the pantry to the root

Christmas brings out all sorts of odd things, as anyone who has ever written a yuletide fic, poem or song well knows. This is my own addition to that burgeoning category out there of the adapted Christmas carol - though most are merely using the tunes more than being about Christmas by the time I was done with them.

( O Sackville! )

( Are These Trees Here My Trees? )

( Ferny Bills )

( Eagles on a Midnight Clear )

( Have a Mossy Tossy Huorn )

Acrostics - spelling it out with Poetry

But what's an acrostic for the alphabet?

After briefly considering them, I've decided to spare this journal the limericks... I mean - really... Acrostics, on the other hand, at least take a bit of thought and planning with the letters serving as a useful jumping off point. Some of these are light, others have more time in them.

Acrostically speaking -

( Bilbo Baggins )

( Shire Tale )

( Bill the Pony )

( Smeagol / Gollum )

( Aragorn Elessar )

( Eowyn of Rohan )

( Frodo Baggins, Ringbearer )

( Gwaihir )

( Meriadoc Brandybuck )

Barrows and Burns

The Ae Freislighe is an Irish syllabic stanza form, and this is an attempt to render one in English:

Barrows

The Barrow Downs lie in the mist,
The wreathing wisps grasp the stones,
Call me now a pessimist
But this cold reminds of bones.

Long ago they fell beneath,
Dark the shades that crept within,
Heavy gold they shall bequeath,
Entrapping weight to stiffen.

Why did we stop, unthinking?
Now my plaintive cry resounds,
Answered only in clinking,
Far beneath the Barrow Downs.

--
With it I'm placing a trio in the form of a Burns Stanza, named for the pattern favored by the famous Robert Burns.

( Not for Thee )

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( Eowyn Heals )

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( Grima's View )

The Middle-earth Blues

Oh...woaaahhh...

( The Nine-Finger Blues )

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( The Tater Blues )

Alliterations Are Alleged

Through thankfully thick thesaurus!

I remember wrestling with the thesaurus for these, it's always a challenge to somehow cobble something together that still kinda-sorta makes sense.


( Deranged Denethor )

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( Merry Mithlond )

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( Leaping Legolas! )

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( Aragorn's Alliteration )

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( Eagle-eyed Elladan and Elrohir )

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( Gargling Galadriel and Cranky Celeborn )

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Rhopalics, Just add One

Add one...add one... add one...

A rhopalic is a poetic form / word-play construct in which each succeeding word is one segment longer than the preceding one. It may be with increasing syllables, or (a bit more difficult) by adding one additional letter to each word as you go. In this sense, writing one feels to me more like carefully constructing a puzzle than flowing along with imagery as I usually do.

( Merry: I by his dear grace... )

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( Merry: In planning honesty's conspiracy... )

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( Theoden: I, an age aged after deceit... )

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( Eomer: For Rohan, loyalty undivided... )

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( Thoeden & Eowyn: No battles; unheeded... )

Rondelet, small Flowers of Verse

A sweet little verse form

The rondelet is French in origin, a short poem of a single septet (that is, 7 lines long), with only two rhymes, and one refrain, which is repeated. The result is, I think, very like flower petals working their way around a flower, small and soft but with a grace and closure I find lacking in some other short forms, such as haiku.

( Outside the gate )

( Leaves in the wood )

( Longbottom Leaf )

( Valiant maid )

( In Pippin's eyes )

( A silver spoon )

( Beyond the sea )

( There is no time )

( Promised, Master )

( Greenest fields )

( For September 22nd )

Five Triolets for Tolkien Couples

Sometimes repetition works - tell them you love them every day.

Triolets, short love-notes with an echo

Sam and Rosie

This memory I shall hold dear,
My Rosie, ribbons in her hair -
For even through the pain and fear,
This memory I shall hold dear:
Her laugh alone I'd sometimes hear...
I saw her at the party fair.
This memory I shall hold dear,
My Rosie, ribbons in her hair.

( Tom and Goldberry )

( Elrond and Celebrian )

( Eowyn and Faramir )

And one that isn't exactly romance, but certainly faithful friendship:
( Sam and Bill the Pony )

Alphabetic verse - Cram the Entire Thing In

Forget the Quick Brown Fox - this goes all out.

All the following poems have all 26 of the letters of the alphabet in the title and also in each individual stanza. The general idea was for stanzas to be four lines each with alternating rhyme - and yes, it does make for some bizarre phrasing when you're trying to stuff in things like J, X and Q.

( Pondering: Ents Quashed Orthanc After Axes Failed to Wake Them; Hobbits, Having Zesty Justice, Did )

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( Wherein Poor Elrond Halfelven Juxtaposes A Quick End to the Bad Boy's Zonal Quest Game )

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( Rings’ Quick Hobbits, Waxing Zealous, Jumped the Evil Eye )