FIC: Two Songs for Harp (Hobbit, Thorin/Bilbo)

[mithen]

Title: Two Songs for Harp
Relationship: Thorin/Bilbo
Characters: Thorin, Bilbo, the rest of the Company
Fandom: Hobbit
Warnings/Spoilers: Book-canon compliant
Rating: G
Word Count: 2800
Summary: Two songs played on two harps: one in Laketown, one in the heart of Erebor before the Battle of the Five Armies.
Note: Thorin's song in Erebor

Comments

[iris_summers]

*sniff* I had a big foolish grin while reading the first part and now you've broken my heart with the second part! Will come back to leave more detailed feedback, but suffice it to say: Ouch. :( Oh Bagginshield, Y U give me so many feels?

[mithen]

I agree: ouchhhh. These sorts of whiplashy stories will be the death of me, I think, but I do so love to write them! *grins sheepishly*

[iris_summers]

Re-read it again, and the fluffiness in the first part just adds to the devastating heartbreak in the second half. Oh canon. *sigh*

In a way, both halves of the story showcase the same aspect of Thorin's character, but it evokes a different emotion because of the "world" in which it's set. In the fist, his glowering stubborness is all the more funny and adorable because it's undercut by the sweetness and humour of the Company and Bilbo's obliviousness to Thorin's hobbit!crush.

So many lines I love -- Thorin's harrumphing and glowering, Bilbo's "Dwarves are so touchy!", Kili's giggling about the exquisite song, WHICH WAS TOTALLY UBER EXQUISITE! (My kudos to you for the lyrics BTW, and I only wish I could hear Richard Armitage singing it!), and of course the killer last line with the strings of the harp echoing the breaking of not just Thorin's heart but perhaps also the chance that things could have turned out for the better instead of the tragic.

But perhaps my favourite was by Ori: "No," he concluded sadly, "That wouldn't do at

[mithen]

Re-read it again, and the fluffiness in the first part just adds to the devastating heartbreak in the second half. Oh canon. *sigh*

It is all canon's fault! There's something so irresistible about the sweet/bitter gut-punch...

In a way, both halves of the story showcase the same aspect of Thorin's character, but it evokes a different emotion because of the "world" in which it's set.Oh, that's so true, I like the way you put that and I hadn't really seen it before! Ori's line came in later--in the book the people of Laketown shower them with gifts and praise and Thorin soaks it all up, and I just couldn't quite see that happening with movie!Thorin, but we'll see what Jackson does with it!--so I'm really glad it sums things up for you, there is a real sense of sweet/sadness to it...Thorin is who he is, and that makes him both noble and doomed at the same time. *sighs

[queen0fcups]

NOOOOO THORIN. Oh gosh, the utter devastation of the final part put aside (breaking heart harpstrings and all!), I still can't get over the rest of the dwarves covering for and then gently ribbing Thorin about his little song for Bilbo. AND THEN YOU HAD TO GO AND BREAK MY HEART.

[mithen]

The first part made me so happy/sad to write, because I love the idea of the dwarves all gently enabling and yet covering for Thorin so his heart isn't displayed too nakedly. There's a protectiveness to it that kind of broke my heart... the idea that they idolize him but at the same time are very aware that he isn't as strong and tough as he may seem.

Part 1!

[starsandsea]

He glanced behind them and slowed up as he realized Thorin had fallen behind, causing something of a pile-up as the other dwarves walked into him.

I can see that so clearly, hee!

"No," he concluded sadly, "That wouldn't do at all, would it?"

Awww, Ori. *pets him*

Fili lifted his shrunken purse and grimaced at it. Then he looked up with a sudden smile. "No one of us has enough money to buy Uncle Thorin a harp," he said.

The other dwarves started to grin as well.

*hearts them all*

"It's no dwarvish harp," he growled. "It's built for a man's hand and a man's form, and its tone is crude at best." Cradling it in his arms, he stalked toward the door, then stopped. "Thank you," he said without turning.

Hee, Thorin! :D

Moments later, the company heard the sound of scales coming from his room, and Fili and Kili slapped each other on the back so hard they made each other cough.

*hearts Fili and Kili and sobs a bit as well* FILI!!! KILI!!!!

Rather less than more, he thought, but he didn't want to admit how very exhausted he felt, or

Re: Part 1!

[mithen]

I can see that so clearly, hee!

Ha, I'm glad! I could totally imagine the 12-dwarf pileup...

Oh, oh, did you write that? *flails* It's so beautiful and perfect! And I so want to hear it sung now... *flails again*

I did write it! It was one of the first things I wrote after the movie, lol, and I enjoyed it a lot. I actually chose a tune to set it to, coincidentally it's an old Welsh lullaby--I'll send you the file or maybe post it on Tumblr!

Awww, Ori! *hearts him*

Poor Ori, he almost stuck his foot in it there! The image of him seeing Thorin's face and realizing he's almost given him away made me laugh (a little sadly...)

And Kili cracking up over the fact that Thorin is writing love poetry--I could see it so clearly, and getting the chair kicked out from under him to teach him a lesson. :)

Part 2!

[starsandsea]

Since re-taking Erebor his heart had felt so light that it was easy to smile: he had taken back his own land, he was no longer a prince without a country. He had finally given his people a home, and was worthy to be their King at last. Who could not smile at such a thing?

*wibbles MASSIVELY* Oh, Thorin...! *sniffles*

Everything here had been waiting for him, for his return.

*sniffles again*

"--then they shall perish not as homeless wanderers, but dwarves of Erebor. They knew when they joined me what might lie ahead, and I will not demean their sacrifices by giving up the home we have finally reclaimed."

Oh god that line - that whole conversation - is just so painful.

No. He was King under the Mountain. He was a dwarf of Erebor. He was Thorin, son of Thráin, son of Thrór, and he was in his rightful place. He sat down once more before the great shining harp, put his hands to the golden strands and began to play: a song of righteousness, a song of glorious death

Re: Part 2!

[mithen]

...and then it all gets really sad, noes!

*wibbles MASSIVELY* Oh, Thorin...! *sniffles*

Ugh, you're going to see this again later, the idea that the happier Thorin is, the worse things are. IT MAKES ME MISERABLE TO CONTEMPLATE. That whole last scene was just awful to write, because...the POV is in Thorin's head, and I don't know if that's really how he's coming across to Bilbo at all, I don't know how sane he is at this point. Maybe he really is being as reasonable, if prideful, as he seems to be to himself, and maybe... poor Bilbo. *sniffles a lot*

[navaan]

*sigh* The beginning was so very sweet - and then the last part with all the foreshadowing. This pairing is really heartbreaking and you write the bittersweetness before the end so very well...

Obviously I like my heartbreak.

[mithen]

Heh, I am SO VERY resistant to heartbreak with my Bruce/Clark, and then there's Thorin/Bilbo and I'm just like "BRING ON THE BITTERSWEET." I really enjoy the angst of it in this setting, somehow! (That isn't stopping me from starting to write a happy-ending AU, though, because after this I just want to write them being happy at the end...)

[navaan]

What fits a pairing has a lot to do with the characters, I suppose. There are pairings that I love to be happy, and others I can't seem to get together without heartbreak.

But now I'm looking forward to the happy ending fic!

[mithen]

But now I'm looking forward to the happy ending fic!

*bounces* It's an Erebor-never-fell AU that looks like it eventually segues into a full-on Fellowship AU with a very different Fellowship of the Ring, and I'm almost done with the first chapter and am very in love with it, lol. I love writing Doom Hanging Over All, but I admit it's also nice to write Fili and Kili goofing around WITHOUT the "And they're going to die" overtones...