Comments | waymeet: Genre Challenged: Shortcut

strangerian in waymeet

Genre Challenged: Shortcut

Nov 21, 2010 14:18

Author: strangerian, Stranger on Dreamwidth
Title: Shortcut
Challenge: Genre Challenged, Time Travel
Rating: Gen
Pairing/Characters: Bilbo, Frodo, Radas
Summary: Bilbo and Frodo find an unexpected inn tucked into a bit of forest outside Woody End. Bilbo goes to the loo and doesn't come back immediately.

( Shortcut )

Comments 22

semyaza November 21 2010, 22:54:33 UTC

I love where you went with this. :)

strangerian November 21 2010, 23:08:12 UTC

Ooh, hi! The challenge stories so far have all had terrific atmosphere, and I feel like this tries for very transparent setting instead. But I was proud of the realio trulio plotlet I concocted. So it was kind of fun.

Must now read the others properly and comment. Should also be fun, and lots easier!

semyaza November 21 2010, 23:26:18 UTC

I'm behind on my reading as I've been too mentally distracted to settle but your submission appeared while I was sitting at my desk, staring out at the juncos lunging at frozen ears of grass.

In addition to the coolness of the plotlet, there's the extra coolness of The Shady Taproot and its elegant 'accommodations'. I think it will become a permanent part of my mental Shire.

dreamflower02 November 21 2010, 23:19:14 UTC

This is just amazing! I love the idea of the mysterious inn lost in time (the description is wonderful) and it's mysterious innkeeper Rada(ga)s(t)! The birds were a delightful touch!

As for Bilbo, that is exactly as I'd imagine him doing-- his best in a pinch to protect someone else. It's also a good explanation for why the Black Rider "lost" the three travellers when he'd come so very close to finding them.

A wonderful story! *grins*goes back to top to read again*

strangerian November 22 2010, 02:45:55 UTC

Oh, yes, you got that right! Radas is *totally* my take on how a wizard would deal with hobbits when he really doesn't want to be noticed. Oddly, I haven't seen much about Bilbo feeling parental, but it really seemed to fit him. He probably was glad to skip the diapers-and-tantrums stage, but he went to a lot of trouble to ensure an heir not just legally, but for his house and home, and there's no doubt he loved and trusted Frodo. And he's a wily old adventurer, seldom challenged within the Shire.

Glad you like it!

aussiepeach November 21 2010, 23:28:10 UTC

Love 'The Shady Taproot'. And I agree that's a wonderful use of time travel, getting the hobbits safely away. Very Back to the Future. Doctor Who would approve!

strangerian November 22 2010, 02:52:58 UTC

Ho, ho! When I was putting this together, I really considered having a time lord element -- it would have been *much* more crack and kind of fun! But sticking to the Tolkien setting and having a mysterious Radagast worked just fine with the plot I wound up using, and I confess to being very proud of the inn's name. So I'm glad you like it too!

(The comment has been removed)

strangerian November 22 2010, 03:09:44 UTC

Glad you liked it! It's good to know you could follow the pacing, because I was hoping to make it fast and busy, but something you could see through Bilbo. Bilbo himself really took over and helped me write, there.

addie71 November 22 2010, 00:15:52 UTC

Oh, I loved the way time travel worked in this. How like Biblo to think of this new adventure as a puzzle to be solved. I wonder if he ever figures it out, later in Rivendell, after hearing the story of Frodo's journey from the Shire.

strangerian November 22 2010, 03:26:39 UTC

Thank you! It was fun to work this out, and then to watch Bilbo work it out by himself. You're probably right, that he'll realize what had happened much later, when he hears Frodo's account of the Riders in the Shire. I don't know *what* he'll think of the elves, or the wizards, for putting him through that. Maybe he was the only one who could have done the job, and he'll know it.