The Prisoner and the Hobbit by pandemonium_213, Dreamflower

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Fanwork Notes

Foreword

There are very few nooks and crannies of Tolkien fan fiction that I haven't explored during the four years since I discovered the milieu.  I'd also like to think I am an expansive reader, enjoying stories from diverse genres that range from gen fic to adult-rated slash, but I have been known to quip that whilst exploring those works that focus on the denizens of the Shire, I often feel like Sauron at a hobbit picnic.

Dreamflower is one of my very favorite writers of hobbits.  I love her interpretations of the Shire folk, and her vision of Bilbo especially enchants me.  Mr. Bilbo Baggins has also captured the attention of my Dark Muse, who, like his earlier incarnation as Tevildo, is as curious as a cat.  I have often wondered what a conversation between these two monumental characters would be like. 

Knowing that Dreamflower captures Bilbo's voice so well, I cast some shiny bait her way.  I was delighted that she took it, for treading in the Pandë!verse is not an altogether comfortable exercise.  This epistolary is the result. 

~~ pandemonium_213, 28 August 2011         

Addendum, 22 October 2011:  Real life has delayed posting this here, although the story is on the SWG's sister site, Many Paths to Tread.  Because the epistolary draws from both The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion (not to mention The History of Middle-earth, The Letters of JRR Tolkien, etc.), it seems fitting to add it to my compendium here on the SWG.  

Familiarity with Dreamflower's stories (she refers to these in the author's notes) and the alternative history* that is Pandë!verse will be helpful to the reader.

*A term I prefer to "alternate universe."  For one thing, alternative is grammatically correct ;^) and I'd like to think that despite my extrapolation from canon, my tertiary world of Tolkien's secondary world is still recognizable as the same "universe."

Fanwork Information

Summary:

A prisoner in the Halls of Mandos, although grateful to be alive, nonetheless finds his days to be monotonous, that is, until a most unusual person, and one whose life was affected greatly by the prisoner's masterwork, accepts an offer to begin a correspondence.     

 

Major Characters: Bilbo Baggins, Sauron

Major Relationships:

Genre: Drama, Humor

Challenges:

Rating: Teens

Warnings: Expletive Language, Mature Themes
Chapters: 9 Word Count: 62, 175
Posted on 22 October 2011 Updated on 20 September 2012

This fanwork is a work in progress.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Incarceration
Chapter 2: On Language
Chapter 3: Of Rings
Chapter 4: The Years of the Trees/Riddles in the Dark
Chapter 5: Of Marbles and Golf
Chapter 6: Distant Kindred
Chapter 7: Revelation and Reaction
Chapter 8: An Unexpected Visitor
Chapter 9: Lord of Gifts

It has been a while, but Dreamflower and I offer this chapter in time for 21 September, the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Hobbit and 22 September, World Hobbit Day, otherwise known as Bilbo and Frodo Baggins' birthday!

Yes, this chapter is not overtly Silm-fic, but...there is an allusion to The Silm at least, thanks to Finrod!

Edited to add F. Baggins and to correct a horridly egregious grammatical error. *hangs head in shame*

Comments

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I am so glad that you are posting this here. I kept forgetting the name of that other website. I know. I should be ashamed. Anyway, I am starting over and happy to be able to read it here.

That was the cue for Sauron to bare his feelings, which, of course, he did in a most judicious and guarded way.

Very well put. He is going to analyze every drop of information he gives away. The Valar are obvious giving him Mein Kampf to read. He is not going to see himself as another Hitler; he thinks he is so much smarter.

It could be worse, he reminded himself, remembering Eönwë's expression after the trial in the Ring of Doom. Smug, self-righteous prick.

Cannot help but smile at that.

Gandalf will tell you that the Black Speech is a language of Power.

I love that. I wonder exactly what it means to him. I recall how with the few languages that I have studied that they seemed to reflect differences which I would not fully comprehend until I visited countries where they were spoken. Untranslatable words or phrase fascinate me, because the lack indicates that the native speaker thinks of certain aspects of life completely differently than the way I view the same things.

First, my abject apologies for such a tardy response, but my thanks to you are no less sincere.  

"Untranslatable words or phrase fascinate me, because the lack indicates that the native speaker thinks of certain aspects of life completely differently than the way I view the same things."

Oooh, yes, the same here.  Language is such a powerful foundation of Tolkien's legendarium (well, it is THE foundation as far as I am concerned), and to me, language is a defining characteristic of what it means to be human.  I tried to capture the different perspective of the Black Speech here.

Thanks again!

I practically squealed aloud when I read the foreword.  This is a clever, and--dare I say in connection with an esrtwhile dark lord--adorable idea.

Very well-done.  The dynamic between Sauron and Olórin is believable.  I love the image of Sauron reading Mein Kampf.  Something I read in Morgorth's Ring comes to mind; don't recall the quote, but its gist was that Sauron craved order and dominion, not destruction necessarily, and in light of that his criticism of Hitler is delightfully in character.  The small details about how Sauron attempts to order his life in Mandos are telling, too.

I look forward to reading the correspondance of Sauron and Bilbo.

My deepest apologies for the delayed response to your wonderful review!  I'll plead the excuse of being so immersed in work that when I made a mental note of "Oh, look at Huinare's review!  I'll respond later this evening!" it was erased by fretting about a particularly difficult clinical study report.

At any rate, here I am, and thank you for having a read!  I very much appreciate the kind words, and yes, yes, yes, you are spot-on regarding the influence from the essay in Morgoth's Ring, i.e., that Sauron was not a nihilist like Morgoth.  Tolkien has various snippets in his writings that indicate Sauron (in his earlier manifestations) took care of those who followed him, but woe to those who opposed him.  For example (from Morgoth's Ring): 

"But though Sauron's whole true motive was the destruction of the Numenoreans, this was a particular matter of revenge upon Ar-Pharazon, for humiliation.   Sauron (unlike   Morgoth) would have been content for the Numenoreans to exist, as his own subjects,  and indeed he used a great many of them that he corrupted to his allegiance."                                          

Thanks again!

I have wanted to read this for a while now and was taking a break from lesson planning this afternoon, clicked it on a whim, and was never able to put it down, although I didn't intend to spend the last more-than-an-hour reading! :) Ah well, that is what holidays are for, eh?

Needless to say, I am enjoying it thoroughly. I think what I enjoyed the most was the development of the characters: How both began with a palpable feeling of uncertainty and an almost forced levity but how their true natures and personalities are beginning to come through. Pandë, being more familiar with your works, seeing the allusions to your earlier stories is a delight; Dreamflower, knowing that there are as many allusions to your stories intensifies my desire to get a move on reading them! :) And both of you are so well-versed in the texts that catching references to obscure canon is similarly delightful and really illustrative of what can be done with these sources in transformative works.

Of course, I'm now hungering for the next chapter--the peril of reading a WiP!--to learn Sauron's reaction to the female smith that Bilbo knew in Rivendell.

Again, fabulous story so far! :)

Obviously, Sauron's corruptive influence has exerted itself in drawing you away from lesson planning. >:^)

Thanks very much for having a read and the compliments!  This is such an enjoyable exercise for both Dreamflower and myself.  There's a great deal of spontaneity involved as neither of us knows exactly how Bilbo will respond (to the Dark Muse) nor how Mr. Sauron will reply, which gives pause to Bilbo.  Dreamflower's knowledge of the legendarium is formidable, and that hums along in the operating system of all her works, which I highly, highly recommend.  

"Of course, I'm now hungering for the next chapter--the peril of reading a WiP!--to learn Sauron's reaction to the female smith that Bilbo knew in Rivendell."

Heh. He's a bit discombobulated, even though he knew he was asking a leading question.

Thanks again!

 

I review here after reading each chapter in succession - phew!  I marvel at the level of research that has gone into this; and for myself I cannot pretend to claim prior knowledge of everything referred to here having only briefly skimmed the surface of the extended world of The History of Middle-earth.  This however in no way detracted from my enjoyment in reading this!  I found your allusions to and elaborations on existing stories highly relatable to the works as published; providing the reader with easy access to their time and space without dumbing down and nailing them on.

The beauty of this is of course the distance between the correspondants that allows their idiosyncrasies to shine through; especially with Sauron since Bilbo remains mostly the same - Hobbits!  This in turn allows for each chapter to have two star turns, by which I mean the letters themselves with their natural ebb and flow, insight, humour and progression.

This is both a grand and simple conception which, to my mind at least, is why it works so well...

Excellent stuff *****

Thanks very much for having a read and the kind words, Chilled in Hithlum.  Both Dreamflower and I appreciate that very much.   Both Dreamflower and I have studied Tolkien's texts extensively to create our respective visions of Tolkien's secondary world (DF's "Trotter" is a brilliant example of a transformative work from The Historiy of Middle-earth), and I think that may have been part of what attracted us to one another as mutual admirers of one another's works.  I'm glad that these esoteric snippets work for you! 

"This in turn allows for each chapter to have two star turns, by which I mean the letters themselves with their natural ebb and flow, insight, humour and progression."

This is one of the best things about writing the epistolary for us:  that natural ebb and flow.  There's a lot of sponteneity in the letters.  Mr. Sauron never knows how Mr. Baggins will respond, and I believe that Mr. Baggins has been surpised  by Mr. Sauron's responses.  

Thanks again!  Really glad to know you're enjoying this!

Finally found a quiet moment to return to this story.. Pandë and Dreamflower, you both write your respective characters delightfully, and language was an excellent topic for a first corresponence.

"Otherwise, it has just as much power as any language spoken, no more, no less, for words are power."  Love it.  And Sauron's signature is hilarious.

"Perhaps it would amuse you to know that later I wrote down what I thought I heard..." That is an excellent way of explaining the 'goofy' quality of the songs in The Hobbit.  And Bilbo's voice is very clear throughout his letter; I can 'hear' him narrating it, as it were.

I read up through the current chapter (6) last month, but was reading offline a lot at the time and so didn't get around to reviewing back when I had a boatload of giddy comments fresh in mind.  Suffice it to say, I am very impressed with both of you in your breadth of knowledge, humor, and ability to portray the tenuous relationship of these two characters evolving.

I choose to leave this general comment on this particular chapter because, although I did not spit coffee, there was something about Sauron's snarking of Olórin that made me laugh so heartily that bits of corn torilla I was in the process of eating proceeded to lodge in my throat.  Determined to attend to the business of reading, I continued to do so while coughing memorably around the offending food item.  Fun times.

Hey, thanks, Huinarë!  The relationship of Olórin and Sauron offers plenty of opportunity for snarking.  Although Sauron has "turned himself in," as it were, and shows some repentance (definitely regret), I think that Gandalf's "meddling" in the Third Age still eats at him.  New chapter is up in which Sauron reveals his lesser known human side.  Much hand-wringing is involved.

In my last review I forgot to mention how much I enjoyed your rendition of Olórin as counsellor, although as alluded to before I was quite bowled over by reading each chapter in succession.  And as other reviewers have stated: one can positively hear each character speaking as if aloud, notably Bilbo, and I feel that this can also be said of Gandalf - even when he gives no reply!

However, it is the plausibity given to the aspects of the canon that seem implausible which pleases this reader the most; truly it is difficult to discern what both of you have created by your own volition or what undiscovered nugget has been unearthed from the Professor's dusty files.

Fine invention indeed, hoping for much more to come...

Best regards,

CiH.

Re:  Olórin.  Oh, good!  I may be (well, probably am) biased, but I'd like to think that Dreamflower and I are achieving a consistency with Gandalf/Olórin.  

I'm really glad to know you're continuing to enjoy this.   There was much hand-wringing on the part of the Dark Muse in this chapter.  He does not like to show his vulnerabilities. ;^) I really liked Bilbo's response — this would be very hard for him to grapple with.

Thanks a million for the kind words!

I was so pleased to see a new installment!

Dreamflower, your rendition of Bilbo has really made his character grow on me, particularly the emphasis on his exceptional compassion.

Pande, I had read a couple of your recent stories featuring Melamire, which hinted at her identity, and it was cool to have it fleshed out in detail here. Is there any particular story in your daunting collection of works which you'd recommend as a good intro to/overview of her character or history? =)

Hey, thanks, Huinarë.  In my opinion, Dreamflower writes the best rendition of Bilbo in fandom.  She really captures his voice.    I thoroughly appreciated his response, and now the Dark Muse is mulling over how to respond in turn, and perhaps regretting the revelation of his vulnerability (he truly hates to seem weak).

Hmmm.  On Mélamírë, it's hard to pick out any one story as an overview for her character, given that I have not written her tale in anywhere near a linear fashion.  When I first realized that she (or an equivalent male character) would need to exist in order for those "eldritch alleles" to make their way into Oppenheimer, Watson, T.H. Huxley, Ada Lovelace, Hypatia, and others of the Pandë!verse, I realized that I had considerable work to do in developing her father and to build plausibility around the concept that he would be capable of such a thing.  Well, he took over as might be expected! :^D   

That said, I'll take a stab at recommendations:  I'd say "Risk Assessment" is one.  There's nothing that says specifically to whom she's related (and that's how I introduced her character — her familial connection were gradually revealed) in that fic, but it gives an idea of the way she looks at the world:  she's a bit of a skeptic.   "The Jinn" is another, and there are some stories on my ost-in-edhil LJ.   She pops up here and there in The Elendilmir, too.   It's not unlikely that I'll be "publishing" a fic I've had around for a while: it's from her childhood and is not remotely fluffy.

Thanks again! :^)

 

This is enthralling, Pandë. It is good to read more of Mélamírë,surely the most fascinating of all OFC's, with her history and her personality. I remember reading of her in The Djinn long before you posted it publicly, and thinking what an amazing and complex character she was. I find her extremely likable, beautiful, and also imposing, like her father and her Fëanorean bloodline.

my soldiers captured her and bore her away to Mordor while I wreaked havoc throughout Eriador.  Much to my astonishment, she managed to escape the Barad-dûr.  That is a tale unto itself.

And that is one I am longing to read!

To learn that she is actually your daughter is un-nerving to say the least.

I bet! :)

This is a really brilliant story told in a very unusual way.

Thanks so much, Spiced!  Heh.  I have to say, when I considered how Pandë!verse Oppenheimer got those "eldritch alleles,"  I really didn't know where it would take me.  So the idea of an OFC came up (if anything because I'm a contrarian and wanted to push against the discouragement of OFCs in Tolkien fandom).  But then I was compelled to make her very existence plausible.  And look what that spawned! :^D  Anyway, I'm so glad you like her!  I strive to keep her accessible while giving her those imposing qualities that she can reveal as needs be.

I am the one who could be knocked over by a feather right now. Not because of surprise, because I knew what Sauron revealed to Bilbo, but because it's an amazing story and this chapter, in particular, blew me away. This is a Sauron I find believable, and not the image he and his enemies created for him, as he explains.

Because I'm almost speechless with wonder, and tired (you've both kept me reading until midnight), and sleepiness makes me slurry both when talking and writing, I'll stop here before gushing out any more nonsense.

 

 

Oh, thanks so much, Russa, and believe me, I am wildly flattered, given how much I admire your handling of Mairon in "Mirages."   

In the Pandë!verse, Sauron is all about exacerbating others' innate fears through illusions and creating a larger-than-life image in his enemies' (and his minions') mind.   I would guess that the revelation of Sauron as something more human than expect was shocking to the old hobbit's sensibilities, as Dreamflower aptly shows. 

I've just had a treat when I've found this chapter this morning. It's always fascinating to compare someone else's take on a character with my own, so I've rubbed my hands in glee here. Of course the idea of Eönwë shifting into an eagle shape and fathering little eaglets is a (very plausible) hoot, and I also found it fascinating that in this version of events, it was his gloating attitude towards Mairon and not fear of the Valar that prompted said Mairon not to go to Valinor after the War of Wrath.

I loved the fact that Eönwë chose to meet his former adversary in the projected image of their original home, and I had to feel sorry for both at the poignant statement of having left their freedom behind when the Valar took them away from their world.

I must also squee about carbon-fibre golf clubs and about the... effective anger management mechanism the Valar have devised to control Mairon/Ssuron.

I'm also very glad for Bilbo's streak of Tookness that makes them continue with their correspondence.

Brilliant chapter. Look forward to more!

Hey, thanks, Russa!  Now admittedly, I was a tad uneasy about writing Eönwë here, given that I knew you'd be reading it! :^D  Glad you enjoyed (and got a hoot out of) my interpretation.  Eönwë of my vision might have his priggish moments, but he's not a bad sort at all, and he's just as snarky as Sauron can be, giving as good as he gets.

Oh, make no mistake.  The prospect of facing the music before the Valar gave Mairon pause, but I'm inclined to think he assumed that, even if not exactly an ally or an advocate, Eönwë, as a peer and longtime acquaintance, would be supportive.  The gloating was unexpected and shook him (Mairon) up.

I found Bilbo's backstory to be fascinating, and the DM is champing at the bit to respond.  Might even have an opportunity whilst flying to and from the motherland over the next 2 weeks.

Hi! I've meant to leave a comment on this for a long time, but never did -- I'm a much worse correspondent than either Bilbo or Sauron, unfortunately. Anyway, I love this fic to bits -- I think you had me completely when Sauron imagines Fingolfin and his family to be the inhabitants of Blandings Castle. (I would totally read that.)

This is just a delight! I am so glad to see it updated today.

Thank you so much, Agelast!  I have no idea who all reads my stuff, so comments like yours come as a wonderful surprise, a gift really.  The whole epistolary is a pretty audacious concept, but Dreamflower's Bilbo was game for corresponding with my Dark Muse so we thought we'd give it a go.  It has been fun because neither Bilbo nor Sauron know what the other will write, so there's a high degree of spontaneity.

Thanks again!

How nice to see Mairon being Annatar in a more straightforward and (may I say) more honourable fashion for Bilbo and Frodo's birthday! I appreciated the "guest appearance" of Finrod as well.

I did a little advertising for this chapter in my journal on LJ, but unsurprisingly the people on my f-list are following your story already!

Once again the application of simplicity and elegance shines through here; not only does it pique and provoke in all the right places but it reflects the warmth fostered by the occasion (22nd Sept).

Both the bon ami and insolence of Finrod was quite revealing; one wonders if he would as bold if the shackles were on the other boots... perhaps he would given his courage at the Accursed Isle.

Please forgive deletion but I simply had to make the correction to the date... Doh!

 

Thank you so much, Athrabeth, and my apologies for the belated reply.  I'm hoping to get back to this sometime during 2015.  Dreamflower and I have only another chapter or two to go so hopefully we can finish it up then.  It's truly an out-on-a-limb fic, but it has been fun for Dreamflower and I to engage in this epistolary.  We never know what the characters will say!

Hi Pandemonium,

Just a quick note to tell you that this fic blew me away. Here I am trawling (trolling? heh) the internet for fics with awesome Elves and I stumble upon one with a Hobbit and I fall in love. What an amazing original idea. I particularly loved the letter format, the pace (how the penpals get more and more open with one another as it progresses) and mainly, the insane left-of-field originality of it. I am always in awe when I stumble upon a fic that I would not normally have gone for-for any reason- I think I love having my brain challenged and tickled. I have a fic in the works myself which I may or may not decide to publish and I was researching related fics and I made this happy discovery. I have since read a few of yours and am consistently entertained.

Thanks so much for a great read!

And thanks so much for reading this definitely left-of-field epistolary between two unlikely fellows!  Dreamflower and I are enjoying the process - my Dark Muse (DM) never quite knows how Bilbo will react, and conversely, the DM has taken Bilbo by surprise, too.  It's an organic process, and I'm glad it's unfolding that way for you.  We're not far from the conclusion, but due to pretty intense work demands for me (thus sapping the "DM's" creative energies), I've set aside recreational writing until things calm down, which they should by the end of October. 

I think I love having my brain challenged and tickled.


If my fic does that for you, then I have accomplished what I set out to do. :^)  I have to confess that when I first ventured into Tolkien fan fic in 2007, I also researched a number of fics, then deliberately wrote in contrast to the popular Sauron tropes of that time (which I still seem to be doing).

I have a fic in the works myself which I may or may not decide to publish


Count me in among those who shall encourage you to publish it!

Thanks again, KhamulsBurntFalafel! (<= Best. Fannish. Handle. Ever. :^D) Your review made my day and then some!