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| Dragonsblood by Dreamflower | 12 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Periantari | Reviewed Chapter: Author's Notes on 12/27/2014 |
| That's an interesting question of how it would've impacted Bilbo had he been the one to slay the dragon-- i think it would indeed change him negatively-- dragon blood upon him wouldn't be wise to have come in contact with. He'll be hardier and less hobbity and do we want that of Bilbo? He'll be more eccentric than was described by his fellow hobbits! And not sure if he could still live in the Shire given his heroic persona either. He'll be probably dwell more upon these consequences of slaying the dragon. Author Reply: Yes, that was the original conclusion I came up with when I had started the story as an AU. I had written a paragraph about how he treated the S.-B.s when he came home--he' d forced them to become his servants in order to pay him back for what they'd done to Bag End. I hated it, and like Tolkien, I deleted it. Then I made it all a dream. | |
| Periantari | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/27/2014 |
| It's also very interesting to witness Bilbo being that greedy with the jewels-- it seems like he has dragon sickness too! I enjoyed that part where you have him grabbing everything he could. Not hobbity anymore, more like a sickness has descended upon him as well! Author Reply: Yes, well that's just the effect I would guess that the dragon's blood would have on him, making him "hard, wicked and bold"! So I'm just as well pleased that JRRT decided NOT to do it that way! | |
| Periantari | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 12/27/2014 |
| Love this what if? story very much. I am enjoying reading Rateliff's notes a much as reading this AU situation... it's great that you left it as a dream at the end though. Thanks for directing me here. I liked this a lot. Author Reply: I had to make it as a dream; when I first attempted to make it AU, it took such a dark turn that I didn't want to even deal with it. And the whole "river of dragon blood" made it seem much more like a dream or nightmare! | |
| Alaura J. | Reviewed Chapter: Author's Notes on 6/19/2012 |
| This is a nice connection with the author's original thought-train. (Not that I wish it had been that way... I prefer the published version.) Are you planning on doing anything else with this? Adding chapters? Alaura | |
| Virtuella | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/1/2010 |
| Nice one. It seems really convicing until we get to the river of blood and Bilbo being swept away in the bowl, and then the dream nature of the story becomes obvious. Author Reply: the river of blood and Bilbo being swept away in the bowl Well, of course, in JRRT's "Plot Notes" he actually had it happen that way! But to me it had the feel of a dream or a hallucination, and so that is what gave me the idea to turn it into a dream. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: Author's Notes on 10/30/2010 |
| A fascinating look at the Master's thought processes as he crafted the story of The Hobbit. And I am most vigilantly evading a number of plotbunnies and Nuzguls that are intent on attaching themselves at this point--I have far too many projects going at the moment to allow more such critters room to attack at this point! Aargh! Author Reply: It's very fascinating to see all those possibilities that are laid out in HoTH! Those plotbunnies and Nuzguls are persistent. Sometimes the only way to get rid of them is to give in to them. | |
| Baggins Babe | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/30/2010 |
| The idea that Bilbo could have changed so much is very scary. The outcome of the story would have been very different. Thank goodness it was only a dream. Phew! Wonderful story, Dreamflower Author Reply: Well, if JRRT had gone with his original idea, that's just what would have happened! | |
| FantasyFan | Reviewed Chapter: Author's Notes on 10/29/2010 |
| A hard Bilbo: a pitiless warrior? His realatives would have insisted that an imposter had returned to the Shire. Instead of living a not quite respectable life in Bag End, he probably would have left entirely (or been thrown out): a hard Bilbo could have stood up to the Sackville-Bagginses, but I doubt he would have wanted to remain in the bucolic provincial insular Shire. (Even Frodo once thought an invasion of dragons would be good for them. A hard Bilbo would have even more so.) So, no kindly uncle to rescue Frodo, no tutoring for Sam, no spreading the largess of the dragon's gold throughout the Shire. He would have left, and the ring would have wandered with him throughout Middle Earth. Warriors are always in some demand, stature notwithstanding, and I could totally see him carving out a niche for himself - a mercenary, combining his natural hobbit stealth, his new ruthlessness and the advantages of a ring of invisiblity; a sly and furtive assassin perhaps in the pay of Rhun or Far Harad. Author Reply: Or he might have remained in the Shire out of sheer contrariness, at least for a few years. It would have certainly changed a lot of things-- and your scenario sounds not unlikely. But, at least in *this* version, the ring would not have been the One Ring! I wonder myself, if Bilbo might have tried to fight his new nature? It would clash so with his hobbity instincts... | |
| Andrea | Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 10/28/2010 |
| A very interesting turn of events! He was a warrior, a mighty warrior, hard, wicked and bold! Who knows what might have become of Bilbo after that! Or in other words: How would the hobbits of the Shire have reacted to such a Bilbo? Maybe they would have made him Thain! Or they would have tried to send him away because he seemed like a stranger to them and they feared him. But Bilbo, being hard and wicked now, would not have cooperated... Have you ever heard of the "Nibelungenlied" or in English "The Song of the Nibelungs". It is based on Northern European sagas. Siegfried, one of the major characters, kills a dragon and bathes in its blood. That makes him invulnerable. Unfortunately a single leaf of a linden tree fell on his back while he bathed and in that single spot he remained vulnerable. His later enemy, Hagen, found out about that spot and killed him. Does that sound familiar? I think that the Professor had this saga in mind while writing "The Hobbit". And maybe he came to the point where he decided against a "Second Siegfried" and for Bilbo the Hobbit :-) I'm glad about that decision! Author Reply: I'm familiar with the "Nibelungenlied". More to the point, JRRT was *very* familiar with it-- I think that's where *his* original scenario came from, with Bilbo as the dragon-slayer. But I do think that he just suddenly realized that would not work for our Bilbo. I'm glad he made that decision! As for how the Shire would have reacted, it's hard to say! | |
| eiluj | Reviewed Chapter: Author's Notes on 10/27/2010 |
| Building on Lynda's comments: If after his Adventure, canon-Bilbo was nearly ostracized as not proper-hobbit-ly respectable, how would the "hard" Bilbo have been viewed by the Shire hobbits? Then again, could hard-Bilbo ever have been satisfied with Shire life? And if he'd left the Shire, where might he have gone? What would have become of him -- and of the Ring? Alternately, supposing hard-Bilbo had been able to live in the Shire, would he ever have been allowed to adopt Frodo? And how would Frodo have turned out with a significantly less-typical-hobbit guardian than book-Bilbo was? Even if hard-Bilbo had remained in the safety of the Shire, somehow I doubt he could ever have given up the Ring. *shudder* So glad this nightmare was simply a dream! Author Reply: *nods* How would he? He'd still be wealthy-- possibly even wealthier than in the familiar version, but would he still be viewed as kindly and generous? It's hard to say. Would he have stayed in the Shire? Again, hard to say. I'd think he'd have stayed for a few years at least. As for adopting Frodo, that would have been many years down the road. In the draft version (indeed, even in the first edition as published) the ring was not the One Ring, but simply a little ring that conveyed invisibility; if it were a "lesser ring" it might have extended his life. But would he have remained hearty and healthy enough to adopt a young orphan? And I think Frodo would have turned out somewhat differently as well. I'm just glad that JRRT decided that Bilbo was not the dragon-slayer type. | |