I read Bagginshield fics and give a full, glowing recommendation! I post on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. I have very few squicks/will not reads, but I try to keep an up-to-date list in the pinned welcome post. Feel free to rec fics (even self-recs) for me to read. I can't promise to get to all of them, but I will definitely try!
Hi guys! Welcome to the blog. I have been in the fandom for awhile now, and there are so many good Bagginshield fics out there that I feel like don't get enough of a shout-out. So I wanted to use this chance to talk about my favorites (there are quite a few), give you some recs you may not have seen before, and celebrate our writers who are still creating for the fandom!
Rules for the Blog:
Bagginshield will be the main ship of the fics I post (hence the name).
My tastes may differ from others. This is not a bad thing, just a human thing. With that being said, any comment added to my posts to put down or give negative critique to a fic will be removed and blocked.
In line with the previous thought, if you rec me a fic, and I don't read/post it, that is not a reflection on the writer or the fic itself. There are tropes that I don't like and therefore, don't read. I don't need you to talk me into why it's a good fic. I absolutely believe you. It's just not something I want to read, and that's my choice. (See List of Tropes I Don't Read below.)
All ratings and tags will be posted with each rec. If you have a squick/trigger, please pay attention to that at the beginning! I can't promise to hit them all (because that would be impossible), but I will do my upmost best to warn you ahead of time.
I will add a spoiled summary at the very bottom of the post. If you don't want to be spoiled, do not click the "read more" line.
Reblogs are always welcome and encouraged to share the fic with a wider audience!
I'll leave this post pinned at the top of my blog page, and update rules or tropes accordingly. If you have any questions or recs, feel free to drop into my askbox!
Rating: NR
Warnings: Explicit Content, Faked Mpreg (But no real mpreg)
Status: Completed
Word Count: 103,805
Side Characters/Ships: Dwalin/Ori, Bofur/Nori
Major Tags: Servitude, Gardening, Cultural Differences, Family Issues, Hair Braiding
Summary: Bilbo Baggins was a desperate Hobbit.
Well, he was several things. Short, funny, hungry, and tired for starts. Desperate was at the forefront of his mind at the moment.
He would never be at Oakenshield Manor otherwise. Still, they needed a gardener, and as much as he didn't know about dwarves, he did know about plants.
Bilbo expected it to be difficult. Dwarves were hardly known to be the most accepting and open of races after all. He expected the garden to be in terrible shape, the dwarves to be loud, and secretive.
He could never have expected Thorin.
This is such a fascinating fic! It has this sort of Jane Eyre vibe to it at the beginning, but it's very much set in-universe, Erebor Never Fell. I like this sort of "down on his luck" Bilbo who doesn't feel like he has much of a choice but to serve Thorin, but he also doesn't lose his pluck while he's there. The progression of their relationship is so much fun to read, and you honestly don't realize you've devoured 100K+ words until you're sitting there like "where's the rest?" This is definitely on my reread list for every year.
Snippet from the Fic:
It was probably just a cardinal, but he was terrified for no real reason. He just felt like he was in danger. The same unease he’d felt when Thorin had mentioned enemies had firmly gripped his chest.
He was nearly at the woods edge when he saw another flash of red, and heard a whirring noise.
The impact was nearly as immediate as the whirring noise had been. One moment he was striving forward, and the next moment someone was shouting and there was something piercing through his arm.
Pain, like nothing he had ever felt, soared through Bilbo’s body and he fell to his knees. He gasped violently, shaking and choking on the air. His eyes darted to his arm, but he couldn’t make them focus properly. He could tell something was sticking out of it, something brown with a red end, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.
He gazed back at the woods in haze, but the red he’d seen earlier was gone. They were blurring together, and he could feel something warm and wet sliding down his arm. He gasped sharply, and tried to push himself back up. He needed to get up, to get back to the house-
-there was a dull thunk as something hit him in the back of the head. He lost his vision and fell against the hard earth.
SPOILED SUMMARY BELOW! ONLY CLICK IF YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED!
Bilbo answers an ad for the Oakenshield Manor's need for a gardener. Balin hires Bilbo without consulting Thorin, and Bilbo needs the money because he is dirt poor after being forced to sell Bag End. When Bilbo and Thorin finally do meet, Bilbo kicks Thorin in the shin and runs away so not off to the best start.
Slowly Thorin and Bilbo start to fall in love, even as danger starts to lurk. (Bilbo gets shot in the arm and someone breaks into his room.) Things come to a screeching halt when Nori arrives, Thorin's spy, who implies he has a relationship with Thorin. (He doesn't.)
Bilbo learns in town that Thorin is a prince and decides he needs to leave and that's when Thorin confesses his love as he asks him to stay. A lot of their misunderstandings get worked out, and after they realize that their troubles at the manor might be coming from Erebor, Bilbo has them use their engagement as a reason to get an audience with King Thrain. (Thrain is sick and jealous of Thorin in this fic.)
Bilbo deals with the political climate well even when it is apparent Thrain doesn't like him, but Nori learns that Thorin coming to Erebor was exactly what the assassins want. To eliminate the Line of Durin once and for all. Bilbo convinces them to make a rumor that he is pregnant (he can't get pregnant in this fic) to throw them off.
An attack is launched (Bofur gets hurt but is alive) and as they are all ushered into a room together, Bilbo gets kidnapped. He wakes up to the masterminds behind the attack, but Nori, in disguise, kills the head guy and pretends to be him as they head to the throne room where they expose Dain as the bad guy. (NOOO!!!) Bilbo saves Thrain's life and everything turns out okay as they make their way back home to the Manor.
Rating: T
Warnings: None
Status: Complete
Word Count: 18,263
Side Characters/Ships: Several Dwarf OCs, including trans Dwarf OC (Yuna)
Major Tags: Fairy Tale, Arranged Marriage, Everybody Lives/Nobody Dies, Secret Identity
Summary: On the road to Erebor, Thorin and Bilbo found love, but after Bilbo's betrayal before the battle their relationship shattered. At the battle, Thorin was never fatally wounded and so never reconciled with Bilbo. Fearing that Goldlust still clouded Thorin’s mind, Bilbo chose to stay near Erebor (despite his banishment) in order to better protect his friends. Set two years post-BotFA, Bilbo works in the kitchens disguised as a dwarf below and Thorin rules with regret above
I adore this fic so much! There are so many moments that live rent free in my head. The attention to detail given to Bilbo's outfits and the Blacklocks culture really emphasize the fairy tale feel of this fic. I also really liked how the OC, Yuna, was utilized in this fic. Overall, a great fun little read!
Snippet from the Fic:
He almost did not notice Óskur’s return. The floor seemed dropped out from under Bilbo’s feet. Óskur was white as a sheet and for the first time since Bilbo had met him, he looked like he might trip over his own feet.
“What is it?” He demanded, wiping his hands on his already soaked shirt again.
“The King.” Óskur started. He seemed to choke on the words and Bilbo fought down the urge to shake the young dwarf. “He likes the soup.”
Bilbo stared, uncomprehending. “What?”
“The King likes your soup, Baldor.” Óskur repeated, almost shrill in his panic. “He wants to meet the chef.”
“I can’t!” Bilbo didn’t realize he was nearly shouting in alarm. “I can’t! Óskur, we have to do something.”
“There is nothing to be done,” Óilvur had appeared, overhearing enough of the conversation to jump in, though he too looked unnerved. “Make yourself presentable before he arrives.”
“Sir,” Bilbo leaned forward, desperately, mind racing to find a way out. The others might not see through his disguise, but Thorin might. He’d be lucky, then, to escape with his life. At worst, he’d end up with his head on a spike for daring to break his banishment unwarranted.
“Sir, you cannot present his majesty with a dishwasher,” Bilbo finally spluttered, attempting to imbue the title with all the disdain Óilvur normally said it with. “It would be a disgrace.”
Óilvur paused, suddenly hesitant, so Bilbo plunged forward. “Tell him you made the soup, sir. Please, it would only be right. To produce a dish that his majesty favors would be a credit to you and your family, where I would make you seem like a fool for allowing me near food preparation.”
Finally, Ă“ilvur gave a stiff nod, smoothing his plaited beard with one hand and squaring his shoulders, allowing Bilbo to turn back to the mountain of dirty dishes in his sink with shaking hands.
Thorin was coming to this very room.
SPOILED SUMMARY BELOW! ONLY CLICK IF YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED!
Bilbo is working as a dishwasher in Erebor's kitchens disguised as a dwarf, but when their usual soup chef doesn't so up for duty, Bilbo steps in to make Thorin a green soup. Thorin comes down to thank the chef, but Bilbo convinces the dwarf in charge to lie. (Bilbo still believes he is banished which is why he does not risk showing himself to Thorin.) Thorin continues to ask for the soup, and eventually Bombur discovers Bilbo which leads to Bofur, Bifur, Dori, and Nori learning his identity as well.
Bilbo soon learns that Thorin is being pressed into an arranged marriage with the Blacklock princess and is devastated. His friends make him beautiful clothes so he can sneak into the ball happening each night. After each dance, he hides a special item in Thorin's soup as a sort of goodbye. First is the broken shard of the Arkenstone, second is the ring Thorin gave Bilbo for saving his life, and last is the braid bead Thorin gave him with romantic intentions.
After the last gift, Yuna thinks he is a spy and kidnaps him to expose him to Thorin. Bilbo escapes going up the fireplace, but is captured by the guards and Bilbo's fake beard comes off right as Thorin finds him. Bilbo is taken to a room to bathe and get his wounds treated, and then he and Thorin have a conversation. Thorin thinking he had been dead this whole time is hurt by Bilbo's deception, but understands, and asks for him to marry him as Yuna will go back to her mountains to be with her One, but the agreement between their people will stand. Bilbo doesn't agree right away to the marriage, but definitely to the idea of them being together again.
