For the Valentine Fandom Ask Meme, number 2 and number 18 ;D
2. Is there a ship you didn’t like at first but ultimately started shipping?
I’m sorry, I wracked my brains and I absolutely can’t think of one XD I tend to be a “canon” (or main pairing) shipper and I’m more likely to lose a ship than gain one!
18. Is there a ship the writers have ruined for you?
Weirdly enough, Bilbo/Bofur. Weird because if you go back, it was the first Hobbit fanfic I ever wrote (Near to You) where Bilbo and Bofur got together while Bilbo was mourning Thorin’s death (BotFA grief hit for me about 5 minutes after AUJ came out lol). I mean, no one should need telling that circa AUJ, Bilbo/Bofur was just about as valid if not more so than Bilbo/Thorin, though I had a preference for the latter. My view was just that Bofur was more domestic, and a Bilbo who had the adventure burned out of him by Thorin’s death but who also cared for the dwarves and wanted them in his life would be a natural fit for Bofur.
But the scene in BotFA where Bofur very much shows he cares for Bilbo, at least as a friend, when he basically says he’ll look the other way while Bilbo runs… I don’t know, that moment killed the ship for me. I think because I see Bilbo as extremely courageous (by that point) and the fact that Bofur actually thought Bilbo would run away, when he was in fact taking on the most dangerous task of his life to slip past Elven archers to give the Arkenstone away as a bargaining chip… it was like “Oh Bofur, do you really not understand him at all?” It was such a disservice to Bilbo, something a friend would do to be sure, but I always write Thorin and Bilbo as having a very deep unspoken bond, and Thorin had never shied away from putting Bilbo in danger, in my mind because he knew Bilbo could handle it. I actually find putting your loved ones into danger because you trust them to handle it to be a far more of a romantic, soulmate gesture than trying to protect them, at least when it comes to Bagginshield.
So yeah, weirdly one of the best Bilbo/Bofur moments in BotFA was what killed the ship for me! I can still see it I think, if done properly, but it’s not as obvious for me as it was after AUJ and I don’t see myself writing it again.