Deeper Down the Withywindle by Clodia Metelli

[clodia-metelli.livejournal.com]

Author: clodia_metelli
Title: Deeper Down the Withywindle
Rating: G
Theme: Pairs
Elements: husband, wife
Author's Notes: Borrowings from 'The Adventures of Tom Bombadil' in Tales from the Perilous Realm (2002).
Summary: Down comes the rain... but Goldberry has a new toy.
Word Count: 100 according to WordPerfect

( Deeper down the Withywindle... )

Comments

[blslarner.livejournal.com]

Now, that IS quite the story here! Yes! She's not quite taken with him as yet, but has snatched his hat away nonetheless! Delightful!

[clodia-metelli.livejournal.com]

Heh, thanks! I thought I'd take the chance to carry over the tale from the last challenge fic I did here, though that was a little while ago. (Regular updates on anything do not seem to be part of my life at the moment.) I'm glad you liked it!

[bfb.livejournal.com]

Wonderful imagery! I could see and hear the rain as I read that. I loved your description of Goldberry-- "silver-scaled" and "coils" makes her seem all the more strange and fantastical. And I found the ending very humorous in a tongue-in-cheek way. Great job!

[clodia-metelli.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I rather love Tom and Goldberry, and they're such a strange pair that we might as well have some fun with them. She is the river's daughter, after all. And I could hear rain as well when I was writing this, alas!

[shirebound]

What lovely writing! You evoke this River-daughter and her world beautifully.

[clodia-metelli.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm very glad you think so; I tend to indulge myself a bit more in drabbles.

[labourslamp.livejournal.com]

You know certainly know how to pack your prose--this felt more like poetry! Lovely imagery, and the bit of plot at the end made it that much more delightful.

[clodia-metelli.livejournal.com]

Heh, thank you! I do tend to indulge myself with drabbles, and not just because dropping articles and compressing things is one way to handle the low word-count. The plot carries over from the last ficlet I wrote for this comm, a few months ago now. I'm very glad you enjoyed it!

[dreamflower]

I love how evocative this is, and how elemental it makes Goldberry seem, truly a water sprite. But she'll warm to Tom sooner or later...

[clodia-metelli.livejournal.com]

That's what I was aiming for, Goldberry the true river's daughter, so I'm so glad you liked it! And quite, one of these days, she'll pull Tom right in or be fished out herself. Thank you!

[thunderatiger.livejournal.com]

This was stunning! I love the imagery of rain and river and of some fantastic creature "coiling" herself in her mother's pools. The idea that she's still taking Tom's measure made me smile, and this has the feel of something that just stepped out of myth and legend.

[clodia-metelli.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I thought I'd take the chance to carry on the last ficlet I wrote for this comm, a couple of months back, especially when I got the 'husband/wife' element. Goldberry in 'The Adventures of Tom Bombadil' does seem to be something of a river sprite, and of course she's the River-Daughter and her washing day seemed to involve a good deal more than washing the household linen; so there is a good deal of space for myth and the fantastical here. That always appeals to me. It's lovely to hear you liked it too!

[paranoidangel]

I love the descriptions in this. It makes rain sound good!

[clodia-metelli.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I think rain can be quite exciting -- but only when it's a real storm and you're safe at home and don't have to go anywhere. Otherwise, very depressing.

[keiliss.livejournal.com]

I love the sense of Goldberry being somehow alien and 'other', a true child of the River... not that Tom's your average mortal, of course. The descriptions in the first paragraph are stunning, this line in particular caught me: Bulrushes bow and sway to the pounding of storm-drums.

[clodia-metelli.livejournal.com]

I'm indebted to 'The Adventures of Tom Bombadil' for this view of Goldberry, really -- well, that and her washing day in LOTR, which seemed to involve more than washing the household linen. And I've always liked the idea of river sprites. So glad you liked the descriptions too! Thank you!

[someplacetobe.livejournal.com]

She's very much the River Daughter and not a lovely lady sitting by the side of a river, waiting for Tom, and I like that about this and whenever you've written about her: she feels so alien and yet, you can connect to her, through the warm humour that's present - both with what she's doing and through the poetical beauty of the story.

[clodia-metelli.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much, I am as always very glad you feel that way! I do enjoy writing these snippets -- it's fun to do something interesting with characters so rarely written seriously -- so I may come back to Tom and Goldberry when the prompt is right...

[someplacetobe.livejournal.com]

so I may come back to Tom and Goldberry when the prompt is right...
I will very much look forward to it!