Don't let the all lowercase title put you off, this is an amazing story and the expanded series is amazing as well.
The story looks into Bilbo finding out about the One Ring and just what it really is and deciding he must take it to Mt. Doom immediately while the Battle of Five Armies is called off just in time and Thorin, kicking himself for his greed for treasure the whole way tries desperately to catch this version of the Fellowship up with Bilbo who spends the majority of the fic ahead of them. It deals quite well with looking at how things change with different and/or younger people in the Fellowship and many of the obstacles are different given the different time frame (Denethor, for example, pays a very different role, and there is no reason to go to Moria in this version). And in the background is the thing that caused the split in the first place: the gold-lust and Thorin's temper initially driving Bilbo away over the Arkenstone.
The author also does a good job of not really demonizing anyone outside of the forces of evil, always a treat for such a shippy fic. The expanded universe also deals with the things Thorin and Bilbo didn't have time to talk over in the duration of the main story, acknowledging that yes, they did need to get around to that. As for the side pairings, most are great, especially how the Kili/Legolas is handled, with the latter initially falling for the former's optimism. The Fili/OC is a bit less so, but still pretty good. I do feel Thranduil was under-utilzied and under-developed, however given that the fic was written before The Desolation of Smaug came out that is to be expected. Outside of the first film it sticks mostly to book-canon instead for that same reason.
All in all a good read, especially if you're looking for a good, long tale.
FanficRecs A Must-Read
Don't let the all lowercase title put you off, this is an amazing story and the expanded series is amazing as well.
The story looks into Bilbo finding out about the One Ring and just what it really is and deciding he must take it to Mt. Doom immediately while the Battle of Five Armies is called off just in time and Thorin, kicking himself for his greed for treasure the whole way tries desperately to catch this version of the Fellowship up with Bilbo who spends the majority of the fic ahead of them. It deals quite well with looking at how things change with different and/or younger people in the Fellowship and many of the obstacles are different given the different time frame (Denethor, for example, pays a very different role, and there is no reason to go to Moria in this version). And in the background is the thing that caused the split in the first place: the gold-lust and Thorin's temper initially driving Bilbo away over the Arkenstone.
The author also does a good job of not really demonizing anyone outside of the forces of evil, always a treat for such a shippy fic. The expanded universe also deals with the things Thorin and Bilbo didn't have time to talk over in the duration of the main story, acknowledging that yes, they did need to get around to that. As for the side pairings, most are great, especially how the Kili/Legolas is handled, with the latter initially falling for the former's optimism. The Fili/OC is a bit less so, but still pretty good. I do feel Thranduil was under-utilzied and under-developed, however given that the fic was written before The Desolation of Smaug came out that is to be expected. Outside of the first film it sticks mostly to book-canon instead for that same reason.
All in all a good read, especially if you're looking for a good, long tale.