A digital scrapbook of my thoughts

The lower archives of Erebor are filled with ancient, dusty scrolls that haven't been touched in hundreds of years. Whenever Bilbo goes down there to research family lineages or history, the heavy dust makes him sneeze constantly. Thorin, who can hear Bilbo's high-pitched hobbit-sneezes from all the way down the corridor, always interrupts his important meetings to storm into the archives. He doesn't say anything romantic; he just grumps about "reckless hobbits ruining their health," lifts Bilbo up by the waist like a sack of flour, and carries him out into the fresh air of the balconies. Bilbo swats at his shoulders and calls him a stubborn brute, but he always smiles when Thorin places a warm woolen scarf around his neck

Dwarves prefer massive, heavy iron cutlery that feels like a blacksmith's tool in a Hobbit's small hands. Bilbo constantly struggles during formal dinners, almost dropping his soup spoon out of sheer exhaustion. Noticing this, Thorin orders the royal silversmiths to craft a special set of lightweight, beautifully balanced cutlery for Bilbo. The handle of the main spoon is shaped like a twisting beanstalk, and the silver is thinned down to perfect hobbit-proportions. When Bilbo blushes and thanks him, Thorin grunts that he "simply didn't want the royal tablecloths stained with spilled soup anymore"

Dwarven bakers make dense, rock-hard travel bread and heavy crusts designed to last for months in deep mines. Bilbo, who misses the fluffy, golden, yeast-risen loaves of the Shire, views this as a personal tragedy. After weeks of complaining, Bilbo takes over a small corner of the royal bakery. He imports proper yeast and teaches the grumbling, heavily bearded royal bakers how to properly knead and proof soft Shire dough. When Thorin is served a warm, fluffy roll with melting butter for breakfast instead of his usual rock-hard ration, his eyes widen in pure delight. The bakers try to take the credit, but Thorin knows exactly whose soft hands saved his kingdom from bad bread

Hobbits have a natural habit of keeping useful things in their pockets twine, pebbles, pipe-cleaners, and dried fruit. Thorin, who wears heavy royal robes that traditionally have no pockets (only loops for weapons), finds this fascinating. One evening, while reviewing trade logs, Thorin complains that his hands are cold. Without looking up from his book, Bilbo reaches into his waistcoat, pulls out a beautifully polished, warm river stone he found earlier, and drops it into Thorin’s hand. Thorin stares at the smooth stone for a long time. The next week, Thorin orders the royal tailors to secretly sew deep, velvet-lined pockets inside all of his majestic fur cloaks, specifically so he can carry small things Bilbo gives him

Dwarves drink heavy ales, strong mead, and thick black coffee that smells like burnt coal. Bilbo’s delicate chamomile and mint teas are considered "hot grass water" by most of the iron-willed lords of Erebor. However, whenever Thorin suffers from a severe sore throat or stress after a long council meeting, he secretly slips into Bilbo’s rooms and demands a cup of "the grass drink." Bilbo always serves it in a massive stone mug so that if any other Dwarf walks in, it looks like the King is drinking heavy liquor. Thorin will sit there, sipping sweet chamomile tea with honey out of a terrifying skull-shaped mug, looking completely content

Dwarves never go barefoot; their boots are heavy, steel-toed, and lined with thick leather to protect against sharp stones. They find Bilbo’s bare, furry feet both fascinating and deeply concerning. For the first few months, Thorin constantly panics that Bilbo will stub his toes or step on sharp iron shavings in the lower halls. He tries to order custom leather slippers for him, but Bilbo refuses to wear them, complaining that they stifle his feet. Eventually, they compromise: Thorin orders the stonemasons to meticulously polish and sand down the floors of the royal wing until the cold stone is as smooth and soft as river silk, just so Bilbo can walk comfortably

Bilbo loves maps, but he finds Dwarven tactical maps incredibly difficult to read because they focus strictly on minerals, defensive walls, and underground water veins. To help him understand the mountain, Thorin takes a giant sheet of parchment and personally draws a simplified map of the royal quarters for Bilbo. However, Thorin fills it with deeply personal notes. Next to the library, he writes: "Where Master Baggins hides when he is cross with me." Next to the eastern balcony: "Best view of the sunrise, though the Hobbit is usually asleep." And next to the royal bedchamber, he simply carves the rune for "Home"

Dwarves are naturally resilient to the cold, but Bilbo, used to the mild and cozy climate of the Shire, shivers during his first autumn in the drafty stone halls of Erebor. Thorin quickly notices this. Instead of calling for traditional wool blankets, Thorin goes down to the royal vaults and retrieves a massive, ancient quilt woven with heavy gold threads and lined with the dense fur of mountain foxes. It weighs almost as much as Bilbo himself. Bilbo initially complains that he feels like he is trapped under a fallen boulder, but the heavy, grounding weight combined with Thorin's radiating body heat quickly becomes the only way Bilbo can fall into a deep, dreamless sleep

Before meeting Bilbo, Thorin smoked heavy, harsh Dwarven leaf that smelled of sulfur and strong spice. After spending months traveling with Bilbo, he grows incredibly fond of the sweet, herbal aroma of Old Toby from the Shire. Whenever Thorin goes to difficult council meetings with stubborn lords, he purposefully smokes Bilbo's pipe weed. The familiar, comforting scent reminds him of peace, keeping his notorious short temper in check and preventing him from losing his patience with the elven or dwarven diplomats

Thorin’s duties as King under the Mountain require him to read hundreds of boring inventory ledgers regarding iron ore, stone shipments, and grain taxes. To help him get through the exhausting work, Bilbo starts leaving tiny, hidden doodles and notes in the margins of the official books before they reach the King’s desk. Bilbo draws little fat Hobbits, pipes with smoke rings, or leaves of ivy, accompanied by short phrases in his neat handwriting. Thorin’s ministers are often baffled as to why the gruff, stern King suddenly smiles and grows incredibly soft-spoken while reviewing a dry report on plumbing logistics

During official court ceremonies, Thorin must wear a heavy, ornate golden crown that causes him severe migraines. Bilbo, noticing his hidden winces, sneaks into the mountain’s lower terraces to gather fresh ivy and mountain herbs. He weaves a hidden, soft lining inside the crown to cushion Thorin’s brow. Later, for private family feasts, Bilbo weaves Thorin a simple crown of green leaves and small white flowers. Thorin treasures this fragile, worthless crown of leaves far more than the gold of his ancestors and refuses to let anyone else touch it

In Erebor, highly confidential war strategies or secret royal decrees are written in a specialized, angular sub-variant of runes that can only be easily carved or written with the left hand (a traditional Dwarven military code). Thorin is right-handed but spent years mastering this tactical script. During tedious, hours-long diplomatic meetings with the Elves of Mirkwood, Thorin will rest his right hand on his chin to look attentive, while his left hand secretly scribbles notes on a scrap of parchment beneath the table. He pushes these notes to Bilbo, who has learned to decode them. They usually say things like: "If this Elf does not stop talking about wine, I am throwing my boot at him," making Bilbo stifle a laugh

Dwarven royal garments are notoriously heavy, lined with thick furs and weighed down by gold embroidery and metal clasps. Bilbo constantly complains about how impractical they are. To compromise, Thorin secretly asks the tailors to line his own heavy cloaks with soft, lightweight wool from the Shire's region, so that whenever he wraps Bilbo in his cloak to keep him warm during cold mountain evenings, the hobbit feels perfectly comfortable. In return, Bilbo starts wearing a subtle, dark-blue sash the color of the House of Durin with his usual tweed waistcoats

As Bilbo works on his memoirs, he often reads chapters out loud to Thorin in bed. Thorin is fascinated by how Bilbo spells words from the Shire dialect words for types of soil, specific gardening tools, and comfort foods that have no equivalent in the Dwarven tongue. Thorin starts a private notebook of his own, bound in red leather, where he meticulously copies down Bilbo’s Shire vocabulary alongside the closest runic definitions. To Thorin, mastering the language of the Shire is just as important as mastering the politics of Middle-earth, because it is the language of the world that shaped the person he loves most

Khuzdul, the secret language of the Dwarves, is forbidden to be taught to outsiders, and its written form is fiercely guarded. Thorin, however, finds a loophole. He cannot teach Bilbo the spoken grammar of the language, but he teaches him the specific runic spellings of certain sacred concepts. One evening, Thorin takes a small silver dagger and carves three runes onto the inside of Bilbo’s personal writing desk. He tells Bilbo it is a protective ward. It is only months later, when Bilbo compares the shapes to an ancient historical text, that he realizes the runes don't spell a ward; they spelling out Thorin's secret, intimate inner-name for Bilbo, a title meant only for a Dwarf’s true lifemate

While Bilbo is highly literate in Common and Elvish script, Dwarven runes confuse him. Thorin takes it upon himself to teach him. He sits behind Bilbo at his grand library desk, guiding Bilbo's hand with his own to ink the sharp, geometric lines of the runes. Thorin starts by teaching him simple words like "gold," "iron," and "home." However, Bilbo notices that Thorin often makes him write a specific sequence of runes over and over. When Bilbo later asks Ori for the translation, Ori giggles and reveals it spells out: "The beloved treasurer of the King"

Dwarves eat heavy, meat-and-ale-centric meals twice or thrice a day, which completely disrupts Bilbo’s internal clock for seven meals. At first, Bilbo sneaks down to the royal kitchens at midnight to make himself proper tea and toast. Eventually, Thorin starts joining him. The King under the Mountain, who carries the weight of an entire nation on his shoulders by day, finds his ultimate solace sitting on a small wooden stool in the dim kitchen light, quietly watching Bilbo fuss over the perfect temperature for chamomile tea and teaching him how to cut cheese "the proper Shire way"