HA HA HA HA!! That is the best thing ever. I laughed so hard I literally scared my dogs and they started barking at me. Really, just the most awesome of all things. I love it. *G*
Alright, we’ve got to talk about this scene because for a scene as short as this one, it packs a huge punch! They manage to cram a frankly impressive amount of information into less than a min. This will be a long one so strap in and let’s start at the very beginning, right after Ori asks, “What about Bilbo?”
Up until this point, we have only ever heard Thorin’s voice crack once. Just once, and that was when he thought that he missed his chance to enter Erebor. A huge defining moment in this quest. The second time was right here when he said, “Give him more time.” Please note how Thorin is standing. Hands pressed together and head bent, his back completely turned to the mountain. He doesn’t even turn his head until Balin utters the word “Killed”.
Imagine if Bilbo lost his lil acorn once Smaug was dead.
Throin sees Bilbo looking around all panicked, digging through some pile of gold or gems, and asks about it, and this is where he learns about the acorn.
So of course he offers to help look, while they’re looking for the Arkenstone, and eventually they’ve got the whole company looking for both. Thorin’s head seems a little more clear suddenly, so everyone’s more looking for the acorn than the arkenstone, because yeah they’re looking for the arkenstone, but they’ll know it when they see it, they have to CONCENTRAIT to find a lil acorn, and it’s important they find IT soon or it’ll get crushed, or die or rot. The arkenstone has lasted this long. It’ll last a little longer.
And because they’ve all got he mindset if “yeah thats a bit of gold, but it’s not an acorn. Sure sure some pretty gems but it’s not an acorn!” In there heads, they stave of the gold sickness.
When Fili shouts, “I found it!” They’re all rather disappointing when they realise he means the Arkestone. Thorin pockets it, but they return to their search for the acorn right away.
Then, one day, Thranduil shows up demanding the white gems and Thorin’s standing up on the barracks like “Sure, if we come across them.”
And Thranduil’s like “what do you mean if you come across them?”
“There was a dragon in the mountain for over a century! He wasn’t exactly cleaning and we’re a bit preoccupied with our own search at the moment! I’ll send them your way once we find them! If takes a day or a year, you’ll live!” And then he disappears from Thranduil’s sight.
Only to reappear after a moment, looking slightly irritated. The hobbit is by his side looking, perhaps hopeful? With a roll of his eyes, Thorin says, bitting out the words like they physically hurt to say “If you would like, perhaps you could send a select few of your most trusted guard, and if they might help us in our search, they can also look for your gems as well?”
Thranduil has never been more caught of guard in his life. Did a dwarf, one whom he’d had imprissoned in his dungeon less than a month ago, just invite his people into his most recently reclaimed treasurey?
“I’m sorry. What?” He blinks up at the dwarf- most elegantly, he assures you.
“Elves have very keen eyes, do you not?” Asks the little hobbit. “We’re looking for my acorn, you see, that I got from Beorn the skin changer, I seem to have lost it in the dragon’s chase, and we fear it’ll be crushed. Throin says your box would likely be in the front of the treasurey, and we haven’t searched there yet, though Smaug did follow us through there, so it’s a fine place for your people to start. It would be greetly appreciated.”
And really. The argument could go on, Thranduil’s really not sure he believes there IS an acorn, but if it gets him those damned white gems, fine. He sends Tauriel and her guard, and Legolas volunteers himself.
When Bard shows up asking for aid for the town Thorin throws his hands up. “Your just as bad as the elves! We just got our montain back! Fah! At least you asked for nothing so specific!” And practically chucks a chest full of randomly scooped up gold and gems over at the man. “But if there is an acorn in there, you are to return it immediately!”
There isn’t an acorn.
“Why would there be an acorn?” He asks Thranduil that evening as he takes tea with the Elven king who’s made camp outside the Lonely Mountain as a statement to the dwarven king he doesn’t mean to leave without what’s rightfully his, regardless of their compliance.
“His husband appears to be rather attached to it.” Thranduil shrugs. “I don’t pretent to understand the ways of haflings, but if the hobbit has half so strong a love for that which grows from the earth, as the dwarves do that which is mined from it, and I was a king who’d dragged my consort half way across Middle Earth to risk his life battling a dragon for its hoard, I’d think it wise to have the Mountain turned upside down for one measly acorn as well.”
Dain shows up and is about ready to storm the peacefully-aiding-the-humans-at-this-point-because-we’re-here-what-else-do-we-have-to-do elves on principle, but Thorin puts a stop to it quick.
It takes Dain a day and a half to realised that Thorin did infact say “they were all looking for an Acorn,” yesterday, and several minutes to understand that he was saying “no, we found the Arkenstone days ago,” today.
And of course, the orcs and goblins show up and are defeated by the forced of them all, united under Acorn Peace Treaty of 2942
Sadly, weeks go by, and they do not find the acorn. They do eventually find the Gems, and Legolas and the majority of the elves return to Mirkwood, Legolas having made good friends with the Company, especially Gloin (this is a suprise tool that will help him later) but Tauriel remains, and if Thorin wasn’t smitten with the hobbit, he might comment on just how close Kili is growing to her. At least she’s respectful. Might just teach that boy a think or two. The opposite is, of course, true, and Tauriel becomes just as much a menace as the princes.
As the weeks go by and proper cataloging of the treasury commences, every dwarf who comes to help is shows a picture of the acorn every single morning, and promised a just reward for its discovery.
Eventually, Bilbo has to concede they aren’t going to find it, but, well, by then he’s not exactly planning to return to the Shire for long enough to care for a sprouting tree.
He does return long enough to stop all his things being auctioned off, no he’s not a ghost, thank you very much, and have Bag End transfered to his cousin Drogo and his wife, before setting back out for Erebor with the things he intends to keep.
It’s years before anyone thinks of the poor lost little acorn again, decades, infact.
One day, in the early morning of the 21st Durin’s day after the reclaiming of Erebor, a dwarf comes rushing from the treasurey to find the Royals preparing for the celebration.
“Is it one of these, your highne- uh, Bilbo, your lost acorn?” He asks, stuttering over the title he knows the hobbit dislikes. “I can’t really…. tell them apart.”
And Bilbo just blinks, because in the cupped palms of the dwarf’s are perhaps 15 or 20 little acorns…
“Where did you find these?” He asks.
“They were in the back.”
“Theback?”Thorin repeats, then catches himself and shoos the dwarf back the way he came “Show us.”
They all- Bilbo and Thorin, the princeses, and a handful of the company who’d been present- follow the dwarf down into the treasurey, and then through the treasurey, past all the neat piles of gold and the many chests of organized gems and stones and all manner of other treasures, until they’re presented with a very familiar back door.
Or rather, a hidden passage, tucked away in an alcove, where another handful of acorns’ the few the Dwarf who’d brought them the first had likely missed- are scattered about.
“You did… just have the one, right Uncle Bilbo?” Fili asks.
“Or course I just had the one!” Bilbo retorts. “I couldn’t have possibly carried that many with me all the way from Beorn’s!”
With a resigned sort of sigh, as he begins to piece together the answer to a decades old mystery, Thorin steps forward and follows the tunnel up, up, up, and out of Erebor, the others- save the dwarf who brought them, dismissed by Bilbo with a smile, a thanks, and an oh, no, you may keep those- right behind.
As they walk, the acorns start to increase. Though there’s never so many as to begin piling up in the tunnel, by the time they reach the end, the majority of the ground is covered in a solid layer if the little things, and the crunch underfoot as they all emerge onto the ledge which they had all once stood, with batted breath in the moon light as they realised they were at last, truly home.
“Was that here last time?” Kili asked, studying the impressive Oaktree shading the entire ledge that sat in front of the secret entrance to Erebor.
The trunk of the tree was wide and solid, sitting right up against the mountain side, and rather winning the battle of wills against the carved stone architecture of the dwarves. Its limbs grow twisted and wild, up and out in all directions. It’s easily 250 or 300 feet tall. There is all sorts of life flittering about in its florishing branches, all covered in brilliant green leaves, and fresh green little acorns.
The growned all around them is covered in acorns as well, so many more than the tunnel.
“No.” Thorin says, watching a squirrel dash down from the trunk of the tree, shove several acorns into its cheeks, and dash back up the trunk. “No it was not.” He turns to Bilbo, and raises an eyebrow. “Lost it after the dragons chase, you said?”
Beet red and look quite flustered, all Bilbo can manage out is a squicky little “oops.”
Something really personal but here’s the way I ship them.
*after BOTFA, everyone survived AU*
Sorry I’m just, really bad at writing conversations🤦♀️. Some of the scripts I borrowed directly from BOTFA. Everything is good up until this point and yes they’re still BFFs and giving me old-married-couple vibe already.
PERSONALLY, I think even as a couple, neither Thorin or Bilbo is the type that is willing to give up their own way of living to live with the other (at least not right now).
Thorin had been forced out of Erebor at a young age and just recovered his long-lost home. There’s a LONG way ahead restoring Erebor and bringing back his people. He will stumble, he will have doubts, he will question himself things like Am I really ready and Will I be a good king… But he won’t turn away, because he is Thorin son of Durin.
For Bilbo, the journey did change him, still he remains a hobbit at heart and values home above gold and glory. He misses the peaceful life and comfort he used to have though he knows it’ll never be the same, because HE is not the same hobbit anymore. He helped the dwarves taking back Erebor, now he longs for his own home.
(All of these are mere personal interpretations😇)
So since Thorin will not live in Shire and Bilbo won’t live in Erebor for their entire life, the most-likely situations I’d imagine are these…
There will be a point where Fili can somewhat take on the responsibilities of ruling Erebor. Thorin might have some kingly vacation (specifically, working on legislations, approving orders and proclamations at night and travel among the day) and visit Shire sometime.
I realized not a lot of ppl talk about the aging problem, so I tried to talk about it🧌. Hobbits have lifespans similar to Men but Dwarves’ are usually 3 times longer if I recall correctly.
[image ID: a digital sketch of bilbo baggins and thorin oakensheild from the hobbit films. they are embracing, thorin smiling down at bilbo and bilbo looking surprised, gripping thorin’s sleeve. end ID]
