#celevrian

Lindir stares at the space where his stack of papers once sat. For a moment he says nothing, but eventually those soft brown eyes rise to take in the concerned face of his Lady and he suppresses his instinctual response. It would NOT be appropriate to cuss out the Lady of Imladris and snatch the paperwork back from her... even if it had been her husband who'd tasked him with the work in the first place.

"My Lady..." He begins, diplomatically...

"I will most assuredly take a break the moment the work is finished... I will, however, acquiesce to tea..."

And so she planned on advance for her Prince of Ithilien, a private affair, his gift would be given on her favorite hill that overlooked the Anduin. It was away from duty, away from titles of Prince and Lord, almost as if stepping back to the time before that. Oh there would be a party of course, and was, she'd done that too, inviting his friends from all their walks of life with enough time to gather in the hall and enjoy the evening together. It was a quiet affair, a small feast, but the final hours of the night were hers. So as they left, she stole him away, thankful that the world was no longer so dangerous that she might take him where she wished.

"I was half worried someone would manage to get to you before I did." She told him, head resting upon his shoulder for a moment before she rifled through the small basket she bright. "It isn't that extravagant, but I thought would end the evening nicely. I may have indulged a little with the basket but it contains your gift and a few snacks should we get a little hungry as we stargaze. I blame the our friends the halflings, they have something very right in how they live."

She set the contents out, small packages of food as mentioned, then held her hand in the basket and turned to him. "I could not make up my mind, so I decided to make up for some of the birthdays I missed while in Lothlórien. First," she drew out a leatherbound book. "I noticed your journal is getting a little thin on one side, so I got you a new one. A little more decorative than usual, but I thought a change here and there might be enjoyable."

The second was a small box engraved with mallorn trees. "Hithlain thread." She told him as she opened it, a rainbow of colors in elven-silk which shimmered their colors even in the moonlit darkness. "I had it made particularly for your embroidery projects. It will last and not dull--and look! Naneth sent needles as well!" A giggle of excitement followed as she showed him the lid of the box, in which were a set of fine needles attached to a piece of silk. The box was set in his lap as well, and she paused with the last gift.

"I used to work in the library of Eregion, and while I was there there was this book which had somehow survived the first age written in Quenya. I don't know by whom, but it rather beautiful poetry and I wanted to preserve it so I translated it into Sindarin. I'm not even sure how it survived the ban, or the sinking, but it did and it was on the shelves. The original was lost of course after the sacking, but my translated copy I was able to save from the library when it burned."

The last book was removed, bound in red and gold, held tenderly in her hands. She opened it with reverence and ran her fingertips along the first page. "Every few hundred years I make a new copy, that way it doesn't become a relic that no one dares touch because it's falling apart. I know the words by heart at this point, so I made you a copy. All yours. I even got very special because if you look at it in moonlight it has designs of ithildin, which I may have bullied the secrets out of Celebrimbor before he died on how to make."

She held it out to him, loving smile reflected in its affection in her eyes as she softly finished at last.

"Happy birthday, Faramirë."

The Anduin bore the starlight in scattered shards upon its surface, as though the sky itself had fallen and been gathered into its keeping. While it sang its endless and waterlogged song, Faramir stood with the weight of the small treasures resting in his hands.

He turned first to the journal, running his thumb along the leather. How fair it seemed – too fair, perhaps, for the hurried scrawl of a soldier’s hand. Yet another thought chimer louder still: Celebrían had seen the thinning pages. She had noticed.

Once, such gifts had been iron-bound and edged. Many of the tokens of his too-brief youth had been daggers balanced for the hand, or belts stiff with studs, or helms pressed upon him with grave approval. These had been the language of love as it was spoken in the house of the Stewards – stern and unsmiling, forged in the long twilight of war. From Denethor, even kindness had worn the shape of expectation.

He remembered the weight of those offerings. How they had seemed to say: become this or be nothing.

This was different.

Slowly he set the journal aside, as though fearing to mar its untouched promise, and lifted the small carved box. When the lid opened, the threads within shimmered like dawnlight. Colours lived there that no loom of Minas Tirith could have produced – greens like spring beneath beeches, blues like distant hills in rain, golds that called to mind the last light upon the White City’s walls.

He touched them gently, fingers tentative with awe.

Such things belonged to healing and to making – arts of patience, arts of peace. Crafts for long evenings and untroubled days. His throat tightened.

At last he took up the final volume, the red and gold binding warm where her hands had held it. He opened it carefully, pages catching the moonlight. There, the ithildin stirred. Faint lines kindled into silver fire, leaves and flowing forms emerging, secret and fair.

Here was no treasure seized in victory, nor tribute wrung from lesser hands. Here was the slow devotion of centuries laid gently in his keeping.

He thought then – not of kings nor captains, nor of the long labours of Gondor – but simply of her. Of all the ages she had walked beneath the sun and moon. Of all she had endured and all she had preserved. That she should choose to place such a thing into his mortal hands seemed nothing short of a wonder.

Faramir looked up at Celebrían and there was a softness in his grey eyes seldom seen even by those closest to him.

“I have been given many gifts in my life. Tokens of honour, tools of war, things deemed befitting a son of Gondor.” He paused, his hand resting lightly upon the book. “But never aught so fair as these, nor any so lovingly meant.”

Wind stirred faintly over the hilltop, whispering through the grasses. He felt then a strange and gentle ache – the knowledge of years uncounted stretching behind her and years so few before him. Still, no shadow lay upon the moment, only a keen and luminous sweetness.

Faramir closed the book carefully and held it against his chest.

“We shall find a place for this in Ithilien, where the moon may reach it. There I will read it often and rejoice in the fair hands that preserved it.”

His grey gaze lingered upon her then, unguarded and full. His heart, too, was fit to burst its seams.

Flaws meme

Do you tend to focus on shipping or do you not care at all?

Have you ever developed a ship based on writing with a certain other character / mun?

Have you ever started to ship a rare-pair?

What are rare-pairs that you’re passionate about?

Do you plot a ship or see where it goes?

What are your favorite ships on here (feel free to tag?)

Do you ship someone’s muses on your dash?

What are you looking for in a ship?

Something to sink my teeth into, most of all. I'm usually open to trying dynamics of any sort as long as they don't cross any hard boundaries for me and intrigue me as a concept.

Do you tend to focus on shipping or do you not care at all?

Yes and no? I definitely love to ship and I always feel like I have more motivation when there's an established dynamic going on, but that's not limited to the romantic realm. I love writing relationships of any sort. I would say that dynamics do motivate me above anything, but that's a broad brush for me. At the same time, I do unabashedly love writing romance, and I'm always open to shipping, but it's not something I actively seek out unless I already feel a vibe between muses or I've already talked with a mun ooc about trying something of the sort.

Have you ever developed a ship based on writing with a certain other character / mun?

All the time. I have so many ships particularly with my bestie Cali that just came from us randomly throwing muses at each other to see if they had the chemistry or not, and then there are others that didn't start with that intention but the chemistry was so strong it developed that way, and that's always a treat.

Have you ever started to ship a rare-pair?

Most of my ships are rare-pairs LSADFJLKFDSJLK. I do not give a damn about canon limitations, if I like the idea of something I will not limit myself to that. I can be perfectly happy being delusional in my own little corner.

What are rare-pairs that you’re passionate about?

This list could go on for a while so I'll just list my current favorites:

Wolfstorm (Robb Stark / Daenerys Targaryen, not really a rarepair anymore bc they're becoming more popular but still they were when I first started shipping them hard sfdjkfsd)

CapCat (Steve Rogers / Felicia Hardy)

Felicia Hardy / Jason Todd

Kwannon / Logan Howlett

Kwannon / Scott Summers

Emma Frost / Bruce Wayne

Snowrose (Jon Snow / Margaery Tyrell)

Arianne Martell / Asha Greyjoy

Nedsei (Ned Stark / Cersei Lannister, yes I'm insane)

Cerberyn (Cersei Lannister / Oberyn Martell but also as a throuple with Ellaria Sand)

Rhaella Targaryen / Arthur Dayne

Ashe / Hanzo

Kali / Padraic (from the vtm game I am begging more people to play)

a lot more okay I'm trying to have restraint

Do you plot a ship or see where it goes?

It depends, really. I don't like to plot things *too much* to the point that there's no room left for the muses to just do their thing, y'know? But sometimes there are dynamics that need to have a little discussion before hand just to get a grip of like, what's going on, how we feel they would mesh, etc. And other times I'm perfectly fine just tossing the barbies in the blender and seeing what happens.

What are your favorite ships on here (feel free to tag?)

Oh god I'm always scared to answer questions like this bc I'm afraid to leave anyone out by accident SDFLJKLFJKDS. First of all, pretty much all of my ships with Cali @cipherova bc we've been writing together for *years* and have come up with some wild and fun ships. Some personal favorites we've done (in no particular order) are Wolfstorm, Damiko, Keenry, CapCat, Romarogers, Saurondriel, Snowrose, Aegon/Myrcella, Felicia/Jason, Daario/Doreah, Theyne, Walkerbird, Walker/Ranya (a new one but the stuff we've plotted is so delicious), Rhaella/Arthur, just a lot okay; we have so many, like we could write a book about all of our ships and I love them all. And I love the Dany / Miraak ship I'm writing with Red @bendwill ; we have plotted so many insane things around them and the worldbuilding of our AUs and what started as a crackship has turned into something with so much depth it gives me that feeling of like, when you read a really good book and you just want more of it bc it completely sucks me in, it makes my heart feel full. I also adore talking and writing about SpideyCat with Reilly @websof ; I've always loved that ship and Reilly just Gets Them in a way that I wish more of the fandom would, like he really does justice by them whether we're writing or just screaming about them. Then there's a few I have with Skye @sigilsongs that absolutely make me squeal, like Dany/Rodrik, Dany/Peri and Theonsa, and most of them are so angsty but I love the pain okay I'm a sucker for it. Also Els @velcryons has made me go absolutely crazy for whatever complicated situationship is going on with Shaera and Cersei rn, they're a mess and I love it. And I will always cherish writing Dany/Sansa and Sansaery with Jacy @sunwalks , Jacy really is amazing at pulling emotional depth out of even the smallest interactions. Then there's Jace and Bela that I write with Nadia @worthyheir and this is a crackship from two fandoms so different that I never would have imagined it, and yet???? They are so sweet together it makes me weak. And another crackship that I never imagined but works so well is Galadriel and Daenerys with Kay @herdragcnfire , I'm such a sucker for the knight/queen dynamic and being able to put a sapphic spin on it is just *chefs kiss*. Also I'm forever weeping about the dynamic between my Gal and Georgia's Leliana @divinesleft , they are just trying to put themselves back together after lifetimes of hurt and I cry about it. And then there's Jana @ninjatales , who has given me a SasuSaku dynamic that makes my heart feel so soft and angsty and just everything good you should feel about a ship. Shoutout to all my writing and shipping partners fr, even the ones that we're only kinda loosely shipping things, toying around with the idea of it, or still developing a dynamic bc I truly cherish every single one.

Do you ship someone’s muses on your dash?

He definitely cheated.

"You fought admirably."

Annatar's smile was sharp, as if there was a jest in his words only he knew of. When the idea of a game of strength had first been raised, he refused, claiming it was unfair for a maiar of Valinor to compete with elves. But it had been easy to change his mind, and to her credit, Aredhel fought fearsome as any wolf. It was not as easy a win as he had expected.

Still, though, Annatar did not have even a hair of place, as he settled himself on top of her in a rather feline manner.

point out my muse's flaws / @celevrian