#Faramir took

[howling-medic]

The next generation of chaos

A/N: Here are a few headcanons about the sons of two of my favorite chaotic menaces. This quite literally kept me up. I went to bed thinking about these fools, and I woke up still thinking about them - an hour before my alarm. Yes, I am salty about that bit of it. As such, it's not edited the best, and it's far from my best writing. However, it is up because I want it out of my WIPs folder, and I need to cry with other people about how much I love these characters.

Credit to @emilybeemartin. Their artwork inspired these deranged ramblings. Please check out the original post. I am not kidding when I say that the first time I pondered this I was scrolling, stumbled on her artwork, my jaw dropped, and I ran to my laptop to jam out a few notes. I am still in awe of this art. Go give her all the love.

With all that said, here are some headcanons about Faramir Took and Elboron. Guest appearances of their fathers along with Aragorn and Eldarion:

Faramir Took would love to learn like his father and namesake alike. We know Pippin later assembled the Tale of Years, and Faramir aided in continuing the tradition as he grew up and took over as Thain. As was noted in the original post, Faramir would also be the spiciest lionhearted hobbit - just like his father. There would be no foe too big for him. He would train with the Rangers of Ithilien and the Knights of Gondor to hone his swordsmanship at every opportunity. Pippin would train with him back in The Shire. Watching his son learn to fight would remind Pippin of learning from Boromir in Eriador. One night after training, Pippin would sit Faramir down and tell him all about his namesake’s brother and how Boromir saved his life. Faramir would have heard this story many times before, but he would listen to it all again in rapt attention.

Elbooron grows up to be slightly more reserved than Faramir (the younger), but he gained a bit more mischief than his father - for which Pippin is absolutely responsible. He never causes any lasting damage or harms anyone, unlike Faramir the younger who may or may not have accidentally blown up a shed with a firework, but he plays small pranks when he gets the chance. Well, no lasting damage unless you count the premature gray hairs he puts on Faramir’s head. Faramir (the younger) loves to join in on the fun whenever he is around, and he makes everything ten times worse, in the best way. Nothing is safe in the kitchen, no fireworks can be left unsupervised. The problem is Faramir Took knows far too much about how to be sneaky to be caught by a few guards. After all, he had to learn to best his dad, who stole the palantir from Gandalf. Pippin takes great pride in how sneaky his son is, and Diamond has to remind him to be serious when son is in trouble for his latest mischief.

As the two boys grow, Elboron eagerly shares all his latest findings and pieces of knowledge with his dear friend from the time they are children - whether in person or in letters. When he is very young, he will beg Éowyn or Faramir - whoever happens to be closest - to write letters for him about the new flower he found or the new game he played. He works twice as hard to learn to his letters to be able to write Faramir on his own, so he never has to wait for his parents again.

Faramir looks forward to these exchanges more than almost anything even when it’s the most mundane of facts or theories that hold little interest for him. Elboron’s excitement is infectious. (I am simply ignoring the fact that it would take at minimum 3ish months to travel from The Shire to Ithilien, which would make it a six month process to get a response to a letter; time and distance mean nothing)

As adults, both Elboron and Faramir would be treasured advisors to the other - Elboron leaning on Faramir when unsure if a situation calls for military action and needing reassurance that it is the correct decision as well as leaning on his friend to be his more impulsive and hot headed half in general, and Faramir leaning upon Elboron to temper his more fiery nature.

The two fathers love nothing more than watching their boys play together and learn from each other when they're young.. They sit together and reminisce on their younger and wilder days. Some days one of them will get a far off look in their eyes and wonder aloud what Boromir’s children would be like. The other would sigh and say “would that he could share in these moments with us.” “He lives in us, and then in them, my friend,” the other would answer. For a long while they would both fall silent and gaze out towards the Falls of Rauros and Amon Hen. [expanded below]

Aragorn and Eldarion make a point to watch over all the children of Faramir and Pippin as they age, promising them both to keep them out of trouble and keep them safe when their fathers pass, serving as a godfather and older brother respectively. The assurances bring a degree of peace that neither knows they need, but what surprises them most is that the promise to look after their friend’s son is almost more reassuring than the promise to look after their own. Both know their own son will manage, but they fear for their friend’s son losing them, for they know they have become a confidant and comfort to them over the years.

The task is a challenge, but they mostly succeed. Faramir takes to calling Aragorn 'Strider’ even when not appropriate, just as Pippin did. Thankfully for all, where Pippin became more of a menace as he aged, just was smarter about it, Faramir seemed to learn at least a little bit from his namesake about mellowing...and got smarter about his mischief like his father did. He never did stop calling Aragorn 'Strider.' Elboron, while as quiet natured and scholarly as his father, also inherited his father's keen perception and ability to read people. With it, he inherited Faramir’s propensity for mischief and teasing (we saw Faramir in Ithilien with Frodo and Sam, he likes to mess with people; the man is a bit of a menace) that would only exponentiated by his close relationship with Pippin and Faramir. Rarely does it get Elboron in trouble, but every once in a while it lands him in a tight spot when he's a little too on the nose with his teasing or calls out the wrong noble for ill intent with no concrete proof other than vibes. Eventually, he does master both causing mischief and being politically savvy with the help of his gift. It gives Aragorn a few gray hairs, Faramir the younger loves it, Eldarion loves watching his father fall victim to a new generation of chaos and remembers fondly his days spent with Pippin and Faramir the older.

I am impossible and simply cannot let a good chance for some angst and feels to go, so here. Let me annihilate your emotions as I did my own! (aka I made myself sad, so now you all have to be sad with me)

What can never be

Faramir and Pippin sat on a bench along the edge of the Garden of the Fountain. So rare were the days they could spend like this, especially in the White City. There were times, however, they both reported back to Minas Tirith. Over the years, those trips had become precious gifts, and occasions for their families to visit, as much as they were political events. 

The sun had begun to set on this day, and on this visit. Elboron and Faramir played in the grass, some game involving chasing each other and periodically freezing, of which only children could fully comprehend the intricacies. At one break in the action their fathers had asked and became rapidly baffled, but they were giggling with such glee that it warmed both Pippin’s and Faramir’s hearts too much to fret the details. 

While the sun continues its descent, they reminisced on the old days, their younger and wilder days. They keep their voices hushed for fear of encouraging their children to engage in exactly the same mischief they themselves did. Pippin snickered. “Did I ever tell you of the time that Merry and I stole one of Gandalf’s fireworks? Surely I have.”

“Many times, Pippin,” Faramir assured him, “But tell me again. I was just thinking of how much I miss Mithrandir and his wisdom.” 

“Well, I cannot say this was one of his wisest moments. It certainly was not Merry’s or mine, but…” and with that he plunged into the familiar tale. Faramir grinned. He wondered how many times Boromir heard exactly this story. Well, not exactly. Pippin never told the same tale more than once. They always shifted and grew in their retellings based on what effect the hobbit wanted to have. This one felt as though it might be close to the truth. It was a quiet retelling, private, meant to hold onto the memory of a dearly missed friend at a time when things were simplest for the Pippin. 

Faramir wasn’t sure when Pippin fell silent, or when his own gaze had gone distant, but he blinked twice and came back to himself. He found Pippin looking much the same as he was sure he had moments before. Neither of their eyes were trained on their sons, who played on utterly unaware of their fathers’ distraction. Instead, both of them stared out at a spot that was far from visible, but they could both see it with perfect clarity. When Pippin spoke it was barely audible and his focus never came back to the moment. “What would his kids be like, do you think?” 

Faramir had no need for Pippin to say of whom he spoke. It was not the first time, nor would it be the last, they had this conversation. Faramir sighed, a deep and pained sigh. “We will never know with any certainty, my friend, but he lives on in us, and then in them.”

Silence hung between them until Pippin uttered what they both were thinking. “Would that he could share in these moments with us.” 

They fell silent once again. It was an easy silence. One of shared pain, which gave comfort to them both. The sun had nearly fallen past the horizon, and both sons sat in their own quiet conversation. Their fathers gazed out towards the Falls of Rauros, Amon Hen, and beyond to Parth Galen lost in memories and wondering about what could never be.

////////////Tagging @ @elevensiesexpert at their request///////////////

[my-beloved-kili]

Alrighty, hobbits won for what race everybody wanted to be. Now which one would you wanna be?

[hetaczechia]

Spotify Ad: Did you know that babies' skin is super absorbent?

Pippin: Really? Well, I did just spill my coffee and we are out paper towels... [Reaches for Baby Faramir]

Diamond, taking Baby Faramir away: Don't you dare

[frodo-with-glasses]

Discord Highlights: Hobbit Babies

This discussion got very chaotic very quickly lol but I've done my best to sort it all by category. Enjoy!

Topic One: Sam's Kids

InvisibleWashboard:

If I’m allowing myself the privilege of indulging in AU where Frodo doesn’t leave, I often imagine Elanor calls him [Fro]. But she is the only one who is allowed to.

meg is me:

"Fwo" Frodo, lifting a cup in his hand: "throw?" "No! Fwo!"

novelmonger:

I've been imagining Elanor calling him "Unca Fodo."

And then there's "Unca Mewwy" and "Pip-Pip." (Pippin tries to get her to call him Uncle too, but it doesn't work. He's not Unc-y enough 😂)

InvisibleWashboard:

Stop it I’m dying from cuteness.

meg is me:

Can you imagine when elanor was born and sam was like all tender and amazed and he was like "lets call him frodo" and rosie was like. She's a girl, Sam And Sam was like..... so excited to name his son frodo that he forgot it might not be a son XD

Me:

I love that he canonically didn’t even consider that she MIGHT be a girl until she came out as one 🤣🤣 “We were all set to name him Frodo! But, well, ah. He’s a she. :-C”

meg is me:

I love sam Bless sam

I desperately hope that Sam's son Bilbo was 10x worthy of the name 😂

Me:

Bilbo Gamgee was an utter gremlin

Writing Valkyrie:

He just recites poetry to get out of punishment. Sometimes it works.

meg is me:

"First he's robbing the pantry. Next he'll be robbing dragons- THAT'S MY WEDDING RING"

Me:

Bilbo Jr. tells his friends about how he, too, won his ring in a game of wits against a nasty, ugly creature while Sam is over there waiting for him to give his wedding band back like >:-C

meg is me:

Better yet His older siblings And they half believe him because quote "Daddy is rather ugly" and Elanor gets SO offended on dear old Sam's behalf

Elanor could be overheard hugging her dad and saying "don't worry you're very handsome" Sam just laughs

Me:

“Well your mother thinks I’m handsome, and that’s all that matters ;-)” Cue the chorus of “EWWW”

Windmill to the Stars:

100% something my dad would say XD

meg is me:

It's split between ewwww and awwww Bby frodo ships his dad and mom so hard and is ecstatic to learn that they have in fact gotten married to each other

Me:

“So you’ll be together?? FOREVER??” “Indeed we will, lad!” “8-D”

Frodo Jr. ships his mom and dad almost as hard as his namesake did

InvisibleWashboard:

So Frodo-lad is not the little boy who is disappointed when he learns he can’t marry Rosie when he grows up, but was baby Elanor initially devastated when Rosie had to tell her, “You can’t marry Sam-dad love, he’s already married to me.”??

Me:

Oh my word I love that ahaha Elanor is 100% a daddy's girl

Windmill to the Stars:

In the epilogue she calls him "Sam-dad"

InvisibleWashboard:

Sam-dad and Rose-mum just absolutely freaking melts my heart every time I think about it. I don’t know why.

meg is me:

He loves his family so so much

Me:

See I know it says in the epilogue that Frodo Jr. is the spitting image of Sam, but part of me can’t help imagining that he looks like Elijah Wood’s Frodo… Brown curly hair and all that

meg is me:

Speaking of facts disproved by the appendices but true in my bones Merry and Pippin Gamgee are twins

Me:

oh my word I love that

InvisibleWashboard:

I like that this is true in your bones and not in your heart. Because the heart is fickle and can be changed by things like canon. Bones are more stubborn. Sometimes not even canon can break them.

meg is me:

I adore that they aren't named Meriadoc and Peregrin but rather Merry and Pippin Sam took his dad's advice to heart- if you give them a short name you don't need to worry about nicknames Guess old Gaffer learned from needing to shorten his son's names to Ham, Sam, etc

Me:

“I’m not giving my boys those fru-fru gentlehobbit names, they’ll have short names like sensible folk”

meg is me:

Pippin casually mentions to Sam if it's a boy maybe we'll name him Aragorn Strider Elessar, Gorn for short And sam is an inch away from taking custody of Pippin's unborn child

Me:

HAHAHA PIPPIN NO

Topic Two: Merry's Kids

InvisibleWashboard:

I head canon Merry being that way with his kids only he desperately wants a girl so he can name her Eowyn.

meg is me:

Merry has Boromir, Eomer, and like 3 other sons before baby Eowyn comes into the world

Me:

Would Merry even feel worthy of naming a son Theoden?? I feel like he’d want to, but…

meg is me:

Ok but bby Theo With his little curls

InvisibleWashboard:

Theodoc.

meg is me:

Theodocuments

Me:

THEODOC I LOVE IT NO LISTEN I AM 100% ADOPTING THEODOC INTO MY BELIEF SYSTEM ‘CAUSE IT JUST F I T S

Windmill to the Stars:

Part of me wants Merry to half-jokingly ship his daughter Eowyn with Faramir Took. Partially just so he and Pip can share grandkids

Me:

There’s no canon evidence that to disprove that some OTHER pair of their children ended up getting married! X-D

Topic Three: Pippin's Kids

meg is me:

I wrote a fic where Pip had a daughter named Sable because my best friend at the time was named Sable and the only place the word sable was found in lotr was in regards to Pip's tower guard uniform

Me:

That's so sweet oh my word

meg is me:

Pippin in many ways will never mature and I love him for it I'm still stuck on him and diamond naming their kids the most obscure things after Merry stole all the Friend Names besides Faramir The tooks already sound Outlandish

Pippin and diamond would be that couple who wants to choose Unique baby names but their friends keep reining them in "Let's name him TREEBEARD" "hmm and Enta for a girl" Sam: do you HEAR YOURSELVES

Windmill to the Stars:

What nickname would Pippin give to his son Faramir?

Kasey Gondor:

Furry

Me:

Progressively shortened more and more until it’s just “Ra”

InvisibleWashboard:

Faramir refuses any and all nicknames anyone attempts to give him ever.

Windmill to the Stars:

Faramir is "Me, an Intellectual" from an early age XD

meg is me:

He started "courting" lil Goldilocks at age 7 and Sam wants to be mad but it reminds him so much of him and Rosie that he lets Faramir Took pick the flowers from his garden to give to his daughter

Goldilocks: daddy fair-meer picked MY flowers! 😄 Sam: ....we planted those together, sweetheart Sam: beyond pleased for you, lass

Me:

Sam sitting down with little Faramir Took and having a Very Serious Talk that if he intends to court sweet little Goldilocks he’ll have to be very kind and good and generous to her and always look out for her good above his own even if it’s hard and it hurts

Faramir was like 9, and all Sam was concerned about was Faramir pushing her and pulling her hair and stealing the berries out of her picnic basket, but it stuck

Years later, after the wedding, Faramir tells Sam that he’s never forgotten that talk and it absolutely changed his life and Sam is like “wot” cuz he’d forgotten all about it

InvisibleWashboard:

NO STOP IT THAT IS TOO CUTE

Windmill to the Stars (re: nicknames):

Ferry to rhyme with Merry, and lil Faramir HATES it

meg is me:

THIS IS CANON TO ME STARTING NOW

InvisibleWashboard:

That is so good I adore it!

meg is me:

Pippin: "hop in the cart fam we're going to Buckland" everyone looks at faramir Faramir: "don't" Pippin: "We're gonna go on the FERRY"

Me:

EYYYYYY

Merry, meanwhile, calls him Master Faramir, and this is why Merry is his favorite uncle

meg is me:

perfection

InvisibleWashboard is @invisiblewashboard, novelmonger is @novelmonger, Writing Valkyrie is @writingvalkyrie, Windmill to the Stars is @windmilltothestars, Kasey Gondor is @captaingondor, and meg is me does not have tumblr :-3

[lexxicona]

Goldilocks Gamgee and Faramir Took

[the-ephemeral-ethereal]

The Fourth Age: Samwise Gamgee

A.K.A. Samwise the Brave, Master Samwise, Mayor of The Shire (7 times over, serving until he's 96 years old)

Wed Rosie Cotton

Father of Elanor the Fair, who becomes Maid of Honour to Queen Arwen, and marries Fastred Fairbairn of Greenholm, Warden of Westmarch

Father of Goldilocks Gamgee, who marries Faramir Took, son of Peregrin Took & Diamond of Long Cleeve

Grandfather of Elfstan Fairbairn, son of Elanor & Fastred

After the death of Rosie, passes over the Sea, to go to the Grey Havens

[bretwalda-lamnguin]

Faramir is a quenya royal name, the only other Faramir was the son of King Ondoher. For Denethor and Finduilas to name their son Faramir was against custom, but their family had used Quenya names before (e.g. Pelendur, Mardil and Vorondil) and clearly had that right. Pippin doesn't really have that excuse. Was Aragorn angry with him? I genuinely want to know how Faramir and Aragorn found out about this.

[violetflowerswrites]

That is soooo freakin cute

The LORE ❤️

Hey you know how Pippin and Diamond had a son and they named him Faramir? And then they introduced him to his namesake and he immediately gained the biggest uncle ever? And how Faramir and Elboron would pal around together and became close lifelong friends? And how Faramir and Elboron both took after their fathers, in that Elboron became a gentle scholar who helped restore lasting peace between Gondor and Harad and Faramir became the fightingest Thain Tuckborough had produced in generations and carried his father's sword and was known for leading the defense of the Evendim Road in the goblin skirmishes following the restoration of Annúminas? Okay so only the first line is actually canon but the rest is also canon

[autistook]

LOTR + text posts

[theladyeowyn]

You shall live to see these days renewed. And no more despair.

requested by @the-mawp

[boywonderloverr]

lotr posting

[elevensiesexpert]

Friendly reminds Pippin named his son Faramir

[idontknowhowtoplayguitar]

I think Pippin might have something to tell us because why did he take one look at Faramir and decided he'd follow this dude to the ends of the earth. Not even subtext that's just Text

[frodo-with-glasses]

Discord Highlights: Headcanon Marathon

Meg suggested I write this all as a bullet point list instead of copying the chat this time; which is probably a good idea considering the workload here LOL

On the night of 5/4/23, we here at the Fig Tree Discord Server got together and headcanoned:

Primrose Gamgee is a redhead like her mother

Prim was born deaf

Prim and her brother Bilbo are thick as thieves

Signing doesn't come naturally to Bilbo, but he tries his hardest, and Prim understands him anyway

Goldilocks may or may not be named the way she is because Sam wanted to name a daughter Galadriel but Rosie wanted the hobbit version so they compromised

For the first like four years of her life Goldi thought she was named after a flower like her big sisters and was very confused why her parents laughed when she asked to plant goldilocks in the garden

Frodo later comforts her like "it's okay they can't plant Frodo either" and that got her giggling like crazy

She decides dandelions are goldilockses and is delighted when they show up in the yard

Sam is not

Actually Sam is just fine with this because hobbit lawns encourage natural biodiversity and also dandelions are good in salads

The Gamgee family is a big loud singing household

The Sound of Music, but it's Bag End

Fatty Bolger has three daughters and no other kids

One is Athelas, nicknamed Addie

Addie got sick when she was young and lost most of her hearing

Addie is best friends with Prim Gamgee

Addie and Prim hang out all the time and, in addition to being fluent in SSL (Shire Sign Language), they also constantly make up their own nonsense signs so that no one else can understand them

Another Bolger daughter is Azalea, nicknamed Azzie

Azzie and Addie are very close in age

(Not sure if we reached a consensus on who's older, but I feel like Azzie is older)

Azzie is a natural storyteller; she gets it from her dad

Since she tells her stories with both her voice and her hands it's somehow more spellbinding

She discovered puppet shows at the age of 3 and a half and was instantly hooked

When she's older, she makes her own puppets

Puts on puppet shows for her family

They don't have any talking, just Action, and Addie loves the action best

She used to put on shows for Baby Heather before she was ambulatory and got quite offended once Heather was old enough to crawl away

The youngest Bolger daughter is Heather

Heather is a good deal younger than her sisters and is spoiled rotten but she's the sweetest thing

Heather is constantly hungry and always eating, and yet she stays Very Short

She's perfectly healthy and round, just Smol

Mental image: Four girl hobbits (Prim, Addie, Azzie, and Heather) in a blanket tent, signing rapidly to each other, and no words can be heard but an unending stream of giggles

They're having a sleepover and Fatty has to keep coming in to tell them to be quiet. Heather and Azzie promise they'll hush, but Prim and Addie don't realize how loud they're being and it just sets the other two off all over again.

Azzie hears the story of Beren and Luthien from Prim's dad (very important he is, he's the mayor, you know!), and she sews her own puppets and puts on a show of it

The Beren puppet has a hand that's held on by a button

Once (don't ask me how) Aragorn and Arwen get to watch Azzie's Beren and Luthien show

They have nothing but positive reviews

(Even if Baby Heather tried to eat the wolf puppet halfway through)

Arwen is delighted and wants to help Azzie make some beautiful blinged out elvish puppets with gems sewn into them

Azzie never uses them but they are kept in a glass box and TreasuredTM

Fatty likes to wrestle with his friends' sons, since he has no boys of his own

Addie, however, is a tomboy and WILL go at it with her father if given the chance

Addie and Frodo Gamgee got in a fight once. For fun. She's four years younger than Frodo, and bby Frodo had to suffer a lecture from his no-nonsense dad, but Addie got off easy and Frodo still holds a bit of a grudge lol

He still thinks she's cool tho

(To which I suggested: "ship??" and got at least one eyes emoji, so there's that)

Prim is neither the best friend who's always talking Addie down, nor the best friend who's constantly hyping her up, but the best friend who hangs back like "I won't stop you but you should NOT"

Secretly Prim likes tending wounds

She has a makeshift vet office in the backyard

Bby Bilbo brings her his dragon (it's a lizard named Smaug)

(I suggested the lizard actually be a skink but the jury's still out on that one)

The Gamgees do not have pets, as a rule, but many animals and pet bugs are either smuggled or wander in

Rosie like "where's my best pot??" too bad now it's the home of Pippin's grasshopper

The Tooks, on the other hand, have lots of pets and very absurd ones too

Real conversation between Goldilocks and Rosie: "But Ma, why can't I play with the snake?" "Because it's poisonous. If it bites you, you will die." "But Faramir has a pet snake." "Faramir has a what now"

When they're older, Faramir and Goldie end up being that super weird couple with exotic pets and no kids for a very long time

"Ma when we get married we'll have snakes" "No Goldi" "Ma Faramir said so" "SAM call off the marriage" "They're seven, love—" "Call it off"

Mental Image: Estella is a fantastic baker. She's in the kitchen at Crickhollow or Brandyhall with a mess of little girls—her nieces and daughter(s)—all around her, talking and signing instructions, and no one is listening to her, and there's flour EVERYWHERE, and she's getting exasperated but simultaneously loving it

Elanor, being the oldest of a TON of younger cousins/relatives, is sort of the de facto leader on play dates

Get all the Gamgees, Brandybucks, Tooks, and Bolgers together, and Elanor can be seen holding a stick over her head like a general's baton and leading this veritable army of hobbit children down to the Party Field

Elanor was pretty uninterested in romance when she was young—too busy doing other things to get fussed about boys, and her standards were too high for most of them anyway—until one day she met Fastred and she came home and said, "Ma, I've found him", and whaddya know she had

(Still undecided whether they met because Elanor was in Greenholm for some reason or Fastred came to Hobbiton on business with his father, but either way Elanor and Fastred didn't meet until towards the end of their tweens)

When Sam tells stories he adjusts them for the ears of kids

Merry does not

Not even a little bit

(Unless Estella is nearby in which case he's gonna get an earful)

"Hey, kids, wanna hear about the time I killed a demon??"

Estella from the other room: "MERRY NO"

He's a bad judge of what's too scary for kids

He tells the story of their adventure with no filter at all

Sam tries to teach the kids lessons through the stories and that love conquers all

Pippin adds his own little bits and pieces every time he tells it until his version and the OG are nothing alike

At one point Legolas had wings (when Gandalf asked him to bring down the sun on Caradhras) and Gimli ate rocks

Gimli has actually eaten rocks

It was on a dare and he doesn't want anyone to know

Pippin had no idea; it was just a lucky guess

One time the kids asked Gimli if he actually ate rocks and he's just nervously sweating and wondering how the heck they know that

Pippin is shocked to find out he was actually right about this when he was just talking out his butt

(Legolas has also eaten rocks on a dare but we all knew that already)

The oldest kids get together sometimes—Elanor, Frodo, Boromir, and Faramir—to talk about their parents and try to understand what they went through

Faramir Took talks about how sometimes his father refuses that he get near any sort of fire

He'll be playing in his home by firelight while Pippin watches from the doorway, muttering to himself I'd never, I'd never, so fiercely that little Faramir looks up in innocent surprise and asks what he's talking about

And Pippin has to leave the room before he starts to cry

(Deep down, Pippin is sure Denethor loved his son too)

(And the Palantir haunts him to this day)

Boromir Brandybuck confesses that he's heard his dad cry out in his sleep some nights and he's scared to ask his parents about it

Boromir: "My father is a Knight of Rohan and Master of Buckland, a brave Traveller. He's never afraid." Elanor: "...He might be." Boromir: "No."

Merry's laughing in the face of fear mentality has an unintended effect on Boromir in particular. He wants to be his father; he wants to be fearless; Dad makes it look so easy!

Estella overhears once and has to explain the difference between fear and cowardice

The first time young Faramir goes to Gondor with this family, and poor little Goldi doesn't go, Rosie is struck with the sense of waiting her baby must be feeling

"He's my best friend ma" "I know, love" "It's far"

Rosie thinks, well, at least Goldi knows where he's going and when he's coming home again

When Theodoc's AccidentTM happened—the one that broke his feet and crippled him—the doctors were all telling Merry that Theodoc will live. All the pony did when it fell on him was crush his legs.

But Merry thinks they're lying. No, he is SURE that they are lying, because that's just how Theoden died. Crushed beneath his horse. They were both destined to die this way.

He cursed his son the moment he decided to honor the king who was like a father to him.

There he is, having a panic attack right there while the doctor is in with Theo, like "I killed him, I killed him, I killed my son—"

(And Pippin is the one who comforts him; Pippin, the one who has nightmares sometimes about burning with his Faramir)

The Travellers all talk about Gandalf differently

Sam waxes eloquent about his fireworks

That's all he talks about

Pippin laughingly and affectionately exaggerates how cranky Gandalf always was

"Once I rode on a horse with him" "Ooooooo"

"Didn't he call you a fool of a Took?" "NO that is what he called Merry but he is always caught up in his wizardry that he sometimes forgets that Merry unfortunately isn't a Took"

(Cue the distant, insulted Brandybuck noises)

Merry is the only reliable source of information, but only if you catch him in the right mood; otherwise he'll only mention the smoke rings Gandalf would blow

Merry has a killer Gandalf impression. Chomping on the pipe and everything

Bby Bilbo gets all his Gandalf info from Merry and Sam is Very Offended

(However, Sam owns Bilbo Sr.'s book, so that earns Bilbo Jr.'s trust back)

Frodo has had it up to HERE with fireworks, so he flees with his little brother to listen to Uncle Merry

They ask about Gandalf, and Uncle Merry goes "ah yes, brilliant fellow, a real grump. gorgeous fireworks—" and Frodo about tears his own hair out

(Merry is doing this on purpose. He knows how Sam gets about the darn fireworks.)

Frodo: "We have one last option. We have to go to Uncle Pippin."

Bilbo: "Do you trust everything he says? He once said that Mr. Legolas had wings."

Bilbo: "Mr. Legolas doesn't have wings."

Frodo: "How do you know that?"

Bilbo: "I don't want to talk about it"

(Legolas loves being called Mr. Legolas, but only by little hobbits)

And then there's the one about the lullaby Sam uses for his kids, but I'm saving that for a future fanfic ;-)

CURRENT ROLL CALL

Brandybuck Kids: Theodoc (Theo/Trotter), Periadoc (Perry), Eomer (Merry?), Juniper, Madoc, Boromir (Rory), Eowyn (Wyn)

Took Kids: Faramir (Ferry), Simbelmyne (Minnie), Beregond (Berry), Sable

Bolger Kids: Athelas (Addie), Azalea (Azzie), Heather

General credits to @invisiblewashboard, @writingvalkyrie, @grondds-and-roses, and the illustrious Meg, you absolute madlasses X'-D

[rbrownillustration]

I love thinking about post-Return of the King life for the fellowship. I love how involved Pippin is with Faramir in Gondor and therefore Aragorn as well. Also this is an imagining of Aragorn offering casual praise for Faramir’s work as Steward but Faramir is so unused to praise for literally anything that he has to take a moment.