#celedriel

[cheesy-cryptid]

“The war seemed so very far away then”

[conundrumoftime]

Celedriel week ficlet for day 1

[screeching in sideways] it's not quite midnight here yet I have still made it for Day 1 of @celedrielweek!

For the theme of 'First meetings': as-yet-untitled, 1250 words, T for canon-typical violence/hunting I think.

-----

Thingol calls the three of them to a private audience and they arrive late and laughing as though they were still children to be scolded. They all know the matter at hand, anyway - there are few secrets in Menegroth that the king’s daughter and his nephews can’t find out between them.

“More Noldor,” Lúthien says, pretending it’s tiresome.

Her father corrects her, again: these are Teleri of Olwë’s kin. These are the brothers and sister of Angrod who already came to Doriath as a messenger. The children of Finarfin will be welcomed in Menegroth.

“They’re still Noldor!” Celeborn objects, a little louder than he’d intended. “Have we not dealt with enough of their kin claiming kingdoms all around us?”

Galathil says “Oh, shut up,” and Lúthien nods, the light of humour in her eyes belying her solemn expression. “If they’re here in Doriath then they can’t be claiming kingdoms elsewhere, can they?”

“Unless it’s Doriath they want.”

“Maybe you should ask them that when they get here.”

“Maybe you should ask them.”

“They are guests and we will receive them as such,” Thingol says, and the two of them fall quiet and Galathil smirks. “All three of you will be there in court robes this evening and you will all welcome them as your equals, the scions of a royal house. I will hear no comments about their kin unless they offer such and no demands to know their intentions. We will offer them shelter for they have faced great hardship in their journey to our lands.”

Celeborn who has heard too many tales of the cosseted Noldor says “Yes, sometimes it rains.“

 “Celeborn, take your brother’s advice and shut up or I’ll cement an alliance the way the dwarves do and marry you to Angrod’s sister.”

Celeborn concedes defeat and silence to the background of Lúthien’s laughter. 

—

They are Noldor. There is a dancing, unearthly light in their eyes and their golden hair is braided in twists and loops, although it seems less elaborately so than the host of Fëanor and tied only with thin, dull-coloured twine.  They all wear furs over faded and much-mended cloth garments, none of the finery of the Noldor that Celeborn has seen before; they themselves seem worn and tired. But they are still Noldor and they stand with their heads held high before the thrones of Doriath’s king and queen.

 Celeborn sits at Melian’s feet, Luthien and Galathil beside him. The heavy torc he wears for such occasions presses uncomfortably on his shoulders and the wine-red robes feel a little ridiculous before guests dressed so pitifully. He resists the impulse to scratch where a cuff irritates his wrist and watches.

Thingol and Melian lead the conversation, speaking in an older, archaic Telerin that Celeborn knows only from old sagas. Angrod bows deep and introduces his brothers with their Sindarin names: Finrod, Aegnor. And the sister’s name is Quenya still: Artanis.

She is tall and golden-haired as her brothers. When they all lay down their arms at Thingol’s feet she leaves a horn-handled knife beside theirs. She alone bears a Quenya name, though; and she alone has a stole of bright white fur over her shoulders, fastened at her neck with a tarnished, broken silver brooch.

He watches. He says nothing.

Only later, as they are led to dine at the feast prepared and he is seated beside Artanis (Lúthien’s idea of a joke, he supposes), does he try to speak to her. She and her brothers seem so faded against the bright colours and light of Menegroth; she does not seem particularly ashamed but she surely sees, she can’t not see. There’s a pride and defiance in her sharp eyes as she glances about her. He does not wish her to feel that Thingol’s court are purposefully humiliating her and her brothers. He does not wish her to feel humiliated at all.

“Your fur stole,” he says, and she doesn’t understand the word so he touches it to show her what he means, hoping a little too late that such contact will not be considered inappropriate by her people - “it - this - it is very fine.”

She nods, tense and a little suspicious still but seeming glad of the gesture of friendship. “Thank you,” she says.

“A gift?” 

She blinks at him as if the question is as strange to her as the language. “No,” she says. “It is mine,” and then breaks to ask something of her brother who sits at her other side, and then returns with the word she sought: “My kill.”

He isn’t sure what the Noldor hunt, and he doesn’t recognise what manner of animal this came from - the fur is thick but coarser than he’d thought and pure white. Not a deer, he thinks. “Mountain hare?” 

But she does not know the word for hare in his language, it seems, and he certainly does not know it in hers; rabbit is the closest they can reach and this makes her snort at him as if he has suggested something utterly ridiculous. 

“Morco,” she says, and he shakes his head, apologetic, but then she twists around to point at the pillar at the far end of the table where beasts of Beleriand are carved in a winding procession. And then she rises from her seat and leads him by the arm to show him herself, tapping her fingers on the snarling figure of a bear standing tall upon its hind legs. “Morco,” she says, satisfied.

“A bear?”

“In the snow. North.”

“You killed a bear?”

“Knife,” she says, pointing to the blade he wears at his belt. Then she lifts her braided hair from her shoulder to show him silver scars of puncture wounds left by great teeth.

He runs his hand once again over the fur of her stole, bowing his head in appreciation of what it means. Pride tugs a smile from the corner of her mouth. 

—-

“You realise I said that in jest,” Thingol tells him later. “I do not actually intend you marrying one of the Noldor.”

“I was merely being friendly to our guests as my king commanded, Uncle.” He’s a little drunk by then - more than a little, possibly - the feast has been long and the songs and the stories enjoyable, and the visiting children of Finarfin given as hearty a welcome as long-lost friends. And he’d had spoken to Artanis a few times more, but not in any manner other than as a host should, no more to it than that. 

Thingol had been ill at ease ever since news reached Doriath of the new host of Noldor arriving to join Fëanor’s. Understandable, yes, but surely no need to be quite so determined to see problems and plans and intentions where none exist. 

“I have raised you since your childhood,” Thingol says. “I know you.” But there’s no anger in it; he’s too relieved by how well the night has gone. “Ah, well. If you find yourself getting any ideas along such lines, simply remember the image of her covered in bear’s blood and that should dissuade you.”

Celeborn dismisses it with the wave of an arm, laughing, reassuring his uncle that there will be no need to dissuade anything; he has no intention of marrying one of the Noldor, of all the peoples of Middle-earth. 

(He will indeed find himself thinking of her covered in bear’s blood a great deal after tonight, but it will not dissuade him in the slightest.)

[nox-aida]

Celeborn enjoying his beautiful wife 😌 he is so lucky

[glorf1ndel]

Reblog of this older story because it's the first day of Celedriel Week! I hope to write more for them this week. <3 And check out the event at @celedrielweek!

Galadriel/Celeborn and Braided for the Tolkien One Word Prompt ask!

Thank you for the prompt; this was fun to write! Here is your fic on Ao3, as well as below!

Braided (~550 words, Galadriel/ Celeborn)

“You wear different braids than I do.”

Celeborn swerved around and nearly stumbled at the sound of the barely familiar voice. It belonged to the lady Artanis, one of King Thingol’s Noldorin guests. He had spoken to her briefly, when she’d first arrived in Doriath a few days ago, but since then, he had not seen her. He’d thought it a shame, for she was deeply beautiful – but now she stood before him, and she looked intrigued.

“Of course, my lady,” he said, offering a gentle smile. “You are of the Noldor, and I am of the Sindar. You have seen the light of the Two Trees and doubtless lived among many Ainur. I know only the woods of Doriath, though they are dear to me, and of the Holy Ones, I am a friend to Queen Melian, but no other. That you and I should wear different braids is understandable.”

“I simply find it interesting.” Artanis laughed. “I suppose I am easily fascinated. Tell me, what do your braids mean? Or are they purely decorative?”

“The central braid in the back means I’m a prince, and the side braids that I’m unmarried. Nothing special.”

Artanis hummed, the corners of her mouth drawing up into a knowing smile.

“I would not be so sure of that. Some would say that an unmarried prince is a very special thing.”

Celeborn blushed. Did he dare to invest hope in the words of a lady he’d just met?

“And what of your braids, Artanis? Do they have a meaning?”

“The Noldor are famous for their elaborate braids, but I do not always choose to wear them. Now, they are bound up atop my head out of convenience; I was returning from my daily run when I noticed you here.”

“Your hair is unlike any I’ve seen before. Not the braids, but the color. It is gold–“

“–Touched with silver, yes. Some of my father’s color, and some of my mother’s. In Valinor, they would say that I carry the light of the Two Trees in my hair.” She shook her head. “I have always found that a bit silly.”

“Why? This world is filled with miraculous things.”

“All of the Calaquendi hold the light of the Trees in their eyes, but none have been known to hold it in their hair.”

“Perhaps not, but your hair is a singular thing. If I were bold, I would name you Galadriel, for here you stand, a maiden crowned with a radiant garland.”

This brought silence from Artanis, but not for long.

“Are you?” She asked. “So bold, I mean.”

“Artanis is a beautiful name,” Celeborn said, “but you could have another.”

“That is true. My mother named me Nerwen, but she is the only one who calls me that.” Her gaze drifted as she thought. “Would you be the only one to call me Galadriel?”

“Not necessarily,” he mused. When he next spoke, it was with courage: “But I would have you think of me when you hear it.”

Her eyes twinkled with the light of the Trees, then, but Celeborn could have sworn her hair did the same. From that moment on, he longed to be with her, braided together for eternity.

“Then so shall it be. I would like to hear more about your customs, Celeborn of the Sindar. Walk with me.”

And Galadriel placed her hand in his.

[serregon]

“how could you like Galadriel with Celeborn he’s such a boring guy compared to her” you absolute buffoon you will not survive the winter. Celeborn being boring compared to his eldritch angel wife is the whole appeal. it’s elf Connecticut Clark x Malvina

you’re invited to dinner at casa Lothlorien and you ask Galadriel to pass the butter and she looks you dead in the eyes and tells you the exact time and place of your death. and Celeborn is just like “isn’t my wife smart 😃”

“what do you see in that guy” “he makes me laugh” a la Jessica Rabbit, but Galadriel’s laugh is absolutely terrifying. Celeborn tells a shitty pun straight out of some dollar store joke book and Galadriel lets out this classic Disney villain laugh, and the sky quakes and you hear fear in the language of the leaves and Celeborn is just like “I’m glad you liked that one ☺️”

[winterskywrites]

Between The Histories

The histories of Celeborn and Galadriel tell the story of a shared history. Between the histories is the story of a shared life.

Welcome to @celedrielweek! This is for day 1: Impressions!

[marybeatriceofmodena]

"Celeborn will be a calming influence on Galadriel" You fools. YOU ABSOLUTE FOOLS. YOU HAVE MISREAD THE WIFEGUY MANUAL. HE WILL BE 10/10 DOWN FOR THE UNHINGINESS. HE WILL BE GIL-GALAD'S SECOND HEADACHE. PREPARE FOR THE LESLIE KNOPE AND BEN WYATT OF MIDDLE-EARTH.

[velvet4510]

I don’t think any of us should ever overlook Celeborn’s love for Galadriel, because it’s really something.

Usually in Tolkien’s texts, it’s the girl following the guy. Lúthien followed Beren to Tol-in-Gaurhoth and Angband and later into death itself, Níniel followed Turambar to Cabed-en-Aras, Elwing followed Eärendil to Valinor, Éowyn followed Faramir to Ithilien, Arwen followed Aragorn to Gondor and later into death itself, etc. Not that this is a bad thing, not at all. (It should never be deemed disempowering for a woman to follow a man she loves and who loves her and treats her right, if that is her choice.) But overall, considering the wide variety of couples in Middle-earth, it does get repetitive sometimes.

Yet with these two, it’s the opposite. Celeborn always followed Galadriel.

When Galadriel departed Doriath, Celeborn went with her. He left all his kin behind to be with her. We don’t know for sure how his kin reacted to his relationship with a Noldo, but it could very well be that they eloped. She was just that important to him.

Then for the next 2 ages, they endured all sorts of trials and tribulations together across Middle-earth and eventually settled down in Lothlórien. There, Celeborn never tried to make Galadriel subservient to him. She had as much say in how things were run as he himself did. They were true co-rulers, equals in every way.

Then finally, Celeborn temporarily let Galadriel go. He was alright with her leaving on the White Ship to see their daughter and her parents and brothers again, while he stayed behind to finish what needed to be finished. He didn’t force her to stay with him when he himself could not (yet) leave. He didn’t hold her back from reuniting with people she loved and had lost so long ago.

And ultimately, Celeborn followed Galadriel once again. Though he was a Sinda born and bred, and never before had any desire to cross the Sea, he left his own homeland behind forever to reunite with her in her homeland. She still was just that important to him.

This guy was down bad for this girl. He lived his whole life drunk on wifeguy juice. Respect Celeborn.

[feydrawings]

Galadriel and Celeborn for @thelien-art Valentine Day Event

thank you so much for hosting this, i love your designs <3

[mhevarujta]

It's funny how Celeborn is being called boring and his relationship with Galadriel is being hated upon by people who claim that they're all about Galadriel being valued, because this is literally what this dynamic is all about.

In a world where many people treasure gold and jewels, Celeborn's treasure is Galadriel. Yet he never treats her as an object. He never handles her as something fragile to be put aside and to be protected and marveled at. They fight the long defeat together. They find a place to call home. They realize their ambitions and rule their lands together. When the time comes, she follows her path to go West and diminish, thus passing her final test, and he is allowed to linger to the place that has been his second love, knowing that he and Galadriel will meet again. Even so, it still hurts him that he has to let her go despite it being temporary.

There's so much talk about people LOVING the concept of a guy being absolutely in love with and in awe of his wife, but when it actually happens (and Tolkien was admirably ahead of his time in writing such a ship and in making Galadriel the most important of the two, and possibly the most important among his elves as he kept editing) it's not enough.

I also love this one version of Galadriel choosing this specific name, which was given to her by Celeborn, because it was the most beautiful of her names. In Tolkien names have meaning and importance, and many characters gain names that they either do or don't want through the way they are seen by others. There's something so special to me about Galadriel feeling so seen and understood and seeing such beauty in the name that Celeborn gave her, that she chooses this upon all the other names given to her by family and since much earlier. And everyone around her falls in line because on the one hand they probably saw how fitting it was and on the other she has THAT kind of power to those around her. She has the will and strength to shape who she is and how she wants to be perceived.

[thelien-art]

Galadriel & Celeborn

For Valentine :) fav old couple, they just give off such amazing energy, and I love that for them.

The Valentine entry post for the event, write something for the drawing or draw it in your own style, can be found here with four other drawings :)

@laisrinel ✨ them✨ 

Support me on Ko-Fi - get early access drawings + WIPs

[hikarielizabethbloom]

The fact that I'm becoming a Celeborn and Celedriel fan says a lot about how little patience I have for bs, but also how much some fans irk me 😂😂😂

[nox-aida]

Young Celeborn and Galadriel in the field of flowers 🌸🌸🌸

[melkor-did-nothing-wrong]

[balrogballs]

celeborn appreciation post for absolutely no reason except that he exists

look at him in his cute little outfit. apologising to gimli for being mean the minute he’s called out for it. staying behind in middle earth for a bit longer because boy does he love his silly little trees. my guy really had a treehouse as an elfling and used that as an architectural model for one of the last elven strongholds of middle earth. looks adorable in literally everything he wears.

immense golden retriever energy. i know full well elladan and elrohir ran circles around him in the fourth age but he tries his best to keep them in line. man has a resting scared-face. he’s too quiet? good because literally every other elf doesn’t shut the fuck up.

i hc him as being completely obsessed with galadriel yes but also galadriel being equally obsessed with him. she gives him silly woodlandy nicknames. she calls him her squirrel. when they argue she calls him a damned monkey. he teaches himself to draw and spends the fourth age running around arwen and her kids trying to draw little portraits of them to take back to valinor when he sails so elrond and celebrían can see.

tldr: in a world of elrond “recites you the entirety of the noldolante as exposition when you ask him what he did last weekend” peredhel and thranduil “remember when we were three years old and you stole my rubber duck” the elvenking and legolas “probably leads orcs to the fellowship every morning by belting out aa elbereth gilthoniel while taking a shit in the woods” greenleaf, be a celeborn.

[celedrielweek]

Celedriel Week Prompts

Many thanks to @thedaughterofshadows for creating the graphic!

April 6 - First Meetings, Impressions, The Heart Stirs. (A Gaze Caught. The Fire Ignites. "Eru save me, I've found my doom.")

April 7 - Dedication, Courtship, The Heart Blooms. (Flowers and Letters. Words of Love. "My heart, my love, my eternity. My soul soars for thee.")

April 8 - Marriage, Vows, The Heart Bound In Love. (An exchange of rings. Families bound. "In joy and suffering, in life persevering, in death enduring, I take thee and thee alone.")

April 9 - Kingdoms, Refuge, The Heart Endures. (Crowns of silver. Realms rise and fall. "Blessed are they who stand before the darkness and do not falter.")

April 10 - Separation, Conflict, The Heart Grieves. (War and loss leave wounds. Paths diverge and change. "I must follow this thread alone, but not forever.")

April 11 - Lothlorien, Children, The Heart Heals. (Wounds become scars. A silver realm. "Let our children bring joy amidst darkness.")

April 12 - The West, Undying Love, The Heart is Eternal. (A test endured and passed. A goodbye, but not a farewell. "In life and eternity, endless bliss under golden trees.")