#Beetleglum

[adara-of-the-flame]

the-name-is-hoggle

Hoggle can only make a dry sort of snort when Mars mentions the possibility of him “blowing up” and can only raise an amused brow at her. Really, the places his friend’s mind went to….

“I have no intention of doin’ this only part of the way, I made a promise ta get the task done…..”

Abundance and Warm Light, huh? And birds? Hoggle was alright with birds- except owls. They reminded him of Jareth…..

Leaving that thought aside, Hoggle put his focus towards trying out his new powers again. Looking around the area they were in for a good spot to start when directed by Selva to begin.

“Okay….grow some plants…..”

The dwarf nods and picks a spot of grass that just feels right to starts. His hands move reflexively with his focus as Hoggle 'reaches’ out mentally to the environment around him. Almost immediately the wild flowers and even the grass itself in that patch start to quickly grow larger and wilder. The path of Hoggle’s focus could be tracked easily because of this, with each new bush or tree that would suddenly rise up would be in the ever growing “path” made of sweet fluffy grasses and colorful blooms.

=========

Meanwhile, in a certain dusty library, the Goblin King had been making quite a bit less progress than the Spring Prince. At least, it felt like he’d gotten nowhere to Jareth. Despite having been searching through books for several hours at this point.

“-Garnish with fresh herbs or croutons and serve immediately- Dammit! This is just another worm cookbook! With yet another recipe for Turnip Soup!”

Comes the frustrated huff, Jareth idly tossing away a tiny book he had been reading with the help of a magnifying glass. He was several haphazardly filled bookshelves deep at this point and still had a lot more to go. With a sigh he reaches for the next book, of a more regular size this time, and opens it up.

Outside the Library in the hallway, Beetleglum took the time to check on his King. Watching Jareth grumble away as the man remained focused on his task, the point of which the older goblin wasn’t completely sure about…..

His attention is stolen away by the arrival of Yumika’s messenger fairy, he quickly heads over to some random quiet room before taking the missive. Offering the fairy a bit of fruit for her trouble before opening it up.

He reads it a few times, processing what the kitsune’s words meant.

Hoggle had actually made it to Summer. He’d made it to the Summer Realm and presumably was in the middle of gaining every segment of power that the ruler, Selva Roja, had been custodian of.

Beetleglum felt both proud of the dwarf as well as concerned. Hoggle had now crossed the point of no return in his mission, the former groundskeeper would have to see this business until the very end.

Or die trying.

’Drink something cool and stay in the shade, your lovely fur must feel like a lot there.

Hoggle will succeed, he doesn’t give up on things.

Jareth looks for something in the Labyrinth Library, I am not sure exactly what. But I know it’s related to Hoggle and Spring Realm.’

Beetleglum doesn’t bother with trying to write a Haiku back as his reply, though he does make an effort for his writing to be neat and evenly spaced. With no smudges of ink or splotches from the quill. Once it’s dry he rolls the parchment back up and hands it over to the waiting fairy.

“Go, go!”

He tells her, opening the window and watching her fly away.

adara-of-the-flame

And, the world...bloomed.

Mars had seen this before, with Hoggle's other endeavors of using his new gift: the flower that caught her, the fruit grove. Yet this...was the first one to truly feel like a specticle. This was Hoggle's A-Game.

And, he was killing it.

For a sweet, frangrant, swathe of a moment, the half-Urru truly felt like a fairytale princess, in the center of a garden being shaped by the gentle hand of the world's best conductor.

Selva Roja whistled, and bent down her enormous head to literally sniff the roses. "Very nice." She congradulated. "Very full, very fresh. A perfect bounty of new life." Her manicured nails clacked together pensively. "Now, kill it."

"WHAT?" Mars practially fell backwards off her seat.

"You heard me. " The Summer Queen swept her massive hand over the grandure of Hoggle's creation. "All this life, but no death. All birth. All wake, but no rest."

"But, Spring is for wake! It's literally everything waking up after the thaw!"

"Yes, but does the hyacinth bloom all year long? Does the tulp? No. After their job is done, they return to their rest. After Spring, comes Summer. Then, Autumn, then Winter. Do you understand this, Hoggle?" Selva Roja's voice was not harsh. "This is a hard lesson we all must learn. Death is part of the Cycle. Something must end for something else to begin.

"Are you able to do this, Hoggle Primavero? Can you take it all back, let it sleep? Will you allow me to take my part in the Cycle?"

----------------------------------

Yumika sighed as she read the letter. Of course the Stolen Babe was looking for answers. It was only a matter of time before peices of the Owl King's past were brought to light.

Shaking her head, the kitsune took Beetleglum's advice and hopped down off her perch long enough to buy an iced, blackberry drink from a nearby vendor. It...did cool her off.

Her reply would be longer this time:

Don't know what he'd find. Fae contracts are spoken words. Jareth should know that.

Most contracts anyway...

Yumika sucked in her breath. Well, Noctus Labrynthus wasn't foolish enough to hide that peice of information in the Library anyway. More than likely the old owl destroyed it after....

Anything he wants Will not be there anyway. Owl King was smarter.

The Bog was given When Hoggle was Maiden-kissed. Tell me the story.

She swallowed, before adding a final, cautious post script:

If you can.

A blackberry was given to the messenger fairy for her trouble before being shooed off.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the stench of this terrible blog…bleck!”

[debbie-anniversary]

So, maybe this is just a fan theory and not officially canon, but I'm 99.09% sure that the goblin Beetleglum that shows up in the Labyrinth: Coronation comics:

Is the same goblin who tells Jareth that Sarah will never give up (far left):

They have the same oil-can hat and everything! Has anyone else noticed this?

[whatsyourmask]

Gonna plaster this older headcanon here before I start working on starters, but this was from Jareth’s old blog before I promptly left the rpc. It’s one of my favorites and one day I would love to expand upon it. Ignore the “as explained previously”, some of this is gonna be tweaked later.

As explained previously, Jareth can only leave the Labyrinth for a short amount of time to visit Aboveground, and when he is in the human world, he’s either spying on mortals who will potentially speak the chant or he will spend that time sating the blood lust that comes with being granted an eldritch form.

The only way humans can gain access to the Labyrinth is either wishing themselves or another person away to the Goblin King or Jareth will lure them to his world personally. If one wishes to leave, the Fae will set them at a thirteen hour time limit and their goal being the castle in the center of the Labyrinth — failure is almost always certain, and the fate of the mortal is then left in Jareth’s hands, which never turns out to be a good outcome.

However, not all mortals who have been lured into the Labyrinth have been felled by Jareth’s hand, for some have been turned into goblins – but unless you asked, you wouldn’t be able to tell who is full goblin and who isn’t.

Jareth holds a high, yet respected reputation within the Labyrinth. Goblins and other creature alike have him to thank for abolishing the harsh policies the former king, The Owl King, had bestowed upon them during his reign. While a large percentage of the inhabitants within the Labyrinth are oblivious to the danger that their king’s other form brings, there’s a group who are fully aware of said form, as they accompany Jareth to the Aboveground when he feels a rescue mission is in order.

Having observed the Aboveground for two centuries, it has been noticed by the Goblin King that some humans are more cruel than others, often witnessing abuse of both the emotional and physical kind. Initially, Jareth would do nothing, finding it foolish to meddle in the likes of mortal affairs ( no matter how immoral ), but soon quickly changing tune once the need to “save” the victim involved slowly began to grow within.

And how the Fae hated it.

Whether it be a child, woman, or man, if they are in danger or in a dangerous situation, Jareth will not hesitate to jump in the conflict and take care of matters himself before leading the victim back into the safety of his Labyrinth. With the group of goblins, they will simply split into two groups: those who escort the Fae into the victim’s residence and the other who sit with said victim until Jareth’s carnage is over.

Once Jareth returns to the Labyrinth with the human in tow, he will offer unto them two choices, they can either return Aboveground or become one of the inhabitants of the Labyrinth. Sometimes a mortal will want to return, but a majority of the time, they will always beg to stay. Upon this decision, the Goblin King will lead them into an area he has dubbed “Eden”.

“Eden” is a small, somewhat forested area that lies behind the castle, full of lush greenery and wildlife with a few small streams that run throughout it. While it is a place Jareth goes to at night to unwind, it is also where he takes humans to turn them into goblins — and if asked, Beetleglum would simply say Jareth’s method is peacefully, yet oddly humane.

Mortals are sat in the grass and given as much time as they need to calm themselves or regather their bearings, before they are asked one final time if this is what they truly wanted ( Jareth would not object if the mortal had second thoughts ), and if their answer is the same as before, then the process begins. Grabbing their full attention with his voice, Jareth will slowly lull the person into a hypnotic state while vines and roots slowly engulf them into a ball, as to avoid frantic panic and to ensure that there was no harm to come upon the person.

Molding mortals into little goblins is not an easy task nor is it a pretty sight, hence why Jareth tends to encase them within a mess of vines and roots before working his magic. Despite how straining the process is on the Fae, he will keep up his soft and gentle song until it is all over and the now goblin is released. These goblins will have all their memory intact, their life prior to the Labyrinth, but can have it erased if they so choose to ask Jareth personally.

Personally, there’s a part of the king that finds it all to be a chore, some sort of regret lingering within for even picking up such a habit in the first place. However, Jareth knows how to pace himself and very rarely allows a mortal person such a privilege. Nature has to take its course, after-all.

[cesario-r]

In the film is Beetleglum actually one of the goblins you see in the magic dance scene? Because I think I saw him on a rewatch yesterday but I’m not sure

[escher-room-with-a-view]

see the thing is with the ending

i feel like they tried to invoke the same feeling and themes as the original film

but since coronation has completely different themes from the original, and those themes aren’t done with the richness and depth of the film, it…really falls flat. and it defies the entire point too. that’s why i like to think that the maria and albert we see at the end aren’t the actual maria and the actual albert automaton. i think that jareth probably made those versions of his parents himself from his and the labyrinth’s memories of them. and because of this, they don’t behave as real parents do or should. they’re shallow facsimiles and they’re overly idealized, so they act accordingly, at least in my “rewrite-that-i’ll-never-actually-write-because-i’m-worried-the-differences-would-be-too-minor-to-constitute-a-rewrite”. i also prefer thinking that beetleglum and other goblins raised jareth for most of his life; so he isn’t unaware that they provided for him, just unaware that beetleglum specifically betrayed the previous king.

i also think the side characters are good but they’re a little too similar to sarah’s friends. aside from that, i found them entertaining. but if i were writing coronation i’d just make them more distinct somehow and that’s about it. not exactly settled on how to make changes without sacrificing the things that give these characters chemistry with one another at the moment, but there’s gotta be something. it sucks because like, on the one hand i am attached to skubbin and tangle and cible, but on the other hand it’s hard to stay attached to them when you remember how similar they are to hoggle, ludo, and didymus, respectively. i’ve gone back and forth a lot in my head over whether or not the similarities are too superficial for me to reasonably care; but the fact that i notice them and find them disappointing should count for something, right? that’s the way i see it, at least. they’re just not as memorable as sarah’s friends, or even as memorable as the other characters we haven’t seen before.

as for themes that weren’t explored, jareth mentions all the time how maria is nothing like sarah. and we’re supposed to think he’s wrong, but i feel like coronation never really does anything with this idea. it especially never deals with the idea that, because they both lost their mothers in a way, jareth and sarah herself are more similar than they think. or the idea that they lost their mothers for opposite reasons; the real maria isn’t in jareth’s life anymore because she tried and failed to sacrifice everything for him, but linda isn’t in sarah’s life anymore for reasons that can easily be interpreted as selfish. of all the introduced cast i feel like beetleglum and jareth’s parents had the most potential. and i think as far as they’re concerned the execution was okay. could’ve been better, but it wasn’t terrible

i originally intended to do a Huge Big Massive Post explaining all my thoughts on this in detail but i realize now that it’s better to do so succinctly so i’m glad i wrote this

i should clarify that i think coronation by itself is uh. passable. from a story standpoint. like the basic setup is actually interesting and good imo and the execution is fine ig. but what im enamored with, with regards to coronation, is the version of it i created in my own head so that the plot and themes would make sense to me

[the-name-is-hoggle]

Far from the Summer Realm, on the edge of Sunset, doors were still barred, seals still firmly in place. But, perhaps cracks were loosened just enough for a trick or two. Just for this night of all nights.

Everyone had a duty, even if they were a few thousand years too late.

A hole in the sky; a crevace, really. Deep, burning orange against the Goblin City's gloomy, sepia-grey. just enough for something small to seep through.

Thousands of somethings. Like dust, like tiny chips of rainbows.

Tiny peices of hard candy, translucent, colorful, in hundreds of novelty shapes spread like heavy mist through the sky. The smell of sweets. Drifting through the air just high enough for little, grubby hands to grab. Just like in days of old.

Maybe some of the more Ancient Goblins would remember...

It didn't take long for the goblins to notice the event, word spreading as quickly as the saccharine scents through the air. Even if they were too young to remember, or even to know, the meaning behind it all. The little fae creatures knew what to do.

Little hands reaching out to grab what they could and eating away, from soldier to hag to sleepy head who'd just awoken from a nap. All of them rejoicing at the unexpected treats, some even giving thanks to the air in response. A party definitely starting now.

Beetleglum stood back and watched, fascinated at the display. And, confused by what it ultimately meant. Still, there wasn't much he could do besides observe....and pick out his favorite candies when he saw them float by.....

[the-name-is-hoggle]

Art Related to my thread with @adara-of-the-flame, so eloquently called A Kingdom for a Kiss: Or why you should really look at the fine print before handing out real estate. lol

Hoggle. On the start of his journey within the story as the New King of Spring.

Mars. in all her colorful glory

Yumika. Autumn Court ninja

Beetleglum. Jareth’s most faithful goblin

Dumpling the Hundun, Sir Didymus, and Jareth himself.

[adara-of-the-flame]

the-name-is-hoggle

When the Spring labeled part of Selva’s example diagram is shattered, Hoggle can’t help a slight flinch at the shattering noise. And he stares at the dramatic display of the water spilling out and everything fading away. His own blue eyes as wide as Mars’ obscured ones.

Which was definitely the point of the whole demonstration. To shock them. To emphasize just how important the place of the seasons- Hoggle’s place - in Everything. The dwarf is so caught up in this mental vibe check that he barely registers Mars asking about The Butterfly Effect to Selva.

Honestly that whole concept would have simply confused him at best, so it was probably for the better that he didn’t take it in at all. He kept just staring at where the once ring of light had been, up until Selva addressed him directly once more. And then he was staring at her.

”……..no wonder you all want to make sure if I can do this job or not….“

Hoggle found himself muttering, hand moving up to rub at his face as his expression shifted to one of determined concern. He from just a groundskeeper of the Labyrinth to an exile with a mocking title to….a load bearing pillar of reality.

It was like a really weird joke, or something.

adara-of-the-flame

"Oh, that ship has sailed by now." Selva Roja's voice switched back to disturbingly chipper and casual. "'Can' went out the window when you accepted your post from Saisho No Me. Now, we're all the way to, 'Must'. You Must do the job."

Out of habit, Mars raised a pair of hands. "But, isn't he doing that just by living? He's not dead, so Spring's not dead, so nobody else in the Cycle is dead. ...Right?"

"Right. ...And, I suppose he could stay like that. Spring will definately live, and life will continue as normal. But...he still needs all the gifts of Spring for the Cycle to work properly. And...if he doesn't know how to handle all that power..."

"....Would Spring blow up? Would he blow something up accidentally?"

"I won't say, 'Yes', and I won't say, 'No'."

"Oh." Mars nodded. This all made perfect sense. And, then she turned to Hoggle, as though she felt bad about talking about him like he wasn't right there. "I think it's like my sister and our voice magic. We had to get training so we didn't accidentally scream loud enough that we turned something into red mist." ....Despite her pleasant enough tone, she seemed to be speaking from experience.

"Ew." Selva Roja made a face. "Well, you get the idea, Hoggle. You can take the Blooming Throne as you are, but great power without control is dangerous. The gifts I have for you the Gifts of Abundance and Warm Light. And, the power to call back the Southern Birds to your Realm. Right now, you only have Abundance: the awakening, growth, and production of plants." The giant Summer Queen leaned back into a lounging position. "So! Grow me some plants! Really dig deep and show me what you got."

----------------------

Meanwhile, having retreated from the hubub of dwarves, Yumika settled high into a nearby tree to send Beetleglum another message:

I hate Summer heat. Spring's heir Gifted Abundance. His power tested.

Folded and sealed, the kitsune's haiku was handed off to a messenger fairy. Yumika hoped things were going well on Beetleglum's end....

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the stench of this terrible blog…bleck!”

[adara-of-the-flame]

the-name-is-hoggle

When Selva mentions Jareth getting his name wrong during their past confrontation, Hoggle can’t help sighing out a soft "He says the wrong name on purpose” in exasperation. Truly the blond man could be so immature at times it was astounding, despite having always been a fully grown adult. No wonder he’d tried to win over a literal teenager in the past- too bad she proved to be too mature for him!

His brows furrow when the Summer Queen continues, taking them in as she drops some gems of information. Namely, that the other high fae didn’t actually know what was up with Jareth. Which surprised the dwarf greatly, honestly. How did the other monarchs not even have an clue….?

Mars’ mentioning of this Bowie-knife person again barely registers to him, other than to remind himself that he has to explain to her that the work of human bards and artists really hadn’t crossed into fae culture after Shakespeare and all of those ballets…..

“Really? You guys don’t know….? From what Beetleglum told me, The Owl King and Jareth- or him as a baby I guess? - fell into some weird machine together and sort of…mixed…?”

He softly claps his hands together once as they begin to pass over the Stolavor Urngorr. Seemed dwarves had a long history in the region if their words were used to name landmarks….and Selva was correct. Dwarvish always sounded cooler.

“They melded together like molten metals and became a being who’s of the two…? Or something…? Frankly, he was never clear on what exactly he meant by that. But I always took it to mean that all of Noctus’ knowledge was passed to Jareth…..”

Hoggle suddenly shakes his head lightly,

“I guess that isn’t the case….”

adara-of-the-flame

To her credit, the Summer Matriarch didn't drop them. "Old Noctus Labryinthus and his machines. I always figured he'd fall by one of his inventions one of these days." The hot air in her voice had increased from a summer breeze to an uncomfortable swelter.

"Did you know him?" Despite the stillsuit, Mars found herself needing to fan her face.

Selva Roja chose her words carefully. As much as the Alpha-fiery reveled in gossip, some stories were not her's to tell. Even fairies can know respect. "Not closely. More like aquaintances. Noctus and I worked with some of the same people, so it made sense we'd occasionally meet." She confided truthfully.

The mountains were practically upon them by now. Mars could make out the sturdy, angular architecture of the surface dwarves who'd made their home in Selva Roja's tropical biome. Paradise in the crags of mountains high above the clouds. What a world.

Idly, the half-Urru's mind went back to that red-headed dwarf in the tropical print shirt. She didn't understand what they were saying, but something about them told her they'd at least passively made fun of Hoggle. She frowned, and wrapped an instinctive arm around his much smaller shoulder as the Summer Queen made her landing.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the stench of this terrible blog…bleck!”

[the-name-is-hoggle]

Hoggle can only make a dry sort of snort when Mars mentions the possibility of him "blowing up" and can only raise an amused brow at her. Really, the places his friend's mind went to....

"I have no intention of doin' this only part of the way, I made a promise ta get the task done....."

Abundance and Warm Light, huh? And birds? Hoggle was alright with birds- except owls. They reminded him of Jareth.....

Leaving that thought aside, Hoggle put his focus towards trying out his new powers again. Looking around the area they were in for a good spot to start when directed by Selva to begin.

"Okay....grow some plants....."

The dwarf nods and picks a spot of grass that just feels right to starts. His hands move reflexively with his focus as Hoggle 'reaches' out mentally to the environment around him. Almost immediately the wild flowers and even the grass itself in that patch start to quickly grow larger and wilder. The path of Hoggle's focus could be tracked easily because of this, with each new bush or tree that would suddenly rise up would be in the ever growing "path" made of sweet fluffy grasses and colorful blooms.

=========

Meanwhile, in a certain dusty library, the Goblin King had been making quite a bit less progress than the Spring Prince. At least, it felt like he'd gotten nowhere to Jareth. Despite having been searching through books for several hours at this point.

"-Garnish with fresh herbs or croutons and serve immediately- Dammit! This is just another worm cookbook! With yet another recipe for Turnip Soup!"

Comes the frustrated huff, Jareth idly tossing away a tiny book he had been reading with the help of a magnifying glass. He was several haphazardly filled bookshelves deep at this point and still had a lot more to go. With a sigh he reaches for the next book, of a more regular size this time, and opens it up.

Outside the Library in the hallway, Beetleglum took the time to check on his King. Watching Jareth grumble away as the man remained focused on his task, the point of which the older goblin wasn't completely sure about.....

His attention is stolen away by the arrival of Yumika's messenger fairy, he quickly heads over to some random quiet room before taking the missive. Offering the fairy a bit of fruit for her trouble before opening it up.

He reads it a few times, processing what the kitsune's words meant.

Hoggle had actually made it to Summer. He'd made it to the Summer Realm and presumably was in the middle of gaining every segment of power that the ruler, Selva Roja, had been custodian of.

Beetleglum felt both proud of the dwarf as well as concerned. Hoggle had now crossed the point of no return in his mission, the former groundskeeper would have to see this business until the very end.

Or die trying.

'Drink something cool and stay in the shade, your lovely fur must feel like a lot there.

Hoggle will succeed, he doesn't give up on things.

Jareth looks for something in the Labyrinth Library, I am not sure exactly what. But I know it's related to Hoggle and Spring Realm.'

Beetleglum doesn't bother with trying to write a Haiku back as his reply, though he does make an effort for his writing to be neat and evenly spaced. With no smudges of ink or splotches from the quill. Once it's dry he rolls the parchment back up and hands it over to the waiting fairy.

"Go, go!"

He tells her, opening the window and watching her fly away.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the stench of this terrible blog…bleck!”

[adara-of-the-flame]

the-name-is-hoggle

The dwarf leans over eagerly when Mars pulls out her magical rectangle, the same that she’d used to speak to her family before, and is amazed to see that it could display images. The little family portrait painting she shares is truly something, both life like and endearing to see the family dynamic. Mars’ mother had a kind looking face with intelligent eyes; while the sibling - Moon - looked both more tempered yet no less nice as Mars. At least, it was obvious she had a high degree of patience to her considering the shenanigans from the Urru in the picture.

Both certainly seemed so full of personality and life….

As Mars continued with her explanation of history past, Hoggle furrowed his brows a little. Obviously concerned at the idea of life-force sucking fairies - yes, fairies - and just imagined how that would affect a land and it’s people.

"I’m not entirely surprised to hear that your Skeksiz resorted to life taking to prolong their own lives. The more long lived and ”ethereal" some fae are, the more it tends to be that the idea of their own mortality affects them. No one is more scared of death than those who think they should never die. At least, that’s how all the stories go, anyway.“

Hoggle comments, thinking back on everything he’d seen and heard for himself over the years. It all just brought to mind the stories old Beetleglum would tell the dwarf, when they shared a late night smoke or drink. The goblin going on about how the Owl King before Jareth would always search for ways to extend his already long life…

"I’m assuming this was stopped,,,.? Eventually? You speaking about it in the past tense, anyway…”

adara-of-the-flame

"Yeah, they were really scared." Mars sighed from secondhand distress. "So scared, that when the Gelfling found out what they were doing, and rebelled, and the prophesy happened, they built a Garthim army and killed them all."

A pause. "Oh, yeah, the prophesy. So, there was this prophesy, right? About how a Gelfling was gonna fix the cracked Crystal when the next Conjuction happened. And, the Skeksis didn't want that to happen, so the whole slaughter thing happened instead. They pretty much killed everyone except for a little girl Gelfling that hid with the Podlings, and a boy Gelfing that the Urru rescued." At this, Mars smiled. "His name was Jen. I only met him a few times when I was little. Great flute-player. I wonder if he remembers us?

"But, yeah, Jen did it! Right at the last minute, and the Urrus and the Skeksis got turned back into Urskeks, and my sister and I got the ability to fuse into one being---if we want. For us, it's kinda uncomfortable. Probably because we were born split. And, our souls aren't completely one. Just...connected, you know? And, that's a happy ending for Thra."

Her story completed, Mars leaned back into her bounty of pillows, satified she'd given a story of Shakesperian proportions. There was a pause. "Oh, yeah, before that, we were born, weren't we?"

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the stench of this terrible blog…bleck!”

[the-name-is-hoggle]

When Selva mentions Jareth getting his name wrong during their past confrontation, Hoggle can't help sighing out a soft "He says the wrong name on purpose" in exasperation. Truly the blond man could be so immature at times it was astounding, despite having always been a fully grown adult. No wonder he'd tried to win over a literal teenager in the past- too bad she proved to be too mature for him!

His brows furrow when the Summer Queen continues, taking them in as she drops some gems of information. Namely, that the other high fae didn't actually know what was up with Jareth. Which surprised the dwarf greatly, honestly. How did the other monarchs not even have an clue....?

Mars' mentioning of this Bowie-knife person again barely registers to him, other than to remind himself that he has to explain to her that the work of human bards and artists really hadn't crossed into fae culture after Shakespeare and all of those ballets.....

"Really? You guys don't know....? From what Beetleglum told me, The Owl King and Jareth- or him as a baby I guess? - fell into some weird machine together and sort of...mixed...?"

He softly claps his hands together once as they begin to pass over the Stolavor Urngorr. Seemed dwarves had a long history in the region if their words were used to name landmarks....and Selva was correct. Dwarvish always sounded cooler.

"They melded together like molten metals and became a being who's of the two...? Or something...? Frankly, he was never clear on what exactly he meant by that. But I always took it to mean that all of Noctus' knowledge was passed to Jareth....."

Hoggle suddenly shakes his head lightly,

"I guess that isn't the case...."

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the stench of this terrible blog…bleck!”

[the-name-is-hoggle]

Jareth mutters a soft "Apologies" when he realizes his tone had been a tad more...aggressive than intended. As off put as he was by the whole conversation, he could not forget that the Summer Queen was not his equal. Both in knowledge as well as station...

"His heirs? I am the only heir or owner to the throne..."

A pause, and then a thought.

"....Skubbin. He abdicated his rights when he left the Labyrinth ages ago, but he'd probably remember about this...."

Too bad he had no idea where to find that wannabe knight....

"Beetleglum. He should have known that the bog was more! But he said not a thing...! Little traitor..."

It was obvious that Jareth was more thinking aloud than truly talking to Selva, though he looked at her (well, her hand and eyes) as he spoke. The weight of the truth making the Goblin King scramble about a little. Jareth was not taking well that he'd had a wool thrown over his eyes, by himself this time.

"......I don't like that I didn't even realize I had no clear memory of this exchange, let alone the real information as the former Owl King had. That is..."

Jareth cuts himself off, a look of worried displeasure crossing his pretty features as he looked at Selva Roja.

".....you are going to tell the Autumn Queen about this, aren't you?"

---------------------------------

"....who's Gandalf..."

Hoggle mutters before he's unceremoniously put onto the horse. Both sand horse and dwarf are unhappy with the arrangement, but nothing happens. The 'animal' just continues to look back at them. Waiting.

Hoggle scrambles to take hold of the weedy mane, giving Mars a dry look as he does.

"I've done some riding on a pony before, but thats expensive travel. I assume the basics are the same for a full sized horse....made of sand or not."

The dwarf shares slowly, sighing.

"It's been a long time since those days but you know what they say about such things, you never really forget."

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the stench of this terrible blog…bleck!”

[the-name-is-hoggle]

The dwarf leans over eagerly when Mars pulls out her magical rectangle, the same that she'd used to speak to her family before, and is amazed to see that it could display images. The little family portrait painting she shares is truly something, both life like and endearing to see the family dynamic. Mars' mother had a kind looking face with intelligent eyes; while the sibling - Moon - looked both more tempered yet no less nice as Mars. At least, it was obvious she had a high degree of patience to her considering the shenanigans from the Urru in the picture.

Both certainly seemed so full of personality and life....

As Mars continued with her explanation of history past, Hoggle furrowed his brows a little. Obviously concerned at the idea of life-force sucking fairies - yes, fairies - and just imagined how that would affect a land and it's people.

"I'm not entirely surprised to hear that your Skeksiz resorted to life taking to prolong their own lives. The more long lived and "ethereal" some fae are, the more it tends to be that the idea of their own mortality affects them. No one is more scared of death than those who think they should never die. At least, that's how all the stories go, anyway."

Hoggle comments, thinking back on everything he'd seen and heard for himself over the years. It all just brought to mind the stories old Beetleglum would tell the dwarf, when they shared a late night smoke or drink. The goblin going on about how the Owl King before Jareth would always search for ways to extend his already long life...

"I'm assuming this was stopped,,,.? Eventually? You speaking about it in the past tense, anyway..."

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the stench of this terrible blog…bleck!”

[adara-of-the-flame]

"Haiku. There." Yumika placed the tiles up against Dumpling's 'H'. "Something I'd much rather be doing right now." The kitsune wondered if she could get a message to Beetleglum in the castle a literal realm away...

Ol' Hickory sniffed through his nose. "Oh, don't be like that." Scrabble is a beloved pasttime for me and Sir Dids here."

-----------------------------------

"So, his surname was, 'Swattle' was it?" Selva Roja's disembodied hand tapped an invisible chin. "I guess Primavero is an improvement.

"And, forgive me if I'm wrong, but...if I remember correctly, Hoggle didn't so much resign as you handed that seat of Seasonal Monarchy right over to him. Very generous, I'd say..." Oh, she was eating this up. Look at that tiny little Goblin King, acting so suave. It was adorable! If the Summer Queen wasn't certain it would upset certain other members of her company, she'd be very tempted to keep Jareth as a pet. He was certainly entertaining enough. And, being easy on the eyes didn't hurt, either.

Well, politics are politics. Even a fae knows where not to cross the line.

"You must have loved your little Groundskeeper so dearly to want to check up on him so badly...." Her voice dripped with fresh, Summer honey...

-----------------------------------------------

What a sight the half-Urru was. All that hair, all that tule, all those sequins just...splayed across the sand. Like a shiny, 3-D Picasso painting.

If she wasn't so attached to that dress, she would've sung something a bit more practical up by now.

Mars looked up at Hoggle, her very human, lovely eyes visible for once through a part in her bangs. "Well, to be fair, they were going to keep you if I didn't do something. ...I think." She sat up, sand spilling from ears that seemed more floppy and canine than one might think.

"Alright." She gestured to the unchanging vastness of sand around them. "How do you know how to get back?"

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the stench of this terrible blog…bleck!”