#court jester Rowan

[medievalandfantasymelee]

The Properties

A Comprehensive* Index of Films, Shows and Franchises whence our Noble and Worthy contenders hail.

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The 13th Warrior (1999) [Film] Genre: Action, Drama Starring: Antonio Banderas, Diane Venora, Omar Sharif

A

A Knight’s Tale (2001) [Film] Genre: Comedy, Action, Romance Starring: Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Rufus Sewell, Alan Tudyk, Laura Fraser, Paul Bettany, James Purefoy

The Accursed Kings (1972-1973) [TV Series] Genre: Political Drama Starring: Jean Piat

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance Starring: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone, Claude Rains, Patrick Knowles

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955-1959) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Adventure Starring: Richard Greene, Alan Wheatley

Aladdin (2019) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Romance Starring: Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Will Smith, Marwan Kenzari

Army of Darkness (1992) [Film] Genre: Action, Comedy, Dark Fantasy, Horror Starring: Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz, Marcus Gilbert

Arn: The Knight Templar (2007) [Film Series] Genre: Action, Drama Starring: Joakim Nätterqvist, Stellan Skarsgård, Sofia Helin, Milind Soman

Arthur of the Britons (1972-1973) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Drama Starring: Oliver Tobias, Michael Gothard, Brian Blessed

Assassin’s Creed (2016) [Film] Genre: Action

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson

B

Baahubali (2015-2017) [Film Franchise] Genre: Action Starring: Prabhas, Anushka Shetty

Becket (1964) [Film] Genre: Drama Starring: Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole

Beowulf & Grendel (2005) [Film] Genre: Action, Drama Starring: Gerard Butler, Ingvar Sigurðson, Stellan Skarsgård, Tony Curran, Rory McCann, Sarah Polley

The Black Adder (1982) [Season 1 of Blackadder TV Series] Genre: Comedy Starring: Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Tim McInnerny, Brian Blessed, Robert East

Borgia (2011-2014) [TV Series] Genre: Political, Drama Starring: John Doman, Mark Ryder, Isolda Dychauk, Diarmuid Noyes

The Borgias (2011-2013) [TV Series] Genre: Political, Drama Starring: Jeremy Irons, Francois Arnaud, Holliday Grainger, David Oakes, Lotte Verbeek, Joanne Whalley, Sean Harris, Julian Bleach

Braveheart (1995) [Film] Genre: Action Starring: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGooan

C

Cadfael (1994-1998) [TV Series] Genre: Mystery Starring: Derek Jacobi, Sean Pertwee

Camelot (1967) [Film] Genre: Musical, Drama Starring: Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, Franco Nero

The Canterbury Tales (1972) [Film] Genre: Dark Comedy, Drama Starring: Pier Paolo Pasolini, Josephine Chaplin

Carlos, rey Emperador (2015-2016) [TV Series] Genre: Political, Drama Starring: Álvaro Cervantes, Bianca Suárez

The Chronicles of Narnia (2005-2010) [Film Franchise] Genre: Fantasy, Action Starring: William Mosely, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter, Liam Neeson, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Peter Dinklage, Eddie Izzard, Warwick Davis, Ken Stott, Cornell John

The Court Jester (1955) [Film] Genre: Musical, Comedy, Romance Starring: Danny Kaye, Glynis Johns, Basil Rathbone, Angela Lansbury

Covington Cross (1992) [TV Series] Genre: Drama Starring: Nigel Terry, Cheri Lunghi, Jonathan Firth

D

Doctor Who: “Battlefield” (1989) [TV Serial] Genre: Science Fiction, Action, Fantasy Starring: Sylvester McCoy, Sophie Aldred, Jean Marsh, Christopher Bowen, Marcus Gilbert

Doctor Who: “The Robot of Sherwood (2014) [TV Episode] Genre: Science Fiction, Action Starring: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Louise Coleman, Tom Riley, Ben Miller

Double World (2020) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Action Starring: Henry Lau, Peter Ho

Dracula Untold (2014) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Action Starring: Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Sarah Gadon, Charles Dance

Dragonheart (1996) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Action Starring: Dennis Quaid, Sean Connery, David Thewlis

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Hugh Grant

E

Edward II (1991) [Film] Genre: Drama, Romance Starring: Steven Waddington, Andrew Tiernan, Tilda Swinton, Nigel Terry, Jerome Flynn

Ella Enchanted (2004) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Comedy Starring: Anne Hathaway, Hugh Dancy, Cary Elwes, Vivica A. Foxx, Joanna Lumley

Eragon (2006) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Action Starring: Ed Speelers, Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund

Ever After: A Cinderella Story (1998) [Film] Genre: Romance, Drama Starring: Drew Barrymore, Dougray Scott

Excalibur (1981) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Action Starring: Nigel Terry, Cheri Lunghi, Helen Mirren, Nicholas Clay, Nicol Williamson, Gabriel Byrne

F

First Knight (1995) [Film] Genre: Drama, Romance Starring: Richard Gere, Julia Ormond, Sean Connery

G

Galavant (2015-2016) [TV Show] Genre: Musical, Fantasy, Comedy Starring: Joshua Sasse, Timothy Omundson, Vinnie Jones, Karen David, Luke Youngblood

Game of Thrones (2011-2019) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Political, Drama, Action Starring: Sean Bean, Lena Headey, Kit Harrington, Emilia Clarke, Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner, Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Jerome Flynn, Aiden Gillen, Rory McCann, Ian McElhinney, Iwan Rheon,

The Great Wall (2016) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy Starring: Matt Damon, Jing Tian, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, Andy Lau

The Green Knight (2021) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Adventure Starring: Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Sean Harris, Ralph Ineson

H

Hamlet (1948) [Film] Genre: Drama Starring: Laurence Olivier, Normal Wooland, Jean Simmons

Hamlet at Elsinore (1964) [TV Movie] Genre: Drama Starring: Christopher Plummer, Michael Caine, Robert Shaw, Jo Maxwell-Muller, Donald Sutherland

Henry V (1944) [Film] Genre: Drama, Political, Action, Romance Starring: Laurence Olivier, Renee Asherson, Esmond Knight

Henry V (1989) [Film] Genre: Drama, Political, Action Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, Ian Holm

Henry VIII (2003) [TV Serial] Genre: Drama Starring: Ray Winstone, Helena Bonham Carter, Charles Dance, Mark Strong, Assumpta Serna, David Suchet, Emilia Fox, Sean Bean

Highlander (1986) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Action Starring: Christopher Lambert, Sean Connery, Clancy Brown

The Hollow Crown (2012-2016) [TV Series] Genre: Drama, Political Starring: Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Jeremy Irons, Tom Hiddleston, Simon Russell Beale, David Dawson, Tom Sturridge, Sophie Okonedo, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sam Troughton, Keely Hawes, Judi Dench, Phoebe Fox

House of the Dragon (2022-) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Political, Drama, Action Starring: Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Millie Alcock, Olivia Cooke, Paddy Considine, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Wean Mitchell, Graham McTavish, Fabian Frankel

The Hobbit Trilogy (2012-2014) [Film Franchise Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Aiden Turner, Dean O'Gorman, James Nesbitt, Lee Pace, Evangeline Lilly L Luke Evans, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee, Orlando Bloom, Andy Serkis

I

I Am Dragon {On — Drakón} (2015) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Romance Starring: Maria Poezzhaeva, Matvey Lykov

If I Were King (1938) [Film] Genre: Adventure Starring: Ronald Colman, Basil Rathbone, Frances Dee

Into the Woods (2014) [Film] Genre: Musical, Fantasy Starring: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp

Ivanhoe (1982) [TV Movie] Genre: Drama, Adventure, Romance Starring: Anthony Andrews, Olivia Hussey, Nam Neill, Lysette Anthony, Julian Glover, John Rhys Davies, Stuart Wilson

Ivanhoe (1997) [Mini Series] Genre: Drama, Adventure, Romance Starring: Steven Waddington, Victoria Smurfit, Ciaran Hinds, Susan Lynch, James Cosmo, Christopher Lee

J

JourneyQuest (2010) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Action, Comedy Starring: Christian Doyle, Emilie Rommel Shimkus, Jesse Lee Keeter

K

Kaamelott (2004-2009) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Comedy Starring: Alexandre Astier, Thomas Cousseau, Alexis Hénon, Anne Girouard, Christian Bujeau

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) [Film] Genre: Action Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Eric Bana, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Freddie Fox, Millie Brady

Kingdom of Heaven (2005) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure Starring: Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, David Thewlis, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Neeson

Knights of the Teutonic Order (1960) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure Starring: Grażyna Staniszewska, Urszula Modrzyńska, Mieczysław Kalenik, Stanisław Jasiukiewicz 

L

Labyrinth (1986) [Film] Genre: Fantasy Starring: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly

Lancelot du Lac (1974) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Adventure Starring: Luc Simon, Laura Duke Condominas, Humbert Balsan, Vladimir Antolek-Oresek, Patrick Bernhard

Ladyhawke (1985) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Romance Starring: Rutger Hauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Matthew Broderick

The Last Duel (2021) [Film] Genre: Drama Starring: Matt Damon, Jodie Comer, Adam Driver

The Last Kingdom (2015-2022) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Adventure, Political, Drama Starring: Alexander Dreymon, David Dawson, Millie Brady, Ian Hart Mark Rowley, Arnas Fedaravicius, Ewan Mitchell

Legend (1985) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Romance Starring: Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry

The Legend of the Seeker (2008-2010) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Adventure Starring: Craig Horner, Bridget Regan, Bruce Spence, Tabrett Bethell

The Lion in Winter (1968) [Film] Genre: Drama Starring: Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Athony Hopkins, John Castle, Nigel Terry, Timothy Dalton

The Little Hours (2017) [Film] Genre: Dark Comedy Starring: Dave Franco, Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, Kate Micucci

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) [Film Franchise] Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Action Starring: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Dominic Monaghan, Billy Boyd, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, John Rhys Davies, Sean Bean, Liv Tyler, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Bernard Hill, Karl Urban, Miranda Otto, Brad Dourif, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Craig Parker

M

Marco Polo (2014) [TV Series] Genre: Adventure, Political Starring: Lorenzo Richelmy, Benedict Wong, Joan Chen, Rick Yune, Remy Hii, Mahesh Jadu, Claudia Kim

The Masque of the Red Death (1964) [Film] Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Drama Starring: Vincent Price, Jane Asher, Hazel Court, John Westbrook

Marketa Lazarová (1967) [Film] Genre: Drama, Adventure Starring: Magda Vášáryová, Josef Kemr, František Velecký

Medici (2016-2019) [TV Series] Genre: Drama, Political Starring: Richard Madden, Annabel Scholey, Danial Sharman, Bradley James, Sarah Parish, Matteo Martari, Sean Bean, Jack Roth

Merlin (1998) [Miniseries] Genre: Fantasy, Drama Starring: Sam Neill, Miranda Richardson, Helena Bonham Carter, Martin Short, Jason Done, Rutger Hauer

BBC’s Merlin (2008-2012) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Adventure Starring: Colin Morgan, Bradley James, Angel Coulby, Katie McGrath, Anthony Head, Eoin Macken, Tom Hopper, Santiago Cabrera, Rupert Young, Adetomiwa Edun

Miracle Workers: The Dark Ages (2020) [TV Series] Genre: Comedy Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Karan Soni, Geraldine Viswanathan, Steve Buscemi

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) [Film] Genre: Comedy Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michel Palin,

N

Nirvana in Fire {Lángyá Bǎng} (2015) [TV Series] Genre: Drama, Adventure Starring: Hu Ge, Liu Tao, Wang Kai

The Northman (2022) [Film] Genre: Action Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Gustav Lindh, Ethan Hawke, Björk. Willem Dafoe

Northmen: A Viking Saga (2014) [Film] Genre: Action Starring: Tom Hopper, Charlie Murphey, Ed Skrein

O

Outlaw King (2018) [Film] Genre: Action, Drama Starring: Chris Pine, Florence Pugh, Aaron Taylor Johnson, Stephen Dillane, Tony Curran

P

Padmavaat (2018) [Film] Genre: Drama Starring: Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Ranveer Singh

The Physician {Der Medicus} (2013) Genre: Drama Starring: Tom Payne, Ben Kingsley, Stellan Skarsgård, Olivier Martinez, Emma Rigby

Pilgramige (2017) [Film] Genre: Action Starring: John Bernthal, Tom Holland, Richard Armitage

The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957) [Film] Genre: Starring: Van Johnson, Claude Rains

The Pillars of the Earth (2010) [Miniseries] Genre: Drama Starring: Rufus Sewell, Ian McShane, Donald Sutherland, Hayley Atwell, Eddie Redmayne, David Oakes

The Prince and the Pauper (1937) [Film] Genre: Adventure Starring: Errol Flynn, Claude Rains

BBC’s Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1989) [TV Serial] Genre: Fantasy Starring: Samuel West, Richard Dempsie, Sophie Cook, Jonathan R. Scott, Sophie Wilcox, Jean-Marc Perret, Warwick Davis

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina

The Princess Bride (1987) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Adventure Starring: Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Andre the Giant, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Peter Falk

R

Ran (1985) [Film] Genre: Drama, Action Starring: Nakadai Tatsuya, Terao Akira, Nezu Jinpachi, Ryu Daisuke, Harada Mieko

Rashomon (1950) [Film] Genre: Drama Starring: Mifune Toshiro, Mori Masayuki, Kyo Machiko, Shimura Takashi, Chiaki Minoru

Ressurection: Ertğrul {Diriliş: Ertuğrul} (2014-2019) Genre: Action, Adventure, Political, Drama Starring: Engin Altan Düzyatan, Kaan Taşaner, Esra Bilgiç, Cengiz Coşkun

The Rings of Power (2022-) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Action, Drama Starring: Morfydd Clarke, Robert Aramayo, Lloyd Owen, Maxim Baldry, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Nazanin Boniadi

Rise of Empires: Ottoman (2020-2024) [TV Series] Genre: Docu-drama Starring: Cem Yiğit Üzümoğlu, Daniel Nuță, Tuba Büyüküstün

Robin and Marian (1976) [Film] Genre: Action, Romance, Drama Starring: Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn, Nicol Williamson, Robert Shaw, Richard Harris

Robin Hood (1922) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance Starring: Douglas Fairbanks, Enid Bennett, Wallace Beery, Sam de Grasse

Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) [Film] Genre: Comedy Starring: Cary Elwes, Richard Lewis, Roger Rees, Amy Yasbeck, Eric Allan Kramer, Dave Chapelle, Matthew Porretta, Isaac Hayes, Patrick Stewart, Dom Deluise

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure, Romance Starring: Kevin Costner, Alan Rickman, Morgan Freeman, Christian Slater, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Wincott

BBC’s Robin Hood (2006-2009) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama Starring: Jonas Armstrong, Lucy Griffiths, Richard Armitage, Sam Troughton, Joe Armstrong, Harry Lloyd, Anjali Jay, Gordon Kennedy, Keith Allen

Robin Hood (2010) [Film] Genre: Action Starring: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchette, Matthew McFayden, Oscar Isaac

Robin of Sherwood (1984) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama Starring: Michael Praed, Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, Robert Addie, Ray Winstone,

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990) [Film] Genre: Comedy, Drama Starring: Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Iain Glen, Richard Dreyfuss

S

The Seventh Seal {Det sjunde inseglet}(1957) Genre: Fantasy, Drama Starring: Max von Sydow, Bengt Ekerot, Bibi Andersson, Gunnar Björnstrand 

Shannara Chronicles (2016) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Drama Starring: Austin Butler, Poppy Drayton, Ivana Baquero, Manu Bennett

The Shamer's Daughter {Skammerens Datter} (2015) [Film] Genre: Drama Starring: Jakob Oftebro, Rebecca Emlile Sattrup

The Story of Minglan (2018) [TV Series] Genre: Drama, Romance Starring: Zhang Liying, Feng Shaofeng, Zhu Yilong, Cao Cuifen,

The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure Starring: Richard Todd, Joan Rice, Peter Finch

The Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure Starring: Richard Greene, Peter Cushing, Sarah Branch

T

Thierry la Fronde (1963-1966) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Adventure Starring: Jean Claude Drouot, Celine Leger

Tristan and Isolde (2006) [Film] Genre: Romance, Drama, Action Starring: James Franco, Sophia Myles, Rufus Sewell

V

Valhalla Rising (2009) [Film] Genre: Surreal, Horror, Adventure Starring: Mads Mikkelsen

Vikings (2013) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Adventure, Political Starring: Travis Fimmel, Kathryn Winnick, George Blagden, Clive Standen, Gustaf Skarsgård, Linus Roache, Alexander Ludwig, Alex Høgh Andersen, Jordan Patrick Smith

Vikings: Valhalla (2022) [TV Series] Genre: Action, Adventure, Political Starring: Sam Corlett, Frida Gustavsson, Leo Suter, Bradley James

W

Warcraft (2016) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure Starring: Travis Fimmel, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell,

The White Queen (2013) [Miniseries] Genre: Drama, Romance, Political Starring: Rebecca Ferguson, Max Irons, David Oakes, Aneurin Barnard, Amanda Hale, James Frain, Faye Marsay, Elinor Tomlinson, Janet McTeer

The Wheel of Time (2022) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Action Starring: Rosamund Pike, Daniel Henney, Josha Stradowski, Marcus Rutherford, Donal Finn, Hammed Animashaun, Sophie Okonedo,

When the Raven Flies {Hrafninn flýgur} (1984) [Film] Genre: Action, Adventure Starring: Jakob Þór Einarsson, Edda Björgvinsdóttir, Helgi Skúlason, Egill Ólafsson, Flosi Ólafsson, Gotti Sigurdarson

Willow (1988) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Adventure Starring: Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh

Willow (2022) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Adventure Starring: Warwick Davis, Ellie Bamber, Ruby Cruz, Erin Kellyman, Tony Revolori, Amar Chadha-Patel

The Witcher {Wiedźmin} (2002) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure Starring: Michał Żebrowski, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Maciej, Kozłowski, Grażyna Wolszczak

The Witcher (2019-) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure Starring: Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Joey Batey

Wolf Hall (2015-2024) [TV Series] Genre: Political, Drama Starring: Mark Rylance, Damien Lewis, Claire Foy, Charity Wakefield, Thomas Brodie Sangster, Mark Gatiss, Jonathan Pryce, Mathieu Amalric, Anton Lesser

Word of Honor {Shānhé lìng} (2021) [TV Series] Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Romance Starring: Zhang Zhehan, Gong Jun

World Without End (2012) [Miniseries] Genre: Drama, Political Starring: Charlotte Riley, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Rupert Evans, Tom Weston-Jones, Tom Cullen, Tatiana Maslany, Blake Ritson, Miranda Richardson, Indira Varma

Y

Yeelen (1987) [Film] Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Adventure Starring: Issiaka Kane, Aoua Sangare, Niamanto Sanogo

*This is a lengthy list, if I've missed any, just notify me and I will add it.

[bucknastysbabe]

Untold

Boom bap skapoom ddededede lemme just drop this bad boy off at the park and run away. Reread fire and blood and wanted to experiment with that fake biography style which I’m not very good at but it was fun SKIDIBOP mmdada BOOM

Rating: General

Tags: Period typical assholery, lots of death, angsty, turNCLOAKS?!, Aegon is on Douchebag Hours until he got fucked the fuck up, targ princess reader, incest, Cregan said hol up we don’t play like that in The Fookin North

“House Rowan has been taken by Lord Ormund and Prince Daeron,” said the kinslayer. The maester with him wrote of Aegon’s hitched noise and lidded eyes opening with a snap.

The haggard Aegon stared at his brother, face puffy and eyes glazed from the milk of the poppy. He rarely was awake in his recovery. Prince Aemond figured their youngest sister’s safety would raise the twisted king’s spirits. Aegon had mumbled, “Get her to the…Keep.” He soon after returned to the world of sleep— exhausted from the mere act of eating.

In True Telling, Munkun writes that the arrival of princess would guarantee to distract Aegon more if he ever got well. Not to mention her priceless dragon Merigar, waiting in the Dragonpit. Her Rowan in-laws declared themselves Black until Daeron routed Lord Thaddeus. The Prince regent Aemond was very keen to get the young woman back in the walls of King’s Landing.

The princess later was watched by all, silent tears streaming down pale cheeks as her husband was put to the sword. She was merely 7 and 10 and married for a scarce year. No child was born of the union, much to the happiness of the greens. Especially the ailing Aegon, who had requested for her to stay by his side. The tale of the ‘little princess’ and King Aegon was of a bleak nature, like many others during the Dance.

From a young age she had always been known to bear love for her eldest brother. Even when the rest of their siblings avoided the wayward Prince like the red plague. She followed Aegon around, a pale specter at his heels. That love had long grown strained and non-existent before the Dance. Prince Aegon had settled into his debaucherous ways— drunken binges and periods spent off in Flea Bottom.

Aegon did not engage with her as much, likely discarded the princess for hedonism. Her personal journal stated she received nothing but apathy and slurred condescension when they interacted. Bitterness filled the younger’s heart and after she sought refuge either on her smoky dragon Merigar or a court favorite. Whispers circled around the keep about Aegon not being the only sibling to have a healthy, lustful appetite.

The jester Mushroom wrote that the young princess, fueled by Aegon’s rejection, turned to carnal desires to draw his attention. He claimed she had a retainer of comely knights, daring whoever could climb to her chambers could seize her maidenhead. Grand Maester Munkun disparages that, illustrating the girl was fond of the male gaze but remained chaste. All accounts at the time do mention the public schism between Aegon and his once favorite sibling.

When the striking girl was publicly engaged to the handsome Braxton Rowan in late 127 AC, approval rounded the court. It was a happy time for all, the birth of Prince Maelor had occurred a month beforehand. King Viserys, largely crippled, hastened the wedding on fears of expiring too soon.

Prince Aegon was not of a jovial spirit on the day of the betrothal. He slouched in the throne room with a sullen pout, leaving immediately afterward. The Prince by all reports proceeded to get irrationally intoxicated and escorted from supper by twins Cargyll of the Kingsguard. Ser Criston Cole wrote in concern to Septon Eustace on the occasion.

“I fear for our princess after Aegon’s behavior. You must pray that she will be looked after by the Maiden. He was wrought with jealousy, slamming cups and yelling like a child in the midst of a tantrum. The prince must be kept away lest he seek to claim her before the wedding.”

No other mention was made of the two interacting until the night before the ceremony. Lord Thaddeus Rowan and his retainer had arrived that morning. Comely Prince Daeron had made an appearance with Lord Ormund and his she-dragon Tessarion close behind.

Queen Alicent was said to be overwhelmed with tears, joyous at all of her children together. Eustace somberly notes that it would be the last time she would have the sight. King Viserys was resting in his solar during the reunion, Maester Orwyle tending to the King before the festivities.

Rhaenyra and Prince Daemon remained on Dragonstone with their offspring, an obvious slight.

The young lord Braxton Rowan was handsome in the colors of Goldengrove, strapping and tall with blue eyes and thick brown locks. The little princess was smitten, blushing when the heir dropped to a knee and kissed her hand. Lord Thaddeus proudly boasted that he had never seen his eldest son so lovestruck. Most could see why, the princess was silver and slim. She had taken after her mothers side— willowy and statuesque in appearance. Her and Prince Aemond were similar in that way.

Supper in the keep happened to be a less joyful event. Prince Aegon had joined in the toast to the soon-to-be wed couple. He drawled, “To my lovely sister and her betrothed, I hope she may find joy in an otherwise banal man and his meager lands.” The princess burst into tears, Lord Thaddeus and his sons had to be restrained. Prince Aemond shoved his brother back into his chair with a sharp look. In a fit Queen Alicent excused her drunken son, fretfully apologizing to the angered Rowan clan. Peace was restored in quick succession after.

Accounts are hazy on the occurence at the hour of the Wolf. Two things were consistent in Grand Maester Munkun’s and Septon Eustace’s books. Mushroom will be excluded as his tale was outlandish and inconsistent. One, that Aegon and the little princess did get caught in the godswood by Ser Criston Cole. Two being she had raked her nails bloody across his cheek, stating to Cole that she made a mistake.

Aegon wept during the wedding, disappearing after her red and black Targaryen maiden’s cloak was replaced with the gold and silver of Rowan. The princess smiled and shined for all to see in the meantime. She was cheerful and danced through the night, laughing even during the ribald bedding ceremony. The Targaryen recounted the consummation as a ‘passionate affair’. Off she went to Goldengrove, where Lord Braxton doted on his new wife. Plans were in progress to build a place for the handsome Merigar.

Most were sure the princess was for Rhaenyra; there are multiple records of her openly voicing that her elder brother was unfit for the Iron throne. Eustace with his known dislike for the half-year queen left the Princess out of the Rowan’s claim for the Blacks. When Daeron met with her, she cried and beseeched the Daring to spare her husband and good-father.

Upon her return to King’s Landing, Prince Aemond kept a tight leash on his sister, disallowing her to leave the keep. She was miserable. The girl cried in Aegon’s chambers or the godswood. Mushroom had even tried to lift her spirits, claiming the princess threatened to feed the jester to her dragon. Aemond complained of her dour mood to the Dowager Queen.

While Helaena descended into madness, the other grew hateful. She hissed and threatened to strangle Aegon in his poppy-aided sleep if she had to stay by his side any longer. Merigar felt his rider’s misery, killing two dragon-keepers in a fit of rage. She scrawled down in her diary, “I crave death. I hate him so and yet.”

During the fall of King’s Landing, the princess was given a good deal by Rhaenyra. Ride for the blacks and she would be pardoned on behalf of her ‘green blood’. The little princess swore fealty immediately. Upon hearing the news at Harrenhal, Aemond, already angered by the loss of King’s Landing denounced his blood with a snarl. Queen Alicent did not speak to her youngest daughter for the entire period of Rhaenyra’s rule.

The widow expressed doubts in her journal, fearing she was unable to actually kill any of her blood. She never got the chance to do that. The series of deaths during the half-year rocked the girl. She spent more time with her dragon than with humans after Daeron was reported to have perished at Tumbleton. In her cups, she lamented to many, “I fear I may never smile again.” True Telling mentions that the embittered woman kept quite true to her word.

Rhaenyra felt the growing dread in her half-sister and became uneasy. She was paranoid of turncloaks, especially after Addam Velaryon was questioned. Rhaenyra sent her dragonback on a fool’s errand to the Reach for aid at Highgarden. Dangerously she would be passing where the green army lie in disarray. Merigar and his princess flew North instead.

Sightings of the smoke colored dragon came as far as Last Hearth. Aemond and Daemon held their last battle, Rhaenyra too overcome with the unrest in King’s Landing to do anything about her sister’s disappearance. The princess grew gaunt and grey in the North, the life sapped from her bones. She supped with the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch before returning to King’s Landing.

Lord Commander Brune wrote in his memoirs, “She was exceptionally kind and forged of steel under her thin skin. I was baffled when she climbed on that black beast of hers and called down, “Valar Morghulis.” It was one of the stranger days on my watch.”

No one truly learned why the princess came out of isolation. She stopped writing in her journal after visiting the Wall. Orwyle theorized that she was growing mad, Mushroom shared a bawdy idea, Eustace and Munkun simply think the Valyrian was tired and missed home.

Home was much different now back under the reign of Aegon the Elder, rendered shattered and volatile. He was still mourning the loss of the golden Sunfyre. The city watch and small folk grew frenzied and nervous when the shadow of Merigar flew over the city. Multiple riots had to be put down around Flea Bottom. Construction on the Dragonpit was halted for atleast a fortnight.

She landed her mount in the outer yard of the Red Keep, falling off in exhaustion and obvious starvation. The princess slept for two days. King Aegon fretted over her health, having grown regretful and somber in regards to his sad life. Remarkably, Dowager Queen Alicent was found by her side. Upon awakening the princess dryly remarked, “I think I shall stay now.” The green queen wept and wrenched her hands.

The princess kept out of the rampant politics ensuing the rest of Aegon II’s reign. She remained without an opinion, oft apologizing to Lord Corlys. The king and his sister reconciled— likely from isolation and shared misery. They drank and reminisced on better times late into the night. She helped her brother plan his marriage to the Baratheon girl.

In the Testimony of Mushroom, there is a tale that may have an element of truth to it. The king and his sister were inseparable the last months of his reign. She was noted to stay in his bed at night, Alicent trying her hardest to keep that under lock and key. Mushroom claimed that Aegon the Elder had been regularly viewing his sister pleasure herself with a variety of wooden toys imported from Lys, him unable to copulate due to his broken body.

While the extent may not be that lewd, Septon Eustace did make a vague mention in his notes about Aegon hinting at instead marrying his sister, now nine and ten years of age. Nothing ever came to fruition as the king was poisoned in his litter. Immediately the ever present princess was questioned and thrown into Maegor’s holdfast.

She denied having involvement, stating blankly that her brother was the last person in her life that mattered. The interrogations could not find any proof and she fell into a catatonic state. The lack of involvement on the princess’ behalf is what sealed her fate. At the hour of the Wolf, Cregan Stark declared her a traitor to Rhaenyra and her heirs for choosing to become ‘a concubine for the thrice-damned drunken cur’.

She was executed by the Lord of Winterfell himself. Her last words are the subject of question. The teenaged girl sighed, “If only.” Merigar thrashed and broke from his chains concurrently during that fatal swing of Ice, escaping into the skies. The proud dragon was never to be seen again. Thus ended the ever shifting life of the little princess.

[roybel]

🧚‍♀️ and 🧜‍♀️ for the eah ask game!

🧚‍♀️ tell me about one of your eah ocs!

i have an oc called rowan harlow - shes a commoner whose entire village and family was destroyed by dragon attacks. the royal who rules their kingdom has never done anything to help her village - her father once travelled to petition the court to station knights at their village to prevent dragonfire, but he was laughed at and told 'those with no destiny hold no importance with the court.' angry beyond belief at the ineffectual royals of ever after who are more concerned with upholding the decree of the storybook of legends than doing what they are supposed to do (protecting their people), rowan concocts a plan to infiltrate ever after high in the guise of a minor nursery rhyme character, garner intelligence about the weaknesses of the school and the royals so that she and her fellow insurgents may overthrow the royals and institute democracy. rowans father was an ironmonger - rowan leads the commoner insurgency with a sword that she herself forged with the strength lent to her by her fury at her fathers death.

i created rowan because i really like the royal vs commoner dynamic that was hinted at in the books and some of the webseries supplementary materials. ofc mattel being a giant corporation werent going to explore this dynamic in depth, but i find it fascinating that there is not one but TWO central conflicts in ever after highs world - royal vs rebel, and royal vs commoner.

🧜‍♀️ tell me about any eah aus that you like!

my eah idol au✨ ill include some notes abt it under the cut:

apple white - pop princess. no creative control over lyrics or production. starts a fanwar between herself and ravens fanbases by accidentally saying she doesnt like ravens music in an interview with blondie

raven queen - alternative/indie singer like mitski. rabid online fanbase. getting tired of music industry in general - apple-raven fanwar may be the last straw

briar beauty - apples manager. is getting sick of managing apple and not making music herself - wants to make music again. used to be part of an idol group with apple, ashlynn and blondie - briar and ashlynn left, dissatisfied with the lack of control they had of their music and their image. blondie was devastated - she didnt have the money or popularity to continue a solo career on her own, whereas apple could.

faybelle thorn - known mononymously as faybelle, faybelle thorn is a rising pop act. she used to be a child star but was sick of her mother controlling her every move and broke away. this unfortunately also broke her career. faybelle is desperate to reclaim her fame. she is a hyperpop/pop act, and she is jealous of the amount of fans raven has online - she starts to build up completely onesided rivalry with her. approaches briar to ask her to manage her, but realises briar wants to be back in the spotlight and proposes a group.

maddie hatter - lyricist for lizzie and the worms. known as HATWORM. is approached by raven for some inspiration and they become fast friends - raven learns a lot from her.

lizzie hearts - lead singer and leader of lizzie and the worms. makes art, costumes and thumbnails for the worms.

bunny blanc - known as CLOCKWORM. quiet producer for lizzie and the worms.

kitty cheshire - known as CATWORM. makes the videos for lizzie and the worms.

alistair wonderland - lizzie and the worms groupie. CLOCKWORMs biggest fan.

courtly jester - hacks ppls twitters bc she loves hoarding those blue checkmarks. she has a fandom of her own bc shes so crazy when she hacks into their accounts. she also releases breakcore music on soundcloud which is pretty popular. she releases it under the name the joker card

[elentiyaflame]

Send me writing prompts!

Can be for any of the following;

- The 100

- The last of us

- Orange is the new black

- Wynonna Earp

- Lost girl

- throne of glass / a court of thorns and roses

- critical role

Ships are acceptable!!

[cyberth0t]

SCENE 9.

KING ROWAN. Why were you sent to murder me?

RIVER. I was at the center of a devious plot to take my sister's crown, apparently. This was her punishment.

KING ROWAN. You say it as though it were false.

RIVER. Because it is false! Entirely! I have no desire to be king of any court. Now I can never go back. Not that I want to, anyway.

KING ROWAN. What were you going to do, if you weren't going to assassinate me? Steal away in the night? Risk the open wilds?

RIVER. Yes. I like my odds out there better than incurring your wrath. Or Queen Holly's. [He shivers.]

KING ROWAN. You would have stolen my heart along with you, had you gone. A would-be murderer and a thief, in equal measure.

[RIVER is stunned by this confession of love.]

RIVER. I did not mean...I did not want your heart. And I did not mean to give up mine. I did not mean for any of this.

[The two of them, star-crossed and besotted, stand in silence as the fireflies dance across the water. The moon wheels overhead, silver sentinel, waiting for them to speak.]

KING ROWAN. [Softly.] What if I let you stay?

[RIVER's eyes widen.]

RIVER. But I have betrayed your trust.

KING ROWAN. You make a compelling argument, and I am forgiving.

RIVER. Too forgiving! When the Seelie Court finds out, they'll kill us.

KING ROWAN. No, no. This isn't your sister's court, remember. They'd cast us out, perhaps. Throw us in a dungeon, maybe. Or they'll take my crown and make me a jester. [He shrugs, smiling at RIVER, unbothered by the thought of these punishments.]

RIVER. I don't–

[RIVER cuts himself off, a gleam in his eye.]

KING ROWAN. What is it?

RIVER. What if...what if you could convince your people I am not a threat?

KING ROWAN. You have something in mind.

RIVER. My name. My real name. You may have it, and with it any danger I might have once possessed. I would be unable to hurt you or any of your people.

[Now the king is stunned. He tries to stop him.]

KING ROWAN. Wait–

[But he doesn't.]

RIVER. My name is River.

[RIVER leans forward and kisses him. Once, as a promise. Twice, as a vow. And thrice, to seal the deal.]

CURTAIN.

[jesterjamz]

its been like 2 hours. but anyways can you elaborate on your blorbo story

of course of course let me explain all 4 seasons in excruciating detail (under the readmore)

SEASON 1!!!! (the first season)

season 1 of the expeditions of author (which i will refer to as TEoA from now on) is, of course, the first season. there might be a few easter eggs here & there but for the most part nothing TOO lore-important happens in this season. we are here establishing main characters & having author get used to their new powers.

in the other post i completely forgot to mention the bunga gems. the bunga gems are these 8 gems that are like really powerful & shit. even just 1 of the bunga gems is enough to give you like superhuman powers. despite being a powerful overlord, h does need all 8 bunga gems in order to destroy humanity. & author needs all 8 bunga gems to defeat h. but there are 4 seasons so lets not worry too much about the bunga gems yet.

lets go back to author's friends. they have a best friend & her name is kittul raican (she/they/fae). other friends in their friend group include lenny keone (he/ze), jumpy campos (he/xe), blast tuhinga (he/it/dy), & rowan fisher (he/they/it/zae). allen gets incorporated into this friend group throughout the first season. jumpy has a younger brother, geist campos (he/they) who wears an eyepatch because of this disease called pink eye 2 electric boogaloo (that is not what its actually called. i dont have a name yet.)

author is scared of what their friends will think about their powers, so for the entire 1st season they are desperately trying to hide their new prophecy hero powers from their friends & their parents, except they dont have a hero disguise until like half way into the season so some of their friends may have a little suspicion on what's going on.

do you remember the bunga gems? zodiac gets a bunga gem! crazy. im sure this fact will not be plot relevant at all.

i can imagine the season 1 finale perfectly in my brain. h is causing more havoc than usual in pinewood. author puts on their cool hero disguise & sneaks out to stop him but h has a bunga gem so author gets their ass kicked & wa-pow now everyone in pinewood knows theyre a fucking. hero of the prophecy or whatever.

in one of the earlier episodes it is mentioned that h doesnt like it when people slice his horns off. they take too long to re-grow or whatever. so the heros sword is on the ground & h is about to obliterate author when guess who? its allen! they show up & grab the heros sword & something something "i'll aim for the horn" & then something something they kick h's ass together. h retreats for now but he accidentally leaves his bunga gem behind so now author has a bunga gem! sweet! also all of this was broadcasted on live television.

remember when i said zodiac had a bunga gem? turns out h was the one who gave him this bunga gem & zodiac was promised unlimited power if he found all 8 of them. so at the end of the season 1 finale zodiac is in the castle dungeon (he is a prince remmeber this.) & hes talking to some beast in a cage (this "beast" is spinner the ex-court jester & she uses any pronouns) & spinner knows who h is kinda?? which is kinda why he's tthe ex-court jester now but i digress. so spinner tells zodiac that the one bunga gem he has can be used to help him locate the other bunga gems. & zodiac does an evil grin or some shit & then the episode fades out. & that's season 1!

SEASON 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:D

its season 2 now! author has literallly nothing to hide due to their hero identity being broadcasted on live television so now everyone knows what they are (insert homophobic dog here). this season focuses more on the bunga gems for the most part. figuring out how they work & finding them etc etc yknow. by episode 18 (each season will have 20 episodes, the season finales being split up into 2 parts) author & zodiac both have 4 bunga gems each. so in episode 18 author & rosalina think that zodiac's been acting a little... mm.. suspicious lately. so they sneak to the castle & SURPRISE! zodiac has HORNS & a TAIL that look suspiciously like h's. TURNS OUT THAT ZODIAC IS H'S SON. nobody EVER suspected this. actually it will probably be hinted at throughout the season but. you probably didnt expect this so. anyway so zodiac notices author & rosalina & he has a cool villain song that he sings & then author & rosalina get stuck in the castle dungeon.

season 2's finale is basically a revolution. the people of pinewood are sick of having a monarchy. what fucking town has a monarchy in 2021. so they revolt! unfortunately, author isnt there to help considering they are stuck in the dungeon, & even more unfortunately, zodiac has almost god-like powers. author is in the dungeon & you remember spinner right? theyre in the dungeon? there is also another person in the dungeon & her name is mika (she/her)! this will probably be hinted at during the season but mika used to be a investigator & she thought the queen was a little sus so she was investigating her & so the queen, like any suspicious person would, threw mika into the dungeon.

author still has their phone though! but its at like 1 percent battery so they just like send a group text to their friends that just says "HELP. IN CASTLE DUNGEON" & it sends & then the phone dies so like. hopefully their friends receive that text.

long story short author, rosalina, mika, & spinner end up getting freed from the dungeon & then author & zodiac have a cool fight & because of main character powers, author wins. they have a sword up to zodiac's chest & theyre about to kill him but he teleports away at the last second & theyre just like "oh. hes gone.". also the queen dies or something but i cant decide if i want her death to be on-screen or not. & that's season 2!

i am a ltitle tired & also teal is live right now so remind me tomorrow & i'll explain season 3 & 4 ok :]

[thetonethetollandthethunder]

What are some songs you associate with scythe and/or characters from the series？

Here’s a few!

Bad luck charm - Rowan

Brainwashed Institutions - Greyson (specifically when he was Slayd)

Miracle Musical - Curate Mendoza

The Court Jester - Rand

[rufousnmacska]

Um hi, hello, I’m just wondering if you cold maybe write a manorian au dance or a ren faire would be fab. Thanks

I lost track of how long this request has been in my drafts, so I’m really sorry it’s taken so long to write. I have a bad habit of starting a fic only to get bogged down about how detailed the plot should be, leaving me not wanting to finish it. I’m not good at just banging out a short story and posting it. But for this one, I tried doing that. I hope you like it anon, if you’re still around!

Full disclosure - I’ve never been to a renaissance faire, though I have friends who sell their pottery at an annual, medieval re-enactment type festival. So, I took what I’ve heard from them and added in a little Medieval Times and Disney World. What I’m saying is, please excuse any egregious mistakes about how these things work :)

Fanfic master list

*****

A Bard’s Tale

The Morath Renaissance Faire was part historical re-enactment, part craft market, part food extravaganza, and all spectacle. It drew visitors from around the continent each summer for the three months it was open. People even came for days at a time, staying at nearby inns so they could enjoy all the faire had to offer.

Owned by Maeve and Erawan Perrington, the faire was known for its summer-long war, pitting bands of warriors against each other in mock campaigns until only one survived, as well as its jousting tournament, where knights did true battle for the honor of being named the Queen’s Knight Commander. The enormous market square sold everything from hand woven clothing, jewelry and adornments, to metalwork, and pottery. The food court had stalls serving street foods of all varieties, and a hall that seated hundreds, where visitors could treat themselves to an authentic seven course medieval dinner. Jesters roamed the streets entertaining children, actors staged scenes of roving bandits stealing from nobility, artists demonstrated their craft, and bards sang songs for spare coins.

While most employees were from the region, some, including most of the artists, came from other towns and countries. To house them, the faire had a sprawling campground filled with brightly colored tents. At night, after the faire grounds were closed, the camp came alive with employees sharing modest dinners and abundant wine, while music played and many danced.

Manon Blackbeak had been selling here for four years. Her shop, The Clay Witch, was situated near the entrance to the market, ensuring she had a good crowd and a view of the jousting arena. With her cousins’ help, Manon did a brisk business. She made pottery the rest of the year, selling most of it here, and her cousins were responsible for the rest: healing teas, fragrant candles, love potions, amulets, and other trinkets of a witchy nature. She wasn’t a people person, so she had a sales assistant named Elide who handled that side of the business. Together with her cousins, they took part in the war, calling their band the Blackbeak Coven. In years past, they’d made it into the final week or two of the campaign, but they’d never won.

Despite her competitiveness, Manon had always been fine with that outcome. While Maeve oversaw the jousting as Queen, Erawan was the King who lead the war. He had a habit of looking at her a little too long, his gaze roaming over her body in a way that made her want to shower it off with scalding hot water. She made sure never to be alone with him, usually finding someplace else she needed to be in order to avoid him.

The whole situation pissed her off. Her pottery studio was in a town a few hours away and this faire had been a great opportunity to build her business. They made good money here, enjoyed themselves in the battles, and had made lifelong friends in the campground. But, she was seriously considering not coming back next year. All because some creepy asshole wouldn’t leave her alone.

As she watched Elide wait on some customers, she grew angrier. Other people depended on her. She knew they’d understand and support her, but not coming back felt as though she’d be letting them down.

Outside, she heard people speaking in loud, reverent tones and knew what time it was, not needing to look at her watch. She contemplated hiding in the back just to see what would happen. But when she caught the first sounds of his voice, she found herself grinning.

At ten o’clock in the morning, every day, Dorian Havilliard made his way to her shop to serenade her, always with a group of adoring fans trailing behind.

It hadn’t taken long for Manon to recognize some of the faces of the people who came back again and again just to watch Dorian perform. He played his part well, flirting and making up spontaneous songs to please his audience. If ever their adoration crossed the line into inappropriateness, he’d break out the charm and shy away, making his discomfort clear. All while still obtaining a sizable tip.

Manon crossed her arms and leaned against the entrance to her booth, watching him approach. He had a preternatural gift for coming up with lyrics and melodies on the spot. She’d never admit it to him, but she’d come to enjoy his morning visits.

As for his nightly visits to her tent, it was impossible for her to hide her appreciation then, much to her annoyance.

This was his first and only summer working at the faire. He’d been dragged along by a friend who was dating a knight. Rowan Whitethorn was Maeve’s nephew and had been crowned her Knight Commander in the jousting arena for three years running. The rumor mill went crazy at the start of this season when he arrived with a girlfriend who was from Terrasen. Aelin brought an entourage with her, a bunch of friends from college who were looking for one last fun summer to tide them over before heading off into the real world in the fall. Chaol worked as a royal guard and his girlfriend, a pre-med major, worked in the first aid clinic that served visitors and employees alike. Aelin’s cousin Aedion had fallen quickly into a warrior group and rose to become their general, while his girlfriend Lysandra worked as a fortune teller. Manon and her cousins, who had known Rowan for years, had met them on the first day and they’d become fast friends.

And then there was Dorian. Who, within the first week of opening, had become the most popular bard at the faire. The center of attention wherever he roamed.

Manon smirked as he stopped a few feet from her. Today, as usual, he wore a well fitting tunic with Intricate embroidery that took the shape of wyverns. Curls that had not been there at the start of the season hung around his ears.

With a deep bow and flourish of his hand, he said, “Good morning Lady. I pray you had a pleasant evening.”

She managed to keep her expression unchanged, even though the memories of last night threatened to turn her face a brilliant red. Gripping the sword that hung at her hip, she said, “Lady? I see no lady here.”

“Ah, but you are a lady. Lady artisan,” he said gesturing to her pottery. “Lady warrior,” a glance to her sword. “And a lady of pure moonlight,” he said, nodding at the long white braid that fell across her shoulder.

Her hair was a constant source of interest for him. She didn’t think it crossed into the realm of being a fetish, but he very much enjoyed pulling it whenever he had the chance. She did too. And she enjoyed seeing his gem like eyes flash when she lifted the braid and wiggled the end at him.

Elide and a couple of customers audibly sighed at his words. Manon whirled and gave her a deadly look, but the young woman just ignored her, watching Dorian begin to play as she placed a hand on her heart. She’d been pushing Manon all summer to go out with Dorian. Wanting to preserve Elide’s innocence, Manon never revealed what happened in her tent most nights. And finally, with that thought, the blood rushed to her cheeks.

He sang a quick tune that compared her beauty to that of the moon, bowed again, and with a wink, he was off. His followers who returned day after day just to see him never seemed to think anything of his daily routine of singing to her. Either they were simply too enchanted by his voice and handsome looks, or they just didn’t care, thinking it was all part of the act, confident he would acknowledge them when he was out of character.

As he made his way towards the market square, Manon caught sight of someone who did notice, and clearly cared.

Maeve watched from across the wide street. Her black eyes held none of the smile that spread across her face, and Manon felt a chill crawl up her spine. She did not like Dorian’s daily ritual of showering Manon with attention. After a moment filled with tension, Maeve turned away and disappeared into the crowd.

Just as her husband gave Manon unwanted attention, Maeve had been doing the same thing to Dorian. He’d mentioned it once or twice, trying to brush it off. But Manon had heard the discomfort in his voice, could see the way he held himself in Maeve’s presence, trying to escape her notice and almost turning to stone when she inevitably did. The other night at one of the bonfires in the camp, someone had teased him about it. Dorian laughed and said after this weekend, he’d never see her again. The comment had hit Manon hard, as she’d realized the same could be said of her. In a matter of days, this season would end and they’d return to their homes on opposite sides of the country. With no reason to ever see each other again.

*****

Managing to escape his fans, Dorian ducked into an alley that led to the back offices. He’d seen Maeve following him this morning, and for the first time all summer, he’d considered not going to Manon’s shop. This was a summer job for him, a one time thing before he started working for his father. But she was an artist whose livelihood depended on events like this. He didn’t want to risk getting her in trouble because the owner had some kind of sick crush on him. The season was winding down and this weekend would be the last. He only needed to avoid Maeve’s interest for a few more days.

“Ouch! Watch it!”

“You watch it! Big oaf. No one told you to do tricks on your horse while you were jousting.”

Stopping at the door to the first aid clinic, Dorian found Yrene examining Lorcan, one of the knights who competed in the arena. Like the other jousters, the guy was huge, and Dorian couldn’t help but admire Yrene for not taking any shit from him. Lorcan spotted him watching from the entrance and rolled his eyes.

With his elaborate costumes, zealous following, and natural charm, Dorian was not the most popular of people among the warriors at the faire. He got along well with Rowan and Fenrys, but some of the others looked down at him for his portrayal of the flirty bard. He suspected it had more to do with the tips he made, money that he didn’t need due to his family’s wealth. Chaol and Yrene were the only ones who knew he’d be donating all of it to charity at the end of the season.

Yrene lifted Lorcan’s arm, moving his shoulder around in the socket despite his grimace and stifled groans of pain. “You’ve definitely torn something,” she said, pushing into his joint with her small fingers. “You’ll need to get an X-ray.”

“You can’t just put it in a sling? So I can joust on Sunday?” he asked, relieved when she let go of him, only to wince again when his arm landed in his lap.

With a scathing look that made Lorcan recoil slightly, she said, “If you want to damage it further, sure. I could do that. And then you’ll definitely need surgery. As it is, you might get away with some physical therapy. Which will not be fun. But if you continue jousting, you’re looking at hospital time.”

“Shit,” he said, dropping his head into his good hand. “It’s the finals this weekend. Maeve is going to kill me. After she fires me.”

Not wanting to hang around and interrupt her work, Dorian quickly asked, “Any idea where Chaol is right now?”

Yrene shrugged as she pulled a sling out of a supply cabinet. “Maybe near the battlefield? He mentioned they needed extra help setting some things up for this weekend.”

“Thanks,” he said. Then to Lorcan, “Good luck, man.”

“Yeah,” Lorcan replied, sounding utterly defeated and giving Dorian an odd look. “Thanks.” It was the tone, the actual gratitude in the word, that made Dorian realize the look was one of kindness. At least, Lorcan’s version.

Sneaking along the paths he used to stay away from the crowds, Dorian emerged near the stands overlooking the battlefield. This Saturday the two armies that had survived the summer would face each other for one final battle.

Maeve had been smart to set things up this way, making the war and jousting into a months long competition, ensuring a build up of fans and repeat visitors. She had a good mind for business, he just wished she’d stop leering at him.

Even if he wasn’t focused entirely on Manon, there was no way he’d involve himself with Maeve. There was a darkness surrounding her that reminded him of a spider, weaving an intricate web to control everyone around her, and disposing of those who resisted her manipulations.

Though he had never spoken to the man, Dorian had heard her husband was just as creepy. One night at the camp, his name had been mentioned, causing Manon to visibly shudder. She clearly didn’t like the guy, and that was enough for Dorian to dislike him too.

As he sat and watched Chaol and some warriors setting up the dais that would hold the royal thrones for the final battle, Dorian wondered if he was making the right decision for this fall. His father had demanded he come work for the family company. That Dorian had refused to get a business degree meant little to the man. He would see his son replace him as CEO whether Dorian liked it or not.

As it always did when he thought about his future, his mind eventually traveled back to Manon. This summer had been amazing, due in large part to her. She’d captured his heart from the first day. It took a full week of songs before she showed up at his tent one night. After that, he’d waited. Waited for that look she’d give him at the end of the night, when the bonfire was burning down and the camp was growing quiet. The look that said the song he’d written for her that morning had left her wanting him. The look that invited him back to her tent where they’d stay up too late, making love and playing question and answer games, the easiest way to get her to talk about herself.

Gods, how was he supposed to say goodbye to her in just a few days?

They had not spoken of it, neither one wanting to bring up what they both knew was coming. It wasn’t like they’d never be able to see each other again. But there was a weird sense of finality to the end of the faire season. The end of this crazy, fun summer. The end of their late night dalliances. The end of their late night talks, which he would honestly miss the most.

His bench sagged as Chaol sat down heavily beside him, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Ready for lunch?” Dorian asked, trying to sound more cheerful than he felt.

Chaol sighed, tired from helping to build the dais with a half day’s work still to come. “Yeah. Was Yrene busy?”

They stood and began to walk towards the food stalls. “Lorcan got injured. She might be done, but I doubt it.”

“Shit,” Chaol said, stopping in the middle of the street. “Will he be able to joust on Sunday?”

“Doesn’t look like it. At least, Yrene said no. Why? What’s the big deal?”

"He’s supposed to go up against Rowan in the final. Lorcan is the only real competition Rowan has. I overheard Erawan talking about the possibility of this final weeks ago. They’ve been hyping it up to the fans.”

Dorian shrugged. He didn’t pay attention to the jousts or the war standings. Especially once the Blackbeak Coven was defeated last week. Manon had been disappointed, but also oddly relieved.

“You don’t get it,” Chaol continued. “Maeve and Erawan are going to be pissed.”

That made Dorian smile. “Good. Maybe she’ll leave me alone then.”

*****

Sunday came with beautiful weather and a crowd that was electric with anticipation. Yesterday’s final battle, won in an impressive fashion by Aedion’s troops, had drawn record numbers of spectators. Maeve and Erawan had sat on their thrones, overseeing everything with bored faces and an air thick with arrogance. Most of the employees knew how little they were acting, but the viewers ate it up.

Today was the final of the jousting tournament. Being easier to follow from the stands, it was more popular than the war re-enactment. This year’s finalists promised to put on a good show. Until Lorcan injured his shoulder in his semifinal against Fenrys. He’d still managed to win, knocking Fenrys off his horse out of sheer spite, sending him to the final against Rowan.

When it was announced he couldn’t compete, Maeve had gone ballistic. Apparently, she’d destroyed her office, leaving a mess of papers, a cracked laptop screen, and a broken chair. Erawan had kept his cool, though a few twitches of his black eyes spoke volumes about his inner state of mind. Everyone assumed Fenrys would be given Lorcan’s place. But the notice board outside the arena had remained blank after Rowan’s name - The White Hawk vs.___

Last night, the talk around camp was all about who she would name to joust against Rowan, with some joking that she’d make Erawan do it. Rowan had seemed to welcome the chance to knock the bastard onto his back. Maeve was his aunt, but there’d never been any friendship between them. He worked here because he loved it. And now that he loved Aelin, it grew more and more likely that this might end up being his last year.

As people milled about in her shop, Manon felt a strange anxiety wash over her. Muscles tense, goose flesh rising up her arms, she looked out into the street expecting to see Erawan there. But it was just regular visitors making their way through the market, noisy and excited.

Slowly, she realized what felt off. The voices of the crowd had never been louder than Dorian’s voice. She looked at her watch and felt her stomach flip. 10:24.

He was never late. Never.

Just then, she heard commotion from the jousting arena. Over the heads of the crowd, she could just make out Asterin’s blond hair as her cousin waved for her to come over.

Pushing through the people, she found not only Asterin but Chaol and Aelin too, all three standing in front of the notice board, staring up at it in shock.

Just as she never had to check her watch for Dorian’s arrival, Manon didn’t have to read the board to know who Rowan’s opponent was. Instead of flipping, her stomach turned to stone and sank.

The White Hawk vs. The Black Bard

“That fucking bitch,” Aelin whispered.

Manon grit her teeth, her hands shook and she was too angry to even speak.

“Where is he?” Asterin asked.

Chaol shrugged, also unable to speak, too horrified with concern for his best friend.

Fenrys ran up suddenly, almost knocking them all over. “It was Erawan,” he said, breathless. “Some sick game between him and Maeve.”

Manon forced herself to swallow, to breath, to not go scratch that bastard’s hellish eyes from their sockets. “Why didn’t Dorian just tell him no?”

“I don’t know,” Fenrys said. “They must have forced him somehow.”

Asterin turned to Manon and they shared a look. The only way to make Dorian agree to this was if Manon had been threatened in some way.

“Rowan won’t hurt him,” Aelin said confidently.

Finally, Chaol spoke. “Maybe not on purpose! Dorian’s never ridden a horse. Rowan can deliberately miss him and he could still fall off and get trampled.”

“Shit.” Asterin and Fenrys said at the same time.

The sound of trumpets wailed and people began rushing to get into the stadium. As the others debated what to do, Manon took off, ducking beneath the stands to get to the fence that surrounded the jousting yard. It felt like time slowed down, and when she finally reached an opening with a view to the field, the announcer was already calling out the competitors names.

There, at the far end, sitting precariously on the back of a black stallion, was Dorian. Clad in black armor, the counterpoint to Rowan’s bright silver, he struggled to hold the lance steady. Dorian was muscled and strong, but this was a skill he had no experience with. Holding a lance properly took practice.

Rowan, atop his white horse, was within shouting distance. Manon called to him, but he didn’t hear her over the crowd’s cheers and the helmet he wore. She kept calling for him, only stopping when she glanced at the royal box. There, Maeve sat, stone faced and angry, glaring straight ahead. Next to her, wearing the tacky fake crown he sported everywhere on the grounds, was Erawan.

Manon wasn’t surprised to feel his eyes on her, his slimy stare making her feel as if she might vomit.

Just as she tried to get Rowan’s attention one last time, the trumpets blared and the horse reared and took off, thundering down the field towards Dorian.

*****

Dorian kicked at his horse, hoping that would get it to move. If it had been up to him, he would have simply sat here, letting Rowan charge and knock him off with his first pass. Hell, if it had been up to him, he’d be in the fucking stands.

But no. Erawan had stopped him early that morning, offering him the chance to joust. When Dorian had laughed in his face, Erawan had made it clear that it really wasn’t an offer.

He’d seen the way his wife looked at Dorian, knew that there was something going on between them, knew that Dorian’s protestations were lies. Erawan had insisted that If Dorian refused, the bard’s paramour would be punished.

Dorian had stopped laughing then. They both knew he had never been with Maeve. And somehow, Erawan had found out about him and Manon.

“I own this town,” Erawan had said. “There is nothing you can do. If you run, I will find her.” He’d clapped Dorian on the back as if they were friends. “What do you say young bard?”

Dorian had nodded numbly, agreeing to put on a show, make it look real, and not throw the match.

So now, here he was. However many tons - did horses weigh tons? - of animal rushing towards him, Rowan’s white tipped lance leading the way.

Fuck it, he thought, giving the horse’s side another kick. The beast reared slightly then hit the ground running.

Dorian just barely managed to hang on to the reins as he wobbled in the saddle. His lance almost slid from his grip, almost landed tip down in the earth, threatening to propel him into the air like an acrobat. At the last second before catastrophe, he got it under control, just as Rowan’s lance grazed his side, going wide of a strike. The crowd cheered, and though his helmet muffled the sound, he knew it was deafening for the people in the arena.

Their horses continued running until they were on opposite ends. Some lackey of Erawan’s came running out, pretending to offer him advice or assistance. Dorian ignored him, trying to focus on holding the lance up to the proper height. By the time he got it wedged under his arm, the horn sounded and his horse took off, unprompted.

He was able to hold the lance up the whole way, but he almost fell off the horse. For the second time, Rowan’s attempt missed. Dorian knew it was on purpose, and he was grateful. But the way the crowd had begun laughing was honestly starting to piss him off. He knew he couldn’t win. He just wanted to survive. But his pride was beginning to surge enough to overtake his fear.

The third run had the same result as the first two. Rowan missed, Dorian clung to the saddle and the lance and didn’t die. The horse guy came out again, seeming to adjust some of the straps. Dorian watched to make sure he didn’t actually loosen anything, and the guy gave him a nod.

Thinking someone was calling his name, Dorian twisted around to find Manon leaning over the fence, wild-eyed and desperate to get his attention. He lifted his visor and winked at her. The gesture appeared to make her angry and she shouted again but the words were lost to the crowd.

Hoisting the lance up and securing it under his arm, the reins tight in his hand, Dorian was ready for the horn this time. The horse pounded down the yard and time seemed to slow to a trickle. He felt every hoof beat, heard every puff of air from the horse’s mouth, saw the silver armor getting closer and closer. At the last second, before squeezing his eyes shut, he angled the lance towards that flash of silver.

The force of the impact threw him back in the saddle. His feet remained in the stirrups though, leaving him arched awkwardly on top of the horse. Pain radiated up his arm like a wave until the entire thing went numb and he had no idea if he was still holding the lance. With a grunt, he forced himself upright into a sitting position. The horse came to a stop and pawed at the ground, as if in celebration.

The applause and cheers hit him almost as hard as the blow he’d administered to Rowan. Looking down to where he still somehow held the lance, then turning in the saddle to see Rowan pushing himself up from the dirty ground, Dorian slowly realized that he had won.

*****

Manon was running the second she saw someone made contact. The dust was thick and she couldn’t see what had happened. At the sight of a riderless white horse trotting towards her, she sped up, almost tripping over Rowan, who laid sprawled on the ground. His helmet had come off and he had a big grin on his face.

When she reached Dorian, he was sliding off the horse, the weight of his armor pulling him down faster than he could handle. She caught him just before he could land on his ass. Propping him against the stallion, she tore the helmet from his head and yelled, “What the fuck were you thinking? You could have been killed!”

Dorian, a little dazed, a little breathless, said nothing. He pulled her close and kissed her.

The crowd erupted, roaring their approval and chanting his name. “Black Bard! Black Bard! Black Bard!”

Yrene came over with a small medical bag, but Dorian waved her off, then went back to kissing Manon. When he let go, she stumbled backwards, still clutching his armor. His horse was strutting around them, loving the attention, while flowers rained down around them from the stands.

It was tradition for the victorious knight to gather the flowers and present them to Maeve; the Knight Commander honoring his queen. But Dorian had not been aware of the tradition. And she knew he wouldn’t have done it anyway.

Manon watched as he bent down, slowly so as not to fall over, and picked up a handful of poppies and daisies and whatever other blooms had been tossed onto the field. Dropping heavily to a knee, he smiled brightly and offered her the prize of wildflowers.

She shook her head, unable to keep the grin from her own face. Taking the flowers, she bent to kiss him, but he pulled her down onto her knees.

“I don’t think I can stand up,” he confessed against her lips.

Manon laughed and went right on kissing him. The cheers turned to a loud buzz in their ears that they ignored along with everything else.

Eventually, Rowan appeared, offering his hand to Dorian, both in acknowledgement of a well fought match, and to help him up. Manon moved to leave but Dorian refused to let go of her hand. She was glad for it, and gripped it tightly when she remembered Maeve and Erawan in their viewing box.

The two “royals” looked anything but. Maeve clapped in a meager attempt to save face at Dorian’s insult with the flowers. And Erawan glared at them both, his hate for them rising off his skin like heat in a desert.

Dorian squeezed her hand and Manon remembered why they were out here, why Dorian had risked his life.

“I know why you did this,” she said. “I wish you would have found me first.”

“What would you have done?”

She smirked. “I would have sliced him up with my sword.”

"My lady warrior,” he said, his face dropping with exhaustion as the adrenaline wore off.

“My bard in shining armor.” She caressed his cheek and he turned to kiss her palm. “Do you really have to go back to Rifthold?”

It was the first either one had spoken of what would happen tomorrow. She knew this wasn’t the time or the place, but something inside her needed it to be. She needed to know that she’d see him again. She needed-

“I’m going wherever you are,” he said simply, as if there had never been any question.

Manon smiled softly in answer, wrapping her arm around his waist to support him off the field.

*****

The next summer, without its star in the jousting arena, the Morath Renassaince Faire saw a marked drop in attendance.

Rowan had joined his new wife in Terrasen, telling his aunt to shove it. He’d taken several of the other jousters with him, leaving them one main attraction. Cairn didn’t last long however, as no horses would allow him in their saddle.

Other parts of the faire suffered too. Without the Clay Witch selling her wares, and no all-female warrior band fighting in the war, interest waned. Artists began to close their shops. Re-enactors and food vendors found other venues.

It was as if Rowan’s departure doomed the faire. And within another year, it did just that. Maeve and Erawan closed the faire and moved away, leaving the structures empty.

The town lost business, but like others who had dealt with the Perringtons in one way or another, they were glad to see the couple gone.

But the locals still spoke of that final good year. The year when a hapless, yet handsome, bard bested the reigning Knight Commander in the jousting tournament. How he knocked the White Hawk from his horse, winning in one pass. And how he spurned the evil queen and won the heart of a witch instead.

*****

tagging @itach-i @bookishwitchling @manontrashbeak @jimetg98 @mis-lil-red @chloe123love607 @sierrareads @yourfacesickens-me @awesomelena555 @monstrousloves-explodinggalaxies @blackhavilliard

If you’d like to be tagged or removed, let me know :)

[goose-books]

goose-books content: a maxterpost

ahahaha get it because... ha...

anyway! i’ve had this blog for two years (!!) and so it’s about time for a masterpost. this post assumes some degree of familiarity with my projects; if you’re new here, i would start with my mobile projects post here and my desktop projects page over here! you can also find my published fiction here!

this masterpost contains any and all important posts i’ve made about my WIPs - ex. character intros, worldbuilding info, or excerpts! however, my tags also contain answers to ask games, doodles, and other shitposts/informal posts i’ve made about characters or stories. i won’t link these here, as not to clutter this page, but if you want more content, i encourage you to explore the tags! i also plan to update this post periodically as i produce more content.

enjoy your stay at goose-books productions!

(post last updated 12/2/21)

misc/standalone

the beast sonnet (with commentary!) and the sequel (prequel?)

bodyghost (4-page trans-and-mental-illness-play)

duodecimal (~20k novella about a neurodivergent high school theater kid, his inconvenient crush, and his lesbian nemesis; loosely retells a subplot of twelfth night)

2020 year in review

The Mortal Realm

intro post / reintro post / page

nano announcement post with a fancy edit

bad powerpoint

character intros

aurum (boy king finding it harder and harder to maintain his disbelief in magic)

winter (plucky farm-girl-turned-heroine ready to outsmile the childhood trauma)

viridi (mysterious fellow from the woods. physically can’t lie but that doesn’t always stop him)

argentate (aurum’s late brother. let the dead rest.)

jada (bitter lesbian with a plant problem)

moon (genderfluid anarchist vigilante. also aurum’s best friend! oops.)

patch (viridi’s partner; castle court jester and local resident orphan)

rowan (viridi’s other partner; blacksmith’s apprentice and local force of chaos) (post coming soon)

lily (the author of the journals. oooooooo) (post coming soon)

excerpts/drabbles

"lies" (a short viridi excerpt)

an untitled argentate drabble

"be careful with words." (a jada & viridi drabble)

prompttober 2018

nanowrimo 2018 excerpts

"foolish" (a short story about patch gosling)

"the valley" (a short story that is literally just unrestrained summer fun)

and finally... aurum & argentate have a canonical plot-relevant birth date. so i celebrate it. every year

QUARK

intro post / page

character intros

character roster posts (three of them!)

caelum finch (death-obsessed prophet who spent 14 years in isolation)

dawn andrews (college kid who refuses to be the chosen one)

marble lavinia robespierre (gay anarchocommunist who grew up in a magical cult)

shade jupiter joyeuse (would-be magical-cult-politician with a lot of bitter anxiety)

excerpts

worldbuilding: dimensions, new york’s secret sister city, and milkshakes

nanowrimo 2019 excerpts

A Modern Tragedy (the podcast)

intro post / page

bad powerpoint

the opening monologue

a post about the process!

character intros

rahma (scattered little wlw lovecore romeo)

avery (anxious theater kid transbian juliet)

isaac (trans emo hamlet who’s Going Through It)

indrajit (feral theater kid macbeth with some kind of complex)

bitty (mercutio on roller skates with a can of monster energy)

reuben (very tired benvolio with the world’s ugliest cat)

amanda (punky OCD lady macbeth)

hawk (a quiet horatio who’s an english professor in the making)

ginger (soft little lesbian ophelia)

and finally, a uquiz! so you can find out who you are :)

darkling

intro post / page

character roster

scenes by act: one / two / three / four / interlude / five / six / seven

excerpts

the city of dovermorry

the greenwood brothers siblings

the stayer sisters

ruby stayer & danielle caldwell

the missing mothers (and again)

rory and cressida hold hands gay rights

jasper and vee go stargazing

gracen has a gender, how about that

worldbuilding

magic in darklingverse (and a follow up)

on witches

valentine van velt is dead

(aka: holden caulfield goes to exposure therapy)

“intro” post / page

valentine fast facts

you can read THE ENTIRE BOOK RIGHT HERE FOR FREE

love, h

(aka: butch4butch hamlet)

the basics

page

godsong

(aka: lesbian aeneid x julius caesar x game of thrones)

intro post / page

spadesplot aesthetic post

[sephyathredon-writing]

The First Fall of Aiden the Arisen (Dragons Dogma)

The Arisen recalls one of the worst moments of his life.

[Taken from the Journal of Aiden the Arisen]

  I woke up, lying on the floor of the filthy cell I had been tossed in. I couldn’t even move, I was in so much pain. I couldn’t help but think back to the events that caused this. It was true that I had agreed to meet Lady Aelinore at night, in her room. I didn’t think anything would come of it, really. I just thought she wanted to talk to me in private. I had gone and comforted her in a time where she likely felt lost and scared, but the Duke that she was married to, interrupted that. 

  I had hid, but I couldn’t any longer, when I heard noises of the life being choked out of her and Duke Dragonsbane screaming that he was sorry. I don’t regret saving her. I had no intimate feelings for her, but I couldn’t just stand there and let her die. Unfortunately that meant that I had to make my presence known to the Duke. Aelinore, likely still scared of what might happen, blamed me for sneaking into her room, said that I mistook a small kindness for something else. The thought of it made me sick. She said it so convincingly too, even going so far as to summon the court jester to call the guards.

  Then I was taken to the dungeon, and whipped for my crime. I had plenty of painful experiences before this, It had hurt a lot when I had my heart stolen by the Dragon that had destroyed Cassardis, but this was something different. 

  They would not stop. They would not stop and they would not stop talking about how I just wanted to have the Duke’s wife all to myself. They could not stop talking about how I would not break even though I was a mere child, and that there must be more than they thought to being the Arisen. I screamed and I cried, calling out for my pawn to come and help me, even though I knew he couldn’t hear. They just teased me further, using his name, saying that I had some sort of secret lover that I was cheating on.

  They didn’t stop until my back was a bloody, unrecognizable mess. I remember spending those moments on the floor, crying, curled up into a ball, wondering if I would bleed out. Wondering if my pawns would miss me. Would they even be able to grieve for me? I’ve grown to care about my main pawn, Rowan, quite a lot. It seemed that he didn’t have the capacity to care much about me back… besides the way Pawns always show that they do, by assisting the Arisen in battle. 

  My thoughts were interrupted by someone entering my cell. I could hear sobs and a soft “What have I done?” coming from behind me.

  “I cannot ask for forgiveness for this betrayal… But I was certain the duke would cut me down where I stood, had I not spoken so!” She had said, as I was trying to sit up to face her.

  “I know…” Was what I had replied, looking up at her, tears still rolling down my cheeks, “I don’t… blame you…”

  “You must run. The duke is half mad with fearsome wroth. I shall think of some way to assuage him.” She held out the keys to me, and as I took them, I couldn’t help but wonder if we might have been good friends, if she wasn’t married to the Duke. She seemed kind and gentle, a lot like me in some ways. Must have been why we got along so well when he had met in the Duke’s gardens. Sadly, it was a friendship that was never meant to be. I was the Arisen and she was always guarded by the Duke.

  What followed was one of the most harrowing journeys I have faced as the Arisen so far. I left my cell and went through another, into a secret passage. I didn’t stop crying, my back hurt so much. My sobs echoed through the large tunnel as I staggered onward. Snakes and large spiders at my feet. The tunnel itself was short, but it felt like it stretched on for an eternity. I felt scared and vulnerable.

  When I stumbled through the door at the other end, I was surprised to find that I was caught in someone’s warm embrace. A familiar voice reached my ears.

  [“Master, you’re hurt! How did this happen!?”]

  The outburst surprised me, I had never heard such anger in Rowan’s voice before. I looked up at him, to see that his eyebrows were slanted, the expression making him look a little scary with the long claw marks that marred his face.

  I hardly had time to dwell on that though, as the pain in my back became even more apparent, even with one of the secondary pawns doing the best she can to heal it. I clung tightly to my pawn, sobs torn from my throat one by one. My hands held tightly to the fabric of his shirt as I buried my head in his chest, unable to answer his question.

  Despite all this, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. My pawns were there for me. Even though I’d left them at the gates to the Duke’s castle, they were still waiting here, far away from where they have been told to wait for me.  

  With a gentleness I thought was unknown to a pawn, he placed a hand on my shoulder, and then bent down and picked me up. Then he started walking. I could hear his voice, telling the others that they need to bring the Arisen to safety. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and buried my face in his neck.

  I couldn’t say a single thing. The tears wouldn’t stop. I was the Arisen, I could fell giant beasts, but this was too much for me. Even as the pain in my back ebbed, I couldn’t stop sobbing. 

  When the doors to the Union Inn opened, Asalem was there to greet us in his usual manner, but I could tell that he faltered when he laid eyes on me.

  “What happened to him?” He asked Rowan, he didn’t respond. I heard the feminine voice of one of my secondary pawns approach the counter and pay for us to spend the night. Rowan, it seemed, was headed toward the nearest bed. He set me down gently on it and settled in behind me, pulling my shirt up so he could get a good look at the jagged scars on my back.

  “Who did this to you?” He repeated his question from earlier. I still couldn’t formulate a response. The anger in his voice caught me off guard once more. I had been told that pawns could not feel such strong emotions, but Rowan was.

  Gently, quietly, he set to work cleaning my wounds with a damp cloth from our inventory. Despite our healer’s best efforts to close them, they were still raw and bleeding somewhat and they hurt when the cloth was put against them. Through the haze in my mind, I could hear a scraping noise and I realized that the other pawns had moved the divider over to our side of the room so we could have some privacy. That wasn’t a notion that Pawns usually understood, but they did understand that humans needed it.

  The next few moments were spent in silence before I finally decided to answer Rowan’s question.

  “The Duke thought I was sleeping with his wife… he’s the one that did this…” I ducked my head in shame, fresh tears threatening to fall, “I only snuck into her room at night because it was a request from her… I wanted to provide some comfort. Now look where that’s got me.” I buried my face in my hands, “Maybe It’s just not worth it… having a kind heart in a world like this…”

  “You are wrong, Arisen” Rowan’s voice was firm, “Your kind heart has helped many. You should not give up on it because you failed to help one person and got injured as a result. I am sure lady Aelinore appreciates what you were trying to do.”

  Slowly, I nodded, taking my hands from my face, “I didn’t fail to help her. She would not be alive if I had not intervened. The duke made some sort of attempt on her life… He was choking her and screaming her name, saying he was sorry. I don’t know what happened, but I’m glad I saved her at least…” I remember trying to block out the notion that gnawed at the back of my mind, the notion that he would try it again. That next time, I won’t be there to save her.

  As I write this, I am curled up in bed next to Rowan. Tonight I wanted him to stay with me instead of going to assist other Arisen. That was what Pawns did while their Arisen slept after all. Tonight, I needed the comfort, even if I knew Rowan wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. I just need someone there. 

  Before I turn in for the night, I should write down my final thoughts. This is an event that I know will stick with me, no matter what else I face on my journey as the Arisen. Despite everything that happened, though. I am glad that Rowan was there. I don’t know what I would have done if I had gotten to the other side of that door and there had been nobody. It would have been a long walk around to where I had left him. 

  As for the hints of emotion I had heard in his voice. Maybe, despite being different from us humans, Pawns are capable of more than humans think they are. The leader of my village had said that pawns lack motivation, I have seen plenty of that from mine, increasingly so as I have gotten to know him. 

  I should stop there. The candle that had been put out for me to write by has almost burned all the way down and I really should get some sleep. 

  -Aiden the Arisen

[imagine-iron-fey]

Angry Mirror Puck

So this took way too long for me to do. Whoops. Warning: This is long as hell, but hopefully it came out well. Enjoy! 

Imagine there is a room in the Summer Court that, for reasons unknown to you, has been prohibited to visitors. Even you, a long time resident of the Court, had not been permitted into the room. For the first time in a good while, however, you have been left to your own devices while Puck and the King and Queen are out of the castle. Apparently, negotiations with the other two Courts don’t only take place during Elysium, which is just as well because you’ve been dying to explore the lesser known parts of the castle for ages now without having someone keeping an eye on you.

You’d already visited a secluded part of the outer garden and discovered an exceptionally sultry selkie lounging on the edge of a pool. She’d been nice enough to talk to, though you weren’t sure how you felt after finding out King Oberon had been keeping here there for the past couple of decades and visited her every now and then when the Queen apparently decided to be a royal buzz kill. You were planning on keeping that particular venture to yourself for the time being. 

Now, you just had one place left that you were dying to explore before the Summer Jester and royals returned to the palace. You’d been worried that the door may potentially be locked, given how severely Oberon had warned you away from stepping inside of it, but to your surprise when you arrive at the door and jiggle the handle, it swings inward without so much as a squeak. 

The room is dimly lit, and you immediately notice a single, floor length mirror propped in a far corner. As you step inside the room and carefully shut the door behind you, you also notice small, intricate etchings scratched into the floor at the base of the mirror. 

You move a little closer, squinting down at the etchings in confusion, feeling like you’ve seen them somewhere before, but unable to place them. The candle closest to the mirror flickers, and you glance up as you notice a subtle shift in the mirror. You think at first it’s just your reflection, until your brain adjusts and you realize your “reflection” is considerably taller than you, and with much greener eyes.

You stare at the image in front of you for a long moment, and he stares right back, his ginger hair not shining quite so vibrantly as you’re used to, but no less recognizable. 

“...Puck?” you ask, bewildered. 

He narrows his eyes at you, a slow but deliberate smirk appearing on his face. 

“If you want,” he says, his voice a low purr. 

You hesitate. That’s not Puck’s voice. Well...it is, but not. Just like that expression. It’s like Puck, but not. It’s like...you hate to think it, but it’s like Rowan. But even that’s not quite right. Rowan gives you the creeps when he stands too close, but the tingling on the back of your neck and the way your stomach is turning itself in knots goes way beyond just having the creeps. Little alarm bells are sounding off in your head, and the longer you stare at the mirror image of Puck in the mirror, the more distinct a single thought becomes.

Danger.

“Leaving so soon?” the mirror image asks suddenly, drawing your attention to the fact that you’ve started to inch back towards the door. 

You freeze, stomach dissolving as his eyes pin you with a warning gleam. 

“Uh...” you say, your brain completely empty except for the overwhelming knowledge that you need to leave the room. Now. 

The Puck in the mirror leans a hip almost casually agains the frame, smiling in a way that is probably meant to be inviting, but looks more like a feral grin. “He didn’t tell you I was in here, did he?” he asks.

“Who?” 

“The boring me,” he says, “The me that’s forgotten what it’s really like to be Robin Goodfellow.”

You don’t answer. You don’t know how to answer. You take another backwards step towards the door, and wince when the mirror Puck’s eyes flicker down to your feet, noticing the movement, then back up again to your face. 

“You don’t know what he’s really like,” he murmurs, still with that dark, almost malevolent smile in place. “He only shows you what he wants you to see him as. I’m the truth of what and who he is, no matter how badly he tries to forget it.”

You hesitate again, your stomach so tight it’s making you nauseous. “...What do you mean?”

Mirror Puck’s eyes gleam in the dim light, and the candles around the room flicker so violently that for a moment you’re afraid they’ll go out. The flames all steady, and mirror Puck crooks a finger at you. 

“Do you want to know a secret?” he asks softly.

You nod without meaning to, and take a couple faltering steps back towards the mirror. 

“Closer,” he purrs at you, “I won’t bite.”

Reluctantly, you do as he says, until you’re within arm’s reach of the glassy surface of the mirror. You glance down before you take the final step, and come up short as you realize you’re about to cross the etchings on the floor. You fall back, not wanting to step over them, and when you look back up at the Puck in the mirror his expression has morphed.

He’s no longer smiling. Not even the pretense of a smile. He’s glaring, but not at you. He’s staring down at the etchings on the floor, his mouth drawn in a tight, furious line, but the expression doesn’t change when he lifts his gleaming green eyes back to you. 

“What?” he asks, sneering now. “Afraid of a little drawing on the floor?”

You shake your head, heart in your throat. 

“Then come here,” he hisses softly. 

You shake your head again, and his eyes flash. He lifts a hand abruptly and you flinch back without thinking. His fist slams down on the glass on his side, and you squeak as it splinters with a resounding crack. The etchings on the floor come alive, filling the room with a luminous white light, and the mirror image gives a furious snarl as he yanks his fist back as the cracked lines on the mirror emit the same light, leaving smoking black lines burned into his flesh.

He glares at you, his expression murderous, and you stumbled backwards, feeling blindly for the door as your heart jackhammers away in your chest. You seize the handle and almost fall through the door in your haste to get out, wasting no time slamming the door behind you as soon as you’re through it. 

You don’t quite remember going to your room, but you remember spending the rest of the day there, curled up on your side on your bed with your arms around your knees. The moments you spent in the room seem like a hazy dream, but you can’t seem to get the image of the mirror Puck’s furious glare out of your head. 

You’ve never seen Puck angry. Not the real Puck. You’ve seen him upset, maybe a little frustrated, but never truly angry. Not like that... Not to the point that you’ve ever feared he would hurt you.

I’m the truth of what and who he is...

You curl into a tighter ball, biting your lower lip. You know fey can’t lie, and you don’t know what else that mirror image could have been other than fey, but you just can’t believe those words. That can’t be Puck. Not your Puck...

[rabbitbythemoon]

5 and 32

Romanticized Asks

5. what would you be a god/goddess of and what would people sacrifice to you?

“I suppose something to do with nature? Or perhaps herbalism- I don’t suppose they’d have a god for chemistry, or sciences... Or would they? I never much looked into the different pantheons.” His mouth twisted with thought, brow furrowed as his arms crossed. “I’d hate to have ‘sacrifices’ though. Offerings sound better... Unless it’s a ‘sacrifice’ of fruits maybe. I’m quite partial to strawberries and apples.” 

“I’d be the god of information, and people’d sacrifice me their teeth.” The broker cackled at the startled look on the man’s face as they spun on one of the wheeled stools of the lab.

“Rowan!” 

“It could be baby teeth!”

32. what would you end up in the dungeon for?

“Oh- Probably something to do with witchcraft or poisons. It’d depend on the era wouldn’t it?”

“Infiltrating the king’s court and taking out the jester.”

“Why the jester?”

“You ever seen a mime? There’s nothin’ right about face paint like that.”

“Rowan, that’s- Never mind.”

[multimask]

Session 3 Rundown

At long last, here’s the rogue’s logs on what happened last session. Things are afoot and Secrets were discussed. Session events under the cut, and apologies to mobile users for who the read more doesn’t work! Now where did my campaign notebook go... Oh dear, I need to update our personal collection of quotes

Last we left our party, Candle had gone to Rowan’s farm to look around some more while the other four had gone to go talk to the local noble family. Nothing had really changed at the farm estate, and she left maybe a little more frustrated than when they arrived. After that happened, the five of them met back up returning to town and the tavern to share the information learned. Candle is filled in on what they learned from the noble’s son(?), and she had heard vaguely of the town of Branise - the town wiped out by the disease - but not much to add.

While at the tavern, the group discusses going to preemptively strike at the gnolls, and the barkeep mentions that Lord Lockfield had been by earlier to talk to us about preparing for the gnoll situation. During this conversation, Lord and Lady Lockfield enter the tavern and approach us. They tell us that they are well aware of the disease situation and would prefer we keep that knowledge on the down low. They’ve sent word to the capital and nearby towns asking for aid, advice, and doctors and are waiting to hear back from that. The gnoll situation is the more immediate and obvious threat, and they were offering a favor for us to help with that. They also ask that we meet them in their manor to discuss things more freely as they are not so willing to talk openly in the tavern with some of the townsfolk able to overhear.

We meet them in the manor and hash out some more of the details of the favor the Lockfields were wanting from us. They want us to meet the gnolls halfway, since we know that they’re coming to attack the town, or at least find out some more information about the gnolls. Matthias, the local wizard who we also meet in this meeting, will be staying back at town to help set up some wards to slow the onslaught, so he is unable to go out. Lockfield is busy dealing with paperwork and getting aid for the disease plus is local authority, so he can’t set out either. They’re able to set us up with some more armor, weapons, and healing potions. After the meeting, the party heads back to the inn to sleep for the night.

Before the party settled down, Poppy pulled Candle aside to have a small conversation. Poppy opens with “I know what you are” and never gets more specific than that, which drives Candle nuts (just say what you know p l e a s e). They discuss some information on shapeshifters, and Candles asks Poppy about everything that she knows about shapeshifters. As a possible plan mentioned, Candle shifts into a gnoll for proof that she can do so and so that Poppy would have an idea as to what gnoll!Candle would look like in the event that Candle shifts into a gnoll on the outing. Poppy ends the conversation with an offer to be someone that Candle can come talk to about shapeshifting/this stuff. The two part ways and go to sleep. 

The night passes uneventfully, and the group sets out in the morning.  Candle passes by some of the corpses of gnolls that we’d fought and scoops up some of the gnoll armor and weaponry that hadn’t been scavenged yet. We follow the marks we’d made last time we followed some gnolls out into the forest and discover a watchpost a few hundred yards beyond the last mark. Candle stealths ahead and reports back to the group what is up ahead. The party decides to sneak up on the post and the rogue nat 1′s their stealth roll while the paladin passed.

The gnolls are alerted to our presence, and we manage to take down the 2 hyenas and 3 gnolls in the camp. There wasn’t much else at the watchpost, and we were able to determine which direction the main encampment was, so we continued on. We approach the main encampment and see that it’s an entrance to a cave, and there are some door guards (3 hyenas, 2 gnoll hunters, and a gnoll shaman). The group plans (.... somewhat retroactively) to try and kite the guards out in to the forest and away from entrance. Elias and Candle go sneak around the clearing to get a better idea of what we’re facing; Elias returns while Candle stows their equipment in a tree, shifts into a gnoll, and changes into the gnoll armor she picked up earlier. She told Poppy to look for her scarf as an identifier, and that information was also conveyed to the rest of the party so they didn’t accidentally attack the squishy rogue.

Poppy begins the distraction as only a colorful court jester paladin can - loudly and with a harmonica. Gnoll!Candle swings through the clearing and goes to “attack” Poppy. The hyenas are set loose while the gnolls prepare for an attack. Candle feints attacks at Poppy while they move closer to the gnolls, and Elias, River, and Ren take care of the hyenas. The gnoll shaman throws some sap and sticks Poppy and gnoll!Candle in place. The party is able to take out both gnoll hunters, but the shaman gets away and into the cave, alerting someone? multiple someones? to our attack. And there we ended the session, with an alarm raised, and the rogue and paladin stuck in place by the sap spell.

Looking back at how that cave entrance combat ran, we might have been a bit better off if we focused the gnolls instead of the hyenas first so that the gnolls couldn’t raise the alarm. But who knows, hindsight is 20/20, and who knows how the fight would have played out then. 

At this point, the only one in the party who is even aware of Candle’s ability to shapeshift is Poppy, though the empath (who hasn’t revealed in-game that they’re an empath) is aware that this gnoll creature that was fake-fighting Poppy and wearing Candle’s scarf has the same general emotional signature as Candle, so that’s a thing. 

There is much meta-knowledge floating about surrounding the paladin, her 3rd lvl oath-taking, and general information surrounding fey and how they work in our DM’s setting. These are all things that the paladin should be aware of bc of her oath (from what I have gathered from meta conversations), and things that my character would have no knowledge of. Candle is possible vaguely at the back of their mind aware that they are fey (changelings from the eberron book are being treated as fey creatures in our world) and grew up in a large city away from the Feywild, so the fey rules like “can tell no lies” don’t wholly apply to them. They can outright lie, but they might take the odd feeling that happens when they lie as guiltiness about the lie instead of the fact that they are literally going against their own nature (for example). I as a player am aware of the fey shenanigans, but my character is clueless, and this is going to be very interesting from what I’ve heard and with new backstory stuff evolving.

[goose-books]

the valley | a tmr short | word count: 2k

named for the oh hellos song! which has huge TMR vibes to me. i mean, sure, it’s a story about fae and a blood-drinking forest, but these kids deserve their beach episode.

you can find out more about TMR here. but for a refresher: the characters present here are winter auklet, farm-girl-turned-adventurer; her trusty dog skip, who follows her around like an NPC; viridi doveswing, a mysterious convalescent who can’t physically lie; patch gosling, the castle court jester, who has two hands (one for viridi and one for rowan); and rowan hawthorne, the blacksmith’s apprentice, who does not often talk or fear.

without further ado i bring to you: tmr beach episode.

“You’re going to want to take your boots off,” was the first thing Rowan said, when she met the others just outside the castle walls. He didn’t elaborate, and Winter didn’t get the chance to ask, because a moment later he was bounding off toward the north end of the island.

Winter looked, rather helplessly, at Patch and Viridi. “I only have one pair of boots.”

“You won’t lose them,” Patch said hurriedly, reaching down to pat Skip on the head. “Just leave them here, no one will take them - he’s right, we’re going to be swimming -” and they scampered after him.

Winter blinked.

She looked at Viridi, who raised his eyebrows, as if to say, Good God. Then, defeated, he exhaled and started off at a more stately pace.

Winter, staring at her feet, didn’t move until Skip twined through her legs and raced after him. Then she yelped and shucked her boots off, hopping on one leg as she peeled off her stockings, and shouted, “Wait for me, Skip!”

The summer sun burned hot in the dove kingdom. It shone off the lake, glittering blue; it lit up each waving blade of grass in the fields behind the castle. Not that there were many fields - the castle walls extended almost to the edge of the island. Their path traced the shoreline north, to the part of the island that pointed further out into the lake and not to the mainland city; the shore grew steeper and steeper until it sloped up into rocky cliff walls, overhung with vivid overgrowth.

Rowan had infuriatingly long legs. Winter caught up with Viridi first, which was to be expected but was still unfortunate, because then she felt obligated to keep his pace, and Viridi, for all he’d healed since his accident, was slow. Both of them were sweating by the time they reached the others - Patch, bent over puffing; Skip, circling excitedly around their legs; and Rowan, fording up the slope into the bushes.

“It’s steep,” Patch wheezed, straightening up and smoothing down their tunic. “Watch out for the branches.”

It was, in fact, steep. More of a climb than a walk, really; there was a faint suggestion of a path, where the undergrowth was more worn down, but really they were scrambling up over rocks and under bushes, dirt wedging itself under Winter’s fingernails, rocks gritty beneath her spread-wide toes, the scents of earth and leaves and sticky sweat hanging close around her body.

It didn’t particularly help to have Skip scrabbling up along with them, crawling through Winter’s legs and lapping at her fingers. But she wasn’t very well going to send him back.

Rowan took the head, Patch right behind him, and Winter followed at their heels, excitement already singing in her chest. She was slightly ashamed that it took hearing Patch call back, “Vee, how’re you doing back there?” to recall their fourth’s disadvantage.

When she turned around, Viridi was a ways behind her, further down the slope, past a particularly steep bit of ground. His good arm was braced against the side of the boulder the others had climbed over; his left arm was held tightly to his chest, as always.

Winter scrambled back to meet him. She was close enough to see him mumble a foul word under his breath before he called back, “I’m managing!”

Then he looked up to see her inches away and startled back.

“Here,” Winter said, offering her arm. “Put both your hands - right. And now if you put your foot there -”

When he gripped her arm, she could feel the raised edges of the scars on his palms. The whole affair seemed harder on his end; she’d borne the weight of sheep at home that were heavier. When he scrambled up beside her, Viridi dropped his hands from her arm - though he didn’t drop his gaze from hers - and exhaled heavily.

Winter tilted her head, scanning him. She wasn’t sure what, exactly, she was scanning for, but she reasoned that if he was about to collapse she should be able to notice that. “Are you all right?”

“I’m f…” He wobbled over the fine for a moment, lips puffing out, then settled on, “I’m here, aren’t I?”

“If you’re tired -”

“I’m always tired,” Viridi said sourly. Making a face: “Dahlia says I ought to push myself.”

Winter grinned at him. She offered her arm again and nodded after Patch. “Well, in that case, I think Patch and Rowan are halfway to the raven kingdom by now.”

It wasn’t a far climb, though Viridi leaned on her most of the way. They caught up with the others at the top of the cliff - including Skip, who had once more wandered ahead. “Traitor,” Winter told him, ruffling his ears, before she rose to look around.

The island dipped here, pinching inward like the bread Winter’s mother used to fold - a little cove cut into the side of the cliffs. They stood atop a lip of rock overhanging the water, nothing but open space in front of them.

Rowan smirked at Patch. “I’m going first.”

Patch stuck their tongue out. “Oh, by all means.”

Winter tipped her head back to the sky, so blue it almost hurt her eyes. The wind ruffled her hair. The far edges of the lake were hemmed in by hills dappled with trees, brilliantly green. The forest, technically - but here, in the sun, dirt-smeared and breeze-tousled, she felt incredibly far from it. The forest couldn’t touch her here. Not with all of them here together, in the open; not with the sky singing in her heart.

“What now?” she asked.

Patch grinned lopsidedly, showing their dimples. “We jump!”

“Jump,” Viridi repeated, eyes flaring wide.

“There’s a path back up from the water! You can’t see it from here, but we’ve done this a thousand times.” They pressed a hand to their heart. “Jester’s honor.”

“You have to jump out far,” Rowan said, nodding toward the edge. “To clear the rocks.”

“Rocks,” Viridi echoed.

Winter peered over the precipice, toes curled over the stone. There were, in fact, rocks just beneath the surface of the water, large and formidable. The wind tossed the water around, exposing a peak here, a jagged edge there.

They weren’t too high up. She’d jumped from the loft to the barn floor, at home, and it was about the same distance. And all right, maybe she’d broken her ankle in the barn, but she had been landing on a hard stone floor and not plunging into a lake, and so it was different, she was pretty sure.

Winter clung to the rocks and grinned.

She barely had time to draw back before Rowan flashed past her. He whooped as he leaped; a moment later he splashed down into the lake and bobbed back up, a small red-haired shape down below, spitting out brine.

Looking up, he raised one arm out of the water, pumping his fist, and whooped again.

Winter returned the motion from above, huge-eyed. “Hurrah!”

“Careful, Winter,” Patch said gently. Winter glanced back to Patch and Viridi - the former poised for a running leap, the latter looking distinctly queasy.

She shifted to make space. A moment later Patch ran past, one hand held up to plug their nose, and jumped. Their splash was bigger; Rowan caught most of it in the face, and his colorful string of curses was audible even from up above.

Skip pressed his wet nose into Winter’s hand, panting. She ruffled his ears. “Oh, are you going to go follow them now, too? You want to jump off the cliff with your new best friends? I thought I was your b-”

Skip licked her face. Winter squeaked, laughing, and almost fell backwards off the cliff.

She glanced up to see Viridi standing beside her, neck arched so he could squint over the edge. “Our turn, Viridi?”

“Mm,” Viridi said, stepping back.

“Come on.” Winter removed Skip’s paw from her face. Skip replaced it; Winter removed it again. “It’ll be fun.”

“I don’t swim.”

“Well, you made it all the way out here; you might as well.”

Viridi squeezed his eyes shut for a moment.

“No,” he said, exhaling, “I mean I don’t know how.”

Winter shoved Skip off her lap and stared at Viridi.

“What?” she said.

Viridi gave her a sullen look. He enunciated slowly enough that it offended her a little: “I never learned how to -”

“I heard you, I just…” Winter shook her head. Skip shook his head, too, as if he were agreeing, though it may have been because his ear was inside-out. Winter flipped it for him. “How?” She had grown up swimming almost every day in the summers - the lake behind her house was much smaller, of course, but when she closed her eyes and dove toward the bottom she could pretend that she was in the ocean, seaweed tangling in her fingers, salt catching in her hair. She’d never seen the ocean. But she’d read storybooks. She’d dreamed about it.

Viridi was once again engaging in uncomfortably direct eye contact. This time made all the more uncomfortable by his scowl. “I just… never learned. I mean, I… my… we…” He shrugged jerkily. “I didn’t do that.”

Winter tossed a look over the edge of the cliff. Patch and Rowan had swum out a little ways to engage in some sort of mid-lake wrestling. As she watched, Patch splashed Rowan directly in the face, wriggled out of his grasp, and called up, “Come on! I promise it’s fine!”

She very much wanted to jump. In fact she itched with it. She desired nothing more than to run at the precipice and fling herself out into open space as quickly and as enthusiastically as possible.

Still. She felt some degree of responsibility for Viridi.

It wasn’t that hard to learn to swim, was it? Her parents had taught her when she was tiny. If a tiny person could do it, it probably wasn’t too bad. “You can do it,” she said encouragingly. “You just sort of…” She mimicked Skip’s paddle with her hands.

Viridi’s squint got narrower.

“Ah,” he said. “I just sort of.” He exaggerated the motion back at her with his good arm.

Winter huffed, somewhere between impatient and sheepish. His arm… did present a complication. “Oh, don’t be like that, I’m trying to help you - I’ll be right there, and so will Patch and Rowan, it’s not so far down…”

His silence was the most unnerving possible response. Winter looked up to see him eyeing the edge, looking more than a little ill. Without tearing his eyes away, he reached sideways for Skip, patting the air futilely until the dog trotted over to meet his hand.

“Are you scared?”

She watched his mouth form the no; she heard the puff of his futile exhale.

“Come on.” Winter kept her voice low and gentle as she got to her feet. “It’s okay. It’s not so far down. Patch did it and they’re shorter than you -”

“Patch is shorter than everyone,” Viridi snapped, reaching up to press at the hollow of his throat.

“Exactly!” When he didn’t move away, Winter reached for his good hand - slowly, carefully, keeping her movements in his field of vision, the way her parents had taught her to approach skittish animals back home.

His palms were rough, ridged with the lines of his scars. He intertwined his fingers with hers immediately.

Winter smiled at him, feeling sun-warmth unfurl in her chest. “I’ll be right here,” she promised. “And Skip, you stay up here, all right?”

“You can exchange him for me if you’d rather,” Viridi muttered. Winter shushed him.

They approached the edge together. Viridi’s grip on her hand kept getting tighter. Winter squeezed back, smiling comfortingly at him. “On three we’ll run up and jump, okay?”

Viridi nodded, eyes locked on the cliff’s edge, throat bobbing.

“All right,” Winter said, bending her knees. Already her grin was spreading. “Three -”

“You can’t - you can’t start with three,” Viridi objected, yanking on her hand. “You said we go on three. You have to start with one.”

Winter rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she said. “One…” She squinted sideways at him, watching for any possible escape attempts. “Three!”

Viridi’s yelp was lost in Winter’s laughter as she pulled him forward. One, two, three steps -

They clutched each other’s hands and jumped.

[goose-books]

Now you gotta tell me about viridis partners

(featuring your own art, of course)

So! Patch and Rowan! They’re side characters, so I haven’t talked about them… at all, actually. Other than mentioning that Rowan would 100% eat a banana without unpeeling it.

They’re both fifteen, and they’re technically wards of state at the dove castle, which in their case basically means they get shelter and protection from the dove king without him actually adopting them. Patch is an orphan who was basically… dropped off at the castle, Meet-the-Robinsons-style, by unknown parents; they now work as the jester/fool of the court, because they have a lot of weird talents and a super peppy personality. Rowan is a runaway who came to the castle because the dove king has a reputation for sheltering lost kids; he works as the blacksmith’s apprentice now. They are best friends and also polar opposites (most people think of them as “the boy who never talks and the kid who never stops talking”).

Viridi ends up at the castle after his whole experience in the forest. He’s in, uh, pretty rough shape. Patch takes it upon themself to help him acclimate to the castle, and Rowan kind of goes along with it because he doesn’t have anything better to do. Viridi is super suspicious of both of them at first, but they all bond over bad jokes + teenage recklessness + transness, and now everyone in the castle is pretty sure they’re all dating but no one has actually asked yet.