#greatstage

[velvet-cupcake-games]

The greatstags have been named! The people of Avalon ride both ordinary horses and greatstags. Greatstags are highly-intelligent half-fae creatures. They will sometimes bond with a human rider, which includes making an emotive connection. Stags have a limited ability to understand the unspoken desires of their riders, and riders can feel strong emotions from their stag if it is nearby.

Both male and female greatstags have antlers. Five our our main characters have greatstag companions, and here are their names:

Marion: Cróga (white stag, F) Robin: Baldrick (brown stag, M) John: Sabine (brown stag, F) Will: Mercadier (brown stag, M) Geoffrey: Brythart (black stag, M) The majority of greatstags are brown, but Marion and Geoffrey have rare-coloured companions. Our greatstag model was designed by our background artist Sandra, who is also designing Avalon's creatures.

[lawrichai]

For #amareTeaBreak  I continue my #MadeMarion themed weekly sketch exercises.

The Doodle du jour: Lord Geoffrey of Woodthorpe and his Greatstag. Carbon on Nerdforge Sketchbook Have you given a try to Made Marion’s Demo? It’s available on both Itchio and Steam!

 #AmareDev #Amaregame

[colonyworkshop]

GREATSTAG GREGORY, the heavy-handed and theatric Hero of Beetles! ⚔️ I've been having a lot of fun with these character designs again, so you might see more of these while I work on bigger things in the background!

[rootshootsimaging]

Shooting videos tonight with a song called "Changes" by PRODI LEMAJ (ft Yami) Videographer is SHOT BY RICKI @prodi_lemaj @midnightinyami @shotbyricki #video #greenvillesc #gvlmusic #upstatescmusic #upstatescphotographer #videography #greatstage #greenville360 #luvgvl #shootinginthestu #videomusic #musicvideo (at Incident Music Labs) https://www.instagram.com/p/CRup_cjgTvP/?utm_medium=tumblr

[blackempressss]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Suzette Duhaney (@blackempressss)

#taemin #shinee #superm #soloist #singer #songwriter #anangel #lovehim #greatstage #greatperformer #greatsmile #fantastichuman #🎉#🎈#🎵comegether #raesremmurd #©raesremmurd @raesremmurd (at Toronto, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCwQTVDBt1Z/?igshid=gaay79rb9hu6

[tomdebohrar]

#vodafonedancestage #tanzbühne #alejandroalvarez #back2back #ronygolding #mariapsycho #revolverpartyontour #worldofsexy #gürzenich #colognepride #openair #techno #djs #musicistheanswer #pride #strassenfest #greatstage #vodafone #instagay #instapic #partypics (hier: Tanzbühne | Dance Stage Cologne Pride) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz-mRlVod6e/?igshid=536u8jw95amm

[joleystar]

in honor of #bonnaroo this weekend • hehe • yes, I posted this 4 years ago • it’s still just as valid today as it was then • whilst I will be nowhere near #greatstage #tennessee (thank god!), I hope all you festival goers have lots of fun and stay safe out there. • hopefully traffic won’t be so bad near #nashville • hey, a girl can dream right? 🤷🏽‍♀️ #homearoo (at Nashville, Tennessee) https://www.instagram.com/msmariadiana/p/Bysnti1BDXM/?igshid=21v6c02updqz

[correcaminosrockandrollband]

Después de grandes momentos quedan inborrables recuerdos... Great Show, Great stage, great moments!!! - - - - - #escenarios #escenario360 #stagedesign #stage#recuerdos😍 #recuerdoss #remember #remembers #greatmoments #greatstage #greatshow #grandesmomentos #photorock #photosoftheday #photostage #fotografiando #fotografiaartistica #fotografia https://www.instagram.com/p/BpHErAvFTSp/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=9q3qw07gufvp

[thewildmurphys]

All setup, loving the backdrop they made for us. #irishband #wildmurphys #birthdayparty #greatstage (at Caldbeck)

[jcinktinder]

Father and siblings wanted for Esther Dehne, the Baroness of Denhausen and spymistress for the crown, on Sovereign, a medieval fantasy site.

WILHELM FALK, Lord of Denhausen

47 · Tobias Menzies

Esther's father, a minor son of House Falk who made a much better parent for his children than their mother. He is the strongest supporter of Esther's efforts to elevate House Dehne's station.

STEFAN DEHNE, Baronet of Greatstage

22 · Toby Regbo

Esther's younger brother, an up-and-coming actor who acts as the public face of House Dehne. Before her death, he was his mother's favourite, which led to friction between him and Esther.

KATRIN DEHNE, Baronet of Greatstage

21 · Isolda Dychauk

Esther's younger sister, a proven actress who serves as part of a travelling theatre troupe. She acts as one of Esther's many spies and is struggling to hold her network together in the wake of the Inquisition taking Denhausen.

TOBIAS DEHNE, Baronet of Greatstage

19 · Eugene Simon

Esther's younger brother, an even more up-and-coming actor who helps Stefan act as the public face of House Dehne. He has the most reservations about the direction Esther is taking House Dehne in.

[velvet-cupcake-games]

A Winter Solstice Story

Happy Solstice!

The four main holidays in Avalon are the summer and winter solstices and the spring and fall equinoxes. Each one celebrates a different aspect of Avalon life or history, and is mixed in with distinctly human takes on the fae.

Below the cut is a segment of one of the lore stories that will appear in the Made Marion Mega-Guide. It is set on the winter solstice two years before the game begins, when Marion was 18 and running her father's holding on her own. The segment begins as Marion is hosting Glastonbury's solstice gathering for the nobility, having failed to find a partner with whom to spend the Longest Night.

When designing the commoners' winter solstice festival, I was inspired by European folk festivals in which participants don elaborate costumes, mimicking supernatural beings. Enjoy!

Photo by Alistair MacRobert on Unsplash

Everyone knew that the commoners had a much more interesting method of celebrating the Winter Solstice.I wouldn't be the only young noble to sneak out and join their festivities - in fact, I suspected that was why the Hold's attendees were largely older and married. Still, this was my first time taking the chance. My restless loneliness and Lady Katherine's rejection had pushed me toward the choice.

When our final guests departed at dusk, I rushed upstairs to my parents' rooms. I packed the costume I'd found in my mother's closet into a backpack and headed out on our property with the excuse that I wanted to spend some time with my greatstag, Cróga. Instead, I changed into the costume in a small outbuilding before summoning Cróga to take me into the woods on the edge of town. The moon was rising bright, and I had no trouble finding my way along the well-worn path.

I looked down at my green-clad arms, admiring the craftwork. My costume was lovely and wild, an elegant take on a greenling fae. Silken leaves had been sewn everywhere, entwined with needlework vines and felted flowers. I topped it off with a matching mask, as I certainly did not wish to be recognised.

I wasn't terribly surprised that my mother had a greenling costume in her closet. Sneaking off to the commoners' Winter Solstice festival was just the sort of thing she would do. But did she participate in the Wild Hunt? I couldn't see my father joining her in such shenanigans, and I'd thought their marriage had been a love match. But then again, she'd left him for another. Left us.

Cróga snorted and slowed, sensing my negative thoughts. I forced myself to calm down and send reassuring feelings through our emotive link. Forget my mother. Unlike her, I had no marital or emotional entanglements. I could participate in the Wild Hunt free of guilt.

I dismounted and dismissed Cróga in a glade just outside the bounds of the woodland celebration, snuggling my thick cloak around me. It may have been the first true day of winter, but it had been quite cold already. My boots crunched as they sunk into the icy crust, and the tree boughs were heavy with snow.

Glittering torchlight shone through the trees, lighting my way to the festival. A short walk later, I had anonymously joined the crowd, just one young person among the many dressed as either greenling or wildling fae.

I strolled amongst the boisterous company, a mug of warm mead in-hand, noticing that I drew some curious looks. Even with my costume covered by my cloak,my clothing was more elaborate and of higher quality than most of the others. Still, folk greeted me cheerfully and respected my anonymity.

Soon, the call to assemble for the Wild Hunt came. A crowd of costumed young people gathered in a marked-off grove. About half wore costumes replete with leaves and sticks, representing greenling fae, and the other half wore furs and bones, representing wildling fae. Most participants were couples who had decided ahead of time who would be the greenling and who the wildling. It was a fun debate, deciding who walked closer to the light and would play the greenling or who walked more in shadow, playing the wildling. Couples were not meant to see each others' costumes ahead of time, and the wildling's challenge was to "capture" the correct greenling in their bough so that they could spend the Longest Night together.

Some participants, like me, had no partner arranged. They hoped to meet a compatible partner in the Hunt. I shivered, both from the cold and the anticipation. Soon I would toss aside my cloak and become "prey," though both parties had to agree to spend the night together once the greenling had been captured. Still, it was a risk. I had to bet on being captured by a fellow noble or, if I took a chance with a commoner, they could not know my true identity. It would be the scandal to end all scandals in Glastonbury.

Master Humphrey the Blacksmith, dressed as the King of the Wild Hunt, stood upon a wooden platform and blew his hunting horn once, signaling the beginning of the Hunt. All of us dressed as greenlings threw off our cloaks and bolted into the woods. Some tried harder than others to hide. I decided that if I was going to play this game, I might as well do it right, so I crouched behind a strand of snow-covered bushes. They also served to keep me a bit warm, blocking the wind.

Several minutes later, the horn was blown twice, and we heard the stomping sounds of the wildlings running into the woods. I was quickly flushed from my hiding place by a tall man wearing an intimidating deer skull helmet, but once he saw me running, he merely smirked and turned away. I was not the prey he sought.

I jogged behind a tree, and in front of me, I saw a tall woman dressed as a greenling gently captured by another woman dressed in fox fur.

"Do ye seek a particular prey, Wildling?" The greenling asked the ritual question.

"Yea, and it be ye, my love," I knew the wildling's voice well. Katherine had captured her lover, and they giggled as she snaked her arm around the other woman's waist and lifted her fox mask to kiss her lover.

I sighed softly. It was, indeed, lovely to see Katherine so happy. She'd been miserable under her father's thumb. And yet, I…

My thoughts scattered as a green bough flitted downward past my eyes, tightening around my torso. I'd been so distracted by Katherine that I'd been captured! I attempted to turn and get a look at my captor, but a strong hand gripped one shoulder, holding me in place. My pulse raced and my breath sent rapid puffs of fog into the air.

"Do ye seek a particular prey, Wildling?" I asked, my voice coming out strangely thin.

"I do," a low, half-whisper was voiced some distance above my head. Not the traditional response, though it told me that my captor was a man. But not a man for me, judging by his answer.

"Then I fear I am not the prey ye seek," I answered, trying to spin away to freedom. The hand on my shoulder merely squeezed harder. I felt his other hand against the small of my back tightening around the ends of the garland that held me fast. How could mere greenery be so strong?

My captor shifted, and I felt his breath ghost against the back of my neck. The slightest amount of fear crept up my spine, but a strange thrill overrode it. Noone had ever dared to treat me in this manner, but I wasn't in any grave danger with so many others around us. I only had to shout for assistance if need be. And yet, I did not feel the need. Not yet.

"Let me go, good hunter," I willed more steel into my voice. "I am not the prey you seek."

"But you are the prey I seek, Lady Marion," he spoke softly, for my ears alone. I sucked in a breath in shock. I knew that voice.

[rpings]

Father and siblings wanted for Esther Dehne, the Baroness of Denhausen and spymistress for the crown, on Sovereign, a medieval fantasy site.

WILHELM FALK, Lord of Denhausen

47 · Tobias Menzies

Esther's father, a minor son of House Falk who made a much better parent for his children than their mother. He is the strongest supporter of Esther's efforts to elevate House Dehne's station.

STEFAN DEHNE, Baronet of Greatstage

22 · Toby Regbo

Esther's younger brother, an up-and-coming actor who acts as the public face of House Dehne. Before her death, he was his mother's favourite, which led to friction between him and Esther.

KATRIN DEHNE, Baronet of Greatstage

21 · Isolda Dychauk

Esther's younger sister, a proven actress who serves as part of a travelling theatre troupe. She acts as one of Esther's many spies and is struggling to hold her network together in the wake of the Inquisition taking Denhausen.

TOBIAS DEHNE, Baronet of Greatstage

19 · Eugene Simon

Esther's younger brother, an even more up-and-coming actor who helps Stefan act as the public face of House Dehne. He has the most reservations about the direction Esther is taking House Dehne in.

[missatown2u]

#FlashbackFriday A3C MUSIC CONFERENCE ATLANTA GA 2014 🎥🎥 #Movie The Coalition Djs teamed up w #StreetExecs 🎼🎼🎤🎤 & it was #Awesome #GreatStage #HugeNightInHipHop 👍 S/O #Sis @mswoochr2

[velvet-cupcake-games]

I was backreading your updates after being gone from Tumblr for a super long time, and omg Robin's greatstag being named Baldrick makes me so happy because it reminds me of how Tony Robinson (who played Baldrick in Blackadder) also played the sheriff in this other tv show called Maid Marian and Her Merry Men

Funny story - I actually got the name from a famous (feline) member of an orange cat group I'm in on Facebook. I'm not terribly familiar with Blackadder (I know, this makes me a bad Anglophile), I just thought it was a cool name.

My first reader, however, lives in London. Baldrick the greatstag shows up frequently in Robin's route, and she's read the first 1/4 of that script. She kept yelling at me because every time she read the name, she thought of the Blackadder character and it was taking her out of the story.

So now I can tell her at least one person appreciates it! :D

My orange cat is named Thorin, but he could easily go by Baldrick.

[velvet-cupcake-games]

okey Robin! surprise us, give your fans some random fun facts about you 🤭

Why, my dear Anonymous, how lovely that you have such an interest in this humble archer! Let me see...

I will be portraying the Green Man in this summer's Solstice pageant in Sherwood. I have hopes to recruit a certain young lady to play the First Druid...

I ride a fine greatstag named Baldrick. He is as committed to the cause as I am, and assists our rebellion greatly. And no, that particular bugle he makes is not sarcastic, no matter what the aforementioned "certain young lady" tries to tell you.

I possess numerous skills that are not common amongst the nobility, such as carriage driving, lockpicking, and the art of disguise. They may be remnants of my feckless youth, but they're proving quite helpful for the rebellion...

Many thanks to all of you fine persons who have participated in interviewing me this week! I shall be handing the quill back to my editor henceforth. She has one more tidbit to round out Robin Month tomorrow.

[velvet-cupcake-games]

Upcoming Features

We've updated our store pages on Steam and Itch with a list of upcoming features. Here's what's in store! New Features Incoming

Thanks to our successful Kickstarter (we love our backers!), Made Marion will be receiving a number of enhancements beyond what's shown in the demo.  We're already implementing them in the full game, and we're very excited about them!

5 CG illustrations per love interest (35 total)

Ambient Sound

Cut-in illustrations to add interest to longer scenes

Sprites for animals and fae creatures (hug a greatstag!)

Animations to spice up (literal) magical moments

Improved glossary

More accessibility options (always planned, but now being implemented)

Alanna's bard songs now have professionally recorded backing tracks and will be recorded in a sound studio instead of on an at-home mic.

And more!

Above is one of our new greatstag sprites. Marion's stag is white, Geoffrey's is black, and the rest are brown. Our greatstags and other creature sprites are being drawn by our background artist, Sandra. The shading style she's using matches our upcoming sprite style very well, so I'm looking forward to seeing the greatstag next to our re-designed John!