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afoolandathief · 2 years

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✨Mythology & Folklore Retelling Writeblrs Masterpost ✨

So remember a couple months ago when I put out a survey to make a list of writeblrs with myth-retelling/myth-inspired WIPs? Well, I finally put all your responses together!

Below you can find blogs with projects or published works weaving in mythology or folklore, whether it's a retelling or inspired by it. Keep in mind, except for some formatting, I copied these entries directly from the survey.

If anyone does still want to add their WIPs, I'll leave the survey up for now:

Mythology and Folklore Writeblrs and Their WIPs:

@flowerprose

WIP(s): Namesake, a Hades and Persephone myth retelling in which Hades is a skeleton, stripped of his godhood and powers, and Persephone is a young flower maiden, in search of her missing mother. WIP intro, Writing tag

Mythology(ies): Greek Mythology

@violetcancerian

WIP(s): The Dragon and the Herald, Tales of Tirinth, A Song of Three Hundred Spears

Mythology(ies): Arthurian, Irish, Norse, old English

@writeblrfantasy

WIP(s): Queen Artura and the Knights of Arrinshire, a series of stories inspired by the King Arthur tales! I don’t post about it that much, though

Mythology(ies): The King Arthur tales

@lockejhaven

WIP(s): Fable: Servant to Dragon and King

Mythology(ies): Arthurian retelling

@ambiguouspuzuma

WIP(s): I did a three part retelling of the Furies and various Ancient Greek heroes here:

Deianira’s Fury

Ariadne’s Fury

Andromeda’s Fury

I also post regular short stories dipping into other mythology and folklore, featuring golems and sirens and others, including this mash-up of various figures from British mythology: Pantheon

Mythology(ies): Various, mostly Greek

@fearofahumanplanet

WIP(s): The Serpents They Stone - In an alternate version of our world where gods lived alongside humankind and brought them to a new level of technological prosperity, the dreaded World Serpent Jörmungandr reveals herself to have survived Ragnarok while rescuing her villainous old flame, the Phantom Queen Badb. Quickly finding herself pursued by the entire world for the prophecy that promises she will end the world, Jörmungandr dedicates herself to saving Badb from the "Black Pharaoh" that enslaves her - even as Badb is forcibly driven to remain sinister and create chaos.

Miasma - Based on the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland & the later Black Death, the island of Ériu is besieged by the foreign Anglii and their High King is killed. His daughter, Hail, dies with him, but she is resurrected by the serpent goddess Corchen with one objective - to kill King Godric across the ocean, no matter the cost. Her mission soon intertwines with that of a mysterious plague doctor's, who seeks to stop an oncoming plague - one that could spell the end of all life.

Mythology(ies): All, but predominantly Norse, Egyptian, Aztec, Celtic (mostly Welsh/Irish), Greek, Japanese, Chinese, Greek, Sumerian, Mayan, Slavic, Hawaiian, Christian, etc.

@nikkywrites

WIP(s): Maidens and Monsters: sapphic retelling of Scylla’s monsterization, in which she is so beautiful, the ocean (and it’s patrons) cannot help but be drawn to her and too much divine attention in one place always leads to ruin.

Light and What Lies Below: In-between of Maidens and Monsters and OH, in which Calypso makes a deal with Hades, creating Davy Jones’ locker before the sailor is even born.

Ocean’s Heart: Dual POV retelling merging Ogygia Calypso with Davy Jones Calypso, in which when he binds her to a mortal body, he binds her to the island as well.

Her Name is Kore: Persephone/Hades retelling in which Kore knows, even as an unannounced goddess, that she is destined to be something more than just Demeter’s daughter.

Mythology(ies): Greek

@abookishdreamer

WIP(s): Kingdom of Ichor (A YA fantasy series) A modern retelling of classic Greek myths with the gods and goddesses being a focal point. Each book in the series will be told in dual POV following a potential couple. I don't know how long I want the series to be, but I do know it's gonna be pretty expansive! The first book is titled Of Flowers and Darkness, which will be a retelling of the myth of Hades & Persephone.

Mythology(ies): Mainly Greek mythology!!!

@galaxialdarktale

WIP(s): A Prophecy Most Divine (only one on my blog atm)

Mythology(ies): It's a made up mythology set, but I've been obsessed with myths since I was like able to read. I have another one that's not yet on my blog that is a retelling of Norse

@wherearetheplants

WIP(s): Fuck Gods (also referred to as WIP MILF). Life has not been kind to those at Nueva Vida Institution, a residential facility for “deeply disturbed” individuals. The institution seems normal from the outside, but a group of friends on the inside think that there’s more to this place than meets the eyes: they think it’s a end-of-life sacrificial home for those the gods have chosen, and that their life-forces are being drained. They’ve decided that before the gods can get to them, they’re going to complete their life-long goals of getting closure. And to do this, they plan to kill some gods.

Mythology(ies): Greek myths are retold through the character arcs and through parallels. Achilles, Sisyphus, Medusa, Icarus, Pandora's Box

@ladywithalamp

WIP(s): (1) A Casting of Lots (2) Where the Blackbirds Roost [both are linked to my pinned post!]

Based on: Greek mythology for ACoL but I've toyed with hints of Slavic mythologies in WtBR though it isn't as fleshed out

@nicola-writes

WIP(s): the other ones, a horror story about a forest that steals your memories and the monsters waiting within.

Mythology(ies): icarus! contains heavy icarus symbolism, and the main character's arc is directly based on that of icarus'.

@stuck-in-this-mortal-form

WIP(s): Children Of The Prophecy aka a story about half demon children, loosely based on various mythologies and urban legends

Mythology(ies): Slavic, bit of Japanese urban legends & other stuff

@maguayans

WIP(s): Elementalia Chronicles: A fantasy series of five books—Maharlika, Charmed, Sunshower, Waves, and Hiwaga—featuring the lore and creatures of Philippine Mythology. Set in the fictitious province called San Andres, following the lives and misadventures of related characters, all while uncovering the secrets of their ancestors and the land. The expanding universe of the series is affectionately named, Elementaliaverse (@elementaliaverse).

Fair Waters: A novella set in Elementalieverse. | The story follows Elias Hernandez, a photojournalist, and aspiring news writer. He finds himself traveling to the northernmost province of the archipelago after discovering the mysterious case of one of its islands. Soon, he realizes the mystery he’s trying to unravel goes as deep as the ocean. And himself, a pawn to more malicious affairs.

Mariang Makiling: A retelling of the legend of Mariang Makiling. | A group hikes across the inland territories of Maquiling to visit its apparent hidden waters. Failing to reach their destination in time, they camp near a burial ground. There, they would discover something ancient and vile.

Mythology(ies): Philippine Mythology

@fanficwriterblockblog

WIP(s): Just Another Fairytale: 12 kingdoms with 12 “princesses”, facing sociopolitical and mythic problems, especially when their pantheon throws them a curveball. A series of 13 novels, each from a different “princess’s” point-of-view, with myth retellings and fairytale retellings

Mythology(ies): Arachne, Odysseus, etc (too tired to think of the others in there, but it’s not just Greek)

@constellationapex

WIP(s): Most Holy

Mythology(ies): As of this moment, I’m mostly tampering with Greek and Roman gods, but I want to expand to Norse folklore soon!

@literallylore

WIP(s): Glass Gods - a thousand years after Ragnarok, Norse deities are reborn on Earth and must fight to protect their world from an army of frost giants set on conquering the planet.

Mythology(ies): Norse

@fruitbatwoman

WIP(s): Tröll, Álfar, Hestar: 3 Magical Short Stories Inspired by Iceland — What if all the myths and legends surrounding Iceland are true? What if there is a troll under every bridge, elves hidden behind the veil, and wicked horses lurking in the water? In this adventurous, romantic, and magical collection of three short stories, fantasy collides with reality, as tourists and travelers experience a modern take on Icelandic folk tales.

Mythology(ies): Icelandic folk tales, Nordic folk tales, Trolls, Huldufólk, Nykur

#writing #writeblr #writblr #writers of tumblr #mythology #myths and legends #myth retelling #folklore #folklore retelling #scheduled

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ahagisborn · 2 years

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i read so many good books in july, i can’t choose just one

#homegoing and manhunt in particular knocked me on my ass #the last house on needless street was a little hack in the end but i enjoyed all the TWISTS and unreliable POVs #pachinko made me cry in public twice #(homegoing and pachinko were actually pretty similar in structure which was interesting)#spear was a short arthurian tale #and the hacienda was just a good ole gothic haunted house story #book club #thots on genre fiction #i will give a tw for manhunt for intense transphobia & transmisogny which would be readily apparent if you read #even a single description of this book but i just saw the cover and said ohohohoho what have we here

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sunnymusingsao3 · 3 years

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⭐ please mr director! release the morgwen cut....(where'd your headcanons for gwen come from, what are some challenges you have re: writing them)

Behind the Scenes: Fanfic Edition

Essay incoming! This one got long as well!

Oh bless you for asking me about this; she once was a true love of mine is one of my favorite things I've ever written, and I am always 110% ready to scream about the things that inspired it!

So the answer to your second question goes hand-in-hand with the answer to the first actually, so I'm gonna answer these out of order!

The biggest challenge with these two is mostly just how little we have in canon in regards to their relationship, background, history, and other such information that would typically be very helpful for writing a canon character-- or how two of them relate-- for a fanfic!

With Morgana, we have a little bit, but she's also not often allowed-- in the show, at least-- to be a character outside of being a villain for our heroes to fight, so one challenge with her is understanding what she does in her day-to-day life. What is she doing when she isn't advancing the plot via attempted fratricide, or directly opposing Merlin in some way? Since she can't possibly always be sitting in her tower rubbing her hands together maniacally (or pulling a BBC Merlin and smirking in full view of everyone who suspects her) I want to know what kinds of things she likes to do when she's not in court, or tackling the Big Themes Of The Show.

She's clearly moved on from lessons with Merlin, so she is not spending all her time studying-- though I do think she must be self-taught in shadow magic, so perhaps some days are spent on magic study-- and ToA is set before Morgana starts being a general-purpose villain to throw into your knight's tale (because as any medieval male writer will tell you, there is nothing scarier than a woman with power).

The way I see it, then, is that in order to establish this close friendship that Wizards says Guinevere and Morgana have, a good chunk of Morgana's time must be spent around Guinevere. And for a Guinevere who, in my headcanon, married Arthur for strategic reasons? For a Guinevere who's got a crush on Morgana the size of Arthur's ego? Spending that much time with her is bound to cause some good old fashioned yearning.

And this is where we get into my headcanons for Guinevere. As I said above, the biggest challenge is how little information we have about Guinevere. She's fallen victim to the Disposable Woman trope, and while I don't inherently fault ToA for that (they have plenty of other very strong and developed ladies), it does leave her with very little character beyond "she was Arthur's wife," and "she was Morgana's best friend." (Short sidenote: I really appreciate the Crusading Widower page on TV Tropes's site, for pointing out that the crusading widower is often an anti-hero or even an anti-villain because I think that's absolutely right when it comes to Arthur).

Anyway, all this to say, since there's so little canon, it's basically a perfect sandbox for fanfic writers to come in and have the time of their lives lol, so this is what I have done!

I am a huge Arthuriana nerd (though I am hardly an expert by any means; I'm just a simple fan who enjoys the stories) so when I saw Wizards utilize wildly famous Arthurian characters, I rather lost my mind over the potential.

I have so many headcanons about how to merge ToA and a bunch of Arthuriana plot points/tropes/characterizations, but for the purposes of this, I will stick to Guinevere!

The main way I went about making headcanons for ToA's Guinevere, was to look at what legends I knew about her and see what could apply to the Wizards canon, without contradicting it, in order to fill in these huge gaps.

For example, we know absolutely nothing about where Guinevere came from, so I kept her father and her home city from legend. Since her mother is not even mentioned in the legends, I also translated that over to an absence of her mother in the story, while also giving her at least a mention, as I think she'd be important to Guinevere, even if she hadn't really gotten to meet her properly. I really wanted this story to highlight the responsibilities that Guinevere has within her roles as wife and medieval royal woman, and I think having her consider what her mother would have done in her shoes tied into that theme of Guinevere wondering "what kind of woman do I want to become?" as she grew up. This is also why Igraine is given a moment in the fic as well; Guinevere's relationships with the women around her is something which I think deserves attention, even in a fic where I'm mostly just trying to establish a general timeline and characterization for Guinevere as a whole.

The idea for Guin's mother to have fallen in battle, in fact, came from ToA establishing that some of the background Camelot knights are men, and some are women, and it's treated as perfectly normal, as far as I noticed. Claire has that one line about a "boy's club," but I do think that it's actually just that she couldn't compete because she wasn't registered as a knight. I might be wrong about that, but I really liked the idea of there being knights in Camelot who are women, and I wanted to keep that in the fic I was writing. Therefore, I think that Guinevere's mother was both a queen and a knight, or, at least, a skilled warrior. Similarly, I also think that Guinevere's father is most known for his relationship with the Pendragons in legend. This then translated to her father being the diplomat, to tie in with her mother being the fighter. I didn't dwell too much on that because, again, the fic was meant to focus on Guinevere, and it had already gotten longer than I'd meant for it to. But, I tried to give a hint at that in the way that Guinevere's father is the one who physically takes Guin's bow, and puts a crown in her hands instead. He's not saying she can't be a fighter, but he is emphasizing that she also needs to be ready to appear in other kingdoms in a formal setting. I like to think that Leodegrance would have wanted Guinevere to have both options, to be a bit more well-rounded than he or her mother were.

Brief addition before I move on to the next phase of the fic: I chose a bow because when the stalkling advances on her, she tries using a stick to fight it off, but shows a bit of an ineptitude at using a weapon like that. Since I didn't want that to turn into "she's a weak royal who couldn't fight at all," especially since it seems to me that most of the time, being royal in the Middle Ages also meant receiving fight training, I chose for her to be better at ranged weapons, like bows, crossbows, maybe even spear throwing.

At any rate, my headcanons from there were created in a similar fashion to the ones mentioned above; I used a mixture of ToA canon (ex: Arthur, Morgana, and Guinevere being shown as childhood friends; Morgana and Guinevere spending time in the woods) and Arthuriana (ex: pulling the sword in the stone, losing it, getting it reforged by Nimue; Leodegrance bringing the round table as Guinevere's dowry; Merlin being a royal advisor).

Now, since this isn't much of a Morgwen cut just yet (so sorry omg), I wanted to skip ahead to the Morgwen pining moments, to talk about them!

The juxtaposition between a burning candle flame representing her love for Morgana, and an uncomfortable midnight cuddle from Arthur (where she can't even bring herself to scratch her nose-- an irritant meant to heighten that feeling of discomfort) representing her relationship with him, is one of my favorite ways to examine the wild difference in how Guinevere sees both relationships. One is untouchable but beautiful, interesting. It burns, and it's bright, and getting too near it hurts too bad.

And then on the other hand, one is there always, it's inescapable, but mostly sweet, though it comes up short of providing comfort. It's not bad, and it's even gentle, and Arthur does love her, but she married him for diplomacy. She married him because it's expected, and it keeps her safe.

(Which, sidenote: I think some stories work well with period-accurate homophobia, and others do not. This is one I would not have put period-accurate homophobia in, as it's fantasy and legend, and I think it's more interesting if Guinevere can't pick Morgana not because of Morgana also being a woman, but because Guinevere is bound by her duties as a royal).

The last thing I wanna talk about is that I have considered writing another Morgwen fic, but I'm just not sure what kind of plot hook or idea I'd like to pursue. So, if there's interest, or any requests that someone might have for these two, please do feel free to ask away! I think their relationship is really interesting, and I'd be delighted to keep writing for them. Guinevere is a fascinating character in particular, and is one who I think, even in legend, sometimes gets boiled down a lot, so I wanna add some depth back into her character, and give her a chance to shine!

Thank you so much for asking, and if there's anything else you're curious about, don't hesitate to send it my way! Like I said, I am always happy to holler about Guinevere and Morgwen! <3

#answered asks #sidhewrites

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dlkardenal · 4 years

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Swords, wands and other baubles - Magic systems and their real-life counterparts

Hey there, traveler!

Here we are (if even a day or so late) for our last stop in this magic trilogy. Three, such a wonderful number, isn’t it? I apologize for the delay, sadly this exam period sucked me up like quicksand and I got no time yesterday to write. But let that not deter us from today’s topic: the various systems of magic, both in literature and their real-life counterparts.

Let’s start with my favorite: magic items. We all know the trope of the wizard’s wand, the world slaying sword or the wishing lamp, and these varied applications of a common concept shows just how much potential rests with this system.

As far as I could research, there are a couple of sources for this trope predating the classic fantasy stories.

There’s a scene in The Lord of the Rings when our heroes are departing Lothlórien and they receive capes from the elves as parting gift. When Sam asks if they are magical, an elf replies that they are “just elven”. The earliest representations of magical objects followed this mentality – magical stuff was magical because of their origin. This is really obvious in Arthurian legend with Excalibur, the magical sword given to Arthur by the Fairy of the Lake or other Gaelic and Celtic tales like Cu Chulainn and his spear Gae Bolg, or Thor’s hammer, the legendary Mjölnir. These weapons were given to their wielder by a magical race, be it fairies or dwarves, and as such, they became magical by nature. This then followed into the stories such as the Dragon Rider swords in Eragon (forged by elves), the Elder Wand in Harry Potter (given by death itself, although it is a special case because it is an object that’s MORE magical than it’s “ordinary” magic counterparts) or the Daedric Artifacts in the Elder Scrolls games (you knew Skyrim would pop up somehow, you knew…).

Another interesting source is a tribal belief called animancy that popped up all over the world from pre-Columbus America, Africa, and Eurasia. Animancy, from the latin “anima” meaning soul or spirit, holds that a person’s spirit can rest in an object dear to them after their death so it can and will manifest their will through this object or anyone who holds it. There are folk tales from Europe’s Transylvania region (yes, the Dracula place) about a belt once belonging to a shepherd that drove his killers to madness until they confessed their foul deed. We can see this mainly in horror fiction – cursed trinkets haunted by the ghost of a long-dead murderer, witch, or a victim of the previous two.

There is much, much more to this trope, but I could write a short draft about this topic only. As a last note, I’d like to mention our WIP (because humility is my greatest weakness). In the world of Seiran, magical objects are the only way of utilizing magic, so they are more valuable than the magicians (or as we call them mejais) themselves. These trinkets were created by an ancient civilization that met its end thousands of years ago and left behind these shiny things. When a mejai concentrates, they can deter the wind-like force of magic to swipe through a certain trinket, creating a unique effect – which means the number of trinkets you have is the number of spells you can use. Now, you could try and force the magic into your body to act as a channel, but that’s how you end up like one of our characters – crippled and broken.

Sometimes it is not magical objects which limit the power of a magician, but an inner force, the so-called “mana”. This is actually not a new thing, the whole concept was made up by ancient Polynesians. Mana is the spiritual force resting in everyone and everything, just waiting to be utilized by someone who can wield it. Its main use was to heal and protect, but the Maori people for example thought a tribe that has a certain type of mana holds authority over a piece of land, so it was used to divide territory as well.

This belief has a few variations about what exactly holds mana, but most sources agree that it can be transferred and it isn’t distributed evenly – some people have more than others. It can also deplete and proliferate, making it even more like how we see it in games, although there were no potions or crystals to replenish it. A large amount of mana was attributed to wisdom and wise elders of the community, and evil acts were believed to rid you of it. This ebb and flow made it a kind of resource, and as such, roleplaying games and other media plucked it from the idea tree and embed it into pop-culture as the numerical representation of magic power.

And lastly, there are the cases where nothing controls the power a magician can wield. This is mostly a fiction concept as it is really hard to show that you can break the world in two in reality, but in literature, it is a fascinating dilemma. In Brian McCallan’s The powder mage, there are three types of magic users, one being the all-powerful Privileged. They can manipulate elements with a twitch of their fingers and rip anyone to shreds in an instant. They wield nearly limitless power and they’re unbeatable in a one-on-one fight. However, they have a limited range on their abilities, far less the titular powder mages (who are basically supersoldiers who can control explosions and bullets), so they feel inferior to them in open, large scale battles when they have the opportunity to stay out of range and just shoot them. This dynamic elevates the feats of Taniel, character who is known for killing Privileged mages very efficiently. I think it is a great opportunity to step up the badassery of a hero who manages to outsmart these powerhouse magicians. The bigger the prey, the greater the victory.

So that’s it, travelers. A few examples of where the most common magic tropes come from, a glimpse at how were are utilizing it and a personal example of my favorite magic system. What other tropes did I miss? Do you want me to research a few of your favorites? Leave a comment and I’l jump right on it!

Until then, stay sharp!

Cheers,

Dar

#writing #writing community #amwriting #amwritingfantasy #magic #magic system #dissecting literature #book #bookworm #reading

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nyxshadowhawk · 5 years

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Nyx’s Complete List of Goth Names

Abaddon: From Greek, means "destruction" or "demon of the pit."

Acheron: The River of Woe in the Greek underworld.

Achlys: Greek primordial goddess of poison, misery, and sadness, personification of the death-mist.

Adonis: Means "lord" (as in Adonai). In Greek mythology, the most beautiful youth in the world, loved by both Persephone and Aphrodite. Died tragically.

Adrian/Adrienne: English, from Latin; means "from Hadria" (the Adriatic Sea). I've heard sources saying it means "dark one," but I haven't been able to confirm this. It's still a really cool, kind of gothy name. (Also the real name of Alucard from Castlevania.)

Ahriman: The Zoroastrian devil/evil god.

Akeldama: Means "field of blood," a place in Jerusalem associated with Judas.

Alastor: Greek, means "avenging spirit."

Alcmene: (Female) Means "might of the moon," Heracles' mother in mythology.

Alecto: One of the Erinyes (Furies), the goddesses of vengeance. Means "unceasing."

Altair: The brightest star in the constellation Aquila (the Eagle), from Arabic, meaning "the bird."

Amaranth: (Female) Greek; a mythical purple flower that never fades, a symbol of immortality.

Amethyst: A dark purple crystal, associated with wine and preventing drunkenness.

Andromeda: Greek, means "thinks like a man," the name of a princess in mythology, a constellation, and a galaxy.

Anubis: Jackal-headed Egyptian god of death and embalming.

Arcana: From Latin "hidden, secret" (literally "to shut in a chest"), refers to secrets or mysteries. Also refers to the groups of cards in a tarot deck (the major and minor arcana).

Arianrhod: Means "silver wheel," Welsh goddess of the moon, stars, and the flow of time.

Artemis/Diana: Greco-Roman goddess of the hunt, the moon, and virginity

Asmodeus: Means "wrath-demon," a Goetic demon appearing in a number of texts, representing luxury, sensuality, and lust. (Also Asmodai)

Asphodel: A white flower planted on graves, said to grow in the Greek underworld, and therefore heavily connected with death.

Astaroth: (Unisex) A demon in the Ars Goetia (from the Lesser Key of Solomon), described as a male demon and a Duke of Hell, but the name likely comes from the Phoenician goddess Astarte (or Ashtoreth), who is a version of Ishtar (Babylonian) and Inanna (Sumerian).

Astor: A French and German name from Occitan, meaning "goshawk." A goshawk is a bird of prey. I've read on naming sites that this name was originally a derogatory term for young men with hawk-like, predatory characteristics, but I haven't found anything to confirm this. This is the name of my alter-ego and one of the main protagonists of Shadowbook.

Astra/Astrid/Asteria: From Greek, "star." In Greek mythology, Asteria was a Titaness of astrology and prophecy, the mother of Hecate. An aster is also a star-shaped flower.

Atropos: The last of the Moirai (Fates), who cuts the thread at the end of life.

Autumn: The darkening part of the year, when everything is dying, and Halloween happens.

Azrael: The name of the Angel of Death, means "whom god helps." (Also Asriel)

Azazel: A Watcher's name, means "scapegoat." Taught humanity the arts of weaponry and cosmetics. Commonly associated with demons and evil.

Baphomet: A goat-headed, winged deity associated with Satanism; obscure etymology.

Bastet: Egyptian goddess of cats.

Belial: A Hebrew name meaning "worthless," a name of the devil or a demon.

Belladonna: Also called "deadly nightshade," an extremely poisonous plant that causes hallucinations and death.

Bellona: Roman goddess of war

Bezaliel: Means "shadow of God" or "damaged," a Watcher's name.

Blodeuwedd: Pronounced "bluh-DIE-weth," means "flower-face." A Welsh goddess who was turned into an owl.

Bram/Brom: Technically short for Abraham ("father of a multitude"), the author of Dracula, Abraham "Bram" Stoker.

Bran: Welsh, "raven." The name of Bran the Blessed, a giant and king of Britain in Welsh mythology.

Branwen: (Female) Welsh, means "white raven" or "fair raven."

Breksta: Lithuanian goddess of night, dreams, and twilight.

Caligo: Latin word for “mist,” “gloom,” and “darkness.” (Calignes is the plural, which could also work) (feminine)

Calypso: Greek, "she who conceals." The nymph who kept Odysseus imprisoned on her island.

Carmilla: A lesbian vampire from the gothic novel of the same name, predating Dracula. The name seems to have been invented by the author.

Cassius: Roman, "empty, hollow."

Ceridwen: Welsh enchantress or goddess who stirs the cauldron of poetic inspiration.

Cernunnos: Celtic forest god depicted as having a stag's antlers.

Chiroptera: Literally means "hand wing," the order of bats in taxonomy.

Circe: Means "circle." In Greek mythology, a sorceress who turned Odysseus' men into pigs (and later helped them).

Cora: From the Greek name Kore, meaning "maiden." A name for Persephone. (Also, Coraline.)

Cornix: A princess transformed into a crow by Athena in Ovid's Metamorphosis.

Corvus/Corax: Corvus corax is the scientific name of the common raven.

Crimson: Dark, rich red, the color of wine or blood. One of the Gothiest colors that isn't black. It's very easy for this to sound banal or cringey, especially if it's a character's given name, so use with caution. Scarlet works, too, if you want something easier to use as a given name.

Damian: From Greek, means "to tame," tends to be associated with demons or vampires, a bit cliche at this point.

Dantalion: A Goetic demon, the name is particularly cool.

Desdemona: A tragic character in Othello, comes from Greek and means "ill-fated." Can be shortened to "Mona."

Desmodus: The genus of common vampire bats. (D. rotundus)

Devana: Slavic version of Artemis/Diana, goddess of the hunt.

Dorian: The corrupt, depraved, nearly immortal and astonishingly beautiful protagonist from The Picture of Dorian Gray. (Turns out Oscar Wilde invented the name; it did not exist before the book was written.)

Dracul: Romanian, "devil" or "dragon." What really needs to be said?

Ebony: A very dark wood.

Echo: In Greek mythology, a nymph who was cursed so she would only repeat the names of others; died while pining after Narcissus.

Edgar: Anglo-Saxon, "rich spear." The name of the one and only Edgar Allen Poe (also, my cat).

Eidolon: A type of spirit or ghost in Greek liteature. Also a genus of bats.

Eirlys: Welsh, "snowflake."

Elatha: An Irish god, described as the "beautiful Miltonic prince of darkness with golden hair." Not sure what the source for that is, but cool!

Elvira: Spanish, means "foreign true," a stereotypical Goth name (and the name of the Mistress of the Dark!). Actually, I first ran across the name in reference to a vengeful ghost called Elvira Blood in New England folk legend. Spooky!

Empusa: A kind of Greek female demon (similar to Lamia) that served Hecate.

Endora: Comes from the Witch of Endor, a Biblical sorceress.

Endymion: In Greek mythology, a handsome shepherd whom Selene fell in love with. Zeus granted him eternal sleep so he would never age. Means "to dive, to enter."

Erebus: Greek primordial god and personification of darkness.

Esmeralda: Spanish name meaning "emerald." (Also, the heroine in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.)

Ethelinda: Anglo-Saxon, means "little serpent."

Euryale: Greek, means "far-roming," the middle Gorgon sister.

Eurynomos: Greek chthonic spirit of corpses.

Eventide: It could work as a name.

Fenrir: A wolf demon in Norse mythology, the son of Loki.

Finvarra: Irish, King of the Fairies (and sometimes King of the Dead), a benevolent entity that ensures a good harvest and abundance.

Gabriel: The angel. Means "warrior of god." Gabrielle also works (and is the name of Lestat's mother).

Gehenna: A Hebrew name for Tartarus or Hell.

Golgotha: From Hebrew, "skull," the place where Jesus was crucified.

Grimm: The surname of two German brothers who recorded a classic collection of oral folklore and fairy tales, many of which are very... well, grim.

Habundia: A Celtic name for the queen of witches and night creatures, possibly another name for Nicnevan. Etymology uncertain.

Hades: The Lord of the Underworld in Greek mythology (also the name of the Underworld itself).

Hawthorn: A type of shrub steeped in folklore, associated with fairies and with Beltane (1st May).

Hecate: Greek goddess of witchcraft, magic, the occult, the moon, necromancy, the Underworld, and the crossroads. Means "worker from far off."

Hellebore: A type of evergreen flower, some species of which are poisonous. Believed to summon demons, also believed to cure madness.

Hemlock: A plant used to poison people.

Herne: "the Hunter," a ghost that haunts Windsor Forest (sometimes identified with The Horned God).

Hesperos/ia: The evening star.

Hypnos: The Greek god of sleep.

Iblis: Satan in Islamic lore.

Idris: Welsh, "ardent (passionate, fiery) lord."

Igor: Russian, "bow-warrior." Became famous as the name of Frankenstein's hunchbacked assistant, even though he doesn't exist in the book and his name in the original Universal film was Fritz.

Ingram: Swedish name meaning "Ing's raven."

Iolanthe: Greek, means "violet flower." (eye-oh-LAHN-thay)

Iseult/Isolde/Isolt: A tragic lover in Arthurian legend.

Jasmine: A type of flower, in this case referring to Cestrum nocturnum, or night-blooming jasmine.

Kali: Hindu goddess of destruction, name means "the black one."

Kasdaye: Means "hidden power," the name of a Watcher (another name for Tamiel). (Unisex)

Kiara/n: Gaelic, means "little black one."

Kimaris: A Goetic demon. (Male)

Kokabiel: Means "angel of the stars," a Watcher.

Lacrimae: Latin word for tears.

Lamia: A female demon in Greek folklore who devours children. The name of the witch in the film version of Stardust.

Lenore: A variant of Eleanor (also a good name), means "foreign," the lost love of the protagonist of "The Raven," also has her own poem.

Leshii: A Russian god of hunting, similar to Veles

Lethe: River of Forgetfulness in the Greek Underworld.

Leviathan: From Hebrew, "twisted in folds," a Biblical sea monster. Sometimes associated with Midgard's Serpent.

Libitina: A Roman goddess of corpses, funerals, and the dead.

Ligeia: Greek, the name of a Siren, also the subject of a Poe story of the same name.

Lilah: Comes from the Arabic Leila, meaning "night."

Lilith: Means "of the night" or "screech owl." In Hebrew mythology, Adam's first wife and the Queen of Demons. She refused to submit to Adam, so she left Eden and began screwing around with demons. Often considered a succubus or vampire, or a champion of feminism. A lilim is also a succubus or incubus.

Loki: Trickster god in Norse mythology with ambiguous morals.

Lorelei: German, means "murmuring rock," the name of a German Siren.

Lucius/Lucifer/Lucien: All mean "light" or "light-bringer," a name associated with Satan.

Lucy: From Dracula, also could be a shortening/feminization of Lucifer. (Still means "light.")

Luna: The Roman personification of the moon.

Lycoris: A Greek word that means "twilight," the name of an Asian red flower, associated with death and the underworld (much like Asphodel).

Maeve: Comes from Gaelic, means "the intoxicating one." Associated with the Fairy Queen Mab.

Makaria: Greek goddess of blessed death, a daughter of Hades and Persephone.

Mania: Etruscan/Roman goddess of the undead, ghosts, and underworld spirits, goddess of madness. Also a modern medical term referring to a specific mental illness.

Mara: A name steeped in darkness, referring to a nightmare spirit (nightmare), a (benevolent) goddess of death in Latvian mythology, a (male) demon in Buddhist mythology, and a Sanskrit word meaning "death."

Medea: In Greek mythology, the sorceress who helped Jason, but then went on a murderous rampage when he left her. Considered to be a priestess (or, rarely, daughter) of Hecate.

Megaera: One of the Erinyes (Furies), the goddesses of vengeance. Means "grudge."

Melanie: Greek, "black" or "dark."

Melantha: Greek, "dark flower."

Melinda/Mindy: English, "black serpent."

Melinoe: Greek goddess of ghosts, nightmares, and madness, a daughter of Hades and Persephone.

Mephistopheles: The name of the devil in the Faust legend, could be from Hebrew and mean "disperser of lies," or from Greek and mean "does not love the light."

Merle: (Unisex) from French, "blackbird."

Mina: From Dracula. Short for Wilhelmina, a German name meaning "will-helmet."

Morana/Marzanna: Slavic goddess of winter and death.

Morgan/Morgana: From Welsh, means "sea-circle," the name of Morgan le Fay, a sorceress in Arthurian Legend (who may be good or evil, depending on your interpretation).

Morpheus: The Greek god of dreams, the main protagonist of Neil Gaiman's Sandman comics. (Also, The Matrix.)

Morrigan: An Irish goddess of death, battle, and ravens, name means "great queen."

Morwenna: A Welsh name meaning "maiden." ("Morwanneg" is the name of the witch in Stardust.)

Nepenthe: A magical drug from the Odyssey that cures sorrow and causes forgetfulness.

Nephthys: Means "lady of the temple," the Egyptian goddess of the dead, mate of Seth and mother of Anubis.

Nergal: Mesopotamian god of death, war, and destruction.

Nicnevan: Queen of the Fairies in Scottish folklore. She is the Scottish version of Hecate.

Nightshade: A family of plants including tomatoes, potatoes, and eggplants, but also the notorious deadly nightshade.

Nisha/nt: A Hindi name meaning "night."

Nocturne: Self-explanatory. Refers to a night prayer, a musical composition evoking night, or a night scene in art.

Nyctala/Nyctea: Two obsolete genera of owls. Nyctala is the genus of Boreal owls before it was changed to Aegolius, and Nyctea was the genus of Snowy owls before it was changed to Bubo. Both probably mean or are related to "night."

Nyctalus: A genus of bats.

Nyctimene: A princess from Ovid's Metamorphoses who was so ashamed at having been molested by her father, she refused to show her face in daylight. Out of pity, Minerva (Athena) turned her into an owl. Also a genus of bats.

Nyx: A Greek primordial goddess and personification of the Night. (also Nox)

Oberon: From French, means "elf-ruler," the name of the Fairy King in A Midsummer Night's Dream (Referred to in one scene as the "king of shadows").

Obsidian: A shiny black volcanic stone.

Onyx: A type of banded stone, most famously black. (The word comes from the Greek for "fingernail.")

Ophelia: A tragic character in Hamlet, which probably comes from Greek and means "help."

Orcus: A Latin word for Hell, and a Roman god who punished the dead (possibly an epithet of Hades/Pluto).

Orion: A hunter in Greek mythology, and the famous constellation.

Orlok: The name of the ugly-looking vampire from Nosferatu.

Orpheus: Greek name, possibly comes from the word orphe, "darkness." The name of a demigod with an impossibly beautiful singing voice who attempted to rescue his love from the underworld, failed, and then died tragically.

Pan: Greek goat-horned god of nature, herds, and lust, induces "panic."

Pandora: Name means "all-gifted." In Greek mythology, the name of the first woman, who opened a box that unleashed evil upon the world.

Pandemonium: The capital city of Hell in Paradise Lost, name literally means "all demons."

Persephone: Greek Queen of the Underworld, wife of Hades, and goddess of springtime. You probably know her story. Her name might mean "thrasher of grain" (which would make sense for an agricultural goddess), but could also mean "slayer."

Phaenon: Means "shining" in Greek, refers to the planet Saturn (which has long been associated with darkness in mythology, being the furthest planet from the sun that is observable with the naked eye).

Pluto: Hades' Roman name, also the ninth planet, or what was the ninth planet.

Ransley: An English name meaning "raven's meadow."

Raven: This is by far the most cliche Goth name there is (I originally created this list to provide alternatives to the name “Raven”), but it’s classic, it’s simple, it’s unisex, and it’s undeniably Goth.

Ravenna: Self-explanatory, also an Italian city.

Renwick: Scottish surname meaning "raven settlement."

Sable: A word referring to the color black.

Salome: From Hebrew shalom, "peace." The daughter of Herod and Herodias, unnamed in the Bible, who requested the head of John the Baptist and danced the Dance of the Seven Veils.

Samael: Means "venom of God," a vicious angel of death, the mate of Lilith. He is not technically a fallen angel, but a servant of God who does the dirty work.

Sekhmet: Egyptian goddess of war and destruction, with the head of a lioness. Her name means "power" or "might." Her epithets included "Mistress of Dread," "Lady of Slaughter," and "She Who Mauls." Ra had to stop her from killing people by getting her drunk on beer that was dyed to look like blood.

Selene: Greek personification of the moon. (Includes "Selena" and variants.")

Senka: Basque name meaning "shadow."

Seren: (Unisex) Welsh name meaning "star."

Seth: A name of Set or Sutekh, the Egyptian god of evil, chaos, and storms. He killed his brother Osiris and cut his body into pieces, and then was defeated by Horus. His head is that of an animal that looks kind of like an aardvark but is not an actual existing creature (at least not anymore). He was associated with the color red and the desert. His name possibly means "one who dazzles."

Shadow: Self-explanatory.

Silas: From Greek, means "from the forest." In The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, it's the name of a [spoiler]vampire.

Silver: The color of the moon, and it looks nice with black.

Sinistra: Technically, it's Latin for "left," but it obviously has "sinister" connotations.

Skiá: Greek word for "shadow" or "shade."

Skotos: Ancient Greek word for "darkness," especially the darkness of death or the netherworld, or obscurity.

Skuld: The last of the Norns (Fates), representing death. Means "debt."

Sombra: The Spanish word for "shadow."

Somnus: Roman name for Hypnos, sleep.

Spyridon: Greek name referring to wicker baskets, which implies wealth. Could also be connected to the Latin spiritus, which means breath or spirit. Usually shortened to Spyro.

Stella: The Latin word for "star."

Stheno: Greek, means "forceful." The eldest of the Gorgon sisters.

Styx: The River of Hate in the Greek Underworld, the most famous of its rivers. The souls of the dead are ferried across it by Charon, and the gods (foolishly, if you ask me, seeing as they always regret it) swear on the Styx to make unbreakable oaths. The word "Stygian" means "of the River Styx" and refers to something very dark or abyssal.

Summanus: Roman god of nocturnal thunder.

Sylvia/Sylvana: Latin, "from the forest."

Tanith: Phoenician, "serpent lady."

Tartarus: The deepest hell-pit of the Greek Underworld, where evildoers are punished.

Tempest: A wild storm, from the Latin for "time."

Thanatos: The Greek personification of Death.

Tiamat: Babylonian primordial dragon goddess.

Tisiphone: One of the Erinyes (Furies), the goddesses of vengeance. Means "murder-retribution."

Tristan: Welsh, "riot, tumult." (Although it sounds like the Latin tristis, which means "sad.") The name of Isolt's lover in Arthurian Legend, and the name of the protagonist in Stardust.

Valerian: Roman, means "strength" or "valiant," also the name of an herb.

Vega: (Unisex) Latin from Arabic, means "falling" or "swooping," a star in the constellation Lyra. It is one of the brightest stars in the entire sky.

Veles: Slavic horned god of cattle, forests, magic, and the underworld.

Veliona: Slavic goddess of death

Velvet: A fabric that most goths love to wear.

Vervain: An herb (verbena), meaning "sacred bough," considered a magical or holy herb in multiple cultures.

Vesperus: (or just Vesper), a Roman name meaning "evening." (Vespera for a girl)

Vespertilio: A genus of bats.

Victor: The first of the trio of gothy male "V" names, means "conqueror," as in "victory." Frankenstein's first name. (Victoria also works for a girl.)

Vincent: The second of the trio of gothy male "V" names, also meaning "conquering," from Latin.

Vivian: The Lady of the Lake in Arthurian legend. From French, means "lively." (Another name for the Lady is Nimue, which is Welsh and may be related to the Greek word for "memory." She sealed Merlin in a tree.)

Vlad: The third of the trio of gothy male "V" names, the name of Vlad Tepes or "Vlad the Impaler," the real-life Romanian prince who inspired Count Dracula. It's Slavic and means "ruler."

Willow: A beautiful and mournful-looking tree.

Winter: The dark, cold season. Unisex!

Yvaine: Scottish, means "evening star," the name of the star in Stardust.

Zagreus: The name of a chthonic Greek god who was potentially a son of Hades and Persephone or Zeus and Persephone, considered in Orphic lore to be Dionysus before he was dismembered and reincarnated.

Zillah: Hebrew name meaning "shadow."

#names #goth names #writing #gothic names #character names #mythology #gods and goddesses #literature #gothic lit #name list

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roseserpentpress · 5 years

Text

Ash Lynx, Seymore Glass and the Fisher King

To all about to read this; in short this is an analysis dealing with Ash lynx from bananafish (the lovely manga), a perfect day for banana fish (a short story by J. D. Salinger) and on Arthurian lore with some other literature and lore stuffed in there somewhere.

Also, I am profoundly sorry to the ridiculous way I write once I begin an analysis as all my training for how to write an essay kicks in. This also got longer then I expected. Apologies aside, let us begin;

As BF (the manga) is inspired by the short story by Salinger, some commonalities are found in between the protagonists; Seymore Glass, and Ash Lynx, or Aslan Jade Calanreese. To begin I shall require an analysis on Seymore Glass, and to begin that a short treatise of what the short story is in fact about.

Ash Lynx and Seymore Glass

It is mostly agreed upon that the short story, "A Perfect Day for BananaFish" by J. D. Salinger, is a commentary on post WWII consumerist culture; the protagonist in the short story, Seymore Glass, had fought in WWII, and had been recently released from a mental hospital, with other characters in the short story hinting that it was earlier than he should when it begins. Because of his experiences in the war, he is disillusioned with the consumerist society he is in; people live a very superficial self-absorbed lifestyle, their attention focused on material objects and their outward appearance, thus causing miscommunication.

Seymore glass, as one begins to inspect the details expressed by the author, becomes evident of being a Christ-like character; not necessarily mimicking Christ's actions, in which in part he does do, but in the literary sense as a character who perceives and understands more than the other characters (think Simon from The Lord of the Flies). This is a key attribute of his, which is evident as it forms his name, which a young girl, Sibyl blatantly observes- “see more” glass. Interestingly enough, it is this heightened perception that causes -in my belief, and many others- his suicide (some people argue the reason would be pedophilia, but this does not fit into the structure and overall theme of the story).

Just as Seymore Glass ‘sees more’ than the individuals around him due to his experiences in negative aspect of humanity, Ash does as well, both of them becoming 'Christ-like characters’, and even are portrayed in holy imagery, with the allusions of the actions of Seymore to the literal actions of Jesus, and Ash being compared multiple times to an angel, somehow each displayed as coming from a different, ‘higher’ plane of existence. However, although they are each drawn in 'holy imagery', they are shown to be both terribly broken people due to their traumatic experiences, and in their stories are attracted to individuals portrayed as innocent and pure, ie. Eiji and Sibyl respectively. Both, due to direct correspondence to those individuals at the end of their stories, choose to die, understanding that they could never return to being innocent, in life style or perception, due to their unwanted ties to their past, and so could never live a happy normal life.

For Ash lynx this was due to his gang life and the mafia stemming from his forced prostitution, understanding that no matter what he could do he could not escape the life that he had been thrust into and lived; the end result, in eventuality would be a violent death anyways. Also, if he had just postponed, then Eiji would perhaps be involved as well, and so he chose to bleed to death within the library at a point in his life in which he was actually happy. Meanwhile, Seymore's suicide was due to that he perceived he would never be able to leave this self absorbed and superficial society, and that those who are perceived as pure and innocent, in the end only become as self absorbed, in his conversation with Sybil. Both choose to die, due to the understanding that they could not leave this negative or superficial world that their past had created for them -one literally and one perceived- and return to being innocent and thus happy.

An interesting note in all of this, is the oversimplification of Bananafish as explained in the manga, bananafish being purely a fish if seen causes an individual to become harmful and aggressive to others and themselves, which instead doesn't touch the narrative of the self serving consumerism and superficiality of society, twisting the nature of the story. This is interesting as bananafish itself has thematic similarities on society.

On the Waste Land and The Fisher King

This section is a bit farther removed from “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and it's literary allusions, so one can take this next few paragraphs as a grain of salt; of how much there is coincidence I am unsure. Although the mangaka's expansive knowledge of literature is impressive, so who knows.

Also found in a “Perfect Day for Bananafish”, is allusions to TS Eliot's poem, “The Waste Land”, a poem about post-war England and Europe, which Seymore directly quotes in the story. The allusions reference not only a specific section of the poem, but also characters found in his poem, Seymore represented as the Fisher King (from Arthurian lore) and Sibyl as her name's sake, Sybil (from Greco-Roman lore). These characters however are not singly expressed by TS Eliot as hinted; in fact, “The Waste Land” was heavily influenced by myths and legends, and so these characters can also be traced back to their respective mythos, which can often have multiple versions. As "The Waste Land" less establishes their own characters, I will cover the basic background of each character from their lore.

The Fisher King is from Arthurian lore, and is the last king in the line of one who was granted and entrusted to the Holy Grail. He is injured in the 'thigh’ area (highly suggestive of euphemism for groin area), and so due to his crippled state he is waiting (and in the meanwhile, fishing as it is one of the only things he can do, ie, this is where he got his name) for an individual to entrust the Grail to, thus allowing the Fisher king to be healed (and to die).

The possession of certain genitals in the past had very definitive gender roles and sexuality ascertained to them; so the injury of the groin gives the king homosexual context, which is furthered by another detail, which is said in a few versions of the tale that Holy Grail is accompanied by a spear, and that each night the spear must be inserted into his wound for him to survive. Being a peice of queer literature, BF shares the homosexual pinnings of the Fisher king. Even the forced sexual acts of the protagonists are shared, the spear akin to Ash's forced prostitution for survival. Another interesting note on this, when the worthy one comes and receives the grail, it causes the healing of the king which then allows him to die, is mirrored in Ash and Eijis relationship; Ash falls in love with Eiji (one could argue the grail here is his love), and his "wound" (sexual abuse he had received) becomes healed (being enabled to move past it) and then, in direct relation to his love of Eiji, he chooses to die, as the Fisher king is finally allowed to die in the passing of the grail.

There are also thematic similarities; this is seen in that as the groin wound would cause infertility of the King, this impotency was reflected onto his kingdom, it becoming a barren wasteland. This 'barren wasteland of a kingdom’ is heavily referenced in Eliot's poem in regards to post-war consumerist culture, which further emphasizes Salinger's thematic point. However in each theory both (Salinger and Eliot) are attempting to create are differing response to this acknowledgement of the superficiality of society; although this is differentiation is interesting, it is however not pertinent to my discussion. What is important is that they both agree that this Western modern culture is a superficial barren wasteland; in other words, a facade of culture. This society in large being a facade, and in fact an inhospitable self-serving and corrupt wasteland is a theme also displayed in Bananafish, as politicians and influential individuals are shown to be corrupt and self-serving, and the main face of politics a farce of niceties to appease an unknowing and apathetic public.

Interestingly, in some versions of the tale, the Fisher King is actually comprised of a father and his son; the father being referred to as the Fisher King while his son called the Lame Prince. Both the Fisher King and his son are wounded in the groin area- the father so badly that he is unable to walk, and the son less so, but still only able to walk short distances. This relationship between the father and son of the Fisher King is rather similar to the relationship between Ash and his older brother, who became a father figure as he cared for Ash when they were younger, and is unable to walk and is rather unresponsive.

#ash lynx #the fisher king #seymore glass #literary analysis #bananafish #ash×eiji #aslan calanreese is that how you spell it #bananafish manga #Eiji #is thus fandom dead i wrote this like a year ago and never got around to editing it i think its dead now #rip #also spoilers i guess?#arthurian lore #the waste land poem #ts eliot is mentioned #jd salinger #most of these writers in actuality were dicks #also i know the mangaka alluded a lot about ernest hemigway but i fucking hate his misogynistic ass so no #does that really add anything to the post? no but i wanted to say it anyways hes a peice of shit and promotes the patriarchy #BF manga #BF anime #bananafish anime #greco-roman lore mentioned as well i guess #a perfect day for bananafish #sibyl #muninspeaks #surprise im not dead too lol #commentary on capitalist consumerist society #do i actually know how to hide things behind those click to know more things? no i dont im so sorry

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sabraeal · 6 years

Text

We Seek That Which We Shall Not Find

“Name.”

The word itches in her ear as she stares at she box, stymied. She’s used to the ones at the apartments, where you press a button and talk, but this one is smooth, sleek, barely more than a speaker. It’s meant to not ruin the line of the gate.

Shirayuki shifts, staring up at the spear-points of the finials, the toe of one sneaker scratching at her ankle. She hadn’t known -- Zen hadn’t told her there’d be some sort of gate keeper. She’s known he was well-off -- hard to miss that, with the sort of gossip that went around him at the school -- but she’d thought -- Mcmansion. Three car garage. The usual sort of extravagance.

She was not expecting Wayne Manor, complete with wrought iron gate and stylized W, driveway stretching endlessly behind.

“Name.” Also complete with disembodied voice. “Just say it. We can hear you.”

That...does not make her feel any better. “S-Shirayuki.”

A sigh huffs out of the speaker. “Full name.”

“Shirayuki Nowakowski?”

“Are you expected?” the box demands, with about as much emotion as a toaster.

“Uh.” She stares at the brick wall, at the little spearheads on top of the gate. “I’m here for D&D?”

There’s no answer from the box this time, just a buzz as the gates swing open. It’s so slow she’d be waiting whole minutes if she was trying to drive up. As it is, she slips through the gap as soon as it’s big enough to fit her.

She turns back when she’s halfway up the drive, just in time to see it open fully, standing there like there’s an actual car to let through. She giggles at that, stumbling over some curbing, and –

“PLEASE DO NOT STEP ON THE GRASS!”

“Oh gosh!” she yelps, dodging the aggressive spray of a sprinkler. “It was a mistake!”

The sprinkler, for its part, is unmoved. Her left sock is partially soaked. A great impression to make the first time she does – whatever this is going to be.

Fun, she hopes.

Shirayuki’s seen a bunch of fancy entrances in her time. She grew up in a Victorian townhouse with full veranda, wrapping front to back, and most of the neighborhood was the same, save for where houses had been pulled down in the 50s to make room for pre-fabs.

Still, this isn’t -- this isn’t a porch, the wood musty and probably rotting in places, just waiting to give an unsuspecting kid a splinter they’ll never forget -- it’s a portico, all columns and statuary, like she just strolled up the lawn to Pemberley. There’s even a round-about that goes through it, so that cars can drive right up, and -- it’s a lot. Just a whole lot.

She gets to the front door -- real wood, she can tell, inset with tasteful stained glass that does not look like it came from Home Depot -- and fully expects a butler in full dress at the door, Jeevesian accent in full force as he asks, your coat, madame?

So she’s not expecting Izana. Not at all.

The number of things she knows about Zen’s brother could fit on the palm of her hand in nine-point-font, double spaced.

Bullet One: He’s older, not even in college anymore, though she’s not quite clear on what he’s doing now. Something important, from the way Zen always talks about him.

Bullet Two: He’s actually serious about this whole Dungeons and Dragons thing, or as he gently corrected after he first anxious text, Pathfinder. She never quite worked up the nerve to ask how long he’s been playing, but it’s long enough that he’s as comfortable modifying its rules as she is with a bread recipe -- he spent most of their first conversation trying to explain gestalt, but she really didn’t understand much beyond being able to start with two classes instead of one.

Bullet Three: He’s even more serious about Arthurian Myth, to the point where she’s sure he must have minored in it or something. He sent her the full text of Le Morte D’Arthur -- in English, thankfully -- as prep for the game.

Meeting him, she can now add bullet point four: he’s extremely, extremely tall.

“Shirayuki,” he says warmly, looming over her with almost a full foot of height. She’s seen him before, met him before, even aside from their late night texts about her character, but – not this close. Mitsuhide’s even taller, but somehow it never seems like this, like something she should be aware of.

“Oh!” she yelps, clutching at her hood. “I didn’t – you – I thought someone –“

“Security told me you were walking up the drive.” He says it so simply, like everyone has 24/7 surveillance at hand. “Can I take your…jacket?”

She shrugs her hoodie closer around her. “N-no! It’s fine. I get cold easy.”

He shrugs. “If you want.” He turns, clearly expecting her to follow. “Do you need me to validate your parking? Next time you can come right in. We have plenty of room, but I can send someone out to put a pass on your windshield. They’re a little strict about street parking here.”

“Oh no, it’s fine,” she assures him, wishing her voice didn’t tremble. “I took the bus.”

His steps stutter on the stairs. “The bus?”

She stops herself just short of saying, do you know what one of those is?

He recovers. “I didn’t know there was a bus stop near here.”

There isn’t, but she doesn’t want to explain how she walked almost a half hour from the nearest one to here. “I don’t have a car. Or a license! So…”

“Hm.” She’s not sure what to make of that sound. “I’m sure we can figure something out.”

“Shirayuki!” A chair clatters against the wall as Zen stands, slipping around the side of the table to…stand an awkward distance from her, as if he’s not quite sure he should hug her or shake her hand or – just let her exist in space. Mitsuhide, for his part, is half out of his seat too, while Kiki hasn’t moved an inch, only giving the barest nods as a hello. “I’m glad you could make it.”

She opens her mouth to say – well, something, she hasn’t really planned that far ahead, -- but –

“She took the bus,” Izana says offhandedly, sitting at the head of the table. It sets off a chain reaction across the room.

“The bus?” Zen’s face is a mask of horror. “Shirayuki, you should have said something. I could have sent a car around.”

She doesn’t miss how he says a car; it comes out so easily she’s not even sure if he knows that it isn’t normal for people to have drivers that can just…go pick people up. Without them there. It certainly doesn’t seem to faze Kiki, and though Mitsuhide makes a face, it’s a resigned one.

“Not to worry,” Izana drawls easily, spreading out his screen. “We have another player coming from that side of town. I’m sure he wouldn’t mine carpooling.” He glances up, gaze fixed over her shoulder. “Right, Obi?”

“There’s worse things than driving around cute girls.”

Shirayuki spins, staring up -- and up -- into a pair of gold eyes looming above her. He takes a step down, right beside her, and then he’s nearly normal height, only a head or so taller than her, mouth quirked into a grin.

Zen scowls. “Who is this?”

“Our other player,” Izana says easily. “You inviting Shirayuki reminded me you were very much missing another important role in your party, and I asked Obi if he’d be willing to fill it.”

Zen frowns. “Do you know how to play?”

His shoulders twitch, barely a shrug. “I played Skyrim at a friend’s house, once.”

Zen looks like he’d like to argue his credentials, but Shirayuki offers, shyly, “You’re already doing better that me.”

Obi stares at her, eyes round, as if he’s not used to -- to anyone taking his side. It last only a second, and then he’s back to his grin, back to his gaze sliding off of her like she’s furniture. “Guess we’ll see about that.”

You have heard of the great castle of Tintagel, but even the tales pale to the halls you are walked through. Everywhere, blue and silver hangs, a dragon and a lily sewn over every one, and when you reach the great doors to the throne room, over them is carved in bold script: Toujours Beau.

Always Beautiful. Always Good. The Pendragon way, it is said. You only hope that it is so.

You are instructed on how to approach the throne: head bowed, stop three steps from the dais, and perform an obeisance. You are glad to be reminded – you have long resisted your lessons, and now, when you need them, you wish you had paid attention.

You have barely dropped into your curtsy, when you hear a soft gasp, when you hear soft footsteps on the stairs, and suddenly you are being lifted upright.

“There is no need for that,” says the man that holds you. He is swathed in blue and silver, a coronet on his pale hair, and you know – this is Arturius, Prince of the Angles. “No women must humble herself before this throne.”

“My lord,” you manage, confused. His hands leave you, and already you breathe easier.

“Come, tell us what must be done,” he says, stepping back, taking his place on the dais once more. And empty throne, larger than the one he takes, sits beside his.

“My name is Lynet,” you say, “and my sister --”

“Lynet?” Zen frowns, craning his neck to see her sheet. “I thought you were going to be Gwenhwyfar.”

“I was,” Shirayuki says, gritting her teeth. “But I read around, and Lynette seemed a lot more –“

Interesting. Not that Guinevere wouldn’t have been, but – Lynette had possibilities. Possibilities that didn’t say healer girlfriend.

“We talked it over,” Izana interjects smoothly. “And Gwenhwyfar was more of a cleric/druid build, which Shirayuki wasn’t interested in.”

Mitsuhide’s brow furrows. “So what exactly are you?”

Force bursts from your hands, magic trailing like crystal flowers from your hands as the missiles shoot straight through the quintain. Sir Bedwyr stands next to you, solid as a wall, stymied.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve had arcanists in Tintagel,” he says finally, smile wide.

“I’m not so bad with potions, either,” you offer, blood rushing to your cheeks. “And a bomb or too might be in my purview as well.”

Zen may not be pleased with her choice of character, but Arturius Pendragon, Prince of the Angles, is enchanted with Lynet, and hardly a half hour passes before he is pledged whole-heartedly to her quest to free her sister from dread enchantment.

Obi’s character has still not made his debut.

“Just what are you supposed to be?” Zen asks crankily, after they’ve had their break. “Do you have some quest or what?”

Obi looks up from his phone. “Oh yeah,” he drawls, mouth quirking up in a grin.

Izana glances down at his own phone before setting it aside.

“Shirayuki.” She startles, glancing up at him. “I’m going to need you to roll Reflex.”

“An arrow?” Arturius paces his study, incensed. “Someone dared to harm you in Tintagel, my own home?”

“I dodged,” you offer weakly. Morgaine, from where she stands, slowly shakes her head. His sister would know as well as anyone how intractable the prince could be in this temper.

“There was a message as well, brother,” she says, holding out the scroll. “’To our red haired guest…’”

There are more incidents like that over the next hour. Lynet locked out of her rooms in the tower, flower pots from high windows, all manner of accidents.

Obi keeps looking at his phone. So does Izana.

“You missed,” he says suddenly, while she’s preparing her bombs. “Shirayuki, I need you to roll me initiative.”

The knife hits your desk, rattling your alembic on its burner, and finally you cannot ignore it anymore. You whirl to face the shadows, unnatural in their corner, and spread the salve of true-seeing over your eyes.

It is a man, or something like, twisted ram’s horns curling back along his head and around his ears, eyes darker than night, only a slit of gold to mark them in his face.

“You!” you call out, no longer afraid, but – annoyed. “You are the one who keeps trying to kill me!”

He tries to run for it, but you’re ready, bag of tanglefoot bursting as it lands on the stone. He trips, wines wrapped around his ankles, struggling. You storm closer, immune to the touch of your own magic.

“Kill!” he coughs, smiling wildly as you lean over him. “Kill is such a strong word!”

“Apparently,” you deadpan, hands on hips. “Since you keep botching the job.”

“Botching?” His smile takes a wicked edge. “Is that what you think?”

You tumble, his hands around your wrists, hot and strong like bands of iron fresh from the fire. It tickles, really, you realize as you lay under him.

He stares. “Are you…?”

“I’m an alchemist,” you sigh, wriggling restlessly under him. “Do you really think I’d make bombs without some kind of protection?”

His grin breaks wide, into a smile. “You are the most interesting woman I’ve ever met,” he admits, the heat in his hands dying until it’s…almost pleasant. “Do you happen to have a sister?”

You groan, rolling your eyes. “Gods --”

“Unhand her, scoundrel!” Arturius shouts from the door. “Never fear, Lynet, I heard your calls for help --”

You stares. “I didn’t call for help.”

Arturius stares.

“You didn’t?” Zen says, brow furrowed. “Are you --?”

“Yes,” Shirayuki sighs. “I thought I could handle it myself.”

“Mm,” Obi hums, pleased. “Beaumains certainly feels handled.”

“You’re certain you renounce your ways?” Arturius sighs, annoyed. “You won’t try to harm Lady Lynet?”

“Quite sure,” Beaumains the tiefling assures them, with little conviction. “No point after being caught. And if you pay me more coin than my last master –“

“We will.”

The room startles as Uther, King of the Angles strides in, resplendent even without his royal vestments. “I think it only makes sense that since you tried to take the life of Lady Lynet, that you should now be charged with protecting it.”

“Brother --” Arturius objects, but it’s cut short by a wave of the hand.

“There is no one better,” Uther tells him. “After all, even if he will not speak the name, he knows who plots against her, does he not?”

Shirayuki knows she should feel uneasy getting into a car with a man she doesn’t know, even if he’s apparently a friend of a...friend? But even though Obi’s spent the last three hours trying to kill her character, she sees his beat up Honda rusting on the side of the street and doesn’t even feel a twinge of doubt when she slips in.

“Sorry it’s not the town car,” he intones, not sounding anything like Izana, but still, she knows exactly who he’s imitating. “If i knew I was going to have a passenger, I would have at least stocked the minibar.”

“It’s all right,” she assures him, trying to smother her smile. “I think I would be afraid to leave fingerprints on the leather if you did.”

“God, right?” He shakes his head, pulling off the curb. “Our Overlord there tried to offer to have someone pick me up, and all I could picture was some butler rubbing his glove over the seat and pulling up dirt. No thanks.”

She laughs at that, tucking herself into the corner of the seat. It’s not a long drive to her part of town -- their part of town -- but it feels even shorter with Obi, who keeps her giggling almost the whole time.

“Beamains,” she says, eyeing him warily. “That’s not his real name, is it? You didn’t decide to call him Beautiful Hands.”

“He does have beautiful hands.”

She gives him a flat look.

Obi grins. “Beaumains has many names, and many secrets.”

They pull up in front of the apartments, and she tells him, “Sounds like an answer from someone who would name their character Beaumains.”

His grin widens, and there’s just -- something. Something more in the way he looks at her, like he -- he sees her. It’s almost soft, but not -- not the same softness Zen has when he looks at her, half-hopeless and half-determined, like she’s a puzzle to be solved.

He’s handsome like this. It’s a devastating realization, and she tries to -- to un-have it. If only to keep her heart from doing what it’s doing in her chest, to keep her hands from breaking out in this clammy sweat.

“Hey,” he starts, almost awkward, “you wouldn’t...”

He hesitates, eyebrows drawing down, like he’s -- he’s thinking.

There’s a part of her that just wants to bolt, wants to run up the walk and disappear inside to have an existential crisis in peace. But there’s another that wants to stay, that can’t help but wonder what all this -- this tension is. “I wouldn’t...?”

“You go to school with Zen, right?” he says, suddenly very...removed.

Her breath tangles in her chest. For no reason at all, we’re just friends sits uselessly on her tongue. “Yeah, I’m a senior.”

“Great.” Both of his hands grip the wheel, knuckles nearly white. “That’s -- great. I guess I’ll see you next week?”

She wants to ask what he was going to say, but there’s something about the way he’s turned, not quite looking at her, almost -- disappointed? angry? -- that makes her say. “Right, next week! Text me when you’re on your way.”

“Great,” he says as she slips out, closing the door behind her. She’s halfway up the walk when he calls out, “Hey, your birthday though...?”

“May!”

“Right,” he sighs, his whole body slumping into his seat, one hand lifting to his temples. “Right. Next week. Text before I come over. Perfect.”

He drives away, and Shirayuki can only wonder at the disappointment in her chest, at the way things feel unfinished.

“Oh well,” she murmurs to herself, hands trembling as she tries to fit the keys in the lock. “There’s always next week.”

#obiyukibingo2018 #Dungeons & Dragons AU #obiyuki #akagami no shirayukihime #my fic #ans #the struggle with this fic was not getting ENTIRELY TOO LONG #or entirely too technical #because listen i know everyone's character #they're all level 7 #because the campaign has gone on long enough that they're finally competent #Atri used to be their fighter/rogue but STUFF HAPPENED #and there's only been the three of them since #if you've never heard of gestalt it's a subset of rules #where you get all the class skills and feats of having two classes #but the stat bonuses of one #so you just get the higher number for saves per level #and you only get your single regular feat every other level #unless you play classes that give you bonus feats #NOT LIKE THIS MAKES SENSE TO ANYONE but it's a cool rule subset #it allows for a more broad character build #ANYWAY enjoy obi being a tiefling thief/sorcerer #also enjoy his existential crisis #because he has realized Shirayuki is 17 #and he is 20

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