#[ prior knighthood. ]

[hanafubukki]

Excerpt: Tomorrow, tomorrow Malleus would return home. Without him. Lilia had planned to never return to Briar Valley. Now, he never would. His home lost forever. 

He sent them away. 

Two knights, haggard and stalwart, reluctant to leave. 

Lilia understood. 

They have sworn their life and fealty to Malleus Draconia.

Their care for him extended even beyond something as simple as duty and loyalty, 

But they needed their rest.

The journey tomorrow would be a taxing one. They’d need all the rest they could get. 

After tomorrow’s journey’s end, there would be no more knighthood for the two. They would need to look for a new path. Their chosen path too painful to continue now.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow, Malleus will take his final journey home. Without him. Lilia had planned to never return to Briar Valley. Now, he never would. His home lost forever.

Malleus Draconia would be returning home in a coffin carried by his two knights. 

A coffin Lillia himself put together. Made with glass and magic.

Engraving and weaving intricate designs through slightly shaken hands. 

Cushioned with the finest silk Lilia could find on such short notice. A pillow cushion made for horns for one to sleep comfortably. Given long ago. 

Not as fine as it could be as a prince deserves.

But Lilia didn’t see the reason why it should be. 

Malleus was just a boy. 

His boy.

He didn’t deserve to have his sleep cold and unfamiliar. 

He should be surrounded by that which he loves and made him comfortable.

And this was just that. 

Tomorrow. 

Malleus would return home.

Lilia would remain behind. 

It wasn’t shame or grief that stayed his hand. He would rather be quartered and shamed in front of all of Briar Valley for not protecting Malleus. 

He was simply too tired to make the journey. 

A truly cowardice move on his part.

He didn’t think he could watch them lower Malleus’ body into a special pit made for his burial; in a mausoleum made for past royalty without throwing himself into it to join him.

A Father couldn’t bury his own son. He didn’t have that strength in him. 

Trembling fingers wipes at stinging eyes. No, he can’t.

Not right now.

He doesn’t want his tears to mar Malleus.

He bathed Malleus with fragrances of evergreen and the sweetness of vetiver and oak moss.

He smelled like home.

Lilia has never prayed to a higher being before. 

Rarely believed in them.

Having seen what he had. War. Bloodshed. Death.

But he prays now.

Please 

Please.

It was too quiet. 

Bath time was never this quiet. 

Running after a spitfire. Once on four legs and then two. Stumbling. Always hating bath time.

It was loud. It tested Lilia’s speed even back then.

But they both adored it.

Lilia prays.

Please. 

It’s too quiet. 

His prayers go unheard. 

Lilia smooths the silk, tucking it close. He didn’t want him to be cold. Lilia moves the gifts lovingly given close to Malleus, knowing how he would have preferred to have them next to him.

Malleus is cold. Too cold.

He stares at the items before him:

Lilia remembers passing by Silver’s room a few days prior. Broken sobs muffled by the door. Lilia hesitated for a moment. Contemplating passing by, letting the boy deal with his grief. No. How could he? When it was restraints and buried feelings that led them all to this situation? 

When Lilia enters the room, it’s to a hunched back and shaking hands. The moon reflects silver strands but what stands out the most is the brown of acorns spread around. Lilia is quick to hug Silver and the boy breaks down in his arms. 

An acorn bracelet. 

To live a long and healthy life.

He remembers watching Sebek when the boy thought he was alone, chipping away at stone and wood.

Over and over.

At every chance he could.

Sebek had chosen to wrought a crest of his own design, to wish his lord happiness and reunion. For him to be surrounded by love.

Lilia watched him silently, supporting him from the shadows. 

Lilia’s eyes blurs as he lays a hand over the plush.

A gargoyle plush.

He had seen it during one of his travels. Had thought of Malleus right away.

Malleus loved gargoyles even from a young age. Lilia recalls the excitement he felt when he gave the young one his present.

Malleus’ smile had been worth it. His smile bright as he hugged the plush close to him until Lilia had called it a gargoyle, then he had pouted and called it a grotesque because, “It had no use.”

Lilia remembers the laugh he gave out then, “Of course it has a purpose, it’s to protect you when I’m not around. He’ll protect you until I arrive, be it from your dreams or anyone until I arrive.”

Malleus had smiled wide with fangs then, cheeks slightly red with childlike joy as he hugged Lilia.

Lilia had thought Malleus had outgrown it. Having not seen it for decades.

What a surprise it had been to find it on his bed. When he had finally, finally, taken the courage to enter his room.

A frail and old thing. Mended over and over. With stitches uneven to expertly sewn. From the nimble hands of a child to that of an adult.

Lilia recalls breaking down right then and there. Clutching the plush to his chest. Rocking back and forth as if he held a child.

His boy. His boy. Where is he now? Why won’t he awaken? Why won’t he answer?

The scent of evergreen was still fresh from where he had buried his head. A plush still in use. Lilia cried til his voice was hoarse.

A journey’s end. 

His end.

Never again would he see that smirk 

Nor calm a storm's anger 

Never again would he be able to pat midnight strands as they looked upon him with fondness.

Never again would he be able to say-

I love you 

Lilia's knees hit the floor.

I love you.

Lilia gasped. 

His breathing coming quicker, uneven. 

Malleus knew.

He had to know.

Right? 

“The Senate! Even Grandmother lied!”

No. Malleus had to have known.

“What dream would you like, Lilia? One with mother and father? One where you live happily with Silver?”

Frame shaking. 

No. 

Did he never say? 

Hands clawed into his face.

No. No. No!

He must have.

He never did.

Lilia dragged his body up, heavier than ever before.

Ignoring the stinging from the cuts he made.

Please.

Body barely holding himself over the one in eternal sleep.

A hand gently cupping a too-cold cheek.

Lilia prays.

The Great Seven.

The Thorn Fairy.

Any Powers That Be.

Please let him hear these words now.

It's too late.

It's too late.

Lilia grits his teeth against the wobble of incoming grief.

Please.

I beg of you.

Let him hear me.

"I love you."

Words spoken in a cracked voice.

"I love you, Malleus."

Lilia sobbed, clutching at the robe beneath him.

Don't take him aw-

"I love you too, Lilia."

He froze.

His heart stopped, and the very blood in his veins froze, but it was the hand on his own that had his gaze shooting up.

Soft green stares back at him as tears fall from one freshly awoken.

A desperate cry with a flurry of movement.

Hands desperately clutching and pulling Malleus to his chest. Ignoring and uncaring of the damage he caused to fine silk clothes.

His Heart.

His Heart Returned.

A wail vibrated the walls alerting the heavens high above.

A sound unheard of for centuries.

True Love brought back a Son to His Father.

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to Baby Malleus hatching and to the love that changed Lilia Vanrouge forever. You both worked so hard and I’m so proud of you two. I love them both so much. True Love My Beloveds. 😭🥳💞

I’ve been working on this project for about a few months on and off (it was fighting me as much as I was fighting it; while half the time sick lolol) 😂😆. It’s a project that I was very passionate about, so I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it. This fic started because of the need, the need damnit, I have of Lilia and Malleus to say “I love you” to each other verbally. You know what they say, make your own wishes come true.☺️🥰💞

Shout out to my beta reader, @world-of-hearts, Amy for beta reading this and all the feedback/ideas she indulges me with when I go to her for opinions. Some of these scenes (like Sebek’s gift) were influenced by our talks and picking at each other brains.💕🫶💚🫂

There are deleted scenes, commentary, and some fun facts that I included below that I hope you guys will like 💕🫶 (I haven’t had a fic with deleted scenes, etc. in such a long while, so you know I was going all out with my battle with this story lolol). I am rambling too much lolol. I'm just excited to share this piece. 🌺💕💚

Thank you so much for reading. ☺️🙏💚

Deleted Scenes:

Silver’s Acorn Bracelet:

Lilia shakes and recalls words that would be branded in his mind forever. 

“It was a gift that even Malleus was jealous of.”

“You always asked me if I was envious. What if I am?”

He would have been, wouldn’t he and Lilia was blind to it all. 

An acorn bracelet that could grant long life let alone bring back a loved one. 

A gift given out of love.

A gift that would never have the chance to do as intended. 

(AN: I didn’t keep this scene because I didn’t want the gifts to be ‘useless’ nor did I want the scenes to get to depressing. Because these gifts are given out of love and thought, it wouldn’t feel right for their feelings to reflect bitterness and what could have beens.

And yes if that line, “You always asked me if I was envious. What if I am?” Seemed familiar, it is. It’s from this fic. You can technically think of this fic as a sequel to that one if you want.)

Sebek’s Gargoyle Gift:

Something from Sebek, he had seen Sebek toil away at tools and books during the few times he was relieved of his watch. Chipping at stone till hands are raw and grazed with cuts. Gargoyles. Sebek had chosen to put gargoyles. Something Malleus adored. Gargoyles. Ones who are feared and misunderstood but also strong and protectors. Just like Malleus. Lilia had offered to hang the gargoyles by the sides of the coffin, but Sebek refused. 

He wanted them with his liege, so he wouldn’t be lonely.  Gargoyle who became a grotesque. Purposeless and just for show. Just like him. 

(AN: The same reasoning as Silver’s this was taken out. I didn’t want a gift that given out of love to be seen so negatively even by the characters. After all, it was their last gift to their liege and someone they loved.)

Lilia’s Rose:

His vision blurs as he looks at the flower placed right next to Malleus’s head

A dried-up flower from Malleus-a memory Lilia revisits, magic low, only glimpses of a prideful yet shy smile, presenting him with a rose he had grown. Some petals singed from excitement, but shyly given.

Lilia had kept that flower, preserved it with magic; when his magic started fading so did the spell on the rose but he kept it safe and loved all the same.

(AN: I took this out because Malleus wouldn’t want Lilia to return his flower to him. Young Malleus gave it to him out of love for Lilia. Malleus would want Lilia to keep it and likewise, Lilia wouldn’t be able to part with it. It’s precious to him, just like the Acorn bracelet is.)

Malleus's Hug:

Malleus holding him just as tight, cries muffled against a shoulder that had felt big when he was younger but small to him now.

(AN: I did initially describe Malleus returning the hug but then took it out. This whole story was in Lilia’s POV and I wanted it to stay that way. It felt as if I was breaking the narrative a bit by switching and I didn’t want that. It started with Lilia and ended with Lilia.)

Fun Facts:

Malleus’ Scent

Vetiver, Oak Moss, and Evergreen are the scents described in Malleus’ Valentines 2024 room fragrance. It smells like the forest and while strong, it’s also has gentle tones. It smells like home to Lilia because it’s smells like the forest surrounding the cottage. The woods that protect his home and also the very lands Lilia has always known and grew up on.

It smells like home because it smells like Malleus since he was small to how he’s grown now. To Malleus, Briar Valley has always been his home; but most of all, it was that cottage that he felt the most comfortable and free.

You can read more about the scents and their details here

Lilia’s Heart = Malleus

There’s this special analysis that I will write based on this that I’m really looking forward to releasing. But essentially, as a preview for you all, it’s how Malleus is the reflection of Lilia’s heart. He is Lilia’s heart. Malleus, who is the reason why Lilia finally manifested his UM, is also the reflection of his soul.

You can kind of get the idea of what I mean UM wise through this fic. (Which you can also think of this fic as a sequel to if you choose.)

The Bathing Scene

The bathing scene is inspired from my culture. We bathe our dead loved ones and then wrap them in cloth. Of course in this, Malleus wasn’t wrapped in cloth but he was bathed by a loved one. In my culture, only those close to the one who passed away/family can do this ritual. During this bath, you’re not allowed to cry because that would take away “the purity” of the bath. So that’s why Lilia didn’t allow any of his tears to fall or touch Malleus.

I thought it was very fitting and a perfect way for Lilia to reflect his grief/cherished memories to show. When else would you wish for your prayers to come true the most? Except at this most vulnerable time?

Strikethroughs Texts

I don’t normally use too many strikethrough texts in my fics because I worry if it’s readable/hard to read for the audience. But for this fic, I made an exception.

I felt for Lilia and the story it was needed. My thought process was that the strikethrough texts was a part of Lilia that was keeping him together. A part of him that was in denial but also that part that is the last bit of strength and that inner voice in your head.

I don’t know if I’m explaining it well but when Lilia says, “I love you.” You’ll see the strikethrough texts are gone from then on. In this way, it shows he’s overcome that last bit that held him back. He was finally able to express himself and his love fully which leads to Malleus waking up from his True Love.

“Lilia’s knees hit the floor.”

This was the first scene written and literally everything came after. I had nothing else planned besides this line. This scene was the start. Something about the shock and impact of Lilia falling to his knees in realization. It just…it hits you? You know? Because it’s Lilia. And eventually, I was able to find the right ending to continue from there/end the story. It really is about trusting the process.

[velvetdolor]

for the thrill of the hunt. (m)

♱✮♱⋆ masterlist: chapter i,

♱✮♱⋆ word count: ??

♱✮♱⋆ pairings: ancient vampire!seonghwa x ancient vampire!reader x prey!wooyoung/poker player!wooyoung (eternal!throuple) LOL (san! x reader—but that’s gets its own story.)

♱✮♱⋆ tropes: murderers to lovers (LOL) y/n and seonghwa have been married for centuries and seonghwa is a very dramatic and whiny husband despite trying his best to be a mysterious vampire + wooyoung’s a methodical airhead!! small amount of a reincarnation trope. there will be elements of fantasy/knighthood and mythology/mythological creatures centered around the medieval ages when we delve into their vampiric lore/backstory. (chapter one only) after the backstory, we will return to the present time—where we are currently facing your dilemma with seonghwa AKA the main plot.

♱✮♱⋆ genres: smut, comedy, angst, fantasy/supernatural, fluff

♱✮♱⋆ warnings: 18+ MDNI—depictions of blood, gore, murder, war, and references to substance abuse, side character death, depression, brief mention of death by sui*cide, and s/h. switch!seonghwa, seonghwa’s quite literally insane, switch!reader, momentarily sub!wooyoung, brat!wooyoung, honestly rude dom!wooyoung, some religious metaphors utilized in sexual situations, threesomes, solo play, regular play(?) some mxm action but everyone’s f**king each other to be completely honest, a F*CK ton of spit, knife play, biting, blood play, a seriously prolonged roulette game, asphyxiation, mentions of an orgy, probably will add additional chapter warnings when the actual chapter is posted, a murder plot gone wrong, and very ancient vampires who still collect coupons and hate rich people despite being rich themselves #neverforgetwhereyoucamefrom #hypocites

♱✮♱⋆ summary: being an ancient vampire sucks sometimes—both literally and figuratively. when seonghwa refuses to feed and forces himself into a deep slumber after declaring that he’s unwilling to face the painful boredom of everyday life, you’re forced to devise a delicious plan that’s heinous enough to awaken your very mopey husband. this is why jung wooyoung— a world star poker player with not only a great mug to pair with his skills, but the world’s rarest blood type, golden blood— gets a big red x on his photo that you shoddily pin onto the wall of your dining room when your frustrated efforts at getting your husband to stop moping grow frantic. your villainous husband— not one to opt out of a well crafted game, rises to join you on this particular excursion. the mission? play an all stakes game of cat and mouse with jung wooyoung’s life—

for the thrill of the hunt.

loosely inspired by the webtoon, MOONSTRUCK by Jellyfish.

♱✮♱⋆ update: might be a short series (five chapters or less) might not —the world may never know because i certainly don’t. updated the fic to angst, since shit got a bit dark when i actually started writing it. first chapter tackles way darker subjects and undertones + is lots of cool backstory! we won’t be getting deep into the comedy/smut aspect until chapter two. please read the warnings of this series prior to reading— as there’s a decent amount of descriptive gore and side character death.

authors note: literally could not resist drafting this at four a.m—seonghwa has been flooding my feed and i’ve been getting too much vampiric inspo for me to NOT write this and writing for wooyoung is always literally such a joy for me. while i doooo say i won’t pick a bias for ateez because my attention fluctuates too much—if i had to pick one it’d probably be wooyoung. <3

posting this eventually, and might drop the chapter the same time i finally drop the first chapter of my other seonghwa two shot series, fatal attraction. LOL

i have both chapters already written (for both series) and planned to have posted sooner but..they don’t feel perfect yet and so i’m still going to take time to edit, cut out, and add until it feels good to post!

[amaltheas-garden]

Jon and Sansa will bring the story of Rhaegar and Lyanna full circle:

We have very few details on the relationship between Rhaegar and Lyanna, but what we do know is Lyanna was in an unwanted betrothal to Robert at the time she disappeared with Rhaegar. Whether she went willingly or not is up to speculation. Aside from Robert, most accounts agree that Rhaegar embodied the fairy tale prince-like character (prior to the war). Lyanna wept at the beauty of his music, and was crowned his queen of love and beauty before leaving her family forever. Her story ends alone in Dorne, dying in her bed of blood, abandoned by the man she thought would save her, begging to go home.

It's easy to see then, the parallels between Lyanna's ill-fated romance and the romantic dreams of her niece, Sansa Stark. Although the two share few similarities in personality and hobbies, both became enamored by princes who hide their darker nature, and lured them away from the safety of their homeland, before going to war with their families. However, Lyanna's story ended far from the North, dying in childbirth, whereas Sansa has escaped that fate (even more interesting considering Lyanna's book storyline is a near one to one of Sansa's in the original outline). And, if we recall the very beginning of A Game of Thrones, Robert proposes to Ned that they wed Joffrey to Sansa, joining their houses as he and Lyanna might have. There is a conscious effort on Robert's part to set the past right through the relationships of their children. So right from the jump Sansa is cast as the Lyanna stand in, though she too escapes her "Baratheon" betrothal, and is on course to run straight into Rhaegar's son (as per the girl in grey theory).

So where does Jon lie in all this? If we take the girl in grey prophecy to be about Sansa, we know the two will meet sometime in the near future. Sansa has already become disillusioned of her chivalric ideals of love and knighthood (that's not to say she doesn't believe in heroes and honorable knights, just that she's far more skeptical of surface appearance), and yet, it will be her bastard brother who will embody the traits of the hero Sansa has been searching for. Rhaegar appeared as the perfect prince, yet was the one to kill Jon's mother, and Sansa, in a similar situation, is seduced by the charm and beauty of Prince Joffrey, only to be exposed to his vicious cruelty, narrowly escaping his family (even more interesting to consider Lyanna, had she survived, would not have been Queen, as Elia was still his lawful wife, and would be considered a mistress to the King as there was no chance of her escaping Rhaegar now that she carried his child, similar to Joffrey marrying Margaery, while threatening to make Sansa his mistress). Jon on the other hand is the brooding, solemn, plain-featured bastard, sharing no traditional qualities with that of the typical hero. That is to say, he's about as far from Rhaegar as you could get. And yet, it is Jon who commits himself to defending and protecting those who cannot (Sam, the wildlings, Alys Karstark) because that's who he is. No songs are sung for the men of the Nights Watch, he doesn't gain anything by protecting those others might deem weak, unworthy, or exploitable, but he does it anyway. Jon does not look nor act the part, but the strength of his moral character is what distinguishes him as the unconventional hero of the story.

I would also draw a comparison between the legend of Azor Ahai sacrificing his wife Nissa Nissa and Rhaegar's "sacrifice" of Lyanna, to bring about the third head of the dragon he thought necessary to save the world. After reading @/stormcloudrising's phenomenal metas on Sansa's connection to Nissa Nissa/the Amethyst Empress, I believe the idea of sacrifice will appear again in relation to Jon's character arc. Many in the fandom have speculated that AA/NN and the Bloodstone Emperor/Amethyst Empress are one and the same, the former featuring the sacrifice of a wife, the latter a usurpation of a sister. Sansa already occupies the (false) position as Jon's sister, while Jon has refused to usurp her rights as heir to Winterfell. However, with Jon's parentage reveal, the opportunity of a Jon/Sansa romance becomes possible, potentially elevating her to the status of love interest. And, if we're going with the NN/AE are the same theory, it would mean she occupied the role of both sister and wife. As for Rhaegar, his prophecy obsession is what led to him endangering Lyanna, placing his need for the third dragon above her own safety, ultimately killing her. Jon spends a good chunk of ADwD with Stannis, a claimant to the title of AA/the Prince that was Promised, who similarly struggles with the question of sacrificing one life to save the world, "What is the life of one bastard boy against a kingdom?” (ASoS) To which we already know the answer, Everything. Stannis, like Rhaegar, will fail the moment he sacrifices Shireen to fulfill his "greater purpose". Daenerys is also a claimant to the title, and we will likely see a contrast between how she and Jon approach being Rhaegar's heirs and inheritors of the prophecy. Stannis will lose everything after Shireen's death, the same as Rhaegar when he left Lyanna to die, condemning House Targaryen to death in the ensuing war. Jon will likely face a similar decision of sacrifice upon discovering he could be the subject of prophecy that consumed his father and once honorable king. And just as he refused to usurp Sansa's claim, he will reject the sacrifice of a loved one (lover perhaps?) as prerequisite to fulfilling his role as AA/TPtwP.

Jon's character always comes back to his identity as a Stark. Discovering his true parentage will undoubtedly be a source of inner conflict, culminating in his decision between Stark and Targaryen (spoiler: its Stark). It's a classic case of sins of the father, and how Jon asserts himself as an individual outside of his father's tainted legacy. Jon being the hero to Sansa and helping her return home would effectively resolve the generational conflict caused by Rhaegar's "kidnapping" of Lyanna away from the North. Rhaegar caused immense amounts of pain to the Stark family through his one act of selfish cruelty, which Jon will rectify through one of loyalty and selflessness. And narratively, Lyanna's son being the one to save her niece and return her to Winterfell would just be so chef's kiss.

[quarterlifekitty]

What if 👀 fire emblem three houses!AU

In this— I imagine you and all of the guys are graduates of Garreg Mach officer’s academy. They’ve all become knights of Seiros, while you, being a bearer of the crest of Seiros, are being groomed to take up a higher position of authority within the church. (Thinking of having Laswell as the archbishop. Wouldn’t that be funny?)

Gaz is noble born but decided to become a knight, leaving the care of his house to his sister. He started as a myrmidon and eventually became a swordmaster. He was something of a heartbreaker in his academy days, though you remained immune to his charms then and now. He bears a major crest of the elite. He’s more concerned with your safety now that you have an important position.

Soap is a commoner, and began as a brawler, now a war master. In his academy days, he cared much more for training than studying, and was constantly pestering you to spar with him. He tries to show more deference now because of your position in the church, even though you’ve said there’s no need. He bears no crest.

Ghost began as a mercenary and mage, and now is a mortal savant. He bears a minor, unknown crest. His allegiance is only really to individuals, rather than the church— namely you and Price. In his academy days he was know for being unapproachable, with not much having changed. He resents that you’ve been pulled further into the fold of the church without being given much choice, but is by your side in the matter regardless.

Price is a paladin, and is of an earlier graduating class, though his years and yours did overlap somewhat. He bears the minor crest of a saint. He’s loyal to a fault to the church, perhaps, and now you’re grouped in along with it.

Nikolai is from Price’a graduating class. He is a wyvern lord and has a knack for animal handling. In your academy days, he teased you relentlessly for being smaller and having no shortage of issues when it came to learning to bond with mounts. He gives you a smug sort of smile whenever he has to bow in your presence. He bears no crest.

König is a noble, bearing a major crest of the elite. His family expects him to withdraw from knighthood when he is needed to take command of his house, and he’s dreading that day. He was a cavalier and is now a great knight, with training as a bow knight. In your academy days, he was known for his complete lack of affinity for all types of magic, and for spending more time at the stables than in the presence of others. He had hoped to propose to you upon your graduation, but your being ascended into a church position has delayed that. He’s waiting for the right moment.

Horangi is a disinherited noble, as he does not bear a crest. He’s since found his way through many walks of life, and worked as a mercenary prior to becoming a knight. He is a trickster, having both an affinity with the blade and for healing magic. He is loyal to you still— where his employment as a knight began purely in self interest, he now holds some belief that you might actually better the world through your new position, where he finds other church officials do nothing more than uphold status quo.

Nikto is a dark knight. He grew up at the monastery, though he did have a stint outside of its walls traveling, he came back and was granted admission to the officers academy, partially due to his martial prowess and partially due to his bearing of a major saint’s crest. He has the greatest affinity with dark magic, and that combined with his unwavering use of a mask has made others distrust him. Despite this, he is grateful to the church for its support in his life, and sees no better path for himself than serving it for as long as it doesn’t inconvenience him. He dislikes many of the other knights and does not see them as truly loyal. As such, he is often keeping tabs on which ones are close to you and attempting to get closer.

@machveil heehee 💖

[tremendouskoalachild]

how old can the Stranger conceivably be?

we don't know - and aren't supposed to know - at this point, possibly ever.

but with the recent-ish releases of The Visual Guide (reference book by Pablo Hidalgo) and Wayseeker (novel by Justina Ireland) we can narrow it down!

I: show-only extrapolation

the Stranger was Vernestra's student. at some point he left the Order in a way that made Vernestra assume him dead. he also has old scars matching Vernestra's signature weapon, suggesting a confrontation between the two.

Vernestra is pretty old. not only does she have a position of authority within the Order and with Republic leadership, we know she remembers middle-aged Sol as a shy youngling.

Osha came into the Jedi Order 16 years ago, and left 6 years ago, by the time of the show's present-day events. the Stranger very strongly suggests his departure was old news by the time she joined.

assuming he was at least a teenager when he left the jedi, and stretching Osha's unawareness of him to her not remembering the confusing drama around the time she joined as a little kid, he's at least in his 30s (with no real upper limit from the show itself).

II: taking into account the High Republic books

(i think the books can't be used to answer the show's mysteries, because the show is meant to stand on its own, both from a creative and economic standpoint; however, everything suggests the creative team is taking their lore into account and won't conflict with them.)

Vernestra is 16 years old at the start of the book series, which takes place 200 years before The Phantom Menace, and around 20-ish when they end (the exact chronology of the latest books and upcoming finale of the series is not firmly established yet).

the show doesn't clear up the exact year it's set in within its text ("one hundred years ago" referring to first THR book events in the flashbacks, "a hundred years before the rise of the Empire" in the opening text) but was described as set 100 years after the beginning of THR and 100 years before TPM prior to release. assuming very roughly a century since the books would make Vernestra around 116, let's say 100 to 125, during the show.

Vernestra's first Padawan, Imri Cantaros, reaches Knighthood around the time she is 19, towards the end of the book series (yes, the circumstances are special).

it isn't unheard of to take a student older than yourself (Grogu and all that), but we don't tend to see this scenario with human Padawans.

i'm gonna make this weird and say that with the THR books and show in mind it's conceivable the Stranger is around a hundred or even older. likely? fuck no. but the dark side is a pathway to many abilities some would consider unnatural.

III: incorporating Wayseeker

(the book was written after the season was done but before and while it aired, and on a pretty hectic schedule, by Justina Ireland - Vernestra's creator. it was also written before the show got cancelled. there are allusions to Vernestra's last apprentice but nothing specific, and the timeline is pretty wishy-washy.)

we learn that the Stranger was the final one in a series of Vernestra's Padawans as of the book's timeline (presumably going on into the show - Mog is notably not her Padawan). however, this doesn't really narrow the timeline down at all; we only know she had at least three (though probably more) students over the decades. how long one stays a Padawan is highly individual, especially in newer media, not to mention frequent examples of a master dying or otherwise leaving and another Jedi concluding the Padawan's training.

Vernestra had a falling out with a colleague around or slightly over a decade before the book, and had recently marked "another" anniversary of her last student's death at that point. that suggests he has been presumed dead for at least 12 years during the book's events.

we don't get any significant hints at how long ago this might have been beyond that - the characters who discuss the possibility of Vernestra taking on another Padawan referencing her tragic experience are fairly old themselves, and don't give us any more context.

Indara is 26 at the start of the novel, and the plot of the book takes place over several weeks. while the show itself doesn't give us Indara's age, i think it's reasonable to say she might be in her 50s during the present-day events (Carrie-Anne Moss' age during filming), and several years older than Sol. let's go with very roughly 20-35 years between Wayseeker and Indara's death in the show.

Vernestra's age in Wayseeker is not specified beyond "nearly a century" in her own internal narration. the events of the book series, during which she was a teen, are also described as (nearly) a century ago several times. since i trust Vernestra's knowledge of her age over the historical precision of several characters, i'll say the oldest she can be in the book is 99 years old.

it has been at least 3 decades since the Stranger's presumed death as of the show's timeline, likely closer to 4 or more. continuing the reasoning that he was at the very least a teen at that point, the youngest he could be in the show would be in his late 40s (this approximation already contains several edge-case assumptions, so i'd say it's highly unlikely, but we're keeping our options open). keeping Vernestra's age as the upper boundary, the oldest the Stranger can be during Wayseeker is in his 90s - adding the 2-3 decades to get to the show, he could be well over a hundred years old.

IV: considering The Visual Guide

(material for the book was collected during the show's production and airing, and many minor pieces of information were clearly decided after the fact. the book incorporates information from the Kelnacca comic and Wayseeker for character biographies. it specifically omits information that Lucasfilm doesn't wish to reveal yet - or ever - including the Stranger's age, which is listed as "unknown".)

Indara's character page includes a timeline of her life, giving us a concrete way to anchor Wayseeker to the show: she was 26 during the book and 54 in the show's premiere. the book therefore takes place 28 years before the show's present-day events.

Kelnacca's page has a similar timeline of the last century of his life, giving us a way to relate show events to THR's chronology. we know he was 149 years old when assisting in the Starlight Beacon recovery mission (which occurred at the end of THR Phase I, around 2 years after the books start; Vernestra would be around 18 at that time, and it would be over a year later that she reconnected with her missing Padawan Imri and knighted him). Kelnacca was 248 at the time of his death in the show, and 231 during the Brendok mission (seemingly dating the show flashbacks 17 years earlier, though this is perfectly fine - the mission took months, and we don't know when his birthday is). the show is therefore set around 99 years after the Starlight Beacon's fall (which would also put it 99 years before TPM).

since some 28 years passed between Vernestra's Padawan being at minimum 12 years gone and the show, the Stranger could be at the very least in his late fifties, likely older. Vernestra is around 117 years old in the show, and there doesn't seem to be anything directly conflicting with the Stranger also being over 100, though it would be very unusual.

[goodqueenaly]

One aspect of Ryam Redwyne I only recently appreciated is how Ryam might have become influenced to join the Kingsguard, where he of course became so famous. It’s important, I think, to remember that Ryam, although presumably born and raised on the Arbor, seems to have spent much if not most or all of his adolescence at court. When Jaehaerys I appointed Lord Redwyne as his master of ships in 50 AC, Lord Manfryd “came to court with his young sons Robert, Rickard, and Ryam, squires all”. Given that all three brothers would participate in royal tourneys over the coming years, and that their father would continue to serve in that office for the next two decades, it’s entirely possible that Ryam remained at court largely if not entirely full time until (especially since Ryam, as a third son, would not have been needed at the Arbor to learn to rule). 

For an adolescent Westerosi aristocratic boy, the court of King Jaehaerys I in the 50s and 60s AC may have seemed like a sort of Westerosi Camelot, a capital of knightly splendor and prowess. Ryam and his brothers would have just missed seeing the War for the White Cloaks the year prior to their father’s appointment, but they surely would have heard the stories of it from courtiers who had been there to witness it - seven days of wild, raucous, thrilling combat involving hundreds of knights or would-be knights, with the victors “prov[ing] themselves second to none in valor, chivalry, and skill at arms”. These winners had joined a Kingsguard so fabled that Gyldayn would later write that “never did any Targaryen possess a Kingsguard who could equal the boy king’s first Seven” - and those white-cloaked seven were on full, immediate display for Ryam and his brothers on a daily basis. Nor indeed would Ryam and his brothers necessarily have had to comfort themselves only with observing these knights from afar. Since the Redwyne boys came to court as squires, they may well have served the Kingsguard knights themselves in such roles; at the very least, they would have been in prime position to train with Jaehaerys’ seven on a regular basis (much as we see young King Tommen do with Loras Tyrell). The Redwynes’ proximity, physical as well as chivalric, to these men who would become legends in the annals of the Kingsguard, would I believe have deeply impacted Ryam’s conception of knighthood generally as well as the Kingsguard specifically. This was perhaps the first era in which the knights of the Kingsguard were objects of fame, awe, and admiration, and Ryam was at court to see and interact with them firsthand. Young Ryam did not have to merely dream of the kingdom’s elite knightly brotherhood, as young Bran did at the start of A Game of Thrones; he could see and talk to, train with and imitate these men directly, on a daily basis, at the very moment he was being honed into a future knight himself. 

Nor indeed would Ryam have only encountered these Kingsguard, and the other knights at court, only in passing or during training. In Ryam’s youth, two different grand tourneys were held, in at least one of which Ryam competed. In the tourney celebrating the completion of the Dragonpit in 55 AC (a celebration his own father had suggested), his two elder brothers earned great praise at the event: eldest brother Robert “showed his prowess with a lance against the best realm had to offer” (in what Gyldayn described as “especially splendid” jousting), while middle brother Rickard not only won the squires’ tourney, but was knighted by the king himself following Rickard’s victory. Ryam may have been too young to compete in this squires’ tourney too (or simply did not beat his elder brother), but he almost certainly would have witnessed this great event firsthand; now, not only would Ryam have observed some of the greatest jousters from across Westeros showcase their abilities, but he would also have had his elder brothers set a high bar for his own chivalry development. When, therefore, a few years later another tourney was held, this time to celebrate 10 years of Jaehaerys’ reign, Ryam may have seen the joust as the opportunity to show his talents before the king and court: in besting two of the Kingsguard (including one of those original seven for King Jaehaerys, Lorence Roxton), and becoming the champion, Ryam may have felt he had fulfilled the chivalric dream he had been cultivating for the better part of a decade. 

Overseeing these tourneys was, of course, King Jaehaerys himself, and here too I think Ryam would have found inspiration for his own path to knighthood. Ryam was, after all, likely not too different in age from the king: given that Ryam was a “young gallant” in  58 AC, and certainly no younger than 16, it’s likely that Ryam was born somewhere in the late 30s or very early 40s AC - in other words, perhaps only five or so years after Jaehaerys himself had been born. Ryam would have seen in the king a near contemporary - and specifically, one who took his own martial training incredibly seriously. Jaehaerys trained daily, for hours at a time, with the members of his Kingsguard, so hard that even Dragonstone’s master-at-arms believed the king could best the late Maegor in a contest of arms. In observing King Jaehaerys, Ryam would not have simply been looking at the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, but a tough and experienced warrior and knight in his own right. Jaehaerys may have seemed, for Ryam, to be a king who personally emphasized and embodied the importance of knighthood and martial excellence, in both himself and those with whom he surrounded himself. Ryam may have therefore seen Jaehaerys as another source of inspiration on his, Ryam’s, knightly journey - a king-knight of an age with himself, leader of a seemingly model Kingsguard.

So when Ryam finally did join the Kingsguard, I think the invitation may have been the culmination of Ryam’s years of chivalric dreaming. He who would become a legend on the Kingsguard himself was, I think, inspired from adolescence to admire and idolize the chivalric heroes at Jaehaerys’ court.

[newcathedrals]

who was Augusta Chiwy?

Episode 6 of Band of Brothers is a masterpiece, but I think writer Bruce C. McKenna made a huge error in only including Augusta Chiwy as a background character with no name in the episode, while Renée is a focus. I did some research on this amazing hero, who honestly deserves a miniseries of her own.

Renée Lemaire and Augusta Marie Chiwy (pronounced shee-wee) were nurses that lived in Belgium before the Battle of the Bulge. They volunteered to help Dr. John ‘Jack’ Prior (who was assigned to the 20th Armored Infantry Battalion) when the battle started. Dr. Prior evacuated the wounded soldiers he was taking care of from Noville to Bastogne as Noville was taken by German troops. Lemaire and Chiwy both volunteered to help Dr. Prior take care of the massive amounts of wounded men who were brought from the front lines into Bastogne. 

Augusta was born in Belgian-colonized Africa (in the part that is now Burundi) to a Belgian father and African mother. Her family moved to Belgium when she was a child, and she trained as a nurse there. She was visiting Bastogne to see her father when the Battle of the Bulge began. She chose to use her skills as a nurse to help the soldiers who were trying to defend Bastogne from German forces. 

Augusta Chiwy was heroic in her work during the Battle of the Bulge. War historian Peter Chaddick-Adams wrote that “Chiwy accompanied ‘Doc’ Prior to collect casualties from Mardasson Hill, north-east of Bastogne, wearing a GI uniform because her own clothes had become saturated with blood.” Chaddick-Adams wrote that Dr. Prior thought that bullets missed Augusta as she was out on the line because she was “so small.” Augusta was only 23 years old when she cared for hundreds of soldiers during the battle. 

Renée Lemaire was killed by the Luftwaffe on December 23 when German aircraft bombed the Bastogne aid station, along with thirty wounded soldiers who were also inside. Augusta Chiwy was blown through a wall but miraculously survived the bombing. Her contributions to saving lives, and providing comfort to many soldiers in their last moments were largely unrecognized until 2011, when Augusta Chiwy was granted Knighthood by the king of Belgium for her service in the battle. The American ambassador to Belgium also presented Chiwy with the Civilian Award for Humanitarian Service. At this ceremony, Chiwy said: “What I did was very normal. I would have done it for anyone. We are all children of God.”

She passed away at 94 years old on August 23, 2015. 

Sources:

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/world/europe/us-honors-belgian-nurse-for-heroism-in-world-war-ii.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/augusta-chiwy-forgotten-african-nurse-of-battle-of-the-bulge-dies-at-94/2015/08/27/8ff843ec-4bfb-11e5-84df-923b3ef1a64b_story.html

Snow and Steel: The Battle of the Bulge, 1944-45 by Peter Caddick-Adams, pages 374-375 

[lemonbeemon]

Where I think Miquella’s Followers were from and what their lives were like Pre-Shattering; A Short List

(Disclaimer that this is purely for fun and comprised of headcanons. I do not claim anything below as irl lore.)

Needle-Knight Leda; An orphan, probably from around Leyndell or somewhere on the Altus Plateau. Her life was misfortuned long before she met Miquella and swore herself to knighthood, so she has an unhealthy attachment to her "lord".

Redmane Freyja; A Redmane obviously, but I think her family likely originated from Limgrave. She started her career as a warrior/duelist long before she joined Radahn's army and rose through the ranks quickly due to her experience and prowess.

The Hornsent; We learn about his life a little in the dlc, but I hc him as a very different person pre-Marika and his family's death. A religious man and a homemaker, its no wonder he went insane with grief and hatred. I imagine he was absolutely WHIPPED for his wife and was the sort of dad who lets his kid put him in ridiculous outfits because it makes them happy.

Sir Ansbach; You're TRIPPING if you think this man wasn't a member of Leyndell's high society prior to meeting Mohg. The grace, the class, the educated mentality. This man was likely a noble or wealthy educator of some kind, and I hc that he was the organizer behind most of Mohg's ambitions & early cult years. He taught Mohg to be a leader of class and wit, and Mohg taught him to embrace his bloodlust. In my mind, they were together from the beginning and now Ansbach is alone.

Thiollier; There is a somewhat popular theory that this weak kitten boi is a surviving member of the Shaded Castle. AKA the noble House Marais. And you know what? They're right. Not only is he french-coded, this youthful tarnished was almost certainly wrote to reflect the emotional outcome of child neglect/abuse. Before meeting Saint Trina, it's clear he had little to live for. Like Leda, I hc that his childhood plays a large part in his obsessive personality towards a "savior" figure.

Sir Moore; This sweet pest obviously grew up in the Land of Shadow. I hc that he was in fact born a member of the forager brood & spent his young years exploring old ruins and unearthing unique "treasures" of the Hornsent v. Messmer war. Later, he learned incantations through the Rot to transform himself into a more human appearance and was likely the first to join Leda and Dane when they followed Miquella through the veil. He was always a valued member of the group, and I imagine Leda and Dane were too soft on him to consider killing him in timeline where the Tarnished convinces him to stay out of the final battle.

Dryleaf Dane; A reserved man, he was likely born to somewhere on the Altus Plateau and became a missionary for the Golden Order. He left the Lands Between long ago to spread the word of Marika, and likely went so far West he was in the East once more. I hc that he spent over a decade in the Land of Reeds learning martial arts, and likely only returned to the Lands Between Post-Shattering. Dane gives big "white man goes to Japan to learn how to be a Samurai" energy, the kind from those old movies your dad loves (you know the ones)

[sicklyseraphnsuch]

Choice

I love the callback to the Choose Your Own Adventure game that ironically Homestuck masqueraded as at the very beginning. Remember when the kids' names were voted upon?

Then slowly but surely, the story strips away those idle fantasies that the audience had Any Real Choice in the matter, progressively going deeper into how Everything Was Fated To Be. In the way "Paradox Space" is set up, every choice you make was already made aeons ago by some inscrutable force that made the decision for you. Free Will was an illusion etc.

Also check it: the only other options are "start over", "go back", or "save game" which doesn't meaningfully change anything. In most pages, not all, you're Stuck in the same story regardless, faced with the same =>.

It goes beyond the "you can choose left or right but you didn't build the roads". It's really that you were always going to pick left, because to choose right would destroy the very timeline you lived in. It was determined aeons ago that you would pick left.

This of course maps to the overall metaphor of childhood and parenthood. The Guardian in Homestuck is the first inscrutable force that predetermines how the Child's day would go - how the Child's life would go. (It's a classic child management trick, give the child a false choice when really they're going down the same road either way.)

There's also all the ways that the metaphor of parenthood and childhood is related to biology. Each Guardian and Child pair is blood related, even if the closest blood relative may not be fit for parenthood (Bro, Mom, Grandpa, etc.) There is a social (which is what Skaia stands in for) obligation to care for one's blood relations. A concept that is reflected on the literal blood relations in the beasts of Alternia that must match the bloodtype of their little trolls.

It was never really a choice. The Game must be played. The players must be assembled. The heroes must be taught. The Alpha and Beta kids were raised for The Game (for their specific roles, for knighthood, princehood, etc.)

And in a twisted inversion: these kids grow up to raise their kids for a specific game too. The so-called game of life. They must be Normal. They must have 9-5 jobs. They must reproduce and reside within these predetermined steps that their parents have outlined for them

The metaphor comes Full Circle. From Skaia being the stand in for social pressures that adoloscents everywhere feel they must adhere to, that the parents specifically raised them to adhere to, to Actual Self Inflicted Social Pressures within the parents to adhere to absolutely Made Up Rules for what is Normal. We're less metaphorical and more literal now. They have internalized Skaia (socialization) and inflict this internalized Skaia (socialization) onto their children. There Must Be A Game and The Game Must Be Played and These Are The Rules.

And for once, Vriska (yes that Vriska) breaks that.

the thing that makes Vriska becoming a guardian so Potent comes down to a very simple thing: choice

(barring The One) these are not children of her blood - which prior to this all guardians were (even and especially the beasts of alternia who were specifically meant to share blood).

and i think that matters So Much, especially given the emphasis Homestuck puts on bloodlines and lineages and social obligations. Because Vriska doesnt have Any of Those (except for nominally Vrissy) for these kids. I mean the closest example is the Sufferer's. But even then, everything gets shaded by Skaia's/Lord English's implicit influence. In this scenario, we're so fundamentally far from either influence (which is essentially the same influence lbr). Vriska has nothing to truly compel her to take Anyone with her back to the other timeline, especially kids that are mostly not even the same species (race) as her, which double as a counterpoint to all the emphasis on blood relations before.

Their cultural upbringing could not be more different and this goes double for her actual biological clone That is where this move strikes me as Breaking the Cycle. Someone steps up, not out of biological necessity (which Skaia/Lord English can also be mapped onto) but simply because hey. These kids need an out. She could give that to them, when literally no one else is arguing for it.

And one more thing: In the subtext of cycles, Homestuck maps that to nurture - generational trauma - learned prejudices etc. Who raises you gets to form a Big Part of yourself and it's the part that you get the least control of.

Except here. The kids Want out. Where their parents were more or less "prepared for the game", whether they like to acknowledge that or not - they were. Even Dad. In a twisted inversion, the omega kids are being prepared for a "normal life". And again the cycle of "why dont we ask our kids what the fuck they want" continues, wherein the parents are acting out of obligation to "what they believe is necessary" or even vicariously living through them.

And these kids? They get something that none of their parents, and especially Vriska, ever got: a choice.

The adoption goes both ways.

[400badrequest]

How did Jane Austen shape fan fiction?

HI HELLO YAY SOMEONE ASKED

by god i could go on and on here and i WILL.

so, to nip it in the bud; Austen didn't yknow, pioneer the novel or romance. There was a lot of very strong female writers around her time (Eliza Haywood, Charlotte Lennox, Fanny Burney (biggest female novelist of her time, massive influence for Austen), Maria Edgeworth, I'll get onto this later) BUT she is the reason we have a lot of romance tropes.

Prior to her, in the 18th century, it was moreso that romance was a very masculine genre; Barbara Fuchs writes “A tale inverse, embodying the adventures of some hero of chivalry, esp. Of those of the great cycles of medieval legend, and belong both in matter and form to the ages of knighthood; also, in later use, a protale of a similar character” and she's not wrong at all. Women were the prize - even if they were married or whatever, it was about being worthy of the woman. Things would happen to the women and the man would handle it. On top of that, the perfect man and the perfect woman would meet; then it would just happen and they'd just get together, the bad get punished. The end, yay.

But Austen shifted things away from men; mainly because she was concerned about the inner workings of women, because she wouldn't know what male only spaces were like. In her time, you were so rarely alone with a man. If you were lucky, you'd dance with him at a party or be in the same room as a man with your entire family So of course she only spoke about what happened in female-centric spaces. Okay, i'm getting off topic. Whoops- Though Austen does this thing where she brings the romance forward as the primary of the novel, instead of a subplot. Everything else happens in the background, while the romance and interpersonal relationships are brought to the forefront - just like a lot of fanfic!

She was also so concerned with the growth of characters. Before her, it was often that characters were one thing throughout the whole novel. In Pride and Prejudice, Lizzie fucks up again and again - she trusts the wrong person, says the wrong thing. Lydia runs away! Mr Darcy continually insults Lizzie! It's awesome. Because they all grow and change and develop. On top of that, the bad aren't always punished - Mr Wickham, Mrs Bennet and so forth are complex enough as characters that there's no... like, holy retribution. It's great. (Sorry, I really like Pride and Prejudice right now, it's on the brain.) Is that not such an inherently fic-y thing to do? Flesh out characters solely because we can?

Now, in regards to the other female authors; yes, they all were pioneers in their own right, and not acknowledging that makes this a farce. But this is about Austen, so i'm not going to go on abt them. Interestingly, the title of Pride and Prejudice is pulled from the end of Cecila by Fanny Burney - which cmon. we ALL do that, pulling titles from other words! It's great!

Also, Austen was funny. She was sarcastic and tongue and cheek - she's not someone you just read at face value. One of her most famous lines is -

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

We all know it. But good lord is it sarcastic. Try reading it out loud, stressing a different part each time and it'll click that she is not serious at all. And in context of the novel - Mr Bingley and Mr Darcy aren't in Meryton for wives but to buy houses. She's a sarcastic little shit. Also, while it's not something we pick up on, the carriages she gives people are super specific - like, she men carriages who where dicks like… the teslas of their time lmao

AND. AND. Free indirect discourse. It's thee most written form of fanfiction. You cannot prove me wrong. Now what is free indirect discourse? Mm? It's third person where you go into the eyes of a character! Woo! One of the best examples is from Emma when she writes

"Why was it so much worse that Harriet should be in love with Mr. Knightley than with Frank Churchill? Why was the evil so dreadfully increased by Harriet’s having some hope of a return? It darted through her with the speed of an arrow that Mr. Knightley must marry no one but herself!"

It's that well-worn and loved writing form where we get to see things omnisiently, but also feel how characters process things. I love that this is essentially the Austen ver. of "Oh. Oh." It's great.

Look, Austen is great. She doesn't write about aristocrats and unrelatable people who are no more than moral summaries. Sure, it's not to say this wasn't done before her, but she popularised and did a lot of things that were only really acknowledged after her. I just really love her and how her writing style became so influential on writing and how we can see echoes of her throughout nearly every piece of fictional literature after her. All fanfiction is how it is because of Austen, whether or not it is romance or not.

Read Austen!!! Do it!!! She's great!

[zapiarty]

Sandman - Dead Boy Detective

1389 - Dream & Death meet Hob Gadling; who refuses to die 1489 - Dream & Hob form their Arrangement 1589 - Hob brags about how good he's got it, with a wife, a son, riches and a knighthood. Dream decides to leave early upon meeting William Shaxberd 1689 - Dream waits for Hob's arrival, who is at his lowest point in his life thus far, Dream expects Hob to ask for death now and is surprised when Hob laughs in his face and says "Death is a mug's game, I've got so much to live for!" 1789 - Dream warns Hob against getting involved with the Slave Trade, Lady Johanna Constantine interrupts their meeting, Hob comes to Dream's rescue briefly which amuses him 1889 - Hob wants to learn things about Dream, dares to suggest he's lonely and that they are friends, Dream storms off in a huff declaring he doesn't need Hob's company

1916 - Edwin Payne dies via ritual sacrifice to Hell by classmates at 16 - The Corinthian begins his mayhem in the Waking World - Dream of the Endless is captured & imprisoned by Roderick Burgess 1917 - Sleeping Sickness officially acknowledged - Unity Kincaid remains asleep

1926 - Ethel Cripps becomes Roderick Burgess' mistress - Roderick has his son Alex kill Jessamy the Raven - Ethel gets pregnant, steals the helm, sand, and ruby and flees - Roderick dies, Alex decides not to free Dream like he'd promised 1927? - Ethel Cripps gives birth to John D

? - Ethel bargains away the helm to a demon, sells the sand

1989 - Edwin Payne escapes Hell - Hob Gadling waits for His Stranger but he does not arrive (As Dream is still held captive in the Burgess' Estate) - Charles Rowland is murdered by classmates via hypothermia & internal bleeding at 16 in December of '89 - Edwin is there for Charles to ease his death; Charles decides to stay with Edwin instead of going with Death - Some point Edwin & Charles form the Dead Boy Detectives

1994 - Infamous Puppy Debacle (Charles got too attached to a living puppy?)

March 22, 1994 - Devlin Murders occur in Port Townsend, Washington

1997 - Great Fenwick Pixie Escape (puts Edwin at a loss)

2006 - Great Chewing Gum Debacle (stressor for Edwin?)

2015 - Rose Walker & her little brother Jed are split when Rose and their mother Miranda move but her father refuses to let Jed leave with them

2020 - Lyta's husband Hector dies via a car accident, Rose's ill mother dies near the end of the year

2021 - Dream/Morpheus is released & searches for his tools to rebuild the Dreaming - Unity Kincaid wakes the moment Dream is released - Johanna Constantine purchases the sand but left it at a girlfriend's place when she left her 6 months prior (resulting in her death via the sand) - Dream faces Lucifer in Challenge for his helm; wins & humiliates Lucifer - John D uses the Ruby to nearly destroy the world in an attempt to make a better one; causing mass destruction and death, destroys the ruby in an attempt to destroy Dream and replace him but this only returns the stored power to Dream in full

8 Months later: - Death & Dream have a talk, Desire & Despair plot to knock Dream's ego down as Desire's previous attempts failed (Nada, Roderick Burgess); focus turns to Rose Walker (Desire's Great-Granddaughter) - Dream reconnects with Hob at The New Inn; 30 years late but acknowledging their friendship - Rose Walker is the Vortex and looking for her brother Jed who dreams of being The Sandman (thanks to Gault) - Unity Kincaid asks Rose to meet her in London to reveal she's her Great-Grandmother (the Great-Grandfather being her Gold Eyed Man aka Desire) - The Corinthian attempts to use her to create a New Dreaming - Lyta Hall gets pregnant from her ghost husband in the Dreaming; Dream banishes the ghost from his realm as Ghosts shouldn't be there - Morpheus collects all his lost Dreams & Nightmares; returns the Corinthian to his base form - Dream of a Thousand Cats - Calliope's most recent "owner" slips up and she is able to send a message to Morpheus who comes to free her (by driving the man who binds her insane with ideas)

Late 2022 - Crystal Palace & David the Demon enter into a relationship

2023 - Edwin & Charles take on the Case of Crystal Palace on behest of Emma the Ghost

- Becky Aspen case in Port Townsend, WA; meet Esther the Witch, get trapped in Port Townsend by the Cat King - Niko Sasaki & the Dandelion Sprites Case - February 17; The Devlin House Case (Charles' history brought up, meet Monty) - Case of the Lighthouse Leapers (Charles & Crystal kiss, Night Nurse fed to Sea Monster, Cat King taunts Edwin with Monty & Charles' likeness in an attempt to get a kiss) - Case of the Two Dead Dragons (Edwin realizes he's truly in love with Charles as he comforts Charles after a breakdown, Monty steals Edwin's first kiss thinking Edwin was talking about him) - Case of the Creeping Forest (Monty's betrayal, Crystal's Awakening) - Case of the Very Long Stairway; Edwin gets taken back to Hell & Charles goes after him, Edwin confesses he's in love with Charles - Edwin meets Despair and she decides they are "friends" now - Case of the Hungry Snake; Niko dies (?) saving Crystal from Esther Finch in an attempt to rescue Edwin & Charles - The Lost & Found Department of the Afterlife "officially" allows the Dead Boy Detectives to work cases to help them help ghosts cross over in exchange for allowing them to stay together on Earth

[popatochisssp]

off the rails? poppy what else did you do

Well.

Here's the rest of The Court Au. :)

Undertale

-

House Snowmirth

-

A respectable family on the low end of nobility. They gained their status as entertainers, most famed for their performances during winter festivals, and there’s a long line of ice-carvers, jugglers, musicians, and more in their humble yet sought-after family.

The last head of the house was less than enthused by their frivolous reputation, an academic who hoped the family name would become synonymous with intelligence and higher education—which he did his best to instill in his only two sons. Results were…arguably mixed, as both certainly grew up well-read and quick-witted, but with little interest in a scholar’s life.

The eldest’s skill at humorous wordplay was fine enough to make King Asgore laugh for the first time since the Queen disappeared, and the younger was inspired by tales of heroism to chase glory of his own as a knight. Alas for their father, but the (metaphorical) blood of the performer runs strongly in them both.

The house crest is depicted as a snowflake, curved as if smiling, and denotes the family motto of ‘Greater Together.’

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Underswap

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House Starstryke

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A noble family, with its standing on the decline. While previously renowned for their brilliant tacticians and wise generals, prolonged peacetimes meant less need of their talents and their relevance at court diminishing by the generation.

The previous head of house did all in his power to regain the prestige he felt they were unjustly losing, seeking connections with many other nobles of higher standing—doing favors, striking alliances, and the like. He encouraged similar behavior in his sons, who both grew to be kind and generous young men…who care absolutely nothing for the standing of their house.

The eldest at least chose to seek some glory in pursuing a knighthood, but insists on earning it fairly, and the youngest has chosen to sidestep any attention at all entirely by shutting himself away to work in the archives, largely unseen. Well…though they don’t seem to care to elevate the family name, they at least seem committed to keeping it a good name and wearing it respectably.

The crest of their house is a shooting star in flight, an emblem of the family motto to ‘Choose Your Moment.’

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Underfell

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House Helflame

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A highly respected, wealthy and powerful noble family, famed for the long line of strong and ruthless soldiers it has always produced for the Emperor’s ranks. Militaristic in nature, all of their line trained from birth with the aspiration to one day fight in the ranks of the Royal Guard…or at least, they did.

The last known head of the house had only two children, who were of course trained heavily in swordsmanship and hand-to-hand combat, pit against each other to fight for the glory of becoming the recognized heir to the family name and fortune. Before an heir was declared, however, both sons disappeared, and the fate of the remnants of their glorious house is still a mystery.

In reality, the eldest son denounced the family name and fled, passing over wealth and glory for a simpler life by his own sword. The younger followed after him, still with aspirations to the Royal Guard and to do great and noble things, but determined to pave his own way and not rely on a legacy to win it for him.

The house’s crest is a flaming skull without a jaw, a reminder of the family motto: ‘Show Them Hell.’

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Swapfell

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House Swiftshield

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A high-ranking noble family, in close association with the royal family going back centuries. Their line has been direct servants and protectors to the crown as far as anyone can remember, and the trust and privilege built has elevated them quite highly.

The prior head of the house was fully committed to staying this course and maintaining the close, esteemed relationship with Empress. As such, he impressed upon his sons from a young age that loyalty to the crown was their highest calling, and to serve the Empress should come before all else—wants, needs, and even (especially) their own lives. …It was a terrible shock when he was found murdered, and no culprit was ever caught, but life goes on.

The eldest son followed obediently into the life expected of him and, with the privilege of his house to ease his way, worked his way up through the ranks of the Royal Guard to serve at the arm of the Empress herself. The younger was…not particularly suited to any kind of military service, but instead pursued his personal passions and at least displayed a talent for the arts to make a name for himself.

The crest of the house is an ornate winged shield with a bolt of cloth draped over its corner. The family motto is ‘All For Duty.’

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Horrortale

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House Pinevale

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A noble family, but more in name than anything else—with little wealth or prestige to call their own. Theirs was one of the first families to settle the land when the kingdom was new, explorers and frontiersmen who scouted territory, cleared brush and raised buildings. Well-respected, but mostly by legacy.

The previous head of house was content with this reputation and dedicated himself to a lifetime of humble, loyal service to the King. How successfully he managed the first two is debatable, but he was unquestionably loyal until his (somewhat early) death. It was his wish that his two sons follow in his footsteps and be dignified and morally upstanding members of court, even should their house never gain higher prestige.

The eldest son at least waited until his father’s passing to do away with the pretense of dignity and pursue a career as the court jester, and the younger never made any secret of his aspirations of glory and knighthood over a humble life—but their moral fortitude and loyalty was always steadfast throughout.

This was especially evident when King Asgore was assassinated, among many other casualties, and both brothers weathered the storm of uncertainty that followed in the kingdom. When the king’s successor faltered and made some questionable, consequential judgment calls early in her reign, and there was an argument, and… Well, in the aftermath, both sons showed the dignity of their house in continuing to serve the queen—the elder now in the stables and the younger tending and treating the knights.

Their house crest is a sleeping bear, the line of its back reminiscent of a mountain range, and their motto is to ‘Walk Soft, Hold Firm.’

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Undergloom

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House Heatherfog

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A common house, of neither wealth nor nobility, but even commoners have a care of their legacy. Most of their line were gatherers, herbalists and apothecaries that treated the farmers and peasants in the lower villages. They believed strongly in the power of community and were known for giving aid to anyone in need, regardless of status or ability to pay.

The prior head of the house was fully committed to these ideals and hoped above all else to be able to make a difference in the world, to bring health and joy to as many corners of the kingdom as could be reached. Should his lofty ambitions fall short of his lifetime, he encouraged both of his sons to live their lives the same.

The eldest son, frail since birth, found this path difficult to walk until discovering the contagious joy of music and the ease with which even one so weak as he could make and share it. The younger made slightly unconventional use of the family’s encyclopedic recordings of herbs, making a study of flavor and seasoning in food such that his meals now bring pleasure and comfort to all who partake.

The crest of their house, though they have no signets or shields to engrave it upon, is a simple spiraled cloud. The family motto is ‘See Through.’

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Horrorfell

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House Bludthorne

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A high-ranking, famous—or perhaps, infamous—noble family. Their history is just as full of strong, ruthless soldiers as it is bloody betrayals and backstabbing schemes, the name practically descended into legend for how cold and vicious its members were on and off the battlefield, seeking power by any means necessary.

The last known head of house was no different, a cold and calculating man who saw little merit in emotion or attachment. It was something of a surprise when he admitted to two sons, when most assumed he would rather his proud name die with him than pass it to an unworthy successor—which surely anyone but him would be.

It was perhaps less of a surprise when both his alleged sons vanished one day, leading to some…distasteful speculation about their fate, when really the eldest simply grew sick of his father’s iron fist and fled to make his own way in the world, younger brother in tow. They lived for some time in relative anonymity, as a mercenary and a knight of no particular house.

When Emperor Asgore was assassinated and his successor proved to be both inexperienced and made cruel by grief and anger, the younger son spoke out against her and he—and his brother—were severely punished for the infraction. They kept up the appearance of contrition for some time after, enough to amass and stir a rebellion that would unseat the interim queen and set a new king upon the throne. The elder son, rendered mute and with a feeble hold upon his wild, fighting spirit, was unfit to rule but lives a life of luxury as brother to a king and does all in his power to defend his remaining family. The younger rules still, a stern yet fair king to the realm.

The crest of their house is a rose button knot, tied with thorns instead of rope. Their motto is ‘Drop By Drop.’

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Horrorswap

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House Stormglade

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A lower tier, yet still noble family, comprised of skilled archers and huntsmen who served the crown both in battle and in trapping game. Over time the need for the former diminished and the latter tended to be done only recreationally, leaving subsistence hunting to more common folk the higher into society their name ascended.

The prior head of house saw little value in the old ways and spent most of his time and energy at court, honing social niceties and noble manners to cement his standing as a courtier and cut ties with a somewhat unseemly, rugged past. Still, there were some lessons to be learned from nature—to respect it, to act decisively, to take nothing for granted—and these he passed on to his sons, alongside sparingly few practical wilderness skills, for emergencies.

The eldest son sought a knighthood and the younger favored scholarly pursuits, both entirely respectable paths for the noble courtiers they were intended to be…but fate had other plans. A plague struck the kingdom, brought in by an outsider, and people began to get sick and Fall at alarming rates. No one, not even royalty was exempt, and though their line was nowhere close to succession, the elder son ended up on the throne, completely unprepared for the duty. The younger did his best to support his brother, frequently leaving on trips outside the kingdom to seek food, supplies, and any chance of help for those too sick to do so.

It was during one such absence that the untrained and desperate king made the decision to shut the castle gates and quarantine all who remained…even at the cost of locking his brother out, who hadn’t yet returned. And unluckily, also a disguised witch who came seeking shelter and took great personal offense to being turned away at king’s decree, casting a curse upon him—that his form should be as shifting and wavering as his integrity until he can forgive himself for what he’s done. When the quarantine was lifted and the younger son returned—after much hardship of his own in the wilderness—he found a convalescing kingdom, but no king to rule it, his brother having long since fled in shame.

A regent was left on the throne to rule in his place, and the errant prince’s quest to seek the missing king began.

The crest of this torn house is a lightning-struck tree, boughs in the middle and bolt and trunk above and below, as a mirror. The family motto is to ‘Stand Tall.’

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House Moontide

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Little is known about this royal house, so old and forsaken that even legends of it have mostly fallen out of memory. Its halls, full of cracked stone and discolored cloth, depict paintings and tapestries of both moon and sea, nereids springing forth from the waves and ethereal spirits descending from lunar light and dancing together hand-in-hand.

The last head of this ancient house, who could have spoke to the meaning of these depictions, translated the strange runes on the walls and in the surviving books, passed on long, long ago, with no heir to succeed them. The land itself has withered and grown barren as the castle has sat empty, awaiting a worthy ruler to sit upon its throne and reawaken the old magic that lies dormant within it.

A stranger has come to the castle keep in recent days, seeking only shelter—but the kingdom’s magic has begun to stir ever so slightly, in preparation for a king who can restore glory to the once grand Moontide house.

The crest of this ageless family is a crescent moon, mirrored by a cresting wave, with stars inside the circle they form. Their long unheard motto is ‘Ebb and Flow’

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Horrorswapfell

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House Ravenknell

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A noble family of high prestige, well-known as trusted scouts and messengers for the royal family since the royal family’s existence. Dedicated, vigilant, and often fleet of foot, their duty has been to serve the crown however they have been needed.

The prior head of house was deeply invested in this reputation, viewing it as a critical stepping stone to maintain should the time ever come that he could…elevate…his status, by alliance or perhaps, by force. By his own boasting, he was quite strict with his two sons, demanding their complete obedience and to see every task, lesson, and trial to the end, no matter the cost. …His sudden death was a surprise but perhaps not very much of a tragedy as he was not well-liked at court (or at home).

He was succeeded by his eldest, who embodied all of his father’s preached values plus a strong love of family, a trait which quite endeared him to the Empress and made his eventual rise to her personal guard all the easier. The younger son, doted upon and left to his own devices took up painting and was actually quite skilled at it. Things went well for a time, and then didn’t.

A dark force set its sights upon the kingdom and took possession of the General of the Royal Guard, using her trusted face to gain access to the Empress, and cut her reign short. Her escape was prevented when the elder son happened upon her, but the ensuing fight blinded and near-mortally wounded him, and many others were injured or killed before she was able to break free of whatever was controlling her. The younger son, as the highest ranking, fully-conscious and able-bodied nobleman left ordered the portcullis dropped, no one in or out of the castle walls until they could all be sure it was truly safe.

When the erstwhile Emperor Asgore heard of what had happened and returned from exile, he was all too gratefully returned to the throne and normalcy—or a semblance of it—began to resume. The older son, no longer fit to fight in the Guard himself, found new purpose in training soldiers and knights to serve in his stead, and the younger took up a guard duty of his own standing sentry on the wall, vigilant to prevent future threats to the kingdom.

The house crest is a raven in flight, beak open to call out. Their family motto is ‘Watch Close, Fly True.’

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Gastertale

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House Driftwind

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The history of this house is particularly odd…in that it seems to have no history. It’s strangely absent from all court genealogies, even under misspellings or in records thorough enough to outline the detailed lineage of a common-born ditch-digger from five generations back.

The previous head of this house…was not, actually, the head of this house, because it didn’t exist until quite recently—but he did exist, at least until he didn’t. He was a nobleman, of minor standing, unmarried or otherwise partnered, and the thought that he might pass on as the last of his house—the last of his very species—both alarmed and upset him. He sought to make a legacy on his own, using unconventional magic to make more skeletons of himself. He’d hoped for children, but what he got was…split.

The twin sons of the house which does not actually exist were born as half-grown youths, with jumbled memories and in an estate actively burning to the ground with a strange, unearthly magic fire. The moment they stepped free of the crumbling manor, they forgot it, as if it had simply been removed from their minds. It was all quite odd and upsetting but the two young men—sans any family to call on, or even a scrap of papyrus to write for aid, if they had—hatched a plan to build (or rebuild?) a life for themselves.

The shorter twin found he had a talent for charming and making friends of even the most standoffish of people, and the taller a gifted logician with an impeccable grasp of etiquette and proper courtly manners. Between the two of them, they made a house of their own and passed it off to those at court as truth. The story of a burned estate (which somehow felt right) and ruined belongings earned much sympathy, and many courtiers allowed them use of rooms for a time, invited them to feasts to take their minds off the trouble, introduced them to other sympathetic nobles—all the way up to the king himself, who especially favored the taller twin’s wise advice, and now they’ve all but made it as the real deal, a noble family.

The crest they long ago decided on for their house, and are finally having properly cast as seals and signets and embroidered into finery, is a balanced scale with ringing bells and trumpeting horns to either side. The motto of their very small family is ‘In Fair and Foul.’

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Transcendtale

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House Fallowkeep

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A lowly ranked family, not far from commoners. Primarily known as guards and watchmen in the lower towns, minding fields and livestock from predators and thieves, their history is far from glamorous but still worthy of some respect for their role in maintaining order.

The last head of house was not entirely pleased with their lack of standing, but was largely resigned to it and realized the folly of looking a gift-horse in the mouth—or more plainly, of taking their relative comfort for granted and risk losing it entirely by trying to scrabble for more, and more, and more. He counseled his children to strive for excellence as what they were, and to not reach too far beyond their station.

His eldest managed to both obey and disobey this directive as a mere insouciant jester, but to the highest authority in the land, and his younger openly dismissed the idea of not aiming too far above his station by seeking a knighthood. Still, their ambitions carried them well and they were happy, until they weren’t.

A necromancer besieged the kingdom one day, slaying all in their path and resurrecting all they killed to serve in their army of the undead as mindless slaves. Only the jester was spared—an act of cruel humor—and escaped to find the court physician who had only just missed the slaughter by a day’s travel. Together they found a cursed tome of the same dark magics the necromancer used, a slim chance to undo what was done…that only one of them had the nerve (or lack of care for the fate of his soul) to take.

The former jester became a death wizard himself, turning his bones to cold iron and giving his soul for the power to wrest control of his felled kingdom away from the necromancer and revenge his loved ones. After, their bodies died again, properly this time, but their spirits—warped and altered by death and resurrection—did not die, made capable of persisting after death as human souls sometimes do. The kingdom, including a delighted invulnerable phantom knight, chose to remain in the land of the living as a haunted ghost kingdom, and continued life mostly as normal…just, now technically dead.

The family crest of the fallen jester and ghost knight is the skull of an ox, draped with sacrificial tassels. Their motto is ‘Bounty From Barrens.’

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Ascendswap

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House Morngleam

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A highly respected and highly wealthy noble family, built by merchants, bankers, and tradesmen, all renowned for keen intuition and a drive that never quit. Somewhat lavish in matters of taste, they’re nonetheless known to be honest and of excellent character which has brought them quite far in the world.

The last head of house was a proud man, bordering on boastful and often going on about the great glory of his house (to many sighs and rolling eyes), but he never spoke falsely. His sons were raised to be proud and confident in all that they do, and to strive to add their own great deeds to the many that adorn their illustrious and distinguished name.

The eldest son sought to serve the kingdom as a knight someday, and the younger thought the archives would be a noble, if humble, pursuit…and this is where fate found them when the kingdom came under siege by a great and powerful army. Queen Toriel bravely resisted the invasion and for a time, her forces held ground, but soon—overwhelmed by numbers and tireless warring—they were forced to retreat behind the castle gates and attempt to withstand the war of attrition brought to their doorstep.

Mere weeks away from being starved out and forced to surrender, the squire snuck out of the castle, willingly risking life and limb to seek aid for the kingdom. Though he avoided detection in his escape, he had little success finding allies willing to fight the enemy he described…until a strange feeling compelled him along an untrod path, deep into the heart of the forest, where a faerie ring lay awaiting. Entering, he found the Summer Court—faefolk—willing to lend their aid, at a price, and only should he bring his monarchs to them to pay the same.

Returning to the kingdom, fae-touched and stranger than when he left it, he managed to convince the queen to come along and with help, even tracked down the estranged king too—but that ‘help’ who insisted on coming along (his brother, the Captain of the Guard, the court physician) cost him a greater price than he had already promised to pay… Still, bargains were struck, alliances made, and the kingdom freed itself from the siege, with very few Affected by the fae. No longer a fighter but with a strange sight and a keen sense of the world’s energies, the former squire now serves the queen as a mystic, and the bookish scholar has followed a new attunement to the wilds and keeps the falcons of the crown.

The crest of their house is a half-sunburst, reminiscent of the early hours, and their motto is ‘Chase The Dawn.’

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Underfell Fruition

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House Warhart

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A common house, populated mostly by rangers and mercenaries in years past. At times they’ve been wealthy and had some measure of respect approaching nobility, but these times coincided with skirmishes and conflicts which required their skill—and peace has reigned for many decades now.

The last head of this house was greatly dissatisfied with the state of things and believed it was his purpose to elevate their name to—and beyond—the glory it had once held. Seeing an avenue to assert himself as a powerful figure, he turned to religion, preaching to those who believed that an Angel of legend would come and lead the kingdom to peace and prosperity the likes of which it had never known. He told all in the congregation he presided over that the coming of The Angel was soon, and when they came, their followers would be called to fight, conquering all who chose other beliefs and bringing peace by means of hard-won war.

He had two sons by this time, the first sickly and weak, and the second healthy and strong. The elder son was expressly vocal in his disagreement with his father’s ideals and the way he was manipulating the townspeople for his own benefit…and for this, he was thrown into an oubliette, left to wither and starve on meager rations tossed down to him sparingly while his absence was explained by ‘divine illness,’ punishment for his heresy. The younger son, around the same time as his brother fell ‘ill,’ was sent away to train with the militia—a show of his father’s faith in what he preached that he would even give his own son for the cause.

The imprisoned son survived in captivity, growing attuned to the magic in the very earth and air around him and even learning to draw upon it to sustain himself when he may have otherwise perished. His brother adapted to the grueling training regimen he was subjected to and became the star soldier of the zealots’ army, the strongest, fastest, and most obedient of their number.

When the Royal Guard came to investigate the rumors of a military cult forming in an outlying village of the kingdom, the cult’s leader was dispatched and all prisoners freed—including the brothers. The elder found a niche performing in the court of the Emperor whose forces ended his stay in the ground, and the younger became a carpenter’s apprentice, seeking a constructive trade as far from making war as could be.

The crest of their house is a stag with its head lowered to charge. Their motto is ‘To The Last Man.’

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Swapfell Fruition

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House Nyteblade

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A house of great wealth and means, but little social clout…at least, as far as is public. Their line is known to run in one of two directions: recluses and bon vivants, with little variation. What they all have in common, unbeknownst to the court at large, is a hand in shady dealings, from theft to reconnaissance to assassination and everything in between—all in the service of the crown. To maintain secrecy, they could never be acknowledged openly for the work they’ve done but have always been rewarded well to live comfortably and maintain cover.

The now-late head of house was a diligent and ruthless spymaster for the Empress and pulled the strings of all his clandestine assets as deftly and nimbly as any harper, a true master of the web he’d woven… Though, perhaps too tangled in it to realize the folly of raising two sons to follow in his ruthless, underhanded dealings, sons who feared and hated him in equal measure.

Following their father’s untimely death, the eldest son succeeded him directly, taking control of the underground network that had been built to serve Empress Toriel and continuing to use it for exactly that purpose, business as usual. The younger son, well-practiced in espionage and assassination, maintained a cover as a roguish devil of a courtier with time and money and little care to how he spent either…Perhaps not so much of a cover, but a very easy reputation with which to do his job.

The removal of their father was the turn of the hourglass, however, and gave them a limited time to make arrangements to be out of the picture before the killers and assassins under them followed in their footsteps and tried to remove them the same way. Choosing a suitable mark, the ruler of a neighboring kingdom, the younger employed his considerable powers of seduction and won a marriage proposal to bring him—and his brother—far, far from the reach or care of conspirators he was no longer in the way of.

The crest of the house the youngest son left behind, that the eldest still bears is a pair of crossed stiletto daggers with ornate grips. Their motto was ‘From Shadow, Glory.’

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House Wulfmaw

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The royal family of a middlingly prosperous kingdom, availed of decent resources and power, but suffering from…mismanagement. The line is mostly known as drunkards and adulterers and warmongers—but not in any of their hearing, as they’ve also been known for their hot tempers.

The last monarch on the throne was no exception to the reputation of their family, spending poorly and skirmishing often with neighboring kingdoms over territory, to say nothing of many, many diplomatic incidents caused by poor manners with dignitaries at court.

No one was especially surprised when the monarch chose a low-ranking foreign nobleman of…not dissimilar temperament to be their prince-consort. It was a bit of a surprise when the monarch passed, though the suggestion that ample wine and poor decisions may have been the cause made sense of that. It was certainly strange when none came forth from the proper line of succession and the prince-consort became the crown-prince, but…

Frankly, the new prince was a decidedly cooler head upon which to rest the crown, with a much better grasp of diplomacy and charm than any monarchs in living memory. A bit of a philanderer and a shirker, with a tendency to flounce off seeking pleasure over duty, certainly, but the brother he brought with him does a decent enough job wrangling his larking about and seems to keep things running smoothly. It seems…for the best, to let things continue as they are, and perhaps have a kingdom which can be taken seriously by the other realms, maybe even respected.

The crest of the family is the head of a wolf with its jaws open in a snarl. Their motto was, and is ‘Swallow Mercy.’

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Descendtale

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House Blackroot

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A common family, little more than simple farmers who tended the land and reaped the fruits (and vegetables) of their labor. All among their number were hard-working, salt of the earth folks who had little money and next to no prestige to their name, but plots of land to sow and (usually) enough to go around.

The last patriarch of the family was hardened and embittered by a life of labor he had never wanted and dreams he was never able to achieve for himself. To his sons, he left the lesson that there isn’t a thing in life that will simply be handed over for nothing, and to grip onto whatever you get with both hands.

Both of his children took the lesson to heart, and the elder studied and honed his humor until he was good enough to perform in the royal court for the king himself, and the younger spent countless hours training mind and body to have a chance at becoming a fully-fledged knight of the realm. They lived well, comfortably above their social station for many a year.

Things changed when a stranger came to the kingdom one day and snuck into the royal vaults beneath the castle, where many powerful artifacts and beautiful treasures were stored. They took only one small thing, a token said to grant prosperity to those who hold it…at the cost of unleashing a great darkness upon the land from which it is taken. In the wake of the theft of this cursed totem, a perpetual night fell across the kingdom and its borders were ringed with sharp and wicked thorns—penning its inhabitants in. King Asgore attempted to tear through the briars as they began to grow in, devouring the kingdom like a living thing, but the prick of their thorns caused a deep and deathly illness and he passed quickly after that.

The Queen burned her way through—a passage which grew over completely in only days—and ruled in his stead, adapting the kingdom to survive in permanent night. The people slept in strange patterns, ate what crops would still grow in darkness, and simply...carried on.

The former jester quite lost his good humor and began to manage the dungeons as they filled up with treasure-seekers come to look for more artifacts like the one that was famously stolen from a cursed kingdom where there was surely no one left to protest—grave-robbers in intention, if not in truth. The aspiring knight found greater purpose in trimming back the perpetual growth of the evil thorns at their border, preventing risk to others who could scratch flesh upon them and fall gravely ill, perhaps die…and of course to keep the castle and its nearest surrounding lands from being lost to those who still must live there. Like himself!

The crest of their family is a tree of life, centered more on the roots than trunk or boughs, and ringed by an ouroboros. Their motto is ‘Dig In Deep.’

[violetlunette]

Say Goodbye

Summary: Lilia’s daughter, Silver, dutifully waits for her father to return for a visit after being gone for so long. Then a letter arrives.

Notes:

*This fic takes place in an AU where Silver is a girl and thus couldn’t attend the all boy’s college with the others.

*Spoilers for Book 7

*Long post

“Yah!” The young teenage girl swung the practice blade at a swift angle, just as her instructors at the palace taught her. Her animal friends helped by randomly dropping acorns and other things for Silver to hit or catch. She paused to take a breath, which was thick in the winter air.

“I can feel I’m improving,” she thought aloud, wiping the chilled sweat from her brow. “However, I need to practice more if I’m going to be ready to show Father what I learned during our sparring.” The thought warmed her despite the weather and snow. Lilia would be coming home for winter break, and Silver could not be more excited.

Her father was always a traveler throughout her life; however, she couldn’t help but feel lonelier as of late.

Two years prior, Lilia enrolled at Night Raven College to accompany Malleus. The bat fae felt the college would be an excellent opportunity for the prince. It was a chance to experience the world outside the valley, something Silver herself had yet to experience, aside from the Halloween visit to NRC. Not that girl had any inclination to.

Briar Valley was her home. It would be the land Silver hoped to help defend in the future, just as her father had. The girl was quite happy where she was, not that she didn’t have her own challenges to deal with.

For one, fae and human relations weren’t the best, as there was still bias and prejudice between the two. Thus, she was trying, in her own way, to slowly mend the rift between the two races. While not overly successful, Silver was proud to say that the fae soldiers she trained with at the palace—who absolutely hated her for being a mere human at the start—were starting to accept her. Silver even spotted them hanging out with other humans. She didn’t want to be arrogant and think that it was her influence that inspired that; however, it was nice to think so. Of course, without Baul’s support, she never would have gotten as far as she did.

Silver could never stress how grateful she was to him and the rest of the Zigvolt family. However, as much as she cared for them, she missed Malleus, who had been there throughout her entire childhood, and even Sebek, her rival and best friend. Most of all, she missed her father, the most precious person in the world to her.

‘I can’t wait to show him how far I’ve come,’ she thought, a small smile on her rose-pink lips.

Part of the reason Silver started training for knighthood was to follow in Lilia's footsteps. The other part was so she could repay him and Malleus for everything they'd done for her. As Sebek frequently—and loudly—reminded her, Silver owed them for raising her despite her humanity. If not for them, the young lady would not have the life she loved so much. If Silver was able to give back even a little, then--

Screech!

“Hm?” Silver turned at the sound and brightened. “Oh!”

It was one of her father’s bats. Silver’s heart quickened in excitement when he saw the black envelope with the bat insignia on the flap. It was odd to receive a letter as Lilia preferred the phone, but Silver didn't think too much about it. Any form of contact was fine with her.

Quickly, Silver brought the little bat inside. She gave him fruit, but despite what must have been a long journey, the little creature wasn’t eating. She petted his head with a finger before turning her attention to the letter.

‘He must want to talk about his visit,’ she thought, her body warming at the thought of seeing the man again. She opened it, curious about what it would say.

There was a beat in the air, then her heart stopped. Then the world stopped.

The sounds that usually filled the cottage—the sound of critters taking shelter from winter’s cold, the breeze rustling through the pines, the flickering of the fireplace—vanished.

All she felt was a coldness that spread through her body. A chill that made her tremble.

Silver's words shook as her mouth fell open, her throat dry.

“What…” The letter wrinkled in her grip.

“Silver,” it read. “I’m afraid I won’t be returning home, and not just for winter.” Silver’s brows lowered slightly over eyes that had grown wide.

“Not... not re—not returning...” The words were barely a whisper, and they fumbled on her tongue. “What…?”

The note went on to explain how Lilia used up all his magical reserves and could no longer use even the simplest spell.

“I can’t even muster up enough strength to teleport anymore. Pitiful, I know. I hoped my powers would hold out at least until I graduated, but they ran out a bit faster than I’d expected.” He played it off casually, but Silver knew the old fae must have been devastated to realize this.

In Briar Valley, magic was essential to living, for everything was powered by spells. Without it, a person would struggle. On top of that, for Fae, magic was a part of their very being and who they were. Without it, they might as well have lost a limb. There was even a stigma that among the folk that fae without magic weren’t faes. Therefore, when Lilia lost his magic, he may as well have lost who he was.

“Father…” Silver’s heart cried out for the man. She longed to be by his side so she could help him through this endeavor. But...

It was difficult to read further as Silver’s eyes began to blur, but she continued after rubbing them with a palm. She wished she didn’t.

“The Land of Red Dragons?” she read aloud when Silver came to the part that told her of Lilia's plans. “But that’s… That’s practically on the other side of the planet.” That had to be a mistake. Why not just come home if he can’t attend school?

Silver tried to continue, but her mind didn’t take in anything after that. After all, what else mattered? Her father was leaving them forever. The thought made her heart scream out in pain, and she had to put a hand to it. How could he do this? Briar Valley still needed him! The Queen often looked to him for assistance, as did Baul.

‘And what of Malleus and Sebek?’ Sebek worshiped Lilia almost as much as he did Malleus. As for Malleus, the two had been together for so long. Lilia was everything to him. Her father couldn’t just leave them behind. He couldn’t just leave her… right?

She shook her head. There had to be a mistake. There had to be. With or without magic, Lilia had to know how much he meant to them, how they needed him.

Brushing away unshed tears, Silver skimmed the letter, looking for—for something to tell her that this wasn’t happening. That her father wasn’t going to just disappear from their lives forever.

She only paused when she came to a rather curious part of the letter. Despite the rising panic, Silver frowned.

“What’s...” she read on.

“Long ago, when I found you as a baby, you had this ring tied around your neck. I’d planned on returning it to you as an adult, but as things are, I’ve decided to send it to you now.” Ring? What-- Ah. There was something in the envelope. Silver grabbed the black paper and shook it.

A ring fell into her palm. Silver cloud tell just by looking at the item that it must be extremely valuable. Neither the gold band nor the iridescent jewels had even a single smudge on them.

‘...Wait a second... I feel like I’ve seen this ring somewhere before,’ Silver thought as her brow furrowed. “Ngh…” A spell of drowsiness hit her. What in the—no! That wasn’t important right now.

She set the ring aside and kept reading.

“The stones in the ring are just like your eyes: aurora-colored. And if you look closely, there’s an inscription: ‘Just like how this jewel here shines bright and true, may my child’s eyes never become clouded with sorrow.’ Your parents entrusted you with a great wish.

“Silver, you’ve grown into a truly wonderful young woman—beautiful, full of grace and strength. One worthy of taking this ring. Live your life proudly with your head held high.” Silver brought the letter down. She had to close her eyes as the world began to spin around her.

“My...parents…?” Silver only had one parent. And now, he...

Silver couldn’t read any further. The paper slipped from her numbed fingers and floated to the ground.

The world began to spin like a whirlpool, ready to drag her in and drown her.

Lilia was never coming back. He was leaving forever. And she would never--

Gasp!

Panic went through her, like a bolt of Malleus’ lightning.

Silver struggled to breathe as her throat tightened like a hangman’s noose.

Frantically, she searched for her phone until it was found on the table.

The teen fumbled to unlock it and open her contacts.

It was a short list, as it only had Lilia and Sebek’s numbers. (Lilia typed in Malleus’ number, but Silver would never dare to bother him. Besides, Malleus never kept a phone for long.) As she did so, she found herself mumbling to herself over and over, as if trying to counteract an evil spell.

“This can’t be happening. It can’t.” She finally managed to push the contact button and call her father. She had to talk to him. Then he could tell her this was all some sort of mistake or sick joke.

‘Father, please,’ she thought as the phone rang. ‘Please pick up. Please.’ But--

“Greeting, this is Lilia! Obviously, I can’t come to the phone, so please leave a message and I’ll get back to ya!”

The “Beep!” may well have been a hammer nailing a stake into Silver’s heart.

“Father? Father! It’s—it’s me,” the girl stammered over her breath. She tried to keep the hysteria from her voice but failed. “I got your letter. You’re—leaving? But I—I don’t understand. I don’t...” How could he just depart like this? Even if he didn’t have his magic, why… “Please call me back. I—Let’s talk about this, please.” She hung up and brought the phone between her breasts.

Silver body felt like it was being squeezed by a boa constrictor. She was surprised the invisible force didn’t break her bones.

Her animal friends all came over to the young girl, concern in their eyes. It wasn’t much, but their support gave Silver the strength to dial Sebek’s number. The only other person she could call.

Ring! No answer.

Ring…! Still no answer.

Ring-- “Silver?” Silver sobbed with relief.

“Sebek! Is it true?” She asked immediately, her air heavy as if she had just finished training in the barracks. “Father lost his magic, and—and he's leaving?” The silence that fell answered before he did.

“It’s true,” he said, voice thick. “He already confirmed everything with the headmaster and left the school last night.” Silver went numb with shock.

“What… he…” He left? Already?

Sebek made a tearful sound on the other side of the phone, choking on his emotions.

“I’m sure he already told you everythi--” Silver interrupted.

“He didn’t tell me anything,” she told him thickly. Bitterness had seeped into her words. She heard Sebek jump from his seat as a chair clattered to the ground.

“What?!” Silver had to take a moment to compose herself before she replied.

“He—He sent me a letter…” She couldn’t go further than that, as a lump had formed in her throat.

“A letter?!” The boy’s shock was evident in his voice as he struggled to form words. “That’s it?!” Silver closed her eyes as they started to burn.

“We—Well, and a ring… but even so…” A fist tightened over her heart, and her voice lowered as speaking without crying took great effort.

“This... this isn’t happening, right?” she whispered. "This isn’t happening.” Her voice begged Sebek to confirm this. To tell her that this was all a misunderstanding. That Lilia would come home, and everything would be alright.

But...

“I’m sorry, Silver.” It was all Sebek could say. Silver didn’t reply. She couldn’t.

She hung up, and the moment she did, her whole frame began to quiver as her sorrow wracked her body.

“AUGH…!” As she fell to her knees, grief and despair overtook her. The animals tried to comfort her, but there was no comfort in the world that would help her now.

“Hick…! Hick…! I… I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” she sobbed. “I’m never going to see him again, and I didn’t even get to—augh!” With that, she fell forward, crying as night fell.

~*~

Far, far away, Lilia stared at the missed call on his phone, which quivered in his grip. He felt lower than he had at any point in his long life. His lips twisted themselves into a wry smile.

“Tch. I've really become so pitiful, haven’t I?” The bat-fae muttered, his voice cracking. He should have answered. He should have been a man and talked to her one last time. But…

Lilia let his head fall back and his arm to the side. He paid no mind as the cell slipped from his grip and fell to the floor in the enchanted carriage he rented after Night Raven’s return to the college.

The fae was on his way to the airport now to catch a plane to the Land of the Red Dragons. And away from everyone he loved. Away from his friend, from his student, from Malleus, from Silver...

The image of the young woman came to the forefront, and his throat tightened.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered to the air.

By now, he should have been preparing to go back for winter break so Lilia could spend the New Year with her. He was away so often that the moments they did spend together were so precious. Especially with how fast they ticked away.

Lilia bit his lip. There were so many things he was supposed to do.

He was supposed to check on how Silver kept up with her studies, though the tutor who sent him letters always had nothing but the highest praise. On top of that, he looked forward to seeing how her battle and magical skills had improved, especially after hearing from Baul how she was able to keep up with the soldiers. She even surpassed some. Lilia was proud to hear this, as he knew from experience that the castle training was no cake walk. Especially with the new trainers in charge. Lilia wanted so much to see Silver so he could tell her how proud he was. He just wanted to see her in general.

But then he lost his magic.

Lilia stared at the hand that dropped the phone, trying to summon a spell, and grimaced when he failed.

“Hmph! I’ve really fallen so low, huh?” He muttered bitterly. He hated this. He hated his weakness. Most of all, he was ashamed of his cowardliness.

He covered his eyes with his arm.

“I’m so pathetic.” Lilia should have gone home. He should have been strong and explained everything to the child in person. He meant to. That’s where the coach was taking him originally. But then… then Lilia thought of her sad face.

Just thinking of it broke his heart and made him want to cry. It was one thing Lilia couldn’t face in this world, even when she was young. That was why he put off telling Silver they weren’t related until she noticed the difference herself. The expression she made when he told her... He never forgot that face. He couldn’t. It had carved a scar on his heart, which ached whenever he thought of it. Ah, how the mighty have fallen.

‘I wonder what kind of face she’s making now?’ As if he didn’t know. The pitiful coward he was--

The father put his hand on his chest as pain spread out through his body.

‘It had to be done,’ he told himself, as he could somehow justify the deed. The way he did it aside, Lilia couldn’t go back the way he was now. He just would have been a burden, or worse, a cage.

Silver had grown into a fine young woman. Beautiful, kind, brave, and true. Soon, she would be ready to spread her wings and do great things in the world. Lilia, the way he was now, just would have held her back.

Yet despite believing that with all his heart, Lilia couldn’t deny the desire to run home. To see the girl he raised and hold her one last time. Even though he was aware that if he did, then Lilia would never let go.

That old man’s eyes shone with tears as he laughed at his pathetic self.

“Heh. I didn’t even get to say goodbye,” he said, his voice hoarse and cracking. His gaze dropped to his other hand, which tightly gripped around something. He opened his palm and revealed a handmade acorn bracelet.

It was old—over ten years—and thus the acorns were rotting and the string was frayed. It was practically falling apart in his hands, but it was the one thing he could never leave behind. After all, it was a precious gift given to him by the most precious thing in the world.

Thick blobs of tears fell, splattering the bracelet, as the name of his child rolled off his lips.

“Silver...” he whimpered, like a wounded animal. ‘I’m sorry, I’m such a coward. Please, whatever happens, please live and be happy.’

Be happy.

--

A/n:

*This was supposed to be short. Oh, well.

*I hoped you enjoyed this! I may continue this as a series depending on feedback. So if you like it, please let me know!

Silver Notes:

*In this Universe Alteration, Silver doesn’t go to NRC as that’s a boy’s school, so Lilia sets her up with Malleus’ old tutors and has Baul train her with the soldiers. (The other General helps as well.)

*I made her more emotion for angst reasons, and because she’s alone. She doesn’t have to be strong for Lilia, or Malleus, or anyone else right now. She can just fall apart.

Lilia Notes:

*I dunno if he’d be this cruel to send a letter as a goodbye. However, Lilia has been shown to be a bit too cavalier about his departure and had admitted in chapter seven that he’ll avoid things that make Silver sad. Ah well, just chalk it up as ooc for fanfic plot.

Baul:

*Baul is retired, but still checks on Silver when she’s at the castle by Lilia’s request. Partly to keep an eye on her and partly to inform Lilia if there are any troublesome parties he may need to “chat with.

*He helps train her at times. As she’s not a grand baby he doesn’t go as soft as he would Sebek. (Though she is worming her way into his heart.)

[avicinda]

What is your Giroda/Avicinda take?

(Oops this got really long and rambly...)

So first off, to me their dynamic is rooted in their narrative positions at the start of the story and how they reverse places by the end of it. It's not just for ship purposes, but it is where my shipping them comes from (though I apologize if most of this ends up not being very shippy-like because, to be honest, that aspect is actually pretty secondary to how I think of them as a pair!)

The main thing is that while Giroda replaces Chigda in their society, I think Avicinda is a more direct foil to him.

With how faewish sprites place importance on family/heritage/lineage, it seems to me Kuroda's (falsely tarnished) name shaping the way Giroda was treated by the other sprites mirrors the way Avicinda's lineage shaped him. I feel like there's a lot of angsty fun that could be had with this parallel? Also IMHO Avicinda's description of his family's prior duties didn't necessarily mean his entire family were all knights, but he chose "Whim and swordsmanship" to be the "strongest" servant, and so ends up as Captain of the Paladins serving a fake god while neglecting service to his fellow sprites. Contrast with Giroda who is descended from a knight but was barred from becoming one formally while doing everything to help those around him. And of course, by the end of the story they've swapped positions with Giroda as leader of the sprites and Avicinda having a poorer reputation (though he doesn't seem to be as hated as Chigda is).

And they even literally swap places with Avicinda being locked up in the same cavern Giroda was kept in while Giroda moves into the temple that Avicinda was previously one of the only sprites allowed entry to—

So how it could develop as a ship:

1. Avicinda/Giroda could get pretty dark quick if it happens before or during the main story, considering Avicinda's position of power and Giroda's desires to be a knight...in the very organization Avicinda controls. Being so spiteful to Giroda specifically, I can imagine he'd dangle the promise of knighthood over Giroda as an extra way to torment him and let off some stress from serving Chigda on top of other things he'd claim as all part of punishing Giroda, because Giroda as the traitor's descendant is the antithesis to his knighthood. On Giroda's part, I've always thought that while he might truly hate Avicinda for all he's done to him, Giroda would on some level still be seeking his approval, because Avicinda as the concept of a paladin is his ideal at that point. This is, of course, the perfect recipe for a very nasty relationship to form.

2. Post-story, I can't imagine it happening until several decades or even centuries have passed. I'm fond of imagining that Giroda will one day be the one to come find Avicinda on a quiet night to tell him he should rest. Because Avicinda in my mind is the type of character who decides that he must atone eternally and then never actually forgives himself and never gives himself a chance to breathe ever again. Considering how black and white faewish sprites seem to view the world, an older, wiser Giroda who has been Wish Master for a long time might become the only other sprite to understand him and even remember or care about why he's doing what he does. Bonus: "moron" for old times' sake, but affectionate.

3. AFAIK we don't know how old any of the faewish sprites are definitively other than just vaguely knowing some of them must have been alive for a long long time, but I am under the impression that due to the timeline of when Chigda took over as Wish Master versus when Giroda's parents were sent off to hard labor, Giroda is actually much older than implied? And was maybe actually locked in that cavern for centuries??? (I might be wrong about this bit of Giroda's lore and need to go and dig up more of the books again and rewatch some quest scenes...) And Avicinda is relatively much younger as the rest of his family seems to have died out since the days of the Wishing One.

Point is, if all of the above were true, what if...Giroda escaped before Chigda picked out Avicinda to be his knight and sent those esselings after him (that it was a setup by Chigda is headcanon). What if Giroda and Avicinda met out in the mountains before all that!!! What if they became friends (and then lovers hehe) due to their shared ideals of knighthood and serving the Wishing One. Giroda thinks Avicinda is so cool for training Whim/swordsmanship everyday and asks him to teach him. This not-yet-a-knight Avicinda thinks of Kuroda as a traitor but doesn't know yet that Giroda is his grandson, so as far as he knows Giroda is just a sprite he's never met before who happens to be just like him! And yes of course he'll teach him how to use a sword and become a powerful stylist.

(Chigda is probably going to sabotage this, but they can be happy while it lasts.)

4. And for that "No Nikki" AU where Avicinda and Giroda team up and do the Swordsmith Ruins together, Giroda gets to watch Avicinda's faith in Chigda shatter and the self-loathing start, just as Avicinda gets to watch Giroda become what he always thought he was going to be. There's some resentment, but Giroda doesn't let that grow. He needs Avicinda's help here to take the fight to Chigda and right what he's done wrong, and maybe after some much needed introspection, Avicinda takes on the mantle of turning the paladins against Chigda while Giroda evacuates the other sprites before joining the fight.

Giroda still gets elected as the new Wish Master, but this time he asks Avicinda to stay as Captain of the Paladins. And Avicinda who might have left to look for a new purpose in life if not asked, ends up agreeing. He stays, and quickly becomes devoted to Giroda. Maybe he's just shifting his need for a target to swear an oath to onto someone new, but in the process he ends up symbolically becoming Giroda's shield instead of how he was as Chigda's sword. And Giroda as Wish Master gets to direct that knightly energy somewhere productive for the sake of all faewish sprite society this time.

[ospreyeamon]

playing politics

It’s been said before, but there is a clear disparity in the way the Jedi Consular and Jedi Knight are treated when it comes to their promotion prospects. While both are knighted at the end of their prologues, the Consular is given the rank of Master at the start of Act 2 while the Knight is only maybe promoted again at the close of Act 3.

The Consular’s promotion to Master is political. They are being given the rank because the Jedi Council thinks it will be necessary for the Rift Alliance to take them seriously, not because of anything the Consular has achieved up to this point Hence why they are given the rank upon being given a mission rather than completing one. Which makes sense as the Consular’s achievements during Act 1 are pretty variable.

A Consular who has LS-choiced their way through Act 1’s achievements are very impressive, even if the stint on Alderaan is their only prior diplomatic experience that we know of. A Consular who – despite being asked to shield the afflicted Jedi – chooses to kill them at varying points before accidentally (or “accidentally”) causing the deaths of hundreds more Jedi offscreen by killing Lord Vivicar, I think, probably wouldn’t have been trusted with a sensitive diplomatic post if the Council thought they had a better option. Unfortunately, in this scenario, the better options were probably numbered among the now dead Jedi Masters.

Conversely, the Jedi Knight definitely succeeded in their overall mission in Act 1. They might have been a jerk, they might have passed up opportunities to save or spare people, they might have delayed rescuing Nasan Godera for a loot acquisition detour, but they still did (eventually) retrieve Dr Godera, stop the power-guard project, save Master Kiwiiks and Tatooine, help destroy the death-mark laser, and prevent Darth Angral from torching Tython. The Knight also helps (or “helps”) guide Kira Carsen to Knighthood; successfully training a Padawan is traditionally one of the main gauges the Council uses to determine who is ready to become a Master.

A DS!Knight proves considerably more effective in Act 1 than a DS!Consular, but the Consular is still the one promoted. The promotion isn’t given in recognition of their skills or as reward for their achievements. It isn’t withheld because of any action or shift in alignment. The Consular is promoted at the start of Act 2 because their new mission is to make nice with the politicians; the Knight isn’t because they are assisting other Jedi. If the Consular’s promotion truly was a matter of merit the Knight would have been promoted too.

The end of Act 3 has incredibly stark differences in how a Dark-aligned Consular and Knight are treated by the Jedi Council. Neither of them receives the promotion they would have if they had been Light-aligned, but of the behaviour of the Council towards them is markedly different. The Consular is publicly rewarded. The Knight is publicly snubbed.

“Your relentless pursuit of the First Son merits a unique position. We would like to make you our special military advisor. You will rank alongside us, but work with the Republic, to capture the remaining Children and prepare for any future threat from the Sith.” Jaric Kaedan “Rank alongside? So I would not be a member of the Jedi Council.” Jedi Consular, Option 3 “We would prefer you to focus on assisting the Republic, rather than on Council duties. But this is only a small reward beside the great service you have done, for all of us.” Jaric Kaedan

The post of the Jedi Council’s special military advisor is a promotion, even if it might not be the promotion the Consular wanted. Jaric Kaedan doesn’t say anything to suggest that a Council Seat could have been on the table under other circumstances; the idea is only brought up if the Consular brings it up.

The Consular has experienced a meteoric rise through the ranks; their class story takes place over about three years and they go from Padawan to Knight to Master to senior Master advising the Jedi Council. Going from Padawan to Master in the span of two years is (I think) the fastest turn around we are shown for any Jedi, and most members of the Order never sit on the High Council. Being promoted to Master without having trained a Padawan in any capacity is also highly unusual. The Consular has nothing to complain about.

Even if they do complain, Jaric’s justification is that they don’t want the Consular’s attention split between their work with the Republic and the duties of a Council Member. He is quick to praise the Consular again. No mention of their turn to the Dark Side is made.

“And then there is you. How do we even begin to account for the turns your life has taken since you first arrived on Tython? The dark side has cast its shadow over you. I sense your anger and ambition growing. I can no longer ignore it. I wanted so much for you to become a Jedi Master, but you are not ready.” Satele Shan “What have I done to deserve being passed over? I've saved trillions of people.” Jedi Knight, Option 1 “Your battles on Corellia cost us Master Kiwiiks and dozens of brave Jedi. Your leadership there was questionable, at best. You struck a great blow against the Sith, but the war goes on. There will be other opportunities for you to prove yourself worthy.” or “How much have you sacrificed on your path to victory? What emotions drove these decisions? These are the questions we must answer. You struck a great blow against the Sith, but the war goes on. There will be other opportunities for you to prove yourself worthy.” Satele Shan “Master Satele, this Jedi is one of the greatest war heroes I’ve ever met. He/she deserves recognition for his/her victories. By the authority of the Supreme Chancellor, I hereby grant you the honorary rank of Republic general.” Admiral Dabrin

In contrast, in a Dark-aligned Knight’s class story ending Satele Shan tells them that they are wrathful, power-hungry, under the influence of the Dark-Side of the Force, and not being promoted to Jedi Master. It’s a public humiliation at a ceremony intended to honour the Knight’s achievements. Small wonder Admiral Dabrin tries to patch things over by naming the Knight an honorary general.

Satele Shan did not have to manage the situation with the Knight this way. She could have quietly led the Knight off into a side room before the ceremony and asked them if they knew they were clouded by the Dark Side. She could have had the kind of talk with them that Orgus Din does on Rishi. Making a public spectacle was taking the nuclear option.

Satele can claim that the Knight isn’t being promoted because of their poor leadership on Corellia, but Satele was the one to put the Knight in charge of the Jedi forces on Corellia, possibly over the Knight’s objections. Besides, we the audience know it isn’t the truth. The Jedi Council’s refusal to grant them the rank of Master isn’t tied to any decision they could have taken on Corellia – it is solely determined by their alignment.

The denunciation being so public makes me feel that its motivation was either highly political or deeply personal. Did Satele feel betrayed by the Knight? Did the rest of the Jedi Council even know she was planning on going off script in front of the Republic brass? Was she convinced the Knight’s Dark-alignment was evidence they had done terrible things she would never be able to find proof of?

Was the decision to try to crack down hard on the Knight made because the Consular had also turned but couldn’t be reprimanded without insulting the Rift Alliance? Were Council concerned that members of the Order like Unaw Aharo were admiring a Dark Jedi? Was Satele under pressure to make a statement against Jedi drawing on the Dark-Side while fighting in the war?

But if a DS-choicing Knight got Jedi unnecessarily killed, then a DS-choicing Consular got more Jedi killed; hundreds compared to dozens. If it’s dangerous to have impressionable Jedi looking up to a Dark-aligned Hero of Tython, then it’s no less dangerous to have them admiring a Dark-aligned Barsen’thor. If a Dark Jedi shouldn’t be permitted to become a Master, then a Dark Consular should be demoted rather than set to advise the Council.

There is an incredible double-standard in how the Consular is treated in comparison to the Knight – and a double-standard in how the Consular is treated compared to the norms of the Order. This is surely something people in-universe have opinions about.

[nofucknway135]

Disaster Lineage Headcanons: Part 1

Obi Wan was born to a family of space sheep farmers in eastern Stewjon; he was given to the Jedi at the age of one and a half due to his natural affinity for animals; specifically, large fuck-off predators. After one too many heart attacks at seeing their precious baby boy happily playing with or napping next to a giant deadly predator, his parents tracked down a wandering Jedi and asked them to please take him to the Temple before he brought home any more wild animals

Obi Wan has a little brother, Ori Vahn, or Owen, and about twenty nine cousins of various ages; the Kenobi clan is absolutely massive and all of them are very proud of their Jedi family member

Count Dooku and Obi Wan had actually met prior to Geonosis; little Komari frequently borrowed baby Obi Wan from the creche, loudly declaring he was going to be her padawan when she was Knighted and she was utterly enraged when she found out that her ridiculous weed-smoking older brother who never came around for dinner anymore got to him first

Feemor was not repudiated by Qui Gon; after his whirlwind of a second padawanship under Qui Gon “Will of the Force '' Jinn, he just wanted some goddamn peace and quiet and so he joined the Temple Guard. He still goes to lineage dinner, Obi Wan and Jinn just never see him because Jinn is chronically late to every lineage dinner in hopes of avoiding Yoda’s swamp stew. He is never successful.

Obi Wan wasn’t being permanently assigned to Bandomeer after that fight with Bruck; he was supposed to be going on a meditative assignment to help him realize that the Corps weren’t less important than Knighthood, but the docent didn’t explain it properly and his anxiety blew everything out of proportion

Xanatos made a joke about Feemor being a lowly farmer exactly one more time after the sparring match where Qui Gon told him off; Feemor responded by ‘planting’ his ass in the mud in the Room of a Thousand Fountains

Feemor was Qui Gon’s first padawan whose training he took on about half way through Fee’s apprenticeship, so they were more like college student and TA; Xanatos was Qui Gon’s second apprentice, but the first whose training he entirely oversaw, and he gave the kid way more freedom than he should have because Feemor was at the age where he didn’t need a ton of supervision and Dooku, while extremely loving and attentive, had the tendency to be a little too strict and overbearing, so Quiggs overcorrected; with Obi Wan, he was struggling with the fear of failing another padawan so he was overly strict and critical in the beginning, then tried to course-correct and ended up as a mix between the weed uncle and overbearing mother hen by the end

Sifo Dyas’ condition made it so he would likely never have a padawan of his own, but he and Jocasta helped Dooku raise Rael and Qui Gon; by the time Komari came around though, Sifo was struggling too much to be more involved than simply a shoulder to cry on, although as Komari’s little crush grew, she pulled away from Sifo and everyone else because she was embarrassed and jealous in equal measures

Komari’s crush on Dooku started when she was like fifteen, and it was mostly a mixture of hero worship and ‘crush on Mom’ type affection (‘crush on Mom’ being a developmental stage while a child is figuring out love and affection where they latch onto their primary caretaker as a source of that love and affection) rather than truly sexual or romantic; she just wanted him to see her as a capable adult, but it became a much bigger problem when she refused to admit it to anyone who could help her work through it and it started negatively affecting her judgment on missions

Sifo Dyas, Jocasta, and Dooku were in a poly relationship for most of their lives, although it petered out once Dooku left the Order due to Dooku being both a political leader and him not being honest with them about the whole Sith bullshit; Jo and Sifo still remained close until Sifo’s death after Naboo

Dooku, Cin Drallig, and Kit Fisto are all lineage brothers but with slightly different relationships; Dooku and Cin were more like close cousins, while Dooku and Kit were like responsible uncle and nephew (giving Kit extra lessons in saberwork and teaching him how to drive a speeder properly) and Cin and Kit were like fun older cousin and baby cousin (sneaking him treats and taking him to his first bar)

Qui Gon’s obsession with prophecy and distrust of visions did actually stem from Sifo Dyas; he remembers how miserable and sick visions made Sifo Dyas, how on his bad days he might be raving at shadows and his worse days could land him in the Halls of Healing. He also remembers that on his good days they used to read together; baby Qui Gon loved prophecies and Master Sifo was the only one who would read them with him, pointing out that even though the future was always in motion, prophecies had a way of coming true in the most unexpected ways; this was part of the reason why he always stressed remaining in the moment with Obi Wan despite his own fixation on prophecy

The minute Qui Gon was brought to the Temple, Dooku immediately went “Mine!”. Jo and Sifo had to occasionally drag him out of the creche, reminding him to at least wait until the boy could put on his own clothes and tie his shoes before taking him on as a padawan; he did in fact wait (no, he did not teach the boy to put on his own clothes and tie his shoes, that would be cheating) but Qui Gon still had a padawan braid before he hit double digits

Obi Wan is a very cuddly individual and he runs cold; he tends to layer up no matter what season it is and sleeps in a pile of blankets when in his quarters; his bed is less of a bed and more of a den

Anakin is absolutely a prude and mistakenly thinks Obi Wan “Layers are my best friend” Kenobi is too

Obi Wan can cook but not bake, Ahsoka can bake but not cook, and Anakin’s ability to do either is solely dependent on whether or not he’s stimulated enough at the moment

Rael and Qui Gon were very close growing up, and it broke Qui Gon’s heart when Rael took the permanent posting on Pijal and stopped calling home

Despite his love for space-weed, Qui Gon was actually very modest and conservative in dress and behavior; the only person he ever had a romantic/sexual relationship with was Tahl

Tahl Uvain, Mace Windu, and Qui Gon Jinn were in the same creche clan; they all remained very good friends despite Qui Gon giving Mace a headache all the damn time

Qui Gon used to call Obi Wan “little imp” as a form of endearment and would tug on his padawan braid; Master Dooku also used to tug on Qui Gon’s braid, but Dooku is allergic to pet names

Dooku is absolutely horrendous with any sort of gun or blaster, but he’s amazing with all kinds of bladed weapons, especially swords; Sifo Dyas however, is a terrifyingly accurate shot with a blaster and has won several fights by using his backup blaster on unsuspecting opponents 

Obi Wan learned how to shoot a sniper rifle from Madame Nu, who was reigning champion of the Temple sharpshooting competition; for smaller blasters, he learned from Master Sifo Dyas and Master Tholme, who also instructed him in several Shadow techniques along with Quinlan