#but at least I'm running

[dionysia-does-stories]

My Fief for an Apple

Cringetober 2023, Day 7: Mary-Sue.

On AO3

Rating T - 1,636 words - Tortall - OC Future Fic

Summary: When Weldon's Son gets trapped in a ditch with his injured horse, Raoul and Buri's Daughter comes to their rescue.

Story:

Phillip surveyed his gelding, Bangle miserably. He was grateful at least that when they’d suddenly pitched off the road, Bangle fell in a way that he didn’t break his neck. Maybe more impressively the horse’s great body also didn’t break Phillip’s neck

While they’d survived the fall, they were both injured. Bangle had hurt his ankle. On his own he would never get out of this ditch. Phillip wasn’t of much help since his own knee was swollen and painful with what he hoped was a bad sprain.

Bangle was making awful sounds of distress. Phillip searched his saddle bag, hoping he had anything to distract the horse with, while they waited for a someone to pass by on the road. They were on the outskirts of a smaller village where the crown was hosting a jousting tournament. Eventually, someone would walk down the road. Phillip would be able to beg or bribe them for help. He just wished he could do something for his poor horse now.

“My fief for an apple,” he told the air.

An apple soared through the air, thudding into his lap with absolute precision. He turned to the the road, looking up to see a woman astride her horse. He made note of the fabric muffling her tack—that’s why he hadn’t heard her coming.

He told her, “well, I’m not giving you my fief. You’ve got more than enough land of your own.”

Phillip recognized Lady Knight Amiram of GoldenLake and Malorie’s Peak. She was probably the most recognizable knight in Tortall. She had her mother’s golden skin. The masses of curling black hair could have come from either parent, though she wore it in the braids of the Raadeh clan. Her eyes of darkest blue, like ripe winter sloe berries were what marked her as her father’s daughter. There was good humor twinkling in the depths of her eyes.

Phillip had never met her. He’d seen her at tournaments or riding with the King’s Own. She was death with a lance. The fiercest jouster in the kingdom. He’d seen her compete before, proud and confident. She was like an aspect of the Goddess herself.

There was a legend the Own told that she had killed a giant when she was just a girl. She’d strung up a trip rope at the edge of a sudden drop with a lance propped up at the bottom. Then she’d drawn the giant’s attention, getting it to chase her through the woods of Goldenlake to where she’d rigged her trap.

“What fief am I being cheated of?” She asked.

Phillip got to his feet, wincing in pain. He sketched a bow. “I’m Phillip of Cavall.”

“Ah. Of course, you are. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it sooner.”

Phillip felt a sense of pleased surprise. He’s never met Lady Amiram. She started as a page when he became a squire and so on, just missing each other. But he’d never have guessed, “You recognize me?”

The Lady blushed. “I recognize your horse.”

Phillip deflated. He made an admirable effort to hide it. “Cavalli horses are the best. I imagine someone who jousts as competitively as you do always has an eye for such things, Lady Amiram.”

She wasn’t taken back at all by his casual recognition of her. Phillip assumed that everywhere she went folks recognized her.

“Just Ama is fine.” She dismounted her horse. “Are you going to give that apple to your horse or did you make that request for yourself.”

Phillip had forgotten that he was holding the fruit. He offered it to Bangle, who pathetically munched on it. “We’ve fallen off the road and injured ourselves,” he pointed out somewhat unnecessarily. “If you wouldn’t mind helping, I’m sure we could get Bangle back on to solid ground.”

Ama looked them over, whistled. “That hole in the road sure got you.”

“Hole?” Phillip asked dumbstruck. He hadn’t seen a hole and didn’t like the idea that he could have been oblivious too it.

“Don’t berate yourself about it,” she advised him, sensing his thoughts in his tone. “The local lads have been covering it with a layer of leaves.”

Phillip saw red. “Someone deliberately did this?” His horse was whining in pain.

Ama produced a rope from her saddle bag, tying one end to her horse’s saddle.

“With all the knights visiting town for the tournament the local girls have been ignoring the local lads. And the local lads have decided to take that out on the knights. There’s little traps all over the village.”

She slid down the edge of the road into the ditch. She handed Phillip the free end of the rope. He suppressed his rage focusing on getting Bangle securely tied.

“And you know this how?” He asked.

She gave him a sideways smile. “Some of the local lads told me when I was checking in. I think their dislike of us knights only extends to you boys.”

“Ridiculous,” Phillip grumbled. “I’m hardly out here toying with girls. I don’t blow into town, bed whoever I want, and then carry on my merry way.” Phillip suddenly remembered Ama’s somewhat salacious reputation. “Not that there’s anything wrong about that, I just…”

She waited for him to pick his sentence back up but he couldn’t find the words. “My great-great-aunt Sebila, who marches on despite considerable age and infirmity, often says no man will marry me the way I, in her words, carry on like a feral cat in heat. I can never decide if it’s worse or better than the talking-tos my father got while he was a bachelor.”

“Any man would be lucky to marry you,” Phillip said with absolute conviction and completely by accident. He cursed his loose lips as she walked to the far side of Bangle.

She greeted the horse, giving him a chance to get used to her. The whole while Phillip couldn’t see her expression.

“Are you able to help push him up?” She asked.

Phillip lurched to Bangle’s other side ignoring the discomfort in his knee. “Of course.”

“Alright then.” She didn’t sound convinced. “On three.” She looked to her horse. “On three Killy.” The horse flicked his ears forward and backward in acknowledgement. The uncanny human understanding of an animal that spent time around the Wild Mage.

Ama braced herself and called, “one.” Phillip had heard other men talk about her, the beauty who could wield any weapon she got her hands on. She certainly wasn’t lacking for offers of marriage, just not accepting them. “Two.” When she was a page, she’d excelled in every subject. She done so well that her entire class was better than average for trying to keep up with her. Myles of Olau had often said “everyone runs faster to keep up with Ama of Goldenlake.” And Phillip felt like he understood why. “Three.”

Ama’s horse, Killy pulled hard at the rope as Phillip and Ama each shoved one of Bangle’s haunches. Between the four of them they got Bangle back on the road. Ama leaped up after him, reaching a hand back to Phillip. He clamored his way out of the ditch.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, like he had any idea what she was referring to.

“What?” He asked breathless from the struggle to get on the road and the pain in his leg.

“If I never get married, it doesn’t matter,” she said. “I’m inheriting all of Goldenlake either way.

He didn’t know what the right response to that was all he could think to say was, “my sisters talk about that a lot.”

“I’ll bet,” she said with a snort. She started untying the rope from Killy. “They stood to loose Cavall to a cousin, if your parents hadn’t managed to have you.”

She moved on to untying Bangle. Her muscles were tense, as if she expected anger from him.

“I was an accident,” he announced.

She caught his gaze, shocked. “You were not.”

“I absolutely was. My mother was at an age where my parents weren’t bothering themselves about pregnancy charms anymore. Turns out it’s rather common.”

She took Phillip’s saddle bag and attached it to Killy. “A happy accident, I’m sure.”

“If you go to the law library and look at the records from when your father was petitioning to have you made heir, my father was one of his staunchest supporters.”

“You were already born then,” she said. “What did he have to gain.”

“It was the only thing my father didn’t like about not having a son. The idea that my sister’s claim to Cavall would never be seen as completely legitimate.”

“I suppose we should limp back to town. You can ride on Killy if you’d like. He’s a calm enough sort.”

Phillip was briefly seized by a manly vanity that urged him to turn down the offer. Luckily, the madness passed and he clamored onto the horse.

The ambled down the road. Ama produced another apple from her saddle bag, which she took a bite of before offering the rest to Killy.

“You’re jousting tomorrow,” he’d meant to ask it as a question (even though he knew she was.)

“I don’t think you or your horse are in any state to challenge me,” she said with a wicked smile.

“Actually, I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner.”

He enjoyed the little blush that crept along her neck. He took it as a good sign.

“There’s a banquet.”

“Skip it.”

“Alright, but I picked out a very pretty dress for this evening. If you’re going to be the only one who sees me wearing it, then you have to make it worth my time.”

Phillip never thought he’d feel lucky to have fallen into a ditch. 

[welcometogrouchland]

[ID in ALT] I've made posts before about Talia/Dick co-parenting Damian moments (will never happen but let me dream) and this came to me in a vision. Took me ages to finish for some reason 😭 and then even longer to post

[yeyinde]

idk the idea of Ghost being an absolute dog. rough, mean, downright cruel. treats you like a thing, he’s gross.

and Price being the opposite. like can’t imagine even asking you to lift a finger, full on princessification. buys you pretty things and brushes you hair for you. and them just never seeing eye to eye is making me CRAZYYYYYYYYYYYYY

what's crazy is that they're both doing the same thing, just with wildly different approaches. and my (controversial) take on this is that Price is arguably worse than Ghost.

with Ghost, you pretty much know what you're getting into from the jump. no holds barred. he's not playing games. he wants you, he'll have you. end of. everything is laid out in stone before he even has to lift a finger to get you. you want out? run.

(but just. keep running. forever. because if he wants you, he'll never stop chasing you.)

but Price? you don't have to lift a finger because you can't. princess-ification, sure. but the sort that involves gilded cages. it's still a leash even if it's gold.

the end justifies the means, and that includes all things - even you. especially you. and once Price has you, you're stripped of everything that he doesn't like. put on a pedestal. your life wrapped around his finger. dependent on him for everything. he convinces you to quit your job, to move in with him (into a house that's just in his name). bends you until you break. moulds you into the thing he covets the most. there's no room for error here because one misstep and he can just. remove you.

and where would you go?

back to the friends he told you he didn't like? bad influences. or the ones he gave you that follow his every command? can you get a job in a city he has so much pull in? probably not when he has you blacklisted everywhere. the Price name holds a lot of weight and he has no qualms using his inherited power to ruin you.

he systematically dismantles your entire life and the wild thing is: you end up thanking him for it.

two sides of the same coin but at least Ghost is honest about how badly he's going to ruin you, y'know?

[arttsuka]

Same

[sensitiveheartless]

Part 4 of the "Dazai and Chuuya being competitive, mutually pining disasters" comics!

<- (Previous part) (Next part) ->

Most of this one is under the cut because it got LONG

[royalarchivist]

Pepito: fofoca???

Pac: Fofoca? You know, uh, me and Fit are dating, that's the - like, the last fofoca I can tell you

Mike: YOU STARTED DATING?!

Mike and Pepito react to Pac's news about dating Fit.

[ Subtitle Transcript continued ↓ ]

-

Pac: Yeah, right? Like, I said to you - [stammers] Y- you - you cut my hair, man!

Mike: No no no no– You said- you said that you- you had met, but you didn't said you were dating, bro! What the fck.

Pepito: QUEEEEEEEEEEEE CUENTAME (WHATTTTT TELL ME)

Pac: Yeah, like, I think after like the first date, I think I'm dating, it's not how that- the things work, right?

Mike: I'm gonna- I'm gonna ask- I'm gonna ask Fit.

Pac: Ask Fit, ask Fit.

[Mike runs off to question Fit]

Pac: Fit like, invited me to... to dinner yesterday, Pepito.

Pepito: mi primera boda :-D (My first wedding :-D)

Pac: Cal- calma, calma, calma, calma- You know? We are– we are baby steps. [Laughs]

Pepito: PASITO A PASITO COMO PEPITO. (Little by little, steps like Pepito)*

Pac: Yes! [Laughs] "Little by little, steps like Pepito." [Starts singing "Despacito" then laughs again.]

* "Pasito a pasito" can also be translated as "little by little" or "step by step," but given the context of what Pepito's saying, "Little by little, steps like Pepito" is a closer translation to what Pepito's actually trying to say.

[pinkhairswagtourney]

consider helping a queer disabled artist survive until they find another job !!!

i lost my job last month because my manager wouldn’t accommodate my disability anymore , and i have a long list of things that i need help paying for , including insulin and medication , appointment copays , groceries , gas , and car insurance . my dog recently had a severe allergic reaction and i had to take her to the vet , which drained absolutely everything out of my account . i don't even have enough money to eat at the moment .

i’m looking for employment , but in the meantime i really really need some help . i offer art commissions , the link is below ! please consider throwing a few dollars my way until i’m able to get back on my own two feet , even a little bit helps more than you even know . please boost this post !!!! thank you for reading

commission post p-yp-l c-sh-pp

[navree]

Incorrect, the fact that Biden has dropped out and a candidate with history of supporting medicare for all and being more receptive to a ceasefire in the I/P conflict has made me go from "I cannot morally support the Democratic nominee" to "I am voting for the Democratic nominee despite the fact she isn't perfect in every respect." I'm really happy this played out. The Dems for the most part abandoned the old Obama platform and it feels like its possible an actual progressive agenda could come to pass in my lifetime.

Kamala 2024!

If you weren't going to vote Democratic in this election before Biden dropped out you're a dorkass loser who does not care about any of the issues you're yammering about here and also a fundamentally bad person, and I hope you get run over by a bus.

But you got one thing right in all of this gibberish, Kamala 2024.

[grey-viridian]

DTIYS for @tizeline

Congrats on 10k!!! (love your artstyle btw sooo soft and beautiful i wanna look at your art all day!)

The original outfit was perfect but I still felt like something was missing...

[absha120420]

chasing the chaser (LOUD FOGHORN SOUND EFFECT)

[bacchuschucklefuck]

dreaming abt sophomore year class swap bard!riz

[yet-another-haven-of-dollya]

Even today, as I heal my sorrow, I keep waiting and waiting for you I kept on yearning, to the end of time and space, As if I was dreaming of Shangri-La

...So now, let's dance, that very fateful waltz "Would you like to have this dance?"

Song: Waltz of the Moon Rainbow (Kagamine Rin - Sweet) Couple: Pure Vanilla Cookie x White Lily Cookie (cookierun kingdom)

[bluehoodedmousebane]

Fucked up and played half of Halo 2 in one afternoon but uhhhh game fun. Still walking face-first into the wrong doors, but the levels don't need arrows to tell me where to go, so that's nice.

[gummi-ships]

Kingdom Hearts 3 - Rage Form

[cosmicwhoreo]

Sounds like a YOU problem...