#c: aneirin

[councillor-roland]

closed starter for @aneirin-ap-mouric

Roland had been made aware of Aneirin's arrival at Krovs, mostly because he'd been expecting it and had asked some of the staff to let him know as soon as he showed up. He wanted to see how long it would take his oldest fledgling to pay his sire a visit, though if it became a waiting game Roland knew it was one he was bound to lose. Days had passed and there had been no sign of Aneirin so Roland had finally lost patience and sent for him. Initially, he'd thought to seek him out and demand to know why he thought ignoring him was acceptable, but he'd actually paused and thought about it and decided it was ultimately better to summon him. Roland had made first contact, true, but he was still forcing Aneirin to come to him which balanced the scales. Such power games were fairly common for them and perhaps Aneirin would realise that though he would most likely just be annoyed.

The vampire lounged on one of his priceless antique sofas, smoking and very carefully appearing casual and careless but there was more than a little anticipation in him. The last time he'd seen Aneirin Roland had been a mess and he only barely got hints of communication from him through his texts and calls with Sophia. It had been hundreds of years since their last proper visit and that had been during a war so it hardly seemed to count. Undoubtedly they would be sniping at each other within minutes but as he'd told Rhys, it was impossible for him not to have an enduring fondness for his first fledgling and, truth be told, his first uncomplicated love.

Roland had left the doors open so he wouldn't have to break his casual pose to answer them so when Aneirin finally strode in, Roland regarded him with some faint amusement. He drank him in of course, quickly, and he was handsome as ever, unchanged since the night Roland had turned him. It seemed he hadn't gotten to appreciate that in far too long. Taking a drag from his cigarette, he blew out the smoke and then finally addressed him. "It seems disrespectful not to have checked in with your sire before now, non? I'd have thought you had better manners than that, 'Rin."

[nicotine-noah]

There wasn't much Noah could do but take it now, rocking back against Aneirin in spite of himself. He was pretty sure he wouldn't cum again, not with the cage still on, and it felt good but was too much at the same time. Still, he cried out at the fangs in his neck, a mix of surprise and pleasure and closed his eyes, breath catching as he moaned softly. That still felt fucking good no matter what else was happening. Still, it barely lasted long enough before he felt Aneirin finish and then pull his fangs back. He pressed his forehead against the arm of the couch, more than a little dizzy from all the blood loss and just all of this really. He didn't respond to comment, grunting when Aneirin pulled out.

He flopped back onto the couch finally, fucking exhausted and in a terrible mood, dizzy and blood soaked in more than a few places. Fucking finally Aneirin let him out of the dumb ass cage and Noah let out a breath. That was better. He still glared at the vampire, though. "No." He snapped, though he was kissed a moment later and blinked. Oh now he was all gentle and loving was he? Too fuckin' late, not that Noah normally wanted that anyway. The cambion made a face at the idea of being rented again before he was pretty much dragged to the vampire's bed and settled there. "I hate you." He groaned, his head spinning from all of this.

When he finally got to go back to the Undercroft, Noah glared at everyone and found his bunk, passing out pretty quickly and just wanting to put all that bullshit behind him. He dreaded the next time Aneirin rented him.

END

Aneirin's goal wasn't to fuck Noah for very long. Noah had given him everything he wanted - the look of humiliation and frustration, then proof that Aneirin was right, that he could cum with a cage on, despite his protestations, and then finally that delicious fucked-out and overstimulated whining. It was everything Aneirin desired in a plaything, and everything that got him going. He took hold of Noah's hair and drove his cock into him in deep thrusts.

Noah had demon blood, he decided, he could probably handle just a little more. He sank his teeth into Noah's neck one last time, took another, smaller, drink as he came inside him. When he let go of Noah's neck, he flopped over his back briefly, pressing a kiss between his shoulder blades. "Good boy." He patted him on the arse and pulled out, letting his cum spill out of Noah's hole.

Finally, finally, he retrieved the key and let Noah out of his confinement. "I think you enjoyed that, really, didn't you?" He squeezed Noah's face in his hand, kissed him tenderly, almost like a lover. "I certainly did. I'll have to have you again sometime." He tugged Noah through to the bedroom by the hand and lay him down on the bed with him. "You'd certainly keep my bed warm."

[liminalpsych]

Appendix C in Faletra's translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain

My feelings on the various excerpts from other texts included in Appendix C of Michael Faletra's translation of Geoffrey's Historia regum Britanniae. These focused on the arc of King Arthur's development and are all very short excerpts, often just a long paragraph.

A quick plug for a fantastic Arthurian podcast I stumbled upon earlier this week, Eavesdropping On Arthurians. The very first episode is a professor talking with the podcaster about all these texts and more, as well as how to pronounce them, and the early references to Arthur. It was an informative and interesting listen, I really recommend it if you're interested in any of these texts or pre-Galfridian Arthur. (The second episode is about Geoffrey of Monmouth's depiction of many powerful women in his texts, who he presents as pretty much universally positive. Theoretically as a way to support Empress Matilda's bid for the throne. Also a worthwhile listen.)

From Aneirin, The Gododdin

This is the single poem that mentions Arthur; it's considered the first extant reference to the figure of Arthur. I talked about Y Gododdin in this post if you want the poem and more details on the full text.

From What Man is the Gatekeeper? (Pa gur yw y porthor?)

This one's neat! It's not even the entire poem. I've ordered a copy of the Black Book of Carmarthen and will be reading it in its entirety and context once that arrives. This is an early Brythonic poem where the poet describes Arthur and his band as vanquishers of a variety of supernatural monsters. This one has been estimated as being from the 10th century originally, and gives us Kay (as "Kei the fair") and Bedivere (as "the accomplished Bedwyr" by the side of Arthur in battle), and describes Arthur as laughing as he fought and killed "by the hundreds".

From The Stanzas of the Graves

Another one from the Black Book of Carmarthen. This talks about the resting places of many different legendary Cymric heroes, and mentions Arthur in the line "But the world's marvel indeed is the grave of Arthur". Pretty short excerpt, nothing much to respond to here.

From Triodd Ynys Prydein: The Welsh Triads

Faletra notes that these are probably mnemonics for bards, and the professor in the above-mentioned podcast agrees with this. It mentions Arthur, Mordred's betrayal, and the battle of Camlann. Very brief excerpt.

From The Legend of St. Goeznovius (Legenda Sancti Goeznovii)

Faletra writes that this text might date from around 1019. The short excerpt he includes (just about a paragraph) talks about Vortigern, Arthur as a king (possibly written before Geoffrey's Historia depicted Arthur as a king, which is interesting because most sources I've read say he was just written as a general or war-leader before Geoffrey's History).

From William of Malmesbury, The Deeds of the Kings of the English (Gesta Regum Anglorum)

The first English historian to mention Arthur, apparently; unlike the Legenda Sancti Goeznovii, William describes Arthur as a warlike military leader with great prowess in the battlefield. He also mentions Ambrosius and Vortigern. Another brief paragraph of an excerpt.

From Caradoc of Llancarvan, The Life of Gildas (Vita Gildae)

Written in the early to mid twelfth century. It's one I want to read in its entirety, I think. The excerpt shared by Faletra talks about "the holy Gildas" who "loved the king (Arthur) dearly, striving always to obey him", though his twenty-three brothers were very rebellious against Arthur and won several battles against him. Arthur manages to kill the eldest brother eventually, and Gildas grieves and weeps about this, but also prays for Arthur at the same time, apparently because he's a proper Christian saint.

From Gerald of Wales, The Description of Wales (Descriptio Kambriae), 11.2

The second Gerald excerpt. He writes to try to reconcile the lack of records of Arthur as king prior to Geoffrey of Monmouth. He postulates that Gildas (of Vita Gildae, above) threw all of the books about Arthur and cast them into the sea because he was so upset about his brother's death, so that's why no one can find any "accurate account" of Arthur prior to Geoffrey of Monmouth's work.

From Gerald of Wales, The Education of Princes (De Principis Instructione Liber), 1.20

Third Gerald excerpt, but not from the Kambriae this time. He describes the supposed discovery of Arthur's tomb, and really emphasizes "look, it's really totally King Arthur's tomb, I inspected it myself, he's not coming back". He also posits that Avalon is Glastonbury Tor, and that's where Morgan took Arthur after the Battle of Camlann.

From William Caxton's Preface to Sir Thomas Malory Le Morte Darthur

I really just skimmed this one, as I'm not chronologically to Morte in my "read all the core Arthurian texts" quest and figured I'd end up reading Caxton's preface when I got to the point of reading Malory. Caxton argues that Arthur was a real person and was a king.

[thatjustmakesyouabetacuck]

[cicelythereaper]

Hello! I was wondering if you had anything on Y Gododdin 😃

hey! fellow gododdin enthusiast! what a delight

i presume this is a request for reading recommendations - i don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, or how accessible these will be, but i’ve tried to cover most bases here. i WISH there were more literary criticism, maybe there is in the welsh-language scholarship and i just haven’t found it? 

it’s entirely possible that i will have missed some obvious things here, i’m mostly sticking to stuff that i personally have read. if something mind-blowing has come out since the last time i did gododdin reading then it’s not here, i’m afraid! 

but enough disclaimers. on to the recs!

text and translation:

for a translation, i cannot recommend enough joseph p. clancy’s translation as found in the triumph tree: scotland’s earliest poetry, 550-1350, ed. t. o. clancy (1998). this is fantastic. it’s poetic, it’s a joy to read, and having used it as part of a deep read last year where i went through the welsh text in detail i am honestly AMAZED regularly at how well clancy handles the many translation issues that arise. it’s loose, and it doesn’t translate every single stanza unfortunately, but for the spirit of the poem you really can’t do better

that said, if you need another translation to check against/to fill in the gaps, i’d recommend kenneth jackson’s the gododdin: the oldest scottish poem (1969). it’s a prose translation, so it’s harder to use in conjunction with the text, but it’s pretty clear and accurate

text-wise... things get complicated. honestly, the best edition is probably still ifor williams’ canu aneirin (1938), in terms of faithfulness to the words on the manuscript page. (i also really enjoy his textual commentary, but it is in modern welsh so not accessible to everyone.) the major problem with it is that you are not going to get the stanzas in the order they appear in the manuscript - he reorders them into groups of perceived variants. this also makes it harder to distinguish between the A-text and the B-text. AND it means that the stanzas are not in the same order as in any of the translations!

if you can get hold of it, i really really think it is worth having daniel huws’ llyfr aneirin: a facsimile (1989). the introduction is SO useful for understanding the manuscript context, and it comes with gwenogvryn evans’ transcription of the book of aneirin, which you can compare with williams’ edition if need be to work out where a stanza actually goes.

there’s a conspectus of editions which i think thomas owen clancy put together but i cannot for the LIFE of me remember where it is - if you think you’ll need it, PM me and i’ll see what i can do

dating, textual criticism and historicity:

t. m. charles-edwards, wales and the britons, 350-1064 (2013), chapter 11 - this is from more of a historical perspective than a strictly linguistic/palaeographical/dating perspective, but it’s a really good general introduction and i definitely recommend starting with it. if you read nothing else, read this. this whole book is a godsend

t. m. charles-edwards, 'the authenticity of the gododdin: an historian's view', in astudiaethau ar yr hengerdd, eds. bromwich and jones (1978), pp. 44-91 - this kind of lays out the standard view which everyone has been deconstructing ever since. we don’t know anything about what’s going on with y gododdin, but at one point we thought we did know something and this was what it looked like

d. n. dumville, 'early welsh poetry: problems of historicity', in early welsh poetry: studies in the book of aneirin, ed. b. f. roberts (1988) - and HERE is the deconstruction! a pretty good overview of the issues with “knowing anything” when it comes to y gododdin

p. sims-williams, 'dating the poems of aneirin and taliesin', zeitschrift für celtische philologie 36 (2016), 163-224 - i don’t have any notes on this and haven’t read it recently, but i remember it being good (it’s sims-williams so of course it is). almost certainly contains linguistics, but is probably also written readably

o. j. padel, 'aneirin and taliesin: sceptical speculations', in beyond the gododdin: dark age scotland in medieval wales, ed. a. woolf (2013), pp. 153-75 - if you can stand linguistics talk, padel does his best to make it understandable here and gives a good overview of the linguistic arguments for and against suggested dates for y gododdin. this whole book is actually very useful

g. r. isaac, 'canu aneirin awdl LI', journal of celtic linguistics 2 (1993), 65-91, AND 'readings in the history and transmission of the gododdin', cambrian medieval celtic studies 37 (1999), 55-78 - DEEP IN THE TEXTUAL CRITICISM. honestly, my poor attention span means i find it hard to pay attention all the way through these two, but if you want a really in-depth look at the possible relationships between the A and B-texts of y gododdin, this is the way to go

historical discussion and background:

charles-edwards in wales and the britons chapter 11 again

j. rowland, 'warfare and horses in the gododdin and the problem of catraeth', cambrian medieval celtic studies 30 (1995), 13-40 - this is a pretty cool look at the role of cavalry in y gododdin and while i don’t agree with all of it, i think it’s really useful reading if you’re going for a historical take on the poem

p. m. dunshea, 'the meaning of catraeth: a revised early context for y gododdin', in beyond the gododdin again, pp. 81-114 - makes some ESSENTIAL points re the question of: is catraeth catterick? moreover, IS CATRAETH A PLACE?

c. cessford, 'northern england and the gododdin poem', northern history 33 (1997), 218-22 - a historical perspective on the poem with some very useful points, comparing the situation as sketched out in y gododdin with what we know of the area at the time

m. wood, 'bernician transitions: place-names and archaeology', in early medieval northumbria: kingdoms and communities, AD 450-1100, eds. petts and turner (2011), pp. 35-70 - a welcome look at the archaeological and place-name evidence for what was going on in bernicia as it changed from a brittonic to a germanic-dominated area. really useful to have in mind both when reading the poem and when reading more literary history

r. collins, 'military communities and transformation of the frontier from the fourth to the sixth centuries', in the same book, pp. 15-34 - pretty fascinating look at the earlier background running up to the time period depicted in y gododdin, and the possibility of continuity between the roman occupation of hadrian’s wall and the post-roman era there. useful social/archaeological perspective!

f. h. clark, 'thinking about western northumbria', in the same book, pp. 113-28 - an early medieval english perspective on the area at the time, useful for comparison and completeness’ sake 

literary discussion:

ifor williams, lectures on early welsh poetry (1944) and the beginnings of welsh poetry, ed. bromwich (1972, 2nd ed. 1980) - THE CLASSICS. an old-fashioned, not to say outdated, viewpoint, but that’s because this is the guy who INVENTED the viewpoint back when it was new! even now there’s a lot of good stuff packed into these and ifor williams’ prose style is a real pleasure to read. not to be missed

a. o. h. jarman, 'the heroic ideal in early welsh poetry', in beiträge zur indogermanistik und keltologie, ed. meid (1967), pp. 193-211 - likewise somewhat old-fashioned now, but lays out the classic viewpoint well and makes some good literary points. it may also be worth reading the introduction to his edition/translation, aneirin: the gododdin (1988). (i don’t recommend using it as an edition because he conflates the A and B texts and renders the text into modern welsh - this means it reads very smoothly but is quite a bit further away from what’s on the manuscript page.) 

h. fulton, 'cultural heroism in the old north of britain: the evidence of aneirin's gododdin', in the epic in history ed. davidson, mukherjee and zlatar (1994), pp. 18-39 - a pretty interesting read, about the mindset expressed in the poetry, its purpose and its construction

this isn’t lit crit but i’m putting in my favourite g. r. isaac quote from his article ‘gweith gwen ystrat and the northern heroic age of the sixth century’, p. 69: ‘Koch writes that the Book of Aneirin’s ‘immediate milieu is… not the Celtic Heroic Age, but the High Middle Ages’, as if the ‘Celtic Heroic Age’ were a period of comparable historical status to the High Middle Ages. This is not the case, however. A ‘heroic age’ cannot be the ‘immediate milieu’ of any literary production, a ‘heroic age’ cannot produce literature, because a ‘heroic age’ is itself produced through literature (taken in the broadest sense). It is a literary product. The Homeric epics are not the product of  a Bronze Age Achaean heroic age, but vice versa. The Irish Ulster Cycle is not the product of an Iron Age, pre-Christian heroic age, but vice versa. And the medieval Welsh poems of ‘Aneirin’ and ‘Taliesin’ (and Triads, sections of the Historia Brittonum, and much else) are not products of a sixth-century North British heroic age, but vice versa.’

honestly there just is not nearly enough lit crit for y gododdin, in english at least, especially to explain cool shit that the welsh text is doing that isn’t visible in the translation, and/or things that could be subversive or ambiguous about it - so, i don’t know what your level of engagement with the medieval welsh text is, but if you’re curious, if you want to know more about what’s going on in a specific stanza (or which stanzas are extended puns), or just which things i’ve been dying to yell about all year, PLEASE message me and I! WILL! YELL! 

articles which are almost certainly good and useful but it’s been too long since i’ve read them to say:

t. o. clancy, 'the kingdoms of the north: poetry, places, politics', in beyond the gododdin again, pp. 153-75

m. haycock, 'early welsh poets look north', likewise in beyond the gododdin, pp. 115-52

FINAL NOTE:

one of the problems with translations is that they give an impression of way more certainty about the meaning of the text... than is actually there. you’re pretty safe with clancy or kenneth jackson, but tread carefully. again, i don’t know your level of engagement with medieval welsh, but if you want to know if there are any major textual issues with a stanza, hmu and i will gladly consult my copious textual notes! but in general, BEWARE of basing anything too heavily on the following groups of stanzas:

A40, A41, B5, B6 (Am drynni drylaw drylenn; Clancy ‘For the feast, most sad, disastrous’)

A42, B25, B35 (Eur ar vur caer; Clancy ‘Gold on fortress wall’)

A48, B3, B24 (Llech leutu tud leudvre; Clancy ‘Standing stone in cleared ground’)

A62, B14, B15, B16, B36 (Angor dewr daen; Clancy ‘Anchor, Deifr-router’)

the Gorchanau if you’re interacting with those, especially the Gwarchan Maeldderw - if anyone tells you they know exactly what is going on in these, do not believe them. isaac has a full translation of the gwarchan maeldderw in cambrian medieval studies 44, and it’s useful, but i’m not by ANY means completely convinced by it, so tread carefully.  

the more stanzas there are in a group of variants (or at least a group that shares lines), the more likely it is that those stanzas are going to be SUPER DUPER TEXTUALLY FUCKED UP, is a pretty good rule of thumb.

[magician-aneirin-stefanidis]

OOC: Happy Birthday to Nadia!

I can’t really write something for her -w r i t e r ‘ s - b l o c k - s u c k s- but I will try and do some nice headcanons for her and my Apprentice Aneirin, because they’re canonically best friends. 

Send me some HCs ideas!

[arthurian-texts]

“He pierced three hundred, most bold, He cut down the centre and wing. He was worthy before the noblest host, He gave from his herd horses in winter. He fed black ravens on the wall Of the fortress, although he was not Arthur. Among those powerful in feats [?] In the front rank, a pallisade, Gwawrddur.”

- Y Gododdin, commonly attributed to the Welsh poet Aneirin c. 7th century, translated by Siân Echard

Since I mentioned it in my reply to @sensicalabsurdities, I thought I might as well post this here: What may well be the very first Arthurian reference we have!

As with so many Arthurian texts, the exact date and authorship of Y Gododdin is uncertain because it only survives in later manuscripts. But if it was in fact written by the poet it’s ascribed to, Aneirin (our source for it is a 13th-century compilation of his poems called the Book of Aneirin), it would have been written as early as the beginning of the 7th century, making it the earliest reference to Arthur currently in existence.

And it’s notable, really, more for what it doesn’t say than for what it does: The poem is describing a battle completely unrelated to Arthur here, one that would have taken place significantly after Arthur’s death. And in describing the might of one of the warriors in that battle, Gwawrddur, the poet basically says “As amazing as this guy was, he still was no Arthur.”

There’s no further explanation of who Arthur is or why he should be the standard of badassery everyone else is held to... which implies that the author of Y Gododdin thought his audience wouldn’t need it. By the time this poem was written, Arthur’s reputation as an unbeatable warrior must have already been prominent enough that a reference like this needed no further explaining.

[theancientgeekoroman]

Both @singingofdudesarms and @rambling-museums tagged me in “getting to know me” type posts EONS ago, so I’m going to just combine them into one post! I don’t usually tag people for these types of things, but if you see these and want to do them, consider yourself tagged by me and feel free to mention me when you make your post, lol. Here goes:

1. Are you named after anyone?

This fellow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aneirin

2. When did you last cry?

Yesterday because I saw a commercial that made me happy lol

3. Do you have/want kids?

Classified

4. Do you use sarcasm?

No, I wouldn’t ~dream~ of ever using s a r c a s m

5. What do you first notice about people?

Their outfit tbh, I like to see if y’all are wearing fandom t-shirts or pretty things lol

6. What is your eye color?

Hazel!

7. Scary movie or happy ending?

Happy ending, lol. I’m a Disnerd until the end.

8. Special talents?

Singing opera and Broadway, mediocre archery and fencing skills

9. Where were you born?

Delaware lol

10. Hobbies?

Reading, writing, YouTube and Netflix bingeing, baking baklava

11. Any pets?

I have three cats with my fiance (they have two, Naruto and Wilde, and I have one, Athena)

12. What sports have you/do you play?

#JockTychon has come out, here are all the sports and athletics I’ve played/participated in:

Soccer

Volleyball

Basketball

Cheerleading

Tang Soo Do 

Ballet 

Tennis (fun story: when I served, I did it on my toes so they called me Ballerina)

Fencing

Archery

Medieval Re-enactment (training with those boffer weapons is one of the most athletic things I’ve ever done lol)

13. Height?

smol

14. Favorite subject?

*gestures to entire tumblr and other social media sites* Take a wild guess

15. Dream job?

Any job where I can get paid to teach/talk/about Classics and the ancient world would satisfy me if I got enough money from it to live comfortably 

This particular post has a “rule” of tagging 9 people, but again, I don’t like to tag people in these things, so feel free to do this one and tag me as your tagger if you do it from my post!

Rules: Tag 9 people you want to get to know better. Answer the provided questions.

Relationship status: Engaged!

Favourite colour: all of them but I wear a lot of black

Top three ships: Nagron (surprise), Bubbline, I blanked on the third one, Idk

Lipstick or chapstick: I’ve never really worn lipstick but I’d be intrigued by it lol; always chapstick

Last song: Lord of the Rings soundtrack because that’s what I use to study/do homework to

Last movie: The last movie I think I watched, I liveblogged on here: Hercules Unchained, it was either that, or Legally Blonde which I remember wanting to watch because of all the law information I was researching

[briarfox13]

Do you happen to have any irl faceclaims for your Witcher OC's? c:

Hi nonny! =) Thank you for asking =)

I do actually, there should be one for all 5! They all look slightly different from their faceclaims but I tried to base them on real people so it was easier to draw them XD

Lillie of Temeria-Liv Tyler, especially her in Lord of the RingsLillie has long raven black hair and dark blue eyes

Kita von Barre-Anna PopplewellKita had ridiculously long and thick chocolate hair that she keeps in a long braid/plait down her back and bright blue eyes

Heather-Heather’s face claim is a bit awkward as I believe she’s a model for Armstreet but I’ve yet to find her name.Heather has white blonde hair and purple eyes

Aneirin aep Morgana-Saorise RonanShe has the most marvellous mane of red-gold hair, and one bright green eye. Her right eye is white due to the scar running through it

And lastly Reynard of Skellige-Madelaine Petsch (Or at least I think that photo is her XD)She has Witcher eyes and the tips of her hair is white from mutations

If you’d like to know more nonny about what they look like I’m happy to chat about them or provide tags and pictures! I hope you have a lovely day

[lavinia-ollivander]

“Hello princess. I know, I missed you too. I missed you too.” Lavinia kneeled down, petting the small corgi before she jumped into Lavinia’s lap, licking her face. “I guess I missed your person too. A little.”

@nottawallflower

[councillor-roland]

closed starter for @aneirin-ap-mouric

It was past time that they at least had a conversation. Roland no doubt would've tried earlier if Rhys hadn't left almost immediately after the argument Roland had had with Aneirin. Roland had been mired in his pain and misery for some weeks and then caught up with Rhys once he'd returned but the fact that he and Aneirin still hadn't reconciled continued to bother him. Roland still didn't really have a good solution but he was desperate for things to be at least on friendly terms once more. If he had to give Aneirin what he wanted as best he could perhaps he'd just have to do that even if it seemed to Roland like it would do more harm than good. If that meant bending or breaking some of his own boundaries well....so be it. Roland believed it was worth it.

Roland was never one to show up empty handed when he had something to make up to someone. Given Aneirin's love of birds, it seemed only fitting to get him one, though Roland had wanted to make sure it both looked and sounded beautiful even if Aneirin would've likely been pleased with any bird. To that end, he'd ordered in a brazilian tanager which was a beautiful, vivid red and had quite a lovely song to boot. It was currently flitting about in the ornate golden cage Roland held in his hands as he stood outside of Aneirin's door. Letting out a breath, he knocked. Best not to say anything until Aneirin came to the door though undoubtedly his fellow councilman would be able to tell it was him. When the door opened, Roland smiled slightly. "Bonjour. I owe you an apology. I thought this might be a good start."

[netherwar-rpg-blog]

Welcome to the Wardens, Art! Your application for a RANGER OC has been accepted with a Joe Dempsie FC.

This was a really exciting application to read through because the character is quite different from the rest of the Wardens and he is certainly going to create a lot of tension! Where most Wardens know that their duties are essential to save Eldris, Támhas doesn’t believe they will achieve victory and it will only create more destruction for the north! How awesome! It’s endearing to see how his devotion for his friend has led him to the same destiny and path he is so passionately against. Plus, it will be really interesting to see when that gryphon egg decides to hatch and what happens - they are a proud and massive mount in times of war and it’ll help the Wardens have an advantage in the air if Tám ever feels compelled to fight with them. Can’t wait to see what he chooses to do!

The application can be found under the cut. You have 48 hours to create a roleplay account (cannot be a sideblog) for your character and we will be updating our opening date soon!

O O C - I N F O

Name: Arthur/Art

Age: 22

Timezone:  GMT-8, PST

Activity Level: I do have a full time job that requires me to be up at the crack of dawn (or earlier, some days), but I’ll be able to at the very least be on for plotting every day after work, and I’ll be able to get to replies at least every other day.

Extra:  I got nothing other than pure excitement.

C H A R A C T E R - I N F O

T H E - B A S I C S

Name: Tàmhas Cathán Caibre

Nickname:  Tàm

Gender:  Cisgender male

Age:  26

Class: Ranger

Faceclaim:  Joe Dempsie

C H A R A C T E R - D E T A I L S

Nationality:  Crywrenian

Appearance:

Tàmhas Cathán Caibre is a brooding sort of man, more the sort to frown than to smile.  Dark blue eyes and even darker hair lend him a seriousness that extends far beyond his 26 years.  Unlike his father, who prefers to keep his hair long and tie it back while at work in the forge, Tàm keeps his hair short and unruly.  Stern brows and a strong jaw complete his face.  His serious look only softens on the rare occasions he smiles, eyes wrinkling; though when he does smile, it’s a completely genuine one.  

Years of smithing and sparring with his father have strengthened his broad shoulders, lending him an extremely fit profile, but years of hunting in the nearby woods have lent him a much lighter step than most would expect.  

Personality:

{ + } Loyal, Compassionate, Hard-working

{ - } Brash, Moody, Combative

C H A R A C T E R - B A C K G R O U N D

History:

Tàmhas Cathán Caibre was not born under any significant circumstances.  His mother was a seamstress, and his father was the village blacksmith. They made sure their wee babe wanted for nothing, but they also gave him a strong moral compass and values.  They taught him right from wrong, and taught him to speak up if he disagreed with someone - though, they did begin to regret it when he learned how to speak.

He met Aneirin - Eirin, since he couldn’t pronounce the other’s name - when he was only a year old, and the other was just a babe with big ears and even bigger blue eyes.  From the moment he saw him, Tàm knew he wanted to protect the young boy.  He stuck by Eirin as they grew up, protecting him from all the teasing from the older village boys, always a dark, brooding figure looming at the boy’s side.  

He was there when Eirin’s father was executed.  He was there when Eirin broke free from Tàm’s father’s arms and ran into the flames, heedless of Tàm’s cries and Eirin’s mother’s screams.  He was there when the flames died down to glowing embers, revealing the twig of a boy with eyes on fire.  He was there when the elders took Eirin away.

Never one to just let someone take his closest friend away, Tàm went to his father and begged him to convince the elders to let him see Eirin - surely his friend must be scared and upset, and Tàm needed to comfort him.  Be there for him.  And after a week of continued begging on Tàm’s part, and pleading on his father’s - and Eirin’s uncle’s - part, he was finally allowed to visit Eirin.  Soon enough, he was the only person allowed to visit him in his cage.  And, seeing how they treated his friend - as if he was a precious, fragile thing never to be let out of their sight - Tàm became disillusioned with the people who followed the Fenarious faith.  What faith would let them treat a child like they treated Eirin?

Alongside his visits with his best friend, Tàm’s father began teaching him how to smith.  Tàm spent his days in the forge, learning how to shape and strengthen the iron and steel needed for horseshoes and swords. Sometimes - well, most times - when it got slow, his father would even teach him how to fight with a sword.  Usually, Tàm’s mother would bring them lunch and find them dancing back and forth across the forge, trading blows.  As Tàm grew older and stronger, the sparring matches grew more and more energetic, until Tàm’s mother began just leaving their lunches at the door to avoid flying blades.  

His father also taught him how to hunt for his food using a bow and arrow, and soon enough Tàm was almost a perfect shot.  He taught himself some trick shots to keep himself entertained - and, quite frankly, to screw around with the boys who’d bullied Eirin.  

So, when he went to the elders after a long hunting trip, only to find Eirin had run away with nothing but the clothes on his back and his father’s dagger, Tàm decided to go after him.  The elders blessed him, gifting him a large gryphon egg they’d found in an abandoned nest, and sent him to the south to bring their Dragonborn back home.  

Reason for joining the Wardens:

Tàm does not believe in the Wardens.  Knowing what happened during the last Rifting, and how it affected Crywren, he doesn’t believe that they’ll be able to find someone like the High Lord Alarik and stop the Netherworld from leaking into their world irreversibly.  What he does believe in is the need to make sure his closest friend is safe.  He’s not joining the Wardens to save the world.  He’s joining the Wardens to save his friend.  

Desired Connections:

THE DRAGONBORN - Tàm grew up with THE DRAGONBORN and fought to stay by his side when THE DRAGONBORN was taken under the elders’ wings.  He will do anything to protect the other man, up to and including laying down his life to ensure THE DRAGONBORN’s safety.

[pearls-and-ramen]

I legit wrote like 4 writeups on one of my current D&D OCs but my freaking laptop keeps deleting it.

So here are the basics. I play with guys fm work that include a Bioware Producer, 2 Ex-Blizzard guys and a professional voice actor. The DM has been running this world for close to 20 years and every game (which will last 1.5-2 years each) will affect and change the world and lore. I was invited early summer of last year to sit in for a few weeks and they invited me to be a regular right after.

Current story.

Cara. 2nd Child of the Crown Prince of the Eastern High Elven Kingdom of Mystaria. 99 (so 17/18 human years). Rogue. Chaotic Neutral. Runaway. Bleeding Heart.

I always viewed her as a stereotypical Italian girl. Olive skin, dark hair, loud, self-assured and proud. She dyed her hair the dark color b/c the High Elves of her kingdom are all blondes so it would of made her stand out too much. Plus she felt the dramatic dark colors looked better.

The story is crazy complicated and this one is only 4 months in. There has been a 12 year time jump due to moving between planes, she has been forcibly bound to a Drow Queen until she completes a single job which is turning out to be MUCH harder than it sounded. In the 12 year gap an evil king allied with the Drow of Menzoberranzan and took over most of the region most people know with D&D. Slavery is rampant, the Drow have returned to the service, the holy temples have been torn down and the High Cleric of Lloth rules BESIDE the humans in Waterdeep.

The surface elves have all been enslaved, the forests burned. Its HORRIBLE

She had “rescued” a strange collection of people from slave children who stabbed her in the neck when they panicked but she still gave them money and daggers to defend themselves, young bruised men who just wanted to go on an adventure with a pretty elven girl (That is how Zaccarias of House Efron got his head cut off in his very first encounter) to her final attempt to save a beautiful but starving man surrounded by magic found in a locked cage in the Underdark. She wrapped him in a cloak, gave him medicine and weeks worth of food saying she would be back as soon as the danger was gone and never returned because less than 10 mins after she left the man(who was a N20 hotness, the DM rolls on all NPCs its kinda a thing), she died. Like disinterested died, disarming a trap so the party could pass through. (This was just on this previous Saturday. Im still recovering)

I started crying quietly at the table and the DM looked at me and offered a deal with “DM time” (which means on the porch so no one else knows) and ALL the guys at the table started screaming NOOOOOOOOOOOO, ITS NOT WORTH IT.

I went outside and found out he would bring Cara back but I would not know the price until I agreed. I saw all the faces of the dudes pressed against the window mouthing NOOOOO. I agreed.

He took everything I had developed about the character and CORRUPTED it. The Drow mark on her arm put her back together but different. Anger became Rage, Elitism became Racism (anti-human) and Chaotic Neutral became Chaotic Evil. The magic bleached out her hair and darkened her eyes. If possible she is more beautiful and fair but just ….dark.

She will now save her people no matter what. The humans will be punished for the abuses they have done and she will burn the world to cleanse it if necessary. She is no longer Cara, she jas rejected her childhood name that elves keep until they are grown early (as she is not 110 yet), and has taken her full title; Evangeline Aneirin Daeris, Princess of Mystaria and the only one who can save her people. (I’m totally going to Dany it, she will pick up more names than she needs)

I’m freaking terrified and so excited to see where it goes. He has been texting me ALL week with direction and info. This is gunna be nuts.

I texted the DM today at work asking about the Man she left behind bc i was wanting to know about him. He wouldn’t say anything. I asked if he would be her doom, due to the poetic nature of the tragedy. He pointed out she had left many people behind. Many people were waiting on Cara, while Evangeline had taken her place and probably had no intention of going back for them. He wouldnt say anything about the dude which tells me he was important.

That was when I realized the character I created of Cara would rather be dead than be Evangeline. I hope she can be saved.

And I need a new inspo board.

[thatjustmakesyouabetacuck]

[gujjupowers]

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[magician-aneirin-stefanidis]

Aneirin Infodump

His Parents

His mother was a powerful warrior-mage from a clan down south -like Lucio or Muriel’s clans- who had a very complicated curse put on her. She spent most of her life alone until she met his dad. Her name was Rhiannon.

His dad came from Hesperia -which I HC as being Greek-inspired- and was in the army before defecting and moving to Vesuvia. His name was Kyrios.

His parents knew Asra’s parents and they were close friends. But after they disappeared, they couldn’t find Asra and just thought they moved somewhere else suddenly. 

They died during the Red Plague. It was very sad for Aneirin. 

Himself 

He’s trans! He transitioned when he was young and his parents were behind him all the way. 

He’s almost aggressively androgynous. While he firmly prefers he/him, he loves it when he confuses people with his gender. It makes him feel powerful, lmao.

His poshness is largely forced; it’s mostly a false show of confidence.

I n s e c u r i t i e s - t o - t h e - m a x. He’s got body issues, abandonment issues, inferiority complex, anxiety, depression...its all just simmering under the surface, so he puts on an act because he doesn’t want anyone suffering with him. 

He’s a good swordsman and his magic specialty is lightning! Anything else? Sweet sweet Garbage. (Besides the typical MC skills in the game) 

He’s blind in his left eye from STORYLINE REASONS. He’s got some wicked scars. 

He can see the auras/energies/chakra/whatever you call it with his left eye. 

His Familiar 

DUMPLING. 

Rotund White Weasel!

If you call him fat, Aneirin can and will destroy you.

This creature is so stupid...he’ll try to make friends with anything and everything.

Including the huge doggos that can and will eat him for a light snack. 

He’s just out here to have a good time and make friends. 

This is sorta what I have in mind for his general outfit. I hate that its a female but. (Also, he has golden wrist and armbands, and there’s golden silks connecting them. With a dark green sleeve. He is ridiculously flashy and flamboyant. Also they’re pants, not a skirt.)