#rhoan: gift

[ilyalenkov]

The last couple of days had been interesting, he had to get used to someone else living with him that wasn’t a part of his personnel. It wasn’t horrible, in fact he found Rhoan’s company as good as he had thought it would be. Claiming him was turning out to have been a good decision even if he had gotten him at an interesting time. He knew what was happening now, and he was certain Rhoan was feeling it even more so with the collar he had been wearing was removed from his neck. Ilya had given the hound his own space, for which he was now entering with something in his hand. A handmade leather collar he had specially ordered before he’d made his claim, it was sturdy yet not as bulky as the one the slaves got when they first arrive. It was a simple item without any enchantments, for as long as Rhoan followed the rules, though he had no doubt that wouldn’t be a problem.

“I have something for you.” He says, before they could do anything, he wanted to give him the gift. He lifted the collar high enough up for him to see it, “Was tempted to put a bell on it.” He explained as he stepped in closer, taking the collar and placing it around his neck. “It has no enchantments on it, I’m trusting you to not break any of the rules of the castle. You only get one chance.” He was stern, finger hooking under the leather as he looked at him. He could see as clear as day how the hound was feeling, the struggle to keep it together was amusing. He would make him wait just a moment longer as he released him, wanting to get a good look of him with the new collar. 

“Yes-- that suits you nicely.” He hummed, moving back in with a single step, getting right into his space so he could softly speak into his ear. “Such a good shchenok, take me as your reward, however you wish to ease your suffering.”

@rhoankennedy​

[sidhewrites]

praise me for i have written some words

The wind bit at his skin like wolves, frost clinging to his lashes and burning with every breath. It had taken him two days to get this far up the mountain, and there was another half day’s travel still to go. Rhoan was no true knight, but the pay was too great not to do all that was asked of him. At the summit lay the ruins of a university, a once-grand palace of science and learning. Now it was nothing but a monster’s keep.

Only a sliver of moonlight lit his path, the last day before a new moon. Though his pack was laden with any number of candles and a hundred other gifts alongside, nothing of it could be touched. Not by him. She’d know if he skimmed off her gifts, even to survive this miserable trek.

[luxmaeastra]

"I don't care what you do Viren bring her back."

"I take it your talk with father or Nyktos didn't go well?"

Keir glared at his twin slipping into a chair opposite him.

"Father refused and Nyktos just laughed and shut the door in my face!"

Viren's lips twitched and forced himself not to laugh. Nyktos would laugh especially since Keir and Iris had done the same thing their daughter had. Iris and he had known each other since they'd all been children. Still when the bond snapped their father Eythos had refused the match. Nyktos hadn't agreed with either. Their mothers Nyxia and Braxyis weren't much help either.

Iris had been set to marry some Prince or Spring when Keir, he and Beron had attacked the party.

Keir had won the blood duel and they'd the party who tried to stop them. Toll Cobalt had come and outright thrown them out.

Roisin, his Sarai's close friend had been one of the few guests to leave alive. He supposed it worked out well considering she'd just had her fifth child with her mate Rhoan who had saved her that day. He'd nearly killed Keir to do so. He looked at his notes, Sarai would want to send a gift for the baby. A boy if he remembered correctly. He couldn't remember the name they gave the child but he did remember the nickname for how stupid it was - Tamlin.

"Viren are you listening?? Bring Morrigan back from that backwater kingdom before I send an armada to retrieve her."

Keir stood, his eyes flashing.

"No note! Not one explanation. For all we know Dagan kidnapped her. Iris is beside herself with -"

"Keir you know they're mates. Nandor said they -"

"So they say! Bring her home or we go to war! And I will level Hybern to rubble! I will do what the Ironteeth failed to do 500 years ago!"

He stormed out still muttering about old grudges. Viren exhaled and got ready for his trip.

Nandor looked from Rhysand to him and rose an eyebrow.

"Is he not a twin Viren? Have you already chosen your heir so quickly?"

Viren resisted the urge to hiss. He hated Valg kingdoms. He rolled his shoulders and clasped an arm around Rhysand's shoulders.

"He wished to come see Morrigan. They were close and he was worried. Romulus is studying under my general of war. He -"

He slid his eyes to the garden behind Nandor. He could make out Caudan and Aiofe as they walked the trail. Caudan looked every inch like his father, though the eyes he flashed their way was all his mother. Cunning, quicksilver, a pale almost silvery blue.

"I am surprised you took in Terresan Bastards?"

Nandor stiffened and followed his gaze. He sighed and relaxed his posture. He gestured for them to follow, the porters would bring their bags of course.

"The bond snapped when we went to their court. How could I deny them? Especially when the boy outright threatened to bed the girl that night? In public!"

Viren loosened his grip on Rhysand's shoulder. He slid his hands into his pockets and snorted.

"This seems like a trend with our children. Rhysand please don't do that."

His boy flushed and glared at him, and Viren only winked. He looked back to Nandor moving to step beside him. He'd let Rhysand have some privacy to take Hybern in. Besides, he knew he had nothing to worry with Rhysand. Of all his children he knew he had the calmest head.

And he knew he didn't need to push his power here. They would see it as an insult but then, war debt went far deeper than that.

"Perhaps it's all the stories we told them of finding our mates during Cassandra's Fall. One of my youngest, Raelyn, she adores the story of when Sarai and I finally confessed. She asks for it nightly, bless her."

Nandor shot him an amused smile but he was relaxing, lowering his Gaurd. Yes, he willed him to remember he wasn't the damn enemy. He was trying to prevent more war! He still remembered that Ironteeth attack, it had sent shock ways. Nandor's 12 children killed, Caudon barely surviving to pull through. That had been 20 years ago and the rallying cry had splintered the witches. It had also tightened the collars around the ones already in Prythian and the other fae lands. Ironteeth or not, witches weren't creatures to trust. He knew Sebastian hadn't agreed, he and Natalia had been furious but then perhaps they should keep quiet. They and Nicasia lived in Winter and Autumn. Two courts notorious for their free speech so long as they didn't incite inter-court war. He supposed Sebastian had little left to loose, not when he had been fresh off the heels or Terresan's fall.

"Why are you letting Morrigan stay Nandor? You know how Keir is -"

"My nephew is willful. And more importantly how could I turn away a female with child?"

Viren stopped walking and actually stared at him.

"Excuse me?"

Keir was going to loose his mind.

Rhysand froze in time with his father, his gaze rising to the two older males as the news seemed to sink in. He had known how close the pair had gotten, he knew the secret meetings they had had. Sneaking off, meeting outside of the watchful eye of her parents.

He had thought his cousin was smarter, that she wouldn't be reckless. His attention shifted to his father, his hands slid into his pockets as he could feel the uncomfortable atmosphere fill the air around them.

"You heard me Viren." Nandor was firm in his words. Even if he was allowing his guard down around the other, he wanted him to understand in no uncertain terms the situation they found themselves in. A mating bond they could not ignore now it was clearly completed, one which now bore fruit from the union.

He looked back towards the way they had been going, his head tilted slightly as her fingers tapped upon the side of his leg as he considered what was going through his mind. Keir, the male was protective of his daughter and he clearly would not take it well. However, he respected his nephew enough to back him in this.

"The female is with child, Dagan wants to stay by her side and be the mate she deserves," he shrugged once more. "It is love, a mating bond built from it. You should know what that is like, as should her father."

[lorenzoxreyes]

"A year?! Time flies when you're havin' fun, huh?" There was a slight tone of sarcasm in there, since he was pretty sure Rhoan probably wasn't having that much fun, all things considered. Hell, even Enzo hadn't had the best year. "Really? Authority doesn't do it for you?" the siren teased with a little grin. Lorenzo had always had a thing for guys -- and girls -- in uniform, especially cops.. which was fun when he liked to cause a little trouble here and there. "Mm, maybe not quite that much, but I can get you a lovely gift or something," Enzo purred with a smirk, biting softly at his lower lip as Rhoan moved in a bit closer. "What would you like? How can I spoil you?"

"Yeah, it has been. About a year now since the last time I saw you, I think." It was a little crazy to realize just how damn long he'd been one of the castle's slaves. Really didn't feel like that long ago that he'd agreed to give himself over to Krovs in exchange for his friend walking free. "The whole guard outfit isn't really my thing on a normal day, but of course you'd be able to pull it off." The hellhound was pretty sure Enzo could walk around in the most ridiculous outfit possible and still look good as hell. He chuckled quietly a second later, raising an eyebrow at the new guard. "You owe me, hm? Planning to split some of that hard earned money, then?" He teased, leaning in a little bit closer to Enzo.

[artagansilvermoon]

Artagan tilted his head in confusion, watching as Rhoan produced something from behind his back. “You got me a gift?” the fae asked, taking the wrapped package carefully. He hadn’t been expecting anything so it was a genuine surprise. Quickly unwrapping it he smiled when he saw the bracelets inside. “Rhoan, this was really sweet. I love them.” Slipping them onto his wrist, Artagan leaned up to kiss his cheek. “Thank you. I didn’t get you anything, I feel like an asshole.” 

for: @rhoankennedy​ cont from here

[varcolax]

costumes

Emerson pulled back as the hair hit him in the face. Licking his lips with a small chuckled the banshee simply reached out to playfully tug the dress hem. “Well I was just gonna say a fairy, but I like queen of the forest. Means I have more power than you.” Giving his own spin for dramatics, he put his hands behind his back as he gracefully slowed. “But good news for you, I’ve become a villager so you won’t have to put up with me anymore. Well, except for when you need my medical herbs. In which case you’ll have to fly your way to my shop to get some.” Motioning to the character Lovell was dressed as. Yes, now the master would have to find him rather it being the other way around. A small glow emanated from his palms. Not that the doctor would see, but it made Emerson happy at the thought. “I can assume Artagan and your other boy are also dressed the same? As the two others.”

@emersonoceanfairy​

“Doubt it. I’m pretty sure my Blossom could still kick your Queen’s ass,” the varcolac said with a shrug as he watched Emerson spin on the spot. The man did look good in his get-up but Lovell was not about to tell him that right away. 

“Oh, have you?” That explained why Emerson had not been at the greenhouse when Lovell went to look for him and his herbs. He simply thought the banshee had fucked off somewhere without telling him and he had felt a bit weird about it for awhile. “Yes. Artagan’s Buttercup and he looks great as always! Rhoan’s Bubbles because he’s still being punished.” He knew how much the barghest would have hated the outfit and it was for that reason Lovell had inflicted it on him. 

“How’s your new life in the village?” he asked. “What are you doing? Looking after the park?” Lovell had heard of the enchanted park the castle had gifted Krovs Town and it only seemed natural.

[gadgetgirl71]

Top Ten Tuesday 2 March 2021

Welcome to this weeks Top Ten Tuesday. Originally created by The Broke & The Bookish, which is now hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week it features a book or literary themed category. This weeks prompt is:

Characters Whose Job I Wish I Had

(maybe not even because the job sounds fun, but maybe the co-workers are cool or the boss is hot?)

Daisy’s Run (The Clockwork Chimera #1)

I’d like to be Daisy I think she is a cool character and she has an interesting job on a spaceship that’s heading back to earth.

Synopsis: Life in deep space could be a drag sometimes, but Daisy supposed things could have been worse. They were still alive, after all, which was always a plus in her book. Now if only she could figure out who, or what, was endangering her return home, things would be just peachy.

It had been one hell of a way to start the day––being rudely snapped from a deep cryo-sleep, and in the middle of a ship-wide crisis to boot––but Daisy was pleased to note that the ship had not decompressed, the crew hadn’t been blasted into space, and, most importantly, they hadn’t simply blown up. At least not yet. So, they had that going for them, but being stuck on a damaged ship in the inky depths of space as it limped toward Earth was not exactly the relaxing trip home she’d imagined.

With the powerful AI supercomputer guiding the craft beginning to show some disconcerting quirks of its own, and its unsettling cyborg assistant nosing into her affairs, Daisy’s unease was rapidly growing. Add to the mix a crew of mechanically-enhanced humans, any one of whom she suspected might not be what they seemed, and Daisy found herself with a sense of pending dread tickling the periphery of her mind.

Something was very much not right––she could feel it in her bones. The tricky part now was going to be figuring out what the threat was, before it could manifest from a mere sinking feeling in her gut into a potentially deadly reality.

Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood #1)

I think it would be really exciting to be Beth Randall as she eventually becomes the Queen and is surrounded by sexy elite vampire warriors.

Synopsis: The only purebred vampire left on the planet and the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who killed his parents centuries ago.

But when his most trusted fighter is killed — orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate — Wrath must put down his dagger and usher the beautiful female into another world.

Racked by a restlessness in her body that wasn’t there before, Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of the Brotherhood and blood frighten her. Yet his touch ignites a dawning new hunger one that threatens to consume them both…

Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows #1)

I’d like to be Rachel Morgan a witch that apprehends criminal creatures from vampires to werewolves and any other magical creature that breaks the law.

Synopsis: Forty years ago a genetically engineered virus killed half of the world’s human population and exposed creatures of dreams and nightmares that had, until then, lived in secret alongside humanity.

Rachel Morgan is a runner with the Inderland Runner Services, apprehending criminals through out modern-day Cincinnati. She is also a witch.

Used to confronting criminal vampires, dark witches and homicidal werewolves, Rachel’s latest assignments – apprehending cable-stealing magic students and tax-evading leprechauns – have prompted her to break her thirty-year contract with the I.S. and start her own runner agency.

But no one quits the I.S.

Marked for death, Rachel is a dead witch walking unless she can appease her former employers and pay off her contract by exposing the city’s most prominent citizen as a drug lord. But making an enemy of the ambiguous Trent Kalamack proves even more deadly than leaving the I.S.

Dead Witch Walking (The Hollow #1)

I think Ivy Rachel’s friend and colleague would be a really cool person to work with along with Jinks. Who couldn’t love Jinks?

Synopsis: Forty years ago a genetically engineered virus killed half of the world’s human population and exposed creatures of dreams and nightmares that had, until then, lived in secret alongside humanity.

Rachel Morgan is a runner with the Inderland Runner Services, apprehending criminals through out modern-day Cincinnati. She is also a witch.

Used to confronting criminal vampires, dark witches and homicidal werewolves, Rachel’s latest assignments – apprehending cable-stealing magic students and tax-evading leprechauns – have prompted her to break her thirty-year contract with the I.S. and start her own runner agency.

But no one quits the I.S.

Marked for death, Rachel is a dead witch walking unless she can appease her former employers and pay off her contract by exposing the city’s most prominent citizen as a drug lord. But making an enemy of the ambiguous Trent Kalamack proves even more deadly than leaving the I.S.

Flatlines (Medicine & Magic #1)

I think Kate has an interesting job being an ER Doctor who sometimes uses a bit of her magic to help people recover. Not that I’d be any good at her job as I can’t stand the sight of blood!

Synopsis: I hide from death trying to save lives, but I can’t hide from my magic forever.

I’ve avoided the magic on the this side of the Veil, staying within the realm of the nonmagical while training as an ER doctor. It’s a way of hiding my dark magic from the mage council. If they discover my type of magic, the chances are good they’ll burn it out of me, and in doing so, destroy my mind.

Everything changes when I make the mistake of saving a sexy knight of the mage council from a magical attack. Not only am I revealed to the council, but when a high-ranking member of the council is poisoned, and no magical treatment is effective, I’m called upon to figure out what happened—and how to save him.

Now I’m caught up in a magical plot beyond my abilities. Survival requires I use the dark magic flowing within me, but can I do it and avoid detection? And can I learn why my magic is so different than others with dark magic?

I’m used to living on the edge of the magical world, but when I’m thrust into the heart of it, I need to use my training to protect me, or I’ll lose everything I’ve worked for.

Flatline is a fast-paced fantasy mystery with a mixture of medicine and magic that will leave you breathless.

Full Moon Rising (Riley Jenson Guardian #1)

To be Riley Jenson a hybrid Vampire/Werewolf and to be able to kick ass while protecting humans from supernatural races would be a great job.

Synopsis: A rare hybrid of vampire and werewolf, Riley Jenson and her twin brother, Rhoan, work for Melbourne’s Directorate of Other Races, an organization created to police the supernatural races–and protect humans from their depredations. While Rhoan is an exalted guardian, a.k.a. assassin, Riley is merely an office worker–until her brother goes missing on one of his missions. The timing couldn’t be worse. More werewolf than vampire, Riley is vulnerable to the moon heat, the weeklong period before the full moon, when her need to mate becomes all-consuming.…

Luckily Riley has two willing partners to satisfy her every need. But she will have to control her urges if she’s going to find her brother….Easier said than done as the city pulses with frenzied desire, and Riley is confronted with a very powerful–and delectably naked–vamp who raises her temperature like never before.

In matters carnal, Riley has met her match. But in matters criminal, she must follow her instincts not only to find her brother but to stop an unholy harvest. For someone is doing some shifty cloning in an attempt to produce the ultimate warrior–by tapping into the genome of nonhumans like Rhoan. Now Riley knows just how dangerous the world is for her kind–and just how much it needs her.

Glinda of Oz

Who wouldn’t want to be like the good witch Glinda, with her kindness, beauty and magic?

Synopsis: Peace, prosperity, and happiness are the rule in the marvelous Land of Oz, but in a faraway corner of this magical domain dwell two tribes–the Flatheads and the Skeezers–who have declared war on each other. Determined to keep her subjects from fighting, the Ruler of Oz, Princess Ozma, along with her dearest friend, Princess Dorothy Gale (formerly of Kansas), embarks on a quest to restore peace.When the Supreme Dictator of the Flatheads refuses to cooperate with Ozma, she and Dorothy seek out Queen Coo-ee-oh of the Skeezers, hoping she will be more reasonable. But the queen imprisons Ozma and Dorothy in her grand city and then traps them by submerging the whole city under water. Now it is up to Glinda the Good to save the day. She assembles all of Ozma’s counsellors–including such beloved Oz friends as the Scarecrow, Tin Woodman, Cowardly Lion, Patchwork Girl, Shaggy Man, Tik-Tok, and Wizard of Oz–and they set out to rescue their friends. Will the magic powers of Glinda and the Wizard combined be enough to free Ozma and Dorothy? A rousing tale of suspense, magic, and adventure, Glinda of Oz is the fourteenth and final Oz book by L. Frank Baum. It’s a grand conclusion to his chronicles of America’s favorite fairyland. This deluxe gift edition features all twelve of Oz artist John R. Neill’s beautiful color plates, along with his nearly one hundred black-and-white pictures, making it a perfect gift for all Oz fans, new and old.

The Billionaire Needs a Bodyguard

Well to start of Lex (Alexandra) has a really cool name! But to be a kick ass private undercover security consultant protecting a sexy billionaire must be an interesting and challenging job.

Synopsis: Alexandra “Lex” Granger is a private security consultant who has to go undercover to protect billionaire businessman Michael Thornton, pretending to be an escort. Michael does not think he needs a bodyguard, despite the death threats he has received from protesters against his takeover of a Danish company, but he does need protection against the predatory wife of the Danish ambassador. Lex knows that this assignment is dangerous, made more so because her client does not even know that he is being protected.

She doesn’t know that he thinks she is a con-artist a gold-digger who takes rich men for everything that she can get. As sparks fly, and the attraction between the two go stronger, they face a deadly danger from an unknown assailant. Lex and Mike embark on a turbulent affair in the beautiful city of Copenhagen, with Mike realising that there is much more to the sexy seductress, her bewildering vulnerability evoking unfettered passion and feelings that he has never experienced before. Lex realises that she has committed the ultimate folly, that of falling in love with a man who despises her. Will she overcome the dangers to Michael to her breaking heart?

The Black Widow Agency (Case #1)

Another one with a cool name Alexandria who is a cyber geek and can uncover anyone’s secrets. I’d love to be able to do that job.

Synopsis: The misfit ladies at the Black Widow Agency aim to bring justice to wronged women like themselves using a lethal blend of technology, surveillance, and women’s intuition.

Katie, the ex-cop, appears sexy, strong and tough as nails, but is battling her own demons from the past. Alexandria, the mysterious cyber geek, can uncover just about anyone’s secrets, but has her own. Margot can cook up a storm in the kitchen, or cook up trouble with her lethal tongue. Jane crunches numbers and avoids confrontation whenever possible, but can’t avoid the incessant hot flashes that plague her.

This raucously funny group of women search for justice, but often find trouble instead.

Join them for their first adventure as they come to the aid of a woman who got set up by her ex, causing her to lose custody of her child.

Watch the ladies serve up justice Black Widow-style!

Wrong Number Right Guy (The Bourbon Street Boys #1)

Being May Wexler who ends up working with the sexy Bourbon street boys has my dream job. Who wouldn’t like to be able to surrounded with eye candy as well as being protected by them. Yes Please!!

Synopsis: When a mysterious text message summons May Wexler to a biker bar in downtown New Orleans, she knows something is very wrong. Her sister has sent out an SOS, but when May gets there, she’s nowhere to be found and May is the one in trouble—she’s wearing pink espadrilles, she’s got a Chihuahua in her purse, and she’s in the middle of a shootout.

After tall, muscular Ozzie comes to her rescue, May has no choice but to follow him to safety. At the headquarters of his private security firm, the Bourbon Street Boys, she finds a refuge for the night—and the offer of a job. But it’s not long before a gun-toting stalker isn’t the only complication in May’s life: the more time she spends with Ozzie, the less she can deny that they’ve got some serious chemistry. A wrong number got her into this mess…Will it also get her the right guy?

Until next week.

#JustForFun, #Top Ten Tuesday, #TopTenTuesday, #TTT

[archaeval]

ooc. i'm sorry for the ooc spam i'm just goin thru some of my writing and god...what if i just waved a magic wand and it wrote itself look at this

RHOAN

The wind bit at his skin like a wolf, frost clinging to his lashes and burning with every breath. It had taken him two days to get this far up the mountain, and there was another half day’s travel still to go. Rhoan was no true knight, but the pay was too great not to do all that was asked of him. At the summit lay the ruins of a university, a once-grand palace of science and learning. Now it was nothing but a monster’s keep.

Only a sliver of moonlight lit his path, the last day before a new moon. Though his pack was laden with any number of candles and a hundred other gifts alongside, nothing of it could be touched. Not by him. She’d know if he skimmed off her gifts, even to survive this miserable trek.

The black spires and buttresses loomed above him as they had since coming to this miserable part of the world, like a thousand knives waiting to fall on unsuspecting throats. The witchwife in town told him of beautiful stained-glass windows, depicting cosmological maps. Tapestries of biology. Staircases cut into perfect angles. Art and science melded here, a place of study and learning.

She came to this place nearly one hundred years ago -- a great, wretched beast with eight legs and eight eyes. A terrible spider with moon-like eyes, who hoarded knowledge as jealously as any wyrm. Oh yes, she gave some of it back now and then, but monsters, as a rule, did not tend to be the generous type. Everything had a price, no matter how small the inquiry or noble the quest. There were a great many stories of her bargaining, and a great deal more about her cruelty. Nothing would move her once a price was named, and so one had to pack wisely when making their way to her door.

(i stopped writing here but i have a long plot written out.)

CYRIL

The boy had deserved better from the start. Cyril was half dead from frost by the time he made it to her door, sword poorly hidden behind his back and pack overstuffed with gods knew what.  There was so much iron on him that she smelled him a mile away, even with the storm and her. He shook not from cold but fear the moment he stepped out of the wind and into her shadowed foyer. Ruby almost laughed, shaking so hard that his plate mail rattled. He was a poor excuse for a knight, and she almost pitied him for being here at all. 

“What's this?” Her voice  crooned from the shadows, dripping with venom and delight. “A knight come to cut off my head?” Her eyes flashed in the dark, there and gone just as quick.The boy drew his sword in a panic, but ruby could see clearly that he held it all wrong. 

She chuckled, low and deep, and tutted him like she might a child. “I hope your princess is beautiful as the sun. She’d have to be, for you to come to this.”

Ruby did not care to play games tonight. She was hungry and there was a pheasant waiting for her back behind the veil. She descended on him in an instant, pinning him with the rough wool of his pack, the weight of his secondhand armor doing more to hinder than help. “I am feeling generous, little knight, and I’ll let you pick your death.” 

He struggled beneath her, a helpless mouse under the claws of a barn cat. 

“Shall I hold you here in your iron tomb until the frost takes you? Or shall we make things quick? All you’ll have to do is remove your helmet and let me tear out your throat. I’ll even send your skull back down the mountain, so your pretty dear princess may mourn.”

“… no princess.” His voice was so frail she could barely make out the words.

“What was that?” She asked, leaning in closer. 

He blanched at the sight of her, catching a glimpse of her many eyes beneath her mask. And yet, somehow, he managed to speak again. “There’s no princess…”

At this, Ruby paused. 

That’s not how things went. There was always a princess, a true love, something. Knights like this one didn’t wander up here seeking glory if love wasn’t involved.

“What then? A prince? Glory? You’d not have come encased in iron if you did not want my head.”

He went silent. The smell of urine mingled with the iron burning her nose, and the trembling came to a stop. 

Gods’ teeth. The boy had fainted. Ruby hissed and scoffed, and lifted her hands from his pack. When he did not move, she paced. There was a story here — a new one that didn’t quite fit the rest. And [something something something. ]. She was a creature made of story, woven out of a fairy tale.

Eventually, curiosity won out. With another sigh, Ruby took hold of the pack once more and dragged the boy down into the castle depths. .

#

When Cyril finally came to, he found himself in a bed. It was a half rotted thing and he fancied that he could feel the wood creaking under his pitiful weight. But despite the stale air and moth worn pillow beneath his head, a feather crackled, hot and familiar. 

He sat up with a groan, unsure of where he was. Beyond the veil, maybe? This was a strange entry to the afterlife, smelling of dust and iron and piss, and yet he couldn’t imagine the Spider would have ever left him alive. 

The helmet was suffocating. Cyril sat up with a grunt to rip it off — and froze as a deep, feminine voice greeted him. 

“So you’re awake, little knight. Took you long enough.” 

He flinched, whirling towards the Spider, lurking in the shadowed corner of the room. She was no less terrifying, and his breath caught in his throat as he scrambled for something — anything to defend himself with. 

“Enough of that, boy.”

He froze. It sounded too much like one of his tutors not to obey. 

She, however, seemed calm if not a little irritated. The Spider spoke to him like she had gotten a stain on her coat. “I spared your life for now. The least you could do is ______.”

He trembled, and couldn’t find his voice before her patience ran out again. 

“And take that off. I’ll see the face of my prisoner, if I’m going to treat him like a guest.”

This time Cyril rushed to comply. 

The air rushed out of her lungs

Ruby looked on in well concealed but deeply felt horror. He was a child. No older than sixteen, with hollow cheeks and dark shadows under his watery eyes. Gaunt and underfed as he was, there was no mistaking his youth.

 With a practiced calm, she asked, “How old are you, little knight?” Ruby dreaded the answer. 

“Twenty.”

“No you’re not. I have no patience for poor liars.”

He shrank, dropping his gaze. His shaggy hair fell in his face. Who had been cutting it for him?

Instead of answering however he asked her a question. “Will you eat me for lying?”

She all but laughed. Was that tale still going around? Ruby hadn’t meant to start the rumors, but she had to admit it served her well over the years. 

[he has to give her something for an answer. All questions need payment. ]

She could see him calculating, a quiet intelligence behind those sunken eyes. 

“tell me the truth and you won’t have to find out.”

He hesitated before answering. Ruby had to admit he was a smart boy, despite everything. 

s., (and needs to retrieve his glasses from the pack.)

“May i get my glasses from the bag?” He asked. 

(I want your story if I tell you. He nods and she says yes get your glasses. )

“They didn’t fit beneath the visor,” he explained, putting them on. They were thick lenses, magnifying his eyes until he looked almost owlish. 

Ice cold rage rose up in her again. “They sent you to kill me when you could hardly even see.”

He makes excuses says the armor would be better. She scoffs and shakes her head. “Little boy knight you could never win against me, even well fed and enchanted.”

He flinched again and looked down at his gloved hands. “I'm not a knight,” he mumbled and she didn’t doubt it for a second. 

“What then? Tell me your story. I have spared your life for the night and given you shelter for the wind. If you have no candles for me, you will give me that much at least.”

Oh -! A spot of color rose to his pale cheeks and the boy bent over into the pack once more, rummaging past iron and metal and wood, to produce a carefully wrapped parcel wrapped in a stained kerchief.

“For you, Lady,” he said and held it out. 

“What’s this?” She didn’t trust it. Couldn’t tell what it was below the iron making her eyes all but water. 

“Candles, maam. For shelter from the wind. They’re…” he swallowed, and she swore he wore guilt on his sunken face. (He stole the candles in the dead of night, stubs and broken things that he used to read books and things when nobody was looking but now he fathered them all up for her.)

I'm sorry. I have no proper payment for you but I…” 

He swallowed. 

“You like to follow the rules,” she said. 

(He bravely tells her he thought she might help him. Find a way to cure him. He brought all his belongings hoping they might be enough. A threadbare moth worn blanket. His spare set of glasses, long since cracked. A bar of soap and an empty bottle of perfume that an astronomer made to Toss but he likes to smell flowers now and then)

.

[young-forsythe]

A quick story for Scarlett @scarlettsbearhugs, who is stuck in the hospital and requested a gay adventure story. It turned out to be a gay fairy tale, because I couldn’t help myself.

* * * * *

The Tale of Vashti’s Tree

Long ago, in the time before magic-makers and medicine-weavers, the land of Rhoan suffered beneath the cloud of a terrible plague. The royal family looked upon their dying people and wept, for though they sent food and blankets to every home, they could not stop the disease. And thus the queen beseeched her ancient and wise mother for a solution.

“You must seek the Tree of the North,” the Grand Dame said. “It lies on the highest mountain, across the deepest river and the widest plain. It is said a cure lies in the wrinkled bark. Fetch a twig from this great tree, and your people will be saved.”

The queen thanked her mother and rushed to tell her daughter, Princess Vashti, the kindest, bravest, most cunning warrior in all of Rhoan. Together they wasted no time gathering what was necessary for the quest. Vashti departed at dawn astride her fierce steed and rode with the rising sun at her right hand.

She traveled for days and nights without rest, over stone and briar and stream, relentless in her desire to save her people. Finally, when the full moon shone on her polished plate armor, Vashti stood before the Tree of the North. She bowed deeply before it. Then, quick as a cobra, she unsheathed her sword and severed a green twig from the drooping boughs.

She caught the twig as it fell, careful to wrap the base in soft silk and dip it in a bottle of moon-dew from her mother’s rose garden. A hand graced her shoulder. Vashti rose to see the most beautiful woman she had ever witnessed. The stranger towered over the princess, her moonlight hair cascading over gossamer robes dyed like opals. Two lovely beetle-black eyes blinked down at Vashti. The princess struggled to keep the blush out of her face.

“I am Myrna, the spirit of the Tree,” the stranger intoned. “It is I who grant the gift of healing. You may take this twig, but know it is useless without my blessing.”

“How may I gain your blessing, most noble and, ahem, beautiful spirit?”

“I have devised three tests for you. Should you prove yourself to be kind, brave, and resourceful, I will travel with you and deliver your people from harm. Go forth, and know the twig you have taken will wilt in fourteen nights.” With this, the spirit vanished.

Vashti turned and began her long trek down the mountain. She had not traveled far when she heard the cries of a child. A young girl clung to the sheer face of the mountain, only a single stunted sapling preventing her fall. Vashti cast about for a foothold. She found nothing but loose rock. Desperate to save the child, she took a length of rope and secured it around her shield, forming a seat. She lowered it down to the girl. “Be not afraid!” Vashti called. “I promise I won’t drop you!”

The girl gazed up at Vashti with a sickly smile. She climbed onto the shield and Vashti almost buckled beneath the impossibly heavy weight of her passenger. But the princess was nothing if not a stubborn fool, and she dug her heels into the mountain path until the little girl stood on solid ground once more. “You have proven yourself,” the girl announced, and vanished.

Vashti continued down the mountain with little interruption. She began to feel uneasy at the quiet when she came across a little bench in a copse of trees. A laughing stream rushed by merrily. To Vashti’s utter fear, however, a familiar face lounged on the bench in the arms of another man. It was the woman Vashti courted years and years ago. Their love burned steadily for many moons before it shattered into ice. Vashti had not seen her ex-lover since. Her heart jumped in her chest like a frightened rabbit, but still she rode on. How many nights had she lain awake, imagining this moment? How many angry speeches had she prepared?

Vashti held her hands steady. Now was not the time for lovers’ quarrels. She had her kingdom to save. Besides, she thought with a glance at the figures on the bench, it was not her place to disturb their peace, no matter how much pain she had endured in the past. They did not deserve it. Vashti whistled a tune to herself until the lovers were out of sight. “You have proven yourself,” her ex-lover murmured, and vanished.

The final test did not come for a day and a night, until Vashti crossed a great barren field of rocks. A dog limped towards the princess, rising like a mirage from the hot stone. Its lolling tongue and wheezing breath begged for water. Vashti took stock of her supplies. She had very little water in her skins. The most she had was moon-water for the frail twig, and she knew to sacrifice that would doom her quest altogether.

So the princess dismounted. She constructed a little shelter of stone for the poor dog to stave off the sun’s burning rays. Then she strode off in search of a cactus, and, with one fell blow, slashed open its nourishing flesh. She filled a bowl-shaped stone with as much water as it could carry. This she presented to the dog. When it had slurped its share, it wagged merrily and licked her face. “You have proven yourself,” it woofed, and vanished.

A hand rested on Vashti’s shoulder. She jumped and turned to see the spirit Myrna smiling down upon her. “I see that you truly are kind, and brave, and resourceful. I give you my blessing. Come, let us deliver your people.” The spirit offered her hand.

Vashti found herself whirling through the air, over river and plain and forest, higher than an eagle and faster than a hawk. The enchanted breeze let her go just over the castle courtyard. Her horse whinnied in confusion. Vashti raced to dip the magic twig in the fountain, and as she did, a tremendous tree burst from the stones, roots and branches pouring over the tiered fountain just like water. In the blink of an eye a new tree stood proudly above the castle. Rhoan was saved.

In the years after the plague had dwindled, Vashti grew to be a lovely queen, though she often found herself lonely. One beautiful evening she took a stroll around the Tree. The spirit Myrna was waiting for her. “There is something I must ask and offer, princess,” she decreed.

“What is your request?” Vashti replied, and her heart beat like a flower begging to open. 

“I ask for your hand, and offer my own, so that we may hold each other forever and always, as equal queens of Rhoan.”

Vashti delighted in Myrna’s offer and caught her up in a powerful warrior’s hug. They were wedded the next spring beneath the Tree’s silvery foliage and lived happily ever after.

[ghost-ofstarman]

edit: SIGHS AS TUMBLR ONCE AGAIN MAKES IT ALL BLURRY NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I RESIZE IT CLICK OPEN IN NEW TAB AND IT SHOULD WORK

here's this thing I finished a while ago that I never posted because I got busy with commissions and an art trade (that's why I haven't been posting anything lately, I'm trying to work my ass off selling art so I can buy christmas gifts so apologies for the inactivity)

it's a redraw of sorts, I made a ref thing of alph AGES ago [here] //shudders as I had to go through really old terrible art to find this I also wrote up a bio so here:

Alph is an aspiring astronaut, engineer, poet and cellist born in a family of 13 boys, 1 girl and him. His parents work for the Koppaite government to keep their 15 children fed and albeit being wealthy, can't spend much time with them. After about 7 kids, they quit interacting with them individually and let them just do their own thing. Alph only bonded with his sister, Juliett, due to her being the biggest nerd out of the bunch and him being a nerd too. This caught the attention of his seemingly distant grandfather Drake when Alph was very, very young. Alph would often ask to be driven by Juliett to Drake's house to watch him work on the ship he was commissioned by government officials to plan and build but was never allowed to touch due to his grandfather being a stubborn loner. Eventually he warmed up to Alph and let him work on the ship with him, teaching him how to build machinery as he grew up. They typically worked on the ship nonstop but Drake had to serve in 3 battles against Sorna, not to fight but to plan strategies and provide equipment. When he returned, he'd tell Alph stories of his three friends; two captains and a medic (Captain Charlie, Character D/Delton, Captain Rhoan) and would show him when they were on TV (while refusing to make any appearances himself). Alph was mostly drawn to Charlie due to him being the youngest out of all four of them but having accomplished the most according to Drake. The third trip back Drake refused to talk about them and became a bit more distant about his life outside of engineering. Eventually when Alph was 22 and the unnamed ship was just about completed, Drake passed away in his sleep due to unforeseen circumstances- likely a heart attack or just old age- and the only one who could pilot the ship was Alph because Drake never showed it to anyone. Alph was now the only one suitable for the mission and had no idea what was in store for him or if he'd be able to handle such a huge responsibility in the first place. In honor of Drake, he named the ship the S.S. Drake and transported it to Koppai's main government headquarters to begin the mission to find fruit on another planet. Soon enough, fruit was discovered on a planet thousands of light years away and Pikmin 3 takes place.

[neutralgender]

also thank u rhoan for the kind gifts!! i literally cried it was so unexpected and nice and i can't wait to put the plants in cute pots :~)

[sidhewrites]

Hi! Someone told me last night the best way to get started in the Writeblr community is to make an intro post and I’m definitely gonna procrastinate on what i’m supposed to be doing right now, and make this post instead. I really want to start being somewhat active in the community, so if you’re a writeblr, please like or reblog this post so I can follow you?

About Me:

My pen name is REE. I’m 21+, use she/her pronouns, and live in the PST Timezone. I’ve been writing for well over half my life now, with varying degrees of success, and I just want to finish a rough draft for once, dammit. I’m also really bad at being concise, so expect lots and lots of rambling any time I open my mouth.

I like zombies and guts and fairies and things. If it’s either either really cute, or really gross, or a mixture of both extremes, then it’s for me. Most of my writing is High Fantasy, but I like experimenting as well. Eldritch beings and monsters are a personal favorite, including the old folk tales surrounding western Eurpoean fae folk and supernatural beings.

I also make graphics and do art occasionally. I technically majored in art direction, but doing productive things? No thanks, I’d rather spend three hours making the header on this post.

My Main Projects:

Coriander of Cresce. Main Project. I hate the title, wow. Please send. Coriander Tippit is a forgettable young girl in a forgettable small village, afraid of most anything that crosses her path. She’s swept up by Jasper, a charismatic mage, into an adventure to steal an ancient artifact from their queen and return it to the elves where it belongs.

Approximate Age Rating: K+? Maybe?

Major Content Warnings: Minor Emotional Abuse. Graphic depictions of gays being adorable.

This is by far my softest story, and one that’s incredibly fun to write. Most of the characters are kind and wholesome, and it’s just refreshing to go from my usual themes to a fantasy world where the songs are true.

A Crown of Hoarfrost: When the Goblin King chooses Bette’s twelve-year-old sister as is bride, she sacrifices herself to protect her family and is crowned queen of the Goblin Underground. Unable to tell who to trust and who to fear, she must learn to survive her monstrous husband long enough to dethrone him – and to make sure she does not become a monster herself.

Approx. Age Ratings: T-YA+

Major Content Warnings: Fantasy violence. Sexual and emotional Abuse. Self-Indulgent Fantasy World Building.

Writing as a coping mechanism? More likely than you think.

Lady of Ashes: Prim and proper Winnifred Ashley leads a very quiet and safe life, wanting nothing more than to sit quietly and make hats with her family. Just shy of twenty, she’s killed by demons, only to be resurrected a few hours later as one of them herself. She reluctantly travels north with the supposedly evil bog witch Rhoan, to a place where mages are rumored to have found a way to reverse this change. Along the way, however, they meet up with an unexpected face from her past, who seems to have no choice but to bring about the end of the world. So, Naturally, Winnie seems to have no choice but to stop it.

Approx Age Ratings: T-YA+

Major Content Warnings: Major fantasy violence, death, torture, graphic depictions of wounds and blood.

Fantasy zombies? Fantasy zombies. This story got too big really quickly to be a standalone so there’s a lot more world building that needs doing before I can dig into it, but I’m working on it.

Some Favorite Media:

Howl’s Moving Castle (Book and Movie Both)

All Ghibli now that u mention it

Deathless by Catherynne M Valente.

The Oh Hellos, a folk music group.

Eleanor Tomlinson’s covers on Spotify

The Girl with All the Gifts, by M.R. Carey.

Kill the Farm Boy, by Delilah S. Dawson.

The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo (and everything L. Bardugo, tbh.)

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.

Spinning Silver by Nomi Novik.

Pan’s Labyrinth and Crimson Peak from Guillermo Del Toro.

Not Your Sidekick from C.B. Lee (highly recommend for some gay and NB superheroes).

The Lord of the Rings musical. It’s real and it’s glorious.

Jam, and Will Save the Galaxy for Food by Yahtzee Croshaw.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamat.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell,

One Very Important Fact:

The dark fur on a Corgi’s back is called a fairy saddle. Welsh legend says that faeries would ride corgis into battle or use them as steeds to pull their carts.

[sidhewrites]

Hi! Someone told me last night the best way to get started in the Writeblr community is to make an intro post and I’m definitely gonna procrastinate on what i’m supposed to be doing right now, and make this post instead. I really want to start being somewhat active in the community, so if you’re a writeblr, please like or reblog this post so I can follow you?

About Me:

My pen name is REE. I’m 21+, use she/her pronouns, and live in the PST Timezone. I’ve been writing for well over half my life now, with varying degrees of success, and I just want to finish a rough draft for once, dammit. I’m also really bad at being concise, so expect lots and lots of rambling any time I open my mouth.

I like zombies and guts and fairies and things. If it’s either either really cute, or really gross, or a mixture of both extremes, then it’s for me. Most of my writing is High Fantasy, and of somewhat darker themes, but I’m a fan of a wide array of genres and styles. Eldritch beings and monsters are a personal favorite, including the old folk tales surrounding western Eurpoean fae folk and supernatural beings.

I also make graphics and do art occasionally. I technically majored in art direction, but doing productive things? No thanks, I’d rather spend three hours making the header on this post.

My Main Projects:

Coriander of Cresce. Main Project. I hate the title, wow. Please send. Coriander Tippit is a forgettable young girl in a forgettable small village, afraid of most anything that crosses her path. She’s swept up by Jasper, a charismatic mage, into an adventure to steal an ancient artifact from their queen and return it to the elves where it belongs.

Approximate Age Rating: K+? Maybe?

Major Content Warnings: Minor Emotional Abuse. Graphic depictions of gays being adorable.

This is by far my softest story, and one that’s incredibly fun to write. Most of the characters are kind and wholesome, and it’s just refreshing to go from my usual themes to a fantasy world where the songs are true.

A Crown of Hoarfrost: When the Goblin King chooses Bette’s twelve-year-old sister as is bride, she sacrifices herself to protect her family and is crowned queen of the Goblin Underground. Unable to tell who to trust and who to fear, she must learn to survive her monstrous husband long enough to dethrone him – and to make sure she does not become a monster herself.

Approx. Age Ratings: T-YA+

Major Content Warnings: Fantasy violence. Sexual and emotional Abuse. Self-Indulgent Fantasy World Building.

Writing as a coping mechanism? More likely than you think.

Lady of Ashes: Prim and proper Winnifred Ashley leads a very quiet and safe life, wanting nothing more than to sit quietly and make hats with her family. Just shy of twenty, she’s killed by demons, only to be resurrected a few hours later as one of them herself. She reluctantly travels north with the supposedly evil bog witch Rhoan, to a place where mages are rumored to have found a way to reverse this change. Along the way, however, they meet up with an unexpected face from her past, who seems to have no choice but to bring about the end of the world. So, Naturally, Winnie seems to have no choice but to stop it.

Approx Age Ratings: T-YA+

Major Content Warnings: Major fantasy violence, death, torture, graphic depictions of wounds and blood.

Fantasy zombies? Fantasy zombies. This story got too big really quickly to be a standalone so there’s a lot more world building that needs doing before I can dig into it, but I’m working on it.

Some Favorite Media:

Howl’s Moving Castle (Book and Movie Both)

All Ghibli now that u mention it

Deathless by Catherynne M Valente. 

The Oh Hellos, a folk music group. 

Eleanor Tomlinson’s covers on Spotify

The Girl with All the Gifts, by M.R. Carey. 

Kill the Farm Boy, by Delilah S. Dawson. 

The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo (and everything L. Bardugo, tbh.) 

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. 

Spinning Silver by Nomi Novik. 

Pan’s Labyrinth and Crimson Peak from Guillermo Del Toro. 

Not Your Sidekick from C.B. Lee (highly recommend for some gay and NB superheroes). 

The Lord of the Rings musical. It’s real and it’s glorious.

Jam, and Will Save the Galaxy for Food by Yahtzee Croshaw. 

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. 

The Red Tent by Anita Diamat.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell,

One Very Important Fact:

The dark fur on a Corgi’s back is called a fairy saddle. Welsh legend says that faeries would ride corgis into battle or use them as steeds to pull their carts.