#squire Greg

[childoftheriver]

I love the boy and his puppers.

[cicadaofthelake]

i hope tumblr understands that all of these guys are girls to me <3

[unicornery]

Here's the new chart chat that came out today for your direct-listening enjoyment! I researched about some Prog Rock Holiday songs. Songs include:

"I Believe in Father Christmas" - Greg Lake (#2 UK, #95 US) + B-side "Humbug"

"Ring Out Solstice Bells" - Jethro Tull (#28 UK) + the alternate "Magic Bells"

"Run With The Fox" - Chris Squire & Alan White (dnc)

"3 Ships" - Jon Anderson (B-side of "Easier Said Than Done," #88 UK)

I also tried to include a little background that I looked up about UK Christmas Singles in general.

Please enjoy and comment, and share with others who might be interested.

[dadrockconfessions]

[old-knightsvow]

i love succession medieval aus...as someone obsessed with knights let me tell you i was delighted at the amount of knight tom stuff out there

[prog-elitist]

reviews i made bc i'm bored

PROGRESSIVE ROCK SUITE REVIEW #1: Lizard by King Crimson.

Length: 23:19

Title track of "Lizard". Not "unlistenable", as Fripp had said, but really a great song, I'd rate it 9/10. The vocals couldn't be done better by someone other than Jon. And the drums are even better in the same section, "Prince Rupert Awakes". My favorite part of this suite. It seems that people tend to forget the talents of Andy McCulloch in the one album that he was on. A very underrated lineup with Keith Tippet included, beautiful piano playing. The only downside for anyone could be the length. It's fairly long, so I wouldn't recommend it for people new to the genre. 

Lineup of-

Robert Fripp: Guitar, Mellotron, Electric Keyboards and Devices

Mel Collins: Flute & Saxes

Gordon Haskell: Bass Guitar & Vocals

Andy McCulloch: Drums

Peter Sinfield: Words & Pictures

with 

Robin Miller: Oboe & Cor Anglais

Mark Charig: Cornet

Nick Evans: Trombone

Keith Tippet: Piano & Electric Piano

Jon Anderson of YES: Vocals on ‘Prince Rupert Awakes’

PROGRESSIVE ROCK SUITE REVIEW #2: Close To The Edge by YES.

Length: 18:38

Close to The Edge - one of YES' greatest suites. Close to the Edge is considered a must-listen for all progressive rock fans, showcasing the band's musical ability and power to create long and complex compositions. Great for people new to the genre. A solid 10/10, Close to The Edge is a masterpiece, showcasing all members of the band. Though not his "greatest" work, the last YES album Bruford was on as the drummer of YES was their last with a drummer who was a legend in prog, who broke the boundary between jazz and rock. Close To The Edge, in which this suite is the title track, is the first album to feature Howe using a steel lap guitar and proves his proficiency in all variations of the instrument. This album was their greatest, in my opinion. With its intricate rhythm and strong melody, it's truly a timeless masterpiece.

Drums, Percussion: Bill Bruford

Bass Guitar & Backing Vocals: Chris Squire

Engineer & Producer: Eddie Offord(A producer famous for his work with YES and Emerson, Lake, & Palmer.)

Lead Vocals: Jon Anderson

Keyboards: Rick Wakeman

Electric Guitar & Backing Vocals: Steve Howe

PROGRESSIVE ROCK SUITE REVIEW #3: Tarkus by Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (aka ELP). Length: 20:43 I truly believe ELP hit their peak with Tarkus. Tarkus is a side-long story of the armadillo-war tank hybrid on the cover of the album. I would rate it 9/10, for its complexity in music, but it is very long, making it somewhat of a chore to listen to for people newer to prog. Keith Emerson exhibits his mastery of the keyboard through his extremely large modular moog synthesizer, allowing for a wide range of sounds. Palmer’s drumming is also impressive, showing his ability to play complex time signatures and handle rhythm changes well. The suite has many sections, each with its own theme and mood. These pieces are different, yet flow into one another perfectly. If you want to explore progressive rock, Tarkus is essential. It combines rock, classical music, and innovative sounds perfectly.

Drums: Carl Palmer

Vocals, Guitar, Bass  Guitar, Performer, Producer, Author: Greg Lake

Keyboards, Performer, Composer: Keith Emerson

Producer: Eddie Offord

made these at 3 am enjoy

[cheerscoops]

ship: Chrissy Cunningham/Eddie Munson wc: 7.9k A/N: First hellcheer fic and feeling the pressure for it to be a good one. This one is dedicated to all of the lovely ladies in the hellcheer server but especially @slumped-in-the-arms-of-fiction and @justhere4thevibez for giving me the inspiration <3

If there was one thing that the members of the Hellfire Club could count on, it was that Eddie Munson was one of the most overdramatic people on the planet, and he was going to put all of those theatrics to work in his carefully crafted campaigns. Some of them had been playing with him as their dungeon master since middle school, and by now, they were all used to his personal brand of immersive storytelling. Typically, this meant that they were going to encounter a sidequest or two that revolved around whatever it was that Eddie was struggling to deal with at the time.

When he was struggling to pass chemistry, they met a potion maker who’d lost his touch, and they set off to find the witch that cursed him, the master potion book that she’d stolen, and the ingredients they needed to brew the cure that would give him his skills back. When he struggled to find a legitimate part time job so he could afford to buy the miniatures and cassette tapes he wanted without worrying his uncle about his potential arrest because none of the businesses in town trusted a kid from the trailer park that looked like him, they were tasked with clearing the good name of a young farmhand who had been wrongfully accused and banished based on nothing more than his unsettling outward appearance. And anytime that he was particularly worried about his uncle overworking himself or going without to make sure Eddie was taken care of, they encountered the same young squire whose only goal in life was to give back to the knight that had taken him in when no one else would and sacrificed so much to raise him. The boy wore his heart on his sleeve, and the ever-changing NPCs that inhabited Eddie’s fantasy world told them everything they needed to know about what their friend was going through.

However, the most common recurring theme to Eddie’s sidequests were acts of true love. There was the humble minstrel who fell in love with a beautiful mermaid and longed for a way for them to truly be together despite the fact that they came from different worlds. They met a thief whose truest love had been kidnapped by a man who he’d stolen from in the past, and they had to find a way to rescue her. And nobody could forget the time that Gareth’s character almost died when they had to fight off an army of goblins in order to save a lost princess for her betrothed. Each and every time one of these quests came up, the girl was exactly the same. She may have had a different name and upbringing each time, but she always looked the same, and she always had the same temperament. Eddie thought he was being subtle enough about it, but it was obvious to his friends: she was always Chrissy Cunningham.

Ever since he’d first laid eyes on her at that middle school talent show, he’d been smitten. He could pretend that he wasn’t interested in her all he wanted, but his friends saw the way he looked at her. They noticed that he never lumped her in with all of the other cheerleaders and jocks. But the most damning piece of evidence was the fact that every time he bumped into her in the halls or saw her out in public, one of these special quests popped up in the middle of their next gaming session.

It only got worse when Eddie started his third attempt at his senior year only to find that he and Chrissy shared Ms. O’Donnell’s third period English class. And while Jeff, Gareth, and Greg had privately agreed amongst themselves to put up with Eddie’s lovesick antics as long as none of their characters came close to death as a result again, the new group of freshman party members had made no such agreement and were too perceptive for their own good.

“Would you just grow a pair and ask her out already so we can do something other than run errands for some lovesick knight?” Mike asked after the third session in a row where the game play was overtaken by sidequests that had very little relevance to the main plot.

The rest of the players around the table froze. Nobody spoke to Eddie like that, and nobody brought up his crush on Chrissy. Not unless they had a death wish.

Eddie leaned back in his throne and looked in Mike’s direction with an expression that was eerily calm for the situation.

“I have no idea what you're talking about,” he replied. “Are you saying that you have a problem with the way I run my game? Because I'd be happy to step aside and let one of you run a campaign for once if that's the case. But, if you're not willing to put in the work to provide the epic entertainment that this group has grown accustomed to, I’d suggest you let me continue telling the story that I'm trying to tell without the complaints.”

“That's not what he's saying at all,” Dustin interjected, elbowing Mike in the ribs with enough force that the other boy groaned. “It's just that we thought we were still working on overthrowing that corrupt king, and it's been a few sessions since we've encountered anything that had a connection to that. We were all really excited to see where that story was going, and we feel like that's been abandoned in favor of minor quests that aren't really adding to our character development. That's all.”

“I see,” Eddie said as he crossed his arms over his chest. “And here I thought that you all enjoyed my side quests.”

“We do,” Gareth told him. “We would have quit ages ago if we didn't. But, if we're talking about this, we've been thinking that you've been using these side quests to avoid acting on the feelings that you have for a certain someone. And while it still leads to some pretty cool story elements most of the time, it would be nice if we didn’t end up ignoring the main plot for multiple sessions in a row, you know?”

“And you're all feeling this way?”

The group nodded and mumbled their various statements of agreement.

“Fine. While I have no idea what you're talking about when it comes to my feelings, I suppose that I can put an end to the side quests for the good of the group. On one condition.”

Eddie reached into his bag below the table and pulled out a small locked chest that he then placed on the table before them.

“I was planning on putting this into play at the end of today's session anyway. Your quest, if you choose to accept it, is for the party to go on one last side quest. This chest belongs to the knight who knows each and every one of the locations of the seven sacred items you'll need to defeat the corrupt king, but it's been stolen away by a band of thieves who are only slightly weaker than you are. The chest doesn't contain any riches. Instead, it holds a secret that the knight would desperately like to keep hidden. If you can retrieve the chest for him, he'll gladly help along the journey that you actually want to be on. It won't be an easy quest by any means, but I believe the rewards outweigh the risks. Do you accept?”

The group debated whether or not the quest was worth it for a few minutes before making their decision.

“We accept,” Gareth announced on their behalf.

“Excellent,” Eddie replied. “We'll start our next session with the beginning of that quest. If you're lucky and the dice gods are on your side, it might only take you one session to get the chest back. You're dismissed.”

The younger members of the group might not have picked up on it, but Jeff, Gareth, and Greg figured there was more to this chest than meets the eye. It wouldn't surprise any of them if the secret that the knight had was some sort of connection to a secret that Eddie was trying to hide from all of them, and they'd be even less surprised if that secret was somehow related to Chrissy. All they wanted was for their friend to be happy, so they knew that they had to do something. That's when they came up with what they thought was the perfect plan.

They were finally given the opportunity to put that plan into action the day before their next gaming session. The group was talking about the upcoming quest while waiting for Eddie to finish putting his stuff in his locker before they headed to lunch together when they were approached by none other than Chrissy herself. She offered up a smile and a quick hello to the others before turning her full attention towards Eddie.

“I was wondering if you maybe wanted to spend lunch in the library getting a head start on our project?” she asked. “I know we have almost a month to get it finished, but I'd rather get it started now so we're not rushing to finish it later. It's so much less stressful that way, you know?”

“You guys are working on a project together?” Jeff asked.

“Yep. Ms. O’Donnell randomly assigned partners today,” Eddie told the group.

“We have to choose a book from her approved list and give an oral report with visual aides. It counts for something like a third of our grade this semester, and I'm determined to help this one finally pass her class,” she said as she gestured to Eddie before hugging her binder to her chest.

“Third time’s the charm, right?”

“It will be if we get started on this project now. Please say yes?”

“Mrs. G isn't going to get on my case if I'm eating in there, is she?” he asked.

“I don't think she cares as long as you're not getting food all over the books. And we can always sit at one of the back tables that she can't see if you think she'll give you any trouble.”

“Then I'm in,” he told her as he shut his locker. “Give me a couple minutes to finish filling these guys in on tomorrow's campaign, and I'll meet you there.”

“Campaign?” she asked.

“It's a dungeons and dragons thing,” Gareth told her. “That's what the different stories you play through are called. We're actually starting a new one tomorrow if you're interested in checking it out.”

“Oh, I don't know if you'd want me to join you. I'd have no idea what I was doing, and I'd just end up holding you all back.”

“Nonsense,” Greg told her. “We'd all be happy to help you out, and Eddie’s always happy to welcome new players into the party. He's got this whole speech about how the world would be a better place if more people would just give the game a chance. Don't you, Eddie?”

“I have said that before. Yes.”

“So, he'd love it if you joined us,” Jeff insisted. “Wouldn't you, Eddie?”

“Oh yeah. It'll be fun.”

Their usually animated dungeon master was standing there frozen, and the guys were thankful for Chrissy's presence if only because they were pretty sure one of them would be getting strangled if she wasn't there.

“You have study hall last period, right?” Gareth asked her. “Because I just so happen to also have study hall last period, and I'd be happy to help you create a character if you want to join us.”

“You're sure I won't be intruding or messing anything up if I join?”

“I can honestly say that every single member of the party will happily welcome your presence,” Gareth told her with Greg and Jeff nodding in agreement.

“Alright. I'll give it a shot,” she told them. “I guess I'll see you in the library last period, Gareth. And, Eddie, I'll meet you there in five minutes?”

“Can’t wait.”

Chrissy said her goodbyes and headed off in the direction of the library.

“I hope you all have your affairs in order because I might actually have to kill you for that,” Eddie said once he was positive Chrissy was out of earshot.

“Whatever do you mean?” Gareth asked, feigning innocence. “You're always saying you want more players because you'd be able to throw stronger monsters at a larger group. We were just giving you the opportunity to do that.”

“And, if my math is correct, adding Chrissy to the party means that we'd have seven people. One to wield each of the seven sacred items we need to defeat the king,” Jeff added.

“Yeah, but did you have to invite Chrissy of all people?” 

“Why would inviting Chrissy specifically be a bad thing?” Gareth asked. “You don't secretly have feelings for her or something, do you?”

“I have no idea what you're up to, but I'm not dignifying that with a response. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a book report to get started on.”

With that, Eddie turned and left for the library.

“If this doesn't get him to finally ask her out, I don't know what will,” Jeff told the others.

***

“She's a halfling rogue armed with a crossbow and the typical thieves’ tools. We came up with a pretty extensive backstory about her family and why she became a con artist if you want to weave it into a plotline at some point in the future, but we have a planned party connection for her already.”

Gareth handed the character sheet and the couple of pages that Chrissy had filled out with her character's history over to Eddie who started to scan through the information provided there.

“Calpurnia Amaranthe? How'd you come up with that?”

“It’s all symbolically linked to the backstory I wrote,” Chrissy told him. “Specifically her lost love and her motivations behind becoming a con artist.”

Chrissy leaned over and pointed to a specific passage in her backstory.

“If you look here,” she started, “you'll see that this wasn't her given name. It was a name she chose for herself after her truest love passed away to separate herself from who she was before she lost him. I didn't write the symbolism into the backstory, but the globe amaranth is a flower that has been used to symbolize immortality and represents a love that will never fade or die. And Calpurnia comes from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. She was Caesar's wife, and she had a dream that predicted her husband's death. Much like how my character had a dream that her love would be murdered. She didn't place any significance in her dream, and the name is a badge of guilt she wears for not trying to save him. It all ties back to the fact that she was forever changed by losing her greatest love, and everything she does now is an attempt to still have the life that he always promised her that she would have.”

“You did research to come up with a name that symbolizes your character’s motivations?” he asked.

“Oh, I didn't have to do any research. This is just stuff that I already knew. Gareth told me how seriously you take your campaigns, and I know that this might just be a one time thing for me, but I wanted to show that I'm taking my participation in this game seriously as well.”

If he wasn't already harboring a secret crush on this girl, that statement would have sealed the deal. It was only her first session, and she was putting this much thought into her character's motivations already? He was a goner.

However, having her join in on this specific campaign filled him with dread. The guys just had to invite her into the session where they were retrieving the chest that held the knight’s biggest secret. If any of them managed to open the chest and take a look at what was inside while she was there, he'd have to leave the country.

He tried to push those thoughts aside and stay focused on the conversation at hand.

“So you're just that well-versed in Shakespeare’s plays and the language of flowers? I wouldn't have pegged you as such a nerd,” he teased.

“There's a lot you don't know about me.”

“Well, color me surprised. I look forward to learning more.”

“So, are there assigned seats?” Chrissy asked. “Or can I sit anywhere?”

“Well, the throne is Eddie’s,” Jeff told her. “But other than that, we pretty much just sit wherever.”

“You should sit here though,” Gareth said as he pulled out the chair next to Eddie’s throne. “That way you're between me and Eddie, and we can help you out since it's your first time playing. You have an extra set of dice she can use, don't you Eddie?”

“Sure. Let me see what I've got in my bag.”

Everyone took their seats around the table, and Eddie dug through his dice bag to find a matching set of bright blue dice for Chrissy to use.

“So, did Gareth cover any of the gameplay basics with you, or did you guys just go over character creation?”

“He told me a little bit, but he also said it would be fairly easy for me to learn as we go. You'll help me if I get stuck, right?”

“Yeah. Sure. Of course. Whatever you need,” he told her before turning his attention back towards his bag and pulling out the small chest from the week before. He set it on the table and then leaned back in his throne to address the group.

“When we ended our session last week, you'd just been informed about the existence of this chest which contains a secret that Sir James would desperately like to keep hidden. Over drinks at the tavern, he told you that the chest had been stolen by a roaming band of thieves when he'd recently been robbed. The gold and weaponry he lost no longer matter to him, but he's willing to do anything to get that chest back. If you can retrieve it for him and keep his secret safe, he'll happily accompany you on your journey to find the seven sacred items and aid you in overthrowing the corrupt king that has brought down chaos and destruction in the land that you've called home for many years now. All he asks is that you keep his secret from falling into the wrong hands.”

“Do we know where the thieves have run off to? Or are we going into this blind?” Greg asked.

“Sir James has heard rumors that this particular band of thieves has a permanent camp set up in the middle of the woods about a day’s walk from the town you found him in. He can send you in the right direction, but you have to make this journey alone. Where would you like to begin?”

“Are we assuming that Calpurnia has already joined the party?” Dustin asked. “Or should we have Chrissy roleplay introducing herself and convincing us to let her join?”

“Gareth and I actually wrote a connection between our characters into my backstory, and we were hoping that his character could introduce me to the group if that's alright with everyone else,” Chrissy told them. “But I'm happy to participate in any way that works the best for what's already been established.”

“Let Ryker introduce her,” Eddie decided. “I'm curious to see what the two of you managed to come up with.”

“Should we say that the rest of the party is at the tavern preparing to leave, and Ryker approaches with Calpurnia at his side?”

With agreement from the rest of the party, Gareth leaned forward in his seat and started to embody his character.

“Good morrow, brethren,” he began. “I come before you today with a story to tell and a new ally to introduce. Due to no real fault of my own, I found myself surrounded by an army of goblins. And while I fought valiantly, I was outnumbered and was certain to be overtaken by the vicious hoard. When all hope was nearly lost, two of the goblins nearest to me were struck with arrows and fell down dead. I had no idea where the arrows were coming from, but with their aid, I was able to defeat the goblin hoard. It was only when the last one was dead that my companion dropped down from a nearby tree and announced her presence with a crossbow sling across her back.

“I owe my life to this woman, but I had nothing of real value to offer her, so I invited her to join us instead. A seventh adventurer will only help us when it comes to welding the seven sacred artifacts designed to break the bond that the evil king has on our beloved homeland, and I feel she’ll make an excellent addition to our party. It is my honor to introduce Miss Calpurnia Amaranthe to all of you.”

“But how can we trust her?” Mike asked. “We know nothing of this woman or where she came from. How do we know she's not on the side of the king and actively working against us?”

“Bite your tongue,” Gareth sneered. “She is a woman of few words, but from the little she has told me, I believe that she has the purest of intentions for joining us on our quest. I owe her my life, and I don't think she would stoop so low as to betray me with everything she's promised. But, if it helps to dissuade any uncertainties you might have about working with her, I will swear on the good name of Ryker Stormsworn and the honor of The Raven Queen that she will not betray your trust.”

The party whispered amongst themselves before Dustin turned to Chrissy.

“I get up from the table, cross over to Calpurnia, offer her my hand, and say ‘Welcome to the party, Cal. Hope you enjoy food that tastes like ass and mediocre lute playing after too much mead.’”

“Hey! My lute playing is phenomenal no matter how much mead I've had,” Jeff yelled.

“Keep telling yourself that, Leafshade.”

After the rest of the party took their turns introducing themselves to Calpurnia, the group set off into the woods. While Eddie was excited to see how Chrissy was going to fit into their group, this was not the campaign he would have wanted to bring her in on, and while he was normally a fair and impartial dungeon master when it came to letting the party make their own choices on how to live in the stories he created, the urge to sabotage their mission grew stronger the longer he sat there. Specifically, he wanted to keep Chrissy from succeeding in anything that would allow her access to the chest. It was hard enough for him to mentally prepare for the possibility of his friends learning what was locked away in that chest. He'd already come to terms with them knowing. Chrissy knowing was a different animal entirely, and he didn't know if that was something he could handle.

But he was going to keep his cool. He was going to continue being a fair and impartial dungeon master and put his own interests aside in favor of making this an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. It did cross his mind that if Chrissy enjoyed this session, she might decide to keep playing with them, and he would've been lying to himself if he said that he didn't want her to stick around. He just had to find a balance between making this session fun for her and keeping her from getting inside that chest.

With Eddie painting a picture of the world around them, the party journeyed through the woods. Occasionally, a low level monster or two would jump out at them, but with seven party members, they were defeated pretty quickly. Soon, their adventure led them to the edge of the thieves’ camp which was smack dab in the middle of an open clearing in the woods.

“How big is the camp?” Lucas asked. “Do we need to roll a perception check to figure that out or learn how many people are in the camp?”

“It's after nightfall, but the camp is well lit  at the moment, and it's small enough that that isn't necessary,” Eddie told them as he set up his miniatures on the terrain before them. “It's a fairly small group. There are three tents positioned around a roaring fire. From this distance, you can only see five men, but there could be more in the tents. As of right now, you're far enough away from them and hidden in the shadows, so they don't know you're there. How would you like to proceed?”

“I say we just run forward and ambush them,” Greg said. “We outnumber them, and the camp is small enough that we'll easily be able to find the chest after we win this fight.”

“We don't know how many men are still in the tents though,” Lucas countered. “If we just rush in, it'll alert anyone in there, and then we'll be the ones getting ambushed. We have to come up with a better strategy than just running in.”

That's when Chrissy - who had remained mostly silent this far other than asking about loot - spoke up.

“You said they don't know we're here?” she asked.

“You're completely hidden. As long as you don't start screaming, you won't alert them to your presence until you're ready to do so.”

“And are we close enough that we can make ranged attacks? I mean, if I climbed one of these trees, would I be able to hit one of them with my crossbow?”

“I might make you roll with disadvantage because of how dark it is outside of their camp if I'm feeling like giving you an extra challenge, but you're close enough that any crossbow or ranged weapon could hit them.”

“I think I have an idea then. Who else uses a ranged weapon besides me?”

“I have a crossbow, and Lucas uses a short bow,” Jeff told her.

“Perfect. May I move our miniatures to illustrate my idea?”

“Whatever you need to do.”

“Okay, here's what I'm thinking,” she said as she pulled the seven player miniatures into her hands. “Those of us with ranged attacks can climb separate trees to get a better vantage point on our shots. I assume there'll be some sort of athletics check to do that? And will we need to do a stealth check as well before we take our shots?”

“You'll need to do an athletics check to get into the tree, but there are a lot of low hanging branches, so it would be an easy check to pass. The only way I'd make you do a stealth check, too, is if you fail your athletics roll just because falling out of a tree would be loud enough to let the thieves know you're there.”

“Okay, so assuming we all pass our athletics checks, would we all be able to get a shot in before the thieves would counterattack?”

“Since this is your first session, and you're doing some pretty creative thinking on the fly for a newbie, I'll allow it.”

“Fantastic. Here's my plan then.”

Chrissy lined up her halfling rogue, Lucas's human ranger, and Jeff’s elven bard along the tree line. She then took Dustin’s dwarf artificer, Greg’s half-orc barbarian, and Gareth and Mike’s human paladins, placing them in a line closer to the camp.

“So, what I'm thinking is that Jeff can stay on the ground, and Lucas and I will have our players climb the trees. Then, we can fire off three shots into the camp. I'm hoping we'll all hit, but even if there's a miss, the main goal is to cause a little chaos within the camp.

“What I'm thinking will happen next is that anyone who's currently in the tents will come out of hiding when they hear the commotion happening around the fire.”

“But how do you know they'll come out?” Mike asked. “You might just alert them to the fact that there's someone hiding in the trees, and then they'll have the upper hand by staying hidden until we're right there.”

“I highly doubt that's going to happen,” Chrissy continued. “These thieves are clearly morons.”

“How do you figure?” Eddie asked

“Well, just look at where they set up camp. They have to know that someone is looking for them at this point after robbing a knight, and yet they chose to set up camp in such an open area. Sure, it's an open area in the middle of the woods, but they're still really exposed. If it were Calpurnia, she would have hidden somewhere deeper in the woods. It might have been more dangerous for her, but at least she would've been better hidden from attackers. The thieves didn't consider the risk of staying in the clearing, so I doubt they'd think before rushing out of their tents.”

“An interesting theory,” Eddie said as he leaned back on his throne.

“One that you wouldn't be careless enough to confirm or deny?” she asked.

“You're pretty smart for a newbie, but no, I won't be confirming or denying your theory.”

A blush started to bloom on Chrissy’s cheeks, and it took everything in Eddie’s power to keep from telling her everything she wanted to know. He wasn't going to give her special treatment just because he'd never been more attracted to her than right in this moment where he realized that she would be a formidable player in any campaign that he crafted with the way she was thinking.

He didn't have to hold out for long though because she was soon diving back into her plan.

“Whether Eddie will confirm my theory or not, I think I'm right,” she told the group. “After everyone exits the tents, Gareth, Dustin, Greg, and Mike can all rush forward and attack in the confusion. Even if the newly revealed thieves get to attack first, we'll have potentially incapacitated three out of the five we already know about, and I like our odds of outnumbering them after that.

“Plus, this keeps our healer from taking immediate damage since Jeff is hidden in the trees and out of the fray. Lucas and I can keep it up with the hidden ranged attacks from our trees no matter what, and he can run forward if anyone ever needs healing. You're all at a higher level than the people we're fighting, so this should be a relatively easy brawl. And, this keeps me from taking too much more damage since my hit points aren't nearly as high as yours. I'm fairly confident that if we try my plan, we'll all make it out of this fight without any major injuries, and we'll be able to claim whatever loot they have in the camp in addition to retrieving Sir James's chest. What do you guys think?”

Chrissy bit her lower lip and looked over to the rest of the party in search of their approval. The boys looked between themselves, but Gareth snuck a quick glance over at Eddie and saw that their dungeon master was gazing at Chrissy with hearts in his eyes. If it wasn't already obvious that Eddie had been harboring a crush on this girl, hearing her plotting out the perfect attack strategy had clearly worked some sort of magic on him.

“I think it's brilliant,” he told the group. “I say we give her plan a shot. What have we got to lose?”

The rest of the group agreed, so they put their plan into action. Everything fell into place exactly as Chrissy had hoped it would. She and Lucas passed their athletics checks with ease, so their characters were able to fire their arrows from the trees and injure two of the thieves surrounding the fire. Jeff ended up missing his shot, but his arrow went through the fire instead and ended up setting one of the tents ablaze which injured two of the three thieves that had remained hidden. The chaos that that caused allowed the four remaining players to ambush the camp, and the battle was won easily without any party member taking on too much damage. They raided the camp and divided the gold and gems evenly amongst the players, and a few people walked away with extra weapons. And, if there happened to be the perfect set of halfling armor for Chrissy’s character, that was purely a coincidence and definitely not an incentive for her to keep playing with them.

Jeff’s character ended up being the one to find Sir James's chest, but he immediately offered it to Chrissy.

“I think Calpurnia should carry the chest back to Sir James,” he said. “It was her strategy that helped us win it back, so she should have the honor of presenting it to him.”

“I couldn't agree more, Leafshade,” Gareth replied. “Our new companion has proved herself a worthy addition to this group, and I think it would suit us well to secure her position as a trusted ally in that way.”

Eddie narrowed his eyes in their direction. He didn't know what they were up to, but he knew that he didn't like whatever it was.

“I would be honored to present the chest back to Sir James,” Chrissy told the group. “What’s in it anyway?”

“No clue,” Gareth told her. “All we’ve been told is that it holds his greatest secret, but that’s the only clue we’ve been given.”

“Is the chest locked?” she asked, turning to Eddie.

“Of course. You think he’d leave his greatest secret somewhere easy to get into?”

“I’d like to roll to open the chest. That’s something I’m allowed to do right?”

“Yeah, you could try to do that, but is that something you really want to do? I mean, if you open it, and he finds out that you betrayed his trust, he might not want to help you on your quest any longer. And if he doesn’t want to help you out, how are you going to find the seven sacred artifacts you need to overthrow the king? That seems like a pretty big risk to me. You definitely don’t wanna open the chest.”

Eddie knew he was rambling, but he couldn’t stop himself. He didn’t want anyone to know what was in that chest. Especially Chrissy.

“But what if his secret is that he’s loyal to the king?” she asked. “Then I’d be saving the group from aligning ourselves with someone who only wants to sabotage our mission.”

“That’s true,” Gareth chimed in. “We have no reason to believe that Sir James is even on our side. I think she should open it.”

“And, if I’m staying true to my character, I feel like Calpurnia would want to open the chest. She doesn’t trust people easily, and knowing for sure that Sir James isn’t secretly loyal to the king will go a long way towards helping her trust him as an ally in this quest.”

“Then I think you have to open it,” Jeff told her. “You’ve gotta stay true to your character.”

“What kind of check do I need to make for that?” she asked.

Eddie dug through his dice bag and set a single black die with red numbers on it in front of Chrissy.

“Dexterity,” he told her. “But you should use this one for it. For good luck.”

“Isn’t that the D20 that’s in permanent dice jail for never rolling anything higher than a six?” Dustin asked.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Eddie couldn’t watch as Chrissy picked up the die and rolled it, but he knew from her squeal of joy that he wasn’t going to like the result.

“That’s a nat 20!” Gareth called out. He offered up a high five that she gladly returned.

“So what’s in it?” Chrissy asked, excitedly turning to Eddie. “What’s in the chest?”

He said nothing as he opened his wallet, pulled out a key, and then used said key to unlock the small chest sitting on the table. He slid the chest over to Chrissy and could feel his stomach twisting up in knots as she opened the chest and pulled out the envelope that was hidden inside. 

When she opened the envelope, he couldn’t take it anymore. He got up from the table and walked out without another word. Chrissy almost didn’t notice his exit. She was too focused on the contents of that envelope. Inside, she’d found a simple silver charm bracelet with a single cheerleader charm and a handwritten poem.

More beautiful than the lushest red rose

And more comforting than a warm embrace

The one thing every poor sap surely knows

I was a goner once I saw her face

Bright blue eyes and waves of strawberry blonde

No one around is more lovely than she

This sweet girl of whom I’m overly fond

Deserving a love far better than me

Try as I might we were doomed from the start

Someone more worthy shall win her favor

Destined forever to be torn apart

While I still can, these moments I’ll savor

For all the world could not help but adore

The only fair maiden my heart beats for

She didn’t want to be too presumptuous, but she couldn’t help but think that the poem was written about her.

“What was in that chest that made him leave like that?” Lucas asked. “I’ve never seen him be that quiet before.”

“It’s nothing,” Chrissy said as she tucked the items back into the envelope and tucked the envelope into her sweater sleeve. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Should one of us go after him?” Greg asked.

“I’ll do it.”

Chrissy was up and out of the room before anyone could stop her. It didn’t take her long to find Eddie. He was pacing back and forth not far outside of the doors to the building. She could tell that he was mumbling something to himself, but he was being quiet enough that she couldn’t make out what he was saying. She moved to sit perched on the edge of the brick planter near the door and cleared her throat. Eddie whipped around to face her and froze in his tracks.

“You ran out of there pretty quickly,” she told him. “I figured you would have wanted to explain the knight’s secret after I opened that chest.”

“I figured it was pretty self-explanatory.”

“It’s a lovely poem. Really.”

He couldn’t have this conversation with her. There was a ‘but’ coming. He just knew it. It’s a lovely poem, but he shouldn’t have written it. But she didn’t feel the same way. But she thought it was creepy and so was he for writing it in the first place. But, but, but, but. It didn’t matter what the but was. He couldn’t stick around to hear it.

He turned on his heel to start heading towards where he’d parked his van, but she was moving to stop him before he could make it very far. She grabbed the cuff of his jacket and started to pull him back over to where she’d been sitting. Once she’d taken her seat again, she patted the space next to her, and he joined her in sitting on the edge of the planter.

“When did you write it?” she asked him.

“You’re gonna think I’m even more of a freak than you already do.”

“Don’t say that. I’ve never thought you were a freak.”

“Really?”

“Scout’s honor,” she said, holding up three fingers in the typical Girl Scout salute. “I just want to make sense of what was in that chest.”

“You remember that middle school talent show?” he asked her. “You did your cheer thing, and my band played. After the show, you came up to me and told me you thought my guitar playing was neat, and you had the biggest smile on your face when I let you hold it even if the one note you played was completely out of key.”

“I remember.”

“Well, a week later, my English teacher taught us about sonnets. I wrote the first draft then.”

“How many drafts are there?”

“I don’t know. Dozens probably.”

“And the charm bracelet?”

“Probably around the same time, I guess? I saved up my comic book money for weeks and any other spare change I could scrounge up doing random chores for people around the trailer park just so I could afford it. I had this whole plan where I was gonna give you the poem and the bracelet - maybe some flowers if I could find some nice ones growing in the park - and tell you that you were the nicest and prettiest girl I’d ever met.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I chickened out.” He couldn’t look at her as he spoke, choosing to stare down at his hands instead as he fiddled with the rings that adorned his left hand. “Then the school year was over, and we weren’t at the same school after that, so I thought it would have been weird. And then, when we were at the same school again, we were hanging out with such different people, and it felt like too much time had passed, so I just didn’t say anything.”

“Oh.”

Chrissy was silent for a moment before pulling the envelope out of where she’d hidden it in her sweater sleeve.

“One last question,” she started, turning the envelope over in her hands a couple times. “You said that you’d written more than one draft. When did you last rewrite it?”

“Truthfully? I changed the last couplet after we had lunch together yesterday. Spending the period with you kind of inspired me.”

“That’s sweet.”

“You think so?”

He looked up at her for the first time since he’d admitted his crush, and he noticed her cheeks were tinged with the faintest of blushes as she nodded. But then she offered him the envelope back, and his heart sank. Of course, she didn’t want it. She thought it was sweet, but she didn’t feel the same way about him, so she couldn’t accept them. She was going to turn him down, tonight would be her only session with the party, and she’d probably ask Ms. O’Donnell for a new partner because she couldn’t bear to spend anymore time with him after he’d made things awkward with his confession.

“You don’t want them?” he asked, taking the envelope back from her. He was waiting for her to put him out of his misery - or plunge him into it depending on how you chose to look at things.

“No, I want them.”

That definitely wasn’t the answer he expected from her.

“You do?”

“I do. I just have this feeling that you really, really didn’t want me to know they exist let alone give them to me tonight, and I only want them if you actually want to give them to me.”

“That’s fair, I guess.”

“But, if me saying that I want them isn’t enough, let me just say this: I don’t care that we’re in different social circles. That kind of thing doesn’t matter to me. What matters to me is the kind of person you are.”

“Oh, yeah? And what kind of person am I other than the school freak?”

“Stop saying that about yourself. You're not a freak. Don't you realize that you're the very best kind of person? I saw how you took those freshmen under your wing and how you gave them a safe place in a school that really doesn’t value what you guys bring to the table. You’re nice to me on both my good days and bad when the people that are supposedly my closest friends only want me around on the good ones. You even let me join your club tonight when you probably really didn’t want to given the result of that quest. Plus, I think you have the best smile, you make me laugh without even trying, and I still think your guitar playing is really neat.”

“You haven’t heard me play since middle school,” he said, trying to change the subject from all of the nice things she’d just said about him. “How would you know it’s still neat?”

“Whenever I need to get away from my mom, I spend time with my grandma who just so happens to live two doors down from Gareth’s house, and you guys aren’t exactly quiet.”

“I was not aware of this.”

“Well, now that you are, maybe I could come listen to you play in person instead of through the open window of my grandma’s guest room?”

“I'm sure we could work something out,” he told her.

He moved to hold her hand, and when she gave his hand a little squeeze instead of pulling away, he knew his fears about her rejecting him had fully disappeared.

“So, if I were to give you the things in that envelope willingly, you'd accept them?”

“Gladly.”

“Wait right here.”

Chrissy watched as Eddie got up and raced over to the grassy area next to the parking lot. When he returned to sit next to her, he was holding a small bunch of bright yellow dandelions.

“They aren't exactly the tulips I was picturing, but they'll have to do for now,” he said as he offered them to her. 

“They're lovely,” she said with a small giggle as she made a show of smelling them as if he'd given her a large and fragrant bouquet.

He pulled the charm bracelet out of the envelope next.

“May I?” he asked.

She held out her hand, and he clasped the bracelet around her wrist before moving to hold her hand in his again.

“So, I wrote you this poem,” he told her as he handed her the envelope. “When I was in middle school, I just wanted you to know that you were the nicest and prettiest girl I'd ever met. Now, I want you to know that that's still true, but you're also one of the very best kind of people. Better than anyone else in this town even. And I was wondering if maybe you’d want to go out with me sometime?”

“I’d really like that,” she replied. “So, you wanted to give me tulips?”

“Yeah. I have no idea why, but I always pictured bringing you a big bouquet of tulips in a rainbow of different colors.”

“Do you know what tulips are supposed to symbolize?”

He shook his head.

“Over the years, they’ve come to symbolize a lot of different things, and typically, the different colors all have different meanings. But, the longest lasting and most well known meaning tulips carry is a deep and perfect love.”

***

If any of the guys noticed the way Chrissy was clutching a handful of weeds as if they were a precious bouquet or the smear of lipgloss against Eddie’s cheek when the pair reentered the room, they all chose to remain silent on the matter. They didn’t know what had happened while they were outside, but one thing was certain: their gaming sessions wouldn’t be featuring anyone pining over an unattainable love anytime soon.

[starsofjewels]

*slides over* heyaaaa how you doin? hope your doin great:], could i possibly ask for a gregor c fic maybe a smut maybe a fluff(possibly a continuation of the fic with the kids), okkkk now bye bye love ya!!❤

Warm Embraces and Warmer Beds

NSFW!!

Any and all characters depicted in NSFW pieces are of legal age. All characters are also consenting (Unless specificed by piece)

CONTENT: SMUT (underneath cut)- dub!con, Fingering, PinV, reunion! sex- Language, vague mentions of war + blood (it’s Westeros), discussions of SW

Big Greg… You know what you’re getting in to.

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Hey my pookies. Another day, another request, more regrets. Mistakes have been made, but I will do anything for my self-indulgent fics about a big ass man who’d probably turn me into a pavement pancake if we met irl (🤤)

Anyway…

Live long, prosper… I guess.

P.S. Als at some point (over) 50 of you silly geeses decided to drop a follow, so thank you sm my babies. I love you all.

I really need a Masterlist…

· · ────── ·𖥸· ────── · ·

To be married to a knight- Especially one who boasts his own keep- Is something most ladies of your standing can only dream of. Most low, noble girls are thrown off to a favoured squire, to old men and their older books, who couldn’t be bothered to find themselves a wife until it was much too late. But you? You are lucky. Your husband is feared, truly feared, you have no jealous lordlings come to take your land, and no threat to you, or your boys. Gregor Clegane is a name known across the Kingdoms, and you, as sweet Lady Clegane, are his responsibility. Not even the Lannister bannermen ask for voluntary contribution when they come for the tithes. You need nothing, and you are asked for even less.

But there are always sacrifices to be made. It is part of womanhood; the men hunt and drink and fuck as they see fit, and you are left to pick up the pieces, and tend to their wounds. You have never minded, though, Gregor is a sweetheart when he returns, like a kicked puppy, demanding a hot meal and a kiss to his cuts. His duty is to guard, and yours is to nurture, that is how it has always been.

It is not uncommon for he, Tywin’s greatest weapon, to spend months away from you. He is a knight, and that is how knights serve their lords. He leaves you with everything you could need and more in his absence: control over his land, his keep and, his prized possessions, your boys. Ronan and Finny are old enough to understand their expectations as the heir, and the spare, to the Clegane household. Armed with wooden swords and a promise to protect their lady mother, and the small, pink sack of flesh they call a baby brother. Something in you is glad they still idolise their father’s profession, that their heads are still filled with the notions of saving princesses and slaying dragons.

Still, even excitable little boys grow restless after so long without their father. There is a hush over the keep, and the land, and it is almost peaceful; not that it could truly manage it, with Gregor at its helm, but it is nice to see the pheasants running about, when the men are too busy fighting to hunt them down. One runs past, chased by a kitchen cat, in turn chased by Ronan. You grab him before he can reach the animals, he has a habit of staging races, and annoying the gamekeeper with the scratches across the lawns. The boy squeals, as he always does, caught in the act.

“Mama?”

Ronan is placated with a book and one of the very old, very fat cats he has no interest in racing. The thing, titled ‘lazy arse’ by Gregor, affectionately or not, sits across your son, with the bored expression you’d expect from the child himself. He, with his pages open at an illustration of the Valyrian dragons burning each other, is enjoying himself immensely. At least, you think, his studies are partially educational.

“Mh?"

“When’s Daddy coming back?”

You sigh, looking out the window as though the mustard banners would appear at any moment. You don’t know, in truth, Gregor could be a mile away, or halfway across the world, and it wouldn’t make that much of a difference. Dead, or alive, or turned into a beast of cool flesh and ice, the distance is about the same no matter how you think about it, and double so for your boys. 

“I don’t know, sweet boy,” That’s all you can find yourself able to tell him. He looks at you, shrugs, and goes back to his book. You are glad he is not a girl, a girl would ask more questions, Ronan has always been happy with the simple. 

It is relatively calm, it always is on nights like these. Finny is beyond himself, refusing to go to bed, as always, and the babe is unreasonably fussy for no particular reason. Still, it is near surreally quiet. You do not know much about war, but you know what it sounds like, and in your world, it sounds like silence. Something in you tells you to let the boys sleep in your bed, instead of forcing them into the room the clearly do not want to go in. Finny is light, easy enough for you to lift up and plop on Gregor’s side, Ronan, with slightly more stamina, follows along beside you. 

The night has no major disasters, the babe is taken off by the nursemaids, and you wake to the sunlight streaming in through the window, you must have forgotten to pull the curtains, the staff would not have come in this early. Or perhaps they did; there is a bundle of daffodils upon your dresser, which you are certain were not there when you retired for the evening. Erra, one of your few handmaidens, enjoys making little displays, you assume she has snuck in some time before dawn to place them.

And then you hear it, those footsteps. No man alive can imitate the heavy, dull thud of them, you know it all too well. It stirs the boys, or, more likely, they were already awake, you aren’t particularly sure. You see the shadows change as the door opens, and you can recognise from the size of it alone who stands before you. 

“You awake?”

The response you give is somewhere between a hum and a groan, not quite aware enough to answer him, yet enough to know he’s there. You can hardly move, both for sleep, and the fact that Finny has clambered across your chest at some point in the night, but he still knows. He always knows.

Gregor trundles in, washed and dressed in his nightshirt. You wonder where he slept, surely not beside you, you are certain he would have woken you, or the boys, getting himself into bed. The light blocks most of his face, but he moves with such power you assume he has no injuries. If he does, he is good at hiding them. When he reaches the bed, he pulls the quilts away from you, and you make a noise of complaint for the cold, even if the day itself is reasonably warm. Gregor pulls Finny from your chest, and Ronan from your side, and lifts them up, into his arms, and you are quickly reunited with your warm blankets. You hear one of the boys stir, though unsure which, and he is shushed by Gregor as they leave. For once, they may sleep in their own beds.

Your husband, your Mountain, returns to your side, and climbs into your bed. He is as warm as he left you, and just as willing to wrap you in his embraces. You feel the urge to go back to sleep, to rest in his arms as though he had never gone in the first place, and it is wonderful.

But of course, it is never that simple.

Big hands find your sides, sliding under your nightdress and scraping your bare thighs underneath. Gregor lifts you just slightly, enough so that when he bends his legs, you sit directly upon his lap. You make some sort of noise, some demonstration of complaint, but he has never listened, and he will not start now. 

The first kiss you receive, after months of doing without, goes softly to the plumped skin of your cheek. Warm, and smooth and uncharacteristically delicate, like something you would dream of. Part of you wonders if this is, truly, a dream, as Gregor rocks you back and forth, hands seeking grip on the flat surface of the meat of your thighs. And he does not stop there, he hasn’t stopped a day in his life. 

He grazes you, cool, rugged hands taking their place against soft, fattened skin. You wonder how many nights he has spent alone with his hands in the past months, just as you have. He would never take a whore, he tells you, he can’t be bothered with the effort. But you are no whore, you are soft, and delicate, and willing. 

It doesn’t much matter if the noise you make is of protest or of enjoyment. You are tired, and growing increasingly wet, and this seems to spur him even more. 

“Missed this…”

He murmurs against your skin, pinching fingers pulling up the skirts of your nightdress, so your bare arse rests upon those heavy, muscled thighs, sharp with a thousand tiny, black hairs. It shocks you, just enough for you to register it, but not so that you are fully awake.

You feel his cock immediately, of course you do. Its length, its width. He is a big man, and he has no lack of knowledge towards its usage. Even from within the confines of his nightshirt its outline is visible, and you are almost ashamed of the sudden desire which washes over you. At any other point you would feign shame, you would blush and whimper. But here, and now, there is only so much longing you can hold back. 

Gregor’s great hands come up to caress your face, and he almost laughs,

“You’re drooling, love,” His thumb swipes at your bottom lip, and you resist the urge to bite, to show him you are in no mood for teasing, but you are certain your reward will come soon.

And it does, as always. In his usual fashion, the hands come first. Pinches become long, deliberate waves of touch, and there is the understanding that all of his play, his teasing, has ceased. He wants what he wants, and he wants your cunt.

In your sleep-addled state, and probably in his fully lucid reality, it is gentle and sweeter than usual. Perhaps he is being deliberately gentle to aid your fragile mind, or, more likely, he knows you have forgotten just how big he truly is, and a broken wife is just about as good as no wife at all.

One hand keeps itself firmly upon your hip, in case you slip and slide away from him, as the other caresses your inner thighs, and, when he is satisfied you can handle it, to the true purpose of his invasions. 

He has never let you enjoy his hands solely for long, and this shall be no different. For such a big man, Gregor is shockingly agile in this regard, fumbling steps and harsh palms becoming light touches against your clit. At this time, in this situation, he doesn’t dare venture any further than the surface. From his grunts and, dare you say it, his whines, you can tell he may not last particularly long, the consequence of months away from you, you suppose. 

“Hey, hey- Sleepy girl,”

Gregor’s hands leave your body, and you find yourself pressed once again to the soft, inviting flesh of the mattress, still warm. The semi-shock you experience as your arse touches the cool air is dulled, instantly, as the big man pats it gently. Your hips are lifted, and he puts his own pillow beneath you, warm.

“Have you just the way you like, yeah?”

You affirm, face pushed into your own cushion. You can hardly breathe, but with the delicious tension, it doesn’t really matter. 

And it comes, just as you expected it, perhaps more than you expected it. You see only darkness, but you feel so much more. He moves with poorly veiled desire, a necessity to touch you as only he can. You are his and, more importantly, he is yours, all yours. After all, who else is he taking with such delicate fervour?

You are kissed, you are held, and you are loved. Gregor’s cock finds its way, with simple instinct, to your cunt, and you wince and whine. He had expected it, of course, and gets no more than the tip into you before he has to stop. Not the desired reaction, but the realistic one.

“Shh, shh…” It seems a foreign sound for such a harsh creature. To hush, to comfort, “That’s my girl…”

You keen, your hips shift upwards and you let him in further, despite the uncomfortable stretching. You have always loved his praise, always loved to be his sweet, good, wife. 

Gregor’s movements are gentle. When he takes you like this, after months apart, he allows himself to be gentle. He is your returned knight, your handsome, precious husband, and there is a time and a place for him to be the Mountain. Now, here, is not that place.

When he is certain you are comfortable, that it is not too much, he helps you sit yourself between his cock and your hand. Big fingers return to your clit, and he almost laughs as you squeal, the sudden stimulation, apparently, a shock to the system.

And, naturally, it does not take particularly long for him to reap the rewards of this uncharacteristic gentleness, as you let out your long, low moans, muffled by your face pressed into the cushions, and he feels you clench around him. It is something he has longed for, there is nothing quite like it, and it always brings forth his own finish.

So he does. Thick and hot, everything you might expect from a man of that stature, with such a glorious cock. The world does not give you many pleasures, nor does it anyone, but to be here, warm and filled, is certainly a pleasure worth noting. 

Gregor stays in you, he likes to stay in you. In his brooding moments he likes to say it helps a child come forth, but you aren’t quite sure of the legitimacy to that claim. Not that it matters. You see the sunlight again, staring out your bedroom window with a wall of flesh at your back. And it is beautiful. 

He has killed men, you know that, he will have rampaged through the Vale, or wherever it was he had been sent, destroying everything in his path and laughing as he did it. You see his great breastplate stained with blood, and the image turns you in some, not entirely unpleasant way. But you say nothing, you are too tired for a second round, and your Mountain seems to have spent his energy.

Later, once you are suitably cleaned of all remnants of your adventures, and Gregor is both awake and dressed, you sit around the table, the boys clinging to their father and desperate for tales of their father’s quests around Westeros. Not much of it is suitable for children, you gather.

They spend all day play-fighting, with their swords, and insist that you must watch, to referee, and you must give your favours to both of them, because every knight has their favours. They, as little knights-to-be, are satisfied by leaves you pick from the ground.

Finny wins, to everyone’s amazement, and as his reward is given first pick of pudding. Not substantial by any means, but enough to satisfy a small boy with a love of blackberries. Everyone is happy, all is content, and Gregor fits back into the family with no trouble, making your boys cringe as he kisses you before supper is served. You deserve your rewards too, after all.

[saintbrown]

Idea for a Steven Universe AU fic:

Pink Prince AU

Here’s how it goes:

During the gem war, sometime before what would have been Bismuth’s bubbling, Rose watches Pearl be shattered in the middle of a battle and is overwhelmed with rage. She lets go of every restraint she has imposed on herself since she lost her original pearl and unleashes her destructive powers on the opposing army, turning the tides of war in a matter of minutes, as well as shapeshifting back into Pink Diamond in the process. When Blue and Yellow Diamond come down to Earth to reprimand her, Pink, no longer feeling any sort of emotion towards them, attacks them too, bouncing off Yellow’s destabilizing attacks and shrugging off Blue’s emotional ones, calling them too weak in comparison to her own turmoil. She sends them both back to Homeworld, telling them that if they ever come back, they will be shattered.

After the battle, the Crystal Gems are divided, between a majority like Garnet and Bismuth, who feel betrayed by Pink’s lies and blame her for the death of Pearl (as well as many others), and a minority that decides to stay by her side, along side most of her court from Homeworld (who turned sides after the revelation) and the humans that survived the battle. Garnet and Bismuth lead their group to a place far away where they can start over, which would later be called Beach City. Meanwhile, in the time it took for Pink to grieve everything she had lost, the gems and humans that stayed started a kingdom around her and asked her to be their Queen, a position she accepts reluctantly.

Cut to 5,400 years later and Pink’s new kingdom is thriving. It’s rivers are overflowing with the Diamond’s lacrimal essence, which means it’s people have never seen a day of disease in their lives and the ground is the most fertile that the Earth has ever seen. The Queen’s close circle consists of a Zircon who serves as her political advisor, a Jasper who, once her deadliest enemy, is now her most loyal soldier and captain of the guard, as well as Jasper’s squire, the last Amethyst that the Prime Kindergarten ever produced.

One day, a musician rolls into town, a man by the name of Greg Universe. Usually, the thick forest that surrounds the kingdom (which Pink raised to prevent invading armies from reaching her kingdom (and being decimated by Jasper)) would only grant safe passage to her citizens, and yet Mr. Universe’s peaceful nature and harmonious melodies lead him straight to the gates, just as he runs out of gas. Without a gas station in sight, Greg has to stay put while his car is adapted to be solar powered, just like every other vehicle in the kingdom, and Pink takes the opportunity to get to know the outsider that her forest deemed worthy. Once it’s time for Greg to leave, he decides not to as he has already fallen in love with Pink. The two fall deeper in love every day they are together until finally, Pink gives up her physical form and the Pink Prince is born: Steven Universe.

As he grows up, Steven is trained by Jasper and Amethyst to be just as strong as his mother, while Zircon teaches him to be just as wise (she also serves as the kingdom’s regent until Steven is ready to take up the throne). During a history lesson, Zircon brings out a mirror that is meant to give the prince a visual aid. One thing leads to another and Steven releases a Lapis Lazuli that runs away and takes all of the kingdom’s water with her. Steven, Jasper, Amethyst, Zircon and Greg set out to recover their most precious resource and as they arrive at the water tower that Lapis has erected, the group realizes that they aren’t the only ones there. From the opposite direction, approach a Bismuth, a Ruby and a Sapphire.

After the Lapis situation is resolved, having learned of his mom’s past before the kingdom, Steven decides that the best way to become just as great a ruler as her is to learn about all facets of her life, even Rose Quartz. So he starts using the warp pad on a regular basis to visit the Crystal Gems, in Beach City.

[childoftheriver]

Revisiting this because I think it might be a still from the Jack Hargreaves show that Greg was on. Still wish I could find the episode!

[dulu0z0427]

Drawing idea: greg lake fishing and he catches Chris squire?!

idk how to write dialogues so it's silly, sry fishy

[inspired-aspiring-artist]

I think people would love to read the story cooking up in your head!! I never really wrote either beside one cringey 'horror' story.

Things that can help (imo) is imagining things that happen in real life, whag would their reaction be?

Ex: How would they react if someone was sick?

And i would read it 1 goptillion times over!!

Would love to learn more about this/nf!!!

And my golly was that axolotl royalty?/sj (silly joke)

Alexander Jacob Thunderberkin Kippensquire sounds fancy!!!!

Thanks for the ask @bigsillyyy , let the yapping commence!

Okay so the general premise is that after the events of Ruin, Fazco recovered the pizzaplex animatronics from the ruined plex and built a new pizzaplex with updated animatronics using the programming (and memories) from the old animatronics to save some money. They also decided to separate Sun and Moon into two different animatronics, both would be daycare attendants, but after hours Sun would clean the daycare, and Moon would be security. Fazco wanted to increase the daycare size without having to hire a bunch of people to supervise, which is why they split the dca. To avoid new lawsuits, Fazco made sure to code more secure boundaries on how the animatronics are allowed to interact with staff and guests. As a result, Moon is more of a prankster than a threat to your health (you will be inconvenienced, not dead :3).

I haven’t decided whether to make my oc the main character or just have a y/n; but the plot is that you/oc were hired to be the daycare assistant as the daycare needs at least 1 human supervisor for safety (in actuality they wanted a human so that parents could complain to you directly and not the animatronics). You/oc are trying your best to do your job and befriend the animatronics; but it’s more complicated than you thought it would be.

Both Sun and Moon are dealing with having separate bodies and the fact that they were essentially brought back from the dead, they have an antagonistic relationship with each other and don’t particularly trust Fazco personnel, which makes befriending them tricky (but rewarding!)

Answering your axolotl question: He was royal to me, but I always named my Mudkip starter Alex or Alexander when I played Pokémon alpha ruby/omega saphire, and when I played pixelmon on Minecraft. The Jacob Thunderberkin is a parody reference to a character from Over the Garden Wall, who Greg names the frog after in the last ep (Jason Funderberker) and Kippensquire is a reference to Mudkip and from Pokémon and the fact that Axolotls are eternal youth (they stay in the adolescent stage their entire lives) and so he would never be a adult (knight) and would stay a squire.

[progfessor-dyke]

twice this year ive had two completely separate musicians make me question my gender AND sexuality….. its not alot but it’s weird that it happened twice

CHRIS IS THAT YOU 🤨

And I think I know which two as well (Chris Squire and Greg Lake)

If this is not Chris. Uh. Well. I have a friend going through the same thing ig

[cicadaofthelake]

• [updated] pinned post •

theres some cool new [possibly] important stuff that needs to be pinned

hi!! if you haven’t seen my blog, im fox [or chris, i dont mind]! https://en.pronouns.page/@thatweirdoghost << heres my prns.page :]

i mostly post/reblog here on my main, but go check out @art-of-the-sunrise , my very normal art blog <3

also: i am very normal about the band yes and their bassist chris squire 🐟

edit: the second band hyperfixation has hit the brain chemistry [im not normal about elp or greg lake at the moment please be patient ty!! :>]

other things/fandoms i post and repost: progressive rock [rush, yes, renaissance, genesis, elp, and more!! im open to recommendations], the buggles, led zeppelin, pokemon, the x-files, and so many more cool things!! [im too tired to remember them all srry]

also read this! its the gfto essay i wrote!!

[the-prsc]

Day 3: 

Previously in PRSC... 

The boys in Genesis, Rush and King Crimson continue to progress and gain a tiny bit more comfort in their… difficult conditions.  

Tensions within the Yes and ELP camps reach an all-time high. Steve Howe does a runner and reaches ‘The Court of The Crimson King’ by midnight. (Keyboard wizard) Rick Wakeman and (Fish) Chris Squire plan their well-needed escapes... 

Death count: 0 

In The Court of The Crimson King...  Steve reached the camp late last night and has since been welcomed by all members of it (except Broof, who tries to ignore him following his awkward exit from Yes). He is put to work with John and David in doing various dull, laborious tasks overseen by Fripps right-hand-percussion-men, Bill and Jamie Muir who are ‘keeping them in check’. Although Steve feels tired, he also finds the structure, safety and sense of community that he felt was lacking with Yes. We cannot say the same for John and David.

Meanwhile in ‘Epping Forest’...

This is the supper of the mighty one! Genesis eat well tonight as (during a particularly long prance around the woods) Peter found nice, ripe fruit on the forest floor (little does the band know that Jon dropped it earlier that day, made clumsy by his consumption of the mushrooms). Tony is spending hours a day perfecting each detail of the entrancing face of his Etch-a-Sketch recreation of the Mona Lisa.  Phil, Steve and Mike have managed to make primitive fishing rods out of the spare guitar strings that Steve forgot he brought (also forgetting to bring his guitar). Good one guys!

Rushing over to another camp…

Their fishing may be less effective (standing in the river and lashing out at any passing fish. In the event that one is caught, the band all stress out as to how to kill the thing) but, the three companionable Canadians of Rush continue their hygienic progress. The band have exhausted their camping supply of bottled drinking water and sadly, in the wilderness the band cannot dine on honeydew or drink the milk of paradise. Luckily Neil remembered a 7th grade science lesson he had where he was taught that boiling water kills all dangerous microorganisms and disinfects it. He removes the camping stove and small pot from his bag, fills the pot with water from the cleanest part of the river he could find and begins to boil…

Close to the Edge, Down By the River…

Near the ‘pretty view’ of the river Jon selected, Yes are crumbling to some extent. Steve asked Jon if he could go over to The Court yesterday and Jon reluctantly agreed and let him go. Steve didn’t mean it personally but I think Jon took it that way (poor guy). Meanwhile, Rick is getting fed up with waiting around for Jon and Alan to get vegetarian food when he could eat as much meat as he likes (though in reality, he is far too lazy to do so). Chris isn’t a fan of Jon’s leadership style. Its a sort of strange hotchpotch between Hippy and autocratic that he doesn’t like. All the while, it doesn’t help that Jon has found some magic mushrooms and spends quite a lot of his time in ‘dreamland’. He and Rick have planned to leave the camp to find ELP next time Jon and Chris go out gathering together.

In the ELP camp... 

The last few hours have been somewhat monotonous at the ELP camp. The band’s relationship is fractured (particularly Keith and Greg’s). Morale is dipping sub-zero, and Carl still hasn’t figured out the drum part for Karn-Evil 9 so instead of making useful progress to prolong their lives, the half-starved threesome chose to discuss new project ideas for ‘when all this forest crap is out of the way’. One could call this a useful conversation to keep up hope and distract them. They could also call it valuable time and energy wasted that will eventually lead to their doom. Either way, in their hungry, delirious state discussion is getting heated quickly. Carl leaves early to actually try and help them survive, and is also hurt by the two of them calling him a ‘shit Buddy Rich knockoff’. 

The issue on the table currently is Greg’s suggestion, ‘Love Beach 2 (Electric Boogaloo)’. This thought seems to be sending Keith into something of a violent frenzy. 

I will spare the details of the real-time commentary for the next few minutes. This passage is written in retrospect: Keith and Greg got into a physical confrontation which included a lot of punches from Keith and in the process, Greg hit his head on a large protruding rock in the wood’s undergrowth and by the time Carl returned from his mission of trying to keep them alive, and managed to pry Keith away from his friend, it was too late. 

The two of them aren’t talking as they submerge the body into the dark, cold river water. What he has done is beginning to dawn on Keith and he has been battling with his tears since they left to the water. All Carl can think about is that his friend and bandmate is a ‘fucking murderer’. He must negotiate a way away from this knife-wielding maniac. Luckily, upon return to the camp, he recognises two new, trustworthy silhouettes, CHRIS AND RICK!!! He is currently having a private discussion with the two of them featuring sentences like, ‘Guys please get me out of here. He’s a crazy madman with a knife. I’m gonna die’. Chris sensibly responds in a hushed voice, ‘We could always give those Canadian kids a go?’. And that is the plan for the three of them... 

That’s all for today, so we’ll see you tomorrow for... 

The Prog Rock Survival Competition!