#the Bandit of Sherwood Forest

[thehumanarkle]

Shameless Cashgrab Season 9 Episode 1: The Bandit of Sherwood Forrest (1946)

I really wanted to get this out before March, but just too many things went wrong. I'm sorry.

Drinking game time. Take a shot every time I refer to Robin Hood's son as a dick.

I go back and forth on this from day to day, but I think that if this isn't the worst season kick-off movie I've seen, it's in the top 2. The Magic Door from Season 7 is the only real competition there. … Maybe, MAYBE Hardbodies from Season 2 now that I think about it more.

Season 9 title card by Flora Tea (https://flora-tea.tumblr.com/)

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[allwaswell16]

A fic rec of One Direction fics that are hidden gems - amazing fics that I LOVE that have been a bit overlooked and have under 100 kudos as of the time I made the rec and as requested in an ask that Tumblr has eaten. You can find a similar rec with hidden gems under 200 kudos here. You can find all my other recs here. If you enjoy the fics, please leave kudos and comments for the writers! Happy reading!

- Louis/Harry -

💎 ghost of you by beckywritesthings / @beckydoesthings

(E, 109k, Star Wars au) a Star Wars AU where Harry is Obi-Wan, Louis is Satine, and somehow there’s a love story between the cracks where there shouldn’t be.

💎 That Smile and That Midnight Laugh by yeah_alright / @uhoh-but-yeah-alright

(T, 50k, girl direction) A Ferris Bueller's Day Off AU that picks up right where the movie leaves off, and imagines what might happen if Ferris' girlfriend and sister become friends. And maybe something more, too.

💎 through walls of trees by @ineverateakiwi

(T, 41k, fantasy) Elesdon is a country divided into five kingdoms and had long been considered peaceful. After a coup in the heart of the country, Lady Sulia ascended to the throne and imprisoned the four courts, stripping them of their powers. With the exception of King Louis Tomlinson, who submitted to her favors.

💎 The Things We Know To Be Wild by harryanthus_annuus / @harryanthus-annuus

(M, 39k, dragons) Louis is a London zoologist sent by the University of Highlands and Islands to assess the safety of the island of Eroda as part of the Wonder Seekers Project for sustainable tourism.

💎 But I know you by Thingssicant / @slowlyseducedbycurls

(NR, 26k, space) Harry is a journalist, Louis is an astronaut, but it's way more complicated than that

💎 Room For One More Troubled Soul by patdkitten / @babyarcanacasey

(M, 25k, supernatural) Louis Tomlinson is the chief medical examiner of the Centre for the Law Enforcement of Supernatural Beings - more commonly referred to as simply "The Centre".

💎 'tis the damn season by YesIsAWorld / @louandhazaf

(E, 22k, girl direction) Harry returns to her small hometown over the holiday season and starts to think about the road not taken.

💎 they say looks can kill (and i might try) by LiveLaughLoveLarry / @loveislarryislove

(M, 18k, superhero au) Now he walks those same streets as Rogue, a vigilante who makes his own justice - and he's making damn sure that justice is coming for CowellCorp too.

💎 In the Strangest of Ways by SunTomato / @sun-tomato

(NR, 17k, ghost au) when the haunting sounds of a melancholy piano piece accompanied by the vague shadow of a beautiful male figure appear, Louis is determined to find out who this beautiful man was and what happened to him…

💎 Ace Drag Queen Louis (series) by @musketrois

(NR, 16k, makeup artist Louis) Louis is a drag queen and Harry is the photographer that wants to be more than friends.

💎 All Shook Up by @littleroverlouis

(T, 9k, rivals) Memphis, Tennessee is looking to crown the Ultimate Elvis Tribute artist. A majority of the contestants are content to shake their hips on stage, but singer-songwriter Harry is taking it more seriously.

💎 defying stars by localopa / @voulezloux

(T, 9k, high school) the marching band au only one person (and that was me) asked for.

💎 The Bandits of Sherwood Forest by foreverfanficaddict / @chaotic-bells

(T, 8k, fairy tale) A Robin Hood AU

💎 Come All Ye by @justanothershadeofblue

(E, 6k, hippies) It's the summer of 1971, and Louis just wants to get out of town for a minute or a day. When his buddy Zayn says they should head down south and check out this radical new music festival

💎 Close Our Eyes (Pretend We're Miles Away) by @haztobegood

(E, 5k, Thelma & Louis au) Just forty eight hours ago, Harry never would have robbed a bank. Hell, she barely would have touched the gun she’d used in the robbery, let alone wave it around to threaten anyone.

💎 Call Me Yours by @maggieisalarrie

(T, 5k, high school) A story about love and lust with some miscommunication and, of course, a happy ending. 

💎 maybe come September by Lake / @alakeeffectgirl

(G, 3k, animal shifter) Louis is a shark, sometimes.

💎 Fingertips Putting on a Show by cherrylarry / @beelou

(E, 2k, girl direction) Harry just wants a relaxing self love session in the bathtub when she gets interrupted by a knock on her door.

💎 Gaydar Lessons by @homosociallyyours

(G, 1k, girl direction) While standing around after softball practice for the company's women's softball team, Harry gets caught (and caught up) in staring at Louis as she eats a ripe, juicy peach. If only she could be certain that Louis was into women.

💎 Are We In the Clear by asphodelknox / @iamasphodelknox

(M, 1k, historical) Louis and Harry meet across a crowded court at a time when falling in love would mean their destruction. With help from a friend, they run for their freedom.

- Rare Pairs -

💎 For Evermore by Layne Faire / @laynefaire

(T, 17k, Zayn/Liam) A Beauty and the Beast AU in which Liam is the Beast, trapped in a world suspended in time, and Zayn is the only one willing to look past the facade of enchantment to find the humanity of the man hidden within.

💎 I Can Only Hold You by @lululawrence

(NR, 8k, Louis/Jordan North) When Louis learns Jordan is close to falling into depri, he rushes over to help. What follows is so much more than either of them planned for.

💎 One Man's Ceiling Is Another Man's Floor by @kingsofeverything

(E, 3k, Niall/Maggie Rogers) Niall and Maggie come up with a way to get revenge on her annoying neighbors.

[juniper-sunny]

A Knight to Remember - Part 1

Medieval AU | Knight!Silco | Silco x Female!Reader | No (Y/N) | Romance | Slow Burn | Eventual Smut | Fluff || SFW | WC: 5.50k | art by @designfailure56 (full piece here)

ao3 | betas: @deny-the-issue @silcoitus <3

A mysterious stranger is sworn into your retinue as your own personal guard. You have no need for his service, and he seems less than eager to take on his new duties. But he soon endears himself to you in ways you are not prepared for— only for you to surprise him as well…

taglist (open): @sherwood-forests @ilikemymendarkandfictional @ursawastricked @quirkykaty @let-the-monster-out @ariaud

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The rumors came first, that a stranger was to join your household staff for the first time in nearly a decade. A peculiar occurrence in and of itself, as all of your servants came from families that had served yours for generations. Stranger still how he was assigned to be your personal guard when your lord father had previously seen no need for you to have one.

Your mother came upon this man in a rather unfortunate circumstance. On her twice-annual voyages abroad, her retinue had been beset by bandits on her journey home. At first she thought the man one of the bandits until he turned his own sword upon them. Her companions emerged from the struggle with minor injuries and your lady mother herself was entirely unscathed, not shaken with fear but exhilarated by the battle. It was with great enthusiasm, then, that she requested the stranger come to your home so she could properly reward him. As thankful as your father was for the intervention, it triggered an overreaction in him: you and your mother were forbidden from leaving his lands until he deemed it safe, and your new guard was to accompany you everywhere apart from your personal quarters and the washroom.

It was with great reluctance and resentment that you attended the stranger’s swearing, a sentiment you had expressed in no mild terms to your father. After all, your preference was to leave and join your elder brother on his travels. Your father regretfully and kindly acknowledged your frustration, but his word was firm: you were to accept the man’s service as if it were a souvenir from your mother, equivalent to a new scroll or dress. As if it were adequate recompense for being forced to stay home.

Still, you could not help but observe the man with curiosity. He was tall, dark-haired, and slender, carrying himself with a noble dignity more befitting a lord than an attendant. Armored with a severe and solemn manner that made you feel like you should be bowing to him instead of the other way around. His posture was ramrod straight even as he went to his knees, his eyes lowered to the ground as he raised his chipped, battle-worn sword for you to touch. Despite its appearance, the blade was cold and sharp underneath your fingers, as piercing as the look he gave you with his singular, uncovered eye. Turned upon you as he pledged his sword to you.

“Silco,” you declared his name for him and witnesses to hear. A strange name to be sure, the first sibilant syllable flowing smoothly into the next, unhindered by the tip of your tongue touching the back of your teeth. He stared at you throughout his rehearsed speech, swearing himself into service. It was only your training in genteel conduct that enabled you to return his gaze, sure that he could sense how uncomfortable you were with his silent appraisal of you.

After all the pomp and circumstance, your daily life continued mostly unchanged. He was a quiet shadow who escorted your every step. Your attempts to make him feel welcome and become better acquainted were politely but undeniably rebuffed with his short, avoidant answers. Soon the novelty of introducing him to your other attendants wore off, their attempts at engaging you in gossip buffeted by your genuine ignorance of his character, notwithstanding what your lord and lady parents had already shared with everyone.

(Your maids’ hushed giggles at his supposed good looks were especially bewildering, what with his large eyepatch covering almost the entire left side of his face. Perhaps they could glean his handsomeness from what little was visible— a long, distinctively pointed nose; sharply slanted high cheekbones; lined scars carved from his temple to the edges of his thin lips— but any attraction to him was beyond your own reckoning.)

So you ended your attempts at engaging him, speaking to him solely to wish him “good morning” or “good night”, or inform him of your intended plans for the day. He acknowledged all of these with impassive expressions and minute nods.

He navigated the corridors of your home with ease, but the first true test of his capabilities was escorting you through your father’s lands, through crowds of commonfolk and the cluttered arrangement of edifices. You dismissed your father’s concerns that assassins were lying in wait and resumed your thrice-weekly ventures into town. If you were to be caged to his estate, you refused to be confined to your father’s hall. At least the fresh air and sunshine still tasted of freedom.

The knight kept two paces behind you, closer to you than your other attendants who followed at five. You tried to ignore how claustrophobic his proximity made you feel, focusing instead on your usual duties of greeting the townspeople. Only acknowledging his presence when courtesy demanded you provide introductions before turning your back on him entirely. He watched you with a bored but observant eye as you conversed with others. Listening indifferently as you comforted a farmer’s worries about his harvest, gave a tonic to a woman whose husband was sick with fever, or offered honeyed candies to children who hailed you. His lips thinned with some indiscernible emotion when you freely offered silver to a young bride-to-be as a wedding present, but he voiced no remark on it.

All of these passed on the way to your first proper destination of the day, the town blacksmith. As you approached the smithy, you asked the knight a direct question for the first time in so many days.

“Did my father offer to have your sword repaired? Or are you to receive a replacement?” you inquired politely.

“He said that I am to receive a newly forged sword,” Silco said nonchalantly.

“Then perhaps it should please you to meet the blacksmith Talis; he will be responsible for crafting it,” you offered, greeting the artisan in question with a smile as your party arrived at his station. The two men exchanged pleasantries, and for the first time, the knight’s eye lit with feeling, albeit a subtle one: curiosity at what the craftsman was capable of, shining through while he studied the small armory critically.

Talis allowed the knight to handle a sword. The weapon was of an average caliber, a well-used short blade meant more for a soldier’s training than actual battle. Still, he examined it carefully, holding the blade close to observe the quality of the metalwork. It seemed to pass muster, as he next held it in a strong grip, passing it easily from one hand to the other. He handled it gracefully, slow thrusts and circular spins painting a hypnotic dance in the air, not a tool but an extension of his own body. It did satisfy you to see the knight return the weapon and offer his sincere gratitude to the smith, departing with a handshake and a tiny, upward quirk of his lips.

“Thank you,” he said to you, infused with a modicum of warmth. You would have liked to respond with a chuckle, but you restrained yourself.

“It was my pleasure—” the clamoring of church bells interrupted you, a sonorous rally calling everyone to daily prayers. Your party joined the slow surge of peoples making their way towards the church. Deep breaths helped calm you as swarms of bodies pressed in around you, meaningless chatter and thundering footsteps on the stone floor reverberating into an almost overwhelming cacophony.

After entering the church, you peered between heads and shoulders, seeking out the priest. It excited you to see Father Hoskel, one of your favorites. You peeled away on your own, heading straight to him while your retainers looked for seats in the pews. As you hoped, the knight chose not to sit with the congregation but stationed himself next to the only exit, his gaze following you dutifully as you reached the priest.

“Good day, child,” Hoskel received you with a mischievous smirk. Casually stepping aside as you walked around the pulpit to stand in front of him. Maneuvering himself so his back was to the room, his plump form shielding you from view.

“Good day, Father,” you replied cordially. Smiling as you clasped his wrinkled hands in yours, surreptitiously slipping a coin of silver into his grasp. “I trust that all is well with the church and your health?”

“All the better for having seen you today,” he beamed at you. Squeezing your hands in appreciation as he clumsily palmed the coin, tucking it into a pocket inside his habit. 

Continuing to chat about insignificant matters, your own impatience rose as the other churchgoers settled down. As their movements quieted, you bade farewell to the priest and left him, not heading back into the aisles but out a backdoor used only by the clergy, your exit concealed by the priest swishing his voluminous robe.

You were careful to keep your steps quick but quiet, exercising the utmost caution lest a careless echo gave away your escape. When you left the church threshold back outside where paved stone met dirt, exhilaration mounted in your heart. A deep breath of fresh air reinvigorated you as you turned towards the woods and hurried—

“Are you not meant to join the others in prayer?” a low, smooth tenor of a voice materialized behind you, startling you. It was the knight, standing formally straight, his hands clasped behind his back in bored ceremony. Questioning you condescendingly as if he were a nursemaid guiding a forgetful child.

Of all the people to be caught by, the knight was perhaps the least desirable one. You hid your irritation with a bright tone, “I prefer to meditate in private, in quiet contemplation where I might not be disturbed by others.”

He nodded in acknowledgement. But when you continued your way out of town, he persisted in following you. His footsteps were so silent, you were only alerted to his presence when an instinct nagged you to look over your shoulder.

“My apologies for not making myself clearer,” you faced him with gritted teeth bared in a false smile, still walking at a brisk pace. “I will offer my prayers in solitary contemplation.”

“Surely the church has a quiet vestry available for use,” he pointed out. “Will your prayers be heard in the woods?”

“Is nature not a part of God’s domain? He shall hear me no matter where I pray.”

“So why pray in the woods and not the church if they are one and the same?” he countered.

You huffed in annoyance, coming to a halt. He stopped as well, and his perfect imitation of your trajectory only served to provoke you even further.

“Please tell me, sir knight, do you answer to my father or myself?” you asked.

“Your father pays me with his silver but I am entirely at your disposal,” he answered with a small smirk, seemingly finding amusement in your exasperation.

“Then I would have you dispose yourself of my company and return to the church.”

“I’m afraid I cannot,” he said. “Your father’s orders were to never leave your side and they supersede your own.”

Does he only offer half his loyalty because he is in possession of only half a brain? You bit your tongue, holding back the retort. “What else did my father command of you?”

“To keep you safe from harm.”

“I assure you, there are no dangers in these woods. He has not compelled you to report on my every movement?”

“No. He will allow you a certain measure of privacy.” 

“If you take my silver, would that ensure your obedience to my request?” You flipped him a coin, which flew in the air towards his face before he caught it with a smooth, lazy sweep of his hand.

“Yes.”

“Then I ask that you keep your silence around my father regarding this outing,” you told him curtly, turning briskly on your heel to stride into the forest.

“As you wish, my lady,” he said mockingly. 

His unpleasant attitude normally would have chafed you, but it was overshadowed by your delight at his concession. You resumed your journey at a near-sprint, determined to make up for wasted time. A part of you hoped to outpace the knight but he matched your haste with seemingly no effort on his part, his long legs easily keeping up with your smaller stride. 

Neither of you made any further attempts at conversation. Your footsteps crunched dead leaves on the forest floor, seemingly amplified by the tension between you. It was entirely one-sided on your part, as you came to the gradual understanding that the knight was merely attempting to adhere to his duties in following you. You might have offered him an apology for your terseness, but there was the thought that he might be annoying you on purpose. After all, he did speak with a humor that was lost on you. If he took some enjoyment out of your sour mood it made you less inclined to ask for forgiveness.

The foliage gave way to wild stones, small pebbles rolling underfoot before lodging into the muddy ground. You were careful to lift the skirts of your dress out of a puddle. Mud sloped downwards into larger, blocky stones bordering a deep lake of clear cold water, shards of sunlight dancing on the surface ripples. An osprey shot down from the sky, diving and reemerging with a struggling fish in its talons.

You sighed as you perched on an especially large rock on the edge of the lake, letting your feet dangle above the water. If you were a free woman you would have liked to go swimming. As it were, stripping all the layers of your clothing would have been too much of a nuisance and you would have no way of drying yourself off. Returning home with your couture soaking wet would disappoint your lady mother and perhaps convince her to forbid any future excursions. But you could enjoy the view, a quiet forest oasis at the end of a river.

“What is your homeland like, sir knight?” you asked by way of making polite conversation. You turned around, expecting to see him standing behind you. It surprised you to find him standing quite a distance away from the riverbank, much too far to have heard your question. He seemed to have shrunken in on himself, not standing with his usual impeccable posture but hunched inwards, arms crossed and hands fisting his sleeves. His eye darted around erratically, looking at the ground, the sky, the trees… anywhere but the water.

You frowned and hopped down from your seat, carefully stepping between stones as you walked towards the knight, calling out to him, “Is something wrong?”

“There was a bear,” he mutters. “We should leave before it returns.”

He spun on his heel and stalked away without another word. Perplexed, you hurried to follow in his wake. You had never seen a bear in this part of the forest, a fact you keenly wanted to point out to him. As upsetting as it was to have your time in nature cut short, the knight was clearly troubled by… something. The exact nature of it was unknown to you, but he seemed to believe that it was in the woods. So determined he was to make his escape that he was indifferent to you lagging behind him, struggling to keep up with his quickened pace.

It was all for the better that the two of you left when you did; you passed the church just as the townsfolk were exiting it, allowing you to mingle in the exodus. No one was any the wiser that you had not attended the sermon. By the time you reunited with your entourage, the knight had regained his stoic composure, giving no indication that he had been so unduly disturbed. You had no opportunity to privately ask if he was well until later that evening when you were about to prepare for sleep. He outright ignored your inquiry— which he had never done before— and instead wished you a perfunctory goodnight.

It was another fortnight until Father Hoskel hosted daily prayers again. Seeing as he was the only priest who allowed you to bribe him and sneak away, you were quite ready for some much-needed alone time. 

Well, almost entirely alone— except for the knight.

“Worry not, sir knight,” you addressed him dryly, as the two of you once again traveled into the woods. “I shall not be heading for the river today. Who knows if another bear will arrive to disturb the peace?”

The remark was meant as a weak joke, so it surprised you to hear the knight let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief through slightly parted lips. His tightened, white-knuckled fist released from the hilt of his new sword to drift to his side, loose and relaxed. A curious reaction indeed… but you steered in a direction away from the river, onto a less traveled but still familiar path. It was a longer route, headed southwest instead of east, a carpet of fallen leaves growing ever thicker as you ventured deeper into the forest. Placing your hands on the thin birch trees, flecked with spots and stripes of dark wood underneath their ivory bark, rough and bumpy to the touch. The knight eased his way between them as if they were living creatures who parted to make room for him, such was the grace with which he carried himself.

You arrived at a clearing, a grassy meadow of wildflowers surrounded by a half-circle of trees. Skinny green stems ending in dotted blossoms of yellow, orange, pink, and purple, stretched towards the sky to soak up the sparse autumn sun. You would miss them dearly when they succumbed to the winter frost. For now, you watched a lone bumblebee alight on a golden coneflower, crawling onto a petal toward its seeded heart.

If you had been alone you would have plopped down onto your back, the grass tickling your ears as you studied the sky, framed by flower stems in your periphery. But in your present company, that would be unbecoming conduct of a lady. 

As you slowly sank to your knees, you tossed a coin in the knight’s direction. You had hoped to catch him unawares but he snatched it out of the air, rolling it over his knuckles before pocketing it.

“Payment for your continued silence and protection, sir knight. The bumblebees can pose quite a danger to a helpless maiden such as I,” you chuckled. He made no response, but you could swear the end of his lips twitched upward before sliding back into place, a downward tilted line bordering on a frown. As the bee flew towards your face, you held up a finger for it. The insect landed on your knuckle. Its face was cute, with large shiny black eyes surrounded by equally dark fuzz. Just as quickly as it landed, it buzzed away, sunlight shining through the delicate webbing on its wings.

“Winter will soon be upon us,” you said idly. “I hope to return to the river by then, as the bears will be in hibernation. It will be safe to visit.”

“Bears are unpredictable creatures. Surely you know of safer hideaways than the river,” a scowl briefly flitted across his face before it disappeared, but the notch between his eyebrows deepened, harsh enough to be seen under the strap of his eyepatch.

“The riverside is my favorite,” you said quietly, unable to keep the wistfulness from your voice. “There is peace in water.”

“Water is not peaceful,” he snarled. The vitriol in his voice startled you, his composure melting in the heat of his anger, radiating out and poisoning the air. The flowers leaned away in the wind as if they were frightened of him. “You play in the woods with such ignorance, knowing nothing of the dangers of the world.”

“I will not deny that you may have seen more of the world than I have, sir knight,” you said patiently. “But do not presume that you— an interloper— know more of my father’s lands than I. When I say the river is safe, it is safe. You will see the truth I speak of in time.”

He clenched his jaw, a tendon in his cheek tightening, making no effort this time to hide his grimace. Glaring at you before he turned away forcefully. But he did not disagree, as if he remembered to hold his tongue around you, the daughter of his lord.

You folded your hands in your lap, watching him closely. He seemed keen to storm off, and perhaps you would have let him. But you had seen this wild rage in a caged hound before when your brother rescued it from an abusive master. It would not let anyone approach it, threatening to bite those who came too close, unable to distinguish between those with good or malicious intent. The knight may not have barked at you with the same frothing wrath as the hound, but it was clear that he was in a similar state of distress.

“How do you bathe, sir knight?”

He swung to face you, his fury transformed into bafflement, blinking confusedly. Raised eyebrows rising above the strap of his eyepatch.

“It is a simple question,” you maintained calmly. “How do you bathe if you have such distaste for water?”

He continued staring at you before closing his eye. His posture relaxed minutely, his stiffened shoulders lowering as he exhaled a long, low sigh. Turning upwards to face the sky as he took another deep breath. This time, it was not to unleash some more barbed words but in anticipation. Steeling himself for whatever truths he was preparing to speak.

“You need not speak of your troubles if they are too painful to recall,” you added belatedly, berating yourself for your nosiness. “It is no one else’s business but your own.” 

“No… I ought to tell you. I have already told your lord and lady parents of it, and it is only natural that you should come to know as well.” 

You waited in patient silence as the knight swallowed apprehensively, his throat bobbing. His tongue darted out to lick his upper lip. All throughout, his gaze latched onto something far off in the distance, not quite beholding the nature around him. 

“I had a brother once, not long ago,” he began slowly, voice low, spoken towards the flowers under his feet instead of you. You scooted forwards surreptitiously, keen to pick up on his words. “We were born into the lowest of poverty. Every meal we had was stolen or begged for or sometimes won with crude but necessary violence.

“I was a much weaker fighter then, an unworthy burden on my brother. But he never minded, or claimed not to mind. It was very generous of him to care for me the way he did. I would not blame him if he left to seek out his own fortune, but he stayed.”

A ghost of a smile touched his lips now, but his eye remained downcast and sorrowful. Struggling not to lose himself in whatever nostalgia was left of better times. When you patted the ground next to you, he either did not notice or declined your invitation to be seated next to you. 

“We had a shared dream, not of living richly but of living well. Some days it seemed more futile than others; some days we came close to dying. But through it all, we had each other. And it should have been that way until the very end…”

His eye shone, a tear on the verge of spilling out. You were loath to look away, so captivated you were by his history and display of emotion. He clearly needed comfort but you were afraid to prematurely interrupt his telling. Still, he showed no inclination to move closer to you, so lost in his memories that he seemed to forget you were there. 

“We often supplemented our meager diet with fishing. I thought nothing of it when he asked me to accompany him to a river… but his intent was to kill me. If not with his knife then to drown me like a witch,” he laughed bitterly.

You stifled a gasp as your hands flew to your mouth. The horrors paralyzed you, legs frozen and rooted to the ground. Heart aching with sympathy for his pain. For there was no denying that he was in pain, and perhaps had been for as long as you had known him or even longer. 

“He is the reason why I have such ‘distaste’ for water, and why I only have one good eye,” a snarl burned the edges of his voice, his mourning turning into a jagged hatred for the brother he once loved. The knight raised a hand to his face, fingers trailing over his eyepatch. 

“Where is he now?”

“Dead,” he said simply, his tone of voice fell flat and sullen. “What an irony— the only fight I won on my own was against my very own brother.”

He sagged, arms rising from his sides to hold himself. Protection against whatever demons were plaguing him. The sky grayed overhead as if it mirrored the darkness consuming him.

You rose to your feet, taking a testing step forward. Not wishing to crowd the knight but to offer whatever consolation he might find in your presence.

“I— I only wish—” the knight whispered, “Why did you do it, brother…?” A soft, heartbroken plea to a dead man who would never hear him.

It was essential that your next words be spoken carefully. So you spoke, slow and quiet, attempting at compassion and not pity, “You could never be a burden, sir knight. We all must rely on others for our own needs. I am only sorry that your brother and your country could not rise to the task—”

“He was a good man,” the knight spat, the flare of his temper once again threatening to burn you. “Do not presume to speak as if you knew him.”

“He was a good man who tried to maim and kill you? Are good men forced to perform such atrocities where you come from?” you pointed out.

The knight glared at you, but you did not wither. He forcefully turned away from you again. Perhaps your queries had crossed a line, but they needed to be said. This time, there would be no getting him to look at you again.

“I am sorry,” you said again. “But it was a terrible thing he did to you that you did not deserve.”

Would that your sentiments were enough to heal his wounds… but he did not round on you again to shout. He fell to his knees, still facing away from you. A slow stumble like a column of snow collapsing under its own weight.

“Please… leave me,” the knight asked, low and brokenly.

“Do you remember the way back?”

He nodded, a miniscule motion of his head that you almost missed.

You spoke out to him one last time before departing, “I will not tell you to cease mourning your brother. Would that he loved you the way you loved him… But you deserve to live, sir knight; you are worthy of life and good health. I hope that in time, you will accept it as truth.”

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At the time, you were reluctant to tell the knight that he was excused from his duties for the rest of the day if he so wished it. As it were, he should not have been bothered with such mundane affairs amidst his suffering.

No doubt his heart was heavy enough without the additional burden of work.

When your handmaidens joined you outside the church, they inquired as to his whereabouts. You were about to tell them he had returned to his quarters, struck by a sudden illness. But the knight himself reappeared at your shoulder, so stealthily it was almost a miracle. His eye and his nose were reddened but he seemed no worse for the wear. The armor of his impenetrable composure locked back into place. In fact, he thanked you for your patience and divulged nothing further.

For the entirety of the walk back to your father’s hall, you fought the temptation to look back at the knight or pull him aside to speak to him. Such an opportunity did not arise until late into the evening when he escorted you to the staircase leading to your private chambers.

“Sir knight,” you addressed him. He had steered his gaze away from you all day. It was a customary standoffish practice you were familiar with, but he seemed to do it today out of embarrassment for his earlier display of emotion. A man like the knight would have seen it as weakness and preferred that you did not speak of it again.

But you were determined to help him in whatever way he would accept.

“Yes?” he said formally.

“We may part company tomorrow if you wish,” you offered. “An ailment of the heart should be tended to the same as any other sickness, with rest and recuperation.”

He blinked at you, puzzled. Opening his mouth to speak before he cleared his throat, “There’s no need. I will be fully capable of attending to you.”

“Be that as it may, the day is yours to do with as you please. Rest well, sir knight.”

“…rest well, my lady,” he said slowly. Returning your nod with a lower bow of his head.

The knight did not attend to you the next day, sending word of how he felt unwell. You felt sorrow for his pain but were a little gladdened that he was taking the time to grieve. It was unlikely that he would heal overnight from the wounds his brother inflicted, but with time, you were hopeful that the pain would become less overwhelming.

You did not breach the topic of his past again, but on your future outings you were keen to avoid the river. Showing him other places that you liked to visit, more determined than ever to make him feel at home in your father’s lands.

The meadow was home to your favorite bloom, the purple coneflower, with a heart of dark orange and warm pinkish-purple petals, long and straight, a plain beauty but still pleasing to the eye. As a child, you liked to pick them to sneak into your room. But they were hard to preserve as they often got squashed in the small pockets of your dress. At your current age, you were happy to observe them in nature in all their wild glory.

Farther into the woods, there were rings of mushrooms where the air hung still and quiet, with a fog that never seemed to disappear even on the sunniest of days, and no birds dared to sing. The less godly peasants whispered of fae that would snatch away any person who dared disrupt the circles. The clergy heartily disavowed such tales as frivolous. Still, it brought you great amusement to speculate if such otherworldly creatures were real. The knight himself could not be bothered to form an opinion on the matter, but you noticed him keeping his distance from the mushrooms.

To the east of the mushrooms was a wild apple orchard. They dotted both the ground and branches with yellow and red, so ripe and ready to fall without needing to be plucked. You polished one with your sleeve, glad to not be in the company of a handmaiden who would scold you for your indelicate manner. When you encouraged the knight to partake in a fruit, it surprised you that he obliged. He reacted swiftly when you shrieked. But it was only a green worm that alarmed you, skinny and wriggling on the skin of an apple you held. 

It was hard to gauge which sites he liked the best, or if he liked them at all. His impassivity never changed. The only exception was when he smiled at the fright the insect gave you. Still, his manner towards you did seem warmer, his voice less frostbitten when he greeted you at dawn’s beginning and dusk’s end. 

The times were peaceful, much to your satisfaction. It was proof that your father’s fears were uncalled for. But more importantly, the knight needed peace. His homeland was the sort of place where people could not sleep soundly, but had to guard themselves with one eye open and a knife under their pillow. Your family’s estate was much safer. With the exception of the day you introduced him to the blacksmith, the knight had seen no need to draw his sword while you were under his care.

The day when he unsheathed it to protect you was a frightful one indeed.

Part 2

[citizenscreen]

Anita Louise and Cornel Wilde in THE BANDIT OF SHERWOOD FOREST (1946), directed by George Sherman and Henry Levin

[ravenya003]

Stuff I Read/Watched in July...

Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds) by Dav Pilkey

The Bad Guys: The Furball Strikes Back by Aaron Blabey

Dawn and the Big Sleepover by Anne M. Martin

Kristy and the Baby Parade by Anne M. Martin

Diadem: Book of Names by John Peel

Diadem: Book of Signs by John Peel

Diadem: Book of Magic by John Peel

The Two-Faced God by Caroline Lawrence

The Sewer Demon by Caroline Lawrence

The Thunder Omen by Caroline Lawrence

The Book of Shane by Nick Eliopulos

Tales of the Fallen Beasts by Brandon Mull and others

The Andalite Chronicles: Elfangor by K.A. Applegate

Tides of the Dark Crystal by J.M. Lee

Flames of the Dark Crystal by J.M. Lee

The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946)

Tales of Robin Hood (1951)

Ivanhoe (1952)

Son of Robin Hood (1958)

The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)

Ivanhoe (1982)

Robin Hood: Prince of Sherwood (1993)

The Adventures of Robin Hood: Seasons 1 – 4 (1955 – 1959)

Ivanhoe (1997)

The Tudors: Season 3 (2009)

Slow Horses: Season 1 (2022)

More details on blog...

[gatutor]

Jill Esmond-Anita Louise "El hijo de Robin de los bosques" (The bandit of Sherwood forest) 1946, de Henry Levin, George Sherman.

[whitewaterpaper]

Med en nyrehabbad dator så är listan tillbaka till det vanliga formatet. Har bestämt mig för att inte efter-editera dec/jan för mycket jobb.

Annihilation (2018) [👍🔄️]

De tusen farornas land / At the Earth's Core (1976) [👍🆓]

Det Är från Polisen / An Inspector Calls (1954) [👍]

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) [👍] Mitt omdöme i sin helhet: »Den här filmen är en sådan där upplevelse man bara kan se en gång. Den är som slutet på År 2000: Ett Rymdäventyr men med en intressant underliggande story, den är som Alice i Underlandet på LSD och den är kaotisk som en tågkrasch man inte kan slita ögonen från. Det är en välförtjänt Oscarsnominering för Jamie Lee Curtis (faktum är att de känns välförtjänta allihop).«

Gyllene Kondorens Skatt / Treasure of the Golden Condor (1953) [🆓]

Jung_E (2023) [__] Bra koncept, snygg anime-inspirerad design men berättandet når inte riktigt ända fram.

Jungle Cruise (2021) [👍🔄️]

Love Bound / Murder on the High Seas (1932) [🆓]

Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot, the (2019) [__] Mina instinkter sade att jag skulle hoppa över den här filmen ... och det var helt riktigt.

Med Djävulen i Katedern / Satan's School for Girls (1973) [👍] Oj. Vilken trevlig överraskning. (Kan en skräckfilm vara det?)

Mr Boogedy (1986) [__]

Robin Hoods Son / Bandit of Sherwood Forest, the (1946) [🆓]

She Demons (1958) [__] En av de intressantare filmerna på H.G. Welles ”Doktor Moreaus ö”, och det är väl kanske det enda positiva som finns att säga om den.

Skälmarnas furste / Prince of Foxes (1949) [__]

Syskondetektiverna / Casebusters (1986) [👍] Den här kändes som om den var en pilot för något större som aldrig blev av.

Så vilka filmer skall man hyperklicka in i "att se listan" denna månad? Svårt att säga – men har man aldrig sett den så kan man kika in "Satan's School for Girls".

[wuxiaphoenix]

Plotbunny For Hire: Fantastic Mercenaries

Ten years ago, a crack archer unit was sent to the gallows by the Sheriff of Nottingham for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security castle to the Sherwood Forest underground. Today, still wanted by the monarchy, they survive as bandits of fortune.

If you have a problem, if no one else can help you, and if you can find them... then maybe you can hire - The Merry Men.

(Multiple thuds of arrows across the screen.)

Featuring:

Robin Hood: Mastermind and leader of the Merry Men, Master of Disguise, and possibly the best archer in the world. (Picture a guy sometimes in Lincoln green of a forester, others in everything from a mendicant’s rags to a monk’s rope-belted robes to raising a knight’s visor to reveal his grin.)

Will Scarlet: Expert swordsman, snappy dresser, and con artist. (All the clothes, all the lovely clothes, fast horses, used-armor-salesmen, and so many fast-talked people.)

Little John: Huge quarterstaff expert. Possibly also a blacksmith, who Makes Useful Things for the latest escapade. (Lots of flying sparks, lots of bellows action, lots of fanservice for the ladies when all those muscles flex. This is the guy people walk in on, think he’s not that tough... and then he stands up. And up....)

Friar Tuck: Slightly addled priest who’s no slouch with a quarterstaff himself, prone to engaging in battles of wits with unarmed men, and known to be an expert in things that fly over the ground. Hounds, hawks - and possibly more if you want to throw in some fantasy/wuxia-style inventor elements. (I.e. if you want to do DaVinci’s flying machine, this is your guy.)

Maid Marian: Likely to be in the background anywhere, picking up rumors of trouble to stomp, people who need help, and traps from the Sheriff and Guy of Gisbourne. Not a bad archer herself, which the bad guys never seem to expect, and also a fair hand at disguise. She has a quill pen, she has paper, she has the ears of the local criers, and she’s not afraid to use them.

And up to seven score Merry Men.

(Think of a fantastic take on The A-Team. Robin - Hannibal. Will - Face. Little John - B.A. Friar Tuck - H.M. Murdock. Maid Marian - Amy.)

Heck, if there’s any magic in the setting, you could even get in the same quotient of things going boom....

Ahem. Plotbunny, free to good home! Have fun!

[10siglosdehistoria]

ROBIN HOOD'S GRAVE IN YORKSHIRE - ENGLAND

TUMBA DE ROBIN HOOD EN YORKSHIRE - INGLATERRA

TOMBA DI ROBIN HOOD IN YORKSHIRE - INGHILTERRA

(English / Español / Italiano)

According to legend, this is Robin Hood's grave in Yorkshire, England, but did Robin Hood exist?

Although it is not known for certain whether there ever was a bandit by that name, since the 12th century tradition has made Robin Hood a popular character who embodied the demands for justice of the oppressed classes in England.

Literature and, in the 20th century, cinema have made Robin Hood one of the most popular fictional characters in the world. The adventures of this rebel in Sherwood Forest, supported by the members of his gang and always ready to outwit the hated Sheriff of Nottingham, have made Robin Hood one of the most popular fictional characters in the world.

In an effort to sort fact from fiction, many historians have attempted to identify the mysterious highwayman with a specific historical figure. In the mid-19th century, the archivist Joseph Hunter pointed to a Robyn Hode who in 1324 was King Edward II's valet and then left his employment, as in the ballad A Robin Hood's Deed, where he tires of court and returns to the forest. However, there is no evidence that this Hode was an outlaw. More recently, Graham Phillips and Martin Keatman have cross-referenced a great deal of historical data with the legends to conclude that Robin Hood was an amalgam of three different individuals: 1) a peasant outlaw from Barnsdale Forest in about 1225, 2) Robert Hood of Wakefield, a soldier in the Earl of Lancaster's rebel army who was later in the service of Edward II in 1324, which is partly consistent with the Robin Hood candidate advocated by Hunter and, 3) Fulk Fitz Warine, one of the barons who rose up against King John between 1200 and 1215.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Según la leyenda, esta es la tumba de Robin Hood ubicada en Yorkshire, Inglaterra, pero ¿existió Robin Hood?.

Aunque no se sabe a ciencia cierta si existió un bandido con ese nombre, desde el siglo XII la tradición hizo de Robin Hood un popular personaje que encarnaba las demandas de justicia de las clases oprimidas en Inglaterra.

La literatura y en el siglo XX, el cine han hecho de Robin Hood uno de los personajes de ficción más populares en todo el mundo. Las peripecias de este rebelde en el bosque de Sherwood, secundado por los miembros de su banda y dispuesto siempre a burlarse del odioso Sheriff de Nottingham.

En su esfuerzo por deslindar realidad y ficción, numerosos historiadores han intentado identificar al misterioso bandido con un personaje histórico concreto. A mediados del siglo XIX, el archivero Joseph Hunter señaló a un Robyn Hode que en 1324 era ayuda de cámara del rey Eduardo II y luego dejó su empleo, como en la balada Una gesta de Robin Hood, donde se cansa de la corte y regresa al bosque. Sin embargo, no hay evidencia de que ese Hode hubiera sido un proscrito. Más recientemente, Graham Phillips y Martin Keatman han cruzado gran cantidad de datos históricos con las leyendas hasta concluir que Robin Hood fue una amalgama de tres individuos distintos: 1) un campesino proscrito del bosque de Barnsdale en torno a 1225, 2) Robert Hood de Wakefield, soldado del ejército rebelde del conde de Lancaster que luego estuvo al servicio de Eduardo II en 1324, lo que concuerda en parte con el candidato a Robin Hood defendido por Hunter y, 3) Fulk Fitz Warine, uno de los barones que se alzaron contra el rey Juan entre 1200 y 1215.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Secondo la leggenda, questa è la tomba di Robin Hood nello Yorkshire, in Inghilterra, ma Robin Hood è esistito?

Anche se non si sa con certezza se sia mai esistito un bandito con questo nome, fin dal XII secolo la tradizione ha fatto di Robin Hood un personaggio popolare che incarnava le richieste di giustizia delle classi oppresse in Inghilterra.

La letteratura e, nel XX secolo, il cinema hanno reso Robin Hood uno dei personaggi di fantasia più popolari al mondo. Le avventure di questo ribelle della foresta di Sherwood, sostenuto dai membri della sua banda e sempre pronto a superare l'odiato sceriffo di Nottingham, hanno reso Robin Hood uno dei personaggi di fantasia più popolari al mondo.

Nel tentativo di distinguere la realtà dalla finzione, molti storici hanno cercato di identificare il misterioso brigante con una specifica figura storica. A metà del XIX secolo, l'archivista Joseph Hunter indicò un Robyn Hode che nel 1324 era valletto del re Edoardo II e poi lasciò il suo impiego, come nella ballata A Robin Hood's Deed, dove si stanca della corte e torna nella foresta. Tuttavia, non ci sono prove che questo Hode fosse un fuorilegge. Più recentemente, Graham Phillips e Martin Keatman hanno incrociato una grande quantità di dati storici con le leggende per concludere che Robin Hood era un amalgama di tre individui diversi: 1) un contadino fuorilegge della foresta di Barnsdale intorno al 1225, 2) Robert Hood di Wakefield, un soldato dell'esercito ribelle del conte di Lancaster che fu poi al servizio di Edoardo II nel 1324, il che è in parte coerente con il candidato Robin Hood sostenuto da Hunter e, 3) Fulk Fitz Warine, uno dei baroni che si sollevarono contro re Giovanni tra il 1200 e il 1215.

Fuente: Indika Ki Som. Arqueologia, Historia y Arte

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"THREE WOMEN OF THE WEST." Ottawa Journal. July 12, 1933. Page 6. ---- Out in Saskatchewan, where men are men, they are giving new thought today to the status of women in the modern world.

One NORMAN OGLESTONE of Tessier stopped his automobile to answer the questions of three young women the news story calls them "ladies" but possibly there is a certain poetic exaggeration ion in the term. At any rate the three females jumped into the car, seized the driver's arms, took his cash and jewelry, went on their way rejoicing. We have an impression "ladies" don't do that sort of thing, even in such of the West as remains wild and woolly.

One gathers that Mr. OGLESTONE was so surprised he didn't resist these more or less fair bandits, or perhaps it was gallantry. However he told the police about it, and the story is going around. The rough and tough he- men of the plains must be considerably agitated over the incident. They have been taught to be polite to women, beljeve no evil concerning them, defer to them in everything - in a word, to look upon these gentle creatures as a relief from their own roughness and toughness. What now are they to think of it all, when they hear that Saskatchewan women, not content with giving men hard competition in law and agriculture, in most of the professions and trades, now have taken up highway robbery-a business sacred to the male sex since ROBIN HOOD galloped through the dim trails of Sherwood Forest.

Clearly something should be done about this. We are quite sure Mr. OGLESTONE's fondest illusions have crashed to earth, and over the length and breadth of the Prairies the word is spreading that the women, having taken from men their barber shops and smoking rooms, their golf courses and rifle butts, now are attacking them in one of the few remaining male sanctuaries. What's an honest highway-man to do if he must meet feminine competition even in the valorous exploits of that historic avocation!.

[travsd]

John Abbott: From Albion to Organia

How wonderful that John Albert Chamberlain Kefford (1905-1996) chose the professional name of John Abbott — for that is what he looked like, like some kind of Medieval monk. Occasionally he was cast with that approximate idea in mind, e.g. he played Will Scarlet in The Bandit of Sherwood Forest (1946). (Yes, I know Will Scarlet’s not a monk, but he’s Medieval, blast you!) Abbott was also often…

[allwaswell16]

A fic rec of One Direction fics taking place in medieval times as requested in this ask. If you enjoy the fics, please leave kudos and comments for the writers. You can find my other fic recs here. Happy reading!

—Louis/Harry—

🏰 Fantasy/Merlin AU (series) by MyEnglishRose / @lwtisloved

(E, 249k, fantasy) A Fantasy AU loosely inspired by Merlin BBC, with Louis as a servant, hiding his nature as a sorcerer, Harry as Camelot's prince, Liam as his guard, Niall as Louis' knight and Zayn as the fairy prince.

🏰 After Dark, After Light by QuickedWeen / @becomeawendybird

(M, 71k, Scottish au) In an attempt to garner extra protection for his clan, Harry sets out to mend his father's past wrongs and ally with their neighbors to the west, Clan Sutherland.

🏰 I'll Be Here Waiting on Forever by sweaterpawstyles

(E, 46k, a/b/o) A Romeo and Juliet AU where Louis is an alpha prince who falls in love with Harry, an omega prince from the neighboring kingdom

🏰 Now You're Lost, Lost In The Heat Of It All by @marchessa

(E, 44k, a/b/o) the story of a great medieval Emperor and his consort.

🏰 It's Not You, and It's Not Me by @realitybetterthanfiction

(E, 18k, Game of Thrones) Harry Snow, bastard son of Lord Ned Stark, meets an intriguing stranger on a midnight ride near Winterfell. Can their connection last in a world ruled by lions, and dragons, and wolves?

🏰 Where Iron Meets Flame by @fallinglikethis

(T, 14k, magic) Louis is a knight in training that emphatically doesn't believe in magic, Harry is a mage with confidence issues.

🏰 Knight Changes by graceling_in_a_suit / @graceling-in-a-suit

(M, 10k, bog man) Louis has a promise to keep and a curse to break for a man in a bog. Niall, Liam, and Zayn are along for the ride. The real friends are the dragons we slay along the way.

🏰 The Rose and the Stag by lonelymisfit / @l0nelymisfit

(E, 10k, Game of Thrones) A medieval AU where Louis is heir to the throne and Harry is a knight who fights for more than just his lord’s victory.

🏰 The Bandits of Sherwood Forest by foreverfanficaddict / @chaotic-bells

(T, 8k, Robin Hood au) Louis Tomlinson and his band of merry men were the people’s only hope. They robbed from the rich to feed the poor, and were beloved by all of England during these terrible times.

🏰 These High Walls, they came up short by LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup

(T, 7k, hybrid au) Simon, he assumes, is thinking back to the days he likes to tell Harry about; the days when the abbey was teeming with life and community. They needed to be a united force then, surely. But now— now it’s just the two of them. 

🏰 My Sun and Stars, Moon of my Life by @ohharold

(M, 7k, Game of Thrones) Harry was used to the luxuries of Kings Landing and then Pentos but when his brother is desperate for the crown he is entitled to, Harry must be part of an arranged marriage to a ruthless Khal of a Dothraki tribe.

🏰 Had Enough of Silly Love Spells by learnthemusic

(T, 7k, Merlin au) A Merlin AU in which Harry, Court Sorcerer, slips a love potion into King Louis' sleeping draught in hopes of awakening his true feelings for Harry. It goes wrong and Harry puzzles over how to get things back to how they used to be.

🏰 Settle Soft and Follow Thee by LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup

(G, 2k, pagan gods)  He’s never met a deity himself, not even a member of the fae, but if he did, he thinks the inbetween time would be when it happens. 

—Rare Pairs—

🏰 Spark by unfortunate17

(E, 42k, Zayn/Liam) a Game of Thrones AU that lacks all the death and sorrow, where Zayn is Daenerys Targaryen and Liam is Khal Drogo

🏰 my crown is in my heart by carissima

(M, 30k, Liam/Harry) After several attempts on the royal family’s lives, a knight’s tournament is held to find Prince Harry’s future husband to rule beside him when he becomes king. 

[automatismoateo]

Christians bullied an Indiana school district into canceling a school play with LGBTQ characters. The students raised more than $83,000 and put the play on in a professional theatre. via /r/atheism

Christians bullied an Indiana school district into canceling a school play with LGBTQ characters. The students raised more than $83,000 and put the play on in a professional theatre.

(This excerpt is from a Washington Post article written by Hannah Natanson.)

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Sydney Knipp, 16, tiptoed to stage’s edge and peered around the black curtain at the nearly 1,500 people waiting for the play to start. It was the largest audience she had ever seen.

In a few minutes, Sydney was supposed to stride before them, braids streaming, to deliver the opening monologue as Alanna Dale in “Marian, or The True Tale of Robin Hood,” a gender-bending take on Sherwood Forest’s beloved bandit.

Dotted among the crowd, Sydney saw, were security personnel in bulletproof vests. At the entrance, theatergoers were submitting to bag checks and a metal detector wand. Behind Sydney stood Fia, her 14-year-old sister, costumed as Much the Miller’s son.

Sydney and Fia, and their characters, were the reason for the security — the reason this play was happening not at school but at an outdoor theater in the girls’ hometown. Alanna confesses her love for a woman in the 16th scene. Much declares they are nonbinary two scenes later. The LGBTQ storylines drew complaints from parents, spurring Carroll High School to cancel “Marian” in February out of concern for students’ safety.

But the cast of two dozen teenagers decided to put the play on anyway. Now, on a chilly evening in late May — after raising almost $84,000, booking Foellinger Theatre and whirling through 2½ weeks of late-night rehearsals squeezed between Advanced Placement exams and finals — it was opening night for a show adults had warned them not to do.

Sydney sidled to her little sister. “How are you feeling?”

The teens believed — knew — they were part of something bigger. They knew schools across the country are nixing plays and musicals that feature gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender roles, often due to parent objections. They were aware Republican politicians are passing a record-breaking wave of laws restricting the rights of LGBTQ children, and that Fort Wayne trends White and red.

The teens also knew they had fans: the thousands who bought $15.50 tickets or donated to their fundraiser; the local theater groups who lent decorations; even “Marian” playwright Adam Szymkowicz, whom they had met on a Zoom call.

But in these last moments with her sister, Fia had something to confide.

She was thinking about what producer Nathan Gotsch said a half-hour before showtime. Should any hecklers emerge, he told students, ushers would escort them out. One student, dressed as a king’s guard, had raised black armored gloves and promised to deter disrupters with his fists, earning laughs. But Fia wasn’t laughing now.

“If someone yells something,” Fia whispered to Sydney, “I think I’m going to cry.”

Sydney pointed to the audience. “Dude, there are so many people with dyed hair out there,” she said. “We’re going to be okay.”

She laid her arm on Fia’s shoulder. Fia rested her forehead on Sydney’s hand. The sisters stood, curled in an embrace, as the crowd began to hush.

Three months earlier, Meadowe Freeman arrived early to school for a surprise meeting called by her principal and theater director.

Auditions had just wrapped for Carroll High’s production of “Marian.” The 18-year-old, who chose theater because “I’m not very sporty,” had anticipated teasing from students about the play’s LGBTQ characters. But she never expected what she heard that day: that some parents disliked the play so much it couldn’t continue.

“You read about it on the news,” Meadowe said, “but you never expect it to happen in your school.”

Sitting near the front of the room was Tristan Wasserman, 18. He watched his friends start to cry. Walking from the meeting, he decided: The show would go on.

That night, Tristan hunted up the email of “Marian” playwright Szymkowicz. He researched the name of a reporter with Fort Wayne’s 21 Alive News. He fired off versions of the same email.

“Hello,” he wrote, “my name is Tristan Wasserman … It was actually on my 18th birthday that we found out that we wouldn’t be doing Marian.”

His efforts yielded news coverage and, ultimately, 5,600 signatures on a petition to reinstate the play. One of Tristan’s friends, Stella Brewer-Vartanian, president of a left-leaning political club at Carroll High, launched Twitter and Instagram accounts devoted to reversing the cancellation. But the school stuck by its decision.

So Tristan began recruiting students to speak at the next school board meeting. If enough teens explained why it was wrong, he figured, the adults would have to listen.

On Feb. 27, Tristan, Stella — who wasn’t part of the theater program but felt outraged by what she called adult bullying — and roughly 20 high schoolers showed up, some with prepared speeches.

Before most could speak, a woman rose. Kaye Niman said she was a taxpayer, a mother and a pastor’s wife. “Marian” — with its “LGBT whatever, however many ABCs you want to put on it” — was immoral, Niman said.

“What we believe in is what the Bible says, and the Bible says that homosexuality is a sin,” said Niman, who did not respond to a request for comment. “It’s forgivable, don’t get me wrong, it’s forgivable and we love them, but nevertheless … I applaud whoever made the decision to not have this play go on.”

As Niman wrapped up, 16-year-old Peyton Stratton sat picturing the role she had hoped for: that of Marian/Robin, who leads the troupe of Merry Men. Peyton, who wants to attend law school, admired Marian for her ferocity, wit and determination to protect the people she loves.

Telling herself to summon those traits now, Peyton walked to the microphone. She reminded the board of school anti-bullying initiatives that teach children not to tolerate hate.

“By taking down this play, you’re following the opposite of that message,” she said. “You are teaching students to fold at the first sign of struggle.”

Stella told the adults they were writing themselves into history as “hateful.”

And Tristan gave a promise: “I have not rested,” he said, “nor will I rest until this decision is reversed.”

Students headed home with hope. Tristan was in his bedroom when he got a text alerting him that the superintendent, Wayne Barker, was speaking about the play.

“This came down to an issue where our principal felt that it was going to be an unsafe activity for our students to participate in because of how divisive it was becoming,” Barker said. “I support his decision … I’m comfortable with why he did what he did.”

In a statement to The Washington Post, district spokeswoman Lizette Downey said the decision to cancel “Marian” was due not only to parent complaints, but primarily to “disruptions already occurring between students directly involved within the theater department.” She did not specify what those “disruptions” were.

Superintendent Barker declined repeated interview requests.

For a while, the students were lost. Some pondered putting on the play outside school, Stella said, but no one knew how. Then Stella got a message saying a local man she’d never met wanted to talk to her.

A former teacher born and raised in Fort Wayne, Nathan Gotsch, 40, sympathized with administrators’ plight — but felt more for the students. And, he felt, he was perfectly positioned to help.

Gotsch, who attended film school at the University of Southern California, spent his 20s working in entertainment in Los Angeles. After stints in education and journalism, he had just run unsuccessfully for Congress. Taken together, it meant Gotsch had the know-how and the network of political, activist and theater contacts the students would need to stage “Marian” themselves.

Over a video call, the idea took shape. Gotsch agreed to serve as overall producer, and four teens — Tristan, Stella, Meadowe and Kaitlyn Gulley, head of Carroll’s Gay-Straight Alliance — would become student-producers.

Gotsch set up a GoFundMe to pay for the play; it pulled in $80,000 in under two weeks. Nonprofit Fort Wayne Pride, which advocates for LGBTQ rights, stepped in as fiscal agent, managing the money.

Nathan and others identified two dozen students willing to act in “Marian” and assigned them parts. He hired a professional director and crew to handle stage management, engineering, sets, sound, costumes and lighting. He secured Foellinger Theatre for May 20 and coordinated security with Indiana State Police and parks personnel.

Meanwhile, Stella and Kaitlyn promoted the play at a “No Hate Fort Wayne” rally and a Democratic Party gathering. Meadowe and Tristan liaised between adults and students in the production — while Meadowe learned a role as a guard and Tristan served as assistant stage manager and sound designer, at one point imitating pigeon calls for the play’s soundtrack.

Rehearsals — running after school and on weekends — started May 3. The student-actors had fewer than 4o hours, across less than three weeks, to learn their lines.

Teens were facing APs and fast-approaching finals. They were fielding phone calls from journalists and messages from actors who wanted to cheer them on — support they appreciated but which took time.

The Friday before opening night, Peyton arrived late after ferrying over three students who lacked cars. Her hair was already braided in the intricate coils required for the role she had coveted: Marian.

She fast-walked into a kitchen tucked below the theater to cries of “Peyton! They need you in makeup!” and “Peyton! Go straight to makeup!”

“I know,” Peyton said, crossing to a wall and scribbling her initials onto a sign-in sheet.

She eyed the steaming

(To read the full article go to https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/05/31/marian-school-theater-lgbtq-indiana/ )

Submitted May 31, 2023 at 05:48PM by bitemy (From Reddit https://ift.tt/vSmew4L)

[thehumanarkle]

I've hit the 10 movies mark for 2023. Couldn't find a proper poster for the first one, so I just used the YouTube thumbnail.

Weenie

Hellraiser (2022)

Gammera The Invincible (American edit of Gamera)

The Bandit of Sherwood Forest

Cocaine Bear

Interesting Ball

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

The Prince of Thieves

Marc Maron: End Times Fun

Frank & OIlie

[chaotic-bells]

this is gonna be a bit odd but fuck marry kill your three favorite fics (either your own or other ppl)

omg where do i even start?!

gonna be self promoting and doing it with my own fics, because i have 1500 bookmarks full of favourites and this is a hard question!!

fuck: Putting it in! had to be! all the dick jokes we can possibly cram in a single fic.

marry: my Robin Hood AU, The Bandits of Sherwood Forest. I loved writing it and I think it’s cute 🥰

kill: people fall in love in mysterious ways (maybe just the touch of a hand)