WIP Poll Sentences Update!!
so re this poll I did a while back, where you guys voted on a WIP for me to work on and then I had to write as many sentences as the poll got notes, here's 81 sentences from the next chapter of Boundless Sky.
Disclaimer: Thane Dickwad has yet to be named, and so he is Thane Dickwad for the purposes of me taking away possible excuses to procrastinate writing. This is a rough draft lmao. I'll comb through some Saxon names and give him a proper name after I'm done suffering over the rough draft.
Disclaimer 2: these are not continuous. This chapter is getting written piecemeal because it's one of those that's giving me a headache. So this is just a bunch of disjointed snippets and sentences, sorry!
quick CW: It's a Fram chapter, so this includes...well the Éothéod of And the Stars Shine the Same. They're kind of their own warning. But this chapter includes depictions of slavery (we've got thralls), and a small amount of violence.
So anyway, here are those 81 sentences (plus a few extra tbh) that you guys made me write! Thank you to everyone who voted and thanks for your patience while I've been wrestling with this chapter!!
Frumgar’s hall was a cavernous longhouse framed in timber and roofed with green sod. Painted pillars stood in rows like sentries guarding the throne and dais at the far end. A huge central fire burned brightly in the great hearth, belching out plumes of smoke up toward the ceiling. In that haze, thralls scurried like ants, laying out long trestle tables for that evening’s feast. Fram and Etheldred walked side-by-side through the fray, past the common space, and through a thick woven curtain into the corridor beyond.
It felt strange and mostly empty — almost ghostly — in comparison to the bustling main room. There were only a few people mulling about between the private rooms. Fram let out a breath, then glanced over at Etheldred to find him moping.
-
Fram honestly hadn’t even been paying enough attention to notice her. She was standing in the corridor, a cleaning pail at her feet, and with her was one of his father’s bannerman who was looming in the doorway of one of the private rooms, blocking entry.
-
She was well-behaved. Never stepped out of line. Very good at keeping out of sight. Fram couldn’t think of the last time she’d ever managed to upset a member of the house, not even his mother, so he was left racking his brain about what she could have possibly done to warrant the ire on the bannerman’s face.
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“Funny way of looking for you, trying to get into my room,” the thane snapped, and it was more directed at the mouse, who ducked away from him, darting closer to Fram. Her left ear was bright red, likely from a cuff, and that made Fram flash hot. He had no right to go around touching his father’s thralls.
Fram took a step forward, effectively hedging the mouse behind him, and let his gaze drift back to thane. Next to him, Etheldred folded his arms.
-
“Keep your thralls out of my room.”
-
Right. That was it. Thane Dickwad, from the Narrows. He had traveled quite a long way to be here, and if Fram remembered rightly, had lost many men in that battle with the orcs that spring when the king had ridden upon Rivendell to retrieve Fram from Lord Elrond. Fram collected himself and stood up a little straighter.
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"That’s a mouse. It’s meant to go in your room to keep it tidy. It’s only doing as it’s been told, like all the rest of them. I’ll have my mother inform the household to keep out of your room for the rest of your stay. I apologize,” and that was said with a thin smile that made it clear Fram was not at all sorry, “We are only trying to be good hosts.” He craned his neck, glancing past Dickwad’s shoulder into the chamber, and noted the way he sidestepped to block his line of sight. “Hiding something in there?”
“Of course not,” Dickwad snapped.
“Then you have no reason to get so angry, do you?” Fram replied. Then, he kept his tone cool as he addressed the mouse: “Apologize to Thane Dickwad and let’s go. You’ve wasted plenty of my time already.”
The mouse bowed very low, muttering a panicked I’m sorry. Thane Dickwad just scoffed in disbelief and shoved past them, storming down the corridor and out into the main hall.
Fram let out a sigh of relief. The mouse was still shaking at his side, no doubt waiting to be dismissed. He gestured, indicating that she was free to go, and she was quick to snatch up her cleaning bucket and hurry off, shoulders drawn up to her ears, the bucket clenched in a white-knuckled fist.
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“No thanks,” Fram said, tone sour. “Lost my appetite. I’m going to my room.” When Etheldred’s good-natured expression pulled at the edges, Fram took a second to file the sharpness off of his voice before he offered: “See you tonight?”
“Sure,” Etheldred agreed as he started for the door. “Should be fun.”
-
Fram was in a black mood for the rest of the afternoon. In hindsight, antagonizing his father’s bannermen wasn’t exactly the best way to spend his time. There had probably been a better way to handle that situation with Dickwad and he ought to have been harder on the mouse, he just couldn’t bring himself to. It (she, she) had just been doing her job. He couldn’t fault her for that.
Beyond that, though, it was Thane Dickwad’s reaction to the mouse entering his room that bothered him, and the way he had tried (seemingly without being conscious of it) to block Fram’s view inside. Fram felt sure that if the mouse had interrupted something important, then the thane surely would have said so. But no, he had said she was snooping.
Well, Fram had known her a long time. She kept to herself. She never got into any trouble. There was no way she could have been snooping.
So why was Thane Dickwad so worried about it?
It was likely wounded pride, and nothing else. Most of his father’s bannermen were quick to anger, especially when it came to thralls. Fram could count on one hand the number of men who were not.
He resolved to put it out of his mind and get ready for the feast, lest he spend too long sulking and wind up late for the feast.
-
As Frumgar got up from the table, the mouse hurried in again to collect his plate. Fram’s mother struck out with her table knife and pinned the mouse’s hand to the table with a sickening crunch of bone.
Fram sat there, stunned, watching as blood bubbled up all over the scrubbed oak board. The thrall’s body had gone rigid, her jaw working, liking she was biting her tongue to keep from crying out.
“It’s polite to go slowly, and to wait and see if anyone has need of you, rather than darting in and out from the table. It’s annoying. We should rename you to gadfly. It seems more apt,” his mother said, in a voice still and cold as a frozen lake. “Do you understand?”
Frantically, the mouse nodded.
Next to her, Faedlimid looked as green as her dress as she sat there, staring at her lap.
“Mother, let her go,” Fram tried.
Instead, she quietly said: “Refill my cup.”
The music from the dance seemed both too loud and somehow fuzzy. Fram couldn’t feel his tongue as he sat there, white knuckled, watching the mouse shakily reach for the jug of mead on the table, lift it, and carefully, carefully pour it into his mother’s glass.
Only when she was finished, and had set the jug aside, did his mother yank the knife out of her hand with another horrible crunch. As soon as she was free, the blonde mouse fled the table, choking on her tears and cradling her hand, and three more of them rushed in with rags to sop up the blood.
Fram watched in disbelief as his mother simply sat back in the chair and drowned herself in her cup, watching his father make his rounds through the room. He looked down at his plate and found the slice of pork he’d been so interested in earlier was flecked with blood. Fram pushed the plate away, sick, and stood from his chair.
“Where are you going?” Faedlimid asked, looking betrayed.
He tried to find a smile for her. “I just need some air. I’ll be back.”
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I keep seeing the knights... Indulge me please because
I am interested
SO if you follow me or follow any my ebro buddies (@yoggybloggy @ghostingbrightly @timesnewfishcat @bitchyfog @alanahsart-blog i think are the ones who have been posted related stuff on tumblr??) you might have noticed #magical girl knights or #mgk or #mgk paragons or just an abundance of #knights and that's totally on us for not agreeing on a tag for it!! personally i use #mgk paragons bc it's the one that seems to be most tumblr tag search friendly.
Basically the premise is magical girls... medieval times and also magical knights!! Girls (gnt) are cosmically chosen or had found their way into becoming Paragons... Supernaturally magically powered knights! It's so fun because knights and mahou shoujo are two concepts that share so much similarities, like having an alter ego, soul crushing sense of duty, wearing cool outfits to fight evil protect the good etc...
The playing ground is pretty big, cuz it's a sliding scale from knightly responsibilities (loyalty to lords! catholicism! squires and horses!) to mahou shoujo tropes (character specific colors and associated powers! magical transformation! power of friendship!), we're still working through lore specifics, but we've already are so attached to these characters XD
It'd be sooo hard to list all the existing characters so I'll just briefly explain a couple that's floating about, and if any ebro member would like to elaborate go ahead!!! :,]
(by Alanah)
Klara (Button's) and Etheldred (Alanah's), copper and emerald knights... little rascal of a maid and the high strung rich kid! They're girl worstie rivals :]
(Left by Cat | Right by Alanah)
The Silver Hart (Cat's), wild, roaming and reflective knight, never really knowing how to be a "real" knight.
(by Alanah)
Paean, the Black Knight (Mim's @yourhalf), myth status paragon whose notoriety manifested as a boogeyman figure, one (mgk) gen older than the others! Currently the bodyguard of the rich kid above.
(by Leigh)
Angel, the White Knight (Leigh's)!! Golden standard of a proper proper knight :3 Consumed by Professionalism. Mentors the rascal kid. The pic at the right depicts him receiving her powers!! Which was stolen but... you know what don't think about it. <3 homoerotic tension with the black knight. again consumed by professionalism and is insane
(by me!)
Calum (Mine!), ex-white knight, current brown tarnished (== mgk corruption) Oldest mgk of the cast but really only in her 30s! (neither magic girls nor knights live very long :,) ) The person in the background for my black and white piece. I'll probably write a separate post about her :,)
(Left by me | Right by cat)
Maddy! Purple nun girl knight that's a little insane. Aspiration is to get martyred and become a saint☆ Heyyy rich and powerful people please take me to the Holy land!!
(by Annette)
Eila... girl living with high society girl responsibilities and is expected to become a heiress and a nice wife... and is cool and good with it!! Doesn't feel too pressured and is allowed to have fun with her own hobbies!! Like keeping hawks... and archery :3
I didn't post everyone's knights :,3!!! Only the ones who had posted art on tumblr and I know are ok with it. I'll probably make a even longer post for the rest of them, since the relationship diagram right now is like... 5d chess level LMAO.
(diagram by Leigh, transcription in ID)
But if you're interested, just tune into this post bc everyone's probably dying to explain their mgk blorbos aha. We'll keep posting! You'll see! If you follow any of us you will be spammed.
That is a promise.
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mortal lands
the family , 8/8
7 , winter
I was originally only going to do the courts but the mortal lands are such an important part of the series so I couldn't just ignore them. These mortal lands will just be the one on Prythian because I am a student and I do not have as much time as I want.
We don't know much about the mortal lands. We only know a handful of people:
Elain- "fawn" Welsh
Feyre- I literally have nothing I think Sarah made this up ngl sounds cool tho
Graysen- "son of the steward" English
Isaac- "he will laugh, he will rejoice" Hebrew
Nesta- "chaste" Welsh diminutive of Agnes
Nolan- "famous, loud" English? originally an Irish surname
Tomas- "twin" Swedish variant this is without any accents
So who we do know is quite varied. Doesn't matter to me, I'm gonna pull something out of my ass and use it because I do not care. Graysen is an English name, Isaac and Thomas are used in England and Nolan is about a quarter of the way there so I'm gonna use English names for this. But Medieval English just to be interesting. So this is just gonna be biblical names with unusual nicknames, I can already feel it.
FIRMIN ARCHERON- "firm"
The dad. Canonically, I don't really like him, I know he's disabled and all but it's not my fault he was just really boring. I like to think that before everything happened, he was a good dad. He cared a lot, and he liked to take walks with his daughters. He would gladly sit down and listen to Elain ramble about some rare flower in this book he had found the last time he actually went with his ships. He would comfort Nesta when she was upset, in their own private way.
AMPHELISE ARCHERON- meaning unknown
She was strict, rude and uptight. She was incredibly snobby and she cared a lot about appearances, more than her own family. I don't understand how a woman can birth three daughters and not care about any of them. She lacked all emotion until a servant spilt some wine on her dress. That was the only time her daughters ever saw anything other than disgust on her face.
ETHELDRED YOXALL- "noble strength"
Amphelise had to get it from somewhere. You could never say that one was worse than the other, they were both as bad as each other. Despite their relations, they constantly tried to one-up each other. Who was richer? Who was wearing the nicer dress? No one got an answer, but she ensured her nails were as sharp as possible before another ball.
Now, I just missed the bus to get to college so I'm going to quickly do Jurian and his family before I do more revision and stroke my dogs.
With yet another quick google search, Jurian is a 'medieval' Low German variant of George. Now, we already have German (Autumn) and I am not one for repetition but I still wanna have it be Germanic because I want it that way, which is why I went with Dutch as the Netherlands speaks Low German and my name website says that it has some variant of Jurian and I'm lazy.
LIEVIN VAN DALEN- "dear friend" "from the valley"
Like his name suggests, Jurian's father was a dear friend to many. It was impossible to hate him unless, of course, you were a slave owner with an inbuilt incapacity to appreciate humans and their livelihoods.
MADELEIF VAN DALEN- "daisy" "from the valley"
Despite their situation, his parents gave Jurian a brilliant example of love. It's a such shame how he was forced to use it to be able to let their descendants live freely. He knew that no matter what, his mother would be proud of all he sacrificed.
CORINE VAN DALEN- "maiden" "from the valley"
Jurian's sweet younger sister, she was one of the first people to give birth after the war, starting the new generation of free humans. Unfortunately, over 500 years, her line of the family have slowly forgotten their connection to their glorified ancestor, but their defiance still remains.
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