Medieval AU

This is our first ever AU, so I hope you guys help us out a bit with anything we may do wrong. I’ll be putting up more information about this AU soon!

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

Welcome to our Sanders’ Sides Fantasy/Medieval AU!

This is a world where there’s magic, dangerous creatures, and kingdoms.

In this AU we have two young kings, two advisors, two trusted guards, and two warring kingdoms.

There’s Malluidour, a kingdom where magic is encouraged to be used. It’s ruled by a young king dressed in green with the help of his advisor clothed in gold. In the shadows, a violet guard stands watch.

And there’s Dramomor, a kingdom where magic is a crime and people can’t be harmed by it. They are ruled by a young king clad in reds. His advisor stands by in sky blues, eager to assist. The indigo guard stands to the side, observing their actions.

Potential triggers that will turn up throughout this: Some blood, war, possibly panic attacks, Remus being Remus (cursing, innuendos, etc., but we’ll try to tone it down), probably italics and all caps at some points, a spider (Virgil’s familiar), and stress. (Tell us if we need to add something else!)

DNI if you’re racist, homophobic, or transphobic.

We’re working on some art for this too, but that may take a while with summer work and the upcoming school year. We do have some Picrews we made if you guys are interested though?

Also, this will be question driven, so you guys will get to be able to actively participate in this!! What you say could impact the characters, unlock side stories (maybe), and help you learn more about them. We may even do votes or something with some choices for you guys!

If there are any common questions, I’ll add them here later!

-Classy

FAQ/expected questions below

Q: What do you mean by ‘we/us?’

A: I’m working on this with a few friends. You can call them Soup and Mo! We’ll each sign off on (and tag) asks that we answer that aren’t part of the story. If you want to ask one of us or one character specifically something, make sure to put their name in your ask!

Q: Hey, ___ wasn’t in the medieval times..?

A: We know that some stuff here won’t exactly fit, so keep in mind that this stuff is supposed to be reminiscent of/inspired by medieval times and fantasy worlds and that we’re not going to get all the facts right.

Q: Will there be any ships in this?

A: No, this is meant to be entirely platonic/familial, but you can see some of this stuff as romantic if you want to!! (No r*mr*m stuff though please!)

Q: Will any sides be unsympathetic?

A: No one here will be unsympathetic! At worst, they’ll act like a jerk for a while, but they’ll honestly mean well whenever they’re acting like that. We’ve tried to make them as human as any of us, and that means they’ll make mistakes.

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

They all continued to chat as they moved towards the marshes, pushing through brambles and avoiding getting whacked by low hanging branches. Remus tried chasing some unusual fauna, often either losing track of it or being dragged back by an irritated Janus or Virgil, and occasionally both. Remus also kept a constant stream of chatter going. Janus didn’t bring up the work that he and Remus had left at the palace, instead attempting to relax and tease the others. Virgil mostly walked in silence, sometimes joining Janus in pointing out flaws in some of Remus’ suggestions, especially with the ones where Janus DIDN’T point out the clear idiocy of the plan. Virgil enjoyed times like this. Times when they felt like they weren’t under nearly as much pressure and could just bask in the warm atmosphere provided by their friends. It always made them feel so much... safer.

“How would I be able to make myself into one of those dehydrated corpses?” “Do you mean a mummy?” “No, not a mom. You’re the mom friend, I can’t just take your role!! But when I’m dead, how can I be all shriveled up and bony but still have skin on?” “Well, you could do that using chemicals, probably a boat load of salt, or by going somewhere cold enough to freeze your body.” “Okay, when I die or am super old or just bored or something, you two are in charge of getting my decomposing body to the caves!! Those are pretty cold!” “No, Remus, that’s a terrible plan.” Twigs crunched loudly under their feet in the pause after Janus said that before he finished, “It’d be more effective if we brought you to the top of the mountains.” Virgil buried their face in their hands. They could hear Janus’ smug smile as he said that. “Sounds like a plan! Ooh, would you two be pulling my brains out through my nose and stuff too??” “No Re, just no. That’s disgusting.” Virgil grimaced at the thought, “Janus, why are you encouraging him?” Remus and Janus broke into laughter at that, and Remus shoved Virgil’s shoulder teasingly. “Oh come on! Janny could do all the gross stuff and you could watch!!” “Absolutely not. I wouldn’t get near your corpse with a ten foot pole, much less pull out your brains with a little hook. You’ll have to hire someone to do that.”

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

Janus took a deep breath in as he examined some berries on a bush. “Actually Virgil, I find it quite refreshing here if you find a relatively safe place. That said, there are no truly safe places here.” “That’s part of it’s charm! Anything could jump out of the bushes or trees or rivers or shadows or, well, anything really and just kill you at any moment!! Isn’t that exciting??” Janus and Virgil both looked at Remus’ eager face, wearing skeptical expressions. “No,” Janus finally said. “I think that actually living is far more beneficial, and being given a heart attack is certainly not on my bucket list, thank you very much.” Remus blew a raspberry at him. “Bor-ing. Try it sometime, it might get you into the spirit of things. Get it? Spirit of things?” Virgil unsuccessfully tried to disguise their snort of laughter as a cough, causing a wide grin to spread across Remus’s face.

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

The forests were silent, with very few sounds aside from rustling and birdsong. Remus finally broke the silence, stretching his arms in the air. “It’s boring here too. Dee, do you think we’ll find that hydra-goose thing again that we found last time?” Virgil spun to face them, eyes wide in horror. “You found a what?” Janus rubbed his left temple, shaking his head slightly. “You really had to bring it up now of all times, didn’t you Remus? No, I doubt we will since we’re heading in the opposite direction.” Remus pouted. “Damn.” They perked up again. “Do you think it’d come if we screamed loudly enough?” Virgil shot a glare at Remus, who grinned delightedly back at them. “Remus, you better not. You know I already dislike going out into these woods...” Virgil shuddered. “They’re so quiet all the time... Except the spirits are sometimes...” They trailed off.

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

No, we want to see it!!

Virgil froze in surprise for a moment, blinking, before slowly reaching into their cloak. "Uh, this is Velvet. She/they." Virgil carefully held up a palm sized tarantula in their cupped hands. "She's really clever, but a bit shy. She usually prefers staying close to me under my cloak and stuff like that." Velvet lay in their hands and seemed to tilt their head in interest before turning around and climbing back up Virgil's arm and under the cloak again. Virgil smiled and shrugged. "But yeah, they're just... really cool."

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

Does Virgil have a familiar? They're a witch right?

"Oh, uh, yeah, I do." Virgil let their hair fall over their face. "I don't know if you'd like it though. It's a pretty uncommon one, and it, uh, freaks a lot of people out..." They cringed and started picking at their cloak.

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

Sorry, been a bit busy with school starting up again! We’ll try to continue to post more often! This is just a fun little thing we did in the meantime though!

Most to least likely to curse:

Remus - No surprise there! He curses frequently and is proud of it!! Visiting nobles, however, are far less impressed by it.

Virgil - Mostly when they’re startled or really angry. It startles a lot of people who don’t know them well if Virgil curses in front of them. Because they seemed like a “cinnamon roll” or something.

Janus - He’s a lot more composed, but when others (*cough cough* Remus *cough cough*) manage to frustrate him enough, he will start.

Roman - Only below Janus because 1, he doesn’t need to put up with Remus, and 2, Patton’s asked him to not curse in front of them and cringes whenever Roman has.

Logan - He just sees no point in it. Why use those words when you could use much more eloquent ones to use or just smash stuff? That seems much more effective to him and he is bewildered why people say cursing makes them feel better. They’d easily be able to be replaced with other words anyway if they wanted to. (They also don’t do it because it upsets Pat.)

Patton: Absolutely never would. Censors himself with words like heck, dang, or anything like that, but vehemently refuses to actually curse. They’ve fallen over from someone in the markets suddenly cursing because they didn’t have enough money to pay the vendor. They recently started to ask everyone to not curse around them and to keep it kid-friendly from now on.

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

How does magic work for different people

Remus perked up. "Ooh, well, see, there are three different types of magic users. Sorcerers, witches, and wizards! They each have different ways of most effectively casting spells. Contrary to popular belief in unmagical circles, these terms aren't at all gendered and are actually VERY different from each other. So, wizards use wands and spell books and sh*t like that. They need to memorize spells in order to cast them. Witches like Virgil also usually use books, but more for potion recipes than anything else. They sometimes have familiars too, which can be anything from an angry land squid to a cat to a dragon. Sorcerers like Janus seem to more just kinda-" Remus wiggled his fingers and made some noises. "He says that it's a bit more hand movements than talking, but even the hand movements don't seem to be entirely necessary. It just makes it easier to direct. Sorcerers still need a lotta books too to learn the-" Remus waved his hands about a bit and shrugged.

"Casting spells is also extremely draining for anyone who can perform it," Janus added. "You need to be careful to not overcast. To make this a bit less abstract and easier to understand, let's say that you have 30 energy. Challenging spells take 5 to cast, normal ones take 3, and simple ones take 1. Getting to around 5 energy is when you're more likely to faint from a lack of it. At 0 you're definitely unconscious and can take a few days to completely recover your energy. In severe cases it could even be lethal. You need to be very careful to not push yourself too much or you'll be in a weakened state. It's overall better to avoid casting as many spells as possible if you can succeed through other means."

"Witches tend to use less magical energy when making potions," Virgil said, tilting their head to look at the barely visible sky through the surrounding conifers. "It takes a whole lot longer to make them, but then you can use it at any time. As long as you've got the bottle of course. There are a lot of positives and negatives for any type of magic."

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

What are/were Remus's parents like

Remus flinched and Virgil looked at the ground solemnly. It was clear that neither of them wanted to speak, out of fear of crying, the tense atmosphere, the uncomfortable subject, or a combination of those factors. Janus coughed lightly and fiddled with his gloves. "Well, Remus' father was a very fair, wise man. He was often busy, but whenever he had time he would try to spend it with Remus. He even would ask Virgil and I about our days on occasion. More often me, but also Virgil. I think he may have-" Janus paused and then looked away, lowering his voice a bit more. "His mother is... quite ill. She's still with us, but she seems to be getting weaker with each passing day. We've tried several experienced doctors, but none of them have been able to figure out what's wrong with her. When she was in better health, she was a very strong woman. She always had this light in her eyes and was very straightforward about how she felt about anything, almost to a fault. She was also extremely skilled with longbows. Not an easy feat, let me tell you. She spent as much time with Remus as his father did. Right now though, she's bedridden and sleeps most of the time. Remus spends a lot of their evenings with her." A heavy silence fell.

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

Janus and Virgil stood impatiently beside the exit in Virgil’s small brewing room. They both turned towards the doorway as they heard loud footsteps running towards them. Remus swung himself around the doorframe, a wide smile on his face. “Hey guys!! Sorry I’m a bit late!” Janus sighed and Virgil snorted, opening the old wooden door that led to the woods. Remus barged past them, shoving the door the rest of the way open. “So, what are we looking for again, Virge?” “Fever bark, mustard seeds, and inkflowers.” “Oof, fever bark’ll be a tough one to find. All the stuff we need will probably be somewhere between the marsh and the forest.” Janus briefly scrunched his nose. “How lovely. We all can’t wait to see the marsh again.”

[It’ll take a while to get there. Maybe some questions will help pass the time?]

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

What does Janus do with all of those icicles

"Well," Remus said, tapping their chin as they continued walking through the hall, a bounce in their step. "I'm guessing murder! I've suggested sticking them up his *ss, but there's no way he would. He seems pretty fond of the idea of a murder weapon that destroys the evidence and helps clean up the mess though!!"

Virgil smirks. "Remus is sure he murders people with them." Janus gives a sly grin, examining his nails despite the fact that he was wearing gloves. "I'm afraid he doesn't have any proof of that yet. Who knows, maybe this will be his lucky year..."

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

What are your favorite seasons? (For the characters)

"Why, it's Summer of course!" Roman declared. "With the heat of the sun and the fair weather, you could choose to do practically anything!" "My favorite is Spring!" Patton said enthusiastically. "There are all of the little fluffy animals running around and plants starting to poke through the ground. It always feels so refreshing!" "If we are going purely on aesthetics," Logan added. "mine would have to be Winter. It has a certain appeal to me, despite the chilliness. It feels like the perfect time to sit in the library and read, possibly with a thick blanket." A teasing grin spread across Roman's face. "Is it because it's as cold as your heart, Teach?" Logan simply sighed and shook their head.

"Gotta be Winter!!" Remus clapped his hands together as he said it, walking down the castle halls to meet up with Janus and Virgil. His smile faltered as he continued, "Dee's been staying indoors more during Winter and Summer the past few years, but Virge and I still have fun." Remus brightened again. "We get into these epic snowball fights, you should see them!! Oh, and I always make sure to bring Janus the biggest icicle I can find! It's a sort of tradition we have. There's no real reason for it, i just started doing it one Winter!"

"Definitely Fall." Virgil said it with certainty, nodding solemnly. They were standing in a small room that they used as their potion brewing room. "I mean, there's the Fall Festival, which is spooky as hell, and I can wear my cloak outdoors without dying of heat stroke." Janus stepped into the room, carrying a bag of snacks and drinks. Virgil jumped slightly, not having heard him approaching. "Agreed. Autumn has the finest festival. It's a week of trickery, fear, and sugar rushes. Truly unbeatable. It's a bonus that the weather is perfect. Not too much rain and mud, and the temperature isn't too warm or too cold. You can wear whatever you want."

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

Important Areas

These are all descriptions of areas that will be appearing in this, and explain more about this world. However, it is a bit long (I wanted it to be clear exactly what I was picturing), so sorry about that. I hope you guys enjoy this though!! 

Roman | Remus | Patton/Pat | Janus | Logan | Virgil | Places

Keep reading

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

Hey guys, finally got around to making a map of the place! What do you think? Also, if you haven’t already, please check out the character profiles! We put a lot of work into them and try to explain background information for each of them there.

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

What do the light sides think of the dark sides and the dark sides think of the light sides?

Roman snorted. "I've heard of Remus from people who fled from his kingdom. Apparently they're a maniac, which is backed up by the fact that they killed my parents. Janus is infamous. A dastardly sorcerer and merciless tyrant. I've heard that they have a guard who's a vampire, but I know nothing more about them." "Well," Patton said carefully. "They're all our age, aren't they? We can't judge them too much, especially just on rumors..." "Agreed. People who we hear these things from have very likely never even met King Remus, Janus, or even their personal guard. We can likely assume that they are hearing similar things about all of us." Roman grumbled for a minute before grudgingly nodding in agreement. "I suppose you both have a point..."

Virgil continued gathering supplies as they thought. "...Well, if I was there, I'd be getting burnt at the stake, or imprisoned, or-" they shook their head, trying to break that line of thought. Going down that road would just cause them to panic. "It would never end well if any of us went there. Janus and I would be criminals just for what we are, but we're all pretty valuable just because we're all in the palace."

Janus hummed thoughtfully as he gathered snacks and placed flasks of water into a bag. "Well, I know that the Great and Powerful King Roman is desperate to win this war. His little friend Patton seems like either an altruistic fool or someone who will use their reputation to get out of anything. I know very little of their guard. They've all almost certainly heard the rumor that Virgil's a vampire as well. Oh, it definitely wasn't Remus who started that one by the way."

Remus bounced in place on his bed. "They all seem like pathetic goody two shoes. Like, 'oh no, my parents got killed, look at me, I'm so sad. I'm gonna try to avenge them by winning this war that we started. :(' Like, b*tch, what? You think that's sad? Try having one parent that's slowly dying in the room beside yours!" Remus broke into manic laughter, a few tears starting to roll down their face. "Those guys can all f*ck themselves. Thinking they're the only ones mourning and that they're such f*cking saints..." They wiped their face off onto their sleeve before getting to their feet and bounding to the door. "God I hope something tries to kill us in the woods today!"

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

Virgil what do you think of Janus and Remus?

Virgil jumped, clutching their worn, patched cloak to their chest. "Oh, uh, hey there." Virgil shifted uncomfortably, unsure where to look. "They're okay. Remus can be a bit overwhelming at times, but they try to tone it down for me. Sometimes. Janus and I do argue pretty often, but I know he cares. They both do their best to listen and help me whenever they can." A faint smile crosses Virgil's face. "They're both a bit of a pain, but they're great in their own ways."

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

Janus, I get how Pat inherited the role as Roman's advisor, but how did you become Remus's?

Janus visibly stiffened at the question before relaxing again. "Well, Remus and I grew very close over the years. Our late king noticed that and offered to arrange for me to receive training to become his advisor. I agreed, partially because otherwise Remus would've been assassinated within the week after his crowning." He was silent for a moment before adding, "Remus' father was... a good king." He turned away and started looking through the drawers of his dresser for different clothes.

[ask-the-medieval-sides]

Encountering who

Pat beamed at a bewildered Roman, and Logan sighed and leaned against a nearby table. Roman recovered quickly. "Well, uh, in the mountains there is a dastardly dragon witch! She's been coming down from her wicked lair in the mountains to cast spells and wreak havoc in Dramomor for many months now! I was just telling Pat and Logan about my latest battle with that overgrown lizard. And lemme tell you, it isn't easy to fight a fire breathing, draconic woman who's throwing bottles of who knows what at you!"