V A L I A N T

[charlottehopesource]

I think our bodies are amazing, all our bodies look beautiful. I love Naked Attraction for that reason. There should be more shows like that because we are so precious about nudity and scared of it! Actually, we all have them so why are we so scared? I like sex scenes for that reason as they are so liberating.

[shesnake]

Keira Knightley in Colette (2018) dir. Wash Westmoreland

[ofblxxd]

hcrctics·:

she all of a sudden felt under educated. ceren nouv hadn’t exactly placed her education very high on the list of things considering all she needed to be in life was pretty. she swallowed the self doubt, forcing a smile onto her features. this would be a topic she’d research later, when she was alone and away from anyone who could chastise her for doing so. “ I shall have to try the currants then— just not baked in breads, i’m not a fan of that, i know that much.”

–

Eleanora would not be queen of Feyre when her father died but she studied trade routes and relations amongst other things. It was important to her to be as well versed in every governing topic as possible, if not for herself but for the people of Feyre. If she knew or understood little of how their lives were affected by decisions made by the crown, she would not understand her people. Her goal had always been understanding. “Oh, never,” Ellle made a face at the mere thought of them in bread. “They’re sufficient on their own. People enjoy overcomplicating things, I think.” She glanced over at Odessa with a quirked brow as they strolled, “They seem to really enjoy turning everything into a pie or bread some sort here,” she laughed lightly, “but I’m afraid I draw the line at meat in bread.” Not wrapped in bread but as an added ingredient. The thought had her wrinkling her nose.

[ofblxxd]

hcrctics​:

the princess was right, as they so often were in odessa’s opinion anyway. the breaking of the bond of the watchers had effected dreaston as a whole. here they were, months down the line with no end in sight. “I will definitely try to. seems a little selfish in the grand scheme of things, doesn’t it? but surely there’d be some somewhere and therefore my gold is needed in those farmers pockets.”

–

Eleanora could understand her hesitation to request something so mundane but waved a hand at the thought altogether, “I imagine farmers believed this summit would be a source of great profit amidst years of trade turmoil. To have it suddenly slowed down must be devastating. I’m sure they’d appreciate any gold given their way.” She smiled at the other, “though, for the time being, the currants they do have here aren’t that bad. Not gooseberries but...something.” She shrugged, knowing that it really was a matter of taste but was always ready to offer solutions to problems, however small and this was no different. 

[ofblxxd]

“I heard you caused quite a stir the other night,” Elle said with some amusement as she linked an arm through her younger brother’s. Though they were but a year and a few moons apart, Ulrich had long since dwarfed herself and Sera. He was certainly their father’s son. “at one of the inns, challenging whomever would dare to outdrink you. Tell me,” she looked over at him while they walked, “did you keep all the contents of your purse or were you forced to pay a small fortune due to hubris?” Either was a fair assumption where Ulrich was concerned. 

“Perhaps next time you go on an excursion, you mightn't consider making more friends with talk rather than challenge.” Eleanora offered good-naturedly as they turned into the courtyard and she relinquished her hold on his arm. “Just a thought for you to consider.” Said with a haphazard smile, no real judgement in her for her brother. @aldebranded​

[ofblxxd]

Eleanora hadn’t been seeking out the high seer when they crossed paths. She’d been gathering some supplies from the apothecary to give to those who couldn’t afford it and if the apothecary’s assistant thought it strange that a commoner could afford all the bottles of herbs and remedies she’d been selecting, they didn’t say anything. Dressed in work trousers, a worn cloak and with hair plaited neatly and tucked under a head covering to conceal otherwise noticeable red tresses, Elle looked all parts commoner in attire but her posture, the way with which she carried herself would’ve betrayed more to anyone with eyes keen enough to look. 

She turned to inspect another display of medicinal herbs and potions when she knocked into a new shop goer, hearing the easily identifiable shattering of glass and wincing. Somehow she’d managed to retain her balance, bottles clanking ever so slightly as she straightened. “I’m sorry, I didn’t -–” see you there. The words fell off when she saw who it was and the princess of Feyre froze. Surely the high seer would recognize her, though she hoped to be insignificant enough to the other that she wouldn’t notice. “I should’ve paid better mind to my surroundings. I’ll make sure that’s paid for of my own coin.” She gestured at the broken glass by their feet, hoping the apothecary had more than one of its kind in store. @andbcne​

[epiiskey-deactivated20210127]

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄  ⍮  early  morning  ,  en  route  to  her  quarters  

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒  ⍮  open

     EXHAUSTION  SEEPED  INTO  SIGRID’S  BONES.  she  had  only  just  finished  up  an  early  morning  training  ,  wishing  to  stay  sharp  especially  since  her  magic  had  been  returned  to  her.  her  sword  hung  at  her  waist  and  she  had  done  her  best  to  appear  presentable  as  she  snuck  from  the  training  grounds  back  into  the  quarters  provided  to  the  wheldrakian  convoy.  and  yet ,  sweat  clung  to  her  forehead  and  rather  than  wearing  skirts  she  wore  loose  trousers.  it  was  her  hope  that  she  would  go  unnoticed.  

     that  dream  CRUMBLED  before  her  as  she  crossed  paths  with  another  ,  skirting  to  a  stop  in  front  of  them.  sigrid  fought  the  urge  to  smile  and  offer  up  an  excuse.  she  was  still  the  SHADOW  PRINCESS  with  a  reputation  to  protect.  however  ,  she  quickly  attempted  to  brush  off  some  of  her  sweat.  

     “  hail.  i  did  not  think i  would  run  into  anyone  this  early  in  the  morning  …  ”

[ofblxxd]

Eleanora rose early with the sun most mornings. It was a way to get ahead of the day and occupy a space that was her own, without ladies in waiting or duties to perform. As she strolled through the halls, Elle thought that maybe she’d go to the marketplace that evening, under cover of night. She peered out a window at the corner of the hallway she was walking through to check the skies for any indication of bad weather. The princess of Feyre turned from said window, just in time to nearly collide with another figure rounding the corner. 

Stopping short, she raised a brow at the voice as she took in the trousers and sweat plastered hair and canted her head to the side at the Wheldrake princess. “It seems you didn’t, especially in that attire.” Matter-of-fact but without judgement. After all, she herself dressed in trousers and a man’s dress shirt when she went into town to avoid anyone recognizing her. “I enjoy getting up with the birds. And I’ve never been able to sleep past the sun rising, though I’ve tried.” A simple explanation for why she was up, leaving room for the unasked question of why Sigrid was up between them. 

[ofblxxd]

xcrwnd​:

“curiosity eats at me, as it always has. the nursemaids used to whisper about me being wicked because of my inability to ignore the call of oddities and stars, do you remember?” she laughed, such fun rumors they used to spread about her in the nursery. “i am impatient, as usual, to know what the future holds. and with so many terrible things having happened so far, is it not best to be prepared for the possibility of worse?”

–

“I remember my earliest act of rebellion of biting her because she kept calling you an oddity.” Eleanora laughed, picking at leaves of brush as they passed by, “curiosity is not a bad thing, Sera –– just...please be careful.” Perhaps it wasn’t even the act of seeking a fortune, but the fact that her sister gave herself over to whims so easily. It was something Elle had always admired but something that worried her all the same, especially if a seer were to tell her something must be done for an event to occur or, worse, for Sera to assume the course of an event and take action accordingly based on a reading.

The future was not an evil thing to be shunned, but Elle worried that her sister’s discernment was not always as clear as it could be. “I think we should prepare for as many possibilities as we can, rather than focusing on one.” Though she wasn’t the crown princess, she still had her thoughts on how things should be done, despite deferring to her sister and father on most matters of state.

[ofblxxd]

xcrwnd​:

“i see you have some strong opinions on the matter, do you have personal experience that lends to this or is it just gathered from whispers and rumors?” she didn’t mean it as an offense, she was truly curious if the other had some unknown experience with a seer that went badly. “i know quite well about self fulfilling prophecy, unfortunately.” she’d been stuck having that happen to her for years, her own manners and behavior leading to such things.

– 

“I do my best not to give credence to gossip,” Rhea noted dryly, though not put off by the comment, “I’ve simply never been one to trust my fate to anyone but myself. I think once one relies on another to tell them the course of their life, they’ve given up their autonomy to make decisions for themselves. Once you know one thing, everything else gets tied to it.” Will this happen or that and if I do this will that change my reading or will it make it so. It seemed foolish to Rhea, though she stopped short of saying as much to a princess. “Perhaps a fair question you should ask yourself before proceeding is why you’d rather seek out your fortune before it happens. Knowledge is as much of a burden as the unknown.” 

[fyp-psychology]

Perfectionism is very addictive because it is very seductive. It’s so great to think ‘There’s a way I can do things where I can never be held in judgment by other people, that I can totally escape criticism.’ But it doesn’t work.

Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability (via halflunar)

[lifeinpoetry]

I was— am— terrified of being owned. By a god or a man or a child or a place. By anyone or anything but myself.

Brenna Womer, from “Empire Blue,” Atypical Cells of Undetermined Significance (via lifeinpoetry)

[ofblxxd]

xcrwnd​:

“i’ve been wondering if i should have my fortune read, with so many seers here it seemed a good idea. i just worry they’ll tell me something doom and gloom and i won’t be able to get it out of my head. so can you give me any reason besides a negative future not to do it?”

“Fortune tellers only seek to toy with the emotions of the people paying them for fortunes.” Rhea said with a shrug, “and I refuse to let a person tell me what my future holds. We make our own fate, your highness. Getting a glimpse into the future only serves to add fuel to whatever self-fulfilling prophecy has been planted in your mind by the time you leave a fortune teller’s presence.” There was little that could convince Rhea otherwise. 

[aldebranded-deactivated20210714]

ꜱᴛᴀᴛᴜꜱ: open ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: welkin tavern

“ɪ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏɴᴇʏ ɪɴ ᴍʏ ᴄᴏɪɴ ᴘᴜʀꜱᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴅʀɪɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ. ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ɴᴏᴡ. ᴀʟʟ ʙᴇᴛꜱ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴀʙʟᴇ. ʏᴏᴜ’ɴ ᴍᴇ. ʀɪɢʜᴛ ɴ—” the lord prince hiccups in the middle of his challenge, and a thick finger is raised to halt the other form speaking. “ʀɪɢʜᴛ ɴᴏᴡ! ᴡᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ꜱᴇᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ɪꜱ ꜱᴜᴘᴇʀɪᴏʀ.”

he seems satisfied with his challenge and looks to the bartender. “ᴀɴᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ. ꜰᴏʀ ᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍʏ … ɴᴇᴡ ʀɪᴠᴀʟ.”

[ofblxxd]

Rhea raised an amused brow at the young lord prince, shifting in her seat as he turned to her table where she sat with several other Green Knights. “Are you sure this is what you wish to lose your money over?” However she may have appeared, Rhea was no lady to blanche in the face of such a challenge, and waved to the bartender to serve them another round. “How much coin will I be taking home tonight?” She asked, teasing and implying she’d be winning this little competition as she sat upright, arms braced on the table before her, gesturing for him to take the seat across her.  

[ofblxxd]

xcrwnd​:

“i’ve been wondering if i should have my fortune read, with so many seers here it seemed a good idea. i just worry they’ll tell me something doom and gloom and i won’t be able to get it out of my head. so can you give me any reason besides a negative future not to do it?”

•

“I think that’s reason enough, Sera,” Elle laughed as she walked in step with her sister, “surely you don’t wish to have that hanging over your head? Besides, isn’t there something to be said about the mystery of fate? I certainly wouldn’t want to know our futures before they happened.” Though she said as much, Eleanora couldn’t deny her own interest in the future and knowing what it held for her.

[hcrctics]

open // welkin marketplace

“— seems things from other lands are becoming harder to come by. “ the queen spoke softly, looking over the array of produce on offer. “ I would kill for gooseberries, but it’s been weeks since i’ve seen one. trade must be slowing, don’t you think?”

[ofblxxd]

“I think it’s not a far fetched notion to suppose trade’s been affected by...well, everything.” Recent events were sure to impact the projected profitability of sending goods to Welkin for the summit. “Could you not request some to be specially imported for you, your highness?” Though Eleanor would have called Odessa by her given name once upon a time, she was now queen and the princess of Feyre always gave respect where it was due. “I’m sure your courtiers could make it happen.”

[ofblxxd]

[FEMALE / SHE + HER / KEIRA KNIGHTLEY / 37 ] — darkness calls to (RHEA CARSTAIRS) of (GULLIVERE). the (GREEN KNIGHT) has been in welkin for (3 MONTHS) and still works towards their goal of (PEACE). the watchers see ( verdant forests and fields, barefeet on dirt and stone, the glint of a blade in slender hands, the crest of a bear, a haphazard smile and a steady, unwavering gaze ) when (SHE) is mentioned, and their ability of (GEOKINESIS) may be of interest to the council. (RHEA) has been said to be (LIONHEARTED & QUICK WITTED) and also (STUBBORN). will power consume or control? only time will tell. —

overview

If asked, Rhea wouldn’t be able to recall her parents beyond a hazy memory of warm eyes and the brush of lips against her temple as they said goodbye. Both were healers with a compass that always pointed them north – towards goodness, towards those in pain. Though their kingdom was not participating in the war, both of her parents felt called to help heal those who were. But wars always took more than they gave and when her parents left that night, they never came back; casualties in a war their people were not fighting. 

War orphans weren’t altogether common in Gullivere, due to the peace-keeping nature of the kingdom, but that’s what Rhea was. Rhea, with bony elbows and knobby knees, a young girl rendered parentless at so young – a ward of her people, shuffled between homes of those who could take her in for a time, who had enough kindness to spare. 

This only went on for a year or so after her parents passed, until her magic began to manifest. When she got mad, the ground trembled, when she was excited, stones flew every which way – when she felt anything beyond a normal degree of emotion, it made itself known. At that point, kindness slowly began to run out and impatience took its place. She was more trouble than she was worth and the shuffled lifestyle only increased until Rhea grew used to keeping her small knapsack packed at the foot of her bed, ready for the next home someone might shuffle her to.

It wasn’t until her ninth year that things shifted for the better when she convinced the stable master of an esteemed, retired Green Knight to let her have a job with the horses. Like her, they preferred feet on the ground, the feel of earth beneath them. And, like her, many were without parents. There was a kinship in that and she took most things, including the job of shoveling shit and bailing hay for horses, in stride. What she didn’t take were the older stable boys picking on her, pulling at her hair and doing their best to push her aside in any task she did. 

The day she finally got fed up was a day the Green Knight happened to be coming to the stables and caught sight of her, slight though she was, using her magic to throw one of the offending parties through the stable gates. Edwin Carstairs saw something in her that no one had bothered to notice since her parent’s untimely deaths: potential. He had no daughters but his sons who were content to live off of him and his land and had shirked the mantle of knighthood their father sought to bestow upon them. 

So when he saw potential in young Rhea, he sought to cultivate it. He shared a similar gift like hers, tied to earth rather than nature itself like his sons. Edwin took her under his wing and began to mentor and teach her. It didn’t matter that his family detested the thought of him spending so much of his time teaching and training an orphan, he was the one person who told her she could be more than she was and Rhea believed him. She threw herself headfirst into the work he set out before her, seeking to better herself and become a Greek Knight just like him. 

Despite the fact that his family resented her presence (though they begrudgingly grew used to it), Edwin formally adopted her when she was sixteen. Rhea was a Carstairs now and, a few years later, she’d become a Green Knight just like her father.

She was never close to her adopted family save her father, but never resented the fact either. Even as a girl, she understood that Edwin mentoring and training her wasn’t common, and that she was taking time away from his family. So she never blamed them for their sharp words or for how they never warmed up to her. Her focus had always been on surviving, to get by with hard work and create a life and path for herself that was her own choosing, not determined by the status of her birth or lack of family. 

Though never outright arrogant, Rhea was proud of herself and achievements as she rose in rank amongst her fellow Green Knights. Her father had trained her well, pushing her past what she thought she could achieve. Time and experience rendered her a capable, confident knight with a deep connection to earth and respect for warriors. Though she’s for peace and believed the summit a good place to start, she knows that peace is never free and anyone who thinks differently is foolish. Peace has a higher cost than most things but it’s one that will need to be paid if they want bloodshed to end. 

personality 

Rhea has always been determined and self assured, tenacious when faced with adversity and motivated to prove herself when there’s any doubt in her capabilities. She is lionhearted and valiant in the face of injustice and opposition, and kind towards those who’ve never received much of it. Quick-witted and stubborn, she has always been one to think on her toes and to think for herself. Her beliefs are her own, as is her life, and she lives it accordingly.

[ofblxxd]

[FEMALE / SHE + HER / CHARLOTTE HOPE / 26 ] — darkness calls to (ELEANORA ALDEBRAND) of (FEYRE). the (LADY PRINCESS) has been in welkin for (3 MONTHS) and still works towards their goal of (NEUTRALITY). the watchers see ( two shadows diverging at crossroads, flaming red hair neatly fastened back, pages of worn, well loved books, the sunrise staining the early morning sky with red and orange hues, a stiff upper lip, half-moons dug into palms by clenched fists ) when (SHE) is mentioned, and their ability to ( CREATE & MANIPULATE FIRE ) may be of interest to the council. (ELEANORA) has been said to be (PROUD & SCRUPULOUS) and also (EQUITABLE). will power consume or control? only time will tell. — 

overview

Eleanora was born one half of a whole, minutes after her sister. Despite being born together, they were separated all the same, by virtue of her sister being crown princess due to a matter of minutes – seconds in space that would define their lives. 

Her sister was always the more precocious of the two princesses of Feyre, always the more outspoken and free-spirited. But she could always do what Eleanora could not. Her duty was to be the perfect princess, in hopes of winning an alliance for the kingdom. Her sister would rule when their father passed, and no one could take that birthright away from her. Eleanora simply wanted to do her part and fell in line with what was expected of her. 

Though proud and perhaps distant, her demeanor has always been an act of self preservation– the understanding that she would never be favorite or first and therefore should work to be content with her station. And she was – she lacked for nothing and was afforded the best gold could buy – tutors, trainers, instructors, mentors. She took advantage of it all in order to make an auspicious match and come off as the most presentable, put together lady.

From her first breath, she was always loyal to her family, kingdom and people. They were her beating heart and, as such, she hated to see anyone lacking if she could help. She would go into the city from the palaces, disguised as a commoner and equipped with food to feed those in need. If she did nothing to be born in a palace, then the poorest amongst her people did nothing to be born into a life such as the one they had. 

War had caused losses too terrible for words so when the summit  was brought up as an opportunity to cease fighting, she thought it wise to attend. She is more for neutrality than peace out of practicality's sake. Going from full-on war between kingdoms to peace overnight is not an achievable goal, better to strive for neutrality than a complete change that would surely only create more unrest. 

personality

Though proud and sometimes distant, Eleanora can be congenial and kind. She is equally scrupulous and sharp-tongued when she needs to be but prefers not to engage in petty arguments unless someone’s offended and/or insulted herself or a member of her family. In that case, Eleanora is all too willing to exchange words. She’s rather smart, having always had an affinity for learning and enjoys reading books on an assortment of subjects. She’s always wanting to learn more regardless of where she is, and that remains true even in Welkin.