We Are Summer Court

The Court of Wrath and its Members

[hellhammersbignaturals]

No thank you anthropomorphic cat in a spiky jacket I don't really want those

[darkearthsuggestions]

Heat and light and snapping sky, the edge of ozone violence-- the storm easy to hate. I know why I should not walk under that rain. But I also know the black cloud's sagging walk. The tension straining blue. I know the static in the mists, the ache that arches through. I know it lashes. I know it burns. And when the storm comes, that ragged rage released, I hold out my tongue. I taste, for once, relief.

[filibusterfrog]

[thewindowofthesummerhouse]

Kevin Tong

[kingcupart]

there will be a last time that we see each other

[ratatoskryggdrasil]

king cup

[hatefulbunnies]

Good Luck Charm - Bill Mayer

[ladiesandrifles]

Michael Tunk

[qm-vox]

So You Want To Play A Fairest

(Portrait of Erin Peters by cantankerousAquarius. The character originally appeared in Night Horrors: Grim Fears, published by White Wolf; catch my take on her in New Avalon)

Previous Articles: So You Want To Play A Beast, So You Want To Play A Wizened, So You Want To Play An Elemental, So You Want To Play An Ogre, & So You Want To Play A Darkling

You ever wonder, flipping through a Monster Manual for D&D, or a Bestiary for Pathfinder, why nymphs and hags are both always, always, women? It’s older than you know. Dig into the sordid history of tabletops and you’ll find sylphs that Gary Gygax wrote, Chaotic charmers who use mind control to reproduce with non-sylph men; you’ll find the legacy of the matriarchal drow, who follow a mad goddess, and you’ll find the medusae, whose sexual dimorphism is so complete that their men are beautiful and can turn stone into people.

Dredge deeper and you’ll find the tales that Gygax and his wretched ilk based such creatures off of.

You ever wonder why we assign such powerful Gender to creatures of beauty and horror?

Fairest don’t. They know, every time they wake up from a nightmare that is also a wet dream. They know, every time they get hit on at the bar and have to decide how they’re playing this. They know, every time they look in a mirror and see not their own face, but the ten thousand horrors that made it beautiful.

If you are very patient, and lucky, and kind, they might tell you why.

If you aren’t, they may show you.

This article draws primarily on Changeling: the Lost and Winter Masques, as well as Swords at Dawn and Night Horrors: Grim Fears. Other sources, when used, will be cited. It requires Content Warnings for sexual violence, sexual slavery, abuse, gaslighting, addiction, substance abuse, self-harm, self-image problems, mentions of fascists & fascist ideology, and just, so very much incel bullshit.

Bonus Material Part Two: The Seeming Part

The end of this article, just past the customary Sample Fairest, will include some additional material intended to help you select a Seeming for your character and otherwise build them up as one of the Lost, much as So You Want To Run A Spring Court included material for Courts as a topic.

Keep reading

[feotakahari]

The main thing I’m getting out of this is that there’s a surprising amount of overlap between the stuff dealt with in Changeling and the stuff dealt with in Steven Universe. Pearl is definitely a Playmate.

[wearesummercourt]

Absolutely correct. Quoting from a Discord conversation: Changeling is a game about dealing with trauma and having been shaped to a purpose, and what you do after having been thus shaped, when you're free-but-not-truly-safe.

Steven Universe is about people who have all been shaped to a purpose, but who defy that purpose in differing ways, self-discovering and self-actualizing in a world where they're now free. But not truly safe. Pearl was made to be a companion to her Diamond. The perfect assistant, the right hand, living life for her. That's a Playmate. Or a Truefriend Beast, but Pearl's definitely a Fairest in 1e. Elemental in 2e, I'd argue, and that there is actually a lovely illustration of the difference in the seemings between editions.

(Steven's very much a 2e Fairest, fwiw.)

And like, on some level all work about trauma and PTSD and coping after being hurt is in conversation, but this is a fun comparison to draw, because it'd be so easy to make an Arcadian realm based on Homeworld and a Keeper based on White Diamond.

[natalieironside]

One time when I was very little my family took a trip on a train and my mom gave us a rundown on proper train etiquette and she said "You have to stay in the seat you pick. I don't wanna hear anybody say 'But Mama, I changed my mind, I wanna sit next to So-And-So.'" Being an imaginative little girl, I of course interpreted this to mean that the train was haunted by a witch named Sew And Sew who was cursed to sit on the train and do fibercrafts for eternity and occasionally punish children for poor train comportment.

I still think about Sew And Sew sometimes. Y'know the weaving norns from the opening credits of Utlaginn? Looked like that.

[natalieironside]

..... because, obviously, everyone has seen the 1984 Icelandic period drama Útlaginn: Gísla saga Súrssonar, that's gonna be a common cultural touchstone for everybody

[wearesummercourt]

@weareautumncourt​ - I think this is one of yours. Wizened Artist, probably.

[hairstylesbeauty]

[wearesummercourt]

@weareautumncourt

[vaspider]

From Dusk Till Jawn is a queer-run, queer-friendly multi-sphere perpetually-running Chronicles of Darkness 2.0 OTT/digital LARP set in Philadelphia, PA in present day (minus the pandemic). We presently offer Changeling, Vampire, and Mortal/+, with a fully-developed set of local Freeholds (utilizing the Freehold Reputation system from Oak, Ash & Thorn), a unique Vampire praxis structure, and an in-depth Civil Society setup to ensure that mortals aren't just sitting on the sidelines.

We've just rolled into Beta, so characters are getting approved and our plots kick off in earnest on 4/12/20.

Come check us out! (Send an ask to Spider for an invite to the Discord).

[heavensghost]

Anne Carson, in the preface to Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides

[probablybadrpgideas]

The character you play is determined by your Tumblr URL

[we-are-artillerist]

Alright, I’m an Artillerist then

[feyariel]

o.o I‘m me! Also a Sorcerer!

[we-are-illusionists]

I have played one of the Iconic Illusionists in a game, and have plans to play at least 1 or 2 other illusionists in the future, sooo that works :p

[we-are-horizon-walker]

oh nice

[we-are-lawyer]

I’m a book

[wearesummercourt]

Well, I’ll be!

[muppethole-deactivated20240312]

[alazarin-red]

It's a good thing this is a masquerade ball, because Jaqs is entirely unrecognizable without her usual wardrobe of ripped jeans and tank top. Tonight, she's wearing a hedgespun gown that looks to be comprised of the remnants of an obsidian suit of plate, and a mask that looks like the visor of a matching helmet - though she's still wearing her thorn-studded firetruck red leather jacket, so maybe not totally unrecognizable. She's drinking a cup if coffee off to the sidelines. What do???

While just about everyone seems to be in awe at the spectacle, there’s one figure who seems to be delighted and confused, even by local standards. In lieu of a proper mask, she’s wearing almost comically large dark sunglasses, and her mien blurs in the moonlight. She’s dressed simply, in a slinky red dress and black pumps, the cut of the neckline a bit risque, and there’s signs that she’s already been drinking.

As she notices Jaqs, there’s a softly audible ‘wow’, before she realizes that was aloud and tries to walk away without drawing further notice. “Fuck…”

[alazarin-red]

“Oh fuck.” That question deflates the woman in red visibly, and she pauses for a long moment before answering. “I don’t think I have one anymore. It…used to be the Shelby Cafe, but I don’t know if I’ll ever see that again.”

There is no cafe in town called the Shelby Cafe, so it’s not a local thing.

“What’s the biggest mistake you’ve ever made?”

[riot-summer]

“Biggest mistake? Uhh, well. Accepting a very unwise bargain seems like an easy answer so long as I don’t have to elaborat.” Jaqs offers a pensive frown. “I know this isnt a question, but there are some fuckin’ great little places here to eat and hang if you’d like a tour guide at some point. Not that I think any’ll replace your favorite cafe, but maybe we can find a runner-up?”

She walks around her conversational partner, and fetches another chair - which she sits in like a butch who has no idea how to sit while wearing a dress.

“So, how long have you been in town?”

[alazarin-red]

“Just over a week. Not sure if we plan to stay much longer–we’re really only passing through. And now you see why your faith in me guessing who you are is a little premature. Who are you?”

The ultimate cheating question.

[riot-summer]

“The Summer Queen.” Jaqs lifts her visor for a moment and offers an actual wink this time before letting it fall back into place. “Though I hope you’ll forgive me for glibly saying that everyone says they’re just passing through before they move here forever.”

“… and who are you?”

[alazarin-red]

Alazarin jolts out of the chair and takes several steps back away from Jaqs, fear visible through her mask. “Holy shit, Summer Queen? I didn’t know, please don’t hurt me! I…was only joking about the homoerotic sparring, I don’t want to die, please don’t kill me.”

The pleading is not tinged with humor at all. She seems to be genuinely begging not to be hurt.

[riot-summer]

“Oh, I wasn’t joking about the homoe-” she starts off, not quite realizing at first that this genuine fear and not just a bit.

“Ahh, uhh. Shit… and I even knew you were from out of town, too. That’s my bad.” Jaqs raises her visor and holds out her hands, palms up to show that she is empty handed - and that her fists are not closed. “I’m not going to hurt you, and I’m definitely not going to kill you. Shit ain’t like that here, I promise.”

It’s pretty easy to see from her expression that she’s being sincere.

[alazarin-red]

“Everyone keeps saying that, but you’re a Summer monarch and could squish me with one hand if you wanted. And it’s not like anyone would stop you, because you’re a queen.”

[riot-summer]

“Well, I am not like that. I didn’t even want to be Summer queen when the crown chose me, and even if I wanted to just squish you for the extremely treasonous crime of… uhh, reciprocating my flirting I guarantee that a comical number of people would dogpile me - just like we did when the Autumn queen abused her power.”

Jaqs shrugs.

“I know it’s gonna sound like I’m joking when I say this, but monarchies are unethical as fuck and I don’t really “rule.” I’m a civil servant and a protector.“

[alazarin-red]

“But you’re a court monarch–how does that even work?” She maintains a healthy distance, looking conflicted. Nearby wineglasses spider over with the frost of a Winter mantle, which shows there’s as much sorrow as fear on display here. She has seen, firsthand, the work of a Summer tyrant.

[riot-summer]

“The guy before me was a bit of a dickhead. Like I’m not gonna call him a fascist or anything, but he definitely had some big bootlicker energy. We fought a lot. Somehow Summer thought this made me Monarch material, and even though I’m still not sure why, I never stopped doing things my way.” She shrugs, reaching for her jacket and holding in her lap. “… and the crown has appeared on my head for three summers. So that’s how it works.”

She adopts a serious face before continuing. “… I’m very sorry that someone who was supposed to protect your Freehold failed to do so in such a fuckin’ spectacular way - and I would squish them if given half the chance.”

[wearesummercourt]

Alazarin slowly steps closer again. Not close enough to touch, quite, but almost. “Careful, you’re going to give me hope, talking like that.”

[wearesummercourt]

Luciana had wandered her way into Kingswood Christmas night, following piecemeal directions from about 5 different strangers, both on campus and on the way. She figured while all the people she was supposed to talk to were doing holiday things with the friends and family she didn't have around here, she would go start on the one section of her trial that didn't specifically mention people. She had a thermos of spiked eggnog with her, and decided to follow her nose and they alcohol where they may

Oh, it was noticeable the moment she moved from the next neighborhood over into Kingswood proper. This is a run-down, kinda shitty area of town, and frankly, a woman who wasn’t Uratha might feel unsafe. At least until she entered Kingswood and an aura of peace washed over her, too strong to be the egg nog itself. It’s not any less shitty than the neighboring districts, not visibly, but there’s a sort of…it’s almost like…there’s just something about it.

[beware-city-fangs]

Ciana takes about cookie bite, closes her eyes, and mmms. “I really do like it here. At least so far. Everyone seems… Genuine. If not as forward as I tend to be.” A giggle. “I wanna stay here in town. All I gotta do is convince Sarah.” She nods slightly, eyes confident.

[wearesummercourt]

“Sarah Book? Hmm, I hope that you don’t find that too difficult. She’s such a sweet girl. And her father and I have talked a lot about our similar approaches to very different work.”

[wearesummercourt]

Luciana had wandered her way into Kingswood Christmas night, following piecemeal directions from about 5 different strangers, both on campus and on the way. She figured while all the people she was supposed to talk to were doing holiday things with the friends and family she didn't have around here, she would go start on the one section of her trial that didn't specifically mention people. She had a thermos of spiked eggnog with her, and decided to follow her nose and they alcohol where they may

Oh, it was noticeable the moment she moved from the next neighborhood over into Kingswood proper. This is a run-down, kinda shitty area of town, and frankly, a woman who wasn’t Uratha might feel unsafe. At least until she entered Kingswood and an aura of peace washed over her, too strong to be the egg nog itself. It’s not any less shitty than the neighboring districts, not visibly, but there’s a sort of…it’s almost like…there’s just something about it.

[beware-city-fangs]

Luciana raised an eyebrow at the archer comment, unsure of what it meant. “Oh, I’m just a stray dog who hopped her fence. I’ve been trying to find a place to settle down and be happy, and I’m really hoping that’s here. I’m sick of moving…” She sighed dramatically. “What about you? Have you always lived around here?”

[wearesummercourt]

Meredith’s attention seems to focus more sharply when Luciana calls herself a ‘stray dog’, though her smile doesn’t dim a watt. “Oh, no. I moved in around…hm, somewhere in the eighties. Back then, this was a very rough neighborhood, no clinic, no hope. But it was all I could afford, fresh out.”

[beware-city-fangs]

Ciana takes a small bite of her cookie, working her way around its edge. “Seems the roots you set down have been well tended.” A laugh. “You like it here, yeah? Good place?”

[wearesummercourt]

“By ‘here’, do you mean the city as a whole, or just Kingswood?” She raises an eyebrow over the frame of her round sunglasses, smiling mildly.

[beware-city-fangs]

“Both, I suppose.” She turned the cookie in her hands, leaning back in her seat. “It’s hard to get an idea of a place just by looking around. Kingswood seems like a scary place, but everyone I’ve seen here has seemed really nice. The same way Thompson Falls looks like a picture, but’s just as shallow as one.” Her smile falters, if only for a moment.

[wearesummercourt]

“Well. The heart of Kingswood is a good one. It’s the eye of the storm, a place that doesn’t allow for too much conflict.”