You'll find me in the dreaming

At the 1985 Labour party meet, the motion to support LGBT rights as a party was passed due to a block vote from mining unions.

HEYYYYY Sorry this took so long but it's huge and my OC Bernnard took off with the plot!

SOOOOOO I know y'all would love to read about how Lyonel got so gobsmacked by a certain hedgeknight that he forgot about his not so casual situationship back at home right??????

Summary:

Bernnard’s mouth tightened.

“When I first met you, I was half convinced the Father and the Stranger had taken counsel together and shaped you beneath their own hands. The Father for strength, the Stranger so death would know you by name and keep its distance. Proof that even the Gods, when vanity struck them, could make a man too grand for this world.”

Bernnard’s mouth tightened, caught somewhere between fondness and old disbelief.

“You were too tall, too strong, too bright with passion for everything life had to give. Too full of yourself, certainly, but alive in a way that made other men seem half-finished beside you. You came into every yard as though the world had been waiting for the honor of being trampled under your boots. Men swung at you and missed. Horses that would throw better riders settled under your hand, as if your wild hearts could speak to one another in a language us mortal men couldn't comprehend .”

His gaze dropped briefly, not quite to Lyonel’s wound, but close enough.

“You laughed at hurts that would have laid another man flat for a fortnight. Split lips, cracked ribs, bruises black as storm clouds. None of it seemed to touch the root of you. You would bleed, curse, spit red into the dirt, and then ask for more while the rest of us were still catching our breath.”

A rough breath left him.

“You were unbearable,” Bernnard said softly. “And Gods help me, I was infatuated.”

Despite himself, Lyonel’s expression softened by a fraction. “Still am, I hope. Unbearable, I mean.”

Bernnard did not smile.

“You were impossible,” he said. “That was what I believed. Unstoppable. Unbreakable. Not because you never bled, but because bleeding never seemed to mean the same thing for you as it did for other men. You always came back from it. Always. Bruised, split open, laughing, furious, half-drunk on the glory of it, hungry, demanding a horse or a cup or flesh."

His voice grew rougher there, not with tears, but with the strain of an old certainty being forced apart.

“So when word came that you had been hurt at Ashford, I did what I have always done. I trusted the lie you taught all of us. I told myself you would come home roaring. That you would limp through the gate with some obscene jest on your tongue and blood on your sleeve, and we would all shake our heads and call you a fool and be grateful the Gods had favored you again.”

Lyonel looked down at his own hands.

Bernnard leaned back on his heels, the morning gone cold around him.

“I think a part of me has always believed they did favor you. The Gods, I mean.” He gave a short, bitter sound that resembled the shape of a laugh. “Not kindly, perhaps. They have never been gentle with you. But I thought they had marked you somehow. Set you apart. Given you some rare and infuriating gift to endure what should have broken you.”

He looked at Lyonel then, fully.

“And in all that blind devotion, I missed the man standing in front of me.”

ALRIGHT Y"ALL SHOUT OUT TIME!!!

@starcityrebels- You have been here from the beginning, and everything I have written so far wouldn't be possible without you. You always find a way to make time for me in your endlessly busy life, and I am forever grateful. ALSO, they write on top of hearing me lament my own work, so go check out The Earring over on AO3, plus their other works!

@jowuss- You are my greatest conspirator, and I'm endlessly grateful for all the ideas that you have given me and input during moments when I just couldn't write myself out of a paper bag. You always have the best solutions to my problems and even to the ones I didnt even consider as problems lol.

@crypticranger- You have been such an amazing friend. I love that we became friends via eachother ao3 fic comments. You have kept me grounded and heard me out when I cried and kept reminding me it's just a story lololol. Thanks for all the late-night support, memes, and help with editing when you had your own fic troubles to worry about! And go check out their fic Will You Lay Down Your Armor over on AO3 and their other works!

And Last but not least @duesternis- I am beyond humbled that you chose to reach out and help. The hours you put in reading this beast twice back to back, and the 1000 edits (not kidding, they killed it) are more than I could have ever hoped to ask for. Your input and fine eye made getting this out possible. I promise in the next chapter that I will correct all my commas and apostrophes before I give it over to you 😅😅 And again they're an amazing writer and deserve love. A Squire of Storms End is over on AO3 as well as their other works!

You are all amazing human beings and I couldn't have made this chapter happen. Y'all have kept me sane and I hope me caving to y'alls BarnWIN agenda was a worthy enough thank you for all that yall do!

Me, sobbing:

i'm utter piss at leaving comments so here are all the fics i'm rabid for right now. there's mostly Dunk/Lyonel but also some Dunk/Baelor and Dunk/Maekar. i'm not including any of the tags or ratings or whatnot, you can click the links and see them. or don't, i'm not your dad. some of these are WIPs. please enjoy. <3

Favoured to Win by meresy

In which Lyonel interferes in Dunk's business so thoroughly the Trial never happens and Dunk must try to make his career as a tourney knight.

i am SO over the moon for this fic. Lyonel is chaotic and mercurial and strange, and Dunk is so well-written, walking the tightrope between simple and straightforward without sacrificing any of his agonizing that we know & love. Egg is a delight every time he appears, and this has the single most satisfying scene of Aerion getting the shit kicked out of him that i have ever read.

For Dust Thou Art by CelestialMoonDragon

In a Westeros where one's soul walks and talks beside them, some things change and others stay the same.

two great tastes that taste great together. i really love the inclusion of all of Lyonel's family in this, and Dunk having this enormous inconvenient daemon is at once funny and sad. i have a lot of feelings about Dunk having shame for his size and strength and just, being in the way, being inconvenient. even if you're not into omegaverse or daemon AUs, this one is worth a try.

peeling velvet from the bone by WearyBlues

A stag hunts an aurochs through the dark forests of Ashford.

WearyBlues is better known for their ASoIaF fic, but all of their stuff is well worth reading (please read their Stannis/Davos fic). another fic where Lyonel is feral and strange and lovely; violence is tied up into lust into knighthood (blood is the seal of our devotion, thanks Arthur).

changeable as flame by Theonenamedafterahat

“Dragons are neither male nor female, Barth saw the truth of that, but now one and now the other, as changeable as flame.” — A Feast for Crows, Chapter 35, Samwell IV.

another omegaverse AU, this time Dunk/Baelor/Maekar flavor. a unique, slightly less kinky/traumatic take on alphas becoming omegas. i'm quite keen on the lore here, and the rather interesting implications thereof. i also quite enjoy that the author mentions that Valarr is weirded out by his dad growing new parts. bro, i feel that.

dog with a broken leg by goddcoward

The sworn brothers of the Kingsguard serve the throne for life. Ser Duncan gives his king all he has to give.

legally i'm required to rec this because lukas wrote it to harass me but also it is, sincerely, a brilliant and beautiful piece of art. i put a lot of value on how sentences feel and sound in the mouth, and goddcoward does that in spades and THEN some. truly some of the most gorgeous prose i've had the privilege to read.

firelight by smoosey

The stories say that at Ashford, the Prince fought and fell in defense of the last true Knight in Westeros. And after he fell, the god-hole opened in him, and through it, the wonder was born back into the world.

speaking of fucking gorgeous prose, this is just, phwoar. trepanation made sexy. mystic and suspenseful and marvelous.

Entr'acte by minthepsychic

After he finds out Egg lied to him, Dunk brings him home to Summerhall. When Prince Maekar returns, he has a proposition for his newest household knight.

our first Dunk/Maekar. big big fan of acknowledging that Maekar is a noted horndog. the fucking is matter-of-fact and sexy for it. Dunk slowly bullying Maekar into being a slightly less shit dad over the course of several years. there's a line about Egg wanting to throw rocks at a wasp's nest which made me laugh out loud.

And Name the One You Loved by TheJollyTroubadour

The Smith hammered some with cunt as well as cock. Dunk, one such, has lived his life in the knowledge that like others only lightly hammered he will never bear child, and so an evening's encounter with the heir apparent to the Stormlands can threaten nothing but his own soft heart. After Ashford he crosses the Red Mountains with a boy in tow, only to learn in Dorne he carries more.

hey. c'mere. do you like medieval medicine. how about weaving. or deserts. this is gen, ostensibly, but Dunk/Lyonel a shadow hanging over the whole thing, haunting. but you should read it not for the shipping, but for anna's incredible writing voice (lyrical, weathered like a 500 year-old illuminated manuscript, at once high art and simple). you will read 700-800 of the most beautiful words you have ever seen about shitting and wound care.

A Knight's Journey Ends by Shadows_Keeper

Lyonel Baratheon is older than he ever thought he would be. He spends his days staring at the sea and cursing the gods who left him behind. After the tragedy at Summerhall the world no longer makes any sense to him. When a stable boy seeks him out with word that an old friend has come for supper, Lyonel learns that endings are not always what you expect, and the gods might have some kindness left in them after all.

REALLY love the old man yaoi second chances here. some may not wish to imagine 80 year-old Lyonel Baratheon finding love and lust again but i am different. thank you author for being brave enough to rail that old man until his hip breaks. also this is a really sweet story of recovery and as mentioned second chances and "the one that got away" coming back to you. Dunk struggling with feeling like he has to be a cop because what else is he good for is very excellent.

To the Victor by inwhatfurnace

Dunk sighs and rubs at his face. He wants breakfast. He wants to go back to bed. He wants to ride to Storm's End and strangle Lyonel Baratheon himself.

speaking of old man yaoi. this takes place during Lyonel's Rebellion and the yearning is. very excellent. as well as Dunk's feelings about Egg's children, what he owes his squire-brother-son-king, the legacy of Baelor Targaryen and his House.

Crystalline by Purplesauris and snarwor

Dunk is an orphan from Flea Bottom with an old SilkStreet account- Lyonel is a Baratheon with a black card and too much money.

sugar daddy kink is, i think, extremely difficult to write without it coming off sleazy or just. kind of written FOR the kink. which is fine! which is good! but this has meat on its bones. it's gonna be a whole series and i actually can't contain how excited i am.

all along the way by oceansoflove

The stairwell is chilly and quiet. Neither speaks and Dunk’s heart pounds in his ears. He wonders if Lyonel can hear it, echoing off the cold, dark stone. Up and up they go, higher into the tower. and Dunk wonders if they’re going to the roof so Lyonel can throw him off into the sea. He wonders if it would hurt to hit the waves, or if he would die on impact. Were I a bird or a fish, this would not be a problem, as I would just fly or swim away. Were Egg a dragon, he would catch me.

Chapters: ¼ Fandom: The Sandman (TV 2022) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus/Hob Gadling Characters: Dream of the Endless | Morpheus, Hob Gadling, Death of the Endless, Despair of the Endless, Modern Johanna Constantine (The Sandman TV), Delirium of the Endless Additional Tags: Depression Summary:

HEYYYYY REMEMBER WHEN I SHOT OUR BOY????

Well, here's what happened in the aftermath of that attack!! And get ready because everything ramps up from here, leading up to them finally being in the same room together!!! exciting times ahead to be sure!!

He would not die on some nameless stretch of road with Egg beside him, feverish and half delirious, and leave the boy to manage what came after. He would not leave him with a body to bury and no clear road ahead and no hand at his back to guide him home. Egg had already been asked to carry more than any child ought. Duncan would not add himself to the burden.

He had taken this charge upon himself.

He would not fail in it.

Duncan had failed the dead often enough already. Sometimes it was through his actions, but more often it was in the quiet, relentless way he kept surviving while worthier men fell. That guilt. The unfortunate luck that he carried on when others could not had settled on him, and he knew from bitter experience that it never truly lessened. The burden did not fade or become easier to bear, no matter how much time passed. Instead, a man simply learned where to brace himself, how to shoulder the weight and keep moving forward, even as the memory of those lost pressed upon him with every step.

Not Egg, he thought. Not this time.

Shout out to @starcityrebels, @jowuss and @crypticranger for taking time over the last couple weeks to help me with Chapter 4 and subsequently this one too Ya'll have been great and I cherish you and your time that you give to hear me out. 💖

check out StarCityRebels>>on Ao3

(Part 1 of 3 because Tumblr only allows 10 pics per post - the rest will be in reblogs so stay tuned!)

!!!HEY STORMHEDGERS, IT'S THAT TIME FOR A NEW CHAPTER!!!

The Knight of the Storm - Cats_n_Bats

Chapter 5: Chapter 5: What the Storm Comes Home to

Summary:

Duncan was gone. Gone south. Gone from his reach. Duncan had not chosen him. Duncan had not wanted him. No disguise, no tenderness could alter that reality, and Lyonel found himself facing it at last, bare and unyielding. And yet the hurt of it had changed shape in him. Not vanished. Not softened. But altered. It no longer bit like wounded pride. It settled heavier than that, sadder and stranger, as if he were holding a butterfly in his hands, only to realize too late that its wings had been crushed by the very act of keeping it close.

Quick A/N here

So I wanted to keep the boys canon age gap ( but also didnt want to write about a minor since their canon ages were 16 and 20) so in chapter 3 I had Egg mention Dunk's age which is 22 and here in this chapter its brought up in passing but in case it gets missed I wanted people to know I intend to write Lyonel as 26.

I plan on writing up to and beyond their 1v1 and I cannont come to terms with a potentially 65+ year old Lyonel putting on full plate armor and fighting Duncan who would be in his 40s.

ALSO!!! THERE IS SMUT!!! Kinda lol 😅😍🥵You will have to read to find out 😈😈

SO MINORS DNI!!!

Shout out to @starcityrebels for being a constant source of motivation and creativity! Thanks for assuaging my fears about this story, and if you haven't checked out their work, I highly recommend doing so!!

The Earring- StarCityRebels

And a special thank you to @jowuss for just getting me without me having to explain myself and for inspiring ideas and pathways forward when I'm struggling or stuck somewhere.

😈STORMHEDGE GOBLINS😈

✒️📜IT'S NEW CHAPTER DAY 📜✒️

This chapter has had me fucked up one way or another since its first rough draft in February, and even though I have split it up at least its out of my hands finally!!

It's still damn near 16k words with 10k waiting to be posted later.

This has been a huge labor of love for me and I hope you guys love it too. And a huge shout out to my beta reader @starcityrebels for being here since the beginning and keeping me focused, for constantly questioning and challenging my decisions, strengthening my resolve in how i want to share this story with you all.

And to @jowuss for reading my long ass chapter and providing further context and possibilities that could lie ahead. For understanding my direction almost as clearly as if it were their own.

The Knight of the Storm<<<click here to teleport

Cats_n_Bats

Chapter 4: Chapter 4: There's a Storm on the Horizon

Summary:

Dunk had sensed his presence before ever setting eyes on him. A roll of laughter that seemed to fill the air, echoing through silk and candlelight like thunder. When Dunk finally turned, Lyonel sat there, bathed in the glow of candlelight, the black and gold of his attire shimmering with an almost otherworldly brilliance. It was as if delight itself clung to him, making him seem impossibly alive, chosen by joy to be its favored vessel. In that first fleeting moment, Lyonel appeared more legend than man. Like a forgotten god from ancient tales, descended in splendor among ordinary men, cloaked in sunlight, gold, and jewels, demanding not only their gaze but their fascination. He was a vision so striking, Dunk could hardly believe he was real, as if Lyonel had stepped from myth to see how men reacted to something impossible made flesh. There was no use lying to himself now. He had been struck by him as if shot with an arrow.