roteladiesbigbang
RotE Ladies Big Bang
A fanwork event to celebrate the strong, beautiful ladies of the Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb❤️ terfs DNI! header by risoria
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MOLLY! The RLBB poster girl, the queen of Rote Ladies, the original Working Class Hero! There is no more fitting day to reblog this painting than on May 1st, the worker’s day, to celebrate the end of a month of Rote Ladies fanworks - and isn’t she just gorgeous! I love her expression of gentle but self-confident competence, her glorious mane of hair, I have been sitting here staring at the shape of her lips for longer than I care to admit (they’re so pretty), and the wreath of roses around her is just stunning in its details and colors!
Molly for the prompt wreath of roses
#rote ladies big bang 2023#rlbb2023#The Farseer Trilogy#The Tawny Man Trilogy#Fitz and the Fool Trilogy#molly chandler#this fantastic lady deserves all the fanworks she can get#let molly have roses
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Oh man, this fic pulls no punches and has zero chill; it will get you right in the feels and leave you wheezing for breath. This gorgeous character study delivers several achingly beautiful and gut-punching one-liners Starling herself would be proud of, and provides a fantastic view of our favorite snarky, multifaceted, beautiful disaster of a minstrel 😭💜💜
Хоть пей (да всё напрасно) - Starling Birdsong
1k late night Starling Birdsong character study for @roteladiesbigbang 's prompt number 18, Derelict. Title is taken from Kanzler Gi's Романс о Тоске.
Spears and swords surround them, point at them, threaten them and the fear and exhilaration of it thrums in her blood like an unsung melody.
She isn't small or helpless here, she has arrived on a dragon, she flew through the air with the queen of the whole realm by her side.
Phantom pain sears through her finger, but she doesn't care, doesn't care at all and it's the highest of freedoms to not care as she bows gallantly to them all.
Starling Birdsong does not face the guards and warriors as enemies; she faces them as an audience.
And she knows just how to command it.
*
The words are just as important as the silences. The rise and falls of her harp's strings.
Starling never sings of herself. She always leaves that to others.
She isn't humble, far from it. She soaks it all up - the applause, the gifts, the invitations, the glorious, undying fame.
A lord or another, from the far edges of Farrow, once asks her why. Starling raises an eyebrow at him, her head cocked, feeling the reassuring metallic press of her earrings against her cheek. "It's simply bad form for a minstrel. Where would we be if we sang only of ourselves?"
She doesn't just leave it at that, although she could have. By the end of that feast, that lord becomes the laughingstock of all his guests. Funny, she doesn't even remember his name now. Vanguard, Virile? It was gauche and self-important, she is sure of that.
By the time she starts telling this as an anecdote, she barely even remembers the instant of gripping icy terror when he had asked her that question and she'd thought of- she'd thought-
Nobody ever asks her again and Starling never tells.
*
Starling Birdsong is a name that has gone down in history. Her songs, her deeds, they've become important - they have become as awe inspiring and unbelievable as the legends of old.
Nobody remembers Jay Birdsong. He is, at most, a footnote in history, the ghost haunting the ballad of the Antler Island, who was stepped over by a man who didn't even realise or remember he'd saved his life (for another short while, at least).
Nobody sang of Wren who had died even earlier or her mother who'd followed after or her father who had not believed Starling could have a future outside their town.
How could it be otherwise? The only one of them who survived was her.
And she could not sing of them. Some tales were not made for songs.
*
FitzChivalry Farseer makes Starling believe in destiny, in fate.
He's fought the unfightable. He's survived the unsurvivable. He appeared right before her, like the old legends of El's tests and guises, clad in dirty shepherd's clothes and lies. He didn't trust her then.
Starling knows the ebs and flows of a yarn, the weaves of myths and melodies. The hero always turns up right then when all hope seems lost. Life isn't like tales or songs. She's learned that lesson well.
And yet-
And yet-
Reality had become even more unbearable than hope.
Starling would rather burn up than wither; whatever it took, she would not go quietly, she would take the risk, death or life, life or death - after all, she wanted the world to know her name.
*
Starling used to have different dreams, before. She'd wanted to be the good kind of minstrel, the kind that traveled but not too much, the kind who dreamed of palaces where everybody looked only at her, listened only to her, but didn't speak it, the kind who thought she could always come back home.
They'd died with her.
*
She had laid there, bloodied and still and nameless, for two days. It is the only reason she lived when nearly everyone else died.
(She didn't know it. Not then. She too had thought she was dead.)
*
No.
*
She used to have different fears, before. "Will they like me? Will they like my music? Did I make this carving right or will I have to do it over? Stupid Jiani keeps copying my fashions and doesn't even wear it well. Most of my friends are married and I am still apprenticing, well, they're probably just settling anyway, nobody in this town is very impressive anyway." She had lied awake at night, tossing and turning, wanting and not wanting to be free of the expectations of the careful daughter and supportive sister.
None of them mattered, in the end.
*
She had not known to fear this. She'd staggered upright then, grimy and wild and lost, as if she were pulling herself from her own grave.
This only ever happened in news of raids, only ever to others. How could it have happened to her?
*
No!
*
Restlessness has made its home inside her and it won't leave her be. It burns in her throat like she swallowed a hot coal of want and only its burn keeps her going.
She will not die. She cannot die. She will not be forgotten.
Every other fear cannot measure up to this.
*
Kettle's hands had been sure and warm when they'd checked her splint. That stayed with her for some reason. The old pilgrim woman had been taciturn and mysterious, and she'd kept her secrets close, but that aside, she had never once turned Starling away.
"You have chosen a dangerous life, minstrel," she'd said back then, staring at her intently. "It can do worse than breaking a bone."
Starling's fingers trembled from more than the cold, then. She'd teetered on the edge of hysterical laughter or hysterical tears.
"It already did," she'd said at last, a high-pitched sound leaving her throat like a bird taking flight. "It already did."
She couldn't run from danger because danger was everywhere. She could just choose which danger to run towards. Or so she'd thought until-
She did start crying then, eyes fixed on the splint around her finger and Kettle's wrinkled hands. It was so cold her tears almost froze on her cheeks.
"So it did." Starling found an odd comfort in the old woman's matter of fact manner. "We will move on in the morning. Rest while you can, minstrel."
*
Starling has always cared more for the words than the silences. The pause is only good if it makes the resumption of her harp and voice shine all the brighter. The words are all that gets transcribed to paper, they are the only thing sure to survive.
She searches for that high of not caring and sometimes she finds it. She wants to put herself together like a broken tile, a torn shirt, something that can be fixed. Failing that, she wants to forget.
Starling Birdsong has soared through the skies and through her fame. She has made it. She has reached her dream, despite it all.
If this were a song, she would end it here.
But life is not a song. She has learned that lesson all too well.
She can fool others. She can fool herself. But the restlessness and the silences have stayed with her, even after all this time.
#rote ladies big bang 2023#rlbb2023#The Farseer Trilogy#Starling Birdsong#brb gonna go cry about this gorgeous messy bard#and recover my breath from being absolutely suckerpunched by those lines
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Your event hosts are just speechless and so happy to have provided Malta fanart for this fantastic song! The contrast between the airy melody and the lyrics (definitely some fighting words!) is so Malta, this is a lovely lovely work of art 💜
Malta's song
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I'm squeezing one last RLBB prompt in here.
10. Dancing to our my own rhythm
@electropeach and @alloysius-g
words of praise are not enough for your art
#rote ladies big bang 2023#rlbb2023#the liveship traders#malta vestrit#strong words ethereal melody#yup definitely malta#you go my elderling queen 💜
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Elliania my QUEEN 💜 You fierce, tragic, fantastic little lady!! I love love love her expression in this one, and the textures are so pretty - the shine of her hair and on her lower lip versus the woolly texture of her clothes is just 👌👌 Love a good Elliania work always!!
Elliania for the prompt mist over water
#rote ladies big bang 2023#rlbb2023#The Tawny Man Trilogy#elliania blackwater#you don't mess with this narcheska#but look at her she's just a baby#she's allowed to be a little wistful sometimes too
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CELERITYYYYY! Lady of the Ice Caves! Duchess of Bearns! This fantastic lady is so very underrated and deserves all the fanart in the world! She’s absolutely gorgeous, I love her expression and her hawk-like features 💜
Celerity from RotE ! I have a soft spot for this little duchess 'v'
#rote ladies big bang 2023#rlbb2023#the farseer trilogy#celerity of bearns#Celerity deserves all the love#this little duchess is so badass
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YES GO Dream Queen Nettle!! What a (dark) fantastic take on Nettle, I adore her hair, her expressions, the antlers!! The entire character design 😍 Also YES to the tags, and adventure book about Nettle, Duti and Hap when?
For RotE Ladies Big Bang 2023!
Prompt 18: Derelict
I have this whole AU in my mind where Dutiful, Nettle, and Hap go on epic adventures together, so this is dark fantasy Nettle Farseer I guess?
@roteladiesbigbang
#rote ladies big bang 2023#rlbb2023#the tawny man trilogy#Nettle Farseer#dream queen nettle#help i love this fabulous lady#the true skillmistress
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What a gorgeous tribute to our Lady and Savior Amber!! 🧡 The harmonics and the lyrics complement the art beautifully, a work of gold indeed!
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Happy RotE Ladies Big Bang 2023 everybody!
Prompt 15: Glimmer.
@vilyar and @alloysius-g - your art is what even makes this worth posting.
I also included a ko-fi link below the video since I'm on the verge of all sorts of breakdowns. So know every cup is appreciated
#rote ladies big bang 2023#rlbb2023#Liveship Traders#amber#help it's so beautiful#about time our lady has a proper hymn 🧡
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Ahhh what a cozy scene! You can practically hear the rain and feel the warmth coming from the house 😍 Fennel (the true King on Six Duchies, let’s face it) looks fantastic, and the way Jinna looks at him is deeply relatable!
A young Jinna and Fennel for the prompt a smell of rain from the RLBB event
#rote ladies big bang 2023#rlbb2023#the tawny man trilogy#jinna#fennel#oh to be a hedgewitch chilling by a window#looking out into the rain with a cat#fennel's expression 💜
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Serene is such a tragic character and this captures it so well 😭 The chains still tying her to Galen’s ghost! Her defiant expression! My Lady of the Disaster Coterie deserved so much better 💙
Serene and ghost Galen for the RotE Ladies Big Bang 2023 event. Prompt: Pulse
I haven't drawn or painted anything in so long and it shows, but this was a nice and well spent morning.
#rote ladies big bang 2023#rlbb2023#the farseer trilogy#serene#galen#the silver in her hair and clothes tho#gorgeous details
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A fantastic example of a deeply undervalued duo of amazing RotE ladies, it’s Starling and Kettle!! I am SO STOKED to see fanart about them, and this is so beautiful! The warmth of the fire, their expressions, the sparks stardusting the air, Starling’s lute... 😍🔥
For RotE Ladies Big Bang 2023!
Prompt #1: (2022) Fireside
Starling Birdsong & Kettle
@roteladiesbigbang
#rote ladies big bang 2023#rlbb2023#the farseer trilogy#starling birdsong#kettle#the true dynamic duo#this is so beautiful#i'm in love with Starling's design
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For the hopeless romantic inside all of us, this beautiful Amber/Jek gem by @tragediegh will have you smiling through your tears and dreaming of a blonde sailor to kiss in an uncomfortable ship bunk
Have an Amber/Jek fic for the first day of RLBB 💛
On a cold, rainy night aboard the Paragon, Jek does her best to warm Amber up and bring a little light back into her eyes.
#rlbb2023#rote ladies big bang 2023#Amber/Jek#harold they're lesbians#help this is so sweet#and so sad#and so beautiful
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IT’S SHOWTIME!
RLBB2023 is here!!!
From today, April 1st, to April 30th, is the time to create and post your works for the RotE Ladies appreciation month! Remember to tag your works with #RLBB2023 or #rote ladies big bang 2023 so we can see and share your wonderful works!
You’re also welcome to post outside Tumblr (AO3, IG, etc.) and use those same tags there as well! However, since our time is limited and we can’t keep an eye on every platform, if you post only outside Tumblr, please drop us a message to let us know, so we don’t miss them 💜 We’ll be wanting to share your links here as well so that no one else misses them either, so remember to also mention if you do NOT want to be posted on Tumblr!
And now: let’s goooooo! As a recap, here’s the previous post with the instructions, prompts and our only two rules:
WHAT NOW:
1. Choose one of the following:
A) Pick a prompt, or several, and get creating! There are 30 prompts, but you’re not expected to fill them all (although you can, if you wish!), or indeed any of them at all, they’re there just to help people with ideas. You can choose as many or as few as you like, or make several fills for the same prompt. See a prompt you like but someone already filled it? That’s fine, multiple fills are absolutely welcome!
B) Can’t pick a prompt? Message us and we’ll choose two for you!
C) Got ideas of your own? Run with them!
2. Create! Go wild!
3. Between April 1st and April 30th 2022, post your work on your preferred platform (Tumblr, Instagram, AO3…), and remember to post/link it here in Tumblr, too, under the tag #rote ladies big bang 2023 and/or #RLBB2023 for everyone else to admire and love!
4. Have fun! 💜
Here be the prompts (for those of you who want them):
You are also perfectly welcome to use prompts from the lists for 2020 or 2022, found here!
As a reminder, there are only two rules:
No character hate! Not everyone likes every character and that is perfectly ok, but we ask you to keep any hate out of the tags. Instead we encourage you to redirect that energy into creating something for a character you do love!
No AI created images. This fandom is full of wonderfully talented artists and we don’t support companies stealing their hard work.
#rlbb2023#rote ladies big bang 2023#Realm of the Elderlings#farseer trilogy#tawny man trilogy#Liveship Traders#rain wild chronicles#Fitz and the Fool Trilogy#molly chandler#Patience Farseer#Nettle Farseer#bee farseer#kettricken
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FENNEL!
Love this piece of domestic goodness by @whatevsbla
the cat in constant
Rote Ladies Big Bang, Prompt: Elsewhere
She almost stumbles over Fennel as he decisively makes his way into her room.
“Sorry,” Jinna whispers as he meows at her in insulted injury. She bends down to hold her hand to his nose, offering affection without forcing it. She has been away a long while, this time. The first night at home, she always has to reorient herself - the furniture, changed just so, her things now kept in a different corner.
Fennel nudges her hand indulgently and allows her to rub his chin. What a sight she must make, Jinna thinks bemusedly, kneeling in front of a half-opened door in her nightrobes and petting her niece’s cat.
He came to both of them, what was it now? Five years, it must be now. He’d seemed bigger than he was yet was quick on his feet, coming to her charms’ cart and demanding food as surely as if she’d been feeding him every day. So feed him she did, with Miskya - so young back then! - helping her. He wormed his way into their home as easily as into their hearts. Jinna’s thought of him as much hers as a cat can be anyone’s - but most of all, it’s their house that’s become his. And she’s away so often.
“You will not forget me, will you, Fennel?” Jinna asks wistfully. He just looks at her through half-lidded eyes and keeps purring. She can’t help but smile. It’s like a charm, this power of cats to make everything seem lighter just by being there.
Fennel runs ahead to her bed and jumps on it, looking at her expectantly. “Eager, aren’t you?” Jinna teases him. “Did Miskya get finally tire of you waking her up?”
Fennel keeps looking at her in reproach, orange fur bright in the dark of the room. He meows impatiently.
“I don’t mind,” she tells him as she settles back on her bed, smoothing over the space between his ears. “For all that I love my travels, it’s good to be back.”
Jinna knows her fortune in this - not all in her trade have a place to come back to. Perhaps she will stay a little longer in Buckkeep for now.
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The world needs more Starling art! That expression is spot on<3 beautiful art by my co-mod @electropeach
Starling Birdsong, RLBB prompt 22: "taunt"
It's past midnight, so I can barge into fulfilling my own prompts right? 😂
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RLBB2023 approaches!
It's almost time to go!
We are fast approaching April 1st and the beginning of our Rote Ladies Big Bang month! You may have started creating already, but if not, here are some pointers and prompts for you. Remember that while you're welcome and encouraged to start working on your creations immediately, posting them starts on April 1st!
You are also perfectly welcome to use prompts from the lists for 2020 or 2022, found here!
WHAT NOW:
1. Choose one of the following:
A) Pick a prompt, or several, and get creating! There are 30 prompts, but you’re not expected to fill them all (although you can, if you wish!), or indeed any of them at all, they’re there just to help people with ideas. You can choose as many or as few as you like, or make several fills for the same prompt. See a prompt you like but someone already filled it? That’s fine, multiple fills are absolutely welcome!
B) Can't pick a prompt? Message us and we'll choose two for you!
C) Got ideas of your own? Run with them!
2. Create! Go wild!
3. Between April 1st and April 30th 2022, post your work on your preferred platform (Tumblr, Instagram, AO3...), and remember to post/link it here in Tumblr, too, under the tag #rote ladies big bang 2023 and/or #RLBB2023 for everyone else to admire and love!
4. Have fun! 💜
Here be the prompts (for those of you who want them):
As a reminder, there are only two rules:
No character hate! Not everyone likes every character and that is perfectly ok, but we ask you to keep any hate out of the tags. Instead we encourage you to redirect that energy into creating something for a character you do love!
No AI created images. This fandom is full of wonderfully talented artists and we don’t support companies stealing their hard work.
#rote ladies big bang 2023#rlbb2023#realm of the elderlings#farseer trilogy#tawny man trilogy#liveship traders#rain wild chronicles#fitz and the fool trilogy#molly chandler#bee farseer#patience farseer#nettle farseer
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This superbly done character study by @electropeach offers an intense look into the mind and heart of a tragic figure that Mod A might or might not be hopelessly in love with
RLBB 2020 is a bit over halfway through! I'm so happy about every single entry ❤️
Here's mine for prompt 25, "vindictive"!
Title: Treasured
Tags: The Pale Woman, the Fool, villain pov, canon compliant, Tawny Man era
Summary: And so she knew she was still favored, still special, still the White Prophet of her time, and that she still had work to do. Still had a dragon to slay and false prophet to defeat.
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Talk about a rare treat! @blackandwhitemotley gave us this gorgeous portrait of the beautiful and tragic Kekki;_; I love her hair and that outfit!
‘Be grateful they are stupid.’
RLBB 2020 prompt 18: Companionship
I really like Kekki, and the passage where Malta and her team up to survive on the Rain Wild River and Chalcedean galley is one of my favourites
#rlbb#rote ladies big bang#she's so underrated#like come on she was such a great character#past rounds reblog
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