10 Valentine’s Date Ideas for the Fantasy Dwellers

Valentine’s Day is this week which means a lot of people are scrambling around trying to figure out the perfect dates for their sweethearts. And for a lot of people, it’s pretty simple. A nice coffee shop date, going to the theater, or just grabbing some flowers and a card at Winn-Dixie. But what about if you live in a fantasy world where such conveniences aren’t available?

Not every fellow has a Walmart around the corner after all. I mean, sure, you may be adept at swordplay and the lost heir to the entire kingdom, but how is that supposed to help you woo your love on this romantic holiday?

Never fear! Today I’ve got 10 Valentine’s date ideas for a variety of fantasy world dwellers. You’re sure to find the perfect idea to show your dearheart that you really do care.

 

10 Fantasy World
Valentine’s Dates

 

DRAGON RIDING

Who doesn’t want to go dragon riding, I ask you? I mean, if a guy took me dragon riding, I’d probably marry him on the spot. Just sayin’. Nothing like riding high in the sky on a deadly, fire breathing beast to truly showcase your love.

With that said, you may want to assure that the dragon you’re riding is friendly. Having your love be burnt into a human torch or turned into a beast’s next meal maaay dampen the date just a smidge.

Also, some dragon rides risk being taken to a dragons’ nest where a gargantuan dragon is seen eating smaller dragons if not provided food. Such a sight could be a little repulsive and/or horrifying to your date, so be wary.

Other then these little setbacks, a dragon ride is a surefire (seewhatIdidthere) way to impress your date.

 

STEAL THEM AWAY TO NEVERLAND

Ah, Neverland. The world invented by childhood imagination. An island full of mythical creatures and adventure. What better place to go for a date?

Of course, there are certain steps you must take to get your crush there. But don’t worry, it works every time.

Step #1: Break into their nursery.

Step #2: Lose your shadow in said nursery.

Step #3: Break into the nursery again to regain your shadow.

Step #4: Have your crush help you sew your shadow back on and charm them with stories about Neverland.

Step #5: Convince them to come to Neverland (success!).

Step #6: Oh wait, they also want to bring their brothers. Ew. But fine, whatever.

Step #7: Take them all on a harrowing flight. Off to Neverland!

Boom. You’ve done it. Now you can have weeks worth of fun and adventures. Although…you may want to consider telling her early on that you have no desire to grow up or have anything to do with that lovey-dovey stuff. Yeah, she may leave you and end up marrying someone else. But hey, honesty is the best policy, yeah?

 

MAD TEA PARTY

Girls LOVE tea parties. Unfortunately, normal tea parties aren’t always available in fantasy worlds. But never fear! A mad tea party will do just as well. Just wander around in the woods for a while, you’ll probably come upon one eventually. Though there is definitely a possibility you and your date will have to share the tea table with some, erm, unconventional guests who will switch seats at any given time, recite absurd poetry, and maybe ask an unsolvable riddle or two (how is a raven like a writing desk?). But it’ll keep the date entertaining anyway, right?

Oh, also, don’t cross Time while you’re there, or you may be stuck at tea time forever. Then again, that’ll prolong the date so…your call.

 

SEE THE FLOATING LANTERNS

Now this is a true romantic date right here. Buy a floating lantern, go out in a boat, watch the lanterns fly. Ah, beautiful.

Just, erm, be wary. Because your date’s evil mother-who’s-not-actually-her-mother may be lurking nearby to kidnap you and convince your date you betrayed her. That could really put a hamper on second date plans.

Also, you may want to take singing lessons before any of this. Random bursts into song are likely to occur, and if you’ve got no talent in the vocal musical area well, that’d just make for an awkward romantic sequence. But if you live in a fantasy world, you were probably born able to sing perfectly and know the line to any random song that ever comes up. So you should have no reason to worry.

MAGIC CARPET RIDE

This runs very close in the vein of seeing the floating lanterns. A starry night, you two bursting into song (gotta keep those voice lessons up, don’t forget), so on and so forth. BUT to get to this point requires a bit more effort. First you have to actually obtain a magic carpet, which usually involves getting sent to prison, making deals with evil dudes, exploring ancient, sentient caves, and nearly dying. A genie might be thrown in there somewhere too. But if you can manage all that and make it out alive with a magic carpet, you’ve got your key to an iconic romantic date. Totally worth it.

Oh, just know if you lie about your identity to your date she’s going to get miffed. Remember what we learned earlier, honesty is always the best policy. Like, seriously. Please avoid the unnecessary drama and just talk to your crush openly. It’s not that hard.

 

TIME TRAVEL

If you’re fortunate enough to live in a world where time travel exists, then by all means, use it! The date possibilities are endless, literally. You can take your crush to the end of the earth where she discovers she’s the last human in existence and have an existential crisis (ah, romantic). Or how about Victorian times to visit Queen Victoria herself? Only to discover the British Empire is being terrorized by a werewolf (full moons are perfect for date nights). Or to witness the fires of Pompeii. (Fire is romantic, right?) I mean, really. How could she not fall in love with you after all these great trips?

 

ARCHERY CONTEST

Why not show off your lady love your superior archery skills? After all, there’s always archery contests going on in fantasy worlds, right? Although, you may have to go in disguise since the entire thing is probably a trap and your enemies are watching. So if you want your lady to know it’s you, be sure to give her a heads-up. And if you do get caught, things can get messy. Not exactly much time for having a romantic date. But still, who wouldn’t enjoy a day out at an archery event?

 

LAND IN THE HEALING HOUSE

Nothing like almost dying to truly capture the heart of your lass and get to spend some quality time together.

This is one of those ones that takes some extra steps and forethought though. Such as being shot with an arrow by one of the dark lord’s minions, mistaken for dead, and thus being thrust in a pyre by your psychotic father. But this is IMPORTANT. Make sure you befriend a wise wizard before doing any of this, so he can save you from the pyre. DON’T FORGET THIS STEP.

Alrighty. Now we’re good to go. After nearly dying, you’ll awake in the healing house and, lo and behold, there’s that beautiful lady whom you can woo. Because healing houses/hospitals/what-have-you are always the perfect backdrops for romantic dates.

 

STORM THE CASTLE

Maybe tea parties or magic carpet rides or singing under the floating lanterns isn’t your date’s style. No, your love has a much more adventurous side than all that. NO PROBLEM. I’ve got a solution for a guaranteed fun date night. Storming a castle!

Because, after all, you live in a fantasy world. And fantasy worlds are filled to the brim with castles ruled over by tyrannical kings and queens. You can’t swing a dead cat without hitting one. And hey, if you manage to succeed in storming the castle and taking down said tyrannical royal, you may end up being richly rewarded or become the ruler yourself and be able to afford an immensely expensive wedding and live happily ever after. I cannot see how this could go wrong.

Just be sure to have a wheelbarrow on hand. It’s a necessary tool for storming castles.

 

SAVE THE WORLD TOGETHER

Perhaps none of these have captured you. After all, this is for the love of your life. You want to really make this Valentine’s Day special. Nothing but the best for your coo-chi coo-chi, woo-chi little chu-chi face, amirite? Never fear little teddy bear. I’ve got you covered.

Save the world together!

This always brings about absolute twue wuv. After all, there’s so much time to think about crushes and feelings and kissing when your entire world is in dire danger and only you can save it. And, since you live in a fantasy world, chances are it needs saving. As we discussed, tyrannical kings and queens and whatnot are running absolutely rampant.

So grab your sword you learned how to use perfectly in a two minute montage, offer your arm to your fiery red-headed love of your life who probably hates you at first but will come to fall in love with you after you’ve both nearly died some half a dozen times, and go off and save the world! Because loooong, harrowing journeys and bloody battles is a fabulously romantic way to spend Valentine’s Day and truly fall in love. 10/10 recommend.

 

(I know this isn’t a fantasy story. Shhh.)

 

There you are, my fantasy dwellers. No more fear of not being able to provide a truly memorable Valentine’s date. Who needs cards and flowers from Winn-Dixie anyway when there’s castles to storms and dragons to ride?

 

TALK WITH ME!

Which of these dates would you like to go on the most? (I’m partial to dragon riding and Neverland myself.) And do you have anymore suggestions for a fantasy Valentine’s date? Please add to my list! We gotta help these fantasy lads out after all. ;)

P.S. For more fantasy fun, Jenelle Schmidt is hosting February is Fantasy Month over on her blog. There’s a hashtag game, a tag, and a ton of posts featuring all things fantasy! Check out THIS POST for details! (My post isn’t part of the lineup or anything, I just thought you guys would like to know about it.)

The Language of Worlds - Syram

Language of Worlds is back! *happy dance* If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you can find all the info HERE. But essentially, it’s a linkup created by the ever lovely Liv K. Fisher, catered toward speculative Christian writers (though anyone is welcome to join in!) and asks ten questions about any character of our choosing.

I debated who to answer the questions for, because technically I’m shifting my focus back on Burning Thorns as I gear to do this next edit. Buuuut I talk about those characters a LOT. So I decided, at least for today, to revisit my NaNoWriMo novel, Kings Bleed Gold (yeah, I know I promised I was finally done with NaNo-related posts until next NaNo but…apparently not! bwahahaha).

The main reason for this is because I totally wanted an excuse to do a post on Syram, my child. I already did a Language of Worlds post for Midas and Korinna, and it was totally not fair I never did one for the third part of my trio. My cinnamon roll boi Syram deserves some love so HERE WE ARE.

 

You can join in on the linkup HERE.

SYRAM

1.) In five words or less, how would you describe your character?

Strange // Quiet // Kind // Loyal // Melancholy

 

2.) When do they see an opportunity for self-improvement?

This is delving into deep, deep spoilers so we’re gonna be vague here. But let’s just say Syram’s life isn’t all fluff and peaches, and he got to a very low spot where he felt as if his life was empty and pointless. But he decided showing kindness to others was the best way to beat back his depression.

When he first met Korinna, he smuggled a book out of the dragons’ library to give to her when she was scared. Ever since, he found these small acts of kindness gave him purpose. His philosophy is that everyone’s purpose in life is to do good, even if it’s little things.

Which just happened to segue right into the next question…

 

3.) How do they view themself (good, evil, neutral, etc.)?

Good. Or…striving to reach goodness, more accurately.

 

4.) Is there a story that inspires them? What is it?

Okay, but these questions are so perfect for him. Not only is Syram a complete bookworm, but a big part of the novel and his arc has to do with a myth he loves.

His favorite story is a myth about a great fairy who faced an enormous sea monster. But instead of choosing to kill the monster with his spear, the fairy bent the spear, hooked it around the sea monster’s neck, and leapt to the stars where they’re trapped forever and now hang in the sky as constellations. Syram loves it because the fairy chose to be trapped in the stars forever instead of taking the beasts’ life. That kind of selfless bravery inspires him.

 

5.) What proverb or quote do they identify with?

“Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.
Proverbs 3:27

 

6.) What does their standard day look like?

Syram pretty much just loiters about the underground world of the dragons. You can often find him in the library, or laboring out in the farm area, or hiding in some secret caverns he found.

He likes to hang out with Korinna, but she’s usually too busy being, well, a slave to talk. The other slaves pretty much ignore him, so he’s very lonely. When Midas comes around, Syram happily finds a friend in him and helps Midas with his laboring as much as he can.

 

7.) When they picture their ideal day, how does it go?

Heh. An ideal day is a foreign concept to Syram. (I’m so nice.) Going above the underground and gazing freely at the clear sky, feeling the sun on his face, and studying the stars is definitely his greatest wish. But one he knows is impossible.

(Don’t you love how I’m giving you guys no indication as to why Syram lives in this weird underground world and what his purpose is? That’s totally intentional. Spoilers and all that. *grins*)

 

8.) Do they have a favorite memory? If so, what happened?

The day he gave a book to Korinna when she was first enslaved underground, and he witnessed his little act transform a terrified girl’s fear and despair to hope, changed his life. It is a memory that has stayed with him forever, and one that keeps him on his pursuit of goodness.

 

9.) Where do they see themself in five years?

Erm. If we’re talking about near the beginning of the book, then exactly where he is. Stuck in the underground and under the cruel reign of the dragons. Fun stuff.

 

10.) What is their life dream?

To free the slaves and live under the sun and stars.

And that’s my boy! It was so nice to revisit him!

Yes, he is a tragic soft boy. And yes, I’m totally a terrible author to him. Also I know these answers were short and vague, but it was haaard keeping spoilers to a minimum with him. So you’ll all just have to be in the dark about his backstory and such. *smile, smile*

 

TALK WITH ME!

What do you think of Syram? Does he deserve a nicer author? (Answer: Yes.) Have you joined in this edition of Language of Worlds? You can snag the questions and linkup HERE! I think it runs ‘til the end of February!

{Book Review} Five Poisoned Apples

 

A TALE SO DARK AND LOVELY

Falling Snow: The strange dark circus is the only life she’s ever known—but is Snow a performer or a prisoner?
Raven’s Heir: Taking her in could risk the lives of his rebel band—but how can Damien leave the young woman at the huntsman’s mercy?
The Fairest One: Her people look for the prophesied Fairest One—but can Livna find courage to step out of the shadows and save her nation?
Red as Blood: He’s been hired to assassinate the princess, no questions asked—but how can Zaig take the life of one so young, so innocent?
Snowbird and the Red Slippers: She longs to be worthy of the scholarship that changed her life—but can Jeong Hayan survive the bitter rivalry of a prestigious New York dance school?

Experience the haunting beauty of Snow White in five thrilling retellings.

AMAZON | GOODREADS | PUBLISHER'S WEBSITE

HERE IT IS. AT LAST. The fourth and final fairytale collection from Rooglewood Press! And what a collection to end with! I’ve been waiting foreverrr for this one, and it is finally here and is gorgeous and I’ve read it and loved it and YES. I simply adore these anthologies and am so sad they’re over, but AWK. They’re just so beautiful.

My reviews for previous collections:

(Except I still haven’t read Five Magic Spindles yet. Ooops!)

This collection really has something for everyone. Snow White has never really been one of my favorite fairytales, but these authors made me love it as they took the beautifully dark tale and reimagined it in such unique, beautiful ways.

FALLING SNOW
by Skye Hoffert

When I got word that this was one of the stories chosen for the collection, saying I was excited is an understatement. I was SCREAMING. I’m still screaming!

Skye is not only one of the most precious people on this earth, she’s also a dear internet friend of mine. I got to beta-read this story in its early days and fell. in. love. I was not surprised a bit it got chosen. IT IS BRILLIANCE. And it’s surreal having my Skye published. SO PROUD.

 

AND THIS STORY, GUYS.

If you're looking for a gritty circus setting, snappy writing, electric characters, a plot that keeps your adrenaline rushing as fast as Snow's on the tightrope, and a brilliantly unique take on Snow White, this is it! I could seriously fangirl about this novella for days.

This story involves a creepy circus run by magical fae and just YES PLEASE.

I honest to goodness adored every single aspect of this story. The writing is quick and snappy and transports you so perfectly into the tale, you forget you're even reading. Not once did I have to pause to try to imagine the setting, but there were no over-the-top descriptions to be found. In a mere sentence or even a single word, this author managed to paint a perfect picture of the surroundings, the actions of the characters, even the tone, and tug at your heartstrings or quicken your heartbeat while she was at it. Then there was the fascinating plot that took the elements of the original Snow White story and flipped them on their head in such an original way. And the pacing was perfection.

But the true gold of this story is the CHARACTERS. Snow is broken and soft, yet absolutely feisty when she needed to be. This girl made my heart swell. I just wanted to hug her okay? Then there's Chayse, our male lead, who made my heart ache over all the burdens he bore and decisions he had to make. I don't want to say too much about him and spoil things but, trust me, you're going to fall in love. And last but deeefinitely not least is Cynfael. Ah, Cyn. Our charming scoundrel who keeps you on your toes from the moment he enters the pages. If for no other reason, read this story for Cynfael. You'll thank me later. Oh, and we can't forget the villain, the evil queen herself, who made my skin crawl. Just what you want in a fairytale!

Skye Hoffert is a word genius and captured me from page one with this brilliant tale.

I'd honestly purchase this anthology for this story alone. It was, without a doubt, my favorite of the collection.

Content Cautions
There was quite a lot of drinking and smoking, and it seems like some of the characters use a bit of crude language. It really fit the gritty setting and brought it to life, so I didn’t mind. But do be warned if that’s not your thing.

 

RAVEN’S HEIR
by Jenelle Hovde

This one had such a beautiful writing style. It felt both historical and fairytale-like, at the same time, which was lovely.

There’s always one story in these collections that follows the closest to the original fairytale, and Raven’s Heir was that one for this anthology. But it took the events of the Snow White story and placed them in a rich, historical setting. Technically, it’s in a fantasy world, but you could tell this author knows her history, and it came out beautifully in the story.

The plot didn’t enrapture me quite as much with this one, as most of it was about the characters traveling, and then the ending was a little rushed. BUT our villain with her use of magic gave me chills (always the goal with a villain, especially when she’s the evil queen!) and Damien and Kara, our hero and heroine, were so kind and selfless, and their romance was one of the sweetest I’ve ever read. They were PRECIOUS! Also, the “dwarves” as a band of outlaws was clever, and had a very Robin Hoodish vibe which is ALWAYS a plus in my book.

Though a bit slow, the intriguing villain, sweet characters, and rich setting definitely made this a worthwhile read!

Content Cautions
The villainess in this one uses some pretty dark magic, that involves chilling spirits. But the magic is definitely shown in a bad light.

 

THE FAIREST ONE
by Cortney Manning

*clutches heart* What an epic, sweeping tale! I’m not always the biggest fan of novellas because I never feel like there’s enough time to truly get to know the characters. Or the story is just too simple and straight forward. Well Cortney Manning threw that belief out the window.

The Fairest One feels like a great epic, in the span of just a few chapters. I don’t know how she did it but wow! The  rich Middle/Near Eastern-type world comes alive in this one. Seriously, I just wanted to crawl into the storyworld (and I loved how it wasn’t your average medieval European setting too!). Livna, our heroine, was a sweet cinnamon roll who just wanted her father’s love and attention and to see her land safe. It was a delight seeing her grow and find her courage to stand up for her people. I felt for her SO MUCH, and was sad when the story was over, because I already miss her.

And the way the dwarves were portrayed. YES. Magical beings, and slaves to the “evil queen” character. So much originality there! One of the main characters, Oren, is a dwarf himself, and grumpy and sarcastic and totally great. All the characters really popped off the pages.

I loved how unique this one was, while also, somehow, staying so true to the original Snow White story. The twists this author put on Snow White were pure genius, and there was even a hint of Cinderella vibes going on which I loved. The stakes were HIGH in this one, and then the PLOT TWIST. Whoa. I was not expecting it.

Everything about this story was beautiful and brilliant and I loved every single word.

Content Cautions
Other than some heart-pounding high-stakes, I don’t recall there being anything to worry about with this one? Lots of magic, but that’s to be expected with a Snow White collection.

 

RED AS BLOOD
by Maddie Morrow

This one may be my favorite after Falling Snow! (Though The Fairest One is fighting for second place as well.) Which is something because, erm, it involves vampires??? Nooottt my favorite subject. But but but THIS STORY!

The tale follows Zaig, an assassin, who is told by the queen herself to assassinate the princess, no questions ask. Well, you can imagine how well that goes.

It’s set in a gritty, Victorian-era-esque setting and oooooh it was deliciously chilling. I really enjoyed how the whole story was in the Huntsman’s POV and BE STILL MY BEATING HEART. Zaig was such an epic protagonist, I can’t even. His inner struggles felt so REAL, and he had a dash of snark to go with his charm. The perfect combination! All the side characters were just as intriguing as well.

Then the PLOT. Just wow. Part mystery, part thriller, part fairytale—this one had it all. I was hooked, and refused to put the book down until I had made it to the end. It surprised me in so many ways, and had my heart pumping from page one to the end.

Even if you’re not into vampires (I’m with you) still give this one a read! The writing style is beautiful, the characters come alive, and the twists are epic. Good grief, I loved it so much!

Content Cautions
This one involves vampires so…it gets bloody. Very bloody, especially near the end. It’s also just pretty dark all the way around. If you’re squeamish, do be warned!

 

SNOWBIRD AND THE RED SLIPPERS
by Rachael Wallen

For the final novella, we take a bit of a different turn, as it’s a contemporary. BUT, it does have a hint of magical realism to it, which was fun.

This follows Snowbird, or Jeong Hayan, her real name, as she takes on a scholarship in a New York dance school. Though I’ve never been part of the ballet world, I’ve LOVED watching ballet since I was teeny tiny, so I was excited about a setting in a ballet school.

I 100% understand why this won a place in the collection. This author’s writing is astounding. With that said…it wasn’t my favorite. I have so many thoughts on this little story, that I don’t know if I can put into words.

My biggest dislikes were that I was just confused all the way through. I think it was the shortest of the collection, not giving us much time to really grasp everything going on, or to get to know the characters as well as we liked. Not only that, but almost the majority of the book is told, and so much of it talks about ballet and the scholarship and, since I’ve never been part of that world, I didn’t really get what all was going on. It’s so loaded with telling and lush descriptions, I felt like the plot got set on the backburner. Which is sad, because WHOA. This was a unique story, let me tell you!

At first, it doesn’t seem like a Snow White retelling at all, but THEN it ended up having more Snow White elements than all the others, including things involving ribbon and a comb, which people tend to skip over in Snow White retellings. Yet it also seemed to be much more heavily a retelling of a fairytale called The Red Shoes. Which I was perfectly fine with. Huzzah for retellings of obscure fairytales! But the Snow White elements are still there. In fact, Snow White and The Red Shoes have a couple of similar plot threads at the end, so I totally see why this author combined them. It worked perfectly! (Sorry, fairytale nerd. XD)

As I mentioned earlier, this author’s style is so rich and beautiful and unique, I definitely believe she deserved a spot in this collection. I think many people will LOVE this story, even though the style didn’t click with me. Despite that, it was the type of story that stayed with me long after I had finished. It was both beautiful and chilling, dark but thoughtful, and original all around. It’s the type of story you really just have to experience for yourself, and I definitely recommend doing so!

Content Cautions
This story was just…chilling. The original The Red Shoes story (or Snow White for that matter) is, erm, not exactly a happy, fluffy tale, and neither is this one. I liked the whole unnerving chill surrounding the story. It added a heart-stopping mystery to the whole thing. But if you’re expecting some fluffy contemporary fairytale retelling then…you’re going to be surprised. That’s all I’ll say. XD

Overall, I found this an absolutely wonderful collection to end these anthologies with. I’m so sad the excitement of the contests is over and that we won’t be getting new, beautiful fairytale anthologies every year anymore, but it’s been wonderful while it’s lasted!

CONCLUSION
With a wide range of settings, plots, and protagonists, this really does have something for all the types of fairytale-lovers. I was enraptured by each unique story, loved seeing the utter originality put into reimagining Snow White, and am so glad I gave this a read!

Because any anthology with Falling Snow, The Fairest One, and Red as Blood deserves five stars. But Raven’s Heir and Snowbird and the Red Slippers were worth the read as well!

 

TALK WITH ME!

Have you read this collection? BECAUSE I NEED TO FANGIRL. If you have, which story was your favorite? If you haven’t, which one appeals to you the most? And who’s sad the Rooglewood Fairytale Contests are over??? *sniff, sniff* It’s been such a good time!