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Jo Freitag

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2024

Stories (36)

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30 Followers

38 Following

36 Stories

689 karma pts

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Happy Iteration Day!

Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #315

It was two days after the Midsummer Tournament. King Arthur was in a cheerful mood. “Happy Iteration Day, Lance!” “Iteration Day?” “Yes. I have just legislated the inaugural Iteration Day. It will be a day to mark the transition from one iteration of Fog Lake reenactments to the next. It will be a day to remember the events of the previous and make resolutions about the iteration to come. We will celebrate the day with a picnic in the woods. Lady Charlotte-Elaine of Charlotte’s Web Weaving has made up lovely moss green woollen tunics and ...

4 likes

July and August cannot be too hot.

Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #314

The weather in Camelot had been legislated, by a law made a distant moon ago, to be perfect all the year. As this ruled out the extremes of heat usually found in summer, the only way to gauge the time of mid-summer in Camelot was to observe the stars. When Sirius, the Dog Star would rise just before the Sun in July, it would indicate the time surrounding the middle of summer, the dies caniculares, or ‘dog days’.Malory Tennyson, the owner of Malory Tennyson’s Cloudbank Cabin for Arthurian Studies, was doing just that. He was particularly obs...

4 likes

All together now. On the same page. In the same iteration.

Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #313

Look at me now! (I mean ‘look at Sir Lancelot now’) crowed Malory Tennyson.“little need to speakOf Lancelot in his glory! King, duke, earl,Count, baron—whom he smote, he overthrew.” Malory Tennyson, the owner of Malory Tennyson’s Cloudbank Cabin for Arthurian Studies, was reclining on the porch of Cloudbank Cabin, watching all the Arthurian characters demonstrating their martial skills, in a practice session in the Fog Lake at the foot of the Cabin. With him were Little Plump Jo, the current Artisan in Residence at the Cabin and her overexci...

8 likes

Quest for a Galahad

Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #312

My good blade carves the casques of men, My tough lance thrusteth sure, My strength is as the strength of ten, Because my heart is pure.“That was from Sir Galahad written by Alfred 1st Baron Tennyson in 1842,” informed Intellectual Dabrowski. “And that was what Malory Tennyson read out first. Then he put out a call for people to audition for the role of Galahad for the Fog Lake re-enactments.”Intellectual Dabrowski and Psycho Motor Dabrowski, two of the five overexcitable Dabrowski Dogs, canine writing companions of Little Plump Jo, the curr...

5 likes

The Return

Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #311

This story contains a brief mention of the topic of suicide “Where is everybody?” asked Little Plump Jo.“They will be back. They always come back. Even Arthur always comes back”The hitch in Sir Lancelot du Lac’s voice and the pain and uncertainty expressed in his dark eyes indicated that Lancelot was trying to reassure himself rather than answer.Jo had only been away for three days but it felt as if it had been much longer. And Malory Tennyson’s Cloudbank Cabin for Arthurian Studies, where Jo was a current Artisan in Residence, felt differen...

6 likes

The ARC Arthurian Readers Club

Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #310

Of course, it would be quite improper to take five over excitable dogs to a meeting of The ARC Arthurian Readers Club. But Little Plump Jo did not need her five over excitable canine writing companions, the Dabrowski Dogs – Intellectual, Sensual, Emotional, Psycho Motor and Imaginational, to be with her physically to know pretty much what thoughts and opinions they would have. Often people thought that Little Plump Jo may be slightly mad; as she tended to suddenly burst into tears or into gales of laughter at the mental pictures the thoughts...

15 likes

The Scarlet Sleeve Care Provider

Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #309

The Lady Charlotte-Elaine, Lady of Shalott and entrepreneur owner of Charlotte’s Web Weaving came bustling into The Halfway House for Disgruntled Characters.“I understand you have a wounded man here who has The Scarlet Sleeve listed as their care provider.”“Oh wow! It’s your Elaine, Little Plump Jo!” barked Imaginational Dabrowski, one of the five overexcitable canine writing companions of Little Plump Jo, a current Artisan in Residence in Malory Tennyson’s Cloudbank Cabin for Arthurian Studies. “Not even I could have predicted that!”Jo’s El...

10 likes

Ethical Concerns and AI Botflies

Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #308

When Little Plump Jo and her five overexcitable writing companions, the Dabrowski Dogs arrived, they were greeted outside Sir Lancelot’s door by Merlin.“He wants to have time with you in your role of Epiphany Provoker; but you are quite within your rights to refuse or to leave early. His mood is quite erratic this morning -to say the least!”“No worries! I will go in first and cheer him up!” That was Psycho Motor Dabrowski who had come wearing a jester’s hat for just such a situation. “He had a very bad night” Merlin said, “in a lot of pain a...

14 likes

The Epiphany Provoker

Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #307

“I want you to do this for me, Little Plump Jo. I want you to set me free from the Fog Lake, as you did for Elaine of Astolat!”Sir Lancelot du Lac’s dark eyes were filled with hope and misplaced confidence.Little Plump Jo had not actually done anything to free Elaine of Astolat from the Fog Lake. In fact, Elaine had not even vacated the Fog Lake. However, Elaine was now free from the eternal re-enactment of the tragic role of Elaine the Fair, Elaine the Lovely, The Lily Maid of Astolat. But unless you were to include ‘masterly inactivity’ as...

14 likes

Sync Your Calendars

Jo Freitag

“And on Wednesday evening I am supposed to attend a viewing of the Work in Progress of the Opera about Tristan and Isolde” Little Plump Jo told her five canine writing companions, the overexcitable Dabrowski Dogs.“ You should attend that!” barked Intellectual Dabrowski. “It is good manners to encourage your fellow creatives. You might actually learn something about serious scholarly research and high quality academic compositions; an area in which you are clearly lacking! And Malory Tennyson will be expecting you to write the Tale of Sir Tri...

7 likes

And then what?

Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #305

Half way through the year and with twenty-five Reedsy Prompts written , Little Plump Jo felt she was ready to compile a book of Arthurian short stories. She would title it Cloudbank Cabin : The Reedsy Prompts Tales. She even had in her mind the page layouts, pen and ink illustrations, and the cover photograph of Cloudbank Cabin she would like to use. But the best publishing method to use was still a complete mystery to her.It was definitely not the book that her mentor Malory Tennyson, the owner of Malory Tennyson’s Cloudbank Cabin for Arthu...

8 likes

What do we want? Back stories! When do we want them? Now! The Halfway House for Disgruntled Characters Pt 3.

Jo Freitag

It all started with little, golden-haired Limpet asking with childish innocence ‘Where did I come from?’ which could have been dismissed as a Birds and the Bees question.It all started when Thurifer Dwarf the Exwyrminator needed a birth certificate to register his cart.It all started when Portly Scribe Aforementioned needed more information about an applicant for King Arthur’s Medical Benefits Scheme and realized he did not have any of that information about himself.It all started when the merchant asked the tavern owner “so were you born in...

3 likes

The Show Must Go On : The Halfway House for Disgruntled Characters Pt 2

Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #304

“Contractual obligations, Merlin!”“Loopholes, Malory! In your material it says Cloudbank Cabin will provide Arthurian epic re-enactments, in chronological order, in the Fog Lake and Cloudbank, within clear view of the porch of Malory Tennyson’s Cloudbank Cabin for Arthurian Studies, at all times when hosting an Artisan in Residence , except in extraordinary circumstances.And Sir Lancelot du Lac disappearing completely is definitely an extraordinary circumstance!”“If you know where he is, Merlin, I insist that you magic him back to the Fog La...

9 likes

The Halfway House for Disgruntled Characters

Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #304

“Consider the rear suite of rooms in Cloudbank Cabin for Arthurian Studies occupied until further notice,” announced Imaginational Dabrowski, one of the five overexcitable Dabrowski Dogs, who were Little Plump Jo’s writing companions. “But you must not breathe a word to anyone!”“I did not even know that there was a rear suite of rooms!” Jo replied.“Every problem has a solution, if you apply some imagination to it!” Imaginational declared. “I think you will find this is a most satisfactory solution.”“I do not know what the problem is.”“Proble...

10 likes

Level of Autonomy

Jo Freitag

Submitted to Contest #303

This story contains mention of suicide.“You walked right into it, Lance. You did not even have your sword in your hand. You know suicide is a mortal sin! What were you thinking?”“I had no choice,” Sir Lancelot du Lac whispered to his cousin Sir Bors, who was kneeling beside him in the dust of the combat arena.Sir Bors concern for Lancelot was being expressed as an angry tirade. Bors was angry with the circumstances which dictated that he must forever watch his cousin strive against himself, body, soul and heart, to do the right, just, and he...

9 likes