Locksley of Sherwood: Allies and Enemies

Robin Hood always has his nemesis--and often more than one. In this particular incarnation, he has three-- and two of them are ones that every Robin Hood aficionado is familiar with.

First, there's Guy of Gisbourne. Traditionally, he is Robin Hood's ultimate nemesis--a bounty hunter who is usually in the pay of the Sheriff of Nottingham(my favorite portrayals of this character have been done by Basil Rathbone and Richard Armitage. Google them, I'll wait...). Sometimes, he is also given Robin Hood's title--Earl of Huntingdon--when Robin is made an outlaw. This is the case in my version. Gisbourn is the Earl of Huntingdon, and also Ravenna's father. He returns to Nottingham to a)root out the latest Locksley spy(which I will talk about later; and b) marry Ravenna off to the Sheriff of Nottingham. Gisbourne was a tough character for me to figure out. While he's still a  sly, calculating jackass too prideful for his own good, he's been softened a tiny bit by fatherhood(he cares about his kids maybe 2% more than he does about himself, as they're actually great to use as pawns in order to win this little game he's always playing) and he knows all of Locksley's tricks, which is unhelpful, but also really fun! The celebrity who has the honor of portraying him in my head is:
                                                           

Adam Croasdell.  He's in the CW's "Reign" and I'm not gonna lie, that show is my guilty pleasure and I kind of really like the way he looks and I also love his voice. Like, a lot. He can play both the harder as softer sides of a character, and he can be sympathetic even when we as the viewers hate his guts--which, in my opinion, take talent. The song I hear when I write Gisbourne? This one( I wish I could find something that wasn't a cover, but I can't, so..):

Speaking of hating guts, here's the next enemy that Locksley and co. have to deal with: Josse DeClaire, the Sheriff of Nottingham.  DeClaire is younger, angrier, and more rash than Gisbourn--and he's a snake. He's also Cassian's nemesis. In my head, he's:
                                                            
Toby Kebbell, aka Koba(Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), aka Massala(Ben-Hur; I don't care, that movie was FABO; go away). He's played villains, and anti-heroes, and his accent is killer, so I know I'd love to hear it whether he's spitting venom at Cassian(which he does), or trying to seduce Ravenna(which, again, he does--Ew. Ew, ew, ew). This song is GREAT for DeClaire's personality:

Also, I know he's willing to undergo combat training(see Ben-Hur/Apes for refrences), so there's no problem there. Plus, a "Spider-Man" vs "Massala" fight? Yes, please! Especially if this was playing the background:

If there's one of the badies I hate writing though(even if it's necessary--grrrr) it's the third of the enemies of Locksley and Cassian. I hate him. He's a weasel. His name is Etienne Malbete and he's a mercenary hired by King John to assist DeClaire to maintain order in Nottingham. This makes casting difficult, because I don't really want to hate the person who portrays this character. But, needs must, and when I finally got around to it, I realized that my choice was perfect:
                                                           

This is Rossif Sutherland, and yes, he's also from "Reign". He's also been in a couple of Candian indies which I've seen clips of, and he's played villain/anti-heroes in this indies and is utterly brilliant and can do this thing with his voice that just makes him sound--icky. I know he can play a weasel. Plus, he knows how to sneer. And Etienne sneers a lot. His theme song? This one:

Right, so much for the villains. In the Robin Hood legends, Robin Hood has scores of allies, named and unnamed. So too, in my version, Locksley has allies. The first is  not in the original story. He is Gisbourn's son, and his name is Tarquin. Tarquin is supportive of Locksley's cause and can't stand DeClaire. He's also got a snarky mouth--another tendency I have with my male characters. And this is the beautiful face that fills my head when I write Tarquin:
                                                               
Yeah. That's Rob Stark(Game of Thrones), aka Prince Kit(Cinderella), aka Richard Madden. He's also Scottish, which is one of the reasons I love listening to him talk. And I know he can pull off the snarky sarcastic bits of Tarquin's character. AND, I love the idea of his being related to Adam Croasdell; don't ask me why. For some reason, Tarquin's got an "Angels and Airwaves" vibe. Hence his theme:

Locksley's second ally is one y'all are familiar with: Friar Tuck.  According to tradition, Tuck is a Friar/Lay Brother/Churchman, who assists Robin and his Merry Men in various capacities, depending on the storyline that is chosen(my personal fav is the "fighting friar" portrayed by David Harewood from the BBC version). However, in MY version, Friar Tuck isn't a person at all. "Friar Tuck" is a pseudonym for the spy in Nottingham. Someone who reports all his findings to Locksley; someone Cassian found in London and recruited; someone Gisbourn, DeClaire and Etienne all want dead.

Who is he?
                                                                 

I'm not going to tell you.

A writer has to keep some plot spoilers to herself. 😜