#Bloodmarked spoilers

[highfantasy-soul]

So I read Bloodmarked and feel the strong urge to write a 'fix it' fic for a certain love story.

spoilers, obviously

the insane desire to fix the Sel/Bree dynamic - starting in book 1 - is strong

Sel should have remained combative to Bree in book one, not suddenly turn and fall madly in love with her by the end of the book. He should have only stayed with her for duty because she's Arthur's Scion and it should have been made clear in the story that it was killing him staying with Bree because he's bonded to Nick.

He should have still been combative as she doesn't want to stay hidden, but it should have been 100% duty as to why he was staying with her and protecting her.

BREE should have actually done things to change his mind, not just be the main character. She should have studied past Order dangers they faced and how they overcame them, she should have kept training with weapons and her aether, she should have actually DONE things to try to get Nick back (giving updates after her bloodwalks), and should have worked tirelessly to help others and learn enough to really help in this war.

AND she should have shown how she's different from just any other Scion - she should have pushed for a different perspective, sought out others to help in the battle since she does know about others who use magic. She should have pushed for inclusion and bringing everyone into this fight in the ways they can instead of just leaving it to the Order. She should have researched more about Merlins through this study of magic and perhaps pointed out inconsistencies in the official records, she should have gotten empathy after seeing how much is expected of Merlins and the standards they have to keep and the punishments if they don't - giving her understanding for Sel's position and why he behaved the way he did in book 1. She should have kept in touch with the Lieges who are part of this war, but have different perspectives too.

They should have SEEN each other DOING things to protect people and fight demons SEPARATELY rather than Sel only existing to protect Bree when she's done something stupid or someone is after her. Bree should have DONE something other than run around helpless and complaining about being helpless until she explodes with power.

They should have learned to RESPECT each other for their own actions and histories and seeing how hard each other are trying to do the right thing - and always butting heads because their methods are so different. KEEP the arguments! KEEP the conflicting perspectives - but have them argue with RESPECT for each other, pleading their own cases, but never devolving to petty shit since, you know, they should be focused on protecting people from Camlann.

---

THEN.

THEN! When Bree is attacked and is bleeding out and Sel gives all his energy to keep her alive, THAT'S when he realizes that he's not just saving her because she's the Crown Scion, he's saving her because she's Bree. He can't stop thinking about what would be taken from the world if BREE is dead (her desire to bring together the different communities, her desire to help others even when she can't access her power, her questioning of long-held beliefs and push back on how Merlins are treated and how enslaved all the Legendborn are to the Order's rules down to who they're allowed to marry and her desire to change that) and that he didn't think once about the cost to the Order or the Lines. THEN we can have his change and the slow burn enemies-to-lovers become apparent.

Nix all this 'you're the most strongest, beautifulest, bravest, phenomenal person I've ever met' bullshit - since he can't give examples of her ever being those things! If you think you can come up with reasons, give me some that don't revolve around her power or her attempting to claim her authority - give me some examples of her ACTUALLY HELPING people. As it stands, the narrative only gives us 'Bree is super powerful and pretty and that's enough to make her brave' - no actual action on her part, just how she was born.

Idk, all the tension was just like......we GET IT! She and Sel LIKE EACH OTHER!!! The narrative just has to have arbitrary reasons they can't be together even though they're very clearly attracted to each other! Sel was super concerned about her being out to hurt Nick in book 1, then 180 and he's in love with her now. It's ok for him to be annoyed that she's in the middle of this and she has no idea what she's doing! It's ok that he's annoyed she has such little frame of reference as to how to fight this war and lead the Order! It's ok if he's still annoyed at her in book 1 because he thinks Nick deserves a bodyguard who actually knows what they're doing!

It really pissed me off that Sel started out as a cool, very hard and sharp character, then once he decided he didn't want to kill Bree anymore, he became a completely soft butterball of a person. LET GRAY CHARACTERS KEEP THEIR EDGES!! Stop smoothing their rough parts once we're on the 'to lovers' path!!

Their whole contention could be that she's studied the Order and sees all the ways it needs to change and offer solutions - maybe specifically how the Merlins are treated - and Sel could push back because of all his self-loathing and fear of himself that the Order pushed in him and so he's always playing 'devil's advocate' for the Order and all their methods of control. Stay in line and you stay safe - they've kept Onceborn safe all these years, why fix what isn't broke and risk the chaos that would bring - chaos demons feed on. Bree could push back on him arguing 'WHO' is being helped, WHO has been kept safe? Rootcrafters hunted down by the Order? Onceborn POC who are subjugated under Vassal power given to them by the Order but wielded in the Onceborn world? The Legendborn who have no control over their lives? The Lieges who will die early because of their curse?

Have Sel and Bree actually bring up real and nuanced themes to explore in the story instead of petty shit like it was. Make their arguments MEAN something more than just 'I'm worried for your safety/You're smothering me'.

Make their rivalry real, make Bree's character DO something, and make Sel begin to question his fear of himself and the control the Order brings him. THEN they can start to have feelings for each other based on concrete actions and who each other are, not just 'oh no, he's hot'.

[megnificent-reads]

I think the problem with the whole “Bree is a cheater” argument is that she… didn’t.

The only person that ever refers to Nick and Bree as boyfriend/girlfriend is Sel who is… not a part of their relationship. Actually, Bree is questioning what they are in book one, and that question is never answered.

I’m not delusional and not going to pretend there aren’t multiple times that they share a deeply intimate connection, sure. But that still doesn’t change the fact that you do have to be dating someone to cheat on them.

Additionally, Bree does nothing romantic with Sel until after Nick runs away. Is it pretty soon after he runs away, sure. But the thing is, Sel never once ran away. Nick did. With no indication of if/when he was coming back. How long does she have to wait for him to Maybe come back before it’s acceptable to move on with a person who has made it very clear he’s been in love with her for months?

Tl;dr Bree can do no wrong in my eyes. But in all seriousness I beg of you all to stop putting how Nick might possibly, maybe, potentially feel about something over Bree being able to live her life as a 16 year old girl.

[crownomancer]

Dragons never die.

-

I will properly ink this and color it later. For now it was just rattling around in my head.

[elisegeese]

Tw // blood

I love Nick and he Scares me!

I’m both terrified and excited to see what his future holds in Oathbound.

[alondrathegiraffe]

Brees family + found family

the dad and mom scenes really got me feeling all types of ways, I love stories about complicated relationships with parents (mothers especially) and Brees journey with her grief and the memory of her mother got me in the heart

[safirefire]

Lancelot when Bree!Arthur starts leaning in too close too his face while she’s starting to see Nick and all he sees is his king

[onthemerits]

we talk abt sel giving up his humanity to save bree but consider:

bree having no more than ten minutes to speak to her mother— the woman whose death motivated the entire first book— and using a few of those minutes to ask about sel’s mother to try and ease his pain and save his humanity——

there’s so much love and care and growth in that act— even aside from bree’s loyalty and care for sel, she’s come so far from the girl consumed by grief, driven by an obsession with her mother’s past.

she couldn’t even connect with her ancestors the first time mariah tried to help her. she was too overwhelmed with thoughts of her mother and their lineage, scared that her mother wouldn’t want to talk to her, scared of facing her mothers death head on.

now, she gives up time with her mother for the chance of helping sel— and herself by proxy. this is a far cry from the bree prepared to sacrifice everything to solve her mother’s “murder.”

and no one should be shocked by the end of bloodmarked.

[medium-bloodcrafter-scion]

ICYMI!!! Oathbound sneak peek revealed by Tracy Deonn. (⚠ Spoiler for the end of Bloodmarked)

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A post shared by Simon Teen (@simonteen)

Thanks to the amazing @ashalightwood for always being on top of what's happening on Tracy's Instagram! 😄💜

I thought we were done with all the reveals and surprises this month, but after all it is Novembree ie Legendborn Christmas, so Tracy is spoiling us. 🥰

While the sneak peek doesn't reveal too much (I insist it's an expanded version of the infamous emoji trio 🕴️⌛🥀), the tone is so intense, the imagery so delightfully Scorpionic...

The teaser reads as follows (but please watch the video the reactions are PRICELESS):

The Shadow King could destroy me. I knew this the minute the ancient demon's magic enveloped us. Darkness billowed in on the final images of Nick in motion: his aether armor glinting in the sun, his outstretched hand, his blue eyes burning for battle. Fighting to keep me safe.

So many fights and losses, just to keep me safe. After everything my friends had endured, guilt clawed at my heart.

Then I saw Nick, and shame split it open.

The King grasped my hand. "I'm sorry," I said. "Please know that I -"

Then, we were travelling through shadows. I don't know how much time has passed. Seconds? Minutes? Blackness surrounds us in thick, inky streams. This is what it means to travel with a being of darkness, I think - before I begin to suffocate.

In this here and there vortex, there is no air to breathe. My knees buckle. I wonder if I might die before I've even begun this new life.

No.

Even thinking that word is enough to sharpen my oxygen-deprived mind. I clench the hard hilt of Excalibur to my side. I will not die here.

And then, without warning, we land.

I cannot contain myself someone help meeeee! 🙀😭😱😖🤯

[justbrainrot]

Okay. I’ve seen posts with google translations of the blood walk convo Sel & Nick have, but here’s some analysis by a human person lol!

(Disclaimer: said human is not a native speaker but they were raised by a linguist & love research so I’m pretty confident that this is closer to perfect than what google spits out)

Sel: "Mae hi'n brydferth." (She is beautiful.)

Nick: "Ydi, mae hi. Yn dragwyddol." (Yes, she is. Eternally.)

Sel: "Mae hi'n gweld dy eisiau di." (She misses you.)

Nick: "Mae hi'n gweld dy eisiau di hefyd." (She misses you also.)

<lit. “she sees the need of you” but if someone wanted to say that exact phrase they’d probably say it differently to avoid the idiomatic translation>

Sel: "Mae gen i ofn amdani, Nicholas…” (I’m afraid for her, Nicholas...)

Nick: "Dwi'n hyderus y medri di gadw hi'n ddiogel.” (I’m confident you are able to keep her safe.)

Also, not that it matters, but “Mae gen i” is a Northern construction, and “eisiau” is a Southern spelling. I don’t know how much fluidity there is with speakers, especially in border areas (and Wales is actually considered to have 5 main dialects, which is ridiculous). The Southern “I have” construction would be “Mae ofn amdani gyda fi” and the Gog spelling of “eisiau” is “isio”. This language is bananapants.

(The Welsh word for “banana” is technically “ffrwchnedd” but no one says that, they say banana.)

@paigeagainstdamachine @mediumbloodcrafterscion @ashaligtwood

[you-are-my-king-now-cariad]

Context: I wrote a ‘quote analysis’ for my English class. It’s basically a challenge where you pick a sentence or quote and write as much about as you can in a given amount of time.

I chose “You have always been the Scion of Arthur, and neither of us can afford to forget it.”

And oh boy I had thoughts.

1. This feels VERY interesting. It feels like it’s going back to Sel Who Doesn’t Care About Anyone, but at the same time… Bree says it’s ‘almost an accusation.’ She nearly starts crying. I think it’s much closer to ‘You are the Scion, and I am your Kingsmage, and anything else is forbidden on every level.’ Yes, at this point they’re barely flirting. But Sel is infuriatingly careful, and this is also probably a self-reminder.

2. Saying that neither of them can forget it seems particularly poignant seeing that Sel knows what happens when Arthur’s Scion does abandon their post. I don’t think Nick is a bad person, to be clear. (I don’t like him either, but still.) No matter what you think of him, though, he walked away from his responsibilities. We don’t know if-had he been Called while he was still AWOL-he would have fought. I doubt it. And that is dangerous.

2a(?). It’s bad that Bree’s absent… But not only do the other Legendborn know that she’s still fighting, she is at the very least trying. She doesn’t get it right all the time. Hell, she probably doesn’t get it right half the time. But she is giving her all to being the best king possible-a title she doesn’t want, one given to her by violence and prejudice. And I think everyone can see that. Even when she breaks down, it’s not ‘I want to quit’ or ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ Maybe it’s ‘I wish I wasn’t the one doing this,’ or ‘I’m not strong enough,’ but she’s almost always more worried about just letting her friends down, about someone getting hurt! That is a true king. You’re allowed to have bad days, you’re allowed to be selfish. But you cannot quit when (I’m not gonna count them rn) people and potentially literally the entire world is depending on you.

I’m doing these analyses every class apparently so I might have more if this was even comprehensible, see y’all later!

[faithayc]

“Play nice, children.” William holds up a hand. “Adaptability is the name of the game if we’re to start coloring outside of the lines.” Alice chuckles nervously. “Lines. Get it?” She turns back to us, eyes bright with amusement. “Get it?” “I get it.” William winks. “Everyone gets it,” Sel says with a deep sigh of resignation.

I love them so much 😭

[megnificent-reads]

Just remembered this note I made from my first read through of Legendborn and Bloodmarked

[wizardteampod]

1 WEEK TIL #WIZARDTEAM READS BLOODMARKED

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Ready to cuss out b*tchass King Arthur!

[our-king-bree]

when Nick said that he wanted to break the cycle and Sel was like and how exactly do you plan to do that? ready to kill Nick on the spot at the mere insinuation of him harming Bree? yeah that right there it's growth

[alondrathegiraffe]

favoritsm towards them? siempre porque con ellos puedo escribir todo una pagina

alternative : nick kissing bree

[safirefire]

I love Valechaz I fear