#Hws blue horde

[irithnova]

Why Mongolia and his children should be shot:

Mongolia:

>teen dad

>shit with emotions and making his children get along

>femboy addiction

>emotionally dependant on Ilkhanate

>somewhat oblivious to his children's fight for his attention

>too busy uhh patronising the arts and doing other important stuff like watching stage plays than to send letters to his kids

Golden horde:

>Eldest daughter syndrome

>Emo™️

>Bullied by his own brothers

>Oedipus complex

>Not like other girls™️

>Hates everyone

>unpopular with his brothers when he was alive

>ended with the most talked about legacy out of all of them so it's a win I guess

Ilkhanate:

>kissless handholdless eyecontactless failboy virgin nerd

>he's a fucking nerd did I mention that

>and really artsy

>father was emotionally dependant on him

>lowkey hated him for it

>died first

Chagatai Khanate:

>probably the most normal out of all of them

>was still a huge bully to golden horde

>jock™️

>won't shut the fuck up

>hot headed

>probs snitched a lot on his brothers when they were younger for Mongolia's approval

Oh and they're all alcoholics

Honorable mentions (not Mongolia's kids):

Blue horde

>Not as much as a people hater

>Weird relationship with golden horde (who was originally white horde)

>le sacrificed himself™️ (Jesus moment)

>young as hell when he died wtf

>more extroverted than Golden Horde and probably had a similar personality to what Golden Horde could have had if he wasn't fucking bullied

Timurid Empire:

>Certified LARPer

>Fucking crazy

>Genghis Khan biggest fan

>Probably sent embarrassing borderline harassing fan mail to Mongolia

>"Trust me, I am Chinggisid 🤓"

Manchuria:

>Also a certified LARPer

>Mr Mongolia biggest fan!

>Catboy

>Writes the absolute worst fucking poetry

>Recites it to people

>Says he is a nomad

>Is a sedentarycel

>Sanrio 🤒

>"Guys I am so scholarly and civilised" 🤓

>Literally wears fake glasses just so he can look more similar to Mongolia

[eruverse]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love❤

Thamk you!! 🌞

I haven’t written a lot of Hetalia fics and currently I have more wips for this fandom ahah. So I’ll be listing some of my most recent fics:

Ember, Mongolia/Turkey, rated T

The first fic I’ve written for this ship. More to come later!!

To the beat of the golden sun, Russia/fem!Mongolia, rated E

This one is a gift for @all-turns-to-moss ‘s birthday and I had so much fun writing!! This setting works very well for this ship if I say so myself 😌

little hare and the wolf cub, Russia & Golden Horde & Blue Horde, rated G

Little Ivan during Mongol occupation of his lands where Golden (White) Horde and his twin Blue Horde are child bullies. Fairy taleish writing style and format.

Jasmine in the sheets, Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan, rated E

Kaz and Uz as kids and their dumb first time. Dumb because they are simply overexcited kids with hormones bigger than everything else they have to consider, lol.

Cursed, Indonesia/Netherlands, rated M

Angsty-ish fic involving top Indo and bottom Ned which is my favorite setting for this ship. As an Indonesian myself a lot of emotional projection is going on here, lol

[peeporoons-notes]

—NAV—————————

⚫ Main Scenario (MSQ)

A Realm Reborn (ARR) —— Lv. 1-15 [Gridania nav] [Limsa nav] [Ul'dah nav] —— Lv. 15-19 —— Lv. 20-29 —— Lv. 30-39 —— Lv. 40-50 Post-ARR (tba) —— A Realm Awoken (2.1) —— Through the Maelstrom (2.2) —— Defenders of Eorzea (2.3) —— Dreams of Ice (2.4) —— Before the Fall - Part 1 (2.5) —— Before the Fall - Part 2 (2.55)

Heavensward (tba) —— Lv. 50 (might replace the lvls with story beats later) —— Lv. 51 —— Lv. 52 —— Lv. 53 —— Lv. 54 —— Lv. 55 —— Lv. 56 —— Lv. 57 —— Lv. 58 —— Lv. 59-60 Post-HW (tba) —— As Goes Light, So Goes Darkness (3.1) —— The Gears of Change (3.2) —— Revenge of the Horde (3.3) —— Soul Surrender (3.4) —— The Far Edge of Fate - Part 1 (3.5) —— The Far Edge of Fate - Part 2 (3.56)

Stormblood (not completed yet) —— Lv. 60 —— Lv. 61 —— Lv. 62 —— Lv. 63 —— Lv. 64 —— Lv. 65 —— Lv. 66 —— Lv. 67 (currently I am here on main) —— Lv. 68 —— Lv. 69-70 Post-SB (tba)—— The Legend Returns (4.1)

Shadowbringers (not there yet) Endwalker (not there yet) Dawntrail (not released yet)

———————————— 🟠 World Sidequests (tba)

Aldenard

The Black Shroud

La Noscea

Thanalan

Coerthas

Dravania

Gyr Abania

Othard

Ruby Tide

Yanxia

Azim Steppe

Ilsabard

———————————— 🔵 Class and Job Quests (tba)

Disciples of War 🟦 Tank - Gladiator (GLD) / Paladin (PLD) - Marauder (MRD) / Warrior (WAR) - Dark Knight (DRK) - Gunbreaker (GNB) 🟥 Melee DPS - Pugilist (PGL) / Monk (MNK) - Lancer (LNC) / Dragoon (DRG) - Rogue (ROG) / Ninja (NIN) - Samurai (SAM) - Reaper (RPR) 🟥 Physical Ranged DPS - Archer (ARC) / Bard (BRD) - Machinist (MCH) - Dancer (DNC)

Disciples of Magic 🟩 Healer - Conjurer (CNJ) / White Mage (WHM) / Scholar (SCH) - Astrologian (AST) - Sage (SGE) 🟥 Magical Ranged DPS - Thaumaturge (THM) / Black Mage (BLM) - Arcanist (ACN) / Summoner (SMN) - Red Mage (RDM) - Blue Mage (BLU)

Disciples of the Land ⛏️ Miner (MIN) 🌿 Botanist (BTN) 🐟 Fisher (FSH)

Disciples of the Hand 🪚 Carpenter (CRP) 🔨 Blacksmith (BSM) 🛡️ Armorer (ARM) 💍 Goldsmith (GSM) 🐂 Leatherworker (LTW) 🧵 Weaver (WVR) ⚗️ Alchemist (ALC) 🍞 Culinarian (CUL)

——————————————— 🔵 Tribal Quests (tba)

ARR —— Amalj'aa —— Sylphs —— Kobolds —— Sahagin —— Allied HW —— Vanu Vanu —— Vath —— Moogles —— Allied SB —— Kojin —— Ananta —— Namazu —— Allied SHB —— Pixies —— Qitari —— Dwarves —— Allied EW —— Arkasodara —— Omicron —— Loporrit —— Allied

——————————————— 🟠 Seasonal Events

[wiki] - Heavensturn - Valentione's Day - Little Ladies' Day - Hatching-tide - Moonfire Faire - The Rising - All Saints' Wake - Starlight Celebration - 10th Anniversary

——————————————— 🟠 Misc

?

———————————————

[bluesdesk]

LU families headcanons

SKY: he lost his parents as a child. His mother didn't survive a pandemic, probably because she carried Sky's younger sibling (they didn't know the gender yet). Sky was 6 to 7. His father was soldier much like the ones who save him from falling. When the thunderhead appeared he and some others went investigating but he didn't come back. Sky was 10 to 11. Gaepora raised him then. FOUR: His parents are alive, but they're travellers, so they sent Four to live with his grandpa, as he needed a stable house, and his grandpa lived near Hyrule Town. Four has been living with him, and he got letters from his parents too. Dot is the daughter of the King, and the king is the smith's brother in law (the grandpa had a much younger sister). So, Dot calls him "Uncle". Dot and Four are relatives, as Dot is the cousin of one of Four's parents.

TIME: we know his biological parents died. He has lots of siblings! The eldest is MIdo, born during Fall about 15 years before Time. Then Saria, the next spring, and Fado, the next summer. ((The hair color indicated the season: White, ice blue, light green are for winter. Green, pink and sky blue are for spring. Light blonde, blonde and peach are for summer. Orange, red and brown are for fall )). Then we have the other kokiris like the know-it-all brothers, the shop owner and so on. His younger siblings? The twins! Those two small kokiris seem to be younger so I've always imagined them to be younger by 2 or 3 years. Their names are Lola and Lilo, no questions uwu.

TWILIGHT: ((again, my major Twi headcanon)) His father is Time. After his 2 adventures he spent time discovering himself, what he wanted to be and so on. He married Malon and finally found peace. Right when he turned 30, Ganondorf attacked. Time knew who he really was! The gerudo king just took like... 20 years to act after his failed attempt to open the sacred realm. Time fought him so he was caught by the sages and sealed in the Twilight realm, but in the adventure he lost his eye and had to use the FD mask. Then, LU happened. After the heroes went back home he found himself fighting the last horde of monsters alone. With one eye and alone he was more than lost. And Malon was pregnant. His mother is Malon and he lived with his grandpa Talon too, until he moved to Ordon.

WARRIORS: His mother and father are alive. They noticed Wars had the triforce at birth and viced him a lot, he was treated like a king. He had a sister 6 years later and noticing she wasn't treated as well as Wars, their grandmother took Linkle and raised her by herself. At the end of HW Wars and Linkle reunited! So, Wars has his parents and his little sister, the grandma died before HW.

WILD: Idk why but I imagined a whole thing for him... So he had a loving family with mother, father and... him. About 8 years later his sister was born and Wild wanted to name her "Silent Princess" but the parents disagreed. That flower is a rare specie of lily so the sister was called Lily. But then, less than a month after Lili's birth, the father and Wild saw a man interacting way too much with the mother. Wild overheard and he discovered the two had been in a relationship for over 2 years and Lily wasn't his father's biological daughter. The parents "divorced" and Wild chose to stay with the father. As Lily couldn't decide, a judge gave her to the father. He maybe wasn't her biological dad, but for the law he was her father. So Wild stayed with them and then became Flora's guard. I have a little story on how Lily might still be alive u-u

WIND: His family is composed of his sister and grandma. Idk what happened to the parents but since the grandma blames herself too much after both Aryll and Wind go away I must think they aren't alive.

LEGEND: He has lived with his uncle until the age of 11. His father is the king of Hyrule. He was only a soldier when he married the Queen, Fable's mother. They were happy, but he was known to drink a bit too much and flirt with the others. He had promised the queen he would stop, and he did stop, until he met a woman from Kakariko. Legend and Fable were born the same day, at the same hour, in the same room in a Kakariko health centre (like, hospital but not hospital) by 2 different mothers and the same father. Only Leg's mother knew. The queen wasn't aware of the situation. Since the 2 babies cried at the same exact moment, opened their eyes at the same time, fell asleep at the same moment, like a prophecy the queen thought, the boy was called Link. The king loved his son! So a house was built near the castle for him to live. Leg's uncle was a soldier too so to not create any suspicion the uncle moved there with the kid while the mother kinda... disappeared. The queen then died of an illness and her husband became the king. Then alttp happened and the young twins discovered they were more than just linked by thoughts.

HYRULE: Why would a 10 years old kid travel alone to an unknown land? His family probably died, but before dying someone must have told him his origins are in Hyrule, so he must have travelled to discover his roots. When Zelda 2 happened, Aurora (in the manga she's a kid, I stole the headcanon) found the perfect big brother figure in Hyrule, and "adopted" him as her older brother. Hyrule liked the new "family". Dawn, like an older sister and Aurora, a little sister. He was much more surprised when Impa gave him real adoption papers... Dawn and Aurora aren't related, now Aurora is related to Hyrule.

[ecosystem-administrator]

Yawn

Timeline: pre-1.0 through 3.3; implied HW character death

Seriously, it's too easy to stumble into the Witchdrop by mistake.

“I heard it out here! Past the gates, someone was crying! We should help them!”

“It’s not safe!” protested Artoirel as he was tugged forward by his brothers, one holding each of his hands. “Just because the Horde is quiet right now doesn’t mean there’s nothing out there.”

“It was so loud, it couldn’t be far!” Haurchefant insisted, and Emmanellain nodded fervently, always eager to go along with their brother’s ideas. Artoirel couldn’t very well let them run off on their own and get hurt without someone sensible to mind them, so he begrudgingly stopped resisting their efforts and followed their lead.

As they made their way outside the walls of Camp Dragonhead, there was a terrible, shivering moan that seemed to tear the air apart as the wind picked up. “See!” Emmanellain cried in triumph, tugging at the ruffle of Artoirel’s sleeve. “We have to help!”

“Is that…even a person…?” Artoirel wondered aloud as they made their way through the snow. “I’ll never forgive you two if you walk us into a monster’s belly.”

Before Emmanellain could think of a reply, there was a startled cry from Haurchefant a little way ahead. Alarmed, Artoirel took off running toward him, only to stop abruptly beside his brother as he realized there was nowhere to run to: the ground dropped away suddenly, revealing a wide, dark chasm at their feet.

Another fierce gust of wind produced another loud howling moan, and this time Artoirel finally understood. “Haurchefant!” he called out over the sound. “It’s the Witchdrop! The caves in it make sound when the wind blows, like a flute! There’s no one out here to save!”

Haurchefant’s brow furrowed as he pouted, considering these words as the wailing that surrounded them began to fade. “I really hoped we could be heroes,” he sighed, then turned back to where Emmanellain was just catching up. “Sorry, Emma. I guess we should go back before Father misses us.”

By the time they made it back, they had already been missed, and Artoirel found himself scolded thoroughly for letting the younger two endanger themselves; but they had cocoa and blankets by the fire to warm them up, so it wasn’t all terrible.

---

“How often do the goobbues around here become dangerous?” Mayhem asked Haurchefant as the pair of them made their way north for the hunt. “In the Shroud, most of them are pretty easygoing.”

“It happens from time to time; no one’s really sure what causes them to go mad,” Haurchefant shrugged. “Would that I were more of a naturalist, to explain their habits, but our task is merely to pursue them when they do. I will say that these hunts have become less often necessary since the Calamity. I would have thought the harsher climate would make all the local wildlife more vicious and desperate, but it seems to have driven the goobbues to seclude themselves instead.”

Mayhem nodded thoughtfully. “Maybe it’s a part of their life cycle. I saw a fallen goobbue in Thanalan that-” They were cut off abruptly with an arm grabbing theirs and tugging them backward urgently, and looked around startled to see that they’d begun to tread near to the edge of the chasm just north of the fort. The sudden fall gaped ominously just inches before their feet.

“Forgive me for the interruption, dearest, but I fear if I allow you to continue on that path, you’ll be interrupted far less pleasantly,” Haurchefant said, blue eyes twinkling, and Mayhem grinned up at him warmly.

“Always the flirt. I keep forgetting how close that is. I know you need access to throw heretics in, but have you ever considered putting up a fence, or at least a signpost, for the sake of everyone else?”

---

“Before I let you go on your way; you’ve been through here often enough on adventuring. Now that we have resources free to make improvements, do you have any suggestions, old friend?” Emmanellain smiled at them earnestly. “Anything that might make the lives of passing adventurers a little more comfortable?”

Mayhem considered their answer, looking around, and then found a wry smile crossing their face. “…I told your brother once, but I don’t think they ever found the budget to do it,” they answered. “There really ought to be some kind of protection around the Witchdrop, don’t you think? Keep people from stumbling into it by mistake? I’ve never seen a feature of the land so prone to sneaking up on people.”

“Ah…” Emmanellain’s ears drooped for a moment as he thought about it. “You know, you are entirely correct. It is a bit of an accident waiting to happen, isn’t it? …I’ll add that to the list of changes.”

[symphcnii]

Lady Aurelliaux

Basic Info:

Name: Madeleine Aurelliaux

Age: 25

Race: Half Ishgardian Elezen, half Midlander Hyur

Gender: Female

Occupation(s): Field chirurgeon (pre-ARR -> HW), travelling healer, volunteer at Rolanberry Field orphanage.

Appearance:

Height: 6′0″

Hair Color: Light blonde

Eye Color: Light blue

Other: Shorter than most Elezen women, with softer features to match.

Backstory:

Born in Ishgard, Madeleine is a daughter of House Aurelliaux - a lesser noble house, though still one of comfortable wealth and respect. Despite this, Madeleine has always been subject to rumours about her heritage - namely that her real mother was a Hyur. Her parents had always denied such rumours - but she had always been noticeably short for an Elezen woman, with softer features than most, and seemed to age faster than the other Elezen children.

The rumours were of course true. Whilst married, her father had an affair with one of the maids - and once her pregnancy began to show, the maid was hidden away. Foolish as the man felt, he could not bring himself to cast her or the unborn child out. His wife was understandably furious upon learning of this, but she was a vain woman, and didn’t wish to give up her station in life. Both agreed that the child would be raised by its mother - but neither had been expecting the maid to die during childbirth, leaving the babe motherless. The father made the decision to raise the child as though she were their legitimate child rather than throw her to the streets, and his wife unhappily played along. Because of this, Madeleine lived a more comfortable childhood than most halfbloods, but was still subjected to harsh treatment from her more prejudiced peers over the rumours of her mixed lineage - as well as from her stepmother.

Despite this, she grew into a kind-hearted and caring girl. She would often visit the Brume and try her best to help make the lowborns' lives a little less miserable. Of course, it meant worsening her already controversial reputation, but she cared little for the opinions of the closed-minded majority of the population. As she grew older, she began taking an interest in healing. She started to dream of becoming one of the Temple Knights' field chirurgeons, that she might explore the world outside of the city walls whilst doing her bit to defend her home and people - and perhaps finally give her parents something to be proud of. It took some convincing, but after securing her father's permission, she began training with the Temple Knights' Hospitaliers, where she flourished into a capable healer and was swiftly sent off to begin working as a chirurgeon in the field.

It didn't take long however for her to become slightly disillusioned with her dream. She couldn't save everyone, nobody could. The weight of the losses began to take its toll, and Madeleine began to wonder if this was really the right path for her. Thankfully however, with the end of the Dragonsong War, the threat of the Dravanian Horde was drastically reduced and her talents were no longer needed in such high demand. With less stress on her mind, she began to regain her passion for healing. She yearned to explore more of the world outside of Coerthas, especially once more travellers from outside began to visit the city. And so, she decided that she would become a travelling healer - to see what the rest of the world had to offer and to meet new people, to learn new methods of healing, and to pursue other interests such as botany and culinarianism on the side.

Since the completion of the new Rolanberry Field orphanage within the Firmament, Madeleine has taken on volunteering there whenever she returns to Ishgard - helping to care for the children and coming by to tell them stories, help with cooking and to donate funding and items.

[alvaar-aldaviir]

First Bite (Vampire AU)

Based from this post. Because I can’t be trusted @ffxiv-writers.

Time Frame: Heavensward. No Spoilers. AU

Notes: A dumb vampire AU where the twins are older and dhampire’s. Vampires are the upper class and respected academics/mages in Sharlayan and so quite respected there, but wary mistrust everywhere else. Dhampire’s do not need blood to survive, but to replenish their magic. Everything else in the story is the same, more of an exploratory ‘what if’ because we ALL know vampires are kinda hot and I have no self control.

Just a self-indulgent bit of writing for that first bite scenario, after a heated battle against the Dravanians in early HW.

Cross posted to Ao3.

   -

“You going to be alright?” Alvaar asked softly, studying the Arcanist still slumped against the side of the bed closer to the fire. He’d done his best to patch the larger holes torn into the long-abandoned cabin in the Coerthas Western Highlands, but even then the blizzard raging outside still blew frigid air through.

He wasn’t overly surprised when he only got a mute nod from the pale Elezen. Alphinaud hadn’t spoken much since he’d collapsed in the snows after a fourth abrupt bout with the Dravanian Horde during their scouting mission. With a barely breathing dhampire in his arms, unfamiliar terrain, and a storm rolling in, Alvaar had been given little choice but to try and hole up somewhere to wait it out. Finishing tacking up one of his spare oil skins over one of the shattered windows for insulation, he hopped down off a chair and moved closer. Tossing a few more logs on the fire and tugging the tipped over long table a bit closer to help reflect more heat into the sheltered alcove he’d made from what surviving furniture remained. It wouldn’t be the most lavish of accommodations, but there was plenty of wood to keep them from freezing to death and they wouldn’t be buried under snow. That would be good enough to get them through.

“Jerky?” he offered, holding the wax paper bag he dug out of his pack in offer. “Otherwise I might have enough stuff on me to cook something,” he continued, finding a seat beside him on the floor.

Still buried under the thick blanket Alvaar had wrapped him up in earlier, Alphinaud shook his head slowly, gaze fixed on some far-off point through the floor.

“You should eat something Alphinaud. And don’t start with a ‘only the blood of the living’ crap I’ve seen you eat scones and tea,” Alvaar chided.

“I eat solid foods yes. But it would be a waste right now. I won’t keep it down,” he murmured.

That made the Bard still before ducking his head to study him with concern. “You sick? You said earlier it was magic depletion. That’s a rest and eat well situation Leveilleur. I can do a broth or something instead?”

Again, he shook his head, seeming a touch more annoyed but breathing out a slow sigh before he winced with discomfort. “I... I’m afraid I didn’t account for this much difficulty in our travels. And in light of recent days and troubles it has been difficult to acquire fresh stock...” he mumbled.

Staring at him for a long moment, Alvaar finally piped in with a flat, “You need blood.”

The dhampire’s ears twitched, a faint flush coloring his face as he ducked his head. “I... I’ll be fine. It will be difficult, but I can make it until we get back to Ishgard. The shipment Urianger was orchestrating must have arrived by now.”

A long moment of silence stretched out between them, Alvaar chewing on another bite of jerky as he mulled it over before washing it down with a swig from his canteen and slapping a hand to the floor.

“Well, people got to eat,” Alvaar offered with a much calmer tone than he really felt. “It’s just a bit of blood, right? Nothing fatal?”

Alphinaud blinked at him in surprise, the first proper look Alvaar had gotten of him and the red of his eyes was a stark shift from the deep blue he was familiar with. It was enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck prickle uncomfortably, but he refused to let it show.

A few stunned moments ticked past before the Arcanist was nodding. “Y-Yes. I mean no, I mean... of course it’s nothing fatal I’m not savage,” he scoffed at last before his expression muted back out with a faint wince.

Alvaar studied him silently, noting the slightly hunched posture and the way the Elezen’s arms were wrapped at his stomach. He seemed almost sick from the Bards point of view, and in some manner he probably was. Alvaar was familiar with the feeling of starving after all, the gnawing almost sickening ache of an overly empty stomach...

“Then I’ll help,” he stated promptly. “Or donate, whatever you want to call it. What do you need me to do? Get a knife? Offer my neck? What?”

Staring at him in puzzled discomfort for a moment the Arcanist sighed heavily. “Nothing so dramatic... in fact I, well, I prefer drinking from a glass honestly that’s how I’ve consumed blood for years,” he mused aloud.

“... Holy shit do you just have fucking wine bottles of blood lying around in your fancy mansion in Sharlayan? Have you ever served it to a non-vampire?” Alvaar asked, tone purposely upbeat to keep them both distracted and given the nervously amused snort that escaped the pale Elezen it must have worked.

“In a fashion, yes I suppose so, and no. We’ve never mixed up the bottles. ... but a knife would be wasteful I think. It would also hurt more, and I would really rather... Just your arm please? If you’re certain...” he murmured, keeping his gaze lowered and obviously embarrassed and uncomfortable.

“Hey, what’s a little blood among friends hm? Sides, it’s better than the alternatives. I’d rather not see any problems today and, well starving sucks,” Alvaar murmured, holding his arm over after slipping it free from his coat and rolling up his sleeve.

The fingers that lightly gripped his wrist were eerily cold, enough to almost make the Bard flinch but he refrained given how guilty Alphinaud already seemed about the whole thing. And it wasn’t a big deal, it would be like a trip to the chirurgeons... just where needles were teeth... apparently...

“It’s been awhile since I’ve done this,” the Arcanist murmured, thumb trailing along the inside of the Bards wrist almost like he was measuring something. Then he was drawing Alvaar’s arm up even as he lowered his head, mouth opening wide and-

‘Have his canines always been that long?’ Alvaar wondered with a start, watching in morbid fascination as elongated canines set to his skin and-

“Ah!” he hissed before he could stop himself, gritting his teeth and still stubbornly staying put by force of will at the burning pinpricks he felt in his arm. The pain only doubled when the Arcanist jerked away abruptly at the sound.

“Sorry! Twelve above, sorry Alvaar I-” he apologized immediately.

“Don’t worry about it, just a reflex. Do what you gotta kid,” Alvaar cut in, lifting his arm a bit for emphasis. “Rude to waste food, right?” he joked.

The glower he got in return made him grin even as his heart was thumping instinctively with fear.

“I meant sorry because I haven’t done this in some time and I’ve sort of forgotten the steps...” the Arcanist grumbled, a faint flush of embarrassment on his face. “Just... don’t judge, it’ll help.”

Alvaar had been about to question it before falling silent at the wet heat of a tongue lapping over the wound. He winced again on reflex, but the sting was already fading to leave only the pleasant warmth of the man’s mouth against his skin.

“Oh... that’s, neat?” he murmured, still morbidly entranced by the whole situation.

Alphinaud made a soft sound, more to let him know he’d heard him than for anything else. Darker eyes flicked to the Bard pointedly as he lifted his head slightly. “Better?”

“Yea. It’s fine.”

“Good. ... Could you... oh, never mind,” he huffed.

“Could I what?” he pressed.

“I was going to ask if you could look away but somehow, I doubt you would,” Alphinaud mumbled sheepishly.

Blinking at him in confusion, the Bard snorted when it clicked. “Don’t bite people much huh?”

It earned a flat scowl. “Not particularly. Were things not so dire I would prefer to just weather it out but... with all of the fighting since we arrived, I’ve depleted my aether reserves. Even half vampires still have slower aetheric recuperation than most every other creature-”

“Not that this isn’t fascinating but maybe explain it once you’re done?” Alvaar cut in pointedly. “Honestly, I think it’s more surprising you’re not just fixated on my blood.”

“I am,” Alphinaud shot back a bit sharper than he meant and quickly looking away. “... It just... helps. To think about other things and not the fact I’m starving. Wouldn’t you pace yourself so you don’t make yourself sick?”

“... Would you get sick?” Alvaar returned, tilting his head a bit in puzzlement.

“I... no, but what could happen would be worse and I would rather it not happen.”

“Lose control you mean,” the Bard continued flatly, taking the faint flush on the other Elezen’s face as a yes. “Listen I won’t hesitate to punch you in the fucking face if you start gnawing up my arm. This buffet ain’t open and it ain’t free.”

“You say while insisting I hurry up and drink...” Alphinaud returned drily.

“And you should before my senses come back to me and I change my mind. That’s my draw arm I’m offering and it’s going to be a pain in the ass firing while injured.”

“You won’t be injured,” the Arcanist returned promptly before setting his teeth back to Alvaar’s arm and this time he barely felt a thing. Well, he felt something distantly, like his arm was locally numb and he registered the pressure, but he could still clearly feel the softness of lips and tongue against his skin and-

It was a little unsettling how those smut novels were rather on point. It was sort of... sensual wasn’t it?

Looking off abruptly, the Bard resolved himself to not think about it. It was just to help a friend. A very annoying prat of a friend that also happened to be a half vampire or dhampire or... whatever it was. Certainly nothing to get this bothered over. Unless…

“... Wait, there isn’t some passive enchantment shit is there?” he asked, looking back at the snowy haired Elezen. Who wasn’t listening and seemed rather intent on the whole blood thing now...

Shite.

“Hey. There isn’t some mind control shit in all this right?” he asked again, louder and tapping Alphinaud’s shoulder as he tried not to panic.

Thankfully, it got his attention, pulling away with a parting lick and wavering sigh. “Beg pardon?” he asked, blue eyes back to normal but dark and vibrant and honestly if Alvaar needed to find words to describe the soft breathy way he spoke and look he was giving it would be something akin to ‘hour two of marathon sex.’ The urge to ask if he wanted a cigarette almost overrode any sense of propriety.

His question dropped off his mind as he noted the clarity of his own thoughts against the warm and almost sleepy look of the dhampire sitting next to him. If anyone here was charmed it wasn’t himself… And hadn’t Minfillia mentioned something about the Echo protecting his mind from outside intrusion in the past? … Damnit. He wasn’t supposed to be the one panicking here.

“You okay?” he asked carefully after shaking himself free from the thoughts.

“Fine. Perfectly fine,” Alphinaud replied, finally seeming to settle fully into the present and glancing down to where his fingers were still curled around the Bards wrist before lowering a hand to his tome. The healing spell was faint, but still as quiet and warm as the times before as it sealed the two pinpricks of blood before he let go and shifted away a few feet. “Thank you, um, yes, sorry for that and not to be rude but please stay over there for a few minutes.”

“Okay,” Alvaar murmured slowly. “But you’re fine?”

“Absolutely.”

“And you’re not going to savage me...”

“Of course not.”

“So...?” Alvaar pressed after a few moments.

“.... What?” Alphinaud asked, giving him a wary look.

“I don’t get a critique on the vintage?” he joked.

 “Alvaar don’t ask that...”

“Why not?”

“Because I really don’t enjoy hurting people contrary to public opinion of my kind and it’s a little hard to remember it when you taste that good,” he returned flatly before pausing, another faint flush coloring his face before he was hugging his knees to his chest in a sulk.

“.... You know I thought I would be... So, is it more like trying to pin down a liquid flavor or a solid flavor?” Alvaar continued anyway.

“We are not having this conversation Aldaviir.”

“I see how it is. Here I am, putting myself out on the line and-”

“Alvaar.” It’s said firmly but there was a touch of anxiety underneath, a note the Bard doesn’t miss in part because it’s reflected in the nervous gaze he’s getting. The glitter of ocean blue over the top of his knees where he’s still hunched over, arms wrapped around his legs and making himself as small as possible.

It’s not the first time he notices how naive and inexperienced the dhampire can be, but it is the first time he thinks perhaps the Arcanist may be more concerned over what makes him different than Alvaar ever was.

He blinks, meeting that worried gaze for a long moment before glancing away to study the fire instead. “You’re right, I shouldn’t tease you. I’m sorry that was out of line.” The quiet crackles of the fire and howling winds outside are the only thing to fill the minutes of silence that stretch between them.

“... How do you make jokes about it?”

The whispered question almost doesn’t reach Alvaar’s ears, but it does and he gives the Arcanist a puzzled look anyway.

“The people of Eorzea... They fear my kind. They only begrudgingly accepted any help from my Grandfather because the situation was so desperate, and they didn’t know what he was. Surely they might suspect it but they would never ask. The only ones here aside from the Scions that know what I am is you...” he murmured, carrying on when Alvaar remained quiet. “When my sister and I first arrived, we came across a caravan being overrun by bandits. The situation was so bleak, and the night was so dark, we had little choice but to use our powers to help them.”

Voice trailing off, the Arcanist buried himself a bit further into the blanket he’d been given. “They screamed. They called us monsters. When everything was over, they tried to kill us too. Alisaie said she wasn’t surprised. The ignorance of Eorzeans has always been a problem she said. But... I started to understand why.

“We don’t think of it much in Sharlayan, where vampires are accepted parts of society. Mortals donate blood freely and it’s preserved and kept openly. Many of the great advancements in aetherology have been made with mortal and vampire scholars working together. There’s no reason to be afraid of vampires because it’s taught to us from the day we’re born not to hurt others. Why would we have to take what’s freely given? We give back our achievements and research freely in exchange. We fight and work together. It’s a cardinal sin to turn someone into a vampire, or to willfully harm someone. Punishable by death or exile at the very least, a sentence that may as well mean death. But the people of Eorzea don’t see that. They only see us as monsters... as something approaching voidsent... So why don’t you? Why aren’t you afraid?”

Studying him quietly for a moment Alvaar pushed himself closer. Pausing briefly when Alphinaud tensed before carefully looping an arm around the Arcanist’s shoulders and pulling him into his side. Settling his cheek against soft white hair he blew out a faint sigh.

“You’re not a monster Alphi, you’re my friend. I made a promise to you and Tataru both when we fled to Coerthas. That I would keep you safe and protect you. I don’t make those sorts of promises to people I don’t trust and care about. What you are doesn’t change who you are right? As far as I’m concerned, you’re just a friend with some interesting dietary needs.”

Blinking at nothing in particular, the dhampire made a slight annoyed face Alvaar couldn’t see but could hear. “It’s vaguely insulting to hear you distill my troubles down to something so base.”

Alvaar gave a soft snort of amusement. “Sorry. Not my intent. It’s just... not a big deal to me personally Alphi. The world at large has its reasons, and I’ll admit I was wary at first but we’re really not that different. Sides, whatever you took I feel fine so it doesn’t seem that big a deal to me.”

“Your blood is... unusually aether rich,” Alphinaud commented after a moment. “It wouldn’t take very much.”

“No shit? Well, I barely cast magic anyway, so I guess that’s fortunate for next time,” Alvaar returned easily.

“Next time?” The incredulous look on the Arcanist’s face had the Bard trying extremely hard not to laugh.

“Yea next time. There always ends up being a next time for this sort of stuff. Gods, read a book Leveilleur,” Alvaar joked, pulling away enough to steal part of the blanket and readjust it over both their shoulders.

“What sort of books are you reading where there’s an invariable need to take blood from someone ‘next time?’” he persisted, frowning as he was once again pulled into the Bard’s side.

Ruffling fluffy white strands absently, Alvaar stretched out a bit, crossing one boot over the other and settling back against the broken bed frame. Leaning his cheek against Alphinaud’s head, he gave a faint squeeze of the arm around him. “Come on, quit fussing and get some sleep.”

“That’s not you answering my question Alvaar,” he complained.

“I have my sources. Now hush, we should get some sleep while we can.”

The Arcanist blew out an irritated breath but didn’t argue it further. Though he did make a reasonable effort by the way he shifted and the several bothered huffs he made as he got comfortable of letting Alvaar know he was beyond annoyed. It just made the Bard chuckle in amusement, again ruffling soft strands gently before closing his eyes and slipping into the easy light sleep that was waiting to claim him faster than usual.

It made him miss when the Arcanist finally eased into his side, shifting a bit closer into the Bard’s warmth before falling into a quiet sleep himself.

[catradora-au-headcanons-blog]

Soccer AU!!

I don’t know anything about sports btw, correct me if I get something wrong pls. Something before I get started on hw

They’re only there because Entrapta wanted to come support her girlfriend

And invited Bow

And Bow invited Glimmer

Okay, less invited. More like guilt tripped with those puppy dog eyes.

Glimmer swears one day she’ll learn to resist them (never)

Scorpia is goalie for the Horde club team

As soon as they walk to the bleachers lining the field they spot her by the bench reserved for the players.

She’s hard to miss being as tall as she is

Entrapta jumps, yelling Scorpia’s name and is waving so agressively Glimmer has to lean to the side to avoid being smacked by a purple pigtail.

Scorpia waves back just as enthusiastically

she’s talking to a shorter tan girl with messy hair tied in a red bandana who rolls her eyes at them

They surprisingly manage to find seats fairly close to the the front despite the game about to start

Glimmers not interested

It’s hot, there’s people everywhere, and all she wants is to curl up and put on some good movies

Entrapta and Bow are INVESTED

She doesn’t even know what team they’re even playing.

They’re pretty good tho judging by the pouts on both cheerleaders’ faces

It’s kinda hard to focus on her phone screen with the power of those pouts

“It’s number 9! She’s soooo good! But we don’t like her! Right? Right!”

“Yeah! C’mon Scorpia! Don’t let her get another goal!”

Glimmer snorts remembering a particular movie she’s been dying to rewatch again.

She doesn’t even look up from her phone

“Call her a wanker.”

“what? who?”

“Number nine. Call her a wanker.”

Maybe it’s the heat but Glimmer is feeling that “fight me” mood

“Glimmer, I cant do that! What if she’s nice?”

She puts her phone away

“C’mon Bow! She’s making our girl Scorp look bad. It’s easy, here, like this!”

Before she can’t stop herself glimmer is standing up on her seat and cupping her hands over her mouth.

Deep breath. From the diaphragm

“YOU’RE .A .WANKER .NUMBER .NINEEEE!!!!!!!!”

It echos, the lively jeering crowd goes silent

They all turn to the source

Glimmer is in the midst of realizing what she just did when she catches sight of one of the players stopping mid run

It’s number nine in her white and gold Brightmoon jersey

Glimmers first thought is

Oh no she’s hot!!!

She glances, blue eyes, blonde hair, amazing legs, and THAT FACE!

Oh no she’s REALLY hot! Someone pls kill me!

The girl on the field seems to take a moment to process what she’s seeing

Then she shakes her head and looks back up grinning

And

Then

She

Fucking

WINKS

Glimmer is too gay for this

The girl is running back into the fray as glimmer slides down the bench, flustered

Bow pats her shoulder wordlessly

The game goes on

The good news is that the Horde manages a win after Brightmoon stops scoring

Glimmer refuses to believe it’s because number nine spends the rest of the game shooting her glances and blinding smiles

I need to watch Imagine Me and You again haha

[irithnova]

Consolidating my thoughts on the Golden Horde

Warning: This is an extremely long post (7000 words)

I've been wanting to tackle this part of the Golden Horde for a while now but the definitions of certain things bogged me down and I just didn't have the time until now (Christmas break yay) to really delve into it.

Words that are referring to the same wing of the Horde:

Right Wing/Western Wing/Golden Horde/Batuid wing/Batuids/White Horde (born to Mongolia in 1220. The OG)

Left Wing/Eastern Wing/Ordaid Wing/Ordaids/Blue Horde (born in the 1280's. A "branch" off of the OG Golden Horde)

I refer to the fusion between them later on as only "Golden Horde"

In this post I am going to be talking about the two wings of the Golden Horde. The Golden Horde was never originally called the Golden Horde, it was rather referred to as the "Ulus of Jochi" meaning Kingdom/domain of Jochi. This was because Jochi was Genghis Khan's eldest son, and before Genghis Khan died, he split his empire between his sons, electing Ogedei, the 3rd oldest, to rule as the great Khan over all of them. It is claimed that Genghis was pressured to organise his empire between his sons before the invasion of Khwarezmian empire in 1219 by Empress Yisui. The Secret History of the Mongols state that he elected Ogedei to be his heir and historians such as Christopher P Attwood agree that Ogedei was chosen as the heir in 1219, "According to the Secret History of the Mongols, Chinggis Khan passed over both Jochi and Cha'adai (Chagatai) and chose Ogedei as his successor in 1219" (Encyclopedia of the Mongol Empire, Christopher P Attwood). This is probably due to the fact that Genghis knew his time on earth was limited now that he was older, and this is around the time the whole "Genghis Khan trying to find the elixir of life" spiel took place. This is why I made Golden Horde/Chagatai Khanate and even Ilkhanate be born around this time. I have more detail here in my previous post about them.

Note: I'll also be referring to OG Golden Horde as "Ulus of Jochi" throughout this post, just so there's no confusion as to who I am talking about.

For a lot of my posts I've referred to the Golden Horde as the Golden Horde for simplicity's sake (also because it's the most well known name for him) however as stated previously, it was not originally called the Golden Horde by the rulers of the Horde. It was a later name given to the Horde. There were two wings of the overall (Golden) Horde. The Western wing (right wing) and Eastern Wing (left wing). These wings were also given colours, the White Horde and Blue Horde. However what Horde was what colour is widely debated amongst historians because historical records on which was which often contradict each other. Some historians like Marie Favereau and Christopher Attwood have argued for the idea that the Western Wing was the White Horde and the Eastern Wing was the Blue Horde. However, for my post, I really would like to emphasise not emphasising the "Blue/White" delineations as the be all end all of what Horde was which as we pretty much know that there was an Eastern and Western Wing, who ruled these wings, and how things played out. 

I know on popular sites like Wikipedia, it's shown in the reverse order, and the blue horde is the West wing instead of the East wing, and the white horde is the East wing instead of the West Wing. I'm just going to go with what Marie Favereau and Christopher Attwood are saying as they've been two of my main sources for this post.

So back to the purpose of the post which is explaining how the two wings of the Horde played out with the character of the Golden Horde. As I said before, I made Ulus of Jochi be born in 1220, one year after Genghis made a decision on how his empire would be divided between his sons. Ulus of Jochi was the representation of future Jochid lands. However, Jochi died unexpectedly around 6 months before Genghis Khan did, which meant that he never had the chance to rule these lands himself. This opportunity was given to his sons, Batu and Orda. Batu initially administered the Western Wing (or White Horde or Right Wing) of the Horde and Orda administered the Eastern Wing (or Blue Horde or Left Wing).

Golden Horde as we know him was initially supposed to be the representative of the future Jochid lands (hence why he is also called Ulus of Jochi). In fact, as Christopher Attwood states "The Golden Horde, originally the Ulus... of Jochi, emerged as a separate entity earlier than any other of the successor states of the Mongol Empire."  However these lands were split between Batu and Orda as Jochi died before Genghis Khan did. There was also the more obscure Shaybanid/Grey Horde, ruled by the descendants of Shiban, who was Jochi's fifth son. The Grey Horde acknowledged the superiority of Batu and Orda's hordes until the mid 14th century. 

Between the two superior hordes - Batu and Orda's, Batu of the Western Wing was considered the overall leader of the whole Horde, and even after Batu's death, the Ordaid lineage continued to recognise the supremacy of the Batuid lineage. This is despite the fact that Batu was younger than Orda. Mongol succession culture was ultimogeniture, meaning that the youngest sons were the ones who had succession privilege rather than the oldest sons. This was not an unusual choice. 

Orda was selected to administer the Eastern part of the Ulus of Jochi which would then become the "Blue Horde", however despite this he acknowledged that his younger brother, Batu, was the ruler of the whole of the Ulus of Jochi. Both hordes were harmonious with one another (as in,  the Eastern Wing was subordinate to the Western Wing and they did not step on each other's toes), with the Eastern Ordaid Wing acknowledging the supremacy of the Western Batuid Wing. Some may try to argue that both Wings had completely different interests almost from the get go, and imply that they pursued their own interests at the cost of the other. This is not the case. As Mary F. says in her book "The Horde", "For many years, these primary hordes were at peace with each other and ran the Ulus of Jochi in concert". 

There is one instance however where it seemed like both Hordes had differing interests, and this was with the ascension of Guyuk Khan as the Great Khan. Batu, leader of the Western Wing, wanted nothing to do with it, and did not show up to the coronation, instead choosing to continue to focus on expanding the Ulus of Jochi. Orda on the other hand, not only attended it, but actively helped in making sure it ran smoothly by aiding Guyuk in tracking down and executing his attempted usurpers. Keep this event in mind as I'll talk about this further down and how it relates to Ulus of Jochi balancing himself between the Hordes of Batu and Orda.

Because I see "Golden Horde" as embodying/being the Ulus of Jochi (as the reason of his existence was that he was the personification of future Jochid lands), I don't make a distinction between Orda and Batu's hordes by creating two separate Horde personifications until the the years after the 1260's with the death of Berke Khan and the breaking away from the greater Mongol Empire. Why I chose this date will be explained thoroughly throughout this post.

So how do I think Ulus of Jochi/Golden horde coped with initially being administered between Orda and Batu? I don't think it was a difficult feat, however I think for the most part, Ulus of Jochi was more involved in Batuid Western Wing/Right Wing affairs due to the foreign policy being expansionist, and relied on the Ordaid Eastern Wing/Left Wing for diplomacy (normalfacing) and trade. This is because, where the Eastern Wing was situated, if it adopted an expansionist foreign policy like the Western Wing, the only neighbours it would be able to expand into would be other Mongol Khanates (this is unlike the Chagatai Khanate who never really cared about that) and that would cause unnecessary trouble (the Eastern Wing was mostly peaceful, in comparison to the Western Wing). 

In addition, as talked about previously, it was Batu who was considered the overall leader of the Ulus of Jochi, and the Ordaid lineage acknowledged the supremacy of the Batuid lineage for many years (due to the fact that Batu was 1) Considered the overall leader 2) It was the Batuids who focussed mainly on expanding the Horde). Once it was revealed to Genghis that Jochi died, "Chinggis designated a new heir to the Ulus of his eldest; Jochi's son Batu would take over" (Marie F. The Horde), it was Genghis himself who gave his blessing for Batu to take over, and Orda had no problem with this. 

I headcanon that until the death of Berke Khan (of the Golden Horde) and the breaking away from the greater Mongol Empire in the latter half of the 13th century, who we know as Golden Horde (original son born to Mongolia) was the personification of the overall Ulus of Jochi. Once Berke died, the Ulus of Jochi gave rise to 3 main hordes and this was the beginning of the Hordes having more independence from one another, hence why I chose the date of Berke Khan's death as one of the foundations that gave rise to the Ulus of Jochi dividing into separate personifications. "After Berke's death, three hordes rose to dominate the Ulus of Jochi" (Marie F. The Horde).  Who we know as Golden Horde was aligned with the Western lands of the Horde alongside the Batuids who were considered the supreme rulers of the horde. 

The new personification for the Eastern Horde/Left wing materialised itself in the years after Berke Khan died and during the period in which the Horde became more independent from the greater empire. The personification of this Horde respected the supremacy of the Batuid Horde/Left Wing (Golden Horde) and all the hordes worked together and "were at peace with each other and ran the ulus of Jochi in concert" (Marie F. The Horde).

Until then however, I see who we know as the Golden Horde as the personification of the whole of the Ulus of Jochi, including the Hordes that were within the Ulus. Golden Horde was still the Ulus of Jochi even when the blue Horde/Left Wing had its own personification materialise. This is somewhat similar to what happened with his father:

Mongolia was the original personification of the whole of the Mongol Empire, he has children that are born as (initially) representations of the divided sections of the overall empire but were still one with/loyal to the Great Khan and Mongolia and Mongolia continues /as the official representative of the Mongol Empire and is aligned with the lineage of the Great Khan. These Children then eventually go their own ways/infighting occurs.

Golden Horde was born as the future/original representation of the Ulus of Jochi. Jochi unexpectedly dies and his Ulus is ruled by two of his sons and split into two wings, with Batu and the Batuid lineage being the supreme rulers of the Ulus of Jochi, appointed by Genghis himself. The Ulus of Jochi's three Hordes become more distinct in the years after Berke's death and new personifications arise. Golden Horde is aligned with the Jochid/Batuid Ulus in the West, the other two Hordes (Ordaid and Nogay Horde) acknowledge his supremacy and he is still considered the overall personification of the Ulus of Jochi by the other two Hordes. These Hordes then go on to start fighting with each other at some point. 

Here is a really badly pictured map here which sets out what the Horde looked like from the 1270s. 

Note how the Western/Batuid Wing/White horde is called "Horde of the Jochid Khan '' thereby signifying its supremacy over the other Hordes (yes that is my nail sorry).

Elaborating on why I chose the years after Berke's death to give rise to the Ordaid and Nogay Horde personifications is not only because the hordes became more distinct at this point but this was also the period when the Ulus of Jochi broke away from the greater Mongol Empire (1260s) and ruled itself with pretty much it's own autonomy. 

Once that happened, it allowed for greater autonomy within the Horde, thus, allowing for these new personifications to emerge alongside the OG Ulus of Jochi. I see Berke's rule as the foundation for the other personifications within the Horde to manifest themselves because Berke's rule was the foundation of the Ulus of Jochi becoming independent of the greater Mongol Empire/Great Khan. Berke was the first ruler of the Horde that was elected without the approval of the Great Khan - he was "installed exclusively by Jochid begs" (Marie F. The Horde). Further, when Berke died in 1267, a quriltai (political meeting) was conducted to elect a new Khan. As Berke did not have an heir, this was used as a chance to finally solidify the line of Batu as the supreme/legitimate rulers of the Ulus of Jochi. 

I'll be a bit less vague here and give the approximate date of when I believe the Left Wing had its own personification materialise. I think that the aforementioned reasons were the foundations of the Left Wing having its own personification, and that the Left Wing's personification appeared in the late 1270's/1280 when Qonichi Khan came to rule it. This was because under Qonichi, the Left Wing/Ordaid Wing truly began to become more distinct from the Right/Batuid Wing (Golden Horde). This did not mean that they fought between each other - as mentioned before, the different divisions of the Ulus of Jochi generally worked together pretty well for many years. 

However it was this time period in which the Left Wing started to distinguish itself even more from the Right Wing "During these years [Qonichi's reign], Orda's ulus became independent from Batu's ulus" (The Golden Horde in World History Sh. Marjani Institute of History of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences). Representatives of Orda's family discontinued the previously agreed vassal relationship with Sarai (Capital of the Golden Horde) and Karakorum (Capital of the Mongol Empire before it was moved to Beijing). According to Rash al-Din, they considered their ruler to be the deputy of Batu, however members of Orda's family did not often go to the Khan's of Batu's family, as they were far apart and ruled independently in their own territories, "...to consider their sovereign and ruler the person who is the deputy of Batu, and their names are written at the top of the labels" but, "from the very beginning there was no case that some member of Orda's family, who took his place, went to the Khans of Batu's family, as they are distant from each other and independent sovereigns of their uluses."

The personality of this Left Wing personification? I somewhat fashion it after Qonichi Khan himself. Qonichi's reign was largely peaceful. Marco Polo himself noted "The Tsar (Qonichi) has a lot of people, but he fights no one and peacefully rules his Kingdom." So in general he was a pretty chill and outgoing guy with a love for food. It's quite funny contrasting his personality with the Right Wing who's always been a bit of an aloof edgelord.

Berke's rapid expansion of Jochid independence was not all good for the Golden Horde though when it came to relations with his family, though, I don't think he cared much about if his family were happy with him or not. First let's start with the worsening relationship with the Ilkhanate. The relationship was already pretty bad from the get go (Mongolia giving more attention to Ilkhanate as a child) however once the Ilkhanate was officially installed, Hulegu (first Khan of the Ilkhanate) was essentially hogging all the power south of the Caucasus and not only that, was hogging his wealth. He was not sending the previously agreed portioned amount of booty to Berke Khan. Not only that but he executed Jochid princes who partook in the destruction of the Caliphate, most notably Quli, under suspicion of sorcery. Ilkhanate was pretty much being a spoiled, petulant brat and was absolutely not sharing with his older brother who he detested so much. 

Berke had had enough of this and expressed his rage at Hulegu for sacking Baghdad (Berke was Muslim). Whether Golden Horde really cared about that didn't matter, he hated Ilkhanate and Berke's rage was his ticket to attacking him. He allied with the Sultan Baybars of Mamluk Egypt, allying with a non Mongol group to attack his own brother in 1262.

Further, Golden Horde becoming more ballsy with Berke around meant that the Jochid retainers alongside the Muslim elite in Bukhara tried to declare Berke sovereign there. This led to Alghu Khan of the Chagatai Khanate to destroy the Jochid's Bukhara appanage and then invade their territory in Khorazam and Otrar. 

With Berke being the first Jochid Khan elected exclusively by Jochid begs therefore creating a new succession culture independent of the Great Khan, breaking away from the Great Khan/greater Mongol Empire, and the line of Batu being solidified as the supreme rulers of the Ulus (therefore Golden Horde would have aligned with the Batuids similar to how Mongolia aligned himself with the Great Khans), this eventually gave rise to the 3 hordes of the Jochi Ulus having their own distinct personifications during this era, with Golden Horde being the overall personification of the Jochi Ulus as 1) That's why he was born 2) Aligned with the Batuid lineage, Batu being chosen to rule the Ulus by Genghis Khan himself.

I've mentioned previously a time where it could be argued that the two hordes had different interests, therefore the Hordes should have distinct personifications earlier - the ascension of Guyuk as the Great Khan. Batu wanted nothing to do with it, however Orda actively participated in it to the point where he helped Guyuk dispose of those who wanted to usurp him. This however did not halt the cohesion/harmony between the two hordes. Orda still continued to acknowledge the supremacy of his brother's rule and the supremacy of Batuid rule was acknowledged even after the deaths of both brothers. I mentioned before how Ulus of Jochi/Golden Horde relied on the Ordaid Wing for normalfacing/diplomacy. 

I believe he continued to do this even when the Ordaid Wing got its own personification, but instead he was being relayed the tea by the Ordaid personification through letters and sometimes meetings (remember the quote from Rash al-Din, they were quite distant from one another) rather than being told by the Khans or the elite of the Ordaid Wing . I see this as sort of a funny situation. Golden Horde essentially wanted to put his middle finger up at his father by staying with Batu and not attending the coronation of Guyuk, but at the same time used Orda's attendance and aid during the coronation to maintain a somewhat stable relationship but to also let him in on the goings on with the rest of his family without unnecessarily directly involving himself (because he hates them-). 

So yeah. Even before the Ordaid Wing personification emerged in the 1280's, Golden Horde was using the Ordaid wing for diplomacy, trade, and to spy on his own family lol. The Ordaids were used to represent the Jochids during quriltais, and aligned their politics to those of the Batuids and came together to make political and military decisions. The Ordaids kept okay relations with the Great Khan/Yuan whilst the Batuids remained frosty (the spying). Rashid Al Din noted how the Ordaids "ruled their Ulus with autonomy" however still acknowledged that they "recognise Batu's successors and write their names at the top of their decrees". 

I love drawing parallels between Mongolia and the Golden Horde with this. Like Mongolia, Golden Horde created his own unique succession culture, and his Ulus was also divided and gave rise to new personifications within the Ulus. However Golden Horde was at this point in belief that he had usurped his father/had become better than him. Not only has he managed to carve out success for himself and create his own unique succession culture, but he had other personifications within him who were extremely obedient to him and acknowledged his supremacy over them with no problem. Unlike Mongolia, who's own children got tired of him pretty quickly, Golden Horde's branches were almost devoutly loyal to him, and were loyal to him for far longer than Mongolia's children ever were. I don't think I'd say they were exactly his children but I'll say they were his branches for now.

Whilst Mongolia had a separate relationship with his children because he was too busy doing his own things and only realised too late that maybe he should have been more present and it was to his detriment, Golden Horde also had a somewhat "separate" relationship from his branches but did this purposefully and for his own benefit. The Batuid Wing was both separate and intertwined with the Ordaid Wing. The Batuids (who Golden Horde aligned himself with) kept out of internal politics of the Ordaids, and never appointed a Khan for the Ordaids. However, as mentioned before, both wings came together to make joint political and military decisions. 

Whereas his father failed to maintain a harmonious - let alone good relationship with most of his sons (I mean can we really say he had a "good" relationship with Ilkhanate..."), Golden Horde found a perfect balance. He was not even half his father's age and he's already overtaken him in these aspects, which did not help with his superiority complex.

Mongolia did not appreciate Golden Horde's frosty attitude with him and found negotiating with the Ordaid Wing personification awkward. The Ordaid Wing personification emerged after the fallout of the Golden Horde and the rest of the empire and so he was unfamiliar with him personally and was unsure how to deal with him, unlike Golden Horde who he knew better because he was "born" to him. Even if the Ordaid Wing was a member of Mongolia's family, Mongolia did not like the loss of control (?) with the fact that he did not raise him personally (if you can call what Mongolia did raising) and so felt like the relationship between them was artificial.  His (usually) diplomatic nature and friendly tone just reeked fake to him (even if the Ordaid Wing was being genuine at times) and if not fake then it creeped him out but he couldn't quite put his finger on why. 

What Mongolia did not further appreciate was the Golden Horde seemingly wanting to be frosty with him but at the same time, as he would put it, meddle with his affairs. Ogedei Khan during his reign allowed the Jochids certain rights in the Middle East such as "the right to nominate the governors from their own retainers, the right to receive first tribute from the client Kings, and the right to a fifth share of all war booty" (Christopher P. Attwood Encyclopedia of the Mongol Empire). However once Guyuk Khan came into power, this changed. 

Not only did the Jochids lose their rights in the Middle East, earlier on, Guyuk publicly ridiculed Batu by laughing about his apparent lack of skill on the battlefield/reputation as a coward. Batu later got revenge when he skilfully planned the ascension of Mongke Khan to the throne as Great Khan - a Toluid, rather than continuing on with the House of Ogedei. This was due to the fact that "Batu invoked his authority of Senior Prince of Chinggis Khan's descendant.  He had decided to replace the house of Ogedei... the House of Tolui would rule the Empire" (Diane Wolff, Batu Khan of the Golden Horde).

The Ordaid Wing was very much in tune with what the Batuid Wing (Golden Horde) wanted. The amount of time that they remained in a mostly harmonious relationship with each other is quite impressive considering what usually happens when different divisions are created within empires. Golden Horde (Batuid Wing) inspired leadership and trust with the Ordaid/Left Wing and both were perfectly separate and intertwined at the same time.

The Ordaid Left Wing personification was a (usually) calm and sometimes overly friendly individual who was fiercely loyal to the Batuid Ring Wing (Golden Horde/Ulus of Jochi) and acknowledged/accepted his supremacy over him/the whole Horde and the fact that he was the rightful spearhead of the Horde with no hesitation, however both Horde's were in many respects independent from one another too. This reflects the relationship between the brothers Batu and Orda. 

I talked about how the Left/Eastern Wing became more independent from the Right/Western Wing during the reign of Qonichi and the various justifications I have for making him materialise around this period. But what happened after Qonichi died? What happened to the Horde in the 14th century onwards?

Once Qonichi died in 1302, all hell broke loose in the Eastern Wing. Civil wars broke out and it was split into different parts. Some of the contenders for the title of the Khan of the Left Wing was Bayan (Qonichi's eldest son and heir), Makuday (Qonichi's fourth and youngest son), Kubluk (Timur-Baka's son from a different branch of Ordaids, and Kushtay, who was the son of Kubluk. Rash al-Din's words indicated that Bayan was the true heir of the Left Wing, and he said that Bayan "was responsible for the bigger part of Orda's ulus). 

However this meant another contender, Kubluk, was also ruling a part of the Left Wing/Orda's ulus, albeit a smaller section. However this smaller section included the military, which itself broke away from Bayan. In addition, Kubluk was receiving support from Kaidu and Duwa, so despite the amount of fighting that Bayan participated in against them, he eventually stood defeated and had to flee to the Left Wing/Western Wing of the Horde to Toqta -- where the Batuids ruled. 

The reason why Qaidu sponsored the rebels that went against Bayan is because Qonichi himself went against Qaidu to establish friendly relations with the Yuan and Ilkhanate, so Qaidu wanted to get back at him for doing so by supporting the rebels that wanted to go against his son and rightful heir. Before 1284 when Qonichi came to rule, "Orda's successors followed the policy set by the rulers of the Golden Horde as a whole, supporting first Ariq-Boke and then Qaidu against Khublai Khan."

Bayan did attempt to seek help from Temur Khan of the Yuan (Mongolia) to defeat Kaidu and the Chagatai Khanate. However nothing came of it due to the distance between them (and in hetalia terms I'd mean that figuratively too. Remember, I said that Mongolia did not warm up to the Eastern Wing personification and was wary of dealing with him because he was not born to him like Golden Horde was, despite the fact that politics wise their relationship was fairly friendly).

It was during this period that the Right Wing of the Horde almost re-established its supremacy over the Left Wing, and the Left Wing was reminded of its dependance on the Right Wing. The Right Wing eventually helped Bayan in consolidating his rule over the Ordaid Wing, Toqta of the Batuid wing sent an army to aid Bayan in his struggle for power, "Toqta (of the Right Wing) came to his aid with a myriad bloodthirsty army and prevailed. Mumkiya fled, and his father's place was confirmed for Bayan." (Abu'l Qasim al-Kashani).

So what were the dynamics between Golden Horde and the Eastern Wing during all of this? Golden Horde certainly was not impressed by the rapid fallout of the Eastern Horde once Qonichi died, and he was definitely not happy with the fact that the recognition of his supremacy over the Eastern Horde seemed to be waning due to these internal conflicts, and that the Eastern Horde was being ruled by now someone who he considered not the rightful heir. Further, he was enraged that the Eastern Horde's inability to control itself lead to Kaidu(de facto leader of the Chagatai Khanate)/Duwa(Khan of the Chagatai Khanate)/Chagatai Khanate into meddling with internal Jochid affairs, as Kaidu was sending aid to Kubluk in order to use his help in order to fight against the Ilkhanate. As I've talked about before, Golden Horde has had a deep hatred of Chagatai Khanate since they were young. Toqta of the Golden Horde was enraged at the situation himself, and warned Kaidu to not give help to Kubluk/the rebels. In short, Golden Horde was angry. 

Qonichi, as mentioned previously, went against the previously established agreement that included the Western Horde to ally with Kaidu against Khublai/the Yuan/Mongolia. In fact, ultimately both Tode Mongke (of the Golden Horde) and Qonichi made peace with the Yuan in the 1280s and returned Numugan, Khublai's heir, from captivity.  When Qonichi died and Kaidu sponsored his heirs (Bayan) rebels, Chagatai Khanate thought that it was justified as Qonichi went against their previous alliance that was established in 1269 by Mengu-Temur (of the Golden Horde) in order to be friendly with the Ilkhanate and Yuan.

Once the Golden Horde aided Bayan in securing his rightful reign as the Khan of the Eastern Horde in the early 14th century, the Eastern Horde forever acknowledged his dependence on the Golden Horde. 

"The most likely explanation for the less of their (Left Wing) autonomy is that the descendants of Bayan, faced with continuing internal and external threats to their power, were forced to turn to Oz Beg (Right Wing) for help and protection and the payment, which was demanded by their patron for support, was the unprecedented subordination Left hand princes to the Right hand princes."

After this debacle, Golden Horde and the Eastern Horde became ever closer. Eastern Horde was already fiercely loyal to Golden Horde but this took it to a new level. Natanzi recorded that Bayan's heir, Sasi-Buka "followed the path of obedience and submission... and in all that time he never took a step off the path of service to Tugrul Khan (of the Nogay Horde) and Oz Beg Khan (Golden Horde) and never contradicted or refused Quriltai".

Now let's talk about the era of political turbulence during the 1360's. The seed of this discord was planted with the assassintation of Tini Beg of the Golden Horde. Tini Beg came into power once Ozbeg Khan died in 1341, however this did not last long. Before he ascended to becoming Khan though, his younger brother, Jani Beg, served as regent. Prior to ascending to Khan of the Western Horde, he was the governor of the Eastern Horde. His mother, Taydula, ordered for him to be killed once she heard news of him returning to court in 1342 out of fear of Jani Beg's life. Jani Beg subsequently ascended as Khan of the Golden Horde. 

It was with Jani Beg's own assassination in 1357 though, which eventually opened up the Horde to a period of political turbulence (called "the great troubles") His son Berdi Beg succeeded him. Berdi Beg took it upon himself to kill many of his closest kinsmen, and by doing so he (most likely) ended the Batuid lineage upon his own death,he himself being killed by his own brother, Qulpa, in 1359. 

Seeing all of this commotion in the West, princes of the Eastern Horde took this as an opportunity to seize power, "first in Saray (Capital of the Golden Horde) and then in Bulghar" (encyclopedia of the Mongol Empire, Christopher P. Attwood). Mamai, of the Western Wing, became a defacto ruler/kingmaker. He could never be Khan himself because he was not of Chinggisid descent. A lot happened during the great troubles, and the black death did not help because it hit both Hordes pretty hard. Further, the disintegration of the Ilkhanate and Yuan dynasty was to their detriment. Which is funny when you consider that "the demise of the Ilkhanids was supposed to be the Horde's crowning victory - the realisation of its moral right to vengeance and an opportunity to solidify the supremacy of the Northern Road." However with the Ilkhanids gone, this meant that the Jochids now had to deal with "smaller, unreliable neighbours" who weren't the "strong challenger[s] who played by the rules" from before (The Horde, Marie Favereau).

It was ultimately Toqtamysh, who was originally from the Eastern Horde, who consolidated the Horde into one polarity . Toqtamysh, however, was not of Batuid or Ordaid descent. He was not the first to become Khan who was not from either of these lineages though. The first was Qara-Nogay (also of the Eastern Horde), whose lineage was traced back to Toqa-Temur, Jochi's youngest son. This happened during the time after Berdi Beg of the Western Horde died and the Western Horde cycled through a huge number of "rulers". The Eastern Horde quickly chose Qara-Nogay after their Ordaid Khan died. Urus Khan, his cousin, took his place, and was particularly bloodthirsty. He murdered a chieftan by the name of Toy Khoja, who was also a contender for the position of Khan. 

Then comes Toqtamysh, who was Toy Khoja's son. He wanted revenge and so he sought it out with the help of Tamerlane/Timur of the Timurid Empire. In around 1378, he declared ultimate victory over Urus, and declared himself the Khan of the Jochi Ulus. Urus was later killed when he sought refuge in Caffa in 1380/81, when he was killed by the Genoese so they could prove their loyalty to Toqtamysh. The "last powerful" defenders of the "right hand leadership" were destroyed, Toqtamysh of the Left Hand Wing, a Jochid but not of Batuid or Ordaid descent, brought the Horde into one entity (Encyclopedia of the Mongol Empire, Christopher P Attwood)

During the great troubles, Golden Horde was severely weakened, both politically and physically. It was not a good time period for him. He relied on Mamai to be his Kingmaker, however as mentioned before, the Golden Horde cycled through rulers quickly. He felt somewhat humiliated that the Eastern Wing seemed to be far more stable than he was during this time seeing as he was the dominant party in their relationship. Whereas before, Golden Horde helped the Eastern Wing during a tumultuous period of his own during the rebellions against Bayan Khan, which ultimately led to the Eastern Wing depending on the Western Wing thereon after, the Eastern Wing was now the stable one who was "helping" Golden Horde become more stable, albeit at the cost of the destruction of the last defenders of the right hand leadership.

This meant that now there is only one personification for the Horde. Not only were both Hordes now under single supreme leadership under Toqtamysh, but the Horde underwent a change in leadership altogether. As Marie Favereau puts it, "The consolidation of power under Toqtamish was a creative response to the collapse of the Ordaids and Batuids." Once the Ordaids and Batuids died out, there were only two Jochi lineages left that were worthy of taking the throne, the Toqa-Temurs (Who Toqtamysh descended from) and Shaybanids. I do have a seperate OC for the Shaybanids/Grey Horde but I need to probably write another post for her lol. The Toqa-Temur line emerged as the favoured contender, as Toqa Temur was Jochi's youngest son. In Mongol culture, the youngest son was the "otchigen", meaning "keeper of the hearth", so those who were of the Toqa Temur lineage were seen as the protectors of the Jochi ulus.

So what do I think happened to the two personifications of the Horde once Toqtamysh consolidated it? The great troubles is seen as a East vs West wing thing, and while that's not entirely false, Toqtamysh did gain the loyalty from some Western begs during his rise to power, as they were not all loyal to Mamai. This might sound crazy or convoluted but I think some sort of fusion happened between the two of them? As pointed out before, Toqtamysh was a creative response to the collapse of the Ordaids and Batuids so I guess I wanted to be uh. Creative with this too. It wasn't just the Golden Horde/Western Wing who's ruling family died out, but also the Eastern Wing. Though the new ruling family (Toqa-Temurs) continued to be Jochid and had comfortable reasons to be the ruling family, this was still a major change as both the Eastern and Western wings identities were also built upon the Batuid/Ordaid lineage and the dynamic between them were shaped by the relationship between these two lineages, with the Batuids (Golden Horde) reigning supreme.

 

I don't want to get too philosophical about mind/body/consciousness arguments because this is hetalia and it's good to keep some things ~mysterious~  but yeah it's my headcanon that these changes and the consolidating of the the hordes into one polarity under Toqtamysh meant that a singular Golden Horde personification now emerged who came from the fusion of the two previous hordes, not born as a child (and I do not see this new Golden Horde as being some sort of child between the Eastern and Western Wing) but emerged as an adult. The previous two hordes did not die upon this fusion but lived on through this fusion (who I will refer to as Golden Horde for the rest of this post).

I think this fusion named itself "Altan", which means "Golden." There are many theories on why the Golden Horde was named the Golden Horde, like the fact that the Khans had golden tents or that it arose from bad translations. But I think it would be fun if it also stemmed from the fact that the Horde chose a personal name for itself that meant golden. 

In fact I believe that the original Golden horde, who accompanied the Batuid lineage in the West, changed his personal name at some point to be "Altan" to distance himself from his old name that was associated with his past/family. This is because the first known use of "Golden Horde" was in the Russian chronicle "History of Kazan" written in 1565. Then in the 19th century, the term "Golden Horde" was "assigned to designate the Jochi Ulus as a whole or (depending on the context) its Western part with its capital in Sarai" (The term Golden Horde is a mistake of the interpreter of the 16th century, Neil Maxinya). 

This is more of a fun headcanon, but seeing that Russian chroniclers began to use the term "Golden Horde" to mean the Horde as a whole or just the Batuid Wing, I think that the OG Golden Horde renamed himself "Altan", and then the fusion of the Eastern and Western Wing also named itself "Altan". This was all recorded by Russian chroniclers so uh perhaps Russia remembered the personal name the OG Golden Horde and the Golden Horde (fusion) gave to themselves, hence this is the reason why "Golden Horde" refers to either the Jochi Ulus as a whole and often just the Batuid Wing (that conquered Eastern Europe) but never the Ordaid Wing. 

Ultimately though, the Horde would fall again. Golden Horde with his newfound vitality (I mean he went and sacked Moscow in 1382 lol) got a bit too cocky and attacked the person who helped him come into existence (Timurid Empire, Timur). In 1385 the Golden Horde sought out an alliance with the Mamluks to go against his former ally, the Timurids. Toqtamysh wanted to revive the old alliance between the Horde and the Mamluks, as they came together before to go against the Ilkhanids. This is because "Tamerlane, Toqtamish's erstwhile partner, was on the Horde's caucasian doorstep, having launched military operations into Azerbaijan" (The Horde, Marie Favereau). A decade-ish conflict between the Golden Horde and the Timurids erupted with different players at hand, including Edigu of the Manghit clan. 

Contrary to popular belief it was not Tamerlane himself who destroyed the Golden Horde and the reason why Toqtamysh lost was primarily because he could not maintain the loyalty of the nomadic elite. Toqtamysh did not take the Golden Horde with him when he lost - it lived on for a while, however the political landscape became quite different. It was Edigu of the Nogays/Maghit who emerged victorious and he ruled, despite being a non-Chinggisid. It was his legacy along with the previous Hordes legacy that those in the future traced themselves back to, which in turn made them carry on Jochid tradition even after his death. He had a very influential political career, though he "only maintained something of the Horde's unity until 1411, but by 1425 independent regimes were ensconced throughout the Golden Horde territory" (Encyclopedia of the Mongol Empire, Christopher P Attwood) . 

It also formed part of the key link between the Golden Horde and the states that came from it, such as the Kazakh Khanate Uzbek Khanate, Karakalpaks, etc. which have backgrounds descending from Golden Horde (The Eastern Wing) and Manghit confederations, and this is confirmed in common clan names and folklore.

The Great Horde rump state was created after the death of Edigu which was based around the old Golden Horde capital of Sarai, and various different Khanates broke off from this state. This tiny state could have been the very last stand of the Golden Horde.

Eventually the Golden Horde became no more and lived to around 1502/3 at the very latest, as the Crimean Khanate finally destroyed what was left of the "Great Horde" state at this time. 

Closing thoughts

Anyways I spent way too much time on this and wrote way too much. There are some things that can be chalked up to the “mysterious nature of nation personifications” hence why I didn't want to mindfuck myself or anyone who reads this into trying to explain the intricacies of the “fusion” that made the new singular Golden Horde personification and I think nations can go through similar situations that the Western and Eastern wing did with no fusion involved and a different outcome for the personifications involved. Again it's all mysterious I guess and I want to keep some of the mysticism behind the nature of nation personification beings. Sorry for any spelling errors.

Anyways happy horde-posting 🐴

[eruverse]

Wrote another fic!! 😌🌞

Warnings: none

Rating: G

Pairing: (none) Russia & Golden Horde

Characters: Russia, Golden Horde (OC), Blue Horde (OC)

Summary: Little hare comes out of his den in the swampy forest and hops about on a fine sunny afternoon, pale pudgy hands clutched around a worn bound book.

The most unexpected of people taught Vanya how to read, plus other things.

[eruverse]

Wings of the Golden Horde

As we all know, Golden Horde was actually not a single entity — it was, instead, a system of dual Khanship between right and left wings, or western and eastern wings. Right (western) wing was governed under Batu Khan and the left (eastern) wing under Orda Khan. However, Batu Khan and his territory, the western wing, was the de-facto ruler of the whole Golden Horde.

Anyway, these wings also went by different names; the right (western) wing was called White Horde by Russians but Blue Horde by Timurids, while the left (eastern) wing was called Blue Horde by Russians but also called White Horde by Timurids. Complicated? Well yes. I usually call the western wing White Horde and the eastern wing Blue Horde, because that’s what the book on Golden Horde I’m reading uses.

Even the two large wings were ultimately divided between smaller hordes of Jochi’s many descendants. Princes grew into adulthood, got married and started their families, so they would separate themselves from their parents’ horde in order to establish their own (but not all; most Jochid descendants still stayed in the hordes of their higher-ranked relatives). They didn’t share pastures, so it would mean that they had their personal territories within two territories within one big territory!

Now far as my headcanon goes:

Dude on the left is the whole Golden Horde or more precisely he is the formal, primary face of the Golden Horde. His direct territory tho, of course, is only the White Horde or Batu’s. The dude on the right is his twin and shadow aka Blue Horde, half of the Golden Horde, who obeys everything his twin says and is wholly dependent on him. Technically, Blue Horde is also called Golden Horde. When people refer to Golden Horde, there really are actually two of them. Think of conjoined twins with one dominant party while the other is kind of parasitic, hha.

Blue Horde is directly born from Golden Horde tho, not Mongolia. Mongolia doesn’t magically have five sons when previously he only has 4.

[eruverse]

The mental image of Blue Horde standing catatonic in the corner and wearing dog collar with ‘BLUE’ in it… I should give him a name but I prefer using the country names..

Anyway, like Goldie Hordie he doesn’t much speak, but everything that comes out of his mouth whenever he does is literary perfection while Golden Horde prefers to growl because he’s above human language and that people should perish just by his frown alone.

Blue Horde is also an intel!! While Golden Horde (White) is busy trying to make people submit on his western and south side (so that they would leave him alone) Blue, who’s the quiet almost invisible one, is busy slinking thru walls and roofs until Yuan and Chagatai and gathering info for Golden Horde. He usually doesn’t fight, except on Golden Horde’s orders — but when he does, he’s a war machine.

Ilkhanate is like psycho 🤣 (not that this represents the historical facts 100% bc I also see them as individuals) and he’s routinely involved in gorey fights with his vassals. I want to expand upon his relationship with Seljuk (Turkey) someday… it’s an absolute shitshow.

The sons of Mongol Empire

From left to right: Golden Horde — Chagatai Khanate — Ilkhanate — Yuan

Golden Horde is the people hater, sociopathic, and edgy one of the quartet. The one probably most zealous at protecting his independence, and also the one who lived the longest. A formidable eldest child who’s as free as the horses in the steppe.

Chagatai is not cruel, just a strict and very textbook person. Most normal among the quartet but also in many ways most functional. The middle son who ended up being forgotten the most like how middle children usually are.

Ilkhanate is most physically unhinged (his vassals lived difficult life under him) and most disliked by his brothers except Yuan.

As the youngest, Yuan is most spoiled. Also possessive and easily jealous, pouts and throws a bit of tantrum when his brothers refuse to acknowledge his superiority. He only wants to be acknowledged and loved by them!! (Is secretly insecure about not being as great as the Mongol Empire)

-Golden Horde and Yuan are the prettiest and if they enter into a beauty contest it would be a tie between them. But Horde probably would win, and Yuan would pout again. Not that Horde actually cares.

Bonus:

-Golden Horde (White Horde) and Blue Horde

Golden Horde or Ulus of Jochi was actually a combination of two territories bestowed to Jochi’s sons, Batu and Orda, since Jochi died before he acquired his inheritance from his father. These two territories, aka White and Blue Horde, were led by Batu and Orda as Khans, with Batu aka White Horde being the de facto Khan of the whole Golden Horde at least for a few centuries. White and Blue Hordes coexisted peacefully and hardly ever intruded upon each other’s businesses, but they kept supporting each other for the independence and prosperity of Golden Horde.

Having all Golden Horde, White and Blue Horde have personifications each is probably a bit too much lol, so I settled on just two, Golden (White) Horde and Blue Horde. Blue Horde is a twin and shadow of Golden Horde, born from his body like mitosis. Their relationship is basically codependence as they couldn’t live without each other, but Golden Horde usually has the final say with Blue Horde happy to just follow his orders. Golden Horde is a people hater alright but even though he’s a nasty person he’ll never be nasty toward Blue Horde and actually treats him very well.

I’ve extensively developed their dynamic but for now this is an intro ❤️

[eruverse]

Height headcanons

Not reflective of average height in the population for the most part. I guess. I don’t really care tbh

From shortest to tallest:

Golden Horde 165

Indonesia 167

Yuan 170

Ilkhanate 172

Mongolia 174

Timurid Empire 175

Kyrgyzstan 176

Kazakhstan 177

Gokturk Empire 177

(Blue Horde) 178

Uzbekistan 180

Chagatai (Khanate) 180

Turkey 181

Serbia 182

Netherlands 185

Russia bear size