#alcuin no delaunay

[maester-of-spreadsheets]

Me: I’m much too old to engage in ship hate

Also me: I hate Delaunay/Alcuin

[malkaleh]

I read Cassiel’s Servant aka the Kushiel Prequel and I loved it but also Some Thoughts:

The Jewish Analogue Community believing Yeshua is the Messiah is Not It :/. (I have a lot of notes about depictions of other peoples in the Kushiel verse but that one really stood out to me in this one)

Joscelin is so very demisexual and honestly I think he could be bi.

Him noting Anafiel being beautiful and his friendships with Alcuin and Drustan and even Hyacinth is very sweet.

I am still the only person in the world who isn’t into Alcuin/Delaunay at all.

Melisande loves two people (other than her child and grandchildren) deeply and sincerely and they are Delaunay and Phedre and I would love love to read fic about this because I believe it entirely. Like those two people - she adores them and sincerely loves them and honestly she was plotting revenge for the fact that her Anafiel had to die.

[nanshe-of-nina]

Kushiel’s Legacy GIF sets || Dominic Stregazza & Thérèse de la Courcel

“Now, which one of the Stregazza is Thérèse?” I asked, when I gauged that he was no longer paying attention to me. “Is she the firstborn? Prince Benedicte’s daughters are House Courcel, I thought.” “They’re of the Blood by birth, like Lyonette de Trevalion, but Thérèse married a Stregazza cousin. Dominic.” I had caught his interest; his voice ran a little ahead of his thoughts. Alcuin had always been better than I at royal genealogies. “A bad match, by all reckoning; he’s a minor Count, but then she was second-born. First is Marie-Celeste, who wed the Doge’s son. It’s her son stands to inherit La Serenissima. Once Prince Rolande died, I wager Dominic Stregazza thought to poise his family near the D’Angeline throne, though.” “And found his path blocked by House L’Envers,” I mused. “How disappointed he must have been. But why would Delaunay care who killed Isabel L’Envers? By all counts, she was his enemy.”

[sable-in-shadows]

Good points, but Phedre frames this with exactly your last point. Yes, we would be happier not knowing some things, but sometimes these are out of our control and we must learn to live with this new knowledge.

I think what Carey was trying to impart with this sentiment and how it shapes and informs Phedre's journey is that life happens to us, and it is our responsibility to live it as it comes. The phrase is not so much about literally gaining knowledge by education or travel, etc. but the growth that happens as we age and change as people and yes, have different experiences.

The experiences we have give us information about the world and our part in it. Whether these are good, bad, pursued conciously (as you say, moving to a new place and leaving your family behind) or unconsiously (living through a traumatic experience, for example) the experience of being alive shapes us continuously into new people and we must adapt or die.

The saying goes that ignorance is bliss, but ignorance is a choice as much as learning is. You can choose to deprive yourself of knowledge, or you can embrace it. Yes, you may regret learning something or miss out in learning something else, but - as Marie Kondo says - you can be greatful for that experience for giving you new information and adapt your life accordingly.

Low stakes example: you watch a movie and halfway through realize you hate it. Now you know you don't like that kind of movie and can adjust your future choices!

High stakes example: you find out* your partner is being unfaithful. Now you have to choose to either end the relationship or find a way to continue. It sucks, but now that you know these things about this person and know your own reaction and feelings about it, you can make an informed choice.

*Finding out either by accident or by purposely going through their phone brings about the same result (like Phedre spying on Delaunay and Alcuin). It is what you choose to DO with that knowledge that is the valuable lesson, the thing worth knowing. Phedre chose a path and it led to the rest of the story, but of course the result of that choice was she was not in the house. The outcome would have been the same, but the experience gave her knowledge both of The Plot and of herself, which led to her survival.

Phedre's choices are extreme and the burden of her lived experience is heavy, but she perseveres and so can we as long as we remain open to being changed by life and choosing to become better for it.

'All knowledge is worth having,' is the probably the idea in 'Kushiel's Dart' I've come to disagree with the most.

Because knowledge does not exist outside of experience, and experience is not always beneficial. Because we are not gods, calmly apprehending the secrets of the universe, invulnerable to risk. Because we do not have an infinity to learn all things, and learning one thing requires us to not learn another.

What we choose to learn and the process by which we learn it changes us. For example, if a man with a young family decides, say, go to India to better pursue studies in Sanskrit while leaving his wife and children behind, he necessarily chooses to learn more about a language than about the nuances of parenting. And maybe that is the right choice for him, maybe the knowledge is worth having--but if in making that choice, he loses the knowledge of his children and how to relate to and support his family, and it leads to an overall decline in his mental and social wellbeing, I'd say no, it isn't.

And there are things some of us are probably happier not knowing, though those will differ for everyone.

[atamascolily]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Kushiel's Legacy - Jacqueline Carey Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Alcuin nó Delaunay/Mierette nó Orchis Characters: Alcuin nó Delaunay, Mierette nó Orchis, Cecilie Laveau-Perrin Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Grief/Mourning, POV First Person, Past Relationship(s), Healing Sex Summary:

In the aftermath of the D'Angeline victory at Troyes-le-Monte, Alcuin pays another visit to Mierette nó Orchis.

(My fic for Rarepairs 2021 Fic Exchange!)

[white-queen-lacus]

Chibi charas from Kushiel’s Legacy!

So in the end I finally did some of them! :3 I’ll add more one day! XD 

Comtesse Phèdre nó Delaunay de Montrève

Joscelin Verreuil

Lady Mélisande Shahrizai

Anafiel Delaunay (former Count Anafiel de Montrève)

Alcuin nó Delaunay

Queen Ysandre de la Courcel

Cruarch of Alba Drustan mab Nechtana

Prince of Travelers, Hyacinthe

Duc Barquiel L’Envers

Nicola L’Envers y Aragon

Characters from Imriel’s saga:

Prince Imriel nó Montrève de la Courcel

Dauphine of Terre d’Ange Princess Sidonie de la Courcel

Princess Alais de la Courcel

Prince of Dalriada Eamonn mac Grainne

Maslin de Lombelon

Lord Mavros Shahrizai

Claudia Fulvia

Lucius Tadius da Lucca

Canis

[goblins-riddles-or-frocks]

I am a hypocrite because I find alcuin/delaunay SO creepy but like. not in a fun way lol

resuming kushiel’s dart, I don’t love joscelin as a love interest/how that develops but his introduction is so funny

[xylianna]

"Zip me", Anafiel and Alcuin, before the auction of Alcuin's virginity

I don’t get many Kushiel’s Legacy prompts - thank you!  “Zip me = a drabble about one character dressing another, or the other way around.”  I hope you like it.

There were worse fates than could have befallen him than dedication to Naaamh’s Service. But still, on this, the eve of his virgin-auction, Alcuin felt uneasy.

There was only one person - one man he wished to claim him thusly.

But, out of his gratitude to that man, the debt he felt he could never truly repay, he would play this game. He would flirt and dance, he would give his body to those his lord wished.

It would serve Naamah well, for Alcuin had been well taught.

It would serve Elua well, for Alcuin’s motivation was his deep feeling of love.

He regarded himself idly in the dressing mirror as he awaited his lord’s arrival. Special garments had been procured for the festivities this evening, and Alcuin had no doubt Delaunay would choose what was appriopriate, what was right.

He always did.

Critically, Alcuin stared at the milky flow of his unbound hair, a startling contrast to the depths of his dark eyes. He found his face quite unremarkable, but Phedre had said wistfully on more than one occasion how she envied his bold bone structure, how combined with the paleness of his hair it made him seem a creature out of myth.

Alcuin didn’t really care if his was beautiful or not; perhaps not the best attitude for one who’s price depended on their attractiveness, their ability to tempt patrons. His very freedom would depend on the generosity of those who wished to use his body, so Alcuin supposed it was good that he had symmetrical features and striking coloring.

The creak of the door announced his lord’s arrival, and Alcuin knelt abeyante. He kept his eyes low so Delaunay wouldn’t see the myriad emotions contained therein, only lifting them once he was confident he wore his customary fathomless, small smile. “My lord.”

“Get up,” Delaunay laughed. “We haven’t much time before Cecilie is expecting us.”

“Right,” Alcuin said quietly, praying to Elua and all His Companions that his trepidation didn’t show in his timbre. “You have my clothing?”

“Yes,” Delaunay grinned. “It might seem simple, but trust me.” He looked uncertain; a mien Alcuin hadn’t often seen on his patron’s visage. “I though I’d help you dress,” he continued gruffly.

“Of course,” Alcuin said with the same beatific smile. “As my lord wishes.” He began to disrobe, his heart pounding so hard in his chest it was a wonder the household guards didn’t come running. Once he was nude, he shivered - not from the crispness of the air, but the almost palpable feel of Delaunay’s eyes roving over his creamy skin.

Best get used to being started at, being judged.

Delaunay handed Alcuin the breeches, and he was relieved that his patron wasn’t going to try and pull them on. More so when he realized just how skin tight they were. He had to wriggle his way into the tight moleskin, and a glance in the mirror confirmed what he feared - it molded itself to the subtle curves of his buttocks and hips, hugged the long, lean muscles of his thighs. The shirt was next, and Alcuin mistook it for a simple canvas farm shirt, until he felt the soft cambric whisper over his chest. Delaunay threaded the laces and tied them off at a loose bow just beneath Alcuin’s collarbone. The feel of his lord’s fingers brushing inadvertently against his skin made Alcuin shiver.

The boots, well… Phedre would like them. Alcuin deemed them serviceable, though he wished he’d had the time to break them in properly. The gleaming black leather might be eye-catching, but it was so new that it pinched uncomfortably at his toes.

“Leave your hair down,” Delaunay said, and Alcuin fancied he heard a tremor in his lord’s voice. He knew it was only wishful thinking; an educated nobleman like Delaunay could never love an orphan boy bond-servant like Alcuin.

But he could dream…

[mossflowermouse]

@fairy-anon-godmother Joscelin!!! Is here!!! And doesn’t seem very happy about it, although I’m assuming that will change at some point lol.

Also in the last few chapters:

Guy is dead :( it feels like quite a few characters are dying now that the plot’s in motion - I’m very glad Alcuin survived the attack though, he had me worried there for a chapter or so. That last contract with Bouvarre seemed ominous from the start, but I didn’t guess the details of what would go wrong. Also Phedre and Alcuin and Delaunay care a lot about each other and I care about all three of them.

The Stregazza family were apparently responsible for Isabel L’Envers being poisoned (if Bouvarre can be trusted on this). The plot thickens!

Delaunay wants peace with House L’Envers? Or is playing the long game, but it does seem like he’s being genuine. ...I think. After the executions it really feels like anything could happen in the rest of this novel, but knowing that hasn’t stopped me being surprised whenever there’s something unexpected. It makes predicting things a lot of fun though.

edit: Phedre immediately seems torn between irritation and “oh no he’s hot”, I love this

[dangermousie]

So, now that I finished Kushiel’s Legacy series

It’s probably the most extreme change I ever had - I went from loathing to adoring them and am genuinely distraught to leave this wonderful world behind. (I’ve read Carey plans to rewrite Dart from Joscelin’s side and I don’t care if it’s redundant, I want it!)

I still have some issues with some of the takes on sexuality in it (the whole character of Anafiel Delunay, for one) but I ended up loving the characters and the adventures and the world so. The second trilogy gave me a lot less hurdles (I get Imriel a lot more than I will ever get Phedre - I love her but she is very alien to me - and connection helps with a narrator) but the first trilogy had some amazing amazing highs that make me very confused as to whether I prefer the last book of the first or the second triligy as my favorite. 

Anyway, without further ado:

Favorite Book: Either Kushiel’s Avatar or Kushiel’s Mercy. They are both conclusions of their trilogies and heartbreakingly epic and utterly romantic and so very hopeful in their own ways.I think I will go with Avatar because its epicness is truly out of another world (no other book goes quite from such utter lows as the hell of Darsanga to such highs as the Name of God) and because this was the first time in this series I truly fell insanely and utterly for every part of a book. 

Least Favorite Book: Least favorite is pretty easy: Kushiel’s Chosen. It’s by far the least favorite of the bunch, with both Phedre and Joscelin behaving in ways I do not care for for a large chunk of the book, and the plot just didn’t grab me. The ending sequences are epic, Joscelin storming La Dolorosa singlehanded is amazing, and it was fun to visit La Serenissima, so it’s not all a wash or near it, but there is no question this is the one I will only reread parts of. 

Favorite male character: You cannot make me choose between Joscelin and Imriel, sorry. Both intense as hell, damaged, great fighters, stubborn, loyal, a little insane (OK, a lot insane), in love with amazing women blah blah blah. At this point, it’s really down to whether you prefer blonds or brunettes, pretty much. OK, fine, Joscelin, because his only ever being with Phedre and for Phedre his entire freaking life is sexy as hell. Also, I am not into even mild BDSM in the bedroom. 

Favorite female character:  Sidonie. Yes, yes, I know, I am probably the only one to not pick Phedre, but while Phedre is smart and amazing and with big heart and savior of the world etc etc etc, I wanted to thump her for a large chunk of book 2 and I never felt that way with Sidonie, plus I get Sidonie the way I do not get Phedre (I am, thankfully, very far from an anguissette and those personality traits or relationship needs.)  

Most hated character: The Mahrkagir (sp?). He was beyond monstrous. Phedre, being Phedre, might have been able to feel sorry for him. I could not.

Character you didn’t think you’d love as much as you do now:   Phedre. I started out Kushiel’s Dart rolling my eyes at her and thinking she was insane and unlikable and now - I love her and root for her and happy she got her happy ending and just - she’s a joy. (I still think she was abused and groomed as a child, but I understand why she never saw it that way and never will.)  

Character you were supported to like but didn’t: Anafiel Delaunay. Hi there, groomer and abuser! If you buy two ten year olds and train them for the oldest profession, there is a term for you and it’s not “beloved mentor.” He never gave them a choice, not really, and while Phedre might have always ended up that way due to the whole chosen of Kushiel way, her fellow pupil was actually repulsed and did it only out of brainwashed gratitude to their mentor, who never bothered to figure it out. He makes me ragefully sick. Runner up - Melisande. I don’t think we were supposed to like her, but to find her interesting, and I did neither.

Favorite OTP: Imriel x Sidonie. They are perfect for each other in every way - from romantic to brainwise to sexual to to to to. Also, there is so much faith and hope and love and angst and desperation and gritted teeth honor there, I love it. 

OTP you didn’t think you’d like but did: Phedre x Joscelin. Mainly because I started out disliking Phedre and not getting how she could ever commit to anyone. But they won me over during their time in Skaldia in Dart and I was devastated to see the ten steps back in Chosen and then in Avatar they were sheer and utter perfection and continued that way from then on. Even their very basic incompatibility (she needs to be hurt/he can’t bear to hurt her; he wants nobody else/she has needs he cannot satisfy) somehow made them all the more shippable. 

Other OTPs you like: Most of them. Ysandre x Drustan is fun, Eamonn x Brigitta, Ti-Philippe x Hugues, Maslon x me. OK, I kid on that last one, sort of. 

OTP you do not like: Anafiel x Alcuin. I am sorry, that whole set up was grooming. I never got into Deirdre and her love for Imriel either. I mean, good for you, lady, but she was pretty darn boring. 

Favorite secondary character: Maslon de Lombelin. He could definitely be a protagonist in another novel. He is a mirror of sorts to Imriel and I was so happy they actually became friends that it was one of my favorite scenes in book 5. 

Most disturbing scene: All of Dursanga in book 3. I want to scrub my brain. But more specifically the stuff that happened to Imriel (when he mentions some of it in books 4 and 5, I - I - OK, I thought I’d never have to read about after book 3) and the havoc it wreaked on Phedre’s sense of self that she loathed what she was made to do yet the kushiel’s chosen part of her somehow loved it despite the horror and that was the greatest horror of all. And of course Joscelin having to sit there and watch innocents get abused and murdered, watch the woman he loves more than life get abused and tortured, and do nothing. Yikes. 

Angstiest scene: Either Joscelin throwing Phedre at Mahrkagir’s feet as “tribute” in book 3 or bespelled Joscelin fighting Imriel at the end of book 6. Poor Joscelin, he has a bad time of it.

Most romantic scene: Joscelin and Phedre rediscovering each other and love and finding healing in that oasis in King’s Avatar. Runners up are the scene in the cave in Kushiel’s Dart where Phèdre and Joscelin sleep together for the first time, or the bit in Dart where he duels Selig for her and prepares to kill Phedre to save her from torture and himself at the same time because he is not living without her or Imriel and Sidonie before he has to sail to Alba in book 5 to marry Dorelei or on book 6, when Sidonie comes to herself after the spell or in book 5 when Sidonie claims Imriel in front of the whole court.

What you wish for the characters after the story ended: .I got what I wanted. I just want to read more about it. 

[aliatori]

MOAR SHIPS: Ravus/Aranea, Cor/Monica, Phedre/Nicola, Quintilius/Grainne, Delaunay/Alcuin

Ravus/Aranea: D: I’m neutral on it

I feel like these two would have awesome angry sex, but I’m not sure how much their actual goals would align long term.

Cor/Monica: B: It’s really cute

Let the Immortal have some happiness yo.  Him and Monica would make a great team.

Phedre/Nicola: A: love it

It’s hard to ship Phedre with any one person given the nature of the Kushiel’s Legacy series, but if I had to pick one this is probably it???  Maybe even more than Joscelin?? Does that mean I should change my answer to OTP???? Haha!

Quintilius/Grainne: N/A

I can’t remember enough about their relationship to give any sort of informed answer.

Delaunay/Alcuin: A++ OTP

These two fall into the Nyx boat of “Deserved Better Baes.” God, it broke my heart how in love Alcuin was and the things he did for that love.  But, well, you know.

Thanks for asking, bb!

[malkaleh]

Anafiel Delaunay does not love Alcuin romantically not Phèdre. But he loves them, oh yes indeed. And Melisande loves him too - she always did, in every world but in this world it is in the way she does Phèdre for all that he does not share their bond through Kushiel.

She sends him as a gift, to a Skaldi warlord with a fondness for men and women and vows that she will make the man suffer for every touch that the warlord lays on Anafiel and Phedre both.

There are two who throw a diamond collar at her feet.

[a-crack-in-the-universe]

They don’t really need to show everything that happened during Phedre’s years in Cereus House. They just have to show the main parts, which were Phedre being sold to Cereus House, Phedre discovering that she finds pain pleasurable, her meeting Hyacinthe and Delaunay and her attending her first Midwinter Masque. 

Alcuin and Phedre didn’t start going on assignations until they turned sixteen, right? So I don’t think it would be much of problem? Delaunay also wouldn’t let them do sexual things when they were still training. They were only allowed to learn about courtesan sex stuff from Cecilie.    

THIS IS NOT A DRILL…

Kushiel’s Legacy fans, rejoice! The Publishers Marketplace newsletter has announced that the rights for all nine (yes, you’re reading that correctly!) books in Jacqueline Carey’s three-trilogy epic have been sold to Lionsgate. But there’s an open question as to whether this means a Kushiel’s Dart film or a more involved, perhaps Outlander-esque, TV series. Or both?

According to the listing, Dan Hadl, the studio’s Executive Vice President of Television Business Affairs, will serve as producer.

Although the deal was filed under the “Film” category, it’s not clear whether the adaptation will ultimately end up as a movie, TV show, or both. Nine epic books with a story spanning more than a century is a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings-esque undertaking. In addition, the Kushiel book series deals with eroticism and the balance between sex and power with a depth that would almost certainly call for an R rating, whereas television would allow far more flexibility.

And considering all the upcoming fantasy adaptations competing to fill our Game of Thrones-shaped void, like Amazon Prime’s The Wheel of Time, Netflix’s Shadow and Bone, and BBC’s The Watch, it would make a lot more sense if Lionsgate threw an adaptation in the ring, as well.

The author Jacqueline Carey thought so, too, back in 2014. In an update on her website, Carey wrote:

“After having watched three seasons of Game of Thrones (I don’t have HBO, so I catch up by binge-watching DVDs), I will say this. I now believe that Kushiel’s Legacy could be made into a pretty damn awesome series, one that gets the delicious nuance of the intrigue, the epic scope of the plot(s), the pageantry of the battles, and that confronts the erotic aspect head-on.”

As for casting choices, Carey suggested “wildly talented unknowns” (as the Game of Thrones cast largely were before the show began) in the key roles, with Orphan Black’s Tatiana Maslany as Phèdre.

No word yet on a cast, crew, or a production start date for this possible adaptation. In the meantime, check out our re-read of the Phèdre Trilogy, as well as our primer to the world of Kushiel’s Legacy. (source: tor.com/2019/10/18/jacqueline-careys-kushiels-legacy-series-optioned-by-lionsgate-but-should-we-get-a-movie-or-tv-show/)

[abybweisse]

for the alphabet ask! A, D, E, K (all the lipid-soluble vitamins lol)

I didn't realize this was going to be hard until I actually received this (my first) then I started thinking about it and blanked on names....Who comes to mind first that I really like:A -- Alcuin nó Delaunay and Anafiel Delaunay de Montrève (Kushiel's Legacy, book series)D -- (Albus) DumbledoreE -- Eli (Let the Right One In, novel)K -- Kumatora (Mother3, game)

[thornswithroses]

xenoarcana replied to your post: 4, 13 for the salt meme!

Same feelings exactly on Alcuin/Delaunay - I’m fine with age gaps until one character literally raises another, then it starts to squick me out hugely. And the ship itself is just kind of boring to me.

That pairing had no “oomph” to it. Honestly, I think Carey wrote the pairing as an excuse for Phedre to experience unrequited love, which I am not against but...I’m sure the fact that Anafiel saw her as a daughter would have been plentiful enough to have Phedre experience her feelings not being returned.