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ricciardoracing · 2 days ago

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when we were young - CS55

carlos sainz x oc!engineer!character

summary: carlos and sasha were carlos and sasha since birth. but what’s going to happen when he leaves ferrari?

warnings + fc: some translated spanish, 90s timeline totally forgotten and different, isabel slander (i love her im sorry). nicola peltz and gigi hadid

september 1st, 2019

Madrid, Spain

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sashaivanova feliz cumpleaños para el mejor amigo y persona (y conductor) del mundo entero, gracias por ser parte de mi vida desde siempre. te quiero más de lo que las palabras pueden describir.

(happy birthday for the best friend and person (and driver) in the whole world, thanks for being part of my life since forever. i love you more than words can describe.)

tagged: @/carlossainz55

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carlossainz55 mi princesa, no te merezco y nunca lo haré, pero con gusto seré egoísta y te mantendré conmigo para siempre. te amo ❤️ (my princess, i don't deserve you and never will, but i will gladly be selfish and keep you with me forever. i love you ❤️)

charles_leclerc happy birthday mate! @/carlossainz55

landonorris happy birthday muppet @/carlossainz55 ! grateful for having you as teammate ❤️

ivanivanov57 happy birthday son!

isahernaez happy birthday to my love!

user1 anyone else think it’s funny how isabel don’t even follow sasha nor even LIKED the post and yet she’s here commenting

user2 ugh I KNOW “my love”???? okay girl we know he’s yours you don’t have to make a scene

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Back in 92’, when Carlos Sainz was winning his first Rally championship, Ivan Ivanov, a 20-year-old rising star for Scuderia Ferrari, formed a close bond with the rally driver and his family, including his wife Reyes and daughter Blanca. Ivan introduced his girlfriend, 17-year-old model Mariya Orlova, and their relationships flourished.

In 1994, Reyes became pregnant and asked Mariya to be the godmother. Mariya supported Reyes through her pregnancy, and in September, Carlos Sainz Jr. was born. The following year, Mariya became pregnant, with Reyes and Carlos Sr. as the godparents. Reyes and her son frequently visited Mariya during her pregnancy. On September 10th, 1995, Mariya gave birth to Aleksandra Ivanova. From their first meeting as babies, it seemed destined that Carlos Jr. and Aleksandra would one day be together.

As the years passed, Aleksandra “Sasha” Ivanova, a child prodigy, entered mechanical engineering college at 16, in Oxford. In 2015, she became the racing engineer for four-time F1 champion Sebastian Vettel at Scuderia Ferrari, forming a highly successful partnership despite skepticism over her age.

In October 2019, her father, four-time F1 champion Ivan Ivanov, passed away unexpectedly, prompting his daughter Sasha and his godson Carlos Sainz Jr. to miss a race weekend, drawing media attention. Following the loss, Carlos grew distant from his girlfriend, Isabel, and became closer to Sasha, with whom he shared an apartment in Monaco. In October 2020, Carlos ended his relationship with Isabel.

september 10th, 2020

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carlossainz55 happy birthday to my other half and soulmate. i thank my dad every single day for being friends with yours and making us get to grow up together. here’s to many more birthdays together! te quiero mucho, mi princesita.

tagged: @/sashaivanova

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During the pandemic, the tension between Carlos and Sasha grew so overwhelming that their relationship became strained. One evening, Sasha walked barefoot around the apartment with another bottle of wine closed, the McLaren merch with a huge '55' in front being so big that it was used as a dress, her hair half tied up and her face very red. She sat on the couch with her legs on the Spaniard's lap, opening the bottle and taking a big sip. "You know, I was thinking," she began to speak, her voice a little shaky from the drink. "Have you ever thought about what would have happened if we had stayed together?". Carlos looked at her with his puppy eyes and approached her, his hands, which were resting on the couch, touching each other.

"I think about it every day, Sash. You're my best friend." Carlos' voice trembled a little, but it wasn't because of the drink. He got closer, his eyes almost apologizing to her.

Sasha tilted her head to the side a little confused, her hand moving to touch the Spaniard's forehead, "Is everything okay?" She questioned him, worried. Without further words, he closed the gap between them, pulling her for a kiss that was nothing like the fun night they were sharing moments before. This kiss was slow, deliberate, full of the intensity of everything that had been accumulating between them for years. Sasha froze for a second, surprised by how quickly it was, but then she melted in him, her hands squeezing his face while kissing him back with equal fervor. The heat of the fire seemed to intensify as they deepened the kiss, their bodies pressed together, the wine now forgotten.

That night, Carlos and Sasha's relationship went from 'best friends and confidants' to 'best friends, confidants and sweethearts'.

When Ferrari hired Carlos, the first thing they did was inform their love relationship. Fortunately, the team was very receptive and they lived three seasons (and three years) very happily. Until February 2024.

The announcement of Lewis' hiring and Carlos' dismissal was a thud for Sasha. Of course, she would love to work with Lewis, but Carlos was her pilot. He was everything she ever wanted in a pilot and she wouldn't give up on him. Scuderia Ferrari offered her a contract renewal, 5 more years, another jackpot of millions of euros. But Sasha wasn't sure if she should accept, she wasn't sure how that would leave her with Carlos.

After Carlos announced that he signed a contract with Williams, the British team went after Sasha. Of course they would, the Russian girl was brilliant. Absurdly brilliant. But she backed down, not sure if she should refuse Williams' offer and renew with Ferrari.

During the summer break, Carlos was feeling down. He flew back to Madrid, knowing that she would go there as soon as she visited her mother in Monaco. He kept rominating on his thoughts, feeling more and more useless. He would never be enough. Not for Ferrari, not for the Formula world, not for Sasha. Lost in thoughts, he didn't remember that that would be the day she would return to their house.

She entered the house silently, feeling something seemed wrong the moment she came in. The air was heavy, the kind of silence that was restless in his chest. He barely noticed when Sasha entered, very stuck in the spiral of his thoughts.

Sasha was beautiful, brilliant - he thought - everything he dreamed of, but never really believed he deserved it. And just like the team, she had a choice. There would always be someone better, someone who could love her more.

"Carlos?" Her voice broke his thoughts, soft but firm, pulling his gaze to her.

“Hi, cariño, you came home early.” He forced a smile, but seemed fragile, ready to collapse under the weight of everything he couldn't say.

Sasha got closer to him, her footsteps now muffled by the carpet. Her chest tightened when she knelt in front of him, her eyes examining his face with a kind of tenderness that he didn't feel he deserved at that moment. "¿Qué ha ocurrido? ¿Qué está pasando?"

Her voice came out low as she asked, his body shivering from her Russian accent in that rusty Spanish.

"Nothing," he said quickly, the sound empty and shallow. “I’m fine, really. Thanks for asking, mi cielo.”

"Amor," she pressed, her voice firmer this time. Her hand rested slightly on his knee, grounding him in a way that calmed and terrified him. "Please talk to me."

He let out a heavy sigh, his gaze fell on her hand on his knee, her thumb gently brushing against the fabric of his jeans, and his chest hurt.

"It’s just…," he finally murmured, his voice low, almost resigned. He shrugged his shoulders, his lips pressing on a thin line as his thoughts turned. "I’m not feeling good enough for anything today. Ferrari dropped me for Hamilton, I signed with a horrible team… And there’s you."

"Me?," Sasha said softly, her fingers squeezing a little on his knee. He still didn't look at her, and that only made his heart hurt more. "What about me? I always thought you were enough, mi vida."

Without thinking, she reached out, touching his face gently, but firmly enough to force him to look at you. His eyes were cloudy, carried by a storm of emotions that Sasha could barely stand. “Carlos, look at me. Her voice came out firm, almost a plea. He blinked, surprised, as if he didn't expect that determination. "There is no way in hell I’d choose anyone else but you.." The words came out clear, unshakable, loaded with a truth that he seemed reluctant to accept.

Sasha sighed, moving her thumb gently against his cheek. "It was always you for me. I love you, Carlos. Only you."

Carlos didn't hesitate anymore. He pulled her to his lap, holding her waist as if he was afraid of losing her. His forehead touched hers, the breaths mixing, and for a moment everything around disappeared.

Sasha didn't let him say a thing. She couldn't. Instead, she leaned over, silencing him with a kiss. It wasn't soft or temporary - it was all Sasha felt for him, all the love and devotion that the blonde couldn't put into words. Her hands cupped his face, holding it tight while her lips moved against his, spilling everything she had at that single moment.

After they felt the need to breath, Carlos told Sasha every single thing he was feeling. How useless he felt leaving Ferrari, how undeserving of her love he felt, how much of a disappointment he felt he was. Sasha spent the whole night reassuring him of his fears.

He went to bed early, wanting to rest, while she was still on the couch, her laptop on her lap and her hands working violently against the keyboard. That night, Sasha decided that even if her engineering career went down the drain, she would follow him wherever he went. The next day, she called James Vowles, informing him that he could announce her hiring. For the same period of time that Carlos stayed.

In the last race of 2024, as soon as Carlos won a well-deserved P2 in Abu Dhabi, he ran to the barrier where the team was, his eyes desperate until he found Sasha. When he found her, he ran to her, hugging and kissing her, pulling her through the barrier and getting her in front of him. "Proud?" He asked, his voice hoarse from yelling so much at her and the team on the radio.

Sasha left her hands caressing the back of his neck, a smile bigger than the world stamping her beautiful face. "I love you so much, mi vida. I'm so proud, you deserve so much. We're going to rock Williams next year."

Carlos let out a muffled laugh, his hands letting go of her body and taking something in his pocket, a black velvet box, and kneeling. "I don't want to spend another day having to listen to someone calling you 'Miss Ivanova'. Marry me, mi reina. Today, if you want. Please. Let me make you happy forever."

That same night, with Max Verstappen and Lando Norris as witnesses of the marriage and Carlos Sr. delivering her in marriage, as a tribute to her father and his late best friend, Aleksandra Maria Ivanova became Aleksandra Maria Ivanova-Sainz.

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carlossainz55 happy to call you mrs. sainz for the rest of our lives. gracias por nunca renunciar a mí y amarme, la amo, sra. sainz. (thank you for never giving me up and loving me, i love you mrs. sainz)

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lando thank you for letting me be a part of this! i love you both so much 🤍

sashaivanova we love you landinho! thank you for being you

carlossainz55 greatest best man of all time!

maxverstappen1 i love you, big sis @/sashaivanova. tell this dickhead spaniard i’m watching him.

sashaivanova will do, maxie pooh! i love you ❤️ thank you and kelly (and baby p) for coming

carlossainz55 love you too, mate!

danielricciardo happy for you guys! thanks for letting me be a part of it liked by author

charles_leclerc so, so, so happy for you! alex is asking if you liked the present…?

sashaivanova we LOVED it! and i love her

In January 2025, Carlos announced that he and his wife, Sasha Sainz, were expecting their first child, expected to be born in June.

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carlossainz55 bebé sainz, junio de 2025. gracias por hacer realidad mis sueños, sra. sainz

(baby sainz, june 2025. thank you for making my dreams come true, mrs. sainz)

sashaivanova ¡te quiero más de lo que las palabras pueden describir! gracias por darme todo lo que quería. (i love you more than words can describe! thanks for giving me everything i wanted.)

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In the 2025 season, Carlos Sainz Vázquez de Castro, after turning Williams Racing into the strongest team in Formula 1, won his first world championship, with his racing engineer and wife, Aleksandra Maria Sainz by his side.

· · ✧ ･ﾟ:✧ · · · · ✧ ･ﾟ:✧ · · · · ✧ ･ﾟ:✧ · · · · ✧ ･ﾟ· ✧ · · ✧

lauren’s radio: guys IM SO SORRY for the late fic, i planned on posting earlier but things been kinda busy. ANYWAY, tell me your thoughts on it and if you guys want to see more of carlos and sasha! love you all

#f1 fanfic #f1 instagram au #carlos sainz #formula 1 #carlos sainz x oc #carlos sainz imagine #lauren’s fics #f1 smau #f1 social media au #f1 fic #f1

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aespabangedbang · 2 days ago

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🏡 FREE FAMILY BITCHES🖕

Here's my perfectly competitive harem of family bitches. I have written it as a quicky smut cause the ask is really good but my hands still full with other draft. But this still don't lack any quality.

Step Mom IRENE :

With her commanding personality, strict work ethics and a face that will make monk start fapping right away; Irene become my step mom, kicking my own incompetent mom out of my father's picture. I was angry at first, but Irene is made out of different material. She soon turned me into her sex slave, exploiting my manhood ever since then. The body and holes that can bewitch papa can also bewitch the son, easy peasy!

All it took was her sitting on my face, choking me breathless pressing her hot and wet mommy pussy on my face. Once my tongue was in her, I forgot my useless mom and embraced Irene as mine. Now you will find my cock getting caressed in her holes until I cum, my face buried in her milky boobies and slurping her clean in a daily basis. I am getting the proper motherly nursing every son crave for. Irene too give herself to me smiling like the sweet step mommy she is.

Step Sister GISELLE :

The illegal child of my previously single mom Irene's Japan borne daughter Giselle is my step sis. She is a fiesty one. Despite her mom's total intimate relationship with me, she doesn't accept me as her brother. Everytime her attitude becomes too much, I force my cock in her holes and punish her like a caring oppa should be. She fights back until squirting few times, then it's all sweet oppa sound coming from that spacious mouth.

My first time I fucked her badmouthing mouth pussy till my cum painted her inside like cream cake. Irene found me humping my cock in her daughter's mouth and joined me so I can fuck her better. Mom grabbed Giselle's leg wide from behind so that I can easily gap the pink haired bitch's hole on the sofa. I finished my teaching session in her big, firm and muscled bubble butt. Giselle's face was full of ecstasy and was still badmouthing, yapping nonsense like the hentai breed she is!

Auntie JENNIE :

My real auntie form my real mom's side. A world ranked professional pornstar with over 250 video filmed so far. She was one of the reason my useless timid mom got kicked out. My papa would often fuck Jennie and show my mom how her sister is, by all means, a proper fuck. Once my mom was gone and dad busy with her new plaything Irene, Jennie shifted her focus on me.

The first time I fucked her was in a private party or my friend. She was hired for the night to fuck all of us. I was so angry seeing her there that I fucked and tortured her until sunrise. Fucking her again and again in double penetration until even this pro slut threw up. But still we didn't stop and she was carried on a stretcher directly to a hospital after that. Even now sometimes she comes to fuck me as I love to bootycall my auntie's skinny body to taste some pro meat.

Cousin NINGNING :

Another connection of my own trashy mom. Among that side of relative, this particular hoe stands up most. Ningning who was the first person to take my virginity. She is a pure tease and nympho. She will tease you to the point that the only thing you can do is undress and fuck her right there right then. She can take cocks like a overused cheap slut, smiling and gasping for air as her holes getting stretched to it's limit.

Whenever she comes to stay with us, she just do it to get fucked by me. She literally keep dirty talking and dry humping her crotch on me until I decides to plug her mouth with my meat. She wants my cock ball deep in her tight, little cunt squeezing every drop of cum from my ball. Once I start pounding her tight ass she goes banana, shaking, crying and begging me to kill her through her ass. She loves a good gangbang, so taking her to parties and enjoying her delicacy whole night with my friends is the best thing about her.

Girlfriend KARINA :

She is Aphrodite's daughter, that's what everyone call her. A perfect curvy figure, big saggy tits hanging on her petite body making them looks huge, a pussy that'll make you droll and a face that's asking to get raped every single moment. That's Karina my wild, busty and caring girlfriend. She had few steamy romantic relationship that everyone knew but broke up eventually because they couldn't satisfy her on bed.

Being a seasoned fucker, I was overqualified to satisfy my womans. One night of sex and Karina got addicted to my cock. After that she would just look for chances to get fucked anywhere, anytime. Be it in car, in shopping mall, movie theater, campus, public toilet, alleyway heck even during classes; Nothing stoping her from claiming the cock that rightfully belongs to her. Burying my face between her huge boobies, sucking her nipples and sniffing her intoxicating scent while thrusting up up up in her pussy riding my needy cock is why I am crazy about her.

MILF neighbor EUNBI :

With a pair of pumpkin sized boobs that rival my gf's melon sized udders is the busty next door neighbor Eunbi. She doesn't shy away from showing her massive milkers, always flaunting her canyon deep cleavage that who knows gave titjob to how many people. I wonder cause the first time we did, she seduced me messaging my cock between her milky canyon. Her head was blowing me and poor me ended up cumming just a min later.

Since then anytime I crave some serious boobs besides my gf I go to her house, bend her over something and fuck the hell out of her in doggystyle. From the way she moan and dirty talk I can tell she enjoys getting violeted randomly out of nowhere. An habitual bitch you can say. Of course that's a good thing for me. A new bitch to your harem is never enough!

Friends with benefits WINTER :

Karina's best friend and as result also my friend Winter is also one of my bitches. Timid in real life but nasty on bed; It makes sense she is bestie with my nympho gf Karina. Though she wasn't always mine to fuck. Winter was dumped by some rich boy who grown out her gold digger personality. A heartbroken Winter asked Karina for comfort, so my gf brought her bestie over and made me fuck her sadness out of her system as juices kept flowing out her pussy.

Karina was busy making over with bestie Winter. Her hand busy rubbing her clit while mouth locked tasting each other. Meanwhile my cock is going blur into Winter's hole, making the slim bitch shake with each and every thrust. Once I press on her bulging abdomen putting pressure on my cock, she started to convulse and cum like a broken hose. Since then I have fucked Winter a lot, before or after Karina. My gf don't mind me using her friend, she is happy as long as her friend and bf is happy too!

#kpop girl group smut #kpop smut #female idol smut #girl group smut #smut #aespa smut #karina smut #aespa × reader #giselle smut #winter smut #ningning smut #irene smut #eunbi smut #kpop x male reader #kpop imagines #kpop fanfic #jennie smut #black pink smut

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raayllum · 2 days ago

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King of What? :: a S7 Ezran Meta

Introduction

Because S7 in particular gave me even more Ezran feelings than usual, and I thought "What's more fun than methodically breaking them down and sorting them into categories?" so here we are. We'll be looking at a lot (but not all) of Ezran's s7 arc as well as some holdovers from previous seasons. There are also some motifs to keep in mind, such as the:

Phoenix motif

Need motif (+ him and Callum later)

Reflection Motif

that we will dive into more later once they're more relevant / we can put the pieces in place. For now, a little background meta key up because S7 breaks Ezran down and then systematically builds him back up while also, in some ways, doing a complete overhaul.

So let's talk about it?

Pillars of Identity: Who is Ezran?

TDP is a series obsessed with a lot of things, but if I'd have to wager what the second core idea of the series is beyond the Cycle of Violence, I'd probably put in on a theme of Identity, specifically questions such as, "how do I, as a person, exist within the Cycle (breaking it, perpetuating it, both)?" and "who has, or is, my grief turning me into?" as they are deeply interrelated. To answer those questions, that requires establishing who a character is in 'normal life,' or outside of grief and the cycle (ie. trauma) and who they are within it.

With that in mind, I think Ezran has about five approximate pillars for his identity, in roughly this order:

Harrow's son

The king

Callum's brother

Zym's friend

Rayla's friend

I don't think that other characters pillars would be that different (Rayla's primary would also likely be her three duty bound parents) as it does make sense; most children's primary influence in life, especially as they grow, start with their parents as role models even if they may eventually separate and take an opposite road (love you Soren). Where Ezran differs, I think, is that while I don't know if Rayla would consciously conceptualize herself as her parents' daughter as her primary pillar, I do think that Ezran — especially Ezran in arc 2 — is always orienting himself around "I am Harrow's son" (for better or for worse in terms of what that means).

This is also why I put Ezran's identity as king as his second pillar. In his childhood / pre-s3, I think his second pillar would've been his identity as Callum's (little) brother. However, we see him place returning to his kingdom above helping Callum (brother) and Rayla (friend) returning Zym (another friend) to Xadia. The loss of his father strips away the relative safety of body and mind that being a prince comparatively gave him, fundamentally altering his internalized and externalized sense(s) of responsibility and his choices accordingly. It's the loss of his father and the subsequent grief, yes, which Callum also experiences, but uniquely the mantle of the throne as well, which is what he highlights in 7x02:

This all started the day that assassin came to Katolis and killed him. Our king. Our father. I never asked for this. I wasn't ready to be a king. I'm just a kid. That day changed me forever.

So let's talk about being the king. Let's talk about

The Crown

Ezran's crown is one of the few objects in the series to have an episode titled after it (3x02) and the only one I can remember that continues to be a symbol we consistently come back to throughout (i.e. unlike 1x07's "The Dagger and the Wolf"). Despite returning to Katolis to be king and sitting on the throne itself throughout the episode, Ezran struggles with the crown. It is, to him, in some manner different than the throne, despite ostensibly representing the same thing. He has, effectively, already made the choice to be king, yet persists in his doubt and hesitation as he struggles to learn the balance.

Opeli, however, contributes to that distinction, noting specifically that "the crown is a heavy burden to bear" and that "no one blames you for being a child". Ezran's choice to fully commit to, and his acquiring of the kingship fully, is made synonymous with him putting on his father's crown for the first time. In a lot of ways, Ezran returning home to Katolis was him realizing he can't run away from growing up (2x09) in his own words, and therefore that putting on the crown is him committing to becoming someone new: this is Grown Up Ezran, or Growing Up Ezran, actively. He is, from this day on by choice, no longer just a child, but also — more so — a king.

AARAVOS: The whining child king, in over his head, and he knows it. (4x04) DOMINA: Who is this child? ZUBEIA: He is a king! (5x01) KARIM: I've never negotiated with a child before. CORVUS: He is a king. (6x07)

This also folds into how Ezran conceptualizes his father. Again, as children often do, he looks to his father for guidance with the things that Ezran is struggling to handle per his sense of responsiblity (teaching Zym how to fly in season 2): "I just wish Dad was here. He'd know what to do, you know?"

When Ezran returns home in season three, he does so with the direct consequence of his father's actions on his shoulders and wrapped around his brow, and with his letter in hand, and these changes likewise reflect a more nuanced understanding of his father:

All of you knew King Harrow as a great king. He was a warrior, a leader, and a champion. But I knew him as my Dad, who loved me and my brother and our mom, and sometimes told really bad jokes. [...] I didn't see everything he had to do as king, but I do know my father had to make some very hard decisions... I haven't been through the things that made my father the king he was. So I've decided that I don't have to be the king my father was. My father made choices to keep fighting battles that started hundreds of years before he was born. To punish children for crimes their parents committed. I don't want to be that kind of king.

This is, of course, a speech made in the context of actively rejecting war and of pardoning those who would otherwise be punished, both things that Harrow did engage in directly and deeply regretted in the letter Ezran currently holds. Ezran then walks the balance of simultaneously rejecting who his father was, and honouring who his father was and who he wanted to be. This is perhaps best exemplified in season 3 of Ezran, two episodes after rejecting his father's 'way', having a mirrored path across the courtyard set to "Last Sunset" in one of their most overt parallels, prepared to give up his life and freedom in hopes others will make better choices with the (hopefully) renewed agency they now have.

By the time we get to season 4, Ezran has changed greatly. He's more confident as king, the team's resident diplomat and negotiator, and a lot more active in general, though not without plenty of room to grow. 4x03 offers a cold dose of reality that the road to the future he wants is going to be harder to walk, but still confident that we can get there because, "We all want peace, and we all want love."

He also has a more complicated yet positive view of his father as king and of the world at large. He best expresses this, perhaps, the first time he removes his crown (which is a permanent part of his identity, and of his character design):

I am King Ezran of Katolis. As my gift [of sacrifice], I offer you my crown. It has no jewels and it isn't made of precious metal. It's made from the steel of my father's sword. My father was a strong king, and I wanted to carry that strength with me. But he also taught me that strength isn't always about weapons and war. This crown reminds me of that lesson.

Rather than just seeing Harrow as something to not be, Ezran has come around to wanting to carry his father closely with him. He's learned that "peace demands just as much strength as war" and also decided to embody Harrow's closing thoughts as a king: "I now believe that true strength is found in vulnerability, in forgiveness, in love." A dual strength for a dual king, symbolized by Ezran taking his father's sword and reshaping it into something new.

Ezran is a King of Love as Strength. He is king because he's literally Harrow's son and heir, but also emotionally — narratively — Harrow's son in terms of breaking the cycle and choosing love (similarly how Janai in S7 becomes known as a queen of mercy just like her previous royal role model, Aditi). Harrow's son by fact, and Harrow's son by choice in some ways:

EZRAN: History doesn't have to be a narrative of strength. Not if we don't want it to be. It can be a narrative of love. KARIM: These are childish dreams. EZRAN: Not dreams, choices. I am a king. And as a king, I choose love over strength.

So Ezran being king, to him, is synonymous with choosing love as strength. With making choices. With being Harrow's son (positive). He forgives Zubeia and Avizandum because of Zym. He forgives Rayla because "I'm sure she doesn't mean to make [Callum] feel that way". He provides an anchor, a pillar, for other people to build their identity around ("Don't you remember who you are?") as a reminder and a lever (hi Soren). He can honour and strive to be better than his father simultaneously. He can hold pain and love in his heart at the same time.

Until he can't.

King of what? King of ashes? [Of nothing?]

In seasons 4 and 5, we see Ezran remove his crown. Both are about sacrifices: he is prepared to offer his crown to Rex Igneous and to Finnegrin in order to help with their mission, asserting its sentimental value and importance to him: "You must bring Rex Igneous a worthy gift." / "It's not worthless. It's really important to me."

In season 7, he removes it just once. This is in admission to Callum that he "never asked for this". He was given the option of being king or not being king, but neither would've necessarily made him happy, and he made the best choice with the options he had... Options that he never asked for in the first place. The crown being a reminder to choose strength over love? He never asked to have to learn that lesson, either. It was a burden placed on him in making the best out of a bad situation, which is — unfortunately — an unavoidable part of life. But it can still be, or feel, unfair to him.

I think we see this aspect of Ezran struggling with what he wanted vs what was forced upon him in how he (and others) in 7x02 treat his high ranking position. We've seen first hand in 5x01 that Callum would overrule something like Rayla — and Runaan by extension — being arrested, but Ezran has the final say here as king. However, he does not directly highlight his own ranking. Merely, he reminds his brother of Callum's position:

Callum. High Mage. We need you at this council meeting.

And Rayla ("you're not my king, but you are my friend") reminds Ezran of his, because it is Ezran's status as king — the power, the trauma — that is driving them apart:

So, King Ezran. How determined are you to stop me?

Being king gives Ezran control over the people around him — Opeli, Soren, Corvus, Aanya, Callum — and over what happens. It gives him control. A sense of safety. And while these are understandable desires, they swing the wrong way in his anger.

So let's talk about who they swing towards!

Targets (Sol Regem, Runaan, Callum)

Ezran's anger has three direct targets in season 7, and as such, it's easy to see the way each stacks on top of the other.

The initial one is Sol Regem ("We need to find Sol Regem and destroy him"). This leads to finding an already dead dragon, which means in addition to having no one to blame, it means Ezran has no way to know or understand why Sol Regem attacked Katolis (beyond a hatred of humans). The destruction of the castle feels like losing his family all over again, in some ways, in addition to his childhood home.

Then lo and behold, the man responsible for killing his father walks right into it.

You! This is all your fault! Everything changed the day you came. You killed my father!

I think this line shows a few things. As king, Ezran was supposed to protect and be there for Katolis (2x09) while also working to break the cycle. That's what, by Ezran's measure, a good king would do. He's utterly failed at the former, and if he's a bad king, then he shouldn't be king. So whose fault is it that Ezran, a bad king, is on the throne? Logistically and emotionally, it's Runaan. It's not quite rational but it is reasonable for Ezran to look at every event in his life from the past two years spiralling out from his father's death, and culminating in Katolis' destruction.

However, despite Runaan becoming the next target of Ezran's anger, he's not actually the most consistent target of it throughout the season: Callum is.

After 7x02, Ezran doesn't breathe a single word of ire about Runaan for the rest of the series, even if he's still clearly angry months later in the 7x09 'epilogue'. Instead in 7x03, he's fixated on finding and dragging his brother back as punishment ("we can't let him get away with it!") for betrayal, which Ezran also takes personally and extends beyond himself: "Callum betrayed me. He betrayed all of Katolis."

The idea that a king represents his kingdom is an old one in terms of history, and considering that Runaan killed the king of Katolis, and Callum helped him escape, it's not that much of a reach. However, Ezran isn't even thinking that logically. If Ez was proposing hunting down the kingslayer and bringing him back to face justice, that'd be one thing. However, he only talks about holding Callum accountable, not even Rayla (who also betrayed him) or Runaan (the escaped prisoner).

His targets, quite literally, switched from Aanya having her arrow notched at Runaan and then to his brother, and Ezran's anger has subsequently followed.

Now, some of this is undoubtedly because of the three, Ezran is the closest to Callum. They had a childhood together and Callum was customarily always in his corner, if sometimes a bit scatterbrained/unreliable or angry. He, accordingly, expected Callum to be on his side, and barring that (stopping him from going after Rayla in the meeting) was prepared to enforce it. A lot of our emotional upset tends to come from "I expected you to understand/support me, and you don't" after all.

However, I think Ezran's emotional interplay is a bit more complicated. I think in 7x01, Ezran attaches to Callum as an extension of himself even as he self-isolates, such as sending Callum to go with Corvus "because we have to do something" in investigating Sol Regem, and for no real in-universe reason besides "Corvus offered to go, but I need to feel in control so I'm going to tell/order someone to go with him".

The other, bigger part of this is that Callum is the biggest hole in Ezran's reasoning.

EZRAN: He killed our father. Isn't that enough?

We know that part of Ezran's grief is that it forced him to be king and grow up quickly, something that Callum is adjacent to but can't relate to in the same way by virtue of not having the crown. But since the reasoning Ezran highlights is that 1) Runaan is a murderer (unlike the bulk of the people at his council table—oh wait) and 2) it's okay/right to punish him for killing their father... having his brother, who is also King Harrow's son (cue the identity pillar) disagree is a pretty big blow to it. They both loved their dad; he was their father, and they were both his sons. Callum is in the closest position imaginable to Ezran as anyone could be, emotionally, yet they have two completely different perspectives. It gives Ezran's reasoning much less ground to stand on, and he can't handle it. The fact that Callum's perspective (which was already a betrayal in its own way) then becomes action (which is what Ezran labels the betrayal), I think, is just the cherry on top.

Another thing that's worth noting, I think, is that neither Ezran or Callum are necessarily the ones who escalate things in 7x02; Aanya and Rayla are. Soren, Corvus, and the other guards are working under Ezran as his crownguard, but Aanya and Rayla are the rogue parties. Aanya isn't operating under Ezran's jurisdiction, but as his friend and ally. What this does mean, though, is that literally everyone at the Banther Lodge is on Ezran's side against Rayla and her weakened, injured father... except Callum, but as a mage, he's enough to tip the scales to take down the crownguard... and then use himself as a human shield.

One of the things about Ezran's anger and its targets in season 7 is that it does a very good job at illustrating exactly why the Cycle is so destructive to participate in, because yes, you may aim your anger at the people who 'deserve' it and are directly responsible—the acceptable, understandable Targets if you will—but you catch others in the crossfire. There is always collateral damage of people who didn't do a thing to you, whether that's the people who love them, or the people who are like them. (Insert Zubeia wanting to take revenge for the loss of her mate and child, claiming the lives of the assassins sent to take it, and then Lyrennus' pain at the loss of his child + Ethari's at the loss of his partner.) There is no clean way to kill your enemy in a manner that does no harm to anyone else (who is innocent).

Ezran's targets by proxy of wanting to deal with Sol Regem's destruction of Katolis are the dragons and Zym (more on them in a second, though, cause that deserves its own section). His targets by proxy of wanting to punish Runaan is causing deep pain to Rayla, even before she's taken any action against him, and then on a more literal sense his own brother. His targets by proxy of wanting to drag Callum back by force likely would've been Runaan, Rayla, potentially Ethari, or even Corvus or other crownguard in the fight.

Callum shielding Runaan (and Rayla by extension) force Ezran to confront this fact, at least a little. Does he value punishing Runaan (and Rayla, a girl who's saved him countless times, who was willing to lose a hand for him, who has otherwise always taken his side)—perpetuating the cycle—over his brother's life. And Ezran is angry enough that he good and truly considers it (although we could say perhaps he was waiting to see if Callum would move out of the way). But where Ezran was willing to hurt Rayla emotionally if it meant physically punishing Runaan, he is not willing to risk killing Callum to keep the assassin as a prisoner.

This is also, I think, the turning point for Aanya. She is Ezran's friend and was willing to follow his lead, and upon seeing the choice that Ezran made—sparing Callum over killing him and Runaan—she shifts gears. She and everyone else (who are deeply uncomfortable with Ezran's increasing rage, but unwilling to speak out against it) recognize that pursuing and punishing Callum will not actually making Ezran feel better. So she tries a different tactic.

EZRAN: We can't let him get away with it. Corvus, I need you to track them. CORVUS: [Gently corrects him] King Ezran, we already know where they're going. The Silvergrove. EZRAN: Right. And that's why I need you to track them. (7x03)

I also think Ezran taking 'being king' as such a core identity piece—Callum was Harrow's son too, but not in the way Ezran wanted/needed—lets Aanya reach him. She's also a child monarch, and reminding Ezran of this and that he and Callum can heal ("But I'll always be your brother" / "You're brothers") is something that Ezran deeply needed to hear from someone else, too.

AANYA: I know it hurts right now, Ezran. But you need to know that you and Callum are not broken. The both of you will heal one day. You're brothers. It's okay to be angry, and it's okay to be sad. But I think you should let this go, for now. You're the king of Katolis, and your people need you. EZRAN: You're right. I need to protect them.

EZRAN: But Katolis needs me. (4x03)

However, that doesn't mean Aanya's advice, nor how Ezran pursues that protection is faultless, so next, let's talk about

Dragons as Friends and Foes

Ezran has always been the dragon boy.

Back in 2021, I wrote a more long winded post that basically boiled down to—in a show where elf, human, and dragon relations are key—it was likely that Callum was always designed to be the human who engaged the most with the culturally elven side of things (primal magic, Rayla being his lancer), and Ezran (with his ability to talk to animals) was designed to handle the dragon-human side of things. Think how we see Callum's first meeting with Rayla, an elf, while Ezran is the one who discovers Zym as a dragon egg.

Although other characters (namely Rayllum in S3, and Soren in seasons 4-6) bond with dragons as well, this remained true throughout arc 2, wherein Ezran is the closest to Zym and Zubeia, the primary negotiator with the various archdragons, going on his 'big dragon missions' (5x01-5x03), etc.

Season seven, therefore, presents an interesting departure in Ezran's view of dragons. Previously, while they should've been enemies, he always saw them as friends and allies: being the first to run to and aid Pyrrah in 2x07, trying to commune with Zubeia to wake her up in 3x08, defending Avizandum in 4x08 on behalf of Zym, etc.

Sol Regem's attack changes all of that. As Ezran states:

But doesn't a home need to be safe? [...] Our ancestors spent generations building Katolis. I don't want to waste our time if it's all going to get knocked down. [...] We have to be ready. We have to be strong enough so that they won't even think about attacking us. Before we rebuild, we have to build our defenses.

In season 4 and 5, all Ezran wanted to do was work with the dragons. To work together with Zubeia to stop Aaravos; to call upon the dragons to help stop Claudia and Viren. Now, the dragons are a 'them'. Now there's an 'us'.

This isn't necessarily a 'wrong' way to think about it, though. An archdragon did attack and devastate Katolis, seemingly — to Ezran — for no apparent reason. To want to prevent that from happening is reasonable. Yes, Ezran is friends with dragons, but most friends aren't also born with the inherent capacity to utterly destroy your life as a built in feature.

At the same time, this new 'us vs them' mindset is challenged a few times in season 7. Although Ezran's assurances to Zym that "we're only building such powerful weapons so that we never have to use them" will not work out without consequences in arc 3, I'm sure, thus far we only see Ezran use them on another enemy he's willing to be increasingly violent with: Aaravos.

In 7x07, the Startouch elf offers up a double serving of manipulation — the bigger one being to join him and that he's humanity's ally, which Ezran steadfastly rejects, and the smaller one beneath regarding the Nova Blade (+ Callum), which Ezran 100% plays into. Both of these push Ezran further as a character.

The first avenue that Ezran rejects leads him to claim that:

I have allies already. The elves and dragons, fellow victims of your evil.

Even if the only elf he's currently working with is a recent addition is Terry, forcing Rayla and Runaan to go on the run in 7x02, and his draconic ally in Zym is deeply worried about Ezran and Aanya's project. But it shows that despite his coldness towards previous allies, Ezran still holds unity close and refuses to relinquish it entirely as an ideal.

Secondly, we have Ezran's choice to use the Nova Blade. This is both a departure and in line with his thoughts in 5x06:

CALLUM: We borrow this Nova Blade, wait for Aaravos to get out, and then just stab-stab, buh-bye bad guy. EZRAN: Wait, slow down. Shouldn't that be the last resort? If we can stop Aaravos from getting out at all, we can solve this without any violence.

On the one hand, Ezran in 7x08/09 is just following through with what he said here. If Aaravos was still trapped, they didn't need to resort to violence. Now that he's out, violence is accordingly on the table, just as Ezran said it would be. However, I think it still feels like a departure in some ways because of Ezran's repeated emphasis on strength and love over violence, and his choice (4x08, 5x06) to melt his father's sword down into a crown... only to now acquire a sword that isn't made for defense whatsoever, but for the express purpose of killing.

That said, more on the Nova Blade in a second.

For now, I want to return to the archdragons, and just do a little season track:

7x01: Ezran finds out an archdragon / former king of the dragons destroyed Katolis. Furious, he wants to destroy Sol Regem in turn, but cannot as the great dragon is already dead.

7x02: Ezran takes out his anger on Runaan, Zubeia's servant assassin.

7x03-7x05: Ezran goes with Aanya to learn how to build weapons that can stand a chance against dragons / archdragons, in spite of Zym's misgivings.

7x07: Despite Callum giving Ezran the mission to go retrieve Zubeia, Ez delegates it to his crownguard + Terry, choosing to remain in Katolis and converse with Aaravos instead to "keep [Aaravos] busy".

7x09: Ezran (and co.) are spared from sacrificing their lives and "everything we are" because of the archdragons, who all sacrifice themselves to stop Aaravos. Ezran holds Zym while his parents / Zubeia die, and then instructs a memorial to be created in the Valley of the Graves.

So, after a season of being angry at an archdragon, at seeing dragons as potential enemies... Ezran and everyone / everything he loves is saved by those very same creatures. Instead of destroyers who force him to sacrifice, they are saviours who choose to sacrifice on his behalf. This doesn't remove responsiblity from Ezran's shoulders per se—in many ways, a world without archdragons adds to it, as he states, "It's up to us now, Zym" (in a nice callback to 1x03)—but I do think it greatly contributes to his perspective in his closing scene this season.

One of the ways it does so is bringing back the gift motif from 4x08, not only in "worthy gifts of sacrifice" but in Ezran's realization that:

We offered gifts that meant a lot to us. But the truth is, they don't mean anything to you.

being directly contrasted in 7x09, with:

AARAVOS: And what will your sacrifices buy? A mere moment of peace before I return to a world without you? Without archdragons. Your deaths mean nothing.

EZRAN: They have given us a great gift. A chance to keep on living. Keep trying to be better.

The first time Ezran spoke of the dragons in 4x01, it was with excitement for Zubeia and Zym's visit to Katolis. He believed "it would change how people see dragons". He offered gifts of friendship and peace in the Valley of the Graves, only for the portrait to be defaced. By the end of season 7, Ezran's desire for people to see the dragons differently has come true, and his honouring of Zubeia is allowed to stand in a way that's far more permanent than a painting.

OPELI: It's the gift ceremony. I'm concerned that holding in the Valley of the Graves is insensitive. EZRAN: Wait, what? It's a sacred beautiful place. It's a place of peace. OPELI: Some people have come to me in confidence. They worry that honouring a dragon in a place that is a memorial to so many great humans, some of whom died at their hands, is offensive. (4x03)

EZRAN: Aaravos pushed us to to the brink. We were ready to sacrifice it all. Everything. You and me, Callum, Rayla... We almost gave up everything we are. But because of them, the archdragons, we didn't have to.

Now, I don't think this change at the end of the season will be enough necessarily for Ezran to halt Project Ruby Fire. I don't think it undoes the hard choices he's made or the things he's learned about himself. But I do think it asserts what he's aspiring towards, and helps direct himself to who he wants to be and how he's going to proceed going forward (Evrkynd, Runaan).

Speaking of which, let's finally talk about Runaan. Again.

A Phoenix

I've alluded to this this a bit before, but I think one of the main reasons Ezran chose to forgive Runaan was because of the archdragons' sacrifice. The dragons gave him a chance to keep living, to keep trying to be better—and Ezran then turns and gives that "great gift" in turn to Runaan. I don't know if I think that Ezran would've otherwise had Runaan executed, but forgiveness even more than just being spared is a much more active choice in a lot of ways, and not something that Ezran had to conflate, but chose to.

The other reason I think Ezran chose to forgive Runaan is because, as of the end of S7, he's been Runaan.

As an assassin, I had convinced myself that I was a kind of peacemaker. A twisted peacemaker, I suppose. I believed that my act of precision violence was preferable... necessary, even, to prevent far greater bloodshed.

[...] I was trained to accept that I was already dead, so that I might carry out my dark work without fear. But I am not dead. I am alive. I have a family I love. I have so much to lose, the very things I took from you.

"They have given us a great gift. A chance to keep on living."

Ezran now understands how someone can believe that to keep back chaos and death, you have to kill another person. To believe in your bones that someone has to die, even if that means your own destruction. That doesn't mean Runaan was right about Harrow, or that Ezran is necessarily wrong about Aaravos, but the journey to get there, the mindset, of how undeterred you are when you reach that place... Ezran's been there. He knows, now, in ways he didn't before.

He forgave Zubeia because everything was complicated: because he could relate to longing for his mother (Zym), to watching his father grieve his wife the same way Zubeia was grieving Avizandum, to wanting to protect his kingdom (Avizandum). To grieving family. Of a child who had lost things.

He forgives Runaan because he can understand being an assassin, and already dead, and realizing you almost lost / have forsaken your family along the way. Of violence testing you, and failing, and having to try again. To reforge yourself into something new—because the true heart you had before is gone, but that doesn't mean your heart is.

Ezran stands in front of the fireplace twice in season 7. The first is with Zym in 7x02 and where he has his initial disagreement with Callum. The second time is with Runaan in 7x09, a fire in his eyes. This evokes not only Ezran's fury and association with the dragons, but also the framing of Aaravos from earlier in the season.

Ezran once asked if he was now the king of ashes. 7x09 demands him to answer if he wants to keep being a King of Ashes. If he wants to continue feeding his anger and hate, if he wants to continue fuelling the fire of hatred and grief within him. And Ezran says no. He says yes to forgiveness, though this time, he does not know the way:

EZRAN: But it's not that simple or easy. [...] Somehow, we have to hold it all in our hearts at the same time. (4x03) CALLUM: But somehow, you got past that. You forgave her, because everything was complicated. (7x02) EZRAN: I'm going to forgive you. I don't know how, but I have to try. (7x09)

He is presented with a phoenix (Runaan, back from the grave) and chooses to become one himself, and welcome back in all the other pillars of identity that had been crumbling over the past season.

EZRAN: I think about the people I love who are counting on me to do the right thing. Not the strong thing, not the harsh thing. The right thing. Do you love your sister, Prince Karim? (6x07)

It's sort of fitting, then, that in choosing once again to be Harrow's son (positive), he's presented with a more literal bird phoenix in "Harrow's soul in is in Pip" then, too.

And the same rebirth goes for the world around him, too.

ASTRID: Everything burns when a star dies. (7x09)

OPELI: King Ezran... perhaps it is finally time to rebuild. EZRAN: No. It's time to build something new. [...] Our world faced its end. But we survived. And on the other side, we find ourselves at a new beginning. [...] There is no such thing as utopia. But with hard work and discipline, persistence and patience, we can build a better place.

The Crown, Again (reforge into something new)

So I've talked about the reflection motif, and I've talked now about the phoenix motif. There's still more I could touch on in regards to Ezran's whole thing with Aaravos and the Orphan Queen, the layers of Aaravos' manipulation, the theme of following in your predecessors' footsteps and the good and harm that can come of it, but that's probably a meta for another day. For now, I want to return to the Need motif we touched on earlier.

TDP is very interested in questioning what characters deem necessary. Thus far, this was mostly done through Aaravos ("Aaravos did what was necessary" / "we will do what must be done"), Claudia ("I did what I had to do" / "Maybe he's just doing what needs to be done" / Whatever it takes, however dangerous, however vile"), and Viren ("I tried to explain that I had only done what was necessary"). S7 starts to shift gears and push further at the main trio, questioning and picking apart some of their mindsets (which again, could be a meta on its own) in regards to what sort of violence they believe is necessary and why, only for none of it to actually have been so because of the Archdragons. A nice little meta-narrative reflection.

What I want to actually focus on here is Ezran's idea of need. This is usually couched within his place of being king, and loyalty to his kingdom, as we've seen previously ("But Katolis needs me" / "You are the king of Katolis, and your people need you").

EZRAN: I wish [Zym] could come with me too, but you need to go be with your mom. That's your home. Both of us need to go home. (2x09)

So Ezran believes that needs to be king because Katolis needs him. Great. What does Ezran need?

Season 7 gives various answers, according to himself:

"Callum. High Mage. We need you at this council meeting" (7x02)

"We can't let [Callum] get away with it. Corvus, I need you to track them" (7x03)

"I need to protect [my people]" (7x03)

"Destiny works in mysterious ways. The Novablade came to my ancestor, only to be lost for generations until we needed it" (7x09).

The other people in his life have other ideas, as discussed.

ZUBEIA: But Zym, you must go. Your brother Ezran needs you. (6x02)

AANYA: But you need to know that you and Callum are not broken. The both of you will heal one day. You're brothers.

CALLUM: Mom said it was okay to be angry, but I couldn't let the bad feelings stick. Because we were going to need each other. Because we're brothers. I still need you, Ezran.

Broken things can be mended. Crowns and swords can be reforged. People can be, too. As much as Ezran loves his council and his crownguard, he needs people who don't just see him as king. Callum is not his High Mage, but will always be his brother, and that's what's most important. He needs Callum and Rayla and Zym; he needs Aanya who can help keep him grounded. He needs his family because they help keep him who he is as much as he has for them in the past ("Don't you remember who you are?" in 4x07) now that it is up to them to maintain it, and the archdragons are gone.

And to be himself, Ezran needs to be:

Harrow's son with accordance to a Narrative of Love

The King of Katolis

Callum, Zym, and Rayla's brother

rising from the ashes and bringing others up with him, over and over again the way he always has. The way he always will.

Because not all cycles are bad, either.

Conclusion

As stated, there's more to Ezran's arc in S7: ideas of history and half-truths, of chains and Startouch elves, of home and memorials. Of what we carry against our will, what we choose to set down, and vice versa. What this meta was, then, was the first at likely two passes, focusing on Ezran's emotional state(s) throughout the season and his emotional processing. More structural and thematic based analyses of his character in S7 / across the show thus far will definitely folllow.

For now, though, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed a bit of a deeper dive!

All hail the king.

#ezran #tdp ezran #tdp meta #tdp #the dragon prince #tdp spoilers #s7 spoilers #arc 2 #s7 #7x02 #7x03 #7x09 #analysis series #analysis #reflection motif #need motif #phoenix motif #i spent 2.5 weeks on this im so glad it's finally done

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averillaratargaryen · 2 days ago

Text

‘The Bitter Bond.’

Chapter XIII

“The only way to secure your daughters claim to the throne, is to have the Princess marry your son, Your Grace” Lord Lyonel was sat beside the King.

“And how exactly will that play out? What are you suggesting?” Viserys asks.

“Prince Aegon is a man. Princess Rhaenyra is a woman. There is no doubt, the realm will not accept her to be Queen, when you are no longer present. And no doubt, your Hand, will do the best to usurp the throne” Lord Lyonel paused, waiting to see if King Viserys would get the hint.

Unfortunately, he did not.

With a sigh, Lord Lyonel then leaned forward, “Princess Daerlyssa is Princess Rhaenyra’s daughter. Marrying Prince Aegon will give her the advantage of having your blood sit the throne, should it be usurped. Princess Daerlyssa is our only hope.”

“It will make no difference, they will have my granddaughter become a consort, if a usurpation was to take place” Viserys, despite slightly being intrigued, held back.

“Except, it will make it easier for Daemon to fight for the throne, and to pass it to the rightful heir, your daughter, Princess Rhaenyra” Lord Lyonel looked at Viserys in worry, “you are in poor health, your grace. You must see to reason, that this is possibly the only way, to stop a usurpation when you are no longer here.”

“Princess” Ser Arryk gave a polite gesture, as did his brother, Ser Erryk, when the two were stood, guarding the doors of the Great Hall.

The King had called, for his granddaughter.

Turning around, Daerlyssa looked towards Ser Harold, who gave her a nod, “I will wait out here, Princess.”

She nods back, turning towards the doors once again, before being politely welcomed, as her grandfather was sat at the throne, watching as she made her way down, to him.

It was complete silence, the sound of her heels clicking against the floor, followed by a sudden bang, as the doors were pulled closed, leaving her alone.

“Your grace” she politely greeted her grandfather, “you called for me?”

“Yes, I did” he responds, “do not be scared, child. Come closer.”

Daerlyssa looked around, as she continued walking towards him, wondering what he wished to speak of, to have her desert in the hall with him.

“You seem nervous” Viserys sits up, leaning forward.

“I do not understand why you have asked to see me. On my own” Daerlyssa gulped.

With only a couple of steps away, Daerlyssa stopped, as she stood facing him.

“We must speak, of my proposal” Viserys responds, watching Daerlyssa let out a soft sigh, “the last we spoke of this, you stormed out.”

“Marry my Uncle is a grave mistake, your grace” Daerlyssa responds, “I do not want to face the same fate as my mother.”

“And what fate would that be?” Viserys asks, knowing she questioned his parenting skills.

“You had my mother marry a man, who could not give her children. My brothers are bastards, by nature. It had given every reason for whispers around this place, towards my family” Daerlyssa scoffed, “if you had married her to my father first, my mother would have not had to move away, to Dragonstone.”

“And you are afraid Aegon will not give you children?” Viserys scoffs, “do you think I’d allow that?”

“You allowed it with my mother” Daerlyssa responds, “as for me.. you know of your son’s desires. He will not be able to give me children, and I do not want to be his wife.”

“Daerlyssa, do you understand why I am asking that you marry him?” Viserys asks.

“Because you find his love for men a sin. You wish this marriage would cleanse him. My uncle has confided in what you have spoken, to him” Daerlyssa responds.

Viserys sighed, as he shook his head no, forcing himself up, off the throne.

Looking towards her, he stepped down, making his way towards her.

“Daerlyssa, if you care for your family, your only choice is to marry your Uncle” Viserys explains.

“What would marrying him do, to help my family?” Daerlyssa asks.

“Your mother is the heir, as you are aware” Viserys states.

“Yes, I am aware” Daerlyssa responds.

“Dear, I do not know how long I will” Viserys let out a soft chuckle, at his weakness, “my time will be up, and soon enough, it will be time for your mother to rule. Except.. she is a woman.”

“If you thought of it that way, why did you chose to name her your heir?” Daerlyssa asks.

“I do not think of it that way” Viserys shook his head, “no. But the realm would put a torch the throne, than see a woman sit it. It is possible, that Aegon would become a usurper.”

“And you wish I’d marry him? You think that is what will help my family?” Daerlyssa scoffed.

“If you marry, you will become his consort” Viserys explains.

“I do not wish to be his consort. I wish to be a woman with dignity. Marrying, for a game.. what dignity would that give me?” Daerlyssa asks.

“Your mother will struggle to take back her throne, if it is not for you” Viserys responds.

“You forget your brother, your Grace. My father hates your children, with you consort. Every single one, he despises. If they were to usurp the throne, it would only take Daemon a day to get it back” Daerlyssa looked towards her grandfather blankly.

Looking toward his sword, Viserys begins to walk around her, to walk past, leaving the throne in her rear view.

“Daemon has no army. He knows better himself, he can not fight for the throne. Not alone” Viserys responds.

“My father is strong” Daerlyssa turns around to face him, only managing to face his back, “he could kill an entire city, with no army.”

“And kill the small folk?” Viserys asks, “Rhaenyra would not allow it.

Turning back around, he looked at Daerlyssa with pleading eyes, as reached out, holding both her hands.

“You are your family’s only hope. If you do not, the throne will be usurped. War will follow, as you and your family are forced to bend the knee to your Uncle and the Hightowers. Is that what you want?” Viserys asks.

“No, but-?”

“Then you must marry” Viserys demands, “take my word, and marry your uncle, or live to see fire and blood shed, as the house of the dragon falls to its doom.”

“So I must sacrifice my happiness, in order for this house to stay stable?” Daerlyssa asks.

“We all must make sacrifices. This is one not for me, but for you. For your mother. My only child” Viserys slipped his hands out of hers, before cradling her face gently, as he looked into her eyes, “marry Aegon.”

A couple of days had passed, since the conversation between Daerlyssa and her grandfather had taken place.

He had given her time to process, and think, of what she must do.

…

“Where are you taking me?” Daerlyssa chuckled, as she held onto Aemond’s arm, the two walking the streets of the city, late at night, disguised in capes.

They had eventually come to a stop, with a crowd stood before them.

Yet, Aemond managed to have them squeeze past, as the two were intrigued of what was going on.

“Rhaenyra, the Realm’s Delight. A girl so young and so slight.”

“We should go” Aemond whispered, as he held Daerlyssa’s hand tightly.

Yet she shook her head no, her eyes forward to the play before her, as she heard the laughter from the crownd.

“Would she make a powerful queen? Or would she be feeble?”

“Feeble!” The crowd around her shout out in response.

Daerlyssa then looks around to the crowd, confused and hurt, by the slander they give, to her mother.

Aemond notices the shift in her body, as she looked around, her eyes slightly teared.

“Though, Aegon, the Prince, might long for a claim, he has two things Rhaenyra can not; a conqueror’s name, and a cock!”

Daerlyssa heard the laughter around her once again, before turning around as she stormed away, Aemond following after her.

…

“Daerlyssa, wait” Aemond called out.

“Is this what everyone thinks?” Daerlyssa turns to face Aemond, as the two stood in an alley, “because my mother is not a woman, she can not sit the throne, is that truly people’s nature?”

“It does not matter what they think” Aemond responds, “the King has named his heir. It is his word, over theirs. They have no choice, but to accept.”

“Yet they would rather have your brother sit the throne” Daerlyssa scoffed.

“No woman has sat the iron throne. It is simply just not being able to fathom such a thing” Aemond responds.

He could not understand the reason for her teared eyes, not aware of the conversation she and Viserys shared.

Not realising Daerlyssa’s sorrow was her acceptance, that Viserys was right.

That she would have to sacrifice the idea of being happy, in order to save her family.

“If you are afraid of being hurt, then I can assure you, the people of Westeros would not hurt a woman” Aemond assured her.

Yet his words weren’t enough to have her persuaded, as she took a step away from him, “everywhere in the world, they hurt women like me. We are never safe, when men are ruling.”

As the next morning had come, Aemond was making his way down for breakfast.

It was a rough night, given his adventure with Daerlyssa had been cut short, after she had wished to return home, due to what she witnessed from the small folk.

Aemond had found himself worried, hoping to speak to her that morning, yet could not find her within her chamber, or anywhere.

Until he reached the table, looking up to see Daerlyssa stood at the table, beside Viserys.

The faces at the table, clearly in distress.

“Aemond” Viserys called out, “please, sit.”

Aemond nodded slowly, looking towards Daerlyssa. Whilst she could feel his eye on her, she fought to keep her eyes away, looking straight.

“What is going on?” Aemond asks, as he sat beside Helena.

“Daerlyssa has accepted to marry our brother” Helena responded.

Aemond felt the time stop, a feeling as though everything began to move slowly.

Looking towards Aegon, he noticed the betrayal on his face, as he looked for help, in getting out of such a thing.

To then look at Daerlyssa’s eyes, whose eyes were full of tears, yet she kept her head held high, hiding away what she truly felt in that moment.

“What?” Aemond wished to ask, yet the words were taken out his mouth, when he turned to the voice that spoke.

There stood Daemon, beside Rhaenyra, as they look towards their daughter.

“I will marry” Daerlyssa responded.

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

chapter 14

#hotd fanfic #house of the dragon #house targaryen #hotd fanfiction #daemon targaryen #fanfiction #fanfic #aemond targaryen #aegon fanfic #aegon targaryen #aemondfanfic #aemond fluff #aemond targaryen fanfiction #hotd aemond #aemond fanfiction #hotd cregan #hotd

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jacaeryslover · 23 hours ago

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KING OF MY HEART: a jacaerys targaryen one-shot.

SUMMARY: jace sits the iron throne, his children want to play with him but he's busy being a good king! reader explains and plays with them.

the ends of your deep blue dress slips against the cold floor of the red keep, you are looking for two little brown haired heads, your children. when you finally arrive to the nursing room, you see lydia trying to play with your eldest son, lucerys, she seems like she's trying really hard to make him feel better.

today is that day of the week, jace is supposed to spend some quality time with his heir, they use that time to play, read or even have lectures about the importance of his father's job, and in the future, it will also be his.

"luke, is everything alright?" you ask tenderly, you knew what happened, but you wanted your own son to tell you, or at least his sweet sister.

lucerys was a lot like you, he was bold but sweet, he had a strong sense of duty. his hair was brown like his father and his cheeks and nose were adorned with tainted freckles, your daughter rhaegan on the other hand was just like her father, she was sweet and caring.

"yes" he mutters quietly, almost like a whisper, but it was enough for you to hear it. his eyes dancing between the wooden carved horses and fishes that lydia swung in the air, in the attempt of making the child play with her.

rhaegan on the other hand, was busy drawing. she had a taste of drawing every type of things, bugs, spiders, castles, and people. she once said that portraits were her specialty.

"rhaegan, do you care to tell me why your brother is sulking?"

the quiet girl finally speaks, lifting her head from her drawing to look at her mother's sweet eyes. "he is sad because father couldn't play with him".

jacaerys never missed the opportunities to play with his children, everyone knew that. so something important had to come up for him to do so.

"well, luke. your father must be very busy, you know he loves to play with you" you say, trying to make your son a little bit happier.

"you know your father works very hard for the people of the realm, his job is of very importance"

"i know, but i miss him" luke says, and it breaks your heart. you knew it was going to be hard, balancing family and the realms duties, but it has to be done nonetheless. and you were proud of your husbands work so far.

and just as he appeared in your thoughts, he stepped into the room with a big smile, ready to dedicate the rest of the day with his children. his apologetic look did not go unnoticed by you.

"i'm sorry, my children. i had some important business to attent to. it will not happen again" he said, taking a place next to you, catching his son's hard gaze "i'm sorry luke, please forgive me" his soft voice directed just to his older son, while bringing his right hand to play with luke's brown hair. a mirage of his own brother.

okay i apologize for this, it's awful but it's been sitting in my drafts for months now and im just letting it go

#house of the dragon #hotd #jacaerys velaryon #jacaerys targaryen #jacaerys girlie #oneshot #game of thrones #x reader #hotd one shot #jacaerys targaryen x reader #prince jacaerys #jacaerys velaryon x reader #jacaerys x reader #hotd jacaerys #jacaerys fluff

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marabow · 3 days ago

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(the drawing on the header made my Oana Befort)

୨⎯ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐃 ⎯୧

Yandere Male Vampire/Strigoi x Gn! Human! Reader

𑁍 Cw; depictions of death (animal(mentioned) and human), manipulation, gaslighting, threats

𑁍 Woah, first story on this blog (sorry if it's short)! I haven't seen any stories on writing websites involving vampires who aren't necessarily these rich charming siren-like creatures with huge castles, so I decided to be (probably) the first person to write about vampires without inspiration from the story of Bram Stoker. (I'll write a more detailed book with this plot and characters, so this is kind of like a little teaser) (I'll also change most of the things in the book, so don't expect everything to be like in this oneshot)

The morning sun began setting softly, leaving the simple dirt road towards the village of Nectarari, a simple and ignoble village miles away from Bucharest. Yet another day at work on the field, yet another painful day for the simple son/daughter of the farmer Dragos Spiridon, a very well respected man in the village for his ability to read the newsprint, even if he was just as simple and poor as everybody else in the small village. (Y/N) was walking beside their father, who was riding their family horse, Tinca. They could almost see their vision blur as they were walking, but they had to stay determined and keep walking.

"Diii, Tinca! we need to hurry home!" The much older man shouted. He seemed to ignore that their child was feeling quite tired. It must've been from all the work they did.

"Tata, why couldn't Filoftea come to help us? Or even Lizuca." (Y/N) asked their father about their two sisters, yet he didn't answer, just busy making the old mare continue trotting. Seeing as the man didn't answer, the (h/c) haired boy/girl sighed, continuing to walk, even if their legs felt like giving up.

"My dear (Y/N), you know that your older brothers are in Bucharest selling the fleece of our sheep and that your sister Lizuca needs to learn for school, right?"

"Well, why can't Filoftea help us too? She's the same age as me, and she has the same strength."

"Filoftea caught the eye of Liviu Popa. She needs to remain home in the village so that she won't become any less beautiful to that young lad." (Y/N) hated that their father obviously loved their siblings more than them. It was as clear as day that they were just going to always help him with trading, as they were basically a nobody. They never went to school as their father could afford only for Lizuca and little Arsenie, they weren't as strong and charismatic as their brothers, Nectarie and Radu, who were now in Bucharest, probably never returning to the village, and they weren't as beautiful as their twin sister Filoftea, who caught sweet eyes from the priest's son, Liviu. In short, they didn't have such a bright future.

But even so, (Y/N) was strong… or at least, they tried their hardest. Right now, they felt as if the sun was burning them up, even if it was still dark out as the sun hasn’t hit them yet, as if Dracu was punishing them. They couldn’t carry the weight anymore, their arms like gelatin, and the crops they were holding on their back being the only reason they kept going without falling. (Y/N) looked to their left, where they saw a flock of sheep following a man in a wooly coat, a man they’ve never seen before, a man with whitish-blond hair from what they could see. He kept walking with the sheep, and slowly disappeared as the sun appeared, as if he was never there. The young man/girl dismissed it, knowing it was just a traveler.

Once they entered the village, a herd of people gathered around the village center to see Baba Ilinca, weeping as the people tried to interrogate her. "Azorel... he had no more blood in his small canine body..." she was stuttering. The old wise widow was shouting about how she saw an ugly humanoid, with eyes as dark as the devil's, but nobody believed her, except for of course, Priest Popa, Liviu's father.

(Y/N) didn't believe it either. Maybe another animal attacked the dog during the night. The dog's body was nowhere in sight, so they couldn't exactly speculate what killed him, but they did think another animal killed the dog, since what heartless human would kill a poor old dog?

The father and his child walked back to their small humble abode, a house like every other in the village. Before they could enter, they found a flock of sheep surrounding the house, and a young man on the porch of the house, hiding under the shadows of the roof, where baskets of flowers were dangling, the only thing differentiating the house from the others in the village. Little Arsenie seemed to have been on his way to school but stopped, as he was looking at the man who was sprawled on the floor, in a deep sleep of some sort, meaning that he didn't appear too early.

"Arsenie, go to school." The father said, dismissing his son. Arsenie obeyed his father and started running to the village center for school. (Y/N) remained with their father, as their father picked up the young man from their porch, and proceeded to take him inside. (Y/N) knew their father cared deeply about the village people, but they knew this man was not from the village. He looked like a transylvanian saxon, from how pale his features were, and from his attire which looked a little different from the clothing they had here in Wallachia. Their father laid him on one of the two beds they had in the whole house, and let him rest. "(Y/N)! Go make some soup for this boy. He looks like a traveler who isn't in good shape."

(Y/N) obeyed their father and went to make some soup, which they then brought to the unconscious man. Their father left them alone, so they sat next to the blond. They knew they saw this man before, earlier on the field, but they wonder... what happened?

Almost an hour later, he woke up, looking around with his tired brown eyes. "Where am I...?" He muttered, in an accent (Y/N) understood was hungarian.

"You're in the county of Ilfov. You must've wanted to go to Bucharest, right?" (Y/N) asked, as they picked up a wooden spoon, presenting it to him, which he politely declined.

"Not quite. I just ran away from home with my sheep... where are they?"

"Don't worry, they're outside, waiting for you. But please stay here, you aren't in great health to continue your journey."

The young man nodded, as he continued resting on the pillow. (Y/N) got up to walk away, but the man kept his grip on their hand, even if it felt weak at the moment. "Please... stay by my side..."

(Y/N) was a little surprised, but obliged nonetheless, as she knew he didn't feel quite right at the moment.

(Y/N) soon learned his name was Vasile. Vasile Eliade. He was a young man from Transylvania, more specifically Cluj Napoca, who ran away from home after a fight with his adoptive parents. He lived a pretty wealthy life in the big city, but he remained with nothing to his name. A few months prior he lived in Sibiu, where he became a shepherd, and was supposed to take them to Bucharest next so they can be sold for their fleece.

Vasile and (Y/N) became friends quickly, which managed to convince (Y/N)'s father to let Vasile live with them, with the condition that he took care of the animals, not only his sheep, but also the Spiridon family's pigs, cows, horse and chickens.

Life was going smoothly for the family, as Filoftea married Liviu, Arsenie and Lizuca finished the school year, Arsenie being top student of the village's younglings, meanwhile Lizuca was just average in school activities. Even (Y/N) started learning how to read and write from their new blond friend

Though, Filoftea wasn't quite happy with her life as Liviu's wife, which made her try to pursue a secret relationship with Vasile, as he was 'more fun'.

(Y/N) didn't pay much attention to it, but Vasile, even if he was polite and 'loyal' to the family, didn't like it one bit. He was starting to grow feelings for the hardworking man/woman with the name of (Y/N). What once was just prey to him, another flesh to be eaten, became his equal slowly... or something more.

It has been a year since Vasile arrived to the village and became sort of like a part of the family. The family business was growing quite better since last year, which made the family quite happy. In the backyard laid (Y/N) and Vasile on the grass, as the autumn leaves started falling, and the gentle breeze of the wind was fanning their faces.

"(Y/N), can you promise me something?"

"Of course. What is it?"

Vasile looked nonchalantly at the sky, sighing softly. "Promise me that we'll be together even if one of us does a 'horrible' thing."

(Y/N) was confused. " what do you mean? Of course I'll be by your side." The young man/girl didn't think much. They only thought he meant something like accidentally ruining the family business or something like that, which was horrible enough, but not something to leave him.

"Thank you very much..." He muttered. As he kept staring at the stars. "I think it's very late. Go to sleep with Filoftea. I'll follow you in shortly."

"Alright..." (Y/N) yawned as they got up. "Well, good night."

"Goodnight." was all Vasile said, as (Y/N) walked back inside. "I love you."

(Y/N) was met with Filoftea, sleeping in the bed their father usually slept in, as he was away with Liviu to visit Radu, (Y/N)'s older brother, in Bucharest so that Liviu can 'take a break' from Filoftea's neediness, as she became very needy after getting pregnant.

(Y/N) slept on the opposite bed, the one where their younger siblings slept in right at the moment. 'Poor Filly..." (Y/N) thought, thinking about how Filoftea was alone and pregnant, with a husband who always ran away from his responsibilities. Soon, their eyes closed, falling asleep.

They woke up to the smell of blood hitting their nose. Opening their eyes, they saw everyone was asleep... except of Vasile who... was next to Filoftea. (Y/N) didn't think much, due to their sleepy state making them think he was only pecking her neck with kisses. But they realised that Filoftea was asleep, meaning that this was breaking her boundary. They quickly got up to scold Vasile, only to see... a pool of blood on the bed. Filoftea's eyes were frozen in a contorted face of fright, pale like a blind person's.

"Filly...?" was all (Y/N) muttered as Vasile looked at them with a look of hunger. That's when (Y/N) realized. Those dark eyes... the blood on his lips... Baba Ilinca was right about her dog being sucked dry by a strigoi... as the strigoi was right in the village, right in the Spiridon residence, right in front of somebody who didn't believe in them.

"(Y/N)... Iubirea mea!" Vasile got up and smiled insanely, his teeth sharp and coated full of blood. (Y/N) then realised why he never shown his teeth, or talked in mutters. Not because he was tired, or from another reason that wasn't the fact he was a blood sucker! "Don't be frightened. I love you so much, it'd pain me for you to be scared. Come now. Help me put your pesky harlot sister outside so the soil will become stronger!"

"I can't help you... you're not human... you're not man at all..." The twin of Filoftea muttered, as they began backing away. Vasile didn't take this too kindly, as he ran to them, and held their wrists with his tight grip.

"YOU WILL HELP ME. I AM YOUR ONE TRUE LOVE! YOU PROMISED YOU'D HELP ME! YOU'RE JUST AS MUCH OF A MONSTER LIKE I AM IF YOU'D RATHER HELP SOMETHING THAT IS NO LONGER BREATHING THAN YOUR TRUE LOVE!"

(Y/N) wanted to kick him off them, but they couldn't. "If you do anything rash, the young children will meet the same fate, and it'd all be your fault!"

"Now, choose wisely. Will you become like me, or will your family meet the same fate. Nobody will blame me, they'll only blame you, as it is your fault. I wouldn't want my one true love to feel the pain of having their head cut off, and neither would you like that fate..."

"Right?"

A/N: Sorry if this was short and rushed, I wrote all of this in one day, and I don't want to spoil my book in any way. Hope you guys enjoyed this story, and make sure to give me more ideas for stories in my inbox! Have a swell day everyone!

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textingtroublesanswers · 7 months ago

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It seems so! Though from what I understand it's not as strong as from an animal or human source, so you end up needing more plant matter and to do more refinement, but people will still grow these hybrid healing plants at home for minor injuries and wounds. I've heard of people growing a variety hybridized with mint since it's very hardy and easy to spread. It just can be a little difficult to get your hands on one of these plants in my time. You either get ones that are more difficult to keep alive but do a better job of healing or you get hardier plants but the healing factor isn't as strong.

Though before all the science was going towards the... whole.... parasite... thing... I'd heard they were trying to see if they could use mushrooms too, seeing as the healing factor seemed to mess with the chlorophyll of plants, but if they can get it to work with mushrooms there's no chlorophyll to effect!

Maybe looking into either avenue could be beneficial!

-🦖

(I love science fiction, I love theoretical science, I love science that may someday become reality, I love youuuuu。･:*:･(✿◕3◕)❤)

Mod B: I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi, especially sci-fi that takes place in space or on other plants, but man do I adore some speculative biology!

Ludwig watches you carefully as you talk, nodding along in certain moments, "Mhm, I see. That is all very fascinating. I will have to look into this myself, maybe I'll manage to start the research process for such plants earlier in this timeline than in your original one. I will have to bring back one of these plants with me when we go to the future." He bounces Maria on his knee a bit, looking around himself for something to write on.

#Lutz and Misha #tf2 #tf2 ask blog #tf2 medic #tf2 ocs #🦖 anon #sue me i took your previous ask & ran with it #I HAVE CREATED THE HUMBOLDT-NABOKOV FAMILY LINE!#so basically the line continues with maria whos wife gets pregnant using the bone marrow technique & emil helped with that #maria & her wife have a son while in their 30s (120 years before tala) named albrecht who looks like a mini ludwig #albrecht lives until his sixties before marrying & having a child (but physically looks to be around 45-48 as all all od ludwig's #descendants inherited his self-heal & his slower aging)#so albrecht has his daughter sasha around 60 years before tala comes to the past #albrecht grew up to become a doctor like his uncle emil but sasha (who turned out to be trans but kept the name sasha) decided to go down #the mercenary route #sasha had twins named kira & ada 30 years before tala went back to the past #kira is a splitting image of ludwig & is a doctor while ada looks like a genderbent mikhail & stuck to their father's mercensry life #kra & ada are still alive during talas time but sasha died during a mission trying to clesr out zombies from a safe zone #so that is 4 generations aftee mikhail & ludwig & since the humboldt-nabokovs live so long they also know who their ancestors are #& i believe that kira was the one to popularise the use of plant matter for the healinf fluid usinf her great great grandfather ludwig's #research that was later continued by great geandfather emil but not picked up by grandfather albrecht for reasons unknown

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nightmareonpeachstreet · 10 months ago

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sometimes I remember when people tried to use Priam as proof that Ike wasn't gay, as if Ike's intersex genderfluid half-dragon twink husband Soren wouldn't immediately start happy-crying thinking about a bunch of tiny little Ikes running around their house the minute Ike asks him if he's ever thought about having kids.

#in other news: Soren would be the most obnoxious parent in the world #he would straight up get a call from the principle saying his son got into a fight and rush to the school to ask his son ''did you win?''#and if the answer is no he will go over his son's strategy with him that night to improve his odds of winning next time #child: mom what do I do if I'm in a headlock #Soren: you need to start biting people. also take this knife and conceal it in your boot #he also does this with his daughters. obviously #anyway I think about Ike and Soren having kids quite often because the shenanigans are very funny #Ikesoren #Ike #Soren #Priam #Fire Emblem //#FEA //#FEPoR //#FERD //#(ok my radiant dawn tag just looks like i'm talking about Ferdinand very enthusiastically gfodivgnoifdohi whoops)

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knickynoo · 1 year ago

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At what point in time do you think the original timeline McFly family started being dysfunctional? I’m sure George and Lorraine were fully in love at first, and Lorraine even still in the 80s seems to look back fondly when recalling how they fell in love. But I do wonder when exactly it started to go downhill, when they started having kids? Just with age? Or maybe it was never really great to begin with before Marty got involved

This is a really interesting ask, and it's something that I've thought about a handful of times. The Twin Pines McFlys fascinate me.

As for my own headcanons about when the dysfunction started, I think it was always there. Dysfunction within families is complex, though, so it likely ebbed and flowed and morphed over the years. Some thoughts! (hehehe, analysis and theories incoming)

I 100% believe George and Lorraine were fully in love at first and are even still in love when we meet them in 1985. It's just that life has beaten them both down in various ways, and they've lost touch with each other and fallen into a pattern of being resigned to (and maybe even comfortable with) all the disconnect within their family. But there's no mistaking the fondness with which Lorraine begins her story of how she and George met and the way it shifts to such sadness within just a few seconds. Her question of, "It was the night of that terrible thunderstorm, remember, George?" is such a clear bid for connection with him. A hope that he'll smile and recall that night and join in on her story. That's what Lorraine wants! But George doesn't even acknowledge her (not on purpose, I'm sure; he's just so wrapped up in watching The Honeymooners), and you see Lorraine gradually deflate from there.

It's so sad because you can see the emotions shift so suddenly in her! That first gif still holds such affection as she recalls their first kiss. It's like she's a girl again, feeling that overwhelming sense of love and all the possibilities for their life together. But then it changes. She's brought back to reality and all the unhappiness, the disappointments, the realization that life isn't what she imagined for herself.

By the last gif, she's a woman who clearly feels trapped. Now stuck with this guy for the rest of her life. And what makes it so awful is that you can TELL Lorraine still loves him. She longs for that happiness they once had, but it takes two people putting in effort to make a marriage work. She can try to reach George all she wants, but if he can't be emotionally present, it isn't going to work.

Also, I'm sure that George loves Lorraine as well, but he's got a whole plethora of issues that just. Haven't been addressed. George has no self-worth. He's meek and lets people walk all over him and is so completely anxious about everything in life that he's mostly shut down. He's trapped too, with no way (that he can see) to change things. So he does what he can to survive, which consists of doing Biff's bidding and retreating to an inner world at the expense of shutting his family out.

I don't think things were always to this extreme, though. For a while I'm sure things were okay, maybe even good. They were young and in love, and while George was still George, I don't think life had defeated him yet. They got married, really established their little life together, and I can see them as both having hope. And even if there were moments that seemed shaky or hinted that things might be difficult down the road, it was easy to brush it aside. They were still finding their footing, and they were young and had their whole future together to make things better. In all honesty, Dave probably got to experience the "best" versions of his parents for the first several years of his life.

However, each year and every hardship (big and small) likely chipped away at the McFlys and brought about additional dysfunction. I don't know if Biff and George started working with each other right out of high school or if they came to work those jobs later on, but I'm sure that was a huge factor. It offered no escape from Biff for either George or Lorraine. Just a predictable cycle of George having to do whatever Biff told him, Biff invading their home whenever he pleased, and everyone having to watch George immediately tuck his tail between his legs.

As I said, I think things gradually kind of unraveled in their house. As the state of their family became more solidified, Lorraine likely began drinking more and withdrawing. I do think they still had their good days, though! Moments that brought them together and where they felt that happiness they once shared (I mean, they had three children together, and it's clear Dave, Linda, and Marty ARE loved and were raised well.) But the state of the McFly household is probably all Marty has known for the majority of his life. I can see situations arising where maybe Dave has told him, "They weren't always like this, you know."

Dysfunctional as they are, George and Lorraine really are trying. I think they can absolutely see the cracks and the flaws—perhaps even the potential damage being caused to their children—but they just have too much brokeness inside themselves to do better. So, they do what they can, which for George involves trying to protect his children's feelings by discouraging them from taking risks. He doesn't want them hurt or sad or disappointed, and his solution is to have them form shells around themselves. Better to save yourself from all the headaches life brings.

Lorraine does her best to protect and guide her kids by way of warning them away from the very things that brought her to where she is in life. We see this manifest in the form of criticism mostly when she's talking to Marty.

Lastly even with Lorraine seeming as downtrodden as she is, I can see her clinging to the possibility of change. Hoping and praying that eventually, George would say enough was enough and stand up for himself. He'd put his foot down, step up as a husband and father, and things would become what she always wanted. She was the one always telling herself, "Someday. Someday..." until the point we see her at during the dinner scene, where she knows that "someday" isn't going to ever happen. Things are just the way they are, and she has to deal with it.

This was a lot, but I have a lot of feelings about the McFly family and how they operated in their day to day life. Especially the implications of the McFly sibs (Marty in particular!) being raised in such an emotionally disjointed environment. Ugh, those gifs of Lorraine make me so sad. The whole thing is sad.

Thanks for the ask, though! I want to write another Twin Pines McFly fic now.

#asks #back to the future #bttf #no but i could write a whole series of posts on Twin Pines McFlys #and how just that one short scene displays such a sad‚ tense home life #no cohesion. no true connection #checked out dad and depressed mom #& their oldest son who doesn't seem to have his footing in life‚ daughter who feels isolated & frustrated with a lack of social life #& youngest child who's anxious & so incredibly sensitive to rejection & feels directionless & has exactly one (1) stable adult in his life #growing up in that environment does things to you!!#and then Marty is thrown into a Better Timeline with very stable and well adjusted parents but he still was raised with the dysfunction!!#that's still part of him!!! how does he cope!!!!??#losing my mind eric stoltz was right about the ending!!!

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