#literal prince charming in ever era

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

#Jonathan Bailey Stop Being So Damn Charming Challenge

[terrainofheartfelt]

and now, a playlist:

Mister Americana and the Heartbreak Prince

or,

FirstPrince (Taylor's Version)

shoutout to my beloved cherry @blairwaldcrf my friend in rwrb and my enabler in everything related to the two himbos above.

shoutout to this post specifically for their intrepid scholarship

listen at the unlisted youtube playlist here

Track list and annotations under the cut.

✨tracks✨

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things They broke an $80k wedding cake. and alex is such a brat about it. and holds a grudge like none other 

Gorgeous Alex hoarding that magazine cover of Henry. Henry is literally so gorgeous the bisexual jumps out

Teardrops on my Guitar  Henry-coded the only one who’s got enough of me to break my heart I MEAN

Untouchable The. YEARNING. I want you but I cannot risk telling you so you please tell me say it first please say it first please. Ever thought about that bros being bros visit from Henry’s perspective? Hmm? I didn’t know you wear glasses

gold rush Long distance bro-ship. Just chattin and textin. Gay crush gay crush gay crush. Watching each other’s public love lives and seething. Almost jump into the fantasy but then letting it fade to gray. or as the british say, grey. 

Stay Beautiful The constant texting. Each one finds a way to be the other’s highlight of his day. But we were ever so careful dear. Alex being america’s sweetheart and Henry being totally gone for him

Foolish One Henry kiddoooooo. The prince with the heart on the outside of his chest. 

Forever Winter before their relationship is even romantic, they are a safe place for each other. Like christmas. and thanksgiving. 

You’re on Your Own, Kid NYE. Henry’s gayass breaking point, searching the party of better bodies and wanting wanting wanting.

Tied Together with a Smile The prince charming act be coming undone!

Message in a Bottle Alex’s bisexual crisis. He knows henry likes him, and it’s kinda frightening, standing here waiting, and that asshole won’t return his calls so he’s gotta trick him into a state dinner at the white house.

Treacherous A state dinner of antici………PATION. And a makeout in the drawing room. As one does.

Electric Touch  alex waiting after dinner in his white house bedroom all nervouslike

Snow on the Beach First hookup. Soft disbelief, because you wanting me tonight feels impossible. Snow in DC (a swamp) is as weird as snow on a beach imo. 

I Can See You FWB era. If you could only see all the things that happen inside my head. At galas and polo matches and wimbledon and whatnot

Wildest Dreams The henry journey. This will end and it will wreck him but right now it’s beautiful. Also this is the song for hooking up in a stable post polo

Delicate Secret relationship. Boys are bad with feelings. Oh damn never seen that color blue. I pretend you’re mine all the damn time. Waking up with each other in Paris speaking of: 

Paris No I didn’t see the news. Too busy getting dicked down by the most eligible bachelor in the Western world. What who said that.

Lavender Haze Don’t read into my melancholia. Let’s just stay in this gay suspended animation. This secret bubble. It’s safe here. 

22 They literally spend Alex’s 22nd birthday together you know he was feelin’ 22. Pretty sure the novel says that actually

I Think He Knows It’s fun and flirty and the feelings are creeping in at the edges, but not enough that they have to face them

Jump Then Fall Alex is a smitten kitten

So It Goes… LA gala. All eyes are on them but as separate entities. Magician, illusionist. Trying to play it chill but being utterly incapable. 

Starlight dancing in the club in LA. Alex getting carried away by queer joy

Dress Their night together in LA. their secret moments in a crowded they got no idea about me and you. Their hands are shaking from holding back from each other! Say his name and everything just stops! They don’t want each other like best friends! Pez only bought those custom kimonos so they could take em off! Ah ah ah ahhhh! Carve your name into Alex’s bedpost, Henry babe. 

Hey Stephen cutesy emailing. Hey henry you blew my mind in LA last week u up? I can’t help it if you look like an angel/achilles/james bond

I’m Only Me when I’m with You Sweet email exchange post LA. I’ll be damned but I miss you

…Ready for It? (BloopPop remix) Henry says In the middle of the night in my dreams you should see the things we do….Let the games begin

Glitch Wimbledon. Fucking love doing things out of spite. I’m not even sorry. Henry will go back eventually to dudes to give him nothing but for now there’s this 

Sparks Fly DNC. Henry really dropped everything to come see alex at the convention. The kinda reckless that should send him running, but he kinda knows that he won’t get far. Give him something that’ll haunt him when he’s not around, Alex. 

Everything Has Changed Telling madam president mom. Do you feel forever about him? Henry making a point to be there for him is alex’s emotional tipping point. 

State of Grace Time between dnc and lakehouse is their state of grace. No leaving, no leaking. It can’t last but its so good. Mosaic broken hearts, but brave and wild and I never saw you coming and I’ll never be the same

cowboy like me Alex texas boy. The reflective nature he turns on henry once he’s fired from the campaign. Thinking about that word forever

Wonderland Never worse but never better. In all their searching of the world they won’t find anything else that feels like what they have. yk?

Cruel Summer summer vacay at the lake house. the darkness approacheth. I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you but here I am sealing my fate over and over again 

You Are in Love ‘you’re my best friend.’ and you knew what is was: Alex is so in love he could die

willow Alex at the dock like he is begging for Henry to take his hand and wreck his plans. He’s like that’s my MAN.

illicit affairs it dies a million little times. like by a lake in the moonlight. henry sees the truth when it shows and alex gets angry because you showed me colors you know I can’t see with anyone else 

Bye Bye Baby henry fleeing texas. You took me home but you just couldn’t keep me

Midnight Rain He wanted it comfortable I wanted that pain. I broke his heart ‘cause he was nice 

Hits Different when alex thinks about the sham the firm will make henry go through. I pictured you with other girls “in love” then threw up on the street

august refrain of henry. It was never mine. You weren’t mine to lose. This was over before it even began

Breathe Separated. Neither of them doing well. 

exile alex obliviousness meets henrys stubbornness. the imagery of nations and homelands

Anti-Hero henry has it’s me high I’m the problem it’s me at tea time everybody agrees disease. no cure but it can be treated 

Renegade alex working up a head of steam because he just wants to say get your shit together so I can love you 

Maroon your body comes back to me in dreams and I wake with your memory over me that’s a real fucking legacy!!!!

my tears ricochet alex has literally never had it within himself to go with grace. Ever. In his life. Bless him. Screaming at skies. Stealing lullabies. You know how it is. 

How You Get the [Boy] Narration of the storming of Kensington Palace. Alex being like I want you for worse or for better I would wait forever and ever

The Archer Henry prepared for a lot but he never prepared for Alex staying

Love Story  The dramatics the mythologizing of one’s life the I want you / Then fucking have me like “baby, just say yes” also romeo and juliet and pyramus & thisbe are the same fucking story!!!!

Stay Stay Stay Morning after when Henry comes into the room with coffee. How he could have a lifetime of fine but he’d rather have this. 

Holy Ground Dancing in the V&A

Today Was a Fairytale Lots of this music plays with the idea of fairytales and royalty and the push and pull idealism has with reality and it just fits so well. Because. Prince. &c.

Come Back…Be Here Having the big conversation and then alex having to leave and go back to dc. The long distance drama. This is falling in love in the cruelest way.

End Game choosing to do this thing for real. knowing what they’re up against. Big reputation big reputation ooh you and me would be a big conversation 

Labyrinth oops they both caught feelings. Henry thought the plane was going down how’d he turn it right around 

Cornelia Street The sacred new beginnings that became their religion aka those crazy 48 hours holed up in Kensington. Tender and fragile and amazing

mirrorball henry’s fable. His shattered pieces and the peasant boy with chin dimples who is not like the regulars the masquerade revelers. never been a natural all he does is just try try try

Paper Rings I thought you were a nuisance but whoops you're now the air I breathe. In paper rings and picture frames and dirty dreams

Timeless The phrase ‘see attached bibliography’ is the sexiest thing you’ve ever said to me. All the quotes and recitations they send each other in their emails. 

cardigan The intimate email conversations. Always wanting to know more about the other. 

Lover  The ease with which they say I love you post storming of the castle.

Out of the Woods The almost reveal and the cover up dates with June & Nora to make a cover. The hiding in an alleyway in the car. When the sun came up you were looking at me.

False God Rumors aside they are both In This and that shalt not change. Still worship this love. They might just get away with it.

invisible string it all began at the olympics. All the winding paths of our public lives one single thread of gold tied me to you, &c.

Mastermind Henry saying he’s loved Alex the entire goddamned time! Newsflash asshole (affectionate)

hoax Sería una mentira, porque no sería él. The only hoax he believes in! He feels forever about it!

peace The last email sent before the leak. Give yourself away sometimes sweetheart there’s so much of you

I Know Places The something that happens when everybody finds out. The vultures circling dark clouds.

Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince Alex and the leak fallout. The whispers in the hallway. American stories burning before me & high fives between bad guys. 

I Did Something Bad The email leak. There’s the harshness of the trauma, but there’s also madam president mom going “fuck it.” Don’t tell me this song didn’t pull henry through. Avoiding plans and sucking cock. Don’t knock it til you try it. Go ahead and light me up

the lakes (original version) I like this mix because it’s more ~cinematic~ to me. And something about henry not being cut out for these cynical clones and hunters with cell phones yk?

Run The phone call from air force one post leak. The eye in the storm

Sweet Nothing It’s them in the music room of Kensington. It’s alex “can’t let anyone know how much he needs” claremont-diaz admitting he’s just too soft for all of it

Slut if they’re gonna talk shit, we may as well be together in public. It might be worth it for once

You Need to Calm Down Shade never made anybody less gay, fake elizabeth ii. Why are you mad when you can be glaad, pip?

King of My Heart  Wordplay on royalty words, yk. “That’s the bravest son of a bitch I’ve ever met” yk.

Change The crowds in front of Buckingham, alex’s speech from the white house. History, huh?

London Boy We hold this track listing to be self evident

Ours The contrast of the outer life and inner life. Private relationship  under large public scrutiny. 

It’s Nice to Have a Friend It’s about the best friends to best friends AND lovers.

Call It What You Want He wears his signet ring on a chain round his neck not because he owns me because he really knows me, &c

Karma Everything surrounding finding the source of the leak and Rafael Luna double agent and the fact that Alex and Henry can both say that Karma is their Boyfriend. 

Long Live Election night in Austin.

New Year’s Day The mythical place NYE occupies in Alex’s public life and now his private one with Henry. The Balls Out Bonanza is great but now it’s about what comes after. 

[possessionisamyth]

Can you frame Leon/Ashley as both romantic and platonic? I personally enjoy them both ways because i can just see it like that BUT i am dead curious to know how you'd frame it. Also because i think the doors about their dynamic were left open by the devs so no definitive, really.

This isn't meant to step on anyone's toes about preferences or anything, i just wanna see another perspective from someone who appears to be objective in this hellspace of a fandom AND because I'm tired of insistence that "it's canon" being shoved around for literally about any ship that i ever engaged with being pushed around solely for pointless ship wars.

If you want ofc, do share your thoughts.

Okay, so, uh, you're not going to like my answer and it probably won't sound very objective. I'm sorry in advance since I don't really ship Leon and Ashley. I can absolutely see the potential there. They wouldn't have framed the remake with the prince and knight fairy tale costumes if that wasn't their intention. Heck, people wouldn't be replacing Ashley with Luis in game mods if their story wasn't coated with romantic undertones.

Platonic Relationship:

Both in the OG and the Remake, I can see them getting along. OG Leon would definitely be more teasing of OG Ashley by mimicking her slang, giving her silly nicknames, and making sure she's okay. He'd be the obnoxious bestie that she'd call asking for advice and he deadpans "break up with him or I'll do it for you" and nothing else.

Remake Leon would be not quieter, but softer? with his treatment of her. He'd still tell his bad jokes, and he'd do all the chivalry nonsense of holding doors open for her, and making sure her order is correct when they order food, and listening to her, but it's all about showing that he's mindful of her and he cares about her. He's definitely aware the way people show they value her well-being is from a job only perspective, and she appreciates him being genuine and sincere. She tries to give him the same benefit of the doubt, and her own style of care.

Romantic Relationship:

You're going to hate me, but to me OG Leon is in his slut era during RE4. He's also still very much under the thumb of her father at this time, so he'd have enough tact to wait til Benford is out of office before doing an interest check with Ashley. Everything would be going great until they have sex, and it'd be so medicore she'd tell him they're better off as friends. That's why he's so standoffish and weird in Degeneration.

Remake Leon would also wait until Benford is out of office, but that's because any publicity is a security risk for his position. Dating the president's daughter would get his face in a lot of places he could no longer stealth through. Since the general US populous stops giving a fuck about any president once they're out of office unless there's a scandal, that would be the safest time to try a relationship with her. So he goes for it, and he really tries being that caring prince charming/knight/insert luis given nickname to her because he thinks that's what she wants. It is not what she wants at all. She just wants him to be himself. Either they work it out or, they don't. Either way, Ashley is mature enough to realize that the fantasy her attraction turned Leon into when she was 20, is not nor has probably ever been the case for who he is. She likes him better now.

[omegalomania]

OMGGG I'm such an urban fantasy fan pls pls continue like I'm loving it

WHY I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED. also i learned recently that my inbox is uhhhhh broken in the sense that its Just Not There on my dashboard so if you sent me asks in the past couple months i literally did not see them because the last tumblr dashboard update like, removed the little letter icon. from my dash. and idk how to bring it back lol

ANYWAY this whole au was born from me thinking a very lot about the whole aspect of so much (for) stardust and tourdust's staging where it relied on a) tangibility and b) magic imagery. like the album cover and the staging are all focused on real, actual things that one could conceivably touch (the album cover is an oil painting with glittery clay letters, the stage's props are all actual, interactable props, etc). and whats more, there's the additional "magical" element at work here: the magic 8 ball, pete's magic trick midway thru the show, the whole love from the other side mv, and so on. and because my brain is Like This, pretty soon id spun up a whole storyline out of wholecloth and now im going to make it everyone's problem i guess

ive elected to call it the magic stardust au for perhaps obvious reasons.

the magic stardust au takes place in a world that's a little bit like our own in some ways, and drastically different in others. its our world but shuffled a few degrees to the left, so to speak. for example, the state of iowa still exists - but there's a literal city in it called heaven. there's an alligator prince in this world, and he happens to be literal, as in literally an alligator who also happens to be a prince. magic is a thing here, and its so thoroughly common that no one bats an eye. it's all deeply ingrained into the fabric of reality. magic is twined through each and every soul. it's in the air, in the molecules, in the architecture, in the landscape. ancient, enchanted forests stand shoulder to shoulder with floating cities and underwater palaces and dense metropolises. magic is really just stardust in a sense, and that's just what everything else is too, so is it any wonder that stardust can act upon itself in strange and unique ways? that's all that magic is: stardust.

it always comes back to stardust.

so what happens when magic starts disappearing?

well, people don't notice at first. people don't notice because this thing, this force that's seeping in through little fissures in reality and leaching away all the strangeness in the world - it's clever about its work. it's cunning. it gets people alone and then it drowns them in itself, mercury-slick and flowing, and when it recedes...that's the scary part. not only are people losing their magic, they're also losing the memory of ever having magic in the first place. it's siphoning away the collective memory of magic. it's draining the world of all its charm and vigor and since no one can remember what it's taken once it's gone, it seems like no one can possibly stop it. no one even realizes that it's happening.

i've opted to call this force the annihilation.

(as you can probably tell, i like grabbing onto things from the #lore of the band's mythos rather than the personal stories of any of the members when it comes to devising aus. i love adapting lyrics, concepts, music video elements, and so on into stories, and grounding things into the concept surrounding the particular album or era i'm focusing on on as much as possible.)

anyhow, that's where our guys come in. or rather, that's where their stories all intersect. at the start, none of them have a whole lot of reason to interact with each other a bunch. all four of them live in the city of heaven, iowa, which as mentioned, happens to be ruled by our friend the alligator prince. stardust as an album is very preoccupied with the state of the world, voices a lot of general uncertainty and discomfort with the way things are run, and me being the way i am and having a baseline distrust of monarchy, i think the alligator prince is perhaps pretty honestly not the best at his job. his enforcers - well i'm not sure they'd strictly count as cops in this universe. but for simplicity's sake lets just call them cops and be content that they're probably not the best. corrupt, prone to favoritism, bad at their jobs. etc. this is important because it plays into how all of our guys end up getting to know one another.

hence, i introduce our four main players (featuring concept sketches i started throwing down once i realized this storytelling worm had burrowed into my head):

andy, as i've gotten into a little bit, is a rogue vigilante. he doesn't like the alligator prince. he's not keen on authority in general. he does what he does precisely because he's intent on giving people an alternative to the princes people. he's highly principled and completely unafraid to intervene with the prince's business if it means he's helping the people out. he lives alone on the outskirts of heaven, operates independently, and keeps his identity completely secret. he has a fearsome reputation in heaven but he's very well known. he's a little bit batman in that way - like, the guy's intimidating by default, but if you're in a pinch and you see him, you know he's going to help you out. and he's a hell of a lot better than a cop.

andy's magic, like everyone's in this universe, comes in two flavors: active and passive. his active magic takes the form of white lightning bolts, crackling bright energy that can shock, stun, and incapacitate in all sorts of ways. his passive magic comes from shadow, which is where his trademark hammer and massive, owl-like wings come from; they're actually solidifed shadow, and he can summon and dispel them at a thought.

(i can get into the specifics of how magic types differ if anyone wants to know details, but all you really need to know here is that everyone's got passive magic, which is their baseline, almost unconscious kind of magic, and active magic, which is the kind of magic that you have to work at. the annihilation steals both.)

joe is a freelancer. what this means is that he kind of ends up doing a lot of odd jobs based on whats being asked of him. this comes from a similar place from andy's motives - joe wants to give people an alternative to working with the prince's people. it's a job that requires wearing a lot of different hats, so to speak, so joe is a bit of a jack of all trades in that sense. joe of all trades? he's most frequently hired as a private investigator (again, an alternative to this universe's law enforcement), but he's also been called in as a bodyguard, a, uh "diplomat," and so on. he has a baseline familiarity with andy by virtue of having grown up in heaven and everyone knows about heaven's scary urban legend superhero.

joe's active magic takes the form of glowing blue knives, which he can use for aaaaall sorts of things. you can bet he uses them for every possible mundane use imaginable most of all though lmao. his passive magic is a procynoid form which, in plain language, means he can turn into a raccoon whenever he wants. because that idea from the love from the other side mv is too good to not use. said raccoon form can vary between a very ordinary-sized raccoon fella and a hulking, human-sized one. all comes down to how he feels.

pete is the sole proprietor and operator of pink seashell press, an independent news outlet. once again, this is in the interests of allowing people access to news that doesn't get filtered through the prince's people. it's a lot of hard and thankless work - pete is the only guy working this thing, so he's basically the whole staff. he's doing all the investigative reporting, writing, publishing, and distributing - but he believes in getting news out to people because it's important to get news from someone who isn't in the prince's pocket. he and joe are probably most familiar with each other since their work has a fair degree of overlap and comes from a very similar place. he's probably a big fan of andy lmao

pete's active magic takes the form of glowing green roses, which twine in thorny barbs and soft blooms alike. he can utilize them as both defensive/offensive and aesthetic/mundane purposes, which is nice! his passive magic isn't pictured in the below sketch because i hadn't yet nailed that down as an aspect of his character at the time of drawing, but it entails some partial skeletal physiology. he's got a skeletal arm and mostly skeletal abdomen. doesn't affect how he uses magic, but it grants him some invulnerability to stuff that might target internal organs that he, in part, doesn't strictly speaking have.

patrick is the odd one out here because unlike the others, he didn't grow up in or around heaven. he tends to be a bit of a wanderer, and heaven is just the place he happens to be passing through at the time. he keeps himself going with busking and gigs in small venues like cafés and bookshops as a local musician, and is incredibly cagey about his past. he's also very keen to avoid being noticed by the prince's people or authority in general. he's got the least familiarity with andy, joe, or pete, and is mostly interested in keeping his head down and making a self-sustaining little existence for himself.

this in huge part because of patrick's passive magic, which is a compelling voice. (inspired in part by the field of dreams quote that pete used to tease the upcoming stardust era, not long after the initial chicago tribune fob8 ad dropped: "but until i heard the voice, i'd never done a crazy thing in my whole life.") patrick doesn't actually have to sing for this to take effect. it can come from speaking too forcefully, making an idle suggestion, and a lot of different things. hence why patrick tends to get on people's bad side - he tries incredibly hard to keep this aspect from affecting his life, but once people pick up on this aspect of his voice, things fall apart fast. patrick's spent most of his life moving from place to place because of this. and yeah, he has no idea how much or how little he's influencing anyone at any given time. it's a complete nightmare.

his active magic is a tad more benign. it takes the shape of orange flames, which are fairly malleable and that patrick can reshape into instruments and such with a little effort.

eventually, of course, patrick does indeed get on the wrong side of heaven's authorities because of the same thing that always gets him in his trouble: that darn voice of his. this happens the same time that one of andy's jobs goes horribly wrong and he gets injured and caught. pete crosses the line one too many times, and joe just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. the bottom line is that at this point, all four of the guys end up in heaven's jail at the same time, and that's where their stories all properly intersect.

that's when the annihilation comes for them.

it leaks in through the cracks in the walls and around the grout in the windows and it starts gathering itself up - this horrible, awful force that they can all feel and just looking at it feels wrong. it's an inky swell of star-freckled black void, like a slice of the cosmos staring at them through the bars of their shared cell. it seethes hungrily for them.

the cops run, of course. they leave their charges stuck behind bars, at the mercy of this terrifying thing that - though they don't know it - wants nothing more than to sap their magic away.

the annihilation manages to get its claws into each of them, but only briefly because fortunately, the four of them work together to take matters into their own hands. they manage to bust themselves out of the cell and get the hell out of dodge, but not before the annihilation stains each one of them with its grasping, hungry force, forever altering their appearance. the annihilation leaves a silvery, ashy blotch where it bled onto each of them:

andy gets a massive splash of it on his chest that leaks up onto his throat. joe got splashed on the right side of his body, mostly on his right ear, neck, and adjacent shoulder. pete also got hit on the left, but it mostly consumed his left eye and left leg. patrick got stained on his left hand from the wrist down.

here's a quick and dirty doodle i did to kind of depict this. it didn't come out the way i wanted to and it's not set in stone yet, but it's the general notion.

the fact that these four guys got attacked by the annihilation but crucially managed to escape it before it completely consumed them has permitted each of them an incredibly unique trait: they can understand what it wants. it didn't succeed in draining their magic, so it didn't take their memories of magic either. the annihilation made a tremendous misstep in not isolating these guys when it targeted them, because in working together, they were able to escape it.

so they are in the unique position to realize what's happening, where no one else can.

whatever this thing is, it's old. and it's powerful.

and it's very, very hungry.

and that's the cliffnotes of how these four guys have to band together to save the world before all the magic is drained away for good.

[torchstelechos]

Literally one of the best Binghe POV characterizations is when hes written like a female lead from a Victorian era romance novel that has been bewitched by the most charming prince of all that is rumored to be kind behind the jerk personality, its truly one of the most characterizations ever for him. Gotta love his POV, its bonkers and totally unreliable 

[charmixpower]

Quick question: what would be a perfect alternative Winx x Specialist pairings in your honest opinion? Like, if Bloom didn't date Sky, Stella didn't date Brandon, Flora didn't date Helia (I mean, she would be with Mirta, but the show's heteronormativity says "Fuck you" to us), Musa didn't date Riven, Tecna didn't date Timmy, Aisha didn't date Nabu/Roy/Nex.

Boyfriend swap???

Okay then XD

Bloom:

I've begun my "I don't care for Bloom/Sky" era except I love Sky unlike most people who believe this. He's literally a wet cat of a man. Bloom's and Sky's relationship is based on Bloom wanting the prince charming of her dreams, and Sky wanting to be normal by being with someone nomral. Both of these things are very much not true and are pretty unrealistic of them.

Bloom/Brandon

Brandon is the only one of the guys that would be able to roll with the insane shit that Bloom is ALWAYS caught up in without missing a beat. That's it, that's the only reason. No hesitation, no surprise, simple acceptance.

Stella:

I cannot believe you're making me break up Brella I will NEVER forgive you for this /joke

Stella/Helia

Why? Helia is the only person Brandon has ever considered a threat to his relationship, and I think that's funny as hell. Helia's commitment to the bit and acting utterly insane (see: holding off a monster only for Flora and letting the other Winx die ig, throwing someone through a table) would match Stella's ultra dramatic energy perfectly. Stella starts a bit and Helia acts like it's her last dying will and testament. Also, Helia seems to not trust himself as a part of a team (esp in the comics) and Stella's Stella ness would drag him out to hang out with everyone more often in s2 helping with that. On the other side Helia would barely care about Stella's looks, like they'd probably dating after Stella drops her "cute blonde ditz" mask, so he'd inform her of how much he likes her real personality so often

Stella/Timmy

I think it would be cute. Stella keeps him in her purse and she thinks he's so adorable. Timmy is being lavished with attention and he will try his best to let Stella know she's the best person he's ever met

Flora:

I genuinely forget that in canon Flora and Helia are supposed to be together. Mirta my beloved disaster lesbian

Flora/Riven

I have too many shippers of these two following me to not see the appeal. I have read the essays and I am convinced they could be EXTREMELY cute. Riven helps Flora be more assertive and not exclusively do things for others, and Flora helps Riven connect with his emotions and other people. Adorable

Tecna:

I don't ship Tecna's aroace ass with Timmy in the first place, or anyone for that matter so this is gonna be difficult

Tecna/Nabu

She'd eat everyone alive. He's the only non Timmy person who'd survive

Musa:

Despite Rivusa being my otp, breaking it up is a lesser crime than breaking up Brella who are soulmates. You still will not be forgiven for your transgressions /joke

..... Uh

Uhhhhh

UHHHHHHHH

okay, so, Musa has like, so many problems. Specifically relating to relationships, and tbh she needs someone who can understand her. Someone who understands why she's so clingy and can go hot and cold bc they're the same way and having a relationship is very hard when your mentally ill

Musa/Timmy

But only s1 Timmy who told Riven and Sky to shut the fuck up. I feel like he's the right balance of kind and willing to push back on Musa getting codependent or having a mood swing on him without being intimidated (and Brandon would feel trapped in this kind of dynamic)

Aisha:

IN MY AU ANNE IS A SPECIALIST SO CAN I SAY ANNE???? No? Rip

Aisha/Sky

Personally I think it's funny and they'd balance each other out and have similar focus on the mission priorities. Also Aisha starts off in my thing finding Sky super annoying for Diaspro related reasons but they have similar childhoods and reacted in almost opposite ways and I feel that that's a neat dynamic

[yesterdayiwrote]

just saw your tags on the charles pr post and you are so right, george so needs a more competent pr team but i def think there has been a recent change. like the hair (literally might have given him sponserships) and the memes might have genuinely shifted something within the public perception of george, esp since it seems much more natural compared the so called "pr persona" people hated in 2022. all he absolutely needs right now is a good racing season with minimal contact with other cars (this is key i will not lie) and the ingredients are there to work with. like deadass if that happens there is chance to regain his williams era adoration (im not even being delulu bc uni has taught me that rebranding is incredibly effective if done well). tho imo i have no idea how competent mercedes are to utilise and strategise tho (they make too much of a mess every given chance). he needs someone else to correctly handle this.

I know there's been loads said about George's PR strategy going back years. I've always found it interesting because Charles is very 'pr', Lando, Lewis, Carlos... the list is endless, and yet its only ever really been George who seems to have really had their 'pr friendly' vibe viewed in such an overwhelmingly derogatory way. I've never really been able to put my finger on what it is, but that post does highlight how the slightest difference can make the tone change.

I don't think the hair is that powerful, although I think it's kind of... 'softened' his face slightly, given him more of a 'cute' vibe in a kind of foppish disney prince charming way? Then again I think people have always thought George was attractive they've just moved their attention from his body to his face?

I don't think things will ever go back to the days at Williams when everyone loved him. That was in part due to the underdog element and he was a lot more under the radar back then. I don't think he was hated in 2022, it's only really in 2023 that I've seen so much negativity thrown in his direction. We've tried to pick apart what exactly it is that causes people to hate him and honestly, I don't think we'll ever find an answer. It just... is what it is.

I think he could definitely stand to be more relatable though, but then again how relatable can you be when you're a millionaire racing driver? I think he sometimes looks too 'perfect' and I know that's something everyone falls into on sm, but sometimes I just kind of want to see him looking... dumb? He laughs at himself, he embraces the memes, but sometimes his pictures don't embrace his personality if that makes sense and that's a shame.

The Charles post pointed out about the photos of him falling over and if you think about Alex, Lando, even Lewis, they all post stuff that purposely doesn't show them at their best (whilst simultaneously being picture perfect) and I guess that's the reason that social media isn't easy, because you've got to strike that balance between aesthetic and humanity to really strike gold.

Idk, I'm not really in a position to tell him what to do, my IG game is non existent. I know he's said he's not using social media himself anymore, but then that's even more reason to have a great team managing that for him. Idk that Merc actually have much to do with it, but yeah, I feel like he could benefit from mixing it up a few times on there?

[its-a-swift-kloss]

Uh, people are a huge fan of Travis telling his big boss the NFL to chill out with the Taylor stuff because football sports bros are being insanely disgusting and misogynistic towards Taylor right now because they hate that the NFL has been showing way too much Taylor footage instead of the football game they're paying money to watch.

People love that Travis is trying to get the target the NFL put on Taylor's back for greasy nasty sports bros to attack off of her back, him doing stuff like this and acting like he thinks being around Taylor is cool instead of acting like being around Taylor or even just talking about Taylor in public is gross and embarrassing the way her past beards acted has literally made him the favorite person that Taylor's ever dated of both Swifties and the general public and it's only been two weeks.

Taylor and Tree aren't going to do jackshit about Travis being a G and making even people who are annoyed by how much coverage Traylor is getting appreciate that he's acting like he's the perfect match for Taylor except maybe send him a gift basket and VIP tickets for Eras Tour at a convenient date for him and his schedule because he's being the best beard any woman could ask for 😭

I'm well aware swifties worship this guy rn. The thing is, he spoke about the NFL overdoing it, but he was the one who wouldn't shut up about girlie in the first place. Then he addresses media coverage - as if he actually wants it to stop lol -, but defending her from the disgusting comments men are making all around?? Nope, not one word. Sports fans are not only saying how annoyed they are Taylor is everywhere now (sometimes more than football at that), but they're making sexual comments, demanding freaking a sex tape! Making all kinds of nasty graphic assumptions. That he's not interested in addressing, of course. But keep talking about him, swifties! Keep watching his games, keep buying his stuff. Go watch his documentary! Because he's the new Prince Charming, I guess. It's not a PR stunt, nope. All the media outlets are just joking around!

[bookofkatherine]

Loving Him? Easy. But Getting Along? That's Another Matter Altogether | Feat. Viggo Mortensen and Chris Hemsworth

Some of the most famous romance novels are based on the true stories of angels and their bloodlines throughout history.

When Viggo Mortensen recommended the book Prince Charming by Julie Garwood, I began reading it as soon as I could. I wanted to know all about our lives on other timelines.

But then Chapter 18 opened with a very interesting quote:

"Loving Lucas was easy. Getting along with the man was another matter altogether."

And I didn't think of Viggo. I thought of Thor.

The book may be about Viggo Mortensen and I on a timeline in the 1800's, but this quote reminds me of Chris Hemsworth and I... in every era on every timeline.

Example: King Aragorn's love life in The Lord of the Rings is based on Viggo and I during his time as king of Aragon, now a part of Spain. Our lovemaking was so powerful, it felled port after port, kingdom after kingdom.

Viggo and I would make our way up to the highest turret over a city and make love there. This unleashed an incredible amount of power, and attracted the Lord's faithful angels to come to our aide from far and wide.

To this day, Viggo still calls me "my queen." And every time, I turn bright red.

But Chris Hemsworth? He is Mr. Darcy and I'm Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice. You know how that romance went. He said I wasn't pretty enough to dance with when I first met him, and that my sister (Tatiana Mollman) was far prettier.

I agreed. I still do. She's insanely beautiful. She is the Fifth Element, after all. But, for him to say so out loud in public? Not a great start for us. God, we had a rocky beginning back then!

He's also Alexander the Great and I'm Queen Esther, a woman won by his conquest. I know how that romance went: lots of ropes and chains. I'd made the mistake of giggling when I first saw him...

But in my defense, he was trying to pretend to be a slave in order to infiltrate my Persian king's court. Chris Hemsworth, pretending to be a slave, in ancient Persia!? He looked ridiculous. His helmet didn't even fit on his head, it was so small. And he stood more than a foot taller than all the slaves around him. You would've giggled too!

Oh! The look Alexander (Chris Hemsworth) gave me that day in that court!!! I didn't give away his secret, but he was determined to make me pay. He just couldn't figure out how. My smarts pissed him off and turned him on at the same time.

Anyhow.

I'm in love with both. But I've only ever argued with Viggo once and I don't think you could really call it an argument. It was more like gentle laughter. I can turn to him at all times. When I want help, not criticism or a headache, I can count on Viggo. He is the constant calm in the storm if this Last Battle, and an un-ending ember of burning passion that never, ever goes out.

But Chris Hemsworth and I? Well. I did literally kill him last March. So. There's that.

UPDATE:

Oh my God. The book is about Chris Hemsworth and I! Viggo just recommended the book!!! How was I supposed to know ? I never thought anyone would recommend a book that wasn't about themselves in a past life. No one else has!!!

But I should have known. Viggo is different. He just wanted me to read somethjng that would make me feel better. And it really did it. Prince Charming was an amazing book.

But now I have to listen to it all over again! Because I thought it was about Viggo! And it wasn't! It was about Chris Hemsworth!!!

Aaaaarrrgghhh!!! It's a long book!

[lanternburning19]

Starting the era off with Love Story. The music video was literally filmed in a castle and princess ball gown dress and she did that for the first live performance of the era. Then White Horse, another song with fairytale imagery. The prince charming speech during tour. She turned the stage into a castle every night during tour. The album dedication saying "you have to believe in love stories and prince charmings and happily ever after". And ending the era with Today Was A Fairytale. And all for you to say Fearless is not the fairytale album. Get out of here.

[plantsjustwannahavefun]

At this point it's very obvious to me that this particular type of Ed stans don't actually give a fuck about any other character.

Ever noticed how they never seem to even mention any other character? Their entire discourse about the show is just pitting Ed against Izzy. Sometimes Stede comes up, but more as a prize for Ed and key to his happiness, not as his own character. Whenever they're defending Ed's Kraken era, their only justification is that Izzy deserved it, absolutely no thought to the rest of the crew who literally got PTSD from it. They keep accusing Izzy of being racist but never seen any of them draw attention to all those moments of Stede being oblivious and thoughtless to the crew due to his privilege (something very intentional because Stede was meant to be flawed, not perfect, and definitely a bit obtuse sometimes). They're definitely the same people I've seen who admitted they actually hated the first three episodes of S1 and only suffered through them because they knew Blackbeard was going to show up and that's when they finally liked it. Imagine watching OFMD and not being able to appreciate the found family aspect which was such a fundamental part of the show.

Not to gatekeep cause, sure, people have the right to watch a show for whatever reason they want, but I can't help but feel like they're only experiencing a stunted, fairytale-ified version of the show. Where Ed is basically Cinderella and Stede is his Prince Charming, and Izzy is the evil stepmother and the rest of the crew are just the little birdies and mice - cute and useful sometimes but not important.

ok I gotta be real, I've hated a bit of analysis I've been seeing going around lately that's basically "izzy is not a full character in his own right because he's not a protagonist, and he only exists to further ed and stede's character development." basically, taking this guy and treating him as if he's a plot device. as if he's not real. the show is the relationship. stede and ed are the protagonists. but that doesn't mean they're the only real things in this universe.

because like, be honest guys. would you apply this line of thinking to any of the other major deuteragonists? does jim's plotline about coming out and being themself only exist to further/parallel/highlight stede's own journey into becoming his true self? does lucius only exist to be a son figure to stede? does lucius/pete only exist to be a parrellel to ed/stede and show off a healthier relationship at sea? does fang only exist to be a sort of older-brother figure to ed? does olu only exist to contrast stede's type of leadership with a more calm levelheadedness? does zheng only exist to contrast ed and stede as captains? does frenchie only exist to contrast ed?

no! I'm sorry, but I think all those arguments are dumb as shit. we all agree jim, olu, lucius, pete, frenchie, fang, zheng, and even all of the more minor deuteragonists, get to be people in their own right in the show. they don't just exist for stede and ed. they have their own internal lives, their own motivations. when stede and ed leave the room, they don't just turn off. why is izzy different?

yes, I know, izzy's central relationship in the show is with ed. I'm not saying izzy isn't involved in ed's character journey lmao, like, obviously, he is. meanwhile, jim and olu have each other, and zheng and archie, lucius and pete have each other (and to a certain extent, fang), and frenchie has a lot of other stuff going on. but even then, it feels so disingenuous to apply the line of thinking: "this character is not a protagonist so I don't have to treat them with the level of personhood of a protagonist" to just this one guy. it's hypocritical. it just feels like an angry, basic response to how the canyon treats him as a protagonist on the level of stede and ed.

izzy is a father figure, a jilted bride, a complicated nightmare. his relationship to ed is important, and his affect on ed is important too. like, obviously. I love canon edizzy. it's juicy as all fuck. but like, idk, treating izzy like he just zapped into the world one day, about 10 years before the show, with a duty from God to hurt ed for 10 years and then get a bit better and die, while none of the other side characters are treated like that's true, just feels like a major overcorrection from how the canyon treats him, and I don't like it. either everyone else in this universe is real and don't exist just for ed and stede, or no one else is real, and they're all just puppets for ed and stede to bounce off of. you don't get to just decide this 1 guy is special because you don't like him or whatever.

(this post is not for izzy apologists ✌️and/or people who think ed abused izzy)

[jackasstm]

I have no idea when would this event occur in Jack’s main timeline or how would that happen, but I am extremely tempted to have Jack be adopted by the entities who are based on the archetypal “Prince Charming” and “Damsel in Distress”, like how Jack is based on the archetypal trickster.

[justme-free]

Hello, Miss @minijenn, So I created this mini kingdom hearts comic sketch/storyboard. It's not done and I'll have a little explanation and +maybe a follow-up sketch? If anyone would like that...

But for the sake of having 20 million KH projects since the "go ahead" and the fear of never posting not even one I thought it would be nice for you to see some of these sketches, especially this comic one I made.

I don't think you understand Ms. Jen how much you inspired and motivated me within the few months.

I have a deep love for your story Keys and in the many years of reading I believe it is not only the best and only best series within the KH fanfiction/archive of our own readings but the best one ever written (Plus art! never forget the awesome art!)

So, I hope you enjoy it!

So... this might be a little confusing... but I can explain!

So for the comic here is a simplified version of it if you don't want to read too much.

Sora becomes the puppet and pawn of Malfeincent and Master X. and gets merged with Vanitas.

He has amnesia and follows their orders.

Kairi and Riku had been looking for his world after world but lost the charms that Kairi made them.

Sora who had been watching them decides to make an appearance by maleficent orders to take them down.

Sora gets a sudden headache at his familiar name as he was renamed The prince of Darkness or 'prince' or 'my prince'

His thrill and craving for violence and fight (on Vanita's part) fight Riku

-o-

And that's it... but if you want a follow-up for this, I'll try and see if I have time. I didn't want to be creepy or anything but ironically enough I had also moved to a new apartment and went on a vacation and now I am bedridden and locked in my room for fear of mosquitos that have literally bitten every inch of my body.

since I can't rant this to many people I'll just say the good and bad news about the move.

The good news is I had moved into a 100+ yr old victorian old apartment.

The bad news is I had moved into a 100+yr old victorian era old apartment...

It's disgusting and I hate it because it needs a lot of heavy repairs and guess who has to clean up a lot of some really disgusting things?

you guessed it! ME!

I am giving a warning to anyone who even thinks of coming to Egypt for a vacation.. this place is a literal hell.

If you want to go to hell come to Egypt.

-o-

Hers's a longer explanation of my thoughts if you would like to read it:

So this has a lot of Keys influence in it as well as other KH lore and my Ideas.

So... what if somewhere along with the plot of keys (and this would be if Maleficent had been still alive) Sora is at his weakest... His darkened heart was just a flick away at completely fragmenting. Vanitas appears in front of the argument about who keeps Sora. Master X. as his vessel or Maleficent as her pet. Vanitas is angry at both choices and more pissed off at Sora for being weak and stabs Sora with his Keyblade.

Now, Vanitas at this moment holds a lot more light than Sora but a great portion of darkness as well and they strangely fit in harmony and they merge. But they don't quite forge the X-Blade... although their bodies had synchronized perfectly their minds definitely were not.

Sora's mind becomes lost, fragmented, and broken. A broken record between now, then, and futurewise.

Vanitas tries to rein in Sora's mind, tries to shake him out of this stupor he was in but to no avail.

Between the screaming, self-pity, anagizing of Soras display Vanitas makes the heavy choice of taking the lead of their bodies.

But because a large majority of control comes from sora Vanitas focuses primarily on suppressing Sora all the way down within their mind and heart, sealing the boy safe and tucked.

Doing so, a large portion of Vanitas's mind gets stuck with that task and hence he has quite a bit of Amnesia but he keeps a lot of his personality but a lot of features of our current sora from keys plus some added features.

Maleficent and Master X. meet at a compromise after finding out that sora/vanitas conveniently has amnesia. Using it to their advantage and other influence Sora/Vanitas become the ultimate Heartless Vessel.

The horns and tail claimed. plus green eyes by maleficent.

The Dark purple skin of darkness and Yellow eyes of Master X.

The small Red part in his eyes represents Vanitas plus a lot of his personality is influenced by Sora's body and actions.

also, Maleficent has so much influence on Sora that he thinks of her as his 'original' mother figure and 'fixes' the cracks of Sora's keyblade with her poisonous vines.

So now, once again... Sora is Maleficent's servant and Master X's puppet... He stands as the face of darkness... A prince if you will... the prince of darkness...and destruction.

[yorkesteins]

girl what is the nealmara thing

OKAY LMAOOOOOOOO so i think i wrote this during that Era of Discourse where people decided neal was actually the one treating tamara poorly by proposing he was still in love with emma and didn't get that you can have feelings for multiple people at once bc complex feelings?? so i'm pretty sure this was a OBVIOUSLY he's in love with emma but he genuinely believes he has feelings for tamara too. but literally all of have written of this is. about emma. lmfao.

Of course he still has feelings for Emma. He’s always had feelings for Emma. It’s part of him now, settled into the geography of Neal Cassidy, right between “I’m the son of the Dark One” and “sometimes I snore.” But it’s eleven years past mattering, eleven years past meaning anything. He’s doing okay, and Emma’s good, and that’s honestly more than he could have ever hoped for.

He’d known the night he met her, the second he saw the longing in her face at the mention of home-- he’d do anything to show her what it felt like. He’d known somewhere in the middle of his conversation with August that night, the dread of realization settling down in the center of his righteous anger--showing her home would mean he’d never be her home. And he’d known the second Prince Charming leveled him with a suspicious glare that could only come from a protective father-- he’d done his job. And that was enough. 

And their son--well. Henry is so far beyond anything he could have ever hoped.

[myrcella-lannister]

Edwina being a gold digger is one of the worst fabricated lies in this fandom. And the most stupid!

Edwina’s called a gold digger for saying “He is the one I want, Kate. The viscount. His family, this home, the life he offers me.” After socialising with the Bridgerton and staying at their family home, she can imagine a life there. That’s all she says. 

!!!!! You're so so so right, bestie !!!!!

A girl desiring a comfortable and good life isn't wrong or bad or makes her a gold digger. It's understandable especially in the regency era context. Edwina feels lucky and special because Anthony (this handsome and popular man) has publicly shown interested in her. And his family has been welcoming and they have a beautiful home and she can see herself with that life. She isn't even willing to forget about Kate or Mary, as she tells Kate in 2.05 "And when the viscount and I are blessed with children, you shall be their favorite aunt. Think of us all together as a family." She literally wants them all to be one big family. She wants Kate to stay in London, too, but she respects Kate enough (because she trusts Kate and everything she says, always! She would never think Kate is lying to her about what she wants or about anything really) to not be pushy about it so instead she hopes Dorset will persuade her to stay (which could mean too that Edwina thinks she is not enough reason to make Kate stay.....).

They love to use the "A prince or a duke, perhaps." (2.01) too as if it isn't obvious that it was a 17 years old being silly to her sister (she literally giggles after saying that???). I'm sure they have had that conversation a thousand times, it's not the first time in 17 years that Kate asks Edwina what she is looking for in a husband. Kate states several times that Edwina is looking for love in a marriage. Even if Edwina wasn't just being silly, she has read/been read* so many fairytales about princes and princesses that it's logical for her to think that a prince charming will make her the most happy. People like to forget that Edwina literally doesn't know what love looks or feels like in the real world. Or how the real world works at all for that matter. And anyway... that scene was meant to show how inexperienced Edwina is in matters of love and that Kate is there to look after her and make sure nobody takes advantage of her but if you don't get Bridgerton that's on you fam.

Two of Edwina's monologues are about romantic love. The first one with the king (we know how much she admires the king and queen's union) and the second one is literally to tell Anthony that she deserves love and respect. If Edwina was a gold digger she would be married to him by now. She wouldn't care about Anthony's feelings because his wealth would be her priority. But a comfortable life or a title wasn't enough for her. I like to think that, even if she doesn't believe in true love anymore* (crying), deep down she still wants to experience it!!!

* "After a lifetime of filling my head with nonsense," (2.06) / "I remember the books you used to read to me from Appa's library. The stories of true love and happy endings against all odds. Did you yourself ever truly believe them? Or has everything you told me been a lie? (...) What I saw is how even that (their parent's love story) ended in tragedy. Happy endings do not exist, Kate." (2.07)

Edwina’s called a gold digger for saying “He is the one I want, Kate. The viscount. His family, this home, the life he offers me.” After socialising with the Bridgerton and staying at their family home, she can imagine a life there. That’s all she says. 

Edwina says what she admires in (fake) Anthony: his honesty, kindness, integrity etc. Not a word about money. Even if she did admire his wealth, why is that wrong? What’s wrong with marrying rich? What’s wrong with wanting to lead a comfortable life?? What’s suddenly wrong with the most common trope in period drama???

The one time she references Anthony’s wealth was in the context of her family. Edwina says “Once i am married to the viscount, there will be ample funds to provide for all of us. He is generous as he is wealthy. I am sure the viscount will provide for [Kate] and Mama too.” She followed this with “what burden would it be to marry the man I love?” Her priority is neither wealth nor titles. It’s love (check out my bestie’s gifset!). She rejected Anthony for love. 

[deanmarywinchester]

definitive ranking of Tortall love interests

oh boy. i loved the Tortall books as a kid and i am having a blast on my reread, but one thing that I almost uniformly dislike about them is their romance plots. it’s the rare Tortall love interest who isn’t creepy in some way, much older than the protagonist, or just plain boring. so to go along with my ranking, each dude will get a ranking on a Creep Scale (0-10, with 0 being a normal nice dude and 10 being a huge creep), and an Interest Index (10 being extremely charming and interesting and 0 being more boring than a rock). without further ado, the ranking:

8: liam ironarm: just, the Absolute bottom of the barrel. I can only assume he must have been extremely hot and an extremely good fighter for alanna to be even remotely interested in getting past his condescension and infantilization toward her. dude, she’s the lioness, not your “kitten.” ugh. Creep Scale: 9. Interest Index: 8 (he is the Shang Dragon)

7: numair salmalin: the duality of man: charming, intelligent, an unmatched mage, based on Jeff Goldblum, probably slept with the emperor of carthak--but also thought it was cool to date his teenage student when he was literally twice her age. gross! someone on this site once said “it wasn’t his fault, he’s a victim of tammy’s teacher kink” and i haven't stopped thinking about it since. Creep Scale: STRONG 10. Interest Index: also 10. duality of man indeed.

6: cleon of kennan: now, here’s the thing. there’s nothing WRONG with cleon. he’s nice, he’s a good knight, whatever. but from a narrative perspective, he’s just so extremely dull. on the other hand, I guess that makes him the perfect dude for kel to imprint on before she realizes romance isn't for her. Creep Scale: 0. Interest Index: 3.

5: jonathan of conte: hm. jonathan is so hard to rank because he’s a solid friend when he’s not having his WWRLaM-era breakdown, but honestly I don’t think he’s ever a good love interest. he can’t wrap his head around the fact that alanna is both alanna his girlfriend AND alan his comrade, and seems to treat her like two different people depending on whether she’s in battle or in his bed. Creep Scale: 5 for the WWRLaM-era breakdown and being a colonizer (er, excuse me, Voice). Interest Index: 9 for being a prince and a good friend

4: dale rowan: if you’re going to have a first fling, you could do a lot worse than dale. he’s funny, he’s charming, he’s upfront about the fact that this won’t be a serious relationship, but he's loyal as long as he’s with you. a solid dude and canonically good in bed. Creep Scale: 0. Interest Index: 7.

3: george cooper: a roguish thief character who’s still an almost weirdly honorable man? immediately imprints on “alan” and jon and vows to protect them? encourages alanna to be nothing less than herself? grows up to be a good dad? near perfection. 12-year-old me was smitten. Creep Scale: 3.5 for the age gap. Interest Index: 10.

2: nawat crow: pros: is literally a crow spirit. cons: is literally a crow spirit. pretty cool, pretty weird, and he definitely treats Aly right. top marks. Creep Scale: 1, but only because crows don’t know about things like human boundaries so it took him a hot sec to be normal. Interest Index: 9 (he’s a crow spirit!)

1: farmer cooper: [griffin mcelroy voice] now THERE’S a boy I can get into. himbo-passing by choice but funny, smart, and a great self-taught embroidery mage by nature, farmer cooper is hands down the best Tortall love interest. he respects beka, he braids her hair for her, he took her name when they married, he kissed her for the first time in a dungeon while they faced death--what more could you want? Creep Scale: -100. Interest Index: 9.