#no one in the world could possibly understand him. not even arthur bc while they are intertwined by destiny

[justaz]

need post magic reveal/ban repeal where magic is free and everyone grows in their knowledge of just what magic is and how it works etc, etc. merlin (isn't one for bragging about his powers) doesn't really mention much about his magic so people just assume he has enough to get by with like chores but not enough to catch the ire of uther EXCEPT for gauis, lancelot, and arthur bc gaius and lancelot have known about him for years and know what he's capable of and arthur sat merlin down and demanded all the stories so arthur knows he'd be a formidable opponent but he doesn't really get it yk? so he's like "yeah merlin has magic and he's capable of defending himself and camelot so he's probably on the more powerful end of the spectrum like every other sorcerer who is powerful"

and then i need merlin to be Different. like noticeably different. like idk a sorcerer is like trying out to be court sorcerer (bc merlin doesn't want another job dammit arthur give it morgana or someone-) and they perform this elaborate spell that captivates merlin and he starts asking all these questions and the sorcerer is like "yeah it's super difficult, it took me months to get it right and it takes years for some others-" and they cut themselves off bc merlin was just like "i wanna try" and does it perfectly first try. the sorcerer is seething.

camelot is hit with a heatwave and everyone is suffering and arthur is just like "morgana can you make it rain or something? it's too hot to breathe." and morgana is just like "no you idiot i can't just bend nature to my will. it doesn't like that." and merlin finally arrives with waterskins full of nice, cold, refreshing drink that the knights are frothing at the mouth to get. arthur complains again and morgana huffs and merlin is like "has he been like that this whole time?" and morgana nods with a groan and merlin laughs before going "i can try something" and leaves before anyone can say anything and arthur looks at morgana and is like "i thought you said nature doesn't like to be controlled?" and she's like "it doesn't" and then they all chase after merlin but he's chilling in the courtyard with his eyes closed, not even chanting, and then the sky starts to darken as black clouds roll in, the temperature plummets and then...snow begins to fall. in july. they all end up having a snowball fight.

a power hungry sorcerer comes along and is like "emrys....he's perfect....just what i need...teehee" and casts some spell over merlin and begins to siphon his magic and his power and merlin feels waves of his magic flood through the connection and into the sorcerer and like he's a mix of panic and concern bc yeah this mf is taking his magic but they're taking his magic. merlin tries to bargain or talk them down while the knights and arthur try to attack but the sorcerer keeps pushing them back and ignores merlin and is like "i want power, i want your power" blah blah blah monologue time and they swing another wave of magic out at the knights and knock many out while killing some and merlin is just like "ok no that's all folks thanks" and starts to push his own magic through the connection. the sorcerer has this wild gleam in their eyes and they feel more and more power fill them and it's like a high until it gets too much and they frantically try to sever the connection and their telling merlin to stop but merlin is just like "i thought you wanted my power? i'm giving it to you" and continues to flood the sorcerer with his magic until gold begins to trace their skin and they idk explode or smth and then all the magic flies back into merlin and he flexes his hands. unnamed knights 3, 6, 22, 53, and 55 still died so it's a tragedy.

a bunch of sorcerers are entertaining at a feast (kind of like the trickler) and they cast illusions all around the room that look real enough (unless you look too closely or touch it bc they are somewhat see through and your hand would pass right through them) and it's a fun and joyous night. later that week, the knights bring it up during their break while training and merlin is like "sure, what illusion should i cast?" and after some back and forth, he settles on the illusion of a dragon. it's around the size and age of aithusa bc that's all he has to go off of and it's gold since he took inspiration from the pendragon crest all around the area. it jumps around and flaps it's wings to get some air and it's all fine and dandy until elyan goes to poke his hand through it's ribs but meets physical scales and he jumps up into percival's arms. merlin looks closer and is like "oh. its real. whoops." and leon is like "whoops?? you make a real life dragon and all you have to say is whoops?" and merlin shrugs and is like "it was an accident" and leon about keels over from a heart attack "an accident? how do you accidentally-" the dragon is considered a gift from magic to camelot and helps further heal the wounds of uther's purge.

idk just like merlin being casually the most powerful sorcerer to walk the earth and unnerving people just by how little he seems to care about his shows of power but they're all like "well he's just doing all these small things that don't harm anyone and he doesn't even seem to realize just how powerful he is so what can ya do?" and they leave it be and make peace with merlin being Like That. and then camelot/arthur is attacked or smth idk and then everyone gets to see exactly how powerful and dangerous merlin is

[bluebellhairpin]

Hi Nemo! If you're willing, can you tell me about your selfship with Arthur? 👉👈 My husband IRL has played RDR and RDR2, but I feel like I still know next to nothing about him/his world, and I want to know how you fit into it! It's evident that he makes you happy, and I'd love to talk to you more about him, I just don't know where to start!

Love you, hope you're having a good day 🩶

"It's evident that he makes you happy" OMG YOU NOTICED 🥺🥺🥺

Anyway, oc/selfship lore dump below bc I could bet money that this is gonna get long lol

So like all my selfships, I like to throw together a little self insert oc to match - makes things more immersive imo.

This one is only known as Red. She's quiet and keeps to herself a lot. She doesn't partake in a lot of gang activities as far as the outlaw side of things go.

Like's to keep herself as honest as possible. She does learn to hunt after a while, and that helps her bring in money bc she sells most of what she kills. She attempted to learn pickpocketing off Mary-beth, but she "has too honest of a heart to fool anyone, they'd see (her) coming a mile away". So she sticks to keeping clean and straight as far as crimes go. She could turn to bounty hunting, but again - she doesn't really enjoy the risk of killing her bounty if things turned bad, so she avoids that too.

She also had a buckskin stallion called Leroy who is her little baby boy who can do no wrong, and who she pampers SO BAD. He's actually quite cuddly, and very protective of her.

If Red was a character in-game, she'd probably join the gang's girls in venturing into Valentine during 'Polite Society, Valentine Style'. Actually I can imagine her being someone who latches on as someone who joins in on missions rather than having any specific to her like other characters. She definitely plays a role as one of the main cast in the epilogue with John - if she had a solo mission with the player it'd probably be during that time.

Her relationship with Arthur though, following in-game canon, is so tricky. Like Arthur has. Trauma. Both his past canon relationships left him a bit messed up. Eliza died, and Mary left him - and and like it's messed with his self esteem so bad lol. So I can see both him and Red skirting around 'will they wont they' for a very long time - maybe even only deciding to comfort it at the very end of the game when Arthur's trying to 'fix' everything while he's still alive. Like there's a definite fondness, maybe even favoritism, between the two and it would definitely show though when they interacted. A lot of untapped potential - painfully so - if they weren't both so emotionally constipated.

Honestly the best part of the canon-esque storyline is post game. (AND IS ALSO WHY I THINK THIS HAS SEVERLY UNTAPPED PLOY SHIP POTENTIAL!!!) Her and Charles Smith wander off to Canada and use their mutual fondness of Arthur as a gateway to a really good relationship. They settle down on some land, get married, and start a family. They're each other's 'no one else understands what I've been though or how I feel except you' person. They both lost Arthur, and he does kind of haunt them - they name their first child, a daughter, Morgan, for him. (I think the relationship progress with Charles lies a lot with how straightforward I see him coming across as - in my head he doesn't hide how he feels so much, and by then Red has a lot of regret about not acting soon enough with Arthur, so she's a lot more willing to act by that point too.)

AND FIREND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON MY MORDEN AU THOUGHTS. They're a lot less sad, BUT GOOD GRIEF. SO MUCH MORE HORNY.

[noxcorvorum]

I uh. I just finished ghost wax ep 44. I'm devastated. I need several moments. At least a day actually. Jesus christ.

(spoilers for part 44)

First of all I love the incantations. Iconic. I have all of them written down in Google keep. The empty table. The world's last fable. Dead mortar, bone pestle. Come death to your vessel. Come now, entropy. The spiral of time. Spin, spin fast. And seer and cable. Pen, fog, and fable. Stay within, flat and pinned. Love all of it and I am actively wanting more of them to memorize for enrichment. And now time to go feral over the Happenings.

So I'm kindof unclear on what happened to pip, did she essentially get jonah magnused, as in whatever entity Charles served controls her eyes now? Does she still have control of the rest of her body? Does the entity have control and she's just watching from within or is she essentially dead/incapacitated with the entity puppeting her? Ack augh I really liked the episode where she had the dream thing where the other characters were her friends and family, Luca as her brother, Owen and Azem (AUGH ILL GET TO HIM) as her uncles ("Uncle cid will be delightfully catty," ACK.), and she lied her way out of it even with the incredibly tempting offer of a world she could control where she can have an actual support system, and she gave it all away to protect the same people in the real world. That episode made me much more familiar with her character than I had been, idk what happened while I was listening but I was pretty neutral about her before this episode bc I didn't know her and AUGH she was just trying to help Charlie and he manipulated her away and into getting caught by whatever he serves and AUGH SHE DOESNT EVEN KNOW WHATS HAPPENING WITH OWEN AND LUCA

We also get a lot more Luca lore in the most recent episodes with his childhood and the beginning of whatever's going on with his soul that at one point Owen said his spirit is incomplete? And Owen gives him a replica of the thing he pulled out of his dream 😭 sobbing. Luca my beloved augh is he dead?? I saw a theory that the body Owens hamsa instincts latched onto was his so what's going to happen to them if that's true? Is one of them going to disappear or is it going to be a John and Arthur Malevolent situation or even will they combine like Paul from Nona the ninth? If that is the case I'm leaning towards something between disappearance and a malevolent situation bc Owen seems to have kept what remains of Azem with him all this time, and he cares enough about Luca that I think he'd do his best to not erase him as much as he possibly could. Luca my boy please don't be dead ;_;

Owen my beloved AUGH. ACK. ALDKSJ. Owen you are devastating me. Apologizing to Charlie bc he failed him when from what I understand pretty much nothing Owen could have done for him would have helped him not do this and then pleading for just five to seven more minutes so he can release what's left of Azem and also cause as little damage as he does as possible??? SIR. I AM WEEPING. He's old, so so old, and he's been here for so long and held on to Azem for so long that all he wants is to be able to let him go, to give him this one last thing. He accepts that he's about to die and that he will lose this last connection to his partner so quickly, and he just wants to give that which remains of Azem the best chance he can give him. I think the fact that he was pleading for this long-dead figure that only remains in mere fragments in Owens head at best to be released and not for his own life and continued connection to Azem broke me. I do think that the body he was in for all that time had some significance regarding Azem, maybe it was azems body?? I think it might be more likely it's the body he held when he met and was with Azem though, but also that whatever parts of Azem are left are tethered to that body, and he can't take him with him if he takes a new one, and he's afraid of letting go even when it's to his own detriment, because he starts using the wax recorders when he starts losing memories of reclaiming from the sheer vast amount of them he has in that brain. When he doesn't want to use an observed as bait and someone suggests he use himself instead and he says he can't, and I think the intro to ep 41 has some interesting implications:

A: ["will you- will you"? Could be a name?] please, oh god, ["please don't make me"?] just let it be over, I don't want it I don't want it anymore-

B: shh, come now, come now it's almost over. hush, hush, my love, we believe in you.

A: I can't, please

B: you knew this would not be easy. You know that. you cannot stop now, it is too late.

A: [weakly, as if weeping] please don't make me

B: this is what you chose. It is the right choice. None of this, none of it is real. It's all just a vivid dream. You choose to wake up. Just a few steps further, my love. [Interspersed with noises from A that sound like sobbing] Free yourself. Almost. [sigh? Or a laugh? Possibly "there"?]

I think "A" is Owen and "B" is either some corruption of Azem or something using his countenance and voice. It's too late at night and I kinda forgot what exactly happened in 41 so I can't elaborate exactly why I think this. However perhaps it is related to the thing Charles is serving (the cypher? Unclear to me) possibly attempting to get Owen to give up prematurely, maybe with a dream such as the one pip had but Actively Bad And Worse? It's something, that's for sure. I couldn't understand some of it too so that's probably contributing to my confusion

[ofglories]

⭐️⭐️ / Caster Arthur ( or any Arthur really )

⭐️⭐️ / Emrys

Aaaand finally ⭐️⭐️ for Taliesin bc I'm curious!

|| Send a ⭐️ for a headcanon about our muses ; accepting!

Thanks to Caster Arthur having been fully raised by Merlin as basically the only consistent adult in his life, he completely sees Merlin as his father. Not a father figure like Saber and Lancer Arthur sees him as, but actually as his father. He barely even considers Uther a person, even less someone Arthur could be related to. So in private, and when Merlin isn't giving him lessons, Arthur calls him father. Especially after the man's reaction to the first time it happened.

Despite Merlin's best efforts, even in this timeline, Arthur is utterly hopeless with music and poetry. The first time he tried to play the lute he accidentally somehow summoned a pissed off elemental spirit that both of them had to subdue and disperse back to where it was meant to be. Merlin still brings it up when Arthur tries to write love songs and poems about Bedivere, even when Arthur's serving his dear king as an adult.

It took him a while to realize it, but Emrys absolutely fell for Merlin the first time they even saw each other in that misty forest. He did eventually tell this to him much later, and it became something they would joke about. Both in Camelot and in Chaldea, they laugh over how despite all the warning signs of a beautiful and otherworldy man appearing in a strange forest, Emrys still fell head over heels for Merlin right then and there.

The Stonehenge Incident is their own personal in-joke that basically no one but them understands. It was one of the first times Emrys fully laughed around Merlin, though not the time he laughed harder than he ever had before. After all, what's funnier than using magic to steal a ring of ancient standing stones to just a few miles up the road? Absolutely nothing. And all either of them has to do is bring it up and they'll both start laughing.

As Taliesin's student, Merlin learned a great deal of things about both magic and music, of course. But he also learned history. Real history of the world that was forgotten by all but the gods and Taliesin himself. Things that Taliesin would only tell to two other people, really: Yvain and Branwen. Both mortal children that he would raise and love as his own. And though he can't truly consider Merlin his child thanks to him being Rowan's sprout, he hopes Merlin would consider him at least some form of family.

Taliesin showed Merlin a glimpse of his future in what would eventually become Camelot by taking him to the exact location that would later become the heart of the castle. It was there, with a small spring that would dry long before the Pendragons arrived, that he showed the mage a myriad of visions, each tying to various events and different possible outcomes. This was to help Merlin figure out how to decipher his own prophetic visions, and to guide him in the little way Taliesin could without stepping too far into interference.

[vampiricpancake]

thanks for including me!!

What was your first impression of the game? Is this the first Cybird game you've ever played? When I first discovered this game me and a former friend were cracking up about the idea of dating these historical men and we played it as a joke. It is in fact the first and only Cybird game I've ever played.

Who was the character you liked most in the beginning, and is he still your fave? My favorite was Mozart since he was one of the three available routes at the time, although he is still one of my most liked characters, he is no longer my #1 fav sorry Mozart but Theo stole my heart

How you picked your first route, and whose route was it? Was your favorite suitor available when you first started playing? My friends had picked Leonardo and Napoleon's route so picked Mozart. Theo's route wasn't available until about over a year later but he had always been a character I was curious to learn more about.

An unavailable route you're looking forward to: Charles since he's the only option besides the new characters we know nothing about

A character you thought would be different than how he is: not sure, probably Sebastian since his route took me by surprise

Is there a suitor who you used to dislike, but eventually changed your opinion about? I use to not like Isaac that much but after reading his route, he's actually so cute! I personally think his route is my favorite despite him not even being in my top 5.

Do you remember your first story event? I don't really remember bc it was really hard to understand how to play them but it might have been Discipline Between the Sheets however I don't remember what the event was about.

Have you ever spent money on the game? Have you tried the free diamonds offers? Unfortunately yes and yes.

Do you have a favorite avatar item? Is it a plushie or maybe a unique hairstyle? I don't really care about the avatars so no to both.

Have you ever bought merch of your favorite ikevamp character? Yes, at Anime Expo last year I bought an acrylic stand of Theo as well as a mystery button with Arthur on it!

Have you ever mistakingly spent your stamina not in the story event? All the time

What's the luckiest you've ever been when it comes to the gacha? What about your most unlucky memory? Probably the time I got the card of Theo and King since I've wanted it for a while. My most unlucky......once I traded for the guaranteed 4 star token only to pull the same exact card I previously pulled that got me the trading tickets in the first place-

The slowliest you've ever completed a route vs the quickest: Slowest: probably like a month, quickest: like 2 weeks since I am bad to saving my story tickets.

Do you use your 5 free chapter tickets daily? I try my best to so that I can finish routes as soon as possible for those end of route rewards

A moment in a route that made you cry and a moment in a route that made you laugh: I don't think I've cried but reading Arthur's trauma in his side of the story makes me pretty emotional. As for funniest, probably just any interactions between suitors such as the History's Greatest Errand Boys kiss event or Theo and Arthur's "bromance"

Who is your favorite pureblood vampire? I'm a Leonardo girlie 100% I feel like he would give me constant anxiety with his spontaneous energy but I would love to learn more about him.

Do you have a favorite CG? What about a favorite card? My favorite CG is Theo's 4th birthday when he and MC are......... "cuddling" and also Theo with his shirt half off- wait a minute....... starting to sense a pattern here-

Any famous historical figures you wished were in ikevamp? Probably someone from WW2 or after I would be so interested to see how the boys react to how much the world changed and how they impacted it. I'd probably say someone like Alan Turing, I could imagine him being friends with Isaac and discussing math / science theories and being friendly academic rivals. Although I think it was also be interesting to have female characters like Amelia Earhart or Marilyn Monroe.

What card is currently on your home screen in the game? It's Leonardo dressed in modern clothing in a fancy restaurant.

What do you think about the suitors' pets? Which one is your favorite? I love how the all have their own silly little backstory and how they compliment their owners. I especially like Vic since his story is so silly and I always adore how much personality they give the little guy.

𝟒 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐈𝐤𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐦𝐩 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐠 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞!

Ikevamp EN launched on the 1st of July 2019 - maybe you were there since day one, or maybe you've only started playing recently: here's a little game to celebrate! You simply answer the questions and (optionally) tag the people whose answers you'd love to see next! Happy 4th anniversary to all ikevamp players! 🎉🎉🎉

*~if you feel like sharing, you can find the days in the mansion counter in your profile in the game and add it to your questions ~* Also, while reading other people's answers, mind that there might be spoilers!

What was your first impression of the game? Is this the first Cybird game you've ever played?

Who was the character you liked most in the beginning, and is he still your fave?

How you picked your first route, and whose route was it? Was your favorite suitor available when you first started playing?

An unavailable route you're looking forward to:

A character you thought would be different than how he is:

Is there a suitor who you used to dislike, but eventually changed your opinion about?

Do you remember your first story event?

Have you ever spent money on the game? Have you tried the free diamonds offers?

Do you have a favorite avatar item? Is it a plushie or maybe a unique hairstyle?

Have you ever bought merch of your favorite ikevamp character?

Have you ever mistakingly spent your stamina not in the story event?

What's the luckiest you've ever been when it comes to the gacha? What about your most unlucky memory?

The slowliest you've ever completed a route vs the quickest:

Do you use your 5 free chapter tickets daily?

A moment in a route that made you cry and a moment in a route that made you laugh:

Who is your favorite pureblood vampire?

Do you have a favorite CG? What about a favorite card?

Any famous historical figures you wished were in ikevamp?

What card is currently on your home screen in the game?

What do you think about the suitors' pets? Which one is your favorite?

Have fun answering! 💕

[chevvy-yates]

top five video games! (or movies if you got that one already)

I'll go with both :)

VIDEO GAMES:

1. Red Dead Redemption II

This game, seriously. It will take a while to beat this quality that game has. story line, characters, fights, immersive world, the wild life, ARTHUR!!!!!, the horses, the nature, all the things you can interact with and the dialogues with just random npc's — this game made me speechless. Sadly I got horribly spoiled for the story that I never ever finished the game. My Arthur baby is still healthy. I think he coughed only once. Dunno if I'll ever finish it. There's a lot of story left, but I grazed every part of the map I could reach with Arthur (except for the western part across the river). (Cyberpunk could have been like that, sadly it did not).

2. The Elder Scrolls V — Skyrim

My first game where I had to make own character (before that I only played car racing games or a few Final Fantasy :,D). I got so immersed into the world of TES that I chose to do my bachelor thesis about the dragon language used in Skyrim – so this must mean something alright? Sadly I never came to enjoy playing the game on pc. PS4 provided that mods can be used, tho but at that time I've already beaten out the entire game with my PS3 that I never really played it on PS4. But I love all the memories I've got of it — especially with my thief character. I still love him lots.

3. Cyberpunk 2077

If there wouldn't be Skyrim and RDR2, this game would probably be on No. 1. If you ask me of the story — probably not. But damn it's been a whole while since a game soaked me that deep into it. Maybe it's got to do because you can make own characters again, and I happen to develop them now, with so many head canons + the luck of having a super awesome photo mode and possibilities with mods that make the characters almost alive. It's something completely new and I'm glad I bought a motherfucking gaming laptop — I'd have missed all this. Well aside of this: The setting is just amazing, I love futurisic settings because I'm a sucker for movies like Blade Runner and a chunk of my heart is still in Tokyo (which I've visited 4x and to me is a real cyberpunk city already).

4. Assassin's Creed

The one and only real Assassin's Creed game. Altair is badass and it was amazing to get him back from a novice to a true master assassin. love the setting, love the monotone game play, love that altair can't heal himself, love that he can't swim, love that he has no money. Love the combat, Altair is super brutal. No other Assassin's Creed game could reach this master piece ever. (I'm interested in the new one tho bc back into that time and setting again but I don't like this open world stuff they did since the Egypt part).

5. Thief

Sneaky games are my specialty since I made my thief character in Skyrim. And when I learned about there are actual thief games, and a new one got to be released back in 2014 I was all bats about it. I've watched let's plays of the old Thief games, tho. but the latest for PS4 I enjoyed so much I even found a lot of lore from the old games in it and I can't understand to this day why this game flopped. It makes me still sad, the entire game studio had to close because of the flop. Old fans seemed to hate it as much as new people. For me it's a gem because of all the references to the old games — Story? what story? My soul is still captured deep down under the moira asylum, ugh. Never had a game freaked me out more than this part of it (Okay Alien was worse bc the Alien is unpredictable). But being in an empty asylum with no one but you freaks u surely out and therefore this game alone is a master piece.

______

MOVIES:

1. High Plains Drifter

No sterotypical western and therefore I fucking love it alone. It's art. The people of Lago do not know what is going to happen when that ghostly stranger rides into their town. He turns it literally into hell seeking vengeance. Watching it for the first time can leave you unsatisfied having questions or you're probably going to ask yourself: what the heck did I just watch? Because you expected a western. I'm a sucker for Clint Eastwood movies, especially the 60s and 70s ones. This one is the first - or was it the second one? - he directed and playing in it and I consider it a masterpiece.

2. Magnum Force

Yes, I'm also a sucker for cop movies since I was a kid, so it was no wonder I liked all the five Dirty Harry movies when I chose to watch them for the first time back in 2020. But Magnum Force got to be my favorite (even tho the first one is pretty cool as well). Harry Callahan kicks asses – even in his own ranks. And I love his one liners, alright? Plus the movies are all filmed in San Francisco. It's my favorite city. I'll never get enough seeing that beautiful city, no matter what decade (it used to look prettier back in the days, tho).

3. Indiana Jones 1—3* (there ain't only one sorry not sorry)

Indy is my childhood hero. He's always in my top 5. I rewatched his three 80s adventures so often that I lost count of it. And every character travelling with him is amazing. Willie, Shorty, Henry Jones Senior (aaahh Sean Connery ;_;), Marion, Sallah, Marcus Brody, Elsa – I even liked the stupid nazis bc they are so fun to watch losing all the time against Indy and his crew!!! Settings are amazing (Egypt, India, Italy (Venice my love)) — and no friggin CGI back then. Quality movies no new movie will ever reach again.

*not the 4th tho.

4. For a Few Dollars More

Ugh, I'm just a sucker for Clint as the Man with no Name, alright? But the second is my favorite bc I love love love Manco (Clint) in it. He does everything left handed, he's my hero! (there's way too less left handed characters). And the dynamic he's got with Mortimer (Lee van Cleef) is just AAA+++. Two bounty hunters on a mission. The music underlines the cinematic scenes so good, I'm always in awe (thank you Ennio Moriccone for your music <3).

5. Where Eagles dare

Another 60s movie with Clint alongside Richard Burton in the main roles. This time it's a war movie. The story follows a team of British-American special Operations Executive raiding a castle. Love the plot, fuck up all the nazi scum (probably Clint's highest kill count in a movie ever). Somehow the movie reminds me a bit of Wolfenstein, I bet it was some inspiration for the old games. Amazing action scenes with a lot of fire and explosions.

[rein-ette]

If it hasn't been asked already, do you have any headcanons about France and England's relationship? 👀

Ah, and now we end where I always seem to end. These two cannot get rid of each other, and I cannot get rid of them.

*cracks knuckles* ok idk what you want to hear so I’m just gonna ramble here goes

So before I got my soul stolen by engport, fruk had been, like. Everything. Then I went through a crisis period where I was like 😱 how do I choose 😱 and now I’m like, ok, but why do I have to choose? I think Port and France fill very different roles in Arthur’s life, both of which are essential. Not only that, thinking about engport has helped me better understand Francis and Arthur’s dynamic, so I’ll be comparing a little throughout these hcs.

For me, fruk is a very — latent? — relationship. It’s ironic, bc engport are the ones who actually call themselves best friends and fruk prefer to be known as enemies/occasional lovers, but if you saw them on the street, you’d think France and England were close friends and England and Portugal, are, well, clearly gay for each other. They’re far more openly affectionate, whereas even for those who know them like Spain or Prussia, it can sometimes be hard to believe France and England are dating, let alone head over heels in love.

But they are. It’s just that they’ve been by each other’s side for so long, had those feelings for so long, that they’ve become a part of the background hum, a basic part of their lives. So usually the feelings Arthur or Francis actively feel for each other are mild, everyday things: annoyance, impatience, curiosity, worry. Especially in public/around other nations, they're not touchy or affectionate at all.

But if you know where and how to look, you'll see the signs. A napkin with scribbled math equations, something they argued over at a cafe. A cufflink here, a watch there, all gifts from each other from the hundreds of birthdays they've spent together. Arthur's number listed as an emergency contact on some inane government form. Francis' handwriting on the margins of Arthur's meeting minutes: remember to discuss this with Denmark, the address for a restaurant they're meeting at that night. Francis rereading various titles of english literature, trying to understand him better. Arthur paying for Francis' clothes with his own card without thinking about it. Their lives are intimately, mundanely intertwined in a way that's remarkably rare among nations.

This is actually a rather recent development in their relationship. In my hc Francis and England only started seriously seeing each other right before World War II, and began an "official" (or what passes for official) relationship right after. Then they broke it off for a while again when de Gaulle became president, then got back together shortly after he left office and have more or less gone pretty steady ever since. So that's like, what, a couple decades? A drop in the ocean for a nation. But this easy familiarity they've found doesn't feel new, to them or to anyone else, because in reality they've been building it up for centuries, albeit in unconventional ways. It's almost like through killing, conning, and tearing each other apart, they've lost their fear of each other. Nations have with their own kind a wariness, a constant stumbling block in the back of their mind reminding them no matter how deep their feelings, their interests can never truly align -- and this results in small awkwardnesses like pointedly locked office cabinets and walking away to take phone calls. But such things don't apply to Francis and Arthur. Part of it is the luxury of being allies now, but most of it is the fact that they've seen every side of each other, told every possible lie. Even if Francis did find some shit in Arthur's office, political secrets or otherwise -- what of it? They've planned enough conspiracies with and against each other that short of "I'm plotting a second invasion of Paris with Germany," there's really nothing they can't just scream at each other a little about and then brush off.

Basically what I'm saying is I like my fruk super domestic. But I also like my fruk highkey dramatic. One of the periods in their relationship I think about a lot is right before the American and French Revolutions (Louis XIV era), when I hc that they were in a nearly-entirely-committed, almost-honeymoon-like relationship. This comes from one fic i read that I can no longer find or remember, but where Arthur stays at Versailles for a couple years as the official English Ambassador and they begin a *clandestine* romance that's only half clandestine. This is a time when they were well and truly in love and not afraid to say it -- it was a time when they almost believed they could work out, fairy-tale style. But then the American revolution begins and Arthur is devastated, furious, accusing, betrayed -- they have an explosive fight and their relationship slides right back to hundred years war level hatred for the next century, culminating with Napoleon. The only difference from before is that now Arthur's anger is tinged with a desperate grief ("how could you do this again when you know i love you") and Francis' resentment now has a hint of despair ("I knew we couldn't last, the world is proving me right and i hate it.")

Their relationship slowly, glacially recovers after europe boots Napoleon. In fact, besides a couple proxy wars and shouting matches, the Napoleonic Wars was England and France's last major conflict to date. This coincides with the gradual worsening of Gabriel and Arthur's relationship in the 1900s. At this point Arthur wasn't actually trying to replace Gabriel, and in fact was still deep in denial about his feelings for Francis, but it certainly seemed to Gabriel as if he was being pushed out of Arthur's life and that Did Not Help Anything Whatsoever. Francis, for his part, was incredibly hesitant to push in part because of his lingering fear that they just weren't meant to be, and in part because he actually felt guilty that he was worsening Arthur's relationship with Gabriel, the loss of whom he knew would kill Arthur inside.

I realize I'm going on again so I'll end by saying that now, Francis and Arthur still sometimes have their dramatic moments of "oh shit I'm in love with him, the fuck?" even though the set-piece battles are over. When Francis delivers a particularly elegant speech, for example, or actually puts that mind and sharp tongue of his to work in a pitched negotiation. When Arthur surprises Francis with a weekend getaway, complete with a boat, flowers, and lots of cute blushing and blustering. Or when one of them is seriously ill, overworked, or hurt; when something just snaps one day and all their nightmares catch up to them -- the cold fear and sleepless worry are all reminders of how deep their feelings run, even if they don't constantly make themselves known.

[yanderepuck]

What if the fur babies had babies????

Imagine MC having the same pet as their vampire boyfriend

Jupiter 

He??? Decent dad.  Tho at one point he’s like “k kids.  Time to learn how to fly” and pushes a baby out the nest and Napoleon luckily catches the baby.  Jupiter gets a mouthful.  The nest is so much bigger and Bunta is a little upset he isn’t allowed in the nest anymore.  They are very noise however.  At one point Napoleon considers moving the nest to the barn, but who knows how they would react to the nest moving.  Good thing he’s a heavy sleeper

Schelm 

To say the least.  He was very confused by these fluff balls.  Mozart absolutely ADORES the babies and makes sure they have everything they need and more to be comfortable.  But when someone asks him about them or Schelm he goes “Who?  Tho dumb owls?  Yeah they’re doing alright I guess”  Then he goes back to his room and cuddles the babies and helps feed them and helps keep the nest cozy.  But Schelm doesn’t leave the babies side.  Only because he trusts Mozart does he let him near the babies.  Sebas isn’t even allowed in Mozart’s room during this time.  Eventually Schelm takes them all tot he music room.  He had been working on making a nest in there for them since that is where Mozart spends most of his time, and plus the open windows make it a more comfortable atmosphere.

Lumière 

First of all???  Where is the mother cat even going to nest??? Leonardo’s room is a mess.  Either way.  At first Lumiere could have cared less.  He was like oh, babies.  But since he realized they were there to stay and not visiting he started to become really helpful and would bathe them and make sure they don’t get into anything in Leonardo’s room.  But once they start walking it is chaos.  They end up getting out of the room and running through the halls.  And maybe even end up in Theo’s room because they saw that big fluffy thing and wanted to see what it was.  Vinc loves them all and gives them all kisses as Theo is yelling for Leonardo to get them out.  Mozart has made sure to keep the music room door closed once he saw them in the hallway.  Jean absolutely loved them and thought they could be friends with Cherie.  Lumiere chases them through the hall trying to get them back to the bed room, but by the time he gets one back another one has escaped.

 Vic

He can’t believe they are smaller than him!  Something finally smaller than him!  He’s a vvv good dad though.  Having kids sorta calmed him down but he is still very yippy.  He picks up his children and shows them of to Arthur.  He’s like “DAD!! LOOK!! ITS MY BABY!! LOOK HOW CUTE!!” and his tail and going WILD.  I imagine Arthur would spoil them.  Theo would too because, well, puppies.  Vic is a little cautious of King going near them just because of how big he is, plus King forgets that he is that big.  But once the puppies start walking around and getting into trouble Vic can’t seem to keep them away from King.  They just crawl all over him.  But their little yips??  The rest of the mansion is slowly hating the puppies from how loud they are.

Brush 

Ohmygod.  Baby raccoons.  THEY GET IN SO MUCH TROUBLE WITH THEIR LITTLE THUMBS.  It is at times like this Vincent wished he had a bed, because they all insist on sleeping with him.  He doesn’t mind being buried under baby raccoons.  Brush likes to carry as many of them as possible and show them to the residents, especially when they were first born.  When they were born he took Vincent’s hand and dragged him over and made him sit down and handed him each baby to look at.  Mama raccoon was not too happy, but trusted Vinc and so she let it happen.  Then Brush went into the hallway, first person he saw as Isaac so he dragged Isaac in and had him look at the babies too.  But once they start walking around on their own they are CHAOS.  lil thumbs to get into things.  Sebas thought having one raccoon being able to get into the kitchen was bad.  Now he has to lock everything.  They enjoy getting Vic worked up and chasing them around.  If King wasn’t so much bigger they would do it to him.  Occasionally you will find them cuddling with Lumiere.  But a resident will wake up to having a baby raccoon int heir face.  Napoleon has kissed one occasionally. 

 King 

King is already Vincent in dog form, BUT NOW THERE MINI ONES.  They are very goofy and trip over their feet when running.  Theo wasn’t sure if having puppies was going to be a good idea, but the moment they were born he regret everything he said.  The man is a dog lover and he will allow any chance of being covered in puppies happen.  He tells them they can’t sleep on the bed, but by the time he wakes up in the morning they are all there with him, including King.  He can’t be mean to those cute puppy faces.  Vinc isn’t too much of a dog person, at least not big dogs, but he loves the puppies and plays with them.  King lets them climb all over him while playing and he watches over them when they are outside so they don’t get hurt.  They are very well behaved expect when it’s dinner time, and they running into the dining hall where everyone is eating and is trying to beg for food.

Bunta

Honestly?????  Bunta would probably be so confused.  Dazai would hold Bunta and be like “Look, Bunta.  Those are your babies.” and Bunta just tilts his head.  But once they can leave the nest they follow Bunta or Dazai around.  Bunta has taught them that Theo is bad and to stay away from the cat.  He brings Schelm and Jupiter into the room to see them, and Schelm is like “.....food???” and Bunta screams.  Soon they are doing the same as Bunta and sleeping int he other birds nests.  It annoys Schelm to have tiny cheeping blobs in his nest, but if they are quite then they aren’t too bad..  Jupiter enjoys them and can’t understand how a bird can be even smaller than Bunta.  Bunta is already so smaller, and they come even smALLER??

  Harry 

Smol bby hedgehogs all scurrying around Isaac’s room because he refuses to let them go out into the hallway because he’s worried about them.  Isaac was so deep in his work he forgot to tell anyone about the babies.  Sebastian happened to come by to drop off his lunch and heard the squeaking of the babies.  The babies were already like two weeks old at this point.    Whenever a bug gets into the bedroom they start to run after it trying to eat it and then they start fighting for it.  So as much as he hates it, Isaac will intentionally bring bugs into his room because he knows they want to eat bugs.  Harry however teaches them how to sneak out of the room to go exploring.  This is how they all end up getting stuck in the basement. . . again. They just can’t seem to be able to go up stairs.

Cherie

No one but Jean knew about the two cubs for the first few months.  Then he took them to show Comte to show him how cute they are.  Comte just looks at him and isn’t quite sure what to say.  There is no way they can keep up with four tigers.  But while they are cubs they are adorable and lay in the sun and sleep with Lumiere and they all play fight.  They know when Sebas is in the kitchen and run in and squeak for food, especially if it is meat they smell.

Puck 

Oh god.  How many would there even be.  Will and MC thought her rabbit was a boy, but then a month later there were babies.  Will just looked at Puck and went “Don’t you dare do it again,” and Puck is just munching on some greens.  So many zoomies.  The babies were extra hyper and Will had to extra rabbit proof the house.  Puck wouldn’t just munch on anything he saw, but who knows with these babies.  They started to chew the legs of Will’s writing table and made it wobbly.  They will all pile up on Puck and sleep.  Have you tried getting nearly a dozen bunnies back inside?  Impossible.  They are all over Vinc when he comes over to visit.  At first they weren’t sure about him, but since Daddy Puck seemed to like him and not be bothered, they decided to investigate.  Que Vinc cooing them all.  Most of the babies picked up on Puck’s needy and yandere habits  and must get fed when they want fed, or else they hangy.

Time/Thyme

THE CHAOS.  Mini thymes running around biting your toes and climbing up your legs.  Mozart has pulled one or two out of his piano and yeeted them out.  They were running back like AGAIN AGAIN but he closed the door shut and never opened it when they were around.  Somehow Leonardo always ends up with one in his pocket.  Even he isn’t sure how.  They will attack anyone but Comte is always the first option.  They were all hidden in Vincents coat, he has a lot of layers, and then they heard Comte and suddenly all their little heads pop out.  Vincent likes when they sleep on him.  At least three times a day you hear Comte yelling “STOP BITING MY TOES”  Thyme doesn’t help bc he bites too.  He taught them well.  Thyme doesn’t even try controlling them.  He joins in the chaos.  Sometimes you’ll even see them climbing up the curtains.  At night Sebastian gets a basket and goes around the mansion to collect them all and puts them in Comtes room so everyone can sleep in peace.

Lotte 

They are just so little what the heck.  They baa and hop around like there’s nothing wrong in the world.  Sometimes Sebas will bottle feed them just because he loves doing so and finds it adorable.  They love to follow Sebas around when he’s cleaning.  He will shoo them outside to go play but they just baa at him and keep following.  If there is a table int he room you damn well be sure that they are going to stand on that table and baa at anyone who walks in.  Theo and Arthur get baa’d at alot.  Lottie basically lets them do what they want as long as it isn’t dangerous

Masterlist

[ajokeformur-ray]

Hey, I'd like to request a matchup with Arthur if that's ok for you :3 I'm 5"5, brown hair, green eyes, a tiny bit plump bc of my hips amd curves, I LOVE old movies and music (everything from Frank Sinatra, Led Zeppelin, Beatles, The Who etc.) and I love dancing and feeling the music. I spend my free time mostly with reading and cooking (it brings me immense joy to care for and pamper my loved ones). I'm pretty introverted, but can get quiet lively around the right people :)

Hi, darling! That’s more than okay with me, omg I hope that you enjoy this, my love!💙

Total wc: 2,393.

Arthur // wc: 1, 100.

There is a three inch height difference between yourself and Arthur and he adores ducking his head to kiss the crown of your head, his nose nuzzling into the dark strands to inhale you at your most natural. His nose is filled with your scent and long after he says goodbye or good night to you, you keep him company. Sometimes when he thinks that you’re not real, so twisted and tormented is his mind, your scent proves him wrong. His imagination has never been that vivid for so long a stretch of time, so consistently is your scent with him. It’s saturated into his clothing, embedded in his mind. Arthur adores looking into your green eyes, and when he cups your face in his hands, his fingers spread wide behind your ears so that he can touch as much of you as he possibly can in the same moment, he likes to press his forehead against yours. He is home. You are curvy and Arthur cherishes you; he likes to have his hand on your hips when you cook; his sharp chin resting on the curve of your shoulder. His thin lips, cool to the touch, press reverent kisses to your neck as he watches you and just indulges in this moment of closeness and of domesticity; this moment and you are everything he has ever wanted or needed and he hardly dares to believe what is so very clearly right in front of him. Arthur loves you for all of you and that will never be any different.

If there’s one thing which you and Arthur have in common, it’s your love of old movies and music. The first time Arthur came home from a long gruelling shift at Ha-Ha’s to see you dancing and feeling music in the living room, he was breathless and utterly captivated by the way you moved your body to the music. You were just like him. Arthur had thought that he couldn’t fall any deeper in love with you, but in that moment had he been proven wrong. And, oh, how right being wrong felt in this moment! You communicate with each other through music. Most often does Arthur not know how he feels and all he has to do is select a relevant song and you can pick up on his mood relatively easily; you’re both so intuitive and emotionally intelligent and you can both feel the arts you surround yourselves with. When Arthur comes home from work to see you dancing, your eyes closed to better feel the music and allow it to guide your body, he cannot help spinning you around the small cramped space of the living room; he cherishes every moment he gets with you. With you, he feels like he’s living in those old films he loves so much. During the rare evenings when both of you are off and you have the time to yourselves, the both of you watch old films (most of which you both enjoy so there is never any trouble to pick a film, and even if there is, Arthur will deliberately pick the one you want to watch; it’s another way in which he shows affection) and you cuddle together on the worn sofa. 

It brings you immense joy to comfort and pamper your loved ones and this is something else which you have in common with Arthur.  He likes to spread joy and laughter to this cold, dark world and in this way you both bring light and warmth to all who cross your path. Most especially is this true for one another, though, for in simply being yourselves every day do you look after and take care of each other. Arthur is your greatest priority, and you are his greatest priority. You are made for each other! Arthur really enjoys hearing of ways you have helped someone else or of ways you have taken care of someone, and he most often says, “awh, that’s sweet” when you want to focus on him. Sometimes he hardly dares to even believe that you’re real; you’re too good to be true and with you does he find everything he has ever wanted or needed in his entire life, let alone in one person. You comfort each other with just your respective presences in the apartment; and if one of you is home then the other one is too. Home isn’t necessarily a place, but it’s definitely a person. You like to read and cook in your spare time and this simple domesticity is everything that Arthur has ever dreamed of. You are his one and only person who understands him, and finally, after almost thirty six years of yearning, does he have his own space, but not all alone. You are his entire life and every time you take care of him, Arthur returns the favour tenfold. He would be nothing and no one without you, but with you, why, he has it all.

The both of you are introverts and you spend lots of time together when neither of you has anything to do, when at last has the day been put away and reality is set aside for a few precious hours. The contrast between who you are around people you don’t know and how you are around people you do know takes Arthur by surprise when first does he see you interact with the right person. He longs to be one of those people and he doesn’t have to wait long before dream becomes reality in this respect. Actually, Arthur is pretty sure that you are his dream; there can be no other explanation for how perfect you are and how much he loves you. If there is another explanation, then Arthur doesn’t want to hear it. He only wants you as you are in any given moment; you’re perfect. As the weeks turn to months, Arthur is gifted with coming to see your truest self. This inspires him to relax around you in kind, and the two of you lead one another into the relationship you have now. You are his entire life and Arthur will spend the rest of his time on Earth showing this to you. Never will you doubt even second that he doesn’t love you, just as he will never doubt your love for him, for your voice is louder than his demons; their power diminishes in your presence and never does he want to spend even a single day without you now that he knows what life with you is really like.

Joker // wc: 1, 293.

That three inch height difference is still something which Joker adores. It’s not a big difference in height and it’s not even something which means anything to anyone but Joker, but it still means that Joker can kiss the top of your head whenever he so chooses. Just one easy duck of his head and the red greasepaint which adorns his lips is sticky enough to linger long after he’s raised his head with a smug grin. Joker loves to leave his mark on you in this way. By this time in your relationship, Joker knows that you are real and he no longer doubts it, though he is still a victim of the worries which plague his mind. Even just the thought of you is enough to keep Joker company when he’s out werewolfing in the dirty and filthy streets of Gotham, and he always hurries home to you, wanting more time with his one and only person. Joker would know you anywhere and when he smells remnants of your presence around him, even if it’s just a slight hint coming off of his crimson blazer when the wind blows just right, Joker knows that he is home. Home is not a place, it’s you.  He feels more at ease, more peaceful, with you in his life and though he wouldn’t wish his almost thirty six years of suffering on anyone, he would do it all again if it meant that he would have you once more. When first did Joker swan in to apartment 8J after he had murdered Murray Franklin live on national television, he felt out of place, like he was participating in a life which was no longer his, a life which no longer fit, but one look into your green eyes, those eyes which were his own and yet so different, and Joker knew that he was right where he needed to be. Your roles reversed as in that moment did you reach out and cup Joker’s face in your hands, your fingers splayed in those dark green romantic waves, and you pressed a kiss to his painted forehead. Your eyes met his own, you welcomed him home and you accepted him all in the same moment, and Joker’s knees would have given out had you not already been holding him. ALl he could think of in that moment was that he was right where he was needed, wanted, and loved.

One thing is for sure and that is that Joker has music in his soul. He dances to the beat of his own heart and your love for him is the track which accompanies this beat. You flow through his veins so strongly and when Joker is unable to fully express himself, he tells you that you are the music in him. You bond over Sinatra and his music is the one which the two of you dance to often. No matter what happens or what mood either of you are in, you have songs to connect to on their own and you have songs to connect with each other. Your dances are instinctive and while neither of you are professionally trained dancers, you don’t need to be. You can feel the music like it’s part of you and in this way are you more intuitive. The song you are listening to becomes you for its duration and you live within music, while most others only listen to it. Joker adores having you in his arms and he loves to spin you out and to pull you back in with a kiss which steals the very breath from your lungs and he replaces it with his own; you breathe life into each other literally and metaphorically in these moments and neither of you would ever have it any other way. Joker feels more alive with you than he has ever felt and he knows that you are his first and his only love. When most others have turned their faces away from unknown, unseen Arthur Fleck and muted his song without even bothering to listen to it, you stopped to listen and to learn it as well as you know your own song and you know deep within your core that never again do you ever want to hear another song. You wish to sink into his refrains and to never resurface. You are home.

You spend your free time reading and cooking and Joker finds that the familiarity of you and your hobbies calms his racing heart faster than anything else. Whenever he comes home from the grimy and filthy streets of Gotham, he already knows even before he's through the door that he will find you on the worn sofa reading; your legs tucked up underneath you. Joker has never been so loved and so well looked after in all of his thirty five years than he has in the months that he's been with you. It brings you lots of joy to take care of your loved ones and Joker loves the way that you love him. He makes sure to love you just as strongly and just as deeply, for reciprocity is his largest concern. Never, for even a moment, does Joker allow you to question his love for you. Daily does he love on you so hard that the thought never crosses your mind and that's just how he prefers it. You're such a wonderful person and Joker really admires the way that you take care of other people. He likes to sit back and watch you and he will only ever step in if you neglected yourself for the sake of others; this includes himself. He makes sure that he tells you every day that he loves you and that he's proud of you. You're the kind of person that he thinks everyone should be like and somewhere deep within his soul does Joker know that never again will he love another; you're his one and only for now and forever. But not even until death do you part for his love for you goes beyond that.

By this stage in your relationship, you and Joker know each other like the backs of your hands. Joker knows how you are around the right people and every time he thinks he can't love you any more, he's proven wrong when he sees you chatting lively to someone across the other side of the room; he marvels at your confidence. His own confidence is as much of a disguise as his face paint, but your confidence comes naturally to you when you're able to vibe with the right people and Joker wonders how you do it. You’re a mystery to him sometimes but he loves you all the more for the way you so naturally are yourself even with everything you’ve ever been through. You’re so strong and brave in yourself. He loves you so much he could choke on it sometimes and quiet evenings with you is something that he cherishes. Joker likes to read his old government issue battered brown journal while you read beside him, the two of you cuddling and quietly talking the evening away. You are his one and only person who understands him and finally is someone in his space but no longer was here all alone. You are the beginning of his forever, and he is the beginning of your forever. Joker is utterly devoted to you and his life is in your hands, just as your life is in his hands, and the two of you are finally home. You’re so in love that it hurts, but meeting him was the best thing which ever happened to you and Joker echoes that same sentiment.

[hollygoeslightly]

1. I couldn't help but find Sydney's actions at the end to be very deceitful. As much as it's framed as a tragic choice where he comes out a bruised victim unintentionally hurting Charlotte, I feel that his choice is quite like Ms Champion's and he and the audience cannot actually claim that the exact same thing is any better than her cruel choice years ago. They both left their betrothed for money and we have no idea whether her circumstances were dire or not, yet she was painted as a villain.

2. And as much as I fell in love with Charlotte and Sydney, Sydney's actions at the end when it came to his treatment of her, were deplorable. Even Lord Babbington didn't kiss nor touch Ester in that society until he proposed, even when it seemed a sure thing. He respected her dignity in society and understood what it meant to take advantage of a woman before truly providing for her or making a promise. Thus when they finally kissed, it was celebratory.

3. I had a feeling when Sydney kissed Charlotte before asking for her hand, in a sense rewarding the audience prematurely, that it wouldn't happen. Simply because in that society and context, he knowingly skipped the steps of honoring a woman rightfully rather than using her. He made no promises before they kissed. He didn't propose. Also, speaking to Charlotte about marriage is too important to delay for a week later. The fact that he didn't spare a minute to finish their convo spoke ill.

4. All of these little things at the end of the season, the last episode, left a bad taste in my mouth and gave me the sense that it would end badly. Because as much as we know that Sydney loves Charlotte dearly, his actions were irresponsible and spoke otherwise. Even with money, there are many possibilities for something to come through. You don't barter with a person though, risk hurting someone you love especially after promising them a life, or leading them.The irresponsibility is likeOtis!

5. I know that in that society, Sydney is smart enough to know how much his actions would have consequences on a vulnerable young woman who doesn't even have money to her name. He knows that it's important to have promised marriage before touching her. He knows that making such a promise, he mustn't break it, because she will make arrangements pertaining to her entire life and wellbeing, resting on him. He's also experienced the same vile taste of that happening to him! What do you think?

6. Also just to be clear, I don't want to demand anything of you and I don't want to be negative. I love your meta and I put weight on your interpretations which is why I'm asking. I also love the character of Sydney, which is why I'm deeply disgruntled by this. Not the end, bc I saw that coming, but what the last few incidents mean for his character. I trusted that he'd understand his impact; all the parallels to scoundrels, the context of society, and the contradiction to Babbington is not good.

Hey!

Thanks for the question. I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to break down your question into parts in order to ensure my answer will make some semblance of sense.

Real Life and Reel Life

I’ve spoken about this before, but it bears repeating as it has a significant impact on how I interpret the show – I am not an Austen purist, nor am I a stickler for complete historical accuracy when it comes to my enjoyment of a particular movie or TV show. For instance, I know some people were frustrated by the historical inaccuracy of Charlotte wearing her hair down, but Charlotte’s modern hairstyle was never something that bothered me. Everyone’s mileage varies of course, but as long as the characterisation is cohesive and interesting and the creators have managed to convey the overall spirit of the period of time the story is set, I’m happy.

It’s also worth noting that while Jane Austen was a fairly historically accurate author, her body of work had a very narrow focus – middle class and upper class families in country villages in southern England. And while her body of work is historically accurate, it’s also intentionally sanitised. Regency and Victorian England was a time of significant social, political and economic change – beneath the shiny veneer of tea rooms and good manners was an underbelly of sex, drugs and gambling.

Why am I mentioning this? Because Sanditon was Andrew Davies’ attempt at expanding Austen’s focus – placing Austen’s signature study of manners against the backdrop of a fairly chaotic period in time. Personally, I loved this aspect of the show. Not only did Davies force the audience to confront their preconceived ideas of what a typical Austen character actually is, but it allowed the characters to push against issues outside of love and marriage. Don’t get me wrong, I swoon every time Darcy helps Elizabeth into the carriage after the ball at Pemberley or Anne reads Wentworth’s letter, but it was nice to have a slightly different interpretation of Austen’s work.

Finally, I firmly believe that part of the agreement you undertake when interacting with any form of entertainment is the suspension of some degree of reality. The amount of suspension is dependent on the work of course, but even true stories require some form of suspension (e.g. the amalgamation of characters, timelines sped up) to be entertaining. In the case of Sanditon, the characters inhabit a close approximation of Regency England, but not an exact copy (e.g. Charlotte wears her hair down, clothing is not always period appropriate). This is also the case when it comes to characters breaking a few of the social conventions that Austen routinely explored. For example, while Sidney kissing Charlotte prior to proposing to her in 1x08 would have been frowned upon in the real world, in Davies’ version of Regency England, Sidney kissing Charlotte is not a poor reflection of his character nor does it indicate that he knowingly took advantage of her – it’s simply a way to drive the narrative forward and create an entertaining story. This is supported by the fact that Charlotte’s reputation remains in good standing despite spending time alone with both Sidney and Young Stringer and that Esther faces no consequences for the exposure of her romantic/abusive relationship with her brother in 1x08. So while I understand that for you, Davies’ choice to overlook certain social conventions is frustrating, I think it’s important to acknowledge that the world Sanditon presents us is not 100% historically accurate, and for the purposes of entertainment, I don’t think it can be.

Sidney, Eliza and Otis

Following the fire in the new terrace apartments in 1x08, Sidney is forced to make a choice between love and money – his love for Charlotte and his desire to save his brother (The Worst) from debtor’s prison. Sidney is faced with an impossible choice and in the end chooses to sacrifice his own happiness (I think Sidney believes that Charlotte will be able to move on and find happiness again) for the well being of Tom, Mary and the children. As you’ve pointed out, this is a direct parallel to Eliza choosing money over her love of Sidney. However, I don’t think it’s accurate to claim that both decisions are equal in cruelty – doing so removes all nuance from the situation.

While I understand why some members of the fandom believe that Eliza could have had a valid reason for choosing money over love, I don’t believe the narrative supports that argument (whether this would have changed in S2, I’m not sure). Eliza is described by Tom (1x06) and Arthur (1x07) as intentionally betraying Sidney’s trust, choosing the safety of wealth over love.

Arthur – “Do you know, for years all I knew about my brother, Sidney, was that he was driven to the West Indies with a broken heart.”

Sidney – “And what’s your point Arthur?”

Arthur – “I admire your spirit of forgiveness that is all. If it were me, I do not think I could bring myself to trust her again.”

Arthur speaks of a betrayal of trust that he does not believe he could ever get past, a betrayal he is surprised that his own brother is willing to forgive. The reason Sidney is so damaged by Eliza’s betrayal is not because she was forced by circumstance to marry for money (if that was the case, it would be presented as two lovers torn apart by outside influences e.g. Sidney and Charlotte), but because by choosing to marry for money, she publically declared that Sidney was not enough. The love and future he could offer her was not enough. Eliza’s choice is so cruel, because her decision is so mercenary in nature – it’s a decision made out of choice, not necessity. She made the decision knowing what it would cost and she deemed that cost (Sidney’s self-worth) worthwhile.

This is also the case when it comes to Otis’ treatment of Georgiana. Otis made an active choice to barter with Georgiana’s name in order to extend credit for his gambling debts. He had multiple options available to him, number one being to stop gambling, but he made a decision where he would benefit and Georgiana would be placed at risk. On the other hand, the audience is made aware that Sidney is forced into a position where there are no right choices. Regardless of the decision he makes, someone will be hurt. He is the only one in the position to find the money to keep his brother out of debtor’s prison and as a result, Tom’s failure to insure Sanditon costs Sidney his future with Charlotte. Intention matters. Yes, all decisions lead to people being hurt, but Sidney is the only one who also suffers as a result of the decision he made.

While I understand the audience was upset by Sidney’s decision (I didn’t like it either), I also think an ending where Sidney and Charlotte marry while Tom is sent to debtor’s prison (most likely for the rest of his life) and Mary and the children are made homeless and shunned by society for Tom’s misdeeds, would have also been incredibly unpopular.

Sidney and Lord Babington

On the surface, I can understand why you’ve compared Sidney and Lord Babington.  Both fall in love with feisty women and both intend to propose marriage to said feisty women – it’s an easy connection to make. However, I don’t think it’s accurate to say that Sidney’s actions are wholly bad and Lord Babington’s actions are wholly good simply because Lord Babington’s proposal ended in a marriage.

Let me give you another interpretation of Lord Babington and Esther’s relationship (not one I subscribe to, but one that can be drawn based on the narrative). Taken by Esther’s honesty and derision, Lord Babington makes Esther aware that he has feelings for her. Esther in turn rejects Lord Babington and tells him all further attempts on his part would be futile. Despite this, Lord Babington continues to pursue her, writing letters which she never answers – another clear indication that she is not interested. Lord Babington visits Sanditon with the express purpose of seeing Esther (1x05) and requests a private walk without a chaperone where he proposes marriage. Esther rejects his proposal. After hearing Edward speak badly of his sister, Lord Babington visits Esther in private, again without a chaperone present. Following Lady Denham’s recovery he once again goes on an outing with Esther without a chaperone. After discovering that Esther had a romantic relationship with Edward and Esther telling him that she doesn’t love him, Lord Babington proposes marriage for the second time and Esther finally accepts. They marry.

If S2 had gone ahead, I’m fairly sure Esther’s love for Edward and her lack of love for her husband would have been a major plot point. And while I think it would have all worked out in the end, that Esther would have realised she loves Lord Babington, what if it hadn’t? Esther may have come to resent her husband, trapped in a marriage by a husband who knows his wife does not love him, still pining for the one man she couldn’t have because of circumstances out of her control.  

Again, I understand why the choice to ignore some social conventions may be frustrating, however in Davies’ version of Regency England, breaking these conventions do not have the consequences they would have had in real life. By judging the actions of the characters by real life rules, you are assigning intention and consequence where there are none.

I think it’s also worth noting, that apart from Sidney and Charlotte themselves, nobody knows that they kissed and only Alison, Mary, Georgiana and Young Stringer are aware that Sidney was intending to propose marriage. Charlotte’s heart may be badly bruised, but her reputation is still intact.

Charlotte’s Agency

Perhaps it’s because Charlotte’s agency is more quietly expressed than other characters, but I think the argument that Charlotte became passive in the final two episodes, overlooks the very active choices Charlotte makes in regards to her feelings for Sidney. Passiveness suggests inaction, and in 1x08 Charlotte chooses to act – she asks Sidney whether she can join him on his walk into town. This may seem inconsequential, but it is anything but. Because Charlotte is not only choosing to trust in her feelings for Sidney and in his feelings for her, but she is telling Sidney his feelings are reciprocated and those feelings are strong enough that they need time alone to discuss their possible future together. The agency lies with Charlotte the whole time.

We began with the scene with a rather inane discussion about the weather and Charlotte’s family – Sidney is both desperate to discuss their conversation from the previous night, but patiently waiting for Charlotte to indicate that this is something she wishes to do. She does, telling him she would rather continue their walk together than return to town for her dress fitting.

Charlotte – “We seem not to be walking into town?”

Sidney – “Ah, yes, your dress fitting. Forgive me, what a fool I am. Should we head back, perhaps?”

Charlotte – “No, there is absolutely no urgency about my dress fitting. A walk along the clifftops is much more to my taste.”

Sidney – “Good. My thoughts exactly.”

Sidney is willing to end their walk and the possibility of discussing their feelings at the slightest hint that this may not be something Charlotte desires. However, following Charlotte’s lead, Sidney admits that he wished to find time alone with her to discuss their conversation while glancing at her mouth every five seconds, and of course they kiss. What is important to note is that Sidney continues to check in with Charlotte at every point in the lead up to that moment. Charlotte only had to say no or ask to return to town for Sidney not to proceed, something she is well aware of and actively chooses not to do. Responding positively to Sidney’s actions is not the same as passiveness. You only have to watch as Charlotte stares longing at Sidney to know that she desired the kiss just as much as he did.

Why am I mentioning all this? Because in your question, you talk quite a bit about Sidney’s choices and actions, and the consequences they may have for Charlotte, without acknowledging that Charlotte is an active participant. Do I think that means she could have somehow prevented what occurred? No, but nor do I think it’s fair to remove Charlotte’s participation from her own storyline. She may be a victim of incredibly poor circumstances, but I don’t think it’s fair to say she is a victim of Sidney’s poor behaviour. Sidney and Charlotte not ending the season married does not cancel out Charlotte’s agency in choosing to pursue her relationship with Sidney.

Thanks for the question, I hope I made sense!

[quidfree]

Hi! Thinking of Dumbledore + Sirius, do you think Sirius would feel sympathy for Dumbledore if he knew about how torn he was btw his siblings + feeling trapped? I judged him harshly at first, but now I think about the difficulty about losing both parents + sibling, but not wanting to sacrifice everything to step in as parent + guilt that comes with that. I do think Dumbledore loved his siblings + I was happy when his bro said he did a good job with their sis before her death.

hi! this is an interesting one hm

the thing abt dumbledore is that i’m pretty sympathetic to him all things considered- i’ve never really taken the time to explain my feelings about him on here but i definitely don’t think he’s snape levels of “fandom should see he’s irredeemably terrible!”, though i have a lot of qualms about him. he’s certainly not the hero rowling thinks he is, but he’s also not the guy rita skeeter says he is, to put it succintly.

on the one hand, i do think canon mostly fails to acknowledge that he was very manipulative/calculating and made a lot of very cold (or just plain terrible) choices- everything to do with sirius, for one, as well as the whole dursley situation. i know there’s a couple of reasons harry had to live with them (supposedly...) and i can’t be bothered to go into them, but even then i never understood why he couldn’t have done to petunia what he does in OOTP (?) sooner- send a letter to scare the shit out of her and remind her to treat harry decently or at least leave him to his own devices. like, there was so much he could have done in the years between the potters’ deaths and hogwarts- that squib neighbour was already spying/reporting for him, so he was fully aware of it all, idk. i just find that whole thing exemplary of his callousness. it’s more unforgivable to me than raising harry knowing he might need to die for the cause- because that was necessary to defeat voldemort, but giving harry an escape from abuse was so avoidable. his handling of other characters also doesn’t paint him in the best light, sirius as most obvious suspect- there’s a good piece on tumblr about sirius being a liability in his eyes because he’s not loyal to dumbledore or his cause above all else, but to the potters (and ultimately harry) and his own code, and i really think it’s the best reading of dumbledore’s handling of sirius in OOTP, because i always found that kind of insane. it’s brain-dead obvious that the worst thing to do with sirius (especially if you were worried about his unhinged state and whatnot) would be sticking him in grimmauld place- even if they had to keep him hidden, they could have let him floo between order hideouts! see other people! prowl london as a dog! it’s insane that dumbledore of all people would be that dumb about it, so it makes the most sense to me as him locking sirius up where he’s the most contained.

on the other hand, dumbledore was both a quirky schoolmaster and a wartime militia leader, and i think a lot of the weirdness in his character is bc rowling set out to write a much more child-like series than she ended up writing. dumbledore is a pretty iconic guy in the books, manipulations included- he’s such a chessmaster, and he has flair, as kingsley would put it. most importantly he clearly tries very hard to orchestrate the best possible outcome for the entire world- not based on arbitrary beliefs or personal whims, but because he’s sort of the main bastion of hope in the wizarding world. i don’t necessarily think his actions in this context are all excusable, but he’s a war-time leader, and pretty much knows it’s all down to him- although the order is certainly competent, it’s a very ragtag group of people dumbledore holds together, and in terms of skill, knowledge and aura he’s their biggest asset. he’s already been through a wizarding war where he probably set out to murder the love of his life, another wizard supremacist wackjob! we know he’s long past egoism- he’s genuinely For The Greater Good, and he clearly cares about harry; his choices are undoubtedly not made lightly. it’s also important to note just how bad wizarding society as a whole is on these issues- even the most muggle-friendly wizards are remarkably ignorant about them (arthur weasley), and everyone else is at least marginally bigoted; bigotry is built into the fabric of their society, and their government is extemely complacent/corrupt, so the order and their ilk are very much on their own, while people like the malfoys are tolerated despite the open secret of their wartime alliances. dumbledore has a tough job, and he doesn’t know all the things the reader knows. so i think the op-eds calling him Just As Bad As Voldemort or whatever are missing any nuance.

then we get into dumbledore’s backstory. it explains a lot about him, i think. it’s interesting to me that he’s so consistent as a character- he has always been about The Greater Good, and he’s always had an ego, but as a child he let the latter dictate the former and as an adult he forever attempted to substract it from himself lest he repeat the same mistakes. some more questionable rep from ms rowling in having her (1) gay character be the guy literally seduced into wizard supremacy by his evil boyfriend, but i always liked that beat of a very isolated extremely intelligent character drawn into a warped sense of righteousness- it’s also very consistent of dumbledore to believe he’s doing the best for someone when he’s not really thinking about that at all, which is the case with his sister. obviously his family’s story is tragic, and then he gets pulled into this fake vision of a better world, validated in his brilliance, and then there’s his mother’s death, and then his sister, and suddenly it’s all come crashing down and he spends the next years of his life slowly realizing he’s the only one who can stop a project he might have been overseeing once. aberforth lays into him for it, and fair enough, but jesus, what a shitty spot to be in fresh out of hogwarts. i don’t know if it’s because i’m an older sibling, but i can understand the horrible burden of knowing that it’s always on you to think of yourself second, even when you’re inches away from the best thing in your life.

getting sidetracked- the question was about sirius and dumbledore. the thing abt LMV is that i try to keep my own opinions out of it; the marauders-dumbledore dynamic is a difficult one. they all respect him endlessly, and in school i think they adored him, but as a wartime leader it gets complicated. i think in canon their relationship was better, just a little strained (and a little more for others) bc of his style of leadership- you know, keeping secrets, playing games etc. in LMV, though, his machinations got them personally into some shit, so i wagered things would be more terse. james i think thinks most positively of him, as he is wont to do so, except where he is somehow at odds with sirius, because his loyalties there are clear and he is far more violently protective of sirius than he lets on. lily is a close second, because she’s a big picture thinker and gets how hard his job is, but she tends to be wary of his reasoning. remus is a more distrustful person by nature, and dumbledore using him for werewolf stuff wears him down. sirius is not a fan of authority, does not like secrets, and hates people using him as a pawn, so things are most strained for him, obviously. i think a lot of dumbledore introspection in LMV is from sirius’ POV, somewhat accidentally, so he gets a harsh rep.

to finally get to the specifics of your question: would dumbledore’s backstory get sirius to sympathise? arguably not much. sirius is a tricky guy, esp because i write him in a period that we know nothing about. he’s not a cocky slightly feral 15 year old, and he’s not a traumatised 30 something prison escapee; i try to get a plausible balance, so i don’t lend sirius in LMV so much of OOTP sirius’ world-weary wisdom. he’s 21, and in a war where the other side are wizard nazis he’s mostly related to somehow; he sees things in blacks and whites almost necessarily. so either you’re good or bad, trustworthy or not. peter crossed the threshold, so he’s dead to him; regulus turned himself in, but he’s one of them, so sirius doesn’t know what to do with him. sirius might understand how hard it is to have younger siblings you love fiercely who don’t understand your commitment to a higher goal, but dumbledore was on the wrong side of things that time, so i don’t think he would draw any sympathetic parallels- i don’t see why he of all people would feel bad for where dumbledore’s youthful aspirations of wizarding supremacy lead him, despite his good intentions. he’s not very forgiving of bigotry, i think especially because he’s cut all ties with his own background so harshly.

tldr; i feel for the guy, and his life was fucked, but sirius probably would not, and dumbledore got enough unwarranted hero worship considering his dodgy actions that i don’t resent sirius for holding that grudge.

[eldunea]

havin some thoughts for an HP AU discussed with @diamontha​

mom honerva is the world’s most famous alchemist, dad zander is an auror. honerva originally lived in the united states and her claim to fame is discovering the fifth element in alchemy--but she had her discovery stolen from her by an american wizard. that guy then turned around and accused her of trying to steal his idea, and the general american public believed him. dumbledore, however, believed that honerva had been wronged, and offered her a job teaching alchemy as an elective at hogwarts where she would be respected. that’s how the family ended up in the UK.

as an indigenous person he’s damn good at wandless magic because FUCK THAT BULLSHIT JKR CAME UP WITH WHEN SHE SAID INDIGENOUS WANDLESS MAGIC WAS “LESS PRECISE.” she already stated that wandless magic was more powerful than wanded magic, but then all of a sudden when poc use wandless magic the wand version is better? THE FUCK? anyway yeah, his parents would have trained him in it since he was a little kid and when he finally got his wand he was like “tf is this european bullshit?”

speaking of his wand, it’s yew and dragon heartstring, 11.5″, flexible. his original wand was cherry and dragon heartstring, 11″, flexible.

as an indigenous jewish woman honerva’s plan living in the united states was that she wanted to homeschool lotor--she didn’t want him to go to ilvermorny because she went there herself and she was always haunted by the fact she wasn’t allowed to use or learn her peoples’ magic. zander, an okinawan at mahoutokoro, agreed that the japanese wizarding school was no better. his parents were really nervous about sending him to hogwarts but since honerva was now a professor there she could make sure her son got the education that he needed.

he’s an unregistered animagus--a fox--and he doesn’t plan on getting registered anytime soon. his patronus also happens to be a fox.

he has an enchanted tallit (some reform jews have tallit) that’s basically his conscience. there was a legend of a prayer shawl that came to life and stopped a man from sleeping with an escort so lotor’s would be just like that--it would try to stop him from doing all the questionable, sometimes petty shit that he likes to do. 

he has kova at hogwarts with him.

he loves muggle science? so much? his mom wanted to be an astrophysicist on top of an alchemist and even tried going to muggle college for it but given her background and the time period she didn’t get far. she taught him all about science and he just has this childlike wonder for it. don’t take him to a muggle science fair, he’ll blow his cover blabbing about how much he wishes he had access to things like that.

he wants to be the first wizard in space. yes, really. when he saw a video of neil armstrong’s moon landing he broke down crying saying, “what’s the point of all this magic if it can’t take us to the great beyond?” that night when he lay in bed, he had an awakening and was like, well, it CAN take us to the great beyond, we just have to TRY! and that’s it, that’s how he formed his dream. god bless his soul

there’s nothing more he loves than muggle parents of wizard children/muggles married to wizards because they have knowledge of both science and magic just like him. when diantha first takes him home to meet her muggle parents he just? he just gets so excited?? he loses his shit in the best possible way like “oh my god, is that a real vacuum cleaner? can i see the inside of your TV? CAN YOU TEACH ME HOW TO GO TO SPACE” he’s like an excited puppy, losing his mind over all the muggle tech in their house. dia please keep your boyfriend under control

speaking of smartphones, he loves smartphones holy shit. the first time he held one it was like indiana jones holding the golden idol in raiders of the lost ark. he called it “magic in your pocket” and said as much to the confused muggle who first gave him their smartphone to look at. when he gets older he buys every single version of the iphone as soon as it comes out and has them all in a case on his fireplace.

he loves muggles so much despite being a pureblood……he’s fascinated with their world and sometimes wishes he could have a muggle parent or grandparent so that he would know more about them. unlike canon lotor who is biased against humans bc they don’t have (much) magic, HP lotor will fight anyone who says muggles are inferior to humans. he thinks it’s so incredible how much they’ve accomplished despite having no magic, and that if anything, they’re the ones who are better than wizards. 

he’s also really against the whole “hiding magic from muggles” thing because 1) it’s a white thing; many POC cultures around the world openly tolerated magic before white colonizers forced their witches and wizards underground and 2) he’s firmly resolved that there’s nothing wizards can do that muggles won’t be able to figure out eventually. in the immortal words of the muggle author arthur c. clarke, magic is just science that they don’t understand yet.

for all his knowledge about muggle science though, he is comically bad at blending in with muggles. like……this level bad. he just--he just doesn’t understand them at all. poor boy. hopefully he’ll learn.

and some biographical notes in a more chronological order--

when he first went to hogwarts he was the spirited, somewhat mischievous kid on the train who wanted to get to know everybody, share his sweets and talk about all of the things he’d already read in the textbooks. everyone pegged him for a ravenclaw or maybe even a hufflepuff, but literally as soon as the sorting hat touched his head it screamed “SLYTHERIN,” shocking everyone who got to know him.

being in slytherin might have been the best match for his personality (intelligence mixed with ambition) but oh boy it was not a fun time. fun fact i hc “mudblood” is referred to mixed race people as well as half-muggles and muggleborns so he was definitely called that a lot. being the only indigenous, the only jewish and one of the few POC in the house was also really difficult--he felt isolated and alone a lot of the time because even among the people who fervently defended him he felt like they didn’t understand him.

at some point (haven’t decided what) he went back to the united states to visit some relatives and was caught up in an attack on a synagogue. 

he was shot in his right arm (not his wand arm), so he drew his wand and killed the gunman using the killing curse--in front of a room full of muggles. he managed to get himself to an american wizarding hospital, but was dragged out of his hospital bed by american police while still recovering from the gunshot wound and extradited to the UK, where he was immediately flung into azkaban. 

though he had acted in self-defense during a hate crime, he was expelled from hogwarts and given a life sentence; he was told he was lucky that he didn’t get the dementor’s kiss. he managed to escape during one of the numerous mass azkaban breakouts that subsequently happened canonically, and was in hiding before being one of the slytherins who participated on the side of good in the battle of hogwarts.

i think i read somewhere that canonically, all students who participated in the battle of hogwarts were pardoned for any crimes committed in the past but i can’t find that source. but what i can find is that lucius malfoy was 100% pardoned for defecting from the death eaters to protect his family so like……if an old white fantasy fascist can get pardoned for all of his murders by defecting last minute to the right side, a teenage brown jew can also be pardoned for killing to defend himself. fight me 

he and diantha hated each other at first--he thought she was stupid and she thought he was a total prick. but before the battle of hogwarts the two of them made up and she kissed him, knowing it might be her last chance to do so before either one or both of them were killed.

originally he wanted to be an auror like his dad, because all he wanted was to go beat up bad guys. but after the trauma of the war against voldemort he decided it would be better for him to not fight people or put himself in traumatic situations anymore, and wanted to focus on being the first wizard who went to space. though most wizards thought he was crazy, slytherins are amazing with the art of persuasion--he managed to talk a good number of people into getting behind his project, which is now pretty much crowdfunded. 

oh, and one more note about honerva: she finally managed to achieve her dream of being an astrophysicist, so now she’s well-known in both the wizarding and muggle communities as a prominent scientist and she is 100% behind lotor’s project to put wizards in space. happy endings for everyone.

[glatisants]

Albion: The Legend of Arthur (Part XI of XIII)

Part XI: A Counsel in Around

Some weighty decisions are made.

We begin where we left off, with the Picts capturing Medraut. He is thus delivered to Morgan/Anna. She tells her men to keep him tied up, as she will deal with him herself.

***

Owain and Gwenhwyvar head to the council of lords. Owain wonders where Myrddin has gone, and says he’d hoped he would be back; he admits that he’s come around to have a better opinion of Myrddin, as his predictions have been correct, and his prophesying would be useful to all of them now.

The round council begins, and those assembled include: Aergol and Arthur representing the house of Ambrosius, Owain of Rheged in his father’s place, Gwenhwyvar of the Legion City, Caradoc of Gwent, and the lords Tewdrig, Cadwallan, Meirion, Brychan the Unborn, Celynin the Younger (?), and Hywel of the Bloody Axe.

Aergol broaches the question of who shall lead them in the years to come, but Caradoc cuts in to ask about the whereabouts of Cynon and Lewdwn. Aergol starts to tell the lords about the fate of Lewdwn, but at that moment Cynon arrives, late, to the meeting. Aergol confirms that little is known about Lewdwn’s death, as they have only heard the rumors of the enchantress and the Black Army, and Tewdrig adds that the entire land seems to be under her spell. Gwenhwyvar says that means it’s even more important to find order.

Aergol tells the council that Ambrosius made it known to his inner circle that he wished to see Arthur inherit his rule, and Cynon confirms that his father had once favored Arthur. One of the other lords says that Arthur was indeed the clear choice, but wonders who would lead in battle in his place. Arthur replies that the natural choice to take over for him would be Owain, as he’s more than worthy.

Cynon speaks up, then, and suggests that the old ways of ruling are outdated; he says that Arthur is their greatest warrior, and it might be better if Arthur continued to lead them to victory in battle, while someone else took the office. The others are lukewarm on the suggestion, and Gwen pointedly says the choice would be up to Arthur.

Alone with Rhun, Cynon expresses his anger at his birthright being taken from him, with Arthur being the certain choice. Rhun tells him to rest, but Cynon is determined to go see Arthur—the council may be over, but he’s certain Arthur and his inner circle are still plotting, and he wants to be present for their decisions.

Arthur thinks things went well, but Aergol is wary—he says that the ones that appear to be most in his favor could very well be raring to stab him in the back when his guard is down, and he can’t relax until he has a sword forged from the Kingstone. Arthur mutters that he’s no good at politics and prefers to meet his enemies out on the field, but Aergol tells him that he’ll learn over time, just as his uncle did. Arthur tries to share Ambrosius’ warning about Cynon, but Aergol dismisses him, saying he’ll take care of Cynon, that he’s putting up a front and isn’t as well as he pretends to be.

Gwen comes to visit Arthur, and Aergol starts to excuse himself, but she tells him to stay, as this concerns all of them: there is still tension among the council, and forging a Kingsword won’t be enough to quell dissent, so she proposes a formal union between her and Arthur. Their combined might should be enough to discourage anyone from challenging the peace, and with her as his wife he would have direct command over the Legion City. Aergol congratulates them, and tells Gwen it’s a cunning move. They all agree to arrange the contract as soon as possible.

Cynon shows up, then, and Gwen lets him be the first to know about the marriage. Cynon is startled by the news, and starts to tell them that they need the permission of his father, when he collapses; his wound has reopened. Arthur carries Cynon back to his quarters, and assigns Cled to keep watch over him, which angers Cynon, as he thinks he’s effectively being made prisoner. He protests that “everything [he] feared is coming to pass.”

Arthur tells Owain about his forthcoming marriage to Gwen; the ceremony is to be done in the chapel forge, before the Kingstone. Surprised, Owain questions the logistics, before Arthur asks if he approves. Owain replies that he doesn’t know. Arthur asserts that it’s just politics, though he is attracted to her. Owain says the other lords might think it’s an act born of insecurity rather than strength, and tells him he should wait until he’s high king. Arthur informs him that the decision’s been made, and the Kingsword is just a symbol, while Gwenhwyvar’s army truly gives them an edge. Owain faintly offers him a congratulations. Arthur then tells Owain that he’s sending him to Gododdin to suppress the unrest at the border, and he’ll be leaving immediately. Owain asks if he doesn’t want him at the wedding; Arthur won’t give an answer, just tells him to do it.

After Arthur sees Owain off, Aergol tells him not to push Owain away, as he’s his most important comrade. Arthur replies that that’s not the same as being friends, and he’s not sure what they are anymore. Aergol reminds him that he should stay on good terms with the man controlling his army. Arthur sends Griff after Owain to accompany him to Gododdin, and Owain wonders if this means Arthur doesn’t trust him.

Arthur and Gwen are lying in bed after sleeping together. Gwen says that if he can carry on like that after they’re married she’ll be very happy, and he says he’ll be glad to accommodate her as often as she likes. They kiss, but Gwen withdraws, and tells him that they need to be able to understand each other if they are to be married.

She reminds him that their marriage is a political alliance, as close and intimate as it may be, and she does not wish to get in the way of whatever is between him and Owain. Arthur says there is nothing between them, and she asks if there ever was before. He admits that they were once together, but they were just boys at the time and there’s been nothing between them for quite some time. She pointedly asks him if he deliberately did not want Owain at the wedding, and he denies it, but asks if it’s commonly believed that he and Owain are together. Gwen says that it isn’t, she’s just very perceptive, and the young men do go out to battle for long stretches of time. She tells him not to blush on her account, for he’s hardly her first, and she informs him somewhat wryly that her heart was lost to a stable boy one summer when she was fifteen, and none have possessed it since. Arthur clarifies that he never loved Owain, not in that way, and when Gwen asks if Owain ever loved him, Arthur just replies that he never asked him. 

Arthur does say that he loved Anna of Gododdin once, and she asks if that was why he’s been so cold about her death. He says that he wished to feel nothing about her, and that’s all he can say. Gwen tells him that it’s good that they can talk to each other openly, and that they may be able to be friends as well as husband and wife.

Gwen admits that she knows what happened at Badon, and she reminds him that they’ll all have their parts to play in the time ahead, and he must go easy on Owain. She then tells him that she’s pregnant; he is surprised but pleased, and they kiss. 

The next day, the marriage goes forward as planned, with Aergol bearing witness.

On the road to Gododdin, Owain has the marriage on his mind, but Griff distracts him with talk about the land around them. He remembers it as a fertile place, before the pestilence struck. Owain doesn’t believe in the tales of the enchantress, but Griff thinks they’ve seen enough by now for the stories to at least be plausible. Owain replies that he puts his faith in what he can see, rather than the stories told to him. He remembers that Myrddin was supposed to have journeyed this way, and he wishes he knew where he had gone.

They are approached by a soldier of theirs from the fort they’re headed to, and the man tells them that the Picts have overrun the borderlands, in an unprecedented act of boldness. He tells them that they’re followers of the enchantress Morgan of Ynys, but Owain is skeptical.

***

Meanwhile, Tulloch and his men show Morgan/Anna their plunder, and she encourages her men, telling them that their fortune shall only grow, as long as they continue to fight for their freedom.

Medraut overheard her speech, and when she joins him he tells her that she’s being ambitious, before asking if they may speak. When she asks what brought him to her lands, he scoffs and says that this godless wilderness belongs to no man; she informs him that he’s correct, and reminds him that he is at her mercy. He tells her of his plans to find an army, and says that her army is only good for small-scale ambushes, not drawn-out military campaigns. Morgan/Anna shrugs off his doubts, and he asks how she’s achieved what she has. He doesn’t believe her claims to be an enchantress, and says she can’t hope to beat Arthur in open battle; she’ll need a war leader, like him. She is unimpressed, and reminisces about how in the old days she, him and Arthur were inseparable, and their fathers were terribly sure of their place in the world. The three of them have none of that certainty, though, bc all their fathers gave them was chaos. She points out that they’re both outcasts, and Medraut can’t possibly hope for any legitimate claim to the throne at this point.

Medraut tells her that all he wants now is to destroy Arthur with his own hands. She says that in order to lead her Black Army, he needs to understand it, to see it as their enemies see it. She gives him a concoction that will let him cross the veil and see glimpses of the Otherworld, and he chokes it down.

They go outside to see her army, and Medraut sees the truth of the Black Army rising all around him, and it is a terrible thing, made of dread and nightmares; he is overcome with equal parts horror and awe as Morgan/Anna tells him it’s the darkest of all magic, but he adamantly wishes to lead them nonetheless, and she gives him the command he desires. She lets out a wild laugh, one that echoes with the din of many voices, and he fearfully asks what she is. She replies that she is “the means of [his] salvation,” and that they “shall destroy Arthur and devour this land together.” He joins in her laughter, overcome with mad jubilation, before he falls to the ground in a swoon. Morgan/Anna tells Tulloch that their Black Army finally has its general. 

[loplainlointhemorning]

Just saw your #jack fairy tag and wondered what kind of story you gof for him bc I'm curious

Hey, I’m not the one with the story actually! My friend @lionslove has a big one involving him and I’m sure she’d be happy to give it to you, I more have one for Malcolm bc nobody wanted to accessorize him but me.

-

So basically, Malcolm’s full name is Malcolm O’Hara, and he comes from a strict religious family in the Midwest. He is a third generation Irish immigrant. I’m thinking his family lives somewhere in Ohio, that his father is a mechanic, and his mother is either a secretary or a Librarian- Something fitting for a woman to do. He’s from a small town similar to my own, which means that basically everyone is a bigoted Republican, including his own parents. His teen years are unremarkable, and are probably spent much like Brian Molko’s; Pursuing drama(which is in fact possible if you live in a shitty small town, as long as you’re willing to drive), getting obsessed with music, and dealing with undiagnosed depression. He manages to graduate high school and is sent to college, where he works part time until he has enough money to buy a plane ticket. He drops out by way of just disappearing, hops on the plane, and ends up in London with no money and very little knowledge of English currency.

-

From there, he becomes a squatter, and falls in with the runaway gay crowd as one of their many Arthur Stuarts. As in, they’re not sure how long he’ll be with them, but they’ll look after him until he finds somewhere to go. This crowd frequents clubs and shows, and sort of forms their own clique- Pearl, Ray, Billy, and Malcolm, form a sort of superior, romantic miniature society, which is focused on pursuing their work and dreams despite the terrible injustices of Capitalism and the heterosexual world. Eventually they do end up with a shitty flat to hole up in, though how they get their instruments together is beyond me. Most likely, Pearl has a rich relative who dies, and they take the inheritance money and buy champagne and a drum set. Besides that, I know you can find cheap guitars in pawn shops. It helps that they weren’t looking for quality.

-

So you have The Flaming Creatures, which draw on a number of influences. You have, obviously, the first tastes of Goth with them- This is because Malcolm is a slut for trashy vampire shit and dressed accordingly. He’s also a poet, like Marc Bolan. He’s tried to get a couple of books published unsuccessfully, and writes with a romantic, space-age, fable heavy style. If I were going to describe their sound, I’d say it was a blend of the Caberet soundtrack and the T. Rex sound, and that it would eventually develop into something like Lydia Lunch or The Cure. Of course, Malcolm is obsessed with Caberet, and that makes their eventual move to Berlin a must.

-

The Flaming Creatures never get as popular as acts like Polly Smalls and Brian Slade, and this is something Malcolm understands but is secretly torn up about. Their sound is different from the other glam acts, and Brian Slade is obviously a sell out. Compared to his first record, Sebastian, which Malcolm liked, The Ballad Of Maxwell Demon is a grab for commercial success through and through, especially with its lead single, The Whole Shebang. It doesn’t help that his idol, Jack Fairy, king of the underground, loathes Brian with a vehemence that Malcolm is happy to return. Jack takes a liking to The Flaming Creatures, and to Malcolm personally. He produces their first record, and later, sets them up with a place to stay in Berlin.

-

After the Brian Slade scandal, Malcolm is on cloud nine. Their first record, Electric Warrior, is doing very well, and now Brian Slade is dead. They’ve been able to find somewhere better to live, and now several people in the band have girlfriends, so they don’t all have to be on top of each other anymore. He’s even happier when he wakes up the next day to find out that he didn’t actually die, he just ruined his whole life, and Electric Warrior is number five on the charts. Not long after that, The Creatures receive an offer to open the Death of Glitter concert for Jack Fairy.

-

Arthur appears shortly before this concert, in the Creature’s normal haunt, which is part strip club, part, Malcolm believes, avant garde arena. It forces their music to be sexy.

-

Malcolm does eventually draw out Arthur’s story, which is far more tragic than his own, and takes him on with the enthusiasm of a child with their first puppy. He’s never had an apprentice before, and is happy to treat Arthur as Jack treated him, teaching him the basics of fashion, presentation, guitar, and men. When the Death Of Glitter concert rolls around, he lets Arthur accompany them, though it’s not even up to him: Arthur is their family, and they’re not sure how long he’ll be there, but he gets to stay until he has somewhere to go.

-

Death of Glitter happens, and the world is in an uproar, but not like it was with Brian- That was the real world. The inner world, between Jack, Curt, and The Creatures, is rapidly changing. Soon after the concert Arthur lands a job writing for a music mag, and moves in with his first boyfriend; Someone who looks suspiciously like Curt Wild, but is in fact a sweet kid named James. The Creatures pack up and head to Berlin, which is where Jack and Curt have taken residence, experimenting constantly with new frontiers and new sounds. It will be a while before the technological musical advances of the 80’s, but Malcolm and Jack will be at the forefront.

-

Or at least- Jack is experimenting, creating, and looking beautiful while doing it- Curt is a self-destructive black hole. Back on heroin, it’s all Jack can do to keep him alive and out of the gutters. He can’t do anything about Curt’s increasingly violent stage acts, which now include shattered glass and taking on people in the crowd who could kill him. Malcolm and Jack get closer, as Malcolm has more personal understanding with Curt and is better at talking sense into him. Jack also likes that Malcolm is his opposite; Opinionated, loud, and not afraid to cry or scream in any social situation where he feels the need. They have their similarities as well- Jack is also Irish, as in came from Ireland to London at the age of sixteen, and has similar family and inferiority issues. They begin their relationship which, though it goes through phases, never fully ends and becomes monogamous and fully committed around 1976.

-

This is at about the point where things mellow out- Curt gradually gets better, after a few life or death scares and a couple of rehab trips. He gets back into his music with a vengeance, and Curt Wild: The Passenger does better than Danger Zone. Malcolm and Jack continue to push themselves artistically, and become more and more involved with their relationship. The Creatures split up, but Malcolm remains as a solo artist, being produced by Jack. It’s around 1980 that Curt and Brian reconnect(a whole other story) and the Berlin apartment becomes too small, as the general hatred for Brian Slade is too big. Curt moves to Paris with Brian in ‘81, and after a couple of years, once everything has softened and it’s clear that some people have matured, Jack and Malcolm follow. Deep friendships are formed all around, and music, art, and poetry continue to be the soul focus of everyone’s life- Outside of Brian, who still has to leave room for his massive and highly obnoxious daddy kink.

-

Jack dies in 2013 of complications from pneumonia(I haven’t asked Caroline about this but we’ve established that he’s sickly in the respiratory sense so if I’m wrong I am sorry,) and Curt in 2015 of a heart attack. Brian and Malcolm settle into the lives of snarky old queens, and actually become even better friends than they were before, something basically unexpected and unheard of, as far as Malcolm is concerned. Brian passes in his sleep at the tender old age of 80, and Malcolm follows shortly after in much the same way, at the age of 77.

[jjpmoans]

50 Questions Tag

Tagged by @prettywordsyouleft and @itsallabigmess bcs these two unnies really love me

1. What takes too much of your time?

Social media (yes that includes tumblr)

2. What makes your day better?

These days, Jinyoung. Lol okay so I am a very talkative one. So yeah, talking to someone will immediately makes me feel less stressful.

3. What’s the best thing that happened to you today?

Just now @itsallabigmess made an exception for me to write a GOT7 fic asdfghjkl I FEEL A LITTLE TOO OVER HAPPY

4. What fictional place would you like to go to?

I think almost all my friend would have guess this. Hogwarts. Because the food there seems to be endless and really, I’d love to try eating both drumsticks in my hand and I want to put an incantation to whoever tries to hold me from eating.

5. Are you good at giving advice?

Well, I think I am. Judging from how my whole family turned to me when they wanted to share their problems. Also when I gave advises, I always stresses this one thing “Listen to understand, don’t listen to reply” and that implies to me too. And honestly, I listen too much and sometimes when people just don’t want to change, I feel really annoyed BECAUSE WHAT IS THE POINT YOU WANTED MY ADVISE???? Okay I think I’m good. hahahhahhaha

6. Do you have any mental illness?

Horny 24/7 is that a mental illness? lmao no I’m not that bad but I think I need to get married. NOW.

7. Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis?

Not yet. In my country, people describe sleep paralysis as you got crushed by some spirit (ghost to be exact) and yes it is scary and I hope I would never experience it.

8. What musician inspired you the most?

I’ve been thinking a lot and though I really want to say GOT7, I’d say EXO. Partly because I was there since early times, but also, the amount of success and loyalties they have received are really unbelievable. The secret of EXO’s and BTS’s popularity which leads them to win daesang in every award is their fans. And I really hope ahgase can be like them. I’d be lying if I say our fandom is really hardworking when it comes to award season. I’ve seen my friend bullshitting EXO and BTS bcs whenever any of them is nominated in the same award of GOT7, automatically, GOT7 will lose. And no joke, army and exol are really monsters during award season. And I hope us ahgase can be like that too. I know got7 said they didn’t mind but Jinyoung once said that he want to know how those groups can win daesang easily and he thought got7 need to work harder. smh I’m emo. sorry this got longer than it should. 

9. Have you ever fallen in love?

I do. Hahahahhahaha yes I do. 

10. What’s your dream date?

Well for me, just talking with each other is a date. I love to know small details because when I love someone, I just want to know everything about him. But okay a dream date? Amusement park. Yes you need to know which ride makes me scream like a girl and which makes me scream like a mad woman.

11. What do others notice about you?

I’m very talkative (that really shows lol). And I don’t know how to refuse when someone ask for a help or anything. I always tell myself to treat people the way I want to be treated. 

And they said I’m too nice. Yeah I figured that too hahahahhaa

12. What is an annoying habit you have?

Refuse to listen when I’m angry. I feel annoyed because I know I’m wrong but I’m angry but I don’t want to hurt people. So I’ll say “Sorry, I’m very angry now but I know I’m wrong. Just, I’ll be okay later so we’ll talk later”

13. Do you still talk to your first love?

Yes and no. Our last conversation was he wanted to meet me. But ever since then, no other conversation.

14. How many ex’s do you have?

Can’t relate lol

15. How many songs are in your playlist?

Here’s the thing. I have a lot of playlists. Phone playlist, laptop playlist, joox playlist and youtube playlist. So I don’t know how many of them.

16. What instruments can you play?

Non existent.

17. Who do you have the most pictures of?

My phone? Now? Jinyoung smh this is all Tumblr’s fault lol. 

18. Where would you like to go before you die?

Mecca. I’d like to die there if I can.

19. What is your zodiac?

Virgo. And please, someone, please help me calculate whatever thing it was (sun sign, moon sign and all) I never knew those things and it irks me when I don’t know it hahahahhaaa

20. Do you relate to it?

Well I did some research here, Virgo firstly is a virgin and yes I am. It says that virgo is very supportive of people in their lives and even strangers, that is me. I’m a critical thinker bcs I personally hate when something goes wrong. but lol hardworking, artists and remembers everything? Not even close. I’m a lazy ass, I draw a cow but it turned into a pig and I am hopeless with my memory.

But one Virgo thing about me, yes I am an overthinker hahahahhaa

21. What is happiness to you?

When my family reunited.

22. Are you going through anything right now?

Family problem. Mom just got heart attack, dad married another woman, brother on crisis with mom, sister just stabbed my back, aunt made everything worse. It’s been three months into 2019, every week, another family problem popped up. But we are trying, I tried to fix everything, another role which the smallest child has to take upon responsibility but I’m fine. Just, tiring.

23. What’s the worst decision you’ve ever made?

applied for the wrong scholarship and wasted an opportunity to fly to New Zealand for study.

24. What’s your favourite store?

Food stores. Any of them. ARE MY FAVOURITE ahhahahhaha

25. What’s your opinion on abortion?

Because I’m a muslim, I am against abortion. Here, in my country, abortion is done because it was done out of wedlock and they feel embarrassed. So, it irks me bcs if you can think to have sex, you can’t think that there is possibilities that you can get pregnant? And to kill your child bcs you wanted to cover it, is unacceptable. But again, it is personal choice. 

26. Do you keep a bucket list?

I have a few but not enough to be a bucket. 

27. Do you have a favourite album?

Honestly, if favourite means I have listened to all songs in that album, it’s EXO The War album. 

28. What do you want for your birthday?

A freaking big plushie. I love to hug big plushies. But no one ever wanted to give me that for my birthday. And now, I’ve been searching for a big squirtle plushie or snorlax plushie (yes jackson and jaebum)

29. What are most people’s first impression of you?

okay this one lol they said I look scary and they thought I’d be the grumpy one. Well, if you meet me when I’m hungry, I have the tendency to be one.

30. What age do you seem according to most people?

I don’t know anymore. An aunt asked me “Are you the one who got married?” when it was my sister smh 

31. Where do you keep your phone while you’re sleeping?

next to my pillow bcs I need to charge it.

32. what word do you say the most?

me? I say “shit” a lot lol

33. What’s the oldest age you would date?

well I would say I definitely date anyone as long as they are not the same age with my dad.

34. What’s the youngest age you would date?

idk I never thought on dating a younger one. But if I do, maybe 4 years younger bcs damn, if I make it 10 years, my date would be 12 when me here is 22.

35. What job/career do most people say would suit you?

something which requires me to talk a lot. 

36. What’s your favourite music genre?

K-Pop.

37. If you could live in any country in the world, where would it be?

South Korea. New Zealand. Anywhere but Malaysia lol.

38. What is your current favourite song?

Say you won’t let go - James Arthur

39. How long have you had this blog for?

I had this blog for a few years. But just becoming active just recently hmm I don’t know the exact date. But I know it started after I interacted with @prettywordsyouleft

40. What are you excited for?

Food. and sponsored vacation

41. Are you a better talker or listener?

A better talker. but also a pretty good listener

42. What is the last productive thing you did?

Last sunday, i climbed a 200m hill to get to the view point. It got me panting like a dying cow.

43. What do you want for Christmas?

While I don’t celebrate Christmas, I welcome gifts. Any gifts would be fine lol (make sure its food)

44. What class do you get the best grades in?

High school? Chemistry. College? Mathematic. Now? Nothing hahahahaha

45. On a scale of 1-10, how are you feeling right now?

5 and exhausted but tomorrow? 10 BECAUSE A JINYOUNG IS COMING

46. What can you see yourself doing in 10 years?  

10 years I just hope that I am already working and saving money to go on vacations and can sponsor my family on vacations too.

47. When did you first get your heartbreak?

2009 when I discovered that dad has another wife. I was 12 and just got my exam result but dad wasn’t there. He was never present for any of my achievements in school. Turns out he has another child the same age as me and he puts her before me. Since I was born, I was always put second.

2011 when I liked a guy but he hated me awh teenagers. He said I’m too fat and how dare a fat girl like me tries to like him? He was my first love.

48. At what age do you want to get married?

When I am ready. I have a dream wedding, so I would work hard for it to happen.

49. What career did you want to have as a child?

Idk I always change it lol today i’ll say teacher and next day I’ll say ballerina. Yes I spent my whole school life giving different careers when teachers asked me.

50. What do you crave right now?

Food bcs I’m on diet and hell those food porns are getting on my nerves.

Phew it was a good time answering all these questions and it drains my energy lol. So for this, hmm I don’t know who to tag. But i’ll go with this one @sevenpeaches @riceeater22 @tuanyiems @kpopchangedme @kpopstories @starhibiki @ongsung @sehunsmybae (yes I always saw you) and everyone who want to do this! of course, you are not forced to do this

[letbarbieshavedragons]

Dany or Jon?

I’m so sick of people just assuming Jon is Azor Ahai. Like he could be, but he really isn’t the best candidate. Also, I’m deisregarding the show here, bc the whole Arya thing kinda undoes all of the prophecies and Arya doesn’t fit the prophecy even a little, so I’m assuming the show has decided to do it’s own thing. The books however may be a different story and they do give us a number of requirements. Let’s go over them shall we?

1) Lightbringer: In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him.

Now this could be Longclaw. It’s Valyrian Steel which is forged with dragonfire thus the burning sword, but the prophecy says it would be pulled from fire by Azor Ahai, implying Azor Ahai would create it or reforge it or something more than simply being given a Valyrian sword like Jon was. Plus there are several Valyrian Swords, there’s nothing about Langclaw that separates it from the others. What makes Longclaw lightbringer and not the dozen other Valyrian Swords?

As for Daenerys, she doesn’t have any actual sword that fits, but many speculate Lightbringer may be referring to dragons. The followers of R’hollor often think of fire and light interchangeably and dragons are literal bringers of fire and thus bringers of light. And she did literally bring dragons or “Lightbringer” from fire, having walked into a fire to hatch them. Now this isnt exact, but prophecy isn’t always literal. Either way, I’d say they both fit this.

When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone.

2) The bleeding red star:

This seems pretty obvious for Dany. She walked into fire and hatched three dragons under the red comet, a red bleeding star.

For Jon it gets a tad more complicated. Many people theorize that this refers the slaying of Ser Arthur Dayne outside the Tower of Joy when Jon was born. Arthur Dayn was the sword of the morning and thus wielded the ancestoral greatsword Dawn, which was said to be made with a fallen star. So that would check off bleeding star, although it doesn’t really address the red bit. But maybe that’s just in reference to the bleeding, blood is red after all. Even still this is a bit of a stretch to me. But once again, prophecies are rarely as obvious as they seem, so maybe.

3)Born admits salt and smoke:

For this one I don’t really understand how Jon fits. I’ve seen people argue that Davos represent salt bc he was a smuggler and Milessandre smoke bc of her fire schtick, but considering we don’t know how Jon is brought back in the books yet and Davos is never really associated with salt outside of simply having sailed in his past, this seems like a big stretch to me.

Dany is once again pretty obvious. She was born on Dragonstone (an island) during the biggest storm in decades : salt. Then reborn in fire in the Dothraki Sea. Smoke. The salt could also be in reference to the Red Waste or the Dothraki “Sea” because deserts and seas are salty. All in all, I think this fits Danny better.

4)Wake Dragons from stone:

Now here’s the real kicker, Jon doesn’t fit this at all. And Daenerys has done literally that. Brought Dragons from stone eggs. Which should be the breaking point, put Jon out of the running, but hey there’s is still time in the books, maybe Jon will pull something off? However he hasn’t done this yet, so we can’t just assume he’s Azor Ahai.

And while this may be nitpicking the prophecy seems to imply these will all happen together. Which definitly doesn’t work for Jon, but would work for Dany. Although I do feel that would be taking the prophecy more literally than perhaps intended and the wording is kind of ambiguous on the timeline of this.

She talks of prophecies ... a hero reborn in the sea, living dragons hatched from dead stone

5) A hero reborn in the sea:

This is something I see a lot of people gloss over or miss. This also doesn’t seem to fit Jon, although once again he hasn’t been resurrected in the books yet. So we’ll see. This does 100% fit for Daenerys though, since she was ‘reborn’ in the Dothraki Sea. Once again Dany comes out the stronger candidate.

6) Born of Aerys and Rhaella’s line:

This was forseen by the Ghost of High heart before the tragedy of Summerhall. Both Danny and Jon fit this. They are Dany’s parents and Jon’s grandparents.

What fools we were, who thought ourselves so wise! The error crept in from the translation. Dragons are neither male nor female, Barth saw the truth of that, but now one and now the other, as changeable as flame. The language misled us all for a thousand years. Daenerys is the one, born amidst salt and smoke. The dragons prove it.

7) Could be male or female:

The show acredits this to Valyrian being gender neutral, but in the books Maester Aemon thinks it’s because dragons are genderless. Either way gender doesn’t seem to matter. Which works for both of them, all though it seems odd to have this scene if it’s not alluding that it was a princess that was promised all along. But perhaps it’s a red herring. GRRM loves those.

In conclusion, Jon doesn’t fit the entire prophecy. In fact, even when he does, Daenerys usually still makes more sense. Now I’m not saying it will be Dany and won’t be Jon, the books still have time, but it seems weird that everyone is assuming it’s Jon when Daenerys fits the prophecy so much better. When you google Azor Ahai Jon is mostly what comes up. And I’ve seen more than a few posts acting as if it’s a given that It’s Jon. Which all seems really backwards to me.

Maybe it’s bc Jon was literally resurrected, but I’d also like to point out Beric Dondarrion was resurrected like 10 times and no one thinks he’s the PtwP and quite frankly he fits the prophecy as well as Jon as far as we know. And there’s also Lady Stoneheart in the books. But she’s probably not Azor Ahai either. Resurrection in books is handed out pretty liberally all things considered.

*edit* I also forgot Nissa Nissa. Many people theorized Jon would kill Dany to fulfill this, but I’d like to point out Dany has already done this. In the prophecy Azor Ahai kills his wife Nissa Nissa to create Lightbringer. Dany has already killed her husband (Drogo) and used his pyre (and possibly his life) to bring her ‘Lightbringer’ (Dragons) into the world.

TLDR: Dany fits the prophecy much better than Jon, in fact Jon doesn’t even fit parts of the prophecy, but everyone seems to just assume it’s Jon. Which if it turns out to be Daenerys, will make the whole “we assumed prince, not princess” thing even funnier.