#rounding out pride month with the biggest chaotic bi around

[yrsonpurpose]

Numbers on me being into dudes? Seventy-eight percent probability of latent bisexual tendencies.

[salvatoreschool]

5 Reasons You Should Be Watching Legacies

October is, just objectively, the best month of the year. Exhibit A: Golden autumn leaves. Exhibit B: All things apple. Exhibit C: This gif. Exhibit D: Witches. Like, it’s just science.

Around these parts, though, the best best thing about October is, of course, the television. Yes, I’m talking spooky, kooky Halloween specials—love a good Halloween special—but also I’m talking fall premieres. Specifically, I’m talking The CW’s fall premieres, which have been landing in mid-October (later than most other broadcast networks) since at least the first season of Arrow.

This fall, the teen-skewing network’s biggest draws are, arguably, the series debuts of Batwoman (October 6th) and Nancy Drew (October 9th), and the final season bows of Arrow (October 15th) and Supernatural (October 10th). But while I’m professionally interested in seeing how all those premieres play out, the CW joint I’m most personally invested in getting back on my screen (also October 10th!) is Julie Plec’s supernatural boarding school double-spin-off teen drama series, Legacies.

Friends—you should be watching Legacies. I know there’s a lot of television out there, but really and truly, if you like television that likes being television (more on that in a minute), Legacies is absolutely worth tuning in to. Why? Well, let me just count the reasons:

1. You don’t have to do any television homework to join the fun.

Yes, TECHNICALLY Legacies is a hybrid spin-off of two different long-running Julie Plec series, The Vampire Diaries (eight seasons) and The Originals (five), and sure, technically it was in those series that the mythology driving the character arcs/motivations of Legacies’ most central leads, Hope Mikaelson (Danielle Rose Russell) and Alaric Saltzman (Matthew Davis), was developed. After spending a cumulative thirteen seasons not just telling stories on television, but telling stories on television from this specific world, Plec’s ability to set efficient narrative groundwork under fast-moving vampire feet is nothing if not masterful. Genuinely, aside from a few single-episode cameos of side characters from Hope and Alaric’s TVD/Originals past, the only thing you need to watch to make sense of Legacies is this official promo for the first season:

…and honestly, most of that soliloquy, plus much more, is folded into the cold open of the series premiere, “This is the Part Where You Run,” which uses new lead Landon Kirby (Aria Shahghasemi) as audience avatar as he gets introduced to this particular supernatural world for the first time.

2. Two words: Julie. Plec.

That said, if you are familiar with Legacies’ double, er, legacy, you’ll get a kick out of how precisely Plec has taken her signature whip-fast storytelling and fitted it to a breezier, more “teen” setting, and how deftly she manages to weave in both key characters and core emotional beats from both her previous series.

The most obvious example of all of this is Matthew Davis’ Alaric Saltzman, who became such a fan favorite during his time as vengeful-vampire-hunter-turned-loyal-teen-vampire guardian-turned-rogue-vampire’s-best-friend on The Vampire Diaries that not only did Plec resurrect him from the (very truly) dead to keep Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) on the straight and narrow, but she then brought him on as co-lead of this series to do the same for every supernatural teen in the contiguous United States. Now, as both father to a pair of Gemini twin witches (Kaylee Bryant and Jenny Boyd) and mentor/father-figure to Hope, the teen witch-vampire-werewolf tribrid with a hero complex, Alaric gets to flex all the emotional muscles TVD fans know and love. Plus, as the Salvatore School’s headmaster, he also gets to take charge of the dramatic supernatural research and heroic (and/or chaotic) supernatural missions that are key to a Plec series’ fast-paced success. Beyond all of that, though, in positioning him as the central human adult foil to a whole pile of supernatural teen protagonists, Plec has also found a way to let him be funny, bringing a uniquely fun dynamic to the fast-moving monster drama of the TVD universe that hasn’t always gotten such pride of place.

In other words: Julie Plec, still running wild supernatural stories turned up way past 11.

3. Three words: Supernatural. Boarding. School.

One more time, in case that didn’t sink it: Supernatural. Boarding. School.

I really shouldn’t have to elaborate on this, but Legacies is set at the Salvatore Boarding School for the Young and Gifted, which is the school for young witches, werewolves, vampires, and Hope that was funded by Hope’s (dead) dad and is located at/on the Salvatore family’s Virginia estate, just outside Mystic Falls. All the moody opulence of Damon and Stefan’s TVD homebase, all the zingy, angsty tropes of great Teen TV.

More than just being a fun setting, though, the Salvatore School gives Legacies a chance to sprawl out and complicate the consequences of being a teenager consigned to eternity as part of the supernatural world. These consequences are still very real and very serious in Legacies, but while The Vampire Diaries mined dramatic tension from supernatural teens (or at least vampires who looked superficially like teens) living in dangerous proximity to human teens, its kid sibling series looks inside for its tension. The teens at the story’s core need, first and foremost, to find a way to come to terms with their own inhumanity, and what it means to be good as they define it. And honestly, after so many years of TVD stories focused on the former, spending time with a bunch of super compelling, super different supernatural kids working through the latter is just a treat.

4. A diverse cast and diverse stories

This leads directly into a key update to the TVD legacy: With such a sprawling cast of teen characters brought to the Salvatore School from all walks of life and corners of the country, Legacies gets to improve on one of the original series’ greatest weaknesses: A lack of diversity. While both Alaric and the three central female characters of Legacies—all carried over from the previous series—are still white, the characters that round out the rest of the new series’ core cast are not. On the adult side, Alaric is joined by faculty members Dorian Williams (Demetrius Bridges) and Emma Tig (Karen David), while on the teen side, Hope, Josie and Lizzie are joined by softie vampire MG (Quincy Fouse), activist vampire Kaleb (Chris Lee), reluctant alpha werewolf Rafael (Peyton “Alex” Smith), ex-alpha werewolf Jed (Ben Levin), bad girl with Penelope (Lulu Antariksa), and the audience avatar/mystery box supernatural mentioned above, Landon Kirby (Aria Shahghasemi). Nor is racial diversity the only benchmark hit with this large cast. In terms of queer representation, Josie is bi, with Penelope her ex/possible future girlfriend; in terms of class representation, Rafael and Landon are foster brothers who both have dark histories with the system.

Importantly, none of these measures of diversity are included just for show. Each character’s identity and background are as key to who they are within the heightened emotional context of the boarding school as their individual supernatural abilities. Kaleb’s experience as a young black man (and vampire) is markedly different from MG’s, which is markedly different from Dorian’s (who, to be fair, is also not a vampire). Josie and Penelope’s relationship is informed by their strengths (and weaknesses) as witches, and further informs how they each approach solving problems both social and magical. Landon and Rafael’s history, as thrown away kids whose only shelter was each other, drives every decision they make. That diverse identities should inform characters in these ways isn’t a surprise; that Legacies is embracing them all now after so many seasons of its parent series falling short is, if not surprising, then at least worth taking note of.

5. Finally: Legacies totally knows it’s a TV show.

This seems self-evident, but as pop culture critic Grace Robertson so sharply observed earlier this year in her essay “Let TV Be TV” (like, literally; the heading above is a direct quote), the best trick Legacies pulls isn’t even a trick. It’s just being good at being entertaining, episodic television.

In an era where a TV show can be anything from thirteen thirty-minute episodes (pick literally any prestige comedy) to dozens upon dozens of bite-sized Facebook posts (SKAM Austin) to an 18-hour art film (Twin Peaks: The Return), defining just what counts as television is practically a professional sport. Well, it’s a sport Legacies isn’t interested in playing. With both its new-to-the-TVD-verse Monster of the Week mode of storytelling and the Salvatore School as its comfortable, “fixed point” setting, Plec is even better at framing episodic stories than she was in her already rollicking previous series. In a television landscape so full of cinematic innovation, the freedom this old school “status quo” television model gives Legacies is, as Robertson notes, a huge relief.

So, yes: Legacies knows it’s a TV show, and it knows it’s a fun one. With the short first season currently streaming on Netflix, there is literally no better time to jump on the Legacies bandwagon than now. And I know it’s one I can’t wait to have back in my weekly rotation. All hail October.

Legacies Season Two premieres Thursday, October 10th on The CW.

[lakeknight-blog1]

really LONG CHARACTER SURVEY. RULES.

repost , don’t reblog ! tag 10 ! good luck !

TAGGED. @mostwretchedson TAGGING. @etfuturus @emrysborn @grishildr @servinglies @sanctiissima @twcsugars @onioning @legendforged

BASICS. FULL NAME : sir lancelot du lac ( born galahad of the lake / galahad y llyn ). NICKNAME : lance. AGE : ~27 in main verse. BIRTHDAY : november 2nd. ETHNIC GROUP : welsh. NATIONALITY : british. LANGUAGE / S : common brythonic; brythonic celtic languages ( welsh, cumbric, cornish, breton ); pictish ( knows a touch ); latin ( conversational fluency ); greek ( literate, though not fluent ). SEXUAL ORIENTATION : bisexual. ROMANTIC ORIENTATION : biromantic. RELATIONSHIP STATUS : dear god please help this man. CLASS : noble ( thane ); lesser royal; knight. HOME TOWN / AREA : the isle of avalon; glastonbury. CURRENT HOME : joyous guard. PROFESSION : knight of the round table.

PHYSICAL. HAIR : black and curly, reaching down in waves to his shoulders. EYES : very deep brown. NOSE : roman. FACE : gentle, yet angular features; evocative of youthful masculinity. wears a beard. LIPS : soft; downturned at the corners; perpetually somber. COMPLEXION : very fair; exquisitely soft. BLEMISHES : beyond various scars and wounds, none to speak of. SCARS : plenty. most apparent are the ones on his face. he has a thin scar on his right cheekbone, giving him a wild, feline appearance, one reaching from his left brow into his hairline, and one that dips into his upper lip. his most grevious scars are one on his left ankle, one just to the right of the small of his back, and one spreading from his left collarbone to just above his abdomen. TATTOOS : none. HEIGHT : 5′8″. WEIGHT : ~ 132 lbs. BUILD : willowy and slender; built for swift movements and sharp attacks or for graceful diplomacy; extremely muscular legs and abdoment; built arms and shoulders. very toned muscles. small, but holds more strength than he appears to.  FEATURES : handsome. a pretty boy, but an extremely masculine one. described appearing as a young stag. ALLERGIES : not quite an allergy, but he’s lactose intolerant. USUAL HAIR STYLE : worn loose, though very well maintained. the sort of look that seems like the wearer doesn’t care but actually cares very much. naturally and wonderfully chaotic. worn in a bun when anticipating combat. USUAL FACE LOOK : somber. USUAL CLOTHING : deep crimson tunics lined typically with gold threading. dark or black undershirts and trousers. thick, dark cloaks lined with furs. boots, always polished and well-maintained, matching the color of his belt. occasionally wears ornamental armor or a circlet.

PSYCHOLOGY. FEAR / S : inadequacy; lack of being loved; his sexual orientation; breaking his image as an almost mythic figure; a young death. ASPIRATION / S : to constantly and without fail prove himself as better than the rest in order to be admired and loved. POSITIVE TRAITS : charming, graceful, empathetic, witty, musical, talented. NEGATIVE TRAITS : insecure, depressed, violent, capricious, judgmental. MBTI : enfp-t: the campaigner. TEMPERAMENT : melancholic. SOUL TYPE / S : performer. ANIMALS : stag. VICE HABIT / S : wrath. so much wrath. and so much pride. and so much self-loathing. FAITH : nihilism. GHOSTS ? : unsure. AFTERLIFE ? : unsure. REINCARNATION ? : yes but he’s sad about it. ALIENS ? : dude. the fuck’s an alien. POLITICAL ALIGNMENT : arthur and arthur accessories. his only holdout is that he is extremely defensive and loyal to the old people and the old faith, even though he doesn’t necessarily follow it himself. ECONOMIC PREFERENCE : he’s so used to the life of a campaigning soldier that he refuses lodging within camelot’s castle and sleeps in a stable loft instead, if that’s any indication. SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION : the absolute lowest in the upper class that someone could get. EDUCATION LEVEL : he’s incredibly intelligent, but his schooling revolved almost entirely around warfare, with only occasional forays into more artistic pursuits such as literature, philosophy, and music, though he loves all three dearly.

FAMILY. FATHER : king ban of benwick ( the horned god ). MOTHER : viviane, the lady of the lake ( the virgin huntress, the three-faced goddess, ceridwen ). SIBLINGS : six elder bastard brothers and many legitimate brothers, including lionel and bors the younger. technically only related to balan and mordred because of their supernatural conception. EXTENDED FAMILY : jesus fucking christ okay here we go kids. half-aunt morgause, wife of king lot. half-aunt igraine, former wife of gorlois of tintagel, wife of high king uther pendragon, high queen of britain. half-grandfather taliesin, merlin of britain. half-cousins with gawaine, gaheris, gareth, agravaine, and mordred through relation to morgause. half-cousins with morgaine and arthur through relation to igraine. related to a metric fuckton of half-brothers thanks to ban not keeping it in his pants. NAME MEANING / S : galahad is believed to mean hawk of summer, from the welsh word gwalchaved. lancelot is possibly a misinterpretation of the old frankish word l’ancelot, meaning servant. his many bynames, y llyn, an loch, and du lac, all mean of the lake. HISTORICAL CONNECTION ? : probably not. but he could be related to / derived from a very great number of welsh deities and heroes.

FAVOURITES. BOOK : the iliad. MOVIE : n / a 5 SONGS : n / a DEITY : he has referred to his sword as the only god he believes in. HOLIDAY : samhain. MONTH : november. SEASON : winter. PLACE : lakes. WEATHER : sunny, with a cool breeze, or snowy. SOUND : the gentle ripple on the surface of a lake; the soft cries of waterfowl. SCENT / S : petrichor. TASTE / S : ale. FEEL / S : a soft touch. ANIMAL / S : horses. NUMBER : 1. COLOUR : crimson.

EXTRA. TALENTS : swordplay; jousting; horsemanship; warfare; care of animals; swimming; singing; playing harp; poetry; philosophy; forestry; navigation. BAD AT : dancing; keeping his own secrets; trusting the right people; following a faith. TURN ONS : emotional intimacy; soft touches; quiet breaths; gentle assurances; frequent kisses; the safety to be vulnerable; physical strength; well-toned muscles / athleticism; masculinity. TURN OFFS : excessive roughness; comments / jokes at his expense; loud volume; indiscretion; lack of communication; lack of emotion. HOBBIES : training for war; caring for the king’s stables; studying the history of warfare and combat; reading manuscripts on philosophy; writing poetry; playing music. TROPES : i have a whole list on my about page, but some of the most fitting are bi the way, competition freak, crowd pleaser, dark is not evil, determinator, gayngst, glory seeker, hero antagonist, heroic bastard, honor before reason, horseback heroism, looking for love in all the wrong places, nerves of steel, pretty boy, red is heroic, the ace, the charmer, and what you are in the dark. AESTHETIC TAGS : blog tag. i also have a pinterest board for him here. GPOY QUOTES : “i’d like to tell you it’ll get better tomorrow, but i’ve been through so many tomorrows and nothing has changed.“ / "we should get together sometime and spiral into terrible uncertainty.” / “put me on a pedestal and i’ll only disappoint you.” / “as always, all i should have said was, ‘i love you.’” / “we loved with a love that was more than love.” / “you have a heart that keeps others strong.” / “loving you was the most exquisite sort of self-destruction.”

FC INFO. MAIN FC / S : kit harington. ALT FC / S : n/a OLDER FC / S : n/a YOUNGER FC / S : n/a VOICE CLAIM / S : ewan mcgregor, but with a welsh accent. GENDERBENT FC / S : n/a

MUN QUESTIONS. Q1 : if you could write your character your way in their own movie , what would it be called , what style would it be filmed in , and what would it be about ? A1 : shot on film to give it an aged look, with a very washed out and muted color palette. directed in the style of stephan spielberg or christopher nolan. gives screentime to emphasize lancelot’s formative years in avalon and on campaign in continental europe, but the main focus is on lancelot’s role within the camelot romance dodecahedron and how his actions influenced the rise and fall of camelot. titled “galahad of the lake” in order to bring home that this is a story ultimately about how lancelot became the man he is in legend. Q2 : what would their soundtrack / score sound like ? A2 : composed by theophany and rozen. the soundtrack would be very much akin to theophany’s time’s end, especially time’s end: part ii. his character suite would be especially similar to healing termina. Q3 : why did you start writing this character ? A3 :  hhh, about four months? i’ve loved lancelot as a character for a very long time, but never really decided to sit down and write about him until recently. Q4 : what first attracted you to this character ? A4: i’ve loved lancelot for as long as i’ve loved arthurian lore, so since i was like, six or seven years old. he’s just a Cool Dude. lots of emotional depth, too, which is something i’ve always found to make me love a character. Q5 : describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse. A5 : fuck, man, i don’t dislike anything about him. i adore him. he’s fuckin perfect, okay? definitely not a perfect person, definitely very flawed, but as a character, that makes him perfect for me to write. in terms of ease of writing, i wouldn’t change a goddamn thing. Q6 : what do you have in common with your muse ? A6 : we’re both incredibly handsome, and we both really like horses. Q7 : how does your muse feel about you ? A7 : apathetic. Q8 : what characters does your muse have interesting interactions with ? A8 : everyone. just straight up everyone. first of all he himself is just interesting in any interactions because he’s snarky and violent and charming all in one, and you never know which side of him you’re going to get, so it’s always a good time. second of all, it’s just fun to let him loose with all the characters he can find? it’s a good time. Q9 : what gives you inspiration to write your muse ? A9 : i make my autoplay what it is for a reason, yo. it’s because that’s the shit that gets me goin’ with this character. Q10 : how long did this take you to complete ? A10 : one hour and twenty six minutes.