#tlk aalys

[aelswiths]

AALYS in 5x04

The King departed this morning. Did you happen to witness it? Did anybody accompany him? I think perhaps the Lady Eadgifu rode with him. Come with us to Lindisfarne.

[aadmelioraa]

It's almost 2023, so I figured I'd share my updated The Last Kingdom fic recs since I have been meaning to do that all year. Below the cut you will find some shippy stuff, some introspective pieces, and a variety of characters featured (several of whom rarely get fanfic). I hope if this post crosses your path you may find a new favorite! I did limit my selection to complete fics, but you can find more recommendations, both works in progress and complete, under my ao3 tlk bookmarks. Happy New Year, and happy reading!

the leap by @irisdouglasiana

Season 5 cottagecore nuns fixit for Aalys and Aelflaed. Fixit fics are not usually my vibe tbh but this one is perfectly complex and bittersweet.

A Hard Story to Know by @wildwren

Post Season 5 fic. Aelfwynn processes her grief at the loss of her mother with the help of Aldhelm and Eadith. This fic broke my heart and mended it several times over.

no escape by @volvaaslaug

Wonderful Eadith character study and I adore the prose style as well.

come go with me by @wendy-daahling

Aethelflaed x Aldhelm political marriage (for MERCIA of course), slow burn with lots of delicious pining.

the drowned and the damned by @irisdouglasiana

Canon divergent AU centered around Osbert, Uhtred's youngest son. Addresses family trauma, cycles of violence, and legacy within the world of the show and does it in such a thought provoking way.

and, lord, she found me just in time by @jeynepoole

Hild x Iseult hurt/comfort bathing fic...so tender and so lovely.

a rope in hand for your other man by @jeynepoole

This fic is definitely for a niche audience, but if the idea of an Aethelflaed/Aldhelm/Aethelred threesome intrigues you, check it out...and there's more where that came from.

Meanwhile in Mercia by @skatingthinandice

This series is an absolute staple of Aethelflaed x Aldhelm fanfic and I am very grateful for it. Essential reading!

Daughter of Darkness by @ulfrsmal

Gen fic focused around Brida and Thyra's relationship and trauma that I, for one, desperately needed. *this fic is locked, you will need to be logged into your ao3 account to access...I still have a few invitations to send, if you need one feel free to DM me!

I go you go, my dear by alittlebitalexis

Two Osferth x Eadith fics for the Eadsferth truthers among us (no for real they were cute). Fluff and smut.

When the Party's Over by @wildwren

Aethelflaed x Erik College AU. Part of a series, read Part 1 first, I am just particularly attached to this part for...reasons.

The Maiden by @wildwren

Pirate/Witch AU for Aethelflaed x Skade. This fic is HOT and creative and HOT and gorgeously written and HOT.

To Curse a King by @pokeasleepingsmaug

Skade x Sihtric smut fic featuring magic and knife play. Very fun and sexy.

Saint of Shitty Reasons by @volvaaslaug

Edward Modern AU character study that hits 95% of my kinks.

Most CURSED among God's kin are aethelings by @wildwren

Aethelwold character study. A masterpiece though and through.

Lay Down Your Arms by @skatingthinandice

Aethelflaed x Aldhelm post Tettenhall smut, and a most worthy entry for the #GET IT AETHELFLAED tag.

clever-tongued by @tsukkinami

Aethelflaed x Aldhelm smut with wonderful tension and intimacy, it's just top tier! A classic.

in my dreams we survived by @irisdouglasiana

Hild character study, really lovely angst that makes me tear up every time.

poison by @irisdouglasiana

Brida x Skade enemies to lovers...need I say more?

fortune cookie by @jeynepoole

Competent stepdad Aldhelm, Modern AU Aldhelm & Aelfwynn bonding. A warm blanket of a fic.

[magravenwrites]

In the stars by Benson Boone

Click on the images for better quality

Tags:

@emilyhufflepufftlk @solinarimoon @morosemagick @lauwrite1225 @axe-does-writing @madrielite

[osferth]

no but honestly it is so sad how aelflaed finally escaped what must've been such a constraining situation at court and a husband who dislikes her, to go on a simple pilgrimage with aalys only to be killed for being in the wrong place at the wrong time :(

[muddleofnervouswords]

The Last Kingdom Affirmations

~* reblog to claim *~

screencap of Aelflaed is from kissthemgoodbye

inspired by this fic by @ivarthebadbitch

[mirdaniaa]

✨just gals being pals ✨

[lauwrite1225]

well... let's welcome Finan's random wifey 🥴

Thank you @emilyhufflepufftlk for the screens 😭

[solinarimoon]

These are fantastic!!!

5.5 Be a good king, not a good man.

[wildwren]

Listen I know there’s a lot to process right now, but I think the most important thing to talk about is the crackships. new crack ships left and right here you guys, like we are feasting right now. in truly no particular order, my favs are: 

TLK Season 5 Spoilers!!!

Aelswith x Eadith: I’m sorry but you cannot convince me they are not fucking. Is this even a crackship when they’re clearly fucking? (I know, i know, they’re not fucking. i know) STILL. they killed that guy together and Aelswith was SO HORnY afterwards, and also she’s gonna move to Bebbanburg because they’re girlfriends.  Aelswith x Uhtred: honestly they had good content this season and it really just went to prove that this was the Wessex royal he had chemistry with the whole time. Their scene together in Episode 4 is probably my favorite scene in the entire season, mostly for Queen-related reasons but the Uhtred stuff was good too. I ship it.  Aldhelm x Eadith: the head shake. the head shake. that little head shake. the one Eadith gave to Aldhelm after examining Aethelflaed? WE ALL SAW IT. anyway. case in point.  Aelflaed x Aalys: This isn’t a crackship. This is canon. As @aethelreds says, they are currently on the Isle of Lindisfarne feeding chickens. It’s real you guys. Edward x Aldhelm: I was a little dismayed and confused when Aldhelm seemed to just team up with Eddy in about 2.5 seconds after Aethelflaed’s death. BUT. Then Aldhelm got to do some tearful expostulating about Aethelflaed and I just feel like there just some stuff to unpack there. 

Stiorra x Wolland: I mean. Obviously. Like. Come on. C’mon. I was digging how Wolland could be formal and professional one moment and then unleashing pure hype the next. I bet he’s so weird in bed.  

Edward x Constantin: TELL ME WAS THERE nOT A LOOK. TELL ME. it was very sensual. no i’m not changing my mind.

Aelfwynn x Whitgar: okay so i know this is not real. please know that i know that this is not real. Were there vibes? absolutely not. Do I ship it? no. Would I write it? ..... ....

........ maybe 

what are you fav crackships of the season??? who did i miss???? i want to knowwwww

[aelswiths]

For @ivarthebadbitch who wrote this wonderful Aelflaed x Aalys fic ❤️❤️

[aelswiths]

For @aethelreds @aadmelioraa @wildwren @volvaaslaug @catherinesvalois @saint-helga

I know I promised to do more Aethelred edits but I got distracted, there are more of this edit to come...

[osferth]

Aelflaed or Eadgifu?

AHHHHH this is so hard 😭

i love eadgifu!!!!! but honestly i think ill have to choose aelflaed only because ive known her for longer and i love her storyline with aalys, they were definitely girlfriends. her taking aalys' place and getting killed instead was so sad, they deserved to run away from court and live together :((

[aelswiths]

For @saint-helga 💕💕

As usual I have many other version I can share if interested :)

[aelswiths]

I decided to post more anyway because I love them ❤❤

For @saint-helga @aethelreds @aadmelioraa @wildwren

[mirdaniaa]

what if we abandoned our lives and went on a pilgrimage together to Lindisfarne...haha jk...unless...

[ivarthebadbitch]

the last kingdom season 5: the last roundup

(spoilers, of course)

the good:

the overall production value and cinematography were much better than the previous seasons, and far superior to the dark, dingy mess that was season 4. with a few exceptions, you could actually see what was going on! things looked good.

the pacing and the way the different storylines came together. tlk loves convoluted storylines and this season had its fair share, but it mostly worked. better still, it didn’t drag like some previous seasons. I am pleased to report the only scene I skipped was uhtred and pyrlig’s, like, 20 minute conversation about destiny blah blah blah. maybe it was super profound. I'm not interested in finding out!

5x4. the midseason episodes from 5x3 to 5x6 were the strongest and most affecting, and of those, 5x4 was the real standout. I think that was in large part because it was less action oriented and really gave time to the characters: aethelflaed, aelswith, brida, and edward stole the episode for me. I’ve never cried over a tlk episode but this one got me close.

edward, for being the absolute king bitch I always knew he could be. so proud of my boy.

the battle in 5x6, particularly the crossing of the ice. it was so fucking tense!

the rongvaldr and stiorra dynamic. I love a fuckup, I love that she absolutely loathed him, I love that he really seemed to want her to like him, I love that he managed to fail up into becoming lord of eoferwic.

the development of some of the more minor characters and relationships. aelflaed and aalys was my favorite, rip :(

aelfweard’s bowl cut. he rocked it!

the ehhhh:

aethelhelm. clearly adrian schiller was doing the best he could, but for being around for 2 1/2 seasons, aethelhelm just never was given enough depth to really come out of some guy territory to be a genuinely interesting villain. why was he doing all this? oh, just for power and wealth? boring!

the conclusion of brida’s arc. I wrote about this a little bit already, and it could have been way worse, but it was not...good. emily cox, by the way, absolutely killed it all season, especially 5x3 and 5x4. but as it was written in 5x7, it felt like a cop out, and mostly a way to kill her off in a manner that would not make uhtred look like the guilty party, or really examine why she might feel the way she feels towards him.

eadith x uhtred. yeah, they didn’t actually do it and just sort of dropped hints, thank god, but that...scene in 5x1 that we will not discuss in detail? awkward as hell. and I’m not a finan x eadith shipper, I have no skin in that game. but no. absolutely not.

the bebbanburg shit. I have always been skeptical about bebbanburg as a compelling goal, and I was not convinced here. like ok, he got bebbanburg, because of course he did, because there was no way he was not going to get it. so what.

the ‘what did it all mean, anyway?’:

no, it’s not about destiny or honor or religious/cultural identity, though granted, they give a lot of tedious speeches about these things. it’s not “the hero’s journey” (which, sure it is, but what about it?). at its core, the last kingdom is primarily concerned with property--either literal property, or more abstract (think how often they mention “bloodlines” or “the people”)--and the most important principle is the maintenance/protection/recovery of one’s rightful property. that is the ends that justifies basically all means. uhtred’s violent, decades-long quest to regain bebbanburg? well, he’s the rightful heir, it’s his by right, you see. his bloodline must survive so that they can maintain their rightful property. that dream of a united england? one giant piece of property, under the authority of alfred/edward/whoever. everyone being totally aghast at edward for daring to propose dividing northumbria to secure peace with the scots? what, willingly letting go of a piece of property????