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95jezzica · 2 years

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Tanker om Sveriges etternavn? 👀 Er forresten enig med Björn - synes det passer veldig bra 👌

[Translation of ask in Norwegian: " Thoughts about Sweden's surname? (I) agree with Björn by the way - (I) think it fits very well. "]

Answer: Sure thing, and thanks!

Himaruya gave Sweden the name Berwald Oxenstierna. I've gone over my thoughts about the name Berwald in my previous post "Hws Naming Sweden", but as a short summary for those who haven't read that post (yet? 👀) :

- Even if I for various reasons personally use the name Björn instead, there's nothing inheritable wrong with the name Berwald.

Now; This is something that's also true for his surname - Oxenstierna, and the majority of the Hetalia fandom seem to have agreed this is most likely a reference to the man Axel Oxenstierna.

Sure, it's an unusual Swedish surname, but it exists and have done so for a very long time. However, it should also be noted that the name isn't necessarily the best fit for (hws) Sweden, since Oxenstierna is a protected surname over here and a name only descendants to the Oxenstierna family are allowed to keep.

Without going too deep into details the Oxenstierna family were very high ranking nobles in Sweden, to the point that I would argue their family is as royal you could get without the actual royal title. Heck, Axel Oxenstierna was even essentially the acting regent of Sweden when Princess (later Queen) Kristina was still a minor and King II Adolf had died.

It's partly because of this that I've begun to use the surname Steilsson (Iceland's canon surname) more for (hws) Sweden over the years instead, especially in Human AUs where I don't want Sweden to be almost royal. Personally I strongly see Nor, Den, Swe and Iceland as siblings anyway - so giving them the same surname in at least Human AUs works out just fine.

Steilsson means "son of Steil", and the format of the surname is and was very common in Scandinavia. Karlsson, Andersson, Eriksson, Johansson and Svensson are just a few other examples of common surnames in Sweden, all which essentially means "son of [name]".

Sometimes I still use Oxenstierna simply because it's the name the Hetalia fandom will recognize (& I don't want to cause too much confusion since I've already changed my Sweden's first name into Björn), but when I want to joke around a bit and/or need another surname I give Sweden the surname Svensson instead.

Svensson is a very common surname here in Sweden, but since the name Sven means "the Swede" this also means the surname Svensson basically means "the Swede, the son of the Swede". And that's why my humor finds it hilarious to give (hws) Sweden the surname Svensson. xD

In all honesty (hws) Sweden's surname is very versatile and can be adapted a lot depending on how you view the Nordics or even what kind of fanwork you're doing, such as nation-verse or Human AU. The only one I would actively recommend against is giving Sweden the surname Køhler (Den's fanon surname) or Bondevik (one of Nor's canon surnames).

Køhler because I have a very hard time imagining Sweden would ever keep a Danish surname with Danish spelling, and Bondevik because of the bad connections with the name in Norway.

Given how popular the pairing is, I will mention that in a SuFin scenario I even encourage the surname Väinämöinen over Finland taking's Sweden's surname. Väinämöinen is a powerful name I doubt (hws) Finland would want to change anyway.

[. For those who know me it's no secret I like SuFin as a pairing, but I also I feel a iffy about how many SuFin-fans still seem almost obsessed with making Finland out to be "Sweden's small, cutie, wife". <.<

Personally I think letting Finland keep Väinämöinen as his surname would also help highlight the fact Finland is Sweden's equal in a relationship, and hopefully remind people that Finland is an incredible strong and independent nation of his own. Again though, that's what I think. ]

To summarize this long post:

Use Oxenstierna if you want, people. It isn't necessarily wrong - it just doesn't exactly fit either. Especially in human AUs when you don't want Sweden to be almost royal. At the same time it's the name most of the Hetalia fandom will recognize.

However, if you want another surname then Sweden's name is very versatile and there are many different options you can go with - a few examples being Steilsson, Svensson ("the Swede, son of the Swede" 😂 xD) or even Väinämöinen depending on what you write/draw.

Once again a long post, but I hope you all enjoy this! 😄

Thanks for the ask, iFindus!

#Hetalia #hws Sweden #aph Sweden #hws #hws Nordics #hws Names #Hetalia Names #hws Norway #hws Denmark #hws Iceland #hws Finland #hws SuFin #SuFin #hws Nation #hws Nations

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sheikah · 3 years

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So I just finished reading Shadow and Bone and am having a lot of feelings. I want to climb aboard the Darklina ship but I was very surprised by the route the book went (with him in particular). Is he a redeemable character? Her and Mal bore me to death but the Darkling is...kind of terrifying. But I also kind of love him. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I think whether or not he’s redeemable is a really subjective question. For me he was a relatively mild villain, at least stacked up alongside others I’ve loved in the past like Darth Vader lol. I can tell you right now that morally, the Darkling does not get better in the trilogy. I won’t say anything specific so as not to spoil you. But if anything, he gets worse. That being said, his character is further explored in the King of Scars duology, which in my opinion gives a more definitive answer to the possibility of his redemption. My personal opinion is that yes, he is redeemable; but that’s not really what makes me ship it so much.

Darklina is very much a lovers-to-enemies ship. They start off the way you see them in book one and then remain enemies throughout the rest of the trilogy. But that doesn’t mean they don’t meet and have romantically charged moments. The intensity of their short time together at the Little Palace in S&B echoes across the rest of the trilogy and infuses their meetings--even ones in the context of literal battles--with angst and yearning. They kiss and embrace more than once over the course of the last two books. But he does a lot of horrific things, too.

For me the villain/heroine dynamic is the entire draw. If he was someone who Alina met, saw as her counterpart, and then lived with happily ever after, this ship wouldn’t interest me nearly as much as it does. I like the conflict of it. I like that on paper they’d be perfect for one another. As Ben Barnes constantly says, they’re like one another’s yin and yang. They have a magical bond and connection, on top of an emotional connection that took even the Darkling himself by surprise. Yet because he won’t flinch from his ideals and will achieve his ends through ANY means, Alina can’t reconcile a relationship with him. But that doesn’t stop her from responding to their physical chemistry, and doesn’t stop her from recognizing the glimpses of tenderness under his vicious and jaded exterior. And that kind of star-crossed, impossible romance--where they both want the other and both know it simply cannot be--is just my bread and butter.

And as with many similar ships, I think for the fandom a lot of the appeal comes from the potential. There is more Darklina fanfic than any other pairing in this fandom for a reason. I think exploring in fanon how he could potentially be brought around by Alina in the long term is very interesting. Similarly I think a lot of us like exploring how Alina would be different if she were instead more influenced to his side. So exploring possible futures that diverge from canon is definitely part of it.

Oh, and another thing that gave me a lot of insight into his character and definitely contributed to my die-hard love for him is reading “Demon in the Wood,” the Darkling prequel story. Imo it’s a must if you’re even a little bit interested in how he became the person he is by the time he meets Alina, and whether or not any goodness still resides in his heart.

#answered #darklina #idk if this really answered your question haha i'm sorry #i guess i'm just explaining why i still like darklina in spite of the understandable reasons a lot of people don't #greengothgirl

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songofclarity · 4 years

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What's your opinion on Huaisang going :3 in his quest for world peace?

Hello, Anon, that is an excellent question! Because I am of a mixed opinion in that I want to have my cake and eat it too! The short answer is that I think Nie HuaiSang going :3 is fanon and then there is canon Nie HuaiSang but I adore them both ♡

On the one hand, I love a Nie HuaiSang who is healthy, happy, and confident enough to go :3 in his quest for world peace! He set aside his grief, got all his ducks in a row, and now he's living his best life. After all the angst and cruelty that's happened, it's refreshing to get a good cat-and-mouse game where it's the bad guy running from sharp claws reaching for his rotten tail. Nie HuaiSang is intelligent and clever enough to manage it all, too. We saw he's a little schemer in his Gusu days so have at it, Director Nie! After all, the first step to getting revenge for your late Da-ge (may he rest in peace) is to have fun with it!

On the other hand, and this is where I'm going to be real about it, that's not a Nie HuaiSang I've come across in the actual content... Donghua Nie HuaiSang (in the two seasons we have) has a depressing cloud hanging over his head, novel Nie HuaiSang is brimming with well-concealed rage, and CQL is a wonderful mix of the two. For the most part, he parodies Jin GuangYao's pitifulness with his "I don't know" x3, but even that could easily come from something real.

Just as we witness Lan XiChen crushed under the wheel of realization, Nie HuaiSang was crushed by it, too, albeit off page/screen. He's gone from worrying about his grades, being yelled at to do his saber practice, and organizing his fan collections to confronting his third-brother-by-proxy's betrayal, deceit, manipulation, 1st degree murder, child murder, incest, rape, coercion, unlawful imprisonment, and whatever else. Nie HuaiSang learned he was used by Jin GuangYao to kill Nie MingJue. That's some really heavy stuff!

Nie HuaiSang going :3 in his quest for world peace also kind of does a disservice to Nie HuaiSang's development, characterization, and actions -- at least how I've come to understand them. There is an innocent delight in going :3 that I feel Nie HuaiSang is no longer capable of when Wei WuXian returns. This leave us with him going :3 out of some darker enjoyment that I just can't see. Nie HuaiSang is all about that righteousness anger. He refers to Jin GuangYao as an immoral man. Less than being cute and mischievous about it, I think Nie HuaiSang shows more signs of wanting to tear Jin GuangYao’s throat out with his teeth lol

But Nie HuaiSang is weak physically, his cultivation is poor, and he’s not a genius. He’s clever, though, with the ability to read the room! And the writing on the wall says that accusing Jin GuangYao of his crimes is dangerous. Jin GuangYao is not above murdering innocent children, for goodness sake, and if they end up in a direct confrontation, Jin GuangYao will make Nie HuaiSang’s death look like an accident. It’s just... not a good stage for expressions of :3 and Nie HuaiSang seems to be in a higher percentile for self-preservation.

This ties in with my other probably unpopular opinion: Nie HuaiSang depended on Lan XiChen from beginning to end and never stopped thinking of Lan XiChen as his brother. It's his brother and Da-ge's brother, with Jin GuangYao delegated as "the other." Nie HuaiSang going :3 during events behind Lan XiChen's back when Lan XiChen suffered is a cruelty all its own that I don't recall seeing evidence to support -- and I also hope doesn’t exist where I haven’t looked lol

Like I've seen the theories that suggest Nie HuaiSang blames Lan XiChen for Nie MingJue's death, but I've never really seen it talked about that Nie HuaiSang would be blaming himself. Not only was Nie HuaiSang aware that Jin GuangYao raised Nie MingJue's blood pressure, Nie HuaiSang continued to 1. accept all the gifts from Jin GuangYao despite it making Nie MingJue angry 2. delighted whenever Jin GuangYao arrived in the Unclean Realm because Nie MingJue would have someone else to yell at 3. left Nie MingJue's anger as a Jin-GuangYao-and-Lan-XiChen problem and thus left Nie MingJue entirely in their care.

(In Nie HuaiSang's defense, he did not know about the saber spirit and its effects until after 1. Nie MingJue told him shortly before Nie MingJue died and that was one of the reasons they had another big argument 2. after Nie MingJue died and either Lan XiChen, Jin GuangYao, or the Nie family in general had to tell him. Nie HuaiSang is the poster child of “Ignorance is Bliss” and then he had to tear the poster off the wall when he found out.)

Like a little child, however, Nie HuaiSang played Jin GuangYao and Nie MingJue off one another for his own gain. So all the times Jin GuangYao came to play murder music for Nie MingJue, Nie HuaiSang was happy and being :3 for all the wrong reasons.

Once the truth came out, I think that would have been a very, very hard lesson to bear. That would have been the loss of innocence and likely the loss of being :3 about things in general.

So when Nie HuaiSang is going about his revenge scheme, he's no longer a child about it. He knows now that when he starts playing Lan XiChen and Jin GuangYao off of one another that he's playing with his life and with Lan XiChen's. In the past, Nie HuaiSang would run off with his presents and let Jin GuangYao and Nie MingJue sort themselves out. In the present, Nie HuaiSang tries to be there for the conflict. In the treasure room scene, he reinforces what Lan XiChen needs to know in order to stand his ground versus Jin GuangYao -- you're doing this for our dearly departed Da-ge who is my brother and also your brother -- and then he faints before anyone can tell him to leave the room.

But his life is still in danger. He's always in danger on this hunt for world peace. Lan XiChen was Nie HuaiSang's sword and shield. CQL did a mighty disservice to Guanyin Temple, I feel, because in the novel Jin GuangYao was effectively, "Fuck you for stabbing me, Lan XiChen" and then Jin GuangYao only has eyes for Nie HuaiSang. Jin GuangYao is so furious and petty that even when he'd been poisoned, lost an arm, was “betrayed,” and was stabbed through the chest, he was still probably going to try to tear Nie HuaiSang limb from limb.

And if Lan XiChen hadn't been 100% ready and willing to stab Jin GuangYao, Nie HuaiSang would have died instead. If Lan XiChen gave Jin GuangYao even a second of leniency after that "Behind you!" then Nie HuaiSang would have died instead.

There's really no chance to be :3 about the situation when Lan XiChen is over there telling Jin GuangYao not once but twice to STOP impaling himself further on Shuoyue, because that's how much much Jin GuangYao wanted to get his hands on Nie HuaiSang in that moment. And even though Jin GuangYao is impaled, he’s still not dead! He’s getting to his feet now and he still wasn’t dead! He’s walking around now and he’s still not dead...!

There's bound to be less :3 and more choking on the heart in his throat when Nie HuaiSang's life is literally in Lan XiChen's hands in that moment. Considering how well that went for Nie MingJue, just -- yikes! The trust Nies have in Lan XiChen is unfathomable!

And then (and then!) only when it’s done, only when Jin GuangYao’s neck is snapped and the threat is gone, does Nie HuaiSang let the smoke of his anger show. Nothing cute, nothing sweet, nothing mischievous comes out. Nie HuaiSang wanted that man dead and he was likely terrified about it and he looked ridiculous maintaining his cover to do it but he took it very, very seriously.

For all the things Nie MingJue tried to teach Nie HuaiSang about using his saber, the one lesson that stuck was this:

Nie HuaiSang knew to respect the business edge of a blade.

King. We stan.

#asked from above #anon #nie huaisang #jin guangyao #lan xichen #nhs vs jgy #mdzs thoughts #you'd think i have nothing else to do by how long this is #but jokes on me because i have so many things to get done today #and this wasn't one of them but i liked doing this better lol

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secret-engima · 3 years

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Tagged by @ladykittenfair! Thanks!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What is your total AO3 word count?

1,303,694 (whoo boy)

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? Including crossovers:

FFXV

Fairy Tail

Transformers

Halo (video game)

Horizon Zero Dawn

Naruto

RWBY

Vinland Saga (anime)

My Hero Academia

Genshin Impact

Pokemon (that one is not on my AO3 but was on FF)

KHR (again, not on my AO3 but on FF)

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Nox

Deleantur (Erased But Not Forgotten)

Blood of My Blood (That Was Shed on the Throne)

Reunion of Hand, Shield, and King

Everything Ends (Then Begins Again)

5. Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try to anyway ^^;. A lot of times, if there’s a massive influx of them on a popular fic I get overwhelmed and forget to respond to them, or if there are really short ones, I’m not sure what to say. I’m always afraid I can only say “thank you!” or “glad you enjoyed!” before it sounds rote and insincere even though I mean it ever single time.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Off the top of my head? Easily Sanctioned Solitude, my Halo Reach fanfic from forever ago. I binge wrote it after finishing the game the first time and since it’s canon compliant (in what happens to the MC anyway), I’d say that’s my angstiest. Runners up are probably... the Sun Dies (Night Rise) verse in general and Blood of My Blood verse? Even if those have happy endings? Idk, I have a lot of fics that are heavy on angst, but I usually try to have hopeful/happy endings? Or at least bittersweet ones.

7. Do you ever write crossovers?

Sure! I like doing crossovers, they’re really fun, that and universe fusions where it’s more “two settings are actually in the same world and always have been” than a more straight laced “two separate fandoms meet” crossover.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

A few times. I’ve been blessed with nice reviewers for the most part, but I’ve gotten a little bullying, and I’ve also had someone accuse me of supporting the use of child soldiers because of something that showed up in a fic of mine, which came out of nowhere for me because- what? That’s like saying mystery writers support murder because it’s a central part of their plot. But whatever.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Nope. I’ve written romantic pairings and I think one or two makeouts? But never out and out smut. Have no interest in ever doing so either.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, but there’s always a chance I suppose, since I have so many and people can be cruel like that.

11. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope! Never officially. I’ve done a lot of back and forth with buddies on discord about ideas, but ultimately only one of us is the one who sits down and writes it out, so I don’t think that counts.

12. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

I’m supposed to pick????? Idk, it depends on my mood and the fandom. I have a few OTPs for a fandom usually, and other times I’m flexible with who I ship. Luna/Noct is a pretty solid ship for me in FFXV, but I’ve also indulged in Luna/Nyx, so I don’t know if I can call either my OTP. Fairy Tail my OTP is absolutely Jellal/Erza, though there are several other ships that I suppose count, because I would literally never ship either member in the pair with anyone else.

13. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

...Depends on if you count by posted or just in general??? First fic I ever posted was for Pokemon.

14. What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

Okay that’s. Complicated. My favorite fic I’ve ever written is one I’ve never posted, but it’s my favorite because it’s what really got me into writing and into enjoying making stories. But if we count posted fics, then my top five are probably...

1. My FFXV triad of Nox, Deleantur, and Everything Ends. I count them in a bundle, because originally it was just Everything Ends, but then as I expanded that one’s headcanons, Deleantur and Nox were formed and split off from it at roughly the same time, so they all very much have similar themes and a similar “core” for where their angst comes from.

2. A Melody of Second Chances. ngl this fic will likely never be finished, but not from lack of trying. But you don’t spend 6+ years writing a fic if you don’t love it enough to cry over it in frustration. So.

3. Blood of My Blood verse. I had the basic concept for this almost as soon as I finished the game, but at the time I thought posting something so off the wall would get me flamed. Took a lot of nerve to post it after I did finally write it, and the reception of it always makes my week.

4. Amongst Untrodden Ways. There are other fics I’m currently writing that I’m more enthusiastic about atm, but I learned a lot writing this fic. I did with AMOSC as well, but with the Fairy Tail fandom, I felt more comfortable in expanding on my own world building instead of mix-matching fanon and canon I’d seen before. That and Wren is such a fun and unique character for me, since she is mute and has to find alternate ways of speaking. That, and I get to focus on the Raijinshu, who are some of my favorite side characters (not counting Jellal of course). How can I not add it to my top 5?

5. Worlds Unseen (Calling You and Me). This fic *still* does not get the attention I want it to, even though I understand why. It’s such a weird crossover, but I’m so proud of how I mix up the chapters and try to align the story beats.

I have no idea how many people I’m supposed to tag, but uhhhh @sparklecryptid @wolfsrainrules @a-world-in-grey have at it if you want!

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galacticlamps · 2 years

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If you don’t mind; shuffle the Two/Jamie playlist and say the first five (or however many songs) that play please!

lol not at all, since it's 5 I'll put my reasoning for adding each of them under the cut

1- What I Saw In You - the Proclaimers

2- My Lagan Love - the Chieftains & Lisa Hannigan

3- You Can't Hurry Love - the Supremes

4- Impossible - Nat King Cole

5- Tin Soldier - Small Faces

1- it's about falling in love all over again within a long-term established relationship! if you hc that they got together early on, I suppose it could fit in after/during Evil of the Daleks, but personally I think of it as much later on as 6b - either Jamie getting his memories back and remembering their relationship, or even him meeting future Doctors like Six and eventually managing to see them as the same person he fell in love with to begin with: "I couldn't see what I once saw in your lovely face, once your lovely face became common place. And the eyes that I liked seemed to lose their shine as they passed through time til they looked like mine. But then last night, I heard your voice, I rubbed my eyes and there and then, that fine baby with an arrow, stupid cupid, struck again. I'd forgotten, every reason why I said, "I do" but now I see what I saw in you."

2- an Irish folk song, so I've seen the pronouns & genders shift depending on who's performing it, but the speaker compares their love for their partner to the mythical leannan sidhe - a rare solitary and arguably benign fairy, who falls in love with a mortal. If the love isn't reciprocated, the fairy becomes the mortal's slave, but if it is, the mortal can never escape from them, and is destined to live a fulfilling but ultimately short life, usually one full of inspiration (some say the leannan sidhe acts as a muse, and the human they fall in love with must be some kind of artist or poet). There have been a few references in both canon & fanon to Jamie thinking the Doctor might be one of the fae, and from a shipping standpoint I think a leannan sidhe is probably the one of the ones Jamie's more likely to think of him as. "And like a love-sick leannan sidhe, she has my heart in thrall. No life I owe, nor liberty, for love is lord of all."

3- they probably could hurry love, but here's a song for when they're pining idiots waiting it out instead - the song is also from 1966, and in my head fits the vibe of their early travels with Ben & Polly, post-realizing they have feelings for each other but pre-acting on them, when they're probably embarrassing themselves a bit but not making a move yet in the hopes it'll work itself out

4- "If they had ever told me how sweet a kiss could be, I would have said 'impossible, impossible, for me'" - could go for either of them really, but I tend to think of it as the Doctor's POV, falling in love with a human for the first time and experiencing what I imagine to be a very different kind of love & relationship than he might've had on his home world. Plus, the ending "I would have said 'impossible,' but now at last I see that nothing is impossible, if you are here with me" reminds me very strongly of Two's era as a whole, how it begins with the format of the Doctor intentionally traveling with companions and aiming to help people and fight evils already established (at least by The Moonbase) and then ends with a number of failed attempts to run away from the Time Lords and continue that existence. I guess that casts it in a sadder light - some things are still impossible, even with his friends, and it's naivety to let the good times they've had together convince him they're unstoppable - but since we don't find out about Gallifrey & the threat of the Time Lords until the very end of season 6, I look at Two's whole era as one of traveling very hopefully, with the Doctor believing he can enjoy himself and be free to get as involved as he likes for the first time in his life, even if eventually that turns out to be too good to be true.

5- I actually think I've mentioned this one before, but I don't know that I ever explained it. It's another one from 1966, and the lyrics do feel very early days Jamie-y to me, with him being awed & excited by the things that he sees and sort of wanting to be whatever he needs to be to help his friends, deserve his place on the team, and I suppose, from a shipping perspective, probably catch the Doctor's eye a bit too: "I am a little tin soldier that wants to jump into your fire. You are a look in your eye, a dream passing by in the sky. I don't understand, all I need is treat me like a man 'cause I ain't no child, take me like I am. I got to know that I belong to you. Do anything that you want to do. Sing any song that you want me to sing to you."

#should i make a tag for this?#eh why not #romantic piffle playlist #to be honest there's a lot of nat king cole on here #i have a Lot of headcanons about a tardis ballroom #and polly wanting to teach ben how to dance #and two and jamie accidentally becoming very good at it in the process #so there's a lot of songs in that genre i imagine them dancing to #but the answer for impossible specifically was already rather lengthy lol

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takaraphoenix · 4 years

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Hi! What are your thoughts about OUAT.

That’s a complex, layered answer because my feelings for OUaT are very complex. The short of it is that, obsession and love level wise, this was my Shadowhunters before Shadowhunters existed as a show. I completely loved and adored this show, I watched every episode as soon as it came out, with a single-minded focus (as in: normally, when watching TV, I use the show as a background noise to my writing. There is only a select handful of TV shows that ever managed to get my full, undivided attention of me turning all else off to only focus on the show).

I love OUaT to bits and pieces. However, much like Shadowhunters, it was far from a flawless show. Very, very, very far. Seriously, it’s an absolute mess in many aspects but damn do I love it.

It appeals to many of the things I love. For one, classic Disney movies. For another, fairy tales - but the very specific niche genre of fairy tale crossovers, which is just... my biggest weakness, possibly. Thirdly, characters you can get invested in and love to bits and pieces.And fourth, shipping.

This is one of the incredibly small, tiny pool of shows where I absolutely adore the canon ships, not just in a “daw it’s cute enough” way that makes me accept that it is The Canon Ship That’s Happening, but in a way that has me actively invested in and rooting for those absolute dumbasses. And. Not just one ship, usually it’s like “huh I am surprisingly invested in this one ship”, but - Rumpel/Belle, Hook/Emma, David/Snow?? Yes, please, inject it into my veins.

Though also just as attached to my non-canon ships - REGINA/EMMA FOR LIFE, Ruby/Snow, Hook/David. And that duality of being really invested in the non-canon ships but still absolutely loving the canon ships? That is... completely and entirely unique to OUaT for me. Never happened outside this show.

I adore that this show did one of the things that I complained Descendants didn’t - it respects Snow White, the very first Disney princess, and puts her front and center. Never-ever made sense to me that Descendants just went “uuuh we at random picked Belle to rule all the kingdoms because I dunno the head writer loves Beauty and the Beast the most”... Snow White was Disney’s very first and I do think she deserves more respect.

The things they did with her! They made her an actual active heroine. Not a little girl hiding out in the woods. They explored possibilities and turned her into a total badass, who never lost the main qualities of Disney’s Snow White though. Her nurturing, loving, gentle soul. That is what I adore about her, because very often when trying to portray strong female characters, media removes their softness, makes them hardened to make them a badass.

Regina and Emma have such a brilliant canon dynamic - even beyond the fanon ship. The way they mended and grew together and became friends. The growth, the softness, the shared custody. I love them.

And with both Regina and Rumpel, I love the day they gradually progressed from “main antagonist from season 1″ to “part of the family”. This show is a found family feast.

It wasn’t flawless. It had some pacing issues, in my opinion. Like the Peter Pan arc was too long. They went hiking for like 12 episodes. That one still sticks with me as having bored me. And I also do think it was a huge mistake to make Peter Pan, one of Disney’s heroes a villain. He was a great villain and his actor absolutely killed it, don’t get me wrong, but in the context of Disney canon, it was a bit jarring.

The same is to be said about Arthur. Don’t take King Arthur, of all people, and turn him into a jackass. That didn’t sit right with me and I think that could, and should, have been handled differently.

As a huge fan of Wizard of Oz canon, I have mixed feelings about Zelina. She was kind of a joke most of the time, her raping Robin was not good at all (beeecause that’s what it is when you shapeshift into the person the other one loves and then have sex with them under pretense to get yourself pregnant), but in the end it - and her - fit relatively well into all of this.

Was completely wasted for the entire Frozen arc, but even I, someone who loathes that movie with a burning passion, genuinely enjoyed the way the show was trying to fix it? Answer all the unanswered question the movie left and actually tie it into the Snow Queen fairy tale? Like, that was a feast and I love that they did that. Also Ingrid was hot and checked all my boxes so there’s that.

In the same way, I adore what they did with Ursula. That they took the scraped canon of Ursula being Triton’s sister and worked with that and that they in the end decided to redeem her too - though I am still very disappointed that we never got to see Ursula actually interact with Ariel at all. That’d have been so interesting. (Also, I admit, they went really overkill with having three Ursulas. Regina pretending to be Ursula, Ursula the ancient golden statue goddess and the actual Ursula, daughter of Poseidon).

I love Hades. I love Greg Germann’s take on Hades. He absolutely killed it. The whole underworld story was incredibly awesome to me personally - though I know others didn’t like that half-season as much. But I really dug that.

I think that it started to fizz out after that though and that after the underworld storyline, they probably should have drawn it to a close, because... after everything, after five whole seasons of watching redemption and working hard to make up for the things you did in the past, they really just decided “and now Regina is gonna physically split off her Evil Queen”... and made that Evil Queen the villain. That felt insanely repetitive of season 1 and like a set-back for Regina.

(The second half of that season didn’t go better because honestly that whole nonsense with “not only is Rumpel the son of Peter Pan, nope, now we bring in his mom the Evil Fairy”, featuring the very overused trope of “baby is magically aged up to be a character who can contribute to the plot”... Not the best.)

Also I refuse to acknowledge the existence of that reboot season. It’s bullshit is what it is. The show had the perfect ending. And then they immediately slapped a reboot onto it... why? If they had taken their time, wait ten years until nostalgia for the show kicks in and the actors all need work again, and do a proper “now Henry goes through shit”, that’d have actually been interesting, but... the moment I saw “so... we keep half the main cast, break up some OTPs, don’t age the adults up but age Henry up and also there is now a second Cinderella”, I knew that’s not gonna be good.

Seriously, the second Cinderella is what really fucked it over for me. What I loved about OUaT was that it gave very specific rules to its universe.

The Author documents the tales. The Author gives them their spin. But they are still the same tale. Be that the Brothers Grimm, who documented Cinderella, or then Walt Disney, it was still Cinderella, from the Enchanted Forest. Their stories were simply written down.

That they then, in the reboot season, went “well, actually There Are Many Cinderellas!!” completely contradicts the previously established rules of this world? Because yes, the concept very similar to Cinderella actually exists in many cultures - and that was the cool thing of OUaT’s take, because pressumably that is because the Author was in said culture at said time and documented the tale, as is the Author’s job.

Especially since it was so... unnecessary? I mean, they gave Rapunzel one half-assed episode in the past, they never tackled Gold Mary, they could have shown what became of Hänsel and Gretel now also grown up, etc. There were other unused characters that could have been brought in instead of throwing the rules out of the window.

But moving on from that; I love that they didn’t limit themselves to Disney movies - that they did prominently put Red Riding Hood (my favorite fairy tale character) in there, that they worked with mythology as well as books.

One thing they absolutely fucked up was their spin-off though. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. They made that. They decided that, out of everything touched upon in the series, Alice’s tale should get a spin-off... and then they didn’t use any of the actual characters?

Alice herself never got an appearance in OUaT, not prior or after the spin-off (only very much later in the reboot season, with a different Alice)

They had the Queen of Hearts on OUaT, but they didn’t use her as the main antagonist, or at least a huge deal, on Wonderland

They had the freaking Mad Hatter on OUaT, but he doesn’t even have a single cameo on Wonderland

And don’t give me “Seb Stan was too busy!”, because... even then, they could have recast. The Mad Hatter is kind of a big part of Alice in Wonderland, but... they ignored the majority of what is important in AiW in general, so there is that

They named the Red Queen Anastasia and very heavily implied that yes, the Anastasia who was the stepsister of Cinderella - but when OUaT’s original Cinderella got her stepsisters introduced, they suddenly had entirely different names than the Disney stepsisters and of course it wasn’t the same actress either

They introduced Jafar (for some reason) in Wonderland. And then recast him when Aladdin was tackled on OUaT and never addressed any of the things that happened on Wonderland, especially not how Jafar was the son of the sultan which would technically make him Jasmine’s brother

It was nearly dumb to move Will Scarlet to OUaT after the spin-off was axed, because at that point they legit just ignored Wonderland as a whole so this acknowledgment felt very off. But then it’s Michael Socha and I love him so I ain’t gonna complain about that.

So yes, I have mild issues with how they made a spin-off that had basically no inpact on the show, despite many elements that should have crossed over and carried significance in both shows.

Lastly, because we’re on the topic of spin-offs, I still would absolutely kill for a spin-off about Mulan, Merida and Ruby. Those three, exploring the Enchanting Forest together, training together, being gay together, it was the best thing. Which does force me to mention the gay. Because... Mulan was canonically in love with Aurora and when they set her up to find Ruby and journey with her, it came really off as them trying to make Mulan/Ruby happen. Then they introduce Merida, a very famously single princess, and you start to wonder. But in the end, it’s Ruby who ends up with Dorothy, aka two characters not associated with Disney. And it makes you wonder. (It doesn’t. We all know Disney is hugely homophobic. We all know OUaT most likely had some Disney executive yelling at them for even implying one of their characters may be gay. So they backtracked to give the wlw storyline to two characters that weren’t Disney property.)

Ah, I don’t like ending things on a negative note so one last positive - as weirdly as the Dark Swan arc was handled at parts, I absolutely love that Emma’s name being Swan really did pay off in making her the Swan Princess in the end and giving a nudge to Swan Lake with the Dark Swan. That was such a cool pay-off of something as small as a last name.

So, to sum it up, there’s some flaws in the writing, some things I wish would have been explored more, but overall good gods do I love and adore this TV show.

#Once Upon a Time #Once Upon a Time in Wonderland #Disney #Anonymous

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viciousgracearc · 4 years

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LYANNA STARK IS A WARG & A GREEN SEER

I would like to preface this headcanon by saying that this is borne out of my own imagination + analysis of the text + hours of conversation with @luxfurem. There’s a very high possibility that I’m completely off the mark here and of course, you don’t have to agree with me on this headcanon specifically. But as far as this interpretation is concerned, I’M ADAPTING THIS HEADCANON IN ALL OF LYANNA’S MAIN VERSES.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND BEFORE READING FURTHER (based off of my PREVIOUS HEADCANON):

LYANNA IS THE KNIGHT OF THE LAUGHING TREE. I think this is as good as canon at this point.

RHAEGAR FOUND OUT THAT LYANNA WAS THE KNIGHT OF THE LAUGHING TREE. As a sort of acknowledgment, he crowned her The Queen of Love and Beauty by the end of the tourney at Harrenhal. It doesn’t go any deeper than that (a.k.a. they’re not secretly in-love, sorry).

THE MAD KING ALSO FOUND OUT AND ORDERED FOR LYANNA’S ARREST. I’ve written extensively about this in the headcanon linked above, but pretty much the mad king was triggered by the KOTLT and couldn’t let shit go.

ADDITIONALLY, CONTRARY TO FANON:

LYANNA DID NOT RUN AWAY WITH RHAEGAR TO ESCAPE THE BETROTHAL WITH ROBERT. While I don’t think Lyanna was the most eager to be married to Robert Baratheon (or to be married at all ), I also don’t think she ran away with Rhaegar to escape her betrothal. She could have run away, point blank period. But with a married prince? I don’t think so. (Considering too, that Lyanna’s initial reservation against Robert was his inability to keep to one bed. Based off of that alone, I don’t think Lyanna would willingly participate in infidelity of any kind. In this separate essay I will –)

LYANNA WAS DUTIFUL to a certain degree, but not in the same way as Brandon could have been or Eddard was. Lyanna’s upbringing was focused on being a proper lady who would marry a highborn lord someday, so she can pop off male heirs. She won’t inherit Winterfell, unlike Brandon, and she’s not even next in line unlike Ned. The expectations of her were quite different compared to the expectations of her brothers, thus, she wasn’t as committed as they were to the idea of duty, or at least not in the same way. That being said, she still held her family’s honor to great esteem and she went out of her way to defend and uphold that honor.

LYANNA WAS NOT SELFISH. I see this around a lot and it’s the most mind-boggling of all. This was the girl who, at 14 years old, was ready to throw down against three grown squires to defend the honor of her father’s bannerman. She later fought in a tourney and won, and asked the lords that the squires served to teach them manners. If she would go that far to defend a sworn bannerman to House Stark, who was not just being bullied but also discriminated upon because of his culture, then I’m pretty certain she’s the type to stand up to injustice without regard for herself. In that similar vein, I don’t think she would besmirch her family’s honor on a whim, knowing how seriously she took the meaning of that honor as made clear by her defense of Howland Reed.

Now that we’ve gotten all of those out of the way, it’s time to dive in into the void.

As is already previously established by canon, ALL STARK CHILDREN ARE WARGS. I know this mostly pertains to the six children of Eddard and Catelyn Stark, but there’s literally no reason why it could not extend to the generation of Starks that came before them. Brandon and Lyanna for example, possess the legendary “wolf-blood” of the Starks of old, and thus are tied very closely to the Stark mythos of being descended from the First Men. According to AWOIAF, “Greenseers had the greensight and were wargs as well.” While not all wargs are greenseers, we have evidence in Bran that the greensight is definitely alive and well in the Stark line (and in the North, as evidenced by Jojen Reed, a crannogman, and Brynden Rivers a.k.a. Bloodraven, whose mother was a Blackwood).

Following this logic, I don’t think it’s far-fetched at all to say that Lyanna might have been a green seer (and a warg). The ability in Bran was triggered by his fall, whereas it almost came too easily and too naturally to Rickon. Rickon and Bran shared the same dream about Ned’s death (which they predicted even before Maester Luwin made the announcement), and Rickon also knew when Catelyn and Robb left that they would never see them again.

In Lyanna’s case, I don’t think she knew what she was (I don’t think the Starks ever realized how closely they were tied to what’s left of magic in the world). She knew she was said to have the wolf-blood, which she thought had something to do with her temperament (a trait she shared with Brandon). By all accounts, Lyanna was wild and brave; she thrived off of independence and did not do well with restrictions. She rode horses “like she was half a horse herself” according to Roose Bolton, and maybe that’s because she understood horses like no ordinary human could?

I’ve already headcanoned that my Lyanna is a warg, so I’m going to take it a step further and say that she’s a green seer as well. No, she’s not as good at it as Bran, mainly because it was not a talent she cared to develop. But this ability ties her up with Rhaegar, who we know to be prophecy-obsessed. This even ties her up with with the Ghost of High Heart, who Rhaegar sought out time and time again just to hear her foretell the future, no matter how disjointed these predictions were.

So my theory essentially is that Lyanna had a run in with a wildling (most likely raiders caught by Rickard’s men) and before this wildling was executed, they told Lyanna something about the same prophecy that consumed Rhaegar to the end of his days. I imagine it had something to do with blue roses and blood, which are the images / symbols closely associated with Lyanna. I also imagine it mentioned the same fire and ice prophecy that Rhaegar so determinedly chased throughout his short life. In addition, I also think that on the way home from Harrenhall, Lyanna contracted a fever which triggered her green dreams. This drove home the urgency of the prophecy and you could even say, it gave Lyanna clues — about what she should do and where she should go to play her part in it.

In my FIRST HEADCANON, I speculated that Rhaegar (a good year after Harrenhal) went to rescue Lyanna in the Riverlands from his father’s men (who found out she was the Knight of the Laughing Tree), but I also think that for some reason they were fated to cross each other’s path, and they knew it, because by this point both of them were aware of the prophecy (by virtue of each of them being in contact with green seers, by virtue of Lyanna being a green seer herself albeit an untrained and unskilled one). But before any plans were set in motion, they visited the Ghost of High Heart to confirm the prophecy, and only then did they decide that yes, for mankind, we will fulfill our roles in this prophecy TOGETHER.

Worth noting: At some point, Lyanna realized that the prophecy, to come into fruition, would have to mean her death (blue roses and blood). But after everything she’d seen through her green dreams and after what she’d been told by the wildling green seer, by Rhaegar, and by the Ghost of High Heart, she determined that this cause — saving the world — was worth losing her life over.

Something you have to understand about Lyanna Stark: she wanted to be more than just someone’s betrothed, someone’s wife, someone’s mother. This prophecy — to a young, idealistic, romantic, wild, and by all accounts, good girl — was almost irresistible. This was something bigger than herself; she had a real chance to do something here, to be both the maiden AND the hero in a tale where she saves the realm from an ominous threat (and wasn’t Lyanna like Sansa in this way? In love with stories of maidens and heroes?). The KOTLT incident showed us that Lyanna had a strong sense of morality, and also a penchant for risky yet grand gestures of bravery. Saving the world was the kind of thing that she would not even think twice of doing, no matter the cost to herself.

Things Lyanna did not foresee: Brandon’s reaction to the news that she was missing and Brandon’s fast assumption that it was Rhaegar who took her. AT MOST, LYANNA EXPECTED THEY WOULD NOTICE HER ABSENCE AND WOULD ASSUME SHE RAN AWAY FROM HER BETROTHAL, BUT FOR HER BROTHER TO ACCUSE THE CROWN PRINCE AND STORM THE CAPITAL WHILE DOING SO… DID NOT OCCUR TO HER. Also, IMPORTANT: Lyanna and Rhaegar had no idea about Rickard and Brandon’s death until after the Battle of the Bells, when Gerold Hightower finally found them in TOJ and asked Rhaegar to return to King’s Landing. By this time, Lyanna was already pregnant.

Whether or not Rhaegar and Lyanna were right about the prophecy doesn’t really matter here. They could be completely wrong. Dany could be the TPWWP and not Jon. Heck, it could be Aegon (who really isn’t Aegon, LBR). Basically, this was just how they interpreted the prophecy, and they both paid in blood for it. Since they’re both alive in mine and Bubbles’ main timeline verses, the blood is of their loved ones, which was infinitely worse for both of them than if it were their own blood.

Is this a ship now? Well, no. At least not during TOJ, and heck, not many years after that. Lyanna was miserable in that tower and I can’t imagine Rhaegar was all too happy either. They’re doing what they thought they had to do, and Lyanna was going into it thinking she would die. All things considered, that might have been her preferred outcome, now that she knew just how much blood she had to pay to assume the role that would make the prophecy come true. The only real consolation in the aftermath was Ned’s forgiveness and the fact that Jon was kept alive because her brother loved her enough to give up his honor for her. But even then, it was a bitter consolation, and Lyanna would spend all her life trying to make up for her mistakes.

#* ic. / headcanons #headcanon: lyanna stark #blood tw #death tw

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normal-thoughts-official · 4 years

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Ok so some of your content implies immortal Alec and I was wondering how you thought it would happen? I've read a few things where Clary creates a rune/uses the alliance rune to make him immortal (but I don't think you're a real big fan of her) so I wanna hear your thoughts and also maybe Magnus's reaction

hoooooo boy i am GLAD YOU ASKED because i have a whole ass au that i have like. basically all the plot down but my stupid brain can’t turn into a fic so i guess im gonna shove it here and GOODBYE FOREVER

(also, about the clary thing: it’s complicated diaushduaih because i kind of really hate her in canon but i also accepted fanon clary into my life? mostly because i unfortunately can’t help but ship clizzy, but anyway, i kinda disassociate clary from canon. so i’m not really against the idea that she makes a rune or something, but i do think this idea is more interesting. or maybe it isn’t but then i guess that’s your personal problem because well, you did ask lol im jk btw)

okay so i have one word for you: seelies. hot diggity damn do i fucking love seelies or what

so you know how seelies are the offspring of demons and angels? and there’s this whole thing about demon blood and angel blood not mixing well at all? well, i was thinking, how the fuck does that work. and i came to the conclusion that whatever stronger parent they had’s blood would like, tame the other or whatever, you know? but then what if they had equally strong - or equally weak - parents? like a child of an archangel and a prince of hell, what the fuck happens then? or alternatively the child of some angel janitor and a minor demon, would they even have enough magic?

so i figured if that happens it’s like as if a seelie has an autoimmune disease - their body is fighting itself constantly. for those who have very strong parents, this means that they are decaying quickly, and usually won’t be able to like, survive for long if they don’t do something. for those who have weaker parents, it usually means they’re weak

so these seelies are actually born mortal, and for the ones with stronger parents, pretty much with a lifespan of like, a few days before they end up dying due to the autoimmunity. so what happens for those is, they have this Cool Ritual that makes them immortal and solves all their problems

basically what happens is: seelies are one with nature, correct? but they’re also, like, individuals. so they have their own magic, their own energy, their own life source. right? so what happens to these seelies is, they tie this life/magic source of theirs to that of the universe. they basically become one with the universe fully, instead of just guarding it and being connected to it, they are literally tied to it, so much so that their magic and the world’s magic is one and the same. basically their life is fed by the same source that feeds all life, even mortal ones, and that source is endless, so they become immortal. it’s not a cure per se, since it doesn’t really stop their blood from fighting itself, but it does solve the problem because it has endless energy to keep doing it. and after going through this magical ritual, they become basically the strongest seelies around, because they have access to very strong demonic and angelic magic and the like, natural source of the world. so that’s pretty cool

and this whole thing is like. absolutely top secret, no one but the seelies knows how it works or even that it exists. especially because the seelies used to be basically closed off to outside influences, besides the very few representants they had going to the realms (like meliorn)

meliorn is one of those super powerful seelies, a child of an archangel and a prince of hell, who has gone through this ritual. which is one of the many reasons they’re, you know, a super powerful and respected Seelie Knight, sent to deal directly with shadowhunters and the highest threats they have to deal with, all by themself. no one would be crazy to go against them, because they are extremely powerful. it’s also why they had, to seelie standarts, been given a slap to the wrist for taking clary to twi - i mean, they didn’t even lose their position in a super trusted and highly important job, really? like yes they were tortured and don’t get me wrong, that was fucking awful dude, but i feel like the seelie queen could have been a lot more cruel, could have taken away their job (it would make sense to since they basically committed treason by seelie law) or exiled them, or maybe even killed them. but they got “just” a physical punishment. that’s. weird to say the least

so that’s why, because meliorn actually has a lot of leverage and importance. they have a rare condition, a lot of power that most seelies can’t dream of, and they are extremely smart and have knowledge of the culture of our realm, which most seelies don’t since their realm is closed to outsiders. the seelies can’t afford to lose them. and they know that, too, which is why they went so hard to help clary and take her to twi in the first place - they knew that they would be punished, but that it wouldn’t actually risk their position, or their influence

anyway! with the previous seelie queen gone, i like to think that meliorn becomes the new seelie queen (random hc that no one asked for: since i refuse to believe that seelies have any concept of gender, i think the position is called “seelie queen” because outsiders took a look at the first seelie queen, who’s very cis female-presenting, and were like “ah, is that your queen?” and to seelies that basically translates to just “monarch” in whatever their language is, so they were just like yeah sure. and so the position is called that and they don’t even know that it’s supposed to be gendered and that to outsiders meliorn would probably be called seelie king, they are just like “i am the new seelie queen” and no one of course is going to fucking question why they didn’t gender the position, especially considering how fragile relations with the seelie realm are) or at least is given like, an important position or something. like tbh i don’t stan monarchy so :/ but anyway the point is, meliorn is super powerful, they are super smart, they have knowledge of the mundane, shadowhunter and etc cultures - and after the whole previous fiasco with the jonathan thing and the seelies having been basically kept from the other realms, despite the fact that as parts of nature, seelies should be able to wander between them as they please, i think they would want to start a radically new external policy, and who better than meliorn to help them do it? so yeah i think they would choose meliorn to be their queen. besides, they love the seelies more than anything. they might have disobeyed seelie law, but that was to like, save a whole ass realm lmao, but they’ve always had the seelies best interests at heart, hell, they were willing to be tortured twice for them. so i think they would be well liked, and want this new position, and treasure it not as a display of power, but as an opportunity to lead the people they love into better times

DISCLAIMER: i’m not saying that seelies bad or whatever, okay. tbh i do understand perfectly why they would want to close off their realm with the very real threat that shadowhunters presented, and i wouldn’t be dying to integrate with shadowhunter society either, especially considering that their idea of integration was just genocide and assimilation and the destruction of their culture. okay? but in the process, the seelie law and realm became cruel, first and foremost, towards seelies themselves, and the banishment of them from other realms is. very bad. and after the whole jonathan and valentine thing, the shadow society as a whole is being reconstructed, so what better time to try and create new alliances that won’t implicate into attempts of assimilation, etnocide and so on. it’s a new bet, basically, one that is only possible because shadowhunter society is also in shambles after the near destruction of the world, and this means that seelies have more leverage to try and build something new without yielding to them. and it’s a SLOW process, one that takes years and always has the seelies best interest’s, not the shadowhunter’s or anyone else’s, at heart, okay? and it implicates in shadowhunters giving them many concessions, and the strongest alliances between them are and will always be with the other downworlders - this is also something they are working on, making the different downworlder cultures closer and stronger politically, aiding each other mutually and helping each other reach their political goals. together, the downworlder societies are unbeatable, and the shadowhunters basically have no choice but to accept their demands, especially after so much destruction. plus, at least some of them are slightly more willing to. but it’s mostly a vicious political battle that takes all of them years, not to say decades, to settle

but the fact that the seelies are willing to do it and getting stronger relationships with warlocks and vampires and werewolves (and hoo here i come with my “maia and raphael start a vampires/werewolves alliance” hc because look that rivalry thing is STUPID and i want to see downworlder societies coming closer together and healing after being very obviously pitted against each other due to shadowhunter supremacy) is also what, well, allows the whole thing to happen. they are powerful, and the shadowhunters have no way of taking them on a war, much less now that their forces are well, fragile to say the least

in short! they have leverage now. and that makes it possible for them to try a new external policy that wasn’t in the table before, and their main interest in doing that is helping themselves, because seelies are tired of living in constant fear in a basically military state where they’re confined to the same realm despite them being supposed to be guardians of all of them. like that’s gotta affect their mental health, if they’re one with nature, wouldn’t being kept away from it be like being isolated from your loved ones? isn’t that deprivation? so like. this is about them, not the shadowhunters and how great their society is and how much they want to be a part of them, okay

anyway! so the seelies have designed a plan (because under meliorn’s rule everyone participates in political decisions because hmmm *checks notes* i said so) to make stronger alliances with the other downworlders. the first thing they offer them all is a little token of alliance. to vampires, they offer the possibility of becoming a dayligher - something they can easily do with their angel magic, not to mention, you know, blood -; to werewolves, magical amulets that help them keep their wolf under control, not turning without meaning to and being able to live a relatively normal life if they so choose; and to warlocks, knowledge of seelie magic

and of course magnus in particular eats that shit right UP because he’s a naturally curious person and a genius and a physichist and holy shit i love him so fucking much. seelies have so much more knowledge of physics and magic and their natural workings, so much so that it makes him dizzy because hell, the possibilities, and all the shit he can learn, okay. all this knowledge that was currently being kept away, and the warlocks get to learn about it (or well, part of it. obviously the seelies aren’t going to go around spilling EVERYTHING to them all at once before they even know if their token is accepted and whatnot. but they do teach those who are interested a lot of stuff, maybe create some sort of seelie-warlock magical school/course/programme/look you GET IT to strengthen their relationships as a whole?? boy i eat that shit UP). he’s just losing his mind here

super cute to think about alec coming home to find a very disheveled magnus surrounded by books and notes, hair and clothes rumpled and just a whole mess as he excitedly reads and writes and runs around to get a different book and draw parallels, okay. and alec smiles and has to be like “have you eaten?” and magnus looks up from his books all suddenly like “hm? oh hello alexander, i didn’t see you there”, “have you eaten?” “i don’t remember” “okay, i’ll make you something, you can keep reading” and magnus smiling all like “thank you” and diving right back into the notes in Super Hyperfocus + Hyperfixation Mode as he figures out, like, a thousand new spells (obviously warlocks can’t use seelie magic because they come from different sources they don’t have access to, but like, the knowledge is enough for them to create so much new stuff okay), btw. but anyway, ANYWAY

and to shadowhunters the seelies offer, i dont know, a soggy cheeto or something faiojdsajdasj look it’s not like the seelies owe them so they basically offer a truce and maybe authorization to explore certain parts of the seelie realm in small guarded groups? i dont know, in exchange for them and all other downworlders having a power and a vote in the new shadowhunter laws, and the whole proccess of reconstruction of their society. and the shadowhunters agree, after vicious infighting of course

so anyway years pass and things are blossoming, downworlder societies are stronger than ever and phucking florishing dude, shadowhunters suck less, seelies finally get to wander around like they’ve been wanting to for centuries, there’s been some neato cultural exchange, magnus is still figuring out spells and shit at an alarming rate to anyone who doesn’t know what a goddamn genius he is. and shadowhunter society is- well, changing, but there’s a kind of cultural war going on, you know, with such a strong shift in paradigm so sudden. the changes in schooling and shit that were brought on by the new accords kind of ensure that the newest generations are getting a very different view and education, but there’s still a lot of infighting from shadowhunters who want to undo all that hard work, which is of course still fragile because it’s only starting

and alec of course takes a primary role in that fight, being the greatest representative of the progressive shadowhunters’ (?) and their downworlder allies’ interests, inside shadowhunter society. like don’t get me wrong it’s not like he’s leading the downworlders, the downworlders are doing all that hard work so they can get their own destiny back into their own hands and not be led by shadowhunters anymore, but within shadowhunter society, alec is a leader and their greatest ally slash eye in the inside, defending the policies that downworlders create and letting them know what is going on inside of the clave. basically preparing a cultural war. you get it

so naturally alec is a threat to conservative shadowhunters and they’re trying to strip him off his runes all the time, and there’s even been a few (quickly failed) assassination attempts, you know, the whole. drama. and he plays an important role for this whole game, and magnus has been studying the whole immortality ritual thing, and yeah, the seelies offer to put him through the ritual

it’s a matter of political leverage (and okay maybe a personal favor to meliorn’s dear friend magnus, but like, mostly political leverage). first of all, making alec immortal gives him a lot of power within shadowhunter society, not unlike meliorn and being the child of super powerful parents. second of all, no need to worry about assassination attempts, they can’t fucking kill him! third of all, clear message - alec has powerful allies, way more powerful than the shadowhunters can dream of, and if shadowhunter society is willing to create real, lasting equality with downworlders, they have a lot to gain. if not, they have a lot to lose, because the seelies have literal power over life and death. also, alec better watch his step, too, because, you know. he owes them that one. they are not stupid, they know alec has been looking for a way of becoming immortal for years now, know how much he desires this. it’s also about keeping his loyalty, and making sure he doesn’t forget, he’s supposed to be their ally too

and there are a lot of like, security things in place. alec will not be able to see or hear anything, he will not be taught how the ritual works (not even warlocks know that yet), he will not be taught about its forces, it will happen in the seelie realm and he will go alone, and no other shadowhunter will be granted that unless the seelies themselves offer at a later time, you know, etc etc. they list off things and precautions he has to agree to for like, half an hour, and honestly they could have added “alec will have to eat a piece of the moon” and alec would be like “okay fine great let’s do this”

magnus is fucking terrified

first, because well, they have never attempted to do that on someone who isn’t a seelie, and while they have figured out a pretty damn good understanding of how it works and are pretty sure it should go smoothly, there’s no way to actually tell. it might not work. alec might regret it. does he really want this? to become immortal? he doesn’t have to say yes, and magnus will not be upset, because he would never, ever demand such a huge sacrifice from him-

and alec’s like “nope i want this let’s go” which only terrifies magnus more because it feels like he’s being impulsive, you know? and he doesn’t know if there’s any turning back from this. but alec is like “magnus, when have i ever been impulsive? i’m not impulsive, i’m just sure of what i want, and there’s no reason to dwell on it because that’s already done.” alec is an expert at dwelling on things, and when he makes a decision, it’s because that part has already been thoroughly done, with every single possible argument being exhausted and taken apart minuciously and careful. there’s no room for doubt anymore, because if there had even a spectre of it, alec would still be ruminating. he doesn’t make a decision until he’s sure, but by god, once he makes it, he is sure, and nothing will stop him

so he reassures magnus of that (“hey, look at me. i’m not doing this on a whim. i have been looking for something like this for years. i’ve given it a lot of thought. besides, the seelies reasoning is good, too; i do want to have the time to dedicate myself to these changes, to building a new society, and with that, i can do it. there’s so much i want to live and see and do, magnus. and i want to do it by your side, yes, always, forever, but it’s not just about that. this is my decision. i’m not doing it for you. you won’t owe me anything because of it. you won’t have to make it up for it. because i’m doing it for myself. okay?”) and magnus kind of chokes up and hugs him and cries because he’s so overwhelmed by everything, the fear and the adoration and the relief of knowing that alec isn’t doing this just because of him, because if he had, magnus would forever feel like he was ruining his life, like he was indebted, like he would have to make up for it. but alec wants this. truly. and he doesn’t have to- worry anymore, this constant weight in his head, that tells him this has an expiration date, you’re gonna lose him. look at how much time you’re wasting with all of this, he’ll be gone before you even notice. there’ll be no turning back, and you’ll regret it forever. and fuck it’s just- so much, okay

so alec hugs him and they repeat to each other, i love you, i love you, i love you, and the next day, alec accepts the seelies’ offer.

and magnus is- fuck, terrified, because he can’t even go with him, can’t even watch. there’s nothing he can do but wait

but everything goes relatively smoothly and alec emerges from the seelie realm exactly as before, no change to be noted, not even when magnus scanned him with his magic - it’s all still there. still a shadowhunter, still the same runes, the same face, the same hazel eyes, the same smile and voice, and when he hugs and kisses magnus, it feels like just the same

and then i suppose alec can now, like, talk to trees or something, since he’s connected to the whole force of nature and whatnot. i don’t think he would be able to use magic, because like i said, he’s still the same and a shadowhunter so it’s more that his angelic magic is stronger? but he’s fucking immortal dude, and he can like talk to trees, which is at the very least funny as hell (cracky images of alec discussing with some shadowhunter asshole and he’s like, even your SUCCULENT is tired of you!! but i digress)

anyway the point is, it works both in the sense of immortal alec, baby! and the whole political leverage thing, and they basically revolutionize all of shadowhunter society and alec lives to see the results of that besides magnus, and meliorn is the greatest seelie queen ever, and the downworlder societies are all happy and blossoming and getting their best life, and everyone is happy, and the bigoted shadowhunters die and are hated by their own plants. the end

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lafiametta · 5 years

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Only one week to go before the celebration begins!

Just a reminder that the 12 Days of Carnivale celebration will start one week from today, on December 13th! In case you’ve somehow missed them, here are the themed prompts for each of the twelve days:

Day 1 (Dec 13): “a special disguise” Day 2 (Dec 14): “state of grace” Day 3 (Dec 15): “naughty or nice” Day 4 (Dec 16): “an unexpected gift” Day 5 (Dec 17): “a private performance” Day 6 (Dec 18): “fire and ice” Day 7 (Dec 19): “sledge ride” Day 8 (Dec 20): “a time of miracles” Day 9 (Dec 21): “by candlelight” Day 10 (Dec 22): “in hot water” Day 11 (Dec 23): “a long winter’s night” Day 12 (Dec 24): be inspired by the fandom-created wish list!

At this point, more than half of the items on the wish list have been claimed, which is wonderful, but we really would love to see all of them get claimed (and completed and posted) by the last day of the celebration! Below the cut, we’ve listed all the wish list items once more (the ones already claimed are struck-through), with the hope that the rest will be claimed very soon. Again, if you’re planning on making something from the wish list, please let @arcticelves know via ask or message. If you’re inspired by one of the wish list items that has already been claimed and you’d still really like to make something for it, again, please let @arcticelves know, but at this point we really would like to encourage people to take on some of those unclaimed items!

As always, please be sure to tag all your posts #12daysofcarnivale. And if you’re posting works to AO3, we sure would love for you to also post it to the 12 Days of Carnivale collection!

All the wish list items (claimed and unclaimed) can be found below the cut:

@arcticelves: “I'd like to request a moodboard based on the premise that Edward survived and has gone on to be captain of his own ship.”

@thomasblanky: “anything with crozier and blanky, tho i’d Prefer fic or art, and no specific rating….. or joplittle”

@a-living-breathing-shitpost: “I would LOVELOVELOVE to see someone do something (I don't even care what medium, art, fic, gifset, whatever) to kind of juxtapose Crozier in ep. 1 talking about how "close is nothing, it's worse than nothing" with Little in ep. 10 whispering "Close" to Crozier as he dies??”

@brown-grey-skies: “Lt. Irving singing Christmas carols. Alternatively. Lt. Irving trying(And maybe failing) to lead a choir.”

@worshipthesquid: “I don't mind very much as to the format - fics, gifs and art all good - but I would love to see something with all the doctors (and medical staff) together, maybe with the addition of Bridgens. Perhaps even for a Christmas meal! Angst is fine and so is shameless friendship/cohabitation fluff. Preferred rating gen, I guess!”

@graduatedpillowmonster: “For the wishlist I'd like to see a fic or fanart about our Frozen Bois being happy. I'd love to see something with a "found family" dynamic , with Crozier being an absolute dad to the Terror officers :D it can be canon or modern AU, any rating, just give me some happiness!”

@wildcard47: “I am dying for a Crozfitz romcom-style fic and/or moodboard to go along with it. They can have any occupation you want (is Francis a weird craftsman who James has to interview for work? Is James an ambitious sous chef while Francis is grumpy house manager of The Franklin? You decide!) Either way, give me those sweet B-list tropes. I'll also accept gossipy friend brunches on the side as these two idiots fall in love.”

@hangingfire: “either art or short fic based on this famous (within the fandom at least) passage from Fitzjames's letters: "Goodsir is catching the most extraordinary animals in a net, and is in ecstasies. Gore and Des Voeux are over the side, poking with nets and long poles, with cigars in their mouths, and Osmar laughing; he is really an original, and a delightfully dry fellow."”

@acutewinnipegosis: “Prompt: "The northern lights have seen strange sights".”

@berenswick: “I want to see a scenario where Silna interacts with Sophia and/or Lady Jane in some capacity.”

@glorioustidalwavedefendor: “You know that scene at the end of the Return of the King? The "You bow to no one" Scene? Something like that, but for our boys or just one of them would be awesome.” No preference as to format.

@henrylevesconte: “For the christmas exchange could I maybe get a gifset of henry le vesconte pls”

@amisssunbeam: My fic prompt: Crozier (BSI – before self-intervention) has a topdaddy/bottom relationship with a grateful and extremely compliant Jopson. Somehow (as these things happen) Fitzjames finds out, and, surprise!, he wants Crozier as his super-kinky topdaddy too! So both Fitzjames and Jopson get the daddy they need, and Crozier, much to his great pleasure, has the two most beautiful men on the expedition as his lovers! It's possible that frocks are involved, or at least long nightshirts.” Requests an E rating.

@lafiametta: “It’s a long shot, as I know we don’t have a ton of video-makers in the fandom, but I would seriously die for a video set to Dido’s “My Lover’s Gone.” It’s a (heartbreaking) song about a man being lost at sea, so you could take it however you wanted, either focusing on all the men of the crew or maybe just on one or more of the canon/fanon pairings.”

@succession: “An gen fic centering on Tom Hartnell. Here's an idea, but you can do whatever you want: how did he cope with the loss of his brother so early into the expedition? Any rating, any length.”

@lonecrone: “Hickey/Gibson modern AU happy healthy relationship story! Dunno about the rating, use your discretion. <3”

@full-of-terrors: “Bridgens/Peglar having some alone time for sex, cuddling and having some book discussion pillow talk, can be during The Terror or a flashback, any media format.”

@kiraling88: “I'd like to propose some kind of Crozier and Jopson father-son moment :) I love them both so very much!”

[All wish list items have been claimed! Great work, Terror fandom!]

#the terror amc #amc the terror #the terror #12daysofcarnivale

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nazrigar · 7 years

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Hey there everyone! WHOO! Finally got a reprieve, as I’m done with my drawings for my final project, now I have to continue typing the written parts.

Done largely in part because I love the lore, practice drawing human characters, and to pass the time whenever I need a breather from from college.

While researching for the lore of Dark Souls for my In-progress AU Comic, I noticed how LARGE the mythology of Dark Souls and the deities that reside, along with the fan speculation of which god corresponds with whom and etc. In spite of all this, from what I can tell, outside of Gwyn’s family, there has never been a, for lack of a better term, “compendium piece” of the gods and goddesses of dark souls, so I made my own :D

Because some gods are not represented in imagery, I decided to design how they might look if they ever showed up amongst mortals. I owe a lot to Tumblr, Reddit and the DS fandom as a whole, the amount of theory and lore discussions are always gold, and of course, the lore-lords like @vaatividya and @silver-mont, their vids are always interesting to watch :)

From the Top Row: The Bearers of the Lord Souls

Gravelord Nito: No need for an explanation here xD

Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight: Drawing him was easy, but here I wanted portray a very stern, no-nonsense god king who really, REALLY is someone you don’t want to piss off, and someone who is almost NEVER happy and/or satisfied.

The Witch of Izalith: I’m honestly surprised there’s not much fanart of how her face might look like, so I pitched in. She basically resembles her daughters, but with a more matriarchal vibe, with a stronger jawline and sharper eyes to reflect that. She’s also very tall, towering over Gwyn and just slightly edging out NK in height.

The Furtive Pygmies, featuring Manus and a Pygmy Lord: With the Ringed City revealing that there were SEVERAL pygmies, I had quite some fun with the speculation and possibilities of how the Pygmies as a whole looked like.

Personally? I simply interpret them as humans but more, with more power over the dark soul, but otherwise having different roles in society like regular folk, the Ringed Knights are Warriors, the Lords are the rulers, etc.

I put Manus amongst them, why? Because no way should ONE man be able to have THAT much abyss power just because he’s a human. Since the dark soul is divided amongst humans, I interpret him having a huge chunk of the Dark Soul (as per these two threads), and thus was simply a mighty sorceror who happened to be really, REALLY old, even by Pygmy standards. Plus I always wondered... How does one torture a dead man? The Mad King was described as undying, so according to my own logic, he wasn’t totally “dead” when he was buried. His grave could signify him wanting a modicum of peace, after all, his entire race was basically put in a glorified prison by Gwyn... Sensing the growing madness within him (probably due to sheer isolation), he probably decided to “die” on his own terms in Oolacile... then future idiots proceeded to listen to TOTALLY NOT SUSPICIOUS AT ALL SERPENT and dug up his grave.

The random Pygmy Lord is basically representing one of the first Pygmy Lords.

Second Row: The Children of the Gods

The Nameless King, Firstborn of Gwyn, God of War: In a short period of time, has become my favorite character amongst the gods... There’s so much of a story to tell from him, his relationship with his family, the reasons as to WHY he betrayed the dragons, and thanks to lore threads a-plenty, I interpret him as one of the most honorable and dedicated of the gods. He watches over his warriors of sunlight even if they ARE humans (whom Gwyn HATES) AND he protects Dragons. Despite meI head-canoning him bigger than Gwyn and is in general a wall of muscle and armor, he’s STILL shorter than his sisters.

Gwynevere, Goddess of Fertility: Gwynevere here I interpret as one of the nicer gods, so I made her expression to reflect such. Because Gwyndolin’s illusion of her may be simply him projecting what he remembers most of her and thus potentially exaggerating certain aspects, I toned down a lot the “Aphrodite-esque” glamor, in favor of a more personable look, though still decked out.

Filianore: The daughter we know even less of than Gwynevere, but thanks to a certain reddit thread that discussed how dedicated NK was to her via the floral carvings that is present in Archdragon peak... She must have been someone who NK was VERY close with, so I interpret her as the “Always trying to bring life to the family” kind of sister, though closest to her eldest brother.

Gwyndolin: The Dark Sun himself. Not much else to say here, I just wanted to draw him happy for once... Because WHY FROM? He really, really needs it.

The Daughters of Chaos

Quelana, Mother of Pyromancy: Due to her own title, I interpret her as the Studious Daughter, incredibly dedicated to her craft and always finding out ways to further her pyromancy... Until the Chaos Flame incident happened of course... Then she became wracked with survivor’s guilt...

I also interpret her as being the responsible one looking out to make sure her sisters don’t do anything too brash... Though in hindsight, that would make her suvivor’s guilt worse.

Quelaag: The most well known Chaos Daughter, and whom I interpret as The Aggressive Daughter, hence why she’s the only one of the sisters with a melee weapon. As the most in-your-face daughter I head-canon that she is the one who lowers down her hood the most, especially when she feels like challenging someone. Also VERY protective of her family.

Quelaan, The Fair Lady: Last but not least, I interpret Quelaan as always having been the shyest and nicest of the daughters. Her hood is more drooped down compared to Quelana, to highlight her shyness.

Fun fact, while trying to find her real name, turns out the name Quelaan was the name the community gave to her, and just became established fanon, so I just opted to name her just that.

Third Row: Other Members of the Larger Pantheon

All-Father Lloyd: Gwyn’s uncle, founder of the Way of White. Now there IS speculation that he’s not real, but here I interpret as the real deal, and thus looks like a wimpier, older version of Gwyn, yet still has an aura of authority. I used a bit of Paladin Leeroy for his crown, because I interpret that, when he REALLY needs to get his hands dirty, he too wields a mace, setting an example to all paladin-esque worshipers after him.

His clothes are tattered despite being the godly equivalent of a pontiff, to highlight two things:

One, despite him being a “lord”, his tattered look is to signify he is not “above” the rabble/his followers.

Two, I head-canon him becoming slowly more insane and full of hate toward the undead,as more and more of his family and friends either dies off or leaving home... He eventually disappears for unknown reasons and becomes forgotten.

Fina, Goddess of Love: The most popular candidate for Gwyn’s wife, or at least his first, I wanted to design her with the Embraced Set in mind, just modified to look more queenly rather than armor. Going by the general fanon, I interpret her as the mother of both NK and Gwynevere, but due to unknown circumstances, just up-and-left. Why? I dunno I haven’t thought that deep :(

Also wanted to try out and giving her a different look, skin-tone and facial wise compared to all the other gods and goddesses out there.

Velka, Goddess of Sin: My favorite goddess, her lore and weaponry associated with her is cool, but even with DS3 and all its DLC, I wish we got to know more of her and how she even became the one to hold the title of “goddess of sin” and how she absolves it. She is also, I noticed in fan-art and fanfic, the other most popular candidate for Gwyn’s wife.

Due to the fact that both Gwyndolin and Filianore are associated with illusions and magic, I interpret her as the mother of Filianore and Gwyndolin. She has sharp features and very pale skin, and share’s Filianore’s dark hair.

For her design, I compared aspects of the Statue of Velka from DS3, and both Oswald of Carim and Cromwell the pardoner. I didn’t want her to strictly dress like Oswald and Cromwell, so I incorporated more feathers to her outfit to give her a more “regal” look, as befitting a goddess, and not just pardoner. Funnily enough, with her book of sins and outfit, she also gives the aura of a medieval judge.

Caitha, Goddess of Tears: The third goddess associated with Carim, and one that I intentionally kept her eyes hidden. Mentioned in both 2 and 3, I want to reflect her constant “mourning” nature, and since ‘Gentle Prayer’ is associated with her chime in DS3, I thought her being in a position of prayer would be most appropriate.

Nahr Alma, God of Blood and Murder: Take Titchy Gren, make him more beast-like in proportion, now make him the size of Father Ariandel with the animalistic agility of the Orphan of Kos or Slave Knight Gael, and you have the God of Blood himself. I interpret him as a kind of god that is shunned by the rest, and is mostly treated as an attack dog, and nothing more. REALLY resents the other gods.

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