#byzantine au

[neptuniite]

sunbeat

#off the rails #byzantine au #texture #digital painting #harry #erres

[pearlescentpearl]

Political Pawn AU

Hello! And welcome to my next bullet point fic; my take on a Fëanor lives plot! To no one’s surprise; Beleriand is on fire.

The Balrog that would have dealt Fëanáro a mortal blow instead takes an arrow to the eye, forcing a crack in the press of fire demons wide enough for Nelyafinwë to reach in and pull him out

Fëanáro is full of fire and wrath still, but his body shakes from pain and blood loss, vision swimming at the edges, hand cramped around his sword. It’s almost like coming out of a creative fugue; tired and hungry and disoriented, and he thinks, reflexively, ah, where’s a fortifying cup of spiced wine when you need it?

But there is only ash, and pain, and his faithful sons carrying him away from what he feels, from what he knows, would have been the death of him

His wounds are many but he will live; his will is too strong

Barely has he been tended to, and settled in his tent, when the message comes; that Morgoth has sent an emissary, claiming parley and teasing about surrendering the Silmarils

It sounds too good to be true, and so it must be a trap

Nonetheless, Nelyafinwë begs leave to go

“Of course, Morgoth is lying,” he says, eyes alight with his own inner flame. “But don’t you see? He will send more than he promises and so a credible force will be moving outside Angamando. Are we to let them roam free, unchallenged? I mean to crush them, and so convey our contempt at this thinly veiled trick!”

This is true enough enough that it persuades Fëanáro to let him go, despite faint misgivings

Later, of course, they learn they should not have. All who went with Nelyafinwë have been slain, the bodies desecrated and arranged in cruel parody. The only one missing from them is Nelyafinwë himself

Fëanáro truly thought he had known anger before, when his father was slain

It is nothing compared to knowing his son may yet live, but who knows in what condition?

Fëanáro has been up to the Gates of Angamando just that very day, and his memory is impeccable. There is no forcing those doors open with what siege supplies they’ve cobbled together so far

So far

Fëanáro will change that

The Mithrim Sindar are welcoming, numbers decimated as they are from Morgoth’s initial flood of his monstrous forces, and the mountains of Hísilómë are rich in metal ores

They can make something great here; it is only a matter of time

Time the Enemy seems keen not to grant them

it seems Fëanáro can dedicate his forces to building, or wiping out the enemy, not both at once. How aggravating

There seems to be a roaming raiding party just close enough to concern them every other day

Eventually, enough is enough; Fëanáro puts Kanafinwë and Turkafinwë in charge of a cavalry force with a significant number of the remaining horses, and commands them to keep Hísilómë clear as far as they can safely roam

They are not his most useful sons for building fortifications anyhow

Under Morifinwë’s baleful and exacting directions, the possible foundations for a great fortress are mapped out; it is misty, and often rainy inside the shelter of these mountains that trap cold and wet wind from the west and north, not especially favorable building conditions when their only source of illumination comes from starlight

How the Mithrim Sindar eke out an existence in such darkness is a wonder that merits studying

Fëanáro glares down at a map; there are few eastern entrances into Hísilómë, the main one is what the locals call Eithel Sirion, the headwaters of a river. If any eastern pass shall be the greatest concern it will be one with a water source

“Does any claim the great grassy plains that encircle Angamando outside the Wethrin?” He asks of Aewendir, the surviving Lord of the MIthrim Sindar

Not that they use the word ‘Lord’ exactly. Lathron, he is called, ‘listener, hearer,’ a pun on both his function; to hear his people out that he may resolve their troubles; and the fact visibility is often terrible by the lake on account of all the mists

“No,” Aewendir says dryly. “And don’t let anyone blow smoke up your ass otherwise. We’re the only folk crazy enough to live so close to the shadow of Angband, and reviled are we for it by the southern king and his court.” He spits on the ground. “And yet it is our word the southerners rely on for news of Angband’s movements when orcs are abroad.”

Fëanáro is growing very fond of Aewendir; he has a steady practicality about him that puts him in mind of Nerdanel, and a bitterly amused yet philosophical way of looking at the world that both intrigues and disconcerts 

“We shall build at Eithel Sirion then.”

It’s yet more work to keep roving orc bands at bay, but the fortress must be built if Fëanáro is to have the facilities to devise siege weapons capable of cracking Angamando

The mountains are generous with stone, and the Land of Echoes with wood, but the constant attacks are tedious and slow things down

His Ñoldor are split three ways now; the wandering cavalry under Kanafinwë and Turkafinwë, the builders at Eithel Sirion under Morifinwë, and the rest on the western lake shore with Curufinwë, Telufinwë, and Pityafinwë directing necessary domestic efforts 

It’s all a finely oiled machine just barely balanced on a knife’s edge, the slightest upset--!

Fëanáro goes over the numbers again and again, but there’s really no help for it. If only Nelyafinwë had not gone to--

But there is no help for it so they make do. They will get through this if Fëanáro has to will it into truth

One year slips by before he knows it, and a messenger from Angamando is on their doorstep once more

The fact it is a Maia is all that keeps Fëanáro from having it slain on the spot, but that is as far as he can deduce of its identity, its fána so twisted and befouled there’s no telling what it started as

It holds an iron chest in its hands

“One year has the rightful King of Arda held the Crown Prince an esteemed guest in his home,” the being rasps through torn lips and blackened teeth. “But all good guests must leave eventually to stay a good guest. His Majesty offers your son back to you, Finwion, if you but agree to forget your Oath, depart Beleriand, and never return to darken His Majesty’s doorstep. What shall it be, Ñoldorán; your son or your jewels?”

For a shameful moment, Fëanáro’s conviction wavers. Could it truly be that easy--?

But no

Morgoth’s last offer to surrender what he stole was a lie. It was a lie then, and it is a lie now

Fëanáro will not be fooled. 

He will drive open the Gates of Angamando and rescue his son himself, and whatever miseries he has suffered will be inflicted on Morgoth fivefold! Tenfold!

“Úmaia you are, and Úvala I name your thrall-keeping master!” Fëanáro scoffs. “Slink back to your hole and tell him to stuff his false offers back behind his teeth where they belong!”

The being laughs, a horrible scraping croak that’s half a wheeze. “Very well, Finwion. A souvenir to tide you over then. A token of His Majesty’s consideration.”

The chest is tipped open and a wealth of loose red hair, vividly bright even in the light of the Fëanorian Lamps, spills out upon the ground like a bloodstain half tossed by the wind

It reeks of blood too

The breath catches in his throat. All that hair, Nelyafinwë’s pride and joy. It didn’t seem real to see it bereft of his son, to see it tossed carelessly on the ground where-- where anyone could trample it

He feels numb

The anger is too strong, there are too many directions he wants to shove it at once

Behind him, Telufinwë lets out a cry and looses an arrow into the Úmaia’s mangled torso

Fëanáro reorients. Draws his sword and shoves it through the being’s throat and cleaves its head clean off. There’s an eruption of fouled power upon its death, but it must be the weakest in Morgoth’s enthrallment for it barely rocks him on his heels

“Pay what it said no mind,” he tells his sons, the lot of them wet eyed and reaching for the hair on the ground. “The Enemy is a liar, dishonorable, and a cheat. Even if we agreed to the deal, Nelyo would only be returned to us dead. The only way to get him back is to wrest him from the pits ourselves!”

Their spirits firm. Good

#political pawn au #silmarillion #bulletpoint fic #feanor #maedhros #buckle up folks the byzantine politics are gonna be off the charts in this one #also have some fun mithrim sindar worldbuilding #they're nearly as neglected as the avari in terms of exploration

[hsauwhere]

Homestuck AU where the Byzantine empire exists on Alternia

#homestuck au where #homestuck au #homestuck #Karkat Vantas #Byzantine #Byzantine Empire

[greypetrel]

"Sure, when Fëanor creates shiny jewels that makes everyone crazy just to look at them he's a genius, when I do it it's all AAAAAAAH the Deceiver! The Dark Lady! Evil! I swear, I flirted with Varda ONCE, because I didn't know she and Manwe got together, and they never let that one little mistake down! Do you know how embarrassed I still am? Do you??"

Evening and morning warmups, your lovely and gentle She-Sauron (but please don't call her like that she hates the name) through the ages, and some very well use of a university degree in linguistic and dissertation in Germanic Philology over "How could the One Ring rhyme have been mistranslated to bring one of the hugest misunderstandings in Middle-Earth history".

Aka: someone should stop me. (Or not please ask me about this.)

Also: she sided with Melkor because he told her she could try and tame all the dragons she wanted and do her silly experiments without anyone telling her it was silly.

He allegedly thought she would have died with the dragons and he would have just used her but she... actually Hiccuped her way out of the situation. Invented high heels because "They're pretty AND good for riding do you want a pair as well? :D"

#lotr #sauron #aisling the dark lady au #character design #the silmarillion #sauron redesign #doodle #greypetrel #i am having allegedly too much fun and also #BYZANTINE FASHION BYZANTINE FASHION FOR NÚMENOR AAAAAAH #In this AU she's not so abhorred by closed shoes... Heels are good for riding #particularly if you're riding a dragon

[nysus-temple]

Okay so i have an au Dionysus/ariadne. It's an AU set in the Byzantine empire, where Ariadne is still a princess but of course needs to maintain the status of a good woman (like every woman ever back then lol), but rumors in the city start to speculate of women being behaving "scandalous" because of a man named Dionysus. Ariadne doesn't know anything about him but knows he means trouble.

One day she goes at night during a festival she comes across a stranger (awfully handsome and tall almost ethereal) and before she knows it she goes to one of his parties. She experiences freedom for the first time.

That's actually really nice ! i'm very glad you're giving a chance to ambient an AU in the Byzantine Era, it's heavily underrated by media. i would love to see Dionysus and Ariadne in a setting like that.

i really like how you managed to keep references to the original myth, that's so nice ! Ariadne experiencing freedom for the first time with Dionysus sound very good, thank you for sharing your concept, i really would like to see it more.

#the Byzantine period could give people so much to talk about and it's always left out #it's really cool that someone choose it before a modern AU ! #ram wife #ariadne #dionysus text #answered #anon

[sissytobitch10seconds]

resisting the autistic urge to write fanfictions based on the Kalmar Union 

#soc #six of crows #tua #fanfiction #sissy writes to much #russian and norse history my beloved <3 #i would do it for byzantine #but damn #that's too big #i'm not supposed to write any historical aus until i finish my tbw list #chewing on the furniture

[anarcho-skamunist]

Seinfeld AU where they're all court eunuchs in the Byzantine empire

Georgios: I'm telling you, you can't go on a date to the hippodrome, it always ends in a riot

Jerstinian: What's there to riot about? Red team wins, blue team wins, it's all just colours

Venetian Kramer: I finally figured out how I'm gonna pay all those crusaders off. foolproof plan. I'm gonna sack the city.

[kurjakani]

Milkweed (my oc) for an oc prince &b knight au of by my friends :3 its suppoised 2 be speculative fantasy medieval-ish but i went so hardcore russian byzantine... ill mess w the design more later on

They get wedded to Soren, the prince, and turns out theyre this tall gangly horny boy more than a princess and turns out that actually fits in rly nicely w Soren & Xiangfu who were horrified abt the prospects of what kinda wife Soren would have <3

#kaniocs #kaniart

[spicyseonghwas]

blood love - song mingi

pairing :: song mingi x male reader, mingi x yunho crumbs

viewer rating :: varies per chapter (bc of the content of each one)

genres :: fantasy, romance, smut

au's :: vampire!mingi (very old vampire), faerie!reader, hybrid!yunho

content warnings :: most will be listed with each chapter, but the series will include the following:

vampires & fae, kissing, physical contact, blood, death, food, cursing, alcohol consumption, possessive mingi, mind games, hickeys, sadism, masochism, vampire porn :3 (ie: sexual content), and at one point mingi roofies the reader on a date (what a dick am i right)

summary ::

song mingi, the very first- and only- and last- vampire the byzantine empire ever saw, never in all his 1,045 years, 2 months, and 10 days of life, thought eh would ever do something as... human... as fall in love.

love...

what a trivial thing...

or maybe not?

and l/n m/n, the live and existing- and heavily triple-checked- faerie in all of seoul, south korea, falls in and out of love like a flying fish in and out of the summer sea.

until one seemingly normal spring day, that is...

will song mingi change m/n's views on love?

or will m/n just be another snack for this ancient, wise vampire?

masterlist & chapter viewer ratings ::

chapter 1 | 15+

chapter 2 | 15+

chapter 3 | 16+ (potentially sensitive content)

chapter 4 | 16+ (potentially sensitive content)

chapter 5 | finale 18+ (sexual content)

chapter 6 | epilogue 16+

author's notes below the cut! if you want to be added to the series taglist, pleasse go here! no dm's pls! i promise you i will lose track of dm's... divider credit to @cafekitsune !

networks :: @cacaokpop-fics @preciousillusions-net

© bouncyyunho 2023-2024.

author's notes ::

+| please let me know if you'd like to be tagged in this series and any updates on it and its progress!

+| this story also happens to be one of the possible plotlines for mingi's interactive on the cryptids!ateez chatbot ive been working on for a good like... nine friggen months... hehe- except that hes a werewolf in the chatbot system, not the legendary byzantine vampire hahahahahahaha

+| but yeh. this is the reason ive been so radio silent lately... (my apologies about that friends :<) ive been working hard on this for like the whole school year so far (three weeks...)

#chaece.exe 🌑 #fever.dreams 🌑 #teasers 🌑 #cacaokpop #preciousillusionsnet #ateez #mingi #song mingi #ateez x male reader #song mingi x male reader #ateez x male reader smut #vampire!ateez #8 makes 1 team #mingi smut #vampire!mingi #mingi x male reader #mingi x male reader smut #song mingi x male reader smut

[stargirlstudio]

Modern University AU — Aemond Targaryen x Reader

☆ Aemond Targaryen x Reader

☆ Nonspecified gender and no physical attributes mentioned

You first met Aemond in your Politics in the Republic course

You were almost late and the only seat was next to him towards the back

He huffed, much to his annoyance of the person scooting behind him

No matter what class Aemond is, he will always try to be in the seat somewhat close to the exit

Aemond’s lecture notebooks are the fancy Japanese stationery notebooks. All in the same beige color. He only carries two pens

The Professor in the Republics course enjoyed cold calling on people, it wasn’t until the middle of the semester when Aemond would whisper the answer to you under his breath if you were stuck

The thing was…you were not stuck. You were not stupid. You just were not as quick as Aemond, which slowly sparked an academic rivalry

One day you showed up early to class, going over your highlighted course required books

The class filled in and Aemond thought you were absent, so he took his book bag off your seat — no need to reserve it. That was…until the professor had called on you and your answer was lightning fast

You did not sit next to him for the remainder of the year. You never saw him much after that class. You found out early in the semester he was a History and International Relations Double Major with a Philosophy Minor

One day when you were walking past the Business buildings, he bumped into another man with hair as icy blonde as his

“Hey what song are you listening to?” The shorter man said

“Leave me alone,” Aemond replied

“Alright! See you at home bitch!”

Aemond’s brother is the guy that interviews people on campus and does ridiculous “pranks” — very different brothers. It wasn’t until later when you also found out they also had a sister. Helaena, who’s the president of the Entomology Club

A year later, you and Aemond are in another class together. It was an Empires course that was a requirement for both of your majors. It was a smaller class size and instead of a final examination - the final is a presentation and a paper. The professor paired everyone by two and it just so happened that you were paired together

For the presentation, you were tasked to explore any empire of your choice so long as it was not taken. You both came to a long standing back and forth. Until you both agreed on the Byzantine Empire

You both started early on the research and presentation, at first getting to know each other at cafes until you took up whole study rooms in the library

During the last few weeks of the semester the study rooms were under renovation and the tables in the library were getting too crowded. “We could head back to my place,” He suggested. “Helaena will be there so we won’t be all alone or anything,” You agreed.

His place was nice, the Targaryen siblings commuted to campus. Understandable considering they live in luxury. The dormitories were shit

Later on in the night, at some impossible hour and you were still there you offhandedly said “How are you holding up. I’m not quick enough for you,”

“What?” He asked. “What are you talking about,”

“In class, you always gave me the answers. I knew them you know. I’m not stupid,”

A pause and then a realization. “Oh…that class. I never thought you were stupid,” He sighed. “I apologize for that impression. That is entirely my fault,” He fiddled with his hands. “I figured you were mad at me and I was scared if I offended you somehow. I guess I know why now. I missed having you sit with me,”

After the presentation was over, both of you got an A. All of your hard work and research pulled off. Aemond needed help on his essays but other than that, it was a smooth

Aemond offered to take you out to dinner to “celebrate the hard work” after that, you both texted each other over the break. It slowly went from “how are you?” to him sending pictures of his lizards

“Oh fuck how do I?” He said as he fiddled flipping the camera. His phone was positioned low and you laughed. “Oh I think I got it,” He said as FaceTime view went from the bottom of his face to his lizard tank. “This is my oldest one, her name is Vhagar”

“I don’t think I’ve seen your room before,” You said at 3 am

“Yeah. It’s on an opposite wing. Halaena’s bugs stay far away from my lizards,” He joked. “When you come back, I’ll give you a tour if you wish. I missed you,”

Your heart skipped a beat. He saw your eyes widen and he only realized what he said. He quickly ended the call and threw it on the bed.

He paced around the room and not a minute later his phone lit up. All it read from you was, “I missed you too. Let’s hang out soon,”

He texted back, “Sorry my phone died. Yes we can plan something soon,”

“Fast charger,” You texted back. His face was hot. “Goodnightttt”

He typed, “Goodnight,”

#aemond targaryen headcanons #aemond targaryen x reader #hotd headcanons #aegon is a finance bro #modern au headcanon #x reader #reader insert #reader insert headcanon #modern alternate universe #headcanons #fanfic #fanfiction #king’s landing uni-verse

[neptuniite]

AGONISTES sketch dump <3

#i love them soooo much #Agonistes #sketches #digital art #ocs #Erres #torben #Halvard #Ioannes #Byzantine AU #art

[minecraftbookshelf]

Marriage of State AU Character Designs: The Mad King of Mezalea

Joel actually has three major looks through the course of the AU; Prince of Mezalea, Trophy Husband, and King Joel, with the subcategories of "armor" for each.

They all have the same base design of "human", differing by (apparent) age and general sense of style.

Some Joel Skins to start us off and provide the base we're working off of, and also the Mezalean banner because color pallet

And also, because it is actually relevant, (bear with me here) some samples of Mezalean architecture.

The Matral Palace and the Villager area.

Based off of Joel's final skin, the vibe is kind of "Victorian military dress uniform" however there is something very, very important to take into consideration from a worldbuilding perspective.

The Mesa is a warm weather biome. Its a colorful desert. Which means high temperatures during the day and cold at night. So tight-fitting, thick fabrics in a Victorian style would be incredibly impractical.

So we turn to the second possible source for fashion inspiration: The architecture, which gives mostly Byzantine vibes.

So what would Byzantine clothing look like, especially for nobility?

First off, taking into account that the Byzantine Empire lasted for approximately a thousand years and, naturally, underwent some dramatic changes in clothing style during that time, we'll pick a specific vibe out of the options. I settled on a bit of a mix between Early Byzantine (think the Theodora Mosaic shown below) and Middle Byzantine (see the mosaic of Emperor Constantine IX below)

And here are just some screenshots from my pintrest board for Mezalea and Mezalean!Joel, because if I put all these on here separately I'll hit the image limit too soon.

(General disclaimer: yes, Pintrest has an art theft problem, yes Pintrest is much harder to effectively use now due to the pervasiveness of ads on everything, no I don't use it for like, formal things. It remains one of the best ways to collect visual references and figuring out The Vibes)

(Yes, we get to go full Material Gworl vibes for the Mezalean King, as is only right and proper.)

General characteristics I'm adopting here for Mezalean clothing:

Brocade (and bejeweled) kaftan/kaftan-esque outer layer. This is a formal wear thing, and is absolutely a "showing off the wealth" power move.

Lots of Big Chunky Colorful Jewelry

I don't know what it's actual name is, but that general style of having jeweled tassel-like things hanging from the front sides of the crown/headdress.

Light-weight and loose fitting under-layers.

And of course, bright colors.

Prince Joel: Before he became part of the main cast in an epic fantasy adventure spanning several hundreds of years and an entire continent (and the adjacent ocean) Joel was the youngest of three princes with two older brothers who were both married and had kids.

Which is to say, it did not look like he would ever be the king.

His role in the kingdom was very much that of an ambassador to and direct connection to their people. He spent a lot of time working on fishing boats and in the mines and quarries. While he did receive a standard royal education on things like diplomacy and combat, international interactions were not his focus at all, much more involved in the day to day operations of his own home. (And yes, that is a very vital aspect of the idea of "royalty" in general, supposedly, and that being a particular point of Joel's upbringing will make more sense when I get around to writing and posting the post about how royalty functions in the Empires. tldr; its related to the whole thing where Pixlriffs accidentally redefined "war")

Basically, Prince Joel = the first skin, the simple green one. He's wearing more lightweight, practical clothes that allow him to engage in physically demanding dirty work without costing a fortune every day. He still dresses up for formal events, but he doesn't even attend all of those and he is far from a daily sight in court.

Trophy Husband: For a couple hundred years, Joel didn't live in Mezalea. Instead, he was one half of the chronological first arranged marriage in the "au in which all the marriages are arranged" situation. And this one was the one that most resembles the set-up of a generic "period" bodice-ripper novel (though that is not how it played out ultimately, for the parties involved, despite the romance that does happen.)

Basically, this is his War Prize Era. In which Lizzie won a husband in combat and then didn't really know what to do with him.

During this time period, Joel mostly wore ocean styled clothing, though during formal occasions he would wear a notable amount of Mezalean accessories, that were part and parcel of the treaty with him. (I'm trying so hard not to derail this into just a breakdown of the events of the Joel & Lizzie arc of the au im trying so hard)

He did tend to mix Oceanic and Mezalean clothing, due in part to Oceanic clothing being primarily designed for underwater wear, while he lived above the surface, finding the balance of practicality and appearances demanded by the political nature of his existence at the time. (Also a personal comfort thing as Mezalean clothing tended to afford more skin coverage and also had shoes) Once he and Lizzie were more comfortable both in the world and with each other he had more opportunities for personalization and tended towards Mezalean styles in oceanic colors. He did develop a significant appreciation for the Oceanic idea of skin-tight under-layers for water travel.

King Joel: He did end up back in Mezalea as king, which is when we hit the style closest to the second skin, which mostly for this is really an indicator of color scheme. Formally, he is now wearing the full Kaftan and Jewelry look, day to day its more of "colorful, simple, and lightweight" because he still is very active in the day to day commerce of his empire. He does usually wear significantly more jewelry than he did as a prince, he grew a taste for it during his trophy husband era XD. The details of his day-to-day wear are also fancier. finer fabrics, more embroidery, brocade hems, etc.

Most of his earrings are gifts from Lizzie, some in Oceanic colors, some in Mezalean, but all with little chips of prismarine to remind him of her even when she can't be there.

Armor: Joel's armor preferences are simple netherite plate. He also does have a ceremonial trident, as a member of the Oceanic royal family. His is gold-plated.

-

art

Lizzie || Jimmy ||

AU Masterpost

#empires smp #empires s1 #smallishbeans #the mad king of mezalea #rain rambles #marriage of state au #mos: worldbuilding #mos: joel

[astronicht]

viking au, max/daniel f1🫶

Hopefully you came into this anticipating the wall of text 💜

1. The summer that Max was ten years old, the raids went far to the south, through the Pillars of Hercules and into the Mediterranean— because this literally happened like Vikings in fact did this. Theoretically Vikings could have seen Monaco! Anyway. This was memorable not because it was his first season — it was his second, he started a little young — but because it was the first time he stole something for himself on a raid. So, Max saw the coast from Narbonne and Pisa. And Max stole two cats on a raid of a town whose name he did not know, but where people died fast enough that a boy could dodge into a house with searching hands.

Back home, people sometimes laugh and ask if he saved his spoiled cats from the pelt-sellers, who raise cats for their fur (sorry i know i wanted sexy viking “i stole my dutch wife” stuff and instead i give u this canonical Viking-era Danish practice SORRY). He always corrects this: “no, I went out viking and i stole them.” People usually think this is a joke. Their names are Jamti and Saxi, because of course Max does not know their original names. (these are both boy names but whatever, his cats are named after Monaco clubs, what do you want me to do about it).

2. Daniel’s folks are from Sicily and Calabria; let’s put him in Calabria, which is partly Byzantine Greek ruled by Constantinople and partly Arab; he would call himself Roman (meaning Byzantium, the Eastern Empire) and speaks Greek, probably, with a smattering of Arabic that is mostly slang. He is weirdly bad at it. (Sicily was entirely Berber Muslim at this point with a large Byzantine Greek population, by the by, and would later be conquered by the descendants of the Vikings, so I guess that’s a whole different AU). Daniel, for his part, was not stolen from his home; his father was not killed, his mother and sister are presumably well. It is simply that he could not sit quietly in a warm place that would have loved him fine. Oops!

3. They meet for real in the town of Jorvik, which is a river city in what will later be England. Christian warned Daniel ahead of time that they were taking on a new kid, implied that there was a favor owed. Daniel’s met the father, and like, fair enough. Pay Jos back for whatever and steer clear, in Daniel’s opinion, and Daniel and Christian usually agree. Max arrives with a set face and carrying his cats — who are 16% smaller than modern cats but still fucking heavy and sliding around unhappily — in a wicker basket that he carries up the hill from the river himself, his doeskin boots sliding in the muck. A few of the guys tell Max he can get mousers here, why carry these? Daniel, who had been in the city for three years now, tells him he should have taken the old Roman stone road. Max is unamused, but at least Daniel was (unwittingly) the helpful one. They are overwintering together in a house down by the other river. Max is seventeen.

3.a Christian’s debt owed was to Max’s mum. Daniel doesn’t know this.

4. Daniel does otherwise know a lot about Christian, because he helped the ironically named Christian Hornbære (also written as Hyrne), once a minor Northumbrian thane, to throw his lot in with the Danes (vikings), take a Dane wife, turn on his compatriots, and sack the place. Christian has remembered this loyalty ever since. This will come up later!

5. Okay since everyone has been patient i WILL play up one sexy (?) viking trope and like. At some point it’s spring and just prior to the beginning of raiding season and the first early little harvest has come in so Christian is hosting a feast before they all go off to do some genuinely heinous shit, and the expectation is absolutely that Christian’s boys get to fuck in this semi-public way in the longhouse. And Max and Daniel are two of the stars of the show, right, so it’s a sort of champagne room situation, only it becomes increasingly clear to Daniel, who is btw barely holding everything together, that Max is absolutely relying on him to get through this. Like everyone in this long dark room has been drinking for two days and Max is watching Daniel to see what he’s going to do, and Daniel is terrified to realize Max watching is the only reason he’s getting hard, etc. They fuck women side by side. It’s a mess! They get off, by which i mean daniel watches Max get off and then fakes his but watching max was the best part. After a bit Daniel goes outside bc he thinks he’s going to be sick but he’s not and he just sits on the new wet grass. Max comes out looking for him and somehow they end up just like. sitting in the wet grass and Max lets Daniel hold him and it’s the only thing that calms Daniel down that entire year, it feels like.

6. The emotional narrative here is like. The inherent tragedy of wanting to be the best, wanting to be beloved, wanting a crowd to know your name, and the outlet available to you is a small, brutal, violent activity. Not because there is absolutely no other option— the Viking Diaspora is one of the widest worlds to have existed; there was a rigid social structure, but one with lots of little odd corners and loopholes. But the tragedy comes in any time and place when no one thinks to tell you this. Max’s cats — stolen from the dead, but themselves simply just cats, just little animals that kill birds for food or to show you love — are kind of the nexus of this, somehow. No idea how I would resolve it, frankly, which is partly because i have to write things to know what they’re gonna say!

Further notes: in this verse Alex Albon’s granddad somehow got caught up in the Battle of Talas, probably on the side of the Tibetan Empire and the Caliphate but who knows, politics are big complicated. Like many Talas veterans’ families he lives in Baghdad right now with his mum and his siblings and he’s often very tired. Look if a Tang Chinese general could get lost in Ethiopia for a bit after the Battle of Talas then Alex Albon could be doomed to watch a really weird viking funeral on the banks of the Caspian during a trade mission to meet up with his father. Shit happens to him. Why is that nude viking man holding a torch and covering his anus?? We will never know bc Alex + Ibn Fadlan’s translator wisely chose not to show up that day. Alternatively Alex IS Ibn Fadlan’s translator, which explains why he is very tired.

what the fuck is this one! thanks for playing. i spent two hours researching domestic housecat dispersal theories.

#my fic #maxiel #f1 rpf #need a better tag for not actually fic #ask replies

[temtamtom]

I’d love to hear if you have any headcanons around rome and his boys <3

Ouhh,,, I'm so normal about this family bro I swear,,,

I tend to flip-flop between making Rome their father or their grandfather. I usually go with the father route, but I do have AUs and storylines where he's their Nonno :)

(In addition to the point above, a plus-side of Rome being their dad is Romano gets to call him "Babbo". I also like calling him "Babbo Roma")

Romano looks the most like Rome. It's more apparent when you compare him to Rome's younger self when he didn't have as much muscle or stubble. I like to think they have a bust of his head in their shared apartment and, upon first glance, other nations often mistake it for a statue of Romano.

I mentioned this in a previous post but Romano and Rome share the same name. For the sake of simplicity, however, people usually call him Romulus.

Rome is 165 cm, Romano is also 165 cm, Feliciano is 170 cm, and Seborga is 178 cm. Romulus is very impressed with Sebby's height, and always compliments him on it. One of his favorite compliments is telling him he would make a great centurion with the right training (at which point the twins have to cut in and say no their baby brother will NOT be a soldier of any kind, thank you)

Rome is definitely very protective over his boys, which I'm sure is something their partners enjoy dealing with. I have fun imagining what his reaction would be to various partners/ships.

In the case of GerIta/ItaGer, I wouldn't be surprised if Romulus demanded Feliciano break up with Ludwig as soon as he found out he was German (as if Feliciano would listen) kdhfkj

I talked about this headcanon on my main blog (in Italian, though), but I'll bring it up here too. Rome usually spoke to his boys in some form of Latin, but he began learning Italian when Seborga joined the family. The kid was probably around 3-4 years old when Rome first met him and obviously didn't speak a lick of Latin.

Now onto some more serious stuff:

Rome lived past 476 AD. The last time Romano and Feliciano saw him was around 546, when Romulus sent them out of the city at the tail-end of a devastating siege on Rome during the Gothic Wars. They were separated to increase the chance of one child surviving- one heading north and the other heading south to their respective territories. Whether he survived past that is unclear to many nations. Some claim they spotted him in various places throughout Europe, a husk of the man he once was. Others believe he lived in hiding in the Byzantine Empire. No one is certain about what happened to him, and his ghost has a difficult time remembering what happened after the Gothic Wars.

This is deserving of its own more analytical/detailed post, but here are my two cents on what their relationship/dynamic looks like (in my mind). Though Rome loved his boys deeply, and the brothers loved him in return, life was not always peachy. There were certainly a lot of expectations put on their shoulders from a very young age. Rome had spent his entire life building an empire and a legacy, something he wanted to live on through his descendants, namely Romano. The firstborn, the fighter, and the one who commanded attention easily. The one who looked and acted the most like Rome did in his own youth. Under the right guidance, he could be shaped into a leader. However, this meant the boy was often scrutinized heavily by those around him and judged more harshly than his twin. He wasn't respected as his own person and was merely seen as an extension of his father/grandfather. Feliciano, on the other hand, was on the "weaker" and "softer" side. Rome adored him and coddled him, treated him more gently than Romano, but he didn't really respect him, if that makes any sense? So Feliciano felt the need to compete and one-up his brother to prove his own worth, even if it caused the brothers to start fighting (physical altercations were not uncommon). Romulus didn't seem to notice these issues. How could he when he was often away from home? In his eyes, his family was doing just fine. They seemed like two happy kids whenever he was around, and any fight that broke out between the twins was often chalked up to "brothers will be brothers"/"boys will be boys". These familial issues went completely unchecked for most of the boys' lives, and it wasn't until more modern times that they started to reflect on their childhood and its impact. Not all was doom and gloom in their childhoods ofc, but there were certainly quite a few issues. Like I said, this probably needs its own post kjfdgk

#hws romano #hws veneziano #hws Italy #hws rome #hws seborga #hetalia headcanons #gerita #mentioned briefly but I'll tag it anyways #temmie thoughts #telegram for tem #I hope this all made sense it's 1 AM and I'm eepy kjghfk

[fruitageoforanges]

Princess Elia Nymeros Martell, heir to Dorne, and her husband Rhaegar in the year 279 AC.

(this is inspired by my au in which birth orders are swapped — elia is the eldest martell sibling and rhaegar is a second son — so their marriage agreement works the other way, with rhaegar being sent to dorne. elia’s clothes are inspired by fashions in moorish spain during the 11th century, while rhaegar’s are a mix of byzantine and early renaissance italy)

#asoiaf #scribbles #rhaegar targaryen #elia martell #asoiaf fanart #valyrianscrolls #three drawings in a row? it’s more likely than you think #anyway this took me forever #blood sweat and tears went into this #especially all the little suns on elia’s dress #anyway i’m still thinking about what would be different and what would be the same in this au #they would still have 2 children bc elia needs an heir and a spare for dorne #but they would be called obella and doran #the prophecy would still be a thing to a certain extent bc rhae’s neuroses won’t quit #but i think the power dynamic swinging the opposite way would give them a better chance at happiness #however short-lived #given my idea is that rhaegar’s older brother dies just as aerys fully starts to lose it #turning everything on its head #regardless #hope people like this #they’re voted couple most in need of vitamin supplements and therapy <3

[batrogers]

Art for Minish Cap and Zelda (1986) Links. The Minish Cap clothes are loosely based off of the Byzantine Empire/Eastern Rome, and Zelda (1986) boy... Well, you can kinda guess he stole them.

Designs are associated with their older forms from my AU "That Broken Promise." Yes, Minish was once a very normal Hylian child.

#The Legend of Zelda (1986) #Zelda (1986) #Minish Cap #Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap #LOZ 1986 #Zelda I #LOZ: MC #The vibes of Adored Child are very intentional #vs scrounging #they're quite a pair to put next to each other #That Broken Promise #TBP Far #TBP Minish #Ezlo