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Sooo since I have a lot of Ranger's Apprentice AUs, I've decided that I'm going to share some of them. I mentioned having a lot of them awhile ago and I have since decided that I'm actually going to do it. I think I'm also going to number them as I share them to make it easier to keep track of how many I've posted since I'm not going to post them all together or at the same time. I think I'll upload later today so I hope that they're fun to hear about when I do!

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Alright so I've seen someone post about how Jenny x Gilan is a bit weird, which I do agree with, but since I don't really focus on their relationship much I don't really have much to say on it, plus what I would have had to say was better said by other people. That being said when I looked on the reblogs I also noticed that someone brought up Halt x Pauline and how there are some things weird about it because of how they met but I also have more to add to it. And since this is really long I decided to make it my own post since I have a LOT to say on this. Plus it's just a bit different than their reason for mentioning it so I figured it'd just be a better idea if I made it an individual post-

First, to the person who mentioned it, I agree. There is absolutely NO WAY Halt would have fumbled that hard and I don't care how pretty she is, it just makes absolutely no sense whatsoever for him. There's also the fact that, a little bit after, Halt said that he was tempted to tell her about his royal background but ultimately decided not to. And you want to know why he decided not to? Why, that's just because he thought that she wouldn't be impressed. Not because he just spent all that time escaping to begin with and didn't want to risk her stabbing him in the back, no it was just because he thought she wouldn't be impressed. Keep in mind, I'm pretty sure they had literally JUST met. Like, bro. Seriously?

Then there's also the fact that their relationship just kinda feels shallow and undeveloped. I feel like it's shallow because it was literally love at first sight, which was essentially loving the other immediately without knowing the other person literally AT ALL. We also don't really see them growing together much before they actually get married, and the little moments that we actually DO get to see still don't have very much development and don't really show good examples of the love that is allegedly there. I get that there was a lot of the relationship that was built behind the scenes but still, you really couldn't show us much proof of those developments, could you? Plus it also just feels like their marriage in general was just used as a plot device, providing as a huge event that got disrupted to lead into the main plot of the book.

Alright but that could be mostly excused if the relationship was actually nice, cute, and functioning in the end, right? Well, while there are some scenes of them having a good relationship, there's this one scene that absolutely DESTROYED any chances of me actually enjoying that ship.

My final reason for not liking this ship, which is actually kinda why I just don't like Pauline in general, is in the Lost Stories (I believe the section it's in is Purple Prose and it's the first chapter of it). I mentioned not liking this section when I rebloged someone else's post and mentioned that I had another reason for not liking this section, and this is that reason. This is actually the main reason, actually. The idea is that Halt, Pauline, and Will are all having dinner together, right? Will decides to read to them what he plans to read at Horace and Cassandra's wedding for his speech. Will's wording was a bit extra and Halt didn't hesitate to let him know. Now I will admit, I feel as though Halt was being a bit rude in this scene. And while his personality of being blunt and grim doesn't really make that behavior okay, his behavior absolutely does NOT justify Pauline's response to it.

How it ended was by I believe Will mentioning the way that Halt was acting, and then Pauline ominously (literally the word that was used, I'm not joking) said that she would talk to him later. And how did Halt react to that, exactly? Well when it comes to his reaction, it says that the wolfish smile was wiped off of his face and that he looked scared. Halt, the war hero, the one that had been betrayed by his own family, and the one most famous for hiding his feelings, was scared of his own wife. I've seen the trope of men being scared of their wives but I feel like if Halt, of all people, has to be scared of his wife, then there's a problem. Not to say men having to be scared of their wives ISN'T an issue, it is, but for someone like him to be scared it MUST be bad. Especially after she literally just hit him... TWICE. This scene alone proved that Pauline would hit Halt (proven by the first hit), she WOULD do it again (proven by the second hit), and that there's probably more that goes on behind the scenes that we don't see (proven by Halt looking scared when Pauline ominously mentioned talking to him later). Once again, Halt was being rude in the way he let Will know that he didn't approve of the way that he decided to go about his speech. That does NOT, however, justify Pauline's behavior in response to it.

And the thing is, Pauline is the stupid either. She's smart enough and is good enough with people that there's almost no POSSIBLE way that she doesn't know what she's doing. And yet, she does it anyway. This is either borderline, signs of, or is straight up abusive behavior. You might think I'm exaggerating and I hope wouldn't really blame you, with the way he wrote it it wasn't really depicted as serious since that probably wasn't the way it was intended. That still doesn't change what actually happened.

And yeah, that's the reason why I have such a hard time actually liking this ship. To me it feels shallow, underdeveloped/forced, is borderline abusive, and is basically built on an interaction that was just ENTIRELY out of character to begin with. And while yes, there are some good moments, I feel like there aren't NEARLY enough to make up for all of the flaws in it.

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I completely get this and it does bother me that the social thing doesn't show up, though it's for a different reason. See for Halt, while yes he may know, he may not care. He probably wouldn't try to fit in to really any kind of social standards. I don't think it would really matter if he had been like that previously due to the three years of rigorous training that had happened by the time we first actually saw him, though that's unless he had some genetic for it or something which then there would be an issue with Flanagan not including it for him. He probably does know how to eat really well though due to his upbringing.

Where it DOES bother me however is when people that do align with that standard get teased for it. For example, Baron Arald. Correct me if I'm wrong because I may be misremembering but haven't people pointed out his weight or that he liked his food and meant it in a way to point out his body shape in a less overtly rude way? I think they've also said he has trouble getting on his horse because of it and I genuinely just don't know what to say about that part. All of this makes it seem like it's supposed to be some sort of character flaw and I think THAT is where the issue comes in.

There's also instances of characters teasing eachother when they eat a lot. For example, one time Will was having dinner with Halt and Pauline and Halt teased Will for eating so much. This is just one of the reasons that I really don't like that scene, though there is another one, but that's a story for another time.

The thing is, Flanagan DOES have bigger people that eat a lot, they just have muscle to go with it. This doesn't give very good representation for bigger people who don't or that have the muscle but also have some fat on them (Baron Arald being an example of the second part). Skandians are a big example of this and so is even Horace. I could be wrong but I feel like Duncan himself may be an example of this as well.

Speaking of Duncan, let's talk about him and his daughter in regards to this. Once again, Duncan may be a bit chubby and I could be remembering his description wrong, but I'm pretty sure Cassandra just straight up doesn't align with the social standard. And while she is all about not fitting into roles just like Halt is, it feels a bit odd when it comes to her when she hasn't been given a reason to do whatever she can to separate herself from royalty. She actually has been but that was because of her being kidnapped and/or threatened BECAUSE she's royalty and not trauma inflicted BY the actual royal family like Halt was. Plus, Cassandra just doesn't really seem like she wants to leave her royal family behind anyway.

Actually, this brings me back to Halt's family. The thing is, I'm pretty sure that Ferris actually DOES align with this social standard, though I can't remember if he's just chubby or is bigger than that. And since he is royalty, the social standard does fit him. The issue is that he's depicted as a betrayer, a coward, and is unable to really do much by himself. And since he's one of the only people I can think of in this series that actually has no muscle, or has very little at least, and just has fat it kinda just gives those types of people a bad rep when it comes to this series.

That and that most of the characters in this series are either skinny or are bigger in the form of muscle. For Halt, at least to me, it sort of makes sense for him to not fit into the social standard. In regards to everyone else though and the fact that there's little representation for fatter people, or that those who DO provide as representation are either bad examples or are made fun of, I think that is where the problem is when it comes to this issue.

You did make a great point though and I am very glad that you brought this issue up! I figured I'd bring my take on it as well to let you know that you aren't the only one having thoughts like this about the series.

(Flanagan's) ✨️fatphobia in RA, heavily projected into Halt makes no sense ✨️

In the Middle Ages, not being skinny was a sign of prosperity, wealth and security. If someone's bones weren't showing or they weren't made up of only muscles, it meant they didn't have to fight to survive, they didn't know hunger or poverty and they didn't fight their way up the social ladder, they were just born into abundance.

If anyone, Halt, being of noble birth, should know this.

From the series: cultural and social idiocies in books styled to take place in the Middle Ages that annoy me. (The series is a very long one and I will share some of it here for sure because COME ON)

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he’s perched

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Like a crow, that is

ANY CROWLEY SIMPS IN THE CHAT??????

I don’t know what got into me but here ya go

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Oh definitely, he just wasn't willing to let his boyfriend best friend overwork himself because of it again lol

At a ranger gathering, Will and Gilan convince Halt to play truth or dare. At some point Crowley walked over and they convinced him to join as well. The next time it's Halt's turn to ask, this happens:

Halt: Crowley, truth or dare?

Crowley: Truth.

Halt, raising an eyebrow: How many hours have you slept this week?

Crowley:...dare.

Halt, a stern look now on his face: Go to sleep.

Crowley: I don't like this game.

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At a ranger gathering, Will and Gilan convince Halt to play truth or dare. At some point Crowley walked over and they convinced him to join as well. The next time it's Halt's turn to ask, this happens:

Halt: Crowley, truth or dare?

Crowley: Truth.

Halt, raising an eyebrow: How many hours have you slept this week?

Crowley:...dare.

Halt, a stern look now on his face: Go to sleep.

Crowley: I don't like this game.

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Okay so I keep watching people play "That's Not My Neighbor", a game where you have to examine whether people are real or a doppelgänger and, if they are a doppelgänger, you get rid of them and, if they are real, you let them through. Somehow it has me thinking of RA. Imagine that Halt gets replaced by some sort of doppelgänger, their disguise almost perfect. It was so close to perfect that no one was able to notice that anything was off. Except for one person, that is. And that person was Crowley. His best friend noticed the ever so slight differences, and that wasn't just because he was an observant person. Though that quality certainly helped, it was genuinely just because he'd memorized every detail that he had access to when it came to Halt. Then he managed to call the doppelgänger out and find out where the real Halt is, more than likely threatening them in order to get access to that information. Then he found Halt and got him back, the doppelgänger having possibly been killed in the process just to prevent this from happening again.

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I really REALLY want to start writing my Ranger's Apprentice x Diablo 3 Reaper of Souls crossover but I somehow have the motivation to do it and yet can't bring myself to actually start writing. I think I might start talking about and/or drawing characters and other little stuff that has to do with it and posting it here just to try to build up enough mental energy (that's the best way I can put it) to actually write it. Let's hope I can actually manage it since I really want to do this!

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Okay I love Halt but is it mean if, whenever it mentions that someone is short, unless it is explicitly stated that they're shorter, I always picture them at least a tiny bit taller than Halt? I can't help it, the short vibes feel so strong with him 😭 plus I think the idea is kinda funny-

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They both look great, beautifully drawn! And don't worry I don't particularly like her either, though I do have a pretty specific reason as to why. I hope to see more of your art and I'll make sure to look at the other pieces that you have! :D

King Duncan and Lady Pauline from the Ranger's Apprentice series :] Is it still considered a fanart if I don't like Lady Pauline?

Anyway - that's probably the last one of that quick busts series. At least for now. Maybe someday I'll draw more. (I'm currently on the second book and there aren't really any more characters left to draw.)

Thank you all for your kind words under these last few posts, it was really fun :]

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I have way too much AU, would anyone like to share with me? Some are might be more unique than others, some might be close to already existing ones, and some might only have slight differences from canon that can have a huge impact. You can choose which one/ones you want to borrow, or you don't have to borrow one at all, it's up to you :)

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Does anyone actually know the definition of Meratyn? Because I looked it up and I can't find one. If you know the definition or find it, please let me know!

I'd also like to add that we also don't know much, if anything, about Crowley's past so you could make stuff up with that too, or maybe you could combine the ideas to make something as well! It's up to you, really.

With that being said, I encourage you to do with that information what you will and I will be doing the same.

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Can I make it worse by adding that I'm pretty sure Halt cried on the spot when he saw Pritchard's dead body? I think it was only a few tears but just IMAGINE how much he must have meant to him for something like that to happen.

Hey has anyone ever talked about how traumatic holding Pritchards dead body was for Halt and how maybe whenever he gets a really bad depressive episode one of the things that keeps him going is promising himself to never have to make Gilan or Will do that?

Cause if they have I haven't seen it

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Initially I wasn't going to post this because I thought it wasn't good enough, then I tried uploading it and then I deleted it for the same reason. Now I've realized that this fandom is generally more supportive than that so I'm going to share it, I hope that at least one of you will enjoy it :)

It is supposed to depict Halt playing poker, I just didn't really know how to draw that- What I was thinking of when I made it was the one or two scenes of Halt playing it (I think that happened, maybe I'm just remembering it wrong though). I thought about "What if he had to play it for a mission with a bunch of nobles?" and that, along with being quite tired, is how this was born.

This is one of my first fanarts for this series and I made it a few months ago. After making it I've found that I would honestly love to make more, please let me know what you think of it and if you'd like to see more of my art in the future!

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I have two views of Pritchard's thoughts on Halt and Crowley and it all just depends on how I'm feeling:

Version one: I have two sons and both of them are very chaotic and very traumatized, they just have different ways of showing it.

Version 2: Despite popular belief, I don't have two sons. I have one grumpy son and one redheaded son-in-law, or at least, that's how it would be if one of them decided to just make a move already.

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Will: You don’t get it! I'm dangerous!

Horace, holding his face in his hands, affectionately nods: You can be anything you want to be.

Will:

Will: You still don’t get it...

Horace: Anything and anyone!

Will:

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Will, to Gilan: Hey what's the difference between Halt's advice and Crowley's advice?

Gilan: The difference is that ignoring Halt's advice can be a bad idea, ignoring Crowley's advice is a bad idea, and ignoring both of their advice, when they're telling you the same thing, is a death sentence.