#the eriksson family

[young-royals-confessions]

I don’t think Micke was actually an abusive parent, I think he was just useless. The fact that Simon still wanted a relationship with him and only didn’t because of Sara doesn’t really make it seem like he was violent towards his children

[realredbanana]

Totally random thought. I’d love to read/write a Sara-centric fic/character study focused around identity and lack there of, especially in regard to autism. (Mild warning, I may be accidentally projecting a bit here as she is a character I personally deeply relate to).

Like, I’d love to explore/see someone explore her feelings around herself and who she is, because for a lot of (if not the entirety of) the series, she’s masking. Constantly. (Oo, would also love to explore the consequences of that) and constantly masking to that extent, on top of being absolutely exhausting, can realistically lead to a lack of any real identity. For example, personally, I have no real idea of where the mask ends and I begin, is the mask part of me? If it isn’t, why can’t I just switch it off? If it is why doesn’t it feel like me? So, I’d love to actually think deeper about that in regard to Sara.

Additionally, she’s mixed race. And since Micke’s out of the picture, it’s not unreasonable to assume that her, Simon and Linda see (or at least speak to) Linda’s side of the family more than Micke’s, which could potentially make Sara feel at least a little bit awkward given that she’s white-passing and has much less desire to speak Spanish (potentially because of bullying? Or general fear of being further ostracised?). That could easily lead to a feeling of not being Swedish enough to easily fit in with the white Swedish kids, yet not Venezuelan enough to easily fit in with the rest of her family. (This is the bit where I’m most concerned about slightly projecting because, while I am white, I was born in England (with mostly English family) yet I’ve spent most of my life in Wales, leading to a general feeling of being ‘not Welsh enough to be Welsh in Wales, but not English enough to be English in England’).

Plus, she was considered an outsider amongst the girls (and boys, really) who were experiencing crushes for the first time at, what, 12? 13?? 14??? Whereas she first experienced romantic/sexual attraction at 17, almost 18, much later than everyone else. And, as much as this sucks, I know that a fairly large part of the Teen Experience™️ is crushes. Talking about crushes. Teasing your friends about their crushes. Trying to talk to your crushes. Etc. So, to be quite late to experience your first crush (if you ever do) is quite isolating. You very quickly realise “ah. I see. I’m not normal.” — and to have any part of your identity built on top of this feeling of “I’m not normal” is kind of really horrific. Also, when she does experience that attraction, it happens to be towards someone who is, one, her first ever friend’s ex and, two, the guy who leaked CP of her brother, which really complicates everything. So, she’s suddenly forced to juggle her crush (something that may, on some level, make her feel “more normal”) alongside the fact that being with August means betraying Felice and Simon (and, when it came to Felice, well, Felice already expressed that she wasn’t ever really in love with August, and with Simon she felt like he’d betrayed her first (by speaking to Micke)).

On top of all of these things, Sara also seemed to be losing interest in horses, to some extent, in s3. And losing/feeling on the brink of losing a special interest is something I’d never wish on anybody. Especially because a special interest can be/is a very core part of most autistic people’s identities (like, my interest in Young Royals is a core part of me, in fact, I find it easiest to understand the world around me through Young Royals) and losing that can be deeply painful, like, you’re actually grieving the loss of a major part of yourself. Imagine feeling your most intense interest, the thing that you feel makes you you, the thing that helped you whenever you felt really tired or sad or stressed, slipping away through your fingers. Nothing you can do to prevent it from fading, and the more you try to cling to it the quicker it fades. It’s a deeply distressing experience.

Just. In general, I feel like identity for Sara must almost be this complicated seeming mess of feeling like you don’t really belong anywhere. Which just feels horrifically tragic to me.

[willestears]

This might be the most beautiful parallel in young royals.

[hardersson-stuff]

Magda playing goalkeeper for Pernille's nephew 😍

[botticellisflora]

I got it. My drivers license. But dad ... He was ... He was supposed to drive me there. He promised. But instead, he drank beer with his friends. I don't know. I didn't think that it-

THE ERIKSSONS | YOUNG ROYALS SEASON 3 EPISODE 5

[misfithive]

I can’t carry this anymore x wilmon

[raincitygirl76]

I wonder how much of the Sargust fallout in 2.06 was due to August being an only child…

He clearly did not anticipate Sara reacting as badly as she did to finding out that her boyfriend had used her tipoff to blackmail her little brother. He probably figured she wouldn’t be happy. But her level of betrayal seemed to catch August off guard. But then, August doesn’t know what it’s like to be truly pissed off at your sibling, but they’re still your sibling.

I had a fight with my sister on the weekend, and we just made up via text. We’re both gone 40 and she’s married with 2 kids (who have their own sibling rivalry issues). But she’s still my little sister, and fighting with her is still not fun.

Sara in 1.06 was not happy with Simon, and I suspect that made it easier for her to cut that deal with August. Judging by 1.06, August could have assumed that Sara doesn’t like Simon very much, and won’t particularly care what August does to him. But again, August has no siblings.

Sara cut a deal with August in 1.06 when she felt betrayed by her brother and panic-stricken at the thought of her mother forcing her to return to the old school where she had been viciously bullied. But eventually Sara’s anger at her little brother cooled. And he remained her little brother.

A few months pass. Simon and Sara aren’t as close as they used to be, with Sara boarding at Hillerska this term. And Sara is preoccupied with both her secret romance and the pending sale of Rousseau. But Simon still tells her when he finds out it was August who leaked the video. And Sara tells August what Simon told her, expecting him to do the right thing. Is she naive for thinking that? Yes. But she’s also only 18 and in love.

Then August uses her information, not to confess his crime to the police “spontaneously” before Simon can turn him in. But instead to blackmail Simon with something or other (Sara doesn’t know the specifics) so Simon can’t turn him in. Sara must be doubting at this point whether she ever meant anything to August, or if he was just using her to keep her quiet about what she knew.

As it happens she’s wrong about that, but it’s not unreasonable for her to doubt August’s motives for pursuing her, given what she’s just found out about how he used the information she gave him. Note on the shooting range she says “Because I was in love with him.” Past tense. Not “Because I’m in love with him,” present tense.

Furthermore, when she tells the truth, partly because she fears Wilhelm will blow August’s head off, Simon is devastated. He trusted Sara, and she betrayed that trust. She betrayed it more than once, has had this information since December and got involved with August anyway. I don’t think it really hits Sara until this point just how badly she’s fucked up, or just how devastated Simon is.

He’s her little brother, he’s in pain, she wants to hurt the person who hurt him. But the person who hurt him is her. She did this to him. Sara is not a forgiving person, look at how she decisively cut Micke out of her life. She must be fearing that she’s ruined her relationship with her only sibling for the rest of her life, that he will never forgive her.

I personally think Simon will forgive Sara eventually. But Sara knows what it’s like to be betrayed by an immediate family member, and knows she will never forgive Micke. It’s not difficult to imagine Sara extrapolating from her own experience, and believing Simon will permanently cut her out of his life the way she has permanently cut their father out of her life.

So she’s hurt her only sibling very badly, and for what? For a guy who turned out to be a duplicitous asshole and used her tipoff to hurt her brother. Again.

And August thinks she’ll simmer down. Yeah, she walked away from him on the shooting range, but he approaches her the following morning confidently. He has an ace in the hole to get his girlfriend to stop flipping out: he’s bought Rousseau for her. August (again, an only child) assumes the gift of Rousseau will be sufficient recompense for deep-sixing Sara’s relationship with her brother.

It isn’t sufficient recompense, and August is taken aback when Sara refuses the magnificent gift. But August doesn’t understand the push-pull of sibling dynamics. That Sara is experiencing family loyalty at a very inconvenient time (from August’s point of view).

August’s father is dead, he’s clearly not close to his mother, and he hates his stepfather’s guts. And he has no siblings, nobody else who understands what it was like to grow up at Arnas with Carl Johan and Louise Horn as their parents.

He was pretty close to his second cousin Erik before Erik wrapped his Ferrrari around a tree. But it seems like that friendship didn’t really get close until a traumatized, recently bereaved 16 year old August showed up at Hillerska as a first year and Erik (then a third year) took August under his wing.

August and Erik knew each other all their lives, but they were only close for about 2 years. And given they first got close at 16 (August) and 18 (Erik), that’s not actually analogous to a sibling relationship. Erik was already old enough to drink and vote, and August only a few years off. That’s not spending your childhood together.

And we’ve seen how superficial August’s friendships with his two best friends at Hillerska are. In S1, August and Vincent trash talk Nils behind his back for being nouveau riche. In S2, given an opportunity, Vincent sells August out, and Nils helps Vincent do so. August does not have any siblings, nor any sibling-like relationships where mutual loyalty is crucial.

So August sees Sara sell Simon out in 1.06 and takes that at face value. He doesn’t realize that Sara is angry with Simon at that point, but will get over it. Because August doesn’t understand the messiness of sibling relationships. Or their importance.

I know adults who have cut siblings out of their lives because that sibling had hurt them so grievously they said enough. But I don’t know anyone who has cut a sibling out of their life without giving it serious thought beforehand. Even if they’re better off without that sibling in their life, it’s still a huge decision. Sometimes it’s a bigger decision than cutting a parent out of their life.

Matters are complicated somewhat by divorce, remarriage, half-siblings, step-siblings, etc. obviously. But generally speaking, if you spent a significant chunk of your childhood living in the same house as someone, the decision to cut them out of your life is a very serious one.

My best friend has two older half siblings she is not close to and has never been close to. But one is 20 years her senior and the other 18 years her senior. She is the only child of her father’s second marriage, and she acts like an only child. The combination of her father’s divorce from his first wife and the massive age gap means she has very few shared experiences with her half-siblings. Now, part of that is on her dad. But part of it is simply that both her half siblings are old enough they could be her parents themselves.

So yeah, August was raised as an only child. Even if it turns out Carl Johan fathered another child out of wedlock at some point, that hypothetical half-sibling didn’t grow up with Carl Johan. There might be curiosity, it might even lead to a bond eventually, but there won’t be the shared childhood experiences.

Whereas Sara and Simon are full siblings close in age. Furthermore, they grew up together, in a traumatic family situation with a father who was an addict (and possibly abusive to boot) and a mother who meant well but was struggling to cope. Even if Simon and Sara never reconnect, they will still always have those shared experiences of growing up as Micke and Linda Eriksson’s children.

So I really don’t think August saw Sara’s total disillusionment with him in 2.06 coming. Because August isn’t anyone’s brother and doesn’t really get it.

[saynomorefic]

Shout out to all my biracials / biculturals / bilinguals who feel visible and represented thanks to Simon and Sara Eriksson

[young-royals-confessions]

simon is so older sibling coded!! when i first watched, I completely forgot that he was younger until sara's birthday, and then i forgot again until i was on tumblr and someone mentioned it.

[thatsmybook]

Omar talking about Simon breaking up with Wille at the end of Episode 5 in t.v. guide

"Wille and Wille's family became really human for Simon," Rudberg said. "Before it was more, 'the Queen and the King.' Where now he goes to Wille's home for the first time and it becomes real — and he realizes this family is so broken." In that scene, Simon is torn between wanting to support Wille and wanting to protect his own heart. "He really wanted to be there for [Wille], but he just feels that whatever he's doing, he's not the one that is going to save Wille," the actor continued. "The only person that could save Wille is Wille himself."

Throughout this season, Simon has put in serious effort toward the relationship. "[He] was fighting against all of their issues and was trying to fix everything because he loves Wille, because he wants to be with him," Rudberg said. But after watching Wille express his true feelings to his parents, it became apparent to Simon that some things were out of his control. "I can only save myself for now and save my family. And you have to do the same thing," Rudberg explained, in character.

The actor continued. "Simon always says, I try to be there for him, but everything that I do makes it all worse," he said. "And this was definitely the last straw where he was like, get your sh-- together, man."

Rudberg said Simon was witnessing pain everywhere — and experiencing it himself. "Your family's hurting, you're hurting and that's hurting me and my family," the actor described of Simon's thoughts toward Wille. "That's why [Simon's] got to protect himself at the end of the day."

Rudberg also spoke about what this exchange means for his character. "Simon is a strong person where he prioritizes himself a lot," the actor said. "But I definitely think this was the first time he actually made a statement for himself, where he's like, I'm actually not okay. And I have to leave."

[domtheforestgnome]

It's probably the first time Simon doesn't hesitate with his answer to Wille's offering AT ALL. Look. No thoughts in this adorable curly head. Wille can do anything to him right now. Pure trusting.

[the-words-we-sung]

Day 16: Venezuela

For Simon’s Month 2024 hosted by @youngroyals-events

[hardersson-stuff]

Magda and Pernille speaking Swedish. Magda and P's nephew 😍

[enjoythesilentworld]

Simon's Month - (Beyblade) Towel

day 5! @youngroyals-events

Oh, the places you’ll go. (Or, memories of Simon’s life as seen by his Beyblade towel)

read below or on ao3 (G, 900) (light angst warning)

Most of the memories are warm and sweet. Those are the ones to remember, to reminisce on. 

The very first one is of a store. A standard store that sells birthday cards and laundry detergent, Lego sets and hardback books. A standard store that also rotates its goods based on time of year and has just moved in a new line of kids swimsuits and towels as the end of spring melts into summer. 

A small child, curly haired and sunny eyed, comes careening around the corner of the aisle, skidding to a stop in front of the array of beach towels. He jumps up and down in his spot, turned back towards where he came from and waiting impatiently to be followed, hopefully by a guardian of some sort.

Sure enough, a few seconds later a nice-looking lady with similar curls and a warm smile appears. 

“Simon, please don’t run off like that,” she says and pets the boy’s hair. Her voice doesn’t sound scolding, though. It’s the voice of a mother who knows her child will listen to her but is maybe a little bit too excitable at times. 

“Sorry, Mamá,” he apologizes sheepishly, toeing his shoe into the ground. Then, he perks up and points with a small hand. “Can I get this one, please? Please, please, please! It’s from that show, the one that Ayub showed me!” 

Simon continues to bounce around, rambling and laying out a pretty well-crafted argument for a six-year-old. The pretty lady smiles fondly down at him, pretending to consider, before giving him a small nod. He yelps excitedly and pulls the towel off the shelf, depositing it carefully in the cart.

There’s a plethora of memories from that same summer. They blur together, the visions of lake days and orange slices, tiny sandwiches and big smiles.  

Simon, the young boy, radiates happiness the whole time, save for one time he falls and scrapes his knee. Even then, he smiles up at his mother through the tears and says, “I’m okay, Mamá. It’s just a scratch.” 

Sara, his sister, has her own towel. It’s covered in horses and sometimes they argue about whose is better, until Linda steps in and distracts them with treats. 

There’s a man, too, Simon’s pappa. He has a deep laugh and makes Simon giggle uncontrollably when he tosses the young boy into the water or pretends to be a sea monster, chasing after his two small children. 

Micke starts appearing less and less as the boy gets older. Soon, rather than seeing him wrap Simon with his towel as he climbs out of the pool after swimming lessons, it’s only his voice that is heard. Shouts muffled through a shut bedroom door, a still young boy hiding under his towel, hands pressed to ears, trying to block out the noise. 

Then, the man is gone altogether, and the boy grows a little older, and his smile returns, if a little dampened. 

He and his sister add their towels to a blanket fort in the living room. Though Simon’s towel has remained the same, Sara’s has lost its flair. It’s a simple purple one, now, with no pictures or sparkles or childhood memories. She says none of the other kids at school have kid towels anymore, so they shouldn’t either. Simon likes his towel, though, and he doesn’t so much care what the other kids at school think. 

The boy grows older still, and rings in another birthday at the pool with friends, towel wrapped around his shoulders, blowing out candles that read ‘16’. 

There are fewer happy water days after that. Now, the memories all come from one small, slightly stinky room. There are dozens of other towels around, but they are all pristine and new and made from expensive cotton. None of them have faded colors or small rips, but none of them have any good memories, either. The locker room is boring and has no great scenery, but there is one other boy who keeps staring at Simon with sad brown eyes. 

The boy, Wille, holds Simon’s hand and they tangle up together on the bench, whispering promises that cannot be kept. 

Then, they stop talking to each other, only furtive glances across the humid room. That, the silence, is worse than the fights, because then at least they’re talking. 

After that, the memories of the locker room and the prince stop, too. The towel ends up stuffed into a cabinet and maybe that is the end of it, maybe there are too many holes and too many bad memories outweighing the good and the young boy has grown up too much to cling to memorabilia of childhood TV shows. 

But, then, a crack of light and a laugh. 

“We’re going on a trip, Mamá!” Simon shouts across the small house, between giggles and gentle hushes. The prince is back, though looking much less princely than usual, and he’s wrapped around Simon with a big, relieved grin, pressing small kisses against his bare neck. 

This summer rivals that first happy summer from a decade previous. More lake days and orange slices, but also stolen kisses under the towel and a million whispered I love you’s. Wille wraps Simon up in the towel and carries him up the dock, ignoring Simon’s complaints because they come between wild bouts of laughter. They stand pressed up against a tree and grin at each other unbelieving that this is real. 

There are a million more memories like that from the summer, of tackling each other into the water, of shared sodas and water-logged sandwiches, and of lying side by side on the shore, staring into each other's eyes and making promises for the future. These promises, now, can be kept. 

[shimmerluna]

really it's not that Wille needs to abdicate for him and Simon to be together, it's that he needs to check his privilege and start actually listening to Simon when it comes to things like that. Abdication isn't going to make him less of a privileged brat unless he stops viewing Simon acknowledging their huge wage gap and the downsides of the monarchy as personal attacks and actually becomes open to learning things

[frogprinsen]

Simon: So, tell me a little about yourself.

Wilhelm: I'd rather not, I really like you.