#we ride or die for all these unbalanced morons

[reireichu]

We'll forever have the scars.

Part VII. miss universe.

Rhaenyra likes the idea of someone young and beautiful, someone like an ornament she can display to the world, flaunting all sense of propriety. Sophie understands that in a way, because Rhaenyra enjoys oversized blazers and Vitalumiere foundation and she also likes to win. She likes to surround herself by comfort and beautiful things, because that is what her father has made clear since birth, that all those beautiful, precious things are hers by right.

All, except the one.

I think I could make some commentary on how psychologically messed up Sophie is by the past and by everyone in her life, but at this point, why would I write that commentary when I can just watch as she and Aegon just get really fucking unhinged.

rip my soul, i need baby jebus to forgive me for how fucking terrible this.

We'll forever have the scars. @ AO3

[babywarg]

For the title this “the sorcerer and the crown” and “the flow of the currents” :p

Hi! These ones ran on a little long. Imma cut to spare everyone’s feeds XD

1. The Sorcerer and the Crown - This title reminded me of The King and the Clown, a South Korean historical drama that I fell hard for when I was younger. But what I’m inclined to write about for it has nothing to do with that movie 😆

The fic I would write is going to be a Once and Future King-type alternative timeline. It starts with an aged Stephen, now Sorcerer Supreme, making a deal with interdimensional powers.

Said powers have decided that this reality has been well and thoroughly screwed over by humans. Therefore, they declare, humans must be eradicated by their indestructible agent, Thanos, so that this reality can start over.

Stephen argues that humans are good by nature and deserve to live longer. Thus, the interdimensional powers allow him to choose a champion for the Earth, upon whom he will bestow a metaphysical “crown”, and who will go up against Thanos in a final battle to decide the fate of this reality.

The powers are betting that any champion whom Stephen selects would fall into despair, considering how shitty humans have become. This champion wouldn’t even face Thanos in the final battle - and worse, may even side with him for personal gain.

But Stephen places all his bets on his champion, on the thought that his champion will choose hope and save the world.

Stephen spends some time looking into Earth’s past for a possible champion. Then, like Merlin, he goes backwards in time, to find one Anthony Edward Stark.

The first time they meet is when Tony is a child and Stephen is very old. Little Tony thinks the ancient guy with the cool red coat is weird - why would he go out of his way to take an abused little rich kid around and show him how good other people are? - but somehow, the old guy’s lessons find their way into his heart.

Then, as a less old person, Stephen meets Tony in a party in the year 2000, where he calls himself Yinsen: a talented scientist whose family died in a war (the real Yinsen had in fact died with his family. Stephen stole his identity in order to insert himself into Tony’s life).

He meets Tony again in the same form, when he is being held by terrorist kidnappers inside a cave. Stephen sacrifices his “Yinsen” disguise in a show of dying, so that Tony will be driven to escape.

Some years later, he meets Tony again as a much younger man - a doctor around Tony’s age. Tony doesn’t recognize him as the old man from his childhood OR as Yinsen, but thinks he is very, very familiar.

They spend a lot of time together, with Stephen subtly teaching Tony that the majority of people are good, and that privileged people like him need to protect them (even says vague things like “heavy is the head that wears the crown”).

In the process of being subtly and secretly mentored, Tony finds himself falling for Stephen. This is unexpected, Stephen notes…but then he finds himself falling for Tony, too.

…which is bad, because if he fails, Tony will end up losing to Thanos, and dying. The best case scenario is Tony sacrificing himself in order to win against Thanos - and dying, all the same.

The powers that be are amused. They tell Stephen, “You found someone to whom your own soul called out. And then you saved him from death, only so he could die.”

Stephen shakes his head. “No,” he answers. “I saved him from death so he can live forever.”

As it turns out, Tony’s way to defeat Thanos is to build a device (an Infinity Crown) that will encase both him and Thanos in a stasis field for eternity. Thanos can’t die, he’s learned, but he can be trapped - even if Tony has to be trapped with him.

This means neither Tony nor Thanos ever really dies. Stephen doesn’t just win by placing his faith in Tony - he gets one up on the interdimensional beings that had wanted all humans dead, by taking their reaper out of commission.

…and because I can’t resist a good Merlin parallel, Stephen puts himself in stasis along with Tony. After all, humanity has been saved: the interdimensional powers will never bother them again, and a Sorcerer Supreme isn’t necessary for a good while. (Maybe he trains a successor: it could be part of his backwards-living plan.)

Tony will always be the one wearing the crown that saved humanity. If and when Tony is revived to save reality again, his lover would be right there alongside him.

(BTW, if you like this and are in the mood for other fantasy AUs, I’d like to direct you to two that I’ve previously written: The Prince and the Clocksmith, and Saying Your Names [drpepperony, but with Tony as a monarch and Stephen as a wizard, too])

***

2. The Flow of the Currents -  Ah…this one makes me think of a sad story about Stephen being confused about timelines.

I’m thinking - Sanctum Master Stephen takes it upon himself to test a new spell he learned, one which allows him to look at how time flows out in many different directions.

In the process of peering into alternative timelines, he inadvertently falls in love with Tony Stark.

Stephen used to be able to easily organize which memories belong to which timelines…but since accidentally developing feelings for Tony, it’s become significantly harder for him to process things.

For one thing, he wrestles with memories of things that never happened, or things that will never happen. He repeats to himself, over and over, that Tony is going to die to save the universe in this reality, and that Tony is never going to return his feelings. At the same time, having to remind himself of this constantly leaves him feeling sad and helpless.

At one point he becomes so unbalanced that he can’t eat or sleep. Tony visits him at the Sanctum out of concern. He finally learns the truth: that Stephen has feelings for him, but Tony is bound to meet a terrible fate (Stephen won’t say which) and Stephen is beaten up by the fact that he can’t do anything about it.

As Tony processes all of this, he goes home and builds a machine that could quite possibly help him ride the currents of time, and see what Stephen saw.

The machine works, and two things happen to Tony:

1. He falls for Stephen, as well, seeing as it’s crazy how many alternative futures they spend together and in love; and

2. He learns that Stephen has been looking at the WRONG TIMELINE.

That is, in Stephen’s confused state, he’s been thinking all along that THIS is the one where Tony dies to kill an interstellar conqueror and save the universe.

Tony knows what to do now. He goes back to the Sanctum, to the depressed-to-the-point-of-catatonia Stephen, brings him back to his senses with a kiss, and sets his dumb ass straight:

“The universe doesn’t even come close to ending in this one. So this isn’t the one where you lose me, you moron. This is the one where we live happily ever after.”