BALINTHER ANON UNMASKED BC IM TOO EXCITED
YOUR ART IS INCREDIBLY SIMILAR TO WHAT I HAD IN MIND. AND YES YGRAINE AND UTHER ABSOLUTELY TOOK BALINOR ON PICNICS AND PERSONAL RIDES OUT AND ITS SO CUTE.
Balinor and Uther have been friends since Balinor’s knighting in Camelot and they trained together. Balinor was first to propose the casual encounters and Uther agreed for whatever reason you may think best and that became Balinor developing unreturned feelings. Also a big fan of the idea of them a similar dynamic to merthur with Balinor very backhandedly complimenting Uther and calling him things like “brutish mule,” “goatface,” and the iconic “prat.”
Ygraine knew very early on in her and Uther’s courting that he and Balinor were fooling around and frankly didnt see any issue with it as long as it didnt interfere much with their relationship. She was was very friendly with Balinor and very quickly discovered Balinor’s feelings for Uther but never said anything bc well, she trusts him to not make moves what with her presence and his own position in Camelot. It was an understanding between the two that never was said bc it never needed to be.
Uther and Balinor were best friends. Did a lot together in their youth. Shared a lot together. Balinor was there when Ygraine and Uther married, he was there when Arthur was born (and pulled a screaming Uther away from Nimueh), Balinor was there when Ygraine died and was there trying to help pick Uther back up. Balinor lost his feelings in a violent way, he lost his feelings when Uther killed his dragon and his family during the Great Purge, he lost those feelings when Uther spared him and exiled him from Camelot instead killing him. Uther knew how much family meant to Balinor.
And as for Uther, well, he feels guilty. Incredibly guilty about pushing away the only person who really stuck by him, incredibly guilty about abusing a bond until it broke. So guilty in fact sometimes he hallucinates Balinor standing next to him again and snarking him with that familiar grin or scolding him through riddles he understands and doesn’t get. Of all the things Uther regrets doing, the biggest is tearing apart Balinor as he tore himself apart. But is it something he will ever admit to himself? No. No, because kings are never wrong.
Ive also got a half baked story of balinor turning into a dragon temporarily and kidnapping uther and then fucks off to ireland which forces them to very painfully reconcile with each other (and i do mean PAINFULLY) and relearn to love the other, platonically or romantically. Im as normal about them as i am merthur (which is to say not at all)
(i'm so sorry for such late reply but i didn't wanted to come with empty hands after your such enthusiastic text and i just wanted to draw something, VERY BADLY) adding some thoughts of my own because it's just too interesting and it's difficult to not think about it, ideas just keep bursting out of my brain.
I like their friends/lovers to enemies (and possibly back to friends) dynamic and all the angst happening there... Also Merthur coded relationship just so🤌 Balinor talking in riddles like his oversized lizard friend, and tormented by visions of his friend and dead wife Uther does something to me (my thoughts keep wandering from here to there so, sorry if i'm being too scattered)
I can't help but think that Balinor would be close friends with Nimueh and Gaius and they also have their sorcerers meeting, like council or something while everything was good, but after the Great purge they grew distant cause of their different view on magic and position. Nimueh disappeared right after Ygraine's death, Gaius helped Uther to hunt down sorcerers and people who practiced magic, and Balinor was in exile god knows where (i would've continue my prattle happily but i'm afraid my vocabulary and my melted from the sun brain won't allow it)
Balinor turning into a dragon and kidnapping mad king sounds badass, i hope you finish that story and share it someday🙏
(Also i like your name, it's very cool and knightly of you!!)
stormborns
vaporwave
