So some Aladdin (2019) videos popped up on my recommended page and now I'm back to being obsessed with Jasmine/Jafar and the lack of good fic has me so upset!
There's not a lot on Ao3 and what's there just isn't for me. So much of it is about Jafar winning and then enslaving Jasmine, which is fine if you're into that, but it's already been done a lot and for me, a way more interesting idea is if sultan!Jasmine were to get control of genie!Jafar's lamp and they develop some weird antagonistic, codependent, sexy relationship. I mean, yeah, mostly the idea of Jasmine as the dom is an interesting subversion, but this would also be an exploration of Jasmine's dark side. And, in my headcanon, at least, I picture Jafar as having a masochistic side (especially when Jasmine's concerned).
I also think that it would be an interesting play on the complicated power dynamic that already existed between them. Because on one hand, Jafar was the sultan's right hand man, he had the second most powerful position in the kingdom…and then on the other hand, Jasmine is the sultan's only child, she's the de facto heir and part of the royal family by blood, a position that he could never reach even if he tried. But then this contradiction kind of ensures that only they can be each other's equal and there's really no one else that could ever be on their level, but the equilibrium between them is constantly shifting.
Now with Jasmine having the definitive upper hand in the relationship, it not only completely upends the precarious balance that they've been operating under for years, but it does so in a way that totally goes against convention (because an older man dominating a younger woman is basically more of the same) and push both of them into unfamiliar territory.
And, I mean, it's canon that Jasmine won in the end and became sultan and it rubs me the wrong way that so many fics feel like the only way to make Jasmine/Jafar work or to make that dynamic sexy is to take that win away from her. It's boring at best and lightly misogynistic at worst.
OMG I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE ANOTHER PERSON ON THSI SITE WHO'S BLACK AND DESI (I'M BENGALI THROUGH MY MOM AND ALSO AFRO-CHEROKEE THROUGH MY DAD BTW)
Headcanons for Aladdin w/ an S/O who's an avatar of Khonshu pls? (I blame the Moon Knight x Arabian Nights tiktok edits lmao)
HELLO FELLOW AFRO-DESI, THIS ONE'S FOR YOU 🫂👑
My younger sister made me binge-watch Moon Knight last week and I gotta say, it's a pretty good show. Also, I am a FULL ON Taweret stan! 🥺🦛
Aladdin dating the Avatar of Khonshu would include...
Pairings: Aladdin x Avatar of Khonshu!Reader
Warnings: Slight angst, but at least there's fluff! I'm still bad at writing headcanons, possibly OOC Khonshu (OH MY GOD DAD!KHONSHU)
A/N: Let's pretend this is set after the film and Aladdin and Jasmine decide to remain friends, okay?
How you met:
The first time he sees you, it's late at night.
Aladdin can't sleep and goes to grab a cup of water when he hears a commotion outside.
You're running across the rooftops in Agrabah, decked out in the ceremonial suit from Khonshu's temple not psycho Colonel Sanders and Aladdin is MESMERIZED.
So, he makes it a habit of staying up very a little late every night to get a glimpse of you.
Khonshu catches on to this and warns you to be more careful. When you ask him why, Khonshu's only response is: "Someone is watching."
On the seventh night, Aladdin can't seem to find you. He's sad...
...For a few seconds, until Abu freaks out and warns his human of an intruder, pointing to you just chilling on the couch (Aladdin and Abu can't see him... yet, but Khonshu is just standing there looking at you with disappointment)
In time, you two get to know each other and eventually fall in love.
Hell, y'all even learn about each other's cultures.
It takes Khonshu a while, but when he finally reveals himself to Aladdin, this is the street rat's reaction:
"Why are you so scared?" "THAT IS KHONSHU."
How it's going:
Y'all are too cute together
Aladdin calls you "Hayati" (Arabic for "my life"), and you call him "Habibi" (Arabic for "my love")
You stay up with him at night to look at the stars and he can't help but notice how beautiful you are. Khonshu yells at the both of you to go to bed after a few minutes.
MAGIC CARPET RIDE DATES 💓💓💓💓💓
Khonshu is pretty much your overprotective dad, while Genie is your chill father-in-law.
Genie and Khonshu are the grumpy/sunshine in-law duo no one expected... oh and Jasmine and Dalia are Aladdin's wingmen 😜😜
Lian and Omar (Genie and Dalia's kids/Aladdin's younger siblings) are in awe of you and ask so many questions.
"What's it like being an avatar of a scary bird god?"
"Exhausting" you half-joke, to Khonshu's dismay.
If Genie asks about grandbabies, Aladdin will blush.
Request: Alladin X platonic (fem?) reader headcanons please?? :)
A/N: You didn't specify which Aladdin you wanted, but I'm going to write these for 1992 Aladdin because that's the one people normally prefer
I just want to start this off by saying Aladdin is a huge dork and no one can convince me otherwise. He would be the dorkiest friend to have, try and prove me wrong, you can't. Okay anyways moving on.
He's a pain in the ass to have any connection to because he's always on the run from the guards, which means that you are as well. There's no escaping it, so if you want to be his friend you better be prepared for a lot of running.
Besides that though, he's fiercely loyal and would do anything for you. Seriously, all you have to do is ask. He would steal, lie, etc for you with no hesitation.
He would appreciate you so much though, there aren't many people on the streets he can trust That's why he would do anything for you as well.
Bad jokes. I can't explain this one I just feel like Aladdin would tell bad jokes, he seems like the kind of guy.
Hugs, hand holding, etc he's down for. He seems like he'd be a very touchy affectionate guy and he wouldn't be shy about it either.
You can't tell me you don't tease him RELENTLESSLY when he gets a huge crush on Jasmine (before y'all know she's the princess) and when you guys find out she is, you make it your life mission to never let him live it down. Seriously, this guy.
And you think it's so funny when he's doing all this romantic schmoozing and it's just ridiculous. You're super surprised Jasmine likes it.
Playing games with Carpet, Abu and Genie. The antics the four of you get into when Aladdin and Jasmine are on their own doing their thing. Seriously, you're surprised they even put up with you.
I know a lot of these have been silly, but tell me you wouldn't steal his hat and walk around the palace doing impressions of him until he realizes and tracks you down, snatching his hat back.
Despite the fact you think Aladdin was a walking disaster while they were courting, you love Jasmine. She's a smart princess with a good head on her shoulders and the two of you frequently gang up against Aladdin (much to his dismay!)
You would defend him with your life, just like he would do for you. It does lead you to a lot of trouble, especially with Jafar but that's fine with you. As long as he's safe, that's all that matters.
He ruffles your hair. You hate it. He will never stop.
Telling everyone who will listen Aladdin's most embarrassing moments. Seriously, if anyone asks you are there and you will give them DETAILED descriptions.
You guys are honestly more like siblings than friends, because you just grew up together on the streets and you're the only family you each have.
Headcanons for Aladdin falling in love with a female palace guard?
A/N: I hope you like it!
- Seeing Aladdin the first time when you catch him stealing some food.
- You run after him, and follow him to the rooftops with ease.
- “Hey, mister, would you please give that apple back?”
- “Us street rats need to eat too and it looks like…” he shoved the apple in front of his monkey who took a bite from it “Abu has already started eating.”
- If you had been any of your colleagues, you would have taken your sword and put it on Aladdin’s throat, but you weren’t them - you just couldn’t hold back your smile.
- It was a surprise for Aladdin, since he thought you’d get mad and then he’d get to escape you again.
- “Okay, fine, I’ll pay for the apple. Thanks for the show, “street rat”.” you say, and he blinks, still not believing that you weren’t chasing him.
- “Hey, what’s your name?” he calls after you as you start to descend from the roof. “I’m Aladdin.”
- “Y/N. Nice to meet you, Aladdin.”
- He starts falling in love with you when he notices you don’t have the features most of your colleagues have - your colleagues tend to be rough and mean, but you? You can be sassy and kind.
- “Abu, I think I’m having a crush for that lady guard…”
- *Abu frowns and shakes his head while making disapproving noises*
- “But she’s so kind and I just… I don’t know how I would stop thinking about her if I had to.”
- A few days later, you save Aladdin when he’s being threatened by your colleagues.
- Aladdin knows his way to be cool and smooth, but at that moment he’s mesmerized at how you scold your colleagues and how they just stutter back at you before they quickly make their way off the scene. He just stares at the events with an open mouth.
- Abu reluctantly approves you after that.
- …and especially when you give him some food.
- Aladdin constantly finds himself staring at you with a dreamy look on his face.
Wow, it’s been a while since I last posted one of these, but Desert Moon popped up on my youtube feed and I couldn’t resist. So here are my headcanons about Jasmine’s mom (I’ll be building on all the headcanon I laid out in the previous posts, which you can find here).
The late Sultana, a princess of Shirabad, was the great love of the Sultan’s life (despite it having been an arranged marriage). I’m imagining a Hürrem/Suleiman the Magnificent type situation in which royal men were traditionally expected to have many wives/concubines, but the Sultan was so in love with the Sultana that he’d only marry her. Going by my previous headcanon about the Sultan, he was the youngest of his brothers and never expected to inherit the throne, so this decision was met with some resistance, but not too much. However, once it became clear that the throne would go to him, suddenly there would’ve been a lot of pressure to take on at least one more wife, but of course, he refused.
The Sultana’s life in the royal court was very difficult. Not only was she far from her homeland, but due to misogyny and her status as an outsider, many of the courtiers blamed her for not only not fulfilling her duty in giving the Sultan a male heir, but also for keeping him from having an heir with anyone else. Like Hürrem, maybe there were even rumors that she had bewitched the Sultan.
Palace life was suffocating for her, so she often went into the city incognito as a way to escape. She grew to love her new adopted home of Agrabah and wanted to get to know her people. The Sultan knew that she was going out, and though he was concerned, he never forbade her from going.
Personality-wise, I think the Sultana was braver and stronger-willed than the Sultan. When she realized that she would be the next Sultana and not just another princess, she accepted that responsibility and tried her best to rise to the occasion. She didn’t play a role in governing, nor did she have much interest in that, but she saw herself as being the soft power behind the throne. She not only went on many diplomatic trips abroad to strengthen Agrabah’s alliances, but she also made herself more accessible to her own subjects to show them that their concerns were being heard.
This might be contrary to what others might headcanon, but I think it might be interesting to have the Sultana be kind of hesitant about motherhood. I like to imagine that she was a middle child from a large family. There were always lots of children everywhere, which, despite being accustomed to it, she always found a little off-putting, and she also had at least some knowledge of the birthing process and how painful it was, which added to her hesitation. When she had first married the Sultan, because at that time he was expected to live and die as nothing more than a prince, it didn’t seem like children (or the lack thereof) would be an issue, they would have plenty of time before starting a family and even if they remained childless, the royal line didn’t depend on them so it wouldn’t matter. But then everything changed when the Sultan was suddenly the last viable heir to the throne, and suddenly it was all up to her to ensure the future of the royal bloodline.
It would take them years of trying until finally Jasmine was conceived, and she ended up being a very difficult pregnancy. Despite, or maybe even because of that, the Sultana was overjoyed at Jasmine’s birth even if the court (and to an extent, the Sultan) were disappointed.
Unlike other royal mothers, the Sultana wanted to raise Jasmine herself primarily (rather than have nannies and nurses raise her). She taught Jasmine the traditional songs, dances, and folk tales of Shirabad (which many at the royal court disapproved of). She told Jasmine stories of not just all the faraway lands she had been to, but also of all the things she saw when she went into the city. Every time the Sultana returned from one of her outings, she’d bring Jasmine back a small gift. When Jasmine was a little older, the Sultana would take her into the city, too, telling her that a good ruler needs to walk among her people. Even as the Sultana kept trying to have a son, she always believed that Jasmine’s rightful place was on the throne. She knew that it was what her daughter wanted, and she would do everything she could to prepare her for it. For Jasmine, her mother was the only one in her life who ever supported her dreams. As she grew older, she saw her mother as a respite from her constant need to prove herself to her father.
By the time Jafar came into the picture, the Sultana had finally gotten the hang of the whole parenting thing, so she was able to act as an adoptive mother to him as well. He was an older child and his life had been one of always looking over his shoulder, so the Sultana really had to earn his trust. The Sultana had no obligation to pay him any mind (the Sultan had already hired a set of caretakers for him), but she had felt an immediate connection with him. Jafar reminded her a little of herself when she first came to the royal court– awkward, foreign, feeling like she had to walk on eggshells all day because it was so evident that she just didn’t belong. The fact that he was also from Shirabad made her feel more protective of him, even though he didn’t want to be reminded of his homeland and his old life. Jafar did come to love her almost as much as Jasmine did. Unlike the Sultan’s attention, Jafar felt that the Sultana’s love was truly unconditional. Still, Jafar never let himself forget that his loyalty first and foremost was to himself and his own parents, whom he had lost tragically.
I think there would be some jealousy on Jasmine’s part regarding her mother’s relationship with Jafar. In some ways it was better than the situation with her father because (she was more secure in her relationship with her mother), and in other ways, it was worse (she knew that she would be devastated if it turned out that even her mother, the one person that she thought really knew her, preferred Jafar). Jasmine wanted to have both her parents to herself.
The Sultana often acted as a mediator and peacekeeper between Jasmine and Jafar, and they always refrained from arguing in front of her. If I really want to be bold with this headcanon, I’d also say that the Sultana saw early on that Jasmine and Jafar were both well suited to the throne (and to each other) and hoped that they would find a way to rule Agrabah together. After her death, the relationship between Jasmine and Jafar became even more strained not only because they no longer had a peacekeeper, but also because they both missed her stability and unconditional love.
Jafar kept his hatred of Shirabad under wraps as long as the Sultana was alive out of respect for her, but after she died, all bets were off. As soon as Jafar was able to have any real influence, he set his sights on instigating a conflict with Shirabad. In Jasmine’s eyes, this was the utmost disrespect to her mother’s legacy and she saw this as a deep betrayal by Jafar (furthering their conflict with each other).
It’s been a while since I watched the movie, but I think it was implied that Jasmine’s mother had died shortly before the events of the movie. However, I’d like to headcanon her death taking place a little earlier, like when Jasmine was around 11 or 12. That way, Jasmine would’ve been old enough to remember her mother and to have had a relationship with her, but she still would’ve been living with that loss for a while. And this timing also fits with my earlier headcanon of Jasmine starting to sneak out into the city in her early teens as a way to feel closer to her mom.
It’s also strongly implied that the Sultana’s death was violent (I previously speculated that it was a mugging gone wrong). I considered headcanoning it as just a freak accident in the city, but then decided against it. I think it would be more interesting to have Jasmine struggle with seeing the outside world in all its complexity and contradiction (it’s as beautiful and exciting as all her mother’s stories about it, but it’s also as dangerous and violent as her father fears it to be ).
Telling you all rn- I haven’t even watched the Aladdin live action yet and most likely won’t until it’s out on Netflix, but I’m all aboard this Jasmine x Jafar ship because I’m trash.
So here are some headcanons I have based on what I pieced together about the live action remake from looking through the tag:
- Jafar started out as an orphan who was surviving on the streets as a pick pocket. One day, when he was still quite young, he picked the wrong pocket and ended up condemned to getting his hand chopped off, but the Sultan happened to be around and pardoned him. Maybe the Sultan saw a spark of something special in Jafar, maybe he was trying to fill the void of never having had a son, or maybe he was just feeling particularly charitable, either way, that day, the Sultan took Jafar in to be raised in the royal palace (hence why he calls the Sultan ‘baba’). While Jafar was being educated, he showed a lot of intelligence and talent and was eventually groomed to be a royal vizier.
- I’m imagining Jafar and Jasmine being pretty close in age with Jafar being ~5-7 years older. Supposing that Jafar arrived at the palace when he was about 9-10 years old, it’s safe to assume that they grew up together. Assuming that Jafar had absolutely no educational background upon arrival at the palace, I’m thinking they were also educated alongside each other.
- As a highly sheltered princess, the few interactions that Jasmine had with other kids her age were not very satisfying. She wasn’t allowed to play sports and any games she played, everyone would let her win. She was treated very delicately and formally because no one wanted to be the one to offend the princess or make her cry. And Jafar, due to his rough, common background, other children of the royal court were either scared of him or were strongly discouraged from hanging out with him. Because of this, most if the time, Jasmine and Jafar would only have each other to play with (assuming that Dalia doesn’t come into the picture until later), which was something that neither of them was very happy about. Jafar, being older, felt that he had better things to do than entertain the little princess, and Jasmine just thought that Jafar was too serious and no fun at all. Nevertheless, Jafar would treat Jasmine normally and Jasmine wasn’t afraid of Jafar. Even though they were never best friends, they are the ones who know each other best.
- The reason why Jafar shuts Jasmine down so much isn’t because he thinks that she’s incompetent or incapable, but the very opposite- he grew up with her, studied alongside her, he knows her better than anyone else, he’s witnessed how strong and brilliant she really is and that threatens him and all that he’s been working so hard for. Which brings me to my next points...
- The real rivalry at the heart of the story is (or at least should have been) between Jasmine and Jafar. A lot has been made about Aladdin and Jafar being set up as foils to each other, but I could also see parallels between Jasmine and Jafar, mainly that they’re both misfits in the palace and despite being the most qualified people, they’re both being passed up for the throne.
- That said, I like to think that they struck up some sort of alliance/partnership against whatever suitors are asking for Jasmine’s hand. Jasmine finds one reason or another to reject them and Jafar would be quietly complicit either by sabotaging the suitors or occasionally raising his own objections. It’s in both their interests that Jasmine not marry because her future husband would just be one more person standing in their respective paths to the throne. This, however, doesn’t stop Jafar from turning around and making Jasmine out to be unreasonably difficult and obstinate when she does reject a suitor (as with Prince Anders).
-...But then you get moments like when they exchange glances when Prince Ali comes around. The look that Jasmine gives him can’t be described as anything less than saucy. There’s mischief and complicity in that look. You know that they’re on the same page and they’ve been through this before. You can just see them, every other time before, coming back together after rejecting a suitor and just laughing about it.
- In fact, I could even picture one such moment when Jasmine and Jafar have been left alone after dismissing a suitor and they’re laughing their little heads off together and Jafar looks at her and half-jokingly says something like “At this rate, Princess, I’ll be the only one left to marry you.” And Jasmine, very seriously, replies “No, baba would never allow it. I’ll only marry a prince, or a sultan.” She says this not because it’s true but because she’s afraid that it isn’t. She fears that maybe this had been Jafar’s plan all along, she fears that if the Sultan somehow gets it into his head that Jafar could be a suitor, because of his favored position the Sultan would definitely marry her off to him and she doesn’t trust Jafar to not use it as an opportunity to take all the power for himself. Jafar, on the other hand, realizes in that moment that 1) marrying Jasmine could actually be the solution to all his problems 2) he wants to marry Jasmine even if the throne wasn’t part of the deal 3) Jasmine doesn’t want to marry him and not only does that hurt, but he thinks that it’s because of his impoverished background (which is something that he’s always been insecure about, and it also explains the bitterness behind what he said to Aladdin about Jasmine just toying with him like she does with all commoners).
- So of course he becomes fixated on this idea. When he actually forces Jasmine to marry him, there’s no real logical motive behind it. He’s already the sultan so theoretically he had no use for Jasmine, but instead of having her killed or locking her up and throwing away the key, he chooses to have a full on wedding, imam and all and vows to protect and look after her always. The only explanation that makes any sense is that he wanted to marry her for love (as confirmed by the actor). And also, I’m headcanoning that it was important for him to have the Sultan witness this as a big fuck you to what (headcanon) Jasmine had said about the Sultan not allowing Jafar to marry her.
Welp, sorry for the long post. That’s all for now! I’m not much of a writer but if there are any fellow shippers out there who want to take these headcanons for fanfic or whatever, I say, go for it!
Can’t stop, won’t stop! I just watched the Harvest Festival dance scene on repeat for the past hour so here’s some Jasmine x Jafar dance headcanon!
Jafar would usually be the one to dance with Jasmine at the Harvest Festival. They would lead the first and last dances of the night, and sometimes they’d get to present a special pas de deux. When Jasmine came of age and suitors would be in attendance at the festivals, she would be obligated to dance with each of them at least once. Jafar, on the other hand, would only dance with Jasmine, and on more than one occasion he’d save her from particularly eager suitors.
Jasmine loves dancing, it’s when she feels most alive. Jafar was reluctant to dance at his first Harvest Festival at the palace, but Jasmine had asked him to dance with her and even at that young age, he knew better than to refuse the princess in public, so he obliged. It turns out that he’s actually a very good dancer. He’d never admit it (and part of their whole bit is that he acts like he doesn’t want to dance), but he actually enjoys dancing, though only with Jasmine. In the dance, their roles are very clearly defined, their moves are perfectly choreographed so he knows exactly what to expect from their interaction, he knows where he stands with her, and he appreciates that. For Jasmine, it’s the only time she’s ever seen Jafar let loose, which fascinates her. It’s a moment when they can be together without all of the baggage that comes with their rivalry. For just the span of a song, they can imagine what it would be like if she were just a normal girl and he were just a normal guy, and that maybe in another life, they could’ve been friends or perhaps something more.
Even if things were tense between them, if there was a festival, they’d dance with each other, and when they danced, nothing else mattered. But this time around felt different. Jafar led the first dance with her, but he could sense that her heart was somewhere else. He remembers Aladdin and it sends him into a jealous panic and that forces him to act. So after the first dance, he goes to talk to Prince Ali. Perhaps he wanted to yet again (obliquely masochistically) use someone else’s desire for the Princess to entice them into doing his dirty work or maybe he just wanted to do something, anything to get his mind off of the fact that Jasmine wants someone who isn’t him.
If you catch his expression when he comes back to the party and watches Jasmine and Prince Ali dancing, you can see that he’s not angry, nor is he wearing his usual poker face, he actually looks sad, but not just sad, heartbroken- not something you’d expect to see from an evil villain who’s just finished threatening someone (and let me tell you, the moment I saw that expression on Jafar’s face was the exact moment I realized that all the critics were wrong, Marwan Kenzari was absolutely not miscast in this role, though I do have other issues with this portrayal which I won’t get into here).
But to get back to the whole Jasmine wanting someone who isn’t him part- the thing is, Aladdin is so close to being Jafar and that’s what hurts the most. They both started out as petty thieves, but despite all the status that Jafar has accrued, Jasmine loves Aladdin and not Jafar. This frustrates and confuses him because for the longest time he thought that the only thing keeping him from her was his status and background. He’s not sure what it is about Aladdin, but he doesn’t want to believe that in the end it’s simply a matter of love/emotion/personality/preference and not social status, because his background is something that’s not his fault and his status is something he can work and scheme to change, but if she just doesn’t love him, that’s a him problem and not even genie magic can do anything about that.
But then he realizes that Prince Ali is actually Aladdin, and so in his mind, things start to make sense again- Aladdin had just been one step ahead of him all along with the lamp and his wish to become a prince, so Jafar becomes even more obsessed with getting the lamp.
Wow, that went way deeper than I thought it would. But good news, I finally watched the movie! Maybe I’ll do a full review/analysis next.
