#swyngom

[knightley--phillip]

Lord Flynn Briar && Lord Dian Morey :: Game of Magic AU

A kick in the teeth is good for some A kiss with a fist is better than none Oh, kiss with a fist is better than none

@dian-morey @fi-fitz-flynn

[dr-drckken]

The Sun Never Sets (House Drakken Playlist) ☀️

1. Deceit and Betrayal by Audiomachine

also starting my playlist with an instrumental because emma is just such an inspiration i had to steal from her <33 thiS song i feel is to put their roots down as far as what happened 25 years ago to the Blackwell's. it’s about the back stabbing, it’s about the murder of their family, it’s about wanting revenge! when those strings kick in about half way through...yeah. that build up!!! cause i think the first half can be sort of descriptive of their mourning moment, but as soon as it hits that portion of the song it’s more of that fire building inside them and getting on that path for revenge. 

2. Give and Take by Poor Mans Poison

Coming off the first song, this one is just a call to arms. I just really dug the guitar and vocals in this song, they just gAVE. but not in like the biggest of sweeping melodies or production. it’s sort of like...idk like a story teller sort of thing to it. like someone is sitting there telling you to get ready vs. hearing it over a loud speaker, which i feel is fitting for their house since it’s about family and being close knit <3 

3. Sandman by Kristy McGee

This song i feel like is just...a jazzy little threat. i MOSTLY chose it for the verse about how the roses are going to fade because @the knightly’s. duh. so yeah this song is basically the drakken’s being like, we will be there at your demise! :) hehe!

4. The Weight of Dreams by Greta Van Fleet

first off, wow what a song. second off, i threw this in as more of a critique on the house, which like yeah i know wtf it’s actually the best house because we don’t follow everyone else’s rules, BUT it’s flaws are what make it sexy alright <333 plus i think this sort of goes for the AU as a whole. it’s like a commentary on humanity, putting money and power above the lives of those making all that possible. everyone is guilty of that when you’re at the top!!! even if dorne is the best, drakken is still putting his revenge quest above his people yah know because he thinks family is everything. just the instrumentals are so..... /clenches fist, and it sounds so ANGRY which they ARE! and have been for YEARS! it also talks about gold which i thought was fun since mim wants to make gold with her alchemy. cute little tie in to me. 

5. Welcome to the Fire by Willyecho 

These next few are going to be v easy because it’s just going to be “im in my slay era” or “im in my revenge era,” songs. this one kicks it off! couldn’t resist throwing in a song with fire in the lyrics. it’s also really angry, which i love, but it also has a sort of laid back mood? sorta?? like the singer is just, this is how it is welcome welcome!! and i think that’s how the drakken’s are. welcome to dorne, where everything is hot and we will all stab you if you give us reason to!! enjoy! <33

6. My God is the Sun by Queens of the Stone Age

i lied actually, had to throw in something about how GREAT dorne is. i mean obviously the singer isn’t singing ABOUT dorne, but he’s singing about like a desert landscape and how great it is! his god is the sun! their whole imagery is sun stuff!! and i think those that live in dorne take great pride from being from there and love the hotter climate/the desert environment and all that good stuff. so that’s what this song is. /blows kisses to dorne and the rising sun 

7. Another Level by Oh The Larceny 

another war path song. it has everything, sun in the lyrics, a groovy little guitar beat, singer sounds angry, talking about how READY they are to get their ass into gear and take it to the next level. aka the drakken’s wanting their revenge. could aLSO be their ambitions. isa and holley marrying the heirs of other families, elena joining a cult, mirabel realizing that actually being a bastard aint that bad and finding LOVE, mim being a whole genius, etc etc. it also says something about rebel blood and i think that’s fitting for the house since, again, they don’t play by everyone else’s rules. they’re the rebels!! 

8. Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing by Set It Off! 

i just think this song is fun lmaooo. it checks off all the boxes. pissed off, wanting revenge, calling a bitch out for being annoying. not to dog on the knightly’s, because i think they’re greAT obvs, but im working with the material. could also be an @ at all the other little fakes out there in swynstero coddling the knightly’s. 

9. Play Dirty by Kevin McCallister

not to say the drakken’s play dirty but like....yah. another song about them ready to fight! and warning people that they will NOT HESITATE. kind of also a song about the whole story of the AU, like playing the game of thrones and stuff. “all is fair, this is war,” that’s what it’s about baby!!! 

10. Sunrise by The Kooks

putting this song in here for 1. more songs about the SUN! but also because this song is such a groovy little number. and I FEEL LIKE the drakken’s are all groovy little numbers. the part where it’s like “everybody loves the sunrise,” feels to mE, in the context of the drakken’s, like a “everyone LOOVES us <3 we’re the best <33.” everyone up in the north are freezing their asses off and stuff, meanwhile we be partying down in dorne !! 

11. Better Days by OneRepublic

tossing this in here because while they are petty and on their revenge type beat, i like to think that the drakken’s are ALSO optimistic! like they know good days are ahead of them when they get their stuff met. and because they’ve got one another. this may be me talking out of my ass, but that’s how i’ve been playing drakken LOL. like he’s excited for the family to expand (even if that means adding morey and briar blood to it, because they dont cARE about that sort of thing so long as drakken blood is in the person) and everyone getting married (mira and alice! elena and al! holley and flynn! isa and dian! drakken and...! wait-) they already found the lost son of the blackwells!!! THINGS ARE LOOKING UP BABY! so yeah, once they get the revenge thing taken care of? better days are ahead.

12. Home II by Dotan

literally here for simba <33 WE’RE COMING HOME!!! also for the one line in here that’s like “these roads are paved with golden sun” because that’s DORNE! that’s HOME! it’s also a break from the more modern instrumentals that have been going on and returns us to that more storyteller type of setting that was up in the second song, gathering around to talk about the stories of those that have returned home finally. 

13. Morning Sun by Dave Bixby

a chill little song to round us out toward the end. once again, i could not resist putting a song about the sun on this bad boy. basically we love a metaphor and i just think everyone in house drakken is soft and warm like the morning sun but also harsh and unforgiving when they need to be like the raging sun of a summer’s heat.

14. Halo Around the Moon by Mychael Danna and Jeff Danna

just a closer. the instrumentals i feel like are very dorne-ish. this is just some atmosphere music. what would play after the initial closing credits song if you stuck around in the theater.

the end <3

[kouros-herc]

“glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver, its banners caught high in the morning breeze. Have you ever been called home by the clear ringing of silver trumpets?“ - The Fellowship of the Ring.

Authors Note: While writing this, a huge part of the inspiration I have drawn for Hercules has been on his feelings about his adopted home, Faircastle. One of the things the GoT universe does so beautifully is adapt the architecture and visual aesthetic of different locations in ways that are beautifully interrelated to the people and Houses of that place. You get a sense of the bilateral influence of people on place and place on people (something I, an architectural historian, am obsessed with). 

So I wanted to base this House Thorne playlist on Faircastle itself. To soundtrack a Symphonic Poem to the place. Please ignore the track titles, and for 30~ minutes I will try to spin you an image of what I see in my head! I hope you enjoy! [Disclaimer - Rich swoopy strings in abundance. May cause ‘air conducting’]

[Listen to: A Love Song to the Stones here]

Prelude: The Streams of Nancy, Kate Rusby [not on spotify]

This song, and its description of a bannered, wondrous castle, charming and filled with gallant men and noble ladies, really filled my heart thinking about Faircastle, with the sort of yearning for a place (and a lover) that really seems to fit the tropes House Thorne have embodied so far! Perhaps one for Nemo to perform to Lord Finn ...

Track 1: Aslan Appears

We begin in darkness, the rolling hills barely distinguishable from the night’s sky. The stars have faded, and the first blush of orange creeps along the edges of the horizon. The earliest birdsong begins to fill the air. High towers stand black against the lightening sky.

Track 2: Lucy Meets Mr Tumnus

Fires are kindled, eyes are rubbed. Within the walls life stirs. Grooms begin to sweep, bakers begin to knead, the morning dew gilds the grass all about the castle.  Dawns gentle rays begin to light up the tendrils of mist that swirl about the hills, and gold creeps into the world.  The castle comes to life, as servants scurry. Fireplaces must be swept and guards must change watch, breakfast must be laid, and goods must be brought in. High above, the first breath of a gentle breeze ruffles the curtains at the windows of the Lord of Faircastle, who stirs in his bed.

Track 3: For The Love of a Princess

As the sun breaks loose of the rolling hills and climbs into the sky, it kisses the pale stones and turns all the world to gold.  Pennants of deepest emerald ripple and snap in the breeze as horses whinny.  A swallow soars above turrets that reach up to brush the sky, and a glint ripples from the armour of the Watch. 

Track 4: Flight From Edoras

Horses shift and shuffle in the courtyard, their masters tugging gently at the reins, as his Lordship mounts. The hunting party are ready. Banners stream forth from the gates, across the drawbridge hooves clatter and the wind rushes through armour before it swirls up to ripple the pennants of the gatehouse.  Faircastle stands proudly as the party makes its way towards the forest.

Track 5: Parting Ways

Hooves thud gently on leaves. Between leaves of green, the white bark stands tall. The godswood, its leaves kissed by fire, its power still touching every root and leaf in the place.  Silence falls on the hunting party. The Old Gods may not be dead, merely sleeping, and the eyes of the tree seem to follow you everywhere. 

Track 6: Donwell Dancing Again

At Faircastle life continues apace. In the Great Hall servants weave patterns around each other as they go about their duties, ladies sew. Light streams through the great windows, and the doors open. Lord Finn steps into the glow, followed by the happy hunters returned, to celebrate the day.  The Lord pauses, contemplating a seat that still does not rightly feel his, but the dance of the Great Hall life goes ever one. Platters appear, the fruit of the land and the riches of the soils of the Reach, as tables and benches fill.

Track 7: I’d Pluck A Fair Rose

[Deeds, not Words. House Thorne (unintentionally) is the house of the yearning lovers. Lovers who will pledge their every action to their loved one, and who will carry the flame in their heart through whatever tries to get in their way.]

The soft voice of the Nightingale rises over the crowd, silence falls in reverence of the Lady, and soft eyes make glances across the room.

Track 8: The Black Pig

Plates are cleared, cups are drained, and the fire glows warm as the light outside once more begins to turn to soft gold.  Tales are told, yarns spun, the babble of laughter fills the hall with warmth. As his Lordship retires, tables are pushed back, benches pushed back, hands extended and heads bowed.  Feet begin to stamp, tramp, clap as the fiddlers play on into the night, reeling together the house begins to weave its own knots for the Gods to observe.

Track 9: The Rose of St Magnus

But soon, weary eyes and sleepy heads begin to nod. The music slows and the fiddlers play a dream of home, a love song to the stones. Soft blue velvet envelops the world outside the windows and the fires shrink to embers.  Lovers take each other by the hand and lead away.

Track 10: A Sky Sparkling

The pennants of Faircastle snap in the warm night’s air. Stars blink to light, beginning their courtly dance across the heavens as the stories of the ages unfold once more. While mortals sleep and all the castle falls silent, braziers on the walls hold the warmth of home.

[knightley--phillip]

our thorns are sharp : a house knightley playlist

fine. make us your villains. 

song descriptions and lyrics under the cut 

Old Money - Lana del Ray

But if you send for me, you know I'll come

And if you call for me, you know I'll run

I'll run to you, I'll run to you

I know this song is romantic, but I like to reinterpret it as familial — and I think House Knightley has the sort of relationship where if they need one another, they can call out and the other will come. Is there tension between them because of succession and forbidden love? Oh, probably. But at the end of the day, they will drop everything for one another. 

The Tradition - Halsey

So take what you want, take what you can

Take what you please, don't give a damn

Ask for forgiveness, never permission

Take what you want, take what you can

Take what you please, don't give a damn

It's in the blood and this is tradition

If this ain’t the mood for … most of our Houses, huh? It’s definitely a big House Knightley move, especially after taking over from the Blackwells. 

you should see me in a crown - Billie Eilish 

You should see me in a crown

I'm gonna run this nothing town

Watch me make 'em bow

One by one by one

One by one by

This is the moment where House Knightly was like “Oh shit, I can do this job better than this horrible good for nothing Blackwells… what if we staged a coup? Haha… jk… unless…?” And then they decided to make everyone bow. 

Money Power Glory - Lana del Rey

I want money, power and glory

I want money and all your power, all your glory

Alleluia, I wanna take you for all that you got

Alleluia, I'm gonna take them for all that they got

Do I need to say anything else lmao? 

Holding Out for a Hero - Nothing But Thieves

Where have all the good men gone

And where are all the gods?

Where's the streetwise Hercules

To fight the rising odds?

Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed

Late at night, I toss and I turn

And I dream of what I need

On the flipside, while House Knightley did want money, power, and glory, they also did believe this was for the better. Because the Blackwells were tyrants and all of Swysteros was falling. It’s not the upbeat pop version (or Shrek version) of the song we know, but one a little more desperate to mirror the darkness of this time. 

Control - Halsey

And all the kids cried out, "Please stop, you're scaring me"

I can't help this awful energy

God damn right, you should be scared of me

Who is in control?

Even though they tried to be heroes, there is definitely a dark side to the Knightleys and they are a scary bunch. 

Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Lorde

It's my own design

It's my own remorse

Help me to decide

Help me make the most

Of freedom and of pleasure

Nothing ever lasts forever

Everybody wants to rule the world

I like the Lorde version because of how somber it sounds, and I feel like this is the Knightleys — King Hubert in particular — accepting the burden of rule. 

Enemy - Imagine Dragons

Tell you, you're the greatest

But once you turn, they hate us (ha)

Oh, the misery

Everybody wants to be my enemy

Spare the sympathy

Everybody wants to be my enemy

Look out for yourself

When you’re in power, everyone naturally wants to turn you into their enemy. And yes, I will overuse the Arcane intro song for every playlist possible. 

Why We Build the Wall - Hadestown OST 

Why do we build the wall?

We build the wall to keep us free

That's why we build the wall

We build the wall to keep us free

I added “You’ll Be Back” from Hamilton initially as a joke, then went on a spiral looking for musical songs and… I think this just fits so well. I think they’re protective of their new status and are hesitant to let outsiders into their family. 

Viva La Vida - Coldplay 

I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringin'

Roman cavalry choirs are singin'

Be my mirror, my sword and shield

My missionaries in a foreign field

For some reason I can't explain

Once you'd gone, there was never

Never an honest word

And that was when I ruled the world

What will happen to House Knightley? Certainly, St. Peter won’t call their names.

[amelia-o-gabble]

NAME: Amelia Bonfamille TITLE: Lady of Swan Falls, The Golden Swan HOUSE: House Bonfamille OCCUPATION: Lady of Swan Falls ALLIANCES: House Thorne

BIOGRAPHY: The Golden Swan. The first girl born to the Bonfamille family, and of golden hair. Her sister came not shortly after, the Gilded Swan. Amelia grew up wanting for nothing, no money, no item, no affection. The Bonfamilles gave their fealty to the House Thorne of Faircastle and Amelia loved to travel to the hold. The bright gardens almost compared to that of home. And the boys were even more handsome. 

It was her brother, Toulouse’s, greatest ambition to climb the social ladder. One rung at a time if they must. Aside from the Black Swan, their reputation was as golden as her hair. In order to gain power, they must marry up. The elders were to go first, obviously. So Amelia was the first to be advertised. It had been years with no luck. Amelia worried if there was something wrong with her, surely Toulouse thought it too. Was she too sharp for her own good? Would men cower at the thought of wedding a woman who was smarter than them, more ambitious? All of the boys who boasted their affections for her when she was a girl turned a blind eye when her hand was offered. Was she only fun when it was not a part of the game? Sharing a night with a lady in the gardens of Swan Falls lost its splendor when it became a commitment. She could never tell her brother that she wasn’t pure any longer. He’d be ashamed of her, he’d revoke her right to be married, or marry her to someone atrocious as punishment. But he had his sights set on the newly widowed King for her. She refused to let that fail. Amelia could be the Queen one day, a foolish knight from Faircastle would not ruin that for her. 

[sanmononoke]

NAME: Sansa Mononoke TITLE: Lady of Greyreach, The Shadowcat of the North, The Lady of Shadows HOUSE: House Mononoke OCCUPATION: Lady of Greyreach, Bannerman of House Briar ALLIANCES: House Briar

BIOGRAPHY: The North was full of legends and superstitions. Being of the old gods, certain tales carried over. One of those being the belief that all of the ferocious shadowcats were once people. They angered the gods and so their bloodlines were to die out, turned to beasts. Believing all the shadowcats in the North were people was foolish, only some of them were. The Mononoke family was blessed, not cursed, generations ago. Very few of them were chosen to acquire the gift, one per generation. 

Sansa was not one of the lucky few.

Still, the family thrived, even in the darkest of nights. Then during a long Night, a horde of Wildlings overtook the Reach, scaling the cliffs, to conquer and kill. Sansa was the last remaining Mononoke. And as the Wildlings pillaged and tore her home apart, Sansa inherited a power that might have been dwelling within her all along. The Shadowcat of the North was born as she fled to Winterfell, to call upon the Briars to help her reclaim her home. 

Some say Sansa rode into the battle on the back of a shadowcat, some say she commanded a pack herself. Only the more superstitious folk believe she was the shadowcat that was seen fighting tooth and claw in that bloody battle for her home. They’d be right, though Sansa has never confirmed nor denied it. 

[gabriella-marino]

NAME: Gabriella Marino TITLE: The Rogue Wave (because her first attack is silent, appears out of seemingly nowhere, and deadly) HOUSE: Llyr OCCUPATION: Guard ALLIANCES: the Llyr’s (and whoever they tell her not to bite) BIOGRAPHY: The Marino’s had always been navigators of the seas. They would go to and from the islands to the mainlands, carrying whatever they were paid to. That included passengers. It took a few generations for their name to be boosted and for more people to come to them, looking for passage. They took anyone. Parties looking to go and come back with their spoils from pillages. Men and women who spoke few words and would come back with more blood on them then when they had left.

Gabriella did not want to sail ships. Her family discouraged her from trying to reach too far, knowing that she had no ability to hear like both her parents and several of her cousins. They didn’t want her to get hurt, both physically and her pride. She paid their warnings no mind. It took many no’s from knights unwilling to take her under their wing until she finally found someone willing to say yes. She trained harder than most, feeling the need to prove herself three times over. It wasn’t long before she was being recruited into the Lady’s Guard to look after the family Llyr. While there she befriended the Lady Eilonwy, following her on adventures around the islands. But when she came to be the Ruler of the House things shifted. Of course they did, with the responsibility of the islands on her shoulders there was little time for fun. 

Now, with the news a Lady of another house has been killed and knowing her own, Gabriella just wants to get through their time on the mainland without any one from House Llyr following the same fate.

[kenneth-carson]

NAME: Kenneth Carson TITLE: The Golden Wolf (for his loyalty and GREAT looks)  OCCUPATION: Knight! Woo! ALLIANCES: House Knightly BIOGRAPHY: If your name is Carson then your future as a Knight was already laid out before you. As the eldest child to his parents, Kenneth’s path was no different than those before him. The ground was worn and easy to traverse with the help of his family guiding him, training him, giving him all the tools he needed to succeed. He didn’t mind.

His siblings came, one by one, and would perform better than him in their way to become knight’s, too. Again, Kenneth did not mind this. He held no rivalry with them and harbored no jealousy for their success. He was just happy to spend time with them, to have something that they shared together. They spared and made one another better. It was his family’s goal to always be the best among the ranks. Kenneth may not have achieved that, but he is steady and he is loyal, as seen by his dedication to his fellow knight. Even when others thought their fallen comrades to no longer be salvageable, he would still try to bring them to safety. 

He had thought that attending the wedding would be a joyous occasion! The union of two families! Instead it turned into one of mourning and tension. He hopes for no declaration of war, but if one is made, so be it.