#''granted a royal title by a family member who just wanted to use them to gain control over a region''

[angelicadamposting]

Evangeline - Adam’s Third Wife

(winner!Eva)

Evangeline-Juliette Antoinette de France

first look at my oc (started as a s/i for my f/o but evolved okay)

art by @w0nderous !! (tysm again <3)

I really want to post some of my writing/fan fiction about her and Adam but I don’t know how embarrassing it would be. character sheet below tho :3

Additionally I do have two timelines for her ! This one & one where she falls and becomes a ‘sinner’ but I need to commission art of her sinner form !!

CW: d3ath mentioned, uhh historical fiction,

Basic Info

Name: Evangeline (Formerly Evangeline-Juliette Antionette de France) Species: Angel / Divine Soul (Formerly Human) Physical Age: 22 Birth Date: November 26, 1780 Death Year: 1802 Height: 4'11 ft or 150 cm MBTI: INFJ

Likes

Reading

Adam (Duh)

Sweets

Bread

Ballroom Dancing

Helping/Supporting Others

Cooking (Despite Failing)

Music (Listening)

Singing

Fashion

Shopping

Dislikes

Being Kept in the Dark/Lied To

Senseless Violence

Being Alone

Surprises

Silence

Spicy or even just Unfamiliar Foods

Being Belittled or Disrespected

Cemeteries

‘Ugly people’ - adam

Insects

Clutter

Overview/Backstory(before heaven)

Evangeline was born as a peasant in France, her parents each working beneath King Louis VXI and Queen Marie Antionette. At a young age, Evangeline and her elder sister were chosen to become Marie's daughter's playmates. A common practice for nobles of the ra to find a commoner to befriend their child to socialize with them, however, the Queen chose to do this to teach her daughter empathy. After several years of spending day after day at the side of the Princess, her mother passed away. Stricken with responsibility and a heart bigger than the public knew, Marie Antionette adopted Evangeline and her elder sister. Quickly moving the two into the Palace of Versailles and giving each of them new names based on her favorite books, Evangeline now being called Juliette by her adopted mother based on 'Les Lettres de Juliette Catesby (1759)' by Marie Jeanne Riccoboni.

Despite being treated with the same maternal care and affection as Marie's biological daughter, Evangeline nor her elder sister were ever granted titles. Instead, the two were often referred to by others in the palace as 'the girls who always accompany Princess Marie-Therese.' This never bothered Evangeline, the young girl only thankful for the affection and opportunity within the palace. Her new mother gave her access to literature, teaching her to read as soon as possible, and teaching her daughter how to love books just as she did. It was at this time that Evangeline began to read the bible and learn other languages.

When the political unrest within France grew and the royal family attempted to flee, Evangeline and her sister were sent to the countryside to live with their biological father until the family returned shortly after failing the attempt. The unrest only grew, however, resulting in the Queen instructing another member of the French Court to take Evangeline and her sister to safety. The two living with the Mackau family during the height of the revolution and during their adopted parent's executions, their biological father shortly following in their footsteps due to his association with the King.

It wasn't until age 17 that Evangeline was released from legal guardianship, and permission to use the pension from her deceased adoptive parents as she wished. For the first time, the young woman was on her own in the world, and her name had been changed back to match that of her biological parents instead of the royal family. She moved to Saint-Denis in Paris to live close to her sister, the only person she even knew anymore.

For years, the young woman lived alone, unsure of what direction her life was meant to go in. Everything had been set up for her, prepared for her since she had been adopted. Things were always taken care of for her, a future decided for her even when she was under legal guardianship by the Mackau family. Near overnight everything changed, her whole life flipped upside down and every adult with a parental role in her eyes was gone. She spent her days reading, visiting with her neighbors, and feeding the strays while her sister began a family, at least being married off. It wasn't until 1802 when a group of soldiers traveled through her city, ones she just had to run into on the street, unknowingly spread yellow fever throughout Saint-Denis.

Early winter that year, Evangeline passed away in her home with no one but her faith and sister at her side. Without even a good story to tell, the young woman went to sleep to never wake up in the mortal realm again. However, she instead awoke before the pearly gates. She was greeted by St. Peter, who quickly checked his book to find her name, and brought through the gates quickly. Passing through the gates, Evangeline's senses were overloaded by the bright aura that emitted off the grand, beautiful structures softly sat atop the clouds. Almost causing her to miss the other angels themselves, as her eyes danced from billboard to fountain and so on. (that ended up longer than intended, maybe 2 many details)

Notable Relationships

Adam: The First Man Evangeline initially wasn't the biggest fan of Adam when they first met, as crude and obnoxious as he was, although over time she began to notice herself laughing at his annoying comments instead of cringing. She was probably the one to fall for him first, much to her dismay; Although she wouldn't be the first to make a move. Internally and externally she denied the fact she'd grown to care for him, enjoyed his crass humor, and couldn't stand how quiet things were when he wasn't around. After several months of relentless seemingly one-sided flirting from Adam, Evangeline relented, eventually reciprocating his advances. Although, due to her embarrassment she attempted to keep their entanglement a secret, which did not last long, when Lute opened the door of Adam's office one evening and caught the two getting heated. After this, the two made their relationship official and it became known within heaven among both the angels of lower and higher status. Despite her initial uncertainty, after what felt like no time the couple engaged before being married in 'holy matrimony.' Due to Adam's history regarding Eve and Lilith, Evangeline vowed to always stay by his side as his wife and support him. She never wanted to turn out like the two who hurt the only man who ever made her laugh or feel loved since she died before ever finding someone in life. The biggest problem within their relationship arises 200 years after they marry, due to the fact Adam kept the exterminations a secret from her their entire marriage. Truthfully, the only reason she ever learned of them was by chance and staying up 'overnight' during the yearly extermination, a night she had always viewed as the one day Adam took work seriously. This was why she stayed up late, waiting for him to get back with Lute so she could see him and ask how it went, even if she didn't know truly what it was his 'job' was. While waiting, she heard the door open followed by the voices of Adam and Lute. The two were happily chatting about slaughtering hundreds of souls, sinners specifically, but still. The revelation that her husband and someone she'd considered her closest friend were capable of such acts horrified Evangeline and caused her to rush toward them with a million questions. Lute pretty quickly excused herself, claiming this was Adam's problem, and leaving the couple to argue in privacy. They went back and forth on the ethics of it, the purpose, and how it could possibly be justified. 'It's to protect us! To protect Heaven and all of us angels here! Those sinners and demons want to uprise, you don't even get it-' All of his excuses seemed to fall onto deaf ears, as Evangeline shook her head in denial and led the argument until daybreak. Eventually, she began to kind of understand his supposed perspective. Thinking of the revolution and uprising that caused what she had always known to be a loving family to be torn apart, she chose to trust Adam and the other angels who made the decisions regarding the exterminations.

Lute Evangeline met Lute at the same time she met Adam, in fact, she walked right past Adam to introduce herself to Lute with a warm smile and handshake. Lute was apprehensive at first, uneasy with what seemed like sickly sweet kindness that radiated off the new angel. However, once she viewed how she reacted to Adam and was nearly forced to spend time with her; Lute began to consider Evangeline a friend. The two often spend their free time away from Adam together, whether that be talking shit or shopping. The second of the two options was less of a favorite of the exorcist angel, although she seemed to enjoy the food portions of their shopping trips. Often times one will try to invest the other in one of their own hobbies, like Evangeline's singing or Lute's combat practice; Each resulting in humorous situations for the friends. When Evangeline learns of the exterminations, and about who/what Lute really is, she's initially hurt by the fact her only actual friend had kept such a secret from her. (even if it was ordered and literally a part of the rules.) A wedge nearly being thrown between them, until Lute finally explains the fact there are rules regarding the exterminations and how only the exorcist angels and seraphim really know. While this explanation makes sense, Evangeline accepts this and tries to move on. In the end, learning the truth caused the two women to become better friends now that Lute truly could open up to someone else and not have to rely on Adam as the only one who knew the truth. - Okay, this was way longer than intended !! if you actually read all the way to here, thank you for taking the time !!

[saintmeghanmarkle]

On titles and who exactly gets them and which ones. by u/ManicPixieMeanGirl_

On titles, and who exactly gets them, and which ones. So, we all know Meghan loves her titles. Sorry, scratch that, she loves one of her titles. She uses Duchess of Sussex any chance she get, but won’t touch Countess and Baroness. She has her minions call her “Princess Meghan”, which is incorrect. Meghan is not a British Princess suo jure, or “in her own right”. Iirc, the only suo jure British Princesses are: Princess Alexandra of Kent; Anne, Princess Royal; Princess Beatrice; Princess Eugenie; Princess Charlotte; Princess Diana Mary (Lilibet); and Lady Louise is entitled to the title of Princess if she so chooses. Even Catherine, who we all love, cannot be called Princess Catherine. She is Catherine, The Princess of Wales. (If I got this wrong, someone please tell me). The media calling Diana “Princess Diana”, was inaccurate, as she was a Princess by marriage. The monarch can issue Letters Patent naming someone a Prince or Princess of Great Britain. The late Queen, Elizabeth II, did this three times during her reign. I believe the order was Philip, Marina, and Alice. Philip was born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, and was born in the line of succession to three thrones; Greece, Denmark, and Great Britain. He was never close enough to where it’d be likely he’d ever ascend, I just want to emphasize how he was born very Royal. Marina was also born a Princess of Greece and Denmark. She was also descended from the Russian Imperial Family. (And fortunately for her that she wasn’t considered a close or important member of that family!) I believe Marina had to give up her Princess title upon becoming the Duchess of Kent. Alice, Duchess of Gloucester was from an aristocratic family, but she was not Royal. Philip was given his title of Prince about a decade after his marriage to QE2, in recognition of his loyal service to the Crown and to Her Majesty. Upon the death and eventual marriage of her elder son, Marina would have become Marina, Dowager Duchess of Kent. She went to Her Majesty and asked to have the title of Princess again, in order to not cause confusion between her and her new daughter-in-law. The Queen granted her request, and she was made a British Princess. Alice had the same request of her niece upon the marriage of her younger son, the Duke of Gloucester after her husband passed. The Queen again granted the request of another aunt who had given many loyal years of service to the Crown. So, not only can people be stripped of their titles-which happened during WWI in a delightfully petty jab at German royals with British titles-they can also be granted suo jure titles by the Monarch. Meghan, had she been genuine and devoted decades of service, could have eventually been made a British Princess. Instead, it’s looking more and more likely she will lose them instead. Flaired as conspiracy because OBVIOUSLY laws and history don’t matter, she’s clearly not a Princess because the BRF is racist.As usual, drinking wine while writing this, so please excuse any spelling/grammar/slight factual errors. post link: https://ift.tt/bYmoDyW author: ManicPixieMeanGirl_ submitted: May 29, 2024 at 06:05AM via SaintMeghanMarkle on Reddit disclaimer: all views + opinions expressed by the author of this post, as well as any comments and reblogs, are solely the author's own; they do not necessarily reflect the views of the administrator of this Tumblr blog. For entertainment only.

[skippyv20]

Telegraph article

Prince Harry was never going to miss the Coronation​

The more time he spends with irritating Californians, the more he will know that Britain is genuinely homeTIM STANLEY17 April 2023 • 6:00amIf I were Meghan, I wouldn’t go to the Coronation, either. Aside from being stuck talking to people you suspect don’t like you, there’s the nightmare of being upstaged. No matter how much money one spends on a hat, the King’s is always going to be fancier.So, I get why she’s staying in California, land of the freebie. The question is, why is Harry coming to the Coronation? He has accused his family of briefing against him; his brother of physical assault. And then there’s the memoir, Spare, which he might not have written but he’s certainly read, because he recorded the audiobook, so he knows that it portrays the monarchy as borderline abusive.It is, the book seems to imply, a Ruritanian zoo – the royals kept as pets, deprived of autonomy and put on display. If William is the heir, Harry was born to be the “backup, distraction, diversion and, if necessary, a spare part. Kidney, perhaps. Blood transfusion. Speck of bone marrow.” There’s a lot of bloodletting in these pages (hunting stags, killing Taliban), yet the Windsors suppress their emotions, even in front of those they love. No wonder the spare was set to explode. No wonder he ran off to America, where, he says, he was relieved to be among people who say how they truly feel.Well, a lot of us have made that journey, Harry, and a lot of us have come crawling back.At first, Californian honesty is refreshing. The barriers come down, you feel understood. But then their openness becomes oversharing, and you begin to realise they haven’t really got that much to say, they just enjoy talking. By the millionth time someone tells you their chakras are out of line or “we can learn a lot from the dolphins”, you want to scream. Harry must be missing Britain’s brooding silences, our civilising damp. You can tell that from Spare’s description of Frogmore Gardens in April: “The trees were bare, but the air was soft. The sky was grey, but the tulips were popping. The light was pale, but the indigo lake, threading through the gardens, glowed.”I sense a tension between the ghostwriter, who thinks the monarchy is mad, and Harry, whose memories he has to interpret are bittersweet enough to suggest that, deep down, he bloody loves it. Hence, he can’t let go. Ever.Harry has traduced his family, but wants to be among them. He has suggested the monarchy is ridiculous, yet uses his title and so do his little children.As my communist friend Ash Sarkar once observed, the Sussexes have never asked for equality in the sense of being regular citizens; what they want is to be equal among aristocrats, to have their royal status recognised and honoured. Far from being republican Jacobins, they are closer in spirit to Jacobites, asserting a disputed claim from a foreign fleshpot. Except that they weren’t forced into exile, like the magnificent James II; they flounced off and burnt the bridges behind them. No one compelled them to speak to Oprah or spill their guts on Netflix. The Windsors have long said they would take them back, as the invitation to the Coronation proves. I’m afraid responsibility for this rupture lies squarely with the Sussexes, who probably imagined they could withdraw from royal duties yet enjoy the trappings of royalty.Isn’t that typical? So many of us want it both ways. We undervalue our institutions – from Church to education to the family – starve them of money or effort, yet still expect them to be there when we want them. The crown is just the most glittering example of a culture taken for granted. We have mocked the monarchy and made its members’ lives hell, yet for one weekend in May we will luxuriate in its traditions – including the people who, for the rest of the year, claim to find it repugnant.Were republicans sincere in their philosophy, they would volunteer to work on the bank holiday Monday, just as the Puritans carried on through Christmas. But I bet they’ll take the whole weekend off, wallow in the livery and street parties, and Take That playing Windsor Castle. They’ll agree that “nobody does this as well as the British” – and then the next day, Britain will resume its project to ensure we can never do it again, by labelling our customs “elitist” and our history “racist”. Even the monarchy is supporting a study into its relationship with the slave trade. One thing that does not put Harry at odds with the establishment is his wokeness.As he takes his seat in the 38th row, between Humza Yousaf and Valerie Singleton, Harry will find himself back where he belongs – for Britain made him and Britain looks a lot like him, too. We’ve always had a Robinson Crusoe complex, a desire to strike out and see the world, only to return to a country that will be as we remember it.And it is one of the jobs of the monarchy to be constant. After the changes Britain has been through, the fact that this institution goes on being itself is refreshing, almost a novelty. But it doesn’t happen by accident. If every royal behaved like Harry, and walked away when it got too tough, or too boring, there’d be no monarchy left – no home for Harry to come back to.So, I hope he says “thank you” to Charles and William for keeping things ticking along while he was absent. For doing their duty

Thank you.   Very interesting🐼

[nobodieshero-main]

THE SOLARI FAMILY

The Solari Family are the oldest bloodline on the continent, and were the first of the humans to recieve the gift of casting.

basically, Vietua (the goddess of night and magic and the Mother Of All) granted the dragons permission to share magic with the humans, who were then taught how to weave it by the makai.

for generations everything was like. chill and then they started getting cocky about their powers and started to feel spiteful towards the dragons for being more powerful than them, so, in a fit of what i would call Jealousy- a man by an unknown name killed a dragon, just to prove it was possible.

this was considered an incredible feat, and so the people of their village labelled him as king and built him a throne and a little crown.

it became a a really fucked up rite of passage for the crown heir: kill a dragon to earn the crown.

Some crown heirs either never succeeded or didn't want to hunt dragons so for their entire rule remained as a Prince/Princess.

and this just became tradition.

and then.

a little over a thousand years before NH, the Queen at the time, Nakia Solari, decided that she wanted the title to die with her and ordered the culling of dragons. in history books, it's written that the dragons started a war that the kingdom then won, but this is extremely false.

dragons are fierce and terrifying and possess magic that casters can only DREAM of weilding, but they have an easily exploited weakness: their hoards.

the Queen spent most of her adolescence studying dragons and learning everything she could about them - their weaknesses and strengths, but also their biology and their mannerisms.

(the only thing Queen Nakia never learned about dragons was their ability to move between forms, and that they could communicate with one another through projected thoughts and feelings.)

She learned that hoards are treasures, but also that each dragon had a different idea of treasure. She learned that they tend to settle down somewhere that theyre able to easily add to and protect their hoard, and that if it came down to it a dragon would lay their life down to protect it.

At the time, royal casters were three times as powerful as regular casters, and Queen Nakia used it in her favour to accomplish two things that ultimatley lead to her victory.

The first was developing an elixir that, when dropped in the eyes, gave the user the ability to see what a dragons hoard was just by looking at them.

The second was harnessing the collective power of every member of the royal family to lock the makai away in a remote region of the continent, where they would be unable to aid the dragons.

It was a mass slaughter that lasted several years, and it cost hundreds of lives on the kingdoms side but was still ultimatley a "success".

Queen Nakias victory only lasted for so long though, as the gods (Vietu in particular) were furious over her actions regarding both the dragons and the makai and the decided punishment was an immediate and painful stripping of all magic within her bloodline.

Queen Nakia's reign came to an end when she was still in her prime, after she was poisoned by her niece as an act of revenge for the loss of magic.

by the time NH starts, the royal family are still entirely magicless and STILL hold onto the crown tradition despite dragons being creatures of the past.

which brings us to Prince Sasha, who takes after his queen ancestor with his obsession with dragons and the drive to be a king of legend- he has been searching for any dragons that may have slipped through Nakias fingers for most of his life, and grows more and more frantic with each year that he grows closer to death.

his discovery of an old letter, dated several years after Queen Nakias death, and discussing the capture and imprisonment (not death) of a dragon in an unknown location somewhere on the continent is basically the catalyst for Nobodies Hero.

[flame-nova]

Chapter 4: The Cursed Blood

Books

Reminded me of a certain turquoise haired demon who used to pester me whenever I wanted time alone. Now that I graduated from the sorcerer academy, I couldn't help but thinking wistfully upon the memories I spend there as a student.

They had a library similar to the one I'm in right now. But this was Granadia's biggest library. The amount of documents found here was enough to cover half of the history of Granadia. My eyes quickly glanced over the sections. I was not here for relaxing reading like so many other demons were here to do. I was here with a purpose.

Finally, my eyes landed on a section that titled "ancient copendium". I figured that I could probably find some clues here as to why Queen Juno acted strange. My finger trailed over to the column of books on the shelf, my mouth moving, silently reading the titles of each book. Finally, I stopped at an ancient looking book titled "Curses of the Old". I was pleased. I took the book out of the shelf and I was about to walk away with it until I ran into someone. I fell and the book dropped on the floor with a "thud".

I raised my eyes angrily, about to snap at the person for not being mindful of their surroundings before I was met with a pair of calm, amber eyes. It was Vox.

"Oh I'm sorry Berwick." He bend over and offered me a hand to help me up. "I didn't think I'd run into you here."

I laughed quietly. "Neither do I."

I took his extended hand and pulled myself back up. Vox handed me the book and read the title with a raised eyebrow. " 'Curses of the Old?' What are you up to?"

Consider he also saw Queen Juno being out of control, I told him of my plans.

"Hmm..... Maybe we could figure something out together." He agreed. I nodded and took him to the reading area. We sat side by side and begin to look over the content of the book. My eyes stopped at a section specifically addressed to "Cursed Blood".

"Hold on." I told Vox. "That day when her majesty was going out of control, I saw red substance under her feet. I could only guess that may be her blood. This 'Cursed Blood' article may be able to help us figure out the problem."

Vox nodded, his eyes on me. I turned to the correct page as I begin to read aloud.

"The Cursed Blood was a phenomenon that was passed down from the royal family centuries ago, more commonly seen on female members. The cause of it was that the blood flowing in the royal family was also that of the Titans, thus granting them with an immense amount of power. However, loss of control could result in a destruction so great that it would cause the doom of the world."

The atmosphere was dead silent as both me and Vox sat lost in our own thoughts.

Isn't there any way to save Queen Juno?

"Wait- there's more." My eyes sparked with hope as I continued to read.

"However, there is a way to which that can keep the curse contained. It was the Dagger of Testament. A short sword masterfully crafted in a massive kiln by the Ancients. It is made of an impossible metal, said to need heat millions of times stronger than the sun to forge. The blade itself also bears three high-ranking Crests layered over each other. This lets it synergize with the powers of its owner, making it much more than a mere dagger."

"Maybe we can find a way to forge this blade so that she can live!" Vox stood up. I nodded. I'm confident that the heat coming from my flame magic is hotter than the sun. We just needed to find the three high ranking crests in order to forge the blade. And to do that, we'd have to ask her majesty to give us the crests.

"But how will we get the crests?" I asked. "The Queen is the keeper of the crests after all. We won't be able to ask for the crest without raising suspicion. Besides, knowing her, she won't allow us to do such a thing for her. She would rather suffer than accepting our aid."

Vox seemed to be deep in thought." You do have a point. But the only way for us to possibly get our hands on the crests was through her majesty. So whether it's a good idea or not, we might have to try our lucks."

"What about the others? Should we let Riviera and Duke in on the secret? I mean, it's our job as the Knights of Blood right? Protecting the kingdom includes protecting the Queen so in my opinion, we should tell them. Besides, we might just convince her successfully since there are more of us."

He nodded."You're right. Let's get going. Time's a wasting."

We returned to the castle grounds. Behind the closed doors of the headquarter, Vox and I took turns sharing what we saw earlier that day. I showed them the book and explained to them what we had to do.

"I didn't know that she was going through such a painful curse....." Riviera's face fell. Sadness swimmed in her eyes. Duke nodded. "But don't worry. I'm 100% agreeing with your ideas and you have my aid."

"Yeah. We need her majesty. She had done so much for us. It's about time we return the favor. It's only the best we could do." Riviera stood up. But Duke stopped her in her tracks."Hold up, it's late and her majesty had probably already retired to her chambers. We can try tomorrow instead."

"That's true. Well, you guys have a good night. I have to head back to my cabin and move my stuff over." I said. "I haven't had the time since I was busy all day.

"You need a hand?" Vox offered. "I mean, consider that it's dark out there and I don't want what happened to the night before happen to you again."

"Sure."

We walked in silence. After a while, I decided to break the ice."So, how did you find out where I live? I mean, I couldn't have ended up in my own cabin right after I passed out."

Vox scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, thing is, I don't. I had to ask around and thankfully, you're quite well known and a few people does know who you are and your cabin's location. That's how I found your place."

"Huh, I'm quite famous you say?"

He chuckled."Of course. You came from a long family line of fire mages. It's not a surprise that quite a few people knows you."

I smiled bitterly. "Have you ever felt the pressure of carrying the family name on your shoulder? Because you're simply the next one in line to take the baton? I didn't have my own purpose and didn't even know what I wanted to do in life until I saw you guys sparring. That gave me a new meaning to life. I wanted to become a Juno Templar. Simple as that."

Vox lowered his head. "Nope. Can't relate at all. My parents died when I was a kid. I lived as a mercenary and met Duke. The two of us relied on each other to live until one day our mission failed. We almost died if it wasn't for her majesty. I owe her big time and that's why I agreed to help lift her curse. I'm forever indebted to her."

I was suddenly filled with sympathy and sorrow for Vox. "And that's why you swore on your life to protect Granadia." I concluded.

He nodded. The night was dark. I couldn't see the expression on his face. The two of us fell into awkward silence again.

I looked at the sky, the night was clear and I could see a lot of stars shining down on us.

"Look, that's Cancer." I pointed to one constellation. "In the Greek mythology, the giant crab was created by goddess Hera to kill the hero Hercules. But Hercules killed it instead. To commemorate for what the crab did, Hera threw it to the sky and allowed it to become a constellation."

"And that over there," I continued, pointing to another constellation. "Is Virgo. She was supposed to represent the daughter of the grain and harvest goddess. The daughter's name was Persephone. Her famous story of the pomegranate should explain why the constellation was there to remember her." I chuckled.

"Wow," Vox looked at the sky, his amber eyes gleamed as he marveled at the beauty of the night. I chatted and shared more of my knowledge of the stars with him. Before I knew it, we were in front of my cabin.

"Thanks for accompanying me and listening to my rant of the stars Vox." I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. "I just love astronomy."

Vox only chuckled."Of course I know that. You really opened my eyes on the stars though. Always thought that the stars were beautiful, but I've never felt so breath taken by them. You're a good teacher. Engaging and entertaining."

I blushed."Thanks. Now, I'll be back. Just going to grab things I'll be needing for tonight. I'll come back for the rest tomorrow."

He nodded and stood outside waiting for me. I quickly gathered my clothes for tomorrow and some hygiene products before locking the door behind me. We laughed, talked and got to know each other better that night. But Vox had no idea that I had developed some kind of feelings for him. I will probably keep it to myself. Only the stars will know.

-------------------------------------------

Author's Note

Like Berwick, I did a lot of research on this chapter. From Juno's curse to the constellations. Thankfully, I knew a little about constellations and Greek mythology since I was in 7th grade (as an elective class) so the knowledge helped me a ton.

I also logged on GS specifically and rewatched the CG scenes from the Copendium so that my memories can be jogged. It was a lot of work writing this chapter and I've been trying my best to stay in canon as much as possible. I apologize if incorrect information had been inserted. Please feel free to correct me of any errors I've made. Thank you for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter!

Oh also, before I go, I want to thank the unknown reader who had followed me all through. I don't know who you are, but I'm thankful that you're reading the series. Really appreciate it. It gives me the motivation to keep the stories coming. Thank you!

[college-girl199328]

When members of a regiment from Ontario's Niagara Region took part in a military skills competition organized by their honorary colonel-in-chief in England last month, they claimed first place. Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, has been the Lincoln and Welland Regiment's colonel-in-chief since 2004 on top in the competition involving her other Canadian- and U.K.-affiliated units meant a lot to its members.

But it wasn't everything. While winning is the bond we share as allied units under [Sophie] is just as important to our soldiers," Lt.-Col. Christopher Canavan, the regiment's commanding officer, said via email.

Canavan said he has "always felt a great sense of pride" talking with Sophie about the unit, where its soldiers are serving or training, and how their families are adjusting with personnel away on training or operations. Sophie "has always been genuinely interested in the affairs of her soldiers, non-commissioned officers, and officers," he said.

Such sentiments are often attached to Sophie, the 58-year-old sister-in-law of King Charles, who became Duchess of Edinburgh earlier this month as her husband, Prince Edward, was granted the title Duke of Edinburgh, which had been held by his late father, Prince Philip. She's credited with the ability to listen with a smile and look interested and genuinely respond and engage," Judith Rowbotham, a social and cultural scholar and visiting research professor at the University of Plymouth in southwestern England, said in an interview.

"I think of people of manner, and her accessibility before the new title was a sense that Sophie's profile was the rise. Charles is widely to want a slimmed-down monarchy. The passage of time and other family circumstances have played into that plan, as some members age out of more active roles, and others — Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex — step back of their own accord.

Along with Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, Sophie and Edward have become the "key extra support" to King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, Rowbotham said. While Sophie's public profile may rise, she has long been considered a no-fuss royal who is diligent and devoted to the many causes she supports, with little need for fanfare. Areas of interest developed during her time as Countess of Wessex range from support for women who are victims of conflict-related sexual violence to those who are facing challenges in the agricultural sector.

"She picked up an awful lot of the traditional, but unglamorous … philanthropic involvement and other kinds of patronage involvement," Rowbotham said.

"She's working on women's rights long before it became high-profile and fashionable. She has been working on various forms of disability — particularly blindness because there was a problem with her daughter's sight soon after birth."

Sophie has also urged openness around women's health issues, such as menopause. I've always found that when we talk about women's health, it's actually preceded by talking about women's problems or women's issues, which immediately puts it into a negative light," Sophie said in a virtual chat a couple of years ago, as she took on the royal patronage for Wellbeing of Women, a U.K. women's health charity.

"But armed with knowledge and choice, our lot would be so much better, and I think it is up to us to try and inform women about that knowledge, about those choices that they have, in a way that is bringing the subject out into the open. Sophie's approach and openness have drawn the attention of others.

Rowbotham said activists she knows who work in areas such as domestic violence welcome Sophie's involvement.

"They credit her with listening and learning from them, also putting forward to help enrich the publicized, Rowbotham said, is how much time Sophie spends in her local hospital maternity units and similar places.

"She's one of the people known to be able to add value to an event personally, based on her personal insights, experience, and ideas. It's why Sophie is popular "in a low-key way, why she is so recognized and so welcome wherever she goes," Rowbotham said. "People enjoy meeting her and listening to her."

Sophie's visits with the Lincoln and Welland Regiment include time spent with members in 2012 when she presided over the presentation of new regimental colors. She also visited a training exercise in 2015.

"We look forward as her regiment in the Niagara Region to host [Sophie] when she is next able to visit," Canavan said. At first, the thinking went, the next horse the RCMP would give to the Royal Family would be a gelding — after all, that's what Queen Elizabeth suggested when she broached the idea a year and a half ago.

But when King Charles met the horse that eventually he rides on ceremonial occasions, it was a relatively young mare named Noble, which offered her nose for a nudge.

Noble, a seven-year-old Hanoverian who stands 16.2 hands high, arrived at the Royal Mews in Windsor, west of London, a few days ago.

Those who worked with Noble in Musical Ride stables in Ottawa have heard she's taken quite comfortably to her new surroundings. "I'm … in contact with the folks of the Royal Mews they've all [fallen] in love with her," Sgt. Maj. Scott Williamson, the RCMP's riding master, said in an interview. "She's really settled in well."

After the Queen suggested the need to think about a successor to George — the horse Charles is riding that was a gift to Elizabeth from the RCMP in 2009 — the search was on for a suitable replacement within the RCMP's equine ranks.

When Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, then Duchess of Cornwall, were in Canada last May, they visited the Musical Ride stables.

"We had actually set aside a couple horses that we thought might be good fits," Williamson said. But when Charles commented that those animals were folks thinking maybe they needed to reassess just what horse they were putting forward.

Plus, the Musical Ride hadn't been touring for almost three years, limiting the potential to assess how the horses behave and perform in public with noise and music.

Once the Musical Ride for its summer tour season, one horse stood out, presenting the qualities most sought for the royal role. "The main quality that we're looking for is a calm disposition," Williamson said, "a horse that when it is in a very raucous or intense environment … can withhold its temperament, stay steady and continue to commit to its duties."

After the Musical Ride came back from its summer tour, Williamson put Noble through her paces, seeing how she would behave in environments, such as loud music being played, and how she would work on her own, without other horses to support her, as happens within the Musical Ride.

"She just took it like a champion and … I thought, OK, yeah, this is the horse we'll put the work into." That meant mimicking what Noble would encounter in ceremonial parades for Charles.

"We had live music, we had the RCMP pipes and drums band coming in regularly, playing with Noble to the point where she was just … bomb-proof with anything and everything that went on around her."

"She's an incredibly, incredibly sweet horse," Williamson said. "Any of us that worked with her developed a strong bond with her…. "She is such a willing partner [and] really wants to please whoever she's working with."

All that leaves Williamson with some envy of Charles will spend with Noble. "But by the same token, I'm incredibly proud to represent our country."

Noble arrived at Windsor after quite a journey, flying with an RCMP vet to Frankfurt, where she was met by Royal Mews staff, put on a truck, and transported to England.

Noble follows a long line of RCMP horses given to the Royal Family. Throughout Elizabeth's reign, the RCMP presented her with eight, beginning in 1969 with Burmese, which the Queen rode at Trooping the Colour, marking her official birthday, for 18 years.

The relationship between the Royal Family and the RCMP is one that Williamson describes as special and unique, both in the ceremonial connections through attendance at every coronation for more than a century and other royal protection detail they provide when Royal Family members visit Canada.

Noble's first public appearance in the U.K. may come within a few weeks, as the Mounties take part in another coronation procession, this time for King Charles on May 6.

"My understanding is that we will be the first people to ride her in the first public performance when we ride her for the coronation," said Williamson, who was one of four Mounties riding in the lead position of the procession following the Queen's funeral in September.

"Everything in her demeanor and her steadiness is everything Canadians hope to see, and I think Canada should be proud that we represent our country."

After a noticeable silence from the federal government, a few details have emerged regarding how the coronation of King Charles will be marked in Canada.

An official ceremony in honor of the event will be held in Ottawa on May 6, the Prime Minister's Office announced the other day's speeches, artistic performances, and unveilings, according to the federal government's website.

"This historic event, the first coronation of a Canadian head of state and monarch in seven decades, will allow communities to come together and highlight themes that both King Charles III and Canadians hold dear, including service, the environment and sustainability, and our nation's diversity," the government said.

Canadians will also be invited on May 6 and 7 to celebrate the coronation at Rideau Hall, the residence of Charles's representative in Canada, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon.

That same weekend, federal buildings in the National Capital Region and landmarks across the country will be invited to light up in emerald green to mark the coronation, the federal government said.

Several provincial lieutenant governors and territorial commissioners are also expected to hold celebrations. The federal plans are known and described so far came as a surprise to Justin Vovk, a royal commentator and a Ph.D. candidate at McMaster University in Hamilton who specializes in the history of the monarchy.

"I wasn't expecting something so monarch-centric, you could say," Vovk said, noting the emphasis the government places on the fact that Canada is a constitutional monarchy and that the monarch is central to the functioning of our political institutions.

Vovk was also surprised we have not heard anything about celebrating Canada's Indigenous history" or diversity. "If you're going to make it relevant for Canadians, you need to acknowledge the tremendous diversity, so I'm hoping that acknowledgment will start in the coming weeks."

Vovk will be watching what Buckingham Palace starts to announce "because the cards they start to show will begin to indicate what our government is going to do," he said.

"The King and our prime minister have similar values. They espouse similar causes. So that in and of itself shouldn't be difficult, but it is important to the same messaging."

[claitea]

the thought "nahyuta as n" hit me out of nowhere while replaying pokemon black for the first time in years, and whoops now i've got a whole pokemon black/white soj au now i guess??

[skamenglishsubs]

Subtext and Culture, Young Royals, What's in a name?

I thought I was done, but I have material for one more post. I want to write more about how royal names work, because I've seen a lot of confusion and simple lack of knowledge in the tags, so think of this as more of an informative culture post than an analysis post of the show.

European royals and nobles have styles, names, titles, and houses. In addition, monarchs have regnal names.

A style is how you formally address someone, based on their rank and title. In Sweden, the only styles left are "majesty" and "royal higness", where kings and queens are addressed as "your majesty", and select members of the royal family are addressed as "your royal highness". In Swedish, these styles are often abbreviated as H.M. - Hans/Hennes Majestät and H.K.H. - Hans/Hennes Kungliga Höghet. In English, the abbreviations are HM and HRH.

In the show, you can see this when Simon meets the Queen, and shakily addresses her as "Your Majesty", or when Minou calls up August and says "Her Majesty the Queen has resolved your problems with the school fee".

In less formal, but still polite speech, you would use third person addressing when talking to or about the royals, and there are numerous examples of this in the show:

Anette to Erik: "How nice to see the crown prince again!"

Some aide to Wilhelm: "Could we get a shot of the prince shaking hands with the headmistress?"

Anette: "Wilhelm, sorry, the crown prince, how nice the memorial was!"

August: "The queen has asked me, personally, to take care of him."

Malin: "I just wanted to remind the crown prince that breakfast closes in five minutes."

Names for royals and nobles work just like the rest of us, but with one exception: Royals generally do not use last names, while lesser nobles do. They also tend to have several first names, and while they generally pick names for their children based on trends in society, they stay on the traditional conservative side, and they often pick names from their family history.

The show only tells us one first name for each member of the royal family: Kristina, Ludvig, Erik, and Wilhelm, so we have no idea what other names they might have.

In the real world, the name of the king of Sweden is Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus, the crown princess' name is Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée, and her oldest daughter's name is Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary, just to give you some flavour of what it could look like.

Titles are what sets higher nobles apart from us mere commoners, and have their origin in the feudal system of medieval Europe, which was a hierarchical socio-economic-military system where the lord of a land could grant a portion of his land, a fief, to a vassal in exchange for fealty - loyalty, taxes, and military service. Doing so would create a title, it would make the vassal a noble of a lower rank than his lord, because you could only create titles lower than the one you possessed. So, in general, kings could create dukes or lower, dukes could create counts or lower, and counts could create barons. The fief of a duke is called a duchy, a count ruled over a county, and a baron over a barony, although there were more ranks and more titles than that, depending on region and language, but those are the main ones.

Every single squabble or conflict or battle or civil war or war fought in the middle ages was over the titles, because the titles legally conferred ownership of a piece of land, and with it the rights of taxation and the economic value of that land. Over time, kingdoms got more centralized and the hierarchical nature of the system broke down, while the titles became more hereditary, and ownership of the land became less important, which meant that minor nobles lost the power to create vassals and fiefs, while the power to create titles was reserved for the monarchs, and titles created in this era usually only granted people a title for an area or a castle or a manor house that they already owned.

Going into modern times, European countries curbed title creation, but generally kept protections for existing titles and allowing them to be inherited according to whatever inheritance rules applied to each title. But if a title holder dies without a legal heir, the title is lost forever, which means that most modern day noble families want to make sure their title, their history, their legacy can survive long into the future. Also note that one person can hold several titles, and each of those titles can be inherited individually and under different rules.

In Sweden, there are currently 46 comital families (greve/grevinna - count/countess), 131 baronial families (friherre/friherrinna - baron/baroness), and 484 untitled lower noble families. There are no independent ducal families, instead the monarch grants royal children a ceremonial duchy at birth, for one of the 25 historical provinces of Sweden. This means that every single member of the Swedish royal family is a prince or princess of Sweden, and also duke or duchess of some province.

Again, we have no idea what province Wilhelm is the duke of in the show, while for example in the real Sweden, Princess Estelle is the duchess of Östergötland, Prince Carl Philip is duke of Värmland, and Princess Leonore is duchess of Gotland.

A noble house is a noble family or clan that is associated with one or more hereditary titles. Noble houses were founded when someone was ennobled and granted a title, and a noble house can branch and wither and split and form new houses over the ages, and it can gain or lose status as its members gain or lose noble titles and ranks.

In medieval times, these family bonds were very strong, and many major conflicts were a result of different houses fighting over various titles, for example the Wars of the Roses was a 32 year long civil war over the throne of England between the House of York and the House of Lancaster.

A royal house is a noble house that holds a title of king or queen, and for members of the royal family, their house name is what they have instead of a normal last name. We don't know which royal house Wilhelm belongs to in the show, but the current royal house of Sweden is the House of Bernadotte, named after the French rando we imported that I wrote about in the last post. Other houses that have been the royal house of Sweden throughout history include the House of Holstein-Gottorp, the House of Oldenburg, and the House of Vasa.

Finally, a regnal name is a name that a reigning monarch chooses for themselves when they ascend the throne, and it consists of one or more of their first names, and a roman numeral ordinal if there have been previous kings or queens with that name. If you're the first of your name to rule over a kingdom, you can choose to call yourself "the first", or you can choose not to.

In the show, Kristina doesn't appear to have an ordinal, but in real life Sweden there was a Queen Kristina who reigned in the middle of the 1600's. (She was probably a lesbian, caused the death of French philosopher René Descartes, abdicated in favour of her cousin, and moved to Rome and converted to Catholicism. As you do.)

In the real world, the king of Sweden reigns under the name Carl XVI Gustaf, because he's the sixteenth (tenth, actually) Karl to have been king of Sweden, and he also picked his second name because he liked it, or because he wanted to stand out from the fifteen other Karls who preceded him. His regnal name is pronounced Carl den sextonde Gustaf - Carl the sixteenth Gustaf.

Putting all of this together, the styles, the names, the titles, and the houses, and we can finally get the full formal names of various royals. Here are examples from some European royal families to demonstrate what it can look like:

HRH Madeleine Thérèse Amelie Josephine, Princess of Sweden, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland, of house Bernadotte.

HH Felix Henrik Valdemar Christian, Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, of house Glücksburg.

HRH Ingrid Alexandra, Princess of Norway, of house Glücksburg.

HRH Prince William Arthur Philip Louis, Duke of Cambridge, of house Windsor.

HRH Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria, Princess of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange, of house Orange-Nassau

HRH Emmanuel Léopold Guillaume François Marie, Prince of Belgium, of house Belgium.

HRH Infanta Sofía de Todos los Santos de Borbón y Ortiz, of house Bourbon.

These names are quite the mouthful, and the full names and styles are only used in very formal settings. Normally, these people are referred to with their highest title, and their chosen first names, i.e. Princess Madeleine, Prince Felix, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Prince William, Princess Catharina-Amalia, Prince Emmanuel, and Infanta Sofía.

We only have the short name of Wilhelm, i.e. Prince Wilhelm, in the show. We don't have his full name, but if it follows form, he would be HRH Wilhelm <Name> <Name> <Name>, Prince of Sweden, Duke of <Province>, of house <House>.

Note that Wilhelm's father is not a king, he's a prince-consort, since Wilhelm's mother is the reigning monarch. The proper styles for his parents would be Her Majesty Queen Kristina (II?), and His Royal Highness Prince Ludvig.

The only other nobles in the show we have full names for is August and Felice, and August's full name would be August <Name?> Horn, Count (or Baron) of Årnäs. Felice's would be just Felice <Name?> Ehrencrona, because her parents are still alive and still hold whatever title they have.

Commoners marrying into a royal family is no longer forbidden or controversial, and all European royal families have had commoners marrying into them in the past few generations.

Based on precedence, if Wilhelm and Simon were to get back together and marry in the future, and if they get the consent of the Queen and the government, the following would happen:

Simon would be offered to be made a prince of Sweden, and with it gain the style of HRH.

Simon would be offered to be made a duke of some province.

If he accepts, he would lose his last name, and go from Simon Eriksson to HRH Simon, Prince of Sweden, Duke of <Province>, or simply Prince Simon.

If he declines, he would stay as Mr. Simon Eriksson.

When/If Wilhelm ascends the throne, he would chose a regnal name, and get an ordinal depending on the number of Wilhelms before him. If he's the first of his name, he would simply be King Wilhelm.

And if he and Simon are married when he ascends, Simon would not become king, he would become a prince-consort, and keep the title of prince.

[celticcrossanon]

I agree with you that public opinion would not be on her side. But given some of the decisions in court for other aristocratic families, she could easily sue and win. Because the argument today is the law was made when you had no way to know if the kids were legitimate, now a DNA test can be easily done. It's not worth the scandal for the BRF, especially because those kids are constitutionally irrelevant, and honestly no one cares about them in the great scheme of things.

Because the optics is always bad, either they knew and let it happen KNOWING the law. Or they didn't know, and who would want people with so much power who can't even have a grip on what is happening under their noses?

I think those kids exist, and the idea that they just don't is absurd to me, but I'm not sure about the surrogate thing, I agree that the bump was weird, but maybe she was just padding to have a bigger belly, I just think Meghan is way too vain, she never quite bounced back weight wise, I don't see her gaining weight twice just to fake it.

But if they used a surrogate, I think the family knew, the lack of doctors signatures on Archie's birth announcement would be their way of not wanting to lie, they are just omitting the truth.

Hi Nonny,

I also think that the BRF know there is something dodgy about the Sussex children, but I think they found out too late to be able to do anything about it and/or lack the concrete proof needed to be able to do anything about it.

If Harry and Meghan used a surrogate for either or both of their children, and then passed the child off as being born from Meghan's body, than that is an attempt to interfere in the Line of Succession, as all children in the line of succession must be born from the body of the mother. That is the law. The penalty for this interference is for Harry and his children to lose their place in the line of succession - they will no longer be in line for the throne. If you are going to impose this penalty on a member of the royal family, then you need rock solid proof to back up your claim (because we know Harry and Meghan would fight it in court).

Like the Line of Succession, the Letters Patent that grant a peerage titles usually say that the child must be born from the body of the legal wife of the title holder to inherit the title. Surrogacy violates those conditions, so no title is passed on the the child born from a surrogate.

AFAIK, the last case on this in the UK was when a peer (whose name I forget) went to court because his second child was born of a surrogate and he wanted the child to be able to use one of his titles as a courtesy title and inherit his titles (if necessary). The court said no, the child can not inherit the titles or use any of them as courtesy titles because it was born from a surrogate and not from the body of his wife. This case was in the last ten years, so it is a recent case. So AFAIK the law in the UK says that children born from a surrogate are unable to inherit a title, and that is now case law as well as the written law (the law as per acts of parliament). It is not a matter of DNA, but of following the conditions laid down for the transfer of the title.

Given this situation with the peerage, I doubt that a different conclusion would be formed when it comes to heirs to the throne. The law clearly says that all heirs to the throne must be born from the body of the legal wife of the male royal, and that is just not the case in surrogacy. To change this you would have to change the law itself, and so far there have been no signs of that happening.

[emmashouldbewriting]

If titles were automatic, wouldn't it be public knowledge by now? If it needed to be announced, like Prince and Princess of Wales titles, why hasn't it been done already? Maybe they are waiting for some extra documentation? I know that there are some caveats to who is or is not in the line of succession. Maybe madame is going through her emails, haha, I'm so mean!

I honestly don't know. Sadly, I'm not privy to the King's affairs hahahaha

What we DO know as fact:

Since the 1917 LP no monarch has ascended the throne with grandchildren born prior to them becoming sovereign. This does leave the LP open for interpretation, and nobody is wrong or right in that.

King Charles wants a slimmed down royal family, and every non working royal's title is at risk based on that.

The monarch has absolute control over every title granted to a member of their family.

LPs can be issued at any point, saying anything, and they always overrule a previous one.

William's children were made an exception because it would be improper for a future King's children to not be titled correctly from birth.

Now, my opinion, and this is regardless of autonomy:

If the Sussex children were to be HRH Prince/ss, we would know already. The website has been updated at least 2x and if those titles were immediately conferred, we would know. The Edinburgh dukedom is another that we can refer to here. I believe Edward will receive it but in due course. It wasn't a necessary bestowing like the Wales title.

Unlike the 1917 LP, we have precedence for grandchildren of a monarch to be HRH but not P//ss. The Wessex children are HRH, but are The Lady Louise and Viscount Severn at the time of writing on 20/9. There's also a key here that the Earl and Countess of Wessex are working Royals and carry out duties on behalf of the Crown.

If the King wished his grandchildren to be known in that way, we would know. The Sussexes are not working Royals are therefore gave up the right to have their children be titled as HRH P//ss. They cannot use their own HRH so giving it to their children only to have them not be allowed to use it is quite frivolous. And P//ss is rather useless without the style. Best to keep their children titled in the way they are currently entitled to, following the Wessex example, with the caveat of the HRH being linked to working royals. If that means stripping others then, well, so be it.

I do not believe the Sussex children will be granted the titles. The fact it came out immediately from an anti-Sussex blog with an interpretation of the law tells me the Palace may do just that. Interpret it however is easiest for the King. Goodness knows he's had a tough time without this drama.

I will be sad if I am proven wrong. Hahahaha.

[torilovestowrite]

title: romance in struggle

pair: zeke yeager x reader

words: 3k+

content warning: n/sfw themes, ROYAL AU, ZEKE IS A KING HERE Y’ALL, READER IS A MARLEYAN PRINCESS, female-bodied reader/afab! reader, reader uses she/her pronouns, mentions of pregnancy, angst, mentions of blood, age difference (reader is 18 while zeke is 24) conservative mindset, mentions of blood, FORBIDDEN LOVE TROUPE, S/MUT, BREEDING KINK, CREAMPIE

synopsis: in which y/n l/n, a princess of the marleyan kingdom, ends up having an affair with zeke yeager— the kingdom’s traitor who caused a huge terror for nobles in marley.

“my little ymir, don’t you think it’s a lovely day today?” y/n rubbed blonde child’s back as both of them watched the sunrise under a huge oak tree after hanging some laundry in their backyard. “look how fresh the air is.”

“yes! but you know what’s prettier, mama?” ymir responded happily as she held her mother’s hand, placing a small yellow daffodil on her ear, almost like an accessory. “of course, it’s you!”

y/n looked sadly at her daughter— her eyes glimmered in the midst of the dawn; staring at her mother who had a brooding look in her eyes. all the young girl wants is to make her mother smile. even though she would let out soft giggles from her lips and smile few times ever since she was born, ymir could still see a glint of loneliness in her eyes.

“you have the prettiest eyes, ymir.” y/n kissed her forehead as she continued to mutter under her breath, “it’s just like his eyes.”

her daughter’s eyes beamed as she asked, “like father?”

y/n smiled at her young child. yes, she is only five— but she’s perceptive as ever. unlike other children, ymir was sensitive towards how others are feeling around her. seems that she got her mama’s personality, huh? but there are no doubts— that ymir, her daughter, is his’; for her long blonde hair and her deep grey eyes could speak in behalf of her.

“yes,” y/n almost cried before she could even mention him. just the sound of his name makes her guts feel uneasy. “just like your father.”

her eyes looked upon the sky as she recalled her memories— a bittersweet tragedy that took place five years ago; right before her little ymir was born.

“are you really going?” y/n asked the blond man as she held his wrist back in an attempt to stop him from leaving. her eyes gaze upon him— yearning for his affection; for his love— to make him admit that he would come back sooner.

zeke yeager— an untouchable man who’s willing to use all the means in order to achieve his goals. It’s almost like the eldian man— whose kingdom has been enslaved by the marleyans for almost 20 years; has no heart.

y/n l/n— the princess of the marleyan empire, has fallen in love with zeke yeager. she once met him while she ran away from the palace, getting lost in the middle of a dark prairie. being 18 during those days, the younger woman could still remember the cold stare that he held as she was crying in front of the lake after hearing her father’s decision. her clan wanted to marry her off to a man named willy tybur; another royalty— and to become one of his concubines in order to combine the powers of their clans— to sustain a supreme empire.

as she was having her laments, zeke caught y/n and spoke to her; and she found a friend in him with his words filled with sarcastic jokes— yet unbelievable truths. during her free time, she would come visit the forestries in order to share her feelings, laments... and he would entertain it. slowly, y/n began having feelings for the man, craving more than of his attention— but also, his affection; his kisses and hugs.

gladly, zeke felt the same. the two became a couple and secretly met during the night inside his tiny cabin filled with secrets. y/n could still recall the first time they kissed. it was her first, and she was glad that it was her first love for his lips felt warm on her. it was everything to a maiden like her— oh, how she wishes they could stay that way for the rest of her life! y/n loved the older male more than anything. she loved with a love that is stronger than love itself.

Little did she know, zeke spelled danger for the marleyans, as he was one of the last yeagers— the royal clan of eldia— who were killed and burned by her own clan. aside from that, the 24-year old man was deemed as a ruthless man for robbing from the marleyan nobles and even to the point of burning their lands, just like how they have dealt with eldia two decades ago.

but the young lady knows him well— zeke explained that he wouldn’t do those incidents simply for himself; but rather, he did it for his own people. the stolen goods that he was able to obtain were distributed among the poor eldians who were enslaved, starved, and abused by their marleyan lords who were only concerned with their own wealth and earthly riches. their desire for power made zeke disgusted. as a royalty who is in line to inherit the crown— if the marleyans did not kill his own family and abducted his brother, eren; he knows that power is needed to preserve sovereignty in a nation. but unlike them, zeke knows how to gain the respect of the people— and that is through giving back the services that they deserve.

“i need to leave. you know how the circumstances are for me right now, y/n.” zeke sighed as he kissed the young lady’s forehead— pulling her closer and kissing her tears away.

apparently, the romantic nights have ended for the couple— slapping them both of the harsh reality; that their clans are born to become enemies. and that they were born to be star-crossed lovers— only meant to meet; but not to end up together no matter how strong their feelings are.

“d-don’t do this to me, zeke. please. don’t leave me just like this.” y/n sobbed as she kneeled in front of zeke— begging him not to leave; gripping his hand tightly. her hands were shaking and her cries were getting louder. the older male did not want to see his little doll depressed over this. he helped her stand from the wooden floor of his cabin; giving her a kiss on the lips.

y/n felt like melting under his touch— his calloused hands which were much bigger than hers’ were warm; his lips and the way their tongue danced together felt warm too. the younger lady could feel his touch all over her body; as if the burning passion around their souls were bringing them together.

zeke lifted her from the ground, holding and carrying her towards the bed that was inside his room. the blond male wanted to leave a mark before he goes to an important mission— to find his brother, eren, and to start a war against the marleyans in order to free the eldian empire and to bring back the supremacy of the yeager clan.

he started slowly undressing y/n— their hands intertwined together as he bruised her body with his mouth; from her neck down to her belly. zeke was about to go feral at the sight of the young princess being completely submissive and compliant under his touch— it was a different kind of power to him; almost like an achievement.

“do you want me, y/n?” he asked as y/n helped in stripping him off his fabric— unbuttoning his polo and letting the clothing fall down from his torso. he placed his hands on her now naked thighs, positioning himself in the middle of her legs as he rubbed his erected member on her glistening bud. “do you want me to deflower you, my pretty lady?”

y/n pulled him closer, placing her hands on his back and feeling his touch as she responded, “yes, i would like to feel closer to you, zeke.”

and he sheathed his enraged member inside her moist insides— her walls tightly clenching around his member— causing her to claw on his back as she began to adjust according to his size. zeke could see a small trickle of blood coming out from her whole where his long rod of warmth rested. to make her more comfortable, he rubbed her tiny clit with his thumb, trying to soothe the pain that she was feeling.

as he started to do this, y/n felt herself get excited; her nipples began to stand erect— and as soon as zeke saw this, he didn’t miss the chance to put her right breast in his mouth— sucking her chest like a newborn infant.

“y-you can move now.” y/n gave him a peck on the lips as he started to move— causing the young woman to moan because of the friction between their bodies. they were sweating everywhere— but both of them care less; they wanted to be closer together— to live in the moment; fucking as if it’s their last time. i mean, who knows? knowing what could happen the next day, what if he actually disappears from her life forever?

his pacing began to become faster and his acts became even more merciless. his huge hands were gripping her jaw tightly as his thrusts were harsh— as if her insides were bruising. but the pain it gave her did not surpass the pleasure that she was feeling. his hands travelled down to her hips as he whispered to her ears as his breathing became erratic. “d-do you want me to breed you, my pretty woman? y-you want my seed, huh?”

y/n frantically nodded as he gripped her hips tightly, groaning loudly while he came inside her— totally filling her insides. as he was riding his orgasm, she began to call his name loudly, letting out her juices while clenching both of her fists on the bed sheet.

shortly after, y/n fell asleep beside him— and zeke had no choice but to look at her dearly. in his eyes, the young princess was the most beautiful woman. the blond man wished that one day, if he would be given the chance to meet her again, freedom would be granted upon them— the freedom to love and to choose the person you desire. yet he has no choice but to lament for there were shackles separating their beings no matter how much their hearts yearn from one another.

“i’m sorry, y/n.” zeke did not realize how a tear fell from his eye. “i’m sorry that this had to happen.”

y/n felt a strong slap on her cheek as her own father, the king of marleyans, stared at her in disgust. her mother was sobbing uncontrollably as she watched his daughter being tormented and judged by her own husband. the younger female just touched her cheek as a response to his anger.

“you ungrateful imbecile! i didn’t know you were whoring around while—“ the king held the temples of his head in frustration, feeling a strong pain as he scolded his daughter. “what have you done, y/n?! you have brought nothing but shame to the family!”

it’s been a month since the last time she saw zeke. after they spent the night together, y/n was left with a saddening letter— a letter of goodbye coming from the only man she loved. and she felt nothing— but only devastation for it was written:

dear my pretty y/n,

i just want you to know that i dearly love you and i treasure you so much. i believe that amongst all the women who have tried to reach out to me, you are the most memorable— for i have loved you greatly. i love you so much. but i’m afraid that i’ll have to drift apart from you because of our huge differences.

you are a marleyan while i’m an eldian. the grudge that our ancestors have casted upon each other is what separated us. but in my heart, you are always there.

i wish we weren’t suffering like this— that we were free enough to express our love.

your beloved,

zeke yeager

after that night, y/n faced the consequences of being attached to him— while alone, she cried intensely during the nights; yearning for her dear lover’s presence— to see him; to feel his touch, and to speak with him again.

a month later, there were changes in y/n’s body. she always felt sick and even gained a bit of weight even when trying to eat less. her father, the king, decided to let the palace doctors examine her body— only to find out that she was carrying a child. the news made her father furious— throwing expensive ornaments around the palace while shouting as his wife could do nothing but to weep and to calm him down.

y/n wasn’t even speaking. she just stood there— weeping; it’s not because of the pain of being slapped; but the pain of disappointing your parents hits different to her— because she was known as a goody-two-shoes; as someone who have always obeyed them. and it’s her first time letting them down.

“who is the father of that filthy child?!” her father asked while still blazing in anger. y/n touched her belly as she began to swallow before speaking nervously. her response earned her another slap from her father— but this time, it was stronger than the first one— obviously filled with an intense rage.

“the father of my child... is an eldian.”

that was the queue for her to leave the palace. after that night, y/n l/n’s name was erased from the list of the royal family members. her furious father wanted to kill her— but her dear mother begged for her life. as a result, she was exiled to a far away country where she lived alone and gave birth to her daughter, ymir. she was named ymir because zeke has always expressed his admiration towards his ancestor— an iconic woman for eldians; for she helped so much in developing and enhancing their empire.

ymir was a loud child who always cried loudly for her needs— but y/n still loved her dearly despite all the hardships and all the judgements she received for being an unmarried mother. with her daughter being born, y/n began to protect both of themselves from the society— avoiding any news about the eldia and marleyan war— which broke out few months after ymir was born. when y/n heard of this, a spark of hope came across her body— what if zeke came out alive? what if he managed to seize his land back and is still alive?

yet among all these years, there were nothing. nothing tried to reach out towards them— it has been always her and ymir; just the two of them. and so, the young woman, now at the age of 23, considered him dead. if he was alive, he would have been probably 29 by now— and if he managed to claim eldia once again, he would have been the king, right? then if that’s the case, he could have made an effort to find them. but nothing came up all these years. therefore, y/n concluded that zeke died during his mission at some point.

until she heard that name again. after hanging their laundry, y/n and ymir would go to the supermarket, buying all their food and essentials. the young mother heard of his name— zeke yeager; the older women were talking about him— the king who managed to retrieve the eldian empire and took over the whole country after claiming freedom from the marleyans. apparently, the economy of marley failed after that war; as they were isolated from creating trades outside of the country as a sanction for enslaving over millions of people. the sympathy fell upon the eldian race— a now free country loved by the people around the world; and the yeager clan was known as a marvelous family for protecting and freeing their own people.

“the king of eldia? zeke yeager? visiting a small country like ours? oh, how flattering!” the older woman chattered as she giggled at her friend while selling some freshly-ripe fruits in their stall. “i heard that he’s in search for a wife, right? my, my... only if i was a little younger!”

at first, y/n took the news lightly. it could be a hoax, right? also, despite this country being small, there’s a very small probability of them crossing paths. zeke won’t be able to find them, she thought— until she saw a huge carriage outside of their tiny home in the middle of grasslands. y/n peeked from their house’s small window to see a tall blonde man coming out of the huge vehicle. his shoulders were broad and he has a bit of facial hair. the young lady’s eyes widened as she saw who followed. he looked healthy compared to the last time they saw each other.

“z-zeke...” y/n cried as she looked at her 5-year-old child playing with her tiny dolls in the living room while sitting on top of the floor.

y/n’s cries became louder as the blond man knocked on the door— waited for their response; in which ymir opened the door. zeke’s eyes widened as he gazed upon ymir. the moment his eyes landed on the young girl, he knew— he knew that the 5-year-old girl was his daughter— a piece of his and y/n’s flesh and blood. zeke hugged the young child as he cried, “i-i finally found you...” ymir, the 5-year-old girl, was left confused and speechless— but the moment she saw her mother’s face, she realized who he was— zeke yeager, the last of the yeager clan— is her father.

few days after their small yet joyful reunification, y/n moved in along with zeke inside the eldian palace. as soon as the news spread like wildfire, the people were enraged that zeke have chosen a woman who was once a descendant of the enemy— but he loved her greatly. the whole five years that he has been fighting, y/n has left a whole in his heart— a huge hole that only her love and presence could heal. therefore, he couldn’t help himself but to find her no matter where it takes him— whether it takes him to the corners of this lonely and dangerous world or to the hands of the grim reaper.

think of it, romance and war struggles are both different— and when it is mixed, it could hurt people. but there’s nothing better than the feeling of having your loved ones by your side after years of battle scars, armed struggles, and bloodshed with enemies.

I ACTUALLY DID NOT PROOFREAD THE WHOLE STUFF AND I WAS KINDA SLEEPY WHILE WRITING IT OMSHSHSHS— anyway im having a zeke brainrot rn cuz why not.

also, maybe after this, i’ll make a reiner smau. what do u guys think ^___^

MASTERLIST 🖤

[duchessofostergotlands]

It may be a silly question, but what can the royal family/firm do about Andrew? I keep seeing people asking for them to remove his titles, but from my understanding, only the Parliament can do it, so i'm a bit lost in this whole story, and I was wondering if they could do anything to effectively distancing themselves from him and sidelining him.

So I’ll kind of go point by point through the things I usually see people say should happen and then what the royals can or can’t do.

Take away his titles- the Queen (and only the Queen, no other family member) could remove his HRH and Princely titles but she could not remove his peerage. That is something the government would have to do.

Take away his role as a working royal- they pretty much have already done that. They allowed him to control the narrative about his exit but I don’t think it was even a little bit his choice, personally, and I don’t think there is ever a possibility of him stepping back under Charles and William. Regardless of what he says, it's not his choice if he's a working royal or not. They could theoretically announce that he is never going to do public duties again but I think the trouble with that is that as a Counsellor of State Andrew could have to serve as head of state at any time, and that’s not something the royals have full control over. So even if they released a statement saying he would never come back they can’t actually guarantee he’ll never represent the U.K. again while the law is the way it is. I don’t know if he still has any positions like military ones so that could be something they could officially remove from him if they haven’t already, not sure about what he still has left. In a way the pandemic happening has helped them as they haven’t had to deal with the question of whether he goes to stuff like Trooping yet. We can’t make an assumption if he’ll be there or not so we’d have to wait and see but one thing they could do is make sure he isn’t seen at any of these events.

Remove his public funding - he no longer receives funding from the Sovereign Grant as he is not a working royal anymore. He may receive taxpayer funded security - I genuinely don't know - but who gets that is decided by the Met, not the royals. But the royals have always been deliberately murky about finances so it’s possible the Queen is still supporting him through the Duchy of Lancaster. I won't get into the complications around that because the Duchy of Lancaster is a public asset, they are public funds in my view, but legally they are considered private and the Queen spends them on whatever she wants. So the only thing that could be done in this area is for the Queen personally to cut him off.

Kick him out of his home - Andrew has a long lease with the Crown Estate which will last the rest of his life. No member of the royal family could kick him out as they don’t run the Crown Estate and he would have the same protection any tenant would have if the Crown Estate managers wanted to remove him. The Queen could, however, ban him accessing the grounds of properties she owns like Balmoral where he is currently staying.

They could publicly condemn him - they could technically do this. I think with this one people forget who they're talking about. For most of us, especially having watched Andrew's interview, think he is guilty of something. The Queen has an entire legal system in her name which operates on the presumption of innocence, many of the royals have their own connections to sex offenders they probably don't want to risk highlighting by speaking out, and much like the press they can't really go around stating anyone's guilt or accusing Andrew of specific crimes because he could sue them. He's unlikely to sue individual commentators on Twitter but a powerful member of his family might tip him over the age. So I completely understand why people want this to happen and I sympathise with Virginia and the pain she must feel at being stonewalled, but I also think if I was an advisor and I was just ruthlessly weighing up risks I would not advise a public, named statement. However there is a huge chasm between condemning someone as guilty of raping children and supporting them and I think the Queen at least could do with moving where she is in that chasm. Right now Charles and William seem to be maintaining public silence but leaking unofficially. Of course it could just be nonsense from dubious sources but there have been many articles about William and Charles not being happy with the current approach. That's what I would have advised them to do. But the Queen is hosting him in her home - which is by extension shielding him from being served as he is on 50,000 acres of private land in rural Scotland - after she has repeatedly protected him in the past, and no one from her side of things seems to be trying to take control of the narrative or make it clear that she's pissed at her son.

I honestly don’t think there’s anything most of the royal family can do for now beyond publicly condemning him and I don't think that's going to happen unless he's convicted. I think other than the government, the Queen is the only one who could do anything. The options for her are varied and some I think will never happen but others would be achievable. She could cut off any financial support she may give him. She could kick him out of Balmoral and make him go elsewhere. And at the very least she could be trying to take control of the narrative so that it doesn't appear publicly that she's housing and protecting him.

[chaseatinydream]

pirate king (18) || atz

You and Wooyoung are sitting in the rigging, staring out to sea.

The Treasure has left Tortuga for a few days now, sailing in the open sea for the town of Nassau. From what Wooyoung has told you, Nassau, Seonghwa’s hometown, used to be a port thriving with pirate activity… until one day, the Royal Navy decided retake the town from the pirates. Pirate ships were burnt to the ground, the crews hung at the gallows and anyone associated with them brought in for questioning.

It is during that purge that Seonghwa’s parents were killed.

Seonghwa has finally left the confines of the galley, escorted to the sickbay to sleep and rest. Yunho is keeping a vigil beside Seonghwa, while you’ve taken over his cooking duties and Yunho’s lookout role. You may not be as well suited to the job as the two of them are, but it’s the most you can do for being to blame for Seonghwa’s condition.

If only you had known what to do.

You shake your head, squeezing your eyes shut.

If only you hadn’t let the herbs be stolen.

You know it’s stupid, but the thoughts won’t stop echoing in your head.

If only you hadn’t gone out to celebrate your name.

You chew your lips.

If only you hadn’t come to this ship.

Guilt tears at you from the inside like the teeth of a piranha. The pain is all too acute, all to real.

“Hey.”

You’re jerked back from your thoughts by Wooyoung, who’s grinning at you. Somehow, the head gunner has pushed past the air of gloom surrounding the ship, managing to keep a broad smile on his face despite the weight on everyone’s shoulders. How he’s doing it, you don’t know, but part of you resents how easily he can seem to forget that Seonghwa is still in the sickbay, struggling to block out the voices of his dead family from his ears while all of you are absolutely powerless to help.

Even now, Seonghwa’s still refusing the sleeping incense, but Yeosang has given given him back the steak plushie, which he hugs to sleep every night. Jongho helps by singing his hyung to sleep. San mixes relaxing teas for him. Captain and Mingi studying the overlay of Nassau, trying to find the most inconspicuous way they can enter the town without garnering the attention of the authorities.

It’s only you and Wooyoung who can do nothing. And the guilt you feel is swallowing you whole.

Wooyoung suddenly leans forward, shackles clanging as he uses his fingers to turn your mouth up in smile. “I’m sure captain and Mingi will think of something. We’ll help Seonghwa-hyung and everything will be fine soon. Don’t be sad.”

Anger rushes forth.

“Don’t be sad?” You snap, smacking his hand away. Wooyoung looks visibly wounded, pain flashing across his face as his hand falls to his side, but you’re too caught up in your fury to notice. “Seonghwa-hyung is in this state and you have the gall to smile and act happy?”

Something in Wooyoung’s normally bright viridescent eyes darkens suddenly as he silently watches you rant.

“I hate how you’re still so happy go lucky! It’s like you don’t understand what it’s like to lose someone even though you’ve had family like Jongho-hyung and Yunho-hyung!” You continue raving, not seeing the way Wooyoung’s fingers clench so tight around the ropes his knuckles turn bloodless. “ I’m the only one who has no family, alright? I’m not like all of you, I don’t know what it’s like, but you’ve had family before, so shouldn’t you try to be more understanding?”

Silence falls between the two of you as you finish. Then you realise that you’ve just literally just thrown everything, your hurt, your pain, your guilt onto Wooyoung, who must be suffering too somewhere deep down inside. To your horror, his head hangs low so that you can’t see his expression, but from the way his shoulders are curled in on themselves, you must have wounded him deeply. Regret and guilt fills you.

You can’t seem to do anything right.

“Wooyoung-hyung, I’m sorry-”

“What else am I supposed to do, then?” Wooyoung breathes, turning to meet your eyes head on. You desperately want to look away, but his gaze is unbreakable as steel. There’s something utterly frigid about them, almost terrifying, like a dragon rearing its head. “Cry? Complain? Feel pity for myself? Curl up in a ball and hide until all the problems disappear?”

That’s exactly what you want to do right now under the weight of his of his intense stare, pinning you down.

“Hyung, I didn’t mean it-”

“You did.” Wooyoung cuts you off fiercely, his green eyes burning. “You meant every word of it and I don’t blame you. But I want you to know that I don’t intend on moping around because that’s not going to help anything. So get those stupid thoughts about it being your fault out of your head because none of them are true and smile because you need to believe things can get better.”

The resolve in his voice is unshakable, and you curl in on yourself to avoid Wooyoung’s stare, shame burning on your cheeks. All this while, you’ve only been thinking about yourself and your guilt, forgetting that you also affect the members of the crew and that moping around hasn’t helped at all.

“I’m sorry.” You whisper quietly under your breath, but Wooyoung hears you anyway and his smile returns once more.

“I forgive you.” He beams at you gently, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. Your head rests against his shoulder, seeking comfort. “I understand.”

You wipe the tears from your eyes as you swallow down your emotions. Right. Smile. Be positive. Staying negative isn’t going to help anything.

Then Wooyoung frowns as he looks down onto the main deck. “Yeosang is coming over. I wonder what he needs.”

“Wooyoungie! Is Chin Hae up there with you?” The navigator stops in front of the main mast, hand shielding his eyes from the sun as he looks up. Wooyoung nods. “Yeah! Do you need him?”

“Can you tell him to come down? I have something to discuss with him.”

You frown, a little confused as Wooyoung glances at you in surprise. Then he leans forward to pinch your cheeks into a smile again, mirroring his own. “Go on. Don’t forget to smile.”

You manage a real smile for the first time in days.

“Thanks, Wooyoung-hyung.” You say as you climb over the side of the crow’s nest, making your way down and dropping lightly to the main deck. Yunho would be so proud if he saw you doing that. “What do you need, Yeosang-hyung?”

“San spoke to me earlier about your encounter with a fortune teller.” Yeosang explains to you as the two of you make your way across the main deck. Your eyes widen as you realise what he’s talking about. “Since Hongjoong-hyung is steering and Mingi is sleeping in the main hold, the captain’s quarters are empty and I thought that I could take this time to research on what the fortune teller said with you.”

Your heart leaps into your chest with ecstasy at what this could mean, but then you pause a little.

“Should we be doing this now? With everything that’s going on?”

Yeosang stops in the middle of pushing open the door to the captain’s cabin to look at you seriously. You’ve never realised how big and clear his eyes are, completely genuine and free of any trace of ill will. “It’s not like we can do anything now. What we can do is keep our spirits up and be strong for Seonghwa-hyung until we reach Nassau. And you’ve been looking down lately, so I thought I could try to cheer you up by clearing some of your questions.”

Warmth blooms in you at his thoughtfulness. “Thank you, Yeosang-hyung.”

The navigator smiles happily at you, almost radiant. “No problem. It’s my honour you’d trust me with such an important piece of information.” He opens the door and ushers you in.

You’ve never been in the captain’s cabin without the captain being present, so the room is unnaturally quiet and still. Yeosang, however, seems to know the room like it’s the back of his own hand, moving towards one of the shelves at the far end of the room while you hover awkwardly at the door.

“Please sit.” He indicates to the bed as he pulls out a scrap of parchment. You recognise it as the one Seonghwa had written your prophecy on the other time when you were discussing your visit to the fortune teller. Yeosang brings the paper over to you.

“So, what part haven’t you figured out?” He asks seriously, as he reaches in his pocket for a small wooden case, producing a pair of thin, gold rimmed eyeglasses and placing them on his nose delicately. You look over the words.

“The sea witch and the jar of clay.” You answer honestly.

Yeosang nods and moves over to his array of books. The walls are covered in them, from texts to maps to travel rutters to books of varying languages. There are even some tied up in stacks and placed neatly on the floor, all of them well kept and not a speck of dust on them.

He pulls out a few books, putting them in his arms as he mumbles to himself, eyes flitting among the shelves. Then he returns to you, setting the books on the table with a huff. “Let me look through these for a moment.”

You study him intently as he flips through the books faster than you can blink, fingers flying along the pages. The title on some of the books read ‘Legends of the Sea’, ‘Mythical Folk’ and such.

“The sea witch is a powerful entity who was once human with a bond to both the land and sea. She holds immense power, drawing upon the sea to cast spells. In return for a high price, she grants both magical and non magical folk alike what they desire.” Yeosang reads aloud, meticulously focusing on every detail. “Only people in great desperation can find the sea witch, as her lair lies hidden in a magical realm of the sea in which mortals cannot find. The entrance is rumoured to be off the coast of several uninhabited islands in the Atlantic, guarded by the sirens and fierce tidal straits rip through the waters, smashing any ship that dares pass through.”

“That’s… good to know.” You swallow uncomfortably. The only one who probably knows exactly who you are, and she’s probably out of reach. You’re unwilling to put the crew in danger because of your own problems.

“Those who have made a deal with the sea witch tend to have a token on which the deal was sealed.” Yeosang continues, glancing at the necklace hanging from your neck. “The price is often exorbitantly high, and is rarely something of material worth. It often is something of immense value to the person making the deal.”

Your memories.

You had given up your memories.

“In popular folk stories, she was responsible for taking the voice of a mermaid who’d fallen in love with a prince of the land in return for her legs. She also gives out pieces of ropes with three knots. Pulling the first knot could yield a gentle, southeasterly wind, while pulling two could generate a strong northerly wind, but the third knot would unleash a hurricane.” Yeosang looks slightly interested. “Hongjoong-hyung has one of these, but he’s used the first knot already.”

“Really?” You gape. This sea witch can’t be mere legend now.

The navigator nods as he picks up another book. “We were being chased by the Royal Navy, but he used the wind to blow the ships away. That’s when hyung really started to believe in myths a little.”

He opens a book called ‘Symbolism Through Ages’. “Jars of clay, jars of clay… Jars of clay refer to humans. In many books such as the Holy Bible, humans were described to be jars of clay, having mortal bodies while holding precious souls of great value in them.”

A jewel resting in a jar of clay.

Yeosang’s eyebrows pinch together as he continues reading. “This is a interesting explanation, but not rather helpful as it’s quite metaphorical. You said that the fortune teller asked you who’d made you?”

“Yeah…” You shiver a little at the words. “Then she told me the sea witch was my mistress.”

Yeosang frowns thoughtfully, and you can literally hear the gears in his mind turning. He picks up another book, flipping through it absentmindedly as he glances through it. “Made… Clay… Vessel… Humans… Sea Witch… Bargain...”

Then he stops.

All at once, his eyes fly wide open, pupils dilating in realization, mouth going slack, face ashen. The expression on his face can only be described in pure, unadulterated shock, and he stops breathing for a second as if air has trapped itself in his lungs.

Your heart skips a beat in excitement.

“Did you find something?” You begin to ask excitedly, but Yeosang barely seems to hear you, staring in horror at the page, then at you.

Unease begins to crawl up your skin, but you force it to the side and ask. “Yeosang-hyung… what is it?”

That seems to snap Yeosang out of his daze and he desperately tries to smooth his face in a neutral expression, but he can’t quite hide the terror in his eyes. “It’s nothing. I just thought of something, but it’s no big deal.”

The way his voice is trembling tells you it is anything but.

Your eyes narrow in suspicion and barely restrained anger. “Yeosang-hyung, what are you hiding from me?”

“It’s nothing.” The navigator insists, slamming the book shut. You get a mere glimpse of the cover. Prome-, but then Yeosang’s hand slides over the title and you can’t see it any longer. “It’s nothing at all, so just let it go, please.”

Usually, you’d let anything he says go, but this is different.

“Then let me see it.” You hold your hand out to take the book, but Yeosang wrenches it from your grasp before you can even hold it, eyes flaring in panic.

“Don’t touch it!” Yeosang shouts furiously, clutching the book to his chest. Rage fills you, what may be an answer to your identity is right there, but Yeosang won’t give it to you. You storm over to him, ready to rip the book from his hands if you need to.

“What are you doing?” You snarl at him, almost animalistic as you reach to tear your only clue from him, but Yeosang shakes his head, arms folding around the book.

“You can’t see it!” He screams at you, tears streaming down his cheeks and you feel red hot anger thrumming in your veins, purring to life like an awakening monster. Icy calm washes over you, in complete contrast to the fury burning in your heart. How dare he cry as if he’s the one losing anything from this?

Yeosang must see the shift in your eyes as your expression settles into one of dark determination, because his knees start knocking uncontrollably and his eyes dilate with pure, undiluted and primal fear.

“Give the book to me, Yeosang.”

In this moment, Yeosang makes a decision.

His fingers fumble with the latch behind him. Before you can realise what he’s doing, he’s opened the pothole, turned away from you and tossed the book into the ocean.

You feel like your last hope has been crushed into shards and scattered to the wind. Broken fury and grief screams within you like two clashing hurricanes, tearing you apart and ripping through you. Your eyes land on Yeosang, who looks stunned by what he’s just done.

You finally manage to find words in your rage to convey to him what exactly you’re feeling now.

“I hate you.” You spit with every bit of loathing you can muster, and with that, you whirl around and dash out of the cabin, the door slamming shut behind you.

Yeosang doesn’t say anything. Instead, he merely slides to the ground on his knees, body curled into a ball, wishing he could beg for your forgiveness.

And his fist pressed against his mouth to stifle the sobs pouring from his chest.

[lifeexperience]

Maribat March 2021 - Half time

In my AO3 account I am also updating the 'A playboy billionaire, an ambassador and the secret love-child' title, and sometimes I add(ed) commentary why I write something the way I do.

Masterlist

From the last fifty days here is all the plus note:

First day

In Red Robin (2009-2011) comics Vicki Vale was a little bit too noisy for her own good, that's why I used her personal annoyance against Bruce Wayne in this story.

Third day

Vanessa Rios was an assistant district attorney in Gotham in the Robin (1993-2009) run. Here I am using her as the Wayne's legal team head. Tamara Fox, Lucius Fox's daughter, is friends with Tim Drake in Red Robin (2009-2011) comics and here too. Also she is an intern with the HR department who knows about the BatFam alteregos.

Fifth day

In the comics, Alfred always followed Bruce to his 'trips' (in 'Batman and Son' to London, 'Batman & Robin Annual' to an scavenger hunt, in 'Batman Inc.' to every country where they found representatives...) However because of Damian's unpredictable behaviour he stayed at the manor with the children in this story.

Sixth day

So Young Justice thing is a little complicated to me if I dare to say something about it. There was the 'Young Justice: The Secret' and its sequels. Then there were 'The New52' and 'DC Rebirth' era, plus the animation show. And they all are kind of okay..ish, furthermore I wanted to keep the principles like the main members (Tim Drake, Connor Kent, Bart Allen and Cassie Sandsmark), however I never liked their too childish behavior in some of the works (and the mixing with 'The Titans). So in this story, here, they are more adult..ish, but more relaxed and cheerful than 'The Titans' ever was (like in comics, not in the shows).

Eighth day

In the 'Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir' show they showed Lila as a manipulator without any remorse, which got me to think she has antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). I am not a doctor but I had some basic lesson in psychology, and I have a natural curiosity about things so I always research everything. With diagnosed ASPD the person has to be older then 18, however I read its symptoms can show up in childhood, and it can lead to an earlier diagnosis like 14-15 years old early.

In the case of Lila she deceives people and uses them (✓). Don't makes long term plans or thinking through about her behavior (✓), however has a set on some goal she wants to achieve (✓). She has a sense of superiority above of her classmates and adults in her environment (✓), nevertheless does't have any remorse or guilt to mistreat them (✓). Uses charisma and her fake charming persona to get something or someone (✓), however didn't value them more than tools or prizes (✓).

I didn't see any real aggressive behavior from Lila beside akumatizations (✓), but on its own I think it's enough evidence, that she has this disorder (and not the many that she claimed). In normal aggressive way Lila didn't show herself (like physical violence, loud angry outbursts, big fits in front of everyone) yet, rather she uses Akumatization to hide that kind of behavior (when Adrien tried to stand up she became willingly Chameleon, or the Heroe's Day, or Oni-Chan). So her Akumatised forms and helping to Hawkmoth are the evidences that she has aggressive behavior, however they are not the classic forms (but we also can remember the threatening in the bathroom, but I think that was more intimidation and showing her superiority then pure aggressiveness).

And I wanted that recreate and strengthen this 'fact' a little bit so it would be more obvious than in the show.

Ninth day

In the comics there are so many take on Bruce Wayne it's kind of hard to count it. We could list the Batman persona, when he kind of let his children do what they want within his no-kill-rule (like living alone at fourteen with bunch of other teenager - 'Teen Titans' or 'Young Justice' or as it looks like to go rough - Robin, Red Hood). And there is the obvious martyr-parent take, when he has to know everything about his children, but he is always silent about the important things ('Death of the family' - 'Batman and Robin: Born to kill' - 'The Hunt for Robin'). And one of my favorites the worried-tired father take, when he is kind of showing his emotions and trying to love his kids ('Super Sons' - 'Robin Rises' - 'Prelude to the Wedding: Nightwing vs. Hush' ...).

And I decided to use the last with a more active take from the first (like he lets everyone do their thing but he is monitoring them within reasons). In the comics there are many accusations about being someones father (with Julie Madison or Mariah Shelley), and here in my take he is trying to be responsible (for the sake of his children, mainly for Damian and Jason) and checks every claim out personally (so they also can do DNS test).

Tenth day

Alya Césaire is a complicated someone in the show. At first she is portrayed as a fierce helper for the protagonist, Marinette. She is stubborn and reckless, but royal to her best friends.

Then came Lila and the makers sharpened her stubborn tunnel vision. This I saw it first at the 'Lady Wifi' episode, when she clearly didn't remember about the first day, when Ladybug saved Chloé (or ignored it). After that she always fixated on 'Adrienette' (or everything else if it's interesting - Dark Cupid) when the girl, herself had other things to do (Princess Fragrance, Puppeteer 2, Reflektdoll 2, Timebreaker). So it was not that big surprise when her tunnel vision turned to Lila, and she (and everybody in her class) forgot about that they all met Jagged Stone and with his crocodile already.

Yeah, it's all true, however unlike Lila, Alya didn't show any other big social flaw. And she is 14 years old and middle child, which is kind of important in someone personality. She has to be a mature figure and a little child at the same time in her sibling's eyes. She has to compete attention in their parents eyes and be smart about it.

Moreover if we look at the Collège Françoise Dupont's students, they are all spoiled, not just Chloé or Lila or Adrien. Yes, they are not that bad like the three, but they are all sheltered to a certain degree. Their family don't have financial problems (famous chef, designers, mayor, famous bakery, curator in the most famous museum, police officer, famous pantomime, ...), plus they are all in a prestigious school where they can't meet people with everyday problems (and rich spoiled kid is not an everyday occurrence in my country). And beside some vision problems (Max, Sabrina) they are all healthy and the first time to meet a disability is when Lila arrived. So it's natural if they don't really know how to interact right with her (putting aside that whole lie thing).

And I think they, especial Alya, need first a little life experience, before they could be called responsible about their acts. And here I am trying to write it this kind of way, where they are all flawed, but they can learn from it.

Human being can be shallow and not perfect. These children only heard one perspective from Lila, and another from Marinette. In the show the makers not exactly specified about how well the classmates know Marinette and how depth Marinette and Alya friendship is, so there is already some trust issue.

Like yeah all of they are going to concerts, cinema, each others, however they didn't show so far any serious conservation between them (maybe the only exception is Adrien-Marinette combo). Until this year when Adrien and Alya got transferred in the class, the classmates don't even help Marinette with Chloé bullying. And one year friendship - how beautiful is it tho - is not that depth and stable, especially with that many secrets they have. And Lila 'charming' personality came into this still fragile relationship at the right time to prove this.

I am not saying that the makers is doing good to simplifies the relationships. Because rather they missed so many ziccers for the sake of promote new hero designs and the overwritten romantic scene, it's physical hurting me. But they are right that we are talking sheltered-traumatized-too naive kids, who sometimes had unearned magic powers (looking at Chloé, Alya, Kim).

And I didn't ever going the length of mentioning the adult characters. It's an other kind of wormhole.

Marinette was the only one who openly disobeyed Lila's wants. She stands up against her lies in the public so she is a real obstacle for Lila. While Adrien is only trying in the background without any witness (I don't say it's bad, because with some case it's better, but not here), and the boy is too valuable to Lila.

Lila already showed in the series she didn't stop with the lies and she is brave enough to ruin someone carrier with them (Marinette - 'Ladybug', Nathalie and Gorilla - 'Oni-Chan', Alya - 'Volpina'). And Adrien watched all of it in the front seat, and he kind of knows that Lila's main target here to discredit and broke Marinette/Ladybug (and Adrien, himself also, but it's his perspective and he is very sheltered and naive about it).

And this story she got another one to ruin. Bruce Wayne, himself. And as her fake charming side melts away in her anger as she is focusing more and more on her targets.

Eleventh day

Speed Force is one of the Seven Forces of the Universe. It grants the power of the speedsters. And some of them merged with it (for example Barry Allen). Speed Force has a direct connection to the time flow and with the Multiverse (or now Omniverse). The biggest event of it is the Flashpoint (2011) which started the New52 era. And Batman doesn't want to mix this kind of force with a really mysterious ancient magic.

Nightrunner's first appearance was in 2011 in Detective Comics Annual #12. Within the Batman Incorporated line Bruce recruited Bilal Asselah, French-Algerian citizen to represent Batman in Paris. Here he is a mentor/background assistant to the Team Miraculous and a representative of Batman Inc.

Fourteenth day

Wang Fu is not the most mature character in the show and I think it says it all. Being an 186 years old is the Great Guardian after he accidentally destroyed the temple, he is kind of shameful and amateur. And if we contrasted him with Batman... yeah. Batman is NOT happy and takes the control from the old master.

Fifteenth day

I know Cyborg, alias Victor Stone is currently shown as a founding member of the Justice League (since 2011), however I am prefer him more in the Titans. And it's not just because of the animation show form 2003, but also in the comics he is more himself with the first Titans then with the -all mighty- Justice League. And I also wanted him to have a little cameo in this story because in the Super Sons (2017-) he was kind of like a babysitter for the boys. And to me it's kind of funny how many times the bats short circuited him (Robin Rises, Super Sons: Parent Trap, ...).

Sixteenth day

Damian Wayne is a complicated character. For ten years he was teached to kill. He only learnt about his mother at eight. He only learnt about his father at ten. Thalia used him for anything from power play to plotting someone death. Bruce loves him, but he is so moronic about his own emotions it's kind of painful to read sometimes. And there is the thing where Damian is never enough, his mother cloned him (Heretic), his father has other wards (mainly Red Robin). Dick Grayson went incognito spying when the boy had finally a healthier relationship (Grayson: The Superspy). His best friend, Jon Kent was suddenly older then him (2018 Superman #16). Alfred was killed in front of him (2016 Batman #77). Yeah, Damian is a jerk, but he has every right to be a jerk in my opinion. And I wanted that recreate here as Lila is a liar and threatening his 'only' position as a blood son. His only weapon to prevent it to have a fit and doing what was teached to him.

Fulltime

[husheduphistory]

Mis(sing) Fortune: The Money and Tragedy of the Dancing Marquess

When Henry Cyril Paget was born on June 16th 1875 he became the newest member of an illustrious family. His father, Henry, was the 4th Marquess of Anglesey, 5th Earl of Uxbridge, served as Vice-Admiral of the Coast, and was an Honorable Colonel of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of Royal Welsh Fusiliers. His grandfather, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey, was a prominent politician and a senior officer in the United Kingdom. The 1st Marquess earned the title from his days in Waterloo, becoming known for his contributions to the battle and the loss of his leg in the conflict. From day one he may have been expected to follow in the family footsteps of politics, military, and prestige but as a young man it became very clear where Paget’s priorities lay.

When Paget was only two years old his mother died and he was sent to live in Paris. There is some confusion as to who took in the child with some reports saying he was raised by one of his aunts who later went on to marry French actor Benoît-Constant Coquelin. When he was eight years old the boy was returned back to his father and his new wife who were living in Plas Newydd, the luxurious Paget family home located on the island of Anglesey of Wales. Much of the young Paget’s early life is surrounded in mystery. It is known that his childhood was very isolated and in an account written upon his death a friend wrote that when he arrived back at Plas Newydd he had a very “delicate appearance.” He went on to adhere to the roles expected of him, attending Eton College and joining the military, earning the rank of Lieutenant in the 2nd Volunteer Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. On January 20th 1898 he married his cousin Lilian Florence Maud Chetwynd but only nine months later a loss would send his life in an entirely new direction.

Henry Cyril Paget in his military days. Image via Public Domain.

When Paget’s father died on October 13th 1898 the then twenty-three year old inherited all of his family’s wealth. It was a massive fortune of approximately 30,000 acres in family estates valued at 81 million dollars in today’s money and an annual income of £110,000, an amount that today would be equal to 17.5 million dollars every year.

Being granted access to seemingly unlimited assets, Henry Paget 5th Marquess of Anglesey saw freedom and he quickly decided he was going to use this money to make himself happy, regardless of how contradictory it was to all expectations of him. Paget had a passion for the finer things and soon he was spending massive amounts of money on extravagant clothes, furs, jewels, cars, boats, perfumes, toys, chocolate, parrots, dogs, horses, and funding one of his great loves, theater. When his father died Paget renamed the family home of Plas Newydd, dubbing it Anglesey Castle, and proceeded to convert the family chapel into a 150-seat theater that he named the Gaiety Theatre.

The converted Gaiety Theatre. Image via Wikipedia.

The productions at the Gaiety were just as extravagant as Paget. The programs given to attendees were designed in the shape of characters in the production and sometimes made from silk. The shows varied wildly and ranged from variety acts to Shakespeare with Paget often taking a lead role in the entertainment, sometimes performing dance numbers that earned him the nickname “The Dancing Marquess.” Eventually he hired a formal company of actors and for three years Paget took them on tour throughout Europe and Britain. While Paget may have felt he was living his true and best life, his wife completely disagreed with his lifestyle and by 1900 she filed for divorce.

If the separation from his wife affected him the Marquess did not let it on and he continued to spend his fortune like water. His collection of cars grew and he customized them as much as his clothing, fitting them so that the exhaust fumes would smell like rose perfume and the seats were revolving armchairs. He amassed a herd of thirty dogs and when he wanted an item of clothing to be a certain color he would cover it in jewels of that hue. One item in is wardrobe, a ping-pong jacket, was green in color because it was completely covered in emeralds.

Henry Cyril Paget. Image via Wikipedia.

Despite presenting himself as an otherworldly figure, Paget was well known to the local community, often getting involved in events, charity work, and inviting them to his theater productions. Those who worked for him in Anglesey Castle enjoyed his company. But, the good will of those around him could not pay his bills and unbelievably, within six years, all of Paget’s money was gone.

With astronomical debts totaling tens of millions of dollars, the only thing that could be done was to sell the belongings that absorbed his fortune. Trustees of the estate began forty days of sales of his items. In one day alone they sold 900 lots of silk suits and fur coats.

Henry Cyril Paget circa 1900. Image via Wikipedia.

After the sale of his belongings Paget “retired” to France, traveling with a servant, a nurse, and a baby who was eventually returned to their biological parents. Despite burning through an unimaginable fortune, he was not totally financially cut off and he was allotted an allowance of £2,000 a year, an amount equal to just under $300,000 a year today. Even though he officially moved on from his home and underwent a bankruptcy, people did not forget about Paget and he remained in the public eye, giving interviews to newspapers and telling them “In six years, I have run through that fortune, just how - I could not tell you." In time Paget moved on to Monte Carlo where it was reported that he claimed to have invented a new type of gambling system. But, he never had the opportunity to see his plan come to fruition. Somewhere along his many journeys the Marquess contracted tuberculosis and on March 14th 1905 he succumbed to pneumonia. Henry Cyril Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey, passed away at twenty-nine years old. His ex-wife was at his side when he died.

Henry Cyril Paget. Image via bizarrevictorian.livejournal.com. 

The reaction to Paget’s death ranged from mild sadness to utter disrespect at his squandering of his fortune and the tarnish he brought to his family name. Obituaries described a weak and bizarre man who was a waste of life. Stated one obituary: “From boyhood to death no one had ever loved him…[he was] a strange and repellent spirit opaquely incomprehensible and pathetically alone.” His remains were sent to St Edwen's Church on his Anglesey estate for burial.

Upon Paget’s death the title of Marquess passed to his cousin Charles Henry Alexander Paget who put a great deal of effort in erasing any memory of the man before him. He destroyed all records pertaining to his predecessor and converted the Gaiety Theatre back into a chapel. Desperate to put the honor back into their name, the family did what they could to move on and forget the seven-year reign of Henry Cyril Paget.

Plas Newydd remained in the possession of the Paget family until 1976, when it was donated to the National Trust. The house and gardens are now open to the public who are welcome to view the massive art collection housed inside. Despite the Paget family’s reluctance about their descendant, he is not completely omitted from the home he once dubbed his castle. Included in the display are a handful of black and white photographs of the 5th Marquess, dressed in all his bejeweled and extravagant glory.

Plas Newydd today. Image via Wikipedia. 

[mollymauk-teafleak]

whose brow is laid in thorn (chapter one)

You guys have no idea how long I’ve been building this universe in my head as I’ve been falling asleep. Huge thanks to @minky-for-short and @spiky-lesbian, my ever faithful and patient betas and wonderful friends

please reblog and leave a comment on ao3!

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Mollymauk has been waiting for this day since he was eighteen years old.

Not the day he'll be crowned king, that day is a long way off and he's none too eager for it. No, today is the day the love of his life is returned to him, after they were separated when their affair was discovered.

But Caleb Widogast has been in the hands of the Volstruker. And who is coming back is not the same man who left.

So is that man still there?

----------

Mollymauk didn’t wake up, not really. To say he woke up would have implied he’d ever slept and he didn’t so much as doze that night, not even for a moment.

But when the dawn filtered under the thick curtains of his chambers and fell across the rich carpets, he did feel some sort of start. Though it wasn’t anything like waking up.

It felt more like coming back to life. He’s coming home.

He bolted upright, breath suddenly coming fast like he’d been sprinting. His mouth dried and the sudden need to move and move quickly crackled through his nerves, though he had no idea what to do with any of it.

Clothes. He’d start with that, seeing as he was completely naked save the silk sheets and his tattoos. Normally he’d wait for his sister, to get ready with her, but Jester really liked to sleep in and he'd always felt mean waking her up before the sun had cleared the horizon. Unless it was him doing it by repeatedly smashing a goosefeather pillow into her face.

And he needed some time to himself this morning. He’s coming home.

He lit the candles then looked through his vast wardrobe, normally grabbing the first thing he came across whether it was appropriate for court or not. People had long since given up on expecting him to be appropriate, full stop. His fathers senechal didn’t even roll her eyes as much when he would come to take his seat, dressed in feathers and sequins with far too much of his deep violet skin on display. Mollymauk actually suspected his father had turned it into a play, to further intimidate his already plenty intimidated supplicants.

But this morning his fingers passed over the usual silks, satins and samites. He couldn’t help but think of how he’d dressed back then, gods, ten years ago now. His fingers kept moving, further and further back into the racks, as if he could go back in time so easily. As if everything could be undone. As if he could be the Mollymauk he’d been back then just by dressing like him.

His chest clenched tightly. He’s coming home.

Eventually he found a close fitting tunic with a high neck, in a dark blue colour, clearly from some time before it was politically necessary for him to be wearing the house colours at all times. Soft doeskin breeches underneath, no jewellery save what he always wore in his horns. Just some kohl outlining his full, red eyes. He wanted to look as much like the Mollymauk he would remember as possible, whether it would change anything or not.

When the heavy knock on his chamber door came and it swung back with an iron and oak creak, Molly wasn’t surprised to see Yasha standing there, already dressed and ready to go and also very much not surprised to see him in the same state. Yasha had always understood him in that way.

“Your highness,” she said in that soft voice of hers, bending in a small half bow.

None of his other friends ever used his official titles outside of the courtroom but, after years as his aide de camp, she had turned them into a term of endearment. Hearing her say it gave him a reason to smile, in the middle of everything he was feeling.

“Good morning, Yasha,” he beckoned her in from where he sat at his dressing table, still looking at himself in the mirror.

“I checked with the night guard, your highness. All clear, nothing to report,” she intoned, as she did every morning before anything else was addressed.

“Good,” Molly murmured, attention elsewhere, “I, uh, take it my mother and father are still abed?”

“Soundly, your highness.”

Molly nodded tightly to his reflection. He didn’t want the king here for this. The less bad memories were waiting for him on the palace steps, the better.

Then why do you imagine he’ll want you there? A nasty little voice whispered inside his mind, making him clench his hands into fists. Molly swallowed hard and pushed it away, trying to wipe any trace of it off his face before Yasha could see it in the mirror.

He either hadn’t moved fast enough or their friendship ran too deep. He saw his friend’s face tighten ever so slightly, felt her hand rest on his shoulder and squeeze firmly.

“Are you ready for this, your highness?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper. It was wise to never speak too loudly anywhere in this castle, not even in the bedchamber of it’s crown prince. Molly had learned that lesson early in life.

But still not early enough.

“I am,” he made himself meet Yasha’s eyes, or at least the reflection of them, “He’s coming home. He’s finally coming home. And everything’s going to be right again.”

If there was a flicker of doubt in his friend’s ash-ringed eyes, then Mollymauk didn’t see it. Instead he looked into his own face, bathed in candlelight and dawn, so he could see the certainty there and forget he’d forged it himself out of dreams and selective memories. So he could make himself believe it when he whispered it once more.

Caleb Widogast was coming home and everything would be right again.

People in the castle whispered about it, of course they did. But it just joined the never ending current of gossip and low level scandal that ran through the place because of the wayward crown prince. Caleb had become another faceless body in their prince’s bed, of the hundreds they imagined crowded in there like a tavern on a festival night. Earlier on than most, granted, but every bit as transient.

And even then Mollymauk still wasn’t the most interesting member of the royal family. Just the safest to gossip about.

It would make Mollymauk laugh bitterly, to imagine their faces if they’d only known. Caleb hadn’t been one of many. He’d been the first. He’d been everything.

They were called the Volstrucker, their true purpose shrouded by naming them in a language few people this side of the Xorhasian border spoke. For the few that could be openly seen at court, people had grown used to them and long ago grown bored of making up stories about them. They’d stopped questioning Sorah’s never ending vigil at the king’s side, the higher courtiers that were granted peeks behind the curtain thought little of the people in black who hid their faces and brought reports under magical seals that the king would read and then promptly burn. To them, Trent Ikithon was just another courtier, a noble chased from the Empire and trying to scratch some semblance of the power he’d once wielded through the benevolence of the king, clearly providing him some service they had better not dwell on too long.

Bodyguards, spies, personal assassins, fallen sorcerers with their uses, all these things were common in this court and drew little attention when no threads could be found between them all.

And when the crown prince was given a companion at the age of ten, a thin, pale boy with dark red hair and sharp blue eyes, the court accepted it when they were told he was just that. A companion. A personal guard. Hardly unusual, given that this was their heir to the throne. It was only natural that he would have his own version of his father’s silent, hulking goliath and it was rather smart, after all, to have the two boys grow alongside each other to strengthen the bond between them.  

But of course, that was exactly the point of the Volstrucker. To blend into the background, to repel whispers and speculation as easily as shaking rainwater off a cloak, to run beneath the surface of things. It was what allowed them to operate as the most vicious, effective and brutal assassins and war mages anyone inside or outside of the Empire had ever seen. To be the stuff of legends and nightmares while never appearing so.

That was Caleb Widogast. Prince Mollymauk’s own personal Volstruker, the kind of privilege only extended to the most powerful people. And of course, those most powerful people who had close ties to their handler. Trained from their shared youth to give his life in service of his prince, to jump before every blade aimed at his neck, to either slaughter the enemy or take the sword point through his own flesh. Drilled in the most dangerous offensive magic, shaped by Ikithon’s hand out of common dirt to serve a greater purpose, to once day stand by the throne when it was Mollymauk’s turn to sit it or to perish getting him there.

That was who Caleb was. Or at least what he’d been intended as.

“An hour after dawn. That was what they said.”

Molly was pacing back and forth across his room, hands fidgeting with the adornments in his horns. Yasha sat patiently on his bed, again demonstrating how she could be such a stickler for protocol in some areas and then completely disregard it in others. Their long friendship always had been that strange kind of patchwork.

“They did say that, your highness,” she agreed patiently, for the tenth time that morning.

“So how long does it take to travel from this place?” the panic began rising on his throat, “This place they won’t even bloody tell me where it is? Because it damn far past an hour after dawn!”

Yasha took a deep, patient breath, one of many that she’d taken between coming into her prince’s room and this moment, “The roads have been dangerous of late. Perhaps they’ve just been delayed. Perhaps there was rain over the mountains. Perhaps a tree fell across the king’s road. Perhaps a million other things happened that we do not need to be worrying ourselves over right now.”

Molly flushed, folding his arms across his chest and staring sullenly at his boots, “There’s probably a few we should be worrying about…”

“Molly, think who he’s with. Is there really anything that would stop a pack of Volstreker for very long?”

“He...he was just never late,” Molly replied after a long, long pause, his voice sounding very far away and very young, “That was one of the things he hated most, being late.”

He wasn’t looking but he heard how his friend’s voice became very clipped and careful, her accent coming through stronger like it did when she was minding her words very closely, “My prince...Caleb may not be the friend we remember…”

Molly looked up sharply, his eyes bright and hard like rubies, “Caleb was not just my friend. Caleb was the love of my life. He is the love of my life. We’re soulmates.”

Yasha sighed again, though this one she kept to herself. Arguing with Mollymauk was a chore most of the time, nigh on impossible when he got that fire in his eyes, the same fire that could be seen in the king’s more and more frequently.

The fire that worried her every time she saw it reflected on her friend’s face.

So Yasha wouldn’t argue with him. She would do what she had always done, what she’d learned how to do when she’d been handed this broken boy at the age of eighteen and helped him put himself back together over ten long years, what people were afraid to do for a prince but gods did he need it. She would pull back his armour and show him what was underneath.

“Molly,” she stood, taking a few steps towards him, her sad eyes catching the candlelight, “What happened was not your fault.”

It was like watching a single crack in a sheet of ice bring a whole glacier face crumbling down. Yasha moved quickly, bringing Molly into her arms before he could even choke out a sob, as the tears he’d probably needed to cry since he’d heard Caleb was coming home burst forth.

For a moment, as her knees hit the thick carpet, it was as it had been ten years ago. Those long, awful months after Caleb had been taken away, when Molly couldn’t find the strength to rise from his bed, when the chambermaid Veth would bring him meals he wouldn’t eat, when Jester would come ask her big brother to play with her and it would be like she wasn’t there, when no good natured threats from Beau would get him down to the practise yard, when Fjord would come with tales of his travels and get no response. Caduceus, the palace healer, had done all he could for him, eventually only able to bow his head and sigh and say it wasn’t for any medicine to cure the nasty shock of a broken heart. The king had known better than to try and reach out to his son, knowing this had driven a chasm between them that would not be repaired. The queen had sat outside his chamber door for days on end, waiting until he would see her again.

Ikithon said Caleb had been taken for training. Re-education. The screaming nightmares that would bring Yasha and Jester running to Molly’s chambers at all hours proved just how much they believed that.

But Yasha squared her shoulders and let Molly weep against her. It wasn’t like that any more. Her prince had grown stronger since then, and wiser, this was just the aftershocks of an earthquake that had passed. He’d learned not to shut his friends out.

He proved that when he finally whispered, voice trembling, “But what if he blames me?”

Yasha squeezes his shoulders gently, “Think of the Caleb you knew. How well you understood each other. How clever he was. Do you really think he’d blame you?”

“No…” Molly drew back with a final sigh that sounded something like relief, “No he wouldn’t.”

“You know who's to blame,” Yasha’s voice hardened at the edges.

Molly’s mouth twisted, the way it often did when thoughts of that man strayed through his mind, Having him so close for the last ten years, seeing his smug smile and cruel eyes every day at court, at every royal banquet, in the council chambers, it had taken all of the combined efforts of his friends to convince him the matter couldn’t be settled with the point of his scimitars.

Not without angering the king. And despite everything Mollymauk said, despite the mask he wore, he was terrified of the king. He couldn’t hate him, not truly, not even after he ordered your heart torn in two and one half banished to gods knew where. Not even after everything he’d seen him do, the executions he’d ordered, the other kingdoms he’d seen him raze in war, watching from behind what little protection his mother could offer him. And even beyond the things he’d seen him do lurked the things he suspected.

But you couldn’t hate the man who’d saved your life. Who’d found you as an orphan and adopted you, named you heir to his kingdom, gave you a family and a name and a crown. Who had shown you love, perhaps, once upon a time.

Fear was easier. And so Mollymauk feared his father.

“I don’t want to think about that right now,” the tiefling rubbed at his eyes, smudging kohl across the bridge of his nose, “I just want to see him. I need to know he’s okay.”

Yasha opened her mouth, about to say something comforting while still trying to manage her prince’s expectations, when there came shouts from the far side of the bailey. From the main gate. Riders approaching.

Molly stiffened, eyes opening wide, lighting up with more hope than Yasha had seen on his face in years, so much so that she couldn’t help but smile.

“He’s home,” Mollymauk breathed.

The clamour raised by the approaching visitors must have woken Jester. As Mollymauk stood in the audience chamber, smoothly maintaining his princely face, she came bursting through the side door, clearly having dressed in a hurry. She ran up to take her place at his side, panting and grinning, eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Is he here yet? Is he here?” she gasped, taking her brother’s hand and squeezing tight.

Molly chuckled fondly, dropping the act for the moment and winding an arm around her in a hug. He could never maintain it around Jester.

“Not yet. They’re just dismounting in the foreyard, we don’t even know if it's them yet…”

“Oh of course it is!” Jester rolled her eyes before the splitting grin came back, “I can’t believe he’s here, we’re all together again. It’ll be just like it was before!”

Molly couldn’t hide his own delight, not when her’s was taking it by the hand and tugging it up to the surface. But he needed to wear the right face for this, settling for laughing and scrubbing her blue hair quickly before pushing her away.

“Come now, at least try and look suitably intimidating,” he teased, moving back to standing tall with his hands clasped at the small of his back to put the hilts of his infamous scimitars on show, “The king would be most disappointed if any of our visitors left with dry smallclothes.”

“That’s not my job,” Jester snorted, like he were the world’s biggest fool rather than her future liege, “My job is to stand and look dumb and pretty to get them off their guard.”

Molly nudged her with a sharp elbow which she mostly dodged, “And brain them with a psychic lollipop if I lose my swords.”

“And brain them with a psychic lollipop if you lose your swords!” she repeated cheerily, giving him a wink before her face settled into something softer, something not unlike the look Yasha had given him as she’d helped him to his feet, “I’m really happy for you, Molly.”

Molly had his eyes facing firmly forward, he could hear voices from behind the gilded doors or the audience chamber. But the corner of his mouth turned up and the tension in his shoulders lessened slightly.

He was glad to have his sister beside him for this.

Because the door was opening and the man he loved, the man he’d loved since he was a child, the man whose absence had ripped a hole inside him he thought would never heal, was about to walk through the door.

Ikithon first, flanked by two nondescript figures in all black, a man and a woman. Molly greeted them with a stiff nod, his heart set on what lay behind them. A cloaked figure, hood up, the same stiff black uniform as the other two.

“Ah, Prince Mollymauk,” Ikithon intoned, voice as slippery as ever, “A welcome sight at the end of a long journey. It was my pleasure, of course, to bring your personal Volstruker back to you. Consider it yet another token of my sincere and genuine apology for the… unpleasantness he caused ten years ago.”

His voice lingered over that word, drawing it out into something sharp edged. Because of course he knew. Jester glanced anxiously at her brother.

Molly’s anger bubbled too close to the surface, he had to force the words through his teeth in a thin veneer of politeness, “You have the throne’s thanks, Archmage, as ever. Of course, I would be loath to keep you any longer, after such an arduous journey. You and your companions are dismissed to refresh yourselves. Immediately.”

He was rewarded by the slightest curling of Ikithon’s lip at his old title, the reminder of the one he used to own before he was cast out of the empire for his crimes. The same crimes the king had welcomed him in for.

“I will escort you myself!” Jester insisted with a sweet smile, smoothing the moment over in an instant, hurrying down the steps of the raised platform to sweep her arm out invitingly, seeming to put even the two senior Volstruker off guard, “Please follow me! I would so love to hear all about your journey!”

Jester was very hard to say no to. Within minutes they were gone into the luxurious depths of the castle and, given that this had been a very small welcome in the early hours of the morning, this left Mollymauk alone with Caleb.

His resolve broke as soon as the footsteps disappeared. Dropping all sense of decorum, he lurched forward, down the steps, unable to bear the distance between them.

“Caleb,” he nearly sobbed out, though still in control enough to drop his voice, “Gods, Caleb, it's so good to see you again. There’s so much I need to say to you but...Caleb?”

He hadn’t moved. There hadn’t been so much as a twitch in his muscles. Molly was panting, wild eyed, now close enough to reach out and touch him but he hadn’t flinched.

The voice stopped Mollymauk just as dead in his tracks. The most awful mix of familiar and foreign, the voice he knew but seeming to come from a different set of lungs.

“Your permission to remove my hood, your highness?”

Molly frowned, not understanding, feeling like he was in some strange dream now, actions not making sense and words coming out disjointed, “I...yes?”

With a slight nod, gloved hands swept back the heavy hood. It was almost exactly the face he’d imagined, the strong jaw and close beard of rust, the piercing blue eyes and high, handsome cheekbones. He’d grown into the handsome man Molly had always known he would be.

But he’d never imagined the expressionlessness in his eyes. The slack set of his jaw. He’d never imagined it would be like looking into the eyes of a doll or a painting.

Gods, it was so much worse than the looks of fear, pain, even the anger and hatred he’d seen in his nightmares.

“Caleb…” Molly groaned.

“I would like to apologise for my grievous errors when we were younger men, your highness,” the man who wasn’t Caleb intoned, completely flat, “I compromised my position as your Volstruker and took advantage of you in a completely unacceptable way. I swear to you that all degeneracy has been wiped clean and I am returned ready to do nothing but serve you with body and soul.”

He pulled his fist to his chest, keeping it there in a hard salute, one Molly had seen so many black clad figures make to Ikithon, to his father.

“I am yours, my prince.”

Molly’s heart shattered in his chest, tears running down his cheeks to drip onto the hands frozen halfway to taking Caleb in his arms.

“Caleb, what have they done to you?” he whispered, voice strained.

Someone had come home. But not the man he knew.

Not the man he loved.