#and him actually being able to talk to the royal family he's been serving for years that isn't Corrin? I love it

[whambam-ink]

The serotonin boost I get from these two images is. Immense.

[hotlikewasabi521]

imagine, if you will, a sbg fantasy au

I don't know if anyone's done this yet but here we go! I'm a huge fantasy nerd, so I might be biased here, but I think sbg in a fantasy setting would go hard. now you could really throw in any ships, but personally, I built this idea around Tyden and Taylyn

so consider this:

(fair warning, this got a lot longer than I thought it would, I kinda ran with it)

Tyler and Taylor are the prince and princess of the kingdom, but they've essentially been running the country since they became teenagers what with their father having passed away and their mother being unfit to rule due to her mental state after her husband's passing. After their father died, Tyler still takes on the role of caretaker of sorts. Sometimes he even has a habit of burning himself out, Taylor and Ashlyn have to remind him often that it's okay to take a break. Ashlyn actually pulled him to the side one night and practically forced him to let Taylor start taking on more responsibilities, just so that he wouldn't fall under the weight of the kingdom.

On the subject of Ashlyn, her parents served in the king and queen's royal guard, and she even followed in her parent's footsteps. Considering both her lineage and the fact that she basically grew up with Tyler and Taylor, she winds up becoming the personal guard of the prince and princess(the twins) and the acting captain of the royal guard once she's deemed ready (which considering it's Ashlyn, is relatively quick). When it comes to her hearing, she'd definitely have some sort of wool or something put in her helmet to help muffle any loud noises. But her hearing also makes her a perfect guard, even allowing her to keep surveillance a fair distance away.

Eventually, it comes a time when the advisers decide that Tyler is of an age that he needs to find a suitor. The twins manage to fight it for as long as they can but when they turn 19, there's no getting around it. This would be around the time that Aiden and Ben show up, though for an unrelated reason.

See, Aiden is a prince himself, and Ben is a nobleman(title unknown) with close blood relation to the throne as well. Aiden isn't exactly all that into being a prince though, he'd rather go out, have fun, and be an adventurer (which is exactly what he's doing in the twin's kingdom) Ben is there to make sure Aiden doesn't get himself killed or cause any trouble with any foreign powers (friendly or otherwise).

As for Logan, well, his knack for astrology isn't going to waste, that's for sure. See, he's the apprentice of the kingdom's Royal Astronomer. And he absolutely loves it. Not only does he get to study the stars and be able to help support his grandparents, who would still run a flower shop in the capital's town square

Now of course rumors floating around the castle staff that Taylor has a secret love. Granted they can never catch a glimpse of the mystery suitor, (thanks to Ashlyn's super hearing) but the kitchen staff has it on good authority that it's someone from the royal guard. (Ashlyn and Taylor likely would have kept their relationship on the down-low for a bit in the beginning, but would eventually take it public, I mean, who's gonna stop them? the twins run the country, and of course, their mom just wants them to be happy and maybe give her a grandkid or two if either of them wants to have any)

That being said, the idea of little secret late-night rendevous where they wander the castle grounds talking and maybe wind up stargazing in the gardens is too good to pass up (They may not know as much about astronomy as say Logan, but they would definitely make up their own constellations and stories to go with them)

As for our other pair: Naturally, Tyler has a very strong opinion of Aiden. He's not exactly princely, and he does NOT like the fact his attitude when it comes to the politics of being in a royal family. But at the same time, this not-so-princely prince isn't like any other noble or royal he's ever met. He's intrigued. Deep down, there's a part of Tyler that wants to know more about Aiden and the world that he's gotten to explore and adventure through.

In the end, Aiden may or may not be the one who manages to get Tyler to enjoy his youth while he can, convincing him that the weight of the world doesn't have to fall on his shoulders alone. And Tyler may or may not have found himself a suitor in the process.

[rachelfloof]

Caramel Arrow being Dark Cacao’s daughter is a bad headcanon.

I’ve been keeping this to myself for a long time, but there are so many things about this headcanon that bother me, both obvious and less obvious things. There’s certain things about it that I’m surprised people don’t consider and don't realize. I can tolerate it because I can totally understand why people would hc this, but the more I thought about it, the more problems I found with it. I feel like they need to finally be pointed out because, in my opinion, this headcanon does not deserve the popularity it has.

Before I start explaining my thoughts, I want to emphasize that this is JUST MY OPINION. you DO NOT have to change your own opinion after reading this. These are simply my PERSONAL thoughts on this, and you DO NOT have to agree with me. Also, if you DO agree, I DO NOT condone sending hate to or attacking those who disagree with me and/or continue to use this headcanon.

The family headcanon directly conflicts with Caramel Arrow’s character in two major ways. The first is in regard to her ancestors. Following in her ancestors footsteps and honoring their legacy is one of Caramel Arrow’s main motivations. Caramel Arrow currently has one piece of cutscene art, depicting her praying to her fallen ancestors, as well as several quotes where she mentions defending the kingdom, just like her ancestors did (1 star promotion quote). If Dark Cacao is her father, then what ancestors is she talking about? because I know damn well it’s not Mystic Flour.

The only way this headcanon works without conflicting with the canon is if you ship Dark Cacao with a mortal who has a long history of serving the Dark Cacao kingdom (like the Second Watcher, for example). Despite this, Caramel Arrow being biologically related to Dark Cacao in any way brings up the second major issue and, in my opinion, the most damaging issue.

Caramel Arrow’s loading screen trivia states, "Caramel Arrow Cookie became the First Watcher at a young age…" Which is something I feel like has to be one of Caramel Arrow’s biggest achievements in her life. First Watcher is a really highly esteemed role; she’s essentially the top general of Dark Cacao’s most elite troops. Therefore, she likely had to work really hard to be able to become First Watcher, especially at so young.

However, with the added context of Dark Cacao being her father, I feel that it heavily reduces the gravity of this achievement. Dark Cacao is the king; he could’ve easily been biased in Caramel Arrow’s favor when deciding who to make First Watcher since she’d be his daughter. Dark Cacao’s kid being in such a high position at such a young age makes the earning of that role seem like a blatant display of nepotism.

Yesss, why not add taking away positions from people who actually deserve it more to the list of reasons why Dark Cacao is a bad person? /s

By making Caramel Arrow seem more undeserving of her position, you’re essentially weakening the strong woman character. Turning her from “hard-working girl boss” into “daddy’s girl.”

Speaking of Dark Cacao being a bad person, Dark Cacao treating Caramel Arrow like a daughter makes him look even worse when you factor in what he did to Dark Choco. So essentially, what’s happening is that Dark Cacao emotionally neglects Dark Choco while at the same time treating his younger child with the love that Dark Choco originally deserved.

All of the previously mentioned problems go away if you just interpret Dark Cacao and Caramel Arrow’s relationship for what it is. Which is NOT BIOLOGICALLY RELATED. By making them family, you’re heavily simplifying her character; her motivations for standing by the king and the prince go from “this is my sworn duty, and I want to honor my ancestors.” to “oh, it’s because the royal family is my family too.” So it makes her motives seem more like an empty obligation and expectation rather than something she’s worked for and voluntarily committed to because she’s genuinely just that passionate and dedicated about the homeland that her ancestors have fought and died for over generations.

The only way this headcanon works is if Caramel Arrow becomes Dark Cacao’s daughter AFTER everything is said and done with her becoming First Watcher and Dark Choco taking the sword. Which can only really happen if you ship Dark Cacao x Second Watcher or Dark Cacao x Dark Cacaoian OC while having the two characters fall in love AFTER Dark Choco leaves, making Caramel Arrow his stepdaughter. Or if you headcanon Caramel Arrow as his ADOPTED daughter rather than biological, of course with the adoption happening after Dark Choco leaves.

Even then, Dark Cacao adopting his First watcher after everything already happens would just be super random and weird. That’s like if a worker climbs the ranks in the company they work at, becomes COO, and then the CEO just decides to adopt their COO because they become close. Based on the Cookies of Darkness flashback, Caramel Arrow would likely be a full-grown adult by the time Dark Choco leaves with the sword, so Dark Cacao adopting this grown woman would just be kind of weird and unnecessary.

Despite everything I just said, Dark Cacao CAN still see Caramel Arrow like a daughter, and Caramel Arrow CAN still see Crunchy Chip like a brother WITHOUT any of them actually being on each other’s family tree. They can just have a close platonic relationship with each other where they kind of see each other as like a second family, except, of course, they’re not actually related. Rather, they're almost like a family-like friend group or in other words, a friend group with a family-like bond.

This is the end of my little ramble, in case you forgot about the disclaimer at the top, this is just my opinion. Re-read the disclaimer in big red text if you need to. you don't need to agree with me. and I hope everyone has a good day. <3

Also, remember to never be a hater to anyone, hating is cringe ngl.

[goodqueenaly]

Say hypothetically Jaime died or was killed while serving in the kingsguard anytime before Tyrion is convinced as a traitor. Who do you think Tywin would prefer to inherit the rock in that scenario, since he's made both his feelings on women's roles and on Tyrion very clear? Who do you think would actually stand a better chance (since Tywin cannot change the legal succession from beyond the grave)? Does it depend on where they are in the time line regarding Cersei's marriage?

A hypothetical covering the span of Jaime’s service in the Kingsguard “anytime before Tyrion is convinced as a traitor” is a pretty long period indeed; we’re talking about a stretch of time from 15-year-old Jaime’s investiture in 281 AC to Tyrion’s trial in 300 AC. (Let’s not even mention the numerous momentous events in Westerosi history in this period of time, much less the absence of Jaime at any given point would have had on these events.) So, all else aside, I think it would be very dependent on when specifically Jaime died in this scenario as to what Tywin might have done about his own succession.

If Jaime died prior to or during Robert’s Rebellion (again, let’s put aside Jaime’s very significant action at the end of the Rebellion), then I think Tywin would have had to consider whether he wanted to remarry. While Tywin IOTL never considered and would never have considered remarrying himself, he could take this decision secure in (what he believed was) the knowledge that he had his perfect golden heir, Jaime. However, without that perfect heir in his pocket, so to speak, Tywin may have felt more pressured to take a new wife, so that he could have a (male, able-bodied) heir of his own body. Would Tywin have looked to another wife, perhaps in particular another Lannister (like, say, one of Joanna’s younger sisters, or one of the daughters of Joanna’s brother Stafford, or his cousin Damon’s granddaughter Lanna, assuming any were the right age), in order to produce another perfect Lannister male heir? It’s at least possible. (How naming the son of a second wife as his heir would have been affected by the Widow’s Law is of course a completely unanswerable question.) 

Alternatively, Tywin may have looked to Cersei as the producer of his eventual heir. Admittedly, such a plan might have clashed with Tywin’s royal ambitions for Cersei, but between the throne and Casterly Rock, I think Tywin may well have chosen the latter. While I doubt Tywin would have seriously invested in Cersei as a future lady in her own right (any more than he did in Cersei as a queen and future queen mother and regent), I could see Tywin seeing Cersei as an acceptable Lannister broodmare, through which his own precious (to him) bloodline could be preserved and produced in an acceptable (read: male) heir. (Again, it’s far too speculative to determine whom Tywin might have chosen as Cersei’s husband, but I could see a Lannister kinsman like cousin Daven or even uncle Tyrek being selected to reinforce Tywin’s Lannister superiority.)

If Jaime died after Robert’s Rebellion but before the death of Joffrey, then I could see where Tywin would simply have seized Tommen from Cersei and raised him as a Lannister heir. There would have been some historical precedent for this, with Lucerys Velaryon being in his lifetime his “grandfather” Corlys’ heir as (ostensibly) the second son of Corlys’ late son, Laenor. With Joffrey assumed to inherit the Iron Throne, Tywin would have, in a sense, the large-scale Lannister political domination he had attempted to achieve in ASOS (notably expressed through the twin Valyrian steel swords made from Ice): the King on the Iron Throne and the Lord of Casterly Rock as the two heads of the Lannister family, inextricably binding the throne to House Lannister in perpetuity.  

If Jaime died in the short window between the Purple Wedding and Tyrion losing his trial by combat, then I think Tywin would have had to choose (or at least believed he had to choose) between versions of the above. Given that Tywin IOTL was ready to taking the new King Tommen back to the Rock to “learn to be a Lannister”, I could see Tywin perhaps simply naming Tommen his heir and installing him at an official or de facto new royal court at the Rock (something along what he had done during Aerys II's reign), fully merging the identities of the royal dynasty and House Lannister as he had begun to ahead of Joffrey’s wedding. Tywin may also have pushed the idea of Cersei’s remarriage even harder in this scenario, which he was already beginning to do IOTL (though whether he would have been so eager to wed her to Oberyn Martell, his preferred choice in ASOS, with Oberyn now poised to father the next generation of Lannister heirs is a more speculative question). Tywin may even have decided that when Tommen had sons of his own, the second son would inherit Casterly Rock - though this succession idea may have been too uncertain for Tywin’s taste, given that Tommen was probably the better part of a decade away from fathering multiple sons of his own (let’s put aside Cregan Stark’s apparent willingness to bet on a similar potential through the Pact of Ice and Fire).

About the only certain takeaway I think we can have in any version of this scenario is that Tywin would have done everything in his power to keep Casterly Rock out of Tyrion’s hands. While Tywin may not have gone quite so far as forcing Tyrion into the Faith, Citadel, or Night’s Watch - Tywin’s obsessive focus on Lannister exceptionalism (and the primacy of his own line within that) meaning that even the lowest and least of the main-line Lannisters, as he saw Tyrion, was superior in rank to every other aristocrat, and so unfit for a life of servitude - I very much believe Tywin would never admit that Tyrion had any right to Casterly Rock (much less the best claim as the most senior eligible legitimate male descendant of Tywin even IOTL). 

[hypogryffin]

TELL US ABOUT THE PRINCESS KNIGHT AU PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PL

ok sorry its been like two months but anyways lets talk abt the princess/knight au!!!

haru is a princess, specifically the only heir to king kunikazu. yusuke is sort of a knight, but it's more that he's haru's personal bodyguard!

his mother was a court painter. she was pretty physically weak and fell ill a lot, and after she had yusuke, she realised that, while her and her family were able to live with the royal family for now due to her work, if and when her sickness claims her, her son would no longer be welcome in the castle. since she was all the family yusuke had, that would mean hed likely live the rest of his life on the streets, and as a young child, he wouldnt have the means to make that rest of his life a very long one.

so she made a deal with the king, haru's father, and it was decided he would grow up as harus retainer.

[image ID slash written text for those who cant read my handwriting (😔):

(servant, holding a 1 year old haru in their arms): do you see him, princess? [a shot of a small baby sleeping] his name is yusuke. from now on, his job will be to protect you.

a note next to the drawing of baby haru reads "yusuke is a year younger than haru, as in canon, but it was decided very early on in his life that he would be haru's personal guard!"

a drawing of a young yusuke and haru with another note that says "he began learning how to wield a sword and bow basically as soon as he was physically able, but until he was learned enough to protect haru, he just acted sort of as an escort to her {while a retinue guarded both of them}"

end id.]

its a good thing it was decided so early, too: yusukes mother succumbed to illness before yusuke was even three years old. (he has no memory of her. haru doesnt either, but she DOES remember the funeral that was held.)

(one of the last pieces yusukes mother ever painted was of a young haru holding a baby, a man who would one day become her guard. it became a pretty significant piece for the okumura kingdom for a while, actually: it was used to mean "serve the royal family and it shall serve you, in turn". its hung up on the stairwell into the castle guards' quarters.)

anyway, so yusuke and haru grew up together. they were paired so early on into their lives that neither of them have any memory of a time without each other: for all it matters to them, they were born hand-in-hand with their roles set in place.

they were very close as children, especially before yusuke was considered sufficiently trained in his weapons. it was very common for them to walk around the castle holding hands, and they barely ever separated, only ever doing so for things like sleep or bathing, or lessons-- though the last of those wasnt always true. yusuke would have lessons alongside haru in things like etiquette, of course, but could also be found in the room for things such as history, or her music lessons. likewise, haru would watch yusuke train, though she wasnt allowed to wield a sword or bow herself and could only cheer him on.

(not until they were a bit older, when yusuke taught her how to fight with a sword himself. even then, they used wooden swords, so that haru wouldnt get hurt.)

yusuke was the only boy other than the king himself allowed in harus bedroom, since the only others given access were the handmaids responsible for things like cleaning her room, dressing or bathing her, et cetera. he used to enter as he pleased as such, and only got into the practice of properly knocking and announcing his presence as they got older. hes all-together almost completely stopped actually going into her room, opting instead to stand at her door until she leaves, herself.

as they grew up, they were steadily more and more discouraged from being as physically affectionate as they were as children. yusuke was punished for doing things like holding her hand if they were seen, and was taught to instead be a silent presence to her side or two paces behind her, seen and not heard, the way a "guard" ought to be. at the same time, harus etiquette lessons taught her the necessary decorum to be a princess and one day a queen, and there was no room for a friendship with a retainer, even if it was yusuke. though they care for each other just as much as when they were children, perhaps even more devoted, youd be fair to miss it, since neither of them are able to be open with each other anymore.

(yusukes still slightly more touchy-feely than whats probably expected of a guard. its not really physical affection in the same way, but he'll do things like brush dust or pluck lint off of haru's dresses himself or adjust her hair or jewelry or clothes-- of course, only to make sure her highness looks her best, so its forgiven to the outside observer, but still something technically not of his station.)

haru is a lot different that she was when they were children. proper etiquette is extensive, obviously, and the young girl that was considered the country's daughter, kind and open whenever seen in processions, has long since been stripped for parts. her public face has matured quite a bit by necessity, though her kindness and permanent smile remains-- it's simply that it's more of a part she plays, at this point, any of her natural disposition worn to steel, as a certain amount of control is necessary for a woman of her station.

she doesnt regret the person shes become, even if somewhat conniving-- after all, she needs a certain amount of cunning to keep her head above water in the political scene. or its more that she's not able to regret it, as she's never had any other option than to become as jaded as she is today.

still, it's hard not to yearn for the old days, when they were innocent children. shes not quite aware of it, herself, but she certainly misses yusuke, her friend. its just hard to figure that out when to this day, yusuke, her guard, remains as staunchly by her side as her best friend always has.

when i made the initial drawings for the princess/knight au, i wrote the beginning of a short story of a yusuke pov that i unfortunately must have tossed it because i dont have it anymore, but his character is defined by his devotion. hes never known anything other than being haru's, after all, and considers everything he does a labour of love for her. every moment he spends training is for her, every injury for her sake, every callous a simple, unavoidable byproduct of his servitude. he keeps the posture he learned in his etiquette classes even in private, because erring once is to live with the knowledge of his erring forever, and more than that, risking forming the habit of being anything less than the perfect knight for his lady is something he can't bear the thought of.

luckily, there isnt much danger living in the castle, so yusuke only trains as ardently as he does as precaution for the most part, but there was one incident in which the castle was attacked by royal detractors. haru wasnt actively targeted, being only 8 years old at the time, but there was a spot of trouble where he had to protect her. yusuke, being 7, wasnt fully learned in his swordsmanship yet, and sustained a few scars, including but not limited to one on his eyebrow he hides behind his hair, but considers himself barely harmed, especially considering that that was the incident that took many other castle guards' lives, as well as the life of the queen, haru's mother.

king kunikazu and the kingdom at large is currently pretty uneasy due to a war brewing just a bit away; neither the kingdom nor any of its current allies are being actively threatened, but its one of already many due to one kingdom's ancient rome-esque conquering of a path of smaller countries, and the "okumura" kingdom looks as if it will be on the warpath sooner or later. due to this, the kingdom's engaged with an alliance with a comparatively smaller kingdom that it neighbours. the alliance is going to be officiated with a marriage: haru is kunikazu's only heir, but due to some societal stuff, as a woman she's considered unfit to rule as a monarch. so, she's now to be married with one of the sons of said neighbouring kingdom, who will act as ruler with her at his side:

akira is the son of the king and technically an eligible heir to the kurusu kingdom, but due to his place as the 4th son, he's not a crown prince/not considered to be in line for the throne-- or at least, not to his home nation, as he's now set to be the king of the okumura kingdom.

he seems to be of the same mind as haru: uninterested in her in a romantic sense, but has accepted the marriage for the sake of his country. however, he also seems completely uninterested-- or perhaps actively against-- the prospect of being king, not of his own country and not of the okumura kingdom. it seems that hes grown up acting as more of a free spirit; hes pretty crafty, and has a reputation amongst his own retinue for always managing to sneak off, running away as soon as hes left unattended by his father or instructors, or disappearing overnight (much to the grief and distress of his caretakers), though he's always returned, apparently rather aware of his own limits, or at least capable of getting himself out of whatever trouble he ends up getting into, without drawing the ire of either the common people or his father, the king.

because of his nature, he either sees himself as unfit for king, or merely feels stifled by the idea of the position, and in private talks has disclosed to haru that hed much rather her take her (in his words) rightful place as the queen and head of the nation, and is more than alright with her being the brains/power of the operation, even if in the end it has to be him giving speeches when necessary.

however, while disliking the idea of being a king in general, and also disinterested in haru as anything more than a confidant (having also privately disclosed to her that he does have his eye on someone), he seems attached to the arrangement of this marriage, for “some unknown reason”.

((thats right baby its ALSO a kitashu au get fucked))

akira and haru are officially engaged at the time of the story, and are in the midst of planning for the wedding! they tentatively become friends, since theyre both kind of stuck with each other presumably for the rest of their lives. hes seemingly made a goal to make haru let her guard down, and has even convinced her at some point to sneak out of the castle with him (at a point where he and his father were visiting) to explore the surrounding town without their retinues-- something that gave yusuke specifically about 7 heart attacks, as its something harus never done before.

oh yeah, and by the way, yusuke fucking hates akira.

haru really liked seeing the town without her guards, and without having to put on the air of princess. it was freeing to act as a commoner, and the first time shes been able to strip herself of her etiquette-- something she cant do around anyone in the castle, not even yusuke, at least not to the extent she has to to blend in with the townspeople. she liked it so much that it becomes a regular thing whenever akira is at the castle and not in his own country.

some of harus caretakers have noticed her disappearances, including yusuke, who is at her side in almost every waking moment: he greets her in the morning to escort her to breakfast and brings her to her room at night. when hes not standing at her side, hes guarding the room shes in, and only leaves her when its time for him to turn in for the night, as well. obviously hes noticed this sudden habit of disappearing, and more than that, HES the one who ends up tasked with discouraging harus maids from disclosing this to king kunikazu, since haru isnt aware theyve figured her out, and their social standing disallows them from discussing it with her themselves. haru asked yusuke to keep her and akira's outings a secret from her father when he confronted her after the first time, so its his duty to make sure its a secret.

its not that yusuke resents akira for giving him more work-- hes more than happy to do something as trivial as this for haru, his princess, but its more that this means yusukes forced to be idle while distinctly aware that haru, who hes spent his entire life protecting and caring for, is off somewhere unknown, could be in danger or could be physically harmed, and hes not only none the wiser but also complicit, by allowing her to do this. though he cant ask her to stop, because its clear haru is happier with these momentary escapes. its a miserable position to be in, and he fully blames akira for being the one to put him there

(and resents him for the fact that akira is an outsider and a newcomer. despite this, its clear that hes doing something for haru that yusuke hasnt been able to, not since they started growing up. hes making her happy, and comfortable.

its anxiety over harus safety, and an intense, burning jealousy that hes not really able to identify in the same way)

[text id:

yusuke looking angry as he says "my lady's happiness is of the utmost importance to me. it is for this reason alone that i will allow these escapades to go on, without reporting them to the king or your father." "this marriage will be essential to this country's future, and i have no intention of interfering in your relationship with your fiancée, even considering my role as her loyal servant."

the second drawing reveals him to have cornered akira, seemingly pinning him to a wall, as he continues "however, if i find you to ever, ever put the princess's life in danger, then this country as well as your own be damned, i will strike you down myself, and i swear on my life to make your death ten thousand times as painful as whatever harm you have caused to her highness. do you understand, my lord?"

akira is blushing heavily, knees cowed slightly. he stutters out a "uh. uh-huh" like he's in a trance. an arrow points to him with a note that reads "his gay ass is NOT listening!"

end id]

for some actual story…

during a banquet held in celebration of akira and haru's engagement, king kunikazu suddenly collapsed and lost his life in that room. it was discovered that the cup he was drinking from was poisoned.

no one has any idea who assassinated the king-- it could very well be some of the many citizens that disliked the king's rather strict policies. the taxes are high, and punishment for crimes tend to be much stricter than in other countries. however, a common rumour among many of the townsfolk is that it was the world of the neighbouring kingdom: a ploy to get prince akira in power in order to take over the nation and subsume it as part of the kurusus' country.

regardless of whether or not that has any merit or is simply baseless rumour, the wedding has been temporarily postponed so that the country-- and haru-- may focus on the investigation. akira, at the least, seems more than willing to help. if it really the scheme of his nation, or of his father, he seems both unaware and unwilling to be a part of it, offering every aid he can to haru, even if it ends up only effectively being an open ear.

yusuke remains by her side, as he always had and as he always will-- perhaps a bit more protective of her, somehow, but the entire castle is on edge, so its not as if thats unexpected. as a knight, a simple extension of his lady's will, he cant do much for her to solve her problems, not possessing the intelligence to solve the case of her father's murder, the political knowhow to aide her and her fathers advisor who's acting as regent pro tempore in ruling, nor a magical ability to bring king kunikazu, someone who he had come to see as his own father in some form, himself, back from the land of the dead. still, he is harus humble servant, and devoted to her above all else, and whatever his lady needs, he will do his best to provide.

the story is about the political aspect of haru and akiras ascension to ruling and of trying to find a culprit, but also about the relationship between the three of them: akira getting closer to both of them, and yusuke and haru reconnecting. :)

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I think you and other anons are right - they would have got their half in/out deal. The main problem there, IMO, was Meghan's antagonism towards everyone. So they did not have any allies left, not in the family, not extended family, not staff. In the short year that Meghan was around she picked a fight with everyone, any everything, she hated everything, did not respect traditions or customs and scoffed at anything she was expected to do. And Harry blidly work shipped her, agreed to everything she said. That may be the biggest reason for her epic downfall.

Meghan wanted fame for herself, she thought she was the "product". Others may have, discreetly, made money from their proximity to the BRF top brass. But Meghan started to think of herself as the top brass. Her ego did not serve her well. It's still her biggest problem.

One of the easiest ways to make Tom's of money, and then in turn become an A+list celeb would have been for Meghan to keep working as an actress and not become a full-time working royal immediately. She was given that option. Or if not she could have fought for that, her independence, before the wedding, and say she would only do the absolute necessary things like Trooping or Commonwealth day and focus on her work the rest of year. Family occasion like Christmas walks, easter, some garden parties etc would have given the required exposure while keeping the shine and royal glamour alive.

It would have also justified keeping her holiwood team, PR firm, a separate non-london based home etc. She didn't even have to actually work, she could have justified not working in shows/movies by saying she is too high profile so it's restricting roles, and then focussed solely on ads, red carpet events, brand deals etc.

But maybe one of the reasons she did not want to do that anymore is because she saw her marriage to a prince as the ultimate prize after all her years of struggle. And couldn't help but hustle because that was second nature to her. And when she realized the reality she wanted to project was much different from how things were behind scenes, her brain couldn't compute the vast divide.

Another major factor is also Harry. She hadn't counted on the fact that Harry would be harbouring his own fantasy and his self importance would get so out of hand. She fed him ideas, he took to heart and flew too close to the sun.

Your ask has made me wonder if Harry was even aware of how different Meghan's life was going to be from Kate's. I don't think he did, because he assumed that everything William got, he would get and everything Kate got, Meghan would get. He made that very clear in Spare and the Oprah interview.

They might've talked about it and Harry might've done the "yeah, yep, mm-hmm" head nods but I don't think he ever actually realized, understood, or fully grasped what exactly it meant because he only ever saw himself as Charles's son (the way William was also Charles's son) before seeing anyone or anything else. His ego wouldn't allow it otherwise and Meghan was probably able to tap into that.

Which is why I suspect the Sandringham Summit was such a rude awakening for Harry. I bet he saw Megxit being just like when William and Kate moved to Norfolk and William worked as an air ambulance pilot doing once-a-month royal engagements. Harry probably expected the negotiation to go the same way (i.e., with everyone's blessing) and it gobsmacked him that it didn't. He probably looks at it as "well how come Willy could do it and I can't," not even seeing that the issue was in the commercialization and monetization of their titles.

[absurdumsid]

Hi

(this is just an ask for more underangel's content.)

oh dear. ive been stalling writing for this specific au for such a long time,,,,

UnderAngel Lore

or. um. options for it, you get to decide whats canon ? i hope u know i could be lying. or not

i wont be able to make a long lore post (like keepertale's) because. um. although this AU is older than underpills, it's gone (+ going) through SO MANY changes even i cant list them all down

the core plot of underangel is "what if there was never a war between humans and monsters?" its somewhat like ?? a complete opposite of underfell

Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS. One day, the humans threatened the monsters, who did not want to fight, much less a war. Surrendering themselves, the monsters were sealed underground with a magic spell.

this au is focused on sans and his identity as a human turned monster kinda deal, he and papyrus are "undead" and were resurrected by toriel (to see if resurrection is possible) and gaster (to find the limits of healing magic)

they were taken in by gaster after the resurrection thing (since he was the one who proposed the experiment in the first place) but after gaster "dies" they dont really remember ANYTHING about themselves because all their knowledge came from him. they just have this sorta nagging feeling that theyre Not Really Monsters yknow

sans has always been the centre of the au (even back when it was still called underheaven, and there was even a heavenfell,,,,) heres doodles of what i remember them lookin like

but ACTUALLY

this au focuses on chara and their internal conflict as the main reason monsters almost went to war.

see, the story goes somewhat like this:

When the "heart-of-gold trophy child" Chara started "misbehaving" after a game of hide and seek with Asriel, the Monster King's son, humans decided to stop the charade of acceptance. It started with a simple threat toward Asgore and his kingdom. His advisor seemed very... very favourable of war, but he only wanted peace between his people and the humans. So in order to avoid war, he decided to surrender before the humans could so much as scratch his family. Despite the sacrifice separating Asriel and Chara made for peace, Chara decides to run and find a way to go to Mt. Ebott and reunite with their family.

they (and asriel !!) serve as frisk's guide throughout the underground and they get to understand the history of it through exploring, but also chara's insights on certain things (you can tell i like the narrator chara theory) they even have a sit down where they talk about their feelings about being stuck underground

chara is actually in their late thirties now (baby face :/ im envious)

HAHA SIKE !

its ACTUALLY about the mystery of the former royal scientist and the six (dead) fallen children

frisk finds the mysterious grey door in room 268 and is met with a deformed phantom of gaster, he does not speak nor does he move, and when frisk reaches out to try and touch his hand, he flashes a big smile and disappears.

frisk then goes around the underground asking if they know someone who looks like that, and pieces together that it was the royal scientist after speaking to gaster's followers in hotland (this guy rlly met all of them. in one run. damn)

(side note angel!gaster is like. a multiverse therapist now. i call that "au" or his little corner of the multiverse outcode counseling)

ANYWAY

u can choose which of these are canon or like. which of these arent. or maybe NONE of them are canon and this whole post is a lie

oh but underangel always ends in a genocide run

[merlot-and-chardonnay]

A Lark Among the Wolves and Dragons: Chapter 16

Chapter 15

-----------later that night-------------

You lay in bed, unable to sleep.

Dragonstone, you keep thinking. Why was Daemon having you and Aemma sent to Dragonstone?

What is that man up to?

This was going to complicate things somewhat. If it was just you and Aemma going, this meant you would get separated from Ciri, and you would have a harder time getting back to your homeland. At this point, you started to wonder what Geralt was doing. Maybe he would've let you go since you went with Daemon...somewhat willingly, though the situation more than anything had felt more like an ultimatum.

But since Ciri had joined you, it's very likely the witcher was doing everything in his power to make it here and bring you and the girls back.

He could always portal here with the help of a sorceress, but after what Triss went through trying to keep Caraxes subdued, he would've needed to find another. Either that, or head to Novigrad or Oxenfurt and find a ship to bring him to King's Landing.

That wasn't going to be cheap, especially when fewer ships have been coming and going to this place from Westeros due to the increasing troubles from the Step Stones.

You smirked a little to yourself, thinking about how much Geralt hated portals; if he was willing to go through one just to get to you, it would really be a testament to how much he loves you.

Until then, you were going to need to plan this out. You may not be able to execute the plan now, but if you were going to get anywhere, you would need to start planning it out tonight.

You get out of bed and changed into some plain clothes before putting on a cloak.

You scan the room, and to your relief, there was secret door leading to a tunnel that could possibly take you out of this place. The Red Keep was filled with passages like this, one of which you used frequently during your clandestine affair with Daemon. 

Once outside, you make your way into the heart of the city, towards the Street of Silk.

You cross your fingers, hoping the connections you made here prior to your time serving the royal family were still there.

You find your way to one pleasure house you used to perform at and knock on the door.

The door creaks open and you see a woman you recognized to be the madame who ran this place. "Lady Lark," she greets, "fancy seeing you here. I was almost beginning to think you've forgotten us common folk since being called into His Grace's service." "I wouldn't forget you so easily, Dina," you say, warm smile on your face, "hell, you wouldn't have made it easy." "Still," Dina says, "you've not be seen for quite sometime."

"I need help," you admit, "I...I need passage back to the Continent. And I need to take my daughter too without anyone else knowing."

"...so it's true," Dina says, "this new princess people have been talking about, she's..." You place a finger to your lips as a gesture for silence, "the streets have more eyes and ears then either of us can count," you say, "I need to find someone who can help, but also be discrete. You happen to know anyone like that?"

You hand her a few coins with hopes of motivation, "keep the coin," she says, "your performances have always helped to put bread on our tables, it's time I return the favor. I do know someone who could help you out."

Dina gestures for you to come inside and guides you up the stairs of the brothel. She leads you to a secret room behind the walls and has you wait for someone to come to you. You sit down, seeing a decanter of wine. You decide to pour yourself a glass while you wait.

An hour or so later, the secret door opens and a woman steps in. Your eyes widen a bit, as you recognized exactly who she is, "Mysaria," you greet in surprise, sipping from your wine, "you...what are you doing here?"

"You asked for help," Mysaria speaks, sitting down across the table, "I am here to offer it to you."

You study the woman a little. You never actually met her before now, but you had heard of her. A dancer from Lys, she was a favorite among the clients that came to this street, and she was a favorite of Daemon's before and during the times he wasn't sticking it in you.

You couldn't blame him though as she is quite beautiful...and very likely knew more tricks then you ever could.

You look down at the ground before gathering your thoughts, "I don't know how much you know about me," you begin, "but I believe you know we do share one thing in common." Mysaria nods, knowing exactly what you were speaking of.

"I left Westeros once, that reason being him" you continue, "I couldn't let him trap me here, especially when I was with his child. My daughter and I are bound for Dragonstone on the morrow, for what reason I don't know. I dare not think about what will happen to me and my daughter should we remain in the Seven Kingdoms for much longer. I need passage back to the Continent. For me, for Aemma, and for my ward Ciri."

Mysaria was silent for a moment before she makes her answer, "had you not had a child with Daemon, I must bluntly admit, this request would've been easier to fulfill. Aemma is part of the royal family now, is she not? A dragon, just like her father. It will take some time. Although...that time would be cut shorter...should you leave the princess behind..."

Your eyes widen at what the woman was implying, "No," you quickly shake your head, "no, no, no, no, I can't. I am not leaving without Aemma." "She would be well cared for her by her family," Mysaria points out, "I have no doubt the Prince loves her." "I did not carry her in my belly to the Continent all this time just to be brought back and to have her ripped away from me when she is still so young," you say with determination, "I will not leave Aemma in the hands of those scheming snakes. Not alone. Please, Mysaria. Whatever the price, however long it will take, I am willing. But I will not leave without my daughter."

Mysaria regards you for a moment, feeling a sense of pity; the woman had ensured long ago that she would never been trapped in the situation as you are in now, and while she did not regret that choice, she could still empathize, knowing how attached you had become to your child, and would seem to do whatever it takes to make sure she was safe. 

"...lucky for you, I had made contacts when I was at Dragonstone," Mysaria speaks to you, "I will correspond accordingly and do what I can to arrange for passage back to the Continent from there. For you and for your daughter. And at the same time I will arrange for passage for your Ciri as well."

"Thank you," you say meaningfully. "You do know the risks I am taking," Mysaria continues, "should Daemon discover at any point that you plan to take his child away, it will not end well." "I'm well aware," you assure, "and I appreciate it all the more."

You look at the woman once again, something itching in the back of your mind that you always wanted to know, "....I know Daemon still sought you out, even after I confronted him the first time," you tell her, noticing the way she tensed like she was getting defensive, "I don't hold that against you," you quickly assure, "I knew what I was getting into the moment I said yes to the prince's offer to warm his bed. I had hoped to some extent...he would've kept his promise to me to remain...somewhat monogamous, even though I was just one of his many mistresses, and he already had a wife. Serves me right, I suppose, for expecting something like that from a married man of all things. I thought I was special, the one who could tame the dragon. I guess I was wrong."

"Dragons can never truly be tamed," Mysaria says, softening a bit when she saw the look on your face, "they, like the Targaryens, do what they will, regardless of the consequences to themselves or to others."

"You are not the first woman he has lured in with his charms only to leave disappointed and disillusioned," she continues, "and you probably won't be the last. You were right to leave him when you did."

"Did...did he ever mention me at all?" you decide to ask.

"A few times," Mysaria nods, standing up, "his Little Lark. The way he spoke of you suggested genuine affection...like one would show for a priceless jewel."

"Sounds about right," you deadpan.

"I need to return to the keep," you say, standing up.

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

Once the arrangements were planned out and the coin was exchanged, you head back to the Red Keep.

Even though you had this plan that would be put in motion soon, you couldn't help but think of all the ways it could go wrong. You didn't believe Mysaria would sell you out in anyway, but King's Landing was full of spies inside and out. You could only hope to the gods that you were not seen last night plotting on the Street of Silk, and you were especially hoping this would not somehow reach Daemon or any of the other Targaryens.

In addition, you were going to need to talk to Ciri, let her know what was going to happen. And it was best to do so tonight.

You find your way to Ciri's room and lightly knock. There was no answer. You knock again and once more there was still no answer. You open the door and peak inside. No one was in the room.

You frown a bit wondering where Ciri could possibly be at this hour.

You wonder a bit until you run into what you felt to be armor, "Oh, excuse me," you say before looking up to see who it was, "Ser Criston," you greet, eyes wide a bit when you recognized the man, "What are...what are doing wondering the halls at this hour?" "I believe I am the one who should be asking you that, my lady," Criston tells you, "the whole of the keep should be sleeping, yourself included. "I uh, I couldn't sleep, I was looking for Ciri," you decide to tell him, "I went to her chambers, but she wasn't there. I need to talk to her." "And what, my dear lady, could you want to talk to the Lady Ciri at this hour?" Criston asks.

You regard the knight for a bit; you remember Criston Cole from the tourney when he fought against Daemon and won. Everyone had cheered for the man, and you kinda did too, feeling Daemon had gotten what was coming to him. But, the fact Criston had hit Daemon in the back in a sneak attack may have suggested to you that this knight wasn't exactly as honorable as he'd have everyone else believe.

Very few knights rarely were in your experience.

In addition, Criston, like Otto, was also loyal to the royal family. You weren't sure how he felt about Aemma, but no doubt he would protect her like he would the rest of the family. Even from yourself.

No, you think, you could not disclose your plans to this man. He could not be trusted with something like this.

But you decide to come up with an excuse that seemed like a stretch, but maybe the knight would buy it, "I...I just remembered I forgot to sing Ciri to sleep," you say, "when we were uh, living in Kaer Morhen, it was something I used to do for her to help her sleep at night. As you could imagine, what with the horrors we faced at that place, my voice was the one thing that seemed to soothe the poor girl. Consequently she still has trouble sleeping even though we are no longer at the witcher's keep, and it wouldn't be right to not be there to comfort her."

Criston regards you for a moment before speaking, softening a bit at your story. He couldn't even begin to imagine the 'horrible' and 'unspeakable' things those lecherous deviants have done to both you and Ciri. It was understandable that the poor girl was still recovering from something so traumatic, "last I saw her, the princess Rhaenyra had invited Ciri to her chambers," he tells you.

"Maybe they're still awake and keeping conversation," you suggest, "can you escort me to the princess's chambers?"

Criston nods and has you follow him.

By the time the both of you were close to the door, it had flown open. Rhaenyra rushed out, eyes almost full of fear, "Princess, what troubles you?" Criston asks. "It's Ciri," Rhaenyra answers hastily, "she fell asleep and she's been thrashing about. I can't wake her up."

Upon hearing those words, you rush in and run to where Ciri had fallen asleep on the sofa in the room. Indeed she was tossing and turning.

"Ciri? Ciri!" you try and shake her awake.

You feel the walls begin to shake at this moment, definetely something that didn't go unnoticed by Criston or Rhaenyra. Criston hovers over the princess in the event something should fall down and land on her.

Neither of those two knew what was happening, but after what you witnessed back in Kaer Morhen, you had some idea what it was.

You just hoped neither the knight nor princess would connect this to Ciri in any way.

"Ciri, come on, wake up," you whisper-yell, starting to shake her now, "this really isn't the time for you to be losing control again. Wake up, gods dammit!"

You think about it for a moment. You wonder what would happen if you actually did what you told Criston you'd do for Ciri.

You take a deep breath, not sure if this would actually work, but it was worth a shot, and you didn't exactly have many options at this point.

You stroke the girl's head and hum a little melody.

On the wind, cross the sea

Here this song and remember

Soon you'll be

Home with me

Once upon a December.

Ciri stopped moving, sighing as if in relief. And the walls stopped shaking.

Rhaenyra and Criston look around, wondering what in the Seven Hells just happened.

Ciri begins to open her eyes, your face being the first she saw, "(y/n)?" she yawns, rubbing her eyes, "What are you doing here?"

You frown at the girl in confusion, "I uh, I needed to talk to you," you tell her, "I think it best we take you to your chambers."

"I think it best the two of you stay here for the evening," Criston stops the both of you, "after what just happened, it may not be safe out there."

"I think I have to agree with Ser Criston on that," Rhaenyra agrees.

You and Ciri had no choice but to stay here for the night. You wouldn't be able to tell the girl what you needed to. Not tonight.

You had no choice but to wait until morning, when there would be no other ears nearby to listen in on.

Chapter 17

Masterlist

[translothcat]

wip for a couple of ocs I dont think ive shared before? shes some sort of alderaanian princess/nobility type [not of any importance] and she cares more for spending her days sitting around in nature as she's always felt a 'connection', including to the crystal she holds in her necklace. [more below the cut]

then comes along this jedi guy [padawan or knight 🤔] with his master [+ maybe some others] for some diplomacy mission thing regarding her family. these 2 end up spending some time together, maybe he's meditating in the same beautiful landscape she likes to spend her time in. they get to talking about the force and what the jedi is, because she doesnt know much about all that. it turns out that she has a natural connection to the force, and probably couldve been a jedi in different circmstances. the crystal in her necklace is actually a kyber crystal, and wouldve been used in her lightsaber.

his deployment keeps him on alderaan for a while, and the two become friends of sorts. he's able to teach her a lot about the force and what it means to be a jedi, and is even able to run through teaching her some jedi teachings [lol words] such as showing her to use his lightsaber.

I think he ends up in some sort of long term deployment there serving that royal/noble family which is why theyre able to spend so much time together. I also want them to have a romantic relationship. its set in some kind of rough old republic era-y time, so tensions are low, and there isnt as much strictness with the dont fall in love thing [my interpretation comes from this forum comment on jedi marriage]. so I dont think he needs to actually leave the jedi order or anything. he just gets to stay out there and do his own thing pretty much, maybe occasionally going back to the order when needed

^most of this is p much just typed out for me LOL if I wanted a proper post shouldve probably waited for it to be less wip. oh well lol

also I still need to name them. im thinking maybe something like amira or mira or myra or smth [I really liked my swtor sith being called amara. but I cant steal that lmao]. the jedi is modelled similarly after an old oc I had but it was when I was first choosing my name so I wanted to test out candidates and he's. just named after me. but his surname was Drondolo I kinda like that. whether I use it for him or maybe do smth with that old oc again

[i-luv-queen]

The Queen of all Cosmos has so much character, and I am tired of people acting like she doesn’t!!

The Queen is never talked about, and it hurts my soul.

She’s been there since the very beginning. She was in the very first concept featuring the Katamari characters, Action Drive.

This original concept may remind you of Princess Peach, which I can agree with. However, just like her, we know she is more than a “damsel in distress”. She is powerful while being feminine!

She’s extremely strong, and very fierce. I’m really glad We ♥️ Katamari states that she is feared by The King, especially with the prior knowledge that he was too lazy to save his own wife.

Yes, we know she’s a little ditzy, but that makes her even more charming.

Her description on the original Katamari Damacy website reads:

“Prince's gentle mother. She's dreamy, but she's also determined. Her favorite food is gratin. She always carries it with her. She married the king for love. Her Height: Bigger than a prince, smaller than the king.”

This is not the only time she has been shown to be a daydreamer. In We ♥️ Katamari, one of the credits stage quotes reads:

“All the fans look so happy ♥️ They’re all rolled up in a Katamari, after all. That was another one of my ideas. Isn’t it dreamy?

We can infer she has a creative side and a good imagination. This could be why she doesn’t speak much, possibly. Once again, her We ♥️ Katamari description says: “She has little trouble coming up with delicious dinner menus these days”. We have seen her bake and cook amazing foods!

Just look at that! Isn’t your mouth watering?

After more research, I had initially concluded she was built around the Japanese housewife stereotype, “shufu”. However, the Katamari series already has many stereotypical housewives, such as Mizue Hoshino, Fussy mom, etc. The Queen contains many traits of “shufu”, such as: Cooking, cleaning, doing the laundry, and obsessing over TV dramas. However, she is not submissive to her husband. Usually, the stereotype shows the wife serving her overworked husband, while he complains about his work. Instead, The Queen encourages her husband to help around the house. For example, in A Song for the King of Kings, the King mentions “The lovely Queen scolded us about the way we fold laundry”, most likely due to his royal upbringing. He states in a Tweet that his job in the castle is to “press start on the washing machine”, which isn’t much, but goes to show his laziness. Being a housewife in Japan is sometimes regarded as lazy, but in reality, these women do so much work. Katamari portrays this when you realize the King takes all the credit for The Prince’s work, when he barely does anything. The Queen, however, cooks for her family, does the laundry, and scolds the King when he gets out of hands. She does more work than him, so why should she wipe his butt from doing no work? The Queen’s humble origins are a good contrast to the King’s laziness.

The Queen being able to put The King in his place is inspirational to me. An enormous being, capable of destroying galaxies, is afraid of this pink, sweet lady. I do believe sometimes The Queen is petty with the things that upset her. For example, when the King accidentally ruined the laundry when a frog jumped on it, she didn’t talk to him for a few days. However, it makes you think about the interactions we don’t see. The Queen goes through a lot, having to deal with her husband.

Sometimes, I interpret their interactions as the forms of tough love. The King’s appearance consists of cold, gray skin and a muscular build. But the Queen appears as a pink, soft, kind lady. The King uses emotional manipulation, gaslighting, and physical abuse as a punishment for The Prince. I, including many others, are very opposed to this. However, The Queen may scold her husband, but she doesn’t actually try to hurt him. They care about each other. The Queen’s design is plastered in hearts, and is described to be loving and kind. She’s not perfect, but she does care. The King also cares, but his abusive tendencies are incredibly toxic. With this, I interpret them as love being stronger than hate. The Queen, a woman covered in hearts, is able to make an abusive King cower in fear. I think that’s really interesting. Notice how The Queen has never hurt the Prince (at least intentionally)? This says a lot about her. She’s a no-BS lady. She’s feminine, beautiful, but also doesn’t take her husband’s BS. I regard her as a feminist icon.

BONUS! The Queen’s cookies are considered the “tastiest thing in the world” by the We ♥️ Katamari manual.

[duchessofostergotlands]

So the Thai heir is either Siriannavari or Dipangkorn now I guess??

Sorry for the delay on this. I was really tired by the time I got home and then I had to eat as I haven't eaten all day. Anyway. So. I've talked generally about the King of Thailand, you can search the Thai royal family tag or listen to this episode of the podcast, but if people don't know he is a corrupt, erratic, violent man who is in cahoots with the military dictatorship. That's important context but the thing that first caught my eye - and the eye of many others - is his personal life.

The King has been married 4 times:

Soamsawali Kitiyakara - They were married from 1977 to 1991. Bajrakitiyabha - the one who has possibly but not definitely died - is their daughter.

Sujarinee Vivacharawongse - They were married from 1994 to 1996 but all of their children were born before they were married, during his first marriage. After they were divorced she was exiled and remains overseas with her sons. Her daughter is Sirivannavari who was kidnapped by the King and returned to Thailand

Srirasmi Suwadee - Married from 2001 to 2014. They divorced, also very controversially with the King making accusations of corruption against her family . Together they had son Dipangkorn

Suthida Tidjai - His current wife. They married in 2019. They haven't had children and she is 44 now so they probably won't.

Let's assume Bajrakitiyabha is dead or will never recover. That leaves Sirivannavari and Dipangkorn. Now, Sirivannavari was technically illegitimate but was legitimised by her parents' marriage (although I do think that makes her vulnerable if any opponents to her claim came about). But Dipangkorn has autism. I personally don't think that stops you from taking the throne but either because of the severity of his presentation or because of societal attitudes in Thailand - I don't know which - it is generally known that he will not be able to reign. He may become King on paper but will need a regent. They always anticipated that would be Bajrakitiyabha. Sirivannavari has not been prepared to be regent or Queen at all . So basically with Bajrakityabha gone there is only one real person who can serve as regent - the King's sister could but she's not going to live throughout his whole reign - and that person (Sirivannavari) is 35 years old, hasn't been prepared for it, and there's the potential for a challenge to her legitimacy. So now Thailand is in a very precarious position: the person they expected to follow the King has died suddenly. Also Siri doesn't have kids and while there's still time, if her and Dipangkorn both don't have children then the current King's line dies out. Which is rare. This is particularly important given the rumours that the King has had multiple health conditions including being HIV positive (which is not a death sentence nowadays but apparently his does impact him), struggling with pneumonia etc.

So long story short, her death throws the country into a succession crisis. This is a monarchy where the heir is not officially confirmed and infighting amongst the family is way worse than anything the Brits could imagine. The King's official mistress got too ambitious, his sister told him off for prioritising her over the actual Queen, so he broke both of her ankles! This is also a country with a military dictatorship and heavily enforced laws against criticising the monarchy. They have an election next year so there's the possibility they are keeping the severity of the situation quiet not to allow the family to grieve or out of sensitivity or anything that might apply in other families but because it could impact the stability of the monarchy and the military's mutually beneficial partnership to keep Thailand a dictatorship. It's not about human feeling, it's about control.

Of course, maybe she's fine. There is that slim chance. But this is bad for them and the normal rules of royal life don't apply to the authoritarian regimes.

[sea-dukes-assistant]

Speaking of the crown I’m bracing myself for the possible narrative that HMTQ and sea duke masterminded the death of Princess Di storyline that I keep wondering if their going to implement and I still don’t think I’m prepared. (Even if they don’t it’s still bullshit and I still want it rant about it because so many people still believe it.)

You can literally Google the letters Philip wrote to Diana during the harder parts of her marriage to Charles of him giving advice the best he could, trying to find things that Diana and Charles could bond over, and also being fair to everyone involved asking Diana to ask herself honestly if her previous behavior of how she treated Charles was fair to Charles and if that could’ve driven Charles to distance himself from her. He also said that him and HMTQ absolutely did *not* approve of *either of them* having extramarital affairs what so ever (Diana was having affairs with other men, some of them married men themselves might I add, and Charles had Camilla *after the breakdown of the marriage* in I believe 1986). HMTQ and Philip absolutely did try and help Diana and Charles and were really hoping for reconciliation in the marriage, not just solely for the “sake of the crown” but for their grandkids, Charles as their son and yes Diana as well because they did care for her as a person and as a daughter in law who was a loving mother to their two grandsons. Diana called them ma and pa and wrote with loving tones to them always. HMTQ (apparently) would call Diana personally just to check in and make sure she was ok. Sea duke and Liz basically tried to act like unofficial marriage counselors for a while by having sit down talks with them and letting them both explain their side. After 10 years of the constant back and forth, the constant headache I have no doubt that Liz and sea duke probably reached a peak and couldn’t deal with it anymore. They are humans with limits too and sometimes you have to wash your hands with certain situations that you have no control over because if not you will lose your shit. With that being said though people don’t want to remotely consider that although Diana was an amazing, beautiful, caring soul who deserves recognition for her humanitarian work (and killer fashion sense IMO) she was a troubled soul and needed help that the royal family wasn’t able to give her because *she* wasn’t willing to accept the help nor admit that she was also flawed. There is literally 2 sides to every story. Diana wasn’t entirely innocent. The royal family weren’t a bunch of uncaring snobs who completely neglected a young shy sweet girl just because they are all secretly sadists. They didn’t kill her. The family were all distraught and in shock because of her death. They didn’t react and immediately put out a statement after her death not because they didn’t care but because they are also human, and were also trying to gather themselves, they were also trying to make sense of what happened and help her two sons grieve privately which they were very much entitled to. That scene where Prince Philip basically corners Diana at Sandringham in the crown and tells her that her feelings aren’t important because she’s just there to serve the queen is soooo utterly disgusting and untrue. Fictional or not shouldn’t have been allowed. It’s a dangerous narrative to spin that has absolutely no historical backing to it at all. Season 1 and 2 of the crown were actually pretty good all things considered if you take out the whole “philips didling ballerinas, The queen might be didling lord porchester” fuckery. Season 3 until now has just been an utter shit show and if the rumors about the palace being pissed about it are true they are absolutely valid to be mad about it because so many people take that show way too seriously like it’s a documentary with real life accounts added in and now we will have possibly millions of people believing terrible portrayals of actually pretty cool people.

Holy novel, Batman.

I have nothing to add to this, except that Peter Morgan can get fucked.

[aikoiya]

LoZ - The Sheikah's Ancient Task

I've talked quite a bit about who I think the Fierce Deity is as well as what I think his role was when he was at his peak.

In a lot of ways, I see him as the Soul of the Hero. The central identity at the core of every Link.

As well as the figure that the Bargainer Statues were based on. (Meaning he has 4 eyes.) Him having been the Hyrule Death God among other things. And creator of the Sheikah.

Now, I want to talk about the Sheikah & what their task was after the Fierce Deity became mortal.

I think that the Sheikah were tasked with more than just serving the Royal Family. Rather, to protect Hyruleans in-general. The Hylians especially as they were the Sheikah's sister people. They were also tasked with not only bringing spirits (non-combative poes) to the Bargainer Statues, but also with fighting the Poe enemies on the Surface.

My theory is that the symbols on the Depths Set & the Dark Clumps are ancient Sheikah script, which the Fierce Deity taught them & the strips of paper wrapped around the Dark Clumps are talismans meant to keep malicious intent or On'nenryoku (怨念魔力, magic fueled by malicious intent) simply from leaking out or reforming. Created using Sheishin Fūinjutsu, which is a type of forgotten, sacred runic magic that the Sheikah practiced long ago.

In a lot of ways, I believe that the Dark Clumps are parts from an enemy Poe, which are in many ways like Japanese Yūrei (幽霊, Ghost, Phantom, Specter, or Apparition; from the Kanji Kasoke for Ghost & Rei for Spirit, Soul, Ghost, or Departed Soul). Poe Souls become enemy Poes when their negative emotions build up too much, at which point, they rise to the Surface & create pseudo-flesh bodies to inhabit. The Dark Clumps being pieces of that pseudo-flesh created via hatred, resentment, vengeance, jealousy, & pure will.

One of the Sheikah's roles was to go out & either soothe those Poes (whether via music or reasoning) or, failing that, "kill" them, as well as other undead monsters, & return the spirit to the Bargainers, who would then send the spirits on to the afterlife. In this way, they were quite similar to Miko & Kanuushi in Japanese Shintoism.

They are able to "kill" these entities by using either Light, Twilight, or Spirit Magic & fighting them with weapons forged using ancient weaponsmithing techniques taught by Sheikaku (the Fierce Deity). Part of that process involved engraving Sheishin Fūinjutsu into the metal. Once that's done, the Sheikah is to preform a sacred ritual on the night of either the New Moon, the Full Moon, or the Waning Crescent Moon or Waxing Gibbous Moon, that should bestow Sheikaku's blessing upon it. Sheishin Fūinjutsu, the sacred forging techniques, & even the ritual have all been forgotten to time.

These weapons were also fairly strong against Akuma. Or evil beings possessed by On'nen.

This is why the Sheikah were always so heavily associated with death, spirits, & graveyards.

The Sheikah are simply naturally intune with the world of the spirits, but in order to fully unlock it, they are traditionally taught to open their Mind's Eye (originally passed down to them by the Fierce Deity & the mastery of which turns one's eyes ruby red), which allows them to actually see spirits.

The reason that some Yiga can hear the voice of the Bargainers is because those specific Yiga are of Sheikah descent. They are likely being called to complete the task that their ancestors were assigned.

The Sheikah who were tasked with gathering non-combative spirits wore robes very similar to the Depths Set & carried shepherd crooks made of dark wood. From a hook on those crooks hung black steel lanterns with green flame candles & from the bottom of those lanterns hung a flower-shaped silver bell. These lanterns were known as Lanterns of the Lost & the sound of the bell would draw spirits to it. The spirits would then gather inside the flame.

Sheikah who were tasked with the Surface also carried these Lanterns, but instead of crooks, they were simply carried in their hand. Ringing the bell would still draw out Poes, only then the Sheikah expected to either negotiate with the Poe & find a way to sooth them enough that their darkened flesh dissipated or sever the spirit's connection to the darkened flesh via their own hand using specialized weapons made to banish cursed flesh or the use of light, twilight, or spirit magic.

LoZ Cultural Masterlist 2

[piercethewon]

⚔️Kingslayer.

2 — The forbidden meeting. || wc: 2,5k.

ㅤ

—How does he dare be taller than me?! That brat…—. You were sitting in the comfort of your bed, gently brushing your rag doll’s woolen hair as you watched Sunoo pace back and forth with a deep frown in front of you. Dinner with the Nishimura family had taken place yesterday, but nothing remarkable had happened after prince Riki’s self-introduction that led you to spend a restless night, full of thoughts about the feeling of his soft hands and plump lips on your covered hand. You had expected the queen of the south to do the talking, given that the dinner had been specifically planned for her and your father to exchange insight on their son and daughter, respectively; still, it was strange just how quiet the boy had stayed the whole evening. Not being able to hear more of his charming voice made you crave for it, but the prince would only nod politely at the king after the queen shared a random fact about him.

Dinner had not been completely fruitless though, because at least you could gather some useful information about Riki, like his interest in music and dance, a quality that came in handy when attending those pretentiously glamorous parties held by the neighboring royal families, and his alleged “unmatched ability” with the sword, something that your father found to be respectable and wanted to see with his own eyes someday. —I do not approve of him!— Sunoo’s complaints brought you back to reality, even though you had missed half the things he said —He simply sat there the whole evening looking like a pretentious bastard while father praised him for breathing! Does he think he can take my place as father’s favorite prince?!—.

You rolled your eyes and let out a heavy sigh at his silly behavior, then stared at him with narrowed eyes —Brother, for someone whose wedding is just around the corner, you are acting like an immature child— you scolded him, low-key serving your revenge cold after his demotivational speech from the night prior. He halted his pacing and looked at you in disbelief, did he honestly think that you would side with him? Was he being jealous of Riki grabbing all of the king’s attention? —Not even back when we were kids you would act as irrationally as now. Am I not right, lady pumpkin seed? Hm?— you baby talked at your doll with a pout, earning an annoyed stare from your brother that you could practically feel piercing through the side of your head.

Sunoo took a seat beside you on the bed, wrinkling the light pink sheets under his weight —Sister, please don’t tell me that you actually fell for him…— he asked in a careful tone. You simply shrugged, as the answer was not clear to you either; many things had happened last night, and even if you pondered a lot about how you felt towards all the events that took place in the span of the first ten minutes, you got dizzy just by imaging what could happen in the future. Would you be able to find genuine happiness after exchanging vows with prince Riki? Were you just convincing yourself that he was not a bad deal just so things could be easier for you? Sure, he was a charming boy, but you barely knew him, and all the information you had gathered about him had been delivered by someone other than himself. In the end, however, regardless of how you felt about the prince, you knew that there was nothing that could stop the wedding from happening, so was it not easier to just accept your fate?

The deafening silence that suddenly took over your room was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on the door. —My daughter… are you in there?— you practically jumped off the bed after recognizing your father’s voice and rushed to open the door, exchanging a look of incredulity with your brother on the way, as it was a once-in-a-blue-moon experience for the king to personally show up in your room instead of sending a servant to deliver a message for him; you guessed that something of great importance had happened and he did not want to take the risk of anyone leaking the information. You held the door open for the old man to make his way into your relatively spacious room and waited on Sunoo’s side for him to speak. —We received a letter from queen Nishimura!— your brother and you looked at each other simultaneously with eyes wide open in astonishment, it was impressive how much the delivery services had been upgraded to be able to send a letter in such a short time, considering the long distance between your palace and the kingdom from the south. —I figured that both of you would want to listen to its contents, so I came here looking for you as soon as I saw who the sender was— he explained with a wide smile that made wrinkles form in the corners of his eyes.

You felt your stomach tie in knots as you nodded, not being able to pronounce a single syllable out of anxiousness. What were you even expecting from the letter? Had the queen rejected your father’s proposal? Would that be a good or a bad thing? You were not given enough time to dissipate all of your doubts before the man started reading the letter out loud. —Dear king Kim, last night’s evening had been one of the most pleasant ones that my son and I had the honor to take part in. I found your daughter to be a lovely young woman who is more than capable of staying beside my son when the time comes for him to become the leader of our nation. We will gladly accept your request to unite them both in matrimony, in order to equally benefit both kingdoms. The celebration shall be held as soon as princess Y/N comes of age. My son and I cannot wait for enough to meet your splendid family once more. Best wishes, queen Nishimura from the south—.

Your father carefully folded the letter and placed it back into the pocket of his robes —Y/N, my beautiful daughter…— he approached you with fondness in his eyes and engulfed you in a tight hug, the same way he would do back then when you were younger, a feeling you had silently missed so much —You did it! Prince Riki and you will become king and queen soon… I am so proud of you—. The faint sound of a sob alerted him, making him break the hug and look at your face as he held your shoulders —Y/N? Why are you crying? Are you okay?—. Tears kept streaming down your face, you wanted to say something, you had to say something to save yourself from the embarrassment, but only more sobs left your mouth as you used your wrists to dry your tears.

—Father…— Sunoo spoke behind you in a gentle tone, placing a comforting hand on you upper back —Y/N is most likely overwhelmed by the news, so we should leave her some space, it’s getting late, she needs some rest— the king nodded in understanding, wished you sweet dreams and walked towards the door with heavy steps, then your brother followed him close behind, gently closing the door behind him and leaving you alone in your room as the sun started to set out the window.

Why was everything going so fast? What did the queen saw in you that made her decide barely a few hours after meeting you for the first time that she wanted you as her daughter-in-law? Even the date for the wedding celebration had been set, this whole situation was just plain ridiculous. You sat on your bed once again, looking at the night sky with reddened eyes and a heavy heart. You were well aware about how royal families married their children as soon as possible, as if it was a competition to see which family could get the most out of a union, but just as your brother had said, you were getting overwhelmed.

You let out a heavy sigh and stood up to change into your nightgown, but seconds after you reached the closet on the opposite wall, you heard the sound of your window opening and saw a tall silhouette now standing close to it. Instead of screaming for help, your first instinct was to grab a pair of books and throw them at him, pointing at his head but failing miserably; you were really not the athletic type. —Who do you— another book flew in the intruder’s direction, hitting them on the shoulder —think you are— this time a brick-sized manual on etiquette —to barge into a girl’s room?!— you held up your favorite doll, lady pumpkin seed, in a threatening way as you glared at the shadow in front of you.

—Princess Y/N, please stop! It’s me!— even if you only heard a few words spoken by this voice the other day, you already felt like you could recognize it anywhere; it was none other than prince Riki… wait, what in the world was he doing here? —Alright… put that doll down— he held both his hands up in a defensive manner, slowly closing the window behind him and turning back to face you, well, at least you thought he was facing you, but you could not see anything in the darkness that filled the space.

You feinted with lady pumpkin seed, pretending to throw it at him and making him flinch in the process —You have ten seconds to explain yourself before I alert the guards— you slowly walked towards your desk, not getting your eyes off his figure, and managed to lit a few candles to light up the room. You almost dropped the doll after taking notice of the way Riki was looking at you, with his mouth hanging open and gleaming eyes fixed on yours. —I said, explain why you’re here!— you repeated, waking him up from his trance.

—You really are a brave one, I actually expected you to scream like a baby and run away— he mumbled, making it hard for you to keep staring coldly at him —You must have read the letter mother sent to king Kim… she specifically wrote that I could not wait to meet you again! You should have expected me to show up soon!— he said with a sulky pout, taking a tentative step towards you but backing up after you tightened your grip on the doll.

Wait a minute… was he blaming you? —That literally makes no sense! Why would I expect you to climb the wall to get into my room? That’s outrageous! We are not supposed to be seen together alone until…— “Until we get married” is what you wanted to say, but you hesitated to remind him of that particular detail of your forced relationship.Riki clicked his tongue in annoyance —Oh, please, is not like we are going to kiss or anything…— the mental image was all it took for you to finally drop lady pumpkin seed, much to the prince’s relief. You looked away in an attempt to hide your flushed face; luckily, the redness of your cheeks was barely visible in the faint candlelight. —I just wanted to talk to you! To know each other better…—

You frowned and picked up your doll to place it back on your bed —But this is not the time, nor the place to do that… And also, we already know each other, or were you not paying attention to everything my father told you about me?— you questioned while picking up the books and organizing them back on the shelf.

—Y/N… wait, can I call you by your name?— you shrugged, it is not as if you were the biggest fan of addressing people so formally —Being honest, I really don’t care about how much you learned about etiquette, or how well you can wave at the public or bow at important people… I want to know other stuff, like… I don’t know, your favorite flower?— he looked at you with hope-filled eyes, still waiting for you to lower your defenses and get more comfortable with his presence.

You sat back on the bed, looking at him the same way you would analyze a particularly difficult chapter of a manual: with a puzzled expression that he could not read through. —Sunflowers, I like sunflowers— you finally said with a timid smile, patting the spot beside you on the bed for him to join you, which he gladly did.

You had no idea what had gotten into you, because there was no reason for you to let him get away with invading your personal space like that, but somewhere in the middle, you had realized that maybe, Riki just wanted the same as you: getting to know each other better in means to avoid feeling like you would marry a total stranger in barely a few months. He woke you up from your daydreaming, pointing at your doll with his chin —Does she have a name?—.

You grabbed the little rag girl and sat her on your lap, mindlessly playing with her hair —She is lady pumpkin seed— you said, your face lighting up with pride.

Riki nodded —That’s a cute name, she must have been with you for a long time now— his sudden interest caught you off-guard, as you had expected him to laugh at her silly name, just like everyone else had done.

—Indeed… It’s the only thing I have left of my mother, this doll belonged to her— you had no idea why you were telling him such a personal story, but something about Riki just made you feel like you could confide him every one of your secrets, his presence was starting to feel safe and comforting, making you forget the fuss that had taken place barely a few minutes ago —She used to have a different name, but everyone forgot what it was, so I renamed her—.

The prince had already heard from his mother that queen Kim had passed away after giving birth to you, so there was no need for him to push the subject; instead, he patted the doll’s head —Well, lady pumpkin seed is a lucky girl for having you to take care of her— you nodded with a smile, as warmth made its way to your stomach.

And just like that, prince Riki and you spent the whole night learning about all of the other’s trivial details, marking this night as one of the most unusual ones you had lived through, but you could not mean that in a better way.

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[guideoftime]

If Sheik were able to heal from the loss of innocence as a child, due all that happened from being trained to Guide the Hero of Time to dealing with Ganondorf, what would that look like for him?

Are you talking in like terms of him forgetting being Link's guide when the timeline was reset or in terms of him like--seeking fuckin' therapy as probably every single person in Hyrule needs?

In terms of the first thing, like if time was reset and he actually forgot and was expected to raise himself with Impa stuck in the Shadow Temple, I imagine he would follow the path that was already laid out for him. Being Princess Zelda's protector, serving the Royal Family of Hyrule, doing what the King expected of him. A mercenary of sorts. He'd be another soldier in the army, and in a time of clear extreme prejudice given the fact that the King of Hyrule slaughtered all of the Sheikah before the start of OOT out of fear, he would not have had a good time or been happy.

Then if we swing back to the therapy thing, I still think he would have been lost enough to seek Impa out and replace her as the Sage. You can heal and still feel like you don't have a purpose. Which was the entire reason he went there, to have a path in life and do what he felt was actually the right thing after years of inflicting suffering on others. He wanted to free his mother, he wanted to give Zelda her guide and he wanted to feel like he was making a difference.

The closest he comes to actually recovering from this, is probably the Sage of Shadows verse. He does actually do rather good in that, especially if he has a purpose to keep helping people. He doesn't entirely forgive himself but enough time had passed that he can look back at his journey with Time without the crushing weight of regret. He still feels bad for how it went, but knowing Time had somewhat of a peaceful life after (Twilight is a physical representation of that), he feels somewhat at peace with it.

[secretariatess]

Kylin 52

            While waiting for the Crown Prince to return, Morganne started pulling out salves and ointments for Selim, explaining to the queen what each one did and how it would help Selim last until the antidote to the treatment could be made.  Kylin only half listened, seething in the knowledge that he had forgotten that coming here meant going face to face with the man who had chased Amelia and attempted to arrest her on Fanger grounds.  It was apparent they trusted each other as far as they could throw, which only served to fuel Kylin’s dislike of the Crown Prince.

            The Prince came back, something in his face tenser than before.  He handed Morganne the vials of the doses, Kylin making sure he did not get too close.  Morganne thanked him and then proceeded to inspect them carefully.  An uncomfortable silence filled the void, no one particularly eager to start on small talk while Morganne was working.

            When she finished viewing them in the sun, Morganne settled herself at the nearby desk and cleared a large space for herself, pulling more things out of her skirts that would help her test the doses.  The prince raised his eyebrows at the amount she was able to hide away, but made no comment.

            Selim’s room was the opposite of organized.  Various decks of cards were on just about every available surface. The mantle above the fireplace was lined with objects arranged in no discernable manner.  Books that Kylin would never have expected a prince of Harlofelp to have -such as books claiming to contain the religious practices of a northern Elven kingdom or collections of songs from the other side of the mountain range, or even books suggesting they taught gambling games- were given as much priority as the cards.  The only thing in the room that had been properly put away were the books regarding education, all neatly arranged on a very dusty bookshelf.

            Kylin cast a look over the books Selim had clearly been reading, wondering if he would get a chance to read them himself, when the queen and Crown Prince weren’t present to pass judgment for touching objects in the room.  He was curious to see what exactly Selim had learned in these books and suspected it may have influenced his desire in joining the Rangers.

            “Right,” Morganne said abruptly, causing everyone to be jolted from their thoughts.  She stood up, oblivious to this.  “It is fairly straight forward. These two doses should be his last- I’m fairly certain I’ll have the counter in the morning. It will take time, but the damage can be undone. For the time being, I would like to be taken to where I’ll be staying so I can start working on it.”

            “Our healer has a place where you can prepare,” the queen began.

            Morganne opened her mouth to politely object, but the Crown Prince spoke before she could utter a sound.

            “No, that will not be necessary,” he said.

            The queen looked at him, puzzled.

            “I appreciate the offer, madam,” Morganne said, “but I would prefer to have it close by. Potion making is very precise, and if someone accidentally puts something innocuous as even a hair in, it can lead to disastrous results. I prefer to have a close eye on these things.”

            The queen nodded, her confusion lessening some.

            The Crown Prince gestured them to the door.  “I can take you to your rooms.”

            Morganne thanked him, shoving everything back into her pockets before heading out.  Kylin followed closely behind.  As the Prince took the lead, Morganne told Kylin a low voice, ensuring only he would hear her, “My biggest concern is that we got the clean version.”

            Kylin bit the inside of his lip.  He could understand why Morganne didn’t want to say it aloud- there was no telling how much the royal family knew, and how receptive the accusation of not getting the actual concoction Selim was given would go.

            Nothing else was said on the way over, though Kylin suspected there were a couple of times the Prince wanted to bring something p.

            When they arrived in the guest hallway, they were greeted by Ofjaet.  He exchanged pleasantries with the Prince before the latter took his leave.  The Diplomat then turned his attention to Kylin and Morganne.

            “We have brought your packs to your room, Morganne,” he told her.  “Including the apprentice equipment. What is your evaluation of the situation?”

            “If it is as clear cur as I’m supposed to believe,” Morganne said, “it is fixable. The healer is old-fashioned and whoever Kendra said is trying to kill Selim is banking on htat. However, I suspect there’s something else. The queen said the healer is treating it aggressively, but even then, Selim is deteriorating much more quickly than the treatment should allow.”

            “What is he being treated for?”

            Morganne gave a look of absolute disgust.  “The mere memory of the claim made Kylin’s blood begin to boil.  The audacity of accusing Amelia of being capable of that . . .

            “They were told he had been sealed under the obsession potion,” she said, her lip curling.  “The healer was ‘unsealing’ it.”

            Ofjaet pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes.  Then took a deep breath, cleared his expression, and said, “I see. I trust it has been cleared up?”

            “I would hope so,” Kylin interjected with a hint of ice.

            “If it has not, then I will ensure the matter is settled before we make our journey home,” Ofjaet assured them.

            Morganne let out an irritated sigh.  “I should get started. Kylin, I will come for you when I return for Selim’s dose.”

            Kylin nodded an she left.  Ofjaet showed him where he would be staying at night, making a joke about not getting too used to it.

            The room was quite spacious, perhaps the size of Amelia’s entire cottage.  There were a couple of writing desks, a few small tables that seemed more decorative than useful, a window with a view of the city, and two large beds.  One of the beds was already occupied by Preman.  His equipment had been unloaded onto a nearby chair and he was spreadeagle, face down, on his selected bed nearest the window.  After heard the click of the door, he called out in a muffled voice, “Kylin?”

            Kylin slowly approached, wondering if his companion needed help.

            “Yes?”

            “Kylin, try the bed,” Preman said, not lifting his head.  “But be wanred you may never get up again.”

            Kylin glanced at the second bed.  It mismatched him greatly- the bedclothes were finely woven, with golden designs wrapping into looping patterns across it.  The pillows were neatly hidden under the decorative duvet, melding their form into the mattress.  Like Selim’s, the mattress was held by an ornately carved bed frame with four posters -though simpler to denote the difference of status-, with curtains to close around the bed.  The red shade of the curtains matched the duvet.  There was nothing about it that expected the likes of a rugged, travel-worn Ranger.

            Slowly, he lowered himself onto the bed as though half-expecting it to reject him.

            It was made to capture prisoners and entice them into an eternal deep sleep.  And after many nights of getting comfortable on the ground and simple mattresses of straw, this mattress was nothing but sympathetic to the discomfort he never realized he suffered.  It told him there was nothing he would like more than to lie down and just nap a little.  After all, it would be a while before Morganne needed him again.

            With that thought, he stood back up quickly.  That was a trap.  The moment he fell asleep would be the moment he would not get up again.  He needed to stay alert.  The soft touch of the duvet and cushion of the mattress could not be trusted.

            Preman lifted his head at the sudden movement.

            “Is there a problem?” he half-mumbled.

            “I cannot see myself sleeping in that,” Kylin answered stiffly.

            “Suit yourself.”  Preman dropped his head to enjoy his luxury.

            Unused to having nothing to do, not even having to keep an ear out for danger, Kylin began to wander around the room, opening drawers and doors to see what else it contained.  However, it proved to be as boring as it was fancy.  There was nothing of interest beyond his own things, which had been brought up from the stables.  While he checked to make sure nothing was missing, he wondered how the stable boys fared with Vicious.  He didn’t doubt for a second that she was giving them all sorts of issues.

            At midday, a lunch was provided for them in an extravagantly decorated dining room.  The crown princess waited for them at the head of the table.  Just like the bed, the food was tantalizing, looking too good for there not to be a trap somewhere.

            Taileia sat on the crown princess’s right, while Ofjaet sat opposite Taileia.  The others were left to sit as they saw fit, barring the side opposite the princess.

            Kylin had never met a princess before, but Princess Rovyna almost perfectly matched what he would have expected of a woman inheriting the throne.  She kept herself carefully poised, a diplomatic smile on her face, and not hair on her head our of place.  She was clothed in elaborate garments, in fabrics that the Veil would never think of seeing, sewn in the latest fashion of the city.  She greeted them all cordially, ensuring her guests felt welcome.

            “I hope everything is suitable,” the princess said, settling herself in her seat when her guests were seated themselves.

            “We can hardly complain with the quality of hospitality,” Taileia answered.  “We certainly have nothing to compare it to.

            “And I have nothing to give myself an image of the Veil, nor anything to compare a taste of what it is like,” the princess said.  “My life has been spent in walls much like this, with only windows and paintings of farther places. Perhaps you could indulge me and tell me what the Veil Forest is like?”

            Her eyes were lit up with curiosity, readying to be amazed at all they had to tell her.

            Ofjaet smiled at her.  “Your highness, that is a vague question. One part of the forest will not be the same as another. Do you ask of scenery? Of the dangers? Of the benefits? I do wish to answer your question, but I would like to know what it is you seek.”

            The princess shifted her attention to Ofjaet, but Kylin had a sense she was watching the rest of them out of the corner of her eye.

            Still listening, Kylin turned his own attention to the food on his plate, searching for something that seemed most familiar to him to try first.

            “I understand that to become a Ranger, you must cast off any loyalty or citizenship to any other nation or kingdom,” the princess said.  “If that is so, then there must be a reason you cast it aside to live in an uncivilized and untamed forest.”

            “There are as many reasons as there are Rangers,” Ofjaet replied, smile still in place.  “Some do not join the Rangers for the forest, but as means of escape, taking up more domestic work after apprenticeship. Or their means of escape is for a change of authority. Still others join because they are drawn to protecting and maintaining the forest and its contents. I myself was drawn to the dryads and naiads of the forest. They are blessed with such a carefree outlook on life and in many ways are childlike, though they are often older than our ages combined, and may live beyond us.”

            The princess leaned back in her chair.  “Really?” she breathed.  She looked at the rest of them.  “I presume you have different reasons yourselves?”

            There was a pause in which quick glances were cast to Ofjaet to determine if offering such information was deemed acceptable to share.  Ofjaet indicating no objection, Morganne answered next.

            “Both of my parents were Rangers, madam,” Morganne explained.  “Having no other experience and plenty of evidence to discourage village life, continuing in their footsteps was the logical route to take.”

            “The Rangers permit marriage?”

            “Most certainly,” Ofjaet said.  He gestured to Taileia.  “She is my wife. Childrearing has been a more unique challenge than for those marriages where only one is a Ranger, or neither are. However, being a Ranger is often a lifetime commitment, and the experiences of what life offers us are not denied us.”

            As intriguing as the information was to her, the princess was not wholly distracted from her original question.

            “Has the parental influence of being a Ranger impacted any of you?” she asked, gesturing to Preman and Kylin.

            Preman gave a humorless laugh.  “My father was a soldier. If he influenced me any, it was to steer me away from being like him. Rather, I joined for I had no family eft, and the Randers had always treated me with kindness.”

            Making a comment of acknowledgment, the princess eyes slid from Preman to Kylin.

            Up to this point, Kylin had been happy to be an onlooker, taking small bites of what was on his plate and debating whether or not it was better than what he would eat in the Veil.  Overall, the food was enjoyable, though rich, not needing too large a portion to satisfy him. However, he could not see himself eating this every day for the rest of his life.

            An opinion, though, that was not waited for.

            Realizing she wouldn’t ignore him, he answered with a note of finality so she would not expect more from him, “The forest’s bestiary is what intrigued me.”

            The princess’s eyes lingered on him before going to Taileia, who deflected with a question of her own.

            “With such interest in the Veil, perhaps you will visit yourself and discover what we love firsthand?”

            The princess smiled warmly.  “I should like to one day, I think,” she replied.  “Perhaps when the matter with Prince Selim is settled, though. After all, there still is the matter of kidnapping.”

            There was a shift in the air, a breath of tension.

            “What part do you expect us to have in that?” Taileia asked, leaning forward.  Her expression was innocent, unaccusatory.

            “No more than you are responsible for,” the princess answered calmly.  “However, a felony was committed, and I am not one to go gallivanting about when I have responsibilities to attend to.”

            “And admirable trait,” Taileia responded.  “A country can respect a queen-to-be who remains true to her responsibilities. Especially when other leaders neglect them for other matters.”

            The princess tilted her head, still smiling.  “Is there one that you know of?”

            The name of the current king was at the front of everyone’s mind.  Even the princess knew it.  But to be so bold as to accuse her father-in0law in her home was not wise, to say the least.

            “Plenty,” Taelia said.  “But what good is my opinion that you would want more than that?”

            “The women studied each other carefully, searching for hidden meaning in their words.

            “Well, we are grateful for your assistance with the prince all the same,” the princess said finally.  “And we are quite thankful, though surprised, that you arrived so quickly. We did not realize you had received our message so soon.”

            “You sought our help.”  It was neither a statement nor a question.  It was just something flatly said, an attempt to remove surprise from her tone.

            A surprise the princess caught and noted.  “Of course. We felt if there was anyone who could help, it would be you.”

            Kylin exchanged a glance with Morganne.  Kendra had made it seem as though the royal family did not know about the assassin.  Yet if their help was sought out, did it not stand to reason they suspected something?

            Ofjaet cleared his throat.  “I am surprised that you thought highly enough of our healing prowess to overcome the prejudice and invite us to help.”

            “No one else would be so bold as to defy the royal healer’s diagnosis and treatment,” the princess explained.  “The last one who was is no longer welcome here.             There was an uncomfortable silence.  Less because of the remark made of Amelia, but more of the princess’s reference to the royal healer.

            Kylin resisted the urge to look at Morganne again, to catch a glimpse of her reaction.  He knew that the princess would see it and judge it.

            “It is true that we are more willing,” Ofjaet agreed.  “We do not have to deal with the social repercussions. The solders in the Veil will never think highly of us, and the villagers put more weight and trust in their own healers.”

            “I see.”  Her tone made it clear that the silence had not slipped by her.  “So you received no message from us, yet you are here?”

            “We knew the prince was ailing,” Ofjaet said.  Adding firmly, “And we wished to ensure that no ill will would be held against us for it.”

            They regarded each other carefully, yet keeping in place their cordial expressions.

            Oh so thankfully, the princess moved on from the topic, returning to something a lot more acceptable, such as Ofjaet’s dealings with dryads.

            After lunch, Morganne laid our her expectations and plans regarding Selim’s care.  Though there would already be a guard watching him, Morganne stated she would be more comfortable if one of their own watched Selim, especially when she wasn’t there to keep an eye on his symptoms herself.  When she went to administer his next dose, she took Preman with her, putting Kylin on the second watch of the night.

            Still distrusting trap known as the bed, Kylin pulled the bedclothes off and made a nest by the fire.  Then he settled in to get some sleep before his shift.