#he arranged for the assassinations of two prominent and well-liked noble families while there was a blight

[anakinh]

lasted approximately 2 hours into a new playthrough of Dragon Age: Origins before I downloaded a mod. god those mage cowls are ugly af

[mirror-juliet]

Distractions Lee Keonhee X Reader X Kim Youngjo

This small AU has multiple parts to it, so look out for those in the future. This might be a bit of a slow burn because this part is mostly build up for the next few parts Warnings: Angst, mentions of infidelity, mentions of sex, depression

Being a mistress to a prince was never promised to be easy, being the mistress to Prince Keonhee was destined to be a living hell. But you've been prepared for it, Crossing all lines and meeting every challenge with a blank face has kept you by his side for many years.

You were six when you first met him, he was eight. Your father had taken you to the castle to watch him trade with the king. He provided the kingdom with it's jewels and minerals, in return the crown provided him and your family outrageous amounts of gold and lands.

Keonhee had seen your timid form, hiding behind your mother's dress and he became fascinated with you. "Hello, I'm Keonhee. Who are you?" He had snuck up behind you, scaring the living daylights out of your small form. From frazzlement, you had dropped your precious doll and were too scared to pick it up. "Here, this is yours right?" He had tried handing it back. "Well, don't you want it?" You only shook your head and hid behind your mothers dress further. "Why are you carrying it around if you don't want it?" Keonhee looked like your dog as he cocked his head to the side, somehow it made him seem more approachable. With shaky legs, you stepped forward and snatched the doll out of his hands. Retreating back to your mother's dress, one of your eyes peaking at him.

"I-i'm Y/n." Your voice was just below a breath. "That's a pretty name. Do you like flowers?" A nod from you was all it took before he was dragging you down the halls of the castle. He took you outside to a hedge maze. It was so confusing with it's twists and turns but Keonhee seemed to know where he was going. After what seemed like forever you both arrived to a clearing with so many different types of flowers. You were in awe, never in your life had you seen so many arranges. "Do you want one?" You quickly nodded your head, he giggled and plucked a red layered flower, weaving it into your headband. "It's called a dahlia. Let me help you make a bouquet." That had been the tradition for you both whenever you would attend court every few months; going to the garden and picking flowers for each other. Whenever you got to your estate you would have one of the maids press the flowers to preserve them.

********

"Y/n, we need to talk to you." Your mother said in the carriage. "You aren't just coming with us for trading experience....... You will be living in the castle from now on. When we leave for home, you can't come with us." Her words were strange and scary to you, being only ten years old. You didn't understand why you couldn't go home with her. "You are to stay and find a suitor. We will have lady's to help you of course and you wouldn't be making any decisions until you are of age." Your father had taken over talking, much more blunt than your mother's words. "Papa, why can't i stay when i'm of age? Why can't i stay with you and Mother?" You were on the verge of tears. Of course you loved Irestall court and the friends you've made there, but you didn't want to leave your family. "They will teach you how to be a wife. You'll follow instructions, you will not make a fuss or anybody's job hard. Am i clear Y/n?" Your father's tone was firm, letting you know this decision was final and you never had any say in it at all. Something you were going to have to get used to. "Yes father."

You spent nine years in court since you were ten, in that time Keonhee was your best friend, always finding you in his free time and whisking you away to some new adventure. You still picked flowers for each other, weaving them in each other's hair. The maids didn't like it when you did that to Keonhee. They always had to clean his hair before letting him be seen by nobles,  and Keonhee always made them take care in pressing the flowers. Eventually the flowers started to pile up so much that the king had two wooden chests made for you both. He let the two of you decorate them however you wanted and they were placed at the end of your beds.

When you became fifteen you received a note from your father that you had finally come of age and that you were required to find a husband. Only, you didn't want to find a husband. The boy you loved was already near you. Your love for Keonhee grew quickly, vining up the corners of your heart until soon your whole body was filled with love for him. The idea of marrying someone else hurt your heart beyond what you could describe. So you found yourself in the garden, on the stone bench dripping tears on your father's letter. "Y/n?" Keonhee. "Dongju saw you come out here. Whats wrong?" He sat next to you and cradled your face in his hands. "I've become of age." You shoved the letter towards him, the sparkle in his eyes dim as he reads over the words. "Keonhee, i don't want to marry." Tears began to spill faster onto your cheeks, Keonhee quickly caught them. "Then don't." "My family will shun me Keonhee....." "Not if you tell them that your suitors are unfit for you to marry. Come up with excuses, dig up any scandal that you can." You grabbed onto his arms. "We both know that there always isn't scandals with nobles." He pressed his forehead against yours. "Then i'll make the scandals for you. I'll do whatever i can to keep you with me, if it's the last thing i do." That was the day you and Keonhee shared your first kiss, it was sweet and it took your breath away. You knew you couldn't leave him in that moment.

Two years later, the day your father died, you weren't as sad as you felt you should have been. He gave you life after all, but when you received the letter from your mother, you found you had no tears left to shed. He was the one who turned your world upside down since you were ten, You haven't even seen your mother since you started living in court, Did you even want to? In the garden, you began to think about it. She had every opportunity to see you, but she didn't. She didn't make any attempt to make your life any easier. "Hello love." You hadn't even noticed him come into the clearing. "I have a gift for you. Close your eyes." He grabbed your hands in his surprisingly smooth hands. "Now i know this won't help your grief," The uncomfortable feeling of parchment became prominent in your hands. "But it might be a start. Open your eyes." It was indeed a folded piece of paper with the bankers seal in the red wax. "Whats this?" You were in shock peeling the wax off.

It was your dowry, deciding who received your inheritance of the mines once your father passed, as well as his wealth. "Keonhee....." He took your hands in his again. You looked in his eyes to confirm what your heart was refusing to accept. "You are now the head of your house. All the mines and wealth were transferred to your name this morning. You don't have to find a husband until you're ready." "I'm free. We can finally be together." The both of you became intimate that night, no longer having to worry about keeping your virtue for a husband, you no longer needed one. After your intimacy, Keonhee had surprised you with another gift. It was a golden ring with a ruby gem in the center, something you always saw him wearing. It was a promise to keep you by his side forever, no matter what you two faced together.

So you continued to watch him entertain suitor after suitor, declining them all while you traded with the kingdom; keeping your spot at court. You were the only one Keonhee could confine in when times got hard in the kingdom, letting you run your fingers through his hair. Often times than not he would steal you away to his bed chambers to let off steam. Keonhee wasn't the only one with troubles though, he was there to comfort you when your mind got too much for you. Keonhee is a desirable prince to have, Not only is he good looking, he had a very high education, could fight in a battle and give off war commands. Needless to say, many kingdoms want an alliance with him-Much like today. Princess Cadenza of Eryburn, the farthest kingdom away from Irestall. Having an alliance with them would be a extreme military impact, they rule over the neighboring country's of our own. Both crown's are the hierarchy's of the world, All other Kingdoms flicker in comparison to Irestall and Erybrun. If Keonhee and Cadenza marry, Keonhee would be ruling eight country's when his father, the current king dies.

"Maybe the king will see that he can find a better alliance elsewhere." Aeyoung, your lady's maid says as she pulls the strings of your corset taught; The damn thing constricting your breathing. "He wont, all the other desirable kingdoms have proposed to Keonhee and he's declined them all. You know just as well as me the impact this alliance will build. The king would be stupid to decline this offer." You gasp and hold tighter to the bedpost as she tightens it for the last time. "Didn't you want him to decline those girls though?" "Not exactly, the others, the lesser kingdoms....I would be able to control those princesses. They couldn't touch me-they had no power to." Aeyoung pulls your stockings up your legs and fastens them to your guarder belt. "And Cadenza has that power? Isn't it a crime to attack one of the prince's favorite people?" Poor Aeyoung, so un-jaded to the world of royals, though you can't blame her, she didn't grow up in court like you did.

"The difference is that Cadenza has assassins at her disposal, if i try to make it known to her that i am in first place. Well, you can imagine what happens next. I would be nothing but a name no longer spoken about the halls. There would be no way to trace it back to her." You began to put your jewelry on, slipping the over-sized ruby ring over your thumb. "Don't nearly all king's have mistresses?" "Yes, which i'm hoping she wont try to fight against that. Now, best for us to be going off then. Wouldn't want to miss Princess Cadenza's grand arrival."

You've known about her proposal for months, Keonhee told you as he was bombarding you with gifts. The news wasn't as bad until you had heard of who had proposed. You broke three vases in your room that week. She was finally here, in your territory and you'd be damned if you weren't gonna put up one hell of a fight. Because you had him first. You among other nobles stand in the throne room, waiting for her majesty's arrival. Your eyes can't help but wander back to Keonhee, how could one man possibly be so handsome? Most of his clothing is covered by a black velvet robe, the eye catcher is the breastplate sewn into the fabric. Golden and silver vinery , each leaf dawned with small diamonds from your mines. It was a birthday gift formally from your family, un-formally it was a gift you had hand crafted for him. A reminder to everyone in the room of your position in the princes' life. Because even though he is meeting his future wife, there he stands wearing a gift from his lover who stands not too far away.

"Princess Cadenza Gianna, Louella IV of Eryburn!" The foot boy announces as they open the large doors. Your heart stops beating once she begins to walk into the room, nearly forgetting to bow as she approaches. Cadenza is a gorgeous girl with skin the of pure honey, hair that resembles fire as it falls in delicate ringlets, framing her face so smooth it could pass as porcelain.  How you've prayed to the gods for her to be ugly, but she is everything but. In Keonhee's eyes, it shows he thinks the same of her. Beautiful as as goddess and for once in your life, you feel threatened by a woman.

She bows her hair in greeting, her status not needing her to do more. Another reminder that because she is his equal, would make it that much easier for her to steal him away. Your fingers rub over the ring once again, not listening as they go over the agreement of the alliance. Not a necessity-of course they've already agreed over letters. This is only the final chance for either country to back away. 'Please God, let us find an alliance elsewhere. Please.' Deep in your heart, you know, there is no other alliance, and this will start a war if they step away this far into the agreement. Cadenza's belongings are most likely being put into a chamber this moment. The same moment you watch Keonhee take in every aspect of Cadenza. "Then i don't see why we shouldn't set the day of your marriage." The king  says, your heart sinking lower and lower in your chest, deep into your stomach where it threatens to tear out.

"I also have a condition your majesty." The room becomes unbearably quiet you can hear the shift of everyone's clothes. What else could she possibly want? She's already ripping out half of your heart. "If i am going to make an alliance not only under Romes eyes, but in God's eyes. I need to be completely faithful in this. I won't take him if he has a mistress. "

No.....He wouldn't.....He can't agree to this. He wouldn't take Keonhee away from you. You and Keonhee's relations was in no way a secret, but for it to reach her ears? She has to know that king's have Mistresses. She isn't so stupid of a woman to actually believe he is a virgin. "Very well, No one besides you will entertain the prince in such ways." No..N-No No! This isn't happening! No, i have to get out of here. This corset-It's too tight. GET IT OFF! You shout in your head. You use Keonhee sliding a ring on her finger to slip out of the room. Only when you close the doors to your chamber is when you break down, ripping your clothes in the process of pulling them off, having much difficulty removing the torso cage that's restricting your lungs. "GET THIS OFF OF ME!" You begin to let out screams that are a mix between sobs as you tug and pull on the garment. "Y/n?!" Youngjo must have slipped into your room. "Please. Please i c-cant breathe" It must have been the look on your face or the tone of your voice because he's behind you in seconds all but ripping out the laces.

Once it's loose enough he pulls it off, allowing you to fall to your knees; you couldn't care less that you're in stark in your guarder belt, stalkings and undergarments. He can't see the exposed front of you anyway. Your broken sobs echo through the room, your hands covered in the salty liquid as they try to stop the flow, quite in vain because they only become hotter and more frequent. "Here, put this on." Youngjo practically dresses you in one of your nightgowns, taking his place in front of you on the floor. "He promised me this wouldn't happen." You hiccup "And it is. What did i do to get to this Youngjo?" He pulls you to his chest, stroking your hair as you let out all your pains hidden over the months.

Youngjo was also your outlet of safety here at court. Being the cousin to Keonhee, you both grew up together. He used to treat you like a pest for taking Keonhee's attention, as he realized you would be sticking around for a while-Youngjo quickly became one of your closest friends. Somewhere in the mix of soothing you, he had lost his overcoat, leaving a white undergarment shirt for you to clutch onto and stain with your tears. You're an ugly mess heaped on the floor, your hair unpinned in a rush-Thank god for Youngjo pulling them out of your hair and attempting to smooth it. You're rouge long gone from your face and now an uncomfortable shade of bright red. "Lets get you to the bed." Youngjo nudges you to stand with him. "Please don't make me." You've stopped crying, now seemingly numb to the world. Somehow you're more heartbreaking to look at like this. Perhaps because the emotion in your body has vanished, the only signs of life your talking and breathing. Youngjo swiftly picks you up bridal style, you would fight it any other time but you couldn't care less what he does at this point. The warm comfort of the animal skins remind you even more of your lost lover, he has a liking to the skins during the winter.

"What are you doing?" You ask as he slowly climbs in the bed next to you. "I'm not letting you be alone right now. Come here." He pats the space next to him, his arm raised up like you would be so willing to crawl into another person's arms so soon after the news of Keonhee. "I know you aren't okay." You scoff, isn't it obvious? "But let me help you be okay right now. Or at least help you forget for a while." The offer is quite tempting, a distraction would be heaven on earth right now. But how could you find comfort in someone else? Why do you feel like you're being unfaithful to Keonhee...... Youngjo makes the decision for you and scoots closer to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulder.

"Why are you doing this?" Is what you croak out after what feels like hours of laying in one spot, doing nothing but watch the shadows change with the sun setting. "I know what it's like.....To feel alone....." Your memories travel back to the day when Youngjo's parents were announced dead. It was when the plague had swept through the kingdom, No one was allowed in or out of the castle. Youngjo's parents had to take refuge in a nearby village when the crown realized. Days had passed before anyone knew where they were, days to find the house they stayed at. He never even got to see their bodies before they were thrown into a mass burn grave.

"The thought of you feeling that again, it was unbearable to me." Why? Why would it be unbearable for him? You sit up to look at his face better. His defined jaw line, the start of stubble on his cheek. And his bug eyes he finally seemed to have grown into. When did he grow up? The room is silent as you share the same glance-sorrow bedded in your eyes'. You lean in to place a test kiss on his lips, he hadn't refused. You lean in to place a longer kiss, this time your lips dance together with his. His hands are placed on your face before you allow yourself to get too lost in the kiss. "Not like this. It isn't right while we're both like this." "It's okay." "No, it isn't. Lets just lay like this for a while." His smile is sad too, why would he be so sad?

You were angry. That was the word you could confidently say after three days, not sad, but filled with rage that you felt like bursting. Maybe that's why the maids have begun to avoid you. Aeyoung has tried to get you to eat meals but you always leave it untouched until one of the maids finds it in the morning.  You've found your favorite past time to be throwing things into the fireplace and watching them burn up.

"What are you doing?" "Sitting." "Get up then." "I'm busy." "Doing what?" "Watching." Your monotone voice echos the room, Youngjo looking at you in worry and frustration. You hadn't left your room in three days-Not drinking besides from the night Yongjo forced you to drink nearly a pitcher full. You hadn't eaten at all and your color was beginning to pallor, not to mention the lack of sun from your curtains being drawn shut; the only light emitting in the room came from the fireplace and very few candles.

"It's quite symbolic isn't it?" You throw a fresh piece of parchment into the logs. "How something so whole can be reduced to nothing in seconds. For what? The power of the nature at hand." You were beginning to sound dismal even to yourself, such is the mood. "The maids will be coming in to help you dress. Were going somewhere." No, we aren't.  "I'm not going." He crouches next to you, his voice low. "Me and you both know i am not above dragging you out of this room, now please get up." Your body shivers as you think back on the day he dragged you into the lake he and his cousins were playing in. The maids could never repair the dress after that day. As if on cue the door opens up to Aeyoung and two younger maids, she works to rip the blinds open fast, nearly blinding you to the harsh rays of light.

"Well look at you, isn't it nice to be out in the light?" Only now in the bright hall do you get a good look of Yongjo's outfit. A light-White long sleeved dress shirt, a slit going down to show a quarter of his chest. Basic black trousers and boots. The maids dressed you two to match, a light summer dress and shoes with a shorter heel-You would put money on he's taking you on a walk. "The cooks maid blueberry muffins, i heard they're quite tasty." Your stomach does hurt from not eating, you suppose a muffin would be fine-You would have to eat it on the walk though.

"Why are we outside? There is plenty of light in the castle." There wasn't a location he had taken you, only mindlessly wondering the paths around the courtyard. He seemed to be enjoying himself, the prick.

"Youngjo, i want to go back now." You had stopped in your tracks, your hand placed on your diaphragm. He follows your line of vision, eyes widening. "No, it's okay. Lets just go somewhere else." Lips pursed and ears red, you're mad. Mad that he is deciding what you can and cant do today. And her in your fucking spot. You un-sheath the sword from Youngjo's belt, storming off on the cobble path before he can stop you. This day was going to get a lot more hectic.

"Y/N!" Youngjo yells out but you couldn't care less, your target in sight getting closer with each stride. "NUAHH!" The sword sticks out of the chest cavity of the training dummy, that a very worried boy was training at moments ago. You pull it out and raise it over your head, having trouble with the weight-and bringing it down onto the straw dummy again. Swing after swing you feel your anger flow out of you, imagining a certain face instead of the burlap one staring back at you. How could he have taken her to the garden. That was you're spot-Not cadenza's. But there she was, having flowers put in her locks by the same fingers that once pleasured you not too long ago. Once the sword feels too heavy to lift up do you stop. Face flushed and breathing ragged. Apparently you're still capable of emotions after all.

Youngjo pulls the sword out and places it back in it's place on his side, watching you with a smile on his face. "Maybe next time you're busy we can get you a sword you can swing." It takes a moment to realize it, but you're smiling at his retort. "Only if it matches yours." He holds out his hand. "Help me forge it?" Without much hesitation, you take his hand and let him take you to the tower where he has his forge. He teaches you how to smith, allowing you to take part in the smiting of your own blade. If you had married someone, this is a luxury you would never be able to hold, but here you are-Inscribing your name into the blade with the help of Youngjo.

[heartswayed]

thanks to discussion with katya and pea i revamped araceli’s entire 3h verse to be much more black eagles aligned so have a quick post updating everything to include yuri as he has the crest of aubin as well! i was going to add a description of her paralogue as well, but this got incredibly long so that’s going to be its own separate post!

just note that any mentions of hubert and edelgard are katya’s and pea’s specifically!

the short version: araceli is abducted by garon at the age of five, submitted to twsid’s experimentation at age 13, and childhood friends with edelgard and hubert-- therefore she won’t abandon them so easily.

she will leave the party with edelgard and hubert in silver snow, but is recruitable in azure moon and verdant wind-- though unless dimitri has a b support or claude has a c+ support with her, she will not remain in the party after the timeskip.

if dimitri does not have a b support with her, she will not be able to stand feralmitri any longer and leave the party after gronder in azure moon, submitting to the empire as a prisoner of war.

if claude does not have a c+ support with her, she will not show up at all in verdant wind.

her motivations for following the kingdom or alliance are an effort to find a peaceful solution to the conflict that still benefits edelgard and hubert and if she’s still with byleth’s army she will openly grieve for them after their deaths.

i am so sorry this gets long, the backstory here is incredibly important to araceli’s paralogue! :’) if you want to skip to everything actually relevant to araceli, just ctrl+f to ‘in faerghus’! aubin, a member of nemesis’ band of thieves, murders the ice dragon and obtains his crest upon consumption of his blood. two relics are made from his bones: whatever yuri’s canon relic will be, and the yato. hydra, son of the ice dragon, chases after and defeats aubin in combat... but offers to spare him on the condition that aubin’s descendants hide and protect him evermore. aubin, desperate, agrees. they settle in what would become touma territory.

centuries pass, and the house of aubin splits; the half that left becoming yuri’s family, while the rest remained hidden in touma. hydra took the false name anankos and continued to watch over humanity, growing increasingly worried about the crest system and the church of seiros’ influence over fodlan, but not wanting to reveal himself just yet.

he would soon fall in love with the second daughter of house touma, mikoto, and have two children with her: araceli, born in imperial year 1163 on the 14th day of the verdant rain moon (august 14th), and lilith, born in imperial year 1164 on the 31st day of the wyvern moon (october 31st). araceli bore the major crest of aubin upon her inner right thigh, while lilith bore a minor one.

unfortunately for anankos, the survival of a full-blooded nabataen did not escape the notice of those who slither in the dark. upon learning that a group of shadowy figures were spotted in the territory, heading for the mansion, anankos feared for the worst. he bid that mikoto take their infant daughters and flee to safety-- and to never tell them about him or their heritage, lest the enemy discover and track them down. mikoto complied, bidding her husband and family a tearful farewell and escaping to faerghus.

anankos, meanwhile, took the yato and fled into a series of hidden underground caves. when those who slither in the dark followed him in there, he used far too much power defending himself from his assailants and degenerated-- much like rhea does at the end of silver snow. with enough clarity of mind left to know what he’d become, anankos sealed the entrance to the network of caves. if he had his way he would stay there, alone with the corpses of his enemies, for eternity.

in faerghus, mikoto and her daughters had been taken in by sumeragi and ikona shirasagi, a prominent military family whose territory sits on the border between the kingdom and the adrestian empire. they’re accepted into the family, and the touma daughters grow up happily alongside stepsiblings ryouma, hinoka, takumi, and sakura.

in imperial year 1168 sumeragi’s longtime rival from across the border, garon von krakenburg, learned of the presence of a child possessing a major crest in house aubin. while already a prominent noble military family in adrestia, garon was power hungry and determined to rise through the ranks; he enlisted the help of house vestra to abduct the child and pass them off as his own “recently legitimized” bastard child, with the plan to marry them off to an incredibly influential family and tie his family to theirs. ideally this would be house vestra, as they are closest to the hresvelgs. with his heir crestless, marquis vestra was very open to the idea. 

araceli was abducted as planned, and raised alongside garon’s own crestless children: xander, camilla, leo, and elise. she would closely befriend the children of house vestra, including hubert, as well as hubert’s new liege: a princess of the adrestian empire, edelgard von hresvelg.

in imperial year 1176, a child was born to house vestra bearing the minor crest of macuil. concerned about the state of the arrangement between himself and marquis vestra and having heard of a group performing certain experiments from the latter, garon sought a meeting with those who slither in the dark. eager to get their hands on the blood of a bearer of aubin, those who slither eagerly took araceli off garon’s hands to experiment upon her. she would spend one full year locked in the basements of house krakenburg with tws’ mages, and the minor crest of dominic surfaced within her with surprisingly few problems-- though the costs on her part were severe: an incredibly shortened lifespan, much of her constitution and physical strength being sapped. the shock and stress of the situation turned her hair stark white, and upon recovery she would soon discover an increased magical prowess.

the procedure complete, garon set about showing araceli off to potential other suitors-- most unsavoury but high in ranking. in the end, an arrangement between house krakenburg and house vestra was reached: araceli would marry marquis vestra’s eldest son as expected, though hubert insisted on any wedding preparations waiting until after he completed his education at the officer’s academy. while hubert had absolutely no interest in marrying his childhood friend, the situation benefited him greatly: his father would not be showing him off to noble women in hopes of securing a match, therefore his time would not be wasted. (with what he and edelgard were planning, he would also never finish his education.)

in imperial year 1180, araceli attends the officer’s academy and is placed in the black eagle house. she is reunited with her younger sister lilith, and depending on the actions of byleth, her role in the conflict will change-- by default, she will side with edelgard and hubert. 

regardless of what her path will be, she will play a part in hubert’s assassination of garon von krakenburg.

[logh-icebergs]

Episode 18: The Lippstadt Conspiracy

April 797/488. Now that Reinhard’s pick for Kaiser has taken the throne, the oppositional Braunschweig and Littenheim assemble a motley crew of disgruntled nobles to overthrow him and take down Reinhard in the process. Obviously, this goes poorly for them. Before that happens, Hilda takes the initiative to arrange an alliance with Reinhard, firmly positioning herself as the only remotely intelligent noble not already in his admiralty. Braunschweig appoints veteran admiral Merkatz to lead his anti-Reinhard charge; Ferner (unsuccessfully) takes matters into his own hands; and Reinhard, having gotten the jump on Braunschweig, struts around extremely pleased with himself. Annerose, meanwhile, gazes sadly at nothing in particular, and I think Reuental and Mittermeyer are too busy arresting treasonous nobles to go on a date. Oh well.

A few episodes ago, Rebecca introduced some of the less prominent—though still important—characters in the Alliance. Well, the time has come to do the same for the Empire! Episode 18 has some politically important plot stuff, and finally (finally!) properly introduces Hilda, but in terms of hidden meaning below the surface, there’s not much to speak of. So without further ado, I present to you a Who’s Who of some of the Empire’s many side characters (and Hilda)!

Hildegard von Mariendorf

I’ve mentioned Hilda a couple times before, but there wasn’t really any reason to until now, beyond the fact that she’s my favorite character and I love her. Now, we get to spend some much-anticipated quality time with the galaxy’s best and brightest lesbian. I’ll get more into the queerness of Hilda later on, when it’s discussed more directly; for now, let’s take our cue from the show and focus on what she does rather than who she is.

Hilda is the smartest person in every room, especially when that room is a bar full of Imperial aristocrats.

When we first meet Hilda in episode 18, she’s eavesdropping on a bunch of nobles gossiping in a bar about who they plan to support in the upcoming battle for supremacy between Reinhard and Braunschweig et al. Hilda, of course, has already made up her mind, which we see in a flashback to a very recent conversation she had with her father on the subject.

Unlike all the other dads in LoGH, Hilda’s dad, Franz von Mariendorf, is not a piece of shit. He takes his daughter seriously, respects her political opinions, and has no qualms about ceding his family power to her.

The uniquely positive nature of Hilda’s relationship with her dad, like other contrasts and comparisons in the LoGH universe, draws attention to the intentionality of the creative team’s choice to show us so many bad fathers. I’ll be talking about this a LOT more later, so keep it in the back of your mind.

Hilda has (correctly) realized that betting on Reinhard is so safe it can hardly be called a bet, and with her father’s blessing, she arranges to meet with Reinhard himself to discuss terms of a mutually beneficial alliance. Her frankness and obvious political acumen impress Reinhard, who takes an immediate liking to her, accepts her proposal (even agreeing to give it to her in writing, when she pushes him on it), and then leaves to go start the civil war that she predicted.

Did you somehow miss that Hilda is super driven and intense? Her expression here should clear up any remaining doubts.

The most striking aspect of this scene, though, isn’t the political maneuvering—it’s the introduction of the dynamic between Reinhard and Hilda, one of the most interesting relationships in the whole show. Almost right away, Reinhard is caught off guard not by Hilda’s boldness, but by how much he obviously likes her. His invitation for her to dine with him sometime in the future is the first time we’ve ever seen Reinhard take the social initiative with anyone other than Kircheis.

Fun fact, though: The first word that Reinhard ever says to Hilda is actually none other than, you guessed it, “Kircheis.”

As we’ve discussed at length before, relying on heteronormative shortcuts will get you nowhere in LoGH: The mood of this scene, despite containing within it a man and a woman, is as businesslike as Hilda’s uncompromising tone throughout; Reinhard’s interest is, of course, platonic. I love them.

Ernest Mecklinger

As I’ve said, Reinhard/Kircheis and Reuental/Mittermeyer are the two Great Romances of LoGH, so among Reinhard and his admiralty and for the purposes of a queer reading of this show, I’ve been focusing primarily on those four. But the rest of Reinhard’s admiralty is worth talking about too! I’m not going to go through all of them yet, because honestly very few of them make an impression at this point, but I’d like to spotlight a couple (no, not an actual couple, for once) of the more prominent less-prominent admirals who have been adding background color and texture for a while now.

(From “My Conquest.”)

First up, Ernest Mecklinger! Canonically, I think he’s the only one of Reinhard’s admirals who has hobbies beyond “war” and “drinking.” They include: painting, general consumption of the arts, and presumably waxing his mustache. Mecklinger can usually be counted on to be level-headed and generous; he chooses his words carefully, and later on we’ll see scenes in which the only way to describe how he acts is Like A Sweetheart. In the novels, we are told that Mecklinger is nicknamed the “Artist-Admiral” because of how cultured and well-rounded he is.

Fritz Josef Bittenfeld

(From episode 16.)

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum is Bittenfeld, the short-tempered, bombastic commander of the Black Lancers (basically picture the intensity and camaraderie of the Rosen Ritter, except a fleet instead of an infantry unit, and without the long history of defection and betrayal). Bittenfeld has already been the recipient of one slap on the wrist—that would have been a lot more severe if not for Kircheis’s intervention—and frequently gets into trouble for rushing into dangerous situations before he’s fully thought them through, both on and off the battlefield.

Look, I did my best to sum up the differences between Bittenfeld and Mecklinger but I honestly don’t know why I bothered when this one exchange captures them so perfectly.

Anton Ferner

Here to answer the eternal question of “What if Oberstein, but hot?” is Anton Ferner, an Imperial cop who is loyal to whomever he dubs most able to make use of his loyalty. Like Oberstein, Ferner views himself less as someone with ambitions of his own and more as a tool to be wielded by someone more powerful. Also like Oberstein, Ferner has an unsettling air about him, made only slightly less so by the fact that he doesn’t habitually remove his eyeballs (that we know of).

You may remember Ferner from back in episode 9, when he sardonically refused to fire on the suicidally destructive Klopstock because a statue of Rudolph von Goldenbaum stood in his way.

However, whereas Oberstein has an overarching philanthropic goal that drives his utilitarian machinations, Ferner’s only motivation seems to be the joy he derives from serving someone he has deemed worthy. And here we get to the main difference between Ferner and Oberstein (other than their respective levels of hotness): Ferner can, in fact, feel joy! Or amusement, anyway.

Ferner is constantly smirking when he’s been bested in some way; he absolutely gets off on other people being powerful and talented, but again, we’re not here to kinkshame.

After Ferner ignores Braunschweig’s orders, attempts to assassinate Reinhard on his own, and is summarily defeated, he surrenders to Reinhard and offers him his loyalty. Reinhard, never one to scoff at potential no matter how it ends up in front of him, accepts and, appropriately, gives him to Oberstein as a pet.

I’ll bet you thought I was kidding.

Oberstein and Ferner, the creepiest utilitarian weirdos in the galaxy, have found each other at last! I’m sure they’ll get along great; Ferner, at least, will probably think Oberstein’s removable-eyeball trick is hilarious.  

And we must never ever forget that Ferner, according to Matsuri Okuda’s original character designs, started life as a rejected Reuental concept. Which may explain why I think he’s so beautiful.

Otto von Braunschweig (and Ansbach)

Have you noticed that nobody on Reinhard’s team—not even anyone of noble birth—has that awful George-Washington-style aristocrat hair? Even Mecklinger, who keeps his hair long, doesn’t wear it in a ponytail with an enormous bow. My point is that Braunschweig’s hairstyle, which is hideous, is also a good indicator that he is evil, or at least regressive. And whereas there’s an abundance of nuance when it comes to whether the Empire or the Alliance is morally “better,” everyone can agree on one thing: The Imperial nobles are bad. And Braunschweig, as their leader, is the most bad.

Another way to tell Braunschweig is evil is that he frequently does things like imply that if celebrated admirals don’t do his bidding, he’ll have their young daughters killed.

Braunschweig—who is the late Kaiser Friedrich IV’s son-in-law, by the way—is actually too unambiguously evil to be interesting on his own. The only thing that holds my attention about him beyond the fact that I want to cut off his ponytail is the fact that he is one half of yet another pair of men. And his loyal retainer and counterpart, Ansbach, is in turn only interesting insofar as parallels are set up between his relationship to Braunschweig and Kircheis’s relationship to Reinhard, particularly (so far at least) in episode 9:

Remember this? The similarities between Ansbach and Kircheis’s frenzied searches for Braunschweig and Reinhard, respectively, are too striking to be anything but intentional.

Like I said in my episode 9 post, though, there’s no reason as of yet to think that the relationship between Braunschweig and Ansbach is romantic; even if that’s what the parallels point to, they’re one-sided at this stage, so if Ansbach’s feelings of devotion do cross over into romantic territory, it’s unlikely that they’re reciprocated. Sorry, Ansbach.

Incidentally, Ansbach doesn’t have a last name. Or he doesn’t have a first name. In any case, he only has one name, and it’s Ansbach. Also, if I didn’t hate him so much, I’d be worried about his skin. He looks like he could use several glasses of water, maybe applied directly to his face.

Willibald Joachim von Merkatz (and Schneider)

Merkatz was actually voted the class of 447’s Most Expressive Eyebrows at military academy. Wow!

Merkatz, a very accomplished and grizzled admiral who has been griping about Reinhard and his youth since episode 1, will spend more time in the spotlight later, but I wanted to mention him now for a couple reasons: First of all, his eyebrows are incredible and I can’t stop watching him move them. I honestly don’t know what he’s saying most of the time because I’m too focused on his eyebrows. I’m simultaneously impressed and scared. Second of all, we can go ahead and add Merkatz to the growing stack of (male) characters who are one half of a defined (male) pair.

Merkatz’s counterpart, Bernhard von Schneider, is a young officer who spends most of his screentime in episode 18 with his jaw on the floor while Merkatz explains to him the concept of nuance.

Or maybe he’s just mesmerized by Merkatz’s eyebrows. Same, Schneider. Same.

Anyway, keep an eye on these two, and by these two, I mean Merkatz’s eyebrows. I’d also recommend maybe paying attention to Merkatz himself, and Schneider too, because there will be a lot more to say about them down the line.

Stray Tidbits

I really enjoy how ostentatious literally everything to come into contact with the Imperial nobility is; like how are Reinhard and Kircheis's ships less flashy than something? How?

I am being personally victimized by the fact that this guy’s monocle doesn’t actually fall out.