#producer of heirs and legitimate grandsons

[winepresswrath]

Could you elaborate on what the yanli-jc wwx conspiracy is?

They are just generally in cahoots re: making sure he's safe and bringing him home, sometimes in defiance of their parents or society or just the likely fact of his death. The first time Wei Wuxian runs away Jiang Cheng wants to follow him because he's worried he'll get hurt. Jiang Fengmian says no, and when Jiang Cheng sneaks out in defiance of his father's wishes with his little rucksack in hand, Yanli is waiting at the gates to support him and tell him to bring Wei Wuxian home safe, implicitly siding with him against their dad in the matter of whether Wei Wuxian might be in real trouble and if so, whether Jiang Cheng's help might be valuable.

The second time is during the sunshot campaign while Wei Wuxian is missing- she comes in when he's brooding over Wei Wuxian's sword and tells him how grown up he is, fusses over him a bit and asks him to bring him back. Jiang Cheng fervently agrees, and looks actively relieved and pleased she's asking this of him- it's blatantly obvious he was going to do it anyway, but her support and faith mean a lot to him which I think is significant because he's usually so worried about failure and he knows Wei Wuxian has been thrown in the burial mounds and is almost certainly dead, but he's not actually frightened he'll fail her, he's just glad they're on the same page. He gets extra support this round because Lan Wangji is also refusing to believe Wei Wuxian is dead and taking joint missions to Yiling with Jiang Cheng and his own turn at sword brooding.

Breaking the pattern, in CQL she was originally going to go with him to talk to Wei Wuxian after he takes the Wens to the burial mounds but he kind of sneaks off without her when he sees her with Zixuan and then doesn't manage to bring Wei Wuxian home to her; she has a sad prophetic dream about it. The conspiracy is broken!

Until! They conspire to bring Yanli to Yiling so Wei Wuxian can see her wedding clothes. I personally think it's implied by the response to Zixuan's request for Wei Wuxian to be allowed at Jin Ling's hundred days ceremony that they were in on that together- either way they're both playing their part, because everyone from the Lan to the JIn know Jiang Cheng would happily take Wei Wuxian back and Yanli misses him. Whether they planned it or just moped really obviously is debatable buy money is on them being in on it together with Zixuan and maybe even Lan Wangji.

And then of course there's Nightless City, where Jiang Cheng notably does not try to get to Wei Wuxian but Yanli does, and then he finds him and loses him all over again so he can have a much more prolonged and less emotionally supportive round of refusing to believe Wei Wuxian is dead.

Bonus Round: The only time Yanli sends Wei Wuxian after Jiang Cheng it's when he's been captured by the Wen because he was already on top of the send Wei Wuxian home safe to Jiejie agenda.

[wessexroyalfamily]

The History of the Succession to the Crown shows the historical succession to the throne of Wessex starting with the 1st monarch to rule from the throne, King Henry I of Wessex, at the top of the chart leading to the current sovereign Queen Anne II of Wessex at “25″ at the bottom. 

The symbol/flower next to an individual is which royal house they belong to. There is also a brief description about each house that has ruled Wessex. 

Note this chart only shows how each monarch is related to each other and their descent from Henry I of Wessex, not necessarily an entire family tree or the current line of succession. 

The First Act of Succession 

The First Act of Succession was established when Henry Carnarvon became the first King of a sovereign Wessex after the fall of the Saxon Empire. HE declared that the throne will pass through his male line, and it successfully passed from father to son until his great-grandson King Edmund I failed to produce a living male heir. When King Edmund I realized that there wouldn’t be any male heirs left, he signed the Enfield Declaration which declared the throne would pass the heirs daughter, Princess Mary Carnarvon of Wessex. 

The Second Act of Succession 

When Mary Carnarvon gave birth to her son, the future King Henry II of Wessex, The Second Act of Succession was officially passed, declaring that all possible claimants to the throne must descend from Princess Mary. Mary and her husband Edward Beaufort, The Duke of Worcester would go on to have five children, but only her youngest daughter Anne who married The Duke of Dorset would have any children to ascend to the throne. 

The throne then passed to Anne’s son King Edmund II and passed neatly from father to son, until the death of Edward IV of Wessex. Edward IV has no male children, but he did have a daughter. Some nobles thought that Princess Joan (Edward IV daughter) was the rightful successor, while others thought that Edward IV’s brother Prince Henry, The Duke of Worcester was the more suitable heir. 

Those who supported Princess Joan of Wessex  argued that the Second Act of Succession referred to “heirs general” and as the senior heir of Princess Mary Carnarvon, and it didn’t matter that she was female. Those for Prince Henry, The Duke of Worcester argued that the Second Act of Succession only referred to heirs male and would only allow for a female succession if the male line of Princess Mary Carnarvon goes extinct. Henry’s supporters won and the throne then passed to Edward IV’s brother, who reigned as King Henry III of Wessex. 

It wasn’t until Princess Anne of Cornwall ascended the throne as Queen Anne I of Wessex that Wessex got its first female consort. 

The Third Act of Succession 

On her accession, Queen Anne I decided to limit the possible heirs to the throne to only her descendants, thus ending any claims of other West-Saxon nobleman who descended from House of Beaumont, and wished to challenge her for the throne. All subsequent monarchs under the Third Act, and later Fourth Act of Succession, must descend from Queen Anne I and her husband Prince George Bagration to be eligible to the throne. 

The Fourth Act of Succession

The Fourth Act of Succession is the current Act governing the succession to the throne. It has three basic rules. 1) an individual must be a descendant of Anne I through one of her five legitimate children, 2) members of the occult  are banned from inheriting the throne, 3) and the line of succession follows male preference primogeniture.

Succession to the Crown Chart | Princess Royal Chart | Counsellors of the State | The Earl of Gloucester |

[eschercaine]

About the parentage of the three Velaryon princes...

Just my rant. If you don’t like it, back out now.

The House of the Dragon producers made the Velaryons black and changed Rhaenys’ hair color to make it obvious that Rhaenyra’s children were bastards.

The Velaryons shares the Valryian look of the Targaryens.

House Velaryon is of Valyrian descent, and its members often have Valyrian features, such as silver-gold or silver hair and purple eyes. Some Velaryons have blue eyes. — Fire & Blood, The Sons of the Dragon

In contrast to the tv show, book!Rhaenys has black hair because she inherited it from her mother, Jocelyn Baratheon.

Rhaenys was a great beauty. She had black hair and lilac eyes. By the time she was fifty-five, she had a lean, lined face and her black hair was streaked with white. — Although The Princess and the Queen, published in 2013, stated that Rhaenys had silver hair, this has been changed for the publication of Fire & Blood, where she is described to have had black hair, like other Baratheon descendants.

Jace, Luke, and Joffrey could’ve inherited their dark hair from either or both their parents. Laenor’s maternal grandmother is a Baratheon. However, we have no knowledge about Corlys’ parents. Rhaenyra’s maternal grandfather was an Arryn.

Regarding Harwin Strong, the alleged father of the Velaryon princes, we don’t know the color of his hair or eyes or the shape of his nose, so we can’t actually confirm that he resembled the children. The book asks us to assume they looked like him because the accusations were made in the first place.

Breakbones was said to be the strongest man in the Seven Kingdoms in his day. He was described as being massive and redoubtable. — Fire & Blood, Heirs of the Dragon - A Question of Succession

The only confirmed member of the House Strong whose hair color we know is Lucamore the Lusty, once a member of the Kingsguard.

Lucamore was described as an amiable, strapping, broad-shouldered, young blond bull. He was a great favorite of the smallfolk in tourneys and was well loved at court. — Fire & Blood, The Long Reign - Jaehaerys and Alysanne: Policy, Progency, and Pain

...and he’s blonde.

About the accusations, wasn’t it Vaemond Velaryon and the Greens started those rumors?

With his trueborn children dead, by law his lands and titles should pass to his grandson Jacaerys… but since Jace would presumably ascend the Iron Throne after his mother, Princess Rhaenyra urged her good-father to name instead her second son, Lucerys. Lord Corlys also had half a dozen nephews, however, and the eldest of them, Ser Vaemond Velaryon, protested that the inheritance by rights should pass to him… on the grounds that Rhaenyra’s sons were bastards sired by Harwin Strong. The princess was not slow in answering this charge. She dispatched Prince Daemon to seize Ser Vaemond, had his head removed, and fed his carcass to her dragon. — The Rogue Prince

Yes, what Rhaenyra did to Vaemond was cruel. But she’d been made the subject of these rumors for 6 years by the Greens, and it had gotten to a point where Alicent and her children were taking them as fact and using them as justification to attack her sons.

Imagine that Rhaenyra’s children were legitimate. How should she have responded? Vaemond openly declared that he was going to oppose the legitimacy of both the heir to the throne and his future liege lord for very self-serving reasons.

Perhaps I’m just reaching here, but what if the Velaryon princes indeed had a Valyrian looks but were written down as having brown hair and brown eyes to demonize Rhaenyra? To show that she’s unfit to rule because she birthed three illegitimate children?

After all, Grand Maester Mellos was in charge of writing the court chronicles during King Viserys’ reign before dying and also a Green supporter.

In 120 AC, Mellos in his writings is the one that suggested that the fire at Harrenhal that killed Lord Lyonel Strong and his heir, Ser Harwin Strong, was ordered by Viserys. Mellos implies that the king had come to accept the rumors that his grandchildren by his daughter, Rhaenyra, were really bastards sired by Harwin, thus he desired to keep the truth concealed and kill the man who had dishonored his daughter. — Fire & Blood, Heirs of the Dragon - A Question of Succession

I enjoy watching Game of Thrones: Histories and Lore. So when I began to watch the story about the Targaryen civil war, I’m quite interested.

These are the Velaryon princes, Jace, Luke, and Joffrey plus Aegon the Younger and Viserys.

This is Prince Lucerys Velaryon.

I’m quite interested that they all have silver-blonde hair instead of brown hair. Or perhaps it’s just an error on the colorist’s part.

[captainswanapproved]

An Indecent Proposal- Chapter 18

A03,Prologue, Chapter 1,Chapter 2,Chapter 3, Chapter 4,Chapter 5,Chapter 6,Interlude,Chapter 7,Chapter 8,Chapter 9,Chapter 10,Chapter 11,Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14, Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 17

Daemon x Rhaenyra Multichapter AU:

Daemon leaves Rhaenyra at her wedding feast. Rhaenyra marries Laenor. After a year of trying to do their duty and produce an heir, Rhaenyra writes to Daemon.

She needs a true Targaryen heir.

It only needs to be an arrangement of business, she says. And it would result in Daemon’s child one day taking the Iron Throne.

Daemon accepts the proposal and returns to court.

Only, ventures like these are never simple. As much as they would wish to, Daemon and Rhaenyra cannot let go of the past, or the feelings they once had for each other.

123 AC

Corlys Velaryon only truly cared about three things in this world. His lady wife, his children, and the future and legacy of House Velaryon.

Before his death, Laenor had asked that his son Lucerys be named heir to Driftmark.

But now, it had been revealed to him that Laenor had no true heirs. Prince Lucerys, in fact, belonged to Prince Daemon.

This very problem haunted Corlys as he fell ill, suffering from a dreadful sickness the maesters declared to be from Essos.

If he was meant to go to the Stranger, then who would inherit Driftmark?

As he saw it, three options stood before him. His daughter Laena. His brother Vaemond. Or Lucerys Targaryen.

Laena was married, and quite happy in King’s Landing. Eventually, she and her husband would go to Harrenhal, which Ser Harwin stood to inherit. Corlys did not think she would have much interest in returning to her childhood home.

Vaemond had no wife or children, and while he was still young enough to produce heirs, he was reckless and irresponsible. Under his rule, Driftmark might fall to ruin.

Then there was Lucerys Targaryen. He was not his blood, and no longer had the Velaryon name since he was legitimized by the King. But he was young, engaged to Corlys’s own granddaughter, and with the history of intermarriage between House Targaryen and House Velaryon, perhaps the prince was in possession of some amount of Velaryon blood.

But in truth, none of these three options was the ideal heir to Driftmark.

And so, he called his beloved wife back home.

Rhaenys arrived on the back of Meleys on a stormy day, drenched to the bone. Her gown clung to her body, and though his own body was overcome with fever, he still longed for her as he always had.

Rhaenys kissed her husband. “How are you faring, my love?”

“Not well at all,” Corlys said, “and yet, I still wish to rip that gown off and have my wicked way with you.”

Rhaenys smiled. “There will be time enough for that once you are recovered.”

“And if I do not recover?”

“You will. I command you to.”

“Rhaenys, we must discuss the matter, if only for my peace of mind. We must choose an heir.”

“Lucerys is your heir,” Rhaenys said.

“Lucerys is not our grandson. In name or blood.”

“It was Laenor’s final wish,” Rhaenys said. “Would you seriously consider giving the title to Vaemond? He would destroy everything you have worked so hard to build.”

“There is Laena,” Corlys said.

Rhaenys shook her head. “Laena doesn’t want it. She told me so before I left.”

“You truly wish for me to pass Driftmark to a Targaryen?”

“Yes. Luke is betrothed to Baela. One day they will have a son of their own, one with Velaryon blood. If you deny Lucerys, you will insult Rhaenyra and Daemon, and more importantly, you will insult Laenor.”

“Laenor is dead,” Corlys said. “He was the last trueborn Velaryon son and he died without issue.”

Rhaenys paled and her mouth tightened.

“What is it?” Corlys asked.

“I am going to tell you a secret, and you must never share it with another soul.” Rhaenys leaned over her husband and shared the secret she had been keeping for nearly three years.

Corlys’s expression darkened. “You and Laena have been lying to me.”

“We had to,” Rhaenys said. “You have been in the Stepstones, and we could not put such a thing in writing. I am sorry for the deception, but you can rest assured knowing that both of our children are leading happy lives.”

“And this is why you have pledged your loyalty to Princess Rhaenyra?”

“Yes. Their marriage was a sham, but Laenor loved Rhaenyra, and he respected Daemon. He made me swear that I would support them. But even without that, Rhaenyra is the best hope for a brighter future. She is capable and idealistic. She will make the realm better.”

“And her son?”

“Luke is a sweet boy. We can arrange for him to be your ward. You can teach him the traditions of our house, and he will honor them. I am sure of it.”

Corlys sat in silence for a long while after that, but at length he said, “Very well. Lucerys shall remain my heir.”

He was rewarded with a long and passionate kiss. “You will not regret it, my love.”

“I only hope Lucerys will not inherit my position for many years to come.”

***

Alicent left Viserys sated and sleepy. She prayed that this coupling would result in a child, for she did not know how much longer she could bear to have him touch her.

She was still furious that he had legitimized Rhaenyra’s bastards. Her own children were now so far down the line of succession that it would be impossible for Aegon to take the throne without fist slaughtering his half-sister, uncle, and every one of his nieces and nephews.

Her father had assured her that this was not the end of the world. When Viserys was out of the way, they would deal with Rhaenyra, Daemon, and their children, he had written. But Alicent was not so sure. They had six dragon between them, even if four were only hatchlings, and Alicent’s children had none.

Several missives sat on the desk in Alicent’s chambers. The top one was written in an unfamiliar hand. Alicent tore the letter open and read.

My Queen,

My brother Lord Corlys is gravely ill. He is intent upon keeping Lucerys Targaryen as his heir. This is an insult. I would not have the greatest navy in the Seven Kingdoms controlled by a boy of six. Nor would I have my birthright passed out of my family for the sake of a bastard boy.

I write to beg for your support before I travel to King’s Landing to petition the Crown.

If you grant me your support in this matter, than my ships and men will be at your disposal when your eldest makes a claim for the throne.

Vaemond Velaryon

This was an insult to honor and decency. Rhaenyra and her children had already stolen away Aegon’s birthright. She would not allow the bastard boy to claim Driftmark. It did not matter that her foolish husband had legitimized the brats.

With the rumors of Rhaenyra’s children settled, the small folk had turned their attention back to whispering about Daeron who was growing to resemble his father more and more with every passing moon, despite the effort she made to dye his hair.

Alicent penned a quick response and sent to Vaemond Velaryon. She would punish Rhaenyra and her bastards and gain access to the finest fleet in all of Westeros in one fell swoop.

***

Rhaenys Targaryen was loyal to a fault. As soon as she heard of Vaemond’s  planned challenge, she flew back to King’s Landing to inform Rhaenyra and Daemon in person.

So it was that on a day in the sixth moon of 123 AC that Rhaenys met with the Princess, Prince Consort, and Lucerys Targaryen in the Godswood.

Luke was dressed in Targaryen colors. The boy ran to Rhaenys and embraced her. In the years since Laenor’s flight, she had taken care to spend time with him. After all, he would one day be the Lord of High Tide and husband to her granddaughter. But the boy had drawn her in with his sweetness and charm. He called her grandmother, despite the fact that they both knew it to be a falsehood.

Rhaenys ruffled the boy’s hair and kissed his brow. “Good morrow, sweet boy. Tell me, how are your lessons with the dragon keepers going.”

“Muña and Kepus say that Meraxes, Vermax, and Arrax will soon be big enough to mount. They grew quickly in Dragonstone.”

“That is excellent news, my dear. But now we all must speak of something serious. Come to the table. Your mother called for your favorite lemon cakes.”

Rhaenys took the boy’s hand and led him back to his parents. Then she took the seat beside him at the iron table.

“What news do you bring from Driftmark, Cousin?” Daemon asked.

“Corlys has taken a turn for the worse. His survival is not guaranteed. As such, Vaemond intends to challenge Luke’s claim to Driftmark.”

“He cannot,” Rhaenyra said.

“Unfortunately, he can,” Daemon said. “But he will need the support of the Crown. Which he will not get. Viserys will defend Luke’s claim.”

“Are you certain? Vaemond was planning on seeking the Queen’s support, and Viserys has been rather enamored as of late.”

“He will,” Daemon said, though he sounded less than certain.

“Lucerys has our unfailing support. I intend to speak for Corlys when Vaemond makes his claim.”

“Kepus, Muña, Grandmother, I do not want Lord Corlys to die!” Fat tears were welling in Luke’s violet eyes.

Rhaenyra put an arm around Luke. “I know, sweet boy. But he is strong.”

“If he dies, I will have to leave home. I don’t want that,” Luke said.

“Ser Laenor wanted you to inherit his title, my love. One day, your brother and sister will rule the Seven Kingdoms, and you will support them. Driftmark and Dragonstone have always stood together.”

Luke looked from his mother to Rhaenys, his lip quivering.

“All will be well, Luke,” Rhaenys said. “My husband is strong. And one day, you and Baela will be happy at Driftmark. Many of us must leave home. It is our duty.”

Luke did love his cousin Baela, though she was three years his junior and too young to join them in their lessons. But he loved his life with his dragon, parents, and siblings. He did not want everything to change. “Would it be terrible if Vaemond was the heir instead of me?”

All three of the adults assured him that it would be. Lucerys Targaryen had been raised to follow duty and honor, and though he was a decade away from reaching his majority, he took this upbringing seriously. If he was meant to be the Lord of High Tide, he would do his best to meet the expectations of his family. He supposed the first challenge of that undertaking was standing before the Iron Throne against Vaemond Velaryon. But for the moment, he chose to eat another lemon cake.

***

Three days later, hundreds of people gathered in the throne room to witness the dispute over the future heir of Driftmark.

Rhaenyra, Daemon and their children stood in the throne room, dressed in their Targaryen best. They were joined by Rhaenys, Laena, and her twins, who were unfailingly loyal, and in support of Luke’s claim to Driftmark.

Alicent and her children were wearing the green of House Hightower and standing beside Vaemond Velaryon.

Rhaenyra wondered if she would ever be able to convince Viserys that Alicent was manipulating him for her own ends. Though Rhaenyra loved her father, he was loyal to a fault, and Alicent had earned his loyalty years ago, comforting him in the wake of Aemma’s death.

Viserys sat on the Iron Throne.

“We have gathered here today in the wake of Lord Corlys’s illness,” Viserys began. “Should he succumb to it, Driftmark will pass into the hands of a new heir. Alas, there is some dispute over who that heir might be. Princess Rhaenyra may speak first on behalf of her son.”

Rhaenyra stepped forward. “Your Grace, Driftmark should go to my son, Prince Lucerys Targaryen. It is true that he is not a Velaryon by blood, but Ser Laenor’s final wish was for Prince Lucerys to be named heir to Driftmark. Lord Corlys and Princess Rhaenys support Lucerys’s claim, as does the Lady Laena Strong. Lady Baela will one day marry Prince Lucerys, and she is the granddaughter of the current Lord of the Tides. House Velaryon and House Targaryen have always enjoyed a strong alliance. To pass over Prince Lucerys would be a grievous mistake.”

Viserys nodded and Rhaenyra stepped back.

Vaemond Velaryon approached the throne. “Your Grace, I am Lord Corlys’s brother. Lucerys Targaryen is a boy of six. By tradition, I should be the heir of Driftmark. I will make a strong match and produce true Velaryon heirs.”

“Is this all you have to say in the defense of your claims?” Viserys asked. “Have you any legitimate support? Princess Rhaenys, what do you have to say about your good-brother’s claim?”

Rhaenys stepped forward. “My good-brother is a scoundrel. He would be a disgrace to Driftmark and House Velaryon. Prince Lucerys is an excellent young man. With proper training, he will make House Velaryon proud, regardless his parentage. My son, Ser Laenor, claimed Lucerys as his own and knew that he was the correct choice.”

Rhaenyra watched Alicent carefully. The woman’s expression was guarded. Vaemond Velaryon, however, was infuriated. “Honor and decency support my claim to Driftmark.”

“And what exactly do you mean by this?” Viserys demanded in a booming voice.

“I do not care that they have been legitimized. My nephew was a fool. Prince Lucerys is a bastard. And his mother is a whore.”

Viserys rose from the throne and drew his dagger. “That is treason. I will have your tongue for this.”

But Rhaenyra looked to Daemon. “There will be no need, Father. Prince Daemon will bring me his head.”

Daemon drew Dark Sister and with one mighty swing, Vaemond Velaryon’s life was over.

Several women and children screamed, but Daemon merely turned to the king, wiped the blood off Dark Sister and said, “He can keep his tongue, Your Grace.”

Viserys was stunned but soon regained his composure. “Prince Lucerys Targaryen will remain the heir of Driftmark. We shall all pray for Lord Corlys’s swift recovery.”

“Your Grace,” Rhaenys said, stepping forward again, firmly ignoring the broken body of her kin.

“Yes, Princess?”

“I propose that when my husband recovers, Prince Lucerys goes to Driftmark as a ward. Lord Corlys will teach him how to be a proper Lord of the Tides.”

Viserys looked to Rhaenyra. “Princess Rhaenyra, does this meet with your approval?”

Rhaenyra nodded. “It would be our honor.”

“Very well. Consider this matter settled.”

Rhaenyra and Daemon led their children out of the throne room. Once they were in the courtyard Luke gathered his courage and approached his parents. “Muña, I am afraid for the future.”

“There is no need to be afraid, my love.” Rhaenyra said. “You will learn and you will make everyone proud.”

[dwellordream]

“Henry's marriage to Catherine had long since grown cold. Though his wife remained, and would remain, loyal and devoted, Henry was in very different case. The raptures of the early days had faded and the consequent demands upon him for self-discipline and generosity had found him wanting. Catherine was five years his senior. In I527 he was still in his prime, in his mid-thirties, she over forty. As king he could satisfy desire all too easily, for who would refuse a king easily, especially a king such as he? Fidelity was rare among monarchs and the temptation besetting him, in particular, strong.

At first Henry had been a gallant husband. Catherine had accompanied him to every feast and triumph, he had worn her initials on his sleeve in the jousts and called himself 'Sir Loyal Heart'. He had shown her off to visitors, confided in her, run to her with news. Though there had been talk of a lady to whom he showed favour while campaigning in France, he had slipped home ahead of his army and galloped to Catherine at Richmond in order to lay the keys of the two cities he had captured at her feet.

We cannot know when he first succumbed to the temptation of adultery, but it must have been within five years of his marriage, when there appeared on the scene one Elizabeth Blount, a lady-in-waiting of Queen Catherine and a cousin of Lord Mountjoy - and she may not have been the first. She caught the king's eye during the New Year festivities in I5I4, that is, shortly after he had returned from the first campaign in France. Bessie Blount eventually bore him a son, in I519. Subsequently she married into a gentle family, the Talboys of Lancashire, with a dower of lands in that county and Yorkshire assigned by act ofParliament. Hers, then, was a fate less than death; and her son, the duke of Richmond, was occasionally to acquire considerable political and diplomatic significance.

Next there was Mary Boleyn, since 1521 wife of William Carey, daughter of a royal councillor and diplomat, and sister of Anne. That Mary was at one time Henry's mistress, and this presumably after her marriage, is beyond doubt. Years later there was a strong rumour that she too had born Henry a son, but we cannot be sure. Anyway we may guess that the liaison was over by l526, and when her younger sister climbed on to the English throne, with perhaps pardonable pique, she dismissed Mary from the court. The latter was to do well enough, with her family at the centre of affairs during the reign of her niece, Elizabeth I - which was more than could be said of Bessie Blount. And finally there was Anne, Thomas Boleyn's younger daughter.

Following in the wake of her sister, who had been in the entourage that accompanied Mary Tudor to France in 1514, Anne had crossed the Channel about 1519 to enter the household of Queen Claude, wife of Francis I, an amiable lady who had several young girls in her care and supervised their education. The newcomer to the royal school must have been about twelve years old. She stayed in France until the out- break of war in 1522 and then came home, by which time she was on the way to becoming an accomplished and mature girl. She does not seem to have been remarkably beautiful, but she had wonderful dark hair in abundance and fine eyes, the legacy of Irish ancestors, together with a firm mouth and a head well set on a long neck that gave her authority and grace.

On her return, if not before, her future had apparently been settled, ironically by Henry and Wolsey. She would marry Sir James Butler, an Irish chieftain and claimant to the earldom of Ormond, to which the Boleyns, rivals of the Butlers, had long aspired. Anne was therefore to mend the feud by uniting families and claims. Had this familiar kind of device been executed, and had this been the sum total ofher experience ofhow marriage and politics could interweave, things might have been very different for England, if not for Ireland. But Butler's price was too high and Anne remained in England.

Her father, aided perhaps by her grandfather, the second duke of Norfolk, had meanwhile brought her to Court, as he had her sister before her. There she eventually attracted attention, first from Sir Thomas Wyatt, the poet, a cousin of hers; then from Henry Percy, son of the earl of Northumberland and one of the large number of young men of quality resident in Wolsey's household. Alas, Percy was already betrothed. At the king's behest, Wolsey refused to allow him to break his engagement and, summoning him to his presence, rated him for falling for a foolish girl at Court. When words failed, the cardinal told the father to remove his son and knock some sense into him. Percy was carried off forthwith- and thus began that antipathy for Wolsey that Anne never lost.

But it may well be that, when Henry ordered Wolsey to stamp on Percy's suit, it was because he was already an interested party himself and a rival for the girl's affection of perhaps several gay courtiers, including Thomas Wyatt. The latter's grandson later told a story ofhow Wyatt, while flirting once with Anne, snatched a locket hanging from her pocket which he refused to return. At the same time, Henry had been paying her attention and taken a ring from her which he thereafter wore on his little finger. A few days later, Henry was playing bowls with the duke of Suffolk, Francis Bryan and Wyatt, when a dispute arose about who had won the last throw.

Pointing with the finger which bore the pilfered ring, Henry cried out that it was his point, saying to Wyatt with a smile, 'I tell thee it is mine.' Wyatt saw the ring and understood the king's meaning. But he could return the point. 'And if it may like your majesty,' he replied, 'to give me leave that I may measure it, I hope it will be mine.' Whereupon he took out the locket which hung about his neck and started measuring the distance between the bowls and the jack. Henry recognized the trophy and, muttering something about being deceived, strode away.

But the chronology ofAnne's rise is impossible to discover exactly. All that can be said is that by I525-6 what had probably hitherto been light dalliance with an eighteen or nineteen year-old girl had begun to grow into something deeper and more dangerous. In the normal course of events, Anne would have mattered only to Henry's conscience, not to the history of England. She would have been used and discarded - along with those others whom Henry may have taken and who are now forgotten. But, either because of virtue or ambition, Anne refused to become his mistress and thus follow the conventional, inconspicuous path of her sister; and the more she resisted, the more, apparently, did Henry prize her.

Had Catherine's position been more secure she would doubtless have ridden this threat. Indeed, had it been so, Anne might never have dared to raise it. But Catherine had still produced no heir to the throne. The royal marriage had failed in its first duty, namely, to secure the succession. Instead, it had yielded several miscarriages, three infants who were either still-born or died immediately after birth (two of them males), two infants who had died within a few weeks ofbirth (one ofthem a boy) and one girl, Princess Mary, now some ten years old. His failure to produce a son was a disappointment to Henry, and as the years went by and no heir appeared, ambassadors and foreign princes began to remark the fact, and English diplomacy eventually to accommodate it, provisionally at least, in its reckoning.

Had Henry been able to glimpse into the second halfofthe century he would have had to change his mind on queens regnant, for his two daughters were to show quality that equalled or outmeasured their father's; and even during his reign, across the Channel, there were two women who rendered the Habsburgs admirable service as regents ofthe Netherlands. Indeed, the sixteenth century would perhaps produce more remarkable women in Church and State than any predecessor - more than enough to account for John Knox's celebrated anti-feminism and more than enough to make Henry's patriarchal convictions look misplaced. But English experience of the queen regnant was remote and unhappy, and Henry's conventional mind, which no doubt accorded with his subjects', demanded a son as a political necessity.

When his only surviving legitimate child, Mary, was born in February 1516, Henry declared buoyantly to the Venetian ambassador, 'We are both young; if it was a daughter this time, by the grace of God sons will follow.' But they did not. Catherine seems to have miscarried in the autumn of 1517 and in the November of the following year was delivered of another still-born. This was her last pregnancy, despite the efforts of physicians brought from Spain; and by 1525 she was almost past child-bearing age. There was, therefore, a real fear of a dynastic failure, of another bout of civil war, perhaps, or, if Mary were paired off as the treaty of 1525 provided, of England's union with a continental power.

Catherine, for the blame was always attached to her and not to Henry, was a dynastic misfortune. She was also a diplomatic one. Charles's blunt refusal to exploit the astonishing opportunity provided by his victory at Pavia and to leap into the saddle to invade and partition France had been an inexplicable disappointment. Of course, had Henry really been cast in the heroic mould he would have invaded single- handed. But established strategy required a continental ally. Eleven years before, in 1514., Ferdinand of Spain had treated him with contempt and Henry had cast around for means of revenge, and there had been a rumour then that he wanted to get rid of his Spanish wife and marry a French princess.

Whether Henry really contemplated a divorce then has been the subject of controversy, which surely went in favour of the contention that he did not - especially when a document listed in an eighteenth-century catalogue of the Vatican Archives, and thought to relate to the dissolution of the king's marriage - a document which has since disappeared - was convincingly pushed aside with the suggestion that it was concerned with Mary Tudor's matrimonial affairs, not Henry's. Undoubtedly, this must dispose of the matter even more decisively than does the objection that, in the summer of 1514, Catherine was pregnant. In 1525, however, the situation was different. Charles had rebuffed Henry's military plans and, by rejecting Mary's hand, had thrown plans for the succession into disarray.

For a moment the king evidently thought of advancing his illegitimate son - who, in June 1525, was created duke of Richmond. But this solution was to be overtaken by another which Henry may have been contemplating for some time, namely, to disown his Spanish wife. Catherine, therefore, was soon in an extremely embarrassing position. Tyndale asserted, on first-hand evidence, that \Volsey had placed informants in her entourage and told of one 'that departed the Court for no other reason than that she would no longer betray her mistress'.' When Mendoza arrived in England in December 1526, he was prevented for months from seeing the queen and, when he did, had to endure the presence of Wolsey who made it virtually impossible to communicate with her. It was the ambassador's opinion that 'the principal cause of [her] misfortune is that she identifies herselfentirely with the emperor's interests'; an exaggeration, but only an exaggeration.

The king, then, had tired of his wife and fallen in love with one who would give herself entirely to him only if he would give himself entirely to her; his wife had not borne the heir for which he and the nation longed, and it was now getting too late to hope; he had been disappointed by Catherine's nephew, Charles V, and now sought vengeance in a diplomatic revolution which would make the position of a Spanish queen awkward to say the least. Any one of these facts would not have seriously endangered the marriage, but their coincidence was fatal. If Henry's relations with Catherine momentarily improved in the autumn of 1525 so that they read a book together and appeared to be very friendly, soon after, probably, Henry never slept with her again.

The divorce, which came into the open in early 1527 was therefore due to more than a man's lust for a woman. It was diplomatically expedient and, so some judged, dynastically urgent. As well as this, it was soon to be publicly asserted, it was theologically necessary, for two famous texts from the book of Leviticus apparently forbade the very marriage that Henry had entered. His marriage, therefore, was not and never had been, lawful. The miscarriages, the still-births, the denial of a son were clearly divine punishment for, and proof of, transgression of divine law. Henry had married Catherine by virtue of a papal dispensation of the impediment of affinity which her former marriage to Arthur had set up between them.

But Leviticus proclaimed such a marriage to be against divine law - which no pope can dispense. So he will begin to say. And thus what will become a complicated argument took shape. Henry had laid his hand on a crucial weapon - the only weapon, it seemed, with which he could have hoped to achieve legitimately what he now desired above all else. How sincere he was is impossible to determine. More than most, he found it difficult to distinguish between what was right and what he desired. Certainly, before long he had talked, thought and read himself into a faith in the justice of his cause so firm that it would tolerate no counter-argument and no opposition, and convinced himself that it was not only his right to throw aside his alleged wife, but also his duty - to himself, to Catherine, to his people, to God.

At the time, and later, others would be accused of planting the great scruple, the levitical scruple, in Henry's mind. Tyndale, Polydore Vergil and Nicholas Harpsfield (in his life of Sir Thomas More) charged Wolsey with having used John Longland, bishop of Lincoln and royal confessor, to perform the deed. But this was contradicted by Henry, Longland and Wolsey. In 1529, when the divorce case was being heard before the legatine court at Blackfriars, Wolsey publicly asked Henry to declare before the court 'whether I have been the chiefinventor or first mover of this matter unto your Majesty; for I am greatly suspected of all men herein'; to which Henry replied, 'My lord cardinal, I can well excuse you herein. Marry, you have been rather against me in attempt- ing or setting forth thereof' - an explicit statement for which no obvious motive for misrepresentation can be found and which is corroborated by later suggestions that Wolsey had been sluggish in pushing the divorce forwards.

Longland too spoke on the subject, saying that it was the king who first broached the subject to him 'and never left urging him until he had won him to give his consent'. On another occasion Henry put out a different story: that his conscience had first been 'pricked upon divers words that were spoken at a certain time by the bishop of Tarbes, the French king's ambassador, who had been here long upon the debating for the conclusion of the marriage between the princess our daughter, Mary, and the duke of Orleans, the French king's second son'. It is incredible that an ambassador would have dared to trespass upon so delicate a subject as a monarch's marriage, least of all when he had come to negotiate a treaty with that monarch.

Nor was it likely that he should have sug- gested that Mary was illegitimate when her hand would have been very useful to French diplomacy. Besides, the bishop of Tarbes only arrived in England in April 1527, that is, a few weeks before Henry's marriage was being tried by a secret court at Westminster. The bishop could not have precipitated events as swiftly as that. No less significantly, another account ofthe beginnings of the story, given by Henry in 1528, says that doubts about Mary's legitimacy were first put by the French to English ambassadors in France - not by the bishop of Tarbes to his English hosts.

He and his compatriots may have been told about the scruple or deliberately encouraged by someone to allude to it in the course of negotiations, but did not invent it; nor, probably, did Anne Boleyn - as Pole asserted. It is very likely that Henry himselfwas the author ofhis doubts. After all, he would not have needed telling about Leviticus. Though he might not have read them, the two texts would probably have been familiar to him if he had ever explored the reasons for the papal dispensation for his marriage, and he was enough of a theologian to be able to turn to them now, to brood over them and erect upon them at least the beginnings of the argument that they forbade absolutely the marriage which he had entered.

Wolsey said later that Henry’s doubts had sprung partly from his own study and partly from discussion with 'many theologians'; but since it is difficult to imagine that anyone would have dared to question the validity of the royal marriage without being prompted by the king, this must mean that the latter's own 'assiduous study and erudition' first gave birth to the 'great scruple' and that subsequent conference with others encouraged it. Moreover, Henry may have begun to entertain serious doubts about his marriage as early as 1522 or 1523, and have broached his ideas to Longland then - for, in 1532, the latter was said to have heard the first mutterings of the divorce 'nine or ten years ago'.'

By the time that Anne Boleyn captured the king, therefore, the scruple may already have acquired firm roots, though probably not until early 1527 was it mentioned to Wolsey who, so he said, when he heard about it, knelt before the king 'in his Privy Chamber the space of an hour or two, to persuade him from his will and appetite; but I could never bring to pass to dissuade him therefrom'. What had begun as a perhaps hesitant doubt had by now matured into aggressive conviction.”

- J.J. Scarisbrick, “The Repudiation of the Hapsburgs.” in Henry VIII

[busdriver-55]

Heir and Heiress AU

If Stars Never Gleam by Evangel10n: Rey is invited to spend the holidays at the Solo estate with Leia, Han, and their awful son, Ben. Ben Solo and Rey Palpatine both loathe each other with ferocity backed up by years of being childhood enemies. Will this be the year they settle their differences, letting the past die once and for all, or will they crash and burn? All The Money In The World by @hersisterskeeper: Ben Organa-Solo was well aware and rather fond of his reputation. He had been made aware of his place in life via a New York Post cover when he had graduated high school, which called him a party animal and heartbreaker and some more things of the like, and well, he rather liked the sound of that, thanks very much. He's the wild child of the rich Skywalker family and is very good at his job. Meanwhile, Rey Kenobi, an heiress in her own right and a Vogue photographer, is very careful and aware of risks that should and shouldn't be taken. To her, Ben Solo is her worst nightmare: careless, reckless, just asking to end up dead from his vices-- not unlike her parents. Not even all the money in the world could make this worth it-- right? Unfortunately, thanks to a Ben Solo hissyfit, she's responsible for getting his photo in the next issue of Vogue, which leads to her personally dragging Ben down a long and convoluted road to redemption-- kicking and screaming. Claiming a Fortune and a Family by ClaireLou: Rey Snoke has bent to her Fathers demands, Marry Billionaire Ben Solo and produce a Grandson. Both men have something to gain from this business deal. Ben Gets back a lost family treasure and Reginald Snoke gains a legitimate Heir to the Snoke fortune. But what about Rey? Rey made Ben believe she was in it solely for the money, that was her only choice, the real reason is something she cant share until she provides a Grandson for her father. Being married to Ben Solo was supposed to be just a transaction, Baby then money, then island, but it was proving to be a little bit more. She needs to keep her secrets hidden, but that's so hard when the passion she shares with her husband makes her want to reveal everything. Of Gods and Muses by X_Craven: Ben Solo was a world-renowned jeweller until a car accident scarred and crippled him for life. He's sequestered himself in the mountains, still working on his craft, but not once showing himself in public. His mother arranges a marriage for him with the Palpatine Heiress to expand the business and hopefully get her son out of the dark and into the sunlight once more. A Night at the Opera by born_awkward2: Prince Benjamin marries eighteen year old heiress Rey Palpatine by proxy and promptly leaves England for the continent, returning three years later after hearing his wife is going to have the marriage dissolved due to non-consummation. Aware also that his business manager, Snoke, has almost complete control over his fortune. Visiting the opera he claps eyes on the most exquisite woman he has ever seen. He asks his friend Armitage Hux who she is. Hux replies; ‘Your wife’ ... A String Attached To Your Heart by Lenkia: Ben never cared for soulmates. It destroyed his parent's lives. He'll be damned if it'll happen to him too. So when he meets Rey, his 16-year old, rich soulmate, he immediately denies her. Ben is not going to jail. Even if laws are different for Soulmate Connections, he still has some kind of morality! But when he finds out about Rey's loneliness, the identical feeling of being unwanted as a child matching his, guilt almost drowns him. Feeling the need to help her from the pain he suffered too, Ben bonds with Rey to fill out her loneliness. Totally innocent. Nothing odd. But it won't take long before the association starts to affect... 

[orsuliya]

I'm the only one who laughed when Wang Lin just said to his son: "okay go to war if you want, live or die, it's your problem, but first give me a grandson TOMORROW", like Huan Mi isn't even pregnant, nor will she be in 100 years because the couple does not have sex, and everyone in the house quite knows it, and yet Daddy Wang seriously asks for this impossible compromise 😂😂😂 I can't help to love him. He's not a good father but I still love him

Time for honesty hour! My very first reaction to Daddy Wang’s demand? You want a grandson, better make him yourself! I kid you not. Although on a second thought, it really should have been: You want a grandson, better get yourself another son.

Ah, Daddy Wang, he’s one of a kind. Despicable, to be sure, and a smug bastard to boot, but what a magnificent bastard all the same! And ever oh so hilarious! Now, he might have not won me over before his supposed death, although he had his moments (ahem, Turnip in a pond!), but after that? Either absence makes the heart grow fonder or he took a level in Magnificent Bastard during his little vacay to the underworld. Or perhaps the mess that Cheng quickly becomes during his absence revealed the extent of his true competence. Or all of the above.

Although I will never forgive him for trying to get rid of Miracle Baby. It was such a stupid, startlingly short-sighted move and not just because Miracle Baby is our Lord and Saviour. Let’s leave aside all the political implications, there is also the matter of that pressing lack of grandsons. Turnip is pretty much it as far as Daddy Wang’s potential imperial heirs go and Turnip, as we know, is neither all that reliable or, more concerningly, all that competent at the ever-important business of producing legitimate grandsons.

And no, even wearing the bling-blingiest robe that ever robed or bling-blinged shall not redeem Daddy Wang in my eyes.

[ddagent]

So, I know Olenna killed Joffrey, but I still wouldn't have put it past Tywin to kill his grandson in order to set up a chain of events forcing his eldest son to finally marry and produce legitimate heirs.

[historywithlaura]

ADOLPHUS

Duke of Cambridge

(born 1774 - died 1850)

pictured above is a portrait of the Duke of Cambridge, by Sir William Beechey from the 1800s

-------------------- ~ -------------------- ~ --------------------

SERIES - Descendants of the Monarchs of Ireland: Adolphus was a son of George III, King of the United Kingdom, the King of Ireland from 1760.

-------------------- ~ -------------------- ~ --------------------

ADOLPHUS FREDERICK was born in 1774, at the Queen's House in London (the place that would later be known as Buckingham Palace), he was the seventh son of George III, King of Great Britain and Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

A member of the British branch of the HOUSE OF HANOVER, he was from birth a PRINCE OF GREAT BRITAIN.

The British Hanoverians kept their ties to the Electorate of Hanover in the Holy Roman Empire. In 1786 he and his older brothers Prince Ernest Augustus and Prince Augustus Frederick were sent to study at the University of Göttingen, that had been founded in 1734 by their great-grandfather Georg II, Elector of Hanover (also George II, King of Great Britain).

Around 1789-91 he and his brother Prince Ernest Augustus joined the Hanoverian Army and began their military training. He was soon sent to the battlefield in the War of the First Coalition against the French Republic.

At 1800-01 the Acts of Union that united Great Britain and Ireland were passed and he became a PRINCE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.

During the War of the Second Coalition he acted as a mediator in Prussia and in 1801 his father created him DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE, EARL OF TIPPERARY and BARON CULLODEN.

He continued to fight against France in the other Coalition Wars that were part of the Napoleonic Wars until the first defeat of Napoléon I, Emperor of the French in 1814.

From 1813 he acted as MILITARY GOVERNOR OF HANOVER. And after the Electorate was recognized as Kingdom in 1814 he acted as GOVERNOR GENERAL and as VICEROY from 1816, serving three Monarchs: his father King Georg III; his brother King Georg IV; and another brother King Wilhelm IV.

By 1817 the Hanoverian British Royal Family suffered a succession crisis after the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales while giving birth, as she was the only child of George, Prince Wales (the eldest brother of the Duke of Cambridge) and the the second-in-line to the throne.

Some of King George III's sons were married but their children rather died early or were not considered legitimate, and the daughters were too old to even try to have children of their own. So the sons who were still single, including the Duke of Cambridge, rushed to get married and produce heirs to the throne.

In 1818 he married AUGUSTE WILHELMINE LOUISE, a Princess of Hesse-Kassel as the daughter of Prince Friedrich of Hesse-Kassel and Princess Karoline of Nassau-Usingen. They lived in Hanover where their three children were born.

After the death of his brother King William IV in 1837 he was succeeded by their niece Queen Victoria in the United Kingdom. However do to the Salic Law she could not succeed in Hanover and his eldest living brother succeeded as Ernst August I, King of Hanover.

With Hanover having its own King living there, there was no need for a Viceroy anymore and the Duke of Cambridge returned to England with his family.

Aged 76 the Duke of Cambridge died, in 1850 at his London residence, Cambridge House.

-------------------- ~ -------------------- ~ --------------------

Descendants of the Duke of Cambridge include five Monarchs of the United Kingdom:

Princess Mary of Teck (wife of King George V), her sons

King Edward VIII and

King George VI, her granddaughter

Queen Elizabeth II, and her great-grandson

King Charles III.

-------------------- ~ -------------------- ~ --------------------

Check my post on ADOLPHUS' father and his connections to the Monarchs of Ireland!

His father was George III, King of the United Kingdom - the King of Ireland between 1760-1800/01.

[randomnameless]

On the topic of “revised history”, I remembered I heard during some class at uni something about origo gentis being used as a corner stone to create a national identity, and of couse thought about some bullshit regarding FE16 :

Warning : serious nonsensical bullshit under the cut

basically, origo gentis are epic chronicles that are actually a load of historical bullcrap but they paint “your ancestors” in a superb good light with dubious genealogy stuff to make sure that you will be proud to be a part of your gent because your gent is so awesome and descends from enlightned people who aren’t alive anymore :’( or to legitimize a conquest (Wilhelm the Conqueror wasn’t some douchebag from Normandy wanting to be famous, he was actually mandated by an old celtic/britton (?) king to help him defend against those barbarian saxons! So of course he’s totally legitimate!)

And that is how, in the 8th century some guys, using a fanfiction written in the 6th by Gregory of Tours, came to the conclusion that Franks were actually the descendants of Trojan refugees who founded Sicambria in Hungary and Franks weren’t germanic barbarians, nope m8, they (we) totally were descendants from the advanced and refined greek civilisation.

So of course one would be proud to be Frank, leading one of the basis of some sort of Frank identity while also reclaiming some greek/roman heritage because everyone had a hard-on for ancient Rome back in the days.

With that being said,

Fodlan AU : Liber Historiae Faergusum (apologies for pig latin i didn’t play a lot of Square Enix games when i was younger)

thank @ultrakatua​ for launching me on the general vagueness in the game about Seiros’ descendants

After Loog got rid random Adrestian Emperor and managed to get his independance, the Faergusians thought they needed something else than Archbishop Rheond (rhea with a blond wig)’s approval, especially to create a true Faergusian culture and not just be known around as “those barbarians in the north”.

Pan said to slender Adrestia saying it was ruled by shapeshifting beasts hiding in the light, but Kyphon got rid of Pan.

Still, they had to find a reason to explain why they removed themselves from Saint Seiros’ Empire, given how Seiros is the mythical hero of the era and Blaiddyd was just one of her randoms, a mere Elite, of course everyone would prefer to be a part of the Empire blessed by Seiros, more advanced, than part of the Kingdom, now blessed by the Church, but hey, Archbishop Rheond’s blessing isn’t on par with Seiros’. Also, the Emperors descend from Seiros herself, a Saint. Loog is only one of Blaiddyd’s descendants, it isn’t as prestigious.

One of Dominic’s descendants then thought about writing an origo gentis for Faergus. He founded a special order composed of theologists and philosophers which came to be later reknown around the continent for its intellectual tradition (it became an obligation for every member of House Dominic to attend the Magical Academy because Dominic = savants in Faergus). The members of the Western Church were also involved in the Dominician Order - Central Church told them not to interfere with political matters but the members of the Western Church retorked that Seiros herself participated to the creation of the Empire, so they’re doing the same thing here.

Rhea raided a secret cache of chamomile after receiving that answer

What they came with was : 

Just before marching to his last battle, Emperor Wilhelm and Saint Seiros had another son - Lycaon’s brother. Since that new son was second, he was not in line for the throne.

The war ended, but Lycaon was assassinated. Lycaon had no surviving male heir, so the throne should have passed to his younger brother

the male heir picked by the Empire wasn’t actually Lycaon’s child, but a bastard fathered by a member of the senate, the Emperor always had doubts about his son’s parentage but no one found his will, only his “treacherous” wife assisted to his death

The Senate tried to use this position to get rid of Great Emperor’s Wilhelm’s line and seize control of Adrestia ; Second son was sent to the northern limes to protect the empire from the barbarians of Sreng and also maintain peace

Meanwhile, in Adrestia, Lycaon’s not child had a son with one of his Lycaon’s I daughter, eww incest, so the Adrestian line is completely rotten but they managed to keep a Crest of Seiros

technically it would not be incest if Lycaon’s son wasn’t really his, but the Western Church then theologised something about milk-siblings being like full-blooded siblings if they shared the same wet-nurse and of course they did

plus if you acknowledge that Lycaon had no son his daughter couldn’t produce and Emperor or a new Imperial line because she was a woman and male primogeniture was trendy/and useful here so it became part of the Western Church’s dogma of that time.

Second son was doing such a splendid job that everyone rallied behind him as the true Emperor of Adrestia, but he did not want to start a new war in the already recovering Fodlan, so he remained in the North (of course, the actual Faergus).

He founded Firdiad and married Blaiddyd’s last daughter

Blaiddyd’s line is actually the one who should rule over Adrestia

which made Pan return a few decades later saying they should totally war against the Empire to recover their birthright and slaughter the Archbishop for some reason

Kyphon’s great grandson kicked Pan away again

But Adrestia became decadent and rotten to the core, only seeking their own enrichment and their own pleasure instead of “defending the people” like Seiros herself would have done had she not died in mysterious circumstances

Loog had actually all authority, lineage and spiritual, to have founded the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and Adrestia sucks - we Faergusians are the real descendants of the heroes who won against Nemesis, not those decadent people of Adrestia!

This bullshit was believed for around 200 years (to Rhea’s chagrin, she nearly emptied her secret marijuana stash but young!Jeralt made her reconsider the idea of being stoned for the next 300 years) until Margrave Gautier of this era said fuck, why should we hail the fact that we come from the Empire, we won our independance with weapons, strength and bravery from Loog, it is him who should be hailed as a hero, not the fact that he descends from Great Emperor Wilhelm.

Everyone was okay with dropping the origo gentis, save for the Western Church who came to believe it, because hey, they supported the real Seiros line, unlike those losers from the Central church who were supporting the Empire - they should be the ones calling the shots!

(but no one cared about them, save for Pan who mysteriously returned and began slithering around “yes the central church sucks, you should kill the Archbishop”)

Sadly, the fact that they dropped the Adrestian narrative had been a stone in the creation of the Leicester Alliance - who pretty much adored and loved the glorious history of Adrestia and tried to replicate it, instead of embracing the Kinngdom’s more martial values.

Rhea was overjoyed when the mention of her supposed child disappeared from history, only to be revived by Seteth when he returned 20 years before the beginning of the game, politely asking her what the fuck

they both had chamomile

[ao3feed--reylo]

Claiming a Fortune and a Family

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2Z0Lo6U

by ClaireLou

Rey Snoke has bent to her Fathers demands, Marry Billionaire Ben Solo and produce a Grandson. Both men have something to gain from this business deal. Ben Gets back a lost family treasure and Reginald Snoke gains a legitimate Heir to the Snoke fortune. But what about Rey? Rey made Ben believe she was in it solely for the money, that was her only choice, the real reason is something she cant share until she provides a Grandson for her father. Being married to Ben Solo was supposed to be just a transaction, Baby then money, then island, but it was proving to be a little bit more. She needs to keep her secrets hidden, but that's so hard when the passion she shares with her husband makes her want to reveal everything.

Words: 9849, Chapters: 2/10, Language: English

Fandoms: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: F/M

Characters: Rey (Star Wars), Ben Solo, Snoke (Star Wars), Hux (mentioned), Finn (Star Wars), Poe Dameron, Phasma (Star Wars), Original Child Character(s), Leia (mentioned), Maz

Relationships: Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey & Snoke (Star Wars), Poe Dameron/Finn, Rey/Kylo Ren

Additional Tags: AU, Arranged Marriage, Unwanted wife, Unwanted husband, Family Secrets, Rey Solo, Paying for it, Multi Chapter, Mills and Boon, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Sharing a Bed, sharing feelings is not easy, Bens abit of an arse, not forever though, Rey has her reasons, very good reasons, Pregnancy, based on a book, Sort of kidnapping, but in a good way, Pregnancy Related Illness, Poorly child (nothing major), Getting away from a bad dad, Lots Of Name Calling, Arguements aplenty, Why cant they just tell each other the truth, Everyone has really good reasons for doing what they are doing, If they told each other we wouldnt have a story

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2Z0Lo6U

[londonpubcrawl]

The Kings and Queens of England and Britain

Here are a few facts about the monarchs who ruled when your pub was founded, along with a few interesting facts about each.

House of Tudor

Henry VIII 1509-1547

A serial bridegroom, Henry VIII famously had two wives beheaded (along with two he divorced, one who outlived him and a sixth who just upped and died). He also “reformed” the church and forced Catholics to go into hiding. A bit on the heavy side, he had repulsively ulcerated legs – though no-one seemed prepared to point this out to him. Claimed to have written Greensleeves.

Edward VI 1547-1553

Edward VI was the only son of Henry VIII. A scholarly lad and a Protestant like his Dad, he died aged 15 which meant he achieved very little other than puberty. Desperate to keep the monarchy in the Protestant faith, he earmarked his young cousin Lady Jane Grey as his successor. But his rampant Catholic sister Marty had other ideas and poor Jane lasted just nine days as Queen before being beheaded.

Mary I 1553-1558

Her childhood took a bad turn when she and her Mum (Catherine of Aragon) were replaced in Dad’s affections by Anne Boleyn and her daughter Elizabeth. A Catholic like her Mum, she married Philip of Spain and had several phantom pregnancies but no actual babies. Burnt a lot of Protestants.

Elizabeth I 1558-1603

Mary’s younger sister was famous for being a virgin (allegedly). Being a Protestant she was the object of numerous Catholic plots so surrounded herself with spies to keep her safe. Had plenty of male friends but never married.

The Stuarts

James I 1603-1625

Wheeled in from Scotland when Elizabeth produced no heir, James was the son of Mary Queen of Scots who Elizabeth had had beheaded. James was allegedly frightened of witches and easily duped by his medical advisors.

Charles I 1625-1649

Famously believed in the divine right of kings. Charles I signed his own death warrant by finding himself a Catholic bride during a pro-Protestant era; imposing unfair taxes on the people and dissolving Parliament whenever it didn’t agree with him. Was beheaded at the Banqueting House in Whitehall.

Charles II 1660-1685

Restored to the throne after the Commonwealth period, the son of beheaded Charles I spent his reign trying not to upset anyone. He was a jolly chap with many mistresses including the orange-seller Nell Gwyn. Had no legitimate children.

James II 1685-1688

Charles II’s brother learned nothing from history and was openly Catholic. As a result he was pretty unpopular and the subject of many plots, the architects of which were generally put to death by Hanging Judge Jeffreys. He was eventually banished to France by his daughter and nephew.

William and Mary 1689-1702

Reigned together because William (of Orange) refused play second fiddle to Mary, his cousin and bride. Once in England William spent much of his time away fighting battles. The couple shunned the Palace of Whitehall – the traditional Royal seat – in favour of Kensington Palace because Whitehall’s central location aggravated William’s asthma. Perhaps this saved them from the 1698 fire?. Had no children.

Anne 1702-1714

Mary’s younger sister had loads of children but all of them tragically died in the womb or in infancy. Queen Anne’s legs are famous – not her own, but the ones on contemporary chairs and tables. Her actual legs weren’t much cop because she developed dropsy and had to be carried about in a sedan chair. Had a square named after her.

The Georgians

George I 1714-1727

Anne’s distant cousin turned up from Germany when she died childless but the fact that George I spoke no English went down like a lead balloon with the xenophobic British. A quiet, dour chap, he didn’t much like his wife. Nor his heir, come to think of it.

George II 1727-1760

Slightly less foreign than his Dad, the second Georgian nonetheless spent much of his time in Germany and earned his subjects’ scorn as a result. Like his Dad he managed to fall out with his heir, Frederick, who died before he could become king.

George III 1760-1820

Frederick’s son and George II’s grandson, George III had a bit of a tough reign on account of the American Wars of Independence, the French Revolution and so on. Maybe that’s why he went a bit mad. Spent a lot of time in Weymouth, swimming in the sea to help cure his madness. Unsurprisingly it didn’t work and his odious son had to step in as Prince Regent. His wife tried to stave off his madness with a special diet.

George IV 1820-1830

A bit of a nasty piece of work, George IV was extravagant, fashion-conscious and obese. He acted as Prince Regent during his Dad’s bouts of madness and when he was eventually crowned King he banned his wife from the coronation. Some say he poisoned her.

William IV 1830-1837

George’s nicer, younger brother had the common touch and would hobnob with his subjects and invite himself to dinner. William IV had 10 children by his long-term mistress but none by his wife, which meant his niece had to succeed him.

The Victorian

Victoria 1837-1901

Victoria’s long reign included everything from The Crimean War and Charles Dickens to the Boer War and workhouses. She had nine children but was more interested in her husband, Albert, who died relatively young of typhoid. She wore black thereafter and blamed his death on her eldest son who was always getting into scandals. The Princess Louise was named after one of her daughters.

The Edwardian

Edward VII 1901-1910

Despite his philandering Edward was a broad-minded fellow with more enlightened views on India and the Jewish community than his peers. He invented the Sunday roast and popularised the Homburg hat.

The Windsor's

George V 1910-1936

A shy, stamp-collecting chap who didn’t want to be king but was left no choice after the death of his elder brother, Albert. Made a decent fist of it, particularly during the tricky First-World War years.

Edward VIII 1936-1936

King for less than a year, Edward VIII had no interest in state affairs and was generally a damp squib of a monarch. So it was good news when his liaison with an American divorcee forced him to abdicate even before his handsome face had had a chance to grace our coinage.

George VI 1936-1952

Like his father, George had no desire to be king and had never expected to ascend to the throne. But when his brother abdicated this quiet, stammering royal was suddenly forced into the limelight. Earned the respect of his subjects during World War II by staying in London rather than leaving town.

Elizabeth II 1952 – ?

Look her up on the internet, she's everywhere...

[pamphletstoinspire]

Understanding The Bible - A Practical Guide To Each Book In The Bible - Part 8

Written by: PETER KREEFT

EIGHT

________

National Happiness from Personal Holiness: First and Second Samuel

The historical books of the Bible were not designed, either by men or by God, merely to satisfy our natural curiosity about past events, but to guide our present lives and choices to ensure our future supernatural blessedness. To look for “lessons” in these books, therefore, is not an arbitrary imposition of an external, alien point of view. For God, unlike man, writes lessons not only in words but also in events. He is the primary Author of the book of history as well as of these historical books.

There are many memorable “lessons” in First and Second Samuel (How naive, unfashionable, and “moralistic” the very word “lesson” sounds to our modern ears! In that psychological fact itself there lies a lesson.) Among them, one of the most prominent and relevant to our own time is the dependence of a nation’s happiness on its leaders’ personal holiness.

First and Second Samuel contrast the personalities of good but weak Eli with good and strong Samuel, strong but selfish Saul with idealistic David, David as obedient with David as disobedient; and they show how these contrasts, these choices, will determine all of Israel’s subsequent history. The difference between a two-degree angle and a three-degree angle is perhaps only a fraction of an inch in the beginning, close to its origin. But when the lines are extended through space, as history is extended through time, the difference becomes a matter of many miles.

First Samuel traces Israel’s history from the birth of Samuel, last of the judges, to the death of Saul, Israel’s first king. Second Samuel traces the rule of David, Israel’s greatest king.

First Samuel: The Age of Kingship Emerges

Samuel, the last judge, anoints Saul, the first king. A new age emerges through this transition. “Anointing” was a quasi-sacramental, symbolic pouring of oil onto the head of the man God chose. It publicly signified and certified God’s choice. The title Christ or Messiah means “the anointed one” or “the chosen one”. The Jewish kings as God’s chosen ones and the Jews as God’s “chosen people” foreshadow and prepare for Christ, God’s Chosen Person.

Before the transition from Samuel to Saul, we see a transition from Eli, the old priest, to Samuel, the young prophet. At a time when “the word of the LorD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision” (3:1), God called Samuel, dramatically but quietly, in the night. And Samuel gave the perfect, classic response to God’s call, just as Mary was to do a thousand years later with her fiat. Samuel said simply, “Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears” (3:9). Only because Samuel first listened to God, did Israel listen to Samuel: “When Samuel spoke, all Israel listened” (3:21, TEV). This is the key to all effective preaching, pastoring, and priestly work.

The people asked Samuel for a king, “like all the nations” (8:5). Like us modern Americans, they didn’t want to be different. This disappointed God (God is not an American), but God let them have their foolish way (8:6-9) to teach them—the hard way.

They chose Saul as their king, not for his wisdom or holiness but for his “image”, as we would put it today: “There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he . . . he was taller than any of the people” (9:2).

The time of Saul, like most times, was full of corruption. Eli’s wicked sons, ruling at Shiloh, were so bad that God sent terrible judgment on the nation. Israel was defeated in battle by the Philistines (chap. 4). Eli’s sons were killed. And Eli died in grief and horror at hearing that the ark of the covenant, God’s visible throne in Israel and the holiest object in the world, was captured. It was almost as if a Satanist were to steal the Eucharist for a Black Mass. Eli’s daughter-in-law died in childbirth upon hearing the news, and named her son Ichabod, which means “the glory has departed”.

But Saul was not the answer to the departed glory. Though for a time he gave Israel military glory and victory, he proved to be an evil king (13:8-14; 15:10-23; 28:3-17). He was envious of David and sought to murder him, even though David was God’s anointed.

David was protected from Saul by his friend Jonathan, Saul’s son and heir. The friendship between David and Jonathan is a classic, model friendship. Jonathan gave up to David his legitimate claim to be king (20:30-31) because of his loyalty to David and because of his loyalty to God, for he knew God had chosen David to be king (chap. 18).

The crisis and culmination of Saul’s dissolution and self-destruction came when he played with the occult—something God had forbidden with frightening strictness (Ex 22:18; Deut 18:9-12). Once Saul conjured up the spirit of the dead prophet Samuel through the mediumship of the Witch of En-Dor (chap. 28), it was too late: Saul lost his kingdom, his life, and probably his soul. Samuel told him, “The LorD has turned from you and become your enemy” (28:16; compare Mt 7:23). Saul’s story is a story of crime and punishment, a moral tragedy.

Second Samuel: Israel’s Brief Golden Age

But David’s story is one of glory. David is Israel’s model king, the standard by which all subsequent kings are judged. David is one of the primary Old Testament types or symbols for Christ:

  1. He is a king.

  2. He is born in Bethlehem.

  3. He is anointed (“Christ”).

  4. He is “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Sam 13:14).

  5. He experiences rejection and danger, and out of it composes some of the great messianic psalms, such as the one (Ps 22) Jesus quoted on the Cross.

  6. He is the literal ancestor of Christ, who is frequently called “the son of David” and “descended from David according to the flesh” (Rom 1:3).

  7. Like Christ, David forgives and spares his enemies. On two occasions, he spared Saul’s life when Saul was seeking his (chaps. 24-26).

King David is a type of Christ the King. It is difficult for us Americans to love kings, for our nation was born in a rebellion against a bad king. Yet Christ is a king as well as prophet and priest. The Church has not designed for us “the Feast of Christ the President”, but the Feast of Christ the King. Christ did not preach “the administration of God”, but “the Kingdom of God”.

God promised David through Nathan the prophet that the Messiah would be descended from him. This hope for an even greater king than David was kept alive in Israel during the dark times of decline, corruption, civil war, exile, and captivity that were to follow for many long generations after David. The New Testament refers to Nathan’s prophecy and Christ’s fulfillment of it three times (Acts 2:30; 2 Cor 6:18; and Heb 1:5). David is the connecting hinge between Abraham, who first received the promise, and Christ, who finally fulfilled it; he is halfway between Abraham (about 2000 B.C.) and Christ.

David wanted to build God’s house, the temple, but God decreed that it should be built instead by David’s son Solomon, a man of peace. David wanted to build a house for God, but instead God built a house for David. The “house of David” is a dynasty divinely guaranteed to produce not just a great temporal kingdom but an eternal one (see Lk 1:32-33). The prophecy was fulfilled: David’s dynastic line was preserved right down to the time of the Messiah, who was David’s great-great-great-etc.-grandson. In the northern kingdom of Israel, there were nine different family dynasties, but in Judah only one. Judah and Benjamin were the only tribes that remained until the time of Christ; the other ten were scattered and lost.

The characters of Eli, Samuel, Saul, Nathan, and David are vivid and memorable because they are realistic. Though David is Israel’s greatest king and a type of Christ, Second Samuel does not idealize him or gloss over his sins.

Second Samuel tells David’s story as both history and biography. For the fate of the nation and of David are intertwined. The spiritual law of cause and effect is not only individual but also social. David’s spiritual success brought about God’s blessing not only in his private life, but also in the life of the nation; and David’s spiritual failures necessarily brought down God’s judgment not only on him and his family, but also on his nation.

David’s remarkable political “rags to riches” story (from shepherd boy to king) and his remarkable military success in quenching civil war and enforcing peace stemmed from his personal friendship with God and obedience to God’s will. Then came the turning point in his life: his adultery with Bathsheba and his arranging the murder of her husband Uriah. The book then chronicles the tragic consequences of these sins for his family and for the nation.

These consequences start to unravel when Bathsheba’s new baby by David dies shortly after birth. Later one of David’s sons, Amnon, commits incest with his half-sister Tamar. Then David’s beloved son Absalom, the full blood-brother of Tamar, murders his half-brother Amnon to avenge his sister, leads a military revolt against his father David, and is killed by David’s general Joab. One of the most poignantly agonizing passages in the Bible is David’s grief over Absalom: “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (18:33).

Nathan’s prophecy is fulfilled: God sends a sword into David’s house. Not only family disaster but also national disaster come: famine, war with Philistia, and, later, the renewed civil war under Solomon’s sons that would split Israel forever.

The brief “Golden Age” Israel enjoyed lasted only one or two generations: part of David’s rule and part of Solomon’s. The rest is troubled times. Saul began in glory but ended in ruin. So did Solomon. Only David remained God’s man, through repentance. David did not attain the best thing, personal purity and perfection, but he attained the next best thing, repentance. This was crucial for the nation. David’s repentance held Israel together and staved off God’s judgment for another generation.

One of the most arresting passages in Scripture is the scene of this repentance. Nathan the prophet confronts David with his crimes by his parable of the rich man who stole the poor man’s single sheep. David is impaled by its stunning punch line: “You are the man.” After reading 2 Samuel 12:1-15, read Psalm 51, the great prayer of repentance that David wrote after this sudden self-knowledge. It is a favorite of many of the saints, for all saints know themselves to be sinners, and this is the great sinner’s Psalm.

Here are four short and simple lessons for our time and our nation from First and Second Samuel.

1. Most times are times of trouble. Prosperity and peace are the exception, not the rule.

2. Personal sins produce national tragedies. Just as the sins of the fathers have consequences in the lives of their children (Ex 20:5-6), the sins of the rulers have consequences in the life of the nation. This law does not change when kings change to presidents.

3. There exists an unavoidable law of spiritual cause and effect, as universal and as objective as the law of gravity: the only road to blessing is obedience, and the road to judgment is disobedience to God’s laws.

4. But it’s never too late. David’s repentance restored him to God’s favor, and although the sword remained in his house as a purgatorial punishment, David remained God’s man. He weakened his relationship with God by sin, but did not destroy it, and restored it by repentance. If even a murderer and adulterer could be a great king and a great man of God, what can you be?

[professorsparklepants]

you know how you did the little history lesson for yoi russian royalty au’s? do you think you could do something like that with japan and it’s royalty? i just bought it was incredibly interesting. thank you!

[cracks knuckles] okay let’s do this

Previously: For all your “Victor and Yurio as russian royalty au” needs

First pro tip: Japan is an empire, ruled by an emperor. For a given measure of ruled, anyway (we’ll get to that later). The throne of Japan is known as the “Chrysanthemum throne”, and the chysanthemum is also the official symbol of the imperial family. They’re actually the oldest ruling dynasty in the world; the succession isn’t always direct (from what I understand, uncle to nephew or cousin to cousin was common) but it’s remained in the same family for somewhere around… a thousand years? And that’s what we can prove definitively. 

The entire Japanese imperial house claims descent from Amaterasu, the Shinto sun goddess, ruler of heaven, and patron goddess of the Japanese people. Legend holds that the first man to claim the title (ca 500 BCE), Emperor Jimmu, was her great-great-great-grandson. This means that generally speaking, the Emperor’s main power is a spiritual one, directly linked to shintoism and by extension, the gods themselves. Part of the occupation after WWII had them declaring that they were not divine, but as far as I understand it they were never really viewed as demi-gods in that sense of the word; it was just another version of divine right. 

Second pro tip: Historical power of the emperor varied based on the time period and political situation; most of the time, they were more analogous to the Pope in Europe, being mostly a religious figure, but there were time periods where they had strong power based and actually ran the government. I doubt that’s going to be relevant for YOI fic but like….. jsyk. 

After the Meiji restoration their power became very centralized (which was… like… the point of the meiji restoration) and stayed that way until post-WWII. The occupation greatly deminished the Emperor’s power, making him the official head of state but not the chief executive. They do basically nothing right now, but you’d have to do actual research for more details, since I don’t know the specifics. 

Third pro tip: Much like the history of the title, the history of the family is actually a lot more complex than it looks. Historically, there were multiple branches of Imperial Princes, so that if the current Emperor didn’t produce an heir, or was dissatisfied with his other family members, he could adopt one of them to inherit the throne. (They also had multiple wives & concubines, and even multiple empresses on occasion, but again, probably not relevant do the research yourself etc). After the restoration they kept the branch families but threw out the polygamy and established a stratified nobility in similar style to the British. There’s a whole list of laws governing who could and could not marry in or out of the imperial family. I used to have a bookmark of it but I guess it got deleted the last time I went weeding. 

Post-WWII, the cadet branches were removed from the succession, so now only the Emperor’s main line can inherit. (This was actually a problem like a decade since the constitution doesn’t allow women to inherit and all the grandchildren were girls. Parliament dragged its feet over amending the succession laws until Prince Hisahito was born even though something like 70% of citizens don’t care if women inherit and there have been legitimate female emperors in the past. COWARDS.) The current empress and the crown princess were both born commoners, a first for Japan. By law, a princess marries she’s legally removed from the royal family (since, to simplify Japanese marriage law, she’s “choosing” her husband’s family over her own), so she gets a last name and the right to vote but loses her title and her stipend. 

Fourth pro tip: okay this is actually a HUGE pet peeve for me re: English speaking coverage of the Emperor but like. You’re not supposed to use his given name. I’ve seen news articles do it CONSTANTLY but in Japan it’s considered unspeakably rude. After ascending to the throne the Emperor’s given name is no longer used by the public; he’s just “His Majesty the Emperor.” After he dies, you use his pre-determined posthumous name, which is also used to date the era of his reign. (This is where the name of the Meiji restoration comes from; Emperor Meiji is a posthumous name).

Members of the Imperial family usually have a public title in addition to their given name. Princesses generally use the same title until they marry and get kicked out of the imperial family, and after reaching adulthood Princes either inherit their father’s public title (as the eldest) or are granted a new one for their own branch of the family (for younger sons). It’s used sort of like a peerage title is for English royals, if you’re a nerd like my sister who actually refers to Will & Kate as “The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge.” 

e. g. The Emperor has three children: his eldest, the Crown Prince Naruhito, formerly Naruhito, Prince Hiro, married to Crown Princess Masako, They have one daughter, Aiko, Princess Toshi. The second eldest is Fumihito, Prince Akishino, married to Kiko, Princess Akishino. Their three children are Princess Mako of Akishino, Princess Kako of Akishino, and Prince Hisahito of Akishino, who after his father’s death will become Hisahito, Prince Akishino. The youngest was known as Sayako, Princess Nori, but after her marriage she’s just Sayako Konoue. 

There’s also a set of naming conventions (Princes’ names usually end in -hito and princess’ names usually end in -ko, as you can see) but that doesn’t actually matter because this is for fanfic so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

SO THAT’S THE LOW DOWN sorry this is so long. 

[fountainpenguin]

Wanted to actually outline the hierarchy system in my FOP fanfics rather than juggling it all in my head. Those on the same line are more or less considered to be of equal rank. Fuzzy gray areas may apply. Details under the cut.

Fairy Elder - Only mentioned in the Season 8 episode “Timmy’s Secret Wish”, although no details were given about her apart from the fact that she “had [the Hocus Poconos] totally redone”, and turned the Giant French Doors of Time into the Window of Time. She wears yellow robes. She appeared in my one-shot, “Minion”, and will later appear in Origin of the Pixies.

Wise Ancients - Extremely powerful nature spirits. Some of these would be Mother Nature (“Balance of Flour”), Father Time (“Timmy’s Secret Wish”), The Darkness (“Wishology”), the Grim Reaper (“Man’s Worst Friend”), and the Cycling Hen (“Chicken Poofs”). The spirit bears are also considered Wise Ancients. They were most notably discussed in “This Is Halloween”.

Zodiac spirits - The seven nature spirits who represent the seven elements on the Fairy zodiac. I discussed them each in detail HERE. The days of the week are named after them. They were first mentioned during Sanderson’s shrine song in “Grand Father” and are frequently mentioned in Frayed Knots.

Supreme Fairy Council - Four Fairies and three Anti-Fairies who are elected to sit on either the Fairy Council or Anti-Fairy Council. The seven are collectively referred to as the Supreme Fairy Council. Each member is called a Robe, and wears a robe in the color of the region (political state) they represent. I named and briefly discussed them HERE.

Eros family - Cupid’s bloodline. Always cherubs, always triplets, and allegedly tasked by the gods to maintain Fairy genealogies and prevent any species in the universe from truly going extinct. I discussed their social status HERE. In Origin, H.P. was captured by the Eroses for study for several chapters starting in “The Chapter With Nine Snakes In It”.

Keeper of Da Rules - Jorgen’s position, obviously. The Keeper of Da Rules maintains order in the cloudlands by ensuring Da Rules are followed. Following the War of the Angels (“Balance of Flour”), the Keeper of Da Rules also became ambassador for the common fairy subspecies. H.P. and Sanderson encountered Adelinda von Strangle, the former Keeper of Da Rules, in “Minion”.

Lower-ranked nature spirits - The children and grandchildren of the zodiac spirits. Some are more powerful than others. Some notable ones include Twis and Sunnie’s daughter, the winter goddess Beira (Wikipedia / Fanfic mention), and Sunnie’s grandson, Fergus Mór mac Eirc (Wikipedia / Fanfic mention).

Alien ambassadors - Aliens who represent other worlds, including entire planets. Venus Eros hosted several alien ambassadors during “Snowflake”. Technically speaking, Jimmy Neutron is also recognized as one of these due to the events of “Power Hour”.

High Count and High Countess - Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda’s positions. Politically, they are complete legal equals, and have the authority to override each other’s orders. In practice, Anti-Cosmo is more commanding, and is widely considered to be ranked above Anti-Wanda (especially by Fairies). While the titles imply separate male and female positions, they can be filled by a same-sex pair. Although equals from a political standpoint, the High Count is still considered head of the household, mirroring the creche father rank in actual bat colonies.

Head Pixie - Obviously, the rank from the show. The title is often abbreviated H.P. Only the reigning Head Pixie has the authority to make drastic changes to the Pixie social structure, and he rules until his death. Following his death, he is succeeded by the Vice President of Pixies Inc. H.P. set the social structure precedent in “Playing With the Big Kids”.

Fairy subspecies ambassadors - Ambassadors of various races under the Fairy umbrella who attend Council meetings. Some are elected, while others are kings and queens born and raised in royal families.

First General - The follower drake of the High Count- AKA, a high-ranking male Anti-Fairy who was allowed to stay in the Blue Castle colony upon coming of age instead of being run off, or choosing to leave and join a bachelor colony. As the High Count’s follower drake, the First General organizes and oversees troops in war. In times of peace, he also performs ceremonies, and breaks gridlock arguments among the camarilla. This position is always filled by a male.

Temple acolytes - High-ranking Anti-Fairies seemingly akin to shamans who reside in and care for the Zodiac Temples. Considered experts in matters of architecture and feng shui. They spend decades studying such things in Zodiac Temples before they can design monuments to the nature spirits or offer their designing services to clients. They’re so renowned for their skill that hopeful Fairy architects will train beneath them instead of attending the Academy.

Head Anti-Pixie - Leader of the anti-pixie race. Generally given the cold shoulder and not taken seriously considering that anti-pixies are stereotyped as constantly-drunk party-loving lunatics. Holds very little political power.

Vice President of Pixies Inc. - The pixie intended to be the Head Pixie’s successor; until then, he helps the Head however he is instructed to. He’s also a forager who keeps the grocery stores stocked, and he takes on a lot of child-rearing duties. Only pixie gynes are intended to hold this rank, although if no gyne pixies can be found, a drone can take up the position instead. This is Longwood’s current rank, much to Sanderson’s chagrin.

Chief Pixie of PixieCo - The gyne who oversees pixies in the Hawthorn Haven cloudland colony. The title is also abbreviated C.P. of PixieCo; as there are no other Chief Pixies at this time, the title “Chief Pixie” can be used without the PixieCo clarification. The C.P. is still subject to the Head, like a manager to a larger company. We’ll hear about this position for the first time in the upcoming “The Other One” Prompt.

Pixie ambassador - H.P. became Pixie ambassador to the Supreme Fairy Council by default. However, he can elect to pass the position to someone else if he wants to. He attended his first Council meeting in “Cotton Candy Oatmeal”.

Keepers [of Da Rules] - Not to be confused with the singular position. These would be the folks dressed in light blue uniforms whom we saw assisting Jorgen in “Fairly Odd Baby”. They’re essentially the Fairy World police force, and are trained to organize as militia if necessary.

Camarilla court - Six Anti-Fairies selected by the High Count and six selected by the High Countess who weigh in on matters of political and social importance. While the High Count and High Countess technically hold seats on the camarilla too, the name “camarilla” is colloquially used to encompass everyone else. In total, there are two people on the camarilla court representing each of the seven elements on the Fairy zodiac. Most of the Anti-Fairies seated around the dining table in “Fairly Odd Baby” are on the camarilla. I identified them HERE.

Heir to the High Seat / “High heir” - A child of either the High Count or Countess (sometimes both) born with the “iris virus”- colorful eyes instead of dull red. A potential heir born without the iris virus would automatically be rejected as the heir for not carrying “the sacred blessing of the nature spirits”. Foop is the heir to the High Count seat in present day, although his title could be revoked if he is deemed unsuitable before his coronation. In times of desperation when no legitimate heir can be produced, another color-eyed child of nobility (most likely an extended family member) could be adopted into the bloodline instead. As the iris virus is actually an STD, it can be transmitted to intimate partners.

H.P.’s alpha retinue drone - A gyne’s primary drone; the drone who oversees the other drones, and can assist his gyne in distributing his pheromones through the ranks. This is Sanderson’s current position. He was given this title in “Cotton Candy Oatmeal”, and he discussed it more in “Grooming”. An alpha retinue drone ~technically~ has the same rights as a service animal regarding where he can and can’t go.

Vice President of PixieCo - Simply, the pixie who succeeds the Chief Pixie of PixieCo, and assists him until then. Like the Vice President of Pixies Inc., the V.P. of PixieCo should be a gyne. Again, we’ll be introduced to this position in “The Other One”.

Other von Strangle family members - Nana Boom-Boom. Invisible Leonard. People we saw in “Cosmo Rules”. You know what I mean.

Creche fathers of other colonies - While there are some exceptions, colonies of Anti-Fairies are naturally patriarchal; the creche father is the highest-ranking male in the colony. While leadership skills are valued, his main role consists of caring for the young pups in the colony. If you’re a lower rank than they are, it’s polite to greet them with an honorary rather than expecting them to greet you. It’s worth noting that a creche is a group of baby bats.

Heir’s betrothed - The intended mate to the “High heir”, and therefore the assumed new High Count or Countess. This person doesn’t hold real legal authority, but is treated with respect. As it stands right now, Anti-Coriander seems to hold this position unofficially; while not officially betrothed to Foop, she is certainly the girl his parents have urged him to woo.

Chief Sunchosen - A self-proclaimed, unofficial title currently held by Dame Artemis Cairo. The intention is that one day, this position will be for Refracts what the High Count and Countess are for Anti-Fairies. There’s still a long way to go. Dame Artemis first appeared in “Think Positive”.

C.P.’s alpha retinue drone - Same as H.P.’s alpha retinue drone, but he belongs to the Chief Pixie of PixieCo.

Other celebrities - The Tooth Fairy, famous actors like Blonda, TV show hosts like Billy Crystal Ball, successful writers, and so on.

Mates of camarilla members - Nobles simply as a result of who they marry. Obviously, they lose this title if their mate is removed from the camarilla. Generally, camarilla mates will contract the iris virus from their mate.

Other irises - Other carriers of the iris virus. Generally nobles and former nobles who are treated with a hint more respect than commoners. This is actually sort of a fuzzy area; prostitutes selling the iris virus are an actual problem that causes headaches for the higher-ups.

Successful farmers - If you lived in a magical cloud world with limited ability to farm nutritious food, you would value farmers who provided you with high-quality crops too.

Most Refracted - An angelic, pious race of gold and white bird-based people, quite opposite of the stereotype of the evil blue and black Anti-Fairy. The Refracted manage many of the Daoist shrines and ceremonies, and are generally well-liked even though they can be pompous and annoying.

Gynes - Large, freckled Fairies - always male - who ate a lot of jelly as children. In actual insect colonies, gynes are the “princesses” who take over from the queen, often by killing her in a battle to the death. Likewise, Fairy gynes are naturally very territorial and often fight each other. Gynes with more dominant pheromones have the ability to suppress the reproductive systems of subordinate gynes. Gynes with many dark freckles are considered more attractive than those with few. The actual rank of a gyne varies in regard to other social status factors, but people generally give them respect.

Upper-class Fairy citizens - High-ranking people who aren’t considered celebrities, per se. The Whimsifinado family would fall into this category. I suppose the Fairywinkles would too.

Kids of camarilla members and their mates - Children of nobility, often considered nobles themselves. They’re likely to carry the iris virus.

Average Fairy citizens - Self-explanatory. Regular, non-celebrity folk. Fairy culture is still largely dominated by their caste system / social ladder, although they’re starting to move away from it in present day. (Ladder Part 1 / Part 2)

Anti-Fairy commoners - Average Anti-Fairies who aren’t considered nobility; as a result, they’re highly unlikely to carry the iris virus, and probably have red eyes. Those who live in colonies are considered more socially acceptable than rogues. Many males travel in bachelor colonies during their adolescent years.

Tourists (Aliens) - Cloudland foreigners. Aliens don’t typically settle in the cloudlands since there’s really nothing to do there if you’re not magical, and the buildings tend to be very small. Several tourists were seen in “Think Positive”.

Genies - Generally looked down upon; profiled as dirty, manipulative trouble-makers who enjoy laughing at the expense of others. Technically, it’s difficult to officially rank them since there just aren’t very many in the first place, let alone freely wandering the cloudlands.

Drones - Stereotyped as natural-born servants, always male, and born only if their father is either a gyne or a drone. Despite the name “drone”, their natural behaviors are most similar to those of worker bees. They’re attracted to gyne pheromones, so gynes tend to form retinues of drones who take pride in serving him. A drone will be born sterile approximately 75% of the time. Pixie drones, being infected with Wolbachia pipientis, are an exception to this rule.

Will o’ the wisps - Stereotyped as gorgeous temptresses akin to sirens who seduce males and keep harems. Universally, they fear floods and come out of their underground tunnels when it rains. Goldie Goldenglow is a wisp.

Anti-will o’ the wisps - Stereotyped as prostitutes (“Mistresses” in Anti-Fairy World) and generally looked down upon for having insect wings instead of bat ones; also known as mothdames. Foop’s friend Anti-Marigold is an anti-wisp.

Finfolk - Very similar to will o’ the wisps, although they live underwater. They capture potential spouses from land and drag them underwater, where they’re often treated like servants. That’s the stereotype, anyway. Sort of like reverse selkies.

Redcaps - Stereotyped as psychotic hillbillies. They’re looked down upon because they need to coat their hats in blood regularly in order to survive, or they’ll die. Kind of like vampires. They have five eyes and are immune to all poisons and venoms, and are just generally considered really creepy.

Brownies - Highly shunned for their venomous saliva. Generally considered meek servants without much brain power; to call someone a brownie-kisser implies that they’re so incapable of wooing anyone that they took advantage of a poor, dumb, innocent creature instead. However, brownies aren’t inherently less intelligent than other Fairies- they just keep ending up in disadvantaged situations. Still not the type of person you’d want your child to marry, considering their deadly kisses and all.

... That is that. Thanks for playing!

[eleanor-plantagenet]

The Lost Kings & Queens of England + Part II

Arthur Tudor, Prince of Wales (1486-1502): The eldest son and heir apparent of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York, Arthur was viewed as the great hope of the newly established House of Tudor. Soon after his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Spanish Catholic Monarchs, he died suddenly of an unknown ailment. 

Lady Jane Grey (1536/37-1553): Also known as the “Nine Days Queen”, Jane was a great-granddaughter of Henry VII and was nominated as the successor to the Crown by her cousin, Edward VI, in an effort to avoid his half-sister - the Catholic Mary Tudor - from taking the crown. Jane was Queen of England for nine days before Mary and her supporters deposed her, later executing her when Protestants rebelled in her name during Mary’s reign. 

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots (1542-1587): The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scotland, Mary was six days old when her father died and she became the queen of Scotland. After discontent amongst her subjects forced her to abdicate, she sought the protection of her first cousin once removed, Elizabeth I of England. As the Catholic Mary was a threat to Elizabeth’s crown due to her descent from Henry VII, she was held as a virtual prisoner for nearly two decades until she was finally executed after being found guilty of plotting to assassinate her queenly cousin. 

Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (1594-1612): The elder son of James VI and I, King of England and Scotland, and Anne of Denmark, he was destined to inherit both the English and Scottish thrones but he predeceased his father when he died young of typhoid fever.

James Francis Edward Stuart, Prince of Wales (1688-1766): Also known as the “Old Pretender”, James was the only surviving son of James II and VII, who had failed to produce a living son after nearly three decades of marriage to two different women. His Catholic father was deposed in the Glorious Revolution just months after James’s birth due to the realm’s unwillingness to have a James’s Catholic son succeed to the throne. James spent the rest of his life unsuccessfully attempting to win back his father’s thrones with the backing of his Jacobite followers. 

Prince William, Duke of Gloucester (1689-1700): The only child of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, and Prince George of Denmark to survive infancy, William was seen as a Protestant champion as his birth seemed to cement the Protestant succession established in the Glorious Revolution. His death at the age of eleven precipitated a succession crisis, resulting in the Crown passing over to his Protestant Hanoverian cousins after his mother’s death.

Sophia of the Palatinate, Electress of Hanover (1630-1714): A granddaughter of James I and VI, Sophia became heir presumptive to the Kingdom of Great Britain when her cousin Anne lost her only child, resulting in the end to the Protestant line of succession established by the Bill of Rights. However, she died less than two months before she would have become queen, and her position as heir passed on to her eldest son, the future George I.

Frederick, Prince of Wales (1707-1751): The eldest but estranged son of George II and Caroline of Ansbach, Frederick was heir apparent to the British throne from 1727 until he predeceased his father by nine years. His position as Prince of Wales passed on to his young son, the future George III. 

Princess Charlotte of Wales (1796-1817): The only child of the future George IV and his cousin, Caroline of Brunswick, she was the only legitimate grandchild of George III during her lifetime, meaning she was destined to be the future Queen of the United Kingdom. After a year and a half of happy marriage to the future Leopold I of Belgium, she died after delivering a stillborn son, resulting in a succession crisis and pressure on the King’s unmarried sons to produce an heir.

Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence & Avondale (1864-1892): the eldest child of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and grandson of the reigning Queen Victoria, he was second in the line of succession from the time of his birth but never became king after dying of influenza weeks after becoming engaged.