#so seb is like: i must do the same to jense >:)

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I'm so salty there's no direct footage of this moment, but omg the clip is still making me 😵‍💫

[skitskatdacat63]

Misc lore drop day 2/?

I think I’ve talked about this a bit before but, the most important characterization in Boy King AU is that they are all up against an insurmountable status quo, so, how do they react to that?

Seb:

The status quo is literally there to serve him, he is the master of it. 

Though he eventually has to do some soul searching later on about what it really means to be emperor, and how that affects his relationships with other people.

He's just really not aware of it all tbh because it all comes to him naturally. Like of course I am emperor and all these others must pledge their loyalty and fealty to me, this makes sense! How could it be any other way!

But yeah, he's at the top of the metaphorical food chain so it's never going to naturally occur to him that there is a clear hierarchy. He knows he's on top obviously but he doesn't really think about what that means, he just takes it for what it is. Though this of course opens him up to still always wanting more, because isn't that his birthright? That he must be the emperor of the world?

Fernando is the one to shake his worldview. No one else is gonna say to his face, oh yeah you're not in that position cause you actually deserve it. Everyone else is of course going to assure him that he deserves it because of just more than simply blood and inheritance. I don’t know if I’d play into it too much in this AU, but irl of course, the HRE is literally dictated by divine right. So it’s really no surprise Seb and most others are of course never going to question it, there’s literally no reason to and doing so would be going against the divine will.

So I think it’s a really good sign of character growth that he is willing to step outside of that, even though it literally means he is undermining himself, even if it’s only him that knows that. He’ll always come to the conclusion that he deserves it, and there’s nothing that can convince him otherwise, but he does become more aware of what it means to be in that role. 

Also important thing to note. The status quo is of course that everyone is loyal to him and loves him and he’s the most important, etc etc. And that’s the first thing Fernando shakes up. This both cause problems between them but also makes him more enticing to Seb. Because it would be the first time in his life that he actually has to win someone over. It’s interesting though because even before Fernando comes into his life, he does realize this subtly. He prefers to hang out with Jense over others, and he doesn’t really get why, he just feels like he has nothing to prove and no image to live up to when he’s around Jense. He’s not afraid to be himself around others of course, that’s teh trait that separates him and Fernando, but he still feels sometimes like people are around him because they have to be, not because they want to. Fernando makes him have to think more about that.

Fernando:

He wishes he could rail against the status quo, or more accurately, wishes he could bend it to his will, like Seb does. Or more accurately, like he thinks Seb is able to. He doesn’t really realize they’re both stuck in roles, Seb’s just happens to be above his with better circumstances. But again, circumstances that are outside of his control.

He largely benefits from it, but what he has will never be enough for him. He can't accept it, though some deeper part of himself does and is glad for where he’s at.

His younger self was like Seb, he thought the world was at his feet. And then. It wasn't. 

He's honestly so hypocritical because obviously his whole throne depends on birthright but he of course has this idea in his head that he won it, he deserved it. And yet criticizes Seb to his face for displaying the same behavior. He’ll straight up tell him, “well you know you’re only emperor because you were born into it” as if he himself wasn’t on the path to king, with a few more bumps, in the same way. I guess it’s up to the audience to decide if he really does deserve it more than Seb does. 

His problems with the status quo are very complicated. When he was young he was very petulant, like oh yeah of course i'll be king. But in reality, he really didn't know if he would or not. Yes, he was likely(because the King didn’t have an heir so he’s the most likely pick), but he still deep down knew that could change at any moment. But then it became a reality, but only when Seb’s family challenged for the throne. Because that gave his claim and inheritance legitimacy, because people were suddenly willing to fight him for it. So, again, he benefits, but it’s always going to be linked, to him, to Seb trying to take it away from him. He has legitimacy in his own right, but the way it was realized, in at least eyes, makes him feel bitter about it. Basically, he was always going to be king, even though he doesn’t know it, but the circumstances around it made him feel like he had to fight for it. 

The status quo explained to him was that he would have to marry Seb in order to secure his throne safely. In all honesty, they could have fought a war and not have to have those concessions. But the marriage just seemed safer, easier, and inevitable to everyone involved. But let’s just hope no one tells Fernando there were other options. It’s very scary when the biggest empire is fighting your claim, at that point you’re willing to do whatever you can to keep it. 

Mark:

On the surface, he's very much accepting of it because I think he's actually similar to Seb this way. He accepts that this is the way things are, and there’s no real reason to even try and think outside of it because that would be foolish(and also disobedient!)

He struggles a lot with bitterness and jealousy but doesn’t understand it enough, and that’s fine because even if he did, it’s not like he could do anything about it. 

He really struggles to have his own identity because his identity is literally that he serves Seb! That’s what he was raised for, that’s all he knows.

 It does give him an advantage because he might actually have the most influence over Seb because they are almost connected at the hip most of the time. Though even though he has this influence, I don’t think he really knows how to wield it in any meaningful way, as compared to Nico. He’s just not the most shrewd, because his world revolves around Seb, and as I said, it’s hard to think outside of his most sacred duty. 

Jense is his best friend, other than Seb, but Mark struggles to understand him. He can understand everyone else, but not Jense because Jense almost exists completely outside of the hierarchy. Yes he’s in the power structure but he chose to be, and didn’t have to. This is unthinkable to Mark. He likes serving Seb, but that’s because that’s his purpose. He doesn’t understand how Jenson could leave behind his “purpose” and choose something else. 

Jenson:

He is pretty aware of the status quo but he just doesn't pay any mind to it. He's more on the level of Seb. He got what he wanted and he's happy with it, he doesn't long for anything more. 

He’s in an interesting place because he escaped the bounds of the status quo way more than literally anyone else. No matter if they’re happy with it or not, basically all the others are stuck on one path. Jense however was a prince in a completely different kingdom! He chose to serve Seb(well the previous emperor to be more accurate.) That makes him a very confusing figure to everyone else because they’re like, “you can do that???” 

Jenson: What, like it’s hard?

Though this allows him to get along with everyone pretty well, because they don’t really factor him into the hierarchy. He’s an insider to someone like Fernando, but an outsider to others like Nico or Mark. To Seb, he’s just a fun, reliable guy who treats him like a normal person, and neither of them have any real expectations of the other. 

Nico:

He’s so much more aware of the status quo than others like Fernando and Mark.

He recognizes pretty early on that he actually probably has more influence when acting behind the scenes, rather than by being the figurehead.

The monarch has everyone vying for his attention constantly. Someone like Nico is the one vying for the monarch’s attention, and he very easily has Seb’s ear.

It's very annoying to him though when he's mistaken for Seb because it brings up a lot of unwanted, repressed feelings in him. He can tell himself rationally that he doesn't want to be emperor, but of course there's always going to be a hungry part of him that does. 

Kimi:

Bwoah.