#the royal household

[mlek13]

Fall, Year 8: Durden

The Durden girls hanging out in the nursery together is just too cute.

It only gets cuter when their parents come in to spend time with the girls.

It’s nice they get in that quality time since the girls are growing up fast.  Helena’s birthday is first as she reaches the child stage.

I decided that it would be nice to have a family reunion and summon all of Nicolette and Trevor’s children over (and their grandson, Roman from university.)

Since Laurel’s passing, I was expecting the Grim Reaper to come for Trevor next, but instead he came for Lucretia, who was experiencing pregnancy related starvation.

I decided that I’m going to roll a die to decide if my sims should intervene with the Grim Reaper and the number they have to roll is going to very based on class.  For Nobles, I have to roll higher than a 2.  I rolled 4, so Elton gets to intervene on behalf of his wife.

And he succeeds!  I decided having the pregnancy make it also would be too much to expect, so they will have to try again if they want to have another baby.  But to me, it looks like they’re just happy Lucretia is alive.

And she gets to see her girls grow up.  Adelaide becomes a toddler and Louisa will be starting university at the start of winter.

Rosalie is a teenager.

And Trevor is still around to see another season.  According to my records (which I started sometime well after he was born) he should be the same age as Laurel, but in game he ended up a couple of days younger than her somehow.  I thought 80 was the maximum in-game age for elders (I guess I misremembered), but he hit 80 and the Reaper hasn’t come for him yet.

[semisolidmind]

Well, Reader has a lot of patience, has she ever had a major fight or disagreement with any of her children?

of course. though she has to be much, much more careful about how she handles disputes with her kids, considering their powerful and occasionally volatile nature.

learning how to parent super-powered demon kids would be tough for anybody. lucky for reader, her husband plays an active role in his children's lives. the sage can always challenge his kids to a friendly spar if they feel the need to exert their anger.

there are plenty of instances of the more....violent kids (da xia, zíhào, xīnyi) having some kind of fit, losing control of their strength, and almost seriously injuring their mother. wukong always steps in before they can do any damage.

any direct act of violence against reader is not tolerated. not even from his own offspring.

and you better believe that when he's around, there will be no disrespecting their mother. one of his punk kids tries to talk back when reader asks them to do some chore or clean up after themselves? all it takes is a stern look from their father to get them up and taking responsibility.

[dduane]

Yeah, typical. You start working on updating the furniture and installing some new upholstery, and five minutes later somebody shows up to shed on it. (eyeroll)

(And no, of course that's not Lorn's cat. She would reject any such suggestion out of hand. Implications of one being possessing another are so crass. The two of them are, uh... associates. That's it. Colleagues. And if she has to sleep on his bed two nights out of three to keep him out of trouble, well, that's just the burden of dealing with royalty, isn't it? And all the purring's hardly her fault. It's comfortable in that bed. Especially right behind his head, on those nice pillows. A perfectly natural response...)

[myrddin-wylt]

lowkey losing my shit at the comedic potential of mid/late 18th century British-Danish relations, particularly this part

During its heyday, the Danish East Indian Company and the Swedish East India Company imported more tea than the British East India Company — and smuggled 90% of it into Britain, where it sold at a huge profit.

first off, that's hilarious. second, the potential of Alfred and Mathias running into each other because they're both smuggling tea to sell in England is fucking incredible. and if it's before 1772, then both Alfred and Mathias are members of Arthur's own fucking household.

[gods-graveyard]

James Potter, on his wedding night

[applestruda]

Sorry if this was asked-

In Boatem Knights au what is Martyn's role? I love the design by the way!

Thanks!

And yeah he's just the hand of the king,

[oldfriendsseniortwittersanctuary]

I don't personally ship it, but Gale/Wyll is such a funny ship to me. Like, on the surface, they'd be the most normal, pleasant couple, but you KNOW they'd secretly have the most insane and inscrutable relationship drama EVER

[heir-less]

I'm glad that it's William finally getting the lazy criticism for once instead of just Kate. He's always been super lazy but escapes critique for some reason.

You have one fucking "job" as President of the FA and it's to fly to watch a historic football match millions would kill to attend. One fucking job and he can't be bothered to cut his 4th vacation of the year short.

Anyway, Harry has the chance to do the funniest thing ever.

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

I drew Ahti II's pet pike!! Her name is Kultakutri (Goldilocks) and she's a Golden Royal domestic pike, a breed that has been specifically bred to appear as light and yellow as possible.

Ahti II raised her from an egg and she’s about ten years old now — doesn’t mean she’s not Baby anymore, though.

[mlek13]

Winter, Year 8: Royals

(I set up this post wrong. Hopefully not putting the title in the right place does not mess up the formatting.)

I have been eager to get to this household since Lila and Deven rolled wants to get married last season.

At the start of the season, Princess Lila invites Deven Langerak over to propose and he accepts!

Deven still had a day left in university, but I had him skip it so he could move in and they could get married right away. (I didn't feel like bothering with the semester timer to let him finish in the castle, because it doesn't really matter.)

I invited aunts and uncles, siblings and their spouses, and few close friends. Even a limited guest list is a crowd.

They had a beautiful ceremony in the snow.

The guests take the party inside to dance and feast.

Queen Rosalin wants to become a witch, so she invites her good friend Justice over to see if he can help her. I didn't see any interaction for her to ask him to make that happen, so she didn't get her want.

Her time as a witch would have been brief, because her life had reached its end. :(

Queen Rosalin was the second queen of the realm. Her rule began following the death of her mother, Queen Lilliana, in the summer of Year 5, and lasted 43 simdays.

Queen Rosalin and her twin brother, Prince Florian, were the oldest of Queen Lilliana and King Anton's seven children. All except their younger brother, Prince Oliver, survive. Queen Rosalin was married twice. Her first husband, King Kevin Lam, who immigrated from a foreign kingdom, was the father of her four children, and died in the winter of Year 5 from the seasonal plague. They had been married for 17 simdays. She later remarried Grant Allbee in the summer of Year 8. Their marriage may have only been for 7 simdays, but they were happy in their golden years together.

Queen Rosalin is survived by her husband, Grant Allbee; her four children Elton, Laurence, Calvin, and Lila; ten grandchildren Roman, Louisa, Rosalie, Helena, and Adelaide Durden, Ansel and Laura Cade, Randall and Candace Clarett, and Kenton; her twin brother Florian, and her younger sisters Violette, Hyacinth, Dahlia, and Petunia. She also leaves behind her trusted ladies' maid, Lydia Mamuyac and her favored niece Nova.

Queen Rosalin survived to the impressive age of 85 simdays.

The entire household is devastated by her loss.

They also lose three family pets this season. The cat legacy I was attempting for this family has been broken. I know there are descendants of their original cats elsewhere in the neighborhood. I could try to adopt one of them into the family or just continue with the dogs. For awhile, there were way too many pets in this household and I'm not sure if I want to have to deal with that many again.

Grant tries to encourage everyone to look to the future. There's still Lila's new baby to look forward to. Maybe she's carrying the next heir to the throne.

Unfortunately Lila and Alida are not comforted by his hopefully words. They are still very much consumed with grief and finding it hard to be optimistic.

But they have to keep moving forward.

Lila goes into labor. The baby is a boy, so unfortunately not an heir, but they are happy to welcome baby Dillon to the family all the same.

Before the season is over Lila and Deven are already trying for their next child. I think it is unlikely that they won't produce an heir in the future, but if they do not, Lila's nieces (Elton and Lucretia's daughters) are next in line for the throne. It will be interesting to see how it ends up playing out.

Big brother, Kenton, has his birthday this season too.

Preparations are made for Queen Lila's coronation. To mark the beginning of her reign, Lydia sets to work painting Queen Lila's portrait.

Once it is finished, it is hung in the main hall next to the portraits of Lila's mother and grandmother.

Family members and heads of the main noble houses are invited to the castle for a memorial service and coronation.

Lila chats with her eldest brother, Elton.

Princess Violette takes a quiet moment to sit in the throne room with her sister's urn, before Princess Dahlia joins her. The sisters recall how happy Rosalin was to see her daughter's wedding just days ago.

The season ends with a couple of birthdays in the servants' quarters. Alice reaches her elder years and Alida reaches adulthood. Next season Lydia, Alice, and Alida are going to move out of the castle to pursue their own ambitions and I have already moved in someone new to fill Lydia's role and be a ladies' maid to Queen Lila.

[spanishroyals]

2014 - 2023

[blackswaneuroparedux]

One man in a thousand, Solomon says, Will stick more close than a brother. And it’s worth while seeking him half your days If you find him before the other. Nine hundred and ninety-nine depend On what the world sees in you, But the Thousandth Man will stand your friend With the whole round world agin you.

Rudyard Kipling, The Thousandth Man

[kingsandbastardz]

I was thinking about translation recently (having been in the position of converting cantonese movies into better English because the subs never capture the humor of the phrases being used even though they're technically accurate for meaning.)

Some mlc song title thoughts:

天下

usually gets translated as "the world", which is 100% correct! But I find it lacks the feeling I get from a more literal translation of the characters (sky/heaven + below). Imo "all under heaven/the heavens" or "everything beneath the sky" would get the more expansive vibe due to context of it being a song which uses more poetic language than regular speech.

一家三口

is translated as "household of 3" which is again 100% accurate. But there is some mild humor that i feel gets a little lost. (Maybe the humor is in the Cantonese reading and not the mandarin? Idk)

A literal translation is 1 household, 3 mouths. As in "1 household, with 3 mouths to feed". So for me, my mental image of 3 cohabitating ppl immediately veers toward being more rambunctious. Like a bunch of baby birds with their mouth 口 wide open. I feel this also matches well with the overall vibe of the ost track which is childish and bouncy.

[houseofbrat]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13186177/Kate-Middleton-Mothers-Day-picture-Prince-William-apology.html

This is honestly very disloyal from the Princess of Wales’ staff. They continue sinking her reputation and throwing her to the wolves, washing their hands from the full mess they have helped to create. I mean, this is sh*tty when she isn’t even in good health.

The KP Head of Communications, Lee Thompson, is incompetent. He's been incompetent at his job for more than a year. Yet still he is in the employ of Kensington Palace.

William allowed Kate to be thrown under the bus. Someone from the comms team should have already lost their job. That should have been the response on Monday morning.

Except that it wasn't. The goal was to throw The Princess of Wales under the bus and pretend that the photo that was released as a "health update" or "proof of life" was her fault.

Like, bull fucking shit it was her doing.

The KP comms team heads should be rolling. They have all caused or contributed to an international PR crisis. And they keep making it worse!

And yet William will not get rid of any of them.

Because he won't admit that he made a mistake. Even though his wife gets to take the blame.

He won't admit that he fucked up and NEEDS to fire people. Something that should have happened--literally--yesterday!!

He is so pathetic.

[happyk44]

"I'm not leaving you behind! It is my duty," he hissed. "I swore myself-"

"Your swore yourself because you had no choice, Percy." Her eyes were endless dark, devoid of feeling, of life. "You had a price to pay for your mother's life and this was your only offer." Her thin fingers cup his face through the bars. "You didn't choose to be my protector." She gave a weak laugh that made his stomach plummet to the floor. "You're not even my guard yet, not really."

Like a phantom, her touch slid down his cheek. He caught her wrist before her fingertip stopped gracing his skin. He could feel the rounded edge of her fingernail poke against him. Silence held fraught between them.

"Bianca-"

"Percy," she cut in, voice so sharp it cut him to the core. "I want you to survive. You're free. Take advantage of that, and go. Now."

"I can't go back without you," he said, quickly. She didn't fight his hold, but still his grip tightened. As though the harder he held her, the more she would stop protesting her escape. "You are-"

"Dead." Her lips thinned. "I'm dead, Percy. I was dead the moment they got their hands on me and I will be dead before either one of us even makes it beyond these walls, but you-" Her voice cracked, eyes watering.

He shook his head. Blood pounded in his ears. He didn't want to hear what she was going to say, wanted her to stop, wanted it all to stop. Just for a moment.

But it didn't, and neither did she. With a deep breath, she carried on, "You can make it. You can live. But only if you leave without me, so go."

His lungs burned. She inhaled so deeply, spoke so forcefully, and it made him hold the air in his chest until he couldn't take it anymore. If he didn't breathe, maybe she would. But his chest ached. Self-loathing wedged itself like a rock in his throat as he let go. The sound of his own breath was like nail on chalkboard.

"Percy," she whispered. He shook his head and leaned in closer. Although tears hadn't yet fallen, her eyes were still wet. They glistened like the night sky. Her forehead pressed against the bars.

He looked away. The brick wall to his left was growing a fair bit of moss in the corner. "What's our star again?"

She laughed. It was a watery thing that choked him where he stood. Memories of standing the long grass, moonlight shining off the river, while she read her books beside him. Every so often, she'd look up at the night sky and search for the brightest star that month. She'd tell the stories behind the constellations. Or at least the stories from her kingdom. Any time she told a story, a fantastical myth, she'd follow up that her brother knew more - Nico, the quiet prince with a voracious appetite for legends and monsters.

Then, if she could spot the brightest star that month and if she recalled, she'd tell him what it meant for the people born that month. At least, in their hemisphere anyway. The stars were different elsewhere. Sometimes she'd crack open the newspaper, the stark image of her father, and read aloud the horoscopes.

He still remembered the incredulous sound she made when he told her they shared the same birthday. She'd dragged him to the library to refresh her memory on their star. Then argued furiously that he did not share the same traits as her.

It was a silly thing. She didn't believe it. He didn't either. But it was the first time they hadn't played the stiff act of royal princess and her knight-in-training. Not Percy holding his tongue and following strictly one step behind. Not Bianca doing her best to pretend he wasn't her shadow.

Awkward civility and stiffness carried thick between them from the moment Percy had been casted into his role. But that night, with the sound of yelling and laughter still echoing in their ears, they made an agreement. They didn't have to be the best of friends, but they sure could be casual with each other. After all, they were going to be stuck with each other for the rest of their lives.

At least... they were supposed to be.

Slowly each finger detached one by one until all that was left was his palm pressed against her wrist. Then that fell away too. Still he couldn't bare to turn his head and face her.

"Leo," she said. "The lion. Strength, pride, loyalty, confidence."

A stabbed orange toy on new year's day passed through his mind. "Sacrifice."

It was quiet for a beat. Then, "Yes." His heart hammered so fast he could feel it in his throat. "The lion represents sacrifice."

What was he supposed to say? He wanted to run, to turn the lock with the key he stole, take her and run. Run far and fast. But deep inside, he knew she was right. He could get by undetected. No one cared about a child knight, not even yet passed his training. He could blend in and slip out. Even if he got caught, they wouldn't nearly put in as much effort to get him back as they would if she were with him.

She was right.

She was already dead.

He swallowed thickly and met her eyes again. The night sky glistened back at him and he thought of constellations and warm handshakes and kind agreements and silly arguments. Breath caught in his throat. "I'll miss you," he whispered, voice hoarse.

Her lips twitched. "I'll miss you too." She blinked, and one tear slid down her cheek. He tracked the wet trace it left behind until it welled up at the bottom of her chin and dripped to the floor. "Will you do me a favour?"

"You're my princess," he said. "I would do anything for you."

It was a weak smile she gave before she spoke. The sight of it crushed him. "Tell my family I love them." Her breath escaped from her shakily. She pushed back her hair. A classic move to hide the nerves that drove her hands to tremble ever so slightly. "And take care of Nico. Please."

"I will," he promised.

Her smile strengthened ever so slightly. But the tears fell fast now, one right after the other. Her face tilted away at the first streak. He immediately turned his line of sight back to the brick wall. Weakness, sadness, grief - she hated being seen with any of them. He always respected it. Look away until she was done. Don't speak, don't ask her anything, don't help her. Just look away and stay silent unless she calls out.

So, even as his mind's eye was trapped in the wet track of tears on her skin, the hitched sound of her breath holding in a cry, he turned and headed back for the dungeon's door. The doorknob twisted in his hand. The door cracked open.

"Percy."

He held stiff. "Yes?"

"Don't forget the bracelet."

Heat burned at the back of his head. In his pocket, the bracelet felt heavier than the weight of the world. When he had first arrived, she gave it to him. When he refused to take it, insistent that she could deliver it to Nico herself, she shoved it into his pocket herself. Like a ghostly stain, his thigh still tingled with the forceful and firm press of her hand. He was sure it always would.

"I won't."

"Stay safe," she said, a princess in a dungeon ready and waiting to die.

His heart shattered. Still, he kept his head held high. "I will."

Then, without another word, he left the girl he had spent the last three years training to protect. He was meant to die for her. It was the role he had accepted the night he and his friends had stormed the castle and pleaded for help with his dying mother. He didn't argue. He didn't plead. Without hesitation, he swore his life away for hers. Without hesitation, he swore his last breath would be hers.

Yet she was the one embracing the eternal coldness to come. She was the one breathing weakly so he could breathe strong. She was trading away her life for his. She was the lion, giving a mighty roar before the dawn of a new year. She was the sacrifice, held down by chains with a glistening sharp blade raised above her head.

But he wasn't the one lowering it upon her neck. No, he was the cold breath of winter. The first drop of snow. The wilting grass. He was the barren wasteland that drove her out into the open. He was the starving masses desperate to live. He didn't have to drop the blade. He didn't have to use his own hands to spill her blood across the ground. His survival was her end. And that made him her killer anyway.

[raayllum]

Been thinking through the logistics of this dream because 1) while I posited a long time ago that Aaravos may have participated in cannibalism and been quite gleeful that dark magic's cannibalism motif is now far more literal, 2) I don't think this is meant to be literal, at least not in the way we're thinking about it. (Kim'Dael's literal blood drinking notwithstanding.) After all, Viren speaks of harvesting/consuming Zubeia's essence in 3x09, but the spell Aaravos channels through Viren / the staff to take Zym's essence, well. has very similar language:

(Screencap translation / reversal courtesy of Cartoon Universe.)

So Aaravos consumed her power, for sure, but I don't know if it was more of a manner of him using the staff or his own magics, rather than chopping her into pieces and eating her one by one, or having a huge form of some kind and eating her (which would be very hard to keep grounded in reality in a visual medium, anyway, when he can just squash the protagonists).

However, what I want to talk about is... where the fuck is Janai getting this information from? There's no way she heard directly what he was saying since it was obscured from the audience, her sister died, and it was in a clear whisper. It can't have just been a truth she was suppressing. Star magic has to do with visions and premonitions, but she doesn't have access to any kind of Star magic, so unless it's another special Sunfire bloodline / Sunfire spell thing with Truth telling or something... Could it be that Aaravos wants her to know this, to get in her head and terrify her, and that's why he's revealing the information to her in her dreams/nightmares?