#you don't even have her canon-canon finalised

[hauntedjohnny]

You have me buzzing about Nancy and her choice of victims for different things. I didn't even think of that but now it's all I can focus on. Would it be too cheesy to have one of the Flores girls be the fertilizer... bc that makes my heart tug so sadly.... I think she'd pick Julie to eat since she's *slightly* more filled out (I am fat- I mean no disrespect to anyone by saying this lol) but also in that same regard maybe Leland or Danny? Maybe Danny bc Leland may be too lean? Sorry if you didn't want input! But you really got me thinking! I hope you have a good evening/night!

(Also I just wanted to say- I love seeing your posts! You're one of my favorite people around this f*ndom!)

you're totally okay, thank you for the ask :) sometimes it feels like shouting into the void over here lol !! i hope ur having a good day too <3

just generally i think nancy would be more picky about who she is in comparison to the main family. she would only want the best and is mildly superstitious about the spirits of who she kills.

to me it would make sense for her (and the rest of the family) to eat people who are fit and toned because they'll have a higher muscle to fat ratio so i think all the vics are gonna be good meat in that regard. there's also the thing that you shouldn't stress cattle out before you kill them as it makes the meat tougher so people like julie may actually not be the best meat. part of me wants to believe that nancy doesn't enjoy eating women, seeing them as lesser and thinking they're not good enough for her. the other part of me believes that she ~could~ potentially eat younger women with the belief that they're more fertile and that's a trait she would gain during consumption. if the latter were true i think it was only something she did in her 20/30s before she found johnny. judith was the last woman she ate. nancy became johnny's mom by consuming her, finalising the handover.

despite nancy saying "you know what happens to bodies when you plant 'em?" i feel like it makes more sense for her to use the remains/bones to grind into bonemeal but once again im of two minds. she either is picky about who she uses as her victims are her flowers and so thinks certain people (high risk victims/women like prostitutes or runaways) aren't deserving of a place in her frontyard OR she uses all of them as a body count in a way and each flower in her frontyard is someone she killed. for that first reason i do NOT think she would want maria's spirit in her house specifically for all the reasons you already know.

dumping the bodies in rivers seems to be the worst option of the three, left for people who johnny (and possibly nancy) impulsively killed. i dont see this as a thing the entire family does, just nancy and johnny. there are two radio broadcasts about rivers. the first is about the tulsa couple's IDs being found in the pedernales river which is canonically about nancy/johnny as nancy has a voiceline referring to it. it's a river fairly close to newt/austin so could possibly be a quick dumping place. the other river is devil's river where bodies were found stabbed and strangled which obviously suggests it was johnny's doing. and nancy has a line about showing the victims devil river. devil's river is a fair drive out so this river seems weirdly special for the two of them? idk if it had special meaning for nancy and then took johnny there for his first kill and then it became a special place for johnny away from nancy where he can play on his own. dumping in the river is just to dispose of evidence after an impulsive kill imo. i don't think nancy has much of the strength to transport and get rid of the body at this age so probably doesn't do it often or does it with johnny (like the tulsa couple). does make me wonder who nancy impulsively killed and disposed of in her youth. did she used to have any impulses similar to johnny that she 'grew out of'...?

[sarahlizziewrites]

OC Kiss Tag

I was tagged by @tisiphonewolfe - thank you! Read her post here

Rules: post a smooch between your OCs for Friday. It can be as light as a peck or as intense as a makeout. It can be romantic or platonic or familial. As long as a smooch takes place it’s free reign!

You know, it's wild. All of my stories involve kissing. I am such a sucker for a good first kiss scene. But for the life of me, I don't think I've never canon-ified a proper smooch on the lips for any of my main pairings! They've all been planned, but not written or finalised yet.

There's a lot of draft-zeroes I could post for this, is what I'm saying. But here's a draft 2 from Sitora:

With that, Raelynn turned to close her satchel. “I have to go, before mother notices I’m gone.” The briefness of their meeting made Sitora’s chest ache. Getting Raelynn back at the Academy was more than just righting a wrong: she needed her, and she needed her presence to make everything feel right again.  Rising to her tiptoes, Raelynn placed a hand on Sitora’s neck and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. The fleeting touch of soft lips nonetheless caused heat to pool to her cheeks.  “Good luck,” she said, before turning out of the alleyway into the evening light.

I'm going to tag @starbuds-and-rosedust, @mister-writes and @heymacareyna (as always, no pressure!) and anyone else who would like to!

[patrice-bergerons]

📕

I'm awake at 4am thanks to COVID so let me give you the Spectre fix it idea I just had as I was falling asleep.

So I've read a bunch of fics premised on the idea that Bond doesn't really love Madeleine at the end of Spectre and/or doesn't really mean what he tells her at the end of NTTD and while I enjoyed my share of these stories, I want to go the other way.

I want a spectre fix it in which Bond is just as 'in love' with Madeleine at the end of Sprectre as he is in canon but they thru very amicable means realise what they are doing is less about love and a lot more about running away from their pasts and their lives.

It starts when Bond goes to Q to get the Aston Martin and finds Q exhausted and cranky. He makes a quip like ‘I knew I was your fave 00 but didn't think me leaving would cost you that much sleep’, at which point Q snaps. Says, 'you think the whole world turns around you, don't you, you prick' and Bond realises in an instant that (a) he fucked up and (b) something is wrong. He is right--Tanner in fact had a medical emergency the night before (I'm thinking small heart attack? something serious enough to scare everyone and have a recovery period but be recoverable from) and the last thing he said before he lost consciousness was 'not a word of this to Bond.'

Bond was always Tanner's favourite too you see and so few 00s make it to retirement, he did not want Bond worrying about him or delaying his well deserved retirement on his acct. Bond coaxes this info out of Q though and of course the moment he knows he cancels his plans.

Madeleine is extremely supportive of this and the story is one where the two of them - with the most time on their hands - quickly integrate into the Tanner family's support system, taking the kids to football practice and the zoo, cooking and baking and distracting. In the process Bond also realises just how much Q and Eve (and even M) are struggling in the aftermath of the Denbigh mess, having been chased and shot at and with no ability to take time off to recover when they have an inquiry on their hands. So they start cooking and baking for them too. Bond whose retirement from MI6 was not quite finalised yet decides to stick around for a bit longer so he can help clean up the mess and testify in front of the parliamentary committee.

This is a found family fic more than anything I think, one where Bond realises he has not been there for friends who risked life and limb for him and wants to do better, and one in which he faces the demons he was trying to run away from as well such as the fact that Blofeld is his foster brother who killed the one man who cared for Bond.

And then Tanner is all better and the inquiry is over and Bond finds himself thinking I care a whole lot about Madeleine but do I want to drop all this and go gallivanting around Europe when Tanner's older kid's playing in a cup final the next week and Q is going all out for his birthday party next month? Madeleine for her part gets a top offer from a place in Paris and she knows if she tries she could also find something good in London too but this position was her dream since she was in uni, does she want to drop it for a shot at a life with Bond? Ask him to move to Paris with her?

And the answer is no for both of them, it's bittersweet but not even that much of a real question once they start thinking about it. So they go their separate ways but on the friendliest best of terms and there is always a spot on the table for Madeleine whenever she comes back to London.

I think this is also a verse in which Q had feelings for Bond for a while and the fic ends on a hopeful note for them, not with them together per se but closer now than ever and with an understanding that they have time, to find their feet and to commit to a future.

[infinitestarsdev]

Devlog 2023-05-20

It's Friday! (OK, it's not but give me a second!)

It's been a crazy few days, mostly because our firstborn was– well– born. We brought her home on Friday, and while the intention was to do a devlog yesterday, there just wasn't enough time. (Instead I'm now writing one while she is sleeping on my chest.)

I've been prepping Infinite Stars for her arrival over the last few months, as I didn't want to lose the momentum we had gained until now. Stoffies and Tae are happily drawing away, making good progress. The additional writer has been such a blessing! Two heads are better than one, and I wish I had had the budget from the beginning!

On to actual progress:

Medsec BG is almost done. It's taking longer than usual, but I've seen the WiP artwork, and it'll be worth the wait.

Tae has been working on the character art for Andreas (and a few more crew members.) I know sexy is subjective, but I think some of the ladies (and gents) are going to swoon over him.

We're working on the possibility to include little artwork pop-ups in the game for key items. I don't want to say much more until everything is confirmed and finalised, but it is looking promising.

On the writing side (phew!):

We're getting the first ever MxM content, starting with Khalil's intimate scene.

We've earnestly started working in Veera's romance arc/scenes.

We've finished a flirting scene with Lochem, a precursor that will probably lead to his intimate scene which is still being polled. (If you haven't voted yet, you should do so! Anyone can vote.)

Some fluff scenes where you can play some "Liridian" with Matthias.

Some "empty room" content (like Aeroponics and Medsec) for the Gym.

A short just for fun, non canon scene illustrated by Stoffies and named "Dirty Khalil."

As you can see, even though I've had to step back for a bit, we're still making tons of progress. I'm hoping to have the content coded and ready for a Patreon release on the 26th, followed by our next public release on the 2nd of June.

Have a great rest of your weekend! <3

[starkcanvas]

Ok some more Ghost Sunny stuff because I'm on a roll!

Because Mari never got her knee injury, she still plays Softball and Aubrey likes to play it with her too.

Whenever the gang has some sort of event everyone tries to be there, but Sunny always shows up, he's reliable like that.

Mari is still a bit of a perfectionist, but not to the same degree in Canon or your AU's due to her parents not putting all that pressure on her.

The reason she got into Piano in this AU is because when Sunny was alive, any sort of piano music would always calm him down. It still does, but it was one of the few things that would actually work back then.

Sunny technically can swim, he doesn't do it normally for obvious reasons, but he does sort of float half way in water.

Mari and their parents know Sunny is very ticklish, but Basil found out accidentally and ended up being more embarrassed than sunny.

Sunny is able to interact with the world around himself normally but he has to actively think about floating or going through walls to do it. This does lead to some confusion when people see Kel throwing a ball and it floating before being tossed back but people really don't care enough to mention it.

When the Gang met Aubrey it was actually Mewo who found her shoe. She did get lots of cuddles because she's a good kitty.

When Basil was introduced to the group Sunny's Mom was baking bagels, this is a coincidence I swear.

Hero got his nickname because his Mom bought a bunch of hero sandwiches when he was younger and it was the only thing he'd eat all week.

Whenever they have sleepovers Sunny always wakes up with someone cuddling him. even when he's not even near them when he falls asleep.

Because of his size, everyone can pick him up

While he doesn't have a favourite food this time around he loves apple juice and it's the easiest way to bribe him.

Every april fools the gang has a big prank off and Sunny + his parents act as the judges.

Despite being incorporeal Sunny and his clothes still get dirty, no-one knows how exactly this happens, but it does mean he doesn't lose out on the joys of a bubble bath.

Mr Plantegg was originally Sunny's, but he gave it to Aubrey after they met because she mentioned that her parents don't get her stuff like that.

When she turns 13, her dad leaves, and when she's 14 the Suzuki's finalise their adoption of Aubrey.

While they don't adopt Basil, they do become good friends with both his grandma and Polly, who does adopt him after his grandma's death.

Despite being a ghost, Sunny can't see other ghosts. I guess he's a special type of ghost~.

He also has a lower 'body' temperature due to being dead, but he is still warm. His family uses this as an excuse to rug him up in warm clothes constantly, it's just a coincidence that the outfits are absolutely adorable.

Sunny found out Mari and Hero had a crush on each other because Mari said she thinks hero was pretty cool during a family dinner in a dreamy voice before turning beet red.

He also later found out heroes side of it because he asked him one day what kind of flowers and chocolates Mari likes.

Can't think of any more because I'm hungry, but I can totally send you more cute stuff when I get up tomorrow!

Wholesome babies ;-; all of them

Although I think I wanna take a break from reading long paragraphs for a bit… Wi-Fi’s being stupid with my phone so I couldn’t listen to music while I slept so I only ended up getting like, 2 hours of sleep and because I was left alone with my negative thoughts all night long, my anxiety kept me up for the rest of the night so… sorry if I don’t seem to be in a good mood today…

[roseategales]

it’s unlikely i’ll ever write this au out as a fic because it would require me to..... uh..... write a Plot lmao........ but i’ve been thinking a lot about what would happen between solas and eludysia if a child came into the mix, and they only knew post-corypheus. so have some hcs before i go nuts. under the cut for length:

cole is the first in the inner circle to find out. because it’s cole. he senses something is wrong and reads her. it be like that sometimes. he knows she’s fearful and tells her she’d be a good mother, but also asks her why she’s uncertain about wanting the child. 

she says it’s because she “doesn’t know if she could protect it.” which. you know. Valid. she’s the inquisitor and people have died. including clan lavellan. it’s a sheer miracle that nothing has already happened to the life inside her. ultimately, though, she does already love the child, because it’s hers.

josie is the next to know. she immediately writes to a newly-coronated leliana and they up resources dedicated to finding out where solas is. ‘dysia, at this point, feels like he has the right to know, but it’s his choice to come back and acknowledge the baby as his.

josie also sends word to ‘dysia’s childhood bff, laleal — who, i’ll add, jokingly volunteered to be the other parent in solas’ stead asgjfashdas. she’s messy and we stan her.

sera, cass, dorian, blackwall and cullen fuss over ‘dysia 24/7. bull, thankfully, figures out that doing so increases her stress and discomfort. it’s cute. the entire affair is CUTE.

laleal, cass, dorian, and sera also give ‘dysia an entire list of how they’d hurt solas when he returns. (meanwhile, she’s internally like, “this is why cole and josie knew before you did.”)

varric is back in kirkwall and viv is back in court, but they use their powers and connections to help with the search, and visit once the baby is born.

solas finds out from one of his spies in the inquisition. and he just. he knows. but he questions said spy like he doesn’t anyway. (”how far along is she? do you know who the father is?”) dumbass.

‘dysia is like. 4-5 months along by the time solas comes around. the first thing she says to him is, “it’s yours.” the first thing he says to her is, “i know.” because there’s so much to say that they don’t know how to say what they need to. dumbasses.

solas doesn’t tell ‘dysia everything immediately. he tells her where his whereabouts were and that he was searching for Something(tm), then promises he’ll tell her everything else after their child arrives. 

i genuinely think he’d still consider tearing down the veil, even though it means certain destruction. he just weighs the options more as “what kind of world do i want my child to live in?” 

the birth itself is gruesome and taxing, but ‘dysia gives birth to a baby girl who has her eyes and nose, solas’ mouth and dark brown hair. they name her arlise’el — “that which gives our home or life warmth.”

when solas finally, finally reveals everything...... ‘dysia is upset. reasonably. she doesn’t kick him out or anything like that. just asks for time to process. like.... all that time and all those lives taken as a result of his actions.... 

anyway. this was a lot. their kiddo is adorable tho. she instantly has everyone wrapped around her little finger and it’s the BEST.

[dragynkeep]

Criticism of the concept art of team rwby. Specifically your thoughts on the volume 1 concept art.

The concept arts for the girls really had some good points, and most of their looks besides Blake worked as a starting point for the superior fits they start the show in.

Honestly, I really like this outfit for Ruby.

For Beacon? I prefer her finalised look more. It just suits the more immature, idealised look for Ruby at that point in her life, where she was coming into Beacon wide eyed and ready to be the heroine like the ones in her stories.

But after Beacon when she lost her friends and has to grow up? This helps portray that character progression.

It's not too different from her finalised look, but I would honestly go back to this or her V2 alt for her Mistral look, rather than the canon one we got. It still has some aspects of her Beacon outfit in the puffy sleeves, corset, huge skirt, and long boots, but without the things that bogged her Mistral outfit down.

The corset even has the red on it to help it stand out and add some red to her look, even with the light grey shirt she wears instead. I love the cross imagery being more apparent on her, selling the gothic look for Ruby, and I honestly think I prefer it to her rose emblem.

The thing I'm not too sure about is the neck collar thing, which just looks a little silly to me, and the colour of her shirt. It's a bit too light for my liking, I would've gone for a darker grey to help make the red pop next to it. Also, I'm glad she didn't keep the bandolier or chains on her skirt, it cluttered her design a bit too much.

So yeah, great concept art. I even used the corset and shirt look for my Vacuo design of Ruby.

There's not much that's changed from Weiss' finalised look, unlike Ruby. The look really works with the blue and white, her clothes having the lace and quite icy look with the fabric, really selling the rich look of her outfit compared to the more tone downed outfits of her teammates.

I'm glad they shortened her sleeves honestly, because right now they just look like they get in the way and make Weiss look a bit too silly. She reminds me of a clown. That being said, I like the idea of gems hanging from her sleeves, like the little gems that would hang from her Atlas outfit later on. I wish they kept them, but maybe change them to silver so they don't stand out that much.

Besides that, I think they made the right changes from this. The beauty mark is cute, and I wish one of the other main girls had it instead, but I think the scar is a better choice that opens up a story for Weiss. Also, as much as I wish the show didn't give every girl the same choppy bangs, Weiss' bangs here just look weird.

Maybe it's because I'm used to her normal bangs, but compared to how I wish Blake kept her straight bangs, I'm glad Weiss changed hers.

I'm gonna be honest, I don't like this outfit.

It could just be because of how it's coloured, but the outfit looks so muddy with the purple tinted brown and desaturated gold that I would honestly take later Blake outfits' colouring than this. The colours make the yellow look so dull next to it, and you can't really see that her colour is meant to be black, not muddy purple brown.

The actual style of the shirt with the long open skirt thing looks bad and cluttered, especially with the belt over it. I'm glad they toned it back with her vest and shirt with shorts, using simple lace and gradients to give some interest to her finalised outfit.

There are some bits I do like. Her thigh highs are really pretty save the questionable colouring, and Blake has shown that she fits the thigh high aesthetics with her Mistral outfit. Her heterochromia is also a really neat touch and something I wish they kept, as well as her bangs being straight rather than choppy like every other girls in the show.

Her other concept is really just her finalised outfit with a bow on her chest. I think it's cute and wish they kept that little accessory on her final outfit, it'd keep in line with her bow style and is just adorable.

Green Yang isn't real, she can't hurt us.

It's just like Yang's finalised outfit but with different colour attempts. The second one having a scarf is honestly a cute idea, and something that I wouldn't have minded Yang wearing maybe later on, like in Atlas.

The problem is that the colouring is awful. The first one having an all green look just doesn't look good with the yellow, especially the more desaturated bronze on her jacket. It's also just so much that you wouldn't be surprised if people thought her colour was now green rather than yellow. It's just plain ugly.

Her second one is better with the light tans and oranges, but the tan here is the same problem as the tans she uses in Atlas. They're lighter and yellow in tone, but they're so desaturated that it looks so dull right next to her vibrant yellow and orange. The random white sleeves look disconnected and like Yang is wearing two different vests, and the black pokka dot bandana just sticks out. It works much better as the purple of her eyes.

And as much as I like the scarf, the random gradient from orange to cyan blue is ugly and sticks out from Yang's establish colour scheme.

I do like how vibrant her eyes are, and it's something I wish translated over to the show. Ein Lee always colours Yang's eyes in really well, along with the bandana, and it's a shame that part of the design is always ignored.

Her other concept art is more refined, and the only difference is that the purple of her bandana is instead a light blue. I like both, but I think the purple just fits in better with her colour scheme than the blue, it connects with her eye colour and looks more balanced because of it.

[athys-obelia]

character/s: claude de alger obelia, diana of siodonna, felix robane

synopsis: it's...uhm....an empress!diana x concubine!claude crackfic 😭😭

warning/s: uhh a sprinkle of politics, the robane duchy is now siodonnan and not obelian screw canon, diana is lowkey mean to rogrog

a/n: i'm so sorry this is so bad

part one

felix's foot taps against the tiles of the empress' room impatiently. "you stayed up finalising the agreement all night, your majesty, perhaps some rest is due?"

diana spares him glance, turning sideways from her position on her bed. "what was his name again?"

  "pardon?"

  "the painter," she elaborates, pointing towards the painting on the ceiling above the bed. "i keep...i don't know, i keep finding new things the more i look at it."

  "is that so?"

the painting itself, a coronation gift from felix, depicts the goddess diana reaching out to the children of the world and vice versa. "if you look at the sky closely - remember our old siodonann classes?- 'for the people' is hidden in the stars. isn't that cool?"

the knight squints at the painting. "oh, i see it! i wonder why it's in old siodonann, though?"

  "i would guess it's because the imperial family wasn't worshipped in the old days," diana explains, "for example - right now, in some parts of the empire, my late father - bless him - and i may actually have shrines because people believe the imperial family's descent is from the gods. when the kingdom was just formed, though, kings and queens weren't allowed to ride alone in carriages as they greeted their subjects- they needed to have a slave with them at all times, who kept on repeating 'you are human' to them. 'you are human', 'we are all the same in the eyes of the true gods."

the sound of the army of maids behind the door is enough to pull felix out of his trance. "er...horatius calvus, your majesty."

  "hm?"

  "the artist, that's his name."

  "ah." diana turns to the painting once more, eyes staring at the goddess' hair that melted into the night sky. "would you be able to get in contact with him? i'd like to commission a piece."

felix bows gracefully. "as your majesty commands. oh, and - for the obelian delegates' farewell celebration tonight...has your majesty decided on an escort?"

she groans, falling back on the bed. "i've had so much free time lately, the harem is all i think about!"

  "very funny, ma'am. then...shall i prepare the usual?"

diana shakes her head. "i'll visit viscaria palace later and see for myself. the obelians brought some concubines with them as presents, it's be nice to weed through the bunch."

felix's eyes nearly pop out. "you're visiting the harem?! your majesty! did you find someone you like??"

she chucks a pillow at him before he can continue. "you weren't loud enough just now, fe, i don't think all of siodonna heard you."

  "...apologies, ma'am."

three years ago, when she had only just come into power, diana remembers being afraid of the large, gold doors between her and the council room. she remembers pausing before entering, regaining her breath, preparing her mind. projecting an image.

if there is one thing she has learnt, though, it's that only fools can be afraid of their own property. their assets. the larger-than-life doors swing at her command, allow or deny entrance with solely her permission. confidence comes easy when you act like you own the place - nevermind the fact that she did own most places.

but i have no reason to be afraid.

the obelian delegates stand at her arrival and bow like good little lords should before an empress. one of the more prominent ones stands to address her as soon as the meeting commences.

  "blessings and glory upon the sun of the great siodonnan empire," he says.

diana raises an amused eyebrow. this game, hm? "is that an obelian greeting, duke? how interesting. here, one would usually wish 'a long life to the protector of the siodonnan people'. that's all i am, after all - how could i be the sun?"

duke alpheus sputters. "er...i failed to acquaint myself with siodonnan culture appropriately, my apologies, your majesty. i shall do better next time."

how arrogant. still, she smiles, "i must confess, duke alpheus - i am slightly susceptible to praise, so i'll let you off this time."

  "thank you, ma'am."

  "although making the assumption that there will be a next time at all was quite courageous of you." diana signals the guards, who open the door to let the final participant of the meeting inside. "however -courage and bravery are traits best suited for kings and queens, duke. not lords."

the obelian delegates pale as they watch their - former - emperor, wrists bound, enter the hall with an entourage of knights.

diana glances at the newcomer. "although i suppose even for an emperor, too much of a bravado may cost a war."

anastacius de alger obelia glowers at her.

she frowns at the knights. "how come such a precious friend of mine is tied up like this? is this how we siodonnans treat our guests?"

felix bows deeply. "i apologise, ma'am - he was resisting far too much."

  "whatever the case. get a seat set up right here, beside me - after all," diana smiles at the fuming obelian, "we were dining together just a few months ago, weren't we?"

  "three months ago, to be precise," anastacius spits out, "after which you decided to switch tides and invade us like a coward."

she watches one of the knights set down a fancy chair to the left of hers, reaching out to untie the bindings on anastacius' wrist. diana frowns suddenly, waving over felix, "ah, is this the leash my brother used when he tamed his dragon?"

the former emperor flinches, staring down at it. "someone here tamed a dragon?" a light pink dusts his cheeks - did he really touch the actual leash of a dragon?

felix shakes his head with a small smirk. "this is the leash her majesty the late dowager empress used, ma'am. for her dog."

  "-ah, right, i remember now! all the ones marked with this little purple line are used for tying down senseless animals, aren't they?"

  "yes, your majesty." felix returns to his spot behind her, clear amusement swimming in his grey eyes as he watches the obelians try and maintain their composure.

diana gently lets the leash loose, a hand on the stunned anastacius' shoulder to lightly push him into the seat. "you aren't wrong - i did betray your hospitality, didn't i?"

roger alpheus winces at the sudden authority in her tone as the knights pass out a document to each of the obelian lords.

  "obelia's greeting and offer for peace was kind to me, so i must return this generosity. your country is now part of the siodonnan empire, so we should be parting on a good note. will a little present suffice?"

a brunette diana remembers to be a count speaks up, "...a gift, your majesty?"

felix moves closer to the table, watching the detailed map of siodonna carved into its centre. as he raises his hand, almost as if it were a chess piece, a small island moves to the left. its color flickers between a siodonnan purple and the obelian teal.

diana sighs. "i was planning on the island of delphine, since it not only contains a relatively large gold mine, but also much tourist attraction."

oh, she can see the stars in alpheus' eyes already. "thank you, your ma-"

  "but." he shrivels under her piercing gaze, "but, obelia doesn't need gold, does it? what you need is better foreign relations. and what better way to form an alliance..."

she eyes the map, and with a flick of felix's wrist, a small stretch of land connecting two continents switches from its original purple to a hue of blue.

diana looks up now, meeting even anastacius' shocked eyes. he eyes her suspiciously, "do you really-?"

she nods. "...consider it a gift from your sovereign. it is enough, yes?"

  "i- uh," duke alpheus blinks twice, "the isthmus of erven is...an adequate present, yes, your majesty. the people of obelia shall thrive due to your generosity."

  "it is not generosity, duke. your people are my subjects now. however, i hope you realise the isthmus isn't obelian property for obvious reasons. there is no trust between us. despite this, what i will allow is some access." diana stands, watching the foreign nobles mirror the action. "the terms and conditions of our relationship from this point onwards are in the papers before you and are, obviously, subject to change. feel free to approach me with concerns, should you have any."

  "you were firmer than i'd expected with the obelians, your majesty," felix comments.

diana recoils as his eyes light up at the sight of viscaria palace. "remember when i visited obelia for anastacius' coronation? i was only seventeen, but two years into my studies as heir - and they were all over duke renauld's son! poor cousin ronnie couldn't stop apologising."

felix snorts. "the renaulds wouldn't have dared challenge your majesty's claim, not while the late empress dowager was behind you."

  "ha! that's right, everyone was scared of mama." she grins fondly, "papa most of all."

the knight nods, murmuring a prayer.

  "i want them gone as soon as possible," diana admits, "but there's much to settle before that. i need to fix up anastacius before we can let him back, the second prince is still...what was his name, again?"

  "claude de alger obelia, ma'am."

she winces. "yes, he's an impo-"

a commotion sounds from within viscaria. felix raises an eyebrow at the shouts echoing from the beautiful building, a hand already atop his sheathed sword. "ma'am, stay back, i'll have a look- your majesty! where are you going-?!"

navigating through the decorated halls, diana halts before the entrance of the garden. the argument is between two men she doesn't recognise, as the older concubines gather to the side, amusing twinkling in their eyes.

  "attention!" felix roars, "her imperial majesty, empress diana celeste!"

the two freeze in fear.

  "disrupting my peace. how dare you?" diana demands.

one of them, dressed too finely for someone she hadn't even seen yet, steps forward. "your majesty, my name is xerre, i was only-"

she raises a hand, effectively shutting him up. tone softening, diana turns to the group crowding around the desert table. "lex?"

the group shuffles to let a young, silver haired young man forward. lex bows gracefully, laugh lines around his eyes crinkling. "yes, my lady?"

  "do you know what happened here?"

lex nods. "the monthly salary was being distributed, your majesty, and xerre - being a present from the kingdom of masur - had some trouble believing his amount was the same as a former obelian slave's. verhan stepped in to argue that your majesty was the one to decide this, and they began fighting."

  "shall i prepare for his voyage back to masur, majesty?" felix asks, as the rest of the concubines roll their eyes at his antics.

diana studies the masurian concubine, beckoning him closer. "it is common knowledge i do not generally accept gifted concubines from territories out of my own."

she watches his adam's apple rise and fall, tracing a nail over the well defined jawline. xerre shivers.

  "however, your king is new to his throne, and his queen one of my dearest friends. do you realise how our alliance will look were i to send you back?"

he nods cautiously.

  "i do not wish to withdraw support from someone i consider a brother, xerre. especially when he is engaged in armed conflict on two fronts."

  "i- i am prepared for any punishment your majesty deems appropriate."

diana sighs softly. "i would send you to work for me in the capitol, but the rules state every concubine entering must reside here for a certain amount of time. until then, bear with it. this palace, and a life of luxury, is only meant for my favorites. clear?"

  "yes, your majesty."

  "my apologies, ma'am," felix says once the crowd disperses, his head hanging. "i should've prepared for your arrival with more care."

she waves off the apology, heading to the guest hall to take a look at the new obelian  concubines.

  "vera leaves for her son's wedding for a week and we've already had an incident. honestly, felix."

  "...who's vera?"

diana pauses at the unfamiliar voice. her gaze falls on the figure sitting on the window seat, entirely immersed in the book in his hands. she blinks, stunned, watching the colourful window's filtered light paint the brilliant blonde of his hair.

felix is the first to address him, scoffing, "i believe your majesty's beauty has enchanted one of the gods - who else would dare address the empress of our nation so casually?"

diana chuckles, watching as the man stands, intrigued. she stays silent, breath hitched, as he towers over her, studying her with a curiosity that rivals hers from a moment ago. and only when he finally lowers himself to a knee does his hair part, and diana flushes at the red tinting his ears.

  "greetings to her imperial majesty, may the gods grant the protector of the siodonnan people a life long and blessed."

she offers him her hand. "rise. and tell me your name."

a beat of silence passes as he stares at her outstretched hand before hesitantly accepting. "claude, your majesty."

  "claude," diana tries, finding it rolls of her tongue deliciously.

he raises an eyebrow as she regards him. "your majesty...?"

diana smiles, her hand moving to touch the various jewellery adorning his fingers. gently, she slides off the gold ring off of his ring finger. "you must have a good reason to be donning an unauthorized magical item in my palace."

he doesn't answer, head lowered.

her hand lets go of his, raising to grip the blonde's jaw. diana tilts up his face, meeting his gaze. the dull grey eyes from before have vanished, replaced by glittering blues.

she inhales sharply. "you're...the obelian pr...the second prince of obelia."

he nods.

diana turns, more puzzled than angry. "why is he in my harem?"

  "... didn't your majesty wish for it?" felix tilts his head in confusion.

  "what? no?"

the knight frowns. "but i was so sure...your majesty said you didn't have an heir because you wanted a concubine as beautiful as me...when we took over the imperial palace, as the army swore their allegiance...your majesty said the prince was the prettiest you’ve ever seen?"

  "i- felix, i was kidding!"

  "...oh."

she turns to the prince then, "and you! you're a prince! how come you just went along with this??"

  "well...it was the most peaceful part of the palace..."

diana gapes at the two men, before finally sighing in defeat. "you're telling me i was scouring the lands for you, while you were right...?" she raises a hand to massage her temple, "...gods grant me patience."

felix cautiously steps forward, "your majesty...i understand this is shocking, but... tonight's escort..."

she glances up at the obelian prince. "allow them all to retire. i've found the perfect escort."

a/n: hmmm this was a bit empty claudiana wise, wasn't it? their development is coming though, i had to give empress!diana an intro :) also !! the situation may seem a bit confusing rn, but next chapter will clear things up! or you can just ask me for clarification <3

💕 felix is dying to find a concubine diana likes bc he really really really wants to be an uncle

💕 in siodonna, emperors/empresses are referred to by their first(diana) + middle name(celeste) and not a last name bc they technically can't belong to a house, they belong to the empire. but the middle name is important bc you have to ask for it (from someone you love and respect usually), you're never just born with one (so you could ask a parent / friend / mentor yada yada and they give you a name they believe fits best)