#Wilhelm lies

[raincitygirl76]

This!!! Absolutely this!

That said, I don’t think Wilhelm telling the truth during the speech was something he actually planned to do beforehand on a conscious level. It was spontaneous. But it was absolutely a factor in his attack of truth telling. That discomfort in the coat room scene at realizing he FINALLY has Simon back, but must hide it from everyone. Because that’s what a secret relationship entails.

We know that the joy of Simon's "I love you" gave Wille the courage to go rogue during his speech. But I think we also have to thank the discomfort and pain of this moment. It's saying, "Ok this is what you just agreed to! A secret relationship where you can't kiss each other in public! Enjoy!" And it sucked and Wille did not enjoy and he did something about that.

[raincitygirl76]

Omar Rudberg is a very attractive young man. So I find it hilarious (though somewhat sobering) that nobody at Hillerska seems to notice Simon is gorgeous. All because he’s a lowly non-resident (and a socialist to boot, who refuses to act grateful to be allowed around his social betters), they pretend Simon’s looks are nothing out of the common way. It shows the pressure of class solidarity.

Makes me wonder, though, how many Hillerska boarders secretly have crushes on Simon. Because, you know, they have eyes, even if they don’t dare admit it to their friends because it would be social suicide. Are there girls in Simon’s classes who wistfully sigh over how aesthetically appealing he is? Or fellow choristers who covertly watch him sing when they’re supposed to be watching the music teacher and/or reading their scores?

I wonder how many girls quietly cried themselves to sleep right after the video came out. And told their curious roommates they were crying because apparently the Crown Prince is unattainable. But really they were crying because apparently Simon Eriksson is gay. And therefore definitely off the market, if those girls ever got up the guts to cross class lines and acknowledge how crush worthy he is.

P.S.

Incidentally, I don’t think Simon intentionally went back in the closet when he moved to Hillerska. It’s just we know from 1.01 that hardly anyone has spoken to him since the start of the school year. It’s kind of tough to come out to people who are pretending you don’t exist and won’t talk to you.

And then Wilhelm arrived, and was obviously interested but extremely closeted himself. So Simon had a large incentive not to arouse the suspicions of their Hillerska school mates by coming out himself. I don’t think Simon was hiding in S1 so much as just not choosing to actively bring it up. I’m pretty damn sure if someone had asked him flat out, he would’ve said he’s gay. But nobody did ask, so he and Wilhelm could continue to fly under the radar as close platonic friends.

We can also infer from Saran’s comment in 1.03 “Why are you sneaking around?” That at Marieberg, Simon was out and proud. But he wasn’t a pariah at Marieberg. People actually talked to him there. And he wasn’t deeply in love with a closeted guy at Marieberg.

It could also be another reason (as if Simon needed another) that Simon feels so betrayed by Wilhelm denying the video in 1.06. Simon has already compromised his principles for Wilhelm even before the video, by making allowances for Wilhelm’s closeted status and sneaking around secretively. And Wilhelm repaid Simon having previously compromised his principles by abandoning him altogether.

It’s one thing to let people assume you’re platonic friends and not actively correct them. It’s a whole other ballgame for Wilhelm to actively lie to the press and the entire world. Assertively affirming his (nonexistent) heterosexuality and his single status.

[pluvio-floret]

..Nothing at all?

[princess-polls]

Round One: 2C

[aledlastbestie]

I tried to make a Wilmon fanart using a panel from the manhua Here U Are

[raincitygirl76]

Boris is the only adult in Wilhelm’s entire life so far who is entirely on Wilhelm’s side. He doesn’t report back to the Queen, nor does he consider her wishes more important than his duty to his patient. Boris is the only adult who treats Wilhelm like a troubled teenager first, and the crown prince of Sweden a very distant second.

Boris doesn’t give a shit about the succession crisis. All he cares about is treating his patient to the best of his ability. And the fact that his patient is the future king of Sweden doesn’t factor into Boris’s treatment plan. Yeah, Wilhelm’s situation is relevant to their sessions. But only insofar as it’s a significant source of anxiety to this patient, and a significant source of this patient feeling trapped.

Boris is the only adult in Wilhelm’s entire life who just wants him to be a happy human being, without reference to his position. And who gives precisely zero fucks about how the Queen will react to her heir’s therapist encouraging him to self-actualize.

Kristina sent Iwlhelm to therapy so he could learn to control his emotions, avoid outbursts. Instead, the therapist she picked encouraged Wilhelm to pay attention to his own emotions. To put his own happiness above his duty to the monarchy.

THIS MAN DIDN'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THE REPERCUSSIONS, HE WAS ALL THERE FOR THE DRAMA I LOOK UP TO HIM BECAUSE SAME

A HERO

[raincitygirl76]

Speaking as of March 17, the day before 3.06 drops, I don't see August's arc in 3.01 to 3.05 as a redemption arc. Yeah, he's done one more genuinely nice thing in his life than before S3: for his third years, walking back from the homophobic sexual degradation that he experienced in his own initiation as a first year. Go him.

That's a good thing he's done, no question. But he still organized terrifying initiations (even if they weren't quite as bad as his own), he still got booze from Simon for the initiation party that he'd never had any intention of paying for.

August also allowed his lawyer to make that outrageous statement in 3.01 denying that the video was defamatory. The only reason he's not in jail awaiting trial on CP charges is because he has money and connections to make his criminal act disappear. That's not original, about the money and connections, but I forget who said it first. @unfortunate17 or @billfarrah , maybe... He was also smug rather than penitent while everybody was signing the paperwork.

Also, August persists in walking all over Sara's boundaries. He visits her at Micke's without warning, and doesn't apologize for the position he put her in. He uses that Conversation to remind her that she and he have similar dads, except Micke is alive and Carl Johan is dead. He's trying to play on Sara's sympathy. Even though the whole reason she feels she has to live with Micke is because of august's past bad actions.

And he repeatedly defies her wishes about not wanting to read his first year letter. He follows her out to the dumpster and insists on reading it to her to tug on her heartstrings. Even after she was clear she didn't want to read it and gave it back to him.

Now, was August being manipulative in S3 on purpose? No. But he and Sara aren't an example of a healthy relationship just because in S3 Wilhelm and Simon have an unhealthy relationship. I know I shouldn't use the word healthy, but at the moment I can't think of a suitable synonym.

So yeah, now he's done exactly two nice things in his life that we know of:

Buying Sara for Rousseau

Dialling back the sexual intimidation on the Forest Ridge initiations when he was a third year. Although the initiations August presided over were no walk in the park, so let's not give him too much credit.

I'm not saying he's a soulless monster. He's only 18 going on 19, he has time to improve before we write him off altogether. But he has STILL never apologized to Simon and Wilhelm for the sexual violation he inflicted on them. As soon as the NDA was safely signed, his own bad actions regarding the video were in August's rear view mirror.

So yeah, he listened to Boris and he tried to do a nice thing or two. But he’s still August.

[trostworte]

Ich kann zu meiner Reisen Nicht wählen mit der Zeit: Muß selbst den Weg mir weisen In dieser Dunkelheit.

Wilhelm Müller, Winterreise: Gute Nacht

[64hexagramme]

Hexagramm XXX: Das Feuer

[raincitygirl76]

Read the above!!!! OP tells the absolute truth. At the jubilee, Wilhelm is turning the inevitable media and public scrutiny of his every move to his own advantage, and reclaiming the narrative. Also reclaiming his agency to speak the truth in public about his own experiences.

Or perhaps reclaim is the wrong word. Claim might be a better one, since he never had said agency before. You can’t reclaim something you’ve never had. In 1.01 and in 1.06 he was made to read lies written by other people off a teleprompter and pretend they were his decisions and beliefs. He won’t do that anymore. He won’t be complicit in his own silencing any longer, and he’ll use cameras and public scrutiny to his own ends. Since they’re there anyway.

okay okay hear me out

the significance of wilhelm getting to reclaim being filmed by third parties

when the sex tape happened he was being filmed against his will and it basically destroyed his and simon's lives. he developed a whole fear of public speech around that too. no one would've blamed him if he let august do the speech instead.

but nope, he chose to stand there, make the speech, tell the truth, in front of official cameras and all of hillerska, under his own terms. and now when he makes that speech, even when jan-olof tells the official cameras to cut it off, the students are still filming and recording his speech. both times he's being filmed to be posted in social media, except one time it was against his will and now he gets to take advantage of it and tell the truth. this is reclamation.

[raincitygirl76]

Excellent YR edit on YouTube about Wilhelm and his family. The maker, PointlesFunEdits does not appear to have presence on Tumblr. So if you enjoyed the edit, I encourage you to give them a like on YouTube, and maybe check out their other edits as well. Link to their profile on YouTube below.

[lesser-known-composers]

Wilhelm Kienzl (1857-1941) - Geliebt-Vergessen, Op. 18: 5. Deingedenken ·

Dagmar Schellenberger & Peter Stamm

[skamenglishsubs]

Subtext and Culture, Young Royals, Season 3, Episode 3

Episode 3 picks up the day after the camping trip, and Wilhelm calls his mom to check on her. She dumps a massive guilt trip on him, maybe unintentionally, and Wilhelm is feeling a little bit down.

Culture: These are Swedish studentmössor. They originated in the 1800's among Nordic university students and they wore them as a common marker. Later, they were adopted as graduation caps for high school students, signifying that they were now allowed to begin studying at a university.

Culture: Valborg, April 30th, is a traditional Swedish holiday where you celebrate the coming of spring with bonfires. It is also the start of graduation season for high school students, and graduates are allowed to start wearing their caps.

Cinematography: This season they started writing most on-screen social media commentary in English, despite those users being pretty obviously Swedish. I suspect it's because it saves them having to subtitle all of them, it makes it a bit easier for all the viewers to follow along.

Subtext: No, keeping up appearances is more important than mental health for the royal family, which is why this is new behaviour that Wilhelm has never seen before.

Subtext: As a reminder of the increased interest, here's a paparazzi intruding on school grounds. Also, where the hell is Malin? Isn't it her job to shoo away photographers?

Culture: Vintern Rasat is a classic Swedish song celebrating spring that's often performed by student singers at Valborg.

Subtext: Boris cleverly offers August individual therapy, something he sorely needs.

Subtext: It's of course a bit ironic that pretty much the entire fandom hates August and has decided that he can't be forgiven or redeemed. Yes, you, dear reader. But Boris lays out a way for August to start his redemption arc. Will it work? Tune in for next week's episode!

Culture: These usernames reek of white supremacy. Norse mythology references are very popular, and 88 means H*il H*tler, so that's the kind of people we're dealing with. The show is also foreshadowing what's gonna happen at the end of the episode.

Blink and you miss it: Linda made Pabellón, a Venezuelan dish. In season 1 we didn't know where Linda was from, but in season 2 she was canonically made as being from Venezuela, just like Omar is in real life.

Subtext: I think August actually cares, Kristina is family to him too, but Wilhelm refuses to treat him as family, so he lies about how she's doing. Not very convincingly, though.

Cinematography: This is an absolutely hilarious shot with a bunch of students anxiously peering out through the windows as the dreaded enemy arrives: Skolinspektionen! Dun-dun-dun!

Blink and you miss it: There's a rainbow flag on the board to the left.

Subtext: Vanessa totally knew she interrupted a makeout session between our boys. Oh, and there's a lot of purple in these two scenes, colour theory exploded with joy.

Subtext: Simon will be proven wrong, someone will be honest.

Subtext: It's also ironic that Simon joins the rest of the Forest Ridge boys pretending to have a great meal together that is totally not stiff and awkward at all, absolutely not.

Lost in translation: Simon Walter says that May 1st is a "röd dag" - a red day, which is how Sundays and public holidays are usually marked in a Swedish calendar. "Bank holiday" is the term used in the UK for public holidays. There are 13 public holidays in Sweden each year.

Culture: Första Maj is the name of the International Workers' Day in Sweden, because it always occurs on May 1st. In defence of Henry and Walter's shared braincell, most Swedes actually don't participate, but it's a bit weird to not even know what it is.

Subtext: This entire sequence shows how Felice's dad tried to stick up for himself, but quickly learned to keep his head down instead and conform and roll with it. And it wasn't just the other students who were racists, the staff was in on it too. This goes for all the shit the students are doing, the partying, the booze, the alcohol, the bullying: The staff is in on it. They know. They're complicit.

And despite all of this, Poppe's immediate answer when asked how his time at Hillerska was, is that it was the best time of his life. This is why schools like this stay the way they are, why they never change, because they're very good and very bad at the same time. Trauma-bonding works, the kids will all get friends for life, they'll forget the shit and remember the good times. They'll become like him.

But when Felice learns what the school did to her dad, she decides to help shut it down, to stop the cycle of abuse. The reason she goes in alone is because she now knows she can't trust her dad, he's gonna defend the school, and she also doesn't want him to know that she snitched.

Subtext: In official surveys, students from schools like this generally rate them very highly. Student satisfaction is very high. Maybe they're lying, maybe they're delusional, but they sure care more about their schools than public school students.

Blink and you miss it: REAL SUBTLE THERE, SHOW.

Subtext: Keeping with the school theme, this is how students defend the shit that goes on. Outsiders are kept in the dark, you don't tell them anything, because they "wouldn't understand", they're missing the "full context", etc. Oh, I don't know shit about fashion, but Fredrika's jacket smells very expensive.

Blink and you miss it: While Wilhelm pinned a polaroid of himself and Simon prominently on his wall, August keeps a similar polaroid of himself and Sara hidden.

Subtext: Micke's redemption arc is in full swing, so why not play a song that reinforces the idea that people can change?

Subtext: August's redemption arc is in full swing, so let's cut to him nervously waiting outside Micke's place for Sara to come home, while the same song is playing. Is he gonna be a villain forever?

Blink and you miss it: Micke introduces himself as Micke af Eriksson when August introduces himself as August Horn af Årnäs. The English subtitles for some weird reason went with "Micke Eriksson of Bjärstad", but that's actually not what he says.

Subtext: Sara is pretty realistic about her expectations of her dad because she's seen this before, but this also applies to her expectations of August, because she knows that he can also slide back into his normal shitty self. Also, she's wearing a purple sweater.

Subtext: In case you forgot, August's dad also struggled with addiction, and died from it, so he and Sara actually has that in common. Maybe there's hope for this redemption arc thing?

Cinematography: I don't fucking know why they included this baking scene. It serves no purpose, and I suspect quite a few people in the production have a serious hand fetish, because what is this? What is this? Also, why are Simon and Wilhelm joining what appears to be a Manor House thing with the rest of the girls? How? Why? This makes no sense! It's very cute, though!

Subtext: Oh ok, we got a social media pic that Sara could see and feel bad for her lost friendships. But man, those Hillerska aprons! On point!

Subtext: This is unfortunately a very common thing for people on any kind of psychoactive medication. How can you tell if you need medication if you feel good right now? Is it lasting or temporary? Can you trust your own brain? Either way, fantastic conversation between Micke and Sara, which starts her on her journey to reconcile with Felice at least.

🎵 I can change, I'm not the same, not forever. 🎵

Culture: The official hat-on-putting ceremony where all the third-year students put on their hats, set to another traditional Swedish spring celebration song: Vårvindar Friska.

Culture: It's Valborg, so Hillerska has their own little bonfire. We saw some students with torches pretending to light it, but it's actually floating in the middle of the fountain so, uh, how did they do that? Normally, your local bonfire or Majbrasa is just a huge heap of wood that you set on fire.

Cinematography: Man, this is a pretty show. Look at that shot. The fire, the sunset, the pool reflection. The end of April is over a month after the spring equinox, so the days are getting longer, and the sun now sets at about half past nine in the evenings.

Subtext: Ok, let's do one more on-the-nose lyrics thing for when August sees Sara back at school. Yes, yes, he needs her.

Culture: I had to post about it immediately after watching the episode, because setting a sex scene to Uti Vår Hage is hilarious. Everyone in Sweden knows it, most people have sung it at school, it's a cute little song about enjoying your garden, flowers, and giving your loved one a wreath of flowers. I can now never hear this song without thinking about this scene. Thanks a lot, show.

Blink and you miss it: Simon fucks Wilhelm. Yay! Versatile supremacy!

Subtext: Sara is still so suspicious of her dad's behaviour, she can't make herself trust that his current good period will last.

Subtext: Even though this dialogue is about how Simon and Sara are so different, it of course also applies to how Wilhelm and Erik were different, because Wilhelm struggles with not being able to handle his duty the same way Erik could.

Culture: Alright, it's time for the actual local Första Maj event in Bjärstad. The town is probably a bit small to have a proper demonstration parade, but there's people with banners and socialist slogans, and a bunch of local organisations have joined in, including Bjärstad BK, the football club Rosh plays in.

Culture: Meanwhile, the absolutely not socialist rich kids at Hillerska are nursing their hangovers and enjoying the day off, and they're doing some yoga and playing some padel instead. As you do.

Subtext: Drugs. He looks like he's selling drugs.

Culture: These apparently confused a bunch of viewers, but they're just raffle tickets. It's one hundred numbered, rolled up, paper tickets stuck on a metal ring. When you buy a ticket you just tear it off at the perforation, and when all tickets are sold you can just break the seal on the ring and pour all the stubs in a bag or whatever so you can draw winners.

Blink and you miss it: Cute kiddo has a pride pin on his jacket.

Lost in translation: The show waited a bit with showing what it says on the banner behind them in the photo, but if you can read Swedish you immediately saw that it says KROSSA ÖVERKLASSEN - CRUSH THE UPPER CLASSES. Oh no, Simon, what have you done?

Blink and you miss it: Like a pack of rabid wolves, the social-media starved Gen Z kids rush to their phones for an hour of glorious feeding on Instagram and TikTok.

Blink and you miss it: I love Vincent so much, he's terrible, but he's just so much fun! The little fist he makes as he says "kampen" just seals it.

Subtext: The show still hasn't revealed the banner text to the non-Swedish audience, but Wilhelm immediately sees it and knows how bad it is and why Farima tried calling him seven times. Also, Vincent is just on a roll here.

Cinematography: Man, this is a pretty show. Look at that shot. Look at how they perfectly aligned the hole in the window with Simon, the police car, and the entrance to their house, as he discovers that someone decided to vandalize it.

[unfortunate17]

Wilmon and "can I walk you to the bus stop?"

thank you 💜

this one FULLY got away from me, but hopefully you don’t mind too much 💀. I promise one day I’ll write happy, fluffy wilmon and not just them screaming at each other - but for now, here’s them screaming at each other (again)

cw: mildly nsfw

“Can I walk you to the bus stop?”

Simon snorts, wiping fiercely at his eyes as he struggles past the school gate, hobbling towards the bend in the road. For the first time in years, he wishes his mother could pick him up from school like she used to when he was little. She always knew how to cheer him up - the two of them could turn the radio up, maybe even manage to drown out the pounding in his head. “No.”

Despite keeping his eyes trained on the ground, Simon can hear Wille stumbling beside him. “Simon, come on, I just want to make sure you’re okay. I saw Vincent push you - it looked like it hurt.”

Simon collapses into the bench the second they reach the bus shelter, the pain in his ankle subsiding immediately. “Oh, so now you care if I’m okay or not?”

Wille stills, picking nervously at his nails. He wets his lips, “What do you - what do you mean?”

“I mean,” Simon sneers, “you never seemed to care before. You know how many times I’ve walked down to the bus stop by myself?”

Wille wrings his hands, his dark eyes wide as he stands there in his expensive sweater and new sneakers. “I’m - I’m sorry - I didn’t know that you - ”

“You’re always sorry,” Simon buries his face in his hands, trying to keep the tears at bay, “And you’re always - you always have an excuse. That’s why you never let me stay,” his voice breaks, something deep and dark and ugly rising in his chest. “You didn’t want people to know I was with you - you just - you’d fuck me and just make me - ”

“I never did that,” the shock in Wille’s voice is palpable. Gravel crunches under his feet as he steps closer, moving to take a seat at his side. “You’re the one who didn’t want to stay. You always said Linda was waiting for you and - ”

“I lied,” Simon breathes, tears finally welling over. He sniffles embarrassingly, “Of course I wanted to stay, why would you - Wille we were dating. And you just - stopped talking to me because I didn’t want to hide it anymore.”

“That’s not what happened,” Wille breathes, aghast. His face is pale, mouth trembling, “you - you left. All I did was ask you to wait - and then you - you said that we had time, you said you were - ” his voice drops, low and hoarse, “you promised me you were mine - and then you left.”

Simon makes an incredulous noise, “When the fuck did I - ”

“When we were having sex,” Wille bursts, and a hazy, pleasure-soaked memory blooms at the forefront of Simon’s mind.

It had been raining that night - storming even, but neither of them had even spared the window a second glance, too lost in the heat of each other’s skin. Wille had fingered him that time, and then promptly finished before he could even press inside, squirming with embarrassment as Simon laughed.

They’d spent the rest of the time kissing, Wille’s palm tight around him, driving Simon further and further into madness. He vaguely remembers that Wille had been talking the entire time too, his voice sweet and breathless, telling Simon how good he looked, how hot he was, how much Wille loved him.

At the very end, he’d pulled Simon in by the hip, nuzzling their noses together. “You’re mine, right?” he’d asked, voice barely above a whisper.

“Yeah,” Simon had gasped back, nearly drunk as he scrabbled at his shoulders, “always, Wille. I’m always yours - I’ll always be - ”

Wilhelm had kissed him then, hungry and deep. “One day I’m actually going to fuck you,” he’d murmured into his mouth, sending sparks showering down his spine.

It had been those words that had finally tipped Simon over the edge, chest stuttering as he watched Wille work him through it. After it was all over, he’d laughed, “If you ever last that long.”

Wilhelm had been adorably bashful, ducking his head, his face pink, “it’s not my fault, okay? You’re so hot.”

For the next half hour Simon had spent with Wille, they’d curled up together, Wille’s head tucked under his chin. “Maybe you’ll finally get around to it sometime next year.”

Wille’s arms around him had tightened, squeezing so hard Simon’s ribs had hurt, “Yeah,” he’d said breathlessly, kissing the skin over Simon’s heart, “next year.”

Now, the memory sits heavy in his stomach, making his heart clench in his chest. “That was sex talk,” Simon says, shivering.

Something in Wille’s expression shatters. “So you didn’t - “ his throat bobbles as he clears his throat, “you didn’t mean it, did you?”

And Simon feels it now - the age old urge to be cruel, to protect his own heart from this closeted, rich boy who has the ability to break it in half on a whim. Still, he’s never had much self-preservation, not when it comes to witnessing Wilhelm in pain. Slowly, he takes his hand, threading their fingers together one by one. “I didn’t say that,” he whispers. “I never said I didn’t mean it.”

Wille tightens his grip, shifting to cradle Simon’s hand in both of his own. He leans his head against Simon’s shoulder, sending a shock of warmth down his spine. “Let’s fix this?” He begs. “Please, Simon? I can’t live like this anymore.”

Simon swallows back a tight clutch of emotion, turning to press a lingering kiss to the top of Wille’s soft hair. “Okay,” he breathes, leaving the I can’t live without you either unsaid.

[heartbreakprincewille]

Erik is a metaphor for the Monarchy

This season has given me so much to think about Erik and Wilhelm's idolization of Erik, and how it plays a dual role in Wilhelm's arc as a character.

I think Erik represents Wilhelm's motivation to carry forward the legacy of an institution which is slowly crumbling in its relevance (in the fictional Sweden atleast, I have no idea about the geopolitical scenario of the real-life monarchy in Sweden). Yes, Wilhelm does come from a lineage of a family relevant in history, but not only he is too young to understand that burden but he is also someone who does not feel a personal connection with that burden, unlike August(which ironically also stems from his love for his father). But he does feel that personal connection to Erik, not only because they are brothers but also Erik seems to be the only one Wilhelm can fully be vocal about his thoughts until he meets Simon. Erik is what separates Wilhelm from that burden of legacy and responsibilities.

But then Erik dies. Erik's death not necessarily represents the death of the monarchy, but it's still the death of the stability that the system thrives on. Royals want everything in control, and we can see that a lack of control runs everything berserk in that system. Erik's death is the beginning of the legacy weighing down on Wilhelm in full force, how the monarchy is just a system that thrives in perpetual succession and does not care if a spare fills the shoes of an heir unwillingly. He is expected to mould himself in the image of Erik, and the personal connection Wilhelm lacked with the Monarchy takes the shape of Erik in his mind- he believes that he is doing good to Erik's memories if he steps up as a suitable Crown Prince, but in the end, he's just catering to the system, not Erik. Even if the system is full of lies and secrets and he is forced to part ways from his authentic self.

But then he realizes that he does not want to part ways with himself, and how he stands apart as an individual when he is with Simon. Trying to get Simon back was also an attempt to reclaim his individuality, and the more he tried to gain everything back by the easiest way possible, the more he lost Simon and got pushed to the deep end. The Monarchy still loomed on the horizon, he still wanted to uphold Erik's memory by complying with the mould his mother and the Royal Court has been preparing for him. But when he gets Simon's love back, he also gets back his individuality, and how it leads to an epiphany only his free self could have made in his speech.

The illusion reigns supreme even in his relationship with Simon, because Wilhelm thought that he can be a Crown Prince and Simon's boyfriend at the same time, but the more they progressed with the burden together, it became clear that what Wilhelm wants to be is at clear odds with the system he is being prepared for.

Then the illusion shatters with August's confession. It's utterly heartbreaking that Erik and his homophobic actions put deep cracks in Wilhelm's illusion because in the end, he was still his brother. But he will forever remain scarred by the possibility that maybe Erik could have not accepted his individuality and his love for Simon. His first safe haven he found as a child, and which continued to be one when Wilhelm's grief became too painful, all shattered by a revelation he had no answers to. And suddenly all the comparisons with his older brother became a suffocating chain around his head, and he explodes in a rage of fury to his parents.

Erik was not only a literal figurehead of the institution, but he was also a phantom manifestation of the Monarchy for Wilhelm's character. The ever-present apparition of a system he does not thrive in.

[grapehyasynth]

💜 wilmon;

"This must be a mistake, I've always had this room to myself."

"This must be a mistake, I've always had this room to myself."

Wille knows it's the wrong thing to say as soon as it's out of his mouth, though to be fair, it's entirely truthful - for ten years he's flown into Toronto after spending Christmas with his family in Sweden, opting to take the long, luxurious train ride westward across Canada and back to what he considers his real life in Vancouver. He needs the time to shake off the holidays, and his parents, and the version of himself he becomes with them.

So he spends a ridiculous amount of money for a cozy cabin in Prestige Class, and he arrives early so that he can unpack all of his toiletries in his private washroom, and then he takes a coffee in the Panorama car for the first hour of the ride before he retires to his room to read. Which he'd been coming back to do now, except there's a man in his room. And this man has put his toiletries next to all of Wille's toiletries, and his shirts are hanging in the closet next to Wille's suit jackets, and he's sitting on the clean sheets of the bed, which - does that mean Wille is expected to sleep on the couch?

The stranger shrugs, his shoulders clad in a cozy green sweater rising almost to the lowest swoops of his curls. "Maybe they ran out of room this year."

Maybe they offered you a bargain rate, to cram one more person in, Wille thinks, because nothing about this man's scuffed shoes or worn suitcase suggests he could afford Prestige Class. This thought, thankfully, he has the foresight to keep to himself.

"If you're thinking about asking the conductor, don't bother," the man goes on. "I already did."

"I wasn't," Wille lies. "I'm Wilhelm, by the way. Wille." It's a peace offering, to mollify the man until he can find a conductor. Surely ten years of patronage should earn him a modicum of special privilege.

"Simon." Simon's gaze flicks between Wille's face, his shoes, the book in is hand. "Are you Swedish?"

"Uh, yeah. But I've lived in Canada for a decade now."

"Jag kommer också från Sverige," Simon says.

Great. As if sharing his cabin weren't already going to make relaxing difficult, now he'd have a constant reminder of Sweden and everything he's trying to leave behind before he gets home to Vancouver. "Cool," Wille answers in English.

Simon's expression barely changes, but the warmth is gone now, his face closed off and his smile less genuine. Wille fights a little shiver; he wonders what it's like to really get on this guy's bad side.

"I'm gonna take a shower," he announces. He hopes Simon will take the hint and excuse himself to the dining car, but Simon just nods and settles back on the pillows that Wille had been previously dreaming of falling asleep on tonight.

Wille has barely stepped under the hot water for a moment before the pleasurable hum of the train's wheels is sliced by a piercing scream from somewhere further down the Prestige Class train car.