#abea ouren

[locria-writes]

how does Launcelin's love towards mc (deep into the romance) compare to his feelings for his late wife? was it as strong or even stronger? cause i know he's got that perpetual guilt but damn it i want him to be head over heels only for mc YES im petty

which one??? lmao

spoilers if anyone cares

i'll start with seluua, his second wife. his feelings for her and mc are pretty identical -- indulgent affection, a sense of personal responsibility, pity, sympathy, etc. the feelings aren't very strong, but they are there, and what differentiates them is that mc has time for their relationship to develop into something more meaningful,

lunneda is a little harder to say since she's an irreplaceable part of his life. disregarding his romantic feelings for her, he loved her dearly, and considered her one of the few people he felt comfortable with. let's just say that lunneda will always be lunneda, mc will always be mc, and he wouldn't want it any other way.

tldr -- lunneda and mc are of about the same importance to him, which is pretty damn high. there's only a small handful of people launcelin genuinely loves and cares for that much which is basically ouren, his mother, his full-blooded siblings, his half-brother uchurad, his great uncle, and possibly his paternal grandmother

[milksalamander]

Omina

Fandom: ABEA, created by @locria-writes, all characters featured or mentioned also belong to them.

Due to much of my time being freed up by Korea’s current spike in COVID cases, I got to finish this one! Today, I’m gonna be nicer to our sweet prince. 

I mean...he’s still sad but, hey, at least I’m not calling him a drunk, or wishing for his immediate demise? That counts for something, right? Enjoy!

---

Omens can be found in the simplest of places. 

The dropping of a hand mirror. Entering your home with the incorrect foot. Malalignment of the veins in the liver of a sheep. A dead dog bearing your name. Dreams, even, were believed to foretell prophecy. There seemed no end to the amount of inconsequential circumstances that could bring ill fortune upon one and all that share their blood. 

From childhood, Launcelin had been educated in how to appease fickle spirits that anger over the smallest of deeds. Which weeds should be worn for headaches, which oracles and temples to consult should the birds fly the wrong way, or, the wrong star rise in the night sky. A lifetime of amulets for luck and protection wrangled around his neck or stuffed into his pockets. Of augers, listening to bird calls or examining the organs of slaughtered beasts for predictions of the future. 

All this training, and he is not wary when his mother calls him to her chambers. The halls of his mother’s palace cloaked in shadow, the crackle and roar of a storm raging outside. If Launcelin were a superstitious man, he’d claim to see the faces of the dead in their eternal vigil over the living.

He finds the Empress lounging on her klinē in her sitting room, lush and luxuriant. 

“Do you still study the Nazhutai language?” She asks him, absentmindedly picking at a bowl of honeyed figs.

An unsettling start; Launcelin steels himself, “I do, Mother. Why do you ask?”

Dread grows with his mother’s smile. It settles in his stomach like a rock as she instructs Meriald to bring ‘it’ in. 

“It” is a portrait in the Nalaantai style. At the center of blank parchment rests a child, a girl no older than eleven summers. 

Sat in a gilded chair, her shoes peek out from under her finely embroidered garbs. Pearls hang from her ears and decorate her forehead, cheeks, and temples. Her hair is arranged in a complicated style, adorned in hairpins and combs set with precious stones. The girl’s eyes look past him, her placid gaze settling somewhere over his shoulder. Launcelin’s own gaze shifts from her bejeweled head to the writing near the edge of the parchment. 

Dobaan E'zhing Mingsuuma, Princess Mingyu of Nalaantai.

So this is what she wanted.

“What do you think of her, dear son? Isn’t she quite lovely?” 

Launclin’s attention snaps from the painted child to his mother, who has risen to gaze at the portrait beside him, “She is pretty, Mother; like a budding flower.” 

Ignoring him, she hums in agreement. “Isn’t she? Or, at least she probably is. This portrait is rather old.” 

His mother playfully pouts, “I had requested a newer one be made for you, but King Yuwa hasn’t sent it. He doesn’t seem interested in having a new one painted. You know those people, don’t like too many strange men around their daughters.” 

Unease peaking, Launcelin shifts on his feet. When he was young, his mother’s sitting room had always been a place of comfort and safety, and her presence within a balm for any ailment. Now, this place that seemed warm and inviting so long ago, has grown cold and hostile. What comfort and joy that could’ve been found here gone with his childhood.

If his mother is aware of his discomfort, she does not show it, “She would be a good addition to the court, would she not? A fresh beauty to liven the place. I have heard--” 

“Mother,” he interrupts, his toga pulla weighing heavily upon his shoulder, “Seluua has not been allowed any time to rest.”

His mother only stares at him blankly; he continues. “Would it not be...unseemly to enter another betrothal so quickly? Especially with a girl so young?” 

Frowning, she raises a delicate hand to grip his shoulder, “Your apprehension is understandable, my dearest. Young as she may be, Mingyu is the eldest, and only, princess Nalaantai has.” 

Looking back to the portrait, the Empress does not see how his jaw clenches, “I suppose you could decline, and he could be allowed to marry the princess. Nalaantai may be particularly discerning, but not enough to condemn her to spinsterhood. Yet, if that were to happen; there would be no protection for us; for your sisters, or for little Ouren.”

Launcelin allows his head to hang, eyes fixed on the marble floor. He does not want to be here. He does not want to talk about this. All he wants is to be allowed to mourn his Seluua -his poor, suffering Seluua- in peace.

“Do you think he is not trying, dear one? Where do you think he’s been all of these months? Sitting patiently underneath his mother’s skirts?”

Amusement by her own imagery, she scoffs, “Though I would not be surprised to find him there. Along with half the men in court.”

Amusement dissipated, her focus quickly shifts back and she continues, unrelenting, “If he is the one to be betrothed to the princess, we all might as well lay in our graves and wait for the assassins.”  

Moving her hand from his shoulder, his mother steps to his front. Cupping his cheeks, she tilts his head up, forcing Launcelin to look her in the eyes, “My dearest son, you know this to be true. Seluua, may her soul eternally rest, would understand. If she truly loved you, she would forgive you; she would know that you need to do this for your family.” 

Would she? Would she understand? How can his mother be so sure of how his beloved Seluua would feel? For the short time they had been married, he cannot remember a single time she’d spoken kindly to, or of her. For all his mother knows, Seluua could be rolling in her grave--

“I know, Mother.” He answers, tone clipped.

Once the epitome of Essenian beauty and elegance, his mother’s features were now marred with pity. “It pains your mother to see you suffer so, beloved. I would take your place; if I could. I would protect you from this. Protect all of us from this.” 

She sighs heavily, “Alas, we can only do what our stations allow. And this, my sweet boy, is what you can do- what you must do.”  

Her worry fades from her face as quickly as it came, and she looks at him sternly. If she wasn’t holding his head, Launcelin would still not be able to break from her gaze, “Will you do this? Will you bear this burden to safeguard our family from those who seek to destroy us?” 

As much as his mother’s hold on him allowed, Launcelin nods. Satisfied, his mother offers him a weak smile, leaning forward to kiss his forehead. A small gesture that, had he still been a child, would’ve abated him--should’ve abated him.

It pains him when it does not. 

--- Some End Notes!---

If you’ve read so far, thank you! I would be happy for any criticism, or suggestions on how to make my writing better :)

And, if you’re Locria, thank you for creating such a compelling game/setting! I look forward to every update it receives. 

Omina and the superstitions mostly come from the Romans. I “tried” looking for some juicy Byzantine superstitions, but they were markedly less superstitious.

For some examples of what the MC’s dowry portrait would look like: I based it on two Song Dynasty portraits of Empress Zhu and Empress Wu. 

Toga pulla- mourning clothing worn by men in the Roman Empire, made of darkly dyed wool. I also “tried” looking at examples of mourning clothing from the Byzantines/HRE but I couldn’t find a lot that I liked. There really are just no good references for Byzantine clothing :/

Klinē- a type of furniture used in Ancient Greece and Rome, that you would recline on. For the Empress, I think hers would look something like this. 

This fic can also be found on my AO3!

[locria-writes]

actually, upon even more reflection, i think post-abea!ouren is the best uwu pathetic bby i've written

Excuse me? Trash men can't be pathetic? Do I need to introduce you to the dub genre of trash men that is exactly that? 👀

the way i define trash in my writing is inherently incompatible with being pathetic and in this essay i will --

first, let's get this out of the way - when i say 'trash', i'm referring to the way i write trash, because there is a very careful and thorough method used to create these menaces while they're in the test tube. i don't mean trash in the way we endearingly/spitefully use it for characters we like/dislike. 'trash' is an actual category here with actual requirements.

so let me introduce you to the "trashman trifecta", a litmus test i use to determine which of my scumbag characters receive the title, and also just a quickie, this is exclusively for major characters, so don't go looking to apply to side characters --

self-centredness --the core component of my trashmen. the world revolves around them, regardless of how true it might be. malicious trashmen are self-centred in a selfish way, not caring at all how their actions affect everyone around them, while more benevolent ones are aware of the very difficult to grasp concept of "your actions have consequences". some rare breeds of trashmen are actually selfless though, and are cognizant of how their actions affect others, but they usually fall into one of two categories a) their continued actions are actively worsening the situation around them because they are a major belligerent, or b) their actions are affecting those immediately around them, but not actually making a change because they were never a player in the game to begin with.

violence -- there's good and bad violence in the world, and trashmen overwhelmingly perpetrate the latter. again, there are malicious trashmen who do so gleefully and knowingly, but there are good-intentioned trashmen who try to do good, but do more bad in the end. committing the violence isn't the key point here, rather, it's who was the violence directed at, why was it committed. whether sadism was involved or not is a different matter, but like normally the malicious trashmen are sadists too.

maltreatment of loved ones -- similar to the above, but not quite the same. this usually applies for romantic relationships, but broadly applies to anyone the trashman has fondness for. trashmen will hurt those around them, whether it's maliciously and consciously so, or unintentional and borne from good intentions. they tend to be incredibly stubborn, "my way or the highway", often resorting to tactics like force and manipulation to get compliance. sometimes it's a very active maltreatment, sometimes it's passive, or stems from passive behaviour.

optional traits include -- sadistic, sex weirdo, inferiority complex (usually of the unjustified variety), questionably misogynistic, has violated human rights, possibly a war criminal, manwhore, severe mommy/daddy issues.

now onto pathetic men, i think i just haven't written enough pathetic men on here to have it so easily classified. i also don't write them very much, so there's no way for me to compile a checklist to see who's a pathetic man or not. however, based off of the few i've written recently, i think pathetic is sort of a pejorative way i refer to them (with love of course), and that pitiful would be a better way to describe them.

actually, scratch that -- the pathetic part refers to the way they love, not so much their personalities (though majority of them are inherently very soft and damaged, and should be handled gently like fragile pottery). these men are more than simps; they're suffering second male lead syndrome as male leads. they're desperate when it comes to love; they wear their emotions and hearts so openly it's usually detrimental, and they do so despite bearing emotional scars. they always make bad choices in love -- they love those who don't return it; those who cannot express love in a way that makes them feel secure; those who they simply can't be with, etc.

however, they aren't cherry boys. cherry boys are usually very pure, young, and inexperienced when it comes to relationships. these men have experience, are fairly mature outside of their desperate need for love, and have experienced much of the world, and have always been continuously hurt by it. they're like kicked puppies who need to be wrapped in cotton wool, while simultaneously being able to strangle someone.

my pathetic (rather, pathetic-in-love) men are inherently gentle and loving creatures. they usually have some type of power that gives them authority, but their authority either means little in attaining their love, or they're simply unwilling to wield it in a selfish way. even if they have possessive thoughts, it will always stay just that, and never manifest outside of some clinginess.

i won't say that my pathetic-in-love men are the antithesis to my trashmen, but i'll say it seems very difficult for both labels to exist on a single character without there being some second personality.

[locria-writes]

I gotta know how the aab and abea boys would cope with their MCs dying giving birth to their child? In this scenario all boys are already in love with the MC (including Vezian) to add to the pain.

Like, who would hate their child for "killing" their love?

team hates the child bc he's the only manchild allowed to exist here

vezian

abea secret romance

team loves the kid but probably always has some weird complex

oskar

valentin

lothar

ouren

team loves the kid bc they're a well-adjusted human

ignazio

wolfram

edmund

launcelin

lu'anyu

team can i eat the baby???

einar

[locria-writes]

How would the abea ro's treat a pregnant mc?

launcelin -- overprotective, overly paranoid, possessive, literally just everything turned up to the eleven lol. i mean he's totally justified but it's still just a lot.

vezian -- wouldn't show any sort of parental instinct until way after the kid is born lol. he would probably be more distant and aloof to mc because he doesn't know how to act.

lu'anyu -- panicky lmao. poor boy doesn't know what to do, is too proud to ask for help, and i think he's the type of guy to pass out during delivery lol.

ouren -- so sweet he'll give you diabetes, but ultimately, another hot mess lol. tries his best, ultimately more effective than lulu, but also another good candidate for passing out during delivery.

secret romance -- doesn't deserve to know this happiness, and if this is a just world, will have a piano crash down on him

[locria-writes]

ok the abea ros reaction to their daughter being prego out of wedlock and the father of the child is just like them (acts like them qnd whatnot)

launcelin is gonna go commit a brutal murder real quick. he's bad news and he knows it lol.

vezian is also gonna go commit murder, albeit less quickly and more openly. only he's allowed to act like that!!!

lu'anyu "get married you fucking idiots!!! i don't care if i have to drag him to the ceremony tied to my horse!!!"

ouren -- look at the others, now look at ouren. look at the others, now look back ouren again. does this pure sweet boy look like he's even capable of premarital handholding? is his daughter this universe's virgin mary?

secret romance having a child lmao. that's a funny joke :)

[locria-writes]

Romancing Ouren and then Launcelin is going to make family dinners awkward

bold of you to assume ouren's gonna be in any shape to attend family dinners by the time i'm finished with him lol

[locria-writes]

I feel like Launcelin had it too easy having Ouren as a kid.

So, to make up for it, all his kids with MC shall be menaces of varying levels(one of the kids may just be a prankster while the other my be a straigh up murderer)

the trouble with bby ouren isn't him, per se, but rather the trail of unintentional heartbreaks he leaves behind, and having to deal with all those nobles begging and pleading for marriage to heal the pain lmao.

but yeah...if launcelin's kids take after him, the straight up murderer might actually happen lol

[locria-writes]

Can't wait to cheat on Launcelin with his son

does making eyes at each other and hand-brushing when they're both like 14-16 really count lol

[locria-writes]

What does the Empress think of Ouren?

"talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show-stopping, spectacular"

[locria-writes]

I saw this prompt that went "A desperate cleric slamming every healing spell so hard to bring someone back to life that the ground is forced to grow plants and flowers around the body. Decades later, guarded by a forest of roses and thorns, lies a corpse refusing to rot." and immediately thought of your stories. Can't settle on whether it's more abea or aab though

can't decide bc it's got the spirit of abea aka intense launcelin and debatable ouren vibes but the actual chance of happening in aab aka einar's tried it and lothar lowkey wants to try it lol

but like for real, i love that prompt and i think i actually wrote something really similar when i was younger? resurrection romances are one of my favourites, especially when resurrection doesn't work and the caster goes insane/the person comes back wrong :D

[locria-writes]

Inspired by the last ask: What kind of parents would the abea boys be?

answered here and here but why not elaborate lol

launcelin

his kids with mc unfortunately get a stricter and more controlled upbringing than ouren :c

still very patient, loving and doting, but less indulgent, and demands nothing but the best from his kids

definitely stricter with sons than daughters, but mostly bc he knows sons are given more leeway in society, so he's gotta raise 'em right

9/10 dad a point has to be knocked off bc of the circumstances, unfortunately, otherwise he'd be 10/10

vezian

doesn't really know what a good dad is like, and honestly, doesn't really have any strong male role models who suffice as a father figure

doesn't know what he's doing half the time, but assuming he loves/is affectionate with mc, does his best to dote and love them. otherwise, he's pretty cold and standoffish

loves loves loves daughters and blatantly prefers them over sons lmao esp if he loves mc probably sees his sons as competition lol what a loser

6/10 ~ 7.5/10 dad but i mostly blame the emperor

lu'anyu

doesn't really know what a good dad is like as well, so he's just panicking and winging it okay

always worried about doing too much/too little for his kids, has high expectations for them, isn't particularly harsh and is quite fair overall

has no real preferences between sons and daughters

10/10 dad we love a parent who tries and learns

ouren

i can't imagine this bby having bbys lol but he'd probably emulate his own dad

indulgent, loving, encourages his kids to pursue their interests and isn't very concerned about keeping up appearances

no preference between sons and daughters, but probably favours daughters more bc he grew up with a lot of female role models

12/10 dad he's so wholesome and sweet and kind and loving he's perfect

secret ro

actually would not be a bad parent

just super awkward and uncertain lol

slight preference for sons, mostly bc he knows how to deal with boys and doesn't know how to handle daughters, especially once they get older lmao

7.5/10 dad i knocked off 2 points just bc it's secret ro lol

[locria-writes]

my mc is romancing launcelin and theres now way ouren is staying as his heir, he will be replaced by mcs son

ouren's barely his heir right now lol.

like, his position is so fragile that even mc and launcelin's daughter would inherit before him.

[locria-writes]

Why couldn't MC have married Ouren?

They are the same age, and he is Launcelin's heir, so he would be Emperor after his father anyway.

answered here but to reiterate --

the marriage must take place between children of either a present or past sovereign of nalaantai and essenia. royal/imperial offspring are distinguished by having a number, or proper title attached to being a prince/princess, something that you might notice launcelin and vezian have (second and sixth princes respectively), while ouren is simply referred to as prince ouren.

launcelin is not guaranteed to become the next emperor, nor is vezian, since for their generation, inheritance is determined by who marries mc (since the marriage symbolizes the alliance of the two states).

the only way for mc to have possibly married ouren is if the current emperor died, and somehow launcelin came out victorious in the struggle, convinced the court to accept ouren as his heir, and then die before he could marry mc. so....not impossible? just extremely unlikely :D

[locria-writes]

Hope Ouren is okay with never being Emperor, because theres no way my MC is letting anyone but her son become Launcelin's heir

bby ouren knew he was never gonna sit on the throne, and he's absolutely thrilled by that

[locria-writes]

hey you know what's that good shit? kidnapping plots. not that i think that it would be likely, but how would our good good abea bois react to mc getting snatched? bonus points if this is the inciting incident to unleash the Inner Yandaddy (tm)

*kicks aside attempted kidnapping attempt in ch 2* no kidnapping here!!!!

launcelin

big mad and ready to fuck shit up, even if he isn’t in love with mc bc he’s just super protective of his friend’s bby sis okay??

no further comment bc those will spoil his character :DDDD

vezian

was the snatcher

also big mad and ready to fuck shit up regardless of his feelings for mc bc how dARE SOMEONE TOUCH HIS STUFF????

he was amoral before, but this just pushes him into straight up serial killer mode ngl

not yandaddy, not even yandere, just......yan

lu’anyu

it’s okay he’s got like 3281 plans about what to do and is somehow the calmest one, even though he’s internally screaming

honestly, he just keeps his shit together and maintains a cool head bc he’s learnt his lesson in being hotheaded, and he’s not gonna lose mc again, ya hear????

legitimately just has a one-track mind of finding and rescuing mc, the world could burn for all he cares lmao

ouren

pAnIc????? pls forgive him, he’s sheltered from this kind of stuff

but like after the initial panic and freak out, is oddly calm and collected bc you know what? he really is his father’s son

may or may not be willing to threaten ppl with the most beautiful and bright smile on his face to get mc back

secret ro

could also be the snatcher lmao

also panic, except he never recovers to a calm state

is a literal mess, and honestly, someone pls kidnap mc away from this rat bastard