#aka what they call a coronation

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Lmao not someone in British Media actually having the audacity to say Harry should tone down the upcoming Living Legends Of Aviation 2024 just because King Tampon and Kate are going to be in hospital.

[petricorah]

zukka ficlet - knee pain 1.6k

“Bleeding hog monkeys,” Sokka cursed through gritted teeth as the leather strap on his knee brace finally snapped off. It had been weakened in their last fight with Fire Nation stragglers. A few groups were less than excited about the new fire lord’s orders—aka, to stop the attempt at world domination—and had finally decided to fight back. The gaang had been traveling the past few months to subdue them. Sokka insisted he was going to help, even though his knee, still wounded from falling during their fight with the airships, wasn’t as agreeable than his mind. Putting aside his slight lack of speed and faulty reactions in battle, it was causing him insurmountable pain. He had engineered a knee brace to help, and it had reduced the stress on his joints and allowed him to fight closer to his previous abilities, but the brace was now nothing more than a tattered mess of singed leather and half melted buckles.

Sokka balled up the frayed array of straps and chuckled it into the river he was sitting next to—an action that sent pain clambering up his leg, and making him yelp with a certain high pitched sound that certainly wasn’t manly.

“Sokka?”

Sokka immediately flinched into upright position. “Z-Zuko,” he chirped, attempting to casually lean against the rock he was standing near as Zuko emerged from the woods. “Fire Lord Zuko. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Zuko rolled his eyes and walked up. “I told you to stop calling me that." He came to a stop in front of him, and Sokka couldn't help but admire him. His hair was getting even longer now, and it suited him.

It had been quite some time since the coronation. Lots of time together, working to undo the damage his father had done. Both by his side in the fire nation as his ambassador, and now, traveling again. So much had changed, and while he certainly looked more regal now, with his long hair and patterned robes, he still made Sokka's heart race like he had at boiling rock all that time ago. Perhaps even more so, as they'd continued to get closer as they worked—

"Dinner’s almost gone, and you weren’t back yet.” A teasing smile played at Zuko's lips, despite his attempts to appear stoic and wise. “I thought you were stuck in a hole.”

“Hey!” Sokka said, with an accusing wave of his finger. “You weren’t there for that.”

“Toph told me,” Zuko said. “Several times.”

Sokka clicked his tongue in embarrassment, feeling his cheeks warm. Damn Toph. In an attempt to make up for her and Zuko’s lack of a life-changing bonding trip, she’d taken to telling any story that made Zuko laugh—and most of those tended to be at Sokka’s expense.

“But I see you’re above ground,” Zuko said, his golden eyes passing over Sokka, seeming to glow in the dim light. “And in one piece. So what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Sokka said with a fake lofty air.  

“You’re missing dinner,” Zuko said. “And it’s pig hen, your favorite.”

He never could get anything past him.

Sokka sighed in defeat and blew air to move a strand of hair from his face. “My knee hurts. I was trying to fix the brace, and I couldn’t, so it’s going to hurt more until I can get materials to make a new one.”

“You told Katara it didn’t hurt.” The words came in Zuko’s standoffish deadpan. Sometimes it was hard to tell when Zuko was just stating a fact in his rough voice or when he was being belligerent.

“Yeah, well. She’s having fun with Aang tonight. They’re all gross and obnoxiously lovey-dovey.” His looked away, at anything other than Zuko’s intense expression. Maybe if he studied the ants on the ground enough it would teleport him out of this conversation. “I’m not going to ruin that by making her bend water over my knee for an hour and then be all worried after.” He shook his head, and then met Zuko’s eyes again with what he hoped was a convincing smile. “It’s fine.”

Zuko’s stare was unnervingly sharp. Deadly. It was similar to the look he used to give them when they were about to fight, or the look he gave conniving fire lord generals who were faithful to his father’s old ways. Like he was really fucking angry and the only thing stopping him from setting things ablaze was Iroh’s voice in his head telling him to breathe.

But in an instant, it was gone.

“I’ll do it,” Zuko said curtly.

Sokka snorted. “You’ll do what?”

“I’ll work on your knee.”

“Yeah, thanks, but I don’t need my skin melted. When I do, I’ll give you a call.”

“Pain relief,” Zuko corrected, glaring at him like it should have been obvious that Zuko wasn't suggesting amputation by agonizing flame. “I’ve been…working on it. Uncle said the elements can learn from each other, so I figured there must be a way. I know your knee has been hurting so…I’ve been practicing.” He nervously rubbed the back of his hair. “It will help. Make it feel better, if only for a bit.”

Sokka blinked, staring at him with wide eyes. Zuko did all that for him? For him?

But Zuko’s pointed gaze snapped back to him, making Sokka’s heart flinch.

“It isn’t a choice. Either you do it with me or you ask Katara.” He stalked forward, almost threateningly, making Sokka take a half step back. “It would have been in a better place by now if you had rested at first. You can’t keep hurting yourself and pretending like it doesn’t matter—”

“Okay,” Sokka said, putting his hands up with a gentle laugh. Only Zuko would show he cared by trying to intimidate Sokka into taking care of himself. “Okay, we’ll do it.” He snorted, trying to offset the real emotions he was feeling with a joke. “What am I gonna do, run away from you?”

Zuko’s eyes narrowed. “That’s not funny.”

Sokka blinked. Maybe it would have been funnier if he hadn’t landed on his bad knee after saving Zuko from an arrow, but that was neither here nor there.

So he gave in and sat down, awkwardly, not knowing exactly how to react at what was about to happen.

Zuko knelt in front of him, which was already an image that made Sokka’s head spin, and then he rolled up Sokka’s pant leg, making Sokka’s entire body tense in embarrassment. But he didn’t stop him. He was just relieved that Zuko was so concentrated on his knee that he wasn’t noticing how much Sokka was blushing.

Zuko did a small motion with his hand, and flames erupted from his palm. But he concentrated, his eyes narrowed, and the bright orange fire subsided into a snaking ring that began to spin, controlled and glowing. It almost…moved like water.

Zuko placed it above Sokka’s knee, enough so the warmth radiated across his skin but didn’t burn.

Sometimes Sokka couldn’t fathom it. That someone he used to hate, sometimes even fear, was now someone he trusted so completely he’d allow him to not only bend next to him, but use it to help him, now, when he was vulnerable.

The heat was intense. Not unpleasant, but intense. Almost like it was blocking out the pain as it radiated up his leg, settling in his chest.

He let out a sigh, slowly settling into the position as the tension seeped from his shoulders. He hadn’t felt this painless in…a long time.

“I…I never did say thank you,” Zuko murmured. Zuko’s lashes were long, eyes downcast as he worked the flames under his hands. “For earlier.”

“You better not be doing this because you feel guilty,” he said. “Because I’ve saved your life about a hundred times by now. With that logic, you’ll be doing me favors until we’re both old men.”

Zuko chuckled. It was a low, good sound. A sound that made Sokka feel like he won a prize every time he earned it. A sound that made Sokka want to drop everything else and just focus on making Zuko smile.

“Gladly,” Zuko said with a low smile. “I’d do pretty much anything for you, Sokka.”

Sokka stilled, everything else fading from his view as he met Zuko’s golden eyes.

“But I’m not doing this out of guilt,” he continued. The heat pressed on, and the pain was gone from his mind. “I’m doing this so you don’t stubbornly give yourself chronic pain. Because I care about your knee,” he said. The flames dimmed, but his hand still glowed, and he slowly placed his palm against his knee. Sokka could feel the heat, and his heart was squeezing in his chest—

“And I care about you.”

His hand was still there. It was a marvel that Sokka’s brain was still functioning enough to form the thought that Zuko’s hand was on his knee as he stared up at him, saying that he cared about him.

Now. He should tell him he loves him now, right now, before he lost his nerve, again—

“Zuko, I…”

“We should get back,” Zuko said with a breeziness that Aang would have been proud of, and Sokka felt a rush of cold air as Zuko’s hand left him. Zuko stood, brushing himself off.

Sokka’s stomach dropped with a mixture of alarm and disappointment as the moment went up in smoke before his eyes. “Thanks,” he managed to blurt out.

“No problem,” he said. “Just one of the hundred of favors I owe you, right?”

“Right,” Sokka said in a faint voice. He let out a nervous, bubbling laugh. “We’ll have to grow old together just so you have time to make it all even.”

“Wouldn’t want it any other way.” Zuko smiled warmly. Of course it was warm. Everything about Zuko was warm.

Spirits. This would be the death of him, wouldn’t it? Loving this man who was so dense he would never catch onto any of Sokka’s flirting, and being so helplessly and terrifyingly in love he’d rather take an arrow to the heart than risk ruining their friendship? Was this just his fate now?

He stood, and subsequently staggered, his legs wobbly from a reason completely different than the pain from earlier, but Zuko steadied him. His warm hands holding his arm, the other on the small of his back, and he was so close that Sokka could smell the scent of smoke that followed him.

“You good?” Zuko’s voice was tinged with concern, sparking in his ear. “Is it still in pain?”

“No,” Sokka said quickly. “Just getting…used to it. It feels better. It feels great. I-I can’t wait for you to do it again.” Please.

Zuko blinked, some unreadable shock in his eyes at the words that had just tumbled from Sokka’s mouth, but his smile twitched onto his face. “I’m glad it worked,” he said. “And I can carry you. If it helps.”

Sokka’s face lit up in a blush and he smacked Zuko’s chest. “I do not need you to carry me.” I certainly couldn’t handle you carrying me. “Just…this. This is enough.”

Zuko readjusted, allowing Sokka to hold onto his forearm, the two slowly making their way back to camp. The pain from his knee was distant as he talked to Zuko about the earlier battles, relishing in ever laugh that he got.

Yeah.

This would be enough.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I remember back in 2019 when Clarence House took a tight seal on the bullying reports, it was then that they started giving RVOs to their staff like a candy. Do you think, aside from the NDA, these honours were given in exchange for their silence?

It's possible, but I personally don't think so. It's pretty common for staff to be given awards and recognized for their service when they're leaving public service.

We do it in the US government all the time. I know US civil service isn't the UK's civil service and neither are the monarchy, but they do hold some things in common. Recognizing senior staff/senior executives for their service is one of those.

There is a correlation between staffers being honored for their service to the monarchy at the same time that others were leaving because of the bullying report, but it's not because of an honors-for-silence scheme. It's because of the overall administrative transition/changes happening at the same time in the larger monarchy.

The BRF was going through a huge administrative change 2017 through 2023; aka the time from Geidt's resignation to Charles's coronation. We'll call this "Charles's transition," as all the reports indicate Charles, with Andrew's support, pushed Geidt from his position as The Queen's private secretary over differences in how to transtion from Queen Elizabeth to King Charles*. This is also probably when the soft regency went into place, with The Queen starting to scale down her work and Charles picking up the slack.

*We do know with certainty that Charles was very butthurt that Geidt announced Philip's retirement because Charles felt that he should have been the one to do so.

Anyway, any time there's a big leadership change at the top like what the BRF went through, it trickles down into the staff. Some staff stick it out, loyal to their principals or their "middle managers" and stay. Others can't, or don't want to, and they go. Sometimes it's a big shift in turnover. Sometimes it's small, barely noticeable from the outside. But either way, if the people who go are senior enough or they worked on important enough projects, they get recognized for their service. It's all perfectly normal.

The US, and the US civil service, is about to go through the same thing. We do it every four years with the presidential election, regardless of who the candidates are and regardless of whether the incumbent wins reelection. After the election ends in November, you will start hearing about resignations and departures all over the government. Some of it is mandatory - most presidential appointments to the Executive Branch (like members of the Cabinet) are required to resign by law. But others, in what we call the career service (people like me who work on career appointments - aka we serve the government and the people, not at the pleasure of the president) will resign or leave because their personal politics don't align to the politics of the incoming administration*. It'll be a larger scale version of what the BRF went through during the era of Charles's transition, but without the public honors.

(I've no idea how the UK civil service works in this regard so I'm not touching that.)

*I can talk more about how the elections change the balance of power in the civil service if anyone's interested. I know it's a dry topic but there are some people do find it fascinating sometimes. Let me know and I'll add it to the list behind "media theory of the mid-90s" (which I'm working on! It's coming!)

[mapleapplepiee]

PART 2

Hello y'all! Heres Part Two to the what I'm calling the princes and pies au or the Prince Jack/ Baker Bitty AU.

Here is Part One for you if you dont know what I'm talking about

Part 2

Bitty

Bitty has just moved into town after completing his baking apprenticeship

He has officially told his parents that he wants to move to study more baking techniques/new pastries to bring back to his village, but he is not so sure about if he's actually going to want to go home or not at the end of his studies

Bitty has been working there for just a few weeks when he makes eye contact with the most handsome man he's ever met

As he is new to the city, he has no idea who Jack is

He has no idea when or if he'll ever see the man again, but he goes to bed that night dreaming of his icy blue eyes and hopes that he will see him again

A few days later his wish comes true when the handsome stranger walks into the bakery

Bitty almost drops his pie

Jack

It takes a couple days for Jack to be able to sneak out again and he has to go in disguise.

He plans on meeting up with Shitty later after his meeting with the Captain of the guard so that they can go to Lardos together

Jack arrives at the bakery

the handsome man from the previous day is there but Jack apparently startles him, causing Bitty to almost drop the pie.

Honestly idk how the rest of the interaction would go, if it would follow more of canon (Aka misunderstandings/ jack being a bit of a jerk and or awkward etc) or if it would be more wholesome (suggestions are very much encouraged, I have more of the late middle and ending in my brain)

Also I'm putting out a poll, I can see this story going two ways so I would love some input

[stephensmithuk]

The Hound of the Baskervilles: A Retrospection

It was common to refer to foreigners by the foreign versions of their titles; much less common today.

Costa Rica declared its independence from the defunct Federal Republic of Central America in 1838. Bar three small exceptions, most of Latin America was independent by 1889.

It was much easier for people to establish new identities back then - documents were much easier to forge.

The British Museum opened in June 1753; its two most controversial exhibits, the Elgin Marbles and Rosetta Stone had long been present by this time.

Dr Mortimer would be facing a professional conduct hearing today - he's blabbed about a man's heart condition to a stranger with no good reason!

Fulham Road, aka the A304, runs from the bottom end of Chelsea to Fulham Palace, then the home of the Bishop of London and now a museum. It passes Stamford Bridge, home ground of Chelsea FC.

Ross and Mangles sounds a rather on-the-nose name for somewhere that sells big, vicious dogs.

The "West Country" is an area covering SW England; precise definitions vary, but it would include Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset, along with the city of Bristol. There is an ITV region called ITV West Country that covers this area, with its own local news programme.

One assumes that the page survived despite Stapleton/Baskerville shooting him like that.

"It is suggestive that Anthony is not a common name in England" - although there have been quite a few well-known people with that name since, such as Anthony "Tony" Blair or Anthony Ainley, the latter being the Master in Doctor Who from 1980 to 1989.

I can't find a white jessamine, but there are several plants called "white jasmine".

Les Huguenots is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer that premiered in Paris in 1836. It's about the events leading up to the 1572 St Bartholomew's Day Massacre, which was the mass murder of Protestants by Catholics in that country. A 2018 production can be viewed here:

The de Reszkes were three opera singers from this period who came from what was then the Russian-ruled "Congress Poland" - Josephine had retired at this point (and would die in 1891 aged 35), but Édouard and Jean were hugely acclaimed, making popular performances in London and later being honoured by Queen Victoria with the Royal Victorian Order.

That award, created in 1896, was and is at the sole discretion of the monarch; it is typically given for personal service to the monarch. Justin Welby, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, was made a Knight Grand Cross in that order in 2023 by Charles III, basically for doing the Coronation. Needing to adjust the Crown on his head clearly didn't count againat him.

That wraps The Hound of the Baskervilles. Onto The Valley of Fear!

[itshype]

Reverse Amnesia AU

(aka "Everyone lies except - for once - The Sheriff.) Sharing this old wyler prompt from Valentine's Day 2023 written with a few people but mostly @nonamemanga:

Wednesday pushes Donovan Galpin out of the way of Laurel's car after Laurel killed the coroner (before she actually runs Mayor Walker over), saving the Sheriff's life. The moment she pushes him, she gets a vision of Xavier calling her toxic in episode eight, so she then fails to get out of the way herself, and the car slams into her head-on.

Wednesday's a little woozy due to her head hitting the asphalt, but ultimately she's alright; just bumps and bruises. However, she's just disoriented enough that Donovan manages to bundle her into the police cruiser and rush her to the local hospital with the lights on. The siren does not help her headache from her profusely bleeding head wound. The Sheriff thinks she's seriously hurt and is totally panicking.

At the hospital, Donovan is brimming with guilt as he waits to hear from the doctors. He already felt kind of bad for arresting her and her whole family, and now she was seriously injured saving his life. Once he's allowed to, he approaches her in her hospital bed, hat in hands and he's nearly crying as he tells her:

"Wednesday, I know we've had our differences, but thank you, and if there's anything you need…"

And Wednesday panics, she can't deal with him trying to get his emotions all over her, so she immediately yells out, "I don't know you!!" in the hopes that a doctor will escort the 'strange man' out of her room. No one hears her but Donovan immediately assumes her head wound is worse than anyone thought and calls for nurses. Wednesday decides to run with this. She can pretend to have amnesia for a few hours and then once everyone is calmed down and she's not at risk of being cried on she can miraculously recover. The perfect plan.

Weems shows up (the hospital called her, Donovan forgot because he behaves like a lunatic in times of stress) and immediately begins fussing. Weems has the whackest priorities but doesn't actually wish her students any harm and there is a head wound. Wednesday reinforces her amnesiac defence so that Weems will stop trying to touch and comfort her.

Meanwhile, Tyler has received the following texts from his dad:

wEDnESdAy !!!

hospital

These texts are based on real ones I have received.

When he shows up at the hospital just to see what's going on, and hears what happened, it instantly twigs for him that: his master tried to murder his father, and that Wednesday is now about to be a real target because she actually stopped Laurel from doing something she wanted (I do not think there's any way Laurel told Tyler her whole Crackstone plan. He's a goon-puppet, not her equal) so Tyler doesn't know she will be kept alive for a while.

Tyler thinks he needs to stick around Wednesday now to protect her and that she has amnesia. So, he launches into a long lie about them secretly dating for "weeks now, really." so that he can stay until the nurses kick them out.

Wednesday is gobsmacked and a little suspicious that her ultra-vanilla not-boyfriend is lying about this, and that he's so good at it both Weems and Donovan are eating out of his hand. It's impressive. While Tyler coos about wishing she'd waited for him so he could have safely driven her home she plans to continue faking her amnesia until she figures out why Tyler would lie about them being together.

They've been there for a few hours when they get the call that Wednesday's parents won't drive down to visit because Morticia knows that Wednesday is fine, lying about the amnesia and only got hit because of a vision, not the epileptic fit that Donovan described to the doctors. Wednesday demands to go back to school, this hospital gown is blue, goddamn it. Wednesday knows her mother probably had a vision about the truth of what happened but everyone is heartbroken on Wednesday's behalf.

Enid, when Wednesday finally returns to her dorm with Tyler in tow and he explains about the amnesia, also decides to put a spin on their relationship. Declaring that they're best friends and "Of course I knew about the secret relationship!" she insists, while manically typing a blog post with one hand, "I'd never betray your trust and tell other people before you were ready, and when I planned your birthday party I definitely remembered to invite him, and not just other students you never hang out with! Sorry you don't remember but I did a good job!" She glares at Tyler when Wednesday looks away but he's not going to look a gift horse in the mouth as Enid is backing him up.

Wednesday is baffled.

Crack option: When asked by Enid about the car accident Wednesday says she "saw Xavier, and then the car hit her" in a purposefully misleading reference to the vision she had. Rumours of him pushing her never totally go away.

[randomnameless]

So because of Leopold's support and the shadow assassinations by the Agarthans and Humbert , it would be irrealistic to have a civil war happen early on (as in it start during the first year of the war) despite how Edelgard's extended lmanifesto (not just the church part) screw over the nobility while at the same time screwing the church that, unlike the nobles, the civilians of Adrestia seem to somewhat give a shit about?

At least if the intent when writing a fanfic is to respect the lore/world building of Canon?

We don't see enough Adrestian civilians to even know what they think about, we heard about "missing" church people in Adrestia, but nothing about the commoners - we only hear in passing iirc Ashe talking about starvation because of the war, but idk if he's talking in general or about Adrestia.

Ferdie'n'Lysithea's paralogue tells us the randoms in Hrym and being bled dry under Ludwig's name (when he's actually framed by Thales!), and even if the game tries to avoid this topic like the plague, I still wonder where all those "war assets" are coming from, especially since the "people working" on those projects didn't hesitate a second to use Adrestians as guinea pigs (iirc Remire is in Adrestia!).

So Hubert's secret police + starvation + whatever is happening thanks to Agarthans riling people up like what happens in Hrym + Leopold being in charge of the army (that is made up of people from other places than just, Bergliez) + Hubert being Hubert, aka willingly take people hostage or threaten them to make their families comply + Supreme Leader (I mean Hubert) jailing/rekting "corrupt" nobles in the first days of her ascension to the throne...

Nopes apparently says Enbarr's people are pretty happy about the war, because they're revanchists and are hell removed from the frontlines - but what about the rest of Adrestia?

I once compared the coronation scene in CF to a coup (because Billy and Supreme Leader are accompanied by soldiers) but it would sort of match, Supreme Leader gets total control of the army through Bergliez's lust of power/conquest, control over the finances because Linhardt's dad is just like that I guess, Hubert oversees everything and, at least in FE16, Arundel still sides with her.

Aegir was neutralised, Vestra Sr was put in a trashcan, and Varley is either reduced to a puppet or to House arrest.

There are no powers left to oppose her in Adrestia, and if commoners somehow managed to rebel, they would have to deal with their very own national army, secret police and random Agarthans... on top of finding enough food to eat to survive while the ressources are given to the frontlines.

But in a way, everything I'm just saying bar the canon facts of :

having Leopold and the Army + Waldemar and the money

Hubert doing Hubert things

opposing big name nobles being swiftly deposed/neutralised just after her coronation (or before in Nopes!)

food shortages

FE16 wise : Agarthans taxing randoms to death/ Nopes : Agarthans killing people randomly

FWIW, AG where we learn a bit more about Adrestia, and how, apparently, Agarthans and bandits (?) are slaughtering randoms there, but the nobles are too concerned by the Kingdom's assault to protect their people, and would rather see them die than divert troops to, just, have the bandits/agarthans stop creating rivers of blood with the bloods of the people they're supposed to protect.

Everything else is headcanon/AUs/fanfic/however you want to call it.

So bar those points... Adrestia just exists and it's a damn shame, because even Begion managed to get its pseudo civil war between Sanaki and the Senate where commoners/people supported one over the other, but in Adrestia? Bar the BE peeps and a few dads, you have the feeling no one else exists.

FWIW, in the non CF routes, the opera company joins Billy's army iirc, so maybe they're not loyalists? And represent some people who aren't that gung-ho about the war?

i have that random headcanon that in Nopes, Manu and Mittelfrank are used for spying stuff, and actually, through Yuri and Manu herself, give intel about what happens in Enbarr to the CoS while the opera workers try to sabotage as much as they can some stuff in the Imperial Army... but that's just an AU lol

[karistiltskin]

what if i said "but I would die for you in secret" but imagine merlin and arthur.

peace lyric analysis as merthur:

"Our coming-of-age has come and gone

Suddenly the summer, it's clear

I never had the courage of my convictions

As long as danger is near

And it's just around the corner, darling

'Cause it lives in me

No, I could never give you peace"

OUR COMING-OF-AGE?? okay, listen. as we know, arthur's coming-of-age moment is linked to his coronation. He literally has an episode called "The Coming of Arthur" parts one and two (S03 E12-E13). it's arthur becoming king and merlin starting to finally feel like he's getting somewhere with their destiny because of arthur's crowning. this is our setting. we're now in the after.

"I never had the courage of my convictions as long as danger is near" SHUT UPPPP SHUT UPPPP like actually oh my god. as long as danger is near is so so sick and speaks so loud. merlin absolutely does have the courage of his convictions and just to clarify, collins dictionary [colin morgan ;) ] states it as the confidence to do what you believe is right, even though other people may not agree or approve. BUT when arthur is in danger he does not do the "right" thing. he listens to the giant lizard instead or gaius (still love him) and does anything, anything, to make sure arthur doesn't get harmed no matter what.

rip morgana and getting poisoned.

rip mordred's entire existence.

although arthur attracts danger, merlin attracts just as much. and merlin is magic. (ugh, I'm getting sad and the only reason i won't cry is cause i'm in the middle of a lecture. a nighttime lecture). merlin can never give arthur peace because he is everything arthur was conditioned to hate. arthur can never give merlin peace because he's a king with expectations from Camelot and neighboring kingdoms. aka they can never be peacefully together without the threat of danger from them both and towards their relationship.

"But I'm a fire, and I'll keep your brittle heart warm

If your cascade ocean wave blues comes

All these people think love's for show

But I would die for you in secret

The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me

Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?"

merlin lights arthur fires. that's it. that's the tweet.

merlin is also arthur's closest friend and confidant. he definitely gets arthur to see other perspectives on a situation and makes sure he remains compassionate and fair. for example, that look arthur gave merlin in S05 E11 during kara's trial?? my god. or the episode where arthur killed that one king's son under the influence of his uncle, the sleaze.

THEY WOULD DIE FOR EACH OTHER IN SECRET. NO ARGUMENTS. they've proved episode after episode again that they would no questions asked. people who don't know them just go "he's just a servant" or "you would choose him over your kind?" (ouch) not knowing the depth of their relationship. but yes. yes they would. and they would not have a single regret. they would deny the hell out of it but the proof is in their actions.

but you got a friend in me yes ma'am they do.

and it would be enough. it would. do they need a reminder that they were both born in mind of each other? that it was written since the beginning of time? that both of them have their own personal demons that instead of running away they'd take care of each other instead? that they're the most important person for each other and nothing can split them apart because they've grown to trust each other so much that their souls have intertwined? two sides of the same coin? other half of my soul, as the poets say???

"Your integrity makes me seem small

You paint dreamscapes on the wall

I talk shit with my friends

It's like I'm wasting your honor"

from arthur's pov he knows merlin is better than him. the way he interacts with people, his morals and values, his humbleness, just everything really. he pretends to be mad and upset about it but there's such deep admiration in it that he's actually self-aware.

dreamscape (google) definition: a landscape or scene with the strangeness or mystery characteristic of dreams

arthur finds merlin so strange!! so strange and mysterious.

the walls: i read this one fanfic on ao3 called "The Tragedy of Godhood" by Lilmia_Casand (read it!! it's so good. short, but beautiful) and the summary states:

"Merlin had gotten better at controlling his magic over the years, but it still spilled over, as if he were the source instead of someone calling upon it. It seeped into the castle walls, into the stone floors..."

This was the first thing I thought of (this quote stuck with me, it got bookmarked) and i couldn't have said it better. here's a play by play: arthur lives in a castle. the castle has walls. a lot of walls. he sees these walls everyday. the walls are familiar. the walls stay. the walls are forever. he can't imagine the castle without his walls.

walls = life/the future

magic is part of merlin's mystery because he's essentially hiding HIMSELF.

(does this make sense? no, prob not but bear with me)

there's an air about merlin where when you think about him, you realize you actually don't know much about him. he's a mystery. you know his jokes, you know where he's gonna be at whatever time of day (not the tavern, contrary to what arthur thinks), you know his favourite food. you don't know about his parents, you don't know why he saved arthur at his first feast, you don't know why he stays around.

arthur reflects on this and realizes it one day when merlin starts to become unavoidable in his mind. then he thinks, 'i really know nothing about this boy.' over time, merlin stays by his side, always, and arthur is so dependent on him that he starts worrying if he'll ever leave and if not him, camelot (he has abandonment issues 100%).

also see: S01 E10

hence, "you paint dreamscapes on the wall" is arthur saying, "you're the biggest mystery i've ever met and you make me wonder what every day will be like with you. will you be here tomorrow? and the day after that? until I'm married and have children who will favour you over me? will you be here to see them? to see me? i can't see it through the haze. i can't see you through the haze."

moving on—fuck that was so much longer than it needed to be—arthur and merlin talk shit about each other ALL THE TIME it's hilarious. and they know the one "bad" thing they talk about doesn't define their entire character because they hold each other in such high regard but... well...

(they definitely have regrets after)

"And you know that I'd swing with you for the fences

Sit with you in the trenches

Give you my wild, give you a child

Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other

Family that I chose, now that I see your brother as my brother

Is it enough?"

they both go all out for each other but with a focus on merlin, he goes ALL. OUT. it's war with him. nothing is half-assed. he fights, and fights, and never takes it less than seriously. but he also is there at arthurs lowest moments. when they're losing and when arthur is feeling too much or has too much on his shoulders. he's there. through it all.

merlin will give arthur anything he asks. he's already given him the purpose of his life and has hidden his magic until arthur's dying day because he thought that's what arthur needed and thought he would never accept him as he is so he gave it up.

but he's also given arthur the best thing he has. a friend. understanding. communication without words. souls recognizing souls, so much that the silence may be quiet but words are being exchanged through that same silence.

also, speechless eye conversations that range near the line of sexual tens—

then in the last line, merlin is saying: your people are my people. your burdens are my burdens.

"But there's robbers to the east, clowns to the west

I'd give you my sunshine, give you my best

But the rain is always gonna come if you're standing with me"

this goes both ways!! the only difference is that arthur's is visible and merlin's is hidden. explanation: arthur no doubt has enemies, it's not a secret. being a king and a target from the magic community, that man is almost getting killed everyday. it is not a peaceful life. he knows that. but nonetheless, he has shown merlin his best before—merlin is literally the reason he reaches the best person he can be, like the growth omg—so he knows he can give it but he knows there's a lot of baggage (external and internal) that comes with being with him.

as for merlin, his enemies are a secret. and they're dangerous. arthur faces some of those same enemies but from the product of what they've created, not them personally. no, merlin goes head-to-head with the people who curse/try to kill arthur. and he gives arthur a version of his best (he still has to keep many many secrets) but even if it's limited it's still genuine. although his secrets, his late nights, and his pure exhaustion are a part of him as well. and you can't have sunshine without rain.

okay ,WOW, i'm wrung out. it feels incomplete so i might add additional things later on but for now, enjoy.

once again, thank you if you read this, thank you bbc merlin, and thank you taylor swift.

(notice how i didn't use the word love once)

[shiftingtomydrs]

descendants rant

Ok idk how to do this so ill just start with myself (or better my parent)

Bcs we all know im a whore for op characters and I really didn’t wanna go basic and just be mals sister or smth I decided to put wanda aka scarlet witch into this universe (basically after the whole no more mutants thing she was banned into the universe by dr strange and professor x or smth yk idk and she tried to get back and that caused some trouble so she was put on the isle of the lost) haha my dad is hades btw but I don’t know it, my mum doesn’t know him either it was more of a ons gone wrong situation

Nowww some stuff about me, my name is scarlet pietra maximoff (yes after Pietro) and im 16 in the first movie. I basically have my mums powers but cant use them on the isle obviously soo idk that I have them until i get to auradon. Also wanda is more like her comic version but since idk the comic events bcs I haven’t read them there are probably inaccuracies lmao. I speak sokovian and exclusively sokovian with my mum and its my first language but English with everyone else. I have red hair in the first movie (but like scarlet red not ginger) and then in the 2nd at the start I have dark auburn / brown hair and in the third I have like dark red hair with like black roots? Idk how to describe it. In the first and 2nd movie I have like red eyes (not in a creepy way) and in the 3rd I get blue eyes, ill say why later.  My main color is red yk scarlet witch and shit and idk what else to say haha but feel free to ask questions

My s/o is ben aka beasty boy (fr I started calling him that before I found out uma calls him that soo yeah I thought I was onto smth only to find out im not the first one who came up with that) and hes the same basically except he also speaks French (I love french speaking men and beauty and the beast takes part in France originally so sue me) idk the timeline is pretty much the same as in the movies except the whole breakup thing at the start of the 2nd movie doesn’t happen

Plot of movie 1: I go with all the other vks (its just 4 but ok) to auradon but except like 1 month to the coronation like in the movies it’s for the whole school year (idk when the coronation was but id say like June or smth) soo from august on. Since my mum is kinda yk abandoning me and being a shit parent bcs shes still grieving and some shit I basically was always around the other 4. Then once there everything kinda plays out like it does in the original movie except for my powers embarrassing me around ben haha idk I think its funny to have my powers go cray cray when im around him (also we dream of each other before we meet bcs *soulmates* but like without seeing faces and stuff). Then mal comes up with the whole love spell thing but it’s a bit different, it only works if the person casting the spell loves the person theyre casting it on (idk I needed an excuse for why mal would let me cast the spell) soo yeah I do the spell and then I basically take mals place for a bit. The whole parent day thing comes up (in the zoom thing they do with the villains my mum doesn’t show up tho) and audreys grandma still grabs mal and stuff and my powers kinda work subconsciously and yk pull them apart and make chad fall into the sleep thing so then everyone hates us (especially me) again and I feel terrible. Coronation day, same thing, love spell gets dissolved bla bla bla. Jane takes the wand, I take the wand from jane, maleficent comes and I give the wand to mal and mal gives it to the fairy godmother, maleficent freezes everyone. Now it strays from the movie basically mal fails to turn maleficent into a lizard like in the movies and she gets also like frozen then I come in and save the day and then fall into like a small coma bcs my powers feed on my life force / energy yk and that was too much. But then I wake up again.

Movie 2: beginning is the same except I replace mal as yk future queen but mal still feels overwhelmed and misunderstood and runs away after the picnic scene (its me and her in the scene, I replace ben in that one). Basically i find out and tell evie and she tells ben and they convince me to stay put while they go get mal bcs yk the coronation thing was scary and im not the most popular over there atm. Ben gets captured, the boys get me to make the wand bcs printing it takes too long, we go back to the isle and we save ben. I use my powers but not that much yk just I know my boundaries. Fast forward to cotillion, uma still spells ben, she turns into a sea monster and I start idk fighting her but since I used so much of my powers the day before already to make the wand and in the fight so yk im nearing the edge of too much. Mal turns into a dragon, ben jumps into the water, does a less y/n pick me version of his speech, uma goes, mal turns back but doesn’t have the big purple dress moment, just a small purple dress moment (like not the big ass gown but more of a cocktail party dress) bcs theres no way shell steal my moment haha

Movie 3: same thing the whole time basically except that when Audrey shows up and spells ben, I go after him immediately and the boys find me while they search for ben in the woods. Mal still gets hades ember (and finds out im her sister during it) and also still promises uma that she’ll free the villains but since shes not the future queen in my dr she doesn’t have jurisdiction to push that through and when I tell that to mal and uma and that I cant just do that uma gets angry and leaves like in the movie. Also since imo the whole ‘we’re not evil anymore and all are happy to go to auradon’ plot doesn’t happen in my dr bcs its stupid haha. In the end I fight with Audrey and get my wandavision scarlet witch transformation moment and yk basically shes agatha and im wanda (she not only took maleficents wand and the crown in my dr but also the darkhold which is still like a dark magic book but without the corruption part, its kinda like the ring from lotr, it corrupts everyone except the owner yk so I don’t get corrupted if I use it but Audrey does) and I absorb hades ember during that thing (Audrey is holding it) which gives me *drum roll* blue eyes. In the end the exchange program will be continued but yk not the barrier lifted bcs the villains are still villains and wanna get revenge (I believe in character development but that whole plot was just stupid af on Disney part sorry not sorry).

some random shit:

i do cheer in auradon in the 2nd movie

i have a friend from my cr i scripted in whos the kid of sisu from raya and the last dragon

my mum and i live in a little cabin on the isle (kinda like the one at the end of wv)

i write music (i have a playlist with songs ive written in my dr if anyone is interested)

i cant swim based just entirely on the fact that the enchanted lake scene in movie 1 can still happen lmao

soo thats it feel free to ask questions (really ask questions, i want questions doesnt matter if ive already answered it or you think its stupid) it got a teeny tiny bit long but who cares lmao

[sevenyeargap]

welcome to my very own analysis of edgeworths character and insane rambling on why i write him Like That. first of all i want to rec one of my favorite essay on political theory/legal philosophy of possibly all time aka the discourse on voluntary servitude by la boétie (which you can read here, its also a fantastic text to read in these coronation/anti-monarchy times)

anyway, if you don't want to read it (although it is quite a short and clear read), the main thesis of this essay is that basically a corrupt political system/dictatorship (here called a tyranny) doesn't stay in place because people are afraid of change and rebellion, but because people don't want anything to change, and they're satisfied with their condition, therefore complicit with the system (see also MLK's quote on white moderates "but the white moderate who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says 'I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action'")

the tl;dr here is that a system stays in place because no one does anything to change it, and people prefer turning a blind eye to the situation but its not because they're afraid of a new system, it's because they're scared of what it will take to get this new system.

with that being said i think that edgeworths anger and resentment at the legal system post turnabout goodbyes wouldn't be directed at the system right away because he upheld the system. he loved it! (which btw is so so much worse than killing his father. he didn't kill his father but he's complicit in enforcing a terrible legal system!!!!!!!! awful)

and miles loved this system!! i think that even at the worst point of his bratworth era he still believed he was Bringing Fair And Real Justice and was doing The Right Thing. but what happens when you realize this system is deeply, incredibly flawed? when you've spent your whole life fighting for it? deliberately ignoring the ugly parts of it in favor of maintaining a perfect win record?

that's when you choose death!!!! (literally or figuratively depending on how you analyze it.)

i looooove edgeworth celebrating his not guilty verdict but he would start thinking about what he's done. which again is so much worse than simply killing his dad. like he literally says that in rfta

and thats so??? fucking sad!?!!! because how is he supposed to trust in himself now??? phoenix (no matter how good his intentions were) HAS entirely destroyed his whole worldview!!!!!!!! and thus the unnecessary feelings line but you can read more about my thoughts about that line here (tl;dr this line for me a) challenges his views (see supra) b) didn't phoenix "steal" his dream of becoming a defense attorney, in a way? phoenix had the chance to move on and change things for the better but miles... didn't.

ANYWAY edgeworth gets angry at individuals, after turnabout goodbyes, because he hasn't realized how deep the corruption runs yet - he's angry at phoenix, at misty, at everyone who either failed to protect him (misty, mvk, the mvk household, maybe even his own dad for """leaving him behind"""???) OR tried to protect him from this system (phoenix, maya - because how dare they challenge his views on this system he has oh so loved?) also you can read this post here because it really summarizes my feelings about his aa1 arc

every day there is a new media where two people are fighting together for a system. they both come to realise the system is flawed, and while one of them tries to take the system down, the other decides it is still necessary and must be protected at all costs. why is it always the first one who becomes the villain? who is deeply sympathetic but goes too far in their quest for justice? i think for once it should be the second one who is trying so hard to protect the system they believe in that they slowly slip into tyranny

i dont really have a conclusion here but i will say that i think The Note and edgeworths year off were necessary (as tragic as it was) for both edgeworth & phoenix because theyre insane they need some time to think about how much they don't know nor understand each other anymore at this point in time. anyway. thanks for reading?!! i hope this made sense. mwah!

[sjsmith56]

Lord Buchanan - Series Masterlist

Series completed.

A bit of a mashup, set in an alternate universe, where a modern woman finds herself stuck in a medieval world. She needs the protection of a powerful man (guess who?) to stay safe in this world as there is danger in many places for an unaccompanied woman. The people of the medieval world (with touches of the Renaissance) are also aware of the modern world through the visions of their sorceress. Magic is accepted as being equal to religion. All MCU characters except for two will have different identities in this story. The two will be revealed during the story. Much of this story will be suitable for 18+ readers only. Minors should not interact with this story. If you follow me and your bio does not indicate you are older than 18 you will be blocked.

Characters: Lord Buchanan (James Buchanan Barnes), OFC (named), King Steven (Steve Rogers), Queen Peg (Peggy Carter), Sir Samuel / Knight Commander (Sam Wilson), Bruce the Giant (Bruce Banner), Lord and Lady Stark (Tony and Pepper Stark), King Thorn and Prince Loke (Thor and Loki), Dr. Jane Foster, Sorceress (Wanda Maximoff), Garrison Commander Rhodes (James Rhodes), Archer Barton (Clint Barton), the Baron (Baron Zemo), the Dreykov sisters (Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova), Prince Arthur David Joaquin de Torres Walker aka Quin Torres (Joaquin Torres as a teenager), Duke John Walker, Lord Fury (Nick Fury), and others in brief cameos. The final character of note is not an MCU character but a horse, Magnus, the black stallion ridden by Lord Buchanan; Magnus is a central character in several plot lines.

Warnings: sexual content, violent content, misogyny, talk of slavery, talk of child abuse, talk of sexual abuse, talk of incest, forced arranged marriages, death. There is also love, valour, honour, truth, and attention to duty so it balances out quite well.

Previously published on Wattpad and AO3 platforms, under the username SJSmith56.

Novels/Collections Masterlist Tumblr Masterlist

Read past the break for chapter titles.

Chapter 1. A New World

Chapter 2. To the Castle

Chapter 3. The Feast

Chapter 4. The Duel

Chapter 5. Declarations

Chapter 6. A Time for War

Chapter 7. Time to Live

Chapter 8. The White Wolf

Chapter 9. Two Brothers, Two Kingdoms

Chapter 10. Decisions

Chapter 11. Magic Moment

Chapter 12. Coronation

Chapter 13. Tactics

Chapter 14. Friends in Need

Chapter 15. Setting Things Right

Chapter 16. The Way Home

Chapter 17. Heavens Above

Chapter 18. At Home in the Rocky Woodlands

Chapter 19. Hope and Friendship

Chapter 20. Meeting of the Minds

Chapter 21. Solidarity

Chapter 22. Two Steps Forward

Chapter 23. Three Steps Back

Chapter 24. The Sweet and the Bitter

Chapter 25. Radio Silence

Chapter 26. Across the Waters

Chapter 27. A Single Step

Chapter 28. Home

Chapter 29. The Danger

Chapter 30. Celebrations

Chapter 31. Revelations

Chapter 32. Destiny Calls

Chapter 33. A Matter of Honour

Chapter 34. Time for Love

Chapter 35. A Call to War

Chapter 36. The Gathering

Chapter 37. Time to Fight

Chapter 38. The Last Time

Chapter 39. A Shot in the Dark

Chapter 40. Reap What You Sow

Chapter 41. Coming Home

Chapter 42. A Time for Everything

Chapter 43. Epilogue

[ratlesshonret]

Things I LOVED About Pocket Mirror ~ GoldenerTraum & Little Goody Two Shoes (as a long-time series fan)

AKA, the long-awaited positivity post.

This is a direct follow-up to my posts "The (few) Things I Didn't Like About Pocket Mirror ~ GoldenerTraum" and "My (few) Issues With Little Goody Two Shoes"

Those posts trended very negative because, well, lists of complaints are inherently negative. However, despite my (honestly, kinda nitpicky) complaints, I do want to show that I still adore these games. And thus, I will be giving my list of things I think GoldenerTraum and LGTS did right.

Well, to be fair, these games did most things right. But I'll pick the ones I think stand out the most.

This post contains spoilers, as always. Rant below the cut.

Part 1 - GoldenerTraum

-The new lore introduced in this game, alongside the entirely new ending, are just great. Really solid ways to expand the section of canon that Pocket Mirror focuses on without changing the game very much.

-I love the convenience factor of this game versus the original. Less clunky required menu openings, less instances of "what do I need to examine to progress," and just generally smoother gameplay.

-I can't do this without mentioning the graphics. Complete and utter upgrade in every way. The original always looked great, but now looking back on it, its definitely not as polished as the modern style.

-(I know this is a positivity post, but I do wanna say I prefer the original Lisette sprite. I love the new one as well, but I think the new "heavy frills and detailed wrinkles" artstyle, while it generally works for the period and wealth the game is set around, doesn't fit Lisette.)

-Back to positivity now, the higher resolution theaters are really good. I originally wished they'd be changed/reanimated, but that was a mistake on my end. After all, why mess with perfection?

-GoldenerTraum and the accompanying anime opening are amazing. Full stop. Best intro to maybe any game ever. Everblooming Wild Rose Coronation is also great. (Though if I were to be fully honest, I kinda wish it only played after the Dawn ending instead of every ending. But that's a nitpick.)

-The removal of the bloat in the prologue is very much appreciated. On replays, the dance hall area feels very drawn out and unimportant, and generally a slog to go through. While I still don't like replaying this section, it is MUCH more bearable with the excess meat chopped off. It always felt like filler, anyway.

-The CGs that were updated look much nicer. No elaboration on this one, that's where my thought ends.

-Actually, yes elaboration. This is about the CG of Lisette coming out of the mirror before her first chase. The redraw is so pretty. I love Lisette <3.

-Improved visibility in many dark areas makes me a very happy person. While it maybe does remove some of the tension and atmosphere, it makes the game more accessible for new players who now won't need to feel around in the dark for ten minutes to find the candle in the Sugary Supper area, or whatever.

-Henri sprite.

-Finally, and I want to loop back to the character sprites, I love how they give an option to return to the original sprites. I love when remakes/remasters have some kind of "nostalgia mode" so that the original versions of things aren't lost.

Part 2 - Little Goody Two Shoes

-Music is great. I still prefer Pocket Mirror's OST, but holy hell some of the tracks in this game get lodged in my brain sometimes.

-Art is fantastic. I love the CGs, so many of them are so detailed and pretty. I might set some of them as my computer backgrounds, that's how good they are.

-Speaking of, the sprites are really good. I love some of Elise and Rozenmarine's sprites, especially.

-Strange Boy finally getting a name is nice. Now I don't need to call him Strange Boy. (I will still call him Strange Boy.)

-godiknowthisissupposedtobeapositivitypostbutholyshitiwanttopuntthatchildmuffyintothegoddamnsunsobaditsunreal

-In general the environments are beautiful. One of the few ways this game is a straight step-up from Pocket Mirror. The tiny waterfall in the river looks so pretty, especially during the day. And that's just one example of an environmental piece that really stood out.

-I want to praise Thursday Witching Hour, or as I called it in my last post, "the only one that's better than bearable." It is a genuinely tense section, and scarier than anything in Pocket Mirror. It was the only thing in either game to really make me aware that this is a horror series.

-I do generally like the mechanics of hunger/money management, and the minigames are fun (except Kiss the Rat.) The intense effort that must've been put into the art and design of these short games you only play to make money was not lost on me.

-The characters are charming (exceptmuffy), about on par with Pocket Mirror's believe it or not. Rozenmarine is the only one I can speak heavily on, since her endings are the only routes I've done, but she's so cute and I love her. Freya also seems very great, which is why I have her route lined up to do next. Elise herself is also much different from how I assumed, but I love her as a protagonist.

-The sheer amount of lore this game introduces, from how Elise's deal with Strange Boy went down, to how the Pocket Mirror made it into Goldia's hands in the first place, is downright amazing for a lore nerd like myself.

-While this game didn't make me as emotional as Pocket Mirror does at any point (both of Lisette's endings still make me sob like a baby,) I did feel pretty empty inside after sacrificing Rozenmarine during the "canon" ending. And games that put me into a literal depressive episode after finishing are the ones I remember the most and love the most.

-The sheer amount of endings does give this game good replay value. Of course, that is undercut by... literally the dozen things I mentioned in my last post, but it does give me reason to stick it out.

-The fact that even the background characters have consistent personalities is nice. I love when games pay that close attention to detail. Though I will say that most of the ones without large-scale speaking sprites did kinda blend together into one person in my head, and in some cases they may as well have been one person. But on my next playthrough, I'll definitely take the time to pay attention to who says what lines, rather than just skimming the text itself.

-The dates are really cute, especially the associated scenes. You do not know the scream I let out when Rozenmarine finally dropped the L-bomb on Elise. That scene was adorable, despite being undercut by my constant (and later proven correct) dread of her dying painfully soon.

-Seriously, just the fact that you are playing as a lesbian is great. I can't think of many games, other than ones explicitly marketed as "yuri romance" or "lesbian dating sim" that have this kind of casual representation. It warms my heart a lot to see it not fall to the pitfalls of "has to be a visual novel or dating sim" or "only hinted-at representation."

-My final compliment for now, I adore Rozenmarine in general. I'm a very character-focused person, and I now have a new character to rotate and hyper-fixate on in my mind.

Part 3 - Outro

I love these games. A lot. I don't want to ever give the impression of "GoldenerTraum is a bad remake" or "LGTS isn't a good sequel" because those things aren't true. Despite my complaints, my opinions on these games are 90% positive.

All of this to say... I'm not falling out of love with this series. While the original Pocket Mirror holds a special place in my heart as "maybe the best thing Astral Shift has ever made," I still love their newest projects all the same. And nostalgia plays a big part in that place it has in my heart.

I love you, Pocket Mirror. And I love you, Little Goody Two Shoes.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

So People has a article about Lilis birthday having been celebrated with a party over the weekend. No current pics of course. Now her birthday is June 4. Do recall Meghan couldn't attend the coronation because she had to have archie birthday party that day and Harry had to leave immediately after the ceremony to fly back for Archie's birthday. But now it's ok to have Lilis party before her actual birthday. If that doesn't make it very clear that her absence from the coronation had nothing to do with A's birthday I don't know what will. It's ok to have Lilis party on the weekend before her actual birth date but they couldn't move A's party so that H and M could do the coronation??? Geez.

Of course it's okay to have Lili's birthday early because Lili is the golden child. Archie is the glass child.

('Glass child' refers to the child that the parents don't see - aka they look straight through the child to their sibling. Clinically 'glass child' refers to the healthy sibling of a child with a severe disability or illness, called such because the parents don't see them since they're too focused on the suffering child' however lately, internet discourse has co-opted the term to mean the sibling that parents ignore for their favored child, aka the golden child who can do no wrong.)

[viperwhispered]

Little birdie told me you needed writing prompts. Here's one for pre-OB Jamil:

Based on the song Royalty by Conor Maynard, let's have pre-OB Jamil already being in a loving relationship with his beloved. As he's about to start his takeover of Scarabia, he muses of how things will be when he succeeds. Specifically all the ways he finally gets to spoil his dearest. Cue his fantasies expanding to him becoming a ruler like the sultans of old and making his lover his sultana. The banquets, the jewels, the clothes, and maybe even a wedding/coronation.

Bonus: to answer your world building question for Nikki, the general public aren't really aware of how the world really works and act just like in our world (aka everyone else is wrong). All they know is that freaky shit happens and then you call a priest. Cops and officials freely cooperate but don't really ask questions because they aren't paid enough to deal with demons, spirits, curses, etc. They just clear the crowds, point to where the NE need to go, and then dip.

At the moment I've got my wips keeping me busy, but I'll be putting this in my back pocket for the future. 

It makes me wonder, though. Just what do Jamil's dreams for the future look like, beyond general “being free” and “being recognized”? I mean, the overblot gave us a (twisted) version of it, but still.

Though I suppose it is difficult to see more specific goals like that when you feel stuck where you are and just having the option to choose is a bit of a pipedream. 🙃

Anyway.

Listened to the song and yeah I can totally see these vibes applying to Jamil. All the things he wants, not just for himself, but now for his s/o too. Or so that he can prove himself (to everyone and to his partner), that he really is so much more than just the servant.

I mean-

If I had the money, let me tell you how it'd be I'd take over the country, everyone would bow to me Sit up in my palace and baby, you would be my queen We'd run this ship together, just you wait and see We'll be royalty

And this bit too, so Jamil-coded

So would you cover me If I gotta take out any enemies, yeah 'Cause it might get ugly Many things that you don't wanna see or hear

So yeah, this song feels very accurate for Jamil and definitely is giving me thoughts/vibes, though in my head it goes beyond NRC. Like, Jamil thinking of how things could be once he's truly broken free and managed to prove himself, gaining that respect etc. he believes he deserves. How he could (and should) be at the top of the world, if only there weren't the current circumstances holding him back. How he'll be able to spoil his s/o and show off to them once he gets what's his due.

(Watch this sneak into the next part of the current series before I even realize it.)

Already listened to this song a few times over because the vibes are just so impeccable. (I may need to start some sort of an inspiration playlist.)

Also ty for the clarification about the worldbuilding for Nikki!

[absolutebl]

hello! how are you doing? I hope you're doing well (: I've noticed you have a) immaculate taste and b) vast knowledge haha - I was hoping to get some recommendations? It's for my mom. She is really sensitive to cheesy stuff and stays away from it. I think she would really struggle with any sound effects, but that's a lot of bl for you XD She loves books about women in WWII and really emotional, heavy topics. She's a nurse so she also enjoys (accurate) medical aspects as well. Have you seen the netflix show Call the Midwife? That is exactly up her alley. Can you think of any BL or GL that kind of fit that vibe? I've been trying to think of some and I just can't. if not, no worries! I know it's a tall order XD anyways, ilysm!! i hope you have a wonderful day

I should add she doesn't like nc scenes. she's very much a fan of the "fade to black" if you know what I mean

Gotcha, okay lemme c

no cheesy stuff

no sound effects

really emotional, heavy topics

accurate medical aspects

historical

That last is actually the hardest. Historicals are very rare. Medical setting and companion accuracy also rare, but I came up with some you might consider... mostly they will satisfy 2-3 of the 5 criteria. I marked the ones that managed 4/5. Nothing satisfies all your criteria. I would suggest check them out yourself first since you know her best.

Japan (probably your best bet)

Life: Love on the Line

Old Fashion Cupcake

Restart After Come Back Home

Tokyo in April is

His the movie (also the series, but I don't like it as much)

If It’s With You AKA Kimi to nara Koi wo Shite Mite mo

Also, depending on how HEA she wants to go check out the "moody arthouse smackdoodle" section of this post.

Korea

The Eighth Sense - 4/5 but the medical component is mental health (no historical)

Unintentional Love Story

Made in Rooftop

Thailand

Triage

Manner of Death - 4/5 but the medical component is maybe no that accurate, coroner (no historical)

He's Coming to Me

I Feel You Linger in the Air - 4/5 (no medical)

I Told Sunset About You

Moonlight Chicken

Dear Doctor, I'm Coming for Your Soul - 4/5 but not sure on accuracy of medical elements (no historical)

China

Word of Honor - 4/5 - but the historical component is fantasy (no medical) also a steep buy-in at 36 eps.

More like this?

Pip pip, hope there's something there for her.

[karahalloway]

Sex Bomb

Fandom: TRR

Paining: Leo Rys x Adelaide Amaranth

Series: None (this is a one-shot and can be read independently of the rest of my fics)

Word count: 4,000

Warnings: swearing, alcoholic tendencies, smut, outrage, crack ship (you have been warned)

Theme song:

A/N1: This is my long-awaited (and very much demanded) follow-up to the part I wrote for One Night in Cordinia; however, you should be able to read the current fic as a standalone.

A/N2: Since I love killing two birds with one stone, this is also my submission for this year's Smutember event hosted by @choicesprompts. The prompts that this fits into is 'Caught in the act' and 'We shouldn't be doing this...'

A/N3: Certain parts of this fic were somewhat inspired by the scene between Finch and Stiffler's Mom from American Pie. The clip, for anyone who hasn't seen the movie, is below the cut.

Sex Bomb

"Bloody hell..."

Leo dropped the edge of the heavy brocade curtain he was holding, letting it fall back into place behind the dais to conceal his presence once again.

The ballroom was heaving. And the evening had barely even kicked off. Lord knew how many more people were still battling the traffic to get a coveted front-row seat for the royal event of the century.

The Coronation.

...or, as Leo liked to call it, the Royal Nail in the Coffin.

Because in his mind, that's what it was. The final, inescapable blow that would seal his fate for good, and maroon him forever on the desolate island that was kingship... shackled in life-long matrimony to Madeleine Amaranth.

Leo shuddered at the thought. Especially when he recalled his fiancée's naked form getting skewered loudly by that Justin What's-His-Face PR pansy on the steps of Beaumont House mere days ago.

Not because of the fact that she'd had sex with someone else. Hell, he'd tapped more ass than he could count! So, he couldn't exactly begrudge his soon-to-be wife's promiscuity. Especially when she couldn't remember any of it...

No, it was the fact that here he was, on the eve of his engagement to his future Queen, and all he could think about was her mother.

That sexy vixen of a woman, Adelaide. The Duchess That Had Got Away.

Very literally.

Because in the chaos of the Shagging Smog-infused assassination-attempt-gone-wrong — aka the Beaumont Bash — Leo had lost his one chance to notch that coveted mark on his bedpost... especially considering that she would've actually been game for it, given the mind-altering effects of the aerosol-based dispersant.

Talk about fucking irony...

Leo heaved a breath.

Maybe it wasn't meant to be. Maybe there was a reason why—

"Quite the crowd out there, huh, son?"

Leo clenched his eyes shut. "Yes, Father."

Constantine clapped a hand onto his eldest son's shoulder. "It's going to be quite the night!"

"Yes, Father," Leo intoned, forcing himself to swallow down the bile that suddenly threatened to bubble up his gullet.

The King's fingers tightened on his jacket. "All eyes will be on you, lad. Do not cock this up."

Leo felt himself gag. "'Scuse me...!"

Slapping a hand over his mouth in an attempt to keep the scotch-laden contents of his stomach under wraps, he lurched past his father.

Stumbling across the ante-room, he barely made it to the nearest ficus plant before the 20-year old single malt regurgitated itself into the perfectly hydrated potting mix in front of him.

"Christ, you are a royal disgrace..." muttered Constantine as he marched past him. "If God would've had any sense, he would've made Liam my heir instead of you. But here I am, stuck with your worthless hide instead..."

The slam of the mahogany door reverberated around the room.

"The feeling's mutual, old man," muttered Leo, shooting a wad of spittle into the planter to cleanse his mouth.

Lifting his head, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

A drink. He needed a drink.

Mostly because he'd just thrown up the five fingers worth of Dutch courage he'd consumed less than an hour ago, and there was no way he was subjecting himself to the shitshow on the other side of that curtain even remotely sober.

And if Constantine had an epileptic fit...? Well, he deserved it.

The old tosser had given Leo enough hell during his 30-odd years on Earth, trying to mould him into something that the wayward prince wasn't, and never would be.

Making his way to the other side of the room, Leo located the hidden door that led to the service corridors and slipped inside.

A few twists and well-worn turns through the rabbit warren, and he emerged out into the smoking room, a plushly decorated space filled with heavy brocade curtains, velvet armchairs, a billiards table, and — most importantly — a well-stocked liquor cabinet.

Making a straight line towards the blessed promise of inebriation, he grabbed the nearest decanter of scotch, and pulled the heavy crystal stopper out.

He was about to pour himself a healthy serving when he heard the rustle of heavy taffeta behind him.

Glancing around, he nearly dropped the priceless Swarovski crystal on the floor.

"Pinching a cheeky tipple?" asked Adelaide Amaranth, surveying him over the rim of her own glass.

"Shit, Maddy's mum...!" Leo quickly composed himself. "Erm... Thought I'd get a head start on the party."

"Mmm..." purred the Duchess of Krona, perching herself on the edge of the billiards table. "Man after my own heart..."

Leo swallowed loudly as the skirt of her dress slid apart to reveal the length of her toned legs.

After the unmitigated disaster that had been the Bash, she'd appeared to him again, luscious and alone — like a siren rising from the dark depths of his previous failure — tempting him with a second chance...

...or goading him with the unattainability of his crusade.

Either way, Leo felt his guts tighten at her unexpected presence.

"So..." Her voice interrupted his thoughts. "Are you all set? To become King and all?" she asked, swirling the remnants of her drink around in the crystal tumbler.

"Furthest thing from," Leo admitted, sloshing himself a drink with shaky hands.

Whether it was nerves or anticipation, he wasn't sure. Either way, he was now doubly, triply in need of the hard stuff... in part because he could feel some other stuff becoming hard as well.

"Hence why you're looking for something to take the edge off," she mused, running her aqua-coloured gaze over him. "Smart thinking."

"Tell that to my father..." scoffed Leo, dropping the decanter back on the cabinet top, trying to maintain his cool in the face of her intoxicating closeness.

"Or my daughter," agreed Adelaide with a roll of her eyes. "If anyone needs a bevvy, it's her! Speaking of... have you see her? She's quite disappeared on me..."

"Nope. Can't say I have," admitted Leo, throwing the scotch back greedily.

Adelaide surveyed him for a long moment before shrugging. "Probably for the best, really. She can't stand me on the best of days. She's under some misguided impression that I'll say or do something that will embarrass her..."

"Welcome to my world," muttered Leo, reaching for the decanter again. "I am the living embodiment of my father's resentment. You know, he even told me tonight that I am — quote-unquote — a 'royal disgrace' and Liam should've been his heir instead."

"Hmm..." murmured Adelaide, sliding off the billiards table yo shimmy up to him. "I don't know about any of that... I think you'll look fantastic in a crown..."

Leo snorted. "That is hardly a qualification for kingship..."

"Isn't it?" pressed Adelaide, leaning her empty glass against her cheek as she cocked her head at him.

"I have it on rather good authority that there's a bit more to it than that..." murmured Leo ruefully, unable to stop his gaze from sliding down her neck to the bare skin of her cleavage that sat exposed between the lines of her dress.

"Don't listen to them," chided Adelaide, reaching up to run a finger through his thick, blonde hair. "A king needs only three things — a royal bloodline and an iconic profile. Everything else will be taken care of for you."

Leo felt an uncharacteristic shudder course through him as her fingertip brushed over the sensitive skin of his temple. "Apart from the actual ruling..."

"You'd be surprised..." she smiled. "I haven't set foot in Krona in months! The equerries take care of all the pesky details."

"Running a kingdom's a tad more involved than running a duchy..."

"Pfft!" she scoffed. "Duchy? Kingdom? What's the difference? You sign the odd piece of paper, and throw the occasional ball. That's it!"

"And lead Council meetings, host foreign dignitaries, review petitions, attend—"

"Leo, darling, you are terribly overthinking this!" chided Adelaide with a laugh, reaching for the decanter to pour herself another glass. "You think the kings and queens of old bored themselves with all the minutiae? No! They delegated, so they could have fun fighting battles and posing for portraits."

"Not sure fighting battles was exactly fun..."

"My Prince," she said, leaning in, as if imparting a secret. "All I'm saying is you have nothing to worry about. You could conquer nations with that jaw-line..."

Leo's heart stopped in it's tracks as he swore he felt the tip of her tongue flick over his skin.

"...your sense of duty is just a bonus."

"And... and the third thing?" he stammered.

"The Crown Jewels," she declared, pulling back to fix him with a knowing look.

Leo frowned. "You mean the Apple and th—"

"I mean these jewels," she corrected, grabbing the front of his trousers without warning.

Leo nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt her manicured nails close emphatically around his meat and two veg.

"Holy f—!"

"Mmm," purred Adelaide, tightening her hold on him. "Seems to be present and accounted for..."

Leo merely squeaked in response. He had no idea what was happening, or how he'd even gotten to having Adelaide's hands wrapped around his sex pistol in the first place, but he sure as bloody hell wasn't going to tell her to stop!

"...but one cannot be sure without a proper inspection."

Leo froze. "Inspection?"

Adelaide lifted her gaze to met his square on. "Darling, you are marrying my daughter. I cannot — in good conscience — let you bed her without ensuring that all the royal parts are in working order... and capable of producing grandchildren."

"Trust me..." wheezed Leo as he felt Adelaide's hands reach for his belt. "The lads have never let me down."

"Oh, yes," smiled Adelaide, undoing his buckle and letting the ornate belt drop the floor. "I am well aware of your many... conquests. But I also know the papers like to exaggerate. So, surely you cannot begrudge a mother for wanting to obtain independent confirmation."

"How 'bout a live demonstration?" blurted Leo, grasping at the edge of the drinks cabinet for support as Adelaide wrestled with the buttons of his trousers.

Hell, if this was happening, then he was gonna make damned sure that it was happening!

"Don't jump the gun, darling," Adelaide tutted, ripping the fronts of his pants open. "You need to pass muster first."

Leo gasped audibly as his sexcalibur sprang — finally, blessedly! — free of its confines.

"Not one for briefs, I see..." she observed, running her fingers critically over him.

"I threw them all out years ago," he panted in response to the feel of her silken touch on his heated gherkin.

"Another thing we have in common," she smirked, reaching for his hand to guide it over the back of her dress.

A desperate groan escaped him as his palm skated over the smooth, unencumbered expanse of her backside as she continued to fondle him. "So, what's the verdict?"

"A package worthy of a king," Adelaide assured him, rolling his plums together in her palm.

Leo felt his eyes tip back into his head at the overwhelming sensation...

...before it stopped just as quickly as it had started.

Creaking his eyes open, he saw Adelaide throw him a cheeky smirk over her shoulder as she glided sinuously towards the billiards table.

"Aren't you coming, darling?" she whispered back at him.

Leo nearly tripped over his own trousers in his haste to get to her. He was going to get the chance to live out his dirtiest, most depraved fantasy, after all! He was not wasting one more second!

"Lord, you have no idea how long I've waited for this..." he gasped, stumbling across the room towards her.

"Oh, I know very well," she assured him, leaning back to spread her arms out over the polished walnut. "I've seen you looking at me, Leo."

He faltered. "You have?"

"Of course, my darling," she assured him, cocking her leg seductively. "You were hardly subtle in your attentions. A woman notices these things..."

"You know this is highly improper..." he pointed out as he finally made it to her.

"Oh, sweet boy!" she laughed. "This would be the scandal of the century!"

"Then we better give them something to talk about," he grinned, grabbing her by her toned derrière to lift her onto the edge of the billiards table.

"Mmm... I can think of a few things..." she breathed, planting her hands on his shoulders to push him down towards her nether region.

"I'm sure you can, m'lady," he grinned, shifting his hands to the back of her knees to yank her towards him, the sudden momentum sending the top half of her body falling back onto the felt. "But allow me to put even your wildest dreams to shame."

"Bold words..." purred Adelaide with a coy smile as he lifted her legs up to anchor her Valentino Gavarani-clad feet on his shoulders, causing the skirt of her dress to cascade down towards her hips.

"I've yet to receive anything other than a stellar review," he winked at her, grabbing her waist to invert her almost fully as he lifted her sacred centre up to his face.

"That may be so, darling, but unlike some ladies, I have high standards..." murmured Adelaide, lifting her arms above her head in anticipation. "I don't dish out gold stars to just anybody..."

"I don't intend to disappoint," Leo assured her with a cocky smirk as he bent his head towards her.

"...why must I do everything myself!" seethed Madeleine, stomping down the otherwise empty corridor in her Valentino sling-backs.

She'd known Leo was an immature and unreliable cad who was more interested in finding the next skirt to lift than paying any semblance of attention to actual matters of state.

And while she would've definitely preferred a more dedicated and biddable prospect — such as his younger brother — to share the rigours of governance with, she ultimately wasn't marrying the Playboy Prince because she liked him.

In all honesty, the man could've had warts and halitosis and she still would've gone through with the union!

Because this was a political match, pure and simple. The House of Rys allying itself with the House of Amaranth, the richest and most influential noble family in Cordonia in order to keep Queen Kenna's line alive...

...with the added benefit of elevating Madeleine's own status to that of Queen. A role that she'd been training for since before she could even walk, given her father's unrelenting pursuit of power by any and all means — an endeavour that she very much shared, much to her mother's disgruntlement.

But she couldn't exactly get engaged if her intended was missing! Tonight, of all nights!

Who, in their right mind, disappears on their own coronation?!

Of course, she was well aware of Leo's infamous tendency to pull vanishing acts, but what the blasted hell was the man thinking? To leave an entire country in the lurch?

Certainly not on her watch!

She'd already dispatched Bastien and all available members of the King's Guard to search high and low for the errant prince. But the Palace and its grounds were massive, and given the sheer number of people that had descended on the Rys stronghold for tonight's event, trying to find anyone was an exercise akin to weeding a needle out of a haystack.

So, she'd been forced to join the search herself. Even though it was insulting beyond measure and much below her station.

But, desperate times called for desperate measures, and she'd rather sweat into her ballgown running up and down the corridors now, than stand like a hapless bimbo in front of all the dignitaries and news crews trying to explain why her future king and fiancé had skipped out on an entire nation on one of the most important nights of its recent history.

No. She most certainly did not need those headlines running in the morning... or ever.

Best that she focused her efforts on helping locate the wayward heir, and hope that he wasn't halfway out of the country already... because by God, she'd send the Cordonian Secret Service after him if she had to!

Arriving at the next set of doors on her mental task-list, she wasted no time in pushing the handle down...

"Leopold?" she called, stepping into the room.

...only to freeze in shock at the sight in front of her.

There he was — the next in line to the Cordinian throne — head thrown back, trousers around his ankles, thrusting like an animal into—

"MOTHER?!"

Adelaide raised her disheveled head from the billiards table at the sound of her daughter's distraught shriek. "Oh, sweet pea! There you are!"

Leo raised his hand in a wave. "Hi, Mads!"

Madeleine's rouged lips jerked soundlessly, trying to formulate some kind of response, but nothing was forthcoming.

Never — in all her life! — had she imagined that she'd ever witness such sordid... brazen... obscenity!

She was literally lost for words. Her! The person who has been giving televised interviews since the age of four!

"Darling," soothed Adelaide, propping herself up onto her elbows to reveal the tautness of her age-defying, silicone-enhanced breasts, "I know this looks frightfully ghastly, but I can assure that—"

"Shut up..." she finally managed to croak.

Adelaide frowned. "Darling, are you—?"

"I SAID, SHUT UP!" Madeleine screeched.

Both Leo and her mother's eyes widened in the face of the uncharacteristically deranged outburst... but they nevertheless managed to refrain from commenting.

"I don't know how this..." She gestured derisively in the couple's general direction. "...colossal cock-up happened. Nor do I care. But what I do know — and most certainly care about — is that the coronation ceremony is starting. And I will not let you, Leopold—"

Leo groaned at the sound of his full, Christian name. "Jesus, Mads! I told you I—"

"Do not interrupt me!" snapped Madeleine. Sucking in a breath to collect herself, she continued, "I will not let you fuck this up for me, or the kingdom. So, if you want to keep your royal bratwurst, then I suggest that you pull it out of my mother and get your fatuous arse to the ballroom before I have the Guard drag you there."

Leo glanced down at Adelaide. "You sure she wasn't adopted or—?"

"NOW!!!" thundered Madeleine.

"Okay, okay, sheesh!" huffed Leo, grabbing for his trousers, given that he was already very much deflated, his fiancée having managed to suck the literal joy out of his joystick with her mere appearance .

"And you, Mother..." hissed Madeleine, turning her attention to her disheveled parent. "You have undermined me for the last time."

Adelaide scoffed. "Darling, all I have ever done is—"

"Which is why my first act as Queen will be to banish you to Krona," finished Madeleine with a haughty air of finality.

Adelaide's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare!"

Her daughter's demeanour was icy. "You're lucky I'm not banishing you to Siberia. But if you test me—"

"Siberia at least has decent vodka..." chimed in Leo, sauntering past her out the room.

Adelaide tipped her head contemplatively. “He's got a point, you know…”

"Argh!!" screamed Madeleine, slamming the door behind her with such vehemence that it rattled the bottles in the liquor cabinet.

Vile cretins! The whole bloody lot of them!

Grabbing her intended by the arm, she hauled him all the way back to the ball, ignoring the profanity-filled protests.

Stopping in front of the pair of footmen that were manning the ballroom doors, she snapped, "Inform the King that Prince Leopold is ready for his coronation."

"Actu— Ow!!"

She brutally silenced the forthcoming objection with a heel to Leo’s foot.

As the servants rushed away to do her bidding, she manhandled Leo back into the same ante-chamber that he'd disappeared from earlier.

"Mads, stop!" he pleaded as she pulled him across the Persian carpet like a stubborn mule. "Can you please just—?"

"No," she declared, shoved him through the velvet curtains and onto the gilded dais without ceremony. "You will do your duty, even if it kills you, you ungrateful oaf!"

The hubbub of the crowd instantly ceased as Leo stumbled to a stop.

"There you are!" snap Constantine into his ear. "You have some nerve—"

"Just get on with it..." sighed Leo, the weight of finality crashing down on him as he caught his brother's the eye from across the room. Liam always hated it when his brother and father argued, and Leo didn't want to subject him to a public spectacle.

Constantine looked like he wanted to say more, but quickly decided against it. Turning to the congregation, he spread his arms and launched into his pre-prepared speech.

"Good evening, one and all! It is a great honour to have so many of you come out tonight to show your support not only for—"

"Pay attention!"

Glancing down, Leo caught Madeleine's disproving glower from the foot of the dais.

He suppressed a groan.

How they were going to sire royal babies, he had no idea...

...probably with copious amounts of drugs and alcohol...and possibly even a paper bag.

Because he already knew that there was no way that he wouldn't be able to not think about Adelaide while doing it with her daughter.

As even now, in the midst of his own coronation, his mind kept drifting back to the passionate coitus they'd shared on that billiards table before it had gotten oh, so rudely interrupted.

The way she'd moved... The sounds she'd made... That thing with her tongue... It sent shivers down his spine all over again.

And suddenly he had a stark realisation.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't go through with the coronation.

Not if it meant never being able to see her again.

"...and, now..." his father was saying, holding upon the ancient Rys signet ring, "with the bestowal of this ring, I—"

"I abdicate!"

A collective gasp of disbelief rose from the room.

Glancing up, Leo found his father and step-mother staring at him with open mouths, all semblance of propriety forgotten in the face of the shocking announcement.

But he was not perturbed. He'd made his decision. "I, Leopold Maximilian Fernando Constantine Rys, hereby officially and irrevocably renounce my royal titles as Crown Prince of Cordonia and Duke of Applewood." Turning to Constantine, he added with an apologetic shrug, "Sorry, Dad. Just wasn't feeling it."

The heavy gold band clattered to the floor as the cameras exploded into a frenzy of flashing.

"What the devil are you doing?!" demanded Madeleine, appearing in front of him as he hopped off the stage. "Get back up there and—"

"Better luck next time, Mads!" he shouted over the growing dim as he quickly skirted around the edge of the ballroom.

Reaching the closest set of French doors, he threw them open and — with the practiced ease of a man who'd done this exact manoeuvre a hundred times before — vaulted over the edge of the balcony.

Landing on the gravel, he caught sight of the lone pair of headlights idling in front of the Palace steps, and the figure that was in the process of getting behind the wheel.

A knowing smile spread over his face.

Loping across the drive, he managed to intercept the Aston Martin Vantage convertible before it had a chance to drive off.

The driver raised a brow at him as he approached. "Aren't you supposed to be getting crowned?"

"Realised I had somewhere more important to be," he admitted, coming to a stop by the side of the car. "Room for one more?"

Adelaide's lips curved into a smile. "Always, darling."

"Excellent!" exclaimed Leo, hopping into the passenger seat.

She cast him a sidelong glance. "You know this is never going to work out..."

"And?" he grinned, kicking his feet up onto the dash.

Throwing her head back with a laugh, Adelaide pressed the pedal down, kicking the tail of the Aston as they left the ball to dust.

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