#aristocracy au

[unlikelyluxbeloved]

Wip, featuring Dream Sans, ik you probably can't guess it

Traditional art! Surprise

[searenbound]

I don’t think I’ve seen enough pseudocest in aristocracy aus.

I’m thinking of a young woman who just came of age to be considered for marriage and so goes to all the must attend events to catch the eyes of potential suitors. Of course chaperoned by her elder brother as to keep a proper appearance.

Well, her stepbrother, he has no blood relation to her. See his mother had rushed to marry her father in light of her circumstances. Left with all her late husband’s debts well before her son Katsuki could inherit his father’s family wealth and no way to touch the money herself.

She had to find and marry a man quickly, one who was willing to take their debts in exchange for her social connections.

So her he was, escorting the lady he might’ve courted if circumstances were different on dates with potential matches. Ones he knew would fail to go anywhere because she was such a picky woman.

They were always too this or that, never good enough, but he figures that’s a given.

With how many times he finds himself kept up at night after she’s snuck into his bed, he’s certain it isn’t the thrill of the affair but himself that she wants.

Her suitors would never do. They weren’t him, they didn’t know how to make her feel good like he did. Didn’t know how to make her feel safe, or make something so dirty and wrong feel pure and righteous.

They’ll never be like Katsuki. They’ll never compare to him and she fears that if she married anyone but him, she’ll be miserable and missing the nights she would spend in pure bliss when he laid her down on his bed and treated her like his wife.

[teccchou]

Posted new fyolai fanfic!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45316555/chapters/114012286

wrote this while listening to Bernadette on repeat, hence the... whatever it is. I will change the name once I come up with something more creative :)

[miserable-something]

the court physician and the second born

[peachfruitcake]

I wanted to redraw that one old pic sooo badly or to at least draw her in that dress again but with more accurate hair so yeah…!!!! This is sorta wipish idk it’s like both a wip both not cuz it’s also nice as is….but yeah..!!!!

Bonus:

[give-me-a-username-plz]

it’s actually a miracle that no one has ever written a French Wars of Religion jegulus au fic.

hear me out, hear me out;

It’s the 1500’s. The French monarchy is desperately trying to keep themselves and the Catholic Church superior to the Protestant faith, specifically the Huguenots. King Henry II of France (Orion) dies unexpectedly, leaving the throne to an eleven year old Henry III (Regulus), after the death of his brother. Too young to take the throne, Catherine de Medici (Walburga) takes over the throne and commits a LOT of violent crimes. The other brother, the Duke of Aleçnon (Sirius) abandons the whole monarchy and joins a group of Protestant Rebels called The Malcontents (tell me that isn’t the closest thing to Marauders you have EVER HEARD). Part of this group is Henry of Navarre (James) a protestant aristocrat attempting to take the throne and promote religious freedom. They call him the Good King Henry (something that SCREAMS James Potter).

[netmors]

One day, admiral of the New Republic fleet, commodore of the Chiss Ascendancy fleet, and diplomat of the “no-longer-Empire” came into the bar… and began to think about how to get from the "books" to the "screen".

And make it clear to one Сhiss that they will not tolerate an armada of zombie stormtroopers and witches “on their shift.” Even if he is their friend.

I'm still trying to comprehend how much I ultimately disliked the Ahsoka series… The first season feels unfinished at all.

[demento-mori]

Rule of Rose 🤝 Revolutionary Girl Utena

Rose motifs

Prince/Princess motifs

Deconstructed fairytales

Surrealist elements

Queer themes/explorations of gender and sexuality are central to the narrative

Orphaned protagonists

"Crossdressing" protagonists (for lack of a better term)

Kids being failed and abandoned by the adults around them

Adults using their positions of power to abuse the kids in their care

Abusive, unhealthy environments creating toxic and codependant relationships

Kids mimicking the power structures of adults, creating the illusion of power

Victims of abuse inflicting their anger on other victims

Kids can be really fucking cruel sometimes

[ghostieblotts]

So @uhhhitsme sent me an ask about pet names, and the curtwen demons would not let me sleep last night until I had written something for both the canon universe and for my botw/totk curtwen au that I haven't properly posted about yet on tumblr.

Under the cut are some ideas that I originally included in my response to that ask, but have now decided to separate out into another post.

For context, in the botw/totk au I cast Curt as Link and Owen as Zelda - so for anyone reading this who isn't a Zelda fan, Owen is a prince expected to unlock a sacred power and save the world, while Curt is his appointed knight, who is also the hero chosen by the Sword that Seals the Darkness.

Rough simplified progression of their dynamic pre-Calamity is "I hate his guts why am I stuck dealing with this guy" -> banter becomes less hostile -> building want for honesty, yearning and concern -> façade breakdown -> actually confiding in each other -> "I've never admitted this to anyone before" -> lovers.

With both of them, there are names that they start off using for each other mockingly/as a formality, that eventually become imbued with new meaning as their relationship changes.

Owen probably calls Curt something like "Sir Knight", either as mockery or deliberately distancing over-formality, towards the beginning. "Sir Mega" takes on a similar tone. Over time, he starts to actually use Curt's name - still sharply at first, but eventually much softer. When he uses "sir knight" again, either to keep up a formal appearance or more as an inside joke, it's with much more respect. Their history together (and the understanding of how much his role as a knight, as a chosen hero, has affected Curt) seeps into the phrase.

When Curt is assigned as the prince's appointed knight, it's hard not to let his frustration with his role intrude on how he says the various stuffy formalities with which he is expected to address Owen. "Your highness", "your majesty", "your grace", "your radiance", blah blah blah, there's a different one for every event and it is tedious. Over time, with repetition, they start to sound more ordinary, though. After a while, fed up, Owen demands Curt call him "Prince Owen" instead - it's far more practical. Over time, Curt manages to make this phrase sound incredibly casual. When they finally become lovers, some of those old formalities return, sounding very different - "highness", "majesty", "radiance". The respect packed into them isn't the same as that which is expected to be afforded to a sovereign - it's something beyond that, a different kind of devotion.

Ultimately, though, their names are really the most intimate form of address here. No ornamentation, no honorifics, just each other. It's particularly significant the first time Curt calls Owen by just his first name - he doesn't have to be royal, or powerful, or holy, just a person. Just himself. And that's enough.

[butmakeitgayblog]

What is the hairless princess aka chicken cat's name

Depends on who you ask lol

If you ask Lexa then her name is Princess, Majestic Madam, Sweet Baby, Chunky Baby, Precious Tiny Toe Beans Baby (there's a theme here)

If you ask Clarke her name is Satan, Spawn from Hell, Baby Ballsack (Lexa's least favorite), Lil Fuckhead, Why Won't You Die, and the overwhelmingly often used, just "... Bitch 😒"

If you were to look at her collar tho it'd say Isabelle Lilith Griffin-Woods

[likemycat]

Why is this in my gallery???

[boss-the-goofball]

So @clueless-and-quirkless and I made something extra fun lmfao

Aka we made the MHA Setting worse

Destro won and now we have a Quirk-based Aristocracy in Japan, while America has Heroes

[resplendent-chungus]

1, 2, 3 and 14 for the ask game!

1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic. Imagine a one-shot, either 1k or 5k words exactly. It's either a character study where very little happens but what does is kinda fucked, or a silly lil jaunt through comedy zone. Or better yet, an unfinished WIP that I lose enthusiasm for like 2 chapters in (I swear I'll update Tomorrow I'll be Perfect and the Funger au any day/week/month/year now). Those things are like crack to me.

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to? Aside from pure smut tropes (I've never written about sex pollen I don't think soooooooo) I would say Only One Bed, or maybe Hanahaki disease?

3. Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

There's plenty of mediocre AU tropes I find boring (no one tell Mermaid AU and Mafia AU but they're so fucking boring. I've yet to find a single one that's had a better sales pitch than "Okay but hear me out. What if Blorbo from my shows was actually a mermaid/mafia head. What do you mean that's not a plot in and of itself?")

Still, I just find them boring, I don't hate them with enough intensity to justify the question. Nothing popular really fits the bill, not even the dreaded 5+1. The only thing that qualifies is historical AUs, especially AUs set in specific historical events. I will always care more about the history in question than the blorbos being shoved into it, which I don't think makes for good writing. Some people think making their blorbos kiss during the french revolution is more important than the dissolution of the feudal rights of the nobility. I am not one of them. Nothing is more important than the dissolution of the feudal rights of the nobility.

14. What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

To care about your blorbos kissing more than the dissolution of the feudal rights of the nobility I really can't say. I've seen plenty of it, but nothing so bad it's stuck with me until this day.... I guess that Lily Orchard thread? It was dumb.

[randomnameless]

What do you think about the Leicester Alliance? Despite the instability regarding the Riegan house and their heir it seems to me like it's the least fucked up of the three countries

Oh!

I wanted to make a more detailed reply but I don't think I'll have the time before forgetting it lol

But in general, the Alliance suffers from the FE franchise's lack of interest in what I previously called "merchant republics". Let it be Jugdral's Miletos or Magvel's Carcino, they just exist to be rolled over, sometimes they have "corrupt Nobles (tm)" and that's it.

Leicester seems to be in a similar position, even if, by virtue of being Claude's homeland it would be more developed, right?

Well, no, Claude talks more about Almyra and has stronger ties to that country, so whatever Leicester development or lore we could have is just, three supports here and there about "Corrupt Nobles (tm)", a land where wealth gains more and more importance (Marianne's dad became a member of the council bcs of this iirc?) and where old Houses keep on having an ancestral feud even if it dooms the Republic/Alliance (Gloucester wants to get rid of Riegan, and sacrifices Raph's parents in the process?).

So with the minimum world building we have about the Alliance, I wouldn't say it's the least fucked up, rather it's the less developed, so by extension they feel like they're in a better state than the Kingdom - heavily developed - and Adrestia - which is kind of in a similar boat as the Alliance, but since the content focuses on Enbarr and the War afterwards, it's swept up.

But for what we know,

The Roundtable, before Nopes, was made up of 5 great families and minor nobles, while not sitting, could have their voices heard or at least taken into consideration (as opposed to Clout's Federation).

The Alliance apparently heavily dislike having a central authority or a powerful person ruling over them all... But only 3 minor lords riot when "we bow to no Emperor and to no King" is farted upon by King Clout of the Federation...

Lorenz tells us faith is performative in the Alliance, but some people are devout believers, which leads to no one giving a fuck, in Nopes, about their country going for the kill against the Archbishop.

And more importantly...

In the Alliance, through Raphael and Ignatz, we learn there is a "bourgeoisie" class, people who aren't born nobles or anobled and yet who manage to thrive and, if not for Gloucester Sr's gambit, live quite well, despite the "Crust system!!!!" the scripts hammer.

Leonie is a commoner and is in debt (tfw rl catches up to you in a vg!). Her village pays taxes to their Lord (Gloucester) and in exchange this Lord offers them protection (by hiring Jerry) against poachers - which is both textbook Noblesse Oblige hardbaked in Lorenz's character, but also, some kind of weird example of a system based on feodality - vassal offers an "hommage" to his Lord (here taxes) and in return the Lord protects his vassal - with the twist that Leonie's dad isn't a knight or a feudal vassal (afaik?).

Also, from the unused trading post data, Riegan should have been famous for its factories?

In a way, it feels like Leicester's organisation could have been something very interesting to explore - it's completely at odds with the Empire and the Kingdom and much more fragmented - but as usual, the FE series don't really develop those "kingless" factions...

And of course, they couldn't develop the "merchant nation" more else the "Church BaD bcs IsOlAtIoNiSm" falls apart or the "Crust SyStEm" argument as to why Supreme Leader has to change the world falls too, Edmund sr is at the roundtable despite having no crest, the Ordelias never were at this roundtable despite having a crest (iirc?), Judith is a Hero of Leicester and has no Crust, Holst is beloved by the world and has no Crust, despite having no Crust Ignatz's parents are implied to be rich as fuck and living the best life, crustless!Leonie and her entire village are helped by the "nobility system" Supreme Leader vowed to erase, etc etc.

Acknowledging Leicester's existence as something more than "that place Clout and some people hail from" blows so many holes in the leitmotiv of the war - thus the twist "you should feel bad for fighting your former student" - that the writers, imo, prefered not to shed any light no it (+ the context with merchant republics!) that it's no surprising the few crumbs we have aren't developped.

And before Nopes, the Alliance was the only slither free place, so all the "bad stuff" that happened, like Raph's parents, can be blamed on regular people and not "they were brainwashed!!". Ordelia's a different situation, I know a lot of people support the "Lys got her present because crust system", but I always have doubts - Lys got her "present" because Adrestia (Ionius) believed they could infringe on Leicester's territory, and the Agarthans needed to test their "present making" before gifting one to the Hresvelgs.

With Nopes, the Alliance disappears under a King with no fanfare, some people follow Clout, they dgaf about the Church, and that's it. It's just a blank cardbox, removed of the few crumbs that made it different from the other cardboxes.

[troutfur]

I find it a little weird how much the people I've been surrounding myself with as of late in this fandom seem to be much more theme and message-minded storytellers when that's the farthest from my work you could get. I've said before that works of mine like augur AU which build up an intentionally very flawed society but are ultimately not interested in critiquing or tearing it down beyond "it has a tendency to produce massive assholes" make the story come across as rather conservative in its mindset. But that's not because I personally believe the only faults in a system lie in the bad apples within it. I just like setting up societies as conflict generating engines and after I've calibrated them to my liking I am content to just play around with entering inputs and seeing what outputs I get. I'm always very reluctant to taking a hammer to them in order to make room for them to be reconfigured, procluding the kind of storytelling of social change that seems so in vogue in my circle.

[artificialnocturnesblog]

A Midsummer Night's Deal - Thomas Shelby x Original Female Character - Peaky Blinders - Chapter One

Pairing: Tommy Shelby x Original Female Character

Warning: Canon-Typical Violence / Aristocracy / Historical Inaccuracy / Slow Romance/ Marriage of Convenience/

Summary: Thomas Shelby had no other choice but to get a proper wife, one more suitable for the times of shiny magazines and society photographs, one with a pristine past and no personal history. ...or at least that's what he expected of her.

Aristocrats and gangsters have a lot in common. 

They’re both selfish, get bored easily, and have access to wads of cash they didn’t work honestly to get.  The topper?  Neither have any interest in bourgeois rules or morality. 

Put it all together with a roulette wheel and you get a stunning recipe for success.

“Thomas. We do so hate to be indiscreet, but we have told you many times, if you are to seek power in these days of shiny magazines and society photographs, sooner or later, you will have to find a spouse who is more suitable.” Oswald’s words pounded like a bell inside Tommy’s head, he took deep breaths as an actual bell rang, loud and clear, unlike his thoughts. “A woman with Lizzie's past and personal history really isn't suitable.” He closed his eyes briefly, trying to shake them away, to no avail. “She doesn't deserve you, Mr. Shelby.”

But she does? Thomas questioned himself, as he placed a soft kiss on the pearly gloved his soon-to-be wife had on, trying not to focus on her teary eyes.

“If anyone has an objection to this wedding, speak now, or forever hold your peace.” The priest asked, hoping, no, praying, for no interruptions. As did the bride’s family. 

“ahm…” The girl merely opened her mouth, glanced to her side, and decided to hold her peace, figuring it would be the only peace she would have from now on. 

“Very well, by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband…and wife.” Thomas sighed, forcing a smile, mirroring the crowd gathered inside the church. “You now may kiss the bride.” As soon his hands touched her cheek, he felt the single wet tear that escaped her eyes, falling on his fingers, It was warm but it felt like fire, burning his skin. 

He kissed her regardless, despite the silent cries that came from his wife, and hated himself for it, but not more than she did. His wife.

His pristine, suitable for shiny magazines and society photographs wife. 

Her past and personal history wasn’t like Lizzie’s, it somehow managed to be worse, but who cares when you have money, lands, and a title? 

Not Thomas, not the upper class that surrounded them, oblivious to her true past, or the relatives that dealt her off, relieved to see her gone and neither did the girl herself, after all, she’s a Shelby now.

They did meet in a curious setting, so of course things wouldn’t be as simple

“Close your mouths, eh?” Thomas had warned his brothers as they made their way into the manor. Lord Harold Tate Rutherford was hosting a party with all the interested parties, aristocrats, politicians, and gangsters if there’s any difference at all in such a peculiar crowd. Even though he was part of it, the thought of mingling with the rest of them, made his empty stomach churn. “Those bastards are taught to look down at us since birth, let’s not give them any reason.” 

“Yes, my lord.” Finn smiled and saluted him, walking around the room, wasting no time grabbing a glass of whiskey from a server, whose tray nearly turned when Arthur took two cups at once.  

“Arthur.” His icy blue eyes burned a hole in his brother’s back. 

“Don’t worry, I promised Linda that I would be on my best behavior.” Arthur’s response was unsatisfactory to Thomas, who tilted his head and fixed his tie. “What?”

“Just amused by how tight your leash is.” Thomas scoffed and left his older brother behind. His mood was dreadful as ever, he barely got any sleep and if he did, he was tormented by awful nightmares and worries. 

Worrying became part of him, that’s all he had done for the past few months and he was sick of it. Even if a Lord’s house, well, mansion, was supposedly neutral grounds, it didn’t mean his fellow associates wouldn’t try anything, which would force him to strike back. 

Took him less than a minute to spot Jack Nelson, Oswald Mosley, and worse than all combined, Oswald’s wife, Diana. 

“Mr. Shelby!” Diana came smiling as venomously as always, greeting him a little too closely for his, and Oswald’s, liking. “I was wondering if you had gotten lost. I’m sure it’s your first time in a place like this.” She gesticulated around the pompous room. “It’s easy for your people to get lost.”

“Diana.” Oswald gave her a side eye, smirking nevertheless. “Play nice. I’m sure Mr. Shelby hasn't come all this way from his abode to be picked on.”

“From what I heard, all three of them died. Those nationalists took full responsibility for the attack.” An old woman who had an unbearable smell of funeral flowers whispered as she walked past them, eying him with disdain.

“Well, Mosley,  haven’t, indeed. Especially by two low-ranked pricks that shouldn’t be here in the first place.” His tone was as smooth as the liquor he sipped on. 

“I beg your pardon?” Oswald scoffed, his face turning red from anger.

“Oh, forgive me, I thought you knew. You see, you can’t help to hear people gossiping in a place like this.” His dark brows knitted together, faking confusion as he glanced around the room, gesturing discreetly. “It’s all they talk about.” He raised one suggestive eyebrow, just in time to spot the older woman from before who pointed and whispered, as she wore her best jewelry, desperate to bring some light to her wrinkled and faded by-time face.

Diana’s face turned into a bitter scowl mask but quickly masked up when Jack Nelson came by accompanying Lord Harold, followed by his two children. Twins, Edgard, and Genevieve. Wicked mean-spirited people with even more wicked ways of living, Thomas had heard. 

“My apologies for keeping you all waiting!” Harold said with a smile that didn’t reach his grey eyes. “I’m afraid I got caught up in family matters.”

“Nonsense, Harold.” Diana reached her hand but Genevieve’s sneer was faster. “Lord Tate.”

“Rutherford.” Edgard corrected. “Is Lord Rutherford, not Harold, not Tate. Lord Rutherford.”

“Alright, you two. Enough picking on my guests, that’s extremely rude and unlike you.” Something in his tone told Thomas that this was exactly like them. “Why don’t you two check on your sister, and see if she’ll join us for dinner? Take Lady Diana with you.” Harold’s fake smile dropped as did his facade as soon they left. “Children.” He scoffed. “Good to pass your name on, nothing else. Don’t you agree Mr. Shelby?” 

All eyes turned to him who had been bored out of his mind in this conversation. 

“I don’t have children.” He simply said, happy to see Diana gone. Ever since she tricked him into her bed, she has been more unbearable than ever. He wondered if Oswald knew.

“Nor wife?” Harold frowned his forehead, remembering the extensive report someone brought. He could swear he read the word wife . 

“Not anymore.”

“Oh, I see.” Oswald hid his smile, knowing that Lizze had left him when she discovered he had cheated on her with Diana. That was the last drop. 

This led him to sit at the table, having something similar to what he compared to the Last Supper, except there was no Peter’s or John’s, all but Judas’s around him, in a place that had absolutely no resemblance of anything holy. At least, Jesus had eleven left, I have one , he thought as he glanced at Arthur. Maybe less . 

“Well, at least the mourning suits her.” The elderly crone from earlier continued gossiping. “Do you think she’s with child?”

“Gladys!” Someone reprimanded her but she ignored it. “Stop it, they’ll hear you.” 

“Please, she didn’t even bother to learn the language, not even after her engagement! Spent all her life in sunny Spain, not a word in English. She should thank her uncle, if it was up to me, she could rot elsewhere.” Her tone was harsh, as harsh as the paint she had on her face, the red blusher making her look like a doll, in the worst way imaginable.

“Mr. Shelby, may I have a word?” The host asked, as discreetly as he could, leading him through long, never-ending halls, finally reaching what he figured to be his office. “So, do we have a deal?” He asked as he opened the door, signaling to the girl sitting by the window. “I give you my blessing, you marry my niece.”

“But you get to keep the winery.” Thomas nodded, looking at her for the first time. She had dark hair, such as him, bright but tired eyes, such as him, highborn and noble, not like him. “I heard that she doesn’t speak the language.” 

“Oh, our Ellie is keen to learn it, however, we do have a maid that came from her old house, she’s been our guide in the meanwhile.” Harold sounded almost like a regular vendor, trying to upsell his rotten fruits. “It won’t be a problem, but a blessing in a business such as yours, Mr. Shelby.”

“Can you leave us for a moment?” He asked, looking intensely at the girl who seemed worried. “I would like to talk to her alone.”

“Do you speak the language, Mr. Shelby?” The host said in disbelief, but one cold glare was more than enough, so he left the room.“

“Well, my condolences.” He said, lighting up his cigarette but she just kept looking at him as if she was trying to read him. She was from the Spanish nobility, being raised somewhere he knew he wouldn’t belong but at this point, she looked more out of place than him. “Not a word in English, eh?” 

The girl sighed and looked away, not managing to hold his inquisitive gaze. Thomas was suspicious by nature, he wouldn’t lower his guard, not in a place like this, but curiosity and drunkenness spoke louder. 

“I hear your relatives are dead.” He jabbed. No response. “That you’re the sole heir to an impressive winery your fucker of an uncle is after.”

She looked at him as if had a second mouth on his forehead, looking confused as ever. 

Nothing yet. 

“You know what I think? I think that snobs bastards, heirs if you will, just like yourself are what is wrong with this country. Leeches, feeding off the poor and the common man. If you ask me, your father, brother, and groom had it coming.” 

Still, nothing. She sat down, fidgeting her fingers, nervously.

“Maybe I should just kill him, marry you, and keep the winery to myself.” He pondered, circling her. “What would you think of that?”

“I would be forever grateful.” Her words were vigorous, the fire in her eyes much like his now as she held her hands to her lips, her eyes wide in shock.

He was indeed shocked but remained calm and collected, as usual. “I thought you didn’t speak the language.”

“I’m a fast learner.” Her accent was noticeable, not as thick as he would expect from someone who was still learning. “As are you.”

“What makes you say that? I’m sure your family will be as impressed as I am.”

“You won’t tell him.” She sighed, clutching her crucifix. “They won't believe you. I know that because you know you need a more better wife. A wife that even as foreign, holds more credibility than you. That’s why you need me and you know that.”

“Better wife, not more better.”

“Forgive me, I’m still learning, as you know.” She smiled, and he knew he found what was needed, not what he wanted. “I can cry if you want to, now or at the wedding.” But if she was up for the part, who was he to deny her that? After a short silence of consideration, Thomas Shelby had decided to seal the deal. “Save it for the wedding.”