#i also feel like Damen would TOTALLY agree with me so its fine

[tschulijulesjulie]

my biggest flaw is that i still think Laurent never did anything wrong and Damen should be the only one apologizing in this relationship

[laurent-ofvere]

I’m curious, after being so ride or die Lamen, how do you manage to ship them with other people? Do you ignore/pretend that one of them exists? How do you fit their personalities into a ship with sb else if both of them exist (especially with characters like Kastor whose personality we know next to nothing based on canon)? For me it’s reallllly hard to try to see them with anyone else if both of them are alive in the au without warping their characters into something different.

well i dont really ship either of them with anyone else, i just like to play around with the idea of laurent and other people in certain circumstances (i still cant wrap my head around it with damen for some reason) but im also super particular with it. i dont like it nor do i see it post canon, and im not into it if damen is a plausible option unless theres a reason for it (the angst of laurent falling in love with both brothers bc a bitch loves angst/laurent fucking lazar in a high school au bc he actually wants damen in the long run so wants to get experience with someone hes generally just meh about/me and cassie’s thing of laurent fucking lazar in pg to expend his sexual frustration he has from damen) i dont authentically see either of them as endgame with anybody else, and i dont enjoy that thought.

so yeah. just to reiterate on certain points of yours, i dont think i warp laurent’s characterization (tho feel free to disagree of course) i just warp the context, but i would never personally enjoy damen being an option and laurent being like “mm, nope!” bc i dont think it would happen and also dont want it to lol. (also just to throw this out there, i actually genuinely think laurent is just a super shippable character all around, even if his soul is literally tethered to damen’s and is clearly just the perfect match for him)

but idk man, i get you. this ask is exactly something i would have said back then bc i agree with you, its really hard to see them with someone else when the other is an option, but thats why i only see L with another person if damen isnt an option (like elle’s jord/laurent fic, its pre canon and damen isnt a thing yet), or isnt one just yet, (lazar giving him experience for damen) etc. its why im super picky about how it works for me. bc otherwise, it just doesnt seem realistic to me and for me to enjoy fic, it needs to feel like it fits my version of realistic. 

also just a random side note: re kastor, i feel that theres enough on him that i have something to work with. i personally really love fleshing out side characters that we were given scraps on bc i feel like you can actually create a character out of them that makes sense and isnt just another au of them, and i feel like we have enough with kastor to do that. idk if you read my L/K (which totally fine if not) but i personally think thats a solid way of imagining how he would be with someone he loves and its not just random stuff i pulled out of nowhere. 

[time-limit]

The Empire of Artes

This is a post where me, @exy-king and @meet-me-at-kingsmeet discuss how the unification of Vere and Akielos in Captive Prince series could have gone.

@exy-king shared her thoughts here, and here are @meet-me-at-kingsmeet‘s comments and thoughts.

Under the cut is my contribution.

Okay so I love everything that you have pointed out, I mostly agree with your views except for a couple things.

Yay for Empire

Yay for training armies together

Yay for making Delpha independent, except wait, no, not really 

But let’s discuss the current state of the Kingdoms first. What do we have?

Damen is the King

Laurent is the King

Nikandros is the kyroi of Ios

Laurent has new council, Damen probably too

New Palace is built in Marlas

Slavery is banned or on its way to being banned

Vere, even having lost a war and land only 6 years ago, seems to be doing fine. You can see it throughout all three books. Nobles having fun in the Palace, pets having contracts, towns hosting brothels like no big deal (can assure if even a drunkard at the inn can spend money on a prostitute the state is doing ok). Common folk welcome Laurent everywhere he goes they’re not upset with their future king, means they’re not drowning in debts and famine.

This most probably had been The Regent’s doing. You may not like the guy but you gotta respect his abilities. He would not let his kingdom fall into poverty.

Akielos however with its political situation being unstable for the past 2-3 years is another story. When the person in powerr changes what do you do as a person with any power? You collect anything and everything that you can and then take sides. Kastor also needed an army. A NEW army. Kastor had a new army. Probably lots of money spent. So, not sure how much is left in the coffers.

Akielon’s most probably fucked. Vere can probably help a bit.

Palace at Marlas

It is rash indeed.

The Empire has just been formed (has it even been formed?) and they’re already building a new Palace. That’s definitely a Laurent’s decision. It’ll prove to be great in years to come.

Okay, so you guys seem to be very concerned with the fundation. I’ve got a solution for ya - let the nobles pay for it.

The Regent’s gone, Laurent is the new King, rightfully so. Anyone who was not kind to him, including former members of Council has nowhere to hide. Whatever was said or done is remembered and reminded. Laurent may go all

“So I want this new palace at Marlas and if you motherfuckers want to be forgiven for mistreating and badmouthing me for the past years you guys gotta help decorate“

while in Akielos it goes like

“We have two armies. Still want to oppose to your true and right king? No? then contribute to our construction with people and money“

and in history books they’ll write smth along the lines that “Palace at Marlas is a magnificent evidence of loyalness and gratitude from the nobility of both kingdoms to their Emperors”. It would not be enough of course, but somewhere to start at least.

My biggest concern in all of this is the ban of slavery.

I’m actually horrified at/of this reform.

It’s one thing when masses oppose, but this is different. This is ONE person restyling the lives of a whole nation. It would be hella difficult. It’s not only Akielon nobility opposing to give up something “rightfully“ theirs, it’s countless slaves losing a purpose in their lives. Losing their selves, home and any knoweledge about how to live a life in general.

Damen has spent only a year as a slave yet he’s having trouble not springing at Laurent’s command (”Fetch me some”). Can you imagine Isander who had been groomed for it for his whole life to be let out into freedom? What about aged slaves? 

What about bed slaves? How are the nobles supposed to keep their favourites? Pet system would not work because: 1. It’s Veretian, 2. it doesn’t suit Akielon way with their dedicatedness 3. It’d be more of an infidelity if anything. 

Also remember who slaves are - they’re the prettiest and most delicate of the crop. Take away the security their masters provided them with and horrbile things could happen to them.

People will still treat them as slaves and they will expect to be treated as slaves. They need a new safe environment, a new purpose in life and means to achieve a house, a job, a new status.

It’s a problem for commoners too. There they were in the palaces and forts, pampered and rolling in sheets and now they’re on the streets taking their jobs away and lowering salary rate with such an amount of new workforce on the market. All because of King Damianos.

Something definitely needs to be done about this.

Delpha

Making it an independent Province/city-state under Empire would be awesome. But I don’t think there’s a way to do this instantly. Also please note how Laurent feels about it.This is something Auguste had died for (in vain), remember how he treated the people there, remember that girl he taught the coin trick to and her opposition to Damianos. Yes, that was different situation and it is even stated in the book that Laurent did not think so far but I still think that Delpha should be given to Laurent by Damen as an apology for taking Auguste’s life or a gratitude gift for helping him gain the power back. Not to Vere, as initially stated but to Laurent. Thus Delpha gains an independent status same as Acquitart. Laurent is the Ruler. Why not totally independent? This is a very important land strategically and economically: do you really want a third party at the heart of your newly built empire? No, you definitely don’t. Not even Nikandros? God, no, Nikandros is the worst choice for this. Nikandros is indeed needed at the very South in Ios, in Capital. A true Akielon respected by nobles, soldiers and common folk, and so loyal to his King he could be his right hand and spinal cord. Nikandros would be like a buffer between any Akielon bigshot who is not feeling like obeying to this new King who beds a veretian snake, banned slavery, was turned into a slave himself and couldn’t even see treason that was weaved right under his nose. Nikandros is very much needed in Ios. He’s the only one who would not exploit this kind of power against them.

Delpha however can be controlled by Laurent himself. With Damen’s aid. They’re right there at Marlas too. They don’t need anyone else to lead Delpha for them. They can establish a new Emperial lifestyle with no help from outside.

Millitary

Yay for mixed training! Yay for uniting forces against some other enemy, surely Laurent can arrange you a fight but at the same time think of other countries. This is a high time for them to bring down both Akielon and Vere - both kingdoms ARE SO FUCKING WEAK AT THE MOMENT. I don’t think Lamen would even need to do anything, there probably would be enough conflicts at the borders and threats from outside. Also not very wise to head into a battle of new war when their own Empire is not settled yet.

Languages

no

just don’t

don’t try to mix them

leave them alone

nothing good comes out of forcing languages one way or another, trust me, as a person from a country where native language was so neglected once (by Russia and Soviet union) we have a generation that almost doesn’t speak it, and then 200+ years later when we gained our independance, IT IS FORCED UPON US NOW. Like theygo as far as inventing thousands of new words in the ministry. It’s horrible. Don’t do this.

Let Akielon be spoken in Akielon

Let Veretian be spoken in Vere

Let them use them both in the center, but mostly there, no need to go too far South or North.

(OH OH OH!! LET THEM START A CLASS OF TRANSLATORS AND LET THE FORMER SLAVES BE THOSE! also start a trend among nobility that speaking both is great. Start with Nikandros and Makedon lol and Lady Vannes. With Laurent and Damen’s example I don’t think it would be that hard)

Heir

I agree with everything @meet-me-at-kingsmeet says.

[theliterateape]

Judged a Total Loss by a Complete Sham

By Don Hall

This summer, as you likely know, my office has been Millennium Park. Thus, I have had little need to drive much. Taking the Blue Line every day and night, my time in my Prius has mostly been limited to moving it from legal parking spot to legal sparking spot and letting sit as long as I can without getting a street cleaning ticket or some sort of shit.

So, when I was just waking up, sitting in front of my computer with a mug of coffee, at around six o'clock on a Sunday morning and I heard, from the street, “Mr. Hall?” The last thing I expected to hear was, “Don Hall? Your car has been involved in an accident.”

It was the cops and they waited for me to come downstairs (in clothing) to take me to my legally parked car. The street side of it was a bit mashed in. Scraped up and mashed in. It turned out that the night before a drunken kid driving his mother’s SUV hit thirteen cars in his inebriated reverie. The Prius was Hit #1 making my tiny hybrid the speed bump that slowed him down thus sustaining the most damage. I live in Wicker Park. I live above one of fifty bars on the strip. It’s extraordinary this has never happened before.

I took the information on him (they caught him that night) and checked online. I had his name, his address, his mother’s name (he lived with his mother), and the insurance company (American Access) and policy number. I went to the other site and reported the accident. I tried to get ahold of their insurance company to no avail. I want to be furious at this stupid 22-year-old chimphole but I remember that pretty much all 22 year olds are kind of stupid by design. I was incredibly stupid when I was 22 and certainly had my fair share of driving while plastered (although I never wrecked a parked car or a moving car for that matter.) I want to be pissed at him but I already know that being pissed accomplishes nothing so why waste the energy?

Later that morning, Dana and I went down to see if the car could be driven. It was fine. All body damage, no glass broken. Looking at it, I thought it would be around $4K to fix it. We hopped in and I took Dana to Oak Park for a gig to see how well it still drove. To assess the damage to its drivability. Because it seemed perfectly fine the worst thing I can say is that, now, I’m driving a real beater car and, while a pain in the ass, it isn’t the end of the world. It was his fault and his insurance was going to pay for it, right?

Wrong.

We all understand why it’s rigged, right? The government steps in and requires a license for people to legally drive a vehicle. The government manages that licensing process and, despite the fact that one generally has to stand for hours in a sweaty line in order to get up to the front only to find out you have an unpaid parking ticket from 1985 that you have to pay to get your license and you can only pay in the building across town so you take another day off work to stand in another long fucking line to pay it then go back to get your license, you still get the privilege to legally drive.

Oh, but then there’s the city stickers for Chicago:

During negotiations for Chicago’s 2012 budget, newly elected Mayor Rahm Emanuel and then-City Clerk Susana Mendoza agreed to hike the price of what was already one of the priciest tickets vehicle owners can get in the city. Citations for not having a required vehicle sticker rose from $120 to $200.

The increase, approved unanimously by the City Council, was pitched by Mendoza as an alternative to raising the price of stickers as well as generating much-needed revenue from "scofflaws."

Debt from this one type of ticket swelled, compounded by late penalties and collection fees. Collectively, drivers now owe the city some $275 million for sticker tickets issued since 2012.

SOURCE

The government also requires insurance as well, but hand that process over to private business with little regulation and those businesses are there to make money. So they make money telling you they’ll pay you back if something bad happens to your car. When something bad happens to your car, these companies often (and I mean often) find arcane ways to cheat you from the bargain of insurance.

For the record, American Access Insurance is no better than scanning an old insurance card and photoshopping new dates on it. After calling their office eight times in three days and listening to bad easy jazz for longer than my brain could handle, I turned to my insurance: Progressive.

I’ve had no problems with Progressive. I’m a Diamond Member (whatever the fuck that means) and technically speaking haven’t needed them until now, so it was time to see how good their promises on the idiot box held up. I have the iPhone app and I use it. I send the police report, the info on the kid and his mom, and request some promised pay for help.

First up at bat was Craig. Craig was helpful. Told me no problem, took my info, took the info on the other guy, told me to take the car to an auto shop and let him know where it was at. I did all that: taking my crunchy ride to Armitage Auto Repair and getting the old school Chicago man’s man, Harry, to contact Craig.

Craig had passed the buck to Angela and she arranged for Anthony to come out and assess the damage.

Two days later, Adam sends me an email with the estimate attached with the sentence “We’ll take care of this and you should have your vehicle in a week or so. Notice the $250.00 deductible in the estimate.”

I look over the estimate. All body work. Nothing wrong with the car itself. $3,600 minus the deductible. I call Harry. He’s on it.

Same day, in the afternoon, Adam calls me. He now tells me that Anthony has reassessed the automobile and has deemed it a “Total Loss.” Meaning that it would cost more to fix it than it’s worth. While he’s on the phone, I drill up the CarMax website and the Bluebook for Used Cars. I look up my exact model, year and mileage.

“Adam. That doesn’t compute, man. I’m looking at six different cars, almost identical too mine and the average is $9,000. $3,600 isn’t even half of that.”

Adam proceeds to tell that Anthony went around the neighborhood and assessed ten vehicles similar to mine and determined that the basic body work made mine a “Total Motherfucking Bullshit Asslicking LOSS.” Progressive is going to take possession of my car, strip it and sell it for parts and give me $3,500.  

“What the fuck are you talking about? I can’t buy a goddamned Vespa for $3,500 let alone a Prius in fucking any shape! Let’s give the money to fucking Anthony and let that jackass go find me a comparable replacement for $3,500!”

Yeah. I kind of lost my shit. I threatened to sue them. Empty threat. I went off on what a horseshit scam this all was. Pointless. Yes, I’ve spent a long while tamping down the Hulk Rage in my life but every once in a while, I’m reminded that it’s always still there just waiting for an excuse to erupt. I’m not proud of this just as I’m not proud of the occasional cookie or cheese binge I go on, or nights when I just let loose and drink too much booze.

I calm down. I get my ushers briefed but they can tell something is off. We disperse and my phone rings again. It’s Adam.

“Adam, first let me apologize. I work in a job right now where angry people yell in my face about things beyond my control all the time. I should know better. Sorry about that. And I am aware this call is being recorded.”

He laughs. He then tells me that he spoke to his supervisor and there is a second option. I can take possession of my own car, they’ll send me the balance of the claim, and my car will be listed as a salvage title should I ever want to sell it. I need the car — not to get to work or around a lot in the city — I need this car to get to and from Kansas, to and from Pennsylvania, to and from the various Team Retreats Dana and I like to go on. 

On top of that, at this point in the space-time continuum, the idea of getting on a commercial airline seems kind of horrifying. Decreasing leg room to the point that if you were to crash, you couldn’t get out of your cracked-ass seat anyway. I just read about commercial flights having bed bugs. Shitpickles who feel entitled to put their bare feet on your tray table. Are you kidding me? 

As I wrote once a long time ago, wheels equal freedom. Having once lived in my car, this rings truer for me than most.

I go for the second option.

He offers me $2,000. I ask Adam to send me the assessment from Anthony. 

“I’m not supposed to...” 

“Send it to me now.” I say in the don’t-set-me-off-again-Adam voice.

He sends it.

It turns out that Anthony has canvassed the neighborhood, found ten cars that fit the profile (Hybrid, 2008-2009, 100,000 miles or more.) The average resale price is $8K but then he has adjusted each down to an average of $4K. No notes to establish how he came to this adjusted average. He officially estimates the value of the Prius to be $4,350.

It occurs to me that if my driving record depreciates, the insurance company raises my monthly payment but that as my car depreciates and their obvious commitment to paying the freight should something go wrong wains, they should charge me less as the value of the vehicle goes down with age and wear and tear. But, oh, I dream of a world of fairness and justice for all, for work that pays a living wage, and free peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with hot chocolate every night as well.

I call Harry. He is sympathetic. He tells me to haggle for more than $2K and that he’ll cut me a deal on repairs.

I haggle with Adam. The fact that I know the assessed value from Anthony’s notes helps. They send me closer to $3K. Harry fixes my car for $2,400. It looks brand new.

Harry is one of those Chicago guys. Hard bit, rough around the edges, blue collar honest. If you need your ride fixed, call Harry. He’s solid. He's at Damen Auto Repair & Body Shop.

I’m still with Progressive but I’m down to the most basic, General Liability policy they have because, apparently, Full Coverage doesn’t mean a fucking thing.