#modern day princess diana i tell you

[reijndeers]

crowd singing happy birthday to b 🫶🫶

[long-live-astronerd-ghost-king]

DPxDC prompt: Danny is Chronos' first child.

Well, not his first child biologically, to be completely honest.

It just so happened that the Phantom very often helped/helps/will help Clockwork at different times and his presence next to the titan required an explanation.

And the opportunity to call Zeus a little brother is worth a lot, right? So when the Ancient came up with this idea Phantom did not resist just to have such a pleasant bonus from their cooperation.

However, in the time of the gods and heroes, such a solution was not a problem. But in modern times, when Phantom tries to attract as little attention as possible in order to graduate from university, such relatives are more likely to cause a lot of problems.

~~~~~

Wonder Woman: Uncle Danny?

Superman, who wanted to chase away a teenager serenely strolling through still smoking battlefield, turns to Wonder Woman, who is waving affably at excactly this guy.

Well, Fenton honestly happened to be in Fawcett City by accident, and it just so happened that by chance it was on this sunny and cloudless day that the villains decided to cause riots worthy of the attention of the founders of the Justice League.

Danny: Diana! My dear, it seems like we really haven't seen each other not for a long time! In what century was it? Ah, I honestly, I barely remember it... The speed at which children grow up defies the laws of time. I mean, look at you! Your mother must be so proud. How's Dad? Still not paying child support, arrogant bastard?

Wonder Woman: Oh, uncle, please. I'm all grown up now, don't worry about me.

Danny: Hm, well, let's get back to this question later. I didn't want to embarrass you in front of your friends. Anyway, would you like to introduce them, little princess?

Wonder Woman: Of course, meet Kal El, Batman, and Shazam. The rest of the guys have already returned to our base. Would you like to...

Danny: Ooh, you're talking about, um... What do you young people call it? The Justice League, right? During my youth, the heroes rarely united and mostly performed all the feats alone. It's good that you help each other, kids.

Danny flies up a little to pat Superman and Batman on the head.

Under the Diana's gaze full of hope that they will get along with her uncle, the men do not move.

In the background:

Red Hood and Robin who used to hang out with Danny near the Lazarus pits: *sounds of seagulls dying of laughter*

~~~~~

Flash: So you're Diana's uncle?

Danny: Yes, call me Danny.

Flash: Cool, cool...

Danny: What does the temperature have to do with it? Do you need ice? Let me make some for you.

Flash: No, it's like,um, I didn't know that Zeus has a younger brother with that name. So, it's good to know?

Danny: Hmm, thanks. Many people tell me that I look quite young, hah. But actually I'm his older brother, so...

Flash: Older? Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to disrespect.

Danny: No, it's all right. It's "cool". I rarely appear on the pages of your human myths and legends, I know it. After all this business about Chronos devours his own children, my father punished me for a long time. So, yeah...It's a funny story.

Flash: Punished for what? How?

Danny: Uh, sitting in a room at a time when there is no Internet or electricity is not fun at all. You see, I just didn't want a younger brother or sister because I was afraid that my parents would pay less attention to me. So, I made up this stupid prophecy and persuaded Gaea to tell it in order to remain the only child in the family. My father would never have thought that I would decide to kill him, that's why...Phah, it's just a bad family story. In 10 thousand years, we'll all laugh about it.

Flash: Yeah, that's... funny.

~~~~

Danny *is woken up by an emergency call from the League at three in the morning, although he fell asleep at two o'clock* (he gave his contact so as not to upset his niece): I knew this would happen! I knew it!

~~~~

Billy Batson *stands in his human form in front of the Justice League and doesn't know what to say*,*sweating nervous*.

Danny *enters the hall*: What's up, mortals, Diana and...Batman? My father said that there is something that I have to be here for. Oh! Well, at least someone in this family is also a shapeshifter. Have you decided to make a younger form so that your uncle doesn't feel lonely? What a good boy! Usually everyone is so afraid to seem like children, once they turn a couple of centuries old. Ah, youth~

Billy: Yeah, I decided to..experiment? and it seems I got stuck by accident.

Danny: It's okay, Uncle Danny will help you. Come on, let's go...

~~~~

Danny *teleports them to the Fawcett City*.

Billy: ....

Danny:

Billy: Hey, I'm still stuck!

A new portal opens and a man in a purple cape hands Billy a note. "Go to Constantine. P.S., my son always completes all assignments only by half, sorry." written on it.

Billy: Oh... OoOhHh!!!

~~~~

Meanwhile, Constantine, who is forced to do additional work: Son of a bi... beloved and respected Master of Time.

Danny: Yeap, that's me.

Constantine: Damn it. Couldn't you just let Batman adopt him like in other timelines?

Danny: And where's the fun in that?

[iwanthermidnightz]

This was a very good article! I loved hearing Kristen’s (and Jodie Fosters) perspective as a queer trailblazer. Inserting some snippets below 🤍

To get to this point, Stewart’s weathered more than a decade of unrelenting media scrutiny, first about her straight relationships, then about her gay ones, as she figured out her own identity. She leveraged her global stardom from the “Twilight” franchise not to become a superhero or a lifestyle guru, but to fuel an astonishing run of acclaimed independent films, including “Clouds of Sils Maria,” “Still Alice,” “Certain Women,” “Personal Shopper” and the Princess Diana drama “Spencer,” for which she earned an Oscar nomination.

“Whenever I hear that she’s doing something new, I’m so curious to see what it is, because it’s going to be a movie that hasn’t been made before,” says Clea DuVall, who directed Stewart in one of her only Hollywood films during this period, Hulu’s 2020 release “Happiest Season,” the first lesbian Christmas rom-com backed by a major studio. “She really is so herself. And I think that’s why so many people respond to her the way they do — because she is so authentic.”

By the time Stewart stepped on the stage of “Saturday Night Live” in February 2017, she’d spent the previous two years trying to convince the press that it was OK to write about her relationships with women, rather than resort to the vexing practice of referring to her girlfriend as her “gal pal.”

“It wasn’t even like I was hiding,” she says. “I was so openly out with my girlfriend for years at that point. I’m like, ‘I’m a pretty knowable person.’”

But even with that posture, the media’s “gal pal” dog whistle triggered a deeper, more painful history of intrusive curiosity about Stewart’s sexual identity. “For so long, I was like, ‘Why are you trying to skewer me? Why are you trying to ruin my life? I’m a kid, and I don’t really know myself well enough yet,’” she says. “The idea of people going, ‘I knew that you were a little queer kid forever.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah? Well, you should honestly have seen me fuck my first boyfriend.’”

It’s worth dwelling on this point: For almost the entire history of Hollywood, queer actors dreaded the public discovering who they really were, and that fear kept the closet door firmly closed. “Because I was gay, I really retreated,” says DuVall, who came out publicly in 2016. “Even doing a teeny tiny movie like [the ’90s lesbian cult favorite] ‘But I’m a Cheerleader,’ people immediately were like, ‘She’s gay, how can we out her?’ I wanted to stay small.”

Stewart, though, went big, with a monologue on “SNL” about how President Donald Trump, in 2012, obsessively tweeted about her relationship with Pattinson. “Donald, if you didn’t like me then, you’re really probably not going to like me now, because I’m hosting ‘SNL’ — and I’m, like, so gay, dude,” she said to wild cheers from the audience.

“It was cool to frame it in a funny context because it could say everything without having to sit down and do an interview,” Stewart says before running through the kind of questions queer actors have had to consider before coming out publicly: “‘So what platform is that going to be on? And who’s going to make money on that? And who’s going to be the person that broke it?’ I broke it, alone.”

A few days later, I mention Stewart’s “SNL” monologue to Foster over the phone, and she lets out a big laugh. “I never knew that,” she says. “What a wonderful, funny, wry, modern way to be honest to the world. That’s just awesome.”

As Stewart talks about her “SNL” experience, I think about how no stars of her age and stature ever came out when I was growing up as a gay kid in the 1980s and ’90s. So to have her professional trajectory not skip a beat feels like real progress.

When I tell her as much, she takes the conversation in an unexpected direction. “Because I’m an actor, I want people to like me, and I want certain parts,” she says. “I have lots of different experiences that shape who I am that are very, very far from binary. But I did get good at the heteronormative quality. I play that role well. It comes from a somewhat real place — it’s not fake. But it’s fucked up that if I was gayer, it wouldn’t be the case.”

I try to clarify what she means: “So your career maybe would have suffered after coming out had you not affected a performative femininity …”

“… that I know works to my advantage,” she admits, nodding. “That’s why I’m fucking stoked about ‘Love Lies Bleeding.’”

Stewart didn’t let that scandal, as intense as it was in the moment, stifle her. Instead, she grew to fully embrace her queerness in her public life — like bringing her girlfriend, screenwriter Dylan Meyer, to the Oscars in 2022. “It’s not that I wasn’t scared,” Stewart says. “It was just that there was no other way to live.”

She’s even started to recognize that the most ostensibly heterosexual thing she’s done, “Twilight,” has its own queer sparkle. “I can only see it now,” she says. “I don’t think it necessarily started off that way, but I also think that the fact that I was there at all, it was percolating. It’s such a gay movie. I mean, Jesus Christ, Taylor [Lautner] and Rob and me, and it’s so hidden and not OK. I mean, a Mormon woman wrote this book. It’s all about oppression, about wanting what’s going to destroy you. That’s a very Gothic, gay inclination that I love.”

I ask Stewart if she understands how much her decision to come out has also made her a role model for LGBTQ people. She cackles. “Oh, you have no idea,” she says. “Every single woman that I’ve ever met in my whole life who ever kissed a girl in college is like, ‘Yeah, I mean, me too.’ I’m constantly joking with my girlfriend. I’ll be sitting there and be like” — she whispers — “‘She’s gay too. Everyone’s gay.’”

It can be easy to forget just how rare this still is, a giant movie star living such an openly queer life. “It feels like a generational thing, where I’m watching somebody make the leaps that I didn’t think I could ever do,” Foster says.

After fiercely guarding her privacy for decades, Foster came out publicly at the 2013 Golden Globes, and has just now played her first explicitly gay character in the 2023 biopic “Nyad.” Talking about Stewart has put Foster in a reflective mood. As our call is coming to an end, she offers this unprompted insight: “I get a lot of questions about who I was and what I represented in the industry, and was I — I don’t know …” She exhales. “Was I helpful in terms of representation? I’m sure there’s a 12- or 13- or 14-year-old when I was making movies as a young person who said that I had something to offer to them in their life as a queer person. I had to do it my way. I had pioneers to help the way, who I’m grateful for. And now people can be grateful for Kristen for being the pioneer. I’m just — I’m grateful to her.”

This sense of communion with the wider LGBTQ tribe is why Stewart has dedicated herself to embracing the fullness of who she is as a bro-y, butch-y queer woman in her work as an actor and, come hell or high water, a director.

“I was like, ‘I would like to be on that team because we need each other,’” Stewart says. “I didn’t want to be left out anymore. It was this whole world that I didn’t realize I could explore.”

[evita-shelby]

i'm sorry im obsessed with older shelby headcanons, like geriatric Eva being a firm Diana stan, slighting Cowmilla and just the monarchy in general.

Or just like how there family is immortalized and percieved through history. Where their company may be now. Shelby descendants dominating every industry.

A funny meta thing where a dramatization of the Shelby family origins shoots and people look at the historical figures and are like "damnnnnnnn that's a zaddy right there"

or like Eva and Thomas just not getting with the times and modern technology, "you can't just kill people like you use to these days"

I hope you enjoy 😉

Gif by @quelmarth

Eva would be wondering why these two ladies are fighting over Charles the Turd when they could just find better men or better yet get together.

She would be at each women's weddings(and Camilla's it would be a sympathies greeting card cuz she's dead by then) be like, seriously? This guy is who you want? Take my grandson, Tom Jr, he's a much better guy, smaller ears too.

Tommy lives well into his 90s because Eva doesn't want him to die way earlier than her

He still remains a very private person and goes full cryptid once he retires from politics

Charlie grows up to be a very liberal politician with a personal feud with Margaret Thatcher, outlives her so he can piss on her grave

He's also Winston Churchill's son in law by his daughter, Mary (who contrary to irl mary Churchill doesn't become a conservative)

Has an I love my gay sister(Diane who is bi) t shirt the moment they come into the market

Diane ends up a singer-actress-buisnesswoman-philanthropist who does a little bit of everything and yet no one is really sure what she does.

Diane also lives very modestly for someone with a lot of money

Also is openly bi but no one believes her

She marries Tom Bennett from World on Fire and has two or three kids

Her eldest son, Thomas Jr, is Eva's favorite grandkid

Gabe becomes a spy/assassin and eventually marries Luca’s only daughter and pretends to be working for the company abroad when really no one knows where he is

Some speculate he died as a teenager as no records or photographs exist of him past 16

They all show up at Arrow House on every major holiday come hell or high water

Eva wrote her memoirs but marketed it as fiction

Everyone has theories about what's true and what's not

Florence marries Andrew Roberts JR (son of Billy Kimber’s accountant) who she's callee her boyfriend since they were six

Florence may or may not have had a romantic relationship with Princess Margaret on the side as both were playmates and the same age

There are several adaptations of Eva's memoirs and what little they have on The Shelbys

There are Sucession style series, documentaries and docu-series and a fuck ton of tell all books about them done the second they die (Tommy in the late 1980s and Eva in 2000 at the age of 104)

Eva is nearly always played by Salma Hayek or Penelope Cruz

Tommy is played by Jason Statham or Leonardo Dicaprio

Eva is also a Catholic Saint who gets decanonized once it is known she was an aetheist

[primal-slayer]

Re-designing Wonder Woman

Various writers/artists talk through redesigning Wonder Woman

CBR News: Diana's new costume was revealed in "Wonder Woman" #41. In her own words, it was finally time for her to leave the 'girl behind' and embrace then woman that she's become. What can you tell us about the new design and why it represents Diana as a god, a queen and a warrior for justice?

Meredith Finch: One of things Dave and I discussed was that the initial costume that she wore was the one that she put on when she left Themyscira and went into the world of men. At that time, she wasn't part of the Justice League. She was just herself. I wanted the costume to be more in line with what other members of the Justice League are wearing. I also wanted it to be in line with the fact that she is a queen now. If you look at the costume that Hippolyta wore -- traditionally, queens tend to put on much more ceremonial costumes. And, she's also a warrior, so I wanted to be a really strong, solid costume. It hints at the Amazon culture but also fits in the modern world.

When making a major decision, like changing an iconic costume, how much credence lies with fandom and those that have loved the costume since the days of the Linda Carter TV series and the George Perez miniseries and what serves your story and new readers of the title?

If you look at the sketch designs that Dave did (published in "Wonder Woman" #41) for the new costume, first and foremost, they are all intended to be reflective of the character. And when you find something that works, it's like a title for a book: It just works. Dave did quite a few costume designs, and once he did the one that we landed on, it worked instantly for both of us. Getting approval from DC Editorial was fairly easy, because looking at it, the costume just has a synergy with the character. It's strong and reflective of who Diana is, and is still very recognizable as a Wonder Woman costume.

Does the costume have any special properties, or is Diana powerful enough that she does not need any extra protection?

The nice thing is that because it's a new suit, if we decide that we want to add something to it, we'll be able to do that. But looking at who she is right now, she's not just Wonder Woman and an Amazon princess -- she's Wonder Woman and the God of War. As a god, she really is invincible. The suit is much more a reflection of who she is than an addition to who she is. But to be fair, it was designed by Hephaestus, so I am sure there is something special in there because he does love her. https://www.cbr.com/finch-on-signifi...ys-redemption/

“She’s been locked into pretty much the exact same outfit since her debut in 1941,” Mr. Straczynski wrote. “If you’re going to make a statement about bringing Wonder Woman into the 21st century, you need to be bold and you need to make it visual. I wanted to toughen her up, and give her a modern sensibility.”

He added, “What woman only wears only one outfit for 60-plus years?”

Given Wonder Woman’s pre-eminence as a female character in the largely male superhero pantheon, her looks have always been a matter of more than casual interest, to both fanboys and feminists. In a 2006 interview about her work on the series, the novelist Jodi Picoult said: “One of the first things I did was ask if we could give her breast-reduction surgery, because as a woman, I know you wouldn’t fight crime in a bustier. But I was somehow shot down by DC.” The new costume was designed by the artist Jim Lee, who in February was named co-publisher of DC, alongside Dan DiDio. Given the assignment, “my first reaction was, ‘Oh my gosh,’ ” Mr. Lee said in an interview. But he welcomed the challenge: “When these characters become so branded that you can’t change things, they become ossified.”

The new look — with an understated “W” insignia, a midnight blue jacket and a flinty fusion of black tights and boots — is darker than the famed swimsuit-style outfit, and aims to be contemporary, functional and, as Tim Gunn of “Project Runway” might say, less costumey.

Given the hope that the character will one day have her own international film franchise (a feature has long been gestating at Warner Entertainment, DC’s parent company), one test of the design was to imagine how it would look standing next to, say, Batman’s politically neutral ensemble. “The original costume was the American flag brought to life,” Mr. Lee said. “This one is a little more universal.”

Mr. Lee has drawn his share of sexy superheroines (the X-Men’s Rogue among them), some in skimpy costume, and knows what many fans will ask: “Why am I covering up her legs?” Ultimately, he wanted her to look strong “without screaming, ‘I’m a superhero.’ ”

The arrival of Issue 600 is a bit of comic-book sleight of hand, or, as DC calls it, a return to historical numbering. Wonder Woman’s first self-titled series, which begin in 1942, ended with No. 329. The character was then overhauled, her previous continuity erased, and she starred in Volume 2 as a heroine new to the world. That incarnation lasted 226 issues. Another new direction spurred a third volume (and, to collectors who care about such things, another Issue No. 1) that ran for 44 issues. Do the math, and what would have been Issue No. 45 is now Volume 1, No. 600.

The new costume will almost certainly be better received than the curveball thrown Wonder Woman in 1968, when she lost her powers, dressed mod and practiced martial arts. It took the attention of no less than Gloria Steinem to protest the change, and to help get the Amazon back into her star-spangled duds. Ms. Steinem went on to use Wonder Woman, resplendent in red, white and blue, on the cover of the first issue of Ms. magazine in 1972. A cover line proclaimed, “Wonder Woman for President.”

That’s the kind of attention Mr. Straczynski thinks she deserves: “Wonder Woman is a strong, dynamic, vibrant character who should be selling in the top 20, and I’m going to do all I can to get her there.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/30/bo...S8G9WNUsmwNo5Q

I got to design the Wonder Woman costume for our Earth Two series, with just some small tweaks by Jim Lee. It’s my version of her battle armor as apposed to a classic variant. It was the most appropriate direction considering the context.

Truthfully, I like the middle ground between pure fantasy and practicality. I want to know how a costume works, what all the parts are for, where did it come from, what it’s made of. I want there to be a practical nature but for that to not limit the design. https://sciencefiction.com/2012/03/1...-nicola-scott/

IGN: I'm glad you brought up the costume. Both you and Nicola are obviously drawing Diana at very different points in her life. Can you talk about the process of redesigning her look and what influences you drew from?

Sharp: Yeah, there's the basic one from the New 52. There's elements of that. There's also elements from the film version. With the one I'm doing, Greg was like, "Do you like the film costume?", and I said I really liked it. So let's just do that. That's settled. I was very happy to adapt that look for what I was doing with the costume. Nic's has slight variations. I talked about this with Greg. She'll wear different outfits. For instance, the cape is ceremonial. It's not always going to be there. We're of the belief that these characters live in a real universe. Obviously it's a fictional universe, but they wouldn't continue to wear the same clothes all the time. It's just ridiculous to assume that they would. So there are variations, and that's fine with me.

Scott: In the Year One story, I had asked if we could take the film costume and make it just a little more comic book-y and a little brighter and shinier. This is her first outing wearing a Wonder Woman costume. It's freshly minted. The breastplate has just come out of the forge and it's just been dyed. It's fresh. It's her first adventure off the island.

Sharp: Whereas mine is all tattered and beaten up and scuffed.

Scott: And probably has pieces replaced. It's a more mature outfit, where mine is meant to make her look a little more optimistic. https://www.ign.com/articles/2016/05...s-diana-prince

MFT: Did you design the costume? How did you approach the task of a Victorian-era Wonder Woman design?

PW: Yes, I based it on a Victorian/Western showgirl. I looked at the original costume, hence the eagle, but stylized it to give it a more turn-of-the-century feel. I looked at Art Nouveau artists like Alphonse Mucha especially and some of the Pre-Raphealite painters like Holman Hunt, Millais, and the more stylistic Dante Gabriel Rosetti and also Victorian painters Alma Tadema and John William Waterhouse. It was important for me to understand Victorian scruples as much as their idealization of beauty. https://fanbasepress.com/press/featu...oman-amazonia/

]JF: From my perspective I’m really inspired by the designs that these film-makers are coming up with in these movies. A lot of the times I sit there and I look at these designs and go, “These are great! Why aren’t we thinking about these designs in comics? How come we didn’t think of that first?” I have to say, it’s really cool to see that Ben Affleck’s Batman costume looks like it does in the comics. It’s taking its cue from the comics, you know? So I made a joke on Twitter that I’d been drawing Ben Affleck’s Batman for the last three years. I draw this guy with a giant chin in a Batman suit.

We came up with our Wonder Woman design, and a lot of people would think that our Wonder Woman design is based off of the movie Wonder Woman, but actually it’s based off of an old drawing I did five years ago that Geoff found and really liked. So we used that as a costume. Then it just so happened that, “Oh, Cool! There’s a Wonder Woman costume that kind of goes in that same direction!” I think with the comics, visually, we want these characters to look as classic as possible. The more classic you make your characters look, the longer life your book has. It can transcend time. It’s not stuck in a time period where it’s, “Well, remember when they did that?” It’s these characters are in their classic looks.

We really talked about that because we want this book to be as big as possible. We want it to be as timeless as possible, and we want fans to come to our Justice League to see the characters in their classic designs, and just dive into the story and go from there. We want to deliver the best visual and story book that we possibly can. We want you to feel like you’re getting your money’s worth with these books, every single month. That’s our goal. http://www.multiversitycomics.com/in...war-interview/

Wonder Woman isn’t wearing her traditional costume but pants. Tell me a bit about how you came up with the look? Which do you prefer? Are these Amazon pants or off the shelf pants?

“You know what Lois like to see when she gets home? Pants. Pants on everyone.” As for these pants, they're store-bought. Or maybe “borrowed.” We’ll get to a more traditional look (or an amalgam of the various “traditional” takes) later in the arc. I had one idea for that one. Jorge took it, and ran with it and gave it his own twist, and it looks GREAT. As for her “vigilante” look when we meet her, we were going for something a little more urban combat-y. Pockets. Knives. Hair up. Some of her Agent Diana Prince look, mixed in with a bit of her (in hindsight, unjustly) lamented “Odyssey" look. Of course, we’d be remiss to not have her bracelets/gauntlets. She can’t NOT have those. Therein lies madness. https://dcwomenkickingass.tumblr.com...der-woman-once

Themyscira is just the start of Paquette’s visual re-imagining. “My first thought when Wonder Woman with Grant was mentioned was ‘I don’t want her to be dressed as an American flag.’ Not because an American flag is wrong but it made no sense. She’s coming from such a rich, wonderful culture with so much iconography (Greek culture), so why does she not use that, and why would she dress up as a flag? She’s not Captain America. But at the same time, I understood that this kind of iconic colour/texture is something that’s recognizable, so in that aspect it does have value. If I could reach the same design with a few differences, but make it so it’s not coming from the flag, it’s coming from a natural extension of her culture, I could live with this. The retro-engineering of her costume into something that makes sense is already embedded into the story.” He details some of the changes he has in mind. “The animal associated to Aphrodite is a dove so instead of an eagle on [Wonder Woman’s] breastplate, it will be more of a dove. It’s not the American eagle, it’s the Aphrodite dove. Stuff that creates [the letter] W is by accident, so it’s not like she already has a letter of the alphabet on her [costume]. In the end I’ve created a structure so it feels inevitable for Wonder Woman to look the way she does.” https://thatshelf.com/interview-yanick-paquette-on-wonder-woman/

[froggy-1988]

Information post

Seeing it was the coronation this weekend and I know that a lot of people aren't in countries with monarchy I thought I'd do a quick and easy how the modern British monarchy works.

Money: The crown owns a lot of land, like some important streets in London that they get rent from, the duchy of Lancaster and the duchy of Cornwall - they gain income from this through rent and also they farm.

The money from the duchy of Cornwall supports the Prince of Wales and his family, the money from the duchy of Lancaster supports the other working royals and the minor royals.

Income from crown owned estates goes to the government and then the government gives some of it back to the royal family. They have the responsibility to maintain a lot of historical building with this money and so a large portion of it goes to building maintenance which is why sometimes you hear the royal family is struggling financially, some years those old buildings require a lot of work due to flood damage, fire damage and just age.

How much money does it cost the British public to have a royal family - about £1.20 a year per a tax paying person .

What's the point of a royal family if you have a government? Well, some people feel it guards from one person gaining absolute power and as such protects against dictatorships - in fact that's kind of how the current situation came around, we had a king who dismissed parliament for 11 years so he had absolute power, so he was beheaded. Then a man called Cromwell came to power and we'll .. he ended up having too much power to. Technically our government could choose to get rid of the king if they can prove he has too much power and technically he king could choose to get rid of the government if he thinks they're not acting in the best interests of the people but in reality - it doesn't happen because it would be a major major event. The king is meant to protect the people but be above politics and he advises the prime minister in weekly meetings but the prime minister also has the right to tell the king not to do certain things

Do you have a choice about having a royal family? Yes, there's even been votes in the past about whether we still want them, and at the moment polls show 54% of people still want a monarchy 32% don't and the rest really don't care.

What do they do?

They serve the people- they are figure heads, representatives in other countries.

Are they just celebrities: No, celebrities draw attention to themselves for their own gain, the royal family has attention but are meant to try and defect it to those who do good works and the British public in general. So they will turn up at charities and talk about the good work the charity does to give the charity attention.

What kind of charitys?

Each working royal has their own range of interests and supports charitys around those interests. Princess Diana was about landmines and HIV, Prince Harry was about sports for injured servicemen . Prince William likes sports and the air ambulance and rescue services as he used to work for these. Princess Katherine supports early years - kids from birth to five years old. Sophie has toured countries affected by war and is interested in woman who have suffered from wars. Camilla supports women who have faced domestic abuse. Meghan didn't do many royal engagements as she was pregnant for a large proportion of the time she was a working royal but she was given the royal theatre and the royal society of dogs as her charities as she was an actress and liked dogs. Then Princess Anne who is very into sports particularly rugby and horse riding - and a whole load of other things that nobody else wanted she's known as the hardest working royal and will often go to three charities a day to show her support.

What is a working royal: A member of the royal family whose sole or main job is working as a royal - the charity appearances and decision making and representing England in other countries. On royal occasions they get the front seats, the professional photos and the balcony appearances.

So yes... that is what a modern royal family is and does.

[kayla1993-world]

Seeing Queen Camilla crowned alongside King Charles on coronation day may be fraught with Prince William and Prince Harry. Their mother Princess Diana was destined for the role. "They are likely feeling wobbly about it," royal author Ingrid Seward tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week's issue. "I think many people will feel the same." Palace sources always insisted that Prince William, 41, and Prince Harry, 38, who grew up knowing their father's affair with Camilla, were welcoming to their stepmother. A family friend says "there wasn't any animosity," and Prince Harry voiced support for Camilla in 2005, saying that he and William "love her to bits" and that she was "not the wicked stepmother." However, in his sweeping memoir Spare, released earlier this year, the Duke of Sussex wrote that he and Prince William were glad their father had found happiness. However, they didn't want Charles to marry Camilla. Prince Harry also accused Camilla of leaking details of private conversations to the press. "He was justified in his complaint that he and William were used in the early days to legitimize the partnership of Charles and [Camilla]," royal biographer and A Greater Love author Christopher Wilson tells PEOPLE. "Over time, she's learned to roll with the punches. Harry's feelings have been known for many years. Her reaction to Harry's comments would be limited to a sad shake of the head." Despite the controversy, some say Camilla, 75, has earned her place as Queen alongside King Charles, 74. "She has done a lot to show she is prepared for it and has a right to be in the modern world," biographer Sally Bedell Smith tells PEOPLE. "And there has never been any doubt that Charles wants her there as Queen." Seward adds, "William is quite calm about it. But it will stick in Harry's throat a bit." Although it was announced when Charles and Camilla married in 2005 that she would be known as Princess Consort when Charles took the throne, Queen Elizabeth put an end to the title speculation in Feb. 2022 as she marked the 70th anniversary of her accession. The late monarch, who died in September at age 96, wrote, "When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes King, I know you will give him and his wife Camilla the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be referred to as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service." Camilla spoke out for the first time about the title shortly after the announcement. She did this during a visit to the Nourish Hub, a community kitchen in London. "I feel very privileged," she said. As the crowning ceremony draws near, it remains unclear if Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will travel to the U.K. for the historic service. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who have resided in Meghan's home state of California since 2020 after stepping back as senior members of the royal family, have been invited to the event at Westminster Abbey. Come what may, "Queen Camilla" was not a title the one-time Camilla Parker Bowles ever imagined. But on May 6, she will be symbolically crowned alongside her husband at a historic coronation rich in tradition with modern touches. "Considering that for most of her life she'd never contemplated becoming Queen, she's doing incredibly well," Wilson tells PEOPLE. "It's a hell of a challenge being permanently in the spotlight at this age, but she's tough and can take it."

[bleubrri]

⟡ ゚ ៹ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ʙɪʀᴅ — nanami x reader

contains: modern royal!reader , journalist!nanami , infidelity , mention of yuji as nanamis son<3

a/n: it occurred to me i’ve never seen a modern royals au? think princess diana era drama. i envision nanami as a journalist that you confide in. this may or may not be v niche idk🚶🏾

the carpet muffles his hurried steps down the hall just enough that nanami can power walk with large, hastened strides along the outskirts of the palace without being detected. he always found it odd that technically they called his a house. it was very much a palace.

the staff member escorting him to these meetings for the past few months has always been the same, and they don’t seem to mind his apparent rush—perhaps they recognise that this clearly goes against his usual punctuality.

when they reach the room, all they offer is a kurt nod of the head before they’re opening the door for kento as he steps inside.

“apologies.” he clears his throat, trying to disguise the breathlessness in his voice.

you wave a hand. “i barely beat you. i’ve been here no longer than a minute.” you’re slipping off the satin scarf that’s tied around your head and the tartan blazer from around your shoulders. you look windswept, gorgeous. refreshing, as always, but with undereyes tinted purple.

“tea?”

“thank you.” he nods and makes his way over to the small sofa opposite you as the porcelain china clinks under your fingers. you’ve got a delicate touch, though nanami has noticed that everything about you seems delicate. he often finds himself wondering if you’ll break—if this family will break you, one day. shatter you into a thousand pieces as if you were a frost-stricken petal on a december morning.

“how are you?” he asks, his tone is tender and it makes your fingers pause as you add a drop of honey into his cup. it’s a request that you remembered him making during your first meeting, and he adores you for it.

your lips are pressed together so quickly that he wonders if he imagined it. “come now,” you tease, handing him the teacup and settling into your seat opposite him. “we always do you first.”

he huffs a laugh through his nose, tendrils of steam fogging his glasses as he takes a sip. “very well.”

he tells you about new interns, about big stories this week and the company expansion.

“so, you’re working a lot?” your tone practically drips with concern that he wishes you carried for yourself. nanami hums, placing his cup onto its saucer and throwing an ankle over his knee.

he tells you about yuji, and you light up a little. his achievements in school, his hobbies and the camping trip this summer that his son can’t stop gushing about.

“i should like to meet him someday.” you smile, hands draped over your knees as you lean forward, gripping on his every word.

nanamis eyes flicker over yours. “would that be.. appropriate?”

your gaze meets his and its steely, despite your tired smile. “i think they owe it to me to be a little inappropriate.”

they is the family. it’s always the family. always the institution. he can almost hear you cracking under the weight of it.

the hand that’s retracting from placing your own cup onto the table is caught in its path. “you’re owed a great deal more than that.” kento’s large palms cradle the shell of your own, feathered traces of the veins on your hand accompanying his words.

“how are you?” he asks again. the smile you give him is tight lipped, your eyes so glassy he thinks he can see the shards of you in them.

“he danced with her yesterday.” you whisper, and kento’s hands don’t stop their movements. “in public—at a charity event. a wonderful cause, though the papers didn’t seem to care. all they wanted was to write about how he couldn’t keep his hands off of his alleged mistre—”

a twisted sort of sob cracks your voice and kento is quick to lean forward and pull you into his reach. his lips brush your hairline and he keeps a firm grip on your hands with one of his, the other coming to cup your dampening cheek.

he brushes saltwater from under his thumb and pushes his lips further into your skin.

“i can’t stand it.” you whisper, “i fear i can’t.. i can’t bear another minute of it.”

nanami pulls back, the lenses of his glasses doing little to dull the intensity of his gaze.

“bear it with me, then.”

your brows crinkle, confusion colouring your expression that kento gets the desire to kiss away.

“just be here with me.” his voice is low as he rests your foreheads together. “just for a minute.”

you hum, and though tears slip past your lashline when your eyes flutter shut, you’re perfectly contented to stay like this—breathing him in in a moment of ease. a moment of peace. he always seems to center you. it’s like he’s catching you just in time, slipping a grounding hand around your ankle right before you float off out of everyone’s reach.

he’s true to his word, as always, though you curse the seconds for ticking away as they do, stealing your time with him.

“you should meet him. yuji.” he says, half smile and heavy gaze of his that always seem to be on your mind creeping onto his face.

you smile, a genuine smile that he knows so few people get the joy of experiencing, and give his hand a gentle squeeze. “i’d love that.”

nanami can feel the cool metal of your wedding ring against the skin of his palm. it’s mildly distracting, a subtle reminder of the larger birdcage that they have you trapped in.

but as he focuses on you nestled under his touch, your watery smile and tired eyes, kento can’t help but imagine. a sunset on your face, sand between your toes and pink hair ruffled between your fingers, another hand entwined with his.

kento thinks of your sad little smile, of your loneliness within these godforsaken halls, and desperately wishes for another life for you.

#: @i4sgwr @oxygenstarrved @gudetamae

[admirableadmiranda]

Hi.....just saw your random facts....can I ask your top 10 fav books (fiction) that you had? Sorry for asking another random ask.....Thanks....

No worries, anon! Love to talk about random things! It's a lot of fun!

Top ten books... it'll be top ten books at least of today. I could easily compile a top fifty.

Catwings series by Ursula K. Le Guin. Really simple children's stories that are some of the first books I can remember reading and are still some of my favorites.

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley. A completely different heroine from so many I'd read as a young kid and she still stands out to me today. Just a beautiful comfort read.

Modaozushi by Mo Xiang Tong Xu. A much more recent entry into this list, but it has soared up to one of my favorite books of all time due to wonderful characters, beautiful complex plot and a something about it that continues to engage me after more than a year of focusing on it.

Ciara's Song by Andre Norton and Lyn McConchie. A Witch World book that is set mostly outside of the big plots, but is a story about an orphan who grows up to be happy even in the midsts of her world being at war and so much loss.

Dealing with Dragons/Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. Two of the Enchanted Forest Chronicle books and I cannot pick one above the other. Dealing with Dragons is the funny and charming series of a princess who is utterly bored with her life and decides to go become the princess to a dragon instead. Calling on Dragons is the quest to recover a magical sword featuring a no-nonsense witch, the same princess who is now a queen, a clever magician, two cats and a rabbit who's manage to transform himself into a donkey. Makes me laugh and grin the whole time.

Corambis by Sara Monet (the last book in the Doctrine of Labyrinths series) Specifically just this one. After three books of the leads struggling to overcome the absolutely miserable upbringing they had combined with the miserable present day, they actually begin to make something of it and find some sort of peace and happiness all the while dealing with a mysterious clockwork engine that seems to be gearing up to try and kill everyone around them.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. A lot of gently poking fun at typical fairy tale tropes combined with a very sassy narrator and a romance that leans into constant bickering that I actually enjoy.

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip. This one I can't quite put my finger on why I love it so much other than that it is haunting. It is not the happiest of stories by any means, it is about a young woman who has lived alone with only many mystical animals called by her family who is in search of a mysterious bird called the Liralen, one of the last strange beasts not in her menagerie, while below the kingdoms seek to control her and her mysterious animals in their wars.

Deerskin by Robin McKinley. If the previous book is somewhat haunting, this one definitely is. It is a retelling of the fairytale of Deerskin/Donkeyskin/Catskin, where the fairest queen in the world dies and makes her husband promise to not marry anyone again unless they are as beautiful as her. He swears that he will not, but cannot find anyone until their daughter comes of age and resembles her mother exactly. Deerskin is a much darker take on a dark fairytale, yet there is some light and hope and it ends on a gentle note. Not a story for the faint of heart, but still one of my favorites all the same.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley. If at this point you haven't guessed that she's one of my favorite authors, then I don't know what to tell you. Sunshine is a bit of a departure from the others, it is a modern day story set in a world in which vampires and werewolves and such are real, and our protagonist is an ordinary baker who makes the mistake of traveling out on her own to a lake where she is shortly snatched away by vampires to torment an old enemy of theirs, where it turns out that Sunshine is a little more than they were prepared for. Full of lavish descriptions of food, a lot of sass and snark and a world that gives you just enough description to be starving for more.

Thank you so much anon! I hope you enjoyed my desperate attempt to wrangle all my faves into some sort of order.

[fixyourwritinghabits]

Hello! This blog really helped me in the long run I am so thankful that this existed - the posts here are absolutely a godsend goldmine. I was hoping to ask: do you have any metas/resources/tips on how to construct stories as if you're telling a folktale/fairytale? Or how to create stories using fairytale or folktale elements of some sort? Thank you very much!

First, let's look at the origins of fairy tales: to teach a lesson, moral, or convey a cultural norm. Usually those norms get lost over time, edited out, sanitized, or re-contextualized in a different moral light (though the mainstays, stay out of the goddamn woods and be nice to the elderly, tend to stay pretty clear).

So when dealing with a fairy tale, you have a couple of factors to deal with:

The theme or lesson is the most important part of the story

Wrong choices and their consequences must be clear to the reader

Cultural context is very important - communities and their rules are key.

If you were to retell a fairy tale, a popular thing to do, it's vital to research not just the origins of the tale, but what it was trying to convey. Nobody's very happy about new Girlboss Cinderella not because no one wants to see an ambitious princess tale, but because it fundamentally misunderstands everything about the original tale. If you don't understand what you're trying to subvert, you can't subvert anything.

But you can still ask some interesting questions about traditional fairy tales and find what meaning you'd like to convey. Why was cursing Beast's whole estate a necessity in the original tale? What does that mean for a modern day audience? If creating your own fairy tale, what core theme do you want to focus on? Kindness, respect, honestly, etc.

I could not find many outside sources that weren't watered down resources for kids, but I can recommend Frances Hardinge, Diana Wynne Jones, and Catheryne Valente as authors who really capture that fairy tale feel for a modern audience. If you need some guides, start there!

[lifelovelaugh2468]

I was wondering, from whom did Lee Jihye get the novel "the lovely princess"?. I think there are 4 possible ways:

1-> the world tree: i would makes sense in a way because it is very powerful and would find her in every dimension and he showed her what happens with obelia after her and claudes death. But the it doesn't makes sense because in the early chapters of the manhwa athy says that a customer left the novel behind and the world tree is not a person, also if he wanted to prevent the downfall of obelia then why not telling her with the book? Or telling her himself?

2-> diana: i don't really think it was her but it could be, because we know she is whatching over athy so it could be a possiblitiy. But then how could she do this when she is a ghost? Would she make a deal with the world tree?

3->claude: he would makes more sense than diana. Maybe got reborn in the modern world and remembered his first life after he gave lee jihye away ( i also think he would be her dad in the modern world). Maybe he was ashamed of what he did and that is why he doesn't approached her and left the novel behind. But then how does he know what happend with obelia when he was already dead? Why give her a novel when he doesn't know that she would be reborn as athanasia again? Why even give her the novel, so that she can protect herself in her 3rd life? Shouldn't he protecting her ? So i also don't really think it was him.

4->Lucas: he makes the most sense, especially after what we could see in the latest chapters and after knowing that in the novel he could go to different dimensions. He would know what happend with obelia because he was there (and maybe the reason..) when it happend. Maybe he left the novel because he wanted to prepare her, because she has great magic and what i understood is that he can not fight aeternithas because he has his magic absorbed. But then how did he and athanasia meet in the first timeline? Or rather why is he interested in her( in love when he should have destroyed obelia, if it was him and if she was the reason it could also be that he was just very pissed at aeternithas) when she doesn't have her magic because she didn't meet claude early and wouldn't met blackie? Or would she?. And she doesn't have lived before because that was her first life. So why doing all this? Did they still meet? If so then why not prevent her death? Did he went to the world tree when she died?

I have so many questions and i hope i can find answers to that. If you know more then please tell me. It is been a while since i have read the novel and i just begann to reread the manhwa. And i'm sorry for grammar mistakes i write this with my smartphone and like i wrote before english is not my first language. Have a nice day!

[alicehattera03]

I have this draft I’ll never write so if you have any headcanons or writing you wanna do for it, here it is lol:

Athykiel au where Athy is taken in by the Alpheuses n Jenny stays in the palace

Jenny keeps her name and is born in the palace bc Penelope threatens Claude saying the kid might be his so he keeps her trapped in the ruby palace out of cruel curiosity, kills her when he sees Jenny isn’t his, but keeps Jenette alive just because it’s funny to see ana and penelope’s greatest creation he such a failure. Some maid keeps her bc she’s penny’s right hand that wasn’t there for the slaughter. She names Jenny. Jenny is sweet but useless. Everyone tells themself that jenny doesn’t have an immortal name bc she’s a girl (even tho she’s the only heir Claude has. But Jenny doesn’t notice that, never thinks that deeply about it. She thinks Claude named her, and is deluded in her fantasy that Claude is just busy, but he considers her his greatest gift).

Diana had to flee bc Penelope was hurting her n gave birth in a noble house thanks to Lily’s connections, Claude is so upset when Diana dies he tells Lily to take Athy away and then uses black magic to forget both. Lily uses her noble connections and stuff happens, roger finds out she has jewel eyes and makes a deal to raise and present her like he og did with jenny

Basically, it’s just athykiel constantly neck to neck being geniuses at studies. Athy teaches Kiel how to have fun and feel free while kiel protects Athy from roger when he gets over ambitious and acts a bit mean. Roger starts to see her as a daughter too bc she’s just as talented as Kiel plus imperial blood lol, it’s just athykiel being geniuses and impressing everyone.

When she’s presented, Claude is like meh whatever, but he knows Jenny is useless even if he barely has even seen her and he needs an heir, so he tests her. He doesn’t remember Diana, but he sees she’s useful and she is pretty likable, she makes his workload easier and isn’t annoying like Jenny. So he likes her. She is the crown Princess without a doubt. Jenny though older is useless, so she’s married off to some foreign emperor’s illegitimate child for alliances bc she’s just causing problems.

Also maybe roger simps for her in a dad kinda way??? Like he has a soft spot for her bc she’s just as good as Kiel and she’s a cute little girl, and he can see how well athykiel complement each other??? And idk about Athy’s name, ig Claude let’s her keep the name Diana gave, but while she’s in the Alpheus care, she can only use it in private with roger, Kiel, Lily, or the duchess. So other than that ig her name would be Adonia?? Bc yeah.

Sorry I basically just wrote a book in your inbox but I wanted to tell someone but like, i don’t think I have the time or energy to write it myself lol

OHHHHH THANK YOU BLESSSS 

-> wrote this AU here!!!

--- 

18/10/20 EDIT: I’ll post the long au ideas here if I can’t fit them onto the og post!!! 

@01paige01 :Yet another angsty AU, my mind is too dark what’s wrong with me, also this AU involves the mentioning of suicide, so TW So I’m this AU, Athy remembers her original life AND her modern day life. That’s basically the only dramatic change, yet it causes a BIG ripple effect.

 She becomes a quiet and emotionless baby, only crying out when it’s needed (for food and whatnot). Lily and the maids are concerned of course, but dare not mention it to the emperor. Meanwhile Athy remembers her original life and the modern life, so she read what happens after she died. It breaks her (she doesn’t know the true ending of course) She doesn’t know what to do, so she just numbly does through robotic functions day by day, but is in a severe depression. Athy has dark thoughts here and there, of “he never loved me, WILL never love me, I’m doomed to die AGAIN, there’s no point in being cautious...” that lovely kind of stuff 

 One day (for whatever reason) she decides to wander around, and comes across the area where she originally came across her father, but now it’s before he uses magic to wipe his memories. And what do you know? There he is, Emperor Claude, dad of the century, title pending. Athy isn’t in awe, not even shock or fear, she’s just numb. Best to cut off emotions before the choke you, I guess. Claude of course connects the dots of Athy being his daughter, with the jewel eyes. But while the eyes are a distinct clue as to her royal blood, they’re oddly dead-looking. It freaks him out a little (though he’d never admit it). You know I’m the 2nd season webcomic, where Athy has a dark/blank expression facing her father early on? It’s like that, but a little worse and all the time. Growing curious because of the out of place expression (she’s young why does she have that expression already like what)

He has Felix take her back but doesn’t punish her. Athy doesn’t show any reaction to Felix, nor any resistance to him leading her back to Ruby Palace. Lily and the maids are freaking out, and once they see Felix with leading Athy inside, the panic grows bigger. Lily takes Athy back as soon as possible, with the bare minimum politeness needed, and practically slams the doors shut in his face.

 Later Claude invites Athy for tea, and though she thinks the comment of “fluttering in my moth” or whatever it was like her mother, she says nothing. Only speak when spoken to. She’s basically a human doll. That’s where my detailed thoughts end regarding this AU, but I imagine two endings. One, Athy and Claude grow to have a wonderful relationship, happily ever after, yada yada Two, Athy continues to stay numb, gets worse, to the point where she takes her own life :( (I imagine she does this when Jenette finally comes into the picture) Either ending, her father grows to love her.

 It’s definitely darker than my previous AU, but my mind is a dark jungle, who knows what lurks there

[thecrownnet]

weekendmagsocial  The Diana we’re desperate to meet. The return of The Crown [...]

*Spoilers Alert*

*Spoilers Alert*

The Diana we’re desperate to meet. The return of The Crown will feature assassinations, avalanches and the tension between the Queen and Mrs T. But the most anticipated entrance has to be Diana’s. Today Weekend tells how they’ve captured her charisma

[...] The upcoming fourth season will take Diana from her early days as a shy kindergarten teaching assistant to a fairytale princess and an iconic global figure, as well as explore the early days of her disastrous marriage to Prince Charles.Her entrance comes when it returns to our screens in November or December, almost exactly 40 years after Nigel Dempster revealed in the Daily Mail in 1980 that Charles had found his ‘future bride’, having transferred his attention to Diana Spencer from her older sister Sarah.

Like Diana at the time, the actress playing her in The Crown is also a young unknown. Emma Corrin, 24, is a privately educated Cambridge graduate, who didn’t go to drama school.

By coincidence she’s originally from Sevenoaks in Kent, where Diana went to West Heath School from the age of 12 to 16.

Aware of how challenging the role would be for any actress, the producers started their search with a desperate call for ‘a mesmerising new young star with extraordinary range.’

The brief added, ominously: ‘She has to play charming comedy, flirt and social exhibitionist on the world stage, desperate and lonely self-harmer at her lowest ebb and the kind of psychological intensity of Mia Farrow in Rosemary’s Baby.’

It would obviously be helpful too if she resembled Diana, and in some of the new scenes, as the kindergarten teaching assistant, and wearing a pink polka-dot dress on her 1983 tour of Australia, the likeness is uncanny.

Emma’s co-star Josh O’Connor, who plays Prince Charles, agrees, saying it was ‘spooky’ how much of a ‘breathtaking spitting image’ of Diana she was.

But Emma says she has never been told she looks like Princess Diana before – although strangely her mother, who works as a speech therapist, has been! ‘I have never had that,’ she adds. ‘I get told I look like a young Jodie Foster.’

Emma spent more than two hours a day in the make-up chair to achieve the Diana look, accentuating her doe eyes, and with several wigs re-creating the journey from ingénue to one of the most stylish women in the world.

Amazingly, she was still working hard for her final exams at Cambridge when she went through the auditions for The Crown.

‘They actually offered me the part in person,’ she says of her last audition. ‘It felt like I’d just been proposed to; it was the best moment of my life. There’s a lot of pressure, but I’ve been glued to the show since the first episode and to think I’m now joining this incredibly talented acting family is just surreal.’

Peter Morgan, the creator, writer and producer of The Crown, has complete confidence in her. ‘Emma is a brilliant talent who immediately captivated us when she came in for the part.

'As well as having the innocence and beauty of a young Diana, she also has, in abundance, the range and complexity to portray an extraordinary woman who went from an anonymous teenager to the most iconic woman of her generation.’

Like all the cast in this heavily researched production, she was given a large bundle of written material and documentaries to watch, and she spent hours on perfecting the princess’s distinctive high voice with a vocal coach and learning how to re-create her particular habit of glancing up from under her fringe, as well as her graceful way of moving.

It’s not an impression, I’m going for essence - Emma Corrin, who plays Diana ‘Something they have been making clear from the  start is that this is not an impression,’ says Emma.

‘I am going for essence. Any movement and voice work we have done has been figuring out why she talks the way she does, and how she was a massive departure from the Royal Family, a bit like Meghan is now I guess, by bringing something different in the way she talks.’

Season four brings back memories of naive young Diana, with a re-creation of that first photo, at the Pimlico nursery school where she worked, which showed her holding two of her charges while the sun shone through her skirt, revealing her shapely legs.

And it follows how she becomes hardened into a mature but troubled woman who is the toast of America.

The retelling of the royal romance starts with a traumatic event: the assassination of Charles’s beloved great uncle Lord Mountbatten (Charles Dance) who was killed, along with a grandson, a local boy and his son-in-law’s mother, by an IRA bomb hidden on his boat in Ireland in 1979.

Diana recalled how she’d watched Charles at the funeral on TV and when she saw him ten months later – the families were friends – she told him: ‘You must be so lonely? You know, it’s ghastly. You need someone beside you.’ He quickly decided he was in love.

Diana was turning 19 when she got together with Charles. He was 31. After 13 dates they were engaged. The rehearsal of their 1981 wedding at St Paul’s has been filmed in Winchester Cathedral with Emma wearing a replica of the blue floral dress Diana sported before the big day.

A later scene shows the joyful day when Diana, pregnant with Harry – with Emma sporting a fake baby bump – enjoyed an Easter Egg hunt at Buckingham Palace, chasing toddler William in the gardens.

The new episodes also focus on key moments – and key looks – from 1989, three years after Charles is thought to have resumed his affair with Camilla.  

In one scene Emma is seen outside The Savoy hotel in London, re-creating Diana’s appearance at the Barnardo’s Champion Awards.

Emma wears a floral one-shoulder dress, reflecting one of Diana’s favourite silhouettes – a style which suited her immensely but which the Establishment is said to have hated, deeming it ‘not royal’.

Having played Charles so sensitively in season three, Josh O’Connor, 30, says the heir to the throne will be portrayed in a harsher light this time. ‘Well, it’s the Diana years,’ he says.

‘If series three was to make people feel empathy for him, I guess we’re going to pull the rug from under him. We all have a set position on the dynamic between Diana and Charles. It’s been great to have the ability to either fight against that or, at times, acknowledge it and to challenge any question of, “Did he ever love her?” Personally, I think he must have done.

'There’s a wealth of layers to Charles and Diana, and I have loved seeking that out.

'I think Diana wasn’t completely innocent – I’m talking fictionally, in our story – so there are ups and downs. There’s the difficulty with Camilla and the whole family, so it’s going to be, hopefully, an interesting arc.’

Josh says they all enjoyed delving into an era which is so crucial to the modern Royal Family. ‘Everything changed when Diana came onto the scene,’ he says.

‘I think she changed the game, and modernised them, and made them relevant again.’

Also returning are Emerald Fennell as Camilla and Erin Doherty as feisty Princess Anne.

The real Anne revealed recently that she’d watched early episodes of the show, which she found ‘quite interesting’.

Peter Morgan says, ‘So many people asked me, after she first appeared, to put more of her in there.

Anne’s often overlooked. But Erin’s portrayal means that everybody has fallen in love with her. I read that searches about her on Google went through the roof, she’s now one of the most popular royals.’

Prince Andrew’s romantic life is set to come under the spotlight too. His most famous affair was with actress Koo Stark, who is said to have threatened to sue producers if the portrayal of her is negative, while the period covered in this series also sees him marry Sarah Ferguson.

Meanwhile, Edward is seen growing up and going to university.

There was a rush to finish filming before lockdown was announced.

It meant one key scene of an avalanche had to be moved from the Pyrenees to Ben Nevis.

The incident is likely to be a re-creation of the fatal moments in 1988 when a skiing party including Charles was caught in an avalanche in Klosters.

Major Hugh Lindsay, a former equerry to the Queen, was killed and Charles was seen weeping as he was helicoptered off the slopes.

The bizarre affair when Michael Fagan broke into the Queen’s bedroom in Buckingham Palace in 1982 will also feature in this run, but the 1987 It’s A Royal Knockout embarrassment, when the lesser royals dressed in medieval garb to play games for charity, is mercifully absent.

Once this series is over, an older cast are preparing to take the lead roles, with Imelda Staunton as the Queen and Lesley Manville as Princess Margaret.

They are due to start filming next year, and die-hard fans will be cheered by Peter Morgan’s recent change of heart, when he announced in July that there will be a sixth series to come.

The Crown will return to Netflix later this year.    

- Source: Daily Mail August 14, 2020

*It has just been announced that Jonathan Pryce will portray Prince Philip in season 5 and 6.

[skypagex]

let me see you get yourself out of this situation

aka three unlikely allies ditch detention and go on an adventure

word count: 2320

trigger warnings: stds (aids mention), drugs, nsfw mention

Okay, so maybe the detention is fully deserved. Sky probably shouldn’t have hotboxed his bedroom and expected to get away with it. In fact, he was pretty lucky to get away with detention, although he suspects that’s related to his mother’s call to the school and probable sizeable donation. (He should never have texted her. He knows that’s a bad idea. Thanks for the soccer team uniforms or whatever, mom.)

But regardless of how much he deserves to be in detention, he can still think of about a billion things he’d rather do than come into an almost empty room to the sight of Jack fucking Kelly (or is it Fielding? To be honest, he remains wilfully oblivious to the Jack updates. Like if he ignores him he’ll cease to exist) sprawled across the back row of seats with a smirk on his lips that so obviously says that this is his domain and Sky is trespassing. As if he owns the whole fucking room.

(Knowing Jack, he probably thinks he does. Not that Sky has had much personal contact with the boy besides an odd rumour that he died. But the boy’s reputation seems to carry through the school like a biblical plague of locusts. And besides, Sky’s friendship with Juliet gives him equal parts way too much information about Jack’s personal habits and currently, post break up, far more information about how disgustingly horrible he is. Either way, he’s well aware that there’s a sizeable ego present. He’s almost jealous, to be honest. Sometimes Sky feels like if he had Jack’s ego he’d probably be a rock star already.)

Still, he’s hoping that maybe he can pass under the radar of the British boy long enough to make it through at least half of the detention, maybe more, considering that the teacher has already apparently left - probably done with the delinquents before having even begun to lecture them on their crimes - so if Jack so much as starts a conversation Sky’s pretty sure there’s nothing present to hold him back from absolutely verbally annihilating Sky, which will therefore mean there’s nothing present to hold Sky back from tears and public humiliation. It’s hard being a crybaby, you know?

Such hopes are almost immediately dashed when Jack turns and gives Sky the most ravenous look he’s ever seen another human come up with, like Jack is starving and Sky is a walking hamburger about to satiate him. Yum.

“Pagey,” well there’s a nickname Sky didn’t know he had, and to be honest it makes him feel slightly nauseous even knowing that Jack has whole separate nicknames for him that he doesn’t even know about. How the fuck does Jack know everyone at the fucking school anyway? “How’d you end up here? Cried so much you flooded your bedroom?”

(Which would be insulting enough even if it wasn’t a plausible suggestion and didn’t need the rude addition of Jack proceeding to laugh at his own joke.)

Fortunately Sky’s saved from the perils of having to answer the question by the slamming of the door, which indicates the arrival of a third addition to the detention squad: a blonde girl, he thinks he’s seen her in a shared class (Helena or something along those lines, definitely the same name as a My Chemical Romance song since he remembers thinking that at registration) and a disgusted look upon her face as she has the same realisation as Sky upon seeing Jack’s face: that they are well and truly fucked.

“God,” Helena (if that’s really her name, Sky hopes it is because he suspects from her demeanour that she’s not the type to take a misnaming incident lightly) “was detention itself not punishment enough? Are they truly going to make me  look at your ratty little face for an entire forty five minutes? I feel ill just thinking about it,” she placed a hand over her chest as if the sight of Jack was causing her physical pain. Relatable, to be honest.

“I know,” and in that moment Sky feels more grateful than ever because it’s clear from Jack’s tone of voice that his admirably short attention span has now passed Sky straight over in favour of a pretty worthy opponent. “You really should complain, love. Like, how is getting to look at me for free a fucking punishment? It’s like getting to go into the Tate Modern for nothing.”

“The Tate Modern is already free,” Sky says helpfully. He is ignored.

“Your confidence,” Helena blasts back, “is truly insane considering how absolutely disgusting your physical appearance is. Have you considered being committed to a mental asylum at any point?”

“I would,” Jack counters, “but how could I? When the population of Luxor would just pine for me. Nothing would be interesting if I left.”

“Contrary to your totally unfounded belief, not everything in this school involves you.”

“Possibly,” the boy reasons, and then the smirk returns. “But you have to admit the majority of things do.”

Seemingly done with the conversation, Helena stomps over to the desk next to Sky and sets her things down. Her meaning is pretty clear to him: you’ll do, in comparison to being sat next to rat man.

The ticking of the clock succeeds in covering for their lack of conversation for all of about five minutes before Jack apparently just cannot keep words in his own head anymore and has to interrupt the perfectly nice silence again: “so how did you end up in detention, princess? Kiss a frog?”

“I don’t recall having any physical relations with you,” Helena says haughtily. “If I did, I can assure you I must have been under some sort of influence unwillingly and therefore I shall be suing imminently. And if you must know, I am being unfairly victimised for skipping my medieval lecture for a perfectly valid reason.”

“To get a nose job?” Jack asks innocently, “or was it Botox?”

That elicits a slight smile from Sky, which reminds the other two that he does in fact exist and it’s almost funny the way they both turn to face him as Jack continues his questioning, “what about you, Pagey?”

“Uh,” his mouth goes dry and he gulps, “weed… stuff,” he finishes lamely, shrugging as if that’s completely self explanatory. It should be. He damn well hopes it is, because frankly Sky does not have the strength to take part in this conversation and he’s really hoping that Helena can carry the anti Jack side of it without him. “You?” He asks hopefully, as if turning the conversation back to Jack will immediately throw him out of it and he can go back to his people watching.

“Oh, I jumped out a window,” Jack says airily, apparently oblivious to the looks of total confusion both Sky and Helena give him. The resulting silence proceeds to allow the clock ticking to become audible again.

“Are you seriously telling me,” Helena asks after about ten minutes have past and Sky can just about see Jack, out of the corner of his eye, beginning to meticulously colour in something which looks suspiciously like a poster, “that I have woken up today and willingly come to this godforsaken room and sat in the company of absolute dimwits and the teacher in charge is not even going to deign to show up?”

“Sometimes they just don’t,” Jack shrugs as if this is a usual occurrence. “Especially if they see me on the list.”

“Can’t blame them for that,” Helena mutters.

“Well, it would be hard not to treat me like the god I am. Can’t be unfair to the other students.” He grins. “Nah, guess they get lazy. I dunno. Most of the time I just leave.”

“Well that’s a wasted day of mine then.” She scowls. “Don’t they know time is money? Although I do have plenty of both.”

“That was the most ungraceful segway into a brag I have ever heard,” Jack observes, “and this is coming from me.”

“What can I say? I’m pretty, it allows for more leeway.”

She actually gets a laugh out of Jack from that, and it kind of fascinates Sky. Partly because he’s always assumed that Jack was more aggressive. He gets into enough fights for that. But he seems more… amused than anything else by the back and forth. Like he’s less of a punching devil and more of the type of person to push buttons out of enjoyment and amusement. He supposes that’s one way to get out of boredom.

“Hey, crybaby,” he’s so caught up in psychoanalysing the other two that he doesn’t realise for a minute that Jack is addressing him, and before he can say anything the other boy is waving a hand in front of his face. (He flinches back, predictably. God, he’s always so fucking predictable.) “You got any weed?” Jack asks, his face inches from Sky’s, close enough that Sky can see a stray eyelash on his cheek (would it be ridiculous to point it out considering that Jack would undoubtedly take that as Sky confessing his undying love for him?) and the freckles littering his cheeks.

“Uh.” Truthfully, Sky’s pretty sure this is going to end in him having to share so he’s really not willing to answer, but he’s never been good at lying so instead Jack gets a slow nod by way of response.

“Well there we fucking go,” Jack takes a step back thankfully, so he’s no longer close enough that Sky can literally smell whatever cologne he puts on (ugh, straight men) and glances back at Helena, gesturing wildly to Sky. “Don’t have to be a fucking waste of your day, princess. Or are you too good to come smoke a joint with me and Page?”

“My name’s Sky,” Sky offers. He is ignored.

“As long as nobody sees us,” Helena sniffs, but she gets up all the same, sliding her things into her bag. “And for the record, I’m a Queen, not a princess. I understand that your male mind finds words difficult though,” she adds with a condescending smile.

“I’m the British one,” Jack argues. “I’d know about fucking Queens.”

“I’m literally half English, you absolute cretin. My surname is literally Spencer. Like Princess fucking Diana? Ring any bells?”

“Nah,” Jack says with absolute conviction, “her surname was Wales.”

“No she was the Princess of Wal- oh my god,” Helena rolls her eyes with such energy that Sky is amazed that her eye muscles don’t straight up propel her out of the door. “Sky, can you please back me up?”

“I’m from Chicago,” Sky says helplessly, and gets two very dirty looks as they leave the classroom.

“I’d suck your dick,” he’s lost count of how many hits he’s in and the rooftop is starting to take on a hazy quality, which Sky attributes to the fact that he’s actually confident enough to laugh out loud at Jack’s comment, leaning back and looking up at the sky, “no you wouldn’t.”

“Sure I would,” Jack insists. “I’d try anything fucking once. And I never sucked a dick. Maybe it’s my fucking talent.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” Sky’s words are coming out sing song and he lays back on the roof now, shaking his head still, “you’re such a straight boy it’s not even funny. Straight, straight, straight,” he takes a long drag on the joint and holds it out between two fingers to Helena, who is giving both of them another disgusted glare.

“Two boys talking about their penises. Exactly the company I desired. Not.”

“We could talk about vagina instead,” Jack offers diplomatically, so Sky mimes gagging. “Yeah, okay crybaby. We get it. You patented the fuck a boy at church camp vibe, we understand.”

“I didn’t fuck a boy at church camp,” Sky says indignantly.

“No, he probably fucked you,” Helena hisses.

“I thought you were too good for this conversation,” Jack observes.

“Do you see another conversation happening?”

“You could just shut up.”

“And let your disgusting accent ring in my ears? Horrific.”

“My accent is sexy.”

“I like Kai’s more,” Sky gets a glare from both of them for that. Oops. Supposes that’s what he gets for interrupting the bickering. “Yours is fine too,” he says quickly.

“God, just take a side,” Helena mutters. “It’s fine to admit Rat sounds like a coal miner, you know?”

“Isn’t that a bit….” Sky searches for the word. “Classist?”

“No, it’s a fact. Anyway,’ she points to Jack accusingly, “he didn’t even know Princess Diana’s surname. So his national pride is absolutely a farce.”

“She died in like, nineteen ninety whatever? That’s old news,” Jack argues.

“She,” Helena says hotly, “remains an international style icon.”

“Can we get back to vagina and/or dick yet?” Jack enquires hopefully. Sky resumes the pretend gagging.

“You become more disgusting with every waking moment,” she mutters under her breath. But Jack will probably take that as a compliment either way. “And I need to go.”

“Don’t miss me too much,” Jack looks up to bat his eyelashes at the girl, resulting in her flipping him off.

“I think I would miss the dog shit I stepped in more than you,” Helena informs him, before glancing at Sky. “You, though. We’re going shopping tomorrow.”

He gives her a confused look.

“You have potential,” she decides. “Like style wise. As an aesthetic and thankfully quiet sidekick.” He can take that. “Like a Harry Styles vibe but unattractive.”

Okay, Sky’s starting to regret listening.

“Or Timothée Chalamet minus the bone structure and redeemable features.”

He really regrets listening now.

“Doesn’t Timothée Champagne have chlamydia?” Jack asks with a gleeful smile.

“Didn’t everyone say you have AIDS?” Helena snaps. “Goodbye, male specimens. It is starting to rain and this blouse is vintage.”

[kattahj]

Five non-horror YA books featuring girls and ghosts

1. A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge

Explaining this book at all kind of spoils it, because we start off with the protagonist not really knowing anything, but to spoil it just a little bit:

It's set in 1650s England, and starts off in a judgemental Puritan town where a girl called Makepeace is living with her mother, at the mercy of her aunt and uncle. She frequently has nightmares, and her mother tells her to stop dreaming like that and learn to defend herself.

As it turns out, this isn't just mindless cruelty from her mother's side. Makepeace has the power to take ghosts into her body, which is both dangerous and highly exploitable (which makes it even more dangerous). In short, pretty soon, bad shit happens.

This is the kind of book where I couldn't tell at all where it would go, but once I was finished, I looked back and went, "Ah, yes, that's the shape of the story!" I.e. the best kind of book. It's rich and complex, with philosophical and social aspects, and eventually a fair bit of action. It also set the scene very well, featuring a part of history I wasn't previously very well acquainted with.

I could spend a long time analysing it, but it really needs to be experienced firsthand, so I'll just say, read it!

2. Agnes Cecilia by Maria Gripe

This book is immensely well-known to Swedish women 30+ and not many others (though it has been translated to English, Spanish, and other languages). As a librarian, to this day I find that a lot of Swedish ghost stories written are attempts to recreate Agnes Cecilia.

Nora moves into a new apartment with her foster family and soon encounters ghostly signs, which become more pronounced when she's given a doll from a mysterious unknown person. She comes to realize that a previous inhabitant of the house is trying to contact her.

There's a very magical realist feel to this book. Nora is never frightened of the ghost, just frustrated that it's so hard for the living and dead to communicate that she doesn't always know what it wants.

At its core, this is a story of abandonment, and of adults refusing to acknowledge the child's perspective. It's rather tragic, though it has a happy(ish) ending, and there are many moments that I find heart-wrenching.

One particular example is when Nora thinks back on how her parents died and no-one told her, instead lying that "Mom and Dad have gone on a trip." In order to find out anything at all, she had to quench her grief and pretend that she didn't know, and when, years later, her relatives finally admit the truth and expect her to mourn, she can't show the "correct" feelings, and is dubbed heartless. It's one of the most hard-hitting scenes of adultism I have ever read.

But it's also a very warm and tender story, and while it's hard to call the ending happy, it does show that the circle can be broken and lonely people find each other.

3. The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde

Much, much jollier (and shorter) than the others, though not without sentiment, this classic still works surprisingly well! It's easy to recognize the humour of a ghost that's trying to scare a thoroughly practical modern family and has to deal with prankster kids, an older son who insists on removing ghostly blood stains with Pinkerton's Champion Stain Remover, and parents who helpfully try to oil his chains and feed him medicines.

The daughter of the family, Virginia, isn't as cheerful as her family when it comes to haunting matters, and so when she meets the ghost, the story takes on a more somber note. No doubt Sir Simon is a very wicked ghost, but through Virginia's eyes, we still feel some compassion for him, and so by the end, it's more than just a romp.

4. Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones

DWJ is my favourite author; of course I was going to include her! This story is a bit different in that the protagonist IS a ghost... kind of. She's not quite sure WHAT she is, but by haunting a certain house, she comes to believe that she's one of the sisters who live there, although she doesn't know which one. Her memories are muddled to say the least, and the ghost knows that the girls are about to do something truly dangerous, but she may not be able to figure out what, or how to prevent it.

While there are definitely some creepy moments in this book, it's yet another story of children faring ill, and as such it may be more upsetting than any of the others. It has been said that this is the most autobiographical of DWJ's books, and the parents are neglectful to say the least. The sisters aren't always too kind with each other either, but when push comes to shove, they do stand up for each other when it counts.

This book does feature a malevolent spirit (though that's not the titular ghost) and if you're easily scared you may want to read it in the daytime. :-)

5. Shadowland/Love You To Death by Meg Cabot (first in the Mediator series - the titles are different in the US and UK editions)

Again, this is the story of a girl who moves to a new town and discovers some ghosts - the difference is that Suze in these books isn't the least surprised by that fact. She's a mediator, a person with the special ability to talk to ghosts and occasionally get rid of them. Since she can't tell people around her what's going on, she has a reputation of being a "bad" kid, but as it turns out, the priest at her new school is also a mediator and can mentor her, though he sometimes disapproves of her methods.

It's all very Buffy, but with a somewhat fluffier touch (written by the same author as the Princess Diaries series). The romance is also a bit more pronounced, as one of the first ghosts Suze encounters in her new environments is Hector "Jesse" de Silva, who was murdered as a teenager way back in the 19th century. Their dynamic is very sweet, though it sometimes falls into the trap of "Why is he so aloof? Does he only want to be friends?" No, Suze, he's being responsible about the fact that he's 150 years old and also dead. But that's a minor gripe.

The rec is for the first book, rather than the whole series, because I'm not too fond of the last few volumes, which I felt were trying to go dark for the drama and lost much of the charm. But do start off with the first and keep reading for as long as you enjoy them!

[sada-siva-sanyaasi]

For Her - Part 3

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader (Modern Royalty AU)

Genre: Romance, fluff, angst.

Words: 2,202 words.

Warnings: Maybe in the future? None for now.

Series Summary: He was just supposed to attend her coronation, possibly make a new ally out of her country. Not fall in love with her.

Series Masterlist | Prologue | Part 1 | Part 2 

All the royal delegates had arrived, and by the end of the day, Y/N was exhausted, physically and mentally. N’Jadaka, popularly known as Erik Stevens or ‘Killmonger’ of Wakanda, was the next to arrive, followed by the Royal Twins of Sokovia, and so on.

Soon dinner was served, and Y/N was pleased to see how every royal seemed to know the other and made comfortable conversation, except for Erik. He sat two seats to her right, as the seats right next to her were occupied by her brothers, Diana on the other side of the table.

“King N’Jadaka, you seem to be a little distanced, is everything alright?” she asked softly, and he chuckled, the sound making her straighten as hairs stood up at the back of her neck.

“Oh trust me Princess,” he began, the smile never leaving his face as he stared at her, “I’m perfectly alright. I don’t talk to a lot of people is all, I find royal duties… not very enticing.” She nodded, sipping her soup silently when he continued. “Tell me Princess, you actually enjoy this? This whole grand charade of inviting people from various places, talking to them, making them comfortable, blah blah blah?”

She moved back slightly as the soup was taken away from her, watching as a plate of baked baby potatoes and tossed salad was set in front of her. Loki on her right stared at Erik for a minute, before resuming his soup, his face unreadable. “I don’t let my feelings decide my behaviour towards my duties as a Princess and future Empress of Themyscira, if that is the answer you are looking for.” The King of Wakanda smirked, eyes drilling into her as he drank his gin and tonic, and nodded. “You’re clever, Princess. Perhaps a little too much, but anyway, you’ll be with us in the Royal Tour around your kingdom?”

Y/N bit into her salad and smiled tightly, wiping her lips. “I love walking around Themyscira and its Royal heritage sites, so you will be seeing me, Your Majesty. After all, it’s my empire we’re talking about. Right, brother?”

Loki smiled at her and nodded, biting into his potatoes. “Although I’m not sure she’ll be with you during the Tour, you will find her at least in three of the destinations, I assure you.” Erik nodded, sparing the Princess one last look before resuming eating.

The rest of dinner kept going smoothly, with Y/N making occasional talks with the others present as well. In a short time she grew fond of the Sokovian Twins, Wanda and Pietro, who seemed to have grown just as fond of her.

By the time the main course list had arrived, Y/N’s head had formed its own opinion about the King of Wakanda, and it wasn’t leaning to the right side. Sure, he was intelligent, seemed to know what to say, was incredibly handsome, but something didn’t seem right.

Diana noticed her sister barely touch her Portobello burger and fries as she sat almost detached to the dinner, slowly sipping her red wine. Looking to Loki, Diana nodded towards her slightly and shrugged before returning to her talk with a royal she was previously in conversation with.

Loki sighed and set down his fork, looking at his sister. “Sister, are you alright?” he asked, watching her stare at her burger with a dazed expression. “I think I had too much wine, brother. That’s it.” She set down her glass and looked to her right, making a man scurry forward and pick up the glass. “Maybe a little water for now would do, please.” She spoke, and he nodded, pouring her a glass before stepping back.

Loki continued to stare at her before he returned to his steak, knowing he’d have to get it out of her sooner or later. Y/N looked at him as she bit into her burger, and smiled slowly, as if confirming his thoughts, before beaming at the chef and complimenting the food. “You’ll have to teach me how to make this too when I visit the kitchens later on,” she said as the chef nodded, a smile on her face.

“Oh, you visit the kitchen too, Your Grace?” Wanda said, her smile huge, and Y/N nodded, smiling along. “I do, in fact I have a class with our head chef for an hour every Sunday. I got my love for cooking from my sister, who honestly can do magic in the kitchens.”

The Prince of Hydra, who sat a few seats away, barked out a laugh and rolled his eyes, waving his plate away. “Of course, I almost forgot that you’re a woman after all.” He mumbled, a smirk on his face as he chugged his glass of whisky almost wolfishly. The entire table grew deathly silent the moment they heard a crash, and Thor’s eyes widened as he noticed the broken glass in his sister’s hand.

Men rushed forward, picking up the broken glass while a medic stepped forward to remove the glass pieces stuck in her hand. Y/N’s icy glare remained on the Hydra Prince, Brock Rumlow, as she waved the medic away, pulling out the glass pieces herself and dabbing the blood away. “I apologize, please continue with your meal. I didn’t realize I held the glass a little too tight. I’ll be right back.” She stood up, making everyone else stand as she nodded once and left, leaving unsettling silence in her wake.

Thor’s head whipped in Rumlow’s direction as he glared venomously, while Loki merely spared him a glance before resuming his dinner. Diana sighed and waved her plate of burger away, murmuring a quiet “dessert, please.” Bucky kept looking in the direction Y/N left when Diana said, “Please, don’t wait for her. She’ll be back and will finish dinner before all of us if we keep waiting.” A ripple of laughter passed the royals as they all continued eating, and Bucky stared at his steak.

“You seem lost, Your Majesty.” Diana’s voice cut through his thoughts, and Bucky shook his head. “Princess Y/N seemed a little… displeased, to say the least.” Diana bit her lip and looked up as Y/N entered the dining hall, talking to her assistant. “Y/N is slightly hot-headed, one could say. The way the rest of the world works is not how things run in Themyscira, and gender prejudice is one thing that irks her. Quite a lot. Unlike our mother and the empresses and queens before us, Y/N doesn’t entirely have the ability to hide her anger and disgust with something like that.”

Diana swirled her glass of wine around as dessert arrived, and smiled slightly. “She’ll learn, I’m sure.” Bucky chuckled at her words and sipped his martini. “Pardon me, but isn’t she better off not learning to take any sort of nonsense from anyone?” he turned to the youngest princess and watched her as she smiled wide, her eyes sparkling as she stared at the dessert in front of her. “She’s much better this way, showing her displeasure and disagreement with things, she’s making her stance clear. As the future Empress, I think that’s a wonderful trait to have.”

Diana observed Bucky stare at Y/N and chuckled to herself, putting a spoonful of strawberry mousse into her mouth. “Yes, yes it is.” She murmured and continued her conversation with the people around her.

 --

 Y/N sighed to herself as she looked at her watch before settling down in the grass, laying down and looking at the moon. The garden in her balcony was the one place she felt absolute calm and peace, with no one to disturb her whatsoever, where she could just be Y/N and not Princess of Themyscira. She opened a box of chocolates and popped one into her mouth, smiling and closing her eyes.

She laid there for a while, humming to herself, when she realized she finished her chocolates. Cursing softly under her breath, she walked back into her room, looking around in vain for treats. “Now I’ll have to go to the kitchen for food, Jesus Christ,” she huffed, tiptoeing to her door and slowly peeking out and sighing when she saw Manny or any guards weren’t around.

She silently walked out, before looking around once again and setting off in a sprint towards the kitchen. In her desire to get to the kitchen, she forgot to check the corridors, and promptly slammed into a person. She groaned, almost falling back, but a hand wrapped around her waist prevented it, and she opened her eyes to look into electrifying blue ones that made all air leave her lungs. “Steady, Princess Y/N,” Bucky whispered, biting his lip to stop a smile breaking onto his face.

Y/N breathed in heavily, holding onto his arms for support. “Uh- what are you doing awake, Your Majesty?” she said softly, and he chuckled, his grip on her waist unconsciously tightening and pulling her closer. “I could ask you the same thing, Your Grace.” She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I asked first.”

“Well, I asked you after.”

“But I want an answer first.”

“It’s alright, you can answer me first.”

“You’re the one roaming in the halls.”

“You’re the one who slammed into me.”

“Yes, but you saved me.”

“And hence you’ll answer me. What are you doing awake, Your Grace?”

Y/N opened and closed her mouth like a goldfish, before scoffing and letting go of his arms. “You can let go of me, Your Majesty,” she said, making Bucky’s eyes widen and hastily let go of her, a blush settling on their cheeks as he stepped away from her.

Y/N cleared her throat and brushed her nightdress, before glancing back at the royal. “This is my palace,” she smirked triumphantly, hands on her hips, and Bucky scoffed, looking out the windows.

“I was… I was hungry so I was out looking for the kitchen.” Bucky admitted sheepishly, stuffing his hands into his night robes. Y/N stared at him, trying to tell if he was lying, before covering her mouth to stifle her giggles.

“You do realize that it’s past midnight, right?” She giggled, and he blushed bright red, scratching the back of his head, before frowning and looking at her. “Then why are you awake?” she stepped forward and smirked. “I got hungry.”

Bucky gaped as she grabbed his hand and pulled him to the right, soft laughs escaping her as they ran. “The kitchen’s that way, Your Majesty.”

 --

 “So this is a regular adventure,” Bucky mused as both of them sat in Y/N’s garden in her room. She nodded, popping a chocolate dipped strawberry into her mouth. An assortment of berries lay in front of both of them, all dipped in various chocolates and a bottle of sparkling wine right beside it.

“I’ve always snuck out of my room to the kitchen for foods, I get really hungry in the night. And then whatever I make in ten minutes I bring here and sit, enjoying the night breeze.”

Bucky turned and watched as Y/N closed her eyes, looking calm as the breeze caressed her hair lovingly. “No one is here with me,” she continued, opening her eyes and gazing at the stars. “I only had Manny sit with me once, and that was because he caught me sneaking. Loki used to a few times when we were kids, but no one else knows I do this. At least I believe no one knows, or it would be embarrassing.”

Bucky smiled and bit into a berry. “I’m sure someone does, and now I do. It’s only a matter of time, Your Grace.” Y/N sighed and ran a hand through her hair, before turning to Bucky.

“I know we met today, but then again you will be staying here for a month more and I did show you one of my secret spots. I have a request, and please don’t refuse,” as Bucky waited, she sighed again and turned completely to him. “Can you stop calling me ‘Your Grace’? You already know I lack all the grace to be called that, and I hate it when people use my title, it’s exhausting. Just call me Y/N.”

Bucky laughed, his face positively glowing in the moonlight. “As you wish, Y/N.” She beamed and took a sip of the sparkling wine, laying down on the ground. Bucky watched her silently and turned to the moon, a small smile playing on his face.

“In my kingdom, our royal titles hold incredible importance and value, and we must not be referred to by our names. There’s only one person who calls me by my name, and that is Tony’s daughter, Morgan. Tony blames me for spoiling her, but he can’t exactly stop me,” Both of them chuckled and Y/N turned to him as he continued. “I suppose I can allow one more person to call me by my name, don’t you think so?” Y/N smiled to herself and nodded, raising her glass.

They clinked their glasses as she sat up. “As you wish, James.” She repeated his words, and Bucky’s smile widened, his heartbeat quickened. Suddenly his first name became his favourite word, and he wasn’t complaining.

Taglist Open!

@supernaturalwintersoldier @learisa

 Permanent Tags:

@shurisneakers​ @revengingbarnes​ @sgtjbuccky​ @bluecookies-and-ink​ @thegirlinthegreenscarf​ @a-kpop-know-it-all​ @jaamesbbarnes​ @depressed-dude20​ @i-love-superhero​ @heartbeats-wildly​ @jurassicbarnes​ @capsiclesdoll​ @psychicforest​ @heyiamthatbitch​ @lumar014