#there is a little gallica i suppose.

[wazzygoo]

its a metaphor

[maggiec70]

Antoinette Redux...

...and doubtless for far longer than I'm around.

Some time ago I replied to an earnest but largely inaccurate defense of Marie-Antoinette that bemoaned the alleged myths surrounding her. I only remembered this when someone “liked” my response, and I looked at it again. This time, I noticed the five added comments extolling Antoinette and Louis and tossing out red herrings and additional historical bloopers. More important, however, was that the original poster shut it down to any further comments. I wonder why? Disapproves of criticism? Dislikes historical accuracy when it challenges the pretty view she extolls of her historical heroine? Wants the two “fans” to have their say but no more from the nay-sayers?

I will not let this pass, petty as it may seem.  Besides, there are times that I refuse to allow crap about specific historical figures to pass unchallenged.

These are the comments posted in Antoinette’s defense. I haven’t changed a word, but I deleted the names because they are unimportant. My responses are in italics.

Commenter #1:

“There is evidence King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette gave to the poor, provided education and other needs to the poor, and that the queen took a special interest in local children in need.”

In my reblog, I described specifically how Antoinette treated the poor; this is a regurgitation but more generalized, perhaps to make this charity seem much more extensive and continuous than it was. One point here for some accuracy, though marred by clear exaggeration.

King Louis was very 'wholesome' and was the first king not to take a mistress. Yet cartoons of the time portrayed all the royals and nobles as debauched.

Louis had some well-documented physical issues—the two most critical were tight, painful phimosis, which generally inhibits erection and ejaculation, and hypogonadism, which causes diminished libido. I suppose those conditions would preclude a mistress. These conditions also meant that he did not consummate his marriage until Antoinette’s brother, Joseph II, came to Paris to explain the mechanics of sex to Louis. Nevertheless, Antoinette didn’t have a child until eight years later. The contemporary historical records, including reports from his doctors, are replete with medical details. Quite a few are on Gallica, and even more are in the various French archives. Have a look, why don’t you?

Does this low libido and physical condition make Louis “wholesome?” Absolutely not. But it does explain why he never had a mistress. And yes, the cartoons and broadsheets more often showed Louis as impotent and hopeless, watching as Antoinette frolicked with legions of men. Louis was undoubtedly sexually dysfunctional, but Antoinette was not debauched or promiscuous.  These broadsides were the late 18th century’s equivalent of X, formerly known as Twitter, where folks trashed royals and aristocrats.

“Marie apologized to the executioner for stepping on his toe.”

Excuse me, but why on earth does this matter? After almost a lifetime of indifference at best toward anyone not in her intimate circle, Antoinette’s “apology” means squat. However, if this means a great character trait, go right ahead.

Commenter #1, second comment:

“Some of the worst treatment was meted out toward their son, a helpless child, while imprisoned. It is too horrific to repeat here.”

No, this treatment is not “too horrific” to repeat here or anywhere if you want people to know what happened. However, you have to be careful here or regarding any other subject regarding what sources you use. Yes, indeed, the removal of the then eight-year-old dauphin, Louis-Charles, from his mother and sister, Marie-Therese, was harsh. His imprisonment was brutal: cold, filthy, with little water and less food, and no human contact other than his jailers who kept him under constant surveillance and who beat him almost daily, continually criticized Antoinette and Louis, as well as trying to force him to deny God, sing bawdy songs, and learn how to curse. The more gruesome allegations of sexual abuse are plentiful as well but not confirmed in the historical record. All the other types of abuse are documented in plentiful archival documents.

Commenter #2:

“…yes...and this poor child was litterally [sic] taken from his mother [sic] arms... Knowing how difficult it was for Marie Antoinette to have children in the first place ( in the Sofia Coppola movie my heart sinks every time when the young Queen runs to her private chamber to cry when her SIL gives birth) that was the worst thing her enemies could do to hurt her.”

Removing a child from its mother’s arms is a dreadful experience, but certainly not unique to Antoinette. So why is this an issue? Because it truly is not. Think of the many thousands of impoverished French mothers whose children dead from disease and starvation were removed from their arms for burial. Changes the perspective a bit, or it should.

The danger of using movies for any historical knowledge should be obvious. Coppola’s version certainly failed to explain any of the real reasons and backstory for these tears. And they are also exaggerated. You don’t read any history—real history, not Wikipedia, not historical novels, do you?

Commenter #1, third comment:

“Too horrible to imagine.”

I was tempted to omit this part of the chorus as too inane and uninformative, but, you know, truth.

I have no idea this will change anyone’s mind—it probably won’t, since breathless fangurl love for Antoinette, Anne Boleyn, and any one of the Romanov girls is generally firmly in place and generally idealistic.

However, I’m a historian, and I don’t often let misinformation unsupported by archival, primary, and even valid secondary sources go unchallenged. I also know how to evaluate those sources regarding when and by whom they were written and in what political, social, religious, and economic environment.

So here we are. I’ve said my piece—again—about Antoinette. Disagree all you like, but please state on what your disagreement is based: fact, or opinion.

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

"That thing does NOT give off "toy" vibes" I mean, idk if Chironnupu from SMT4A and Aitvaras from SMT5 have that toy vibe, but they were both designed to be mascots, so idk if the toy thing is a hardened rule

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm the biggest "to be fair," SMT4A/SMTV were Doi/someone else, not Soejima (I do think they both give off toy vibes, esp Chironnupu, but that's based off shape). Refan/Persona is Soejima and this is what he says about mascots having toy colors:

Ah good, the red is in Mona's mouth....I was worried about that ajksfdjaf

I mean it's possible that Soejima could mix it up for Refan but............. *shrugs* Heismay(?).... Let's stick with Gizmo (until I get more comfortable remembering their name), Gizmo only seems to be red, white, black, and grey color scheme.

If anyone is gonna be the "mascot," it's probs Pixie (I mean Gallica) 030:

I mean her hair is a bit more orangey, but tbf Mona's mouth is a bit more pinkish and not as primary red as Aigis' heaphones or Teddie's whole thing.

Tho this little guy gives me more mascot vibes, technically Gallica has the color scheme, but this little guy has the Teddie shape uwu

The body is round~! (what is he suppose to be? A tooth?)

[mackeydoodledoo]

Beautiful Creature

Pairing: Cumulus (Ghoulette) x (Fem!)Reader

Summary: Cumulus has always had body insecurity issues; constantly comparing her body confidence with yours. Little did she know that the both of you share the same insecurity.

Warning: Body image insecurity

Key: Italics = Thoughts, +*+ = Time Skip

Theme: Beautiful Creature - Mad Gallica

A/n: Cumulus... That’s it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

You were anything but perfect. Far from it really. But, it never influenced how you should present yourself to others. However, your mindset never worked out for everybody.

You become a Roadie for Papa Emeritus since Era 4. You worked in sound and the technician for the keyboards and mics: Cirrus and Cumulus and Sunshine. Apparently the Ghouls had their own technicians. But, a little bit less of a hassle for yourself: you get to basically represent the Ghoulettes. You weren’t particularly familiar with keyboard in the way Cirrus and Cumulus were accustomed to but, you understood the basics. 

“Alright Y/n move onto the next keyboard,” Your boss tells you through your ear monitor

You just finished testing out Cirrus’ keyboard test, you were dashing your way across the stage to Cumulus’ keyboard.

“You ready?” Your boss watches you walk up the stairs

“H-Hang on,” You try to catch your breath, “This set up had to have both the keyboardists opposite from one another?...”

*Cumulus’ POV* You realized you left your cellular device at your keyboard on stage. You just appeared onto the stage as you look up: Your technician wearing a crop top.

“Hey Cumulus,” She happily greets you, “Guys, give me a minute?”

You just stand there, watching her approach you. All the while you were a frozen mess.

“You okay?” She asks you

You felt her clammy hands take yours as her thumb gently rolls along the back of your hand. 

“I-Uhhhhh...” You try to form words

“Forget something in your area?” She asks, holding up your cellular device with her free hand

“I-Uh YES!” You conclude, “That’s what I forgot! You’re a lifesaver.”

“You should get ready with everyone, time’s running short,” She tells you

You nod as she turns her back to you, walking onto Sunshine’s stage. 

*Y/n’s POV* Finally, my favorite part...

You run back over to Cirrus’ stage as you pick up the keytar for soundcheck.

+*+

After Soundcheck, you went back down to the crew lounge as the other technicians rotated out to soundcheck the other instruments. 

God it is hot in here...

You take your flannel off in hopes it would help your body cool down. However, it barely helped. 

To think these arenas would have a proper A.C ventilation. 

“You... Okay?” Cirrus comes into the door

“If you couldn’t feel the heat but it is do hot in here...” You sigh, “I can’t focus on anything. Not... That I was working on anything anyway.”

“Would you want to chill in the Ghouls lounge?” Cirrus offers

You sit up, grabbing your flannel and backpack.

“As long as it keeps me not sweltering hot,” You chuckle

“Cumulus would love to see your face again,” Cirrus tells you

“Really now?” You ask her

“She always seems so excited when we talk about you,” She explains, “She goes off on this tangent about how extra careful you are when it comes to our keyboards.”

“I mean... Am I not supposed to?” You ask

Of course you are supposed to treat those instruments like your pride and joy...

“Don’t answer that. That was a trick question,” You chuckle

“Hah,” Cirrus chuckles, “I can see why Cumulus has taken a liking to you.”

“She has?” You ask

But, before Cirrus could explain to you further, she opens the door to the lounge and everyone’s eyes are on you and Cirrus.

“Brought her as you’ve requested Cumulus,” Cirrus walks to sit in an open chair

“Awww you called for me?” Your attention turns to Cumulus

Cumulus attempts to hide her face in one of her hoodies but you were easily able to tell.

“Aww little Cumulus has a wee crush,” Aether teases his fellow ghoulette

You chuckle as you seat yourself on an open spot on the floor. 

“You want a banana?” Aether asks, holding up a banana

“Aether no one wants a banana!” Dewdrop sighs in frustration

“Actually, that’d be nice,” You say, catching one, “Musicians eat these for a good source of potassium.”

“Why?” Swiss asks

“Ya’ll are musicians, eat one and find out,” You chuckle

Of course, he doesn’t. You listen in to the many conversations the go about among the Ghouls and Ghoulettes. 

“Hey, need a pillow?” Cumulus offers her thighs

“That’d be great yeah,” You say, beginning to situate your head on top of Cumulus’ thighs, “Thanks Cumulus.”

Holy shit her thighs are like clouds...

You fought the urge to fall asleep on her right then and there. However, you also had the feeling the Ghouls and other two Ghoulettes could easily see you.

“HAH! Y/n’s falling asleep with Cumulus’ thunder thighs!” Dewdrop points out

*Cumulus’ POV* You stop brushing y/n’s hair and immediately get up from the ground, but also making sure that her head didn’t hit the ground.

“Everything okay Cumulus?” Y/n sits up, turning to you

“Hey, Cumulus I was teasing Y/n, not you,” Dewdrop clarifies, hoping it wouldn’t make you feel bad

Apparently what Dew said didn’t process through your mind as you retreat into the nearest changing room. Dew automatically felt bad but the other Ghouls and Cirrus reassure him that they’ll explain everything to you later.

*Y/n’s POV* “Hey Dew, I got her,” You tell him, smiling

You turn into the direction of where Cumulus ran off to and knock on the door gently.

“Cumulus?” You call out to her, “Can I come in?”

You felt the door open ajar, slowly allowing yourself to slip inside however, it was pitch black. 

“You alright?” You ask, shutting the door behind you

You sit on the floor directly across from her as she sits herself into a corner, knees huddled to her face. 

“Hey, you do know Dew was teasing me right?” You ask, slowly inching your way to her

She nods.

“Then why did you retreat in here?” You ask

“I... I don’t know I just... I don’t like it when someone points out my visible body parts and their size...” She says

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with being... Rounder than most people,” You try to lighten the situation, without trying to make her feel even more bad about her body size

“Says you... Ms. ‘I can feel confident to rip my flannel off anytime I get sweaty’,” Cumulus says

“I tend to do that yes, but I never feel that confident when I do it,” You say, continuing to inch your way towards her

“I can’t imagine people pointing out the parts of your body you dislike when you look like you could bench press me,” She continues to try and dissuade you from getting closer to her, “And look at me, I look like a goddamn marshmallow...”

But, you never wavered. 

“I really couldn’t bench press you even if I tried,” You say, “But, I don;’t understand why you’re comparing my body to yours...”

“Because I hate the way my body is,” Cumulus finally confesses, “And yours is... So... Perfect...”

She finally gained enough confidence to look at you in the eyes but didn’t expect your face to be mere inches away from hers.

“Why do you compare your body to mine?” You ask

“Because you’re so confident in showing it and I’m... Scared to...” She breaks

“Why are you scared?” You ask

“I want to be confident but when I look at myself in the mirror... It goes away...” She tries to hide her tears

“Cumulus,” You calmly call her name, “Cumulus look at me.”

You look up at her again as she places her hand on the top of your helmet. However, when you look back up at her from placing the helmet on the ground, your eyes widen. Her hair was puffy, as Cumulus clouds are. But, her hair had a pink/orange tint.. Like how the unset reflects in the clouds... Her eyes glowed a lot sunset pink to match her hair.

*Cumulus’ POV* “You’re beautiful...” She says

“Says you,” You blush

“Can I confess something too?” She asks

You nod.

“I’m... Not really that confident in my own body image,” She confesses

She gets onto her knees and turns her back to you and you see her ruffling the hem of her shirt. You turn your head away when you realize she was beginning to strip off her shirt. However, she doesn’t turn back to you, but keeps her back to you. You notice all of the tattoos she had. Not just on her arms, but on her back too. You slowly come up against her back as your hands feel her arms.

“Do you.... Wanna know why I get all of these tattoos?” She asks, finally turning towards you

You look down slightly and see more tattoos on her front side also.

“Why?” You ask

“It’s so people have something else to look at other than the body fat I have,” She says 

You look down and see no body fat on her.

“I know,” You sigh, “I’m holding it in... Did that a lot in high school marching band. No matter what I do, I’ll just suck in my gut anyway.”

You press your cold palms against her stomach, making her tense more.

“You shouldn’t compare your body to mine, let alone others,” She says

“Why?” You ask

“Because everyone’s body shapes are different,” She begins explaining, “And It cannot be helped.”

“But-”

“No buts Cumulus,” she says, “You’re a beautiful creature in my eyes and... and I don’t want you to change because there are people with more seemingly fit body types.”

You stare at Y/n... Perplexed on what to say next.

“I love you for you Cumulus,” She says

*Y/n’s POV* Did I just say that out loud?

“I like you too Y/n, a lot,” Cumulus replies, “You’re never afraid to show off your whole self. That was why I compared myself to you a lot...”

“Oh Cumulus,” You coo

You open your arms and legs for Cumulus to sit up against you.

"I’m not going to hurt you, will I?” You ask

“Of course not,” She answers, “I like that weight on me. Makes me feel like I’m in a blanket.”

+*+

You don’t know how long you and Cumulus were stuck in each others’ embrace but all of a sudden a bright light shine upon the both of you.

“We’re on in 20 minutes Cumulus,” Cirrus comes in

However, before she departs the dressing room, she eyes the both of you. She gives you a wink and a thumbs up as she finally turns her back and leaves. 

“Come on Cumulus,” You gently pat her shoulder

As the both of you get up from the floor, you pick up her helmet and hand it to her. 

“Will you be up there watching?” Cumulus asks

“Of course I will,” You smile

Before she puts on her helmet, she turns to you to give you a quick pack on the lips and then basically skips out of the dressing room. You slowly follow her out to the main stage area. 

Even if she may not fully love herself... I love her... All of her... 

“My Beautiful Creature...” You say to yourself, watching Cumulus catch up with the other Ghoulies

[redrose-arrow]

Crowley/Duncan/Halt anon back again, sorry for the wait bhsdjs i was in the middle of babysitting and typing is hard on a phone

Anyways, i have a few things for the AU:

1) Halt doesn't hate Ferris. It hates what Ferris did, yes, but it sees what Ferris did as a product of their shared upbringing and the pressures put on them as royalty-- it doesn't think Ferris is a horrible monster. It used to put the responsibility on itself to keep its siblings safe, and it thinks of Ferris' actions as proof of its failure to do so. The hating Ferris bit only comes later when it sees how much of a spine he lacks once he becomes king of Clonmel. (But it also slightly blames itself for that, too-- if it were there, would it have been able to help Ferris be better? Not just a better person, but a better king for his people?)

2) Yesyesyes, Duncan and Crowley ABSOLUTELY gush over Halt together-- at least, in private (which was hard to find on a crowded ship of rowdy skandians, a second Ranger, and the captain who has suspiciously Ranger-like skills. Crowley asks Pritchard about this, and he simply says that he "Gave Halt a few tips and tricks" in his time with it when it was younger). At first, they just test the waters, seeing what the other might think if they talk about it-- but then eventually they aren't worried about what the other thinks, they're worried about being teased relentlessly by the crew if they get found out or if it gets to Halt

3) Halt eventually confesses after a bit more gentle prodding-- from Crowley, actually. And it only happens after Pritchard, who had figured out its secret soon after meeting it, encourages it to say something to Duncan. After Duncan crushes its lungs gives it a friendly hug and yells at it about just how much he missed it (which, suffice to say, was a lot), both he and Crowley agree not to tell anyone that Halt is alive-- that would cause chaos.

But...

"How are Caitlyn and-- and Ferris?" it asks. Crowley looks at Duncan, expecting him to have an answer.

Duncan shrugs slightly, not looking at either of them. "I never really talked to them. Felt like I couldn't, after your supposed death."

There's a small moment of quiet.

"I was there, you know," he whispers. "At your funeral. They said it was a boating incident. On the way to greet some lord in Gallica. I-I couldn't-- I couldn't believe you were dead, you know? They hadn't found your body. Surely you must've survived. You couldn't die that easily, even if you were... even if you weren't there, and there was no proof of you living," Duncan continues. Halt is silent, and he looks at it. It looks guilty. "I'm glad I was right."

"I'm sorry," Halt says. "I should've sent word that I was alright to you-- so you wouldn't have had to deal with that." But Duncan's already shaking his head.

"You were royal, too. You know how the system works. Your letter would've been thrown out. Or, if it weren't, it would've been read-- you wouldn't be safe," he says. "You're smart. Always were." He grins and adds, "I would've figured you to be smarter than me, at the very least-- and even I know what sending a letter would entail."

Halt elbows him. It's almost like things are the same, even if they will never be the same again.

But maybe that's for the best, it thinks. It looks from Duncan, its childhood friend, to Crowley, who is arguably smarter than Pritchard in certain regards. It remembers Crowley's misgivings about it since it was a sea wolf, after all, and the caution around trusting it with retrieving Duncan. They'd backed down with Pritchard's reassurances--after all, they could hardly argue against him when they barely knew Halt themself--but they were still willing to even threaten Halt if Duncan didn't come to the ship safely.

(And it also remembers Crowley's frustrated spluttering upon learning that Halt had done something incredibly dangerous and potentially lethal to get Duncan back multiple weeks after the fact-- not dangerous nor lethal for Duncan, but instead for Halt. And it remembers Crowley shoving it and lecturing it on "When I said to get Duncan back safely, I didn't mean to let yourself nearly get killed in the process, dumbass!" before quickly catching themself and simply glaring at Halt's smug grin.)

(And then, of course, he promptly tackles it when it says its obligated, "Aw, so you do care about me!")

anyways, moral of the story is: these three share one braincell between them and it's most commonly held by Crowley. your honor i love them

hey anon! don’t worry, this reply also took long haha. ANYHOW- back to business.

1) I love that!! it also seems very plausible considering Halt’s response to Ferris’ death - “He wasn’t much of a brother, but he was the only one I had.” I love the idea of Halt trying to see the best in its brother and kinda look past the murder attempts.

“it’s almost as if things are the same, even if they will never be the same again” I LVE FOR THAT, THANK YOU FOR THESE AMAZING PARALLELS BETWEEN HALTS UNKNOWN PAST AND UNKNOWN FUTURE

your brain cell theory is right 100% 😌

i’m sorry i’m a little distracted just thinking about crowley and duncan acting like teen romcom girls gossiping, halt getting secretly a little emotional over getting his childhood best friend back plus a red headed intelligent dumbass, and pritchard just watching these three young man and getting both annoyed and amused

[trickthecloak]

Whumptober 2020 Day 9

No 9. FOR THE GREATER GOOD "Take Me Instead" | "Run!" | Ritual Sacrifice

Will awoke to his shoulder being shaken and Horace's concerned blue eyes.

"Will! Come on, say something."

"S'op shak'n me," the Ranger slurred, weakly flailing a hand at his friend. Horace breathed a sigh of relief and retreated slightly. The Ranger didn't appear to be in any active danger, and Horace knew him well enough to know that Will needed space as he oriented and grounded himself.

Will coughed, working his jaw on what Horace knew was a dry, fuzzy-feeling mouth. "You all right?" The knight asked in concern.

The Ranger smacked his mouth again before replying, his voice clearer then it had been earlier. "'m fine. What happened?"

"We were drugged," Horace said, his face darkening. "They must have slipped something into our breakfast."

"...The coffee," Will said quietly a moment later, eyes closing against a wave of dizziness. "Pot spilled right after we were poured, remember? Didn't think anything of it at the time."

"They knew who we were," the warrior realized as he marveled at Will's ability to deduce the situation, even in his drug-hazed state. "How? What do they want with us?"

Will gave his friend a look of long-suffering. "We weren't exactly traveling incognito. You've got a rather distinguished knight's looking shield, and Ranger cloaks are rather distinctive in the right settings. As for what they want with us..." he trailed off, face creasing with pain and he brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose - a telltale sign of a headache.

Horace frowned at his friend's obvious discomfort. Horace himself had woken up feeling fuzzy, but it had worn off somewhat quickly, and even his initial discomfort hadn't been as bad as Will's. Will had also taken considerably longer to wake up... small and slight as he was, Will was being affected worse by whatever they had been drugged with, Horace thought with dawning alarm.

Horace's brewing alarm only increased as the room's door opened with a creak, revealing a young woman flanked by three guards. Horace eyed her warily, before risking a glance at Will. The Ranger's face was tight, his brown eyes smoldering as they took in the newest inclusion to the space.

The woman clapped her hands, shiny brown curls bouncing over her shoulders as she looked between the two of them. "Oh, good, you're both awake!" she said cheerfully before nodding at Will. "I was worried you would still be asleep! You like coffee just a little more than your friend, and petite as you are... Well, here you are, anyway." She smiled, seemingly unaffected by Will's cold glare.

"Who are you?" Horace snapped roughly.

"My name is Princess Ila of Gallica."

The knight frowned and raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

The woman - Ila - laughed pleasantly and shrugged. "I suppose not. As far as Gallic royalty goes, I'm rather... low-tier? A fact that is most inconvenient at times, I assure you."

"Get to the point," Will growled. "I'm more curious about why you took us than about your social status."

Ila's lips drew into a pout. "In such a hurry," she said petulantly, before heaving out a sigh. "Actually, the reason I... borrowed you and my social status are fairly connected. As I said, I'm quite low-tier. Now, if I had valuable information on Araluen - their land, keeps, forces, the like - suddenly my standing increases."

"So your idea is to interrogate us," Will stated flatly, and Ila clapped her hands merrily again.

"That's the plan!" She said brightly, before giving a one shouldered shrug. "Well, just you, truly. Knights have prestige, certainly, but I get the feeling that a Ranger will have more valuable insights. You're practically Araluen's information hounds." Ila turned to give Horace a smile. "Not to say you're not valuable, love. Information aside, you're my favorite one to look at."

Fists tightening, Horace said nothing, instead risking a glance at Will. The Ranger's face was still pinched with pain, dim eyes blinking rapidly every now and again as if trying to clear blurriness. The knight again felt a pang of alarm at Will's strongly adverse response to the drug, and felt his heart sink as he imagined his friend, in pain and hazy, holding up against an interrogation.

"Well, no sense in waiting - grab him, please," Ila instructed her guards, who immediately stepped into action. "We have information to get... and believe me, there's a lot I'm wanting to know." Her eyes had a menacing glint to them, a look that betrayed the sweetness of her tone.

"Wait!" Horace said abruptly as the guards reached for Will. "Take me instead."

Silence reigned for several seconds, then Ila gave Horace a pitying look. "I told you already. As much as I'll miss those cheekbones, I'm currently more interested in information than I am in eye candy."

"No. I mean... I have information. I'm the Oakleaf Knight." Ila's eyes widened in interest, and Horace pressed on. "I'm based out of Castle Araluen. The Rangers might be the "information hounds", but I'm based where it all happens." Not that Horace intended on sharing the know of Araluen, but if he was able to divert what was sure to be a fierce interrogation away from Will... Well, Horace might not be the best bluffer, but he could certainly try.

"Horace..." Will said warningly, but the knight ignored him, keeping his gaze fixed on the Gallican princess as he waited for her response.

Ila's lips curled into another smile as she stepped towards him. "Well," she answered silkily. "This changes things." With a nod to the guards, they shifted course from Will, instead roughly taking Horace's arms, making the knight grimace.

Ila casually traced a finger over the thin white scar on Horace's cheek, the one left by an Arridan blade, before reluctantly breaking her admiring gaze. "Be careful with him, will you?" She instructed the guards, even as she nodded for them to take him. "I'd prefer not to mar this handsome face."

With that, she exited, the guards following closely behind with Horace in tow. Horace desperately twisted in their grasp, determined to make eye contact with Will one more time - a feeble way to try to convey some reassurance.

The Ranger's wide brown eyes were uncharacteristically fearful. The door slammed close... and Horace took a breath.

At least it wasn't Will.

[liquidstar]

You know, I talk A LOT about “heirship” as a theme with my OCs, but never fully broke it down. And…... I want to!!! Fuck it! No one asked, but I’m going to anyway. Maybe for my own indulgence, but hopefully this will interest at least a couple of people! Note: I’m gonna say “heirship” a lot, it’s gonna start sounding like a fake word, and honestly in this context it’s more of an abstract concept. Also this is going to be long so I’m sticking it under the cut.

First of all, what is heirship? In the story it boils down to becoming what you are expected to become or live up to, but it’s different for every person. The topic of being an heir is a neutral thing, it can be both a positive and toxic aspect of a characters life, but mostly the latter. Aspiring to be something or someone you look up to is not an inherently bad thing, and it’s a good motivator and pure cause. However there are ways in which that can be twisted, when heirship is forced onto you in one way or another. It becomes suffocating, toxic, and even abusive at times. When you’re forced (Sometimes by yourself) into a roll regardless of what you want (or think you want) heirship becomes a prison, and no one is really free from this. From being an heir. It’s the most prominent theme and motif in the story, and there’s a reason so many of the characters are literally heirs to thrones or companies. So I’m going to dive into what exactly each of my main characters are “heirs” to, but I do want to note that this affects EVERY character in the story, every single one of them in one way or another (Some more than others) so if you ever wanted to know about a specific one feel free to ask me!

Amary is the main character, so it’s obviously the most fitting for her to be THE heir, the heir to the entire kingdom, she’s it. Amary is a princess, she was designed to have the most frilly “princess” design I could give her without looking to snooty. Her literal heirship is in becoming a queen, that’s what a princess does! But her mother is dead, and she left behind a life for Amary to follow in the footsteps in, always wondering if this is what people would want out of her mother. On the other hand though, her “prison” of heirship is one defined by traditional femininity, one where she’s expected to be a perfect princess and a perfect puppet, submissive and quiet and always listening to what the king says. 

Rue is a bit hard to get into because a lot of her deal isn’t explicitly revealed to other characters until later on. She’s the mysterious goth type, what’re you gonna do? But I still can say that her mother is a big reason she is who she is, in a weird sort of reverse-heirship. One where she denounces everything and rebels, one where she wants to be NOTHING like what she’s supposed to be, so she becomes the exact opposite in a sense. And in trying so hard to be free of this concept, she re-traps herself in it through her own expectations. Her own fears become a self-fulfilling prophecy, because rather than being her true self she just became the opposite of what was expected. In a way… It ends up being the same thing.

Aloe is a good example of heirship, a healthy example. He idolizes his mother, he looks up to her and wants to be like her, and she encourages his goals and helps him no matter what they are. There’s really not all that much to say on that, it’s pretty cut and dry! But I wouldn’t say it’s PERFECT, because he still does struggle with placing a certain ideal of what he should be onto himself, which can sometimes make him feel like he’s not living up to what he should be. He’s got time though, he’ll be ok. 

Sorrel, on the other hand, is an example of extremely toxic and abusive heirship. One where he’s forced into a roll and has to abide by what he should be strictly, or he’s going to get in trouble, and trouble in this case is more than just a time-out. His father’s abuse of him and his siblings is to mold them into perfect wizards to carry on the family legacy, perfect heirs required to do whatever he says. This affected all four of them in different ways, but that’s another post for another time. 

Carnation’s sense of heirship is self-imposed, but still toxic. She has to be the perfect smart girl, because she’s always been, but also because she knows that’s what her mother could have been if she didn’t have her. Carnation has complicated feelings about her mother that I should also probably get into in another post. But the bottom line is she feels like she has to justify her own existence by being perfect, or she feels worthless. She doesn’t understand that at a surface level though, consciously she only knows she has to be smart and perfect because that’s what she should be. Never less than 100%.

Pine’s heirship is COMPLETELY self-imposed, not relent on any parental figure in the slightest, but still perpetuated by them. They’ve always been gifted and talented and an amazing inventor, they’re praised for being a technical wonder-child! So obviously this lead into “Gifted Child Syndrome” where by highschool they’ve completely shut down in almost all categories outside of inventing stuff. Their grades suffer, they don’t eat well, they BARELY get any sleep, all because they started to slip on what they were expected to be. 

Geran is the heir to the sea region, there’s the obvious literal heirship angle to him but that also feeds back into his metaphorical heirship, one where he’s expected to play out a certain role of masculinity and strength. His idea of strength is one directly tied to emotions, where he has to stay stoic, but that’s not really true to who he is, even in his design the water drops in his eyes are meant to look like tear drops. It’s just a roll he felt he had to take on, as an heir, he just has to be “strong”. Him and Amary were always intended to be inverses of each other in this way, even with a subplot where they’re supposed to be fake-engaged, as a literal performance. You know, like how they’re performing heterosexuality, all the time, always. It’s all fake, that’s not who they are, that’s not who he is. 

Fennel has a more unique type of heirship, one not related to a parent’s or his own expectations of himself, but a younger sibling. Fennel’s little brother looked up to him a lot, what little sibling doesn’t? He was his brother’s hero! Notice the past tense though? His brother died while they were still young, and it wasn’t even all that long ago for him. Fennel feels like he’s obligated to live up to that perception of himself through his little brothers eyes, it’s really why he wanted to be a wizard to support his family, of all things. Wizards are heroes after all.

Protea is another example of healthy heirship, and like Aloe’s, hers is a lot simpler. Her moms own a potion shop together, it’s a cute little shop where she grew up and even worked at as a kid (Not WORK work though, it was like chores), and Protea loves her moms a lot and wants to take over the shop one day. She was like their student, learned all the potion making she could from them! It’s fully her choice to do this, she always looked up at them as an example of a happy life, and she wants that too. The downside is waiting to get there though, sometimes that can be so hard. 

Daisy’s form of heirship goes beyond parental figures, she aims to be her village’s new wizard. But she not only has to live up to the old one, she needs to surpass him. The old village wizard was unable to protect them against a monster and died trying, the village needs someone stronger to protect them. Daisy wants to do this because she never wants anyone to ever live through a tragedy like that again. She also has an interesting arc when it comes to heirship, one about progressing from childhood to motherhood because of the symbolism associated with daisies. (I don’t mean literal motherhood, she’s still only 18 by the end and I don’t plan to tackle teen pregnancy with her, for clarification). In her village she was seen as the babysitter for all the children post-monster attack while everyone was rebuilding, even though she was still so young, it’s another reason she feels like village wizard is a position for her.

Gallica and Musk are twins, but Musk was the prodigy, he was the perfect boy when it comes to academics, he always got so much praise for being so successful and gifted. Meanwhile Gallica was lacking in those categories, though she excelled socially and creatively. Their parents always made sure to reward them both for the things they were good at, but they were also busy, and sometimes it would seem unbalanced. For Musk that meant he clung to his sister even harder, but for Gallica it meant envying her brother. Though she doesn’t recognize it at first, she sits on those feelings for a while. Musk feels a lot of pressure to fit into that heirship possession, but Gallica just wants to feel like she’s the favorite, she wants to be that heir without knowing what that really means. 

Maggie is similar to Gallica, she’s an heir to the forest region, but she isn’t the heir apparent. That title goes to her older sister, while Maggie is left as the second in line. In life she’s always compared to the “real” heir, always made out to be second best. She just can’t measure up, but instead of wishing for that position, she gave up. The pain of being “second best” never really went away for her, but she doesn’t want to be the heir, she just wants to be herself. That’s even represented in her design, the rest of her family is green (Like her mother, currently in charge of that region), but she’s yellow (Like her father, who chose his own path that just happened to be marrying into it).

Tam is a bit unique given that what they have to look up to is… dragons. However, it's actually a very healthy example of heirship, because her dragon family took them in when they were a baby, and treated them just like all the other dragons. In a since Tam is an heir to them because their dragon-mom was their leader, but that doesn’t mean they don’t doubt themselves. And it doesn’t mean they don’t sometimes feel like an outsider when it comes to humans AND dragons. But they can do it, they’re just as dragon as the rest of them and they all know it, no need to be nervous. 

Holly was a doll to her parents. When I say that I don’t mean she was sweet to them, I mean they treated her like a doll. It’s not that they didn’t love her, but they were important people that needed to make an important impression, that means using their kid for it. You know, dragging her to big parties, dressing her up all cute (whether she wants to dress that way or not) and forcing her to sit still and behave and act cute. This sort of lead into her needing attention from people to feel validation. Not to mention she’s also literally an heir to their company. But after everything, does she really want that job? Or does she just want approval? Probably the latter, but it’s okay because eventually she’ll be able to live for herself.

Hyacinth’s love for books and reading is because of bedtime stories their mom would read to them when they were little, and although you can say their mother is the source of this heirship, she isn’t the focus of it. No, what Hyacinth looks up to and wants to become is the classic adventurer storybook hero. That’s all they want to be, they want to be like someone from a book. Someone confident, strong, brave, and… Not at all like they are now. They don’t like themselves much. Mostly because they can’t live up to their own ideal, a fictional ideal made up in their own escapist world. This is represented in their magic too, transformation magic. They literally become other people. One day though, being themselves will make them happier than anything. 

Aster is last, I was gonna do just the main students but I felt like I should mention at least one adult, and she’s the main one after all! Aster was her adoptive father’s protege, he taught her everything she knows. She went down the same path he did, becoming a student, then a wizard, then a knight, and eventually a teacher and surrogate mother figure, but she chose it because she wanted to. She may have gone down the same path but she made it her own, and her dad is proud of her for it because he’s an incredibly doting moron. However Aster’s path was still influenced by Ambrosia, and vice versa.

ANYWAY I rush-wrote this all at 7AM with no sleep on impulse so... I’m sorry if there are typos and it’s not the best written but I just wanted to ramble about my own OCs so... :)

[tanadrin]

oh my god now I’m having Ecce Romani flashbacks.

in 8th/9th grade we used Ecce Romani for Latin, and in 9th grade some very boring textbook for German, and I gotta say--even though there was much less of a gentle learning curve, starting Old Norse with E.V. “here are some extracts from actual Norse texts, here is a short grammar of the language, and here is a glossary; good luck!” Gordon was much more interesting. I don’t think we even looked at any actual, historical Latin texts until 2nd semester of 9th grade, which given that we certainly weren’t being taught to speak the language, is baffling in retrospect. Why learn Latin if you’re not going to read actual bloody Latin?

The happiest medium I’ve ever found is Richard Marsden’s The Cambridge Old English Reader, because even though it’s strictly actual Anglo-Saxon texts, plus grammar plus glossary, there are tons of notes and in-line glosses to help you out. You’re flipping back and forth trying to find out what various words mean way less often, which helps keep you focused on the text, and means you can actually sit back and enjoy it a little bit. Plus he’s very good about cross-referencing everything with the grammar, so you’re not scratching your head trying to figure out the infinitive of this preterite verb is supposed to be.

I hated Ecce Romani so much. I really think I would have enjoyed Latin a thousand times better if they’d just given us De Bello Gallica and a dictionary rather than making us sit through utterly bland stories drafted by committee and extremely repetitive homework exercises.

god I really can't stand language lessons, it's like "Tom and Mary go to the market--" well Tom and Mary can get fucked! I hope the market explodes in a fiery conflagration and they both die! okay maybe that's an overreaction and in theory it should be refreshing to have something to read that's been deliberately crafted to be understandable but in practice I hate it, I'd rather a genuine act of communication that I can't make head or tail of than this homework problem softball bullshit.