#this is a lot dfhkgdfg s sorry

[rsmrymnt-tea]

Ooooooooh arranged marriage adds so much to the assassin idea!!!! If the Lord of Masks is anything like Satan I can totally imagine him insisting on a lengthy engagement!! He needs to know to what degree his spouse can be trusted, and he wants to get to know her!!

Imagine Dola confessing about the assassination plot the night before their wedding!!! She's starting to love him so she can't stand to not tell him what her true intentions had been, even if it means that they can't be together!! She wants him to be safe!!

Of course the point is angst, but imagine him being relieved at the confession too. Like he's been feeling her keep her distance and he hasn't been able to bridge that gap, he can't even figure out why? The terror of loving her when she only tolerates him being so intense that her confessing to have been planning his death is preferable to it!!

I guess it doesn't work for all of them, but the idea of the Lords titles related to like, innate magical abilities they have. (looking at demonfamilytherapist's fic with the LoE being able to 'empty' Henry). The Lord of Masks powers relating to identity, lies, the ability to hide and reveal things. The LoM being able to force people to spill their truths, unmasking themselves as it were.

And then maybe Dola's confession is the first that he's ever heard without having to pull it from someone!! Her being the first to trust him!! Okay okay okay okay akdjsjssjfj

I was definitely thinking of Prince Sol being from a different continent/overseas. (Henry is probably the same, being a stand-in for MC). Also I didn't mention but I think it'd be cool to explore non-immortal, or young/pre-immortal Sol through his TSL conterpart. Definitely loving him deciding his true calling is magic and travel and going for it <- coming back to this in a sec.

That fight is so clear in my mind!!! Sol seeing she's not a threat and also that she has potential and deciding to test her is such a little shit move I'm so!! This whole scenario has my heart because scrappy Dola!!! She feels so cool and competent to me that the idea of her being like, dirty from travel and exploring ruins, and giving her all in a fight that lacks the grace that comes with practice and proper skill is everything!!

-> okay now hear me out! The Lord of Masks being tethered to his lands, people to protect, borders to maintain and all of that. He doesn't get to travel in pursuit of anything but the benefit of his land, and he never gets to explore. So he collects books. He collects scrolls. He summons people to share histories that are only kept orally. Versus Sol, who has given up his throne in order to explore the world in pursuit of knowledge and magic. Isn't that kind of perfect?? And also both Dola and LoM looking at Sol and going: You Are My Rival while he just does not notice or care is too funny okay you gotta do it.

Dola noticing LoM having sour feelings towards Sol: careful, that's how you fall in love with him

Imagine LoM having the ability to make people appear as someone they're not, and once they're close enough Solomon takes his place as the Lord of Masks for a time! He's trained to run a kingdom so he knows how to run the place. And this way LoM gets to leave and spend some time exploring the world with Dola!!

TSL polycule has rights okay!!

There's so much to play with with TSL I'm living for it!!

- 🐝

Listen nonnie I'm now getting so unbelievably invested in that arranged marriage assassination route that I don't want to let go of it but I have no idea how I'd work in the polycule...

Like? How could you implant the idea of the two slowly falling in love in my head? With the idea that the LoM would actually be relieved that that's why she's been distant and not because she doesn't actually love him like he thought she did? That her distance has only been forced by an outside entity and isn't coming from a place of disdain for him?

I'm even thinking of the backstory to that... What made her family despise the Lord of Masks? And why would the LoM even ask for Dolasach's hand in marriage? Perhaps her family's still a family of artistic elite that the LoM has been a long time patron of and he's kind of always had it sweet for Dola? But her family's got something against him... Maybe they lost a relative to his dungeons? To his father, maybe, and now they want revenge in the one way they can? Or they're part of a hidden opposition to the Lord's rule and want someone else there/want war to break out among the Lords by framing one of them for the LoM's death??????

But anyway sdfjdhjfg that's all for when I've gotten my energy out on the actual route I wanna go for with them because oh my goodness I don't think I even have the brains to try with royal politics like that

OH that idea of the lords having powers related to their titles is so good??? Plus with the LoM having everything to do with identity, the truth, deceit, lies, and all that??? And he's able to use it all to his advantage... I can see him using it to manipulate others as needed and to discern who his true allies are.

(Which makes the assassin route even better imo? Because he knows for sure that something is wrong with Dolasach, but he also knows that she isn't lying when she says she loves him... And while he's likely hurt that she's been planning to kill him all this time, the fact that her admittance that she's wanted to ruin the plan to kill him for a while is all true has him all relieved because it's proof she cares about him? Man this route has the brainrot bad shdfksjdf)

And yeah! Since TSL!Sol isn't the same as OM!Sol there's a while lot more freedom to be had I with him I think. Balancing out taking inspiration from his real world counterpart and going nuts with stuff that's completely outside of that seems so fun!! but also I feel like there's some charm in him being fairly secretive about his life too, just like his OM! self, with even the most informed people just knowing him as a prince who left royalty to do his own thing.

And actually, good move bringing up the pre-immortal thing because I actually don't know what kind of lifespan everyone should have in TSL. I just know I don't want them all to have regular century-long ones lmfao >.>

Scrappy Dola is honestly a Dola I wanna convey more--she's a fighter for sure but since there aren't a lot of chances for OM!Dola to really get into a fight (especially because she wouldn't really stand a chance unless it's like years into the future where she's a fairly good sorcerer >.>) I wanna have fun with her here with her like... struggling because as a noble she doesn't that that much actual experience with being on her own in the wild but also she's smart and crafty enough to get by and slowly learn the ropes on her own. Sure she's studied magic, and sure she excelled, but when forced to rely only on that and herself? It's so new, so different!

And while it's hard and a huge challenge and a half, she loves it and would rather deal with all that then go back to being a stuffy noble!! (But also the fantasy of Sol accidentally going to far in a fight and having to patch her up himself and staying with her for a while to make sure she recovers dhjkfshdkjg don't touch me this TSL thing has become Self Indulgence Central)

(Though that does mean that there would have to be a very compelling reason for her to remain by the Lord of Masks' side as his Lady? Am I even still making sense?? gosh aaaaa)

AND YES NONNIE omg you're so so so big brained... the contrast between the Lord of Masks and Solomon (the Mage of Wisdom?) is so good actually like wtf help??? 'Learning from experience even though it's really hard because it's fulfilling as fuck' Solomon and 'I've learned from an efficient system within my castle bc I can't leave but it's lent itself well to learning fast and thanks to being unable to leave basically Everything Is Here' Lord of Masks??? Two ways to advance that are both wonderful in their own ways hdskjfdf Dola wouldn't know what to do with herself

And omg... Dola saying that to LoM like he doesn't have the fattest crush on her hsdjkfskjdfhkdg wahahaha~~~~

That idea of him casting a powerful glamor on Sol so that he can go travel with Dola for a while.... help me... That's a show of brotherhood right there because I imagine that Sol would have to know the LoM incredibly well to fake being him and make decisions that he would make? And the LoM would have to have an insane level of trust in Sol to know that his kingdom would be fine when he returns >.<

Also while the LoM is perfectly capable on his own, the fact that he hasn't exactly been the most traveled of Lords sets him up as like... A little clumsy? He's got all the knowledge in his head but now that it's time to apply it all it's a bit of a struggle so this time it's Dola's turn to be a mentor in a way sdfkjsdfhgk makes me think of how there's a Devilgram where Satan got himself and MC lost in the forest like 50ft away from the HoL lmfao