#this legacy will not have the same surname for all heirs

[melien]

Meet Stephen and Abigail Tanaka!

[rynnthefangirl]

Your answer shows me what I already think, you, fans of this boys, dump all the emotional responsibility on Aegon and Viserys, they have to choose between family and having their right, and the fact that they did not want it is something that you assume. Aegon "You are sitting in my chair " Targaryen does not seem to reflect what you say and Viserys was a great hand and the year he reigned a great king .

And no, Jace did not die saving anyone, that is not mentioned in any text, only in a video where they do not even represent his physical appearance well, flying quickly between the ships spitting fire is not the best way to save Viserys, something that he again did not achieve if we assume that he tried it since Viserys became a father at 13 and was married to a woman older than him at 12, otherwise he would be a courtier, all because of a shitty idea had by Jace. Nothing is ever mentioned about Viserys in relation to Jace, he may have perfectly felt conflict with him and Rhaenyra, since they are the ones ultimately responsible for what happened to him, regarding Aegon, his relationship with the "Velaryon" princes is mentioned to say he adored them to compare them with Viserys (there is an abysmal difference, Aegon and Viserys were infinitely closer) and the feelings of a 9 year old boy are not those of a man who is aware of what was happening around him.

I will make assumptions but so will you, the only thing I believe is that the responsibility of giving up their "rights" as others have done before would fall on the "Velaryon" princes who are the ones who occupy a place that does not belong to them perhaps ambition and the desire to occupy a throne at all costs is not a characteristic attributable to Aegon and Viserys🤷🏼‍♀️ despite their traumas they were still men and Targaryen princes of their time and that your legacy (the legacy of House Targaryen) is reduced to some random house of the seven kingdoms to make alliances or that they predispose you to join a celibate order where that surname will die with you does not give me the impression of being what they would want. It is an issue that goes beyond them as people, it is a duty to their house. They also give the kingdom a stability that Jace would never give them, since anyone can threaten and oppose the reign of an illegitimate son, it is not so easy when your name is Aegon Targaryen and no one doubts your kinship, so that quality of Aegon and Viserys of caring for people would still be present since they would give stability, unlike others.

The "Velaryon" would have the throne and would be the new dragon lords while the legitimate Targaryens get crumbs. Because yes, this is what would happen. Jace would reign with the surname Velaryon. The fact that he would reign with the Targaryen is an invention of the series that makes no sense. But again it will always be the same, Aegon and Viserys are the ornaments that only have the right to speak when everyone dies and there is no one else to support and of course they have no other life than to be sad. But hey, everyone has their own interpretation of these characters, I will always support them as kings and heirs in any possible scenario.

It is not ambition to want something that is yours, it is justice.

Aegon "You are sitting in my chair " Targaryen does not seem to reflect what you say.

The context of that quote is Aegon dismissing his Hand and regents after having been manipulated, controlled, and assailed by ambitious lords for the past six years, at great risk to himself and his loved ones. Such an attitude cannot be assumed to apply to a situation where he never experienced the Dance and Regency, and his brother sits the Iron Throne.

Viserys became a father at 13 and was married to a woman older than him at 12, otherwise he would be a courtier, all because of a shitty idea had by Jace.

Regardless of the consequences, the point is Jace's intentions, which were explicitly said in F&B to keep his brothers safe. And reminder that despite the things Vis suffered in Essos, he did fare much much better than his brother did in Westeros. Had he been with his father's friends in Pentos, he likely would not have suffered at all. Given the horrors and danger that befell Aegon in Westeros, Jace's idea to get A&V far away from the conflict was not a bad one. It was just awful misfortune that their ship happened across the Greens.

Nothing is ever mentioned about Viserys in relation to Jace, he may have perfectly felt conflict with him and Rhaenyra.

And he may have loved them and not blamed them at all, so your point? Like you said, we have no info on this, nor on Aegon's feelings beyond "he worshipped them as a boy". Whatever we think is only headcanon. For my own part, I do in fact headcanon Aegon and Viserys having very complicated and mixed feelings about their family, especially Rhaenyra. But that is about my interest in angsty complex character dynamics, not some need to fulfill my bias by making Rhaenyra and the Velaryon boys either hated or loved.

Perhaps ambition and the desire to occupy a throne at all costs is not a characteristic attributable to Aegon and Viserys.

It isn't.

They were still men and Targaryen princes of their time and that your legacy (the legacy of House Targaryen) is reduced to some random house of the seven kingdoms to make alliances or that they predispose you to join a celibate order.

What do you think every second, third, fourth, fifth, etc. son of every house in Westeros does? Not being the one to continue on the main ruling branch of your family is a common experience expected of everyone who is not the first born son.

They also give the kingdom a stability that Jace would never give them

This is the one thing I agree on, and the only reason I have to be against Jace taking the Iron Throne. That being said... starting a war for the throne... also destabilizes the realm......... So one could say that Jace should abdicate in favor of his brothers for the sake of stability, but if he does not, then that is not a justification for A&V to start a war that will get thousands killed. It's the same thing as when TG say "oh Rhaenyra's reign would never be accepted so the Greens had to usurp the throne for the good of the realm" even though their action of usurping the throne quite literally destroyed the realm as much as or more than any possible instability from Rhaenyra's reign would have.

Jace would reign with the surname Velaryon. The fact that he would reign with the Targaryen is an invention of the series that makes no sense.

Is this not literally how things work in Dorne. I don't recall the Martell name being lost during all the times that the reigning ruler of Dorne was a woman with a consort from another house.

Also, this is not an argument against a bastard ascending the throne. This is an argument against a WOMAN ascending the throne. This would be an issue even if Jace was Laenor's true born son. Which means it has nothing to do with his legitimacy, and has to do with the idea that Targaryen blood being passed down from a mother doesn't "count" as much as Targaryen blood being passed down from a father.

But again it will always be the same, Aegon and Viserys are the ornaments that only have the right to speak when everyone dies and there is no one else to support and of course they have no other life than to be sad.

I think this is the most interesting line of all. Because all the value you have ascribed to A&V is entirely tied up in ideas of legitimacy and Targaryen blood purity, rather than anything about them as unique people and characters. They are the best because they are trueborn, because they are Daemon's sons, because they are the rightful kings, because they are pure Valyrian blood.... but you could replace them with characters of entirely opposite personalities and backstories, and that would all be true. They are "ornaments" to your ideas of the glory and legacy of House Targaryen.

For me, my love of them is tied entirely to their unique characteristics and identities. It's not just them being sad-- though of course their traumas are certainly a part of their characters-- it is every single thing they say/do/think/feel/experience/love/hate/fear. They are rich, complex, and fascinating characters. I am in truth, hardly a Velaryon boy stan. I like them, sure, but that's it. I just like them. They aren't even among my top 10 favorite Targs. Aegon III is my all time favorite Targaryen and Viserys II is definitely top 5. I'm not saying that others' don't do this, but don't think for a second that I am shoving them aside or into convenient minor roles to prop up their half brothers. Quite the contrary, the characters of A&V are first in my heart and first on my priority list.

It is not ambition to want something that is yours, it is justice.

The throne is not some sacred thing. Truth is, it is NOBODY’S right. Absolute monarchy is a terrible system of government, and nobody should hold that kind of unchecked power. It isn't "justice" to start a war that risks bringing your own people death and devastation over some messed up idea that you are entitled by birth to be the most powerful person ever. Aegon II believed that is was his right to rule over Rhaenyra because he was born with a schlong. If he believed that it was his by right, does that make him "just"? No, no it does not. It makes him a greedy warmonger.

Like do you think I care whose parents had a ceremony before they fucked, and whose didn’t? I don’t. If GRRM came out tomorrow and revealed via Word of God that Daeron II was in fact the Dragonknights bastard, it would not change my opinion on the First Blackfyre rebellion one bit. I still would not support Daemon. A true king wears the crown not because he wants it or feels entitled to it. A true king wears the crown because the REALM needs him to. THAT is what Aegon III and Viserys II understood. That is why they are better than Aegon II and Rhaenyra (though ofc Rhaenyra >>>>>> Aegon II, always).

If you want to imagine an Aegon and Viserys who would fight their brother for the throne, and cheer them on as they tear the realm apart because it’s their “right” and we can’t have dirty bastards on the throne… I’d recommend taking another look at Aegon II. Because that is his character. And to be clear I’m not saying Jace would be in the right in this hypothetical— it’d just be the Dance all over again, both sides refusing to give up a crown for the good of their people. I love Aegon because he represents an END to that kind of attitude. He makes peace with former Greens, he compromises, he leaves his uncle in the line of succession to avoid conflict, he sits by Tyland Lannister’s bedside to comfort him as he dies. That is why I love him, and his brother.

[goodqueenaly]

It's like poetry something whatever but also comparing and contrasting Ned and Illyrio in their approaches to Jon and Aegon, respectively.

(Obviously, this post is based on the ideas that both Jon is the biological son of Rhaegar and Lyanna and Aegon is the biological son of Illyrio and Serra, as well as the notion that Serra was herself a descendant of the Blackfyres.)

Ned’s outlook for Jon centered on embracing Jon as his son, to the absolute exclusion of his birth identity. Whatever Lyanna’s exact dying words had been to her brother, Ned certainly seems to have interpreted the promise as one to keep Jon safe, without the revelation of his biological parentage. From the first, Jon would know himself only as Jon Snow, with all the implications the name carried; with Jon’s surname designating his (ostensible) bastard status and his first name reflecting his (ostensible) father’s own personal history, Jon’s identity would be wholly defined by and linked to Eddard Stark. Yet Ned would not merely craft a surface-level identity for his sister’s son; he himself would actively, indeed fiercely embrace his own role as Jon’s “father” in more than just assumed genetic paternity. Far from fostering Jon with a pliable aristocratic family elsewhere, Ned installed Jon in Winterfell even before the arrival of Catelyn and their own son and sternly defended that position to his new wife. Jon would grow up as an undisputed (at least to Ned and the Stark children) member of the family, educated by the same maester, trained by the same master at arms, present for the same hunting trips and political responsibilities. Never would Ned hint that Jon belonged, at least by ancestry, to the royal dynasty which had ruled Westeros for three centuries (and dominated in Valyria for millennia prior); Ned would treat Jon only as his son, relying on the firmness of his decision and Jon’s own Stark appearance (inherited from Lyanna, but easily attributable to Ned himself) to maintain the assertion.

For Illyrio, however, his son Aegon has represented not the chance to accept a paternal role but the opportunity to invent a grandiose dynastic destiny for him. We cannot know, at least for now, if Serra sought a promise from Illyrio regarding Aegon’s future, or if Illyrio himself believes that he is acting as Serra would have wanted, but it seems highly improbable that Serra asked that her son be raised to believe that he was in fact the child of the last Targaryen crown prince, and take the Iron Throne as such. Illyrio’s decision to do exactly that may therefore represent a sort of betrayal, perhaps spiritual if not actual, to Serra’s (again, I think probable) Blackfyre origins, and a distinct contrast to Ned’s choice with Jon: aware that Aegon’s female-line Blackfyre credentials would earn him little if any political support in modern Westeros, Illyrio has instead appropriated a false identity for his son that Ned saw in truth for Jon but rejected - that is, the boy as the son of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, a would-be heir to this father’s legacy. If Illyrio raised (or, perhaps more accurately, oversaw the raising of) Aegon as a young child in his own Pentoshi manse (evidenced by those musty children’s clothes and Illyrio’s old knowledge of Aegon’s favorite candy), such (relatively) hands-on rearing I think ended rather early: Varys brags to the dying Kevan that “Aegon has been shaped for rule since before he could walk”, and (politically charged boasting aside) Aegon’s extensive education certainly suggests Varys may not be exaggerating too greatly here. Illyrio, unlike Ned, not only found (alongside or thanks to Varys, of course) a willing, indeed eager Westerosi aristocrat to act as the hidden Aegon’s foster father (with that figure even giving Aegon a name derived from his own, likewise fabricated, alias), but clearly specified that the disguise was to remain a surface-level illusion: Aegon is well aware that he is (so he believes) a Targaryen prince, and that his life on the Rhoyne is no more than a secret training ground for his eventual Westerosi royal inheritance. Where Ned remains the central figure of Jon’s life - not only as his (again, assumed) father, but the only parent he knows - Illyrio functions little if at all in the thoughts of Aegon: he is the faraway benefactor whose chests contain the gold to fund his expedition, the unseen planner whose schemes are derided by Tristan Rivers. Each boy may have inherited his mother’s looks, but where Jon’s Stark features only underline the connection between himself and Ned, Aegon’s Valyrian appearance only serves to enhance Illyrio’s argument that he is, in fact, Rhaegar’s son.

[directdogman]

Dunno if anyone else has asked this before but on which side is Mingus related to Callum? Like is Callum on her dad's side or mum's side?

Also, does Mingus have any cousins on either side?

Good question because it highlights an important way that Mingus' sparse family structure has affected her destiny.

Anyway, yeah: Dad's side. Mingus sharing Crown's surname did imply that Crown was a paternal grandparent, though with how fanatical Mingus is about Crown, she no doubt would've changed her surname to Crown's once legally able, if she'd been raised with, say, her mother's maiden name instead of as a Crown.

And no, Mingus has no first cousins, as her dad was an only child.

There's a lil bit of irony in Mingus' situation. Her surname is Crown, y'know, as in royalty, and she speaks about herself like she's all powerful, royal, even referring to the fruits of Crown's labour as her "birthright". Well. Traditionally, in feudal hierarchies, the daughter would only become queen if there were no suitable male heirs.

Mingus' father is dead and her grandfather is senile. Even Crown's wife and Mingus' grandmother, Marla, is long gone. Mingus is the last Crown left to have her mind and life both intact, something she is keenly aware of. If Mingus, say, had a brain aneurysm or heart attack, the Crown family name (and bloodline) would die out completely once the ticking coming from within Callum's decrepit husk finally stops.

It's a big reason why Mingus is so obsessed with restoring Crown's memory and trying to revitalize DT's economy, actually. It's why Mingus has an unmerciful amount of lead extracted from the ore-rich land around town each month, in order to send it over to Ashland, WI. Mingus sells any lead that she can't get her own industrial sector to use to a Chinese construction company, which collects the ore via the revitalized Soo Line Ore Dock in Ashland, WI. (which still exists in DT's timeline.)

The company then takes the lead ore away in boats and brings them to refineries in towns connected to Lake Superior in the Midwestern US and parts of Canada. Mingus speaks fluent Chinese, fun fact I mightn't have mentioned publicly before. While Mingus may appear inactive and without agency, to her credit, she has a very intricate (and sometimes sinister) plan to restore Dialtown's economy to its former glory.

(Fun fact: There's actually hints to Mingus' lead scheme in Lorr Deere and Tango's dialogue in-game!)

Of course though, Mingus doesn't have the mind needed to bring Dialtown back to its former glory. Only Crown could do that. But, she WILL try to do the impossible, because she knows that if she can't do it, then her family's legacy, her grandfather's dream, is no more. It's a noble goal, but not entirely rational. After all, lightning never strikes in the same place twice.

[applbottmjeens]

Sylas Thomas Pham who...

Was legally "Sylas Thomas Graves" but went by his mom's surname when he joined the SC to avoid his merit being overshadowed by his relation to their CEO and founder.

Grew up having to call Phillip "sir". Still does it now that he's grown.

Got kicked out of his private, catholic school at the age of 11 for fighting other kids.

Fought more kids in public school but miraculously calmed down when his baby brother Phillip begged him to stop. (other kids were afraid to be junior's friend)

Was a boy scout because his dad made him do it. Got reaaally good at tying knots and setting shit on fire. Maybe he shouldn't have been a boy scout.

Nobody calls him Sylas. Well, some people do. But if you know him, you know he goes by Tommy. Calling him by his government will make him feel weird.

Told Phillip "YOURE NOT MY REAL DAD" once and got hit with "I CHANGED YOUR DIAPERS AND MARRIED YOUR MOTHER I AM THE REALEST DAD YOU'RE EVER GON' GET"

Is somehow babied to death by his mother and has to kneel down when he gets scolded by her.

Has to deal with Junior's eccentricities and his extroverted family despite being introverted

Played lacrosse or football in highschool. Highkey a jock but didn't run the same circles as them.

Would've become a nurse if he didn't join the army.

Left the Shadow Company because of a disagreement with Graves, one of them being having Phillip Jr. be involved (he's too clean for a job like this.)

Masked up and was mostly anonymous. Not alot of people knew him as Graves' kid. Liked getting his hands dirty and did as he was told.

Told Phillip Jr. he didn't have what it took to be the SC's heir- not out of jealousy or spite, but because as clever and as sly junior was, he was still "too good".

Cannot express himself for shit. Horrible with vulnerability.

Hates therapy. Goes anyway because goddamn it- it works.

Has had maybe two serious girlfriends but can't be bothered to really date- relationships require getting to know people, and he doesn't wanna go through all of that for something that probably won't work.

Got his mom's stubborn attitude and faulty loyalty. Still considers himself a part of the SC despite no longer fucking with them and will latch to a group if he learns to love it.

Honestly? Horribly lonely.

Can't dance. Refuses to dance. Can't sing. Doesn't like karaoke.

Only rode a motorcycle in highschool/college because his dad told him he could have it if he could fix it. (he did not believe he could fix it.)

Has a bunch of scars, inculding a giant one that wraps around his head. The story changes everytime. Nobody really knows how he got it. He calls it his "halo"

100% believes he will go to hell for everything he's done, but won't stop himself from doing it since he believes he's doing whats right.

Has almost killed Nikolaj Zakhaev. Or Nikita. Those fuckers look alike, shit who knows which one it was.

Doesn't even know why he's doing any of this anymore.

Was mentored by his mom's old teammates when he finally got recruited to the 141. Looked up to his uncle Kyle/Gaz a whole lot (much to Anna's chagrin) and especially to the legacy of Ghost.

[fideidefenswhore]

Did john seymour have a relationship with his daughter in law? I thought he did but I was reading kyra kramer say there was no evidence for it

There's like, a note about that on some 17th century text? I think that's the extent of that evidence.

Basically we're working backwards when we look at the Seymours, but we see that Edward Seymour disinherited his sons by Fillol via Parliament and that she was forced into a nunnery, it has to be adultery allegations of some kind, was it with her father-in-law (questions of consent here if so, she was a young teenager, they lived in his household and he was head of that household, they were beholden to him financially, was she in much of a position to refuse advances? coercive consent etc), any of the servants of the household, Thomas Seymour himself (Suzannah Dunn theorized this as reason for the deep-held animosity between the brothers), all of the above (you'd think rumors would reach farther were that the case); who knows.

Edit:

Okay, I’m going to have to look more into the claim that she was placed in a convent, because Loades was the preeminent historian on the Seymours and he doesn’t even mention that...seems odd:

“His bride, who he wed at some point before 1518*, was Catherine Fillol, the daughter and co-heir of William Fillol, who had lands in Dorset and Essex. Given his youth at the time, this was almost certainly an arranged match for which his father was responsible, and in spite of producing two sons it was not a success. At some point after 1530 he repudiated her, alleging adultery. This did not affect the legitimacy of their children, but they played no part in his subsequent career, and had no claims to his titles. [...] Both were children when their mother was repudiated, and were brought up by her until her death in 1535**, at which point their care reverted to their father. However, he remarried Anne Stanhoppe [...] They were provided by out of their mother’s inheritance*** and in 1538, probably on Anne’s insistence****, were excluded from their father’s properties and titles by Acts of Parliament in 1538.

His future was reserved for his children by Anne [...] His sister Jane, for all her gentle nature, never showed the slightest interest in her nephews.”

*again...they were both very young, it just overall seems like a very sad situation

**????

***I’ve also read elsewhere that Edward didn’t actually pay them what they were owed of their mother’s inheritance, so, idk

****male historians always say this, lmao...Edward was a grown-ass man, he is the one accountable for the decisions he made about his children (that they weren’t claimed illegitimate assumes he still recognized them as such, they had the surname, etc) edit: the source for AH being the one that pushed this is the same that says Edward Seymour divined Catherine’s adultery via sorcerer in France, so...hill of salt?

Edit 2:

Okay, here’s information on the will by Catherine’s father, might shed some more light:

“Her father must have had a certain degree of confidence [in her], for in 1519 he named her executor of his will [...]

Yet William’s affection for his daughter must have radically altered, [for in 1527] he disinherited his daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren, [...] his only legacy to Catherine an annual pension, ‘as long as she shall live virtuously and abide in some religious house of women.’

It appears that in 1528 Catherine and Seymour had separated, but the precise reason remains obscure. 

[133 years after the fact, historian Heylin recorded ‘a story’ that Seymour while in France divined his wife’s infidelity by magic... ?]

The ‘contingent’ provision in Parliament [disinherited] John Seymour entirely, [his younger son Edward could inherit if Edward had no other male heirs]

There is a marginal note in Vincent’s Baronage in the College of Arms [suggesting adultery between father-in-law and daughter-in-law]. However, while John Seymour did have an illegitimate son, also named John, there is no evidence supporting this suggestion of incest nor anything that suggests Edward Seymour’s relationship with his father was permanently ruined. 

After his father’s death, John sought the restitution of his mother’s inheritance [...] Sir Edward was restored in blood by Parliament in March 1553.”

[selamat-linting]

btw my sims are hilarious. the third child got the proper trait. he went into the bathroom to shower while his sistrr was still there on the toilet and he was mad that she's being improper for a taking a shit in front of him? guy you literally walked in on her first.

speaking of sims 4 sibling tomfoolery. the eldest daughter and the second son got along really well. their adoption date was pretty close so its like they are twins. after i made sure the eldest is gonna be the heir, i renovated her room to be a large fancy one but i forgot most of her personal decor. and it doesnt match her new room. luckily i was able to shove all of her old stuff to her brother's room so now she hangs out in there too. and her bed and his bed are positioned on the same spot just divided by a wall. tbh it doesnt really matter because sometimes they'd just sleep together on the same bed. i'd like to think its a symbolism. shana (the eldest) lost her right to live her life and be a person the moment she inherits the legacy. she is her family, not herself anymore. she cant move out, she must expand her parents garden/orchard, she can't change what she wants to do in life. she must take care of the estate business, build a venue in her family's name, and produce a heir. so, it was her brother who kept all of her old things. it was him that know her when she's just shana and not The Family and expect her to just be herself. he was the only one who truly knew her, and, whenever shana felt alone at night, she knocked on the wall above the headboard of her bed and hear him there.

heck, they even did their last dance in prom together! Insane. i literally prepped shana's date from days ago and she decided to slow dance with her brother. sigh. yeah, her boyfriend is this guy she flirted with during love day just because she has to but i dont have time to make her see other guys so i guess she's gonna elope with generic guy #1 straight after highschool and try for baby. just to get it over with. meanwhile im gonna have her brother owen move out of the house right after she brings her spouse home because she might need his room for the future child. i'll match him with someone nice, a girl he met during his first visit in selvadorada with the whole family. which means he has to go there again. maybe the vacay shouldnt bring an entire entourage. just shana and him since shana is the next legacy founder and should skill up even more. oh wait. a holiday just for the two of them before shana's halfhearted only done out of obligation marriage? Oh fuck. Should have used "folgers" as this family's surname.

[heiyodream]

risky.

"The first and last risky thing my older sister ever did was marry your father and take his surname," Hanabi-neechan told him two weeks before her wedding. She dragged him to wrap the hidekimono. His grandfather was meeting up with some old friends, and somehow all the distant female cousins ​​and aunties who used to surround and fuss over his aunt for the past month were nowhere to be seen. "The elders were very, very furious. They had failed to get her to take an interest in one of the distant cousins ​​and keep her within the clan. And she dared to ask that his future children would use the name Uzumaki instead of Hyuuga? It was an audacious, even impudent request. And your father didn't even refuse to become a Hyuuga. Oh, Naruto-niisan will pick stars just for her. But my dear sister was very adamant in her stance, and her demand was granted with much reluctance and on one condition."

"Condition?" Boruto raised an eyebrow.

"Every child with the Byakugan that comes from her and Naruto-niisan will remarry into the clan without exception." Hanabi-neechan placed the carved wooden box containing the chopsticks that would become her hidekimono on top of the pile. "When she was pregnant with you, she prayed day and night so that you were born with blue eyes, as she did when she was with Himawari. But as we can see, unfortunately, Himawari has the Byakugan, for all of my sister's unspeakable sorrow and disappointment. Be thankful you didn't get one, would you?"

Boruto thought about how his mother sometimes looked at Himawari sadly, how her eyes never see the blue seal that protected the Byakugan around his sister's neck, and how she never seemed too pleased when people compliment Himawari's resemblance to her. He always thought it was odd—shouldn't parents like to be told they have kids who look just like them?—but never bothered to ask.

"Does she hate the clan?" he asked carefully, secretly afraid of the answer. "Or the Byakugan in general?"

There was no way her mother hated her clan. She wouldn't take them into the compound every few weeks if she did. Boruto grew up remembering that this clan was also his family, regardless of how bright the contrast of his hair color in their midst was. That he had the same familial duty to his grandfather and aunt as to his father's parents and Iruka-jiji. That if anything terrible happened to his parents, he and Himawari would go to the compound to be raised. This was his legacy, too; Hyuuga was as heavy as Uzumaki.

His mother still interfered a lot in caring for the clan, especially the children. Three times a week, she went to train the children with Jyuuken at the dojo. Once or twice, in an emergency of clan diplomacy with outsiders, she would be sent on missions to accompany his grandfather or aunt.

"Not really." Hanabi-neechan waved her hand casually. "After all, this clan is her blood. We were not raised to hate our own kin. Dissatisfied and sad, always, I guess; on bad days, she objected to the clan rules and disliked them. But that's it. Even so, I saw her having an amazingly big, bright smile on the day she moved in after the wedding." Her tone was filled with nostalgia and soft, almost mushy. "Marriage is good for her."

"Do you think marriage is not good for you that you get married so late?"

Hanabi-neechan's grin almost parted her face. "Ah," she said, amused, almost dismissively. "It's never too late or too old for a wedding."

Boruto wanted to say that she was over thirty, which caused her to be old, but he knew he would get a headlock if he said so, so he kept his mouth shut.

"Not every girl is excited about being a wife," she later stated. "I'm quite happy with the idea of being a bride. Shiromuku is a very gorgerous, lovely outfit. But being a wife and mother comes with obligations and expectations that can put pressure on a person. These two things shouldn't be exclusive, of course, but as the sole heir clan, I am obligated to have at least one sprog. God forbid this long line of family and clanleadership died on my behalf."

She didn't sound bitter or resigned, but neither was she happy, Boruto thought. He knew obligation and its price, how heavy responsibility was on your shoulders, and dutiful wasn't always easy. His mother made sure he knew. His aunt was not made for housekeeping or domesticity like his mother. He was shaped to stir people's minds in interrogation, rough hands pushing forward instead of cradling and nurturing something. And so was Konohamaru-niichan's. They were good, brilliant teachers, but teachers and parents were different.

"Neji-jichan has three children with the Byakugan." Boruto reminded her. "Shouldn't that line continue to him and Takku-nii?"

"He had suffered enough already," Hanabi-neechan said sharply. Her voice left no room for debate. Boruto often heard that tone from her and his mother about Neji-jichan. It was something related to the forbidden topic from their childhood. One day, he was determined to find out. "And that has been discussed before; a billion ryo was not enough to persuade him to approach clan politics other than for a frenetic revolution. After all, Tenten will take her children running across the continent before she lets them be bound by my obligations."

"Oh."

"Don't tell your mother that you know," she said, refusing to meet his eyes, "but ever since she was born, Himawari has been my unofficial heir. She is, to this day, until I give birth to a living, breathing baby with the Byakugan. My dearest sister secretly resents the idea."

"Why?" asked Boruto, confused. "Himawari will still have to marry one of the distant cousins ​​later. No difference." He wondered if his twelve-year-old little sister knew that half of her life was predetermined long before their parents were married.

"The life of the Hyuuga heir—heiress, espicially—is never easy, and the last thing she will give you two is the cloak of hardship and sadness that accompanied us growing up. How relieved she was when we announced the engagement was matched only when she saw what color your eyes were for the first time."

"And you want that for your child?"

"We are both clan children." Hanabi-neechan smiled. "We know how to keep life bright and breezy between responsibilities. Konohamaru knows how to raise an heir. Your father doesn't, and your mother will not have the heart to force him into this tortuous clan politics. Becoming the Hokage's family is hard enough without any other complications."

hidekimono: souvenirs from the bride and groom for guests

[robininthelabyrinth]

Light on the Door (ao3) (WWX in the Nie sect) - on tumblr: part 1, part 2

-

“Absolutely not,” Nie Mingjue said.

“I know this has come as a surprise to you,” Jiang Fengmian said, and his voice was calm and pleasant the way it always was. Reasonable. “But you must understand that –”

Nie Mingjue held up a hand. “Perhaps I was unclear, Sect Leader Jiang,” he said. “Let me clarify: absolutely fucking not.”

Jiang Fengmian was not an easy man to anger, nor did Nie Mingjue truly want to do so: he needed as many allies in the inevitable war against the Wens as he could manage. If he was smart the way Jin Guangshan was always encouraging him to be, he would soften his words, smile, try to make things palatable – but he was not Jin Guangshan, and he had never bent on a matter of principle.

Especially not when the principle was small and young and still unsure of himself underneath his bravado, afraid of losing all that he had gained in a single moment.

“His father was my right hand,” Jiang Fengmian said, a rare frown creasing his face. “The Jiang sect would raise him as his father had intended.”

“His father is dead,” Nie Mingjue rebutted. “And before he died, he was a rogue cultivator – your Jiang sect has no claim here.”

“Legally, no,” Jiang Fengmian said. “But morally –”

“He joined my Nie sect willingly,” Nie Mingjue interrupted. His hands are clenched into fists behind his back: of course this would be the thing that Jiang Fengmian refused to bend on, it was different when it was his family that died, their legacy he wished to see fulfilled, and never mind about the murderer that still walked free and unhindered even by mere criticism. Never mind that that had been a father, too. “As is his right. If he wishes to go, I will not stop him –”

There was a moment there where Jiang Fengmian looked pleased, as if he thought Nie Mingjue was giving in.

“– but I do not understand him to want to,” he finished. “And no, before you ask, I will not let you bully him and bribe him until he does as you wish; as long as he is part of my Nie sect, he will be protected even from that.”

“Am I not even allowed to make the offer?” Jiang Fengmian asked, clear challenge in his voice. He even permitted his qi to flare up, cultivation acting to suppress those in the area – absolutely inappropriate, a tremendous breach of etiquette that could only barely be ascribed to Jiang Fengmian’s emotional state rather than a deliberate desire to intimidate.

Nie Mingjue kept his back straight despite the pressure. No one would blame him for faltering, not even his sect elders; the pressure was immense, and he was in the end only sixteen years old, his body not yet fully formed or even fully grown despite him already being taller than Jiang Fengmian –

But he had his pride. His pride, and Baxia, and the Nie sabers did not bend for anyone.

“Sect Leader Jiang,” he said, allowing his rage into his voice. “Control yourself, or you will not see him at all.”

Jiang Fengmian closed his eyes briefly, recalling his power; there was a hint of apology on his features when he opened them again – perhaps it really had been a mistake. Either way, it didn’t matter.

“Do you know what that sort of pressure can do to someone who’s not yet of age?” Nie Mingjue demanded, crossing his arms. “If Wei Ying was harmed because of you –”

“I would never hurt Wei Ying! Or any other child!”

“Perhaps,” Nie Mingjue said, omitting to mention that by some measures he already had. “Perhaps not, if he refused you; you’re not exactly demonstrating dignity in the face of being told ‘no’ right now.”

Jiang Fengmian’s eyes narrowed, but he couldn’t say anything – he had, in fact, been intolerably rude. He took a deep breath, calming himself forcefully, and then focused on Nie Mingjue.

“His father was my closest friend,” he said, and there was a touch of real pain in his voice. “His mother was very dear to me. I only wish what’s best for him. If he comes back with me, I would make him a direct disciple –”

“So will I,” Nie Mingjue said.

That got a reaction out of Jiang Fengmian beyond anger and selfishness.

“A direct disciple of your Nie clan?” he asked, clearly shocked. “But your clan – there’s only you and your brother in the main line!”

“I’m aware.”

“You don’t seriously mean that you would risk the inheritance of your sect –”

“I have already announced it to my sect,” Nie Mingjue said. “Three weeks ago. If what you want is what’s best for him…other than stories of his parents, which you could give him without taking him away, is there anything else you can find lacking and insufficient in my Nie sect?”

“I didn’t mean to insult you,” Jiang Fengmian said, suddenly belatedly cautious.

“You did,” Nie Mingjue said flatly. “You persist in treating me as a child when I am a sect leader, the same as you. I have told you that the answer is no, and that the answer will remain no. You are in Qinghe, Sect Leader Jiang; if you’re going to insult me to my face, I suggest you pick better ground.”

Jiang Fengmian bit his lip and looked down. “You will not let me take him.”

“I will not,” Nie Mingjue agreed. And then, because Wei Ying really did deserve to know his parents, he added, “But I would be willing to consider something else.”

Jiang Fengmian looked up. “What do you mean?”

Nie Mingjue shrugged, having just thought of the idea himself. “You have children around his age, don’t you? Send them to the Unclean Realm for a season, and I’ll send Wei Ying and my brother to the Lotus Pier for another season in return – it’s not an uncommon arrangement to build relationships between sects.”

An extremely old-fashioned and out-of-date one – nowadays, heirs would only go for long-term visits if there was a real reason to go, like Teacher Lan’s lessons; even the Lan sect, which was close allies to the Nie, would only come to visit for a few weeks.

But it was something he could offer. Something that would make clear to Wei Ying that he wasn’t being abandoned or given away or sold; with Nie Huaisang by his side, he would always remember that he was a part of the Nie sect first and foremost, and get some good experience in the world besides.

“I would like that,” Jiang Fengmian said slowly. “Yes – I would like that a great deal.”

“We’ll work out the details, then,” Nie Mingjue said. The sooner this meeting was over, the better; he wanted to go scream and hit something. “Is there anything else?”

“One more thing.”

Scream. And hit things. Many, many things.

“Yes?”

“You call him Wei Ying,” Jiang Fengmian said. “Have you thought of a courtesy name for him yet?”

He had offered the man an inch and he was trying to take a mile, but Nie Mingjue could see the desperate hope on his face, the need for him to leave some mark of the Jiang sect on Wei Ying – to honor his parents’ legacy or to make up for having failed them, it didn’t matter which.

Perhaps this would convince the man to finally drop the issue for good.

“I would be willing to listen to any suggestions you might have,” Nie Mingjue finally allowed, still hedging in case it was something really inappropriate. “What did you have in mind?”

-

“Wei Wuxian has a good ring to it,” Nie Huaisang said thoughtfully once the horrible meeting was finally over and they could creep out of their hiding spot to stretch their legs. It was getting a bit cramped in there. “And I suppose it really was the very least da-ge could do, after having all but told him off to his face – especially since the Jiang clan really is quite powerful. I’m really very proud of da-ge for managing to keep his temper as well as he did; we should do something nice for him in return. Don’t you think?”

He paused for a moment.

When he didn’t receive a response, he frowned. “Wei Ying?”

“Is that what a direct disciple means?” Wei Ying said, staring blankly at the wall in front of him.

“What?”

“A direct disciple,” Wei Ying repeated. His face was frozen stiff, maybe from shock or something. “You said it meant I’d be a member of the family.”

“That is what it means.”

“Yes, but you didn’t – you never said – being a direct disciple puts me in line to inherit the Nie sect?”

“Well, yes,” Nie Huaisang said, scratching the back of his head a little. He had no idea why Wei Ying was behaving so strangely. “I mean, the Nie clan runs the Nie sect, and we’re the Nie clan, so joining the Nie clan obviously means – ”

“There’s nothing obvious about it!” Wei Ying exclaimed. “You have cousins! Cousins and aunts and uncles and – there’s so many of them I can barely even keep count –”

“Branch families after many, many years,” Nie Huaisang said with a shrug. “But Qinghe Nie doesn’t make everyone with a drop of blood in them a direct disciple; you have to be part of the main family for that.”

“But…!”

“But what?”

“It’s your sect,” Wei Ying said. “My surname isn’t even Nie!”

“Well, first off, stop assuming you’re going to inherit the sect because that requires both my brother and I to be dead,” Nie Huaisang said. “Which we have no current plans to be. Secondly, if you did end up as the only direct disciple left, you’d be required to marry in with one of the cousins and have Nie babies before you were allowed to actually be sect leader. So for the sake of your future marriage, you have to keep us alive –”

Wei Ying grabbed him into a hug.

“Thank you,” he said, and Nie Huaisang very nobly decided not to complain about how his tears and snot were getting his very nice robes all wet. “I don’t know why you want me, but you do, and – thank you.”

“Of course we want you, you’re great,” Nie Huaisang said, delicately patting Wei Ying on the back. “Look at you, not just one sect wanting you, there are two fighting over you; how many people can say that…?”

“He wants my parents, not me,” Wei Ying said. “If I went there, he’d love me for them, and if I didn’t have anyone else, that’d be good enough – but da-ge picked me for no reason at all, and you grabbed onto me just because –”

“I mean, I did have some ulterior motives, I do so much less saber training now that you’re here –”

“Just accept the compliment.”

Nie Huaisang grinned. “Okay, fine. Besides, you can finally stop saying you need to pay me back now!”

Wei Ying pulled back and wiped his eyes. “How’s that?”

“Didn’t you hear da-ge? You’ve just gotten me a free vacation to Yunmeng for a whole season! It’s going to be great!”

“I hope so,” Wei Ying said. “We’ll be spending a lot of time with the Jiang sect heirs…I hope they’re as nice as Lan Zhan.”

Nie Huaisang patted him on the shoulder. “Just accept it now, Wei Ying. No one’s ever going to be as perfect as Lan Zhan in your eyes.”

“Shut up. Do you know anything about them?”

“The Jiang sect heirs? There’s a girl and a boy, that’s all I know. They’re too young to be the subjects of gossip, though, so I can’t tell you anything about their likes and dislikes.”

“That’s fine,” Wei Ying said. “I guess we’ll find out when we see them.”

-

“Your dog is wonderful,” Jiang Cheng said.

“Thanks,” Wei Ying said, beaming. He liked the other boy already. “Yours are pretty great, too!”

“They are, aren’t they?” Jiang Cheng said, face lighting up. “This one’s Jasmine, and this one’s Princess, and the last one’s Lovely!”

“Mine’s Xiao Bai! And he’s big enough to be three dogs all together!”

“No kidding! I’ve never seen a dog that big! Why’s he that big?”

“Dunno. Da-ge says he’s a sheepdog from the mountain, and they get really big there.”

“Do they have to fight bears or something? I bet he could fight a bear.”

“Well, maybe if he had to,” Wei Ying said. “Unfortunately, I kind of raised him into a glutton, so now all he wants to do is lie around and eat meat –”

Xiao Bai barked.

“...and he knows the word for ‘meat’.”

“He’s so smart,” Jiang Cheng said, reaching out to rub Xiao Bai behind the ears. “Such a good boy –”

“Please tell me you like something other than dogs,” Nie Huaisang said to Jiang Yanli, who hid a giggle behind her sleeves. “Please. I can already foresee the rest of the season going like this.”

“Well, dogs are very distracting creatures,” she said, her eyes curving into crescents. “They’re warm and furry and all that. But I’d be happy to talk about something else with you…do you like painting?”

“Very much,” Nie Huaisang said, interest piqued at once. “Do you paint?”

“I’m average,” she said with a small shrug. “But I enjoy it. You’re welcome to join me, if you like – I don’t think A-Cheng and Wei Wuxian are going to stop anytime soon.”

“A-Ying can do it for hours all on his own,” Nie Huaisang said mournfully. “He used to be afraid of dogs, you know? I almost miss those days…can we really go paint?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t we?”

“Well, I mean, I don’t know. We were sent here to learn, weren’t we? I thought it’d be lessons all the time. ‘Go to the training field!’, that sort of thing.”

Jiang Yanli smiled and visibly resisted the urge to pat his head. “Some lessons are taught outside of the training field. Do you know the motto of Yunmeng Jiang?”

“Uh,” Nie Huaisang said. Memorization had never been a strong point. “I mean…”

“It’s ‘attempt the impossible’,” Jiang Yanli told him. “To live bravely, without restraints on your heart.”

“So,” Nie Huaisang said, trying to parse it, “you get to do whatever you want?”

“Not quite,” she laughed. “But we get more freedom to govern ourselves than most, yes. I don’t train too much – I don’t have much talent, you see.”

“Neither do I!” Nie Huaisang exclaimed, beaming. “But da-ge’s always pushing me to do better, work harder, try more…”

He trailed off when he saw the wistful, almost envious expression on Jiang Yanli’s face.

“…don’t you like not being forced to cultivate?” he asked, a little hesitant.

“Your brother loves you very much,” Jiang Yanli said. “He only wants what’s best for you. He pushes you because he thinks you can do it.”

Nobody pushed her because nobody believed in her, she meant, and even Nie Huaisang – a devoted good-for-nothing – felt awkward about it.

She didn’t even have a sword.

“Well, don’t worry,” he said, clumsily trying to offer some comfort. “You’re coming to Qinghe next season, aren’t you? You’ll get more than your fill of people pushing you to do things there!”

“I’m sure,” Jiang Yanli said, not sounding as if she believed him at all. “But for the moment – do you want to go paint? And perhaps later we can convince A-Cheng and Wei Wuxian to go shoot kites while we pick lotus seeds.”

“That sounds like an excellent plan,” Nie Huaisang said. “And maybe we can go to the market and see if they have any fans? I have a collection, you know.”

“Well,” Jiang Yanli said, smiling again. “If you have a collection, then of course…”

-

“I’m not sure I’m entirely suited for this, Sect Leader Nie,” Jiang Yanli said, breathing hard.

“I don’t see why not,” Nie Mingjue said, putting Baxia up on his shoulder. “Take a walk around the yard so you don’t get cramped while your heart-rate comes down, then we can start again.”

“Sect Leader Nie, with all due respect, I wasn’t really intending on picking up something new – much less saber, which isn’t even practiced in the Jiang sect.”

“Well, you have to train in something, you didn’t bring your sword, and all we’ve got are sabers,” he pointed out with a shrug. “What else were you planning on doing while you were here?”

Jiang Yanli smiled a little. “Feminine activities?”

Nie Mingjue let his eyes drift over to the nearby field where three of his aunts were pulverizing a training model that looked almost startlingly similar to one of his uncles.

Jiang Yanli coughed as if she could hide the laugh. “I admit I was more in mind of – cooking. Or sewing, or painting…”

“You can do that in your free time,” Nie Mingjue said briskly. “Nie Huaisang sang your praises in every one of his letters; the least I can do to repay you is making sure you get the full benefit of your time here. Consider it a gift.”

Jiang Yanli did not seem especially pleased by the gift. Her face did exactly the same sort of ‘thanks I hate it’ twist as Nie Huaisang’s.

He wondered idly what excuse she was going to try next. She might not realize it yet, but she wasn’t going to have any more luck than Nie Huaisang had ever had.

“Sect Leader Nie…don’t you think I’m too old for this?”

He stared at her. “You’re joking.”

“Most sword cultivators start in their childhood –”

“You’re fourteen.”

“It’s more difficult to pick things up once you get above ten,” she said with a shrug. “There’s nothing to do about it –”

“Pick a skill you’re good at,” he said. “Any skill, and teach it to me.”

She stared at him. “What?”

“You’re not that much younger than me, and I can still pick up new things,” Nie Mingjue said. “You teach me a skill, and I’ll teach you one, and that way we’ll be fair – and if I really can’t pick up yours and you really can’t pick up mine, then, and only then, will I admit that you have a point about our ages.”

Jiang Yanli still seemed uncertain, although she also looked somewhat intrigued. “Sect Leader Nie…what’s the point?”

“What’s the point of what? Of cultivating? You’re a cultivator, aren’t you? Isn’t that point enough?”

“I’m not going to ever be an outstanding cultivator,” she pointed out. “I’m going to be someone’s wife, someone’s mother –”

“We’re literally cultivating against the heavens,” Nie Mingjue interrupted her. “Aren’t you Jiang sect people supposed to attempt the impossible? You can be someone else’s and still be yourself.”

He’d never been very good with words, retreating when possible into silence, but something about what he’d said left a mark.

“Very well,” Jiang Yanli said, and raised the practice saber she’d already adorned with a pink bow – a clear sign that her subconscious had committed to it, even if her mind hadn’t yet caught up. “I’ll take you up on that bet, Sect Leader Nie. Saber, and then you can join me in the kitchen to cook.”

Cooking? Cooking was fine, he could do cooking –

“And we’re not making barbeque.”

…maybe he couldn’t do cooking.

Whatever. That was a problem for later. Nie Mingjue lifted his saber and bared his teeth at her in a grin. “This time,” he said. “Make an effort, will you? I’d like to break a sweat sometime today.”

Her eyes flashed, and she attacked.

-

“You two are going to get along and that’s final,” Wei Wuxian announced, hands on his hips. “Now I’m going to get us some snacks and while I’m going you guys are going to get over yourselves, you hear me?”

He made a show of storming out the door, but the second he was outside he waved his hand furiously to send a passing servant to get the snacks and crept back to listen.

Neither Jiang Cheng nor Lan Zhan was his shidi – that was Nie Huaisang – and of course no one could match his da-ge, but he loved them both very much, so they had to get over this inexplicable rivalry they had.

They had to!

“…very special,” Lan Zhan was saying.

“I know,” Jiang Cheng said. He sounded unusually serious – unlike Lan Zhan, who was always serious (except when he was being teased, in which case he was delightfully flustered). “He’s just – I don’t know. It’s hard to share, you know?”

“En.”

“It’s…let me tell you about my sister.”

Wait, why were they talking about Jiang Yanli? She was great, but not relevant to the issues here.

“When she first came to Qinghe, she got into a bet with Sect Leader Nie over…I don’t even know what. She practiced the saber a lot.  And then she took one of the sabers home, and she kept practicing with it – my parents were pretty confused, but they mostly let her do what she likes, and Mother was pleased that she’d at least started cultivating something even if it was the wrong thing – and…she’s happier now. Like a candle lit for the first time.”

“…I understand,” Lan Zhan said, which, good for him because Wei Wuxian was totally confused. “It was the same for me. The first ray of sunlight in the morning.”

“Yes! Exactly like that.”

They were quiet for a few moments.

“I suppose,” Jiang Cheng finally said, sounding rather begrudging about it, “that sunlight is meant to be shared.”

“En,” Lan Zhan said. “We are all equal under the sun.”

“I could manage equal,” Jiang Cheng said. “As long as we’re the same, yeah? Best friends.”

There was a brief pause, and then – “Best friends,” Lan Zhan echoed. “Agreed.”

Wei Wuxian couldn’t help himself: he burst in through the doors at once. “You can’t be each other’s best friends!” he exclaimed. “You’re my best friends!”

They both looked at him, eerily identical long-suffering expressions on their faces, and then they looked at each other, and then for some reason they both nodded to each other like they were sealing some sort of pact.

“Okay, it’s all decided,” Jiang Cheng said. “We’re all best friends from now on.”

“All of us?” Wei Wuxian said hopefully. “Both of you?”

They nodded.

“And Nie Huaisang, of course,” Wei Wuxian said. “We can’t leave him out! He’s my shidi!”

“We wouldn’t dream of it,” Lan Zhan assured him.

“Yeah,” Jiang Cheng said. “I guess second place to the Nies isn’t bad, if it’s shared.”

“Xiao Bai,” Lan Zhan said.

“…third?”

“Suibian.”

“Fourth.”

Lan Zhan nodded.

“What are you two even talking about?” Wei Wuxian complained, but not really – he was too happy. He threw himself in between the two of them, wrapping an arm around each one. “I leave you alone for less time than it takes to make a cup of tea and suddenly you’ve got some sort of secret code…”

“Don’t worry, you idiot,” Jiang Cheng said, rolling his eyes. “We still like you the best.”

[siswritesyanderes]

ooh! now that you've begun in dabbling in some s p i c i e r stuff (love it!!!) what would you think about Tom finding a familiar soul in the orphanage, if you want to make it real spicy, sister perhaps (continuing the habit of inbreeding in the family without conditioning; nice!) and him deciding that it would be only right, even though his sister is not a slytherin, to make her rule by his side- j-just to keep him in line, and continue the great line of slytherin! love your work :)))

Okay. Let’s do this. Ooh boy.

(N S F W) (TW: non-con) (TW: incest)

She was like him. She was, in fact, the only one like him in the entire world. It had seemed so, at least, when they were children.

She didn’t have his harsh temperament, or his impatience, but she had the same unsettlingly intelligent gaze and, most importantly, she could do the same sorts of things that he could. She made things move (most usually, books to her hand, especially if one of the other orphans had tried to take said book from her), she had made her hair grow back when a bully had cut it off (but not before Tom punished the other child for the mistake), and she could talk to snakes.

Even apart from her powers, they were very alike. They were quiet, and didn’t socialize much, and had a tendency to scowl. They spent all of their time together, and so that had developed rather identical mannerisms and turns of phrase.

It was tact that made her different; for some reason he could not hope to understand, his twin sister thought it worth placating the matrons and their fellow orphans. (Certainly, her social skills persuaded the caretakers to see his side of things more often than they would if he spoke to them, but still he found such diplomacy monotonous.) She spoke sparingly to the snakes, and only when he was already speaking to them, on the grounds that it was “rude” to do things that they knew made the others uncomfortable. She did not snap at anyone, or use her power to make them hurt; she ignored people who annoyed her and allowed Tom to handle people who provoked her.

“I’m glad for your temper sometimes,” she mused once when Tom returned, cool-faced, from scaring off a boy who had thrown a frog at her. “I don’t think you should always make a habit of it, though.”

“Habits are for people with dull minds,” he replied, returning to the book he had been reading.

When Professor Dumbledore came to tell them that they were magic and would be going to a place called Hogwarts, she let her brother do all of the talking; all of the asking and bragging (and, when the man set their wardrobe on fire, protesting). In the meantime, she observed from the social cues that Tom and the professor were developing a clear mutual dislike (as subtle as they both were about it) and considered the ways in which she could serve as damage control; it wouldn’t do for her brother to antagonize someone with power over them, as he had done with the matrons here.

The only time she spoke up was after Dumbledore gave them their allowance for school supplies, at which point she asked, “Are Galleons pure gold, sir?”

“Yes, Miss Riddle, they are,” the man answered.

“How many pounds to a Galleon?”

The professor told her.

She nodded, privately supposing that they could exploit the exchange rate of gold to pounds and pounds to Galleons and increase their money seemingly forever. She would tell Tom about it tomorrow.

That night, as Tom lay in bed with the day’s revelations running through him and his sister likewise resting on her side of the room, he whispered into the dark about how they would be running this new wizarding world before they were done. She didn’t answer, so he couldn’t be sure whether she believed him, but it didn’t matter; it was true. He would excel, because it was in his nature, and she would be with him because she was supposed to be.

At Hogwarts, they were sorted into Slytherin and Ravenclaw. Tom detested the separation, detested that they wouldn’t be sleeping in the same room, and he detested it more in the following weeks and months, as she came to make friends in her House. He had earned his housemates’ respect, through his own power and intelligence and aided on by the priciness of his possessions (thanks to his sister’s savvy Galleon exchanges), but it always soured his mood when he saw her laughing at the Ravenclaw table with some Other Person.

She knew him, though, well enough to make a point of giving him the most of her time, including leaving her friends straightaway, even mid-conversation, if he called her to be with him. It was out of respect for her that he allowed her these diversions, instead of scaring them away, but it was imperative that she show him that he took priority.

“You’re quite jealous,” she remarked in third year, while they were walking the grounds together without his followers. He had learned that she did not enjoy being near his followers and would spend longer times with him if they weren’t around. “It’s a sign of insecurity, you know.”

He ignored her attempt at starting a pointless argument. “I didn’t find anything using our father’s surname. I think our middle names must be the clue; ‘Marvolo’ and ‘Merope’ sound just like wizarding names, don’t they?”

“They do,” she agreed. “Thank you for keeping me updated on your search, though I wish you weren’t in Slytherin; almost none of the other Ravenclaws care about blood status. They don’t care if we’re Muggle-borns.”

“We’re not Muggle-borns,” he snapped, and was rewarded for his terseness with silence from her. His followers had come to uncomfortably ignore his heritage (or lack thereof) because he was frightening, cunning, and clever (and because his having grown in an orphanage with no knowledge of his parents allowed them to pretend that his parents could be purebloods), but there were only so few of them, because so many of his peers in Slytherin couldn’t get past his lack of a respectable name. No one provoked him, but he wanted them all to worship him.

And his sister, too.

When he found out that they were Slytherin’s heirs, he was sixteen, sitting at a table in the library by himself, poring over records. He checked over his readings several times before the feeling of vindication came over him.

He didn’t tell his sister about his findings until he had discovered the entrance to their Chamber, a month later; then, he dragged her out of the Great Hall (in the middle of a chess game with the “friend” he detested the most; that boy who she always seemed to be talking to and joking with) and into the girl’s bathroom, breathlessly saying, “Tell it to open.”

Flummoxed, it took her two tries to manage Parseltongue, but soon enough they were sliding down into the underbelly of the school, into their birthright.

As they wandered, with their wands lit, through the stone corridors, Tom felt the most alone with his sister he had in a while; it was like they were in their own world that no one else could access. Sealed away. She couldn’t talk to other friends here, nor had he any followers for her to take exception to. It was just them, and their destiny, and it was glorious.

He felt intoxicated by their aloneness, and wondered if this was how things had felt in the womb.

Their Chamber, their womb, their rebirth as heirs.

She seemed less pleased by the development; she kept murmuring, “I’ve read about this,” either to herself or to him.

“Relax,” he drawled. “This is our Chamber; nothing can happen to us here.”

“The stories say there’s a creature in the Chamber of Secrets, Tom. Some sort of monster.”

“A creature meant to serve the heirs of Slytherin; that’s what we’re looking for.”

“I don’t want to find it.” She turned to go back the way they’d come, but he grabbed her arm.

“Don’t go back. Aren’t you supposed to thank me for keeping you updated?”

She shook her arm from his grip. “Keeping me updated is telling me your findings, not tricking me into a dungeon full of snake skins. I can only think of the sort of monster that would leave these behind.”

“A snake, perhaps?”

“You’re not funny.”

Unexpectedly, her dry response awoke a rage he hadn’t noticed brewing inside himself. “No, that honor is reserved for Wilbur Cadwallader, isn’t it?” 

The memories were rising, unbidden, to the surface, now; all the times he had looked up from his plate because the sound of her laugh was audible to him even in the Great Hall. All the times he had approached her in the Transfiguration Courtyard for no other reason than because watching her converse with Cadwallader and that ditzy redhead friend of hers made him want to chew glass. That one night, fifth year, when she had spent her prefect rounds walking with Cadwallader instead of him.

“Don’t use your envy to deflect. I want no part of-” 

“Envy?” he repeated, very quietly. His sister was smart; she knew the difference between jealousy– the fear of losing what one owns –and envy– the desire for what someone else owns. She was too smart to use them interchangeably, which meant that she had chosen the word “envy” intentionally.

She recognized, also, his danger signs, and it was clear from her expression that she understood his change in tone, yet she carried on, “I want no part of Slytherin’s legacy.”

“I didn’t ask what you wanted a part of,” Tom said, still speaking very quietly. He noticed, suddenly, that he had grown much taller than her, in the past few years. “We are Slytherin’s heirs, and we are fated for greatness. It falls on us to restore the noble house of-”

“I’m a Ravenclaw,” she cut in coolly. “And anyway, I won’t be carrying the name of the family, in case you’ve forgotten; you will. Restore to your heart’s content. I want no part in it.” She tried, again, to walk away, but again he caught her arm, this time not releasing it. 

“You’ll be restoring it with me, because we’re supposed to do it together. We balance each other; we always have. I’m going to rule this world, and you will be at my side if I have to…” Her suddenly sharp look caused him to trail off, as only she could.

She stormed away, and he fumed in place but allowed her to leave because if they continued to anger each other, he would probably hurt her, and he did not want to do that.

They did not speak to each other for a time after that, though he glared at her whenever she was in his line of sight and she made a point not to look his way. In the meantime, he opened the Chamber of Secrets, left messages on the school walls in rooster blood proclaiming the return of the heirs of Slytherin, and killed a mudblood from her house.

It was after this that she stalked up to him in the school library, her eyes fascinatingly red-rimmed and her expression furious. “They are going to close Hogwarts.”

He found it interesting how, even though he had spent so long enraged that she was ignoring him, seeing her so upset still made him want to alleviate her unhappiness. He ignored this feeling, though, and maintained a dry tone as he replied, “Don’t worry; I’ve made arrangements for the culprit to be brought to justice.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve said not to worry about it.” He watched her as she seemed to decide whether or not to leave him now. It was so weird to him that she saw herself as an individual. It was so obvious that she belonged to him; she was his sister, and they were Slytherin’s heirs, a deteriorated bloodline in need of strengthening. In need of purifying. “You haven’t met the basilisk,” he said, suddenly desperate to get her back into the Chamber.

“There’s a basilisk?” she said indifferently.

“Our basilisk. You should meet her.”

“Why would I want to meet a basilisk, Thomas?”

“You haven’t spoken to her.”

“No, but I’ve heard her, in the pipes. She doesn’t sound a dazzling conversationalist.”

“Come with me.” Somewhere in the building, Rubeus Hagrid was in the headmaster’s office, trying to explain away his illegal acromantula even though the poor thing had been doomed the moment he walked into this school as a half-giant. Tom could only imagine how wonderful it would feel to have a second victory today.

“You’re plotting something,” his sister accused.

“How astute.”

She rolled her eyes, in a clear, if reluctant, concession. “If it’s something stupid, I will leave.”

He took her down to the Chamber for a second time, adamant that she would not leave, even if she wanted to. He led her down a few corridors, rather than to the stone atrium he usually visited. There was a large pile of snake skins in this hallway, more commodious than the trails of snake skins littered throughout, that would be perfect for his purposes, and he hoped to put them to use.

“Last time you were here, I told you that we would rule together,” he said.

“So you did,” his sister answered, almost boredly. “I don’t suppose you’ve lost your enchantment with that idea?”

He licked his lips. She was walking ahead of him, as there were no forks in the corridor for him to guide her through. She wasn’t looking his way, but rather watching the ceiling as she went, as though intrigued by the idea of the whole of Hogwarts being above them.

Always walking ahead when she should have been walking by his side.

Tom pulled out his wand silently. The hex that he sent her way would have cleanly and entirely disabled her for at least the next ten minutes, but the sudden light that the spell provided had alerted her to his intentions, and she had spun hastily out of the way, removing her own wand from her pocket as she did so; he should have taken that from her before doing anything else. No matter.

What followed was a short duel, with extremely impressive spellwork all around. They were evenly matched, and he didn’t say that lightly; few ever matched him. But it came down to who wanted victory more, and her wariness of him did not exceed his desire for her.

Soon enough, she was crumpled on the ground, groaning and scarcely able to move. He lifted her into his arms and walked her to the chosen pile of snake skins. They weren’t exactly soft, but they had enough give to them that they were easily preferable to the stone floor. He set her down on them and climbed atop her. 

Her eyes were nearly closed, but not quite, and they still followed his movement, which meant that she was conscious. Good.

“We’ve always kept each other in balance,” he said calmly, while keeping his wand leveled on her torso, working nonverbal magic to unfasten her robes. “No one of us could rule nearly as well without the other.”

Her gaze left him, instead peering at the far wall. He suspected she was looking for her wand, which had rolled down the corridor, but she wasn’t strong enough to move her head.

She should have been looking at him.

Her robes fell away, and his eyes feasted on her bareness. He had not seen so much of her in years.

She managed to growl at him, but only weakly.

“I let you have five years with those friends of yours,” he said softly. “I was generous, wasn’t I? I let you laugh and pretend with those idiots?”

She shut her eyes, because of course she knew exactly what would annoy him more than looking away from him.

He cast a mild stinging jinx to make her open them again, while at the same time removing her undergarments. “Watch me,” he hissed. “Watch me touch you.”

She watched, but only because he would keep stinging her if she didn’t.

He kissed her lips, then advanced his tongue into her mouth, and then moaned loudly, just so that she would have to know that she was giving him pleasure, no matter how much she hated it. She was naked under him, naked on a pile of snake skins in their Chamber of Secrets. He loosened his necktie, then his belt.

“We have the greatest magical lineage in the world, and it will be because of us that it continues,” he said.

“I will hurt you for this,” she told him, in Parseltongue because it was the only language she could manage in this state.

He thumbed licentiously at one of her nipples. “Maybe,” he allowed. “But I’d be careful making threats like that.” He pointed his wand at the middle of her head. “Maybe you’ll be better at carrying my babies if you don’t remember you’re doing it, hmm?”

She tried to keep glaring at him, but her bottom lip trembled, and she ended up closing her eyes again.

“Look at me,” he ordered, not stinging her this time.

She opened her eyes, and they were damp and scornful.

He kissed her lips again, more softly, and eased his trousers and pants down his waist. “Just think of how powerful we will be together,” he whispered, with the same awed tone he had once used to whisper to her at bedtime, when they’d shared a room at the orphanage.

(He’d been furious with Mrs. Cole when she’d made them move to separate rooms on account of his sister’s first menstrual cycle. Muggles always ruining things, always asserting themselves where they didn’t belong.)

“Ours will be the only bloodline that matters,” he breathed. “None of those so-called purebloods will dare say their family name in our presence. We will be royalty together.”

She was trying to move her arm, still trying to resist, but she was too weak. She would come around once she had to; she couldn’t stay mad at him once he had started making good on these promises.

He eased her legs apart and thrust himself inside of her. Her resulting moan rang through the stone halls, far from anyone who could dare to steal the symphony; it was just for him. Cadwallader certainly couldn’t hear her, couldn’t feel…Ohhh, Merlin. The contact, the perfect joining of two halves, was almost enough to make him release straightaway, but he knew that there was more, so he kept thrusting.

She listened to his hitches of breath and tried not to give him anything to listen to in return, though it was impossible not to make a sound. He was her first, but she would never tell him. She would go to the grave pretending that there was someone else before him.

Was she his first? Almost definitely.

This was so sick.

She thought that she wanted nothing more than for him to be done, but then when he finished inside her, it was a new kind of horrifying. Feeling him empty a load of horrors into her body, where they couldn’t be reached, all while making such enraptured sounds…They hadn’t taken contraceptive potions before the fact; she didn’t even know how to brew or access any, nor how to find out about them without destroying her reputation. And that was all counting on the assumption that Tom had only been trying to scare her, when he’d implied that he might erase her memory of this whole incident.

That thought sickened her the most, made her truly distraught, the idea that he might do all of this to her, wring pleasure from her helpless and unwilling body, and then she might be civil with him tomorrow regardless.

Himself, Tom intended to make full use of this night. His followers would cover for him if anyone inquired after his presence, and he would not be satisfied with exploring his sister’s potential only once.

He smiled. Upstairs, the whole issue of the dead mudblood was being squared away, with him scot free and even likely to receive an award for his heroism, and down here, he had finally achieved the correct amount of closeness with his sister.

He pulled out only once he was sure that none of his seed would be wasted. It actually wouldn’t be terribly convenient for her if she became pregnant while still in school, but it would increase her dependence on him, and she wouldn’t be foolish enough to name him as the child’s father (especially if he decided to make her forget that he was), so he could safely consider it a non-risk for himself.

He stared at her. Covered in sweat, even though she hadn’t been moving. Eyes closed, but he didn’t feel like bothering her over it now, when his mood was so good.

She probably considered it rude that he was allowed to keep his shirt and necktie on while she was completely bare; he rectified the problem, taking care to drape his clothes over the snake skins instead of on the dusty floor. He liked it better this way, at any rate; only skin against skin.

Clearing his throat to make her open her eyes, he pleasantly announced, “We’re going to go again, okay?”

Her gaze was positively gelid, but she didn’t growl, which he took as assent.

[ultimate-muscle]

Different anon than the Scarface one, but similar ask: top 5 anything Kevin Mask related (either headcanons or ...well, facts)

“Top 5 Kevin flaws and qualities :)”

“A "5 best of" relating to Kevin Mask?”

Ah, where to begin without an essay -? XD

I do love his focus and determination.

He knows what he wants, and he goes for it without losing sight of his end goal, but - more than that - he always achieves what he sets his mind toward, too. He wanted to go it alone; he succeeded. He wanted to win the Olympics; he succeeded. He wanted to avenge Chaos; he succeeded.

A lot of characters give up, lose heart, or fail their goals, but he works to such extremes that nothing deters him. He utilises his Maelstrom power, and even nearly died on several occasions, let alone training to the point of serious injury or fatigue, but all to attain the unobtainable.

I think he has an interesting back-story. 

I mean, his daddy issues get annoying, sure, but they’re well done and realistic, and I like how his trauma isn’t just something with an easy cure, but he does get flashbacks and does get triggered, and it’s something explored in detail (Warsman helps him deal with some of it, while UT touches on him dealing with it too). I do think Nisei is the Mantaro & Kevin Show, and he gets a lot of focus on his motivations and traumas, which really fleshes him out. 

I do headcanon him as more asexual and/or same-sex attracted. 

He has an intense focus on his career, to the extent of forgoing almost all friendships entirely, and - while some of it can be due to trauma and/or being a lone wolf - he also resists a lot of chances to be with women, even when his colleagues his age are borderline obsessed. 

He rejects a chance to pick a female partner to pick Warsman, and he rejects Jacqueline’s advances, even when every man in the series would kill to be with her, and he seems to enjoy being on his own, for the most part, too. We don’t even see him with his family, or with anyone other than Warsman even back in London, and I do wonder if - realistically - there’d have been a way to give him a traditional love-interest in the main series (although we all know Warsman is his one and only).

I do think he’s the first of his line . . . 

This may be more Robin Mask related, but Robin came from the Robin Clan, and we know of Robin Benedict, Robin Grande, and Robin Knight. Then there’s Kevin Mask . . . a part of me thinks it could be one of two reasons, both semi-related. 

The first is that he married a human, whose culture says the forename is the chosen name, and he respects Alisa enough to go with that, and the second is that he was disowned for marrying a human (vaguely backed up in his London arc). I think Robin decided to forge a new identity, and a new legacy/clan, and took his given name and applied human tradition to it, by turning it into a surname, and so Kevin is now the heir to a whole new legacy. 

If Robin was desperate to prove himself, as he once was, and very much at odds with his father, as he was, then it’s also possible he tried to over-correct n starting a new line and fixing the mistakes of his father, and - ironically - become the man that he tried to avoid becoming . . . leading to trauma. 

The last one is more head-canon, but family get-togethers . . . 

I totally see him getting on with his grandfather, much like Robin got on with Grande, but - while Robin and Grande were both pro-human - I see him rather anti-human along with Knight, and purposely starting political discussions to get Robin and Knight arguing . . . throw in maybe turning up on his bike, dying his hair, getting tattoos, and flaunting it all . . . maybe even arriving with someone like Warsman and flirting/being inappropriate . . . it’s like a game for him to see how long until Robin snaps (and then using his anger as an excuse to leave early, even though he totally provoked it).

[starsailorstories]

good morning happy saturday im sure you’re all jazzed for detailed information about the soon-to-be overthrown feudal hierarchy of my fictional space lesbian nation

Various Basilean worlds, and their individual nations, have organized their own varying systems of feudal hierarchy throughout their history, and many are still recognized locally alongside the Basilean ones, although sovereignties recognized by the empress of course supersede older titles. The imperial hierarchy is inspired by the Altamaian one, and the titles of pro-Hyperian Altamaian sovereigns have remained untouched in the new era. For the purposes of imperial law, the governmental chain of command goes in ascending order from local praefas (administrators), to district submaximas, provincial or city-state maximas, and continental or orbiter-wide maximatas, with a few other titles horizontal to the chain, such as marchiesa, carrying their own specific historical connotations and responsibilities. Planetary regent queens (who reign at the planetbound-national level) and high queens (at the global level) are technically above maximatas and other high-ranking non-royals, but because of their distance from the Rings and therefore from the dynasty’s seat of power they may not wield the same influence that their supposed inferiors do. The imperial court and its parliament and councils have their own pecking order, based around positions and favors appointed by the empress and her immediate family.

The empress & royal family

Unlike a lot of real-life royalty, the empress of the Hyperian age has only one title and it’s the historical Altamaian royal address Sia Leta Matriata, “holy lady greatmother” when directly translated to English. The Hyperian tack at the time of the initial coup was one of Altamaian planetary identitarianism and the way they style themselves reflects that. The catch is that now lower queens are barred from using it and have to settle for the formerly nonroyal Sia Leta Matri.

Primata -  “First Princess,” actually an Altamaian translation of the Uek title used by other characters addressing Sol Atya in the original version of the scriptural Deeds Of The Seven Holy Suns, which is so dang old that’s the only attested use of it. It’s also the traditional title given to Altamaian royal First Daughters, and is used by the Hyperians for whichever of the Empress’s daughters is her current pick to raise the heir to her throne. That changes frequently and sometimes without official acknowledgement, which is one of the things the hard-line monarchists on Altamai don’t like about her.

Secundata - Originally used for royal Second Daughters (it amuses me that when you say it out loud it sounds like “second daughter” with a Boston accent) but now used as a generic term for “princess” or daughter of the royal household.

Filia regina - Fairly obvious surname given to all daughters of the Empress’s colony.

Courtly titles:

Ladies in waiting (siae vestia) - the Empress’s personal entourage; unlike many people close to the empress, they, and their satellite secretaries and servants, tend to stay on for the long haul and wield significant influence, despite having no actual government post.

Principas - acting ministers of the court, managed by the Sacred Office of the Grand Principa who is basically the Empress’s public hands, feet, and voice. The Grand Principa is fired, jailed or executed so frequently that newsreaders don’t even bother to say precisely who she is anymore, but she is always recruited from among the Empress’s own colony. Other major principas are likely to also be daughters of the empress or of loyal planetary High Queens. 

Hierarchy of royal and noble titles:

High Queen (regina altima) - basically queen of a planet, although there’s not a single one that’s not technically the queen of like, most of a planet minus a few bits that belong to some other random noble, because wars and politics are like that. They represent their entire worlds to the imperial court.

Regent Queen - technically an informal title, held by Maximatas who inherited the throne of a nation or city-state affiliated with the planetary high queendom. 

Marchiesa / Maximata - these are of equal rank, though Marchiesas, bearing what was originally a military title, are historically seen as having more leverage with the royal family because of the legacy of knightly service they represent (why the knightly service of one’s ancestors makes for high status, while the knightly service of one’s own dang self makes for gaslighting and a shitty pension, is one of society’s little mysteries). They’re the descendents of accomplished spaceship captains who were ennobled by the first empress of the Hyperian dynasty and appointed to sovereign posts in the outer rings with the intent of protecting the new superstructure from siege by Cadrian interests, royalists (as in, those still loyal to the Altamaian high queen the Hyperians overthrew), and other real or supposed enemies of the new empire. Maximata is a title in the vein of “archduchess”--a hereditary appointment of sovereignty over several jurisdictions governed by other peers. It started out mainly as a courtesy title for younger adopted daughters of planetary High Queens (since to assuage succession worries all around, only the First and Second daughter were officially called princesses after marriage--basically the distinction pivoted on whether your spouse can inherit the throne, because queens make the rules and queens want the flexibility to get whoever they want as backup heirs in case their own kids turn out to be unreliable).

Maxima - once the feudal ladies of large estates which were technically the holdings of the High Queen or a more local sovereign, now the governors of single orbiters or county-sized jurisdictions who officially serve as court advisors. They, and the Maximatas, have the power to introduce nationwide legislation with the approval of the royal family. 

Submaxima - exactly what it says on the tin, local leaders generally bound by a hereditary oath to a Maxima. They always come from the colonies of titled matriarchs and inherit their own titles via adoption by the previous Submaxima (as opposed to the titles above, which are passed back and forth between colony matriarchs and their firstborn daughters).

Baronette - horizontal to submaxima in terms of authority, but not a hereditary title--instead it’s one bestowed as a gesture of the court’s great favor, usually for longtime service in the military brass or owning capital that gave the empress a bargaining chip in LGA dealings. Basically like an MBE, but you usually get land to be in charge of for no reason.

[rainiedeforest]

I saw your headcanons for Madame Lan and I totally love them. Could you do the same but with Ouyang Zizhen's family? I always imagine them as a large family with a lot of children and various wives. Thank you in advance.

Ok, first thing, thanks for the ask! It has made me very excited and I hope you like it because it is the first one I have to answer :3 So... I've been looking for information about marriages in Ancient China because I don't want to screw it up and I've seen that although polygamy was allowed, it was only allowed in the upper-middle classes (because they had to be able to maintain them and so) and that it consisted of a first wife and the rest concubines (who could rise in rank to wives if they were mothers of heirs and the first wife died, or if the first wife died and the man decided to marry one of them). I don’t know if there would be more wives, but with this information and the “big family vibes” that I have from the rereading of a saga... This has come out xD (If you want something more, please, feel free to ask)

The leader of the Ouyang Sect married a woman in his youth with whom, no matter how hard he tried, he could’t have children in theory. Seeing that he could run out of heirs to continue his bloodline, legacy and inherit his surname and sect, he took a concubine from whom were born two girls and a boy (Zizhen).

Four years after Zizhen was born, the concubine passes away and the first wife takes care of them as if they were her own children, despite the fact that she later manages to get pregnant with two girls.

Zizhen, although he is the son of a concubine, is the only male in the line of succession and has priority over the girls.

Zizhen's father decides to take another concubine so he will be able to secure the line with some other male child in case something bad happens to his first-born Zizhen, and from that union were born two boys and a girl. The concubine ends up dying during the delivery of the third child due to complications and bleeding that they (the doctors) weren’t able to control.

Two years later, the firs wife died of an illness and he, to strengthen an alliance with the Yao Sect, took as his wife the niece of his friend's wife, who gave him two more daughters and, finally, another son. 

I leave here a small list of the children with the ages according to the year in which the "present" of the novel takes place (I have the headcanon that Zizhen is 16 years old):

First daughter of the 1st concubine, 22 years old.

Second daughter of the 1st concubine, 19 years old.

First son of the 1st concubine, 16 years old (Zizhen).

Third daughter of the 1st wife, 11 years old.

Fourth daughter of the 1st wife, 10 years old.

Second son of the 2nd concubine, 7 years old.

Fifth daughter of the 2nd concubine, 6 years old.

Third son of the 2nd concubine, 4 years old.

Sixth daughter of the 2nd wife, 2 years old.

Seventh daughter of the 2nd wife, 2 years old.

Fourth son of the 2nd wife, 5 months old.

And, going back to the headcanons:

Zizhen, being the heir, grew up with a lot of responsibilities and having to be perfect. And at first, he was, but, as he got older, he grew up admiring his two older sisters, who have a fairly high level of cultivation and don't care too much about social conventions (unfortunately for their father who can't manage marry them!).

His older sisters, seeing how sensitive he was to what was expected of a man, encouraged him to follow the path of the arts, buying him books of poetry and romance novels to increase his knowledge. They encouraged him to paint or learn an instrument as well, but it's not something he is particularly good at so... better not.

Zizhen adores his older sisters and, when they are at home (since they take the opportunity to travel quite often so they haven’t to hear their father telling them about marriage), he can be seen following them around the gardens like a duckling (which both sisters find adorable and annoys their father because that’s not the way of behave of an heir).

But, in addition, he has had to take care of his little brothers with whom he doesn’t mind playing. If he has to get down on the ground to chase beetles or ants or make mud cakes, then he will get down on the ground and that's it.

And he doesn't find them annoying (as other people may think), but rather loves that the house is so full of life. He loves his brothers very much (he would give his life for them) and on more than one occasion he has come out to defend them in front of his father (who tells him that he is a shameless boy who does nothing more than reply in bad manners to his elders - bless his rebel phase-).

If any of the little ones do something mischievous (especially his seven-year-old brother and six-year-old sister), he will cover them without a second thought (even if he was the objetive of the jokes).

His four-year-old little brother and the two-year-old twins take advantage of his kindness and manipulate him into giving them candy, even though they have been forbidden to eat sweets before dinner. But Zizhen always has a large supply of candy (which he learned to have from his older sisters).

His eleven and ten year old sisters are the most difficult to deal with because they think they are older and try to flirt with the other disciples (much to the amusement of the two older sisters). Zizhen has caught them on more than one occasion putting on makeup so much that they could pass for ghosts.

With the mothers of his siblings: the first wife, the second concubine and the second wife, he always maintained a good relationship and the women didn’t hesitate to mold him into what they believed to be an educated and pleasant young cultivator (they took as an example Lan Xichen xD), cultivating his sensitivity and his kindness (neither of them wanted Zizhen to look like his father).

In resume: they are quite a noisy family, but a really loving one. Zizhen is delighted to have so many siblings because they make his life happy and take a lot of weight off of his duties as the future leader of the sect, but also because being so many and having such different personalities, he has learned to mediate and get people to get along (something that later he uses with Jin Ling and company).

And speaking of Jin Ling, the first time he went to visit the Ouyang sect with his uncle Jiang Cheng, and saw such a pack of kids, he sticked Zizhen like a gum so they couldn't do anything to him. He completely failed because: the eleven and ten year old sisters tried to flirt with him while the seven and six year olds put a snake on his bed that night and the four and two year olds hung on his arms asking for candy. The only one he found “adorable” was the youngest five-month-old, at least until he drool all over his cheek thinking it was something yummy.

Extra: "What did you think of my siblings?" asked Zizhen with a big smile on his lips. "Noisy." "Mm... I think they are lovely." Jin Ling rolled his eyes. "If you like beasts." Zizhen made as he hasn’t heard him. "And my older sisters?" “Your what?” “My older sisters” “Exactly... How many siblings do you say you have?” Zizhen’s smile only grew more. “I have seven sisters and three brothers. Why?" "Because... Nothing…"

Needless to say, Jin Ling blushed violently when he saw Zizhen's older sisters return from training like they were goddess. Both women burst out laughing and soon cooed him exclaiming that he was adorable. "This has never happened," said Jin Ling fighting with the blush on his cheeks. "I won’t tell a soul, A-Ling" "OUYANG ZIZHEN!"

[natalilysims]

Legacy Questionnaire

Thought this would be fun to do so I can look back on it after a few more generations pass and see how some answers change. This can also be done as a ‘send me a number’ game so if you want to do that you can find the original post by @melien​, here. Inspired by @an0nymousghost​, you can check out their post here!

1. When did you start your legacy? What inspired you to do it?

I started this Legacy on March 28, 2019. I usually do challenges where there are a lot of rules for each generation but I wanted to start something where I could do pretty much what I wanted and play a little bit more out of my comfort zone. And I’d seen a lot of amazing Legacies on Simblr that made me want to do my own and post it.

2. Are you following any strict rules there or just play how you want?

Nah, I’m basically just doing what I want.

3. Post the oldest picture you have from your legacy save.

The first ever Sharp house. Originally created by lilsimsie but I gave it a renovation. It’s up for download if anyone wants it!

4. What’s so special about your founder that you wanted to start a legacy with them?

She wasn’t really special to be honest. I just finally made a Sim that I managed to enjoy playing enough to not give up and start a new family like I’ve done a few times before with Legacy Challenges.

5. Favourite generation(s)

Generation 1 was probably my favourite. Which makes it sounds like I’ve enjoyed the family less and less as the challenge has gone on but that not the case at all. I think it’s because even though it was only a little over a year ago, I have a bit of nostalgia for that generation? Idk, I’m weird.

6. Favourite heir.

Probably Harper, the Gen 3 heir. 

7. Favourite spare.

Either Abi from Gen 1 or Jordan from Gen 3. 

8. Favourite spouse.

Alessia, the Gen 4 spouse. I’m gonna be really sad when I have to move on to Gen 5 and stop playing her.

9. Top 5 favourite legacy sims.

1. Jordan 2. Alessia 3. Sonny 4. Abi 5. Hayley

10. Top 3 favourite couples.

1. Safiya and Milo - the OG couple of this challenge. I have to stan. 2. Jordan and Jackson - kinda look like brothers but I just love them so much. 3. Eli and Alessia -  currently playing them and they’re so cute.

11. If you ever did any story lines, what is the one you’re most proud of?

I’m not a huuuge fan of making big story lines for my Sims but sometimes I have little things in my head about the Sims’ personality or their motivations for doing certain things that someone looking through my legacy won’t know because I don’t necessarily put them into my posts to make a huge story.

12. Any memorable moments?

Mango, a cat from Gen 2, randomly going into labour. I literally don’t know how she got pregnant.

13. Any funny moments?

None that I can think of. That’s upsetting.

14. The most unexpected twist in your legacy?

Some of the kids were unexpected twists - Harper and Hazel weren’t supposed to exist and neither was Eli but I have a problem with making my Sims have too many kids. 

15. Favourite name used on your sims?

I remember being very excited about naming Gus. And I love the name Sonny, especially for a boy. For surnames, I was really proud of Nair and Lane, even though they’re pretty basic lmao.

16. Who of your legacy sims you can relate the most to?

I don’t really relate to any but if I had to choose it would either be Abi or Harper.

17. Do you usually get attached to them or just play without deep thinking?

I get kind of attached in that I love looking back at old screenshots and remember how fun it was to play them but I don’t cry when my Sims die or anything like that because I usually have other Sims that I can move onto and focus on. And like... if I really wanted to see a Sim again, I probably have them saved somewhere.

18. Any surprise babies? What was the story?

Not really a surprise because I made it happen, but Harper and Hazel were not part of my original plan for Generation 2. I planned on Faye only having 2 kids but I was bored and when that happens I usually cure the boredom by having more kids, which I’m trying very hard to stop doing because after the excitement of having the baby is over, I can be even less interested in playing than I was initially.

19. Who of your sims has the best style?

I feel like none of my Sims have the best style, they’re all pretty generic, but if I had to choose... Jordan or Harper.

20. Who is the best genetic mix of their parents?

This is definitely a flaw of The Sims 4 and its shitty skin tones but I quite like that Max and Jordan (who are twins) have a slight mix of their parent’s genetics. Max has Harper’s hair and Cheyanne’s skin tone. And Jordan has Cheyanne’s hair and Harper’s skin tone.

Again, this shouldn’t be a thing. The kids should have a skin tone that’s in the middle of what their parents’ skin tone is but I just thought it was interesting when I noticed it.

21. Is your legacy berry, vanilla, banilla, or a mix of those?

Vanilla in the sense that they aren’t berry sims but not vanilla in the sense that I use a lot of CC and some mods.

22. Have you ever done another legacies apart from this one?

I’ve started a few, two of which I began posting on here but then deleted because I didn’t like how they were going. I was 100% expecting to give up with the Sharp family as well but it’s going pretty good so far.

23. How many generations are you aiming for? When you reach a certain milestone, are you going to continue playing or just wrap up the whole thing?

If I lose interest at any point and genuinely get bored of the Sharp family then I’ll probably stop at the end of whichever generation I’m on but ideally I want to complete 10 generations. I might take a Sim born in the final generation and use them in another legacy/challenge I start as a spouse or something but I’ll stop with the Sharp Legacy after 10.

24. Have you ever done any other challenges with your sims from the legacy?

At some point I probably will use someone from the Sharp family in something else but so far I haven’t. I will be using a Sim from another challenge/family in Sharp Gen 5 though.

25. What do you do when you feel uninspired playing the legacy?

Either stop playing The Sims 4 altogether or play another challenge/family for a bit.

26. Have you had your sims die? Which death was the hardest to take?

I’m on Gen 4 so a lot of Sims have died at this point, all from old age. So far, Harper’s was probably the hardest to take.

27. Do you have this one OTP that stands out among the other legacy couples? Tell us about them!

Jordan and Jackson. I don’t know what it is about them, I just love them so much. Sometimes I wish I made Jackson the heir. I knew that for Gen 4 I wanted to live in Sulani and do Island Living stuff but I didn’t mold Jordan into an Island Living type of Sim so it wouldn’t have fit very well.

28. Have you had a sim who you grew to like?

Eli was very unplanned and I had no idea what to name him and I was like ugh why did I do this but now I love him a lot. Originally, I named him Casper.

Bailey was also very hard to name. I’ve always really loved her, it’s just the name that I’m not sure about. I like the name Bailey but something about Bailey Sharp isn’t my fave. And Sonny and Bailey don’t go together that well imo. But at the same time, now I couldn’t imagine her having a different name so... idk.

29. Have you had a sim that you fell in love with right away?

I’m always obsessed with the first born in a generation so - Abi, Hanna, Max & Jordan, Sonny

30. Do you choose your heirs yourself or make heir polls?

I have thought about making an heir poll when I’m not sure what I want to do for the next Generation but so far, I’ve managed to figure it out so I haven’t needed a poll.

Also, when it comes to choosing an heir, I usually like to choose when they are still a child so I can kind of mold them into what I want for the next Generation as they’re growing up. So making a poll would be hard because the people voting wouldn’t know my plan and I wouldn’t want to give major spoilers for what’s to come.

31. The first legacy memory that pops up in your head?

Safiya going to a cafe to make friends but she ended up just sitting alone drinking coffee. Or when Cheyanne and Harper went on a date and Harper died...

32. The hottest sim?

Gus, Max or Brandie

33. The prettiest sim?

I feel like I’ve been very lucky with this family because all the kids have been really pretty but if I had to choose, probably either Abi, Hayley or Jordan.

34. The most unique sim?

I feel like all my Sims are pretty basic to be honest. If I had to choose... maybe Jordan? I’m not sure. 

35. Have you had any sims that remind you of someone?

I’ve never really thought about it, so I guess not.

36. Do you use other people’s sims in your legacy?

I think most of the Sims I’ve used for this Legacy are either pre-made Sims in the saves I’ve been using or I’ve made them. I don’t think I’ve specifically downloaded anyone from somewhere for my Sim to marry. I probably will do that at some point though.

37. Imagine if you had a chance to meet one of your sims. Who would it be?

That’s so weird for me to imagine but if I had to, either Jordan or Harper.

38. Do you have that one generation you wish you’d done differently?

I love Brandie and Eli so much but I sometimes wish Harper and Cheyanne had Max and Jordan and then were done with babies because 2 generations in a row with 4 babies is a bit much.

39. Your favourite non-romantic relationship in the legacy?

Harper and Hazel were fun to play with at the beginning of Gen 3 when they went to university.

40. Random fun fact about your legacy you want to share!

I’m trying to make each generation a bit different and focus on a pack. Gen 1 and Gen 2 were both fairly generic but Gen 3 had a university theme for a while and Gen 4 is Island Living. Gen 5 will probably be a mix of Island Living and Eco Lifestyle (if I can be bothered to figure out how to properly work Eco-Lifestyle).

[friendships-are-masterpieces]

Final Thoughts on TROS *Spoilers*

So after living in denial about the leaks, I’ve come to realize that they were in fact true. I have so many questions; I don’t know where to start. Based on the spoilers, which were confirmed, the film is an absolute mess. I don’t know what Disney was thinking, to be honest, and can’t fathom how sloppy they were with the leaks fiasco. Most of us didn’t believe them because not only was the plot a bit ridiculous, but the leaks weren’t taken down. Then, TROS supposedly had a slideshow at the premier with images from the final scenes. This is so careless, especially with a mega-franchise like Star Wars, that I’m speechless. But unfortunately, this isn’t there biggest problem.

I’ve noticed more and more, that Disney has pulled away from original storytelling. They’ve found a very profitable market in nostalgia, and remakes because it’s (usually) a safe bet. Star Wars isn’t a remake, obviously, but it’s clear TROS didn’t take any risks. Which is such a shame, considering the original franchise did. Say what you will about George Lucas, but he did what he wanted. He didn’t pander to his fanbase, even when they were quite ruthless. Same with Rian Johnson, who tried to inject some fresh storytelling in TLJ, and was criticized for it. JJ Abrams unfortunately listened to his fan’s worst instincts regarding the sequel trilogy, and ended up with a very contrived finale. Instead of continuing on with Johnson’s story, which left a lot of doors open, he decided to play it safe. Rey’s lineage is essentially abandoned for a recycled plot-device taken from Empire. Ben’s death sequence is also lifted from another Star Wars movie, obviously echoing back to Darth Vader.

The thing is, there’s a huge difference between Darth Vader and Ben Solo’s character. Wearing a similar outfit doesn’t make you the same person. Darth Vader was extremely stoic, and lacked a lot of emotion until his final moments. Whereas Ben Solo is quite vulnerable throughout the series, and unlike Vader, wears his mask to hide it. I’m not going to pretend he wasn’t deeply flawed, or had issues, but there was potential there. Unlike Vader, who was an older man when he died, and arguably made the right choice too late, Ben Solo didn’t need to die. He was still a young man with something to live for, and a lot to prove to himself. Killing him off not only ends the Skywalker legacy that the OG fans grew up with, it leaves the saga empty. Even in hindsight, Luke, Leia and Han had tragic ends, that culminates with Palpatine’s heir taking their surname. For what purpose, I’m not quite sure. But in a series like Star Wars, that’s always felt hopeful, it feels like a punch in the gut.

It’s clear the original plan was changed at some point, and unfortunately shows Disney’s more concerned with appeasing the loudest, angriest voices on social media than creating a great story. And because of that, the Skywalker family is now gone. If this franchise had a bit more nerve, they might not be. After all, good storytelling comes down to it’s characters, and what motivates them forward. TROS seems to stunt that potential, in favor of fan service. Did Rey’s surprise-lineage really help her? In my opinion, no, because Rey’s never fully content with herself. Her lineage, if anything, is a hinderance to the story because it feels a bit contrived. As if Rey would only matter if she was related to someone from the past. Instead of providing an empowering moment for fans, where anyone can be a Jedi, it reverses back to old bloodlines. If only Disney had preserved the only bloodline that mattered. I’m heartbroken.

[warcraft-lore-archives]

Azshara’s Court - The Noble Houses of Suramar

For ten thousand years, Suramar has been an isolated society, closed off from the outside world. While in some ways that means it remains a city of the old Highborne era, the events of the War of the Ancients led to intense power struggles and shifts in the city’s political hierarchy. The sudden absence of the Highborne monarchy after the Sundering most likely created a giant power vacuum that Suramar’s populace had to compensate for. As a result, it is possible that the once most noble of houses during Queen Azshara’s reign may now be nothing but commoners and vice versa, which makes it difficult to ascertain if any of Suramar’s Nightborne nobility currently have the same status they did ten thousand years ago. Although there is some evidence for it – Elisande and Thalyssra both occupying their respective ranks for the last ten thousand years, plus the rarity that new advisors are appointed – there have also been obvious changes [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume I, pg. 103-104, NPC: Tynala Dialogue, Quest: The Perfect Opportunity]. For example, Ly’leth Lunastre’s family only recently became a respectable house due to the efforts of her father [Quest: Masquerade]. Moreover, countless exiles have occurred in the last ten thousand years since the barrier went up, making room for others to ascend in the ranks and acquire coveted positions. In short, since Suramar’s political hierarchy has at times been proven to be rather volatile, this post is almost certainly neither a complete nor true rendition of the city’s pre-Sundering noble Highborne houses.

Up until recently, Suramar’s nobility was dominated by four prominent families: House Astravar, House Duskmere, House Lunastre, and House Stelleris. With the exception of House Lunastre, most of the city’s elite lives in Suramar’s noble district, the Court of Stars [Dungeon Journal: Court of Stars].

While arranging the noble houses, I assumed that any NPCs with shared surnames are related. Although it has not been confirmed that some of the NPCs listed below are actually related – with the exception of a notable few – it is not unrealistic to assume that a Highborne could have distant high or blood elven relatives, especially since virtually all high elves are the descendants of Highborne exiles. For that reason, I have included high and blood elf NPCs with the same last name as known Highborne, however, it is important to note that the connection between them is ultimately tenuous at best without any confirmation. Many high elves ultimately changed their surnames to not only distance themselves from their kaldorei cousins but also reflect their new sun-centered culture. Although some Highborne like Dath’Remar Sunstrider did have sun oriented surnames to begin with, it was rather uncommon among the kaldorei [World of Warcraft Chronicle Volume I, pg. 118]. In other words, it may simply be a coincidence that some of the Highborne and high elves below have the same surname. 

Some of the NPCs below may or may not also be related to lowborn kaldorei living today. While it would be unusual for a Highborne to have lowborn relatives, that does not mean it is impossible. It is more likely that some Nightborne were commoners before the shield was put up around Suramar, thus explaining why they share a surname with various kaldorei NPCs. 

The Noble Houses

House Astravar

House Duskmere

House Lunastre

House Stelleris

House Narassin

House Moonblade

House Feathersong

House Dawnrunner

House Silverleaf

House Astravar

Lady Aurore <Matron of House Astravar>

Ailen <Heir to House Astravar>

The Astravar family belongs to the uppermost echelons of Suramari nobility. The family’s current matriarch, Lady Aurore, is close friends with Ly’leth Lunastre [Quest: Either With Us].

Astravar Harbor was likely named for House Astravar.

House Duskmere

Ruven <Heir to House Duskmere>

House Duskmere commands respect through fear [Quest: Death Becomes Him]. Ruven, the family’s sole heir and one of Suramar’s most adept spellcasters, is Coryn Stelleris’ dearest friend [Quest: Rumor Has It, Quest: Death Becomes Him].

House Lunastre

Ran’thos Lunastre

Ly’leth Lunastre

Anarys Lunastre

Apprentice Ardrias

Although House Lunastre appears to have only recently come up in the ranks, they are still worth mentioning considering the power they hold in Suramar today.

Anarys, whose gender changes depending on the gender of the player character, is Ly’leth’s younger sibling [Quest: Masquerade]. Ardrias may be their cousin [NPC: Apprentice Ardrias Dialogue].

House Stelleris

Duke Coryn Stelleris <Lord of House Stelleris>

Covelyn <Stelleris Thug>

The symbol of House Stelleris is a silver crescent [Quest: Rumor Has It]. The head of the family, Duke Coryn Stelleris, is considered a predator even among nobility [Quest: Vote of Confidence, Item: Ancient Qiraji Idol].

House Narassin

Athrikus Narassin

Allaris Narassin

Andaris Narassin

Athrikus Narassin was personally handpicked by Queen Azshara to serve as the governor of the twin cities Ameth’Aran and Bashal’Aran in Darkshore. Despite his position, he spent most of his time secluded in the Tower of Althalaxx, far from the two towns. His second-in-command, a Highborne elf named Asterion, often saw to the needs of the sister cities’ people in his place [Object: The Lay of Ameth’Aran].

One of Athrikus’ many magical possessions was a Ring of Power, although he lost it during the Sundering [Page: Athrikus’ Ring of Power].

Athrikus’ brother, Allaris Narassin, is a Suramari noble [Item: Logbook of Ur’dan].

Although the chart above assumes Andaris is Athrikus and Allaris’ sister, it is important to note that she is never explicitly referred to as their sibling.  

House Moonblade

Erasmus Moonblade <Second Blade of Elisande>

Erasmus may be related to Sentinel Tysha Moonblade, Mariner Moonblade, and T’rel Moonblade. It is worth noting that T’rel Moonblade, who is buried in Black Rook Hold, is implied to be one of Valeera Sanguinar’s distant ancestors [Quest: Eternal Unrest].  

House Feathersong

Thaedris Feathersong

Latara Feathersong

Lady Latara Feathersong, Thaedris’ wife, was once a skillful huntress and renowned sentinel [NPC: Thaedris Dialogue, Quest: The Final Ingredient, Object: Memorial Plaque]. At some point before the War of the Ancients, she died and was interned in Tel’anor.

Thaedris and Latara may be related to Rayne Feathersong and Lyranne Feathersong, two kaldorei elves. 

House Dawnrunner

Stalriss Dawnrunner <Leatherworking Trainer> (Nightborne)

Anaya Dawnrunner (Highborne)

Lieutenant Dawnrunner (Blood Elf)

Eldara Dawnrunner (Blood Elf)

Tylos Dawnrunner (Blood Elf)

Before she died in the Sundering, Anaya Dawnrunner lived in Ameth’Aran and maintained an intimate relationship with the druid Cerellean Whiteclaw [Quest: For Love Eternal].

Stalriss Dawnrunner was an esteemed member of Suramar’s leatherworking guild up until he was exiled by his colleagues [Quest: Wrong End of the Knife].

House Silverleaf

Lespin Silverleaf

One of Lespin’s first tasks as Suramar’s resident jeweler was to help create the filigree on the arcane lamps used throughout the city [Quest: All That Glitters]. Since then, he has fashioned everything from a signet ring and a brooch to a weapon for Suramar’s more elite citizens [Quest: An Artisan’s Mark, Quest: Estate Jewelry: A Braggart’s Brooch, Estate Jewelry: Haute Claw-ture]. Additionally, Lespin claims to have come up with the design for a masterwork gem cut known as the magistrix cut, but it was revealed that he actually stole it from Lady Anastae’s husband, whom he killed [Quest: The Master’s Legacy].