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fantomcomics · 1 year

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What’s Out This Week? 3/22

Our Spring Cleaning Figure sale is happening RIGHT NEOW! Come grab the ones you’ve been eyeing before someone else does!

The Adventures Of Cthulhu Jr & Friends TP - Dirk Manning & Scoot McMahon

When a wannabe supervillain is charged with capturing the son of Cthulhu (who just happened to move in across the street for the summer) in order to be admitted into the League of E.V.I.L., hilarity, hijinks, and horror ensues! Both adults and kids alike will find a lot to enjoy in this original graphic novel hailed as "A great comic for all ages!" by Sci-Fi and Scary!

All Talk GN - Bartosz Sztybor & Akeussel

Rahim is a suburban kid like any other, a "good kid." Chilling with his boys, hearing the legends of "Immortal Al," the greatest gangster who ever lived, it's hard not to get stars in his eyes. Rahim starts dreaming of becoming a kingpin, idolizing his local gangsters in the hopes of climbing their ranks. But his friends laugh: they say he's all talk, no action. Until one day, he sees an opportunity to prove himself.

Belle Of The Ball GN - Mari Costa

High-school senior Hawkins finally works up the courage to remove her mascot mask and ask out her longtime crush: Regina Moreno, head cheerleader, academic overachiever, and all-around popular girl. There's only one teensy little problem: Regina is already dating Chloe Kitagawa, athletic all-star... and middling English student. Regina sees a perfectly self-serving opportunity here, and asks the smitten Hawkins to tutor Chloe free of charge, knowing Hawkins will do anything to get closer to her. And while Regina's plan works at first, she doesn't realize that Hawkins and Chloe knew each other as kids, when Hawkins went by Belle and wore princess dresses to school every single day. Before long, romance does start to blossom, but not between whom you might expect.

Colonel Weird & Little Andromeda TP - Tate Brombal & Ray Fawkes

Space-faring adventurer Colonel Weird sets forth on a journey to save his superhero colleagues from their rural purgatory by entering the Para-zone only to find himself paired with the much much younger Doctor Andromeda on a series of fantastical adventures through assorted worlds and dimensions.

Comics For Choice: Illustrated Abortion Stories 2nd Edition - Sophia Foster-Dimino

Comics for Choice is an anthology of comics about abortion. Over 60 artists and writers have created comics that share their own experiences, and educate readers on the history of abortion, current political struggles, activism, and more. This updated edition includes additional comics that address the changing landscape of abortion rights.

Creepshow Vol 1 TP - Chris Burnham & Adriano Lucas

"The horror fix that fans of the Shudder anthology series have come to expect and appreciate." -CBR The worldwide phenomenon based on the hit Shudder TV series comes to comics with a collection of can't-miss horror that anthology critics are screaming about! An all-star roster of comics creators brings readers ten uniquely terrifying standalone stories guaranteed to SCARE YOU TO DEATH!

The Dead Lucky Vol 1 TP - Melissa Flores & French Carlomagno

San Francisco is changing. Tech consortium MORROW is buying up land, their peacekeeper robots looming on every corner-and wherever Morrow isn't, the local gangs are. Bibiana Lopez-Yang is changing too. The incident in Afghanistan that killed her platoon left her able to control electricity-and haunted by the ghosts of those she lost. With some unlikely friends, Bibi might just have a chance to save her city. But against an enemy this powerful, it won't be enough to be good. She'll have to be lucky.

Dead Romans #1 (of 6) - Fred Kennedy & Nick Marinkovich

Arminius, a Germanic prince raised in Rome, has sworn vengeance against the Empire that butchers his people. He wants to make a queen of the woman he loves, Honoria, a fellow slave. Now, fifty thousand Romans will die to give her a throne she never asked for...or wanted. Lush, beautiful illustrations bring to life a brutal tale of love and war from the birth of the Roman Empire.

Ephemera HC - Briana Loewinsohn

A debut graphic novel that poignantly blends memoir, magic realism, and graphic medicine. Ephemera is a poetic and dreamlike take on a graphic memoir set in a garden, a forest, and a greenhouse. The story drifts among a grown woman, her early memories as a child, and the gossamer existence of her mother. A lyrical entry in the field of graphic medicine, Ephemera is a story about a daughter trying to relate to a parent who struggles with mental illness. Gorgeously illustrated, it is a quiet book of isolation, plants, confusion, acceptance, and the fog of childhood.

In Limbo GN - Deb JJ Lee

A debut YA graphic memoir about a Korean-American girl's coming-of-age story-and a coming home story-set between a New Jersey suburb and Seoul, South Korea.

Ever since Deborah (Jung-Jin) Lee emigrated from South Kora to the United States, she's felt her otherness. For a while, her English wasn't perfect. Her teachers can't pronounce her Korean name. Her face and her eyes-especially her eyes-feel wrong. In high school, everything gets harder. Friendships change and end, she falls behind in classes, and fights with her mom escalate. Caught in limbo, with nowhere safe to go, Deb finds her mental health plummeting, resulting in a suicide attempt. But Deb is resilient and slowly heals with the help of art and self-care, guiding her to a deeper understanding of her heritage and herself.

Joe Death & The Graven Image TP - Benjamin Schipper

Somewhere between Mignola and A Fistful of Dollars, this tale is an adventurous take on the existential hitman. Set against a dreamy western backdrop populated by witches, spirits, ghouls, and other monsters, Joe Death explores what it means for Death to undo what he does best. More importantly, what is the cost for salvation?

Life Is Strange: Steph’s Story SC Novel - Roslee Thor

The official origin story of Life is Strange fan-favorite Steph Gingrich featuring LGBTQ+ romance, inevitable heartbreak, and the punk-rock beginnings of Drugstore Makeup.

Little Guardians TP Vol 1 - Ed Cho & Lee Cherolis

When a strange spirit panther starts following Subira around she realizes she may be more than just the local shop girl. The village she lives in is under constant threat from monsters, and the appointed guardian, Tane, can't save everyone alone. Little does Subira know she is actually Tane's daughter and should be fighting alongside him. Can she discover the truth behind her connection to the spirit world in time to help save her village? Combining humor with big adventure Little Guardians is a fun-filled all-ages romp for everyone.

Meesh & The Bad Demon Vol 1 GN - Michelle Lam

A tale of unlikely heroes and myths are made real in this debut graphic novel series about a "bad" demon trying to find her place in the underworld-but she'll have to save it first! Meesh is a bad demon. "Bad" in that she always sees the good in those around her-which isn't how a demon is meant to feel or act. Bullied by the other demons, twelve-year-old Meesh is more likely to be found reading magazines from Plumeria City-the fairy realm-and fangirling about the fairy princesses. But when disaster strikes and all of demon-kind is threatened, Meesh must journey to other worlds in search of help. As luck would have it, she meets a fairy princess right away. Things in the fairy realm aren't so perfect either, though. There's much more to being a demon than she ever realized, and learning to love herself might just uncover the secret to saving her home.

The Neighbors #1 (of 5) - Jude Ellison S. Doyle, Letizia Cadonici & Miguel Mercado

When Janet and Oliver Gowdie move to a quaint mountain town, their daughter Casey becomes part of a horrific chain of events revealing that their neighbors are anything but what they seem. Soon an unsettling old woman named Agnes Early fixates on Janet and Oliver's other daughter-2-year-old Isobel. It becomes clear that it's impossible to know who to trust... or who is even still human... Steeped in Irish and English folklore and mythology, Jude Ellison S. Doyle (Maw) joins artist Letizia Cadonici (House of Slaughter), and colorist Alessandro Santoro (Bloom) to tread new ground in changeling horror. A tale perfect for fans of Eat the Rich and The Nice House on the Lake!

Pixies Of The Sixties: You Really Got Me Now TP - Gihef, Giulio Macaione & Alberto Zanon

In the 1960s U.K., With Swinging London underway, Fairies enter the light of day! Anann: The story of a young fairy who, drawn by the lights of Swinging London, leaves her forest to pursue her dreams of becoming a singer. She meets Stella, a human with whom she quickly falls in love. But her lover's disappearance will make Anann realize that beneath the glitz and glamour of the city, rejection is only a tiny part of what awaits her... Ailith: When she arrives in London to investigate a case of missing persons linked to a strange rite, Ailith gladly accepts help from her childhood friend, Elliot, a police officer who expresses clear Anti-fairy opinions and blames them for all the major problems in London. When the investigation entrusted to Ailith leads her to the heart of the forest, she makes a most disturbing discovery, uncovering with it a deeply buried wound.

Chilling Adventures: Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe of Horrors One-Shot - Amy Chase, Frederico Sabbatini & Adam Gorham

Pop Tate is the glue holding Riverdale together, whether everyone realizes or not. His Chocklit Shoppe is the beating heart of the city, where everyone can stop in for a delicious bite and some safe haven-even the worst sorts. And not just the run-of-the-mill rapscallions who recently broke the jukebox. When a young Riverdale couple (Nick St. Clair and Sherry Thyme) attempt to dine and dash on the humble small business owner, they quickly discover the fryer grease isn't the only heart-stopping thing about the Chocklit Shoppe. From tales of mystery meat to the unnatural visitors that dine late at night, this anthology tells stories about the horrors that happen at Riverdale's beloved malt shop-and how Pop Tate is at the center of it all, the most powerful figure in Riverdale providing haven to all sorts of terrors and underhanded villainy.

Popscars #1 (of 6) - Pat O'Malley & Santi Guillen

Popscars is a gritty Hollywood revenge story about a vigilante badass in a pink ski mask and the famous Hollywood movie producer she is out to kill, who also happens to be her estranged father. In Hollywood revenge is best served in front of an audience. As our pink ski masked killer pushes her way through a Hollywood crowd, prepared to take her shot at her movie producer father, she's quickly swept into a brand new revenge plot orchestrated by her own unsuspecting target.

Sugar & Other Stories GN - Joy San

An amoral creature ensures a girl's blood sugar stays up. A gory ritual creates a woman's perfect smile. An overworked wife is subsumed by violent fantasies. In this collection of short horror comics, Joy San masterfully explores the ways in which we contort ourselves, balancing the bloody with unexpected levity.

The Wicked Ones #1 - LJ Duey, Paulo Mel & David Mack

After being orphaned in a mass witch burning orchestrated by the US government, Celia Jordan grew up to be Washington DC's darkest secret-she's now wreaks havoc as the city's resident witch... and its most sought-after contract killer. When a politician hires her to kill a beloved and powerful superhero, Celia hesitates, but not for long. No one has been able to catch her yet-why would they now? Featuring a breathtaking cover by world reknowned artist, David Mack.

West Of Sundown TP Vol 1 - Aaron Campbell, Tim Seeley &Jim Terry

A beautiful vampire must flee monster slayers in New York City and reclaim the ancestral soil that restores her undead flesh. But the world has changed since she was reborn in the New Mexico desert, and now, Constance Der Abend and her loyal assistant Dooley , must adapt to life in the rough frontier town of Sangre De Moro, where all sorts of monsters have settled.

Whatcha scooping up this week, Fantomites?

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mysticinalandofdreamers · 2 years

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Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy; Hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To Thee do we cry, the exiled children of Eve. To Thee do we send up our longing, sighs, and crying in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, Thine eyes of compassion toward us, and after this our exile, show unto us our Holy Twin Angel. O clement, O loving, O sweet Sophia! Pray for us, O Holy Mother of all gods, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ; that the door be opened before us into the column of glory, that we might cross over in the ships of Light, and rest forevermore. Amen.

#sophia wisdom #goddess #prayer #prayer beads

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nxmuzluv · 3 years

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mexican empire — trivia

The empire (that is more formally known as the Second Mexican Empire) was started in 1864 by Emperor Armando, Jacqueline’s great-great-great-great grandfather. He was a lieutenant general within the Mexican army, and after he forced French forces out of Mexico and ordered their surrender, due to his wealth and influence (as he hailed from a Cuban-Mexican old money family), he declared himself emperor of Mexico due to his desire for the Mexican empire’s restoration.

During the reign of Jacqueline’s great-great grandfather—Emperor Gustavo Hernando—a socialist and wannabe dictator named Álvaro Angel Hernandez created an anti-monarchy “party” that wished to abolish the Mexican empire due to seeing the (then current) imperial family as corrupt. The party gained members, notoriety, and infamy throughout Mexico, and Álvaro had even gained some power over Mexico City and its neighboring territories. Álvaro seemingly went mad and randomly decided to storm the palace in an attempt to overthrow Emperor Gustavo. That attempt was unsuccessful, and Álvaro was tried with heavy treason and sentenced to death by hanging. His execution sparked the Guerra del Palacio (the War of the Palace), and the conflict lasted for three and a half years.

With the empire’s power, and with the help of Brazilian, Cuban, and later American troops, the Mexican empire defeated Álvaro’s party and prevented being replaced with an authoritarian, socialist regime. Since then, the War of the Palace has been the only civil war that the imperial family has had to face.

Mexico has one of the wealthiest imperial families in the world, having a net worth of $10.5 billion, and placing them at 5th on the list of wealthiest monarchs in the world. All of that money belongs to the emperor, and it stems from Mexico’s investments in the oil industry and agriculture, their various exports (such as beer, chocolate, chilis, and tomatoes), the support from the Mexican citizens, and from the emperor’s own investments into large scale banks around the world. The $10.5 billion will be split between the emperor’s immediate family (his daughters and his eldest daughter’s three children) upon his death.

Mexico became the first monarchy in the world to implement absolute primogeniture (meaning any child can assume the role of heir apparent to the throne regardless of their gender) in 1914. It was proposed by Emperor Gustavo after the birth of his three daughters after the birth of his eldest son. He was worried about the potential extinction of the dynasty if his son either died or was unable to marry or produce a male heir, and Gustavo’s own lack of another male heir only increased his worries. To ensure that the dynasty would live on, he proposed the idea of absolute primogeniture to the Mexican government.

His proposal was taken into question, as back then, women were seen as “unfit” monarchs and were seen as incapable of ruling a country. However, due to much pushing by the emperor over the course of eight months, by a vote of 71–63, absolute primogeniture was officially adopted in Mexico in regards to the empire’s line of succession. The empire received its first female heir apparent upon the birth of Crown Princess (now Empress) Victoria in 1967.

Since 1873, the empire of Mexico has also been known as the United Empire of Mexico (or the Imperio Unido de México) due to the numerous conquests ordered by Emperor Armando. Countries under the United Empire of Mexico include the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Panama. From 1891 to 1959 (68 years), Cuba was also a part of the United Empire, and monarchs and their consorts held the titles of Emperor and Empress of Cuba.

The Second Mexican empire started off with a rather large amount of wealth, as its founder, Lieutenant General Armando José Enrique Velasco, hailed from a Mexican-Cuban old money family that was worth $16.4 billion ($302.5 billion in today’s money) by Armando’s father’s death in 1867. Upon his father’s death, the money was split between Armando and his brother, with both of them receiving $8.2 billion ($151.2 billion in today’s money). That fortune has been slightly diminished and restored over the years.

The Second Mexican Empire is an absolute, hereditary, and self-proclaimed monarchy. It was originally a semi-constitutional monarchy during Emperor Alphons’ reign, and during Emperor Fernando’s reign, it became a complete constitutional monarchy. The empire only became an absolute monarchy after its restoration. It is a self-proclaimed monarchy due to Emperor Armando declaring himself the emperor of Mexico after defeating the French.

Emperor Alphons—Armando’s eldest son—had the shortest reign of any Mexican monarch ever, as he only reigned for 11 years. He was known to be somewhat sickly from birth, and his sickness worsened later in his life, resulting in his early-ish death. Alphons was also said to be attractive during his youth and was quite the notorious playboy before he met his wife and consort, Josefina Ivette Isabel Correia, Lady Salvaterra, to whom he was distantly related to.

In his youth, Emperor Gustavo had quite the large selection of noble and royal ladies to choose from for marriage (or rather, for his parents to choose from). From that selection, he had wed Princess Helena Dorothea Maria Anna of Greece and Denmark, Viscountess Württemberg, a member of the Greek royal family and of the German noble House of Württemberg. However, they’re relationship was rocky and they seemed more like acquaintances than husband and wife, and just a year later, Gustavo and Princess Helena divorced. However, their marriage did bring the Mexican, Greek, and Danish royal/imperial families closer together, and it solidified their relationship for the next four generations. Princess Helena was never given the title of empress. A few months later, Gustavo married Agustina Natalia Sophia, Baroness of San Luis de la Paz, and the daughter of the Duke of Guanajuato.

Emperor José Manuel established the most international connections for the Mexican empire, ranking just below his son, Fernando. His marriage to Yoo Hyeryun, a middle class Korean native, was one of them, as well as his ally-ship with India, his friendships with the British, Greek, and Spanish royal families, and his push for exports and the offering of support to foreign allies. José Manuel also has the second longest reign of any monarch in Mexico, placing behind his son.

Emperor Fernando became the first Korean-Mexican to ascend to the imperial throne after his father’s death in 1960. He also has the longest reign of any Mexican monarch, and will uphold that title until his daughter can manage to surpass him.

Empress Victoria became Mexico’s first female regent in all its 139-year history, which caused her to also have the most viewed coronation since her father’s in 1960, amassing a total of 81.5 million people in Mexico and 24 million people worldwide. Meaning, a total of 105.5 million people had watched Victoria’s coronation. She also became the second mixed Korean to ascend to the Mexican throne.

Empress Agustina was known for introducing a lot of foreign customs to Mexico during her husband’s reign. She was known for her love of travel and for her interest in other (specifically European) cultures. She introduced the Scottish Lomond waltz to the Mexican imperial court, and had also introduced the concept of debutante balls to the country, as she established Empress Agustina’s Debutante Ball (Baile de Debutante de la Emperatriz Agustina) after attending Queen Charlotte’s Ball in London.

Dowager Empress Consuelo Teresa (or Yoo Hyeryun) became the first Korean woman to assume the title of empress (consort) of Mexico upon her husband’s ascension to the throne in 1928. She achieved massive notoriety due to this (and also due to her beauty), and further established positive connections between Mexico and South Korea. She also became known as the first commoner to marry into the imperial family, and became the first commoner to assume the title of empress consort. She is also the longest living empress in the empire’s history, being 102 years old by the events of Trigger Happy Havoc.

There had actually been a empress regent of Mexico prior to Victoria, although she wasn’t officially counted as a reigning empress like Victoria. Her name was Princess Josefina Maria Lupita, and she was Emperor Alphons’ older sister, and Emperor Armando’s first born child. Due to Mexico’s male preference primogeniture at the time, Josefina was misplaced at heir to the throne once her brother was born. She didn’t see it as an issue until she was in her thirties. Just a few months after Alphons was crowned, Josefina secretly mobilized a part of Mexico’s military, and had ordered them to storm her brother’s apartments within Chapultepec Castle

A few dozen were injured during that attempt of a “coup,” and two had died due to their injuries. Alphons originally thought that the attack was ordered by anti-royalists, but he later found out that it was ordered by his own sister. He was quick to declare war on Josefina, who was forced to flee to Costa Rica with the remainder of her troops. The war—which was named the “War of the Chrysanthemum”—lasted for only seven months, before it eventually came to a stalemate due to the intervention of the siblings’ mother. Alphons wanted to keep Josefina in Costa Rica, but was advised not to. After the war, the siblings never even looked at each other again, and Josefina moved out of Chapultepec Castle and into a separate estate

During the war, Josefina had triumphed over her brother for a short period of time (about a month or two) and had become Empress Josefina, and was “ruling” from Costa Rica. However, as she had never had a formal coronation and as she had an incredibly short reign, historians do not count Josefina as a true sovereign, and the title of “first empress regent of Mexico” officially goes to Victoria. Technically, however, it goes to Josefina

Emperor José Manuel’s brother, José Ramón, Jacqueline’s great-great uncle, had married Princess Alexandra-Beatrice of Battenberg, the youngest daughter of Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, and of Prince Louis of Battenberg. Alexandra-Beatrice—Jacqueline’s great-great aunt—was the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria, making the former queen of the United Kingdom Jacqueline’s great-great-great-great-great grandaunt.

Jacqueline’s great-aunt—Princess Valentina of Spain—is married to Prince Georgios of Greece and Denmark, Jacqueline’s uncle, and her title upon her marriage became Crown Princess Victoria of Greece and Spain. Crown Prince Georgios was formerly King George III of Greece, while Princess Valentina was Queen Valentina of Greece, the country’s first Spanish queen consort. However, Georgios only ruled for two years, and he abdicated the throne in favor of his younger brother, the now King Constantine II of Greece. Due to the marriage between Valentina and Georgios, however, that makes the Mexican imperial family relatives to the Greek royal family.

King Constantine II is Jacqueline’s great-uncle and his wife, Queen Anne-Marie of Greece and Denmark, is her great-aunt. Crown Prince Pavlos is Jacqueline’s second cousin, once removed/uncle, and his wife—Crown Princess Marie-Chantal—is her aunt. Pavlos and Marie-Chantal’s five children are all Jacqueline’s second cousins. Furthermore, that makes Crystal Bienvenu (Jacqueline’s classmate) and her siblings Jacqueline’s third cousins (and they had no idea that they were that closely related).

The Mexican imperial family is incredibly popular among its citizens, and is said to be well loved. They are known to be a very progressive, casual, down-to-earth, and friendly family to the Mexican public, royal watchers, and to foreigners. They are also known for their close relationship despite their large number of members.

Despite their close relationship now, the Mexican imperial family was known as very rigid, somewhat cold, and had a nearly distant family life up until Emperor Gustavo’s marriage to Baroness Agustina Natalia Sophia.

Although the empire was previously abolished in 2003, after society was restored following the events of The Tragedy, Mexico was significantly affected by the world’s societal collapse and by a devastating war between the country and Cuba caused by The Tragedy, and in an overwhelming 125–9 vote, the Mexican empire was restored, the imperial family was allowed back, and Emperor Fernando got his political power restored. However, six months later, he abdicated the throne in favor of his eldest daughter and Jacqueline’s mother, Victoria.

During the holiday season and before Christmas, the imperial family sends out cards with a portrait of the entire family—both the Mexican imperial family and the extended Bourbon-Perez/Spanish royal family—on the front. 1,000 cards are sent out to random households in Mexico and around the world every year, and all of them are personally signed by the emperor and empress. Only 50 cards are signed by other members of the family. This tradition started during the reign of Emperor Alphons in the late 1800s, and had increased in popularity during the reign of Emperor José Manuel.

Christmas portraits of the emperor’s immediate family and individual portraits of members of the imperial family are also released before Christmas, as well.

The children of the family also make Christmas cards, write messages in them, and sign them for the palace staff. The messages usually thank the staff for their hard work throughout the year. Jacqueline is known for tying each of her cards with gold, red, or green ribbons, and she’s known for gifting the staff with homemade cookies, as well.

There is a Christmas tree located in one of the imperial family’s winter residences, and before Christmas, the family makes decorations to hang from the tree, and they also hang home baked cookies—that are mainly baked by Jacqueline—from it, as well. Additionally, the oldest or youngest child gets to place the star/angel on top (it depends on the year).

On Christmas Eve, a formal dinner is held at the family’s winter residence and includes only the family members and their close guests (such as friends and government officials with close connections to the imperial family).

Also on Christmas Eve, the imperial family usually plays soccer/football on the grounds of their winter residence. This tradition was started by Emperor Gustavo in the early 1900s. Currently, Prince Alejandro and Empress Victoria have won the most games. The imperial family also plays Monopoly on Christmas Eve, which was started by Prince Alejandro.

Alejandro and Jacqueline also skate on the pond on the grounds of the family’s winter residence on Christmas Eve, which was turned into an ice skating rink at Emperor Daniel’s request when his children were young. Additionally, the imperial family also plays ice hockey. In regards to that, Jacqueline and her teams have won the most games.

The Mexican imperial family usually attends church service at the Catedral Metropolitana on a Sunday before Christmas. On Christmas Day, they attend church again, no matter what day it is, and that service is a much more public event due to it taking place on Christmas Day. During service, the emperor and empress’s Christmas speeches are broadcasted throughout the country, and tens of millions of Mexican citizens either watch or listen in. After service, the imperial family has a carriage procession through Mexico City, and that night, a final Christmas ball is held. Following the ball, the family usually watches Christmas movies at their winter residence, as well as a late night rerun of the emperor and empress’s Christmas broadcast.

Christmas is one of the imperial family’s favorite holidays, along with Independence Day, Day of the Dead, and Chuseok.

The imperial family combines a lot of Christmas traditions from different countries during the holiday season. Of course, there are mainly Mexican, Spanish, Korean, and British traditions, but there are also German and Scottish traditions mixed in, as well.

Mexico is known for sending numerous equestrians, sailors, surfers, soccer players, and runners to the Olympics, most of which have medaled. Members of the imperial family who have competed in the Olympics include: Emperor Alphons’ second son, who competed in equestrianism and won bronze, Emperor Gustavo’s youngest son, who competed in sailing and placed fourth, Empress Victoria, who competed in equestrianism and tennis and won silver and gold, Princess Luisa, Victoria’s younger sister, who competed in swimming and won gold, Prince Alejandro, Victoria’s eldest son, who competed at both the summer and winter Olympics and won gold in figure skating and gold in equestrianism, Princess Jacqueline, who competed in figure skating and won gold, as well, Princess Isabel, Victoria’s other younger sister, who competed in snowboarding and won bronze, and Princess Catalina Anita, who competed in gymnastics and track and won gold and bronze.

Like the United Kingdom, the Mexican empire has an established social season as well. It starts on February 1st with the state opening of Parliament, and it ends on December 9th with Empress Agustina’s Debutante Ball. In between, events like flower shows, opera performances, sports tournaments, society galas, a dog show, and an imperial derby are held. A five month break also occurs in between July and December. The social season was also introduced by Empress Agustina, but it didn’t become widespread until Emperor José Manuel’s reign.

Mexico is also known for its classic original operas, productions, and various opera singers. The annual opera performance at the Gran Teatro Nacional is one of the most anticipated events during the social season, and it is one of Dowager Empress Consuelo Teresa, Emperor Fernando, Empress Catalina-Beatriz, Empress Victoria, and Victoria’s children’s favorite event during the season.

Mexico also has quite the large amount of painters and photographers. Two of the most renowned painters and photographers are Lady Magdalena de la Cerda, a member of the aristocratic la Cerda family and a famous landscape, surrealist, and portrait artist, and Guillermo Hernandez-Mendez, a photographer famous for his landscape shots and creativity. Both of them work for the imperial family, and they usually create the family’s portraits.

Mexico is also known for its incredibly strong military. It’s head is, of course, the current monarch of the empire. Emperor José Manuel had extensive military knowledge and training, which he passed on to his sons, the future Emperor Fernando included. Fernando passed that military knowledge onto his eldest daughter and heir apparent, the future Empress Victoria, who further strengthened Mexico’s military just like her father and grandfather had done.

Dowager Empress Consuelo Teresa introduced the Korean holiday of Chuseok and the celebration of doljanchi to the imperial family upon her marriage to Emperor José Manuel. Since Emperor Fernando’s doljanchi in 1937, almost every member of the imperial family has also had one. Unlike other holidays, banquets are not held for Chuseok. Instead, smaller family dinners/potlucks are held in the family’s summer palaces, and they also get the chance to speak to their extended family in Korea.

The family’s main residence—Chapultepec Castle—is lit up with colored lights for various occasions. Some of those occasions include Independence Day, the birthdays of members of the imperial family, the births of members of the imperial family, and coronations. The lighting of Chapultepec Castle was introduced by Empress Catalina-Beatriz and started after the birth of Empress Victoria in 1967, and it has been done ever since.

Other traditions include the public lighting of the Christmas tree in front of Chapultepec Castle, and the ringing of the Catedral Metropolitana bells once an imperial baby has been born and during an imperial wedding.

The title of Prince/Princess of Tijuana is a title given to the heirs to the throne of Mexico. It was created in the early 1900s by Emperor Alphons as an 18th birthday gift for his eldest son, the future Emperor Gustavo. Since then, there have been five Princes of Tijuana and two Princesses of Tijuana. The title of Duke/Duchess of Bourbon-Perez is a title given to the current monarch and their spouse, and it was created by Dowager Empress Consuelo Teresa upon her eldest son’s ascension to the imperial throne. The title of Earl/Countess of Bourbon-Perez was created by Emperor Fernando upon his eldest daughter’s marriage in 1988.

Upon Victoria's ascension to the Mexican throne, Prince Alejandro—Jacqueline’s older brother—became the new crown prince of Mexico, and he also received the titles of Prince of Tijuana (a title given to the heirs to the imperial throne) and Earl of Bourbon-Perez. Jacqueline also moved up a spot in the line of succession, going from fourth to third.

Most of the members of the imperial family have married/have been engaged to people with noble/aristocratic titles. Only five members have not done so, with those being: Emperor José Manuel, who married Yoo Hyeryun, a Korean woman hailing from a middle class family, Crown Prince Alejandro, who got engaged to Vivienne Young, a woman hailing from an old moneyed Peranakan family, Princess Isabel, who married Stephanos Alexander Onasis, a Greek commoner, Prince Maximilliano, Emperor Fernando’s younger brother, who married Bianca Rosalia Rodriguez, a Cuban commoner, and Princess Alejandra of Spain, who married Hernando Enrique Torres, an Ecuadorian commoner hailing from a wealthy oil family.

The Mexican imperial family has a total of 19 residences. They have nine residences in Mexico, and 10 residences in other countries (such as Cuba, the United Kingdom, and Spain).

#here it is !! a lil list of some things i came up with for the fictional mexican empire !!#i might add more in the future tbh !!#later on tho i’m gonna make a list of the past monarchs & a list of the family’s xmas traditions !!#n e ways i’m gonna go disappear for another couple weeks lol #monarchy #empire #fictional monarchy #fictional empire #royalty #royal family #imperial family #fake royal family #fake imperial family #royal family oc #royalty oc #cece writes :)#cece speaks :)

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shemakesmusic-uk · 3 years

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This segment features artists who have submitted their tracks/videos to She Makes Music. If you would like to be featured here then please send an e-mail to [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!

ROJAZ

ROJAZ is a Spanish flavoured artist currently based in London. She sees herself as a mix of artists like BANKS, Sabrina Claudio, and Rendez-Vous at Two. Soothing and sensual vocals paired with conversational lyrics, her new single ‘Gravitating’ is out now. "’Gravitating’ is about the push and pull dynamic of two people who don’t want to say goodbye, despite knowing they should”, she says. Strong synths and raw vocals create an impactful track, whilst layers of harmonies carefully guide you through the narrative. Listen below.

VERAH

VERAH is a 20 year old singer-songwriter from New York. Having sung and studied Jazz since she was 14, her music is heavily influenced by the smooth vocals of Nina Simone and the rhythmic genius of Herbie Hancock. Some of her current influences include Amy Winehouse, H.E.R. and Snoh Aalegra. Lastest single ‘Too Late (It's Not Easy)’ features the smooth R&B vocals of VERAH as she sings about love gone wrong over a deep, groovin' beat. Her sixth single to date, the song explores the duality of knowing you deserve better but hurting at the same time. Listen below.

Blakkheart

Blakkheart is a music producer, engineer and vocalist based in Cork. Everything you see and hear from the artist is done in its entirety by her (right down to the artwork) from her plant emporium home studio. After touring as a session musician and vocalist she began to hone her production skills. Luxuriously dreamy, electronic glitter disco, inspired by Prince and Kylie Minogue - ‘Not To Your Taste’ was composed on a Roland Juno DI hardware synthesizer in Blakkheart’s plant emporium/home studio. “Gave my life to you/ Pipe dreams can be cruel/ Was it hard to watch/ As I lost and lost” - a lament to the life you envisioned inside your head; and the unwelcome realization that this may never materialize,” says Blakkheart. Listen below.

BLAKKHEART · Not To Your Taste

MBG

MBG is an alt-rock artist and multi-instrumentalist based in Brampton, ON. Behind the scenes she writes, records and produces her own music but brings it out in its purest form on stage with her band of talented friends. She goes against the grain with her own loud, edgy and unique sound. She has this to say about her new single ‘This Time’: "In the chorus, my friends tell me it's not my fault, to stop blaming myself. I've recently gone through a relationship that was unfortunately cut short and has left me with the idea of what could've been and for someone with anxiety, always pondering on the what if is a very hard itch to scratch. In the heat of the moment, you look back and think "wow, I've done something wrong that ended this thing," but later come to understand that it's totally valid that they don't want to be with you, for whatever the reason is. Whether you're falling in love or losing someone in your life, there can be this sense that you're spiraling out of control. Every now and then, you kind of just have to let it hit you like a ton of bricks. So if you want to mosh to this song with your roommate, or have a good cry alone in your bedroom, that's okay." Listen below.

MBG · This Time

GLOCHELR

GLOCHELR is an R&B singer-songwriter from London, and her latest single ‘Closure’ wass perfect for Valentine’s Day. “The song focuses on the search for ‘closure’ and explores all the pain and uncertainty that comes with giving your all to someone who may not even want it,” she explains. “In all, sometimes the feelings go, but the trauma stays indefinitely and it’s up to you to deal with that.” Listen below.

Lemon Lord

Lemon Lord is a pop music artist based in Los Angeles. She released her first album Be Blonde in November last year. Her mantra, "To Infinity and Be Blonde," is a reminder to us all that we can do anything we dream of and we can be any version of ourselves that we choose along the way. This mantra is echoed in her song ‘Queen’ in the lyrics of the chorus, which say, "You just gotta live life like a Queen/ Ooh you can do it/ Baby it's done/ If you put your mind to it." Listen below.

Serena Sophia

Serena Sophia has been in the music, theatre, acting industry for a number of years. She studied music at the University of Glasgow and then went on to study a Masters in Musical Theatre at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She has always written lyrics and music, but it was throughout 2019 and 2020 she finally found her sound and discovered who she was an artist and was finally ready for her first release. 'Diary of Thoughts' is a song about heartbreak, loss, love and also strength. The lyrics were derived from sections of diary entries from 2018 which was an especially difficult year for Serena due to a toxic relationship and break up. “The song is so personal to me as it describes the emptiness, pain and heartbreak I felt throughout that time but also the moment I decided to finally take care of myself and control of my life and my own happiness,” she explains.

Serena Sophia · Serena Sophia - Diary Of Thoughts

imojen

imojen (she/they) is a 22 year old non-binary, feminist, singer-songwriter. Raised in Switzerland and now based in Brighton, UK, imojen has been musical for the most of their life. Inspired to write her first song after hearing Florence + the Machine’s ‘Shake It Out’, imojen’s lyrics seek to expose the awkward and spectacular details of a queer femme existence. Relationships, sex, the body and identity are all key themes in their music. Through rich vocal harmonies, strong melodies and captivating language, imojen weaves a truly unique sound and experience. ‘Angus’ is an open letter. An unapologetic, feminist ballad, that accuses men of passing down their misogyny to their sons. Inspired by artists such as Lucius and k.d. lang, imojen’s vocals and tangled harmonies are positioned as the focus of the piece as she depicts woodlands, country clubs, wildfires and graveyards in a haunting protest. Tracing a map of her emotional journey, imojen reveals cynicism, rage, malice and contempt, but shows no signs of weakness. Indulgent and imaginative, ‘Angus’ creates a space for fantastical vengeance, empowerment and escape. Listen below.

Amy Ellen

Amy Ellen is part of the emerging Irish indie-folk scene. Hailing from Dublin, her music is inspired indie-folk artists such as Laura Marling and Fleetwood Mac. Her new single 'This Life' is a coming of age pop-rock tune which conveys a sense of maturity and realisation that nothing good will last forever. In Amy's words: "The song is inspired by true-life events, it touches on losing and gaining people in your life and outlines that some moments become memories we cherish and reflect on. I feel that it's a subject that everyone can relate to, sometimes we fail to see the impact others have on us until they are no longer present and vice versa". Instrumentally, the song features punchy 90’s rock elements, a contrast from Amy’s latest acoustic driven songs. Listen below.

#submission saturday #rojaz #verah #blakkheart #mbg #glochelr #lemon lord #serena sophia #imojen #amy ellen

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tabloidtoc · 3 years

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Star, January 18

You can now buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Duchess Kate and Duchess Camilla holiday from hell

Page 1: Teresa Giudice goes Insta-official with her new businessman beau while her ex Joe Giudice posts a pic of his own -- Luis “Louie” Ruelas lavished Teresa with gifts and he doesn’t let her pay for anything while Joe posted a photo of his supposed love writing Happiness doesn’t depend on wealth

Page 2: Contents, Bachelorette Tayshia Adams slipped on a bauble from Zac Clark

Page 3: Jennifer Garner pulled on a Santa-approved sweater and a striped mask before heading out in L.A., Sophia Bush wore a mask saying I’m Smiling as she stopped by Greenblatt’s Deli in Hollywood, newlyweds Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts piled into their car to see Regina King’s directorial debut One Night in Miami in Malibu

Page 4: Bilingual mom of five Hilaria Baldwin gets flamed for faking her European identity -- the yogi is upset that so many people were bashing her and she felt compelled to defend herself -- her husband Alec Baldwin went on the attack in a rant because he won’t tolerate anyone trolling Hilaria

Page 5: It’s the role of a lifetime and actresses are lining up to play Madonna in her biopic and current frontrunners are Florence Pugh and Julia Garner -- the bosses at CAA which is the agency helping put the movie together want Florence and promised to take her to the next level but on the other hand fans and press want Julia because she’s such a dead-ringer for early-career Madonna

* Days after Dakota Johnson flashed a giant emerald ring from boyfriend Chris Martin the singer’s ex Gwyneth Paltrow is calling dibs on their wedding -- Chris and Dakota are looking to get married next summer and Gwyneth has already talked to them about playing a big part in their big day -- Gwyneth feels very close to Dakota which puts the bride-to-be in an awkward position because Dakota wants to make her mom Melanie Griffith her bridesmaid and Melanie is warning Dakota that Gwyneth will end up upstaging the whole day if she’s in the wedding party

* Soleil Moon Frye and Jason Goldberg have parted ways after a 22-year marriage -- the parents of daughters Poet and Jagger and sons Lyric and Story will move forward with love and compassion and they have a good chance of keeping their split amicable -- they’ve been drifting apart for years and eventually it dawned on them that they’re on different paths

Page 6: Six months after splitting from wife Megan Fox, Brian Austin Green was spotted boarding a flight at LAX with Dancing With the Stars pro Sharna Burgess -- their relationship is new but it’s moving fast and they’ve become inseparable over the last few weeks -- the timing has some friends of the dancer concerned because no one wants to see Sharna get hurt or caught up in a toxic rebound relationship as Brian’s still clashing with Megan over their divorce

* Emmy Rossum looks unrecognizable playing Angelyne but that’s not what caught her coworkers’ eyes on set: she looks pregnant -- Emmy wed Sam Esmail in 2017 and they’ve talked about starting a family forever so it’s a very special time

* Star Spots the Stars -- Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber, Angela Bassett, Chrishell Stause and Keo Motsepe and Gleb Savchenko and Cassie Scerbo, Irina Shayk, Ramona Singer and Colin Cowie

Page 8: Star Shots -- Mark Ballas and his dog Hendrix both donned holiday sweaters, Reese Witherspoon and her dog Minnie

Page 9: Martha Stewart on her snow plow, Emma Slater who hails from the U.K. and Russia-born Sasha Farber passed their U.S. citizenship test

Page 10: Director Regina King suited up for the drive-in premiere of her film One Night in Miami at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, Donnie Wahlberg and Marisa Ramirez headed to the wintry beach to shoot scenes for Blue Bloods in Queens

Page 11: Tessa Thompson brought along her father Marc Anthony Thompson to a film premiere, Bindi Irwin at 26 weeks pregnant

Page 12: The Bachelor Matt James hit the links in Jupiter, Marlon Wayans on a pre-holiday getaway in Tulum, a masked Katie Holmes toted some last-minute Christmas shopping

Page 13: Eva Longoria working out, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen enjoyed a hike together during a getaway to St-Barth

Page 14: Days after saying goodbye to her beloved New York state home Sandra Lee was on garbage duty at her $3.4 million west coast digs in Malibu, Jordana Brewster with boyfriend Mason Morfit enjoy a stroll in Los Angeles

Page 15: Elle Macpherson during a day of shopping in Miami, Candice Swanepoel with her youngest son Ariel at the beach in Miami

Page 18: Normal or Not? Renee Zellweger did some heavy lifting while out in L.A. -- not normal, Bella Hadid made a snow angel in NYC -- normal, Bai Ling stepped out in Hollywood dressed in a currency-inspired ensemble -- not normal

Page 19: Madonna with pink hair -- normal, Justin Bieber appeared to be deep in thought leaving the studio in Burbank -- normal

Page 20: Fashion -- stars look marvelous in metallics -- Kerry Washington, Tracee Ellis Ross, Jessica Alba

Page 21: Kate Beckinsale, Camila Morrone, Zoe Kravitz

Page 24: Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson engaged -- despite their rocky history the couple are happily tying the knot -- Khloe is convinced Tristan has changed and won’t dare deceive her a third time

Page 25: After a year of dating Liam Hemsworth and Gabriella Brooks are playing house -- Liam recently purchased a $4.9 million five-bedroom estate in the posh seaside town of Byron Bay and the model has moved in -- they get along great and have a nice easygoing vibe between them and Liam loves that there’s no drama with Gabriella and he says she is the one; they both feel that they are soulmates

* Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli marriage on the brink -- things were fraying between them well before they went off to prison and there’s been a lot of finger-pointing and blame and they both acknowledge their foundation has crumbled

* The release of Justin Timberlake’s latest film is bringing back a bad time in his eight-year marriage to Jessica Biel -- as he gears up to promote the premiere of Palmer the couple are bracing for a new round of headlines about Justin’s bad-boy behavior in which he was spotted getting handsy with costar Alisha Wainwright -- Justin’s expected to do promo interviews alongside Alisha albeit via Zoom and that’s not cool with Jessica at all and the bickering between Justin and Jessica is setting in again big time

Page 26: Cover Story -- Christmas From Hell -- with Duchess Kate and Duchess Camilla at war over who should fill Queen Elizabeth’s shoes the holidays were anything but merry for the royals

Page 29: It’s been a year since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked the world by stepping back from their royal duties last January and now it seems they’re rethinking severing all ties with the monarchy because the couple are seeking a 12-month extension of their so-called Megxit deal which expires at the end of March in the hope of keeping their royal patronages and reinstating the military titles that Harry was devastated to lose when the pair left the U.K. for the U.S.

Page 30: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez: the wedding is off -- postponing her Italian nuptials with Alex gave Jennifer time to think and now she’s rethinking getting married at all

Page 32: Teen Heartthrobs: Where Are They Now? Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Donny Osmond

Page 33: Leif Garrett, Andrew Keegan

Page 38: Entertainment

Page 48: Parting Shot -- Paris Hilton and little sister Nicky Hilton Rothschild showed off their good sides in pastel Alessandra Rich frocks during a recent photoshoot

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jovialyouthmusic · 4 years

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Kiss from a Rose 2

Auld Aquaintance...

A Valentine’s Day Adventure for Sophia and Bastien of Protect and Serve

Bastien deals with someone from Sophia’s past, and makes plans for Valentine’s Day

Word Count 4224

A/N Many thanks to @drakeandcamilleofvaltoria for making me realise I really should use the song in the title... and to @bobasheebaby her help with the moodboard for this three part series

Warnings - none, just lots of fluff. Just a teensy bit of confrontation...

Auld Aquaintance...

‘Sophia, is that you?’

Sophia froze at the familiar voice, swallowed and turned to see Mark, her ex, parted some three years now. She had a sinking feeling at having to deal with him again. She had been with him in Edinburgh while she worked there. He was a junior administrator for the Edinburgh police force, working in crime prevention after studying forensics at university in Glasgow.

‘Hi Mark’ she replied, trying to keep her voice steady. Mark touched her elbow and leaned in to kiss her cheek. She recoiled a little but he still made contact. He drew back to look at her, hand still on her arm. She froze, unable to move for a moment.

‘Sophia, what in the world are you doing here? Last I heard you’d gone to some odd European backwater’ Sophia had her back to Bastien so didn’t see him make his way across to her as fast as he could, and jumped when she heard his voice at her shoulder.

‘Is this man bothering you, Sophia?’ he asked, his voice strong and steady, hand to the small of her back. Mark’s arm dropped to his side and the two men locked eyes. Mark was slightly shorter, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes, of a similar build to Bastien and five years younger.

‘I – umm – Bastien, this is Mark. Mark – Bastien’ she replied ‘Mark and I used to…’ her voice trailed off as she saw her former lover look Bastien up and down. She swallowed ‘We used to go out together’

‘More than go out, I’d say’ he said with an arrogance that Bastien didn’t care for at all. ‘We were together three years’ He unconsciously squared up to Bastien. ‘I know your taste was for older men, Sophia, but…’ His sentence went unfinished as Bastien’s hand took Mark’s in a gesture that looked outwardly like a handshake, but the other man went pale. He was applying a little known pressure point to the wrist that was painful but had no outward sign and would leave no mark.

‘Mark’ Bastien said ‘I’ve heard all about you. I’d also heard how polite the English are, but I’m really not getting that from you – or do you hail from Scotland? Sophia didn’t say’ Mark opened and closed his mouth like a fish, looking as though he might drop to the floor at any moment. ‘I’m guessing that in those three years you didn’t discover how much Sophia dislikes bad manners’ Bastien continued, then let his hand go. The other man swayed a little on his feet and took a shuddering breath.

‘I was just saying hello’ he said defensively

‘Well, it appears you did that already – was there anything you’d like to say to this man, Sophia?’ Bastien went on. He saw a spark in her eye as she reached out to take Bastien’s arm

‘No, not really’ she said, her voice steadying ‘Otherwise I’d already have said it the last time we met’ Bastien patted her hand.

‘It’s a pity Mark has to leave right now’ he said ‘You are leaving, aren’t you?’ he said pointedly, fixing him with his steely grey eyes

‘I – ah yes, I was just going to get my coat’ he replied faintly

‘Excellent’ Bastien said ‘Nice to meet you, Mark. What a pity our paths won’t cross again’ Mark shook his head as if he was just coming out of a trance and walked away unsteadily. Bastien watched him for a moment before he took Sophia’s arm and returned to the bar. She went to pick up one of the drinks, but Bastien noticed her hand trembling. ‘I’ll have a tray for these please’ he asked the barman who nodded and put out a tray for the glasses. He put his hand softly to Sophia’s cheek.

‘Sophia, are you alright?’ he asked quietly.

‘I – I don’t know. It was just – it was a surprise.’ She looked up at him ‘Thankyou for that. I’d have coped, but it helped’ Bastien saw Drake looking at them from the table, and lifted his chin in a gesture that beckoned him over. He gave Sophia a searching look as Drake took the tray and whisked it away when he saw the intensity of the scene before him.

‘You look shaken, theá mou’ Bastien said with concern ‘We can go back to the hotel if you like’ Sophia pulled herself up and shook her head.

‘No, he’s gone now, I’m not going to let him spoil my evening’ she said firmly. Bastien nodded and took her hand

‘Good girl. Do you want to go back to the others yet?’ he asked. She brightened up, nodding

‘Yes, lets’ she said ‘The night is young’

-------

After Sophia’s encounter with her ex, she had been determined not to let it mar her enjoyment of her visit. She had downed her first drink rather faster than she had intended, but Bastien had watched her carefully and observed that she didn’t go over the top after that. He had to work in the morning so he would not be overindulging himself – not that he ever did anyway, and she had already said that evening how she hated hangovers. The few times he had gotten drunk enough for a hangover had been after traumatic events – the death of Jackson Walker and Queen Eleanor, the ‘accident’ that had claimed the lives of Olivia Nevrakis’ parents, the departure of Bianca Walker.

She and Bastien drank and chatted and laughed with the others for a while, then Sophia had started to yawn. She and Bastien said their goodbyes and made their way back to their hotel suite, but when she arrived her tiredness lifted as she undressed for bed. Bastien was watching her carefully but didn’t press her. Wordlessly he embraced her, pulling her to him and stroking her hair.

‘I’m so glad I found you’ she murmured ‘I feel so safe with you’

‘I hope you have nothing to fear’ he answered ‘I want you to be happy, theá mou’ She drew a shaky breath

‘It was a shock seeing Mark’ she started ‘It’s not like he did anything bad, I just realised he didn’t have my best interests at heart. He was always pushing me to do things I wasn’t comfortable with’ Bastien felt his stomach lurch, but stayed calm despite wanting to make her ex regret ever having upset or harmed her.

‘What kind of things, theá mou?’ he asked levelly.

‘Oh, he wanted me to stay in my job when I realised it was a dead end’ she explained, nestling into him ‘I guess he didn’t want me to leave him for another position. He was happy in his work and had no plans to move’

‘Was that all?’ he asked warily, and she laughed faintly.

‘Really, only little things’ she replied ‘What I wore, who I saw…he got more and more controlling. I realised what was happening and got a friend to help me move away.’

‘Did he ever hurt you?’ he asked, pushing down the anger that bubbled up inside him.

‘No, never, though he was angry when we broke up’ she said, and he breathed a sigh of relief. ‘What did you do to him?’ she asked ‘It wasn’t like him to step down so easily’

‘Just a little technique that defuses tense situations’ he murmured, kissing the top of her head ‘I’m pleased you escaped him and I’m delighted you moved on and found your way to me. I would never ask you to do anything you’re not happy with’ He felt her relax.

‘Thankyou’ she said softly ‘Every step I’ve made lead me to you’

‘Let me help you to forget him’ Bastien said tenderly, brushing back her hair. She turned her face up to him as he bent to kiss her lips.

------

Sophia woke to Bastien’s alarm, feeling the bed shift as he reached over to stop it before turning back to her to drape his arm over her hip and draw her close.

‘Good morning, my goddess’ His rich tones vibrated through her body. She felt soft as butter from the lovemaking of the previous night, when Bastien had been tender and attentive as never before. She took her time getting up, listening to the sounds of Bastien showering. It was Valentine’s Day and a bunch of deep red roses arrived with the breakfast trolley. Bastien took one out of the bunch and placed it between his teeth before taking Sophia in his arms and waltzing around the lounge.

‘Don’t those have thorns?’ she laughed as they swirled around to Bastien’s baritone humming of I only have eyes for you. He let her go, taking the rose out of his mouth and presenting it to her with a low bow.

‘I would never cause you any harm’ he said ‘Look, no thorns’ and indeed, there were none.

The two of them sat down for breakfast, looking out down Princes Street across to the Castle. Bastien had to go to Holyrood Palace to liaise with the Queen Elizabeth’s security team in preparation for the first State Visit from King Liam. Sophia would spend the day with her friend Les. In the afternoon they might meet up with Drake and Riley, and hopefully Bastien would be free in time for dinner. She guessed Drake would not want to look around the castle and would probably say something to the effect that he’d lived in a Palace most of his life, why would he want to see a pile of old stones that had housed Kings and Queens he knew nothing about. He probably wouldn’t want to look in any Art Galleries either, so perhaps she could do that with Les, though she thought probably they would go window shopping in the clothes shops on George Street and go for ice cream sundaes at the place she’d taken Bastien to.

All too soon Bastien was kissing her goodbye, and she went to shower before meeting Les. The two women had met at University, and Les lived in a town two hour’s drive away. She was arriving by train, the station just adjacent to the hotel, and Sophia went down to meet her in good time. Les was married and was excited to get away for the day, leaving their two children with her husband.

‘Sophia!’ she squealed, and they embraced warmly ‘It’s so good to see you. Will I get to meet that hunk of a man that’s swept you off your feet?’

‘Sadly not, he’ll be working all day, I won’t see him until around six at the earliest’

‘Oh, shame, he looks seriously dishy, I’m so envious – though I’m happy enough with Pete of course’

‘How is he? I’m sorry to be taking you away from him on Valentine’s Day’

‘Oh don’t be’ she waved her hand dismissively ‘He hates artificial holidays, though he’ll probably cave and pick me a flower or have a bottle of wine chilling when I get home. He’s taking the boys out hillwalking, that will tire them out and they’ll be in bed early so we can get some time to ourselves’

‘Hillwalking? Aren’t they a bit young?’ she asked

‘Never too young to get them out in the fresh air.’ She grinned ‘They love it. Now, let’s hit the shops. I promised the boys I’d buy them a little something – and maybe I’ll go and look in Joules, drool over the clothes I can’t afford’

------

At the Palace of Holyrood, Bastien met his counterpart – and was finding it difficult to keep his cool façade – for who else could it possibly be but Sophia’s ex, Mark. His driver introduced them, and Bastien noted the look of trepidation on the other man’s face as he reached out to shake his hand.

‘Mr Lykel, this is Mark Potter, head of security at the Palace’ Bastien nodded, his handshake firm but comfortable. He saw the other man relax visibly.

‘We bumped into each other last night’ he replied

‘Small world’ Mark said drily

‘I’ll leave you to it’ the driver said, turning on his heel. The two men regarded each other warily, but it was Bastien who spoke first.

‘It’s unfortunate we got off on the wrong foot, Potter. I’m sure that, like me, you keep your personal and work lives quite separate. I’m sure we can conduct our business in a professional manner’

‘Of course, Lykel. The security of both our superiors is of the utmost importance.’ He gave him a sharp look ‘Before we go on, I’d like to apologise for being rude last night. It was a shock to see Sophia with another man, and I’m afraid I didn’t handle it very well’

‘Say no more about it’ Bastien replied ‘We have work to do’

‘Indeed’ he agreed ‘You’ll have to show me that grip you used last night, it was very effective’

‘It’s a trade secret’ Bastien said sombrely ‘I’m surprised you don’t already know it’

------

Sophia’s morning passed pleasantly – they visited the shops before they got too busy, went to see an exhibition at the National Art Gallery, and went for panini in the café there at lunchtime. They strolled up the Royal Mile to the Castle, dipping in and out of shops, and Les chose some little toys for her kids in a souvenir shop. They met Drake and Riley and went for ice cream sundaes before it was time for Les to catch her train home.

‘Stay in touch, Sophia’ she said as they embraced at the station ‘Let me know how you get on with your beau, and if you’re over here again, let me know.’

‘Of course darling, it’s been so good to catch up. Take care’ She smiled and waved as the train departed, and turned back to Drake and Riley. She quickly texted Bastien, but it was a while before he answered to say he’d be later than he intended and to go and eat without him. She took Drake and Riley up to their suite so she could change into a cocktail dress in the hope that Bastien wouldn’t be too late to go out to a bar or club.

‘He can’t have had time to arrange anything for Valentine’s Day’ she sighed ‘I know I shouldn’t expect him to, and he was so attentive yesterday’ Drake patted her shoulder

‘You know how he likes to plan, Soph. I’m sure he’ll make the day something to remember – and if not, he’ll be eager to make up for it, you know it’ he reassured her. Sophia brightened

‘To be honest, the whole trip’s already been special – and my friend Les is right, it’s just an artificial money making date. I’m just being selfish’

‘Well, we should go eat, and then I have a great idea for mine and Drake’s last night here’ said Riley ‘But I’m not telling until after the meal. Come on, let’s go’

------

‘Lykel, I’m sorry this has taken so long’ Mark said apologetically. They had put their differences aside and worked together efficiently, grabbing a sandwich at the end of the day. ‘The good news is, we’ve covered so much ground we will only need to check things over briefly tomorrow so we’ll only need to work until lunch time’ He explained as they sat in his office.

‘That’s good news’ Bastien replied ‘I’ll be able to do some sightseeing’

‘I’m sorry I’ve kept you late on Valentine’s Day’ he said ‘But we needed to keep going to get things done. If it’s any consolation, my wife will have some sharp words for me when I get home’

‘I’m sure it couldn’t be helped. I’ll make it up to Sophia’ Mark tipped his head to the side and regarded Bastien solemnly

‘Would you stop just a little longer, Bastien?’ he asked ‘Now we’re not working, I’d like to properly clear the air between us’ Bastien lifted his chin in a particular nod of agreement

‘Very well, say what you have to’

‘I’m pretty sure that meeting me again wasn’t a pleasant experience for Sophia’ he said ‘I’m sorry for that – when we were together I was trying to get ahead in my career, and when she said she wanted to move away for another job I took it badly. I’m aware I tried to control her, and we didn’t part on good terms’

‘She’s not gone into details’ Bastien said shortly. Mark spread his hands in a placatory gesture.

‘If or when you feel it appropriate, perhaps you could tell her how sorry I am for being such a jerk’ he said. ‘I’ve moved on – I got married last year, and we’re expecting a baby soon. I’m glad to see she’s found someone so protective and supportive.’

‘I’ll do that if the opportunity comes up’ Bastien assured him. ‘It’s been a pleasure to work with you’ The other man rose to his feet and put out his hand.

‘That handshake’ Bastien said, and lightly pressed his wrist so he jumped a little ‘You need to study Dim Mak – there are few who claim to know it, but this one is for free’ He let go to turn his wrist over to show him where to press.

‘Thankyou. I’ll search out a teacher – now go and catch up with Sophia, and I’ll see you tomorrow’

-------

Sophia, Drake and Riley ate at a nearby Greek restaurant. Drake and Riley were good company when they weren’t being sappy, and evidently they had gotten that out of their system earlier on. Sophia was pretty sure they had spent much of the day in their hotel room celebrating in the way she wished she had been able to with Bastien. Sophia skipped dessert, having eaten enough during the day, and Riley leaned across the table to her when the plates had been cleared away.

‘So, how about hitting a karaoke bar?’ she said ‘There’s one here that has different themed rooms, and one of them is New York based.’ Sophia looked at Drake – she wasn’t sure that was his idea of fun or if he could carry a tune – but then that wasn’t always necessary for Karaoke. To her surprise he was enthusiastic.

‘Sounds great, as long as there’s a bar’ he said ‘Do we have to book?’

‘Nope’ replied Riley, getting out her smartphone ‘but you can check online to see how busy it is – aaaand it looks fine. Let’s pay up and go’ Sophia wasn’t particularly enthused, and she would rather have gone back to the hotel to wait for Bastien, but she was there and she should really make the most of being in the city with her friends before they left. The three of them made their way to the venue, which like many other clubs, had door security. They were admitted easily and made their way to the room Riley had chosen.

‘Hey it’s great!’ she cried ‘Just like home – go sit down and I’ll get drinks. Manhattens all round!’ Sophia and Drake bagged a table. A young man was on the small stage murdering a Frank Sinatra song while gazing adoringly at his girlfriend. It wasn’t long before Riley came back with the drinks. Drake looked distractedly at his phone as Sophia raised her glass.

‘I’ll go get us a list of the songs’ he said ‘Wait here, and we can choose a real humdinger’

‘They have a list?’ asked Sophia ‘I didn’t notice’ Drake looked shifty

‘Uh yeah, right by the bar, didn’t you see? I’ll just go to the bathroom first’ He disappeared and Riley looked at Sophia

‘I’m sure Bas won’t be too long now’ she said ‘Has he texted yet?’

I’ve got you under my skin – I’ve got you deep in the heart of me the young man warbled

‘No’ sighed Sophia ‘They’re really working him hard, I hope he gets a good bonus’ His song over, the young man left the stage, and there was a pause before the music started up again. To Sophia’s surprise, Drake appeared on stage with the microphone.

‘Uh, ladies and gentleman, can I have your attention please?’ he started ‘The next number is rather special. I’m sure a lot of you have been singing love ballads tonight – and this is no exception. Sophia, this is for you’ Sophia frowned, puzzled – then Drake turned to hand the microphone to a dark figure who stepped into the light. She gasped. It was Bastien, resplendent in an immaculate white tuxedo, dazzling white shirt and black bow tie, his raven black hair (as always) neat, his beard trimmed, black shoes as shiny as mirrors, red rose in his lapel. The music started to swell and he looked straight at her as he prepared to sing. Her eyes widened as he swung into ‘Kiss from a Rose’ His voice was deep and melodious and he could more than hold a tune.

There used to be a greying tower alone on the sea. You became the light on the dark side of me.

Slowly he made his way to the table, and she sat, rapt and enchanted.

Baby, I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey. Ooh, the more I get of you, the stranger it feels, yeah. And now that your rose is in bloom. A light hits the gloom On the grey.

As he got to her, he took her hand and lead her back to the stage, to sit her on the high chair there and gaze into her eyes as he went on

There is so much a man can tell you, so much he can say. You remain my power, my pleasure, my pain, baby. To me you're like a growing addiction that I can't deny. Won't you tell me is that healthy, baby?

It was a complex song, but he executed the speed and range of the notes perfectly, and Sophia knew it was just typical of him to choose something difficult and put his all into making it perfect

Now that your rose is in bloom, A light hits the gloom On the grey.

At the last line, Bastien sank to his knee and gave her the red rose that was pinned to his jacket lapel. The audience clapped and cheered - it was obvious how much in love the two of them were. Sophia took the rose and held it to her heart, then knelt down on the stage and kissed him, knowing it might be hard for him to get up again, and everyone whooped and cheered.

‘I’m sorry I’m late’ he said, handing the mic back to Drake, who appeared suddenly. ‘I’d planned this all along though. Whenever you want to go back to the hotel we can – or maybe you want to stay for a little while so I can show you off – you look spectacular in that dress’

‘I have to find the perfect song to sing back now’ she grinned ‘And I think I have it’ Bastien got to his feet, and Sophia beckoned Drake over to whisper in his ear. He raised his eyebrows and went off to cue up the song Sophia had chosen. She settled back onto the high stool and flicked back her hair while Bastien stood and watched. As the music started, a look of recognition crossed his face, and he looked down at the floor, unable for a moment to look her in the eye, trying to suppress an embarrassed smile.

Nobody does it better, makes me feel sad for the rest

Nobody does it half as good as you, baby, you’re the best

I wasn’t looking, but somehow you found me

I tried to hide from your love light, but like heaven above me

This guy who loves me is keeping all my secrets safe tonight

And nobody does it better, though sometimes I wish someone could

As she continued to sing in a sweet voice with just the slightest waver in it, he looked up at her, his expression caught between bashfulness, pride and adoration. Others started to join in, and he shifted uncomfortably. Sophia stood to hold his hand and look into his eyes as she carried on.

Nobody does it quite the way you do, why d’you have to be so good?

The way that you hold me, whenever you hold me

There’s some kind of magic inside you that keeps me from running

But just keep it comin’, how’d you learn to do the things you do?

Oh, and nobody does it better, makes me feel sad for the rest

Nobody does it half as good as you, baby, baby, darlin’ you’re the best

As the music faded, the other customers were on their feet cheering good naturedly, and Bastien received more than a few slaps on the back as they made their way back to their table.

‘Sophia’ he laughed ‘I’ve never been so embarrassed, what a song to pick’

‘I was just telling the truth’ she smiled ‘Don’t you think it was appropriate?’

‘That is for you to say’ he caught at her hand and kissed it. ‘and, my dear, you know I’m going to have to live up to it’

‘You always do’ she smiled.

Final instalment posts on Valentine’s Day

#bastien lykel #trr bastien #OC x Bastien #sophia x bastien #trr au fanfic #the royal romance au #valentine's 2020

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easystate · 4 years

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Priestess of Holy Wisdom intro to filianism.

I loved this. Reposting this here for fellow deanists and filianists (credits at the bottom):

“Rayati (“Hail to the Sun within you”),

My name Sorella Roselyn and I’m a Filianist.

Filianism is the religion of Our Mother God and Her Holy Daughter. The Creed above, very briefly, outlines the basis of what we believe.

Our religion is a subset of Déanism; an umbrella term for those who worship God the Mother independent of a male consort, father or son god (however some Déanists do incorporate the divine masculine in their faith, albeit carefully to avoid His image overshadowing Her). Déanists may or may not believe in the Holy Daughter, or follow the Filianic scriptures, or observe the Wheel of the Year. All that one requires to be a Déanist is the belief in God as Mother; the Supreme Deity, immanent but also transcendent from Her Creation rather than being an earth or lunar goddess as observed in Pagan Goddess religions such as Dianic Wicca.

For Filianists, God (who we call Déa) exists as a divine feminine Trinity. She is the Bright Mother, the Creatrix of the cosmos and God-above-Us. She is also the Holy Daughter, the dimmed reflection of Her Mother who commands the energies of creation and who is God-with-Us. And lastly She is the Dark Mother, also called the Mysteria, who is beyond all knowledge and form – God-the-Absolute. While it common to compare the Filianic Trinity to the Christian Trinity, a more apt comparison would be to the Hindu God Brahman who exists as Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Preserver) and Shiva (Destroyer). Their feminine counterparts, found in the Shaktism, would be the closest parallel to the Filianic trinity; Saraswati, Lakshimi and Parvati. The concept of a Triple, or Tri-unity Goddess, is one that has been replicated across many cultures and religions, primarily those now considered Pagan, yet still have thriving traditions in modern times.

Even in esoteric Christianity, particularly Gnostic and mystic circles, there is growing number of believes in a feminine Trinity to balance the masculine Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Others believe the Holy Spirit to be feminine Herself and correct Her name as ‘Mother Spirit’. The Divine Sophia, who is the form of which Déa came to myself as, exists in a three-fold form as Barbelo or Sige; the forethought of the All and cosmic mother, the creatrix Sophia or Pistis, and the Daughter Soul; Zoe. Sophia is the Greek word for Wisdom; Her trinity names thus translating as Silent Wisdom, Faithful Wisdom and Living Wisdom. While many Gnostic traditions regard Sophia as at fault for the flawed creation of the world, or personify Her as the lost soul desiring her male bridegroom and saviour (Christ), there are many who detach Sophia from her patriarchal demotion and worship Her as God in Her own right.

For Filianists; the Holy Daughter does not represent the soul in need of a saviour. She IS the Saviour. As explained beautifully in our scriptures, we believe that the Bright Mother created all things perfectly in the beginning, to be one with Her. Maid, the soul of humanity, was created in Her likeness as Her First Daughter. However the Maid wished to experience that which was outside Déa and so turned from Her, unable to look upon Her brightness or live in perfection. To Orthodox Filianists, the reason for this was due to temptation by the ‘Snake’ which represented the illusion of separation from Déa. However in the Janite Tradition it is believed that the motivation for this was not of deception but to seek knowledge. To experience both pleasure and pain which she could not when living with Déa. And this was done so according to Déa’s will as the soul of Maid came from Her and was a fragment of Her being. Whatever the intention, for Filianists that is the reason for why we live in a world of khear (separation) where suffering exists, where we are subject to the wherde (karma) of our actions and where our souls are reincarnated on the wheel of life. Déa did not exile us or punish us, rather we chose this state and each life we live is another step on our journey back to Her.

We believe that the Holy Daughter is the reason we have any hope of purifying our souls from khear and reuniting fully with Our Mother. According to the mythos, the Mother birthed the Holy Daughter (different from the First Daughter) as an aspect of Herself to reach Her children beyond the illusion of khear. While the Bright Mother is symbolised by the sun, beautiful yet blinding, the Daughter is symbolised by the moon, reflecting the light of Her Mother for us to see in the darkest of places. While the Bright Mother is the Light of Déa, the Holy Daughter is Her Love given form. It is the mission of the Daughter to spread Her Mother’s light to every corner of the cosmos, even to the farthest reaches where all hope seems lost.

The Mythos tells of how the Holy Daughter wilfully descended into Hell itself, suffering agonising torture and humiliation, before coming face to face with the Dark Queen; the antithesis of Déa who represents the soul of Maid at her most lost and cruel. The Holy Daughter allows the Dark Queen to ‘kill’ Her, only for the Bright Mother to shatter the gates of Hell after following Her Daughter’s descent. The Bright Mother’s tears of sorrow revived the Holy Daughter and restored Her to life; thus managing to conquer death itself. She is thus able to rise from Hell and carry the souls of all those lost with Her into Heaven.

This is of course a fictional story, but its purpose is to explain the mission and passion of the Daughter in images for Maids to understand. There are obvious parallels to other dying-and-rising saviour gods and goddesses. While Christians recognise similarities to the passion of Christ, there are also illusions to the descent of Inanna, the return of Persephone and also the shattering of Sophia as the Holy Soul unto the world. We believe these myths and more are evidence of the truth being shared and interpreted differently throughout time of God giving a part of Herself to save us from being eternally lost from Her.

Whether the mythos of the Scriptures is taken super literally or figuratively or a mixture of both is irrelevant for a Filianist. To be a Filianist is to follow Our Lady, the Holy Daughter, and Her teachings. Many of these are included in the Clear Recital along with the Mythos. These teachings as they are written were compiled by a group of women in Oxford during the 1970’s who referred to themselves as Madrians. While the themes and images of God the Mother and Daughter have existed for thousands of years, the structure of the Filianic faith arguably began with the Madrian movement (though the beliefs of those women at the time do not always represent those of Filianists today). Many accept the Teachings, though inspired by Déa, to still be subject to criticism as – like all religious texts – they are still the work of Maids, who are not perfect.

However, when reading the teachings, their central message is clear; Love. Love of each other, Love of Self and Love of Déa.

Therefore, the very nature of being a Filianist, is to Love.

Our Lady is the form of Déa’s Love. To worship Her is not simply through prayer or studying scripture, important as those aspects are. It is in being compassionate, in being kind and loving, to ourself and others, we are worshipping Her. In sharing the light of Déa to all the earth and beyond, we are ensuring that Her suffering was never in vain. To worship Her is not to hate, or envy, or seek revenge or harm unto others. To worship Her is not to proselytise or judge but to be a friend to every living creature and seek to do Good in Her name.

As Filianists we also believe in the Seven Janati; the seven great ‘angels’ or powers that are aspects of Déa given form:

Sai Raya (Jana of Light, Joy and Brilliance) Sai Candre (Jana of Purity, Reason and Reflection) Sai Vikhë (Jana of Strength, Courage and Valour) Sai Mati (Jana of Knowledge, Intuition and Wisdom) Sai Thame (Jana of Justice, Harmony and Order) Sai Sushuri (Jana of Mercy, Compassion and Love) Sai Rhavë (Jana of Discipline, Restraint and Faith)

To be a Filianist is to try to live in the image of the Seven Janati and inhabit their virtues. While most Filianists have a patron Jana they connect to, the goal of a Filianist ideally is to balance these virtues within oneself and society so as one does not become unbalanced. For instance many believe we are in an age where the ‘Vikhelic’ (Sai Vikhë) principle has overtaken the others, and thus we have more violence in the world than compassion or joy or restraint. But when channelled correctly, the virtue of Sai Vikhë can be used to help Our Lady’s light shine brightly, so long as it remains in balance with the others.

Our Lady Herself has been given many names throughout eternity, as has Our Mother. Most Filianists refer to the Mother as Mari or Marya; a holy name which has its place in multiple cultures for the Divine Mother, outside of the obvious Virgin Mary of Christianity. The most sacred name for the Holy Daughter in Filianism is Inanna (distinct from the Sumerian goddess of war), also referred to as Janah (pronounced ‘Yanah’, ‘Anna’ or ‘Hannah’) or Rhi’annë. She has also been called Kore, as in ‘maiden’, as well as Zoe by those like myself whose form of Déa has been Sophia. Anna often means Grace and ‘Jana’ also means Gateway, as well as being strikingly similar to the Islamic word for Paradise; Jannah. I personally call Her Janah. Whatever Her name or Her image, She is there for those who seek Her. The Dark Mother, Déa Mysteria, has no name or form – She Is Who She Is.

In closing; this blog is simply one Maid’s attempt to log her own journey as a Filianist, to walk in the path of Our Lady and help guide others into the arms of Our Mother.

Blessed is She.

“Take heart, My children, take joy and courage in our Mother. For She that created you also loves you, even to the end of the age. Take heart, though you have turned from Her. For She has not forsaken you, neither are Her eyes filled with anger. And Her hands that have shattered the gates of Hell shall not harm you; that have broken Hell’s foundation, shall be lain on you in gentleness. Therefore hide yourself not from Her, and put aside the tangled weeds of thought that strive each with the other. For of all things, Love is the simplest.” – Teachings 1:4 (“On Our Mother’s Love”)

Source: https://priestessofholywisdom.wordpress.com/

#deanism #filianism #goddess #goddess worship

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kshitij1997 · 4 years

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Hi everyone!

Hmm, so I have introduced a lot of the main characters already in my fanfic. Here’s a short summary of what defines each character, if people don’t fancy reading the whole story, or are confused by who’s what. Also added some characters not introduced yet, titbits and many future plot points.

Runeard:- Ruthless, oppressive tyrant whose destructive actions against the Northurldra are the lynchpin of the epic, and will affect Elsa, Olva(Original Character) and Anna decades down the line as they effect Agnarr and Iduna presently.

Agnarr and Iduna:- The present king and queen of Arendelle(Stand-in for Norway and Sweden). They are presently in marital and familial bliss as they have just welcomed Olva in the family, just 14 and a half months after Elsa was born. They’ll be put to the ultimate test of their lives soon enough.

Reginald and Sophia:- The present king and queen of Corona(Stand-in for Prussia) and close friends of Agnarr and Iduna. Princess Sophia hails from Austria-Hungary, from the Habsburg clan. Their union has made them the dominant power couple in Central Europe. Alas their child, princess Eva Rapunzel has been kidnapped. They have spent a massive amount of their personal wealth on finding their daughter, building the kingdom’s strength through alliances throughout Europe, but to no avail.

Princess Eva Rapunzel:- Feared dead. There have been rumours of sightings in the small islands near Northern Cyprus in the present-day Ottoman empire, however the ships sent to navigate the region seldom come back, and the Ottomans are not too keen on helping Corona, ever since relations soured between the two when the Monarchs of Serbia were brutally assassinated. There are some disputable stories that claim that she may have the ability to grant life. (May have a fascination with the human body and healing and treating people.)

Flynn:- Some very murky details on this one. An orphaned street rat who at one point supposedly ran the most profitable dodge racket criminal empire in the Rhinelands with fellow partner in crime, Markus. With Markus gone, Flynn is on the run, a warrant out against him where he has been charged with the burning of the Mansion, a very important monument to Corona.

Princess Elsa:- The heir apparent to the throne of Arendelle, and the first-born daughter of Agnarr and Iduna. Blessed with powers over Ice, she may be destined for greatness, or great pain, whatever makes the mythical hero’s sacrifice count. May have problems with self-worth, self-pity, anxiety, depression and emotional distance from her loved ones.

Princess Olva:- The second-in-line for the throne, a feisty kid with an academic bent, cares deeply for her family. May experience trauma from an accident, in order to recover from said trauma, she may take the supernatural path destined for her. Unlike Elsa, she tries to live in the real world. She may not suffer from anxiety issues, but there may be problems with rage, bitterness, pain and obsessive tendencies.

Princess Anna:- Soon to be youngest child of the Arendellian Monarchs, she is happy go lucky, loves her family and is outdoorsy. Which does not mean that she doesn’t have dark secrets of her own. She may struggle with abandonment, trying to reconnect with those she lost. She wears her heart on her sleeve. Her innocence may be endearing to some, but the same quality renders her a target for the world. Despite all that, she tries to be courageous for those she cares for the most.

Prince Hans/Janus:- The fated prince thirteenth in line for the throne, he may have an enormous responsibility entrusted upon him by his imposing mother. Is trying to find peace, may be a people pleaser but values freedom and joy over everything. May go to any length to achieve his desires. If not freedom, then power for sure. His heart may be driven towards the ocean.

The Northurldra:- The largest minority in the kingdom of Arendelle. The Northurldra and southern Arendelle have been at loggerheads since the middle ages, but in recent history, the divide has been deepened when Runeard waged war against them. With the mist splitting the north from the south, the Northurldra have fallen on desperate times and must resort to piracy and smuggling. Growing resentment against the crown of Arendelle may lead to assassination attempts or might even lead to all-out war.

Kristoff:- Not yet introduced in the story, but he is from a family of commoners with a trusty reindeer friend he calls Sven. His family cuts and sells ice for a living. After a nasty incident with some border bandits from the north, he’s left alone in the wilderness where the clan of the rock hermits find him and take him in.

Grand Pabbie:- The patriarch of the rock hermit clan, he is a being of half rock and half human flesh and blood, with vines and moss in place of hair. A supernatural being possessing great ancient powers, he is the curator and guardian of the Arendellian wilderness. Every winter, he goes deep into meditation in order to appease the gods to keep the winters forgiving. Knows past, present and future, but sternly believes in letting things take their course and not intervening with fate and destiny.

Queen Paulina Karazmov:- The sixth and present wife of the king of the Southern Isles, she is bitter about the loss of the kingdom of Poland, which was her ancestral homeland. She hopes to see Poland rise from the ashes, even if she must sacrifice her son Janus, also known as Hans by his father, the king.

King Christian the eighth of the Southern Isles (stand-in for Denmark):- The present king of the Southern Isles, the king is in his late middle age, father to thirteen children. He is confident that his large family could help gain control in Europe and wrest the supremacy from the Habsburgs. Little does he fathom or know; he might be nursing a succession crisis in his wake.

Tsar Alexander the first of Russia:- The sovereign of the Russian empire, the Tsar conquered Napoleon, but is in his twilight years. Seen as a respectable presence in Europe, he has often played the peacemaker. Alas, he is childless & on his way out and his two brothers are not very keen on succeeding him. One due to the huge responsibility, and the other due to fear, even though the fear is disguised as military discipline.

The Duke of Weselton (Stand-in for Belgium):- Considered a gangster among royals, he rules with an iron fist, forever subjugating and trying to weasel out a deal that makes him prosperous. At one point a staunch ally of Arendelle, he has had a falling out with Iduna and Agnarr over a dispute of sovereignty. Now he lies in wait, akin to a viper in the grass, whilst indulging himself with Opium and Marijuana, ready to strike and sink the treacherous kingdom of Arendelle.

The British and the French:- The two great powers who sit and watch the whole drama play out, eager to switch sides on a whim, wherever their interests were better served. Bitter rivals throughout history, they have now come to a strained, mutual understanding of peace.

What do you guys think?

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jovandawkins · 4 years

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Handel: A Musical Life of Devotion

Handel: A life of Musical Devotion A great gift to music entered into the world on 23 January 1685 in Halle, Germany. A life of great musical interest; one filled with an unbelievable talent that is going to become a beacon to many throughout the European continent and span centuries past its lifetime. It is a life that could become centered around a great mystery of how the musical talent would blossom into a recognized and known gift; a life that would alter the musical landscape and the spiritual worship realm in a short 26 days, and a life that would become so influential that it would dictate musical compositions for many years afterwards. Some sort of musical life that in the beginning would find itself struggling to exist; a life that will be forever referred to in George Frideric Handel. It is through Handel that we credit many great musical accomplishments; accomplishments inside mixture of homophonic and polyphonic textures, through the creation of his own unique works through the process of combining Spanish, Italian, French, and English musical traditions into his highly successful English Oratorios. And most importantly in the lasting effects of Handel's single greatest gift to the world, and the world of music: The Messiah. But how does the work of this single musician leave such a strong impression on the music that we have now? What could possibly make the music of Handel something that would be hailed as electric, memorable, unique, and cutting edge? And most importantly how could one person alter the musical idiom through a single twenty-four day formation of a setting of Christ's life? Through these questions I will explore Handel's impact on music in a way that shed's light onto the significance of Handel as a musician, a teacher, and inventor and as a religious preserver. It is with Handel that we credit a great deal of musical advancement. Adversity in Handel's life was something that he or she encountered early on in life. At an early age Handel found himself faced with a father that did not support a profession in music, in fact his father was a person that greatly hated music; noting that it was a entertainment that served the sole purpose of casting a light on the weakness of character found within a person. It was eventually his father that wished he would strive to obtain a career as a lawyer, a position that would come with a great deal of safety measures in position and financial stability. This was something that Handel himself would have to come to terms with, because he himself was born by means of "signs of a fierce ambition, born of an awareness of his superiority as a musician, and with a determination not to lose his independence. " This determination to advance his musical skill became a task that took a substantial amount of hard work and convincing; though it was Handel's mother that provided access to a clavichord hidden in the family's attic. The hours spent hiding from his father in the attic, covering the strings of the clavichord along with cloth to dampen the sound, allowed young George the time to practice his musical development and eventually the data of how to play both the clavichord and the organ. This early study is most likely what saved the play career for Handel, because it was during the time stuck in the attic that a young Duke passing by seen young George playing in the attic and was so moved by what he heard, that he stopped to pay attention. After hearing young George play the organ, the Duke pleaded with George's father to allow your ex to travel to Berlin and begin to take music lessons. The young Handel began taking lessons at the age from eight, and was easily able to conquer learning the violin, composition and theory techniques, harpsichord, and also reinforce the organ playing skills. By the age of 11, there seemed little that any songs teacher could teach George; it was at this point that George's father began angry and again expressed his / her desire for George to cease playing in the music, and to return home and do as he anticipated. Handel at the request of his father did in fact return home, only to arrive at his father's deathbed. This was a dark period of struggle for the young Handel, compelled to honor his father's wishes, George decided that it was best to keep to his studies in law; though during this same time he continuing to also sharpen the musical skills that he knew he possessed. It was during this time that Handel started to write cantatas for the various churches that he was serving in as an organist. It was the service around music that called out to Handel, and by the time he reached the age of eighteen, Handel possessed realized that it was in fact his destiny to become a great musician noting that he was destined to improve his or her musical abilities and his knowledge of music. Leaving his birth city of Halle lead him for a series of travels that would shape the musical aspect of the outlook that Handel would eventually have concerning music. The various travels and cities that Handel was to visit would begin to influence every aspect of song that Handel would come to know and appreciate, and it was his first destination in Hamburg which could lead Handel on the path of musical greatness. It was during his time in Hamburg that Handel came down to introduced to opera, and it took no time before Handel was given a position in the orchestra on second violin. The time at the Opera house playing violin was a period that would bring the birth of what people might come to see as a man that was described as a "large and very portly man", one that was full of a quick temper and one that had a general appearance about him that was "somewhat heavy and sour. " That personality of Handel would be something that many really would see as a double edged sword, in one issue he was a intelligent man that had a good sense of humor, one that show a remarkable sense of condition, reliability, and absolute honesty in all aspects of his life; but at the same time Handel was a person that possessed a brief fuse, and hot temper. He was a man that was short tempered and vocal about is feedback of life in general, and especially music. This personality would be a defining part of Handel's musical career, precisely as it was shortly after he started working in Hamburg at the Opera house, that George was given the opportunity to display the tremendous talent at the harpsichord; though it was also this talent that caused young George (now around age 22) to vocally disagree with composer Johann Mattheson on a composition Mattheson had written. It was that short fuse of Handel's that nearly ended his career, and life; though this spunk Handel exhibited also gave him the opportunity to catch the eye of a young prince, Prince Ferdinando de' Medici, which would become impressed with the music Handel was performing. This lead to Handel being asked to give his home, now Hamburg, and make the journey to Italy where he would again be positioned in a situation of being surrounded by new composers and styles of music. The move to Italy was an exciting period for Handel, as Handel was at a point of where his primary motivation for traveling to innovative areas was that of gaining experience, and in the case of the opportunity to visit Italy, the objective was to learn even though he could from the composers of Italy, and their wonderful operas. It was in Italy that Handel made significant strides in his musical career and overall development. For when Handel made it to help you Italy he was exposed to the world's greatest forms of music consisting of compositions of the likes of Safari, Cantatas, oratorios, chamber cantatas, concertos, and sonatas. This was a period that Handel began the task of refining his knowledge and really defining the compositional talents he had been using to this point. Handel was given the luxury of being able to set no limit on the boundaries of which his music would take because of the comprehensive gift of being surrounded by people that were able to support Handel and his daily needs. As a member of Dictator Francesco Ruspoli court, Handel was given the freedom to explore compositional aspects and dig into the music that so highly intrigued him, though it wasn't until 1710 that Handel's musical world will come to full realization, and would establish Handel as one of the greatest musicians of all times. The year 1710 were included with Handel's move back to Germany where he would fall into the role once held by Steffani in Hanover as Kapellmeister to the Elector, George Louis, who eventually become King George I of England. When in Hanover Handel was quickly convinced to travel to England with Prince George to scout out any music scene in the country as Prince George's mother Sophia was married to the English Elector, meaning that Royal prince George would eventually assume the throne of England (which happened in 1714). During the early outings to London, the young Handel became highly intrigued in London's newest opera house, the Queen's Theater, and it was here that Handel decided that he would produce an opera that was Italian inside nature and composed specifically for London. The opera Rinaldo was thus first produced in 1711, and contains slightly over a dozen performances, all of which were considered a huge success; thus paving the way for Handel's proceed to England, and what was to become the foundation for the overall success of Handel. The move to England was a confident move for Handel overall, leading to his ultimate desire to become a British citizen. Once he was lastly settled into his life in England, Handel was offered and accepted the role of popular music director for the Royal Academy of Music when it opened in 1720. The academy was the guts for operatic studies for many years after opening; credited greatly to the presence of Handel himself and his ability to attract the best singers to perform the works he had written himself. Though as with any worthy job dealing with the biggest and brightest stars, the academy began to see a decline in stature and operation; gained via the high demands the singers were placing on the academy both performance wise and financially. It was only fueled by the internal conflicts among performers, patrons, and rival composers. This was a time when Handel's short fuse and hot temper did not help, as Handel himself was part of many of the quarrels which usually took place, though he was clever enough to lighten the situation and make the tensions eventually found yourself in an end through humor and quick wit. This did not help the academy in the long run as it eventually had been forced to close its doors, but at the same time it only freed Handel to focus on his career, and at last give him the time to prepare for the needed shift in musical direction as the opera itself had arrived at a point to where it was no longer a viable musical performance option in England. The shift because of opera was one that Handel himself was easily able to undertake, for the ambition and determination to succeed in the particular music realm allowed Handel to develop an internal motivator that he looked to for resolve to win popularity and fortune and to "make money; honestly if you can, but-make money. " This was something that would serve Handel himself well because it is Handel's personality and desire to serve the music and the people that gave her the title of "musician of the people. " This afforded Handel the ability to see a great deal of success together with his music and career while in England going through the period of shifting from the Operatic style to that of writing English Oratorios. This also only aided Handel in popularity because may people saw Handel's music since "property of the people, familiar, understood, and loved" and this was related to many English subjects as to the "work of not other great master the wide world over. " The overall history of Handel has the capacity to show that the experience and cultural exposure of his various travels, gave Handel himself a wide range plus palette to work from. It is through the exposure to these cultures and musical styles, compositions, composers, patron, as well as musician employers that Handel was given the tools needed to succeed in the music world, but the experiences themselves don't create a unique character that was what was admired in Handel. It was the personal traits that Handel possessed which will afforded him the opportunity to be loved by many and respected by all. The personality of Handel was a unique blend of every imaginable aspect one could possibly think of, he had a drive; a determination to have success, the ability to make people laugh, a sense of quick wittedness, a familiarity aspect, devotion to religion, trustworthiness, integrity, and an incredible love of music. But most importantly Handel never let anything stand in their way of doing what he loved: serving the people, the music, and his religion. An example comes in the proper execution of the inability of anything to stand in the way of Handel's success. In 1737 Handel suffered a cva that for the most part threatened to end everything. The stroke had left Handel's right arm paralyzed and thus avoided him from being able to perform and also had an affect on his mind. It was during this time that Handel fought to remain active, and did through the writing of Italian operas though the public no longer favored these. Handel pushed through all obstacles that he encountered including eventual blindness that took a toll upon his compositions and eventually left Handel performing his music for organ from memory. It was ironic the fact that Handel had a determination to succeed, because it was this determination that left him a person that was 100 % withdrawal from life and society, though loved by all. He did spend most of his moment and life locked away from society and the daily life in order to focus on his music and thus never married not had any children. He was a man that truly devoted his life to the people, his new music, and changing the world of music. The Influence Handel had on music was immense, the trend and techniques that he was able to incorporate into the daily musical vocabulary was a blending of the major Western european styles that Handel had experienced in his travels from Halle to Hanover, to Hamburg, Malta and England. Simply put, Handel took the best of all the styles and created one Handelian style that would turn into a standard for the musical world, allowing him to "mature as a composer in England, the country then the majority hospitable to foreign composers. " Handel had a solid foundation from the early Lutheran church music that they was around growing up, this attention to the harmonic structure and counterpoint of the music he could adapt a rich lush style in the compositions that he wrote from the sacred cantatas through the opera, and in the end into the English Oratorios. One defining feature of the style that Handel possessed is that he was truly aware of the changing trends of the time, though his style of writing stayed pretty much the same and didn't require much altering for he has such a gift for writing melodies that one would never realize that many times a tranquility was not present under the melodic line. The melodies were bold and self-sustaining and thus needed no help from a harmonic progression to carry it through. A strong feature of Handel's compositional style was the process about "borrowing" materials. It is clear and evident that Handel borrowed musical ideas from others during your partner's life as a way to create a new melting pot of musical ideas. But Handel also employed the manner of borrowing musical material, or re-use of musical material, from his own work; however he did wish to use material from other composers better. He did this in a way that varied, one method was only to take entire pieces, or movements, from one work and reuse them in another, or to borrow product from a composer and then rework it to create an essentially new compositions, as seen in the Choruses coming from Messiah and Belshazzar's feast; using the Italian duet "for unto us a child is born. " The use of typically the borrowing technique is one that is unique to Handel, because it was in the 1930's that it seems as if the practice ceases, though this could be because Handel found the need to shift composition styles, and thus opened himself for a wide range of materials to now pull from, thus making the reference of music harder so that you can pin point. But the fact remains that the "borrowing does not affect his status as a composer" because Handel himself never based his career on any single piece of work that utilized music that was credited to your creation of another person. Thus it is not known if any single composer influenced Handel himself, however it ended up being obvious that Handel left an obvious influence on composer that appeared during his time and surely after his death in 1759. But it was in the 1930's that Handel really would begin to have an impact on and alter the trajectory of music and musical composition through the creation of the new genre with the English Oratorio. The English Oratorio was much like the Italian form of the genre as it set dialogue for lyrical and recitative verses, but then was combined with foreign elements from the French drama, Greek tragedy, A language like german passion, and most importantly the English masque. These characteristics combined together was enough to solidify the reality that Handel was to be the greatest musical figure of all time, and one of the most respected people in all of London and England. One of the most important contributions the Oratorio made was to the vocal setting, and through the addition for the chorus. What made this such a huge success for Handel and for the popularity of his beats was the sheer fact that Handel was able to create unique effects with the orchestration of the vocal score to make a simple form that alternated in the written passages of verses from an open fugal style compared to that of a solid harmonic sound. This added with the orchestra, who normally was scored in a way to support that vocal parts created a work that was not only easy to sing, but also made it accessible to the general public, which makes established that "Handel is the musician of the people. " This form of music was never meant to end up suited for the church, the Oratorios were meant for concert hall performance settings and thus even though the Messiah, one of Handel's most well known piece was written as an Oratorio, it was actually seen more as a "sacred entertainment" piece. But Handel's contribution did not stop at the creation of the new style of music in the English Oratorio, but he actually found a great deal of success in writing instrumental works. The instrumental aspect of Handel's musical productivity was one that garnished him with a great deal of extra income and was a major factor in keeping the name connected with Handel fresh in everyone's mind and in their daily musical dealings. Though true to the nature for Handel, he was dedicated to being as successful as he could in all writing aspects that he started. Thus the two of his works in the instrumental category best know were written for the King, together with were meant to be for the public pleasure during the various outdoor performances and social gatherings. The first, Mineral water Music was written in 1717 and was comprised of three suites for winds and strings that's meant to be played from a boat on the river Thames for the king's pleasure while he was thrilling socially those that he wished to stay in good graces with. The later of the works written in 1749 is the Music for the Royal Fireworks, a staggering piece written for an enormous wind section with strings in the future added in, meant to be played in an outdoor London park during a firework celebration. The work was published for many military instruments and was a work that excluded the use of stringed instruments, something that Handel in the beginning had objections with. These two works directly play into the desire of Handel to continue to push this boundaries of what music was, and what it could do for the people, and how it could be really enjoyed for all, in all aspects of life. The most profound work that Handel ever wrote, one that would become the product work in the sacred realm of composition; one that would receive a great deal of homage by composers from every area of Europe and for many decades, is the now infamous, Messiah. The Messiah is a remarkable piece just from the process in which Handel took to write it. In a short twenty-four day span the work would arrive at existence from a mere thought. A large part of the ability for Handel to become so musically genius was just how he typically broke, or even stretched out traditional styles of composing music in order to make a dramatic impact on the work this individual was involved with. He was able to do this through the way in which he personally lived his life and through the rampacked skills he had developed throughout his extensive travels. He had acquired the ability to take a raw talent and to gloss it up into something of pure beauty and wonder. Since Handel himself typically chose several religious themes for many of his compositions, more and more of the British citizens began to approve using his audio as a method of worshiping their god. It was fitting that Handel made his home in England, since the device is the English that "have always been a Bible-reading... god-fearing nation, with strong religious instincts and a reverence for sacred things". Messiah is Handel's most well known work, and it is the best example of a work that can be used for a creative worship piece. The work is divided into three segments: The coming of the Messiah, The battling and death of Christ, and the Resurrection. This work was composed and contained various features who gave way to a wide range of emotions: joy, sadness, fear, excitement, love, compassion, dramatic, and hopefully; but whatever the the need or feeling that way to be expressed Handel found a way to do it, and the Messiah was the driver to showcase those talents. The Messiah composed in 1742 is seem by many as the best-written oratorio that has ever been written. The extensive piece contains some fifty sections of music and performance that takes nearly three hours to fully perform and celebrate. The most impressive aspect of the piece is the undeniable fact that it was composed in a mere twenty-four days; accomplished by Handel locking himself in his home declining to be interrupted by anyone. During this time it was reported that Handel barely ate anything and slept almost no. This was yet another nod to the dedication that Handel was known to have, and also played into the aspect that will Handel had simply became part of his work, and thus always made sure that his full attention and additionally thought were put into the music as it was composed. It might have been odd for Handel to write a really religiously profound piece considering that he himself was not a very religious person until the later part of his lifetime; though there are accounts that lay claim to a "divine source" as the inspirational and motivational factor for any composition of the work. So profound was the work that Handel himself self stated that "I made see Heaven before me, and the great God himself" when he had finished the widely recognized Hallelujah refrain. The work has had a lasting effect on not only the composer's reputation as one of the greatest advancers of the musical formula spectrum, but also on the works of composers who have been inspired by the works of Handel; Mozart being people that had become extremely influenced by Handel and in particular the Messiah. But there also have ended up effects of this wonderful composition on the tradition of the work, and the performance aspect of how it moves visitors to feel something nearly spiritual every time it is heard. It is reported that during the first performance of this make up in London, that the current King of England, King George II, felt so moved and religiously compelled to stand during the singing of the Hallelujah chorus that others fell in step with the queen (as was protocol of subjects to their king) and stood as well. This is a tradition that continues to this approach very day during the performances of Handel's Messiah. As you can see Handel had an enduring legacy about music and the compositional aspects of music. The dedication that Handel should to his life of tunes and the preservation of a lasting legacy has allowed Handel to really never leave us. His effects are generally felt to this very day through the standing of the audience during the Messiah, to the compositional nods that composers give to Handel in their works. Handel is someone that proved to many that as long as there exists the preference to achieve, the object of their desire can be reached. Handel's life there seemed to be filled with adversity from the beginning. From this father not wanting Handel to participate in a career filled with music, to his struggles with changing music styles, the sometimes-awkward positions that Handel found himself in as it relates to arguments; Handel persevered as a result of it all. It was not until the end of his life that Handel showed signs of a frail person not able to continue on. Blindness was a severe blow to Handel's career being that the production of, in addition to revision of large-scale works was something that could no longer be done. Handel continued to do what he had executed all of his life and find new ways to stay relevant and current with the musical needs, and would so through the use of trusted friends that did most of the dictation work for Handel, however eventual total blindness departed Handel in such poor health that even that had to come to an end. It was finally on April 14, 1759 that Handel left his body form and thus was not the death of Handel, but was your birth of an enduring legacy of Handel on the musical styling's of what was to come.

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ocean-not-found · 4 months

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Hail Goddess. Hail Sun Goddess. Hail Mother of All.

Hail Queen of the Stars. Hail Queen of Heaven. Hail Queen of the Seas. Hail to the Lady of the Lake. Hail to the Mother of the Moon. Hail to Morrigan Le Fey.Hail Sophia. Hail The Old Lady.

Hail, to the ancient One.

HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE!! 🔥🌹🔥🌹🔥

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verumking · 4 years

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asterites asked: ‘ you may say you love me, but you love only a part of me. i am too complex for you to ever love my entire being. ’

⚔️ *:･ﾟ✧┆growling suggestion sentence starters. ❪ no longer accepting. ❫

ONCE an impossibility, SCORN now fled from SERAPHIC LIPS as naturally as a DISPELLED BREATH. The lips of a QUEEN, a hailed goddess: GLOSSY BOWS now a phantom upon his BRUISED OWN. Yozora had grown numb to such DERISION, the image of his FORMER LOVER besmirched beyond recognition... like INK on CANVAS. Infectious, in the way her RANCOUR drowned all memory of her BENIGNITY. Irreversible, in the way that her HATRED of him claimed permanence in a DISILLUSIONED MIND. She was too far gone.

COMPLEXITY was subjective. Sophia incarnate considered herself an ENIGMA, a puzzle unsolvable. But all YOZORA could see was a BROKEN WOMAN, with a penchant for BREAKING OTHERS. His already shattered heart was LEFT for dust, ABANDONED within a cage of IVORY and STEEL. He had forsaken piecing himself BACK TOGETHER... much as she had forsaken him. ❛ ... Who are you trying to fool? ❜ His INTERROGATION still fell disjointed, sonorous tone faltering under the WEIGHT of Stella’s malice. It still hurt. ❛ You’re letting your ill judgement consume who you are. This isn’t you. ❜

Through GRITTED TEETH, Death mirrored Asteria’s own SPITE... with bitter adoration. ❛ I stand by what I said. ❜

I still love you, Stella. All of you.

❪ @asterites ❫

#asterites #⚔️ *:･ﾟ✧┆he was the monster you created. ❪ replies ❫#⚔️ *:･ﾟ✧┆these violent delights have violent ends. ❪ rs: asterites ❫#⚔️ *:･ﾟ✧┆deus ex machina; god from the machine. ❪ vs: verum rex | main ❫#( i literally cannot with him fjghfgfj )

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keepersofdarkxlightarchieve · 7 years

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“We made this family all on our own little stars that won’t be lost and always have a way home.”

@thebrokentoys1

#OTP:can't help falling in love with you (Bella & Jason)#;Lost boy stole her heart (JASON)#all hail! {Queen} Arabella!#;Twin star(Marissa)#;Twin star(Nathaniel)#;littlest star(Sutton)#;star child (Sophia)#;Sophia Harris #;Sutton Harris #;Nathaniel harris #;Marissa Harris #;Jason Harris #;Bella

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a--world--apart--fic · 6 years

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A World Apart - Chapter Five

Notes: Grab a drink, this is a long chapter! We hope your loving it so far. Next week we head to the Beaumont Ball! Tagged long post for mobile readers.

Rating: M

Word Count: 6349

Musical Accompaniment: Ed Sheeran - Kiss Me

Tag List: @writtenbycandy, @hopefulmoonobject, @heatherfilliez, @theroyalweisme, @indiacater, @tmarie82, @enmchoices, @the-everlasting-dream, @diamond-dreamland, @lizeboredom, @drakewalkerwhipped, @youwontlikewherewewillgo, @mfackenthal, @kingliamthirst, @snyggflicka, @debramcg1106, @choicessa, @drakelover78, @starstruckzonkoperatorbat, @blackcatkita, @drakewalkerfantasy, @jadedpixiescribbles, @walkerismychoice, @walkerduchess, @hamulau, @simplyaiden-blog, @hhiggs, @drivenbyfantasy

Chapter Five ~ Written In the Stars May 1914

Olivia sits crossed at the ankles in her private box, enthralled by the tragedy unfolding on the stage below. The music swells, the dancers floating across the stage with grace as the swan princess takes her last breath in the arms of her lover, his failure to let her go, in spite of his betrayal of choosing another, killing them both. She’s always been fond of this particular ending to Swan Lake, for she has not believed in the foolish notion that love always endures since she was a child. Losing one’s self in love leaves you vulnerable; a victim blinded, like unwitting prey.

“What a lovely performance. Don’t you agree, Lady Olivia?” the irksome voice of Lord Henry breaks her from her trance as the curtain call begins.

“Lovely indeed,” she mutters, flicking his wandering hand off her thigh. Despite his unusually squirrelly voice, Lord Henry was one of the better suitors she had courted since her arrival in Paris in the winter. None so far were men she would entertain marrying, much to the dismay of dear Aunt Lucretia who surmised Olivia was driving away these noble men on purpose. Perhaps she was. Truthfully, she had no desire to marry. Still and all, she would, and without love, for after disgracing the house of Nevrakis in the spring of 1908, Aunt Lucretia decreed Olivia was not fit to choose a husband of her own free will.

Her aunt had no shortage of foreign suitors at her disposal, each ostensibly worse than the last. At Yuletide, Olivia kept company with Duke Moritz, a handsome man with an ego the size of all of France to compensate for his small cock. Aunt Lucretia was certain she had found her a match worthy of a Nevrakis, but Olivia would not stand for him. Horst from Düsseldorf followed, who lasted just an evening with those repulsive damp hands. In February, the Vicomte, a promising prospect lasting three weeks until Olivia tired of how unfailingly polite he was.

In March, Aunt Lucretia returned from America with David, a railway tycoon and an uncouth man who never put down his pipe and talked only of his business dealings. He lasted three dinners before Olivia poured her wine over his pipe and waltzed out unaccompanied. Days later, the tawdry Canadian emerged, a man who made his fortune in the Klondike and promised her weight in gold -- as if Olivia would deign to marry new money.

Lucretia’s quest for a gentleman for her to wed returned to Europe then, finding Markus Von Groot, a Dutchman she called “eccentric.” That was complete nonsense. He could only be described as mad, spending their afternoon at Musée du Louvre describing in immense detail how in his years as an artist he would fuck his muses and come into his paint so he could express a physical manifestation of the passion between artist and muse in his creations.

Olivia was so desperate to get away from him she walked willingly into the arms of Lord Henry of Cambridge, and has tolerated him since, not wanting to see what other dreadful men Aunt Lucretia had in the queue.

“Shall I have the car pulled around, or would you prefer we go for a stroll? It’s a delightful evening,” he suggests timidly. “The best view of the Eiffel Tower at night is nearby, if you wish, I could show it to you?”

Olivia visibly cringes at the thought of extending this night any longer than she has to. She notices him frown slightly and sighs, taking pity on him. “Very well, we’ll see the tower and then I really must return home.”

She begrudgingly accepts his arm as they leave the theatre, offering him a half smile that does not meet her eyes. “I’m having a wonderful time, Olivia. Paris has been kind to us on this fine spring night, don’t you agree?” No, you dull oaf -- She holds her tongue, reminding herself not to be rude, and nods briefly at him with pursed lips. She supposes he takes note of her sour mood, as he remains silent while they weave their way through the narrow streets, the only sound the echo of her heels on the cobblestone.

There is a crowd about when they arrive at the base of the Eiffel Tower, all tourists admiring the great structure. She has never understood what the appeal is, finding it ironic that a landmark made of cold, unforgiving steel remains the symbol for the city of love. Henry fumbles reaching for her hand and gingerly takes it in his own -- she leaves it limp in his grasp. She looks up at him from beneath her painted lashes and grimaces. He is nervous about something, sweating like a sinner in church.

“Olivia, if I may be so bold,” he begins and her eyes widen, not in surprise, but in horror as she notices a small box twirling about in his left hand. “I realize we have kept company for only a short time. Yet, I knew from the moment I gazed upon your breathtaking beauty that one day soon we would wed. You are a remarkable woman, and after seeking the permission of your Aunt Lucretia, there is something I would very much like to ask you.” Henry begins to lower himself to one knee and Olivia flushes in embarrassment -- her cheeks must be the colour of her crimson hair. “Get up, you idiot! Get up this instant,” she hisses through gritted teeth. “You’re embarrassing me, you lovesick halfwit! People are staring.”

“Darling,” he starts, but Olivia has hooked onto his coat and pulled him from the ground herself. “I thought this is what you wanted, Lady Olivia!”

“What possibly gave you the impression this is what I wanted? A distasteful, public proposal at the tackiest place in all Paris; this is preposterous, Lord Henry. I’m offended you think so little of me to believe that I would accept the proposal of a man I met just weeks ago. I insist you take me home. Consider it a kindness that I will forget this catastrophe ever happened.”

“Oh no no, this is all wrong,” Henry pouts, his bottom lip stuck out much like a toddler about to throw a tantrum. “Lucretia assured me if I proposed you would accept. You must accept, Lady Olivia! Please, accept.”

“Cease this wretched behavior immediately, Lord Henry. I’ve had quite enough for tonight. Take me home,” she snaps, losing her patience.

“You don’t understand, Lady Olivia! I must return to Lythikos with you. I can’t go back to mummy in England! She’ll be so disappointed if I return without a bride again. Save me from mummy, m’lady, I beg you!”

“You sniveling, pathetic sap,” another one bites the dust, “I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth. I’ll see myself home,” Olivia sneers in disgust and stalks away from him, leaving him calling after her.

She knows without doubt when she returns to her apartment she will be berated for her dismissal of yet another suitor. She grumbles grievances under her breath all the way back through Paris, raging at the circumstance of her noble birth and her blasted aunt’s insistence to find her a suitable match.

The streets are emptying when she finds herself passing the Opéra Garnier once more, and she stops, deciding she better hail a taxi if she is to get back before the riff raff come out in spades. She is standing waiting for a taxi to pass when two young dancers approach, lingering on the steps of the theatre. “Beautiful sky for stargazing, non? Cygnus shines bright tonight, fitting for the show,” the girl passes her colleague a cigarette, a cloud of smoke floating above their slim frames.

Olivia looks up and admires the stars glittering in the night sky, illuminating the darkness as the city begins to sleep. Cygnus, the swan -- how fitting indeed. She traces the constellation with her eyes, feeling a trace of nostalgia for simpler days when she would lie in the forests of Lythikos with Liam and he would tell her the great stories of the sky. After years of being away, she tires of Paris, and longs for the comforts of home.

A taxi finally passes, and just as she is about to climb in, she catches sight of a vaguely familiar face leaving the theatre. A petite brunette woman carefully perches a tutu on one arm, a bag of feathers thrown over her shoulder. She is dressed all in black like a Parisian, but carries herself far too meekly to be a true French woman. She descends the stairs and Olivia tilts her neck down to get a closer look -- Savannah? -- but it couldn’t be. She shakes the idea off as a trick of the light.

•••

Drake pretends not to notice the farmer’s daughters giggle and bat their eyelashes as he passes by. The eldest, Sarah, a short, pretty blonde with wavy hair and brown eyes, stands in the middle of her sisters, subtly pointing in his direction, undoubtedly bragging about their evening trysts. Sarah is a nice girl, and lovely company to allay the sting of lonely nights, but she is just another warm body; a surrogate for the only woman he wishes to fill his bed.

Sophia.

He has not seen her in a fortnight; not since she called upon him in the midnight hour drunk and inconsolable. He held her close in his arms that night, humming the lullaby his mother used to sing to him in her ear until her trembling body stilled and she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. He did not dare press why she came the next morning, not after she uttered the names of the king and queen and twisted her face in an angry scowl, eyes brimming with resentment, her tears coming again like a raging river, drowning her in despair.

Thoughts of what may have occurred between her, the king and queen that night have plagued his mind since. Today especially, for not more than an hour earlier he saw her and Liam behind the stables, away from prying eyes, kissing fervently. Whatever rotten thing it was that caused her to come running so readily into his waiting arms, it appeared Liam was forgiven, and all as was it should be again.

But it isn't.

Drake breathes in the comforting scent of baled hay upon entering the stalls, finding a hint of relief from his soured mood. He has only the fondest memories of this place, learning his father’s trade and how to tame a mare or stallion as a young boy. If he closes his eyes he can still hear his father’s voice clear as day. Horses are spirits of the wind, Drake. Respect them, or they will not respect you. Heed their calls and you can tame even the wildest stallion. It was Drake’s honor to accept the job as head of the royal stables after the untimely death of his father in a royal hunting accident, as all Jackson Walker ever wanted was for his beloved son to follow in his footsteps.

The memories of his father stir something in him, and Drake sighs heavily as he prepares the saddles, unable to keep his worries from weighing on him even in his happy place. If my father could see the mess I’ve made, he thinks, frowning.

A stunning silver Arabian called Ash gently nudges the side of his face. She is his favourite horse, long since retired having been at the stables since Drake was a boy. Ash nickers at him, and stomps her hooves at the apple bucket at his feet. “Here you go old girl,” he chuckles, offering her a Cordonian Ruby. “We’ve seen a lot together, haven’t we Ash? First, mother left. Now Savannah is gone, and Sophia is slipping through my fingers. You’re about the only girl I’ve got left,” he laughs mirthlessly, resting his head against her. “I have loved that girl for six long years, and still I don’t have the strength to tell her, even in spite of all that’s happened.”

The horse whinnies at him, frightened by the sound of a stranger clearing their throat. Startled, he looks up and sees Maxwell Beaumont standing in the archway, awkwardly shifting his feet.

“Lord Maxwell… can I help you?”

Maxwell looks terrified, like he wants to be swallowed up by the ground beneath him. There is a faint sheen of sweat on his brow, and he won’t stop fiddling with his gloves.

“My lord,” Drake repeats stiffly, trying to suppress his irritation. “What can I do for you?”

“Uh... well… you see, Drake… I can call you Drake, right?”

“What else would you call me?” He snorts, then presses his lips together in a thin line to keep him from saying more. It would not do well for him to be rude to a gentleman of House Beaumont, even if Maxwell is practically the court jester.

“I don’t mean to impose upon your work, Drake. It’s just… I have had something on mind these past few months that I feel I must get off my chest.”

“My lord, if there is an issue with your horse you needn’t come all the way down to the stables yourself to correct it. A simple messenger would have sufficed,” Drake cannot help but roll his eyes. He just wants Maxwell gone from his sight so he can continue his work. He has never had much patience for Maxwell Beaumont’s nonsense antics; not when they were children who played together before circumstance drew a proverbial line in the sand, and certainly not now.

“Oh! No, it’s not about Lucky. He’s a wonderful horse. My compliments to you for your care of him. I hope you don’t mind that I’ve called him Lucky. I know it’s not his given name but --”

“Maxwell!” Drake starts, his tone dangerously sharp. “What the hell do you want?”

Maxwell’s eyes pop out at Drake’s loutish address. He is hardly equipped to broach such a sensitive subject with a man so intimidating. But he must. For Savannah. “It’s about your sister.” Maxwell swallows hard, gathering his courage. He makes eye contact with Drake, who stares at him resolutely with a clenched jaw, now towering over him with his ample chest puffed out. Max’s instinct is to cower, but he thinks of the pretty, wounded girl with dove grey eyes, and presses on. “I understand she fled from the palace, and I was just… I was hoping… do you know anything about where she’s gone?”

“With all due respect, that is a private matter,” Drake growls.

“Please, I don’t mean offend you or to impose on matters that are none of my business, but I must ask. If you know something, anything, maybe I could help bring her home,” Maxwell’s voice wavers, thick with emotion.

“It’s none of your goddamn business, Beaumont, but Savannah isn’t coming home. Wherever she is, she ran off a thief,” Drake’s eyes have darkened to an ink black, and his breathing is shallow. “If that’s all, my lord,” he spits, “I politely ask that you leave at once before I do something we’ll both regret.”

Maxwell feels a lump rising in his throat -- a thief? Savannah Walker is no thief, of that he is sure. He wants to give Drake a piece of his mind for believing the accusations made against his own sister, but sees Drake balling his fists, ready to strike. He hangs his head, defeated, knowing it’s time to retreat. “I’m sorry to have disturbed you. Good day, Drake.”

Drake curses under his breath while Maxwell scurries out of the stalls. “Goddamn nosy nobles,” he mutters. Ash nuzzles her wet nose into his shoulder, just as she used to do to Savannah and his eyes soften. “I miss her too old girl,” he whispers, fending off the sting of tears. He has not yet cried for her, and he will not. If he does, he fears he may never recover from the crushing reality: that his own sister has abandoned him without a word, just like her mother before her.

•••

Sophia’s hand lingers low on her rumbling belly as she stands unshielded in the sweltering sun with the other maids, waiting for the queen to finish her address so the Royal Horse Guard can lead the parade. She tunes out Madeline’s commentary on the importance of the Apple Jubilee, distracted by the sweet aroma of apple cake wafting through the air that’s driving her mad. Her appetite has been voracious as of late, and nothing seems to slake her unending desire for apples.

The queen drawls on, and Sophia’s eyes wander across the lawn to the men of the Royal Horse Guard guiding their steeds to formation. A wistful smile forms on her lips watching them. They remind her of Savannah, standing in this very spot on a warm May Day a year past, dreamily whispering to Sophia how she wished a fine gentleman, dashing in his red coat, would whisk her away and make her his lady. What became of my sister? she wonders, That innocent, gentle soul, too pure for this world.

She is brought back by the sound of the trumpet call, signalling the outset of the parade. Her gaze follows a chubby Maxwell Beaumont, looking out of place in his spot among the regal men of the Royal Horse Guard. His horse is clearly restive as the parade begins, and the other maids giggle as he desperately tries to control the gaits.

It all happens very quickly -- Maxwell fails miserably at keeping his horse in formation. The panicked steed takes off running through the tents, but not before bucking Maxwell off its back and into the queen’s dessert display (her pride and joy each Jubilee) with a harsh thud heard across the lawns.

There is mayhem in every direction, Lord Rashad yelling to his men, noble ladies shrieking under the collapsed tents, servants rushing to their aid. Madeline stands next to her celebrated dessert display, now completely destroyed, shooting daggers at a beet red Maxwell who is covered head to toe in apple cake.

In the ensuing chaos, Sophia drifts to the sidelines, mistakenly placing herself in the direct path of a spooked horse galloping toward her at warp speed. She panics, but there is nowhere to run, so she closes her eyes tightly and braces for impact. She intakes a sharp breath, anticipating the collision but instead feels a quick tug on her arm and the whoosh of the horse barreling past. She loses her balance and stumbles off the edge of the lawn into the apple orchard with her rescuer, toppling together onto the ground.

“Are you alright?” Sophia opens her eyes to find Drake under her, rubbing his head from hitting it off the base of an apple tree.

“I’m not the one who almost got run over by a rogue horse,” he laughs, “It’s lucky I was here to rescue you, James.”

“My knight in shining armor,” she jests, helping him to his feet.

Their hands remain laced after he’s been pulled from the ground, words unspoken shared in his lingering gaze. Sophia’s heart is thundering in her chest; her feet unsteady beneath her despite being firmly rooted in the grass. The amorous look in his eyes is making her knees tremble.

“Drake,” she whispers, feeling his fingers slip from hers. He opens his mouth, about to say something, then shuts it with an exhale, stepping back to put distance between them.

“There’s something I want to show you. Could you get away for an hour or two? I doubt they would miss you with all the madness happening.”

“I’m not sure I should...” She tilts her chin upward and sees the same doleful, wounded look Savannah wore the last few days before disappearing without a trace. Her resolve crumbles, “...Just an hour?”

Drake’s expression turns instantly, the corners of his mouth lifting into a big, goofy grin. His infectious smile is brighter than the blazing sun, and she can’t help but smile back, knowing he seldom lets his guard down enough for anyone to see him this way.

•••

The river is still, like smooth glass reflecting the bright blue of the sky above, sparkling radiant as a diamond in the midday sun. Yet Drake barely notices the striking view, for he is captivated by her beauty. Sophia skips just ahead of him, softly humming along with the song of the larks trilling in the trees, her gentle, dulcet voice relaxing him. I love you, he longs to say, but will not allow himself the pleasure of sharing the three words that burn on the tip of his tongue. He cannot risk it, lest she flit away once more into the arms of the king -- for the only fate worse than loving her, is losing her.

“So serious,” she playfully swats his arm, imitating him. “Let’s bring back that elusive smile, shall we?”

“For you, anything,” he promises, his smile returning. Her cheeks pink. “We’re here.”

She beams when she sees them, entranced by their ethereal beauty. There, in the clearing, a bevy of white swans and their cygnets float like soft clouds on the water. “Drake, they’re beautiful. It’s like being in a dream.”

She is his dream. He is pulled to her, the way pieces of magnetite naturally draw together. There is constant static in the air when she is near, and when she brushes him with her delicate hands, the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention, a steady current coursing through his veins.

They walk in silence toward the willows along the bog where the swans nest each spring. His mother brought him here as a child, many moons ago, in a happier time long since past. Without a word, he encases her small hand in his, guiding her to kneel in the tall grass at the edge of the nesting marsh when he hears a low hiss, almost like a cry. Sophia gasps and scrambles back into Drake in fright, away from the menacing black cob craning its her neck to her, fiercely whipping its great wings. In the reeds, there is a nest of cracked eggs sitting just above the decaying carcass of a white swan in the muddy waters below.

“He’s grieving,” she says solemnly, “for his soul mate, and his hatchlings. Swans mate for life, you know. He’ll never love another.”

“No, he won’t,” he replies, clutching her back to his chest. He does not mean the swan.

“Do you believe in soul mates?” she asks, laying herself down in the grass away from the water's edge. “I was so sure I had found mine in Liam, until…” Sophia stops herself, her lower lip wobbling. Drake lays next to her, brushing away the stray tears falling from her eyes with his thumb.

“My mother believed in them. When I was six, just before Savannah was born she brought me here to see the newborn cygnets. She wanted me to understand what it meant to have a sister. Her and my father were written in the stars, she’d said, soul mates destined to find each other like swans do, meant to bring Sav and I into the world. When my father died she was never the same, like a piece of her died with him. She wasted away without him.”

Sophia places her palm over his beating heart. “You were lucky to have had them. I have never known love like that.” There is pain in her amber eyes, deep unsettling pain, rooted in the very core of her being. “I don’t know what become of my mother or father. When I was a girl I would make up stories about how they died,” she scoffs, pitifully, “It was a better fate than believing they abandoned me as just a babe. I was deliriously happy when Kane took me from the orphanage, until I grew older and understood what for. The whorehouse is no place for children.”

Drake is stricken by her harrowing tale, suddenly understanding what he saw in her eyes when they first met. “Sophia, I --” but she silences him with her finger over his lips.

“You don’t have to say a word. I’m not lonely anymore, Drake. I have a family now. You’re my family.”

His heart swells, and then, before he can consider consequence, his warm mouth is on hers, tasting her, caressing her tongue with his tongue. She parts her lips willingly for him, and time stops -- the world slowly dissolving around them as he loses himself in her embrace, all his secrets laid bare with one kiss. He wraps his hands through her golden hair and deepens the kiss, wanting to hold on to this moment. Sophia moans softly against him, and he is drunk on the sound, electrified by her. She is his soul mate.

When they part, their breathing is shallow, her eyes still shut as Drake brushes his lips across her jaw, her neck, her collarbone, wanting, needing, to feel all of her. He runs his calloused hands over her pert breasts, her nipples forming stiff peaks under her dress as he pushes his thumbs over them. She lets out a strangled, harsh sound somewhere between a moan and a wail.

“Stop. You have to stop.”

“Oh gods, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Sophia. I didn’t mean… please don’t cry,” his heart breaks feeling her recoil from him.

“No! It’s not that. I want to, my god I want to. It’s just…” she wraps her arms tightly around her stomach.

“Liam. It’s Liam,” he whispers, accepting his worst fears being realized. This is the consequence.

“I have to go. I’m sorry, Drake. I’m so, incredibly sorry.”

•••

"See, Lucky? Just a leaf," Maxwell soothes the spooked gelding. He has been ordered out to put Lucky through his paces: galloping up and down steep embankments, going to the slaughterhouse yard, and to desensitize him to dangers, whether real or imagined. A horse’s mind is a funny thing. A falling leaf can terrify an untrained horse, or a balloon popping, or the laughter of children.

Laughter. Carefree and excited. Maxwell hears the giggling of children at play, and leans over the side of the bridge to watch them, three boys with fishing poles and a dark haired little girl, pretending to stir a pot over a pile of rocks. A swan drifts on the pool, black plumed, apple blossoms eddying down the current, surrounding it for a moment, then drifting on. And then, he hears it. A strange song, like a mermaid lured from the deep, without human words, a haunting lullaby.

Casually, he dismounts, and strolls down the causeway, hands thrust deep into his pockets. The children turn as one, looking upon him in mingled anxiety and horror, and they throw themselves head first onto the grass, fishing poles forgotten in their terror.

The leader of the little band, Maxwell would guess, raises his head, and gasps out, "Please, sir! We didna know!" he turns and looks at the others, who bob their heads. The little girl has begun to cry, silently, and Maxwell tosses off his imposing hat, bowing to their leader.

"Well met, young sir!" he says in the common tongue, and they sit up, studying him thoughtfully and not without a little trepidation.

Their leader rises, he is a sturdy child of about nine, dark haired and olive skinned. He could be the natural son of any noble lord... But Maxwell pushes that thought away. The boy bows in return, and his companions huddle together, heads bent in the shadow of the willows that line the riverbank. "Sir!" he salutes a small burnished hand, and clicks his heels together. "Yes, we were fishing in the King's river, sir! Please don't let the queen cut off our hands."

The little girl lets out a moan, clutching her rag doll to her chest, and is silenced with a glare from the boy. The other two boys dash to the river's edge, grab their fishing poles and run into the thicket, without a look behind. The little girl goes on shaking, like a leaf in the wind, clutching her dolly and holding her head in fright.

Maxwell kneels in the long grass beside the little girl, raising her hand in a courtly gesture and kissing it soundly. "Never, mademoiselle. Now, tell me, what's all this about? Are you poaching your dinner, or...?"

The boy crosses his arms. "There's a magic fish in the pool, in't there?"

"A magic fish?"

"Granny says 'twill grant three wishes. One fer me, one fer her, an' one fer all Cordonia."

What do common children dream of? In this instant, he would not be able to say, and what does he know, beyond his own world, of the dreams of children? Only of a glittering white palace, half in shadow, beside the wine dark sea. "And what did you wish for, lad?"

The boy swallows, and he gestures Maxwell closer. "Found it, didna she?" he points.

Maxwell kneels in the muck beside the shimmering waters, scanning the shallows where the boy points with a trembling finger. And he sees, as though in a dream, the body of a white swan floating under the water, half turned to bone. Beneath the swan's great wing, something glitters in the silt. Maxwell plunges his hands in, near up to his elbows, fingers scrabbling for purchase in the slimy reeds.

The boy's terrified shout is his only warning. A dark shape rises above him, wings spread, blocking out the sun. He grabs the glittering box and scrambles back, pulling the child roughly away from the shore. The swan arches its neck menacingly, and swirls around the corpse. It does not make a sound.

Maxwell stares at the box in his hands. It is gold, inlaid with pearls, jet, and carnelian. The clasp has broken. He opens it up, revealing a ballerina, a dual figure: black swan on one side, white swan on the other. The mechanism is thick with rust, and yet, when he winds it up, a discordant melody begins to play. At once, Maxwell knows what this is, knows beyond the shadow of a doubt. She stole the queen's jeweled music box… His heart is thundering, and he has to take a moment, to close his burning eyes. Savannah. The river...

The river flows calmly on, tranquil as the summer sky.

A deep shudder runs through him, and he picks the box up, tucking it under one arm. He doesn't trust himself to speak, and instead reaches into his pocket, drawing out a handful of gold and silver coins, showering the riverbank. The children scrabble in the muck for the coin, and let him pass on by, head bowed; like a man headed to the gallows, his heavy heart pulling him into the depths of an old sorrow; where he too will sink beneath the eddies of the pool, and drift like a dream in the current, all the way to the sunless sea.

•••

"Cygnus is bright tonight," Rashad says thoughtfully, his hands laced behind his back. Maxwell has been invited to Rashad's office for cigars and brandy. He knows what that means. After his embarrassing display at the Apple Jubilee, he had been sure his junior officer commission would be stripped from him, and that he would be turned from the Royal Horse Guard in shame. But perhaps Bertrand's influence greased more than one palm, for as of this morning, he is still as entrenched as ever.

For now.

Rashad looks at Maxwell questioningly, holding out the box of cigars, and he realizes he's been tapping the arms of the chair to a ragtime beat in his nervousness. "Help yourself, Lord Maxwell."

Maxwell takes a cigar, but turns it over and over in his palm as though he does not quite know what to do with it. He is surprised when Lord Rashad hands him a glass of brandy and a wooden match. Maxwell strikes the match on his boot, as he has seen the senior officers do, and they both puff in silence for a long stretch of time.

He is damnably nervous now, and yearns to go for a walk to clear his head. A long walk, he could take out the music box... But he pushes that thought away. He nearly drops the cool glass of brandy when Rashad speaks.

"I was a young man too once, Lord Maxwell." Rashad has returned to his place at the window, staring out at the guttering stars in the falling night.

Maxwell smothers a grin at that, Rashad cannot be more than six or seven years his senior. "Oh?"

"Indeed. I had more ambition than I knew what to do with, and a thirst for anything with a prettily turned ankle." Or anyone, perhaps. "Lord Maxwell," Rashad says, turning suddenly. His dark eyes burn in his shadowed face for a moment, and Maxwell shifts uncomfortably in his chair, taken aback. "The Royal Horse Guard is the backbone of the Imperial Cavalry, and as such, it is a storied appointment. It is not for the dilettante, nor the fool."

Maxwell squirms. The fool. All he has ever been, and all he will ever be. "I --"

"Hush. I am not yet done." Rashad tents his fingers. "Perhaps I was rash in allowing you to buy a commission. But I thought to myself, here is a second son, burning with the ambition to make something of his life. He wants to impress his brother... Or a woman. Was I wrong?"

Maxwell can't seem to stop jiggling his foot. He wonders where this is going. A pretty girl. Gone to him now, lost forever in the night, without even a trail of shining pebbles to mark her path out of the wilderness. "Um..."

"Mmm," Rashad swirls his brandy in the glass. "Perhaps you need to become a man before you can impress a woman." The tone of his voice verges just on the edge of mocking, and Maxwell feels distinctly uncomfortable with the implication in his tone. This isn't the gentlemanly chat he'd envisioned (to be fair, he'd envisioned being thrown out of the Royal Horse Guard in shame, and that hasn't happened yet, but he doesn't for one moment imagine he's in the clear).

Our world rests on a fine interlocking web of favors granted and earned, Maxwell, he can hear Bertrand instruct in his head. It is perhaps too complicated for your dim intellect, but remember this: when a man owes you something, you own his soul. "Lord Rashad," Maxwell clears his throat, but he is struck by indecision, not knowing if it is a wanted thing. He thinks, running his finger along the glass. Rashad is eyeing him expectantly. "With all the recent... you know... I haven't had the time to, well..."

"Out with it, man!" Rashad's eyes glint with vicious mirth. "Slake your lust on a farmer's daughter? I assure you, they're more than willing when it comes to a man in the Guard's colors!"

Maxwell thinks suddenly of the little boy by the river, dark haired, with skin like a bronze coin. "No, this is about the Ball. I would ask for your assistance." A man who owes another has sold his soul. And, what of it? Rashad is ambitious, he has all but admitted it in so many words. And Maxwell needs the help.

"Well, then... I accept." Rashad rubs his hands together. "A gentleman's bargain, very shrewd. I will put in my recommendation for you to commence officer training in Krona, starting in June. Ensign, I think, will suit."

"In Krona? Officer training?" Maxwell's head is spinning, stunned by the currents that are swirling around him.

"Don't ask too many questions, Lord Maxwell. Some things are better left unsaid." Rashad fixes Maxwell with a stern look. "Do you understand?"

Maxwell gulps. He thinks of the box in his saddle bag, golden and gleaming, of the watery music of the lake, of the lone swan, drifting hauntingly upon the water beside its dead mate, black plumed and mute forever more. He nods, not trusting himself to speak.

Thoughts of the revels to come spiral through Maxwell's head, and he stands to go. The floor is spinning. He picks up the saddlebags -- they did not seem half so heavy when he came in -- and falls down in an ungainly heap, unused to so much brandy in such a short time.

Rashad does not move, until suddenly he is on his feet, his face drawn and pale, unrecognizable. "What is that?" he asks in a hoarse whisper, pointing.

The music box has rolled from the saddlebags and is sitting inconspicuously on the floor. Maxwell picks it up, gently, intending to put it away. "It's broken," he says. He winds it up, and the music begins to play, discordant strains filling the tiny room.

Rashad lunges forward and snaps it shut. "Where did you get this?!" he demands in a choked rasp.

"I found it in the river," Maxwell gulps. Rashad's face slowly regains color, turning from gray to a dull, furious red.

"I will take that," he says stiffly. "You may go."

"But --" Maxwell thinks of Savannah, but something in Rashad's face stays his protests, and he is outside, gulping down the sweet night air in record time. From within the office, he hears the sound of the music box, and then the sound of glass breaking, and as he spurs Sir Lucky towards the barracks, he chances to look up towards the inky sky, where Cygnus shines bright and the sad strains of the music follow him as he rides on, into the night.

#historical au #the royal romance #choices the royal romance #choices fanfiction #choices trr #trr #liam x mc #king liam #drake x mc #drake walker #maxwell beaumont #a world apart #long post

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