MASTERPOST featuring everything i can think of about my royal ocs! if you read this i love you forever and ever! but it's okay if not because it's pretty long!
these ocs are super self indulgent, i love immortals and also height/species differences in fantasy lol. i also realized they really represent my lifelong desire to have a bigger more experienced man take care of me, be patient with me, and treat me like a delicate porcelain doll ASDFGHJ
the kingdom of solstria is a land that worships the sun. stretching high into the clouds it sits carved into a tall mountain. the species that lives there, solstrians, are blessed with the wings of doves, and fly freely between the various mountain peaks adorned with their homes and businesses. the poorest folks live closest to the ground, farthest from the sun's light, while the more wealthy with higher status live higher in the clouds. ironically the higher the altitude the less warm it is, but this has been waved away by solstrian elites. at the very peak of the mountain sits the palace of the royal family, the solstarias. each generation of the solstarias has an heir capable of channeling the power of their mother sun, making them gods. although they could never reach the status of the sun itself, they claim to speak for her. the sun however, in reality, does not speak, so it cannot be spoken for. no one has ever truly communed with the sun, and it is questionable whether it is a conscious entity, at least conscious in the way that we are. the solstarias however sell the falsehood to the masses that they are carrying out the suns will, and the majority of solstrians wholeheartedly believe this lie.
solstrians are a long lived species, being able to live for thousands of years. the solstarias especially as gods are quite sturdy creatures and can survive things that normal solstrians cannot. solstria is a society highly focused on perfection, notably physical appearance and the ability to fly. those with "imperfections" are seen as less-than, and the inability to fly is essentially life-ruining for a solstrian. flight is an essential part of being solstrian, the kingdom itself was built with flight in mind so it's incredibly inaccessible if you cannot fly, nearly impossible to navigate. so most flightless are forced to live at the base of the mountain on the ground, places reserved for the lowest class. even a high class solstrian can have their status ripped away in an instant if they're rendered flightless in an accident.
solstria has closed borders and only select individuals are allowed to exit the kingdom, for the purpose of trade and diplomacy. solstrians who are exiled have their wings forcibly removed beforehand, and any solstrian who attempts to flee the kingdom is hunted down and shares the same fate. the royal family believes that solstria is holy land and that to leave it permanently would be disrespectful to the sun and refusing her gift, so their wings are removed as punishment. thusly, seeing a winged solstrian outside of the kingdom walls is incredibly rare.
solstria sits among a grouping of kingdoms who have a history of colonization and violence. many kingdoms and settlements have fell by their hands, and unfortunately species as well. ten thousand years ago a species of lycanthropic people called the canima were hunted to near extinction. their land was taken and the remaining handful were exiled to the tundra where they were expected to freeze to death. as they were huddled together awaiting their fate, the only remaining soldier among the civilians mysteriously ascended to godhood. his desperate pleas to save his people were answered by an unknown deity, and in that moment he was granted the powers that would save them. his body started emanating great heat, that spread across the land and protected them from the cold. under mikhail's protection, his gaggle of exiles began building a small settlement where they could survive the cold. as more and more people of different backgrounds were exiled to the tundra over the years, mikhail provided a safe space for them. their settlement grew larger until it became a proper kingdom, albeit a small one. mikhail found that he had gained immortality, he no longer aged and was incredibly sturdy. unfortunately however that meant he had to watch the remaining members of his species die with him as the sole survivor. still, til this day he rules his kingdom, known as rexcanima, and is worshipped by those exiled or seeking asylum.
the current goddess of solstria, queen empyrea, had two children. first came etienne. prince etienne was not born with the ability to harness the sun's power, so they had a second child after. this princess was minette, and she was now the heir to the throne and was meant to inherit the sun's power. however, minette's condition upon being born was quite the shock and disbelief to the royal family. minette was born with wings too small, and it was clear as soon as she was born that she would never be able to fly. this was unacceptable to the royal family, they simply could not have an heir that was flightless. she would be an embarrassment and a source of great shame if the people learned that a flightless solstrian was born to the solstaria family. so minette was hidden away and kept secret from the kingdom and its people. the solstarias were unsure of what to do; they could never love a "deformed" child, and they certainly could not allow minette to inherit the suns power. about 400 years passed as they had their best magic users try to come up with some kind of spell or ritual that could take minette's abilities to transfer them to etienne instead. etienne had perfect wings and was an excellent flier, so his parents thought he was an appropriate heir. eventually they succeeded.
the spell was incredibly painful to minette, and in the process her connection to the sun was broken. all solstrians share a bond with the sun, it is their lifeforce. if a solstrians bond with the sun is somehow severed, they usually die within minutes, and their body turns to ash. so when minette's sun bond was severed but she survived, it was an unprecedented scenario. it is likely she survived when others could not because she was a godling rather than a normal solstrian citizen.
for minette, being without the sun is physically painful, it can range from being moderately painful to downright excruciating, it fluctuates randomly. it also makes minette feel incredibly weak and tired. it goes without saying that from now on she would have a very poor quality of life and it would be hard for her to do a lot of things. she also could no longer feel any warmth, from then on she could only be cold. minette was absolutely devastated the second she could no longer feel the sun, she felt like her life was over in an instant, and nothing would ever be okay again. not just because of the pain, but because solstrians feel such love and devotion to their sun. could the sun no longer hear her prayers? know how much she loves it? she didn't know, and the thought terrified her.
when her parents severed her from the sun, they simply assumed she would die soon and left the room with etienne. what they didn't see coming is that some of the castle servants were very sympathetic to minette, and upon seeing that she hadn't yet died, they sprung into action. they took ashes from the fireplace and placed them on the floor to mimic what it would look like if minette had turned to ashes, and they snuck minette away. one of the maids who practiced magic gave minette a crystal that allowed her to cast a disguise; when she wore this crystal she looked completely different, like a moth person. using this disguise they were able to smuggle her out of the kingdom, but they could not go with her.
from this point on, minette was alone. at first, she was at a loss of where to even go. the had never left the kingdom, in fact she had never even left the castle before. she knew little of how the outside world functioned. eventually she thought back to something she'd overheard her father saying among guests in his study once, he was speaking of king maksimilian. her father and their guests were speaking negatively of him, speaking of how the rumors of his "great flame pelt" rivaling the sun were blasphemous and ludicrous. at this point rexcanima had become protected by its surrounded allies so solstria and its own allies could no longer terrorize it, so most of what the solstarias could do was insult it.
the only thing minette could really think to do was travel to rexcanima, to see if his "great flame pelt" really did radiate heat comparable to the sun. she thought it was a long shot, but she would take any chance to feel warmth again. so she set out on a long journey on foot, during which she started to learn about this big world around her. it took quite a long time to reach her destination, having to travel through several kingdoms and find her away around closed borders. eventually she made it to the tundra, where she found that the cold did not bother her. since she was always cold anyway, the snow felt no different than how she always felt. her immortal body could withstand blizzards and ice, so she trekked through the tundra on foot through conditions mortals could never survive. eventually, she finally made it to the kingdom walls. given the kingdom readily accepts exiles, she was welcomed in at once.
minette did not shed her disguise upon entering the kingdom, as she was afraid there was still a chance of her being hunted for her wings. so she continued pretending to be someone she wasn't. she wanted to get close to the king, to see if what people said about his heat was true, so after much persistence she was able to get a job inside the castle. she became a maid, among a team of several; cleaning up wolf hair was a common occurrence. she managed to get close to the king quite a few times and discovered, to her amazement, that she could actually feel the warmth he radiated. feeling heat after years of being cold was amazing, and she desperately wanted more. she would try to charm him and find excuses to be close to him, but mikhail wasn't very receptive, just thinking she wanted close because he was royalty. it wouldn't have been the first time someone tried to kiss up to him to be in his good graces, hoping they could eventually seduce him. mikhail had no idea his presence was actually easing minette's pain, and unfortunately he even thought she was a bit annoying at times.
minette wasn't very good at her job as a maid either; with her chronic pain she required several breaks, and at times she became too weak to lift things and would even collapse occasionally. it was written off as her being clumsy by the other maids. she embarrassed herself further a few times in front of mikhail when she accidentally tripped or broke things. the last straw came when she dropped a tray with a valuable tea set on it, and the senior maid had enough. she informed minette that she simply couldn't keep her job, she was too clumsy and not diligent enough. minette ran to a broom closet to cry, and having noticed blood on one of the teapot shards the senior maid followed to check on her.
while examining minette's hand, the senior maid was immediately suspicious when she discovered minette's disguising crystal affixed to her arm. minette had used it longer than it was intended to be used, so her skin had started to grow around it. knowing what the crystal was for, the senior maid had no choice but to call for the king and castle guards. minette was a suspicious character on the surface, someone wearing a disguise who had repeatedly tried to get close to the king; someone like that could be a spy or even an assassin, so caution was needed.
the first order of business was removing the disguise, which had to be done surgically since it had begun to grow into her skin. she was taken to the castle doctor, anatoly. minette begged and begged for her disguise to not be taken, but it was a matter of castle security by that point. once removed, minette's true form emerged for the first time in decades.
anatoly was a solstrian too once. thousands of years ago he fled the kingdom, fearful of its corruption. he was hunted and had his wings removed like all the others. so when he came face to face with a solstrian that had in tact wings, he was immediately sympathetic. he could infer quite a few things just from first glances at minette in her true form. he saw her small wings, knew instantly that she could not fly. he understood why she would want to leave, the treatment of the flightless had not changed in the time since he'd left, and he understood why it was necessary that she hide herself. the king, at first, was alarmed and slightly angry to see a solstrian had infiltrated his castles walls, assuming the worst, but anatoly quickly calmed him down and explained.
after a full blown panic attack and begging them not to tell anyone, to give her back her disguise so no one comes for her and takes her wings, they reassured her no such thing would happen and that she was safe. once she was calm enough, she explained her circumstances in full. she told them of her status as former heir, how her power was taken, how her sun bond was shattered. anatoly was stunned, being a doctor he had never seen a sunless solstrian live this long, so he was truly experiencing a medical anamoly. anatoly helped minette explain to the king how painful her condition is, explaining why she was so weak, how what was written off as clumsiness was disability. minette was then finally able to explain to the king that his presence, his flame pelt, eased her pain and tiredness. when it became clear to mikhail the true reason minette was always trying to be close to him, he felt horribly guilty. he had assumed the worst of her and even thought she was a bit annoying before, but now her actions had been recontextualized. it didn't help that he thought minette's true form was gorgeous, he failed her AND she's hot!!
mikhail immediately set up a bedroom for minette in the castle, right next to his own quarters so she could feel his warmth through the wall. they started spending a lot of time together, he invited her to eat his meals with him, sit beside him while he did paperwork, do hobbies together. minette started becoming more comfortable around him, and eventually it became a common occurrence to see her lounging about, sitting in his lap, the arm of his chair, on his shoulder. while his heat does not cure her pain, it still helps significantly. she still does have days where it's worse, where it still hurts and she's still weak.
minette was assigned a handmaiden to help her with things she couldn't do herself on high pain or low energy days. her name was ludmila, an orc woman. she sometimes helps minette get dressed, does her hair, helps preen her wings. her and minette became very close and are now best friends. but before ludmila, when minette first became a castle resident, she didn't really have anyone she trusted enough to help with such things. she would usually suffer through it, sometimes timidly ask the king if he could tie up her hair. at one point she became brave enough to ask mikhail if he could sit in the bathroom with her while she bathed, so his heat was ease her achy joints. mikhail was hesitant, and insisted he sit behind a screen so that they're separated and there would be no chance of his eyes catching her, he wants to respect a lady and preserve her dignity! minette would wave it off and say she wouldn't mind if he saw because there wasn't much to see anyway. one day some months later, minette realized she couldn't lift her arms high enough to wash her hair because it hurt, and she very timidly asked mikhail if he could help her. he asked about a thousand times if she was really sure and that he could fetch someone else, but minette was hesitant because she didn't really trust anyone else. so mikhail ended up washing her hair, and preening her wings for her. after that it became somewhat routine for mikhail to help her as they grew more and more comfortable with each other. by this point they had developed feelings for each other but thought the other didn't reciprocate.
as they grew closer and closer, mikhail was incredibly protective of minette and she barely left his side. mikhail's advisors would always joke about how close they were, asking when he would propose. he would always try to deny it, saying it was disrespectful to minette to say such things. eventually he had to stop caring about what people thought because he couldn't blame them, as minette had stated to sleep in his bed as well. she had to sleep on his chest because mikhail feared that he'd squish her, but they made it work.
finally it got to the point where they could no longer deny their feelings for each other, after multiple years of mutual pining that they'd cluelessly thought was unrequited. they ended up taking baths together as well, mikhail's bath tub is huge though so minette can't properly sit in it without the water going above her head. ~oh nooooo truly a shame, she'd have to sit on his lap~ (she thoroughly enjoys this arrangement.)
eventually all the necessary paperwork was filed and minette was deemed a protected person, if solstria were ever to try to come after her, rexcanima's larger allied kingdoms would send troops to defend her. however little did they know, this wasn't needed because during the time minette and mikhail were falling in love, something was taking place back in solstria.
minette's brother, etienne, was plagued with nightmares about what happened to his sibling. minette was still assumed to be dead, and etienne was horrified by what had happened to her. etienne was not a willing participant of the power transfer, his parents told him nothing of what was to happen until the very moment it unfolded. etienne was disgusted that he was forced into holding a power that did not belong to him and that it costed minette's life. his parents had not treated him kindly either, abusing him quite a bit. he grew up resenting his family immensely, although he played the role of a proper heir in fear that they would have another child and kill him too if he became disobedient. at some point his father died, not quite as long lived as his immortal wife. when it was just etienne and his mother, he decided he couldn't take it anymore. he had no idea when his mother would die, and he felt she couldn't go unpunished for her crimes. so, etienne found a way to poison his mother.
since solstria was so reclusive in modern times and barely anyone was allowed outside of the kingdom, minette hadn't heard the news about what happened with her family. she continued her little love story. she and mikhail fell in love and were married, and for the first time ever rexcanima had a queen. mikhail asked if minette wanted a hand in how the kingdom was lead, but minette much preferred to not worry about such matters and just lounge around all day and be pampered like a little purse dog. (living my absolute DREAM okay.)
something minette had found out about herself was that she was infertile, and this bothered her greatly. mikhail told her that it was perfectly okay if she couldn't bear children, and he had went this long without an heir and didn't require one. however minette had decided that she really wanted children. mikhail suggested adopting, and while minette considered it, she just really wanted to try for one of their own. she wanted a baby that looked like mikhail, one with his fluffy ears and cute pointy teeth. he was the last of his species after all. they tried every possible fertility spell and ritual they could find, trying for hundreds of years.
when queen empyrea died, etienne took over as the new ruler. under his leadership solstria began to change. he wanted badly to atone for all the damage his family had done. it's not perfect, and things couldn't be fixed overnight, but he was trying his best. he opened the borders and one of the first things he did was inform the public about what happened to minette, and established a day of mourning for her. it was by this point that the news reached rexcanima. minette was surprised, and kind of emotional that her brother had never forgotten about her. so, she had mikhail call etienne to rexcanima under the guise of a diplomatic meeting. minette was a bit spooked, unsure of if she could truly trust etienne yet, so mikhail did not include anything about minette in his summoning.
as etienne and mikhail met in his throne room, minette hovered anxiously behind the throne, hiding. she wanted to get a feeling for what her brother was like after all these years, and was quite nervous about re-introducing herself to him. but eventually she did come out from her hiding place and they reunited for the first time in hundreds of years. etienne was completely in shock that minette was alive, he truly thought she was dead. he was overjoyed though, that not only had she survived, but that she had found love and was now married to a king. it gave him comfort knowing she was protected not only by royalty, but by an actual god. he told her, "minette, i killed mom to avenge you. please don't think you weren't loved because i love you and i'll still love you if you'll allow me." minette and etienne repair their relationship, but etienne continued to be spooked by mikhail. he understood why mikhail was so protective of her, and was afraid that if he breathed wrong he would end up crushed by a big wolf foot.
eventually, after hundreds of years of failed fertility treatments, minette finally fell pregnant. she was very excited, but felt hesitant to tell mikhail. she was extremely afraid of losing the baby, and didn't want to get his hopes up only for her to miscarry. she spent a lot of time extremely anxious about this, and after a few months she finally told mikhail. he was overjoyed, albeit cautious, and tried to be optimistic, while still making sure minette knew that it wasn't her fault at all if they lost their baby. finally though, their baby was born healthy. she was everything minette and mikhail hoped for, she had mikhail's fuzzy ears and tail just as minette had hoped, and she had minette's large gray eyes. they named her masha, and she was the beloved princess of rexcanima. after many millennia, rexcanima finally had an heir. the people of the kingdom were incredibly supportive, complete with some full on crying out of pure joy that their king who was once so solitary and jaded had found happiness.
that's where my little story mostly ends for them, although my favorite parts to explore are the ones where minette and mikhail are still pining and falling in love, so i mostly talk about those parts whereas their parenthood arc is more of a "future" thing.
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other fun factoids to know:
• progression of societies and technologies in this world move very slowly, and i'm aware this isn't realistic. most species are very long lived and because magic exists the drive for innovation isn't as strong as it is with humans because they have so much time in the world. i just very much enjoy long lived characters who are captured in a moment in time, no bustling world moving around them at top speeds, just taking slow and easy.
• mostly the vibe i'm going for is late 1800s, but it really depends on which kingdom. some are a bit more advanced than others. rexcanima is just beginning to have rudimentary electricity, mostly in the castle. they have things like gramophones and typewriters, stuff that is basic.
• solstria aesthetically is inspired by a weird mix of greece, france, and england. they have french names and accents, and loosely greek-inspired architecture and clothing.
• rexcanima is loosely inspired by russia, especially siberia. a lot of them have russian names and accents, although since rexcanima is a hodge podge of different exiles/refugees from other kingdoms they are diverse in terms of species and culture.
• minette uses both she/her and he/him but prefers she/her more, and also i just usually use she/her to avoid confusion when talking about both her and mikhail. she likes more feminine words and is described as a maiden usually. her gender is basically "girl but to the left" which is kind of like my own gender, boy but to the left. also tmi but most solstrians have both sets of genitalia including minette.
• when minette first met mikhail she is around 500 years old, and by the time they have their baby she is around 1500. physically i would say minette is in her late 20s and mikhail is in his early 40s.
• minette was admittedly a bit naive at first and inexperienced with life but i would not describe her as childish, although sometimes she's insecure and sometimes afraid people think of her as such. she becomes a very well read and educated lady as time goes by as she was eager to take in knowledge and learn about the world she missed so much of while she was locked away.
• mikhail meanwhile has a temper, he tries to keep it under control but he can be spontaneous and doesn't always think things through. anatoly is his closest friend and advisor, and is a wise old man figure who helps mikhail to not act impulsively. it's funny because anatoly is a few thousand years younger than mikhail, but when you're that old, age can only effect your personality so much. not every immortal becomes old and wise, some still stay just the same. so i would not call mikhail wise, he isn't childish either but he's got nothing on someone like anatoly.
• anatoly is a solstrian but you'd only be able to tell by his pointed ears. he left solstria thousands of years ago and his wings have been removed, he changed his name to a rexcaniman one and has the rexcaniman accent as well. he is also gay and has a husband, although i haven't solidified much about him. i just need some gay old men in my life.
• mikhail can change his form, the form he usually takes is half wolf, but he can also take other forms like a full wolf (a huge one at that) or fully human (he never really uses that one though.) and he can also shrink himself a bit as well (this helps when he and minette get busy lol.) he has dog mannerisms like wagging his tail, moving his ears when he hears things, howling, and on rare occasions when his guard is down and he's zoning out he's even drank from his goblet like a dog. minette thought it was hilarious but mikhail was thoroughly embarrassed.
• likewise, minette has bird mannerisms. chirping, preening her wings, flapping her wings when she's happy (stimming) and even flapping her wings around when bathing as if she's in a bird bath. mikhail thought it was so cute that he had a fountain installed that's essentially a big opulent bird bath.
• sometimes mikhail absentmindedly chews on minette's ears. gently, but still, you can't deny comparing it to a chew toy. he also sometimes gets a prey drive and has the urge to "catch" her, he playfully chases after her and hugs her tight, having a lot of cuteness aggression.
• mikhail gets the zoomies sometimes and the only thing he can do is turn into his big wolf form and haul ass outside the kingdom walls for a while.
• minette's favorite food is bread. listen she just loves bread. it was one of the only things her parents would give her to eat and she never got tired of it. she likes all sorts of flavors, although she doesn't like ones with nuts or crunchy bits, she likes soft things. her favorite are probably hawaiian bread rolls, although you can't rly call them that since this a fantasy world, so whatever the hawaii equivalent is lol. the castle chefs make it interesting for her by dyeing the bread fun colors like blue, or baking it into fun shapes. they have fun making her food that looks cool in general.
• minette is also always trying out new hobbies and interests because she wants to be well rounded. she and mikhail both love music and love to dance, although navigating the size difference was tricky at first lol.
• mikhail needs an extra big carriage to travel which also means regular horses can't carry it. good thing this is a fantasy world, he doesn't need normie ass horses he has giant blue ostrich creatures do it instead. they HATE everyone and will hiss and bite but they love minette. i think it's because she's a fellow bird.
• ludmila is a lesbian and has big dreams of finding the perfect butch orc wife, although she's kind of a hopeless romantic and falls in love easily. i think the concept of her being really into other orcs tusks is funny, like she sees some big beautiful tusks on a lady and she's like i am averting my eyes respectfully. the other woman is like why aren't you looking at my face did i do something wrong SHFJFNF
• ludmila is so silly in general i love her, she is absolutely ride or die for minette and they are best friends, and ludmila is quite large as well so minette has Two huge people to protect her. ludmila is very charismatic and personable, vibrant and bubbly, but also a bit awkward and clumsy. social anxiety doesn't know her name though, she is shameless and ready to tackle whatever life throws at her. boy does she trip over her tail a lot though.
• anatoly says "mikhail, you sly dog" a lot and it wasn't funny the first time or the thousand times after that. imagine thousands of years of dad And grandpa jokes.
• mikhail has three tiny fairy assistants who help him organize and get ready. he would probably never brush his hair if not for them. they're probably the only people in the kingdom allowed to boss him around. (i'm thinking of redesigning them soon so no art included of these three.)
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i think that's itttttt if you made it this far thank u so much for reading about my beloved ocs! i didnt proofread this at all LMAO. i'm aware theres probs a lot of historical and cultural inconsistencies but tbh i just made them based on vague aesthetics and ~vibes~ and i made them to have fun, not do research and feel like im in school again ASDFGHJ call me lazy and dumb if u want its okay
here's some other art! ludmila and etienne
alternate minette outfits including her moth disguise
mikhail with his hair tamed into a braid
and a few of them together!
no anatoly drawing yet, hopefully sometime soon! these are all drawings from over the past year, which hasn't been the greatest for art, so theyre not exactly consistent or very good, but still lol they get the point across!
i'm unsure if i've talked about the updated story of my royal ocs so i don't know if you guys have context for mothnette, so i shall update you here!
solstrians who attempt to flee their kingdom are usually hunted down and their wings are forcibly cut off, so it's incredibly rare to see a winged solstrian outside of solstria. knowing this, it was imperative minette disguise herself as a different creature lest she be hunted and lose her wings. so for all of her travels, she posed as a moth person. once she made it to rexcanima she continued to use this disguise and worked as a maid inside the castle. she would always attempt to get close to mikhail as the heat he radiates soothed her chronic pain, but a lot of times she ended up embarrassing herself and would cry in private because she was making a fool out of herself in front of the king. her chronic pain and fatique made it difficult for her to properly do her job as well, and she frequently had to take breaks or would collapse, accidentally breaking things often.
her real identity was finally discovered by the castle staff one day when she collapsed, and while inspecting her injuries, the head maid discovered the crystal embedded in her arm that allows her to project her disguise. the head maid had no choice but to alert the guards and king, as someone disguised and seemingly always wanting to be close to the king could very easily be a spy or assassin. mikhail took her to anatoly the doctor to inspect her crystal, as she had worn it for way longer than she was supposed to and her skin began growing over it.
anatoly surgically removed her crystal, while minette begged and begged for him not to. as previously stated he felt like he had to because her behavior was very suspicious. once her disguise was finally removed, anatoly felt immediate sympathy and understanding for her. while he couldn't have known she was a princess, he understood immediately why a winged solstrian would be hiding her true identity. anatoly himself is a solstrian who had his wings taken thousands of years ago. on top of that he could tell why minette left her kingdom in the first place, as its clear from the size of her wings that she is flightless. being flightless is essentially a disability in solstrian society, the flightless are seen as lesser individuals and the kingdom itself is incredibly inaccessible if you can't fly.
after a full blown panic attack, minette was eventually able to tell them her full story. how she was the former heir to the throne, how her connection to the sun was severed, how her parents attempted to kill her. anatoly was blown away upon learning she was without the sun, as solstrians unbonded to the sun only live for up to a few hours afterward. minette was a medical anamoly and anatoly didn't think such a thing was possible. he was immediately drowned in empathy and compassion for her as he knew that the pain must be unbearable, and upon hearing that mikhail's heat soothed her pain he was completely fascinating. mikhail and anatoly had always wondered where mikhail's flame pelt came from, and it was kind of like discovering an unknown truth, he must have been blessed by the sun.
mikhail was full of regret for how he'd treated minette before he discovered all this, he'd found her kind of awkward and assumed she wanted to be close to him so badly was simply because he was the king and she was an ass-kisser. when he found out his presence lessened her pain he was instantly protective of her. internally he was like "i should Die, i thought she was annoying but she just wanted the pain to go away, i'm a horrible person." it didn't help that he was instantly captivated by her beauty once he saw her undisguised, he treated her poorly AND she was hot!!
after that the story is pretty much the same, minette and mikhail get progressively closer and fall in love. they are my pookies.
minette's brother etienne! he's very awkward so i tried to capture that in his pose. kinda like when youre in a picture and don't know what to do with your hands.
etienne is the sibling who received minette's power when it was ripped from her body, but he wasn't a consenting recipient. his parents didn't tell him what was happening at the time and he only realized his sister was "dead" once he saw the pile of ashes that was supposed to be her body. his parents forced her power into his body, intending to make him the next proper heir to the solstrian throne. while minette was weak and born flightless, etienne was healthy and a great flyer, so his parents viewed him as a much more suitable heir.
etienne was traumatized by the night minette died though, and having her power resting inside him makes him feel sick to his stomach. i would say its comparable to receiving a heart transplant but knowing that not only was the donor non consenting, but they were in fact killed specifically to put their heart inside you. this action from his parents when he was still young made him jaded and made it impossible to radicalize him any further, although he pretended to be on the same page as his parents lest he end up like his sibling. his father, the king of solstria, died from natural causes shortly after this, but as etienne grew older he decided he would go to great lengths to kill his mother, so he as the new ruler could bring peace to solstria and cease the corruption the kingdom was built on. he'd be lying if he said murdering his mother wasn't also to avenge minette though.
once he suceeded in killing his mother, one of the things he did as the new king was establishing a day of mourning for minette. this is when minette who was very much not dead felt guilty and decided it was time to call him to rexcanima to meet with mikhail, and see if etienne was worth reuniting with. she was spooked at first and didn't come out from her hiding place, judging her brother while he met with mikhail. etienne was pissing his pants in mikhail's presence, as his family was responsible for the extinction of mikhail's whole Species, and he wanted to make a good impression and prove to the world that he was better than his family. when minette decided etienne was worth reconnecting with, she came out from her hiding place and they had a tearful reunion.
etienne is overjoyed that minette is not only alive but is happy and married to a king and god. "minette, i killed mom to avenge you. please don't think you weren't loved because i love you and i'll still love you if you'll let me." he is still nervous about mikhail though. afraid that if he breathes wrong he'll be crushed by a big wolf boot. but he'll get over it.
ludmila, my oc minette's handmaiden :3c she is quite big and attends to minette's needs, and they are also best friends! its a bit sloppy but i just wanted to get across how she looks!
hi i've been working on this nonstop for the past three days bc i was possessed! anyway these are probably my oldest group of ocs, for a story in my head called illumine. there are plenty of other ocs in this group but this is the main family :3c i'm pretty proud of how most of them turned out especially dallas <3
mikhail's three assistants, busy little fairies that bully him into doing his job. min is the assertive middle sister, one who's a bit rude but tells people what to do. jing is the oldest and most responsible, who usually helps with deskwork. and li is the youngest who prefers coordinating outfits. but they all come together to bully him for any purpose when needed.
and yes, mikhail has these tiny accessories imported just for them. there's a thimble in that box.
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