hi folks!! my name is lyra (she/her, 24, gmt -8 aka pst), and i’m so excited to write with you all. unfortunately i have work later today, so i won’t be around very long for opening 😭 but i should have my intros posted shortly i didn’t get to proofread them, so excuse any grammar mistakes or typos, and plan on posting a plotting call in the ooc server!! but i also figured it would be good to post on here as well. so!! if you’d like to plot with one or both of my muses and would prefer to use ims on here, please feel free to message me!
Astrid had always liked parties in general and she was particularly fond of masquerades. That said she still felt weird being part of parties like this, part of her saw the benefits of having a party beyond just having a fun night without stressing about everything, they were good places to create deeper bonds with people, meeting new ones in a more pleasant stage than a meeting or something like that. But still, it also felt tone deaf and truthfully deep down she just didn’t feel like partying at all. However she was there wearing her mask, smiling and trying to make the most of the night. After dancing for a while, she walked out to a balcony to have some air and rest for a while, she smiled when she noticed someone was already there “Good evening, I guess many want to have a little break.”
mikael leaned on the balcony railing, swirling the last few sips of wine around his cup. there was nothing he enjoyed more than the chance to converse, to peacock, to endear himself to a wider audience. the masks also provided the opportunity to meet those he would not under normal circumstances, and without the necessity of complete propriety no less. but the room was becoming increasingly stuffy, and so eventually he wandered outside. at the sound of a voice, one he would know anywhere, he straightened up, “ast—your maje—” he cut himself off, glancing around for other listening ears. though the masks made it possible to obscure one’s identity, he could not help still being cautious when it came to addressing the queen. especially if other advisors from sweden overheard. “astrid, good evening,” he relaxing his shoulders. “yes, indeed. i thought i might take a moment, get away from all the noise.”
The masquerade was in full swing and as much as Eva adored dancing and socializing, she’d been in the middle of a story with some other royals when something in the corner of her eye piqued her interested. “Excuse me a moment,” she said without even finishing her original thought and she was out the door into the palace garden, searching for whatever she’d seen. She moved easily through the maze of flowers and shrubbery, peering around every corner and over fountains and benches to see anything she could. And just when she had chalked it up to most likely a child playing or a rogue dog or cat wandering about, she turned, gasping as she came face to face with another person. “Oh!” she cried, placing a hand over her heart. “You frightened me. Do you make it a habit to sneak up on people in the dark?”
the longer the masquerade went on, the more he itched with restlessness (and the more his mask itched his face. he regretted not asking one of the staff for a better-fitting one). to get out of the sweltering room full of people and into the cool night air. to have his own space. to think. mikael enjoyed the festivities, yes, but having a moment alone with his thoughts was beginning to sound ideal at the moment. and so, as the conversation came to a natural conclusion, he bid his companions goodbye and meandered his way through the crowd, out of the ballroom.
once outside, in the gardens, he slipped the mask off his face, taking a moment to appreciate the relief of having the damned thing off. which was when he noticed another figure nearby—was he mistaken to think there was something familiar about them? as he came closer, he opened his mouth speak, but was interrupted by the other turning to face him. “i may have some habits, however sneaking up on others has never been one of them.” he bowed his head, grinning sheepishly, “my apologies for startling you. i required a moment of respite, you see.”
She felt like she stood out, she wasn’t sure why but she just felt… shy. It was weird, normally she wouldn’t be like this, she’d enjoy the crowd, but she just wanted to hide until the party was over and pretend like it never happened. “I thought I was the only one who frequented this wall,” she joked as she looked towards the person who appeared next to her. “I’m guessing you’re here for the same reason I am?”
@1642hqs-starters
if the idea of a masquerade was to be anonymous, seojeong hadn’t done well to conceal their identity. not intentionally—the fact of the matter was that their garments were distinct, to say the least, if the european gowns they had seen just that evening were anything to go by. they had been to a masquerade once before, during their travels, and certainly enjoyed their time back then immensely. but those days were far in the past, fond memories that meant little in the current moment. not when there were other, more pressing matters to think about. despite any reservations they had about the event, though, the empress made the rounds of the ballroom, all smiles and sweet words, as if they had nothing on their mind. all the while searching for a glimpse of someone, something they recognized.
and, as luck might have it, she found one such familiar sight standing idle along one of the walls of the room. “perhaps. or perhaps not,” she paused. “i came to see how you were fairing.” she explained with a slight smile. as she gave her sister a once-over, though, her lips formed into a frown, “you aren’t usually so reserved, soonee. have i caught you in the middle of resting, or is something the matter?”
( cis man, he/him, 27 ) announcing 𝐌𝐈𝐊𝐀𝐄𝐋 𝐎𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐎, the 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐊𝐀𝐍𝐄 and 𝐑𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐃𝐕𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐑 from 𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐍 ! upon closer look, they resemble 𝐊𝐎𝐅𝐈 𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐁𝐎𝐄. it is a miracle that 𝐇𝐄 survied the last five years, and for that reason, they are 𝐅𝐎𝐑 the kingdoms working together. reflecting on them now, they remind me of 𝐀 𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐊 𝐏𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒 / 𝐄𝐘𝐄𝐒 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐊𝐘𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 / 𝐀 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐘 𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒.
𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐒. 𝐖𝐂𝐒. 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒.
𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐘
death mention tw, illness tw
many years before his birth, mikael’s parents—a wealthy merchant and a daughter of the chief of the kumase kingdom—settled in sweden. his father (niklas) was an ambitious man, and caught the eye of the king, so much so that niklas later became one of the king’s advisors, and was gifted land and an introduction into the swedish nobility.
a middle child, between two sisters. growing up, the three of them spent much of their time in the swedish court, as well as in the company of the princes and princesses. in mikael’s case, he became closest to the eldest two, ebba and astrid.
while his sisters were raised to be perfect ladies, so that they might become ladies-in-waiting to the princesses, or marry into more powerful noble families, their father’s ambitions for his son were to have mikael follow in his footsteps. to become an advisor. and mikael, seeking his father’s approval, did everything he could to make that happen. he studied diligently, endeared himself to members of the court. it would be years before his father’s plans began to come to fruition, however.
just before the plagues began, ebba requested mikael join his council of advisors, and mikael’s father graciously stepped down, feeling his job was complete. around the same time, niklas also revealed that he had arranged for mikael to be married to the eldest daughter of the count of skåne.
they were meant to be married some time in 1642, but with everything that happened, they were married by proxy instead.
when ebba passed away. mikael was devastated. he couldn’t dwell on his friend’s death for too long, however, because his father-in-law passed away soon after. he traveled to the south of sweden to comfort his wife as she grieved. even though they were strangers. he traveled between skåne and the stockholm, juggling the responsibility of being a husband, count, a friend. and a royal advisor, all at the same time.
𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 ╱ 𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒
raised to further plant the osafo family’s roots in sweden (and the rest of europe too, eventually).
since taking the helm, mikael can’t help but feel he’s more of a sympathetic ear than someone who actually counsels the crown. the monarchs he has served thus far have been people he has known since childhood, after all, people he would call his friends.
so, on one hand, he wishes he could do more and be taken more seriously by his fellow advisors. on the other hand, though, he wants to support astrid however he can. and if that means acting a little bit two-faced, he can live with it for now.
the most important thing to note about mikael is that he does well blending in with and adapting to others. he also craves acceptance and praise from most anyone. unfortunately, that also means he can come across as fake when he contradicts himself.
but anyway... he’s a very friendly guy! and pretty easy to talk to.
skåne county’s location means that he has frequent interactions with danish nobility. but because his appointment as count is recent, he doesn’t know them very well, and he’d like to change that. more people to appeal and endear himself to ya know
despite its status as both landed gentry (barony of järfälla) and introduced nobility in sweden, as well as mikael’s mother agnes’ ties to royalty, the osafo family has a reputation in sweden for being social climbers.
𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒
his wife/spouse!! they’ve been married for a few years now, but are still in the getting to know each other stage (sent to the main)
( demi woman, she/they, 35 ) announcing 𝐇𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐇𝐔𝐈 𝐒𝐄𝐎𝐉𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐆, the 𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐎𝐍 ! in a recent portrait they seem to resemble 𝐉𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐄. it is a miracle that 𝐒𝐇𝐄/𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 survived the last five years and for that reason, they are 𝐅𝐎𝐑 the kingdoms working together. reflecting on them now, they remind me of 𝐀 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐍𝐀𝐏 𝐀𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐘 𝐌𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 / 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍 𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐘 𝐃𝐀𝐘 / 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐏𝐈𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐒.
𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐒. 𝐖𝐂𝐒. 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒.
𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐘
born hwang hui yeon, the eldest of the emperor and empress’ children.
from the beginning, she has had but one goal in life—to become empress of joseon. she devoured her lessons with glee, wanting to gain as much knowledge as possible and learn to best lead their nation in the future. she clearly had drive, but that fervid personality of hers didn’t stop there.
they were also headstrong, hotheaded young princess who would do anything to prove their worth as heir. and though they could be a doting older sister, if their siblings showed any ambition for the crown—their destiny—they were ruthless and cold until their younger siblings promised to act otherwise.
over time, though, she learned she couldn’t be so impulsive, petty, and stubborn if she truly wanted to be a good ruler. so, she adapted, slowly but surely stamping out their undesirable traits, repressing their emotions, hiding their burdens. and eventually, that became who they are known for being today.
officially named crown princess seojeong at age 15, and in the years that followed, their responsibilities grew. this culminated in several diplomatic missions they went on, acting as leader of emperor gyeonghye’s envoy, in their twenties.
always looked up to her father, seeing him as the epitome of what it meant to be a leader of joseon. but he was far from perfect—emperor gyeonghye, as it turned out, was not nearly as virtuous as he seemed. with a penchant for gambling, drinking in excess, and shirking his responsibilities to the empire in favor of hedonism, palace staff and his own advisors wished to depose him and seat crown princess seojeong on the throne instead.
their plans were of course, complicated by the fact that seojeong would surely charge them with treason, and couldn’t possibly trust them not to do the same to her in the future.
but, the potential coup never needed to happen. for as conditions worsened in joseon, the emperor retreated to his personal quarters on the palace grounds. when he returned, he announced his intention to step down from the phoenix throne.
although she had prepared her whole life for the responsibility that the throne of joseon required, seojeong was overwhelmed with the issues and country she inherited. it was only through collaboration with her advisors and careful planning that she managed to begin getting joseon back on its feet.
𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘 ╱ 𝐌𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒
more neutral to working with other countries than anything; they came to france because they know joseon can’t recover in complete isolation, and while they feel badly for using their past connections to try and accrue wealth and power, they know deep down that it’s the best way to help their country in the long run. they’ve also considered setting up betrothals for their unmarried siblings to strengthen alliances and joseon’s coin, similar to the king of portugal. so they’re especially pushing for their brothers to marry. y’know, for the dowries.
she hopes, through fortifying joseon again, she can eventually lend aid to the ming dynasty, whom she actively chose not to help over the past five years (though she would never admit to that). basically, i see sj having a strong connection with the ming royal family in the past! but that can always change.
hold themselves back so much for two main reasons: for one, they’ve carefully curated their reputation for years, so deviating from it would, in their eyes, be a problem. makes them think others would find them two-faced or something. and second, showing weakness or too much hesitance is ill-advised; it would surely undermine their authority.
said image is the picture of calm and thoughtfulness, so she can’t just. go feral or have an outburst or be impulsive like she used to. but sometimes she really wishes she could.
still, they have their moments of feeling irritated or upset. there’s a reason they’ve got such a deep crease in their brow—lots of furrowing and biting their tongue, both literally and figuratively.
a stalwart and empathetic leader. some might say she’s a bit too softhearted.
more open with their feelings around their siblings, but never in a way that seojeong thinks those feelings would burden them. so they still internalize a lot of their negative emotions.
loves to see a young lady who's just a little bit unhinged. not vocally, bc her vibe is very much that they and other people should remain calm and show restraint. but if you've got a lil bit of spunk... just know sj's a big fan and lowkey wishes she could be you.
𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒
a broken betrothal that seojeong most definitely may or may not still have feelings for (sent to the main)
their “protégé,” a young state official / burgeoning diplomat who seojeong believes is tied to corruption in joseon. the empress brought said state offical along to france to keep a closer eye on them (might send to the main one day)
their siblings!!
friends of all sorts. also allies.
lovers, dalliances, and romantic entanglements (past and present)
enemies and annoyances
vassal(s). could be from anywhere, but historically there was a connection between joseon and tsushima island that i think could be interesting to explore!! this would def be combined with another connection, since "vassal" is so vague.
spies and secret royal inspectors
anyone from joseon, pls 🥺 ladies in waiting, other palace staff, nobility... the list goes on!!
In the link below you’ll find #30 gifs of Kofi Siriboe in his role as Ralph Angel in Queen Sugar. These gifs were made from scratch, no editing besides sizing and sharpening. Please like/reblog if you’re using. Made for @tasksweekly task #21
— In THE SOURCE LINK BELOW you’ll find #144 333 gifs, all made by me, from queen sugar (episodes s04e01-s04e04 ) requested by myself and made to be used for roleplay purposes. I’ll continue to update this gif pack because there are still plenty of episodes to go through of season 04, and this is part 02 of my gif packs of S04. If you’ve found this gif pack useful, please like this post or reblog. I kindly ask you not to use these gifs on gif hunt, crackships, rp bios or turn them into gif icons.
— In THE SOURCE LINK BELOW you’ll find #266 #106 gifs, all made by me, from queen sugar (episodes s04e08-s04e09 ) requested by myself and made to be used for roleplay purposes. I’ll continue to update this gif pack because there are still plenty of episodes to go through of season 04. If you’ve found this gif pack useful, please like this post or reblog. I kindly ask you not to use these gifs on gif hunt, crackships, rp bios or turn them into gif icons.
