❴ ⟢˚ ˒ 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐘 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋.

𝕿𝘩𝘪𝘴  𝘪𝘴  𝘩𝘰𝘸  𝘢  𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭  𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴   𝕳𝖔𝖑𝖞   ─ 𝕱𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵  𝘴𝘩𝘦  𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴  𝕰𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘺.

[svyatoiy]

𝑠𝑣𝑦𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑖𝑦 ... patron saint of orphans and undiscovered gifts ⊰ ❊ highly private and selective writing blog for alina starkova of the grishaverse. solely book based interpretation with major canon divergences and personal developments. summoned by solveig ( she / her, 27. ) low activity & minors dni.

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𝔦.  𝖼𝖺𝗋𝗋𝖽      ･      𝔦𝔦. 𝗌𝗂𝖽𝖾𝖻𝗅𝗈𝗀       ･    𝔦𝔦𝔦. 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗆𝗉𝗍𝗌      ･     𝔦𝔳.  𝗉𝗂𝗇𝗍𝖾𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗍

an exploration into the themes of    girlhood to godhood,   death and rebirth,   sainthood,   a slow descent into madness,   inner imbalance,   the pull between peace and power.

[kolarpem]

Morning Doodle: “Yes, yes, of course.” The monk pushed his wire-rimmed spectacles up the bridge of his long nose. “I do. But, well, David Kostyk, the great Fabrikator who forged the first amplifier worn by Sankta Alina herself.” David looked at him blankly and returned to his reading. (Leigh Bardugo’s King of Scars CH 9)

[svyatoiy]

[ TAKE ]: ira takes a hit meant for alina.

【 𖤓 】 NONVERBAL PROMPTS. 〳 ACCEPTING.

There is a crick in her lower back, a stiff pain radiating all the way up her spine and flaring out the width of her shoulder blades. Her boots, once soaked, are now damp and cold, and her thighs ache from the hours of riding behind them. Strands of her dark hair are flattened against her forehead and cheeks by the brutal wind, the sounds of which still echo off the walls of her mind. The Sun Summoner is so preoccupied with an internal cataloguing and damnation of all her discomfort that she misses the rustling of the trees beyond the clearing.

An orb of scorching flame catapults through the branches ahead, barrelling straight towards Alina ─ the sizzling of flesh is inevitable, though the pain never strikes her. Instead she is shoved aside, fall softened by the thick coat of wet leaves covering the ground. The flame crashes against Ira's side, licking up the length of his arm, before suddenly dying out in a cloud of steam. From her spot on the ground she stares up at him, eyes wide and mouth agape, worry flashing across her face as she scours his figure for injury. On the tip of her tongue an admonishment awaits, proclamations of never do that again and I can look after myself, but one glance at his face is all it takes for her to pause; a somewhat rare display of saintly constraint on her part.

Is it not her Saint-given duty to allow the lives of others to form the armour which shields her own? The argument on the tip of her tongue (the passionate chastisement of his tendency to put her life above all else) is snuffed out just as the fire was by this knowledge of both their fates; hers, to forever be saved before others more deserving & his, to always choose her life before his own. Instead she thanks him, her hand clasped in his as he pulls her to her feet. This little skirmish in the woods will soon be forgotten in the midst of the far bloodier battles of the war; in her periphery Alina can see the rest of their company handle their foes with ease, which is why she allows herself the time to remain by his side.

Their hands now untangled, hers busy themselves looking for wounds up and down his side before at last grasping his chin, turning his face this way and that in search of burns. ❛❛ Good thing you're a walking fire extinguisher. ❜❜ She jokes, desperate for a bit of levity. This close, his endless eyes are cold and distant, his figure fraught with invisible tension; Alina can't recall him ever looking this faraway, not even the night he shed himself of all his secrets, HIS LIFE LAID OUT LIKE AN OFFERING AT HER ALTAR. She attempts another smile in hopes of luring him back to shore, brushing back the locks of hair drooping across his forehead. ❛❛ I think we should get back to the horses now, Ira. The others have this under control. Walk with me? ❜❜

[solhelgen]

[kingsmemes]

「   RP MEME :   NONVERBAL PROMPTS.  mix of violent, caring, touching and non-touching prompts.  」     SEND PROMPT '+ REVERSE' for the inverse to happen. for example 'bandage + reverse' for the receiver to bandage wounds on the sender.

[ BANDAGE ] : sender bandages a wound on receiver.

[ GUIDE ] : sender puts a hand on he receiver's back to guide them somewhere.

[ WAVE ]: sender waves down receiver to get their attention.

[ SIGN ]: sender raises their hand to sign to receiver. what follows can be anything the sender desires.

[ LIFT ]: sender lifts receiver's chin to look at them.

[ LIGHT ]: sender lights receiver's cigarette/candle/etc.

[ FIND ] : sender finds receiver beaten and/or bloodied.

[ PIN ]: sender pins receiver against the wall during combat/sparring.

[ GET DOWN ]: sender tackles receiver out of the way of danger.

[ TAKE ]: sender takes a hit meant for receiver.

[ CAUGHT ]: sender finds receiver somewhere they aren't supposed to be.

[ TRAP ]: sender traps the receiver somewhere they don't want to be.

[ DARLING ]: sender touches receiver's cheek.

[ SNATCH ]: sender snatches receiver's wrist as they turn to go.

[ STAB ]: sender stabs receiver.

[ DRAG ]: sender drags receiver from point a to point b.

[ SIT ]: sender sits on receiver's lap.

[ EN GARDE ]: sender and receiver get into some kind of fight.

[ DRUNK ]: sender finds receiver drunk.

[ BLOOD ]: sender walks into receiver's room covered in blood.

[ FLOWER ]: sender offers a flower to receiver.

[ HOLD ]: sender reaches to hold receiver's hand.

[ BRUSH ]: sender brushes a strand of hair out of receiver's face.

[ NOTE: ] sender writes a note for receiver. the contents are whatever the sender decides.

[ EYES ]: sender notices receiver looking at them.

[ STOP ]: sender raises hand to signal the receiver to stop in place.

[ TAP ]: sender taps receiver on the shoulder to get their attention.

[ WAKE ]: sender gently wakes receiver from a nap or otherwise.

[ MORNING AFTER ]: sender and receiver wake up together for the first time after a night of passion.

[ BLANKET ]: sender drapes a blanket over receiver's shoulders.

[ HUDDLE ]: sender and receiver huddle together in an effort to stay warm.

[ TUG ]: sender pulls receiver away from them.

[ PUSH ]: sender pushes receiver away from them.

[ BULLET ]: sender shoots receiver in a non-lethal area.

[heireating]

           BOOK STARTERS VOL.26     GRACELING     KRISTIN CASHORE

❛ I’m very pleased you’ve come with me. ❜

❛ If there’s anyone I wish to stun at dinner, I’ll hit them in the face. ❜

❛ When a monster stops behaving like a monster, does it stop being a monster? Does it become something else? ❜

❛ How absurd it is that the weakest and most vulnerable of people - girls, women - go unarmed and are taught nothing of fighting, while the strong are trained to the highest reaches of their skill. ❜

❛ What are you grinning at? ❜

❛ Is the ceiling about to cave in on my head or something? You look like we’re both on the verge of an enormous joke. ❜

❛ Only you would consider the collapse of the ceiling a good joke. ❜

❛ I’m afraid to tell you what I wish for, for fear you’ll… oh, I don’t know, throw me into the fire. ❜

❛ You’re more dear to my heart than I ever knew anyone could be. ❜

❛ I’ll teach you how to defend yourself, how to maim a man. ❜

❛ Wonderful — It’s quite boring really, the way you beat me to death with your hands and feet. It’ll be refreshing to have you come at me with a knife. ❜

❛ Forgive me, I was only trying to get your attention. ❜

❛ I suppose it never occurs to you to start small. If I told you my roof needed rebuilding, you’d start by knocking down the house. ❜

❛ Almost as beautiful as you are conceited. ❜

❛ You saved my life. I’m going to name my firstborn child after you. ❜

❛ I’ve heard you can kill a man with the nail of your smallest finger. ❜

❛ Does it make it easier? To have beautiful eyes? Does it lighten the burden of your Grace, to know you have beautiful eyes? ❜

❛ It seems better to me for a child to have these skills and never use them, than not have them and one day need them. ❜

❛ I wouldn’t marry him to save my life. Not even to save yours. ❜

❛ I know you’re teasing me. And you should know I’m not easily humiliated. ❜

❛ I should have stuck to my lies. It was the truth that almost had me killed, after all. ❜

❛ When you’re a monster, you are thanked and praised for not behaving like a monster. ❜

❛ I would like to restrain from cruelty and receive no admiration for it. ❜

❛ Mercy is more frightening than murder, because it is harder. ❜

❛ Your brand of comfort bears some similarity to your tactical offence. ❜

❛ The only way for you to keep your mind straight is to run from those who would confuse you. ❜

❛ How long will you be? I’d like to show you a couple of my new discoveries. ❜

❛ I thought it was supposed to be impossible to sneak up on you. Eyes of a hawk and ears of a wolf and all. ❜

❛ I’ll protect you. You’ll be safe with me. ❜

❛ Let me explain what will happen the instant one of your men makes a move toward me. I’ll get out of the room alive, but most of the rest of you will be dead. ❜

❛ I didn’t know you were capable of such bad temper. ❜

❛ You’re afraid of your own anger. ❜

❛ What have you done to yourself? Your hair is positively blue. ❜

❛ There’s no shame in crawling when one can’t walk. ❜

❛ Don’t be ashamed. Your sadness is dear to me. ❜

❛ Don’t be frightened. I won’t die. I won’t die, and we’ll meet again. ❜

❛ The colour of sunrise? It’s the colour of blood. I am not going to wear a red dress. ❜

❛ Everyone has some kind of power to hurt people. ❜

❛ Please, at least talk to me. ❜

❛ And how I feel? Doesn’t it matter? ❜

❛ I can’t know your feelings if you don’t know them yourself. ❜

❛ I will have a life, even though I carry this burden. ❜

❛ If I’d been trying to kill him, he’d be dead. ❜

❛ I told you before, I won’t fight when you’re angry. I won’t solve a disagreement between us with blows. ❜

❛ We’re too dangerous to each other. ❜

[svyatoiy]

whoever let it get this dusty here should get tomatoes thrown at them...

[cordoliae]

they are tied together by what surpasses them both, what looms over them - a sense of duty beyond monarchy, beyond sainthood even, one only ever ascribed to martyrs and fools. maybe this is why it is somehow easy to talk to the sun summoner despite her refusal to bait him, without her mirroring his constant drive for communication and conversation, because even with her walls firmly in tact there is something alina understands about all of this not many seem to grasp so readily. she is quicker on the uptake than many would give her credit for, but nikolai has hoped to be true from the first few days she's been on his ship. the volkvolny has had its fair share of harebrained missions, but this might have been the start of the most outstanding one yet, and alina passed not only with flying colours but with all banners raised. she may not be indulging nikolai's whims at most every turn, but that sets her apart and, despite their arguing sometimes, made her better too when it came to their daily meetings in the war room and those with his family as it is. she is primed for battle just like him, wary of his family where others would preen at gilded edges. he can trust that, even if they both are still working on how to trust each other. the palace certainly doesn't leave much room for it naturally.

and yet here they both are, playing roles this entire country needs them to play, and busily setting the stage for their next acts. one may say many things about the younger lantsov, but he's always been a formidable actor, a showman bar none, and a gifted liar for good measure. " can't think of any reason you wouldn't indulge. my brother loves hearing himself talk so much, you could set his coat on fire and he'd forget it's happening until he's already burning up to the sleeves, " nikolai muses, a hyperbolic outlook but not a far-fetched one. even if he is a prince, she has met him as a privateer first, and he was a soldier before that. the depths of his distance to the palace is well-hidden within the inner workings of his mind, not a shred to be seen of it on his face when he watches alina studying him, and leans back in his chair as she does so. " the fresh sea air rejuvenates even the most troubled mind. it helps you to forget about a place like this - and the people in it, which is more important. maybe. who am i to say? "

finally, something in her opens up even amidst her acerbic nature ( though that nature is something he'd never wish to change in private ) and he latches onto it, and away from matters concerning his family, with the readiness oft he major he once used to be and definitely the reckless captain he can be. " i live to spite my family, even in small ways. couldn't you tell? but i did not only choose you to spite them, i offered this to you because it makes sense. even when you can't stand to see my face every day, doesn't it make sense? " then, to add to her pondering, " and maybe i followed you because i wanted to. ever thought about that? i do have a heart, a working one. i know, it might surprise the boots off of anyone else. "

[svyatoiy]

❛❛ ARE YOU SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE? it wouldn't surprise me if you had actually tried to set him on fire, seems like the kind of thing a younger brother of your nature would do. ❜❜ she doesn’t actually mean it, and its existence at all is proof of her weary mind, but the thought that what a pity it was that he didn’t go up in flames crosses her mind. then both she and nikolai would have been spared the majority of the evening’s discomfort. alina allows herself this spoiled sense of selfishness for one night only, a brief interlude from her usual attempt to remain as firmly rooted in the earth as possible.

❛❛ no, I could tell. ❜❜ she allows him this much; a confirmation that she doesn’t just see him for the regalia he wears, that what she recognizes in him is much more than just a polished & proper prince. ❛❛ and it's not that I can't stand to see your face every day. it's more of a quantity problem, honestly. I see your face enough, and I need a full day to recover. maybe even two, if you walk around smirking too much. ❜❜ a telltale sign of her lack of eagerness to delve into his proposal, what that truly means, and what she actually feels about it, are the teasing words which spill from her mouth. it had been fun once, this game of refuting and joking, but she grows weary of it fast now, chafing under the tight mask of the unaffected saint. her acquiescence comes at the tail end of this pondering. ❛❛ makes sense on paper, ❜❜ she agrees with a miniscule nod. but as alina speaks her gaze remains firmly planted in the embers of the fireplace, not quite enthusiastic to compliment his plan to his face just yet. give her a few more days in his company, perhaps even a decanter of kvas, and she might warm up to the idea of praising him. ❛❛ but I'd make a lousy queen. I have no manners, can't even sit through a semi-formal dinner── ❜❜

on the precipice of asking if there isn’t someone else he would want to marry or if love doesn’t matter to him at all, alina has the wherewithal to stop herself before the inquiry spills from her lips; if her desires are of no consequence to her, a low-born orphan from nothing who only happened to spill light from her fingertips, then surely his would be of even less consequence for @disvelocitys, burdened by the title he wears. what he wants must likely have rarely played a role. no longer does it surprise her that he sought out the sea & finds that even after only one momentary brush with the salty sea air she finds herself missing the freedom of its vastness. something akin to a much fonder version of pity awakes in her, usually dormant in the presence of men of his class. so she does not hate the privateer princeling, in fact is forced to at last accept that they have something in common, and that his presence offers some embalming, nearly comforting effect to the irateness of her recent moods. what a way of complicating things further. a dull headache threatens its arrival.

❛❛ I'm not wearing any boots. ❜❜ hers are discarded near the door, feet bare save for the knee-long wool socks bunched up at her ankles. as she speaks she allows her sight to settle back on the side of nikolai's face, taking note of his profile as the flames in the hearth cast shifting shadows and light across his skin. not quite as brazenly studious as it had been before, one could discern brief notes of appreciation in her gaze. ❛❛ well ... did you? ❜❜

[resourcesinblue]

DEATHLESS.

the following prompts were taken from the novel deathless by catherynne m. valente, an american novelist & poet. the novel was loosely based on the tale of koschei the deathless, incorporating other elements of russian mythology, & setting it against the backdrop of the russian revolution. feel free to change the pronouns / prompts as you see fit, but be warned – below the cut, it’s quite long !

❛ the service of your body is not yours to give as you please. ❜

❛ you probably won’t survive. ❜

❛ go. run. don’t look behind you. ❜

❛ i have come for the girl in the window. ❜

❛ i will never be without information. ❜

❛ i will see him with his skin off before i fall in love. ❜

❛ if the world is divided into seeing & not seeing, i will always choose to see. ❜

❛ secrets are jealous things, permitting no fraternization. ❜

❛ no, it’s not like that, when magic comes. ❜

❛ magic does that. it wastes you away. once it grips you by the ear, the world gets quieter & quieter until you can hardly hear it at all. ❜

❛ the sight of it bruised my heart so that i cannot think about anything else. ❜

❛ i’ll be so quiet, i’ll never talk again. ❜

❛ keep me & obey me, for i am your husband, & i can destroy you. ❜

❛ i shall be clever, & i shall not let him go. ❜

❛ it is a new world, & we do not wish to be left behind. ❜

Keep reading

[tristealven]

“what humiliated me // as I relived my death in that room without sunrise / wasn’t my desire for light but my desire for more darkness.”

— — Paul Tran, from “Scheherazade/Scheherazade,” All the Flowers Kneeling (via lifeinpoetry)

[fospherus]

THE APHRODITE CABIN HAD TAUGHT HER A FEW THINGS, NAMELY HOW TO SWAY PEOPLE HER WAY. she knew, even as the sharp retort came, that the erratic tandem of the stranger's heart was a better conversationalist than her mouth. there was no joy to be taken in it of course; she felt a sympathetic pang in her ribs, recognising the look of distrust and confusion, dropped into a word with barely a decipherable manual to get by — and if drew would call her naive, then let it be so: she was determined to get the new girl at least some passable comfort for the day before the hephaestus kids rained down fireballs to ruin her pretty clothes.

❛❛   uh huh.   ❜❜ her smile grew, motivated by the shift in tone. that was something at least! ❛❛   you can find them in the lost and found, hermes cabin two doors down.   ❜❜ she winked, laughed carelessly, and crossed her arms over the picnic table they had set up for lunch. more amused than she should be, phira took notice of her flushed cheeks and mild embarrassment, and leaned back slightly to soften her smile.

❛❛   phira, it's nice to meet you. you know, i don't blame you if you're pissed off — been here maybe a few years.   ❜❜ the bead necklace around her neck, as she gestured to it, boasted three precious pearls of strange shapes and sizes. ❛❛   but i remember what it was like being the new girl. i thought i'd melt down before the sun even rose up.   ❜❜ and she saw symptoms of that in alina; the poor thing looked sapped of energy, her skin pale and her eyes tired from poor sleep. had she eaten at all? with her eyes wide, she scooted closer, and from her handbag, whipped out biscuits. ❛❛   but unlike me, you look less like a ghoul when you're in a bad mood and more like a princess. cheer up gorgeous, have some of these — they've got ambrosia in 'em, you'll feel right as rain.   ❜❜

[svyatoiy]

❛❛ NICE. I'LL TRY TO REMEMBER TO STOP BY LATER, SEE IF I CAN FIND 'EM. ❜❜ not a promise by a long shot, but the teasing phira dealt her helps soften her up further, while the wink only serves to redden her cheeks even more. if this had happened in the outside world, the world that until not too long ago had been alina's, her veins would have been laced with distrust ─ it was unusual for kindness to be dealt so freely. now that the dust has settled and she knows that monsters roam the earth ( not just the kind ana kuya warned the girls at the group home about, but real monsters, genuine mythological, two-, three-, even four-headed beasts ) offering up a smile to the girl in front of her doesn’t seem so scary, even if she doesn’t know what her intentions are. but then, perhaps she’s only trying to be kind.

her gaze follows the motion of phira’s hand as she talks, attention catching on the three colorful beads adorning her neck ─ what follows the sight is an attempt to imagine herself three summers from now, boasting a matching necklace, but it fizzles out rather quickly. her entire life she’s been caught so firmly in the throes of here & now that the ability to fantasize about her future has slipped willingly from her grasp; the inability to envision a happy ending an easy antidote to the disappointment any foster kid expected to lurk around the corner.

❛❛ nice to meet you too, phira. ❜❜ she says in return, and while it’s a simple reflex to repeat the polite greeting, a trait instilled in her from all those years in the system where possible foster parents float by like luggage on a conveyor belt & the goal is to make not a good but an excellent first impression, alina finds she means it this time. a smile even peeks through, the corner of her mouth curling upwards as she speaks.

❛❛ you can't be serious── a princess? no, I doubt that. ❜❜ the words spill from her mouth accompanied by a flustered shake of her head, as if her disbelief couldn’t be expressed solely through words. yet despite her ardent rejection of the idea that the other girl might be honest & not just teasing, alina’s cheeks flush crimson. it is for this reason that she accepts the offered biscuit without much thought, breaking off a piece and popping it in her mouth. a hum of appreciation follows her first few chews, grateful she won’t have to attempt a lie about its wonderful taste in order to divert phira’s attention from the blush staining her cheeks. ❛❛ saints, that's good! ❜❜ the tension in her neck eases up & the throbbing pain emanating from the scar marring the back of her shoulder dulls. she takes another bite, eager to feel its full effect, then manages a mumbled thank you around the crumbs. if not for phira’s pleasant nature & the warm smile she’s been offering ever since they sat down, hesitation might have made alina bite her tongue. instead she only diverts her gaze a little, fingers plucking at the remaining half of the biscuit as she asks. ❛❛ so you were the new girl once. how long did it take you before you felt settled? ❜❜

[allmonster]

❝ if you desire something…then that is my desire too. ❞ @ eivor!

❛❛ if you mean it, you must say it with your chest. ❜❜ the time has come to move on, insomuch as it is the most misery-inducing truth. eivor’s people are just that, people … she, a god, and much like the saint before her ( who has been her confidante and companion for decades, now ), has begun to watch them all grow and age and progress without her. it’s a strange pain, swelling with pride and love, but— possibly one of the most isolating realities she’s ever had to endure : and truly, after all eivor has been through, that’s saying something.

❛❛ i change my mind every morn, and delay it another day— i do not think i can do it alone, alina : leave them. what if they still need me? what if-… ❜❜ they both know it is eivor who cannot let go. eivor, who has been the raven king for forty years ! with her talons sunken into the heartwood of the clan so deeply, she may as well be a part of that tree. she has done all she can for them … the time has come to let go. to fly the nest. to cut the cord that binds them. even a benevolent god will suffocate the natural order of humankind if they squeeze too tightly.

❛❛ i desire it, to set them free of me. i desire it. but i want you to come with me. please, come, alina. join me on this … journey i must embark on, despite my trepidation. i fear i will come back if i am made to endure the next step alone. ❜❜ even as the godling asks, her voice wavers with emotion. the sorrow of abandonment. how difficult it is, to say goodbye— and she would very much like if someone would hold her hand.

[svyatoiy]

THE SAINT IS NO STRANGER TO THE SORROW OF FAREWELLS, NOR TO THE ACT OF WATCHING FRIENDS GROW OLD AND GREY, while she remains as a statue untouched by the passage of time though changed nonetheless. it is an isolating reality ; both the eternal abandonment and the lack of someone to understand, but by a stroke of luck or the coincidence of chance, the sun saint had been spared from further solitude of that kind in the arms of the raven king. burials upon burials of people once beloved by her continued to wound her still-aching heart, but the scars scabbed and healed faster when tended to by the touch of a lover frozen in time just like her. though this was not the same as the deaths and burials they had attended before. it was not a death to contend with at all, but an abandonment of sorts ─ a farewell, allowing her people to prosper and grow on their own without the godling to guide and protect, alina would argue in comforting tones though she understood the guilt and the fear which had settled so heavily upon eivor’s shoulders.

❛❛ of course they will still need you when we leave. they will need you until they learn not to. but until you go, they will never need to learn. ❜❜ from her relaxed perch on the edge of their bed, she watches as the raven king paces their chamber, worries and fears spilling from her lips like a waterfall, only there is no pond at the bottom to catch the onslaught ─ instead it is alina’s cupped hands which soften the crash landing of eivor’s grief-stricken wonderings.

❛❛ I did not think you needed me to spell it out. ❜❜ she returned earnestly, following the godling’s movements with a mixture of adoration and amusement in her gaze. she thought as much had been as apparent as the skies were blue. at last she stands from the bed and halts her king’s pacing with the slip of her hand into the other’s, fingers intertwining and caressing the skin of her knuckles. ❛❛ where you go, I will go. it does not matter much where, so long as you are there. ❜❜

[kolarpem]

Morning Doodle: Alina asking Oncat if he’d be willing to model

[svyatoiy]

thesis work has fully taken over my life since the holidays but i miss alina so maybe i'll be here in the morning ... 🙂‍↕️

[svyatoiy]

have i finished the nik duology? no ... but i do think it's vital that at some point after zoya's reign (or perhaps during!) there begins a process of dismantling the ravkan monarchy. alina personally is rather indifferent on the subject politically, and if she'd been queen she would likely not have begun the process herself — in a way she owes her life to the monarchy, as she was taken in by the nobility. she was housed, fed and schooled by them, it makes sense she'd be brought up with a pro-monarchy mindset. it's only when she lives at the little palace and sees the royal family and its dysfunction for herself that she recognizes how problematic this form of government is, yet at the same time it's such a permanent institution in her mind that what can you do but to improve it as much as possible?

[svyatoiy]

happy winter solstice and happy birthday to alya herself!!! hope you're all enjoying the holidays so far mwah

[svyatoiy]

❝ I FIND I MUST EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE ONCE AGAIN FOR THE INVITATION. ❞ her own court hidden from sight by the heavy cover of clouds, among the hills and valleys far below. it was not with ease that she left the unseelie court in the hands of the emperor, her trust in him as flimsy as the fabric of her skirt, but she wagered it might be worth it this time. ❝ the ethereal court is a sight to behold indeed, my queen. ❞ though the compliment was no lie, for the court warranted poetry written about its might, it was not the sole reason for her coming here. what a poor politician she would be if it were.

the royal guest shortens the distance between herself and the ethereal empress with a relaxed stride, her golden gaze knowing as a smile purrs in the corner of her mouth. surely they both knew why she had come. ❝ now, as per your last letter, you mentioned we had something to discuss. forgive me if I assume wrong, but might it be an alliance you wished to broker? ❞

STARTER CALL ⟢ @dvaurga