If it's not too late, may I request any or as many of these that strike your fancy, please? "Subtle" for Roslin & The Machine, modern AU for Corianne & Seyetto, "Blue" for Rinnyx & Aderin, and "Conversation Hearts" for Kestrel & Sergio. Thank you!
Thank you! Here's Seyetto and Corrianne; others may follow (in reblogs? separate posts?)
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Seyetto felt deeply uncomfortable about being set up on a blind date, but it beat all of the other options. He would rather walk across hot coals than attempt to use a dating app. And hoping to run into someone he would be interested in by pure chance was not a reliable method. When was he going to have the time to meet someone socially, never mind go through the whole song and dance of trying to figure out if they might be interested before even getting to the “asking out” stage? The entire process sounded mortifying from beginning to end. But Seyetto did want a family, which would require a relationship, and that wasn’t going to happen without going through some sort of process. The days of arranged marriages or mail-order brides were gone, more’s the pity. So a blind date it was.
Tavina had fussed around for hours trying to pick out an outfit for him that would give a good first impression, before he had rejected all of her advice and worn what he usually did. “What’s the point in giving a first impression that isn’t accurate?” he’d muttered, grabbing for the tie that Tavina had insisted he ought to leave off. “The truth will come out eventually, and if she doesn’t like it then I won’t waste any time if it puts her off right away.”
“I just think,” Tavina had countered, arms crossed, “that you should dress for a date, not a board meeting.”
He couldn’t help but wonder now if she had been right, as Corrianne looked him up and down, briefly but not subtly enough to be missed. Was that a skeptical look on her face, or curious? Interested? There was too long of a pause before she shook the hand he had offered. Did you shake hands on a date?
“Sorry, do you shake hands on a date?” he said a bit sheepishly.
She laughed. “Well, it is a bit soon for a kiss, and you’ve got to do something when you meet someone, don’t you?”
“Just what I thought,” Seyetto said, trying not to display his relief. He hadn’t really thought it through that much, shaking hands was just an instinct - maybe he was treating this like a board meeting - but he did agree. He stepped around to pull out Corrianne’s chair for her - he did know to do that on a date.
“Oh!” she said, sounding surprised. “Traditional.”
Was that good or bad? No matter. He knew how he felt about it. “If you didn’t know that about me, I don’t think Rinnyx prepared you adequately,” he said, smoothing his tie as he sat (he didn’t care what Tavina said, it was absolutely the right look.)
It had been Rinnyx who had set them up, of course. The only other person Seyetto would have considered allowing to do such a thing was his Uncle Hartin. He had expected that route to be more likely, but since getting with Aderin, RInnyx had developed an interest in romantic relationships that had been wholly absent in his life before, and he had a very wide circle of acquaintance.
“I didn’t ask him for too many details,” Corrianne replied. “I thought it would be better to meet you and see for myself.”
Seyetto had had a long series of questions for Rinnyx before he had even considered agreeing to this, but he did not feel inclined to admit so now. And what happened to honest first impressions? “Because you trust his judgment, or because you don’t?”
“I don’t trust anyone’s judgment on who I would be interested in more than my own.”
In most things, Seyetto trusted no one more than himself, but this was one area where he did wish he could surrender all of the decision making to someone other than himself. But who?
No, he had to do everything himself after all.
"Rinnyx could sell ice to an Ornali," he said with a smile, "but I'd rather not be sold if I can't sell myself, so to speak."
Corrianne replied with a smile, her eyes glinting. "Oh, indeed."
This was going well! "Good, good. So we're on the same page…" He pulled a notepad from his pocket and glanced down at the first bullet point. "Do you want kids?"
Corrianne, who had just been taking a sip of water, sputtered and narrowly avoided disaster, carefully bringing her glass back down to the table. "You aren't even going to wait until we've ordered appetizers?"
"I don't want to waste your time," Seyetto said, holding her gaze steadily. "Or mine. I'm sure you have your own dealbreakers. So do you?"
If she couldn't handle this, she wasn't the one for him.
Corrianne squared her shoulders. "I do. Ideally, two to four."
Seyetto nodded briskly, and checked off the first two points.
Okay, but if you're still looking for romantic prompts, how about Character A saying I love you to Character B without using the words "I love you." (Through actions, or an "as you wish" situation. That kinda thing.)
Thanks for the prompt!!For this, I wrote about probably my favorite of my OC ships. Tragically I probably won’t be able to show as much of their relationship as I’d like in the work itself, and neither of them is the perspective character. This is fortunate in that I can write whatever I want for self-fanfic without stepping on the main narrative’s toes, and unfortunate as I want to just write their whole relationship basically which made this a little hard to pare down. Hope y’all love them too!If you want some dramatic irony, also read this piece I wrote with Corrianne earlier. And, if you are curious, the correct way to pronounce her name is ‘cor-ee- AHN,’ with a French R sound.
How Empress Corrianne Learned to Speak Her Husband’s Language
When they married, Corrianne could not speak to her new husband.
Like most nobility around the continent, she had never studied Pelasian. Even centuries later, the fears birthed by the Speaker Wars lived on. No mage could twist your mind to his will if you couldn't understand the words he needed to do it. (Of course, now Pelasia had grown to power anyway without the use of mind-altering magic, so maybe it had all been for nothing.) And the Emperor, it seemed, had never bothered to learn any language but his own native tongue.
Corrianne studied and practiced until she was able to carry on something of a conversation with him without going through her ladies-in-waiting or his translator. The Emperor could not even say her name right.
But chipping away at the language barrier was not aiding their communication to the level that she had thought it should. True, she did not mind the extent to which he left her to herself - she had encouraged it. No, the Emperor was simply a hard man to understand. So she told herself, and so she held firmly in believing.
She could not have said when she first started noticing a difference.
***
He knocked at the door between their suites late in the evening, when she had retreated to hers from the court but not yet prepared herself for bed. He always knocked - these rooms remained hers, not his. The first few times he’d done this, she’d sent one of her maids to answer instead and give her regrets. When he proved unfailingly polite to them, and did not push past her excuses, she decided this could be allowed and came to the door herself. He never demanded her presence, or even requested - a request from the Emperor was little less than a demand. He merely gave an offer - he had ended his work for the day and would be in his sitting room, and would welcome her company if she wished to join him.
“I usually take this time for some quiet when I can… read for a bit by the fire, have a glass of wine… but if you would like to talk instead -” His eyes flicked to the maid murmuring all his words in Corrianne’s ear. “Perhaps practice your Pelasian?”
He had not offered to practice his Ruveldin, or even Idan, so that time she had refused. But she didn’t really want to spend the rest of her life married to a man that she would not talk to, so the next time she had accepted.
She’d been worried about his intentions that time, though he’d never touched her without her permission. But he really had just sat by the fire with his book and offered her a glass of wine, and did not press her unduly for conversation when she opened her own book. They made a few simple comments to each other on their day, and what they were reading, and spent the rest of the evening in silence together. She wondered how many times he’d had two glasses brought up, hope. She wondered if he’d left a few dregs in each to keep the servants from talking. She felt a little bad, but only a little.
She’d come over many times since then, and it had almost become a little ritual between them. They did not always spend the time reading silently - she truly did wish to practice her Pelasian, and he proved a patient conversation partner.
This time when he knocked, she answered with a smile and stepped through before he even needed to make his offer. She carried a book with her, but did not open it immediately when she sat down, and so he did not reach to pick up his own. “Thank you for joining me.” Even now that it was a regular occurrence, he thanked her. “I enjoy your company. I have little time to myself, but this has been an improvement on solitude.”
She had not thought the Emperor one to seek out solitude. He demanded the attention of the world. Perhaps she had misunderstood him. She smiled politely and asked him about his day. He was a man of routine; she knew the words he would use to speak about that well enough to follow, better than whatever that declaration had been.
***
They were at dinner, which was rarely a private affair. There were always people at court to entertain. But today was no great feast or party, only a regular meal, and while the Emperor’s attention might as ever be demanded at any time, at present Corriane and her husband were left to converse among themselves as they ate, should they choose to.
They did not always. Corrianne preferred practicing her Pelasian when they were in private, and going through a translator was more clunky than casual dinner conversation with her husband ought to be. And besides, it was dinner, and their main focus was eating.
But today, he chose to strike a conversation up. “Have you heard from your sisters lately?”
She’d received a letter from Everrie just that day. Perhaps he’d had mail come in from Ruveld as well, or seen the messenger bring it in. Or perhaps it was a lucky guess, though that seemed less likely. “I have.”
“And how are they?”
A few times, early on, when the Emperor had asked about her family, she had wondered if he were fishing for information on them, for his schemes or politics. But that had been silly. Surely he had plenty of sources for that without her.
“Both are well. Also my father, and -” She paused. She did not know the proper word for stepmother or half-brother. But he knew that they were her stepmother and half-brother, of course, there was no need to explain it to him. “And his wife, and Alairon.”
“Glad to hear it. Your younger sister’s birthday was coming up, wasn’t it?” He didn’t try to say her name - maybe he’d seen Corrianne wince as he mispronounced hers too many times.
“Yes, they had just celebrated it when Everrie wrote me.”
“She could handle planning for it without you, then?”
Oh. He had remembered, from the last time Everrie wrote. She had told him how Everrie was used to following her lead for social events, how she had been so frantic about taking it on herself, how she had wanted to prove she could step up to the task without leaning too heavily on their stepmother. She hadn’t passed on all of Everrie’s pouring out her heart - she did not think she’d have like the Emperor to hear all of it - but she liked to talk about home, and it was a good subject for her to use in practicing her conversation. And, she realized, her husband had been very attentive in asking her about her sisters. He had been since the first time she brought it up.
“It was as I told her, she -” She hesitated, and finished the sentence in Ruveldin for his interpreter to pass on. “She is more competent than she gives herself credit. She just needed to get her time of worrying out of the way and put her mind to it.”
“Still, they must miss you at home. You light up my court so, I can see it would be hard to lose you.”
She hardly knew how to respond to that, and took a bite so that she would not have to.
***
One of her ladies reported to Corrianne that her husband had had a gift sent to her rooms, so she came to them and found the box set on a table. She opened it to find a delicate golden hair comb, set with many small, deep red gems. Beautiful, and very much to her taste. She wondered if he had picked it out himself.
It was hardly the first gift he had given her. Fine cloth for her dresses, a dark bay riding horse, expensive jewelry, books - ones that he thought she would enjoy, or Pelasian translations of ones she had to help in her study. Some she had written off as no more than what might be expected from the Emperor to his wife. The others had confounded her. What did he mean by them? Was he trying to buy her affections, to keep her and thereby her father’s kingdom sweet? Did he wish to flaunt his wealth and power?
But none of those thoughts came to her now - only a desire to find her husband so she could thank him for it.
She made a few inquiries and was glad to be able to find him alone, going over his correspondence. He looked up, and smiled when he saw her. She’d never noticed before how different that smile looked from the one she saw him wear in public, how his eyes brightened with it. He nodded at the comb she clutched in her hand.
“You like it?”
She nodded. “It is -” It is lovely, she wanted to say, but could not find the right word as she filed through her Pelasian vocabulary. “It is very nice.”
He stood up from his desk and walked over to her. “I thought it would look well with your hair.” His eyes lifted to the honey-gold braids crowning her head as he spoke. He hesitated a moment, and then held out his hand. “May I?”
She passed the comb to him, and he slid it into her hair as though he were one of her maids. Her husband stood back, and looked at her admiringly for the space of several second, before frowning.
“I’m sorry - I don’t have a mirror here for you to look at it -”
She smiled softly. “I am sure you put it in straight. Thank you.”
“I’m happy you like it, Corrianne.” He stumbled over the r, and tried again. “Cor - Corrianne -”
It still was not right, but she smiled anyway. “I understand, Seyetto.” And she set her hands on his shoulders, pushed herself up on her toes, and kissed him.
Philautia for Corrianne, Ludus for Dommil, Philia for Tavina, Pragma for Aderin, Storge for Rinnyx, and Agape for Seyetto?
Thank you kindly!
♥️ Philautia - What does your character like the most about themselves? Yes, they have to choose at least one thing, or more! Is there any reasoning behind what they chose?
Corrianne likes being a carer. She's the oldest of her sisters, so she sees herself as the responsible one, the one who looks out for others and makes sure everything gets done. And she thinks she's pretty good at it if she does say so herself. Of course she was also the heir presumptive to the throne of Ruveld for over half her life, so that's even more responsibility, and the mindset of duty to her country has never gone away even after the birth of her half-brother. It's because of these traits that she doesn't want to challenge his heirship - fighting among the family would be bad for them personally and for the kingdom. But she also thinks that she would be really good at being queen.
🍿 Ludus - Who does your character turn to when they want to have a good time? What would they do with this person to have fun?
Dommil assuredly has army bros he has formed a close bond with and shared good times and bad - but he's an officer now, and it doesn't feel right to be completely casual with them, and he doesn't vibe with most of the other officers who are likely to have come from a much different background than him. So it's gonna be his actual bros he goes for. And number one on that list is Enno. Enno's the one closest to him in age, so they were always buddies growing up. And Enno is a fun guy. He's warm, enthusiastic, affectionate (if your preferred form of affection is hitting each other, which both his and Dommil's is.) Going out for a drink is always nice, but Dommil probably also enjoys attending whatever sort of athletic event you can observe in this society, which I haven't nailed down but in the capital city of the Empire there's gotta be something. Of course they're both busy people these days, so they're most likely to meet up at the family inn and hang with as many of their brothers as can make it.
🌻 Philia - Who is your character's most beloved friend? How did they meet? Why is this person so important to your character?
Tavina's closest friends are her companions Cassia Morcet and Isletta Ellwynd, and her cousin Monissa Tenley who will be joining the crew soon. She's the closest to Isletta, who's been her companion longest. They became friends while being tutored by Dor Arill, much as Rinnyx and Seyetto did (though Isletta is noble. Part of the point of the tutoring is to forge connections among noble kids, after all.) So when they were both thirteen Isletta got the "job" of "hang out with the princess." Cassia got the job two years later, when Seyetto was leaving for war and thought Tavina could use more company and also her family was happy for her to come to the capital for safety. Tavina was a little resentful of the circumstances, but getting through the fear and uncertainty of the war forged the three of them as close friends. Tavina felt pretty isolated after the death of her parents and her brother leaving, so she leaned on them a lot, and still does. Monissa, Tavina has communicated with mostly by letter as they grew up in different kingdoms - encouraged by her mother, but they did form a genuine friendship. But Tavina is sort of desperate for family, so she's clinging to that relationship and eager for Monissa to be closer.
🌲 Pragma - During the last scene you wrote/thought of with your character, who have they loved the longest? By the time they pass on, does that person change?
It feels like the answer is probably a family member, but they're all basically nonentities so... the Mother, the goddess worshipped by many in Alefor. (Some, especially among nobility, have adopted the Court of Irien, but this is the traditional religion.) Aderin's love of the Mother is also tied up in her love of the natural world and her love of her country and people. Aderin's faith is important to her, so it will probably remain throughout her life.
🏡 Storge - Who does your character consider family? Which of their family do they love the most? Why?
Rinnyx definitely holds to "family isn't defined by blood" but that's largely because he doesn't consider his father family (how could he? he doesn't know the guy.) The rest of his blood family he'd never let go of. Since he does consider basically everyone friends it's possible the top tier friends could tip over to family - like maybe Mirs and Vetta and Saire who he lived with in Davuri. They have that kind of relationship. Seyetto is of course the person who is most important to but "family" becomes a more complicated concept when dealing with royalty. So among his actual family? His favorite is Dommil. He looks up to him, admires him, depends on him. Dommil has always been there, always supported him, always looked out for him. Dommil is great.
🌏 Agape - What does your character love about the people around them? What common, positive trait does their friend group/family share?
Well that's a very good question.
Okay, look, it's not that Seyetto dislikes people, it's that he... generally doesn't form relationships with them. Oh, and also assumes they will all see him as his position rather than person and that all interactions with other people will he inherently transactional - that they all want something from him. Again, he doesn't dislike them for this, he thinks it's only natural, but it does sort of color how he views people.
If you asked him, he'd say that of course he loves his people - and he doesn't need to know them to love them. It's his duty. Why would he need a reason? So an uncharitable answer might be that he loves that his people are his. A charitable answer might be that he loves that they are people, because wanting to do what's best for his people is simply what's right.
He does gave things he loves about his culture. Pelasia emphasizes as values order, duty, balance. Some of this is due to militarization and stringently keeping magic users under control after having been taken over by mind controllers several centuries ago. Some is due to prevailing religious beliefs. Some might be just how many of them are. But wherever it came from Seyetto loves his country for it - he sees them as owing much of their success to their discipline and responsibility. Definitely something he also appreciated among the army during the war.
Of course he doesn't have a friend group, just one friend, Rinnyx, who... does not really fit the Pelasian stereotype. (For that matter neither does Tavina, the closest family member he has left, though they aren't on good terms.) Can't really say what trait is in common with one person, so I guess the cultural answer will do.
A question (or two), if I may: was the political match a matter of Seyetto deciding he needed an alliance with Ruveld, marriage was the best way, and it was Ruveld's choice of princess or more a matter of Seyetto deciding he needed an empress, Ruveld was an advantageous ally, and Corrianne was a good candidate (but her sisters weren't excluded as options if necessary)? And was Rinnyx involved in the negotiations in any way beyond his official role as translator? Thanks!
Now, I may adjust things by the time I actually get there, but here's my current plan for the situation: Seyetto both wants and Empress and wants alliance with Ruveld (specifically, he wants to take some land under the claim it is ancestral land of Alefor, one of his vassal kingdoms, stolen by Ruveld in times past. And to be fair he is correct.) Now in some ways to him Corrianne is the best choice, as she could be the heir which would let him possibly just... grab the whole kingdom, basically. (She's not officially the heir - she has a younger half brother and they practice male preference primogeniture. However her mother (who died and her father remarried) was much better connected than her stepmother is so there is something of a push for the kingdom to move to absolute primogeniture, which would make her heir.) However she's also less desirable for the same reason - Ruveld probably doesn't want him to take them so it gives them more incentive to say no to the match. So he leaves the choice to them. And this is all happening in the point Rinnyx is definitely involving himself beyond what his position as translator demands, so yes... I believe he is instrumental in getting Ruveld the chance to choose which daughter. He really wants this to work out after all, marriage alliance is better than war. Though he wants the marriage to he happy, too...
Corrianne: Though officially her younger half brother is the heir to the throne, as her kingdom, Ruveld, practices male preference primogeniture, there is significant desire to move to absolute primogeniture and name her heir instead. Her late mother's family is significantly better connected than her stepmother's, and they'd like her on the throne to make use of those connections. When she marries the Emperor, the matter is considered settled by most in Ruveld. The Emperor, though, would disagree that his wife cannot be both Empress and Queen.
Tavina: She has a large extended family on her mother's side, and she's much closer to her cousins than her brother Seyetto is - given that they actually share a language.
Of your Ocs, who's mom friend game is the strongest? & Do your ocs get along with their mothers, or do some not?
It’s a tough run between Aderin’s helpful practicality and Corrianne’s deep sense of selfless responsibility... I’m gonna give it to Aderin, though.
Rinnyx gets along great with his mother - she’s the only parent he’s ever known. He definitely gets his warm and welcoming nature from her. She’s proud of him, but wishes he wasn’t away so often, or at least was better about remembering to write. But when he does show up, it’s like he’s never left.
Seyetto got along well with his mother - he had more in common with his father, and got more of his education from him since that was the role he’d be taking one day. But his mother was who he got his ambition from. Tavina was closer to their mother, for similar reasons. Both took her loss hard.
Tomiv has one memory only of her mother - her death. But she knows she loved her. She remembers feeling strong enough emotion at it to wake the magic dormant inside her at far earlier that it would have naturally. And from what she does remember, she feels sure her mother would support her path.
Ilem gets along very, very well with her mother. Despite being a Cool Teen she’d never be ashamed to hang out with her mom any day of the year.
Zeg Amyu isn’t sure if he’s trying to prove to his mother that he has as much worth or more as any of his half-siblings, or if he’s trying to prove to himself that his worth has nothing to do with her approval.
(For the writing prompts for days) 76 for Corian and 40, 84 and 96 for Zeg, please?
I got impatient to get this out here, this is just Corri’s and I will make a separate post for Zeg’s (probably all in one? But maybe not? ??)I was thinking about dramatic AUs more in line with what this prompt sounds like it’s supposed to actually be about… but then I came up with this idea instead and it just happened. This snippet also features the debut of Everrie, who has existed inside my head for awhile but never actually been written.Hope you enjoy these gals! I love Corrianne’s story, and she’s one of the characters I think you miss out on the most from the first person perspective the main story is in. But you don’t miss out because here she is!
“You need to wake up because I can’t do this without you.”
The start of the sentence drifted into Corrianne’s half-asleep state, mixing with the last indistinct fragments of her dreams, and by the time it finished she had reluctantly opened her eyes to witness her middle sister practically throwing herself on the bed.
“Calm down, Everrie,” she mumbled, pushing herself up. “It isn’t that late, is it?” She glanced out the window to see the height of the sun and judged her statement accurate.
“No, but there’s so much to do before the Pelasians arrive. And I don’t want to do any of it, Corri.”
“So is this a cry for help or an attempt to foist your duties off on me?”
Everrie flopped back on the bed. Corrianne pushed her away. “Oh, it’s absolutely an attempt at foisting of duties, but I know you’ll make me do what I’m supposed to, anyway. I just also know you’ll get it in your head to do a significant portion yourself, so I’m trying to get you going early to head off as much as I can.”
Corrianne swung her legs off the bed and stood with a stretch. “You don’t need to be so dramatic about this. It’s nothing we haven’t done before.”
“We haven’t done it for the Emperor before. He’s got to have some high standards. I won’t have him looking down his nose at us.” Everrie sat up, which Corrianne suspected was just to facilitate another dramatic flop at the next appropriate moment. “And it just eats at me, having to get everything all nice so we can lure him into subjecting us by marriage rather than conquest.”
“We don’t know that he’s going to marry one of us,” Corrianne said, letting her hair out of the braid she’d kept in in for the night and running her fingers through the honey-gold waves. “They’re only talking about it. And we can’t be the only ones talking to the Emperor about marriage.”
“But he is going to marry one of us,” Everrie said with certainty. “ We know he wants a foothold here, to wheedle out land he claims belongs to Alefor and thus to him. Maybe he could take it by force, but why waste resources when you want a wife anyway? So he’s going to marry one of us. And it’s probably going to be me.”
“Ev-”
“Well, you’re a little more untouchable than the rest of us. You’re the eldest.”
“I’m not the heir,” Corrianne said softly, rebraiding and unbraiding again the ends of her hair as she spoke. “Alairon is.”
“You were the heir for over half your life, and you know there are some who still prefer-”
“And if the Emperor prefers me,” she cut in, “is he going to care about that?”
Everrie flopped back on the bed, a clear acknowledgement of the point. “But it is still going to be me. Everyone always loves the redheads.” Corrianne rolled her eyes, but Everrie, lying where she was, could not see it. She probably knew it had been done all the same. “He’s the Emperor. He’s got to have everything special. So he’ll be drawn to my exotic beauty. And I don’t want to marry him, Corri. I won’t.”
“You will if Father tells you to.”
“I won’t!” Everrie protested, though Corrianne didn’t believe her - or at least, she thought Everrie might believe it in the moment but would change her mind if it came down to it. “I can’t stand the thought of being tied to that man! That - that monster! Paraded about like some trophy of war, or kept shut in a tower while he rides out to subjugate people or feed prisoners to his dragon or consort with women of ill repute-”
“You haven’t even met him yet.” Granted, Corrianne didn’t hold too high an opinion of him herself, but she wasn’t going to come to such colorful judgements before seeing him in person.
“And I don’t want to!”
“Maybe you’ll like him.”
“Do you think you could like a man like that? Much less chain yourself to him forever?”
“You still don’t know if it’ll be you,” she said, keenly aware that her lack of answer was an answer all the same.”
“No, it could be Illyrisse. Maybe instead of exotic beauty, he’s into the shy submissive type. I do bet he’ll want someone he’s sure he can cow.”
“Illyrisse is too young for him.”
“If he prefers her” Everrie echoed her earlier words bitterly, “is he going to care about that?”
Corrianne was quiet. It was hard to deny her sister’s points, and the thought of seeing either her or Illyrisse shipped off to Pelasia, to the hands of Emperor… she shook her head.
“No use worrying about any of that now. We’ve got plenty to do, as you have pointed out. We had better get started.”
For the Shades of Color tag: SYETTO-Mauve, Arctic, Green Tea, Rust CORRIANNE-Hazel, Ivory, REAS - Alabaster, Chiffon, ZEG-Black, Silver, Brunette, Cinnamon
thank you thank you!!
confession I didn’t even read like any of these before I reblogged it, just picked it cause it wouldn’t get mixed up with numbers, so let’s see what we got
Seyetto
Mauve - What makes you feel nostalgic? - my family’s summer palace. We used to go there when I was younger, and my sister and I had good times there. I’m busier now, haven’t been in ages... I do miss those times.
Arctic - Do you prefer warm or cool weather? - I prefer it to be a little cool. Formal imperial outfits look nice, but they don’t always breath very well.
Green tea - Does Tea it exist in your world? If so do you like it, and which kind is your favorite? - It’s great for busy days, and most my days are busy. I don’t much care what type as long as it’s as strong as possible. (You’ll be pleased to know, Elsabet, that in modern AU he’s a coffee addict)
Rust - Have you thought about becoming old? Can you become old? Are you scared of being old? What do you think about elders? - I fully intend to live to an old age, but I’ll admit I don’t love the thought of losing my strength and martial ability. Hopefully by then I’ll have adult sons who can take care of those duties. But I fought hard for this throne and I’m going to hold it as long as I can. But I feel the gods favor me enough for Lady Sophona to grant me long life, and Lord Irien to grant me wisdom while it lasts. I think elders should be respected - so long as they also respect me as Emperor, of course. Some are valued advisors to me.
Corrianne
Hazel - What kind of folklore/myths/stories are told in your family/community? - we have a lot of stories in my home kingdom of wild and fantastical creatures in the mountains and wilderness beyond. There are probably some overgrown wild dragons there, at least.
Ivory - Do you play any musical instruments? If so, which ones and how well? - I learned how to play the harp when I was younger. I wasn’t bad or anything, but most people who said I played ‘very well’ probably only did because I was the princess.
Reas
Alabaster - What is the most recognizable thing about you? What are people most likely to notice about you when they first meet you? - I guess probably my hair! It’s dark and glossy because I take good care of it and I’ve grown it really long. I used to want it grow it til I had a braid down to my feet, but that would probably be impractical in my new line of work. I’m not going to cut it short, though!
Chiffon - Do you prefer a larger and cleaner environment, or a smaller and cozier one? - Larger and cleaner, though I guess I’m not always the best at keeping neat. But I grew up in a rich family, and now I’m in a large, mostly empty school, so I’m used to large spaces. And I like room to move around.
Zeg Amyu
Black - What is the darkest thing you’ve ever done? - oh, I guess it depends on who you ask. Being born? Some people probably find curses to be dark but it’s not like I’ve ever even done anything that serious with them. But honestly, I’m afraid my ‘darkest thing’ is in my future. We’re going to end up going to war with my mother’s people. I might have rejected my ‘family’ there, but they’re still blood, and I did have friends up there. Anyways, I really hope I don’t end up across from any of them on the battlefield.
Silver - What do you imagine the future to be like? - Near future or far? Well, I like to imagine winning that war and ending up on the Twelve of Might and ruling the land, though I try not to let anyone know I think that. They’re already worried enough about me. But they’ll have to do it, they need me! It’d really be nice if they want me too, though.
Brunette - If you could change your hair color, what would you change it to? - I don’t know, I think it’s fine as-is. I wouldn’t want to ruin it. Ilem thinks it might look nice with some red in it, but that’s just ridiculous.
Cinnamon - Which of the “Cinnamon Roll” memes fits you best? (looks like they could kill but is actually a cinnamon roll, looks like a cinnamon roll but could actually kill you, looks like a cinnamon roll and is actually a cinnamon roll, looks like they could kill you and could actually kill you, or sinnamon roll) - I’d have to say ‘looks like they could kill you and could actually kill you.’ (author’s note: he is the sinnamon roll)