#demeter's rambles

[uselessroyals]

Something i think that the subtitles really don’t do justice to is how frequently Wilhelm is referred to as the prince. Specifically by teachers and his bodyguards. The subtitles often have people refer to Wilhelm as sir quite a bit, but they never actually use that in the show...

For example

In swedish Mr Englund says "prinsen missada ju tyvärr det här provet. Men det kan han ju ta igen vid tillfälle" which means "the prince sadly missed this test. But he can take it again on occasion", notably both referring to Wilhelm as a prince and in the third person.

Anette does the same thing here. In swedish the line is, " Vi har ordnat ett lite större rum till kronprinsen" which is "we have arranged a slightly bigger room for the crown prince". Referring to him with his title and in third person.

Here are just some more examples. August actually says "Swear, crown prince, to, in accordance to the interest of the Society, (...)" and Malin's line is “i just want to let the crown prince know, that breakfast is ending in five minutes”

Wilhelm is constantly spoken to in the third person by the teachers and staff (and August when they were being formal for the initiation into the Society). It is a very deliberate choice, and it saddens me that it got lost in translation for the subtitles.

The dub says it correctly, and thus the captions for the dub does as well. Saying "sir" is not at all equivalent to saying "prince" or "crown prince", it is a whole different title.

The fact that they keep calling him prince/crown prince is important. His role/title is constantly being reinforced by everyone around him, despite how much Wilhelm hates it. Furthermore, the teachers seem like they are not allowed to refer to him any other way.

Here, Anette first refers to him as Wilhelm, as she would any other student, then literally apologises and uses his title instead. She does care about him and wants to provide comfort, but she is bound by the rules of formality.

Another note: Translating "kronprinsen" to "your royal highness" here works fine. even if it isn't the literal translation, it is still is his proper title as opposed to "sir" which is just wrong. Though saying "your royal highness" instead of "crown prince" does miss the point that Wilhelm's title has changed; from prince to crown prince. As well as how wrong that probably feels for Wilhelm. Crown prince was Erik's title, yet everyone now refers to him that way.

Anyway, I think it's a shame that they changed the subtitles to "sir". It doesn't make sense, nothing is gained from the change other than a loss of context...

[weavelingsongs]

In wilds beyond they speak your name with reverence and regret,

For none could tame our savage souls yet you the challenge met,

Under palest watch, you taught, we changed, base instincts were redeemed,

A world you gave to bug and beast as they had never dreamed.

Our cherished dreams you granted and delivered more,

But in dismay you found too late our desires had no end,

What cost to tame our savagery? You gave your all and then gave more.

Yet still desires lay unquenched, more dreams remained, your energies spent.

Amongst it sprang a dreadful scourge,

that forced return our aggressive urge,

and turned us back to beasts or husks,

Our souls consumed by light above.

Within your corpse can still be heard the plaintiff cries of one,

Who took our pain, and loss, and dreams inside itself to...

Through it's pain we found a truth that must now be confessed,

For nothing can contain such things but perfect emptiness.

— The Elegy for Hallownest by Monomon the Teacher

[uselessroyals]

one thing i really like about the intimacy scenes between wilhelm and simon is how much they banter. i don't know how to explain it properly, but a lot of intimate scenes in tv shows feel so serious? idk, it's very focused on it having to be sensual and sexual or whatever.

but in young royals they tease each other and joke as well. like in the scene at simon's house when he turns on the video games sound and wilhelm jokingly goes "does this turn you on?" and simon just responds "shut up".

or at the beginning of episode 4, when they're in wille's bed the morning after and they're being all sweet and in love, but then simon goes "yeah but you have really bad morning breath" and wilhelm responds by blowing in his face and it's fun!

this probably makes no sense to anyone but me, but that's okay. it makes it easier for me to watch the intimate scenes in young royals, because usually i skip through whenever it starts to get spicy (ya boy is incredibly asexual what can you do), so i appreciate it!

[uselessroyals]

This post is partially based on that statement from the costuming department and partially based on @missmeganlee's post about Wihelm's wardrobe (read it here!), because i wanna talk about one little thing in this scene here

Specifically when Wille gets up to leave.

As mentioned in meg's post, Wille is often shown in blues representing his connection to the monarchy as well as how influenced he is by the monarchy. Meanwhile Simon's main colour is orange (and purple, but that's not really relevant for this post)

When Wille leaves, he first puts on an orange jumper, representative of his resolve to stand up for his relationship to Simon. As we see him do when he asks his mom: "what if i just want to be with him?"

However the jumper is immediately followed by a blue scarf; The Queen shuts him down immediately

And of course he puts on the blue jacket over top, all but hiding the orange jumper from view. The monarchy wins out and Wille makes the statement they wanted, hiding his connection with Simon

We're basically told exactly how the conversation with his mom is gonna go, just through his clothing.

I don't know if it was an intentional parallel, but i thought it was worth pointing out anyway, and with the attention to detail that we know this production has, it would not surprise if it was done on purpose.

[uselessroyals]

fanfic recommendations

(because i read a lot of fanfiction) (also all of these are wilmon except like one bc of course they are) (i now have another list with more recommendations here!)

oneshots

"let's start a revolution" by huojuvuus what if wilhelm admitted it was him in the video, 1k words

"eyes full of stars" by buttercupkisses erik surprises wilhelm at the parent's lunch and meets simon, 3k words

"grin" by but_at_least_i_have_an_iced_coffee erik falls into a coma instead of dying and now he's awake, but now knows nothing about the sex scandal or simon or wilhelm's less-than-straightness, 2.1k words

"we could call it even" by loyaulte_me_lie eight years post canon, simon and wilhelm fall back into each other’s orbits, this time everything goes right, 12.7k words

"a baby heart attack, if you will" by paldogangsaan wilhelm’s mother sets him up with a respectable rich girl who just happens to make a deal with wilhelm to give the queen of sweden a “non-lethal heart attack.” (For legal reasons, that is a joke), wlw/mlm solidarity, very funny, 9.7k words

"the revolution will not be televised (but it will be put on instagram)" by pissedofsandwich post season 1, simon deals with the immediate aftermath of wilhelm's denial, felice and wilhelm concoct a juvenile plan to get the invasive press off simon's back, 17.9k words

"worst kept secret in history" by toffeelemon post season 1, wilhelm decides to say fuck what people think and fix his relationship with simon, fluffy, 10k words

"only fools rush in" by toffeelemon au, it actually wasn't wilhelm in that video and simon and wilhelm are best friends, 22.3k words

multichaps

"We should just kiss (like real people do)" by sofia_with_an_f a post-season 1 character study fic, lots of angst and introspection, 15/? chpt, 31k words

"international relations" by spa_ghetto crossover with red white and royal blue, post season 1 simon runs into alex claremont-diaz on the bus and they become friends, 5/5 chpt, 21.7k words

"call me up late" by royalwilmon au, simon gets the wrong number and accidentally texts wilhelm, lots of fluff and humour, 20/20 chpt, 29.1k words

"only fools remain sane" by Elin98 fake dating au, wilhelm convinces simon that they should fake date to see if the crown's recent announcement of accepting same-sex relationships is legit or just for show, 11/11 chpt, 40.5k words

"did you see the love in my eyes, oh were you gazing through this disguise?" by millie_cheesesteak fake dating/roommates au, simon's toxic ex starts at hillerska and wilhelm decides to help simon show him that he's moved on, 10/12 chpt, 53.7k words

(btw i have a 2nd list with more recs here!)

[uselessroyals]

sara means so much to me

i am autistic and it is so rare to get good representation in popular media, so i got so excited when sara said she was autistic! especially because it wasn’t treated like a big deal. a lot of the time when a character reveals their diagnosis it’s taken weirdly seriously, but here it was said as a simple explanation after getting called… “special” (see: weird), which was so refreshing. (and the “i’ve also got adhd but that’s not as weird” is something i would have said and it’s great)

sara is not a stereotype. her autism is an important character trait, but it’s not her sole defining one. she has a whole personality outside of being autistic, but also the fact that she is autistic does affect that. autism is something that will interact with every part of your life and especially your social life.

she has a hard time picking up sarcasm and nonverbal social cues, she values honesty and says things outright not realising it was supposed to be a secret, she finds it easier around horses because their cues are straightforward and less convoluted, she doesn’t really do small talk well

i think a lot of sara’s strength as autistic representation can be attributed to the fact that frida argento is autistic herself, which is so important. we need more autistic people in front of and behind the camera

[uselessroyals]

fanfiction recommendations pt 2

(because i have more! 1st list is here.) (These are once again all wilmon, because of course they are)

oneshots

"you're everything i have (and i don't think i've had enough)" by storyoftucks post season 1, Wilhelm bumps into Simon at a party and they finally get the chance to talk about them and their relationship, fluff, 2.1k words

"Show me how (you care)" by orphan_account season 1 retelling from simon's pov, 3.1k words

"This Boy" by fandom_commitment_issues post season 1, Wilhelm comes home for Christmas and Kristina invites his friend from his old school over, 10.3k words

"The worst things in life come free to us" by ageminiheart Episode 5, Simon's pov of Lucia, angst, 2.5k words

"Let Me Go" by paspeurpasseul post season 1, Wilhelm and Simon talk for the first time since Christmas break, it's harder than Wilhelm thought it would be to see Simon smile again, especially when that smile isn't directed at him, angst, 2.6k words

"forget me not" by spa_ghetto post canon, established relationship, Simon hits his head and gains temporary amnesia, h/c, 6.7k words

"Dandelions" by willehelms post canon, established relationship, Wilhelm is tipsy and they're in love, that's it, fluff, 1.4k words

"and they were roommates" by toffeelemon au, Simon boards at Hillerska, Simon and Wilhelm are roommates, 28.5k words

multichaps

"A Royal Intervention" by AnxiousAnaconda AU where Erik doesn't die, and he is a slightly overprotective older brother, 8/8 chpt, 17.8 k words

"Put Me Back Together and Take My Heart" by notalotgoingonatthisinstant post season 1, Simon gets a serious head injury and it might be the last straw for Wilhelm to gather the courage to blackmail his mother, 10/10 chpt, 49.5k words

"the way you look at me" by strummerjoe university AU, Simon didn't go to Hillerska, Simon and Wilhelm are roommates at uni, 13/13 chpt, 33.7k words

"my kingdom come undone" by tennisfangirl post season 1, Wilhelm goes looking for salvation at the bottom of a bottle, this one's angsty but also a lot of h/c, 3/3 chpt, 9.2k words

"and each slow dusk" by loyaulte_me_lie two months after Wille’s arrival at Hillerska, war breaks out, when his and Erik's last-ditch attempt to leave the country goes badly wrong, he ends up stuck in Bjärstad - with Simon, lots of politics, 3/3 chpt, 48.5k words

"call me back" by paldogangsaan post season 1, Wilhelm attempts, yeah this one's angsty, 6/6 chpt, 15.8k

"Answer Me This" by BishopRose 7 years post season 1, What if Wilhelm and Simon both eventually moved on, heartbroken, but never really stopped thinking about what could have been? What if they thought they’d never see each other again... until suddenly, years later, Fate stepped in, series, 10.2k words

(1st list is here!)

[uselessroyals]

at the end of season 1 simon asked wilhelm to figure out what he wanted, and then this season simon was the one who did Not know where he wanted to stand with wilhelm

saying he wanted space then getting upset when wilhelm stopped chasing after him, trying to rebound with marcus while writing a entire song for wilhelm, also kissing wilhelm at the ball then realising “wait that was a mistake”

poor simon kept being pulled in opposite directions, his logic and brain telling him to do one thing, while his heart kept pulling him in the other direction (back to wille <3)