Apr 13, 2021
I guess I draw now. Here’s some Red White and Royal Blue Instagram posts!
seen from Canada
seen from Spain
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Yemen
seen from Canada
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Canada
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Brazil
seen from South Africa
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
I guess I draw now. Here’s some Red White and Royal Blue Instagram posts!
Masterlist
Thank you to everyone who participated! 🧡 You can find all works in the post below.
💐
to be kissed by you by captainegg
Tales From the Junk Drawer by TheLastKnownSurvivor
You smell like home by Actuallyerin1992
The Super Six: Love Languages by @eggsonthe-sideblog
The Love Languages of Firstprince by @xthelastknownsurvivorx
words of affirmation by @arse-crack-thistle
Dance with me Tonight by Actuallyerin1992
like cherries and wine by captainegg
gifts by @arse-crack-thistle
Love Poetry by Yellowshirtgurl
A Lover’s Embrace by septemberleaves
she is my all, she is the one, she is by captainegg
a first prince meet-cute by @arse-crack-thistle
Baking Is Not a Science by septemberleaves
quality time by @arse-crack-thistle
physical touch by @arse-crack-thistle
To Show Our Love by bleedingballroomfloor
💐
See you soon for our next little fest happening in March 😉
The Love Languages of Firstprince
aka my TedTalk
for RWRB Romance Week - Day 2: Love Languages hosted by @rwrb-fests
The tl;dr, not necessarily in order
Alex: Physical touch, quality time, and words of affirmation
Henry: physical touch, quality time, acts of service, words of affirmation
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On firstprince, physical touch, and quality time
(more on individual comments later)
Their relationship (beyond friendship) started with a lot of time spent together for physical touch. While this might be partially due to an avoidance of commitment so it “didn't have to mean anything”, I still think this is worth noting. Also, they are obviously very compatible physically.
Alex and Henry put effort into planning their time together, partially due to necessity given their positions and for geographical logistics, but they also spend time together outside of the physical aspect. This time doesn't seem mostly driven by the need for them to put up appearances for friendship.
Their texts and emails also seem to be evidence of enjoying quality time. Although these aren't face-to-face, it involves a dedication of time and thought about the other, which is a good portion of what quality time is about. Nora says that Alex uses Henry's number to “long distance flirt with him all day, every day” and “in a noticeably worse mood if [Alex] goes a day without talking to [Henry]”.
Their emails are lengthier and are quite poetic. The bits from old love letters indicate a lot of effort since they have to find the perfect quotes from historical figures. Alex makes a list of things he loves about Henry, while Henry waxes poetry about Alex.
Alex
Physical Touch
Personally, I see Alex as mostly having physical touch as a love language with his romantic partner, with some exceptions. One being June as his sister. The other is Nora, though she's somewhat of an in between since the two of them dated briefly but she's mostly a best friend to Alex.
At New Year's, Alex and Nora dance together, putting hands on hips and grinding in a joking, platonic sort of way. Alex is also very comfortable guiding Henry's hips with his hands, when at this point he thinks of Henry as simply a friend.
Of course, there's also the kiss with Nora at midnight, which, while partially for the benefit of other people's intrigue, would likely not happen if Alex wasn't comfortable with/enjoyed physical touch.
Alex also describes being pleased with Henry's physical presence next to him at New Year's
Furthermore, at the lake house, Alex comes to the revelation of why he seems to love the physical intimacy with Henry, that love is what “makes the filthy things so good”
There's also plenty of fluffy goodness from the lake house with casual touches, quick pecks, sweet embraces, and the like
I'm also reminded of how Alex notes that with his limbs tangled with Henry's, “nowhere left untouched [i]t's the best Alex has slept in years”
Lastly, Alex seems to be a very attentive partner during sex. After his first attempt at a blowjob, his inner thoughts are about his previous experiences eating girls out because he's surprised that Henry kisses him so eagerly afterward. There are plenty of men who would not be willing to return the favor of oral sex for their female partner, yet it seems that Alex is/was very, very willing, which makes me think that he is the type to show he cares by making sure sex is good for both him and his partner.
This is actually further supported by something Alex observes the first time he and Henry go beyond just blowjobs : “Somehow it still amazes him that all of this seems to be as unbelievably, singularly good for Henry as it is for him.” Alex's reaction includes a pleased and proud smile about it.
Of course, in regards to the two points above, it should be the norm to ensure one's partner is equally satisfied, but this doesn't always play out. In my opinion, Alex seems to go above and beyond in this respect.
Words of Affirmation
I will begin this with a caveat that both Henry and Alex tend to like feeling affirmed in some capacity but they have a tendency to avoid verbalizing things for the fear of making it too real. Again, I'm not sure if this would have been different had they begun dating in a more typical way, but it's worth noting.
The biggest thing that stands out to me that points to words of affirmation being one of Alex's love languages is the quote: “He just… Well, he gets told he's great a lot. He just doesn't often get told he's good enough.”
Overall, although Alex presents himself as being confident and self-assured most of the time, he often is plagued with doubts and fears about not measuring up, so he sometimes needs affirmations that he is, in fact, good enough.
Alex also tends to counter Henry's self doubts by telling him that he's brave, strong, good as he is, etc that Alex has noticed earlier on.
One big thing is the list that Alex sends Henry: An Incomplete List: Things I Love About HRH Prince Henry of Wales
Almost forgot this one, but when Alex is stressing and having a hard time, he mentions thinking of the things Henry emailed him
Henry
Physical touch
Although Henry often seems to feel trapped by the decorum he must adhere to, the times of physical intimacy when he's with Alex seem to let Henry be just another 20-something guy. He's more confident and sure in these moments, which while likely related to trauma related to his sexuality from his family, seems important and relevant
Henry also seems to be very attentive to his partner's needs. For example, after karaoke, he says to Alex, “All that earlier and you haven't gotten off yet tonight, have you? … Well that just shall not do.” So, like Alex, Henry seems to show his care through making sure his partner is satisfied.
Quality Time
I personally imagine Henry and Bea spend a lot of time in the music room together, playing their instruments
Henry seems very hurt by the way that his mom withdrew after his father's death. I'd argue this is due to Henry having quality time as a love language because while they do spend time together and “[s]he still listens, and she tries, and she wants us to be happy. But I don't know if she has it in her anymore to be a part of someone else's happiness.”
Acts of Service
This ties in with quality time, but Henry tends to be the one between him and Alex to plan interesting and more elaborate dates. For example, the time in Paris when Henry leaves directions to a Parisian cheese shop, especially since Alex had asked his advice about wine and cheeses.
I’m not sure how supported this is by the book, but I also just get the sense that Henry is very much the type who would do things for his significant other to lighten the burden(s) on their shoulders
Lastly, Henry is very invested in philanthropy. Obviously philanthropy is common for royals and rich people, but Henry seems to really put his heart into it. He and Pez have been doing work for a long time, and Henry's even using his inheritance to fund the projects.
Words of Affirmation
I think that words of affirmation are important to Henry, but not the most important of his love languages. Hearing Alex believes in him helps, and he offers similar support for Alex, but this doesn't seem to be the primary method of showing love for Henry.
However, Henry does express himself through writing a lot. I'm not sure if this counts under words of affirmation, although some of it does, but this is the big point under this category
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And that concludes my long-winded rant on the topic that I definitely didn't do instead of being productive haha what are you talking about
Thanks for reading~
RWRB Romance Week
It’s the season of love and romance so let’s celebrate it! 💘
What you need to know:
non-committal, non-anonymous fest (no sign-up needed)
runs from February 7 until February 14
all pairings and all ratings allowed
combine or skip prompts to your liking
create art, poems, fics, mood boards, playlists, headcanons - whatever you want
post your creation to the collection on AO3 or post it to tumblr with the tag #rwrbromanceweek and tag us in the post as well (so we won’t miss it)
there will be a masterlist at the end
gifts
rwrb and the five love languages | part two
in which june struggles to have a nice valentine’s date with nora
June never expected to care this much about a stupid holiday like Valentine’s Day, but here she is, practically renovating the apartment to give her girlfriend a perfect night. She strings LED lights around the entire living room ceiling and uses Command hooks to drape the sheer, white Ikea curtains she bought on sale months ago in preparation for this. The lights glow pink through the curtains, making the usually neutral-toned living room appear like Aphrodite’s palace. June’s moved the coffee table into her room and replaced it with a fluffy blanket and a picnic set-up to rival TikTok lesbians. All she needs now is Nora, if only she weren’t stuck at school.
The texts say, Will be late! Data mining for the gods! [Monet X Change gif] I want to be home with you though. Will bring noodles! And chocolate! Scratch that, I ate the chocolate. Sorry.
June knows she shouldn’t be annoyed because Nora has no idea what she’s coming home to. She also knows who she got into a relationship with—a brilliant mind that’s constantly moving parsecs a minute and has a hard time communicating her feelings. June has to remind herself that Nora loves her even if she doesn’t always show it.
That’s what tonight is for. It’ll give them time to slow down and just be together. Break the routine. Talk or not talk. She doesn’t expect it to be mushy or obnoxious—June isn’t a super, flowery romantic herself—but she does want another sentimental moment to hold onto forever.
Like the night of the 2020 election over a year ago. After Alex and Henry slipped away and everyone else was celebrating in their own groups, Nora pulled June into a storage closet at the venue and kissed her point blank, leaving no questions in her mind that their dabbles the months before meant something more than spectacular.
Or like six months ago when Nora asked her if she wanted to move in with her. She didn’t do anything particularly special, but she slammed her laptop shut while June was throwing on one of her sweatshirts and asked her to stay—to take the second bedroom because Nora needs space sometimes—but to stay with her because she was her favorite person. June answered with a happy “yes,” and Nora got up and kissed her. They didn’t talk much more about it; June just packed up her room at the White House and let the world think they were very best friends.
quality time
rwrb and the five love languages | part four
in which bea nearly crashes from the stress of party-planning (aroace rep)
Princess Beatrice buzzes around The Masquerade, double-checking place cards, straightening table settings, and pulling dried rose petals from the centerpieces. She rented the concert venue for the night to throw a modern Valentine’s gala to benefit Henry’s queer youth center in London. He and Alex are around here somewhere, probably hooking up in a broom cupboard and definitely not nitpicking every detail like Bea is. Her assistant follows her with a clipboard and updates her on the schedule: t-minus three hours until guests arrive and, in the meantime, she needs to give final approval, soundcheck with the band, and get dressed up. Jeans and a blazer, while royal casual, are not party-appropriate, and tonight needs to be perfect.
She usually hates royal events like galas, but this one is special. Not because it’s Valentine’s Day—Bea could not give two fucks about the holiday—but because ever since coming out as asexual around Christmas, she’s been looking for an opportunity to help other queer people, or at least give them a public figure they could point to and say, “See Mum and Dad, she’s like me.” Henry and Alex got their chance, and now this time, it’s hers.
The stage lights up with pink and red; it’s cheesy, but Bea digs it. The concert was the one thing she would not budge on with her royal event planner. Did she want to reach into wealthy pockets? Yes. Did she still want to have a good time? Hell yes. And the band she’s joining for one night only happens to be just as queer as the charity they’re supporting.
Permanent Record, local to London, tune their instruments on stage. Bea has met them dozens of times over the last month and vibed with them instantly. Margot, the too-cool lead singer always decked out in a leather jacket and Docs, is ace like her, and as much as Bea has wanted to get to know them, there’s been no time. Turns out, party-planning and party-executing steals the host away from all meaningful human connection. She’s only been able to keep up with Henry because he’s partly responsible for this event.
The pit, full of tables covered in pink and gold, finally looks perfect enough for Bea to hand-off any other minute fixes to the planner and finally have her soundcheck with the band. But then, a large crash comes from the back of the venue, and she hears a loud shriek coming from a familiar voice, the one that’s been shrill and disapproving for the last month. When Bea runs up, she sees hundreds of shattered champaign flutes and her planner on the floor, blood oozing from her hands.
This cannot be happening. The only reason Bea kept this woman around was to take most of the day-of duties off her plate. But she’s in the back of an ambulance now, and Henry is nowhere to be found. Bea’s stress levels go from tolerable to unbearable as she orders her assistant to track down replacement flutes. The staff are quick to fill her other requests: a couple of people start sweeping, someone runs off to find her co-host, another tells the band Bea’s soundcheck will be postponed, and a brave soul steps up as a temporary assistant and follows her around the back tables to check for broken glass. Bea knows she doesn’t have to be the one to do this, but it seems like the success of this event lies solely one her shoulders. If something goes wrongs, it’s her face—not Henry’s—in the papers the next day. Powder Princess Crashes and Burns at Gay Ball. Christ.
physical touch
rwrb and the five love languages | part three
in which a young ellen and oscar make a life-altering decision
The sun boils Ellen Claremont and Oscar Diaz as they stand outside Marlene’s Diner. Even in December, the Texas heat shows no mercy. The parking lot is full of cars for the lunch rush, and as much as her manager hates it, Ellen had to take her fifteen now. Oscar is on his way home.
Seems like yesterday he and a bunch of his white-collared buddies popped into Marlene’s and sat down at a table in Ellen’s section, but it was eight months ago. She thought she was about to get catcalled and a two-penny tip, but instead she gave the table advice on how to help David Morwitz, an Austin democratic candidate for state representative, gain more votes among young people. And Oscar wouldn’t leave until he got her number—for political reasons of course. That is until she made out with him after a Young Texas Democrats rally and he discovered the blue bonnet tattoo on her lower back.
He was fresh out of law school, hoping to build his political resume so he could run for office one day, and she was just finishing up her second year, living on tips and volunteering where she could. And, like all young lovers, they spent the whole summer and fall talking about their hopes and fears, their darkest secrets and greatest dreams.
“The Supreme Court, eh? One of the justices?”
“No,” she told him, “I just want to argue a case there. Set precedent.”
He smiled, showing off that goddamn dimple on his cheek. “You could go farther—the highest point even.”
She laughed and shook her head. “I’m looking to help the little guy, Diaz. I can do that anywhere.”
“Then why not the presidency?” When she scoffed, he said, “Fuck you, I’m serious. I’ve seen you in action, Claremont. The protest you organized for the clinic they shut down? You’re incredible.”
That moment hugs her as she struggles to let go of Oscar’s hands. They’re rough from the field work he did in high school but also calloused from his guitar. She spent months learning the lines on his hands; she can draw them from memory, as he can with the curves of her hips.
His flight leaves in two hours. Ellen will have to watch the blue sky for planes, imagining him soaring away with his Walkman playing a worn-out Latin tape. Maybe if Morwitz won, things could be different.
a firstprince meet-cute
the heroes of olympus au
in which the roman son of apollo meets the greek son of themis
Henry—the quiet son of Apollo and Centurion of the 3rd cohort—leads a team of five demigods through the Long Island woods. Their task: spy on the Greeks and bring information back to Octavian. The golden-haired boy wishes he could’ve refused, but anyone who goes against the Pontifex Maximus gets severely punished and he will not let any harm come to his legionaries. Not again.
The group weaves through the trees, dodging the sight of any patrols. Henry has no idea how he’ll get close enough to hear anything, but he might be able to interpret some battle strategy from the Greek’s night preparations. As his fellow soldiers fan out beside him, Henry inches up the hill. He’d say a prayer to his father if he thought it would help, but he doesn’t. After many unanswered prayers about his sexuality, about his rather fucked up influential family, he doesn’t bother with Apollo anymore.
Henry gestures for his right-hand man—Pez, son of Mercury and the only one who actually knows he’s gay—to peer over the hill with him; the others stay back, keeping watch. The Centurion readies an arrow just in case, while Pez has his hand on the hilt of his blade, and they watch Greek demigods reinforce their buildings, sharpen their weapons, and prepare medical tents. None of them are practicing formations, which doesn’t help Henry or Octavian at all. He has to come back with something, so he puts the arrow away and crawls forward.
This could be really stupid, but he has to try—not for Octavian but for New Rome. It’s the only place that’s felt like home to him. Back in England, there’s his grandmother, the CEO of an underwhelming home goods empire. The stuff is cheap, but they’re still the number one seller back home. His mother and brother have a part in it. His sister ran off a few years back, and he has no idea where she is or if she’s even alive. His father—or rather ex-step-father—hasn’t wanted much to do with him since about three years ago when he found out Henry’s mother had an affair at a music festival fourteen years before.
They had a scandalous divorce, covered by every major news outlet, and Henry found out his true identity when a handsome demigod knocked on his door and told him he was in danger and had to be take to California. Several monsters, a few thousand miles, and a few months with a wolf goddess later, he found himself at Camp Jupiter. Everything that happened to him up until then—the blurry images of creatures at the corner of his eyes every time he turned a corner, the dyslexia that made his passion for writing frustrating, the way he never really fit in with his family—finally made sense. He was a demigod! And when the sign of Apollo appeared over his head after he made his first bullseye at the archery range, he truly felt like he found where he belonged.
Pez whispers for him to come back, but Henry lifts a hand in warning. Just then, someone—a dryad probably—screams an alert to his enemy, and all Underworld breaks loose. His legionaries get in formation behind him, readying themselves for the Greeks. They were taught never to run from a fight, but Henry can’t allow this to happen. He’s been in enough battles to know when he can win and when he can’t. Eventually, they’ll be outnumbered because Octavian won’t send him reinforcements if he can help it. He doesn’t know how violent the Greeks will be, but if they willingly fired on New Rome when their defenses were down, then he can’t take the risk. And he won’t repeat what happened in the Titan war.
Henry orders his soldiers back, telling Pez to take temporary control of the cohort and share the minimal information they gathered with the Pontifex. If they’re to be any casualties tonight, it will only be Henry and the Greeks he can take down with him.